Man of Warby tallestbronyChaptersChapter 2 New BeginningsChapter 3 OrientationChapter 4 PowerChaper 5 What Friends Are ForChapter 6 Fall of Topaz FallsChapter 7 Second ImpressionChapter 8 Time Gone ByChapter 9 JudgementChapter 10 Party TimeChapter 11 StampedeChapter 12 FriendsChapter 13 Long Road To RecoveryChapter 14 Sugarcube CornerChapter 15 Carousel BoutiqueChapter 16 TrustChapter 17 True IntentionsChapter 19 Journey to Mt. Sky Scraper Chapter 20 Waking Dragons Chapter 21 Pinkies PartyChapter 22 Manual LaborChapter 23 Old Wounds, New ProblemsChapter 24 Secrets and LiesChapter 25 Feathers and PancakesChapter 26 Rainy Day GamesChapter 27 Project Re-Surface IntegrationChapter 28 Mending Broken HeartsChapter 29 TemptationsChapter 30 Earning TrustChapter 31 Deverto PulvisChapter 32 My StormChapter 34 Fame and InfamyChapter 35 Sweet Apple AcresChapter 36 Cutie Mark CrusadersChapter 38 Lost in ThoughtChapter 39 A Home of My OwnChapter 40 House Warming GiftChapter 41 Meeting The PastChapter 42 Just Another PartyChapter 43 Into The WildernessChapter 44 Just A ScratchChapter 45 Train RideChapter 46 Powerful LoveChapter 47 Breaking ElementsChapter 48 My PromiseChapter 49 A Day At The LakeChapter 50 Storm CloudChapter 51 RecoveryChapter 52 Rain CloudChapter 54 Dinner for TwoChapter 55 Heart BreakChapter 56 Rainbow's BookChapter 57 LupusChapter 58 Moving OnChapter 59 ApplesChapter 60 Pinkies CarnivalChapter 61 Just Another Bad DayChapter 62 Spartan TrainingChapter 63 Returning HomeChapter 64 A Day At The SpaChapter 65 Permission Chapter 67 Diamond DogsEnd Of Arc One Bonus ChapterChapter 68 Darkness Chapter 69 Luna's FuryChapter 70 Luna's LoveChapter 71 Losing ControlChapter 72 Escape From Topaz FallsChapter 73 Return to PonyvilleChapter 74 The TradeChapter 75 WantingChapter 76 Spartan PoliticsChapter 77 Unexpected VisitorChapter 78 The Best Hiding Spot EverChapter 79 Welcome To Topaz FallsChapter 80 Long Road To RuinChapter 81 Losing The FightChapter 83 Meeting Of MastersChapter 84 Fires, Trees, And WaterChapter 85 In The Cold Of NightChapter 86 Crossing The DivideChapter 87 Primum SomnoChapter 88 And Then There Was SexChapter 89 Believe Chapter 90 The Greatest Proposal, The Biggest Slip UpChapter 91 Simple RequestChapter 92 Date NightChapter 93 Wedding PlansChapter 94 Storm's Bachelor PartyChapter 95 A Quick Run Into TownChapter 96 Whats LeftChapter 98 Die MemoriaChapter 99 Nightmare NightQ/A Special #1Chapter 100 Miles's Bachelor PartyChapter 101 The Big DayChapter 103 Proper TimeChapter 104 Las PegasisChapter 105 My BrotherChapter 106 GemsChapter 108 Night CourtChapter 109 MoosedenChapter 110 Quartz CrestChapter 111 A Close CallChapter 112 Generous SacrificeChapter 113 Message In The DarkChapter 114 Awkward PositionsChapter 115 Spartan TerritoryChapter 116 ThemChapter 117 The GroupChapter 118 Autographs And BooksChapter 119 Call Me MaybeChapter 121 Just In TimeChapter 122 Fort MiseryChapter 123 Archaic DealsChapter 124 Victory?Chapter 125 The Other HalfChapter 126 New PowerChapter 127 SororChapter 128 Big NewsChapter 129 Little TalksChapter 130 Early Distant WarningChapter 131 AlmostChapter 132 Lost AnswerChapter 133 AmethystChapter 134 Red Light Chapter 136 Coming Back TogetherChapter 137 Choosing Life Chapter 138 Posting BailChapter 139 Itsy Bitsy SpiderChapter 140 Go To BedChapter 141 Meeting New PoniesChapter 142 Friendly AdviceChapter 143 Your Trust Chapter 144 Now And LaterChapter 145 Consuming KingsChapter 146 One DayChapter 147 My Miles Chapter 148 Training SpartansChapter 149 New Spartans On The BlockChapter 150 Happy BirthdayChapter 152 Just You And Me Part 1 MilesChapter 153 Just You And Me Part 2 LunaChapter 154 Just You And Me Part 3 Rainbow DashChapter 155 Off To Trottingham Chapter 156 Jasper LiesChapter 157 Jasper TruthsChapter 158 Home For Hearths Warming EveChapter 159 The Great And Powerful...Chapter 160 Hearths Warming EveChapter 161 Training In VoidChapter 162 One Last AdventureChapter 164 Ruby Canyon: Cruel KindnessChapter 165 Bartering HeartsChapter 166 Dealing With HeartsChapter 167 Diamond Halls: Unknown MemoriesChapter 168 Galena: Terradisian ArsenalChapter 170 Outpost ZeroEnd of Arc Two Bonus ChapterChapter 171 Five Stages...Chapter 172 I Think, Therefore I AmChapter 173 Past PresentChapter 174 When In Roam...Chapter 175 Nap TimeChapter 177 Pharmaceutical NeedsChapter 178 Old Habits...Chapter 179 Happiness, With a Side of SyrupChapter 180 Getting Back to BusinessChapter 181 Plans Well MadeChapter 182 Family AffairsChapter 183 Back To WorkChapter 184 Shiny OrdealsChapter 185 Watching StateraChapter 186 ChaosChapter 187 Discorded SistersChapter 188 Purgian ProgressChapter 189 Mad PoniesChapter 190 Losing SolitudeChapter 191 So Much To DoChapter 192 Men and KingsChapter 194 SummitChapter 195 Foalish EffectsChapter 196 The OrdersChapter 197 In-Human ConcernsChapter 198 Understanding BalanceChapter 199 It's a...Q/A Special #2Chapter 200 Better DaysChapter 201 Mother Knows BestChapter 202 Simple EnoughChapter 203 Easy MysteryChapter 204 First and LastChapter 205 Icy PremonitionsChapter 206 Play BallChapter 207 Hard LossesChapter 208 Chin UpChapter 210 Dinner In MoosdenChapter 211 SyncneyChapter 212 Joint ConcernsChapter 213 Joint OperationsChapter 214 Time in the LibraryChapter 215 BlinkChapter 216 DealsChapter 217 Get ReadyChapter 218 Hidden PlansChapter 219 Southern BadlandsChapter 220 NeighborsChapter 221 Power In PlayChapter 222 Power SpeaksChapter 224 Keen AlliesChapter 225 ScoutsChapter 226 Bloody Number FiveChapter 227 New PowerChapter 228 In DeepChapter 229 Make Me BetterChapter 230 Set in MotionChapter 231 Repercussions Chapter 232 The Treaty of Crescent CoveChapter 233 WaitChapter 234 Gala PreparationsChapter 236 Political UnderstandingChapter 237 Dark SideChapter 239 Plan of ActionChapter 240-A Pinkie's Political Party Planning Predicament Chapter 241 Relics in the AtticChapter 242 Praetorian GuardChapter 243 Squad GoalsChapter 244 The Prince and the PrincessChapter 245 Audit QueenChapter 246 Miles' LieChapter 247 Operation UnthinkableChapter 248 Terms of WarChapter 249 Non Semper Erit AestasChapter 250 Words With the CaptainChapter 251 Susurrans BellumChapter 252 Alone With NothingChapter 253 Waiting in the MoonlightChapter 254 Follow the LeaderChapter 255 Lucens VigorChapter 257 The Oligarchs WarChapter 258 Rumbles KnightChapter 259 And They Cried Republic! Republic! Republic!Chapter 260 Our Dreams Lost in the WindChapter 261 Steely FociiChapter 262 False BlameChapter 263 DreamerChapter 264 The People of Gold and PurpleChapter 265 Where It All BeganChapter 266 Shadow KnightChapter 267 Fear of DreamersChapter 269 The Daughter of the Queen and the CaptainChapter 270 Rest... or ElseChapter 271 New Kid on the BlockChapter 272 Doctors OrdersChapter 273 Parent Teacher ConferenceChapter 274 Lunas ChallengeChapter 275 What is Love?Chapter 276 Lovers in the NightChapter 277 Young SecretsChapter 278 Surrounded By UsChapter 279 Memories of YouChapter 280 Past VS PresentChapter 1 Choices (revised)Chapter 18 Night Time ComplicationsChapter 33 Et Salutant MortuusChapter 37 Meeting of the MindsChapter 53 Inheritances Chapter 66 Guards and SoldiersChapter 82 Gifts From The PastChapter 97 What's ImportantChapter 102 The Big NightChapter 107 Specialization Chapter 120 Answering The CallChapter 135 Green LightChapter 151 A Night To Remember Chapter 163 Emerald City: Of Faith And LoyaltyChapter 169 New Garnet: Echos of WarChapter 176 Party Time ChallengesChapter 193 My HometownChapter 209 ChangeChapter 223 Undesired Desires Chapter 235 Who's WhoChapter 238 No Rest for the WickedChapter 256 Die MysteriumChapter 268 Shadow of MoosedenChapter 2 New BeginningsChapter 2 New Beginnings Once we are out of sight of the orphanage, I finally allow myself to relax a little. It’s now that I notice something pretty weird: THIS IS THE MOST COMFY THING I'VE EVER SAT ON! The interior of the car is larger and more spacious than I expected, and the seats are filled to the brim with cushioning. Back at the orphanage, we either sat in stiff plastic chairs, cement benches, or on the cold hard ground. After getting over how comfy this seat is, I start to look around the car some more. It has four black seats, a small platform in-between the back two, and a fairly large steering wheel in front of a small assortment of gauges and numbers. To the right of the steering wheel is a glass panel that takes up the entire center of the front. It has a bunch of words flashing on and off as the Captain pokes from one thing to another. After a few swipes and pokes, the glass finally goes blank and the Captain sits back and lets loose a long sigh. “Sssooo... what kind of training will I be doing? Hand to hand, big guns, explosives, oh! How about arcane magic, or how about…” “Heh heh, calm down kid,” the Captain interjects. ”You won’t start any combat training until you’re fourteen. All new recruits your age go to the academy and stay there until they graduate boot camp.” He giggles something about arcane magic, but I don't hear it completely. “Oh… Okay… so what academy am I going to then?” “The University of Stella Ficor.” “Okay… WAIT, WHAT?!” I yell in astonishment. “What?” “I’m going to USF, the most prestigious school in the city; that one school that’s in the same building as the parliament; THAT school?!” “Yeah, is there something wrong with going to that school? Would you rather go somewhere else?” the captain asks as he looks back to me. “Well DUH I would want to go somewhere else!" I scream at him. “I can’t read; I can’t write; not to mention I’m nowhere near old enough to go to a college! Why would you think I would be able to go to the school for the most gifted people in all of Terradisia?!” Apparently I said something funny, because both the Captain and the driver have started laughing. “Wow kid,” laughs the driver. “High expectations, huh,” he chimes as he continues to giggle at me. “Oh, someone went to USOD,” replies the Captain. This is followed by even more laughter. “I don’t see what’s so funny,” I say as I cross my arms and glare at the back of the Captain’s head. “Aww, now don’t pout little guy,” says the Captain, which earns him even more mean glares. “First off, you’ll be taught to read and write, so don’t worry about that. Secondly, the college is open to anyone of any age, as long as you are smart enough or with the military. And lastly, the military has worked out a deal with the school so that all their cadets go there. So there aren’t any alternatives.” After taking a few moments to accept my fate, I simply mutter, “Humph. I’m not little…” “Are you smaller than me?” asks the Captain teasingly. “Well yeah, but…” “Then quit your worrying, squirt, and just enjoy the ride,” beams the Captain. I don’t like this guy. For the rest of the trip, I spend my time silently enjoying the comfort of my seat; I’m on the verge of sleep when the car comes to a stop. After unbuckling himself, the Captain turns to me and says, "Hey squirt, we’re here.” Yeah, I don’t like this guy. As I unbuckle and let myself out of the car, I notice something odd about this area: everything is very clean. The windows, the floor, the buildings, even the people are really clean. Being around this much cleanliness is starting to make me feel self-conscious about myself, so as soon as the Captain and driver start moving towards the building, I make sure to stick as close as possible. Walking up to the Parliament Congressional Hall is pretty intimidating. As I try to look up at the top, I feel as if the building is looming over me - as if it’s about to topple over and crush everything unfortunate enough to be underneath it. As I continue to walk with my attention upwards, I suddenly bump right into something and am sent straight on my backside. After a few dizzying seconds, I look up to see what I bumped into. Standing in front of me is a man wearing a light grey business suit and a red tie. He has long blonde hair tied behind him in a ponytail, a really narrow face - he’s pretty scrawny overall, actually - and pale white skin. But the thing I notice the most are his crimson red eyes. The seem to bore right into me, searing with so much wrath. As I stand to my feet, he promptly snaps at me. “Look where you’re going, you little brat!” I quickly reply with a generous, “Why don’t you watch where you’re going, asshole!” He doesn't seem to appreciate this. He raises his hand and is about to bring it across my face, when another hand catches it mid-flight. The man looks behind to find the Captain holding his arm. Before he can say a single word, the Captain twists his arm and pins him in an arm lock. “Now, now, now… don’t you think you’re overreacting just a little bit?” he says teasingly as he adds pressure. “Susurrans, are you seriously going to defend this slum—AAHH-HAH-HAH!” he rasps back, only to be twisted a little more. The Captain continues to hold the stranger, and begins to whisper stuff into his ear. I try to creep closer to hear, but the driver grabs my shoulder and holds me back. Meanwhile, the emotion on the stranger’s face goes from anger to confusion, and then to a lesser anger. Once done, the Captain releases the stranger and pushes him away. Now free, the stranger takes a moment to collect himself before leaving, shooting dirty looks my way. While glaring back to him, I can't help but wonder what it is the Captain said to him. What could be so impor- SMACK “Ow! What was that for?!” I demand while rubbing the back of my head. “That’s for cussing. Now unless you plan on aggravating any other people, I suggest we get going,” he replies while giving me a very stern look. I want to argue with him, but that look he’s giving… I don’t think I’ll be able to win any argument with a man that can give that kind of look, so I make my way through the entrance of the building. As we enter through the spinning doors, I get a lot of the same feelings that I got from the outside. Everything is really clean: polished floors, bright shining lights, even the trash cans are sparkly! In the center of the room are four walls standing end to end. These walls each have rows of curved indentations along them, with metallic platforms at the bottom. The platforms seem to be a meter wide and have strange markings going around the edges. As I look, I notice some lady walk onto one of them. She stands there for a moment; then in a bright flash she’s gone. Astonished, I begin looking around for answers, only to notice that these platforms cover almost every part of every wall. “They’re called Mico platforms,” says the Captain. “They are used to teleport people from one floor to another.” “Is there one for every floor?” I ask in astonishment. “Ha! No way; there would have to be some two hundred platforms! No, they go every ten stories, and from there you either take the stairs or an elevator,” answers the Captain as he scans from one side of the room to the other. “Now which one was - oh there it is,” he says, and begins to walk to the center of the left wall. As we make our way, I notice that inside of each indentation is an etching. We stop in front of a platform that has an etching of a bar of soap and bubbles. I look at the Captain, who gestures for me to go onto the platform. I gulp as I take my place, not sure of what to expect. I get to the center and turn to the Captain, expecting at any second to suddenly disappear. After what feels like an eternity, I begin to wonder if there’s something I’m supposed to do to activate the platform, only to have my train of thought interrupted by a bright white flash. After rubbing my eyes for a few seconds, I finally regain my vision and begin to take in my surroundings. I’m in what looks like a small waiting room. The walls are painted light blue with white trim, and directly to my left and right are rows of metallic seats. A few meters in front of me is a white counter with a light grey top. To the left and right of the counter are hallways that lead to rows of doors with numbers on them. Above each hallway is a strange symbol: the one on the left is a blue circle with an arrow pointing up and to the right, and the one on the right is a pink circle with a plus sign attached to the bottom. “Ahem! If you don’t mind, could you please step off the platform and take a seat,” says a pale blonde woman from behind the counter. Hmm… I wonder how I failed to notice her right away… eh, whatever. I step off the platform and take the seat directly to my right. A few seconds later, a white flash appears and the Captain walks out, followed by another flash and the driver. The pair walk straight to the lady and they begin talking with her. From where I’m sitting I can’t hear what they’re saying, so I decide to walk up to them. “Okay, so just sign off here, and we’ll be set,” says the lady, handing Captain Bellum a tablet. She glances between me and the Captain before looking back down to her work, smiling slightly. After signing the tablet, he looks to the driver, who smiles and nods, then looks down at me. “So, Miles, before we get you set for school, you need a good wash. Just head into the boy’s chamber, go to room 101, and get washed up. Oh!” He makes some marks on the tablet and shows it to me. “And this is what a ‘101’ looks like.” Okay, he keeps glancing back to the driver, who stifles a chuckle each time… Whatever, I’ll worry about it later. Boy’s chamber. Hmm… which one is that? I look between the two hallways. Arrow or plus sign… Blue or pink… Well, blue is more for boys, so I'll go that way. As I make my way under the blue sign, I swear I can hear a coin flip and some laughter from the room. Wonder what that was about… Whatever. When I find the room with the same marks the Captain showed me, I enter and am greeted by a scruffy older man with a full head of white hair. “Alright, take a seat and I’ll be with you in a minute,” he says to me as he sweeps some hair away. He’s wearing a white button up shirt, black pants, and thick square glasses on his wrinkly face. “Umm…I don’t think I’m in the right room,” I say as I back away slowly. “Room 101; wash room?” he asks. “Yeah, but-” “Yeah, you’re in the right room. Start with a trim, then a shower. Now just hang tight and I’ll get to you when I get to you," he replies sternly before disappearing behind a door. The room I’m in is square with white walls and white tile flooring. There are two doors in the room: one behind me and one to the left on the other side of the room. A large mirror takes up the wall to the right of the other door, with a long white counter beneath it. Three barber chairs are set next to each other in front of the counter. “Alright, take a seat and we’ll get started,” the barber says as he re-enters the room with an assortment of scissors and clippers. I make my way to the center chair and take a seat. Once seated, the barber pumps the chair up and spins me around so I’m facing the mirror. I’ve never really looked at myself before, and being face to face with myself for the first time makes me realize something - I am dirty! I have medium-length black hair that goes down to just above my shoulders. Most of it is matted together and dusty beyond belief. My skin’s a light tan and is covered in dust and grime. I’m fairly scrawny; any weight I do have is all in muscle, thanks to the constant fighting and running around at the orphanage. Another thing I never noticed is my eyes: they’re light brown and seem to shine through the dirt and filth. As the barber gets started, he takes the scissors and begins cutting the matted lumps out of my hair. He’s not really trying to make even cuts, just get the lumps out. Whatever, I don’t really mind short hair. Once he gets all of the matted parts out, he moves to the counter and switches to some clippers. “Hey, how short does it have to be?” I ask as I glance between him and the clippers. “I don’t really care about style, I just want to keep as much as possible.” The barber looks down at me and says, "Don’t worry. I’m just going to bring it down to even it out.” He moves behind me and starts the clippers. He brings it to my forehead, and then pulls it to the back of my head, leaving a bald trail behind. “Whoa, what are you doing!?” I yell as I look back at him. “I said short, not bald!” “Ooohhh, I thought you wanted it that way,” he says with a smirk. “Oh well, too late.” And with that, he continues shaving my pale head bald. As he finishes the last patch of hair, I watch the final strands fall to the floor. What a jerk. “All right, all done. Next, you need to shower. I swear; you smell like barf-and-late night surprise stew.” *sniff sniff* Whoa! I reek! “Just head through that door, down the hall, and it’ll be the first door to the left. There are new clothes for you in there as well.” “What kind of clothes will I be getting?” I ask. He looks back to me and gives me an annoyed look. “Well, get going and you’ll find out, now won’t you?” he says as he lowers the chair. I don’t like this guy. He's almost as big a jerk as the suit guy. I get up and make my way through the door and down the hall, rubbing my pale head all the way. I go through the first door to the left and enter the shower room. It's a long, narrow room with small blue and white tiles, light blue walls, and rows of shower heads on the left and right walls. The lights go down the center of the ceiling and give a small buzz. Underneath each showerhead are two clear knobs. Two knobs... what does the second one do? I look around, and in the corner to my right is a small stool with a pile of clothes and a towel. Well, there’s no one else here, so I guess these are mine now. I take my place in front of the shower closest to the stool and begin to undress. Throwing my clothes on the floor next to the stool, I turn to the shower. Hmmm, which one is the water? The one on the left has a symbol I’ve never seen before, while the one on the right looks familiar. I take the one that’s familiar, give it a twist, and… SUCCESS, water! After about five minutes of washing, I turn the water off and head to the stool. After drying myself off with a fluffy white towel, I begin to get dressed in my new clothes. I have a light green button up t-shirt, dark green pants, black shoes and socks, and a belt. I put everything on except the shoes. Looking at them, I realize I don’t know how to tie them, so I figure I’ll ask the Captain. With my new shoes in one hand and my old clothes in the other, I leave the shower room. As soon as I get out of the door, I’m greeted by the Captain and the driver. “How long were you-” “Alright, first off, you need to tuck in that shirt.” “Okay but-” “Also, your belt needs to be in the center.” “Fine, but can-” “Oh, and give me your old clothes; you won’t need them anymore.” After a few seconds of trying to understand what needs to happen, I reluctantly hand him my old clothes, tuck in my shirt, and center my belt. The Captain passes my old clothes to the driver, then watches me correct my uniform. Once I'm done, he gets down on one knee and adds his own touches. “The buttons should line up with the belt and zipper,” he says quietly. He had a distant look on his face. As if something important is on his mind. “Now let’s put your shoes on.” I have no idea what made him be so serious all of the sudden, but I ignore it for now and slide my feet into the shoes. “Umm… I don’t know to tie these. C-can you show me?” I ask timidly. I don’t know what it is about the Captain, but being face-to-face with him is making me nervous. He gives me a small smile and takes the laces of my left shoe. “First you take one lace in each hand, then cross them, go under, loop it, swoop it, and pull,” he says as he ties my shoe. “Now you try.” I go through the steps he told me at a slower pace, but finish with the same results. “Good job,” he says as he puts a hand on my shoulder. The instant he makes contact he loses his smile and looks at me with concern. “Miles, why are you so cold?” “What? I did just come out of the shower,” I reply, only to get laughed at by the driver. “Su-Su-Susurrans,” he manages between chuckles. Susurrans just glares at him as he digs into his pocket. “Yeah, yeah, hold on, Apricis,” says the Captain as he takes out a gold credit and tosses it to him. As I look between the two, I can’t help but feel confused. Why is he giving him all that money, and why does he find my showering so funny? “Okay, now that we have that out of the way, let’s get down to brass tacks,” he says while returning his attention to me. “So this is basically how things will work from here on out: you will be living in this building with a roommate of the same grade. You’re going to be attending eight hours of school every day, except for Sundays and Saturdays; Saturday will be your elective day - they’ll explain what that is later - and Sundays you get off. The school will provide breakfast and dinner for you, but lunch is something you must get on your own. You will receive a weekly allowance of seven silver credits, but if your grades drop, so does your allowance. I'll drop by from time to time to check in on you, but for the most part it’s up to you to make it here. Think you can handle it?” Wow… Okay, this is a lot to take in. First off, FUCK YEAH! I didn’t know I was going to be paid for doing this! Jack-FUCKING-POT! But that’s only if I can get good grades, so I guess I’ll have to really study if I want to make some decent money here. I might be screwed there, but it won’t matter too much, because I’m already getting free food and a room with only one other person. I look at the Captain and reply, “Get along with at least one person, try hard to get good grades, and buy lunch. I think I can manage that.” This must make him happy, because he grows a pretty big smile and pats my back before standing back up. Hmmm… never had my back patted before. Feels kind of weird… The Captain and the driver -Apricis- lead me down the hall to another one of the teleporter platforms. This one is the same as the others, except for the etching on the wall - two masks: one looking really happy, and one looking really sad. Captain Bellum turns to me and says, “Okay, this is where we part ways. The platform will take you to the theater for orientation. Just go in, take a seat, and try your best to pay attention.” I nod and begin walking onto the platform, only to feel him grab my shoulder. I turn to face him, and he gets back on his knee to tell me one last thing. “I almost forgot. There’s one more very important thing you will need to do while you’re here,” he says seriously as he brings himself eye-level with me. “Make some friends.” Before I can even think of a response, he pushes me onto the platform and everything disappears in a flash of white. Author's Note The money system basically works like this: ten bronze coins to one silver, ten silver to a gold and ten gold to a platinum. Think of credits like bits. Chapter 3 OrientationChapter 3 Orientation In a white flash, I fall from the platform and crash into something and fall to the ground. At first I thought it was a stone wall, but the fabric on my face tells me otherwise. I open my eyes to see that I landed on a girl with short, light-brown hair, light tan skin, blue eyes, a narrow face, and a uniform just like mine. She seems to be my age, but as I lay there, I notice something very… wrong. She is buff as fuck. I thought I was pretty well toned, but this girl probably has twice as much muscle as I do! “You can get off me any time now,” she says to me with an irritated look. Her voice is pretty tomboyish, but still distinctly feminine. “Sorry,” I say with a light blush. As we both stand up I begin to fix my uniform, only to be stopped when the girl shoves me. “What the fuck was that for!?” I demand. “That’s for feeling me up, you creep,” she replies coldly. My heart stops as my eyes widen and a knot begins to form in my stomach. ‘Feel her up?’ What does that even mean? “I didn’t-” “What, just ‘cause I’m a girl, you think I’m weak?” “What? No, I-” “I bet I could knock a little guy like you out in ten seconds flat!” she says while getting in my face, setting her fists on her hips. “I’m not little!” I yell back as I get in her face. “You’re pretty short for a guy,” she replies with a smirk. “I’m a few centimeters taller than you,” I reply evenly. We continue our little stare down for what feels like an eternity. I really don't want to fight her. Not because she’s a girl, but because she’s a girl, and I don’t think I’d win. Thankfully, after a few more seconds of intense staring she breaks out into laughter. “BWAAAA-hahaha! Why are you so serious, man!? Gosh, if I didn’t know any better, I'd think you actually wanted to fight me!" Yeah... cause I want to be pulverized by a girl. "Bwahaha! You’re a laugh-riot man. What’s your name?” “Umm, I’m Miles Eremita,” I reply, relaxing a little knowing that I’m not about to lose a fight to a girl. “Oh, so formal, heh heh. I’m Fidus Cor. We should hang out some more! Where’re ya heading?” “Uh, I’m heading to orientation-” “OH! I am too; let’s go together! But it won’t start for, like, an hour, so let’s go get my sister!” Oh sweet Barbra. She has a sister. I don’t even want to imagine what her sister is going to be like, but I get the feeling that it involves an unnatural amount of muscle. I don’t know what possesses me to do so, but as she takes off into the crowd, I promptly follow her. As we make our way through, I take a moment to take in my surroundings. The room we’re in is very large. The walls extend up for two stories and are painted in a vertical-striped fashion, going from a light cream color to gold. The ceiling is a solid cream color, with a massive crystal chandelier in the middle. The chandelier has two tiers, each with an assortment of gems hanging from them. The gems are glowing white and are providing the majority of the light in the room, along with some wall lights spaced evenly along the walls. The floor is covered in a red carpet that has some sort of flower pattern throughout it. The wall behind me is covered in platform stations, while the walls to the left and right have various chairs, couches, and small tables. On the far end of the room, there are two sets of stairs that meet in the middle on our floor and curve up towards the second floor. On the top floor are rows of large stone doors with small signs posted on them. Most of the people in the room are kids roughly my age in uniform, but there are a few adults in the area as well. Most seem to be parents, but a few are in grey business suits with red or black ties. “Who’re the stiffs?” I ask while pointing out one of them. “Hmm? Oh, those are the professors. Most of them are okay, but watch for the one with the long blonde ponytail. He’s the dean of the school, so try not to get on his bad side.” Of course he is. We come up to a lone couch in the corner of the room, with a single person occupying it. She has long dirty-blonde hair that has gentle curls which cover half of her face. She looks fairly similar to Fidus, but is nowhere near as buff, and her eyes are a lighter blue. She doesn’t notice us as we approach because she’s reading a fairly large book. Fidus motions for me to stay put as she brings herself right up to the unsuspecting person’s face. “HEY TENERA!” “EEEEEP!” she screams as she falls off the couch and lands on the floor, with the book now on top of her head. “Oh, Fidus, you startled me,” she says timidly. After some giggles from the three of us, Fidus helps her to her feet and gives her a small hug before turning to me. “Hey, I want you to meet my new friend, Miles. Miles, this is my sister, Tenera.” Tenera doesn’t look at me during the introduction. Instead, she just looks down and away, trying to keep her face hidden behind her hair. She lightly taps her foot against the carpet as we stand there quietly. After a few more moments of awkward silence, I look to Fidus for answers, only to get a shrug and a small grin. “Soo… this is my first year here. Is it yours?” I ask. She glances up at me for a brief moment, before hiding behind her hair and mumbling an answer. “Uh, sorry, didn’t catch that. What did you say?” I ask, but only get quieter mumbles. I look back to Fidus for help, but she only puts her arm around Tenera and motions to the book in her hands. “So I see you have a pretty big book there. Those are hard to come by... Seems pretty interesting. What’s it about?” “It… it’s about the first space travelers,” she replies quietly. “Would you like to borrow it? I’ve read it a hundred times already.” “Uh, I would, but I can’t read, so-” “You can’t read!?” both Tenera and Fidus exclaim at the same time. Tenera seemed worried about this, while Fidus looked like she’s about to burst out laughing... again. “Uh, no, the orphanage never taught me-” “You’re from the orphanage?” Tenera asks. She seems unusually interested in my response, while Fidus just gives her some odd looks. “Well, yeah-” Before I can get anything else out, she rushes forward and wraps me up in a very tight hug. “Oh you poor, poor thing! It must have been horrible there! But don’t worry about that mean old place anymore; you’re in good hands here. If you want, I could help teach you to read and write and-” “Whoa! Slow down there, Tenera,” says Fidus as she pulls her off me. “I’m sure the school will do all that for him. Sheesh. Oh, and you,” she says while pointing to me. “Don’t get any funny ideas about my sister. One wrong move and I'll lay you out. Got it?” Both Tenera and I immediately blush and step away from each other. “I wasn’t going to-” “Oh, so what, she isn’t good enough for you?” she replies while shifting her stance and crossing her arms. All the while, Tenera is locked in a frozen state of embarrassment. Where the fuck is all this coming from? “I didn’t say that! I was just going to say-” “Oh, so she’s just not your type. What, you don’t like girls that you don’t get to feel up?” “Wh-diJ-wuh NO! THAT’S NOT IT EITHER! AND THAT WAS AN ACCIDENT!” I yell as I take another step away from Tenera. A few people start to look over at us, making me blush even more. “Pretty convenient accident if ya ask me,” she says evenly with an evil grin. I’m about to go off on her, when my thought process is interrupted by the sound of bells going off. I’ve heard these bells before from the orphanage; they’re made to go off every hour, and always play the same little tune. The only difference this time is that they’re a lot louder here. I think they’re held up in the building somewhere. At the sound of the bells, Fidus immediately looks at her watch, and then back to us. “Well, it’s time for orientation. Let’s get going so we can get some good seats.” And with that, she grabs both me and Tenera, and starts heading up the stairs to the auditorium. I give Tenera a questioning look - which she only shrugs to - and walk along with her. I guess it’s normal for Fidus to act this way. We walk through the double doors into the auditorium, and my jaw drops to the floor. This place is way bigger than I thought it would be! The ceiling goes up for what looks like three stories and curves inward in four spots. In the center of these domes are large chandeliers, each adorned with white glowing lights and gold trim. The walls are painted in a rich dark red, with gold finish on the edges, and have hanging lights at regular intervals. There are hundreds of rows of red cushioned seats filling the floor around us, leaving room for only three aisles; the one we’re in is in the center, and the other two are by the walls. All the seats face towards a stage that’s set higher than the ground we’re on. It has black flooring, with red curtains covering the back wall. To the left of the stage is a single black podium with a small microphone on it. As we continue walking forward, I turn my head to look behind me… and then my jaw finds itself on the floor again. Covering half of the seats on our floor is a balcony with its own seats. Halfway above that one is another balcony with seats. Just how many seats do they need here? “So, what… architecture gets you off?” Fidus asks with a playful smile. “Is she always like this?” I ask Tenera. “*sigh* Sadly, yes,” she responds. Fidus gives her a playful nudge on the arm as we all giggle a little. We take our seats in the center of a row that’s about halfway to the stage. When I look at the seat, I get a little confused; the part I should sit on is pointing upwards. I’m about to ask how the seats work, when I see Fidus and Tenera sit down. Oh, duh, they fold down. I take my seat and do a double-take. “What’s the matter?” asks Tenera. “This is the most comfy thing I’ve ever sat on,” I reply in astonishment. How could anything be more comfy than the seat in that car? This to be some kind of magical spell thing. “Eh, I’ve had better,” replies Fidus. I look at her in disbelief. There is no way there is anything in all of Terra more comfy than this seat right here. As I get cozy in my seat, the auditorium quickly begins to fill with more and more students. I notice that the upper levels are filling with what looks like a combination of parents and staff, while the lower level only has students. As I continue to look around, all of the lights suddenly begin to dim, except for one that is shining down on the podium. Once the lights are practically off, a man comes out from behind the curtains and stands behind the podium. He seems pretty short, and really fat. He has short brown hair that’s on the sides of his head, but some of it is combed to the side; a sad attempt to cover his balding problem. He’s wearing the same grey suit as the others, a red tie, and big thick glasses on his face. “Ahem. M-may I have your attention please?” he asks in a nasally voice. “Welcome to this year at Stella Ficor. I am the Dean of Admissions, Professor Scolaris. I will be leading orientation, but before we continue with that, let me introduce the other deans.” As he says this, a line of seven people walk onto the stage and face the crowd. They all wear similar clothing: grey business suits with red ties. I didn’t really pay much attention to most of them; the only one that caught my attention was the tall blonde one on the end. “Finally, Dean of Administration, Professor Altum Stans.” Once introduced, the deans did a slight bow and exited the stage to the right with the others. “Uggh. If it keeps up like this, I’m going to pass out from boredom,” whines Fidus. “You may to need to know some of this, sis. Try to stay awake. If you can, that is,” Tenera replies weakly. The Dean of Admissions spends the next hour talking about different requirements for classes and what’s to be expected from all the students and blah bah blah. Fidus passes out ten minutes into it, and I only last around twenty... I think. I wake up to Tenera lightly poking my shoulder. I rub my eyes for a second, but then realize that Fidus and I are using each other for support, and quickly stand up. This makes her fall onto my seat and jolt awake. “Huh? What’s going on? *yawn* What’d I miss?” she asks while getting up and stretching. “Oh, um, well, it’s time for our group orientation,” answers Tenera. “Didn’t we just do orientation?” I ask while rubbing my eyes and stretching as well. “Well, yes, but that was mainly for the parents. This orientation is meant to get us acquainted with the school and to assign classes," she tells me,making me nod. I don't completely understand, but that's what I get for falling asleep. “Okay then,” I reply sleepily. “Where do we go?” “You just go to the Mico platform that’s assigned to your group.” “Hmmm… Okay, you wouldn’t happen to know what group I’m in, would you?” “They’re divided by last name, so you just need to go to the group that has this symbol on its sign,” she says as she pulls a piece of paper out from her book and writes a symbol. “Thanks,” I say as I take the paper and put it into my pocket. I wonder why she’s so kind to me; we only met an hour ago and now she's ripping pages from her book for me. Whatever, better this than being alone. As we make our way out to the lobby, I see that many small groups have already begun to form. At the center of each group is a large white sign with a black symbol on it. I pull out my piece of paper and quickly match it to one of the groups in the center. I turn back to the girls and say, “Well, that’s my group. Guess I’ll see you around, then.” Tenera gives me a small hug and says, “We’ll see you around. You be sure to come by the library so we can work on your reading. If you want to, that is…” Fidus comes to my side and gives me a hard slap on the back. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, reading, shmeading. If you ever want to find me, I’ll probably be at the gym. So be sure to swing by so we can hang some time, alright?” I give them a quick nod and head towards my group. It has around forty or fifty people in it already. After a few minutes of just standing there alone, I finally work up the courage to go talk to someone. I look around for a few seconds, trying to find the best candidate to fix my loneliness, but most of the people in my group have already formed their own circles. I continue to walk around until I see two guys standing next to each other, not talking to anyone. The one on the left is roughly my height, with pale white skin, brown eyes, and neck-long dark brown hair that’s brushed back. He’s of average build and wears the same uniform as the rest of the students. The other one is a little shorter than me, with light brown skin, blue eyes, and a shaved head like mine. He’s pretty skinny, but still looks like he weighs more than I do. I walk up beside them and am about to introduce myself, when the one on the right begins to speak. “Look, I’ll ask him just to prove you wrong,” he says in a rather booming voice while gesturing towards me. The other person just shrugs in response, not really caring about whatever it is they're talking about. “Hey! Come here real quick; I need you to help with something,” he says while motioning for me to come closer. I’m a little hesitant at first, but this is sort of what I was after, so I approach the two of them. “What do you need help with?” I ask as I stand there. “Before I ask, you must promise that you’ll help, no matter what. Do you promise?” he asks with a very serious look. “I-” “And once you make a promise, you must never ever in all of forever break that promise, or else.” “Or else what?” “EXACTLY!” I’m not sure what horrible things would happen if I were to break this promise, but the look on his face gives me a pretty good idea. So I decide it would be best to just humor him. “I promise,” I reply, which sends him into a much brighter mood. “Knock, knock,” he says, making the other person shake his head. I stare at him, trying to see if he's serious, before finally replying. “Uh, who’s there?” I ask. “Interrupting applause,” he replies, with a massive smile on his face. I can see where this is going, but I decide a bad joke is better than finding out what ‘or else’ meant. “Interr-” before I can answer, he begins clapping and whistling as loud as he can. He quickly draws the attention of every person in the room. As I look around, I begin to realize that everybody is staring at me instead of him! I can feel the blood rush to my cheeks as I try to get this kid to calm down. “Okay, okay, funny, ha ha, you got me, can you stop now?” He finally stops his applauding, only to fall on the floor in a fit of laughter. With his counterpart down, the other person begins to speak. “Sorry about that. My friend here has a reputation for being… strange. Most people around here know not to fall for his jokes.” His voice is quiet yet understandable. He seems to hold himself in a dignified manner. Not quite posh, but pretty close. “And you couldn’t warn me because…” “He made me promise not to.” He sounds so sad to tell me that. Oddly enough, I somehow understand. “AND YOU CAN NEVER EVER BREAK YOUR PROMISE, OR ELSE!” the first guy screams while jumping out from behind me, scaring the crap out of me. “My name is Eximius,” the other one says rather calmly, “and the joker there is Inficiunt Gaudium, but most people call him ‘Cunt’ for short.” “Hey, no they don’t! Only you do that,” replies Inficiunt, his face pouting. “Why do they - or you - call him cunt?” I ask. Inficiunt gives me a skeptical look before asking, “Do you know what a cunt is?” I give it some thought before shaking my head. This makes both of them fall on the floor in a laughing frenzy. I’m a little confused, but soon realize that people are still looking at me, so I try to get them to stop. “So anyway, my name is Miles Eremita.” Inficiunt continues to laugh, but Eximius is able to get himself under control enough to respond. “N-nice to - haha - meet you, *chuckle* Miles.” Well… at least he’s trying. Inficiunt, on the other hand… “Oh man… ha ha, ho ho…” After a few more chuckles and wiping the tear away, he finally gets up. “That was too funny! Oh man, I haven’t laughed that hard since… yesterday! You’re a funny little guy Miles. We’ve got to hang out some more.” “Oh sweet Barbra, I’m not little!” Inficiunt and Eximius look at each other before Eximius asks, “Who’s Barbra?” DING DING DING Before I can answer, a man in one of the grey suits begins to ring a bell he’s holding. “Alright, students with last names starting with the letters ‘E’, ‘F’, ‘G’, and ‘H’, follow me,” he says as he walks towards one of the platforms. “That’s us,” says Eximius as he begins to walk with the group. I catch up with him and ask, “Wait, what is your last name, anyway?” “I don’t have one,” he replies. “Really? Huh… Okay, I guess.” I don’t know why, but I find it really odd that he doesn’t have a last name. Whatever, if he doesn’t want to tell me, he doesn’t have to. Our group is led to a platform that is three times the size of the one that brought me here. “Okay,” says the man in grey, “groups of ten. Once you’re on the other side, just take a seat and wait for me.” With that, the first group steps onto the platform and vanishes with a flash. “By the way, what did you need help with, Inficiunt?” I ask while the next group gets onto the platform and vanishes. “Huh? Oh, right! Well I had tried to tell the same joke to Eximius, but he ruined it by giving away the ending; then he said that it wasn’t a very good joke, but I said it would have been better if he didn’t ruin it by jumping to the punch line - like he always does,” he says -in one breath- while giving a dirty look to Eximius, “so I decided to try it on another person, and then you came up, and BAM! Hilarity.” OK… I’m not sure how he said all of that in one breath, but it’s our turn to take the platform, so I ignore it for now and take my place. In a blinding flash, we’re sent to the next room. We appear in a white square room with dark grey carpet. Along the walls are pictures of different smiling people, along with captions. There are three rows of seats, all facing away from me towards a hallway. Throughout the hallway are open doorways that I can’t see into. Most of the seats are filled, but the three of us manage to find some that are together. Once we sit down, another flash appears and more people begin taking seats while the man in grey walks to the front of the room. “Alright, I'm going to call your name and then tell you who your counselor is,” he says while he looks over a tablet, wiping his finger from side to side. He lifts an eyebrow then looks up. “First up: Miles Eremita, you are going to see Counselor Charta Operari.” I get up and begin to walk down to the hall. As I go, all the other kids are whispering and watching me. Inficiunt and Eximius have a confused look, but don’t say anything as I leave. I approach the man in grey and ask, “Which one is he?” “He’s the fourth one to the right,” he tells me quickly. At least I know some numbers. I walk down the hall, counting the doors. As I turn the corner to the fourth room, I stop dead in my tracks. “Hello Miles.” “C-captain?” Chapter 4 PowerChapter 4 Power “So, how goes the friend hunt?” says the Captain from behind his desk. He’s sitting in a small office chair with his feet up on the table, and his green jacket is hanging on the back of the seat, revealing his white button-up shirt. “What are you doing here, Susurrans?” I ask. “First off, come in and shut the door already. Secondly, while in uniform, it’s ‘Captain Bellum’. And lastly, I’m here to sign you up for classes.” I gawk at him for a second before finally shutting the door and taking a seat. The room we're in is fairly small. There’s a large metal desk in the center, with a computer and several picture frames on it. There are two metallic seats in front of the desk and one in the corner to my right. In the back two corners are filling cabinets, each with little knick knacks on top of them. The walls are the same white as out front, and the one on the left has a thumb board with various papers on it. “Okay, but what are you doing here?” I ask as I stare at him some more. “What? I can’t come and visit after all this time?” “It’s only been a few hours,” I reply flatly. “And what a few hours they have been,” he says with a large smile on his face. He drops his feet to the floor and leans his elbows onto the desk. “I was planning on doing this anyway, so once I dropped you off, I made my way here. But I have other business to attend to later, and I couldn’t wait for you to be called normally. So I bumped you to the top of the list.” “Is that why I was getting weird looks from everyone?” “It wasn’t very alphabetical, now was it?” “I guess not.” If I knew what the alphabet was I would get it, but I don't. Captain Bellum gives a small laugh before he turns to the computer and begins typing away. “So… classes. Do you know what you want yet?” “Umm…” “You went to sleep during orientation, didn’t you?” he asks as he glances at me from the screen. “Y-yeah, but I couldn't help it! It was so boring and-” “Don’t worry about it,” he says with a small grin. “Most people fall asleep during it anyway. Plus, you just made me some money, so don’t worry about it too much.” “How did I make you some money?” “So! You’re going to need an English class,” he says while ignoring my question. “Let’s see. Ah, bingo! Reading and Writing Fundamentals; check. How good are you at math?” “I know some numbers…” “Pre-algebra Fundamentals then; check. What do you think about history?” “Uh…” “History 101; got it. Do you like science?” “…” “Well?” “I don’t know…” “Great! You’re doing Science Fundamentals. Have you ever used a computer before?” “Once…” “Awesome! Typing 101 it is then. Now, before we sign up for an elective, I have to check something,” he says as he pulls out a metal contraption and sets it on the table. The main part of the device is a flat metallic box, about five centimeters thick, forty centimeters wide, and thirty centimeters long. Half of its top is taken up by a black screen, and the other half has a few knobs and buttons on it. A long, thick black wire comes out from the side, and ends in a metallic cylinder with a red button on the end and grooves along the side, making it easier to hold on to. “Okay, what I need you to do is to hold onto this handle and squeeze real hard. Don’t let go of the handle until I say so, and don’t press the red button. Got it?” I nod and take the cold handle into my hand, then squeeze as hard as possible. He pushes a green button, and the screen flips up, facing the Captain. Once up, the screen begins to glow green and the Captain begins to twist the knobs. After a few seconds, I feel a jolt of energy hit my hand and I jump up with a small yell. At the same time, the back of the box explodes and sends a billow of black smoke into the air. Soon after, an alarm goes off and sprinklers begin drenching the room. “What’s going on?!” I yell over the water. The Captain’s about to answer, but is cut off when the door’s kicked in. I turn to see a two meter tall metallic man standing in the doorway. He has two large yellow lights for eyes, and lacks any other major facial features. The body is made entirely of metal that is painted all black, with a white stripe going down the left side of the chest and ending with a gold badge in the middle. “You are in danger,” it says in a monotone voice as it picks me up and carries me out of the room on its shoulder. I try to squirm out of its grasp, but no matter how hard I try, it won’t budge. I’m brought back to the waiting room from earlier, and am set down in the front of the now-wet group. Everyone is standing and talking very loudly to one another, while the man in grey tries to calm them down. There are four more of the metallic men standing in the corners of the room, with four closet-size holes in the wall behind them. Once the man in grey sees me, he comes straight over, rage covering his face. “What on Terra happened in there?!” he yells at me. Before I can answer, Captain Bellum walks up beside me and says, “Just a little mishap with the potestatem reader, nothing big.” Before the man in grey can yell a response, a flash draws all of our attention. Standing on the Mico platform is Altum Stans, looking really pissed off. He takes one look around, then makes his way to the nearest closet and enters it. After a few seconds, the water stops spraying and all the metallic men walk back into their closets, with the doors sliding shut behind them. Altum walks back out and storms over to me, staring daggers. He stops in front of me and asks, “Care to explain why an entire floor of the school is now soaking wet?” “Well…” “He blew up a potestatem reader.” I swing my head to Captain Bellum in astonishment. Great! He’s going to blame this on all me! I really don’t like this guy. Altum looks from Bellum, to me, and then back to him. “That’s impossible; no one can blow those up. They’re made to withstand power levels even I can’t reach.” “If you don’t believe me, go and check for yourself,” Bellum says with a smug look as he crosses his arms. Altum points at me and says, “Don’t move,” as he quickly walks down the hall to the room. Captain Bellum looks to me and gives me a small smile before he follows after him. As they leave, Inficiunt and Eximius approach me from out of the group, looking very concerned. “What - in all of Terra - happened in there?” asks Eximius. “Yeah! And how do we turn the sprinklers back on?!” asks Inficiunt, only to get a quick glare from Eximius. “I don’t know! I was signing up for classes, and he told me to squeeze this metal thing. Then it exploded, everything started getting wet, and I get dragged out by a metal man!” I yell back, but glare at Inficiunt as he begins to giggle. “What is so funny?” At this, Inficiunt breaks into another fit of laughter, while Eximius is trying his best to hold his own back, but is failing. Before either of them are able to recover, Altum and Captain Bellum return from the room and approach the three of us. “You’re coming with us,” Altum says coldly. He then turns and approaches the man in grey, who is in the back of the room, talking with students. Both Inficiunt and Eximius stop laughing and turn to Captain Bellum. “Miles isn’t in trouble, is he?” asks Inficiunt. “No, he’s not in trouble, but we do need to have a word with him in private,” replies Captain Bellum as he begins to walk to the back of the room, rubbing his chin while thinking deeply. “Well, I guess I should follow them,” I say to Eximius and Inficiunt. “I’ll see you guys around.” “Definitely!” says Inficiunt. “You can find me in the performing arts floor anytime.” “And you can find me on the arcane science floor almost any time as well, so be sure to stop by sometime,” says Eximius as he gives me a broad smile. “Miles, let’s get going!” yells Altum from the platform. I shrug and give a small smile to Eximius and Inficiunt as I make my way onto the platform, and disappear in another flash. From the theater, we make our way to another platform and teleport to a room similar to the one we just left, except this one is much smaller, with different pictures hanging on the walls… and it’s dry. We make our way down to the end of the hall and make a left. This hall only has one door, which is at the end. “Susurrans,” says Altum as we make our way down the hall, “why are you still here?” “Because I know how much you love having me around,” he replies with a smug smile. Altum shakes his head and grumbles to himself as we approach the door. The door slides opens to reveal another one of the offices, except that this one is much better furbished. The back wall is covered by a bookshelf, while the side walls have numerous plaques and framed pieces of paper. In the center of the room is a metal desk with a single computer. Altum sits in the seat behind the desk and begins typing away, while Captain Bellum and I sit in the seats in front. A few moments go by before I ask, “Am I in trouble?” Altum lets out a long sigh before replying. “Maybe. We have to check something first.” As he finishes with whatever he was typing, he pulls out another one of the potestatem readers. “First, we have to make sure that you didn't cheat,” he says while glancing at Bellum. I grab the metal handle bar and nod to Altum, who is about to turn the machine on when Captain Bellum yells, “Wait, wait, wait!” and quickly runs out of the room. A minute later, he comes back and says to Altum, “OK, go ahead.” “What did you do?” Altum asks. “I turned the fire alarm off for the floor.” “Why would you… never mind. Let’s just get this over with,” Altum says as he makes the screen flip up and begins twisting knobs. “We’re waiting on you,” says Captain Bellum as he takes his seat. “Shut up. Okay, just hold onto the handle and don’t press the red button,” he says to me while pushing buttons and twisting knobs. Once done, he looks to me while hovering his finger over the green button. I tighten my grasp on the handle and give him a nod, getting him to press the button. Once again, a jolt of energy makes me jump out of my seat as the back of the box explodes, sending smoke into the room. Having no escape, smoke quickly fills the room, and we are forced to leave. Once we’re a safe distance away from the smoke - and our coughing has subsided - Altum looks at me with disbelief. “I don’t get *cough cough* it. How could you have so much power at such a young age? This is - *cough* - this is unbelievable!” Altum says while trying to regain his composure. I look down at my hands in disbelief. Power? I never thought I was strong, but the way he makes it sound, I don’t know what to think… “Am I going to be okay?” I ask. “Don’t worry too much about it,” says Captain Bellum. “Unless you’re using magic you don't understand, you shouldn't have any problems. But when you use magic, just…” He trails off as he walks slowly away, rubbing his chin. “So, I am going to be able to use magic?” I ask. “At your level, yeah. Magic won’t be a problem for you,” Captain Bellum says, returning his gaze to me. Altum looks at me for a second before walking off into one of the rooms in the main hallway. Captain Bellum and I exchange a glance before following him. We enter a room similar to the room where I first tried the potestam reader, except this one is barren. Altum is typing away on a computer, so Captain Bellum walks up behind him and brings his face down to read the screen better. After a few more moments of typing and clicking, Altum leans back and looks at Bellum. Bellum looks over the screen for a bit before he stands straight and walks away, rubbing his chin again. “With his kind of power, you know it wouldn't be a problem,” says Altum as he leans his chin on one hand. “I know, but…” “But what? I put in some time for him to learn the basics. Once he learns to control his power, this won’t be a problem.” “What’s going on?” I ask. “He wants to put you in the high honors class,” Captain Bellum says. “Only after you learn some basics from arcane kindergarten,” Altum cuts in. “He’s going to miss out on too much!" Captain Bellum yells at Altum as he paces back and forth. “Pfft, please. If we were to keep him in such a remedial class, it would only serve to hold him back.” “It’s more than the basics, Altum; he’s going to miss out on different spells.” “He can learn them whenever.” “What about power control? That’s not something you can learn in a week, even if you were to study it constantly - you have to build it up over time!” Altum thinks about this for a few seconds, before his face lights up with an idea and he runs out towards the smoky room. “Can you use magic?” I ask. Captain Bellum looks down at me and thinks for a second before he answers. “Yeah.” “How long did it take you to get control of it?” He looks away for a while before turning back to me and saying, “It took me a month.” “Only one month?” He nods. “Well, why don’t I just try it out for that long and see how I do? Then I can choose whether or not to go to that class.” “It’s not that simple. I had… an amazing teacher…” He turns away from me as Altum returns to the room and dumps a bunch of stuff onto the desk. There are two dark grey metal rings, four brass braces, two silver rings, and one long metal cylinder that has a black spot - with etchings all along it - wrapped around each end, near the edge. Captain Bellum takes one look and is instantly angered. “Really, Altum? Potestam annuls?! You can’t be that stupid.” Altum gives Captain Bellum an annoyed look and says, “Watch it, Susurrans. Also, he’s going to need them anyway after we mark him. Once he learns some control he can take them off.” Captain Bellum seems to accept this, but I’m a little worried. ‘Mark’ me? What the fuck does that mean? My concern must be pretty obvious, because Captain Bellum puts a hand on my shoulder and kneels down to be eye-level with me. “Don’t worry. The marking hurts, but it only takes a short time.” Man I hate it when he does that. One minute he’s pulling jokes and being all sarcastic, and then at the drop of a hat, he gets all serious and sentimental. “*sigh* Let’s just get it over with,” I say. Captain Bellum gives me another pat on the back before taking the cylinder and presenting it to me. “Okay, so this is how it works. You see the blackened parts?” I nod. “You need to put your hands there and squeeze. Once you do, the black parts are going to turn red and sting a little. No matter what, you cannot let go until they turn back to black. Do you understand?” “Yeah, but, what happens if I let go?” Captain Bellum tightens his lips for a second before he says, “You could lose your soul.” “WHAT!” I yell. “I could lose my soul?!” He nods. “Shouldn’t something like this be done, I don’t know, somewhere cleaner, or more… not so casual?” “It wouldn’t matter,” says Altum as he gets out of the chair and stands behind Bellum. “In here, in a hospital, or in some gutter; it wouldn’t matter. To receive the mark, all you need is a Virgum de Marcas, and a soul.” I can’t believe this. This feels kind of… out of place. I feel as if this should be done with a little more… I don’t know. I look to Captain Bellum, who only closes his eyes and nods to me. I sigh, taking the cylinder and place my hands at the appropriate places, then begin to squeeze. As I do so, I can feel the etchings in the metal dig into my skin a little. If this is the sting he was talking about, this won’t be so bad. Captain Bellum stands back and watches me closely as I hold onto the bar tightly. A few moments go by and not much happens. I continue to squeeze, but my hands are starting to get tired. I look to Altum and ask, “How long am I going to have to keep this up?” “It shouldn’t be much longer,” he says as he leans against the wall. I sigh again and continue to squeeze. Hopefully, it will start soon. After a few minutes go by, my hands are begging me to let go. The only thing keeping them on is sheer will, and even that’s starting to fade. I look down to my hands and notice the marks are starting to turn red - finally! “Hey, I think its star—AAAGGGHH!” I scream as I feel sharp pains on my hands. I look down to that see that the entire bar is now glowing bright red. In my pain I try to let go, but my hands aren’t able to leave the bar. It feels as if the metal has fused with my skin and is sucking all of the energy out of my body. “Something’s not right here,” says Captain Bellum. “The entire bar isn’t supposed to glow!” “With his power, it makes sense,” says Altum as he steps closer. My hands begin to shake as I drop to my knees. This thing is going to suck all of the energy out of me, great. Fucking great. Suddenly, the bar turns bright white and begins to double the amount of energy it’s sucking from me. I look at my hands and see that they’ve turned bright red and have stopped shaking. “This isn’t right… we have to stop!” says Captain Bellum. He tries reaching for me, only to be pulled back by Altum. “Now who’s being stupid? We can't stop, you know that!” Suddenly, the bar stops sucking energy, and is now just glowing white. Finally. As I take a moment to catch my breath, I look up to them and say, “*pant* I think…*pant* I think it’s done. That really su—AAAAAAGGGHH!” All of a sudden, jets of energy are being pushed back into me from the bar. Every push feels like hot needles being forced through my body. I look down at my hands to see black lines are forming along my arms. The lines are a few centimeters thick and don’t really follow any path. Some end in points, while others curve around my arm, but none of the lines ever cross. With every wave of energy, the lines crawl up my arms some more, and my agony increases. The lines are three-fourths of the way up my arms when I begin to feel the same pain form on my heels. Before I can look down, a massive wave hits me and forces my eyes shut with pain. “W-wh-what’s g-g-goi-ing on?” I plead, but get no response. Sweat is forming all over my body as I begin to shake a little from all this. A few more waves hit me, and I look back at my arms and legs. The arm lines are now a little past my upper arms, while the leg lines are up to my knees… wait, I can see my knees! As the next wave hits me, I force myself to watch the lines on my legs. As they grow, they burn my clothes off. Somehow, my burning clothes don’t burn me. I look to Captain Bellum for answers, but see he’s left the room. I turn to Altum, but stop when I see his expression - he’s enjoying this. He has his arms somewhat crossed while he bites his left fingernails. His eyes are wide open and he has the most twisted smile I’ve ever seen. A few more waves hit me, giving the same amount of pain as before. I’m now pouring sweat from all over and am on the verge of collapsing. Captain Bellum steps back in and takes his place next to Altum. I look up to him and plead, “Please! M-make it st-stop!” He looks down at me with the saddest eyes before leaving the room again, followed by cries from me as the next wave hits. Out of nowhere, the energy stops pouring into me; all I feel is the numbness of my body. The lines now completely cover my legs, arms, and chest. As I sit there, naked, I begin to relax, glad that it’s all over. I try to get up, but none of my limbs respond. So I sit in a pool of my sweat, happy to be done with it. “Don’t get too comfy,” Altum says coldly. “You’ve got one more.” I look at him in disbelief, and scream at the top of my lungs as my back explodes in a burst of painful energy. Instead of being gradual like before, this one is taking up all of my back at once. As I scream out in pain, the lights begin to dim until they’re completely out. A few minutes after the lights go out, the pain stops and I drop the bar. I look around and notice that light is now coming from me. I look down at my hands and see that each palm now has a set of black rings: one taking up most of my palm, and a smaller one inside of it. In-between are different symbols and glyphs, filling the empty space. From inside the center ring, white energy flows. It looks like a small campfire has formed in my hands, but it doesn’t burn me. I look at my heels to find similar rings have formed, with similar energy pouring out. “Oh my,” Captain Bellum mutters from the doorway. I look at him and offer a small smile before passing out. Chaper 5 What Friends Are ForChapter 5 What Friends Are For As I begin to regain consciousness, I immediately recall my most recent memories and jolt upright. I'm currently in a narrow bed that has red and black blankets and pillows. A short and narrow foot locker is at the end of the bed, and has a folded piece of paper on top of it. Above me is an empty shelf that extends the entire length of the bed. Across from the footlocker is an open door with an almost-empty closet behind it; the only contents are some uniforms similar to the one I had earlier. On the opposite side of the room is a bed like mine, but with blue blankets instead. The shelf on top of this bed is filled with various photos and knick knacks. The foot locker at the end is open, and I can see random clothes and junk inside. There is a closet door across from all this, and in between that door and mine, there’s a small hallway with a third door. I look down at my arms and chest, and sigh in relief to see that the lines and marks are now gone. I pause for a moment, then lift my blanket up, and... yup! I'm still naked. Fucking Bellum. I’m about to get up, when I realize two things: one, THIS BED IS THE MOST COMFY THING EVER! And two, towards the top of my upper arms are thin, grayish metal rings. The rings fit snugly on my arms and are smooth to the touch. After a few moments of inspecting them, I decide to get dressed. As I get up to go to the closet across from me, the center door swings open, revealing a dark-skinned kid in a uniform, with a shaved head, brown eyes, and a toothbrush in his mouth. He takes one look at me and freezes. After an awkward moment of silence, he slowly backs out of the room, shutting the door after him. I really hate Bellum right now. I get dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and pants, before opening the door to find the kid from earlier sitting there. He takes one look at me and cringes as he gets up. He then walks right past me into the room, and goes straight to his foot locker. I shut the door and stand at the end of the hallway. "Sooo... Sorry about earlier." He looks at me, then cringes again as he goes back to rummage through his foot locker. "I'm Miles, by the way." Silence. "So what’s your name?" He looks at me again and stares for a bit, before asking, "Why are you here?" "I, uh... I'm not completely sure, but I think I'm your roommate." He stands up and looks me over for a bit, before shrugging and going to his bed. "If so, you've got a letter," he says as he lies down. I pick it up and open it - finding seven silver credits inside - and begin to look over the letter. Words... words... Hey, look! A number!... more words. "So what does it say?" "How should I know? I can’t read," I say as I look back to him. "You can't read?" I shake my head. "*sigh* Bring it here." I walk over and hand him the letter. He sits up and begins to read it over. "So what’s your name?" I ask to end the awkward silence. Once finished with the letter, he gets back out of bed and puts it in his pocket. He then looks back to me and says, "I’m Dolum Ostendere. Come on, I'll tell you about the letter over breakfast." I’m about to protest, but my stomach yells at me, so I pocket the money and follow Dolum out of our room. We walk into a hallway; the walls here are a warm gold color, and the floor has red carpeting. Evenly throughout the hall are red doors with golden numbers on them, and lights on the walls between every other room. I shut the door behind me and take a look at it. ‘1’... ‘3’... ‘3’... ‘7’. OK, I have to remember this. As we make our way down the left corridor, I turn to Dolum and ask, "So do you know how I got here? To our room, that is." "No idea. But I never really notice anything about that side of the room. It’s usually empty." "So you've never had a roommate?" He shakes his head. "How long have you been coming here?" "Like, three years now," he says as he tightens his lips. "And in three years you've never had a single roommate? Why?" Dolum stops and gives me a confused look before asking, "Isn't it obvious?" he asks, as he points to his face. I turn to him and think it over. He doesn't seem weird or anything; so far he's been pretty nice, given the circumstances. I can’t really think of anything that would make me not want to be friends with him. I look him in the eye and say, “Well, if it is obvious, I can’t see it. You seem like a cool guy, and I can’t think of anything wrong with sharing a room with you." Dolum looks stunned by my remark. He then chuckles lightly while shaking his head, and continues down the hall. "So, I seem coo-" "DOLUM!" From behind, some white girl in a white button-up shirt and blue skirt runs up to us and throws her arms around Dolum, squeezing him in a hug. Dolum is surprised at first, but quickly turns around and returns the hug. "I've missed you so much, Doly! Why didn't you come see me when I got back?" I want to ask who she is, but I’m a little distracted at the moment... Doly? Da fuck? "Sorry, Auxy. I was actually on my way to see you, but when I got to my room..." He motions over to me, so she looks over and immediately lets go of Dolum. "Hi. I'm Miles; I'm Dolum's new roommate." I say as she tries to compose herself. "I-I'm Auxilium; I'm Dolum's betrothed." she says timidly. I look between the two in slight confusion, before asking, "What's a ‘betrothed’?" "It means that when we’re old enough, we’re going to be married," Dolum says as he puts an arm around Auxilium, making her blush. "Oh, OK, so—wh-dij-duh-wha! Married! But you’re-! And she's-! What!?" Dolum only smiles at my confusion, while Auxilium buries her face in his chest from embarrassment. "B-but you’re, like, eight!" "We're not married yet, but when we can, we will be. Our families had an arrangement before we were born, so we've been together ever since," he says as he looks down at Auxilium, who’s still hiding her face. "O-OK... I guess..." I don't really know what to make of this, but my stomach’s yelling at me again, so we all continue on to get breakfast. The hall leads us us to a large, open room. Large red cushioned seats fill the center of the room, divided into four seating areas. To our left and right are more hallways, while the wall across from us has five of those platforms from the other day. We continue to the center platform, which has a fork and knife etched into the the wall behind it. Auxilium goes onto the platform first, then Dolum, and I follow afterward. I re-appear in a large, open room that has light grey walls, white linoleum flooring, and a single-level chandelier hanging in the center of the room. Most of the room is filled with rows of metal tables and benches, and there’s a metal rail forming a path that runs from my right to the opposite side of the room, moving along the wall. The wall on the other side is mostly open, showing a fairly large kitchen. Dolum and Auxilium have already made it most of the way to the kitchen, so I follow them down the path. As I walk, I gaze at all the students in the room. There are enough to fill the line up about halfway, or enough to fill around three-fifths of the seats. Most are in the green uniforms, but there are a good number in the white ones as well. I soon notice that many of the students are giving me weird looks and then turning to their friends and whispering things. As I catch up to Dolum and Auxilium, I ask, "So what's the deal with the white and blue uniforms?" Auxilium turns to me and says, "They're the uniforms for students not in the military." As we move forward with the line, I ask, "So you’re not-" "Miles!" I turn around to see Inficiunt and Eximius running up to me, along with some guy I don't know. "Hey guys! What's going on?" I ask casually. "I thought you could tell us," says Eximius as they come to a stop before me. "What happened to you? Like, no more than twenty minutes-" "Nineteen minutes, twenty-six seconds," interjects Inficiunt. "Whatever! After you left, there was this huge power surge, and then the lights went out for, like, ten floors!" Wow! I remember the lights in the room going out, but ten floors!? "Yeah, it was fun being in the dark and all, but the power surge was pretty freaky," says Inficiunt with a worried look. "Did you have something to do with that, Miles?" asks Auxilium. Before I can answer, I hear my name being called again. I look back to see Fidus, Tenera, and another guy I don’t know running up to us. "Miles! Were you streaking yesterday?!" screams Fidus as she approaches us. My cheeks instantly begin to burn as I look around the room - everyone is looking at me. I've never seen so many eyes in my life, and they're all looking straight at me. "Is that why you were naked in my room?" asks Dolum with an evil smile. "HA! I told you it was him!" says the stranger next to Fidus - who is, along with Inficiunt, now dying from laughter. "HAHAHAHA! Oh... I knew you were a perv, but - ooh, this is too much!" laughs Fidus. "So, why were you naked? That is, if you don't mind telling us," asks Tenera. I’m about to answer, when I see that we’re next in line. With another growl from my stomach, I grab a plate and begin to get some food. It’s being served in metal trays that are held over hot water, and above it is a long windowpane. The food itself varies from green gooey paste to small red pellets. As I fill my plate, I see that the person who came with Fidus is next to me; he's a bit shorter than I am, but is... hefty. He has bright blonde hair, light blue eyes, and chubby cheeks. "So, who are you, and how did you know about my... ‘little incident’?" I ask. "I'm Sine Lacet, and I saw that captain and the dean carrying you down the hall. I wanted to know what was going on, but I didn't really see your face; so I started asking around to see if anyone knew. That's when Fidus told me about you, and how you were ‘the only perv she knew who would end up like that’. So we tried to find you, but couldn't until just now." I make it to the registers and look down at my plate. I must have taken something from every tray, because there’s no room left there. Once everyone else has their food, we make our way to the nearest table that can seat all of us. As we walk, I look to the other stranger in the group. He's roughly my height, with elbow-length hair that’s braided back, grey eyes, and a narrow face. As I examine him, I ask, "And you are?" "Oh, right, how rude of me. I am Dare Libere; I'm an acquaintance of Inficiunt here." I notice that the way he speaks sounds a little more refined than the others, but ignore it and ask, "So what happened to the power?" "Well, I was down in the library, reading up on Ancient Terradisian history, when out of nowhere the lights just go out. I tried to take one of the Mico platforms, but they were out as well - which now strikes me as odd, because Inficiunt told me that every Mico platform has its own power source, in case of fire. So anyways, I had to take the stairs, and after I’d made it up a few flights I ran into Inficiunt; that’s when he told me about the fire code. After that, I made it a point to find out what had happened. So... if you don't mind, what did happen?" As he asks, we reach the table and take our seats. On my side it goes: Sine, Inficiunt, me, and Tenera; on the other side it goes: Auxilium, Dolum, Dare, Eximius, and Fidus. I’m about to start eating, when I notice that no one else is doing so - they’re all watching me, waiting for an answer. I let out a small sigh, before asking, "Do I have to?" "Yes!" replies Fidus. "If you want to, that is," Tenera adds. "Well, basically, it went down like this: I went into the office and found Captain Bellum waiting for me-" "Is he your dad or something?" asks Inficiunt. "I'm an orphan," I reply flatly. "Soo... he's not your dad?" "Anyway! I started signing up for classes, and then he told me we had to check something. He pulled out this thing-" "A potestatum reader?" asks Eximius. "I guess... So, I did the test, and the box exploded. The smoke must have set off the fire alarm, and then the... metal men-" "Wait, wait, wait - hold on there...! It just exploded?" Dolum asks, to which I nod. "That's impossible! They use those things to check power lines - how could you blow it up?!" "I don't know; I grabbed the thing, he turned it on, and it exploded. So that's what happened in that room." Everyone is looking at me with shocked expressions. As I look from face to face, I begin to feel a little... awkward; so I start digging into my food, filling my mouth ‘till I can barely chew. "What happened in the other room?" Auxilium asks while scooting a little closer. At this point, everyone seems to be at the edge of their seats. I look around and notice that every table around us has filled with students trying to hear our conversation. My mouth is still full of food, so I don't answer right away. But once I’ve finished, I look everyone in the eye and take a deep breath. "Well, then Altum, Captain Bellum, and I went to another one of the offices, blew up another one of those boxes, and-" I look around the room and see that almost everyone is waiting for my answer. Shifting my gaze to my acquaintances at the table, I see they’re just as eager as everyone else, but I don't want half the school knowing what I went through... "Oh! Before I forget, let’s go over that letter of yours real quick," Dolum says, pulling out the letter. "Miles, sorry about last night. We didn't expect you to react the way you did. Attached is your schedule, your weekly allowance, and some directions for the person reading this. Also, do not remove the rings from your arms under any circumstances; only with an instructor may you take them off. Good luck in your studies, and remember what I told you before orientation. Signed: Captain Susurrans Bellum." Dolum looks over the remaining pages, before folding them up and returning them to his pocket. As he does this, Tenera lifts my sleeve, revealing the ring. "That’s a potestatum annul!" Eximius exclaims as he reaches over to reveal the other ring. "WHOA! Those are supposed to hold back a ton of energy, and you have two!" "Does this mean you've got your marks?" asks Sine. I nod in response. "When I got them... it was the most painful thing I’ve ever been through," I say with a shudder. "Really? ‘Cause when I got my marks, it only stung for, like, ten minutes," Eximius says as he brings his hands to the table and ignites them. Familiar black rings and strange text appear in his palms. From the center comes a white flame, about the size you would get from a lighter. I bring my hands up and look at them, but there don't seem to be any signs from last night. "Just feel the energy from within, and channel it out," says Eximius as he shakes his hands, ending the small flame and making the rings disappear. I close my eyes and try to feel for anything that could be an ‘energy within’. I open my eyes, but see that nothing happened. "Doesn't there have to be some movement to bring out the energy?" asks Dare, which Eximius nods to. I look back to my hands and think. An idea of what to do forms in my head; I tightly close my hands and quickly open them again. Once my hands open, the same black rings from before appear, with a small plume of white energy coming out. The flame of energy takes up my entire palm and flows up roughly twelve centimeters. From around the table - as well as most of the room - I hear a collection of “Wow!”s and gasps. I quickly shake my hands and snuff out the energy. "Wow... just... wow," says Eximius as he looks back to his own hands. Looking around the room, I can see that the number of people watching has nearly doubled. I lower my head and try to avoid as many of the staring eyes as possible; I hate it when people stare at me. After a few minutes of silence and continuous stares, my nerves get the best of me and I quickly leave the room. As I go, I hear everyone calling my name, but ignore them and continue on. I make my way back to the platforms and take the one that goes to my floor. As soon as I appear, I storm down the hall until I suddenly realize something - I can’t remember my room number! "1...7...3... aaugh, fuck! I can’t remember!" I hear several pops from the platforms. I turn to see three older guys walking towards me. They all wear green and black uniforms, and are easily twice my size. The one on the left has short, blonde hair and is wearing glasses; the one to the right is the shortest one in the group, with short, black hair; and the one in the center is the tallest, with a shaved head, light skin, and a thin burn mark on the left side of his face that goes from the end of his mouth to the top of his ear. As they walk down the hall, I turn to the wall and try to remember my room number. When I turn back around, I find myself surrounded by the group. "Hmm, look what we got here - the freak," says the burned one, getting small chuckles from the others. I look up at him and his friends, but say nothing. "Aaww, I think you hurt the little guy’s fee—ARGH!" begins the black-haired one, but is stopped when I knee him in the testicles, dropping him to the ground. The moment he falls, I take off as quickly as my legs will carry me. As I run, I can hear the other two giving chase, yelling about my eventual fate. A few moments later, I feel my legs go out from under me and I drop to the floor. Before I can recover, my chasers quickly surround me and begin kicking me in the stomach. I curl into a ball and try to let my arms take the brunt, but they stop kicking and begin punching my head and body. "GET THE FUCK OFF HIM!" yells a familiar voice. Moments later, the punching assault ends and I hear some tumbling beside me. I look up, and see that Fidus has tackled the bald guy and is now on top of him, punching the crap out of his face. The blonde guy has been pulled off by Dolum, Eximius, and Sine, and is being kicked from all sides. Tenera and Auxilium quickly come to me and help me to my feet. By the time I’m up, the blonde guy has escaped and is running down the hall to get his other friend. Fidus gives one final punch, before getting off the other guy and walking back to me. "Miles, are you OK?! What’s going on?" I see that everyone is around me, looking at me with concern in their eyes. "I'm fine. I don't know what they wanted-" I stop when I feel something running down my face. I wipe it away, and see that my hand is covered in blood. Dare sees this and pulls out a handkerchief, then squeezes my nose with it. "Hold it tight, and-" "Why are you doing this?!" I shout at him, making him back away. "What do you-" "I don't understand! We only met a day ago, and you've done nothing but worry and save my ass! Why?! What did I do to earn this?!" I drop to the floor and lean against the wall. All my life, the only person to ever watch out for me was myself, and now... now I don't know what I'd do without these people. Without them, I wouldn't be able to find or do anything! Without them, I would have been pulverized by those three assholes! I'm not sure what I should be feeling, nor what I am feeling, but all these new emotions have come to a head and are bursting out. None of them say a word; they just continue to stare at me with those worried eyes. Dolum finally breaks the silence by walking over, squatting down, taking a long look at me, and then slapping me across the face! "Oww! What was tha-" SLAP "What th-" SLAP "Why are y-" SLAP "STOP HITTING ME!" He finally stops and takes a seat next to me. "If you really can't figure out why we care, then you’re dumber than you look." "Yeah man! We'll always have your back -" says Fidus; "- and we'll always care -" says Tenera; "- whether we're laughing or crying -" says Inficiunt; "- you can always count on us to help -" says Dare; "- because we are your friends," says Sine. I look from one face to another, and slowly get back up. I don't know how, and I don't know why, but as I look from one person to the next, I begin to feel a small grin etch across my face - these are my friends. Before I can say anything, Tenera quickly wraps me in another hug, followed by Inficiunt, then Auxilium, Dolum, Sine, Dare, Fidus, and finally Eximius. So… ‘make some friends’ - I guess I can check that off of Bellum’s list. Chapter 6 Fall of Topaz FallsChapter 6 Fall of Topaz Falls August 11th, 1132 SIXTEEN YEARS LATER All these years - all the training, studying, creating - all of it has been done for this one moment, this one event: Defensive Order 23 - enemies at the gates. I'm currently riding gunner in our jeep, which is following another jeep down the south highway, going from the Parliament building towards the dome wall. The jeep is all white, with two benches beside me going along the side of the vehicle, and two seats in the front. Dolum is driving, with Inficiunt riding shotgun. Tenera is on the bench to my right, while Fidus is on the bench to my left. Inficiunt is currently reading over a map, with one hand holding onto the railing above. Fidus is doing a small maintenance check on her three-pronged minigun, while Tenera is staring daggers at me and holding onto her assault carbine. I can’t believe she still blames me for what happened to Fidus, but I'll deal with that when I get the chance. Right now, we all need to focus on the task at hand. I do a quick check over my armor to make sure that none of the latches have come loose. We all wear variations of the same composite armor: a black Kevlar-fiber mesh that has metal plates woven into place over key muscles. The armor is fairly heavy, but doesn't hinder our movement. The metal plates have been forged to accentuate our muscles perfectly, making us appear more muscular than we are. Sadly, this model of armor only covers certain muscles, leaving us vulnerable to precise knife attacks. Underneath all of of this we wear black shirts, pants, and steel-toed boots. I opted for full body armor: leggings, arm covers, chest piece, shoulder pads, and- "I still can't believe you forgot your helmet," Dolum says as he swerves around a burning car. "I didn't have time to get it. Not like it'll help much anyway." In actuality, the helmets we wear are capable of stopping small firearms, and have advanced optical features that really come in handy. The helmets are made of compressed metal, and cover the entire head. On the inside, small crystals magically project the outside world and filter the air. Right now I'm the only one without one. Dolum and Inficiunt are the only ones wearing theirs, but I'll make due for now. I look down to Inficiunt and ask, "What’s the ETA to our destination?" He looks back at me, then turns back to the map. Dammit, he's still mad at me for breaking that promise... just one more item on my list of things to fix after we get out of this mess. "Dammit! How far, Inficiunt!" yells Fidus. I look down at her and sigh. Ever since that night she's been shaving her head, destroying her beautiful hair. She's also become more temperamental with everyone, getting extremely emotional at the drop of a hat. "Ten minutes," replies Inficiunt. I look over the gun in front of me - The Spartan Pen: fifty-caliber ammo at five-hundred rounds a minute from dual drums, making for four minutes of pure-fucking-devastation! I lock the mount in place and turn to Tenera. "What?!" she says sharply. "You know, I didn't-" "Don't give me that crap! I know what you did, and nothing you can say will change that, you piece of-" "Tenera!" Fidus snaps. "How can you defend him-?!" "SHUT THE FUCK UP!" shouts Inficiunt. "Fuck off-!" "ENOUGH!” I yell, getting everyone to look away. KA-BOOM We all turn towards the massive explosion off in the distance, which is followed by the sounds of thousands of people screaming and gunfire. I look out to the west and see a giant plume of black smoke billowing towards the top of the dome. At the same time, buildings on the west side of town lose power and are sent into darkness. "That was the west generator," Dolum states. "They must have taken it-" "Let’s make sure they don't take the south one then!" I say as Dolum slams on the accelerator. The rest of the ride is spent in silence, our destination coming into sight within minutes. We approach a small grey dome that is two stories tall and roughly sixty meters wide. This dome is situated halfway into the city’s main dome, and only has one entrance - a large metallic bulkhead - with two machine gun nests guarding it. Each nest has two guards: one on the gun, and another with automatic beam rifles. The lead jeep stops next to the left nest, and Captain Bellum steps out of the vehicle and talks to the guards. Moments later, the bulkhead slides to the right, opening the way for us. As we pull in, I take a moment to survey the area. The room is perfectly round, and is half-filled with counters covered in random beakers and computers. In the back are two semis with flatbeds attached and six vans parked in front of them. The first flatbed has hundreds of metal boxes being tied down, and the second one has something very tall and cylindrical tied down and covered with a blue tarp. We pull our jeeps around to form a small perimeter around the door, which shuts as soon as we enter. As we all step out of our jeeps, Captain Bellum quickly approaches me and says, "Lieutenant, get the civilians out of here. I'm going to rally what troops we have." I nod. There are three groups of people working around the room, so I head towards the nearest one. There are about twenty scientists in white lab coats in this group, arguing amongst themselves. Of the other groups, one consists of around twenty-five workers in blue jumpsuits, running back and forth between the first truck and a pile of boxes; and the other contains about fifty standard infantry moving towards Captain Bellum. As I make my way to the scientists, I listen to their conversation. "You can't leave my device here," says a scrawny man with a nasally voice, thick black glasses, and a receding hairline with a comb over. "It's far too important!" "We’re all going to lose some of our work!" yells a woman from inside the group. "But this could save us all! It cannot fall into the enemy’s hands-" "Excuse me!" I yell over the group, gaining their attention. "We do not have time for your petty arguments. You all need to gather the last of your things and get to the evac zone, NOW!" Most of the group listens and immediately begins going from desk to desk, taking papers, vials, and other assorted supplies, and packing them into the vans. As I start making my way to the workers, the scientist who was arguing before steps in my way. He’s holding a strange contraption that appears to be two glass tanks welded together, with two black hoses - one coming out the bottom of each tank - that join together and end in a long, thin, metal box. "Please! You must help-" he tries to say, but I step around him and continue my path, only to have him follow me closely. "I’m Doctor Qui; I'm the head of-" "Didn't I tell you to get out of here?" "Yes, yes, but my device-" "Destroy it." "I will do no such thing! Please!" he says as he grabs my arm just under my regiment patch. We both take a moment to look at it: the background is a Spartan shield with a human skull in front of it; going through the skull is a black-and-silver broadsword, which enters through the top of the skull and exits through the mouth. "You’re a Spartan!" I pull away from his grasp and make my way to the workers. "Everyone, finish tying down these last boxes and get to your-" PAT-PAT-PAT-PAT-PAT-PAT-PAT I turn towards the door and feel my heart drop. That’s coming from the nest out front! I immediately run to the jeep and begin to re-arm myself from a locker inside the bench. I grab my sword and partially unsheath it; the blade is eight centimeters wide and goes straight to a point for about a meter; the hilt is all black, with a light-blue hexagonal gem embedded in the pommel; and the guards go straight out for several centimeters and end flatly. I re-sheath it and strap it across my back, with the hilt going to the right. Next, I pull out two frag grenades and two arcane grenades: the frag grenades are fist-sized metal balls that can shoot shrapnel in a twelve meter radius, and the arcane grenades are eight-centimeter-long tubes that glow bright blue. After that, I pull out my revolver: a .45 magnum with a six-round chamber. The barrel and cylinder are bright steel, while the handle is blackened steel. I pop the cylinder to check the ammo - full. I holster the gun and belt it around my waist. Next, I check the ammo pockets in the belt - a total of sixty rounds. Once done, I pull out my trench knife and look it over: the blade is twenty-three centimeters long and is deep black. It’s a three-edged, triangular blade that goes to a point. The handle is made to hold the tip forward, with a brass guard that also serves as a spiked knuckle duster - the spikes going out for a few centimeters before ending in flat stubs. I sheath the knife in its slot on my belt, with the point facing forward. Lastly, I pull out my mark 4 assault rifle: it has a flat, even top, and a composite stock under the short barrel. I pull the breech bolt on the weapon - pulling a round into the chamber - and then attach a sling to it and swing it across my back, going left. Sadly, as I rummage through the locker, I only find four of my magazines. I take them and slide them into their slots, before running over to the group of soldiers in front of Bellum. "... then we can take that long ride home. You know your jobs; let's get it done!" he says, which is followed by a loud “OORAH!” He looks over and motions for me, so I approach him. "Orders, sir?" "..." "Sir?" "We have to hold the line. They cannot take this generator. Go with the rest of the squad and hold your positions." I nod and make my way to the rest of the group. They've already set the jeeps up so that the turrets have a crossfire set. Around the jeeps, they've also taken some counters and set them on their sides, forming a curved wall that bends toward the door. Soldiers have lined up behind the barrier, and now wait for the inevitable. I take my place in-between Dare and Sine and pull out my rifle. "How're you holding up?" I ask as I check my sights. "I was about to ask you the same thing," Dare says in his regal voice. He's wearing full armor and has his submachine gun out, pointed towards the bulkhead. "It was a year ago, but you still haven't said a word about it. Bottling it up like this can't be good for you." "Yeah, it was one year and three days, to be precise," I say as sadness fills my heart. "But that doesn't matter right now. Right now we need to focus on the task at hand." "Like we've never heard that excuse before," says Sine as he loads shells into his shotgun’s drum. "Look, you can lie to yourself all you want, but do me a favor and cut the crap with me. A year after his death, and suddenly we’re attacked-?" "Spatium would never do that!" Sine loads the drum to his shotgun and cocks a round into place while turning away from me. She would never do that... I trust her. Moments later, the gunfire out front stops and every head turns to the door. Here they come. "..." "..." "..." KRA-BOOM The door flies off the wall - landing meters away from our defensive line - in a fiery explosion that leaves the entrance hidden behind a veil of smoke and dust. "Inficiunt, open fire! The rest of you, hold until we have visual!" yells Captain Bellum. Inficiunt nods and pulls his BOOMstick up. An invention of my own design, it has an eight-chamber cylinder that fires 30-millimeter explosive rounds. He takes aim at the doorway and, with a solid thump, opens fire. With each thump, an explosion and cries of pain and death follow. Eight shots later, he slides the chamber to the side and begins to reload. I take my rifle and take aim down the doorway. Moments later I see a figure break through the smoke. It stands more than two meters tall, is fairly skinny, and has light-grey skin. Its face is narrow and has prominent cheekbones, no hair, black eyes, dagger-like teeth, and two narrow slits where a nose would normally be. He - I presume it's male due to its body build - is wearing light-tan coveralls that have a black patch over the right breast. I take aim and send a round through his skull, sending black blood and brain matter flying behind him as he drops to the floor. As he drops, two more appear and take his place, then four, then ten - just how many of them are there!? Twenty-! Forty-! As they enter, our line erupts into a torrent of energetic fire, killing those at the door. Most infantry received the mark eight assault rifle - a variation of my rifle that fires arcane bolts instead of bullets. I opted for the FMJ variation because I prefer its higher rate of fire and the possibility of hitting multiple targets. The biggest downside is that if I run out of ammo, I can't just refill it magically - a problem I've already run into today. As they continue to enter, Fidus steps over the barricade with her minigun, spinning the barrels at top speed. She takes her stance and begins to fire down the entrance, spraying archaic death all over. Eximius quickly jumps behind her and, with a pushing motion, magically brings up two force fields to cover Fidus. The fields are dull white, roughly the same height and width as a person, and will hold against almost anything that the wielder has the strength to repel. As Fidus fires downrange, the enemy begins to return fire, punching holes into the desks and our jeeps. I recognize the fire as coming from some of our own weapons. After a minute of continuous fire, Fidus's gun begins to click, telling everyone that it's empty. As she turns to get back behind cover, a loud battle cry erupts from behind the door, followed by the rumbling of what sounds like a stampede. "Here they come!" yells Captain Bellum as he readies his claymore. As the dust settles, a massive crowd comes into view, charging straight towards us. As soon as we have visibility, every weapon erupts in fire. The mixed sounds of 50-calibers, rifle discharges, and bullets whizzing all around fill the air. As we cut down enemy after enemy, there seems to be no end to the waves of troops coming in to take their place. With every soldier that has to stop and reload, the mound of dead bodies creeps closer and closer, charging enemies trying to get over. Once those 50's stop, we'll be in deep shit. Click-click-click - "I'm out!" yells a soldier from one of the turrets. Well... fuck. As the other turret stops firing, a wave of enemy infantry pours through the doorway and quickly overruns our line. Enemy troops rush me, so I backpedal, shooting any who get too close. Step-step - pat-pat-pat - step-step - pat-pat-click - FUCK! With my rifle empty, I swing it onto my back and ready my magic. The white flames appear in my hands and flare halfway up my forearms. As I channel the energy, I allow the black lines to grow up to my elbows, burning my sleeves along the way and making the metal plates strapped to me glow red. I ready my stance as enemies come closer and closer. At the last moment, I bring both my hands straight above my head and quickly push them straight back down, sending two beams of white energy at the ground beneath me. This makes a ring of energy explode around me, sending the group of charging enemies flying away several meters. With room to breathe, I pull out my sword with my right hand and my revolver with my left. Weapons out, I charge into the fight. Enemy troops have stopped coming in from the door, but we're still heavily outnumbered. I charge towards a small group of our infantry who are trying to hold back some twenty-odd enemy troops in hand-to-hand combat. The first enemy doesn't see me coming, so I quickly stab him in the middle of the back, dropping him instantly. The three that were next to him turn to face me, only to get .45 magnum rounds sent through their faces. As they drop, I suddenly realize something about the enemy troops - most of them aren't armed. I shake my head, turn to the group in front of me, and yell, "Come with me! We need to get the ammo for the 50-cals!" They all nod, and the four of us head to the first truck. As we go, we run into another group of weaponless enemy troops. The first one tries to grab me, but I sidestep and swing my sword to the side, decapitating him. The next two receive holes in their chests from the troops behind me while I shoot the third one in the heart with my revolver. With this group dealt with, we make it the rest of way to the truck and look for the ammo. "Where's the ammo!?" I yell. "Should be in the the back of th—AAAAGGHH!" one of the soldiers begins to speak, but is stopped when an enemy trooper jumps onto his back and bites into his neck. I quickly dispose of the enemy by swinging my blade and lobbing the back of his head off. Once it’s dead, I quickly check on our soldier. He's bleeding profusely from the neck - looks like his jugular was torn open. Before I can do anything, though, I see the life fade away from his eyes. "We've got the ammo; let's get going!" yells one of the soldiers from behind me. I turn to see both him and the other soldier holding metal boxes of 50-caliber ammo in each hand. I sheath my sword and holster my revolver before pulling my rifle out and reloading it. "Alright, I'll take lead. You two follow me and stick to my ass. If I stop for anything, you keep running and don't stop until you make it to the guns. Got it?" They nod, and I turn towards the jeeps and begin sprinting to them. As I run, I look around and see that most of the enemy troops have been dealt with, though they still outnumber us slightly. Our numbers have dropped by at least half, but I can see all my friends are still fighting: Captain Bellum has his claymore out and is slicing away the group in front of him; Dare and Sine are covering Eximius as he tries to magically heal a downed soldier; Fidus and Tenera are back to back, Tenera taking precise shots while Fidus swings her battle axe back and forth - she must’ve ran out of ammo for her minigun; and Dolum - he’s on his rifle shooting the trooper in front of him, but he doesn't see the one behind him! "DOLUM!" I yell out, but I’m too late! The enemy trooper rams the bayonet of his rifle into Dolum’s back and fires a few rounds into him, sending him to the ground face-first. I quickly change direction and fire into the enemy trooper, putting more rounds into him than I should. As I approach Dolum, I sling my rifle over my back and charge my magic. When I get to him, I kneel down and frantically remove his helmet and armor. "M-Mi-les..." he mutters as he spits up some blood. "Shhh! D-don’t speak Dolum..." I say as I start to tear up. "P-lease... d-do s-something for me..." "S-stop, Dolum; you need to save your strength." "Heh... yeah... Miles, I n-need you t-to do something f-for me..." I finally get his armor off and look down at his back - and wince at the sight. The puncture is deep, and with the added trauma of the shots that were fired, I have no idea where to start treating the wound. Blood is pouring out and beginning to pool around him, so I tear his shirt and apply pressure to the wound. "Miles... please..." "Dolum, you have to stop talking-! P-please!" I say with tears flowing from my face. "You’re going to be fine...! We'll get you all fixed up; you'll get to go home, be a problem for Auxy, raise that kid of yours... just please, stop..." I continue to hold pressure on him as he weakly turns to me with a smile and says, "Tell Auxilium... w-what she a-already knows..." With these final words, he drops his head and fades into the void. "Dolum! Nononono - Fight it, Dolum... You can't die... DOLUM!" I cry as I hold onto his body. The rest of my squad have removed their helmets and gathered around me and Dolum, looking on with mournful eyes. As I cry into his body, I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn to see Captain Bellum standing over me. "Miles... I know you’re sad - I know what it's like to lose someone - but right now is not the time to mourn. We still have a job to do. These people need you. We need you." I look at my squad from face to face, seeing the sadness and pain in everyone. We are broken. I let go of Dolum and wipe my eyes clear before standing up. "*sniff* What are your orders?" I ask weakly. Captain Bellum looks around our group, sighing as he glances back down at his sword. "We can't survive another hit like that. We have to get these people out of here and meet up with the first battalion-" "INCOMING!" yells one of the soldiers from behind, as a fiery explosion sends the first jeep into the air and towards us. I instinctively raise my hands and catch it with my magic, giving everyone else enough time to get to cover. Levitating it up for a few seconds, I’m about to toss it forward, when a second rocket flies underneath it and explodes in front of me, flinging me meters away. When I open my eyes, the world around me spins in a blur of pain and sorrow, and my ears ring. Looking down, I can see that Eximius has removed my body armour and torn my shirt open. Across my chest, I can see a few deep, bleeding lacerations from the shrapnel. Eximius charges his hands before slamming them down onto me. I can see the magic healing my wounds and removing the shrapnel, but I don't feel anything. I look back down and see that my chest is completely healed, but my vision is still blurry and my hearing keeps fading in and out. "...ing magic... ...oul is br... ...here," Eximius says to Captain Bellum, who is looking down at me. Before he can say anything, a white blur wearing a blue blur on its back runs up to him. "...elp... ...use my... Quartz Crest... ...safe." I have no idea what's going on, but Captain Bellum nods to the man in white, who turns to me and points a metal rod at me. The rod breaks open into four smaller rods - making an X - and electricity arcs between the ends of each one. A white light appears in the center of the X, and the world around me soon fades into a blur of white. As my mind drifts off, I close my eyes and let out one final tear... Dolum... Author's Note Shout out to Burning Eclipse for the fanart of the Kroth! Brony on! Chapter 7 Second Impression Chapter 7 Second Impression When I awaken, I slowly open my eyes and sit upright. Well, at least I'm fixed up for the time being. I look down at my hands and close them tightly. If I had run faster, or just shot sooner, I could have saved him... Dolum. I want to cry out again, but reality hits me and I jump to my feet, ready for a fight. As I take in my surroundings, I fall flat on my ass. This isn't Topaz Falls... I get back up and thoroughly investigate my surroundings. I'm in the middle of a dirt path surrounded by... columns. At the bottom of these... columns, are bright blue flowers, covering most of the ground. The columns are dark brown and go up for at least fifteen meters, forking off into smaller columns that go off in different directions. At the ends of these small columns are countless large, green things. "What the fuck is going on?" I walk up to the... thing, and slowly place my hand on it. It feels dusty, rough, and very cold. I pull my hand back and look around for answers. The area around where I was lying has a large scorch mark. The area beyond the path is filled with more of these strange columns and bright blue flowers. After looking around for a bit, I check my possessions. My belt holds my trench knife and revolver, along with all of the ammo I had. As I go through the various pockets of my belt, I come across my phone. I pull it out and look it over: it’s 18 centimeters long, seven centimeters wide, and three centimeters thick. It's made of solid, clear glass, and has one metal circle on the left side in the center. The corners are curved off and a small crack has formed from the metal circle to the top right. "Well, at least it didn't shatter... like last time." As I hold it with my left hand, I place my thumb on the metal circle, making it emit light and bringing up the home screen. "Damn. No service, hmm." I place it into my left pocket and continue my search. Two frag grenades, two arcane grenades, three magazines (two full and one empty), sword, rifle, leg and arm armor, but no chest armor. I look over my shirt and find that it's caked in blood. I tear what remains off and toss it aside, leaving the arm bracers on. Bringing my rifle out, I start walking down the path. I don't know which way to go, so I pick a direction and start moving. Some time passes by as I walk, and I continue to take in my surroundings. The air seems... better. Like, as if it hasn't been sent through a purifier for hundreds of years, better. It also seems warmer; I've only been moving for maybe an hour, and I'm already sweating lightly. The ground cover is also changing as I move down the path. The bright blue flowers are being replaced by strands of green and various other things, the likes of which I've never seen before. The path I walk continues down, making slight turns every so often. I can see large ‘U’ marks in the road, some going in one direction and others going in the other. What the fuck made these? The overhang from the columns is starting to break apart, letting bright beams of light shine through. Finally, the path leads down to a bright opening where the columns seem to stop. I quicken my pace and reach it within minutes. As I break through the columns’ overhang, I stop and take a good look around. The columns continue to my left and right for as far as I can see. The path I'm on continues down to... what seems to be a house, but is covered in green matter, similar to the stuff from earlier. All around the house are little boxes with holes in them. A small, virtual stream of water flows in front of the house and continues away. A small bridge crosses over the stream, and connects the path I'm on to the one that leads to the door. I figure if someone doesn't live there, it'll be a good place to hunker down for a bit. When I make it to the top of the bridge I stop dead in my tracks. The door opens, and out walks a yellow-and-pink pony. She stops in the doorway and just stares up at me. I return the stare, but find myself a little confused - she looks nothing like the ponies I know. She seems to be half the height of the other ponies and lacks the massive horn on top of her head, though she does have the wings. She has long pink hair that flows with slight curves, and has large blue eyes. I can see the mark on her backside is three winged creatures with pink wings and blue bodies. This isn't right. If that’s a pony, then that would mean I'm on the- "Oh my… hello there, friend; I'm Fluttershy. What brings you to my home?" the pony says in a light, timid voice, slowly approaching me. This is not good. The last time I was with ponies, things ended horribly, and I believe they wanted some form of justice. I can't afford to be captured right now; I need to get back to Topaz and find my squad! "Um, sorry to ask but..." OH FUCK - now she’s right in my face! I quickly jump back and get ready for whatever this pony is planning on doing. She slowly lets herself back down to the ground and tries to walk towards me, but with every step forward she takes, I take one backward. She finally stops and puts a hoof to her chin in thought. Her face brightens up with an idea, and she flies back inside the house. I'm taking no chances here. As soon as she’s inside the house, I turn around and run. I run off the path and head in the opposite direction of the house. Right now I'm in an open field; there are open fields to my left, the dark-brown columns to my right, and lighter-brown columns directly ahead of me. "Wait, don't leave! Come back!" she yells from behind. I look back and - oh fuck, she's chasing me! She's in the air, flying towards me from five o'clock. I make a slight left and sprint like my life depends on it. Thanks to my chest piece being gone, I can move pretty fast. But her flying is just too fast for me to hope to get away. Luckily, I make it into the light-brown columns and start zigzagging around. Thanks to the columns, she can’t follow me directly, so she flies above and follows me from the air. Oh come on... that's cheating! I continue my mad dash through the columns while checking the airborne pony - she's still hot on my trail. I make a sharp turn and- "What in tarnation?!" I crash into another pony and roll to the ground, the other pony on top of me. She has a light-orange coat, blonde hair that's tied at the end, three red dots for a mark, white freckles on her cheeks, and wears a stetson. Something is really wrong here: this one doesn't have wings or a horn! What the fuck is going on?! "Consarn it! What in the hay has ya all-?" She stops once she gets a good look at me and quickly gets up. Once she's off, I begin trying to back away, but the yellow one drops behind me. "Uhh... Fluttershy, is this one ‘a yer creatures from back home?" Oh sweet Barbra - ‘one of her creatures’? I need to get away! "No. It showed up in front of my home, but ran away." Like this I think to myself as I grab my rifle and dash away again, heading in any direction that gets me away from these... ponies. The yellow one goes into the air again and relays directions to the other one. Cheaters. I look back to find the orange one hot on my trail and gaining fast. She has a lasso in her mouth and is spinning it in the air. Where did that come from? With a swing from her neck, she sends the rope flying and it latches onto my arm. I sling my rifle onto my back and try to pull free, only to have her pull back with greater force. I quickly stop and run towards her. Without me pulling, she promptly falls onto her backside. I take advantage of this and use the slack in the rope to tie her legs together. With her incapacitated, I let my hand loose and continue to run. "Dag nabbit! You just wait till ‘ah get loose, ya hear me!" she yells as I run away. I look back to see the yellow one fly down and help her friend out. Hopefully I can get some distance between us before they start chasing me again. I stop in my tracks as the rows of columns end, revealing a large, red, two-story building in front of me. It has an angled roof with black shingles, and two windows on the second floor. I hear running in the background, so I guess this will be my hiding place for now. I run around the corner and - MOTHER FUCKER! Why does life hate me so much?! - I come around the corner and stop a meter away from another pony. This one is closer to the correct size, but is still smaller than what I would have expected. He's red with short, light-orange hair; white freckles; deep green eyes; and has a large, light-green dot as his mark. Again, there are no wings and no horn. We stare at each other for a few moments until the other two ponies appear behind me. Now my back is facing the red building with the red pony to my left, the orange one to my right, and the yellow in front of me. I shift my eyes from one to another as I slowly bring my hand to my revolver. I really don't want to do this, but if I have to- SMASH I turn around in time to see the doors fly open and a big box fly straight toward my face. When I finally re-awaken, I try to rub my eyes, but find my arms being restrained. I blink a few times before taking a good look around. I'm currently lying face-up in a bed, with my wrists tied to the posts. The closest wall to me has a window on it, and there’s a dresser between it and the bed. On the other side of the room is another dresser, with a vanity mirror and a large pillow on the floor in front of it. The only door in the room hangs slightly open on the wall behind me. The bed sheets are red with a white trim, and cover me up to my waist... though something doesn't feel right. I shift around to move the sheets down, and... why am I naked? Everything on me has been removed except my potestatum annuls. Before I can contemplate this more, the door swings open and three ponies walk in. The first two I recognize from the chase earlier, but the third one is new. She has a lavender body, purple eyes, and dark blue hair that has a pink streak going through it. Her mark is a six-pointed star with five smaller white stars at the points. As I look between the three, I suddenly realize that they are all nude... why are they all nude?! What's going on here?! The purple one looks at me and stops for a moment before running to my side and investigating my body. "Hmm... I don't think I've ever read about anything like this before. Where did it - or he," she says as she sees my exposed... self, “come from?” With a bright red blush on her cheeks, she pulls the sheet back over my waist and turns back to the other two. "He was in front of my house," says the yellow one - Fluttershy, I think. "I tried to talk to him, but he ran away-" "Why, in all a’ Equestria, did ya run from us like that?" the orange one asks me. I stare at them and stay silent. If I told them why I ran, they would probably hang me. I can't die right now; I need to get back to Topaz Falls and find my friends. After a few silent moments, the three of them turn to each other and huddle up, whispering to one another. Afterwards, they turn back and the yellow one walks right next to me. I scoot as far away as my restraints will allow, but she climbs onto the bed and stands over me so that we are staring face-to-face. "Sooo... what's your name?" "..." "Umm... I'm Fluttershy." "..." "Can you speak?" "..." "Do you understand me?" "..." I can feel something in my nose tingling - I think I'm about to sneeze. "Hmm... well, if you can't-" “AH-CHOO!” Having nothing to block my nose, my sneeze goes straight to her face. She stumbles back quickly and slams her backside into my lap. "Get the fuck off me!" I yell as I twist my body, making her fall off the bed. My heart is racing and my rage is boiling over; nobody gets to touch me like that, accident or not. I look at the other two and see that they're just staring at me with their mouths slightly open. I look down to Fluttershy; she's on her back on the floor, looking up at me with hurt eyes. She quickly gets to her feet and runs out the room, crying. "Fluttershy!" yells the orange one as she chases after her. "What was that-?” the purple one starts, but I cut her off. "Where are my pants?!" I demand. "They're in the other room, but-" I begin pulling my arms inward in an attempt to break free. After a few seconds, I hear some cracking, followed by the snap of the two bedposts. Hands free, I untie myself and stand, making sure to cover myself. As I stand, a light-purple field envelopes me and lifts me into the air. The same aura field is around the purple pony’s horn. "You’re not going anywhere until..." - I drop the sheet - “...until-til-til-" With a bright red blush, she quickly turns around and drops me. Thank you, nudity! I make my way to the door and look around the hall. There's a door directly across from me and two down the hall - one on each side. In-between the two doors on the other side is a stairway that leads down. I'm not sure which room she meant, so I go to the closest one and open it. "What are you doing!" I yell. This room is similar to the one before, only it has the red pony from earlier in it, with a grenade in his mouth! He looks at me, then down a bit, and drops the grenade. As the grenade hits the ground, the clip pops off. I leap over, grab it, toss it through the window - shattering the glass - and curl into a ball. Moments later, a small explosion comes from outside and shakes the building. "Earthquake! Earthquake! Run fer the hills!" an elderly voice yells from downstairs. I stand up and look back at the red pony. He's lying on the floor, holding his forelegs against his ears. On top of the dresser to my right are all of my belongings, so I take my clothes and begin getting dressed. "What was that?!" yells the purple pony from the doorway. I look at her, then get back to the task at hand. Once I have my pants on, I feel something grab me and toss me onto the bed. I hit the backboard and bounce onto the mattress before rolling off. I stagger back up to see that the red pony is standing in front of me in a defensive stance, pawing the ground with his left foreleg. "You're kidding. You're kidding, right?" He snorts in response and begins to charge me. I easily sidestep the attack, and leave my left arm out to catch his throat. Once my arm makes contact, I quickly squeeze it shut while holding onto my wrist with my other hand, putting him in a choke hold. As I tighten my squeeze, he tries to break free, twisting, turning, slamming me into walls, but none of it breaks my grip. "P-please... stop!" I look up to see that Fluttershy has come back, but still has tears flowing from her eyes. I stare at her for a moment before I drop the red pony and stand straight up, looking back to the yellow one. As the red pony gasps for air, I walk over to the dresser and continue to collect my belongings. Fluttershy runs over to the red pony and says, "Oh dear, oh dear! Big Mac, are you okay?" Once his breathing is under control, the red pony stands and says, "Eeeyup." I finish putting on my arm bracers and begin putting on my leg bracers. I kneel down and start working the metal latches, when Fluttershy approaches me from the side. "Uh..." she says while looking down. "Sorry about earlier. I know you didn't mean anything by it. It's just... I really don't like being touched... like that." She looks up to me and gives me a soft smile. I begin putting my belt on, when I notice my blades are missing. I have my guns, but not my blades. "Where are my blades?" I ask as I finish putting on the belt. "Um... well..." "You'll git those back when we decide yer not a threat," says Big Mac as he glares at me. As I check my pockets, Big Mac begins circling me, never looking away. I look down at him and ask, "Do you need something?" "What are ya?" "I could ask you the same thing." After I've found and checked every pocket - finding that the only missing things are my blades - I begin to walk out of the room, only to be stopped at the door by the purple pony. "Please... I just want to ask some questions, and then you can go," she says desperately. "... How many?" "Just a few." "Hmm... Return my blades, and you've got a deal." "Only after we talk." "Deal." The three female ponies sigh in relief, and make their way out to the hall. I follow them, with Big Mac close behind me. We make our way down the hall to the living room. The living room is a large open area with a couch in the right corner and a cushioned seat in the left. Directly next to the stairs is a rocking chair, rocking back and forth slightly, in front of a small bookshelf and a door. On the left side of the room is a large doorway that leads to the rest of the house. As we fill the room, the orange pony motions to Big Mac, who goes to the door by the stairs and opens it up. He walks in and quickly returns with five cushions on his back. He sets four of them in a small group together and one on its own. I think I know where I'm sitting. I cross my legs as I sit on the cushion and wait for the others to take their seats. "Sooo... I think introductions are in order. I'm Twilight Sparkle," says the purple one, "and these are my friends: Fluttershy, Applejack, and Big Macintosh," she says as she points to each of the ponies being mentioned. "My name is Miles Eremita." "Okay. So Miles - oh! Hold on," Twilight closes her eyes and squints her face, making an aura glow around her horn again. A second later, a white flash appears in front of her, revealing a scroll of paper, a quill, and a small container that I presume is full of ink. Levitating them with her magic, she unrolls the paper, sets the container down, dips the quill into the container, and begins writing on the parchment. "Okay. So Miles, where are you from?" "Classified. What are you writing?" She looks up to me, then scribbles something down. "What do you mean, ‘classified’?" "I mean, it's classified. You know what that means, right? It's a secret, or-” "I know what it means!" she snaps at me. "What I mean is, why is it classified?" "Classified. Now, what are you four, exactly?" "Huh?" "What are you? You look similar to ponies, but the ones I've seen were much taller and had horns and wings." The group in front of me looks at me in awe and confusion. I don't think they knew that I knew their representatives from the negotiations. "You know about the princesses?" asks Twilight. "...I guess...?" Princesses? When did the ponies form a hierarchy? Twilight quickly scribbles something down and makes the parchment disappear in another flash. "Where did you send that?" "I sent it to the princess, so-" "WHAT?!" I yell as I jump to my feet. I can't believe this. She sent it to their princess! Not even to a lower government official - THE PRINCESS! They're going to hang me for sure now, I just know it! "What's wrong, Miles?" asks Fluttershy as she gets up and tries to approach me. I can't stay here. I have to get out as quickly as possible! I look to my right and see an open window. That'll do. I quickly sprint towards it and leap out, still managing to hit the glass and shatter it. As I run off, I can hear them calling me back, but I ignore it. I have to get back to Topaz Falls! Both my friend’s lives and mine are on the line now! Author's Note Now that were in Equestria (In the story at least, man tear) We can start something I've been wanting to do for a while. Its called, Brony Points. If you want to know more about this I'll post a blog about it. Also...please don't kill me for making Fluttershy cry. Chapter 8 Time Gone By Chapter 8 Time Gone By Perspective: Luna With a yawn, I roll over in my bed and look out over the balcony. My curtains have magically pulled themselves open to reveal the setting sun on the horizon, telling me that it'll soon be time to raise my beloved moon. With a quick stretch, I get out of bed and walk to my vanity mirror. Hmm... I still don't know how cosmic hair can have bed head, but I ignore the thought and begin brushing it out. Once done, I put on my necklace, tiara, and glass shoes before heading out to the main chamber. It's been two years since I was brought back from my imprisonment on the moon, and things haven’t been going as well as I had hoped. My speech has become more modern, and I've caught up on all the major historical events from the past thousand years, but that's it. My sister, Celestia, won't let me take on many of my royal responsibilities. She says ‘it's still too soon for me’ and that I ‘should take it easy for a little while longer’. Well, at least she lets me raise the moon every night. I walk out of my room and down to the eating chamber, where I find Tia reading a letter with a serious look on her face. "Good evening, sister. Is that a letter from your student?" I ask as I take my seat beside her. "Hmm… oh! Good evening, Luna. And yes; it seems there's a disturbance in Ponyville," she says as she sets down the letter and looks over to me. Of course something happened to Ponyville. It always happens to Ponyville. "What's happened?" "Nothing yet, but she says a creature she's never seen or read about has shown up - armed. Her friends tried to talk to it, but it would always either run or fight. That is, until it was knocked out. When they brought it back to her friend’s home, it was very hostile." "Do they know where it came from?" "She says it emerged from the Everfree Forest, but she doesn't think it lives there." "How can she tell?" "She didn't say, but I trust in her judgement." Hmm... this is strange, but not unheard of. Back in the day, Tia and I would get almost weekly letters speaking of monsters attacking towns and villages. Most were just simple animal attacks, but we dealt with it all the same. "What do you plan to do about this?" I ask, intrigued by this occurrence. "Well, I have a meeting with some government officials in ten minutes, so I was going to go to Ponyville after the meeting." "Tia! Those meetings take hours; this could be a real problem and shouldn't be ignored!" "Well, it's not like I can be in two places at once..." I lean forward and put on the biggest smile I can muster. "No!" "Aw, come on, Celestia! We use to do this kind of thing all of the time."I complain as I nudge her side a bit. She rolls her eyes at me, holding firm. "Luna, things are different now-" "Did the creatures of this planet become tremendously stronger within the last thousand years?" I ask with a raised eyebrow. "Well, no, but-" "And am I, or am I not, a princess of Equestria?" I ask as I straighten my back. "You are, but-" "So then, it is my royal responsibility to protect the subjects of my kingdom, and I, for one, think that's far more important than some boring meeting with some bureaucrats." In actuality I just want an excuse to leave the castle. There are days I feel these walls are closing in on me. Celestia looks away and thinks for a second to herself before turning back to me and saying, "I could just send you to the meeting and go to Ponyville myself..." Shoot, I didn't think of that. Gotta think of something quick... hmm... oh! "I could, but then we would have to spend pointless hours going over past meetings and prior agenda points, just to get me caught up!" Celestia smiles and walks up to me as she says, "Luna, you know I think the world of you, but I don't think you’re ready to-" "I am more than ready for something as simple as a creature disturbance, sister. I need to start getting more involved with the kingdom, you said so yourself. This is perfect: it's simple, public, and if anything does go wrong, I'll have your student to assist me. What’s the worst that could happen?" Please say yes. Please, please, please, please- "Hmm, well... I am busy... and Twilight would be there to help... okay, I'll let you take care of thi—" "YES! Thank you so much!" I leap up and give her a big hug before running towards a nearby window. I’m about to leap out, when Celestia's magic brings me back into the room. "I think your carriage will be better than flying all the way to Ponyville. Don't you think?" she asks with a smile. "Oh, right..." I say with a light blush. She levitates me over to her and sets me down so we’re face-to-face. "Luna... just, please be careful, okay? I can't put my hoof on why, but I've got a bad feeling about this," she says with a worried look. I look up to her and give her a confident smile before saying, "Don't worry Tia. I'll go, take care of things, and be back before you know it." With that said, I walk out of the chamber and head straight to the carriages. The ride to Ponyville takes far too long, mainly because I’m far too excited. Not to mention we had to stop so I could raise the moon. Once Ponyville is in view, I turn to the guards flying the carriage and ask, "Can you please bring me to Miss Sparkle’s home?" "Of course, princess," says the one on the left. After a few moments, we land in front of her tree home and I make my way to the door. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK After a few seconds, the door opens up to show Spike trying to wipe some frosting off his face with a napkin. "I'm sorry, but the lib—PRINCESS LUNA! Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't see you... uh, I was just... reading a book... and uh... please don't tell Twilight I ate all the cupcakes!" I give a small chuckle before saying, "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. I'm here to help Twilight with her... creature problem. Can you tell me where she is?" Before he can say a word, I hear hoofsteps from behind, followed by a gasp and shuffling. I turn around to see Twilight and her friends Applejack and Fluttershy bowing, looking tired and out of breath. "Ah, just the pony I wanted to see. So, I hear you are having some creature troubles. I am here to help. Where is this creature you wish to identify?" I ask as I approach them. The three of them sit up and look nervously to one another. After an awkward moment of silence, Twilight says, "Well, you see... the thing is... we kind of don't know where he is." "What do you mean? Didn’t you capture him and tie him down?" I ask as I look from guilty face to guilty face. "Well, he broke free and ran away," Applejack tells me. "Couldn't you stop him with your magic? Or at least find him with it?" "Well, when I ran into him in town, he blinded me by throwing dirt into my eyes. And once he was gone I couldn't scry him, so we have no clue where he is," Twilight admits, bowing her head slightly. "Do you have anything of his that I could use?" "He did drop this," says Fluttershy as she pulls out a small piece of metal. I take it with my magic and look it over. I've never seen anything like before. It’s so... mechanical. It seems to be made for something with paws or claws to operate. "Do you know what this is used for?" I ask, to which they all shake their heads. I charge my magic for the location spell while looking it over. "What are you doing Princess Luna?" Fluttershy asks. "I'm going to use a location spell to find him." "But it won't work," says Twilight. "I tried it already. He's somehow un-searchable by my magic." "I figured you would try to find him this way. But I think I have a loophole that will help us." I begin to use the spell to search out around the area. The spell works by taking an energy reading from one object, and matching it with a reading somewhere else. Once I lock on to the energy field around the object I begin to read all the energy fields in the surrounding area. As predicted, it's nowhere to be found. I continue my search, but instead of trying to find his energy field, I look for a negative field. When somepony blocks their energy, it creates a negative field of their energy, making them nearly impossible to track if one were to look for the energy. After a few moments of looking, I think I find him over in the residential area of Ponyville. I levitate the object over to Twilight and turn towards his direction. "Okay, I think I've got him. Now, I want all of you to wait here until I return." "Are you sure that's a good idea, Princess Luna?" asks one of the guards. "I'm more than capable of handling something like this on my own. Plus, I don't want to overwhelm him with too many ponies showing up next to him. I'll only be a few moments." With that said, I flap my wings a couple of times before taking off towards his location. The flight there was fairly quick; nothing out of the ordinary below. I find the location of the negative field and land on the roof of a one-story house. I take a moment to look around, to see if he has started to run out of the house or if he's still inside- "So, you found me." "Ahh!" I yell as I fall over, roll down the side of the roof, and fall straight to the ground, landing on my stomach. As I begin to recover, I hear a soft thud in front of me and look up to see a- "Are you Okay?" he asks while standing over me, offering his left hand. I quickly stand up and take a few steps back to size him up. He stands well over six feet tall, with light-tan skin, short black hair, and chocolate brown eyes. He's wearing what seems to be black pants and blackened metal strapped around his legs and arms. His chest area is revealed, showing his muscular body. Underneath the forearm of his left arm seems to be his cutie mark, but it’s covered by his armor. What he does next surprises me: he pulls out something from his back, drops to his knees, and presents it to me. "I surrender," he says, with a single tear rolling down the side of his face. Perspective: Miles Earlier As I hit the ground, I do a quick roll forward and sprint away as fast as possible. I can't face judgement now; I need to get to Topaz; I need to make sure my friends are okay. I look back to see that they haven't started chasing me yet, so I charge up my magic and slam my hands onto my chest, sending white flames all over myself. A quick energy reversal spell should hide me for a while, or at least give me a good head start. I come to a stop when I see a small town up ahead. The buildings are mostly one or two stories tall, and are all made with the same materials, which I don’t recognize. The roofs seem to be made of long strands of yellow material, while the walls seem to be made of... brown metal? I look back and see the three from earlier running out of the building and heading to the window I jumped out of. I could run and hide in the town, but I run the risk of being spotted again. But hiding in the town would give me a better chance of getting away... so, the town it is. I make my way to the closest building and climb up to the roof to get a good view of the town. The buildings are built very close to one another. In the center of the town is a large, circular, three-story building. There are four major roads that cross with this building and head to various places. The one to my right is the closest to me, and curves away towards the red building I was just in; the one to my left goes straight towards the area with the dark columns that I awoke in; the road above that one heads towards a mountain that has some structure attached to the side of it; and the remaining road goes off into some open area with gentle hills rolling away. "There he is!" I look back and see Twilight running towards me. I turn and begin running down the roof, only to stop when she flashes in front of me. Before she can do anything, though, I lunge off the roof and continue my run down the dirt road. After a few seconds, she flashes in front of me again, only to have me jump over her and continue on. I run for a bit longer until I feel myself get engulfed in an aura field. I look back at Twilight as she starts levitating me back to her. I quickly grab a handful of dirt and throw it at her face, blinding her instantly and breaking her concentration. Once I drop to the ground, I quickly run a bit further before turning down between two buildings and cutting behind them. The backs of each building are fenced off from one another, and lead to the center of the town- "‘Ah gotcha now!" I look to the left to see Applejack running towards me, leaping over fence after fence along the way. I quickly turn to the right and run away from her. The fences are barely a meter tall, so they're easy to jump over while running. After a while, I look back to see Applejack keeping pace with me. What is she planning? She could’ve easily caught up by now... When I look forward, Twilight appears before me, forcing me to turn left down an alley. I stop immediately when I see Fluttershy blocking the exit. Twilight and Applejack quickly run up behind me, blocking the entrance. "There's nowhere left to go, Miles. Just come back to the farm with us quietly, okay?" says Twilight. "Sorry, can't do that." I turn to Fluttershy and walk towards her. "U-um, p-please stop?" she asks weakly. I continue approaching her. "You stay away from her, ya hear?!" yells Applejack from behind. I continue to approach. "U-uh, p-please... um..." I'm now standing directly in front of her. "Please move," I say calmly. "O-okay." I can hear some groans coming from down the alley as we walk around each other, never looking away from one another. Once I'm past her, I quickly exit the alley to the right. The building I'm next to has an open window, so I jump through and hide beneath it. I can hear the three of them running by, arguing with one another. "Why would you just move for him, Fluttershy?" asks Twilight. "Well... he did say please..." I wait until their footsteps fade away before looking around the room. It's a simple room, with cream yellow walls, and a green couch with a small table in front of it in the center. To my left is a stairway, and further down is a doorway that leads to another room. On the wall to my right is a fireplace with what looks like a calendar pinned up. I should go upstairs, get to the roof, and get out of here, but I keep thinking about that calendar. After several minutes of debating with myself, I finally just go to it and look it over. The text looks like glyphs of various pony-related objects, but the numbers are the same. Half of the days are crossed off; apparently today is the 24th... That doesn't seem right. I take the calendar down and look at the front. After reading it over, I drop it... "4132... no... no, that can’t be right!" I begin to panic. I hear some shuffling upstairs and jump back out the window. Once out, I run down the road. That can't be right; ponies probably use a different time system. Yeah, that's probably it... I hope... As I'm running, I notice that the dome - or whatever is up there - is starting to change colors. Earlier it was bright blue, with a massive golden orb. Now it's a dark blue with golden rays coming from the distance. I decide to climb up a building and rest for a while. I haven't seen my pursuers for a while, so after a five minute break, I'll head out. I wake up later and look at the clock on my phone: 7:30. Dammit, I went to sleep for an hour... Oh well. At least no one found me. I look up and - I don't believe my eyes! The dom—area above, has turned black and is covered in millions of little white lights in every direction. In the center hangs a massive orb that glows white. This is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen! I can't wait to tell Dolum and the others about... oh, right. It can't be the future. I refuse to believe that everyone I’ve ever known has died. But, I can't shake the feeling that it’s true; that I'll never see my friends again; that I left them behind and wasn't there for them when they needed me the most; that I failed them- My train of thought is interrupted when a pony lands next to me. She fits the description of what a pony should be: fairly tall, wings, horn, and energy hair. She’s dark blue, and her backside has a black spot with a white crescent. I look into her eyes, and... they are an amazing light teal color. "So, you found me," I say calmly as I lay back. "Ahh!" She falls over and rolls off the building. I quickly go after her and leap off the roof. I land in front of her and offer her a hand. "Are you okay?" I ask as she gets up and backs away while staring at me. Hmm... Maybe I should just surrender. It would let me meet this princess and find out if it's really the year that calendar says it is. But if I do that... what if it's wrong? They'll kill me! ... But if it is the future, do I want to live? Well, the best I can hope for is that they hear my side of the story and just imprison me for a while. I reach for my revolver... and it's missing! Must have fallen out when I was on the run. I pull out my rifle and drop to my knees. I present it to her, hoping I'm not making the biggest mistake of my life... and hopefully this isn't the end of my life. "I surrender." Chapter 9 Judgement Chapter 9 Judgement I must have been kneeling there for ten minutes before Luna finally took my rifle. Once she does, I put my wrists side-by-side and wait. "Um... what are you doing?" she asks. "Aren't you going to arrest me?" "Why would I do that?" I'm a little stunned by this. Does she really not know? ...Well, if it's been three-thousand years, I guess they would forget. "Well, I am your prisoner." She looks me over a bit before magically locking my wrists together. She then walks around me, inspecting me from all sides. She stops in front of me and brings her hoof to my face. I try to avoid it, but she eventually does touch me, and I can feel her wipe a tear away. When the fuck did that get there? "Are you alright?" she asks as she tries to get a better look at my face. "Well, I did just get captured," I joke, "but..." "Yes?" "Can you tell me the date, real quick?" She looks a little confused, but answers anyway. "It's August 24th, 4132. Why do you-" "And how do ponies keep track of years?" Please don't say ‘celestial calendar.’ Please... "Well, we use the celestial calendar to-" "SON OF A BITCH!" She looks a little taken aback by my outburst, but I don't care. Three-thousand years! Three-thousand fucking years; I'm in the fucking future! I've lost everything...! Everyone I’ve ever known is dead... I'm- "A-are you OK?" "No! I'm not!" I snap. "I've just lost everything! I'm alone; I have no idea where I am; nothing here makes any sense...! *sigh* I just want to go home..." I drop my head and wallow in my sorrow. This is too much to take in right now. I don't know how to process this - how could it be the future? Did we win? Is Topaz Falls even there anymore? What the fuck is on my shoulder? I look over to see that the pony is sitting by my side, with her wing stretched across my back. She's looking at me with compassionate eyes. I look away and break the hold by standing. I don't want pity - I want answers. "Why don't we get going? There are many things I would like to ask." I nod and follow her down the road. As we walk, I look back up to the lights above. I don't know what it is about them, but they seem to take the edge off my pain. Especially the massive one, there. It's like they're all telling me that everything is going to be OK. It doesn't make much sense; though nothing else seems to either, for that matter. "What are you looking at?" she asks as she looks up with me. "I don't know... the lights, I guess." "What lights?" "Those ones," I say while bringing my bound hands up to point them out. She looks up, then back to me. "Do you mean the stars?" "Is that what they are?" "You don't know what the stars are?" I shake my head. “What about the moon? Do you know what that is?" "Is it that big yellow orb, from earlier?" I ask, getting her to giggle. "No, that would be the sun. That's the moon," she says as she points up to the big white orb above us. "Hmm..." I like the moon. It's beautiful, yet ominous. As we continue our walk, I keep my gaze on the moon and stars; if I'm going to face some form of judgment, I want my last moments to be of something serene. I look down and see that we’re approaching one of the columns. This one is at least four stories tall, with windows that have a warm, yellow light glowing from within. To the left of the column is a pretty badass-looking carriage. It's all black, set fairly low, and the corners come to a point. The front has a decal of a light-blue circle with a dark blue line going through it. There are two winged ponies waiting in front of the door to the column. They’re dark grey, have dark yellow eyes, and have dark blue metallic armor covering their bodies. Their wings also seem to be dark blue, and are membranous instead of feathered like the others. One is talking to the other - who has the barrel of my revolver in his mouth! "What the fuck are you doing?!" I yell, and sprint towards them. As I approach, they look up in astonishment, dropping the revolver before anything regrettable can happen. I slide to my knees and pick up the gun. I try to unload it, but am promptly tackled to the ground by the two. They pin me so that I'm lying on my stomach while they hold my arms behind me. "Hold it right there," says one of them. "What should we do with him, Princess Luna?" So this is the princess Twilight mentioned earlier. She walks up to me and looks down at me with a shocked expression. "What was that all about?" "I was just trying to keep stupid here from killing himself." She looks a little shocked by this, but quickly composes herself and motions to the two. As they get off, I feel her magic dissipate from my wrists, so I bring my hands forward to stand up. "How exactly were they going to kill themselves?" she asks. I ignore her, pop the cylinder out of the pistol, and drop the ammo into my hand. Two live rounds, four casings. I pocket these and holster the gun before turning to Luna. "It’s a weapon. That's all you need to know." Something smacks the back of my left knee, making me drop to the ground. I look back to see one of the winged ponies behind me re-sheathing a sword, looking really pissed. "Learn your place, you disrespectful foal." What's a ‘foal’? As I stand, Luna quickly steps in-between the two of us. "Lieutenant, there is no need for violence, so I would ask for you to control yourself." "Of course, Princess." "And as for you," she says while turning to me, “being my prisoner, I expect better manners from you. Am I clear?" Is she serious? By the look she's giving me, I’m guessing that she is. Great. I save him from himself, and I'm the bad guy. I nod to her and cross my arms. "Well...?" "‘Well,’ what?" "Aren't you going to shake on it?" she asks. Really? I look down to the one in front of me and reluctantly stick my hand out. He looks to Luna before reaching out with his wing. I take it and do a quick shake before letting go. "That's better. Now let's go inside and continue our discussion with the others." I follow her into the column, with the other two behind me. The room we enter is circular in shape. Carved into the walls are bookshelves that are filled with various books and scrolls. In the center of the room is a table that has a carving of a pony's head, minus the horn. A staircase starts on my right, and goes around the room to the next floor. The three girls from earlier are crowded around a small stand on the right side of the room, reading from a book that’s sitting on it. "Ladies," Luna says, gaining their attention, "I have returned with our friend here. If you don't mind, I would like to begin asking questions." "Of course, Princess. Let me get some cushions," says Twilight as she runs upstairs. I walk around the room, examining the books. They're all in the same hieroglyphic text as the calendar, so I can’t read any of them. "Oh, one more thing, Mr. ...," Luna leads as she faces me. "Miles." "Right. Miles, would you turn in that weapon as well?" Damn. I thought I could hold onto this one, just in case. I pull it out and hand it to her. She picks it up with her magic and levitates it to one of the winged guards, who takes it and holds it in his mouth - dumbass. "Um... Miles?" I look down to see that Fluttershy has approached me. She's hiding her face with her hair and is scratching the floor with her foreleg. "Yes?" "I, um... well, I was... that is, I wanted to... say I'm sorry." "Sorry for what?" "I didn't mean to chase you. I thought you were a creature from the forest, so I wanted to take care of you. It was just awful the way I chased you-" "Don't worry about it," I say, cutting her off. "It was actually pretty brave of you to just approach something you've never seen before." "Oh, but I’m not brave... I just love taking care of creatures. It's my special talent, after all." "You could have fooled me." She gives me a smile before walking over to Applejack. Twilight suddenly flashes into the room with four cushions. "Sorry, but I don't have enough for everypony." Did she just say every'pony?’ I continue walking around the room as they get situated, until I get to a window. There's a small space in front of it, which I take a seat in so that I can continue to stare at the stars. Someone coughs from the room, gaining my attention. I look over to see the four of them lying on large red cushions, facing me. "Are you ready?" asks Luna. "As I'll ever be," I say as I lean against the window and look back out to the sky. "Great! So let's start. First off, what are you?" "I'm a human." As soon as I say this, Twilight takes note of it on a scroll that's lying in front of her. "And where do humans come from?" "Terradisia." "Hmm... would that be on ‘Terra?’" "Yeah... why?" "‘Cause I haven't heard that term for some time. Everypony uses ‘Earth’ instead, nowadays. Now wh—" "I have a few questions I'd like to ask." I interrupt. She looks at me for a second before nodding. "What are you? I know you’re a pony," I say while pointing to Luna, "but what are you three?" They all look to each other in confusion. "We’re all ponies," says Twilight. "I’m a unicorn pony, Fluttershy is a pegasus pony, Applejack is an earth pony, and Princess Luna is an alicorn." Hmm... I didn't know ponies came in different species. "How do you only know about alicorns?" "I met some once. Good peo—er, ponies. They were representing all ponykind during some important negotiations, so I assumed that all ponies looked like that." Luna's face lights up at this. "Did you happen to get their names, by any chance?" "Yeah, Tempus and Spatium. Why?" She recoils as if she's about to faint. "U-uh, nothing. I was... just curious. So..." "Why did ya have all those weapons?" asks Applejack. I look over to Luna. She seems deep in thought. I wonder if she knew them... No, they lived over three-thousand years ago; there's no way she would’ve know them personally. "Well, I'm a soldier - those are my weapons. By the way, when can I get them back?" Everyone, except the guards, tenses up at this. "Well, Miles, you can get them back when you prove to me that you will cause no harm to anypony," says Luna, who still looks stunned. "OK, and how can I prove that?" Luna looks away, deep in thought. She then leans over to Twilight and whispers something to her. Twilight's face goes from curiosity to shock. She turns to Luna and whispers something back to her. This goes on for a while, until they both look back at me. "Well Miles, I've decided your fate," she says as she stands up and approaches me. Well, here it comes. "You will live here in Ponyville, under the supervision of Twilight Sparkle. She will be the one to determine whether you are a threat to the ponies of Equestria or not. I am also stationing a royal guard to follow you around. He will act as your liaison to Equestria. I will visit from time to time to check on you until you are deemed harmless to ponykind, at which time you will be set free. You will also work at Sweet Apple Acres until you have repaid your debt for the damages caused. Do you have any questions?" This... can't be right. Last I checked, I was wanted for murder! Now... now I just have to not hurt anyone and do some manual labor! Maybe she doesn't know... That's probably for the best. At least now I can have some time to think about what I'm going to do next. I look up at Luna and give her a deep nod. She gives me a smile and walks to one of the guards. I look over to Twilight and find that she's gone, as well as Applejack and Fluttershy. Luna returns with a glass chest that holds all of my weapons. The chest is a meter wide, and about half as tall and thick. She sets it down against the wall and puts her horn against it. After some bright glowing, she looks back to me. "I've magically sealed this chest shut. Only I, and a few others I've chosen, can open it, and I will only open it when I deem you’re ready." When she finishes, the guard from earlier approaches the two of us. "This will be your liaison, Lieutenant Storm Cloud." Of course he will be. I look down at him and give a short nod, which he snorts to in response. Well, at least he doesn't hate me. "Now, unless you have any questions, I will take my leave." Once she steps out of the building, she engulfs the entire thing in her aura field. I look back to Storm Cloud and ask, "Know what that was about?" which he snorts to. "Is that all you do?" "Why do you keep talking?" he asks in a deep voice; not quite as deep as Big Mac’s, but still deeper than mine. Twilight and the others come running down the stairs and stop by the door. "D-did she leave already?" asks Fluttershy. "You just missed her." They all look to one another before doing a group sigh. "Welp, yer stuck with’m now," says Applejack to Twilight. "Yeah, I know. But I couldn't tell her ‘no,’" replies Twilight, dropping her head and ears. "You know I'm right here, right? I can hear everything you’re saying." Twilight turns to me, gives another sigh, and heads to the stairs. "Just follow me, Miles, and I'll show you to your room." Storm Cloud and I follow her up the stairs to an open room that has a second floor above it, making one big room. The walls are covered in books, like the room prior, but the second story also has a bed that has a blue blanket with a yellow pattern on it. Twilight continues across the room to another set of stairs that winds down. These stairs go down one story and end at a door. When we reach the door, Twilight turns around to face me while opening it magically, revealing yet another set of stairs. "There are two cots down there for the two of you. If you read any of the books, just please remember to put them back in the right spots. There's also a bathroom down there that you can use. Breakfast should be ready at eight tomorrow, so if you want to eat, that's when it'll be. If you need anything else, my room is up the stairs. Any questions?" I shake my head. "Good. Now if you don't mind, it's one in the morning, and I would like to get some sleep," she says bitterly as she marches up the stairs. I look to Storm Cloud, who only shrugs and walks through the door. The stairs curve down a story before revealing another round room. This one has shelving similar to the others, and a strange-looking computer tower pushed to the left side. In the center are two twin-size cots, one with a blue blanket and one with a pink blanket. Storm Cloud looks over to me, then flies straight down and lands on the blue cot. Flying fucking asshole. I walk down the stairs and approach the pink cot. "Joke’s on you - I like the pink one," I say as I sit on it and begin removing my armor. "That doesn't surprise me," he replies. What a dick. I look back at him and realize he looks completely different. He's now a real light grey, with bushy black hair. His eyes are light blue and his wings are back to what they should be. His mark is a black clump that is sending two yellow bolts down. Before I can ask about the change, he gets under the blanket and turns away from me. I lay my armor under the cot and lie down. Today has been too much, yet it doesn't feel as wrong as it should. I'm sad, but at the same time, I feel... content. I close my eyes and think back to everything that has happened. The first thing to come to mind is that ‘moon’... that beautiful moon. Chapter 10 Party Time Chapter 10 Party Time I'm running down a long grey hall. The walls seem to go up forever, and all I can hear are the echoes of my footsteps. I can see my friends down at the end, walking towards a bright white light. I try to call out for them, but my voice is silent. No matter how hard I scream for them, I can't make a single sound. The more I run, the longer the hall seems to grow, which only makes me want to run faster. I look back to see the hall behind me is being consumed in a black abyss that's coming towards me. When I look back to my friends, my face is right in Twilight's. "MILES!" I fall back into the dark abyss. I fall and fall and fall and scream my inaudible screams as the darkness surrounds me. I jolt awake and immediately slam my face into something, making me lie back down. "Ow! What was that for?!" I look over to see Twilight on the floor, rubbing her face. Storm Cloud walks over and helps her up. "Why were you hovering over me like that?" I ask as I rub my face. "You were having a nightmare, so she was trying to wake you up," Storm explains. I groan as I sit up. What the fuck...? "What were you dreaming about?" Twilight asks. "Nothing..." "Miles, you looked really worried and scared. What happened?" I get up and start walking towards the restroom, ignoring the question. "Miles?" I glance back, then open the door and walk in, closing it behind me. The bathroom is small, containing a sink to my left with a mirror on the wall behind it, a single toilet, and a tub to my right. It's a brown tub that I assume is the shower, but its shape doesn't seem suitable for a person like me. I turn to the sink and run the water, splashing it on my face. I turn the water off and and stare at myself in the mirror. What was all that about...? KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK "Miles," Storm Cloud’s voice says from behind the door, "when you’re done in there, come upstairs and have some breakfast." I continue looking into my reflection as he walks away. What am I going to do now? Should I go back to Topaz Falls? Is it even there anymore? What about the other cities? Quartz Crest, Jasper, New Garnet; were they hit? Or should I stay here - try and start a new life here among these ponies? What would I do? I shake my head and leave the restroom. I can't deal with this until I'm set free, so I'm not going to worry about it until then I walk all the way up the stairs, through Twilight's room, and down the next set of stairs to the first room. I stop at the bottom and take a look around. Oh, there's a door to my right! How did I miss that? I walk to the door and open it. Inside, Twilight and Storm Cloud are eating at a table. Behind them is a counter that goes all along the wall. To my left is a refrigerator, and to my right is a set of pantries. Storm Cloud is back in his armor and is focusing on eating, while Twilight is reading a book. I go to the empty seat on the other side of the table and sit down. Twilight sets her book down and looks over to me. She then levitates a plate over and sets it in front of me. There are two flat brown disks covered in some sort of sauce on the plate. I look over to Twilight and ask, "What is this?" "Breakfast," Storm Cloud says flatly. "I got that part. I mean, what is it?" I say, shooting a glare towards Storm. "They're pancakes. You mean to tell me that you've never had pancakes before?" asks Twilight. "I've never even heard of them. What are they made of?" I ask as I poke at them with a fork. "Well, you take flour, milk, and eggs, mix them together, and fry them on a pan," Twilight explains as she looks back to her book. "Hmm... okay, next, what are ‘flour’, ‘milk’, and ‘eggs’?" Twilight looks at me in disbelief. From the side of the room, I hear some laughing. I look over and see a small, purple, scaly creature rolling on the floor in front of a stove that's to the right of the fridge. "Ah man, Twilight, where did you dig this guy up?" he says as he squirms around on the floor, holding his sides. "Spike, calm down and come have some breakfast." He stands up and takes his plate from the stove. He walks over and takes the seat in between Storm Cloud and I, wiping tears from his eyes. "What did you eat before coming here, rocks?" he says as he sets his plate down - it's filled with sapphires. Before I can ask, he takes the plate and slides them all into his mouth. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" I yell as I try to stop him, making everyone jump from my outburst. "What?" he says with his mouth full. "I'm just eating." "But those were sapphires!" He's looking at me like I'm crazy. I look to everyone else, and they’re giving the same look. "Well, he is a dragon," Twilight says matter-of-factly. "What the fuck is a ‘dragon?’" I ask as I sit back down. "What does ‘fuck’ mean?" asks Spike as he chew the sapphires. I almost don't register what he said as I watch he devour thousands of credits worth of precious gems. "Yeah, I've been meaning to ask you the same thing," says Twilight. "Oh sweet Barbra..." How could they not know what curse words are? I look around, and they all look equally confused. Before anyone can say anything, the alarm on my phone goes off. It’s just an escalating, beeping tone, but the others are freaking out from it. "What is that sound?!" asks Storm Cloud as he looks around the room. "I don't know!" replies Twilight. I casually pull my phone out and turn off the alarm. I slide it back into my pocket and look around at the three. HA! They're freaking out. I ignore them and begin eating the pancakes. I use the side of the fork to cut a chunk off and take a bite. This... is the tastiest thing I have ever had! It's sweet and spongy and makes my mouth water the instant it makes contact. I devour the rest in a matter of seconds. I look at the plate to see some of the syrup left over, so I pick it up and lick the remnants off. Once done, I set the plate down and look around to see everyone is staring at me again. "Hungry?" asks Storm Cloud, getting giggles from the other two. "Sorry,” I say while wiping my face off with a napkin, "but I've never had anything like that before-" "OH TWIIII-LIIIIGHT!" yells a cheerful voice from the front room. Suddenly, a pink pony bursts through the kitchen doorway, but then stops when she sees me. She's one of those ‘earth ponies,’ with a pink body, fluffy pink hair, blue eyes, and a mark that consists of two blue balloons and one yellow one. She takes a long look at me before sucking in a large gasp and springing into the air. The second she lands, she immediately runs out the door. "Who was that?" I ask nervously. "That would be Pinkie Pie," says Twilight as she returns to her book. "Did I scare her?" "I doubt it. She probably went to go plan you a welcome-to-Ponyville party." "Oh, okay... WAIT, WHAT?!" I run out of the kitchen and go to chase her down. She left the door open, so I run through it, only to have a blue energy field appear and send me flying back into the room. My head slams against the wall and I pass out. When I regain consciousness, I find myself in my cot. I sit up and begin getting out of bed, when the sound of foo—er, hoofsteps coming down the stairs catches my attention. I look up to see Twilight and Pinkie Pie walking down. "Hey there, sleepy head! How ya feelin’?" asks Pinkie Pie in a peppy voice. "Well, I feel like I went twelve rounds with a brick wall - and lost - but other than that, fine, I guess." As I stand up, I feel slightly disoriented. I take a moment to collect myself before meeting them at the bottom of the stairs. "I'm Miles," I say as I stick my hand out for a handshake. When she takes my hand, I feel jolts of electricity go through my arm. Luckily for me, my magic reduces it to less than a numb tingle. Her smile drops and she takes a look at her hoof, then grabs it with her other hoof. She jumps in the air as the electricity runs through her body. "Hey! Why didn't it shock you?" she asks as she takes the buzzer off her hoof. "It did. It just didn't hurt." Pinkie Pie looks a little disappointed by this - Twilight looks intrigued - but she immediately cheers back up and begins hopping in place. "Miles, you need to come with me and Twilight right now!" Before I can say anything, she turns and runs back up the stairs at an unnatural speed. I turn to Twilight, who only offers a timid smile before running after her friend. With a sigh, I follow suit. I make it to the front room, and everything is dark. I think I can hear whispers. Suddenly, the lights flash on and I’m surrounded by dozens of ponies. "SURPRISE!" they yell, followed by one more surprise shouted from Pinkie Pie. "AAUGH!" I turn and run back up the stairs as fast as humanly possible. Why did it have to be a party?! Of all the possible things, they throw a party! I stop at the second door in Twilight's room and think for a second. They’ll probably look for me down there. I look around the room and spot a window next to Twilight's bed. That'll have to work. I run up, slide the window open and try to jump out, only to be thrown back in by the same blue energy from before. Lucky for me, Twilight's bed catches me this time. "Son of a bitch, what was that?!" I ask as I get back up. "Miles!" I turn to see Twilight standing at the bottom of the stairs. "What was that all about?" "You tell me! Why were there so many people down there?!" I yell as I jump behind the bed. "It’s your welcome-to-Ponyville party. Pinkie Pie threw it for you, and you really upset her when you ran away." "First off, I didn't ask for a party! If you had asked, you would have found out that I hate parties! Secondly, I thought that you all thought I was some sort of ‘threat to ponies.’" "That's up to me to decide. And I decided that you would be fine for one night. But, why do you hate parties?" She asks as she approaches the bed. "I-I just don't like them. Of all the parties I've ever been to, there's only been one I liked, and it only had ten people in it. Please don't make me do this - please!" Oh please, oh please, oh please don't make me go. "Well... just stay here one minute." She turns and goes back down the stairs. I'm beginning to panic here. I sit in the corner of the room and try to get a hold of myself. I've never known why, but the thought of parties throws me off the edge. It was always something that I'd say I'd look into and then never did. "Miles?" Twilight calls out. I give myself a quick shake and go to the edge of the stairs. "Y-yeah?" I ask as I peek over the edge. "I’m sending everypony home, except for a few. I want you to at least meet my friends." Twilight explains. "Oh sweet Barbra... alright... I think I can handle a few ponies." "Okay, just give us a few minutes to get everypony out of here, then I'll call you down." I give her a small smile and a nod, and she returns the gesture before walking down stairs. I take this moment to collect my nerves. Hopefully, if I can make a good enough impression, I can get out of here sooner. Then... then... I distract myself from that thought by going back to the window. I wonder what kind of energy field I’m dealing with... I stick my hand through the window and- BZZZZZT "AAAH!" My hand is zapped. I pull it back and shake out the pain. Hmm... I wonder.... I reach my hand out slowly, and... BZZZT, ow. Less pain. Let’s try that again. BZZT, ow. Bzzt, ow. After the last attempt, I find the sweet spot. It's roughly six centimeters out of the window. At this distance, a gentle numbness surrounds my hand. "Miles, can you come down please?" Twilight calls out. Well, here goes nothing. I walk down the stairs and stop in the doorway to the front room. It’s littered with confetti and streamers; a few tables have been placed around the room with various treats and beverages. A giant sign is hanging on the wall above the main door. In the center are five ponies, lined up and facing me. I recognize the three on the right as Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie. The one directly to the left of them is a pegasus with a light-blue body, magenta eyes, and multi-colored hair - it goes red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and finally purple. Her mark is of a white clump shooting a bolt that’s colored like her hair. She stands with an impatient demeanor, like she has somewhere to go. The next pony is an all-white unicorn, with purple hair that has large curls in it, and three diamonds for a mark. "These are my friends: Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Applejack. Everypony, this is Miles." I give a small wave as they all stare at me with wonder in their eyes. An awkward silence falls over the room. I don't know what to say, what to do. Maybe just a ‘hello’, or a- "My, darling, you must tell me who made your outfit! It’s simply stunning," Rarity says as she begins walking around me. "So bold, yet so refined. OH! And I simply love the accessories." "Uh... thank you? My uniform was made by T.A.S. It’s standard issue for my rank." I tell her as she inspects the remains of my uniform. I can't tell if she's genuinely interested in them or just trying to break the ice. "And what rank would that be?" asks Storm Cloud from a seat behind one of the tables. "Lieutenant. First battalion, Spartan regiment." I look back and see Rainbow Dash fly straight into my face. "So what’s the deal with ruining Pinkie Pie’s party?!" Before I can answer, Applejack pulls her down to the ground by biting her tail. "Sorry bout this one. She can be a bit forward," Applejack says while giving Rainbow Dash a mean look, making her look away and cross her forelegs. "Well, to put it simply," I say as I walk from table to table, “I don't like parties-" "What?!" yells Pinkie Pie. "How could you not like parties?! Parties are super-duper ultra-awesome fun!" I look back at her and give a small shrug. "Sorry, but me and parties don't mix." I stop at the second table when I notice something that catches my eye. I pick up a single red rose and look it over. Pinkie Pie suddenly appears next to me, hopping in place. "Go on, try one!" "One what?" She picks up one of the roses and bites off the flower, chewing it loudly. I look at her in a state of shock. "What? It’s good!" she says as she chews aloud. "Okay, oaky, that's the last straw. First the pancakes, then the sapphires, and now you’re telling me that you eat flowers?! Why would you eat something so precious?!" Again, everyone in the room is looking at me like I'm the crazy one. "Miles," Twilight says, "it's clear there are some... cultural differences. Could we maybe quiz you on some things so we can better understand one another?" I'm still in shock from Pinkie eating the flower, but find a nearby seat and slump into it, burying my face in my hands. "*sigh* Alright, but understand that even though I may be your prisoner, I can’t answer all your questions." I guess they all accept this, because they come to the table and take seats. "So, how're we gonna do this?" I ask as I lift my head from my hands. "Well, I'm sure everypony has questions, so how about we go in a circle? One question per pony?" Twilight suggests. "OH! Me first, me first, please!" yells Pinkie Pie as she waves her hoof in the air. “Why don't you like parties?" "*sigh* I'm not entirely sure, to be honest. But ever since I was little, whenever someone would say ‘party,’ my heart would race and I would get all jumpy." This seems to satisfy her. Next is either Fluttershy or Applejack. "What was that explosion from yesterday?" asks Applejack. "A frag grenade," I state simply. "What's a ‘frag grenade?’" she asks. "I thought we were doing one question per person." I ask Twilight, who rolls her eyes. "Alright, what's a ‘frag grenade?’" asks Twilight, who’s next in line. "It's a weapon." This seems to get Storm Cloud’s attention, because as soon as I say it, he makes a beeline for me. "You wouldn't happen to have any more of those on you, would you?" Shit. I forgot about those when I surrendered. I smile as I pull out the three remaining grenades and set them on the table. "Sorry about that. I forgot I had them." He goes to bite them, but I stop him by pushing his face away. "Don't put the blue ones in your mouth!" "Why?" "Well... they are... they burn when exposed to flesh." This seems to set everyone on edge. Storm Cloud looks down at the two arcane grenades, then back to Twilight. "Would you please levitate these to the weapon chest, Miss Sparkle?" She nods and does so. The chest opens up and closes as she sets them down inside. "Okay, now that that’s done with, it's your turn, Miles," Twilight says to me. I think for a second, and something that's been bothering me comes to mind. "What are those columns out by your place, Fluttershy?" She looks confused by my question. "You know, those tall things with the green things covering them. There are hundreds of them by your place. And even more by Applejack's. We’re in one right now!" "Um... you mean... trees?" Fluttershy asks quietly. "‘Trees’? Huh..." "Wait, wait, wait. You don't know what a tree is, but you know what a flower is?! How does that work?!" Rainbow Dash asks. "Well, where I come from, we don't have anything like them. We only have flowers because we make them. And even then, they’re extremely rare." "Okay, my turn. How-" Rainbow starts. "You already asked a question," I interrupt. "Rarity is next." Rainbow Dash pouts a little but doesn't say anything. "Is this all of your uniform? It seems a little incomplete..." She asks, still inspecting my pants. "Actually, I'm missing my shirt, as well as all of my armor." She thinks about this deeply, but then turns to Fluttershy. "So, what plants do you know about? If you don't mind my asking," Fluttershy asks timidly. "Well, as of right now, trees and a couple flowers." The room falls silent over this. The girls keep looking to one another, while Storm Cloud is back in his seat, shaking his head. "Hey! Don't I get a question?" asks Spike as he enters from the kitchen, wearing an apron with pink hearts. "Sure, Spike… but on one condition: please take off that apron." He looks down and pulls the apron off and storms back into kitchen. Everyone else gives a small chuckle. He comes back and pulls up a seat next to Rarity, who rubs the side of her face against his. "How old are you?" he asks. "Well, I'm six." This gets the attention of everyone, and they stare at me in disbelief. Ha, I love doing this. "Not really. I'm actually twenty-four. My birthday is on February twenty-ninth, so it only happens once every four years." This makes them all relax a little, which makes me relax. So they do have leap years here. Pinkie Pie is next. "Hmm... why don't you like parties?" "You already asked that, Pinkie." I drone back to her. "Oh yeah! Well then, can I throw you a party for your birthday? I promise to keep it small, and nothing bad will happen; I Pinkie Promise." As she says that, she crosses her chest, flaps her legs, and then sticks her hoof in her eye. What... the fuck? "We’ll see... Next!" Applejack looks me over a bit before asking, "Why are ya all muscly?" I look down at myself. My body is mostly muscle, so they’re very defined. "Well, being a soldier means having to be in top physical condition." "I've got a question," says Storm Cloud from the back. "You’re a soldier, so you belong to an army. Where is this army, and what are the chances of them coming for you?" I go to give another smart ass answer, but the thought of home makes me hesitate. "Well... I don't think they'll be looking for a soldier that went M.I.A. three-thousand years ago..." Everyone looks at me in disbelief. As my heart begins to fall, our attention is pulled away by a sound coming from outside. Rainbow Dash quickly flies out and comes back with a shocked expression. "STAMPEDE!" Author's Note I want to thank Cheesus for being the first person to use the Brony Point system. He got to choose Miles's Birthday and he picked an awesome day. Chapter 11 Stampede Chapter 11 Stampede Screams echo from the town as everyone but Storm Cloud and I run out the door. I started to, but stopped when I remember the force field . "WHOA, close one. Hey, let me out!" I shout, but I’m unable to gain anyone’s attention. I look out and see massive beasts running through the town square. They’re a little less than two meters tall, and bulky - they look to weigh at least four-thousand kilograms, and are built thick. They walk on four skinny legs that end in hooves, have skinny tails, and have two horns that curve forward. I look to Storm Cloud and ask, "What are they?" He walks to the door and takes a look outside before saying, "They're cows and a couple of bulls - the big ones." I look back out to see the bulls. They’re roughly the same size as the cows, but are far more muscular. They also have larger horns, and seem to relish in destroying anything in their path. I look back to Storm Cloud, and see him casually walking back to his seat. "What the fuck are you doing?!" I ask as I follow after him "My orders are to watch over you and keep you from getting into trouble." He tells me as he heads back to the table. "Seriously?! The town is being destroyed, and you’re going to sit there?!" "I have my orders-" "Fuck your orders! Get your ass out there and help, dammit!" He turns and drops his ass into his seat, staring at me with the same, even stare as always. Fuck, this guy’s a dick! I turn my back to him and look back outside. The cows and bulls are rampaging through town: carts are being destroyed, houses are having walls damaged, and ponies are running around, trying to find cover that won't be easily destroyed - I've had enough. I turn and walk back to the stairs. Before I reach them, I look at Storm Cloud and flip him off. He just raises an eyebrow in response. I run up the stairs and look for a way out. I try the windows, but they don’t work. I could just blow a hole in the wall, but that would probably piss Twilight off. I walk up to the third story and look around. A balcony... well, it's worth a shot. I walk to the balcony door and swing it open. I take slow, even steps out, and prepare to be thrown back. When I reach the railing, I take one look back. No stopping now. I leap off the railing, and realize I'm an idiot. I hit the ground hard and roll forward. When I stop, I take a moment to check myself. Fuck yeah! No broken bones. I'm one lucky dumbass. I stand up and take in my surroundings. Bulls and cows are running in every direction, causing chaos all over the town. Twilight and her friends are down the road a bit, talking in a circle. I run down to see what they’re planning. "... and from there, we'll corral ‘em up and send ‘em home. Got it?" says Applejack to the group, getting nods from everyone. "Where do you need me?" I ask, getting wild looks. "Miles! How did you get out here?! I thought Princess Luna put a spell around the library so that you wouldn't be able to escape!" Twilight says as she glances back to her home. "Well, if she did, she missed a spot. But that doesn't matter right now. Right now, we need to get the town under control. I'm here to-" WHAM! A bull rams directly into my side and sends me flying into a nearby house. As I get back up, I notice the same bull charging straight for me again. I quickly dodge-roll to the right, evading his attack and sending him right into the house, making a massive hole. I get up and ready myself for him to charge again. After a few seconds, he climbs out of the hole and locks eyes with me. He gives a couple of snorts before charging straight for me once more. I slowly step back and wait for the right moment. When he drops his head to ram me, I jump up and plant a foot on his head. Pushing up and using the force of his rearing head, I jump clear over him and land back in my original spot. I turn back to face him, and get an idea - a dumb one, but an idea nonetheless. "Miles, get him ta’ follow ya this way!" yells Applejack from down the street. I can see they have a rope lying on the ground, ready to act as a tripwire. Her plan is better, so I nod to Applejack and turn my attention back to the bull. He's standing with his head down, glaring at me. He digs at the ground a couple of times with his left foreleg before charging me once again. This time, I run down the road towards the trap. He follows, quickly gaining on me. I look between the rope and the bull and realize that he'll get me before we reach the rope. Well, back to plan A. I slow down, letting him gain on me even faster. Once I'm within ramming distance, I stop and quickly hop as high as possible. I spread my legs apart and fall straight onto his back - and right onto my balls. I grab his horns and hold on for dear life as my groin hates me. My brain is telling me to start my plan, while the pain in my groin is telling me that I'm an idiot and I'll never have kids. I listen to the former of the two, and begin punching his windpipe with my right hand while holding on with my left. After a few blows, he stops running and begins throwing himself around in an attempt to get me off his back. I grab onto whatever I can get a hold of. After what feels like an eternity, he starts slowing down. His breathing is becoming more labored, and he's starting to foam a little at the mouth. I take advantage of this by beating his windpipe with my right fist again. With every punch, I can feel his breathing become more and more labored. After a few more he collapses, leaving me standing over him. "Yeah...! *pant* How the fuck ‘ya like me now..." I say as I step to his side, panting heavily. "...bitch? Got nothin’... on this...!" I grab my balls as I collapse on top of myself. Fucking fuck in the fuck! This is more painful than anything I've ever felt before! And I've had Fidus punch me down there before. After a few minutes of nursing my groin, I bring my head up and look around. All the cows and bulls have stopped running and are staring at me with fear all over their faces. From in the crowd, I can hear Applejack and Twilight trying to make their way to me. When I finally am able, I stand up and look back to the crowd. "I think you all should go home." Twilight tells the cows. Without a second thought, they all file down the road and leave as quickly as possible. Once the dust settles, the only occupants of the road are the girls, myself, and the unconscious bull. Everyone regroups around me. "Oh my gosh! Miles, are you okay?!" Twilight says as she runs up to me. I look down at my left side where I was hit and see massive black-and-blue bruise has taken over. I feel up the side and find a couple of the ribs broken. "Heh, I think I'll be fine-" "Fine?!" Twilight yells, "That bull nearly killed you! We're going to the hospital, right now!" "Yeah... I don't think I could fight you even if I wanted to. Lead the way." We begin walking away, when a sudden wave of pain takes over and makes me drop to the ground. "Miles! What's wrong?" "Argh - just some pain catching up with me. Just give me a sec." All the girls come around to take a look. I try again to get up, but drop back down. "Oh, please stay down!" Fluttershy says in a panicked voice. I look down at my wound and contemplate using my own magic to heal it. Eximius did teach me a ton of medical stuff, but with the pain making my movements shaky, I could really fuck myself up. "Miles, please lie down, darling. We'll get some help for you," Rarity says while looking around in a panic. "Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, fly to the hospital and get help. Applejack, Rarity, run into my house and get the first aid kit. Pinkie Pie and I will stay here and try to help Miles anyway we can," Twilight says in a commanding voice. Without saying a word, all of the girls go to their destinations. Pinkie Pie walks up to me and lies to my right. "How’s the pain?" she asks. I look at her and notice she looks different. Her poofy hair has dropped straight down, she’s a lighter shade of pink, and her overall demeanor seems... off. "Uh, well, sharp - I think I can feel some pressure building, so there’s likely some internal bleeding." Twilight walks over and takes a look at my side. "Well, I could try to set the bones, but I don't think that would be a good idea." She says as she examines me with her horn lit up. "And why would that be a bad idea?" I grunt back. "I don't know your physiology. Plus, I've never had to use the spell before; I could really make things worse." She looks really worried. "Hey, Twilight, come here real quick." She walks up to my left and looks down. I grab her left hoof and bring it to the right side of my chest. She tries to pull away, but I tighten my grip and hold her there. After a few moments, she stops fighting. I run her hoof across my ribs, making her blush furiously. "Heh, calm down; feel the bones. Get a good feel for their placement, spacing; see if you can feel the flexibility." I let go of her hoof as she begins feeling my sides and chest. She's looking intently at me for a bit, but is starting to go further down my chest than necessary. "Uh, Twilight?" "Right! I think I’ve got it, so why don't I just-" Before she can say any more, I move her hoof over to the other side of my chest and wince from the touch. She tries to pull away, but I force her to stay. "You need to compare the two. Start from a common point and count the ribs down. From there, compare them to the other side... And, try to be gentle." She gives me a smile and begins running her hoof up and down my bad ribs. I try my best to hide the pain, but when she runs over the broken end of one of the ribs, I let out a sharp gasp, making her pull away. "Sorry!" she says quickly. "Aww, don't be. Are you ready?" I ask as I steel myself for this. "I think so..." "Will it hurt?" asks Pinkie Pie. "Well... it may hurt a bit-" "It'll hurt like fuck," I interrupt. "She's taking a broken bone and forcing it back into place." I think I laid it on a bit too thick; Twilight is having a panic attack and Pinkie Pie is hyperventilating. "I can't do this! I can't do this! We'll just wait for the doctors to get here, or Fluttershy to get here, or-!" "Twilight-" I suddenly break into a brief coughing fit, "-calm down." Damn, my breathing is becoming more labored. I think my lung was punctured. "You can do this. You just have to calm down and focus. Work towards the goal and forget everything else." She takes a few deep breaths and charges her magic. My body is engulfed by her aura, and I feel it penetrating my chest. After some feeling around, she latches onto the ribs and begins moving them back into place. I instantly arch my back in pain. Her magic holds me in place, but I still try to twist from the pain. I look up to Twilight and make eye contact with her for a second. She's putting all of her concentration onto me. I give her a nod and she closes her eyes. An instant later, I feel one of my ribs yank back into place, forcing me to black out. Chapter 12 FriendsChapter 12 Friends Perspective: Storm Cloud I can't believe that bucking foal. Question my orders... It's not like I don't want to help - I do - but I can't neglect my duties either! Speaking of which, it's been a few minutes; I should check on him. I get up from my seat and begin walking up the stairs when I hear a loud smash from outside. Maybe I should go check it out - no! I have to stick to my orders. I turn and walk quickly up to Twilight's room. Hmm... not in here. I’m about to go to our room, when a thought comes to mind: this is Twilight Sparkle’s room—the prized student of Princess Celestia and the savior of Equestria. I've only been a guard for about a year now, so I never had a chance to meet her before. And she's completely different from what I heard. Everypony says she's this bookworm who does nothing but read and play with magic, but she's totally different! She seems to always be doing stuff with those friends of hers, and I haven't seen her with a single book yet! Hmm… or did she… I wasn’t really paying attention at breakfast- SLAM I turn around and run back to the front room to see Rarity and Applejack searching around frantically. "What are you all looking for?" I ask as I approach them. "Oh! Storm Cloud, dear, do you happen to know where the first aid kit is? Miles is hurt, and-" "Miles is hurt? How did he get hurt?" I ask in bewilderment. "He was fighting a bull, and-" "A bull... HE'S OUTSIDE?!" "Yes! And we need that first-aid kit! Now are you going to tell us where it is, or are you going to continue to ask pointless questions?" Rarity demands. I can't bucking believe this! How could he possibly be outside? GAH! I'd kick his flank if he weren’t injured... I still might, just for the hay of it. I fly to the kitchen, get the first aid kit from the cabinet, and fly back to the girls. "Take me to him." They nod and run back out the door, with me flying behind them. We go down the main road and up ahead I can see Miles being lifted by Twilight's magic. He has a massive black-and-blue bruise on his left side and looks to be in a lot of pain. Pinkie Pie is right next to Miles, looking really depressed. When we catch up to them, Twilight drops Miles and pants heavily. "Twi, what were ya doin’ ta’ Miles?" Applejack asks. "*pant* I... had to... re-set a couple of ribs," Twilight says weakly. She seems to have worked up a sweat and is close to collapsing. "Twilight, how did you set his ribs if you've never seen a human before?" asks Rarity. Twilight catches her breath and looks down to the side. I think I can see her blushing. "Well... he grabbed my hoof and... made me feel his uninjured side. Then I used it as a template to fix the other side." Applejack and Rarity look to each other in confusion, then turn to Pinkie Pie for an explanation, who - in an instant - springs up in the air and reverts to her old self. "Oh my gosh, guys, it was soooo romantic! Twilight was all worried for Miles - and so was I, but not nearly as much as Twilight - and then she said she might be able to fix him and he said for her to do it but then she said she didn't know how so he grabbed her hoof and held it against his chest - AND SHE LIIIIIKED IT - and she was all 'I can't do it' and he was all 'work for the goal' and then she fixed him and he passed out and now Twilight can't stop blushing! Ahahahahaha!" Pinkie Pie says, in one breath. All of us are dumbfounded by this. Sh-she liked it? What is there to like? After a few moments of silent disbelief, Rarity composes herself and clears her throat before talking. "Well, Twilight, dear, it's good to see you finally taking an interest in the opposite gender-" "I WASN'T FEELING HIM UP LIKE THAT!" Twilight yells, flailing her arms about. "I only did that because I was worried - nothing more." "Oh, darling, it's okay to have feelings for another pon—er, human. And what's not to like about a stal—er, man who can defeat a bull with his bare hands? Quite impressive, if I were to say so myself." "Yeah! Just cause he's human don't mean ya can't get a little sweet on the guy," says Applejack with a playful wink. I think Twilight's starting to get a little worked up from all the teasing, so I jump in to stop this horrible conversation. "I brought the medical kit from your kitchen. What do you need from it?" I ask her. "Yes, yes, let’s let the poor dear tend to her Miley-Wiley," Rarity says, finally making Twilight lose it. "I DON'T LIKE HIM LIKE THAT! I don't even know the guy! We only met yesterday! So could you please stop saying things like that?!" Rarity is about to say something, when Twilight grabs her hoof and presses it against the good side of Miles’s chest. Rarity tries to pull away, but the moment she makes contact, her expression goes straight to one of disbelief. Once Twilight lets go, Rarity feels around his body as if she's inspecting it. "Hey! Somepony mind filling me and AJ in?" whines Pinkie Pie. "I don't understand..." Rarity says slowly. “Normally, the energy goes towards the wound, not away. It doesn't make any sense!" "I know. That's what has me concerned. Not to mention, the amount of energy moving could probably fix him right now." They both look back to him while the rest of us are left in confusion. Before anypony can ask, I hear a carriage being pulled towards us. I look back to see a medical carriage, being pulled by two stallions, coming towards us at breakneck speed. Ahead of them in the air are Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. The stallions screech to a halt in front of us and run to the back of the carriage, pulling out a stretcher. One of them turns to us and asks, "Which one of you needs help?" We all point to Miles. He takes a quick look, then does a double take. "Uh... what is that?" "His name is Miles," I say to them, "and he is in dire need of medical attention." They take one look at me, and then run over to Miles with their longest stretcher. After some fumbling around, they finally get him on and load him into the carriage. Before they strap themselves in, they turn to us and ask, "Is there anypony who will come with us to the hospital?" "I will," Twilight and I say at the same time. "I'm his liaison; I will go." I explain to her, stepping between her and the carriage. "Well I'm his caretaker, so I should go." Twilight retorts, moving in front of me. "It's my job to keep an eye on him, so I'm going." I tell her with a bit more force. "Yeah, and look at how good of a job you’re doing. You don't even like him!" She complains, stomping a hoof at me. "Apparently you don't either." Twilight and I glare at one another for a few seconds, before one of the medical ponies chimes in. "There's room for two; you can both come if you want." We only break our glare long enough to get into the back seats. As we pull away, I look back to all the other girls. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy look confused, while the rest just have massive smiles on their faces, trying their best not to laugh. We sit there the entire trip in silence. When we arrive at the hospital, we’re told to wait in the lobby while they take Miles into the E.R. We spend the entire time too annoyed to speak to one another. So a few hours later a nurse approaches the two of us for the results. "Are you two here for the... thing?" she asks as she flips through a clipboard. "‘Human, and yes we are," says Twilight. "Right, human… Anyway, we need to know his medical history. Do you know if he’s allergic to any medication?" She asks as she starts to take some notes. "We don't know anything about his medical history. He only appeared here yesterday." The nurse scribbles some notes onto the clipboard. "Hmm... okay. So, we've dealt with all the major problems for now. Fixed some fractures, stopped the internal bleeding, and gave him some sedatives for the pain, but he'll have to recover on his own until we can get his history." "If you want, we can ask him when he wakes up," Twilight offers. "Actually, that would help a lot. I have to go and find that pony who keeps stealing slippers..." she mutters as she gives Twilight the clipboard. "He’s in room one-twelve. You can go to him right now, but I ask that you don't wake him. He needs all the rest he can get." With that being said, she runs off into the hospital. We make our way up the stairs and find his room. We enter and find a unicorn looking over Miles. He’s a caramel color with dark brown hair, a white lab coat, glasses, and a heart monitor for a cutie mark. "How does he look, doc?" I ask, gaining his attention. "Well, physically, he should be fine after a few days rest, but I'm more concerned with his energy output. It's going the wrong direction. I don't know if it's because that's how his species works, or if we should run a complete diagnostic on him." "Is there anything we can do?" asks Twilight. "When he wakes up, try to find out as much about his medical history and physiology as possible. I don't want him to leave with some major problem unattended. Now, I have to get his x-rays. Please let him get some rest." We give him a nod and he leaves the room, shutting the door behind him. Twilight immediately runs to Miles’s side and looks him over. He looks like he's sleeping peacefully, with his chest-area wrapped in bandages. "Are you going to be okay?" I ask. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I just wish there were something I could do, but humans don't exist! None of the books or scrolls I've read in the library say anything about them. No references - not even in any of the prophecies or crazy rambles!" she says as she lays her head on the end of the bed and looks up at Miles. I don't know why, but this is driving me crazy. Why does she care so much for something she only met yesterday? ...I can't take it anymore; I have to ask. "You really care about him, don't you?" She picks up her head and stares daggers at me. "Why does everypony keep saying that?! Why is it so wrong to worry for somepony of the opposite gender?!" "It's not wrong to, it's just that... I dunno... you seem to really care." "So what!? Why do you even care about who I care for?" "Well... I-" "Shut up, Auxy and Dolum! Fuck! Do you two always have to... oh... right," Miles says from the bed. Perspective: Miles I awaken to find myself in a room I've never been in before. It seems to be a medical recovery room of sorts. It's a room for two with minimal accommodations for others. The view out the window tells me that we're on the edge of town. I'm lying in a bed, under some light-purple blankets, with Twilight to my left and Storm Cloud at the end. "Who are ‘Auxy’ and ‘Dolum,’ and why did you think we were them?" Asks Twilight. I groan as I try to sit up, but stop when Twilight puts a hoof on my chest and guides me to lay back down. "Well... Auxy and Dolum were some of my best friends. Dolum was my roommate for years, and every time Auxy would come over... they had a routine." Dammit, talking about Dolum is making me tear up. I wonder if Auxilium made it out alright... "What was their routine?" Asks Storm Cloud. Maybe talking about the good times will help me. "Well, she would come over, they'd get all cuddly, they would argue with each other, and then they would... you know..." "Then they would what?" Asks Twilight. I don't think she gets it. Then again, Storm Cloud doesn't look to be doing any better at putting one and one together. "You know... fuck." They continue looking at me without a clue in the world as to what I'm talking about. "Have sex." Now they get it! Both of their faces turn bright red and they look away from one another... Oh my... I think something was about to happen! They both refuse to make eye contact with anyone, and they keep shifting around in an attempt to hide their blushing faces. "Oh sweet Barbra, you two were going to-" "No we weren't!" Yells Twilight, a little too quickly. "So how long has this been going on?" I pester. "Nothing is going on," Storm Cloud replies sternly. "Is this how you got the job to watch over me, or did this recently happen?" I ask in a clearly teasing tone. "Nothing happened," Storm Cloud says more sternly. Okay, I've had my fun. Time for some questions. "Alright, alright, nothing happened - whatever you say. So, where am I, and how did I get here?" They both let out a sigh of relief and look back to me. "Well, after you took out that bull, I reset your broken ribs, which made you pass out. And now you’re in Ponyville Urgent Care," Twilight explains. "Which reminds me: how did you escape the library?!" Storm demands. "I used the door. How's the town looking?" I say, never looking away from Twilight. "Some minor damage, but nothing serious-" "The door!? You expect me to believe that you walked through the doors without Princess Luna's magic stopping you!?" Storm asks as he stares at me in disbelief. It’s sad how honest I am. "Do you have a better explanation for how I got here?" I ask as I try to sit up, only to have Twilight push me back down. "Miles, you need to lie down. You got really hurt, and it's going to take time to heal." "That's nice. How do you expect me to use the restroom?" Twilight gives a small blush before reaching under the bed and pulling out a bedpan. "Oh, fuck that shit. I am not using that," I say as I try to get up again, only to have Twilight push me back down. I keep trying to get up, and Twilight keeps pushing me down. "You need rest!" She yells as we start to struggle against each other. "I'm not using that!" "Yes you are!" "No - I'm - not!" I finally succeed in standing, knocking Twilight on her backside. It takes a moment for me to realize that I'm naked... again. I quickly drop back onto bed and cover myself up. "WHY AM I NAKED... AGAIN?!" Twilight turns her back to me while Storm Cloud just sits there, wide-eyed. After a few seconds of awkward silence, our attention is brought to the door being opened. In walks a unicorn pony with dark brown hair, a light-brown body, and glasses at the end of his face. He's wearing what looks like a white lab coat that goes down to his mark - a heart monitor. "What's all the commotion about?" he asks as he looks around the room. "Why am I naked?" I ask in an irritated tone. "We had to remove your clothes to do the x-rays. We tried to put you in some patient gowns, but none of them fit-" "So you left me naked?" "Yes... I don't see the problem with that." Of course he wouldn't. "But if you’re done complaining, we have your x-rays right here," he says as he pulls out the sheets from his jacket with his magic, bringing them to eye-view. "Thanks to Miss Sparkle here, you won't have any enduring injuries. But it will still take some time for them to heal properly. We also had to go in magically and fix your lung, as well as some other internal problems." I look to Twilight, who glances back at me, and give her a quick nod and a smile. She returns the smile, but looks away again. Heh, Storm looked away with a frown. He's totally jealous. "But that's not what concerns me." My smile drops as I look back to the doctor. "What else is wrong, doc?" I ask. "Well, it has to do with the energy flowing through you." Oh great, I've got the bends again. I hate having to go without magic for weeks from over-using it. "It seems to be flowing the wrong direction." Okay, now I'm lost. "What do you mean by that?" I ask. "Well, whenever a pony gets hurt, unicorns can feel the energy in their bodies flowing towards the wound. With you, it seems to flow away from it." Oh, hot damn - I thought something was wrong. Whew! "Don't worry, doc; that's normal for humans." I dismiss with a wave of a hand. "Hmm... Well, if you say so. If you don't mind, I'd like to ask some questions about your physiology - in case you happen to find yourself back in here." "Not like I plan on spending much time in here, but alright." He pulls out a checklist and a pen from his coat and begins writing stuff down. "Okay, so any family history of medical problems?" "I don't know; I grew up as an orphan." "Oh, sorry to hear that. Um, are you allergic to any medication?" "None that I'm aware of." He scribbles on his note. "Okay, history of broken limbs." "Uh, let’s see... I've broken my left arm once, my right leg twice, and now a few of my ribs." He scribbles some more. "Alright, that should do for now. Now lie back down, try to relax, and get some rest. I don't want you doing any strenuous activities for at least a week." "Can do, doc." I say as I lay back under the sheets. Once the doctor leaves the room, I look back to Storm Cloud and Twilight. "So, where were we?" I ask, ready to tease once more! "You’re an orphan?" asks Twilight. "Yeah. Now you two-" "What happened?" she interrupts. I can see Storm Cloud wants to hear this as well, so I decide to tell them. "My parents were from Diamond Halls. Diamond Halls was attacked and destroyed by the enemy while I was being born. My mother died during the procedure, and my father was never found. So the military put me in an orphanage." Twilight looks really saddened by this, and Storm Cloud looks like he’s trying to keep a serious face on, but I can see the sadness in his eyes. "Don't worry about it though. If it weren't for that, I would have never found all of my friends." I try to give a convincing smile, but I can't really muster one. Even if they lived after the attack, they would have died thousands of years ago. "Do you miss them?" asks Twilight. "More than anything, but the worst part is that I didn't get to fix anything. We had a lot of problems coming between all of us. Half of my friends were mad at me, while the other half were destroying themselves. It seemed like I was at the center of all their problems. Who knows... maybe with me gone, they were able to fix them." I bring my knees up to my chest and hug myself. Maybe me being sent away was for the best... "I don't believe that," says Storm Cloud. I look up to him and see that he has a single tear rolling down his left cheek. "I once had a friend that I was mad at. He thought that he was causing problems for his family and friends, and eventually committed suicide. Only with him gone did I realize that I wasn't mad at him, but at myself. Don't let yourself believe that your friends were better off without you; if they were, you were never friends to begin with." Twilight is looking between the two of us and has tears rolling down the sides of her face. "Alright guys, it’s too depressing in here," I say as I lay my legs down, getting small chuckles from everyone else. "Let’s start over." Storm Cloud and Twilight look at me confused. I stick my hand out to Storm and say “I’m Miles; let’s be friends." He looks to my hand, sticks his hoof into it, and says, "I'm Storm, and I think I'd like that." After I shake his hoof, I reach over to Twilight and ask, "Friends?" She gives me a smile and shakes my hand. "Friends." Chapter 13 Long Road To RecoveryChapter 13 Long Road To Recovery "So what do we do now?" asked Storm Cloud. After our little touching moment we had a few minutes of awkward silence. I don't really know what to say, but luckily the nurse came in with a tray in her mouth. "Lunch time for you, Miles." She says as she sets the tray in front of me. On the plate is a mound of green gloop with a corner for a little brick of wiggly red stuff. A glass sits in the corner with water. I thank the nurse as she walks back out the door and I prepare to eat. I take the fork and lift some green stuff into my mouth... only to spit it out immediately. "What the fuck is this crap!?" I think I know what a wet diaper taste like now. "It's ground up grass," says Twilight as she reaches over and tries a bit, "it's not the best but it tastes alright to me." "You can have it then, cause that was just horrible." I say as I spin the plate to the red stuff. I’m about to take a bite when I stop and ask, "What is this stuff?" "It's jello." Storm Cloud says. "What's that?" "Well, you take rubber tree bark and grind it into a powder, then mix it with sugar and water and leave it in the fridge overnight." I look at the jello skeptically before trying a bite. It isn't half bad. Kind of chewy with a slight after taste I can't really identify but enjoy. I continue to eat it but look back to Twilight and Storm. "You guys should go get something to eat." I tell them. Eating with a crowd is not really something that I, or any sane person, enjoys. "I'll be fine," says Storm. "Yeah, besides I'm not that hungry anyway." As if on cue, both of their stomachs let out angry growls that made them both blush a little. "Not hungry huh?" I snicker. "Well, maybe a little." Twilight says with a small smile. "Yeah yeah yeah, look, I’m not going anywhere. Go get something to eat and then you can come right back, alright?" Twilight nods and begins to walk out, but Storm just sits there. "Hey, that means you too." "I can't just leave; I have a job to do." He says. "Hmm... I've got it. Go find my pants." He raises an eyebrow but complies. He walks up to the end table and pulls them out of the drawer. "How exactly are these going to keep you from running away?" "Easy, take them with you." This only raises his eyebrow even higher. "Look, humans aren't like ponies, we don't like to be naked. I'm not going anywhere without my pants, you have my word." At this point Twilight has walked out the door and out of earshot, so I lean forward to Storm and say, "Hey, stay here with me or go have lunch with Twilight, your choice." His eyes go wide as he contemplates his choices. "You promise not to go anywhere." "Yeah...I promise." With that he runs out the door and goes after Twilight. Hmm... What good is the promise of someone who breaks their promises? July 25, 1132 Topaz Falls I'm walking down the dormitory hall to Inficiunt and Eximiuses’s room. I had received a message from Inficiunt to come by ASAP, so here I am, room 1420. I knock on the door and wait. After a while of waiting I get impatient and decide to call him. I pull out my phone from my jacket pocket and speed dial him. Beep... Beep... Beep... "Hello?" Inficiunt's voice asks from the other side. I bring my phone to the door and knock a couple times next to it then bring it back to my head. "Oh good you're here." A few seconds later the door opens to reveal Inficiunt. He has his short hair spiked back and has lens-less glasses on. His white T-shirt has rows of horizontal cuts into it and his light tan shorts are covered in different colored neon paints. His pockets are filled with glow sticks and he has a whistle hanging around his neck. "Ah dammit, you’re going to another rave aren't you?" "What? it's Friday." He says with a shrug. "No, today is Tuesday." I correct. "Oh, well, close enough," he says as he steps through the doorway and shuts the door behind him. "So, are you going to be my P.I.C.?" "You know I hate those raves-" "Aw come on, what harm ever came from a simple little rave?" "The one time I was dumb enough to go we got into a fight with eight other people-" "A fight we won." "We were chased by the cops-" "We got away-" "Destroyed a building-" "It was structurally unsound-" "And we missed a lecture." "Tenera gave us her notes. Look. Just because something bad happened multiple times once doesn't mean it's going to happen again." I give him a flat look. "Okay, so what are the chances of it happening three times?" "Look, I hate parties, you know this. Sorry man, but you’re on your own this time." He gives me a small frown before beginning to shuffle backwards. "Whatever. Have fun being a crack in the diamond, I am gonna fu-kin rave ta-night!" He turns around and begins to dance his way down the hall. "Inficiunt." I call out, making him turn around. "Are you going to be drinking?" "Are you still a virgin?" "Ha ha, I'll be there at one hundred hours to walk you home alright." He gives a quick salute before continuing his dance down the hall. I look down to my phone, fifteen hundred hours, well I guess I can go down to the armoury and work on some enchanting while I wait. After a couple hours I begin to head down to the mico platforms to head out. Three flashes and I'm in the main lobby, so I walk out the front doors. Most of the lights on the dome are shut off to indicate dark hours, but a few are left to light the roads. I begin to walk out when I see Sine and Dolum walking towards the doors. I call out to them and run up to them. "What's up Miles?" Sine asks. "Not much, just heading out to pick up Inficiunt. He went to another rave." "Damn man, it's like a daily party for that guy isn't it," Dolum says. "Consider yourself lucky you haven't been to one of those raves with him." Sine says, sending chills down my spine. "Yeah well, he's expecting me soon so I have to go, want to tag along?" "Mmm... nah. If we come along we'll just end up doing another one of those crazy adventures again." Sine says which I nod to. "Alright, well, see ya later." I walk off to the main road and begin to walk down. It should be down four blocks and eight to the right. All of the buildings I pass are closed and there isn't a soul in sight. I make it to the fourth block and turn right down it. Nothing seems to be out of the ordinary; hopefully he just partied and didn't destroy anything this time. The closer I get to the warehouse, the more I can hear the music being played. I actually like the music well enough. It's fun and has good beats; I just don't like the crowds. I make it to the eighth block and turn down the alley. Straight ahead is the warehouse. It's a long building with windows that take up most of the sides. Its two stories high and has a flat roof. Different colored lights shine through the windows and illuminate the surrounding area. The main door has a long line of people waiting to get in, with two bouncers at the doors. I walk to the bouncers and they immediately put a hand out to stop me. "Line starts back there." Says the first one; a white guy that's the same height as me, with more muscle mass. "I'm here to pick up a friend-" "Nice try, go to the back of the line." Alright, plan B. I pull out my phone and go to my military Identification. "I am Lieutenant Miles Eremita of the Terradisian armed forces. One of my privates is inside and I have to retrieve him." They look to one another then say, "Alright, go in and get out. But if I don't see you leave in twenty minutes, I'm kicking you out and calling your superiors, got it?" "Twenty minutes, got it." Much to the displeasure of the crowd behind, they open the doors and let me inside. This party is fucking nuts! The room inside is packed with people dancing and drinking. All along the right side of the room is a bar that has most of the crowd next to it. The second story floor has been enchanted to be see-through, so I can see the undersides of the crowd above. At the front of the crowd is the stage where the DJ is. He has long black hair and is standing behind a counter that has all of his musical devices. To both his sides are groups of people dancing to the music. All along the walls and across the ceiling are lights emitting different colored lights. I see a bartender walking by with a silver tray holding drinks. I quickly run up to her and get her attention. "Excuse me," I yell over the music, “I’m looking for someone, could you help me?" "I'll try, but there are a lot of people in here hun." She yells back. "I'm looking for my friend Inficiunt, he-" "Oh, Inficiunt. Why didn't you say so? He's in the V.I.P. room. I'm actually heading there right now, just follow me." I nod and follow her through the crowd. When we make it to the front we stop by some more guards. She leans forward and says something to them, but I couldn't hear it over the music. The guard nods and lets us by. We head to the back rooms and find a door that has no handle and has a golden star on it. The waitress turns around and pushes the door open with her backside. The room is small, with a couch to the left, a small glass table in front of it and another couch on the other side of the table, facing the other couch. Inficiunt is in the center of the left couch and two guys in all black are on the other. A small brown bag sits in the center of the table. "That's not what we agreed on!" yells Inficiunt as he stands and pulls out a handgun from his belt line, pointing it at the two guys across the room. "Inficiunt! What the fuck!?" I yell gaining all of their attention. With Inficiunt distracted, the other two stand and pull out their own handguns and point them at Inficiunt. I raise my arms and ready my magic. Everyone stands there motionless, eyes shifting from one to another. I take the first move by dropping my right arm, magically putting the safety on for both the handguns, and pushing my left arm forward, pushing over the two of them. Inficiunt quickly grabs the bag and runs out the door, pushing the waitress out of the way and pulling me along with him. As we run down the hall I lift my right hand behind me and put up an energy field. The field is oval shaped, taking up most of the hall. We make it halfway down the hall before gun fire roars from behind us. I can feel the light pings of their rounds hitting my field, but this small arms fire won't be a problem. We slam through some emergency exits and run down an alley. After a few moments of running I stop and turn around. "What the fuck are you waiting for!? Come on let’s go!" yells Inficiunt in a panic, I ignore him and lift my arms, waiting for them to catch up. Sure enough, they burst through the doors and run straight for us. I take a step forward and push both of my hands forward, sending a wall of white energy flying at them. When the wall hits them, it sends them back into the air and lands them flat on their backs a meter or two away. I quickly walk up to them and kick their weapons away. I guess I put too much into that hit because they are both knocked out cold. I drop my arms and shut off my magic while walking back to Inficiunt. Before he can say anything I grab the bag and look inside. "Really Inficiunt! Drugs!? Are you seriously that fucking stupid!" I yell while shoving his shoulder. "It's not what it looks like-" "Oh then why don't you explain it because I'm seeing you risking your life for some fucking coke!" I yell as I slam the bag into the ground. "It's for the club. They promised free entry for life if I could get some. But they tried to short sell me so-" "I don't give a fuck what they did! Why would you risk everything for some stupid club!?" He doesn't say anything. He just drops his head and sticks his hands in his pockets. I look down to the bag. I have to destroy this or we're both screwed. I bring my hands in front of me and begin to charge my magic. In between my hands a ball of ice begins to form. The ball has spikes of ice coming from it and is slowly rotating. After a few seconds of charging I push down, sending the ice ball to the bag. When they make contact, the bag, as well as some of the area around it, start to freeze over and turn to ice. I slam my boot into the bag, shattering it into thousands of shards of ice. "Let’s go home." I say bitterly. "Promise me you won't tell anyone," Inficiunt begs, looking up to me with pleading eyes. "And why should I do that?" "Please, I'm sorry I got caught up in that. I promise that'll never happen again, just promise me you won't tell." "Promise me that this is your last rave and I'll consider it." He takes a deep sigh before saying, "Alright. No more raves, I promise." "It's a promise." I say as I stick out my hand. He clasps my hand and we begin to walk home in silence. When we arrive at our separate platforms we look back to one another. I shake my head and step on my platform. I flash into my hall and quickly walk to my room. I enter and slam the door behind me. "What the fuck was that about?" Ask Sine, who's sitting on the floor against Dolum’s bed. Dolum is sitting on his bed with his legs crossed, looking up at me. I take a deep breath before saying, "Guys, we have a problem." Current Time: Ponyville Urgent Care I look down at my chest and contemplate the past. Was I right in telling everyone about that night? Given, we did find more, but I did promise. I begin to pull off the bandages to reveal the large bruise taking over my side. I flare my magic and slam my hands onto my chest, sending white strands of healing magic throughout my body. I watch as the bruise grows smaller and smaller until it's completely gone. Once done, I stand up and begin to stretch, trying to feel any abnormalities. Satisfied with my results, I lay back into bed and sit there in silence. I don't regret breaking my promise with Inficiunt, I regret not being there for him afterward, even though he didn't want me there. Thirty minutes later I can hear hoofsteps coming towards my door. The door swings open and in walks Twilight, holding her head high and looking pissed. Storm Cloud walks in after her with his head held low. Twilight comes to my left side and sits down with a “Hmph”. Storm takes his seat at the end of the bed and looks at me. "What happened to your face?" I ask. His right cheek is all red. "I... don't want to talk about it." He says as he begins to rub his cheek. Twilight looks to me and does a double take. "Miles! You’re healed! How did you recover so quickly?" "Quickly? That took forever. Hey Storm, can I have my pants now?" He looks up and takes the pants from his armor and throws them over. I catch them and begin to unfold them, but then look over to Twilight. Her mouth is open slightly and she is staring right at my chest. I motion with my hand for her to turn around, which she quickly does, and I begin to get redressed. Once done I look around for my boots. "Know where my boots are?" "Check under the bed," says Storm. Sure enough, there they are. I pull them out and begin to put my socks on. "So, what's on today's agenda?" Before anyone could answer there was a knock on the door. I walk over and open it. "Oh, what’s up Luna?" Author's Note In case your wondering, no. Jello does not come from rubber tree's in reality. Chapter 14 Sugarcube CornerChapter 14 Sugarcube Corner "Oh, what's up Luna?" Standing in the doorway is Luna, with two guards by her side. She looks sleepy, but only slightly. "Hello Miles, may I come in?" I step aside and let her and the two guards in, shutting the door behind them. Luna looks at Twilight and Storm before turning back to me. "Miles, we need to discuss what happened earlier today." "Damn, news travels fast here doesn't it? Alright, discuss away." I say as I walk back to my bed and lay back on it. "Well, there are two things that concern me that I wish to know about; how did you escape the library, and about you defeating a bull with your bare hands." "Okay." "Okay..." "..." "Miles?" "Oh, you mean right now." I think I heard Twilight facepa—er—hoof. "Well now would be best, seeing how we're all here right this instant." Luna says as she rolls her eyes. "Alright, well it went basically like this..." I go over the events of earlier, my walking out of the library, the fight, Twilight fixing me, and me waking up in here. I can tell Luna is trying her hardest to stay awake during all of this, but I'm not sure if she can last much longer. "And then you came in and then it's now, and then I don't know." "That doesn't tell me how you escaped," Luna says. "Oh, well that's easy. You messed up the spelMMMMM." Twilight quickly covers my mouth with her hoof, shutting me up instantly. "What he means Princess, is that there may have been a small problem with your barrier," Twilight says, giving me a sharp look. "Hmm... where could I have gone wrong?" Luna says to herself. I pull Twilight's hoof from my mouth and say, "That's easy, you didn't compensate for opened doors." Everyone, except Luna, looks horrified by my statement. What? It's as if they wouldn't ever call her out on something like this. Luna looks to me and ask, “What do you mean by that?" "Well, you set the barrier to go around the exterior of the building, but you didn't think about the dual doors on the balcony. With them open, it made an opening that I could get through. But I only speculate. The quick fix would to set a second barrier for the balcony." Luna looks out the window and thinks to herself for a moment. Twilight gives me a quick jab in the side and gives me a look. "Very well then. Now to my next concern, the bull-" "If I were to remember correctly, our agreement was that I wouldn't hurt anypony. Unless that bull is some freaky pony I don't know about, I should be in the clear." "Alright, I'll pardon the bull incident if you promise not to harm any others from now on." "Sorry, can't do that," I answer quickly. "Okay, now - wait what!?" Now everyone is looking at me with shocked looks. I think this woke Luna up completely. "Do you want to run that by me one more time?" "I can't promise that I won't harm others because that's impossible to promise. If the town was attacked again tomorrow by the cows and bulls, I would do the same exact thing as last time. It's in my nature to protect others, and sometimes that means harming some to protect them. I can promise that I will try and solve things before they turn to violence, but I will not become a pacifist." Again, everyone except Luna is looking with the same shocked look; wide eyed with the mouth slightly open. Luna just looks tired. "Can everypony give me a moment alone with Miles? I wish to speak to him in private." Without a word being spoken, everyone walks out of the room. Once the door was shut, Luna let out a long sigh and walked over to the window. "Are you alright, you seem tired?" I ask as I sit up. "I'm fine. Normally right now I would be asleep," she says as she stares out the window. "Really, but it's so bright out." "Yeah, I know. The night is scary and day time is bright and fun. I've heard it before." Where did that come from? "I didn't say that, I just-" "You may not have said it, but you were thinking it. Everypony thinks it-" "I'm not a pony." Luna looks back to me with slightly wider eyes. I think her being tired is making her say things she would normally not say. "To be honest, the night was way more beautiful than the day. I like the warmth of day, but the coolness of night also reminds me of home. Not to mention that moon was something different." "What do you mean?" She says, taking a step forward. "Well... I'm not sure how to put it. It gave me hope, yet gave off an ominous feel over the land." "Hm... yeah, that was the feel I was trying to make," she says as she looks away for a moment. "What?" "My special talent is controlling the moon and night sky," she says as she looks back to me. "Your... special talent?" She turns to the side and shows me her mark. After a few seconds of staring at it, as well as the area around it, I quickly look away and try to hide the growing embarrassment from my pants. "Yeah, when a pony finds out what makes them special, they receive their cutie mark. Mine is the moon in the night sky." "Ahem… Well, that's nice. Humans don't have that," I say as I adjust my sitting arrangement. "Humans don't have cutie marks, but what about that one mark on your arm?" she asks as she points to my tattoo. "This, oh, this is a tattoo. Someone took a needle and basically stabbed me thousands of times with ink, leaving the picture." She walks over and takes a better look at it. "What does it mean?" "Oh, something along the lines of how being a Spartan meant that our lives were for the people we protected, and not even in death could we ever allow something bad to happen." "So you fight to protect, never in aggression?" "Basically, if we had to, we could be the aggressors, but we haven't attacked in hundreds of years. Well, thousands now." Well that was depressing. Luna looks away and thinks to herself for a bit. She looks back to me with a more relaxed look. "Miles, I have decided that you are not a threat. Or, at the very least, you've convinced me that you can be trusted with a bit more freedom. I will continue to hold onto your weapons for a while longer, but you are free to leave the library." Wow, really? That didn't take long. "Thank you Luna," I say with a slight bow. She begins to walk towards the door but stops halfway. "Do you know anything about astronomy?" "What's astronomy?" "Didn't think so, try asking Twilight about it tonight. I think you may enjoy it." I give a quick nod as she continues toward the door. "Hey!" I call out before she opens the door. "Take it easy on Storm Cloud. I mean, how could he have known there was a flaw in your barrier?" She looks back to me and offers a small smile before leaving. Once she leaves the room I lay back and start pulling on my hair. How is it I could walk through a crowd of human women wearing provocative clothing and remain flaccid, but a single pony shows me her backside and I nearly lose it? I rub my face with both hands before I stand up and head to the door. Before I could reach it, it swings open to reveal Twilight and Storm Cloud. "Miles! Princess Luna told us the good news." Twilight says as she looks up to me with a big smile. "Yeah, that was - *grumble* - hahaha well look at that. I am starving," I say as I put a hand on my stomach. "I've got an idea; let me treat you to some food at Sugarcube Corner. It'll be my way of saying thanks for saving Ponyville," Twilight says with a smile. "Well, as long as it doesn't have any of that grass stuff, I'm in." With that I follow her out of the hospital, getting weird looks from doctors and patients. When we leave the hospital I take a moment to take in my surroundings. The hospital is located at the bottom of the town. I can see the center round building off in the distance, with Twilight's library a bit behind it. We begin to walk down the dirt road when I see Luna's carriage fly off towards the distant mountain. I think we made eye contact, but if we did it only lasted for a second. We begin to walk towards the town when a thought comes to mind. "Hey Twilight, how does your town deal with new people?" "What do you mean?" "Well, if I were to walk into town, how would they act? There were parts of Topaz I couldn't bring Dolum into because of the way they dealt with black people. How are ponies going to act with a human waltzing right into town?" Twilight thinks about it for a second then shakes her head. "Well, they might have run in fear a while back, but with you saving the town, I think they'll give-" "The horror! The horror! Run for your lives! It's the bull slayer!" yells someone from inside the town; I didn't realize it till just now, but we had walked into town and every pony had run indoors at the sight of me. "You were saying?" asked Storm, only to get a dirty look from Twilight. "Okay, two things: One, your town is weird, and two, something happened between the two of you and I won't stop asking until you tell me." Twilight looks really agitated, while Storm is trying to look anywhere but me or Twilight. "*sigh* Well, basically I..." Storm began, only to stop when Twilight gave him another look. As I walk, I look between the two and try to put one and one together. Twilight is mad at Storm, she apparently smacked him and he looks like he feels bad about it. Hmmm... light bulb. "So I take it wasn't a very good kiss." Storm trips over his own hooves and falls straight on his face while Twilight freezes up and turns bright red. Yeah, I'm fucking good at this game. "How in the hay did you figure it out?" Storm grumbles from the floor. "Well, let’s just say I've seen this play a couple of times. So, was it really that bad?" I pester. "Oh look, Sugarcube Corner! Let's go because I'm starving and I would like something to eat and they have delicious treats there that aren't embarrassing." Twilight says as she runs off to some building. I look over to Storm and before I can say anything he flies straight for the same building. Whatever, I'll tease them some more later. I walk up to the building and stop in front of it. This is the weirdest building I've ever seen. It looks to be two stories tall with two smaller round rooms stacked on top. The roof seems to be all brown with loops of white tracing the edges. The building is adorned with various bright and colorful decorations, and gives the feeling of being delicious. Strange, I didn't know a building could be delicious. I walk through the front door and immediately fall on my ass when Pinkie Pie jumps onto me. "Oh my gosh Miles you made me so happy and now we can have a ton of fun playing games and dancing and eating tasty treats and..." "Whoa, slow down Pinkie Pie, what are you talking about?" "Twilight and Storm Cloud told me you wanted to have a THANK YOU FOR SAVING THE TOWN AND CONGRATS FOR GETTING BETTER PARTY!" Did she say party? I look over and see Twilight standing by, watching with an evil smile on her face. I immediately try to back out of the room but stop when I bump into something. I look back to see Storm standing over me with a similar evil look. "So Miles, you ready for your party?" My heart begins to race as I look around the room. There are a good number of ponies in here, and the place does look like it's about to throw a party. Shit. "Nononononono no party please. Look I'm sorry for making fun of what happened, but please no party." My heart is racing even faster now, plus I'm starting to sweat a little. Oh, please don't throw me a party; I just got out of the hospital. With a satisfied smile Twilight nods to Pinkie, who in turn bounces off me. "Oh don't worry silly, there's no party. I would never throw a party if it would make somepony sad, because parties are supposed to be fun and make you smile and if you didn't smile then that would make me frown and I hate frowning." I sigh in relief and stand back up, trying to compose myself. Twilight walks over to a nearby table and sits down. I walk over and take one of the remaining seats, which is awkward because it's a little too short for me. The room we're in is fairly spacious, providing room for several tables and seats with a good amount of room to move around freely. At the end of the room is a small display counter, showing various treats I recognized from the party from earlier...whoa, just got chills. To my left are stairs that go to the upper floors, and further down the wall are some swinging doors that go to the back. There were several patrons inside but the minute I sat down they all left, watching me closely. "Well don't I feel welcomed." I say as I watch the last pony run out of the room. "Just give them some time to adjust to you. My friend Zecora had to go through the same thing, being a zebra and all. Once you actually talk to them and show that you’re a nice guy, they'll calm down." Twilight says this as she levitates a menu in front of her. I look down at the menu and see it's in that hieroglyphic text that I can't read. There are a few with pictures, but with no prices I assume those are the expensive treats. "So I'm ready, do you know what you want Miles?" "Well, I'll just get what you’re getting." I say as I set the menu down. "What, nothing looks good to you?" asks Storm. "I can't read pony text so I don't know what there is to order." "You can't read? Did humans have writing or was it just different?" asks Twilight. "It was different, which sucks because I actually really enjoyed reading." Twilight seems to brighten up from hearing this. "Oh, I love to read too! What kind of books did you like to read? I personally enjoy pre-Nightmare gothics. They’re a little difficult to read because of the early language development but I like it all the same...." As she continues to ramble I lean over to Storm Cloud. "Does she do this a lot?" "I don't know; hopefully not." I lean back and resume listening. ".... but seriously who could top Star Swirl’s mad rambles, right?" "Absolutely." Twilight looks between the two of us and drops her head to the table. "I got carried away, didn't I?" "Just a little," Storm says. "Yeah, but to answer your question, I like to read on early human aeronautical and space exploration." "Humans could fly?" Storm asks. "Humans explored space?" Twilight ask at the same time. "Did they bring lots of tasty treats?" Pinkie Pie asks us from the previously empty seat, setting down a tray with four plates of treats. When did she take our order? And for that matter, when did she take that seat? "Well yeah they brought food, kind of need to for decades long journeys." This only furthers Twilight's and Storm's astonishment. I look down to the four plates and take a random one, seeing as they all had the same contents, they were brown disks that have dark brown spots. I pick one up and look it over. I take a bite and begin to chew. Not half bad. It's sweet, not as sweet as those pancakes but still a good amount. It seemed to crumble at first but after a few chews it becomes mushy. "Well? Do you like it?" Pinkie asks. "Yeah, it's pretty good. What is it?" I ask, as I fit the rest into my mouth and chew away. "It's a chocolate chip cookie!" she says as she slams her face into her plate. When she picks her head up she seems to be fine, chewing loudly with crumbs all over her face. I swallow and lean back to Storm. "Was that normal?" "I have a strange feeling it is," he says as we both stare at her. Pinkie brings us several more trays of other treats. Each one is a whole new experience. Some good, some pretty bad. When I finish up my last plate and sit back. I'm going to have to come back and try more of these. Or see if they sell those pancakes Twilight made. I wonder if you could combine the two. "So what's next for today?" I ask. "Well, we probably have time to visit one of my friend’s places, would you like to do that?" "Hmm... alright, seems like fun. Where to?" Twilight thinks about it for a second then comes up with an idea. "You said you normally wear clothes, right?" "Yeah… Why?" "We'll visit Rarity. She’s a fashion designer, and if you ask nicely she may make you a shirt." "Well, I like the idea of not being half naked. Alright, lead the way," I say as we all stand up. "Wanna come with us Pinkie Pie?" Twilight asks. "Nah, I'll give the two of you some alone time," She says as she trots happily to the back of the room. "I don't like him like that!" Twilight yells back, confusing me. "What was that all about?" I ask, only to get ignored as Twilight storms out of the room. "What was that about?" I ask Storm. "You don't want to know." Author's Note I want to give a shout out to Sine Wave. He was the next person to use the Brony Points, and used them to pick the first destination to visit in Ponyville. Thanks for all the support and I'll see ya next time. Chapter 15 Carousel BoutiqueChapter 15 Carousel Boutique Storm and I run out to catch up with Twilight. As we walk along I look over to Storm, who shakes his head. I think I'll ask anyway. "Soo... what was that about?" "I don't want to talk about it." I look back to Storm, who shakes his head again. "Alright, I'll drop it... for now." Twilight gives a small huff and begins to walk normally. As we go through the empty town, I can see faces peering from windows and doorways, only to disappear the moment we make eye contact. "So, how long do you think it'll take for the citizens to become accustomed to me?" "I give it a month," Storm states. "It only took Zecora talking to everypony to become accepted. Once you start to meet the towns ponies they'll open up," Twilight says as she glances around the town. "Alright, alright; who's Zecora?" I ask. "She's a zebra that lives in the Everfree forest," Twilight states simply. "Great, what's a zebra?" "They're basically earth ponies that are covered in black and white stripes." Interesting, I'll have to ask this Zecora for some pointers on how to deal with the locals later. We continue to walk towards the upper part of town, with little to no sign of its inhabitants. I'm starting to worry if I'll ever see any of them; but then again, why would I need to see any of them. Once I get my weapons I can go and find my way to Topaz. Wherever it is. "Hey Miles?" Storm asks, breaking the silence. "Yes Storm?" I respond. "Are you alright?" I glance over to him for a moment before looking away. "Yeah… why…?" "Well, I don't know. You just seem to be handling everything well. You did just find out that you were sent to the future." He reasons. "To be honest, I'm trying not to think about it. I just want to focus on getting back to Topaz Falls and finding out what happened to everyone I knew." Twilight and Storm exchange looks before Twilight asks, "So what happened the day you were sent here?" I sigh as I try to think of a way to answer. "They happened." I quicken my pace and leave it at that. I know if I speak too much about them, I'll get into a really bad mood. And I don't want that to delay my inevitable departure. Twilight and Storm catch up and we walk the rest of the way in silence. "Here we are, Carousel Boutique," Twilight says as we approach a round building. It seems to be three stories tall and heavily embellished with bright intricate patterns painted throughout the exterior. A door that's cut through the center sits in the middle, with large oval windows going around the building. Twilight walks up to the door and gives it a few good knocks. With no answer she opens the door and walks in. "Should we follow?" I ask, looking to Storm. But he just shrugs. "May as well," Storm says as he walks through the door, with me following. The room we walk into seems to be the fitting area. To my right is a small stage surrounded by mirrors and a doorway to what I assume is the dressing room. To my left are rows of different gowns, most hanging from a rack but some are out on display on pony mannequins. On the other side of the room I can see a hallway the leads to the back of the building, as well as a stairwell that goes up. "Rarity? It’s Twilight. Are you home?" Twilight calls out. "One moment please, I'm in the middle of something," chimes Rarity from the backroom of the boutique. I begin to walk around the room, inspecting various little things, when something catches my eye. Sitting on the counter is a fist size diamond; nothing protecting it. It's just sitting there... in the open... alone. "Everything alright?" Storm asks as he walks up to me, barely glancing at the unprotected diamond. "Yeah, yeah... is it commonplace for ponies to just leave gems lying around... in the open... alone." "Well, gems are pretty valuable, but I guess leaving them like that is somewhat normal. Hey Twilight, you know what Rarity uses the gems for?" Storm calls back. "She puts them into her gowns. It's kind of her trademark." Her trademark is putting gems into clothing... how the fuck does that work? Wouldn't it get uncomfortable wearing them? "Hello Twilight dear, how is Miles... Miles! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the hospital?" Rarity asks as she walks into the room. "Heh, well I was, but I'm a quick healer. So I was released early." Rarity stares at me in disbelief for a bit longer before composing herself. "Well that is great to hear. Now Twilight, is there something you needed or were you just visiting?" She asks as Storm and I approach the two of them. "Actually, Rarity, I wanted to see if you could help me with something," I say before Twilight can respond. "You see, the thing is, humans don't like being so... exposed. I was wondering if you could make me a shirt. I don't have any money at the moment, but I would be willing to work to pay off my debt." "Oh don't be silly, of course I would make you some clothes! And don't worry about payment. Consider it my way of saying thank you for saving the town from the stampede." "Wow, thank you for your generosity Rarity, I really appreciate it." I'm genuinely surprised by her willingness to just give me the clothes. "Oh, you are so well mannered. Think nothing of it. Now let's get started right away, follow me dear," she says as she walks to the backroom. I glance back to Twilight and Storm before following her. Hopefully Storm can control himself while I'm gone. We walk down the hall past the stairs to another open area filled with sewing machines, mannequins, and rolls of fabric. Spike is in the center of the room, picking up random utensils and scraps of cloth. "Hey Spike, what're you doing here?" I ask, getting him to jump a little. "Miles!? Aren't you supposed to be in the hospital?" Yeah, I'm growing to love this question. "I healed up quickly. Do you work here or something?" "Spikey wikey is my little assistant and offered to help earlier this week due to a large order I had to fill," Rarity informs me. Spikey wikey? Da fuck? I give him a look but he doesn't care. He's just happy to be helping her. "Well let’s get started then. What do you need me to do?" I ask as I try to change the subject. "Just stand there and lift your arms straight out." I move to where she pointed and lift my arms, making me into a ‘T’ shape, and let her get to work. She levitates multiple strands of yellow measuring tape over to me and presses them all around me. She takes measures of my waist, chest, arm length, and body length, making notes after every measurement. Once done, she levitates the tape over to Spike and drops them into his arms, burying him in the tape. Is he like a slave or something? I'll ask later. Rarity walks over to a nearby table and begins to draw out different sketches of ideas. I walk to a different table and lean against it, crossing my arms as I watch her sketch. "So Miles," Rarity asks, "do you mind if I ask you a few questions while I work on this?" "I don't mind." I say with a shrug. "Well, I don't mean to be so forward, but what happened between you and Twilight?" "Wait what!?" Spike asks as he pushes a drawer shut. "Yeah... well, it basically went down like this." I go over everything that happened after the bullfight. The entire time Rarity quietly works on some white fabric, while Spike just sits on a small stool, watching me very closely. "So basically, I made Twilight feel me up to fix me," I say in summation. "So nothing romantic happened between the two of you?" Rarity asks to clarify. "What!? Who said anything romantic happened?" I ask as I look around the room. "Well, Pinkie Pie was saying that Twilight seemed to... enjoy herself a little. But, Pinkie Pie could have been reading too far into it." Wow... I feel slightly violated... and dirty. "I'll have to talk to Twilight to clear some things up." I look down to Spike and notice that he looks a little mortified. "Are you going to be okay, Spike?" "What? Oh yeah, just fine. Glad to hear about Twilight feeling up complete strangers. I’m just peachy," he says as he stands from his stool and stomps out of the room. "What was that about?" I ask Rarity. She makes a face but continues to focus on her work. "Well, Twilight is basically his mother. Most of the time they act like brother and sister, but Twilight has raised him since he was hatched from an egg. She's always been the one to watch over him." Again, wow. I had no clue they were that close... I guess he's not a slave. "Think I should talk to him as well?" I ask as I look out towards the main room. "That would probably be best... aaannnddd done!" she says as she lifts a plain white shirt over to me. I grab it and look it over a bit before putting it on. It's a long sleeve button up shirt that has a lay flat collar. The collar seems odd but it beats walking around shirtless. "Well? Go on, how does it fit?" Rarity asks excitedly as she trots around me. "It's perfect. Thank you very much," I say as I tuck in my shirt. "It was no problem at all, now I have a proposition for you." "O-kay, what do you have in mind?" "I doubt you want to wear the same clothes every day, and I'm absolutely fascinated by your home attire. If you let me look over those smashing pants, I'll make you some more clothes. What do you say?" Smashing? Seriously? But she has a point, I don't think wearing the same thing over and over again will help with getting the locals used to me. "I’ll agree on one condition. You make me a new pair of pants first. You know, so I don't walk around half naked in an indecent way." I ask, getting a large nod from her. "Deal, now hold still so I can take measurements for your pants," she says as she pulls out the tapes and begins to measure me again. "Just out of curiosity, why are you so interested in my clothing?" I ask as I watch the tapes fly around me. "Are you kidding? It is my obligation to fashion that I seek out all trends, past and present. Plus, I'll be the first to introduce human fashion wear to ponykind! Who could resist such an opportunity?" I think I should tell her they’re just pants, but she is making me new clothes for free, so I'll let her have her moment. "Whatever you say Rarity." She finishes measuring and goes back to her sewing machines, levitating various rolls of fabric and utensils over with her. "Miles, could you be a dear and fetch me Spike. I need his assistance." She asks in a slight daze. I can see that she's clearly in the zone. "Sure, no problem." I walk back out to the front room to find Spike and Twilight talking over by the mannequins, and Storm standing guard over by the door. Twilight looks slightly irritated and is looking away from Spike, who is standing in front of her with his arms crossed, tapping his foot. "Hey Spike, Rarity says she needs your help with some stuff," I say as I walk into the room. "Alright, but I still have some things I want to say when we get back home," he tells Twilight as he walks back to the backroom. "What's wrong with him?" I ask in an annoyed tone. I don't want to press it too hard right now. But he's being a little too disrespectful to Twilight for my taste. "He's just mad about a couple things going on right now," Twilight says in an irritated tone. "That's no reason for disrespect; want me to get him back in here?" "No. I'll talk with him when he cools down. Miles, I'm going to head home right now. I need to... do a few chores," Twilight says with a deep sigh as she looks away from me. "Alright, see you later then." She nods and walks out the door without another word. I look to Storm and ask, "Do you know what's going on with her?" "Just some personal matters I don't know about. Nothing we should concern ourselves with." Fuck that shit. I guess friends means something else for ponies. I'm not going to let something that's bothering Twilight go unattended. Not to mention I am most likely to blame for it in the first case. I begin to walk back to the backroom but stop by the doorway when I hear their conversation. "..Seems nice enough, but I still don't trust him. What if he turns out to be a fillyfooler? What about when he gets his weapons back? He could go on a killing spree! You saw how well he handled that bull bare handed! I just don't want to see anypony get hurt," says Spike. "Darling, I have to agree with Twilight on this one. I think you’re overreacting to all of this. Yes, he did do quite a number on that bull, but that was self-defense. And I don't believe somepony like him would be a fillyfooler." "So would you leave him with Sweetie Belle?" "Spike!" "Well?" "Well... no. But that's just because I don't know him! You can't just assu—" "Yeah I don't know him either, that's why I don't want him around Twilight so much! We don't know what he will do; or what he's capable of." A silence fills the room. I can't believe what I just heard. Yeah they don't know me, but have I really given them a reason to be so fearful? With neither of them speaking up I decide to walk into the room. "Miles! I-I finished your pants, there's a fitting room back in the front room, let me show you." "Don't worry, I saw it." I grab the pants and walk straight into the fitting room. I'm slightly pissed for being judged so poorly, but at the same time I can't rightly disregard their worries. It's true that they don't know much about me, but how dare they make accusations about me without getting to know me first! I quickly remove my boots and switch pants. The new ones feel more comfortable, but also feel more fragile. They're a light tan and must make me look like a puss. But I ignore it for now and return to Spike and Rarity. I set my old pants down and turn to Rarity. "Thank you for the courtesy Rarity, I'm glad to see a few diamonds in the rough. I'm going to get going now, I'll stop by tomorrow to check in on your progress. Vale usque nos obvium iterum." I leave the building with Storm following closely. I don't know where I'm going, but I need to clear my head before I do something regrettable. Chapter 16 TrustChapter 16 Trust As I'm walking off Storm follows me while flying so we're at eye level. "What's got you all worked up?" Storm asks as he stares at me in confusion. "I'll tell you about it later. Right now, I need to blow off some steam. Is there anywhere that is somewhat secluded?" I ask as I walk at a brisk pace. "Um, the park would be best but why-" "Great, that'll do. Where is it?" I ask as I quicken my pace. "It's that way," he says as he points ahead. "But why do you-" Before he can finish I begin to run towards the general direction he pointed to. He quickly flies next to me and keeps pace, only having to flap his wings gently. "Why are you running!?" He's demands. "..." "Miles!?" "..." "Gaaah, why are you so stubborn!" He yells in desperation. "Because I'm trying not to do something stupid. If I tire myself out, I won't have the energy to do anything." I tell him as I push myself to move faster. "...oookay. Well can it wait until we actually get to the park? You’re kind of scaring some of the locals." I look around the houses to see many faces watching me run by. They look scared and I can hear them locking their doors as I run by. "Too late to be discrete about this. I'll just have to explain myself another time." As I run, the houses around me suddenly stop. The area becomes an open field of rolling green hills with several trees standing randomly. The path continues for several kilometers before ending at the massive red buildings from the other day. I stop abruptly, making Storm overshoot me by a few meters, and look around. "Is this a park?" I ask as I look around the mostly open field. "Yeah... what are you going to do?" I look around and try to figure out what I could do. Several meters to my right is a tree that has low hanging... columns? To my left is a fairly level open field. There are benches set periodically throughout the path, ahead in the path is a large water fountain that sits in the middle of a cross way for two paths. "Miles?" "Can you do me a favor?" I ask as I begin to unbutton my shirt. "Uh, sure, what do you need me to do?" "Hold this," I say as I throw him my shirt. With it off, I begin to sprint off the path to the left. I can see a small boulder in the distance and decide to make it my marker. When I make it to the boulder, I slide n' pivot and continue to run back to the path. I can see Storm just sitting there, looking pissed, with my shirt on the ground. When I make it to the path, I slide again and begin to run back to the boulder. I figure the distance between the two to be about... a little over half a kilometer. With every pass, I can feel my body begin to tire, sweat forming all over. The entire time I'm running, I keep my mind blank. I like to let the simplicity of a good workout clear my head. I haven't been keeping track, but as I turn away from the boulder I see Storm laying on the ground, on the verge of sleep. I decide to change things up in this last pass. When I make it to the path, instead of turning around, I run across and head straight for the tree. "Huh? Wha?" says Storm in a sleepy daze as I pass him. "Sorry sleeping beauty," I say as I run past him. I make it to the tree and stop underneath it. With a jump, I grab the closest column and begin to do pull ups. After what feels like a few minutes Storm walks in front of me and sits down. I can see that he put my shirt inside his armor, a bit too late but whatever. "Are you done yet? We've been here for hours." I look around and notice that the sky is becoming darker. Damn, how long have we been here? I drop down to my feet and stretch a little before looking around, panting deeply. "How long...*pant*...have we been out here?" I ask as I check my pulse. "Three hours." Hot damn! That can't be right. "Are you sure? It does not feel as if it's been three hours...*pant*...maybe half that." "Do you see the sun?" I look around the sky but can't see it. "The sun sets at six. We left Carousel Boutique at three. You've been running like crazy for almost three straight hours." "Oh, sweet...*pant*...Okay, let’s head back." "Finally!" Storm cheers as we begin to walk back. With every step, I take I can feel a numb ping race up my legs. At certain points, it feels as if I'm going to drop from under myself. After a while my breathing is back under control, but is still constant. The cold night air stings against my throat with every inhale, and after what feels like forever I stop and collapse on a nearby bench. "I'm sorry, just let me catch my breath." He nods and takes a seat next to me. I need to talk to him about what happened earlier anyway, what better time than now. "So, Storm, mind telling me what happened between you and Twilight?" He jumps a little at this, but quickly recovers and lets out a soft sigh. "Well... we were eating lunch... and at first it was quiet... but, then, I started to ask about you and her, and she denied any feelings. I then asked her if she had feelings for anypony. She told me she only once ever had feelings for a colt she knew from a while ago. She started looking really sad, so... I kind of... kissed her." "Why would you kiss her?" All of the soreness escapes me when he says that. Why would he do something so stupid!? Is this some pony thing? "I don't know! My ex-marefriend would do the same thing and it seemed to work out-" "Is Twilight your marefriend?" "Well no, but-" "So how could that have possibly worked out?" "*sigh* I don't know. It just felt right," he says as he drops his head low. Well, it's obvious that he likes her, he's just stupid. "It's not like I kissed her on the lips, it was just a peck on the cheek." He tries to explain, but I just laugh at him. "HA! I had a friend who beat the shit out of some guy who looked at her in a suggestive manner. Trust me, women will blow everything out of proportion." This gets a small chuckle from Storm - good, at least Eximius’s pain is helping someone. "You ever have a marefriend?" he asks as he looks up to me. "Hey, this is about you, not me," I say as I try to change the subject back to him. "Come on, one guy’s pain to another." Aw fucking ass, play the bro card on me. "*sigh* No. I've never had a girlfriend before." I admit as I lean forward and rest my arms against my knees. "Any girls that interested you?" He tries. "Not really. For me, the only things that ever concerned me were doing good in school and protecting Topaz Falls." "Hmm... sorry," he says as his ears droop down. "For what?" I ask in confusion. "Well, everypony keeps bringing up your past. And I know how that could hurt." "Hmm... the weird part is, it doesn't really hurt. I'm saddened deeply, but... I don't know how to explain it; I feel as if I'm still there." I lean back against the bench and stare up at the night sky, letting myself get lost in the countless stars. "We should head back, it's getting late," Storm says as he gets off the bench. I nod to him and follow after him, my eyes still on the starry sky. We walk for a bit until a question bursts out from me. "Hey Storm, do you trust me?" My question catches him off guard, making him rub the back of his neck as he thinks about his answer. Truth be told it caught me off guard too. But there's no un-asking the question. "Well... I really want to. You seem like an honest guy and I can tell you don't want to harm anypony. But my job tells me not to. It demands I expect that you will turn any second and try to hurt those around me. I don't want to believe that, but I have no choice to... sorry." I think about it and look back down at him. "Don't worry about it. The mission comes first, never your emotions. Well, that's what they tell you in basic at least." He gives me a quick nod before continuing down the path back to Twilight's. "Hey, can I have my shirt back?" I ask as I walk beside him. He pulls it out of his armor with his wing and tosses it back to me. Didn't know they could do that... strange. I slide it on and begin to button it up before something comes to mind. Time to tease. "So, you like Twilight." I more state than ask. "What!? No I don't!" He yells back with a small jump. "In which case I guess I should apologize for making her feel me up like that. It's not cool to do that kind of stuff with your bro's girl." "She's not my girl! But... that still wasn't cool." He says with a grumpy frown. I chuckle at him. He's about as easy to read as a blank sign. "Hey, it was life or death, kind of, not really, pain sucks. Anyway, how do you plan on fixing this?" I ask as I tuck in my shirt. But I don't like the way it looks, so I untuck it. "*sigh* Fixing what?" "Well, she kind of hates you. Plus, have you even apologized yet?" "She won't let me." He says as he looks away dejectedly. "Hmm... I'll talk to her. She may not want to hear it from you, but she may listen to me." "I... would appreciate that... bro." I stick my fist out instinctively for a fist bump. It was something me and everyone else did and it just seemed right. I quickly realize that he doesn't have a fist to do this, so I begin to pull my hand away when all of the sudden- Clock He jumps up a little and jams his hoof into my fist, making a light clonking sound. Well, didn't see that coming. As we continue to walk into the town I begin to hum a melody. Once I can tell Storm is trying to listen I begin to whisper the words, getting louder and louder as we get closer to the library... "Storm and Twilight walking in Emerald City... K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes..." "Are you sure you aren't six? You keep acting like a six-year-old. Plus, you sang it wrong. It's sitting in a tree, not walking in Emerald City." "Sorry, but where I come from, there are no trees. So why would we be sitting in them?" I tell him, getting a nod in return. "True, true... is Emerald City another human city?" "No, it's a pony city," I say as I give him a ‘no shit’ look. He rolls his eyes and says, "You know what I mean." "Hm, yeah. It's our capital. It's supposed to be the epitome of political activity, social reform, and academic prosperity." Storm nods to this as we continue to walk. As we go, I begin to hum again. "Storm and Twilight alone in Pony-ville... H-U-M-P-I—" "REALLY!?" he yells as his wings flare straight back. "That didn't even rhyme!" "It didn't need to. What's up with your wings?" He looks back and immediately tries to get them down, blushing like crazy. "Wow dude... is this how pegasi get boners?" I ask more out of genuine curiosity than anything else. There's a lot I'm going to have to learn out here. "Can you just shut up for a minute!" he says as he tries to pull his wings down. "Damn dude, you got it bad for her, don't you?" He grumbles to himself as he tries to work his wings down. After a minute of chanting what sounds like a drill chant he finally gets his wings down. He turns back to me with a blush and scratches the floor with a hoof. "Please don't tell anypony," he asks as he looks up to me, blushing slightly. "Hey, you can trust me with a secret, now let's get going before it gets too late." He nods and we continue to walk down to the library. "Just out of curiosity, what was that?" "It's called a wing boner. When a pegasi gets excited our wings flare back like that." He admits with a blush. "Pegasi? As in it happens to females as well?" "Yeah." Hmm... women with boners... why am I thinking about this? As we approach the library I can hear some yells coming from inside. With a quick glance Storm and I run to the library and burst through the door. Inside are all of the girls, plus Spike. All of them are facing Twilight, who looks like she's on the verge of exploding from anger. "What's going on here?" I ask. "Miles, just the person I wanted to see," says Spike as he looks to me and crosses his arms. "Can you come in here, we'd all like to ask you some questions." Chapter 17 True IntentionsChapter 17 True Intentions "What kind of questions do you have in mind?" I ask as I enter the room, with Storm closing the door behind me. Everyone has a concerned look on their face, except Twilight, who is still on the verge of an anger meltdown. "Well darling... you see the thing is-" Rarity starts, only to be cut off by Rainbow Dash. "What are your intentions with Twilight!?" she roars as she flies up in my face. "My... intentions?" I ask, taking a step back slightly confused. "Yeah, what do yo-" Rainbow Dash begins to say, only to have Applejack pull her down by biting her tail and yanking her back. "Whoa there little missy! Now, look here Miles, Twilight is our friend, and we're a little... worried about having somepony that forces thumselves onta her living in the same house as her. We just want ta ask ya a few questions to put our worries ta rest." Well, that's reasonable... I think. "What exactly do you mean by that?" I ask as I look around the room again. I feel like I'm being interrogated for something that clearly was a misunderstanding. "Well, how do ya think a her?" she clarifies. "Well, she's my friend," I say with a shrug. "I think of her the same way I thought of my friends back home." I look around to see everyone looking away, trying not to look me in the eyes. "What?" "Miles-" Twilight starts but stops when Spike steps forward. "Miles, I did a little research on my own. There was never a settlement in history called Topaz Falls. You lied about where you came from!" He accuses me, folding his arms with a smug look on his face. "Hmm... we'll let’s think about this for a minute. Did the authors you read from actually know anything about humans or human civilizations at all?" I ask, crossing my arms to match his attitude. "Well... no, but-" "So in all that research you did in the last few hours, you couldn't find anything on human civilization. How about any references to humans in general?" "No, but-" "So let me see if I got this right. You couldn't find any evidence of a people or culture that existed some three thousand years ago, so you conclude that it must not exist. EVEN THOUGH you have someone in front of you who is a person that fits the description of these non-existent people, telling you that there is a city called Topaz Falls, and there is a civilization of humans. Now would you like to know why ponies, as well as any other group, would never see nor hear of humans for a long, long, long time?" "How?" Twilight asks after a slight pause, genuinely interested. "Because we don't live on the surface. Our cities were built almost three kilometers’ underground. We put them there a thousand years before I was even born." Everyone looks pretty shocked by this, looking up at me with wide eyes and dropped jaws. "So that's why you don't know what any plants are, because plants can't grow underground," Fluttershy says understandingly. "Yeah, basically." I say with a shrug. "If your cities were underground, then how did you end up on the surface?" Spike asks. "Well, I figure being sent three thousand years into the future put the planet in a different location. I should consider myself lucky that I even landed on the planet." Oooh... that's a creepy thought. "Well, how are we to know that you’re telling the truth?" Spike asks. "Oh, he's tellin the truth, ah can tell," Applejack pipes in. "So Spike, any other questions?" I ask, making him glare back at me. He looked like he was about to say something when he suddenly puffed out his cheeks. After a few seconds of holding his face like that, he gives a little jump as he burps out a small green flame. Wisps of energy congeal from the green flames and merge to form a small scroll in the air. It has a red band going around the center, with a gold seal of a thick ‘U’ on it. Twilight picks it up with her magic and unrolls it to read it over. "A letter from the Princess, that's weird." She muses as she scans the letter. As she reads, she keeps a serious look on her face. Her eyes going from side to side until she comes to the end of the letter. She looks away for a second before re-reading it over again. "What does it say?" Rainbow Dash asks impatiently. "Well... it seems another dragon has decided sleep near Ponyville again. He hasn't started snoring yet but the Princess doesn't want to wait until he does for us to act." She looks up from the letter to everyone in the room for a second, before she rolls the letter shut and walks to a nearby desk. She pulls out another piece of paper and a quill, and writes something down before rolling it up and giving it to Spike. Spike takes a breath in and blows out a small green flame that disintegrates the letter into the energy from before. The energy wisps away through a nearby window and flies away into the night. Okay, so apparently, dragons can breathe fire and are used to deliver mail. And why would a dragon sleeping be a problem for Ponyville? Twilight turns to all the girls and begins to march in front of them. "Alright girls, it seems Ponyville needs our help again. Everypony go home for the night and rest. We'll meet here tomorrow morning at seven o' clock, so be sure to bring whatever you will need for the journey." All of the girls rear up onto their hind legs and hold their front legs in front of them, giving different cheers of support to one another. "Seven o'clock, got it." I say, getting more shocked looks from everyone. "What? Did you really think I was going to sit this one out?" "Why would you go?" Rainbow Dash asks in an irritated tone. "Why wouldn't I?" I ask, getting Spike to roll his eyes. "It’s not really your problem to deal with. Not to mention your methods are a little too extreme for a job this big," Spike says. I look down to Spike and say, "Now why would I have to get rough with a dragon? They don't seem to be all that tough." Spike just glares at me and gives a small huff of smoke from his nostrils. "Uh, Miles... Spike is just a baby dragon," Twilight says. "This is going to be a full-grown dragon." "Okay, how big do they get?" "Well... most are around two stories tall, have seventy-foot wing spans, and are around a hundred feet long." What's a foot? Do... do they actually measure using their feet? Is that their way of saying a meter? And why are they measuring with feet? Don't they have hooves? Even then, that's a big creature. And if they can breathe fire like Spike does, that could cause some problems. "Are you still going?" I ask for clarification to Twilight. "Of course I am, I-" "Then I'm going too." "Why would Twilight going make you still want to go?" asks Rarity. "Well, if you’re trying to infer that I'm only going because of some strange affection for Twilight, stop. I'm going for only two reasons. To protect Ponyville, and to protect my friends." "We don't need to be protected, we can handle things on our own," Rainbow Dash says defensively. "I'm sure that you can, but as long as one of my friends is in danger, I will always be there to protect them, no matter the cost." "W-what does that mean?" Fluttershy asks timidly, while she also seems to be shaking slightly. "I would die for my friends." Again, stunned silence fills the room. "You would die fer us in ord-" Applejack starts but stops when I interrupt her. "No, no, not you. I said my friends. As of right now, that means Storm and Twilight." I say as I walk by Twilight's side. Pinkie Pie's hair seems to deflate as she looks up to me with hurt eyes. "Does that mean that you and I aren't friends right now?" she asks in a mournful tone. "Sorry, I don't use the term 'friend' lightly. But that doesn't mean I won't be friendly towards you or any others. Being a friend of mine means more than just asking questions or doing small favors. To me, it's about being there for one another. Helping each other through the hard times and accepting one another for who they are. All you've done since I've been here is chase me like some wild beast, accuse me of being things that sound horrible, and use me to further your own interest. The only exception is Fluttershy, who is only not a friend because I hardly know her, but given some time I could see her being a very good friend." Fluttershy gives me a small smile, but the rest seem to be only angered by my remark. "Hey, I'm a great friend!" yells Rainbow Dash. "Why wouldn't I make a good friend?!" "I didn't say you would or wouldn't make a good friend. I just said that I barely know you, so I'm not your friend. I'll be a pleasant acquaintance, but we're not friends." She crosses her forelegs and pouts on the floor. I think I'm coming off as a dick, but I mean what I say. "So if we’re not friends, does that mean you wouldn't protect us if we were in danger?" Rarity asks quietly. "I would protect you within a centimeter of my life, but for my friends, I'd be willing to give that last part up, if it meant they would be safe." Everyone goes silent after this. I can see Storm and Twilight are thinking hard about this, that's probably for the best. Everyone else just seems to be deep in thought, with really offended expressions on their faces. Twilight gives a soft sigh before saying, "Well, we'll just have to worry about this tomorrow. We all need to go home and prepare for the journey." Everyone silently agrees to this and walks out the door, except for Spike, who gives Twilight a final glance before he walks up the stairs. Once they're gone, Twilight magically shuts the door and approaches me. "You know, you really hurt some of their feelings right now." "Yeah, I know. I didn't mean to come off as offensive, but I meant every word." I explain. "So you would die for us?" Storm asks, walking around and sitting next to Twilight. "Yeah, I would." Twilight and Storm exchange looks before looking back to me. "Why?" They ask together. "What do you mean?" "I mean, why would you throw your life away for somepony you met yesterday?" I can see a look of concern on both of their faces. I turn away from them and walk over to a nearby window, looking up at the night sky. After a minute or two I take a deep breath before turning back to them. "What else would I use my life for? Everything I ever knew died three thousand years ago. Even if the city is still there, with people, what would be the difference from going there or staying here? Either way, I'm starting over. I'm here now, so I'm going to make the best of it." Twilight drops her head and shakes it a little. Storm looks at her, then to me. I motion for him to put his arm... leg around her, and he hesitantly gives it a try. Once his foreleg makes contact, Twilight immediately looks up to him, after a few seconds of staring she looks back down. "*sigh* Miles... what am I going to do with you?" she says quietly. "Nothing right now," I say, getting her attention. "Right now we’re going to prepare for the big trip tomorrow. Now, what will we need?" This puts a smile on her face as she breaks off Storm’s hug and walks over to the desk. She pulls out another piece of paper and writes a few things down. Once she finishes, she turns back to me and Storm with her confident smile back on. "You two go through this checklist and bring all of the needed items back here when you find them. I've got to work on a few things in my lab so I'll be back up in a while." "Can do, boss," I say with a salute, making her giggle slightly. She gives me the checklist and trots up the stairs. Once she's gone I look back to Storm. He's sitting there, wide eyed, staring at his leg. "You alright?" "I'm never washing this leg again," he says dreamily. "Gross, well let’s get started on this checklist." I unroll it to find that all of the listed items are drawn instead of being written. That actually makes things a lot easier. I was just going to have Storm do all of the work, but now I can help! I split the list with Storm and begin searching throughout the house. Most of the items are simple; a satchel bag, some quills, ink, but some things I have no clue how to find. One is a drawing of a book with some specific drawing on the front. I end up spending hours looking through every book until I luckily come across it. When I put it in the pile of found items, I can see that Storm only has one item left. "Hey Storm, let me see your list really quick." "Uh, okay..." This was too easy. I look throughout the page and then shift back to mine. I continue to swap the two until I feel confident he doesn't know which is which. I then give him my old one and begin to walk into the kitchen. "Aw come on, not cool." Sucker. I walk into the kitchen and check the last item. It's drawn in orange and looks like a triangle. It has long green things coming out of the back and for some reason looks edible. I check the fridge and sure enough, there's one right there, surrounded by other variously colored objects. I grab it and go back to the front room. "Hey, what is this thing?" He looks over from a bookshelf and says, "Its a carrot. It's something you eat." Hmm... nah, it's for the trip, so I won't try it. I throw it into the pile of stuff and walk over to Storm. Checking the list, I can see that we only need about four more things. "What's next?" "Well, we need our armor, the first aid kit, a bag for me and you, and to double check the list to make sure we have everything on the list." "‘Check the list’ is on the list?" I ask, looking down at the list. "Yup." "Efficient. Well, my armor is under my cot and you've got yours on, so check that off. I guess I'll go get the first aid kit while you get the bags." He nods and walks up the stairs to find the bags. Hmm... if I were a first aid kit, where would I be? I go and check around the kitchen cabinets for anything that resembles a first aid kit. After going through a few cabinets, I finally find a small white box with a red plus on it. I take it and open it up to find bandages, tubes of ointment, and other various medical supplies. I close it up and bring it to the other supplies. Well, that should be everything, except for- BANG A loud explosion erupts from the other room, making me jump slightly. I quickly run up the stairs and can see smoke coming up from the other lower room. Before I can run down there, Twilight and Storm come running out, Twilight's face is charred black and she’s coughing like crazy. "What happened?" "I was *cough* making some potions *cough* when Storm bumped into me. *cough cough cough* That ended up making a big explosion." I look over to Storm, who is recovering from a coughing fit. "I didn't mean to, *cough* I was just trying to get the bags *cough* out from under all those books." I look between the two and begin to laugh. I tried to stifle it at first, but after a few seconds of seeing Twilight's charred face I couldn't hold it any longer. "What's so funny!?' Twilight huffs. "Your face! Bwahahahahahaha!" I fall to the ground in a fit of laughter. I seriously have to hold my sides or they'll fall off. When I finally get control of myself I look up at the two and wipe away a tear. "Sorry, it's an inside joke... kind of. Are you alright Twilight?" "Yeah, I'm fine," she says in an annoyed tone. "The other rooms are filled with smoke, so we'll just have to sleep out here tonight. I'm going to take a shower, can you two find the spare blankets?" "Yeah, no prob." Twilight gives a small sigh and walks back up the stairs. I look over to Storm to see him sitting there with his eyes wide open. "What's up with you?" "Both the rooms are filled with smoke." "Yeah, and?" "So we all have to sleep out here..." "O-kay..." "ALL of us, together, in this room." I think about it for a second before I put one and one together. "Oh sweet Barbra..." Perspective: Celestia Sunset After taking a good long look, I give a soft sigh. No matter how many times I do it, setting the sun has always been one of my least favorite things to do. I love interacting with the sun, raising it, lowering it; making solar flares are one of my favorite events in particular, but setting it always brings mixed emotions. It's like saying goodbye to a dear friend while giving them one last hug. I know I'll see it tomorrow morning, but the separation has always been something I disliked. *sigh* Well, at least I no longer have to raise the moon. I love Luna's night sky all the same, but interacting with the moon has always felt... different. The sun always fills me with warmth and confidence, giving me the strength to do anything. Whereas the moon has always been cold and ominous, filling me with dread. I'd never tell Luna that though. She always gets so sensitive when it comes to the moon. She wouldn't get that if she made it appear more... alive. Maybe more ponies would be willing to stay up and enjoy it, but she insists on making it seem devoid of life. Well, it makes her happy, so I'll try my best not to pester her about it... too much. I fly down from the cloud cover of Canterlot and land on my bedroom balcony. I can see Luna doing the same, coming back from raising the moon. I wave a hoof to her and she waves back before walking into her room. Something seems off with her today. Normally she's a bit more perky than this. I should talk to her. I fly over to her balcony and tap on her glass door. "Luna? Is everything alright?" After a few silent moments, the door slowly opens to reveal Luna, looking very tired. "Hey Tia, what's up?" she says somewhat groggily. "What's up? I know you've been learning to speak the common dialect, but since when do you use common slang?" I ask with a slight chuckle. "Huh? Oh, well, I heard Miles say it, and I kind of like the simplicity of it. Two words, yet so much is being asked," she says while shaking her head slightly. "Miles?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. "Oh, right, I haven't had a chance to tell you yet. Well, remember the creature that your student sent you a letter about?" "The one with the weapons who kept running away, yes I remember." "Well, that night I found him and spoke with him for a while. He didn't seem to be a threat to anypony, and his story sounds like it would be unbelievable. He spoke of losing everything and how he just wants to go home. You should have seen the look of devastation on his face. I decided to ensure that he doesn't become a threat to all our little ponies, that he will live among them for some time. I've set a guard to be with him at all times and that he would live with your student for the time being." "You put some creature we know little about in the care of my prized student!? Why would you do that?" "Twilight is more than able to not only fend off this... human... and is more than capable of being able to provide for him. Look at how she handles that baby dragon." "Yes, well, Spike is different from other dragons. He's been raised by ponies his entire life, not to mention he's still only a baby." "Yes, a baby we once had to call the Wonderbolts for because he was rampaging through the city," Luna says flatly. "I saw this human and from the way he acted, I don't think he would ever hurt somepony, especially after what he did." "What did he do?" "A stampede of cattle went through the town. He ran out to try and help, but was tackled by a bull. He then fought off the bull and saved the town. This is also why I'm so tired, I received a letter from the guard I posted with him. I went down to check up on him. That's when Miles asked me 'what’s up'." "He asked you what’s up. As if you were a common friend?" "Basically. He treated me as if I were an equal; I don't think he's ever been around royalty before. Or knows how to act around royalty, for that matter." "Do you know where he came from?" "He said he comes from a place called Terradisia. I've never heard of it before, have you?" "Hmm... no, I haven't. Not off the top of my head at least. Was there anything else about him that seemed interesting?" Luna looks down and away from this question. I've seen this little act before, here come the lies. "Well, you see, the thing is..." "Luna," I say as I take a step forward, "I'm your sister, you can tell me anything, what happened?" "*sigh* I think I... aroused him." Okay, wasn't expecting that. "Well, Luna, you are a very beautiful mare. I wish he wouldn't look at you like that, but those feelings are completely natural. Now was there anything else you wanted to tell me about this human?" Luna looks up to me and quickly looks away again, she's hiding something, I know it. Before she could answer there came a knock from her inside door. We both walk to the door and open it to find one of the palace guards standing at the door. "I'm sorry to interrupt your highness, but our border patrol has discovered another dragon sleeping on the outskirts of Ponyville. Would you like to send a squad out to take care of the problem?" "That won't be necessary," I say. "I will have my student take care of this problem. Please keep all guards at their post." "Very well, your highness," he says as he gives a salute and walks down the hall. Luna closes the door and turns back to me. "Are you sure it is a good idea to have your student handle something like this?" "She and her friends have done this before, I have the utmost confidence in her ability to handle the situation quickly and quietly," I say as I walk back to the balcony door. "I'm going to send her the letter now so she can get started as soon as possible. Have a good night, Luna." As I walk through her doors I can hear her mumble something, but can't understand it. I'll have to come by the next chance I get to talk some more with her. I fly back to my room, pull out a parchment and quill and begin to write. ‘My dearest and most faithful student, Ponyville is on the brink of turmoil once again. It would appear that another dragon has decided to sleep within the borders of your town. Though he hasn't started, I fear that that he may begin to snore and shroud the land in a thousand years of smoke. I entrust that you and your friends will be able to deal with this issue once again. Princess Celestia’ I levitate the note and am about to seal it, when an idea comes to mind. I know Luna isn't telling me everything about the human, and I know that she will never tell me the full story without annotating it some way. If I can get Twilight to report to me about his exploits, I can figure out whether or not Luna is ready for this kind of responsibility. But at the same time, I can't see Luna taking this the right way. Well, I did say she would take the lead on this one, but I guess having Twilight giving me occasional reports wouldn't be too involving. I unroll the note and begin to add to it. ‘P.S. I would like to ask you a favor as well. I have found out that the human Miles will be living with you for a period of time. I would ask that you send me occasional reports on his behavior and exploits. I know Princess Luna is taking charge on this one, but I can't help but be curious about it. If you choose to, please let me know as soon as possible. I would also ask that you keep this between the two of us.’ I roll the scroll up and send it off. I hope nothing comes from this. I would hate to have to take this project from Luna, but if things end up becoming too much for her, I will do what is necessary. Chapter 19 Journey to Mt. Sky Scraper Chapter 19 Journey to Mt. Sky Scraper Chapter 19 Journey to Mt. Skyscraper I'm running down a dark grey hall. At the end is a bright light with dark figures standing in the light. I look behind me to see a darkness rapidly approaching me. I'm running as fast as I can, but with every step I take, the light gets farther away and the darkness gains on me. "Miles..." I look back to the darkness to see black arms shoot out and take hold of me, grabbing my legs and arms and wrapping all around my waist and chest. I twist and pull as I try to escape but I can't break free. I fall to the ground and begin to be dragged into the darkness. I scream and scratch at the ground as I try to grab hold of anything to stop being pulled in, but I soon find myself in the dark abyss with a pressure building on my chest. "Miles..." I jolt awake and almost smack my face into Twilight's. There's a cool layer of sweat built up all over my body and I seem to be panting. I look around to see Storm out of uniform to the right of me with a worried look, and Twilight standing over me with her forehooves on my chest. I fall back down and take a moment to gather myself. "Uh... Twilight, why are you standing over me like this?" She hops off and looks back to me with a similar look of concern. "I was trying to wake you up, you were having another nightmare." I sit up and rub the sleep from my eyes. Another sleep terror, just what I needed. "Are you going to be okay? Do you want to talk about it?" "I'll be fine, don't worry about it. What time is it?" I ask as I stand up and stretch a bit. "It's six o'clock. Are you sure you're alright? This is the second night in a row you had a nightmare, maybe we should talk a bit about it-" "Maybe another time, right now let’s finish getting ready for the trip," I say as I head over to the pile of stuff that we had to find yesterday. Twilight and Storm accompany me at the pile and look down to the stack of items. "You guys just couldn't make a neat, organized stack, could you?" Twilight asks in an irritated tone. "What do you mean, it's organized enough," defends Storm, only to get a deep groan from Twilight. She levitates everything into the air and begins to move everything into groups of similar items. Books with books, writing items with writing items. Once she finishes moving everything to it's appropriate group, she begins to stuff them all into three satchel bags, making sure to utilize every centimeter of space. Once done, she levitates the two of us a bag. "Okay, now it's organized enough," I say as I grab the bag. I watch Twilight set the bag to rest on her hips, and look back at my bag. It has two holding compartments and a single strap connecting the two together. There's really no way for me to carry this without having to hold it in my hands. "Can you let me into the weapon chest? I need to grab something." Twilight looks to Storm, who only shrugs, before looking back to me. "What exactly do you need from there?" she asks cautiously. "I was going to grab the sling from my rifle and use it on this satchel." Twilight gives me a skeptical look before walking over to the chest. She touches it with her horn, making it shine. After a second of this, the shine fades away and she opens the chest. "Alright, take what you need." she says while taking a few steps back from the chest. I walk over and set the satchel down next to it before I pull out my rifle. I disconnect the sling and look it over. I then pop the cartridge and unload the round inside the chamber. I grab the round and put it inside the cartridge. "What are you doing?" asks Storm as he comes beside me. "Just stripping my weapon down. I don't like leaving it operational without me around." I say as I begin to disassemble it, setting all the parts into the corner of the chest. When I finish, I’m about to stand when a thought comes to mind. "Hey Twilight, how dangerous is this going to be?" "Well, we have to go to Mt. Skyscraper, which is half a day’s journey, traveling along the Everfree, so we might run into some problems here and there. Why?" "Think it would be alright for me to bring one of my weapons?" "What?! Why would you need a weapon?" Twilight asks in a shocked state. "Well, protection obviously. I doubt that I can punch out a creature that is two stories tall." I say with a shrug. "We’re not going to go start a fight, we're just going to talk it out of the area." Twilight tells me, as if lecturing a child. "Yeah... why would a dragon ten times the size of you comply so easily?" "Because we're going to go ask in a sensible and level headed manner, that's why!" she says with a look of confidence. I look over to Storm to see him facehoof. "If it makes you feel better, I'll be bringing my sword." he says from behind his hoof, getting a wild look from Twilight. "You have a sword on you!?" He walks over to his armor and pulls a blade out from the inside. It's a simple short blade, but what confuses me is how he's able to hold onto it with his hoof. His hoof seems to wrap around the handle, but that still seems to defy logic. He twists it from side to side before re-sheathing it. "Standard issue for royal guard." he says matter-of-factly. "That's nice and all, but I would feel better if I had my own means of protection." I say, looking back to Twilight while crossing my arms. "Agh, fine, one weapon! But the minute we get back to Ponyville it goes straight back into the chest. That goes for you too! I don't want any weapons in my home." Storm and I glance to one another and give a slight nod. "Your house, your rules," Storm says as he begins to put his armor back on. I turn back to the chest and look at my selection. I don't think I'll use any guns until I absolutely have to, save the ammo for the important stuff. And if we're traveling around and ponies are already terrified of me, I don't want to give the complete wrong impression, so the sword will have to stay. I grab my trench knife and fit the holster to my belt. I shut the case and pick the satchel and strap up as I stand up. "That's a pretty weird looking blade, what is it?" Storm asks as he approaches me and looks it over. I pull it out and show it to him. Twilight looks a little disgusted by this, but comes up to look it over as well. "It's my trench knife. A long, long, LONG time ago, humans had a war that was basically a stalemate for a majority of the time. They ended up trenching their lines, and there came a need for a short blade for more effective hand to hand combat. Thus the trench knife was born." "Why does the blade have three sides?" Storm asks. "It's a stabbing blade. The three sides ensure that the wound created wouldn't heal easily and make the largest wound possible." Twilight gasps at that. "Why would you want that?" she asks in bewilderment. "Well, if I fall, I want who ever beat me to suffer for as long as possible," I say as I re-sheath the blade. "That's horrible." "Yeah, but no one said war is pleasant. Now let's finish getting ready." I walk over to my cot and begin to put my shirt back on. From behind I can hear Twilight re-lock the chest and walk away, probably towards the kitchen. Storm walks next to me and sits next to the cot. "So your people were at war?" I glance to him before preoccupying myself with my shirt. "Yeah." "With who?" "The Unfamiliar." "Who are they?" "No one knows, they showed up one day and started attacking, so we fought back. We had the better fighters, better tech, all around better odds, except for numbers. When the war started, it was estimated that for every one our of soldiers killed, forty three point six of theirs fell. But after every fight, more would show up. It was just a matter of time until we lost the armada, then the colonies, then Diamond Halls... then Topaz Falls." I finish buttoning my shirt and look down at my hands. I should've seen that second shot coming, maybe then I could have been able to stay and help in the fight. "Hey, you don't know if Topaz Falls fell or not. If they fight like you do, then they should have been fine," Storm says, giving a small smile. I return the smile - he doesn't know what they did to Diamond Halls, but he's trying to make me feel better. so I'll try not to think about it. I pull the satchel out and set it on the cot. I take the strap and slide it as long as it'll go. I tie the end to the strap on the satchel. When I finish I sling the strap on my left shoulder, and have both of the satchels rest against the right of my hip. I look to Storm and give a slight nod before I walk into the kitchen. Twilight's at the stove working on some food, so I take a seat at the table. "Where's Spike?" I ask. "He's probably still asleep," Twilight says as she works on whatever's cooking. "Mmm, where is he sleeping?" I glance around, but don't see any bed or cot lying around. "In his bed in my room." "Okay... wait, you mean he slept in a smoke filled room all night?" "He's a dragon, the smoke doesn't affect him the way it would us." I settle down and let it go. Fucking dragons. "I'll be right back, I'm going to grab my armor from the other room."I say as I stand. "Could you do me a favor and grab the potions I had made, they should be on a table in the room. Oh, and can you also wake Spike up for me?" "No prob." I walk all the way to Twilight's room an take a look around. The smoke has cleared up now, making it easy to see my way around. I look around and don't see a bed for Spike. I walk up to Twilight's bed area and see him in a basket behind the bed. I guess that's normal. I wonder if he likes not fitting in his basket? "Spike," I say, trying to wake him, but only get mumbles in response. "Spike," I say a little firmer, only to get louder mumbles. "SPIKE!" "Mommy?" he says as he jolts awake. "Yeah, mommy's here, go on downstairs for breakfast." I say in a sweet voice. "Hmm, you're not mommy," he says as he lies back down to sleep. Whatever, I'll get him after I get the armor and potions. I go down to the other room and see a table set up in the center of the room. Various beakers and tubes have different colored liquids in them, sitting stagnant. I see a few small racks of potions on the edge of the table and assume that they’re the ones Twilight needs. I see that my armor has been moved under the table, so I go and equip them first. It feels kind of weird putting these on in casual wear, but I'll get over it. I can't exactly go down to the armory and issue... I really need to stop thinking about there. Once they're on I grab the vials and make my way back to Spike. He's still asleep, even snoring at this point. Hmm... I think I've got an idea. I kneel down and get right next to his face. "Sapphires." I whisper. "Where!?" he screams as he jolts awake, looking around for sapphires. "I don't know, maybe they're downstairs waiting with breakfast." I say as I begin to walk back. I make it downstairs and see Twilight and Storm eating at the table, talking to Fluttershy. "O-oh, good morning Miles," she says timidly. "Good to see ya Fluttershy." I say as I set the potion racks on the table and take a seat. Twilight levitates a plate over to me and sets it on the table. It's filled with light tan strands of... stuff that looks like it was lightly fried. I take a fork and try a chunk. Aw fuck, this is disgusting! It's like someone shredded the bottom of my boots and fried it. I try to finish the food in my mouth but eventually have to spit it out. "Something wrong with your food?" Twilight asks. "Sorry to say, but that was the worse thing I've ever ate. What is this?" I tell her as I wipe my tongue clean of the awful substance. "It's fried hay." "Damn man, I can't eat this." I say as I push the plate away from me. "I'll eat it," says Storm as he pulls it forward and begins to eat. Spike finally makes it downstairs and walks over to the cabinets. He pulls out some garnets and brings them to the table. I watch in horror as he eats them as if they were simple snacks. Such a waste. "So, Miles... what do you eat, if you don't mind me asking that is!" Fluttershy asks. "Well, I don't know what I can and can't eat here, everything is so different." "Whaddya mern bur thurt?" Storm asks with his mouth full. "Our food was manufactured from roots and various minerals." "How does that work?" Twilight asks. That... is a good question. I never really looked into it myself actually. I just ate it. "Howdy everypony!" Applejack yells from the front room. I turn back to see her with Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and a sleepy Rainbow Dash. They all have satchels on them that have copies of their marks on them. "Ah good, everypony is here. Once we're done here we'll get going," Twilight says as she levitates all the plates to the sink. Storm wasn't done with his and watched with sad eyes as the plate left him. "Alright, if everypony is ready, let's get going!" Twilight says as she trots out of the room. "Um, actually Twilight, I was wondering if I could wait here, if you don't mind that is," Fluttershy says while trying to hide behind her hair. "This again, Fluttershy? You've done this before ’Shy, I know you can do it again!" Twilight says encouragingly. "I don't know, I don't think I can." "Well then you can't." I say bluntly, getting glares from everyone. I ignore them and turn to Fluttershy, who looks like she's on the verge of tears. "If you say you can't do something, you'll never be able to do anything. But I've seen the braver side of you before, and I know you can do this, so what do you say: can you do this or not?" She looks away and thinks about this, then turns back to me. "I-I, I can try." "Excellent, no one could ask for anything more!" I say as I stand. Fluttershy stands up and we walk out together, leading the group out the door. We all stop outside the door and wait for Twilight to leave. She comes out with Spike and stops at the doorway. "Alright Spike, you're in charge of the library. Be sure to get your chores done and don't eat all of the gems in one night," she lectures him. "Yeah, yeah, just be safe okay?" He leans forward and whispers something into her ear before going back inside. "What was that about?" asks Pinkie Pie. "Nothing important, now let's get a move on, we have a lot of ground to cover," Twilight says as she begins to trot down the road. We all follow suit, and I have to do a light jog to keep up. We travel through the town pretty quickly. Any ponies that were outside either quickly run inside or watch in horror. When we make it out of the town we slow down to a walk and continue down the path. The area to the left is filled with what I assume is the Everfree, while the area to the right is mostly gentle hills covered in green. A few trees dot the area to the right, with hundreds of flowers spotted throughout the field. The trail head leads towards a distant mountain range, filled with three peaks, two lower ones and one climbing high into the sky. We walk for a few hours in silence. Everyone looks like they want to say something but are holding it back. I guess I'll break the silence. "So, what should we expect to find?" "Well, a dragons den usually has mounds of gems or gold, but don't try to take any of it," Twilight says. "Most dragons are extremely greedy, and will attack if you try to steal from them, so don't." Don't steal, got it. "Anything else?" "Well, no. Ponies and dragons don't really interact with one another, so we don't know too much about dragons." Well, that was helpful. Silence returns after that, and after the sun hits the highest part of the sky we stop for lunch. We lay a red and white cloth down and fill the center with various foods. As we start eating, I make sure to grab the carrot. I bite a chunk off and give it a few chews. It's actually pretty good. I like the flavoring, and the texture makes it some weird combination of chewy and crunchy; it’s a good thing. I look around and all of the girls still look like they have a million questions. Well, may as well. "Alright, you've all been too quiet and I can see you all still have questions. So, lets go, another round of questions, lets start with-" "I've got one!" Rainbow Dash yells. "What's the deal with you and friends? Like, why would you only have friends you would be willing to die for?" "Well... I think it has something to do with the way I was raised. I grew up in an orphanage that was basically every person for themselves, corrupt deans, and daily abuse from anyone bigger or stronger than me. When I was drafted, the only people I ever cared about were the ones in my unit, and we were taught that you die for those around you." She gives a few nods and looks over to Fluttershy, who is to the left of her. "Um... well..." "Feel free to ask anything." "O-okay, well I was wondering, that's if you want to tell us that is, did you have a special somepony?" Fluttershy turns bright red as every eye turned straight to her. "Well, Fluttershy, no. I didn't have a special somebody in my life." Well... that was awkward. Twilight is next. "Hmm... well, you once said that you liked to read about early aeronautical and space flight. What exactly does that mean? Like, I get that it meant flying into space and stuff, I guess I just want some more explanation." Ho ho, thank you Twilight for picking something that's actually interesting and not depressing. "Alright, so humans can't naturally fly, but we can create. So, as time and technology moved on we were able to craft machines that would allow us to fly, both in the air and into space. We perfected it to a point where all aircraft doubled as spacecraft as well, though they couldn't do trans-galactic jumps." I can see that Twilight is just eating this up. I'll have to talk to her another time about the subject. Next is... me. "Alright, my turn. Why are you all naked?" Everyone turns a little red from this, and they stay quiet until Storm answers. "Well, our 'parts' are mostly internal. And whatever isn't is covered by our tails. So wearing clothes all the time is a little redundant. Though there are some that do, but that's mainly a luxury." That's weird. Storm's question is next. "How much training have you received from your military?" "I was a Spartan. Of the four hundred thousand soldiers in Topaz Falls, only a hundred were able to call themselves that. I spent the last ten years of my life training with different weapons, martial arts, and even battle theory and statistics." He looks a little impressed by this, good to know. Applejack is next. "Uh... well. This is a bit embarrassing, but it's been racking muh brains all day. Why is your...'thing' so small?" "..." "Uh, Miles?" *EYE TWITCH* "I thought ya said we could ask-" "I'M NOT LITTLE!" "Well, compared ta a stallion ya-" "Son of a bitch, I'm not a stallion now am I? Plus, you only saw it when it was down. For a human, I'm actually considered to be fairly large!" Fluttershy, Twilight, and Applejack share glances with one another before giggling. "Those poor human mares," Applejack says. "Aw son of a..." I cross my arms and look away. There's just no pleasing women, human or pony. "Well, not that this isn't a riveting subject, but I am a lady and will not stand to continue listening to such filth," chimes Rarity. Thank you. "Now it's my turn - Miles, what does your cutie mark mean?" Cutie mark? Oh, right, my tattoo. "It's not a cutie mark, it's a tattoo. I had a guy take a needle with ink and stab me a bunch of times. It's my unit's symbol." As I say this, I roll my sleeve up and show them my tat. They all lean in to have a look. "It's supposed to show how even in death, Spartans will fight for those they have to protect, or something like that; I was out sick the day Susurrans explained it." "Who's Susurrans?" asks Pinkie Pie. "He is... was my commanding officer. He basically mentored me during my time in the military." Yeah... in the military. "Were you close?" asks Twilight. "Heh, not your turn. I think that's enough questions for now, we should get going," I say as I stand up. Everyone else stands and helps put away the rest of the food and cloth. Once we finish, we resume our walk to the mountain. We’re only a few kilometers away now, so we should get there soon. Author's Note Thanks to Vaxadeki for being the next person to use the Brony Point system. He got to choose what weapon Miles took from the chest. Thanks for reading and like always, Brony on! Chapter 20 Waking Dragons Chapter 20 Waking Dragons Chapter 20 Waking Dragons As we approached the mountain the path began to slope upwards, raising with the mountain. The path soon became completely surrounded by trees, blocking out the sun and sky. As we continued, our group seemed to slowly walk closer to one another. "Alright everypony," Twilight says in a hushed tone, “This is technically part of the Everfree, so be on the lookout for anything that may try to get the jump on us." Everyone gives silent nods as we continue to walk up the path. This area seems to be cooler than the open path before. Something moves nearby, ruffling one of the lower plants, making everyone stop abruptly; except for me, I only stop because I nearly tripped over Twilight. The rustling continues to grow as Storm and I move to the front of the group, readying our weapons for whatever may come out. The rustling stops abruptly as a small grey creature hops into view. It has small beady eyes, a round puffy white tail and long ears that stand on top of its head. "It's just a bunny," Storm says, getting sighs of relief from everyone else. I lower my guard but don't let it out of my sight. I don't like the looks of this... bunny. Fluttershy moves to the front and tries to approach the bunny, but stops when something comes flying out of the air and slams into it. I see for a brief moment what looks like a bright pink tongue slam into the bunny and pull it into the trees. We all look up to see a slimy creature sitting in a tree, pulling its tongue back into its mouth and giving a few chews before swallowing. The back of its body is dark green with a light green underbelly; it's back has a row of long red spikes going from its head to the end of its back. It has a wide face, at least a meter wide, and a fat body. It seems to be covered in a gooey slime except for the spikes. It has large round eyes on both sides of its face that seem to bulge out. It sits on four legs, the back two are set as if it's squatting. "It's a Goliath Treehopper!" yells Fluttershy as she quickly backs into the group. "A what?" I ask, but when I look back everyone has already started to run down the path, well... thanks for waiting... or at least telling me. I look back to the Treehopper and stare it down. It returns the stare as it begins to puff its chest out. It shoots its tongue straight for me, but with a twist I easily avoid being hit. I begin to trot down the path as it pulls its tongue back. I hear some cracking followed by what sounds like something flying through the air. I look back to see it crash into the path and turn towards me, shooting its tongue at me again and hitting me square in the back. I’m knocked to the ground, and feel myself being pulled towards the creature. I try to fight to get free, but its tongue seems to be covered in a sticky glue-like substance. I flare my hands and bring red flames forth, grabbing the tongue and burning it apart, setting me free. The creature lets out a bloodcurdling scream as it pulls the remainder of its tongue into its mouth. It flails around for a bit before jumping clear over the trees and out of sight. I sigh in relief as I stand back up, letting go of my magic. I feel a chunk still hanging on my back, so I reach back and try to pull it off. With a loud ripping sound I remove the rest of the tongue, as well as a good portion of my shirt. Well, fuck. I've barely had this shirt a day and it's already ruined. Whatever, I'll just get a new one later. I turn down the path and begin to jog down, trying to catch up with the rest of the group. I come to a fork in the road and slow to a stop. The one on the right seems to continue up the mountain, where the other seems to go along the side of the mountain. Well, we were climbing the mountain, so I guess that would be the best choice. I continue my jog up the right path. After a few minutes I think I can hear them up ahead, so I quicken my pace. The path has a tight turn up ahead so I slow down to turn. When I come around I instantly slam into Storm and fall to the ground. "Miles, thank goodness you're alright!" says Twilight as she runs up to me, followed by the rest of the group. Storm shakes himself before standing back up. "Yeah, I'm fine. Oh, thanks for the warning by the way," I say, making everyone look away, twiddling hooves and looking guilty. "S-sorry Miles, I thought you were behind us, honest," says Fluttershy from behind her hair. "Eh, it's alright, though I will be needing a new shirt," I say feeling my exposed back. "Oh, did that disgusting beast destroy your fabulous shirt?" says Rarity as she circles around and checks the damaged back. "This simply cannot stand; next stop I'll be sure to fix it for you." "Well, OK. Thanks," I say as we all continue to walk up the path. "Think nothing of it." "What was that thing anyway?" "It was a Goliath Treehopper," Fluttershy explains, "they are overgrown frogs that eat anything that'll fit in their mouths. They're poisonous and can jump clear over trees in a single bound. Big meanies." Hmm... can hop trees, Tree Hopper, clever. As we continue to climb up the path, the trees around us begin to thin out until they end abruptly. The area here has clear ground, with jagged rocks jutting out all over, giving a feeling of being devoid of life. A freezing breeze blows through the air, sending chills throughout my body. I look around and see that we're about a third of the way up, with the sun slowly getting closer to the horizon. "Do you know where this dragon is sleeping?" I ask. "Well, there's only one cave large enough to fit a dragon, and it's close to the summit," Twilight replies. Of course it is. "Do you think it'll be as easy as last time?" asks Rainbow Dash. "I hope so cause then we can get home sooner and then we can start our CONGRATULATIONS FOR SAVING PONYVILLE PARTY and we can have cake and play games and dance and..." "Did you say party?" I ask. "Well DUH! Why wouldn't I throw all of us a job well done party?" she says while hopping up and down. "O-OK, you throw a party," and I'll be sure to stay the fuck away, "I'm sure it'll be fun." She stops mid-flight and looks at me with the biggest smile ever. When she drops to the ground she springs back up and wraps me in a hug. "Oh my gosh I thought you were going to try and avoid my party because I remember you said you hated parties and that made me really sad and I thought you didn't like me because you also said we weren't friends but now you're gonna go to my party and we'll hang out and play games and we'll be bestest friends and THANK YOU!" How did she say all of that in one breath, and under ten seconds? Wait... she thinks I'm going to the party. I look down to her and see the pure joy in her eyes, and feel it in the slight pain from my arms due to her tight hug. Aw fuck... I don't think I could say no, now... this will not end well. "Just... don't invite too many people. I don't think I could handle that yet." She drops to the ground and begins to hop away in pure bliss. “Pinkie..." She either ignores me or is too happy to hear me - yeah, this won't end well. As we continue to walk, Twilight comes beside me. "That was very kind of you, Miles," She says simply. "Yeah, I actually wasn't planning on going, but once I saw how happy she was, I couldn't say no." "Don't worry, I'll be sure she keeps it small. Most ponies don't know we're even doing this, so it should be just us and maybe a few others." "Oh... OK, I should be able to handle that... hopefully." Twilight gives a small chuckle and runs ahead of the group to talk with Pinkie Pie. Before I could say or think anything Storm flies next to me. "So, Buzz Killington is gonna go to a party. Can't wait to see that." "You can't wait to see that, or can't wait to see Twilight dancing?" He stops mid-flight and drops to the ground. He stands back up and quickly checks his wings, which are luckily under control. He jumps back into the air and flies back beside me. "That wasn't cool." "Hey, not my fault you can't control yourself." "I'm in control!" "Yeah, we'll see how you fare at the party." Storm looks away and flies ahead of me; yeah, point - Miles. We are about two thirds of the way up the mountain now. Rainbow Dash has flown up and is now sleeping on a cloud. I asked Storm about it, but he simply gave me an odd look and said they're really comfy. I'll have to try one sometime. The incline has increased severely now. I'm basically facing the ground as we climb up. After what feels like hours of this, we finally come to a plateau. We all climb onto the plateau and take a moment to catch our breath. The area around here is fairly level, leading to a massive cave. The entrance is at least a story tall and has scorch marks all over. The inside is dark and seems to lead far into the mountain. After a minute of rest, Fluttershy flies off and fetches Rainbow Dash. Once we’re all together, Twilight begins to go through her plan. "Alright, here's the plan. Fluttershy and I will go inside and talk to the dragon, if he cooperates, then we'll head home, if not then we go to plan B. I have some potions that will force the dragon awake, so he won't be able to stay here to take a nap. If anything goes wrong, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie will cause a distraction while Applejack gets ready with the apples. Storm and Miles... will... uh..." "You didn't plan on us coming, did you?" I ask as I cross my arms. "Well, no. Hopefully we won't need your help if we can convince him to leave." "Alright, but first things first, what are these apple things for our defense?" I ask, looking to Applejack, who pulls out two red grenade like things. "Are those explosives?" "What!? No! They're fruits." I give her an even stare, “ya normally eat 'em." "OK, what's your distraction?" I ask looking over to the other three. "Well, if he goes into the air I'll fly circles around him-" Rainbow Dash says. "And I'll use my magic to blind him-" Rarity says, cutting off Rainbow. "And I've got this!" Pinkie Pie says as she pulls out some weird rubber toy and swings it back and forth, getting puzzled looks from everyone. I look over to Storm, and we share an unimpressed look before looking back to the group. "That is a horrible plan," I say. "Yeah, I don't see that ever working," agrees Storm. "What's wrong with our plan?" Twilight asks, slightly offended. "Well, where to start... You want to ask a creature that is ten times your size to leave by asking nicely. And you said so yourself that dragons and ponies don't interact, so why would he listen? If it were to get angry, you want to attack it with FOOD. And when you piss it off with food, you plan on using yourselves as live bait to distract it." "Yeah girls, I don't see any possible way for any of that to have the desired effect," says Storm. "It worked last time," chimes Pinkie Pie. "Did it?" I ask. "Well, not exactly. But Fluttershy was able to convince him to leave before, she should be able to do it again." I look over to Fluttershy and ask, "Is that true?" "Well... I did, but only because he hurt my friends. I don't think I could muster the courage to be that assertive again," she says as she shies away from us. "Alright, I've got an idea, let's do this the smarter way. First, me and someone else will do some recon in the cave, making sure there's only one dragon and to get an idea of what we're actually dealing with. The rest of you will work on a way to collapse the cave entrance." "Why would we need to do that?" asks Rainbow Dash. "If the dragon wakes up and tries to attack whoever is inside, they're going to run out the entrance, when the dragon follows, we will cause the roof of the cave to fall on top of him. It's a little better than throwing food. Now, who wants to do recon with me?" The girls get quiet as I look from face to face. Finally, Twilight steps forward. "I'll go, if things get hairy, I'll be able to teleport us out." I nod and begin to walk into the cave, Twilight following closely. The inside of the cave is dark and damp. The temperature seems to get hotter and hotter as we walk deeper in. I can see a light glow up ahead, so I begin to creep against the walls of the cave, with Twilight following close behind me. As we walk forward, the room becomes wider and wider until we stop before the sleeping chamber. The room inside is several stories high and circular, I think I can see a smaller exit on the other side. Stalactites come down from the top of the ceiling and let little drips of water fall on top of the sleeping dragon. The dragon is red with yellow undertones, with massive spikes coming from its neck. It's sleeping on a massive pile of gold and gems that shine, filling the room with a light glow of gold. In front of the massive pile is a smaller separate pile, with a smaller dragon sleeping on it. This dragon is similar in coloring but looks to be about my size, maybe a little larger. I look back to Twilight and motion for us to leave. She nods and we quickly leave the cave. When we get to the exit, everyone come to us for answers. "Well? What didja find?" asks Applejack. "Well, I was right to assume that there is more than one dragon in there," I say, getting shocked looks from everyone. "Yeah, and that's gonna be a real problem," says Twilight as she looks over to Rainbow Dash and Rarity. "You guys remember that dragon from when Spike went to the dragon migration?" "That jerk is in there?!" says Rainbow, pointing a hoof inside. "Yes. So I don't think waking him with us in there will be a good idea." "I thought you said dragons and ponies don't interact?" I ask as I look back to Twilight. "We don't, but when Spike went to be with the dragons we followed him to keep an eye on him. He got into some trouble with that one and we had to jump in to rescue him." Well, this complicates things. "Do you have enough of that potion for both of them?" "I barely have enough for the larger one." Well fuck. "Did you find a way to collapse the entrance?" "Well, we could do it magically," says Rarity. "Alright, here's the plan in my head. Storm and I will head inside and wake the smaller one. If he tries to attack, we'll lead him out the back. Storm will fly up and give Rainbow a signal that we're out of the cave, which she will send to the rest of you. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie will go inside and slip the potion to the larger one. Once you give it to him, get out. If he chases, Twilight and Rarity will collapse the tunnel. Applejack, I want you to set up a trip wire at the entrance, one that will be large enough to stop or at least slow down the dragon, giving Twilight and Rarity enough time to collapse the tunnel. Every one understand their jobs?" "Why are you the one to bait the smaller dragon out? Wouldn't it be better for me to do it?" asks Storm. "Maybe after you give the signal, but it'll be faster for you to send the signal rather than having to run back out of the cave. Plus, if he sees me run out the other entrance, he might just follow me anyway." I look around and don't see anyone about to object, so I walk to the edge of the entrance and drop off my bags. I also remove my boots and socks. The floor is cold and jagged but I'll deal with it. "Why did you remove your shoes?" asks Storm. "So I can run away," I say matter-of-factually. I look back to everyone and see them getting into position, so I begin to walk back into the cave. When we get to the room, I stop and look back to Storm. "Alright, fly over and make sure that the other cave is an exit," I whisper to Storm. "I thought you said there was another exit!" Storm loudly whispers back. "I didn't have time to check, so just fly over and if there is, just signal me and I'll wake the small one." "Fine." He flies over the dragons and goes down the other tunnel. As I wait I look at the massive piles of gold and gems. Maybe I can go through and take just a bit. How would they even notice just a handful missing? Before I could try to take anything, Storm flies above the other entrance and signals me to proceed. I walk casually over to the piles and position myself so that I can run out in a straight line. I look around and grab a fist-sized gem. I pick it up and look it over. Shame I can't keep it. I toss the gem towards the smaller dragon and hit him right in the head. "Ow, what the heck was that!?" he yells as he stands. He finally spots me and glares at me. "I don't know what you are, but you’re toast for waking me up!" I flip him off and motion him to follow with my finger. He launches off the pile straight for me. I turn and run down the other tunnel at full speed with him following me out. When we get to the entrance I can tell he's right on my ass, so I roll forward and stop, making him fly over me and into the sky. I run to the left and begin to go down the mountain. As I run, I flare the magic in my heels and begin to vault off the side of the mountain. Every jump sends me high into the air and crashing into the ground. Thanks to the magic, the ground folds underneath me and does no harm to me. I look back to see the dragon closing the gap between the two of us and Storm high in the air, signaling the others. A few more vaults and I'm back inside the forest, with the dragon close behind. I stop and put a tree in between the two of us. I stop the flow of energy to my heels and pull out my trench knife with my right hand. I send the energy to my hands and get ready for him to catch up. As the energy flows into my knife, white arcane text appears on the blade and spiked knuckles. I peer back to see the dragon walking around, trying to find me. As he gets closer, I creep around the tree to put myself behind him. As I approach him from behind something slams into my left arm, gaining the attention of the dragon as well. I look back to see the Treehopper from earlier a few meters away, looking pissed. "Well, well, well. Looks like you're trapped. I usually prefer gems, but I think I'm a little overdue for some meat," he says as he walks toward me. The Tree Hopper isn't trying to pull me back this time, he's just holding me at bay. When the dragon is close enough he leans down and gets in my face. "Any last words?" "Yeah, two actually," I say as I bring back my right fist, making him raise an eyebrow. "FUCK OFF!" I yell as I slam the spiked knuckles into his gut. The moment I make contact, white energy explodes from my knife, sending the dragon flying into a nearby tree and splitting it in half. I look back to the Tree Hopper and bury the blade into its tongue, making it scream in agony as the blade burns the flesh off. Again, the tip is burned off and the Treehopper jumps away. I shut off my magic and rip off the remaining chunks of flesh, creating a new tear in my shirt. I holster my blade and begin to walk back to the edge of the forest. "Miles? Where you at Miles?" I hear Storm shouting from the edge of the forest. "Storm. Over here," I yell while waving a hand, getting his attention. We meet halfway and stop when we hear a slam behind me. I turn around and see the dragon right behind me, holding his gut. The area around where I hit has a few scales missing, but looks fine other than that. "Gah, I'll make you pay, I'll..." "RRAAAWWRRR!" Something yells from the mountain, getting the attention of the dragon in front of me. "Aw man, I guess you luck out today. Watch your back, cause the next time I see you, you're dead," he says before he jumps into the air and flies back to the top of the mountain. "Well, that was lucky," says Storm. "Yeah, for now at least." We turn and start to walk back through the forest to the trail. "Did you do that?" Storm asks as he eyes me. "Do what?" "He was missing scales; did you do that?" "Oh, I guess I did." "How?" "With my trench knife." He looks at my knife in disbelief, but doesn't ask anything else. When we get to the trail I can see all of the girls coming down. They look happy and unharmed, so I assume that everything went OK. We wait on the trail for them to catch up, and when they do Rarity tosses me my boots. "Thanks for bringing my stuff, did everything work out alright?" I ask as I begin to put my boots and socks on. "Everything went according to plan," Twilight says in a pleased tone. When I finish I grab my bag from Applejack and we begin to walk back to Ponyville. As we walk, all the girls tell about how Fluttershy was so brave and how they didn't have to use the failsafe. I nod as I listen, but dread returning to Ponyville. Why did I agree to a party, can't I fight the dragon instead...? Chapter 21 Pinkies PartyChapter 21 Pinkie’s Party I spent the entire trip back to Ponyville trying to think of excuses for not going to the party. My thoughts went every possible route - from battle fatigue, to intergalactic battle amnesia. But, no matter what idea popped into my head, I couldn't see a possible solution that would end with me not upsetting Pinkie Pie. She kept babbling on about all the fun things we were going to do and how she really appreciated me putting my fears aside for her party. Fucking dammit... I hate being the nice guy. When we made it to Ponyville, the sun was getting close to the horizon. Most of the girls went their separate ways but Rarity insisted that I go with her to the boutique, so I could get new clothes and let her fix up my current ones. I nod and go with her; I seriously hope Storm won't do anything stupid with Twilight, well... at least not without me there to pester him. "Miles?" asks Rarity, getting my attention. "Huh?" "I asked you a question." "Oh... yeah, I was... distracted." Rarity rolls her eyes as we approach her boutique. "Honestly Miles, that is no way to treat a lady." "Oh, sorry, what did you need to know?" "I wanted to know how you liked your last ensemble." "It was... nice." We reach the door and she looks back to me. "Nice? Did you love it or not?" "Uh, sure." "It's either you loved it or not, so tell me!" she says as she begins to step towards me. "Umm... well-" "Tell me." She continues to get closer so I begin to step back. "The thing is-" "Tell me tell me tell me TELL ME!" I trip over something and she gets in my face, giving me a look that is some weird combination of a pout and a demanding glare. "Alright! The shirt collar was off, the sleeves ended a little early, the buttons on the shirt were too large to fit the style of the shirt, and the fabric was too fragile." Rarity looks a little shocked by my outburst. "But, I appreciate the help..." Great, now I've probably pissed her off, goodbye free clothes. Rarity takes a moment to compose herself before saying, "Well why didn't you say so?" Wait, what? "Don't worry Miles, my second attempt will be absolutely fabulous. I just know you'll love it." With that, she joyfully trots into her store. What the fuck is up with these people? One minute they're pissed and the next they're happy as can be. Gah, whatever, not like I'm one to talk. After I shake my head clear I stand back up and walk into the store. As I walk in, a pair of scissors buries itself into the door, missing my face by centimeters. "OUT! I WANT YOU OUT OF MY STORE THIS INSTANT, YOU ROYAL PAIN IN MY FLANK!" Rarity yells at some unicorn stallion. He's fairly large, not quite as big as Big Mac, but pretty close. He's all white with styled blonde hair. His mark seems to be a gold plus sign with a blue one set behind it, being turned 45 degrees so the points show. He wears a black collar and is currently kneeling in front of Rarity, with a diamond ring on his horn. "Please, Miss Rarity, you've dominated my mind ever since that regrettable night, won't you at least reconsider?" Wow... I can already tell by his voice that he's a complete pussy. He stands and tries to approach Rarity, but she trots away. "I said no once, and I'll say no a thousand times more, NO!" "Then I'll have to ask a thousand times more: Rarity, will you..." "Oi! The lady said to get out, I think you should listen," I interrupt. He looks back and nearly falls over in recoil. "GAH! What is that thing!? Stand back Miss Rarity, I shall deal with this." Really... he rears up and tries to charge me. I sidestep and smack him upside the head as he passes by, shaking my head at him. "Aw! My hair! You'll pay for that you beast!" He tries to charge me again, only to find similar results. I look over to Rarity and she looks a little worried... and unimpressed. "Hey Rarity, should I throw out the trash?" I ask. "Oh, if you could that would be divine, Miles dear." "Dear!" He says as he looks between the two of us. "So that's the kind of company you wish to keep. Hmph, and here I thought you were a lady of refinement," he says as he turns back to Rarity. "I guess this would explain why you would want nothing to do with a stallion of my-" "Hey, asshole, we're not-" "Yes, Miles and I are together." We're what now? "If you wish to have my hoof in marriage, you'll have to get it from him." He looks back to me and scoffs. "You truly believe a simpleton like him could possibly stand against the likes of me?" "Hey! First off, shut the fuck up, I'd drop you quicker than a sack of rocks. Secondly, Rarity and I are-" "Madly in love," Rarity says as she runs to my side and hugs my waist, "and he would fight within an inch of his life for me, right Miles?" She hits my leg and gives me a look. Fine, I'll go along with it. Damn she is going to owe me. "Yeah, what she said," I say unenthusiastically, getting another kick from Rarity. "Hmph, we shall see about that," he replies, getting in another fighting stance. I push Rarity off and step forward to get ready, but stop when he flashes out of the room. After a few seconds I figure he's left so I turn back to Rarity, only to get wrapped up in a hug. "Oh, thank you Miles. Sorry for putting you in that awkward position, but I simply had to get that creep out of here," she says as she buries her face in my stomach. This is getting a little awkward. "Who was that guy?" "His name is Prince Blueblood, and he-" "Prince! He's related to Luna!?" I'm going to jail. "What, no. He is a member of the royal family. They are a step under Princess Luna." "Alright... so, what was he doing here?" "*sigh* He's been coming here for the past year, at least once a month, proposing to me. We met at the Grand Galloping Gala and... let's just say I saw his true colors and want nothing to do with him." "What do you think the chances of me going to jail are?" "Not likely. He's not supposed to be out of the palace grounds on his own." Oh sweet Barbra. "Rarity..." "Yes Miles?" "You can let go now." "Oh! Right." With a massive blush she lets me go and takes a few steps back. She plays with her hair a bit before trotting into her back room, mumbling to herself. I follow her in and lean against a nearby counter. She's levitating different objects back and forth, trying to distract herself in her work. "So does Spike know about our newfound love?" Everything in the air drops as she trips over herself and falls over. I laugh as I walk over and help her back to her hooves. I fucking called it. "You alright?" "Please don't tell Spike about what just happened. He doesn't know about what Blueblood tries." "Tell him about what?" I ask. She looks up to me and puts one and one together. She gives me a small hug before getting back to work. "But in all seriousness, if he shows up again, feel free to give me a call." She gives me a smile and nods. "So, on a completely different note, what are your pants made of? I've looked them over and can't identify what material it is," she asks while setting everything back in its appropriate place. "Well, it's some composite material we made. I'm not entirely sure, but from what Tenera told me, it's apparently derived from plastic." She thinks about this as she begins to pull out a pile of clothes. "Hmm... well, I'll have to bug you another time about it. Here are some more clothes I threw together for you. Hopefully they will fit your desire a bit better than the others did." I take the pile and look it over. Three pairs of pants; one being my old pair, one being blue and slightly rougher than the pair I have on, and the last being similar to the pair I have now; three shirts, a blue, a red, and a yellow one; and lastly some underwear. "Thank you Rarity, I'll be sure to repay the favor someday." "Don't worry about it. I know you don't think of me as a friend, but that doesn't mean I don't think of you as a friend." Wow... that was pretty touching. "Yeah... don't worry, you're getting close. I'm going to get changed now." I quickly leave the room and go to the changing room. That was awkward. Anyway, I remove my armor and begin to get undressed. I switch to some new underwear and my old pants. I grab the blue shirt and unfold it. It has horizontal lines in a lighter blue going through it. It has a slight V neck and has short sleeves. I shrug and try it on. It fits, so I put my boots on and put the rest in my bag. When I step out I see Rarity waiting by the door. "Well Miles? Let’s get a move on, we don't want to be late for Pinkie Pie’s party." Fuck. "I was actually going to swing by Twilight's place to... drop off my bag." Nice cover. "Alright, I'll escort you, let's get going." Well fuck me over. She walks out the door and I reluctantly follow. We make our way to Twilight's and meet her as she steps through the library door. "Oh, hey you two. I was just about to head over to Pinkie’s, what brings you here?" Twilight asks. "Miles wanted to drop off his bag before we went," Rarity explains. "Actually, it’s good that we met up, now we can put your blade away," Twilight says as she walks back inside. Rarity and I follow her in, though I kind of hesitate. I look to the left and see the chest already opened, containing Storm’s sword in addition to my weapons. I pull out my holstered blade and place it inside. She shuts it and sets the force field back around it. I set the bag down next to the chest and look around. "Where's Storm?" I ask. Twilight looks a little angered and looks away. "He's in the back, setting the cots back up." "Alright, well, why don't you two head on out. I'll grab Storm and meet you there." "Alright, we'll do that," Rarity says as she pulls Twilight with her. We share a glance before they step out the door. What the fuck did he do now? I head to the back room and find him sitting in between the two cots, wings erect, another bruise on his face, and the dumbest look of satisfaction on his face." Okay, do I even want to know what happened?" He lazily looks over to me and quickly tries to compose himself. "Well... you see... the thing is... this isn't what it looks like." "What happened?" I ask as I walk up to him. He's still trying to get his wings down, hmm. I reach out to touch them but he jumps away. "Don't touch them, they're sensitive!" "What the fuck does that even mean?" "It means just give me a minute to get myself under control!" "Wow... now I need to know what happened." "Nothing! Why would you say something happened? Does it look like something happened? Because nothing happened!" he says as he starts to sweat a little. "Oh sweet Barbra, something did happen. What did you do?" "Shouldn't we get to the party now? I think we should. It feels as if we're going to be late. Let's get going," he says before flying as quickly as possible out of the room. Oh, you can run but you can't hide. I run back to the front room and see him flying outside. Okay, maybe he can run. "What's all the commotion about?" Spike asks as he walks out of the kitchen. "I'm trying to get Storm to tell me something. You wouldn't happen to know what happened, would you?" "No, I just heard Twilight yell something and then stomp out here." Damn, oh well, I can just ask at... the... party. "You alright Miles? You look a little pale." "Oh, that's just because I'm about to torture myself by going to Pinkie's party." "Really? I've got to see this," he says as he jogs out the door. He peeks back and says, "You coming?" What a dick. I follow him out and towards Sugarcube Corner. Halfway there, Storm flies down and joins us. "So-" "Not saying." "Aw come on-" "Nope." "Whatever, I'll get you to spill your guts sooner or later." "You keep thinking that." "What's going on?" asks Spike. "Nothing," Storm replies quickly. Spike looks between the two of us and finally just shrugs it off. When we finally approach Sugarcube Corner I stop in my tracks. I can't believe I'm seriously about to do this. But, I said I would, and I'm not about to make myself into a liar. Who knows, maybe it won't be so bad. It might even be as good as my last birthday party, hopefully with a better ending though... that poor bus driver. "You alright Miles? You look like you're on the verge of a mental breakdown," Storm asks with concern in his voice. "Yeah, I'll be fine... she said there wouldn't be that many people right?" "Yeah, just us and maybe a few others, no more than fifteen." "Fifteen? I can handle fifteen, fifteen shouldn't be a problem. Well, *inhale, exhale* let’s get this over with." I put my hand on the door handle and look back. Storm is patiently waiting, while Spike is shaking his head. I look back and slowly open the door. "SURPRISE!" A pink blur yells as confetti and streamers fly out of the room, making me fall flat on my back. I look up to see Pinkie Pie standing in the doorway, covered in confetti and wearing a colorful pointed hat. "Welcome to your JOB WELL DONE WITH THE DRAGONS AND THE TREEHOPPER AND THANKS FOR SAVING THE TOWN FROM THE COWS AND WELCOME TO PONYVILLE PARTY!" "PARTY?" I yell as I try to get away, but can't seem to get up to run. Storm tried to get a hold of me, but I think I punched him. I stop moving and try to collect myself as I curl into a ball and hold my legs against my chest. Spike, Pinkie Pie and Storm walk over to me and look down at me. "Was it something I said?" asks Pinkie Pie. "Maybe, I think we should avoid the P-word for the time being," says Storm as he rubs his cheek. "You mean ‘party’?" asks Spike, making me cringe. "Yeah, that one." "Well, I'll go inside and tell everypony, you guys work on getting him inside," Pinkie says as she runs back inside. "Should we just drag him in?" asks Spike. "Only if you want to get punched," Storm says as he continues to rubs his chin. "How do you suggest we get him inside then?" Storm thinks about this for a second before he runs inside. After a few minutes he comes back with a confident smile. "Hey Miles, the party is over, we sent everypony home. But the Cakes would still like to meet you, think you can handle that?" "Maybe... I think... just give me a minute." I take a minute to let go of my legs and sit up. After taking a few deep breaths I stand to my feet and with a little encouragement I begin to walk inside. When I get to the door I hesitate for a second, before I open it and walk inside. THAT FUCKING LIAR! There has to be at least fourteen people here. I try to back out, but Storm gives me a little push that forces me inside. Once I get most of the way inside, every eye is on me. I begin to sweat bullets as I try to get out, but can't get past Storm. I finally give up and turn to the crowd with a forced smile. "H-hey..." "Well now that everypony is here let’s get this par... er, small get-together started!" Pinkie yells as she turns on a record player. Once the music begins everyone goes back to their own discussions, looking away from me. I sigh in relief and take a nearby seat. That was painful. "That was pretty pathetic," Spike says, getting a smack upside the head from Storm. "Hey, he faced his fear and made it here, what more could you want?" I look up to Storm and give him a smile. Spike just shakes his head and walks off. "You going to be alright?" "Yeah, I think. I'm going to stay here for a bit, you should go enjoy yourself." He looks back and walks over to the seat next to me. "No way I'm leaving my wing stallion alone," he says as he takes the seat. "Heh, you mean P.I.C.?" "What's that mean?" "Partner in crime." "Heh, I like that. Alright, no way I'm leaving my P.I.C. behind." I give him another smile as I lean back and take a view of the party. There are some kids running around, laughing and playing. Big Mac is over by a drink bowl talking with Fluttershy. Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack seem to be playing a game on the wall. It looks like you blindfold yourself and try to pin a tail on a picture of a pony. Twilight and Spike are walking towards me. "So, what do you think?" Twilight asks. "Not too bad. My nerves are still a little shot, but I should be fine." "You should try the punch, I think you would like it," she says as she levitates a cup over to all three of us; I think she forgot Spike. "To good friends," she says as she lifts her glass. I raise mine and the three of us tap glasses. Da fuck... Storm is holding his in his mouth. I guess that makes sense, can't really hold something without hands. I take a deep gulp from the cup and nearly choke on it. "Whoa, there's alcohol in this." "Is that a problem?" asks Twilight. "No, I just wasn't expecting it," I say as I take another drink. It has a sweet taste, and if I had to guess, I would say it's about twenty proof, give or take. Once I finish my drink, Twilight quickly replaces it with a filled one. "Trying to get me drunk?" "What? No. I just thought that if you had a few in you, you would ease up a little." Well, that may be a little true, I can feel the alcohol already taking the edge off my anxiety. I take another drink and look back to the game. "What are they playing?" I ask as I point them out. "It's pin the tail on the pony, want to try?" I look over to Storm, who only shrugs. "Alright," I say, downing my drink in one swig, "let’s give it a try." I stand up and follow Twilight over to the wall. When we get there, all of the girls beam as I say I want a try. I kneel down and let Applejack blindfold me. They hand me the tail and tell me to stand, which I do. When I stand they begin to spin me in a circle, stopping me when I have no clue which direction I'm facing. "Alright Miles, try and put it in the right spot," cheers Twilight. I reach out and try to find the poster, and when I find it I try to guess the best spot. After I push the tack in, I hear some laughter from behind, so I pull the blindfold off. Well, I got the tail in the right spot, if you count using other pictures as well. "Well, do I get points for getting the right spot?" "Mmm, no. But you do win another drink," says Twilight as she gives me a filled glass. "Ad bonum temporibus," I say as I lift my glass and take another drink. Everyone looks at each other before taking a drink of their own. "How many didja give 'em Twi? I think he's already drunk off his keister," says Applejack. "This would only be his third one, though he did drink the last two pretty fast." "I'm not drunk, I'm not even buzzed," I say as I take another drink. "That was just the language of my people." Twilight looks intrigued by this while everyone else just looks at me as if I'm crazy. Whatever, this drink is really good, but it doesn't compare to the drinks Inficiunt would mix. The party goes on for a few hours like this; the girls make me play different games and try different foods and I try them without question. Bobbing for apples was pretty fun, plus apples taste pretty good. Almost every treat Pinkie made me eat was fucking delicious, I need to find out how she makes them. Spike and Storm were talking for a while, but soon separated. I asked him what that was all about, and he just said to not worry about it, so I drop it. I think I have an idea of what they talked about. Soon the record runs out, and Pinkie is about to start a new one when I stop her. "That music was nice and all, but if you play another one like it, I may have to break it." "Well, what kind of music would you prefer to listen to?" Pinkie asks. "Let me show you," I say as I pull out my phone. Everyone is looking at me now, but thanks to my buzz, it doesn't bother me. I unlock it and slide to my music app. I open it and it goes straight to playing music, to which I pause before any sound comes out. I guess the crack broke it after all, because I can't get to the menu. The crack is also making it so I can't turn the shuffle on or skip songs. I guess I'll have to do one at a time. "Hey, my phone is broken, so I can't pick the song that comes out, so we'll just have to deal with what comes up, is that alright?" Nobody responds, I don't think they understood what I mean - oh well, they'll figure it out. I go to the song and press the play button. As the guitar riff fills the room, I turn the volume all the way up and begin to bob to the music. Everyone looks as if they never heard a rock song in their life, well, time they heard one. Once the singing begins I start to bounce in place while doing a slight fist bump. Okay, I might be a little more than buzzed, but whatever, I love this song and don't really care what they think right now. "Annie are you okay, are you okay, you okay Annie..." I sing along, everyone is looking at me as if I'm crazier than before, but whatever, if they don't like it, they can leave. As the song continues I can see Big Mac and Storm getting into the music, bobbing their heads slightly, so I motion for them to join in. "What do we do?" asks Storm as he steps forward. "Just cut loose and have a good time," I say as I slam my side into him, making him nearly fall over. "What the buck?" he says, but I ignore him as I begin to mosh on my own, thrashing about from side to side as I kick and punch. After a few seconds I stagger back as Storm slams into me and takes my place moshing, whipping his head back and forth as he spins in one direction, then in another... Atta boy. I run in and we just go fucking nuts. After a while, Big Mac joins in, followed by Pinkie, then Rainbow, and finally Applejack. The six of us thrash about for a good amount of the song. Damn, I took a slam from Big Mac and nearly fell over. Rainbow Dash and Storm took to the air and were bumping against each other as they both head banged. As the song hit the guitar solo, I reach up and grab Storm’s foreleg. I hold on to each of his forelegs as I begin to spin in a circle. "Whoa, what are you doing?" he shouts. "Just hold on and help me spin," I yell back. As he flies with me, I can start to feel all of the blood rush to my head. Storm is starting to look sick, so I let go and let gravity do its job. I fall back and trip Applejack, who somehow ends up on top of me, while Storm crashes into Rainbow and they collide into the drink bowl. As the song ends, the only sound left is all of us laughing. "WOO, that was totally fun! Play another, play another!" Pinkie Pie chimes as she bounces in place. "Please, could we try to act like civil ponies," complains Rarity. "Aw come on Rare, it was just in good fun," says Applejack as she jumps off me. "What? Ya against having fun?" "If acting like a complete barbarian is your idea of having fun, then you may count me out," Rarity replies as she walks out of the store with her head held high. "Uh, I think we should follow Rarity's lead and call it a night," says Twilight. I think there was a bit of a slur to her voice. Everyone agrees to this and says their goodbyes. Apparently, now I'm some kind of party king, ‘cause Pinkie says that was one of the best parties she had thrown. I think she mumbled "this month", but I'm not sure. As we leave, Twilight levitates Spike onto her back and the three of us begin to walk back. It wasn't so bad. Who knows, maybe I'll finally be able to get over my fear of parties after all. Author's Note The song (In case you forgot) was Smooth Criminal by Alien Ant Farm. I want to thank Cheesus for using his Brony Points to pick it out. Thanks for doing all those spell checks for me when I post. Thanks to everyone for reading and as always, Brony On! Chapter 22 Manual LaborChapter 22 Manual Labor Beep...beep...beep...beep... "Alright, alright. Time to get up, I get it," I say as I turn off my alarm. Aw fuck, what happened last night? I remember the party, moshing like an idiot, walking home and then... nothing. I seriously can't think of how I got in bed, or anything from before that. I open my eyes to see a note over my left eye. I pull it off and see something written in pony. Not knowing of its importance, I crumple it up and stick it in my pocket. I sit up and... AH! My fucking head. The second I sat up, a mind-splitting headache erupted in my skull. Fuck, usually my magic helps me filter the alcohol better than this. I don't remember drinking enough to make me have this bad of a hangover. I stand up and look over to Storm's empty cot. Hmm, wonder where he went... oh sweet Barbra. I stumble my way up to Twilight's room and look up to her bed. It looks empty. I walk up to it and verify that it's empty; it doesn't even look like it was slept in. OK, in the clear so far, I should just head to the kitchen and talk to them during breakfast. As I make my way down to the front room I slip on something and fall down the main stairway. Luckily, a large pile of books catches me at the end of the stairs. "Ow... what did I... what the fuck happened here?" Literally every book is on the floor, making several large piles around the room. In the center of the room is a small fire that Spike is trying to stomp out. I hear some grumbling and see Twilight's head pop out of one of the piles. Her hair is a complete disaster and she looks like she didn't get any sleep. "Aww, my hea—AH! What happened to the library?!" Twilight yells as she jumps out of the pile, only to drop and hold onto her head from her own yelling. "Oow... watch the volume," I say. "Sorry. Where's Storm?" "I haven't seen him, Spike?" Spike finally puts out the fire and turns to us, looking pretty worried. "I haven't seen him at all. I woke up, smelled the fire and ran down here to put the fires out. I didn't even know Twilight was here until you showed up." "Alright, Miles and I will check the rest of the library; Spike, can you get started on cleaning this mess up?" He nods and begins to pick up some books around him. Twilight and I walk up the stairs to her room and begin to look everywhere for Storm, but to no avail. As we begin to walk to the downstairs room I look over to Twilight. "What?" "How do you feel right now?" "Like I'm having the worst hangover of my life." "Yeah, I figured, I meant... do you feel... as if... ya know?" "Please Miles, I'm not in the mood to play games right now, can you just say it?" "Do you feel as if you... and Storm... had sex?" Twilight stops dead in her tracks and gives me a horrified look. "What!? No, I mean... I don't think so. IF WE DID I'LL RIP HIS WINGS OFF AND SEND HIM TO THE BOTTOM OF A VOLCANO AND-" "Whoa! Lower the volume!" Twilight is fuming, she looks like she’s about to explode. "Damn, why do you hate him so much?" "Because he's a bucking pervert!" "I don't buy it, something more than him popping a wing boner made you hate his guts." Twilight turns away from me and enters the room. I follow her in and we search the room. After a while, we finish searching the room and begin to walk back to the front room. "Twilight?" "Miles please, I don't want to talk about it." "Alright, I won't force you to tell me. But, just know that if you ever want to talk about it, I'm here. I've been told I'm a good listener." Twilight stops in the middle of the room and sits down, dropping her head. "*sigh* I don't want to talk about it because I don't want to remember it." "Pushing it away won't fix it." "Yeah... I know." I walk in front of her and sit down. She lets another sigh go before looking back to me. "Well, basically, I had a coltfriend a few years before I moved to Ponyville. He was a good stallion, until he showed his true colors. He tried... to take advantage of me. I fought him off and got away, but it didn't end there. He refused to leave me alone. He followed me, sent letters and would randomly show up from time to time, saying it was his duty to be with me." "How did you get him to leave you alone?" "He was transferred to a different guard division for disorderly conduct." "So that's why you don't like Storm? Because of that guard?" "No. Because Storm was that guard." My jaw drops as I hear this. Storm... tried to... no. I can't believe this. I saw the way he acted, there's no way he could do something like that. But, I wasn't there, so how can I say what he did or didn't do? "We need to find him," I say as I stand back up. "Miles, please don't do anything brash," Twilight says as she jumps to her hooves. "I'm not going to do anything brash. I'm just going to have a word with him when we find him," I say as I start to walk to the front room. Most of the books are in neat piles and Spike is finishing picking them up. When I make it to the front room I stop and look back to Twilight. That's right, she can read pony text. I pull the note out and show it to Twilight. "Go to the fridge?" Before she can ask I make a beeline for the fridge and open it. Storm immediately falls out and crashes on the floor. He's in his armor and looks as if he has a slight layer of frost all over him. He's holding onto himself, trying to warm himself up as he shivers violently. I shut the door and pick him up, bringing him to the front room. I set him where one of the fires was and turn to Spike. "Get him a blanket." He nods and runs upstairs. As he runs off I remove Storm’s armor, returning him to his true form. "Twilight, are you one hundred percent certain it was him?" "Do you think I would forget something like that?" I look down to Storm and shake my head. How could I have misjudged someone so badly? But at the same time, I still have this weird feeling. I need to speak to Storm. Spike runs down with a blanket and throws it on top of Storm. "T-th-ank-ks," Storm stutters. I pat him on the back as I look to Twilight. She won't take her eyes off of Storm - screw it, I'll ask now, but in a more tactful manner. "Hey Storm." "Y-yeah?" "What was the name of that girlfriend you had?" Spike looks at me as if I'm crazy while Twilight just closes her eyes, preparing for the answer. "Wh-why w-would-d you n-need t-to know th-that?" "I'll tell you later, just answer." He looks back and forth between me and Twilight before he drops his head. "*sigh* H-her n-name w-w-was Rain-n-n-n D-d-drop." "What!?" Twilight yells. "So after everything you put me through you're not even going to own up to any of it!" "Wh-what are y-you talking about?" "You know darn well what I'm talking about Storm Cloud! About how you followed me around, how you spent every spare second trying to control my life, about how you tried to rape me!" Storm stops shivering and sits straight up. "What are you talking about? I grew up in Las Pegasus. I've only been in the guard for a year. The first time I ever saw you was the night Princess Luna stationed me here with Miles." The two of them stare each other down, neither backing down. "Hey Spike," I call out, making him come out of his hiding spot from behind a pile of books. "Do you remember Storm?" "A little, I was pretty young when it happened." Damn, that doesn't help. Before I could think of anything Storm gets up and goes to his armor. After some fumbling around, he pulls out a few photos. "Look, here are some pictures I have of me and Rain Drop," he says as he throws down the pictures. I look down at the first photo and see Storm with some dark blue pegasus, with light blue hair and green eyes. The second picture is of the two of the standing in front of a house made of clouds. The last photo is of both of them sharing a kiss. Twilight looks down at both of them for a bit before she looks away. "I don't want to look at some pictures of you and some tramp." Storm takes a serious expression when she says this. He picks up his armor and his pictures before he walks out the library. "Twilight..." Before I could finish she runs upstairs, tears running down her face."*sigh* Spike, you talk to Twilight while I go talk to Storm. Something isn't right here and we're going to get to the bottom of this." He nods and walks upstairs as I walk out the door to follow Storm. I step out and see Storm flying towards Applejack's farm, so I begin to run after him. Once again, as I run through the town, every person that sees me either runs indoors or watches in fear. This time however, I stop and walk through the town, I don't want to start a panic so I figure walking would be better; plus, I already lost sight of him so may as well let him cool off a bit before I find him. "Ahem." I look over and see an elderly pony walking beside me, with a younger pony walking beside her. The elder one has a light tan body with grey wavy hair. Her mark is a scroll with a blue ribbon tied around it. The second pony is light beige with black hair that is tied up in a bun. She wears thick black glasses and has a typewriter as her mark. "Can I help you?" "Yes, actually. My name is Ivory Scrolls and this is my assistant, Sarah Neighlin. I'm the mayor of Ponyville and I've been meaning to speak with you-" "Miles Eremita." "Right, Mr. Eremita, it seems that you haven't been... properly introduced to the town. Usually this would happen during one of Pinkie Pie’s parties, but that didn't seem to go over very well. When you can, could you make it to my office sometime this week? I would like to show you around Ponyville and get you acquainted with its residents." "Yeah, sure, but not right now, I'm kind of in the middle of something," I say as I quicken my pace to Applejack's. "Of course, of course. How about Wednesday the twenty-ninth?" "Alright, see you then." They both stop and let me go off on my own. A few minutes later I arrive at Applejack's farm and coincidentally run into Applejack. "Well howdy there Miles!" "Hey Applejack, did-" "Are ya here ta work on the farm?" "Well, no I was-" "Cause iffin I'm rememberin’ correctly, Luna did say ya had ta work ta pay off yur debt fer breakin' muh window an' makin' a crater in my front yard." Fuck, I completely forgot about that. Whatever, a few hours of work and then I'll find Storm. "Alright, I'll work for a while, but I can't stay too long. I need to find Storm and have a word with him." "What happened with Storm?" "I'm not entirely sure. That's why I need to speak with him." "Well, let me show ya how ta buck apples and then I'll let you work in the north field, I saw Storm out there earlier sittin’ on a cloud." I nod and follow her to a nearby tree. "Alright, so here’s the basics," she says as she kicks the tree, making all the apples fall onto the ground. "Ya just give 'em a good buck an' then collect the apples in a bucket. Ya take a bucket ta the barn an' put 'em in storage. Simple enough, why don't ya give it a try." I walk over to the next tree and look back to Applejack, who just leans against a tree and watches. I look back to the tree and then my feet. Dammit, I forgot to put my shoes on. Oh well, hopefully I can hold back enough, I take my stance and give the tree a solid kick. As I hit the tree I feel some energy escape me, making my kick strong enough to topple the tree. I stand there for a second, not wanting to look back to Applejack, but do after an awkward silence. Applejack is sitting down, wide eyed and with her jaw open as far as it will go. "Umm... so now I just collect the apples and... bring them to storage... right?" Applejack has to shake herself before she can answer. "How did you do that? There's no way ya coulda done that with yer scrawny legs. Big Mac can only barely do it an' he's been buckin' apples his whole life." "Well, I just..." I begin to say but stop when I see Storm up above, lying on his stomach in a cloud. "Uh... I'll tell you later, I see Storm," I say before I run off into the rows of trees. "I expect a hundred bushels of apples by the end of the day!" she yells as I run off. "Plus twenty more for the tree ya jus' destroyed!" One twenty, got it. I stop directly beneath Storm and look up. "Storm!" I yell, making him face away from me. "Go away Miles." "No can do. Why don't you come down here, and let’s talk about this?” "I don't want to talk about it!" Well, that didn't work... time for plan B. I walk over to a nearby tree and jump up to grab a couple apples. Once I have a few, I toss one straight through the cloud, hitting Storm in the face. "Ow! What the buck was that for Miles?" I toss another one at him, but he jumps into the air and dodges it. "Seriously! Come on Miles, give it a break." I throw the last apple at him but he just begins to fly away. "Oh no you don't," I say as I charge the magic in my heels, sending the black lines up my calves. I squat down and jump into the air, sending me high up thanks to the magic. I hit my peak and begin to fall back down, heading straight for Storm. "Look out below!" I yell as I near him. He looks around before we collide and begin to fall together. "Miles?! How did you get up here?" I wrap my arms around his midsection and grab onto my own arms, pinning him against myself. I slam, feet first, into the ground, sending dust all around us. I lose my balance and have to roll forward to compensate for the added weight. Once the momentum ends and I'm able to stand, I set Storm down and step back. "Ready to talk?" I say as I put my fists on my hips. "Your feet are on fire!" he yells as he stares at my feet. "Yeah they do that sometimes, now quit changing the subject and spill your guts." "Why are your feet on fire!? How did you get into the air like that!? Why are you not concerned about any of this!?!" "Why would I be?" Storm facehooves and begins to pace around. "This is bad. This is really, really bad. You need to tell me what's going on, right now." "Only if you tell me what's up with you first." Storm stops and looks at me with wild eyes. "Are you insane!? This is way more important than some stupid sob story. This could mean my job, you’re staying here... the Princesses could lock you up, or banish you. Or lock you up in the place they banish you to!" I shrug as I shut off the magic to my heels. I sit on the ground and wait for him to start talking. "Really!?" "Yup." "BBBUUCKKK!" he screams as he collapses on the ground. "Fine, but you better tell me what's going on with you. And I mean everything." "I promise." He sighs as he sits up and pulls out the pictures again, bringing the one of him and the girl out front. "This is Rain Drop. We were together for... almost five years. I really loved her. We did everything together, you couldn't separate us, we even bought a house together," he says as he moves to the picture of the house, "I really wanted to spend the rest of my life with her... but, then things started to go downhill. We would argue over the dumbest things and we started getting distant. I still loved her, but I started to question whether she loved me, well... until I caught her with another stallion. After that, she kicked me out and took everything of mine. Her new coltfriend was in the guard and kicked my flank whenever I tried to get my stuff back. The only things I have are these pictures and my name... well, so I thought. With nowhere else to go I joined the guard and tried to forget them." "Why don't you go back and get some closure? I'm sure-" "I can't go back! There's nothing to go back to!" Storm snaps, silencing me immediately. "*sigh* Rain Drop died during childbirth several months ago." A single tear rolls down the side of his face as he looks away, trying not to look at me. "So... if all of this has happened recently... what's up with you and Twilight?" "I don't know," he says as he lays down and covers his head with his forelegs, "I can't explain it, but when she's around... I don't know, the pain goes away. Like... if I can just be around her... I won't get those thoughts." "What thoughts?" I ask carefully. "You know... the ones where I end it. The ones where I stop the pain." I sigh as I position myself next to him and pat him on the back. "Yeah... those ones, I've been down that road before." "...Really? When?" "A few days ago." Storm looks up to me, tears rolling down his face. "Losing everyone I ever knew or loved in the blink of an eye; knowing that there could have been something I could have done to make things happen differently, I didn't want to deal with it. So, I figured I would get my weapons, do a salute in remembrance, and take the shot." "What made you decide not to?" "Well, I figured if they were around, Dolum would never forgive me, Auxilium and Tenera would cry their hearts out, Dare would do some over the top ceremony, Fidus would go on a beating frenzy, Inficiunt would get even more mad at me for breaking another promise, Sine and Eximius would take another vow of silence, and Captain Bellum... Captain Bellum would find a way to kick my ass for being an idiot." I feel a tear roll down the side of my face, so I quickly wipe it away. "Thinking of that made me think, 'It doesn't matter if they are alive or if we ended on good terms, I want to honor our good memories and move forward in life because of them'... so I decided that I'm going to live. If not for me, then for them." As I finish, I have to wipe away some more tears, as does Storm. I quickly stand up and begin to walk towards a tree. "What are you doing?" "Way too much depressing shit going on over here. I've got to clear my head, and there's only one good way to do that." I kick the tree in front of me and luckily don't snap it in half. All of the apples fall on the ground with soft thuds. "Well," I say as I look back to him, "you going to join me or not?" He does a final wipe of the eyes as he stands and walks over to a tree. He turns and gives it a hard kick, making most of the apples fall to the ground. "Sure," he says with a smile, "some manual labor sounds good right now." Chapter 23 Old Wounds, New ProblemsChapter 23 Old Wounds, New Problems Perspective: Twilight I've been lying in bed for most of the day now, holding onto my tear soaked pillow. I'm still crying, but I've run out of tears to cry out, so now it’s just shallow breathing and heavy sobs. I can't believe after everything he pulled, he goes and pretends to forget me. As if everything we ever did never happened. As if he can just sweep this all under the rug and let it go. Then, just to throw salt on the wound, he goes and tries to show me pictures of some mare he's probably sleeping around with. He won't get away with what he did to me. "Twilight?" Spike says from the side of the bed. He's been here the entire time, trying to get me to calm down, but I don't want to hear it. "Come on Twilight, at least say something, anything." I tighten my hold on the pillow, ignoring his pleas. "I thought you were over that creep a long time ago." "I am!" I snap. "But that doesn't mean he gets to just get away with what he did. I swear, the next time I see him I'm going to..." Before I can finish, Spike burps up a letter. I pick it up and read it over. 'My faithful student, Thank you for agreeing to write to me about the human in addition to your other responsibilities, but I'm afraid I have another request to make. I need to know more about this human and his past. I can't shake this feeling of him being somewhat familiar. When you can, could you please try to find out what you can from him. Though I wish to find out as soon as possible, please be discreet about this. I do not wish for him to be aware that you are trying to pry information from him. I await your response. Princess Celestia. P.S. I am sending Captain Storm Cloud to Ponyville to keep an eye on him, please do your best not to blow his cover. You should be able to recognize him when you see him, but please do not interact with him. He has strict orders to lay low. He will be staying at the local inn until I determine that this Miles is truly not a threat.' What... I... I don't believe what I just read. I read it over and over again until Spike takes the note away, even then, I can't break my gaze. "Captain Storm Cloud!" Spike yells out in surprise. "But then, who is this Storm?" I hear Spike but I don't react. If that's the Storm from before, then... I jump out of bed and begin to run to the door. I need to talk to Storm... the not-a-complete-jerk Storm. I run down the stairs and open the door with my magic to run straight out, but as soon as it opens I run into somepony. "Aw... glan sakes girl, what's got ya so worked up?" Applejack asks, getting to her hooves. "AJ, have you seen Miles or Storm? I need to talk to them." "Uh... well, that's sorta why I'm here... There's been an accident, Twi." Perspective: Miles Earlier Today Aw fuck, my legs are burning like all new sorts of fuck. We've been kicking trees for what feels like hours. The sun is already past its highest point. I had to take my shirt off just to cool down from the heat, and because I'm sweating like a pedophile in a daycare center. Storm and I must have done... at least three hundred trees, made three times as many trips to the storage cellar, and have done it all in complete silence. "Hey." Well, there goes the silence. "You still owe me an explanation." "For what?" I ask, but know perfectly well what he's talking about. "Why were your feet on fire?" "Fire!? Now that's just crazy talk. If they were on fire, how would I be standing here right now?" "But there was fire, look at the back of your pants! They're burned all over." I look down at my pants and sure enough, the back of the bottom halves are burned off, showing my calves. "What are you talking about? My pants have always been like this." Storm looks at me for a second before he facehoofs. "You're messing with me, aren't you?" "Haha, yeah, but to answer your question, they weren't on fire." Storm does a double take as he looks back to me. "Miles-" I flare the magic in my hand to shut him up. "It's not fire, it's Soul." Storm gives me a confused look as he walks toward me. I sit back on the ground and hold my hand out so we can both see. Storm takes a seat in front of me as I begin to explain. "You see, humans can't naturally do magic without using some other means of energy conduit, usually gems. But, back before the celestial calendar, we discovered another way for us to interact with the world around us: Souls. We found out that if we make a portal like this," I point to the black lines and archaic text, "we can gain access to our Souls. With this, we can manipulate the world around us. Our only limits are our knowledge of the object we put our energy into, and our spiritual ability." "I don't get it. Why would you need to know about the thing you're trying to manipulate?" "Because if we put our soul into something that we are unfamiliar with, we run the risk of losing a part of our soul." "What would that do?" "Well, in small portions, nothing. Your soul would grow back and fix it. Big chunks, you start to change." I shut off the magic in my hand and look him straight in the eyes. "You begin to lose yourself. It starts small, forgetting dates, maybe you lose your sense of smell, but the more you lose, the worse it gets. At seventy-five percent, you go comatose for life, there's no fixing your soul at that point. At eighty percent, your soul begins to bleed out of you, burning you because you've become foreign. No one has lived past that." "If it's so dangerous, why would you use it?" I flare the magic in both my hands and bring them in front of me. I charge my magic, letting the dark lines go past my wrist, and create an orb of white energy. White flames burn from the orb as I levitate it. "This... is called Soul Fire. An orb like this has the potential to power anything. Jets, cars, mining drills, as long as you could sustain the energy you can travel to the farthest reaches of the universe. Why would we not try to utilize this kind of power - don't touch it!" Storm looks down and puts his hoof back down, giving me a small smile. "Soul Fire is very dangerous, though not to its wielder. If you were to touch this, you would lose your hoof. I, on the other hand," I grab the orb and hold it in my hand, "can do whatever I please with it, like for instance," I begin to crush the orb until I completely close my hand. I then throw my hand forward and grab Storms armor. In a white flash, I bring my hand back and shut off the energy. "I can remove enchantments." Storm looks over himself, finding that his body has returned to normal. "How did you do that?" "I read the energy in the metal and removed it. I was pretty talented in enchanting things. Every one of my friend’s weapons had some kind of enchantment that I put there. Speaking of which, next chance we get, let me see your sword." Storm looks as if he's seen a ghost, I guess this is a little too much. "Can't you use magic?" "Only unicorns and alicorns can use magic. The rest of us have to do everything by ourselves." "What!? How do you live without the awesome cheating abilities of magic!?" "We get by. But it's not endless like yours. Unicorns can only use magic in relation to their special talent. Like, if a pony's talent is farming, then spells meant to help them farm are easy. But if they try to do something related to, let’s say enchanting, they will never be able to do it." "Wow, that sucks." "Miles...we’re in trouble." "What makes you say that?" "If the Princess knew that you could use magic... she’d either kick you out of Equestria, or station a different guard with you. I don't want either." "Hmm... well, why don't we just keep that between the two of us then?" "I can't just lie to the Princess! That goes against everything I've been taught for the royal guard." "Well then, just don't lie. Look, if she knew I could use magic, she wouldn't have put you with me. All I have to do is keep that between the two of us and we'll be good as gold." "Good as gold?" "Shut up, it's a Terradisian thing. Look, if she asks, tell the truth, but if she doesn't, just don't mention it, alright?" He looks away for a bit before he looks back to me with a smile. "Alright, my lips are sealed." He raises his hoof so I give him a fist-hoof bump. We both stand and begin to walk towards Applejack's place, albeit at a slow pace. "By the way, what happened yesterday?” I pester, looking to the bump on his face. "What do you mean?" "Well, what was with that stupid look you had and why did you have a bruise?" He looks away and gets that same smile back on his face, but quickly hides his face from me. "Well... I'll tell you, but you have to share an embarrassing story as well. Deal?" "Deal, you first." "Fine, well, basically Twilight asked me to move the cots, so I took off my armor and lifted both of them into the air. I'm not sure how, but when I was setting them down, I guess my... thing... popped out... in front of her-" "BWUAHAHAHAHAHA, you flashed Twilight! HAHAHA... welcome to the club man, HAHAHAHA!" I nearly fall over from laughing. "Yeah well, what gave me the look was what she said," he defends, pawing at the ground slowly. "AW fuck, what’d she say?" He gets the biggest smile on his face as he turns to me. "She said 'I don't remember you being so big.' I kind of... ya know... lost it after that, so she slapped me and ran out of the room. Looking back now, what she said kind of makes sense." "Two things: one, I'm never asking you to move shit and two, at least you will be able to please her-" FWOOSH "...assuming she ever speaks to you again." DE-FWOOSH "Who do you think that other Storm is?" he asks quietly as we continue to walk through the trees. "Don't know, but one thing is clear," I stop and look to Storm, "if we ever find him, he's gonna pay." Storm nods to me with a solemn look before we both continue to walk. As we walk, a shadow suddenly forms around us, making us both stop and look at each other, before looking up and seeing a mass of round orange things flying straight for us. Perspective: Twilight Present Time "ARGH! Why would they use that catapult again!?" I yell at Applejack from across the kitchen table. "They thought they would git their cutie marks in pumpkin chuckin', so they took the catapult again and fired it into the orchard, hitting Miles an' Storm." "You realize that this is the second time that the girls knocked out Miles, right?" I say as I rub my eyes with my hoof. "Ah do, and don't fret, Big Mac an' I already had our little spout with the three of 'em. Plus, this time, they have ta apologize ta Miles and Storm." "The next question is, where did they get a hundred pumpkins and how did they fit them all on one catapult?" "Ah don't know, and ta be honest, ah don't think ah want ta know." "*sigh* Well, no use yelling about it now, where are Storm and Miles right now?" "They're back at the farm, wanna go check on them?" "Yeah, just give me a minute to speak with Spike." She nods and heads outside. I call Spike over and wait patiently for him to arrive. When he does show up, he jumps into the seat AJ was in and looks me straight in the eyes. "What's on your mind?" He asks innocently, swinging his legs back and forth. "Storm-" "Which one?" "The not-a-jerk-but-still-a-perv one." I answer quickly, trying to get on subject. "Oh, what about him?" "I... well... what do you think about him?" "Well, I had a little chat with him at the party, he seems like a nice enough guy," he tells me with a shrug. "What did you talk about?" "Miles." "What about Miles?" I think I know where this is going. "*sigh* Look, I know you had that touching moment and all, but I still feel as if he's hiding something. I know I don't have any proof or facts to go with that, it's just a gut feeling I have, and a dragon has to trust his gut." "Well, I trust him, but back to the point, do you think Storm is a good stallion?" "Huh, oh, yeah I guess, we only talked for a while and we didn't even talk that much. But, he's a royal guard so I trust him." I process this for a while before I get up and begin to walk out of the library. "Spike, I have to go to Applejack's to pick up Miles and Storm. I want you to stay here and pick up the place. You can have tomorrow off for cleaning everypony else's mess." "Sweet!" I meet Applejack outside and we begin to trot over to her place. I want to believe that this is the right choice, but I can't help but feel as if this is going to end badly. I just hope that I don't find what I'm looking for. Chapter 24 Secrets and LiesChapter 24 Secrets and Lies Perspective: Miles As I regain consciousness, I find myself in a familiar room. I think I'm back in Big Mac's room. I sit up and bury my face in my hands. Being knocked out this many times can't be healthy. "Welcome back." "AGH!" I jump from the unexpected sound and fall out of bed, falling straight on my face. "You all right there?" "Maybe," I mumble from the ground, "how long have you been there Big Mac?" "Mmm, for a bit I reckon." "Awesome." I push myself up and sit on the edge of the bed. "Big Mac..." "Eeyupp." "Why am I naked?" "Well...we had ta clean your clothes, they were covered in pumpkin chunks." Of course they were, it's always something. "What's a pumpkin?" "It's a..." "No... wait, I remember now. Big orange round thing that hurts, got it. Where's Storm?" "We put him in AJ's room." I was about to get up, but quickly remembered I was naked. "Where are my clothes?" "They're hangin outside dryin'. I'll go check on 'em," he says as he gets up and walks out of the room. I lay back and relax on the bed. No point in stressing over something that I can't fix right now. I look over my body and realize how unharmed I am... strange. Must have been a ton of minor wounds. I think I can hear someone running towards the room. "Miles! Are you alright?!" Twilight yells as she bursts through the door and runs to my side. "Yeah, I'm fine..." "FINE?! Big Mac and Applejack said when they brought you in here you were covered in bruises! How are you completely healed without any medical aid?" Damn, I want to tell her that my magic naturally heals me over time, but I promised Storm I wouldn't. "Well... let's just say I'm a boss at healing," I say with a shrug. Twilight just sits down and shakes her head. "*sigh* Well... you’re up, that's what’s important right now. Storm hasn't woken up yet, we were going to take him to the hospital soon." My heart drops from this news. I need to get to him. Moving him around in that condition can't be good, but I can't let anyone see me heal him. Hmm... I think I've got an idea. "Hey Twilight, where's the restroom?" "It's down the hall... I'll go see what Applejack is up to." She gets up and walks out of the room. Once I'm sure she's gone I get up and poke my head into the hallway... coast is clear. I make my way down to the restroom and lock the door behind me. I was about to go to the window, but then nature called. After dealing with that I go to the window. Hmm... It's night time... this should help in giving me cover. I open the window and flare my magic. I concentrate the energy and focus it into my fingers and toes. Once I feel confident, I climb out the window and begin to scale over to Applejack's room. I crawl on the side of the wall, the magic making my fingers and toes have tremendous suction, and make it to the right window. I peer in and see Applejack and Twilight inside, fuck why didn't I think of them? They're both looking over Storm, who is covered in dark bruises. "Twi, ah'm sure he's gonna be fine. The doctors will be able ta fix him right up," assures Applejack, patting Twilight's back. "I... just... *sigh* I need to apologize to him. I accused him of being somepony that he isn't." So he isn't the asshole from Twilight's past... YES! "Ya mean that one feller ya told us about from Canterlot?" Twilight nods. "So we won't have ta buck him up the head, that's good ta hear." Twilight gives a small chuckle and looks to Applejack. "AJ, I-I need to ask your opinion on something... but you have to promise not to tell anypony." Shit, I need to get out of here. "I kind of... you know..." "Ya like Storm don'tcha ?" Oh, is that it? I could’ve told you that one. "Y-yeah. B-but I'm worried that they're old feelings for the other Storm, what should I do?" "Do ya have feelin’s fer that stallion?" "No... or at least I thought I didn't. *sigh* I don't know anymore." She says as she drops her head onto the bed, looking over to Storm. Applejack wraps her leg around Twilight and squeezes her in a hug. "Hey Sugarcube, don't fret over something like this. Iffin ya ask me, I'd say go fer it. Everypony deserves ta have a special somepony, and I can tell he's a good stallion." "You think so?" "I know so, and somethin' tells me he likes you as well." OK, this is taking too long, I need to distract them somehow. I take my left hand and levitate a vase. I bring it over the edge and drop it. I'm sure all the extra trees I 'bucked' will cover this. CRASH "What was that? Cawn sarn it. Hey Twi, can ya help me clean this up?" "Sure, I wonder what made it fall over?" Twilight levitates the pieces and follows Applejack out of the room. Once they shut the door, I slide the window open and climb inside. I quickly run up to Storm and flare my magic. "You may feel some discomfort," I say as I remove the sheets and grab his chest, pumping the healing magic into his body. I figure his body make up would be similar to that of mine: blood vessels, muscle tissue, that kind of stuff. Sure enough, as soon as I begin, the bruises begin to dissipate. After a few seconds, he jolts into consciousness, so I let go of him and shut off my magic. "Miles... what's going on, where are we?" he asks in a panicked tone. "We're in Applejack's house, they'll explain later I'm sure. You didn't see me." I charge the magic back into my fingers and toes and climb back out the window. I make my way to the restroom and climb back in. I go to the door and open it, only to find Twilight standing right in front of me. "We need to stop meeting like this," I say as I walk out into the hall, leaving a frozen and blushing Twilight behind. I walk back to Big Mac's room and find my clothes on the bed, so I begin to get dressed. About halfway through getting dressed I hear Twilight walk in. I look back to her and ask, "Something on your mind?" Yeah - Storm. "Huh... oh, no. I just... can I ask you something?" I finish getting dressed and sit on the bed. "I'm all ears." "Well, what if, hypothetically speaking of course, I were to..." "What's going on?" Storm asks as he walks into the room. Wow, cock block yourself why don't you? "Storm!? How did you get better all of the sudden!?" "Umm..." he looks to me then back to Twilight, "you mean you didn't do this? I know you kind of hate me... but... I dunno." "What? Oh... right. No, Storm... I-I didn't mean those things I said. I had you confused for another stallion. I don't hate you." The room fills with an awkward silence. I can tell they want to talk more about... some other things, so I stand up, getting their attention. "Well, not that this isn't fun, but I'm going to leave you two alone now." I walk past them and head down stairs. I go into the living room area and find Applejack and Big Mac talking to an elderly pony. She is a light green color, with grey-white hair that is up in a bun. She looks up to me and points a hoof at me. "You there, eh, what was it... Yards...er no, that ain’t right.... Miles! Come here, I wanta have a word with ya," she says, her age showing in her voice. I walk up to her and kneel so we're closer to being face to face. "Can I help you?" "Huh... wha? Oh, right. I wanta offer ya a job here at Sweet Apple Acres." "A... job?" "That's what I darn said! Ya did good out there an' we sure could use the help this season. The pay would be ten bits a tree ya buck, whadda ya say?" Well, I do need to start making some form of income. Not to mention the manual labor would help me stay fit. Fuck it, let's get to work. "I'll take it. When do I start?" "Start what? Oh right, ya can start workin' here tamorrow, jus' come on down an' find Big Mac, he'll get ya ta work from there on." "Sounds good to me," I say as I stick my hand out to shake. The older pony takes it and gives me a shake with more force than I would believe she would be able to muster. Once done, she begins to slowly walk away, muttering something about being up too late. I stand back up and look over to Big Mac, "So do I call you boss from now on?" "Nnnope, Big Mac will do just fine. I expect ya here tomorrow at noon. I'll be out in the carrot fields, so just come find me when you get here." "Can do." "Welcome aboard Miles!" Applejack says as she walks up stairs. "Hey, if you see Twilight or Storm, let them know that I'm heading back to the library. Got to rest up for tomorrow and all, right?" "Eeyup." I nod to them and begin to walk back home. The walk home was fairly peaceful. The night sky shone with its usual beauty as a cool breeze blew from behind. Strange, a few days ago I was in the fight of my life and now I'm becoming some average Joe, wake up and go to work, pay the bills and let life go by kind of person. Given, I still seem to have trouble find me. Not to mention I don't think that life will ever be normal here, being the only human and all. But who knows, maybe a simple life could still be a fulfilling life. I walk for a while longer in silence, reflecting on everything, when something moving in the night sky catches my attention. I look up and try to focus on it, but whatever it is, it lands in the center of town before I can get a good glimpse of it. I quicken my pace and try to find whatever it is. When I get to the center of town, I see Luna's carriage sitting there with two guards. I try to see Luna but I can't seem to see her anywhere. "MILES!" "AGH!" Perspective: Luna After raising the moon and setting the sun, Celestia and I make our way to the dining hall for a late dinner. We don't always eat together, but we try to spend as much time together as we can; sometimes I go to sleep late and have breakfast with her, or she stays up late and has dinner with me. We don't always get to do this, due to her busy schedule, but we try to as often as possible. "What would you like to have for dinner, your majesty?" asks the waiter. "I would like some oven roasted roses, with some hay fries on the side, please." He writes down my order and turns to Celestia. "Just a salad for me, thank you." He writes down the order and trots to the kitchen. "Really Tia? Another salad, I swear lettuce must be the only thing you ever eat these days." "Well I'm sorry sister, some of us don't have the luxury of being able to eat whatever they want and not have to worry about blowing up." "Really? That sounds awful. Tell me more," I say, giving her a playful wink. She shakes her head and takes a drink from her glass. "Anyway, how was your day?" "Stressful. The griffins are pushing for more land, and it doesn't seem as if they're looking anywhere else to expand." "You don't seriously think that they would try and take land by force, do you?" "No, not now at least." "Maybe I should talk to my friend, Regina. Maybe she could talk in their senate and try to calm things down." "Regina? Oh, right. The ambassador you made friends with, don't worry about it too much. Things are tense, but they will not boil over. War hasn't existed in Equestria for over three thousand years, I don't believe it will happen now." I hope not. The waiter walks out with two silver trays and sets them in front of us. "Enjoy, your majesties." He says with a bow as he walks back into the kitchen. The food smells delicious. I take my fork and bring a rose up, with a final sniff I take a bite and savor the flavor. "How’s your salad?" I ask. "Just fine," she replies in a slightly irritated tone. We continue to eat in silence, enjoying each other’s company. When we finish our food the waiter comes back out to take our plates. "Would you like a dessert?" "No, that won’t..." "Please bring me and my sister a slice of cloud cake." The waiter nods and trots into the kitchen. "Luna, I can't have cake, it would ruin my diet." "If I recall correctly, cloud cake would be your favorite type of cake, isn't it?" "Well... yes, but my diet..." "So, one slice of your favorite type of cake with your favorite sister should make its way into your boring old diet," I say as I give her the best puppy eyed look I can muster. "*sigh* So much for my diet. One slice, and that's it, I don't want to completely explode." "Hmm... I don't think a single slice could possibly do that," I say as I poke her in the ribs, making her jump a little. We share a small laugh before the waiter comes back out and gives us each a slice of cake. We both thank him and begin to eat. I notice that Celestia is eating hers with much more gusto than I am, so when she isn't looking, I switch our plates. She doesn't notice until we both finish our cakes. "That was evil, Luna." "Oh shush now, you enjoyed it." She gives me a small smile before we begin to walk out together. "What's on your schedule for today sister?" "I have to go back to Ponyville, it seems that our little troublemaker has bested a dragon in a fight..." "He what!?" "Well, you sent your student and her friends to solve that dragon problem, he made it his responsibility to help, and ended up having to fight a youngling. I wish to have a word with him to go over the details some more, I have a feeling there's more to this than what a simple letter could tell." "Are you sure you don't want my help, I cou—" "Tia, I think I can handle dealing with a little scuffle. It was just a young dragon." "Okay, just be careful, alright? I don't know what it is, but I can't shake this bad feeling about him." "Don't worry Tia, I'll be sure to be careful, now I must leave quickly if I wish to catch him while he's awake. Good night dear sister." "Good... night." I trot off towards the carriages and hop in mine. I tell the guards our destination and we take off. The flight goes by fairly quickly, mainly due to my mind racing about, trying to think of ways to bring up the subject. I don't want to be direct about it, but at the same time, I can't think of a way to go from dragon fighting to alicorns from three thousand years ago. As we fly over Ponyville, I look over the edge to see Miles walking down the road alone. I let the guards know that I'm going alone, and to wait by the mayor's office. I jump off my carriage and glide down to him. He seems to be deep in thought and doesn't see me right away. I circle around him and approach from behind. I don't know why, but I feel hesitant to approach him. I lower down to talk to him but he sees something and begins to trot after it, so I follow closely behind. He stops near the town center and just looks over to my carriage, this is too easy. "MILES!" I shout directly behind him. "AGH!" he shouts as he tackles me to the ground. I close my eyes as I hit the ground with him on top of me. When I re-open my eyes, I'm staring straight into his eyes. Chapter 25 Feathers and PancakesChapter 25 Feathers and Pancakes Perspective: Luna Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot! This is bad. This is really bad! Why is he attacking me? How could I have misjudged him so badly, he honestly didn't seem like that kind of guy. I need to think of something, quick. Why is he just staring at me? Darn it, off track...uh... levitation? Yeah that should work... before I can do anything, Miles quickly gets off me and scrambles back, putting his back against a nearby wall. I roll to my side and look back to him. He looks scared. Maybe I should ask him what's going on. "Umm..." we both say at the same time, silencing each other. Perspective: Miles Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! This is bad. This is really bad! Why did I tackle her? How could I have been so stupid? I need to think of something. Wow, her body is soft. WHAT THE FUCK!? Where the fuck did that come from? I need to think of something useful... getting off of her would be a good start. I scramble back and put myself against a wall. Oh fuck... I'm going to go to jail, I know it. Maybe I can talk my way out of this... yeah, talking should be useful, I'll try that. "Umm..." we both say at the same time, silencing each other. We continue to stare at one another, but I shake myself and try to compose myself. "Luna..." "Miles..." "I'm..." "Why..." We go silent again. "Luna, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do that... it was just instinct, please don't send me to jail..." Perspective: Luna "Luna, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do that... it was just instinct, please don't send me to jail..." "Why did you tackle me?" And feel me up, but let's get to that later. "I don't know! Something appeared behind me so my instinct told me to attack. I'm sorry." "Okay... well, I guess I'm sorry for scaring you... also... why did you touch me like that?" He stops and looks to me, horrified. "Wh-what?" "You kept running your hand up and down my side-" "WHAT!? Nonononono I didn't mean to, I swear! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please don't hurt me, I swear I didn't mean to..." "Miles! Miles?" He drops to his side and holds himself while muttering to himself. Who's Fidus...? Apparently this... Fidus, did something horrible to Miles. I stand up and walk over to him. He looks so scared, I can't help but feel sorry for him. I don't know why, but I feel as if I should do something. I lay next to him and wrap him up in my wing. Perspective: Miles "I swear Fidus, I didn't mean to. It happened by accident, I promise. Please don't cut off my balls. I swear I'll never do it... what is she doing?" Luna is lying next to me so that my back is against her side, with her wing wrapped around me. If it weren't for the fact that this will probably get me in an immense amount of trouble... you know what, fuck it. If I'm going to go to jail, I'm going to go out full force. Her wings are the softest things I've ever felt before, yet, her wing as a whole feels strong. I can feel the cool touch from her side slowly cool over my back. Why is she breathing so hard? "Miles..." she says with a moan. Perspective: Luna Why is he rubbing me again? Yeah, I kind of wrapped him up in my wing, but that doesn't mean he can just touch me like that. I want to tell him to stop, but... it feels good. The way he runs those fingers through my feathers, the warmth coming from his body. I feel the heat in my cheeks as I begin to blush deeply. I bite my lower lip and try to hold back a moan I can feel growing inside. "Miles..." WHOA, that sounded way too seductive, I need to get away from him. Before I can do anything, he quickly gets out from under my wing, stands back up and starts backing away from me. I take a moment to collect myself before I stand back up and look up to him. He's holding his hands in front of him and twisting them around, looking really confused. "So... I'll be heading home now, unless you’re sending me to jail." "No, no. It was an accident... by the way, what happened with the dragon?" I ask quickly. "Oh, well he chased me, so I punched him in the gut, that's about it," he answers just as quickly. "Great, well, I'll be heading home now. It was good to see you Miles. Please try your best to avoid any more trouble, good night." I turn back to my carriage and quickly trot over. I hop on and order the guards to take me home, which they do quickly. This was way too weird. I have to clear my head a bit. Oh, shoot! I forgot to ask about my parents. Darn, I'll have to come back another time... and not scare him. Perspective: Miles As I watch Luna leave, I can't help but reminisce about the feeling of her wing. Then, reality hits me. I just felt up the ruler of this nation, got her to moan, and am not going to jail. If Fidus were here she would kick my ass. I shake the thought from my head and continue to walk back to Twilight's, but another one fills my head. The way she said my name... sooo fucking se... wait a fucking minute! She's a pony. I'm a human. Why am I thinking these thoughts? We would never be together in a million years. Stop thinking about the amazing way her wing felt. FUCK! Stop thinking about that stupid sexy moan... FUCK! I need to go to bed. I begin to run back to Twilight's and quickly slam into the locked door. Aw fuck. I can't just sit here, alone, with my thoughts... "Miles?" "I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" I scream as I turn back to the noise. I see Twilight and Storm standing behind me, looking confused beyond belief. "What didn't you do?" asks Storm, raising an eyebrow. "What? Do? I didn't do anything. Why would you say I did something? Because I said I didn't do anything and that's all that didn't happen. You know what we should do? We should go inside. That sounds like an amazing plan, let's do that one. Let's go inside." Twilight and Storm look to one another in confusion before they turn back to me. "Miles, what happened?" Twilight says flatly. "Nothing worth mentioning, now can we please go inside? I... have to rest up... because tomorrow I have to go to work." "Since when do you work?" Storm asks skeptically. "I got the job today actually. I'm going to buck apples on Sweet Apple Acres. Ten bits a tree." They look back to each other before Twilight steps forward and unlocks the door with her magic. "Well if you don't want to tell me now, that's fine. But I expect you to tell me eventually." I nod and quickly pass her, going straight for my cot and burying myself under the sheets. I lay there for what feels like hours until Storm walks over to his cot and begins to remove his armor. Armor... that gives me an idea. "Hey Storm, let me see your armor," I say as I toss the sheets off of myself. "Why do you need it?" "I want to enchant it," and work on something so I don't think. "What kind of enchantment?" "Well, it's steel, so it should only be able to hold one good enchantment. I can do increased speed, increased strength, decreased..." "You can make my armor make me stronger?" "Yeah, it's actually pretty easy-" "I'll take that one," he says as he tosses me his armor. I fumble with it before I finally catch it. Once I look it over I find the spot to leave the seal, in the center of the back plate. I cross my legs as I sit on the ground and flare the magic in my hands. "Go ahead and go to sleep, this is going to take a while." He nods and lays on his cot. He's still watching, but I can tell sleep will take over soon. I turn my attention to the armor and begin to feed the magic into the metal by laying my hands on it, palms down. I push the energy in, and begin to weave the spell throughout the metal. It's pretty simple, whoever wears the armor has the energy fed into them. This energy gives them the ability to do more physically. I spend what feels like hours filling the metal with the spell. When I finish, I look over the armor. In the center of the back plate is a black outline of a triangle. The top of the triangle points towards the neck line. In the center of the triangle is a black human skull. Satisfied with my work I turn back to Storm, he's passed out and halfway off the cot. I set the armor next to him and pull him back onto the cot. I go to my cot and collapse onto it. Today was far too stressful. If this is as simple as my life is going to get... I think I might be fucked. I push the thought away from my mind and drift off to sleep. Beep...beep...beep...beep... "Aww, fine, I'm up," I grumble as I turn my alarm off. I look over and see that Storm has already woken up, looking over his armor. "How do you like it?" He looks up to me and says, "It's awesome. Did you pick the design?" "No, that's just the insignia for strength. Try it on." He puts on a huge smile as he begins to pull on his armor. Once he has it all the way on he begins to look over himself. "I don't feel different." "Try lifting something." He looks around before he picks up his cot with a single hoof. "Aw yeah, it feels as light as a feather!" A feather... fuck, now I'm thinking about it again. Maybe some breakfast will clear my head up. I stand and make my way to the kitchen, while Storm sets the bed down and follows me up. We walk into the kitchen to find Twilight and Spike both working on breakfast, so we take our seats and wait patiently. "So, what happened last night?" Storm asks. "Yeah, what did you do? Should we be concerned?" Twilight adds. "Hmm... nope, I've got nothing, what's for breakfast?" Twilight and Storm share a quick look before Spike and Twilight join us at the table. Twilight levitates a plate of what looks like pancakes and brown strips that were fried to everyone except me. "You can eat when you tell us what happened." She sets the last plate in the center of the table and begins to eat her own food. I can smell it from here and it already has my mouth watering... that crafty bastard. "I... ran into someone," I say as I try to grab the plate, only to have it moved out of the way by Twilight's magic. "Really? Who?" I stay silent for a while and Twilight looks over to Storm who... damn guy! He's already done with his food. He takes a sip from his glass and slides my plate over to him. Oh you better not. He takes his fork and begins to slowly cut a chunk out from the pancake, you fucking bastard, you better not, I'm like, stupid hungry. He begins to slowly raise a chunk of the pancake to his mouth, and I lose it. "It was Luna!" I yell as I leap across the table and grab the plate, making Storm jump and drop his fork. "What?!" They yell at the same time. I ignore them and slice a chunk of pancake with my fork. I take a bit and begin to chew... with every chew, I slowly begin to stop. This isn't like what I had last time. If anything this reminds me of... "This is made of hay, isn't it?" I ask after I spit out the food in my mouth. "Never mind that! Luna visited last night and you didn't tell us!?" Twilight asks. I take one of the strips and take a bite... and spit that bite out. More fucking hay. Why does it have to be hay? "Miles!" Twilight yells. "Alright. Well, she came by to check on me. Apparently she heard about my scuffle with that dragon and came by to ask a few questions." "And?" "And... well, she kind of caught me by surprise and... I kind of... tackled her..." "YOU WHAT!?" Everyone yells at once. "I didn't mean to, she caught me by surprise and... it was all on instinct. I apologized and she forgave me, plus I'm not going to jail, so can we please leave it at that?" "Why would your instinct be to tackle her?" Storm asks. "It was something we did in boot camp. It was supposed to make us ready on the drop of a pin. Plus, I didn't know it was her, she snuck up behind me and yelled my name." Twilight and Storm let out big sighs as they come to terms with this. "You already apologized?" Storm clarifies. "Multiple times," I confirm. "Well, as long as she's alright with this," he says as he pulls my plate over and begins to eat my old food. "Miles... you have to be more careful. Nopony here is going to just jump out and attack you," Twilight says in a tired tone. "Sorry, I'll try to control myself." Knock...knock...knock...knock... "Agh! What now," Twilight says as she walks to the door. "Applejack? Rarity? What are you doing? Get inside before you catch a cold." Author's Note WOO, that was fun. Brony Points, we've got a lot of them this time. TacoTown got to pick the enchantment for Storms armor; Voltman77 picked breakfast; Sine Wave picked Applejack; and Glyph255 picked Rarity. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it, and like always, Brony on! Chapter 26 Rainy Day GamesChapter 26 Rainy Day Games I walk out to the front to greet the girls, but stop at the front door. Is... is water falling from the sky? Also, why is the sky dark grey? What the fuck is going on? Applejack and Rarity walk inside and turn to Twilight, dripping wet. "Thank you ever so much Twilight," Rarity chimes, "it seems Applejack and I were at our differences again when the storm caught us." "Ah told you we had ta git going, but you jus' couldn't get a little mud on your hooves, now could ya?" Applejack shoots back as she squeezes the water out of her mane. That is water, right? "Now how would getting my hooves dirty have us any less wet?" Rarity asks as she uses her magic to pull the water from herself. Honestly... water... no one seems to care. Okay, time to ask. "Why is water falling from the sky?" I ask, but am ignored. "Well you guys can stay here if you like. The storm shouldn't be over till tomorrow so you can stay over if you want to....*gasp* we should totally do another slumber party!" "There is fucking WATER falling from the SKY, care to explain?" I ask, but am ignored, again. "Well, uh, sure, why not. We had fun last time, so I don't see why not, unless somepony wants ta ruin Twi's second slumber party," Applejack says, glancing over to Rarity. "I know I would never do such a thing. So let's have another slumber party at Twilight's." "Hold on a second," I say, finally getting their attention, "Water is falling from the sky and you want to sit INSIDE." I feel as if the party part should also be brought up as well... but the water falling from the sky sounds a little more important. "It's jus' rain?" Applejack says, looking a little confused by the problem. "Why would I ruin my perfectly styled mane for something so trivial? It's hardly becoming of a lady." "Miles, you've never seen rain before, have you?" Twilight asks. I look outside and watch the rain fall for a bit. Stuff like this happens here frequently enough that it would inconvenience them, making them want to stay inside. Fuck that shit. I sprint past the group and run out into the rain. The instant I make it outside, I'm instantaneously pelted by thousands of water droplets, sending cold shivers throughout my soaking wet body. A roar of constant water droplets silences the world around me as I run out in the rain. I run and I run and I keep running until I slip and fall into a massive puddle. I sit up in the puddle and do a couple of splashes and slap the water, laughing as I do so. I've never seen so much water in my life, and it just falls from the sky! I stand back up and begin to jump around in the puddle, twisting and turning to kick the water in different directions, not caring about it turning to steam. "Miles! What are you doing!?" I look over to see Storm hovering nearby, completely soaked. "WATER IS FALLING FROM THE SKY!" I yell back as I continue to splash around. "Are you six or something!? Get inside before you catch a cold!" I stop jumping around and look over to Storm. I take a few slow steps towards him until I'm right next to him. "I AM SIX!" I yell as I grab him and toss him into the puddle, creating a massive splash. He quickly sits up and looks back to me. "IT. IS. ON!" he says as he jumps toward me and sends me back into the puddle. We spend who knows how long wrestling in the puddle; I had the natural advantage of size and weight, but Storm had his armor on, giving him the strength to break my holds on him. I finally get him in a sleeper hold and stand up with him in my arms. When I'm all the way up I drop him back into the water. He sputters around for a bit before he stands back up and glares at me. "That wasn't cool." "Forfeit?" "Never." He flies high into air until he disappears into the clouds. What is he planning? He flies back down with a chunk of dark cloud in his hooves. He stops in the air and sets the cloud over me. He jumps up and sends a small bolt of electricity towards me. The bolt hits me in the chest and sends waves of electricity throughout my body. I fall onto my back when the surge of power ends and just look up to the falling sky. "You alive down there?" Storm asks from his cloud. "That was TOTALLY WICKED!" I yell as I jump back to my feet. "THOSE THINGS ARE MADE OF ELECTRICITY?! Hit me again! Hit me again!" He just gives me a weird look before he smacks the cloud, making it disappear. He flies down and looks up to me, confused beyond belief. "Shouldn't that have hurt?" "My magic gives me a resistance against raw forms of energy. Fire, electricity, even some magic. All you did was give me a second wind." I jump back on top of him and continue our wrestling match. This time I can tell that fatigue is starting to take its hold on Storm. As I pin him down with my hands, a bright flash blinds me for a second. When I open my eyes, Storm and I are in the middle of the library, sitting in front of the girls. "Umm... got him," Storm says from under me. Twilight just gives a small smile and shakes her head. "*sigh* Come on, let’s get you two dried off," she says as she walks up the stairs toward her room, so we follow. When we get to her room she levitates me a white towel, so I take it and begin to dry my face off. When I move the towel over to begin drying my hair I glance over to Storm. He's staring deeply at Twilight with the biggest smile possible as she uses her magic to dry his hair off. "Whoa ho ho, what have we here?" I say, making Twilight blush deeply and drop the towel. "I... um... what's that, I think I hear Rarity calling me, I should go see what she needs," she says as she quickly runs back to the front room. I look over to Storm, who is still staring at the spot she was in, and begin to take my shirt off. "So, you finally sealed the deal." "What are you talking about? We're just friends," he replies smugly. "Yeah, and I'm just here on vacation. So... you at least cleared things up," I say as I toss my shirt into a nearby clothes hamper and begin to walk down to our room, drying myself off as I go. "Yeah, you could say that," he says as he follows me down. "Heh... that’s good... I guess." If they want to be private, I won't stop them... but pester I shall. "So has she kissed you yet?" He trips and falls down a few of the steps, only stopping because he runs into me. "You’re evil. We're JUST friends." "Whatever you say." We make it to the room and I switch clothes. I put on the light tan pants with the yellow shirt. I feel way too bright, whatever. I go to my cot and lay down as Storm sets his armor under his cot. "Aren't you going to go to the slumber party?" Storm asks as he walks over to the stairs. "Nope." "Why not?" "Slumber PARTY." "Really. You go bucking nuts at Pinkie’s, but a small get together and you don't want to go." "Yup." "Whatever. I'm heading up. Have fun being a wet blanket." He walks up the stairs and shuts the door. I lay on the cot for a while longer before I start to get bored. I look around but can't see anything that could possibly be of any interest. Maybe I could... FLASH A bright white flash blinds me, again. When I regain my ability to see I find myself lying in Twilight's room, with Applejack, Rarity, Twilight, Spike and Storm all standing around me. "Good, now that Miles is here, we can get started," Twilight says as she moves to her little podium and starts to flip through a book. "What should we do first?" I guess I'm going then... nothing strange better happen. "Oh, how about truth or dare?" Rarity says as she hops in place. I already don't like where this is going. "Sounds good to me, why don't you go first?" "Applejack, truth or dare?" "Uhh... truth." "Hmm... is it true that you bought a month pass to the spa?" she asks as she leans a little closer to her. "Um... y-yeah... but I didn't wanna. Big Mac made me." "Oh, this is going to be so much fun! We have to go together sometime! You, me and Fluttershy!" she says, giving a little hop. What the fuck is a spa? "Your turn Applejack," Twilight says. "Hmm... Spike, truth or dare." "Dare," Spike says confidently. "I dare ya, ta put on a froo-froo dress." Spike blushes lightly but complies. He walks over to the closet and walks in. Moments later he walks out in a light blue dress that’s covered in pink bows and white trim, and is fluffy as fuck. Everyone falls to the ground in a fit of laughter, everyone except Rarity, who walks over to the blushing guy and gives him a pet on the head. "Alright, alright." Spike says as he pulls off the dress. "Miles, truth or dare." Everyone stops laughing, or at least tries to, and looks over to me. I think I've got the basic idea of the game. Truth is a question, while dare is a command that you have to do. "Uh... truth I guess," I say as I sit up and cross my legs. He thinks for a moment before he looks back to me. "Why aren't you looking for your home?" When he asks this, the room falls silent. Everyone puts on a serious face as they wait for me to answer. "What home? My home died over three thousand years ago. To me, my friends were my home, so right now, I am home." Twilight and Storm give me a small smile while everyone else looks a little saddened by my answer. "OK, my turn, Storm, truth or dare." "Truth." YES! "What is the deal with you and Twilight?" Rarity and Applejack's eyes go wide as they look over to the two, who are blushing like crazy. "I ALREADY TOLD YOU, WE'RE JUST FRIENDS!" he yells as he scoots away from Twilight. "Twilight dear, are you and..." Rarity starts. "WE'RE JUST FRIENDS!" Twilight snaps. "Ya better treat our girl right, or else imma buck ya upside the head till next Friday," Applejack says with a smug look on her face. "Yeah, that goes for me too," I say, getting chuckles from everyone except Twilight and Storm. "Yeah, yeah, my turn, truth or dare Miles?" Better go the safe route. "Truth." He thinks for a bit before he looks up to me and asks, "What really happened with you and Princess Luna?" Applejack and Rarity both gasp as the room goes silent again. "Uh... well..." "And no leaving anything out, the rules say you have to tell the entire truth," Storm interrupts. Well... I'm fucked. "You see... well... she snuck up on me and scared me, so I... tackled her to the ground.... and held her there for a bit. When I finally registered what happened I backed off and started apologizing, and then she accepted my apology and left." Applejack takes a few steps closer to me and eyes me a bit. "Hmm... nope. Something else happened. Tell the whole truth Miles." Fuck, how could she possibly know that? "*sigh* Well, though I don't recall it ever happening, I apparently... felt her up..." "YOU WHAT!?" Storm yells as Rarity puts a hoof to her head while she faints. Applejack's jaw drops, Spike does a thirteen take and Twilight just freezes in place. "I didn't mean to, it sorta just happened! I already begged for forgiveness. I honestly thought that I was going to go to jail." Everyone looks as if they are on the verge of passing out, except Rarity, who is still on the floor. "I think I can shed a little light on the subject," says a familiar voice from behind. I turn around to see Luna standing in the stairway. This can't end well. "Princess Luna? Wh-what are you doing here... without a group of guards?" Storm asks as he stands at attention and salutes her. "I teleported myself here because I needed some questions answered. But I think we should clear this up first," she says as she walks over and sits next to me. "Now, Miles says he 'felt' me up, but that's not entirely true. He only did that because of the tackle, which he only did because I scared him. Other than that, nothing more really happened, other than Miles freaking out and apologizing a lot." Everyone seems to buy this and nods in agreement. I don't get it. Why is she lying? She stands back up and looks over to me. "Now, Miles. I have some more questions to ask, but let's leave to somewhere more private," she says as she charges the magic in her horn. The next thing I know I'm being blinded by a white flash. Chapter 27 Project Re-Surface IntegrationChapter 27 Project Re-Surface Integration When the brightness fades and I regain my vision, I find myself in what seems to be a bedroom. In the center is a large round bed with dark purple sheets and pillows. Around the bed is a black curtain that has been pulled back, revealing the bed inside. Against the wall on both sides of the bed are small dark desks that each hold a small lamp. The walls seem to be made of dark grey stone and go in a circular formation. Across from the bed is a large black dresser that has a large mirror behind it. A few brushes and bottles of what I presume to be perfumes are scattered on the dresser, strange. Didn't know you had to brush energy hair. On the right side of the room is a large glass double door that leads to a balcony. Beyond that is a beautiful view of the area around. "Miles," Luna says, getting my attention. She's sitting by the bed looking at me with an intense look. "Luna, I swear, I didn't know what I was doing-" "Miles, that's not why I brought you here, though we will need to talk about that later. I had a question about something you said earlier." "Alright... I guess. What did you need to know?" "I need to know about Spatium and Tempus." When she says this, my heart drops. I know how this story will end... and I finally don't want it, but I will pay for my mistake. "What do you need to know about them?" "Well... anything really. I... tried to look them up, but they don't seem to come up in our records. I want to know more about these ancient alicorns, so anything you can tell me will be useful." She says with pleading eyes. "I don't really like to talk about them that much... bad things happened and I'm to blame for them." "Please... I won't hold you accountable for anything, I just... really need to know." Sigh. You say that now, but yeah... you will... "Well, it all started with a simple request..." Topaz Falls, April 8th, 1127 I hate waiting in the debriefing room. Regulation says that we have to be in uniform, meaning we have to put all of our armor on and sit in a musty old room, but I never understood why. Every debriefing before has been the same: come in, get lectured, leave, and have Sine re-lecture us on what we already heard. Pretty boring stuff, but I guess it beats sitting back home and studying. Whatever, I sit back in my seat and look around a bit. Just a bunch of desks facing a hologram board, with all of my friends sitting in different seats. "Hey Miles," Inficiunt says as he takes a seat next to me, "knock knock." "For fuck’s sake Cunt, get a new joke," Dare interrupts, "the first time was okay, but after eleven years of the same joke, it kind of gets old." "Hey, it still gets the ladies to laugh," he counters, putting up his hands. "Yeah, at you," Fidus says. "Doesn't matter what they laugh at, the end result is always the same," Inficiunt defends. "I hate how true that is," Eximius says from behind. We all share a small laugh as Captain Susurrans walks in the room, followed by Altum. "SUPERIOR OFFICER ON DECK!" I yell as we all stand and salute. "At ease," Captain Bellum says as he taps the board, bringing up the projection. After flipping through a few files, he settles on one that's a simple slide presentation titled Re-Surface Integration. "Miles, we're ready for your presentation," he says, as he and Altum take a seat at the front table. I look around in disbelief. They really want to hear my plan for repopulating the surface. They can't be serious. I stand up and walk to the front. "Well, my plan is fairly simple. We cannot stay underground indefinitely. Our cities are becoming overcrowded; soon we won't be able to feed our own people without harsh rationing; if our enemy attacks Topaz we have no plans for evacuation, or a way to send our people into hiding. We need to go back to the surface," I say as I move to the next slide, showing two energy readings. They are simple lines that bounce up and down in beat to beeps. "What am I looking at here?" Altum asks. "These," I say as I point to the lines, "are two energy readings. One belongs to me, the other belongs to a surface dweller. I've been sending pings of energy from the tower out to the surface-" "Are you insane!?" Altum yells as he stands to his feet. "You could alert the enemy to our pres—" "That would be impossible," I say, cutting him off. "I've been using the tower’s frequency to emit these, if they couldn't read them before they won't be able to read them now. Plus, whatever is sending these pings of energy back clearly has archaic abilities, so it couldn't be the Unfamiliar." Altum sits back down and crosses his arms. "Now, I wish to meet with this being and try to see if they can speak, have a civilization, whatever I can to see what the surface is like. From there we either begin plans to move colonies up there, or we go back to our cities and forget about the surface." Captain Bellum thinks about this for a while before he looks up to me. "Alright, let's hear your plan." I smile from his support and move to the next slide. "Okay, well, the idea is really simple..." May 11th, 1127 We're currently sitting in a squad of jeeps by the main gates to the city. The gates are large steel bulkheads that slide up, this one is number three. We finally got clearance to move on with my plans, and here we are. The first people to leave the city in hundreds of years and we're the ones to do it. So, needless to say, everyone is a little excited. "Miles, I can't fucking believe they approved your plans," Sine says from the front seat. "I know, not to mention how quick it went through," I reply from gunner. "Please," Fidus says from behind, "We're fucking Spartans. You could’ve requested for a harem of virgins and they would have sent them the next day." Dolum gives a small chuckle from the driver’s seat. "Yeah, but this is at least something noble," Tenera says timidly. Before I can say anything a loud metallic squeak catches our attention. The bulkhead slowly begins to rise as we start up the jeeps. Once we have enough room for clearance, we drive through. We take lead down the narrow path, as stalagmites and stalactites fill the sides, barely giving us enough room to drive through. The area is very cold and dark, the only light coming from our vehicle’s headlights. The road is bumpy, and I immediately regret riding gunner when my helmet slams into a stone column. "And that's why we wear helmets," Sine says sarcastically. We drive out for a few kilometers and stop abruptly. I reach down and try the console's navigation, but because we're out of the city we have no signal. "Eighteen kilometers, right?" I ask. "That's what the odometer says," Dolum says as he shuts off the engine. "Alright, now we go up," I say as the other jeep pulls up behind us. I look back and nod to Eximius, who is driving. He turns off his engine and sits back. I lock the turret in place and jump off the back. I flare my hands, sending the black lines to my shoulders, and slam my palms into the ground. Instantly the ground below us sends us higher up. I focus to keep the ceiling at its current distance from us while moving the soil below us higher up. I keep this up until the ceiling above erupts as we enter a catacomb. This area is an open underground cavern, the sound of water dripping from above fills the area. Small stalactites are spotted here and there, but other than that, the room is fairly rounded off. The ceiling looks to be about fifteen meters high, and the sides seem to be twenty meters wide. Our jeeps sit in the far end of the cavern. "Alright, set up in the center, Dolum, Eximius, stay on the jeeps and give us some light," Captain Bellum orders as he leaves the passenger seat of the other jeep. We all follow the Captain to the center and quickly make a small room. Nothing special, four walls, a roof, and a table with some seats. I take some leftover gems from my workshop and set them in the walls. After some quick enchanting, they shine bright white, lighting the room. To be honest, it was mostly me using my magic as everyone else just watched, but I don't care right now, because I get to lead the negotiations. "You ready for this?" Captain Bellum asks as he turns to me. I turn to him and say, "As ready as I'll ever be." "Let's do a walkie check," he says as he grabs his shoulder walkie, "Check check." I hear his voice come clearly through my shoulder, so I return the call. "Alright. Everything is set up, time for all of you to pull back." "I honestly don't like this part of the plan. Why can't we just leave at least one of us to watch your back?" Susurrans asks as he looks around the room. "I already told you, it can only be me. If anyone else were to be here, we double the chance of having something go wrong. Don't worry, I can handle myself." He gives me a concerned look as he grabs my shoulder. "I know you can, but that doesn't stop me from worrying. Alright, we'll head back, radio us when you need us." He gives me a few pats on the back before he regroups with the others. Eximius and Captain Bellum both slam their hands into the ground and send the jeeps into the ground. I turn back to the room I created and decide to make a few more final touches. I make two doors, one at either side of the structure, and I’m about to start some other modifications when a loud crash catches my attention. I walk out the far door and stop in my tracks. Standing a few meters away are two... creatures. They walk on four legs, have long necks, and both have strange marks on their backsides. They don’t seem to be wearing any clothing, but their body build makes up for the lack of modesty… sort of. One is all white, with dark grey eyes and wavy black energy hair. It seems to be a male, with a large conical... thing coming off of his head. He also has two strange appendages coming off his sides, that are covered in a strange material that I've never seen before. He has a mark that seems to be a strange stone wedge with a yellow and white orb above it. The other creature seems to be female... and pregnant. Very pregnant. She's all black, with all of the same body features as the other one, except the large bulges coming from her stomach. Her... mark seems to be a swirl of white dots that get larger the closer to the center they get and she has bright yellow eyes. They both stand at about eye level with me, with their... head thing going well above me. The white one walks over to the black one and checks on her. I take this chance to approach the two of them. When the white one sees me, he jumps straight at me, knocking me flat on my back. He pins me to the ground and looks me straight in the eyes. "What sort of demon art thou?" he demands in a deep voice. "You can talk? I mean... are you the one I've been communicating with?" I ask, my astonishment blatant. "Thou art the one who sendeth the waves of energy?" The black one asks in a gentle voice as she walks towards us. "Umm... yeah. That was me." "Why dost thou send for us if thou only wish to harm us?" Harm them? Why would they think I want to harm them? I look around and see that I never shut off the magic in my hands. Fucking dumbass. I shut off the magic and try to relax. "I'm sorry, there must have been a misunderstanding. I don't mean to harm anyone. My magic was set so I could build this room behind us, I only wish to speak with you." The black one walks up to the white one and gives him a gentle nudge with her nose. He gives a small snort as he gets off me. "Apologies. I only acted to defend the one- ones I love." I stand up and look between the two of them. Well... I guess it's his mate, then. I extend my hand to the white one and say, "Greetings, my name is Miles Eremita. I'm the representative of the Terradisian people." He looks at my hand and seems a little confused. He gives a deep bow and says, "I am Tempus, Ruler of Time. This is my beloved, Spatium, Ruler of Space." Spatium gives a small smile as she gives a small bow. I take back my hand and do my own bow. "So, I'm sure there are plenty of questions you wish to ask me, I know I have my own, why don't we step inside and get comfortable?" I say as I gesture towards the room. They both nod and follow me inside. I walk over to the other side of the table I made and sit down. Tempus looks over the two seats before setting a white aura field around his head appendage. The seats I made become surrounded by this field and begin to change. Once the field is gone, the two seats are lower and are rounded off on the inside. Spatium gives him another gentle nudge on his cheek as she slowly lowers herself into her seat. Once down, Tempus takes his seat and looks back to me. No one says anything for a while and I'm starting to sweat from my nerves getting the best of me. I sigh as I remove my helmet, and nearly fall back as Tempus jumps on top of the table. "What sort of demon art thou, to remove thine own head!?" "Whoa, calm down. It's just a helmet. It's to protect my head." He looks me over again before he gets back down and into his seat. "A helmet thou sayest, interesting. Am I to assume that thou art wearing full armor then?" "Yes," I say as I begin to remove the armor from my arms. As I do this they watch intently, Spatium out of curiosity and Tempus out of a need to protect Spatium. Once I finish I show my arms before I rest them on the table and cross my fingers. Once again the room fills with an awkward silence as we stare each other down. "So, if thou art not a demon, what art thou?" "My people are called humans. What sort of creature are you?" "We are ponies," Spatium says. "Human, you say? Thou wouldst not happen to be one of the star travelers from long ago, wouldst thou?" Star travelers? Either she means the Unfamiliar or the early people who used to travel in space. "Well... my people traveled in space before, but that was a long time ago." She looks down in deep thought as Tempus glares at me. I need to turn this to a more positive subject. "So... when are you expecting?" "Beg thy pardon?" Spatium says as she looks back to me. "You’re with child... right?" Oh please be pregnant, please be pregnant, please don't make it so I just called her fat. She smiles as she looks down and rubs her belly. "Yes, in one month’s time I shall be giving birth to our firstborn." Tempus gets a huge smile as he looks over to her. "Well, congratulations. I wish nothing but the best for your child." "Enough of thy flattery and honeyed words. Thou summoned us here for a reason, what is it thou wisheth to discuss?" Tempus cuts to the chase, getting a nudge from Spatium. "Alright, let's get to work. My people have lived underground now for generations, but we wish to stop this. I wish to bring my people back to the surface, but I don't want to bring them there blindly. I sent signals out in hopes of finding intelligent life, and here you are." "Why dost thou wish to find intelligent life?" Spatium asks. "I need to know about current surface dealings. I don't want my people to appear somewhere that already belongs to another group of people. I don't wish to cause a fight that may erupt the surface in a war." "Thou seekest peace?" Tempus asks. "Yes, a peace that will allow my people to live harmoniously with the current surface dwellers." He thinks about this for a while before he looks back up to me. "Thou hast my blessings. But if thou wishest to bring thy people to the surface, I must speak with all the representatives of the land. I alone cannot barter the land of others. Let us meet again sometime in the future." "Perfect. Take all the time you need. Whenever you're ready, just send a signal down a day ahead and I'll be here." "Until we meet again, friend," he says as he stands and does a bow. I hesitate for a second before I return the bow. Did he just call me his friend? Spatium slowly stands back up and walks over to me. She extends her leg and holds it there. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do, so I kneel down and shake her leg. She gives me a confused look before she sets her leg down. "It seems next time we meet; we must go over proper etiquette." "Oh, sorry about that, I didn't mean to offend." "It is quite fine; we must be off now. Thou shalt expect our call within the new season." The new season? I stand back up and say, "Vale usque nos obvium iterum." They both stop for a second before they walk out the back. I walk over to the door and watch Tempus create a field of energy around the two of them. When the energy fades away, the spot where they once stood in is now empty. I grab my walkie and say, "Caravan, this is Pilgrim, mission accomplished." September 18th 1127 After what felt like eternity, I finally find myself back in the room. The other day the alarm was sent that we were getting a transmission from above, and I almost died in excitement. So, here I am, back in this room, waiting patiently, no armor, no weapons, just me and all my questions. Luckily the gems I set are still lit, and the cavern is still holding strong, but I still did a structural check on everything. After about thirty minutes I hear a loud bang from the outside of the room and run out to see what happened. When I get there I see Tempus and Spatium standing there. Spatium is tremendously skinnier and has something strapped to her side. "Hail, Miles Eremita, we have returned!" Tempus says joyfully. "Tempus, Spatium, glad to see you again. I hope you bring good news." "We do," Tempus says as they approach me, "we have spoken with the other groups-" "I was actually talking about your child," I interrupt, "I hope everything went well." Tempus puts on another large smile as he looks over to the little bundle on Spatium's side. "Everything went perfectly. Miles, greet my daughter, Celestia," he says as he uses his aura to levitate a small white pony out of the strap. She has bright pink hair and all the appendages that her parents have. She lacks a mark and is sleeping. "May I?" I ask as I hold out my arms. Spatium looks a little nervous by this, but Tempus levitates her over to me anyway. I take hold of her and look down at her. She slowly opens her eyes and looks up to me with those bright pink eyes and grows the biggest smile ever. She lets out an adorable little giggle as she raises her legs and begins to play with my face. "Brave one, isn't she?" "She taketh it from her father," Spatium says as she walks into the room. I follow her in and hand her off to Spatium. This kid is way too cute... and poky. I wanted to hold her a bit longer, but I would’ve lost an eye in the process. We all take our old seats and go back into silence... well almost. Celestia keeps making the most adorable baby sounds as Spatium plays with her, pointing her leg at her, poking her nose, that kind of stuff. "So, what's the good news?" "I have spoken with all of the clan heads and we have agreed to allow a portion of land for thy subjects, but only after thou give us a census of its potential citizens." "We plan on moving one million in the first year-" "One million!" Tempus yells, causing Celestia to coil up and give small whimpers. "Thou can't be serious. We thought thou would move ten thousand at most. There is no way any would allow one million. It's out of the question." Well... fuck. "Ten thousand you say... that would be really hard to pull. My people don't want to move unless we bring a high volume of people... do you think you could convince these leaders to allow more people?" "Maybe... it would take some time... dost thou think thee could convince thine people to allow less to make the pilgrimage?" "Only time will tell." Tempus nods to me as they both begin to rise. "Well met, Miles Eremita, we must adjourn to begin deliberations. We shall call for thee again when we have our answer." "Farewell, and next time, let's make some time to get to know one another. I'd like to be more than strangers." "Very well," he says as he bows to me. I bow back and turn to Spatium. She raises an eyebrow as she brings up her leg again. Eximius, you better be right. I kneel down and give a quick kiss to the bottom of her leg. "Well, it seems thou hast found time to learn some proper manners. Fare thee well, Miles Eremita." "Vale usque nos obvium iterum." As they disappear the same way as before I grab my walkie and say, "Caravan, this is Pilgrim, mission flare." June 20th, 1130 The past few years have been dragging by way too slowly. Our negotiations have been making progress, but they only want to make discussions during one time of the year, and even then it takes months for requests to be made. I've worked my people down to two hundred fifty thousand, but Tempus has only been able to work his people up to fifty thousand. At this rate, it'll take us three or four years to finally work something out. That, plus all the preparations for moving people there, getting the supplies ready, and getting people to volunteer to go, we're looking at another year for us to finally make the move. Well, I guess something like this will just have to take its time to come to fruition. On the bright side, at least I get to speak with Tempus and Spatium every now and again. They are actually pretty good people. And Celestia is just an adorable treat. She also grew up pretty fast. She's still very little, compared to her parents, but she can already walk, run, talk, basically anything a toddler could do. If I remember correctly, today is her birthday. I decided to make her a gift. Nothing big, just a gold tiara embedded with a ruby on the top. I'm going to enchant a photo of all of us together in the ruby, so the little troublemaker will have something to remember me by. FLASH "Uncle Miles, Uncle Miles!" I look out of the room and see Celestia running towards me, leaving behind Tempus and Spatium. "Hey there squirt," I say as I get out of my seat and kneel before her. She runs up and jumps into my arms. I catch her and stand with a twist, getting giggles from Celestia. "Hey, hey, dost thou know what day it is today?" she asks eagerly, wiggling in my arms. "I have no idea; what day is it?" "IT'S MINE BIRTHDAY!" she yells as she tries to squeeze me in a hug. I pick her up and set her on the ground as I get on my knees. "Mmm... that's impossible, if I remember correctly, your birthday was last year." "But... I thought today was mine birthday," she says as she gives a little pout. AW... SWEET BARBRA.... cuteness overload. Must fix. "THAT'S BECAUSE IT IS YOUR BIRTHDAY!" "I KNEW IT!" She screams as she begins to hop around me. "And I got you a present," I say, getting a shocked look from Spatium. "Thou didst, what is it, what is it?" "Ah, ah, aahh. Close your eyes first." She scrunches up her face as she closes her eyes as tightly as possible. TOO. DAMN. CUTE. I pull out the tiara and present it to her, getting a small gasp from Spatium. "Okay, open your eyes." SQUEE She jumps straight into my arms again and gives me the biggest hug she can muster. "Thank thee, thank thee! I love it. Can I wear it? Can I, can I, can I?" I set her back down and try to fit it on her head, but it goes completely around and hangs from her neck. "Hold on, let me fit it real quick." I take it and send some energy into it. The spell is simple enough, I'm just going to make it shrink and grow to fit her appropriately, I have the same spell on my potestatum annulums. When I finish, I set it on her head, and it's a perfect fit. She runs over to Tempus and asks, "How does it look, daddy?" "Almost as beautiful as thee. Thank thee for this, Miles, thou hadst no need to do this." "Pfft, need? I wanted to do this. It wasn't a problem, but there is one more thing that I need to do with it." "What's that?" Celestia asks as she walks over to me. I take the tiara and set it on the table. I then instruct the three of them to stand aside and group together. As they do so, I set the spell in the gem, thirty seconds. I scramble behind them and order them to smile, which they do. FLASH I walk over to the tiara and pick it up. When I look back, the three of them look scared beyond belief. "Don't worry, it was just a picture. Here, let me show you." I flare some energy into the ruby, making it project a picture of the four of us a few centimeters from the gem. The three of them walk over and inspect the picture closely. "How didst thou get us inside such a small space, Uncle Miles?" Celestia asks in wonder. "Hehe, no dear, we aren't in there. It’s a magical copy of our likeness. It's just so you can always have something to remember me by." I shut off my magic, ending the hologram, and set the tiara back on her head. "Mmmm... okay, now I will always have my mommy, my daddy, and my Uncle Miles with me," she says with the biggest smile ever. TOO. DAMN. CUTE. "Celestia, why don't thou go show mother thy tiara, Uncle Miles and I have many things to discuss." Tempus asks sweetly, giving her a nudge towards Spatium. "Okay daddy," she says as she pulls Spatium away. "I seriously hope you've got my number." I tell him as we watch the two of them step out of the room. "As do I." "Alright, like always, at the same time." "Very well." "Eighty thousand," we say at the same time. "Finally!" "Most wondrous!" "Alright, I'll get my people to start preparations. Finally, after all this time, we're finally going to see that sky." We both share a laugh at that. Apparently this ‘sky’ is something so mundane to the people of the surface, that the idea of never seeing it is absurd. "I cannot wait to meet you on the surface, it has taken far too long for this joyous day to arrive." "Uncle Miles?" Celestia says as she walks up to me. "What doth this mean?" I look down and see the etching I put on the back. "‘Cum vobis semper’. It means, with you always..." August 8th 1131 We're halfway to getting our preparations ready for our colony to move back to the surface. I was the first to sign up for it and I can't wait. Captain Bellum, Altum and I are heading out to go to the surface. It was decided that we should head out early and make sure we bring proper equipment. It's a good idea, I just wish Altum wasn't here. That fucking sadistic bastard always finds a way to stick his greasy fingers into my work, fucking power hungry asshole. Whatever, I can handle a little Altum for the opportunity to be the first human to walk on the surface in hundreds of years. "I still don't understand why you didn't bring your weapons," Captain Bellum says as we push our way through the soil, heading up. "I don't see the need for them." "We're going to untraversed land, with no intel, no backup and no communication. I think that barters some need for firepower," Altum says. "Hey, don't like it, head back. We're going to be meeting Tempus up there anyway. I doubt something would attack someone of such high political standing." "At least let me put a barrier on you, some extra protection couldn't hurt," Captain Bellum says. "I trust Tempus." We continue to push our way until the ceiling above ends and all we can see is a grey ceiling. I push the ground below us up until it's level with the ground around it. The surface. The area around is fairly hard to see. There's a light grey smoke screen all around, making our visibility limited. I look around until I see a figure up above coming down to us. After a few seconds the figure is joined by another one. A little bit later the figures reveal themselves to be Tempus and Spatium flying towards us. "Down here!" I yell out to them, getting their attention right away. "So that's a pony," Captain Bellum says with wonder in his voice. "Such power..." Altum mutters to himself. Please don't make me look bad. They finally make it to us and land in front of us. "Miles! It's good to see thee on the surface," Tempus says as he and Spatium bow to us. The Captain and I return the gesture, but Altum remains up, gawking at the two of them. "Art thou ready to see thy new home?" Spatium says. "I've been ready ever since we met, lead the way." Tempus gives me a nod and begins to turn, but suddenly a white flash appears from my back, and the back of Tempus’s head explodes outward. In the distance I hear the muffled sound of a rifle firing as I watch Tempus’s body slowly fall to the ground. "TTTEEEEMMPPPUUUUUSSSS!" Spatium yells as she runs over to him and holds his body up. I can see the entry wound on the side of his head pour blood out as Spatium begins to wail over his lifeless body. "TEMPUS! NO! NO! WHY!? WWWHHHYYY!? WHAT DIDST THOU DO MILES? WHAT DIDST THOU DO!? WE TRUSTED THEE! WE THOUGHT THOU WERE OUR FRIEND! TTTTTEEEMMMMPUSSSS!" I don't register the next few events. The only thing I can register is remembering that bullet bounce off that barrier and slam into Tempus’s head. Watching the brain matter fly out the back, seeing him slowly fall to the ground, seeing the life drain from his eyes in the matter of seconds, the screams of Spatium yelling. When I finally get a hold of myself, I find myself lying in a bed in the hospital ward back in Topaz. All of my friends are around me, looking down at me with worried looks. I slowly begin to sit up, making them all sigh in relief. "What's going on?" I ask in a raspy voice. "Miles! Oh thank goodness. You've been in shock for three days now," Tenera says as she gives me a hug. "Captain Bellum told us what happened, we're sorry about your friend Miles," Sine says, as bluntly as ever. "Where is Susurrans?" I ask, getting serious looks from everyone. "Captain Bellum is outside-" Eximius begins. "Bring him to me!" I bark at them. They all look at me with concern, but Fidus finally goes to retrieve him. "Miles, what's wrong?" Auxy asks, but I don't answer. Fidus returns with Susurrans shortly after. Susurrans asks them all to leave, which they do reluctantly, before he turns to me. "How are you feeling-" "Did you put a barrier on me?" "I-I... well..." "SPIT IT OUT! DID YOU PUT A BARRIER ON ME!?" He takes a deep sigh before he looks me square in the eyes. "Yes. Like it or not, you are a soldier of Terradisia. We cannot allow you to walk around in dangerous territory without some protection. I was just following orders, Miles." I look away from him; I can't look at him without wanting to tear his head off. Following orders, like I've never heard that before. "Miles?" "Orders sir." "Miles, what's wrong with you-" "ORDERS, sir." "..." "Orders sir." August 29th, 4133 When I finish telling Luna about Tempus and Spatium, I'm fuming with rage. I'm pacing back and forth, looking for anything to vent my anger on. Luna's been sitting there the entire time, processing what I told her. "I don't get it," she says, getting my attention. "How is it your fault that Tempus died, you didn't fire anything..." "It's my fucking fault because I pushed for humans to move to the surface! If I hadn't, then I would never have met them, and he would have lived. Nobody would have had a reason to shoot him. IT'S MY FUCKING FAULT HE'S DEAD!" I break down and fall back against the wall in a fit of tears. "Why did he have to die? If he had been four centimeters to the right, or if I hadn't had that fucking barrier, he would have lived. I deserve to die for what I did to him." I bury my face in my arm as I cry out my sorrow. I really wish I had died instead of him. He had Spatium, he had Celestia. They had to go on without him because of me. I probably ruined Celly’s childhood by killing her father. Who knows what kind of resentment they must’ve had towards me? As I cry out, I feel Luna grab me and pull me into her embrace. I grab onto her and cry my heart out. Chapter 28 Mending Broken HeartsChapter 28 Mending Broken Hearts When I finally run out of tears to cry out, I just sit there. I want it to end, the injustice, the sorrow, the heartache. Why do I get to live while Tempus had to die? The shot was for me; it should have been me. He had so much to live for, and I cheated him of that. As I contemplate this, Luna tightens her hold on me. I think she's crying; I can feel a wet spot on my back slowly growing. I tighten my hold with my left arm while I rub her back with my right hand. Tempus must have been some important figure to her people, that or my crying is infectious. "Miles..." "Yeah Luna?" She loosens her hold on me enough to be able to lean back and look at me. I can see the stains on her cheeks from all of the silent tears she's cried out. "Please don't blame yourself-" "How could I not...?" "Stop. Stop right there. Tempus was your friend. He wanted you to be there. How could he have known about an assassin? And I'm sure that Spatium was only hysterical because of her loss. They were your friends, and they wanted you to be here. Don't tarnish his final wishes with these delusional thoughts of injustice. The only injustice here is that the killer got away... right?" "I guess they did. We left almost as soon as the shot was fired, so we didn't find out who did it..." "There, now the only thing left to do now is to live a full and meaningful life." I give her a confused look, which she gives a small chuckle at. "Stupid boy... you have to live on, for Tempus. He wanted you to come here and live your life, it's the least you could do to honor his memory." "Heh, I guess you’re right..." I look up to her and she returns my gaze. I think we're moving closer to one another but I can't tell. I'm completely lost in those amazing teal eyes. After what feels like an eternity, we're mere centimeters away from one another, eyes becoming heavy, hearts racing, brown blur to the left... brown blur? We both look over to see someone watching us closely. Holding their claws by their mouth and shaking from anticipation. "*SQUEE* Luna's got a boyfriend!" she screams, making Luna jump off me and turn bright red. "R-Regina? What are you doing here?" Luna asks, only to be ignored by her as she walks over to me and examines me closely. She seems to be two different creatures in one. The front half is covered in light brown feathers, while the back half has fur. Her front legs end in yellow claws, while her back legs have short rounded phalanges. Her mouth seems to be made of a hard substance. The feathers on the top of her head are pushed back, going down and along the back of her neck and end in black. She has long brown wings that end in black and curve with her body. She continues to look me over with the biggest bright blue eyes. "Luna... you have the weirdest taste in mating partners." Luna and I look to one another and nearly choke from embarrassment. "We're not mating partners," Luna says. "We aren't doing anything," I say. "Well... at last he isn't ugly. Now what is your name?" she asks as she leans in a bit. "I'm... Miles Eremita." "Miles Eremita... I am Regina Strongwing. I am a dear friend of Luna's here, so let me give you a little warning." She grabs the neckline of my shirt and pulls me so that we're face to face. "You’re Luna's first, so if I hear that you were too rough, I'll hunt you down and end you." I don't know what to say. I look over to Luna and see that she's frozen in her embarrassment, blushing as brightly as possible. I look back to Regina and say, "I don't think we'll have to worry about that." She gives me a smile and sets me down. "Alright, well I guess I'll leave you lovebirds alone. Luna, when you’re finished here, I'll be at the ambassador’s hall. I'll be sure to stay up late to hear all the juicy details." She says the last part in a seductive tone as she flies out of the room and glides off into the distance. I look back to Luna, and we stare at each other for a moment before we become too embarrassed to look at one another. "S-so, she your friend?" I ask as we continue to avoid each other’s eyes. "Y-yeah." "What is she?" "She's a griffin. Half eagle, half lion." "Umm... so, what did she mean by me being your first?" I ask as I look back to her. "I-I umm... I've never had... you know... sex. I'm still a virgin." Oh... OH! How did I not get that? "Y-yeah... we share that trait. Umm..." "You didn't have anypony back in your home?" She asks with some newfound confidence. "No. I just... never could find someone I truly could connect with." "Oh, I see... uh, if you don't mind, it’s been a long, and rather stressful day. I need to go to bed." "Right, right. Because you sleep all day and stay up all night, I remember. Umm... so where am I?" "You’re in Canterlot, but don't worry, I'll send you back," she says as she brings her aura field around her horn. "Hey Luna." "Yes Miles?" "Thank you... for making me talk about them... I needed that." She gives me a smile as the bright light returns, blinding me shortly. "Yeah... me too," she says quietly. FLASH When I regain my vision I find myself in Twilight's room in front of the four girls... wait four? I don't recall the grey girl in the poofy pink dress... oh sweet Barbra. "BWAAAHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" I fall to the ground in a fit of laughter. I honestly thought I had run out of tears, but seeing Storm dressed like that, I found some new source. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Laugh it up, you’re next," Storm says. I wanted to respond, but I'm currently trying to keep my sides from falling off. "Oh hush Miles, Storm looks absolutely fabulous!" Rarity says, getting everyone to laugh. "Yeah he does, HAHAHAHAHAHA!" I'm now rocking back and forth from laughter. Aw man I wish I had a camera... WAIT, I do! I stop laughing long enough to pull out my phone and quickly take a picture. When I look at my phone and see the look on his face, I immediately fall back into my fit of laughter. The girls run over and look at my phone and soon join me on the floor in a frenzy of laughter. "Great, now I'll never be able to live this down... how does stuff like this always happen to me?" Storm says as he begins to remove the dress. "Ha... aw man... I'm making that my background... too funny." The girls all stop laughing and give each other a look... shit. I try to run away but Twilight grabs me with her magic, as Rarity starts weaving fabric all around me. In a few seconds I find myself standing in the middle of the room in a slim light pink dress, with a white bow in the middle of the back. The dress only goes down to just above my knees and is strapless. Once the girls back up and take a look, they all fall over in a new frenzy of laughter. "Whatever, I make this look good," I say as I walk towards the stairs to the bottom room. "Hey Miles!" Twilight calls out. I turn around only to turn away from a bright flash. When I look back I see Applejack with a large camera in her hooves. "Yea, ya look good enough fer a fancy smancy bridesmaid," she says as she sets the camera down. "You’re all evil," I say as I walk down the stairs. I get to the bottom and quickly get re-dressed. I put on my old pants and the red shirt. This shirt is just plain red and has a lay flat collar. I run back up to see the four of them sitting in a circle. Storm is out of the of the dress and is sitting out of his armor, next to Twilight with an open space next to him. I take a seat next to him and give him a playful nudge. "Alright, I think we've taken truth or dare as far as we can, what should we do now?" Twilight says, as she pulls out the book from before. As Twilight and the others talk about various games they could play, Storm leans closer to me. "Miles, I think I know what happened in the morning, meet me in the kitchen," he says in a whisper. I nod to him and start to head over. "Where you going?" Twilight asks. "Storm and I were going... to... get snacks," I say as I stumble to the stairs. "Snacks?" "Yes, snacks, right Storm?" "Uh, yeah, snacks. Anything sound good?" Storm asks. "Ooo, I would love some apple slices," Rarity says. "Apples, got it. Let’s go," I say as I quickly walk out of the room. When we finally get to the kitchen I turn to Storm and watch as he paces around. "OK, so what happened?" He walks over to the fridge and pulls out a large dark green glass bottle. "I think you drugged us," he says as he looks over at the bottle. "What?" "Well, when you were gone the girls decided to have a glass of wine, so they all had a small drink. Ever since then they've been acting pretty strange." "Strange how? They seem to be acting normal to me." "I didn't notice it at first either. But... it's like they have no filters. Whenever one of them asked a question, they would answer it completely." "And?" "AGH! Like... I asked Twilight about Storm... the other Storm... and she went on for thirty minutes about all the stuff they did together. ALL of it." "...Oh sweet Barbra." I take the bottle from him and look it over. The bottle itself is fine, but I can sense some energy from the liquid inside. "What should we do?" I walk around the room as I think for a second before I come up with a solution. "We have two choices. Either we let the effects of the drink wear off on their own, or we give them more, making the crash come sooner." "Is that safe? Shouldn't we just let them sober up first?" "That would be best, but we have to be careful. We currently have access to their deepest, darkest secrets. We cannot allow ourselves to take advantage of this." Storm nods to me as he begins to walk towards the room, only to stop when I move in front of him. "Is there something else?" "Yeah, let's not forget the apples." We spend the next few minutes preparing some apples on a plate. Once we finish we head up, Storm carrying the plate of apples on his back while I have another in one hand. I also brought the bottle of wine... just in case. When we get to the room we enter as Twilight is talking. "...he was to say the word I would buck his brains out. Oh, speak of the devil. Storm, come over here a second, I want to talk to you." Storm flings the tray across the room as his wings go straight up, sending apples everywhere. "Hey Twilight!" I say before Storm can do anything, "You want some more wine?" "Hmm... that actually sounds like a good idea. Storm, why don't you come have a glass with me?" I drop the tray and kneel next to Storm. "What do I do, what do I do?" Storm repeats as he glances between me and Twilight, lightly sweating. I give him a hard smack across the face to gain his attention. "First off, sorry about that. Secondly, plan B," I say as I shove the bottle into his hooves. "Play along and get her to drink as much as possible, as fast as possible. I'll distract the other two. Oh, and another thing, if you do anything..." "I'm not going to sleep with her when she's like this. Buck man, give me some credit." "Hey, I'm just saying," I say as I stand back up. "Hey, Applejack, Rarity, why don't you two come with me to... get more apples." "Ah thought we had ta leave so Storm an' Twi could rut," Applejack says as she begins to walk downstairs. "Darling, he's obviously trying to be coy about it," Rarity says as she follows her down. "Coy shmoy. Ya jus' jump on back there and put yer back inta it," Applejack replies. "Only if you want to be a barbarian about it. You have to at least do a little foreplay, get the mood set." "Eh, I guess." No... filters... whatsoever. I look back to Storm and give him a thumbs up as I begin to follow the other two out. Storm looks incredibly nervous, but takes a deep gulp as he walks onto the room. Author's Note Thanks to Oldtimeydude for using his Brony Points to pick where he appeared. Thanks for reading and like always, Brony on! Chapter 29 TemptationsChapter 29 Temptations Perspective: Storm Celestia help me, why did Miles have to leave me alone with Twilight like this? I know I shouldn't try anything, she's been drugged and would hate me forever. This isn’t right. I turn back and... where did she go? "Stooorrrmm," she says from above in a seductive tone. I would have flown up, but my stupid wings are too stiff to let me fly, so I take the steps to her bed. When I see her my wings nearly blast off. She's laying on her side with her back legs sprawled out and her left foreleg underneath her, her right leg is resting on her side as she looks at me with hungry, seductive eyes. "Uhh..." is the only thing I can manage to say as she looks to her backside and begins to play with her tail. "Well... you can stay there and watch... or you can come over here and do it yourself... or we can do a little of both... your choice." She tells me in a low, husky tone. "..." Perspective: Miles AW fucking fuck in all of the fuck that's ever been fucked! These two won't stop! We're sitting in the front room talking, but damn, this is begging to be a little too much. They tried to engage me, but since I don't really have experience, they started talking all sorts of fucking weird shit. Apparently, sucking horn is in this season, as is the sideways monster mash... what the fuck does that even mean!? "Miles darling, are you alright? Would you like-" "NO THANK YOU!" I yell as I jump away from her slightly. "Ah ferget about it Rare, ah betcha he's gay anyways." Applejack slurs out, waving a hoof at me. "No, I'm not... I just don't want any of that." "Why? Do you not find us attractive?" Rarity asks as she bats her eyelashes. "What?! I don't find you to be anything-" "Is it because we're not friends? Because I'd love to be your friend," Rarity says as she slides next to me and begins to rub the side of her face against my arm. I quickly stand up and back away. I need some of that wine, the slow way isn't working fast enough. She gives me a little pout as she looks up to me. I seriously hope they forget this when they wake up, this is going to get ugly. "Umm... do you know if Twilight has any drinks? I could seriously use one right now." This seems to brighten up Rarity and Applejack as they run into the kitchen. I quickly follow them in and find them both in the fridge, talking to one another. "What do you think, she only has a bottle left, think that's enough to get him to get some action?" Oh sweet Barbra! "Ah don't think so, remember at the party? He had twice as much as me and was still fine." Oh sweet Barbra. "What if I enchant it to have double the effect?" Oh sweet Barbra! "Maybe... when did ya learn ta do that?" "Just a little trick I picked up from the fashion industry. Something we do to take advantage of potential clients." Oh sweet Barbra… Ew? "Ah don't know... I saw his package; it was pretty small." Aw go fuck yourself... why am I just standing here listening...? "I don't believe so. I snuck a peek once when he was changing, and I think it's just external, meaning it should grow bigger." You what now? "How did ya manage that?" "I scryed it. What do you say?" You what!? "Mmm... alright, I'll help ya out-" "Oh no darling, not for me. I have Spike… sort of. I meant all this for you." "ME!? Ah, ah can't. It would be too weird." Keep digging Applejack, just keep digging. "Oh posh sweetheart, I saw the way you looked at his body." Oh sweet Barbra. "Ah can't help it if I'm attracted ta muscle... it jus' gets me off!" I really don't want to be here right now. Move fucking legs! Why... won't... you... move... fuck! "I'm just saying, he seems to be well equipped for a human, what if that translates to sex god for ponies?" Sex what!? A sex what!? MOVE LEGS! "Mmmm... fine, but ya better leave when we get started, ah don't like ta be watched by others. Deal?” No! No deal! You don’t plan sex with someone with other people! That’s… that’s not how it works! "Deal." Afterward I hear a flash... and then another. They both finally come out of the fridge and look back to me with smug smiles. "Oh Miles darling, would you be a dear and get us some glasses?" Perspective: Storm "Ah Twilight... I... ah..." "I guess I'll get things started then," she says as she starts to move her free hoof down. "No! I mean... I'll do it... I just... need some liquid encouragement first," I say as I show her the bottle. "Mmm, fine by me," she says in a moan, as she rolls over until her head is hanging upside down off the side of the bed. I honestly am impressed that my wings haven't fallen off by now. "Well… go ahead." Buck. I know that if I take even a swig of this I won't be able to control myself. I slowly bring the bottle to my lips and raise it enough to make it seem as if I take a drink, but don't actually. I pretend to take a few gulps before I lower the bottle and pretend to gasp for air. "Alright... would you like a drink?" Please say yes, please say yes, please! She thinks about it for a second before she simply opens her mouth. I gulp as I walk over to her and offer her the bottle. She shakes her head and holds her mouth open. I tilt the bottle into her mouth and slowly begin to pour the liquid into her. She takes hold of the bottle with her lips and begins to take more of the neck into her mouth. She keeps going until the entire neck is in her mouth, she then holds it there for a second before she pulls back. She then begins to stick her tongue inside the bottle as she works her lips around the opening of the bottle. I don't think I've ever been this jealous of a bottle as much as I am right now. With a solid smack, she removes the bottle from her mouth and looks up to me. I look at the bottle and realize she didn't even drink any, she just held it in place with her magic! "Heh, looks like you’re ready now, big boy," she says with a wink. I look back and see that I have a massive erection... not surprising, but not helpful. "Uhh... Twilight..." she silences me by putting a hoof over my lips and rolling on her stomach. She turns around so that her hind legs are off the bed as she lays the rest of her body on the bed. Perspective: Miles I AM A FUCKING GENIUS! I don't know how, and I quite frankly don't care, but I discovered Applejack's weakness: she's extremely competitive! I challenge her to a drinking contest and bam, wasted Applejack. "Ahsssure wan ta *hiccup* uhhmrrexx," she slurs as she rubs up against me. "Uh, Applejack... you’re drunk, we should put you to bed." I tell her, smiling in victory. "Ahhhmmma ffine. Ah ah ah ah can ermmera schul a..." she tries to say before she falls over and passes out. One down, one to go. "Well, that didn't go as planned," Rarity says as she walks over and checks on her. "Yeah, it’s pretty hard to be inconspicuous when you say your plans in front of me," I say as Spike walks into the room. His legs are covered in mud and he is completely soaked. He's holding a small brown bag over his head and looks pretty worn out. "What the fuck happened to you?" I ask. "Rarity asked me to go get some of her gems, so I went." Wow... whipped. "Thank you, Spike darling," Rarity says as she levitates the bag from him, "but sadly I won't be needing these anymore." Spike falls over as Rarity sets the bag down on a table. She walks over to him and gives him a light peck on the cheek, getting him back up with renewed vigor. "Hey Spike, can I talk to you in the kitchen really quick?" "Why?" "Let’s just say we're fucked if we don't talk." He gives me a confused look before he walks into the kitchen. I raise my hand to Rarity, stopping her in her tracks. "Sorry, this is kind of a man to man thing." "If you say so... but please be kind to my Spikey wikey." Again... what da fuck. "Sure, I'll do that." I turn and walk into the kitchen to find Spike sitting at the table, so I take the seat across from him. "So... what did you need to talk to me about-" "The girls have been drugged," I say bluntly. "They've been what now?" "To put it simply, they've been slipped something that has made them act differently. If you were to ask them something, they would answer with no tact and no restraint. They've also been acting forward and thoughtless." "Where's Twilight?" he asks as he gives a quick look around the kitchen. "She's upstairs with Storm-" "WHAT! You left her alone with him, when she has no restraints! Do you have any idea what could happen-" "I know. That's why I need you. I trust Storm, but I'm still afraid something may happen, that's where you come in." "What could I do?" he asks nervously. "Cock block.” He tilts his head at this, not knowing the terminology. "Huh?" "I want you to go up there and pester Twilight. Try to make her uncomfortable, annoy her, basically do anything that would take her mind off of Storm." "I-I don't know Miles, what if they already... you know... started." "Then get out of there and we'll deal with that later. Look, I know this must be really hard for you, but only you can do it." I tell him confidently, getting him to shrink in his seat. "Why only me?" "Because Rarity is under the same effect." His eyes widen from this as he looks back to the room. "Maybe I can-" "No." "But I-" "Spike, NO." "I can-" "Do you want Rarity to trust you?" I ask him, leaning forward. "Of course, more than anything-" "Then prove to her that you can resist the temptation and go help Storm." He thinks about this for a second before he jumps off his seat and walks over to the fridge. He goes through a few things before he pulls out a small orange tub. "For you, my sweet," he says as he pulls out a scooper of some sort and points it up. O...kay... I'll just let this one go. Perspective: Storm "Well Storm... whenever you’re ready," Twilight says coolly as she swishes her tail back and forth. I seriously do and don't want this. I want to be with Twilight, but I don't want to lose her either. "I-I'm sorry Twilight... but I can't." I close my eyes and look away, trying to burn the image of Twilights backside out of my mind. "What?! Why not?" "It wouldn't be right." I open my eyes and glance at her to see her turn around and look back to me with a dumbfounded look. "And why wouldn't it be right?" she asks slightly offended. "You’re not in the right mindset Twilight! I don't want to take advantage of you-" "But you’re not!" She says as she jumps off the bed and faces me. "I want this, I really do. Please-" "HEY TWILIGHT!" Spike yells from downstairs, while eating from a tub of ice cream. Twilight walks to the edge and looks down at him in irritation. "Spike, not now, I'm trying to get... are you eating ice cream?" "Yup," he says as he eats another scoop. "We went over this Spike, if you eat too much you'll get a tummy ache." "Really?" he says as he eats another scoop. "YES REALLY! Remember last time?" "Mmmm....nope. Not ringing any bells *chomp*." "AGHH!" She looks back to me and asks, "Can you wait here, I need to talk to him really quick." "Uhh... actually, I think I'm going to hit the showers. This has been pretty... distracting. I'm not really in the mood." THANK YOU SPIKE! "What? No! What if I join you in there, won't that help?" "Umm... probably, but you should deal with Spike first, you know, so he doesn't do anything he'll regret later." MY BUCKING SAVIOR. "*sigh* Alright, but you better be in there and ready to rut my brains out,” she tells me with a huff. "Will do, now go down there and deal with him." She starts to turn away but stops. She turns to me and looks me over for a second, before she pulls me in and kisses me. I seriously nearly lost it in that moment, the softness of her lips, her overwhelming aura, even though it only lasted for a few seconds, it will play in my mind for years to come. I was about to start returning the kiss when a chunk of ice cream slammed into Twilight's head, making her look over to Spike in anger. "SPIKE!" She yells as he runs down stairs. She quickly runs after him and leaves me in a daze. I want to hold this moment, but at the same time, I know it isn't real. Shower... icy preferably. I trot to the nearest shower and immediately start to run the ice water. Even though it's running straight on me, I can still feel the heat from that amazing kiss... why do things have to be so complicated? Perspective: Miles I seriously don't know how I'm going to get Rarity to pass out. I have a little bit of the wine left, but I doubt it'll make her pass out. Not to mention I haven't the slightest clue on how I'm going to make her drink it. I really wish I could remember how I made the first batch, then I could just put a really potent concentration in it and try to get her to drink that, but I can't remember how Inficiunt did it. "Miles..." I turn around to see that Rarity has walked in, looking really worried. "There's something wrong with the three of us, isn't there?" "How did you figure it out?" "Well, I was sitting there alone and after some thinking, I put one and one together. As I said, this is a fashion industry trick. How did we get like this?" "Well..." "Hide me, hide me!" Spike yells as he runs into the kitchen and hides behind Rarity. "Get your scaly butt over here, Spike!" Twilight yells as she charges into the room, looking pissed. I don't have time for this. I flare my magic and take control of the wine. With a wave of my hand I slither it out of the bottle and force it down her throat. She staggers a bit until she falls to her side, passing out. "Miles, you can use magic!" Spike says. "Yeah... you weren't supposed to see that..." Chapter 30 Earning TrustChapter 30 Earning Trust Spike and Rarity are both looking at me with bewildered looks. I just had to use magic. I couldn't just think of something, I just had to go down the easy path, this will not end well. I shut off my magic and turn to the others; hopefully they will understand. Maybe I can somehow get Rarity to make some of that drink she made- "Miles..." Rarity begins but stops when Spike puts a finger over her lips. "What do you mean I wasn't supposed to see that? Are you planning something? Are you the one who drugged the girls?" "What? No... I mean, I did do the drugging part, but that was an accident. Look, I didn't say anything at first because it never came up. When Storm saw me-" "Storm knows!?" They both yell. "Yeah, but we decided that we should keep it a secret-" "Why would you want to do that?" Rarity asks. "Well... we are friends. We figured that if Luna were to find out I could do magic; she would rotate him out for a unicorn. So we decided to keep it between the two of us." Spike crosses his arms and thinks to himself for a moment. I don't like that serious look on his face. He turns and walks out to the front room. Rarity and I look to one another before we follow him out. We find him at Twilight's podium writing something down. "Spike darling... what are you doing?" Rarity asks cautiously. "I'm writing a letter to the Princess-" "What!? Please Spike don't!" I say as I run up to him and kneel before him. "Please, Storm is one of three friends I have, please don't write this letter." "And why shouldn't I?" Spike says as he turns and leans on the podium. "What have I done that would-" "Are you kidding me?! Look around. You drugged Applejack, Rarity, and Twilight, nearly burn down our home, all because you’re too selfish to let go of one friend!" "One of three, I think that should allow some selfishness-" "Who’s the...*thud*" Rarity begins but falls over as she passes out. "Look, let's put the girls to bed and continue this later." Spike nods with an irritated look and walks to Rarity's side. He's too small to pick her up, so I leave her there for a moment and carry Twilight upstairs. I lay her on her bed and head back down to find Spike sitting by Rarity, stroking her hair. "She's not hurt... is she?" he asks innocently. "No, she's fine. I believe the effects of the spell used are memory alteration, loss of restraint, and loss of consciousness. She should be back to her old self when she wakes up." I walk over and pick her up. Spike gives me a look before looking away as I carry her to Twilight's room. I lay her next to Twilight and head down to get Applejack, leaving Spike behind. I grab Applejack and go back up to see Spike walking down with a shivering Storm. "What happened to you?" "C-c-c-ol-d-d sh-sh-o-ower," he stutters. "So I take it I won't have to beat the crap out of you then." He tries to laugh but is shivering too much to do so. I walk up to him and put my hand on his forehead... feels fine to me. "Why don't you get under some blankets and try to warm up some, I'll bring you some warm soup," Spike says. Storm nods and begins to walk downstairs, shivering the entire way down. I take Applejack and lay her in between the other two, with her head on the other side of the bed. I look down at them and sigh, this is my fault, but it's not like they were hurt or anything. At worst we learned some secrets, but where’s the harm in that? I turn and walk back to the front and wait for Spike to come back. I take a seat and wait for a few minutes... and a few more... and after several more minutes pass I decide to go check on the two of them. I make the trip all the way to the door but stop when I hear them talking inside. "... you trust him so easily? You barely know him." Spike asks. "I-I k-know h-him-m enough t-t-to trust him." Storm stutters out. "Do you? What if he's just tricking you to make you trust him? Look, I'm not going to fall for his tricks, I'm writing-" "SPIKE!" I yell as I burst through the door, making him jump a little, and walk down to him. "We need to talk." He looks up to me but turns his back to me as he begins to write a letter. "What do you hope to accomplish by writing that letter?" "It'll show everyone that you’re a liar and prove to them that we shouldn't trust you." "You know what, fine! Write it. Let's see if anyone cares that you went behind their backs." He pauses for a moment and looks back to me. "What? How am I the one going behind their backs? You’re the one who lied to them." "No, I never said anything about my powers, it never came up before. You’re the one who skipped talking to them and went straight to Luna, who I think already knows... I mean I talked about it during the story I had to tell her, but I think she either didn't hear me, or chose not to listen." "Y-you t-t-told Luna. You b-b-bucking idiot." "Like I said, if they ever asked, I would tell them, but if they don't bring it up, why bother?" "Because it's something we deserve to know," Spike says as he rolls up the letter and turns back to me, "we don't know you other than that you’re a soldier of some kind. That means you’re prone to violence. Ponyville already gets enough excitement, we don't need you adding to it. Plus, hiding the truth is just as bad as telling a lie." "Spike, please. I'll do anything to prove to you that I'm not a threat, just please don't send that letter, please." "Anything?" he asks while raising an eyebrow. I gulp at this. The little extortionist is going to take me to the bank, I just know it. "What do you want?" "You wouldn't happen to know who’s been visiting Rarity every now and again, would you?" Well... shit. "I promised I wouldn't say..." He raises the letter and takes a deep breath. "Wait, wait, hold on. There's nothing else you want, nothing? I promised Rarity that I wouldn't say anything, please don't make me break my word." He thinks for a second before he exhales through his nostrils, leaving the letter unscathed. "Alright, I won't make you break your promise, but you’re not off the hook yet." "Fine, what do you have in mind?" "Hmm... I first want to do a power check on you, we'll see after that." Power check... oh crap. "F-fine, how do you want to do this." My confidence falters for a second. "Follow me." We go to the back of the room as Spike starts to set up one of the towers. He brings me a large metal helmet that is shaped like a dome and is covered in dozens of blinking lights. He instructs me to put it on, which I do, and he goes back to the machine. He pushes a large red button and the machine begins to print out a sheet of paper with a red line being scribbled on it. The line is fairly narrow and seems to aggravate Spike. "What's up?" I ask curiously, though I have an idea of what’s going on. "According to this you have the same energy reading as an earth pony, but that doesn't make sense." "Maybe I should turn my magic on for the test." Called it. "You can turn it on and off!?" Instead of answering I shake my arms to turn on my magic. I go to my lowest setting, only allowing the circles on my palms to appear. Instantly, the machine gets to work making large waves appear on the sheet. "Wow, you’re almost as powerful as Twilight. Can you feed any more energy?" "Well I-" "And don't lie. I want nothing more than the honest truth." Fuck, I was afraid he would say that. With a heavy sigh I begin to bring up my power, making the lines on my arms appear. First up to my wrist... "Six thousand?" Spike says... ... then up to my elbows... "Eight thousand!" … then just under my shoulder joint... "Over nine thousand! How are you doing this?!" I try to push it further, but my potestam annulums won't allow me so easily. After some forceful pushing, I get the lines to creep past my shoulder joints, burning my shirt as it goes. KRA-BOOM The machine explodes, sending hot shrapnel everywhere. I take a few hits across the chest as I fall back and black out. Perspective: Storm I'm freezing my ass off over here. Bucking Spike is being a little punk while I'm over here dying of hypothermia. I don't think it's actually that bad, but I would love to have feeling in my wings again, and other lower places for that matter. I'll just bury myself in these toasty as buck blankets and wait for my nuts to drop again. "Six thousand," Spike says in a surprised tone. Wow Miles, six thousand. That's pretty impressive. What's Celestia...? I think it was twelve thousand or something like that. Halfway ain’t that bad. "Eight thousand!" Buck man. Eight thousand, you’re almost as powerful as Luna... I wonder how far those lines on his arms are for this much. "Over nine thousand! How are you doing this!?" Nine thousand... whoa. He's already passed Princess Luna and is almost up to Celestia. I hope he can convince Spike to keep his mouth shut about this... I really don't want to leave. KRA-BOOM I sit up and look back to see that the machine has exploded. Miles is down, and has several holes in his chest that are pouring out a lot of blood. "Miles!" I yell as I run over to him. He looks awake, but severely disoriented. I grab the bottom-most bed sheet and pull it off. I start to bite it and tear off long strips. After making several I turn back to Miles and try to wrap up his wounds. "Ugh... what happened?" Spike says, as he stumbles toward us from the smoking husk of what was the tower. He seems to be uninjured, but a little confused. "Spike, I need you to go get the first aid kit now!" I tighten one of the strips and begin working on the next one. Blood is still pouring out, forming a small pool underneath me. Spike shakes his head and finally takes a good look at Miles. He turns pale and freezes up. I don't think he's ever seen blood before. "SPIKE!" I yell, getting his attention. "Get the bucking first aid kit RIGHT NOW!" He hesitates for a second before he runs off to get the first aid kit. I finish tying off his wounds and start to apply pressure to the rightmost one, it seems to be bleeding the most. "Come on you stupid dragon, where is that damn aid kit..." Miles starts to try to move, so I grab him and hold him in place. "Storm... Dolum... wha... Topaz..." "Shh, shh, I'm right here, don't talk right now. Just try and keep your strength up, alright Miles...?" I can feel tears rolling down my face as I keep begging him to be quiet. I can't lose him... I've lost too much already. "Mmm... Luna... ahh... project har-har-harmonize..." "P-please Miles, just stop fighting. Spike will get here soon enough and we'll fix this, just stop, please stop..." "I've got it!" Spike yells as he runs down and brings me the first aid kit. The first thing I see are some vials filled with different colored liquids. "Which one is the healing potion?" "Uh...the red one... I think." "You think!? We can't afford to make a mistake Spike, Miles could bleed out any second now, is it the red one?" "I-I... uh... yes, it's the red one. He has to drink it." I take the red one and pull the cork out by biting it. I pull up to Miles and put the opening of the vial into his mouth. I pour the liquid into his mouth and rub his neck to try and help the liquid go down. Once I finish pouring all of the potion into him I throw away the vial and step back to check his wounds. "Why isn't anything happening!?" "I don't know... maybe pony potions don't work on humans..." "AAAGGGHHHH!" Miles screams as the magical fires appear on his hands... and his feet... and one massive one on his back flares out. He begins to stand up and I can see into the massive portal on his back. An enormous spout of fire is pouring from a foot and a half wide portal, but from inside the white flames I can see what looks like a green shadow of a human. It's standing with its legs set apart and its arms hanging low by its side. I try to get a better look but it turns around. I look up into Miles’s eyes and back away. The dark lines have moved all over his body, even his face. His eyes have turned pure white as white archaic energy leaks from the sides. "DEVERTO PULVIS," he says in a voice that seems to echo. "I don't think that was a healing potion," Spike says to me. Chapter 31 Deverto PulvisChapter 31 Deverto Pulvis "DEVERTO PULVIS!" Miles says again, taking a step forward. If I wasn't scared shitless right now, I would say something about how cool his voice sounds, but the only thing I can do is stare into his eyes. They seem to stare into the very essence of my being. I can't look away, I want to, but they won't let me. Before I can act he swings his arms straight out and wraps himself in the white archaic fire. The fire spins around and around him until it becomes the only thing I can see. I back away from the fire and trip over Spike. "Storm, what’s going on?" "I don't know!" I yell back over the roar of the fire. And in a matter of seconds the fire spins itself out and disappears from the room, leaving a large scorch mark on the floor. "Where did he go? What was that fire? What’s-" SMACK Spike falls back from my smack and was about to protest, but stopped when I got in his face. "Do you have any idea what kind of danger you put him in!?" "What? I-" "He can die from this you idiot!" Spike turns even paler from hearing this, so I continue. "If you had just asked, he would have told you everything you needed to know, but no. You just had to probe and test him didn't you!" At this point I'm pacing back and forth, fuming with rage. Spike’s sitting on the ground, holding the end of his tail and looking down. "Why did you do this? Why couldn't you just trust him-" "Because Princess Celestia asked me to, okay?" I stop in my tracks and turn to him. "*sigh* Celestia originally asked Twilight to send her secret reports to her, but she ended up deciding not to do it. So I decided to do it in her name instead." "Why would you do that?" "I mean, come on. Celestia doesn't trust him. She's only the ruler of our nation, why wouldn't I do this for her? Wouldn't you?" I look away from him. I know if she had asked me to, I would do it without question. "See? It's not like I enjoyed doing this, but Celestia asked, so I couldn't say no. I never wanted to put him in harm’s way... I'm sorry." He looks down and I can see a few tears run down his face. I walk over to him and put a hoof around him. "It's alright, you didn't know, how could you have? I'm sorry I had to hit you like that." "It's alright... what do we do now?" "We go after him, of course." "But how do we do that? We don't have the slightest clue where he is. Not to mention we'll be powerless to stop him once we do." "Well... I don't know... we'll have to think of something together, won't we?" He looks up to me and gives me a smile. As I begin to walk upstairs I feel Spike jump onto my back. "I think I have an idea," he says, "do we have any of that drugged wine left?" "Yeah, but-" "So if we can get him to drink it, he should pass out, problem solved." "Okay, how do we get him to drink it?" "...pony feathers." This gets a small chuckle from me. When we walk into Twilight's room I nearly fall back from a white flash in front of me. When I look back I see Princess Luna standing right in front of me. I immediately bow before her, making Spike roll in front of me. "Guard, why are you out of uniform? Actually, we'll deal with that later. What is with the sudden power surge in the area?" "We'll you see... the thing is..." Spike stammers. "It's Miles," I say as I rise back up. "Miles? What do you mean?" I begin to tell her everything. Miles becoming my best friend, his powers, Celestia asking Twilight to keep an eye on him but Spike doing it instead, the party, everything. The whole time I tell her all of this she keeps a leveled look about her. "...and now you’re here," I say in conclusion. I'm going to get fired. "Where is this drugged wine?" I point up to Twilight's bed and she flies up to retrieve it. As she comes back down I walk over to my armor and begin to put it back on. "So, if we can get Miles to drink this, he should pass out?" "Well... in theory. He seems to have a high tolerance to alcohol, but even a small amount of this stuff will work eventually." Luna looks down at the bottle as she thinks about this. She sets the bottle down and looks back to me with a confident smile. "I have a plan." This is going to be interesting. I'm flying all over Ponyville trying to find Miles, but he doesn't seem to be here. How can a guy who sets himself on fire hide so easily? After my third look around, I figure that he isn't in Ponyville, and head back to the library. When I land inside, I find Luna finishing her spell on the wine. "Any luck?" she asks as she focuses on her spell. "No, wherever he is, it isn't Ponyville." She finishes up and re-corks the bottle. "It's alright, I know where he is, it's pretty hard to hide something with a power level over twenty thousand." "TWENTY THOUSAND! But... but..." "Yes, I know. We must make haste if we're going to find him before anything bad can happen," she says as she begins to walk out of the room. She stops by the door and looks over to the chest. She lowers the shield and pulls out my sword. "Will you be able to...?" she asks as she levitates it to me. "I will do what must be done," I say as I take my sword. "I just hope I don't have to." "Me too, now let's get going. Foggy Bottom Bog is pretty far from here." I nod as I follow her out. We take to the air and fly as fast as we can. Luna is clearly faster than me and has to hold back some for me to keep up, but we're still making good time. An hour later we finally make it to Foggy Bottom Bog. We split up and begin to search around the bog for Miles from the air. He should be pretty easy to find, a white fiery human, kind of hard to miss. After a few minutes, Luna begins to hover in place looking really confused, so I fly over to her. "Everything alright?" "According to my reading, he should be below me, but there's nothing there." I look down and see nothing but solid ground below. "Well maybe he's..." I stop when I hear the ground below explode open. I try to look down but Miles flies past my face in a flash, making eye contact with me for a brief second. He goes high into the air until gravity begins to take a hold on him. When he hits the height of his jump, he does a spin and shoots a ball of white energy towards us. It goes clear past us and slams into a hydra's head... HYDRA! From the ground comes a giant four... three headed golden hydra. The remaining heads look incredibly pissed off and roar out in anger. Luna and I immediately fly higher to avoid getting eaten by it. "What do we do now?" I yell to Luna. "There's nothing we can do right now, he's already destroyed one of the heads, I'll have to observe from here before we can find the new jugular." "BUCK... sorry Princess." I look back down and watch the fight unfold. Miles has landed in front of the hydra and has taken some weird fighting stance. Why does holds his arms so high...? Whatever, not important right now. The hydra’s headless neck convulses as it begins to split in half. Once the shaking stops, two new heads have appeared, roaring in anger. Miles jumps back high in the air as two of the heads try to bite him. When he hits the top of his jump he sends out a single curved line towards the two heads, decapitating them and sending blood everywhere. By the time he lands, four new heads have appeared and the hydra has started to charge after Miles. Miles pushes both his arms forward and sends a solid white beam into the hydra's chest, causing a large bloody explosion. As chunks of hydra rain down from the sky, Miles turns his back and begins to walk away. "MILES, BEHIND YOU!" Luna yells as one of the heads swallows him up. Standing where the old hydra stood are two hydras, one with three heads and one with four. The center head of the three-headed one starts to lift its head as the others begin to laugh, until that head turns to solid ice. A few cracks appear on it, then it shatters. Miles lands on the ground looking unscathed. The other heads roar in anger and try to all bite Miles at once, but are stopped by a blue force field... blue? I look around to find myself hovering here alone. I look down and see Luna standing next to Miles, looking very tired. The hydras rear their heads back and smack back into her field, making it shatter and forcing Luna to collapse from the mental strain. Soon the heads cover my view and all I can see are the necks fighting to get to the two of them. "Bucking Luna! What have..." The ground begins to crack as massive pillars erupt from the ground, carrying up the hydras. From these pillars, rocky hands come out and hold the necks of the hydras in place. White energy seeps from various cracks of the stone as Miles holds his hands on the ground, standing over a scared looking Luna. The hands start to pull away from each other as they tear the heads off one by one. When all of the heads have been pulled off, Miles stands back up over Luna and begins to flail his arms around in a circular motion, sending white beams of energy out in all directions. Whenever these beams make contact, they make whatever they hit turn to ash. Soon the only remainders of the hydras are massive piles of ash that are blowing away in the wind. Miles is now standing over Luna, looking down at her. With a tear in my eye, I pull out my sword and begin to fly straight for Miles. I really don't want to have to do this, but I will if I must. When I'm mere feet away, Miles turns around and lifts a hand, stopping me midair. He tilts his head as he looks me over. Before either of us could act, red liquid flies into Miles's mouth and forces its way down to his stomach. He drops me and turns back to see Luna levitating the now empty bottle next to her. "ET SALUTANT MORTUUS," he says, before the lines on him fade away and the flames disappear. He stands over Luna for a second more before he passes out and falls on top of her. "What did he say?" I ask, as I sit up and sheathe my sword. "Umm... as much as I want to know... can you help get him off of me?" I shake my head and run over to pull him off of Luna. I roll him over on the ground and help Luna back to her hooves. "Sorry about that." "I-its fine," she says with a blush. She walks over to him and takes a look at his body, which I do as well. The wounds from earlier are gone now, not even scars remain. He simply looks as if he's sleeping peacefully. "Is he going to be alright?" "I don't know, he told me when people use that much of their power, they lose a part of themselves. We'll have to wait for him to wake up before we can know for sure." "Very well..." "Princess Luna..." "Yes?" "Please don't separate us." She looks over to me in confusion, I guess now is as good a time as ever. "Miles is my best friend... my only friend really. Please, don't separate us, please." She looks at me for a bit before she looks back down to Miles. "Now why would I do that?" Hu-wha-duh-uh? "You’re my expert on Miles now, if I were to separate the two of you, I doubt anypony else would be able to get him to open up as you have. I hope you get used to being around him, because you’re here to stay." "Thank you Princess Luna, thank you, thank you, thank you..." "Okay, okay. I get it. *giggle* come on. Let's get your friend home... and clothed." I quickly pick him up and begin to fly off with him, Luna close by. "How are you able to carry him on your own?" "Hm... oh, a friend of mine enchanted my armor to give me extra strength." Luna just shakes her head as we continue to fly back towards Ponyville. Chapter 32 My StormChapter 32 My Storm We make our way back to the library and land on the balcony to Twilight's bedroom. I go straight in and take him downstairs to get him dressed, while Princess Luna stops by the girls. I lay him on his cot and begin to put his pants on. When I finish, I’m about to start with his shirt when I hear something fall up stairs. I run up to see Luna collapsed by Twilight's bed. "Princess Luna!" I say as I run to help her up. "I'm fine, I'm fine. I'm just tired. I just need some rest is all," she says sleepily, wavering slightly. "Well, there's an extra bed downstairs, why don't you take a nap on that while I sort out this mess?" She nods and walks down towards the room. I turn to the other stairs and go to the front room. When I get there I find Spike feverishly cleaning the room, scrubbing the walls as hard as possible with a torn up sponge. "Spike, what are you doing?" "Huh? Oh, I was... cleaning..." he stutters as he twists the sponge in his claws. I walk up to him and set a hoof on his shoulder. "I can see that. Why are you cleaning right now?" "I... well... um..." "It's alright Spike. Everything is going to be alright-" "But I almost killed him! How can you say everything is going to be alright when-" "Spike. Miles is tougher than he looks, he's going to pull through this, I know it." Spike looks up to me before he grabs me in a tight hug and begins to cry into my shoulder. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." "Shhh, it's alright, everything is going to be fine-" "I won't send the letter, I promise, I won't..." "Thank you Spike..." I hold on to him and rub his back until he stops crying. I feel bad for putting him through this, he is just a kid after all. I hear his stomach grumble so I break the hug with him. "I guess we should get something to eat, shouldn't we?" "Heh, *sniffle* yeah, food sounds good," he says, as he wipes his eyes clean of tears. We go to the kitchen and make some food for the two of us. We eat in silence until a knocking at the door catches our attention. I walk to the door and open it to find... myself... standing there. "Hm... long time no see Storm Cloud, where's this troublesome human at?" He says as he walks past me into the room. I watch him closely as he enters. Same mane, same body build, even the same cutie mark. Who is this guy? "So... this is where that slut Twilight lives now... not surprising. She could never put a book down-" "What did you call her!?" Spike says as he enters the room. "Hey! Looky here, if it isn't the most glorified slave ever, Spike. So, Twilight hasn't replaced you yet, I see. I guess that's no big surprise, not like many could stand to be near her that long-" "Hey, feather brain!" I say as I get between him and Spike, "Who the buck are you and what are you doing here?" "Heh... is that any way to talk to your younger brother, Storm Cloud?" "My... younger brother... I don't have any relatives. I was raised in an orphanage..." "Oh that's right, you can't remember, it was a pretty long fall now that I think about it," he says as he circles around me. "W-what are you talking about? What fall?" "It doesn't matter right now. I'm here on official business from Celestia herself. Where's the human?" "I'm not bucking telling you anything until I get some answers! Who are you? Why do you look like me? Wh—" "Enough, foal! The Princess herself told me to-" "What did my sister tell you?" Luna asks as she walks into the room. Everypony falls quiet as she approaches the two of us. She eyes the other Storm for a while before he looks away. "I'm under strict orders not to discuss my assignment. All I can say is that I must check on the human... right now." Luna thinks about this for a while before she walks up the stairs. The three of us look to one another before we all follow her up. Storm... the other Storm, stops in Twilight's room and looks up to her bed. I look up and see her getting out of bed, holding her head with one hoof. "So, did som—" "Shut the buck up and keep moving." "Hehe, alright. Enjoy your sloppy seconds." I look back up to see Twilight looking down at us with a mortified look. I wanted to go talk to her, but I also wanted to make sure that this guy doesn't do anything to Miles, so I follow him down. We make it to the downstairs room and find Miles in the same spot, sleeping peacefully. The other Storm walks up to him and looks over his body. He gives a few pokes here and there, but other than that he really doesn't do much. "Well?" Luna asks. "Well, I'm done here. I'm going back to my post to write up a report," he says as he begins to walk out of the room. I look back to Luna, who gives me a nod, and follow him out. When we get to Twilight's room we stop to find Twilight in the middle of the room. She looks between the two of us and rubs her eyes before looking between us again."Hey there Twi' spy..." he says as he approaches her, making her eyes go wide. I push him aside with a single hoof and get between the two of them. When he finds his balance we get in each others faces and stare each other down. "You don't talk to her. You don't look at her. You don't even as much as think about her or I'll-" "You'll what? Hit me in the back of the head with a mace and toss me off a cloud? ‘Cause I have a feeling I'd survive." I continue to stare him down until he slowly backs off. He turns to the door but stops and looks back to me. He sizes me up a bit before he turns and leaves the room. "Twilight are yo—MMMMmmm-" Before I can finish, she runs over and plants a solid kiss on my lips. I immediately return the kiss by pressing hard against her. I pull her in and start to take charge over her, pressing my lips ever harder against hers, only separating once for air. We hold each other for what feels like an eternity before a cough catches our attention and forces us to stop. I look over to see Princess Luna smiling at the two of us, while Spike has his back turned to us. "Umm- " "Well, I guess I can add this to the reasons to let you stay. I'll be leaving now, I don't want to intrude. I'll be sure to stop by and check on Miles until he awakens. Oh, and Storm, let’s keep what we saw between the two of us." With a bright flash she disappears from the room, leaving Spike to deal with next. "So... Spike-" "Just... don't do anything that you wouldn't want me to see and I'll be fine." "Heh, I think we can manage that," I say as I pull Twilight close, making her blush heavily. "Ew... I'm going to go clean up dinner now... ew," he says with a shiver as he walks out of the room. I look back to Twilight and give her a big smile as she leans her head against my shoulder. "So, does this mean-" "It means I know who you aren't, and I kind of like who you are. So I want to get to know the real Storm even more... my Storm." "So then you-" "I'm open tomorrow night, after eight," she says as she looks up to me, "I hear the theater has a new one of those movie things we can go see." My smile grows even larger when she says this. She said yes. I've got a date! I lean in to give her another kiss but stop when she puts a hoof on my lips. "Sorry, only one for today," she says as she slips out from my hold and walks out of the room, giving her hips a little more sway than needed. I sit on my haunches and feel my lips with my hoof as I watch her leave. I can't seriously believe she finally said yes, given I asked only a day or two ago, but still, she bucking said yes! She said yes. She said yes.... AW BUCK! I haven't been on a date in years, what am I supposed to do? Should I get flowers? Or chocolates? Does she even like those things? I need to ask someone for advice... Miles? No, he's unconscious... Spike? No, that would be too weird to ask him. Umm... the only other stallion I know right now is Big Mac, but I don't know him well enough to just ask him. BUCK! Okay, okay, don't panic, just relax, just go downstairs, act normal, everything will be alright. I start to turn when I hear some shuffling from Twilight's bed. I look up to see Applejack fumbling out of bed. "Ahh... consarn it... what in the hay happened..." she says as she wobbles down the steps. "Hey Applejack, how're you feeling?" "Like a barrel a' apples fell on mah head after ah got mah butt bucked." "Oh, sorry to hear that." "OW... shh... not so gosh darn loud!" she says as she rubs her head with a hoof. "Well, why don't you go downstairs and see if Twilight has anything for your headache," I whisper to her. She nods and starts to walk downstairs, mumbling something about a tree and a train explosion. I look up to see if Rarity has woken up, but she doesn't seem to be moving so I leave the room to check on Twilight. Perspective: Rarity I've just woken after the most wonderful nap I have ever taken, to see two Storms glaring at each other. I rub my eyes to make sure I'm not seeing double, but sure enough there they are. Two Storms. Giving barbaric threats to one another. Once one of them leaves, the other turns to Twilight who... oh my. This is too juicy! She's kissing him and, and, and oh my he's kissing her back now! This is so romantic. I see Princess Luna walk up to the two of them and just watch, oh please don't ruin this for Twilight, I know she could use a good stallion in her life. Spike's just looking ever so embarrassed as they kiss, I love the way his cheeks turn so red, aw he turned around, now I can't see his face. Oh, they're talking, I shouldn't eavesdrop, it wouldn't be proper. I lay back and pretend to be asleep, but the thought of Twilight and Storm being together is just so juicy. I have to tell the girls about this... NO! I can't tell anypony about this, Twilight is so sensitive when it comes to matters of the heart. I cannot tell a single soul. Well... maybe Fluttershy... Perspective: Storm I can't help but walk with a spring in my step. I haven't been this happy in way too long. But at the same time, I can't seem to get rid of these butterflies in my stomach. I really want things to go over well tomorrow, but I'm afraid I'll do something stupid. Should I get something to wear? I don't know what to do- "Hey Storm, are you going somewhere?" Twilight asks from the kitchen. I look in front of myself to see that I'm almost out the front door. I smile sheepishly as I shut the door and head into the kitchen. I take a seat next to Applejack, who has her head on the table buried under her hooves, and look back to Twilight. I seriously can't take my eyes off her, she just seems to just radiate beauty. She's got the most alluring curves I've ever seen and a- "Storm? Storm!? Equestria to Storm. Hheeelllooo?" Spike says as he waves his arm in front of my face, getting my attention. "What?" "So, who was that guy? The one who says he's your little brother?" "I don't know. The earliest thing I can remember is, when I was young I was in an orphanage. I don't really recall much from earlier than my eighth birthday. If what he says is true, I have no memory of it." "I may be able to help with that," Twilight says as she walks to the table and levitates some mugs of coffee over, "but it'll be risky. I'll-" "Aw fer pony’s sake!" Applejack says as she grabs the mug in her mouth and walks out of the room. We all look to one another and chuckle lightly. "I'll tell you about it later," she says with a wink, making me smile. "Seriously?" Spike says as he walks out of the room. We sit there looking into each others eyes for a while longer. I still can't believe she said yes. After everything that happened today, this was the last thing I thought would happen. Seriously, didn't see it coming. "So-" "I-" we say at the same time. "You first," I say as I take a sip from my mug. "Well, please don't take this the wrong way, but I want to try to keep us being together quiet for a while." "Really? Well... okay, if you feel that way..." "It's not because of you or anything like that. I just don't like it when others pry into personal matters." "No, it's alright. I understand... but I think I may need some convincing first," I say, leaning forward. Twilight looks to the side before she gets out of her seat and walks over to me. She steps on my seat and gets as close as possible without touching to my face. "What did you have in mind?" "I think a kiss would help me." She gives a light chuckle as she leans a little closer. I lean forward to kiss her but she moves to the side and gives me a light peck on the cheek. "There, that should work," she says as she gets down and walks out front. I sigh and follow her out. Yeah, I think I'll be fine tomorrow. I mean, what could go wrong? Chapter 34 Fame and InfamyChapter 34 Fame and Infamy After a while, I started getting a little embarrassed of Twilight and Storm, so I go and collect my sword. I look over to Gary's body and think for a minute. I haven't seen that much metal around here. It must be fairly scarce around these parts. I walk over and begin to pry the sword from his body. "Miles, what are you doing?" Spike says as he approaches me. "Collecting the metal... it seems to be fairly rare here, so I want to make a little stockpile of raw materials." I finally get the sword out and look it over. It's over a meter long, and heavy as fuck. How did he wield this thing? I flare my magic and begin to crush the sword by trying to make my hand into a fist. This makes the metal crush under my influence until I turn it into a single ingot. "Miles..." Twilight says from behind. I look back to see her cuddling up with Storm and looking over to me. "You can use magic." "Oh... yeah... about that." "Thank you." "What?" She looks down to Storm, and rubs her nose against his head a bit before she looks back to me. Storm looks like he's on the verge of melting right now. "If you hadn't been able to do that... I don't think Storm would be here right now. So, thank you." I nod to them and go back to stripping metal from Gary's corpse. Chainmail, a weird metal amulet that has a claw in it, a sack of wine, some pretty weird stuff. I take all the metals and crush them down into ingots, making about three ingots of varying sizes. The last thing I take are the gems in the cap. They seem to be diamonds with an unusual storage capacity. I take them and walk back over to the other two. Twilight is lying down with Storm lying on his side against her. He seems pretty weak right now, but after some rest I'm sure he'll be fine. "Storm, think you can make it home?" "I don't know..." He tries to get up but falls back down. "Doesn't look like it." I reach down and pull him over my shoulder, much to Twilight's displeasure, and begin to walk off. "Wait Miles. What about the body?" Twilight says as she gets up and looks over to Gary. I turn around and think for a second before I shoot a ball of soul fire at the corpse, turning it to ash instantly. "There, a burial fit for a king. Deverto pulvis et salutant mortuus." I walk off and leave the ash to blow away on its own. Twilight trots up to us with Spike on her back and looks up to Storm with a worried look. "Hey Miles..." "Yeah Storm?" "What did you just say?" "Hmm?" "You said something in another language, what does it mean?" "Oh, it means, ‘turn to the earth and hail the dead’. It's sorta a Spartan saying." "That's pretty dark," Twilight says. "And creepy," Spike adds as he looks up to us. I shrug and continue my way home. We make it home and I immediately set Storm to bed, seeing how he passed out on the trip there. Twilight stays by his side for a while, so I decide to go to the kitchen and see if I can find something to eat, after I put all of the raw materials into the glass case. After looking through the fridge for a while, I decide to have a couple of apples. When I shut the fridge, I nearly drop my food when I find Spike right next to me. "Damn dude... you nearly gave me a heart attack. " "I'm sorry..." "Give a little warni—wait what?" He gives a deep sigh as he takes a seat at the table and waits for me to join him. I set all of my apples down and look over to him. He looks genuinely troubled, and won't look me in the eyes. "What happened yesterday was my fault. I should’ve just asked you instead of trying to take the information. I put you and everypony else at risk because of that, and..." he looks up to meet my gaze, "I'm sorry." "Hmm... alright, apology accepted," I say as I stick my hand out. "What?! Just like that? No yelling, no lecture, just a handshake and that's that?" "Would you like me to lecture you?" He thinks for a second before he shakes my hand. "I think I'll just take this and be happy with it." "Cool, so *munch* why did you have to take those measurements anyway?" Spike grabs one of the apples and takes a bite from it before he answers. "The princess asked me to, *munch* so I did." "Aw... that explains it, *munch munch* so, did I pass?" "I don't think I've ever seen a creature as powerful as you," he says as he throws away the core of his apple and starts another one. I guess you don't eat the cores, then. We spend the next few hours just idly talking to each other. He feels really bad about what happened, poor guy, so I decide not to let him have it. After a while, he starts to yawn a bit, so I decide to walk him upstairs to go to bed. Once he's out, I head down to my room and find Twilight sitting next to Storm's cot, passed out with her face against Storm's. I chuckle a little before I pick her up and take her to bed. I go back downstairs and remove my armor. Strange... I didn't see those two getting close this soon... whatever, good for them. I lay on my cot and just wait for sleep to eventually take over. I wake up violently as something smacks into my face. After some shuffling around, I remove a newspaper from my face and look up to see Luna standing over me, looking really pissed off. "Hey Luna... what's up?" "I don't know... apparently there's a human running around Ponyville killing Minotaurs with fiery magic." I give her a confused look but look down at the paper. On the front page is a black and white photo of me crossing blades with Gary. "Where did this come from?" "This would be the morning newspaper, that has already been distributed all over Equestria. I received this copy from my sister, who was very unhappy to hear about it." "I imagine so; your town being attacked twice in one week..." I say as I get up. "NO! Not that! She's mad about you killing the Minotaur." "Really?" "Yes! Really! How could she not think poorly about that?" "Because he was trying to kill and rape one of your subjects, that's why." Luna shakes her head and begins to walk back and forth, so I decide to finally put on a shirt, blue will do for now. "I don't really see the problem..." "The problem is that you can't just go around starting fights..." "What fights have I started here? I haven't started any fights here; I've only finished them." "What about the hydra?" "What's a hydra?" "GAH!" She slams her backside into the floor as she sits down and drops her head low. I can tell this is really getting to her, maybe I should try to change the subject a little. I walk in front of her and kneel before her. She begins to look up but freezes when I put my hand on the side of her face. I find a good spot to hold her, just under the ear, with my fingers going behind and my thumb going up, and make her look at me. "What's really the problem?" "Uh... I... well..." "Look, I know what I did, and I won't apologize for it. He was going to kill Storm and rape Twilight. I refuse to let anyone hurt my friends, so I did what had to be done." She gives a soft sigh and looks down, so I begin to gently rub my thumb against her, getting her to lean in to me. "I know it was the right thing to do, but that doesn't make this any simpler." "I know, and I'm sorry for that. I'll be sure to be more inconspicuous, I promise." "Thank you." I hold her there for a while longer, until I notice what I'm doing and stand back up with a blush. "Ahem... well, I should let you go... it's past your bedtime anyway, right?" "Yes... of course. I really must be going now, please keep your promise," she says as she stands up and backs away. "Right, you can count on me. Sleep well, vale usque obvium iterum." "What?" "It means ‘farewell until we meet again’." She looks at me quizzically for a second before she flashes away. Once she's gone, I fall flat on my back and begin to rub my face. Did I really just intentionally feel her up? Given she must be the most... NO! Nononononono nnnnnooooo! That's not happening. Shut the fuck up brain. She's a pony, I'm a human, it wouldn't ever work for that matter so drop it. Okay, dropping it, dropping it and it's dropped... time for a shower... really cold shower. After my ice bath I make my way to the kitchen and take a seat. Twilight has made the largest possible breakfast, which would explain why Storm has his face buried in his plate. When I sit down everyone looks up to me. "Hmnw ib ut uu ih una?" "Storm, swallow your food?" Twilight says, making him swallow. "How did it go with Luna?" I let my face fall to the table. "Wow, that bad." "No, not really, I'm just an idiot." "Because of this?" Spike says as he drops a newspaper on the table. I roll my head to the side and take a look. "Yeah... that..." "You should’ve seen the paparazzi earlier. With you making the front page and Luna coming down here, it was a fiasco." Storm says before he dives back into his plate. "What are you talking about?" I ask as I pick my head back up. "Have a look outside," Spike says as he motions out front. I walk over to the front door and open it widely, getting almost blinded from all the cameras flashing at once. A torrent of questions pours in from hundreds of ponies that all seem to try to push their way to the door. I shut the door and fall forward, letting my head hit the door and keep me standing. "Not again..." "Again?" Twilight says as she approaches me. "What do you mean again?" "Well, back in Topaz Falls, once me and my friends were inducted to the Spartan regiment, we sorta became famous for a while." "Why's that?" Storm says as he walks up and puts a wing over Twilight. "Well... you see; Topaz was highly militaristic. Especially after the fall of Diamond Halls. We put almost everything into our military. So, being the pinnacle of military might, people tended to... get weird around us." "Weird how?" "I had eighteen marriage proposals in the first week of my induction." This makes them both fall over in laughter, thanks guys. "Eighteen... proposals... is that how it works for humans... the girls ask the guy..." Storm mutters out as he tries to control himself. "Not normally, that's just how people were to us." Twilight's composed herself now, but Storm is still giggling like an idiot, so I decide to level the playing field. I walk up to him and whisper into his ear, "So, how far did you and Twilight go last night?" FWOOSH "That's not cool..." Storm says as he immediately stops laughing and tries to bring his wings down. "Yeah, but it was funny," I say with a light chuckle as I head to the stairs. I look back and see Twilight start to play with his wing a bit, getting him to topple over, what a dork. I go back to my room and put my boots on. I seriously need to buy some new socks; these ones are getting fucked up. I stand up and see my sword on the floor, so I pick it up and strap it to my back. I walk back out to the front room to find Storm and Twilight centimeters away from kissing one another. "You know if you move a little closer, things will get way more interesting." They immediately back away from one another and look back to me. "Why do you have your sword out?" Twilight asks. "I'm going to work now..." "So why do you have your sword?" she repeats. "I've got an image to uphold," I say as I approach the door, only to stop when Storm and Twilight jump in front. "Didn't you read the paper, you can't go out there, not after what Gabby Gums said!" Twilight says. "Uh... I can't read pony text sooo... no, I didn't read it. Who's Gabby Gums?" "It was a made-up pony created by some little fillies, but they ended it soon after they started writing too much about personal stuff. She basically calls you both a hero and a villain, and demands that you either be cast out from Ponyville, or be made to do some sort of trials to show off your powers. I don't think leaving the house would be a good idea right now." I look out the window for a second and take a good look at all of the cameras. They seem to be fueled by gems... this should be easy. I go to the chest and pull out one of the gems from Gary's helmet. I walk around Storm and Twilight and open the door, flaring my magic as I go. Before any of the ponies outside can act, I throw my hand into the air and suck the energy from all the surrounding gems and fill the one in my hand. I pocket it and look back to Storm. "Well, you coming or not?" Chapter 35 Sweet Apple AcresChapter 35 Sweet Apple Acres As I step out of the library I immediately get bombarded with questions. Everything from my ancestral beginnings to if I wanted to go to a zoo. I just cross my arms and stand there, listening to all the unusual questions until Storm walks up beside me. "Still think this was a good idea?" "Yup, but only because you just gave me an idea. EVERYONE, PLEASE QUIET DOWN FOR A MOMENT!" Everyone goes silent from this and as they begin to take notes. "Thank you, now, I will not be answering any questions... but this," I say, as I pick up Storm and lift him above my head, making him squirm around in an attempt to break free, "is my liaison, Storm Cloud, he will answer any and all of your questions." I toss him into the group and they immediately swarm around him with questions. I see him try to fly away, but some of the paparazzi grab him and start to pull him into the mob. The last I see of him is a single hoof reaching out, sinking into the mob. I'm sure he'll be fine. I sneak away while the mob is distracted and begin to head to Applejack’s. As I walk I notice something following me, so I stop and look back. A pegasus pony woma—mare is following me, taking notes. She's a light blue with bright red hair that has a strand of purple going through the center. Her mark seems to be a quill and notepad surrounded by stars. "Can I help you?" "Yes, actually, you can. My name is Starry Notes; I was wondering if you could answer a few questions..." "Take it up with Storm, I've got places to go," I say as I turn and resume walking, only making her walk with me. "Well now, what help would that be, he can't answer the questions the same way you could." I ignore her and continue to walk at a faster pace, only making her quicken her own pace. Fucking bloodsucker... "So, where are you from?" "My mom..." "And what would her name be?" "Dunno..." "You don't know your mother’s name... what about your father?" "Your guess is as good as mine." Why am I talking to this person...? "That's too bad... do you have a marefriend?" "A what?" "A special somepony?" "Why would you need to know something like that?" "Oh, so you do... who's the lucky mare? Is it..." "Look, I don't have a special someone, I don't know who my parents are, and I'm done talking to you, so just leave me the fuck alone alright!?" I yell, making Starry stop in her tracks. I continue to walk until I finally make it to Sweet Apple Acres and walk up to the front door. Knock knock knock... "One second!" Applejack yells from inside. "Is this your marefriend?" Starry asks from behind. "No... why are you still here?" "You didn't answer my questions..." "That's because I told you I wasn't going to answer them, go take it up with Storm." The door swings open to reveal Applejack, who’s looking between the two of us with slight confusion. "Uh... Miles, who’s this?" "She's..." "I'm Starry Notes, I'm with the Hoofington Report, are you in a relationship with Miles?" I look over to her in bewilderment. Did she really just say that? "Uh... no..." "Then why would he need to come here so early? Is there another mare inside?" She asks, getting closer to Applejack, forcing her to step back into her home. "Well... ah... he works here... an' no, no other mares inside..." She writes something down and looks back up to Applejack. "So, how long has he been working here? When did he get here? Is this..." "Excuse me," Big Mac says as walks in front of Applejack and looks down at Starry. "This is private property, ah'm going ta have ta ask you ta leave now," he says in his usual calm manner. Starry looks between me and Big Mac before she turns and flies off towards Ponyville. "*sigh* Thank you Big Mac. Damn bloodsucker’s been following me around ever since I left the library." "Eeyup," he says as he turns back and walks away. "Sorry about that, Applejack." "Ah, dontcha worry about that. But, iffin ya don't mind, I'd like ta have a word with you." "Of course, what do you have on your mind?" She motions for me to follow her inside with her head, so I do. She takes me to the kitchen, where she takes a seat at the table and waits for me to do the same, so I take the seat across from her. She looks at me for a bit before she pulls out a newspaper and lays it on the table before me. "Do ya mind explaining ta me what happened?" "Well... when I woke up I had a premonition that something horrible was going to happen, so I acted. When I found Twilight and Storm in the park, they were being attacked, so I stepped in and defeated the Minotaur." "Why would ya need ta kill 'im though?" "Because he almost killed Storm and was about to rape Twilight." Applejack shakes her head and looks at me in disbelief when I say this. "How could ya possibly know he was gonna do that?" "Let's just say I've seen that look before... I did what had to be done in order to protect my friends. Luna has already talked to me about it, and I'm in the clear for now. If there's anything else you want to know, go ahead and ask, but I would prefer to move on from this." Applejack sits straight up and looks me over for a bit, deep in thought. I sit back and wait for whatever's going to happen to happen. "Ah have one more question. Why do ya have yer sword with ya?" "Ponyville has been attacked twice in the last week that I've been here, and I have a feeling that that's normal. I'm not going to sit idly by and let those close to me be put at risk." "Would ya mind settin' it aside fer when ya work here?" "Not at all. This is your home and I'll abide in all of your rules while here," I say as I take my sword from my back and lay it on the table. Applejack sighs in relief and takes my sword to a nearby closet, where she hangs it against the wall. "Ta be honest, ah like the idea of having somepony protecting Ponyville, stuff like that happens way too often. But ah don't want any weapons around mah kin, thank ya kindly fer understandin'. Now fer work, yer gonna be with Big Mac in the southern field, so why dontcha go out an' get started." I nod as I stand and leave through the back door. I look around and soon realize I have no clue which direction is south. I look back to Applejack, who chuckles and points the way. Right, so I head down, south apparently, and walk into the tree line. After a while of walking I can hear light creaks in the distance. I follow these until I find Big Mac pulling a cart. "Hey Big Mac, Applejack says that I'm working with you today." He looks to me and says, "Eeyup." I run up to him and walk beside him. We stop after several meters and he instructs me to start on one side while he does the other. The work is monotonous, just a lot of kicking and picking up. Big Mac is clearly experienced in this line of work. What would take me two or three kicks he does with a single kick. We quickly fill our first cart and walk to the cellar to store them. Once we’ve unloaded them, Big Mac instructs me to grab another cart and to head into the west part of the southern field. After some deep navigational thinking I head in what I think is the general direction he wanted me to go. After some walking I decide to stop and get to work. Being alone and at work, I unknowingly start talking to myself. "Wonder how long it would take to buy a place of my own... living with Twilight is fun and all, but I can't help but feel like a mooch... the currency system looks fairly similar to Terradisian currency, heh, after all that saving I finally need to spend money, but now I don't have a single credit to my name... fucking life." I finish filling my cart and take it to the cellar. I can’t pull it by myself, so I have to remove my shoes and socks and rely on my magic to pull it there. Once I unload the cart I put my shoes back on and head back to the area I was in before. I get back to kicking the trees and collecting the fallen apples, but I can't help but feel as if someone is watching. I stop and look around, but only see trees and apples, so I go back to work. "The fuck am I doing... what happens now? I guess I could try and become some sort of militia personnel for Ponyville... but then what? I guess I've got to get used to this. Just me and my thoughts... I should’ve taken Tenera on her offer, then I could’ve at least known that simple pleasure... too bad a week later she would hate me, still can't believe that happened to Fidus... I should’ve taken Dare's advice, but at the same time, I don't think I could’ve broken another promise... heh, can't fix it now, may as well drop it..." I finish filling my second cart and begin to bring it back to the cellar, after removing my shoes again. By my count, I should have around twenty trees done by this point. When I make it to the cellar I meet up with Applejack. "Sup Applejack?" "Howdy Miles, how many carts does that make?" "This would be my second cart, about..." "Second, that should be twenty trees, give or take. That's pretty good progress for a greenhorn. Why do you have yer shoes off?" "I can't pull the cart without my magic." "Hmm... alright. We don't usually allow magic ta be used on the farm, but I'll make an exception this time. It's almost ten, how many do ya think you'll be able ta get done by twelve?" Hmm... well, two done in forty-five minutes... *math math math* "I'd say three, four if I really go at it." "That'll do just fine. When it's twelve, go ahead an' head to the house, we'll provide some lunch fer ya." "Oh, thank you, I'll be sure to do that." She gives me a big smile as she turns and heads north. Pay and feed, these people are too nice. I spend the next several hours in silence, focusing on the work at hand. After three more carts I head out to the field for the last cart before lunch. As I get to kicking, I start talking to myself once again. "Well... at least the manual labor will help me stay fit, being this long from the gym is starting to get on my nerves... wonder how Applejack and Big Mac could do this as a daily routine and still look fairly similar to everyone else... except for Big Mac being... well, big.... wonder what kind of trouble Luna's sister is giving her, I can't help but feel bad for putting her through all this stress... rubbing the side of her head like that probably didn't help that much either... why did I do that to begin with? Something about those beautiful eye—WHOA!" I stop mid-kick and shake myself a little. What did I just say? Did I really just call a pony beautiful?! Not like she isn't but... FUCK! I just did it again! Okay... Luna is an attractive person, but I'm a human. We would never be able to be together in a million years, so just leave it at us just being friends. I get back to work and quickly fill up the cart. I take it down and unload it as quickly as possible. When I leave the cellar I run across Big Mac. "Oh, hey Big Mac, heading to lunch?" "Eeyup." "Cool, cool. Mind if I join ya?" "Nnnope." We walk into the kitchen, where we find Granny Smith and Applejack at the counter working on lunch. We sit at the table and wait patiently for our food to come to us. "So... Big Mac... you don't talk much... do you?" "Nnnope." "Care to shed a little light on the subject?" "Nnnope." "Hmm... alright." After a few minutes of silence, Applejack and Granny Smith come to the table and set our plates down. It looks to be some sort of fluffy brown substance, with flat strands of fried apples in between it. on the side is a small pile of light brown mush. "What's the matter... er... Inches? Don't like fried apple sandwiches wit' apple sauce?" Granny Smith says as she begins to eat from her own pile of what I assume is the apple sauce. "It’s Miles, and sorry, but where I come from we don't really eat anything like this." I take the sandwich in my hands and give it a skeptical look. How good could something be if it's named after sand? I take a bite and... WHAT THE FUCK! This is nothing close to sand! The brown outer part is fluffy while the apple part is crispy. I like the contradicting textures and the flavor is just as good. I quickly eat it up and start on the sauce. It seems to be just mashed up apples with some kind of flavoring added. Once I finish I sit back and relish in the new found flavors. I'm going to have to keep track of all the food I come across that I like, so when I learn to cook I can make them myself. Once everyone finishes their food Applejack takes all of the plates and washes them in the sink. "So what's next for the workload?" I ask. "Yer done fer the day. Just give me a minute an' I'll get you yer pay." "Do you want any help with that?" "Thank you kindly, but ah've got it. Go ahead and get your stuff and wait fer me in the living room." I stand and walk into the living room. I walk over to the closet to retrieve my sword when I notice a picture on the wall. It seems to be of Big Mac when he was little, and Applejack when she was just a baby, with two other ponies. One is a large orange male with dark green hair, while the other is a female that's all red with light green hair. She looks like she might be pregnant, but it also may just be me being rude. I think it's their parents. Strange, I didn't see them around. I wonder if... "Miles, ah've got yer pay," says Applejack from the side, holding a small bag in her mouth. I turn to her and step back rubbing the back of my head. I want to ask, but it would be really rude to just come out and ask. I need to think of a more... "Ah... Miles? Are you going to take it? Or was today free?" I shake my head and take my pay. I then turn and retrieve my sword from the closet and turn to Applejack as I strap it to my back. "So, same time tomorrow, or..." "Same time should be fine. We'll be sure to have more work fer ya in the future so be sure to come prepared." "Will do," I say as I turn and walk out of the building. This morning was far more stressful than it should have been. Even worse... what should I do now? Chapter 36 Cutie Mark CrusadersChapter 36 Cutie Mark Crusaders As I walk down the path to Ponyville I notice three children up ahead. One is an all-white unicorn with curly light purple hair that has a strand of pink, the next is a light yellow earth pony with light red hair that’s tied in a big light pink bow, and the last one is a light orange pegasus with scruffy purple hair. I also notice that none of them have their marks yet, so I figure that they're pretty young. Once the three of them spot me they all immediately freeze in place, making me do the same. We stare each other down for an awkward amount of time until the light tan one starts to slowly approach me, keeping her head low. Soon the other two follow her, walking in the same manner. I don't know what they're doing, but something tells me that I should just wait for them to do whatever it is they’re going to do. "Umm... yer that Miles feller...right?" says the light tan one, in an accent similar to Applejacks. "Well duh he's Miles, there's only one Miles in all of Equestria," says the orange pegasus. "I know that... I'm jus' makin sure he knows that... we did sorta hit him in the head with a box... and some pumpkins..." "Well, he is standing right in front of us," interjects the white unicorn. "So you three were the ones making all that commotion?" I ask, getting their attention. "Yeah... we're really sorry about that... we didn't mean ta get anypony hurt, we were jus' tryin ta get our cutie marks." I sit on the ground and cross my legs as I ask, "How exactly does one get one of these cutie marks?" "Well, a cutie mark is supposed to show up when you find your special talent..." says the orange pegasus. "...So we've been going around trying all sort of crazy stuff to see if it's our special talent..." the white one says energetically. "...But so far we haven't been so lucky," the light tan one says, making them all pout. OH... SWEET... BARBRA... these are the most adorable things I've ever seen... and they're pouting! GAH! I have to make them stop before I get a heart attack. "Hey, what if I... I don't know... help you out somehow...?" "You really want to help us?" the pegasus says, as the three of them lift their heads up in hope. "Uh... sure, why not." The three of them immediately run up and jump into my lap, hugging me with all their might. GAH... the cuteness... RAH... COR MEUM! "Alright, I'll help, but at least tell me your names." They jump off and line up in front of me. "I'm Sweetie Belle..." says the unicorn... "I'm Applebloom..." says the earth pony... "And I'm Scootaloo..." says the pegasus... "AND WE'RE THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS, YAY!" they scream as they jump into the air and high hoof one another. Ow... my ears... "Well girls, I'm Miles Eremita. What do you mean, you’re crusading?" "We're on a quest!" Sweetie Belle says with a squeak. "A crusade!" says Scootaloo. "Ta find our cutie marks!" finishes Applebloom. "Well alright then... why don't we get crusading!" I say as I stand up. I assume this will be pretty simple. I mean, what kind of trouble could these sweet little girls get into? After we stop by a clubhouse that was situated behind Applejack's house, they decide on going cave exploring in an attempt to get their geological cutie marks... I don't really know what that means, but okay. After listening to their conversation a little, I found out that Applebloom is Applejack's little sister - go figure - and Sweetie Belle is Rarity's sister. Every time they talk about their siblings, I notice that Scootaloo looks a little troubled by it. I wonder what that's about. I'll have to ask another time though; they've already started to head out. I run out and catch up with them, and even though they are running, I only need to do a light jog to keep up. We make our way into the Everfree Forest and slow our pace down to just walking. I don't understand why, but this area seems to make the girls really apprehensive. "Hey, you three alright?" "Wha? Oh, yea... don't worry about us none, we do this kinda stuff all of the time," Applebloom says timidly. "Yeah, I'm surprised we don't have cutie marks in trying to get cutie marks," Scootaloo says jokingly. "What would the cutie mark of getting cutie marks even look like?" Sweetie Belle asks, oblivious to her sarcasm. "Maybe it looks like this," I say as I point at Applebloom’s markless backside, making the girls chuckle. We continue in higher hopes now, the girls running around and examining every little thing that could be of any interest. The path finally leads us to a massive cave. Its entrance has plant life growing all around it, some even hanging in the entryway. The entrance is about nine or ten meters high, while being about six or seven meters wide. The path inside looks as if it was flattened by several tubular objects, that wind their way deep inside the ground. Before I can raise my concern, the girls run inside, giggling as they go. I follow them inside and try to find them in the darkness, but after a few steps I can't even see in front of my face. I raise my hand above my head and ignite my magic, lighting the way. The cave has jagged sides, but the bottom seems smoothed out from something traveling in and out of the cave. I can't see the girls anywhere, how could I have lost them so easily? I keep walking until I come to a fork in the cave. The two roads look almost identical, except that the one on the right seems to have been recently traversed, so I go right. As I go the path seems to get shorter and shorter. Pretty soon I have to walk bent completely over just to get by. The path suddenly opens into a massive cavern, bones of various creatures scattered about in small piles throughout the room. I walk into the room and see the girls cowering in a small indent in the back, holding onto each other for dear life. "Girls, come on, let’s..." SMACK I awake in the dark abyss with a massive headache, and slight chest pain. I try to focus on the area around me, but soon remember that I’m underground. I stand up and flare both of my hands, lighting the room. I seem to be in another cavern. This one has no bones around, but has a deep impression in the ground that I'm standing in. As I look around I soon find what brought me into this part of the cave. Sitting a few meters away is a massive, scaly beast. It has no legs and is coiled around itself. The head is standing erect a good six or seven meters high, and I can see the tail sticking out. It has a massive bony ball at the end that has a single bony spike at the top of it. The creature has an all-black back and an all-red underside, speckling into each other. It must be a meter in diameter, and long as fuck to be coiled up as high as it is. As I examine it, it raises its tail and lets it drop, making a loud thud as it drops to the ground. From behind I hear several hisses and the sound of something sliding towards me. I turn and see several smaller creatures racing towards me, mouths open and revealing dagger-like teeth. As they quickly approach I push both hands down, creating a wave of energy that sends them flying back. Before they can recover, I draw my sword in my right hand, making white archaic text appear on the blade, and create a man size force field with my other hand. I bring my shield and sword forward and prepare for another charge. The creatures before me have recovered and are biting and hissing at one another. I take a few steps forward and lunge for the closest one, slicing my blade straight through its side and making it scream out in pain. I back away and wait for them to attack. The one I hit is squirming around on the ground, sending blood everywhere. The others watch for a while until they all lunge at their fallen comrade and begin to devour it. "What the fuck?" "Youuu sssshall diiie!" says the creature from behind in a slow hushed voice. I turn and look back at it, but before I can say anything one of the smaller creatures lunges straight for me. I quickly sidestep and swing my blade, lobbing off the top half of its head. The other three snarl at me and all charge me at once. I set my shield to catch the first and parry the second one, but the third one is able to bite onto my left shoulder, digging its teeth into my flesh as I sense blood pouring out. I scream and try to chop at it with my sword, but miss as it lets go and scurries away. I twist and raise my shield in time to catch the other creature. Instead of biting me, it bites onto my shield and tries to tear it away. I push forward and send it flying into the wall behind, knocking it out. I turn to face the other two, but suddenly I drop my shield as a massive burning pain takes over my shoulder, forcing me to my knees. "GAAAHH... what the fuck is happening?" I cry out. "Sssoon youuu ssshall sssee," teases the adult creature, "orrr perhapsss not. Feassst, my children." As the other two quickly approach, I raise the dark lines up to my elbow and stab my sword into the ground. Dozens of stone blades shoot from the ground in front of me, stabbing the two smaller creatures and killing them instantly. As I pull my blade from the ground and begin to stand, the adult creature screams out in anger and lunges its head for me. I swing my sword and bring a column of stone up to take the bite. As the adult bites into the stone, it swings it tail over and tries to impale me with it. I dodge-roll to the side and watch it hit the ground. I try to swing and chop off the end, but my sword just bounces off its scales, making it chuckle. I focus on my sword, making white energy seep from it and try again. This time I chop off the end, sending jets of blood from the stub and making the creature roar in pain and anger. It tries several times to bite at me again, but I either dodge it or feed it another column of stone. It soon rears its head back and spits out green liquid. I’m lucky enough to be behind one of the columns when the spray comes out, and don't get a single drop on me. The ground next to me is now covered in it and seems to be melting. I need to get out of here. I look around to find the exit, but the creature devours my cover, forcing me to move. As I run, I make sure not to touch any of the green slime that is burning the room and filling it with a noxious gas. I run up beside the wall and take cover in a small indent, just as the creature tries to bite onto me. Before it could pull its head back I lunge out and give it a large slash just below the head. It rears back and hisses at me angrily. I look around and find the exit, it's behind the creature... of fucking course it is. I decide that this fight is over and dig my sword into the ground, making a small hole in the floor. I jump in and begin to dig my way towards the exit - I have to leave this room, but I can't leave this cave, I have to find the girls. As I make my way, I can hear the creature above moving around, until it suddenly stops. After a few seconds of silence the ground behind me explodes as it digs its head into the ground. I turn back and stab into its head, making it rear back in pain. I quicken my pace and dig for the exit. As I go, the ground behind me explodes again and again, every time getting closer and closer. When I think the next one will hit me I stop digging and let it smack into the ground, which it does. When I clear the ground ahead of me, I find a deep impression in the ground. I run up and find myself in the exit. I run down the path and try to escape the creature, but it soon gives chase. I run and run until I come to a fork in the path. Which way were they? I hear the ground behind me shake as the creature approaches, so I go right and run as quickly as possible. I soon see the light ahead and realize I went the wrong way... FUCK! I look back and see that nothing is chasing me, so I stop and start to walk back into the cave, but at the same time, I feel as if someone is watching me again. "Miles!" I turn back to see Storm running down the path with Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy following closely. "GET OUT OF HERE!" I yell as they all stop and look up in horror. I turn around to see the creature strike at me and swallow me up. As I fight being in its mouth, I flare every portal of my magic and hold my breath for dear life. I can smell my magic burning its insides as it twists from side to side. I punch forward with my sword and blow a solid chunk out of the creature. I punch and kick my way out of its lifeless body until I'm completely out and collapse on the ground, taking in as much air as possible. "T-the girls... we, we have t-to get them..." I say as the burning sensation takes over my body and sends me to unconsciousness. Author's Note Shout out to shadownamesto for picking the destination. Thanks for reading, and like always, Brony on! Chapter 38 Lost in ThoughtChapter 38 Lost in Thought Miles and I sit there for a moment staring at each other, until all of the black panels suddenly drop to the ground, making me jump next to Miles. They all drop and stack onto each other until they form a hallway. All of the panels go fuzzy for a moment until they focus into different scenes, all of which seem to be about Miles. "Uh... Luna..." I look over and realize that I was holding onto Miles rather tightly, and quickly let go. "Sorry about that... umm... would you happen to know what's going on?" He stands up and begins to look at different panels. He goes from one to another before he turns back to me with a worried look. "We're in my mind... aren't we?" I nod. "Fuck..." "Umm... Miles, what did Soul Fire mean by breaking you?" He looks at me with a confused look, so I explain further. "When I first got here, there was this all green man hovering above you. He said he was you, but he wasn't you... he also called himself your consciousness." He thinks about it a little longer before he sits back down and buries his face in his hands. "Of fucking course something like this would happen to me... why do these kind of things always happen to me... damn scientist sends me to the future, things keep attacking me, you kiss me, and now strange beings are apparently living inside my head... *sigh* I have no idea what you’re talking about. I've never heard of someone’s soul taking form and speaking to someone before," he says as he rubs his face. "O-OK... was the kiss really that bad?" He looks over to me and gives a deep sigh. "No, it was actually amazing... I just... well... it was just my first." "Oh... OK..." We fall silent after this and try not to look at one another. Why do I care so much if it was good or not... why am I still here?! Soul Fire said he would release me, why haven't I returned to reality? "You said my consciousness wants you to break me, right?" Miles asks as he looks up to me. "Yeah, do you know what that means?" "Not really, but let's try a literal approach. Hit me," he says, as he stands up and holds his arms behind his back. "Hit you?" "Yeah." "And what do you think this will accomplish?" "I don't know. Maybe some kind of physical reaction that will force me into consciousness, hopefully." I shrug as I stand up, it's the best idea we've got so far, may as well give it a try. I walk up to him and get ready to hit him. "Just not the face." I nod, then rear up and hit him square in the chest. He staggers back and looks down at his chest. "Well?" "I didn't even feel it... maybe a little more force?" I nod, turn around and buck him with both my back hooves, sending him flying back into one of the panels. The panel turns fuzzy for a moment until it goes blank, then the panels next to it turn blank, then the next. Soon all of the panels turn blank and seem to disappear. "Miles, what's going on?" I ask in a worried tone. "I don't know, maybe we broke it," he says as he walks besides me, looking at all of the panels. Soon all of the panels turn black and we lose sight of everything. DING A door slides open to reveal a hallway with red carpeting and many numbered doors. "This is the dorm room back in Topaz..." Miles says from besides me as he walks into the hall... in a completely different outfit. This Miles has black pants, what look like casual shoes and a light grey jacket. As Miles walks down the hall, Miles walks out after him.... wait, what? "Miles?" The shirtless one looks back as the other one continues to walk away. "I think we activated a memory of mine." I look around and walk into the hallway. "So, this is where you lived?" "No, this was the girl’s dorm.... no..." "No what?" Before he answers, the area around us begins to move, bringing us down the hall. We start to walk towards the other Miles until we catch up with him. He looks pretty angry; I wonder what happened... "Of fucking course it would be this memory, it couldn't have been any other possible other one, it just had to be this one." "What happens in..." I begin to ask but stop when I hear sobs and yelling down the hall. The other Miles stops for a second before he begins to run down the hall and stops at a door, kicking it in. Inside are four naked humans - one abnormally buff female, a blonde male with glasses, a short male with short black hair, and one male with a shaved head and a massive scar on the side of his face. The female is in the middle of the three as two of them hold her down by her shoulders and the scarred one humps at her, yelling things like ‘being one of the guys’ or calling her a slut. "Oh my..." "YOU FUCKING BASTARDS!" the other Miles screams as he runs in and pulls the scarred one out of the crying female. He turns to him and gives him a couple of quick punches to the face until the other two jump over and try to hold him back, but Miles elbows them off and goes back to punching the other one, beating his face into a bloody pulp. The other two look to each other and quickly grab their clothes and run out the door, leaving the girl to curl up and sob into herself. Miles continues to punch away until he grabs his head and with a solid twist, snaps his neck. "M-Miles..." the girls sobs as she tries to cover herself up. Miles gets up and walks over to her, removing his jacket along the way. He wraps her up and hugs her tightly. "Don't worry... everything will be alright... I'm here... I've got you..." he says quietly as she breaks down into his shoulder. He strokes her long brown hair as he rocks her back and forth. Without warning, everything turns white and I find myself back in the hallway from before. "Miles?" I says as I look around for him. I walk down the hall until I come to a turn, where I find Miles sitting on the floor, quietly weeping. “Miles... what happened back there?" I ask as I sit next to him. He looks away from me until I wrap a wing around him. With a heavy sigh he looks back to me, sadness filling his eyes. "A month before I came here, one of my friends was raped. That was the memory of me finding them in the act." "Was... was that Tenera?" I ask, getting a confused look from Miles. "No, that was Fidus, Tenera is her sister." He falls silent for a moment, so I nuzzle his forehead a little. "Hey... if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine, but if you want to... I'm here." I give him the most reassuring smile I can, getting a small smile in response. "Well, Fidus was always one to try and be the very best... physically. Women were always put down as being weak, so she made it her goal to be the strongest, and she was. Needless to say, some people didn't like this. Those three were always picking fights with her and her sister, usually, all of our friends would be there to support them, until that day. I was supposed to help her with something, but got caught up at work, so I was late... I wasn't there to protect her." "You couldn't have known that things would have turned so sinister. It was just another day," I say in an attempt to defend his actions, only getting him to shake his head. "No... if it were a normal day, I would’ve been there for her... but fucking Altum just had to have me stay longer... you know what the worst part is? When I dropped her off at the hospital, I had to go to the police station to explain what happened, but the other two got there first and pinned it on me. Tenera wouldn't even talk to me for a week, and even then, everything said was said with as much hatred as possible. She completely believed that I did it." "Why would she think that? What about Fidus?" "All she did was hold onto my jacket and cry. She didn't start talking to us for two weeks after it happened." "Well... how did it look in court?" "There was never a trial, the next day we received a signal that the enemy was on approach, so all military personnel were ordered to their stations and to await further orders. When Fidus was finally released, she had shaved her head and refused to even talk about the subject." "Miles... look at me." He looks away from me for a second before he slowly looks to me. "I know you didn't do anything wrong, and I know that if you had a little more time with them, they would’ve learned the truth. Please don't beat yourself up for what happened, there are some things we just can't control. The only thing we can do when things go wrong is be strong and strive to make things better, even if something better is impossible to reach." "How could I possibly atone for something that happened three thousand years ago?" "Simple, by moving forward." "Huh?" "Fidus was a strong individual. To atone for what happened, you need to move forward, being strong for her." "*sniffle* Heh, you never met Fidus, she was probably the strongest person I knew..." "Then you need to become even stronger, for Fidus." He thinks deeply about this for a minute before he turns to me and gives me a tight hug. "Thank you... again. I'll be sure to become a strong as possible... for Fidus." "Heh... I think you've got a pretty good start; can you loosen up a little? You’re kind of crushing me," I say, making him let go of me. We share a small laugh before we stand and start to walk around the hallway a little. The panels have returned to their prior state, showing small glimpses of Miles's past. "So, how do you think we get out of here?" "..." "Miles?" I look over and see that he's disappeared. I look around for a moment before I become blinded by a white light. I awake in a dark room in a fairly large bed, lying right next to Miles, who is still holding onto my horn. I can see the moon through the window and... SHOOT! Judging by how full the moon is, it’s been at least a week since we entered his mind! I lift my head and look around to try to find where we're at - I think it's a hospital room. I see a vase of flowers sitting on a desk behind Miles with some get well soon cards. I try to look behind me, but Miles's grip on me won't allow me to look. A chair next to Miles has some clothes piled onto it, and a small note to Miles has been pinned to it. As I look around, Miles let’s go of my horn and starts to sit up. "Uh... wha... are we back?" "I think so... though I don't think we're in the operating room anymore." "I was in surgery?" Miles says as he looks over his shoulder, which is completely healed now. "I guess they fixed me up." "I guess so... so... what now?" "What do you mean?" I sit up and look him in the eyes. "Well... we kissed... and we had that moment together..." "Oh... right... what do you think?" "I... I don't think I'm ready for something like that... maybe we could just be friends." "Sure... I'd like that." We share a small hug before we get out of bed together, and share one last hug before we go our separate ways. I know I said I wanted to stay friends.... but I'm not sure if I want to be just that. I walk to the door and look around - nopony is here. I turn back and see that Miles has already started to get dressed, so I walk out of the hall and head down to the receptionist. On my way there, I get stopped by a security pony, who bows as soon as he sees me. "Princess Luna... I..." "Where is my sister?" "She... uh... had to go back to Canterlot. Some important business came up and she had to leave for the night, but she said she would return tomorrow." "Very well, thank you." I turn and teleport myself to Celestia's bedchambers, where I find her sleeping with a troubled look on her face. I decide to get in bed with her and snuggle up in her hooves, like when we were little. I hear her sigh in relief and begin to get comfy in her embrace. I hope this doesn't surprise her too much in the morning. Author's Note Shout out to Glyph255, he used his points to pick out the age of Miles for the memory (Three different years, three different events). To all those betting on whose going to get all lovey dovey with Miles, time to collect. Thanks for reading, and like always, Brony on! Chapter 39 A Home of My OwnChapter 39 A Home of My Own After Luna and I have our little talk, I turn and see a pile of clothes next to me. Since I'm the only one who ever wears clothes here, I start to get dressed. A pair of black pants and a grey shirt with a black embroidered design going up the left side, nice. I look around, but can't seem to be able to find my boots anywhere... damn. I guess I'll just go barefoot for a while. I turn around to ask Luna something, but a flash from behind the door tells me she's gone. Well... bye then. I look at the vase and marvel at the flowers a bit before I decide to leave. I grab my old clothes and head out. I make my way to Twilight's home with no complications, just my thoughts and the night sky... which doesn't seem to have its usual look about it... strange. I get to the library and try the door... locked... fuck. I really need to get a key. I look around and see that Twilight left her window open... I guess waking Twilight up for a few minutes couldn't hurt. I flare my heels and jump up to the window, going slightly above it and swinging myself in. I land to find Storm hovering in the air holding Twilight around the waist as he pumps his cock in from behind, making her moan loudly.... "Oh sweet Barbra..." Storm looks over to me and immediately let’s go of Twilight, holding her there for a second before she drops to the ground, revealing his massive member; with condom... good boy. I can't help but stare at it for a second before he drops to the bed and covers himself up. Fucking ponies get all of the luck. "Dammit Storm! I told you if you dropped me... Miles! When did you get here?!" Twilight says as she pops up from behind the bed. "I just got out.... when did you two-" "Don't worry about it!" Twilight yells. Storm just looks absolutely mortified. I look between the two before I start to head towards the stairs. "Well... you two seem busy... I'm just gonna mosey on down to bed now..." "Yeah... good idea..." Storm says. "Yeah... bye!" I turn and quickly go down to my room, shutting every door along the way. I get to my bed and bury my head under my pillow. Dammit... of course I would go from Luna's amazingly soft lips to Storm’s massive throbbing cock... why do these things always happen to me? I try to go back to sleep but soon enough I hear them start going at it again... and again... and again. Dammit Storm, fucking pass out already so I can go to sleep. When the sound of slapping flesh and moaning finally subsides I pull out my phone and check the time, four hundred hours... fucking asshole.... GAH! Sleep finally came to me around six, giving me about two hours of sleep. After I use the restroom and put on my boots, I make the dreaded trip upstairs, pausing at the final door. I walk through and go to Twilight's room. Luckily I think they're still asleep, so I quickly make my way to the kitchen. I saw my sword in the chest along the way, good to know where it's at. When I get there I find Storm cooking some pancakes at the stove. He looks at me and tenses up a little, yeah... time to pester. "Sleep well?" I ask as I take a seat. "Better than you'd imagine." "So... what's that move called?" He nearly drops the pancake he was trying to flip and looks back to me in bewilderment. "Honestly, I'm not even mad, that was impressive." "I-It's called... the flying back breaker-" "No, that fucking cannon of yours is a back breaker. Do me a favor and keep your pet snake the fuck away from me." He tries to laugh, but I'm making this way too awkward for him - oh, the joys of being an ass. Twilight soon stumbles into the room, looking like a complete mess. She doesn't seem to notice me until after she walks up to Storm and gives him a long and passionate kiss. "Miles... I forgot you were here..." "Really? Good job, Storm!" I say, making him blush heavily. I wait until Storm brings us all a plate of food before I start up again. "So... I think I know Storm's favorite book." They look to each other before they look back to me. "A bookworm." "That was lame," Storm says flatly. "Really? I thought it was good, give me a minute, I'll get a better one." "Do you have to?" "We both know the answer to that." "Fine, just promise me that you won't tell anypony, we're trying to keep things quiet..." "After last night, I think you failed, HOOT!" "Seriously, please keep this between the three of us." "Oh, so it’s an open relationship, HOOT!" "Miles, come on-" "Alright, HOOT!" "You’re just mad because Storm's bigger than you," Twilight says nonchalantly, silencing me immediately. Storm nuzzles the side of her head before he goes back to his food. "I'm not little..." I grab my fork and eat up. Once we all finish, Storm takes the plates and starts to wash them at the sink. "We need to get you a key for the library," Twilight says as she lays her head on the table. "No need, I'm going to get a place of my own this afternoon." Storm nearly drops a plate from this. "What? How could you possibly afford a house?" Storm says as he walks over and takes a seat next to me. "Who said anything about buying? I plan on making my home." "And where do you plan on getting all of the wood for this?" "What's wood?" He facehoofs and stares at me in disbelief. "Just come with me this afternoon and you'll see." "Well... I don't see a problem with this," Twilight says as she gets up and starts to walk out of the room. "But... but..." Storm starts to say but is ignored. He drops his head onto the table and sighs loudly. "Did I miss something?" "*sigh* We decided that if you ever moved out that I would live with you, at least for a while." "Condolences brother." "It's fine, I just won't get to see Twilight as often as usual." "One thing though, where's Spike?" "He's in Canterlot on royal duty." "What does that mean?" "I have no clue." Once Storm leaves to get ready I go to the chest and start taking my things. I strap on my sword, put on my ammo belt with my pistol and trench knife, reassemble my rifle and strap it to my back as well. I take all of the supplies from Gary and toss them into the now strapless bag, I even throw in Storm's sword. By the time I finish, Twilight and Storm come down stairs, looking awake and walking as they lean against each other. When they get to me Twilight steps away from him and looks up to me. "Why do you have all of your weapons?" "Well, I can't just leave them in someone else's house, now can I?" Before she answers I turn and walk out of the library. As I walk, Storm and Twilight run out and walk on either side of me, Storm on my left and Twilight on my right. "So, whatever happened to the girls?" "Who... oh, right. They're fine. They were actually the ones who brought us to you. They just feel awful about what happened." "Glad to hear that they're safe." "So, Miles... what happened to you?" Storm asks. "My soul shut me out for a while to have a word with Luna." "What?!" They both yell, stopping in their tracks. "Hey, don't look at me, I barely understand what happened. All I know is what I told you." Twilight and Storm exchange worried looks before we continue down the main road. We eventually get to the edge of town where I stop and look around. We're at the northern part of town, looking at the park and the distant Everfree Forest. The path we're on now leads into the forest, while one heads northeast along the forest. I can see a flat clearing in the middle of the two roads and head straight for it. After a few minutes of walking, we make it to the clearing, where I stop and take a look around. "Miles, do you really want to put your home so close to the Everfree?" Twilight asks as she walks in front of me. "Makes sense to me, I came from there, I doubt the paparazzi will venture near it, it's a win-win really." "I don't know..." "Besides, I think I can handle whatever the forest has to throw at us." I slap my hands and rub them together before I get started. I flare my magic and slam my hands onto the ground, making a solid cube of earth rise from the ground. I make it about as wide as a standard house in Ponyville, about sixty meters, and about seventy-five meters long. I raise it up a little higher than two stories and remove the layer of organic matter from the building. I stand up and walk up to the chunk and slam my hands into the side of the building, compressing the insides into the wall, giving it its integrity. Pretty soon the structure is hollow, so I compress the ground and raise it to create the second floor. With that done, I run my hands in a rectangle and create the front door. I walk in and hold my flaming hand up high to take a look around. "Wow... dark," Twilight says as she and Storm walk in and look around. "Just can't keep you above ground, can we?" Storm says jokingly. "Hey, we are technically still above ground. This super-compressed stone doesn't count as ground anymore." After some idle walking around I decide on how I want this to look, so I get started on making the interior. I start by creating stairs to the second floor. I decide to make two sets that start somewhat facing each other, then curve upwards and meet at the top. I smooth out the center, making a small circular room in between the stairs. I walk behind the stairs and raise two walls, cutting the room in half. I make doorways for these walls and walk behind. I next make a long, narrow room along the back side of the stairs, eventually becoming the restroom for the downstairs. I make it so you can walk through this room from one side to the other by giving it two doors, one on each end. In the back right corner, I make a counter along the wall, going about halfway to the separating wall and a quarter the way to the center of the back wall. I go to the center of the back wall and create another doorway. "Well? What do you think so far?" "Spacious," Twilight says as she walks around. "I like what you did with the stairs," Storm says as he walks back to the front. "Well, let’s head up and make the bedrooms," I say as I follow him up. I go up the stairs and look around the empty room and take a look around... yeah, three rooms should work out just fine. I create a hallway going along the center of the room by raising two walls. I lift two more, splitting the new rooms in half, with three doors, two in front of me and one to my back left. I create two small rooms at the back of the two top rooms, directly next to one another, eventually becoming restrooms. I go into the bottom room and walk to the wall inside. I make a wall separating the room on the other side, and make two doors to these rooms. The one on the left will be the master restroom, while the one on the right will be the closet. I walk into the closet and bring up another wall, cutting this room in half. I put my hands on the center of the wall and cut out a doorway, but don't clear it out. I plan on having a secret room in here. I walk out to the bedroom and start creating windows. I make two per wall, per room, though they are only holes in the walls. I'm going to need to get some glass eventually. I walk out and hear Twilight and Storm talking in the top right room, so I head in. "I call dibs on this room," Storm says as I walk in. "Alright, I'll just take the master." "What's with the small room in the corner?" Twilight asks. "It's eventually going to be a restroom; I've just got to get some plumbing done." "We can talk to the plumbers later - it's going to be pricey though, we're going to have to get a main water line to your house built." "That's going to be a pretty credit... whatever, it'll get done eventually. Until then I'll just make an outhouse to suffice." "No, that's gross. You’re staying at my place until you get your plumbing done." "Mmmm... fair enough." I go throughout the rest of the house and make little touches. Places for knick-knacks, windows for the bottom floor, a front porch with an awning. I look back and decide to raise the entire building a bit, just enough to have to make three steps to get in. Storm and Twilight join me out front and look at my new home. "You need windows..." Storm says. "And plumbing," Twilight finishes. "Yeah... but doesn't my house look good?" Author's Note Shout out to Sine wave for picking out the size of the house Miles built. Thanks for reading and, like always, Brony on! Click for fun! Chapter 40 House Warming GiftChapter 40 House Warming Gift After I admire my home for a bit longer I decide to head out. Twilight said she had some things to take care of, so she went out on her own, now it's just me and Storm. We head into town and decide that we should order the plumbing first, so we head to the mayor’s office. We make it to the office and walk in to the circular room. The room has a single wall cutting it in half that has a single door to the left. The rest of the room is fairly open, only having a few small benches against the walls and a counter going through the middle. Various pictures and papers are framed on the walls and have little plaques underneath them. A light tan pony is sitting behind the counter sleeping soundly. "Should we wake her up?" I ask Storm. "Well... anypony else would get fired for sleeping on the job, waking her doesn't seem that bad." I nod in agreement and head to the sleeping pony. When I get to her, I look back to Storm before I gently nudge her a little. "Hmm...wha...*yawn* can I help you?" she asks sleepily. "Yeah, I need to..." "Mr. Eremita! We've been expecting you!" she says as she wakes up completely, and runs to the door... OK. I walk over and follow her through the door. We walk in and make an immediate right, going up a flight of stairs to the next floor. We enter a smaller circular room the has a large desk in the center, with a few chairs in front of it. The dark tan mare with grey hair is sitting behind the desk, trying to balance a little red ball on her nose. "Ahem..." the receptionist says, getting the other’s attention, and making her drop the ball. "Mr. Eremita! Where have you been? We were supposed to meet over two weeks ago!" "Really? I guess I must’ve forgot." "Never mind that for now, please take a seat," she says as she dives behind the desk and starts to pull out different stacks of paper. I take a seat and try to read the papers, but can't. "So, what's going on?" "We're getting you registered to become a citizen," she says as she pulls out the final stack. "If you’re going to be living here, you have to become a citizen of Equestria first." "I guess that makes sense... you know I can't read any of this, right?" "It's mostly technical mumbo jumbo. I'll just go through and highlight the areas you need to sign, and we'll call it a day," she says as she pulls out a neon yellow marker and starts to flip through the pages. We spend the next hour going through the stacks of paper - I must’ve signed my name over a thousand times. My damn hand is locking up from handling the quill for so long. Once I sign the last paper I sit back and sigh in relief. "Finally... now, about my house..." "You have a house? I was under the impression that you were staying with Miss Sparkle." "I was, but I just built my own home out by the Everfree..." "The Everfree! Why would you build it out there?" "Because there's room. Now, I'm going to need a water line built to my home, also a power line... if you ponies have that." "Of course... just hold on." She goes back under the desk. A few moments later she starts to pull out even more stacks of paper. "Well... same drill as before?" she says as she starts to flip through the pages. An hour and a half later we finally finish going through these papers, and I finally get to leave this place. I never thought I could hate paper with such a passion. When I go out to the main room I find Storm lying on his back, asleep on a bench. I walk up to him and... oh this is evil. "Storm..." I say in the most feminine voice possible in his ear. "Mmm... yeah Twi...?" he mutters; oh fuck, this is going to be funny. "Ready for round two?" I ask in the same voice, fighting my laughter as best as possible. "Mmm, you know I am." "Then let’s go," I say in the deepest voice possible as I stand, making him wake up and fall off the bench. "Miles!? Aw buck man... that wasn't cool..." "Yeah, but it was funny huh?" I say as I walk out of the office. I wait for Storm to follow me out and start to walk off. "Well, let’s celebrate." "What for?" "I just became a citizen," I say with a smile. "Well alright, good for you... let’s swing by Sugarcube Corner then." "Well, first off, let’s stop by Twilight's so I can find my money..." "Oh, don't worry about that, we made a bank account for you while you were out." So ponies do have a banking system, good to know. We head to the bank in the southern district of Ponyville, where I withdraw fifty bits. With some money on me now, we head to Sugarcube Corner. When we enter the only sound we can hear is of two infant ponies crying loudly as a light blue mare tries to quiet them down. "Maybe we should go..." Storm says, as I walk in anyway. "Oh... hello there... may I help you?" says the mare as I approach her. "Hmm, little sour patches aren't they?" "Oh. Usually they're little angels, but their father just had to leave to deliver some goods, so it's tears until I can calm them down," she says in a cheerful manner. I sit on the ground in front of her and take a look at them. One is a light yellow unicorn girl with bright orange hair and light blue eyes, while the other is a light tan pegasus boy with dark brown hair and brown eyes. "May I?" I ask as I hold out my arms. "Umm... do you have any experience with babies?" "Actually, I do. Back home I sponsored an orphanage and visited all the time. I learned pretty quickly how to take care of infants and children." "Well... alright... just please be careful," she says as she hands me the pegasus. As I take hold of him, he immediately stops crying and looks up to me. I smile down to him as he begins to laugh and hit my chest. "Aw... he's a hitter..." "Yeah, that's our little Pound Cake for you." Storm walks over to me and looks down at the kids. "Storm, could you be a dear and hold Carrot while I go and get something really quick?" she asks as she hands off the crying kid to him and runs off to the back. "I guess so..." he says as he tries to get a hold of her, but is ultimately failing. "You know there's a right way to hold them... right?" "Well I... OW!" He yells as she bites onto the end of his hoof. "You know they don't have teeth, right?" He glares over to me and finally gets her in the right position, only to have her wiggle out and try to fight her way away from Storm. "Aw man, if only Twilight could’ve seen..." "Seen what?" Twilight says as she walks into the store. She walks over to Storm and sees him struggling. With a small laugh she takes Carrot away from Storm and takes hold of her almost immediately. "But... I... she... GAH!" Storm says as he watches Twilight hold her with total ease. "HA... kids hate Storm," I tease. "That's why you've got me," Twilight says as she leans over and gives him a kiss on the cheek, brightening his mood immediately. The blue mare from earlier walks in and takes the two away to the back, for a nap I presume. Afterwards she appears behind the counter and takes our order, which she doesn't charge us for, due to us helping her. We take our food to a table and start to eat together. "So, Twilight, what's on your agenda for the rest of the day?" I ask as I try out an eclair... fucking awesome. "Oh... just a few things, nothing special." Yeah... something's up. "So what are you planning?" "Just to get a few more chores done," she says as she takes another bite from her food. I look over to Storm for answers, but he only shrugs. "What about you? What do you have planned?" "Well..." "Because I think you should go to work today," she says before I can answer. "Yeah... if I even still have one, how do ponies take missing two weeks of work anyway?" "Dude, you were in the hospital, I'm sure they'll understand," Storm says as he sits in front of an empty plate - fuck man, how does he eat that fast? "Maybe... I'll swing by and see if they'll have me. If not, I'll just head home." "Alright, then you won't need Storm," she says as levitates him with her while she runs out of the building. OK, now I know somethings up... or they're just... AH FUCK. Just repress that memory already! After I finish up eating I head out to Sweet Apple Acres. I walk to the main building and find Big Mac hauling some apples to the cellar. "Hey Big Mac, got any work for me?" "Miles, good to see your out of the hospital. As fer work... Eeyup. Just head into the westernmost part of the fields and buck out there fer awhile." I nod as I take a cart and head west. After a while of walking through the trees I finally stop and begin to buck the trees. I fill my first cart and deliver the apples to the cellar. Once I start on my second load, I sense someone watching me again. I figure it's Luna, and decide to mess with her a little. I flare my magic and create words from my energy. 'HI LUNA', appears in white fiery letters before me. I sense her scrying disappear then reappear. 'HAVING FUN WATCHING?' I write next; to which she blinks her presence again. 'ONE FOR YES AND TWO FOR NO.' She gives a single blink in response. 'COOL', I drop the magic from one of my hands and get back to work, creating my words with my free hand. 'SO DID YOU GET HOME SAFELY?' One blink. 'GOOD GOOD, WAS YOUR SISTER MAD ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED?'Another single blink. 'SORRY ABOUT THAT, I SHOULD MEET HER AND APOLOGIZE IN PERSON.' Two blinks. 'NO? WELL, IF YOU’RE SURE.' One blink. 'WOW, THAT MAD HUH?' One blink. I finish loading the cart and begin to take it to the cellar, when a thought comes to mind. How does she know what I'm writing? Last I checked, our written language was completely different. When I finish unloading and make it back to the part of the field I'm working, I bring my concern to her. 'CAN YOU READ THIS?' One blink. 'HOW? OUR TEXT IS DIFFERENT.' After a while of silence I realize I didn't ask a yes/no question. 'WE SHOULD DISCUSS THIS.' One blink. 'WELL, I HAVE A HOME ON THE NORTHERN PART OF PONYVILLE, COME BY ANYTIME.' One blink and then her presence fades away. I continue to work for a couple more hours, filling a total of five carts, before Big Mac approaches me. "That'll do fer today Miles, good work. Let's head inside an' get you yer pay." I nod and follow him inside. I receive my pay and am about to head out when Big Mac stops me. "Uh... what're ya up ta?" "Well... I've got some things I want to get done at home, why?" "Well... uh... maybe ya wouldn't mind... hanging out?" I look at him quizzically for a minute before I turn to him. "Well, alright, what do you want to do?" After a few hours of playing various games, horseshoes, tug-o-war, hay bale toss - most of which he won - I finally start to head home, only to see Big Mac walking besides me. "Uhh... Big Mac..." "Eeyup." "Why are you following me home?" He shrugs and continues to walk beside me. "Is something going to happen? "Nnnope, ah jus' wanna have a look at yer home, iffin ya don't mind." "Oh... alright." We continue our way until my home comes into view. What the fuck... when did I get windows? I run up to my door... when did I get a door? I open it up and... "SURPRISE!" yells everyone inside, making me fall back. I see everyone I know inside my home with party hats and massive smiles. "Wh-what's going on?" I ask as I stand back up and walk inside, almost fainting when I see all of the new furniture inside. "Well Miles..." Twilight begins, but stops when Pinkie Pie jumps in front of her. "It's your HOUSE WARMING, THANKS FOR SAVING THE GIRLS AND CONGRATS FOR GETTING BETTER SO SOON PARTY!" Without warning, I turn and run as fast as possible out of the house. Another party, it just had to be another party. I try to run farther away but I suddenly flash back into the room. I try to run again, but Big Mac pins me to the ground and holds me as I start to panic. "Let me go, let me go. No party! NO PARTY! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME GO!" I stop yelling when Twilight walks in front of me and puts a hoof to my mouth. "Miles, calm down. It's not a party, that's just what Pinkie calls it. Now I'm going to let go and have Big Mac get off you, but only if you promise not to run away." After I try and collect my nerves I nod to Twilight, who steps back and motions to Big Mac to get off. I stand up and look around, I can't believe it, my home. I walk to the room to the left and see that they made it into a living room, just like I planned. A long light tan couch sits against the wall with a long table in front of it. To the left and right of the table are single seats that seem to recline back. Underneath all of this is light a light tan rug, with a white design going through it. I turn around to the group and say, "Where did all of this come from?" "Well, while you were gone, I gathered the girls and started to go through town, asking for donations for your home. Many of the residents of Ponyville are still grateful for what you did, so we were able to furnish your home quite easily," Twilight says as she walks into the room. "Really...? I don't know what to say, other than thank you. This is one of the kindest things anyone has ever done for me." Before anyone can say anything, a knock at the door catches all of our attention. I walk over and open the door, and fall back as my heart starts to race. "Why hello there Miles, may I-" "Celestia!?" Chapter 41 Meeting The PastChapter 41 Meeting The Past As I lay on the floor, heart racing, Celestia walks in with Luna right behind her, followed by two pegasus guards in golden armor. It can't be her, it can't be. She was born three thousand years ago, there is no possible way she could be alive. She can't... "Well, quite a lovely home you've made for yourself, Miles. I must say, I love what you've done with the stairs." Oh fuck, she sounds so similar to her mother! It has to be her, but it can't! I stand up and look over to her. "Who are you?" I ask. "You already said my name, I am Celestia-" "That's impossible!" I yell, getting shocked looks from everyone. "You were born over three thousand years ago, how could you possibly be alive!?" She looks at me for a moment as if I'm crazy, before she straightens up to answer. "Well, Miles, alicorns are immortal, we don't age past adulthood. Now, I'm going to have to ask you to lower your voice..." "You don't remember me, do you? I'm actually not that surprised you don't, you were so little." The room falls silent as Celestia and I stare each other down. I look up and notice that she still has the tiara I gave her. I step forward and reach out to grab it, only to have the guards get in the way. "Touching the princess would be a bad idea," says one of the guards. I flare my magic and levitate it over to me, getting the guards to tackle me to the ground, but not before I get the tiara. "Arrest him!" yells one of the guards as they try to wrestle me down. I fight with them for a bit until I lift my hand and show the hologram to Celestia. "Guards, release him," she says sternly. They stop and back off from me slowly. I get to my feet and present the tiara to her. "I gave this to you when you turned four. It was during a negotiation I was having with your parents to have my people come to the surface. You used to..." before I could finish, something sends me flying out the door. When I stop rolling I look up to see Celestia walking towards me, tears flowing from her eyes. "YOU’RE THE ONE THAT KILLED THEM! I WILL END YOU FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" She yells in a voice that nearly blows me away. She lowers her head and points her horn at me, sending a beam of golden energy straight for me. I flare my magic and raise both my hands, creating a force field at the last possible second, sending the beam to my sides and exploding in the distance. When the energy stops I look up and see that she's gone. I twist around as I hear her appear behind me, and raise a shield as she tries to behead me with a claymore she made from her energy. She gives several parries as she advances towards me, I step back with every step she takes and dodge her attacks by either ducking or raising a shield. When she gets close enough, she rears up and tries to slam her hooves onto me, so I flare my heels and jump back, doing a backflip and landing well away from her as she strikes the ground, making cracks appear at her hooves. "Celestia, please! Let me explain! It wasn't me, it was some assassin..." I yell out, but get ignored as she creates three golden orbs above her head that shoot towards me. I jump high into the air and escape the massive explosion down below. A flash appears behind me as I feel two hooves slam into my back, sending me straight to the ground. I twist and land on my hands and feet. Crouching low, I begin to run my way towards Celestia as she lands. She tries to knock me back by sending waves of energy at me, but I use my own energy to knock her attack aside. As I get closer she tries to back away, but I'm closing the distance too quickly. In the last meter she tries to swing her blade into me, but I twist and drop out of the way. When I twist back up, I'm directly next to Celestia. Before she can act, I throw my arms around her and hold her close to me. "Let go of me, you-" "Enough!" I yell, silencing her. "No more... no more fighting... please." She tries to break free of my hold, but I won't allow her to get away until I say what needs to be said. "You’re right." "What?!" yells everyone from the front porch. Celestia stops fighting me at this point and begins to listen. "You’re right. I'm the reason he died. If I hadn't pushed my people to come back to the surface, he would’ve never been put in harm’s way, but I cannot allow you to pass judgement on me until I let you know one thing... your parents and I were friends. Tempus was excited to have me come to the surface, he worked with all of the surface leaders to help create a sanctuary for my people, your mother wanted to help us establish our first town out here. This was something that we all wanted... and I'm sorry that he was the one to pay for it." I can feel her tears start to roll onto my back as she lowers her head in sorrow, crying softly on my shoulder. "I was only five when he died. Luna was born five months later. Two years later, mother passed away. I was only seven, taking care of the only piece of true family I had left..." "I know... I'm sorry-" "How could you say he wanted this...?" "We didn't know this would happen... we didn't plan for it..." I let go of her and start to step away from her. "That's why I'm letting you pass judgement on me." I kneel before her and hold my arms behind me as I close my eyes. I hear her take a few steps towards me and stop. "..." "..." NO... SHE WILL NOT I open my eyes and look around for the new voice when all of the sudden, I feel as if my heart is trying to rip itself out. I fall forward and hold onto my chest as the pain increases, until a bright white light sends me into unconsciousness. Perspective: Celestia I look around to try and find the trick Miles is trying to pull, when he suddenly falls to the ground. The dark lines that appeared when he started using magic are quickly appearing all over his body, as a massive white fire spews out from his back. I take a step back and ready my sword for whatever he's planning. Suddenly an emerald arm shoots out of Miles’s back as it starts to pull itself out of the portal. "Soul Fire?" Luna says as she walks up to the form. When it pulls itself completely out it stands and begins to walk towards me. I don't know what it is. It has the basic form of Miles, but lacks anything else. It's just a being of pure energy. It... or he, keeps walking closer and closer so I point my sword at him, making him stop. He looks at the tip and raises a hand to it, making it disappear instantly. THAT WOULD BE A COSTLY MISTAKE "Who are you!?" I demand. "Soul Fire, what are you doing here?" Luna asks as she walks up to his side. He looks down to her for a second before snapping his wrist, creating a long narrow blade of the same energy that he's made of. He begins to walk towards me again, making me backpedal. "Soul Fire, stop," Luna begs, but is ignored. I create another sword and take a ready stance. "Stop where you are, or..." Before I can finish he raises his sword and lunges for me, only stopping because Luna jumps in the way. She stands her ground for a second before her mane and tail flare up. I can sense the energy within her grow past what I thought she could do, until she falls to the ground. "LUNA!" I start to run to her, but stop when the blue from her mane and tail subside, leaving a blue form hovering over Luna's unconscious body. It looks similar to the green one, in that it lacks any features such as a face, but it's... different. It looks to be a head shorter than the green one, skinnier, and has two round perky lumps on its chest. It floats down to the ground in front of the green one and stands before it, crossing its arms. I WILL NOT ALLOW THIS AND I WILL NOT ALLOW ANY OTHER TO PASS JUDGEMENT ON THOSE THEY HAVE NO RIGHT TO They stare at each other for a second longer before they take a step towards one another. THEN TAKE THIS TO PAY FOR HER BLUNDER The blue one puts a hand where the green one’s cheek would be and pulls it in for a kiss. Their bodies turn turquoise where their lips would be as the green one pulls the blue one in. As they kiss, I can't help but let my jaw drop. Is... is a part of Luna... kissing a part of Miles? Before I can completely register what is happening before my eyes, the two forms end the kiss and step back from each other, leaving turquoise swirls in their faces that slowly fade back to their appropriate colors. VERY WELL They both walk back to where they came from and phase back into Luna and Miles, waking both of them up. "Why do I taste hay?" Miles asks weakly as he stands back to his feet. "Why do I taste apples?" Luna asks as she stands back up. "Wh... what just happened?" I ask in a daze. Miles and Luna look to one another before they both look back to me. "Umm... I was putting my life in your hands... then I thought you did the deed..." "No, she was about to, but you passed out as Soul Fire appeared," Luna says, "then he was about to attack Celestia... then... then what?" she asks as she looks to me. "Well... you... umm... you see..." I stammer before Twilight runs up and saves me. "Well, a lot happened, but let’s save that for after we get you two inside and cleaned up." "Yes, lets adjourn inside and... digest, what just happened," I say as I slowly turn towards the house. "If you say so," Miles says, as he joins Twilight and me walking towards the home. I look towards the home and see the results of my outrage. Every window on the front side has been completely shattered, leaving shards of glass everywhere. The front door has been shattered from my throwing Miles through it. And a large crater lies before the entire structure. Oddly enough, the walls seem to be perfectly fine. Not a single scratch, crack, or even a dent on the entire building. "Umm... sorry about the damages..." I apologize. "Don't worry about it. It'll be like, five minutes of work." We walk inside the house and take seats in the living room, where Miles and Luna are brought towels to clean themselves off. "Shouldn't we have them use the restrooms, or a sink?" I ask. "They haven't had the water lines built yet," Twilight informs me. "How could they build a house without putting a water line in?" Luna asks as she rubs some of the dust off herself. "Maybe because I built the entire place earlier today," Miles says. "So can anyone fill me in on what happened while I was out?" Everypony falls quiet and tries to look away from Luna and Miles... I'm going to have to be the one to tell them. "Well... a green entity came from Miles and was about to attack me, but Luna jumped in the way. She then passed out, and a blue entity came out of her... and convinced the green one to spare me..." "How did I... or my entity, convince Soul Fire not to attack?" Luna asks innocently. Aw, come on... I don't want to have to be the one to tell my little sister about her first kiss... at least not in front of everypony. "Twilight, can I have a word with you... in private?" "Of course, Princess." We make our way upstairs and enter one of the vacant bedrooms, where I take a seat on the edge of a bed and let my stress escape me through a deep sigh. "Twilight... I need your opinion on what just happened." "Well... you attacked Miles... those entities appeared... and kissed... then we came here..." "I meant as in what I should feel right now. Part of me wants to tear Miles apart for his involvement in my parents’ deaths, the other part wants to cast him into the badlands for touching my sister like that." "Princess, as much as I know you don't want to hear this, you can't blame Miles for what happened." "How could you possibly say that!?" "Princess, he didn't want any of this. Everything was out of his control. The assassin, the... entity coming out of him, he couldn't have done anything to stop them." I take Twilight's words and mull them over for a bit. The entity part may be true... but I still don't know how to explain what happened all those years ago. "Twilight, can you send Miles up here, please?" "Of course Princess," she says with a small smile. Twilight, I can always rely on you for a level head in these kind of situations. As Twilight leaves to retrieve Miles, I prepare myself mentally for what I'm about to hear. I won't say a word until after I hear his side of the story, I'll give him that much. "You wanted to see me?" Miles says, as he walks into the bedroom and closes the door behind him. "Yes. I would like you to tell me your side of the story, after which I will pass my judgment on you." "Alright... well it all started..." During the entire explanation of his tale, I keep a straight face. No matter what emotion I feel on the inside, on the outside I keep a strong, even look about my face. I can't help but let a small laugh escape me when he mentions my father’s pet name to me. But when he gets to my father’s death, I have to look away to hide the tears in my eyes. "... And we never were able to get a complete report due to the invasion," he says in summation. I look back to him and stare deep into his eyes. All I can see is sorrow and regret - I can't find the eyes of a murderer. With a sigh I stand and face him. "Miles... I will not hold you accountable for what happened to my parents..." "What happened to Spatium? I know you said she died… but, how?" She tenses up from this, glancing away for a moment before looking back to me. "Well, after giving birth to Luna, she succumbed to her loneliness and died of a broken heart. I was only seven at the time, but that's what I'm told happened. The next year, Discord rose to power and turned the land into a world of chaos." "I'm sorry to hear that... she was an amazing person, and I see so much of her in you, Celestia." I close my eyes when he says this and try to hold back more tears, but fail when he holds me in his embrace. "I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to blame you... I-I just miss them so much..." I sob. "I know. I do too." I return the hug and let my sorrow fall for an unknown amount of time, until Miles breaks the hug. "No more tears," he says as he lifts my chin to look him in the eyes, "the time to mourn has passed. Now is the time to let their memories make us stronger individuals." "*sniffle* Right, time to grow up." "Oh please, you'll always be the silly Celly from back in the day," he says, getting me to laugh at my father’s pet name. "So... do you really forgive me?" "Maybe... I don't know yet. But I know I'm on the road to forgiveness. Thank you for telling me your tale," I say as I begin to walk out of the room, but stop when he puts a hand on my shoulder. "No, thank you for giving me a second chance." Chapter 42 Just Another PartyChapter 42 Just Another Party Perspective: Miles As I stand here with Celestia, I suddenly realize just how naked I am. I grab a sheet from the bed and wrap it around my waist. "What's that for?" Celestia asks. "To cover my shame." Celestia gives me a confused look before I explain to her why humans don't necessarily enjoy nudity. It’s a bit awkward talking to her about this, especially since the last time I saw her she was just a little girl… which was over three thousand years ago… damn. She’s old. "That seems a bit strange for something that's usually hidden... but okay." "Hidden?" I get a quick lecture about pony anatomy and finally come to a realization. "Oh... that explains a lot." "How so?" "Human reproductive organs are external... we don't naturally hide... our stuff." I feel really weird talking to Celestia about this. But at the same time, it's good to be talking to her instead of fighting... so I'll take it. "Hmm... that would explain the need for clothing; to be a little modest. Why don't you check those dressers for clothing?" I turn and see that on either side of the bed are small single dressers. I walk over to one and, sure enough, there are some new clothes. I pull out a pair of blue pants, a black shirt with a white design and some boxers before I turn to Celestia. "Yes?" "Well... I can't really get dressed with you in here, now can I?" She thinks about this for a second before she puts one and one together. "Oh... right. I'll just head downstairs now." After she leaves I start to get dressed. Damn, how many pairs of clothes has Rarity made for me that I've taken for free? I'll have to do something for her sometime, it's the least I can do. When I finish up, I head downstairs where I find everyone in the living room, idly talking to one another. "So Miles, how'd it go? Huh, huh, huh, huh, huh?" Pinkie Pie says as she bounces in and out of my face. "Uh... I think I get to stay... right?" I ask as I turn to Celestia. "Mmm... for now," she says with a small smile. "Alright! Now we can get this par—" Pinkie begins to say, but is stopped when Rainbow Dash jams her hoof in her mouth. I tense up a bit as she says this but don't lose control like earlier. Celestia and Luna both look to each other and then back to us in confusion. "I ah... don't like... that thing that rhymes with marty..." I cringe. "You don't like parties?" Celestia asks, sending a shiver down my spine. "Yeah... those..." "Why?" Luna asks. "I... just don't. If I knew why, I'd tell you, but I can't." "Well, enough a' this talkative mumbo jumbo. Let’s get a tour a' yer new house already," Applejack says, getting a few cheers from the others. I look around and see that everyone is staring at me... so I guess I'll be leading the tour. We start out in the living room, checking out the furniture and the recently fixed windows before we head into the kitchen area in the back. The half on the left has a table with some seats where the half on the right has the cooking materials. Stove, refrigerator, sink, everything one would need for a fully operational kitchen. I can see that food has been brought here and was being prepared. The walls have been painted a light green color, with white trim going along the top and white boards taking up a fourth of the bottom. We check the restroom here to find the narrow room has been turned into two rooms. The entry on the right is now a closet, providing a couple of brooms, some cleaning supplies, things of that nature, and the room on the left is the restroom, providing just a toilet and sink. We move to the bottom right room where we find a very long, dark brown table with matching chairs. I guess it's for dining with a large group of people or for special events. A lot of food has been put out on this table, making it seem to be a buffet style. We walk to the stairs where I see they put a small circular table in between the stairs with a small pot of flowers. We make our way to the upper floor where we start to go through the bedrooms. The top two are mirror images of each other, providing an average bed with light blue sheets against either the left or right wall in between the windows, with a writing dresser on the far walls. On the center walls are large dressers that sit in the middle of the walls. Both of the restrooms here have been made into full restrooms, providing a toilet, sink, and shower. The entire walls on the bottom side of these restrooms have been made into a mirror, while the walls have a yellow finish to them. We move to the master bedroom where Celestia and I had our little talk. The bed is fairly larger than the other ones, thank you! No more frozen feet or sleeping in a ball. The bed sheets here are all red and have white designs going through them. In addition to the small dressers I also have a larger one against the wall to the right. I check the restroom and find all of the accommodations of a restroom, but for something my size. I check the closet and don't find anything to be changed; the same goes for that secret room. "And that's my home," I say as I walk down the stair to the living room. "Why did you make it so large?" Rarity asks. "It's a Terradisian thing. Being underground..." "AAAAAAAHHHHHH!" scream the girls from the back. I run out the back door and find them running towards the house. "What happened?" I ask. "Wolf!" screams Scootaloo as the three of them run into the house. When I turn to the forest I see a large animal running towards the house. It's dark grey with the front two legs being all white. It seems to have long fluffy hair that bounces with it as it runs towards me. I draw my sword and ready myself for it to attack. When it gets a meter away it stops and drops low, snarling its long white teeth at me and growling deeply. We continue to stare each other down for a while until it licks its nose and begins to sniff the air. I lower my guard and slowly approach it. "Miles, what are you doing?" Fluttershy asks, but I ignore her and continue to slowly approach the wolf. When I get three fourths of the way I crouch down and extend my free hand to it. It takes a few steps forward and lowers its head. It takes a few sniffs of my hand and quickly runs back into the forest. I sit there and watch it run off, I can't quite put my finger on it, but there's something alluring about that wolf. "Why do I get the feeling that things like this always happen to you?" Luna says as she walks up beside me. "What was that thing?" "Just a forest wolf looking for its next meal. They occasionally venture too close to our land and try to take our ponies - good thing he ran off." "Yeah..." "I never did like those things," Celestia says as she walks up to my other side, "always hunting." I stand and watch as the wolf disappears into the wilderness - I have a feeling this won't be the last I see of him. I turn and walk back into the house to check on the girls. They seem a bit shaken, but other than that they're fine. "Just had to put it right next to the forest, didn't you?" Storm says sarcastically from the kitchen table. "It seemed like a good idea at the time. Are you girls alright?" "Y-yea," Applebloom says from under Applejack as she holds onto her leg. "Alright, if you’re ever back here again, I don't want you three back there without someone watching you, got it?" "Got it," the three of them say. "Let's git you three washed up," Applejack says as she and Rarity take them into the other room. I start to head off, but stop when Celestia taps my shoulder. I look back and see everyone is off doing their own thing. Some are talking, others are playing games, Pinkie Pie has started to play some music. "So... you attack Red-Bellied Snakes on sight, but wolves are in the clear?" Celestia asks as she and Luna take a seat at the table. "I can't explain it, but... I dunno, he didn't seem like a threat." "He was growling at you while showing his teeth," Storm says flatly. "Yeah, but I did have my sword out." "Are you trying to defend that wild animal?" Twilight says from beside Storm. "All I'm saying is there is always two sides of a story," I say as I take seat next to Fluttershy and Storm. "Sacrificium enim causa." "Sacrifice for a cause?" Luna says from behind, getting looks from everyone. "Yeah... how do you know that?" I ask. "I don't know... eam iustus venit ad me." "Quod est alienis." "Est non!" "Forte paulo." "Ego accipere, forte paulo alienis," she says, making us both laugh a little while everyone stares at us in confusion. "Do you mind telling me how you learned a different language so fluently?" Celestia asks. "I think it was a gift from Soul Fire..." "Who’s that?" I ask, getting odd looks from everyone. "What?" "You really don't know?" Fluttershy asks. "No." I look around for an answer, but no one gives me one. "Is it the guy you were talking about from inside my memories?" I ask Luna. "Yes, he was here after you passed out... speaking of which, what happened after I passed out?" "When did you pass out?" I ask. "Shortly after you did." We look to everyone else and wait for an answer, but everyone is being very coy right now. "Well... you see..." Twilight starts. "We can't say." Celestia says firmly, getting looks from everyone. "Let’s just say that something happened that if we acknowledged it, bad things would happen." "Uh... Miles... ya may want ta come see this," Applejack says before anyone can respond to what Celestia said. We all get up and walk to the front area, where we see a mass of ponies with cameras have built up. As soon as I'm visible the cameras begin to flash, filling the room with bright white lights. Again, I flare my hands and suck the energy from all of the cameras, ending the flashes. "Where did all of these bloodsuckers come from?" I ask. "What do you expect?" Storm says, “you’re here, so are the princesses, there were huge explosions, why wouldn't they come?" "Miles, one of them returned this," Rarity says as she walks up to me and gives me my phone. When did I... oh, right, I burned my clothes off earlier. I pocket my phone and try to think of a plan to get rid of them. I think I've got something. "Miles, I don't like that look on your face, what are you planning?" Storm says. "Something that will probably end with less than desirable results," I say as I head to the front door, only to have Storm and Rainbow Dash jump in the way. "Whoa, you’re not seriously going to go out there?" Rainbow Dash says. "Like hell he's going out there!" Storm says. "Should I throw you at them again?" "That wasn't cool." "I know, now it's my turn to deal with them," I say as I walk around them and head out. As soon as I walk out of the door I get bombarded with hundreds of incomprehensible questions. The few I understand range from where my house came from to what's my relationship with all of the mares inside. I raise a hand and wait for them to quiet down, which takes a little longer than it should. I walk out from underneath the awning and take in my surroundings. A mass of ponies are collected in front of me. There are a few in the air behind me, but not many. A couple of pegasi are sitting on the roof and two are on the awning. "So you have some questions you want me to answer." A small outburst erupts from the crowd, but I wait until they fall silent before I begin again. "I'll answer your questions, but you'll have to catch me first." I squat down and launch myself into the air, passing a couple of the pegasi. I land behind my house and start to run into the forest, using my magic to make great leaps through the dense collection of trees. Hopefully I can wait in here for a while until they get tired and leave. Chapter 43 Into The WildernessChapter 43 Into The Wilderness As I run, I look back to see if any were dumb enough to follow me, sadly I can see a few pegasus and some earth ponies. I flare my hands and slam them into the sides of the trees, leaving a trail of scratched trees for all of us to follow back. I run and slash and run and keep slashing until I'm completely out of breath. I lean against a tree and try to catch my breath, looking back to see if any of them are still following me. Looks to be clear, so I guess now... SMACK I fall to the ground as something crashes onto my side. When I open my eyes, I look to see Starry Notes on top of me with a massive smile. "Gotcha." "Starry? Where did you come from?" "That's not important, what is important is that I caught you, and you said that you would answer my questions. Sooo..." Perspective: Luna I'm sitting on Miles's couch, waiting for something to happen, but the only thing happening is the reporters trying to get questions from anypony who gets too close to the windows. We had Celestia's guards move outside and guard the perimeter, hopefully none of the reporters will try anything foolish. Everypony inside has stopped the party and has moved either to the back or to the upper floor, leaving Celestia, Twilight, Storm, and myself in the front. "When do you think they'll leave?" Twilight asks. "If they don't leave within the hour, I'll give them the order to," Celestia says. "I don't get it," I say, getting everypony’s attention, "why are they acting like this for Miles? I get that him being the only human can be exciting, but I didn't think ponies would react to him like this." "Maybe we should ask one of them, find out what's so appealing," Twilight suggests, getting looks from everypony. "I don't think that would be a good idea, we don't want to add fuel to this fire. We should ignore them and let this burn itself out," Storm says. Hmm... they both make good points. We need to know what the appeal is without having to read about it, but if we ask, we may accidentally give them something that they could use. "What do you think sister?" Celestia says, getting everypony to look at me. "Well..." Perspective: Miles "Get off me!" I yell, pushing Starry off me and getting up. "You said you-" "It was a rhetorical statement! Who would be dumb enough to follow me here!?" "Who would be dumb enough to hide in here!? Look, it's been my dream to have my story make it to the front pages, and you’re my ticket to that, please. Just a few questions and then we can go our separate ways. I'll never bother you again, promise." "*sigh* You really promise to leave me alone after this?" "Absolutely." "And how do I know if you keep your promises or not?" "Well... you don't. It's going to be a leap of faith, but if I break my word, I'll drop my job at the Hoofington Post, deal?" "...fine. But I'm only going to answer the questions I want to answer. If I say no, you’re not going to get anything for that, got it?" She nearly explodes with joy as she jumps up and down. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! Okay, first question, do you have a special somepony or do you plan to get one later?" she asks, as she takes a note pad and quill out from her bag and starts to write down some notes. "Really? *sigh* No, I don't and I don't plan to, next question." "Where are your people? And why haven't you tried to return to them?" "My people are... were, underground. I haven't tried to return to them because I don't know where they are, and they wouldn't recognize me. I was born over three thousand years ago." She pauses writing and looks up in disbelief, before writing a frenzy of notes. "Okay... so what happened to you and Princess Luna the other day?" "No." "But-" "No!" "Fine, umm..." "Well, well, well. Lookie who we got here," I turn around to see the dragon from the cave land a few meters away with two similar sized dragons flanking him, "I told you to watch your back." Perspective: Luna We finally decided to bring in a single reporter to ask a few questions. Sadly, when we asked one of the guards to bring one in, the crowd nearly started rioting, demanding a press conference be held. Storm had to join the guards in trying to hold them back. Celestia had to speak to them in order to stop them from becoming too excited. We finally got a single earth pony reporter to come inside and we're talking to him in the dining room. "So..." Celestia starts. "Photo Frame," says the brown earth pony. "Right, Photo Frame, we brought you in here to have a word with you. We would like to know why there is such a buzz going on about Miles." "Really? OK. Well it started out with just him defeating that one Minotaur. A killing in Ponyville hasn't happened in over twelve years, so that article by Gabby Gums really caught our attention. But then there was that leak at the hospital..." "What leak?" I ask. "Well... somepony says that... well... you spent the night with him... did you?" "Well, yes, but..." "REALLY!?" he yells as he pulls out a notepad and starts to write stuff down. "So what really happened? Does this mean we have a king now? When will Miles take over?" "It wasn't anything romantic! He just..." before I could say anything else, Celestia closed my mouth shut with her magic and pulled me into the living room. "Luna! I think it would be best if you went home right now, let me douse the flames here." "But I..." "Luna, please." I sigh and start to charge my magic to teleport home when a massive crash outside catches all of our attention. We run to the door and look out to see Miles standing behind a young red dragon with a blue pony laying on the ground behind him. "DEVERTO PULVIS ET SALUTANT MORTUUS!" Perspective: Miles I step in between Starry and the three dragons as I pull out my rifle and chamber a round. Fuck, I only have this single magazine. I'm going to have to make the count. I take a look at the dragons and try to find a weak point. The other two are about the same size, one being all white with pink highlights, and the other being all brown and fatter. I'll try to take out the brown one first and deal with the other two... somehow. "What's the matter? Afraid you and your wimpy pony mate are gonna be eaten? “says the red one, making the other two laugh. "Starry," I loudly whisper to her, "when you hear the bang, run. I'll cover you." "Miles, I..." "Get ready..." "Alright, enough waiting! Time to eat!" yells the fat brown one as he lunges at us. PAT PAT PAT PAT I send four rounds towards him and turn to run, but see Starry laying on the floor, holding herself in a fit of fear. "RUN DAMMIT!" I yell as I turn back to fire again. The brown one was stunned, but doesn't really seem harmed at all. I line up to fire again. PAT PAT PAT PAT PAT I aim for his head to try and drop him, but the rounds just bounce off of his scales. At least they seem to stun him, but that won't last very long. I glance back to see Starry running as fast as she can, so I sling my rifle and run off as well. As I run off, I flare my magic and ready myself for anything. "AGGHH, you’re letting them get away! Come on!" yells the red one as I hear the three of them take to the air. "Starry! Can you teleport?" "No! I can't do anything advanced like that!" Fuck. "How about a shield?" "I can't!" Double fuck! RRRAAAAAWWWWRRR The white one flies ahead of us and sets the path ablaze, forcing us to stop. The moment we stop, the other two drop behind us and begin to advance on us. I step in front of Starry and get ready. "Starry, unless I tell you to, stay as close to me as possible." I create an orb of soul fire and toss it at the red one, but he flies high into the air and dodges the attack. Not hitting the intended target, when the soul fire hits a tree in the background, it creates a massive explosion, sending debris flying at us. "Watch out, that one’s got magic!" the white one yells in a raspy voice. He takes in a deep breath of air and sends a column of bright green fire straight towards us. I turn and grab Starry as the flames engulf us. I launch both of us into the air and land with a solid thud some distance away. "Starry, are you ok?" "*cough cough* Yeah... just some burnt hair. What about you?" "It'll take more than some fire to take me out, now let’s get out of here." I start to run off using my magic. I launch myself at high speeds while keeping low to the ground. Whenever I touch down I slide for a bit and launch myself into a new direction. After a while I look back to see the three of them weaving through the trees, yelling orders to one another in an attempt to try to hunt us down. I start to maneuver through the trees, making my leaps much shorter and changing direction quickly. The brown one tries to fly alongside us, but after a few quick turns, he flies into a tree. SMASH The white one crashes into me and sends us rolling. Fuck, the brown one was the distraction, and the white one was the wrench... the red one... I look up to find Starry, but I can't find her. "Starry!" "Looking for this?" I jump to my feet and see the red dragon standing over Starry. He gives me a quick smirk before he bends over and bites into her shoulder, making her scream out in pain as blood starts to flow out from under his maw. "YOU BASTARD!" I yell as the white one tries to take a hold of me. I slap my hands onto his back and send two beams of soul fire through him, turning him to ash and making the ground before me explode. When I jump through the smoke I can see Red flying away, with Starry hanging from his mouth. Oh no you don't. I leap high into a tree and land on a branch. From here I launch myself from branch to branch, gaining on him as quickly as possible. Suddenly the tree line ends and I launch into the air above the dragon. He drops Starry and tries to swipe at me, but I twist and drop my heel onto his back, sending him to the ground with a loud crack. I push my hands back and launch myself through the air as fast as possible, trying to catch Starry before she hits the ground. As we get closer to one another, the ground races towards us at an alarming rate. At the last possible moment, I grab Starry and twist, landing solidly on my feet, creating a massive circle of cracks from where I stand. "Starry, wake up... come on, give me something..." She's still bleeding and has passed out. I’m about to start healing her when a roar catches my attention. I look up and see the red dragon get up and get ready to attack. "I'll kill you for that!" he yells. I set Starry down and take a few steps forward. "DEVERTO PULVIS ET SALUTANT MORTUUS!" I cross my arms and whip them out, sending dozens of small orbs of soul fire towards the dragon. He flies into the air and escapes the small explosions that pepper the space he once stood. I jab my palm towards him and send forth a column of white energy, barely missing him as he dodges the attack and flies to the ground. Off in the distance, a massive explosion whips the air all around us as a ball of fire erupts in the air. I twist and jab my other palm at him, energy hitting his wing and turning it to ash. The rest of the beam hits a hill behind him and creates another explosion, making it rain debris. I was about to send another beam at him when something slams into my side and knocks me down. I look over to see the spiked tail of the brown one jammed into my side. "Got ya." "Th-thanks for standing still," I say as I lift my hand and drop a soul fire orb onto his tail, making it turn to ash. "AHHHH! MY TAIL!" he yells as he jumps around in pain. I roll over and send a small column into his chest, turning the rest of him to ash. I get up and look around for the red one. I finally see him running into the forest, trying to escape. I bring my palms together and send an enormous column of soul fire towards him, making an explosion that nearly knocks me over. I watch the flames for a second, waiting for him to appear. When I feel confident that he isn't going to come back, I run to Starry and slide to my knees before her. "Starry!" I immediately slam my hands onto her unconscious body and begin to heal her body. WHY DO YOU WISH TO SAVE HER Shut the fuck up. I have to save her; this is my fault. WILL YOU PUT YOUR LIFE IN HER HANDS AS WELL Fuck off! I can't let anyone die, not when I have the power to save them. THE POWER IS YOURS TO USE... IF YOU CHOOSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE IT I feel the power in my magic increase as I pump the healing magic into her. Soon she looks to be completely fine, no signs of her injuries at all, but she lacks a pulse. "Come on Starry, fight it!" I yell as I try to pump her heart. 1, 2, 3, 4... 1, 2, 3, 4... 1, 2, 3, 4... nothing. "Miles... it’s too late. She's gone," Luna says from behind. I ignore her and flare my magic, sending arcs of electricity from my palms and fingers. "CLEAR!" I yell as I slam my hands onto her and jolt her body with electricity. I wait for a pulse.... nothing, again! "CLEAR!" I jolt her again, and - wait.... I feel something! "Starry!" "Mmmm.... Miles.... MILES!" She yells as she wakes up and throws her hooves around me. "GAH! STARRY, PAIN... WOUND, OW!" "Sorry, sorry!" she says as she lets go and looks down. I have a pretty large gash on my side that's bleeding... a lot. "Miles! We need to get you to the hospital," Luna says. I feel as if everything is starting to come to reality, as the world starts to spin in a mass of pain and confusion. "Hey Luna... I saved one," I say before I fall to the side and pass out. Author's Note Shout out to TacoTown for picking the main element used for this fight. Thanks for reading and like always, Brony on! Chapter 44 Just A ScratchChapter 44 Just A Scratch I awake slowly and try to rub my face, but find myself chained to a bed. Ah... well, I guess it's time to go down the list. Clothes... *shuffles around* nope, nude. Injuries... I check my side, and see my waist has been wrapped up, as well as my feet. I look around to get my bearings, I’m pretty sure that I'm in the Ponyville hospital, same green walls as before. I lift my head and see that I'm in my own room, with the other bed having all of my belongings laying on top of it. I look out of the window and see that it's now night time as well. Damn, hopefully this time I only missed a day or two. I try to sit up but a searing pain shoots from my side, forcing me back down. Fucking perfect... well, may as well get some rest for the night. I can always heal myself up in the morning. Tick...tock........tick..................tock...........................tick.................................... Fuck this, way too boring. I begin to try and break free when the door slowly opens. A pony with a large black coat walks into the room and comes up beside me. I feel a little apprehensive at first, but when she removes the hood to reveal her face I sigh in relief. "Luna, man am I glad to see you." I say that, but my nerves return to me when I see the marks of dried tears on her cheeks. "Yes, it is good to see you again Miles. Though I wish it were under better circumstances." "What do you mean? What’s going on?" "Well... with the paparazzi incident, the fight with the dragons, and the strange event that happened when we were both knocked out, my sister and I got into an argument and... I am no longer going to be the one to watch over you..." "What... no. None of that was-" "I know, you did what you had to do, and you kept the ponies of Equestria safe in your efforts, but things have been blown to such a high point that my family has decided that I should step down from this project." "Well... if not you, then who?" "Prince Shining Armor." "Who?" "He is the captain of the royal guard. He will be the one to watch over you from now on." "Well... wait, what about Storm?" "He's been relieved of his duties due to incompetence-" "WHAT! No nononono, being in the guard was all he had, they can't do this!" She turns away from me and looks out at the night sky. This isn't fair. Storm did his job; I did nothing wrong. They have no right to do this! I hear a sniffle come from Luna and immediately forget about that. "What about you?" I ask calmly, "what happens to you after this?" She looks to me for a second before she turns back to the night sky. "Me... I go back to the way things were before. Sleeping all day, holding night court and raising the moon every night. Nothing more, nothing less." "Will I ever see you again?" She turns back to me and puts on a hard face. "No... maybe... I don't know." She lowers her head and begins to let tears form again. "Hey, we’ll see each other," I say, making her look up to me with hopeful eyes, "whether it’s from a distance or a secret scrying, you'll see me." "Miles... I..." She shakes her head a little and walks up to my side. She leans over and gives me a soft kiss. My heart starts to race from her soft lips meeting mine. She ends the kiss and pulls back a little to look into my eyes. Without thinking about it I lean forward and return the kiss with more passion. Everything else in the world fades away as I focus solely on her soft lips. She returns the kiss with equal passion, leaning into me to get a better position over me. After what feels like an eternity we pull back from one another to take a break to breathe. She begins to run a hoof up and down my chest, which I enjoy until she runs over my wound, making me jump in pain. "Sorry, I didn't mean to..." "Don't worry about my scratch, I'll be fine." "Yeah... scratch." "Luna..." Before I can finish she pushes back into me, getting onto the bed and kissing as if we'll never see each other again. I return the passion and try to hold her, only to rediscover that I'm still tied up. "Mind giving me a hand?" I say through her lips, making her look up at the chains. "I can't. They're enchanted to set off an alarm if they're removed." "Well... I guess kissing will have to suffice," I say with a light chuckle. She chuckles with me and lays her head across my chest as she holds onto me. I drown myself in her presence, taking in every scent, focusing on every touch, sound, the taste of her lips against mine. "Miles... you realize that... if we were to be together... it would have to be a secret. Nopony would be allowed to see or hear of this." "If it meant that I could be with you, I would go to the most reclusive parts of the world." She looks up to me again and gives me another smile, before she leans in and begins kissing me again. We play our little game of passionate kissing until a sound down the hall catches our attention. She quickly gets off the bed and pulls the hood over her head. "I have to go." "I know." "I'll try to find ways to be with you, but it may take some time... I'll miss you." "I'll miss you too, but don't worry, we'll see each other again, I know it." She comes back to me and gives me a long hard final kiss before she backs away and flashes out of the room. I lay back and reflect on what just transpired. I just made out with a pony. I feel as if this should be wrong, but I don't really care. I close my eyes and focus on her lingering scent. It reminds me of the rain, and somehow the night - wonder how she does that. I have to find a way to see her again, any way possible. I lay back and try to think of possibilities, but sleep finds me before any ideas come to mind. "Is he awake yet?" I hear a female ask from the side as I slowly wake up. I look over and see two ponies standing in the now bright room. "Ugh... what? What's going on?" I ask as I look up to the two ponies. One is an all-white male unicorn, with blue hair that has a strand of light and dark blue in it. He's wearing purple armor with gold trim. In the center of his chest plate is an insignia of a purple star that resembles the one on Twilight's cutie mark. He seems to be the same size as Big Mac, but a little buffer. The other one is an all pink alicorn with yellow, pink, and purple hair, that seems to be a little smaller than Luna. Wait... an alicorn. There's more than just Celestia and Luna... I guess that makes sense, Luna did say she had family and all. "How do you feel, Miles?" asks the pink one as she approaches my wounded side and takes a look at it. "Do I have to answer?" Because then I would talk about how awesome I feel because Luna and I kissed, and then she would get mad at me for ruining the secret so early. "Do you feel fit enough to travel?" asks the unicorn. "Umm... I don't know. Probably when I'm let loose and able to heal myself. Who are you?" "Oh, where are our manners? I am Princess Cadence, and this is my husband Prince Shining Armor." "Lieutenant Miles Eremita, first battalion, Spartan regiment." "Lieutenant... I wasn't informed you were ranked military personnel, another flaw to add for Storm Cloud-" "I thought his job was to answer to Luna, not you." "Well... yes, but I am the captain of the royal guard, I still should’ve been informed." "Calm down rent-a-cop. He did as he was told, what more could you ask?" "Rent-A-Cop! Do you have any idea who you’re talking to!?" he says as he gets in my face. "Yeah... a guard. I'm military, I actually get into the shit and come out on top. You chase kids who run in the shopping center..." "I protect the princesses and Canterlot! And how good of a fighter could you be if you nearly died from a young dragon!?" "First off, how was I supposed to know they're bulletproof, and secondly there were three of them - and who would the Princesses need protection from that they couldn't handle?" "AHEM! Please, let’s keep our voices down, we are in a hospital after all," Princess Cadence says, getting Shining Armor out of my face. "Sorry dear," Prince Shining Armor says as he nudges her face a little. "So, back to business. Miles, I am here to take you to Canterlot for extra supervision. Luna will no longer watch over you, I will." "Where's Canterlot?" "It's about three hundred miles northwest of here." "...what? How would you... how many kilometers is that?" "What's a kilometer?" We stare at each other for a while until the door opens up, as Twilight and Storm walk into the room. "Twilight, what are you doing here?" says Shining Armor as he walks up to her and give her a quick hug. "And what are you doing here? Weren't you discharged?" he asks, making Storm back up a bit. "Whoa... slow down Rent-A-Cop, he's here to visit a friend," I say, getting a nasty look from Shining. "Miles, behave," Twilight says as she walks into the room and comes to my side. "And I'm here to check on Miles, I am the one who is supposed to watch over him, brother." Brother! That explains the similarity of their marks. "That was your job, he's under my watch now. I'm taking him to Canterlot to keep a close eye on him." "What! You can't do that..." Storm starts, but stops when Shining turns to him. "I can and I will. He nearly blew up an entire town, killed three dragons, and nearly destroyed the sanctity of our family name! He's too dangerous to be left alone." "He never meant to harm anypony! He was saving a reporter’s life when he fought those dragons..." "A reporter’s life that he put in danger. You’re no longer in the guard and have run my patience dry, please leave the hospital before I have you arrested." Storm looks between me and Shining before he turns to leave. "Storm, if you can, watch over my place, and let Applejack know I might be a tad late for work," I yell out to him. He stops at the door and nods to me before he leaves. Once he's gone the room falls silent for a while. Shining turns and walks back to Cadence, who looks to be deep in thought. Twilight is just staring out at the door where Storm left. "So... what's Canterlot like?" I ask, breaking the silence. "Don't worry about the city, you won't be anywhere near it." "Brother, can I have a word with you, in private?" Twilight says as she walks out of the room. Shining gives Cadence a kiss on the cheek before he walks out of the room. "Quite the charmer," I say sarcastically. "He's just under a lot of stress because of this mess. The royal guard looked really bad because of this. Being the head of the guard, he's been taking it pretty hard." "Hmm..." "Miles, may I ask you something?" "You can ask me anything, it's just a matter of whether or not I answer." "Oh... well... I'm told you held Luna hostage for a while. Rumor even says that they tried to saw your hand off but the blade melted, is it true?" "*sigh* I'm not sure. I remember waking up while holding onto her horn, but I don't recall ever grabbing it. As for the hostage thing, I would never do something like that." "I want to believe you, but you haven't really given me much to hold onto..." "Not to be rude, but I don't need you to believe me. I know what happened, and so does Luna. That's all I need." Before Cadence can answer, Twilight and Shining walk back into the room, Shining looking aggravated and Twilight looking very triumphant. "Well... after some... encouraging words from my sister, I've decided to give you a chance to clear your name. I'll give you a week in Canterlot to prove to me that you’re not a threat to the ponies of Equestria. If you succeed, you gain your freedom, if not... then you better get used to being in Canterlot." "I'll agree when you understand one thing, there are only two people who could possibly retain my freedom, and you are not one of them. I do this, to clear my name, not because you think you’re commanding me to." His face contorts with frustration and anger as he tries to swallow this. He finally composes himself and straightens himself out. "We'll see about that... so, we have an understanding, should we get going?" he asks as he releases the chains around my hands. I bring my hands up and flare my magic, making Shining get into a readied stance. I slam my hands into my chest and send surges of healing magic throughout my body. After about fifteen or twenty minutes of this I finish up and shut off my magic. "Alright, let’s get going," I say as I sit up and begin to remove the bandages from my feet and waist. "That's impressive," Cadence says, getting a look from Shining. I keep the sheets for cover as I go to the other bed and grab my clothes. I only have some underwear and most of my pants. Fuck it, better than nothing. After I get dressed, I put on all of my weapons and turn to the other three. "Alright, waiting on you now." I follow them out as we head out of the hospital. Canterlot, here we come. Chapter 45 Train RideChapter 45 Train Ride As we head out of the hospital I pause at the door. Outside there must be hundreds of guards in golden armor lining the way. There are even some in the air, making the path into a tunnel. Behind the guards are even more ponies looking in to see what's going on. Some have cameras, but most just look like average citizens looking out of curiosity. "What's all this for?" I ask as I turn back to Shining, who is levitating a pair of shackles. "We're making an example out of you," he says as he tries to put the shackles on me. In one motion I slap the shackles away and draw my pistol, pointing it straight at his face. He looks at the gun and seems unimpressed by it as he conjures up twin short blades. "Don't make me kill you," I say as I pull the hammer back, clicking it in place. "And how would you do that? Hitting me with that piece of metal?" "This piece of metal would blow your fucking head off if I were to pull the trigger. There would be no reaction time for you to move, no time to comprehend what happened, just a loud bang, and death." We stare each other down, neither of us faltering. We don't even allow ourselves to blink, we just wait for the other to make the first move. "Miles," Twilight says from the side. I don't look at her, but I listen. "Please, don't kill my brother. He's just doing his job; you would do the same if you were in his place. Please don't harm him." I hold my pistol there for a second before I drop my arm. With a heavy sigh I holster my weapon and step back. "Only because you asked, Twi. But I will not be made an example of." I turn and walk out the front doors without the shackles. I take a few steps out until two pegasus guards jump in front of me and point spears at me. "I told my guards to apprehend you if you didn't cooperate, so it's either you go willingly or by force. Your choice." I smirk at his stupidity and flare my hands. I shoot in between the two guards and hit the ground, making a white spot appear on the ground. The guards try to stab at me, but can't because they start to slide backwards. I feed a little more energy into the spell and soon enough, everyone except me is pulled into the center of the road. I cut off my magic and walk towards the mass of ponies. I look around until I find Shining and pull him out a little. "What's going on?!" He yells at me. "I created a small gravitation field. I told you already that I'm more than willing to go, but I go on my own accord. I'll let you wait here to think about that." I let go of him and start to go throughout the crowd, giving marks to any non-guard ponies. Those with the marks fall out of the mass and run away as quickly as possible. Lastly I take out Twilight and Cadence from the mass. "Miles, what are you doing!?" Twilight asks as I set her down. "Making an example of them. Now Cadence, I assume we're taking some form of transportation to Canterlot, lead on." She looks between me and the mob for a while, before she takes a deep breath and straightens her posture. "Let them go, and we'll get going." "I'll let them go when I'm on the transportation." "No, you'll do it now." "After." "Now!" We stare at each other for a second until Twilight coughs for our attention. "Why don't we compromise - Miles will let some of the guards go now and the rest when you get to the train, sound fair?" I look over to Cadence and nod before I turn back to the mass. I pick out four pegasus guards and give them my mark, letting them fall out of the crowd. "There, now can we get going?" "What about Shining?" Cadence asks. "I will not leave without my husband by my side." "AGH, fine." I go back and pull out the rent-a-cop from the mass. When he gets out he straightens out his armor and is about to tell me off, but stops when Cadence wraps him up in a hug. "Can we get going now?" "Very well, let’s go." I follow Shining and Cadence through Ponyville, looking at all the damage I caused. A massive crater sits on the edge of town, with many of the nearby homes and businesses destroyed. "How many casualties were there?" I ask. "Luckily, only a few minor injuries," Twilight says, getting a scoff from Shining. When we get to the station I flare my hands and wave them in the air, ending the spell and letting the guards free. When we approach the train I turn to say goodbye to Twilight. "Twilight..." "Miles..." We say at the same time. "It's been fun." I say. "I'll bring everyone to visit as soon as possible." "Well, hopefully I'll be back in a week, any longer than that, then go ahead and visit." "Take care, and please, try to be nice to my big brother," she says as she glances over to him. "Heh... I'll try. Give everyone my regards." I turn and walk into the train cart. The cart is fairly wide for being a cart, giving room for two aisles of benches. I take a seat to the left and look out the window. "Be sure to watch over that idiot of ours OK?" I yell out to Twilight, as rows of guards come running to the train. "I will." "And try to make a list of everybody’s house that was damaged from the explosion, so I can repay them." "I will," Twilight yells as the crowd of guard’s swarm around her, entering the various carts of the train. When they finish filling every seat on the train, we start to slowly move out. I look out and wave goodbye to Twilight, who waves back to me. As we begin to move faster, I notice Storm hovering in the air, watching the train leave. I stick half of my body out the window and call out to him, getting him to fly over. When he's close enough I grab him and pull him close to whisper into his ear. When I finish I let go of him and pull myself back into the cart. "Understand?" "Yeah... I'll do it," he says before he flies back to the train station. I sit back and look over to the other bench to see Cadence and Shining staring at me. "Care to tell us what you just told him?" Shining says. "Just to water the flowers, nothing special," I say as I sit back. "How close are you and Twilight?" Cadence asks. "Don't worry, we're just friends." "Better be..." Shining mumbles as he looks out the window. Oh... I sense an over protective brother, can't tell him about Storm and Twilight now.... or ever. The ride is taking an eternity to get to its destination. We must be traveling at thirty kilometers an hour. It doesn't help that everyone in here is stoic and silent. The only sounds I hear are the train and the occasional mumbles between Shining and Cadence. Well... I've got nothing better to do. I pull out my phone and play the next song. The song starts with a snare drum tapping away. Soon some electronic bass fades into the background until the drums drop and the bass makes the beat. "What is that sound?" Cadence says as she looks around. I pocket my phone and start to look around as well. "Is that you?" asks Shining. "Do I look like a drum set?" He rolls his eyes and starts to walk down the cart, trying to find the source of the sound. I look back, every guard sitting perfectly still except a single guard bobbing his head to the beat. Awesome. "You there, are you the one creating this... noise?" Shining yells at the guard bobbing his head. "Fuck you, techno is music!" I yell out to him, making him walk back to me. "So you are making the noise then, liar." "When did I lie?" "I asked if you were making the noise." "And I asked if I looked like a drum set. I never said I wasn't making the sound." He facehoofs - whatever, it's still true. "Turn it off." "Not a fan of Deadmau5...?" "Now." "Someone’s a Skrillex fan," I say as I pull out my phone. "Won't even let me finish this one song." "It's not a song, it's just noise, now turn it off." I look over to Cadence and ask, "What do you think? Music or noise?" She looks around, surprised at being put on the spot all of the sudden. "Well... it is kind of catchy, maybe just let this one finish and then stop after that, what's the harm in playing music?" Shining sighs and takes his seat next to her. Ha, Miles one, Shining negative five. I lay my phone next to me and look out the window. We're traveling up a mountain towards a castle on the side of another mountain. I look at the building and slowly come to the realization that this is the same castle Luna lives in..... "FUCK YEAH!" I yell as I jump up, getting looks from everyone. "Miles, it's catchy, but..." Cadence starts. "No, I know, I.... just really like this song." "Really?" "Y-yeah. Who wouldn't.... besides haters like Shining." "What does that even mean?" he asks. "It means you hate things without giving them a try first, hater." "I'm not a hater, I have a job to do..." "So having a job makes you a hater?" "I... just.... he... AGH! How does Twilight deal with you!?" "First off, she’s not a hater," Shining mumbles something, "and secondly she doesn't demand things from me. She asks, and I oblige. Simple as that." Shining looks out the window to pout to himself, getting back rubs from Cadence. Whatever, Miles two, Shining negative four hundred. I look back out the window and watch as we get closer and closer to the castle. We pass through a couple of tunnels until we reach the final stretch of track to Canterlot. Before we finish this track, the train comes to a stop and all of the guards start to exit the train. "I thought we were going to Canterlot." I ask as I turn back to Shining and Cadence, who are looking over at me with sinister looks on their faces. "Oh, we are." I try to get up to fend for myself but a solid green beam comes from Shining and hits me square in the chest, knocking me out. Perspective: Storm I'm flying through the clouds with Rainbow Dash right next to me, following the train as best as I can. "Why are we doing this again?" Rainbow asked, annoyed with having to fly to Canterlot. "Miles told me that he sensed something off about the prince and princess, so we're going to follow them to Canterlot to make sure nothing fishy happens." "What do you think could possibly go wrong?" "I don't know, but whatever it is, Miles made me go get my sword for it, he also asked me to bring these weird metal tubes and to be careful handling them." "Well... do you think..." "SHH, look, the train stopped." I point down to the train and see it come to a stop well before Canterlot. After a bright green flash from the front cart, all of the guards start to come out of the carts. Rainbow and I take cover on a nearby cloud and watch as Cadence and Shining take an unconscious Miles to a giant bush. They levitate the bush to reveal a cave entrance, which they march into. "Rainbow, get the others and meet me here, we're going after him." "What are you going to do?" she asks nervously. "I'm going in." Chapter 46 Powerful LoveChapter 46 Powerful Love When I open my eyes all I see is darkness. I try to open my eyes as wide as possible, but there's absolutely no light. I light my hands and take a look around. Gems. Lots and lots of gems. Gems larger than me fill the room, making the walls, the ceiling, almost everything. I look around to try to see where I came from, but the cavern I'm in is completely sealed off. I check my supplies to find that I still have everything. Weird, but I'll take it. "Miles..." someone says weakly in the distance. I look around frantically, trying to find who ever called me but can't pinpoint where they are. "Muahahahaha," Cadence laughs as she appears inside every gem in the cavern, "Oh, Miles, Miles, wherefore art thou Miles?" she mocks. "What’s going on, where are we!?" I demand. "Shouldn't you be more concerned with where Luna is?" "Luna... where is she!? What have you done to her!?" "Mehehehe, that's more like it," she says with an evil grin as her face fades away from the gems. "YOU FUCKER!" I yell as I send out a small ball of energy at a gem, destroying it instantly. I send out another, and another, and another, destroying gem after gem until a wall collapses and I see Luna laying on the ground in another cavern. She looks pretty beat up, with a couple of cuts and bruises on her. I run to her and slide to her side. "Luna... Luna wake up. Come on Luna..." I say as I try to shake her awake, but it's no use. I lay my hands on her side and start to heal her wounds. If she doesn't pull through... scient verum mortem. Perspective: Storm I fly down to a bush near the entrance, and wait for the guards to walk out of view before I run in. The cave inside is fairly dark, but the glowing grenades Miles had are lighting an area a few feet around me, so I'll be able to at least walk without falling. I make my way down until I come to a fork in the cave. Well... I guess any way will work. I go down the right path and try to keep low, even though the glow from the grenades is a pretty big giveaway. The tunnel begins to wind up and down and fill with gems. After a while I start to feel disorientated from all of the turning. I come to a complete halt, as the path ends with a large cliff that drops into a pit of jagged gems. I look around for any clue as to Miles's whereabouts when something pushes me from behind. I fall a few feet but quickly recover and fly up to see my aggressor. "T-twilight? What are you doing?" Standing on the clearing is Twilight, looking at me with a sly grin. "Sorry Storm, it's over," she says as she turns and walks out. I fly up and land in front of her, drawing my sword and pointing it to her. "You're not Twilight," I say as I tighten my grip on the handle and take a readied stance, "show yourself!" The false Twilight laughs as it morphs into a changeling. With a bloodcurdling scream it charges for me on hoof. I take a step forward and bring my blade down onto its back, making blue sludge pour out as it falls to the ground. That was too easy. Something isn't right here. Why have the changelings returned? I need to find Miles and get to the Princesses as quickly as possible. Perspective: Miles I finished healing Luna up and now hold her in my lap, gently rocking her back and forth. She's got a solid heartbeat, but isn't waking up. I bring my hand to her cheek and gently rub the side of her head as her eyes slowly open up. "Luna!" "Hey Miles..." she says weakly. "Told you we'd see each other soon enough." "Y-yeah... you did. Where are we?" "I don't know. Some kind of cavern near Canterlot... I think. Luna, what happened? How did you get here?" "I was ponynapped in the morning by... by..." "Cadence and Shining?" She nods as I silently curse them. They will pay for what they have done. "Alright, first things first, let's get you out of here. I dig us a way out and then..." "Miles," she says, stopping me, "please... just for a minute, could you just hold me?" I smile down to her and pull her in to hold onto her more tightly. "Any time." Perspective: Storm I fly around the open area and find a clearing at the bottom of the cliff of gems, just next to a massive solid gem. I walk down this clearing for a while, taking a few turns here and there, until I see a pink glow in the distance. I start to trot to it but keep my eyes open for anything. Up ahead I see Princess Cadence leaning over Prince Shining Armor, letting her tears fall onto his unconscious body. The princess looks as if she's been roughed up a bit, but what concerns me it the huge gash on Shining's head, just above his horn. I run up but stop a few feet from them, getting Princess Cadence's attention. "NO, NONONO! Please, just leave us alone, please. Haven't you done enough, just let us be, please," she sobs to me as she holds tightly onto the unconscious prince. "Princess Cadence, my name’s Storm Cloud, I was a guard but I was recently fired, but anyway, I..." "NO! You're one of those changelings, I know it. Just leave us be!" "Princess, please. How can I show you that I'm not a changeling, I'll do anything?" She sobs into Shining's chest a bit before she looks up to me. "You said your name was Storm Cloud." "Yes, I-" "The same Storm Cloud who would make my Twilight cry night after night, that Storm Cloud?" Buck me over. "No, that is a different pony who has tried to steal my identity. I am the true Storm Cloud." "That doesn't really help you." "I know, it’s really complicated and I don't even completely understand it, but that's not important. The prince looks really hurt, we need to heal him right away." "I tried, but the changelings gave me some kind of drug that has weakened my magic, I can barely maintain this light." "I've got some healing potions, if you'll allow me to administer them." I say as I pull out a blue potion. She looks skeptical but stands and allows me to give him the potion. The potion begins to take effect as Shining starts to whine and twist from the potion healing him. I can see the wound start to close up right before my eyes. "Okay, your turn," I say as I turn to the princess. "No, I'm fine, really. Keep it in case we need it to heal him again." "I really must insist, I do have two more, that's more than enough. Plus, we'll have a medic once we find my friend." "How good is he?" "One of the best." She looks around but finally nods. I give her the potion and tell her to lay down. She does and drinks the potion, making her close her eyes tightly as it takes effect. "I'm going to keep watch, if you need me I'll be just outside." She nods through the pain so I head to the entrance and wait for the potion to end. Perspective: Miles "Luna... let’s get going," I say softly into her ear. She looks up to me and nods gently. I help her to her hooves and am about to start sending us to the surface when she puts a hoof on my side. "Miles, I don't think that would be wise." "Why's that?" "Well... we don't want to advertise to them that we're escaping. I think we should try to hoof it out of this cave before we make our presence known." "Well... if you say so, I'll take lead, stay close," I say as I pull out my rifle and begin to look around the cavern. Luna lights her horn to light the way so I shut off my magic. I find a path in Luna's room, so I start to head down it, keeping low and to the sides. We come to a turn in the path, where we find a guard walking down the path towards us. Luna shuts off her magic as we drop to the ground next to the wall. I crawl up to a small boulder for cover and take a look at it. It's all black, with chunks of its legs missing, papery wings, a horn, and bright blue eyes. I look to Luna for answers as to what it is. "It's a changeling. Creatures that feed off the love of other creatures. They can take the form of any creature that they know of." "Are they friendly?" "Certainly not." I sling my rifle, pull out my trench knife and wait beside the boulder. The changeling is making a blue glow come from its horn, guiding it down the jagged path. When it walks beside me, I lunge my blade right where the jaw and the neck meet as I pull it towards me with my other arm. I stab into it over and over again as I let it scream into my side, getting bright blue blood to spill onto me. When I feel it stop fighting me I let it drop to the ground. I look over to Luna and motion for her to follow. I might’ve scared her a bit from that, but I'll deal with that once I know she's safe. Perspective: Storm When I hear Cadence and Shining shuffling around in the back, I decide to walk back inside. I find them holding on to each other, kissing passionately. "Ahem," I say, ending their kiss and getting their attention. "I know you’re happy to see each other, but we aren't out of the woods yet." Shining gets up and walks over to me. He walks around and takes a good look over me. I just stand there and wait for him to finish. "How do we know you are who you say you are?" He asks. "Besides the fact that I gave you both a healing potion, you don't. I don't know if you’re who you are either, so we'll have to find a way to trust one another before we can move on." "Very well... who are you?" "Storm Cloud, former royal guard for Luna's night corps." "Storm Cloud... the same Storm Cloud who broke my sister’s heart and..." "Bucking hell that wasn't me! Somepony is trying to steal my identity and slander my name! I would never do that!" "Hmm... what’s the night corps’ motto?" "‘The shadows of the night’." “Okay, and what’s the real night corps’ motto? The one they don’t tell everypony?” “Knights of the New Moon.” He nods to me, visibly relaxing a bit. "He's definitely former night guard. We'll have to talk later about this impostor though." I nod and look back to Shining. "Okay, I'll trust you, for now," Shining says. "Alright, well let’s try to find my friend, and get out of here before more changelings appear," I say as I walk to the tunnel in the back of the room. "Shouldn't we leave while we can?" Cadence says as they follow me closely. "I'm not leaving without my friend... plus..." "GET ON THE GROUND, ON THE GROUND NOW!" Miles yells as he quickly runs up to us, pointing his weapon at us. Perspective: Miles As we walk down the path I switch back to my rifle and take lead. I check every nook and every cranny for possible enemies. When I come around a corner I see Storm, Cadence and Shining walking towards us. "GET ON THE GROUND, ON THE GROUND NOW!" I yell as I run up to them, keeping them in my sights. "Whoa, Miles, calm down! It's me, Storm." "No it's a changeling, kill it!" Luna yells. "No, we're the real ponies, not the impostors!" Cadence yells. "They're lying, kill them!" "We're not lying!" yells Shining. "Shut up!" I yell, silencing everyone. I look to Storm for a second before I step next to Luna. "Can changelings copy memories?" "What... no... but..." "Storm, answer this question correctly, what was the move?" "The move?" "The move." He thinks for a second before I see his face light up. "You can't be serious." "I am dead fucking serious, what was the move." He looks back to Shining before he turns to me with a heavy sigh. "The... flying back breaker." "It is you!" I yell as I run up to him and sling my rifle. I can see everyone else blushing heavily from the answer, but that doesn't matter. "So I take it you brought my stuff?" He pulls out a bag holding all of my spare gear. Armor, grenades, ammo. I kneel down and start to armor up when Storm brings his mouth to my ear. "Dude, that wasn't cool. Twilight's overprotective brother is right behind me." He whispers. "Is he?" "Yeah, he proved to have knowledge of the real Shining, is that the real Luna?" I stop what I'm doing and look behind me to Luna. "Plaudet." I say to her. "Umm... what?" "Plaudet," I say firmly as I stand up and approach her. She takes a few steps back, trying to keep some distance between us. "Te sunt non Luna." The false Luna takes a few steps back and stops, looking at me with an evil grin. She suddenly turns into one of the changelings and jumps at me. I swing my rifle and smack the butt of it into her face, making her drop to the ground. I pull my rifle back and put three rounds into the side of her head, sending blue sludge onto the surrounding area. I turn back to Storm and the others to find them on the ground holding their ears. Oh, right. I walk up to Storm and heal his ears, also setting a protection barrier in his ear to keep him from losing his hearing. I repeat this for the other two and return to gearing up. "Ah... what the hell was that?" Storm says as he rubs the side of his head. "That was the sound my weapon makes when it fires. Don't worry though, I put a spell on you that should protect you from now on," I say as I finish up. "Are you all okay?" "I'll be fine," Storm says as he starts to walk down the path he came from. "I've got a little ringing in my ears, but other than that I'm fine," Cadence says. "I'm good," Shining says. I look over to him and pull out my sword, getting worried looks from everyone. "You know how to use one of these?" I ask as I point the handle towards him. He levitates it out of my hand and looks it over. "Of course, I am the captain of the royal guard." "Yeah... the guard. Do you have any actual fighting experience?" "Well... no, but..." "Well okay then, here's the plan. I've got point, I want Cadence behind me with you two covering her flanks..." "Excuse me?" Shining says. "Once we're out we'll head to the closest settlement and work our way from there, got it?" I ask as I walk down the path and pull out my rifle. I make it past Storm and continue down the path. As I walk I can hear the three of them talking, but ignore it and focus on the task at hand. We make it to a dead end where I can see a ledge a few meters up. "The entrance should be up there," Storm says. I nod and drop my rifle, letting my sling hold onto it. I raise my hands and slam them onto the gem beneath us, making it rise so we're even with the ground above. "So, you finally made it," says a Changeling on the clearing, standing as tall as Celestia with long tattered blue hair. Surrounding her are hundreds of changelings, filling the path. Without a second’s hesitation I reach for an arcane grenade and pop the top off, sending a plume of blue smoke out of it. I toss it into the crowd and raise my hands, creating a shield around the four of us. The larger one teleports out of the cave while the other ones begin to charge at us, until the grenade goes off. A massive ball of blue fire explodes from within the crowd and pushes out past my shield, until the fires suddenly stop. The fire holds there for a second until it pulls back to the point where it came from, leaving a mass of changelings laying on the ground. When the fire’s gone I drop my shield and begin to walk up the path, stepping over the bodies with little care. "What was that?" Storm says as he runs to my side, followed by Shining and Cadence. "They still look alive." "They are, kind of. It was an arcane grenade. It doesn't harm the body; it harms the soul." "The soul... what do you mean?" Cadence asks in a scared tone. "Well, you take soul fire, give it the purpose of destroying another soul, put it into a capsule, and bam. When it goes off, whoever is unfortunate enough to be touched by the fires, loses their souls. The body continues to live, but they basically become rocks." "Why would you ever make a weapon that could do that?" Shining asks, getting me to stop and look back. "See the results?" I ask while pointing back to the mounds of changelings. "Why wouldn't we?" We make our way to the entrance, where Storm informs me of the two guards behind the bush. I pull out my trench knife and slowly walk out. When I emerge I find the two of them immediately and instantly lunge for the closest one, stabbing it in the neck and tackling it to the ground. I stab it repeatedly as Storm jumps the other one and slices its throat with a single swing of his blade. "Alright, let’s..." I start, but stop when I see Canterlot. Hundreds of green and blue explosions are peppering the city as I can hear the cries of its people. "Miles, come on, let's get going, they need us!" Storm says as he flies off for the city. I shake my head and run after him, with Shining and Cadence right behind me. After an hour of running we find an outpost of guards on the outside of the city, and walk into the HQ tent. Shining talks to another guard as Storm and I look over a map of the city together. "Where would Luna be?" "Probably here, at the castle. Why-" "That's where I'm going. You with me?" "I've got your back." We’re about to head out when two guards stop us. "I'm sorry, but we can't allow any civilians to enter the city until we get control back," Shining says as he starts to put on armor. "Ah, don't give me that crap. You know you're going to need us..." "Look, I'm sorry, but this is royal guard business now, please head to the evacuation..." "Shut the fuck up Shining," I say, getting a spear to my neck. "How many soldiers do you have?" "Well..." "None, that's how many. You have guards. I'm a soldier, and a damn good one too. Do you even have a plan to take the city back or were you just going to waltz in there and hope for the best?" "Well... we were going to make a plan..." "Not good enough. The plan is simple," I say as I push the spear away from my neck and turn back to the map of the city. "You start here, the south gate, work your way block by block, until you make it to the castle. From there you hold the high ground and work on clearing every section of the city. Keep your men together and use them as best you can. Keep airmen high, supporting your ground troops whenever possible." "You realize that that's going to take forever, right?" "Doesn't matter, if we do it right the first time, we won't have to worry about going back. Now, Storm and I are heading for the castle to find Celestia and Luna..." "How do you know that they're in trouble?" "Because changelings are attacking their city and they're not kicking their asses. Any other stupid questions?" He gives me a serious look but stays silent. "Good, we're going now, mobilize your men into a group and we'll see you inside." I start to head out when Shining calls for me. I stop by the flap and turn back to him. "You might need this," he says as he levitates my sword to me. "Take a squad of guards with you for support, and good luck." I nod to him and take it before we head out. We make our way to the main gate to the city, which is currently shut. A couple of guards are trying to break it down, but are nowhere near close. I tell Storm to get them to move, and stand before the gate with my hands flaring. He talks to them and points me out, getting them to drop the battering ram and run to the side. Once clear, I run to the door and slam both of my palms into it, sending it flying off its hinges and crashing onto the ground several meters away. "You four," I say, pointing to the four with the battering ram, "you're with me, we're getting the Princesses, LETS MOVE!" They nod and run after me as I charge into the city. There's a little clearing where the door flew through, but everywhere else there are ponies and changelings fighting. Blue and red blood fills the street as the fight roars on. It seems to be a fairly even fight, but the ponies seem to be on the weaker side. A few changelings charge for us, but I raise my rifle and put some rounds down range. PAT PAT PAT PAT PAT PAT PAT PAT CLICK I drop seven enemies and start to reload a new clip. When I get it in and load another round, I have to kick a changeling away, making him crash into another one. I raise my weapon and flare the magic in the hand that holds the grip, making white archaic text appear on my rifle’s barrel. I send a single round into the head of a changeling and make its head explode in a fiery mess, fragging any who were close to it. "Storm! We've got to get moving!" I yell as I start to run towards the castle. I see him fly into the air and land next to me. "I just heard that they're bringing Twilight and all of the girls here." "WHAT! Why?" "I don't know, but I have to go find her, they're apparently already here." "Alright, you get to them and keep her safe, I'll head to the castle, where are those four from earlier?" "In the fight, are you going to be alright on your own?" "I'll be fine, now go get Twilight!" He nods and takes off in the air. What the fuck are they doing here? Whatever, Storm will handle it, I need to focus. I run and make my way up a deserted street. I keep my weapon raised and stay on the lookout for any potential enemies, checking roofs, alleys, anywhere where they might come out. After a few blocks I hear a crash, and look behind me to find a dead pegasus guard being eaten by three changelings. I put a single round into the center one, killing all three with the one exploding shot. These fucking bastards are eating them. They will pay if they touch a single hair on Luna. I make it to the castle gates with very little opposition, it doesn't feel right, but I'm not complaining. The castle grounds are in disarray as a few guards are trying to fight off hundreds of changelings. I open fire at the ones in the air and make it rain changeling chunks and blue blood. PAT PAT PAT PAT PAT PAT PAT PAT My rifle roars out death as I make my way to the castle walls, catching up with the five remaining guards. "What's your status?" I yell over the roar of my rifle. "AH... we were trying to get to the princesses, but were cut off." "Where are they?" I yell as I continue to drop changeling after changeling. "What?" He yells back. I stop firing and pull him close to me. "WHERE ARE THE PRINCESSES!?" "We last saw them in the main court chamber, down the main hall!" He points over to a doorway a few meters away that's covered in changelings. I aim down and open fire on it as I slowly approach it. PAT PAT PAT PAT PAT PAT PAT PAT CLICK I drop the magazine and put in the last one as I run down the hall to the main chamber. I stop halfway to the staircase when a large group of changelings start to charge at me. I open fire and start to backpedal. Every shot I send kills two or three of them, only for four or five to take their place. I drop my rifle and throw my arms out, creating a sphere of fire around me that I spin around and expand outward, burning all of the changelings before me. Their screams fill the room over the roar of their burning corpses. After a few seconds the screams end and are replaced with the crackle of burnt flesh. I grab my rifle and run up the stairs, making my way to the court room, where I find another wave of changelings. I unload the rest of my ammo into them and throw my rifle behind me. I pull out my sword and revolver and ready for a fight. "STOP!" yells a familiar voice, getting the mob to halt and make a clearing for me to walk down. "Please, come here, I would like to have a word with you." I look around, but decide to walk down the path against my better judgement. I make my way past all of the growling changelings to an open room, that has a single seat that's several steps up. In the seat is the changeling from the cave, sitting there, looking as triumphant as ever. Hanging from the ceiling to her left is Celestia. She's been wrapped in some green cocoon and looks to be unconscious. Standing to her right is Luna, looking as if she's in a sort of hypnotic state. "What have you done to them?" I demand, making her chuckle. "Oh don't worry, I would never hurt the mare you love - as for Celestia, she will serve as a snack for me later." I raise my pistol at her and send a single round into her chest. The area it hits crumbles away, but quickly regenerates. "Oh, was that supposed to hurt? HAHAHA, I'm at such a heightened state right now that no mortal weapon could harm me - shoot all of the metal you want, Miles Eremita, there is nothing you can do." I holster my pistol and sheathe my sword. No mortal weapon... I love dumb enemies. I charge my magic and send the lines all the way to my potestatum annulums, making my armor glow from the heat. I hear the changelings behind me try to charge at me, but I twist around and push both of my palms forward, creating a massive beam of soul fire. The beam hits the wall on the other side of the room and creates an explosion that knocks me back a little. When the smoke clears, I look back to see that all of the changelings are either dead or ash, and that the leader has escaped. I shut off my magic and run to Luna, who has fallen over and now seems to be unconscious. I kneel next to her and take her into my arms. "Luna! Luna! Come on, wake up!" "Miles... ego sum libenter tuum retro," she says weakly, making me hug her tightly. "Too tight, too tight!" she says getting me to let her go. "Sorry about that, are you okay? Did they hurt you?" "No, I'm fine, really. They just put me in a state to feed off of me." "They... feed off of you?" "Changelings get their energy from the love of others, when they suck it out of them, they feast on the bodies afterwards." "So who’s the lucky guy that has your love?" I ask with a big smile on my face. "Heh, he's this weird human that likes to blow stuff up." "Sounds like quite the charmer." "Yeah, you should see the way he kisses, it'll blow your mind." I lean down to kiss her, only to get her hoof in my face. "Not really the appropriate time, you think?" I give her hoof a kiss and help her to her hooves. "Later then." Perspective: Storm "Why didn't you tell me you were the bearers of the Elements of Harmony?!" I yell as I slice a changeling down its side, making it drop in cries of pain. I had found the girls on their way to the castle and now we're trying to make our way to the national treasure chambers. "It didn't really seem like something that I should have told you, can we save this for later!?" Twilight yells back as she blasts a changeling away. We all finish up and start to run down to the chamber. "So what's the plan, git the elements an' jus' blast away?" Applejack asks. "Basically, that and beat down anypony who gets in our way," I say. The seven of us make it to the chamber, where we find several dead bodies and a single guard holding onto another dead guard, crying. "Are you okay?" I ask as I approach the guard. "*sniffle* They killed him... they, they, they, just flew in and, and, and..." she wails. "It's going to be alright," I say as I take a seat next to her and motion for the others to get the elements, "who was he?" "M-my husband... Bronze Spear." "You have my condolences - he died a hero, and we will make this right, I promise." "H-how can you say that!" she yells at me. "The princesses have been captured, the royal guards have been defeated, how could we possibly make this right?" I look away for a moment to really think about my answer. "Because we have the Elements of Harmony, we can win this day." As if on cue, the girls come out of the chamber with the elements on. I look over to them and watch as they start to use them, lifting into the air, then drop to the ground. "Was that it?" I ask... kind of a letdown. "I don't get it, why aren't they working?" Twilight says. "Maybe we did it wrong," Pinkie says while hopping up and down. They try over and over again until they finally give up. "*sniff* There is no hope," says the guard as she lies next to her dead husband. What do we do now? Perspective: Miles Luna and I work together on getting Celestia down. When we finally do, I get to work on healing her wounds. There aren't many, just a scorch mark on the end of her horn. Luna simply watches from behind, pacing back and forth. "Don't worry, she'll be fine. I've got this," I say to reassure her. "I know, but that doesn't stop me from worrying." KER-PUNCH I fall back as Celestia punches me right in the face. She jumps up and looks around to try and get her bearings, only stopping when Luna wraps her in a hug. "AH... damn girl, that fucking hurt," I say as I sit up, rubbing my cheek. "Miles... what's going on? Where is the roof? Why is the building on fire? What happened to..." "Everything is under control, just sit down and relax... damn, that's going to sting... the leader retreated to an unknown location. And as for the building... what can I say, I like to blow stuff up." Luna and I share a small laugh while Celestia just gawks at the destruction. I stand up and look around. I can see the fighting below - it seems Shining went with my plan and is actually making good progress. I look up to the towers and see the leader walk into one of the chambers. "There she is!" I yell as I jump off the ledge, igniting my heels as I drop. When I hit the ground I fling myself high into the air, sending myself as close as possible to the tower. After another leap I slam into the side of the tower and hold on with all four portals flaring. I start to lunge myself up the side when I see Luna fly into the building. What is she doing!? I climb the rest of the way up and swing into the room, where I find Luna wrestling Luna. "AH... she's the impostor, kill her!" "No, she is...!" the other one says, only to get a hoof in the cheek. I watch as the two of them wrestle for dominance until I get an idea. "Hey Luna, did I tell you about the time Tenera and I fucked?" The one on the left looks straight at me in horror as the other one punches her again. Thought so. I throw a ball of energy at the impostor, hitting her in the chest and making her crash through the wall. "Just kidding. Somehow I knew that would work on you." "You better be kidding." "I was, still a virgin. Now let’s kick some ass," I say as I leap out of the hole in the wall. I crash below in an open field and face the leader as she picks herself out of a small crater. I pull out my sword with my right and my trench knife with my left. Luna teleports beside me and creates twin cutlasses out of her blue energy. "If it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you'll get!" The leader yells, as she creates twin bastard swords out of her green energy and charges for us. I run forward and swing my blade to meet hers and go to stab her, only to be caught by the other blade. Luna comes running in from the side and swings both her blades to her exposed side. She jumps out of the way and lands a few meters away. I charge my magic and bring the white text on both my blades. I run to her again and swing my blade early, sending a slash of white energy towards her. She blocks it with her blades but doesn't see Luna run up to her. She gives several furious swipes with her blades, making bright blue lines appear on the changeling’s body, only to have them heal instantly. I run up to the other side when she starts to block Luna's attacks and punch the brass knuckles into her side, sending her flying away as a white explosion blows a chunk out of her side. She rolls on the ground for a bit but slowly gets up when she stops, laughing. "Hahaha, HAHAHAHA, do you really think you can stop me? Your love has been getting stronger the longer you two are closer, meaning I'm getting stronger and stronger." She turns to us and creates two more of the swords and charges for both of us at once. We both backpedal as we parry her onslaught of attacks. I twist and turn and dodge attack after attack until I get my opening. I twist and thrust my sword into her chest, burying it about half way in. She looks down and rolls her eyes. "Honestly? Like I said, no mortal weapon can kill me." "Really, cool. Luna, let her have it." Luna bows her head and sends a thick beam of dark blue energy at us, hitting us both. I raise my hands and create a force field to block the rest, but feel the burns from the initial attack. When the energy stops, I drop to my knees and let go of the magic. "Miles!" Luna yells as she runs to my side. "I'm so sorry, I'm not usually that powerful, please forgive me." "Damn... my girl can pack a punch," I say before I fall over and pass out. Chapter 47 Breaking ElementsChapter 47 Breaking Elements "Uh... Lu... LUNA!" I jump forward and immediately slam my face into something, knocking me back out. When I come to, I find myself in a light tan tent laying on a cot. I look over and see Luna sitting on the ground rubbing her head. "Ow... that really hurt Miles..." "Sorry about that... GAAAH!" I try to get up but my body immediately burns. I tear the sheets off to see that most of my body has been burned from the waist up, with cracks of blood wherever there is movement. I try to flare my hands, but I can't get my magic to start up. "GAHHH, what's going on... why can't I use my magic, AAAHHH!" A sudden surge of pain washes over me as I try to keep still, but with every shock of pain forcing me to twist and turn, and every twist and turn sending a shock of pain through my body, I begin to scream out. I look over and see Luna holding her hooves to her mouth with tears falling down from her eyes. "H-hey... no tears. My body hurts enough, don't make my heart weep as well." "Miles... I'm so sorry... I... I..." She turns and runs out of the tent, crying all the way. Well... fuck. I lay back and try to cope with the pain, but every second feels like hours as the pain burns away at my body. Soon a couple of nurses and a doctor walk into the room and start to try to fix me up. They start by trying to give me a blue potion, but when I try to swallow it, I immediately throw it up, causing me to open some huge wounds on my chest and neck area. They next try a white paste substance on my wounds, but it stings like all forms of new pain. I think I punched the doctor in a fit of pain... hope not. The last thing they try is to simply wrap up my wounds in gaze strips, it hurts, but I power through it and eventually end up being almost completely wrapped up. When they finish up, they leave the tent and talk to someone outside. I try to listen, but I can't really hear or understand what is being said. The tent flap opens up and I see Storm walk in. He's covered in blue and red stains and looks as if he hasn't slept in a while. "What's up brother?" "Miles... how are you feeling?" he asks quietly as he takes a seat next to me. "I've had better days... how are the girls?" "They're good... worried sick about you, but good." "D-damn... I don't like making others worry... what happened to Luna?" "She's disappeared, kind of. Celestia knows where she's at, but she doesn't want to talk to anypony right now." Fuck, I need to talk to her and let her know everything will be alright. "Miles..." "Y-yeah." "They want to try something, but there's a big chance it won't work. If it doesn't, you may be like this for a while." "Really... alright... l-let’s give it a try." "Don't you want to know what it is first?" "Does it matter? I'll find out soon enough, let’s give it a try." He gives me a look before he walks out of the tent. Hopefully this won't be too painful, I don't know how much more of this I can take. He comes back in with a wheelchair... aw come on. This is going to suck. We spend what feels like hours getting me into the chair, the entire time I fight trying not to pass out from the pain of my entire body screaming at me. Once I'm in, Storm wheels me out of the tent. I think I'm in some recovery area. There are lots of tents and ponies running around. Some are being treated while some are running around, trying to find loved ones, looking for doctors, some just look like they're in a daze. "How bad was it?" "It could’ve been worse. Once their queen was destroyed by Princess Luna, they either retreated or died fighting. I don't think we'll hear from them for a long time." "Hmm... how many casualties?" "Uh... well... about nine thousand dead and some twelve thousand wounded." "Yeah... could’ve been worse..." We roll up to an open field where we find the girls and Princess Celestia standing in the center of a mass of ponies. The girls have on jewelry that seems oddly familiar... no, how would they have access to Project Harmonize, that would be impossible. "Miles, I cannot thank you enough for what you have done for Equestria today," Celestia says to me in a formal manner, "thanks to your actions, Canterlot stands, I stand, the ponies of Equestria stand. So to show you our appreciation, I am making you a knight of Equestria and healing you with the Elements of Harmony..." "NOO!" I yell, making me double over in pain. Celestia falls silent from my outburst as I hear mumbles from all around. "Miles, what’s wrong?" Storm asks from my side. "That's impossible... those can't be the Elements of Harmony... they can't be..." "Miles," Twilight says as she approaches me from the line up, "what's wrong? What's..." Before she finishes I reach out and quickly take the tiara off of her head, getting gasps from everyone. I look it over, feeling the energy from within. Yup... this is mine... how... but... I need answers. "How do you have my Elements, and where are the others?" Celestia walks up to me and looks down at me for a second before she can answer. "What do you mean, your Elements? These were made by the best pony magic over... three thousand years ago... Storm Cloud, could you wheel him into a nearby tent, I'd like to have a word with him in private. Twilight, bring the other bearers." The entire time Celestia says this, I just look over the element, this one is magic. I can't believe that this is back in my hands, after all those years of research, failed attempts, I finally have it back in my hands. When I look back up I notice that we've moved inside a tent, it's just me, the girls and Celestia. "Where did you get these?" I ask calmly. "Like I said, they were made..." "WHO MADE THEM!? WHERE DID THEY COME FROM!?" I yell, making my neck bleed a little. "Miles... please stop yelling, if you don't mind that is..." Fluttershy says from behind Applejack. "Sorry... it's just... I made these. This was my greatest accomplishment, and it was taken away from me. I need to know where you got these." "How do we know that you’re the creator of the Elements of Harmony?" Celestia says. I look to the gem in my hand and start to tighten my hold onto it, making it crack. "What are you doing!" Celestia yells, but I ignore her and continue to squeeze the gem. Soon the gem shatters and falls to the ground in countless pieces. I look around to see everyone staring at me with their jaws hanging as low as physically possible. I take a few of the shards and hold them against my chest, sending waves of relief throughout my body. Once it drains out, I pick up some more and do it again until I'm completely healed. "Believe me now?" I ask as I stand before them. "H-h-how did... YOU JUST BROKE THE ELEMENT OF MAGIC!" Celestia yells. "Do you really think that you can destroy an element that resides in all of us?" I ask as I flare my hands, good to have that back. I walk over to a nearby table where I find a small gem. I pick it up and start to feed some energy into it, with the meaning of magic flowing through my mind. Soon the gem glows a soft purple as I finish filling it. "See, you can't destroy..." I start to say, but stop when the gem starts to vibrate. It shakes from side to side and begins shining brightly. I have to turn my head away to shield my eyes. When it stops shining I look back to see that it turned back into the tiara. "Strange..." "Miles, I need answers, what's going on?" Celestia asks, as I take a seat in the wheelchair and look over the tiara. "So that's why it never worked... they needed a host. That makes perfect sense..." "Miles!" "Project Harmonize." "What's that?" Pinkie Pie asks as she dives her head into a bag of food. "Pinkie, where did you get that popcorn?" Rarity asks. "I dunno." "Project Harmonize... was my masterpiece... I don't really know where to start..." "Just start from the beginning," Twilight says as they all take a seat to listen. "We'll... I guess it started when I went to dinner..." Topaz Falls, July 20th 1124 I can't believe midterms are finally over! I still don't believe I passed pre-purge history with an A. Thank you Tenera for forcing me to study all those hours. Dare invited me and Sine to go to his parents’ place for dinner - apparently Dare's parents want to celebrate our passing another year while making dean’s list. So here we are in Dare's car, driving down the freeway to Dare's parents’ house. "Dude, it's pretty nice that your parents want to treat us to dinner," I say from the back seat. "Yeah man, I thought your parents hated us to be honest," Sine says from shotgun. "Please, my parents don't 'hate' anyone. Think nothing of it, this is our treat for you guys being such great friends, and being the only available people to attend." "Yeah, convenient that everyone else had something to do today," Sine says as he looks out the window. "Hey, their loss," I say as I sit back and enjoy the ride. We pull of in the northern district and head towards a large building in the distance. We park in a circular structure that stacks our car high up in the building. We follow Dare into the building where we stop as soon as we enter. This place... is overly fancy. Everything looks as if it's overly embellished and expensive. This room is a platform station, having several platforms against the walls. There's art hanging on the walls and expensive looking furniture filling the center of the area. The flooring is pure marble and reflects the solid gold chandelier above. "Dude... I knew your parents were rich... but what the fuck..." Sine says. "I say!" scoffs an elderly lady as she walks past us. "Yeah... we're... comfortable. It's not that different from the Parliament building." "Maybe to you, but this is coming from an orphan and the son of an A/C repair man - no offense," Sine says to me as we start to walk in towards a Mico platform, with a crest behind it of a diamond with a sash going around the bottom, with LIBERE engraved in it. "None taken, I take it this is your floor?" I say. "Yeah - guys look, my parents are cool and all, but they're really old school, so watch your mouths." "Ha, good fucking luck!" Sine says as he steps onto the platform and flashes away. This is going to be a long day. "Miles?" "I'll try my best, but I'm not guaranteeing anything," I say as I step onto the platform. I flash away and appear in a small waiting room, with overly cushy chairs sitting against the walls. Sine has already taken a seat and has his feet on a chair he pulled up to him. I walk over to him and gently kick his feet down. "Seriously?" "What? I'm tired. I'm sure the Libere's won't mind." Before I can answer, Dare flashes into the room and walks in. "Well, let’s meet my family." We follow him through a door and walk down a hallway that's filled with various paintings. I was never one for art, at least not paintings, but even I can see the expertise in these. We make it to the end of the hall where Dare takes a deep breath before entering the room. "Oh, there's my little Dary wary!" says a middle aged blonde woman wearing a tight white dress, as she gets up and runs up to Dare, wrapping him up in a big hug. "Hey Mom, good to see you." Dare says as he returns the hug. "Dary... wary... fu—" Sine starts, but stops when I put a hand over his mouth. "Later." The room we're in seems to be a living room, with a couch, table and massive television taking up the wall to the left. Everything in here, just like everything else in this building, is overly embellished, mostly with gold. "Oh, and these must be your little friends, I am Semper Agens Libere, but everyone just calls me Sal," She says as she lets go of Dare and shakes our hands. "Dare has told me so much about all of you, please come in, make yourselves at home. Dinner will be ready shortly - OH! Let me fetch your father," she says as she runs off into the house. Sine leans over to me and says "Dude... total milf." "You’re sick. So, Dary Wary..." "Do you want to die?" "Well, I did join the military." We share a small laugh as a middle aged man walks into the room. He's wearing a red sweater and has light tan slacks on. He extends a hand to us and shakes our hands, but doesn't say anything. "This is my husband Dat Libere, you'll have to excuse him though, he lost his ability to speak during a mining incident when he was young. Now if you'll follow us, dinner is ready." We follow her into the dining room where silver trays hold our expertly made food. Didn't know you could take goo and make it into molds of art... whatever, tastes good either way. "So, Miles, Dare tells me you’re quite the success story." "Did he now?" I say, looking over to him. "To come from such a horrid background and to become one of the top students at Stella Ficor, I'm impressed." "Well, I had lots of help from my friends." "Yeah right, besides Tenera, we help you about as much as a..." "So!" Dare interrupts. "What do you plan on taking next semester, Miles?" "I don't know, I was thinking of doing something like advanced enchantments, or modern to postmodern historical accounts." "Oh, that sounds interesting, what would you focus on if you took enchanting?" Sal asks. "Well..." "Maybe you can see if there is a way to make people work together," Sine says jokingly. "Like mind control?" Dare asks. "Maybe find a way to see how people interact, like make one that always makes you happy!" Sal says jokingly. "Yeah, and then I'll make one that can force you to tell the truth all of the time, oh, wait, that's what we have Sine for." We all share a laugh and finish dinner, talking idly about school and military stuff. "You know what that as...cot Altum told me?" Sine says to me. "He said that our group was a one in a million, all getting into the Spartan regiment together. That he had to double check our scores to make sure we didn't cheat, you believe that?" "What do you expect, he's a sadistic power monger." I say. "Miles! That's no way to speak about your dean," Sal says. "Mom, it’s true. Ever since Miles was brought to Stella Ficor, Altum has had some secret agenda to either get Miles and us in trouble, or to make him do something abnormally painful." "I'm sure he's just trying to push you all to do your best. And I think it's working. I haven't seen a unit perform as good as you guys since... well, never actually." Dat raises a glass and takes a drink, I think he's agreeing. "A true diamond in the rough, if I say so myself." "We're no different than anyone else. We perform just as anyone else would," I say. "Oh posh. If that were the case, then we wouldn't be three kilometers underground - I'm telling you, there's something about your little group." "Mom, I think you've had too much." "I'm just a little tipsy, why don't you take your friends to your room to play while I finish the dishes down here?" "Yeah Dare! Let’s go play!" Sine says sarcastically as he runs off into the house. "You don't know where you’re going! Sine. SINE!" Dare says as he runs after him. I get up to follow them out when an idea hits me. What does make us different? August 11th 1126 "Miles? Miles, where are you?" Tenera calls out. "I'm back here!" I yell from my work bench. I've been spending the past few months in the military enchanting workshop, a musty old stretch of workbenches filled with various tools and gems, with various workers enchanting and disenchanting. "Miles, why have you been spending all of your free time in this dusty old workshop?" I look over and nearly fall over. "What's with the dress?" She's wearing an all yellow strapless dress that ends just before her knees. She has her hair loose and is blushing heavily. "Oh, you don't like it... I knew you wouldn't... I'll just go now..." "Tenera, I like it, it's very nice. I'm just not used to seeing you out of uniform." "Well... it was Fidus's idea..." "I figured. And to answer your question, I'm working on a secret project for the military." "Really? What's it about?" "Us." She blushes even more deeply when I say this and freezes in place. "I'm looking into what makes our group work so well. There's something about us that makes us function better than all of the other units, and I'm going to find it." "Oh... what do you mean by that? We're no different than anyone else." "I thought that too, but look at the numbers," I say as I pull out a tablet and show her some graphs. "No matter the test, no matter the obstacle, we not only come out triumphant, but with better results than anyone out there. But when we work on our own, we only score average marks. Something happens when we pull together and I'm close to finding out what it is." "What could possibly be special about us..." "Are you kidding?" I say as I set down the tablet. "Sine is physically unable to lie, Fidus is loyal no matter what, Dare would give the shirt off his back for anyone, you're easily the kindest person alive, we have something between us, and I'm close to solidifying it." "You really think I'm kind?" "Who else would help an idiot like me all these years?" "OY!" yells a mechanic from behind, "either take your girlfriend outta here, or get back to work!" Tenera and I immediately turn red and look to one another. "I should get going..." "Yeah, I've got work to do sooo..." Tenera quickly walks out of the room, where I hear her argue with Fidus - what could she have asked? I ignore it and get and get back to my notes. July 20th 1129 I'm in the testing chambers, standing behind a blast shield next to Altum. The room we're in is fairly small, devoid of anything other than a small stand, some lights, and twelve gems sitting in the stand with power cables attached to them. I look back to the wall behind me and flip a switch, sending energy to the gems. They begin to glow their appropriate colors and lift into the air. Come on... work... KA-BOOM "Fucking dammit!" I yell as I walk out from the blast cover to the now destroyed stand. I've perfected solidifying the twelve elements, but whenever I try to use them all at once, they explode. I have no fucking clue what's going wrong. I walk up to the stand and kick some of the debris around. "WHY... WON'T... YOU... WORK!?" "Maybe your little project is too advanced for you," Altum says as he walks out from the cover. "Don't start with me, Altum!" "Well... today is a bust, why don't you go home and we'll call it..." "No, I'm going to get this to work, just give me some more time." "Miles, it's been five years. I need results or I'm pulling the plug." "What? No, I'll get results, just give me another try." I plead, making Altum smile. "Well... one more, if nothing new happens then I'm pulling the plug, got it?" "One more, it'll work this time, I promise." I run behind the shield and pull out my bag. I pull out twelve more gems and set them on the ground beside the platform. I spend the next half hour filling the gems with the appropriate energies. Honesty. Kindness, Anger, Jealousy, Magic. When I finish enchanting them I connect the power supply and walk behind the shield. "It better work." "It will." It has to. I flip the switch and watch the gems glow. They begin to lift into the air where they hold a few centimeters off the ground. Come on... work dammit. They give a little shake and turn bright white. "Fuck yes! Transformation!" They continue to glow until they drop to the ground with a solid thud. I quickly turn the power off and walk out to them. They seemed to have turned into balls of white stone, each with markings on them. "Is that it?" Altum says as he looks at the stones. "Do you even know what it is?" "IT, is a giant waste of my time and the military's time. I'm pulling the plug on thi—" "But we just made them, you can't end this now! Not when..." "The military has no interest in making gems turn to rock. It's over Miles, I'm taking your research and putting it on ice." He motions to the wall where a door swings open and some MP's walk in. Two of them keep me back as the other two collect my elements and put them into a duffle bag. "Altum, you can't do this! I was so close! Altum!" I yell as the two MP's hold me back from ripping his head off. Once they collect the gems and Altum walks out of the room, the two guards let me go, right after a few punches to the gut. I was so close. I finally got them to take form... that fucking asshole, I'll make him pay for this. September 9th 4132 When I finish telling everyone about my project, the room falls silent. Everyone stares at me in disbelief of what happened all those years ago. I look back to the element of magic and look it over some more. The actual gem resembles Twilight's mark while the rest of it looks to be made of gold. I wonder where it takes the gold from. There's no way it just creates it from nothing. "There's one thing I don't get... actually I don't get a lot of it, but there's one major thing I don't understand," Twilight says, "if you created the Elements of Harmony in Topaz Falls... how did they end up here?" "I don't know, when Altum took them from me he had them locked up in the city archives... my best bet is when the city was attacked they tried to move them to another city, where they were lost along the way, but that's still a long shot." "Why's that?" Rainbow Dash asks. "We would never go to the surface during a move. We would dig our way to the next city. So if what I said is true, then how did they get above ground?" "I don't know... all I know is a pony gave them to me and my sister when Discord came to power. And all I know about the ponies that gave them to me is that they came from Roam. Other than that, they've been a complete mystery to me..." Celestia says as she thinks deeply about this. I look around at the looks of deep concentration on all of their faces. As much as I want to figure this out... I want to find Luna more. "Well... it doesn't matter now. You have them, and hopefully you'll use them properly. I'm going to head out..." "What!? Where are you going?" Twilight asks. "Well, I'm all healed up, I've got my magic back, and there are a lot of hurt people out there. I think it's time to get back to work." I will help a few out, so it's not a total lie. I really just want to get out there and find Luna. "Well... alright. But when this is all settled I want to have a word with you about the elements. We will also need to discuss your knighthood," Celestia says as she stands up. "You know where to find me," I say as I walk out of the tent. Author's Note Shout out to PTTN for picking who woke up Miles. Thanks for reading and like always, Brony on! Chapter 48 My PromiseChapter 48 My Promise When I walk outside I notice two things immediately: it's night, and there's a party going on. There's a beat coming from a set of large speakers behind a mass of ponies dancing in the open square. I turn and run back into the tent, crashing into Celestia and falling to the floor. When I hit the floor I waste no time crawling behind her, trying to get as far away as possible. "*gasp* A PARTY!" Pinkie Pie yells as she runs straight out into the mass of celebrating ponies, sending shivers down my spine. "Why are they partying!? What's going on!? How did we not hear the music before!?" I ask in a panic. "Well, we did just win a fight. And when they started I put a sound barrier on the tent... are you going to be alright?" Celestia asks as she turns back to face me. "What? Yeah I'll be fine, why wouldn't I be, it's just another party, not like I'm going to die from a party heh heh... or will I?" Celestia giggles a bit as she looks out the flap. "Well it's good to see everypony enjoying themselves after such a horrid day. Well, Miles I'll let you be, I think I'll join the festivities." She says as she walks out of the tent, followed by most of the girls, leaving me and Twilight. "Are you sure you're alright?" Twilight says as she walks up to me. "Just fine... go ahead and have fun, I'm sure Storm wants to dance." "Yeah... but what about you?" "I've found a corner to hide in, I'll be good." "Miles..." "Seriously though, the past few days have been... pretty daunting. I think I'll sit this one out to relax a bit, go have some fun." She looks between me and the door before she walks out of the tent. I sigh in relief of not having to go, and walk over to a nearby cot. I lay down and try to take my mind off of the... event outside. Perspective: Storm As Celestia and the others went inside the tent to speak with Miles, I decided to get a shower. I see a shower station on the other side of the encampment and start to walk towards it. As I walk, I make my way around the mass of dancing ponies while the next song starts to play. I know this one, it's one of those new rock and roll songs. I heard it before at a concert, I can't believe they got the band to play here today, or was their concert cancelled and they just decided to play here instead? I look around but can't see any of the band members, they must be at crowd level. I wonder how long they're going to perform. I mull it over in my head as I make my way to the showers. "You there! You! Where ya goin'?" I turn to see a brown earth pony running up to me. He has a dark brown mane and tail, both of which are wrapped in foil, and a cardboard box for a cutie mark. He smells as if he's slept in dumpsters for most of his life and washed his teeth in rum. "Uh... I'm heading..." "Watch out for the zombies! They tend to bite! What's that? OH! Right, my friend here says to also stay away from the giant eggs, they are filled with war and misery!" "O... kay... and where is this friend of yours?" "He's right here," he says as he points to the empty space next to him, "isn't that right Mr. McBumpkin? What's that? I don't think so... well of course I'll tell him about the aliens... no, the ants are nowhere near as important as the metal spiders... well of course... okay, okay, volcanos are just as bad... well what can he do about the moon?" As he continues to babble to... his friend, I slowly step away from him. He's nuttier than squirrel poop. I duck behind some tents and wait for him to walk off before I head to the showers. The showers are simple personal stalls that go up about six feet. I find an empty stall and start to rinse all of the grime off. "AND ONE MORE THING!" He yells as he jumps on top of the door and points down to me. I nearly have a heart attack from his sudden appearance. "All hail the king!" He drops down and runs off, yelling something about crop circles and government conspiracies. What the buck... why do all of the crazies find me and decide that I need to hear all of their crazy mumbo jumbo... I turn back to my shower and try to relax a little when the door opens behind me. "Occupied," I say in an annoyed voice. "I think you'll make an exception this time." I turn back to see Twilight standing behind me, standing clear of the water. FWOOSH "Does that mean I can stay?" "Twilight... yeah... I mean, uh..." Twilight giggles as she comes in all the way and gives me a solid kiss. I take her in my hooves and return the kiss, pulling her in with a twist so I'm looking down at her. She gives a little eep, but quickly recovers and goes back to kissing me. I end the kiss earlier than I want to as I look down to her. She's looking at me with lustful eyes as a stream of water runs down the side of her red cheeks. Her mane is going straight back due to the water, leaving a single strand going along the right side of her head. "Take me." "But... what if someone hears?" She rolls her eyes as she begins to use her magic. Suddenly, a light purple barrier appears around us. It takes form along the walls and still allows the water to fall on us. "There, nopony can hear us now." "One last thing... I don't have a condom." "That's alright. I went and got something for that a while ago. Now take me." Without needing another word, I dive back to kissing her, getting her to throw her hooves around my neck. As our lips meet, I lay her on the ground and get on top of her, running my hooves along her sides as I start to position myself. I break the kiss to look down and watch my member spread her already wet love as I start to enter her, getting a soft gasp from Twilight. I take my time entering, the last time I went in too fast and ended up hurting her a bit. When I'm as far in as her body will let me, I look back to her to see the pleasure in her eyes. I begin to pull out, only to push back in before I come completely out, getting light moans from Twilight below. I keep a slow pace at first, but decide to pick things up when I see the hunger in her eyes. I bury my face in her neck as I start to quicken my pace, losing myself in the euphoria of her velvety walls. I can feel her tightening her grip, both around my neck and my member as I start to thrust faster into her. I can feel her hot breath on my neck as she begins to pant, grinding her hips in motion with me. "Storm... ah... harder... buck me harder..." Twilight says, making me lose it. I pick her up as I rear up and slam her into the wall behind me, thrusting into her with all of my strength. Twilight lets out a small scream before she buries her face into my mane, holding onto me with all her might. I thrust furiously into her, getting loud moans in my ear with every push I make. As I go, I feel her love begin to grab hold of my member as she hits her climax, letting out a loud gasp as she sprays her love's juices out. I pump into her for a bit until I stop feeling her spraying out. I set her down on all fours, where she lets her front half fall to the ground but manages to keep her flank in the air. I walk behind her and bring my face to her folds. I start to lick up the leftover juices, savoring the sweet nectar - sadly the water is washing most of it away, but I can still taste it. I work from the upper parts of her legs to the area around her folds, teasing it by blowing softly onto it. "More... Storm..." Twilight pants. "What's the magic word?" "Really... please?" she asks plainly. I lean back in and blow gently onto her, sending a shiver down her body. "Nope, you have to ask nicely," I say, making Twilight wiggle in front of me in frustration. "Please." "What was that?" "Please..." "Please what?" "PLEASE BUCK ME WITH YOUR MASSIVE COCK!" With a satisfied smile I jump onto her back and prod her entrance, teasing her just a little more. She tries to back into me, but I pull back. I put my hooves on her flanks and ram back inside her, getting a loud yell from her. I start to push and pull her in motion with my thrust, making her yell in a fit of pleasure. As I get to work, I look down to see Twilight's face; her eyes are lazily open as her tongue has rolled out of the side of her open mouth. She has her hooves against the wall across from us, trying to hold me back from rutting her into the wall. I feel the tension start to build up in my member as I near my climax, simultaneously I can feel Twilight nearing another one as well. "In or out?" "In... I want it inside..." I slam harder and harder into her, getting loud slaps from my sack as it slaps her cheeks with every thrust in. I feel the tension build higher and higher until it finally hits its peak. With a loud moan I shoot my load into her, jolting back as the waves of pleasure take over. At the same time, I feel Twilight squirt out again, getting a loud scream. As I finish I pull out and fall beside her, panting from my ecstasy. Twilight finally drops her flank and rolls to her side to look back to me. We stare at each other for a bit, panting and letting the water wash over us. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK Twilight and I look to each other in total fear as somepony starts talking to us from behind the door. "Now that you two are done... can I take a shower now? All of the other ones are taken..." says a male voice from outside. "I thought you put up a sound barrier." "I did..." "Yeah, you put one up that made things louder," says the voice outside, "we heard everything." Twilight turns absolutely red as she freezes up from embarrassment. "Maybe you should turn the barrier off now," I say to Twilight. She shines her horn and makes the light purple barrier disappear. I shuffle next to her and wrap her up in my hooves. "You going to be alright?" I whisper to her. "What if somepony recognized my voice? Or if Shining overheard? I would never be able to face him again..." "Hey, hey, it's going to be alright. I never said your name, maybe with your voice being louder nopony would be able to recognize your voice. Let's just teleport out of here, and hope for the best, alright?" "What if Celestia drops me as her prized student? What if she banishes me from Equestria? What if - MMmm!" As she starts to panic I stop her by planting a kiss on her lips, making her melt in my hooves. "If she banished you, then I'd banish myself with you." "Really?" she asks with a hopeful look. "I promise." She looks away for a second before she gives me a kiss on the nose. "Are you two even in there anymore? Can I shower now?" asks the voice from outside. Twilight gives me a smile as she brings forth her magic. She gives me a passionate kiss as she teleports us out of the stall. Perspective: Miles I finally calm down enough to start making a plan to find Luna. If she wanted to be alone, I doubt she'd be near the... event outside. I also don't think she would be near the city, what with the chance of the enemy still being there. I get up and sneak out of the tent, and make my way out of the refugee center. I look around the surrounding area to try and find the best possible place she would be. This area is mostly mountain terrain, so my best bet would be higher up. I set my sights for the top of the mountain. Once I'm clear of any prying eyes I flare my heels and start to launch myself up the mountain. Landing in the dark is pretty nerve-racking, a couple of times I nearly land in a tree or bush, only to jet myself out of the way at the last possible second. The higher I get, though, the less I have to worry about plant life, and the more I worry about the jagged rocks. My final leap sends me a few meters away from the top, so I decide to walk the rest of the way up. The area around the top is barren, with no plant life and smooth rocks filling the area. I finally find Luna lying ahead of me. She's facing away from me, looking up at the moon. There seems to be a faint glow about her as the moon shines down on her. I can see the stains of tears on the rocks below her and along her cheeks. I walk up quietly behind her and look up to the moon. "It’s a beautiful night." Luna seems a little startled by my presence, but doesn't show it for long. "Yeah... I thought that you would appreciate it... it's the least I could do..." "I love it, thank you." I sit beside her and lean back, taking in the view of the sky. There seem to be more stars out tonight, each of them shining brightly against the dark void. "Miles... I'm so sorry..." "It's alright Luna..." "How can you say that!? I nearly killed you. I..." "Only did what I told you to do." I interrupt. "I was the one who told you to fire, and I was the one who decided to hold her in the line of fire. If anything I should apologize to you for getting in the way and making you feel so bad." Luna looks over to me as new tears start to form in her eyes. "No, I fired, and I shouldn't have used that much power. I didn't even know I could use that much power. I'm to blame and..." "And I know how you can make it up to me." She gives me a confused look as I lay back and look up at the stars. After a few seconds she pokes at my sides. "Well? What do I have to do?" "Dinner." "Dinner?" "Yup, dinner. Just you and me. Whatever you want, whenever you want." I put on a sly smile as she starts to put one and one together. "You mean... a date." "Yeah... what do you say?" "I... I... yes." "Yes?" I ask as I sit up and face her. "Yes," she says as she wipes a few tears away. I reach over and pull her into a hug, I can't believe she said yes, given after everything we already did I shouldn't be, but still. She fucking said yes! "Miles... too tight..." she says as she taps on my shoulder with her wing. I let her go and rub the back of my head. "Sorry about that... so..." "I'm sorry, but it will have to wait a few days. It will happen, but I must be here for all my little ponies, but I promise that we will have our date." "I completely understand... so... uh..." "Yeah?" she asks as she leans in a little. "Well... uh... fuck it." I lean over to her and give her a quick kiss. She reels back a bit, but immediately kisses me back. She puts a hoof on my chest as she pushes me down on my back. She lays completely on top of me as we continue to make out. I rest a hand on her cheek and another on her shoulder, gently rubbing her side. When I open my mouth a little I feel something foreign and stop kissing her. "Something wrong?" Luna asks. "What was that?" "It... was my tongue..." "Really?" "Did you..." "I like it, let’s try that again." She giggles a little as I lean in and give her a few more kisses, before I try it out myself. I reach into her mouth and explore the new area, meeting her tongue instantly. Hers is a lot wider than mine. It's a little rough as well, but the way she wraps it around mine makes me melt. We continue to explore each other’s mouths until we have to separate for air. "Wow..." Luna says as she pants a little. "Yeah... amazing." "Miles, there's one more thing we need to talk about - you haven't told anypony about us, have you?" "No, I thought we had to keep things a secret." "Yes, we do, because if we're caught doing this, bad things will happen to you." "Bad things? Why?" "Because that's the law. If somepony were to touch one of the royal sisters, they would be put into prison for a very long time. There are a few exceptions, but you don't fall under any of them. If we were to be caught together, they would do unspeakable things to you." "Like what?" "Well, touching without permission would mean banishment. Kissing me would lead to you getting your... thing removed. And if we're ever caught making love, they would have you humiliated publicly and then hanged." "Wow... really...?" "Do you still wish to be with me, knowing the risk of being caught?" she asks nervously. I think about it for a second before I put both of my hands onto her cheeks. "For you, any risk is worth the reward. I promise that no matter the risk, I will always find a way to be there for you." Luna smiles and gives me one last kiss before she stands up. I wait for her to step away from me before I stand up and follow her down the side of the mountain. As we walk I start to reflect on what she told me - by their standards, I should be neutered by now... it would be totally worth it. Author's Note Shout out to blahblahblah for picking the song (Loyalty by Acoustic/Mando Brony) Thanks for reading and like always, Brony on! Chapter 49 A Day At The LakeChapter 49 A Day at the Lake As Luna and I walk down, I take this chance to really admire her form. I can see every muscle twist and turn under her beautiful blue body as she walks beside me. I think she noticed me looking, ‘cause now she's walking with a little pep in her walk. Swaying her hips from side to side as she puts a little spring in every step. "Enjoying the view?" Luna asks as she stops and turns to me. "Yeah... still am." She shakes her head a little as she continues to walk off. I watch her walk for a second before an idea hits me. "Hey Luna, is this mountaintop visited a lot?" "No, I might be one of the only ones to come up here, why?" she asks as she turns back to me. I turn away from her as I flare my magic and slam my hands into the ground before me, creating a small cave; being large enough to fit about four people. "Miles... what are you doing?" I walk into the small cave and kneel in the center of the room. I lay my palms on the ground and start to pour my energy into the ground, making white flames circle around me. I spend several minutes feeding the energy until I'm satisfied with the results and stand back up. "Miles, what..." "Can you teleport me home real quick?" "You’re leaving...?" "Just for a few minutes, I'll be right back, promise." She looks at me skeptically but complies, flashing me into the center of my living room. I walk upstairs to my room, where I lay my rifle on the bed and go through the drawers. Afterward I change my pants and put on a new shirt, before I head into the secret room in my closet. I kneel down and start enchanting the floor, creating another ring of white flames. Once I finish I step back and wait for the flames to burn out, leaving an archaic circle on the ground. Here goes nothing - I walk into the center of the circle and wait. After a few seconds I flash back into the cave, scaring Luna. "Ahh! Miles? How did you get here?" "I teleported of course," I say as I walk out of the circle. "This is called a Mico platform. We used them in Terradisia to teleport from place to place, mostly going up tall buildings." "Why wouldn't you just teleport yourselves the way we do?" "We can't. No one has ever teleported themselves or someone else by hand, we have to use a platform to do it. There are actually a lot of things we can only do with platforms." "That's a little inconvenient...so where does this go exactly?" She asks as she looks over the archaic text. "Why don't you give it a try and find out?" She looks between me and the platform before she slowly walks into the center of the platform, holding her eyes closed tightly the entire time. When nothing happens she opens her eyes and looks around. "I think you bro—" Before she can finish she flashes out of the cave. I laugh at the timing and wait for the text to turn back to black. When it does, I step on and teleport back to my house. I flash into the room to find Luna backed against the wall, looking as if she just saw a ghost. "You alright?" I say with a small laugh. "Y-yeah... it just caught me off guard." "Well, whenever you want to come visit, you can take the platform. It's hidden, and no one will be able to detect you using magic, so it's secretive." Luna finally walks away from the wall, keeping clear of the Mico platform, and looks around the room a bit. "Where are we?" I walk over to the door and push it open. I walk through the door and into my closet. "We are in my closet," I say as I open the next door and walk into my room. I wait by the door and wait for Luna to walk in. She walks in slowly, blushing deeply as she steps in. "You alright?" "Yes... it's just... I've never been invited to somepony's bedchamber before." "Oh sweet Barbra..." I didn't realize how I set that up until just now. This may be problematic later... or fucking awesome. "Miles... who’s Barbra?" THUD After hearing a crash in another room I pull out my revolver and head over to the door. I check the hall before I walk out and begin to do checks on the rooms. The right room is clear, so I move to the next one. I slowly open the door and see some figures on the floor. I slam the door open and take aim at the figures in the dark. "Identify yourself!" I yell at them. "WHOA! Don't shoot, don't shoot, it's us. Twilight and Storm!" Twilight lights her horn to show the two of them laying on the ground, soaking wet. "Why are you both wet?" Luna asks from behind as I holster my weapon. "Umm... why are you here with Miles... alone?" Twilight asks. Everyone stays silent, obviously not wanting to tell the truth. After a few awkward silent moments go by I start to get antsy... "Well... Luna here decided to... teleport me home?" I say as I look to her for help. "Yes! Miles didn't want to go to the party -" *shiver* "-so he asked me to take him home. I came along to... to... uh..." "To make sure I was completely healed! She felt bad that I was injured, being shot by her and all, so she came with to check up on me." We both put on the most convincing smiles we can muster as we wait for one of them to respond. They stare at us for a second before they start to get up. "Well... okay. Whatever you say," Storm says as he helps Twilight up. "So why are you wet?" Luna asks, making them freeze up and blush heavily. "Well... I uh... was taking a shower and..." "He couldn't get his back because he hurt himself! So I came and helped him," Twilight interrupts. "Why wouldn't you just use your magic?" Luna asks. Because they were too busy fucking, that's why. This game is getting too easy with these two. "Well... I..." Twilight stammers. "She was too tired from the fight today to use her magic! So she helped me in the shower herself... but then... uh..." "Then somepony thought we were doing... naughty things... so I teleported us here, and here we are." They try to give us convincing smiles but I can see right through their lies. I don't really care that they're trying to keep this a secret, I just want to know why. "Well, alright. I must be off now. It's been... awkward," Luna says as she starts to back out of the room. "Here, let me walk you out," I say as I usher her out, closing the door behind us. I walk her downstairs and to the door where she turns back to me. "So... I guess this is bye..." "Yeah..." "I'll try to make it over for our date as soon as possible, but it still might take some time..." "I'll be waiting." She shuffles her hooves and looks around a bit before she jumps up and gives me a quick kiss on the lips, then teleports out of the house. I turn back and lean against the door and savor the feeling for as long as possible. "What's got you in such a good mood?" Storm asks as he walks down the stairs, surprisingly dry. "Nothing... so how was the sex?" I ask, making Storm trip and fall down the rest of the stairs, landing on his stomach, sprawled out on the floor. "How did you know?" "Well, after walking in on you two during the act, and after that horrible act you just played out, I've got a pretty good idea of what happened." "Please don't tell anypony..." "Hey, I've got no one to tell, but I am curious, why the secrets?" He gets up and walks up to me, taking a seat against the door and sighing deeply. "Well, Twilight is the Element of Magic," he says in a serious tone. "...and?" "And the Elements of Harmony are a really big deal around here, so having sex with one of the bearers is kind of looked down upon." "Really? Huh... to be honest, I didn't make them to be taken that seriously. They were intended to be an equalizer for people, not some mystical objects of reverence and worship." "Yeah... wait... you made the Elements of Harmony?" he says as he slowly looks over to me. "No. The Elements of Harmony have always existed. I was simply the one to materialize them into a malleable form." "But... but... but..." "Look, I don't know all of the facts right now either. All I know is that somehow Celestia got a hold of them from some guy in a place called Roam." "You... you... you... you made... the Elements of Harmony..." "Yeah... wasn't that hard to do." Storm continues to stare at me in disbelief, so I ruffle his hair and start to head to bed. "I don't know about you, but I'm pretty beat. I'm going to bed now; I'll see you later." "You... you... you..." "Yeah... night then." I leave him to his stupor as I head to my room and close the door behind me. With a sigh I take my rifle and make a rack in my closet to hold it, as well as all of my other weapons. I remove my shirt and armor before I drop onto my bed. I lie there for a minute, going over everything that happened today, when I suddenly sense Luna scrying me. With a smile I bring my hands over my chest and make a heart with my fingers and thumbs, making her blink her presence once. I laugh softly at our little game and just lay there, staring at the ceiling until sleep takes over. When I awake I roll over and look out the window. It's fairly bright outside. I pull out my phone and look at the time. Twelve hundred hours... fuuuuck. There goes half the day. I roll out of bed and stretch a bit before I stumble for the restroom. After I finish my business I flush the toilet and... wait. When did I get running water? After getting dressed I walk out and head downstairs, where I find Twilight and Storm idly talking at the kitchen table and taking sips from mugs. "Hey, when did I get running water?" I ask as I take a seat at the table. "They brought in the line while we were at Canterlot," Twilight says as she takes a drink from her mug. "Oh... cool, I guess." "Want a cup of coffee Miles?" Spike says from the kitchen. "Spike, when did you get here?" "I actually arrived in Ponyville as Twilight and the others were heading to Canterlot," he says as he brings me a mug with some dark liquid inside. I take a sniff and decide to try it. "Wow... you managed to burn water..." "You don't like it?" Spike asks from beside me. "It smelled good... too bad it just didn't taste as good." "Maybe you should try it with some creamer, or some sugar. I can't drink it without adding a ton of stuff," Twilight says as she levitates some jars and other various things to try. I go ahead and try concoction after concoction. After my twentieth cup I finally give up. "Sorry guys, it's just not working for me." "Oh well, would you like anything else?" Spike asks as he heads back into the kitchen. "It's alright Spike, I was..." I started to say but stopped when my stomach yelled at me, getting everyone's attention. "Well, maybe something to eat." "Miles, when was the last time you ate?" Storm asks. I try to think about it, but stop when Spike drops a couple of baskets on the table. We all look over to him and wait for him to explain. "What? Did you already forget about the picnic at the lake?" "Oh my gosh, I totally forgot about it. I don't think anypony will be there though, with what happened yesterday," Twilight says to Spike. "Aw... but I worked really hard this morning to get all of the snacks ready," Spike pouts. "What’s a lake?" "Seriously?" Storm asks. "What part of 'underground civilization' don't you understand?" "See! Now we have to go. Miles would love it!" Spike says as he kneels before Twilight. "Come on Twi, we planned this weeks ago." "I don't know Spike, everypony just got back from a really big ordeal, I think we should just stay home and relax a bit today." "Hey I'm game, especially if there's going to be food," I say as I lean back in my seat. "It would be a lot of fun," Storm says, and we all look to Twilight. "Mmm... well... alright. Let's go to the lake." "Yes!" Spike yells as he jumps up and runs off to the kitchen. "Great, now would someone please tell me what a lake is?" "I think it would be better to show you instead," Storm says with a sly grin. "If it turns into a... social event... I'll..." "It won't be anything like that, I promise." I stare at him for a second before I stand up and grab the basket. "Alright, let’s go to the lake then," I say as I start to head out. "Miles, you don't know where you're going!" Twilight yells out. "Better hurry and catch up then!" I yell back as I walk out the front door and down the steps. I turn back and wait for them to follow me out, when I hear something land behind me. I turn around to see Rainbow Dash standing behind me with her bag on her hips. "Sup neighbor, going to the lake with us?" she asks as she walks up to me. I look around but can't seem to find any houses in sight. I look to her in confusion, making her roll her eyes and point a hoof up. I look up to see a giant house made out of clouds. "You live in that?!" "Yup, made it myself," she says proudly. Apparently clouds are solid, strange. "Cool. And to answer your question, yes. I'm just waiting on the three of them before we head out... by the way, what's a lake?" "DON"T TELL HIM!" Storm yells as he flies out of the house, carrying a basket under both his legs, followed by Twilight with Spike on her back. "What's going on?" Rainbow Dash asks as she looks between all of us. "Miles doesn't know what a lake is, so we're not telling him what it is until we get there. Are you all set to go, Rainbow Dash?" Twilight says as she joins the group. "I've been ready since yesterday, let’s get going!" she says as she jumps into the air and flies off. We start walking off - I don't really know where we're going, so I just follow Twilight and Storm from behind as I talk with Spike. "Is it something you eat?" "Umm... kind of. You can, but that's not what we're going to be doing." "Hmm... can I hold it?" "Sometimes." "Does it weigh more than me?" "Yeah." "Have I seen it already?" "I doubt it." "Uhmm... I really have no idea; can you just tell me what a lake is already?" "Don't!" Storm yells. "Don't worry, I'm not telling him the answer," Spike reassures. "Then stop answering his questions before he figures it out," Twilight says. "Fine." "Aw come on just tell... oh sweet Barbra..." As we come to the top of a hill I see it ahead of me. A large body of water just sitting there. It must be a kilometer wide and at least four kilometers long. The water is a deep blue and reflects the sun brightly, as ponies swimming in it make the surface bounce up and down. Without thinking about it I drop the basket and start to run towards the water, removing my shirt before I launch myself into the air. I start to drop in the center of the body of water and prepare myself for the impact. SPLASH The water hits me a lot harder than I thought it would, knocking the air out of me as it freezes me over instantly. As I start to sink I suddenly realize I'm the biggest idiot in the world - I can't swim, now can I? As my lungs start to burn from the lack of air I begin to panic, flailing my arms around in an attempt to get back to the surface, only to sink farther into the icy abyss. I flare my magic, sending two columns of bubbles from my hands as I push my hands up, sending a current of water up behind me. I breach the water’s surface and propel into the air a bit until gravity does what it does best and starts to pull me back down. I take in a huge gulp of air before splashing back down. I try to stay on the surface, but eventually start to fall back down into the depths of the water. Again I send myself into the air, getting myself closer to the ground with each leap. After about three or four leaps I finally hit shallow water. I start to walk back to land, greedily gulping air, as I see the group setting a red and white striped blanket down on the grass with an umbrella behind it. I make my way over and fall onto my back in front them. "Note to the wise... don't launch yourself into a large body of water... without knowing how to swim." "You jumped in there without knowing how to swim!?" Twilight says. "Bwuahahahahaha, wow Miles, that was pretty smart of you..." Rainbow Dash says as she rolls on her back in a fit of laughter. "Yeah... not my brightest moment..." "How about I teach you after we eat, alright?" Storm says. "Food, then intentional drowning, got it." I get up and take a seat at the blanket as Spike starts to set up all of the food he had made. Cookies, a purple beverage, some apples and carrots, some sandwiches. I waste no time diving in and trying different things. The sandwiches had something called peanut butter and jelly and were pretty good, but left me really thirsty. The punch was sweet, and even though I was told there wasn't alcohol in it, I still worried when Twilight drank it. As we ate, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Big Mac and the little ones - Sweetie Belle, Applebloom and Scootaloo - soon joined our group. Rainbow Dash was quick to tell them about my previous swimming failure, getting laughs from everyone. I smiled along and enjoyed a few apples. After a while Pinkie Pie pulled out a ball and asked if anyone wanted to play something called ‘volleyball’. Only a few of us volunteered to play, so it ended up being guys versus girls - Storm, Big Mac and I against Pinkie, Applejack and Rainbow. After they set the net and explained the rules, we started. Pinkie started by slamming the ball into the air and crashing straight into the net - our ball. Storm serves it and sends it between Applejack and Rainbow Dash, who both go for it at the same time. "Guys..." I say, getting both of them to run to me as Pinkie helps them up, "keep serving it between them." "Why?" Storm asks. "I'm fairly certain that they will never let one another get the ball without trying to go for it themselves. If they keep fighting for it, we'll score more easily.” "Eeyup," Big Mac says as he goes to serve. He gets the ball and sends it between them, only this time they both start to run towards it and stop, letting the ball hit the ground. "AJ! You totally let that one go!" "Ah thought you had it!" This is going to be easy. The game basically goes in our favor. After we score several more points, they finally figure out what we're doing and start playing as a team. We also had the unfair advantage of my height. Almost every serve they sent I was able to reach and set with total ease. They fought well, but as I spike the final point we cheer in our victory, eleven to five. "Aw... I hate losing," Rainbow pouts. "Ah, don't fret sugarcube, it was a good game," Applejack says to try to cheer her up. "Yeah, besides, it was totally fun!" Pinkie Pie yells as she cartwheels away. "Hey, good game," I say as we walk up to them. "Eeyup." "Yeah... I guess," Rainbow says as she gets up and walks to the blanket. "What now?" Storm asks as he steps before me. "We could play horseshoes," Big Mac suggests. "Why you would throw your shoes, I'll never understand," I say as I turn towards the water. "Dude, Storm, you said you'd teach me to swim, let's give that a try." "Alright, race ya!" he says as he and Big Mac run past me towards the water. I chase after them and jump back into the shallow water after them. After some roughhousing, Storm finally starts to show me how to swim. You basically have to kick the water away from you and pedal as quickly as possible. I try his method, but it seems more suited for a four legged creature. I make some modifications to what he showed me and finally can keep up with Storm, barely. "Yer a quick learner Miles," Big Mac comments as we float around the shallow end of the water. "Learn fast or die, that's what they told us during training." "Really? Weird. They told us to shut the buck up and stand straight," Storm says, making me laugh. "Hey Big Mac, Storm, Miles!" Applebloom yells from the shore standing next to her friends. "Can ya bring us in the water wit ya'll ta play chicken?" "What's that?" I ask. "It's a game where ya try ta knock somepony offa another pony's shoulders," Big Mac says. "Sounds like fun, let’s give it a try." They both agree and we go and take them into the water with us. Big Mac gets Applebloom, Storm gets Scootaloo, and I get Sweetie Belle. We play in the shallow water for their safety, and make it so I have to be on my knees. As Sweetie Belle and Applebloom wrestle with one another, I reach over and pull one of Big Mac’s legs out from under him, making both of them fall into the water. As I do this, Sweetie Belle lets out a high pitched EEP as she plunges into the water. "And the winner is SCOOTALOO!" Storm says as he flies up and lifts Scootaloo into the air, making her laugh and giggle as she gets cheers from the group on the blanket. He holds her up for a bit before he stops flapping his wings and falls into the water with her. We take them back to shore where everyone is enjoying something, games, food, the water, talking with one another. I lay next to the blanket and let the sun dry me off with its warm rays. This was a really good idea. Chapter 50 Storm CloudChapter 50 Storm Cloud As I lie there I start to look around. Rainbow Dash has fallen asleep in a tree, and now Pinkie Pie is drawing stuff on her face. Twilight and Storm are under the umbrella, Twilight using her magic to dry him off with a towel. Big Mac, Applejack, and Fluttershy are drying off the little ones, while Rarity lectures them about being more ladylike. I sigh in contentment - again, with little effort on their part, I have found a group that makes me feel at home. For the first time since I've been here, I finally have a home. Twilight gives Storm a light peck on the cheek and grabs a marker to join Pinkie Pie in the tree. Storm walks over to me and lies on his back besides me. "Why can't we have more days like this?" he asks as he stretches out a bit. "Because then days like this would lose their appeal, and blend into the monotony of daily life." "...that was deep." "Thank you. I'm actually kinda proud of that one." We share a small laugh before falling silent. "There's been something I've been meaning to ask, but at the same time, I don't want to ask..." "I say ask. Leaving things bottled up for too long isn't healthy." "Well... do you know where your home is?" "Yeah." "Really?" I stretch out a bit and sigh deeply before I answer. "It's right here." "No, I mean it. Do you know where your home is, Topaz Falls?" "I don't have a clue where Topaz is, but that's not where my home is. They say home is where the heart is, and my heart is right here with my friends." "But... if you were to find Topaz Falls, what would you do?" "Well... I don't know. Part of me wants to go back, see if it still exists, find out what happened all those years ago. But the other part of me doesn't want to leave what I've got here. I don't know what I'll do if I find Topaz." Storm stays silent for a bit, thinking deeply about what I said. "Well... even if you decide to go, you better come back and at least visit." "Well duh, how else would I get to see my best friend?" I say, looking over to him. We share a smile before I give him a rather hard punch on the shoulder, making him roll over a bit. "OW... what was that for?" he says as he rubs the spot I hit. "That's for making things all mushy and awkward. Now we can either sit here and reminisce some more, or we can go and toss Twilight into the water, your call." He looks over to her and grows an evil smile on his face. "Alright, I'm in." We get up and walk up behind Twilight, getting Pinkies attention. I motion to Twilight, then the lake, making a massive smile appear on her face as she nods. I motion to Storm to hover at shoulder height with me as I grab his legs and make a net for Twilight. "Hey Twilight, catch me!" Pinkie says as she jumps onto Twilight, making her fall out of the tree and into our arms/legs. As soon as we catch them we start running/flying to the water. "Pinkie! Storm! MILES! AHHH!" she screams as we toss the two of them into the water. SPLASH We toss the two of them into the water, making a big splash and getting laughs from everyone behind us. Twilight and Pinkie finally stand up and look to each other. With a nod they both jump onto us and knock us into the water. As I try to get back up, Pinkie keeps splashing water into my face, so I quickly run up to her and pick her up. I jump back and drop my back into the water, holding onto Pinkie. When I come back up she somehow has gotten onto my shoulders. "MUSH!" She yells as she points forward. I look over to see Twilight and Storm still splashing each other, so I decide to join in. I stand up and turn around, letting my body, and Pinkie Pie, fall between the two of them. We come back up and share a laugh at our antics. "WOO! That was fun! Miles, give me another piggy back ride, please please please please please!" "Heh, maybe another time. I think I'm just gonna go for a swim." "Try not to drown," Storm says as helps Twilight to her hooves. "Numquam," I say as I start to swim out to deeper waters. Swimming has become easier for me now, I can even hover in deep water for a while. Swimming around is actually pretty relaxing, too. It's mechanical, soothing, it helps clear my mind. Topaz... What would I do if I found it? Should I be looking for it, or should I just let it fall into the recesses of my memories? Can I let it do that though, it was my home, and I need to know what happened all those years ago. But if I went down, would they allow me to come back to the surface? I stop swimming and float on my back to think harder on the subject, when I see Storm laying on a cloud watching the group. I take in a large breath of air and sink a little before I light my hands and send myself flying out of the water. "HEY STORM!" I yell as I try to land next to him, but fall straight through the cloud. In a panic I try to hold onto Storm, only to pull him through with me. "WHAT THE BUCK!" He yells as he kicks away from me. We both hit the water and I see him struggling to resurface, yeah, tell me not to drown. I swim down and grab him with one hand as I propel us towards the shore with the other. When we get to shallow waters Storm yanks his leg free of my grasp and flops onto the shore, panting for breath. "Yeah, good job drowning," I say jokingly as I lay next to him, getting a glare from him. He rears up and tries to slam his hooves onto my face, but I roll away before he strikes me. "What the buck is your problem you freak!?" he yells. "Calm down, it was..." "I nearly drowned you idiot!" "Storm, what’s going on?" Twilight says as she trots up to us. "Shut the buck up!" he yells at her, making her stop and stare at him in disbelief. I stand up and look down at him in confusion. "Storm, what’s up? Did something happen?" I ask as I see the mace on his side. "Yeah, some bucking idiot human tried to drown me! Now if you..." "Hey Twilight, where’s the..." Storm says as he runs up, but stops when he sees Storm. I rub my eyes and look back to them, two Storms, identical in every way. Same hair, body build, mark, I can't find anything different about them except for one being wet and an asshole. "Hey there, big brother. Long time no see. Having fun with my leftovers?" he says before he jumps into the air and flies away. I’m about to chase after him when Storm gets in the way. "NO! This is my fight; I'll do it alone. Take care of Twilight until I get back!" he says, before he follows him into the air and gives chase. I walk over to Twilight and sit beside her as I watch them fly into a faraway cloud. "Don't worry Twilight, Storm’s strong, he'll come through," I say as I put an arm around her shoulder. "I know he will, but which Storm will do it?" Perspective: Storm (The non-asshole one) I give chase to the imposter, gaining on him slowly. He has a large mace on his side that seems familiar, but I lose sight of it as we enter a large cloud. I fly forward for a bit, but when I lose sight of him I stop and hover in place. "Ahhahaha, I bet you have a few questions for me," he says from his cover. "Nope, I'm just gonna buck the crap out of you until I hear what I want to hear, no questions at all." I turn around as I hear a swish behind me, then another, then another, where are you? I fly up a bit when I think I saw him, but it ended up being a dark cloud. When I turn around I immediately drop a few feet to avoid his mace hitting my head. I charge back up and buck him in the gut, sending him back into the mist of the cloud. I try to charge after him, but lose him after a few seconds of flying in the cloud. I stop and look around, but can't seem to find any sight of him. I start to fly around, changing the cloud into a storm cloud. I hear him whiz by, but ignore it for now and continue to fly around until I create a massive storm of dark black clouds. "Hey, want to know my real name?" he yells out. "I want to buck the living hell out of you!" I yell back. "IT'S STORM BREAKER!" he yells as he comes out of the cloud cover and tries to hit me with his mace, swinging madly at me. I dodge back, trying to keep clear of his mace. I take a chunk of electrified cloud and toss it at him, only to have him kick it out of the air. "That's not going to work on me!" he yells as he swings at me again. I fly higher, dodging the attack, and buck the storm, sending arcs of electricity everywhere. I get struck once but remain airborne as the jolts of energy course through my body. When it finishes, I look down to see him hovering there, smoking slightly. I fly down to him and tackle him before he can bring his mace down on me. I push him back a bit and start to deliver punches to him, the gut, face, ribs, I punch away until he spins back and kicks me across the face. I stumble back and look up in time to see him bring his mace down onto my head. SMACK Falling... blood... a crash... Twilight crying... energy pouring into me... I jolt awake and punch forward, hitting Miles square in the jaw. I look around to see everypony standing around me, watching me with the deepest looks of concern. I don't recognize the area we're in, it looks to be a forest of some kind. I try to get up, but Miles puts a hand on my shoulder to hold me down. "Don't move, you've lost a lot of blood, you need rest." "What happened... where's Storm Breaker?" I ask. "Is that his name? Well, after you fell out of the cloud, we lost sight of him - sorry, but he's gone." "Damn... I... took a pretty bad hit, didn't I?" "Yeah... after you took a hit to the head you fell to the ground. We tried to catch you, but we couldn't get to you in time, sorry." "Don't be, not like you’re the one that made me fall," I say as I try to get up again, only to get held back again. "Storm... I was able to fix most of your wounds... but..." "*sniffle* He couldn't fix your wing," Twilight says as she sobs. I look back to see my left wing snapped in half, blood pouring out as the end of a bone sticks out. I start to panic a little, but stop when she wraps me up in a hug. Normally these feel awesome, but I can't feel it... I can't feel anything. "I'm taking the pain away, but I can't fix it, it seems to be made of some other kind of material that I can't recognize." "...Can they fix this? Is this fixable?" I ask, but don't get an answer. "Twilight, take him to the hospital, we'll meet you there," Miles says as he stands up. Twilight nods and teleports us to the hospital lobby, scaring the receptionist. "Please, help him, he broke his wing, you have to help him!" Twilight pleads as she holds onto me. I look back to my wing and watch the blood pour out slowly, pooling on the linoleum below. I hear the receptionist run off and call for doctors and nurses, leaving me and Twilight. "Hey... everything’s going to be alright..." "Storm... save your strength..." "Twilight... I..." I pass out before I could finish talking. Chapter 51 RecoveryChapter 51 Recovery I awake to the sound of a gentle beeping. I open my eyes to find that I'm in a hospital bed. I look back to see my left wing has been wrapped up in a hard cast that is covered in a bunch of signatures and get well soon messages. Twilight is lying next to me, asleep with her face in a book while Miles sitting up in a chair, holding his head up with his fist as he sleeps. I look out the window and see that it's day time, a little before noon. I wonder how long I've been out. Heh, wonder if I can beat Mile's two weeks. Twilight shuffles a bit and lets out a little moan. The look on her face tells me that she's having a bad dream. I start to stroke her mane, getting her face to calm down a bit. As I stroke her, I hear the door open as a nurse walks in. I motion to her to be quiet and point to Twilight and Miles, getting her to nod. "Hello Mr. Cloud, my name is nurse Redheart," she whispers to me. "Hello... how long have I been out?" I whisper back in a raspy voice. "A week, how’s the pain?" She says as she checks the beeping machine that's attached to me. Wow, a week. Miles wins.... better not tell him that. "I can't really feel my wings, they feel numb." "You can thank your friends here for that. They've been doing nothing but studying on pegasus physiology and trying to fix you up while you've been out. They really saved your life." "Will.... will I be able to fly after this?" "Yes, but not right away. We can remove the cast in a week, and you'll be flying a week or two after that. Assuming your friends here don't fix you up any more than they have already. To be honest, you should be dead. Your one lucky stallion to have friends like them to watch over you like this, Mr. Cloud." "Believe me, you don't have to tell me twice." I say as I look down to Twilight. "Well, if you need anything, just call for a nurse and we'll come help you, please try to relax Mr. Cloud," she says as she leaves. She shuts the door a little too loud, waking Twilight up. She picks her head up and brings a page up with her. I laugh a little and push the page down. "Hey..." "Storm!" She says as she wraps me up in a hug. I return the hug, rubbing her back as she cries softly into my mane. "Hey, everything's alright. I'm not going anywhere." "Storm, don't you ever do anything like that again." She says as she shakes her head side to side. " I couldn't take it. I thought you were going to die... promise me you'll never do that again." "I’m sorry. I saw him and jumped without looking, I promise I'll never make that mistake again." "HUH! Wha... oh, *yawn* Storm. Your awake... that's good." Miles says as he wakes up. "Hey Miles, thanks for healing me up, you really saved me back there." "Don't mention it, I just wish I had learned more on pony physiology earlier. Who knew wings were magical." He says as he stands up and takes a look at us. "Well, I'll leave you two alone now, I've got to get to work, take it easy Storm." He waves goodbye and exits the room. After he leaves the room, I hold Twilight for what feels like an eternity, stroking her mane. "Storm..." "Yeah Twi...." "I love you." She says as she picks her head up and looks down at me. I rub the side of her cheek and give her a quick kiss. "I love you to." We kiss again, with much more passion this time. She starts to take control of our kissing by getting on top of me, but bumps my wing, sending a jolt of pain through my body. "AH!" "Sorry!" "It's fine... just really tender." She gets off of me and distances herself from me. "You don't have to leave, just... watch the wing." She scoots back into my embrace and holds onto my side, burying her face into my neck as she nuzzles me softly. "How’s that?" "Perfect." We lay there for a while, just holding onto each other, until Twilight looks out the window. "It's getting late; I really should get back to the library soon." "I'll be here." "I'll come back tomorrow as soon as they let visitors back in, promise." "I'll see you then." "I love you." "I love you more." We share a final kiss before she gets off the bed and trots out of the room. As she leaves the nurse wheels in another patient and lays him on the bed next to me. He's an earth pony with a pale white coat, a long black mane and tail with bright red eyes. It looks like his cutie mark is a wedge of cheese. The nurse lifts his bangs to feel his head to reveal a stub of a horn... I guess he's a unicorn. "Sup," he says to me as the nurse leaves the room. "Hey... what’s wrong with you?" "Everything, but nothing." "Huh?" "The doctors don't know what’s wrong with me, but at the same time they always find something new wrong with me. What about you?" "Uhh... broken wing..." "Pfft... somepony's get all the luck. Was that your mare?" "Yeah..." "My cheesy weezy!" Yells another pale stallion as he runs into the room and starts kissing the other stallion. The new one is an earth pony with a long brown mane and tail and a silhouette of a pony on a pole as a cutie mark. I look away and try to ignore the two of them, but every lip smack brings my attention back to them. "Ahem," I say, getting their attention. "Sorry about that, didn't see you over there," says the new pony. "Don't worry about it, but if you’re going to continue, could you at least close the curtains?" He walks over as pulls them over, giving us our privacy, by sight at least. I try to drown out the sounds of the squeaking bed by holding my pillow against my ears, but it hardly helps. Why does weird crap like this always happen to me? After several hours of laying in total horror from the squeaks and moans they finally stop. I can't believe I just sat through that... Miles's and Twilight need to hurry up and get me out of here. A nurse comes in and ushers the other pony, Squishy Trap apparently, out of the hospital while another gives me some sleeping medication. Why she couldn't give this to me earlier... I take the pill and quickly fall back asleep. I wake up later to the sound of Twilight and Miles arguing. I look up and see them glaring at one another. I glance out the window and see the sun beginning to be raised. "I don't want him being put through even more danger then he needs to be put into!" Twilight yells. "If we do this we won't have to worry about him getting his ass kicked again! Twilight I know your worried about him, but he has to be able to stand on his own, we won't always be there for him." "Could you two stop yelling and tell me what’s going on." I say, getting both of their attention. "Yeah! Some of are trying to sleep here!" Yells the pony in the other bed as he shakes a hoof in the air. "Sorry." Miles says as he shuts the curtains. "Miles wants to put you through some ridiculous training thing because of what happened." Twilight says as she walks up to my side. "Spartan training to be exact, after losing a fight like that, I don't want you walking around without some better training." I look between them in slight confusion. "I don't see the problem." "The problem is that he told me some of the things that you would go through, and I don't like it." Twilight says as she grabs a hold of my hoof. "What would I have to go through?" "Can't say, you would have to go through it not knowing about it." Miles says as he walks to the window and looks out to Ponyville. "Well, when would it start?" "As soon as your able to fly." "Then I'll do it." "What!" Twilight yells. "Let’s be honest, Storm Breaker nearly killed me. If I don't do this, I could lose everything. I don't to take that chance again." "But, Storm..." "It'll be alright; it's not like he's going to try to kill me." I say, getting worried looks from everpony, "really, wow, that must be some intense training. But I still want to do it. If you can guarantee I'll be a better fighter, then I want to go through it." "It will... I'll start making preparations." Miles says as he walks out of the room. I look over to Twilight and start to rub her hoof as she sits there, pouting. "Hey... talk to me." "I don't like this; you're going to get hurt Storm." "I figure, but if I'm going to be the one to protect you, I better learn to be the best fighter possible. It'll hurt, but nowhere near as much then if I were to lose another fight and never get to see you again." She jumps onto the bed and lays next to me, holding me closely. "I still don't like it, but I'll support you." "Thank you." "You two aint gonna derp, are ya?" Asks the other pony from behind the curtain. We share a small laugh as Twilight gets off the bed. "I'll be going now..." "Wait, there's something I want you to look up when you get the chance." "What’s that?" "Look up whoever Storm Breaker is. See if he comes up in any records in the..." "I know who he is!" Yells the pony from behind the curtain. Twilight pulls the curtain back and runs up to him. "Really! Who is he? Where does he come from?" "Whoa calm down, I don't know too much, but I recognize the name well enough." "Well? Who is he?" "The son of Snow and Rain Cloud.... you know, the pegasus who practically own the cloud manufacturing business." "How do you know that?" I ask. "There was an article about them in the Cloudsdale daily. Apparently there was a huge scandal with their son, Storm Breaker, and they sent him into the royal guard to teach him a lesson." "What was the scandal?" Twilight asks. "Hmm... you know I don't really know; it was like... eight years ago." "Then how do you remember the names?" "Oh, well one of my girls had to go to their estate in Cloudsdale and I saw the names of the attendants. His was right there and I put two and two together." "One of your girls?" Twilight asks in confusion. "Yeah they were having a party and wanted some entertainment, so they gave me a call. Anyway, they live up in Cloudsdale, uhh... somewhere. Just look for the biggest house possible, you really can't miss it." Wow... this must be the most resourceful stripper managers I've ever met. As Twilight and I thank him Miles walks back into the room with his hands on fire. "You ready for this?" He asks as he walks up to my side. "What are you doing?" "Fixing you." He slams his hands onto my chest and starts to fill my body with his energy. I can feel the muscles and bones reconnecting as he continuously pumps his energy into me. All I can do is grab hold of the sheets and wait for the energy to stop pouring into me. When he finishes up, he brings a hand to my cast and waves his hand over it, making it crack off to reveal my completely healed wing. I sit up and give it a few tries... good as new. "Wow, thanks Miles." "Just a warning, the minute we step out of this hospital, I'm going to become living torture for you. I'll be waiting for you in the lobby." He says as he walks out of the room. I gulp as I look over to Twilight. "So, can I trust you to look them up?" I ask Twilight as I get out of bed and stretch a bit. "I'll find them, please try your best to stay safe Storm." She says as she walks up to me and nuzzles my cheek. "Thanks, I will, I promise. I love you." "I love you to." She says as we share a kiss. "Aw, that's kinda nice," says the other pony. I ignore him and put some more passion into the kiss, until she looks away. "I think we should get going... I doubt Miles will appreciate waiting for too long." "He can wait for one more kiss." I say as I go back and kiss her again. We take our time conveying our love to each other, but soon enough we break off the kiss and head out the hospital. Chapter 52 Rain CloudChapter 52 Rain Cloud Perspective: Twilight As we walk into the lobby, I can see all of the nurses and doctors watch in disbelief as Storm and I walk out. I don't think they'll ever get over how Miles can cheat death so easily, to be honest, I'm still getting used to it. We stop by the front door where we see Miles staring off into the distance. I hear Storm gulp as he turns to me. "Well... this is it then..." "When do you think the training will be finished?" "I don't know, royal guard training took a month, I'm guessing around that time or more." "I'll miss you" I say as I give him one last hug. "I'll miss you to" he says as he hugs me tightly. We hold each other until Miles knocks on the door, making Storm let go of me and walk out of the building. "For making me wait I want you to run to my house and do pushups until I tell you to stop.... well? Get moving!" He yells, making Storm run off towards his house. Miles looks back to me and gives me a single nod before he walks after him. If he hurts my Storm, I swear I'll turn him into a tulip and leave him in the desert. I shake my head and make my way home, quickly trotting through the streets and avoiding any unnecessary stops. When I get there I slam the door open and immediately head for my non-pegasus flying and cloud manipulation section. As I sort through the books I try to find the right book, but I can't find it anywhere. "Spike... SPIKE..." "Yeah Twilight" Spike says as he walks into the room from the kitchen. "I need that book on spells for pony's to be able to walk on clouds..." "It’s right here" he says as he pulls it off of its shelf. How he finds everything so quickly, I will never understand. I levitate the book over and start refreshing my mind on how to cast the spell. "Uh Twilight... what’s going on?" "Well, we have a lead on who Storm Breaker is, so I'm heading to Cloudsdale to have a visit with these ponies." "Oh...OK... how is Storm doing?" "Miles healed him... but now they're off doing some really dangerous training..." "Why would they do that the minute Storm got out of the hospital?" "Storm has this crazy notion that he has to protect me, I didn't really want him to go, but that look of determination on his face told me that I couldn't convince him otherwise." I look over to see Spike slowly nod his head as he thinks about what I said. "Don't tell me you actually agree with them" I ask as I set the book down. "I do. I know it's hard to understand, it must be a guy thing in all honesty, but Storm couldn't fight off that creep. He must feel pretty pathetic right now...." "How could you say that! He fought him when he had a mace and..." "And nearly died. Look, he wants to be with you, but at the same time he can't because he doesn't think he can protect you from creeps like Breaker. If this can help him do that, why wouldn't he go through this? Heck, I'd go through it too if Miles would train me." "But he could really hurt himself!" "Maybe the risk of being hurt is worth the reward of being able to be with you, Twilight." I stare at him in disbelief, thinking deeply about what he just told me. it's true that he does have a strange tendency to show up, but why does it always have to end in a fight. "*sigh* I think you're right, it must be a guy thing. Look, I'm going to be going, are you going to be alright on your own?" "Not like I haven't done it before. Just think about what I said." "I will Spike, thanks," I say as I give him a light hug and go back to reading. Once I finish memorizing the spell I go and collect my bags and fill them with things I might need. Once I'm satisfied with my belongings I say my goodbye and head out. I go out back and jump into my balloon. I use my magic to fill the balloon up with hot air and start to lift off into the air. "What are you doing?" I jump and turn around to see Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy hovering behind me. "Oh, well, I got a lead on Storm's past, so I'm heading off to Cloudsdale to..." "On your own?" Fluttershy asks. "Well yes, but..." "Yeah, that's not happening, I'm coming with you" Rainbow says as she takes a seat in the balloon. "Yeah, Cloudsdale is nothing like Ponyville, I would like to come along to, that is if you don't mind that is" Fluttershy says as she takes a seat next to Rainbow. "Look, I appreciate you wanting..." "Do you even know where you’re going?" Rainbow asked. "Well... I'm looking for a really big house..." "Yeah, every house in Cloudsdale is big, just look at mine. We'll be able to get you to your destination in no time." "Plus there's a lot of bad ponies there... going alone would be a bad choice... if you were to ask me.... that is, if you want my opinion that is..." Fluttershy mumbles. "Look, we're coming, whether we have to come with you or follow you around by flying ourselves, your choice." I look at the two of them and sigh. I guess they're coming then. "Thanks girls... I appreciate the help." "No prob, now can you bring us up to date on everything that’s going on, and I mean everything." I spend the entire trip to Cloudsdale explaining to them what’s been going on. About my old relationship with Storm Breaker, how we had our break up and how he treated me afterwards. Fluttershy nearly broke out in tears by the end while Rainbow looked as if she was about to murder somepony. I continued by telling them about how Storm Cloud was put with me to help with Miles, how we discovered he wasn't the Storm from before, and how when Miles was out we got really close. I kept out all of the details from the bedroom, but I think they put one and one together. I finished by telling them about our love confessions at the hospital and the training he's going to do while I research this lead on Storm Breaker. "Wow... so that's what all that yelling by my place earlier was all about." Rainbow said as she looks out to the horizon. "Yeah... I don't really get why he wants to do it so badly, but I'm still supporting him through it." "I get it," Fluttershy says, getting looks from both of us," well... he has to be the stallion and defend his mare. He must feel he failed, so this is his way to make up for it." I look over the edge and think about what she said. I'm starting to get it, but I still don't agree with what's going on. We break through the clouds above and land on the outskirts of Cloudsdale. I put my spell on and jump out, landing on the plushy clouds below. "Alright, so let’s start by..." "Found it," Rainbow says lazily as she points behind me. I turn around to find the largest cloud house I've ever seen before. It must be at least four stories tall, going at least a block from side to side. Twin rainbow water falls flow from the top and line the front entrance. A large clouded wall goes around the complex with a gate at the center as pegasus guards fly around in black uniforms. I fall on my haunches as I stare up at the large ornate building, is this really where Storm came from? "Wow..." Fluttershy says in amazement. "Well, enough looking, let’s go in already!" Rainbow says as she flies off for the gate. I shake my head and run after her, but get there too late as two guards confront Rainbow. "Stop! This is the Cloud estate, none are allowed in without prior permission, please turn back." Says the guard on the left in a deep rough voice. "My name is Twilight Sparkle," I say as I catch up to them, "I have some questions and concerns that deal with some of the residents in this establishment. Please, I must speak with..." "If you wish to speak with the owners, make a request and come back with proper papers to gain access. Am I clear?" "Crystal," Fluttershy says as she flies back to the balloon. Rainbow and I look to each other before we run after her. we regroup and try to come up with a plan. "What should we do now?" I ask. "Give up?" Fluttershy says. "You always say that, I say we sneak in and find them on our own." Rainbow says. "I don't want to break in to somepony's house.... but I don't see a quicker answer.... how are we going to do this?" "Easy..." Rainbow says with an evil grin as she pulls us in and tells us her plan. Fluttershy and I are waiting around the corner of the cloud gate waiting on Rainbow's signal to run in. I seriously hope that this works out... I don't think I can afford to post bail on us if it doesn't. I lean over and see Rainbow stalking her way up to the gate. She looks inside and flies up and over the wall. KRA-BOOM As I see the electrical discharges from Rainbow's Buckineer Blaze I teleport myself and Fluttershy to the other side and start to run for the front door. I can see all of the guards give chase after Rainbow as she flies away, taunting them to catch her. We make it to the front door and burst through, only to run into a couple more guards. "Hey, Intruder! Stop right there.... oh my gosh that one fainted, somepony call a doctor!" I look and see Fluttershy laying on her back, pretending to be unconscious. As the guards rush to her aid I back away and run down a nearby hall. When I'm clear of all of the guards I slow down to a light trot and look around. The wall to the left is lined with windows while the wall to the right is lined with doors and small cloud furniture. In between the doors are wall mounted family portraits. Most are from the past but at the end of the hall I stop and look at the last one. It has four ponies, two little colts, one that I presume to be Storm and one being yellow with a blue mane. Behind them are a light blue stallion with a black mane and a grey mare with a yellow mane. They all shared the same blue eyes and seemed to be very happy together. Rain Cloud, Snow Cloud, Storm Cloud, and Storm Breaker, reads a plaque underneath the portrait. "Can I help you?" I turn to find the mare from the portrait standing next to me. She looks a bit older than in the portrait, with a grey streak going through her mane and a few wrinkles showing up under her eyes. "Uh... yes actually, are you Rain Cloud by chance?" "Just call me Rainy, what are you doing in my house?" "I'm here to discuss some things about your son..." "Oh not this again..." "Storm Cloud." She looks at me in shock and confusion for a second before she takes on a more serious face. "My son Storm Cloud died eight years ago, what could you possibly want to discuss about him?" "Well... I'm not sure how to say this... but he's not dead." "And how would you know this?" "Well... he's my coltfriend." She looks at me for a bit before she turns away from me and starts to walk away, so I follow after away. "No. I don't believe you... my son died from a flying accident eight years ago, there's no way he could be alive..." "But he is! He's doesn't have his memory from back then but he's still alive! You have to believe me." "And why's that? So you and your coltfriend can come here and collect the inheritance? I've had plenty of ponies come and try to say that they were my lost son, but after three long and painful years I finally had to accept that he's just gone. Please just leave me be." She says as she quickens her pace, but I quicken mine to keep up with her. "We don't want anything! We just want Storm Breaker to stop trying to kill Storm!" When I finish saying this Rainy stops and looks at me with horror and disgust. "Out...I want you out of my house this instant! Leave and never come back!" "Not until you at least come with me to Ponyville and..." "NO! Why would I go with you? If Storm Cloud was with you, where is he then?" "After nearly dying from his last fight with Storm Breaker he decided to go off with a friend of ours to receive more training. He has this weird notion that he has to protect me so he's off risking his life to become a better fighter." She does a double take as she looks at me as if she just saw a ghost. She stares at me for a bit until she looks down the hall. "Follow me please, there's something I wish to show you." I nod and follow her around the corner and down the hall where we enter a personal library. The room is several stories of various books and scrolls sitting on cloud shelves. In the center of the wall ahead of me is a portrait of Snow Cloud. "Please read the inscription on the bottom." I walk up to the plaque and read it. Snow Cloud January 11th 4089 -- 4122 Father, husband "Keep the ones you love safe and they'll keep you strong"- Snow Cloud "That was his motto, the way he lived his life. If what your telling me is true... then I will go with you to Ponyville... but just know that if you're lying, and he's just another impostor..." "I promise you he's the real Storm Cloud." She nods to me as she wipes her tears away. We walk out of the room and start to head towards the front entrance together. "I'm sorry, but I never got your name." "My name is Twilight Sparkle" I say, making her stop in her tracks. "Twilight Sparkle.... the Twilight Sparkle? The prized student of Celestia herself and one of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, that Twilight Sparkle!" I turn to her and smile as I nod my head. "Well... I... uh... Miss Sparkle..." "Please, just Twilight, I am with your son after all." "Yes... we'll see about that..." We make it to the front where we find a large group of guards crowding around Fluttershy, still trying to get her to wake up. "Fluttershy, I've got Rainy, we can get going now" I call out, getting her to roll over and walk up to us and making every guard nearly fall over in disbelief. "Oh, that's good, I didn't know how much longer I could pretend to be unconscious" she says, getting all of the guards to fall over. "Um... he-hello... I'm Fluttershy" she says timidly to Rainy. "I take it that this is the Element of Kindness, Fluttershy" I nod, "well, it’s a pleasure to meet you Fluttershy. Sorry about the trouble my guards were giving you." "Oh, it's fine. They were just doing their job, nopony can blame them for that." "Kind as ever I see" she says as she walks to the mass of guards trying to get back up. "I need two of you to accompany me with these two ladies to Ponyville." The closest two jump up to her and salute before they fly to the door and open it for us. We walk out and head towards the gate where we see a rainbow fly circles around a group of confused guards. "RAINBOW!" I yell out to her, getting her to fly down to us. "Aw, couldn't you have just waited a few more seconds, I was having way too much fun with them." "Rainbow? As in Rainbow Dash?" Rainy asks. "The one and only. Why, have you heard of me?" "Yes actually, I saw you perform at the royal wedding last year, that was quiet impressive of you." "Eh, it was pretty good, I guess" she says as she looks at her hoof nonchalantly. I shake my head and head for my balloon. We all pile in, except for her guards, who were ordered to fly along with us. Most of the trip was done in complete silence. Nopony wanting to break the silence. "Soo... Twilight. How did you meet... this Storm Cloud?" Rainy asks. I tell her all about Miles and how he had to be stationed with him and me. I keep certain details out, but I think she can tell I'm hiding them. "And we've been together ever since" I say in summation. "So when you say you're with him... how close have you two been?" I feel the heat flare from my cheeks as I begin to blush wildly. I can hear Rainbow giggle as everypony turns their attention to me. "Well... as close as two ponies can be..." "BWAHAHAHAHA, ah man Twilight. I didn't know you were that kind of pony hahaha" Rainbow teases. "Oh....my..." Fluttershy says as her cheeks turn red. "So... how did he..." "LOOK! There's Ponyville, lets hurry up and get to Miles's place so we can reunite you with your son!" I say as I drag the balloon down with my magic and land out front of his house. I quickly jump out and run inside looking around for any clues for where they are. After a few minutes of looking I find the group at the kitchen table. "OK, I don't know where they are, but..." CRASH I spin around to see Storm slam into the wall as he comes crashing through the door. He has a lot of cuts and bruises all over his body and seems to be breathing irregularly. He gets up immediately and charges back outside where he jumps at Miles, tackling him to the ground. "Storm, Miles stop fighting for a minute and get in here real quick." I yell to them, getting Storm's attention. "FOCUS ON THE FIGHT!" Miles yells as he grabs him by the mane and tail and spins around, tossing him into a tree, knocking him out. Chapter 54 Dinner for TwoChapter 54 Dinner for Two "Heeey Luna, what's up." HOW THE FUCK COULD I FORGET OUR DATE! "You didn't forget about our date, did you?" She asks with a small laugh. "No. Well, maybe a little, I thought there was going to be some warning to be honest." AW FUCK WHAT DO I DO, WHAT DO I DO? I NEED HELP! "OK then." She says before she walks back inside of the closet and shuts the door behind her. Da fuck? "Miles," she calls from behind the door, "I'm about to arrive for our date." She calls out before she opens the door and walks back out and stands before me with a big smile. We both laugh a little at her goofiness as I walk up to her and kneel down to give her a hug. "You did forget, didn't you?" "Yeah, sorry. I got caught up in the day to day stuff. Plus, with what happened to Storm..." "What happened to Storm?" She asks as she breaks our hug and starts to head to the hall door. "I'll tell you all about it at dinner, why don't you go down stairs and make yourself at home while I get things ready" I say as I open the door for her and usher her out. She gives me a smile and walks down stairs. As she's going I slowly make my way for the window in my room. Once I get to it, I flare my heels and jump out. The second I hit the ground I begin to run into the night like my life depended on it, using the magic in my heels to make me run at even higher speeds. I need help, I have no clue what to do. Who can I go to though? Storm's out of town and I can't ask one of the girls.... BIG MAC! I change direction and head straight for Sweet Apple Acres, arriving there in almost twenty seconds. I see Big Mac and Applejack walking up to the front door so I jump ahead of them and land with a loud THUD. "I NEED YOUR HELP!" I yell as I grab Big Mac by the harness and run into the orchard, keeping the same speed as before. Once I feel safe knowing that no one will hear our conversation I stop and set him down. "What in tarnations got..." "OK SO I'VE GOT A DATE WITH SOMEONE I CAN'T TELL YOU ABOUT AND SHE JUST SHOWED UP AT MY PLACE FOR THE DATE BUT I FORGOT AND DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO BECUASE I'VE NEVER DONE SOMETHING LIKE THIS SO I WENT TO FIND SOMEONE FOR HELP BUT STORM WAS GONE AND I CAN'T ASK ONE OF THE GIRLS AND I NEED ROMANTIC ADVICE!" I say calmly. "Eeyup." "Thank you! OK, so what should I do?" "Hmm..." he looks away and puts a hoof to his chin as he thinks about it. And thinks about it. And thinks some more about it. I think I'm going to have a heart attack by the time he thinks of something. "Well..." "Well, what?" "I'd say, just be yerself an do something together." "Great myself, got it, what else?" "That's about it." "That can't be it, it's never that easy." "Eeyup." "What should we do? Is there..." "Nnope. Doesn't matter what ya do, as long as ya do it tagether." I stare at him for a second before I give up. "Fine, I'll make it up as I go, thanks for the help Big Mac." "Eeyup." I turn away from him and launch myself into the air, aiming for my place. I make there in no time, somehow being fairly close to begin with, and land just outside the front stairs. I walk up to the door and place my hand on the door knob. *Inhales, Exhales* OK, I can do this. Just remember what Dolum and Big Mac told me, just open the door and have a good time. Just open the door. Any moment now. OK, seriously, here I go. On the count of three, one, two, three! Open the door hand! Rahh! Why can't be as easy as fighting a dragon or something. I suddenly hear the sound of pots and pans crashing and run inside. I go to the kitchen and find Luna sitting on the ground with a pot on the top of her horn and surrounded by other pots and pans. She looks up to me and gives me a shy smile, blushing furiously. "Uh... found the one I was looking for" she jokes. I kneel down and take the pot off of her horn. "What were you trying to do?" "Well, I figured you were going out to do... something. So I figured I would get dinner started." "You know how to cook?" "Well... no. But I can make spaghetti!" I laugh a little, making her blush even more. "Well, that's one more thing then I can cook, why don't you show me how to make spaghetti then" I say as I stand up, making her smile. I go to the fridge and open it up. I kneel before it to look around, only to falter when Luna puts her front half onto my back and peers into the fridge with me. "Luna... what..." "We'll need that!" She says as she points to an onion. I reach out and grab it, only to have Luna levitate it out of my hands and take it over to the counter. "That too" she says as she points to the celery. I look to it, then her, then back to it. I pull it out of the fridge only to have Luna Levitate it out of my hands and put it next to the onion. "Are you going..." "Oh and we need all of those tomato's too," she says excitedly as she points them out. We go through everything on her list in this manner, her calling them out, me pulling it out only to have her levitate it away. Once we finish going through her list she tries to get off of me, only for me to hold onto her legs. "Miles..." "So what do I get for being your step stool?" She laughs a little before she leans over and gives me a small kiss on the cheek. "How's that?" "Mmm... it'll do, for now." I let go of her and let her get off. I shut the fridge as I stand and watch her look through the ingredients. "We have everything we need except one thing, the noodles." "Can you make it without the noodles?" "HA! Yeah, if you like eating just paste. Think you can scrounge up some noodles?" What's wrong with paste? "Uh... maybe, let me run into town and see if I can get some noodles." "Alright, I'll get everything set up, don't take too long." She walks over to me and jumps up to give me a light peck on the cheek, getting me to smile. "Well, go on." She says as she walks over to the counter and starts to levitate everything into place. I walk out of the house and make my way to Ponyville. OK, everything seems to be going smoothly so far, I just need to get some noodles... what the fuck are noodles!? I know, I'll ask Spike, he should know what noodles are, hopefully. I light my heels and make my way to the library, getting there as quickly as possible. When I come up to the building I see that the lights are still on, so I knock on the door. "Yo Spike, you in there?" After a minute of waiting Spike finally opens the door. "Why do you have a lamp shade on your head?" He looks up and throws the shade behind him. I look inside to see confetti and streamers everywhere. "No reason, what can I help you with?" "Uh... I need to get some noodles; do you know what they are?" "What kind of noodles?" "The... kind for spaghetti..." "Spaghetti noodles, yeah I have some you can have, for how many?" "Two." "Two? Oh ho ho, somepony's got a date going on. Who's the lucky mare?" "Can't say." "Ah, a man of mystery then, alright, I'll bug you later about it, just let me go get the noodles for you." He says as he shuts the door. "OK, I'll just wait out here then." What the fuck is he doing in there? Why was there confetti all over the place? Spike comes back and hands me a blue box with long yellow... sticks. "Alright, just boil them and you'll be good to go. So, are you gonna tell me who you have a date with?" "Are you going to tell me what's going on in there?" "Uh...Nope." He says before he slams the door in my face. I stand there for a second until I shake my head and start to head home. I don't know what's going on in there and I don't want to know. I make it home and walk into the kitchen to find everything a complete disaster. There's a small fire on the stove, the counters are covered in a red sludge that seems to be boiling, the ground has a strange sticky substance and, somehow, there's literally a sink in the middle of the floor that is pouring water out, even though it's not connected to anything. Where did she get a sink? I was gone... maybe five minutes. "Good news! I found some noodles in the cupboard!" Luna says triumphantly as she presents two plates of perfect looking spaghetti from the kitchen dining room. "Wh-wh-what happened in here?" "Oh... well, I think I got a little... carried away" she says as she twiddle's her hooves. A little, how did you manage to do this with only six tomatoes? I take a breath and walk over to one of the plates. The food actually smells pretty good. "Well... let’s eat first, this actually looks really good" I say as I take a plate and head for the table, making her smile. We sit next to each other and dig in... or at least I try. She's set a fork down, but I can't stab the noodles. After a few failed attempts I look over to see Luna just watching me fail at eating. With a small chuckle she picks her fork up, with her hoof.... logic be damned, and sticks it into the noodles. She spins it around and takes the ball to her mouth and begins eating.... show off. I try her technique, with much more success, and try a bite. "So... what do you think?" "Well..." "Well?" "This..." "Yes?" "Is the greatest thing I have ever eaten." "Oh stop, it's..." she starts to say but stops when I start eating with much more gusto, shoveling the noodles into my mouth. This is seriously the best thing I've ever had; it even beats those pancakes! Hmm... can you mix the two? I finish up the noodles and start to pour the rest of the sauce into my mouth. Once that's all gone I lick up the remains until the plate is back to its pristine whiteness. When I finish I set the plate down and slowly look back to Luna, who's staring at me in disbelief. "Uh... sorry for..." "You missed a spot." She says as she lifts up a napkin and holds it in front of my face. She takes a few moments to look for the best spot to wipe before she wipes my entire face. I grab the napkin and look down to it to find it covered in spaghetti sauce... damn... I could have eaten that. I take my napkin and try my best to clean myself off as she continues to eat. "So, was it really that good?" "Are you kidding? That had more flavor than anything I've ever had in Topaz." "What did you eat in Topaz?" "Well, it was this synthetic paste that we cooked into different textures. It was bland, but it kept you going." "Wow, that sounds awful." "Eh, beats not eating." I say as she slurps up the last of her noodles. I see a little off the sauce left over on her lips and decide to try something. "You missed a spot" I say before I lean over and lick her lips, cleaning off the sauce and making her jump a little. She stares at me for a second before she leans in and starts to kiss me. I kiss her back and put a hand behind her head, stroking her with my thumb. As we kiss we wrap our tongues around each other’s. Heh, I can still taste the spaghetti. I try my best to dominate the kiss, but her being bigger than me makes it a challenge... that I win. I force my way onto her mouth and start to explore the new area, still finding the left over taste of spaghetti everywhere. She breaks the kiss, letting us both catch our breath, and leans her head against mine. "Miles..." "Yeah?" "I smell fire." I look back to see the fire in the stove has spread and now burns the left over sauce. I jump out of my seat and run into the kitchen to fight the fire, only to slip on all of the water. I try to get up but I keep falling over myself. Suddenly a blue aura surrounds everything in the kitchen and starts to levitate its way out if the kitchen door. I look to Luna and see her standing by the flowing mass, laughing at my antics. Once all of the mess finds its way outside I look around to find my kitchen back to its original state. I get up and flare my hands, pulling out all out the water from my clothes and sending it to the sink. When I finish I turn to Luna to find her right next to me. "So where did we..." KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK We both turn to the direction of the front door and freeze. "Nopony can know I'm here" Luna says in a panic. "I know, I know... maybe if we stay silent, they will go away..." "Umm, Miles... the door was open, may I come in?" I hear Fluttershy call out. I start to panic as I hear her hoof steps come closer to the kitchen. "I have to go I..." "Hold on, I've got an idea, just follow my lead" I say as I bring my magic up to my elbows and start the illusion spell. "Oh, Miles... I'm so sorry I came in without permission... it's just that... well all of the girls were supposed to get together tonight... do you know where she is Storm?" She asks as she looks over to Luna. My spell makes her appear as Storm, as long as she doesn't talk we should be able to get through this. "She went to the pharmacists with Rain Cloud.... because... Storm is sick, right Storm?" I ask. Luna looks up at me in confusion until she sees that she looks like Storm. "Uh..." "Yup, sick. That's our story and we're sticking to it!" "Oh... so sorry to hear that, would you like me to check on you...." "NO!" I yell, making her jump back a little. "Sorry... it's just... we already had him checked, that's why Twilight went to the pharmacist, to get the medication." "I didn't know the pharmacist were open this late" Fluttershy says as she looks me over. "Are you okay Miles... you seem to be... on fire." I look over to see the archaic lines have made their way up to my shoulders, burning my shirt along the way. Why didn't I train more in illusionary spells? "Uh... I'm... levitating something..." "But I saw you levitate things before, they didn't seem that hard for you." "That's because this... thing, is really far away..." "Why are you levitating something far away?" Aw fucking dammit! I can feel the lines start to move to my back, I'm using too much right now... it's starting to hurt. "We have a bet going" Luna says in the deepest voice she can muster. "A bet?" "Yeah, to see if I can lift something to Canterlot." I say as I kneel down. The pressure from the unfamiliar spell is starting to take its toll on me. "I don't think..." "LOOK! A defenseless little animal being hurt my somepony!" Luna yells in her deep voice as she points out the window. "What! Those big meanies!" Fluttershy say as she runs out the back door and fly's off to find the nonexistent culprit. I drop to my side as I let go of the spell. My entire body is yelling at me for doing that... but it was worth it. "Miles, are you alright?" Luna says as she walks up beside me, looking like her old self. "Yeah... I just *pant* don't usually use... that kind of magic..." "I saw you turn a dragon to ash like it was nothing, how does a simple illusion spell tire you out so easily?" "Because I'm not... familiar with them... human magic... depends on knowledge of the spell... plus physical ability... I've trained rigorously with fighting magic... everything else is foreign to me." Luna looks down at me with slight confusion before she walks over to the fridge. I try to look over, but my body won't allow me to move without yelling at me in pain. She comes back to me and Smiles as she teleports us away. "Where are we?" "On your roof, I thought some wine under the stars would be nice, don't you?" I roll onto my back and look up to the night sky. "Yeah... sounds good." She lays on her back so we're next to one another. She pulls out a wine sack and two glasses and pours us both a glass. "I've never heard of Blood Proof Wine... where did you get this?" She asks as she levitates me a glass. "I got it off of Gary. Remember that Minotaur that attacked Ponyville?" I say as I take the glass. "*sigh* yes. But let’s not think of that, right now it's just you and me." She says as she lifts the glass and takes a drink. I raise mine and take a drink as well.... oh shit. Author's Note A/N: Thanks to Voltman77 for picking who dropped by for dinner! Thanks for reading and Like alway, Brony on! P.S. Blood Proof Wine is a DnD Item my character found. It's enchanted to make you automatically become drunk beyond belief. Chapter 55 Heart BreakChapter 55 Heart Break Ahh... my head... what happened? I slowly open my eyes to find myself in bed... with Luna cuddled up next to me as she sleeps peacefully... WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED?! I started to panic but stop when I hear her sigh in her sleep. Oh my... she has the cutest sleeping face. I look around to try to find out what's going on. First off, did we fuck. I pull up the sheets and take a look down. We'll... I don't see any stains of any kind... plus I still have my pants on, though they are burnt up to my knees. I lay the blanket down and look out the window... it's day time... that may come to bite us in the ass later. "Mmm... huh?" Luna mumbles as she starts to wake up. "Morning" I say softly to her, making her eyes shoot wide open. "Don't freak out..." "What are you doing in my bed?" She asks calmly. "Uh... well, this is actually my bed." She lifts her head and looks around for a second before she jumps out of bed, kicking and screaming. "WHAT! WHAT HAPPENED? WHAT DID YOU DO! OOOWW, WHY DOES MY HEAD HURT SO MUCH!" She yells as she grabs her head with both hooves. I cringe from the yelling as well, but still manage to stand up, only to drop back down from the mind numbing headache. I hear Luna run into the restroom and slam the door.... ow by the way. I try again to get up again and succeed. I stumble my way over to the door and lean against the wall beside it. "Luna... is everything alright?" I ask but don't get an answer. "Luna, I'm coming in." Again no answer, so I open the door and take a steps inside. She has her backside in the air as she's trying to get a look at 'herself'. I can see the panic in her eyes as she's trying desperately to figure out what happened. She looks over to me and drops down, trying her best to look modest but still clearly embarrassed from her stance earlier. I walk up to her and take a seat on the wall beside her. "Umm..." "Don't worry, I don't think we did anything." "How could you be so sure?" She asks as she take a seat next to me and leans against me. I put an arm around her and hold her tightly. "Well, you're a virgin, right?" "Yeah... or at least I think I am." "Well there are no stains on the bed. Plus, I still have my pants on, so there's that." "That doesn't disprove anything..." "I know, but it's a start... are you really that against having sex with me?" "What... no... well.... it's not that I'm against the idea, I was just always taught to wait till marriage." "Well... assuming everything went to our best interest... we'll wait until then, alright?" She looks over to and gives me a kiss in the forehead. "Okay." We hold each other for a bit until Luna looks out the window. "Oh shoot, Celestia gonna kill me for this, I've got to get going." "Really? You can't stay for breakfast?" "Well... alright. A quick breakfast and then I really have to get going." We both stand up and make our way to the stairs... where I trip again. "Aw... what the..." I look down to see the entire bottom floor of my house is filled with some yellow things. "Miles... why is your house filled with bananas?" "Well, if I knew, I would tell you.... what's a banana?" "It's a fruit. You eat them." I look over and pick one of the up, it has a smooth surface and seems to have a soft interior. I look over to Luna, who shrugs, and try a bite. FWOOSH The second I bite into it a flame burst out from the banana, making me fall back in recoil. "What the fuck! Why would you eat fire!" I yell. "They don't normally do that, plus you're supposed to peel them." She says as she lifts one up and peels it back, only to have it burst out in flames. We go through at least a hundred bananas trying to find one that won't burst out into flames, but to no avail. "What's going on here?" We both spin around to see Celestia looming over us, with a very pissed off look. "Hey Celestia, do you like bananas?" I ask as I present her a Banana. Her eye's twitches a little as she ignores my stupidity and looks to Luna. "Hello Tia..." she says timidly. "Oh do not Tia me right now. What are you doing here, on your own, with Miles?" "If she's with me she isn't really by herself, is she?" I say, getting a glare from Celestia. "Sister, nothing..." "Do I need to remind you of your royal duties? Or of the simple fact that I can have him executed for this?" "Whoa, we didn't do anything..." I try to say but stop when I feel an aura hold my mouth shut. "Celestia, you know I would never neglect my duties..." "Then why wasn't there court last night? Why did you cancel it?" "Who would have missed it!? Nopony comes to night court! They still fear me and my night! I came here to be with the one pony who doesn't fear the night!" Luna yells as she approaches Celestia. "Have you lost yourself Luna! Why are you acting so foalish! You've become too close to him..." "So what! Am I not allowed to..." "LUNA" Celestia yells in a voice that nearly sends me flying, "he's a different species. He's problematic, not to mention he's mortal..." "You allowed Shining Armor and Cadence to marry! What makes you..." "Cadence and Shining are at least the same species. I won’t allow this. Go home now or I will have Miles arrested." They stare each other down; I can almost make out sparks between them. After a while Luna falters and backs down. "Very well..." she says before she teleports out of my house. I stand back up and face Celestia. "What do you have to say for yourself?" She asks as she undoes the magic on my lips. "I don't see the probl..." "Do you know what you two did last night?" "Well..." "I'm getting reports from all over Ponyville and Canterlot of banana robbery, vandalism's, tunnels being built under both cities, what did you do to my sister Miles?" "We don't know, we just had some wine and..." "YOU GAVE HER ALCOHOL!" She yells in bewilderment. "Yeah, why..." "Miles, let me make this very clear to you, stay away from Luna. From what I can already see you should be put on the death penalty. But I am letting it go this time, for both my parents and Luna. Do not make me regret this decision Miles. You will never be with her, she will miss you, but in time she will forget your name..." "I think we both know that time is not the issue here, Celestia." I say, getting even sharper glares from her. "Is there something you wish to tell me" she says as she steps closer to me. "Yeah, you hate me. I knew you lied when we spoke about your parents, you still resent me, and now you're taking Luna away from me to get back at me." Celestia continues her glares before she turns and walks away. "Stay away from Luna, or else" she says before she teleports away. "Yeah... you and what army." Perspective: Luna I teleport to my room and immediately set a barrier around it as I jump onto my bed and cry into my pillow. It's just isn't fair! Why don't I get to be with him? What right does Celestia have to say who I can and Can't be with! Why do we even have that stupid royal family? It's not like they do anything, all they do is just sit there and corrupt our government. And what was with that racial hatred? Why would it matter if he was human and I'm a pony? If you love each other something like that shouldn't matter! "Luna..." I turn to see Celestia standing right next to my bed. "How did you get in here?!" "You forgot to barrier the double doors... Luna..." "I don't want to talk to you right now!" I say as I turn away from her. I feel her take a seat on the bed, but I try my best to not let her see my tears fall. "I know you are mad at me right now... but this is for the best." "How could this possibly be for the best..." "What would you do if he were to die?" "I-I...." "How about in eighty years?" "I would come to terms with it..." "Like how mother did?" I turn and look back to her in horror of what she just said. "Mother only lasted three years... and I see so much of her in you... I don't want to lose you as well... I don't think I would make it through that." "Tia..." I roll over and look up to her as she starts to cry. "Please Luna, promise me that you won't let this happen. I know it will hurt, but it wouldn't nearly be as painful as losing you... I already lost you once..." I pull her down with my magic and wrap her up in a hug as she cries. I don't want to give up on him... but I can't escape the reality of his mortality. "I promise... I'm sorry sister..." "I'm sorry as well... I know what it's like to lose somepony you care about... but trust me when I say that time will heal all wounds." "If you say so... can I at least tell him that this is going to end... face to face?" "I guess so... but promise me that you'll do it quickly. The longer you drag it out, the more it's going to hurt." "Ok..." I let go of her and roll out of bed. I straighten out and try my best to put on a strong face... but I know that won't last for long... I hope he will take this well... Perspective: Miles Fucking dammit, how many of these damned bananas did we steal?! I've spent the last hour fucking digging these out and I haven't even made a dent yet! "Miles..." "Ahh!" I turn to find Luna behind me. She looks as if she's been doing a lot of crying...I don't like this. "Hey there... everything alright..." "No, everything is not alright." I try to walk up to her, but she backs away with every step I take. "What wrong Luna?" "We can't be together Miles..." "What? Why?" "I... I just can't...I'm sorry I have to go now..." she says as she tries to walk away. "No!" I yell as I run up to her and stop her from walking away. “You don't get to tear out my heart and just leave! What did she tell you!" "Miles... please..." she says as tears start to from in her eyes. "What did she say!" "She said it wouldn't work because your mortal!" She yells, making me back off a bit. "She afraid that I'll die when you die, the same way our mother died. Let’s be honest, I'd only get fifty or sixty years with you, then what? A life time of heart ache, and loneliness..." "Yeah... if I was lucky..." I mumble as I step back. "What was that!?" "I said if I was lucky" I say, getting bewildered looks from her."*sigh* have you noticed how overly powerful I am?" "A little..." "Well, there's a tradeoff. Every day my power grows more and more, but eventually..." "Eventually what?" "Eventually it'll become too much... and I'll burn, myself out." Luna steps back and looks at me with a mixed look of anger and pity. "You're dying... how long do you have?" "Anywhere from six to sixteen years..." "Why didn't you tell me..." "I'm sorry! OK! It’s not something I like to think about!" "It’s kind of a big deal Miles..." "You don't think I know that! You're not the one that has to die so early in life! You're not the one that has to deal with an overwhelming power that bears down on you on a daily basis! You see these rings! These are the strongest restraints we make, and in a month I was supposed to get a second pair! Do you have any idea how much power that is!" I slam my fist against the wall and walk away, leaving her speechless from my outburst. I walk into the Storm's room and pace around a bit before I collapse against a wall. I can feel the tears falling down my face as I face the reality of my life. I don't want to die... there's too much I never got to do... "Miles..." I look over and see Luna standing in the door way, looking down at me with tears still rolling down her face. "Look, I get it. Who would want to be with a ticking time bomb..." "No, Miles, I..." "YOU WHAT! Just leave already, alright." "But...Miles..." "I SAID LEAVE!" I yell, making my magic flare up. She backs away from me with a look of complete horror before she teleports away. I slam both of my fists onto the wall and scream my frustration out to the world as I collapse to the ground. "MORS MALEDICAM VOBIS! " Author's Note A/N: Shout out to halfdeamonspartan for pick the element that the bananas turned to. Thanks for reading and like always, Brony on! Chapter 56 Rainbow's BookChapter 56 Rainbow's Book I stare at the ground and watch as my tears slowly fade away. I don't know how long I've been sitting here... and I really don't care right now. Six to sixteen years... probably less now I think about it. They did tell me that the more I used my magic, the closer the day would come. All I've been doing since I got here has been using magic. Fuck... I'm not ready to die. There's so much I'll miss out on. I want to live without the fear of burning into the void... I want to grow old... I want a family... "Miles, is everything OK?" I look over to find Rainbow Dash standing in the door way looking at me with deep concern. I turn around and sit against the wall and sigh deeply. "Hey, what brings you here?" "I heard yelling so I came over to see what's going on.... is everything alright?" She asks as she steps forward. "Yeah... everything's just great" I say flatly. She walks around and takes a seat next to me, trying not to look me in the eye's. "I... I heard. About how you're going to die... I'm really sorry to hear that..." "Why? It's not like you're the one who's making me die." "I know but... it's just..." "Please don't pity me. I don't want to be pitied for this..." "Miles, who were you yelling at?" "A perdidit somnium." "What?" "Nothing, look, I'd really like to be alone right now..." "Oh, OK. But, if you need to talk to somepony, feel free to call me up, alright?" She says as she starts to get up. "Yeah... thanks..." She stops at the door and looks back to me before she walks out. I bring my hands up and rub my eyes dry... FWUUM I look out the door to see Rainbow Dash backing away from a small plume of fire. "Why do your bananas burst into flames!" She yells to me. "You mean they all don't do that?" I yell back. She looks at me as if I'm crazy before she heads for a window. I take a few minutes to collect myself, trying my best to wipe away my tears. I finally stand back up and head to the window. I open it and drop to the ground, using my magic to lessen the fall. There goes an hour. I walk to the front door and open it, making a wall of bananas fall to the ground around me. I sit next to the pile of bananas and start pulling them out, one by one. Each one I grab I toss out to the area in front of my house, making them send small puffs of fire into the air. After an hour of this I just start to stare off at the park before me. I can see the wind blowing through the tall grass, making waves appear in the gentle hills, making the tree's sway from side to side. After a while I notice that I'm swaying with them, just rocking side to side. "NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" I hear Rainbow Dash yell in the distance. I jump to my feet and run out to her place where I find Rainbow flying around in a frenzy. "Rainbow! What's going on!" I yell up to her, getting her attention and making her fly down to me. "Miles! You gotta help me! Somepony stole it!" "Stole what?" "My autographed, first edition copy of Daring Doo and the Lost City!" "Why would someone steal a book?" "Because they're evil and when I get my hooves on them..." "Easy there, look, I'll help you track them down, just calm down a bit." She takes a few deep puffs before she sits down and looks up to me. "Aright.... calm...." she says roughly. "Ok... so what can you tell me about the scene? Was there any kind of clue as to who would of stole it?" She takes a moment to think about it before her face brightens up from an idea. "Well, my house is made of clouds, so it would have to have been a pegasus." "Good, good, anything else?" "Well..." "Why don't you go up there and look around for clues. Hair, foot prints, anything that could help us narrow it down further." She gives me a salute before she flies up to her place. She comes back down after a minute and shows me a short red hair. "There's only three ponies in Ponyville that have red hair and are pegasus, Comet, Star Dazzler, and Tornado." "Great, let’s go find them." I turn and start to walk off towards Ponyville with Rainbow walking right beside me. She looks really troubled... also why is she walking? "Hey Rai..." "Miles, I had a thought after talking to you earlier." "Oh yeah, what's on your mind?" "Well... what if Celestia and Luna just... I don't know... siphoned your energy out." "First off, the amount of energy taken would probably cause them a lot of pain, secondly it wouldn't solve the problem. The energy would grow back in hours. Look, I know..." "What if they turned you into a pony! Heck maybe even an alicorn!" "To make that happen it would take them having an extremely deep understanding of human physiology. Not to mention that they would have to then understand my constantly changing soul, time a change perfectly, and force my soul to accept the new body. There were a group of people that tried to do this in Ruby Canyon, but they never succeeded..." "Well, maybe we could try, I mean what's the worst that could happen?" "Well, from the reports I read, I could explode." "Like, boom?" "No, like level an entire city boom." She stops in her tracks and gives me a worried look. "Don't worry, I'm not exploding. If I were to guess, my last change happened when my soul materialize into its own form. I believe it called itself Soul Fire." "Change?" "Well, to put it simply, every now and again I go through a change, usually resulting in a power increase." "So you're even stronger now than when you got here?" "Probably... look, don't worry about it. I..." "No, I will worry about it!" She yells as she stops and slams a hoof down. "Whether you like it or not, you're my friend and I can't just do nothing about this! There has to be something that we can do! What if we just had you stop using magic all together? Or..." "Rainbow... I can't do that either. It would force its way out. That's why I took up enchanting, so I could use it to take the edge off." "The... edge?" "Yeah... if I go to long without using magic, it starts to build up in me. Sadly, the more I use magic, the closer I get. This is just something that I'm going to have to face." She sits down and looks down, ears dropping with her overall demeanor. "This sucks..." she pouts. I walk up to her kneel before her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I know it does, but with friends like this, I can take it." She wipes a tear away and looks back up to me with a warm smile. "So, we're friends?" "Yeah... now enough of this, let’s go get your book" I say as I stand back up and wait for her to collect herself. As we continue to walk to Ponyville I try to stifle a laugh, but she catches on fairly quickly. "What’s so funny?" "I'm sorry, I just didn't take you as the book worm type.” I say with a chuckle. "Yeah... I'm an egg head, ha ha." She says as she quickens her pace a bit. I quicken mine to get ahead of her, getting a smirk from her. She stops and jets through the air, getting to Ponyville in mere seconds and leaving me in the dust. I cough a couple of times until the dust clears and I see Rainbow sitting at the entrance to town, waiting nonchalantly. I make my way to her and walk past her, getting her to follow with the biggest look of accomplishment. "Show off..." "Hey, they don't call me Rainbow Dash for nothing.... there he is!" She yells as she points into the market place. I look over to see a pegasus walking from stall to stall. He's all white with bright red hair and a mark of a couple stars in a circle. Rainbow tries to fly at him, but I grab her tail and hold her back. "What's the deal! He's right there, let’s get him!" "Easy there, we don't know if he did it. We'll shadow him for a while, try to see if he's shady or not." She crosses her legs and pouts a bit, but complies. We follow him around for a couple of hours. He seems to be looking for mainly groceries, but doesn't seem at all interested in the book stands. We can rule him out for selling it. We follow him to a fountain where he stops to get a drink of water, where Rainbow loses her patience. She shoots forward and tackles him to the ground and starts demanding answers. I shake my head as I run after her. "Where did you put it!?" She yells as she stomps his chest. "What are you talking about? Get off of me!" I walk up and tap on Rainbows shoulder, getting her attention. I motion for her to move and kneel next to the pegasus. "Sorry about that, my friend here can be... brash at times. We have a couple of questions we'd like to ask you..." "Star Dazzler.... what kind of questions?" "Where were you today? Did you happen to go by the park at all today?" He looks between Rainbow and me before he sighs and tells us. "Why would you need to know that?" "We don't need exact details, just enough to know if you did or didn't do something." "Who are you.... you seem familiar." "My name is Miles..." "Miles! That's right. You're the human from the newspaper! The one Gabby Gums is always writing about. Is it true you're in a relationship with Twilight Sparkle?" "What! No! You mean to tell me that person is still writing about me!? What else has been written about me?" "Well, apparently you fought Princess Celestia, are dating Twilight Sparkle, saved a reporter from three dragons and killed a Minotaur." "Let’s get back to what we came here for!" Rainbow yells from the side. "Right, where did you go today?" "I was at home today, then I went to the market, and then here... can I get an autograph?" I grab his face and pull it side to side, gauging his facial expression. "He doesn't have it" I say as I stand up. "How can you tell?" "He's too innocent. Who's next on your list?" "Does this mean I can go?" Star Dazzler asks from the ground. I wave him off and start to walk off with Rainbow Dash. "That leaves Comet and Tornado." "Right, any clue where to look?" "Umm... no... wait! We can try looking around the eastern park. There's a pegasus obstacle course there." "Good idea, lead the way." I follow her through the town towards the east park. Along the way I can see all of the ponies either trying to sneak a photo or get a glimpse of me from behind cover. I ignore it and continue following Rainbow. When we get to the park I stop us from entering and enter a nearby tree line. "What are we doing over here?" "We're shadowing again. Let's ID them first and then follow them. Hopefully, one of them are here and will be the one with the book." She nods and flies up into the tree to get a better look. "Alright! I can see them both, they're out on the track." I look over and find them almost immediately. The first one is a woman, with a pink body and dark red hair that has a streak of white in it. Her mark seems to be a rock that's on fire, shooting to the side. The other is a male with a black body that has red stripes. His hair is light red, almost a light as Star Dazzlers, but seems darker due to his body. "OK, this time, leave them alone. We'll follow them around for a bit and see where they go." "Fine..." "Don't try to jump them!" "I won't." I give her a glance before I lean against the tree and return my attention to the two of them. They seem to be trying to see who can fly around the track faster, the guy winning every time. They seem to be pretty flirty with one another. Every time the guy would win, the girl would say something to him, give him a playful nudge.... "Oh sweet Barbra..." "Who?" "We're watching them on a date." "What! How can you tell?" "How can't you!?" "Well... maybe they're just friends" she says as she takes another look at the two of them. I look back to see the girl whisper something into his ear and walk away, making the guy's wings shoot straight up as he stands there frozen by what she said. "Yeah, they're just friends" I say sarcastically. "Well... what now? "I don't know... I don't want to spy on someone else's date... especially if it's going that way for them. Why don't we call it a day and look for them tomorrow?” "Ahhh... fine. I hate giving up" she says as she jumps out if the tree and walks with me towards our homes. "It's not giving up, it's postponing. We'll get it later, promise." She gives me a smile as we make our way around Ponyville, cutting through the park to get there quicker. "Soo... how are you? I mean, you know... are you in pain?" She asks worryingly. "No. When I build up too much, it just feels like a lot of pressure in my chest. After that I flare my magic without control until I use it. I've never gone past that... those are the bad days." "If you ever want... I don't know I guess I can..." "Thanks, but the only thing I can do is use my magic somehow." "Are you going to need help with all of those bananas? I've nothing to do now, and way too much energy to go back to sleep." "Alright, thanks for the help... hey Rainbow." I ask as I stop. "Yeah?" "Does your book have a green cover with a picture of a girl with a light tan hat and a green shirt?" "Yeah... why?" "Cause I just stepped on it" I say as I reach down and pick up the book. She takes one look at it and jumps into the air as she takes it from my hands. "YOU FOUND IT! THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!" She yells as she hugs the book tightly. "How the fuck did it get out here in the middle of this field?" I ask as I look around. "Don't know, don't care! I'm going to take this home and put it somewhere safe. I'll swing by your place later to help with the banana's, thanks again!" She says before she flies off for her home, leaving a trail in the air that resembles her hair. I laugh at her antics and make my way home. When I get home I can't believe what I find. I walk through the front door and look around. Every banana has been taken away. There are a few here and there but I can walk through the bottom half of my house now. I go through the entire bottom floor and try to find every possible banana. I find... maybe a bushel's worth and make a pile out front. When I throw the last of them onto the pile Rainbow flies down and looks around. "Wow... no wonder Applejack hired you." "I can't explain it, but when I got here almost all of the bananas were gone. Nothing else was taken either, only the bananas." I say as I throw a rock into the pile, setting it aflame. "Hmm... I hope none of Fluttershy's animals ate them... that could end horribly." "Think we should tell her?" "Naw, it's too late now. Well, wanna hang out then? Since we've both have nothing to do now." "Actually, now that my house is cleared I have to get to work making Storm's armor. I'll have to catch you another time." "Alright, take it easy Miles" she says before she takes off in the air. I watch her leave for a bit before I turn back and head inside. I hope she doesn't tell everyone about my problem. I know they care and all, but I want to keep this as private as possible. Oh well, time to get to work on Storm's armor. Chapter 57 LupusChapter 57 Lupus I spend almost four hours forging and enchanting Storm's armor. I've got the basic shape down, embedded the gems so they sit above his marks, set the Spartan logo in the chest plate with the metal from the amulet and some from the chain mail, and buff n' shine it to make it look pretty. I gave him the strength enchantment again, plus a dexterity one. I saw him manipulate lighting before, so I also set one to lessen the effects from that on him. With these three enchantments a mark of an upside down triangle with three wavy lines underneath it appears. Along the side a lightning bolt appears, going from the front to the back. It's stronger than the armor he had before, but still doesn't compare to Terridisian armor. I bring it up stairs and set it on his bed, it should be a nice surprise for him when he gets back. I make my way back down stairs and go to the fridge to get a drink when I hear growling out back. I walk to the door and open to find the entire back area covered in scorch marks with the wolf from earlier laying in the middle of all of it, gnawing away at something. The wolf stops eating and looks up to me, staring at me with those grey eyes. After a minute of intense staring it finally starts to wag it's tail happily as it opens its mouth slightly as it pants lightly. I guess it trusts me. "Hey, get inside" I call out as I step to the side. It runs straight inside and runs around the walls of my house, sniffing along the floor as it goes. I shut the door and slowly follow it around. It stops by the couch where it sniffs the corner intensely, what are you doing. It walks forward a bit and starts to raise its leg a bit... "Hey!" I yell, making it stop and look back to me. "You better put that leg down." He stares at me for a second before it lowers its leg and runs off, giving an annoyed growl along the way. I follow him upstairs where he investigates every room, sniffing everything until he decides to move to the next object to sniff. We eventually get to my room where, after sniffing everything else, it gets to the secret door and starts to scratch at it. "Sorry, that one stays shut." "Bark bark bark." It sits down and stares at the door, as if something is behind the wall. Curiosity peeked, I slide the door open and look inside. "See, nothing inside" I say as it walks inside and sniffs around. Somehow, it knows not to walk into the center of the Mico platform. I walk out and wait for it to run out before I shut the door. We make our way down stairs where I go to the kitchen and grab a few apples and sit at the kitchen table, watching the wolf run around. After my first apple it runs up to me and sits down, watching me with those big grey eyes. I look down to the core and then back to it. It seems to be looking between me and the core. I offer it the core and wait for it to take it. It gives the core a few sniff before it slowly bites onto it. The second I let go it chomps down on the core and devours it in seconds. "Alrighty then, I think I shall keep you... but you need a name first though... how about... Lupus." It looks back up to me and licks its nose a couple times, I'm taking that as a yes. Now... are you a boy or a girl? I lean over and look down... yup! It's a boy. I reach out and put my hand on top of his head. I begin to pet his head, getting him to rub against my hand with every pet. He's so fluffy.... I should call him fluffy.... nah, Lupus is better. I stop rubbing his head and start eating the next apple, only to get him to nudge my free hand. "Alright, alright, I can take a hint" I say as I pet him some more, getting him to wag his tail some more. I don't get why the girls were so afraid of him. He's completely harmless. I finish eating all of the apples, feeding him all of the cores after he gives me those big eye's, and head to the front porch. It's night time now, guess time flies when you're enchanting... and petting wolves. I sit on the steps and look up to the night sky, it doesn't seem to have its normal sheen. I guess that's to be expected. As I watch the night sky, Lupus comes up beside me and lays against me. I lose track of time as I watch the dull moon slowly crawl its way across the sky. I finally decide to get up and go to bed, much to Lupus's dislike. Perspective: Celestia "Sister please, it’s time to raise the moon. Please come out of bed." I've been by her bed side for over an hour, trying to get her to raise the moon, but she simply won't. Ever since she left Miles's house all she has done is lay in bed and hold onto her tear soaked pillow. She won't talk. She won't eat. Even moving the moon has no appeal to her. I don't know what to do here, it's getting late and the sun is still up. With a deep sigh I go out to the balcony and perform both duties. I have to send the moon and sun to the correct celestial positions, which will probably make a few ponies worry, but I'll deal with that when I get to it. I walk back inside and go to the other side of the bed to face Luna. "Luna... I just raised the moon." "..." "I'm sorry, I know how much you dislike it when I do it... but it had to be done." "..." "Please sister, say something, anything. You're really starting to scare me." "..." "*sigh* very well. Please do try to get some rest sister... I love you" I say as I kiss her forehead and walk out to the balcony. I look back at her still form and shut the doors slowly. I've never seen her so devastated before. There has to be something I can do to get her out of this heart ache. I fly over to my room and go to write a note to Twilight. Dear my most faithful student Twilight, I am in most urgent need of your opinion of Miles because... I crumple up the note and try again. Dear my most faithful student Twilight, I am writing to ask your opinion on a subject that needs immediate attention, Luna is... I crumple this one up as well and toss it aside. I go through an entire stack of papers, unable to write my thoughts down. I don't know what to write. Hey Twilight, I just broke Luna's heart got any ideas to fix it. I doubt that would go over very well. Not to mention that she's friends with him, she would most likely try to help her friend. For the first time, I can't rely on Twilight. Maybe... NO! I refuse to even think of that. It's simply out of the question. I can think of something without him. She is my sister I can do this. Just think... "Ahem, your highness." "Wha!" I look around to find that I had fallen asleep on my desk. A guard has entered my room to wake me. "I'm sorry to disturb you, but it time to raise the sun..." "of course, of course." I walk out and send the moon away and raise the sun, making sure to put each into its proper course. I turn and fly over to Luna's tower to check up on her. I walk in as quietly as possible only to find her in the same state she was in before, only with blood shot eye's. "Sister, please tell me you got some sleep." "..." "Luna please! Say something!" "..." "You give me no choice. I'm going to give you a sedative spell to make you get some sleep, I'm sorry" I give her a light zap that makes her eyes shut instantly. Why is she doing this? How could she have lost her will so easily? I need to help her... I can't believe I'm even considering doing this, but I don't see an alternative. I inform the guards of my departure and order them to stay behind and to attend to other needs. Once they're gone I teleport away. Perspective: Miles GGGRRRRRRRR "Shut the fuck up Lupus" I say as I roll over to see what he's growling at. "What are you doing here?" "Why do you have a wolf in your bed?!" Celestia asks as she backs away from my bed. "Why are you in my room?" "Why is there a WOLF in your bed!?" I look down to see that Lupus has slept at the bottom of my bed and is now bearing his teeth at Celestia. "OY! Fluffy! Cute and cuddly." I say to him, making him drop the tough act and walk up to me to lick my face. "Yeah yeah, I get it, too early Lupus." "You have a pet wolf! Why would you want a pet wolf?" "Because he's so fluffy!" I say as I grab his cheeks and pull them side to side, getting him to bounce up and down. "Right... anyway... I... need your help Miles" she says as she looks away, obviously swallowing her pride to ask this. I let go of Lupus and get out of bed, heading for the door. "What is it you need" I say as I leave the room and head downstairs, Lupus by my side. I hear Celestia mumble something as she follows me to the kitchen. "It's Luna. She's in some sort of state. She won't talk, eat, she won't do anything except hold onto her pillow." "Yeah... sounds like I broke her heart..." I say as I look through my fridge. I'm trying to be nonchalant, but this is ripping my heart apart. "You have to talk to her..." "HA! First you threaten me to never see her again, now you want me to talk to her. If ever there was a defining moment for irony..." "Miles! Please! This is serious!" "I AM SERIOUS!" I yell as I slam the door shut, making Lupus run away. "WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO PLAY WITH OUR HEARTS LIKE THIS! I CAN'T GO TO HER BECAUSE I..." "This isn't about you, it's about her." She says, getting me to walk away. "You have to talk to her, convince her that life is worth living. I tried, but she won't listen to me. But she'll listen to you." "And what exactly would I say?" I say as I take a seat at the table. "Hey there, I know you're in a lot of pain but cheer up, it'll only hurt for as long as I'm alive. Yeah right, get real." I lean over and bury my face in my hands and sigh. Why am I doing this? Why am I fighting with her? I open my eyes when I hear a high pitch moan. I look over to see Lupus sitting next to me, looking saddened with his ears laying down. I reach over to him and start petting him, getting him to start to lick my face again. "Fine... I'll go. But I don't do this for you. This is for Luna" I say as I stand up and face Celestia. She nods and teleports the two of us to Luna's balcony. I walk inside and approach her bed, where I find her asleep. I can still see the stains from all of her tears on her face and pillow. It breaks my heart to see this, but I keep a strong face on as I turn to Celestia. "I thought you said she wouldn't sleep." "I sedated her. I'll undo the spell and give you a few minutes of privacy, but I will be waiting outside so don't..." "I already promised her I would never try anything." I say as I walk over to her. I look up to Celestia and wait for her to undo the spell and leave the room. Once she's gone I look back to Luna and wait. I can she her slowly start to wake, so I put my hand on the side of her face and gently rub her, getting her to wake faster. "Mmm... Miles?" She says sleepily. As she tries to pick her head up. "Hey... everything alright?" I ask softly. "Miles... I..." "Hey, I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier. It wasn't fair for me to take my frustration out on you..." "And I'm sorry that I had to say what I said.... I didn't want to end everything, but..." "Hey this is probably for the best. With your immortality and my... living handicap, it would only end in a heart ache worse than this." She sits up and looks me over a bit before she gets out of bed and walks over to the balcony. Well, mission accomplished, I think. "Celestia, can you come in here please" She says, getting Celestia to run in and hug Luna instantly. "Sister! Are you alright? What do you need? How..." "First off," she says as she breaks the hug and steps back, "I'm still mad at you. But if you help me with this I will forgive you." "Help you with what?" "Miles could you please explain to my sister what's going on?" I walk over and look over the two before I sigh and comply. "It basically goes like this. My power is constantly growing. Eventually it will grow to a point where my body cannot tolerate, and I'll burn out. If I use my magic, it progresses, if I don't use it, it will build up and force its way out. I have anywhere from six to sixteen years." She looks a little shocked by this, but keeps a level expression on. "I want you to help me find a way to fix this" Luna says as she walks to my side and looks me over. "If you can help me with this, I will forgive you, what do you say?" "I... I will help." "Sorry to burst your bubbles, but there's nothing you can do to help..." "How so?" Luna asks as she walk around me. "I've explored every possible route to go, and none of them can help me." "What if we just took away your powers?" Celestia asks as she looks me over. "Then I'd turn into nothing more than just a rock. My powers are an extension of my soul. Take away my powers, take away my soul." "What if we you used a ton of your power to lower yourself, then used a constant supply to keep it down?" Luna asks. "First off, that would be painful, secondly it would accelerate the burn out quickly. The minute I fall asleep I would grow the power back and burn out." They both stop in front of me and sit down, trying to think of a way to fix me. "What if we just put more of those restraints on you?" Celestia asks. "That would only solve the problem for, at most, sixteen years. By that point, I wouldn't be able to move my arms and legs." "Well... what if we... tried..." Luna says. "Look, I appreciate you both trying to fix this, but it can't be fixed. I'm going to die. This is the reality of my being." "But Miles..." Luna says as tries to approach me, only to stop when I back away. "I'm going to have to accept this, and so will you. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to go home." Luna and Celestia give me worried looks before Luna lowers her head and teleports us to my place. "Are you sure that there is nothing we can do?" She asks. "Unless you can match my power, and find a way to calm my soul, no. There's nothing we can do." I say as I sit on the edge of my bed. "Well... what is your power level?" "Last I checked, it was over forty thousand." "Wow..." "Yeah. I..." I start to say but stop when Lupus runs into the room and tackles me in a fit of joy and facial licks. "WHY IS THERE A WOLF IN YOUR HOUSE!" Luna yells as she jumps back. "He's my pet- *lick* I've decided to keep him. His name is Lupus." I say as I sit up and pet Lupus. "And why would you want a wolf for a pet?" Luna asks as she steps closer to us. "Because he's so flooffy!" I say as I scruff up his face. Luna walks over to him and starts to pet him as well, getting him to lay on his back and show us his belly. "You know, I thought you would do something stupid, like name him wolf or something." She says as she rubs his belly, getting his leg to shake like crazy. "Yeah, who would ever do something dumb like that" I say as I look over to her. I wait for her to put one and one together before we both start laughing. "Really Miles?" "What? It suites him." Author's Note A/N: Shout out to Meliron and Crimson Lionheart for picking the extra enchantments for Storm's armor. Thanks for reading, Brony on! Chapter 58 Moving OnChapter 58 Moving On Luna and I play with Lupus for a while until something catches his attention and makes him run out of the room. I look over to Luna and we stare at each other for a moment, smiling warmly. It's taking every fiber in my being not to kiss her right now, and I can tell she's trying just as hard to fight it. It doesn't even feel as if I'm fighting myself. It feels as if there's something within me fighting to get to her. Though it's truly tempting, I know I shouldn't, it would end horribly... for everyone. "Luna... you should get going... Celestia is probably waiting," I tell her quietly. "Yeah... so... is that it. What happens now?" "Well, you're going back to Canterlot and getting some sleep, I'm going to continue preparing for Storm's training, and life moves on." "What about us?" she asks as she steps forward, looking at me with pleading eye's. "We... stay friends. I'll always cherish what we had, but we move on with our lives." "...OK. I'll try..." "No. You will. Trying implies likely failure, you will move on. You will find happiness, wherever it may be, you will find it. And when I die, you will be sad, but you will move on. You will not succumb to a lonely heart; you will find the answer to your happiness." She wipes a few tears away before she gives me a hug, holding me tightly. "If you believe I will... I'll do it..." I return the hug and hold her for a moment before I break it off and stand up. "I guess this is goodbye then." "No way, you'll see me again." She gives me a smile before she teleports out of my room. I sigh and head down stairs, I seriously hope I didn't make the biggest mistake in my life. I walk down the steps to find Lupus staring at the door, standing perfectly still. "What's got you all worked up?" I say as I open the door. "Miles! Have ya seen... WOLF!" Applejack yells as she jumps back. "Why in tarnation do ya have a wolf in yer house!" "Do you see how fluffy he is?" I say as I ruffle the top of his head. He walks out and sniffs Applejack a few times before he trots back inside. "Do you need something?" "Ah.... yeah...YEAH! Have ya seen Applebloom taday? She was supposing ta come home yesterday but never did." "I haven't... you don't think she went back into the forest, do you?" "Ah sure hope not..." she says worryingly. "Well let’s get looking for her then" I say as I step out and shut the door, "where's Big Mac?" "Ah don't know. He didn't come last night either." She says with a deep look of concern. "Well, maybe they're together, let’s check everybody's houses first, maybe they went to visit and decided to just visit someone and ended up staying the night." "Alright... I'll check at Rare's, why don't you start at Fluttershy's." "Can do. Let's meet at Sugarcube corner in an hour." She nods and runs off towards Ponyville. If I remember correctly, Fluttershy lives just east of me, so I head east. After several minutes I find her place and run up to the door. I knock loudly a couple of times only to find that the door wasn't shut properly. "Fluttershy..." I call out as I slowly step inside. Again, I don't get a response. It's quiet... too quiet...then again, it is Fluttershy. I walk inside and look around a bit. There's a fireplace to the right, a set of stairs to the left, and furniture in the back. Everything seems to be decorated to resemble nature and gives off a peaceful vibe. In every nook and cranny there seems to be a hole or small box with some sort of little stair way to them. I don't get it, but whatever, her house. I hear some shuffling upstairs and walk up to investigate. I come up to what I assume is her room and open the door to find Big Mac behind Fluttershy, pounding away at her back side. Fluttershy has her face buried in a pillow, sticking her back side in the air as Big Mac holds onto her. He looks over to me and freezes mid hump to stare at me. I try my best not to, but I eventually look down to see his member sticking half way out of Fluttershy. "Uh..." "GET BACK TO WORK!" Fluttershy yells in a voice that shakes the very core of my being as she looks back to Big Mac, making him... get back to work. I quickly shut the door and run down stairs. Why do things like this always happen to me... why can't I ever knock! When I get to the bottom of the stairs I can see the scared faces of all the small animals hiding in the small boxes. I see a small white rabbit shaking in the corner, trying to comfort itself. It pulls out a carrot to eat but takes a look at it and tosses it aside, shaking even harder. Oh sweet Barbra... he walked in on them too. I walk over to him and sit next to it and pick it up, holding it close to me as I rub it's back. "It's alright, it's ok... we'll get through this..." I say as I rock back and forth. He grabs onto my arm and holds on tightly. After an unknown amount of time I hear hoof steps coming down the stairs. I look up to see Big Mac making his way downstairs. He walks before me and stands there awkwardly, trying not to look me in the eye's. "So... Miles....can ah help ya?" He asks as he rubs the back of his head. "Y-yeah... I mean no... I mean is Applebloom here?" Please say no. "Nnope... why?" "She never came home last night. Applejack was looking for both you and her, so I decided to help." "Where is Applejack now?" he asks in a worried tone. "We're supposed to meet at Sugarcube corner in a bit..." "Then let’s get going" he says as he runs out the door. I set the rabbit down and run after him. I try to keep up with him, but he simply runs too quickly for me to keep up. We make it to Sugarcube corner where we find Applejack waiting at a table. "Big Mac, ya know where Applebloom is?" "Nnope." "Carnsanit! I checked all of their usual hang out, but they aint there either." "Hey are you guys looking for the girls?" Pinkie asks as she pops up from underneath the table... why was she down there? "Yes! Have ya seen them Pinkie?" Applejack asks. "Yeah! They came here yesterday talking about going to Zecora's." "So they're at Zecora's... where's that?" I ask. "It's... in the Everfree Forest." Applejack says with a gulp. "Alright, here's the plan. You two go home and gather whatever supplies you can, meet back at my place as soon as possible, got it?" They nod and run off to the farm. I run back home and go straight for my room. I put on my armor and take all of my weapons, except for my rifle. I go down stairs and see Lupus sleeping on the couch... probably for the best. I walk outside and wait for them to show up. When Applejack and Big Mac finally show up I follow them to Zecora's. We head towards Fluttershy's place and take the path into the forest, slowing our pace as soon as we enter the tree line. "Keep an eye open fer them... they could be tryin ta find their way back." Applejack says as we walk down the path. We nod and start to look out into the forest. I don't see anything noteworthy... just tree's and random plant life. "What's that?" Applejack says, getting me to look over. On the ground is a solid trail of scorch marks, about a half meter thick, going across the path. "What the fuck made this?" I say as I kneel down and investigate the marks. "Looks like elemental serpents ta me," Big Mac says as he looks over the trail. "They went a that way," he says as he nods to the left. "Alright, new plan. You two go to Zecora's and check to see if they're there, I'm going down this way...:" "And why do ya get ta go after the snakes on yer own?" Applejack asks. "Because if it's an elemental creature, I'm going to fair the best." "And how's that?" "My magic makes me resistant to most elements. Fire, ice, electricity, none of them truly cause me pain. Now get going to Zecora's. If I don't find them, I'll meet you two there, got it?" "Eeyup." I turn and follow the trial through the forest. I hear Applejack protest a little, but complies after Big Mac runs off. After a while I start to see more trails converging to a single point. I pull out my sword with my right hand and my revolver with my left as I take cover behind a tree. I peer over to see the serpents laying in a pit together. they seem to all have the same basic structure, a skeletal structure being made of what looks like stone with the core of them being made of various elements. Some are filled with fire where others have electricity or ice filling them. They have flat wide heads with eye's made of their prospective element. They seem to be about the same size of the young snakes I fought last time, maybe a little skinnier due to their elemental innards. I try to see if the girls are anywhere around here when I hear hissing behind me. I turn around to see a fire snake about to strike me. "You wouldn't happen to be friendly, would you?" The snake strikes at me, sending a plume of fire at me as it tries to snap its jaws onto me. I quickly push myself away from the tree and avoid the attack. I line up my revolver and blast a hole in its head. It shakes its head a bit then turns to me, readying to strike again. OK, standard bullets won't work here. I back up and holster my weapon as I raise my sword. it strikes again, I roll forward and stab my sword into its skull. Once I land the attack I flare my hand and turn my sword into a conduit of ice, turning the snakes head into an ice ball. I take my free hand and slam my palm into the ice, flaring my magic and shattering it with a blast of energy. The flames on the body burn out as the body drops to the floor. I start to back away from the pit, hopefully I can get away without any of them noticing. I start to walk away when I hear a shaking behind me. I turn around to see the skeleton of the snake start to shake as it begins to fill with ice. "You've got to be kidding me." I say as the ice snake rises up and readies to attack. Before it can attack, four more slither up and start hissing to one another. There are two fire, one electric, and one that seems to be a form of raw blue energy. The energy one strikes at me, blasting me back as a wall of energy hits me in the chest. I hit the ground and immediately shoot my hand forward, bring up my shield up just in time to stop the two fire snakes from biting me. I flare the magic in my sword and swing it around above me, sending a wave of energy around me and sending them flying back. With them away from me I stand back up and sheath my sword, I don't think it'll be much help right now. I turn and raise both my hands to get ready for the next attack to find all of them have dropped whatever element they were and now lay on the floor as piles of skeletons. "No way... that was too easy." I start to back away from the bones for a second only to stop when they start shaking again. They all rise up again only this time as green energy. What the fuck does green energy do? Probably better not to know. I bring up my magic to my elbows and shoot a beam of soul fire into the center of the group, making a huge explosion appear that sends me flying back. I crash into the ground and roll for a but before I jump to my feet and try to find the snakes. "AW COME ON!" I yell as the soul fire snakes charge me. I turn and start to run away as the snakes send small beams of soul fire at me, barely missing and making small explosions appear before me. Hmm... I haven't tried using the same element yet, couldn't hurt. I throw a ball of soul fire at the closes one and turn it to ash. The others stop their charge and look to the pile of ash and wait. After a few seconds of nothing happening I start throwing balls of soul fire at them, killing two more and scaring the other two away. I start to chase after them, but stop when I remembered why I was here in the first place. I turn and run to where the pit was and start investigating it. Nothing tells me that they were here, no hair, hoof prints, blood, nothing. So I turn and follow the scorch marks back to the path. Once I find the path I turn and run towards Zecora's home. After a few minutes of running I stop and look at what I presume is her home. It's another one of those tree houses, but this one seems more... wild. I start to walk towards it when the door opens and all off the Apples walk out. "You found her!" I say as I run up to them. "I was never lost!" Applebloom pouts. "I just told thum that I told Zecora that I was gonna watch her house while she visits her family." "An why didn't ya tell us earlier about this?" Applejack asks. "Ah thought ah did," she says as she twiddles her hooves around. "Well, from now on, iffin yer going to be going down here, ah want ya ta ask one of the grownups ta go with you, OK?" "Can I ask Miles?" She asks with a hop in excitement. "Well... if he's willing ta, sure." Applebloom turns to me and gives me the biggest smile she can muster. D’aw... how could I say no. "As long as I don't have anything going on I'll be more than happy to take you down here." "Yes!" she yells as she joyfully skips forward. What did I just sign up for? "Thank ya kindly fer watchen after mah kin Miles" Applejack says to me as we walk after her. "Don't mention it. After helping me so much, it's the least I could do." I say with a shrug. "What did ah do ta help?" She asks modestly as she blushes slightly, tipping her hat to hide her face. "You gave me a job, filled my home with food, and not to mention just being an overall descent person. I really appreciate everything you've done for me." "Aw shucks, ah'm jus doing the right thing. Anypony would do that much." "EEyup." "So... didja find the snakes?" Applejack say before I could respond to her prior statement. "Yeah." "And?" Big Mac asks. "A little disappointing. I didn't even get injured." I say, making them both facehoof. Author's Note Thanks to Taco Town for picking the enemies for the forest. Thanks for reading, and like always, Brony on! Chapter 59 ApplesChapter 59 Apples As we leave the forest, we all start to head towards the farm. I figure it's about time I went to work anyway. When we get to the farm, Applejack takes Applebloom inside while Big Mac and I head out the northern fields. Once we get far enough out there we split up, Big Mac going east and me going west. I go to my first tree and start kicking, only to knock it over in my first kick. Dammit. I really need to get some shoes. I go over and pick all of the apples I can from the top and go to the next tree. I hesitate a little and try my best to restrain myself, but when I kick it I only get a few apples. Fucking piece of shit. I kick again in anger and completely obliterate the trunk of the tree, sending shrapnel everywhere as the tree drops to the ground. "Fucking asshole!" "Miles, what’s the matter?" I turn around to see Applejack walking up to me, looking at all of the tree's. "Applejack. Sorry about the tree's..." "Don't sweat it. Just tell me what's got ya so bothered." "Nothing has me bothered. I just need shoes." I say as I approach the next tree. "Miles, ah can tell your lying, what's wrong?" "Nothing, I just need shoes..." "Ah spoke with Rainbow earlier.... she told me about yer problem." Of fucking course she did. "Look, I don't want to talk about it right now. Just let me get back to work..." "Yeah, that's not happening." I stop and look back to her in confusion. "Does this mean I'm fired?" "No, it means until you can buck trees without knocking them over, ah'm gonna have ya do other work around the farm." "What kind of work?" "Jus follow me." I grab the almost empty cart and follow her all the way back to the barn where we leave the cart out front and head inside. The inside is basically a giant open room. To the left and right are rows of stalls, each of which are filled with some cows. Each stall goes up a story then has a flat roof that doubles as the floor for the next floor. The second floor serves as a walkway that goes around the entire room. Some hay bales have been stored here, but other than that it's completely empty. Strands of hay cover the ground and the walkway above, giving the room a distinct odor. "Well ya gonna gawk all day or ya comin up?" Applejack asks from the second floor. I climb up the ladder and join her in the middle of the walkway. "Alright, what do you want me to do?" "Ya see these boards?" She asks as she points to the wall beside up. The walls are made of rectangular panels that are starting to come off. "These panels are gettin old. So I want you ta go through an remove all the bad ones and replace them with new ones." "Sounds easy enough." "Here, let me show ya how it's done" she says as she picks up a hammer in her mouth and pulls out a few nails, making the panel drop to the ground. "Real easy. After ya collect a good amount jus toss the old ones. Ah'll bring in the new ones as you get started, any questions?" "What do you mean by just toss them?" "Uhh... throw them away." "You're not going to reuse them?" "Ah can't. There's nothin ah could use em on." "In that case can I keep them? I could use them for Storm's training." "Hmm... ah don't see why not. Ah'll go grab a cart fer them as well." I thank her and get to work removing all of the old boards. There are a lot that need to be replaced, almost this entire wall. How exactly does it get this bad without them working on it before hand? As I work I can hear the cows talking to each other, since when did they talk? After getting a couple of boards off Applejack returns with an empty cart, so I toss the few boards I have off into it. I get back to removing the old boards as Applejack goes to get the new boards, keeping the old nails in my pocket. After removing some rather reluctant boards she comes back with a flatbed of new boards. I stop to try to levitate some up, but can't because I don't know what they are. "Hey Applejack, what is wood made of?" I ask her as she comes up the ladder with a can of new nails... "It comes from tree's. Ya chop down a tree, remove the cork an bark, an cut the inners to yer liking." "OK... what makes up a tree?" "Well, ya got yer outer and inner bark makin the outside, then ya got yer cambium, that's the area of growth fer the tree, after that is the phloem and xylem, and then in the center is the pith. Yer xylem transports yer water an minerals from the roots while yer phloem transports water and food from the leaves..." "Applejack!" I say, stopping her on her little lecture on plant physiology. "Glad to see you know your tree's but I meant a more literal depiction. Is it carbon? I heard water, so I know that must be in the live parts, but water is the literal make up of a tree." "Oh... uh... yeah, ah'd say carbon, seeing how they breath in carbon dioxide and turn it ta oxygen. Plus, when..." "Carbon, got it! Let's give it a try!" I say as I go to the edge and try to levitate a few boards. I takes a few tries, but I eventually get them to come up. With a smug smile I get back to work on removing the boards from the first section. As I work, I notice Applejack waiting beside me, shuffling her hooves and trying to hold her mouth shut. "*sigh* what's on your mind?" Depressing talk, here we come. "Well... ah was jus wonderin... what are ya doing later?" "Well, I've got to take this stuff home and get it ready for the training, why?" "Well... ah've got this rodeo comin up... and was wonderin if you'd help me train up a bit. There's this one course that can't seem to do as well as ah usually do and would like some help." OK, not what I was expecting. "I don't see why not, when?" "Later this afternoon. But if ya got ta work on..." "Sure, why don't we get started after work?" "Well, alright then, thank ya kindly Miles!" She says as she grabs a hammer and joins me in fixing up the wall. We spend the next few hours fixing up the wall. All the while talking about things she'll have to do in this rodeo. Most of it is just a physical strength test or a speed challenge. Easy enough. When we run out of boards we leave the barn and take our carts to their perspective areas, mine being home. I drop it of in the backyard and dump all of the nails in the cart before heading back to the farm. I find Applejack behind the house in the area where Big Mac and I played those games earlier. She has a bunch of barrels lined up and is stretching at one end. "What's this?" "It's the barrel run. Ah've got ta get from one end ta the other as quickly as possible while weaving through the barrels. If I touch one of them, ah get a penalty of five seconds added." "Sounds simple enough, why don't you show me what you can do and give it a try." She gives me a nod and get ready. I pull out my phone and go to the stop watch on it. "On your mark, get set, GO!" She takes off and starts running tough the barrels. She's fairly nimble on her feet, but at the end she hits two barrels in a row. Other than that she did good, I stop the timer and see that see was able to do it in twenty seconds. I'm not sure if that's good or not. "How was that?" She asks as she trots back. "Pretty good. You did it in twenty seconds, plus two hits makes it thirty." "Thirty! Carnsawnit! That's almost double my time from last year." She says as she kicks the ground. "Hey, that's why we practice, to get better." "Yeah yeah, practice makes perfect ah know..." "Heh, that's weird, we had a saying similar to that. Ours goes practice like you perform and preform like you practice." "Whatta ya tryin ta say, ah'm gonna do bad tamorrow." "Kind of. It supposed to make you want to practice harder to really do the best you can do. If you practice with everything you've got, then actually doing it will be easier on you. Now why don't you go ahead and try again, but this time treat it as if you're actually in the contest." She gives me a nod and goes over to the line again. She takes a few breaths and gets ready, looking intensely focused. "On your mark... get set... GO!" She takes off again and weaves through the barrels with much more finesse, seamlessly making her way through the barrels without a single one. When she makes it to the end I stop the timer and check the time. "Seventeen seconds flat." "Yeehaw! That's more like it!" We do the exercise a couple more times with similar results. Her best was fifteen seconds where her worst was the first time through. She really good at focusing at the task at hand, so I decide to up the ante. She sets up again and waits for my signal. "On your mark... get set................................................ GO!" She almost tripped up on that, but waited and took off at the right time. When she gets halfway through I yell out "What in the world is that!" Making her look up and crash into a barrel. I run over to her and help her up, laughing a little to myself. "Well, let's hope you don't do that at the contest." "Shud up Miles. Why did ya yell out like that?" "To distract you. Now do it again, but this time focus at the task at hand." She gives me a nod and walks back to the starting line. I set the barrel back in place and go to the line, where Applejack is waiting in her stance again. "Alright, on your mark... get set.... GO!" She takes off and runs with the same focus again. I wait till she's three fourths of the way down before I yell out "Applebloom, what are you doing!" Making her crash again. With a sigh I go over and help up again. "Well..." "Don't say a word, let's jus do it again" she says as she runs back to the starting line. We go through the course several times before she can finally ignore my comments. Once she does, she returns to her usual times. After her last run through she walks up to me, sweating and panting. "Ah, think that should do fer today.... want ta come over fer dinner?" I check my phone to see that it's already eighteen hundred hours. "Thanks but I really need to get going. I need to get started on getting everything ready for Storm's training. Maybe another time." "Well, thank fer the help.... an if ya every do want ta talk about... yer problem... feel free ta come ta me." "I'll be sure to do that... thanks." I say before I turn and start walking home. Applejack walks with me to the front where we run into Big Mac and Applebloom. "Hiya Miles, ya stayin fer dinner?" Applebloom asks. "Sorry, but I have to get going to get to work on something. Maybe another time." GAW! She's pouting! I have to leave before her cuteness changes my mind. "Hmm... what if I helped ya with this project of yers after dinner?" Big Mac asks. "Well..." "It's settled then. Miles will stay fer dinner and then you two will head over ta his place to work on Storm's training thing" Applejack says as she trots inside. I don't remember agreeing to this... "Yay! Can I help make dinner?" Applebloom asks as she hops around in joy. Fuck... now I have to go... oh well. I follow them in where Applejack and Applebloom head to the kitchen, leaving me and Big Mac in the living room. We sit there in silence for a while until Big Mac breaks the silence. "So... what's this training ah'm hearing about?" "Oh, I'm putting Storm through Spartan training. It's the same level of training I went through back home." "Hmm.... why are ya doing this?" "Well, he's been getting his ass kicked a lot lately. I figure he could use some good training." "Is there a way..." "SOUPS UP EVERYPONY!" Applejack yells, getting us both to go to the kitchen and take our seats. "Evening Granny Smith, how are you today?" I ask her as I take a seat next to her. "What!? I don't need any shoes... er.... Meters." "Glad to hear it" I say as Applejack set a few bowls filled with hot liquid out. As everyone starts to eat I take a moment to look over the new food, much to Granny Smiths displeasure. "What's the matter... kilometers... big city boy don't like apple soup?" Granny Smith says as she shakes a spoon at me. "Let's find out" I says as I try a spoonful. It's like eating hot liquid apples... I like it. We eat awhile giving idle talk about the rodeo and carnival tomorrow. Everyone seems to believe that Applejack will do great, while she stays modest about her abilities. I think she'll do just fine. Once we finish up Big Mac and I head out for my place. "Miles... there's something ah wanted ta ask ya." Big Mac says as we walk down the path. "If Rainbow told you to I swear..." "Ah want ta go through the training as well." I stop walking and look over to him. "You what?" "Ah want to go through Spartan training" he says levelly to me. "Big Mac, you realize that this isn't some exercise regiment, this will turn you into a soldier. A killer. This is some really intense training; you will get fucked up from this. You will bleed, break bones, and live on the brink of death. Do you honestly believe you can take that?" "Miles, when ya told me Applebloom went missin, ah didn't know what ta do. An when we went into the forest an found those tracks, ah knew there wasn't anything as could do. We lucked out that she was at Zecora's, if she was with those snakes.... ah want ta be able ta protect mah kin, and ah'll do anything ta be able ta do that." I stare into his eye's for a while, trying to see his resolve. "*sigh*, you're lucky you and your sister are friends of mine, otherwise I'd say no." "So ah'm in?" "Go home, prepare your house to not have you for a month, and prepare for a living shit storm." "Dontcha want help with settin up?" "Not from someone that will be going through the course. Go home. I'll be sure to get things ready for the both of you." He smiles as he nods his head and walks back home. I turn and walk home, thinking to myself as I stare up at the moon. Two now... this actually may work out better... two... Chapter 60 Pinkies CarnivalChapter 60 Pinkies Carnival I roll over in bed and sigh deeply. I spent all night working on the course, reworking his sword, doing some chores around the house, and now the sun is shining right in my face. At least it turned out pretty good though. I kind of feel bad for them, but then again, this is still nothing compared to what I had to go through in those simulators. *shivers* eh, bad memory, better get up now. I slowly get out of bed and head to the restroom. After a shower I head down stairs to get some breakfast. Hmm... where's Lupus? I open the back door and see him in the tree line, digging at the ground. After a few seconds of digging he pulls out a charred... thing, and starts eating it. OK then, better follow him and get some food. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK Ahh... what now. I go to the front door and open it to find Pinkie Pie jumping up and down. "We're going to the carnival, we're going to the carnival, we’re going to the car-ni-val! Come on Miles, let’s get going!" She sings as she continues to bounce up and down. "What are you talking about Pinkie?" I ask groggily. "What are you talking about sleepy Mcsleeperton? Today's the carnival! We're all going to go play games, ride the rides, cheer Applejack on in the rodeo, eat super-duper ultra-tasty overly deep fried goodness! Come on!" She says in her usual cheery manner. Oh, that's right, the thing Applejack was practicing for. "Alright, I'll go with you, just let me get ready" I say as I step aside and allow her in. "Okey dokey lokey!" She says as she hopes in. I go upstairs and get dressed quickly. I really miss shoes. I need to make time either today or tomorrow to get some made, hopefully they won't cost too much. Once I'm ready I head downstairs and find Pinkie sitting on the couch, humming to herself. "Hey, this isn't a... party... is it?" "Nopey dopey wopey. It's more of a... social gathering." "Social gathering... right. Well, let’s get going then, we don't want to be late..." "We're already late" Pinkie says as she hopes off. I shut the door behind me and follow her, why she skips I'll never know. "What do you mean we're late?" "Silly, the carnival started at twelve." "And?" "It's three." "Three? Do you mean fifteen hundred?" "If you want to go by griffin time then yes." Fuck me over. I haven't slept that long since.... oh wow. Tomorrow is going to suck. "Hey Miles, are you alright? You look as if something is troubling you." "Huh? Oh, it's nothing. Just... wondering about what a carnival is." "It's the annual Ponyville carnival. It's to celebrate the founding of Ponyville. I help plan and organize it almost every year, so I know it'll be super-duper fun!" "If you say so." "Just stick with me and you'll see, now come on! We're missing out in carnival time!" See says as she quickens her hops, making me pick up the pace. We go through Ponyville until we come out of the southern district where we find the carnival. It's made up into three parts. To the left is an assortment of contraptions that ponies are riding, about eight are in view, but there's space for more. To the right is a large track where some ponies in hats similar to Applejack's are doing various contest. In between those two are an assortment of tents, some selling food, others having games with oversized toy prizes. It's fairly crowed, but getting around really shouldn't be a problem. "Wow... what should we do first?" I ask, getting my stomach to yell at me. "I think we should get food first" Pinkie says with a laugh as she hopes towards the tents. I follow her into the crowd and look around. All of the foods here look sugary.... fuck yeah. Most of the residents of Ponyville that I see don't really pay me any attention, but all of the new comers stare at me in disbelief. Oh the joys of being foreign. We come to a stop at a stall that's selling pink and blue puffs of... I'm not entirely sure what to call it. "What is this?" "Silly it's cotton candy, let’s get one!" We go to the counter and each get one, pinkie getting pink and me with blue. I watch her stick the entire thing into her mouth and devour it all in a single gulp. I have a feeling that was a Pinkie Pie thing. I try to bite a chunk out, but the instant it touches my tongue it turns to sugary water goodness. "Wow... that's weird." "How so?" "Well, it went from a solid to a liquid." "Yeah and it has sugar!" "Yeah... that too." We walk around some more as I finish up my cotton candy. It was good at first, but after a while it started to get gross, so I gave the rest to Pinkie. "Are you sure this isn't a... party?" "Absolutely! Because I would never invite somepony to something that they wouldn't like and if I brought you to a party you didn't like then you'd run away and I would probably cry from making you uncomfortable and then Meliron would be upset and probably get mad at TB and then TB would argue with him, making RandomEncounter try to stop them and LOOK funnel cake!" She says in one breath. I look over to see a stand selling what looks like holey pancakes with white powder on them. We go over and each get one, though I not opt to get strawberries on mine. Once again, Pinkie devours her food in a single illogical bite, ending it with a satisfied sigh. I use the fork they gave me and try a chunk. What is it about anything being pancake related being awesome? I eat this with much more gusto, finishing it relativity quickly. "Hot damn that was good, so what now?" "Well, Applejack won't be competing until six, so let’s...." She starts to say but stops when she see's someone walking towards us. "Hey baby, what’s happening?" Asks a pale earth pony with a long brown hair and a silhouette of a pony on a pole as a cutie mark. "What are you doing here Squishy?" Pinkie asks cruelly. "Aw come on now honey, why ya gotta be like that? You know I'm always where the party's at" Squishy says giving a wiggle with his eyebrows. "Party..." "It's not that! It's a social gather!" Pinkie yells, ending my thought process. "Whatever you want to call it, if it's happening, imma be there. Now if you excuse me, I have a client to find" he says as he walks off, swaying his hips side to side. "Good leave" Pinkie says as she walks away from him, holding her head up high. "Jealous?" Squishy asks from a distance. "As if!" Pinkie says as she gets further away. I shake my head and run up to Pinkie. "Who was that guy?" "Squishy Trap. He's a... entertainer..." "Like what you do?" "What! No way Jose! I make ponies smile and happy!" "And… he doesn't?" I ask, getting Pinkie to look away. "Wow, I didn't think it was possible for you to hate someone..." "I don't hate him... I just disagree with every choice he's ever made and would like to never see him again." "Yeah... that's not hate, anyway, we've got some time to kill, let’s go check out the rides." "Okey dokey lokey!" Pinkie says in her usual cheerful manner. We make our way into the ride section where the sound of ponies screaming in joy and rides moving around fills the air. "Let's do the teacups!" Pinkie says as she runs off for one of the rides. This one has six cups that you sit in as the platform it sits on spins around, powered by a unicorn at the entrance to the ride. Inside the cups is a disk that you apparently pull on to make the cup spin faster. As we wait in line, Pinkie starts telling me about her secret technique for getting the cups to spin the fastest. Once we get to the cups I have to basically sit cross legged to fit, with Pinkie sitting in my lap. Once the platform starts to spin we immediately start working together to get the cup to spin. I don't think it was made for a human to pull on it, because we get going fairly quickly. Soon the world around us becomes a blur as we spin faster and faster around. "WWEEEE! Don't stop!" "Are you kidding! I'm about to fly out..." "Faster!" I keep pulling on the disk, spinning the cup even faster around. With every revolution of the platform, we toss and turn until I feel something begin to stop us. I look down to see the aura field of the unicorn stopping us. "Aww, we're slowing down" Pinkie says as she pouts. Oh fuck yes... I seriously thought I was going to fly out. I've never been so dizzy in all of my life. I can't even think right now, let alone walk away. The ride operator tried to yell at us, but as soon as he saw our faces he just laughed and walked away. "Aw... ugh... Pinkie.... I feel as if I'm going to puke my brains out." "Yeah.... me to.... worth it... let’s do the Ferris wheel.... it'll calm us down." "If you say so." We stumble our way to the line for the Ferris wheel and wait for it's our turn. By the time we get a cart I'm feeling much better, but Pinkie still looks a little green. This ride is basically a giant standing wheel with carts in it, standing around thirty meters tall. The operator uses his magic to spin the wheel in place and you just sit there. Seems calm enough. We get on and wait for the other two carts to fill up. "How're you feeling now?" "Much better." "Yeah... let’s not do that again... I don't think my stomach can handle that much torture." "Aw... I was gonna say we do it again after this." We share a small laugh as the wheel begins to slowly spin. Pinkie looks out the window and starts to take in the view as we get even higher up the wheel. From this height you can really see the surrounding area. You have the Everfree to the north, Applejacks farm to the west, Canterlot in the far east, and a small settlement far away in the south. The wheel comes to a stop with us at the very top. The wind up here is crisp and cool as it blows at a brisk pace. "Damn, who'd think that the air gets cooler the higher you go." "Hey, I think I can see Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie says as she sticks half her body out the window. "Pinkie, be careful..." "HEY RAINBOW! RAINBOOOOOOOW AAAAAAAHHH!" She screams as she falls out the window. I jump after her and try to grab her tail, but miss it. I jump out of the window and launch myself at her. She's screaming and kicking, but I manage to grab a hold of her and flip around. We hit the ground with a solid thud, making a small crater with me standing in the middle, holding a shaken Pinkie. "You alright?" I ask as I set her down. "Y-yeah... thanks Miles... you saved my life." "Yeah I.." I start to say but stop when I hear the moans of metal bending. I look over to see the Ferris wheel starting to tilt away from us. Dropping Pinkie, I flare my hands and grab a hold of the structure, trying to get it to stand still. I pull down, making it stand back in its correct position. I hold it there until they empty all of the carts and tether it down. Once they finish, I let go and step back. It gives a small wiggle, but stays standing. "Damn, that was..." I start to say but stop when the crowd around me starts cheering. I rub the back of my neck and try to be modest about it, but after a few minutes of them not letting up, I decide to take Pinkie and leave the area. "Thank you so so so much Miles! I really owe you..." "Pinkie, for the hundredth time, don't worry about it. It wasn't that big of a..." "Yes it was! Miles, you saved my life! That's like an ultra-omega gigantic deal!" "Well... just promise me you'll try to be safer." "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" She says as she crosses her heart, flaps her legs and pokes her eye.... OK. We walk towards the bottom of the ride area where we hear the sound of music filling the air. "Ooo, let’s go dance!" Pinkie says as she runs off towards the music. We find a mass of ponies dancing in an open area. Pinkie has already jumped into the mass, knocking ponies out of the way as she bounces her way in. I try to stand this one out, but Pinkie ran back over to me and pulled me into the mass of dancing ponies. I just do a little shuffle and try to make my way out, but a group of ponies to my right push me further into the crowd. Everyone just seems to be jumping around, having a good time, so I join in. We jump around, kicking, spinning, anything to move around. Pinkie is swaying side to side, knocking anyone unfortunate enough to be next to her over. I look around and find the DJ bobbing his head at a turn table. He's all grey with blue hair that ends in red. He's wearing thick blue head phones and his mark seems to be a tombstone with arms and head phones. I look back to Pinkie, who’s trying to tell me something, but I can't hear her over the music. "What?!" I yell out. She shakes her head and motions for me to follow, which I do. We walk out of the crowd and start heading for the contest area. "I said, we have to get going or else we'll miss Applejack's contest, duh!" "Alright, well, let’s get going then." We walk towards a set of bleachers where we find all of the other girls waiting for the contest to start. "Did you guys see the Ferris wheel earlier?!" Rainbow Dash asks excitedly. "Uhuh" Pinkie says nonchalantly as she takes her seat next to her. "Yeah, that was us" I say as I sit behind her, next to Big Mac. "My heavens dear, what happened?" Rarity asks, getting Pinkie to explode in a frenzy of storytelling. I lean back and look over to Big Mac. "Are you sure you still want to do this?" "EEyup." "Is the farm going to be alright without you?" "EEyup." "You realize that you could very well die during this, right?" "EEyup." "I'm not going to be able to convince you otherwise, am I?" "NNope." "Well, hope you're ready" I mumble to myself as the contest begins. The contest come and go, with Applejack winning most of the events, I tried to focus, but I kept losing my focus when other thoughts came to mind, I still managed to cheer along though. With Pinkie, Rainbow and I, we're easily are the loudest cheering section for any of the competitors. Applejack takes home a blue ribbon, which I think signifies first. When they finish everything, we head down to congratulate her on her performance. "WOO, way to go Applejack!" Pinkie says as she waves a flag with an apple on it.... when did she get that? "Yeah, you were totally awesome!" Rainbow cheers as she pats her back. "Awe shucks y'all, yer embarrassin me. Thank ya kindly fer comin out ta cheer me on." "Think nothing of it dear, we'll always be here to cheer Ponyville’s best athlete on... you and Rainbow Dash" Rarity says, eyeing the two of them. "Great job Applejack, primi de multis." "Uh... what?" "First of many, well... it's getting late. I would like to stay and congratulate you some more, but I really need to get going. Congrats again on getting the blue." I say as I start to back away. "Aw. Can't you stay a little longer?" Pinkie asks. "Heh... sorry, but time is of the essence on this one, I'll catch you all later" I say as I wave good bye and walk home. When I get home I start preparing for tomorrow. I go upstairs and remove my shirt and pants, putting on an old ragged pair of pants from earlier. I go down stairs and open up the back door for Lupus to run in and out. I walk into the space between the living room and kitchen and sit in the center of the open area. Last time it only took a couple of hours... how long will it take this time. Author's Note Shout out to Glyph255 for picking the food, jaime9897 for picking the song (Discord by Living Tombstone, and Rancid Muffins for picking the first ride. Thanks for reading and like always, Brony on! Chapter 61 Just Another Bad DayChapter 61 Just Another Bad Day Perspective: Storm The last three days have been really good for me. I got to reconnect with a mother that I thought I'd never meet, had some alone time with Twilight, and worked out the inheritance thing, couldn't really ask for more. We decided to leave early today because both Twilight and I decided that the sooner I got my training done, the better. I don't know how she did it, but my mother somehow got Twilight on board with me to get the training. So, here we are, holding each other as we take her balloon back to Ponyville, just taking in the sun rise together. She lets out a small sigh as she leans her head against my shoulder. "Tired?" I ask as I lean my head against hers. "No... just, glad." "About what?" "A lot of things. Us, meeting your mother, our friends, everything is perfect right now" she says as she tightens her hold on me slightly. I sigh and give her a kiss against the head. "Yeah... thanks for doing this... getting my mother I mean." "I'm just glad she likes me. I was a little afraid she wouldn't when we first met." "Even if she didn't, it wouldn't matter... I love you Twilight." She turns to me and runs her hoof along the side of my face with a slight smile. "I love you Storm." We lean in and share a passionate kiss as we start to descend into Ponyville. When we land behind her place I scoop her up and fly her to the door, getting a small eep and giggles from Twilight as she holds onto me. I let her down to open the door, only to have it slam open in her face. "Storm! When did you get back? And where's Twilight?" Spike asks as he walks through the doorway. I close the door and watch Twilight slowly slide off the wall to her hooves. "Why were you behind there?" "Spike, you should really open doors more slowly," I say as I check on Twilight. "Oh... sorry. Well, glad you're back, want me to make some breakfast?" "Actually I've got some stuff to drop off at home, so I think I'll eat there." "I'll come with you, it's been a while since I saw Miles anyway. Want to tag along Spike?" "Well... sure. I'll help you with those bags then." I nod and walk back with Spike as Twilight goes inside to get something. We each take one of my bags and start to pull them out when Spike tries to look inside one of the pockets of the bag. I slam my hoof over it and cover up what's inside. "Storm! What's the-" "Spike, please do me a favor and don't look inside of that pocket. I want to keep it a secret for as long as possible." "Well, what is it?" "I can't say. It's nothing bad, I just really, really want it to be a secret. Only one other pony knows what's in there and I want to keep it that way." "Okay, okay, I won’t look..." "Actually, can we trade bags?" He gives me an irritated look before he trades bags with me. We walk back to the front and wait for Twilight to come back down. "What's she doing in there anyway?" Spike asks. "She said she had to get something, just give her a minute." Probably best to not tell him she is taking birth control. I think I'll let Twilight handle that one. She makes it back down and we head towards my place. "So Spike, did we miss anything important? How did AJ do in her contest?" "She won the blue! Not surprising if you ask me, but it was still a close call. Good thing she asked Miles for that last minute training..." "She asked Miles for help, wow. I know she got over that stubbornness, but she still rarely asks for help with anything," Twilight says. "I know, but she did. Let’s see, what else... OH! Miles saved Pinkie Pies life!" "Really!? How?" I ask. "They were on the Ferris wheel, and she fell out. He jumped after her and saved her and the Ferris wheel from falling over." "Wow, anything else?" "Umm... no. Not that I know of at least. What about you two? How was it at your moms?" "Well, I had a little trouble sleeping," I say, getting Twilight to blush, "but other than that, it was good. It was nice to speak with somepony I thought I'd never meet." "Hmm... did you have fun Twilight?" "Umm... yeah. His mother is a very nice pony. But, I had a little trouble sleeping at night as well." She says, making her face blush even more. "Maybe you guys shouldn't spend too much time at that altitude, it's really messing with your sleep." Spike says innocently. Twilight and I just laugh and agree with him. We make it to my place and walk in the front door. "AHH WOLF!" Twilight screams as she teleports behind me. I look over to see a wolf sitting in the corner behind the couch and recliner. Its shaking slightly and staring off to the kitchen area. I walk over and peer into the other side of the living room to find Miles curled up on the ground, with all of his magic portals sputtering out white flames. The ground around him is covered in different scorch marks and seems to be glowing red from Miles. "MILES!" I yell as I run to his side. "STAY BACK!" He yells at me as I approach him. "Miles, what’s wrong? What’s-" "I SAID STAY BACK!" He yells as he slams his fist into the ground sending a wave of magic that turns his house into solid jade. I look around in astonishment before another wave sends it back to the element it was before. "AAAAHHHHHH! JUST STAY BACK! STAY AWAY!" He yells with mixed cries of pain and misery. "What's going on? What can we do to help? Come on Miles tell us!" "N-NOTHING... JUST.... H-HAVE TO WAIT... FOR IT TO-TO-TO PASS!" He yells as he rolls over and holds onto his knees. I can see the pain in his face, he's in absolute complete pain. I look back to Twilight and ask, "is there anything we can do?" She walks over and takes a look at him for a bit before she looks back to me. "I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do... maybe the princess can help, I'll write her a letter" she says as she walks over to the table. I look back to Miles and just watch helplessly as he sits there in pain. There has to be something I can do... something. "Is there something I can do?" Spike asks as he walks up to us. "I don't know Spike... we can't do anything for him right now. His magic makes him too hot to touch right now." "I'm a dragon, lava doesn't even bother me. Let me try to help" he says as he walks up to him and holds a claw to his head. He moves his claw to a few different spots before he looks back to me. "He's not hot." "What do you mean, look at the ground, there are scorch marks everywhere." "Yeah, but he feels cold to me. Almost frozen." "Spike, send this to Celestia" Twilight says as she levitates a scroll over to Spike. He sends it away and we just stand aside, watching helplessly as Miles contorts around in pain. The flames start to jet out at a high rate, slowly turning to a dark emerald green. I HAVE WAITED LONG ENOUGH "That can't be good." I say as I look over to Twilight. Perspective: Celestia Luna and I are having breakfast together again. It’s nice to have her back to her old self again, mostly. I can tell she's still hurting from before, but in time she'll move on. She's still keeping quiet, but at least I've got her out of bed. "So, how was the night court?" I ask, trying to start a conversation up. "Quiet," she says bitterly as she takes a bite from her pancakes. "Quiet how?" "No pony showed up." "Oh. Well..." she gives a deep sigh and takes another bite. I was about to say something when a scroll suddenly appeared before me. I take it and read it over. This can't be good. "Another letter from Twilight, what's it about this time?" "Well..." "Well?" "It seems that Miles is in trouble again." I say, making Luna drop her fork. "What happened?" "Well... according to Twilight, he's experiencing some kind of energy overload..." "We have to help him!" Luna says as she stands and starts to leave the table. "Luna, wait," I say as I chase after her, stopping her at the end of the table. "I don't think it would be wise for you to go-" "And why is that?" "Luna, you just broke up with him, do you really think seeing him so early is a good idea?" "I may not be with him anymore, but that doesn't mean that I don't get to see him ever again. He is still my friend and I wish to see him," she says as she continues to walk out. I shake my head and follow her out. I just know this won't end well, but there's no way I can convince her not to go. We walk to one of my carriages and make our way to Ponyville. The entire trip was done in silence, Luna giving me the cold shoulder. We land out front of Miles' house where we find Twilight, Storm Cloud, and Spike waiting out front. Why is Storm Cloud waiting here? "Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, thank goodness you're here. "Twilight says as she runs up to us and gives a bow. "Twilight, my star pupil, it is good to see you again, though I wish under better circumstances. What's going on with Miles?" I say as I head for the door, only to stop when all three of the jump in the way. "You can't go in there princess!" Storm yells. "And why not? Also, why are you here? I thought my orders were pretty clear-" AT LAST YOU ARRIVE I look to the door to see the green being from before appear. He looks almost exactly the same, only now it seems to have hair that flows down from its head. "Soul Fire?" Luna says as she walks forward. In the blink of an eye the being shoots forward and stabs Luna in the chest with its arm. Luna's mane and tail rocket up as her energy levels soar to unbelievable heights. The green being pulls back its arm as Luna drops to the ground unconscious, her mane and tail still shooting out energy. "What have you done!" I yell as I run to Luna's side, only to back away when the same blue figure as before appears above Luna. It floats down to the ground before Luna and walks towards the green one, stopping feet away from it. WHY DO YOU CALL MY TIME IS LIMITED TIME, IS OF NO IMPORTANCE EVEN SO, I WISH TO PROGRESS YOU WILL PROGRESS WHEN I ALLOW YOU TO DO NOT FORGET WHO GAVE YOU THIS POWER. WE MUST PROGRESS NOW. TIME IS WORKING AGAINST US. The two of them stand there for a moment before they each take aggressive stances, both making blades appear from their hands out of their energy. They suddenly lose form and bolt at each other as balls of pure energy. When they collide into each other a shock wave explodes out from them, sending me back a bit. When I look back to them they've soared high into the air, jetting around in a frenzy of crashes that sends waves of energy from them. "Princess, what's going on?" Twilight asks as she runs to my side. "I don't know, what happened during my trip here?" "The green one appeared and just floated above Miles. When we tried to talk to it, it just waved its hand at us, sending us flying back." Before I could ask anything, a series of shock waves makes us look back up at the fighting pair. They collide a couple more times before slamming into the ground before us, sending dust high into the air. After the dust settles we see the two forms standing before each other without the swords. FORGIVE MY INTRUSION FORGIVE MY DELAYS They walk towards each other and share... a kiss? It's hard to tell because of the lack of features on them, but the motions are all the same. They hold it for a while until the blue one breaks it off and starts to walk towards Luna. It hovers over her and fades back into her, making her wake up. "Huh? What happened?" she asks as she looks around. "Soul Fire?" FORGIVE THE- "GIVE....ME....CONTROL!" We all look back to see Miles standing in the doorway. The dark black lines on his body seem to be cracking away and have wisps of black smoke falling from them. His eyes have turned pure black and seem to have the same smoke billowing out, covering his cheeks as it falls to the ground. DO NOT- Before he could finish Miles jumps forward and punches into the air, sending a column of black energy at the green entity. He jumps above the column and flies straight for Miles and collides with him, forcing him unconscious. The column of energy has disappeared, but the ground where it was being fading away. "What was that?" I ask in disbelief. "I think we should ask Miles when he wakes up... this seems to be something new," Luna says as she walks towards his unconscious body. I knew this was going to be bad... but I have a feeling things just got even worse. Author's Note Thanks to Sine wave for picking what the house turned into. Chapter 62 Spartan TrainingChapter 62 Spartan Training Perspective: Miles Sunday, September 22nd Aw man.... that change sucked, although... I feel good. It feels as if I've had some weight lifted off of my chest, it didn't feel this good last time, then again, last time had less energy. I open my eye's to see that I've somehow made it to my bed. Well, a least it isn't on fire. I sit up and rub my eye's slightly before I start to get out of bed. "Miles... you should take it easy." I turn around to see Luna sitting behind my bed, slowly petting something beneath the bed, I'm guessing Lupus. "Luna, when did you get here?" "Twilight sent my sister a letter saying that you were in trouble, so we came to check on you... what happened?" "It was nothing really, just a part of my growing power. Every now and again I go through... that, as my power increases. Last time my soul materialized, and the time before that I learned to use soul fire." I say as the door opens up to reveal Celestia and Spike walking in. "Miles! You're awake!" Spike says as he runs up and hugs my leg. "Sup Spike, how long was I out?" "Only an hour..." "Good, then I need to ask a favor of you Spike." "Uhh... sure. What do you need?" "Can you go to Sweet Apple Acres and get Big Mac. Let him know that we start today, and if he doesn't show up he's out." He gives me a little salute before running out of the room. "So... do I get to know what happened this time?" "You mean you don't remember?" Celestia asks. "The last thing I remember was being in my living room, yelling at Storm to stay away. Next thing I know I'm in bed feeling... rather good." "Good how?" Celestia asks as she glances over to Luna. "Good as in my energy level has dropped a bit..." "Does that mean you're all better?" Luna asks as she perks up a bit. "No. It's just something that happens when I go through a change. It takes a large amount of energy to do it, but it usually comes back, at a higher level" I say, making her drop back. "But enough of that, I have training to start" I say as I stand and walk past Celestia out of the room. I hear some shuffling in Storm's room so I head over to find the door open. I walk and find Storm half way under the bed, trying to hide something. "Storm!" I yell making him smack his head. "Miles, you're up..." "Meet me in the backyard, we start today." I say, making him pull out of the bed quickly, pulling a bag with him. Something flies out of the bag and rolls in front of me. I take a knee and pick it up before Storm could run over and get it. It's a gold ring with a diamond at the top. Something is etched inside the ring, but I can't read it. I look up and show the ring to Storm. "Dude... this is an engagement ring." "Ahem" I look behind me to see Celestia standing there, eyeing the two of us. We both just stare at her until she shakes her head a bit and walks downstairs. Storm swipes the ring and takes it back to the bed, where he hides it somewhere underneath. "So, when do you plan on popping the question?" I ask as I stand back up. "Soon... I hope... after the training for sure" he says as he walks up to me. "Miles, I wanted this to be a secret. Promise me you won't tell anypony." "Your secret is safe with me, but I have to ask, where did you get it? I thought you were at your mothers the last few days." "I was, that was hers. Apparently it's been in the family for generations, and it's my turn to have it." "Well, I'm happy for you, but it will have to wait for another time. Wait for me in the backyard, we start today." He gives me a nod and walks downstairs. Awwwww, Storm and Twilight gonna get married.... pop the question already so I can pester you! I sigh and make my way back to my room to start getting my gear ready. Luna's still in here, looking deep in thought. "You alright?" "Hmm... oh, yeah..." "Heart ache?" She looks up to me and nods slowly. "I'm sorry. I wish things could have worked out better... but..." "I know. Your time is limited... but...I... *sigh* this is going to be harder than I thought." "Hmm, that's funny.... one of my friends from Topaz once told me the same thing. Want to meet them?" She looks up to me in confusion so I walk over to her with my sword and show her the gem in the pommel as I take a seat on the bed. "I made eight of these. They're all exactly the same and all have the same enchantment in them." "What would that be?" I flare my hand and feed the energy into the gem, making an image appear. It’s a picture of me and my unit, from the day we were assigned together. Were in the auditorium of the school, posing together to show off our tattoos. "It's a picture of all of us when we were assigned to our unit." I look down at the picture and start to point all of my friends out. "On the far right are the Kor sisters, Tenera and Fidus, then it's Dare Libere, Inficiunt Gaudium, me, Sine Iacet, Captain Sussurrands Bellum, Eximius, and Dolem Ostendere." "Heh, you look so young." She says as she leans closer and looks at the picture. "Yeah, this was... six years ago, not including time travel. "Hmm... so that's Tenera..." "Are you still jealous?" "What! No. I… just... now I can put a face to the name, that's all." I laugh a little as I drop the spell and walk back to the closet, where I start putting on my armor. "So... this training of yours, how long is it going to take?" "One month, lucky bastards. Usually it takes longer, but we get to skip a lot," I say as I buckle in my grieves. "Like what?" "Well, for starters, most of the weapons training. No guns, explosives, archaic spells, just hand to hand and melee. They're basically only getting the physical and psychological training." I say as I finish up with my armor and start putting on my weapons. "Is it going to be hard?" I finish up and look over to her. "Really want to know, stick around, I'll give a little speech before we start." I start to walk out only to have Luna run in front of me. We stare at each other for a second before she looks away and walks down stairs before me. She's taking this pretty hard...but it's for the best. I walk down stairs and head to the backyard where I find everyone. Storm and Twilight are to the right, holding each other as they whisper sweet nothings to each other. Big Mac is to the left, talking to Applejack, Granny Smith and Applebloom. Celestia, Luna and Spike are waiting by the door, waiting to see what happens. I take a few step out before yelling "LINE UP!" They look over and stand before me. "Let’s get started, first off, if you have any doubt, any concerns, quit now. Because when we get started, there is no quitting. You either finish or die trying, and yes, death is a very real possibility. I WILL be trying to kill you. I will break your bones, cut your flesh and turn your dreams against you as I push you harder than you've ever been pushed before in your life. Topaz Falls had seventeen million residents. One point two million of them were soldiers. Of those, only four hundred were able to become Spartans. Those four hundred we had one Captain, and one lieutenant. I was the second highest ranking Spartan, and that's only because rankings were a month after I was sent away. You better be damn sure that I will be using everything in my power to make you regret doing this. I will break you. Take a look at your loved ones before you tell me you want this, because once we start, there's no stopping. I don't care what happens, no matter the circumstances, we will not stop until we finish. So take a good long look and if you think you have what it takes to put everything on the line, step forward." They both look back and stare at their loved ones for a while before they each step forward. I motion for the rest of them to stand with the others as I start to stretch my arms a bit. "Welcome to Spartan training. Rule number one: I am no longer your friend. You address me as sir, say it as if it means everything to you and if I hear anything else come out of your worthless mouths, I'll beat you senseless, understood?" "SIR YES SIR!" They say in unison. I flare my hands and send a wave of energy at them, slapping them both in the face hard enough to turn their faces. "SAY IT LIKE YOU GOT A PAIR DIRT BALL!" I yell as I get in Storm's face. "SIR YES SIR!" They yell together. "Rule number two: If I hear you bitch, you will regret it. I don't give a shit how much pain you’re in, I don't care if you’re on the verge of death. You keep going until I tell you to stop, and then you beg for more, understood?" "SIR YES SIR!" "Rule number three: My word is law. You are no longer in any country, the only rules that matter are the ones I say matter. I don't give a damn if Celestia runs up to you with both her wings chopped off, you don't listen to her for a single second unless I tell you to, understood?" They hesitate a bit so I slap them with the energy again, making them fall to the ground. "IS THAT GOING TO BE A PROBLEM!" "SIR NO SIR!" They say, making me start to hit them repetitively with the energy. I start busting lips, blackening eye's as I send hit after hit at them. When they try to cover themselves from the blows I start kicking them in the stomachs. "WHAT.... WAS... RULE.... NUMBER.... ONE!" I yell between kicks. "SIR YES SIR!" They yell out, making me stop. I take a few steps back and cross my arms. "Rule number four: Spartan training is a secret. I don't care who asks, whose life is at stake, you don't talk about what happens here ever. It is Terridisian law that if you speak out about this, I have to kill you, and I will. DO. NOT. TALK. This stays between Spartans, no one else is allowed to know of this, understood?" "SIR YES SIR!" They yell. I walk up to them and wave my hands before them, cutting their hair so it's barely a buzz cut. I take a few steps back as I drop my magic and pull out my revolver. "Good, now let’s get started. You have five seconds to start running into the Everfree before I start shooting. ONE...TWO...FIVE!" BANG I send a round for Big Mac as he turns to run away, grazing his neck as the round buries itself in a tree behind him. "RUN MOTHER FUCKERS RUN! I DON'T MISS TWICE YOU ASSHOLES, RUN!" BANG BANG I fire two more rounds after them as they run into the forest. One misses completely, but the second one buries itself somewhere on Storm. I hear him cry out, but he continues to run. I turn back to everyone to see that Celestia has put up a barrier around the group, probably to protect them from my pistol discharge. They all look horrified by what just happened. I holster my gun and wait for Celestia to drop the barrier. "Please come back in exactly twenty-one days. They will need to see you after this. Sorry for the display, but you needed to see the gravity of this. Do not ask them about this. Ever. I do not want to have to kill them, but I will if I must" I say before I turn and run after them into the forest. I use my magic to accelerate myself, catching up to them in seconds. I can see that I hit Storm in the shoulder. It's just a graze, but it's bleeding all the same. I take lead and motion for them to follow me. I weave deep into the forest, they don't know it, but I planned a circular course for us to run. It's about a five kilometers long, and I plan on making them run it until they puke. Perspective: Twilight I can't believe what I just saw. What did Storm just get himself into. They ran off a few minutes ago, but nopony's moved or said a word since then. I know Storm can do this... he's strong, he has to get through this. "Well... I think everypony should go home. All we can do now is pray for the best. Twilight, can I have a word with you" Celestia says as she walks inside. I follow her in and we take a seat in the kitchen. She waits a few seconds before she says, "Twilight, I want to know a few things that are... rather personal, do you mind?" "Of course not Princess." "Well... are you... with Storm Cloud." "I've been meaning to talk to you about that, Princess. Yes, but that's not the Storm Cloud you sent." "What do you mean?" "The Storm Cloud you sent is an impostor. His actual name is Storm Breaker, the two of them are brothers. Breakers has been nothing but horrible since he's made his appearance here. He's verbally assaulted me, disrespected Luna and nearly killed Storm Cloud." "Twilight. I'm sorry that that happened, but I only asked because he went rogue a while ago. I sent him here and he was supposed to do daily reports, but he never did. i saw the two of you at the hospital a while ago and assumed you were together. Now that I know he's completely different, I will bring him to justice." "Thank you princess." "I must be off now if I'm going to be able to find him, please take care Twilight" she says as she walks back out the front door. I sigh and walk out after her, I seriously hope she can find him soon. I walk over to the Apples as they break off a group hug and start to walk home. "Are you guys going to be alright" I ask Applejack. "Yeah... Miles really did help with the harvest; we'll be fine fer a month without him...ah just hope he gets through it alright." "I'm sure they'll be fine. Big Mac is strong, he can pull through this, they both can" I say as I put a leg around her. "Ah hope yer right Twi... ah don't know what we'd do iffin we lost Big Mac." "Aj..." I stop her and give her a hug, which she returns immediately. I know they'll make it through.... they have to.... Perspective: Miles Tuesday, September 24th "Welcome to the run!" I say as I lead them to their next area of training. The past few days I've been working on getting them tired. No sleep, lots of running, pushups, anything really to keep them moving, and it's working. Big Mac looks as if he's about to fall asleep standing there while Storm is nodding out. They're both covered in a mixture of mud, sweat and blood. Every time one of them fell over or slowed down, I made sure to make them suffer for it. I walk forward and present a long trench to them. It goes down about half a meter and is filled halfway with water that I enchanted to stay slushy, partially ice, but still watery enough to move through. The trench goes for half a kilometer in a straight line. I set up a couple of boards with nails sticking out of them to lay either in the trench somewhere hidden or so they would have to crawl under it. "SIR, what’s our objective, SIR?" Big Mac asks. "It's simple. crawl from one side to the other and then run back. When you get back, do a set of pushups, sit ups and squats. With all of that you make one set on the run. Give me two sets and you can get an hour of sleep" I say as I walk to the side of the course. "SIR YES SIR!"They yells as they both dive into the water and start crawling forward. I step back as I flare my hands as they get going. I wait for them to get past the first set of spikes when I start throwing balls of energy around them. When the balls hit they explode with a deafening boom, sending debris all around. Storm and Big Mac stop for a second as they take cover, but I don't stop throwing the explosive balls. When the dust covers my view I slam my hands into the ground, making a column up. I slam my hands onto the column, making chunks of it break off with a loud crack as they fly at the general area they're at. I hear Big Mac cry out in pain as I pepper the area around them, I think I've got a hit. I raise my hand, bringing up a tall column and push it over, sending it toppling over towards them. "LOOOK OOOUUUT!" Storm yells as he crawls faster through the icy water. The column lands with a solid thud over the trench. I jump on top of it and look over to see that they both made it though. Big mac has a large gash in his shoulder that's bleeding profusely, turning the water around him red. I shake my head as I crouch down and put my hands onto the column, strafing the trench. Big Mac and Storm both cling to the edges of the Trench as they try to avoid getting hit, but ultimately fail at it. "COME ON! MOVE FASTER YOU SLIME BALLS! YOU CAN REST WHEN YOU'RE DEAD! NOW GET MOVING!" I yell out as I pull out my revolver. I take aim and send a round in front of Storm, making him stop in his tracks. "WHATS THE MATTER STORM, AFRAID TO DIE? GET MOVING!" I open fire again, hitting the area next to Big Mac. "DO YOU REALLY EXPECT TO LIVE WITH THIS KIND OF EFFORT? GET MOVING ALREADY! MOVE YOUR FUCKING ASSES BEFORE I PUT A BULLET IN YOUR HEADS FOR WASTING MY TIME!" They finally make it to the end of the trench where they get out and start running back, Big Mac giving a heavy limp as he goes. I send a few more explosion after them until they finally make it to the bottom of the trench, where they start doing some sit ups. I walk up to them and slap them with my energy again. "COUNT THEM OFF ASSHOLES!" "ONE...TWO..." they start saying as they do their sit ups. I pace back and forth as I watch them go. Once they get to a hundred they move on to pushups. After the pushups they stand up on their rears and start doing squats. This proves to be more strenuous for them, but they power through it and start to head to the run again, only to have Storm collapse on his way. "Hold up" I call out to Big Mac as I walk up to Storm. I watch for a second as his chest rises and falls from his deep breathes. He's staring up with eyes held as wide as possible. "Get up Storm!" I yell at him. He doesn't response to me so I crouch down to get in his face. "Is that it... giving up on day three... good luck protecting Twilight then." He looks up at me as he narrows his eyes and starts to pull himself up. He staggers a bit, but eventually gets up and starts to work his way back to the run, tripping a few times on the way there. "GET THE FUCK BACK TO RUNNING YOU ASSHOLE" I yell at Big Mac. Perspective: Twilight Saturday September 29th The past week has been torture for me. I've been behind on my studying, I haven't seen my friends at all and I haven't slept in the past few days. I can't stop worrying about Storm. I try to focus but then I start to think about what he's going through and it gets to my nerves. Spikes been helping a lot, but he was called away the other day for something in Canterlot. So now it’s just me and my books.... "I miss Storm..." "Well why didn't you call?" I spin around only to feel something prick my neck. I reach up and pull out a little dart with a pink puff at the end. "What in Equestria..." "Actually, it was from the Griffin Colonies" I look up to see Storm Breaker hovering above with a blow dart. He drops down before me and tosses it aside as he approaches me. "What are you doing here Breaker!" I demand. "Hehehe, what? No love for your ex? I see how things are now. So, where's Storm? Off with that human?" "You're disgusting Breaker. Get out of my house before I throw you out!" "Heh, go ahead and try" he says as he stands before me. I try to levitate him out, but when I reach for my magic... I can't find it. "What did you do to me" I ask as I start to back away from him. He gets an evil grin across his face as he starts to approach me. "It’s just a little toxin the Griffins made to block a unicorn’s powers, don't worry, it'll wear off in an hour. In the meantime," he runs forward and pins me against the wall. I start to scream as I kick and try to squirm away, but he's too strong for me to get away. "Just shut up and listen already!" "Please... don't..." "Don't what? This?" He asks as he licks me from the neck to my ear, sending shivers down my spine. "Please... stop..." I beg as tears start to roll down my face. I keep trying to push him away, but he pushes me down to the ground and lay on top of me before I can do anything. He starts feeling me up as he licks and bites at my neck, each touch making my stomach turn. I keep trying to push him away, but I can't break his hold on me. "GET OFF ME!" I yell as I start to panic as he runs a hoof down my body until he starts rubbing my lower part. "GET OFF GET OFF..." "SHUT UP!" He yells as he smacks me across the face. "*sniffle* I hate you... I hate you so much...." I say as I start to sob. "Yeah? Good!" he says as he tries to position himself to enter me, but I keep kicking and squirming around, making it impossible for him. "I swear... Storm will kill you...." "HA! I'm sur..." CRASH Applejack suddenly tackles Breaker to the ground and start kicking away at him as Rainbow Dash and Rarity come to my side. He breaks away from Applejack and flies to the door where he turns around to face. "Yeah you better run!" Rainbow says as she takes a fighting stance in front of me. "You just get the buck outta her!" Applejack says as she stands next to Rainbow. "Heh, I'll leave, but just remember this, I know where all of you live, and there's nothing that can stop me. Celestia couldn't find me, Storm can't defeat me, and I know your little human friend’s weakness." "Why are you doing this!" I yell out. "Why! It doesn't make sense. Storm already got the inheritance! Celestia's looking for you, what do you have to gain from this?" I scream at him as I try to run at him, forcing Rarity to hold me back. "The inheritance... you stupid whore. You don't even know what you're talking about, do you? I was shunned from my family; do you really think I care what happens to them!? I'm doing this to ruin their name. I want to destroy everything my asshole of a father made, and that includes Storm! I'm going to kill him and ruin my father’s name if it’s the last thing I do! Watch your backs, I'll be looking for you all now!" He threats before he flies out the door. Rainbow Dash tries to chase after him, but Applejack holds her back by biting her tail. I turn to Rarity and start to sob into her shoulder as she holds me tightly. "Twilight, did he do anything? Do we need to go to the hospital?" Rarity asks. I shake my head as I hold onto her a little more tightly. "OK, yer not sleeping alone, none of us are, got it?" Applejack says, getting nods from everyone. "RD, you get Fluttershy and keep her at your place, Rarity, you get Pinkie to stay with you and I'll take Twilight with me" she says as she walks up to me and nuzzles me a bit. "Are you going ta be able a walk to the farm sugarcube?" "*sniff* yeah... just... give me a minute." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Storm Monday, October 8th "Defend!" Miles yells. "HA!" Big Mac and I yell as we slash our wooden swords through the air as we step back. "Defend!" "HA!" We step back again. "THRUST!" "HA!" We both stab forward. We hold our stance as Miles goes to his bag and pulls out a chunk of bread. My mouth immediately starts to water as my stomach starts to grumble. We haven't eaten in the past few days, and what we did get was barely anything. We tried eating some grass off the ground awhile back, but Miles found us and made us do the run for a day straight. "Hungry?" He asks as he takes a bite. "Fight. The victor gets to eat." I turn to Big mac and raise my sword as I hold my stance, waiting for him to attack. He does the same thing, holding his sword to guard his mid-section as we both wait for the eventual attack. My hunger forces me to charge forward in an attempt to get the food. I slash at him, forcing him to back pedal as he blocks my attacks. I jump back as he thrusts his sword forward, narrowly escaping his blow. He's not the fastest, but I quickly learned that he's easily stronger than me. He starts to advance on me, sending slash after slash at me as I back up and block his attacks. I can't block the way he blocks mine. I have to angle my sword so it bounces off. After a few blows I see my opening and go for it. I duck his attack and shoot my blade straight up, hitting him square in the jaw and knocking him on his back. I turn to get my only to see Miles finish up the last bite. "Good job" He says with his mouth full. "Take a small break until I return" he says as he gets up and walks away. I fall back and just let my body rest from its numbness. "Sorry about that" I say to Big Mac. "No problem." "Damn... so hungry..." "Eeyup." "Wanna try the grass again?" "NNope." "Yeah..." "Get up ladies!" Miles says as he walks back with two black bags, making us jump to attention. "This is a comprehension and reflex test. Put these bags over your faces and when I tell you to remove them, you must react to the environment correctly. Every wrong response equals a set on the run, understood?" "SIR YES SIR!" He hands us the bags and we promptly put them on. I can't see a single thing in this thing. And to make matters worse, it smells like moldy burnt clothes. "STORM!" Miles yells. I remove the bag only to get punched in the face by Miles. I raise my hooves and start to jab at him. "Good, put the bag back on." I settle down and put it on. "MAC!" I hear some shuffling and something heavy drop. "Good, put the bag back on.... STORM!" I pull the bag off and look around only to see the empty forest around me. I look down to see a toy pony with a diaper on it. I pick up the toy and look around.... I'm not sure what to do with this. "Uhh..." "FAIL! Put it down and put the bag on!" Miles says from behind. Son of a bitch. I put the doll down and wait for the next one. "MAC!" I don't hear anything for a bit until Miles yells "FAIL! Put it back and put the bag back on......"STORM!" I pull my bag off to see Miles standing before me. "Uhh... can I help you?" "Yes, where can I find the nearest power station?" He asks politely. "Uh... the closest one is a mile south of Ponyville." "Good.... what’s a mile... never mind, put the bag back on." We go through this for several hours, never getting anything similar. It goes from drinking a glass of water to fighting Big Mac hoof to hoof. After a while I was getting a pretty level head going through them. I just raise my alarm, keep cool and think clearly.... kind of obvious now that I think about it. "Alright, both of you remove your bags, we're moving on." Miles says. I take off the bag and hold onto it until Miles takes it away. Last time he handed me something and I didn’t keep it I got four sets of the run. "Time for a rest." Miles says as he leads us to our camp site. A small camp fire with three cleaned off spots for us to sleep.... if we slept. "Both of you, lay down and go to sleep. I'm going to put a spell on you so you get exactly eight hours of sleep. " Big Mac and I glance to each other before we say "SIR, THANK YOU SIR!" We each take a spot and lay down. Sleep wasn't hard to find, especially when every muscle in your body is begging you for it. Perspective: Miles I wait a few minutes until they fall asleep. This is easily going to be the worst part of the training. Not to mention I have to do it every day until they finish. I walk up to Storm and put a hand on his head, flaring my magic and forcing a sleeping spell on him. Once I finish that I pull my hand back and swirl my hand around until it's completely covered in the fire. Once it's covered, I close my eyes as I shove my hand into his mind. My vision goes fuzzy for a bit until I see into his dream. He's in a meadow with Twilight, rolling around with her as they laugh and giggle together. I hate this. I contort my hand until I take control of the dream and start changing it. I make storm clouds appear, darkening the area and make Twilight runaway in fear. Storm runs after her but I make the grass grow so he loses his vision of her. I then make him walk around aimlessly until he comes to a clearing and stops in his tracks. In the clearing I set Twilight laying on her side as two unfamiliar devour her flesh. They pull and tare her skin off, making her bleed out and they begin to gnaw away at her bloody flesh. "Why couldn't you protect me Storm" I make Twilight say. Storm tries to look away, but I force him to watch as the two unfamiliar devour her before him, Twilight staring at Storm the entire time. They break bones, pull flesh and dig their dagger like teeth into her, making the ground of the world around them turn to a pool of her blood. Once they finish I make the two of them begin to chase after Storm. He runs and runs, but I hold him in place as the two of them run up to him and start eating him, biting into his wings and back, send rivers of blood from the wounds. I exit the dream at this point, letting his subconscious take care of the rest. When I come out of the dream I open my eyes to see the pain in Storm's eyes. He wants to wake up, but my spell won’t let him. Eight hours, I hope you can make it. I turn to Big Mac and ready my hand to enter his mind as I set the sleeping spell with my other hand. Once finished, I enter his subconscious. Big Mac is dreaming of the farm. All of the Apples are together, eating joyfully as Fluttershy leans against Big Mac. I take control of the dream and make everyone start walking out of the house and towards the barn. I make Big Mac wait out front as I send everyone else into the barn and shut the door behind them. Moments later I make the barn explode, setting the entire world around him ablaze. I keep the main structure of the barn intact but make the boards in front break apart to show the inside. I make Big Mac watch as I set everyone he loves ablaze. They scream and contort as their flesh begins to boil over. I make them run to the boards and reach out for Big Mac as their skin chars over. He tries to move, but I lock him in place and force him to watch them burn alive. I keep them living well past normal standards. Their eyes have melted out of their sockets, all of their skin has burned off and now their flesh starts to melt off. The entire time I keep them reaching out for Big mac, just a hair out of reach. I exit the dream at this part, not wanting to do any more. I stand up and watch the two of them contort from their night terrors. It’s going to be a long day. I sit back against a tree and wait for their torture to end. Perspective: Twilight Saturday October 14th, 3:00am CRASH I wake up and look around the room for the source of the noise. I've spent the last week at Applejack's, but it's hardly helped. Every night something happens to remind me that Breaker is still out there. Sometimes he leaves me notes saying what he plans to do to me, other times he breaks something. I've never been so scared in my life. I want Storm back, I want everything to back to normal, I want... "OW!" I yell as I feel a prick against my neck. I raise my hoof and pull out a dart with a pink puff from my neck. I drop the dart and start to panic. He's in here! He's blocking my magic and he's in here somewhere! I try to jump out of bed but can't seem to move my legs. I can't move at all! "Hehehe, having trouble moving?" Breaker says as he walks out of the darkness and approaches me. I try to scream, run, anything! But the only thing I can manage is to make my heart race as he gets on the bed and stands on top of me. "Don't worry, you will not enjoy this..." Perspective: Storm, 1:00PM "Congratulations! You've both passed Spartan training." Miles says as he leads us out of the forest. I seriously can't believe this hell is over, and that I lived! "You can now proudly call yourselves Spartans! Even better, you can stop calling me sir." "Finally! If I had to call you that one more time I was gonna crack" I say jokingly, getting them to laugh over me mumbling sir. "I'm proud of the both of you, seriously. I put you through the worst I could muster, and you came out with flying colors. There's just one last thing we have to do." "What's that sir?" Big Mac asks. "Well, we've got to get you inked up with my unit’s logo, it's tradition." "Uh... I don't think that’ll work with us having hair all over our bodies....sir" I say. "We'll find a way... what’s that?" I look forward with Miles to see Rainbow Dash Flying towards us at high speed. She crash lands in front of us and quickly gets in our faces. "Have you guys seen Twilight!" "No... where is she? What’s happened?" I ask her as I walk towards her. "It's Storm Breaker! He's taken her!" "WHAT!" I yell as I grab her. "What happened!" "We don't know yet! Breaker tried to take advantage of Twilight but we stopped him. We had her spend the rest of the time at AJ's but she wasn't there this morning! We've been looking all over Ponyville but we can't find either of them!" I drop Rainbow Dash and start to walk off when Miles grabs my shoulder. "Come with me really quick" he says to me as he turns to Big Mac, "go with Dash and help look for her." He says before he starts to run off. I follow him through the woods until we make it to his place where we burst through the door and head straight for my room. "OK, put on your armor, I have to give you the quick version." "Is this really the time..." "PUT IT ON!" I walk over and start strapping it in. "Okay, so, in addition to the higher strength, you also have higher dexterity. This will help with your overall nimbleness and hand eye coordination. You also have an electrical buff, making it easier to handle that element and resist it more effectively. And lastly..." he says as he pulls out my sword, " I worked on this as well." He unsheathes it to show that it's now half as thick as before, with the tip making a diamond shape as a gem sits in the middle of the metal, glowing softly. "I gave it a wind buff. Basically when you swing it around, a gush of wind is sent with every attack." He sheaths the sword and hands it to me as I finish putting on the armor. I sling it under my right wing and start to walk out only to stop when Miles puts a hand on my shoulder. "Make him suffer." I nod to him as I head out. I walk out the front door and leap into the air, flying faster than I've ever flown before. I make it to Ponyville in mere seconds where I see Applejack running through town, so I drop before her. "What in tarnation! Breaker!" "Storm, where's Twilight?" "How do ah know yer really Storm?" "Because when I find Breaker, I'm going to take him apart, now, WHERES. TWILIGHT" I say as I step towards her, making her shrink back. "Ah… ah... ah don't know. He took her in the middle of the night, ah didn't even know she was gone till almost noon. Ah'm sorry Storm, this is all my fault..." "No it's not. Can you give me any clues as to where he might be? What's he after?" "He mentioned something about wanting to ruin yer fathers name... but other than that ah has no clue." "HORSE FEATHERS!" Come on... he wants to ruin my father’s name... my father was in the cloud making business... the weather factory! "Where's the nearest weather factory?" "It's just east of Ponyville..." I take off into the air before she could finish. If he wants to ruin his name, my moneys on him using a cloud factory somehow. I fly as fast as I could till I see the factory ahead. It's made of storm clouds and has a few Pegasus flying round it. I can tell that they're not factory workers due to the armaments they carry. As I fly closer they spot me and start to fly towards me. I draw my sword as I approach the first pony and slash at his throat, slicing his neck and blowing the wound open. I spin around and catch the other ponies blade above me with mine. I kick a few times at his gut before I slice at his chest, blowing it open with a powerful gust of wind. I turn to the last one and stare at him as he shakes before me, barely holding his sword. "Leave" I say to him. He drops the blade and flies away as fast as he can. I swing my blade at him and send a gush of wind at him, making him drop out of the sky. I guess Miles didn't count on my armor adding to my blades attack... or maybe he did. I fly to the factory and climb through an open window. I'm in the main factory where they condense the air. Everything seems to be made of either storm clouds, or some weird green clouds. I walk along a scaffolding looking down at some ponies working. It looks as if their trying to make clouds out of some green liquid, that can't be good. There's four workers and two guards, easy enough. I drop down on top of one of them and bury my blade between her shoulder blades, killing her instantly. The other guard sees me and runs at me with an ax. I roll to the side to dodge his attack and thrust my blade into his chest, stabbing him in the heart. I stand before the workers and motion for the door with my head. "Thank you" one of them says as they flee from the factory. "Hold on" I say as I grab one of them, "is there a unicorn here?" "Yeah, the leader guy has two actually. One's a reporter and I don't know the other one. He has them with him up in the main office, it's up there" she says as she points up to a door at the other side of the room. "Thanks..." "Watch out! He has some weird armor that makes him stronger than usual, plus like six guards." "Thanks, you should get going now." She nods to me and runs out of the building. I fly up to the door and take a fighting stance before I knock on the door. "Who's there?" Asks a guard. I do a turn as I swing my sword at the door, making it blow away and send the guard flying back. I see two other guards charge at me, so I punch the wall and thrust my sword at them, sending an arc of lightning through them and the one from earlier. I hold it for a second before I let go and run inside. The second I enter I duck to dodge somepony trying to chop my head off. I jump straight up and stab them from under the jaw, blowing the front of their face off. "Storm Cloud, so glad you could join us." I look over to see Breaker holding his mace over a bound and gagged Twilight and Starry Notes with two guards standing before him with their swords drawn. Breaker looks almost completely different. Same build, but he's all yellow with dark blue hair and has my old night guard armor on. "Let her go" I demand. "I don't think you're in a position to demand anything right now." He motions to the guards who nod and charge at me. I block blow after blow from them as I start to back up a bit. I can tell they aren't trained at all, just whacking away like brutes. I wait for a few more swings before I spin forward, slitting both their neck in one motion. As they drop to the ground I take a few steps forward and hold my sword at Breaker. "It's over Breaker, now LET. HER. GO!" He glances between me and Twilight before he tries to slam his mace into Twilight. I swing my sword at him with as much force as I physically can, sending a whirlwind that knocks him into the corner of the room. I try to run after him, but he breaks the clouds and runs away before I could stab him. With a sigh I turn to Twilight and smile at her until something grabs my leg and pulls me through the clouds, dropping my sword in the process. He finally let’s go of me when he tosses me into the air outside the building. I level out almost immediately and face Breaker. He raises his mace as we stare each other down, flying in a slow circle. "You know what I'm going to do after I kill you?" He asks as an evil smile grows on his face. "Eat shit and die?" "Hehehe... I think I'll have some fun with Twilight and that nosy reporter, think I can trick that slut into thinking you won by posing as you?" He asks as he moves a hoof over his chest, making some makings underneath his armor glow and make him appear to look like me. "Deverto pulvis et salutant mortuus." I say before I charge at him. He tries to swing his mace into me, but I dodge it and kick into his chest, denting the metal slightly. I grab hold of his leg and go to punch his face, only to get his mace in my gut. It doesn't dent, but I still feel the blow against me. I slam my hoof against the leg I'm holding and snap the bone instantly, making him scream out in pain. With his defenses down I go to work at beating him. I prop him up as I start to punch his face in. With every punch I give, I make his face bleed that much more. He finally uses both his back legs to kick me away. I stagger for a second before I look back to him. He's pulled out a duel potion. A vial that has two compartments. One has a blue potion while the other has a red potion. When he finishes the potion he looks back to me and charges me with his mace in both hooves. He's flying much faster than before, and his swings seem to have more power behind them. I fly backwards and dodge each attack with minimal effort, either shifting to the side or increasing my speed a bit. He spins around and tries to slam the mace into my side, but I stick my hoof out and catch it midflight. I hold it there for a moment as he tries to pull it out of my grasp until I twist the mace around, positioning me to his back. I drop the mace and quickly grab a hold of his head with both of my hooves, ready to snap his neck. "Any last words?" "Heh... always had to be the better one..." I yank my hooves away, snapping his neck and killing him. I let go of him and watch as his body drops to the ground, an evil smile still held on his face as he falls to the ground below. Author's Note A/N: Shout out to NotATree for picking the power in the sword! Thanks for reading and like always Brony on! Chapter 63 Returning HomeChapter 63 Returning Home I watched his body drop until it finally collided with the ground. With a sigh I turned and flew back to the factory, making my way through the hole Breaker had made until I make it back to the room with Twilight and Starry Notes. Twilight has my sword and is trying to cut Starry free when she sees me fly back into the room. She points the sword at me and backs against the wall, shaking violently. "Stay back. Don't come any closer or... or...I'll..." she says in total fear. "Twilight, it's me, Storm Cloud. See, buzz cut" I say as I run a hoof through my mane. She just closes her eyes and starts to shake her head as she tries to hold up the blade. "I don't believe you! Stay away!" She yells. I think for a moment before an idea comes to mind. "Remember after the invasion on Canterlot? We had that.... moment. And you set your sound barrier to make things louder..." I say as I step closer to her, "or how about the time you and I had dinner together, only to have Big Mac literally drop in?" Twilight looks up to me and drops the sword, which somehow doesn't fall through the clouds. I walk up till I'm just a hoof reach away from her, where I lean down and say "what about all those time I told you I loved you?" "St-Storm!" She cries out as she throws her hooves around me, hugging me tightly. I hold onto her as she breaks down, gently stroking her back as she cries into my neck. "I-I-I thought.... that he was going to.... and then..." she stutters as she cries. "Shh... don't worry, he will never harm you again. I promise" I whisper into her ear as I hold on to her. "Um... I know this is a touching moment and all, but could you at least slide me the sword?" Starry says from the ground. I kick it over so she can reach it and continue to hold Twilight. "Storm..." "Yeah Twi?" "He never... I didn't let him..." she says as she shakes her head back and forth. I tighten my hold on her a bit and kiss the side of her head. "That's my mare." "So.... I don't know about you, but I'd like to leave" Starry says as she stands up. "Are you OK to go now?" I ask Twilight. She takes a few deep breaths before she nods and slowly let’s go of me. I grab my sword and sheath it before we head out of the room. We make it to the stairs when we hear new voices coming in from the loading bay. I motion to the girls to stay low on the stairs and try to creep closer to the loading doors to hear better. "... get this shipment to Ponyville by five hundred hours or she'll have our wings for being late." Says a griffin as he opens the cloud door and walks in with two other griffins. The first one is light grey with black under tones while the other two are tan with brown under tones. They each carry swords that are easily as long as me and curve at the end. "Why does she have to be... whoa... what happened here?" The tan one on the right asks as the find the corpses. As they investigate the bodies I creep along the scaffolding until I'm on top of the three of them and wait. "Looks like the cat's out of the bag... what now?" Asks one of the tan ones. "Now we accelerate out plans. Take whatever clouds they made and move them to the rendezvous point, and be careful! That's acidic rain there, it's worth more than you feather brains combined!" Acidic rain, Ponyville, yeah I don't like this one bit. I motion to Twilight and Starry to stay down as I jump into the air, landing in front of them. I keeping a hoof on my sword as I stare them down, looking for any threatening movements. "Care to explain what's going on here?" I ask as I look from griffin to griffin. They don't really seem all that surprised that I'm here. "Look at that, a guard... what regiment are you with?" the grey one asks as they all draw their swords. "I'm with the Spartan regiment, first battalion..." "Night or day?" He asks in a bored manner. I pull out my sword and take a ready stance. They stare at me for a second before the grey one motions for one of the tan ones to attack. He takes a few steps forward and tries to bring his blade down on me. I step to the side and run up to him, thrusting my blade into his chest and send a back spray of blood. He staggers back and tries to swing at me, but I block his attack with my blade as I spin around and kick him in the chest, knocking him back. I back away and hold my sword in front of me, waiting for the other two to make their moves. "Broad Wing!" The other tan one yells as he runs to his side. Tries to shake him awake, but it's too late for him. "You bastard! I'll kill you! I'll..." he yells as he starts to advance towards me, only to stop when the grey one puts a claw in front of him. "We're leaving." "You can't be serious! That bastard killed my-AAARRRGGHHH!" Before he could finish the grey one turns around and slashes his sword across his chest, making a large gash bleed out. "If you really want to see him, I'll send you to him. Now, if it makes no difference to you, I'll be leaving now." He says as he sheaths his sword and begins to walk away, only to stop when I advance on him a bit. "Don't worry, we'll have our fight, but for now..." he spins around and throws a dark green ball at me. I swipe at it with my blade, making it explode in a ball of white smoke. I charge forward through the fog and try to find the grey griffin, but stop when I make it to the platform outside. I look around in all directions but can't see him anywhere. How did he disappear like that? I turn back and start to walk through the now fading fog. All of the green clouds are still here luckily, but that doesn't make me worry any less. "Storm! Where did that griffin go?" Twilight asks as she and Starry run down the stairs towards me. "I don't know. I lost sight of him. Starry, what do you know about what was going on here?" "I just heard a rumor from a friend that there was something big going down here, so I came to do a little investigation. But, then the guards found me snooping around on the ground and brought me up here. I heard some talk about the acid clouds, but they never spoke of what they were for." "Who gave you the lead?" "A friend named Cheesus, why?" "I wouldn't listen to him anymore; he may be..." "He's not a spy! He tried to keep me from coming but I went anyway." "Well, your both safe, that's what's important right now. Come on, let’s get out of here." They both nod and follow me out to the platform where I pick them both up and fly towards Ponyville. We have to get Celestia here as soon as possible, something was being planned here and I know there's more to this than just acid storms. Perspective: Unknown As I sit in my dark study, staring at my glass of wine, I can't help but sense something going astray. I twirl my glass around in my claw as I think about the possibilities that brute Steelwing could have done to make my plans fall apart. Usually he gets the job done, but I fear something has gone wrong this time. I lean back in my chair and sigh; I have too much riding in this for it to go wrong this early. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK "Terribly sorry to interrupt, but you have a visitor" my butler says as he steps aside and lets Steelwing in. They both give a bow before the butler turns and walks out, closing the door behind him. "Operation seedling was a complete success. What are my next orders?" I pull out an envelope and toss it towards him. He picks it up and starts to look it over a bit, a crooked smile growing on his face as he crumples up the note. "Understood, I will need new assistants though. The last one didn't work out at all." I nod to him and motion for the lecture on the stand next to the door. He walks up to it and starts looking through it, flipping from page to page. "So when do you plan on stage two?" "..." "Oh, right, not the talker. Heh, whatever. As long as I get paid I don't really care... this one. I want this one" he says as he points to a name in the book. I nod to him and take a sip from my glass. he starts to walk away but stops at the door. "Are you sure? Just watch? That is going to take a lot longer than if we were to just go in and use a memory toxin." I set my glass down and point to Steelwing. "Alright, you're the boss. It'll take longer, but if that's the way you want it, fine" he says before he leaves the room. I take my glass and swirl it around, taking in the aroma of my drink. I glance out the window and take in the view as I take another sip. Canterlot is so nice this time of year, I can't wait till it's mine. I just have to be patient... someone will make a mistake soon; I can just feel it. And Luna is the key to it all. Perspective: Storm I drop Starry off in the red district before I start to take Twilight home. Why she's staying there, I don't know and don't want to. I land in front of her place and wait by the door. "So... here we are..." I say as I set her down. "Storm... would you spend the night; I don't want to be alone..." "Of course" she gives me a small smile as she opens the door and heads inside. It's pretty dusty in here, I guess Spikes been away for a while now. "Hey Twilight, I'm going to take a shower..." "Oh, thank Celestia! I didn't want to say anything but.... you kind of.... smell like a bag of sweat and rotting flowers." "Well I did spend a month in the woods" I say as I approach her, only to get a hoof on my chest plate. "Shower. Now." I sigh and trot up to her room. I remove my armor and head into her bathroom. I jump into her shower and start running the hot water. I wait till it’s a good temperature until I switch it to the shower head. "AAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWYYYYYEEEAAAAHHHHH" I never thought I would miss a hot shower so much in all my life. I stand there for a moment, enjoying the hot water washing away all of the grime off from the past month. I look down too see that the water is coming off me dark brown. Wow... just wow. I've never been so dirty before. After i clean myself off I turn the water off and start drying myself off with a towel. When I finish I toss the towel on my back and exit the bathroom to find Twilight looking at my armor. She glances at me then does a double take. "Storm..." "Yeah?" "When did you get so buff?" I look back to see that I've completely loss any fat that was on me. Every muscle on my body is now toned and shows with the slightest twist. "Well... I did just go through military training." I say as she approaches me. She bites her hoof a bit before she pokes me a couple of times in various muscles. "Uh... Twilight?" She starts walking around me, examining every inch of my body. "Are you going to be okay?" I ask as she stops behind me. She reaches out and grabs my flank, making me jump a bit. "Twilight..." "Dear Celestia...." she mutters as she walks back in front of me. "What did Miles do to you?" "You know I can't tell you... basically he did what he said he'd do." She continues to stare wide eyed at me, mouth agape. "Is this... a good thing?" "hawidjama," she stammers as she nods. "Um... so is that a no or a..." "It’s a yes. It's a next chance we get I'm going to rut your brains out yes" she says as she heads towards the bed. Well... OK then. "Next chance?" I ask, making her look away. "I'm sorry... but it would be too soon right now..." "I completely understand. I only want it if you're ready for it. Well... it's getting late... I should let you get to bed..." "You're not joining me?" Twilight asks as she heads to her bed. FWOOSH "Sorry, you'll have to put those away tonight" Twilight says with a giggle as she gets into bed. I ignore my wings and walk to the other side of the bed, slipping under the sheets as I climb onto the bed. AAAWWWW, beds.... how I've missed you. I pull Twilight against me so that she's laying with her back is against my stomach. I wrap my hoof around her and hold her as we let sleep take hold of us... hopefully I can go without another one of those nightmares. Chapter 64 A Day At The SpaChapter 64 A Day at The Spa Perspective: Miles I woke in my bed with Lupus curled up next to my face. He must of came in at night while I was asleep. I give him a few strokes before I look over and see something in his mouth. It's looks like red fur... wonder what that was? I ignore it for now and roll over, waking Lupus as I get out of bed. I stretching a bit as I make my way to the to the restroom. After taking care of my business and a quick change, I went down stairs to get some breakfast, Lupus following with the red straggly thing held firmly in his mouth. I find a large pot of apple soup and decide to have that... though I'm not sure where it came from. What to do today... I guess I could go to work, but then what? I guess I could bum around Ponyville, maybe see what everyone is up to. "What do you think?" I ask Lupus as he chews away at the red fur ball. He stops and looks up to me, licking his nose a couple times before he goes back to chewing on the corpse. I guess that's a go for it. After eating I head out for Sweet Apple Acres. The walk was calm enough, bright sun, birds singing, a gentle breeze blowing from the north, peaceful. Just... peaceful. I look around and get an odd shiver, things are too peaceful. Somethings going to happen... I can feel it. "Hiya Miles!" "GAH!" I yell as I jump back from the new voice. I look behind me to see Starry standing behind me, looking up at me with a massive smile on her face. "Starry... fuck... don't sneak up on me like that..." I say as I try to regain my composure. "Hehe... sorry about that. I was in town and thought I'd say hello." She says as she starts to walk down the path. "Things are... good. How about you? What have you been up to?" I ask as I walk with her. "Mm... nothing much. It's been pretty quiet since that day with those dragons." "I'll say.... speaking of which, why is that? What happened to all of the paparazzi?" "Oh, well, for saving my life I pulled a few strings and convinced them to leave you alone..." "Really!? Wow... thanks..." "No, thank you Miles. Remember, you saved my life. It was the least I could do." "Yeah, but you were only put in danger because of me..." "Do you want me to call them back?" Starry asks flatly as she raises an eyebrow to me. "Well...no..." "Then thank you for saving my life Miles" she says as she walks off with her head held a little higher. "Well...your welcome... so what are you up to?" "I was actually on my way to see my husband when I saw you walking down the path. I should really get back to him... want to meet him?" "Ah... maybe another time... I've got... things to do right now." "Oh, alright. It was nice to see you again Miles, take care" she says as she waves goodbye. I wave bye and continue to walk to the Apple family home. As I approach the home I can hear the sounds of people cheering and loud music coming from their house. I knock on the door and wait for someone to respond, but after a minute of waiting I decide to open the door to see what’s going on. When I open the door I see dozens of ponies dancing around the living room to loud country music as Big Mac is hoisted into the air by several other ponies. He spots me and motions for the others to let him down and runs over to me. "Miles, what brings ya down here taday?" "Uh... work..." "Aw there's no work taday, seein how mah family decided ta throw a welcome back par... uh... event. Care ta join?" Join a party... yeah, no. "I'll pass, keep it family ya know. I'll swing by tomorrow for work then." "EEyup." "Later" I say as I wave goodbye and head for Ponyville. Big Mac waves goodbye as a group of ponies pull him back into the fray. Bullet... dodged. Well, with no work... I guess I should see what Storms up to. I turn around and start to head towards Twilight's library. As I walk through town I start to notice how everyone is accepting me. Most don't even give me a glance, except a few kids but that's to be expected. The only ones to really pay me any attention are ponies that I've never seen before, and even then it's barely a stare. I come up to Twilight's and knock on the door. "One second" Twilight calls out before she opens the door. "Oh, hi Miles, what brings you around?" "I had a free day so I thought I'd swing by, see what everyone's up to." "Oh, sorry Miles, but Storm and I were just about to leave to go to Canterlot. I'm introducing him to my family." "Oh, that's alright. Have fun then at your family's. Try to bring him back in one piece." "I will" she says with a laugh. I turn and start to head into town with no real destination. Hmm... well... I guess I could use this opportunity to buy some shoes from Rarity, being barefoot sucks. I head towards Rarity's and catch her as she's leaving her house. "Hey Rarity!" "Miles darling, good morning!" "Mornin, I was wondering..." "Oh, if you wish to make a request for my boutique, it'll have to wait until after my visit to the spa." "Oh…okay... what’s a spa?" "You don't know?" I shake my head. "This is absolutely unacceptable." She says as she stomps a hoof down and starts to walk off, pulling me along with her magic. "Everypony should get to feel the wonders of a day at the spa! Miles darling, you must attend this session with me and Fluttershy! It will absolutely help you..." "Rarity!" I yell, getting her to let go of me. "I'll go, I'll go, as long as you let me walk myself." "Oh, terribly sorry Miles." Rarity says with a slight blush. "It’s alright, but this better be worth it..." "Oh trust me it is! It'll melt all of your troubles away, I promise." "Well... alright, lead the way." She hops in place as she sequels in a high pitch tone before she turns and trots off. This better not be some kind of weird trap. I follow her to a round building that's decorations remind me of Rarity's boutique, but only being two stories tall. We enter into a small waiting room that has plants sitting in most of the corners. A cashier's counter sits on the wall opposite with a door to the right. To my left is Fluttershy, sitting on a green couch as she reads a magazine. "So sorry to keep you waiting Fluttershy, I hate being late for our weekly get-together's, but I simply had to bring Miles along, it’s his first visit to the spa!" "Oh, that's... nice. Well, let’s get started... if you don't mind... that is if you want to..." she stammers. I follow them to the counter where they sign in and walk through the door. "Is this your first time?" Asks the unicorn from behind. He has brown hair and something I thought was impossible for a pony to wear.... a white shirt. "Yeah I..." "Alright, just fill this out and you'll be all set to go in." He says as he pulls out a clip board. I look down to the clipboard and stare at it for a second before I start writing 'what does this say' over and over again. "Alright...." he says as he pulls out another clipboard, "Name..." "Miles Eremita..." "...address..." "Uh... that one by the Everfree forest." "Let’s just call it Everfree way, do you want to set up a credit account, or will you be paying per visit?" "Uh... let’s do credit" even though I hate credit but don't have that much on me at the moment. "Alright, I can do the rest, go ahead in, your number seven." I walk through the door where I enter a locker room. All of the lockers are a dark brown wood that are numbered off. I walk to number seven, the one after Rarity's and Fluttershy's and look around in confusion. "So..." "You have to take your clothes off dear." Rarity says as she puts on a robe with purple frilly ends. "What! Why would I..." "It's so they can message your." Fluttershy says timidly as she puts on a white rob. "But I'm not..." "You will have a towel to cover yourself dear." Rarity says as the two of them stand aside and wait for me. I look at them both in disbelief before I take my shirt off and hang it in the locker. "How’s that?" I ask. "Almost there, just the other half now." Rarity says as he points to my pants. This better be worth it. I turn back and reluctantly take my pants off and put them in the locker and turn back to them, standing there awkwardly. "Good, good. Now the under garments." I stare at her in disbelief, she can't be serious. "You can't be serious." "I am. They will get ruined if you go in with them and I absolutely refuse to have something I made be destroyed. Now please remove them." "But..." "Please... that is, um... it’s the rules Miles. Only robes and towels are allowed... so... unless you want to leave..." Fluttershy stammers as she hides behind her hair. I sigh as I turn around and take a towel from the locker and wrap it around my waist. I look back and sigh as I remove my underwear and toss them into the locker, holding the towel close to my body. "Much better." Rarity says as she trots off, followed by Fluttershy. I hesitate for a moment before I follow after them. We head towards a large bulky door with a light cream pony in a white shirt opens the door for us. The moment it opens a blast of hot air hits us. "What’s this?" I ask as we head in and take a seat. It’s just a wooden room with a bench going around. In the center of the floor is a pile of heated round stones with a bucket of water next to it. "It’s a sauna..."Fluttershy says as she lays on the bench. "You sit in here and relax." I take a seat next to her as Rarity lays on her other side. "So... what? We just sit here... and..." "Relax." Fluttershy finished. We sit there for a few moments before Rarity levitates up a ladle and pours some water onto the rocks, sending a column of smoke up and raising the humidity. It feels pretty good in here, a little hot but I think that's the point. "So Fluttershy, how have you been lately?" Rarity asks as she stretches a little. "Oh, I've been good. I've been a little concerned though. There was a new family of squirrels that moved here... but they went missing over a month ago." "That's just awful! I'm sure they'll show up though, they probably went into the forest or something." Rarity reassures. Yeah... or they ate some bad bananas. "Well... I guess so... I just wish my red fox didn't go missing as well..." "Oh sweet Barbra..." "What was that Miles?" Fluttershy asks. "Nothing, nothing... so, are you like... a care taker for all of the animals around here?" I ask to change the subject. "Well, yes and no. I'm a veterinarian. So I take care of the pets of Ponyville, but I take care of any animals that come to my home." "That's very kind of you." I say as I lay back, enjoying the heat. We lay there for a bit, Rarity occasionally adding water to the rocks. This isn't so bad. "So, Miles, what did you need from the boutique?" Rarity asks. "Just some shoes and socks..." "WHAT!" They both yell as they sit up and look at me in disbelief. "Darling... what did you say you needed?" "Uh... shoes and socks..." "AAAAHHH! Who's the lucky mare, oh tell me, tell me, tell me!" Rarity squeals as she runs over to my other side and looks at me while batting her eyes. "What are you talking about?" I ask as I sit up and look at them in confusion. "Who is the lucky mare you need the socks for?" Rarity asks "Uh... no one. Why would I need socks for a mare?" I ask, getting the two of them to look at each other in confusion. "What do you plan on doing with these socks?" Fluttershy asks. "To put on my feet... so I can wear shoes... what do you use them for?" They both begin to blush as they look away from me. "What?" "Well... we use them as lingerie, dear." Rarity says as she bats her hair. "Oh....OH! What! Why would you use socks like that!?" "Shh, shh, calm down Miles. It’s just something we do. Don't your people do things like that?" "Well, yeah. But it's different. Ours usually is a whole body thing... usually doing very little with our feet." I say, getting Rarity's attention. "Could you, maybe, tell us a bit more about this? If you’re not to bothered by it that is." Rarity asks nervously. I look over to Fluttershy to see her peek out from behind her hair, waiting for a response. "O... okay, I'll tell you." I say, getting them to perk up a bit. I spend an unknown amount of time explaining human physiology and about certain appeal of certain things. I felt kind of awkward telling them this, especially whenever Fluttershy would ask a more in depth question. We go over everything... toys, fetishes, lingerie, everything Dolum and Inficiunt ever told me about. "Wow... why do you know so much about this Miles?" Fluttershy asks. "It’s not my knowledge, my friends were always trying to get me... some action. But I never did any of it." "Does that mean you're still a virgin?" Rarity asks "Well... yeah." They both look to each other and have some kind of secret wordless feminine conversation before they look back to me. "I'm sorry Miles, but I find that a little hard to believe. You mean to tell me that somepony that is attractive even for ponies couldn't get a human mare to be with them?" Rarity says as she stares at me evenly. "What? No, I didn't have anyone by choice. I actually had several marriage proposals lined up, but no. I just... never felt that way about anyone.... so... I'm attractive?" I ask as I lean towards Rarity. She looks around, completely caught off guard by my statement. "Well... I... uh..." "Excuse me" says the pony from outside as he opens the door. "Your hour is up." "Good! I say that we should get massages next. Would anypony like to get messages, because I would simply love one..." Rarity stammers as we leave the sauna. The minute I leave the room the cool air stings against all of the sweat on my body that had built up from being in the room. I didn't really notice how sweaty I was until now.... gross. "Yeah... from Miles..."Fluttershy mumbles, getting a mean glare from Rarity. "Sorry... I didn't mean to say that... I meant, uh... well..." "HA! That was a good one... so where are we going?" I ask, getting Rarity to stop staring daggers at Fluttershy. "Uh... oh right! Let’s get messages." She says as she heads in a new direction. We follow her to a room that's filled with long padded tables. I watch as they each go to a table and lay on their stomachs, so I do the same. "So... what do we do now?" "We wait for the masseurs to come out and start on us." Rarity says as she gets comfortable. I lay there and watch as three other ponies come in. One is an orange earth pony guy in the same shirt as the others while the other two I think are twins. One is a pale rose color with light blue hair that's being held back with a white band. The other one is exactly the same to her, just inverted colors. The guy goes to Rarity and pulls a curtain around them, then the blue one goes to Fluttershy and does the same thing. The pink one comes to me and pulls the curtain around us, giving me a soft smile as she does so. "Hello mister Eremita, my name is Aloe, I will be giving you your message. Where would you like me to start?" She asks with an accent. "Uh... I don't know, where ever you feel like I guess." She comes to my side and puts her hooves on my back. I jump a little from this but relax a little as she starts to rub back and forth. I feel her work with my muscles and start to work out the knots. I Relax and let her go to work, enjoying the feeling. After a while I start to nod off, being overly relaxed by her hooves as she works the different parts of my back and shoulders. "You really should come more often; you have a lot of knots." She says as she begins to add pressure to her twists and rubs. "Fuck... if you can do this consistently you may have to kick me out..." I say, getting her to chuckle. She continues to work away for a while until she asks me to roll over, so I do. Having her work my chest was a little more awkward, having nothing else to look at other than her blue eyes. She starts at my chest, then the area of my diaphragm, then my abdominals’... "So, mister Eremita, would you like the happy ending?" She asks in a hushed tone. "Uh... I guess so... who would want a sad ending anyway." I say, getting her to nod and work lower. I have no clue what she's talking about, but I'm too relaxed to really care right now. I feel my towel rise really quick then drop back down as she puts a hoof to her mouth, trying to hold back a laugh. "Uh... what just happened?" "A sad ending" she says with a laugh before she runs out of the room. I'm not so sure what just happened here... but I have a feeling I should be either mad or saddened. I sit up and walk out of the curtained area to see the other two getting out as well. "Hey... what’s a happy ending?" I ask them, getting shocked looks from both. "And for that reason, what’s a sad ending?" "Well... ah..." Fluttershy stammers before she flies up and whispers the meaning to my ear. "So... Ignoring that, what’s next?" I ask them as they walk in front of me. "I think a bath next and then we call it a day, what do you think Fluttershy?" Rarity asks. "Oh... um... whatever you want is fine." We walk down the hall to the center most room where we find a massive tub of water. Around the tub are a couple of long padded seats and small tables with little vases on them. "Um... is this a community bath?" I ask. "Yes, why?" Fluttershy says as they head towards the tub. "Oh... then I will see you later." I say as I head towards the door, only stopping when Rarity's magic holds me back. "Miles, aren't you going to join us?" She asks as she steps into the water. "FFUUUCCKK NO! I was sketchy about walking around with just a towel, but there is absolutely no way I am getting in that tub. No way... HEY... PUT ME DOWN!" I yell as Rarity levitates me up and drops me in the water. I splash down and quickly jump up, glaring at Rarity as I try to cover myself with the drenched towel. "There now, that wasn't so hard now was it?" Rarity asks as I sit down on the bench inside. "That wasn't cool... why is the water so hot?" I ask as I look down at the water. It seems to be normal, it’s just really hot for some reason. "Are you kidding, this water is absolutely freezing, we must get them to turn up the heat..." "Are you kidding!? It's almost boiling in here, why would you want it to be hotter?" We stare at each other until Fluttershy starts to scoot towards me. "Fluttershy... what are you doing?" When she gets next to me she stops and looks around the water. "Hmm... that's strange... the water is a lot warmer over here." She says as she sits next to me. Rarity scoots next to me and feels around a bit before looking up at me in confusion. "Miles, why is the water hotter over here then over there?" "Because of my magic. I tend to heat water up for some reason, I never really understood why though." "Is it because.... of your problem?" She asks in a hushed voice. "You've got to be kidding me, how many people did Rainbow Dash tell?" "Tell what?" Fluttershy asks as she looks between us. Well, everybody else knows, why not. "I'm dying," I say bluntly, getting a shocked look from her. "My magic is growing at a high rate. Within a time period of six to sixteen years my body won't be able to contain that much energy and I'll burn myself out. There is nothing that can be done, both of the princesses know and tried. It's just something that I have to come to terms with." When I finish I look over to Fluttershy to see her holding her hooves to her mouth as some tears start to fall from her eyes. I start to say something when she suddenly jumps up and hugs me, digging her face into my neck as she holds tightly on me. "NAKED, NAKED.... LET GO! STOP HUGGING ME!" I yell as I try to pull her off. "*sniff* you're so brave... if you ever need anything just ask and I'll do my best to help you..." "START WITH LETTING GO OF ME!" I yell as I stand up and pull her off of me, dropping her in the water. "Oh my... it grows." Rarity says as she looks at my erection. "SON OF A BITCH!" I yell as I start to look around for my towel. "Where did it go, where did it go!" "Wow... so, it grows..." Rarity says quietly. "WHERE DID IT GO!" I yell as I flare my hands and send the water to the drains outside of the tub. Once the tub is empty I look around to see that the towel has somehow disappeared. "OH COME ON!" "Wow... you should either be really proud of that... or really sad..." Fluttershy says as she stares straight at it. "You can't be serious... you know what, fuck it." I say as I step out of the tub and start to walk back to the lockers. As I walk towards the lockers I run into Aloe. We stop and stare at each other for a second before I put my hands on my hips. "How sad is this?" I say as I point to my member, getting her to blush. I walk past her and go to my locker. After I get dressed I walk out and head home... this was... slightly horrible with some good...maybe... fuck the spa. Author's Note A/N: Shout out to pie1511 for picking the woodland creature and bronymaster1 for picking breakfast. Thanks for ready and like always, Brony on! Chapter 65 Permission Chapter 65 Permission Chapter 65 Permission Perspective: Storm I had just finished loading the balloon when I heard Miles and Twilight talking. I walk around to the front to see him walking away. I wonder what he wanted… I'll just ask Twi. I walk to the door to catch Twilight locking up. "Hey Twi, what did Miles need?" "He just wanted to see what we were up to, but I told him we were going to see my parents so he went off. Is everything ready?" "Yup. Ready whenever you are." She nods and we head for the balloon together. We jump in and Twilight uses her magic to send us into the air, going straight for Canterlot. "So... why do we need to visit my parents?" Twilight asks as she sets her legs over the edge and looks out below. "What? I don't get to meet my marefriend’s parents?" I ask as I jump behind her and wrap my legs around her waist. "Storm... what are you planning?" she asks as she grabs onto my legs. "Nothing." "Storm..." "Do I really look like the planner type?" "Well... maybe not. I can feel you concocting a plan right now," she says as she wags her tail against my flaccid member. "It’s a two-hour trip..." "Yeah, and I don't want to have to drag your unconscious body to my parents’ place." "What? It’s a lot of work getting my mare to come multiple times." "Yeah, and it’s a lot of work getting you to wake up afterwards," she says, getting us both to laugh. "Alright, later," I say as I nuzzle her neck a bit. We spend the entire trip cuddled together, whispering sweet nothings to each other. Once the landing platform comes into view we separate from each other as I grab our bags. The platforms are just long flat concrete docks that stick out of the side of the mountain, making access points for blimps, balloons, any flying contraptions really. There are a couple of larger vessels here, but we find an empty spot and head for it. "MOM! DAD!" Twilight yells out as we land on the platform. She jumps out of the basket and runs up to two ponies, hugging them both tightly. One is a light blue stallion with light yellow eyes, and dark blue hair that's styled to the side. His cutie mark is a yellow crescent with a smaller white crescent inside of it. The other pony is an all-white mare with light blue eyes, and light purple and white striped hair. Her cutie mark is three purple stars. The mare is the same size as Twilight, where the stallion is a bit shorter than me. "I would like you to meet my coltfriend, Storm Cloud. Storm, these are my parents, Night Light and Twilight Velvet," she says as she steps aside for them to get a good look at me. I flap my wings and land in front of them, trying to put on my best smile possible. "It's a pleasure to meet you," I say as I stick my hoof out to Night Light. He takes it and gives a rough shake, sizing me up as he does. "So, you're the Storm Cloud my little Twilight has been talking so much about. What are your intentions-" "Oh stop it, Night," Twilight Velvet says as she pushes him aside and walks up to me, looking at me with her mouth slightly open. "Wow, you are buff!" she says as she walks up to me and gives me a hug... a rather grabby, touchy hug. "Uh... Mrs. Velvet..." "So, I hope you’re treating my daughter alright," she says as she lets go of me and walks back to her husband with a slight blush. "Of course. I would never..." "Never what?" asks Shining Armor as he walks up to us. "Shining!" Twilight says as she runs up to him and hugs him. "It’s good to see ya Twiley," he says as he hugs her, giving me a dirty look as he does. "I would never treat her poorly... hello, Captain Armor," I say as I offer him a hoof. He steps away from Twilight and shakes my hoof, trying to put as much pressure into it as possible as he stares me down. I have a strange feeling that the only one that likes me here is Velvet. "So..." he says as he lets go of my hoof and looks back to his parents, "I have to get back to the barracks, but I'll swing by for lunch at twelve." "Alright, be sure to bring Cadence with you," Night Light says to him as he leaves. "So, we actually have a business meeting to attend, so why don't you two enjoy the city and meet us at Pony Romas at twelve for lunch?" "We'll do that daddy," Twilight says as she walks to my side. "Alright, have fun you two," he says as he walks away. Twilight Velvet walks after him while looking back to Twilight and mouthing something excitingly. We wait for them to disappear behind a crowd of ponies before we both sigh in relief. "Wow... your dad and brother hate me already." "Well... at least my mom likes you… or at least your flank," she says as she looks away, gagging. "Hmm... so it seems that all Twilight's are attracted to my flank... interesting..." I say as I hold a hoof to my chin. Twilight laughs and punches me, but pulls her hoof back and shakes the pain away. "Can you tell me why I let Miles make you so darn buff again?" "Because you like it, now come on, show me Canterlot," I say excitedly as I start to run off, making her chase after me. I make it to the front of the airport offices and wait for her to catch up. Once she does we walk off into Canterlot, Twilight being my unofficial guide. Everywhere we go I can see all of the mares staring at me, whispering things to their friends and giggling. I wouldn't mind it so much if it wasn't for the fact that some of them were following us as well. I ignore them and just follow Twilight around. We explore the shopping district, visit her favorite public library - leaving with three new books - and see some local restaurants. We keep walking around until we finally stop for a late breakfast at some doughnut shop. "Twilight Sparkle, haven't seen you in my shop since the gala two years ago, how have ya been?" asks the pony from behind the counter. He's pretty tall and scruffy looking. "Hello Pony Joe, I'd like you to meet my coltfriend, Storm," Twilight says, getting a large collection of awws from behind. We both turn around to see a large group of mares - and a few stallions - standing behind us. We stare at them as most start to walk away, but four stay behind and take a table and start whispering to one another. There's a light green stallion with white hair; a pair of twin unicorns that are both light grey with dark blue hair, and a pegasus mare that's cream yellow with white hair. They keep whispering to one another while glancing back to us. We ignore them as we turn back to Pony Joe and order a couple of doughnuts. After I pay we go to a booth and start eating. These are actually really good; I can see why Twi would come here for her late night study sessions... "Excuse me." I look up to see that the group is now standing at the edge of the table, looking at me nervously. "Umm..." "Can we help you?" Twilight asks. They glance between me and her before the stallion steps forward. "Um... well... we were wondering what your name is?" he asks in a feminine voice. My gaydar had never rung louder than right now. "I'm..." I start to say, but get cut off by Twilight. "I am Twilight and this is my coltfriend Storm, is there something we can help you with?" "Well, is this an… open relationship?" he asks as I bite into a doughnut, choking on it immediately. "It most certainly is not!" Twilight yells at them as I try to stop choking. "Uh, why don't you let him answer for himself, bitch?" says the pegasus, getting Twilight to stand up and march up to her face. "Excuse me, you want to run that by me again?" Twilight says as she stares down the other mare. "I said, why don't you let him choose for himself, or does being Celestia's prized pet make him all yours... bitch," she says as she pushes against Twilight and flares her wings. I finally swallow the doughnut and jump between Twilight and the other mare as Twilight starts to flare her horn. I push Twilight back a bit and try to calm her down. "Whoa... easy there Twi..." "That whore called me a bitch!" "I know, let me handle this..." "I'm going to smack that smug look off of your face and drag you back to Golden Gate where you belong, you slut!" Twilight yells as she tries to rush her. I grab a hold of her and keep her from tearing the other mare apart. "Twilight! Calm down!" I yell as I pull her back, getting her to calm down a bit. "Let me handle this, we don't need to start a fight right before we have lunch with your parents." She sits on her haunches and crosses her legs as she looks away with a pissed off look. I turn around to the others and take a deep breath before I talk to them. "Look, I'm sorry but I'm taken. And no, it's not an open relationship, now please leave us be." The pegasus looks back to her friends before she starts to walk towards me, giving me a sultry look as she sways her hips. "If you say so," she says as she walks right up to my face. I lean back as much as possible before she finally stops, inches away from my face. Before I can react she grabs the back of my head and starts to kiss me. I start to flail around as I try to pry her from my lips, but she won't let go. I finally push her off and take a few steps back as a red blur flashes past me. KER-PUNCH Twilight has turned white with her mane and tail turning to fire as she runs forward and punches her straight in the face, knocking her flat on her back. Her friends run to her side and help her up as she holds her bloody nose. "I'm only going to say this once. Storm. Is. My. Stallion. If I see you near him again, I will turn your coat red, got it?" she threatens as she looms over her. "Got it," she says timidly as the group runs around us and leaves the store as quickly as possible. I watch in horror as Twilight stares them down with her bright red eyes. Once they run out of sight she takes a few breaths before she finally turns back to her old self. "OK, so, what do you want to do next?" she asks cutely as she closes her eyes and tilts her head. "Damn Twilight… that was scary..." "Oh, did I scare the big bad Spartan? I'm sorry," she says cutely as she lightly twiddles her hooves around. "Trust me, there is nothing you can do that could scare me more than what Miles did. Why don't we head out... I think Pony Joe is calling the guards," I say as I look back to see him writing a letter. Twilight nods and we head out together. We run through town, weaving from alleys to streets in an attempt to avoid city guards, until we reach the hotel I'll be staying at. We walk inside and check in before we head to my room. The room is simple enough: bed, bathroom, window, nothing special for a one-night stay. Twilight walks in and drops on top of the bed, burying her face in the pillow. "Is everything alright Twi?" I ask as I set down my bag. "Mmm mmmnn hnm," she mumbles from the pillow. I lay on the bed next to her and just rub her back until she looks at me. "Wanna repeat that?" "Sorry you had to see me lose it like that. I'm usually level-headed and..." "Don't be sorry, she had it coming. Imagine what I'd do if some stallion just came up and kissed you," I say as I move my hoof down to hold hers. She gives me a smile before reaching over and giving a peck on the lips. I pull her closer and start kissing her, pushing my tongue into her mouth. We spend the next few minutes pushing our tongues from one mouth to the next until I start to get on top of her, getting her to stop. "Something wrong?" "Yeah, we have lunch with my parents in an hour." "Oh... yeah," I say, slightly disappointed - so close. "Maybe we could..." I start to say but stop when she levitates me off of her, letting her get off of the bed. "We should get going soon, it’s on the other side of Canterlot," she says as she walks toward the door, still holding me in the air. "Hey Twilight, wanna put me down already?" She looks back to me and gives me a smile. "Not until you put your pet snake away," she says as she walks out of the room. I look down to see my pride standing straight up. Well... I guess I could take a cold shower... so close. After an icy shower I come out to find Twilight lying on the bed reading one of the books. "How is it?" I ask as I rub a towel in my mane. "Fascinating, not as good as The Myths and Legends of Equestria, but still enticing," she says as she flips to the next page. "Myths and... isn't that the other book you bought?" "Yeah, why?" "When did you read it?" "Just now... I'm a fast reader," she says with a slight blush. That book was thicker than my head... damn. "Well, I'm done, let’s get going," I say as I head to the door. I wait for her to put the book away before we head out together. We walk down one of the main streets together, getting odd looks from everypony... or at least I was. We finally make it to the restaurant where I stop in disbelief. "The restaurant is called... Food." "Yeah... is that a problem?" Twilight asks as she heads to the door. I follow after her and keep my mouth shut. I was kind of expecting something a little more... fancy. We make it to the doors and walk in when my jaw drops. Marble flooring, giant ornate chandeliers, waiters in full black and white suits... fancy beyond my belief. "There they are," Twilight says as she trots off for a table with her parents and siblings. After I pick my jaw up I follow after her, dreading the conversation that's to come. We say our hellos, Twilight doing a strange little dance with Princess Cadence, before we take our seats. I don't see any menus, so I figure that they either already ordered our food, or there's only one thing to get. I end up taking a seat between both Twilights, facing Shining, who is still giving me the stink eye. "So, Storm, how did you like the city?" Velvet asks as she takes a sip from her glass. "It was... nice. I'm not usually into the bigger cities, but Canterlot has a... unique charm to it," I say as a waitress places a glass of wine in front of me and Twilight. I look at the waitress and recognize her as the mare from the doughnut shop, the one Twilight punched... better not eat the food. "Yes, Canterlot has quite the charm," Night Light says as he glares at me from behind his glass. "So Storm, what do you do for work?" Cadence asks, oblivious to the hatred from the other two. "Well, I bucked apples at Sweet Apple Acres before I did Spartan training..." "What’s a Spartan?" Velvet asks. "Uh... it’s a soldier of Terradisia..." "You mean like Miles?" Shining asks. "Yeah, and..." "So you know about how he got his fighting prowess?" he presses. "I have his fighting prowess," I say, getting an amazed look from Shining. "Would you come by the training grounds and give us a few pointers, maybe give a little training…?" "No, I can't," I interrupt, getting a confused look from him. "You can't, or won’t?" "A little of both actually. Spartan training is very secretive. If I were to tell anypony, even a tiny bit about what I went through, Miles would legally have to kill me and whoever I told. Twilight doesn't even know what I went through." When I finish saying this the table falls silent, everypony staring at me in disbelief of what I just said. The silence is finally broken when a group of waiters bring us our food. It looks like green goop with some orange goop swirled into it... whatever, I've had goop before. I take a spoon and give it a try... weird. It’s like eating a hay smoothie... what the buck. So much for not eating the food. "So then... how's the guard doing after the attack, Shining?" Velvet asks to break the awkward silence. "We lost a lot of good ponies, but we're holding strong. I won't let something like this happen again," he says in a serious tone. Yeah... the guard will stop this from happening, good luck. "Well, hopefully next time the Princesses will be able to detect them before something like this happens again. Just another testament to the power of your love," she says as she takes a bite of food. "That's what worries me though, it wasn't our love they were using," Cadence says as she holds onto Shining's hoof. "They just cast us aside to set a trap for the human. So the human loves somepony more than I love Shining... do you know anything about that?" she asks Twilight and I. "Miles... in love... I'd find it hard to believe," Twilight says as she puts down her spoon. "He's a good pony and all, but he seems to have severe social problems, at least when in the right setting..." "Yeah, he's in love," I say, getting everypony's attention. "I don't know who it is, but I saw that spark in his eyes a while back. He has his eyes for somepony, I just don't know who." "It would have to be somepony in Canterlot... somepony he's met more than once," Shining says as he looks down in thought. "You don't think it’s Luna... do you?" "Princess Luna?! Why would you think that?" Night asks in disbelief. "Because when we were rescued, we ran into Miles and Luna... only the Luna was a changeling. Not to mention that he and Luna were the ones to defeat Chrysalis... what has she been up to recently, anyway?" Shining asks Cadence. "Luna was gone for a day awhile back, and recently she's been... distant... you don't think..." "Oh my... Miles and Luna are in love," Twilight says as her face falls to a serious look. "The soul things kissing, why he mumbles her name in his sleep... do you think Celestia knows?" "If she does, that would explain Luna's current state. There's no way she would allow them to be together," Cadence says as the table falls silent. "Excuse me... I have to use the restroom," Twilight says as she gets up. "I'll join you," Cadence says as she gets up and follows her to the restroom. NO! DON'T LEAVE ME WITH THEM! "Well, now that she's gone, Storm, what are your intentions today?" Night Light asks as he leans towards me. Everypony else looks at me and waits for me to answer... well, now would be as good a time as any to ask. I take a moment to build up my courage before I look to Night Light. "Well... I came here to ask for permission to ask for Twilight's hoof in marriage," I say, getting shocked looks from everypony except Night Light. "You wish to marry Twilight." "Yes sir." "You." "Yes sir." "And how will you provide for my daughter, assuming I allow this?" "I have sixty million bits in the bank, am a majority stockholder of the cloud production industry and am the sole proprietor of the Cloud n' Cloud factory. I have the means to provide," I say, getting even more shocked looks from everypony. "You’re Rain Cloud’s son," Velvet asks, to which I nod. "The one that was banished..." "No. That was my brother, Storm Breaker. I was… I went missing when I was a foal. We recently reunited and I just inherited all of this. But none of that matters. What matters is that I love Twilight, and I want to spend the rest of my life with her. Now I'll ask again, may I marry your daughter?" They stare at me a little longer until Twilight and Cadence walk back and take their seats. "Okay, what did we miss?" Cadence asks. "Just me saying yes, nothing special," Night Light says as he takes a drink from his glass. I feel my heart nearly jump out in joy as a huge smile grows on my face. "What’s got you so happy?" Twilight says as she takes her glass. "What, oh... uh... just realized how much I love wine," I say as I take the glass and take a sip. I look at the glass and realize I'm an idiot before I pass out. Author's Note Shout out to Night Terror for picking where the group went. Thanks for ready and like always, Brony on! Chapter 67 Diamond DogsChapter 67 Diamond Dogs Perspective: Miles After my little... incident at the spa, I decided to just go home and try to relax. It's good to see that they all care about me, but I'm starting to get tired of hearing about my problem. I know they only bring it up because they want to try to help, but there's nothing to help, there's nothing to do except accept my fate. GIVE IN TO THE VOID I stop in my tracks and look around. I'm out in the park with no one around me. "Is this Soul Fire?" I ask out loud. ANIMA IGNIS IS GONE. I HAVE CONTROL. What the fuck... have I lost it? Yeah, I've gone insane, that's it. In my attempt to deal with my eventual death and heartache I have lost my mind and have started hearing creepy raspy voices in my head. Great, just fucking great! I walk off trying to get home as fast as possible. I probably just need some bed rest... yeah, that's it. Bed rest. That's what I need. I make it home and open the door only to get tackled by Lupus. As soon as we hit the ground he starts sniffing my face, as if he doesn't recognize me. "What's got you all worked up?" I say as I push him aside and stand back up. He looks up and stares at me for a minute before he bolts into the forest. O... K... I'll just mark that up as weird wolf stuff. I go over to take a seat on the couch. Sitting there I look around my quiet home and just sit there... and sit some more... just sitting here... alone... FUCK! I need something to do. Something to work on. I used to do eighty hour weeks, this is way too boring for me. I jump off the couch and start walking around my house. I guess I could clean up a bit. I start by going to the closet and taking out all of the cleaning supplies. Once I have them I start in the kitchen, filling a bucket and leaving my hands in the water, warming it up quickly. I take some cleaning chems and mix them into the water before I start rubbing down the counters. As I try to clean, my body makes the water in the sponge evaporate, I keep sticking it back in the bucket to soak it back up. When I finish up a square meter of counter I stick my sponge back into the bucket, only to find that all of the water is gone now. "MOTHER FUCKER ASSHOLE SON OF A BITCH PIECE OF CRAP WHORE!" I yell as I throw the sponge at the wall and pace around in some unknown rage. Fuck this curse of mine! Why do I have to be the one to bear this!? Why do I have to bear this pain alone... "Hey Miles, everything alright?" I turn around to see Storm and Twilight sitting behind me. Storm is looking up at me with a mixed look of anger and sadness, while Twilight has her face buried in his neck. "*sigh* Alright, who told you?" I ask as I face them. "Luna. Why didn't you tell us earlier?" "It's not something I usually try to bring up when meeting new people... so how much do you know?" "Well, we know you're dying in six to sixteen years due to your power constantly growing, and that there is nothing anypony can do to help you." "Yeah... that's the general gist..." I start to say, only to have Twilight force me down with her magic as she runs to me and hugs me, tears flowing from her eyes as she does so. "It's OK... it's alright..." she sobs into my shoulder as she holds me tightly. "We're here for you... Miles, we're here for you... we may not be able to help, but... we will always be here for you... you don't have to go through this alone..." I freeze up when she says that. I don't have to be alone for this... "Hey, Twi, why don't you head to my room. I need to have a... private word with Miles," Storm whispers into her ear. She nods and gives me a kiss on the cheek before she starts to walk off. It doesn't really faze me though, the only thing running through my mind is what she said, I don't have to be alone. I sit back against the counter as I contemplate her words, not noticing Storm taking a seat next to me. "She's right you know," he says, getting my attention. "We'll be here. We might not be able to help, but we'll be here." "Yeah... I know..." "And... I know somepony else who wants to be here as well." "What?" "Luna." "Oh... so you know about that as well." "You know, now that I think about it, it wasn't that hard to figure out." "Yeah... I shouldn't have asked her out..." "What? Why?" "Storm, I'm dying. Soon. I know I said six to sixteen years, but that was with new potestatum annulums. Without additional ones, I figure I have... six to eight months... maybe even less. My time is limited, and I don't want to put her through that. I... I will cherish what we had, but it had to end. I..." "Miles, just... just stop!" he yells as he stands up and walks away. "Enough of the loathing and self-pity. Enough of the... the... the giving up! You have a chance to live life, take it! I know it'll hurt but it wouldn't hurt nearly as much as sitting here, hating yourself..." "WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE ME DO!?" I yell as I stand up. "CHANCE HER DYING BECAUSE I WAS TOO SELFISH TO CONSIDER HER? I CAN'T TAKE THAT CHANCE!" "And why not!?" "BECAUSE I LOVE HER!" I yell at him, pausing as I realize what I just said out loud. Storm just looks at me with a smug smile on his face. "I knew it." "Fine, I love Luna. There, it’s out in the open, you happy now?" "Not until I get you to ask her out again." "I CAN'T DO THAT! I CAN'T! Everything is working against me, lifespan, species, the fucking voices in my head, I can't be with her. It’s not like I don't want to... I want love... I want a family... but I will never get to have those luxuries..." I say as I stagger back against the counter, finally letting the tears fall from my eyes. As soon as I feel them I try to wipe them away, only to have more fall down. "Why the fuck is you doing this to me man?" "Because Luna still wants to be with you, even if you’re going to die early," he says as he walks over to me and pats my back. "*sigh* No." "No?" "No... I can't. It would... this will only end in tears... fuck, it started in tears, how could it possibly get any better?" I say as I try to wipe my face dry. I hear some sobs from the side and look over to see Twilight and Rainbow Dash sitting in the doorway, crying lightly. "Aw come on... what now?" "*sniffle* Ponyville is under attack," Rainbow Dash says as she wipes her tears away. "Good, I need to kill something right now. Storm, suit up," I say as I walk past them and head for my room. I go to my closet and put on my armor and weapons. I take everything except my rifle and go back downstairs where I find Storm in his armor with his sword. I turn to the girls and ask, "Alright, what’s going on?" "The diamond dogs are back. They're a group of dogs that collect gems... only this time they're not after gems. They've been bursting out of the ground all over Ponyville taking unicorns," Rainbow Dash explains. "Alright, Twilight, you stick with Storm, Rainbow, you're with me." I say as I march out of my house and take a look at Ponyville. There are a couple buildings on fire, blackening the sky above. I sigh deeply before I start to walk towards the town, flaring the magic in my heels. "Miles... are you sure you should be using magic?" Rainbow asks with concern in her voice. I ignore her and start to run to town, using my magic to propel me faster. Rainbow flies after me and keeps up with me as she gives me a worried looks. When we make it to town I stop using my magic and run into the fray of ponies and diamond dogs running around all over town. Meter wide holes pepper the ground everywhere, with dogs either running in or out of them. The diamond dogs are about my height, a little shorter on average, and seem reminiscent of Winona, with different facial features. They wear what looks like steel armor, and carry an assortment of weapons from spears to swords. As I look into the fray, trying to make sense of it, Storm and Twilight appear next to me. "What’s the plan?" Storm asks as he pulls out his sword and gets ready for the fight. "Easy, kill dogs," I say as I start to walk forward, flaring my hands as I do so. When the first dog sees me and starts to run at me, holding its sword high as it howls and barks, I push my hand forward, sending a wave of raw magical energy at him. When it hits, it sends him flying back into a building, punching a hole into the wall. "Uh... maybe too much," Storm says as he walks next to me. "Don't really care," I say as I pull out my sword with my right hand and my revolver with my left. "Storm... stay close to Twilight." "Yeah... Miles..." I ignore him and run into the fray, finding my next target almost immediately. This dog has a sword in one hand and is holding a pony by his horn in the other. I raise my revolver at him and send a magical round into his chest. The bullet breaks through the armor and buries itself inside him. A few seconds after it hits his body starts to implode on itself, as the bullet begins to pull matter into it. Once the energy runs out all that is left is a bloody cavity of what used to be his chest. I walk over to the pony and check to see if he's alright. "You alright?" I ask the brown pony. "Yeah, I'm alright..." he starts to say, but as soon as he says ‘Yeah’ I’ve already turned around and ran back into the fight. I see a group of five dogs cornering some ponies. As I run towards them I spot Rarity in the front of the group, trying to hold her ground against the dogs. "...harm my little sister you mangy mutts!" she yells at one of them as I close the distance and stab the center dog in the back, piercing his armor and burying my blade into his spine. He lets out a high pitched whine before he drops to the ground. The two closest to me try to swing their blades at me, but I duck and jump back. The other two run behind me and point their spears at me as the other two start to slowly advance towards me, carrying pony-sized curved swords. "You will pay for that... creature," one says in a deep goofy voice. I lift my sword and ready myself for the fight. The dog that spoke starts by trying to drop his blade onto me. I step aside and swipe at the other sword-bearing dog, scratching his armor and making him stagger back. I start to dodge and pivot as the other two try to stab me with their spears. I bring my magic up on my sword, making the text appear on the blade, and swing at the two of them, sending a slash of energy that makes them fall back. Before I can finish them off the other dogs both try to drop their blades on me, but I roll forward to avoid the attack. I lift my revolver at one of them and pull the trigger, sending a round into his head, making it implode and send a column of blood from his shoulders. The other dog charges forward and tries to chop at me, but I lift my sword and catch the blade. I drop a little but manage to hold it above me, but feel him start to press down and force my blade lower. I quickly point my revolver at him and send a round into his stomach, making it implode on itself, followed by a flood of blood dropping from the bottom of his armor. I turn around to find Storm and Big Mac fighting the two speared dogs, Big Mac using one of the dog’s swords. They both quickly kill the two dogs, Big Mac decapitating his while Storm stabs his in the heart. "Spartans!" I yell, getting them both to run over to me. "Here's our directive, protect the citizens of Ponyville. We need to move them indoors..." "That's no good," Big Mac says. "They just dig through the floorboards." "Then we move them to my house, the floor is super compressed, even diamonds have trouble cutting through it. So, find a group, escort them there, repeat. Tell all pegasi to take to the air if they haven't already, priority are children, women, and unicorns. MOVE OUT!" "UH-RAH!" They yell as we all turn in different directions and go back into the fray. I run up to Rarity to check on her and Sweetie Belle. "Rarity, are you all alright?" "Yes Miles, we're fine, thank you," Rarity says as she holds onto her shaking sister. "Good, look, I know you're scared, but I need you to run - go to my place and wait there, I'll cover you as you go, think you can do that?" "I... I can. But what of the others?" she asks, as she sets her sister on her back. Sweetie Belle latches onto her neck and buries her face in Rarity's hair. "They will follow after, try to move as a group, don't get separated, and stay close to me if you can," I say to the group behind her, getting nods from most of them. "LETS GO THEN!" I yell as I turn around and start to run home, the group running close behind me. We make it out of the town limits when dirt starts flying into the air ahead of us. Two dogs jump out of the ground and run at me with shields and axes. I jump forward and stab the ground, making a row of earthen swords shoot out of the ground and stab the dog on the left. The other one tries to close the distance but stops to raise his shield and block a spear. I run forward and kick the shield, knocking him over. Before he can recover I stab him in the gut and twist my blade until he dies. I look back to see Rainbow Dash in the air with another spear in her hooves. I nod to her and run after the group that has made it halfway to my home. Another burst of dirt appears behind them as two more dogs run out of the ground and chase after the group. I lift my revolver and fire the rest of my rounds, the first missing but the other two hitting their targets. We make it to my place where everyone runs inside and takes cover. "Miles!" Rainbow Dash yells as she flies down to me. "What do you need me to do?" I look to the group inside before looking back to her. "Go to those dogs we just killed and scavenge weapons. Once you get those, bring them back here, I'm staying back to protect the group, alright?" She salutes before taking off in the air, leaving a rainbow trail behind her. As she flies off I see Big Mac running back, leading a group of about fifteen ponies. They make it to my place and pile in, leaving Big Mac and I outside. "What now?" He asks. "Help me hold the house until Storm gets back. Head to the backyard and don't let anyone in or out.” "Eeyup," he says as he runs around back. Rainbow returns with a hoofful of weapons that she drops before me. "OK, this is all of them." I look through them and see a few spears, a couple of axes and a few daggers. I walk to my doorway and look to the group of scared ponies. "Can any of you wield a weapon?" I ask the group. A few guys and even less women walk up to me. I lead them to the pile and wait for them to take a weapon. "Okay, I need you to watch the doors and windows. Remember, these are tools to kill, not toys. Don't hesitate to kill the dogs... and if you see a wolf, don't harm him. That's Lupus, he's harmless." They look at me in confusion before they run back inside and take positions by the windows and doors. I look over to Rainbow and see her leaning on the spear, looking scared. "You know how to use that?" "Huh? Oh... kind of. You just poke with the pointy end, right?" I shake my head as I stab my sword into the ground and holster my revolver. I walk over to her and take the spear from her and take a stance with it. "Believe it or not, you don't just stab with a spear," I say as I start to spin it around. "You can use all of the parts in a fight, point," I stab forward, "shaft," I hold the spear parallel with myself and thrust forward with it, "and end." I spin it around and smack the end onto the ground. I give the spear back to her and pull my weapons back out as Storm and Twilight lead a larger group towards us. "Go get Big Mac," I tell Rainbow as I walk towards the group. She nods and flies back to get him. "We got as many unicorns we could. There are still a lot in Ponyville though," Storm says as the group runs past us. "What now?" Big Mac and Rainbow return and wait for me to give the order. "Alright, you four start a rotation. I want one of you to stay here, while the other two head back into the town to get as many people out of there as you can. Rainbow, you're on assist. Stay in the air and give directions to the group below. Keep all pegasi in the air and keep priority as is. Stay sharp, watch each other’s backs and we'll get through this..." "What are you going to be doing during all of this?" Twilight asks. "Me? I'm going down. I'm going to see if there is anyone that's been taken captive, or if there is a leader..." "On your own!?" Twilight says, looking around for help. "You can't just go on your own, what if you get captured?" "Not likely, we'll be underground, it’s kind of a specialty area for me..." "But..." "Look, we don't have time to argue about this. We need to get moving now!" I say as I turn around and run for the nearest hole. I jump up and fall straight down the hole, getting closer to the walls as the hole starts to curve straight. Seeing the ground quickly approaching, I flare my heels and prepare to land. I hit with a thunderous thud, sending dust up all around me. I pull out my revolver and point it around, looking for any targets. I don't see any, so I start to head down the path that leads towards Ponyville. The tunnel is fairly narrow, so I holster my sword, reload my revolver, and pull out my trench knife. I follow the tunnel until I find a massive opening. The opening goes down another story to where a large group of unicorns have been gathered up. In front of the group is a ramp way that leads deep underground. Guard dogs walk around the group as they smother black gunk on their horns. I see a group of four guard dogs and two non-armored dogs to my left at the same level as me, looking down at the unicorns and speaking to themselves. "Think they're the leaders?" Storm asks. "If not then they... wait...what the fuck?! What are you doing here?" I ask in a hushed voice. "What? You think I'd let my best friend do this alone? The others can handle up top, we will get the bottom." "GAH! Fine. There's only six guards at the bottom, I'll cause a distraction with the leaders, you get the guards below when I do it, got it?" He nods to me so I start to sneak my way to the group. As I go, I set an illusion spell over myself, making myself invisible and sending the lines to my shoulders. As I get closer I pause as two new people show up. The first one is a grey and black griffin carrying a long curved sword. The other one makes my stomach twist as I look upon him. It’s a dog, standing shorter than the rest... and wearing Terradisian light armor. He has the leggings, arm straps, and a chest plate, all of which has been slightly modified to fit him better. How did he get that... where did he get that...? I need to get closer. I continue to creep forward as they keep speaking to one another. "Well Rover? How’s the progress?" asks the grey griffin. "We're making good progress. Dogs dig under pony’s home, grab pointy one, and drag them back. Now it’s time for your part of the bargain." "Of course. Everything in the underground city is for the dogs... here is the location," the griffin says as he hands him a piece of paper. The dog looks at the paper and pushes it aside. "You know dogs don't read! Where is the city of metal, Steelwing!?" He yells as he points a finger at him. He looks back at him with a bored expression before he turns and starts to walk away. "Take the path in the Everfree, take the first left, find the first cave on your right and get ready to start digging. Now if you’ll excuse me..." Before he can finish I drop the spell and shoot a beam of soul fire at them... only soul fire doesn't come out. Instead when I thrust my palm at them, something forces my hand shut and creates a black orb in front of me. From this orb I'm sending a column of black energy that hits two of the guards and creates a hole in the wall behind. The two guards hit don't erupt into ash as they would when hit by soul fire, instead they seem to wither away, leaving black wisps in their place. I drop the spell and fall to one knee, that spell was way too taxing. The two remaining guards start to run at me as the other four run down the hall. I get up and try to push them away with magic, but get forced to use the black substance again, making the others disappear like the rest. I drop back to my knees and take a second to try to catch my breath. I hear the sound of clanking metal to my right, but I don't look over. Instead I push myself back up and chase after the group. The hall they run down is more well-made. It has wooden support beams lining the square hall and has a more level flooring. I look ahead to see the group split in half as the path forks. The armored dog and griffin go left as the others go right, so I go left. As I turn the corner I see the dog dig a tunnel and lead the griffin up towards the surface. I run to the tunnel only to have it collapse before I can get to it. I take a readied stance and start to push myself up, sending a column of stone up underneath me as I clear the way upward. When I break through the surface I find the dog standing before me with his sword out as the griffin flies away. "You made a mistake when you attacked dogs," he says with a growl. "And you made a mistake when you wore Terradisian armor..." "Bird pony gave dogs this. If you have a problem with that then take it up with Steelwing!" he says before he charges and swings at me. I walk backwards as he swings at me with his sword, dodging his attacks along the way. I suddenly shoot forward and jam my trench knife at his side, only to have my blade bounce off the armor. I back away quickly as he tries to slash at me, raising my knife up and waiting for the next attack. "Why do you wait creature? Don't you want your armor?" he taunts as he swings his sword around before pointing at me. I look over to see the griffin hovering in the air, watching us fight. "I don't have time for this," I say as I point my revolver at him and send a round into his skull, making the back of his head explode out as the round travels through. I start walking towards the griffin, making him turn around and fly away. "Oh no you don't," I say as I holster my weapons and start to run after him, flaring my heels as I go. He's heading for the forest, better not let him reach it. I jump high into the air and try to send a beam of magic at him, only to send out the black substance again. He dodges the attack by banking to the left and diving into the forest. I shake my head from the fatigue and shoot myself down, crashing into the ground. I look around and see him flying off, so I start launch myself after him, flinging from the ground to a tree, then from tree to tree as I chase after him. He starts weaving through the trees, banking left and right before he drops low to the ground then shoots up. We keep at this game of chase and be chased for a while before he suddenly turns and stops on the ground. I drop before him and pull out my revolver, pointing it straight at him. "Before you do anything, let me show you something," he says as he turns around and walks up to a wall of plants. He pulls out his sword and slashes at the plants, making a portion of it drop to the ground, revealing a cave. "This leads home," he says as he turns around to face me. "You want to go home... don't you?" "Why don't you shut the fuck up before I kill you?" I say as I step closer. "That couldn't lead to my home..." "Oh but it does. You go in, drop down a few miles and take the path to the large metal doors. We've tried going in a few times, but usually no one ever comes back out... well, I did." I lower my gun and look him in the eyes. "You've been there... what's it like? Are there survivors? What..." "If you want to know, go look for yourself," he says before he jumps into the air and flies away. I try to chase after him, but I look back to the cave in wonder. This leads to Terradisia... three thousand years and it's still there. If there are people there, who knows what they've developed? They might even have a cure for me, or better restraints at least. I shake my head and run into the cave as I holster my revolver. A few meters into the cave I find a massive hole in the ground. I lean over and look down, only to see a pit of darkness below. I take a deep sigh as I look back. If I go, and there are people... I may never be able to come back. I would be leaving everyone. I walk back and forth as I contemplate my decision. "If I go, and I can't leave, at least they won't have to watch me die... I'm going," I say before I leap into the dark abyss. END OF ARC ONE Author's Note Shout out to DesertRose for picking the element used to fight the dogs. Thanks for reading, and like always, Brony on! End Of Arc One Bonus ChapterEnd of Arc One Bonus Chapter The Adventures of Cabbage Patch Date: August 30, 4132 (Same time frame as Chapter 33: ‘Et Salutant Mortuus’) Perspective: Cabbage Patch My name is Cabbage Patch. I'm just a typical brown earth pony, with light green hair. My cutie mark is a head of cabbage with a square missing in the center. The past day has been... different, to say the least. It hasn't been all bad, I did make a group of new friends. That being said... if yesterday never happened... I would sleep better at night. Earlier that day It was early in the morning when I made it into Ponyville on my way to Sweet Apple Acres. I'm from Appleloosa where my friend, Braeburn, had told me about a potential client, his cousin Big Mac. As I pull my cart of cabbages through the empty streets of Ponyville, I hear light sobs coming from a nearby alley. My curiosity piqued, I walk into the alley, where I find a pegasus mare crying. She's light grey, with a bright yellow mane and tail, and has a cutie mark of some bubbles. "Uh... can I help you?" I ask as I approach her. "*sniffle* I-I... I'm lost..." she says with a sob as she wipes her tears away. "I'm sorry... well, I have a map if you'd like to see it," I say cautiously. She gives me a tearful smile as she nods. "Thank you so much mister!" she says as she springs up and hugs me tightly. I pat her back a few times before we hobble over to my cart. She won’t let go of me for some reason - I guess she's had a rough day. I reach into my cart and am about to give her the map when I see her eyes. They’re off-set, looking off in different directions. I hesitate for a second before I open up the map. "You know; why don't I just take you there?" I say as I look over the map. "You'd really do that? Thanks mister," she says cheerfully as she lets go of me and peers at the map. "That's where I need to go," she says as she points to a building on the map. "... Fon... DO. Why would you need to go to a place called ‘Fon DO’?" "It's where my friend Cheesus is!" she says in a bubbly way as she starts to walk off. "Well? You coming or not… uh…?" "Cabbage Patch." "Right, I'm Derpy Whooves!" she says as she continues to walk off. I run after her and lead the way to our destination, following the map to... whatever ‘Fon DO' is. "So, Derpy, if you don't mind me asking, why were you crying back there?" "Oh, well mister, my daughter Dinky Doo has gone missing,” she says as she lowers her head. "Wait, you have a daughter and you still call me mister?" "I just don't know what went wrong," she says as she starts to tear up again. "Don't worry, we'll find her, I'm sure she's just at the park or something," I assure her, getting a weak smile in response. We walk down a few paths until we enter what I assume is the red light district, due to all of the... promiscuous stores. "There it is!" she cheers as she runs towards a building that makes my jaw drop. It's a simple two story building, but at the top are three large signs that are lit up. The first one being the word ‘Fon’. The third being ‘DO’. And sitting in the middle of them is a fondue pot, with an outline of a mare dancing on the shaft skewer. I gape at the building for a second before Derpy starts pulling me towards it. "Come on silly, we've got to find Cheesus!" "Derpy, I don't think..." Knock knock knock She knocks on the door and steps back as the door opens almost immediately, revealing a pale white earth pony with long black hair and a cutie mark of a wedge of cheese. He takes a look at us, but hears something inside and looks back to respond. "And you tell that ho I don't give a damn what she likes and dislikes, if they pay for a doggie bag, they get one! Hey there Derpy, what brings you he—" "CHEESUS!" she yells as she latches onto him, hugging him tightly. "I need your help; they took Ditzy..." "THEY WHAT!?" Cheesus says as he breaks the hug and looks at her. "Alright hun, get inside, we'll work this out," he says as he ushers her inside. He looks back to me and motions for me to come in as well. "I was just..." "Hey Derpy!" he yells inside. "This guy say he gonna help?" "Yeah!" "Alright cabbage merchant, you're in. Now come on." "How did you know I was a cabbage merchant?" "The cart..." "Oh... right." I remove myself from my cart and head inside. The inside is pretty much what I expected. To the right is a stretch of bar stools and a well-stocked bar. The area to the left has three platforms, each with poles and lounge chairs around them. In the back left corner is a DJ's booth, while the right has a stairway with a sign that says 'Cloud Nine & Manager’s Office'. The room is fairly empty, only having the bartender and a group of mares talking at the center stage. I follow Derpy and Cheesus up the stairs and down the hall, to a door with a sign that says ‘Manager’s Office’. The room is... not quite what I was expecting. There's a desk towards the back with typical desk stuff, like papers and pencils and a couple of seats around it, but the rest of the room is... more fitting with the rest of the establishment. In the corner to my right is a large circular bed with zebra print blankets; in front of that is a small platform with a pole in the center of it. The wall to the right is covered with a large picture of two ponies having sex, with the mare on top and the stallion on his back. The wall behind the desk is covered in pegs, holding up an assortment of sex toys and... a few things that I have no clue what they do. Cheesus walks to the seat behind the desk and sits down, putting a hoof to his forehead as he looks at some papers. As I take a seat next to Derpy, I look a little harder to see that he's actually a unicorn, his horn is just broken off. "Hey Cheesus, I got yo—DERPY!" yells somepony from behind. I look back to see a mare run in and hug Derpy from behind the seat. She's a pale white earth pony, with long brown hair and a mark of a pony on a stripper pole. I can't help but look at her cute flank - she's got one of the supplest behinds I've ever seen before in my life. She holds Derpy for a second longer before she lets go and trot to the side of the desk, where she pulls out a coin purse and tosses it onto the table. "800 bits, Cheesus..." "That's it?" he says as he pulls the bag over and looks through it. "Damn Squishy, I thought you'd make way more than just twelve eighty... whatever, this is still good. They must not love cock as much as I thought they would..." "WHAT!?" I yell as I nearly fall out of my seat. That's a stallion!? No. NO. That can't be a guy... it can't. They both look at me in confusion before looking over to Derpy. "Who's your friend, Derps?" Squishy asks. "This is Cabbage Patch, he said he'd help find Dinky." "WHAT!? WHAT HAPPENED TO DINKY?" "Calm down Squishy," Cheesus says, getting him to calm down a bit. "Alright," he says as he walks to Derpy and gives her a hug. "OK sweetheart, tell us what happened." "Well... the other night I was putting Dinky to bed, when there was a knock at the door. I went and answered the door, but nopony was there. I heard Dinky scream and ran back to her room to see somepony fly out of the window with her. I tried to chase after them, I really did, but another pony hit me... and I fell..." SNAP Squishy had been holding onto the arm of her chair, but after hearing Derpy got hurt, he snapped it off. "You're paying for that," Cheesus says to him. "What else happened?" "Well, when I woke up I tried to look for her, but... I couldn't find her. Cabbage Patch found me crying in an alley and brought me here," she says as she starts to tear up again. Squishy pulls her in for another hug as he starts to rub her back. Squishy then walks over to me and gives me a hug. "Thanks for bringing her here, but if you ever make Derpy cry I will tear out your heart and choke you with it... just sayin'," he whispers in my ear before he walks back to Derpy's side and takes a seat. "Do you remember anything else, like something they wore or the way the spoke?" Cheesus asks. "*sniff* Yeah... the pony who took Dinky wore a bandanna around his muzzle... it was black with gold triangles on it..." "Buck!" he yells, getting a dirty look from Squishy as he holds Derpy a little tighter. "I mean... darn. I know who did this. Those foals over in Golden Gate! This is gonna be another turf war, that's for sure," he says as he walks over to the wall with the picture and taps it a few times, making it flip upward and reveal an assortment of weapons. He grabs a couple of swords and slings one on his back. He offers the other one to me, but I shake my head. "I don't know how to use that!" "It’s simple," he says as he shoves it in my hooves, "you just stab the pointy end into the bad pony. Squishy?" "You know I don't need that," he says as he stands up and walks out the door. I reluctantly sling the sword across my back - do they really expect me to fight? I know I said I'd help but... this is a little extreme. I follow them out of the building, where I re-attach myself to my cart’s harness. "Maybe we should hide the swords in my cart... you know... so the city guards don't try to stop us," I say as I look around nervously. I turn and - just my luck - I see a couple of guards walking toward us, and I start to panic. "Guards, guards are coming, hurry! Hide your sword!" I say in a hushed tone, as I try to hide my sword under my cabbages. "What are you doing?" Cheesus asks as the three of them watch me in confusion. The guards walk up to us and look between me and Cheesus, before they turn around and start walking away. "Let’s just say the guards know not to mess with The Cheese," Cheesus says as the group leaves. I climb off my cart and re-sling my sword before I follow after them, feeling slightly silly. "Uhm… so, where are we going?" "I know a guy that can tell us where they're at," Cheesus says as he leads us out of the red light district. We walk around Ponyville for almost an hour until we finally find our target, an all-brown earth pony with his mane and tail wrapped in tinfoil and a cutie mark of a box, digging in a trash can. "Hey there Boxy, how are ya?" "WHAT!? Who are you!? I've never saw nothin’!" he yells as he points a hoof at Cheesus. "Cool, cool, anything else?" "It'll all explode! In a fiery fire of FIRE! Mr. McBumpkin told me so!" "Alright, what else did he tell you?" Are we seriously talking to this guy? He's nuts! "Friends are enemies! Betrayal from before leads to the now! BEWARE OF THE ICE... AND PANCAKES! What’s that... oh, really? Well, of course blood isn't blue... no, no that wouldn't stop him... WE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT THE ZOMBIES! What? Why would I care? I'm not an explosives expert... no, crossovers are good... FINE!" he says before he starts to run off. He suddenly stops and runs back to us, heading straight for me. I try to back away but he’s too quick. He grabs me with both his hooves and starts to shake me as he yells, "AND ONE MORE THING, ALL HAIL THE KING!" "Fine, hail the king, please, just let me go!" I plead as he shakes me back and forth. He lets go of me and takes a few steps back. He rears up and strikes a pose as he suddenly takes off through the air, singing as he goes. "I BELIEVE I CAN FLY... I BELIEVE I CAN - AAAAHHH!" he yells as he drops a bit, but somehow recovers and continues to fly away. "...TOUCH THE SKY, I THINK ABOUT IT EVERY NIGHT AND..." I drop to my haunches and watch in total disbelief as he flies away. He's an earth pony... and he's flying... what the buck is going on!? "Alright, I know where to go now," Cheesus says as he starts to walk away. "He... he... he just flew away..." "I know, I can't believe he almost dropped him though," Squishy says as he follows after Cheesus. I shake my head and follow after them... why is this so unimpressive to them, he bucking flew away! And they're acting like this isn't the first time... oh dear Celestia... "So, what do you do for a living, Cabbage?" Derpy asks as we walk through Ponyville. "I... grow and sell cabbages," I say as I motion to the cart. "Oh, right... so, what are you doing here in Ponyville?" "I'm supposed to meet with Big Macintosh to work out a deal selling my cabbages here... what do you do here?" "I'm a player inna management position," Cheesus says proudly. "I'm an entertainer!" Squishy says. "And I… uh... I work... oh yeah, I'm a weather pony!" Derpy says. Right... so we have the pimp, the hooker, a weather pony, and a farmer going up against a gang of who knows how many ponies, what could go wrong? We head to the edge of the residential district where we find a large apartment complex. It’s three stories tall and is built like a giant H. In the yard before us we see a bunch of stallions gathered around each other, laughing and mumbling to one another. I can see that a few of them carry weapons, and they all have bandannas tied somewhere on their body. "Squishy," Cheesus says, getting the other stallion to cover Derpy's ears as he guides her behind my cart. "Alright, which one of you bucking Golden Gate assholes wants a piece of the Big Cheese!?" he yells as he rears up and pulls out his sword. The group looks to us and laughs as a single unicorn walks up to him and pulls out his own sword. "You wanna dance, pretty colt, let’s dance!" he says as he lunges forward and tries to stab him. Cheesus steps to the side and hacks at his neck, burying his sword in it and dropping him to the ground. The group stops laughing as they watch Cheesus yank his sword out and face them. "A little filly was taken from her home by one of you pricks, who did it?" He asks as he walks towards them. "Hey, you might want to pull your sword out," Squishy says as he walks out from behind my cart. He stops before me and twists his neck, making it crack, then his forelegs, then his back legs, then he stands perfectly still and makes another crack, but doesn't seem to move any of his body parts... what did he just crack…? I don't want to know. After he cracks everything, he walks up next to Cheesus and rears up, holding his hooves up. As the group of ponies surround them I back up against my cart and hold my sword out in front of me, scared out of my mind for what is about to happen. The crowd rushes the two of them all at once, while one of them runs at me. As he tries to swing his sword at me, I drop to the ground and cover my head with my hooves. I look back to see his sword buried in my cart, splitting one of my cabbages in half. "My… my… MY CABBAGE!" I yell as rage starts to fill me. I jump straight up and punch him right in the jaw. He staggers back but remains standing as I advance on him. "YOU WILL PAY FOR RUINING MY CABBAGE!" Before he can raise his sword I begin to deliver blows to him, punching him in the face and gut. Each blow I deliver knocks him back more and more until I finally deliver an uppercut, knocking him on his back. I pant a little before I calm down enough to realize that I just beat somepony up. "Hey! I got one," I say proudly as I look up. "Yeah, me too," Cheesus says from the top of a mound of dead ponies, with Squishy standing beside him. My jaw drops as I look at the pile of corpses, some having large gashes, others having bones poking out of their bodies. The sight makes my stomach turn as I gag from almost throwing up. "Pfft, don't tell me you've never seen a dead body before," he says as he starts to walk down the mound. "Whatevah, not everypony has it in them to harm others," Squishy says as he walks over to the pony I knocked out. He looks him over a bit before kicking his head lightly, waking him up. "Hey there honey, you an’ me gonna have a talk," he says before he picks him up, tosses him on his back and heads towards the building. "What are you doing? Where are you taking me? WHY IS THAT OUT!?" he yells before they disappear behind the door to the building. "What is he doing over there?" I ask Cheesus as he sits against my cart. "Do you really want to know?" I think about it and shiver as I shake my head. “Then why don't you check on Derpy then?" I nod and walk around to find Derpy sitting there, looking really sad with her ears held low. "Everything alright?" I ask as I sit next to her. "I'm just really worried about my daughter. What if something happens to her?" "Hey, hey, don't worry. I'm sure nothing happened to her. We'll get her back and she'll be fine, you'll see," I say, getting her to cheer up a little. I hear Squishy come back so I walk around the cart to see what's going on. He brought the guy back out, only he's covered in... brick shaped bruises... what the…? "Well, he told me they took her, but traded her off to some other ponies. They never met them directly," he says as he tosses the unconscious body on the ground. "Darn... well, what now?" Cheesus asks. "Well... we could go to the sisters?" "Buck no. They never pay for shit!" "Yeah, but they're connected." "*sigh* Yeah... they are. Fine, lets head to the pharmacy," he says as he starts to walk off. "Wait, what about them?" I ask as I point back to the mound of bodies. Cheesus thinks about it for a second before he runs out to the street and looks around a bit. "Hey guards!" he yells out as two guards pass by. "Want a free night with Sugar?" "Buck yeah!" they yell as they run over to him, standing at full attention. "Alright, just clean up this mess and you get her." They immediately run over and start dragging bodies off, talking excitedly to each other. "There, now can we go?" he asks me as he walks off. I shake my head and follow after him. We walk through Ponyville until we come to the pharmaceutical department. I leave my cart behind and follow them inside, where we find two mares. The first one is a middle-aged unicorn, with a pink mane that's up in a bun, a brown coat, and an obscene amount of jewelry. The other one is a light pink pegasus with styled light blue hair and a grotesque amount of makeup on. "MMhhmm, Cheesus an’ Squishy, I had a feelin’ taday was gonna be a good day," the unicorn says as she pokes at her friend. "What you two need this time?" "We need to know about a trade-off that happened earlier, involving Dinky Doo," Cheesus says flatly. "You know our fee," says the pegasus as the two mares start to giggle to each other. "You're up, Squishy," Cheesus says as he takes a seat. Squishy gives a sigh and walks to the back door, leading the two giggling mares towards the back. "OOHHOOhoho, I thought we missed out when that Storm stallion left," the unicorn says as the door shuts behind them. "What are they so happy about?" Derpy asks as she takes a seat next to Cheesus. "Uh… because... they're going to... play a game. But it's a three player game that only Squishy can do properly," Cheesus says as he glances to me. They're trying to keep sex away from her.... when she has a daughter. I take a seat next to Derpy and wait patiently with them. After an hour of awkward silence, Squishy finally opens the door. He steps out and shivers before turning to us. "Did you win?" Derpy asks cheerfully. "Uh... you could say I came last..." "Aw, oh well, maybe..." "Did they tell you who took her?" Cheesus interrupts. "Yeah." "And?" "Who do you think it was?" "Bu—Darn it!" he says as he punches the wall. "What is it?" I ask in confusion. "I just paid for something I should’ve known from the beginning! Come on... we're going to Canterlot." "What!? I can't go to Canterlot! I have to get to Sweet Apple Acres!" I complain as I follow them out of the building. "But you said you'd help find Dinky," Derpy says as she looks at me with the saddest expression any mare could ever put on. I try to think logically, but every time I look back to her my heart tells me to stay. "Well... I guess that could wait..." I say, getting her to smile. "Alright, we'll take my carriage then," Cheesus says as he leads us back to the red light district. We make our way to the back of ‘Fon DO’ where we find a carriage and two mares. The two of them are wearing red and yellow stockings, and yellow miniskirts that don't cover anything. The carriage has a silhouette of a pony sticking their flank in the air, underneath the words 'Party Carriage'. "Ladies," Cheesus says as he approaches the two of them, "we've got a personal matter to settle. Somepony pony-napped Dinky Doo." This makes both of them gasp and run to Derpy, hugging her and telling her that they'll help in any way possible. Derpy smiles and thanks the both of them, trying to hold back her tears. "We need to get to Canterlot, ASAP. Tie Cabbage’s cart to the back and let’s get going." They nod and run over to me, removing my cart quickly and taking it behind the carriage. Cheesus takes the seat on top as the rest of us pile into the inside. The seats in here are unusually well cushioned... not to mention the ceiling seems to be set higher. I look out the back window and watch as the two mares tie off my cabbages. Hopefully it'll be a smooth enough ride, where I won't have to worry about my cabbages falling off. They run back to the front and quickly put on the harnesses before taking off. The entire cart lurches forward as they start to run off at a high speed. I look back in terror to see my cabbage cart bounce around, my cabbages staying inside but flirting with the idea of falling out. "Wow... I've never seen the girls run this fast before," Squishy says as he looks back at my cabbages. "Why do you worry so much? Relax..." "Relax? That's my livelihood back there. If I'm going to support my family I need to sell all of those cabbages!" "Whatevah," he says as he sits back. We make the trip to Canterlot in record time. When we arrive at our destination the two girls collapse from exhaustion, panting loudly. As we pile out I take a look at our location. It's a giant single story mansion made of marble. The grounds are surrounded by a huge wall, with a large gate in the front. The area out front is very well kept, making the entire place look ritzy. "Why did you take me to my father’s home?" Derpy asks with a slight tremble. "Y-your father’s!?" I ask in shock. "Derpy... your dad was the one who took Dinky... I think it was a trap to get you back," Cheesus says to her, making her tear up. "No… no, I can't go in there! I can't go back! Please don't make me!" Derpy says, as tears start to roll down her face. Squishy walks up to her and hugs her, getting her to cry into his neck. "Shhh, shhh. It's going to be alright. I won't let that monster take you," he says quietly to her as he strokes her mane. "I know you're scared, but you have to go in there. You have to be there when we get Dinky back. Think you can be strong for her?" She looks up to him and nods slowly as she wipes her tears away. "Alright, just stay close to me and we'll get her back in no time." "Cabbage, I have an idea," Cheesus says as he looks at my cart. I don't like where this is going. Thirty Minutes Later Knock knock knock I'm waiting at the gate with just my cart, waiting for somepony to answer the knock. I'm trying to keep cool, but I can't help but shake a bit from my nerves getting the best of me. "Can I help you?" asks a guard pony. "Y-yeah, I'm here t-to deliver the c-cabbages," I say as I point to my cart. He looks to my cart and raises an eyebrow. "Why would Mr. Bits order so many cabbages?" "I-I don't know, I'm just filling my order," I say as I give him a wide smile. There is no way this is going to work, we're going to get caught, they're going to destroy my cabbages... "Well, alright, just bring them around back to the kitchens and drop the cart off," he says as he opens the gate. "Really? I mean alright, just around back then," I say as I walk in. I can't believe that worked. Must have been my awesome acting. I pull the cart around the large building and head towards what I'm assuming is the kitchen. The backyard is massive! There's a swimming pool, tennis court, hedge maze and a landing platform that has a blimp on it! I keep walking till I hear high-pitched laughing. I look over to see a little unicorn filly running after a ball. She has a pale purple coat with yellow eyes and a blonde mane. She’s fairly young, not even old enough to have her cutie mark. "Hey... that wouldn't happen to be her?" I ask my cart, making three heads pop out. "DINKY!" Derpy yells as she jumps out of my cart and runs after her, only to stop when two guards get in the way. "INTRUDERS!" they yell, getting more guards to start running over. Derpy ignores them and tries to get around them to her daughter, only for them to push her back. As Derpy falls to her haunches, Squishy suddenly appears and drop kicks the two guards, knocking them over and letting Dinky run past them. "MAMMA!" she yells as she jumps into her hooves, hugging her tightly. I jump back as a group of guards start to try to apprehend me and my cabbages. "Get them! Mr. Bits wants them alive!" yells a guard as they pile onto Squishy. I start to run away, but they grab hold of my cart and stop me in my tracks. I try to fight my way away from them, but they eventually put me in cuffs and toss me aside along with Cheesus and Squishy - who has four sets of cuffs on. I look over to see Derpy holding onto Ditzy tightly as the guards’ surround all of us. "YOU LEAVE HER ALONE IF YOU KNOW WHAT’S GOOD FOR YOU!" Squishy yells as he starts to gnaw at his cuffs. "Now, why would I do that? She is my daughter." I look over to see a black pegasus stallion with bright yellow hair and a cutie mark of two golden bits walking towards us. "Dirty Bits," Cheesus growls. "Ah Cheesus, it’s so good to see my competitor, especially when he's in chains. Thank you ever so kindly for bringing my daughter back. I'm sure she'll work out wonderfully here..." "YOU’RE A MONSTER!" Squishy yells as he tries to pull the cuffs off. "Now now Squishy, no need to fret. My offer still stands for you..." "I'd rather die than work for you, you sadistic piece of filth!" "That, can be arranged," he says as he motions to the guards, who start to advance on us. "Wait!" Derpy yells as she runs in front of Dirty Bits. "If you spare them, I'll go with you, no fighting, no complaints, nothing. Just spare them, please!" He thinks about it for a second before he motions towards the gate. The guards drag us to the gate and toss us outside into a pile. "Here's the deal, you two stay away from Golden Gate, and I won't slit Derpy’s and Dinky's throats, how's that sound?" Before any of us could answer, a pegasus guard drops my cart of cabbages on us, knocking me out. When I wake up i find myself in a bed with blue sheets, the warm smell of baked goods filling my nostrils. I sit up and look around to see that I'm in a Ponyville house. How did I get here? What happened to Cheesus and Squishy... WHAT HAPPENED TO DERPY!? I jump out of bed and start to run out to the hall, looking around frantically. I see an open door to the right and am about to run in, but stop when I see Squishy talking to a pink pony. She has swirly pink hair with a cutie mark of three balloons, two blue and one yellow. "Thanks again for saving us, Pinkie," Squishy says to her. "You better have a plan to get Derpy back," Pinkie says cruelly to him, looking away. "Still mad?" "YES! You disappeared on me, again!" she says as she points a hoof at him. "You know I don't have control of that," he says as he slowly approaches her. "I'm still mad at you for the other thing," she mumbles as he starts to nuzzle her a bit. "I know... but you know I'll never love anypony else the way I love you, right?" he says quietly, getting her to look up at him. They stare into each other’s eyes, and Pinkie suddenly throws her hooves around his neck as she starts to kiss him passionately. He scoops her up in his hooves and takes her over to the bed, kissing her along the way. He lays her on the bed and lies on top of her, as they slide their tongues in and out of each other’s mouths. He breaks the kiss and looks into her eyes for a second. "Go ahead," she says quietly, getting a nod from him as he lifts himself up, revealing his enormous member. He slides it into her slowly, getting soft moans from her as he pushes as far as she'll let him go. He holds it there for a second before he starts to pull back out, only to push in again. As he continues his motions Pinkie grabs the bedsheets and starts to moan louder, egging him on to move faster. As he picks up his pace, the headboard of the bed starts to slam against the wall behind. I try to walk away, but for some reason I can't stop watching. "What are you doing?" I jump aside as I look over to see Cheesus standing next to me. "Cheesus! I… uh... well..." He looks inside the room and shuts the door. "Yeah... those two. It's a love-hate thing. One minute they're bucking like mad, the next she won't even look at him. I don't get it," he says as he turns around and heads for the stairs. I follow after him, hanging my head in shame for watching what I just watched. We head to the eating area and take our seats, keeping silent for an unknown amount of time. "So... what now?" I ask as I lay my head on the table. "Well, he's probably taking her somewhere we can't go... Las Pegasus, Cloudsdale, Airdale, you name it." "Is there anything we can do?" I ask. "Not unless you can get us in the air within the next ten minutes and guide us to an unknown location." We fall silent again, the only sound in the room being the few customers in the bakery and a banging upstairs. "Can I get you two something?" asks a blue mare with pink hair and an apron on. "You have any cheesecake?" Cheesus asks. "Let me check on that, dearie," she says as she walks to the back. She comes back holding a plate with a small slice of cheesecake. "You want this on your tab?" "Yes, thank you," he says before he takes a bite, savoring every second of the cake. "Do you know what happened to my cart?" "Hmm? Oh, it's outside." I pick myself up and head out front where I find my still intact cart. I walk around it and look it over in astonishment. No scratches, no missing heads of cabbage, they're not even bruised! I go to strap myself in when a thought comes to mind. I could take off, leave everything as is, or I could stay and help get Derpy back. I know there's not much we can do... but there has to be something we can do. She did save my life after all. I drop the harness and march back through the door with a new found confidence. "Cheesus! Get off your flank, we're saving Derpy!" I say as I march up to his table. "First off, don't ever give me an order, secondly, we can't. There's no physical way we could get to her." "There has to be something we can do! She saved our lives, the least we could do is... I don't know. Rent a balloon or something." "Next, I don't know anypony who owns a balloon, or blimp for that matter. Then there's the fact that we don't know where they're going..." "AGAIN!" Pinkie yells from above, getting everypony's attention. "Oh no, not this again," Cheesus says as he facehoofs. "What happened?" "Somepony blew the party blower thingy," he says from behind his hoof. "What?" "Don't worry about it, even I don't understand it." I look between him and the stairs before I muster up the courage to go upstairs and investigate. I walk up to the door where I hear some arguing inside. I take a deep breath before I slowly open the door. I find Squishy laying on the ground with his flaccid member slowly shrinking back inside, and Pinkie lying on her side on the bed, glaring at him. The wall behind Pinkie’s bed has a large section of drywall missing and cracks spreading from there. "AGAIN? REALLY?! Why am I even surprised?" she says as she continues to glare at him. "I... don't... control… it," he says between pants. "Just... just go," she says as she rolls over and pulls her sheets over herself. "Uh... not to interrupt, but we need to get going anyway... we need to find a blimp or balloon..." "Why don't you just take Twilight's?" Pinkie says from her sheets. "I'm sure if you ask nicely she'd let you borrow it." "That's... a really good idea, thanks Pinkie," Squishy says as he starts to get up. He walks up to her and gives her a kiss on the head, then whispers something into her ear, getting her to sigh contently. I wait for him to walk out and follow him downstairs. "By the way Cabbage, you owe me two hundred bits for watching." "WHAT!? But... but that was an accident!" "Mmmm... well, for helping get Derpy back, I'll let it slide, this time," he says as we approach Cheesus. "We have a balloon... kind of. Turns out Twilight has one, and might be willing to let us use it." "Really? Alright, let’s give it a try," he says as he leads us out of the building. I grab my cart and follow them through Ponyville until we make it to a library. As we approach it, we see a purple mare and a grey stallion leave the building together. "Looks like she's on a date," Squishy says as we watch them walk away together. "Well, what now?" I say, as Cheesus walks towards the library. "They're busy, let’s just take it and be sure to bring it back in one piece." We follow him to the back where we find the uninflated balloon. "Well... here goes nothing," he says as he closes his eyes and focuses. An aura begins to appear where his missing horn would have been and starts to fill up the balloon. "Alright! Now what about my cart?" "Just leave it," Squishy says as he starts to untie the anchors. "Leave it!? That would be like you leaving behind your penis!" I say, getting a serious look from Squishy. "Well, it won't fit in the basket... I've got an idea," he says as he grows an evil smile. Thirty Minutes Later "I HATE YOU ALL!" I yell as I hold on for dear life. They bucking tied some long ropes to my cart and made me ride in it! Luckily we were able to cut off Dirty Bits on his way to Cloudsdale, but we only get one chance to get on board his blimp, and they volunteered me for it. We're flying high into the air on a collision course with the blimp. "You ready?!" Squishy yells to me. "NO!" "Great! Here we go!" he says as we lift even higher. As the blimp starts to fly past us, Cheesus lets go of his magic and lets us drop onto the blimp. We bounce off the balloon part and start to fall down the side. I grab the spare rope and start to swing the anchor around as we fall. I see an open window and toss my anchor inside. I grab onto my cart and start praying as we continue to drop. We suddenly jerk as the anchor catches onto something, and we start to swing towards the blimp. My cart crashes through a window and slams into a line of guards, landing perfectly on the ground. I look around to see all of my cabbages are perfectly intact, none missing whatsoever. "Hey, my cabbages made it!" I say proudly as I get off the cart. "Great, want to help us then?" Cheesus says as he hangs from the window. I run over and pull them inside. "Good work with the guards’ kid," he says as he walks towards the large doors. "And talk about placement." He pushes the door open and we all run in, ready for anything. "CHEESUS, SQUISHY, CABBAGE!" Derpy yells from down the room. She's standing next to Dirty Bits and four guards, each covered in metal armor and carrying massive one-sided battle axes. "You three! I knew I should’ve killed you when I had the chance, take care of them!" he yells to the guards. They point their weapons at us as they start to charge. "I've got this," I say as I walk forward with my cart, getting confused looks from the Cheesus and Squishy. I grab one of my cabbages and kiss it before I face the charging ponies. I wind up my leg and toss it straight at one of the guards, hitting him square in the face. He trips and falls over, tripping the pony next to him, who then trips the next pony, who staggers the next one and makes him fall out a window. "WHO WANTS A CABBAGE!?" I yell in triumph. Squishy and Cheesus stare at me in disbelief for a moment, before they shake their heads and run to the downed guards. They take their weapons and run after Dirty Bits. He tries to run away, but stops when Squishy nearly chops his head off. "Wait! Wait! Don't kill me, please!" he begs Squishy. Cheesus grabs Dinky and guides Derpy out as Squishy looks down at Dirty. "Hmm… I think I've let you live long enough," he says as he approaches Dirty. "Please, I'll give you whatever you want. Money, power, how about this blimp?" he says as he tries to back away, only to stop when his back is against the wall and Squishy is in his face. "Have fun in hell," he says, before he does a series of jabs at his neck and torso. As he slowly walks away, Dirty Bits starts to cough up blood as he falls to the ground. "Let’s get going," he says to me as we head towards the massive hole we created. Cheesus fills up the balloon again and we get back on. Again, I have to ride in my cart. The ride to Ponyville was just as nerve-wracking as before, though hearing Derpy and Dinky was comforting. We land the balloon back behind the library and pile out. "Hey Squishy!" Dinky says to him as he lifts her out. "Yeah kiddo?" "You said the next time we meet you'd have a present for me!" she says excitedly. "I did? Well I must’ve forgotten it..." he says as he sets her down, making her pout. "But wait! What's that behind your ear?" he says as he reaches behind her ear and pulls out a black doll. Dinky hugs Squishy and takes the toy, looking it over curiously. "Umm... what is it?" she asks, as she removes its helmet to reveal a scarred white face. "Pinkie Pie says it’s a Darth Vader action figure, and is a very prized collectible," Squishy explains as she looks it over. "What do you say Dinky?" Derpy says as she walks up beside her and nuzzles her a bit. "Thank you, Uncle Squishy." "And thank you, Cheesus and Cabbage Patch, for bringing my little muffin back," she says as she walks up to me and gives me a hug. "No problem... well, this is where I take off now," I say as I hook myself up to my cart. "You'll come back and visit, won't you?" Derpy asks. "Sure I'll come back, especially if Big Mac buys my cabbages." "You know where to find us," Cheesus says as he walks up to me and pats my back. "Feel free to swing by Fon DO anytime, amigo." Squishy walks up to me and gives me a really tight hug as he says, "Thanks for the help sugar. I really appreciate it." "Well, wish me luck," I say as I wave goodbye and walk off with my cart. I walk through Ponyville until I see Big Mac walking casually through town. "Big Mac!" I yell to get his attention as I run up to him. "Cabbage Patch? Weren't ya supposed ta come ta the farm earlier today?" he asks as I run up to him. "Some friends needed some help and I got caught up in it. But here they are, one hundred cabbages for Sweet Apple Acres to buy and sell," I say as I present my cabbages. He walks up and takes a cabbage in his hoof, looking it over intensely. "Hmm..." "Well?" "Well..." "Well!?" "These are some mighty fine cabbages ya got here," I sigh in relief as he sets the cabbage back down. "Let me take the cart and I'll pay fer them over at the farm." I nod and release myself from the cart. He walks over and straps himself in, and starts to walk off. "So, how was..." he starts to say, but stops when a blur drops from the sky and crashes onto the cart, sending Big Mac flying and destroying every single head of cabbage. I drop to my haunches and stare at the creature before me. "What was that?" the creature asks the little dragon in his arm. "I think it was Big Mac," the dragon says. “Look, there they are, perfectly safe..." "For now. Let's shadow them, I don't want to take any chances tonight." "I don't know Miles... that's kind of creepy to spy on their date." "I agree, that's why we're not going to spy on them, just stay close enough to be able to act if something were to happen." "What's the… WWHHOAA!" the dragon yells as the creature launches itself into the air. "My… my… my… my… MY CABBAGES!" Author's Note Shoutout to MaMa Cheesus for picking the toy Dinky received. Thanks for the pic! Well, Arc one 'Friends' is over (man tear). Onward to Arc two ' The Cities'. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it so far and, like always, Brony on! Chapter 68 Darkness Chapter 68 Darkness Chapter 68 Darkness I'm not sure how long I've been falling, but I think I hit terminal velocity. It’s become hard to breathe and I feel light headed. As I fall through the darkness, I try to send down a few flares of magic down, but no matter what I try, the only thing that comes out is the black substance. Well... this is going to suck. I ready my legs and wait for the ground to hit. KRA-BOOM I slam into the ground and buckle down, almost falling over. I balance myself out and try to look around, only to see utter darkness. I raise my hands to try to shine some light, but nothing comes out. I look at my hands and wave them around. I can feel the energy coming out, why can't I see it? I try shutting it off then bringing it back, but it doesn't seem to change anything. "What the fuck is going on?" I ask out loud, sending echoes down the cavern. I take a few minutes to stop the room from spinning and for the ringing in my ears to stop. Once I feel better, I stick my hands out and start to fumble around until I find a wall. I keep a hand against the wall as I start to stumble forward, tripping on stalagmites and rocks as I go. Wait... why don't I just use my phone? I reach into my pockets and try to find my phone, only to find my pockets empty. What the fuck? Of course, the one time I could use that damn thing it’s fucking… oh, that's right, I left it at home in fear of it breaking during the fight. Well... fuck. I resume moving forward, trying my best not to completely fall over. This is taking too long, there must be something I can use that could help me move faster. I search all my pockets until I pull out my last archaic grenade. It emits a light blue glow that lights up a meter around me. Well, it's better than nothing. I start walking forward at a faster rate, avoiding all the trip hazards that come my way. As I look around I take in the tunnel. It seems to be made archaically, with time making its own changes. I can tell by the corners and somewhat level ground that people forged this a long time ago. I keep walking until I come to a dead end. The wall before me was also made archaically, I can tell due to the straight edges. I flare my open hand and examine it closely. The usually white flames are now burning black. I turn my hand around and look it over. The usually smooth black lines are now jagged and make sharp turns all over. I look between my hand and the wall... "What’s the worst that could happen?" I wave my hand at the wall and try to bring it down, but send a beam of black energy at it, making a large open streak in it. Well... not what I intended to have happen... but same results... I guess. Next chance I get, I really need to stop and find out what's going on with my magic... but for now, I just need to get to get to the bottom of this. I slide through the opening and walk forward until I come up to another wall. I look at this one and see a doorway to the left. I walk to the doorway and look inside, to see four dimly lit gems hovering in the air and a destroyed table in the center. This... this is where I held those negotiations with Tempus and Spatium. It's still here... given that it was made of stone and there's really nothing here to demolish it, but still, I found it. I walk around the room and collect the gems. Amazing how they still have enough energy to emit any light. I look at the gems and then back to my hand... can I do this? I flare my hand and start to fill the gem with energy. As I do, the gem begins to brighten, filling the room with a white light. I pocket the grenade and fill the rest of the gems with my energy, making them each shine brightly. With my new light source, I leave the room and head to the other side of the cave, where I find a smaller hole in the ground. It's about a meter wide and is completely dark. I take one of the gems and drop it down, watching as the light falls for a while before it hits something and bounces out of view, lighting a slope down below. I slide my lower half into the hole and drop myself down. When the slope comes to me I use the magic in my heels to slide with it... only to find that it goes for a long distance down. I can see the light several hundred meters ahead of me, leading me to an even steeper drop. I try to stop myself from plunging over the side by grabbing at the ground and trying to get a better footing, but I've gained too much momentum to stop now. "OH SHHIIITTT!" I yell as I tumble over the edge and fall into the next hole. I flail around a bit as I fall down the dark abyss, my vision flaring from a white speck of light to darkness as I tumble in the air. I try to correct myself as I fall, but I've built up some speed to my twists and turns, making it hard to do so. I glance down at the light and see it bounce off something and roll away from view... oh fuck. Need to think of something... got it! I throw my arms out and blast the magic outward, sending two beams to my side. The energy seems to latch onto the walls and helps slow me down and correct my path downwards. I let go of the magic and drop down what I assume is the last few meters, landing safely at the bottom. I try to walk off, but collapse suddenly when a wave of fatigue hits me, making me drop to the ground. I can feel myself sweating heavily as I pant from the sudden exhaustion. Why am I so tired... what did I do to become so tired? I try to move on, but my arms feel like I just did a million pushups with weight added to my back. I roll onto my back and wait for the fatigue to pass. "Huh! Wha?" I say as I wake up... wake up? When did I fall asleep? I try to sit up but my arms are still stiff, making it harder to move around. I look around to see that I'm still in a tunnel that's facing downward. I slowly stand to my feet and start to walk down the path, trying to get my arms to work along the way. Luckily I still have the three gems from before... I'll get the other one some other time. When I finally get my arms to work properly I look up... SMACK I stagger back as I hold onto my head. I look up to see a massive metallic bulkhead sitting right in front of me. "Topaz." I look around the bulkhead in awe of finally making it back home... Topaz Falls, at last. This is it, point of possibly no return... how do I open this from the outside? I walk up to the door and place my hand on it as I try to think of a way to open the door, when red beams shine out from the top corners. They wave from side to side as they scan me from head to toe. Identification, Miles Eremita... access granted, says a robotic voice as the door starts to pull up. This is it... no turning back now. When the door opens completely I walk in and look around... the street before me is covered in rubble, and there seems to be a thick layer of dust and ash everywhere. As I walk in the door begins to slide shut, sealing me inside. I run in and head for the nearest building, wiping the dirty window to look inside. It was an office of some kind, but it seems to have been abandoned a long time ago. I leave the building and start to walk down the street. The entire city is dark, even the parliament hall's lights are out. I try to look around some more, but everything seems to tell the same story. Every building is empty, some having holes blown into them with others being completely destroyed. I guess they did it... they took Topaz Falls. "In*ssshhhhh*er-er-er-er..." I look over to see a security droid staggering out of an alley. It has its right arm blown off, its left optical lens shattered, and is riddled in dents and scratches from bullet fire. It's trying to walk towards me, but is extremely low on power, making it move slowly. As it approaches me, it sticks its arm out and tries to grab me, but runs out of energy and falls to the ground at my feet. I sigh and continue to walk on. I can't believe we lost Topaz... I knew it was a possibility, I just never thought I'd see it. I look around the darkened city and decide the first thing I need to do is turn the power back on. The southern power station should be a few blocks down the street up ahead. I make a right onto the street and start to walk down the road. The closer I get to the station, the greater the destruction gets. Many of the buildings are just portions of wall and piles of rubble, with skeletons scattered here and there. I can't believe the bones are still here... though it kind of makes sense. The city is hermetically sealed, and it's not like there's a breeze or a water source to erode them away. I keep walking until I notice a skeleton that's different. The skull is narrower and longer, with the dagger teeth. The ribs are thinly connected and seem to be hollowed. The rest of the body seems human... except for being longer. Whatever killed this one, it killed it by shattering its lower back. I look over the skeleton a bit before I stomp the skull, crushing it to pieces. I spit at the ground beneath it before I continue towards the generator. When I finally make it to the half-sphere I stop in my tracks. The area out front is peppered with small craters from Inficiunt’s grenade launcher... but something a little larger made a massive hole in the wall where the door used to be. The door was blown clear off, as well as most of the wall around it and the freeway that lead into the building. Surrounding the craters are piles and piles of Unfamiliar bones, most of which have been shattered to bits and pieces. I walk through the bones, trying my best not to splinter my feet as I go, and climb the stairs to the generator room. The inside is close to what I remember. The barrier we made is still there, with the destroyed jeep that should have killed me behind it. The larger trucks are gone, as well as the other jeep and civilian vehicles. "Well... looks like some of them were able to get out," I say as I walk into the room. I come to a stop when I find a lone human skeleton wearing light Spartan armor. I drop to my knees and begin to tear up as I look it over. "Dolum," I whisper as I reach out to the skull... but pull away before I touch it, as the tears force their way out. "DOOOOLLUUUUUM!" I scream as I break down and cry before his long dead body. I cry for what feels like an eternity until I finally run out of tears to cry out, then I just sit there in a daze as I stare down at his bones. They couldn't even bury him. No funeral. No goodbye. Just another skeleton among the bones. I pick myself up and look over his body... I need to bury him, but I don't know if my magic will allow me to. I flare my magic and try to move the ground next to him, but end up making a small trench with the black substance instead. I'm sorry Dolum... this will have to do. I carefully place his bones into the trench, laying him so he's face up with his arms crossing his chest. When I finish, I stand before him and look down at him, sadness filling my heart. "Requiem bene, amicus meus," I say before I pull my revolver and fire around off for him. I salute to him and turn around, leaving him to his resting place. I head to the back where I find the stairs and take them down, going several flights down until I reach the power station. In the center of the room is a large machine with massive wires coming out the back that go into the wall past it. Lining the walls to both sides are four backup generators that have wires going to the main reactor. Each backup generator is a three-meter-tall metal box, with two cylinders inside of them made of gems that are connected to metal clasps. I go to the first backup generator and check the backup gems... empty. I flare my magic and start to fill them both. After a few minutes, I’ve filled them and move onto the next generator. After an hour of work, I finish up filling the gems and walk over to the main generator. I boot up the computer on it and read the energy test. It seems the geothermal rods are good... but need a clearance code from the parliament building. The backups are feeding the southern district energy and the main lights to the city. Estimated amount of time until they run out... two months. I step away from the generators and head back up the stairs to the main room. I walk around and try to scavenge whatever I can find. I get a new pair of Kevlar boots, a frag grenade and a PX90 submachine gun. I fill the gem in the SMG and fire off a round. PEW "That's Terradisian designing for you. Overly engineered to the point of near indestructibility," I say as I head to the door. I look out to the dark city and watch the lights come back on. The lights start turning on close to me and work their way back to the center of the city. The Congressional Parliament Hall has fallen over at the halfway point, crushing most of the area to the north west. Instead of being cut in half, it seems to have split in a diagonal line, going from the lower right end up to the upper left. Most of the buildings seem fine for the most part. There's a line of destruction leading straight to the CPH from the west and continuing to the south east. I stare out at the destruction for a while before I shake my head and take the stairs back down. I need to get all of the power back on, so I need to get to the CPH. I walk down and start to head down the road when I hear something moving in a building to my right. "Hello? Anyone there?" I ask as I approach the building. "System reboot *ssshhhhhhhhh* error. Catastrophic failure *sssssssshhhhhh* kill all intruders," says a light green utility bot as it walks out of the building. It's a simple humanoid robot used for remedial chores. I sigh as I approach the machine, it beats doing this alone. "Machine, identify." "Identification… A00Z2 designation *sssssshhhhhh* Identify," it says as it faces me and scans me over. "Identification... error... deceased. Order 23 new directive, kill all intruders." Well... shit. I roll to the side as it tries to punch me and open fire at its side. Most of the weak energy rounds bounce off its armor, due to the enchantments put on all robots, but a few find their way into the inner workings and drop the machine. I turn to walk away when the machine jumps to life and grabs my leg. I turn and open fire on it as it rears its free arm and punches my shin, breaking the bone. As I scream in pain and fall to the ground the bot starts to pull itself up my body, trying to get to my head. I start to push it away and flare my magic as it tries to punch me again, only to miss when I dodge it. I slam my palm into its head and send a beam of the black substance through it, making the machine fall limp. As the top of the body starts to crumble away I push it off and pull my pant leg up to check my leg. "Aw fuck... I can fix that... I think." There's a deep dent on my leg that's bleeding along the top. I run my fingers over it and wince when I find where it broke. I take a few deep breaths as I flare my hands and place them onto my chest. I start to fill myself with the energy but... something feels off. Usually it feels like I'm being electrocuted when I do this, but this is filling me with an icy coldness. I watch as the wound quickly fixes itself, healing at twice the speed. When I finish, I stand up and test my leg out by putting weight on it and taking a few slow steps. Everything seems alright, now to... "Intruder alert! Intruder alert! Safeties off, weapons hot, surrender and die!" A red military bot yells from across the street as it raises its arm at me. The military bots usually have their right arms replaced with some kind of weapon, this one being an archaic assault rifle. I run into the building and take cover behind a desk as it fires at me. I pull out my revolver and wait for it stop firing... "Kill all intruders," says a light blue utility bot that's standing in front of me. I roll to the side as it punches at the ground where I was sitting. I lift my pistol at it and fire into its head at point blank range. BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG As I run out of rounds it falls back and twitches a couple of times before shutting down. I pop the cylinder and start to reload as the military bot jumps on the desk and tries to fire at me, but only clicks sound off. I wave my free hand at it and send a black beam at it, splitting it in half and making it drop to the ground. As it starts to crawl at me I get up and run out of the building. "For Terradisia, you will be destroyed," says a deep robotic voice. I turn around to see a high-grade military bot standing behind the buildings across the street. This one stands two stories tall, lacks a head and neck, and has two primary weapons, a missile launcher on one side and a hundred-twenty-millimeter cannon on the other. In the center of its chest is a large, round red light that's shining down at me. It raises its missile launcher at me and fires. I raise my hand and bring a shield up, blocking the missile and making it explode. I turn and run into the building as the smoke provides some cover. I run out the back door and run away from it, making it a few meters before I hear it fire another missile. I stop and raise my shield again as I watch the missile arc up into the air and dive straight for me, exploding against my shield. This explosion makes the lines grow to my shoulders, making me nearly drop it from exhaustion. I turn and run down the street some more before I dive through a window and take cover. I can hear the machine start to crush buildings as it tries to hunt me down. I peer out and try to find a way out of here. The only place it can't get me is back outside, but I'll need a distraction to be able to open the door. I need... KRA-BOOM I duck my head as the street explodes from the cannon fire, sending debris flying everywhere and making me roll over a couple of times. I hold onto my ears as a loud ringing drowns out all other sounds. I watch to my right as the ceiling collapses from the foot of the machine breaking through. I jump over the wall and start to run as it raises its cannon at me, loading the next shell into the barrel along the way. I pull out a grenade and toss it up at the arm of the machine as it starts to close the chamber. KRA-KRA-KRA-BOOM The grenade goes off next to the open chamber and sets off the shell inside its arm, blowing its arm off. As it staggers back from the explosion, I fall backward from the concussion wave and fall on my back. I pick my head up and look up at the bot, as it straightens out and aims its missile launcher at me. I slowly raise my hand and push it forward, sending a beam of soul fire at the bot, blowing its arm off and making it fall backwards. I sigh in relief and try to get up, only to fall back from a searing pain in my side. I look down to see a large metal shard sticking out of the left side of my gut. I hold onto the wound and force myself up, trying my best to ignore the pain as I turn the corner and head to the entrance. I need help... I need to get back... I need... BOOM I turn around to see the bot has jumped to its feet and is coming at me. I flare my free hand and start to charge up my magic - I've got one shot at this. It walks up to me and squares off its stance as the center light begins to shine brighter. We both fire at the same time, me firing soul fire and it firing a beam of lesser energy. The two beams collide in the air and explode, sending me flying backwards. I feel warm streams start to form all over me as I lay there, slowly blacking out. I look up to the entrance and watch as a bright white light appears from behind the opening door, revealing two shadowy figures. "H...he...help..." I mutter before I pass out. Author's Note Shout out to Shadownamesto for picking the gun he found. Thanks for reading, and like always, Brony on! Chapter 69 Luna's FuryChapter 69 Luna's Fury Perspective: Luna When I wake up I roll out of bed and go to my vanity mirror.... bed head. That's still not fair. I pick up my brush and start brushing my mane... GO TO PONYVILLE I stop brushing and look around my empty room, looking for the voice. "Hello? Is somepony there?" I ask but don't get a response. I go back to brushing my mane, feeling as if somepony's watching me the entire time. When I finish getting ready I head down to the eating chambers where I find Celestia eating a small salad. I take the seat next to her and look over the small menu before me, giving her the cold shoulder. "So... how did you sleep?" She asks. "Fine." I say before I place my order to the waiter. "That's good. What do you have planned for today?" "*sigh* well, sitting in the court room, alone, followed by more loneliness until I go back to bed." "Luna..." She starts to say but stops when a scroll appears before her. She takes it and starts to read it over before she writes a quick response and sends it back. She stands up and starts to march out of the room, leaving me completely out of the loop. "What happened?" I ask as I run after her. "Ponyville is under attack-" "What! By who?" "Diamond Dogs." "Then let’s get going." I say as I trot ahead of her, only to get held back by her magic. "Luna, you're going to stay here-" "Are you kidding me!? If anything, you should stay here! It's night time, my time to watch over Equestria! Why would I stay behind?" "Miles is going to be there... I think it would be too soon for you to see him." She says as she continues to walk forward, avoiding my gaze. "Miles... you really think I'm incapable of protecting my country because of Miles." I say as I follow after her. She pauses and look back to me, taking a deep breath before she speaks. "He would distract you. I know he's in the fight and I know you still harbor feelings for him. I don't want you there with..." "I can still perform my duties Celestia! I'm not a foal, I can do my job-" "Luna I'm not arguing this, go to court now, that's an order." I take a step back and look at her in disbelief. "Order? You order me to?" "Yes. I am your older sister, giving me seniority over you, now get going, you have a job to do." I stare at her a little longer before I shake my head and walk off. How dare she try to stop me from doing my job! How dare she bring Miles into this! SENIORITY?! She only five years older than me! I storm into the royal court room and stop when unicorn day guards start to appear next to my guards in pairs. Soon every guard is flanked and given orders, which makes them flash out of the room. Once all my guards are gone one of the guards approaches me and bows before me. "Good evening Princess Luna. I am Private Dusk. Princess Celestia has requested that we take guard here instead of..." "Let me guess, you're here to make sure I don't run off, aren't you?" "Yes. Now if you don't mind, court needs to-" "And how exactly would all of you keep me here if I decided to leave?" He takes a gulp as he looks up to me and charges his horn. "I'm sorry Princess, we've put up a barrier that will hold you in the castle." I look out the window and see the barrier surrounding the castle. "I'm sorry. but court-" "If you're going to make me your prisoner then I shall be one. Take me to my room, the dungeon, anywhere where I can be alone.... NOW!" He shakes a bit before he nods and leads me to my bedroom. I slam the door behind me and begin to pace back and forth. Is this what it's come to?! I'm a prisoner in my own home! How dare she do this to me! How dare- DO NOT FEED YOUR ANGER I look around for the voice but find the room empty. I shake my head and walk towards my balcony when an idea hit me. I walk to the door and slowly open it. Looking around I walk forward until I reach the end of the balcony. HA! I'm not the only one who forgets about double doors! I open my wings and take flight, heading towards the top of the mountain. I make it to the cave and head in to the Mico platform where I teleport to Miles's secret closet. When I appear, I hear the murmurs of what mast be a hundred ponies, talking, crying, shouting. I teleport myself to the roof and walk to the front to see what's going on. Miles has turned his home into a refugee center for Ponyville, filling it to the brim with ponies... that's my man. Several of the ponies are walking around the building with weapons that look foreign to Equestrian design. I look towards Ponyville to see a large group coming out of the ground from a hole in the ground, being lead by Storm Cloud. I fly down to greet the group only to fly over and behind them as several Diamond Dogs appear behind them. "YOU DARE HARM MY LITTLE PONIES!" I yell in the royal Canterlot voice, making them halt before me as I create a blue orb above me. I send the orb at them and create an explosion in the center of their group. The explosion is larger than I had intended it to be, nearly making me fall back from it. When the smoke clears all that's left of them is a large crater in the ground. "Princess Luna." I turn around to find Storm Cloud standing before me as the crowd runs to Miles's home. "Storm Cloud, tell me everything you know." "The dogs just appeared and attacked. All I know is that they are after unicorns. I found that group underground being held captive as the dogs were putting some black gunk on their horns." "Do you know anything else? Like who's behind this, where they are located?" "Yeah, Miles and I went underground and found them watching the unicorns being processed... and I've seen him before. It's some grey griffin named Steelwing, I saw him at an abandoned cloud factory, picking up the poisoned clouds being made there. Miles chased after him and the Diamond dog leader a while ago..." "So our next priority is Ponyville." I say as I start to march towards Ponyville. "I'll assist you." He says as he runs up beside me. "Thank you but I do not need assistance..." "I know that. But Miles would never forgive me if I let the mare he loves into a fight without assistance." I stop and look over to him as a smile grows on my face. "So... he does love me." "Yeah... poor guys got it bad too. He also believes he has to stay away from you so he doesn't hurt you." I shake my head a bit as I continue to walk towards Ponyville. He loves me... he really does... I need to see him now... or after I save Ponyville. We come up to the edge of town where we find it nearly deserted of anypony. I see Twilight leading a small group of ponies towards us so we run up to her. "Storm!" She yells as she runs up to him and hugs him tightly, then slaps him across the muzzle. "Don't you dare ever do that again you idiot!" "Sorry Twi', but I needed to give Miles some backup. I'm back now, and Princess Luna is here as well." Twilight looks over to me and gives a slight bow before she looks back to Storm. "There's a group of ponies over at the high school gym being guarded by Big Mac. They had a lot of injured ponies there that couldn't be moved, so he decided to stay and protect them." "Then we shall head straight there." I say, getting a smile from Twilight. "OK, Rainbow Dash and I will take this group to Miles's home and continue looking for survivors." She says before she looks over to Storm and gives him a light kiss on the lips. "Be safe." "I will, now get going. Staying still for too long is bad." She nods and takes the group past us. I look around for Rainbow Dash and find her in the air wielding a very bloody spear. "Let’s make haste." I say as I walk into town. It's fairly quiet here. There are a couple of buildings on fire, but I take care of them fairly quickly with my magic. "So... it would seem you and Twilight are... close." I say to Storm as we continue into town. "Yeah... don't tell anypony, but I'm planning on asking to marry her soon." "Congratulations. I guess my putting you with Miles was a good idea after all." "Yeah, it was the best thing that could have ever happened to me... thank you." "Don't mention it. To be honest I only picked you because you looked like you were trying to avoid being picked." "I was." We share a small laugh until we hear a scream come from a nearby building. We run to it and kick in the door to find two dogs approaching a pegasus mare holding onto a unicorn filly. I create my energy blades and stab them both into their backs, making them howl in pain before they drop to the ground. "Are you two alright?" I ask as I approach the two of them. "Yes, we're fine. Thank you, Princess Luna." She says as she stands up, still holding onto the filly. "Do you think you can carry your filly down to Miles's place Derpy?" Storm asks. "Y-yeah. I can do it. Thank you again." She says as she walks out and flies off with her filly. "Let’s keep moving." I say as I head out the door and continue down the path towards the school. We make it to town hall where we find a dark grey unicorn colt running from three diamond dog. Storm and I launch ourselves at the dogs, me sending a blast of energy at two of them and Storm kicking the other one away. Storm quickly pulls out his sword and stabs the one he kicked in the gut, sending a blast of bloody air up. "Are you alright child?" I ask the cowering colt. "*sniff* I-I can't find my mommy." He says as he starts to cry. "Storm, continue to the high school while I take him to Miles's home." He nods to me and runs down the path. I look back to the colt and give him a quick nuzzle. "Hey, what's your name?" "I'm Star Gazer." "Star Gazer, why don't you come with me and let’s go look for your mommy together?" "*sniffle* o-okay." I pick him up and set him on my back, getting him to hold on tightly around my neck. "Whoa... you're a lot taller than my mom." "Hm... okay, close your eye really quick so I can teleport us to the safe house." He nods to me and closes his eyes tightly as he continues to hold onto me. I teleport us back to Miles's house... directly behind Celestia. "Well... shoot." "Luna!" Celestia says as she turns around and looks at me. "What are you doing here?" "My job. Now if you don't mind I have to help this colt..." "MOMMY!" He yells as he tries to get off me. I set him on the ground and watch as he runs to one of the make shift guard ponies. "STAR!" She yells as she drops the spear and runs towards him and hugs him tightly. I watch them hold onto each other for a bit before Celestia steps in front of me. "Luna-" "Celestia, can I have a word with you in private." I say as I teleport us to an open field on the west part of Ponyville. She was going to say something to me but stops and stares at me, due to me taking my pure form. "How dare you." I say as I get in her face. "Luna I-" "NO! You don't talk right now, you listen! How dare you. First you deny me my royal duties, then you ORDER me to stay behind, and then you go and replace my guards and try to hold me prisoner in my own home! First off, it is both our duties to protect the ponies of Equestria. No personal matter will ever stop me from doing that. Next, you do not ever order me, EVER. We are equal rulers. I don't care if you were born five years before me, you will never...NEVER, do that again. And lastly you do not replace my guards. Not only was that just plain rude, it looked like a power play to them. We are equal; you do not get to take my place and do my job while I'm still here, do you understand me?" Before she could answer the ground around us suddenly collapses as Diamond Dogs surround us. As I continue to glare at Celestia I charge my magic, forming storm clouds above us. Once their strong enough I bring down multiple lightning bolts, striking down every single dog in one burst and encircling us in a bright wall of electricity. I hold the bolts there long enough to kill every dog and hold it even longer to drive my point across. When I stop electrocuting the dogs I ask Celestia "Do. You. Understand. Me." "Luna..." I leave her standing there as I walk off towards Ponyville. I need to vent my anger; I need more dogs to fight. I take off into the night sky, flying quickly to the high school where I find what I need. The gyms front door is surrounded by some twelve dogs as they claw at the doors, trying to get inside. I roll upside down and launch myself at the ground. I land between two of the dogs by the doors and stare back at each of them. "Surrender or die." The two closes to me reach for their swords so I grab them with my magic and slam them around, hitting the ground, walls, and other dogs as I beat the life from them. As I toss them aside all the other dogs pull their weapons out and prepare to fight me. I bring my energy blades up and wait for them to attack. A dog charges at me with his spear pointed at me, so I grab him with my magic and pull him towards me. I jump back and kick him as I do a back flip, making him go flying back. When I land, I charge into the group, stabbing two other dogs in the gut. I pull my blades back and give them a quick twirl before I bring them behind me, blocking an axe and sword from hitting my back. I twist my blades around and slash at the dogs, lopping their heads off. As the other dogs start to slash and stab at me I create more and more blades until I'm fighting all six of them at once. I flare my wings and launch myself into the air, avoiding them all stabbing at me at once. I flip around so I'm facing the ground and charge my horn. As they all look up to me I send a white beam down at the ground between them, creating a massive explosion that sends me a bit higher into the air. I flip back and flap my wings to level out and watch the plume of fire go into the air. I didn't mean for it to be that large... when did I get this powerful? When did I learn to fight like that for that matter? Six at once... I don't remember ever learning to do that. I fly down beside the crater and look around. The houses that were near are blackened from the fire. The front wall to the gym has cracks going up the wall, leading to the broken windows above. I walk up to the door and open it, only to have the wall fall behind me, leaving me in the door way. "Princess?" I look over to see Big Mac and Storm standing before me with their swords drawn, with a crowd of terrified ponies behind them. When did Big Mac get so buff? "Uh... I came to help..." "Eeyup." Big Mac says as they both sheath their swords. "So, how’s everypony doing here?" I ask as I walk into the gym. Everypony bows before me as they tremble in fear of my pure form. "Well, we've got a few injured in the back, but other than that it's just a matter of getting the civilians to move." Storm says as he walks along with me. I make my way to the back, making everypony tremble in fear as I walk through the gym. I sigh and continue anyway, right now I don't care what they think of me, I just want to see Miles. I find the area that's separated by medical curtains and walk in, making the nurse before me drop in fear. "I'm here to help, what do you need." I ask her, but don't get a response right away. "Nurse, you don't need to fear me, I'm here to help. Now what do you need?" "Uh....well.... we, uh need...*meep*." She says before she covers her head with her hooves and shakes before me. I walk around her and go to the first cot. It has a city guard with a large gash on his side. The wound has been sewn shut and he has a pouch of pain killers attached to his fore leg. Celestia was always the better fighter, but I was always the better healer. I charge my magic and get to work healing him, but something goes wrong. I feel something influence my magic and reach out to all the patients and start to heal them all at once. I should be weakening from healing this many ponies at once, but it feels as if I'm working on two. After a few minutes of healing I stop my magic and look around. All the patients are starting to get out of their cots, feeling their bodies for any signs of injury. "Wow, you're quit the healer." Storm says as he looks around. "Eeyup." "Yeah... well, I'm going to check the area around and see if anypony else needs help." "Alright, me and Big Mac will stay here and start doing rotations, I'll go first with Luna." "Eeyup." "Well, let’s get going then." We head back out to Ponyville and take to the air. Banking to the right and scanning the ground for any ponies or dogs. "So, I have to ask, why aren't you and Big Mac scared of me?" I ask as we fly over the market area. "Why would we? You are on our side." "Yeah... only if every other pony knew that... also, why are you and Big Mac so buff?" "Spartan training. I'm assuming if Miles was a pony he'd be like how we are." Good to know. "Where is Miles... I mean, I know he went after their leaders, but shouldn't he be back by now?" "Uh... maybe. I don't know for sure. We could swing by his place to see if he's there or not." "Let’s circle Ponyville one more time before we go." He nods and takes off before me. We scan Ponyville over only to find Twilight and Rainbow Dash running through town, so we meet up with them. "Storm!" Twilight yells as he lands before her. "Hey Twi', have you two seen any action?" "Nah, I think the fights over." Rainbow Dash says as she leans on the spear. "Have either of you seen Miles?" I ask, getting slightly embarrassed. "The last time I saw him he was chasing some griffin into the Everfree forest, but that was a while ago..." "Luna!" I turn around to see Celestia land behind us with a squad of royal day guards with her. "The fights over, let’s head home..." "The fight is not over. Miles has yet to return from chasing down the leaders. We need to go after him..." "Luna... can we speak in-" "No. Anything you need to say to me you can say in public. Otherwise don't say it at all." She takes a step back and glances over to everypony behind me. "Good, now Rainbow Dash, show me where you saw Miles chase after them." I say as I turn back to her. She looks around a bit in confusion but complies anyway. "It was over by the eastern path to the Everfree, I could show you where he entered, but after that I wouldn't know." "That's alright, just show us where they entered, the rest of you should stay here and check on all of the residents, make sure they're okay." They all nod to me and run off to their tasks. I jump into the air and follow after Rainbow Dash with Celestia and her guards following right beside me. "You see where the tree line has a little dip, that's where they entered. After that I wouldn't know." Rainbow Dash says as she points out the area ahead. "Thank you Rainbow Dash. I'm going to go ahead and check the area out, go ahead and go back to Ponyville." She nods to me and flies away, with the guards following after her. "Not keeping your guards?" I ask flatly as I fly towards the area Rainbow spoke of. "No. What I want to say needs to stay between us." "Well, what is it then?" I ask as I land by the tree line and start to walk in. "Well... what exactly do you see in Miles?" "What?" "You barely know him. You've only met a few times before.... what do you see in him that would make you fight so hard to be with him?" "I'm not fighting to be with him Celestia. I came here to protect Ponyville-" "Luna, I've known you long enough to know your hiding something." I ignore her and find a trail of broken branches. I start to follow it into the forest with Celestia close behind. "Luna?" "He's different." "Well, yes, being human-" "Not what I meant. He looks at the stars as if he's never going to see them again. He treats me like an equal. Heh, he's pretty goofy at times too-" "Luna-" "When I was with him... I didn't feel so lonely. He wanted to be there for me, and I want to be there for him-" "Even though he's going to die within a year? How could you bare to be with him when his time is so limited?" I stop and look back to her. "Because... I feel as if I must. He's dying Celestia. I can't even imagine what he must be feeling right now." "Luna... I still don't like you getting this close to him, but... maybe you should.... I don't know, visit every once and awhile..." She says as she looks away. "Do you mean it..." "I don't want you doing anything though. Strictly friends. That's it." I smile at her and run over to her, wrapping her up in a hug. "Friends only Luna, you hear me." "Don't worry, nothing is going to happen. Thank you." "Just remember that you're never alone. I'll always be here for you, no matter what." I let go of her and take a few steps back. "I know, thanks Tia." She smiles back to me but loses it as she starts to walk towards something behind me. I turn around to see the entrance to a cave. A wall of plants used to cover it, but somepony cut the vines down, showing the cave's inside. "Well, this is where the trail leads... what do you think?" "Well, Diamond Dogs do operate underground. Makes sense that their headquarters entrance would be a cave.... let's head in." "Luna wait. We should call for a group of guards to follow us in-" "Pfft, come on Tia, what could possibly be down there that we couldn't handle?" I say as I walk into the cave entrance. We stop before a large hole in the ground and look down into the pit of darkness. Celestia looks down and sends a ball of light down. "Wow... it just keeps going... I don't know Luna, maybe we shouldn't-" "Come on Tia, where’s that adventuring spirit you had when we were little?" I say as I nudge her a bit. "Luna... that has to be at least a mile deep..." She starts to say, but I jump into the hole and fly down. I turn my body so I'm facing the ground and flare my horn to light the way. I glance to my side and see Celestia doing the same a little behind me. As we fall together we send out occasional flares until we finally see the ground quickly approaching. We twist back and open our wings, slowing us down enough to land safely. "Whoa... I think Miles was here." Celestia says as she looks down at the ground. I look down to see a small crater with two foot prints in it. I bring a light to the top of my horn and light the way for us. "How far down do you think we are?" "I don't know... two miles at least-" "No way, he's way shorter than that." I say jokingly. "Right... so, how far have you two gone?" "What!" I yell as I trip and fall flat on my face. "Oh my-" "We haven't done anything!" I yell as I get back up. "Well.... we kissed...but that's it!" I say as I continue to walk down the path. "So... how was it?" She asks, making me trip and fall on my face again. "Wow... either that good or that bad." I get up and walk off, with her giggling behind me as my face begins to numb from my blushing... or from tripping. I mumble my answer to her, making her lean in closer. "Sorry, couldn't hear that." I repeat my answer, mumbling a little louder. "One more time." "I said he has soft lips!" I say as I run off. When I stop running she teleports next to me and walks along side with me. "I didn't know you could blush enough to show through your black coat." She says, making me trip and fall on my face... again. "You're enjoying this too much." I mumble from the ground. "Only because you're such a pain in the flank, now come on, we have to get moving." She says as she walks past me. I get up and walk after her, trying to think of something to stop me from blushing. "What’s that?" I ask as we walk up to a wall with an open slash in it. Behind the wall is as open area with what looks like a small building in it. "Go around and check the back for another entrance, this could be a secret meeting place." Celestia whispers to me as she sneaks to the door. I run to the back and find another open doorway. I bring up my blades as I walk in, only to find the room empty. "Well... that was anticlimactic." I say as I look around. "I can't but feel as if this place is familiar... like I've been here before." Celestia says as she levitates her tiara off and feeds some energy into it, making the picture appear. She looks at it, then the room, then back to the picture. "Oh my god... this is it. This is the room. This tunnel doesn't lead to some secret enemy facility.... it leads to Topaz Falls." "What? No... that's impossible. Why would Miles go home when he was chasing after the griffin?" I say as I look between the picture and the room. It's a match alright, even the table matches... except for it being broken. "Maybe they're using Topaz as their base, or just this tunnel..." "Or maybe he went home." "No! He wouldn't just up and leave... there has to be a reason he came here other than him wanting to go home... there has to be." "Luna... he may have left-" "Don't say that! I know him, he wouldn't just leave without a reason." I say before I turn around and march out of the door. I walk around looking for the next tunnel, but only find a small hole in the ground. I look down it and send a flare down... it’s just as deep as the other. "Luna." Celestia says as she walks up beside me. "Maybe we shouldn't-" "He came down here for a reason, and I'm going to find out why." "And if he came down to go home? Then what?" "Then... then I give him a piece of my mind and go home." I say as I widen the hole with my magic and jump down. When I land at the bottom I start to run down the narrow path. I don't know what I'm going to do if he left... but I know he didn't just leave... he couldn't, he said he loved me. I come to a stop when I find a large metallic wall ahead of me. "Is... is that Topaz Falls?" Celestia asks as she stops beside me. "Only one way to find out." I say as I approach the door. Suddenly two red lights start to wave back and forth, going from my hooves to the top of my horn. Unknown Identification, please identify says a strange voice. I think about it for a second before an idea comes to mind. "Guest of Miles Eremita... uh... identification... what did he say... A02017464?" Miles Eremita... Identification cleared, welcome, guest of Lieutenant Miles Eremita says the wall as it starts to raise. KRA-BOOM As the door lifts it reveals a massive explosion that send Miles and a massive metal... thing flying back. "MILES!" I yell as we run in after him. Emergency protocol, emergency gate lock down activated says the voice as the door shuts, sealing me and Celestia inside. I run up to Miles and look him over. He has several deep cuts all over him, plus a chunk of metal sticking out of his stomach. "Can you heal him?" Celestia asks. "I don't know... I'll try." I say as I pull out the piece of metal and start to heal him. I somehow manage to close all of his wounds, the one on his stomach taking almost an hour, but he's lost a lot of blood. I try to shake him awake, but he's out cold. "Luna... does he have a heart beat?" I lay my head on his chest and listen for a beat. ...... Come on.... ...... Please Miles... ...... Thump.... thump.....thump.... Chapter 70 Luna's LoveChapter 70 Luna's Love "He's got a heartbeat! Unconscious, but alive!" I yell as I look up to Celestia. "Great... I think now would be a good time to teleport out of here then." She says as she looks out to the city. From the alleys and buildings emerge dozens of metallic humans, some having strange arms while most seem to be missing appendages. Some run towards us while others crawl. In the distance, I see two large headless metallic humans stand up and start to walk towards us, destroying building as they go. "Right... teleport, got it." I say as I charge my horn and teleport us out of the city. I blink a couple times as I face a metal wall. I look behind me to see the metallic men still running towards us, getting closer and closer. "I thought you were going to teleport us out!" Celestia yells as she raises a shield around us, stopping the metal men from reaching us. "I did!" I yell back as I try to teleport myself out, only to find myself in the same spot as before. "Somethings not right here, I can't teleport out of the city!" I yell as I turn around and face the crowd of metal men as they crash against the shield and start pounding at it, some raising their arms and shooting little pellets at us. I look over to Celestia to see her start to sweat as she holds the shield up. "Well... If we can't leave... then let’s head further in." I say as I scan around for somewhere safer. I see a tall building down some ways and focus on it for a second before I teleport us over to it. I set us a little and fall to the roof, only to have it break under us and fall to the next floor. I shake my head and look around for the others. Miles is underneath me... probably why the fall didn't hurt that much, and Celestia fell onto a table. "Are you alright?" I ask as I stand up. "Next time... let me teleport us." She says as she rolls of the table and stands up. I look around the room and try to get my bearings. It seems to have been an office of some kind, or a private study? There are four book shelves, two to my left and two to my right behind Celestia. The desk Celestia landed on has a metal thing with a black glass wall on it. In front of me is a large window while the wall behind me has a bunch of pictures of children. "Where are we?" I ask as I walk around and look at the photos. Some of them have captions, most being something like 'Group 1012' or 'Best wishes'. But there's one that catches my attention. 'The prodigy'. It’s a photo of a little boy walking towards a strange carriage. He has long black matted hair and seems malnourished. "What does it say?" Celestia asks as she walks up beside me and look at the photo with me. "It says the prodigy... I think this was an orphanage." "That would explain all of the pictures of children-" KRA-BOOM Celestia and I drop to the ground as a deafening explosion erupts on part of the building. I look out the window to see the two giant metallic men pointing their arms at us, one smoking lightly. "Time to go!" I yell to Celestia as she starts to charge her horn. We suddenly teleport out of the room and appear on the roof of a small building. We teleport again, getting further away from the metal men. "This should be good... for now." Celestia says as she looks around, when we hear a crumbling sound. We look to each other for a second before the ground gives out beneath us. We both flap our wings and avoid falling to the ground... "Did you grab Miles?" I ask her, getting her to shake her head. "Shoot." I drop down inside the building and look around the room a bit and try to find him. I'm standing in a room that only has a couch facing a window that looks out to the city. There's two doors to my right and what I think is a kitchen to my left... It looks like a kitchen, but the utilities look different. On the other side of the room there's a door that I assume leaves the room. A small pile of rubble sits behind the couch, with half of Miles sticking out of it. I levitate him out of the ruble and place him on the couch, I think this place was somepony's home... "Greeting, guest of Miles Eremita..." "AH!" I yell as I jump away from the metal bot from my side. It's a light silver with bright yellow lights for eye's. It lacks any other major features, such as a nose or mouth and has thick plates of metal on its chest and arms. It has a small crest on the top right of its chest of a golden X. "I am terribly sorry for the sudden intrusion. Please let me introduce myself. I am E861Z9, designation Easy, at your service." It says in a scratchy, fuzzy, non-emotional voice. It reminds me of one of the butlers from the castle, just more... unpony like. "Uh... I am... Luna-" "Greeting Luna, guest of Mr. Eremita. And who is your friend?" Easy says as it looks up to Celestia. "That's my sister Celestia, hey Tia, come down here and meet Easy." I yell out to her, getting her to jump down and walk up to us. "Greetings Celestia, guest of Miles Eremita, sister of Luna, designation Tia." "Uh... hello there... you aren't going to attack us, are you?" "Of course not. I’m strictly an assisted living utility bot, assigned to miss Sordida Dives, designation Didi." "Assisted living... so you're a medical... bot?" Celestia asks. "Of course. I can perform any and all medical procedures that don't require opening the body. I can also diagnose any and all ailments." "You can... could you check on Miles then?" I ask as I look back to him. I know he's lost a lot of blood, but I just want to make sure there's nothing else wrong with him. "But of course." It says as it walks over to him. Its eyes brighten as he looks down at him and looks from head to toe a couple of times before he looks back to us. "I'm afraid there's nothing medically wrong with him other than a few minor lacerations. It seems that there's a magical build up keeping him unconscious." A magical build up... oh my. "I think I know how to wake him up, could you leave the room for a second Tia." I ask with a slight blush. "What? Why?" "Well... last time he was like this... I had to... well..." "What did you do last time to wake him up?" I mumble my answer and look away from her, too embarrassed to look at her. "Uh... what?" "I kissed him..." "WHAT! No. Just let him stay unconscious then..." "We need him awake! We don't know what we're doing here!" "NO, you just want a kiss from him!" "I want to get out of here! And that's the-" "Luna! I said you could be friends... but this is.... no. No way am I allowing you to do that-" "Do you have a better idea for waking him up?" Her face contorts from different emotions as she tries to think of a better answer, but fails to make one. "Alright... but make it quick!" I walk over to him and look down to him, then back to Celestia. "Do you have to watch?" "YES, I'm going to make this as uncomfortable as possible! Now hurry up and let’s get this over with." I sigh and look back to him. Well... just swallow my embarrassment and do it quickly. I lean over and give him a quick light peck on the lips, getting him to sigh and shuffle a bit. "I'm sorry Miss Luna, but my scanners suggest to wake him you must hold that for at least twenty-six point eight seconds for him to wake up-" "WHAT! Forget it, we can just use Easy to help us get through the city." Celestia yells as she heads to the hole in the roof. "I am sorry, but I am the property of Miss Didi and cannot leave the premises." Celestia stops and lowers her head as she mumbles something to herself. "Do we really need to leave?" She asks as she looks back to me. "Sorry Tia-" "Twenty-six point eight seconds and not a second longer." She says as she walks up to me. Oh, great, she's not only going to watch, but she's going to stand right next to me as I do it. Well... better get it over with. I lean back over and hover over his face for a second as I take a deep breath. I close my eyes and reach forward, kissing him on the lips. I hold it for a second before I lose myself by his touch and kiss with a little more passion, getting a kiss back after a few seconds of bliss pass. I slowly pull my head back and look down at him as he slowly opens his eyes. "Luna?" He says weakly. "Hey Miles, how're you feeling?" I ask quietly. "Well... pretty good given.... WHAT THE FUCK! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!" He yells as he sits up and looks around, only to fall back and grab his head. "Ah.... my head." "You need to say down Miles, you lost a lot of blood. We need to get you some water, Easy, where can we get some water?" "Thirty-two point seven." "I'm sorry?" "You took thirty-two point seven seconds instead of the recommended twenty-six point eight." Why is it telling me this? I look over to Celestia and see her glaring daggers at me. I smile back and walk around towards what I assume is the kitchen, getting Celestia to chase after me. "Eight extra seconds-" "Yes, eight seconds, sorry I lost track of eight seconds." I snap back as I approach the sink. It looks like any other sink... only there are no knobs. I look all around and underneath but don't see a single way to turn the water on. "How do you work this?" "Maybe you use your magic." Celestia suggest as she uses her horn to influence the sink, but nothing happens. I reach out with my hoof until I reach underneath the sink and hear the sound of rusted metal grinding against metal. "I'm sorry miss Luna, but there is no water in this building. It seems that the utility bots in charge of it were nonoperational for some time and the water has run dry." "So there's no water?" "Not a single drop in all of Topaz Falls." Celestia and I look to one another before we both run over to Miles. "Miles, how do we get out of Topaz!" I ask as I run up beside him. "Uh... you just go to the door panel...and..." he says as he tries to sit up, but keeps falling back. "You need to stay down, you lost a lot of blood..." "Forget that, you two don't know how to.... access... the... panel..." he says as he starts to fade out. I reach out to him and shake him a bit, waking him up. "Huh... we might be fucked here. Easy, directive." "Assisted living with miss Sordida Dives." "Leadership over ride. Military access code Stella Kor twenty-three." "One moment please." Celestia and I look to each other as Easy stands there. "Uh, Miles, what are you doing?" I ask him as I take a seat on the floor next to him, getting odd looks from Celestia as she sits across from us. "I'm changing his programming so it'll listen to me and do what I say, hopefully this Sordida Dives didn't put any-" "Access denied, moving to high priority listings. May I have your autograph Mr. Eremita?" I look over to Miles and raise an eyebrow at him. "Yup, she was one of them-" "One of who?" I ask. "Well, a few years ago I went through my day as normally as possible, but I didn't know this paparazzi guy was following me around, taking pictures and videos." "And?" Celestia asks. "And... it went viral... fast." We look to each other than back to him and wait for him to explain further. "Well, imagine if everyone was able to see a picture at the same time, instantly." "I still don't see the problem." Celestia says as she looks away. "Yeah... mind you, humans are usually clothed-" "And?" "And... they followed me... for almost twenty-four hours... wake up... training... showering." Celestia and I look to one another again and wait for the shocking revelation to appear. "Oh come on, they all saw me naked!" "And?" Celestia asks. "And humans don't walk around naked! We like our private parts to be a secret!" He snaps before he lays back down, panting lightly. "May I have your autograph?" Easy asks again, making Miles groan. Through all of this the only thing that registers in my mind is Miles and Naked... why is that so appealing? Ponies don't wear clothes; why do I want to see Miles naked? "LUNA!" Celestia yells. "What?" She motions with her head for me to look behind me, so I look back to see my wings starting to become erect. I let out a small scream and run through a nearby door- FWOOSH The room is filled with pictures of Miles. Him showering, working out, wrestling, and other various activities that help show off his muscles... and other things. I try to back out of the room but I keep looking from picture to picture. There even a large cut out of him! I suddenly go blind as I feel Celestia levitate me away from the room. When I'm able to see again I'm on the roof with Celestia... looking angrier than ever. "Uh..." Is all I can manage as she taps a hoof and glares at me. "I-I think I'll wait up here... until I get control of myself..." "That would be best." She says before she teleports back down. As I wait for my wings to fall back down I hear them start arguing with one another, with Easy occasionally asking Miles for an autograph. I stand up and start to pace around, trying to keep my mind clear of Miles's soaking wet.... SHOOT! After what felt like an eternity I finally have control of my wings again, but I'm way to embarrassed to go back down right now, so I stay up here and look out at the city. Most of the buildings in the city have been destroyed one way or another. Some are nothing but rubble where others have holes blown into them. I can see the scorch marks from fires burned onto the walls and streets. But that's not what's getting to me. What's getting me are all of the bones just lying around. They're either in piles of what must have been some kind of slaughter or depictions of their last moments of life. An adult sitting against a scorched wall, an adult laying before a small child, how could anypony do such a thing... "Luna." I look over to see Celestia looking at me with a worried expression. She reaches out with her wing and wipes a tear away from my cheek, making me look away. "How could somepony do this?" I ask as she sits next to me and wraps her wing around me. I lean against her and continue to look out at the city. An adult trying to crawl out of a burnt sideways carriage, a child holding onto an adult that has its skull missing, a pile of what looks like adolescents, none were sparred. "Come. Let’s head inside." Celestia says as she stands up. I nod and wipe away the last of my tears before following her back down into the room. Miles has fallen asleep; I don't know if that's a good thing but there's nothing we can do about that right now. We should rest. I found a bed you can use over in the back, I'll keep watch." "No. You rest, I'll keep watch. There is much I wish to think about right now." She gives me a look before nodding and heading towards the back and enters a back room. I walk over to a window and look back out at the city. There's a massive structure in the center that's been destroyed. I can see into some of the rooms, most of the higher ones look like offices, but below them look like bedrooms. "The Parliament Congressional Hall." Miles rasps from behind me. "What was it?" I ask as I continue to stare at it. "It was a lot of things. Government center, the University is Stella Ficor, military headquarters." "University? Like a school?" "Yeah. I went there, I even lived there." "Really?" "Oh yeah, ever since I was eight. Some of the best years of my life. I'm actually amazed that it’s still transmitting its spell with half the building missing." "What do you mean?" I ask as I turn back to him. "The PCH used to be twice as tall as that, and it was a conductor of several spells. Some holding up the walls, others keeping the city unscryable, all still fully functional.... I've been meaning to ask, when did you get bigger?" I chuckle a bit as I walk over to him. "This is my pure form. All alicorns have two forms, the other form you saw was my innocent form... do you like my pure form?" "Of course, why wouldn't I?" "Well, most ponies fear my pure form-" "How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not a pony. You're just as beautiful as ever." I glance over at the room where Celestia went and try to sense where she's at.... she’s asleep. I lay before Miles and look into his eyes. "Miles... I don't want us to end.... I still want to be with you-" "Luna, you know we can't. I don't-" "I know you only have a year. Celestia let that slip by earlier. But I don't care. If I only get a year, I'll take it." "Luna... I can't. Look what happened-" "Do you love me?" "Luna-" "If you can say no while looking at me, I'll stop. I'll let you be and never ask to be with you again. But if you can't... if you can't say no I won’t stop fighting to be with you. Not until the day you die. So, what is it, do you love me?" He looks away for a bit before he looks back to me. I can see him seriously thinking about his answer... I don't think I've ever been so nervous before. "I... you realize I could call out to Celestia and avoid this all together, right?" "If you can, then do it. Do. You. Love. Me?" He looks at me intensely before he finally lets out a deep sigh. He starts to get up but falters a bit. He finally gets up and pulls himself off of the couch so he's laying before me. He puts his hand up to my face and puts it so it's behind and underneath my ear, gently rubbing as he stares into my eyes. "I'll always love you." He says before he leans forward and kisses me. I push back and return the kiss, oh god I missed this. His soft lips pressing hard against mine; the feel of his breath against mine; the way he moves his head from side to side, trying to get the best position possible.... I missed him. I feel him break the kiss and look down to see him lying completely on the ground before me. "What happened?" "I... fell." We share a small laugh but quickly stop, afraid of waking Celestia. I stand up and Levitate him back onto the couch. "*sigh* I feel like an old man... you wouldn't happen to have some water with you, would you?" "Sorry, we kind of just ran here, and Easy says all the water here dried up." "Makes sense, water was always a finite resource in Terradisia... where is Easy?" As if on cue, Easy walks in from the room with the photos and presents one to Miles. "May I have your autograph?" I laugh at him as he facehoo-er-palms. "For the last time no!" I walk behind the couch to look at the photo- FWOOSH Oh, my... I didn't see this one earlier. It's a moving picture of Miles's in the shower, rubbing himself down as he unknowingly faces the camera. "Luna-" "Eyeawajihuh." "Hey, you dropped something." He says as he pushes my mouth shut and takes the moving picture away from Easy, trying to hide it. "So, I take it you like-" "Ahwilikejuma..." "...right. Anyway, I think I'll destroy-" "NO!" I yell as I reach over and try to take it away from him, only to get him to try to keep it away. "NO, it’s my body, I'll decide when you see it naked!" "That's not fair! I'm always naked! Why don't I get to see!" "Oh sweet Barbra!" He says as he drops the picture, letting me get it. I hold it above my head in triumph.... only to have Easy take it away from me. "This is the property of miss Didi." Easy says as he takes it back to the room. I drop to my haunches and watch as Easy locks the door and walks over to a hole in the wall, getting weird black things to plug into its back. "Yeah yeah yeah, go back to your charging station." Miles says as he gets comfy on the couch. "Aw... I wanted that-" "Why? You have the real thing right here." "Yeah... but we'll still have to be a secret... a better one then last time. I wanted it as a keep sake." "Right... I'll find a better replacement when we get out of here." "Promise?" "Promise." I reach over and nuzzle his nose a bit. He gets a confused look on his face but smiles anyway... until his eyes grow black. "Miles, what's wrong with your eyes?" "Turn to the void." He says in a different voice as he throws his arm up and grabs my horn, making the world turn white. Chapter 71 Losing ControlChapter 71 Losing Control When I awake, I find myself back in Miles's conscious., but something has gone very wrong. The planes have turned black and is freezing cold to the touch. All the pictures of Miles's memories are flying around in a frenzy, shooting from one side of the room to the other and then back. I stand up and look around for Miles, but he doesn't seem to be anywhere. No Miles.... no Soul Fire, I'm- "HAHAHA... welcome, Hyacintho Unum." I turn around to find Miles emerging from the ground... but, that can't be Miles. He has his magic flaring at its peak, sending black flames high into the air. His usually smooth black lines are jagged and make sharp turns. when he gets completely out if the ground he starts walking towards me. "Wh-what are you doing-" "Taking what's mine." He says as he continues to approach me. I start backing away from him... I don't know what he wants, but I have a couple guesses. "Wh-where's Miles... what have you done to him-" "Miles is... away right now-" "Then who are you? What happened to Soul Fire?" "I am Corpus Glacies and Anima Ignis is gone... for the moment. It just you, and me." I feel something hit my back hoof, making me drop to my haunches, letting Corpus Glacies get right next to me. "Please.... don't...." I beg as he begins to reach out at me. His hand creeps closer and closer until it's only inches away. It suddenly stops and begins to shake and tremble as the fire in his hand dies out and becomes green. YOU WILL NOT HARM HER Miles...or Corpus Glacies, start to twist and contort as the flames start to die out and be replaced by the green ones. Once they all turn green he drops to the ground and seems to fall unconscious as Soul Fire starts to pull himself out of Miles's back. Once he's out, he floats over to me and lands before me, making the ground around us turn back to white. FORGIVE ME, I HAVE LOST CONTROL "What do you mean? What happened to this place?" WHEN CORPUS GLACIES CAME INTO BEING, HE DEFIED ME AND CHALLENGED ME FOR CONTROL. I WAS ABLE TO HOLD HIM OFF FOR A WHILE, BUT EVENTUALLY LOST. "Well, what does Corpus want?" HE TIRES OF MILES BEING WEAK. ALSO...HE GROWS TIRED OF WAITING. HE WISHES FOR US TO CONSUMMATE- "WHAT!" I yell as I jump back to my hooves. "He wants to what!?" I UNDERSTAND YOUR CONCERN, I WISH TO WAIT FOR THE PROPER TIME AND CIRCUMSTANCES, BUT CORPUS GLACIES REFUSES TO WAIT- "Then let me fight him! I can-" NO! IF YOU WERE EVEN TO TOUCH HIM YOU WOULD VANISH INTO NOTHINGNESS. YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO TOUCH HIM "Then do something! Fight back or get me out of here or-" "Yes Anima, do something." We both look back to see Miles getting back up, the black flames growing back. Soul Fire steps in front of me and creates a thin blade in his hand. Corpus Glacies closes his hands and crates two thin black blades. "Soul Fire..." The two of them launch at each, colliding into one another and creating a vortex of black and green energy. They both fly back and land several yards away, only to charge back at each other and create another vortex. I look around to see all the windows of his memories hold still and start to spin in place. The ground is becoming a mixture of black and white area's swirling around. I flap my wings and try to take the air, but I can't seem to fly here so I try to use my magic next, but I can't use that either. I sit down feeling completely useless as Soul Fire and Corpus Glacies continue to fight. They've dropped their swords and started firing green and black beams a one another, each of them dodging or blocking the attacks. They seem evenly matched, both unable to gain the upper hoof on one another. Hmm... I wonder... "Oh no! I... I can't take it anymore! The pain... THE PAIN!" I yell as I strike a dramatic pose and fall to the side, holding my eyes shut. After a minute of nothing happening I open my eyes to see them still fighting each other... well, shoot. I stand back up and watch them continue to try to blast each other away for what feels like an eternity. Soul Fire seems to be fond of using large beams of energy while Corpus tends to send short burst at close range. I finally get tired of waiting for one of them to win and decide to voice my opinion. "ENOUGH!" I yell, getting both of their attention. "First off, I'm not consummating with you, next, stop acting like little foals and-" KA-BOOM Before I could finish, Soul Fire took a shot at Corpus, causing a massive explosion that brings up a massive plume of smoke, blurring my vision. I try to wave the smoke away from myself until it starts to be sucked back to the point it came from. Once the smoke is gone all that is left is Miles, laying on the ground as the smoke is being sucked into his mouth. I walk up to him as the smoke finishes going into him and lay beside him. He looks as if he's asleep... and having a nightmare. I watch as his face contorts from emotion to emotion before I lean forward and kiss him, holding my lips against his. I keep my lips there until I feel him kiss back. "Miles?" I whisper as I pick my head up and look into his eyes. "Hey.... is this going to be our thing... cause I can get used to this." He says as he places his hand in his usual spot. "Heh... maybe... Miles, what’s wrong. How did Corpus Glacies take control? And why do they keep calling you weak?" He looks away from me and starts to think about what I said. I can tell something is wrong... I just hope he'll tell me. Before he answers all the windows into his memories fall back to the ground, creating the hallway of moving pictures depicting his past. "Miles..." "I don't know how to explain it... but... when I came to Ponyville I felt... at peace. There's something about Ponyville that... just... I've been holding back." "What do you mean you've been holding back?" I ask as he sits up. "Well... those Diamonds dogs... they should not have stood a chance. The dragons... I missed half those shots on purpose. I can't explain why, but... being there... I don't want to harm others... so I held back." "So... how exactly have you been holding back?" "Well... my weapons are duel enchanted; I've only been using one. I've been limiting my magic, doing everything with half the power I usually use. And in hand to hand I've... well, I just didn't do half the things I've could have done." "So... when we fought Chrysalis together-" "I could have lopped her head off four times. But instead I waited and only stabbed her... I then let you take the shot. It went against everything I was taught as a Spartan, but I can't help it. There's something... off about Ponyville that makes me not want to harm others-" "Miles, there's nothing wrong with you not wanting to harm others-" "Obviously not. Ever since I started holding back my powers have been out of control. With the black stuff, my soul taking its own form.... I don't know what to do..." before he finishes I lean forward and nuzzle his cheek, getting him to stop and look back to me. "Hey... don't worry about it. Whatever is the problem, we'll figure it out, together." He looks away for a moment before he looks back to me and smiles. We lean in and kiss, Miles putting a hand at the base of my neck and on the back of my head. I just melt as he takes control of the kisses, pushing his tongue into my mouth. I start to push back into his mouth when we suddenly both roll to the side, as if the floor has suddenly tilted over. "AH! What's going on!" I yell as the ground levels out, with us both sliding to a stop a few inches from a window. "I don't know!" Miles yells before the ground tilts the other direction, sending us rolling over, only this time we crash into a window, turning the world around us dark. I look around for a bit but can't see anything. "Are you there Miles?" "Right here." He says from beside me as he reaches out and grabs my back hoof, then feels his way up to the top of my body. "Miles... what are you doing?" "Trying to find your face." He says as the world brightens up. We're in a room that has two beds in the corner; one blue and one red, a shelf above it, two footlockers, and three doors, one being down a little hallway. Half of the room is pretty messy while the other half is clean. In the clean half is a human child with a shaved head starting to wake up in the bed. He looks like the child from the picture before... only clean and without hair. "This is my old dorm and that must be me.... I must be eight." Miles says as he stands up and looks around. I get up and look down at the waking child. He definitely looks like Miles, younger but similar. "Aw, you didn't tell me you were cute when you were little." I say as the child Miles gets out of bed and walks over to the right most door and opens it to reveal an assortment of similar clothes. "Why do all of your clothes match?" I ask as he gets dressed. "They're uniforms. Part of being in the military-" "You're in the military! But, you look too young to be a part of the military-" "Hey Dolum, wake up. Let’s get some breakfast." The child says as he walks over to the other bed and lifts the sheets, only to find the bed empty. "Huh... I guess him and Auxy went early or something." He says as he begins to walk out of the room and starts walking down a hall. "I think I know what memory this is... but I'm not sure of it yet." Miles says as we follow after the child Miles. "There isn't going to be another rape... is there?" "No... but I think there's going to be a fight." Miles says as we walk into a room filled with cushioned seats. We walk up to a wall that has a row of metal Mico platforms on it. He walks onto the center one and we all flash to what looks like a cafeteria. He walks around the room to where they're serving the food and starts to fill his plate up. I look around the room to see that it's filled with people of varying ages. Some look to be Miles's age while others look to be adults. I can see many of the people glancing at Miles, whispering things to the people around them. I look back and watch Miles grab a ladle and pour some orange goo onto his plate. "Ew... what is all of that?" The food... doesn't even look like food. It's just goop and pellets. No wonder he likes our food so much, this looks absolutely disgusting. "It's what we ate. It's better than it looks... kind of." I give him a puzzled look before I follow after the two of them. Why would they eat it if it's gross...? I don't get it. The child Miles takes a seat with a small group of children, one I recognize as Fidus, but the other two I don't know. "Good morning Miles, how was your first week?" The one next to Miles says timidly. "It was... boring. But at least I'm getting the hang of reading now...kind of." Miles replies before he starts to eat. "I still find it strange that they didn't teach you to read at the orphanage, what did they do with you there if they weren't teaching you basic skills like that?" Says the little boy across from Miles in a regal voice. I didn't know Miles was from an orphanage... "I already told you, they didn't do anything. The dean just stayed in his office and only talked to us if we were caught stealing..." "Yeah... you don't steal anymore...do you?" Asks the hefty boy across from Miles. "No... " Miles starts to say but stops when a little girl runs up to the group. "Have you guys seen Dolum? I haven't seen him since yesterday." The group looks around before getting up and running towards the platforms in the back. We flash away and appear in a long white hallway filled with grey doors that have slim windows and are numbered off. He starts to run off, checking each room before he runs to the next one. I glance inside one of the rooms to see an empty room with rows of small seats facing a white board. The seats closest to me are higher the one's in the front. "Where are we?" "This is the English and Latin department of the school. I think we'll find him in the next room. Miles says with a serious look on his face. I look back to the child Miles and see him run up to a door and freeze. He takes a few deep breaths before he swings the door open and runs in. "YOU FUCKING BASTARDS!" He yells before I hear some shuffling around. I walk into the room to find Miles sitting on top of another child punching at his face. In the corner of the room are two other kids the same age as the one Miles is fighting and one the same as Miles. The one Miles's age is being held up by the other two and looks like he's been beaten really badly. He also looks different than the others... in that his skin is much darker than everypony else's. The two of them drop him and run over to grab a hold of Miles, who kicks and tries to break free. The other boy gets up and wipes his face before facing Miles... on my. It's the same boy that raped Fidus. He gets up and walks over to Miles and punches him across the jaw. "Nigger lover." He says before he punches again. Miles takes the hit and spits blood at his face, making him recoil back before punching him in the gut. He gets to work punching and kicking Miles all over, making bruises and cuts all along his body. The scarred boy grabs his shoulder and knees Miles in the gut, getting the others to drop him to the ground. "I think you broke it." Says one of the other boys as he kicks Miles in the back. "What a pussy." Says the other as he kicks him in between the shoulders. "Of course the freak would try to help the nig-" "SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Miles yells as he shoots an arm at the scarred boy, flaring his magic and sending him flying back against a wall, knocking him out. He stands up and glares at the other two, flaring his remaining hand. "Leave." The two of them turn and run out the door, glancing back at Miles as they go. Once their gone he shakes his arms and runs over to Dolum. "Dolum? Dolum wake up!" He says as he shakes him. "Uuhh.... M-Miles...did... did they stop?" He asks weakly. Miles helps him to his feet and starts to escort him out of the room, holding Dolum up as they go. "Yeah, it stopped.... why were they doing that to you?" He asks. "Miles... I'm black." "And?" "People hate me because of that." "I don't get it. Why would that matter?" He asks only to get Dolum to shake his head. "Also... what's a-" "DON'T SAY THAT WORD!" Dolum yells, silencing Miles. "Sorry... it's a bad word... used to berate people like me." "Oh... sorry. Let’s just get you to the infirmary, I'm sure Auxy is worried sick right now." Miles says, getting Dolum to smile. He sets Dolum onto the platform and waits for him to flash away, then steps onto it himself. When he flashes away, we reappear in the hallway full of Miles's memories. "Miles... was Dolum frequently persecuted for his race?" "It was almost a daily thing until we became Spartans. Then people were to scared of him to do anything... Auxilium was also a target because she was betrothed to him... but she never got it that bad." "It seemed like you didn't know what racism was, how-" "In the orphanage we were all looked down upon. Most people never even bothered to look at us, so why would we bother to look at others? I didn't even know that him being black was a big deal until that incident." "I... I didn't know you were in an orphanage... what happened to your parent?" "My mother died giving birth during the exodus of Diamond Halls and my father was never found, so I went to one of the military's on site orphanages." "What happened to Diamond Halls?" "The same thing that happened to Topaz Falls." I walk up to him and rest my head against his chest, getting him to wrap his arms around me lightly. I know what it’s like to live without knowing your parents.... but I’ve always had Celestia. I can't imagine doing it alone. I lean against him a little more but end up stepping forward. I look back to see that he's faded away. I look around some more before I begin to fade away as well. Author's Note Shot out to Cheesus for picking the age of the memory. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed the chapter, and like always, Brony on! Chapter 72 Escape From Topaz FallsChapter 72 Escape From Topaz Falls Perspective: Miles I open my eyes slowly, finding myself in a new location. I think it's an office, due to all the desks and computers... could be a gaming cafe. I look around myself to see Luna and I laying on an old mattress, she's back to her blue self and I'm still grabbing her horn. I let go and start to get up, feeling like shit but still managing to get on my feet. As Luna starts to wake up I look around for Celestia, she has to be the one who brought us here. "Miles... where are we?" Luna asks as she starts to get up. "Not sure, some kind of office or internet cafe." I walk towards the front door only to have it open before I get there. Celestia walks in and looks at us for a second before she continues walking in. She's carrying several guns with her. Easy walks in after her and follows her, staying close to her side. "How long were we out?" I ask as she walks past me and sets the guns down. "About twelve hours. I tried to stay back at the house, but one of the bots blew it up...oh and Easy finally accepted your command, but he's still-" "May I have your autograph?" Easy asks Luna. I walk over to the assortment of guns and start going through them. A couple E.A.R.s, an Smg, an Lmg.... and a fucking Aquila chain gun! "Where did you get this?" I ask as I sit next to it and start to look it over. It's in pretty good condition, the motor needs a little work and the gems need refilling but other than that...damn. "Easy and I have been scavenging for weapons we could use. We found these at what looked like a carriage with no wheels." I start to work on getting the motor out, using my magic to unscrew everything. "What happened to you two?" "We were stuck in Mile's mind." Luna says as she walks over to her side. "It would seem Miles has... well... I'm not sure of how to put it..." "I do." I say as I finally get the motor out and start fixing it. "It's just a theory, but I believe that Soul Fire is the manifestation of my soul, while Corpus is the manifestation of my magic. Each have grown to a such a point of power that they've become living entities. It's just a theory, but it's the best explanation I can make right now." "That's just absurd." Celestia says as she lays down and looks over one of the E.A.R.'s. "I don't think so." Luna says as she lays next to her and grabs the other E.A.R. "I mean... look at me and Nightmare Moon." Celestia gives her a look before she looks back to the gun. "What do we need to do to get these to work?" Celestia asks as she sets it in front of me. I set the chain gun down and look over the rifle. "Just clear the barrel of debris then refill the gems." I say as I set it back in front of her and go back to the chain gun. I've got the motor fixed, kind of, I just need to reassemble it and fill the gems. When I finish loading the gun I set it aside and get to work on the SMG. "So... how do we get out of here?" Luna asks as she sets down the rifle. "Well, the plan is pretty simple. We make a run for the closest bulk head and leave." "That sounds a little too simple." Luna says as she stands back up and walks over to the window, looking out at the city. "Well, there will probably be a lot of running, bullets, explosions... not to mention you won't be using your magic that much-" "Why can't we use our magic?" Celestia asks. "Because when we get to a bulk head I need you two to cover me as I try to open it. I need you two to be able to stand up against howitzers and small arms fire. Hopefully I won't need to pull the panel off and rework the wiring, but if I must, I need you two to cover me." I say as I pick up an E.A.R. and walk over next to Luna. "You alright?" "Hmm... oh yeah... just... thinking." I kneel next to her and start to show her how to work the gun. "This is your safety, red means it’s ready to fire. Pull the trigger to fire it, and this knob makes it go from single to automatic fire." She nods to me and takes the gun with her magic. I get up and walk back to Celestia. She's looking down at the weapons, but I can tell something is bothering her. "Hey." "Hey." "You alright?" "Yeah... I'm fine, let’s just get out of here already." She says as she levitates the chain gun up and starts to walk out of the room. "Celestia." I say, getting her to stop and look back to me. I walk over to her and kneel next to the gun. "First trigger spins the barrel, the next one fires it. It only has one fire mode, so be sure to be ready to handle the recoil." She nods to me and walks over to Luna, whispering something to her. "May I have your autograph?" Easy says as it walks over to me. "Easy, new directives, follow my command." I tell the machine as I watch the two of them speak quietly. "Processing... order accepted, awaiting command." "Follow and protect against frenzied machines, priority high. " "Follow and protect, understood, may I have your autograph?" I shake my head and pick up the SMG and hand it to Easy. He takes it and takes a readied stance with it. I pick up the remaining E.A.R. and walk over to Celestia and Luna. “... problem. Let's just get out of here and get home." Luna says to Celestia. "Alright, almost ready, just one last thing to do." I say as I flare my magic in one hand and put it over one of Celestia's ears. "What are you doing?" "Setting a sound barrier for when we open fire. Now hold still." I say as I finish one ear and work on the next one. When I finish, I walk over to Luna and start on her ears. I poke at her ears playfully, getting her to smile back at me. When I finished with her ears I go to the door and place my hand on it. I look back to the two of them before I open it up and take the lead out of the building. I swing my rifle from side to side, checking for any frenzied bots. Once cleared I motion to the others and walk out to the center of the street. I look around until I see the PCH. Given the stores around us and the streets we're on, I'm guessing we're in the northern part of Topaz. Celestia, Luna and Easy walk up beside me and form a small circle, all of us pointing outwards. "Which way?" Luna asks. "North." I say as I start to walk down the street, checking every building for any potential enemies. We make it down about a block before a security bot jumps out of a building and starts firing at us. I drop to the ground and return fire with the rest of the group. I can see Luna's rounds flying around the bot as Celestia strafes below and around the bot. Easy and I open fire, sending round after round into it, dropping it to the ground with a frenzy of sparks and smoke. I stand back up and look back to Celestia and Luna, both of which are looking away from me with slight blushes. "Alright, quick lesson in how to fire a gun." I say as I approach Luna. I pull on the rifle she's levitating and show her the iron sights. "This is to help you aim, line up the front with the bottom and then fire. Give it a try." I say as I motion to the downed bot. She glances at me before she lines up the rifle and fires, hitting the wall behind it. "Shoot." "That's alright, try again, just a little lower." She lifts the rifle up and takes aim again. She pulls the trigger and sends a round just to the right of the bot. She sighs and fires again, hitting the ground to the left. "Easy there, don't use your emotions to fire, just relax, squeeze the trigger, and hold the rifle steady." She takes a few breaths before taking aim again. She holds the rifle there for a few moments before she sends a round down, hitting the bot in the chest. "I did it!" "Good job, your turn Celestia, but yours is a little different." I say as I walk over to her and grab onto one of the barrels. "Start off at waist height and pull into you target. Eye where you think the rounds will go and lead into it." As I say this I pull on the barrel, pulling on it to show her what I mean. She nods to me and takes a step forward, spinning the barrels before she opens fire. A stream of red beams fly out and hit the wall behind, sending dust and debris back as she pulls the gun down, sending the beams down until they begin to pepper the bot. The bot begins to roll away as round after round hits it, until Celestia lets go of both triggers. "Good, very good." I say as she lifts the smoking barrels and blows on it. "Yeah, don't hold the trigger for too long, these things tend to heat up." She gives me a cocky smile and nods to me. I think I found a big gun’s enthusiast. "Come on, let’s get moving. I'm sure half the city knows where we are now." I say as I continue walking down the street. I look around for any more signs of the bots, but everything over here seems to be quiet. The buildings here don't seem as destroyed as the rest of the city. All of the tall apartment complexes are still intact, filled with bullet holes but still standing. "So... Miles. What was this part of Topaz Falls?" Celestia asks as we walk down the path. "It was mostly residential. There were a few businesses here, but nothing major." "Why did people have such large homes?" Luna asks as she looks up at one of the buildings. "They didn't. These apartments housed some... hundred thousand people, give or take on the number of people in the individual rooms." They look back up in amazement as we walk down the street. I look ahead to see a utility bot staggering towards us. It has massive holes in its legs and is missing both of its arms. The metal plates on its chest have been torn open, revealing its inner mechanisms. I raise my rifle at it and send a round into its chest, knocking it to the ground. I lower my rifle and look around... this is- KA-BOOM A shell flies over head and hits a building ahead of us, causing a massive explosion. I turn around to see a high-grade military bot aiming its massive cannon down at us, readying it next round. "RUN!" I yell as I open fire on the bot, aiming for its arms. Celestia and Luna ignore me and open fire with me, sending rounds all over the bot, most hitting its armor and doing nothing. "DAMMIT I SAID RUN!" "NO!" Luna yells at me from my left as she fires at the bot. "We're doing this together!" She yells over the gun fire. "Just tell us where to shoot!" Celestia yells from my right as she sends a stream of red beams up at the bot. I take my left hand and flare my magic as I push forward, sending a beam of soul fire at the bot. The beam hits to the right of the left arm and causes a large explosion, making the bot stagger back but stays standing. "FINE! Just aim for the red optic lens in the center, I'll deal with the rest of it." I yells back as I fire at the next arm, this one being a quad automatic twenty-millimeter cannon. Badom badom badom badom badom It opens fire at us, causing the ground to erupt as it strafes its fire at us. Luckily Luna raised a shield over us, blocking the bullets. I motion for them to follow me as I run towards to the building to our left. Once we make it Luna drops the shield and looks over to me. "Why are we taking cover?" She asks. "You'll see." I say as I lean my rifle against the wall and ready my magic. They both look to me in slight confusion but don't say anything. As silence fills the city I motion for them to creep our way down the path. They nod and start to walk down, Celestia taking lead, followed by me, Luna, then Easy. When we make it to the end of the street we all stagger as the ground shakes. I look back to see the bot standing up and aiming its good guns at us. "GET TO COVER!" I yell as I run into the street, shooting beam after beam at the bot as it fires back at me. I hit its chest, upper hip area, and the center of its guns, causing explosions that tears off its armor. I take a hit in my shoulder that makes me twist and roll onto the ground. As I hit the ground I use my good arm to slam into my chest, healing me up as the bot staggers back. I push myself back up as I finish healing and look up at the bot as it squares off and faces me, charging up its center beam. I look down to my hands and focus on the energy, trying to find how to use the dark substance. I close my hands and create two black orbs that seem to have black wisps falling from them. Holding the energy there I feel the lines on my arms grow to my shoulders... but instead of being warm they feel cold... almost like ice. As the bot fires its red beam at me I punch forward and send a black beam at its beam. Instead of the two beams fighting over power or exploding, my beam shoots straight through the blast, cutting clean through the bot and making the edges fade away. I let go of the beam and let my arm drop. It feels numb from using the unknown magic. The bot stands there for a second before it starts to fall. With a thunderous slam, it falls back, crushing anything beneath it. "What was that?" Celestia asks as the three of them walk up to me. Luna levitates me my rifle, but has a worried look on her face. "I'm not sure yet... let’s keep going." I say as I take my rifle and walk down the street towards the wall of the dome. We continue walking down the street in silence until the bulkhead comes into view a few blocks away. "There's the door, let’s hurry-" KA-BOOM An explosion rocks us from behind, making me fall forwards from the hit. I push myself up and turn around to see a massive crowd of utility and security bots running towards us. We all raise our weapons and open fire, causing all the bots we hit to either to stagger or fall and be trampled. The security bots start to open fire on us, but we all raise individual shields and return fire. Easy gets to Celestia's side and returns fire, using her shield as cover as it fires down at the frenzied bots. "We need to get to the door!" I yell as I start to back pedal, getting nods from the other two as they start to walk backwards. The bots are coming at us at a tremendous speed, gaining on us at an alarming rate. When they're meters away they all run to the side and jump into the buildings, breaking window and doors as they jump to cover. "MOVE!" I yell as I drop my shield and run for the bulkhead. Celestia and Luna quickly run past me as the bots open fire from the windows. I stop and raise both my arms, bringing up a force field that domes over the three of us, the second my shield went up all the bots ceased firing at us and disappeared into the buildings. "What now?" Celestia asks as they all walk back over to me. "They can read my shield level and know they can't break it on their own, so they're waiting for reinforcements. We need to get moving now, it won't be long before they get that last high grade military bot here." I say as I start to jog towards the bulk head. When we reach it I pull the lever up and wait for the door the open. I'm sorry, maintenance is needed. Please try again later. "Fuck!" "Alright, drop your shield and get to work on fixing it." Celestia says as she raises her shield. I drop mine and begin to remove the lever from the wall. "Uh...Miles... what’s that?" As I pull the lever from the wall I look back and drop it. Hovering about a kilometer out is an Aquila. Its roughly diamond shaped, having the front come to a flat front and the sides point out. It's all black with two red optics lenses in the front and jets of blue fire coming out the bottom and back. Most of the surface is smooth, but I can see dents and scratches from the battle all over its body. It has twin fifty cal's sticking out the front and its trade mark chain gun mounted underneath. I watch as four holes open on its sides, getting ready to fire its missiles. "That...would be an Aquila... how strong are your shields?" Before they could answer it fires two missiles at us, causing a massive explosion that shatters Celestia's shield. I quickly bring my shield up to stop the fire from reaching us as Celestia falls to the ground. "CELESTIA!" Luna runs to her side and checks on her as a torrent of small arms fire opens on us from all sides. I look around to see security bots in the buildings all around us. "She's alright! Just passed out.... let’s trade so you can open the door!" Luna yells over the gun fire as she raises her shield up. "Maybe I should keep the shield up-" "MILES! DOOR! NOW!" I drop my shield and run over to the panel, quickly checking it for malfunctions. "I'm going to need five minutes on this!" I yell as I look back to Luna. When I look back the Aquila had opened fire with all three of its guns, sending the massive bullets into Luna's shield. She winces from the sudden increase of force but keeps her shield up. I turn back to the panel and get to work on reworking the wires. "EASY! GET OVER HERE!" I yell getting it to run over. "How may I be of assistance?" He asks as he walks up. "Start a system reboot for this door." I tell him as I fiddle with some wires. "Processing.... processing.... command accepted." He says as he takes my place and gets to work fixing the wiring. I turn around and start to run towards Luna's shield. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Luna yells at me as I run past her. I flare my hands and push out to the side, making a hole in the ground appear. I jump down it and start to make a tunnel as I run forward. When I get far enough forward I push up and launch myself out to the ground, appearing in the center of the street. I immediately bring up a small shield with my left hand and start to fire at different locations with my right. Third floor window, floor level window, roof, all receiving a blast of soul fire that causes explosions. As I fire, I spin around from building to building while keeping my shield held behind me, covering my back. I keep this up until I hear something big running towards us. I look down the street to see a high-grade military bot running towards us. It has its left arm missing and what looks like an energy buzz saw for its right. I fire at it, only to get it to jump clear over my beam and land directly over me, causing a mini terraquake that makes me fall to the ground. I raise my shield in time to catch the massive buzz saw, stopping it from tearing me to pieces. The saws cutting away at my shield, forcing the lines on me to grow faster and faster, already growing onto my chest and burning my shirt off, not to mention all of the small arms fire seems to have moved to me. The saw suddenly breaks through part of my shield, spinning mere centimeters away from my face. I close my eyes and put all of my energy into the shield, trying my best to keep it from falling apart. I see a white flash from behind my eye lids and feel the pressure from the saw end. I open my eyes and find myself in a small grey elevator, with Luna lying next to me. I look over to see Celestia laying against the wall, with the guns before her. "Where are we?" I ask as I try to look around. "Easy opened the door, so I teleported us inside... he then hit the button and ran back into the city." I try to sit up, only to get Luna to hold me down with a hoof. She leans forward and gives me a quick kiss before she lays on her side, putting her back against my side. I lay there and enjoy her comfort, wrapping my arm underneath her as I reach for her hoof and grab hold of it. Author's Note Shout out to TheTownCrier for picking Celestia's gun. Thanks for reading, and like always, Brony On! Chapter 73 Return to PonyvilleChapter 73 Return to Ponyville Luna and I just lay there for a while, both panting lightly from the stress of the attack. I can feel her chest rise and drop as she gently plants kisses on the back of my hand, sending chills up my arm. I take a deep breath before I start to try to pull my hand back, only to get her to hold onto it tighter. "Heh, I need that." "Too bad, it's mine." She says as she nuzzles my hand. I look over and decide to let her keep it awhile longer, enjoying the feeling of her soft nose against my hand. I reach over with my other hand and start to gently rub her wing, getting her to take a deep sigh and look back to me. We stare into each other’s eyes until we hear Celestia shuffle around. We quickly get up and move away from each other, putting as much distance between us as possible. "Uhg... wh... where are we?" Celestia asks as she wakes up and looks around. "Hey Tia, we're on our way back to the surface. How do you feel?" Luna asks as she walks over to her and helps her to her hooves. "Like I've got a mind splitting head ache... what happened?" "You blocked a missile that was too much for you to handle and passed out. We're in an elevator that goes to... well. I actually don't know where this goes." I say as I walk over the pile of guns and pull out the Lmg. It's an M549 saw. It's a fairly short machine gun, with the basic form of my assault rifle, just stockier. This is an FMJ model, but it has a hole blown though it, making it inoperable. I drop the ammunition box and SCORE! It's full! I've just scored two hundred rounds for my rifle back home. I take out the ammo strip and throw it over my shoulder. "Miles... how... what were those things?" Celestia asks. "You mean the bots?" I ask, getting her to nod. "They were machines, made to make life simpler for us." "If they were made to make life easier, then why make them for war?" "We wanted the best defense possible. That meant using every resource possible. So, we made all bots have a defense program installed in them. When order twenty-three went out, it was supposed to reprogram them to join the fight." Celestia and Luna both lay down as they both think about this, with Luna leaning against Celestia. I walk to the wall and sit against it, I have no clue how far it goes up, but hopefully we can get some decent rest before we get out. "Do you think your other friends were able to escape Topaz?" Luna asks. "*sigh* I don't know. I would like to think so though." "If they left... as well as others, why would they leave so much behind?" "You tell a city of people that they only have a few minutes to pick up their lives and drag it to another city. Evacuations were never practiced because we never believed we would be found... but after Diamond Halls that started to change. Order twenty-three was made after we lost Diamond Halls to help with the possibility of losing a city. If Topaz was lost, people would evacuate to Quartz Crest... but there wasn't much else to the plan." "Why wouldn't they bring the machines with them then?" Celestia asks. "I imagine they brought as many of them as they could, but the first things the Unfamiliar went after was the power supply. Once the machines ran out of juice, they were left behind. They only came back now because I turned the power on." The room falls quiet as we sit there, the only sound being made is the screeching of the rusted metal from the elevator. "You said Topaz had seventeen million residents, right?" Celestia ask, to which I nod. "Where did they all go? It was a big city... but I can't see seventeen million people living there." "That's because we didn't see all of it. Every building you saw goes down ten stories, all of which is connected." Before she could ask anything else the elevator shakes and screeches to a stop. We all stand up and face the door, watching it slowly slide open. When the door opens enough for us to go through, we walk through. Luna levitated me her E.A.R. while bringing the broken Lmg. I walk out and look around the dark cavern for any threats. The cavern is large. Being around a kilometer wide and goes out for about two kilometers before it comes to a straight end. I motion for the two of them to follow me and walk out to the center of the cavern, Celestia and Luna both providing light. There's nothing really to see here so I set my rifle down and flare my magic. I start sending us up through the ground, though I have no idea how far up we need to go. I go for what feels like forever until I come to a stop, due to a tree being in the way. Celestia uses her magic to lift the tree out of the ground and creates a small opening that I lift the ground up to. I pick up my rifle and look around. It’s daytime, close to night time. We're in a forest... but it seems different from the Everfree. It doesn't seem as dark, giving off a more... peaceful feeling. I look over to see Celestia replant the tree before looking back to me. "Where are we?" I ask. "This is still part of the Everfree... but something's off about the area," she says as she looks around a bit. "This must be the most peaceful part of the Everfree." Luna says as she walks around a bit. "Well... that's fun and all, but we should head out. We need to get back to Ponyville-" "Give us a minute to set the sun, it’s been out for a day now... that can't be good." Celestia says as she flies into the air. Luna shoots me a smile before she flies after her. I look around some more, inspecting the tree's some more before the world turns dark. I look up at the sky from the clearing we made by moving the tree. The sky is slowly turning from light blue to dark blue, eventually turning black. As the sky dimmed the stars started to shine through, each one coming out one by one until there were too many to count. "Ahem." I look down to see Celestia and Luna both staring at me, Celestia looking slightly annoyed while Luna has a big smile on her face. "Right... anyway, let’s get going... which way do we go?" Celestia shakes her head as she charges her horn and teleports us to the back of my home. "Oh... yeah... magic." I say as I walk into my now empty home. I walk to the front room where I find all of the girls, each of them looking saddened as they share a group hug. Twilight and Applejack are in the center of the group, both holding each other as they cry lightly into each other. "What happened-" "MILES! PRINCESS! Where have you all been!" Twilight says as she they all look up at us in surprise. "Miles found his way home and needed assistance getting back. What’s the condition of Ponyville?" Celestia says as she walks over to Twilight so they can share a quick hug. "Well... Princess... they told us that they killed you and Luna. Saying that was the reason the sun was still out.... so Ponyville surrendered-" "WHAT!" Celestia and Luna both yell. "Where are Storm and Big Mac?" I ask, making Twilight and Applejack slump back. "Let me guess, they surrendered so they would leave all of you alone." "How did you-" "Spartans never give up without something worth protecting." I say as I head out the front door and look out at Ponyville. The town seems to be alright, no fires, no screams... "Miles, you can't go to Ponyville." I look back to see Twilight standing behind me. "And why's that?" I ask as I look back out. There was a fight recently around the front of my home. I can tell because of the blood stains... but where are the bodies? "They told us that if anypony tried to enter the town... they would start killing prisoners... starting with Storm and Big Mac." "How long have they've been captured?" "About an hour-" "Good. I'm heading over-" "You can't!" She yells as she grabs me with her magic. "If you go they'll be killed!" "Teleport us to the roof." "What?" "Teleport us to the roof." She looks at me in confusion but looks away in shame. "I can't." "Why not?" "They put this black substance on my horn that's blocking my magic... I can't do anything." "That's a lie-" "How is that a lie? I can't do anything without my magic! What could I possibly do-" "You could be strong." I say as I look back to her. She looks away from me so I walk over to her and pull her chin so she's looking at me. "Magic is a skill you have, but it's not what defines you. You are stronger then you think, and I need you to use that strength right now to help me get through this. I have a plan, but we need everyone at their best for it to work. What do you say?" She looks down for a bit before she looks back to me with a more confident smile. "You can count on me." "Atta girl. Now go inside and let everyone know we're going out to do a little recon." She nods to me and runs inside... okay, now I need a plan. I look back out to the town and try to make out whatever I can... but from this distance in the dark, it proves to be pointless. "Okay, let's get going." Twilight says as she trots up to my side. "Alright... see that tree over there, we're going to make a run for it. Keep low, and try to be as quiet as possible, ready?" "Ready." We run off for the tree, keeping as low as possible as we run through the cool night air. When we made it to the tree I slide down against it, Twilight lying beside me. "OK, what now?" "I'll climb the tree and try to look into Ponyville, you watch the area around us. If you see anyone coming near us, give the tree a few taps and stay low." I lay my rifle against the tree and pull myself up the lowest branch. I motion for Twilight too pass me my rifle and continue the rest of the way up with it. When I get as high as I could go I peer out through the leaves towards Ponyville. I can see a few ponies being lead back and forth by Diamond Dogs. It seems that they're collecting metal in the middle of town. The few unicorns I do see have the black sludge on their horns, and all of the pegasus have their wings chained up. I look around some more until I see Storm Cloud and Big Mac. They're in the town square, chained up with they're fore hooves being held above their head. Storms still in his armor, but there's a dog in front of him, playing with his sword... TAP...TAP...TAP... I look down to see Twilight hiding behind the tree. I look to the opposite direction of her hiding to see three dogs walking towards us. "Twilight-" I whisper to her. "Shh Miles! They're getting closer!" Twilight says in a hushed tone. "Run to my place and get the others. Head straight for town square and rescue Storm and Mac, I'll provide cover." I say as I take aim at the dogs. "Miles don't-" PEW PEW PEW I send three rounds at them, dropping them instantly. I turn my attention back to town square and aim for the guard playing with Storm's sword. He's looking around in confusion, sniffing the air. I calculate where the round will go, set the rifle to single fire and pull the trigger, sending a red bolt down and hitting him square in the head. I keep my focus on the area around Storm and Mac, killing any dogs that enter the area with precise shots. Storm and Mac look around in confusion, but by the third dog they get smug smiles and look out to me. Another dog comes up behind them, only to get a round in his throat. He isn't dead on the ground, so I try to end his misery, only to hear the rifle click. I pull open the gem slide and start to refill the gems as quickly as possible. Once they're filled I look back to Storm and Mac, seeing three dogs interrogating the two of them. I aim and set my order, going left to right I pull the trigger and send three bolts down, hitting them each in the back. They fall to the ground and start to wiggle around, yelling out in pain. One of them tries to get up, but I send a round into the back of his neck, killing him. "Miles!" I hear Luna call out. "Up here." I say as I focus on the dogs. I can see a few of them peering out from cover, but being too scared to do anything. "Can you give the girls cover so they can get to Storm Cloud and Big Macintosh?" "I've got the alley covered, go ahead and send them down... what about the rest of you?" "We're going to the mass of metal and securing that and any prisoners we come across. Once we have that we'll make our presence known and take back Ponyville." "Alright... stay safe." "You to." I watch the road as Twilight and Applejack run towards town square. A few dogs come out ahead of them, but quickly get red bolts in their face and skull. They run past them and continue down into the square. I send two more shots at the downed dogs, just to be safe. They talk for a few seconds before they start searching the bodies, eventually finding keys and unlocking Storm and Big Mac. They hug for a moment before they each pick up swords, Storm getting his and Big Mac scavenging some random one. Twilight motions for me to come down to them, so I jump out of the tree and start jogging into town. I look from house to house, seeing ponies looking out from their windows. Most that see me smile and cheer me on, while others run inside. "What took you so long?" Storm asks as he sheaths his sword. "Sorry, I got side tracked. I'm back now, so now we take back Ponyville. What can you tell me?" "The leaders are in town hall. Most of the guards are underground, so we should get moving." I nod to him and start moving to town hall, the four of them following closely behind. "How did you get side tracked?" Big Mac asks. "I found Topaz... and went in." I hear them all stumble for a moment before they follow after me. "I know it wasn't the best time to have done that... I was being impulsive and went anyway." "So-" Storm starts. "Topaz fell. The only thing left there were destroyed buildings and frenzied bots." "Oh... sorry to hear that... are you going to be alright?" Storm asks as I walk up to the door of town hall. I step forward and kick the door in, sending it flying in. I walk in with my weapon raised, looking for any targets. I see the receptionist hiding behind the counter, peering out at us. I walk forward and check my sides before heading to the back door. It's already open, so I walk in and check my sides before I head up the stairs. When I reach the top and glance back to the rest of them. Storm and Big Mac are the only ones with me right now, each with their swords out. I smack the butt of my rifle into the door, breaking it and opening it slightly. I walk in and look around to only see thee grey griffin and a Diamond Dog waiting for us, each just standing there. "So you made it out of the metal city after all. That's good, that's good. I need you alive for later." The grey one says to me. "Under Terradisian jurisdiction, you are to be arrested and tried for illegal trespassing and theft of government property, but since we're the only Terradisians here, I'll pass judgement on you." I say as I approach them, Storm and Big Mac moving to their sides. "Go ahead, pass judgement." He says as he rears up and holds his arms out, a large smile growing on his face. I flare my hand and pull towards me, pulling him down and pinning him to the desk. The dog tried to run, but Big Mac stabbed him in the gut, killing him instantly. I walk over to him and prepare to pull information out from him, when he starts to laugh. "What's so funny?" Storm asks as he walks out in front of him. "Oh... nothing... it's not like I'm the one who's about to let the one I love die." He says as he glances over to me. "SHUT THE FUCK UP!" I yell as I slam the butt of my rifle into his side, getting him to laugh harder. I flare my other hand swirl it around, enveloping my hand in the white energy. "Miles... maybe we should just kill him." Big Mac says as he glares down at him. "We will, but first I want to know what he knows." "Hope you enjoy this." He says as I slide my hand into his consciousness. I immediately find resistance from him, so I start to force my way further into his mind. I can feel an area that's weaker then everywhere else, so I press there and break through. I find myself in the underground cavern from before, watching him return to it as dogs run all about. "What's next Steelwing?" The dog from town hall asks as he runs up on all fours. "Everything is going according to plan. Next we move to capture the princesses. Get your dogs ready in Canterlot and we'll start as soon as they appear." The dog nods and barks to some other dogs, who run off into the cave. "Do you truly believe we can capture the giant ponies?" He asks as they all walk off towards the entrance. "Of course. Luna will surrender to us, which will make Celestia surrender afterwards. It's all part of the plan." He says as he walks up to a wall and taps on it making it slide down to reveal another open room with hundreds of dogs, griffins and several smaller dragons. "Oh, and for the human listening to us right now... surprise." KRACK I suddenly tear away from his consciousness as something hits me on the side, sending me to the ground. I look up to see the red and yellow dragon from before standing over me, with his one good wing out. He has a large scar going across his chest, starting at the left of his hip and going up to his right shoulder. He's holding a long weapon I've never seen before. It looks like it should be a spear, but has a curved swords blade at one end, and a squared off bottom at the other. "I told you to watch your back." He says before he slams the bottom of his weapon into my head, knocking me out. Chapter 74 The TradeChapter 74 The Trade When I wake up I find myself laying on a table, my wrist and ankles locked in place. My shirt has been removed and my weapons are missing, but everything else of mine is still on me. A bright light is shining above me, forcing me to look to my side. The rest of the room is too dark to make anything out, but I can hear someone moving around. "MMM...mm?" I try to call out to them, but I can't open my mouth. I try to break free, but the clasps are too strong for me to break. I try to reach my magic, but since my arms are tied down, I can only manage to bring the flames up. "Heh heh heh, you're awake, good. I like my test subjects to be awake." Says a male voice in the dark. I see the light move to my left side, forcing me to look away from it. "Now, do try and hold still, I wouldn't want to ruin such a fine specimen." The voice says as I feel something start to cut my side open. I try to yank myself away as I moan out in pain. "Now, now. Try and relax..." "MMMM! MMMM MMM!" I try to shout out as I flare my hands. "You will find that using magic will...oh. Now that is peculiar." He says as I force the lines to grow. I push it past my potestatum anulumns, trying to cover my entire body in the lines. I push myself until I'm completely covered in the lines, burning my clothes of and making my armor shine brightly. I hear a door open and shut as I sit there, maxed out and waiting for whatever's going to happen next to come. I hear the door open again, followed by the sound of chains being dragged on the ground... Perspective: Storm I wake up in the office with an odd head ache. The last thing I remember was the dragon crashing through the window and throwing this green powder at me and Big Mac. I look over to see Big Mac starting to get up, picking up his sword. I get to my hooves, re-sheath my sword and walk around the table, looking for Miles. "STORM!" I look over to see Twilight running up to me. I catch her in a hug and hold her tightly. "Are you two alright? You've been out fer almost an hour now." Applejack says as she lets go of Big Mac. "Eeyup." "Yeah, I'm good. Where's Miles?" I ask as I let go of Twilight. "The dragon took him after he knocked him out. We watched from the stairs.... I'm sorry. I wish we could have done something, but without my magic..." "Hey, you did what you could. Even with your magic I wouldn't want you fighting dragons, that's my job." I say to her, nuzzling her cheek a bit as she looks away. "We need to link up with the Princesses and try to find Miles." I say to Big Mac as I start to trot down the stairs. "Eeyup." He says as he follows after me, with Twi' and Applejack bringing up the rear. We walk to the front door but stop when it swings open before us. "Oh.... hey Luna." I say weakly as Luna looks around the room. "Greetings Storm... where's Miles?" "Yeah... about that..." "What happened?" She asks as she starts to look worried. "Uh... he's been... captured... LUNA, WAIT UP!" As soon as I said captured she turned around and took off into the air. I jumped into the air and chased after her, gaining on her slowly. "PRINCESS LUNA! WAIT!" I yell out to her, getting her to stop and hover in place. "Wait? Miles is in trouble and you want to wait." "Yes. We don't know where they took Miles or if it's even the same group that took the other ponies. All we know is that the red and yellow dragon from before is the one who did it. We also know that he has some kind of sleeping powder in his arsenal. We also know... that they know that you love him..." "How would they know that?" Luna asks with a new look of concern. "The griffin we were interrogating mentioned to Miles something about getting the mare he loved killed... I really think you should sit this one out..." "I will do no such thing! I..." "LUNA! Think straight for a second! They planned for Miles to try and reach into his mind! They probably have something planned for your arrival as well." I yell at her, getting her to look away and think about what I said. "We can handle this... but for your safety, please step aside... if you got hurt, it would devastate Miles..." "And you think that feeling doesn't go both ways? I want him back, and I want to find those responsible for this and make them pay..." "And they will. But let’s not do anything irrational right now. Look, let’s just meet up with Celestia and see what she has to say." She thinks about what I said for a moment before she nods and starts to fly away, shedding a single tear as she does so. I sigh and follow after her, hopefully we can get this sorted out quickly. I fly over Twilight and the others and motion for them to follow after me, getting a wave in response. We follow Luna towards a massive pile of metal in the shopping district, finding Celestia at the far end of it. Luna lands on the close end and starts to try to hide the fact that she was crying. "Sorry for yelling at you Luna..." "It's alright, just... just give me a minute OK." She says as she wipes her face clean and takes a few deep breaths. I look over and see Twilight and the others approaching us, so I motion for them to go to the other side. Big Mac and Applejack listen, but Twilight continues to trot towards me. "Uh... Twilight. Could you-" "How are you holding up Luna?" She asks as she walks up to her. "I'll be better once we get Miles back." "Don't worry, we'll get him back-" "I know we will, I won't let them keep him. I'm just worried about the condition we'll get him back in." Perspective: Miles "AAAAAHHHHH!" I scream as the hooked chains slam against my chest. The three chains end in metal hooks that dig deep into my chest. The unknown person yanks back on the chains, cutting me open but not pulling out the hooks. He gives a couple more pulls on it before he yanks it out, tearing three strips of flesh out along with it. I scream out again as I feel blood start to pour out from the wounds. As I try to yank myself free from the now glowing metal clasps. I start to get light headed from blood loss and fatigue. The more I pull, the more I start to fade out. "Oh now don't pass out just yet Miles. We only just started." Says the unknown person. "Go fuck yourself." I say from bloody lips. When I had screamed out I had pulled the skin off my lips and now have a steady stream of blood pouring into my mouth. I rolled my head to the side in an attempt to keep the blood from drowning me, but the unknown person had tied my head back, so I'm always looking up. USE US. USE US. I can't... USE US. USE US. I want to... I can't... "So Miles, shall we continue or are you still going to fight me?" Asks the unknown person as he jingles the chain around. "Go... go... go fuck... yourself..." "That's unfortunate." He says before he slams the other end of the chain onto my chest. I hold my breath and try not to scream out again, focusing all my energy on staying awake and at this power level. He slams the hooked part into my legs next, piercing my right thigh and knee and my left thigh. I grunt and moan in pain but don't allow myself to scream. "What? No more screams? Don't worry, we'll find them..." He gives one, hard, yank on the chain; tearing strips of flesh from my legs. Again, I moan, but do not scream. I hear him bring the chains back to strike again, but stops when there's a knock at the door. "What now." He says as he walks over and opens the door. As he talks to someone outside I try to pull free again. The metal is hot enough now that it's starting to give when I pull, but not enough yet to let me break free. USE US. USE US. I WANT TO! I WANT TO ESCAPE! I WANT TO RIP THAT FUCKERS HEAD OFF AND MAKE HIM SUFFER! "Good news Miles. The torture will have to end now, but I look forward to the next time we get to play our little game." The unknown person says as he waves something in front of my face... I think I smell chloroform. Perspective: Storm When Luna finally collects herself enough to walk around and meet up with Celestia on the other side of the pile of metal. Celestia's talking with a few guards and Shining Armor. I walk beside Big Mac and Applejack and wait for Celestia to finish up with them. Luna walks up beside Celestia and listens to the conversation, putting on a serious face as the guard’s salute and run off into town. The three of them walk up to us, making Twilight and Applejack bow. "Where is Miles?" Celestia asks. I glance over and see Luna take a deep breath but keep her serious face about herself. "Miles was captured by a dragon. Big Mac and I were knocked unconscious, so we weren't able to go after him." "Why would they want Miles?" Shining asks. Before anypony could say anything, we hear the ground behind me start to shake, getting me to stand up and pull out my sword. From out of the ground comes a single dog, waving a white flag. "Don't hurt me, I have a message for the large pony regarding the almost dog." He says as he steps out of the ground. "I take it..." Celestia starts to say but stops when I step in front of her. "If you have anything regarding Miles, you tell it to me. The Equestrians have no business dealing with Terradisian dealings." I say as I step towards the dog. The dog looks between the two of us in confusion before he takes a step back. "Uh... its only for the-" "You have five seconds to tell me what it is or I take your head off-" "Uh..." "One…" "But I..." "Two..." "Alpha says..." "Three..." "Alright! Alpha says that he will trade the not dog for the blue large pony and if you say no, we'll kill him." He says as he steps closer to his tunnel. I whip my sword around and send a gust of wind at him, knocking over the hole and onto his back. I fly over to the dog and stab him in the gut, getting a high-pitched whine from him. "Go to hell and tell your alpha NO." I say as I twist my sword in his gut, making him whine some more. I pull my blade out and walk towards the hole, looking at all of the shocked looks from everypony. "Big Mac..." "Eeyup." He says before he jumps into the hole. I look to Twilight for a second before I say "We'll be back, with Miles." I jump up and fall into the hole, falling down a bit before I hit the bottom. I look over to Big Mac before we both start to run down the tunnel, stopping when we hear something drop behind us. "Luna!? What are you doing down here?" I ask as she walks up to us. "Thinking ahead. If I come along they won't try to fight you. They also won't kill Miles before you get to him. Now put your swords away and escort us to Miles." "Us?" I ask as Shining and Celestia land behind her. "Fine, just follow my lead alright." I say as I sheath my sword and lead the way down the tunnel, keeping Luna between Big Mac and myself. I don't like having her here with us... but she has a good point. We walk down the path for a while until we get stopped by a patrol. We tell them we're here for the trade and follow them to the trading destination. Along the way we get another patrol to follow after us, making eight dogs in total. We go through the maze of tunnels until we come to a dead end, where the guards turn to us. "Okay, only two can come with the blue one." "Alright, Big Mac and I will-" "You two will not do this without me. Storm and I will be the ones to handle the trade. Everypony else will stay back here." Celestia says as she walks up to Luna. "Okay, the grey one and the white one can go, the rest of you will wait here." The dog says as the other dogs dig a hole in the wall, revealing a large room. We walk in and stop almost immediately when something behind us makes the ground shake. I look back to see two dragons guarding the back of the room. The one on the right is the same shade of blue as Luna while the other one is multi colored; being black with a silver under tone body while his wings and spikes are metallic blue and transition to metallic green. They're both adolescents, but are easily taller than Celestia by at least a foot. They each have a weird sword spear weapon in their claws. "So glad you made it, I don't think the human would have made it much longer." I turn back to see the red and yellow dragon walking towards us, carrying Miles on his shoulder. He stops and drops Miles to the ground, getting soft moans from him as he rolls over and reveals the large, bloody, wounds on his chest and legs. "So we doing this trade or not?" The dragon asks with a smug smile on his face. I look down to see Miles flare his magic and yank his hands back and forth, slowly breaking the chains off of his wrist and legs. We need to stall them. "What is the meaning of this!" I say before anypony could say anything. "You've nearly killed him! And you want us to give you Luna, unharmed?" I say as I look back to the two of them and wink. They still give me looks of astonishment as I look back to the dragon. "If you want to beat her up first, then go ahead." He says as Miles removes the braces on his legs and works on the ones on his wrist. He needs a little more time... "I think you should heal Miles up first, then we trade." "No. Either hand over the blue pony or I toast him." "Have you met Miles before... well I know you have..." I say as I point at his missing wing. "Fire isn't really a problem for him." "Then let’s test-" "PATI ET MORI!" Miles yells as he throws off the chains and pushes his arms up, sending two columns of earth and pinning the dragon against the roof of the cave. I draw my sword and swing at the dragon behind me, making him stagger back. I was about to charge at him when a black beam hits him in the gut and makes the rest of him fade away. I look back to see Miles on a knee, pointing his fist toward where the dragons used to stand. He staggers up, keeping off his right leg and faces the red dragon. He looks up to the red dragon and lifts a hand towards him and holds it there. "Do your worst," the dragon says before he takes a breath in and blows a column of fire at him. Miles waves his free hand to the side and ends the flame, confusing the dragon. He starts to close his hand, getting the dragon to jolt and try to shake free of the earthen grasp. Miles next to start to pull his hand towards himself, getting the dragon to shake more and roar out in pain until he falls unconscious. With a final yank Miles pulls out the dragon’s heart from his chest, making blood pour from the hole and the still beating heart. He holds it the for a second before he closes his fist, crushing the heart into a bloody ball the same size of Miles's fist. Miles drops the heart as he falls over, getting the three of us to run to his side. I roll him over and put an ear to his chest, listening for his heart. "He's got a beat... its weak, but it's there. We need to get him to a hospital now!" I say as I look up to Celestia and Luna. "I'll get the others and teleport us to safety, just hold on." Celestia says as she runs over to the entrance. Luna comes to his side and starts to magically heal his wounds, getting his wounds to slowly close up. I can see her on the verge of tears as she looks down at Miles, inspecting his cuts. "He'll pull through Luna... I know he will." I reassure her. "I can't heal his bones... something is stopping me from healing his knee-" "Then just focus on the cuts. We need to stop the bleeding." Celestia runs back with Shining and Big Mac, Big Mac's sword is covered in blood and dented in a few different places. Celestia takes a moment before she charges her horn and teleports us to the hospital. "We need to get him some help!" I yell to the confused nurses, getting them to run over and take over the healing spell. The rest of us are escorted to the waiting room as a bunch of nurse ponies run over to him and carry him off into the hospital. Miles... you better pull through. Perspective: Unknown I sit back in my chair, taking another sip of my wine as I enjoy the night air from my balcony. I hear a knock from the door as my butler walks in. "So sorry to disturb you, but Steelwing has returned." "Good. Bring him to me." "Right away." He says as he walks back out of my study. When I hear the door open I ask "How did it go?" "Well... we don't have the Princess, the human lived, and all of the prisoners were rescued-" "Perfect." "Should we move on to the next phase?" "Yes, and I'm curious. How is your new agent working out?" "Heh, things are going perfectly, slow but with perfect results. He played right into my claw. Though I'm curious, why did you send the surgeon to torture the human?" "For show of course. And don't worry about time. Good things to those who wait." I say before I take another sip. I toss the glass off the side of the balcony and stand up, glaring out at the world. "Uh..." "Soon, the world will be brought to its knees as it begs me for mercy. I live for that day, but I will have to wait. Move on with our plans! Move with caution though, remember, time is on our side." I say as I walk into my study and pull on a book, making a secret passageway open up. "I am leaving now. I expect you to handle everything from here on out until I return to Equestria. The Darkness, is coming." Author's Note DUN DUN DUUUUUUN! Shout out to blood wolf and TheTownCrier for picking the color schemes of the two dragons. Thanks for reading, and like always, Brony on! Chapter 75 WantingChapter 75 Wanting Perspective: Miles Beep.... beep.... beep.... beep.... beep... beep... I open my eyes and find myself in a hospital room, the soft beeps from the E.K.G. machine waking me up. Well... time for the routine. I look down to see that I'm wearing a green patient gown... well, at least I'm not naked. Next I look over to my left to look out the window and see that it's day time... nearly noon. I feel a numbness all over my body so I decide to heal myself. I raise my hand and bring it to my chest... only to have it caught by a blue aura. I look over to my right and see Luna... "No." "Uh..." "No magic. The doctors say you have three broken ribs, a shattered knee cap, deep tissue lacerations and that your power is fluctuating uncontrollably, why is that Miles?" "Uh... I held my power at its limits so they couldn't operate on me-" "Exactly. You pushed yourself to your limits so now you don't get to heal yourself. I get to." She says as she levitates my hand to my side. "O...K... so, when are you going to heal me-" "When I understand your bones a little better. Now you lay back and relax." She says as she levitates a glass of water over to me and holds it to my lips. I take a drink from the glass, greedily gulping down the entire glass. "So, are you going to be my care taker then?" I ask as she levitates the glass to the table. "Only during the day when I can get away. When I'm not here, Storm or one of the others will be here with you." She says as she levitates a plate of hospital food over and scoops up some green stuff. She tries to feed it to me, but I keep my mouth shut. "Miles, you need to eat." "Yeah, but not the grass-" "Miles-" "It’s disgusting!" "Oh please. I've seen the food you ate back in Topaz, now open up." I shake my head and hold my mouth shut, getting Luna to squint her eyes. She opens my mouth with her magic and forces the spoon into my mouth. She closes my mouth and pulls the spoon out, forcing me to keep the pulp grass in my mouth. I chew the food and wince at the terrible taste, getting her to smile. "Thank you." "Oh sweet Barbra that has to be the worst tasting thing in all of Terra, please don't make me eat another bite." I say after I swallow the grass... nearly puking it back up. She sighs and takes a small bite from the spoon and goes wide eyed. "Okay... maybe no grass. Would you like anything the next time I come over?" "Hm... spaghetti, with lots of noodles." She gives me a smile and kisses me on the forehead. "Alright, spaghetti it is then." She says before she gives me a quick kiss on the nose. "So..." I say as I pull myself up a bit. "How long was I out this time?" "Just a day." Only a day... pretty good given my record. "How is everyone?" "Well..." She says as she looks out the window, looking a bit down. "Many were injured, several died... luckily the effects of that black sludge only lasted a few hours. I have a meeting tomorrow with Regina to discuss who this Steelwing is. Apparently, he's been making trouble for the United Griffin Colonies for some time now." "Hmm.... be sure to let me know if you get a lead on him... I want my stuff back-" "We have your stuff. Storm and Big Mac went back down and found all of it, it’s all back at your home now, along with most of the scavenged weapons from the dogs." She looks back out the window and stands up. "I'm sorry... I have to get going... I'll see you as soon as possible..." "Promise?" "Promise." She says as she leans her head against mine. "Ego amare te." "Ego amare te magis." She says as she crawls onto the bed and lays next to me. I wrap my arms around her and hold her as she leans her nose against mine. "Ego amare te maxime." She leans in and starts planting kisses all over me. My cheeks, forehead, nose, everywhere except my lips. I try to kiss her, but she's avoiding my lips. "Is something wrong?" "I... sorry. It's just, I'm a little scared your lips will break open." "Oh, right. It's okay." I say as she starts to get off the bed, but stops when I grab her leg. "Miles-" "Hmm... no kisses. I think I should get a different form of love then." She laughs a little and reaches over, giving me a light hug. I wrap my arms around her and hold her lightly, stroking her hair slowly. "I really have to get going..." She whispers into my ear as she holds onto me. "I know... I'll see you next time." We hold each other a little longer before she lets go of me and gets off the bed. "I'll be here tomorrow, with spaghetti..." She says as she starts to walk out the room, walking backwards. "Only if you can get here without being in trouble." "Don't worry about that, get plenty of rest. Drink lots of water..." She says as she tip toes her way out the door. "I will. I love you. Now get going." "Bye." She says as she walks out the door and shuts it, then opens it back up. "I love you too!" She says as she pokes her head back in and then pulls it back out. I laugh a bit as I lay back and try to relax, only to hear the door slam open. "MILES!" Pinkie Pie yells as she runs into the room and leaps onto me, making me scream out in pain as she hugs me tightly. "AH! Pinkie! Pain! Chest!" I yell as she jumps off, letting me double over as the pain throbs from my ribs. "Oh... sorry about that." She says as others walk into the room. Everyone is here. The girls, Storm and Big Mac, the... kid girls, Spike and oddly enough Shining and Cadence. They all fill the room up, all of the adults taking a space around me as the young ones and Spike get up on my bed to my right. "Aw...ow... hey... what's up," I pant as the pain subsides. "We all decided to come and check up on you, how are you feeling?" Scootaloo says. "Well... other than the slight pain in my chest, pretty good. How's Ponyville?" I ask. "It could have been a lot worse." Shining says. "Thanks to you we were able to get most of the civilians back, though a few were killed in the process. The damage was minimal, only a few burned down buildings-" "You really saved Ponyville." Cadence says, getting everyone to look up to me. "Pfft, no I didn't. I was gone for most of the fight. Not to mention I got captured. No, Storm, Big Mac and Rainbow Dash are the hero's here, not me." I say, getting the three of them to blush from my recognition. "Yeah, but without your training we wouldn't have been nearly as effective as we were." Storm says as he wraps a wing around Twilight, getting her to lean into him. "Yeah, but that's beside the point. Let’s just say we all did our parts." I say, getting them to nod back in agreement. "So... how long are you going to be in the hospital?" Spike asks, getting everyone to lean in. "I'm stuck here until Luna can fix my knee-" "Why would Luna be the one to fix your knee?" Shining asks, making my heart drop. Not even a day into our relationship and I fucking slip up in front of everyone. Luna is going to... "Shining, you know why." Cadence says, making him think about it. Oh, fuck... does she know to? "Could everypony wait outside really quick, I need to have a word with Miles." Shining says, getting everyone except Storm and Big Mac to leave. "It’s alright guys. I've got this one." I say to them, getting them to nod and walk out the room. "So..." "There are a lot of things that I wish to discuss with you, but this one’s a little more important than the others, what did you do to them?" Shining asks. "I turned them into Spartans." "So, is that why they disrespect the Princesses?" "What did they do to disrespect Celestia and Luna?" "First off, they no longer bow to them. And they speak to them as if they... well... it's a little too informal." "Hmm... and?" I ask, getting them to both look at me with their mouths slightly hanging open. "And?! They are royalty! They should be treated as-" "That's where I need to stop you. As I said, I made them into Spartans. Being a person of that rank comes with several privileges, one of which is the ability to ignore ranks and office positions outside of the Spartan regiment. We only followed the Terradisian government because of tradition, not because they ordered us to." "So... what does that mean here then? How do you see me and Shining then?" Cadence asks as she steps closer to me. "I see you as civilians, just like how I see everyone else." Shining walks over to the window and stares out to Ponyville, thinking deeply about what I said. "So... how does one become a Spartan?" He asks as he continues to stare out at Ponyville. "Easy, a ranking member of the Spartan regiment has to deem you worthy to enter our ranks. Then you have to live through the training..." "And this training, is it tough?" "Look, I know where you’re going with this, and the answer is no. I will not train you-" "Why not?! I'm the captain of the royal guard, I can handle-" "Could you denounce Equestria as your home and country? Speak down to the Princesses? I see the resolve in your eyes to protect this country, and it's admirable. But because of that, you will never be a Spartan." He looks to me for a second before he looks back out the window. The room falls quiet for a bit before Cadence walks over to Shining and whispers something into his ear. He sighs before turning back to me. "Alright, now for my next concern. You and Luna-" "What exactly do you know?" I ask as I glance between the two of them. "I know you love each other." Cadence says. "My special talent is true love, and I see it in the two of you... I've known about it ever since the invasion." "OK... so, what happens now?" I ask as I stare back at the two of them, silently hoping for the best. They look to one another and have wordless conversation with each other. After what feels like an eternity or waiting Shining finally sighs and looks back to me. "As much as I want to tell Celestia about this... I will not get involved in this. But... just promise me that you won't do anything that would-" "I already know Luna's boundaries and will fully respect them. Though you may not believe it, I am a man of my word and I promise nothing bad will come from this... thank you." "Yeah...well we need to get going. I'll come by another time to talk to you about a few of my other concerns." He says as he starts to head to the door. Cadence walks up to me and gives me a small hug as she whispers "please don't hurt Luna again.... she needs you." "I won't.... I need her to." I whisper back before she gets off and walks out the room, dragging a confused looking Shining along the way. I sit quietly in the room for a bit, thinking deeply about what just transpired, when the door opens again. I watched as everypony starts to wa.... did I just think every... pony? Oh sweet Barbra... she's rubbing off on me. The next day I lay on the bed staring at the clock is a dazed state of utter boredom. Everyone's visit from yesterday was nice, plenty of promises of visits and wishes of wellbeing. But it's been a few hours since I woke back up... and there is nothing to do! I look back out the window and start to watch the clouds go by... again. TICK... *SIGH* well... what else is there to do? I look back to the lamp next to me and press the button on, then off, then on, off, on, off-on-off-on-off-on-off. TOCK... The door suddenly opens, getting my hopes up for some kind of distraction. A nurse walked in, reading a chart. She's all white with pink hair that's up in a bun and has a mark of a red plus sign. She looks up from her chart and then back down to the chart. "Sorry, wrong room." She says before she turns and walks out of the room. TICK.... GAH! I need something to do! I'M SO BORED! I look down at my hands and contemplate healing myself to get away from this torment... no. I promised Luna I wouldn't, so I won't. TOCK... I think I'm going to destroy that clock if I hear one more fucking... "Miles?" I look over to see Luna walking into the room, carrying a something wrapped in a deep blue cloth on her back. "LUNA!" I say rather loudly as I sit up. "Shhush! Do you want the whole hospital to know I'm here?" She says as she walks over to me and sets the bundle down on the end of the bed. "At this point... no. Sorry, I'm just extremely bored right now.... what’s that?" I ask as I point to the bundle. Luna looks over to the clock then back to me. "It's only eleven... anyway. I have brought you... spaghetti!" She says as she unwraps the bundle and shows me a ceramic bowl of spaghetti. "Alright." I say as I clap my hands together and rub them together. I look around for a second before I ask "did you bring any forks?" "Shoot! I knew I forgot something." She says as she sets the bowl down and looks around. "Just give me.... that’s gross Miles." When she had started to talk, I reached over and grabbed some noodles with my fingers. "What? It's all good." I say before I lift the noodles up and bring them down into my mouth. Luna shakes her head as she walks around to the other side of my bed. "Aright, either I stay till one or till five. If I stay till five I will have to take a nap..." "I'm all for you taking a nap here... but are you sure you can handle that though?" I ask before I grab some more noodles and chow down on them. "It's not like I'll be needing the energy, plus..." she says as she gets on my bed and lays her head across my stomach. "I think it'll be worth it." I smile at her and was about to stroke her mane, but stopped when I saw how messy my hands are. I reach over and grab some more noodles and present them to Luna. She gives me a look that says 'are you serious’, but shrugs and puts my fingers into her mouth. I feel her tongue work its way around my fingers as it pulls the noodles from my grasp. She then lifts her head up as she sucks up the noodles and sauce from fingers. I play with her tongue a bit before she lifts her head up again, sucking my fingers until they pop out of her mouth. "Oh sweet Barbra..." I mutter as she chews the noodles and swallows them. "MMM, delicious." She says before she lays her head back down... only to go wide eyed and start to grow red. "Uh.... Miles." "Hm?" "Think you can put that away?" "Put what away?" I ask. She looks up and picks her head up and looks over at my.... oh, wow. I'm at full attention and saluting proudly. "Oh.... that. Sorry... uh...yeah, I don't know how to deal with that without a cold shower." She looks over at it and stares at it for a moment before I shuffle a bit, making her look back to me, with an even larger blush. "I-It's alright... just.... let's just ignore it for now. I'll take this chance to read over your bones." She says as she closes her eyes and charges her horn. I see her aura field envelope my knee and start to make a numbing sensation start to emanate from it. I sit back and wait for her to finish up, watching her face focus so intently on the task at hand. It should be illegal to be this beautiful... " I think I can fix it now." She says as she opens her eyes and looks back to me. "But I'm going to take it easy at first. I'm only going to do your ribs for now, OK?" Part of me thinks she only wants to take it slowly so she can keep visiting me at the hospital... but the other part of me doesn't really mind. "Go for it." She nods to me and starts to move her aura field from my knee to my chest. I grab the sheets as I feel her magic begin to influence my bones, forcing them to fuse back together. I watch as her face contorts a bit and suddenly envelopes my entire body, sending the healing magic everywhere. "Luna... what.... what are you doing?" She lets go of the magic and shakes her head a bit before she looks back to me. "I-I'm sorry. I don't know what happened...I..." Before she finishes I reach over and feel my knee. It's perfect. I feel my ribs next and find them to be perfectly fine as well. "Huh... well... at least my hospital visits are consistent." I say as I stand up and test out my knee by squatting a couple of times. "I-I... this shouldn't have been this easy-" "I thought you said you were a good healer." I say as I sit back on the bed. "I... well...uh..." She stumbles as she tries to think of something. I laugh as I lean over and give her a quick kiss on the lips. "You just wanted a reason to see me, didn't you?" " *sigh* yes. It's just... I know that without a better reason... I won't get to see you as often as I would want to... please don't be mad." She says as her ears drop. I put my hand on the back of her head and pull her in for another kiss. "Does this mean you forgive me?" She mumbles from our lips. I respond by kissing her even more, pulling her in and holding her tightly. She puts her forelegs over my shoulders as she positions herself so she's laying on top of me. I push my tongue into her mouth and begin to tease her tongue, giving little licks and backing away before she could do anything. With a small chuckle, she pushes me out of my mouth and sends her tongue into my mouth. oh. It. Is. On. I hold onto her and roll over, putting me on top of her and making her give a small eep. I break our kiss and plant my lips on her neck. Sucking, nipping, swirling my tongue around, anything that makes her squirm. "M-Miles-AH...Ok-ok-ok-ok, you win, you MMM! Oh...keep doing thAT!" With a long lick, I stop my assault on her neck and quickly get off of her. "What's wrong? Why did you stop?" She asks, almost begging. "Heh, I think it's time to go home." I say, making her ear drop as she gives me her pouty face. "Though I think I should stay under doctor supervision for at least a few more days, what do you think?" She brightens up from this as charges her horn up. "I think that would be for the best.... don't forget the spaghetti." I grab hold of the bowl just before we teleport to my kitchen. I look around to see that it’s a complete mess. The sink is over flowing, the floor is covered in mud, there's red paste all over the cabinets, counters, fridge... everywhere, and Lupus is sitting in the fridge... eating... "What the fuck is he eating?" I ask as I walk over to him. Luna walks up but turns around, gagging at the sight. "Ugh...I believe it’s.... uuh... tripe." She says as she begins to walk away. "What the fuck is tripe?" I ask as Lupus finishes up and trots out of the fridge, looking as proud as ever. "Don't worry about it, let’s just clean this mess up..." "Yeah, how did my place get so dirty anyway?" I ask as I put the spaghetti in the fridge and go to turn the water off. "Well... it's not like I could cook over at the castle without getting everypony to notice." She says coyly. Damn girl... how do you manage to make such large messes? The clean-up doesn't take long, thanks to Luna using her magic to take care of most of it. By the end I notice Luna yawning a bit so I decide to lead her upstairs to take her nap. I was going to lead her to the guest bedroom but she went to my room without a word, dragging me along the way. She sets me down by the window as she begins to get under the covers. "Could you please close the blinds?" She asks as she lays down. I close the blinds and was about to leave the room when Luna levitates me onto the bed. "I thought we were going to take a nap together." She says as she rolls over to face me. I smile and start to climb over her to get to my dresser, pulling out my phone. "What are..." "What time do you want to get up?" I ask as I go to the alarm clock. "Uh... four..." "Alright, four it is then." I say as I set the alarm. I put my phone on the dresser next to me and start to get under the sheets. Once I'm under I get on my side and pull Luna in close. She wraps her legs around me as she holds onto me, letting out a soft sigh as she begins to drift off to sleep. "How many days do you think we'll get that can be like this?" She asks as she holds me a little tighter. I slowly start to rub her back as I think about the best way to answer. "As many as we can get... but don't worry about that right now. Right now, you just get some sleep, alright?" "Alright." She says as she loosens her grip. How many more days do I get to have like this? Author's Note Shout out to desert rose for picking what Lupus was eating! Thanks for reading hope you enjoyed it. And like always, Brony on! Chapter 76 Spartan PoliticsChapter 76 Spartan Politics Beep...beep...beep... beep...beep...beep... I roll over and turn off the alarm on my phone. With a quick stretch, I roll back over to Luna and put myself by her ear as I wrap my arms around her, putting her back to my stomach. "Hey..." "Uhhmmm..." "Time to get up." "Mmm... five more minutes." She mumbles as she turns around and buries her face in my chest. I laugh a little as she tries to get the best position possible, but her horns getting in the way. " *sigh* what time is it?" "Four." She sighs again and moves herself so we're face to face."Heh..." "Whats so funny?" She asks sleepily. "I didn't know you could get bed head with energy hair." There's a portion of her hair that's going flat out on the side of her head. I bring my hand to it and try to pat it down, but it's staying up fairly well. "Don't ask, I don't even get how it does that." She says before she gets up and heads to the restroom. I get up and get dressed, ends up I was naked under the hospital gown the entire time... whatever. I go and open my closet only to jump back as swords, axes, spears and other assorted weapons fall out. "What was that?" Luna calls out from the restroom. "Uh... when did my closet become filled with weapons?" I ask as I look through my closet. "Remember, I told you we left a bunch of the enemy weapons for you to keep." "Right..." I start to try to go through the weapons, sorting them on my bed as best I can. I don't get the swords. They're wide and thin, with only a single blade. Why do they do it like this? It makes their blades weaker, not to mention you limit your fighting capabilities. I hear the toilet flush as Luna walks out of the restroom, looking awake and refreshed. "What are you doing?" She asks as she walks up beside me. "Cataloging the weapons... do you know anything about these?" "Well... they're all of griffin design." "Right, would you happen to know why they make them single edged?" "So they don't cut themselves." She says as she levitates one to herself and positions it underneath her wing. "They don't use sheaths, so they put a single edge on it." She puts the blade back and looks at the assortment with a troubled expression. "You alright?" "Yeah, its just... I don't know why those dogs all had griffin weapons. Regina assured me that it was a black market deal, but Celestia isn't convinced." "I'm not either. Who arms a group of people to fail." "What do you mean fail?" "They had the numbers and the means to take the town, so why didn't they? Not to mention the assault force was larger then the occupational force. I don't like this, they had an objective that we either stopped them from reaching or were to blind to see them achieve it." The room falls quiet as we think about what really happened. Whatever they have planned, I'll be sure to put an end to it. "Let's forget about it for now and get something to eat." I say as I usher her out of the room and down the stairs. She takes a seat in the living room as I head into the kitchen and look for something for the both of us to eat. I open the fridge and look through it.... where's my spaghetti? SLURP... I look behind me to see Storm sitting at the kitchen table, eating my spaghetti. "Dude... did you eat my spaghetti?" I ask, making him jump a little as he looks back to me. We stare at each other for a second before he slowly starts to chew the food in his mouth. I walk up to him and look in the bowl to see that its now empty. "When did you get out of the hospital?" He asks after he gulps the last of my spaghetti. "Earlier today, did you really eat my spaghetti?" "What? How was I suppose to know it was yours?" "Miles?" Luna calls from the living room. Storm raises an eyebrow to me as I head into the living room to find Luna looking out the window. "I think you should see this." I walk up beside her and look out to see three massive, full grown dragons flying high above Ponyville. They all match the colors of the dragons from before; they're just larger. "What do you think they want?" I ask as I watch them fly around. "Probably revenge for their young being killed... I think you should stay inside... hey look, there's Twilight." I look down to see Twilight running full speed for my house. "STORM! MILES IS IN TROUBLE!" Twilight yells as she opens the door magically and heads straight to the back, missing us completely. "Should we go see what she wants?" I ask Luna as I look back. "Mmm, you should, I have to get going." She says before she gives me a quick peck on the lips. "Try your best to stay out of the hospital." "I will, so... when do you think I'll get to see you again?" "I... I don't know. I'll try to get over here as quickly as possible, but I don't know how soon that will be." I pull her in for a hug. She returns the love and we hold each other there for a bit until we hear a cough from the side. I look over to see Twilight and Storm staring at us.Twilight looks like she's on the verge of a heart attack while Storm is just smiling. Luna gives me a small peck on the cheek before she says "I have to leave now. I love you." "I love you to." I say before she lets go of me and trots up the stairs, trying her best to avoid Twilight's gaze. Once Luna's gone I stare back at Storm and Twilight, standing there awkwardly. "So... there are dragons..." "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" Twilight yells as she magically forces me to sit on the couch. "What do..." "Why was Princess Luna here!? What did she mean she loves you!? I thought this was just a little crush thing..." "Uh Twilight..." "This is bad. This is really really REALLY bad. Celestia's going to banish you for sure. Or imprison you. Or imprison you in the place she banishes you to." She says as she starts to pace back and forth. Storm just shakes his head and takes a seat next to me. "Why would she do that?" "BECUASE YOU BUCKED HER SISTER YOU IDIOT!" "No I didn't. We didn't do anything. Yeah sure we spent the day in bed together, but nothing sexual happened." "*cough*virgin*cough*." Storm says as he holds a hoof to his mouth. "Yeah, basically." I say with a shrug, making Storm shake his head. "Well, that doesn't change anything. Celestia is really protective of her little sister..." "Trust me. I know." "THEN WHY ARE YOU STILL DOING THIS?!" "Well, I figured with less then a year to live I could pursue a relationship with someone who genuinely wants to be with me, despite my limited time." "Miles..." "Look, I'm not going to apologize for having feelings for her. And if she feels the same way, why wouldn't I pursue this?" RRAAAAAAAAAWWWW I look out the window to see the dragons landing near my home. With a sigh I stand up and start to head to the door, only to get blocked by Twilight and Storm. "Where do you think your going?" Storm asks. "I'm going to go talk to them..." "Are you insane! They probably want revenge..." "If they wanted revenge they would have attacked already. Either I go out there alone or I bring you with me. Your choice." They look to each other before they move aside and allow me to pass. I walk down the steps and wait for them to notice me. The large red one points me out and leads the others over to me. "Are you the one who destroyed my youngling?" "I am." "And how did you do it?" "I magically pulled his heart out from his chest." The red one takes a deep breath before stepping back, letting the other two approach me. "And mine?" Asks the all blue one. "I...uh..." "How did you vanquish my youngling!?" The dragon yells. Shit. I don't know what to call that power. I need to think of something real quick. "Answer..." "I used icy void on the last two dragons." The two of them step back and take a moment to reflect on what I said. After a few minutes of silence they all turn to leave, but stop when I call out to them. "Why did you need to know this? Aren't you mad at me?" "The younglings chose their fates. We only came so we could learn their fates for the archives." The red one says before they all take off. As I watch them fly away, Storm and Twilight walk up beside me and gape at the dragons. "Ho-how did you know they wouldn't attack?" Twilight asks in astonishment. "I didn't. But waiting around never solves anything. Besides... I'm pretty sure I can take a few dragons out if I needed to." "Now you just sound cocky." Storm says as he turns and walks back to the house. I shrug and follow after him, leaving Twilight to gape at the dragons on her own. "Hey Storm, I need you to do something." I say as we walk into the living room. "What do you need?" "Go get Big Mac and bring him here. I'm going to make him some armor and a weapon." "Why do I have to go?" "Becuase you ate my spaghetti. Plus I'm a higher ranking officer, so you pretty much have to." "*sigh* fine. I'll go get him." He says as he gets up and walks outside. He stops by Twilight and waves a hoof in front of her face. With a sigh he puts his head underneath her and lifts her onto his back before he walks off for Sweet Apple Acres. I go upstairs and finish cataloging the weapons. Eighteen swords, twelve spears, fourteen axes, three scythes, and nine hammers, all made of steel. Once I get all of the scavenged weapons out of my closet I find all of my weapons and armor in the back of the closet. I put my armor on one of the racks in the closet and my blades on the weapon rack. I start making trips from my room the dinning room, moving all of the weapons downstairs. The last weapon I grab is the chain gun Celestia had, being the heaviest one. When I make it downstairs I see Storm and Twilight leading Big Mac, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie towards my place. You grabbed a few extra Storm... whatever. I set the gun down at the end of the table and walk out to the front porch to greet everyone. "Hey, whats up everyone." I say as I lean against a post. "Hiya Miles! Glad to see your out of the hospital!" Pinkie says in her usual cheerful manner as she hops into my place. "It's good to see you in good health Miles." "Sup Miles." "Howdy Miles!" After Twilight walks in I step in front of Storm. "I said get Big Mac..." "I know, but when I got to his place Applejack insisted on coming. Then we ran into Pinkie on the way here and she asked if she could come to which Twilight said yes and when we got close to getting here Rainbow kind of invited herself... is this going to be a problem?" "A little. I need to discuss some Spartan business with the two of you... when did you pick up Fluttershy?" "Uh... I'm not sure... should we ask them to leave then?" "No... it's nothing big.... yet. They can stay as long as they keep whats said here a secret. But lets get to that when we get to that." He nods to me and walks in, leaving me and Big Mac outside. "Big Mac." "Eeyup." I nod to him and motion for him to follow me inside. I lead him to the dinning room and motion for him to stand there. "Alright. First things first, we need to make you some armor. After that I'll make your weapon, is there any kind you would prefer?" "Hmm... nnope." "Well... I see you as more of a power shot person... so how about a halberd then?" "Eeyup." "OK, what about enchantments, anything sound appealing to add to your weapons attacks?" "Hmm... fire." He says with an evil smile. "Alright, armor first... lets see... Storm, go get yours while I work on his, there some things I want to add to it as well." He nods and goes up stairs as I grab a couple of the swords and lift them up with my magic. I start to crumple them together, turning them into a solid chunk of metal. Next I start to pull all of the imperfections out, letting all of the spare metals fall to the ground. After that I bring the metal over to Big Mac and start to form it to his body, following the basic form of Storm's. Storm walks up with his armor so I use it to set the basic form before grabbing two of the gems I brought down and set them on the back. I take a few of the other swords and purify them as well, only to get more of the scrap metal. Once I have enough, I take all of the scrap metal and make the Spartan logo on the front of his armor. Next I separate parts of the metal and join them in certain spots so it'll bend with his movements. "Alright, give it a try." He pulls the armor on and looks it over before he looks up to me. "Uh... a little tight in the mid section." "Alright, one sec." I say as I kneel next to him and start to loosen the armor around his mid section. "Is that good?" "Eeyup." "Alright, now for the rest." I say as I take the chunk of metal and start to form bracers for them. After a few minutes of forging the metal to their legs and creating the buckles for them, I finish the leggings for them. "OK, give them a try." They walk around, testing the weight and movement of the new armor. After a few test walks they both nod to me in approval. "OK, that'll have to do for now. The helmets require certain things that I just don't have at the moment. Now we..." "Uh... Miles." Big Mac says, getting me to look over to see the girls all looking over at us. "Right... you all can listen, but whats said here, stays here." "I Pinkie promise! I won't say a word." Pinkie says as she goes through the motions of a pinkie promise. "I won't say anything." Rainbow says as she lays back in the recliner, putting her hooves behind her head. "I promise." Fluttershy says timidly. "I promise to keep your meeting a secret." Twilight says. "Alright... well. Here's the deal. We are currently in a sticky situation. I fear a war will break out in the..." "A WAR!" Twilight yells as all of the girls run over to us. "Equestria hasn't had a war in over three thousand years, why would you believe one would happen now?" "First off, don't interrupt me again or I'll have to ask you to leave." "Sorry..." "And I believe one will happen becuase of what the diamond dogs did. They were armed and had an objective that I believe they achieved. I don't know what it was, but they achieved it. It's the only way to explain why they backed off at the end of the fight. Now comes the real question, what does this mean for the Spartans. With Topaz gone we become our own government institution, so what do we do?" "What do you mean what do you do?" Twilight asks. "If Equestria went to war, you'd defend us... wouldn't you?" I take a breath as I re-position myself in my seat. Everyone is staring at me, dreading my answer. "We can't..." "What!" Rainbow Dash yells. "How could you be such a traitor! I thought you loved being in Equestria! Why would..." "We can't support Equestria becuase we don't know who's the villain in this..." "What in tarnation does that mean?" Applejack says. "Miles, have you told Luna these thoughts?" Twilight says. "Yeah, how could Equestria be the villains in this." Rainbow Dash adds. "We can't choose their side becuase the Equestrian forces are broken!" "And what does that mean...if you don't mind me asking..." "Give me one good reason the Equestrian forces are broken." Rainbow Dash says as she sits down and stares at me. "A guard, appointed by Celestia herself, turned out to be a rogue agent who wanted to kill Storm. Breaker was able to get high enough into the government to be one of the go to people for Celestia, and he was plotting to help destroy Ponyville. We don't know who we can trust besides ourselves, so I will not allow us to be used by any outside force. Its obvious someone is plotting against Equestria, and I will not allow another country I love fall to enemy forces. The best way for us to do that is to stand aside and let the enemy show itself. That way, if they end up being internal we wont hesitate to take them out. That's what the Spartans are for. We're the true sentinels for the good, becuase we are unaffected by either side. We can look at a situation and decide in an unbiased opinion who we would support, if we choose to support anyone." "I don't believe the Princesses would ever allow anything like this to happen." Twilight says as she looks away and thinks about what I said. "They wouldn't if they could stop it, but the attack by the Diamond Dogs proves that they can't stop everything. I will not allow us to be caught off guard again. That's why, starting tomorrow, I'm moving us to a readied stance. I want the two of you to show up at my place every morning before sun up for a work out regiment and a weapons training regiment. We're going to do two hours of each..." "What? Ya can't work mah brother like that! We need 'im on the farm." Applejack says as she runs to his side. "Don't worry about that. Storm and I will assist on the farm as much as we can. But we're doing this, it's too late to change my mind." They all look to one another, each of them giving each other looks of concern but not saying anything until Storm breaks the silence. "Alright. Just wake me up when you wake up and we'll wait for Big Mac to join." "Storm..." Twilight says as she walks over to his side. "He's right. There's a threat out there and we can't afford to assume that it's not internal. So... lets get ready for it." "EEyup." "Alright, now onto the next piece of business. Having no captain I automatically take the position. I'm now the Captain of the Spartan regiment, any rebuttals.... no, then without any challenges I ascend to the rank of Captain. I will need a Lieutenant, I will hold a contest tomorrow morning between the two of you to determine who will be the new lieutenant. OK, girls, I'm going to have to ask you all to leave now so I can discuss the last thing..." "What could be more important then a possible war that we couldn't hear about it?" Twilight asks. I wait silently until they take the hint and all step outside to give us our privacy. Once they're gone I flare my hand and raise it above my head, making a sound barrier. "Alright, so it's military that if you are to get married, you do it in non-combat uniform..." "Who's gettin married?" Big Mac asks. I look over to Storm and smile at him as he stares daggers at me. "I thought you promised to keep that a secret." He says flatly. "And I have, but I think Big Mac can keep a secret. Now comes the real problem, where do we get these uniforms?" "We could have Rarity make them." Storm says."I can pay for them to, it would not be a problem." "Alright, after we work on the farm tomorrow we should all go to Rarity's to set the orders." I say, getting them to nod in response. "So... when are you goin ta pop the question?" Big Mac asks, making Storm sigh. "Soon.... I hope... I'm trying to plan something big for when I do ask." "Which brings me to my next point, if and when you do get married, your spouse becomes Terradisian. The reason we care is becuase Spartans protect Terradisians before we protect Equestrians. I know that sounds a little obvious, but I feel that it needed to be said. Well, unless either of you two have any questions, you can go home now." "I've got one. If Equestria goes to war, and we're still unsure who's pulling the strings, what do we do then?" Storm asks. "Then, we wait. We watch the fight from the side lines, fire when fired upon, and if the true aggressor shows their face we pick a side and fight. Any other questions?" "No." "NNope." "Good, go ahead and take off you armor and leave it here, I need to super treat it. I'll have your halberd ready tomorrow so you'll get that...uhh.. yeah, dismissed." I say as I drop the barrier. They nod to me and head out the door to the others. I turn back to the weapons on the table and contemplate where to start. I guess the best place to start would be making Big Macs weapon, then ding all of the duel enchantments..." "Miles?" I turn around to see Twilight standing with Storm. "Hey, what do you need?" "Well... I promised I wouldn't say anything, and I won't, but I really think you should discuss this with the Princesses. They deserve to know about the possible threat to our country and how your basically making another country within it." "*sigh* your right. When I have the time I'll make the trip down to Canterlot and talk to them. Thank you for keeping your promise." She nods to me and starts to leave but stops and faces me again. "There's one more thing I wanted to ask you about..." "Sure, shoot." "Topaz Falls..." "What about it?" "Well... can we visit...." "No." "Why not.." "I almost got killed going there. Do you really think I'll chance your lives as well? No. Topaz Falls is far too dangerous to navigate..." "What if Big Mac and I..." "That's still a no. You two are prominent fighters, but the bots down there still out gun us. Going down there would be suicide, and not to mention rather pointless. No one is ever going down there, EVER." Twilight looks away a bit before she trots away, with a look of determination on her face. Storm shrugs to me before he chases after her, leaving me to get back to work. I don't know when I'll get the chance to go talk to Celestia and Luna about my concerns... but I think I'll do it at night. Author's Note Shout out to Squishy for picking Big Macs weapon, and to BBB for picking the element that it'll hold. Thanks for reading, and like always, Brony on! Chapter 77 Unexpected VisitorChapter 77 Unexpected Visitor Beep... beep... beep... beep... beep... beep... "Enough already... I'm up, I'm up..." I say groggily as I reach over and turn my phones alarm off. Four hundred hours... way too early. I sit up and rub my eyes, trying to get rid of the sleepiness. I probably only got an hour of sleep last night, but it was worth it. I was able to finish Big Macs halberd, super treat both of their armor, do all of the basic maintenance requirements for all of my guns and even made some chest armor for myself. Even better, I still have some of the other weapons left over. Like, two axe's, a hammer and a scythe. I get up and take care of my business before getting dressed. I put on all of my armor and strap all of my weapons on. I look over my chest piece again as I twist around, testing it's flexibility. For the front, I made eight small panels of steel and chained them together, then super treated. The back is just a single piece that's forged to accent my muscles. Because of the super treatment, the metal has become a darker shade of grey. Satisfied with my armor, I head to Storm's room to see if he's in. I slowly open the door and peer inside to see Storm laying in bed, still asleep. I take a few steps inside and see that he's alone, good. Now I can get pay back for the virgin teasing. I tip toe my way over to him, amazed at how quiet my armor is.... or how heavy a sleeper he is. I grab the sheets on the bottom of the bed and get ready to pull. One... Two.. Three... "WAKE UP STORM!" I yell as I pull the sheets out from under him, sending him rolling to the ground. He tries to get up, but somehow got trapped in the blankets and can't get out. "MILES! YOU ASS!" He yells as he finally begins to crawl out of the sheets. "Morning buddy ol' pal of mine!" "GAH!" He says as he struggles to his hooves. "Why can't I ever just wake up peacefully...." "Want to get some breakfast?" I ask nonchalantly. He pants a bit as he walks up to me, glaring daggers the entire time. "...yeah." I laugh a bit as I head downstairs. "Nice body armor, did you enchant it as well?" "I can't enchant my armor the way I did yours. My magic would burn it off the metal and melt out the gems. I have to rely on a better offense for my defense." I say as we head into the kitchen and both look through the fridge. "Have you been the one filling the fridge?" "Yeah, why?" "Uhuh, just wondering how it's always filled." I say as I grab a carrot and start to eat it as I head to the kitchen table. Storm comes over with a few apples under his wing and starts to eat them as a knock comes from the front door. "I'll get it." I head to the door and open it to find Big Mac waiting. "Big Mac." I say as I step aside and let him in. "Eeyup." We head back to the kitchen and take a seat at the table as Storm finishes his last apple. He had like... four apples... and I was gone for like... ten seconds... da fuck? "OK, so before we start let me show your weapon's and armor." I say as I lead them into the dining room. I put most of the weapons into my closet, but I left all of their stuff down here. I pick up their armor and lay them on the ground before them. The steel is now dark grey like mine, with the markings being black. "I gave you the same enchantments as Storm, except for the electricity one. You get fire instead." I say as they both start to put the armor on. "You'll also notice that I've made the attachments differently..." "Yeah, it slides instead of bending." Storm says as he starts to put on his grieves. "That's becuase I went from an archaic tact weld to pegged slides. If you look on the plates, they have groves with pegs in them, so they'll slide and bend a bit more. I also super treated them, so now they're twice as hard as before with half the weight. Now..." I say as I reach over and grab Big Macs halberd, it actually came out nicely. It's about three meters long, including the twenty centimeter point. A blade curves on one side while the other side has a flat hammer. I the center of the three weapon points is a gem that's embedded into the metal and glowing white. "Lets go outside and I'll show you what I did to this." "Eeyup." I turn around to leave but pause when I see Lupus sleeping on the couch. He's laying on his back with all four of his legs sticking in the air, twitching a bit.... that wolf... gets weirder and weirder everyday. "Miles..." "Right, lets go." I say as I head out the door. I walk out a bit and take a moment to enjoy the night sky before I turn back to them and take a stance with the weapon. "Alright, the halberd, a pretty versatile weapon. You can hack, stab, and smash all in one. I've added a fire enchantment to this as well as a counter balancing ball at the end of the staff." I take a few steps back before I start to swing the blade around. It's a little heavy for me, but with his strength enchantment this shouldn't be a problem. As I spin the staff around the blades ignite, leaving a trail of fire behind. I hold the halberd still and thrust forward, sending a plume of fire out a meter. "You're not going to have the range that Storm has with his sword, but anything in range will be in deep shit." I say as I do a few more stabs. After I had my fun I hand the weapon back to Big Mac. He looks at it then back to me with a smile on his face. "How's he going to sheath it?" Storm asks, making me face palm. "You don't sheath a halberd, but I did make two light magnification points on the right side of your armor, so you won't have to carry it all of the time." He looks to his side and swings the blade to his right. With a loud snap it clings to his side and holds there, extending past his hind legs. "Alright, lets start with some basic strength training, then some sparring matches, and we'll end with some cardio..." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Luna Oh my god I'm so bored, I hate doing night court. Nothing ever happens. Regina said she was going to arrive some time today to discuss Steelwing, but I have a feeling she won't get here till day time. I shift over in my seat and look around the empty chamber, why does everything exciting have to happen in the daytime? TICK... I wonder what Miles is up to... probably asleep. Heh, he has a pretty cute sleeping face. I like how his mouth hangs slightly open. I wonder if I can manage to see him today. I'll have to be sure to see Regina before I leave... assuming the flight here doesn't take too long. How long does it take to cross the Divide... like twenty hours or so... hmm. I would have to nap there again, as much as I liked it last time I didn't really get to spend time with him. TOCK... Where do we even have a clock in this room? It must be behind one of the pillars. I shake my head and stand up, getting all of the guards to stand at attention. I walk down the steps and face the guard to my right. "Guard, what time is it?" "It's five AM, your highness." "Right, I..." I stop talking as the doors open up and a pony starts walking towards us. I quickly walk back up the steps and take a seat in the throne. A visitor... here...now... what could he want? He's a light green unicorn with wavy green hair. His cutie mark seems to be a letter with a piece of paper coming out of it. He has a dark green satchel with him that has a copy of his cutie mark on it. "Princess Luna." He says with a bow. "Greetings subject, what concerns do you wish to bring before me this night?" Oh my god I've waited too long to say that to somepony! "Uh... I bring a message from Ambassador Regina..." He says as he pulls out a letter and gives it to a guard. He gives another bow before he leaves the chamber. I swear I could feel my heart fall out of my chest as the guard presents me the letter. This better be good. Dear Princess Luna, Did you enjoy the night visitor? I thought it would make night court a little more bearable. Well, if it didn't I know what will. Come to my bed chambers anytime, I'll be waiting. P.S. Yes, I'm here now and awake. Really Regina... you couldn't come here and tell me this. I give the letter to the guard and start to walk out of the chamber, getting the two guards to follow after me. "Guards, I am going to teleport to Ambassador Regina's bed chamber, please meet me there." "Yes your highness." They say together. I flash into Regina's bedroom and find her laying on the bed, facing away from me. Her room is just a simple guest room, only having a bed, dresser and a small balcony in it. Everything in here has a red and gold color scheme to it. I look to Regina and sneak over to her. I take in a deep breath and... "LUNA!" She yells as she jumps up. "AH!" I yell as I fall back, getting Regina to laugh at me. "How many times are you going to fall for that?" She asks as I get back to my hooves. "Don't worry, I'll get you back one day." I say jokingly. We share a small laugh before she walks over and gives me a small hug. "It's good to see you again Luna." "And it's good to see you as well, though I wish it were under better circumstances..." "Then lets make them better. How are things between you and Miles?" "Uh... well... good... I guess..." "What did he do?" "Nothing. He didn't do anything wrong. It just... we only spent time together yesterday and I don't know when the next time will be when we get to be together." "Hmm... well... OH! Idea. Princess Luna, would you give me a tour of your country? Starting and ending in Ponyville? Though I can only be here for two days so I guess we'll only be going to Ponyville." She says formally and ends with a wide smile. I shake my head and give her a quick hug. "Thank you Regina, but I don't think seeing him right now would be a good..." "Nope. To late. You said thank you, so we're going now. So lets get going." "We can't just leave. Celestia would find us in a heart beat. Not to mention he's probably still asleep..." "So what if he's asleep. Don't you think it would be a nice surprise for him to wake up with you right there? And as for Celestia... we could stay for breakfast and then go." "But then that would be during the day. She would be the one to talk to you about Steelwing." "That's true... darn. Well... how long until you need to raise the sun?" "A little over an hour." "Hmm... lets just do a quick visit right now and then come back and deal with Steelwing." "Reggie, a quick visit to somepony who's sleeping..." "How about you just scry him then." I look around for a surface to scry with but can't find a suitable one. "Hold on." I say before I teleport us to my room. I go to my vanity mirror and begin to set the spell. "I'm telling you though he's going to ... be... fighting?" Once the image clears up it shows Miles in full armor fighting Storm Cloud and Big Mac, both of them being in armor as well. Big Mac's weapon appears to be a halberd that's on fire while Storm's sword is sending massive gust of wind. Miles has his sword out and seems to be dancing circles around the two of them, dodging, blocking and countering everything they're doing. I would say they're sparring, but those are real weapons and they don't seem to be holding back. "So... is there a good reason they're fighting?" "I don't know... but I'm going to find out." I say as I charge my horn. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles CLINK... FWOSH... CLINK... I block Storms swing and push him back. They both really want this position, but I won't let them get it that easily. They both run towards me and try to stab at me, but I roll to the side and magically make a small hole for me to fall into. I seal the hole up and tunnel behind them before I jump back to the surface. I hold my stance as I look around for them... where did they go? "Miles!" I spin around to find Luna and Regina standing behind me. Luna looks pretty pissed off as she holds Storm and Big Mac in the air with her magic. "Uh... hey Luna, what's up?" I ask as I lower my sword. "Why don't you tell me. Why are they fighting you? Where did you get that armor? Just how much magic have you been using this night?" "Uh..." Is all I manage as she glares at me. I glance up to Storm and Big Mac, who both just shrug, and rub the back of my head. "Well... they are 'sparring' with me becuase they want the lieutenant position, I made the armor, and... I've used enough magic to make two pieces of armor, a weapon, and super treat them." "That was not sparring, that was fighting. You do not spar with real weapons!" She snaps back. "You do when you enchant them not to do damage." "You did what now?" Regina asks as she walks up beside Luna. I hold my arm out and swing my sword down onto it. Luna tries to stop me with her magic but was to slow. My blade slammed into my arm and stopped on top. "Miles! What did you do!" Luna says as she gapes at my arm. "I made a green mark on my arm." I say as I lift my sword to reveal a neon green slash on my arm. "I set a spell on our blades so they wouldn't cut us. The objective was for one of them to get a killing blow on me, but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon..." "I almost got you!" Storm yells from above. "The only thing you almost got was a stomach full of titanium!" I snap back. "Hey Luna, could you set them down now?" "Oh, of course." I say as I set them down. "Alright, run a lap around Sweet Apple Acres and then come back here. If I'm not outside then run another lap and then call it a day." "Sweet Apple Acres goes around fer almost forty miles." Big Mac says. "Forty what?" "Uh... miles." "... OK, go un-fuck yourself and then do two laps before you come back to my place, both of you." Storm gives Big Mac a dirty look before they both run off for Sweet Apple Acres. I sheath my sword and turn back to Luna, who still looks pissed. "So..." "You don't know what a mile is do you?" Regina says, oblivious to Luna's anger right now. "Uh... I'm assuming it's a form of measurement..." "Hey Regina, could you give me and Miles a moment. I would like to have a word with him in private." Oh shit. She nods and flies away, leaving me to my fate. "Lets head inside first." She says before she teleports us both to my room. "LunMMMMM!!" I begin to say before she jumps up and forcefully kisses me, knocking me onto the bed. She breaks the kiss and begins to remove my armor, starting with my chest piece. "Luna... not that I'm complaining, but what are you doing?" She finally gets my chest armor off and tosses it aside with her magic before she reaches down and forcefully kisses me again. "I hit estrous last night." She says lustfully as she begins to nibble on my right ear. "OK.... whats that?" She gives a little chuckle before she magically rips my shirt open and runs her hooves down my body. "Why don't I show you?" She says playfully as she moves closer and closer to my..... "Luna!" I say as she reaches into my pants and grabs my dick. "I thought you wanted to wait..." "I can't wait, I need it, NOW!" She says as she tears my pants open and begins to position herself over me. I reach down and grab her thighs, stopping her from making me penetrate her. "Miles." She wines. "No teasing." "Luna, just.... just hold on a second here. Why are you acting like this?" "I already told you, I hit estrous." "Right, and what exactly is that?" "It's when a mares body tells her to go out and make babies..." "WHAT!" I yell as I push her aside and jump off the bed, trying my best to cover myself up. "Miles! Not so rough." She complains as she gets back up. "You want to.... and I... " I stammer as I back away from her, only to stop when I reach the wall. "Is something wrong Miles?" She says as she approaches me. "Don't you want me to have your babies?" When she reaches me she rears up and places her fore hooves around my shoulders, stroking my hair as she stares into my eyes as she does so. "Luna... I would love nothing more then to do that, but..." "But?" "But this isn't right. I know you wanted to wait, so I'm going to make you waiAAAHHH!" She pulls me of the wall and tosses me onto the bed, pinning me down with her magic. "Your words say no, but your body says yes." She says as she begins to position herself over me. "Luna... just, just stop. Think for a second. What would Celestia think if you were to get pregnant..." "Mmmm, lucky mare?" She says as she lays on top of me. I feel my member rub against her ass, sending a chill of pleasure throughout my entire body. "Uh... I... you... we..." She silences me by kissing me again, though this time with less force and with more passion. I lose myself in her kiss, only for us both to break the kiss as the door slowly squeaks open. "OH SWEET BARBRA! SAVE ME LUPUS!" I yell as Lupus takes a few steps inside and looks at the two of us. We both stare at him as he stares back at us, please... "Lupus, be a good boy and shut the door please." Luna says, making Lupus bite the door handle and pull it shut, leaving us alone again. That fucking traitor. "Now, where were we?" "Uh, the part where you let me go and..." "I think I was at the part where I put you inside me." She says as she lifts herself up and begins to position herself over me. I twist myself to the side, making her to bring herself down on the side of my hip. SO... SOFT... "Luna... please don't do this." "Don't worry, it'll be over soon.... or not. Lets hope not, for somepony your size..." "I'M NOT LITTLE!" I yell as I try to twist out of her magical grasp, to no avail. She begins to lower herself down again, trying to aim herself to line up with me as I twist from side to side. With an annoyed sigh she grabs my hips with her magic and holds me still. "I want top!" I yell, making her stop. "You want top?" "Yeah... if we're going to do this, I want top." "Hmm..." "It'll be way better if I'm on top, let me be on top." She thinks about it for a second before she smiles and lets go of her magic. "Alright, but be gentle... at first." She says as she rolls over onto her back, spreading her legs apart for me. I have to do this perfectly. I roll over and pull the blanket with me as I position myself over her. "Ready?" "MMM yeah." She says as she bites her hoof. Oh sweet Barbra... I shake my head and get ready for my plan. I one quick motion I pull the sheet over her and begin to tie it off. "MILES! What are you doing!" Before she could do anything I grab her horn and hold onto it, effectively cutting her off from her magic. "Stopping you from doing something stupid..." "But I want to do something stupid, let me do something stupid!" She says as she tries to pull free, but I wrap my legs around her mid section and hold her there.... did she just call me stupid? "How long does estrous last?" "About a week..." "FUCK!" I look around and try to find a way to get out of here... if I can get outside I may have a chance. "Miles..." "Luna, please just..." "Don't you love me?" "You know I do..." "Then you just don't find me attractive." "That's a lie! You are the most beautiful person I've ever seen, I just want to respect your wishes to wait till marriage..." "Then lets get married!" She says excitedly. Shit. "Luna..." "I do. There, now we're married, please rut me now." "No Luna..." "Aw come on! Can you at least rub me? Or how about you just stick your..." "Enough Luna! I'm not doing any of that! I'm sorry, but I love and respect you too much to do this while you're not in the right mind set." She falls limp and sighs as we lie there on the bed. I don't know how I'm going to get away from her, but I need something to distract us, why did I have to send Storm and Big Mac away. "Miles... I have to go tinkle." SHIT! What do I do? If she's lying I'm screwed. If she isn't and I hold her here I'm an ass. "Uh... alright." I say as release my legs from around her and get off the bed, still holding onto her horn. She gets off the bed and starts to walk to the restroom where she pauses. "Do you plan on coming inside with me or..." I let go of her horn and back away from her. Moment of truth. She gives me a smile and walks into the restroom, closing the door behind her. Oh thank you thank you tha.... "Got ya!" She yells as the door burst open. I turn and try to open the door, only to find it locked. Fucking Lupus. Before I could do anything else Luna picks me up with her magic and drops me back on the bed, pinning me down again. "MMM! MMM? MMMM!!" I mumble as I soon find my lips being held shut by her magic. "Now where were we?" She says as she looks down at my flaccid member. "Now that won't do." She says as she lays the front half of her body on the bed and grabs hold of my dick. I jolt forward from the sudden contact, having my eyes roll back from the pleasure of having her jerk me off. "Mmmm." I moan as she stops and just holds it there. "Great, now that our hard enough, lets get rutting." She says as she lets go of me and pulls the rest of her body over me. I jolt forward again from the feeling of having her body rub against me like that. She pulls herself past my erection and sits back against it, having my member rub up against her pussy, but not enter. "Heh, so close yet so far huh?" She says as she starts to rub herself against me, sending waves of pleasure through me again. I lean forward to try to kiss her, only to snap back when I hear something hit the window. "MMMM!" I yell as Regina hovers there, watching the two of us. "Luna! We need to get going so you can raise the moon." "Can't that wait?" "Now Luna. We can come back later." "*sigh* fine." Luna says. She gives me a kiss on the cheek and whispers "later" into my ear. She gets up off of me and walks over to the window, teleporting the two of them away. I sigh in relief.... that was WAY too close. I need to hide somewhere for the next week... after I get changed... and take an extremely cold shower. Chapter 78 The Best Hiding Spot EverChapter 78 The Best Hiding Spot Ever After a cold shower, made icy with my magic, I get dressed as quickly as possible. Once I'm done I run out of my room and make it down stairs, where I pause to glare at Lupus, who's just sitting there, wagging his tail. I turn and run out the door at break neck speeds, trying my best to get anywhere as fast as possible. I need to get somewhere I can hide... Twilight should be able to help! I make a be line for Twilight's, running as if my life depended on it. When I make it to her place I slide to a stop in front of her door and start pounding on it. I hit it harder and harder, waking the neighbors and making a dog somewhere start to howl. "YES! What do you need!" Twilight yells as she swings the door open. "Miles? It's six in the..." "I NEED YOUR HELP!" I yell as I run into her place and look around for anything I can hide in. "What are you..." "LUNA'S IN ESTROUS AND SHE DID THE NAUGHTY TOUCH BUT HAD TO GO RAISE THE MOON OR SUN OR WHATEVER, SO I RAN AND NOW I NEED TO HIDE!" I yell as I frantically try run around the room, trying to find anything I can hide in. I finally make it to the closet where I dive in and slam the door shut the door as I bury myself under all of the cushions. I curl into a ball and hold onto myself... that was too close. I almost fucked her... I almost lost my virginity, do hand-hoof jobs count....FUCK! Knock knock knock "Miles..." "I'm not here." "Miles, come out of the closet..." "No can do." "Miles..." "Miles isn't here right now, please leave a message after the beep, beeeeeeeep." "Alright, it's too early for this. I'm opening the door, please don't run." She says as she slowly opens the door and looks down at me. "Wow... what happened to you." "I don't want to talk about it." "Miles, please. I want to help, just tell me what happened." She says in a caring tone. Well, I did come here for help. "Well, Luna swung by this morning. One minute she was pissed at me for using magic and the next she was trying to fuck me. But believe me when I say we didn't. I didn't penetrate her. But she's going to come back later, so I need to hide for the next week." "Luna hit estrous." She says in disbelief. "That's what she said, right before she tried to have her way with me... do hand jobs count for losing your virginity?" She stares at me for a second before she slowly shuts the door. That can't be good. She comes back a little later looking more awake and having that look of determination on her face.... I don't like where this is going. "Alright Miles, I will help you, but there is a catch. We are going to hide together." "Together? Why together?" "Because we're going to hide in the one place where she won't be able to find you." "And where would that be?" She continues to give me her smug look as I put one and one together. "No." "Is there anywhere else where she won't be able to find you?" "Right here is working pretty well." "You can't stay in my closet for a week." "Why not?" "She'll find you here eventually. I'd think this would be one of the first places she'd check if she was looking for you." "... fuck. It's still a no. I'm not going back down there with all of those frenzied bots." "Your choice. Frenzied bots or super horny Luna." "..." "Miles." "..." "Miles!" "I'm thinking about it! Ah fine! Frenzied bots it is then...." "YES!" "But I'm going alone." "No you are not...." "Yes I am!" "If you don't allow us to come then I'll just tell Luna where you're going." "..... you wouldn't dare." "Try me." We stare at each other for a few moments before I bury my face in one of the pillows. "Why can't you understand that it's not safe down there." "We've all dealt with danger before Miles." "Not like this. These bots are different." "Aren't you a Spartan?" "Yeah..." "And aren't Storm and Big Mac Spartans?" "Yes, but..." "Then this should be easy." "Twilight..." "Unless the Spartans are all talk and no walk." She says as she turns and walks away. OH NO SHE FUCKING DIDN'T! I jump to my feet and follow after her. "Hey! The Spartan regiment can handle any threat..." "Then prove it!" She says as she turns around and starts to walk towards me. "If you are all as good of fighters as you says you are then escort us down there and lets hide in Topaz Falls." "FINE! We will!" "Fine. Then do it." "Fine. Just watch us." "Fine. Get to it then." "FINE! Go get the girls and I'll go get Big Mac and Storm. Meet back at my place in thirty minutes." "Is that a promise?" "You bet it is, now get going." "If you say so. I'll be sure to gather some supplies before as well." She says before she turns and runs out the front door.... what the fuck just happened? I run out the front door to stop her but she teleports away before I could say anything. "Mother fucker..... *sigh* fuck. Well... better go get the two of them." I say as I turn and start to walk towards Sweet Apple Acres. By the time I make it the sun's starting to make it's way past the horizon, making me sweat lightly. We need to get moving asap. I look around to try and find them, but they're no where in sight. I kneel down and quickly start to remove my boots grab a hold of them in my left hand. I turn to my right and start to run, using my magic to propel myself faster. I make a quick left when the Everfree comes into view and keep running along the line of apple trees. After a bit of running I see the tree line up ahead and slow down to turn. When I do I find Big Mac and Storm lounging underneath a tree, eating some apples. When they see me they both spit out the food in their mouths and gape at me. "Oh shit..." "We've got a mission." I say as I approach the two of them. "A-a mission?" Storm says as they stand up. "Ends up Luna's hit estrous and..." "HAHAHAHA!" Storm and big Mac both erupt in a fit of laughter, falling to the ground and holding their sides as they rock back and forth. "Are you done yet?" "What, do you need us to teach you how to rut or something?" Storm says as they continue to laugh. "OK, I'll just go to Topaz Falls with Fluttershy and Twilight alone, you two just stay here..." "WHAT!" They both yell as they jump back to their hooves and stare at me. "Ready to take this seriously?" They both nod so I start to tell them what happened.... leaving out the exact details of what Luna and I did. "And that's what's going on right now. Twilight's getting everyone else and we're to meet them at my place asap, any questions?" "Uh.. who's gonna watch mah farm while we're gone.... not ta mention Applebloom." "Good point... you think we could convince Applejack to stay behind?" Big Mac gives me a look before he shakes his head. "Fuck... alright. You're going to stay behind then. We'll go down and keep an eye on them." "Are ya sure? Maybe ah can..." "We don't have time to make a better call, we need to get going now. I still expect you to do your exercises in the morning, I know we will. Alright come here Storm." "Wait what?" He says as I grab his armor and start to run to my place, getting him to latch onto me as we go. We make it to my place where I run through the front door and head to the kitchen. "Alright, gather food. Enough to last us a week. I'm going to collect the water." I say as I take a cloth and lay it in front of the sink. "Right... food, got it. Just let me get my satchel." He say as he runs to the front. I turn the water on and start to collect the water in the air with my magic. After I get a large amount I start to freeze the water, turning it into a ball of ice. Once the ball grows to the size of my head I start to force it to shrink, making it the size of my fist. With a solid thud I drop it onto the cloth and wrap it up and head up to my room to gather my weapons and armor. After I collect them all I start to walk out, but stop and look back at the other two guns in my closet. I grab the E.A.R. and run down stairs with it. When I get to the bottom of the stairs Twilight runs through the door and approaches me. "OK Miles, we're all here..." "Take this real quick." I say as I present the gun to her. She looks at it for a second with mixed looks before she takes it with her magic. I walk around and tell Storm to follow me out. The three of us walk out to find the rest of the girls standing out front, most of them looking sleepy. They all have satchel bags that are filled to the brim with what I presume are supplies. "Alright, lets get going, when we make it to the entrance I'll give a basic over view of what we're going to go through. Now lets hurry and get out of sight as soon as possible." "Do you remember how to get there?" Twilight asks. "Vaguely. Last time I chased a griffin into the Everfree and he showed me the entrance. "Hmm... let me use my memory spell on you to help you remember the way." She says as she approaches me. I nod as I kneel and lower my head, allowing her to place her horn onto my head as she uses her spell on me. Images of the chase flash before my eyes as I start to recollect what exactly happened. When she finishes the spell I stand up and look back to the spot where we entered and start to head towards it. "We entered there and went in for about thirty meters before we started to weave around, still moving forward for another forty meters." I say as we enter the tree line. "So.. um... if you don't mind me asking, why are you hiding from Luna?" Fluttershy asks as we head further into the forest. "Well, she went sex crazy and wanted to... yeah. I know she actually wants to wait till marriage so I'm going into hiding to honor her true wishes." "Aaww." Fluttershy says before she mumbles something to herself. "That's mighty respectable of you Miles." Applejack says as she trots up beside me, looking around the surrounding. "Maybe we should keep the chatter down until we make it ta the entrance." Everyone nods and we continue our way to the cave. There's a haze setting in the forest, getting thicker and thicker as we head into the forest. Soon we can only see a meter ahead, slowing us down significantly. Storm jumps ahead and flaps his wings, sending gust of wind ahead and making the haze billow up. "Rainbow, help me out." He says, getting Rainbow to jump to his side. They both flap their wings together, trying their best to make the haze clear up, after a few minutes the fog only seems to grow thicker. "Well that was a bust." Rainbow says as she stops flapping. "Should we keep going?" Pinkie asks. "We would run the risk of getting lost or separated. I think we should wait a bit before we continue." Twilight says. "We can't wait, Luna will be on our trail any minute." I say as I take a few step forward. "Well we can't get through this dreadful fog." Rarity complains. "Maybe we could tie a rope ta each of us an navigate through tagather." Applejack suggest. "We could still get lost as a group..." Twilight says as they all start to argue with one another. I step aside and try to think of a way out of this fog when something catches my attention. I look out at the grey wall and try to see what's out there, but can't see anything. "Miles? What are you looking at?" Storm says as he walks beside me, trying to see whatever's out there. "I'm not sure... but I think there's something out there." Everyone falls silent as we all stare out into the fog. I can't help but feel as if something out there is staring back at me. "We need to get moving." I begin to walk forwards when suddenly a deep growl rumbles from the grey. I stop and slowly place a hand on my swords pommel and my trench knife, waiting for whatever's out there to strike. Suddenly a pair of small yellow lights appear from the fog, moving towards me slowly as a low growl comes forth. In the blink of an eye, a brown mass lunges out of the haze at me. In one swift motion I drop to a knee and pull out my blade, slicing the creature as I do. The creature falls to the ground behind me and slumps over as it gags. We all approach it to identify it. It looks like a wolf, only larger and made of branches. "Oh my... a timber wolf." Fluttershy says as she shuts it's eyes. "We should get moving, they don't usually hunt..." oooooOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooo I look around as the sound of dozens of wolves howling fills the air, somehow making the fog clear up along with it. As the fog clears, more and more yellow eyes appear around us, slowly approaching on us. "Any tips on dealing with timber wolves?" I ask Fluttershy. "Just... don't set them on fire." She says as she walk up beside me. "Really? Alright, you're the expert... what are you doing?" I ask as she approaches one of the wolves. "What is she doing?" I ask the group. "What she does best." Twilight says proudly. "Just let her be, she can handle this." I look back to Fluttershy to see shes walked right up to one of the growling wolves and... sniffs its foot.... da fuck? The wolf stops it's growling as it sniffs Fluttershy's face a bit before backing off and wags it's tail. "Umm, could you please let me and my friends please pass through?" She asks nicely.... she can't be serious. "Bark bark BARK!" The wolf.... barks.... back. "And I'm sorry that that happened, but he did attack my friend over there. We need to pass to take him to an underground city so he can hide from his estrous induced marefriend. Could you please help us?" "Aroo?" The wolf says as it sits down and tilts its head to the side. How is she talking to it? How is it understanding her? How am I the only one who's disturbed by this? "Oh... well, ahem, she wants to...mate... with him, but he wants to wait..." "AROO?" It says loudly as it tilts its head to the other side. "Well, its what she really wants, so he's doing the honorable thing. So can you help us find the cave to his home?" "Bark bark!" It says as it jumps to its feet and runs off. "Oh, thank goodness. She said she will take us to the cave, lets follow after her!" Fluttershy says excitedly as she chases after the timber wolf. I was about to question her but everyone else ran after her, so I followed after them. After a few minutes of running we finally come to a stop at the cave entrance to Topaz Falls. The timber wolf stands before the entrance until we all catch up. With a final bark it runs off into the forest, meeting up with the rest of the timber wolves and scatter into the forest. As we all enter the cave I walk up beside Fluttershy to ask an important question. "Soo, why shouldn't I have set them on fire?" "Becuase that would kill them." She says matter of factually. "Right... anyway. Everyone, with me real quick." I say, getting all of them to come back to me. "Alright, I'm going to set some ground rules for when we're in Topaz Falls. These are to help keep you alive, so follow them closely. Do as I say. If I say run, you run. If I say don't touch, you don't touch. And if I tell you to leave you don't argue with me for an instant, you leave. If we get separated head to the Parliament Congressional Hall. It's the tallest building in the center of the city, you can't miss it. If you are on you're own, stay hidden and keep moving. Just becuase you can't see them doesn't mean they can't see you. For those of you who can fly, stay as low as possible. If you get too high you will be shot down. Any questions?" "I have one!" Pinkie says as she waves her hoof in the air. "No parties." "Aw, fine, no more questions." I shake my head as I turn and lead them into the cave. Topaz Falls... I never thought I would say this, but here we come. I just hope we can keep them all safe. Chapter 79 Welcome To Topaz FallsChapter 79 Welcome To Topaz Falls We all make it to the large hole in the ground and stare down in awe. First obstacle, how do we get down? Storm, Fluttershy and Rainbow could fly down, but what about the others? I guess I could make a platform and then just jump down to the bottom... that would be best. "OK, here's the plan, wait here and I'll jump down and make a Mico platform. Then we'll..." "I'll go with you." Rainbow says as she begins to stretch. "Why do you need to go?" "To make sure you don't ditch us." I glance at her and shake my head. "Alright, just give me a sec." I say as I start to remove everything that's on me. "What are you doing?" Fluttershy asks. "Taking off all of the excess weight. The last time I did this it was a bitch. I'm not going to make the same mistakes twice." I say as I begin to remove my armor. "Uh Miles, do I have to carry this?" Twilight says as she shakes the rifle in the air. "Actually, I was hoping you would use it." "WHAT! I can't use a weapon, I hate weapons. I can't...." "Twilight, I understand that you don't like weapons, but I would feel better if you ALL had weapons. Topaz is not safe, and I want you to be able to protect yourselves while we're there. Do you think you could ignore your hatred of weapons while we're in Topaz? At least as long as things aren't safe." Twilight thinks about it for a second before she nods and pulls the rifle closer to herself. "Thank you." I say as I finish removing the last of my armor and prepare to make the leap. "How far down does it go down?" Rainbow asks as she stands next to me and looks down. "Well, I'd have to say anywhere from a kilometer and a half to two kilometers." I say as I kick on the magic in my heels. "OK, I'm getting tired of hearing this, how far is a kilometer?" Twilight asks. "A thousand meters." I say before I kneel down and create the first Mico platform. Once I finish making it I leap into the dark hole, having Rainbow fly after me. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Luna GAH! This breakfast is taking FOREVER! Celestia and Regina keep talking about Steelwing and its making this take sooo long. I need to get out of here and get to Miles so he can get me off... "What do you think sister?" Celestia asks me. I think I need something inside of me... right.... now. "It's... definitely a sticky situation." HA! it will be soon at least. "Yes... well we need too find him and bring him to justice as soon as possible. We'll be sure to have all city guards on the look out for him." Celestia says as she looks back to Regina. "Where do you think he'll strike next?" "Well, I doubt he'll go to Ponyville again, now that we're on the lookout for him. My bet is somewhere we wouldn't be looking." "Hmm... the closest target from Ponyville would be either Cloudsdale or Canterlot, and both sound like unlikely targets. The dogs can't get to Cloudsdale and an attack on Canterlot would be futile. What do you think Luna?" What do I think.... I should get some rope in case Miles tries to fight me some more. "Well... uh... if he were to fight some more... we would have to subdue him... and try to get what we want from him... becuase... that would be... for the best?" "Riight.... Luna are you feeling..." KA-BOOM A large explosion catches our attention, making all of us run to the nearby windows. Out in the court yards a large explosion has created a hole in the ground where hundreds of Diamond Dogs are pouring out of the ground and running towards the castle. The few guards that were nearby were quickly killed by the onslaught of the overwhelming number of dogs. "But, but, but... this doesn't make sense. There is no possible way they could hold the castle. There's no way they could dream to take me or you prisoner. What are they after that they think they could achieve?" Celestia says in disbelief. "I don't think this is the time for questions." Regina says as she turns away from the window and starts to walk towards the main doors. "Right. Lets us go defend our subjects sister." Celestia says as she turns away. Those darn dogs.... they will pay for making me wait even longer. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Milles I hit the ground hard, sending dust and debris into the air. I hear Rainbow cough a bit and land beside me. "Alright lets get going." I say as I step out of the small crater and raise my hands to light the way. "Wait, aren't you going to make the other thing so everypony else can come down?" "I will, just closer to the door." "Shouldn't we tell them?" She says as she walks up beside me. "You want to go tell them?" "I think I'll stick with you for now." She says as she quickens her pace to be the one leading. We make decent time making it to the room where we held the meetings. Rainbow looks in the room for a second before losing interest and wandering around the room. I go straight to the hole in the back and call rainbow over. It's a little wider then what I remember it being, but I guess that makes sense. Luna and Celestia probably made it larger for themselves. With a sigh I flare my heels and hop down the hole. After falling the entire length of the hole until I come to the slope, where I dig my hands into the ground and stop myself from falling off the edge. I look up to see Rainbow hovering beside me, offering a hoof. "Thanks but we've got another drop to do." I say as I start to slide down. "How much further is it till we get to the city?" Rainbow asks as she flies over to the next drop. "Well... after this drop... about twenty meters or so." I say as I stop myself next to the drop. I take a deep breath before leaping into the dark hole. With my hands and heels lit I can see all of the grooves I made the last time I fell. I send a couple of flares down until I see the bottom coming towards me. There is some debris from before, but landing shouldn't be a problem. With a loud thud I hit the ground. I look back and wait for Rainbow to land next to me before I begin to move forward. Once the bulk head comes into view I stop and create the next platform. "Alright, just wait here for a moment and I'll bring everyone back." "Alright." She says as she stares at the door. "Stay away from the door. It'll lock if I'm not with you." I say before I step onto the platform and flash back to the entrance. "Miles! What took you so long?" Storm says as she runs up to me. They made a little camp in the cave, just somewhere to sit down. "Alright, one at a time, once you get to the other end just wait with Rainbow Dash until I get there." I say as I begin to put my armor back on. By the time I get all of stuff back on its time for me to take the platform, so I walk over and flash back to the entrance. "So, this is your home." Fluttershy says as we all stare at the door to Topaz. "Welcome to Topaz Falls." I say as I walk up to the door. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Luna "*SIGH* why are you here?" I ask lazily. "Silence pony!" Yells a dog as he charges down a hall at me, swinging his sword wildly in the air. With another sigh I grab him with my magic and start to slam him into the walls, floor and ceiling. Puny dog, they are really starting to get annoying. They aren't good fighters, they're not that smart, they just have numbers. I finish beating the dog and toss him out the window, sending him falling to his death. I was suppose to do something, but I can't really remember what it was. While Celestia was talking I was to busy thinking about what I was going to do to Miles when I get back to him. Hmm... strawberries... some honey... and some kind of gag..." "THERE SHE IS!" I look behind me to see a group of dogs running down the hall at me. I charge my horn and send a bolt of electricity through the group, dropping them instantly. I sigh again and continue walking down the hall. What was I suppose to do? I think it had something to do with the dogs... RAH! I NEED MILES! He would get rid of the darn dogs and then we could rut and then... "THERE'S THE BLUE ONE, GET HER!" Yells a dog as I turn around the corner. There are five of them this time, easy enough. They start to charge at me but stop when Regina lands in front of me. She wielding a griffin blade and has a belt going across her chest that has glass balls hanging on it. She charges at the dogs and tosses one of the glass balls at the leader, making it shatter and filling the room with smoke. All I can hear is the sound of metal clashing with metal as I try to find the dogs, but I can't see anything. I spread my wings out and flap them, sending a powerful gust of wind that clears the room of the smoke. With the smoke gone I can see Regina standing in front of me with three dogs around her. The other two lay on the ground with large gash marks on their necks. "Just hang tight Luna, I've got this." Regina says as she pulls out another glass ball and drops it, making the hall fill with the smoke again. Since when could Regina fight? I guess it comes with being a traveler. I wait for the clanging of the metal to end before I send another gust of wind through the hall, clearing the smoke and revealing Regina standing alone, surrounded by dead bodies. "Alright, now that that's been taken care of, where have you been?" She asks as she sheathes her sword and walks up to me. "I've kind of just been walking around..." "Didn't you hear what Celestia wanted you to do?" "Uh... no. I was... distracted." I try to give her my best smile, but she just faceclaws instead. "*sigh* well, it doesn't matter now. She wanted you to go to the guard barracks to rally them while she looked for the leader. I went ahead and did it for you, so now we need to find your sister and look for the leader, got it?" "Got it." "OK, what are we going to do then." "Find Miles, tie him up, have good time..." "No." She says as she taps my head with her fist. "No, no, no, no. That's not what we're doing..." "Well duh that's not what we're doing. Miles is my man, you can go have... somepony else..." "Not what I meant." She says as she taps my head again, making me blink back into focus. "OK, lets try this again..." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles When the door slides open I run forward with my hands flared, ready for anything. I glance around, looking for any kind of threat. Once I clear the entrance I turn to everyone else and motion to them to come inside. They all walk in slowly, taking in the view of the city as they do. "So this is Topaz." Twilight says as she looks up to the P.C.H. Once they all make it inside the door slides shut, sealing us inside. "What's this?" Pinkie asks as she bounces next to the bot from before. "That's a security droid. We'll probably see a lot of them later." "OK, what a security droid?" Applejack asks as she looks it over. "Its a machine. There are three basic forms you need to know about. Utility, security, and military. Though they vary in make up, they all follow the basic concepts. Utility bots are workers, security were basically the... guards, and the military bot were suppose to support us in fights. Lets get moving. First stop, I want to go check on the power generator." I say as I start to lead them down the street. "You know, I was kind of expecting... more destruction." Storm says as he walks up beside me. "This part of the city wasn't hit that hard... head to the back and watch the rear. If anything moves inside one of the buildings call it out." "Got it." He says as he turns around and walks too the back of the group. We make it to the end of the street and make a right, finding the first groups of bones. "Oh my..." Rarity says from behind. "Should we... bury them?" "Maybe another time. Right now there are to many bones and to large a threat to get it done." "But..." "We don't have time for that right now. I'll do it another time." I say as I continue towards the power station. We make it to the generator in complete silence. We make it up the stairs and enter the half sphere. I go straight to where I laid Dolum and offer a salute to him. "Uh, Miles?" Fluttershy says as they all approach the small trench. "Sorry, just paying my respects to my friend." "Oh... who is this?" "His name was Dolum Ostendere. He was... my best friend." Everyone stays silent, paying their respects to my friend. " Storm, stay up here and keep an eye on the door. If anything comes near us let me know. I'm heading down to check the power supply." "Right..." "I'll go with you." Twilight says as she follows after me. I head down to the substation and tap the panel on the main reactor... its showing enough power to last a few more days.... shit. "Miles..." "This isn't good." "What isn't good?" "When I filled these gems they had enough power to last two months, now they only show enough for a few days." "And what does that mean?" "It means that every bot that's operational in the city recharged completely. When we get into a fight..." "Can't we just hide? Isn't there somewhere we can go where they can't go?" "No. Anywhere we can go, they can go. Fuck, there places they can go that we can't. I'll refill the power, but we should get moving after that." "I think we can wait long enough to bury your friend properly." I look back to her and nod. We can wait for a proper burial. I fill all of the gems back up as she prepares the body, I don't know what she's doing, but it can't be any worse then just leaving a ditch. When I finish up I head back to find that they had wrapped him up in a blanket and set him back into the trench. Everyone is lined up next to the trench, bowing their heads in respect. I walk up next to them and look down at the small bundle. "Could you say some final words Miles." Rarity asks. I take a deep breath before I begin. "Dolum... was my best friend. He was always there for me... and I was there for him. He received a lot of flak for doing things... a little unorthodox. He had a personality that made most people think poorly of him, but I knew him better then most. He was a husband, soon to be father, a Spartan and... I'm sorry this happened to you." I salute again and seal the ground over him, burying him at last. I kneel down and engrave his name and rank into the ground. "Can... can you guys give me a moment." "Of course dear." Rarity says as they all head to the entrance. I sigh as I run my hand over the engraving. "I promise you this, Dolum. I won't make the same mistakes I made with our friends. I'll be there to protect them this time through.... you deserved better than this brother." I rise to my feet and head to the entrance, pulling out my rifle as I go. No more holding back, no more hesitation. From now on I'm in everything one hundred percent. "Where should we head?" Storm asks as I approach the entrance. "We need to arm everyone if we're going to stay here. Lets head to the P.C.H. I know a few places that might of been left untouched that will have some weapons." "Where's the P.C.H.?" Rainbow Dash asks. I point it out, getting them all to stare out at it. "We'll take the freeway there, that way nothing can sneak up on us. Keep together and stay close to me." I say as I start to lead them around the large crater and head down the freeway. Chapter 80 Long Road To RuinChapter 80 Long Road to Ruin Walking down the freeway was a bit of a bad idea. Nothing has bothered us yet, but being here is bringing back memories that I'd rather forget. Driving to that fateful battle, driving to Sine's place, seeing all of the stores that I once visited, all haunting my mind. I can see a few utility bots roaming the streets. Some are beginning to clean up the city, while others are running old tasks, like trying to buy groceries or trying to find children that have been dead for three thousand years. "What do you think made that line of destruction?" Fluttershy asks as she stares out at the line of leveled buildings leading to the P.C.H. "Well... I'm not sure, but I'm guessing that's where most of the fighting took place." "With everything the Terridisian's had, how did they manage to win?" Storm asks, getting Twilight to smack him up side the head and whisper something into his ear. "They had numbers. You'll see the bones later." I say as I pause and look out around the city. Why don't I see any of the high grade military bots? "What're ya looking fer Miles?" Applejack asks as the group begins to walk past me. "Next exit we're getting off this freeway." I say as I continue to walk down the road. "Why?" "We're being watched." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Luna "We need.... to find..... CEL-EST-IA." Regina says as she grabs my face and yanks it back and forth. "Got it?!" "Right... go... get... Miles..." "NO!" She yells as she lets go of my face and rubs her eyes. "AH... look, just follow me, alright." "Lead on." I say, getting an irritated look from Regina before we walk off together. I don't really get why she doesn't get why I need to find Miles so badly. My loins feel as if there're on fire right now, and the only remedy is some hot lovin from Miles. Hmm... I wonder if he's into hot tubs... if not then maybe just jump him when he's in the shower. That would save me the trouble of having to take his clothes off. Why does he have to wear those all of the time. All they do is cover his sexy body... where did Regina go? I look around to find myself alone in a random hallway. I could of sworn she was right next to me... oh well. Now I can leave and... "Ah hahahahaaa..." "You... you're that griffin everypony is looking for." I say as a grey griffin walks out from one of the rooms. He's not armed and seems oblivious to the fight going on around us. I create my weapons and run in front of him, putting his back against the wall. "Why are you attacking Equestria? What are you planning? Where..." "Do you want to know that or do you want to know where Miles is?" He asks calmly. "Miles... he's in Ponyville. Now tell me..." "Are you sure?" "Of course I am. Why would he..." "Maybe he left to get away from you..." "That's a lie! Miles would never leave to get away from me! He and I are..." "If you two are in love, then why didn't he sleep with you when you were last with him?" "He... because... I..." I stumble as I try to think of the answer, but fail. Why did he fight me? I thought he loved me. "That doesn't matter right now. You are coming with me..." "No. You are coming with me so we to have a little chat with my master, to discuss your... little love problem." "I... no! That's between me and Miles! I trust him to have a good reason for waiting... there has to be a reason..." "Maybe he doesn't love you..." "SHUT UP!" I yell as I pin him against the wall with my magic and put my blade against his throat. "Go ahead, do it. But tell me this first, why would he leave you and go back to the metal city?" "Metal city... you mean Topaz Falls?" "Yup, he went there with seven other ponies, most of them female." I drop him and take a few steps back. No... he would never cheat on me... he said he loved me... "You're.... you're lying..." "Face it, he played you. He wanted something else and couldn't get it so he settled for you." I back up until I walk into the wall, shaking my head as I start to tear up. He's lying... I know he is... " If I were to put money on it, I'd say he wanted Celestia, but after she said..." "STOP! STOP IT RIGHT NOW!" I yell as I put my hooves over my ears. I know he's lying... he has to be... Miles loves me, he said so... "Think about it. They have a past together. Celestia bans you from seeing him, but she's able to see him whenever she wants. He's always active in the day time. He fights being with you. I bet he fought being with you because he was busy rutting Celestia..." "SILENCE!" I yell as I send a blast of energy at him, sending him flying into the wall, making him drop to the ground. "Yell all you want..." he says as he gets back up, "but that doesn't change the fact that he left you to go back home, with no intentions of coming back." "How do you know this?! What proof do you have of this?" I ask as my tears start to fall. "Don't believe me? Try to scry him. You'll find it impossible to do. Same for the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. I'll even wait here. Go ahead, if you can scry him then he loves you, if not , then he played you." I look over to a mirror in the hallway and glance between it and Steelwing. I walk over to it and take a deep breath. Come on Miles, prove him wrong. I charge my horn and set the spell on the mirror. When I finish setting the spell the mirror suddenly turns fuzzy and then dark black. No... nononono this can't be right. I try and set the spell again only to get the same results. I begin to set the spell for the bearers, only to get the same results. "No... this isn't right. Miles... Miles said..." "What, that he loved you? He's human, and you're... well you're the freak of the night, aren't you?" I close my eyes and shake my head as I try to hold back my tears. "He... he said he liked my night sky...*sniff* he said he liked the moon..." "Let's be honest, how could he like something he's never seen before?" He says as he start to walk around me. "How could he fall in love with a species different then himself, or one as messed up as you for that matter? How long has it been since you've lost your power? Several years now, right? He's been lying to you from the minute he's met you, and you've fallen for every one of them. Even better, you've gone and put you're entire country in jeopardy..." "Ho-how did I do that?" He gives a small chuckle before he jumps onto my back and puts me in a choke hold. I twist and jump around as I try to get him off, but the more I fight... the more I start.... to feel... sleepy... ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles We've been walking for a couple hours now, I never really noticed how long these roads were. Then again, we were going almost a hundred forty kilometers a hour in our cars back then. We stopped in the middle of the street for a lunch break, putting down a large blue blanket for everyone to lay down and rest. I figure that for now here is the best spot for a break. The bots below haven't noticed us yet and if one of the Aquila's or the high grade ones comes by, we'll see it. The girls offered Storm and me food, but we both refused. Saying we weren't hungry and for them to go ahead to eat without us. We only have a few rations, so we need to make them last. We can go without for now. "Hey Miles, why don't any of the buildings here have roofs?" Twilight asks as she looks around. "All of the roofs are flat, why don't they point up like ours?" "It's to help conserve space and for future building. If we wanted to add to any one of them, all we need to do is stack another story on top." "Is there a reason they don't have any color? All this grey is simply dulling my eyes." Rarity says as she digs into her bag and pulls out some dark tinted glasses. "Visual appeal wasn't in our list of concerns. It was more about durability and space." I say as I circle around and look out towards the P.C.H. We're only a quarter of the way there. At this rate we won't get there until dark hours. I start to turn around but stop when I hear something in the distance. Everyone goes silent as the sound of metal screeching against metal roars through the air. "M-Miles, what was that?" pinkie asks as I flare my hands. "Get to cover somewhere and make your way to the P.C.H." I say as I take a few steps forward and take a readied stance. "Whats going on Miles?" Storm asks. I look back and pull my rifle off of my back and toss it to Rarity, who catches it with her magic. "I'm going to be a little preoccupied, try and help keep everyone safe alright. Point the barrel at whatever's trying to harm you and pull the trigger, got it?" "Oh...uh... I'll do my best, but what about you?" Rarity asks as she looks over the gun. Before I could answer the ground down the road explodes outward as a high grade military bot jumps through the ground and lands a kilometer away from us. It's the one from before with the buzz saw arm. It begins to spin its saw as it charges it's center eye for an energy blast, so I wave my arms around as I start to send chunks of the road at the bot. Each chunk that hits makes it stagger back, but fails to do any real damage. "GET OFF THE ROAD!" I yell as it fires its laser in front of me, making a large explosion. I jump back from the fire and send a beam of soul fire through the smoke. When I don't hear anything right away I bring my arms up and make my dome force field. Not a second later the massive buzz saw slams into the side of my force field. I hold the shield up as the lines on my arms begins to grow. "GET GOING! GO ON WITHOUT ME, I'LL MEET YOU THERE!" I yell as the bot walks up to me and slams its right foot onto my shield, making my lines burst forward. "But..." "NOW!" I wait until Twilight teleports them all away before I drop my shield and roll to the side, dodging the foot with only a few centimeters to spare. I grab the bot with my magic and toss it down the road, making it land on its back a few meters away. It immediately swings its saw around, making me dive to the side to avoid it. The bot and I get up at the same time, the bots chest opening up to reveal two rows of missiles. Shit, eight homing missiles. I burn through my boots as I flare my heels and leap as high as possible into the air. Below me I can see the smoke trails of two of the missiles heading straight for me. I whip around and send a slash of energy at the missiles, making them explode. I lift up a bit from the concussion wave before I start to drop back down. I flip around so I'm facing downward as I kick the air behind me, propelling me down at high speed. The bot looks up and fires two more missiles at me as it readies its center laser. I push my right hand at the bot and fire a beam of soul fire at it as it fires its beam at me.... Perspective: Storm We suddenly appear on the roof of a building, everypony looking scared and confused. Now is the time to step up. I look around and see we're a lot closer to the tall building, but still a few miles away. "We need to keep moving." I say as I look over the edge of the building. "How far do you think you could teleport us Twilight?" "I don't think I could do that again... that one nearly drained me of all my energy." Twilight says with a light pant. I look back to her and see she's sitting down and sweating lightly from the spell. It must of taken a lot out of her. "Okay, Rarity, do you know that spell?" "Sorry but I don't." Buck. Well, onto the next idea. "Alright, we'll just have to hoof it there then..." "What about Miles?" Rainbow Dash asks. "He said for us to move on without him. He can handle that.... thing. He's stronger then you think..." BOOM We all look back to see a black puff of smoke in the air over where we used to be. KRA-BOOM A second explosion suddenly appears below the first one, easily twice the size of the first one. "Are you sure we shouldn't go after him?" Fluttershy asks. "Well... as much as I want to go after him, I have my orders. If we get there and he's not there then we'll go after him..." "But what if we're too late?" Rainbow Dash asks. "We can't just abandon him like this. It's not right." "What exactly could we do to help?" "Well.... we could..." "I don't know if you noticed, but those things were pure metal. The best we have against those things are the guns Miles gave us and Rarity's and Twilight's magic. If Miles says he can handle it then we have to trust him to take care of it." "But..." "Now lets get going before one of those things come looking for us." I say as I head to the roof access door and kick it open. I wait for everypony to walk in before I close the door after me and walk down the stairs. There are some bright red lights throughout the stairway, one per floor. We start making our way down the stairs, everypony keeping silent as we go. "Storm..." Twilight says as she walks beside me. "You need to apologies to Rainbow Dash. You really hurt her feelings back there." "How did I do that?" "She's the element of loyalty Storm. Having her leave Miles behind like that is... just... can you please just have a word with her." "*sigh* alright, I'll have a word with her." "Thank you Storm." She says before she gives me a kiss on the cheek. I take another deep breath before I trot down to Rainbow and walk beside her. "So... sorry about being firm with you back there." "Its alright, I just don't like leaving Miles alone like that. What if he needs our help?" "Trust me, I'm worried too. But I know what Miles is capable of, so trust me when I say he can handle this." "But, what about us? What if we run into one of those things?" "Well... then we'll all have to work together to deal with it, won't we?" She gives me a small smile before we continues down the stairs. After a few more floors we find one of the doors opened, so we make our way through. I think we're in an apartment complex... or maybe an office? We're in a long grey hallway that's filled with black doors that are numbered off. Some of the lights that are hanging from above are on, but most of them are broken, leaving the hall poorly lit. I take the lead as we begin to walk down the hall. I stop when I hear something from inside of one of the rooms, making everypony else bump into me. "What is it Storm?" Applejack asks as I rear up and draw my sword. "I heard something in here." I say as I walk in front of the door, 3245... "Shouldn't we leave then? Maybe if we don't disturb it, it will leave us alone." Fluttershy says as she cowers behind Applejack. When I hear some more rustling I kick the door in and run inside to investigate. I find two metal men fighting each other, one's light red with an arm missing while the other one is silver with a golden X on it's chest. The two of them are fighting hand to hand right now, but it seems really intense. The red one would twist around and try to grab at the others neck, only to be thrown across the room. The silver one lunges across the room as it spins around and kicks the head off of the red one, making it drop to the ground as smoke comes out of its neck. The silver one stands up and approaches us, looking down at us with those bright yellow eyes. The head is featureless while the body seems to be made of metallic ropes covered with metal plates. I raise my sword to it and wait for it to strike. "Oh, hello there. Please let me introduce myself, I am E861Z9, designation Easy. May I have your autograph?" It says to me in a metallic voice, devoid of any emotion. "What?" "Processing..." It says as thin red lights shoot from it's eyes and sweep the room. "Guest of Miles Eremita, welcome to Topaz Falls, may I have your autograph?" "Uh... no." I say as I lower my sword. "How do you know we're here with Miles?" "I searched the core for any records on your being here and found your group under his name, welcome. I would offer snacks and refreshments but it seems that the stores have been out of supplies for the past two thousand nine hundred ninety nine years." "Right..." "May I please have you names to add to the core?" "Whats the core?" Twilight asks as she walks up beside me. "The core is the center of all information being kept within the city, please state your names and designations." "O..K.. Storm Cloud... uh... designation Storm... "I am Twilight Sparkle, but I go by Twilight." "Rainbow Dash, just call me Rainbow." "Rarity, miss Rarity." "HI, I'm Pinkie Pie, but you can call me....uh... queen mcpartier five thousand!" She says as she bounces up and down. Pinkie... you are so random. "Howdy, I'm Applejack, jus call me AJ." "Uh..... I'm... Fluttershy." She says timidly from the back of the room. "Greetings, Storm, Twilight, Rainbow, Miss Rarity, Queen Mcpartier Five thousand, AJ, and Fluttershy, guest of Miles Eremita, how may I help you?" I look back to everypony for answers, but only get more confused looks from them. "Uh... we're suppose to meet Miles at the P.C.H...." "Then allow me to escort you there, please follow me to the subway." He says as he walks out the door and heads down the hall. "So... should we follow after him?" In ask everypony. "I don't see why not, he seems friendly enough." Twilight says as she and the others walk out after him. I shrug and follow after her, taking another flight of stairs down. I don't entirely trust this... bot, but what's the worst that could happen? Chapter 81 Losing The FightChapter 81 Losing The Fight We follow Easy down a few flights before he finally takes us through one of the exits. We walk through what looked like a lobby to a hotel out to the streets. Even though we left the building, I still feel as if I'm inside. The ceiling goes evenly in every direction, going up about five stories. Most of the buildings are still intact, with the exception of small holes or scorch marks. But there are a few areas where the buildings are just piles of ruble and twisted metal. Though a good number of street lights are lit, many are broken; making the area around here poorly lit. The streets down here are all black with metal carriages spotted everywhere. Some just look abandoned, while others are full of holes or scorched from fires. There are bones scattered everywhere. In the streets, in the carriages, in massive piles, everywhere I look there are just bones everywhere. I can see a few of the metal men down the street throwing bones into a pile, it makes me sick to my stomach to see them just toss them so casually, but I ignore it as Easy starts to lead us down one of the streets "Oh my god... so this is what Miles meant." Rarity says as she looks out at the masses of bones. "Ah wonder how many wer lost." Applejack says as she tries to avoid stepping on any of the bones in her path. "An estimated fourteen point seven million were lost as of September thirteenth, 1132." Easy says. "Over fourteen million!" Twilight exclaims as she stops in her tracks and gawks at Easy. "Correct Twilight, fourteen point seven million. That was the count done before the final evacuation order was given." The final? Just how many ponies do you need to lose before you evacuate the city!? "Whats this?" Pinkie asks as she stares at one the skeletons. "It looks human, but it doesn't." "Pinkie, that doesn't make sense." Twilight says as she walks over and looks at the skeleton. "Oh... maybe it does." Curious, I walk over and look at the skeleton. The skull is much more narrow and longer, with dagger like teeth. The ribs are are thinly connected and seem to be hollowed. This one is missing an arm while a few of the ribs are missing. "That would be the skeleton of an Unfamiliar." Easy explains. "If you don't mind, we must be.... DANGER. YOU ARE IN DANGER. PLEASE STAND BACK." Easy yells as he runs down the street at what seem like unnatural speeds. I look down to see the two bots that were cleaning earlier running straight towards us, so I pull out my sword and take off to confront them. Easy lunges himself at the one on the right and slams directly into it, becoming a mass of metal body parts attempting to gain superiority over the other. I swing my sword at the other bot as hard as I can, sending a powerful gust of wind at it. The gust slams into it and makes the bot slide back a bit before continuing its charge at me. I flap my wings and propel myself into the air to avoid being tackled by the bot, sending another gust of wind down at it to keep it on the ground. PAT PAT PAT PAT.... "SSTTTTTTOOOOOORRRRMMMM!! ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Celestia I take a few steps to my right as I face off with the dog before me. He's wielding a large ax and seems to be having trouble holding it. I quickly swing my sword around and bury it in the side of the dog before me, killing the last enemy in the library. I look back to Shinning and Cadence and smile as the two of them trot up to me. "Is that the last of them?" Cadence asks. "I certainly hope so. Now lets get back to the main chambers before..." I start to say but stop when the doors slam open. "WHERE'S LUNA!" Regina yells as she runs in and starts looking around. I pause for a second as I try to register what she said. "I thought she was with you." Shining says as he tries to follow after her as she continues to search every corner of the room. "She was but then I was chased down by some dogs and when tried to find her afterwards she was gone!" She says in a panicked voice. "Regina, do you mean to tell me that my sister.... is missing." I ask slowly, dreading the answer. She looks back to me and starts to tear up as she tries to find the right words. I shake my head a couple times before I use my magic to make a mirror appear in the room and start to try to scry her. The first attempt makes the glass go black, so I try again.... and again.... and again... and again... "I'll get every guard to start looking for her. Regina, come with me and tell me what you already know and Cadence.... stay with Celestia." Shining says as he gallops out of the room. I keep trying to scry my sister... she can't be gone. Luna may not be as strong as me... but nopony could... "Celestia?" Cadence says as she pushes the mirror out of my view. "Why don't we..." "We have to find her." I say as I turn and begin to storm out of the library, heading towards the outer entrances. "Celestia, Shining and the guards will take care of that, right now we need to head back...." "I will not allow my sister to be held captive. I'm going to search for her myself." "Celestia, we need a leader right now, let the guards take..." "SHE'S MY SISTER! SHE'S THE ONLY FAMILY I HAVE AND YOU WANT ME TO STAND ASIDE?!" I yell as I begin to tear up. Cadence takes a step back and takes a few breaths before stepping before me again. "She's my family to." I turn away from her and open the doors to the balcony and look out at the sky. It's suppose to be night time right now... "Celestia, I want her back too you know. But we can't afford to lose ourselves right now. Canterlot needs us also. Equestria will need us. We need to make sure there is a home to bring Luna back to. Please, step inside." I stare out at the horizon for a bit, thinking deeply about what Cadence said. I know I have my royal duties to attend to... but... I close my eyes as I feel the tears start to roll down the side of my face... as I raise the moon. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Luna Warning: Not for the weak of heart When I finally wake up I try to stand up, but find myself strapped down. A thick piece of metal is going over my back and over my wings as my legs are tied to metal rings in the stone ground. I pick my head up only to have the chains around my neck tug back. I try to use my magic to get out of these clasps, but I can't reach it for some reason. The area in front of me is too dark to really make out any details, until a door behind me opens up, letting in some light for a brief second. I'm in a small stone room that has several spots for holding down ponies. That was all I was able to see before the door was shut. "AH hahahahaaa..." Shivers run throughout my body as I hear that all to familiar laugh. "St-steelwing..." "Hey there Nightmare Moon." He says in a mocking tone. "My name is..." SMACK I would have rolled over from that hit, if it weren't for the chains holding me down. I look back over to where I think he is and glare at him as my right cheek stings. "....Luna." "So, Nightmare Moon, any new thoughts on Miles?" He asks from behind. "Mi.... I know you're lying. He loves me and I..." SMACK "... l-love him." I finish as I try to hold back my tears from the stinging on my left cheek. "Is that so? Well, I think I can think of a way to make him look at you in disgust." He says into my right ear. I move as far away as the chains will let me, trying to get away from this creep. He gives a deep chuckle before he starts to run a claw along my neck, over my wing, over my flank... "STOP! PLEASE STOP! DON'T GO THERE, PLEASE DON'T! I-I I'LL DO ANYTHING, JUST... just..." I yell as he moves ever so slowly to my sore vagina. "You say no, but your body says yes. So which is it?" He asks as he runs his claw around my area, making me tear up as I feel the pleasure crawl up my body. "Please... I... I'm still..." "A virgin? Well maybe that's it." He says as he removes his claw. "What... what do you mean by that?" "Maybe the only reason Miles is with you is becuase you're a virgin... but what if..." He says as I feel him lay on my back. I begin to twist and yank as I feel his hard member lay against my back. "Do you think Miles would want to be with a dirty, used up whore?" "PLEASE! WHAT DO YOU WANT, I'LL GIVE YOU ANYTHING YOU WANT! Just don't..." "And what if the only thing I want is sex with you?" He asks as he start to grind into my back. Tears fall from my eyes as I begin to panic. He wraps his arms around my neck as he places his mouth right next to my ear as he presses harder against me. "But there is one other thing you can give me that will stop this right now." "What is it?" "Tell me, how you control the moon." I feel my heart sink as he whispers that into my ear. Why does he want to control the moon? Griffins can't control the moon, they don't have the magic to do that. "Well if you don't want to tell me..." He says as he starts to slide his penis down my back. "NO, WAIT!" I yell, getting him to stop just above my tail. "I...I move the moon by..." "Yes?" He says as he stands up. I take a deep breath as I get ready to give him my greatest secret. "*sniff* the moon has a soul of it's own. I make contact with it and manipulate it to change it's orbit and position." I say with a heavy heart. The only thing I've ever had in my life... gone. "HAhahahaaa, thank you. Now its time for some punishment for making me wait." He says as I hear him walk away from me. "Bu-bu-but I gave you what you wanted. Please MMMMM MMMMM!" I mumble as he puts something in my mouth to silence me. After he gags me I feel him brush against me as he walks toward my backside. "MMMMM MMMMM!" I scream as he starts to rub my vagina. I try my best to escape, but I can't break free from the metal clasps. The longer I fight, the harder he rubs, sending unholy waves of pleasure through my body. I finally stop fighting it as I break down in tears, crying as I start to feel the filth of my pleasure grow over me. He suddenly stops rubbing and starts making what sounds like a slapping sound. The slaps go faster and faster until I feel something squirt onto my back and right flank. "*panting* whew! Well... now I have to go get your next punishment ready. Hang tight, this may take awhile." He says as he pats my left flank a couple of times and then gives it a tight squeeze. He pauses at the door, shining the light on me and chuckling a bit before he finally leaves. Once he's gone I begin to wail as I try my best to curl up. How will Celestia look at me now? Especially when I tell her that I gave my greatest secret away just to have some Griffin violated me.... what will Miles think? ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles I awake on top of a pile of ruble with a slight head ache. I get up and take a look around, noting all of the pieces of metal from the explosion. So... that's what a high grade military bot looks like when it blows up. After a quick check for injuries I begin to head to the P.C.H. I pause as every light suddenly shines brighter. Its bright hours, then I was out all night. I start to sprint down the street with my magic. I need to meet up with the others as soon as possible, I have all of the water. I pass bots, bones, destroyed buildings, nothing is stopping me from getting there as quickly as possible. After almost two hours of weaving through alley's and streets to dodge rouge bots, I finally make it to the entrance to the building. I burst through the doors and start screaming "Storm! Twilight! Rainbow! ANYONE!" I run around the wall of mico platforms only to find the room empty. Where the fuck are they? I walk back out the entrance and look out at the city, trying to think of what to do next. They could have just went to one of the floors, but then they could still be out there. Well, I'm already here, may as well check some of the floors. I head to the mico platforms and try to decide which one they would most likely take. I head to the dorm platforms and take the boys teleporter, since it has a picture of a pillow on it with the male insignia. I teleport to the hallway and start to walk down, checking every room as I go. Most of the rooms are either empty or have a few skeletons in them. I stop when I make it to room 1337, my room. I open the door slowly and take a few steps inside. There's an unfamiliar skeleton on the middle of the floor, with the top of it's skull cut clean off. As usual, my side of the room is fairly clean and organized while Dolums is a mess. Much of what was here has faded and lost it's sheen, while gaining a layer of dust. I was about to leave when something catches my eye.... my computer. I walk between our beds and sit down before the screen. The background is all black with a picture of a letter takes up most of the screen with a date, September thirteenth, 1132. I pick up the mouse and blow a bunch of the dust off before I fill it with energy and click the message. The screen changes to show a camera view from my screen, showing my room all those years ago. Auxillium is sitting before the screen, wearing a black dress and veil. She isn't looking at the camera, rather down at her massive stomach. Her hair is tied back and I can see the lines of her makeup smearing down her face from all of the tears she's shed. I hear gun fire and explosions in the background, making her jump slightly from time to time. "Hey.... Miles...." She says slowly as she rubs her belly slowly. "I...I don't know if you are ever going to get this.... chances are I'm just talking to myself, but.... in case you do get this, please...." She trails off as the sound of multiple rockets being fired drowns out all other sounds, followed by massive explosions. ".... Captain Bellum asked me though, after telling me... well... when you finish this you'll find out. After that dummy scientist used his untested device on you, he then told everyone what it does. A time machine. He built a portable time machine. I wanted to try and use it to try and get Dolum back, but Inficiunt told me that would be impossible. Ends up after they sent you to the future, Cunt used it as an I.E.D. to cover their retreat." The building suddenly begins to shake, making Auxy grab the table to stay sitting up. After the shaking stops she wipes her eyes and looks into the camera. Her eyes are blood shot and surrounded by bags. "Miles... if you can hear me, then maybe you can follow me and the others. Bellum says that the parliament is on the verge of a city evacuation, we're going to be the next Diamond Halls, so he wants you to have this." She says as she reaches below the table and brings up a golden rod. "This, according to Susurrans, is Dominus Clavis. If we evacuate, which everyone knows we are, we will be going to Quartz Crest, I've left the coordinates on this message, please, Miles. Find us. We need you, now more then ever." She begins to cry again as she holds onto her stomach the sound of cannon fire filling the air. "I'm so scared Miles... those... those... those monsters... they're eating us Miles. They make a kill and tear everything off so they can get to our flesh. I... I'm scared. What if I go into labor and one of those things attacks? I'm so close now... and... I miss Dolum. I need him, I want his comfort, and those beast took him from me... please Miles, if you get this, please. Bury Dolum. He deserves better then..." She spins around as the door is suddenly kicked open, revealing an unfamiliar standing in the doorway, blood dripping from his twisted smile. Auxy backs away as she starts to scream, holding the golden rod up to fend herself. The unfamiliar starts to run in but stops when someone calls from the doorway. "YOU STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM HER!" Inficiunt yells as he runs in holding his machete up. In one swing he lobs the top of the unfamiliar's head off. "Auxy! Where have you been!" Inficiunt says as she drops the rod and runs into his embrace, crying and shaking. "We need to get going! They made the call, we're evacuating." "But..." "No buts! Now lets get going!" "I have to finish the message to Miles!" Auxy yells as she runs back to the screen. "Miles, use the Dominus Clavis to get into Quartz Crest, stay safe, find us..." "AUXY! LETS GO!" Inficiunt yells from the doorway. Auxy starts to run towards the door but stops by the doorway. "Inficiunt..." She says shakily. "My.... my water just broke..." After she says that the screen goes black, showing the letter with a replay button over it. I blink a few times as I stare at the screen in disbelief. I can't believe what I just saw... I look over at the pile of stuff on Dolums side of the room and find the golden rod. It's bout a meter long and has spaces in it where a gem could be placed. I stare at it a little longer before I hear music in the distance. That has to be the others. I look back to the computer screen before I run out the door. I'll have to come back to get this, right now, they need me. Chapter 83 Meeting Of MastersChapter 83 Meeting Of Masters "What was that?" Celestia asks as she looks around. "Luna's been taken! What happened? Who took her?!" I demand as I approach Celestia. "Canterlot was attacked and she just disappeared. We received a message from one of the dogs that they had her, and will kill her if we don't bring you to them..." "Then what are we waiting for?! Lets get going!" I say as I start to climb out of the room. I swear, if they touch even one hair... before I can finish my train of thought I suddenly appear back in the concert hall with the others. "Miles! We need you to heal Storm RIGHT NOW!" Twilight says as she grabs my hand and drags me to the stairs. "Wait, what’s going on?" I ask as she drags me up to... oh sweet Barbra. Why is she taking me to the private rooms? She drags me into the first room, where we find Storm laying on the edge of the bed. His wing is hanging limply off the side and I can see he's trying to hide the pain. I walk up to him and kneel beside him. "Hey there brother, how’s the pain?" I ask as I take a look at his wing. "Well... not as bad as some of the stuff you put me through," he says with a small chuckle. I remove his armor and prepare to heal him, thinking back to all of the medical stuff Twilight went over last time. I start to heal him, getting him to close his eyes and grab the sheets as I pump the energy through his body. After a few minutes of tedious concentration I finish healing him and step back. "Alright, you should be good now, but I want you to give the new muscles a rest. So no flying for a week." "No flying! Aw... fine. A week of being grounded beats never flying again," he says as he gets off the bed and stretches his wings out. I run out of the room and head straight for Celestia, who's talking to everyone by the DJ booth. "Celestia! Lets get going," I say as I approach them. "Yes, let’s..." "I thought we had to hide here because… uh... what?" Pinkie starts to say as everyone glares at her. "What exactly are you hiding from?" Celestia asks. "The bots," I say as the idea comes to me. "We came here to explore the city. When the bots started attacking, we went into hiding." She looks to everyone with a skeptical look before she shakes her head. "Fine. It’s not important right now," she says as she flares her horn. We all suddenly appear by the bulkhead, so I run over to the control box and begin to open the door. "We're leaving? What’s going on?" Rarity asks from behind. "Luna's been ponynapped," Celestia says bluntly, getting gasps from everyone. "The ones responsible want to trade her for Miles..." "That's why we're leaving now," I say as the door begins to slide open. Before anyone can say anything, I walk through the door and wait for the rest of them to follow after. "Alright, the rest of you take the Mico platform and head home. Celestia and I will teleport to Canterlot and get Luna back." "Don't you want some back up?" Storm asks as the rest head down the tunnel. "I won't need any, lets get going," I say to Celestia, getting a nod from her as we teleport away. When I can see again I find myself by the castle. I look around to see two lines of of dogs facing two lines of pony guards, with us in the middle, giving us almost a meter between them. The dogs hold their spears up as the ponies hold their swords; both side waiting for the other to strike. "RRAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWW!" I look back to see a massive dragon hanging onto the side of one of the towers of the castle. It's all white with a dark blue undertone, with some kind of large wooden platform attached to its back. It lets out a large column of blue fire before letting go of the tower and gliding down behind the ranks of dogs. With a loud thud it crashes and lays down, glaring at me as smoke fumes out of its nostrils. A figure launches off of its back and lands before me. It’s a griffin, but not the one I was expecting. He's all black, with light grey undertone and a scar on his face that goes from his forehead to his left cheek, going over his eye and forcing it shut. He's wearing tight chain mail armor over his chest and has a thinner griffin sword under his right wing. "So... you came," he says as he approaches us. "Where is my sister?" Celestia demands. "You will get her soon enough. First Miles must meet my masters," he says as he stares at Celestia. She is about to charge at him but stops when I hold my arm out. "Who are you?" I ask. "I am Olaf Quickclaw." "And I am Miles Eremita. Take me to your so-called masters so I may put their names to the test." A large smile grows on his face as he turns to the dogs and motions to them with his head. Two of the dogs run to the other side of the dragon as Olaf returns his gaze to me. "First rule, no weapons and no armor." I nod to him and begin to drop all of my weapons and armor. "Miles," Celestia whispers to me, keeping her gaze on Olaf. "Are you sure you'll be able to go without your weapons?" "I won't need them," I say as I drop my chest armor and begin to remove my bracers. When I finish, I turn back and wait for the next ruling. "All of your armor." I blink a few times before I pull my shirt off and drop my pants down. "The underwear stays," I say as I kick my clothes away. "Fine by me. Next rule, only Miles may come..." "WHAT?!" Celestia yells as she tries to charge forward, only stopping because I hold her back. "If any others appear near our fortress, we will slit her throat and feed her corpse to the buzzards..." "YOU WILL DO NO SUCH THING..." "CELESTIA!" I yell as I jump in front of her. "Trust me on this one. I will get her back, safe. But I need you to stay here and keep Canterlot and Ponyville safe." "What!? Do you really think they would try another attack?" "Maybe, but its better to be safe than sorry. Send a letter to Storm and Big Mac. Tell them I said to keep watch over Ponyville until I return. Got it?" She looks back to Olaf before looking back to me. "Very well... but, please... bring my sister back." I nod to her and step towards Olaf. "I believe I said to remove all of your armor," he says as he points to my arm. "These are power restraints, I don't think you want me removing them." He thinks about it for a second before he nods and looks back to see the two dogs running up with a large black pot. The pot is filled with a black sludge that gives off a pungent odor that reminds me of tar. "Alright, next rule. No magic. Dip your hands and feet into the cauldron." I nod and do as he says. Having the black substance on me feels odd. I feel as if there's a part of me missing... or just distant. "Alright, follow me to Rex and we'll get going," he says as he turns and starts to walk towards the dragon. I turn around to Celestia and take a few breaths before talking. "Alright. I'll try my best to make this go quickly, but I can't give an exact time." "Thank you Miles. This means a lot to me," she says as she looks away. I think she still dislikes me, but after this I wish to at least have her respect. I turn and walk to the large wooden construction on the dragon, it has two rows of... seats? They're not really seats - there's a ledge sticking straight out of the floorboard, going out about half a meter. A rope is tied into the center of the ledge and goes up two meters before it goes back into the wood. There are six of these ledges, three on each side. The front and back two have been taken by dogs while the one to the left has been taken by Olaf. I climb a rope ladder and take my spot next to him. "REX! LETS FLY!" Olaf yells getting a roar in response. With a mighty leap the dragon takes off into the air, flapping its wings as we fly higher into the air. I hold onto the rope as I place a foot against the ledge. "Alright!" Olaf yells over the wind. "This is going to be a two day flight, so get comfortable." I continue to stare forward as I begin to mentally prepare for what I'm about to endure. Two days later I spent the entire trip in silence, meditating for the inevitable. We went over vast expanses of water, over mountains and through two storms, but I stayed vigilant, waiting for our destination. Once a day they would apply more of the black sludge to my hands and feet, and every time I would just nod and stare forwards, waiting for our destination. We finally begin to make our descent towards a mountain. Most of the plant life on this mountain seems to be dry, making the mountain appear a light tan color. The top of the mountain has been leveled to make room for a giant, dark grey castle. It's square in shape and has four tall towers at each of the corners. The main entrance is a large wooden door that stands two stories tall. A large trench has been dug around the compound and is filled with water. We land in front of the massive door and stretch of water. "Here we are, Dragonsfell," Olaf says as he flies off of the saddle. I jump off and begin to walk towards the main gate, pausing when hundreds of people show up on top of the walls with bows and arrows pointing towards us. I could see dogs, ponies, griffons, humanoid scaly people, and young dragons all on the wall. "Halt! Who goes there?" yells one of the scaly people. "I am Miles Eremita, Captain of the Spartan regiment," I yell back as I continue to walk towards the gate. "What do shadows long for?" I pause and look up to him, not knowing what he means. "Eternal darkness," Olaf yells as he walks up beside me. All of the archers lower their bows as the gate slams down."If you really want to die, then go ahead and walk off without me again," he says as he begins to cross the bridge. I follow after him, glancing around at all of the creatures within. The compound is one central building with high walls going around it, giving several meters between the two. In the open area people are going about their typical business, moving weapons, training, stacking boxes. "What are they?" I ask as I stare at one of the scaly men. "They are orcs. A cruel twist of reptiles from the Pit. Do yourself a favor, don't stare at them." Though he said not to, I can't help but stare. They're almost three meters tall, with scaly green skin, long thick tails, and with faces only a mother could tolerate. It seriously looks like one of the pig faces from Applejack's farm squished down to fit a human head. I stop staring long enough to enter the center building. We enter a long hallway of grey stone and black flags hanging on the walls. We continue down the hall, passing door after door. We finally make it to the end of the hall and face the last door. "Alright, my master awaits," Olaf says as he opens the door and ushers me in. The inside is a large open room, with tall windows filling the walls that are lined with guards. They all wear chain mail and have black helmets. The far end of the room is blocked off by a long black curtain. Olaf walks me to the center of the room and walks towards the curtain, stopping halfway and bowing before it. "Master, I bring you Miles Eremita." "Good. Good. Welcome, Miles Eremita, I have a proposition for you," says a deep voice from behind the curtain. I stay silent and allow him to continue. "It has come to my understanding that you are dying. I wish to help. Swear loyalty to me, give in to the Darkness and I shall save you from your inevitable fate..." "Where's Luna?" I demand. "Ah yes, the blue one," he says as a portion of the curtain moves aside to reveal Luna... no, that's not Luna. This one seems somewhat happy, giving a light spring to her step as she trots over to me. "Hello Miles, I'm glad..." "Is this a joke? Cause I'm not laughing. I want Luna. The real Luna. You won't get my answer until I see her. And if you take longer than a minute to get her here, then it's a no." The room falls silent. I start counting the seconds, getting to fifty four before a loud snap rings in the room. A column of black smoke swirls around before me and dissipates, revealing the real Luna. She's laying on the ground before me, looking away from me. She seems to have been beaten, having bruises all over her body... why won't she look at me? "Luna," I call out, only to get her to close her eyes as she looks farther to her left. "Luna, please look at me." I see a tear roll down her face as she slowly looks up at me. On the right side of her face is a crusty white stain covering a large, dark bruise. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I scream out as I flare the portal on my back, sending the lines over my entire body. When the lines make it to the black sludge it begins to burn it off, eventually getting to my hands and heels, igniting them. I throw my left arm out, making a bright light that stuns everyone in the room. I bring my left hand in front of me and prepare to attack. My hand has become imbued with the Laminas Lucis - an energy trench knife that has a single-edged blade that goes out for about half a meter, and has long spikes that come out from my knuckles. The spikes are twenty centimeters long and point straight out. The entire blade is a conglomerate of different colors swirling around, surrounded by a white light. "KILL HIM!" yells the voice, making every guard charge at me. I run at Olaf and punch him in the chest before he can draw his sword. Laminis Lux seems to negate armor, going straight into his body without any resistance. I begin to pull the spike upwards, moving through his body with very little fight. I begin to pull a white wisp from his body, making his face become emotionless. With a hard yank I tear out the wisp, making it disappear. His body falls limply to the side. He's still alive... though the same could not be said for his soul. ANINMA VESTRA MORTE ET SCIENT "ANINMA VESTRA MORTE ET SCIENT!" ANINMA VESTRA MORTE ET SCIENT I scream as I dodge an orcs blade. I swing my Laminas Lucis across his chest, pulling out a chunk of a green wisp. He staggers back and holds onto his chest as more and more guards charge at me. I duck, dodge, dive and roll away from the frenzy of blades trying to stab and slash at me, punching a few of them along the way. An orc tackles me and charges forward, slamming me into a wall. I take my right hand and slam it onto his armor, melting it and making him scream in agony. I push him away from me with my legs and take control of the molten metal with my right hand, turning it into a long whip. I swing my right hand and send the fiery whip around a griffins neck, yanking him back as I slice my left hand at a pony next to me, sending a brown wisp into the air. I charge forward and begin attacking anything in sight, cutting souls, burning bodies, it all becomes a blur of my wrath as I spin my whip from person to person, stabbing and punching at those who get too close. When I start to get overwhelmed I spin my arms around, breaking all of the glass windows and sending the shards around in a vortex. "ENOUGH!" yells an orc from behind, making me drop all of the glass. I turn around slowly to see him holding a terrified Luna against himself as he holds a knife against her throat. "Now you lose..." Before he can finish I punch forwards with my Laminas Lucis, sending a white blast through the orc, killing his soul. He drops the blade and Luna as he falls back. With his death, the only remaining enemy is the one behind the curtain, so I slash my whip at the curtain, burning it and revealing him. He looks... odd. His bottom half seems to be that of a very large pony, while the top half seems to be that of a human. His chest and neck seem to be all black fur, where his arms and face are blood red. His ears go out to the side for a bit, twitching to every sound in the room. A thin necklace hangs around his neck, ending in a small brown bag. He carries one of those spear swords in his left hand, this one being embellished with silver etchings. He stands about as tall as one of the orcs. "Suffering... is magic," he says as he reaches up with his right hand and opens the bag. A column of darkness shoots out from it and slams straight into my chest, sending me into the wall behind. I fall to my feet and charge at him, sending my whip at him. He covers his weapon in the cloudy darkness and catches the whip with it as he charges at me. I punch forward as he slices at me, causing a massive explosion that sends us both flying back. I stagger back to my feet and stare at him as he does the same. "What is it you want? What are you... who are you?" I ask as I approach him. "MUAHAHAHa, you mean you don't know? HA! I am Tirek. A centaur from the purge, sent here by the rainbow of light. I am here to take my rightful place as ruler of darkness. Now... as for what I want, that's simple, in fact I'll make a deal with you. Tell me how you make the archaic circles, and I'll let you and your little pony go." "Why do you want to know that?" "DO NOT TEST ME BOY! TELL ME OR FACE THE WRATH OF THE RAINBOW OF DARKNESS!" he yells as he takes his stance. I glance over to see Luna looking between the two of us. I don't think I've ever seen her this scared before. "No." "THEN DIE!" He yells as he shoots the dark rainbow at me. I bring up Laminas Lucis and create a white shield before me, blocking the attack with total ease. The room suddenly fills with the black smoke, so I take a readied stance and prepare for anything. When the smoke clears I look around for him, but he's gone. I return Laminas Lucis to its gem state, making me drop my magic. I run over to Luna and catch her as she collapses. "Hey, hey, hey, you’re alright. I've got you," I say as I hold onto her. "Miles... you came for me..." she says weakly. "We have to get out of here, can you use your magic?" "No... they... put this sludge..." she starts to say but stops as she starts to cry. "Shhh, shhh, it’s alright. It’s over now," I say as I hold her against myself. "I'm going to get you out of here, just hold on." I pull her onto my back, getting her to put her forehooves over my shoulders as I carry her out of the castle. I keep an eye out for any enemies, but as we exit the building I can see them evacuating the compound. I continue to carry Luna out, making it past the gate and down the path a bit before I stop and set her down. "Miles... what are you doing?" Luna asks as I face the castle. I bring up my magic, feeling it going straight to max for some reason, and push both of my palms at the building. A gigantic white beam shoots out from my hands, crashing into the building and causing a massive explosion that shakes the ground. When the smoke clears, all that is left is a pile of rubble and a massive fire. Perspective: Tirek I slam open the door to my study and pace about, angry beyond belief. That damned fool! I'll end him. If it’s the last thing I do I swear that I'll... "So, things didn't work out," Steelwing says from the side as he slices a piece of apple into his mouth. "KNOW YOUR PLACE!" I bark at him as I continue to pace around. "Well, what did you expect him to do when you ordered me to do what I did? We need to move on," he says as he tosses the apple aside. "Move on? Move on... yes. Our plans can still come to fruition. We just need to be patient. We move on. Go to your contact and have them move on to stage four. We will come back to stage three when the time is right." "Very well. What do you plan on doing for the time being, then?" "For now, we go into exile. We must lull them into a sense of false security before we strike... patience. I must call the other masters forth - they will need to be utilized after all." "To the Pit?" "Yes." Author's Note Shout out to halfdemonspartan for picking the color scheme for the dragon. Thanks for reading, if you know where this villain comes from, then Brony to you! Brony on! Chapter 84 Fires, Trees, And WaterChapter 84 Fires, Trees And Water Perspective: Miles I stare at the fire for a bit before I spit at the ground. I know many escaped, but if I ever hear of any of them... not even Luna could stop me from hunting them down and tearing them apart. I turn around to see Luna trying to get up, only to fall back down. "Here, let me heal you," I say as I kneel next to her and lay my hands on her. "DON'T TOUCH ME!" she yells, making me fall back. I stare at her as she glares back at me. I know that look, that's the look Fidus gave me when we picked her up at the hospital... "Luna... I need to heal you, but to do that I need to lay my hands on you. May I do that?" I ask as I get back up. She takes several deep breaths before she closes her eyes and nods. I flare my hands, but go straight to max again. "What the fuck?" I try to lower the power level, but can't seem to get the lines to drop. "Hmm... I can't seem to lower my power level... this may cause some discomfort, are you ready?" "Y-yeah. Just... just do it quickly," she says as she holds her eyes shut. I kneel beside her as I flare my magic. I take a few breaths before I slowly lay my hands on her side, making her flinch from my touch. I start to send the healing energy into her, sending it in bursts. With each burst I watch the wounds on her body quickly recede. Once finished I drop my magic and back away from her. "How’s that?" "Much better... thank you. S-sorry I snapped at you..." "It's alright. You've been through a lot. Let's just work on getting you home. Can you walk or should I carry you?" She tries to get up, but her legs shake too much and she falls back down. "I-I may need help," she says as she starts to tear up. "Hey, don't worry. I've got you. Now..." I kneel next to her and offer her a hand. She recoils a bit and stares at me, trembling. "Don't be scared, I'm not going to hurt you. Take your time. We'll leave when you’re ready." She takes a few breaths before she looks back to me. She slowly reaches out and takes my hand. I hold her hoof for a while, rubbing it a bit before I start to pull her onto my back. She wraps her legs around my neck as I hold onto her from beneath. I stand up and begin to walk down the steep path. "I... I'm sorry I..." "No, I'm sorry," I say as a fire starts to spread rapidly to my right. All of the dry material easily catches fire and makes the flames grow higher and higher. I keep to the left of the path and hold tighter onto Luna. "Why are you sorry?" "I left you, ran away to hide. I should’ve stayed and been there for you, then none of this would have happened. I'm so sorry Luna..." "Miles..." "I promise you, I'll never make that mistake again, no matter what. I'll always be there for you." She tightens her hold on me as she lays her head over my left shoulder. "Thank you Miles." The fire to my right has grown past me now, destroying everything on the right side of the path. I decide to trek through the left part of the path to escape the heat from the fire. We walk through some dead plants before we come across an open area. Straight ahead is a dark forest, rich in the colors of various plant life. I continue down towards the treeline, holding tightly onto Luna as she does the same to me. "Heh, did I ever tell you about the time Dolum and I got lost in Topaz?" I ask to pass the time. "... no... what happened?" she asks softly. "Ah man, where do I start... well, I was nine at the time. We heard some older classmates talk about this amazing restaurant in the southern district, so we decided to go look for it, but we ended up getting lost..." "How do you get lost in a city where everything is so... connected?" she asks as she perks up a bit. "Heh, it's easier than you think - now I had no clue where we were, and Dolum refused to accept that we were lost, so we ended up spending two days walking around the southern district..." "Two days... did you just not eat?" "We ate. I… er... well, I learned how to be a really good pickpocket from my time in the orphanage..." "Miles!" "Hey, it was survival. But, apparently Dolum had the same idea as you. He told me that 'people want to give you what you want, you just need to show them'. He spent hours doing card tricks, coin tricks, basically a ton of parlor tricks to earn money for us to eat." "Ho-how did you find your way home?" "Well, we didn't... kind of. We actually found the restaurant and spent five silver credits on food. By luck, Captain Bellum showed up when we finished eating and took us back to the P.C.H... well, after eating that is." "Do you miss them?" I pause for a second before I enter the treeline, taking in my surroundings. "Yeah... but that's not the end of the story though. You see, every year we tried to go back to that restaurant, we could never find it. No matter how hard we looked, no matter how many floors we checked, we could never find it." "Did it shut down?" "No, we constantly heard people talking about eating there. Dolum said that the reason we could never find it, was because we lost the magic of the adventure." "What does that mean?" "I'm not entirely sure, but I think that he meant that, because we weren't looking for it without a greater purpose, we would fail to ever find it... I just always thought that we wandered around so much that it just lies in a different section of the town." As we continue through the forest I try to keep an eye out for any potential threats. Luna loosens her grip on me as she starts to take deeper breaths. "Everything alright?" "Y-yeah... Miles, I'm... I'm still in estrus." "Yeah, I know..." "And you're completely naked." "Yeah... I know..." "Um... so..." "I'm not going to do anything..." "Is... is it because... of what Steelwing did..." "No." "But..." "I don't want to because I'm still going to honor your wishes, not because I want to tear that slime ball apart." "...so... you still want to be with me." "More than ever. Would you take an idiot like me?" She tightens her hold on me as she rubs her face against the side of my head. I can feel tears coming down her cheeks as she starts to cry. "Miles... I... I love you." "Ego amare te magis." "Ego amare te maxime," she says as she wipes her tears away. "Why don't you go ahead and try to take a nap? I have a feeling this is going to take a while." "OK... could... could you sing me a lullaby?" "A lullaby... sorry... I don't know any." She gives a little sigh as she lays her head down. Damn... I guess I could try a song I know... "I got dosed by you and Closer than most to you and What am I supposed to do. Take it away, I never had it anyway, Take it away and everything will be Okay." She tightens her hold on me as I try my best to sing the song. The forest is starting to flatten out, so its getting easier to walk through. "In you a star is born and You cut a perfect form and Someone forever warm Lay on lay on lay on lay on Way upon the mountain where she diiiiieeed All I ever wanted was your life Deep inside the canyon I can't hiiiiide All I ever wanted was your life.” She gives a soft sigh as her hold on me begins to soften, but I continue with the song. "Show love with no remorse and Climb on to your seahorse and This ride is right on course This is the way I wanted it to be with you This is the way I knew it would be with you Lay on lay on lay on lay on Way upon the mountain where she diiiiieeed All I ever wanted was your life Deep inside the canyon I can't hiiiiide All I ever wanted was your life." I see our shadows begin to flicker and I glance back to see that the fire is starting to chase after us, so I quicken my pace. Luna tightens her hold on me, so I continue singing. "I got dosed by you and Closer than most to you and What am I supposed to do. Take it away, I never had it anyway, Take it away and everything will be Okay. Way upon the mountain where she diiiiieeed All I ever wanted was your life Deep inside the canyon I can't hiiiiide All I ever wanted was your life." I hear something moving behind me, so I turn around to see a line of water fall from the sky and wash out the fire. I can't really explain it more than that... so I continue to walk through the trees. Luna's fallen asleep now, so I try my best to keep quiet. After a couple of hours of walking, I stop when a small lake gets in my way. The water is crystal clear, showing the murky bottom. I lick my lips as I stare at the water. We both need water, I think a break is in order. I walk up to the shore and slowly set Luna down. When she's down she sighs and curls onto herself. I'll wake her up in a bit, she needs the rest. I squat down beside the water to scoop up some water... "You there." I spin around and stand up as I stare at... the thing behind me. It looks human, head, face, arms, legs... breasts. But it's made of wood. Its hair is made of vines that go down to her waist and have pink flowers. Her eyes are made of green energy, and I can see the same energy in the cracks of the mossy wood. "Who are you?" she asks in a voice that seems to echo slightly. "I'm Miles Eremita... who are you?" "I... am Delilah. You... you seem familiar. Do I know you?" she asks as she walks around. "We've never met before. What are you?" "I am a forest elemental. Why do you carry the blue one?" she asks as she starts to walk over towards Luna. I quickly get in between the two of them, making Delilah step back. "So that is why, interesting." "What do you want?" "My forest. I shall be leaving, Miles Eremita. Farewell," she says as she starts to walk off. "Wait! Can you help me? I..." "The only one that can help you is right behind you, but you have to help her first. Cleanse yourselves, then you will find that which you seek..." "Where's the nearest city!? Is there a nearby path we can take..." "You know what must be done," she says as she walks up to a tree and phases into it. I run up to the tree and try to grab her, but she's gone. I punch the tree a couple of times before I hear Luna start to wake up, so I run back to her. "Miles... what's going on?" she asks as she looks around. "There was this forest elemental that I..." "A forest elemental? Then... we're a long way from home." She looks over to the water and licks her lips a couple of times before she tries to get up, but is still too weak to do it on her own. "Here, let me help you..." I say as I kneel beside her. I offer her a hand and wait for her to take it. "C-can you take me into the water... and wash me off?" "Of course, just take my hand." She gives me a smile and takes my hand. Seeing her smile puts a smile on my face. I'm glad she's starting to cheer up... but I know it'll be a long time till she's back to normal... whatever that will be for her. I pick her up and walk into the water. Once the water gets halfway up to my shins I lay down in the water, laying Luna on top of me so we're face to face. "How's that?" "G-good... uh... can you... help me wash?" I nod and start to scoop water onto her. I start with her back and wings, pouring water down and rubbing it in before pouring more water down. I start working my way to her neck, mane, and eventually her face. I bring up some water and try to clean her face, but she looks away from me. "Luna..." "Miles... I-I... he did things to me..." "Who did?" "St-steelwing." "*inhale, exhale* Right." "But he never took it. I'm still a virgin... he... just played with me... and touched me..." I grab a hold of her as she starts to tear up. "It... it's going to be alright. I'm here for you now. He can't do those things anymore..." "Miles... they did take something from me though... my greatest secret... he took it from me instead of my virginity..." "What... Luna..." "They made me tell them how I move the moon. My greatest secret ever, and those monsters know it. What will Celestia say? I… I can't face her... I can't even look at you right now... I feel so dirty... why did this happen Miles?" she asks before she breaks down and sobs into my chest. I hold onto her and stroke her mane as I try my best to comfort her. I lose track of how long we sit there for, I don't really care though. "Hey... Celestia won't get mad at you..." "But I..." "She's going to get mad at those monsters for taking your secret. She will also be happy." "H-happy?" "Yeah. Happy to have her sister back. Happy that she wasn't killed. Happy that you're healthy. Celestia won't care that they forced your secret out, she'll just be happy that you're home." "*sniffle* D-do you really think so?" she asks as she looks me in the eyes. "I know so. Now let’s finish getting you cleaned up," I say as I scoop some water onto her cheek and start to wash the dried stain away. When I finish washing her face I can't help but stare into her eyes. She starts to look away but I push her chin up to have her look back to me. "M-Miles... I... how can you still look at me..." "Because I love you." "But..." "And no matter what happens, no matter what anyone does, I will always love you. You, are my cause." She smiles again before she leans in and gives me a quick kiss on the forehead. "Thank you Miles. I'll always love you too." "OK... I'm going to start washing lower, let me know if you feel uncomfortable, alright?" "OK," she says as she lays her head against my chest. I move down to her lower back and begin to wash. When I start doing her stomach I actually get her to giggle a bit. I didn't know she's ticklish, that will come in handy later. I feel her tense up as I start washing the top of her hip, so I stop. "Miles..." "If you don't feel comfortable, just say the word. I won't do anything you don't want me to do." "I want you to clean me... please. I want to remember your touch, not his. Please." I nod to her and start to wash her backside. I didn't want to, but I start to really enjoy washing her ass. She tenses up at first, but as I go she slowly begins to relax. I finish washing, but can't help but continue to grab her. She's so soft, yet there's a firmness beneath. "Miles..." "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to, I just got carried away..." "I want you to wash in the middle." "Wh-what?" "He... touched me there. Can you please wash his touch away? I won't try anything, I promise. But... I want to feel clean there." I gulp as my heart starts to race. I reach over and scoop some water up. I glance over to Luna, who nods to me, before I lay my hands down in between. "Whoa..." I mutter as I hold my hand on soft folds. I slowly begin to rub it, trying my best to not go inside. I can feel myself get hard as Luna begins to take deeper breaths. "Miles, don't stop. But there's something I need to tell you," she says as she lays her head on my shoulder. "Right... don't stop..." I say as I scoop up some more water and continue to 'wash' her. "I've... you know how I'm in estrus, right?" "Yeah, why?" "I... I've never been through estrus before." "What? But you're over three thousand years old. How could you have never been through it before?" "Celestia hasn't either. Alicorns don't go through it unless they meet... certain requirements. And when we do go through it, we only go through it for around forty years. After that, we can never go through it again." "Luna..." "I want to go through it with you. Only you. After you're gone... I'll do whatever I can to stay pure. I only want you, Miles." I look over to her and stare into her eyes in disbelief. "Luna... will you marry me?" Author's Note The song sung was Dosed by Red Hot Chili Peppers, chosen by Tallestbrony. Sorry, but there are a few songs that I will choose to help convey a message. HI RICHARD, Brony on! Chapter 85 In The Cold Of NightChapter 85 In The Cold Of Night "Wh-what?" Luna asks as a small smile grows on her face. "Will you marry me?" "One more time," she says as her smile grows even larger. "Will you, Luna, marry me?" I ask, getting her to giggle as she tries to hide her enormous smile. "I... I... yes..." "Yes..." "YES. YES YES YES YES YES YES YE—MMMMMMM!" she starts to yell but stops when I pull her in for a kiss. She immediately throws her hooves around my neck and returns the kiss, breaking the kiss every now and again to giggle some more. I roll us over so that I'm on top and begin to kiss and nibble her neck, when she suddenly grabs my dick. "Luna!" "Put that away." "Huh?" "Put it away. We can do that after we walk down the aisle," she says with the biggest smile ever. "Hey, I was the one who was trying to wait..." "And I'm the one who's going to make sure we do." I laugh a little at the irony as I bury my face in her neck. "Alright, whatever you say... fiancee." "Heh, thank you, fiancee," she says as she starts to kiss my neck. "Hey fiancee." "Yes, fiancee?" "You can let go now." "Oh, right," she says as she finally lets go of me and brings her hoof back up. "So *ahem* yeah, waiting..." "Why don't we dry off and head home, fiancee?" I say with a large smile. She nods, so I pick her up and carry her over to the shore line, where I lay her down. I lay beside her and pull her in close, so we're face to face again. We stare into each other’s eyes for a bit before I lean in and give her a quick kiss on the nose. She returns the love by kissing my nose, then my forehead. I laugh a little as I kiss her nose, forehead, and the base of her horn. "No fair, you don't have one," she says as she puts on her pouty face. "So I win?" "Never," she says as she leans in and kisses my nose, forehead, and then licks my forehead, sending shivers down my spine. "Oh sweet Barbra..." "WHO GOES THERE?" Luna and I both freeze up as we look to our right, to see an elderly griffin walk up to us. He's a light brown, with the top of his head being bald. The end of his wings are light grey, and he has grey hairs growing in his brown fur. He glances at the two of us before he turns around. "Go ahead and finish up. When you're done please, come to my home, it’s this way," he says as he starts to walk off to the right. I look back to Luna to see her blushing like crazy. "Heh, you're blushing," I say as I bring my hand up to her cheek. "You are too!" Luna says as she tries to hide her blushing face. "Yeah, but it's not as cute as when you do it," I say as I run my hand down her face and neck. She gives me a small smile before trying to get up, and succeeding. She holds herself up, a little wobbly but still standing. I lean up and kiss her chest, making her drop back down onto me. "Miles!" "Totally worth it," I say with a smile. She gives me a playful punch on the chest before trying again. I help her up before standing up myself. "So... he said that way, right?" Luna asks as she faces the direction the griffin went. "Yeah, should we go? What if he's one of those... people from the fort?" "If he was from there, why didn't he attack then?" she asks as she starts to walk into the forest. I shrug my shoulders and walk beside her, letting her lean against me when she starts to get too tired to stand. "Do you want me to carry you?" I ask as she takes her third break. "I can do it... just give me a minute," she says tiredly. I wrap my arm around her neck and stroke her neck. "You're enjoying this too much." "I'm just making the best of a bad situation..." "No, I mean you're 'enjoying' this too much," she says as she looks evenly at me. I stare at her in confusion, having no clue what she means. She lifts up a hoof and... "AAAHH!" I yell as I double over. "WHY WOULD YOU SMACK MY COCK!?" I yell as I hold onto my sore member. "I told you to put it away," she says nonchalantly. "But... but..." "Hey, I think I can see his place," she says as she starts to walk off without me. I take a moment to collect myself before I follow after her. Why... never mind, I'm just going to drop this one. I walk forward and find the home Luna was talking about. It's a single story house that was carved into a small hill. A few holes have been burroweed out here and there for windows, the largest one being for door. The entire top is covered in grass and random flowers and goes up about a meter and a half. I see Luna walk through the door, so I run up and follow her inside. I have to duck as I step inside and take a look around. There's a bed to my right with dark green blankets; in the center of the room is a table with two chairs; to my left is a sink and bulky black stove; in the back of the room is a big chest that has a large lock on it, sitting beside a table that holds what looks like a chemistry set. All of the furniture is made of aged wood, and is either covered in random tools or papers. Luna has taken the closest seat to me while the griffin works on something on the stove, so I take a seat on the floor next to Luna. "Hey... sorry about earlier... I don't know why I did it. Are you OK?" she says as she nuzzles my head a bit. "I'll be fine. It was probably hormones, no big deal," I say as I lean against her. "So..." says the griffin as he brings a kettle over to the table and pours us each a glass, but doesn't give them to us. "I am curious, who are you?" he says as he takes a seat. "I'm Miles Eremita, Captain of the Spartan forces..." "And I'm Princess Luna of Equestria." Luna says proudly, getting me to smile along with her as I wrap an arm around her, holding onto her thigh. "Princess? Captain? So I must ask, what were you doing up at the castle?" he asks as he takes a sip from one of the cups, savoring the flavor before swallowing. "I was brought there to speak with their leader, but only went to rescue her," I say as I tighten my hold on her a bit. "You were a prisoner there?" he asks, getting a slow nod from Luna. "Aw, then you have my apologies," he says as he pushes the cups over to us. I take the cup and look it over a bit before trying it... well... at least it isn't poisoned... I hope. "I've seen what happens to the females brought to that place... monsters. You have my condolences." "Th-thank you," Luna mutters as she takes a sip from the cup, holding it with her mouth. "So, gone to rescue the damsel in distress, fighting against the odds to save her virtue... all to propose," he says, making me spit out the liquid in my mouth. "Sorry, but I heard a bit of your conversation. Truly honorable, blessings on your love," he says as he lifts his cup and takes another drink. "Right... thank you... so, who are you?" I ask as I set the cup down. "I, am Ulif Longstride. I'm an agent of the griffin colonies sent here... twenty three years ago, to watch the activities of Castle Hammersfell. Now, the question is, what are you?" "I'm..." "I've seen centaurs, treefolk, ponies, ogres, all sorts of different people go in that castle, but none like you." "I'm human. My people... well, let’s just say we like being hidden." "Human... strange. You seem to be just the upper half of the centaurs... how did you make the entire castle blow up?" "With an explosion." "How did you make the explosion?" "With fire." "And where did the fire come from?" "Well, it needs oxygen, a heat source and..." "I know how fire is made, where did you make your fire?" "Uh... guys..." Luna tries to say. "Well, basically from nowhere." "You can't make fire from nothing." "Really?" "Really." Three Hours Later "... and thus spontaneous combustion is achieved," I say in summation. Ulif gawks at me in amazement from my ability to avoid his questions. "Right... anyway. Uh... you two probably need to get to Equestria, right?" he asks as he looks over some papers. "Yeah, the sooner the better," I say as I stroke Luna's mane. She had fallen asleep during my explanation and now lays in my lap. "Right, if you're willing to wait a day, I'll arrange for a ship to take you two across the Divide." "Really? Wow, thank you. That would be most appreciated." "Right, so I must be off then. I must fly to the port and make the proper arrangements. Feel free to use my home as you wish until I return. Bathroom is out back, there's a pot of Miso soup in the ice chest out back that you can have. It gets pretty cold at night, so I suggest you stay inside," he says as he walks around the room and collects random objects to put into a satchel. "But... please... I have to sleep on that bed later..." "Don't worry, nothing will happen," I assure him, getting a smile in response. "Right. I'll see what I can muster up then, take care. I shall return within a day with a seaworthy ship for us to travel to Equestria," he says as he walks out the door. When the door shuts Luna jolts awake and quickly sits up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Where... where did Ulif go?" she asks with a yawn. "He went to get us a ship so we can cross something called the Divide... what’s the Divide?" "It's an ocean - how is he going to get a ship?" she asks as she walks around the room, looking for something. "Well, I'm not sure. He said he was an agent of the griffin colonies, maybe they'll help. What's an ocean?" "It’s a large body of water, where’s the bathroom?" she asks as she looks back to me. Large... water... fuck yeah. "He said it was out back, here, let me show you," I say as I start to get up. "I think I can find the restroom on my own, Miles," Luna says as she starts to walk towards the door. "You can, but I'd feel more comfortable if I kept an eye on you. Who knows what enemies are still lurking around out there?" "Miles... this feels... you're being a little overprotective," she says as she waits by the door. "Yeah, I am. But that's only because I don't trust this area. Sorry, but... I just don't want to lose you again," I say as I open the door and wait for her outside. She steps out and walks past me, heading towards the back without me. I shut the door and follow after her, letting her have some distance as I watch the surrounding area. We find a small wooden room with a crescent cut into the door behind the hill house. Luna walks right in and shuts the door behind her. I'll take her being a little pissy and safe over not knowing any day. "AAAAAHHH!" Luna yells as she kicks the door open and runs outside with some grey fuzzy thing on her head. I run over and pull it off and toss it aside. The grey creature hisses at us before running away. "DARN RACCOON!" Luna yells as she tosses a rock at it. "What happened?" I ask as I walk up to her and try to calm her down. "The-the raccoon was IN the outhouse and attacked me," she says, getting me to chuckle a bit. "Its not funny!" "No, you're right. That was bad. *giggle* Bad raccoon," I say as I try my best not to laugh. "*sigh* OK, it was a little funny," she says as she leans her head against me. "Alright, next time let me check it before you use it, OK?" I say as I lift her chin to look at me. "OK... can you check it now?" she asks with a blush. I nod to her and head to the toilet and check it for any other raccoons. I look back to Luna and nod to her, moving aside to let her finish her business. I look back to see a chest sitting on some large chunks of ice, so I walk over to it and pull out the only pot inside. "What’s that?" Luna asks as she leaves the restroom. "Something called miso soup, know what it is?" "It's just a type of soup... you don't know what soup is, do you?" "Nnnope," I say as we start to walk towards the front door. "*sigh* I'm going to have to teach you so much..." "Aw, you say that like its a bad thing," I say as I nudge her a bit, getting her to smile in response. We head inside where I set the pot on the stove and take a look at it. I doubt you eat it cold. I go to flare my hand but stop when Luna grabs my arm. "No. I saw how much magic you used already, no more for today... and tomorrow. Only if it's truly necessary," she says as she pushes me aside. "I'll cook it, you just take a seat and wait." "OK, OK, I'm sitting down," I say as I take a seat. Luna gets to work getting the stove to turn on and sets the pot on the flame, not using her magic at all. "Hey Luna, is your magic still being blocked?" "Yeah... they did say they gave me a more concentrated dose," she says as she walks over to me and sits beside me. "So... here we are... soon to be wife and husband... in the middle of nowhere... alone..." "Yeah, good thing we're waiting till after marriage, otherwise this would be awkward," I say sarcastically as I glance back to Luna. She's biting her lower lip as she stares at my junk. "No, Luna." "What! I wasn't looking! I-I was... just thinking about... about..." "My junk in you?" I ask as I turn towards her. "What!? No, HA! Why would I be thinking about that? We're waiting until after marriage for that. Pfft, no... why, were you?" she asks as she leans in a bit. "I, was actually thinking of dates. When do you want to get married?" I ask, getting her to droop a little. "Right, dates... lets see... this may take awhile." "The actual date, or thinking of one?" "Both. We still have to hide us from Celestia..." "What!? Why?" "Do you really think she'd let us marry? She'd be the first one to object, I guarantee it..." "Do you really think we can hide an entire marriage from her?" "Well... maybe..." "And what about the primum somno?" "The first sleep?" "You know... our first night." "Oh..." FWOOSH "OH!" I laugh a bit as I run my hand along the top of her wing, making her shiver from my touch. She scoots forward and sets herself between my legs, as she wraps her forehooves around my waist and lays her head against my chest. I rest my arms around her as I look out the window and see that the sun is starting to set, giving me an idea. "Hey, I've got an idea," I whisper into her ear. "What’s that?" She whispers back to me. "Why don't you go raise the moon, give your sister a nice surprise?" She looks up to me and smiles before giving me a soft kiss on the lips. "I would... but I can't. I need my magic to do that..." "Oh... sorry." "It's OK. It was still sweet of you," she says before she lays her head back onto my chest. I look over to see the flame has died on the stove, as the temperature in the room begins to drop. "Wow, he said that it was going to get cold... but I didn't imagine it getting this cold this fast," I say as I begin to rub Luna. "I think we should call it a day and go to bed, to at least keep warm." I nod and pick up Luna as I stand, getting her to giggle a bit as I carry her over to the bed. I set her down so I could pull the blanket down, only to get her to knock me over. I roll over as she climbs on top of me, trying my best to get the both of us under the sheets, which proves to be a difficult challenge because of her erect wings. "Hey there," I say as Luna falls to my side and kisses my neck, making my heart start to race. "Hey there," she says as I return the love, kissing and nibbling her neck. "So, marriage," she says as she lays her head beside mine and brings a hoof up to my shoulder. "Crazy right?" "Yeah, but I still want to do it." "Me too." The room falls silent as the sun continues to fall behind the horizon, darkening the room. "Do... do you think..." "What? You can ask me anything Luna, don't be afraid to open up with me," I say as I bring a hand up to her cheek and hold it there, rubbing her gently. "Do you think my parents would approve? I never really got to know them... I just want to make them proud." "I think, they would be proud of you no matter what you chose to do. They loved Celestia like that, I don't see why they wouldn't be the same with you." The room falls silent again, now being completely dark and very cold. I can see my breath in the faint moonlight, reaching high into the air with every breath. "Miles..." "Yeah Luna?" "What happens after we get married?" "What do you mean?" "Will... will you still love me the same way you love me now? How long..." "Hey. I'll always love you, no matter what. After marriage... we'll only be getting closer and closer to each other." She sighs a bit as she tightens her hold on me, getting as close as possible. "Did I tell you about the message I got from Auxy?" "You got a message from three thousand years ago? What did she say?" "Well, everyone else got out of the power station alive, apparently they evacuated to Quartz Crest. My friends left me a trail to follow, and she went into labor." "Wow... some message. Where's Quartz Crest?" "I don't know, but she did leave coordinates, I just didn't get them..." "Miles! You have to go back and get them." "I'm not going back down there again. Every time I go down there, shit hits the fan..." "Miles, your friends left you a trail to find them. You have to follow after them. You have to find out what happened to everypony." "Luna, I don't feel right leaving you on your own again..." "Well, I will be at Canterlot, probably with even more guards. It's not like you'll be able to be there every second, especially with Celestia..." "Yeah, but being in Ponyville is better than being in Topaz." "This is important Miles, I really think you should pick up their trail and follow after them." I think about it for a bit, I really don't want to go back down there a third time, but she makes a good point. I want to know what happened to everyone. "I'll... I'll think about it." "Thank you," she says as she gives me a kiss in the cheek. I can feel the cold air start to sting against my exposed skin, but luckily Luna got her wings down, so I can at least pull the thick blanket over us. "Hey Luna?" "Yeah?" she says as she starts to fall asleep. "I don't think we could, but... after we get married and all... do you want to try to have kids?" "Miles... you're a different species..." "I know that, but..." "But I guess miracles do happen..." "So does that mean…?" "Yes, we'll try," she says as she nuzzles her face into my neck. I give her a kiss as I squeeze her in a hug. I know it's a long shot, and that it probably won't happen, but hearing her agree to it... I can die happy now. Author's Note Shout out to Taco Town for picking the food. HI SINE WAVE! Brony on! Chapter 86 Crossing The DivideChapter 86 Crossing The Divide I wake up before Luna when I hear something scurry around in the room. I lean up and take a look around. The room is still fairly dark, but I can see the sun starting to rise in the windows. I try to lean up more but Luna tightens her grip on me. I look down to her and can tell by the look on her face that she's having a dream terror. I hear the scurry again - whatever it is, it's in the kitchen part of the room. "Mmm... no... I said no..." Luna mumbles as her eyes tighten. I lay back down and begin to stroke her mane, trying my best to ignore the scurrying to comfort her. "Mmm... I... don't want this... please... don't..." "Shhh, its OK. I'm here. Everything is going to be alright." I whisper as I put my hand behind her head and hold her. "Mmm... Miles?" She says as she slowly wakes up. "Hey. You were having a dream terror, everything alright?" I ask as I start to rub her cheek with my thumb. She looks around a bit before she takes my hand with both hooves and holds it against herself. "I... it was..." "It's alright. If you don't want to talk about it you don't have to. But if you ever need to, I'm here for you." "I had a dream that you were being tortured. That you were going to be killed." "It's alright, I'm here, nothing bad is going to happen." "Miles... I feel... different." "What do you mean?" "I don't want to have sex with you." "Wait, what?" "I think I'm out of estrus..." "OH! I... I thought... that's good..." "What did you think I meant by that?" she asks as she sits up. "Uh... well, heh, it sounded like you didn't want to have sex with me... ever." "Oh, no, I still do. It's just that now I don't have that voice in my head yelling at me to make babies anymore. That's all," she says with a smile. The scurrying sounds off again, making Luna flip out. She jumps behind me and tries to use me like a shield as she hides from the sound. "What was that!? There's something inside... what is it?" she says as she peers over my shoulder. Suddenly two white fluffy paws reach over the edge, and begin to slowly reveal a small white fluffy creature. It has four legs, a tail, and big bright blue eyes. "Careful, I think it can smell fear," I say as I reach over and start petting it, getting purrs as it rubs its head into my hand. "Oh... sorry. I didn't know he had a cat," Luna says as she reaches and tries to pet it, only to stop when it hisses at her and jumps off the bed. "I guess it doesn't like me..." "That's OK, more for me," I say as I grab her hoof and give it a kiss, getting Luna to giggle a bit. "That's no fair, I don't want to share you," Luna says as she gets on top of me and starts planting kisses on my neck. I wrap my arms around her and begin to return the love. I begin by kissing her on the neck, working my way up to her cheek. We separate from each other to look into each others eyes, conveying our love to each other silently before we both lean forward to kiss. "I'M BACK!" Ulif yells as he busts through the door, scaring the fuck out of the two of us and ending the romance... fucking cock block... well, lip block. "AH, there you are Fluffyton! Where have you been hiding?" he says as he walks in and picks up the cat, petting it as it begins to purr loudly. He pauses when he sees us and drops his happy demeanor. "I thought I asked you not to do that in my bed." "What?" Luna says as we look to one another. Her eyes shoot open as she realizes what he means and quickly gets out of bed. I sigh and begin to follow suit when I remember how nude I am. "Uh, you wouldn't happen to have any clothes I could wear, would you?" I ask as I sit on the edge of the bed. "Clothes?" "Right, never mind." I hate nudity. "So, what’s the plan then?" "Well, after a very brief discussion with my superiors, I've been ordered to escort you two back to Equestria. I've been promoted to captain and given a ship and crew. We'll leave for port after some breakfast," he says as he walks over to the stove and sets his bag down on the counter beside it. He tries to light the stove, but finds the fire has burned out. "Right... OK, you two get comfy... not too comfy, I'm going to use the fire pit outside to make breakfast..." "Here, let me help..." "No, no, no. You are my guest, it would be dishonorable of me to accept your help in this simple task. I'll only be a few minutes," he says before he leaves the room with his bag. I glance over to Luna and put on a smile. "Soo..." "I have to use the restroom. Why don't you work on making some kind of clothing for yourself?" "Oh, alright," I say as I look around for anything that could work. Luna walks up to me and lifts my chin up to give me a quick kiss on the lips. "Hey, don't worry. After we get married you won't need those clothes." Uh... I think this would be the time when my wings would go straight up, if I had wings that is. I shake my head and look back to her smiling face. I lean forward to kiss her, but miss when she steps back. She kisses at me before leaving the room... damn. Well... clothes would be nice. I stand up and start walking around the room, looking for anything that could be used for clothing. I end up taking a small white bed sheet and using it as a toga. I walk outside and go to the left instead, finding Ulif cooking over a small fire. "Do you mind if I take these…? Humans don't normally walk around naked." "What’s mine is yours," he says as he scrapes some yellow stuff onto a plate, along with some fruit and strips of... blech, hay... "Thank you, by the way," I say as I take a seat next to him. "Not to be disrespectful, but why are you doing all of this?" "Well, half orders, half because I would want the same done for me. I've been alone for twenty years, keeping tabs on Hammerfell the entire time. I know what they're up to, and after I drop you two off we're going to put a stop to their evil plans. Thanks to you, I finally get to chase them down instead of watching from the side, thank you," he says as he finishes making the third plate. "No need to thank me, I was just protecting the one I love," I say as Luna comes around the side and approaches us. "She needs you," Ulif whispers to me. "She acts strong, but I can see past that. Help her find her true strength." "I will..." "You will what?" Luna asks as she takes a seat beside me. "Warn you that the food’s hot," I say as I set a plate in front of her. "Well duh, he did just cook it. Thank you again for your hospitality, Ulif," Luna says before she leans down and begins to eat. "Think nothing of it, Princess Luna," Ulif says as we begin to eat. Fruit, awesome, eggs, alright, hay bacon... I give it to Luna. After we eat, Ulif sets out some food for the cat, Fluffyton apparently, and locks up his place before we start heading to something called a port. Luckily Luna can walk on her own, so we make the trip in an hour. "Welcome, to Port Stand Alone," he says as we approach a shoreline. To the left and right is nothing but shore, but directly in front of us is a wooden walkway that goes out above the water a few meters. The water goes out past the horizon in every direction... so much water. Tied to the walkway is an old wooden vessel. It's fairly large, going up at least fifty meters and being over two hundred meters long. There are three posts that go up and have tattered white cloths hanging from them, waving in the air as griffins move about the vessel, tying ropes, cleaning the floor, doing other tasks. "The S.S. Midnight," Luna says as we approach the vessel. "Yes, it was the only free ship we could spare in the gulf, but don't worry. I know she's not much to look at, but she'll get us to Equestria." "Its a girl?" I ask, but get ignored as we walk up a rampway to the ship. "CAPTAIN ON DECK!" yells an all black griffin, making all of the others stand at attention and salute. "At ease," Ulif says, getting the one who yelled to run up to him. "Sir! We are ready for departure as soon as you give the word," says the black griffin. "Good, lets be on our way," Ulif says, getting the black griffin to yell orders out to all of the others. "Why don't you two go ahead and explore the ship, this is going to be a long trip," Ulif says as he walks about the... deck. I run on board and look around the edge, watching the water crash against the side of the ship. "Are you going to be alright?" Luna asks with a chuckle as she follows me around. "Sorry, but... I kind of have a thing for water," I say as I hold onto a rope and lean over the right side. "Think we have enough time to go for a swim?" "HAUL ANCHOR AND SET SAILS!" Ulif yells from the upper deck. "I guess not," I mumble as all of the griffins get to work. "Maybe next time," Luna says as she throws her legs over the edge and looks out at the water. "So, you have a thing for water, why?" "You've seen Topaz - water isn't as available there as it is on the surface. Storm and Twilight took me to a lake a while back, and I nearly drowned because I launched myself into the deep end without knowing how to swim..." "You what?!" "Don't worry, I got out and they taught me to swim." We suddenly lurch forward as the wind catches the cloths. We're moving fairly slow, but I guess we'll get there... eventually. On the bright side, this means more time with Luna. "So, what do you think of the S.S. Midnight?" Ulif asks as he approaches the two of us. "She's a marvelous ship," Luna compliments... why is it a girl? "Yeah... slow, but amazing." "Slow you say, just wait for it," Ulif says with a sly grin as we follow him up the stairs to the upper deck. "Griffins! Wind!" Ulif yells, getting four griffins to jump into the air and begin to flap their wings, sending powerful gusts of wind into the white cloths. The ship begins to surge forward, making waves crash after us. "Fast enough?" Ulif asks. "Uh... yeah… not really." We went from three kilometers an hour to... fifteen, maybe. "Come, let me give you a tour," Ulif says as he walks down the stairs. The top basically has two areas; the upper deck that has the steering wheel and the lower deck, that has an area that opens up to the lower area and the mast. Under the decks is the sleeping area - a dank area with a bunch of hammocks surrounded by wooden boxes. He says we'll have to share one due to the lack of hammocks... not a problem. There's apparently more underneath, but he says its just for cargo... I'll check it the next chance I get. We go back to the upper deck to wander around, having two weeks till we get to Equestria. "What are you thinking?" Luna asks me as we walk towards the front of the ship. "I'm wondering if we can trust Ulif." "He seems trustworthy..." "Yeah, but not everything is as it appears." "Well... its not like we have a choice right now. We're crossing the Divide, it's not like I can just teleport us to Equestria, it's too far. Not to mention I can't use my magic yet." We make it to the very front of the ship where we stop and stare out at the ocean. There's a strong wind coming from behind, with a crisp smell of salt in the air. "Miles..." "Do me a favor, stay within earshot. If something happens I want to be able to get to you as quickly as possible." "I will, but I doubt anything will happen." "Better safe than sorry," I say as I turn around to face her, leaning against the railing. "So, fiancee..." "Yes, fiancee?" she says with a giggle as she walks up me, resting her legs over my shoulders. She leans forward and rubs her nose against mine as we stare into each others eyes. "A wedding. When. Where. Who's invited..." "Whoa, slow down soldier, one at a time. So... when. Let me think..." "I'm good whenever..." "Yeah, I know, I just have to think of a date when I could get away from Celestia long enough to actually do it." "I still don't think its a good idea to hide this from Celestia..." "I know you do, but we have to if we want to be together. I'm sorry, but that's the way it has to be," she says as she lays her head on my right shoulder. I lean my head against hers and just enjoy her; her scent, her soft touch, the rising and falling of her chest, the way she's lightly rubbing my back with one of her hooves. I take my left hand and wrap it around her back, sliding underneath her wings. She gives a soft sigh as she leans her head against mine, slightly tightening her grip on me. Ulif walks up to us but stops when he sees us embracing one another. He motions to me that there’s food below deck, to which I give a thumbs up to. "Hey, I think the food’s ready..." "Just hold me a bit longer... please," she asks as she tightens her grip even more. I wrap my other arm around her and rub my cheek against her lightly. "I'm not going anywhere," I say as I start to rub her side a bit... slowly making my way to her ticklish spot. "Miles... what are you WWUUUAHAHAHAHAHAH!" Before she can finish I reach over with both my hands and begin to tickle her, making her laugh and squirm underneath my arms. I get her laughing so hard that she can't even get a sentence out as she tries to get out of my grip. "Mi… Miles... HAHAHA... st-stop... can't... heheheh... can't breathe... AHAHAH… I-I think I'm crying... too much... hehe... laughing..." I stop tickling her and squat down some, getting her to fall over my shoulder a bit. When I stand back up I have Luna draped over my shoulder, still trying to catch her breath from her laughing fit. "ONWARD TO FOOD," I say as I start to carry her towards the stairs. "That was evil, Miles," Luna says from behind. "It put a smile on your face, so I don't care." I stop a bit before the stairs and toss Luna up, getting a small eep before I catch her in my arms. She lands facing me, belly side up. "I swear if you give me a raspberry..." "A what?" "Oh, right, uh... never mind," she says as she puts on her cutest smile possible, some weird combination of deception and innocence. I shake my head and set her down. "You realize when I find out what that means, you’re in for it." "Well... uh... are you hungry? Cause I'm famished. Let’s go eat," she says as she backpedals to the stairs and runs down. The Next Day - Wednesday, October 24th, 4132. 12:48 PM. I'm standing next to the steering wheel as Ulif holds onto it with a single claw. Luna decided to give her wings a stretch and went for a small flight. "I can't wait to lead the march against Tirek. Twenty years of watching and I finally have the proof I need to bring him down," Ulif says as he holds the wooden wheel. "And why won't you tell me what he's planning?" "Why won't you tell me about your escape?" "Confidential." "Likewise." I shake my head and look up to Luna, she's doing a few simple maneuvers, nothing to difficult. "She really loves you, you know," Ulif says as he checks a round metal device. "I know. And I really love her. What did you mean when you said she acts tough?" "I've seen it before. She puts up a tough exterior, but on the inside is a lot of self-doubt and loneliness. Break her of that," he says as he gives the wheel a spin and catches it. "How did you learn to find a trait like that?" I ask as I lean against the railing. "Boy, when you get to be as old as I am, you learn to pick up on things. She may be thousands of years old, but she hides everything like any other female. The minute I saw her, I knew there were some cracks in the foundation." I shift a little from hearing this. How could I have missed something like this... it makes me a little uneasy. "Any pointers on..." "Nope." "But..." "No way, no how." "Can't you..." "Never." "... Ulif's great." "No - oh now you're just being mean." We share a small laugh as Luna lands behind us, panting a bit. "You alright there?" I ask as I approach her, leaving Ulif behind. "Yeah... just haven't used my wings in a while," she says as she rolls her wings in place. I walk up to her and kneel beside her as I lay my hands around her wing joints. "Miles... what are you doing?" "Could you roll your wings again? I want to check to see that your wings are alright." "I think I'm fine, I was just flying..." "Symptoms of wing lock could take a week to actually show up. Feather rot takes twice as long, now give me a quick roll." She glances back and gives me a confused look before complying. Her joints feel fine, a little stiff, but a few practice flights will take care of that. "When did you learn so much about wings?" "When Storm nearly lost one, Twilight and I read up on pegasus physiology. Everything seems fine, but I want you to do a couple of flights to work out the knots." "OK... but only if you don't use magic for a week." I think about it for a second before I nod. "Alright, its a deal." Friday, October 26th, 4132. 6:00am. "Nooo... I... I don't want to... please... I love him..." Luna mumbles in her sleep as she tightens her hold on me. We're both in the same hammock, Luna lying on top, with me lying belly side up. I stroke her mane softly as I try my best to comfort her. Every night she has these dreams, and every night I stay up comforting her. Usually she would stop around midnight, but today seems to be a bad day. "Luna... I'm here for you," I whisper into her ear. "Miles... I need you..." "I'm here... what do you need?" I whisper, maybe I can talk to her, find out what’s eating at her. "I-I... help... I'm scared..." Whoa... I wasn't expecting that... "What are you scared of?" "The... I... mmmmm, huh?" she says as she wakes up. "Miles... what’s going on?" "You were having another dream terror… Luna, is there something out there that scares you?" "What? What do you mean?" she asks, still a little out of it. "Never mind... I'll tell you about it another time. Its still early, why don't you go back to sleep?" I say as I brush the side of her face with my hand. "OK... I love you." She says as she lays her head back down. "I love you too... sleep well." BOOM An explosion erupts from the front of the ship, waking us both up completely. Luna and I share a look before we both run to the deck. I run up first and immediately take a hit that knocks me down the stairs. "AAAHH! WHAT THE FUCK!?" I yell as an arrow sticks out of my upper chest. "Miles!" Luna yells as she takes a look at my wound. I reach over and tear out the arrow and look it over. There's some blood on it, but what really concerns me is all of the black gunk on it. "What is that?" I ask as I examine the arrow. "Try to use your magic," Luna says as she looks my wound over. I try to flare my hand, but nothing happens. I try my heels and back next, but I can't seem to activate my magic. "I thought so, I think that arrow was for me..." "RRRRAAAAAAAAHHHH!" scream hundreds of people as the sound of metal clashing with metal fills the air. I try to get up, but Luna holds me down with a hoof. "Let me heal you first..." "No, save your energy for after the fight. I can handle this. Can you fight without magic?" "Yes, I was taught some basic tactics, but... I haven't practiced them in a very long time." "That's OK, you’re not the fighter, I am. Just stay close, and watch my back, OK?" "O-OK, please be safe Miles." She leans forward and gives me a soft kiss on the lips before she stands up. "I will," I say as I stand up and face the stairs. I run up and hesitate at the top, glancing to get an idea as to what’s going on. I see Ulif and his crew fighting off a group of griffins and ponies that are all wearing black bandanas. A much larger ship is tied to ours on the right, with massive black sails and a flag of two bones crossing. Ulif's outnumbered, but these invaders are outclassed. A few dead bodies are scattered throughout the deck, drenching the floor in blood. I look for the archer that shot me, but can't find him, so I go all the way up and charge the closest group to me. In front of me are three invaders trying to kill Ulif, two griffins and a red-and-black earth pony. I jump over the pony and give him a few jabs, staggering him back. He tries to swing his sword at me, but I catch his arm and use it to block the griffin’s blade as Ulif stabs the other one. "MILES! These pirates caught us in the dark and blew up the steering wheel," Ulif yells as I backhand the pony and take his sword. I parry the griffin a bit before I spin around and bury the blade in his skull, sending a wave of blood down his neck. I try to pull the blade out, but it seems to be stuck, so I let go of it. Ulif slices at the pony and cuts his side deeply, dropping him to the ground as he adds the blood drenched deck. "What are they after?" I yell as I kick the spear up into my hands. Before he could answer I see a few griffins corner Luna, so I charge at them. I throw my spear forward, piercing clear through the first one. I slam into him and grab his sword, only to fling it into the chest of the next griffin. The last one glances between the two of us before charging at Luna. Luna bows her head and sends a large blue column of energy at the griffin, sending him, and three unlucky others, flying into the ocean. Luna looks up to me in shock, glancing at the area that they once occupied. "I..." "Let me guess, you didn't mean for it to be that powerful." "Well... yeah." "*sigh* Luna, you're strong. Trust me when I say you have power, I know power," I say as I pull out the spear and turn around. Ulif and two others are backing up towards us as a large group of enemies approach them. I glance to the left and see a second ship being tied to ours. Cannons are being pointed to our ship as more and more pirates begin to jump onto our ship. Ulif lines up next to us and holds up his sword. "Ulif... will you marry Miles and I?" Luna asks as she makes her energy blades and steps forward. "I'm a little busy right now..." "How exactly can he do that?" I ask as I hold my spear up. "He's a captain, he's allowed to perform the ceremony..." "Here, let me give you some time then," I say before I charge forward, thrusting my spear into the chest of a unicorn. I pull it back and spin it around, making them back away from me. I stop and hold my spear forward, waiting for someone to challenge me. Two griffins run at me from the left and right, so I spin my spear around and smack one across the face with the butt of the shaft. I thrust forward and stab the other one in the chest, burying my spear. Another griffin with a spear tries to stab at me, but I duck and roll towards him, only to come up to a dead griffin. I glance back to see Luna fighting off a few griffins with one of her blades as she pulls the other one out of the griffin before me. Ulif and one of the others have made their way to the upper deck and are working together to fend off the pirates. I grab a nearby sword and jump into the fray. "FINE! DEARLY BELOVED. WE ARE HERE TO UNITE THESE TWO INTO HOLY MATRIMONY. MILES, DO YOU TAKE THIS WOMAN TO BE YOUR LAWFULLY WEDDED WIFE? TO LOVE HER IN THE GOOD TIMES AND TO STRENGTHEN HER IN THE BAD? TO PROTECT HER WITH YOUR LIFE, FOR AS LONG AS YOU BOTH SHALL LIVE?" Ulif yells as he parries two ponies. "I DO!" I yell as I fling my sword into the face of a griffin. I spin around and catch the shaft of a spear as the griffin tries to stab me. After a few quick jabs to his throat, I take the spear and begin to slam it into anyone close enough to me. "AND DO YOU LUNA, TAKE THIS MAN TO BE YOUR LAWFULLY WEDDED HUSBAND? TO LOVE HIM IN THE GOOD TIMES AND TO STRENGTHEN HIM IN THE BAD? CARRY HIS CHILDREN, BRING HIS FAMILY HONOR AND TO LIVE YOUR LIFE WITH HIM, AND ONLY HIM, FOR AS LONG AS YOU BOTH SHALL LIVE?" he yells before stabbing a griffin in the chest. "I DO!" Luna yells as she spins her blades around, cutting all who stand near her. I finish off the pony before me and run towards Luna. She rears up as I approach her, so I take her in my arms. We both look up to Ulif and wait for him to finish the ceremony. "THEN WITH THE POWER VESTED IN ME AND WITH THE TESTIMONY OF THESE GUTLESS BASTARDS I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU HUSBAND AND WIFE, KISS!" he shouts before he spins around and slices the neck of the griffins behind him. I look back to Luna and lean forward. As we kiss one another, deafening explosions roar around us, but are ignored as we press harder into each other’s lips. I break the kiss and stare lovingly into her eyes as fires erupt around us. "I love you." "I love..." KRA-BOOM When I open my eyes, I find myself slowly sinking in the freezing water. I look up to see Luna sinking above me, with the S.S. Midnight being torn apart from fiery explosions. I begin to swim up, trying my best to reach Luna before her lungs run dry. Every push I do makes my lungs burn, but I push on, eventually getting to Luna. I try to wake her, but she's out cold. I continue to try to get to the surface, but I can already tell its a losing battle. When I start to fade out I feel something touch my face. I look up to see an all green unicorn before me. Well, the top half is a unicorn, the bottom half looks like it belongs to one of the fish that Ulif showed me. It looks at me and Luna with a look of concern before it charges its horn... When I wake up for the second time I look around to find myself on a shoreline, my legs still being in the water. I look over to my right to see Luna coughing up water as she looks back to me. "Miles... wha... are we alive?" she asks weakly. "Yeah… I think so," I reply just as weakly. "Miles... we did it..." she says as she reaches out and grabs my hand. "Yeah..." "We're married," she says with a large smile. "Ye...yeah." Author's Note Shout out to Rainbow Dragon for picking what was for breakfast and the name of the ship. HI _______! Brony on! Chapter 87 Primum SomnoChapter 87 Primum Somno We continue to stare into each others eyes as the water crashes onto us. Married... I can't believe it... this feels like a dream come true... if this is a fucking dream I swear... "Miles, lets get out of the water." "Right," I say as I begin to stand up, wincing from the pain in my chest. I try to get my bearings, but I have no clue where I'm at. A few meters from the shore is a treeline. The trees go high into the air and have long narrow leaves while the bark is a light tan. The ground is covered with dried chunks of bark and old leaves, leaving almost no room for any other plant life. "Huh, how did we get to Equestria?" she asks as we start to walk towards the treeline. "Would you believe underwater ponies teleporting us?" I ask, getting a shocked look from Luna. "You saw sea ponies? Like, the half-dolphin half-pony sea pony sea pony?" "What’s a dolphin?" "That... I... you... they're real! You mean to tell me they're really real!?" Luna yells as she bounces up and down in excitement. "Yeah... that one teleported us..." "Teleported? THEY HAVE HORNS!? Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!" she yells as she continues to bounce up and down. I laugh a bit as I kneel beside her and put my fingers over her lips, getting her to pause. "I think we should get going." "Aw..." she says as she pouts a bit. "Don't worry, we'll look for your sea ponies another time," she gives me a big smile before jumping up and giving me a quick peck on the lips. "OK, but that's a promise," she says as she begins to walk towards the treeline. I laugh a bit to myself before I follow after her. She pauses a bit before the treeline and takes a look around, I would’ve looked around as well, but my eyes were stuck on Luna. Again, energy hair defies logic as it clings to her side, due to it being soaking wet. I begin to bring my eyes lower, staring at her soaked wings, every drop of water crawling down her sides, the way the water shines off of her mark... "Miles, I think we're... heh, glad to see you're focusing on getting home," she says with a giggle. "Uh... what?" She steps forward and reaches up... "WHOA!" I yell as she lightly taps my erect penis, making it wiggle a bit. Only now do I realize just how nude I am. I guess having no one around isn't all that bad. "So, now the question is how do we take care of that?" Luna asks as she takes a hold of it. "Uh..." "Since we're married now, I think I know how..." "Oh sweet Barbra..." "But not out in the open. If we could find somewhere... a little more private..." "Private! Got it!" I says as I start to look around for anything remotely private. I run around the shore a bit but can't see anything that could be of use. "Would you settle for a stone room…?" "Only if you wanted to take a nap. I want our first time to be at least be a building of some sort..." "Right, no stone building... we may have to go looking for this place..." "That's alright. I've waited almost three thousand years, I think I can wait long enough to find a building. Lets get going," she says as she starts to walk into the forest. I watch her go for a bit before I shake my head and follow after her. We walk through the trees, making crunches as we step. I try looking for any kind of building, but my eyes always find their way back to Luna. I can't help but watch her muscles twist and turn as she walks ahead of me, the way the light shines off of her, the way she seems to sway her hips naturally as she walks. I think she knows I'm watching her, because a couple of times she swishes her tail, flashing me her slit. I feel my stomach twist as my cheeks begin to burn from my blushing. "Luna..." I mumble as I quicken my pace towards her. "What was that?" she asks as she turns around. Before she can do anything I pick her up and prop her against a nearby tree. I reposition my arms to get a better hold of her before leaning forward and kissing her. As I lean my body against hers, I feel her magic grab my member and hold it up, denying me entrance. I ignore it for now and continue to kiss her, working my tongue into her mouth and quickly finding her tongue. I give her tongue a few flicks, getting her to wrap hers around mine as she drapes her hooves over my shoulders. She pushes her tongue forward, entering my mouth with total ease and begins to dominate the kiss. I turn the table by latching onto her tongue with my lips and pulling back, sucking on her tongue until it pops out of my mouth. We take this moment to catch our breath. I stare deep into her eyes as she stares back into mine, our hot breath mixing before us as we refuse to look anywhere else. I lean forward and rest my nose against hers as I get control of my breathing. "Luna..." "If we don't find somewhere soon I think I'm going to explode in frustration," she says as she leans forward and presses her lips hard against mine. I close my eyes as I press back against her, losing myself in the feeling of having her lips pressed against mine. We begin to smack our lips together, making a sound come out from us as we continue to make out. I begin to nibble on her lower lip, enjoying the feeling of having her plump lip caught between my teeth. I give it a little tug before letting it go and continue to make out with her, getting deep breaths from her as she starts to rub the back of my head with a hoof. I press my lips hard against hers before I break contact to catch my breath again. "Heh... wow..." "Place. Find. NOW," she says as she stares lustfully into my eyes. I nod, not being able to form words, and set her down to continue our search. I take the lead as we search for anything we can finish this moment in. After a bit of looking we find a dirt path going left and right. "Left or right?" I ask Luna. She looks both directions before heading to the right. I follow after her, glancing back down to her flank. I can see her focusing on trying to find somewhere, so I decide to tease her a bit. I reach over and give her flank a little squeeze, getting her to jump up in surprise as she eeps. "Oh you jerk!" she says with a large smile before she chases after me. I run down the path and try my best to avoid her, getting her to giggle as she chases after me, trying her best to grab me. The path suddenly turns left where I pause at the sight before me. SMACK I jump up as I grab my bottom. I look back to Luna in astonishment as she sticks her tongue at me. I run up to her and pick her up so her side is against my chest and continue down the path. "So, will this work?" I ask as I turn around the corner to reveal a small cabin. It's made of a graying wood that's covered in a green moss. It has a flat roof and has very few windows. The entire building seems to tilt to the left a bit, making the fireplace come off the side. "Its perfect. Lets get inside," Luna says to me as she gives me a kiss on the cheek. I walk to the door and enter as it magically opens, thanks to Luna. Everything inside is made of the same material as the building, just without the moss clinging to it. There's a counter to my left with a sink in the middle of it. A fridge sits at the end of the counter with some weird markings on it. Above the sink is a row of cabinets that has the doors barely hanging onto it. In the center of the room is a table with four chairs. A fairly large bed sits in the back right corner with old grey sheets. Directly to my right is a large red-grey rug that sits before a large fire place. I walk in and set Luna down, who walks in and takes a look around. I walk over to the fridge and open it to find that it has power. I pull out the only contents and look over to Luna. "What’s this?" I ask as I toss it up and down. "It's a multi fruit. Basically somepony crossed a few different fruits together to make a super fruit," Luna says as she walks over to the bed. She lays on it and rolls onto her back, spreading her wings across as she stretches out. I drop the multi fruit and walk over to the bed and gently lay on top of her. "Are you ready for this?" I ask as I begin to line myself up with her. "I am. Just... promise me that you'll be gentle." "I will, I promise." And then we fucked. Author's Note Shout out to Nightmare for picking the food in the fridge. Two things. A future shot out to Attacking Dogs for picking how much sex they will have. Basically.... its going to be a whole chapter, that's why this one was so short. And the last part was just to mind fuck those who skip the Authors notes. HI Iocnex! Brony on! Chapter 88 And Then There Was SexChapter 88 And Then There Was Sex I hold myself up with my right arm as I position myself with my left hand. I sigh as I press the tip of my member against her entrance, getting a sigh from her as well. I feel my stomach twist and turn as I begin to slowly enter her tight canal. GOODBYE VIRGINITY! When I'm three fourths the way in I feel some resistance and pause at it. "Are... are you ready for this part?" I ask as I hold myself back from thrusting forward. The feeling of her wrapped around me in such a carnal manner is sending me over the edge. "Do it," she says as she bites onto her left hoof and holds onto my right arm with her other. I nod to her and push through the resistance, getting her to wince and tighten her hold on me as I finish entering her. I take a few breaths as I look down, seeing a few trickles of blood escape her as I hold myself inside. FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY Luna and I look to one another and laugh a bit from the random outburst. I lean forward and give her a quick kiss on the nose, being sure not to move myself around too much. "Just let me know when you're ready and I'll start to move it," I say to her, getting a nod in response. As she lies there trying to get accustomed to me being inside of her, I relish in the feeling of her. She's warm. I can feel the blood trickle off of me, which worries me a bit that I like the way it feels. I can feel her starting to loosen around me as she begins to relax. "OK... I, I think you can start to move it," she says as she looks down at our contact. "Wow... that... that's a little more blood than I thought there would be." "Well, you saved up for a long time, now I'm going to get started, OK?" "OK," she whispers as she lays back. I begin to pull out, slowly making my way to exit. Before I completely leave her I begin to push back inside, getting another soft moan from Luna. When I enter all the way, I hold it there for a second before I begin to pull out again. The entire time I bite my lower lip from the chills being sent through my body. This is amazing. This is incredible. This is... there are no words that can truly explain the amount of pleasure I'm in right now. "Do... do you want it faster?" I ask as I hold at the entrance, silently hoping she says yes. "Y-yeah, but, just a bit." YES... I mean, if it’s what she wants. I begin to push in at a faster rate, getting all of the way inside in half the time. I keep pace at this rate, getting the both of us to begin to take deeper breaths as I go along. I’m still keeping a relatively slow pace, but every push and pull is making me wince in pleasure. Without thinking about it, I begin to pick up the pace. "Miles... Miles!" Luna says as she begins to push herself up. I shake my head and pull myself out completely, getting a small gasp from Luna. "Sorry, sorry. I, kind of lost myself in the moment. Are you OK?" "I'm fine, I'm fine. It actually felt pretty good. I am a little mad that you pulled completely out though," she says as she leans up. "Oh... sorry... I'll just go back…" "Your punishment is that you lose top privileges. Trade spots with me," she says with a large smile. I smile and lean forward, giving her a quick kiss before we begin to trade spots. I lay back and watch as she begins to position on top of me, her wings flaring straight back. She takes a moment to line me up before slamming me into her. We both double over from the sudden feeling as she holds me tightly. "Luna..." "That, was a lot harder than I thought it would be," Luna says as she slowly opens her eyes. "I'm sorry, just give me a sec." "Take as long as you need," I say as I rest my hands on her hips. She glances down before she runs both of her hooves across my chest and abdomens, sighing deeply. "Oh god, you have no idea how long I've waited to do this," she says as she continues to rub my muscles. "The sex?" "Well, yes. But I meant be able to touch you like this... I like muscle," she says as she begins to rock back and forth, getting me to slide within her. I reach over and hold onto her flanks as I start to pull in motion to her rocking. I can't help but give her flank tight squeezes, loving the soft and squishy feeling under my fingers as she begins to bounce up and down slowly. The area with her cutie mark is a bit rougher than the areas around it, but I love the contrasting feelings. She starts panting a bit as she quickens her bounces, so I decide to pick things up as well. When she goes up I pull down, and when she falls back I push up, making an audible slap when we meet completely. She falls forward as she lets out a loud gasp, resting her head against me as I continue to push into her. I grab the area where her tail starts and hold onto it for better support as I quicken my pace even more, getting even louder gasps from her. When I start to feel a pressure build up I push Luna aside and take the position on top, never missing a beat. I bury my face in her neck and hold the back of her head as I begin to thrust as hard and as fast as possible. She wraps her legs around me as her gasps turn to moans. The pressure inside continues to build higher and higher with every push I make. I try to hold it back, but that only makes the feeling build faster. "L-Luna..." I mutter before a wave of ecstasy washes over me as I reach my climax. I arch my back from the culmination of pleasure, thrusting a few times as I finish within her. Once done, I fall forward, breathing deeply into her neck as my heart races. I roll to her right and lay on my side as I watch her take deep breaths, holding a hoof to her forehead as she does so. "So... how was it?" She looks over to me and pulls my face towards hers for a rough kiss. I guess that means good. "That... was... worth the wait," she says between kisses. She finally stops and lies back down, staring lovingly into my eyes. I place a hand on her cheek as we stare into each other’s eyes for a bit, before I scoot closer to her and hold her against me, kissing her on the forehead along the way. "So, Mrs. Eremita, you just had sex for the first time ever, what do you plan on doing next?" "Heh, Mrs. Luna Eremita, I like that. But don't tell me you’re completely finished. I was hoping to do it again," she says before she starts to plant kisses on my chest, slowly working her way to my face. "Keep that up and I'll be able to go again no problem," I say as I rub her back. "Good, because this time I want to stay on top," she says as she pushes me over and sits on top of me. I laugh a little at her wings, they're halfway up and drooping forward. "What are you laughing at?" "Your wings, you there or not?" I ask as I play with the tips, making them rise up a bit. "Shut up and get hard already." "Make me," I say with a broad smile. She narrows her eyes as she charges her horn. I feel her energy take a hold on my flaccid member and start to yank it up and down, making me get hard quickly. She moves up a bit and falls back down, having me re-enter her. As she begins to bounce up and down I run my hands from her stomach, up her chest and around her shoulders. She has the softest body ever, but I can feel her strength underneath. She grabs my right arm and rubs her cheek against it as she continues to bounce. Without thinking about it I start to thrust back into her, getting back to the euphoric state I was in a few moments ago. I watch as with every bounce she makes, her wings reach higher and higher until they're completely up. I reach over with my right hand and grab her right wing joint, getting a loud gasp from her as her eyes shoot open. I take my other hand and grab her other joint, making her fall forward as I begin to play with them. "O-OK... you had your fun... ease up a bit, I'm trying to fo...cus here," Luna says shakily as I twist my fingers around her joints. I can feel her wings stiffen up as I continue to play with them. "I would stop, but then I'd need to be on top," I say with an evil smile. She takes a few breaths as she thinks about it, still bouncing up and down. I give her one last twist that makes her gasp and pick herself up. "Fine, you can be on top, but next time I stay on top, and no wing-play," she says as she starts to lie next to me. I quickly get up and hold her down so she's lying on her side. "Miles, what are - AH!" She starts to say but stops when I quickly enter. I grab a hold of her thigh and lower back as I start to thrust into her at a high pace, receiving soft moans as a reward. Luna tries to lay back, but I hold her bottom half in place, so only her torso lays back. I can feel a cool layer of sweat build around me as my heart races. Likewise, I can see Luna start to sweat as well as she quickens her breathing. She's beginning to grab the sheets as she closes her eyes and starts to thrust her hips forward, her canal tightening around me as… is... is she peeing on me?! I pause to ask... "DON'T STOP!" she yells as she looks back to me, wide-eyed and panting deeply. I continue to thrust into her, getting her to pee more and more onto me. I try to pull out when the pressure begins to build inside of me, but her body won’t let me. I keep thrusting as I hit my second climax, tightening my grip on her as I arch back from the pleasure. I let out a loud groan as I thrust into her with all of my might, getting her to let out a small scream. I stop and close my eyes as I finish, trying to catch my breath as I let go of Luna. "Oh... sweet..." "I know... I know..." Luna says as she stares up at the ceiling, her chest rising and falling from her deep breaths. I crawl next to her and take her in my arms as I lay beside her, our sweat matting us together. We both lay there and try to get our breathing under control, the only sound in the room being our breathing. "Luna?" "Yes Miles?" "Did... did you pee on me?" I ask as I blush a bit from the awkward question. "What?" "When I paused there, you were..." "Oh, nononono, that wasn't pee Miles." "Really? Then... what was it?" I ask as I look her in the eyes. "Well... that's my body telling you that you did a good job." "Uh... I don't follow..." "I had an orgasm, Miles." ......Oh………OH! I grow a large smile as I finally get what happened. "So it was good?" I say, pride boosting my ego. "Yeah... it was," she says as she brings herself against me and closes her eyes. I wrap my arms around her and sigh, looking out the window. "It's getting dark, we should get some sleep," I say as I stare out at the night sky. "Aw, I wanted to stay up a little longer," she says as she rubs her nose against my chest. Hmmm... idea. "Hey, show me the stars." "What?" she asks as she sits up. "Lets go out to the shore and you can show me the stars. That sound fun?" I ask as I hold the back of her head, rubbing my fingers in her hair. "I… it'll be cold out there..." "I know a way to keep warm," I say as I run my hand down her neck. She gives a small laugh before she charges her horn. "OK, let me show you my night sky," she says before she teleports us to the shore, the cool air automatically stinging against my skin. "Can I use you like a blanket, I don't like getting sand in my wings," she asks as she sits up. "Really? This isn't some secret ploy for you to get to feel my muscles up?" I joke, making her smile and shake her head a bit. "You're never going to forget that, are you." "Nnnope, but at least now you can touch," I say as I start to pull her towards me. I lay her on my chest so she's belly side up. I wrap my arms around her to help keep her steady as she rests her head next to mine. "Should we get started?" I ask as I nibble on her ear a bit. "Heheh, OK. Soo... this is the western hemisphere. If you look out over here, you can see Herculony, the mythic warrior pony from before my time, see him here?" she says as she points at the stars and outlines some, this one making a basic pony in a fighting stance. "The one above him is Cadies, mythic ruler of the underworld, see him cowering before Herculony," she says as she points out some more stars. "These names sound eerily familiar... where do they come from?" "Pony history. I've read about them in books and scrolls and forged them into the night sky." "Wow, thats amazing... if you don't mind me asking, how do you do that?" "You can ask me anything. Well, I do it the same way I move the moon. I connect to the soul of the star and ask it to move, though moving them takes a tremendous amount of energy. The last constellation I did took over twenty years to do. And it only had eight stars in it." "Wow... that's amazing," I say, making her blush a bit. "No... Celestia can do it too... I can just do it a little better... most of the time..." "Show me more... is that one?" I ask as I point to a group of stars that make a ladle, or in my mind they do. "Yes, but I didn't make that one, that one was from way before, probably from the beginning of time. It’s called the Big Dipper." "Oh... well, show me one you made." "Alright... well, there's my tribute to my parents, and then there's..." We spend hours going over every constellation. Every question I had, Luna was able to answer it perfectly. I'm actually impressed with her knowledge of the night sky. Once we run out of stars to name we just lay there together, staring at the night sky. I glance over to Luna as I start to move my left hand down her body. She doesn't realize what I'm doing until I pass her belly button. She glances over to me before looking back at the night sky, putting on a small smile as I near her legs. When I get in between her legs I pause when I find... something. Two little fleshy nobs on top of small mounds of what feels like fat, or something. "Da fuck…?" I mumble as I grab the mounds, trying to figure out what they are. "Having fun down there?" Luna asks with a giggle. "Yeah... uh..." "You don't know what you're grabbing, do you?" "Not a clue." "*sigh* Those would be my breasts, Miles. Didn't you ever get the talk, or take a class or... something that would teach you this?" "I never really had someone to tell me this stuff... being an orphan and all... well... Captain Susurrans tried once, but it just ended awkwardly. My friends thought I knew... but I was going off of locker room banter and obvious outer appearances." "Oh, right. Well, Miles, those are my breasts. When I have a foal, they produce milk for the baby. Stallions have some weird obsession with touching them, in general I mean." "I can see why," I say as I continue to grab them. I can't really say why or how, but these are awesome. Plus I can feel her nipples getting hard... not sure why that's a good thing... is it a good thing…? Whatever. *squeeze squeeze squeeze* "Alright soldier, why don't you get going to the main attraction?" "Oh... right..." "*giggle* It's not like they're going anywhere," she says, making me blush a bit. I move my hands a little lower and find her entrance. It's a little wet, some of it being blood while most of it being something I've never felt before. I hesitate a bit before I stick a finger inside. My heart begins to beat faster as I feel around inside. It's warm, wet, and tougher than I thought it would feel. Beforehand it felt... different. Her walls feel stronger then I was expecting. I pull my finger out and begin to stick two in, getting a soft sigh from Luna as she leans her head back and closes her eyes. I begin to slide my fingers back and forth, feeling it to be the right thing to do. I'm a little hesitant to try anything else. I don't want her to have to stop me from doing something stupid. "Miles?" "Yeah Luna?" "Let’s go in the water, I could use a wash... as well as other things. Do you think you can keep your friend up in the cold water?" she asks as she rolls off of me. "I think I'll manage," I say as I stand up. "Good," she says as she leads us into the water. We go in until it gets too deep for her, where she latches on to me and asks me to go deeper. I go in until the water is just under my chest, where Luna wraps her leg around me as she looks me in the eyes. I hold her from underneath as she uses her magic to line me up. In one push I completely enter her. I hold it there as I lean forward and kiss her, getting her to hold tightly onto my head as she pushes her lips against mine. As we continue to kiss passionately I begin to slide in and out of her, sending shivers through my body as the warm water swirls around us. I break the kiss when I hear a wave coming towards us, so I dive under the water to let it pass. When it washes over us a powerful current of water makes me stagger a bit before standing up. "Not that I don't like this, but the waves are going to be a problem," I say as I hold onto her. "Right, I'll teleport us back to the cabin... but I get top this time, the entire time." "Right, you get top," I say , getting her to squint her eyes a bit. "The entire time." "Thank you," she says before she gives me a quick kiss and telekinetically dries us off. I lean forward and give her a soft kiss before she teleports us back to the cabin. I carry her to the bed where I lay back on it, keeping her on top. Once in a comfortable position, Luna wastes no time getting to work, bouncing hard onto my member. I smile as I watch her lean back in pleasure, her wings shooting straight back as she does. I rest my hands on her hips as I let her do the work. She looks down and takes a hold of my right hand and starts to bring it down between her legs. "Luna, what are you doing?" "Just go with it," she says as she holds my hand against her breast. I feel my heart double its rate as I take hold of the right one. They're pretty small, fitting in the palm of my hand, but feel amazing. Her nipples are still hard, standing straight out... I wonder. I begin to give a little pull on it as she continues to bounce, getting a moan from her in response. I give it a twist and get her to wince a bit, so I let go. I move to the other one and begin to caress it as I feel the pressure build up again. It's coming a lot faster then last time, and I think Luna knows. She's fallen forward and is basically slamming her backside into me as she holds onto me, burying her face in my neck. I let go and close my eyes as I throw my arms around her, hitting my top. I pump as hard as I can as I release into her, getting loud moans from her as I do so. When I stop cumming, I open my eyelids and look into her beautiful eyes. I place a hand on her cheek as we look to one another, silently conveying our love. "Ego amare te." "Ego amare te magis." "Ego amare te maxime." She drops herself onto me as she goes to sleep, nuzzling her nose into the crook of my neck... I try to stay awake, but for some reason I'm extremely tired, so sleep finds me almost immediately. Author's Note Shout out to attacking dogs for picking how mush sex they had.... a whole chapter... challenge won. HI Zorpen! Brony on! Click for fun. Chapter 89 Believe Chapter 89 Believe Chapter 89 Believe I slowly open my eyes as a bright light brings me out of sleep. The sun’s shining down straight onto me, as birds sing in the distance. I look down to see Luna still sleeping peacefully, holding lightly onto me as she breathes down my neck, her bangs covering most of her face. I smile as I brush her hair out of her face and push it around her ear. Last night was amazing... I just wonder if... "Mmmm..." she mumbles as she lets go of me and rolls over. I reach over and kiss the back of her head before I get out of bed. I walk around and try to see if there's anything in here we can use. I pick up the multi-fruit and set it on the table, leaving it for Luna. Most of everything in here is empty, but one of the cabinets has something that I find strange to have in a place like this - a book with a quill and ink. I pick it up and blow the dust off before opening it. It looks like some kind of lecture, having a column of scribbles on the left with dash marks on the right. I really need to learn to read pony text. "Miles?" I look over to see Luna looking at me. "Hey, how did you sleep?" I ask as I walk over and lay beside her. She reaches over and gives me a quick kiss before laying beside me. "Good. Better than in a long time. What’s this?" she asks as she looks at the book. "I don't know. I was looking through the cabinets and this was the only thing in here. What is it?" I ask as I hand her the book. She takes it with her magic and flips through the pages a bit until she gets to a small paragraph in the front, where her eyes go wide as she reads it. "Well, what does it say?" "Well... uh... I'll just read it to you. ‘Welcome to the Love Shack. If you have sex in here, you have to write your name in the book, as well as your partner’s name, and dash off the number of times you did it. Be sure to mark off the columns that apply to your style, as well as the amount of times you and your partner came. Have fun.’" "So..." "Do you have a quill?" she asks as she flips to the first available page. "You can't be serious." "It’s in the rules." "If we write our names in there and someone finds it, we could get in a shit load of trouble." "True, but if you write it, then nopony can read it. Quill?" I stare at her for a bit before I nod and retrieve the quill and ink. I lie back down and take the book from her to write our names in their slots. As I do, Luna lays against me as she looks in the book. "OK, so the first column you get three and I get one." "Alright." "Next column, you get two and I get one." "OK." "Umm... OH! I get one in that column, and you get two in the one after it." "Right... what exactly am I marking off?" "What? You can't remember?" she says as she continues to read the columns. "Alright... that's all we get." I look at the number of columns we didn't mark off and try to figure out what things we hadn’t done. "What more is there to do that we didn't do?" "Well... some of these I don't know the meaning of, but I can tell you right now that we're never doing this one," she says as she points to one of the columns. "And what would that one be?" "Uh... don't worry about it. Lets just put this away and head out," she says with a blush. I give her a look before I get up and put them back in the cabinet I found them in. I'll get her to tell me another time. I walk over to the table and toss Luna the multi-fruit before sitting down. "Eat up and then we'll head out." "What about you? What are you going to eat?" she asks as she looks over the fruit. "I'll be fine, go ahead and eat." "Miles, you need to eat too. Here, we'll share it," she says as she splits it in two with her magic and gives me a half. I’m about to protest when my stomach yells at me, making Luna raise an eyebrow to me as she begins to eat. "Uh... I'll just eat then," I say before I take a bite from the red fruit. It's crispy while being juicy... a good contradiction. It tastes like a watered downed apple, not bad overall. We finish quickly and begin to head out. I hold the door for her as I take one last look at the room, savoring the memory before I shut the door and follow Luna down the path. "So what’s the plan now?" Luna asks as I catch up with her. "Well, first things first we need to find out where we are. Then we work on getting you back home." "I meant with us." "Oh... huh?" She shakes her head a bit before she leans against me, making it a little awkward to walk. "I mean, how do we move on from here? Do I stay in Canterlot or do I move in with you? Or the other way around?" "Well... I think we should be separate until we let Celestia know about us. But the minute we do, we become inseparable, right?" "Right," she says with a big smile. "So, that's the plan. But be sure to visit as often as possible. Also, when you get the chance, let me know your schedule so I can visit you as well." "I'll do that, but I think I can guess my schedule. Wake up, eat, court, eat, sleep, and repeat. Maybe even less when I make it back." "Well... that... hmm..." I try to think of what to say, but nothing really comes to mind. "Don't worry about it. It's been like this ever since I've been back. But now at least I get to have something to look forward to." I smile at her when I catch onto something. "Wait, been back? Where did you go?" I ask, making her stop in her tracks. "Uh... well... I was... imprisoned in the moon for a thousand years..." "WHAT!? You were imprisoned there for a THOUSAND years!?" "Well... a thousand years ago... something in me changed. I began to resent the world for not liking my night, so I chose to shroud the land in eternal darkness. My sister defeated me with the Elements of Harmony..." "YOUR SISTER USED THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY ON YOU!?" I yell, making her back up a bit. "Miles..." "Sorry, sorry," I say as I try to calm down. "It’s OK. I needed to be stopped. I was destroying the land in my blind rage. I had to be stopped." "That still doesn't make what she did right. She could have really done some damage to your soul." "I know, but don't worry, I'm fine..." "How did you even survive a thousand years on the moon anyway?" "Well, she didn't physically put me there, she more... put... my soul within it." My eye starts twitching. "Please stay calm." "Right, one moment please," I say as I walk over to a tree. I take a deep breath before I begin to punch the trunk. "What are you doing?!" Luna asks as she runs to my side. "Staying calm. Please tell me the rest of what happened," I say as I continue to punch the tree. "Well, after a thousand years, the stars aided in my escape and I returned to Equestria. I tried to take over again, but was stopped by Twilight Sparkle and her friends... with... the Elements of Harmony..." CRACK I put a little too much energy into my punch when I hear this, making a chunk of the tree blow off. "So you've had the Elements used on you twice." "Yeah. The second time cured me of my anger and put me into my innocent form, as well as cutting my power in half." "It didn't cut your power, it destroyed it," I say as I move to the next tree and begin to punch it. "What do you mean?" "Did you see the way I used it back at the fort? It doesn't affect anything physical, it goes after your soul. I was cutting their souls to pieces. If you had lost enough of your soul, you would’ve gone comatose." "Oh... that actually explains a lot. When I would try to use my magic, it seemed to be weaker than before, by a lot actually. Well, that was until Soul Fire gave me my own soul fire." "...You have a soul fire?" "Yeah, when I went into your subconscious he gave it to me. She doesn't speak much, but I've heard her a couple of times." "Huh... my soul fire must’ve repaired your soul, as well as given you some extra power, to make you able to have soul fire... have you ever used the attack yet?" "I think I did once during the attack on Ponyville, but I don't really remember. So... you made me stronger?" "Probably not. You were strong to begin with." "No I wasn't. I..." "Take it from someone who's taken a hit from you, you are strong. You defeated Chrysalis. You fought back the Diamond Dogs. You held your own against the bots. Celestia couldn't even beat you without using the Elements of Harmony. You could do anything you wanted to do if you put your mind to it. You. Are. Strong." She takes a few steps back from me as I say this, but I keep up with her as she tries to back away. "Miles... I..." Before she could say anything I drop to my knees and pull her in for a kiss. I feel her tense up a bit before she melts into the kiss. I break the kiss to look her in the eyes, only to find her bangs back in her face. I bring my hand up and push them back behind her ear, making her blush a bit. She throws her legs around me as she pulls me into a tight hug. I lay my arms around her lightly and hold her there as I feel tears fall onto my back. "Thank you... for believing in me." "I'll always believe in you," I say into her ear, getting her to hold me a bit tighter - a little too tight, but I'll deal with it. I lose track of time as I hold her there, slowly losing the feeling in my arms. She finally lets go of me and takes a few steps back, wiping the tears away from her eyes. "We should get going," she says with a smile. "Yeah, you wouldn't happen to know where we're at, would you?" I ask as I stand up. "Well, these were eucalyptus trees, which doesn't make sense. There are only a few beaches that I know of that have them, and none of them are in Equestria, well, not that I know of at least... I'm going to try something, if I'm right, it should take us to Canterlot..." "And if it doesn't?" "Then I waste a lot of energy and make us have to walk back." "Well, alright. Give it a go." She takes a few breaths before she closes her eyes and concentrates at... whatever it is she's planning. The world suddenly goes white as we teleport away. Perspective: Luna When I open my eyes I find us... not where I had been planning to be. "I don't get it. An open field..." Miles says as he looks around. There's a mountain in front of us with hills taking the sides and a forest to our backs... that mountain looks familiar. "I think I over shot... that's Canterlot," I say as I begin to walk towards it. "Are you sure?" he asks as he follows me. "It seems different because we're seeing it from behind, but that's definitely it." "Cool. So... I guess I'll just head home after I drop you off. I'm sure Celestia wants to spend time with you, now that you’re back." "She will. I'll visit you next chance I get... and I'll be sure to give you some warning so you remember that I'm coming." "Hey... yeah, that was bad." We share a laugh as we continue to walk down the path. When we come to the top of a small hill we see a caravan of ponies heading towards us, making Miles jump in the brush on the side of the road. "What are you doing?" I ask as I walk up to him. "I'm naked." "And?" "Luna..." "Oh! Right. External. Uh... scoot over some," I say as I jump down beside him. We fidget around some before we finally get comfortable. Miles is hovering a bit above me as I lay underneath. The first few carts begin to pass by, making Miles duck down a bit. "...Dodge was hit. What do you think Princess Celestia will do?" says a mare. Dodge... hit... what happened? I lean forward as I try to hear more of the conversation. "I don't know. She seemed really disturbed by something. Makes you wonder what could possibly have happened to make her not care about an entire town being... BUTTERSCOTCH! I said leave your sister alone!" yells a stallion. "But she started it!" replies a colt. "No I didn't!" "Yeah you did!" "Nu-uh!" "Ye-huh!" "Nuuu-uh!" "Yeeeee-huuh." As they roll away I look back to see that Miles is missing. I stand up and look around for him, but can't seem to see him anywhere. "Miles?" I call out as I step onto the path. "LUNA!" he yells from behind, making me fall on my back, landing in a pit of mud. He laughs a bit as he finishes tying off a dark green sheet around his chest. "Don't scare me like that! Where did… did... did you steal that from them!?" I yell as I stand up and wipe some of the mud off. "Well, yeah. Could you imagine what your sister would do if we walked into Canterlot with me naked?" "Well... you could have asked them for it!" "Yeah, because ponies always help the naked human with the glowing gems on their arm," he says as he begins to walk towards Canterlot. "How did you even get that?" I ask as I follow after him. "Are you kidding me, I was a master pickpocket by the time I was seven. The orphanage never gave us enough to truly live off of, so we had to learn to steal from the markets. Stealing from people is a lot easier than stealing from bots." "Yes... well... I still don't like you stealing..." "And I don't like stealing either. That's why I only do it when I truly need to. I figure not pissing off your sister is a little more important than them having a burnt sheet." "It's burnt?" He pulls a corner up to show the scorched edges, along with a few blood marks. "What happened to Dodge... we have to get to Canterlot as soon as possible," I say as I quicken my pace down the road. "That's my girl," Miles mumbles as he follows after me. I smile and shake my head a bit as I begin to run down the path. We make it to the base of the mountain in an hour, running the entire time. "OK, I'm going to try teleporting again," I say as I close my eyes and focus on the location in my head. I set the spell off and we flash away, appearing in the court room. I look around to see two guards standing before the throne, where Celestia sits. She has her head draped off the side as she holds her eyes shut, a few tears falling down her cheek. I motion to Miles and the guards to stay quiet as I slowly approach her, getting nods in response. I sneak my way up to her and get ready to pounce on her. "TIA!" I yell as I jump on top of her. "AAAAHHHHH!" she yells as we tumble off the throne chair and fall onto the marble floor. "LUNA!" she yells as she wraps me up in a massive hug. "You're back... you're finally back... I missed you so much, sister..." "I missed you too, Tia," I say as I hold onto her, tearing up a bit. "I feared that I had lost you forever... are you OK? What did they do to you?" she asks as she looks me in the eyes. I take a few deep breaths as I recall my capture. "Well... sister... uh... I-I'll tell you about it another time. Just know that Miles saved my life, multiple times in fact," I say as I look back to him and smile, getting a smile in response. We both stand up and approach him, Celestia taking the lead. "Miles, thank you. I know you and I... don't see eye to eye, but just know I'm eternally thankful for what you did." "There's a Spartan saying that I think fits for us. A spear has two ends, though they differ in use, you could not make a spear without them. You can always count on me to be by your side, both of you." He raises his right arm and gives a salute. Celestia gives a small bow before she begins to charge her horn. "I'm sorry to cut this short, but we must get Luna some rest now. Thank you again, Miles, knight of Ponyville." "Of course. If you ever have need of the Spartan regiment, you know where to find us," he says with a wink to me. I blush a bit as I silently pray that Celestia didn't see it. "Of course," Celestia says before she teleports him away, leaving us alone. I feel my heart sink a little as he disappears from the room, but at the same time I feel glad to be home and with my sister. "Right, so let’s get you a bath and then something to eat. You... uh... well..." "I stink. I know. A warm bath sounds amazing right now." Celestia smiles as she teleports us to the royal bathrooms. She walks over and begin to get a bath ready for me. I look over to a mirror and do a double take from my reflection. I'm absolutely filthy. Why did Miles have to scare me like that... well, it was funny. Plus it was some pretty good payback from the time I scared him. "Luna?" Celestia calls as she finishes setting the bath. I walk over and give her a smile before I slowly sit inside the large round tub. "AAAAAHHHHHHH... hot water... how I missed you as well," I say as I sink into the water. I see Celestia begin to back away, so I charge my horn and teleport her over the tub, making her splash down. "LUNA!" "What? I just got back and you were about to leave the room." "I was getting the shampoo..." "Oh... heh, sorry," I say with a sheepish grin, getting her to smile as she levitates the bottle over to her. She motions to me to come over so I get up and take a seat between her legs. She gets to work washing my mane as I begin to unwind. "I must be honest sister, you seem to be faring much better than I thought you would be." "Yes... well, Miles helped me a lot." "Well, I'm glad he helped you. He certainly helped more than those lackeys he trained." "What do you mean?" "I went to them and asked for them to assist in Dodge, but they told me that they couldn't leave because their orders were to watch Ponyville..." "What happened to Dodge?" "A strange storm blew in and destroyed most of it. Most of the ponies there have left to start over somewhere else, but a few have decided to stay. Some were here earlier, claiming it was the work of some griffins, but my weather reporter told me a rogue storm was to blame." "That's horrible... what exactly did you need Storm Cloud and Big Mac to do?" "I asked them to assist in escorting the refugees to their destinations, but they said that without a lieutenant they couldn't disregard Miles’s order. I know he said we could count on them in the future, but I don't trust them... but enough about that. You're here, and that's all that matters right now." "Right... well, let me tell you about my journey back here, you won't believe some of the things that happened." "I'm all ears," she says as she starts to rub the soap onto my back. "Well, after Miles blew up the fort that held me, we wandered into the woods together..." Perspective: Miles I flash in front of my home and sigh in relief. It's good to be home finally. I walk up to the door and go inside. Everything seems to be normal, nothing’s missing at least. I walk up the stairs to my room where I find the door slightly open. I push the door open and see Lupus's head pop up from my bed. The look on his face screams ‘guilty’... "What did you do?" I ask him, making him look away as a second wolf's head pops up from behind him. It's a bit more slender than him, being a lighter shade of grey as well... "You just had to do it in my bed, didn't you?” Lupus jumps off the bed and runs over to me, rubbing his side against my legs as he looks up to me. "Miles! You're back!" Storm yells from behind as he leaves his room. "Why did you let Lupus use my room!?" I ask as the other wolf runs over to me and starts rubbing against me as well. "Believe me, I tried to get him out. But every time I went in there they would just growl at me!" he says as he approaches me, only to back away as they begin to growl at him. "Hey! Cute and cuddly!" I say to them, getting them to continue to rub against me. "So did I miss anything?" I ask as I walk into my room and pull out some clothes. "Actually, you're just in time." "In time for what?" "I'm about to pop the question to Twilight, you have to come with!" Chapter 90 The Greatest Proposal, The Biggest Slip UpChapter 90 The Greatest Proposal, The Biggest Slip Up Perspective: Twilight The last few days have been fairly peaceful around Ponyville. Everypony is worried about Miles, but Storm and Big Mac keep reassuring us that he'll come back. I certainly hope so. Celestia has been in a horrid state ever since Luna was taken. At least I've caught up on my studies. I just finished reading up on medieval spells and... KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK "Coming," I call out from my note stand. I walk over to the door and open it to find Pinkie Pie jumping around. "Oh, hi Pinkie Pie, do you..." "Twilight! Twilight! You have to come with me right now!" she yells as she bounces up and down. "What’s wrong, Pinkie?" "What’s wrong!? A lot’s wrong! Luna's missing, Celestia won't smile, Miles is off on some long journey that's giving me the combo twitchy tail, knee shake, twitchy left eye, twisted tongue... Not to mention this was supposed to happen last arc but TB decided to make everything go flippy whippy so now Noahman1997 will finally get his Brony point thing in, even though I think he forgot, I mean it was six weeks ago but that doesn't matter because you need to come with me right now!" "Who's TB—?!" I yell as she drags me outside. She runs around and starts pushing me down the empty street. "Alright! There's a present for you down the street, go get it!" she yells before she runs down an alley. I look around for the present she's talking about, but I don't see anything. Well, this is probably just another Pinkie Pie thing, I'll just play along. I begin to walk down the road... where is everypony? It’s the middle of the day and there isn't a soul in sight...where is that music coming from? "What in Equestria..." Out from every window, door, and alley jump out ponies playing the saxophone. They walk out on hind legs, thrusting their hips as they play the same beat over and over again. I look up to see ponies on clouds, roofs, taking up every ledge and bench to help play the song. I stare out at all of the dancing ponies and begin to laugh a bit at them. They play a bit of the song thrusting in one direction, then pivot to another and continue to thrust. I'm actually impressed on how well they're playing. Everypony is on beat, both with the music and the dancing. Where did they even get all of the saxophones? "What is going on?" I say with a laugh as I begin to walk down the road. Suddenly a group of ponies wearing white masks jump in front of me and start break dancing. I pause to watch them, but they begin to dance away from me, so I keep walking after them. They have a pretty cool routine down. They do flips and spins around each other as the background dancers keep a step routine. They begin to run and roll around me making me stop and watch as they spin around me. One of them wraps a cloth around my neck and pulls me forward before they back flip away. I take a few steps forward as the sax playing ponies fill the street behind me, making forward the only direction I can go. I make it down a bit before a squad of ponies fly by and begin to do real stunts. Loops, drops, charges, and cloud tricks fill their routine before they fly over the road and drop rose petals over everypony. "OK, what's going on?" I ask as all of the ponies around me back away to reveal two ponies standing before me. The mare has a beautiful red dress and the stallion has on a white shirt and a black vest. They begin to march back and forth, doing a samba or a waltz together. They begin to spin around, doing dips and flips as they dance around the open area. The stallion has a rose stem in his mouth that he keeps flipping around as they dance back and forth. I smile widely as the stallion dips the mare in front of me, offering me a red rose from his lips as he wiggles his eyebrows. "Oh, thank you," I say as I take it with my magic, smelling it before I take a bite. He nods to me as he pulls the mare up with a spin. They walk away from one another as they hold a hoof out to each other. The crowd of hip thrusting, saxophone playing ponies run forward to make a corridor for me to walk down, so I continue to walk down, chewing as I watch all of them. I recognize most of the ponies as residents of Ponyville, but there are a lot of ponies that I don't recognize. I make it down to town square where I find another large opening. I wonder what kind of dance they'll do this time... I look over to the right to see Miles doing a weird shuffle as he steps out before me. I can see my parents and siblings behind him, smiling warmly at me as he approaches. "Miles? When did you get back? Does this mean that Luna's back as well? Also, what's going on here?" I ask as I walk up to him. "I... haff no clue," he slurs. "Are... are you drunk?" "It wash da only way they could get me ta shtay... now, without further adooo... MAGIC!" he says as he throws his fiery hand up, making a large green and black present come out of the ground. Everypony stops playing and dancing and watches me approach the box. THUD I hear something inside smack against the side and mumble loudly to itself. THUD………THUD…THUDTHUDTHUDTHUD "Uh... am I supposed to open this, or..." "No no, dun' worry, I got thish," Miles says as he walks up to me and gets down on one knee. "Miles... what are you doing?" "Twilight..." he says as he takes my hoof and looks me in the eyes. "Will you marry... Shtorm?" My eyes go wide as my heart races... CRASH "YOU ASSHOLE!" Storm yells as he burst out of the box... that was made of stone for some reason, and tackles Miles... who only laughs uncontrollably as Storm starts to punch him. Marry... did... did he say... marry? "Storm... are you asking me to marry you?" I ask, getting him to stop punching Miles and look back to me. "Uh... yeah... I... KER-TACKLE "YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YEEEEEESSS!" I yell as I hug him tightly. "Yes?" he asks as he looks me in the eyes. I nod uncontrollably as I start to tear up. He throws his forelegs around me and kisses me, making the crowd around us cheer loudly. I laugh a bit as I break the kiss and stand up. KA-BOOM I look up to see Rainbow Dash rocket across the sky, doing a sonic rainboom! "Logic be damned! That'sh aweshum," Miles says from behind as he continues to lay on the ground. "Storm..." I start to say as I look back to him, but stop when I see him kneeling before me, presenting a beautiful ring at the end of his wing. I pick it up and set it on my horn before picking him up to kiss him again. "Alright you two, save some for the wedding," Rain Cloud says from the side as my family walks up to us. "Mom, dad, I'm getting married!" I say as I hug Storm tightly. "We know dear, we were there," Mom says as she leans against Dad. "Why don't we head inside to discuss the arrangements in private and to start the congratulations?" I nod as everypony begins to walk away from town square. I give Storm another kiss before I let go of him and begin to walk back down the road, leading everypony to my home. "That was amazing Storm, when did you plan all of this?" I ask as I lean against him. "Heh, I've been planning this ever since I got permission from your father." "Is that why you wanted to have that dinner with my parents so badly?" "Basically, though I didn't plan on so many things going wrong." "What went wrong?" "Well... When Miles came back I wanted him to be a part of it, but when everypony showed up he freaked out and scared away Fluttershy's birds, which made the weather ponies do their cloud hearts too soon. We ended up breaking them up while having to get Miles drunk to keep him here. He was the one who came up with the box idea. Originally I was going to be dancing with your mother, but a few flank squeezes later I went with plan B. Me being a present. Sadly I let Miles make the box, which proved to be a little too tough to break out of... then he popped the question for me..." "Well, I still liked it," I say, getting him to smile back to me. We open my door... "CONGRATULATIONS!" yell all of my friends as we walk in. "Girls! Thank you so much," I say as I walk in and receive a group hug. Everypony piles inside as Spike runs around setting out plates of food and punch bowls. Two seat cushions have been set in the back of the room for me and Storm so everypony can congratulate us one at a time. First up are our parents. "So, my little Twilight is finally getting married. We're so proud of you Twilight. Storm, I know you're a good stallion, you take care of my little girl," my dad says as him and Storm shake hooves. "Don't worry, I will," Storm replies as my mom hugs me. "I expect grandkids," she whispers into my ear, making me blush. "Mom! I... well..." "In time, I know," she says as she walks over to Storm and gives him a hug. I watch as he goes from pure joy to shock, then pure joy again... well, at least I know what he wants. Next is Rain Cloud. "Storm, Twilight, I can't even begin to tell you how overjoyed I am right now. You brought me my son back, and now I get a wonderful daughter. I couldn't ask for more, and I know your father would be proud of you, Storm. Welcome to the family, Twilight," she says as she starts to tear up. "Oh... I'm going to move on before I completely break down," she says before she scurries off. Miles is next... this should be interesting. "What'sh going on?" he asks as my brother pushes him forward. "It’s the congratulations, it’s a pony tradition. Just tell them something meaningful and move on," Shining says as he pushes him before us. "OK... so... uh, shorry about popping da queshtion for you..." "It's alright Miles," Storm says as he drapes a wing around me. "I can understand wanting to ask Twilight to marry you," he says, making me blush. "Heh, nah, only you would want ta ashk her, I've got my own woman ta ashk... wait... I already did... whatever, CONGRA—" "Wait wait wait, hold on a sec," I say, making him stop. "Already asked... you asked somepony to marry you?" I ask, making his face drop as he realizes what he said. "Aw shit... Luna'sh going ta be mad..." "LUNA!" yells everypony before the room falls silent. "Wow Miles, not even one chapter later," Pinkie says from the snack bar, standing next to some pale white mare I've never seen before... I think. She has a brown mane and a cutie mark of a pony on a pol—OOOHHH my god it’s Squishy Trap. Why did Pinkie bring a hooker? Why does he have his mane styled like a mare’s!? "Miles, can you go upstairs and wait for us to finish down here? We need to talk after everything," Shining says to him, getting a nod in response from Miles. After he leaves, Shining and Cadence walk up to us to continue congratulating us. "Well... at least love is in the air," Cadence says. "Yeah... well I'm happy for you little sis. You've got a good stallion on your hooves here. I hope your years are filled with happiness," Shining says as he gives me a hug. "Thank you BBBFF," I say as I hug him back. He walks over to Storm and shakes his hoof, both of them staring daggers at each other. "Don't worry, they act like that to each other, but they'll get along, maybe with some encouragement," Cadence says as she hugs me. "I'm not worried about them, I'm worried about..." "I know, I know. But forget about that for now. We'll deal with that when we get to that. Right now it’s about you and Storm." "Thanks, Cadence." The rest of my friends come and go, talking about how me and Storm make a perfect couple and making best wishes for the two of us. I would thank them and keep up with idle conversation, but in the back of my mind I kept going back to Miles and Luna. What have they done... what will Celestia do when she finds out? Does she already know? Does she know about his problem... well, I know she knows, but... we need to talk. After two hours of talking to everypony we finally send the last of them home and my family begins to head up stairs. We find Miles sitting in the middle of the room, legs crossed as he holds his knees. He has his eyes closed and seems to be focusing intently on something internally. "Miles, you need to tell me everything." Shining says as he approaches him. "Well... Luna and I are married now," he says calmly, keeping his eyes shut. "And is there anypony who can verify this?" "Well... some pirates, but I doubt they'll back me in this." "Pirates? OK, start from the beginning, tell me everything. How you two got close, where you got married... if you've consummated it yet... everything." "For what reason?" he asks as he opens his eyelids slowly to look Shining in the eyes. "Well..." Shining starts, but stops when Cadence walks in front of him. "Miles... this is very important. I need to know if I have a new family member..." "According to what Luna told me on the ship ride here, you aren't really family members. More of... really close acquaintances that call one another family, but aren't really related." "... Luna said that..." Cadence says as she backs away from him a bit, looking really upset. "Don't take it personally, she still thinks very highly of you. But she doesn't really connect with many people because... well, a thousand years is a long time." "Yes... well, why don't you tell us about what happened. How did you two get married?" "Well... I think I should start with Soul Fire..." he says as he begins to recall all of the events that lead to them getting married. Them being in his subconscious, their date that ended horribly, their time in Topaz, and finally ending with their marriage at sea. I can tell he's leaving a few details out, but I think everypony can guess what happened in those parts. "...the last time I saw her was when I dropped her off at Canterlot." Everypony stays silent as we try to process what was said. I'm torn between this. On one hoof, Luna agreed to this. She loves him and they both deserve to be with each other. On the other hoof, MILES IS A BUCKING IDIOT FOR GOING BEHIND CELESTIA'S BACK AND IS GOING TO LOSE HIS PRIDE IN THE GALLOWS FOR TOUCHING A PRINCESS! "There's one thing that I need to know, did you take her virginity? If you didn't, then I can help you out, but if you did... I don't see you keeping your privates," my brother says in a very serious tone. "I did." BUCK BUCK BUCK BUCK! Of course he did. Why wouldn't he! Because that would make life easy, that's why. "*sigh* Then legally I have to arrest you." "Legally? Do guards have the authority to make arrests outside of the cities they guard?" "As Captain I do, please come quietly." "Look, Shining, you're a nice guy so I'll let you in on a secret. I'm not going anywhere with you. I know you think you can take me, but you can't. I have a ridiculous amount of power on my side as well as a stronger will. My cause is much more meaningful than yours, and I will not lose out on it until my time comes. Please don't escalate this." "What would you have me do!? I can't just do nothing!" "Want my advice, go talk to Luna. You take your orders from her as well as Celestia, she can give you a better judgement than I could." "Even then, I still can't leave this room without arresting you." "Hmm... we could just say I hit you and got away..." "This isn't a joke! This is my job, my life!" "My life is on the line as well. Not to mention I'm chancing losing the woman I love..." "Look, I want to help you, well, more of Luna then you, but you've got to give me something. I can't just up and leave because you asked nicely." "Hmm... I've got something I was originally going to keep with just the Spartans, but if you pardon me until after you talk to Luna, I'll let you know as well." "Well... it beats nothing, but this better be good." "It is, do we have a deal?" "*sigh*...I'm going to get fired for this... yes, we have a deal. What is it?" "The leader of the terrorist group is a centaur named Tirek. He wants to shroud the land in eternal darkness. He's all black with red skin, and uses a weapon he calls the dark rainbow. He seems to be the bottom part of a pony and the top half of a human. He commands an army of different races. I saw ponies, griffins, orcs, diamond dogs and dragons at his compound. I think I screwed up his plans though. I know he wanted something from me, and I did blow up his compound. Its obvious to me that he has ties into the Equestrian government, and possibly the griffin one as well." "That... that works." "A centaur... where have I heard that before?" I say as I start to look through my books. I pull out Creatures of Legend and begin to skim through the pages. "Centaurs, though it is unknown where they come from, it is believed that they currently reside in the deepest recess of the pit. Their body makeup is half horse, half beast... there's nothing else on them." I place the book back and look back to everypony. "What does this mean for the Spartans?" Storm asks, making my brother scoff. "We do nothing at the moment. We're too few in numbers to be able to react properly to a mobile force. For now we wait for them to make a mistake and strike when he does. I'm a little weary to face him though, he says he was from the purge, which means he must have some ancient archaic skills with him." "What's the purge?" I ask. "It's a pivotal event in human history. To sum it up, that's when a really big war broke out that changed the way we looked at not only the world, but ourselves as well. I'd go more into it, but there are more important things at hand, so next time." "Well, with the information you gave me, I'll have plenty of info to distract myself from arresting you... for now. I'll be sure to have a word with Luna as soon as possible. Please do me a favor and make sure you don't do anything to draw Celestia's attention." "Will try," Miles says as he stands up. They stare each other down a bit before Shining and Cadence teleport away. "Well... today was... interesting. We'll be sure to swing by when you two pick a date for the wedding. Please take care dear," my dad says before him and mom begin to walk out of the room. I watch them leave before I turn back to Miles and wait. "What?" "Well? What do you have to say for yourself?" "Um... congratulations?" "*sigh* What am I going to do with you, Miles?" I say as I shake my head. "Trust me, nothing. Because Luna's going to kill me for dropping the ball like that." "Well I'm happy for you," Storm says as he walks over to him and gives him a hoof bump. "I'm glad to see you back to your happy old self. Why don't you head over to Sweet Apple Acres to let Big Mac know about Tirek?" "Good idea... OH! And before I forget, Storm Cloud. You have shown an exemplary amount of skill and battle readiness to move up to the level of Lieutenant - should you choose to take this responsibility, you would be able to make decisions that will forge the Spartan regiment in Equestrian history, do you accept these responsibilities?" "I... I... yes. I accept the rank." "Great, now I've got to go tell Big Mac that you're bottom bitch. Congratulations again," he says with a salute before he begins to walk out of the room. "Hey! When Luna comes down here to kick your flank I don't want you hiding in my closet again!" I yell at him as he walks down the stairs. "Cool. I'll just use your restroom then," he yells back. I shake my head and look back to Storm. "So... marriage, possible execution, terrorist, and a promotion. Today's been eventful," Storm says as he walks over to me and nuzzles my cheek. "Yeah... and it's only four o’clock," I say, getting the two of us to chuckle. "Storm... can you promise me something?" "What is it?" "Well, its just that... I don't see Celestia and Miles talking this through, and I know how loyal you are to the Spartans. Promise me that you'll never raise a blade to Celestia." "Twilight, you know that I have to protect my squad mates... but... the best I can promise is that I'll only use a blade as a last resort." "*sigh* I'll take it. It's not exactly what I wanted, but I'll take it." "Sorry Twi. But lets not think about that. Right now it’s about me and you getting married. Let’s get some papers together and begin to organize everything." I put a smile on before I kiss his cheek and run over to my drawer and begin getting my supplies. He always knows how to cheer me up. Author's Note Shout out to noahman1997 for picking who popped the question and AllPonyProductions for picking the colors of the box. Brony on! Chapter 91 Simple RequestChapter 91 Simple Request Perspective: Luna "... and once we saw the mountain I teleported us here. Though, we almost didn't recognize it from behind," I say in summation. I spent almost an hour telling Celestia about my journey home while she gave me a personal massage... though I did leave out all of the romantic stuff. I'll tell her when she's not mad at the Spartans, it'll... it'll be better that way... I hope. "That's an incredible tale sister. I can't believe sea ponies exist. Or the fact that Delilah showed herself to Miles. Usually the tree folk keep to themselves," she says as she rubs some shampoo into my mane. "I know, but that's what he said. His description of her was spot on." "Strange... well, we have washed almost every part of you twice now. Why don't we get out of the tub and dry off," she says as she stands up and walks over to the mirror. "Oh thank goodness. I was going to say something earlier, but I didn't want to spoil the moment. I guess pruny hooves will be the toll for spending time with my sister," I say as I look over my soaked hoof. We share a small laugh as we both begin to dry off in front of the mirror. "Are... are you going to be alright, Luna?" she asks as she takes a brush and begins to work on my mane. "Well... sleep was a little difficult at first, but I think I'll be fine." "No... I mean... well, you did just spend a week with Miles... alone. Did... did anything happen?" I take a deep breath as I think about the best way to answer. I don't think she's ready to hear that I'm married... or no longer a virgin. But, at the same time, I hate lying to her. It never works out and I should trust her. But I can't ignore the fact that Celestia is mad at the Spartans and would probably take Miles’s stallionhood away... and I can't have that happening. "Luna..." "I'm not going to lie to you, something did happen," I say with a heavy heart. "*inhale, exhale* OK. Alright, it's going to be alright. What happened?" "Well... when I was imprisoned... Steelwing... uh... I... he..." I try to tell her what happened, but every time I start to think of it, I start to tear up. "Luna... did he touch you?" she asks as he sets down the brush. "Y-yes. But he didn't do anything more than that! I swear..." "I don't care if he only poked your nose, I'm going to hunt him down and tear his wings off for even touching a single hair on you!" she says as she pulls me in for a rather tight hug. "You're not mad at me?" "Why would I be mad at you? You didn't do anything wrong. I'm so sorry this happened to you Luna. I should have been there for you sister. Could you ever forgive me?" I hold her tightly as tears start to run down my face. "Of course I do... though you didn't do anything wrong, either." We sit there in silence for who knows how long, just holding each other as we quietly cry onto each other. I feel as if a massive weight has been lifted off of my chest. I think I can tell her what Miles and I did now... KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK We break our hug as Celestia trots over to the door and opens it to reveal Cadence. "Cadence? What are you doing here? I thought you and Shining were going to Twilight's proposal." "We did go, but afterwards we had a word with Miles and found out... some disturbing details. Shining needs to speak with you and the other royal delegates." What is she up to... Miles, I swear, if you... "They can wait. My sister just returned and I wish to..." "It's about the ponies that took Luna,” Cadence says flatly. Celestia looks back to me with a troubled look, silently asking for permission to go. "Tia, go. I'll be fine, really. I was actually going to go to bed soon anyways." "Are you sure? I mainly don't want to leave you alone..." "I can keep her company," Cadence offers. "I don't know..." "Please. I hardly get to spend time with her. Shining already knows my opinion on the matter. Please," she asks as she bats her eyes... oh great... folding in 3… 2… 1... "Well, alright. If Luna's OK with it, that is." "Yeah, sure. It'll be... fun," I say as I put on a smile. I don't like where this is going. "Well, if you say so," Celestia says as she walks up to me and gives me one last hug. "Try to be nice," she whispers into my ear. "I will," I whisper back as she lets go and heads out, leaving the two of us alone. "Soo... I'm actually really tired, *fake yawn* woo, look at the time, I should really go to bed now..." "I know about you and Miles," she says as she shuts the doors with her magic. "Huh? What exactly do you know?" "I know that you're married and no longer a virgin." Shoot. Miles... I'm going to kick your behind next chance I get. "And how do you know this?" I ask as I begin to walk around her. "Miles told me," she says as she begins to walk with me. "Why would he tell you that?" "Because he was drunk." "And why was he drunk?" "Look, that doesn't matter right now," she says as she stops circling and approaches me. "Do you realize what you've done?" "Done? Look Cadence, don't talk down to me like I'm a foal. I know what I did, and I know the repercussions of those actions..." "So then you realize that Miles is going to lose his life because of this, right?" "Who is powerful enough to kill Miles? He created the Elements of Harmony and uses them to tear out souls! What beats that?" "He's only one pony, versus the entire royal guard..." "I saw Miles tear apart a legion of enemy soldiers, I know the royal guard have nothing on him. Not to mention he has two friends that are just as skilled that would back him," I say as I glare into her eyes. She just shakes her head and walks over to the counter, looking over the brushes and other utensils. "Luna, I know how you think of me, Miles told me. I know we've never really had a chance to connect, but I'm trying to help you here. You need to end this before anything regrettable happens..." "Regrettable? What is that supposed to mean?" "Miles is a good pony. But I'm with Celestia in saying that he's problematic. Do you realize that in a year he's going to..." "Don't you dare finish that sentence," I say as I get in her face, making her back up a bit until she runs into the counter. "I know better than any of his condition, don't you dare try and use that against me." "Right, what do you plan on doing in a year then? I saw how you handled your break up, imagine his funeral." I take a few deep breaths as I try my best to refrain myself from smacking her across the face. She has no clue what she's talking about. "What do you plan on doing when Shining passes on?" I say as I continue to stare her down. "That's different. Shining will live a normal life..." "But not an alicorn’s life. What happens in a hundred years? What happens as you watch him succumb to the tides of time?" She looks away from me as she thinks about what I said, so I press on. "Miles may not have long, but he has the one thing that matters, my love. I'll find a way to move on, just as you will. But I will not apologize for marrying him. Nor will I apologize for being with him. And it would do you good to learn your place before I teach it to you." "And what is that supposed to mean?" "It means, don't you ever talk down to me again. You may be a princess, but you will never be my superior." The room falls silent as we stare each other down. She finally lets up by looking away. "I'm... I'm sorry. I didn't mean any disrespect... I was just making sure you knew what you were getting into." "I know well enough what I've gotten into. Now, may I request something from you?" "What do you need?" "I need you to keep this a secret. I'm going to tell Celestia, but I want to time it properly. Right now would be...unwise." "You were just threatening me not ten seconds ago, why would I help you lie?" "Because you know it’s the right thing to do. I will tell her, don't you worry about that." She looks away for a bit as she contemplates what to do. I just stand there and wait for her answer. "I will, if I can request something as well." "And what would that be?" "I want to have a baby, but I need more support from the family. If you back me in this, then I will not only keep this a secret, I will get Shining to keep silent as well." I smile to her as I nod. "You have my support." She puts on a large smile as she throws her hooves around me, hugging me tightly. "Thank you thank you thank you! OK, I promise, we won't say a word." "And thank you for helping me keep this secret. I don't like keeping secrets from my sister, and I hope to tell her as soon as possible, but I know that if I tell her now, she'll... well..." "She'll flip out, I know. You should’ve seen her when I asked for support." We share a small laugh before the room falls silent again. "Well... I'm going to get going now..." "Going to bed?" "Uh... no. I need to kick Miles's behind for not being able to keep a secret." We share another laugh as I start to back out of the room. "Go, I'll cover you." I nod to her and teleport myself to his room, where I find him lying down... shirtless and sweaty... FWOOSH Perspective: Miles After leaving Sweet Apple Acres I decided to go for a jog, to clear my head up. Man did I fuck up. Who exactly did I tell... let’s see. Twilight, Storm, Shining, Cadence, Pinkie, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow and Twilight's parents. Luna is going to be pissed. Fuck... I need to stop drinking, every time I do, everything turns to shit. That's the least of my worries though. Celestia. I won't allow her to separate Luna and me, but at the same time, I could never raise a fist to her. Especially now that she's family. Speaking of families, I need to debrief Storm and Big Mac on bringing families into the Spartan lifestyle. I also need to practice the ceremony for Storm's wedding... AH SHIT! Why didn't I do it for Luna and me?! FUCK! Well, I guess I can do it next chance I get. "Heya Miles... why are you running? *GASP* Is this a race?! Can I join? OK ONE TWO THREE GO!" Rainbow Dash yells as she flies up to me and then flies away. I just shake my head and continue my run around Ponyville. I need to find a way to diffuse Luna when she comes to chew my ass out... not looking forward to that. "MILES!" Pinkie yells as she jumps in front of me, making me stop. "What's..." "Combo twitchy tail, knee shake, twitchy left eye, twisted tongue!" she yells as she stares at me with the most intense look of fear I've ever seen her with. "Uh... what are you talking about?" "My Pinkie sense is going off! My Pinkie sense is going off! A doozy of one as well. Somepony is going to get laid." "Uh... what?" "Do you have condoms on you?" "Uh... no. I don't really..." "YOU NEED TO GO TO THE PHARMACY RIGHT NOW!" she yells as she takes my hand and begins to drag me into town. "Pinkie! What are you doing!?" She suddenly stops to wag her tail, shake her knees, twitch her left eye and stick her tongue out. "Oooooo it's getting closer then I thought. You may just need to pull and pray on this one..." "...what!?" "OK. I'll make you an appointment for tomorrow at the pharmacy. You just go and try not to make a mess. Lalalalalala," she chimes as she hops away... OK. I guess this is another Pinkie thing. Whatever... actually, she said someone's about to get laid... and Luna's probably on her way here to... oh sweet Barbra... I need to get sweaty. Two hours of random exercising later Alright... I've worked up a pretty good sweat... I need to head home now. I turn and jog through the park, getting home in a matter of minutes. When I run through the door, Lupus and... the other wolf, run straight out to the forest. OK... I guess they know what’s about to happen as well. I close the door behind me and lock it. After closing all the window blinds and locking the other door, I head upstairs and toss my shirt aside as I lay on my bed. And now I wai— FWOOSH I look over to see Luna staring wide-eyed at me with her wings standing straight up. Without saying a word she walks over to me and gets on top of me. I rest my hands on her hips as she runs her hooves through my chest, feeling up every muscle as she slowly begins to rock back and forth. "So, I guess I'm off the hook then," I say as she slowly begins to try to undo my pants with her hooves. "Well... only because I diffused the situation. Next time though, I wont be so forgiving," she says as she begins to pull my pants and underwear down, revealing my erect member. She moves back up and grabs a hold of me as she positions herself over it. With a satisfied sigh she drops down onto it and begins to bounce up and down, sending chills down my spine from the sudden pleasure. I grab onto her hips and begin to help her through the motions. "A little harder," she asks as she leans forward and plants her hooves on my chest. "You got it," I say before I begin to thrust forward in contrast to her bouncing. With every slap I make against her she begins to pant a little louder, egging me to thrust harder and faster into her. I wrap an arm around her back as I pull her in for a kiss, locking my lips with hers as I roll her over and take charge over the passion below. She wraps her legs around my neck as we enter each other’s mouths, our tongues fighting for dominance. We break the kiss to catch our breath, both of us panting loudly. I can feel the pressure build up again, fuck. Too soon. I need something to help make me last longer. CLICK... SQUEEEEEEEEEEEAK I stop my thrusting and look back at the door to see Storm standing there, staring straight at us. His eyes are as wide as possible as his pupils shrink as small as they'll go. Luna looks over and eeps before burying her face in my chest, trying her best to hide her embarrassment. "Storm... haven't you ever heard of knocking?" I say as I hold myself inside of Luna. "Uh..." is all he can muster as he continues to stare at us. "Leave." "Got it," he says before he turns and runs out of the hall. I turn back to Luna and stroke her mane, getting her attention. "He's gone now." "Oh my god that was embarrassing," she says as she lays back. "Well... now that we're alone..." "Is there somewhere we can go that's a little more... secluded? Like... OH! Lets finish in the shower!" "The shower? Alright, lets go," I say as I sit back and pick Luna up, keeping myself inside. She giggles a bit before she starts to plant kisses on my lips as I carry her over to the restroom. I walk through the doorway as Luna opens the door with her magic. I set her down to shut and lock the door as she starts to run the water. "Shower or bath?" she asks as she runs her hoof under the faucet. I don't really register the question, I was too busy staring at her backside to notice it. I walk forward and wrap my arms underneath her hips, picking her up a bit as I push myself back inside. "Ah... shower it is then," she says as she twists some knobs, turning on the shower head. I step inside and lean against the back wall as I continue to shove myself into her. I can feel the hot water splash against me, but I ignore it for now and continue pleasing my mare... woman. Eh, same thing. I lose track of time as I focus solely on our intimate connection. The feels of her soft, wet fur against my skin, the ever louder noises coming from her open mouth, the look of her wet wings standing up in the water, the left over taste from her mouth, all of it bringing the both of us closer and closer to our finish. "Luna... I'm getting close..." I mutter as I continue to push into her. "Me too... just a little more," she says as her knees start to give out, making her front half drop down. I feel her inner walls begin to clamp down on me as she starts to whine a bit, trying to grab onto something as she starts to thrust her hips forward. I close my eyes as the pressure builds up again. "AAAHHHH!" I yell as I give my final thrust against her gushing climax. I drop her to her feet as I slide down the wall, panting loudly as Luna just holds herself up. I give a few pants before I feel my body start to heat up... a lot... really really hot... "AAAHH!" I yell as I jump out of the shower and lay on the cool floor. "Fuuuuuck. How hot do you have the water?" "Sorry... I forgot you don't like hot water," Luna says as she turns off the water and steps out of the shower We take a moment to dry off, me using a towel and Luna cheating with magic… that she doesn’t share. Once we finish she teleports us back to my bed and snuggles up against me. I look over to her and put my hand on the back of her head, holding my forehead against hers. "Heheh, is that your official spot or something?" she asks as she snuggles up against me. "Maybe. So... when do you have to head back?" I ask as I start to rub my thumb against her cheek. "Actually, I can be here all night... we should have another date," she says sleepily. "Alright... but I think a nap would be be nice right now," I say as I wrap an arm around her. "Well... only because you want one... I love you Miles," she says as she closes her eyes and begins to fall asleep. I move my hand down to her stomach and begin to wonder. One in a million that it happens... but then again, we were a one in a million shot to begin with. Chapter 92 Date NightChapter 92 Date Night I woke up well before Luna did, but decided to just lay here with her. I keep stroking her stomach, hoping with all of the hope there is for something amazing to happen. I know the odds are slim, but there has to be a chance... there has to be… I don't have much time... "Mmm... Miles? What time is it?" she asks as she slowly wakes up. "Hey, it's twe—it's ten," I say as I move my hand up to the back of her head and give her a soft kiss, making her smile. "We should get up now..." "Nah, we can stay right here a bit longer," I say as I pull her in close and wrap my arms around her, getting her to nuzzle her face into my chest. "So... what do you think our chances are?" I ask as I start to gently rub her back. "Miles... I don't want you getting your hopes up. The chances are slim to none, and as much as I want it to happen... the probability of it happening are..." "I know, I know... but, still. I can hope... can't I?" She looks me in the eyes with a worried look before she gives me a light kiss. I sigh a little as I continue to rub her back. We lay there for a while in silence, just holding onto each other. The entire time I try to think of a way to make this happen... "Miles?" "Yeah babe?" "Can we get something to eat?" I laugh a little as I give her a kiss on the forehead and begin to get out of bed. Some food sounds good right now. As Luna heads downstairs I quickly get dressed and follow after her, finding her looking through the cupboards. I go to the fridge and squat down as I look for something to eat. THUD "Hey there, see anything good?" I ask as Luna lays on top of me and looks inside the fridge. "Well... some hay sounds good," she says as she wraps her forelegs around my neck. "Ha, funny. Seriously though, no hay." "I know. I'm just teasing," she says before she kisses my cheek. "I think..." "Spaghetti?" "Mmm, no... something... else." Damn. "How about..." "OH! Idea! Lets just make a bunch of snacks..." "Miles..." "No no no, trust me. Get some stuff ready, I have to head back upstairs real quick," I say as I crawl out from underneath her. "Oh... OK... lets see..." I run up to my room and grab my phone. I slide through to my hidden movie file and pull up the list. I only have a few, but they'll just have to do. I should of done that download with Eximius, but whatever, the fear of going to jail strikes again. I grab a sheet and jog back down. I walk into the living room where I find Luna with a tray of various fruits, vegetables... and some hay things... *shivers*. "Alright, let me just move some furniture around and we'll get started," I say as I walk over to the couch and begin to pull it closer to the kitchen. "OK... what exactly are we doing?" Luna asks as she slowly follows me. "Movie date." "Movie date? And how exactly are we going to do that here? I don't see a projector anywhere." "You'll see," I say as I finish pulling the couch over, and make a small pedestal with my magic a meter in front of it. "Now, it's only 1080p, so bear with me," I say as I set my phone down and begin the movie. The metal part of my phone projects a light onto the wall across from us, as some data script begin to show before the actual movie starts. Falling Aces "WHAT!? IT'S IN COLOR!" Luna yells as the intro names roll in. "Uh... yeah... what? Aren't yours?" I ask as we take our seats, putting the food to my left and Luna sitting to my right, leaning gently onto my side. "NO! Our movies are only in in black and white! Not to mention they look nowhere near as good as this!" "Black and white? Under 1080p? How do you stay awake during these movies?" I ask as I take a carrot and chow down on it. "Well... an interesting story helps... what’s this about?" she asks as she takes a strawberry and begins to eat. "A mid-purge aeronautical jet pilot that survives the destruction of the first armada." "Huh?" "Umm... you'll see," I say as I sit back and watch the movie. She gives me an odd look before she lays back against me and watches the movie. The movie starts out with a little backstory of the final armada. One day, the S.S. Mortem Stella and its escort were scouting the outer galaxies when they came across an unidentified ship. Excited, they tried to hail the other ship in an attempt to make first contact, but that's when the Unfamiliar opened fire, and started the war. The story follows Lucam Caelum-Ambulare, a young pilot that enrolled to explore the final frontier due to the tragic death of his parents. When they made first contact and began the fight, the enemy forces were obliterated. We only suffered minor losses due to their surprise attack. The fight scene was truly epic. Explosions, laser beam discharges, jet fights, big ass canons firing fuck-your-day shells, fuck yeah basically. "Those ships seem familiar... are those Aquila's they're riding?" Luna asks as she takes a flower and begins to eat it. The sight was painful, but I ignored it and went on to answering the question. "Aquila's are pilotless versions of those ships. Back then they didn't have bots like how we did. People had to do most of the work that was needed," I say as I drape an arm around her, trying my best to be nonchalant about it. She leans back against me as we continue to watch the movie. After the victory at sector sixty-three, the armada went on to scavenge materials and information from the downed enemy ship, but they don't notice the shadows in the back sneaking onboard... better yet, I don't think Luna did either. When the scrapyard vessels finally make it, the S.S. Mortem Stella moves towards Novum Spes for repairs and reinforcements. "New Hope?" "One of the colonies humans made during the purge. We found eight other planets that could support life and colonised them." "That's amazing! Do you think people still live there?" "No. Before the Unfamiliar attacked Terra, they wiped out every colony we had. With the loss of the last colony and the armada we tried to hide our civilization by going three kilometers underground... and that didn't even work..." "Well, at least some good came out of it," Luna says as she turns her attention to me. "What would that be?" "I got the best husband in the world," she says with a smile. I feel my heart skip a beat as I return the smile. I try to lean in for a kiss, but she lays her head against my chest and continues to watch the movie. As they near the spaceport, Lucam runs into an Unfamiliar in a hall as it kills a crew member. He tries to kill the Unfamiliar, but it gets away before he could do any real damage to it. I could feel Luna's heart race a little as he chased it through the lower decks of the ship, she's totally into it right now. When Lucam finally gets to his superiors and tells them about the infiltrators, the ship goes on lockdown... but not from them. All of the bulkheads and doors slam shut and lock themselves as the artificial gravity cuts off, making them float in the air. "Why are they floating?" Luna whispers to me as she throws a few cherry tomatoes into her mouth. "There's no gravity in space." "Oh...OK." They find the saboteurs and kill them with ease... but they haven't noticed the enemy vessels approaching them from all sides. When they finally get everything operational, a hail of fire erupts around the ship. Scenes shoot around from people being sucked out into space, massive plumes of fire and lasers being fired all about. All of the pilots begin flying out, some being shot down before they even get out to space. When the ships turn to face the enemy vessels, they see thousands of enemy fighters coming for them. Each side fires missiles at each other, making a massive grey cloud appear as they fly past one another. Lucam takes evasive action and begins to weave through the fighting ships while trying to get the two missiles from hitting him. He avoids getting hit by spinning really fast, making the missiles crash into each other. "Wow, that was an impressive barrel roll," Luna says as she begins to eat an apple. I look over to her and start getting ideas... fuck it, I'm going for it. I take my right arm and pretend to get some food, when I'm sure she isn't paying attention I slowly make my way down between her legs. "Miles!" she says as she goes wide-eyed from me caressing her breast. I only smile as I continue to squeeze one in my hand. She shakes her head as she drapes a leg across my shoulders, giving me even better access. FWOOSH Luna and I go wide-eyed as we look over to see Fluttershy standing in my living room, wings erect with the biggest blush I've ever seen. We stare at one another for a bit, no one moving a muscle, before I finally let go of Luna and stand up. "Uh... Fluttershy... is there something I can help you with?" "Uh... no... it doesn't matter... I'll just leave now... sorry for intruding..." Fluttershy says as she begins to back out of the room, trying to hide her face with her hair. "No no, go ahead and steal Miles for... whatever it was you needed. I needed to use the restroom anyway... plus I think I left the kitchen on fire," Luna says as she gets off of the couch and begins to walk towards the stairs. I pause the movie and turn back to Fluttershy, both of us standing there awkwardly in silence. "So... Fluttershy... what did you need?" "I... needed you to come with me to my place... but you're busy, so I'll ask another time... if there's ever another time that is..." she says as she continues to back out of the living room. I can tell she really wants me to come with her...*sigh* "Hold on. Let me check with Luna to see if it's OK for me to step out for a second," I say as I head upstairs. I go to the restroom and knock on the door. "Yeah?" "Hey, Fluttershy needs me to head over to her place real quick..." "Alright. I'll make some better snacks or something. Be sure to get back as soon as possible." "OK then, be back ASAP," I say before heading back down stairs. "Alright, lets get going," I say as I hold the door open for Fluttershy. She hesitates for a second before she begins to walk out. We walk along the Everfree in silence for awhile, making it halfway before Fluttershy finally says something. "Just some advice from a mare with a coltfriend, you shouldn't leave your mare for something your friends want... though I really do appreciate you coming along." "Yeah, probably not the smartest move ever. But I'll make it up to her." "So... when are you leaving?" "Leaving? I'm not going anywhere. Why would I?" "You’re not? I just thought you would be going to Canterlot to be with Luna." "Oh, no. Mainly because we're supposed to be a secret. But when we do finally go public... I don't know what happens then." "Well... I hope you visit if you do leave. We'd all miss you." "Yeah... don't worry though. I'd actually try to get Luna to move in with me instead. Canterlot was nice, but I know those kind of areas. Lets just say that upper class and me don't really mix well." We make it to her place where she opens the door and escorts me inside. When I get in I hear a hiss from the side. I look over to see a red-bellied snake rise up and stare me down. Without a second thought I lunge at the snake, tackling it to the ground and I flare my hands. It raises its head to strike at me as I bring my hand back to... "WWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIT!" Fluttershy yells from the side, getting both our attention. "Um... Miles, this is Ekans, Ekans, this is Miles. I think you both need to stop fighting and talk to one another about what happened." "You can't be serious." "You can't be ssseriousss." We both say it at the same time. "I am..." "There isss no way I could ever forgive thisss creature for what it hasss done to me," it says in a hushed voice. "I have nothing to apologize for," I say, getting a glare from Ekans. "Ekans?" "Yesss Flutterssshy?" he says as he looks over to her. She walks up to him and gives him a look, making him shirk away from her. I was about to say something but then she looked at me- FFFFFFFFFFEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAARRRRR! I blink a few times before I remember what I was doing. Ekans and I are facing each other, preparing to apologize to one another. "Whenever you're ready," Fluttershy says from the side. "*sigh* Ekans. I'm sorry for killing your family. It was in self-defense and I didn't mean anything by it other than protecting the ones I care about." "Apology accepted Milesss. Pleassse forgive me for hunting you and your younglingsss. It's an innate part of my being. Nothing perssssonal." "Apology accepted." I go to shake hands, but remember he doesn't have hands, so we just do a little bow before glancing back to Fluttershy. "Very good. Now why don't you both head home now and leave this behind you?" "Yes, Fluttershy." "Yesss, Flutterssshy." We both say it as she escorts us out of her home. "That wasss... terrifying," he says with a shudder. "I know. You going to be alright?" I ask Ekans before he heads into the forest. "I will. The closssure wasss... good. Take care, Milesss." "Take care, Ekans," I say as he slithers into the forest. I make my way back home, trying my best to get the image of Fluttershy's stare out of my head. I open the door to my place and find Luna laying on the couch, looking through my phone. I walk up to her and lay behind her, wrapping my arm across her chest as I kiss her neck. She's looking at all of the photos I have of me and my friends, pausing at the one of just me and Tenera. "Still jealous?" "I do not get jealous, I get..." "Envious?" I say jokingly, getting her to shake her head and scroll to the next one. "When did you learn to use a phone?" "It wasn't hard, I just watched you do it a couple of times and tried it myself. Where was this taken?" I look at the photo to see that it's one of Captain Bellum standing over Altum, who's lying on the ground. The area is mainly a large concrete building with several simulation pods in the back. "That was taken at the training facility. This was when Altum forced us to do the unfinished training simulation, almost killing us." "Why are there giant eggs?" "Those are the training pods. They open up and you sit inside as you play through the simulation. Problem was that if you got hurt in the simulation, you actually got hurt. Tenera and Inficiunt both took really bad hits." She scrolls through a few more pictures before she shakes her head and turns around to face me. "You have to go back Miles. You have to pick up the trail and try to find out what happened." "Luna..." "They loved you so much Miles, I can tell from all of the pictures. You have to go back. I can't stand seeing you ignore their cries from the past." "I… if I go, the girls won't allow me to go on my own. I don't want to endanger their lives..." "Then don't! Train them! Even if it isn't Spartan training, any training will be useful. Please Miles! For me." I stare into her pleading eyes for a bit before I sigh and give her a soft kiss. "Fine. I'll go." "Thank you Miles. I know this will only lead to good things... its getting late... I should get going..." "When will I see you again?" "As soon as possible, I promise. I love you Miles." "I love you Luna." We share one final passionate kiss before she gives me a hug and teleports out of the room. I lay on my back and think about the things to come. I need to train all of them, there's the wedding, Storm and Twilight will probably take some leave afterwards. Where will this trail lead? What does that scepter Auxy had do? Will I find the remaining humans along the way? Are the other cities even there anymore? My mind is buzzing from all of the possibilities, but one thing stands out clear. To answer them, I have to return to the cities. Author's Note Shout out to NotATree for picking who came by during the date. Brony on! Chapter 93 Wedding PlansChapter 93 Wedding Plans I slowly wake up as the sun shines down on my eyes. I ended up falling asleep on the couch, stiffening my neck. I go to get up, but slip on the tray of food and fall to the ground. I let out a little groan as I hear padded feet run to me and start to eat the food around me. I look down to see Lupus and the other wolf eating the scraps from all around me. "I swear if you were fucking in my bed again I'm kicking your fluffy butt." I say to Lupus, getting him and the other wolf to lick my face as I sit up. I pet Lupus a bit before I get up and head to the restroom. After dealing with that I head out for Rarity's. I'm tired of walking around bare foot. Lupus and the other wolf follow me to the edge of town where they take a seat and wait for me to return. I think I should name that other wolf.... nah, I'll let Luna name this one. I make it to Carousel Boutique and walk through the door... THWACK I duck as a pair of scissors bury themselves into the wall before me, nearly stabbing me in the face. "For the last time NO! I will not marry you! I will not be your special somepony! I don't ever want to see you in my shop again you putrid, stuck up, prissy...." "Miss Rarity! Please reconsider!" Blueblood begs as he presents a ring to Rarity... again. "I must have you! You are the only thing in my life that I want, I beg you to at least..." "Hey!" I say as I walk up to him. "She said no, get the fuck out." "You again, look here simpleton, I will not tolerate such an atrocity defiling such a beautiful gem. Leave now or suffer the consequences." He says as he squares off before me. We stare each other down as Rarity glances between the two of us, scarred of what might happen. "Blueblood, just leave me be. This isn't worth-OW!" Rarity starts to say, only to be pushed down by Blueblood. OH NO YOU FUCKING DIDN'T! Before he could react I ran up to him and punched him across the jaw, making his head twist to the side. "You will pay for that..." He growls as he faces me. "Shut the fuck up and get..." "I challenge you to a duel." He says as he straightens out. "The victor shall claim lady Rarity's hoof in marriage, what say you?" I take a deep breath before I answer him. "By honor of the Spartan regiment I must except...." "Miles..." Rarity says softly as she stands back up. "Until death do I defend the title of Captain. Name your terms." "Stallion to stallion. Physical abilities only." "Very well, where?" "Our front, now." He growls as he walks out of the boutique. I turn to follow him out, only to get stopped by Rarity's magic. "Miles darling, you don't have to do this. I can deal with him just fine, don't risk your life for me." "I'm sorry Rarity, but this isn't about you. He challenged me. Spartan law says that if anyone challenges the Captain, the Captain must accept, no matter what. If I back down, he becomes Captain... and I won't let that happen." "Just... please be careful... and don't kill him! He is a member of the royal family. Don't make things for you and Luna any harder then they already are." I nod to her and walk out front where two royal day guards drop from above and frisk me for weapons. I open my arms and stare Blueblood down as they pat me down. After a thorough search, they walk beside the building and guard the entrance to the building. "Till death or submission?" I ask as I remove my shirt and do a few stretches. "Hmph, you could only dream to defeat me. Either way is fitting though, so we shall go until a winner is named." He says as he begins to circle around me. I raise my fist and wait for him to make his move. He starts by trying to hold me down with his magic as he tries to charge at me. I try to budge to reach for something, but his magic locks me in place. He slams into my side, letting go of the magic to let me fall to the ground. I roll over to avoid him slamming his hooves onto to me and grapple myself around his chest. I lift up and fall back, sending him crashing onto the ground with a loud thud. I spin around and try to get up, only to get a blast of magic into my chest. I fly back a bit and fall flat on my back. "He can't use magic! That's cheating!" Rarity yells from the side lines as a crowd of ponies begin to form around us. "He can. The rules said only physical abilities. Unicorn magic is a physical ability." Explains a guard as I get up and square off with blueblood. "Then Miles should be allowed to use magic!" Rarity complains. "I can't. My magic isn't physical." I say before I charge at Blueblood. I slide to my knees as I close the distance between us to dodge a shot of magical energy. When I come to a stop I'm directly next to him, so I start to jab away at him. Slamming my fist into his chest, neck, and face as i push myself back up. He rears up and raises his legs to block my punches, so I move to kicks. With a pivot I slam my leg into his side, sending him to the ground. I jump on top of him and begin delivering powerful blows to his face. With my left hand I hold his head up by his hair as I continue to pound away at his face. I begin busting lips, blackening eyes, and making large bumps appear all over his face as I teach him the folly of challenging a Spartan. "Miles!" Rarity yells from the side, but I ignore her and continue to punch away. "Miles! You won, you can stop." I don't. I begin pulling out hair as I begin to put more power behind my hits. "MILES!" Rarity yells as she pulls me off of him with her magic. I look over to her and see the scared look on her face. I look down at my hands to see them covered in red blood. "Prince Blueblood!" Yells one of the guards as they run over to him and check up on him. He's gurgling up blood as he wheezes through his nostrils. I walk over to him and push the guards aside. I flare my hands and start to pump my healing magic into his body, closing the wounds on his face almost immediately. After I finish healing him I drop my magic and twist his ear, making him twist and yell from the pain. "Good, remember this pain." I say as I twist a little harder, making him jerk around some more. "The next time you think about bothering Rarity, think about this pain. Becuase if I see you here again, the beating won't stop. The pain won't stop. you will hope for death, but it won't come. The only thing you will have is an enduring life of pain and misery. Do you understand me?" He looks up to me with a look of pure fear as he quickly nods his head. "Good. We're done here. Accipre tuus pudor et relinquere." I say as I stand up and take a few steps away from him. He staggers up, pushing away any help, and glares at me. "This isn't over." "Do you submit?" "For now. Guards! Take me home." He says as he walks through the crowd of ponies watching. The crowd stays silent until he flashes away. I stand there as the sounds of murmuring people fills the area as everyone stares at me. "Miles, lets go inside." Rarity says as she ushers me to her place, the entire time I just glare back at the countless eyes. She quickly pushes me into the building and quickly shuts the door and closes the blinds. "Well.... that could have gone better." "Sorry, but I had to do it." I say as I walk towards her restroom. I go inside and rinse my hands clean of his blood. "Are you alright?" I call out to her. "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you again for defending me against that creep Miles. I'm in your debt." "Well I know a way you could repay me." I say as I dry my hands off and walk to her back room, finding her working on various clothes. "I need shoes and socks, think you could help?" The socks makes he ears perk up a bit but doesn't stop her from working on whatever she's working on. "O-of course Miles, its the least I could do..." "No, the least you could do is let me pay this time." "That's not happening. After today I..." "After today, I probably scared away a good number of your.... RING RING RING "Comiiing!" Rarity chimes as she trots to the front room. "How can I help.... all of you?" I look down the hall to see a crowd of ponies in her front room, asking about various dresses, suits, and other clothes that I could hear through the murmurs of he mass. Rarity glanced back to me for a second so I motioned that I'll take my leave. Heading out the back door, I decided to head over to Twilight's to have a word with Storm. After navigating through town I finally begin approaching the library, where I find Storm and Spike out front. It looks like Storm is teaching him some basic fighting skills... well, trying at least. Spike would do a one two combo into hi hooves, then Storm would swat his hoof at him and ruffle his head a bit. "Do I see a future Spartan?" I say as I approach the two of them. "Hey Miles! Storms teaching me how to defend myself!" Spike says as he winds his fist and punches Storm's hoof. "Yeah... well, we were with Twilight, getting things ready for the wedding, but we kept messing around. So she sent us home to finish most of it on her own." Storm says with a slight grin. "Actually, we had a plan for you and Luna for afterwards." "Really? And what would that be?" "Well, the main problem is that there are no witnesses to your wedding, and pirates don't count. So why don't you two renew your vows afterwards? She'll be there, you'll be there, plus we'll have plenty of ponies around to witness it." "That sounds good, except that if she's there, Celestia would be there as well. Luna still wants to keep this a secret for awhile." "Why?" Spike asks as he looks up to me innocently. "Well... Celestia and I... don't always see eye to eye. We want to break it gently to her that we're together." "Why?" He asks again. "So she doesn't have me executed for being with her sister." "Oh." "Anyways..." Storm says as he walk over to the door and ushers us all in. "We can get around that easily. We would just have to...." CRASH "MILES YOU BUCKING IDIOT!" We all jump as Twilight comes crashing into the room and charges straight at me, pinning me against the wall with her magic. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" "What are you talking..." "I just swung by Rarity's Miles. I saw what you did to Blueblood. I would talked to you sooner but I couldn't get through that crowd." "Oh..." "You realize that he's probably on his way to Celestia right now to rat you out, don't you?" "He would have to reveal that he has been coming here for months proposing to Rarity and..." "Wait what?" Spike asks. Aw shit.... just my fucking luck. "Sorry Spike. Rarity told me to keep it a secret." I say as Twilight lets go of me. Spike looks at everyone in the room before he runs out of the room. Storm and Twilight look to each other before Storm flies after him. I take a deep sigh before I go to the kitchen and take a seat at the table. "Well, that could of gone better." Twilight says as she takes a seat next to me. "Yeah. Look, don't worry about Blueblood. He's too proud to go to Celestia. If and when he comes back, I'll deal with him in a better manner." "Oh, I not worrying about it. I told your wife about it. She says to expect her later tonight." ....... fuck. "Speaking of wives, did Storm tell you about our plans?" "Yeah, and as long as Luna's on board, I'm alright with it." "Really? Alright. Storms party is tomorrow at eight. Luna said she'll have hers with Regina at the same time as you take yours, so when do you want yours?" "Party? Mine? What are you talking about?" I ask as I feel my heart start to race a bit. "The bachelor and bachelorette parties. Storm says you didn't really get one, so we're throwing you a post-marriage one. Storm and I are having ours tomorrow, nothing big. He says he wants to save all of our energy for the honeymoon. So..." "Of fucking course its the bachelor party." I say as I bury my face in my arms on the table. "*sigh* I'll be there." "REALLY!" She says in astonishment. "No fighting? No drunken tirades? Total cooperation?" "I've fought to avoid these kind of parties... I always lose." I mumble from my arms. "But everything will have to wait until after we go back to Topaz Falls. There are some things we need to get." I say as I sit back up. "Wait, we? You want us to go with you?" "No. But I want to go. And you guys are good friends and won't let me go alone. So I have to accept that you are coming along." She puts on a large smile as she pulls out a quill and scroll and begins writing down stuff. "What are you writing?" "A list of things we'll need for this adventure, but lets start with the check list of the things you wish to accomplish in Topaz." "Alright.... well... step one should be shutting down the executive relay. That way the bots will stop hunting us down." "Shutting down the ex-ecu-tive relay. Got it, whats next?" "After that, we head to my old room so I can get the coordinates to Quartz Crest." "Gather Coordinates to Quartz Crest, anything else?" "Hmm... well, if we could find the armory and the clothing distribution center, Storm and I can get some official Spartan uniforms for the wedding. Though someone will have to tailor them for Storm and Big Mac.... I wonder who." "I think Rarity will like this one. Is that the last of it?" "Basically." I say as I stand back up and look at the time. "Well, I should head over to Sweet Apple Acres to get to work." "Alright Miles. Be sure to meet up here at eight in the afternoon tomorrow. And thank you for not fighting this." She says as she ushers me to the door. I say my goodbyes and begin walking towards the farm. Another bachelor party... hopefully this will be as fun as Dolum's party was. Heh, wonder if I can give as good a speech as Eximius did... or get as drunk as Inficiunt did. After awhile of reminiscing about the past I blink back to reality and look around. I'm walking through one of the parks, with a cool breeze blowing from behind. I'm not sure how I missed it, but all of the leaves are changing colors. Beautiful reds, yellows and oranges fill the trees as many of the leaves begin to drop off. I make it to Sweet Apple Acres where I find Big Mac and Applejack walking towards their home. "Hey! sorry I couldn't get here sooner, but I'm here for work." I say as I approach the two of them. "Eenope." Big Mac says as they turn and face me, making my heart race a bit, are they firing me. "Seasons over. Sorry, but there's no work ta do till next season." "Oh.... alright. Well, then I'll be here next season then." "Are ya going ta be alright Miles?" Applejack asks. "Yeah, I'll be fine. There has to be work somewhere, right? Thanks for hiring me though. Really appreciate it." I say my goodbyes and turn back towards Ponyville. I'm going to need to find some kind of work... easy enough.... right? Chapter 94 Storm's Bachelor PartyChapter 94 Storm's Bachelor Party WHAT THE FUCK! I spent four hours going around Ponyville applying for jobs and no one wants to hire me! Though it's not entirely their fault. I only have spotty work experience they can reference, and not to mention its kind of awkward to hire the only human in Equestria. The few interviews I did manage to get didn't end very well either. Ends up being a soldier doesn't mean shit for a society that doesn't have an army. *sigh* I need to let off some steam. I decided to head home and try again tomorrow, hopefully I can find something, or at least keep trying at the same places until I guilt them into hiring me. I slowly make my way home, enjoying the view of the changing scenery. Why is it changing? I should of asked Applejack or Twilight. I've also noticed that it's a lot cooler then before. I can see ponies in the park enjoying the late afternoon, playing games, talking with friends, setting for some upcoming event. Enjoying life. Its good to see everything so peaceful around here after everything that's happened. I turn my attention to my home to see a figures shadow in the front window.... I think its Luna.... shit. Forgot about that. I walk up to the door and take a deep breath before I open the door and walk in. "Hey baby." I say weakly as I turn the corner and find Luna sitting on the recliner, slowly petting Lupus. "So I hear you had quite the day, wanna tell me about it?" She says, keeping her focus on Lupus. I walk over and take a seat on the other recliner before I answer. "I went to Rarity's to order some shoes when I walked in on Blueblood proposing to Rarity... again." I can see her interest for a second before she goes blank face, continuously petting Lupus.... who seems to be having the time of his life. "Well, I told him to back off, which he didn't. He then harmed Rarity and... I kind of punched him.... then he challenged me to a physical duel... and then I won." She takes a deep breath before she looks back to me and shakes her head slightly. "Miles.... I completely agree with you defending Rarity... but you have to be careful. Like it or not, Blueblood is royalty. If he chooses to, he can have you arrested for assaulting a royal family member." "I know. But when he knocked Rarity down I went into over protective friend mode. Logic was out of the question." "*sigh* its alright, this time at least. I know Blueblood would rather die then admit he lost a fight. But next time try to think of a better way to avoid the conflict." "I will. But a future warning, I am the Captain of the Spartans, if someone challenges me, ever, I have to accept. Otherwise I have to surrender my title to them." "Is there anything else I should know about? With you being a Captain and all." "Well, since we're married, you're now a Terradisian citizen, so is Celestia. If we ever have a council meeting you're allowed to come and voice your concerns. Um... being Captain means I get a shorter maternity leave as well, only four years...." "You get a four year maternity leave! How long is the standard one?" She asks in astonishment. "Usually its six years, but if a recall is ever made, everyone has to answer; no matter what. Other then that, that's everything that affects you." She looks back down to Lupus and begins to rub his belly as he rolls onto his back. "Still mad?" "I wasn't mad, I was worried. If Celestia were to find out you were fighting royal family members... I don't want to think about what would happen." "Sorry for worrying you... how long can you stay?" I ask, making her smile. "I actually can stay for awhile, Celestia gave me the day off and Cadence is covering for me again. So I just have to be back in time for night court. Do you have plans Wednesday?" "Uh.... just a small thing, nothing big." "Good, cause I'm coming over to Ponyville for an official visit and I want you to be my escort." "Uh, OK... whats happening?" "Its Nightmare Night." I raise an eyebrow to her and wait for her to explain. "Awhile back a bunch of ponies decided to dedicate a night to my likelihood. There's going to be games, pranks, music, and lots of candy." "All of this on Dia Memoria?" "Day of remembrance? Whats that?" "Its a Terradisian holiday where we take an hour of silence to remember those who have died." "Oh.. well..." "All Spartans are required to do it, though I did always have a tendency to loath this one. Storm and Big Mac already know of this and we'll be doing ours at noon that day." "Oh, OK. Why did you loath this holiday?" "Well... back in the day I only had two people to ever really try to think about... even though I never knew them..." "You're parents?" "Yeah. I would always wonder what kind of people they were. If they would approve of the choices I've made or what kind of person I would of been if I had knew them, even a tiny bit. Though, this year, I will have a lot to remember." Luna jumped out of her seat and walked over to me, stepping up the seat until she wrapped me up in a hug. I wrapped my arms around her as I try to hold back my tears. "If you don't mind, I'd like to be there with you." "Of course. I'll need you by my side." We sit there in silence for awhile, both of us just holding onto each other. GURGLE We both look to each other and giggle a bit from both of our stomachs going off at the same time. "What would you like to eat?" I ask as I pick her up and carry her over to the kitchen. "Um... I don't know, you pick." She says playfully as she opens the fridge with her magic. I walk over and look through it, trying to think of what to eat. "How about..." "But nothing with apples. I had a lot earlier today." "OK... how about..." "OH, and nothing to sugary. I had pancakes this morning and I'm just not in the mood for sugar." Not in the mood for sugar.... whaaaaaaat? How could you be out of the mood for sugar! I shake my head and ignore the illogical nonsense as I continue to look for something for the two of us. "The only other thing in here is hay." "OOO! Lets have that!" I look at her flatly as she puts on her biggest smile. "You're messing with me... aren't you?" "Yes, but its OK becuase I'm cute." She says as she bats her eyes at me. I stare at her flatly before I nod. Can't fight that logic. She gives me a quick peck on the cheek before she levitates a couple of things out and sets them on the table. "Go ahead and get washed up, I'm going to make some tea." I nod and head to the restroom. After cleaning myself up a bit I head back to find Luna already pouring us both some hot tea. Again, gone for less time it takes to make this.... magic? "Whats that?" I ask as I take a seat next to her and give it a try. Its hot, taste like sweaty leaves, and smells funny. "Just some jasmine tea." She goes and takes a sip, only to spit it out and start waving a hoof over her tongue. "HOT! HOTTEA HOTTEA! She says with her tongue out. As if on cue, the other wolf comes running in and goes straight to Luna, rubbing against her and sniffing her to check on her. "I think you just named the other wolf." I say as Luna levitates as glass of water over. "*gulp gulp* whats that?" "Hati." "Huh?" She asks as Hati keeps rubbing against her. I laugh a little and scoot closer to her as she takes another drink of water. "You alright?" "Yeah, guess that was pay back for messing with you..." "But you're cute, that made it OK." I say as I lean closer to her. She smiles and begins to lean closer to me, staring straight into my eyes. Before I could close the distance, she shoves some food into my mouth and sits back. "Hati... I like it. Lupus and Hati." She says as she starts to eat some celery while petting Hati. We finish eating and head to the living room. Luna wanted to finish the movie we started, so we took our place on the couch and did so. I wasn't paying attention though. Not only had I seen it plenty of times before, I had plenty of distractions right in my lap. We were laying on the couch, with me against the back and Luna in front, facing me. Sadly, Luna had asked if we could just spend time together, so no sex. Whatever, I have every thing I wanted right here, pressed against my lips and holding me tightly. We break the kiss for a second to catch our breath, staring into each others eyes as I place my hand behind her head. She keeps glancing away from me though, something must be bothering her though. "Hey, whats wrong?" "Nothings wrong." "Really? Everything is perfect." "Well... alright. I'm trying to find the best way to break the news to Celestia. I haven't done it yet and it seems that every time I try to she's in a bad mood." "That's alright, just take your time. I know it'll be hard to do, but it has to be done. She deserves to know about this." I say as I rub her cheek a bit. "I know. I just wish she wasn't so hard to approach." I pause a bit and try to think of something.... idea! "OK." I say as I sit up, getting confused looks from Luna. "Pretend I'm Celestia, go for it." She sits up and looks at me funny. "Its not the same Miles..." "Come on, just give it a try." She rolls her eyes and straighten ups and looks at me. "Alright... Well sister how are you today?" "Those terrible Spartans have done it again! How dare they do that thing they did!" I say in my best Celestia voice. "Well, I'm sure they had their reasons for what they did... speaking of Spartans, I actually wanted to talk to you about Miles." "Miles! What did that boy do this time! I swear, its always Miles this or Miles that!" I say in her voice as I wave my arms around. "Well... you see... the thing is.... Miles and I... are... are.... its not the same Miles!" She says as she drops down, laying across my lap. "Whats the difference?" I ask as I begin to rub her back. "Its... Celestia has this.... stare. The way she looks at me... its like she silently judging me. I know she isn't, but it feels that way. But... I don't know..." "Want me to tell her? Or do it together?" "No. I'll do it. She'll be less angry if I do it on my own. I just wish it wasn't hard to do." "Hey, the harder it is, the more precious the mare." I say, getting a smile in response. "Thank you.... I've got to get going now. I'll see you Wednesday." She says as she sits up and gives me a quick kiss. "Love you." "Love ya too. I'll see you Wednesday." We share one last kiss before she goes up stairs and take the mico platform home. I sigh in content and try to think of ways to help her. Not starting crap is a sure fire way. I need to do something special for her. I keep trying to think of things as I slowly start to fall asleep. There has to be something I can do... "BARK BARK BARK BARK AROOOOOOOO!" "SHUT UP LUPUS!" I yell as I wake up from the couch. I look around to see that's morning. I look over to see Lupus sitting by the door, staring at it. I walk over and open it, only to almost get knocked over as Hati comes running in. They sniff each other a couple of times before they run up stairs together. "I swear if you two fuck in my bed again I'm going to give you a vasectomy!" "What?" I look back to see Storm and Big Mac Standing in the door way, looking confused beyond belief. "Nothing.. what's up guys, here for morning training?" "Uh.. its my bachelor party." Storm says as they both walk in. Party... right.... OK. I can do this. It's just a simple party. I can do this. "So... what are we doing then." I ask nervously as I follow them into the living room. "Don't know. Spike said he was going to plan it and that I had to wait here for him. So for now this is it." Storm says as he takes a seat on the recliner. With a wave of my hand I slide the couch back to its original spot and take a seat with Big Mac. "So, Storm's getting married." "Yeah, crazy huh?" "EEyup." "Especially since a few months ago she hated your guts. But, we've still got a small dilemma." I say, getting confused looks from the two of them. "Suits." "I was just going to go to..." "You're a Spartan. You have to get married in official uniform." "Oh." "So that means that we have to go to Topaz as soon as possible..." "I think it can wait for awhile. It's not like I'm getting married tomorrow." "Can ah make uh request?" Big Mac asks. "Well, ah know mah sister will demand that she goes, shes stubborn like that, an somepony needs ta watch over the farm. So I was wondering..." "Yes Big Mac, you can stay behind. But try to keep an eye on Ponyville as well. It seems every time we go down there, everything up here turns to shit." "Eeyup." "Alright. So, Storm, the girls and I will head down there, try to solve all of the problems it has to throw at us while you'll stay up top to keep an eye on everything.... sounds good, when should we go?" "Well, I know we had planned on doing things at eight, but everything is getting pushed around so much. And Wednesday is Nightmare Night, so we'll have to be here in the afternoon.... if we could get everypony on board, we could just do it tonight and rest up tomorrow morning. But we'll have to be quick about it..." KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK "Miles, Storm, Big Mac, come on, it's time for your bachelor party." Spike say evilly as he walks into my place. I feel my heart race a bit as we all stand and follow Spike out of my house... what have I gotten myself into.... Two hours later BWAHAHAHA! I should of know letting Spike throw the party would have only ended in funny! He took us to a restaurant called Harry's Hay! Its a children's restaurant filled with games, small rides, and tons of screaming kids! Its set up with the center being filled with booths to sit in, a prize counter to the far left and games to the right. A clearing goes through the center of the booths, making a hall to enter and leave the building. The three of us are sitting at a booth that's next to the hall, me trying to fight back another fit if laughter as Storm lays his head on the table in embarrassment. We had tried to walk around with Spike to make the best of it, but it was just too awkward, so we're just sitting in our booth. Almost every mare in here has come to sit near us to ogle Storm and Big Mac, making them both tense up from the unwanted attention. Spike has disappeared in the fray of children, playing games or something. "So, by far this is the best worst bachelor party I've ever seen in my life." I say, making Storm groan from under his hooves. "EEyup." "Can we leave now." Storm asks as he lifts his head up. "Sure, just go and find Spike then we can leave." He looks out at the other mares, who wink and pucker lips at him, then looks back to me. "I think I'd rather stay here for now... where my flank is safe." "EEyup." "Why did we..." "Hey guys!" Spike says as he runs up to our booth. "Come on, you're missing all of the fun!" He says as he drags Storm out of the booth. He looks back to us and mouths 'help me' before Spike drags him into the ffray of screaming children and horny mares. "How many times do you think his ass will get grabbed?" I ask Big Mac. "Well... depends on how many mares are in here. Ah'd say at least every minute or so." We share a small laugh before an idea gets in my head. "So... Big Mac... when do you plan on asking Fluttershy to marry you?" "Ah already did." "WHAT! When was this?" "About a year ago." "Oh.... does anyone know this?" "A few. It's not a public thing cause she hates being public." "Oh... well... congratulations then? If you're married... then why does she live on her own?" "She's afraid ta leave her animal friends... plus ah think she's scared of granny." I was about to ask another question before a shrill of laughter erupted from the other side of the room. I look over to see a mass of mares surrounding two flared grey wings. Storm then flies over to us and drops into the seat, dropping Spike next to him. He looks to be scared and pissed, with both his wings standing straight back. "What happened?" I ask. "Nothing." "Are you sure..." "Yes I'm sure." He snaps at me. "Did I do something wrong?" Spike asks. "No, your fine Spike. Its those mares over there." "Oh sweet Barbra... did... no... did one of them..." "Drop it Miles." Storm says flatly as two mares and three kids walk by. "See ya later... big boy." Says one of the mares to Storm, making them both giggle more. Storm slams his head into the table as he tries to hide from all of the mares staring at him... oh sweet Barbra... no, will pester another time... its too soon. Before anyone could say anything a small group of workers walks in front of our booth and stand before us. "HAPPY..... BACHELOR PARTY TO YOU... HAPPY BACHELOR PARTY TO YOU..... WHY THE HELL DID YOU COME HERE... PLEASE LEAVE YOU'RE SCARING THE KIDS." They sing to the tune of happy birthday. They set a small cake down and walk off together, glaring at Storm the entire time. "Can we leave now?" He asks from the table. "What about your cake?" Spike asks. Storm reaches over and slides it over to him. "This is the best bachelor party ever!" He says happily as he shovels some cake into his mouth. Author's Note Shout out to Squishy for picking the name of the second wolf. Pronounced like Hot Tea not Hate Tea, HOT. Brony on! Chapter 95 A Quick Run Into TownChapter 95 A Quick Run Into Town After Spike had finished the cake we finally left, much to Storm's pleasure. I'll have to make copies of the pictures I took.... when they make printers here that is. I guess I could try to find one in Topaz, it would be faster. I look around and to see a good number of ponies walking around the market, now seems like a good time to pester. "Happy bachelor party to you..." "I swear, don't Miles." Storm grumbles. "What's going on?" Spike says from Storm's back. "Happy bachelor party to you..." I sing, glancing over to Big Mac and getting a nod from him. "Do you have to?" "Why the hell did you come here.... please leave you're scaring the kids! HAhahahaha!" Big Mac and I sing, making us both fall over in a fit of laughter. Storm tries to hide his blushing face from the crowd staring at us being idiots. "OK OK, you had your fun, can we get going now?" Storm asks, but we ignore him due to our sides falling off. Storm sighs and just bites the collar of my shirt as he begins to drag me down the street. "You're a... you're a... you're a pedophile HAHAHAHA!" I muster out before I begin to laugh even more. "HA HA shoo phunny." He says through his teeth as he continues to drag me. "Jusht whait fer yur party." He says, ending the funny. "Dude, you better not..." "I already have the train tickets for the three of us." He say as he lets go of me. "Tickets? Where are you guys going? Can I come?" Spike asks. "Sorry Spike, but the place we're going isn't for baby dragons." "Dude, where are we going?" I ask as I get up. "Don't worry about it. Lets just get the stuff from Topaz." He says as he walks away from me. Storm... what are you planning? I follow him to Twilight's where we stop by the front door. From inside we hear the laughter and cheers from all of the girls, making us scared to enter. "After you." I say as I step back. "No way, you owe me for embarrassing me in town." Storm says as he jumps behind me and pushes me towards the door. "Your fiancee, your door." I say as I spin around and start pushing him towards the door. He pivots around and starts trying to push me towards the door, but I trip him. He grabs onto me and pulls me down with me, making us both begin to wrestle around, trying to get dominance over each other. "I'll get it." Spike says happily from the side as he approaches the door. "DON'T!" We both yell as he swings open the door. From my point of view, I can only see a shocked Twilight... but that's all I needed to see. She has a necklace made of condoms around her neck and horn. She's also wearing purple and black striped socks that go up her entire legs. She also seems to be wearing some kind of corset that's black and purple.... KER-FWOOSH I roll over a bit from Storm's wings going straight back. Luckily I can't see inside anymore from this vantage point... but Spike walked right in... "Twilight... what are you wearing?" He asks as he backs away from the door. Everything stays silent for a bit until Storm shakes his head and jumps over to Spike, covering his eyes with a hoof. He looks back inside for a second before he picks Spike back up and flies back towards town. I take a few breathes before I stand up and walk beside the door. "Everyone decent?" I ask. "You can come in darling." Rarity says from inside, so I do. I notice that Twilight isn't here, she probably went upstairs to get decent. The inside looks like any other party had just happened. Streamers, confetti, opened presents, some white and brown mare hanging upside down from the roof..... wait... what? "Uh... some party huh?" I say weakly as I take a seat. "It was until you came and ruined it! I'm still getting paid though.... right?" Fucking shit! That's a guy! "Of course Squishy, just swing by Sugar Cube corner some time this week and take it." Pinkie says as she trots over to him and helps him down. "*sigh* Cheesus is going to kill me." He mumbles before he walks out of the room. "Right... so, anyways. The reason we came over was becuase we need to go to Topaz again. And I know that if I went without telling you guys, you would get mad. So..." "Sweet Betsy Miles, why would ya need ta go on such short notice?" Applejack asks. "Becuase TB is rushing things becuase of something super duper totally awesome ultra special for chapter one hundred. But, what is it you need to get from Topaz that's so important?" Pinkie says nonchalantly as she eats an entire plate of cookies. "Uh.... suits. Who's TB?" "Why would you need to go to Topaz Falls for suits when you could just get them from me?" Rarity asks. "Spartan law dictates that we get married in official uniform. But I will still need your help though. I doubt that any survived three thousand years, so I'm going to nee to find a picture of some kind and show it to you. Then I would need you to replicate it." "You want me... to make your suits... human suits... for the.. and..." She falls onto her back and holds a hoof to her forehead as she drools a bit. "That would be a yes. From both her and me." Rainbow says as she picks her up and sets her on her hooves. "Great, can I count on the rest of you?" I ask as I look around the room. "Shucks, do ya really need ta ask?" "Well... if you really need me..." " OO OO is it going to be fun? Cause I love fun!" "Uh... I doubt...." "I'M IN!" Pinkie yells as she bounces up and down. "And you can count on me." Twilight says as she marches down the stairs, looking like her normal self. "How long do you plan on being down there?" She asks as she pulls out a quill and paper. "I don't plan on being down there for very long. Just get in, get the stuff, get out. That's it." She nods and writes down a few things. "Alright, everypony head home and get everything you'll need for this. Plan for a day at most. We'll all meet back at Miles's place in an hour." Twilight says, getting a cheer from everyone else as they run out the front door. "I'll meet you guys at my place then." I say as I walk out of the library. I make it home as quickly as possible and go straight for my room, where I find all of my armor and weapons. After putting it all back on and grabbing the spare rifles I head down stairs and pause in the living room, where I see Lupus and Hati just sitting there, staring at me. "I swear if you two fuck in my bed again..." "Hey Miles!" I look over to see Rainbow Dash flying down to me from her home. "Why are we really going to Topaz?" "What? I already told you..." "Yeah yeah yeah. You could just tell Rarity what the suits need to look like. There's something down there that you really want, isn't there?" "*sigh* I never was a good liar, yes. A friend of mine left me a message from the past with coordinates to Quartz Crest. I want to take these coordinates and find Quartz Crest." "Why didn't you just tell us that in the first place?" She asks as we take a seat on the front porch. "I don't know. I was self conscience about it I guess. Sorry." "Its cool, but you should trust us a little more. We're here for you if you ever need us." "I know, I'll try to in the future." We sit there in silence for awhile, waiting for everyone to show up. "So..... what does your mark mean?" I ask to start a conversation. "It represents my passion for racing. I love to race, move fast, athletic stuff like that." She says as she glances back to it with a warm smile. "Cool... I get the Dash part now." We share a small laugh before it goes quiet again. "Did Terradisians have racing?" Rainbow asks, breaking the silence. "Yeah. Did you see any of the cars in Topaz. Uh... metal carriages that..." "Yeah, I saw those. You raced them?" "Well, not those ones, but we made specialized ones that we raced. There's actually a track the goes around the entire city and one in the center. They're both in the lower sections though. If we can get Topaz safe again I'll have to show you one day." "Sounds awesome. How fast did they go?" "Well, the outer track cars went.... about six hundred eighty kilometers an hour, while the other one was restricted to two hundred eighty, due to the tight turns it had." "Miles... I don't know what a kilometer is." "Right right... let me think.... I'm about two meters tall, and there are a thousand meters in a kilometer." "Hmm.... stand up." I stand up and watch as she walks around me, sizing me up. "You seem to be six feet tall, a little more but whatever..." "So, three feet to a meter..." "And there are five thousand two hundred eighty feet in a mile..." Math math math... "So the first track had a speed limit of four hundred twenty two while the other on had one of one seventy three." "Wow, that's pretty fast for something so bulky." She says, trying to hide her unimpressed look. "How fast can you go?" "Well... not to brag or anything, but when I do a sonic rain-boom I go six hundred eighty miles a SECOND!" "How do you not black out?" I ask in astonishment. "Well.... I can't do it for long.... hey look, everypony is here!" She says as she flies out to greet everyone walking towards my place. I toss Twilight the spare E.A.R. and begin to walk towards the cave. "Do I have to?" Twilight asks. "I can take it if you'd like Twilight." Rarity offers. Twilight glance to me, to which I shrug, and gives Rarity the gun. "So Miles, why don't you tell everypony why we're really going to Topaz." Rainbow says, fucking sell out. "*sigh* fine. Auxilium, Dolums wife, left me a message from the past, along with the coordinates to Quartz Crest. I wanted to get it as soon as possible, and the suits were a perfect excuse. I know I shouldn't have lied to you, and technically I didn't, but I'm still sorry for the deception." Everyone whispers something to someone as they continue to walk along with me. "Is there anything else you haven't told us that we may need to know?" Storm asks. "Well... hmm... not that I can think of. That was the only one, and it was really just spur of the moment." I say as we enter the Everfree forest. "Well, you said you're sorry, so I'm good. Apology accepted." Pinkie says as she skips along. "Thank you." Everyone goes through their accepting my apologies as we approach the cave to Topaz. I walk up to the mico platform and take it to the entrance. After everyone appears in the dark cave, we go to the door and enter Topaz Falls. We run trough the door way and fall under immediate fire. Twilight raises a shield as Rarity and I take aim for the bots in some of the buildings. Most of Rarity's shots just hit the walls around them, but it helps by making them try to get to cover as I drop them. With those bots dealt with, we continue down the street, heading for the freeway. Against my better judgement, we take the freeway again. I know last time it didn't work out perfectly, but we did manage to avoid most of the bots, so i decided that this would be the best route. We're making good time, only taking about two hours to reach the first on off ramp. I decide to give everyone a break here before moving on. "Hey Twilight, how far can you teleport people?" I ask as they set a blanket and lay down. "Well, a few ponies... about half way to the P.C.H. from here. But the more I have to teleport, the harder it gets. Why?" "How fast can you two fly?" I ask Fluttershy and Storm. "Well, I can hold my own." Storm says. "I'm not that fast.... sorry." Fluttershy says. "Hmm.... Rainbow, you're with me." I say as I start to walk down the ramp. "What's going on?" She asks as she follows after me. "You guys take another ten minutes and then continue down the freeway. I want to check something down the street real quick, we'll be back." I call out to them before I run down the ramp and take a right. "Where are we going?" Rainbow asks as I run to the side walk and hold my rifle up, waiting for anything to show up. "Terridisian first national." I say as I stop before the last building on the block and enter it. The inside is in better condition then I was expecting. The room consists of a long counter filling the back, a few cubicles to my right and a waiting area to my left. Above the counter is the banks computer system, a large black machine that has several panels and slots throughout it. It fills the back half of the room and is humming softly, telling me that it still works. I walk in and check my sides for any bots before I go to one of the teller stations. "What is this thing?" Rainbow asks as she taps it a few times. "Its a Bank." I say as I pull out my phone and gently slide it into one of the slots, making the panel light up with my options. "Oh sweet Barbra I still have a bank account... I wonder..." I go to check my balance and read it aloud. "One hundred fifty eight million twenty eight thousand four hundred and fifty six credits..." SPLASH I flail around a bit as I spit the water out from my mouth. I look around to see that I'm laying on the ground with everyone staring at me. "What happened?" I ask as I sit up. "You tell us. Rainbow came flying over screaming about how you fainted. What happened?" Storm asks as I stand back up and stagger over to the teller machine. SPLASH I flail around again as I find myself back on the ground. "Miles, what does..." "I'm rich." I mutter from the floor. "What was that?" Applejack asks as I get back to my feet. I go to the machine and do to the withdrawal option... how much should I try to get out? I hit a few buttons and wait to see what happens. I hear the machine get to work getting my money out as I feel myself getting gitty with anticipation. CLINK CLINK CLINK CLINK Several platinum credits begin to fall into the tray below, making me laugh a bit as everyone goes wide eyed from the sight. "Miles.... is... is that real?" Twilight asks as more and more credits fall out onto the tray. "Yeah... it is..." I say as the tray begins to over flow. I begin to take the money out and stick it into my pockets. "Hey, help me out." I say to Twilight as she walks over and lets me put the rest into her bag. As I begin to throw the money in, the machine finally stops spitting out the credits, but only becuase it hit the amount I put in. "How much did you just take out?" Pinkie asks as I finish putting the money into Twilight's bag. "Only a million credits. Don't worry, I have another hundred fifty seven million to go." I say with a large smile, making everyone drop their jaws in astonishment. "We'll have to come back another time to get the rest though, right now we have to get going to the P.C.H." I say as I walk over to the door and wait for everyone to follow after me, the look of astonishment still plastered on their faces. "OK, so from now on you're buying the groceries." Storm says as we walk down the freeway. "I'm fine with that, though I'm not going to keep all of that money. I'll probably end up giving a lot of it away." "That's very chivalrous of you Miles. Do you have any organizations in mind?" Rarity asks. "Well... no. I was thinking of funding another orphanage though...." "OH! I know the perfect one! I'll introduce you to them after we get out of here." Rainbow says as she hops into the air. "Alright, sounds good to me." "Wow Miles, you're rich enough to buy Sugar Cube Corner over five hundred thousand times! Or the city of Ponyville fifteen times! Or Storm Twice! Or MMM!" Pinkie says excitedly until Twilight shoves a hoof into her mouth.. "Yeah... keep in mind that I don't plan on keeping most of that money. Just enough to be comfortable." I say before an Aquila flies over head and goes straight towards the P.C.H. I look over to Twilight who nods to me and teleports us over to the action. We appear on top of a building in front of the P.C.H. I hear Twilight fall down as she passes out from the fatigue of teleporting all of us so far. I let Storm take care of her as I look out to the P.C.H. From within the building I can see some bots firing at a group of bots on the street. From within the building I see Easy run out and grab a hold of one of the bots, sending black cables out from his back and inserting them into the other bot. A few seconds later he stands up and runs after another bot as the first one stands up and fires at the bots behind it. A group of legion bots have dropped down further up the street and are making their way to Easy. "Guys, stay hidden and try to get into the building. I'm going to go assist Easy." Before any of them could answer I jump off the roof and charge into the fight. I run into the middle of the street and fire a beam of soul fire at the Aquila, hitting it on the left side. The explosion sends it falling to the right and crashing into a building in a fiery explosion. As it crashes down the legion bots start to run down the street towards me, holding their shields in front of them as they hold their swords high. I lift my rifle and fuel my magic into it, bringing the second enchantment up. A white archaic circle goes around the barrel of my rifle, making it slightly harder to aim, but with them only a few meters away, it's easy enough to hit them. I pull the trigger and send a single round down at them, hitting the center most one in the center of it's shield. The first explosion goes off and sends four tracers shoot out and explode into the ones standing next to it, giving me the opening I need. PAT PAT PAT PAT I fire four rounds at the exposed bots, making them explode and send out red tracers that explode on contact. Three of them fall to pieces as the fiery explosions burst off limbs and pepper them with more molten shrapnel. Before I could take aim at the others a group of bots run past me and attack the legion bots. Jumping, diving, flipping, they show off an array of acrobatics as the all latch onto the legion bots and send their cables into them, forcing them to stop their attack. "Greetings Miles Eremita. I'm glad to report a total of eight percent of all bots active in Topaz Falls have been fed the Inobaudio virus. May I have your autograph?" Easy asks as he approaches me. "Inobaudio? Whats the directive of the Inobaudio virus?" "To ignore and disobey order twenty three." "But you're following order twenty three right now..." "Yes, quite the quandary, isn't it?" "Right.... whats the ETA till total take over?" "Estimating....... approximately four days, six hours, and thirty two minutes." Damn that's lucky. I guess there's a glitch in the programming. I sling my rifle across my back and head back towards the building with the group, having Easy follow me. "Set priorities. Infect all bots, have newly infected bots rendezvous at the P.C.H. and wait for repairs. All bots that do not require immediate repairs are to scavenge parts and repair all other bots once total infection is accomplished. Once finished, await further orders from me." "Processing directive..... processing..... directive accepted." Easy says before he runs down the street and leads a group of some forty bots down the street. I turn and jump up to the roof to find the group sitting around Storm and Twilight. Twilight is passed out while Storm is holding her in his hooves, on the verge of tears. I walk over and squat next to him, putting a hand on Twilight's head to check on her. "She's going to be fine, she just pushed herself a little too hard." I say to him, getting him to nod slowly. Fuck, he's taking this pretty hard, then again, she is his cause. "Lets head to the P.C.H. We can find a place for her to rest there." I say as I stand and lead everyone to the entrance. Chapter 96 Whats LeftChapter 96 Whats Left As we walk into the mico station I can hear everyone murmur about the room. Some looking around in astonishment while others being only slightly impressed. The hall has lost it's former gleam, being covered in dust and having bullet holes everywhere. I lead everyone to the men's dormitory platform and wait for them all to flash away before I take the platform. I walk down the hall, reminiscing about the countless time I walked down these halls, and head straight for my old room, having everyone trail behind me as they peer into the other rooms. "Where are we?" Applejack asks. "This is the men's dormitory of the school. My room is just ahead." I sigh as I stop before room 1337. I glance back to Twilight and open the door for them. "Go ahead and put her on the bed." I say to Storm as he walks past me. "My heavens Miles, what a mess." Rarity says as she walk in after everyone. "Hey, my side is clean! Dolums side was the side that's always dirty!" I say as I head over to my computer. After I plug in my phone and begin down loading the file I head over to my locker. "What's in there?" Pinkie asks as she watches me enter the combination. "Hopefully, my secret arsenal." I say as I pop open the top and look in. Aw fuck. All of the weapons in here are gone! I look through it and find some spare ammo at the bottom, four 7.62, ten 5.56, three .45 magnum. "Well, all of the super secret weapons of OP are gone. Next we should go and check the armory for any scrap weapons there. I doubt there will be anything there, but it couldn't hurt to check." "What should we do about this?" Rarity asks as she points to the unfamiliar's skeleton. "Toss it. Destroy it. I don't really care..." "Miles! How could you say something so horrid!" "Becuase that fucker was going to eat Auxy." I say, silencing the room. "Look, I don't care what you do to it, three of you come with me while the rest of you stay with Storm and Twilight." Rainbow, Applejack and Pinkie step forward, so I turn and walk out the door. We walk to the mico platforms in total silence. I teleported to the armory first, raising my weapon up and looking for and potential threats as the rest of them appear behind me. The armory consists of five, ceiling high, black racks that are behind a chained fence counter. Every shelf, every rack and every wall is empty. To the right is a door with an engraving of a shield on it, the armor room. I walk over to the door and smack the butt of my rifle against the lock, breaking it off. "What'r we lookin fer?" Applejack asks as she follows me inside. "Anything really. Look in every drawer, locker and cabinet and pull anything out that looks even remotely useful. If it's glowing, don't put it in your mouth." I say as I sling my rifle and head to the first aisle. Everyone goes to their own aisle and begins to look through everything. After awhile of looking, I finish both sides of my aisle and only come out with a large flash light. I refill the gem inside and give it a try, bright as ever. I walk over to the next aisle and begin to go through the items Pinkie found. Some scrap mark 4 parts, a few 5.56 rounds, and some trash. "Hows my haul?" Pinkie asks as she bounces up and down. "Pretty good. Almost as good as mine." I say as I flash the light on her. "AH! That was bright." She says as she rubs her eyes. I laugh a bit as I move to the next aisle. I run over and pull the frag grenade out of Applejack's mouth, stopping her from blowing up. "What's with you and your brother trying to eat explosives?" I ask as I pocket the grenade. "What? It looked like an apple." "Remember that we didn't have tree's down here. There are no apples here." "Oh, right." She says coyly as she looks back in the drawer. "This sides empty, ah'll try the other one." She says as she walks over to the last aisle. I go and check on Rainbows aisle to find her staring at a picture. I walk over to see that it's a picture of some women in a Terradisian military uniform holding a little blonde girl. "Did you know her?" She asks, still looking at the picture. "No." "What do you think her chances were of getting out?" "Rainbow... is everything alright?" I ask as I sit against the counter. "Yeah... it's just... I don't know. Thinking about a lot of things." She says as she sets the picture down and continues to look through the drawer. I pick it up and look over the back, finding a message. "Me and my mama. You're the best mom ever." I read aloud, making Rainbow stop and look over to me. "If I had to guess, their chances of getting out were better then most. She was military, and one of the background ones at that. Once the call was made, she probably got her girl and went straight to Quartz Crest." "You really think so?" "Well.... maybe. Auxy was on her way out. I don't see why she wouldn't of." Rainbow nods to this and wipes a tear away. "Rainbow, whats got you so worked up?" "It's nothing. Please don't tell anyone that I was crying. Crying just... isn't cool." She says as she tries to clear her eyes of tears. "Right... well if you ever need anyone to talk to, I'm here for ya." I say as I stand up and begin to look through the drawers on the other side of the aisle. After a few minutes we go through every nook and cranny, only to come up empty handed. We head to the door to the right and go to the next room. I walk in a bit before I stop and stare at it. I can't fucking believe it. I CAN'T FUCKING BELIEVE IT. Of course its still fucking here. WHY WOULDN'T IT STILL BE HERE! Of course they would take everything useful and leave behind the one fuck you possible. "What's wrong Miles?" Rainbow asks as I walk to the counter and pick up my old helmet. "Son of a bitch... my helmet." I turn it around to find a large hole has been blown clean through the sides, making it inoperable. "Of course its broken! Why would they leave a perfectly fine helmet behind!" I yell as I toss it aside. "Whats the matter Miles? Whats going on?" Applejack asks as they look around in confusion. "*sigh* that's my old helmet. Basically, if I had that on during that last fight in Topaz, I probably wouldn't be here right now."I say as I stare at it a bit. Everyone take another look at it before Pinkie erupts in a fit of laughter. "It's not funny!" "It totally is! Think about it. If you did have it, you wouldn't be here now, or at least be knocked out as often as you are." She says from the ground as she holds onto her sides. I can see Rainbow and Applejack trying not to laugh along with her... I'm starting to chuckle at the irony as well. "Alright, maybe it is... at least a little. Lets just look through the rest of the armory and get back to the others." I walk over to the locked door and knock the pad lock off. We spend the next thirty minutes looking through all of the drawers, closets, and cabinets... Pinkie listing every time a helmet would of saved me the entire time.... "OH! And don't forget the time the girls chucked a bunch of pumpkins at you and Storm! Come to think of it, we should look for one for Storm as well." Pinkies says as she looks through a drawer. "Yes Pinkie, I get it, I get knocked out a lot." "I know! Isn't it funny!" She says as she chuckles a bit. "Right... well this room is completely devoid of anything useful. Let's meet up with the others before we move to our other objective." I say as I lead them back to the mico platforms. We flash back to the dorm rooms and make our way back to my room, where we find everything perfectly cleaned. "Miles! You'll be happy to know that I took the liberty to tidy up a bit." Rarity says as she trots out from the restroom. "What do you think?" "Uh... thanks? I really appreciate it." I say as I step in and look around. I don't know why, but seeing Dolum's side of the room perfectly clean is making me feel uneasy. I look over to see Twilight laying in my bed, talking to Storm as he holds her hoof. I walk over to her and sit beside her. "How're you feeling?" "Better. Tired but better." She says as she picks her head up a bit. "Next time don't push yourself too hard..." "I know, it wasn't very clever of me." "Think you'll be able to walk in about twenty?" "Probably." "Alright.." I say as I stand up and head to my closet. I look through it until I find my tattered official uniform and pull it out for Rarity. Amazing that it's still here... and relatively in on piece. "Rarity, think you can memorize this?" I ask as I lay it on Dolums bed. She walks over and begins to look it over, inspecting every part of it in total focus and silence. I see that my phone is done uploading the coordinates, so I pocket my phone and shut off my computer. With nothing better to do, I take a seat and wait for Rarity to finish studying the suit. I look around the room and notice all of the missing pictures, must of been Auxy. She was always one for the small things like that. I look over and see the golden rod she gave me in the video... what did she call it? Dominus Clavis? Just what is this the key to? I take it and look it over some more. Just a golden rod with seven slots where some gems can be inserted. At the top is a grip for another gem can be placed. All of the slots seem to be grated for the same size gems... hmm... "What is that?" Twilight asks. "According to Auxy, this is Dominus Clavis, the master key." "Key to what?" Storm asks as he looks it over. "I don't know." "Well, if you don't find out, at least you'll have a pretty stick." Pinkie says, making me laugh a little. I look back to my closet and see my other pair of shoes.... oh sweet Barbra yes! I walk over and pick them up... only to have the fall apart in my hands... that's just not fair. "You alright Miles?" Fluttershy asks. "Yeah..." "Well, I've learned all I can from this. Once we get back I'll get to work on them as soon as I'm done with all of the costumes." Rarity says as she sits down and rubs her eyes. "OK, you ready Twilight?" I ask as she gets out of bed and stretches a bit. "I should be fine." "Then lets get going, we need to get to the bottom of the P.C.H. as quickly as possible." I say as I lead them down the hall and towards the mico platforms. "Why do we need to get to the bottom?" Twilight asks as everyone follows after me. I stop by the platforms and head to the one with the etching of a wrench and electrical bolt, pulling out my rifle on the way. "To get the power completely back on." I say before I step onto the platform and flash away. As soon as I can see again I lift my rifle up and take a few steps forward, scanning the area for threats. I'm standing on a catwalk that's a story above the city reactors. Four massive machines that send metallic tubes far down into the ground, collecting the heat of the core to power the city. The machines stand about a story high, having catwalks go around their midsection. The entire area here is lit by bright red lights, numbing my eyes a bit. When everyone appears behind me I start to make my way around the catwalk, heading towards the other side of the room. "What are those things?" Applejack asks from behind. "Power stations. They send massive metal tubes into the center of Terra to collect heat, that we use for energy." "How do they do that? The center of the earth is molten lava, it would destroy the metal before you could collect the energy." Twilight asks. "Uh... magic. We super treated them to resist insane amounts of heat." I say as something makes a sound, stopping me as I try to find it. Not being able to see it, I continue down the path, keeping an eye on the catwalks around the generators. We make the rest of the trip over in silence, whatever is out there made a couple more sounds, but hasn't shown itself. I head to the main computer and start it up, getting a loud hum as the screen shows me the home screen. "Watch my back while I reset this... I think there's something in here." I say as I start to slide through the options. "Got it." Storm says as he runs to the edge of the platform and looks for whatever is out there. The rest of them just walk around the opening, inspecting everything and whispering to one another. I turn back to the screen and begin punching the codes to restart the generators. It seems that only two of them are operational, but with how little will be required, it'll do. "Alright, they need a couple hours to reboot, but we're done here." I say as I tap the final the screen and walk away. "Thank heavens, all this red was starting to give me a head ache." Rarity says as she leads us back through the catwalk. "Why are the lights red anyway?" Twilight asks. "Its just a security thing. Kind of hard not to realize somethings wrong when everything goes red." I say as I approach the Mico platform. SCREECH I spin around to see a utility bot high in the air, falling towards me with a large pipe in its hands. I raise my rifle and fire a few rounds into its chassis as I step aside. The bot crashes down and slams into the mico platform. The platform sends out archaic sparks before the dent pops up. The bot begins to turn towards me, but I send a few more rounds into its head, dropping it. "What was with all those sparks from the platform?" Applejack asks as I kick the bot aside. I walk onto the platform and wait... "Fuck! It fucking broke it." I say as I step off of the platform. "Well, can't you just fix it?" Twilight asks. "No, I'd have to go to the first floor and set a new platform before I set a new one." I say as I look around for the stairs, finding them in the back right of the room. "We'll have to take the stars until we can make it back." I say as I walk towards them. "Well.. how many will we have to take till we can teleport back?" Rainbow asks as they all follow after me. "Well... I don't know. Anywhere from one to ten floors." I say as I open the door, only to jump out of the way as a wall of rubble falls out. "Well... shit." "What should we do?" Storm asks as I bring my magic up. "Whoa... uh Miles... don't you think that will be a little too... strenuous." I ignore him as I start to magically pull the rubble out, getting more to fall down. "Hmm... this may not work." I say as I look up the stairwell. There's a fairly tight gap going up... "Ah think ah can make my way up there." Applejack says from my side as she looks up the stairwell. "Hmm... I've got an idea. Applejack, if you can get back up to the floor with the other half of the platform and take a picture of it with my phone, I can replicate it and get everyone out of here." "And I'll go with you!" Rainbow says as she walks up beside her. "Well, alright, but no more. I don't want to put too much weight on that rubble." I say as I pull out my phone and show them how to use it. Once they get the gist of it I send them up the stairwell, and wait. Perspective: Rainbow Dash I follow after AJ through the small crevice, barely having room for my bags as we wiggle our way up. I keep getting dust and debris in my eyes, making it harder to follow after her, but I ignore it for now and trudge along with her. "Hey RD.... everything alright?" AJ asks as we make it into a larger opening, the only opening being through the room next to us. We walk up the slab of concrete and continue our climb through what looks like a slanted office. "I'm good, got some dust in my eyes but..." "Not what ah meant." She says flatly. "Look... ah know things didn't go as you wanted, but..." "I know, I know, but... I like where things went. It wasn't what I wanted, but... I'm happy." I say as we stop in a large opening in the building. It seems several floors had collapsed, making a large open room above us. I grab AJ and begin to fly us towards a door at the top. "What ever happened ta livin the dream and that who-haw ya use ta holler about? Don't tell me ya gave up on yer..." "I didn't give up. I tried my best, but.... look, lets just focus on getting out of here. I like how things turned out, that's that." I say as I set her down and walk off through the hallway. I think this hall was a hospital wing or something. Every room has rows of white beds with weird metal, claw contraptions. We make it to the end of the hall where we find a platform station. We find the one with the thunder and wrench, so AJ begins to try to take the picture. "Ah'm just sayin, ever since that day, ya never talked about it, or them since. We're all worried about ya girl. If ya ever need ta talk about it, we're here fer ya." I take a deep breath as I look away from her. I don't want to talk about it... ever. I just want to move on with my life and forget that embarrassment. She takes the picture and begins to walk back down the hall. I stay behind as I try to collect myself. I can feel tears starting to form up again... I can't let them see me cry... that's just uncool. "Ya comin or not?" AJ calls from the hall. "Right, lets get back already." I say as I follow after her. No more tears, no more reminiscing. I have to focus on the future.... if not for me, then for her. We make it back to the group in total silence. I can tell AJ wants to talk some more, but I just don't want to hear it right now. "Did you get it?" Miles asks as AJ gives him the phone. "Perfect. Just give me a sec then." He kneels down as he sets his hands on the ground, making a white fire encircle him as he stares at his phone. A few seconds later he steps off the newly formed platform. "Are you sure it's going to work?" Twilight asks as she looks at it intently. "Only one way to find out." Miles says as he steps onto it and flashes away, only to flash back in a few seconds later. "Good to go." He says as he steps off and steps back on. Everypony takes their turn until its just me and AJ in the room. I try to step onto the platform, but she stops me by wrapping me up in a hug, making me go tense. "What she did ta ya was wrong. But you have somethin she'll never have." "And what would that be?" "Friends." I sigh as I wrap my hooves around her, holding onto her lightly as I think about what she said. I know I have friends... but whats left of my dream? Chapter 98 Die MemoriaChapter 98 Die Memoria Once Rainbow and Scootaloo had their little moment, leaving Scootaloo a little confused, we began to head home. Scootaloo had taken a spot on Rainbows back and was quickly falling asleep as we walked through the park. Rainbow and I hadn't spoken at all while we were walking. There is a lot I want to say, but I want to wait till Scootaloo is in bed before I say anything. We make it below her place where she turns to me, twiddling her hooves a bit as she tries to think of what to say. "Miles, I..." "Once you get her in bed, come meet me at my place. We need to talk." I say bluntly as I continue down the path towards my place. I walk in and turn on all of the lights to the living room before taking a seat on one of the recliners and wait. After a few minutes of waiting I finally hear her walk in. "Miles?" She asks as she steps into the living room. "Take a seat." "I dunno, I'm actually pretty beat. *fake yawn* I was gonna call it a..." "NOW." I say firmly, getting her to lower her head and take a seat in the other recliner. I stand up and pace around slowly, trying to think of the most gentle, passive, level headed way to go about this. "Rainbow.... what the fuck?" "What..." "Why did I need to lie for you to keep your kid? Why isn't this the first time you've ever been late for picking her up from there? Why was she even there? You have a lot to explain for, and I'm not letting you leave here until I know why you've been fucking up." She takes a few breathes as she tries to hold beck her tears. "Well... she likes to go there to volunteer her time with the other kids. Help out with TenderSoul and all." "Alright. What about everything else? Start from the beginning." I say as I take a seat on the couch beside her. "Miles... I don't like talking about that day... could we.." "And I don't like being a liar. You better tell me everything right now. Because if you don't convince me right now that you're capable of providing for her right now, I'll take her back there myself." She goes wide eyed as she stares me in the eyes, seeing my resolve. "*sigh* well... about a year ago, I tried out for the Wonderbolts. They're this group of pegasis that are suppose to be the premiere fliers of Equestria. I was confident that I would get in because of our past. Saving them, doing a Sonic Rain-boom, I thought I had it... that was... until I got there. When I arrived at their training grounds I saw Spitfire do her own version of a Sonic rain-boom. She had contacted me earlier and we hung out for a bit. I thought she wanted to be my friend, but in reality she just wanted to learn how to do that trick. After my routine, she completely shot me down. Saying stuff like how I was unoriginal, too rigid, and... well, you get the idea. After that... I was in a really bad place. Joining the Wonderbolts was my dream, and in a matter of a few words she destroyed it." "Why didn't you just try out again?" "I couldn't! It was too humiliating! I still hear crud about how bad the performance was! The worst part is that I actually did really good! but she's the captain, so when she said no, almost everypony joined her." She says as she begins to cry. She tries to hide her face as she wipes the tears away, but I can see the sorrow perfectly. "What happened next?" "*sniff* after another drunken exploitation, that I don't even remember, I woke up in the orphanage. Scootaloo had found me in the streets and drug me there by herself. She was really worried about me, she didn't know about my failure and was scared that I gave up. Well from there we started hanging out... and I... well..." "Then you adopted her." "Yeah. She still wants to go to the orphanage, help out as much as possible, so it was agreed that I would pick her up from there every day at six.... and... I haven't been the best at that." "What's been keeping you from getting there on time? Don't tell me you've been over sleeping that much." "Well... sometimes. I've been... seeing somepony... and we only get to meet at night. So after work I would try to take a nap and... on the really hard days I'd over sleep." "*inhale/exhale* Rainbow... that's a horrible excuse..." "I know it is! Don't you think I know that! But... I can't help it. I love him...." "More then you love Scootaloo?" She sits back and thinks about what I said. I can tell this isn't the first time she's had to think about this. "Look, I'm all for you being with someone and all, but you need to learn to prioritize. If you're going to be the one to take care of Scootaloo, then she needs to be number one in your books. You need to tell this guy that. If he can't handle that, then he needs to go." "*sniff* OK. Just... don't take Scootaloo from me. She's all I have." She says as she starts to cry a little more. I kneel down beside her and wrap her up in a light hug, getting her to hug me back. "I won't. But you need to promise me that you'll try harder with Scootaloo." "I will, I promise." I glance over to see Luna standing at the bottom of the stairs, staring at the two of us. I motion to her to give us a moment, so she motions back that she'll be upstairs. I hold onto Dash a bit longer before I break the hug. "Alright, go home and think really hard about what I said." I say as I stand up. "I will. And... thanks Miles, for sticking up for me. I promise that I'll try harder. I'll catch you later Miles, I need to get home." "See ya." I say as she walks out of my house, wiping her eyes the entire way. I take a deep breath before I turn off the lights and head upstairs, finding Luna laying on my bed. Without saying a word I remove my shirt and lay beside her, getting her to wrap her legs around me. "Everything OK." She asks quietly as she nuzzles my cheek a bit. "Yeah. I just had to set Rainbow straight on being a parent." I say as I wrap my arms around her. "She messed up today, but hopefully she'll listen to what I said... I hope so. So... what are you doing here?" I ask as I look over to her. "It's Nightmare Night. I get the night off to get rested for tomorrow. I wanted to be here for when you had your day of remembrance." "Right, right. Sorry, just a little scatter brained today." I say as I lay back. She leans over and gives me a kiss on the lips before she gets comfortable against me. "It's alright. Lets just get some rest, we've got a big day tomorrow." She says as she runs a hoof up and down my chest. "Yeah, it's your day tomorrow... any warnings you want to throw my way before it happens?" "Well... technically its my night. But expect ponies dressed up, candy, ponies bowing to me and presenting candy... probably a lot of little pranks here and there." "Why are they presenting you candy?" I ask as I begin to rub her back. "It's... just tradition. There's a story to it, but I don't really care for it... Miles, did you go back to Topaz yet?" She asks as she stops rubbing my chest and looks me in the eyes. "I did." "And?" "And... I got what I needed from there." "So... you're going to the next city then?" "Yeah... I don't know when, but I'll be going as soon as possible." "And... if you go... and there's..." "Don't worry Luna. There's nothing out there that could keep me from my wife." I say as I pull her in for a kiss. She breaks the kiss as she gets on top of me, hovering her lips over mine the entire time. "One last thing, is Topaz safe yet?" She asks as she starts planting kisses on my lips. "I think so.... why?" I say between kisses. "Becuase after we renew our vows... we're going on our honeymoon there." I stop kissing her and stare at her. "What? No... just... why would we go there for our.... whats a honeymoon?" "Think of it as a primum somno." "And why do you want to do that there?" "Can you think of somewhere Celestia won't be able to find us for three days?" She asks as she starts to undo my pants. "Uh... the love shack?" "Miles..." She says as he finally gets my belt off. "How are you going to get away from Celestia for three days? We barely get away with dates." I ask as she pulls down my pants... oh shit... how did I not notice this happening? She tosses them aside and crawls back up my body, planting kisses along the way. "Don't worry about that. Regina said that she has a way to help us with that. Now do you want to keep talking about this or not?" "Oh sweet Barbra...." Perspective: Storm One hour later Oh... my... god. For the last hour I've been laying in bed... listening to Miles and Luna having sex. At first it was just bed springs and light tapping on the walls with periodic pauses... but then it got louder.... and louder... I need to move back in with Twilight. They finally stopped though, so now I can finally get some sleep... " AHHH, MILES!" Luna screams out. "Son of a bitch!" I yell as I get out of bed and walk down stairs, finding Lupus and Hati.... "WHY IS THERE SO MUCH SEX IN THIS HOUSE!" I yell as I storm out of the door and take off, heading towards Twilight's. Perspective: Miles 9:00am With a content sigh I roll over and watch Luna sleep peacefully. Last night was amazing... though I think she mainly did it to convince me to have our... honeymoon, in Topaz Falls. It worked. I begin to brush her hair back with my hand, slowly waking her. "Morning." I whisper into her ear. "... five more minutes..." She mumbles as she rolls over. I laugh a bit and get out of bed to take care of business. After a quick shave I walk back into my room and find Luna still sleeping. I get back into bed and wrap my arms around her, getting her to mumble some more. "Come on, time to get up." I say as I hold tightly onto her. "Miles... sleep good... sun bad." She says as she pulls the sheets over her face. I think about it for a second before I get an evil idea. I reach over and start to wiggle my finger around her wing joints, making her squirm a bit. After that fails to get her up I decide to move to her flank, rubbing and lightly squeezing it. She wiggles a bit, but keeps under the sheets... hmm. "I'M AWAKE!" She yells as I begin rubbing her slit, getting her to jump up. "Miles... you're evil." She says as she rolls over. "Hey, we have time." "*sigh*... I think I'll just have you go blue for waking me like this." She says as she leans against me, trying to get some more sleep. "Well, you can stay here if you want, I'm going to take a shower..." FWOOSH "... care to join me?" I ask as I stand up. She reaches out to me with her hooves, so I reach over and pick her up. "As good as that sounds, no. Sorry but I have to head home and wash up over there. I'll be back as quickly as possible." "Hmm... well, alright. How long do you think it should take?" "Twenty, thirty minutes. Why?" "This will give me a chance to run to the store and get some food together. It should only be you, me, Storm and Big Mac... and maybe Twilight and Applejack, but afterwards I want some food for everyone." CREEEEEEAK We both look over to see the door slowly open, revealing Celestia standing in the door way. We stare at each other for a second before I drop Luna. THUD "OW! Miles!" "Celestia... uh... this... is exactly what it looks like." I say as I grab a bed sheet and cover myself up. "MILES! He's just kidding Tia, this is... uh... shoot. Yeah, this is what it... "BWUAHAHAHAHA!" Luna and I look to each other as some other voice starts laughing. Celestia then vanishes as a laughing Storm and Twilight walk into the doorway, using each other to hold them up from their laughter. "That wasn't funny!" Luna says as she takes a few deep breaths. "You two nearly gave me a heart attack." "I thought it was pretty funny." I say as I nudge Luna. "No... it wasn't." Luna says flatly. "No, it wasn't. Storm, that'll be one full set on the run." I say, getting him to stop laughing. "Really?" He asks. "No, but that was funny huh?" I say as I pull some clothes out and toss them onto the bed. "It's still a little early for pranks though." "Well everyone is down stairs, waiting for you two. So we decided to play a little prank on you two for what you did to Storm." Twilight says matter of factly. "What did I do to Storm?" I ask as I start to pull the underwear on, keeping the sheet over myself. "Dude.... I heard everything.... these halls echo." Luna and I glance to each as we both go red. "Well.... damn." I say as I finish putting on some jeans and slip the red shirt on. "Jealous?" I ask as I nudge Luna again, taking her out of her embarrassment trance. "Right, uh.... who's here then?" Luna asks before Storm could answer. "Well there's us, the Apple family, Rainbow and Scootaloo, Pinkie and the Cakes, Rarity and Sweetie Bell, and Fluttershy... though I think she counts as part of the Apple family, but whatever." "That's almost twenty people..." I start to say, but get cut off by Twilight. "Oh! And Celestia said she wanted to attend it as well..." "WHAT!" Luna yells as she runs into the closet and goes straight for the Mico platform. "Smooth Twilight." I say as I walk past her. "What did I do?" "I'll tell you, go ahead and greet everypony Miles." Storm says. I nod to him and walk downstairs, finding my home full of activity. The three girls are running around, giggling, as most ponies are walking around, mingling with one another as some eat from large trays on the dinning room table. I'm touched that this many want to experience my culture, I just hope I don't screw up the speech. "Oh, hello there deary. Thank you for letting us attend." Mrs. Cake says as she and her husband walk up to me. "Oh its no problem, anyone and everyone is invited to this really. Did you cater?" "Well we didn't want to show up empty hoofed, and Pinkie insisted that we make enough for everypony." Mr. Cake says. "It wasn't necessary, but it's appreciated. Thank you." I say as I shake Mr. Cakes hoof. "Where are the little ones?" I ask as I walk over to the table OH SWEET BARBRA PANCAKES! Really really thin pancakes with stuff in the middle. "Oh they're probably somewhere here, getting into trouble." Mrs. Cake says with a laugh. I take one of the thin pancakes and take a bite...... what the fuck? "Is something wrong Miles? I thought you would like crepes." I force myself to swallow the chunk before I set the plate down. "I thought I would to... is that hay?" "No. It's flour. Think of it as a really thin pancake with blueberries in the middle." Mr. Cake explains. "Now, Pound Cake, that's Miles's, leave that alone." I look beneath the seat to see Pound Cake reaching up for my plate. I squat down and hold onto the chair as I get face to face with him. "Hey! You trying to eat my crepes?" I ask slowly. "No no naooo." He says as he continues to reach for it. He flaps his wings a bit, getting air born and reaching my plate and running off with it. "Get back here you!" I say in a silly tone, getting high pitched giggles from him as I chase after him. By the time I finally catch him, he's eaten the entire crepes. I pick him up and begin to tickle his sides, getting even more laughter from him as I carry him back to the Cakes. "He's a weak one for raspberries." Mrs. Cake says, getting a confused look from me. "Here, I'll show you." I hand him off to her as she lays him on his back and blows on his tummy, getting even more laughs from him as she blows more and more... so that's a raspberry... good to know. I leave them to their antics as I walk over to the living room, finding Granny Smith on the couch. "You there! Er... millimeter... no... Miles! Come here real quick." Granny says as she waves a hoof at me. I take a seat next to her and wait for what she has to say. "This... day of rememberin, I like it. Kids these days never take the time ta stop an remember those who need rememberin. Its always work this or work that, pbbt. Hog wash. Kids need ta learn about where they've been before they move on ta the future." "I couldn't agree more Mrs. Smith." "Call me Granny. Heck, ya may as well be part a the family, with how close you an Big Mac are. The two a yous may as well be brothers." She says as she punches my arm... for an elderly lady, shes got a good punch. "Did I ever tell ya about what happen ta my son, Miles?" "No... you mean Big Mac's and Applejack's father?" "Yea. He was a good stallion. Level headed an straight talker. I see 'im every darn day in Big Mac. He an his wife went ta help wit some pioneer ponies heading out ta what would become Plana Del Canon. But on the way there, somethin happened. I was never told the exact details, but I was told where they were buried. Not a darn day doesn't go by that I don't wish I could go back an tell them not ta go, ta stay an watch after their kin. But, we don't git ta go back, now do we?" "No... we don't. What were their names?" "Sunny Rind was mah boy an Fuji was his mare... I'm sorry, can ya give me a minute." She says as she starts to wipe her tears away. I nod and get up, leaving her to get situated as i walk towards the kitchen. I never knew their parents were killed... or at least were in an accident. I walk into the kitchen and find all of the little girls and the baby cakes petting the crap out of Lupus and Hati, who both look like they could die from joy. I laugh a bit as I go around them and head into the kitchen, finding Fluttershy working on some carrots in the sink. "Hey there Fluttershy, who the carrots for?" Before she could answer I felt a light pounding on my leg. I look down to see Angel kicking my leg. He stops and stares at me for a bit before he takes a paw and hits his chest a few times before he points to me. I return the gesture, slowly, before he hops away. "Well... they were for Angel." Fluttershy says as we watch him bounce away. "Where did you get that guy anyway? Most of the other rabbits seem... different from him." "Well... when I moved here from Cloudsdale, my parents wanted to live with me... but then... somethings happened that I'd rather not talk about. Basically they went missing for awhile, but Angels momma helped me find them. When she had her first litter, she let me keep Angel." "Oh... sorry to hear that... about your parents that is." "Its alright. I've come to terms with it, I just don't want to dwell to much on it before the remembrance. I know it'll make me cry." "You know, I usually think of my parents as well." I say as I lean against the counter. "Really? What about them?" She asks as she sits before me. "Well, not much, since I never knew them. But I try to think of what they would tell me. Whether I was making the right choices in life. I try to imagine what they were like, what they looked like, usually to no avail, but it helps the hour go by." "I'm sure they would be proud of you. You did a lot of good things..." She starts to say but stops when horns sound off from out front. I walk to the front and open the door to reveal Celestia, Cadence, Shinning Armor and Luna standing on my front porch. "Greetings Miles. We are here to honor your tradition. May we come in?" Celestia asks. I step aside and allow them to walk in, the room falling eerily quiet. "I'm glad you two could make it... though to be honest I wasn't expecting nearly as many people coming." I say as I close the door behind the four guards, two day and two night. "Twilight said that she would clear it up with you and that it should be fine... we aren't intruding are we?" She asks as she looks around the room, nodding to all of the bowing ponies. "Of course you aren't. This is for everyone willing to take the time to honor those of the past. Please, make yourself at home. She nods to me and walks in, heading straight for Twilight. Luna pauses by me and motions to the food table, so I follow after her. "You know what I found out today?" I ask before she could say anything. "I now know what a raspberry is." Her eyes go wide as I pick up a random piece of food and eat it. "Right.. well, I hope you can keep your mouth shut while you do that, it makes it better." She says as she takes a muffin and takes a bite. "Yeah yeah yeah, secrets and lies, got it. Follow me, we're going to get started now." I say as I walk towards the living room. "CAN EVERYONE MAKE THEIR WAY TO THE LIVING ROOM, WE'RE ABOUT TO GET STARTED." I yell, getting everyone to make their way towards me. Most bring chairs from the dining room or fill up the couch and recliner. "Alright, so before I begin they're are some things that I'd like to clear up. This is the Die Memoria. A Terradisian holiday... sort of. Terradisia didn't have any set holidays, but there were those that were celebrated underground, so to speak. Topaz was very open minded in that the entire city celebrated this. Now, we do this to honor the memories of those who passed away, reflect on their lives and see how their lives influenced ours. I ask that you stay silent during the Hour of Reflection. Before that we have the Venerantes Bonum, remember the Good. This is the time where anyone can stand before others and tell a good memory from their past. I'll be the first to go." "When I was about thirteen, my friend Dolum and I had gotten lost... again. We had a tendency to get lost and it often went the same way. After two hours of wandering around we finally decided to try to earn some money for a bus, so Dolum pulled out some cards and started doing tricks. He was amazing at illusionary magic and could fool almost anyone. Sadly, this day he was caught. This guy chased us through half the city, trying to... I don't even know what he was planning to do, Dolum and I were having too much fun being chased. It became... I don't know, we just never wanted it to end. There was a point where we actually got away, so we went looking for him so he could chase us some more. By the end we ran into Captain Bellum and were escorted home. On the way there Bellum asked what we were up to and I'll never forget what Dolum said. He said 'We were just on the run of our lives, trying to find the reason we run.' he always had those moments of... stupid genius, it was something I loved about him." When I finish up I step aside and let anyone else take a chance to talk. It stays silent for a bit before before Big Mac walks up to the front. "Well, I remember one season when ah was little me an my pa were shucking corn. Ah was having a little trouble doin it at his speed, so he stopped me an said 'hey, it doesn't matter how quickly ya do em, there's always goin ta be more'. It's somethin I've always tried ta live by." He walks back over to Fluttershy and his family, getting nuzzles from all of them. It goes quiet again before Celestia walks up. "When I was very young my mother was showing me some magical self defense stances when she suddenly stopped everything. She was going into labor with Luna and needed a doctor. I was scared, not knowing entirely what was going on and ran as fast as I could to get the doctor from the nearby village. She was in labor for two days before I heard the cries of the baby. When I was finally allowed in with her, she said to me to come meet my baby sister. I walked over and asked if I could hold her, which I was allowed, and you know what she did? She threw up in my face. And thus started the greatest sisterhood that I cherish every day." When she finishes up there's a few giggles from all of the children as she walks over to Luna and sits beside her, nudging her a bit as they whisper to one another. I can see one of the day guards wanting to say something so I motion for him to take the floor. "It's alright." Celestia says, getting him to walk up and take the floor. "Uh... I'm Day Blazer, and... when I was a foal my grandmother had taught me to make gingersnap cookies. We spent the entire day making cookies, eating them, spitting them back up becuase we set the oven too high... it was kind of our thing. She died last Nightmare Night, so my whole family made gingersnap cookies and purposely burnt them." He steps back behind Celestia and wipes a tear away. Rainbow Dash wastes no time taking the floor, flying up before anyone could blink. "A few years ago my mother passed away, due to natural causes. Her final wishes were to have her ashes spread over the Lone Mountains, so my dad and I made the trip. The journey there was something I'll never forget. Bandits, deadly sea creatures, Daring Do stuff really. When we got there we had a mountain goat guide us to the top, due to our wings being too tired from flying there. As we stood there, top of the world, he looked down at the urn and said 'Rainbow, your mother always said that you'd do great things, I think this past week we proved her right. You do the honors'. So I took the urn and shook out the ashes, only to get them to blow in the wind and smear all over dad. It was bitter sweet." She walks back over to the recliner she was sharing with Scootaloo and wraps her up in a hug as she sits down. I wait for a bit longer, but no one walks up, so I take the floor. "Well, if no one wants to take the floor, we'll begin the hour of reflection. This is a straight hour of silence, spent reflecting on those who have passed into the void. I know for the young ones it'll be difficult, but please try to keep silent." I say before I cross my legs and sit on the floor. I pull out my phone and set the timer. One hour... Mom and dad.... Dolum, Auxy, Fidus, Sine, Eximius, Tenera, Inficiunt, so much to remember. Chapter 99 Nightmare NightChapter 99 Nightmare Night Well...we've got a minute left. Almost everyone had a moment of either silent tears or light sobs, don't blame them. This is suppose to be emotional. I look around the room to see everyone looking down, keeping their eyes shut as they contemplate their past. Thirty seconds. Luna's crying. I want to go hold her, But Celestia's doing it for me. I have a feeling I know who she's thinking about, I even thought about them. Fifteen seconds. Storm shed a few tears, I wonder who for. Maybe Breaker, though I doubt it. Maybe his father. Five seconds. I stand up and get everyone's attention... three... two... one... "OK, times up everyone." I say, getting murmurs from everyone. "Thank you for attending this, I appreciate you wanting to share what little culture I have." "And thank you for sharing it with us." Celestia says as she stands up. "It was a privilege to be able to experience... may I have a word with you though?" She asks as she goes into the kitchen. I glance to Luna before I follow after her. "What do you need?" I ask as she faces me in the kitchen. "I was really touched by this. I feel as if this is something that everypony should experience. With your permission, may I make this a permanent part of Nightmare Night." I take a step back when she asked this. "Of course. Die Memoria should be experienced by everyone." I say, feeling extremely honored. "Thank you Miles." "Its funny though, this was always something that was done underground. It was technically illegal, and now its becoming part of a national holiday..." "Its something truly special and I wish for everypony to be a part of it." I nod to her and walk back to the living room. I feel... I don't know... good? I shake it off and walk back to the living room, finding everyone talking among themselves. I walk up beside Luna, who's talking with Twilight and Storm, and listen to their conversation. "... doesn't know. Hey Miles! That was... very touching, to say the least." Twilight says as the three of them smile to me. "Ok, whats going on?" I ask as they glance to one another. "What are you talking about? We were just talking about our reflections." Luna says innocently as she bats her eyes. "Right. So when does your plan take effect?" "After Nightmare Night." Storm says, getting Twilight to punch him... then shake the pain out of her hoof. "What happens after Nightmare Night?" Celestia asks as she approaches the group. They fall silent as they try to think of an answer, making an awkward silence. "Your highness." A day guard says, getting Celestia's attention. She leans down and lets him whisper something into her ear as she thinks about whatever he's saying. "Hmm... no. My sister has barely returned and already has plans to leave tomorrow, so I will spend my entire evening by her side. Let somepony in the royal family take care of that and any other matters that may come up tonight." She says as she takes her place by her side. Luna puts on a weak smile as she glances to me and then back to her. "I'm so glad to hear that sister." Luna says as she leans against her, giving me a scared look. I laugh a little as I just smile back to her. It's a shame that I won't get to spend time with her. But at the same time, it's probably good to have her spend some alone time with Celestia. "So... what are you going to be for Nightmare Night Miles?" Celestia asks. I look around and try to figure out what the fuck she's talking about. "Uh... huh?" "You dress up for Nightmare Night ." Storm says flatly. "So let me get this straight. For a holiday, you dress up. But for every normal day it's common place to just walk around naked." Everyone just stares at me as I try to find the logic in this... nope, none. "Miles... stop being a perv." Storm says as he escorts Twilight away. "What I do?" I ask, getting Celestia to shake her head at me. They both walk away from me, Luna laughing lightly. "I'm still lost over here.... why am I the pervert?!" I ask as they walk away, getting ignored. "Miles darling?" Rarity asks as she and Pinkie approach me. "Do you have a costume for tonight?" "Uh... no." "Well why don't-" "YOU CAN BE A GHOST!" Pinkie yells as she jumps up and runs up stairs. Moments later she tosses a sheet over me and cuts two holes for me to look out of. "Perfect!" "Y-yes... perfect." Rarity says weakly. "Okay... what's a ghost?" They look at me in disbelief before just walking way, shaking their heads. "What? Is it don't answer anything Miles asks day or something? Come on." I say as I pull the sheet off. They continue to ignore me, so I decide it must be a pony thing. With nothing better to do, I head over to the dinning room to grab some more food. Perspective: Luna 7:00pm Miles's Die Memoria was touching, but now its time for the fun to begin. "Are you ready?" Celestia asks as we circle above Ponyville one more time. I grow an evil smile as I glance over to her and nod. With a powerful flap, Celestia propels herself forward, creating storm clouds that cover Ponyville. I charge my horn and start creating powerful bolts of lighting and deafening thunder, hopefully gaining the attention of the villagers. I keep up the weather control until I feel Celestia begin to take over, so I prep myself for the royal Canterlot voice. "CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE! I, YOUR PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT, HAVE RETURNED.... HUNGRY!!"I flap my wings as hard as possible, sending myself towards the ground as fast as possible. I slam into the town square right before a group of dressed up ponies and begin laughing maniacally. "MUAH-HAHAHAHAH! WHERE IS MY OFFERING? NONE? THEN BRING FORTH THE CHILDREN!" I yell, making all of the children before me scream and run away in terror. All of the adults left begin laughing with me as we watch them, and Pinkie Pie, run; screaming their heads off. "Welcome Princess Luna to our towns little festival." The mayor, who's dressed up as a jester, says as she approaches me. "It is an honor to have you grace our town once again. Please enjoy the festivities and have some fun." She says, getting cheers from the crowd around me. "And thank you for having me." I say as they bow to me. I bow back and begin to walk through the town square, having Celestia land beside me and accompany me everywhere. "That was quit the entrance sister." She says as we look at the stalls and costumes. "Yeah... though I wish I could have made a costume that would hold during flight... imagine their responses if a basilisk had landed in town square." "I imagine that would cause quit the stir." She says, getting us both to giggle as a group of children run up to me. "Hi Princess Luna!" Yells Pip as the group presents a pile of candy. "That was super awesome! Are you going to scare us some more?" He asks as the group leans closer. "Mmmm... maybe. This seems to be a worthy offering... for now." I say as I levitate up a gum drop and eat it, glancing over to Celestia as she rolls her eyes. "Yay! Okay, we'll go get some more candy for you then! Bye!" He says as he runs off with the group of laughing kids. I levitate the candy and continue walking with Celestia. "That's just not fair." She says as I eat a chocolate bar. "You could have any piece of candy you want." "I know... but my diet..." "Tia, it's Nightmare Night. Everypony over eats." I say as I levitate a portion of the pile to her. She eyes it for a second before she finally takes it and begins to eat a jaw breaker. "*sigh* please don't let me go over board." "I'll try. Now lets go have some fun." We head over to a giant wooden tub where we find Applejack, who's dressed as some kind of plant creature. "Howdy Princesses! Care ta bob fer an apple?" "I think we'll pass for now." I say as a grey pegasis, wearing paper muffin holders, pops out of the water and pulls the plug. "Where is everypony else?" "Aw, they're here an there. Ah know Pinkie's with the kids, but ah don't know about everypony else." She says as a dark cloud moves above her. I smile and wait for... BANG "AH!" Applejack yells as a lightning bolt shoots down behind her. She jumps up and lands inside the Tub, hiding from the laughing Rainbow Dash. "Dash! Ya nearly gave me a heart attack!" "Hahaha, aw calm down, it's all in good fun." Rainbow Dash says... or Batmare I should say. "OH OH! I see Sweetie Bell and Applebloom! Lets go scare them!" Scootaloo/Robyn the filly wonder says as she points off in the distance. "Alright, but this time I want you to do the lightning." "But.." "No buts. I'm sure you'll do just fine, now lets go scare your friends before they go inside." Rainbow says before she grabs their cloud and flies away. Celestia and I look to each other for a bit before we chuckle to one another. "Well, that was interesting. Lets go and walk about the town some more." Celestia says as she begins to walk off. I nod to Applejack before I follow after her. I glance at her pile to see that she's about a fifth of the way through it... I wonder how log it will take her to take to finish it... "Hello Twilight, Storm, where are the two of you heading?" I look over to see Twilight as Moon Drifter the Lost and Storm as... I'm not sure. He has a green vest with a black under shirt. His head is wrapped in black cloth with his muzzle wrapped in a green cloth.... I don't get it. "Hello Princesses, very nice entrance. We're on our way to the corn maze over at Sweet Apple Acres. Care to join us?" "Uh... I think my sister and I will walk through Ponyville some more before we try that. Why don't you two go and have fun." Celestia says. I glance at her for a second before I look back to them. "If you say so. I hear Miles and Big Mac booby trapped to to scare ponies as they go through it." Storm says as they wave goodbye and run off for Sweet Apple Acres. Miles and Big Mac..... oh my. "Celestia, why didn't you want to do the maze?" I ask, secretly wanting to do it just to see Miles. "Luna... if you've read Twilight's last friendship reports... for the past two months, you'd know that they aren't going in to.... you know what. Never mind. Lets just go and see whats happening in the market district." She says as she walks off at a brisk pace. I laugh a bit until I realize what we just avoided. Sorry Miles... that's for you to find... again... "Well... what do you want to do then? Because just walking around sounds kind of boring." I say as I follow after her. I glance at the pile to see she's about a third of the way through it.. this is pure evil. "Well... I don't know exactly. This isn't usually my thing. What do you want to do?" "Hmm..." Twenty Minutes Later "LUNA! This is crazy!" Celestia says in a hushed tone. "SHH! They'll hear us!" I whisper back as we lay down in our cloud, watching Twilight and Storm below us try to navigate through the maze. Time for payback. They've been very flirty throughout the entire maze, and I think they know their getting into the more secluded section of the maze. Twilight keeps rubbing up against Storm, using him to calm her own nerves as they trot from dead end to dead end. They've come close to kissing a couples of times, but other couples stopped them. "Ok.. on the count of three..." "Why do we have to do this?" "One..." "This doesn't seem right..." "Two..." "Do I have to?" "THREE!" As Twilight and Storm lean in to kiss we teleport down before them and scream out together "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Twilight jumps into the air and lands on her back, frozen in embarrassment as Storm just stares at us. "Hi, so how long have you two been following us?" He asks nonchalantly. "How are you not scared?" Celestia asks. "Spartan." He says as he looks Twilight over. "Think she'll be alright?" I stare at her for a second, and after a few leg twitches I just shrug. "I'm sure she'll be fine. Now le..." RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWW "AAAAAHHHHHH!" I yell as I fall to my back, frozen in fear. Celestia had jumped back and brought out an energy sword as Storm jump up to the cloud we were on. We all look for the noise, but can't seem to be able to find it. "What was that!" Celestia asks as she looks around for the source of the noise. "I don't know...it sounded like a..." Storm starts to say as he floats down but stops mid sentence as he stares down the path. We all look down to see..... an Ursa major staring at us. I get to my hooves and stare at in disbelief as it growls at us. "What should we do?" I ask Celestia as we all stare down the beast. Before anypony could answer it lunges at us, mouth wide open as it tries to eat us whole. Celestia and I were about to counter attack it when it burst into smoke, fogging up the entire maze so we can only see a few feet in front of ourselves. "THAT'S NOT FUNNY MILES!" I yell out as I hear somepony laughing in the background. "That jerk!" Celestia says as she tries to blow the fog away, but fails to. "OK, you got us. Very funny." I snap around as I hear something run behind me, then back around as I hear it run behind me again. "Miles.... this isn't funny..." I say weakly as we all back up against each other. "What do you think they're planning?" Twilight asks shakily. "Boo." "AAAAHHHH!" We all yell as we jump around to find Big Mac behind us, wearing a grim reaper costume. The instant we see him the fog suddenly dissipates, giving us a perfect view of the area around us. "Big Mac! What the buck!" Storm says as he walks towards him. "What? Its a corn maze. The point is ta scare ya." He says as he starts to walk off. "Where's Miles, I need to kick his flank right now." Celestia says as we follow after him. "Miles was never here. He was goin ta help, but decided ta go get candy instead." Big Mac says as he continues to walk off. "But... then what was with that Ursa major? And all that fog?" I ask as we follow him around a corner. He pauses and looks back to all of us with a look of confusion. "Uh... what fog an what Ursa major?" "OK. Now we know you're plotting with Miles. The giant bear entity and the immovable fog. We all saw it." Twilight says matter of factly. "Uh... I didn't see anything around y'all. Same night sky, same corn maze..." "Sure you did Big Mac."Storm says as he walks up to him. "And this would happen to be a set up to scare us again, would it?" Before anypony could ask a light fog start to fill the area again, though much more slowly this time. "OOOOO, scary Big Mac." "Miles, don't do that again.... please." I call out as the fog gets thicker and thicker. We hear something run around us again, making my heart race again. "Miles, I'm serious, stop!" I spin from side to side as the running continues to grow faster and fast. "Bark bark bark!" "AH!" I spin around to find Lupus and Hati running out of the fog and going straight for me. They seem scared as they cower underneath me. "Lupus? Hati? What's wrong?" I ask, getting them to whine lightly. "Somethin gots them spooked good." Big Mac says as he looks out into the fog. "Why don't we just teleport out of here?" Twilight asks. "Won't work." Big Mac says. "Before Miles left I had him enchant the field so nopony could teleport out. I had twelve unicorns trying to get out before we opened up. The only way out is through the exit." "Why would you do that?" Storm asks. "Ah didn't think somethin like this would happen." Celestia tries to teleport out, but every time she just flashes back into the same spot. "I guess we need to do it the old fashion way." I say as I start to walk down the path, legs trembling as I go. Everypony follows after me as I lead them down the path and come up to our first fork. "Left or right Big Mac?" "I don't know." "How could you not know? You made the maze." Twilight says. "Yeah... but ah think its been changing cause ah've been lost fer almost an hour now." Celestia walks up beside me and looks down both paths. "Sister... do.. do you think this is the work of Discord?" I ask quietly. "I certainly hope not. Lets just keep moving." She says as she continues down the left path. We follow after her, keeping our heads low as we watch for any sudden movements. GGGRRRRR We all freeze as a low growl come from all directions. My eyes dart from side to side as as I try to find the source of the noise, but I don't see anything. "Will you play with us?" We all spin around to two fillies standing down the path, both looking identical. Having pale white coats, brown tails and manes and light blue dresses on. "Come play with us forever and ever and ever..." "I think now would be a good time to run." Storm says as we all begin to back away from the two fillies. As we step away from them, they start to walk towards us. "PLAY WITH US! PLAY! FOREVER AND EVER!" They scream as their faces begin to turn demented, stretching out as they bear their dagger like teeth at us. Their heads nearly split in half as they open up wider and wider. Before anything else could happen we all turn and ran as fast as we could run, some of us screaming along the way.... or maybe that was just me. We make blind turns as their shrieks follow after us. I lose track of time as we continue to run, stopping once the screams die suddenly end. "What do we do know?" I ask as we all pant. "Why don't one of you jus fly up?" Big Mac asks. KER-FACEHOOF Celestia, Storm and I all facehoof at once as we realize our stupidity. With a heavy sigh Storm flaps his wings and takes off into the air. Celestia and I glance to each other before we follow after him, levitating the other two along with us. The second we get air born the fog disappears and we make it back to the edge with no problems what so ever. Big Mac looks down to the entrance before he grabs a nearby sign and moves it to the closed side. "Hey guys." "AH!" We all yell as we turn around to find Miles, eating candy from a massive bag. "You know, I may not be the expert, but I don't think you're suppose to fly out of the maze..." "Why were you scaring us so much!" Celestia yells at him, getting a confused look in response. "Uh... I've been in town getting candy the entire time you've been in there." He says as he pulls out some more and begins to eat. "But what about the fog and the Ursa major and the wolves being scared and..." Twilight starts to say in a panic. "Look, I don't know what to say. What ever was scaring you is probably still in there, becuase it wasn't me." We all glance back to the maze and stare at it, fearing what ever may still be in there. Perspective: Miles One Hour Later Well... after an hour of disenchanting and searching for something that wasn't there I finally head back to Ponyville for the festivities. I want to believe Luna and the others that there was something out there, they honestly seemed scared enough. But after personally searching the entire field three times and coming up empty handed... yeah, no. Whatever was out there is either very elusive, left before I searched, or doesn't exist. Well... I guess it's time for me to mess with Luna... too soon? NAAAAAH! I'm sure she'll be fine. Especially with what I have planned. Perspective: Luna With a sigh I take another sip from my pumpkin shake as I lay my head on the table. With Miles searching out the field for whatever was out there, Celestia and I decided to go somewhere public to relax. So we went to Sugarcube Corner. They have a bunch of tables set up outside as the cakes run around filling out orders for ponies at different tables. "You know what I also find odd?" Celestia says as she stops eating her strawberry shake; shake number three. "You mean besides the haunted corn maze?" "Well... yes. It's how... how to word this correctly... it seems that Ponyville is... getting accustom to us being around." She says as she glances around. "What do you mean?" "Well, with every visit we make here, it seems that the residents seem to treat us like any other pony. Not to say they're being disrespectful or anything bad, but.... well..." "I know what you mean." I says as I pick my head up and glance around at all of the ponies going about their business. "Any other city and we would be surrounded by worshipers and paparazzi. But here... its... we're just average ponies that everypony bows to when they greet them." Celestia nods to me as she finishes up her shake. "Would you like another one your highness?" Mrs. Cake asks as she walks up to us. "If you wou..." "No! I mean, I think another one is simply out of the question, with her diet and all." I say, making Celestia go wide eyed as she thinks about all of the treats she's had tonight. "Okay then, you two have a spooky Nightmare Night then." She says with a chuckle as she moves to the next table. "Well.... I'm going to blow up now." Celestia says as she drops her head onto the table. "No you won't, you didn't even have that much." I say as I try to reassure her. In actuality she had A LOT of candy, some pie, the shakes, several apples, several different punches.... she might blow up. "HIYA Princesses!" Pinkie says as she hops up to us. I giggle a bit at her costume. She's a shark, with her head inside the mouth and her tail making up the tail of the shark. "Mmmm." Celestia grumbles from the table. "Uh-oh, we have a pouty mcsaddyton! I know exactly how to fix that! Come with me." She says before hopping away. I glance back to Celestia and poke her a couple of times until she looks up to me. "Shall we?" "*sigh* very well." She says as she stands up and starts to walk off towards the bouncing pink mare. I giggle a bit before I follow after her. We make it to a stage with a dancing area, the next song starting as we approach the side lines. There's a white unicorn bobbing her head at the turn tables as a mass of ponies dance before her. I bob my head, finding odd to hear my own evil voice speaking. Then again, when the young DJ asked to make the song I was too excited to not try my best at it. "I still can't believe what a great job Vinyl did on this song." I say as I bob my head along. This new form of music is still a little foreign to me, but I enjoy it none the less. "Yes, though I find it a bit disturbing that you recorded yourself saying that so evilly, but it came out very well done." Celestia says with a smile as she watches the crowd move in beat with the music. I look forward but do a double take as I see Miles throw a sheet over me as he slides before me and plant a solid kiss on my lips. WHAT DOES HE THINK HE'S DOING! My eyes dart from Miles to Celestia as he continues to kiss me,holding onto me as he presses his lips hard against me. I try to pull away, but every time he just leans in and continues to kiss me. I start hitting him, twisting from side to side as he continues his kiss. "Lun.... Luna?" Celestia says as she looks around. I stop fighting with Miles and stare at her.... wait..... how can I see her through the sheet? I glance over to Miles, who reaches beneath himself and reaches out... making his hand disappear. "Invisibility enchantment." He whispers into my ear. I look at him and stare as I try to connect the dots. "Jerk." I say in a hushed whisper as I hit him a couple times. He laughs a bit before he gives me another kiss, but this time I return it. He quickly pulls away and runs off, making me reappear beside Celestia. "Luna! Where did you go?" Celestia asks. "... just... the little fillies room." I say as I watch the hazy figure move through the crowd. Perspective: Big Mac 2:00am I glance around the barn to make sure that the coast is clear before I head inside. I head to the second story and walk towards the back... "BOO!" I jump a bit before I collect myself. "Very funny." "Well I thought so. So, was it as amazing as I told you it would be? "Eeyup." I say before I toss her a bag of bits. "Was there ever any doubt." Author's Note Sout out to Cheesus for picking Pinkies costume and Tallestbrony for the song (Luna's Fury by bagpipe brony. Next is the Q/A Special! Brony on! Q/A Special #1Q/A Special #1 TB: Alright! Welcome my bronies ( and pegasisters if fall under that category and wish to go by that) to the first Q AND A special! One hundred chapters! Can you believe it!? Anyway. This will work fairly simply. If you read Coals Buck Q/A Special it'll work very similar to that. Whenever someone is taking their name will be semicolon-ed off like how mine is. Actions they do will be bracketed off like this { TB creates a room for all of the characters to sit in, making chairs for everyone that faces a podium}. Simple enough right? They will all be in real time.... so I'll have to keep certain characters out until they are asked questions. Pinkie: Yeah cause Miles and Celestia would kill Steelwing like... TB: Pinkie.... quit breaking the forth wall. Pinkie: But everypony loves it when I do it! Right? {looks at you} See! TB: Daw, you're too adorable to say no to! {Picks up Pinkie and squeezes her in a tight hug}. Pinkie: Ha, nice little tid bit to help explain how this will work. {Jumps out of TB's arms to take a seat} TB: Right... so without any more delays lets get this show on the road! {Disco dance to make every character appear in the room} Miles: What the.... WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU! {Points at TB} TB: Oh right he thinks every human is dead.... this is awkward... Miles: What city are you from! Are there more of us! Did we beat back the.... TB: Whoa! Slow down! Look I'm not what you think I am. Luna: Wow, I didn't know humans got taller then you miles... Pinkie: Do you play basketball!? TB: {eye twitch} Anyway,everyone sit down and I will explain everything to you. Everyone:{takes a seat} TB: Right... so let me put this in terms that will make sense to some of you. I am a pre-purgian author who was sent to here to ask you all some questions. My name is TallestBrony, but you can call me TB for short. We've... been able to watch the events of your lives unfold and have come to love your tale, but have some questions. Once I'm done we'll all be sent to our proper places. So what do you say, you all in? Everyone: {whispers to people around them selves before coming to the consensus of playing along.} TB: Awesome! So lets get started then! First up is LowLife! Lowlife: Me? Alright... so what do I do? TB: Just go up to the podium and answer the questions to the best of your abilities. Lowlife:{takes his place behind the podium} Alright.... whats up? TB: Someone would like to know the details of the bruises that Squishy gave you. Can you go into detail about that? Lowlife:{eyes shrink} why would they want to know about that! I'mm not saying anything! TB:{waves hand} You will tell us about it. Lowlife: I will tell you about it. Well... he took his.... thing... and beat me with it until I told him what he wanted to know. TB: gross. Alright next is Cabbage Patch! Cabbage Patch: {switches spots with Lowlife} Hi! What can I do for you? TB: This is more of a statement then a question, but Miles was the one who destroyed your cabbages, and he's right there, just saying. Cabbages Patch:{Glares at Miles before throwing a cabbage at him, knocking him to the ground} AH. I feel better now.{Goes to his seat} Miles: Ow {gets back into his seat, rubbing his head} TB: Ha... OP cabbages...alright next is The sisters. Jewel: MMMHMMM what you wanta know? Pastel:Yeah! TB: This guy wants to know why you gotta be bitches and not pay for shit Jewel: Aw buck that fool, we paid! Pastel: Yeah! Wit info. Jewel: MMMhmm! TB: Ok, too muck sass, go ahead and take a seat. Jewel: jea-lous! Pastel: Yeah! {both take their seats beside Squishy, making him shiver} TB:Riiight... any who Angel is next, come on up buddy. Angel: {Hops up to the podium and glares at TB} TB: Well... this guy wants a high hoof.... high hoof? Angel:{Points to paw. Shakes head. Runs back to Fluttershy} TB: So much hate... Shinning Armor is next! Shinning Armor: Greetings, what do you want to know? TB: Just one thing. Why you hating? Shinning Armor: Huh? TB:Why you hating? Shinning Armor: I don't get it. {Takes seat beside Cadence} TB: Cadence, you're up! Cadence: Hi there! What do you want to know? TB: Ahem, well... he uh... wants to know... your favorite sex position... Shinning Armor: {Falls out of chair} Cadence: Well I've got to say I prefer the Straddleer but I know Shinning likes the.... Shinning Armor: CADENCE! Cadence: What? {looks around the room to see everyone's jaws on the floor} TB: Whoa... Ok then, thanks for sharing uh... that was saucy.... Big Mac is next. Big Mac: Eeyup. TB: What was your honeymoon like? Big Mac: Hmm....{puts hoof to chin} well... ah'd have ta say it was like any other honeymoon... TB: Ok then... Big Mac: Jus without the traveling or random escapades. TB: So.... just a ton of sex? Big Mac: Eeyup. TB:... ew. Anyway ... yeah next is for both you and Fluttershy. Fluttershy: Oh, o-ok. What would you like to know? TB: Mind telling us about how the two of you started your relationship? Fluttershy: {gains random burst of confidence} OH! Well big Mac kept calling me over to the farm becuase his animals were getting 'sick', but every time I would come over they would be perfectly fine. After the seventh time he finally worked up the courage to ask me out. Then from there... well, three months later he proposed and we've been married ever since. TB: D'aawww... OK, last question is just for you, do you have any other Pokemon in your party? Fluttershy: Um.... whats a pokemon? TB: That's a no. Thanks for answering the questions, next will be... Applejack! Applejack: Well howdy TallestBrony! What can I do fer ya? TB: Well, ahem, someone would like to know...if you've ever bucked? Applejack: Say what now? TB: Hey, I didn't pick the questions. Applejack: well.... yeah... a couple of times. TB: I would hope so, working on a apple orchard and all.. Applejack: What?! Ah thought ya....{Grumbles to herself as she storms back to her seat} TB: O...K... well... uh, this one is for any of the girls to answer. Can any of you can go into detail about Twilight's bachelorette party? Mane Six: {shuffles around a bit nervously} Pinkie: I'll tell them! The rest: NO! {tackle Pinkie and cover her mouth, silencing her} Rarity: I'm sorry, but we all swore to keep that a secret... TB: But... they want to know {waves his hand at Rarity} Rarity: Well we hired a stripper, bought some exotic cakes, I made some kinky outfits.... Man Six: RARITY! {Tackles her and holds her mouth shut} TB: Wow, sounds like quit the party... Miles: The what? {looks around nervously} TB: Actually that brings me to the next question, Rarity, how big would you say Miles's penis is? Flaccid and erect. Everyone: {jaw drops} Miles: WHAT! Rarity: Uh... well... Miles: Please don't answer. TB: Please answer. {waves hand} Rarity: Nine or ten inches erect, it was kind of hard to tell. Flaccid I would say...three or fourish. Miles: {facepalms} TB: Ok then....why does it always come to dicks... anyway lets get back on track. Uh...let go to Derpy Hooves! Derpy: Hi! {Takes place at podium, knocking it over} Oh... my bad. TB: Its cool, it was free. Now some poeple want to know if your going to be.... showing up more. So I think the best way to answer that would be to tell us what you've been up to. Derpy: OK! Well Dinky birthday passed recently and having all of her friends parents over got me thinking. So with the help of Cabbage, Squishy, and Cheesus we went out looking for him. TB: D'aw. OK, next question, oh... uh, someone want to know.... if they can have your muffin. Derpy: WHAT! No they can't have Dinky! TB: I don't.... Derpy: Why would they want to separate me from my daughter! {Flies over to dinky and holds her tightly} TB: Well, probably best to leave it at that. OK, next would be... Soul Fire. Miles: How are you goiAAAAHHHHHH! {Maxes out power as Soul Fire pulls himself out of Miles} Soul Fire: WHAT DO YOU NEED TB: That was awesome... someone wants to know why you are in Miles soul. Soul Fire: I AM MILES SOUL TB: Yes you are, next question, Can you make a whooshing sound? Soul Fire: {folds arms and stares at TB} TB: You know, like... WHOOOSH. Soul Fire: {shakes head and phases back into Miles} Miles: {Gasp} What happened? TB: I take that as a no.... Miles: Huh? TB: Nothing, nothing. Why don't we just go to Pinkie nex... Pinkie: {Pops up behind TB} LETS DO THIS! TB: GAH! Why... you... grah! Just go to the podium you fourth wall breaking pony. Pinkie: {goes to the podium and stands it up, giggling the entire time} What do you want to know? TB: Didn't you not get along with Squishy? Whats with the sudden change? Pinkie: Well... its complicated. We were.... are together, but things keep happening. Every time we're together he SPOILER SPOILER.... what the? Twilight: Whats wrong Pinkie? Pinkie: Why did I say spoiler instead of SPOILER SPOILER GAH! IT HAPPENED AGAIN! Celestia: Pinkie my dear... you aren't saying spoiler. You're say that every time SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER. Pinkie: Gah make it stop MAKE IT STOP! TB: Why don't you go take a seat and we'll just move on. Next is Rainbow Dash. Rainbow: Whats up? TB: AGH! So awesome... anyway, Have you ever considered making your own flight team? He also reassures that you could show up the Wonderbolts and become the number one flight team in Equestria. Rainbow: {rubs back of head} ah, thanks. But... yeah I thought about it for awhile... but I realize now that I have other priorities. I need to step up and take better care of Scootaloo, and be the mom she deserves. TB: {falls over} BBZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZTTTTT TB: GAHWIZABU! WHAT HAPPENED? Miles: You went into cardiac arrest. Welcome back to life. {shuts off magic and takes seat} TB: So.... I'm a zombie? Better stay away from Florida. Pinkie: Oh yeah, sure. You get to spoil stuff but you make me sound crazy! TB: I didn't spoil anything. They have no clue what I'm talking about. Pinkie:Hmph! TB: Lets just get on with it. Up next is Storm Cloud. Storm: Uh... hey, whats up. TB: Well, lets do the sentimental one first. Do you want to redo anything in your life that you really regret? If so, what is that thing? Storm: {Looks over to Twilight} Well... I like where things are right now. So no. TB: What is Twilight like? Twilight: Why are you asking him that? TB: BECUASE ITS ADORABLE! Storm: Well... she's fun. Shes always trying to make sure everything is perfect, which can be stressful sometime but whatever. She's easily the smartest pony I know.... bit of a scatter brain at times. Genuine. Kind. {Stares at Twilight as she stares at him} TB: Whats your favorite sex position? Storm: {KER-FWOOSH, falls on face} WHAT! TB: Whats your favorite sex position? {waves hand} Storm: The reversed inverted cowpony.... Twilight: STORM! TB: What the hell is that? Pinkie: Its when the mare is on top with her back to the stallion on the ceiling! TB: {eyes shrink} OK then, moving on... ew... how would... Twilight: NEVERMIND! TB: Right, to that rock in the corner, who are you? Tom:...... Rarity: I thought we agreed to never speak about that again. TB: Next... Discord, where are you? They want you in the....to appear. Everyone: {Looks over to the stone statue of discord} Miles: Who the fuck is that guy? TB: Don't worry about it.... third arc... maybe... next is Tw... Pinkie: Why do you get to spoil stuff! TB: Didn't you watch the video? Pinkie: That doesn't prove anything! Plus that was during the time the camera was recharging! TB: True. True. Moving on. Twilight Sparkle is up next. Twilight: There aren't any... suggestive questions... are there? TB: No, none what so ever. Actually they are very adorkable. First one, Can I give you a hug? Twilight: Uh... I guess. TB: YES! {runs over and hugs Twilight, making Storm squint his eyes at TB. Sets her back down} Right. Next, any books on Soul Fire? Twilight: You know I've checked and checked and I couldn't find anything on it. No references. Not ever a whisper about it. its a complete mystery to pony kind. TB: Next one, why are you so hung up on firearms when Miles magic is easily a hundred times more dangerous? Twilight: No it is not! You control magic, it doesn't just do things without you giving it purpose! Having weapons... I don't like them. TB: Last one, ever think about casting the flight spell on yourself and taking to the sky with Storm? Twilight: {thinks about it} no.... but that would be very romantic.... hmm.... TB: Oh god they just influenced the story... Celestia: The what? TB: Nothing, lets keep it going, next we have Princess Luna. Luna: Greetings time traveler, what can I do for you? TB: So pretty... Miles: Watch it... Celestia: The both of you. TB: Right... anyway, You seem to be speaking in a more modern dialect, how did you make that happen? Luna: Well, I studied the modern language and practiced a lot. It took awhile, but after a year of practice I was able to drop the we and thous. TB: Good Job. Have you figured out whats up with that blue soul fire yet? Luna: Not entirely. I've been trying to make contact with it but... it only seems to make itself present when it wants to be. TB: Do you like waffles? Luna: ... I guess. TB: Don't worry... I don't even get that one. Now... how would you compare Miles penis to that of a ponies? Celestia: WHAT!? When did you see... Luna: It was when he was in the hospital! Miles: Why? {shakes head} Luna: Well... it looks... rounder? Stallions have the flat tip while Miles is round. Other then that its basically the same. Miles/Celestia: {Face palm/hoof} TB: Ew.... Last one, Applejack had once; and this was all on appearance, nothing happened; she complained about Miles being small. Any comments? Luna: ... uh... Celestia: She has no comment, move on. {glares at Miles} TB: Well why don't we move on to your questions then. We know that Miles is going to die... Miles: How many people did you tell!? {Glares at Rainbow} Rainbow: Thirteen? TB:...but why can't you just let him and Luna spent the last moments of his life happy? Isn't it better to have loved and loss then to never have loved? Celestia: Not when the price to pay is her life. I don't want them getting close becuase I don't want what happened to my mother to happen to her... I don't want to lose the only true family I have left. TB: Do you still hold anything against Miles for what happened to your parents? Celestia: Yes. I hold him completely responsible. TB: Do you like bananas? Celestia: Yeah, why? TB: Its.... an inside joke.Did you ever miss Miles or wonder what happened to him? Celestia: No. My father had just died, several months later Luna was born, then a few years later my mother had died. I had little to no time to reflect on Miles. TB:What made you keep the tiara all these years? Celestia: My mother. She had told me that someone very special had given it to me, and that I should always keep it close. At the time I thought she had meant my father... it still helps me remember him. TB: You seem to still have some trust issues with your sister. Do you think this is you trying to be protective of her or are you still somewhat reserved about her becuase of the Nightmare Moon incident? Celestia: When I lost my sister to Nightmare Moon.... that was the hardest time in my life. I never want to lose her like that again. Its not that I don't trust her, its that I fear that mentality returning. I don't know what would happen, but I have a feeling that it wouldn't end well. TB: Well, the next ones a little... blunt. So I'm going to soften it up. Why are you being... difficult? Celestia: I am not being difficult, I am being realistic. I'm sorry if I value the life of my sister more then somepony we barely know. TB: Do you fancy Miles and that is why you don't want him being with Luna? Celestia: WHAT! Where did that come from!? Luna: Oh my... they were there for that... TB: It's just a question, do you? Celestia: Of course not! TB: Alright, alright. two more. Can you send someone to the moon, with some bananas? Celestia: That's not funny. TB: Ok, OK. last one. Metaphorically speaking of course, but what if miles and Luna had... relations, were married, and hoped to have a child? And all of this happening recently without you knowing? Celestia:... TB: Celestia? Celestia: Is there something you want to tell me? {Looks over to Miles and Luna} Miles: Yeah.. Luna:No... {begins to panic} Celestia: Did any of that happen? Miles: Yes. Luna: No.{hits Miles} Celestia: How much of it? Miles: All of it. Luna: None of it. {glares at Miles} TB: Hey Celestia. {she looks over} Good night. {she falls asleep} Ok... that was close. Alright, last group of questions are for Miles, come on up! Miles: {Picks up Celestia and lays her beside Luna before taking his spot at the podium} Alright, whats on your mind? TB: If you could bring ONE of your friends from your past into the future, which friend would that be? Miles: Wow, just go for the heart why don't you... just one... I would have to say Auxy, just so I know that the baby would be fine. TB: WHY ARE YOU SO OVER POWERED! Miles: I'm fucking dying! I think that's a pretty good trade off. TB: Me to. If you could go back to when Topaz was attacked, but you would have to forget EVERYTHING and never be able to come back, would you? Miles:... {looks over to Luna} TB: Well? Miles: No. I've gained too much here to give it up. I'll always miss them, but I'm staying where I am. TB: How much money did you have before you left? Miles: Uh... some twenty thousand... I think. It might of been less becuase I was always funding that orphanage. TB: Can you eat upside down? Miles: I wouldn't think so... though I've never tried. TB: Well lets find out! {Offers him bacon} Luna: Don't give him that! Miles: What is it? {takes bacon and looks it over} TB: Its food, really really good food. Miles: {takes a bite and chews} Oh sweet Barbra... TB: Awesome right? Miles: This is the best thing I've ever eaten... Luna: That's gross Miles. TB: Hey, omnivores. We eat everything.... almost. NEXT QUESTION! Will there be more Spartans? Miles: None at the moment. I've yet to see anyone really step up, so as of now its a no. TB: Cool, cool. Were there stasis spells in Topaz? Did you study them? Miles:I know Amethyst was researching it, but I was never a part of that project. TB: Interesting. What happened during your last birthday party? Miles: Oh man... well from what I remember we all went out, got some drinks, went to Eximius's place... and then I blacked out and woke up on a bus with nearly two thousands bits worth of tickets as Inficiunt and Dolum held the bus driver at gun point. TB: Why would you hold him at gun point? Miles: I don't know! That's just what happened! TB: Wow... you're fucked up. Miles: But I didn't do anything! TB: Horrible horrible person. Next question. Do you love music? If so, what started this passion? Miles: {sighs} Yeah, I do. It started when I took an intro to pre-purgian music analysis class. From there I started researching all of the remaining tracks. Some eighty thousand songs. TB: Nice... what was Dolums bachelor party like? Miles: {shivers} It started with us getting on the bus.... guess who we ran into. TB: The same driver? Why do you hate him so much? Miles: Well.... alcohol played a really large part of it... TB: You really should stay away from that stuff. Miles: Yeah... guess he was kind of mad at us, cause he drove us to a gang hide out.... then things got out of hand... TB: How so? Miles: Well... some coke head was hitting on Tenera, which made me and Fidus lose it. We then got into a fight with a buildings worth of gangsters. After we defeated them we had to walk back to the P.C.H. but.... things got worse when we entered...{shivers} the red light district. TB: Ah man.... Miles: So while waiting for Inficiunt to finish up we had to stand there... on some corner... so many offers {facepalms and shakes head} After that we made our way to a nearby recruiting center where we 'borrowed' some military vehicles and drove back home... where we were arrested for grand theft auto. In our cell, we decided to make the best of it and have a mini party. Inficiunt enchanted our water into drrinks, Eximius gave a speech on the strength of our bonds, the policemen gave us extra rations... it was really fun. TB: Sounds awesome. Next question. How many Elements were there? Could you detail Project Harmonize? Miles: Well... I can't go into exact details, but SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER, SPOILER SPOILER. Pinkie: That's just mean. Miles: I know, but I complied. TB: Hehehe... Anyway, two more. So you can manipulate dreams, just how much influence do you have over a mind? Can you read a mind or implant thoughts? Also, the next time you go in someones mind, could you say 'we need to go deeper.' Miles: Uh... sure. The amount of influence I have over someones mind depends on, the person, how much magic I use, how well trained they are for mental attacks and their knowledge of my presence. If I were to try to gain access into someones mind with them knowing and at full health.... it would be difficult. As for implanting thoughts, same kind of deal. If they know its you, then it wont work. TB: Oh my god... you're Leonardo De' Caprio... Miles: Who? TB: No one. Last one, here we go! You were like an uncle to Celestia and now you two seem to on thin ice. Have you ever wanted to spend a little time with her and mend that relationship? It may come in handy with the bomb shell you're about to drop on her. Miles: Yeah, no kidding. Ever since I saw her here I wanted to spend some time with her. Try to make things better between us. But its complicated. She has a nation to run, I've got to try and find... whatever it is my friends left me from the past., then there's the whole 'Luna wanting to keep us a secret' thing. I know if we were going to spend time together, it would come up. And I wouldn't lie to her. So for now its best to keep my distance. But I will make things right between us. TB: Alright! That does it for all of my questions! Thank you so much for answering all of them, especially the saucy ones. {Puts on shades as he pulls out a shiny metal tube that has a blue light on the front} Now go home. FLASH {Everyone returns to their proper place, forgetting what had just transpired} TB: WOO. Its over! Time to... Pinkie: Hold on a sec! {Pops up behind TB, scaring the shit out of him} You still have to answer your questions! TB: But... sleep.... Pinkie: Go to the podium and wait for me to ask you your questions! TB: Damn you and your logic defying abilities of OP. {goes to podium} Pinkie: So, TB, any clop? TB: Wow... hearing you ask that is... disturbing. I don't entirely get the question. If you're asking if I'm going to write any one shots, then its a no. If you're asking if there is going to be any more sex in the story, then yes... a really big another whole chapter dedicated to sex, YES. Pinkie: How long do you plan on this story to go on for? TB: As I said before, this is going to be a very, very long story. Look at it like this, arc one was 67 chapters. Arc two has gone 33 chapters and we're only a tenth of the way through it. Its going to be a long story. Pinkie: Can you make a chapter about the graves of Tempus and Spatium? Maybe bring them to life. TB: Sorry, but the dead are dead. And as for that... third arc. Pinkie: Hey! you spoiled! TB: Yeah, they don't know shit from that, next question. Pinkie: Will you kill off Miles in a dick move or save him? TB: Well.... I don't know. Its.... it depends on your perspective. Pinkie: Will Miles find evidence of survivors of Topaz Falls? TB: Uh.... he already did. The dominus clavis. Pinkie: I don't think that counts... TB: It totally counts. Pinkie: if you say so...Will you have a move like having them in time capsules? TB: Maybe... depends on how the cards shuffle out. {tollface} Pinkie: lol. Are you taking OC's? TB: Yes. But I will make that announcement when that group shows up. Pinkie: Aw, you're too nice. Can Taco town proof read? TB: I can't wait to start working with him.... though I loath the day I have to start emailing chapters. Pinkie: Just get over it. What did that scientist do to send Miles that far into the future!? How did he make it, and know it would work, but mess up and send him that far!? TB: Actually, its kind of funny. He out the timer in upside down. What was suppose to be an three hours was actually three thousand years. Pinkie: Ha! like in Futurama. Ok, Is Luna's heat affected by her joining of Miles soul? TB: There souls were never 'joined.' Not in the sense I think you're thinking of at least. But actually, their souls did force her to go into heat. Pinkie: Ever think of making a chapter about a day in the life of lupus? TB: Not really... it would be filler and I don't have room for filler.... besides the bonus chapters of course. Pinkie:Ok, this is the last one. Wouldn't you say Miles has the needle dick of Equestria? Miles: Kind of. If he were to be with an average pony... well... it would be easier for him. You'll see what I mean later on. Pinkie: Poor Miles. Well, I'm off now, I'll see you later! {waves bye} TB: I certainly hope... Pinkie: {glares} TB: ... so? Pinkie: {giggles} Bye! {re-appears in Equestria} TB: Well, now that that's over with, time to get working on the next chapter, catch you all next time! TB: OH! Almost forgot! If you want to know why it took so long to post this, This is why. This is something purely for your entertainment that I'm going to do from time to time. Hope you enjoy it! Chapter 100 Miles's Bachelor PartyChapter 100 Miles's Bachelor Party Warning: Lots of spanish A sudden jostling woke me up. I had been up most of the night, eating as much of the sugary goodness known as candy and had passed out. I look around to see that I'm in a blue blanket, being carried off somewhere by Big Mac, Storm, Squishy and some fourth pony. He's an earth pony that's all white with long black hair. Each of them carry a corner of the blanket in their mouths as they mumble to each other. "Bwucking Iwdiout! Ya almerst drwopped im!" Says the earth pony. "Iw think he's awake." Says Squishy. Whats going on?" I ask as I look between the four of them. "Thwen jus knock im out." The earth pony says. "Wait.." THWACK When I re-awake, I find myself in the blue blanket again. I look straight up to see that I'm outside now, and moving. "Whats going on?" I asks as I rub my head. Why do I have such a fucking bad head ache? "E's awake! Hurry!" Storm mumbles, making everyone pick up the pace. Before I could say anything the blanket suddenly goes up and I fall into a carriage. As I get up I feel the carriage rock from side to side and something slams shut. "What the fuck is going on?" I ask as I look around. Storm, Big Mac and I are inside a well padded carriage with some pony text going along the top. Two mares in seductive clothes are pulling us forward as Squishy and Cheesus sit on top. "Where are we going?" "Were going to your bachelor party..." "Cheesus! That was suppose to be a secret!" Squishy says as he slaps Cheesus on the shoulder. "Oh... oh..........oh..................... FUCK THAT!" I yell as I punch Storm across the face and try to break out, only to get Big Mac to tackle me and hold me down. "FUCK YOU! NO PARTIES! LET ME GO!" I yell as I try to break out of Big Macs grip. "How long till we get to Coalton!?" Storm asks as he jumps on top of us, trying to help hold me down. "Shouldn't be more the an hour..." "I'll pay double if you can do it faster!" The carriage suddenly lurches forward as the mares pulling begin to run as fast as possible. "I'LL PAY YOU...." THWACK When I re-awake, again, I find myself in a small room. There are two light blue benches facing each other with a window to my left and a door to my right. Big Mac and Storm are sitting on the other bench, glaring at me. Storm has a small cloth with what I'm assuming is ice held against his jaw. "Why do you keep knocking me out?" I ask as I sit up. "Why did you hit me!" Storm yells as I look out the window. The area outside seems.... dry. I can see some plant life, but everything seems to be so brittle. The area is mostly flat, having hills far in the distance. There's no grass, just bare ground. "Where are we?" "We're on our way to Pomexico." "Where?" "Its the southern territory of Equestria. We're going to Almendra to have fun and stuff. No party stuff, so calm down." I take a few deep breathes as I sit back and try to relax. OK... just gotta stay calm... and not drink. That seems to always end badly. "Ok... so... what exactly are we going to be doing ther...." "WOO! PARTY!" Yells some guy as he runs down the hall.... "FUCKING LIAR!" I yell as I jump up and swing the door open..... SLAM "WHY ARE THERE SO MANY PEOPLE HERE!" I yell as I hold my back against the door, breathing heavily. Just outside the door was a crowd of ponies wearing party hats and throwing streamers all around. "Dude... its a party train." "Eeyup." "Then why were we in a carriage earlier?" "This train only stops in Roam, so we took a carriage there. Now are you going to keep freaking out or you going to do a shot with us?" Storm says as he pulls out a bottle with clear liquid in it. "I don't know man... alcohol and me don't seem to mix very well." I say cautiously as I take my seat. "Just one? Come on, this is both mine and yours bachelor party, becuase the one Spike did doesn't count." He says as he hands me a shot glass and pours some of the liquid inside. "Well... it is a special occasion... alright. One shot, but that's it!" I say as I lift the glass up. "One. Shot." Storm says as he pours himself and Big Mac shots and raise their glasses. "Ad nostrum futura!" I say before we all down the shots...... "Storm?" "Yeah buddy?" "Did you have this enchanted?" "Hehe...." ........................................................................................................................................................ Perspective: Luna Earlier that day I watch from Miles's living room as the four of them carry him away. I didn't think that sugar comas were real... way to go Miles. "You ready to go?" Regina asks from behind. "Yeah, lets get going." I say as I follow her out the front door. "Where are we going again?" "Hamsterdam." Regina says with an evil smile. "Right... nothing bad is going to happen there... right? Regina?" She ignores me and continues to walk towards her blimp... well... I don't know what I just got myself into. But there's no turning back now. Have fun Miles. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles Time: Unknown "UHG..... wha.... ah my head" I say as I pick myself up..... only to grab a hold of the area around me as tightly as possible. I'm laying on top of a large slab of metal that's standing in some river. The water is about thirty meters down, being higher on one end then the other. The slab I'm on is about two meters thick so I try to move more inward, but stop when I bump into Storm. "Huh... wha... Miles? Come on.... its too early." He says as he rolls over and goes back to sleep. I look over to him then do a double take. "Storm, what are you wearing?" I ask, getting him to sigh and look himself over. "It would seem to be a poncho and some rope... now can I get some..." "What the fuck!" I yell as I look down to see that I'm wearing one as well. It goes down in a V and has stripes of different colors. Red, blue, green, white, all going horizontally. Along the edge of the poncho are strips of white that are tied off together. As I look it over some more I feel something behind me. I reach back and pull a large light tan hat that seems to be weaved together with some kind of stiff plant. "What happened?" I ask as I look around. "*sigh* what arOH MY GOD!" Storm yells as he rolls over again and falls off the edge. He quickly flies back up and lands beside me, completely awake now. "Where are we?! Whats going on!? Why was there a rope around me? Where did you get the sombrero?" "I don't know... all I remember was getting on the train.... the party... then.... YOU MOTHER FUCKER!" I yell as I tackle him. "WHY DID YOU DRUG ME!" "It was Luna's idea!" He says as he hides behind his forelegs. I think about it for a second before I roll to the side. "OK... so... lets take in our surroundings and try to get back home." "OK." I sit up and look around. There's a river going from the left to right. In front of us and behind us are thick forests... I think. The plant life seems to be brighter then that of the Everfree. A dirt road cuts through the forest, leading to the metal slabs and continuing on the other side. On the side in front of me is a small wooden shack to the right of the road. It was painted light tan, but the paint seems to be fading away. "Well... judging by the sun, its noon. Lets just go to that shack and see if there's somepony inside." Storm says as he gets up and starts to walk towards the shack. "Uh... where's Big Mac?" I ask as I follow after him. We both pause and look around. "You don't think he fell..." "He's probably in that shack." Storm says as he quickens his pace to it. We make it to the door of the shack and try to open it, only to find it locked. I step back to kick it open but stop when someone opens the door. "¿Te puedo ayudar?" Asks some old donkey. He's light tan with no hair and seems to shake from just standing. I glance over to Storm before he steps forward to talk to him. "Uh... yeah.... hola. Do you speak english by chance?" "Que?" He says as he lifts an ear to Storm. "WE NEED TO GET BACK TO EQUESTRIA!" Storm yells into his ear. "¿Equestria? Usted esta en Equestria. Plana del Canon." He says as he motions to the metal slabs. "Me ocupo de las puertas. Ha sido durante cincuenta años." Ok this is getting us nowhere. "Have you seen our friend?" I ask, getting him to tilt his head. "Our friend. Big Mac. Red with orange hair? Apple half for a mark. Do you know where he is?" "Hmm ... ¿qué estás tratando de decir?" He says as he looks between the two of us. I try to think of something when an idea hits me. I kneel beside him and start to draw on the floor. As I move my finger along on the floor, Storm and the other guy walk up beside me and watch me draw. "Whoa... I didn't know you could draw." Storm says as I finish my sketch of Big Mac and point to it. "Where?" He looks to it and thinks about it before he shakes his head. "Yo no se." Well... I heard a no in there. I wipe the drawing away and start making another one. It's a quick sketch of the area of Ponyville, the Canterlot mountains and the Everfree. "Where?" I ask as I point to it. "Ponville. Canterlot. Where?" He looks down before he motions for us to wait. He walks inside his shack as he tries to find something, throwing things on the ground as he goes from stop to stop. He finally comes out and rolls out a map. He points the the bottom most red dot and then motions around us. He then points to another red dot and taps it a few times. "Ponyville esta aqui." "How did we get from here to here?" Storm asks as he looks at the map intently. "Are these all of the cities of Equestria?" I ask as I look over the map. "All the major one at least. There are plenty of towns and villages throughout all of Equestria that aren't on here." "Whats with the blue dots?" "Those are cloud cities. Well, now that we know which direction we need to go, lets get moving." "Right, hopefully we can find Big Mac on the way back." I say as I stand up. "Thank you." "De nada extranjero." The old donkey says before he starts to walk towards the metal slabs. "He didn't seem to mind that I'm human." I say as we turn down the path and start to walk through the forest. "He was probably too old to care. Lets just get through the jungle and find Big Mac." Storm says as the sun is suddenly blocked out by the foliage of the... jungle. The path continues to wind through the forest, slowly getting narrower and narrower. It finally comes to a point where I have to lead Storm due to all of the foliage blocking his view. I can feel myself start to build up a nice layer of sweat as we move along, made worse due to the high humidity. "Damn.... why is it so hot here?" I ask after an hour of walking through the dense jungle. "Becuase you kept the poncho on." Storm says as he hops into the air and flies along with me. "Oh... I should take it..." SPLASH I suddenly walk out into a large dirt road as a carriage charges through a large puddle, covering me in the muddy water. "¡Cuidado! ¡Pendejo!" Yells the donkey driving the carriage as he runs down the road. "... what the fuck." I say as I try to wipe the mud off. Storm chuckles a bit before taking to the air. He looks around a bit before he flies back down to me. "Alright, there's a town down the road, no more then a mile from here. Lets get going." He says as he flies off down the road. I walk after him, trying my best to get the grime off of me... at least the water cooled me off... well, before it evaporated at least. As I enter the town... the residence notice me almost immediately. Most of them run to their shacks and slam the doors shut, peering out from their windows and mail slots. Others run into the jungle, shouting things that I can't understand. In a matter of seconds the small town was devoid of anyone. Just me, Storm.... and a rolling piece of dead plant life. The town is separated by the road I'm on. Each side looks fairly similar to the other, shacks built against shacks with shacks on top of them. Behind each layering of shacks is a large four story building. Each of the buildings have two towers with large bells inside the top of them. The side to my right has a lot of blue through out it. It's smeared on the walls, painted on almost everything and blue flags hand everywhere. The same could be said for the other side, only being red instead of blue. "Wow... I've never seen a town clear up that fast." Storm says as he lands beside me. "I know I'm different... but that was a little extreme." I say as I continue to walk through the desolate town. "Whats with the coloring?" "I don't know.... but it's freaking me out." We stop in the center of town and look around. Out of every building, roof top, and alley way donkeys appear. Each side wearing some kind of clothing with coloring to their prospective sides. They all seem to be armed, some with actual weapons like swords, axes, and knives; while others just seem to have anything that could possibly be harmful, rocks, pipes, I think I see some girl with a rake. "You lost amigo? Don't you know this place es peligroso? That means dangerous for you gringos." Says a donkey as he walks out from the left. He's been painted all red and has his hair hanging over his face. He carries a set of twin daggers on his hips and seems.... drunk. He can't stand still and seems to be nodding out. "Potro, youz gotz ta be lost Potro. Este tipo, Potro." Says a donkey from the right. He's painted all blue and has his hair slicked back. He doesn't seem to have a weapon on him, but he's almost the same size as Big Mac. "Lizen here cuz. You come here, in my turf, youz gon be cut up so bad... that...that youz gon wish you weren't cut up so bad homes!" "Uh... what?" I say as I look from side to side. I'm not entirely sure what they're talking about... did we do something wrong? "Well esse? Whats it gon be?" Says the red one. "Rojo or Azul potro?" Says the blue one. "Neither." "Que que?" Says the red one. "You can't say neither potro! Thats... potro just pick a side potro!" Says the blue one. "In the great and powerful words of Big Mac, Nnope." I say as I cross my arms and wait for whatever goings to happen to happen. Storm nods along and sits beside me. The two groups begin to whisper to one another as the two leaders look to one another. "Fine! Es bien. If you enter either side of our turf, then you join that side, comprende?" The red one says before he turns around and heads back into the large red building. "Potro... just... potro." The blue one says before he turns and heads into the blue building. Both sides disappear into the buildings, leaving a few out to watch the two of us. "Well... that was strange." Storm says. "What do we do know?" "Well... it seems that we'll join a gang if we move to either side..." "True, but the blue one did threaten us." "Yeah but so did the red one. He was just more discrete about it." I say as another donkey approaches the two of us. He seems fairly young, with short black hair and dull blue eyes. "Uh... pardon. But... why are you two here?" He asks nervously. "We're looking for our friend. He's a large red earth pony with orange hair and a mark of half an apple. Have you seen him?" "No, lo siento. Pero... could you help me?" "Maybe, what do you need?" "Well... I can't ask you here. But I know a place where they won't be listening. Meet me at the cantina down the road in an hour. The pass word to enter the demostración del burro es morado. I have to go, see you there." He says quietly before running to one of the buildings. "Well... should we go?" Storm asks. "Hmm... they could know something about Big Mac's where about's and just not be telling us... I say lets go." I say as I walk down the center of the road. "What if its a trap to get us to join one of their gangs?" Storm asks as he follows after us. "They can't force us to join anything. Lets just go and check it out." I say, getting him to nod. We leave the town and continue down the road until we find what we assume is the place. It's a purple stone building with a wooden porch and lights hanging all around. A few carriages are parked out beside a large rickety sign that has purple pony text. "Cantina... found it." Storm says as we walk through the double doors. The inside is poorly lit, the main source of light being the sun. Wooden tables and chairs litter the area around us, only having a few people occupying them. Along the back is a bar with dozens of different colored bottles taking up the wall. Tow the left and right are doors with small signs on them. "Que necesito?" Asks a donkey as he walks out of the right door and takes his place behind the counter. We walk up to him and look around to see if there's anything to help us hint to the password. "Uh... morado?" Storm says to the bartender, making him raise an eyebrow. "Hokay, take the left door, third one to you're left. Pay in is at the door." He says as he leans over the counter. We nod to him and follow his instructions, going to the door, walking down the short hall and giving a few credits to the bouncers before entering the next room. The room has all purple walls with A LOT of donkeys in here. Everyone is sitting in a circle, making an open area in the center of the room. Storm and I look to each other before finding our own spot in the back. "Why are there so many guys in here?" Storm asks as he looks around. "Of course that's the thing you notice." "Hey! Who's the one getting married?" "Who's the one already married?" ".... touche." "Amigos!" We look over to see the donkey from before run up to us, looking much more relaxed. "You made it, bien bien. Now about the town..." The donkey starts but I look away as some other donkey takes the spot in the center. "BUENO BUENO BUENO! Vamos a empezar! Hoy tenemos Margarita... " He says as as mare walks out. She's a light yellow with pure white hair and a mark of a white flower. She's wearing a light green skirt and collar. She walks out to the center and rears up, doing a little spin that makes the crowd go crazy. "..con Dibujo!" The announcer yells over the crowd as a buff as fuck donkey walks out and prances around the opening, showing off his muscles as he goes. "Cuando estés listo Dibujo!" He yells, getting the donkey to walk over to the mare and kiss her forcefully, getting more cheers from the crowd. "Dude... what the fuck are we watching?" I ask as I look back to Storm and the other donkey. "... and that's why we need your help." The donkey says to Storm, both of which are completely oblivious to whats going on in the room. "Well.... we would love to help, but we also need to find our friend." Storm says. "No porblemo..." I try to listen in on what they're saying, but the sudden uproar of cheers made me look back to the other two. The mare had rolled onto her back and now is sucking on the Dibujo's cock while he licks her... area....... why haven't I thought of that? "... that won't be a problem. We can take care of that if you can get us inside." Storm says, getting me to turn back to their conversation. "Muy facil. What about...." Again, the cheers take me back to the other two. Dibujo has tossed Margarita onto her belly and is slamming right into her, making her moan loudly. I glance around the room to notice the large amount of donkeys masterbating...... I should get back to whatever Storm and.... other are talking about. "... else we should worry about? Reinforcements? Secret armories? Weird powers?" Storm asks. "No, no. Somos simples burros, we don't have any thing like that." "Uh..." is all I can manage before I glance back to the other two. Margarita has pushed her way on top and is now grinding her hips on Dibujo, who's twisting the shit out of her breast. Why am I watching this? I should stop... OK, stopping in three.. two... o- OK what the fuck? He's pulled her off and has her propped up with her flank high in the air. "Coño o culo?" Dibujo asks the crowd, getting culo cheered back. What the fuck doe-OH SWEET BARBRA HE'S FUCKING HER IN THE ASS! I can't help but gawk at the sight before me. She's letting him... fuck her... in the ASS! I can tell by the look on her face that it must be painful.... WHY?! Dibujo is starting to arch back as his thrust begin to quicken. Many of the donkeys in the crowd have already finished... "MILES!" Storm yells getting me to look back to him. "Wha.." I start to say but stop when the crowd cheers again. I look back to see that Dibujo had pulled out at the last second and sprayed his... stuff onto her back. "MILES!" Storm yells again. "What?!" "Did you get all of that or do we have to go through it again?" "Uh... who's the genius idiot that picked this place?" "Que?" "Don't worry about it.... virgin. I'll make sure everything gets done. See you later Maiz." Storm says to him, getting a nod in response. "Adios amigos." He says as he joins the crowd that's leaving. "So... what's going on?" I ask, getting Storm to facehoof. "You just couldn't ignore the sex... could you?" "How was I suppose to know you could lick..." "STOP! Just... come on. We have to save MoraAAAA!" He yells as Margarita forcefully grabs... him, from behind. "Dibujo! Ben aqui." She says as she holds him there. Storm tries to pull away, much to his displeasure. "Mira." She lets go of him.... just to have Dibujo take her place. "You want a job here?" He asks as he feels him up. "NO! NOW LET GO OF ME!" He yells as he tries to pull away, only to cause himself more displeasure. "Hmm... if you ever do, you know where to find us." He says before he lets go and walks away. Talking to margarita in the language I can't understand. "Dude..." "Not. A single. Word." He growls before walking out, limping awkwardly. One hour later "Ok, so you take out Azul while I take out Rojo. Then we go to the farm and destroy all of the marijuana... what ever that is, the the town should be fine?" I ask as we wait in a local restaurant. Maiz is suppose to start up a rebellion in the town square, that's our signal to take out the leaders. "Right..." "You got fondled...." "FOCUS. Do you know your part?" "Yup. Not that hard to figure out." "Right..." "And having sex in the ass is..." "VIVA LA REVOLUCIÓN!" Yells some donkey as the town erupts in a mass of fighting. Storm and I look to each other before running off for each of our targets. I run out the door and make a U turn, heading straight for the large building in the back. I weave through the fighting, dodging any attack that comes my way. I finally stop before the building to find ten gangsters guarding the door. Easy enough. I flare my hands and approach them. "Surrender or die." "Vete a la mierda!" Yells one of the donkeys as he charges at me, holding a large hammer above his head. I thrust my palm forward and send a simple ball of energy at him, knocking him onto his back. With a wave of my hand I make some straps from the ground appear around his ankles and hold him there. "Anyone else?" "Cierra la boca!" Yells some chick as three of them run at me. With a single thrust I send a small beam of soul fire at the center one, turning him to ash. The others stop and look back at the pile of ash that was their friend. "So... maybe just leave and..." Before I could finish they all drop their weapons and run, dropping anything that would tag them as a gangster. Easy enough. I walk up to the door only to have it open before me. "Ah potro, why youz gots ta be the one here potro?" Azul says as he walks out and looks around. "Potro, where my guards?" "I took care of them. Now..." "Took care of them? Potro, I told you, youz come in my turf, youz gon get cut." He says as he rears up and shakes his legs out, making two blades appear. He start to do flips and spins as he shows off his fighting abilities.... I think I'll do this the easy way. I thrust my hand at him, turning to ash the instant the soul fire hits him. "Amigo... thats un fucked up power." Maiz says as he walks up beside me. "You should see Icy Void." I say as I walk into the building. Rows of wooden benches face the podium at the front. Surrounding the podium are pony size black containers. I walk through the center aisle and check the first one. "What is it?" "Marijuana. They forced us to grow it instead of our crops. Our town been starving ever since." He says as he glares at the containers. "So... marijuana... is a drug?" I ask, getting a nod in response. "Oh. Then that makes this much easier...." "Don't burn it!" He yells as I flare my hand. "Then how should I destroy it?" I ask as I circle around. "Hmm... could you WAIT WAIT WAIT!" He yells as I thrust my fist forward, making a beam of icy void go through several containers. As I drop to a knee I watch as they fade from existence. After a minute or so, the room is empty of the drugs.... and has a hole in the side. "What... what did you do?" He asks as I stumble to my feet. "I made it no longer exist. Come on, lets go find Storm." I say as I walk out of the building. "Dios mio..." He mumbles as he follows after me. The town has gone from shouts of fighting, to cheers of victory. We find a mass of ponies dancing in the center of the town, lifting Storm above them as they chant his name. "EL COMO ASI!" Yells one of the donkeys, getting a group to run at me and lift me into the air. "WHOA! STORM! WHAT'S GOING ON!" I yell as they bounce up and down. "WE WON THEIR FREEDOM!" Storm yells back as they set us down. They set me on my back laying down, so I start to get up... only to get some girl to run up to me and kiss me on the lips. I quickly push her away and stand up. "Married. Married..." "Oooohhhhh.... lo siento. Yo no sabia. Gracias." She says as she blushes and steps back. I look over to storm to see him trying to get away from four women, each of them planting kisses on his face and neck. "ENGAGED! EEENGAGED!" He yells as he tries to get away. I shake my head and walk over to him, picking him up and setting him on my left shoulder, freeing him from the women below. "Sorry ladies, but this one is taken." I say, getting aws in response. "Mi amigos!" Maiz yells from the back of the crowd. "It's time for my part of the bargain! Vamos!" I nod and follow after him, keeping Storm on my shoulder. "You can put me down now." "I could, but then Twilight would kill you." I say, getting a nod in response. "Fair enough... why do mares like me so much?" He asks as we start walking through the red buildings. "Well... Spartan training made you buff, huge cock, and... " "Ok, Ok, I get it.... I hate that you know that..." "We're sexy bitches." I say in summation. "Well... in Topaz I was. Here I kind of just get by." "Heh... I guess..." "Mi amigos! Your ride!" Maiz yells as we turn the corner to find a massive purple balloon. It's deflated, but that shouldn't be a problem. "I shall help guide you back to Almendra vamos!" He says as he hops into the basket. I drop Storm and run over to the bottom of the balloon, flaring my hands and getting ready to fill it. "Wait, we have to wait for the winds to change." Storm says as he gets up. Maiz and I look to each other before we both look back to Storm. "No we don't." Three hours later "I HATE YOU SOO MUCH!" Storm yells as he pulls the balloon through the afternoon air. We had tied off the balloon to him and had him pull us through the air. "Shut up Spartan! Consider this your entrance exam to the jumpers regiment." I yell back. "How much farther do we need to go?" I ask Miaz. "Mmm... it should be right after that hill." "Really? Alight I'll start dropping us down." I say as I send a gust of wind into the balloon, making us begin to drop. "A LITTLE WARNING NEXT TIME!" Storm yells as we make our decent. With a loud thud we crash onto the ground and skid to a stop. THUD I look over to see Storm collapsed on the ground, panting loudly. I jump out of the balloon and walk over to him, throwing him onto my shoulder as Maiz follows after me. "What about your balloon?" I ask as I walk towards the town. "Eh. If sompony wants it, they can have it. I'm going to start over in Almendra." Then what was the point... whatever. I'll let him make his own choices. The town is made up largely of light tan buildings with red tile roofs. the main road we're on seems to lead to a large fountain in the center. Some of the buildings seems to have been recently worked on, having patches that seems to be newer then the rest. As we continue towards the town square, I can't help but notice all of the donkeys glaring at me. "Miles?" I spin around to see Big Mac exiting a building. "BIG MAC!" I yell as I run over to him, nearly dropping Storm on the way. "Where have you been!" "Ah could ask you the same thing?" He asks as he continues to walk towards the fountain. "You've as Storm have been missing fer the past three days..." "WHAT!" Storm yells from my shoulder. "Whats today's date?" "August fourth...." "FUUUUUUUUCK!" "Hey, you cussed like me..." "I'M SUPPOSED TO GET MARRIED TOMORROW!" He yells as he flails around from my back. "Well... shit." Chapter 101 The Big DayChapter 101 The Big Day "TWILIGHT IS GOING TO KILL ME! EVERYONE WILL OBJECT US! MY LIFE IS OOOOVEEEEER!" Storm yells from my shoulder as he continues to flail around. "Ah want to show you two somethin real quick." Big Mac says as he begins to walk away. I follow after him, having Storm just collapse on my shoulder. After a few turns we enter a clearing in the middle of some buildings. In the center of the clearing is a bronze statue of two ponies. "Meet ma Pa and Ma." I set Storm down and walk up to the statue. It looks exactly like the ponies from the picture in Big Macs home. "Oh sweet Barbra..." I mumble as I try to form the right question to ask. "Ah know. It's quit the head scratcher, but after some askin around ah finally got the full story. Ends up that on the way ta Plana Del Canal mah parents found a group of donkeys trying ta start a farm, but there was something killin the farmers here. While mah pa went with a group ta search out the creature while my mah stayed behind with the other farmers. What ever it was, my pah killed it. When they brought the corpse back as proof... well, the towns folk called it a chupacabra. Well.... ah guess there were more of them, cause they all attacked the town. Ah guess, thanks ta my parents, they were able ta fight them off... but they didn't live through the attack. Thanks to them, this town lives on." He says as he wipes a tear away. "Wow, that's quit the story." I say as I look over the statue some more. "Where you able to find their graves?" Storm asks. "Nnope. This is it. They went after the last of the chupacabra's and never came back." He says as he looks up to the statue. We stand there for a bit, admiring the bronze ponies before Storm finally breaks the silence. "Not to ruin the moment... but I have twelve hours to get to Ponyville..." "Right, let's get going... how exactly are we going to get there fast enough?" I ask. "Couldn't we just take the train?" Big mac asks, getting Storm to sigh. "No. I don't have our tickets anymore. Plus I think somepony stole my money... Miles?" I check my pockets and pull out a piece of paper with pony text on it. "Here, let me see that...... purchase order; fifty feet of rope, twelve bottles of tequila, two ponchos, one sombrero, and fourteen bottles of whiskey... well at least we weren't robbed. What the hell happened the past few days?" "Ah think ah can shed sum light on that. You two got completely wasted on the train. After the first shot, which ah didn't take, you both down the entire bottle. You both left our cart to go join the party. Miles ended up enchanting every drink on the train to get everypony else jus as wasted. When we got here... it was basically a battle field of drunken idiots. That's why most of the town was recently repaired... which ah had ta do mahself." "Sorry." "After ya'll bought the remaining alcohol in the town ya'll decided that it would be fun ta fly Storm like a kite." "Well... that explains the rope, but how did we end up by Plana Del Canal?" "While Miles was flyin you around, he started to run off with his magic. I tried ta stop ya, but after ya jumped out of town I decided that it would be smarter ta wait fer ya'll here." Storm and I glance to each other before I start to chuckle. "It's not funny!" "It's hysterical! We got wasted!" I say as I start laughing. "Whatever, we're wasting time. We need to get back to Ponyville ASAP.... any ideas?" We stand there for a bit, trying to think of a way to get back.... I've got nothing. "I've got an idea." Maiz says from behind with a sly grin... this can't end well. Twenty minutes later "This is stupid! This is.... this won't work!" I say in a hushed tone as we sneak up to a train cart. "Just go, get on the roof, and hold on." Maiz says from the front as he leads us to the back cart. "Es facil, I'll distract the operator, an you guys sneak on board. What could go wr..." "Don't finish that." I say flatly as we watch the conductor wave the last of the ponies onto the train. "Ready?" Maiz asks. "No!" "Good." He says as he runs to the cart and starts to climb onto it, gaining the operators attention. "Hey! Get off of that!" He yells as he runs over and tries to pull him off. "Pinche tu madre!" Maiz yells before he kicks him across the face and starts to run off, getting the operator to chase after him. With the operator gone, we make our move. Storm flies up as I press my back against the cart and lift Big Mac up. Once he's on board he reaches over and pulls me up. Once on top I look around to see a bunch of other donkeys and ponies doing the same thing all along the train. WOO WOO The whistle blows a couple of times as the pistons start to push us forward. At the last possible second the operator gets back on board, jumping onto the railing of the last cart. The three of us smile to one another as we hold on. Ponyville here we come! A couple of hours go by with nothing worth mentioning. The area around us went from jungle to farmland to... what did Big Mac call it? Desert? The view was decent. Far to the north east are large mountains with snow on top of them... whatever snow is. To the east is largely open terrain, with nothing more then plant life filling. It's getting considerably hotter though, not to mention we're getting dehydrated. Storm and I have been pissing like crazy... made all the more awkward due to the fact that we had to aim it off the edge of the cart. Luckily no one saw us.... hopefully. "Hey." I say, getting their attention. "We should sneak inside and get something to drink." "None of us have money to buy drinks." Storm says lazily. "Who said we had to buy them?" "Not ta mention that they would notice us in the cart." Big mac adds. "Well... what if we just went into the bathroom and just drank sink water?" They think about it for a second before they get up and look over the edge. "How are we going to do this?" Storm asks as he peers over the ledge. "You should fly along the cart and find the conductor. When he's far enough away from the bathroom signal to us and we'll sneak on board to get a drink." "Miles... after the whole balloon incident... I don't think my wings can handle that right now." Storm says, glancing back to his wings and shuffling them a bit. "Well... then I'm up then." I say as I flare my hands and start to enchant my fingers and feet. Once done, I crawl along the wall of the cart and peer from window to window, looking for the conductor and restroom. I find both on the second cart, so I crawl up the wall and motion for Big Mac and Storm to come over. I notice that the inside of this cart is different from the one we took from Roam, this one having benches instead of individual rooms. Probably a different class or something. I wait for the conductor to finish walking through the cart until he enters the third cart. I move to the restroom and slide the window to open, barely having enough room to enter. I immediately go to the door and lock it as Storm and Big Mac go to get water. "Try to keep it quiet, we don't want to alert anyo...." KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK We all freeze as we stare at the door. How could we have been caught so easily!? "When you three are done in there, could you come out and have a word with me?" Asks an elderly lady from behind the door. We all look to one another before I open the door to reveal an elderly pony standing before us. She's an earth pony with a silver body and white hair. Her mark seems to be a strand of purple flowers. I can tell she's old, probably the same age as Granny Smith. "Well?" She asks as she motions to the inside of the cart. I nod and walk out, having Storm and Big Mac follow after. I go to a set of benches that are facing each other and take the far bench, getting Storm and Big Mac to take up the other one. She walks up and looks between the two benches before she takes a seat between Storm and Big Mac, rubbing up against them as she does so. "So..." I start but stop when she raises a hoof. "No need to explain. It's not like I haven't hopped a train before. So lets make a deal. You three get comfy in here, while I get comfy in here." She says as she runs a hoof up and down Storms leg, making him go wide eyed. "I'm getting married tomorrow." "Really? Darn... well then..." She says as she rubs up against Big Mac. "Married." He says, getting her to pout. "I'm married as..." "Well, if I don't get to get comfy, then whats to stop me from calling the conductor?" She asks. Storm and Big Mac both look to me and stare at me... AW COME ON! "*sigh* fine." I say as I pull my shirt and poncho off. "Oh my..." She says before she gets up and takes a seat next to me. "Honey, you should keep that off. It's MUCH better." She says as Storm and Big Mac chuckle a bit. "So... now that I'm half naked, whats your name?" I ask as she leans against me. "Oh of course! Where are my manners. I'm Gladiolus, but my friends call me Gladous." "I'm Miles." "Storm Cloud." "Macintosh, but everypony calls me Big Mac." "I bet they do." She says as she runs a hoof down my leg. Come on... take one for the team... don't flip out on the elderly lady and force everyone to walk home. "So... uh..." Come on... get her off THINK! GOT IT! "So apparently you can fuck in the ass..." "What!?" Gladous yells as she looks at me in bewilderment. "Ok honey, its obvious that you're a virgin, so I'm going to let you in on a few secrets. Yes, you can rut there, but don't just go for it. You're mare... or stallion... "Married to a mare..." "Of course you are. Anyway, you don't just go for it. Some warning, and permission is needed." "OK... why would they want..." "Well dear... it feels good. Its painful but.. its a good kind of hurt." She says as she flips her hair. I nod and think about what she said... may as well. "And sucking..." "Oh dear If you haven't sucked your mare or stallion then you've been taking all of the...." "OK I've heard enough!" Storm yells as he gets up and walks away. Big Mac looks between the two of us before he scoots closer to Gladous. "Continue." He says as we both lean in to hear what she has to say. "Well, when it comes to sucking, don't just motor boat it. Power is appreciated, but a little finesse is needed..." Perspective: Storm I head straight to the restroom and close the door behind me. Why do all of the weirdo's find me... and fondle me? I go to the sink and run the water, splashing my face... Storm... I stop and look around. I know I heard my name... I ignore it and continue to rub my face. It's probably just the heat messing with me... You can't protect them... "Who's there?" I ask as I look around, finding the room as empty as it was before. It sounds like an elderly guy is talking to me in a sickly voice. I turn to the mirror and drop to the ground. I get back up and double check the mirror to find myself in the reflection. I know what I saw... but I don't believe it. It looked... no. It was half of a human and half of a unicorn with a green body and black fur, wearing a necklace with a small brown bag around it's neck. I take another deep look in the mirror before I take a few drinks from the sink. I'm probably just dehydrated, that's all. Yeah... that's it. I turn off the water and head back to the others. "... and that's the basics on pleasing your mare... or stallion." Gladous says, getting nods from Miles and Big Mac. I shake my head and take my seat beside Big Mac... should I tell them... "Storm dear, don't you want to know how to..." "I think I'll be alright." "Huge cock." Miles whispers to her, getting a slow nod in response.... bucking idiot. "How bi..." "DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT!" "Alright, alright. Gesh, don't need to get bitchy." Gladous says as she turns back to Miles. I just shake my head and look out the window. I know what I saw... I just don't know what to think about it... Nine Hours Later "Goodbye boys!" Gladous yells from a window as we get off in roam. "Later Gladous!" "Bye!" I shake my head and walk through the station. The past nine hours have been... strange. I don't think there's anything about sex the three of us don't know anymore...*shivers* sounding. At least Gladous helped us stay on the train the entire trip, and fed us. Even if she fondled me, she's a nice pony. I shake the thought from my head and continue out the station. I need to get home within two hours... how am I going to pull this off? "Hey Storm." Miles calls out as him and Big Mac run up to me. "Any ideas on how to get back?" "*sigh* no. I only have two hours to get there and we're three hours away..." "I think I have a solution." He says as he pulls out some rope. "Where did you get that?" "The train. We already stole a ride, I don't think some rope will really be a problem." "And what exactly do you want to do with that?" I ask, getting an evil smile from Miles... One Hour Later "SLOW DOWN!" I yell as Miles races down the road below. With out even asking he tied a rope around my waist and stated to run off, carrying Big Mac on his back. Since he is using his magic, he's running at really high speeds, making it impossible to follow on hoof, so I had to become a kite again. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME! WE HAVE LESS THEN AN HOUR! WE NEED TO GO FASTER!" He yells as he pushes himself even faster down the road. I was about to protest when I saw it... Ponyville. "WE'RE ALMOST THERE!" I yell as I start to flap my wings with all of my might, propelling me past Miles. It soon become a race between the two of us as we both speed towards Carousel Boutique. CRASH We both collide through the door and crash onto the ground, coming to a stop in front of Rarity. "We-we made it." I say before I collapse. Another Hour Later I can believe we made it! With some time to spare as well. Though Miles and I are fairly tired, it was completely worth it. I'm currently waiting by the alter with Miles, Spike and Big Mac waiting beside me. All of us wearing military uniforms, green jackets with white button up shirts and black ties. A patch of our regiment sits on our shoulders while I have some brass bars on my collar, representing my rank as Lieutenant. Miles even made some pins for all of us... though he has way more then any of us. The pins are simple bars, only being an inch or so long and very narrow. I have three pins, a light blue one with a single yell ban along the center, an all black one and an all white one. The blue and yellow one is suppose to represent that I'm a jumper... whatever that means, the black one just means that I'm Spartan and the white one means veteran fighter. The day couldn't have been better. We're in the western park of Ponyville a bit before sunset. The sky is perfectly clear, birds are singing, everything is perfect. We have a terrace set up around everypony with a white lace going around the seats. Throughout the lace are different flowers of different colors. There's a gentle breeze coming in from the west, gently brushing against this perfect day. I sigh as I look out at the crowd, feeling butterflies in my stomach. On my side of the benches are the Apple family and my mother... and for some reason Squishy Trap and Cheesus. I ignore them and look back to my mother. She raises a hoof and weakly waves to me as she wipes her tears away, so I nod back. I look over to Twilight's side and stare at the crowd. All of her family members are here. Her parents, Shinning and Cadence along with the family members of her friends, some other friends she has that I don't know, Luna, some of the residence of Ponyville and her owl. She has a lot of ponies here, but I don't mind. I continue my gaze onto the other side of the alter, where Celestia waits at the head of the alter, with a small orchestral band behind her. I can't believe Twilight was able to get her to marry us... though its not that surprising. She is her prize student, not to mention the Element of Magic. With that I still can't believe that I'll be having her marry us. On the other side of the alter are the girls, each of them wearing a beautiful dress that Rarity made for each of them. "*sniff*" I look back to see Miles wiping some tears away as he fights the urge to start bawling. "Are you crying?" "*sniff* no. I'm just so happy for you man." He says as he continues to wipe tears away. I laugh a bit as the music starts to play. Everypony stand and faces the center aisle. The first to come down are Scootaloo, Applebloom and Sweetie Bell, throwing down rose pedals as they skip down. They come to the end and bump into each other as they all try to go different directions, getting chuckles from everypony as they scramble away. I feel my heart start to race at the next sight. Twilight. She has a beautiful white dress with a white veil covering her face. She walks down the aisle slowly, being escorted by her father. Time seems to slow down as I watch her make her way to me slowly. When she finally makes it to the end I walk down and shake hoofs with her father before he gives her a hug. I turn and walk up to Celestia with Twilight by my side... here we go. "Ladies and Gentlecolts." Celestia begins. "We are her to be witness to the union of Storm Cloud and Twilight Sparkle. Let us begin with a silent prayer." She says, getting everypony to bow their heads. Perspective: Miles Uh... what are they doing? Whats praying? I guess its just closing your eyes and looking down. Strange... Perspective: Storm "Love is the most powerful form of magic." Celestia says, getting us all to look back up to her. "It can bring the greatest together, it tears the greatest of us apart. Just like magic, we will never truly understand it, but no matter how hard we may fight it, it will always find a way into our hearts. The bride and groom will now share their vows." "Storm Cloud." Twilight says as we face each other. "I knew ever since our first date that I could spend the rest of my life with you. You fight to protect me. You strive to make me laugh, and I love you with all my heart and I want to be with you, and only you, for the rest of my life." "Twilight Sparkle. From the moment I first saw you... it was love at first sight. I want nothing more then to make you happy. I love you. I will always love you. Now, and forever." "*sniff*" I can hear Miles crying a bit harder, but I ignore him and move forward to lift her veil... the butterflies in my stomach were replaces with the confidence of her beauty. "If there is anypony out there that will object to the union of these ponies, let them speak now or forever hold their peace." Celestia says, making the room go quiet. I can't help but glance out to Shinning... seeing him just sit there, keeping quiet. Without anypony objecting,Celestia motions to Spike to bring us the rings. We each take each others ring and wait for the next part. "Storm Cloud, do you take this mare to be your lawfully wedded wife? To love her. Cherish her. In both good times and bad, for as long as you both shall live?" "I do." I says as I place her ring on her horn. "Twilight Sparkle. Do take this stallion to be your lawfully wedded husband? To love him. Cherish him. Bare his children. In both good times and bad, for as long as you both shall live?" "I do." She says as she places the bracelet around my hoof. "Then with the power..." "Celestia, if I may." Miles says as he walks up to the alter. Everypony murmurs a bit but don't try to stop him from taking Celestia's place at the alter. "Terradisia has a tradition for those of true love. If you'll both close your eyes and focus on the love you have for each other." He says, getting me and Twilight to shut our eyes. I focus on everything I love about her. Her smile. Her laugh. The way she can make me smile without even trying. My thought process is interrupted when I feel something move through my neck. I open my eyes to see Miles hand portals flaring. His right hand being purple and his left being grey. He kneels down and begins to do something with the energies on the floor. I can hear the energy swirl around each other as he focuses on the spell. When he finishes, he stands up to reveal a rose where his hands were. The stem is light grey with purple thorns while the flower has pedals that are purple on the outside and grey on the inside. It seems to glow as it hovers off the ground a few inches, slowly spinning to the right. "This, is a amor surrexit. A love rose. For as long as you two live and love one another, this rose shall live. Hic rosae nihil pereat." He says as he steps back to his place beside me. "Yes... well, with the power vested in me I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may now kiss the bride." Twilight and I look to each other and lean in for a kiss, putting all of our love and passion between our lips as the audience cheers for us. We break the kiss and gaze into each others eyes for a bit as we laugh and giggle from the pure joy. We turn together and run down the aisle together to the waiting carriage, where we run straight in... as husband and wife. Chapter 103 Proper TimeChapter 103 Proper Time When I wake up I find myself in my bed. What happened? Last thing I remember was being at the party... eating those treats that Pinkie gave me. I didn't have anything to drink... unless that treat was... Oh sweet Barbra... "*sigh*" I look over to see Luna sleeping by my side. I roll to my side and watch her sleep for a bit, the rising and falling of her chest, the way her mouth hangs open slightly, all of it putting me at ease. Last night was fun.. but... it put some thoughts in my head that I need to bring up to Luna. "Miles?" She mumbles as she wakes up, weakly opening her eyes. "Hey, how'd you sleep?" I ask as I brush her hair a bit, helping her wake up. "I was worried when you passed out... more so when you didn't wake up for two days. Why didn't you tell us you're allergic to strawberries?" "If I had known I would have told you. Sorry for worrying you." "I'm just glad you're ok." She says as she stretches a bit and starts to get out of bed, but stops when I grab her leg. "Hey..." "Hey." "I... I want to talk to you about something really important." She raises an eyebrow as she gets back in bed. "Whats on your mind?" She asks cautiously. I reach over and take a hold of her hoof, holding tightly onto it for a second before I start. "Its... about... well... I don't have much time here... as you already know." "Miles..." "And, I realize that, even with such low odds, if we were to have a child.... I wouldn't be here for it." The room falls silent as I let her think about what I just said. "Miles... I..." "Is this something you still want to do? Can you raise our child, with it never knowing its father. On your own." She scoots closer to me and holds onto to me tightly. I wrap my arms around her and kiss the top of her head. "Miles, I still want to try." I take a deep breath as I begin to stroke her mane. "Are you sure?" "Yes. Becuase, when you do finally go... it would be the only thing of you I'd have left. I want this." She looks up to me and plants a small kiss on my lips... then another... after the third one I roll her onto her back as I get on top. I reach down to take my pants off... only I'm not wearing pants. Ignoring that I lay on top of her and begin kissing her as I try to position myself, only to get a hoof on the way. "Something wrong?" I ask as I back off a bit. "Yeah, I want to wait until we get into Topaz before we do that..." "Really?" I ask, getting her to give me a peck on the cheek before she pushes me off and gets out of bed. With a deep sigh I roll onto my back and just lay there, staring at the ceiling. "Hehehe, wow. You were really ready to go huh?" Luna says as she steps into the restroom. I look down to see the perfectly pitched tent of mine... "You could fix that you know!" "You could to!" I sigh again as I lay there a bit longer. Well... if we're going to Topaz, may as well get ready. I get out of bed and quickly get dressed... a little awkward, but getting easier with time. Once done, I go to my closet and find all of my weapons and armor waiting neatly on their racks. I begin reattaching my armor as Luna finishes up in the restroom and joins me in the closet door way. "Is all of that necessary?" "I don't know. Topaz could be safe, it could be just as dangerous. If we're going down there, we're going down armed." "If you say so." She mumbles as I finish putting on the armor. I begin grabbing all of my weapons as Luna levitates out an E.A.R., looking it over curiously. "Whats on your mind?" I ask as I finish grabbing all of my weapons and head to the kitchen, having Luna follow close behind. "Well... your little talk is making me think." "Yeah? About what?" "It's not changing my mind, but... how do you explain something like this to somepony whose never met you? Human innovations are... well, I think you get it." I pause in the kitchen and lean against the counter as I try to think of a way to answer. "That all depends on how it would come out." "Huh?" "If it came out as a human, then the explanations would be... easier. But it it came out a pony... maybe keeping that a secret would be best." "Are you suggesting that I lie to our child about your being a human?" Luna asks, sounding slightly offended. "Not always. When it would be old enough to understand then tell it, but not right away. Let it grow up without the worries or concerns of being different." I say as I finish grabbing some food and bring it to the counter. I head to the hall closet and find a saddle bag with a note on it, so I grab it and bring it to Luna. "I don't know Miles..." "This isn't pony text?" I ask as I twist the note around, trying to figure it out. "No, it is. I meant about the whole secrecy thing. I don't know if I could lie to it." "Well... that's really on you. I don't get to make the choice." I say, silencing the room. Fucking dammit... I need to stop depressing her. This was suppose to be a good day. "Sorry..." "Its alright." She says as she takes a deep breath. "Its the reality of things... and I'm going to have to come to terms with it eventually..." "I'm not gone yet." I say as I kneel in front of her lift her chin up with a hand. "I'm here now, that's all that matters at the moment. Look, lets forget all that other stuff and head down to Topaz, alright?" She gives me a quick kiss before nodding. "OK. What else do we need?" That's my girl. "Lets see...." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Two Hours Later We finally made it to the bulk head and are waiting for it to open up for us. Ends up that saddle was modified for me to have on my back. So here we are, Topaz Falls. Each of us carrying bags filled with random supplies, armed, and ready for whatever's behind the bulkhead. Though we didn't really need to bring that much, seeing how I was passed out for two days. As soon as there's enough room to pass I run in, rifle raised and looking for.... "Greetings Miles. Infection complete. All repairs complete. May I have your autograph?" Easy asks as he stands alone in the gateway. "Uh... what?" I lower my rifle as I take a look inside. In the distance I can see several different bots working together to clean up the city. All of the ruble and skeletons in this area have been cleaned up while walls are being patched up. "Greetings Luna. Infection complete. All repairs complete. May I have your autograph?" Easy asks Luna, getting confused looks from her. "Um... no." "Easy, detail completion of directives." I ask as I walk into the city. "Of course. All active bots have been infected with the Inobaudio virus and have received all necessary repairs. Next set directive is the repair of Topaz Falls. Do you wish to make an alteration?" "Be sure to take all human bones to the crematory to be taken care of properly, but other then that no." "May I have your autograph?" I shake my head as I sling my rifle and continue walking into the city, Luna by my side. Its actually pretty impressive how much of the city they've cleaned up. If I had to guess, I would say that they did anywhere from fifty to ninety percent. Luna convinced me to leave most of the weapons and armor by the bulkhead, seeing how the city should be safe now. I decided to keep my trench knife, just to be safe. I didn't really know where to go or what to do, so I asked Luna. She said she wanted to find a shopping center or social area to get a feel of the city, so I decided to bring her to Twentieth Avenue shopping center. It's just a stretch of shops and restaurants in the west district, should be interesting. "So this is Twentieth Avenue... quaint." "Yeah... it looked better back in the day." Though most of the debris has been cleared, many of the buildings are still destroyed. There are are few left standing, so we decide to go check them out. The first one is a restaurant to our right, Cibum. "Did you ever eat here?" Luna asks as we peer in through the windows. Many of the tables and chairs are still standing, but its hard to tell anything else due to the thick layer of dust on the window. "Once." "And?" "Well... the food was good and all." I say as I walk away from the window. "OK, what happened here when you ate here?" She asks as she follows after me. "Well... I'd rather not say." "Really? We'll see about that." She says as she quickens her pace to the next.... "Oh sweet Barbra..." "Who?" "Its still here." "And what is this building?" "Eam Voluptatem." ".... her.... pleasure.... is this a..." "Yes. Its a sex shop." An awkward silence falls between us as we both stare at the building. It would look like any other two story Topaz building, only with black tinted windows. "Lets check it out!" Luna says as she runs straight to the door, finding it locked. "A little help Miles." I think about it for a second before I walk up to the door and kick it open. "After you wife." I say, getting a smile from her as she walks in. The inside is... pretty much what I expected. Four aisles fill the front of the store, each one going up to my chest, and are still filled with various items. The walls as filled with manikins that are each dressed in provocative clothing. The back has the fitting room... or what I assume is the fitting room, and the main stairway to the right. Luna's already going through the first aisle, inspecting every little object she comes by, so I decide to just follow her around. "Whats this?" She asks as she levitates something up to me, still looking through the shelf. "That would be a cock ring." "Whats that for?" "Well, to my understanding, a guy puts that on and its suppose to make you last longer... I think." She looks up to me with a large smile, so I shake my head. "Sorry, its too small for me." She pouts a bit before she continues down the aisle, tossing the brass ring aside. "Huh... whats this thing?" She says as she picks up a stick. "Uh... lets see... its a sounding stick... I have no clue what that is or what it does. But something tells me that you shouldn't touch it." She looks at the stick and drops it as we go around to the WHAT THE FUCK! THUD Before I could see anything Luna had levitated me back a bit and is now pinning me to the ground. "Uhh... Luna. What are you doing?" "I have an idea but you need to let me tie you down. OK?" She says desperately. All I could do was nod my head as she brings a random chair over and sits me down, facing away from the aisle. I hear her grab a bunch of different things as she runs around the store. I tried to look back, but her magic is held me in place, so I'll just have to blindfold.... "Is the blindfold really necessary?" I ask as I feel her start tying my hands behind the chair. "And is that really..." "Yes! I... well... I'm going to embarrass the heck out of myself... but... just trust me OK." "Alright." I hear her walk around the store some more until she finally walks back over to me... and then keeps going. "Where are you..." "Just one second." She chimes as she walks away. "OK... I'll be right here." I say as I hear a door shut and something being opened... what is she planning? After a few minutes I start to get bored, just sitting here... alone... tied up... fuck. I perk up a bit as I hear the door open again and her slow hoof steps coming towards me. "OK... I'm going to remove the blindfold, please don't laugh." I feel the blindfold lift up to reveal... "OH SWEET BARBRA YOU'RE SEXY." I yell as I gape at her. She's wearing a white nurses outfit with white stockings on all four, the hat, and I can't tell but I think she has a white thong on as well. The dress goes to about her thighs and seems a little awkward for her to be wearing, having to have cut the side to allow her wings through "So... you like it?" She asks as she shifts her weight from side to side, blushing deeply. "Iwhidjamuha." Smooth. "Well... I... uh... Oh right, ahem* lets see what the doctor ordered." She says as seductively as possible as she walks up to me and prances around me.... she is wearing a thong... and it has a red plus over her.... oh sweet Barbra... "Hmm, it seems that you've got a... growing problem." She says as she runs a hoof over my crotch. She leans up to my ear and whispers "I have exactly what the doctor ordered for that." "I bet you do." I say, getting giggle from her as she starts to undo my pants. {what was really said} "Iwedimehunuwa." She pulls down my pants and blows lightly onto my erect member, getting me to twitch from joy. "You ready?" She asks as she hovers her lips above me, her breath sending chills throughout my body. Not being able to form words, I nod as I anticipate my first blow job. "OK, here we and no." She says as she levitates a coat over and covers herself up. "What? Wait..." "We can continue when you tell me what happened at that restaurant. Until then, have fun being blue." "You can't be serious." "Try me." "... that's just evil..." "Sorry, but I don't like secrets between the two of us. We share everything." "*sigh* fine. It... well... I kind of had... *mumbles*..." "What was that?" "It was where I had my first date kind of not really but everyone else said it was but I didn't even know it was a date until we almost kissed but I seriously didn't know and I made Tenera cry so Fidus kicked my ass and..." "Wait wait wait wait. You... had a date... with Tenera?" "Maybe." I say with a smile, getting even, un-amused glares from Luna. "Ok, before you say anything, I didn't know. Everyone said we were meeting up for dinner, but when I got there it was just me and Tenera. She didn't even know... I think. When I walked her home she tried to kiss me but I stopped her. I told her that I didn't feel that way about her and... well she cried... and Fidus and Inficiunt jumped me..." "*sigh* its alright." Luna says as she tosses the coat aside. "Really?" "Yeah. I just wanted to know what happened. I'm not the jealous type." She says as she starts to give me light hand/hoof job. "Uh..." "But I think you deserve a reward for telling me, don't you?" She asks as she blows onto me again. "Yes please." {Whats actually said} "Hamanatanemini." "*giggle* OK then." She says as she kisses the tip, making me sigh deeply from her soft lips being pressed against me. She gives a few kisses and licks along the shaft before she comes to the end and begins to slide it inside her mouth, having me push my way through her lips. Its taking every fiber of my being to not thrust into her right now this feels SO GOOD! She takes the WHOLE thing into her mouth, having her chin rest against my balls as she holds it there. I can feel her tongue tentatively press against me, slowly making its way all around me as she begins to pull back. I close my eyes for a second as she pulls me out of her, missing the warmth of her mouth. "What the?" I ask aloud as I feel the blindfold go back on. "Aw... I don't get to watch." "Oh, don't worry. You'll get to watch. Its just time for a costume change." She says as she gives me a kiss on the cheek. She walks away and shuts the door again, leaving me naked and tied up. FUCK. With nothing better to do I kick my pants off and wait for her to return. "Alright. I'm back... and it seems that you've been a bad boy." "Uh... blindfold." "Oh, right *giggle*." When I can see again my jaw drops... again. She has a police woman's uniform on. Black stockings, black mini skirt, the blue shirt that's tied up in the front, shades, and the policemen's hat. She walks over to me, levitating some handcuffs, and sits in my lap face forward. She grinds into me a couple of times before she starts taking off my shirt. "Oh sweet Barbra..." "Hm, now.. are you going to be a good boy and cooperate... or a bad boy?" ..... FUCK I WANT BOTH! Hmm... "That depends, what's my crime?" I ask as I start undoing my straps, sorry Luna. I'll have to teach you some better knots later. "Well, public indecency is at the top of my list." She says before she gives me a forceful kiss. "But I think you can make up for that one." OK, free now. "You forgot the assault on an officer." She tilts her head in confusion, so I throw my arms around her and twist off the chair. We land with me on top. She was about to protest but I silenced her with a forceful kiss. I start lowering my kisses. Chest, lower ribs, belly, breast, oh sweet Barbra, light blue thong with a policemen's badge in the center. She lets out a soft sigh as I kiss the badge. I start moving all of my kissed around the badge, getting the best sounds from the top. I run a tongue under the cloth and bite onto it, pulling it back to reveal the prize underneath. I toss the thong at Luna's dumbstruck face before getting back to work, planting kisses on her thighs and blowing softly onto her. She starts to twist from all of the teasing, so I hold onto her thighs and hold her hip in place as I continue to tease her. "Miles..." Luna says in a mixture of pleading and moaning. Starting from the bottom, I do a forceful, long lick, going all along her until I come to the top. She thrusts her hip a bit, but I held her in place fairly well. At the top I find the secret button Gladous had told me so much about. Following her advice, I begin to suck and nip on it, getting soft moans from Luna. As I continue working her she begins to try to shut her legs, so I pull them apart and hold them open as I move lower. I get to her entrance and start prodding it with my tongue, getting a gasp from her as I run my tongue in and out as deeply as I can go. "Don't stop." Luna begs as I pull back to catch my breath. "Need... air... first." I pant as I begin rubbing her with a hand, getting her to close her eyes from the touch. Fuck it. I scoot forward and push myself inside, getting a loud gasp from her as I begin to pull back out. I can fell my heart race as I lean forward, planting my hands on both sides of her face. She takes a hold onto my left arm, making my heart flutter for a second as I pick up the pace. I take my right hand and begin to rub her side as I continue, loving the feeling of her soft body underneath my fingers. "Miles...I... I want top.... please... let me..." Luna mutters between quick breaths. I stop thrusting and lay on top of her, giving her a passionate kiss as we roll over. She immediately sits up and begins bouncing up and down, grinding her hips in motion. I run my hands under her skirt and grab her flank, squeezing her mark as I feel the pressure begin to build. "Luna.... I'm getting close..." "Me to..." She says as she runs her hooves down my chest, quickening her pace. When the pressure built too high I grabbed onto her and began pumping as hard as I could, hitting the highest climax I've ever had in my life. Simultaneously, Luna had let out a loud yells as she hit hers, wetting me as she arched back. When she finishes her orgasm she collapses on top of me, both of us panting from our bliss... ... so tired... sleep now... Perspective: Luna I guess we had both fallen asleep from that cause I woke up wrapped up in his arms, my favorite way of waking up. That... was... AMAZING. I had been watching him sleep for awhile, but curiosity got the better of me, so I decided to keep looking around the store. I untangle myself from him and get up, amazingly I didn't wake him.... though he tends to be a heavy sleeper. When I stand something gets in my face. I levitate it off to find that it was the thong I was wearing. I don't know why, but I liked wearing these. Maybe becuase of how little it actually covers or... I don't know. I was about to set it aside when an idea hit me. I go back to Miles and put them on his head. He mumbles something but stays asleep. With a giggle I go back to checking out the store. Most of the items in here seem fairly straight forward. Things that I'd either place in me or wear. I come to a stop at the last aisle and stare at something that... doesn't seem right. It's a grey metal bar with two black parts. In each of the black parts are etchings that I can't read. I levitate it up and... IT'S NOT YET YOUR TIME I drop the bar and look around. It spoke to me! Not yet?! What do you mean? ... When will I know the proper time? ... What does this do? ... Are you ever going to talk to me? When the time is right .... not cool. I levitate it back up and bring it over to Miles. I remove the costume and lay back beside him, looking over the bar intensely. This is important... but why? Perspective: Miles Aw... what.... what is that smell... it smells... good. I open my eyes and grab what ever is on my face... when did Luna's thong get on my face? "Miles?" Luna says as she nuzzles me a bit. "Hey Lulu... you do this?" I ask as I flick it at her. "Lulu?" "What? No pet names, Lulu." I say as I wrap my arms around her and hold her close. "Miles... my Soul Fire spoke to me." She says as she gets eye level with me. "It did... what did it say." I ask as I begin to brush her mane. "Well... I was looking around the store, and I found this and..." "Whoa... where did you get a Virgum de Marcas?" I ask as I take the bar in my hands and look it over. "What does it do?" "You grab onto the parts with the etchings and it marks you. The marks made this way become the portals to your soul. This is how humans use magic." She takes another look at the bar, looking it over with a new perspective. "This is how you learned to use magic?" "No... kind of." I flare my hand and show her the archaic circles in my palm. "See those? Those were put there when I used one of these. It gives me a link to my soul. From there I can use my soul to perform magic." "Did... did it hurt?" "For most people no. It was as simple as getting a shot. For me... the pain was excruciating. I was eight, and well... I maxed out. Sussarands had to leave the room, he couldn't watch. Altum watched the entire thing like the sadistic bastard he was. I somehow drained all of the energy for ten floors." "Miles... lets eat." She says as she gets up. I was about to argue but my stomach yelled at me before I could say anything. Luna sat in my lap as we pull out some apples and carrots and ate in silence. I can tell she's thinking deeply about something, but I let it go for now to finish eating. "Whats on your mind?" I ask as I bury my face in her mane and wrap my arms around her. "Its... just... *sigh* I don't know. When I had picked up the Virgum de Marcas, my Soul Fire had told me that it was not yet my time. What does that mean?" "Well... if I had to guess, I would say that it meant that it wasn't your time to meet your Soul Fire. The Staff of the Marks is somehing we use to connect with our souls, and maybe your soul feels that you aren't ready for something like that yet." "Then... how will I know when it's my time? Can you talk to yours?" "I don't know when it will be your time. And... kind of. I remember when Starry Notes was injured I was trying to heal her and my Soul Fire was questioning it. I think they only speak to us during moments of extreme danger or emotion. Times when we're really intune with our souls." "Can... can I talk to yours?" She asks as she turns around and looks me in the eyes. "How would you do that?" "Well.. whenever I go into you subconscious, I find him there." "How would you get there?" "Well... if you flare your hand... and grab my horn..." "Luna, that sounds extremely dangerous. I could really hurt you if it doesn't work..." "I know, but I think its worth the risk. Please Miles. I need to get this figured out." I think about it for a bit before I answer. If this goes wrong, I could burn her horn off.... or worse. I flare my hand and look at her. She looks between me and my hand and slowly nods, closing her eyes and waiting for me to do it. Well... here goes everything. I grab onto her horn and wait for what evers going to happen. "Well... at least I didn't burn your horn off." I say as I hold onto her, getting confused looks from her. "Every other time you did this it worked. I wonder what happened differently..." "Welll, every other time I was unconscience, so there's that." I say as she looks at me with a sparkle in her eye. "Luna don't..." THWACK THUD Perspective: Luna YES! IT WORKED! I'm back in the hall of memories with an angry Miles standing right next to me. Shoot! No Soul Fire. I offer my best smile to him as he shakes his head at me. "So... Miley wiley..." "First off, ow. Next, no. Miley sounds like a girls name. And lastly, don't do that again. Seriously. I'm going to have brain damage eventually." "Sorry babe." I say as I look around. "So... is there a way we can get Soul Fire out or..." "I don't know.... don't hit me." "I wasn't going to." I say as I set my hoof back down. "Well... we're here anyway, lets go check a memory or two." "I don't know Luna, some of my memories seem to be fucked up." "Why is this one all black?" I ask as I look at the panel before me that's all black. "Well... if these are all my memories, and we can't see this one, it must be something I forgot..." "Or something repressed." I say as I eye it some more. "Lets check it out." I say as I start to walk towards it, only to stop when Miles grabs my shoulder. He looks a little troubled as he stares at the panel. "Luna... this may be something that I want to forget..." "But... what could there be that you would want to forget?" He doesn't answer. Instead he backs up a bit, never looking away from the black panel. "I'll leave it up to you. If you want to see it, then I'll let you." I look back to the panel and try to think logically about this...but curiosity got the better of me. With a heavy heart I stepped into the panel. The world turned dark and stayed that way for awhile. "I think I broke it." "You broke my mind?" "Well... maybe. Every other memory popped up quicker then this." "Yeah, but this was a blackened memory." "True.... well.... shoot." "Do you ever cuss?" Before I could answer a bright light blinded me. When I was able to see again I find myself in some alley in Topaz Falls. Miles is directly next to me while a ragged, dirty, matted child version of Miles stood in front of us. He... it... it's the kid from the picture! I knew it was Miles! He looks back to us and I immediately notice how his eyes shine through the dirt and grime plastered on his face. He sneaks to the end of the alley and looks out. Wow... I've never thought I'd see so many humans milling about. They all seem... peaceful. Unaware of what's eventually going to happen. The child Miles reaches forward to grab some green flakes from a stand when a large woman grabs his hand. "NO!" She yells as she pulls him forward and begins to try to slap his bottom. "No more! You and your little friends have stolen from me for the last..." "FUCK YOU!" Child Miles yells as he kick her in the shin, getting her to let go and hop on one leg. Before she could do anything Miles had ran down the alley, meeting up with a group of kids before they all run through the alley together. Miles and I run together as we keep up with the group of hollering children. "Where are we going!?" I yell as we run dodge the metal carriages and enter the yard before the orphanage. "Nevermind." "Way to go fuck up!" One of the children yell as they push Miles down. "HEY! STAY AWAY FROM HIM!" I yell as I try to keep the child away from Miles, but only faze through him. "Memory. This already happened." Miles says as the clearly older child begins to beat up Miles, punching him in the face as he sits on his chest. Seeing him get hurt like this is making me feel uneasy. I want to help. I want to hold the child Miles and tell him everything will be OK... but I can't. "MILES EREMITA!" Yells somepony from the side. I look over and sigh in relief as an adult walks up to the fighting kids. He seems to be older, clearly older then Miles, with a shaved head and a long black robe. "My office. NOW." The other kids giggle as Miles gets up and wipes his bloody lip. With a sniffle, he walks towards the dean. "Wh-what did I do?" He asks weakly. I WANT TO HUG YOU YOU'RE TOO CUTE. "Go to my office and I'll let you know. I'll be there in a minute, I have to deal with these delinquents first." Miles nods and walks towards the building, crying to himself as he goes. Watching him walk away was too much for me, I need to hug something. Without saying a word I grab onto Miles and hold him tightly. "Luna... why are you hugging me?" Miles asks as the memory drags us along with Miles... child Miles. "Becuase you adorable and they beat you up and you're crying and I WANT TO HUG SOMETHING!" I say as we enter the deans office. The office is... fairly close to what I remember. It's cleaner, needless to say. Everything looks new.... "Hello Miles." I look to the desk to see somepony sitting in the seat. It's wearing a black robe with the hood up, obscuring her face. "*sniff* h-hi." Miles says as he continues to wipe the blood from his face. The woman gets up and walks over to Miles, flaring her hands on the way. "Here, let me take care of that." She says as she slides her hands under his shirt and heals his wounds. When she finishes she brings her hands back and just stares at him. "Um... thank you. W-who are you?" Miles asks as he tries to see her face. I try to look as well, but there's nothing but darkness. "Well... Miles, that's not important right now. I'm just here to tell you something very important." "Whats that?" "I love you." The child Miles takes a step back, blushing deeply. D'aw.... HEY! "Um... I don't think I like girls... but thank you? Why can't I see your face?" "Becuase I'm trying to hide it from everypony else." She says as she pulls him in for a hug. "The dean is coming... I have to go.." "But... who are you? Can I come with you?" "I'm so sorry. I love you Miles. Just... get away as fast as possible and hide. OK?" "Can I at least see your face?" He asks as the woman lets go of him and steps back. She places her hands on the floor and makes a Mico platform in the center of the room. She looks to Miles for a second before she pushes him into the corner and pulls back the hood a bit. I tried to take a look, but she quickly put it back on. "Wow... you're pretty." "Thank you, handsome." She says before she goes to the platform and flashes away. Miles tried to take the platform as well, but in a bright flash it disappeared from the room. "Miles?" The dean says as he steps into the room. "Ah, right where I wanted you." He says as he shuts the door and locks it. "Why am I here?" Miles asks as he steps away from the dean. "Didn't I tell you? We're going to have a... private party." He says as he walks over to his desk and pulls out a bottle. "I don't know if I like parties... whats that?" Miles asks as he steps closer to the dean. I don't like where this is heading. "Its super fun juice. Do you like to have fun?" He asks as he pours two glasses. Don't drink it Miles... "I guess... why am I here alone then?" "Well you only turn eight once." The dean says as he walks over to him and kneels before him, offering the glass. "It's our private happy birthday Miles, lets have a party." Miles eyes him a bit as he takes the glass. "Why didn't we do this before? Plus my birthday isn't for another week." He asks as he sniffs the glass, making an adorable sour face. "Well... lets just say its something special I do for the kids only when they turn eight." He says before he downs the drink. After setting the glass down he walks over to Miles and takes his drink, setting it on the ground. He looks to Miles with a smile and just stares at him for a second, holding his hands in front of himself. "What are you doing!" Miles yells as the dean reaches forward and rubs his... "GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HIM!" I yell as I try to buck this creep to oblivion. "Come on Miles, its just a party." He says as he yanks his shirt and pulls him in close. Miles start to fight to get away, but the dean just wraps an arm around him as he continues to fondle him. "Isn't there anything we can do?" I ask Miles, who's just standing in the corner of the room, dumbstruck. "STOP IT! NO! I DON'T WANT THIS! I SAID NO!" The child Miles yells as he continues to try to get away. At this point the dean had pined Miles on his stomach and was working opening his pants. "I THOUGHT YOU LIKED PARTIES!" The dean yells as he finally gets his thing out. He lifted his hand to try to take Miles shorts off, but instead he rolled over and kicked the dean in the nuts, dropping him to the ground. With him currently incapacitated, Miles tries the door, but he can't seem to unlock it. He runs over to the window and slides to open. As he climbs onto the ledge the dean starts to slowly get up and stumble after him. "Come on, just a little more!" I cheer as he slowly steps away. The dean lunges out at him and grabs the sleeve of his shirt, getting Miles to try to yank free. "LET GO OF ME! LET GO!" He yells as he tries to get free. "Stop! You'll fall you idiot!" He yells as he tries to pull him in. RRIIIIIIIIIIIPPPPE The shirt had torn in half as Miles gave one hard yank, but lost his balance and fell off the ledge. The dean held on tightly as he tried to pull him up, but the shirt had completely torn off... and he fell. THUD He fell two stories until he hit a large green carriage. He just laid there, eyes wide open as it rolled away, dragging us along as it went away. I looked over to Miles and hugged him lightly. "I'm sorry..." "I... was..." "I know... I'm sorry. We shouldn't have come into this memory. You were right." "I... who was that lady? Why is the memory still going? I am fucking lucky that garbage truck was there." I look back to the garbage truck and see Miles starting to get up. He looks around a bit before something makes the truck bounce, making him fall off. He hits the ground, hard, and rolls a bit before he comes to a stop. He's crying. He's shaking, bleeding, crying and I can't do a single thing to comfort him. I start to tear up as he tries to get up, but falls back down and grabs his leg. It must be broken. "MILES? MILES WHERE ARE YOU?" The dean calls out from down the alley. Miles's eyes shrink as he crawls to a pile of black bags and tries to hide underneath them. The dean comes running by, silencing Miles as he shakes in fear. He looks around a bit before walking back down the alley, cursing his luck. With the dean gone, Miles begins to sob as he holds onto the bags, breaking my heart. "I'm so sorry Miles." I say as I bury my face in his chest. "I didn't know that it was this bad...I... I'm sorry." "I...its... its alright." He says as he just sits there, dumbstruck. "Watch where you're going!" Yells sompepony down the alley. I look down to see somepony and the hooded woman from before backing away from each other. The guy has a dark tan jacket on with some black pants. He has all black hair, with spots of grey, and seems fairly young, a little older then current Miles, maybe. He's pale white and is well toned, about the same build as Miles actually. The hooded woman leans over and glances at Miles before backing away. This makes the other pony turn around and..... "Oh my god, Miles... he looks just like you." Looking between the two its... they... I... "Hey... kid. You alright?" He asks as he approaches Miles, who cowers behind the bags. "*sniff* leave me alone." He whimpers. "Come on kid, look I'm a Spartan. I can help." He says as he squats near him. "I... I don't want your help." He says as he grabs the bag a little tighter. "Really? What a trooper then. Broken leg, bleeding, and wants to go it alone. Impressive. How about this then, I heal your wounds, then leave. No funny business, just a quick heal and then I'm gone. Unless you think you can hobble all the way to the hospital." Miles stays quiet for a bit before he shifts a bit under the bag. "You promise?" "I promise. Now lets get you out from under these bags." He says as he scoots a little closer. "O-OK." He says as he moves the bag out of the way, making the other man fall on his back side as he tries to back away from Miles. "No..... nonononono this can't be... you.... she.... you look so much like her..." He says as he stares at Miles. "I-I think it's more then my leg." He says as he tries to rub his back, wincing from trying to reach back there. "A-are you going t-to help?" He doesn't say anything. He just continues to stare at him as tears start to fall from his eyes. "Please... it hurts..." "Right. Right right right. Uh... just come over here and try to keep still." He says as he gets back up and helps Miles out from the garbage. I can't think of anything to say. He looks just like him... and the way he looks at him.... I have to see how this plays out. He goes to place his hands on his chest, but Miles pushes him away and tries to back away. "DON'T TOUCH ME!" He yells, getting the other guy to back off. "But I need to heal you..." "I don't care! Don't touch me!" Miles yells as he takes deep breathes. "Miles... what happened to you?" "Miles! There you are!" The dean yells as he runs down to him, only to stop when he see's the other guy. "Thank you so much for finding him... uh..." "Susurrans Bellum." He says flatly as he gets between the two of them. "Captain of the Spartan regiment. Care to explain what happened to my...my...to this child?" "He fell out of a window and landed on the garbage truck, right Miles?" He asks, getting Miles to look away. Susurrans looks to Miles before he swings his fist, punching the dean across the face and making him flat on his back. Thank you. "If I ever hear anything about you and Miles, I will hunt you down and turn you to ash. Understand me?" The dean nods and quickly runs back down the alley, holding his jaw as he goes. Susurrans turns back to Miles and kneels beside him. "Miles... I need to heal you. But that's going to require that I put my hands on your chest. May I?" "No.... maybe... just make the pain go away." He says as he tears up some more. He leans over and places his hands on his chest, being as careful as possible. After what feels like an eternity he finally finishes up healing him and quickly pulls his hands back. Miles takes a few deep breaths before he sits up and looks himself over. "Miles... do you know who I am?" He asks as he holds onto his legs tightly. "No." Miles says as he looks him over. "I've never seen you before in my life." "What about your mother.... where is she?" "I'm told she died during the exodus of Diamond Halls... giving birth to me... why are you asking me these things?" "Becuase I'm... becuase you're.... we're..." He tries to force the words out of his mouth... but he can't. "Whats your full name." He asks as he looks down. "I'm Miles Eremita...." "Eremita." He repeats as he begins to break down a bit, tears flowing down his face as he shakes his head. "They gave you her maiden name...." "Why are you crying? Did I do something wrong?" "No... I... I...." GGUURRGGLLEE Everypony looks to child Miles as he blushes a bit. "Hehe, hungry?" He asks as he wipes his tears away. "Y--yeah. Sorry..." "Don't be. I know a place that make really good disks, want to come with me?" He asks as he stands up. "Ar-are you sure? Most places don't let kids like me in..." "Don't worry about that. I'll make sure they let you in. What do you say?" Child Miles stands up and looks around before nodding. "Alright... so... hold my hand or..." "Why would I hold your hand?" "No reason. Your, what, eight. I just thought..." "I can take care of myself!" Miles defends as he starts to walk off. Susurrans looks a bit taken back but walks off anyway. We walk along with them for awhile, the entire time current Miles just looks lost in thought. We finally come to our destination, a long building filled with a singe row of red benches and people eating. Behind the row of benches is a long counter with bar stools placed periodically. Miles was a little hesitant to enter, but Susurrans just held the door open for him and waited. He ushers him to a booth and take the seat across from him as he takes his jacket off. On the sleeve of his tight black shirt is the Spartan logo. I can see the bottom of a Spartan logo tattooed just under his short sleeve... with Eremita written under it. I imagine it has a woman's name on the top. Everypony in the room is staring at Miles, making him shy away from the unwanted attention. "Uh... hun I'm going to have to ask you.." Starts a lady in a red and white striped dress, but stops when Susurrans starts talking. "I'll take the Calvatia with an immunity boost and... water. What about you Miles?" "Uh..." "He'll have the same." Susurrans says to the lady. "Sir, this is a restaurant. Not a charity house." "Then do your minimum wage job and get our food." He snaps back, getting her to walk off. He looks back to Miles and winks to him, getting a weak smile in response. "So... Miles. Uh... in case you didn't hear me before, I'm Susurrans Bellum." "You're with the military, right?" Before he could answer a ringing goes off. Susurrans pulls out his phone and looks at it, before he looks back to Miles. "I'm sorry, I have to take this. I'll be back... I... sorry.... Apricis now isn't a good time." He says into the phone as he walks out of the building. Miles just sits there, trying to avoid everypony's stares. The lady returns with two glasses of water and look around. "Hey, where did the jerk go?" "He went outside to talk on the phone.... c-can I still have the water?" He asks as he licks his lips. She looks at him for a bit before she sighs and sets the glasses down. Miles smiles as he goes to take a drink, but the lady quickly switches the glasses around. "Sorry, you don't want to drink from that one." She says before she walks back to the kitchen.Miles take the water and starts to down it quickly... he must of been really thirsty. "OK I'm back." Susurrans says as he takes a seat. He looks to Miles as he downs the water before he goes to take a drink... "Your with the Military?" Miles asks, stopping Susurrans from taking a drink. "Yes. Uh... I'm the Captain of the Spartan regiment..." "Who are they?" "We're... well, I'm sure you'll find out soon enough. But enough about me. I want to know more about you." "Really? Why?" "Well... I'm... uh.. I'm genuinely interested. Who are you? Where did you come from? Why is your hair so matted?" Before Miles could say anything the waitress came back with what looked like two green pancakes. She mumbles something before she walks away. "Well... I'm sure we can talk later. Lets eat." He says as he takes a fork and cuts a chunk for himself to eat. Miles tried to use the fork, only to adorably fail at it. He couldn't seem to grab it correctly. "Here, let me show you how to.." "I've got it." He says as he tries to cut a chunk, but can't seem to get it right. Giving up, he drops the fork and just picks it up with his hand to eat it. As he does, one of the elders at the counter coughs, getting Miles to look over to see them all glaring at him. As he cowers away from them Susurrans looks between them before he drops his fork and picks up the pancake and eats it with his hands. "What?" He asks with a mouthful. "Never see someone use their hands before?" They all shake their heads as they turns around, keeping quiet. Susurrans turns back to Miles to find him hanging his head as he tries to avoid everypony's gaze. "Hey, you alright?" "NO!" Miles yells. "Why did you bring me here!? I don't belong here! I'm an orphan scum, not some... I don't belong here." "I just.. I... I wanted to get some food in you..." Susurrans says as he sets down the food. "Look... this Is really confusing... but.. I... I just want to do right by you." He says as he sets his elbows on the table and holds his chin up, looking away. "*sigh* I guess this isn't the proper time then. Look, finish up and I'll take you back." Miles was about to take another bite... but he kept looking back to Susurrans. Just as he was about to take a drink he spoke up. "My hair is matted becuase the orphanage won't cut it." "Huh?" "The dean says that there isn't enough money in the program to cut it. I like the red pellets from that one store down the street. I don't like the night light they have in the boys room, its too bright, and um... I... uh... I once saw this guy doing art on the corner and he showed me some stuff, but then he got arrested." Susurrans stares at him for a second before he starts to laugh a bit. "Hey, it's not funny!" "No, absolutely not. *giggles* not funny at all." He says as he tries to hide his giggles, getting Miles to giggle as well. "Ok, maybe its a bit funny." He admits before they both start laughing. They spend the next hour just talking, laughing, eating, teaching Miles to use a fork. Amazingly, Susurrans hasn't touched the glass of water. Once the food was gone and the laughing stopped, or at least was stifled enough, it became quiet again. "Miles... I think its time I took you back." "I don't want to go back. I hate it back there." Miles says as he toys with his fork. "Don't worry. I won't let you stay there for long. But I have to take care of a few things first. Trust me, I'll be back to get you." Miles looks up at him and smiles at him. "Come on, lets go." He says as he picks up the bill THEY CHARGED TEN BITS FOR WATER! "What! How could they charge ten bits for water!" I yell as Susurrans pays. "Ten bits? That's pretty cheap." Miles says from behind. I gawk between the two as they leave the restaurant. Ten bits. Ten bits is cheap. That doesn't make any sense. I shake my head and walk after the two of them, dismissing it as a human thing. "When do you make the choice." Susurrans asks Miles as they walk back to the orphanage. "I dunno, I turn eight on the twenty ninth. But they usually take the kids away at the end of the next month." "Twenty ninth, you're a leap year baby... I don't believe it. Well... I'll see what I can do to get you out as soon as possible..." "Does... this mean you want to be my dad?" Susurrans stops in his tracks and looks over to Miles. He walks up to him and takes a knee as he puts his hands on his shoulders. "I.... it means that I already lost you once. And I'm not going to lose you again. Miles.... I'm so sorry... I should of been there for you.... I will do better. I promise. I won't allow anything to harm you again." "Why are you sorry I got beat up? It's not like you told him to do it?" Miles says innocently as Susurrans tries to hold back his tears. "No... I... I'm... I have to get going. I'll be back though. I promise. I... I have to get going." He says as he stands up and walks away. Miles watches him go for a bit before he sighs and enters the yard for the orphanage. "HEADS UP!" Some kid yells as a rock flies towards Miles. THWACK CRASH The moment the rock hit his head we were thrown out of the memory and out of his subconscious. I woke with him laying over me, and Easy standing over me. "GAH!" I yell as I jump back, making Miles fall over. "Don't scare me like that!" "Easy, what are you doing in here?" Miles asks as he gets up and starts to gather his clothes. "May I have your autograph?" He asks, making Miles sigh as he starts to get dressed. "Miles, are you going to be OK." "..." "Did he ever tell you?" "No. The sixteen years I knew him he never said a word about the first time we met..." "Or about being your father?" "... I don't believe that." "Miles, you're the spitting image of Susurrans. I can't believe I didn't see it before, though he was wearing a helmet in your picture..." "Luna... I, just don't..." "I mean, you have his eyes, body build...." "JUST STOP!" He yells, making me step back. He rubs his face a bit as he squats down. I walk up to him and nuzzle his hand a bit, getting him to look me in the eyes. I can see the hurt written on his face. I pull him in for a hug, getting him to hug me back. "Sorry, its just that... if I were to say he was my father, then I'd have to except that he just didn't want me as a son..." "No Miles, he loved you, so much. He put your life over my parents lives. He was always there to get you out of trouble. It must of been the most painful thing in his life to have seen you hurt in that alley. To know that you had lived and that he missed out on raising you. He wanted to say it... but he was to scared to." Miles holds me a bit tighter as tears fall onto my back. I just rub his back as hold him, its all I really can do right now... but it's just what he needs. Perspective: Miles Thirty Minutes later After I had cried all of my tears out I just held onto Luna for a bit longer. Susurrans was my father. I still find it hard to grasp. I wish I could go back and just talk to him. Even for a minute. But... that's just not possible. "Miles... we need to get back to Ponyville..." "I know." I say as I continue to hold her. "Can you at least loosen up, its starting to..." "Sorry." I say as I let go of her. She just smiles and gives me a kiss on the lips. "I'm going to get our stuff together, why don't you just get some fresh air." I nod to her and walk out of the store. This is too much. Susurrans being my father. Some mysterious woman talking to me and leading Susurrans to me. Being molested.... *shivers*. I want answers... but my answers died three thousand years ago. The message! Auxy left me a message, who's to say the others didn't? I need to get to Quartz Crest, I need to see if they left a message explaining this. Did they even know? There's only one way to find out, and I am going to find out. "Whoa, did you just have an epiphany or something?" Luna asks as she walks out, carrying both of our bags. "Kind of. I determined that my friends might have left more answers in messages from the past. Which means that I need to get to Quartz Crest as soon as possible." I say with renewed vigor. I take my bag from Luna and strap it to my back. She smiles and teleports us to our other equipment. "Then lets get back to Ponyville already." I smile to her as I grab all of my stuff and make my way to the bulkhead... which never shut. Once out we take the platform back to the entrance of the cave and teleport back to my house. I walk in and drop all of my stuff on the dinning room table, getting the attention of Lupus and Hati, who both make a be line for Luna and start loving on her. She pets them a bit but then pushes them aside to walk up to me. "Miles, I have to get back to Canterlot..." Before she could finish I ran up to her and wrapped her in a tight hug, kissing her as passionately as possible. She just melts in my arms as I hold her there, kissing her. "I love you." I say as I end our kiss. I put my hand in its spot and begin to rub her cheek as I stare into her eyes. "Ego amare magis." She says as she nuzzles the end of her nose against mine. "I love you most." I say as I kiss her again, this time more lightly. I break the kiss and begin to lead her upstairs. Nothing was said. Nothing was needed. I go to my bedroom door and open it... "GAAAAAAAAAAH!" Storm yells as he slams into a screaming Twilight and then passes out, collapsing on top of her. ... ... ... ... "Really? Did... did you just... in my bed?" "Miles.... I... it was Storms's idea." Twilight pants as she rolls over. "I think I'll just head home now... love you Miles." Luna says as she walk to my closet and heads inside. "Storm... STORM!" I yell, but he stays asleep. "He... will be out for... awhile." Twilight says as she starts to fall asleep. I just shut the door and go back down stairs. Fucking cock blocking asshole... weren't they suppose to be in Las Pegasis? Whatever. I'm getting some pancakes. Chapter 104 Las PegasisChapter 104 Las Pegasis Perspective: Storm Three days Earlier (essentially after the wedding) After Luna had taken Miles home the party pretty much died off, so Twilight and I decided to go home. We spent the entire carriage ride back making out, not caring who saw. Once we made it back to the Library I paid the cab driver and chased Twilight inside. I run in and see her walking up the stairs, so I fly up and pick her up on the way. I set her on the bed and start to remove my jacket as she starts to remove her dress... "Hey guys." "Gah!" I yell as I fall off the bed. "That was some party huh? To bad Miles passed out. He must be allergic to strawberries or something." Spike says as he walks in and drops into his basket. I glance to Twilight then back to him... buck. We're going to have to wait. I finish removing my clothes and get under the sheets with Twilight. "Uh.... Storm." "Yeah Twilight." "You're poking me." "I know." Next Morning I wake up to the smell of pancakes and hay bacon. Oh that smells good right now. I look over to see Twilight still sleeping, mane a complete mess. I lean over and kiss her nose, getting her to slowly wake up. "Morning beautiful." I say as I kiss her nose again. "Did you sleep alright?" "Morning." She says with a yawn. "A little frustrated, but other then that I'm good. Is Spike making breakfast?" "Yeah. Want to go down and get some?" "Just five more minutes." She says as she scoots into my embrace and goes back to sleep. I stroke her mane as she holds herself against me. Frustrated... she must be in heat again... that's going to make this trip all the better. After five minutes of holding each other my stomach got the best of me and forced me out of bed. "Come on, lets get something to eat." "Carry me." She says as she reaches out to me. I laugh a bit as I pull her over and place her on my back, with her head by mine. As I walk to the kitchen Twilight nibbles on my ear as she whispers naughty things to me. I have to ignore her to keep myself under control, something extremely hard to do when the pony you're trying to ignore is right in your ear offering head. "Whats cooking?" I ask as I step into the kitchen. "Just some pancakes and hay bacon strips, nothing fancy." Spike says from the stove. "Great, cause I'm famished." Twilight says as she hops off my back and takes a seat. I go to the fridge and pull out the orange juice. knock knock knock "I wonder who that could be?" Twilight says as she goes to the door. "PRINCESS LUNA!" This is going to be interesting. "Please Twilight. I think were past the point of formalities. Just Luna will be fine. May I come inside?" "Of course.... just give me one second." "Wh-" SLAM! "SPIKE! STORM! WE NEED TO CLEAN THIS PLACE UP!" Twilight yells as she starts to run around the front room. "I'll handle this, can you make a plate for Luna?" I say as I set the orange juice down. "No problem." I nod to him and walk into the front room to see Twilight levitating every book to its correct space, though most of them were already there to begin with. I walk over to the door and open it to find a confused Luna standing there. "Hey Luna, hungry?" "Oh... uh..." "Come on in." I say as I step aside, letting her in. We watch Twilight for a second before I motion for her to just follow me to the kitchen. "Hello there Spike." She says as she takes a seat. "Morning Princess Luna." He says as he does a small bow. "Hope you like pancakes." "There the best." She says with a smile. "Sorry for suddenly appearing on your door step, but with Miles passed out.... I didn't really know what to do." "Your always welcomed here, so don't feel bad. Any word on whats wrong with him?" "He just has to sleep out the strawberries. Its amazing that he didn't run into them before..." "Yeah, especially with his luck." Spike says as he sets us each a plate of pancakes. "Thank you Spike." Luna says as she takes a whiff of the pancakes, savoring the smell. "I mean, for all the stuff he survives, he's pretty unlucky." "Yes, I know Spike." Luna says as she takes a fork and cuts a chunk out. "I'm just surprised nothing attacked us. Ever since he showed up its been like a weekly thing. Not that its his fault, but, still." "Uhuh." "Then there's..." "I think we get it Spike." I say, cutting him off. "But your forgetting how fortunate he is as well." "How is that?" Spike asks from the stove as he starts the next batch of pancakes. "Well, he made it here, I can tell that there was a lot more to the fight for Topaz..." "What do you mean?" Luna asks a she sets her food down." "Did you know he sleeps with a knife under his pillow?" "What? I've never seen a knife on his bed before." "That's becuase I removed it. I also don't think he'd put one there with you there. That fight must of been really troubling for him. But he survived it." "So... how does that make him fortunate?" "He beat those odds and made it here. He found the love of his life. He has friends that care deeply about him. Many aren't as fortunate to have those things." I say, getting a smile from Luna. "Yeah... well I still think a helmet would help out." "Probably." Luna says, getting us to giggle. "ARE YOU GUYS GOING TO HELP OR NOT?" Twilight yells as she runs into the kitchen. "P-P-Princess Luna?" She mutters as she drops to her haunches. "Hey babe, go ahead and eat up, I need to make sure we have everything for our trip." I say as I hop out of my seat and walk back outside, giving her a kiss on the cheek as I pass by. With everything needed secured tightly to the balloon I return to the kitchen to find Luna and Twilight talking... where did Spike go? "...simple as that. Do you want to borrow the book?" Twilight says to a deeply blushing Luna. "Well... I... if you don't..." "Oh, I've read it three times. Here, I'll go get it for you." She says as she runs into the Library and starts looking for a book. "Where's Spike?" I ask as I start eating. "Twilight sent him to go for a book." "What book?" "Um.... the uh... well..." "Here it is!" Twilight says as she drops a book onto the table. "The pony sutra.... why do..." "None of your business!" Luna snaps as she takes the book with her magic and starts to walk out of the Library. "Well thank you Twilight... I'm going to... go read up... so... yeah... BYE!" She teleports out of the library, leaving us all alone. "Well... mine now!" I say as I switch my empty plate for her half eaten plate. "I think we should get going now. If we want to get to our hotel on time." "But... food." Thirty Minutes Later Once we floated out of Ponyville we hit an eastern draft, so I had to get out and pull us on the correct path. After fighting with it for awhile we finally found a southern draft, so now I can get back to the basket. I set myself down right in the center as Twilight looks out at the horizon, hanging her forelegs over the edge. I give a little stretch before I walk up to her and position myself behind her. "Hey, whats on your mind?" I asks as I nuzzle her neck a bit. "Nothing, just excited to get there." She whispers back as leans into me, rubbing the side of her head against mine. "We have time, we should make up for last night." She tried to get out from under me, but I wouldn't move. I begin to grind into her as I nibble on her neck, getting soft gasps from her. Once I'm out enough I move back a bit and begin to slide into her, both of us grunting from the sudden sensation. Its been awhile since we've done this, since before Spartan training actually. Not to mention this would only be the second time we've done it without a condom. "Storm... focus." Twilight says as she grinds her hips into me. "Sorry." I say as I finish entering. I hold it there for a second, relishing in the feeling, before I begin to pull back out. Before I exit I push back into her, getting soft moans as my reward. I do a few more moves like this until I begin a continuous thrust. I wrap my fore legs around her waist for better leverage as I thrust into her, moans turning to loud pants. Without warning, Twilight pushes back on the basket, sending me to my back with her on top. I tried to grab her, but she held me down with her magic as she stood up, the cold air stinging against me. With an evil smile she rub the tip against her entrance, teasing me with her warmth. I tried to thrust in, but she just lift out of the way. "Whats the magic word?" "Frost bite sucks?" "It will if you don't guess it." "Please?" "What was that?" "*sigh* you know what?" I say with an evil smile. "I think I just lost the moment." "Yeah, nice try. You losing interest in sex is like me losing interest in reading,its not going to happen." She says as she rubs herself some more. "Now what was that magic word?" "*sigh* please." "Please what?" You've got to be kidding me. "May I please put it back in you?" "Mmm... no." She says as she positions herself over me. "But I can do it for you." She drops back onto me, getting us both to sigh in relief as she begins to bounce up and down. She leans forward and begins to run her hooves down my body as she continues to grind into me. She seems to really like my abs. I feel her magic let go of me, so I throw my hooves around her as I roll over. I begin slamming into her as I feel myself getting close, I can feel her getting close as well. I guess its a race then. "Twilight..." "I know, I know I....I..." She pants as she latches onto me and lets out a small scream, spraying her juices onto me as she hits her climax. Feeling her cum was the final straw that sent me over the edge. I let out a loud gasp as I pump into her, being sure to get all of it inside as I convulse from the pleasure. THUD When I regain consciousnesses I find myself laying in the basket with Twilight in my hooves, best way to wake up. I nuzzle the back of her neck a bit as she yawns. "Hey, you up." "Yeah." "Now whats really on your mind?" "*sigh* is it that obvious?" "No. But I know you well enough to know somethings bothering you. We are married, remember." I say as Twilight twist around to face me. "Well... its just... do you think I would be a good mother?" Her question catches me a bit off guard. Is she really doubting herself? Where did this come from? "Of course you would, why would you doubt yourself like this? If anything we should worry about me. I can't even hold a baby without them fighting me the entire time." "Hm." "Look, I've already seen you with kids. You're great. I know you'll be a great mother. And if you ever feel like you're slipping, I'll be there to help you back up." I lean in and give her a quick kiss on the nose before I pull her in for a hug. I know she's just scared. Once we have that bouncing bundle of joy, she'll come around. We spend the next few hours in silence, embracing each other as we silently convey our love. A few times I had to get out and guide the balloon, but as soon as we were on track I would go straight back to her side. I could see our destination up ahead, Las Pegasis. There are actually two parts to it, the cloud city, and the ground transport underneath. Some unicorns got together and decided to make a business giving earth bound ponies a spell that would allow them to walk on clouds. They would then ferry them to Las Pegasis, to whatever hotel they were hired under. Luckily Twilight already knew the spell, but they don't allow any transporters to land in Las Pegasis, so we'll have to land down there. "You ready for this?" I ask as she begins our decent. "Yes. I know I was a little... emotional, back there, but I will be fine. Lets just go and have some fun." We make a small thud as we land in the air port. Several of the workers quickly tie down our balloon and begin to remove our bags. "Hello sir." Says one of the workers, a beige earth pony with orange hair and a white shirt on. "What hotel will you be staying at?" "We'll be at the Illusion Hotel and casino." I say as I help Twilight out of the basket and grab our saddle bags. "When will the next ferry leave?" "In about an hour. The cloud walking mages offices are located in the lobby of the air port. If you wish to grab a bit to eat there are some shops and stalls in the lobby as well. Here's your ticket for your luggage, have a nice stay in the wonderful Las Pegasis." I take the ticket and escort Twilight to the main lobby. "Aw buck! What is that? Is... is that what I think it is?" One of the workers yell from behind. Twilight and I just giggle as we enter the lobby. The inside of the lobby is a mass of ponies lining up to either get the spell or to buy tickets. Foals run around, screaming in pure bliss as the adults just stand in their line, aggravated, and unamused. Twilight and I glance to each other before we begin to push our way through the crowd. Luckily for us I was able to buy all of our tickets before hoof, so we wont have to wait in any of these lines. "GAH!" I yell as something grabs my flank. Some giggle sound off from behind as the culprits run away. "Can we go somewhere else while we wait... my flank isn't safe here." "Alright, lets go get something to eat." Twilight says as she leads us through of the fray. *PINCH* *SQUEEZE* *SLAP* "ALRIGHT ALREADY!" I yell as we finally make it out of the lobby. I pant a bit as Twilight just shakes her head at me. "What?" "Why do you have to be so sexy?" Before I could answer she turns and walks out to the small town. I groan a bit as I follow after her. Its not my fault! Why can't mares just control themselves around me. Baja Pegasis isn't really much to look at. The closer the building are to the lobby, the nicer they are... but even the worse of Ponyville is still better then here. The buildings are poorly put together, the dirt road is full of pot holes, there's an odd smell about the area, and I can see several gang hang outs throughout the streets. "Maybe we should head..." "Look! Tacos!" I say as I see a cart vendor up ahead. I fly up to the donkey running the cart and order some hay tacos for the two of us. "Storm." Twilight whispers into my ears. "This place doesn't look very sanitary." I look over the cart and can't really see anything wrong with it. "I don..." "OY. Pretty colt. You lost?" I turn around to see three ponies behind us,two of them holding knives while the center one has a sheathed sword. The center one is an all black unicorn with a cutie mark of a snake. The one to the left is an orange earth stallion with yellow hair and a cutie mark of a bloody knife. The one to the right is a light green pegasis mare with dark green hair and a cutie mark of an open purse. "No, we were just leaving." Twilight says as she hides behind me. "Hay boss, she's cute." Says the orange stallion. "Mmm, I think I like the stallion." Says the green mare. "Look here.. uh... whatever your name is, my wife and I don't want any trouble. Why don't you go back from where ever you came from and leave us be." I say as the unicorn gets in my face. "Make me." "OK." I quickly jab at his neck, dropping him to the ground as he gasps for air. "I suggest you two take your friend here and go rethink your lives." They look down at their friend then back to me before nodding and dragging him away. "Y-your tacos sir." The donkey says shakily as she holds up our food. "Awesome." I say as I take one and take a.."AH sick!" I spit out the burnt hay and try to wipe the horrid taste from my tongue. "How do you burn tacos!?" "Storm, can we go now?" Twilight asks. "*sigh* alright. You, shame." I say as I point to the donkey, Twilight pulling me towards the lobby. We end up just waiting around the entrance to the ferry, talking idly about various things. Gangs. Fighting. Burnt tacos. I can see a bunch of mares staring at me, so I wrap a wing around Twilight and hold her hoof, getting most to stop. When the ferry finally made it back on we quickly got on and took our seats. The ferry was just a large flat cloud with rows of benches. Pegasis would push it up or down to bring ponies to or from Las Pegasis. The ride there was fairly... strenuous. There was some kid behind me screaming and kicking and some really fat guy directly next to me. Twilight had a better trip then I did. Apparently the mare next to her went to school with her back in the day, so they spent the entire trip talking about what they've been up to. "We've now arrived at Las Pegasis." Says the pegasis flight attendant, FINALLY! "It was good to see you Colgate." Twilight says as she hugs her friend good bye. "You to Twilight, and congratulations!" She says as we walk off the cloud elevator. We stepped through a small lobby before entering the strip. Tall buildings lined the street ahead of us, blocking most of the sky. Lights shown from everywhere as pegasis flew from building to building. Different buildings had different color schemes to the clouds, some being mono toned while others seemed to be standing rainbows. Twilight and I quickly grab our bags and run down to the street to catch a cab. "Where to?" The driver asks as we set our stuff in the carriage. "The Illusion hotel." I say as we take a seat. He nods and begins to pull us through the main street. Our heads were on a swivel as we looked from one sight to another. Acrobatics, pirate shows, aerial teams, street vendors, all fighting to grab your attention. "Illusion hotel, that'll be five bits." The driver says as we pull up to our hotel. It's shaped like a shoe with rainbow water falls coming off the ends, pooling up into little ponds that snake around a bit until they fall to the ground. I pay the driver and escort Twilight up the steps to the front door. "Welcome to the Illusion hotel." Some mares in corsets and feathered hats says as they open the doors for us. The sight was overwhelming at first. Ponies, lights, screams, show mares, all of it assaulting my senses as we stand there for a second. We glance to each other before we trot inside, looking around at the blur of the ca-motion. We somehow make it to the front desk and get our room keys. After waiting for the elevator and exploring the random hallways we finally found our suite. "Wow... this is really nice." I say as we walk through the door. Our room is fairly large. Having a bed for two and the restroom to the right, and a living room and a kitchen to the left. A large window takes up a wall, giving us an amazing view of the strip. I drop our bags by the bed and walk around the room, inspecting everything with slight interest. "Well... what should we do first?" Twilight asks as she watches the sun set. "We could go to the casino, the pool, walk the strip..." "It's getting pretty late, I think we should go to bed." She says as she heads towards the bed. "But we just got here. How could you want to go to..." As she makes her way to the bed she swishes her tail from side to side, flashing me her... FWOOSH "Going to bed sounds awesome right now." I say as I run over to her as she gets under the sheets. I quickly get under the sheets with her and get on top of her, kissing her passionately as we toss from side to side. "So, what position should we do this time?" She asks as I nibble on her neck. I pause to think about it when she gets in my ear. "Cause I wanted to try the inverted sloth." "Really? I was thinking the bear trap." "How about the crab cruncher?" "Ninety six..." "Butter churner..." "The inverted tornado..." "The screaming dragon..." "Anal?" She gives me a stern look, "...lets just buck." I say, getting a nod in response. "Wait wait wait." Twilight says before we start. She reaches down and feels my erect member and pouts a bit. "What?" "I... sorta got you something, but its too late to use it right now." She says with a blush. "What is it?" "A ring." "A... ring... do I really need it?" "Well, no. But it would be nice if I wasn't the one waking up first every time." I shrug and return to kissing her. I grab a hold of her thigh as I drop into her, getting her to wrap her forelegs around my neck as I begin to thrust into her. Twilight uses her magic to pull the sheets over us, quickly filling the area with our passion as I let go of her thigh and begin to stroke her horn. She gives a little shiver before she reaches behind me and starts twisting my wing joints, sending chills that run through my entire body. I start to let up on the thrusting and begin to really work her horn, making her squint from the sudden increase. She tries to retaliate, but when I reach up and start licking her horn, she loses all control. I pull her closer and begin to suck on her horn as I continue to to thrust into her. I can feel her getting close, both below and up top, so I begin to pick up pace. As I begin to slam into her, she tries to say something, but I only made out incoherent babbles as she hits her climax, hard. As she sprays out onto my cock I let go of her horn and let the sparks fly out. I tried to pull out, but she seemed to be clamped onto me, so I just kept going. "Oh... my... St.... orm..." she mutters as her tongue rolls out of the side of her mouth. I stop and try to pull out, finding it hard at first but finally succeed. "Woo...*pant*... I've never got you to come so quickly.... you alive?" "Awmaluve." She mumbles as she pants there. "So..." "No Storm." She says with total ease. Damn. I get out of bed and walk over to the kitchen, finding awkward to walk fully erect. I get a glass of water and drink it quickly before returning back to her. "You ready for more?" "Ithuiumoar..." "I'll take that as a yes." I say as I pull her to the edge of the bed and roll her so she's on her stomach with her back legs on the floor. I can take a look into her love to see the stretched remnants of my work. I reach up and rub her a bit, getting her to moan. After playing with her for a bit I line myself back up and push back in, making her pull the blankets towards her as she buries her face. Once I fill her up I get to work, swinging my hips back and forth. I can hear her muffled screams as I begin to gyrate my hips around in motion to the my pushes and pulls. "MMMMMM!" Twilight screams in to the blankets as she hits her second orgasm. I bury my face into her neck as I near my climax. I keep pumping her as I try to hold back the flood gates, but I can feel myself slipping. "GAAAAAH!" I yell as I burst out into her, slamming as hard as possible as I shoot my load deep within her. "Aaaahh..." THUD ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Twilight I squint my eyes a bit as a light wakes me from my sleep. With a groan I roll over and bury my face in Storms chest. Last night was amazing.... though my legs still feel numb. Storm lets out a sigh as he wraps his fore legs around me, lightly pulling me into his embrace. "Mmm... Twilight?" "Morning stud." "Hey... what time is it?" "Its morning... not sure what time exactly." I say as I pull myself up to be eye level with him. "How you feel?" "Awesome." He says with a goofy smile. "How're you?" "Little numb, but.. awesome." I say before I nuzzle my nose against his. We spend awhile hugging and nuzzling each other before nature gets the better of us. After we freshen up we decide to go get brunch at the hotels restaurant. Once we get a booth, after a half hour wait, and go to get food. It's a buffet... I'm going to have to make sure Storm doesn't over do it. After going around the counters and getting all of our food; I had to stop Storm from making a mountain of food, we finally sit down to eat. "Try to take it easy Storm." I say as he buries his face in his food and devours it. *Nom nom nom* "*sigh* I'm putting you on a diet when you go on maternity leave." I say, making him stop and look at me as if I'd threatened to cut his stallionhood off. We finish eating, I let him get another plate before we finish eating and begin to explore the casino. "What do you want to play?" Storm asks as we walk about the various games. "Hmm... well, I've been reading up on blackjack, I'll think I'll give that one a try." "Heh, alright." He says as he offers me A LOT of bits. "Storm! Wh- that's a..." "I know. Go ahead." "But but but..." "It's fine, lets go." He says as he walks towards the blackjack tables. I shake my head and follow after him. I'm not sure if I'm completely comfortable with using this much money... then again, this is very little compared to what he has. We make it to a table where Storm pulls out a seat for me. "Aren't you going to play?" I ask as I take the seat. "Naw. I'll let you take this one. I'll get the next one. Think of me as your cheering section." He says as he pushes in the chair. "How much will you be playing with today?" The dealer asks. I set down the ten platinum bits and get a resounding ooo's and ah's from the ponies around me, making me blush slightly. "Ten thousand it is then." He says as three other ponies take seats at my table. The first one is a light blue mare with a blonde mane and tail, and a cutie mark of a black shoe. The next one is a stallion with a light tan coat with, brown hair, a cutie mark of a cow bell and a ten gallon hat. The last one is an earth pony with a silver body and white hair. Her mark seems to be a strand of purple flowers, gladiolus I think. "Hello there Storm Cloud. It's good to see you again." She says as she pulls out sixteen thousand bits from her purse. "Hello Gladous." Storm says bitterly. "Uh... you two know each other?" I ask as the other ponies start to pull out their bits. A total of seventy thousand bits ends up on the table, making me gulp at the sight. "Yeah... we met on the train coming back from Pomexico." Storm informs me as the dealer shuffles the deck of cards and deals. "Uhuh." I mutter as I start doing the math in my head and glance at my cards. An eight and a five. After Gladous took a single hit I took one as well. Seven. Hmm... so, eleven out of the deck......"Hit me." "Very well." The dealer says as he flips the next card, an ace. "I'll stay." I say, passing priority to the mare. After everypony takes their cards we begin betting. "As I recall, you and your sexy friends hopped the train. Though we did have quit the conversation." Gladous says as she places her bet. It's considerably large and she seems to be fairly relaxed.... it's a bluff. "Hopping a train? Now why would you need to do that?" I ask as I meet her bet and raise it. "Hey, what happens in Pomexico, stays in Pomexico." The mare says as she matches my bet. "Too hot for my blood." The stallion says as he folds, losing his ante. "Oh it was something about a drunken escapade that made his friends end up in southern Pomexico." She says as she matches the bet. "Uh... could we talk about something else?" Storm asks from behind. "Whats the matter big boy? Afraid to talk about something that happened there?" The mare says as she shows her cards, eighteen. "Uh..." "You're quit the lucky mare..." "Twilight." "Right, Twilight. With a sheath that big you must be very... satisfied." Gladous says as she reveals her cards, twenty. I glance back to Storm to see him trying to hide his sheath with his hooves, blushing like crazy. "I am." I say as I reveal my cards, getting claps from all around. The dealer shows their cards to reveal that they had twenty. "You win miss." He says as he pays out. "Well, at least this is going to be interesting." Gladous says as we start the next game. "I hope so." I say as I start doing the math in my head. "I hope not." Storm mutters from behind. Three Hours Later "Well it was fun playing with you Gladous." I say as I collect my winnings into my saddle, sixty thousand bits. "Likewise. Though I have a feeling that the game was.... geared towards you." She says as we walk through the tables. "Well.. I think it was my lucky charm." I say as I look over to Storm and kiss his cheek. He was a trooper for being there for all of our awkward conversations. I think I'll give him a special surprise later for that. "Well, I'll let you two be now. It was good meeting you." "Likewise. Be sure to look us up if you're ever in Ponyville." "I'll do that." Gladous says before finally leaving the two of us. Storm sighs in relief as he wrap a wing around me. "I honestly never thought she would leave..." "I liked her." I say as we weave through the crowded tables. "Twilight... were you counting cards?" Storm asks in a whisper. "Maybe." "*sigh* winning is good and all, but you're taking all of the fun out of the game... here, let me show you what I mean." He says as he pulls me through the tables. We end up at the roulette tables where Storm asks for all of the money I had won. I give him a skeptical look before I levitate him my saddle bag. "Storm, it's statistically impossible to know the odds of this game..." "Hey, never tell me the odds. ALL ON BLACK!" Storm says as he sets my bag on the black square. "STORM! You only have a fifty percent chance of winning that!" I look around and get in his ear. "Plus they usually cheat on this one." "Are you sure sir?" The dealer asks as she gets ready to spin the ball. "Go for it." Storm says with a look of determination. I begin to shake as the ball spins round and round. This wont work! It can't work! The house will use a magnification spell to make it land on red and... "Zero black." "WHAT!?" I say as I knock Storm over and look at the spinner. Its zero black. "OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH!" I yell as I pick Storm up and jump up and down. "Here are your bits sir." The dealer says as she doubles our bits. I drop Storm and quickly collect our bits into my bag. "So... what now?" Storm asks as he gets back up. "Well... lets go check out the other tables. Maybe we'll get lucky again." He nods and looks around before walking off in some random direction. As we walk I rub up against him and nuzzle his neck a bit, getting him to giggle from the random affection. "Why so frisky all of the sudden?" He asks as he nuzzles me back. "Oh, just..." "In heat?" "What? No, why would you ok yes. But, its our honeymoon. Aren't I allowed to be frisky?" I ask as Storm takes a look at the poker tables. "Actually, I've got to use the little fillies room, go ahead and play a bit." He looks between the tables and me before giving me a kiss and heading to the closest poker table. I make my way to the restrooms and find the first open stall. Once inside I close my eyes and focus on the spell I recently learned. I take a peep to see bright white tendrils sprout from my horn and begin to wrap around me. With a bright flash the spell ends and I stammer to the side from my exhaustion. I take a few breaths before I shake my head and leave the stall, taking a look at myself in the mirror. "Perfect." I say before I leave the restroom. I sneak my way out of the restroom and head towards the table I left Storm at. On my way there I pick up a beer from a random waitress and napkin. When I get to his table I crawl underneath and wait beside him as I write a note on the napkin. Once done, I levitate the drink and napkin and set them on the table in front of him. As I wait for him to read the note I scoot closes and wait beside his sheath. "What the?" He mumbles as he leans forward to take the drink. After a few gulps I hear him set the drink back down and continue to play. Oh come on, I'm trying to be sexy here! He goes for another drink but stops after the first gulp. "Whats this... hurry and finish your game, Twilight...." Once he finished reading my note I take that as my que and give his sheath a long lick up, making him almost jump out of his seat. "Are you OK sir?" The dealer asks as Storms looks under the table. Not being able to see anything he goes back up top. "Yeah... I guESS!" He yells as I give him another lick, this time going down. I come to his sack and begin to give them little nibbles with my lips. He reaches down and pulls my face away from him, so I start kissing and sucking his hoof. "Sir?" "Sorry, I have to leave now... uh.... something... came up." I'll say. I push his hoof out of the way and begin licking his member as it starts to poke out of his sheath. "Alright, here are you winnings...." "Thanks bye!" Storm says as he shoves his bits into his bag and runs for the elevator. I quickly run after him and laugh at all of the ponies staring at him. He gets to the door and pushes the button.... then begins pushing it like crazy. I get on my back and position myself under his back legs. I reach up and start pawing at his member, helping it grow larger faster. About half way out I lift myself up with my elbows and start kissing the tip, getting him to press the button faster. *DING* "FINALLY!" Storm yells as he jumps into the elevator. I roll over and walk into the elevator as the doors shut behind me. Storm goes straight over to the back left corner and sits with his back in the corner, panting lightly. "You better be Twilight." "I might be, I might not." I say as I try to get into his bags. "GOTCHA!" He yells as he grabs my flank, making me eep. He quickly pulls me over and starts giving me oral. I try to reach for the bag, but whenever I would get close to it he would pull me back and eat me out, with more vigor. "Storm... ah... let me get... the ring..." *DING* We both look over to see that we're only half way to our floor as the door starts to open up. In a panic Storm lets go of me and lays down, trying to hide his growing erection. "Mom mom! Ca-can we get pizza?" A little orange pegasis colt asks he and a light blue pegasis mare walk into the room. "We'll see." She says as she eyes Storm. Storm just smiles awkwardly as he continues to try to hide himself. "Why are you laying down mister?" The colt asks Storm. "Uh... just tired... I guess." He says as the colt steps closer. "Why are your wings up?" "They.... do that some times..." "Why are you sweating... around your mouth?" Storm quickly wipes the liquid around his muzzle away. "I... drank a lot of water..." "Why?" "I was... working out..." "Why?" "To stay strong..." "Wh..." "I think you've asked enough." The mare says as she pulls the colt back to her. The colt starts whispering questions to the mare as she tries to distance themselves from us... or Storm at least. With the mare distracting the colt, and my being invisible, I go and do something I've been wanting to do for a long time. I walk over to his flank and, with both hooves, grab his flanks. "AH!" Storm gasps as I cores his back side, squeezing his muscles to my hearts content. "Whats wrong mister?" The colt asks as Storm starts to sweat. "Uh.... my imaginary friend... surprised me." "Well tell your imaginary marefriend that there are foals in the elevator." The mare says, getting me to stop. How does she know I'm here... given Storm kind of gave it away. "Aw ma, I'm a stallion." The colt pouts. I get off Storm and sit in front of him for a few floors before I get bored. One of his hooves are stretched out, so I decide to grab it and hold onto it. He smiles to me... or at least to my general direction. I pull his leg closer to and let him feel up my breast, making his smile drop as he begins to squeeze and rub me. *DING* "YAY! PIZZA!" The colt yells as he runs out of the elevator. "Pig." The mare says before walking after her colt. "Oh my god lets never do that again." Storm says as he rolls onto his back. I giggle a bit at the sight. "I'm actually impressed that after all of that you're still soft." I say as I poke his still flaccid member. "Hey, there was a kid in the room." "Do you just not find my breast attractive?" I ask in a pouty voice. "What? No. I mean yes... I mean..." *DING* "Well you can make up for that when we get back to our room." I say as I walk out to the hallway. Storm peeks out and, after seeing the coast is clear, runs down the hall to our room. As he struggles to get our key out I decide to be naughty. I jump up and mount him as I throw my hooves around and begin working his member with both hooves. As I get to work hardening him, Storm just fumbles with the key, trying to open the door. As it gets harder it becomes too long to go from top to bottom, so I stop and reach for the ring in the bag, getting it when Storm finally opens the room. "Bed. Rut. GO." Storm says as he runs straight for the bed, coming to a halt just before it. When he ran off I had thrown my forelegs around him and held on, but when he stopped I flipped over him and landed onto the bed. I roll over as he tries to find me and quickly put the ring onto him. "Hows that?" I ask as I back away from him. "A little uncomfortable, but I'll manage. Now where are you?" "Right here." I say as I try to push him onto the bed, but he doesn't budge. Instead he grabs me and tosses me onto my back. He quickly grabs onto my shoulders and slams into me, filling me to the brim. I gasp as he starts to thrust his hips back and forth, rutting me like a sex starved beast. I grab onto him as he has his way with me, making my nerves feel as if they're on fire from the friction below. I can feel myself getting closer and closer as he continues to bash me with his massive member, so I tighten my grip on him an try to hold out for as long as possible. "GRAAH!" I scream out as I burst out, only to make him thrust harder and harder. I try to ask him to let up for a bit, but I can't find my voice. Instead I just go limp as he continues to ravage me, pumping me with all his might. I can't even feel him below any more. Now it feels as if my entire body has gone into some ecstasy filled zen, being fueled by our passion. I take a look down to see that my spell doesn't cover everything. I can still see Storms member. It looks like something is squeezing it as they soak it in clear liquid. Out of no where, Storm pulls out and takes a few steps back, panting deeply. I try to ask him whats wrong, but I can't find my voice. Instead I sweat and pant as I close my eyes and try to recover. I suddenly feel my self roll over as Storm positions my back legs up. He straddles himself to me as he resumes thrashing me with his member, making his thrust much easier to make in this position. Again, the feeling is gone, replaced with our passion and craving. My pants become screams as I hit my second orgasm, having no energy to hold it back at all. "Twi... Twi..." Storm mutters as I continue to spray out onto him. I try to respond, but no matter how hard I try, my voice is lost to the moment. With one final, powerful, thrust Storm stops slamming into me and fills me with his seed. He holds that position for a few seconds before he pulls out and starts to crawl onto the bed. I fall to the side and pant as my body tingles. I feel something pull me up. In a blink I'm face to face with Storm, our breathes mixing in the air before us as we gaze into each others eyes. "I love you." I mutter, finally able to speak. "I love you." He replies as his eyes start to close. Sleep.... that sounds good... I need to... remember... to write.... the Princess... ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Storm I awake to something tickling my nose. When i open my eyes I find my face in Twilight's mane, which is a complete mess. Hey, I can see her. That's good. I stroke her mane a couple of times until I realize she's still asleep. Whoa... the ring worked... the ring.... I never took it off. I reach down and try to remove it from my sheath, succeeding after a few awkward moments of fiddling around. Setting it aside, I feel nature make its call, so i get out of bed to use the restroom. After taking care of business I go and wash my hooves. Parenthood. I don't know quit how to feel about it yet. I know I'll love the foal no matter what, I'm just worried about everything else. Would I be a good dad? Will it like me? What would I do if something went wrong during birth? Could I do this without Twilight... They shall all die. I snap my head and look to see the green.... thing in the mirror again. I stare at it for a bit until I close my eyes and shake my head. I must of hit my head or something... You can't protect them... "SHUT UP!" I yell as I punch the mirror, sending webs of cracks throughout it. In each chunk I can see the green creature, laughing at me. I cover my ears with my hooves and drop to the ground as the laughing fills my hearing. ENOUGH! A new voice yells, silencing the other one. Interfere again, and I'll kill you. I get up and look around, silence filling the room. I take a few breathes before I head back to bed. Next chance I get, I'm bringing this up with Twilight and Miles. I crawl back into bed and wrap my legs around Twilight, still shaken from what just happened. "Mmm..." Twilight mumbles as she rolls over and buries her face in my chest. I stroke her mane a couple of time, helping her wake up faster. "Morning." "Hey, how'd you sleep?" "Great. Last night was amazing." She says as she nuzzles me a bit. "Yeah..." "I told you that ring would work." "Uhuh." "Storm?" She says as she gets eye level with me. "Is everything alright?" She asks as she strokes my mane. "Well... no." I say, getting serious. "I was in the restroom... and something appeared in the mirror. I think it was one of those centaurs that Miles told us about." "Storm... what did it do? Did it talk?" "Yeah... but I don't want to repeat what it said..." "That's alright... should we head home early?" "Well... I don't want to ruin our trip..." "Storm, this is serious. We need to get this figured out right away. Lets get some food and head back as quickly as possible." She says as she gets out of bed and starts to collect our belongings. I sigh before getting out and helping her. Once we get everything I carry them to the elevator and bring them to the front desk. We have a bag pony take them to the ferries and set them for the next one. With forty minutes to spare, we head to the buffet and get some food. Though I got a plate, I didn't eat. I didn't feel like it. Twilight noticed, but didn't say anything. I feel bad for ending our vacation early, but Twilight was right. We need to get this figured out. "Storm... what did it say?" Twilight asks as she sets her fork down. I look away from her as I think about it. "Storm... please." "It said... that I couldn't protect them.... that they'll all die." Twilight falls silent as she thinks about what I said. I just continue looking away from her, not wanting to... "And that's whats bothering you?" She says in disbelief. I look over to her and stare at her in astonishment. "Storm... when are you going to learn." "What do you mean?" "You don't lose. Call it blind luck or fate or whatever you may, you don't lose. Breaker couldn't stop you. Miles couldn't stop you during training. And I know this... thing wont stop you. You're strong. You beat ponies up in a single punch, this guy... he doesn't stand a chance. That's why he's resorting to creepy messages. To mess with your mind. He can't beat you in a straight fight so he's trying to level the playing field. Don't let him. You can beat him. I know you can." "Twilight..." I mutter as I think about what she said. "I love you." She continues. "You don't ever give up. You're persistent in everything. You only give up on things when you decide that they aren't worth chasing anymore. Its something I love and admire about you. You can beat this, just don't give up yet." I stare at her for a few seconds before a smile creeps onto my face. "Alright. I wont give up then." I say as I take a bite of food, getting her to smile. After eating, three plates, we head to the front desk and pay for the damages. We spent the entire trip back to Ponyville in each other embrace, silently loving each other. Occasionally I would have to pull our balloon onto the right course, but other then that I never left Twilight's side. When Ponyville came in sight I started to rub Twilight's belly. "You know, I had a thought earlier." "And whats that?" "You were scared about being a mother, and to be honest I was a little scared of being a father myself, but not anymore. Want to know why?" "Why?" She asks as she holds onto my leg, pressing me against her tummy. "Becuase I get to raise it with you. No matter what happens, I'll have you by my side." She looks to me for a second before we share a kiss. After our touching moment we landed behind the library. It was good to see Spike again, the little guy came running out to greet the both of us. Once we got everything inside we headed over to Miles, doping Spike off at Rarity's. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK We hear foot steps inside of Miles place, but none of them seem to be Miles's. "He must still be at Topaz Falls." Twilight says as I look through the window. "He could be asleep." I say as I walk around the house to find the hallway window open. "Lets check it out." "I don't know Storm... what if he's... you know. Busy. I don't think I would ever be able to see Princess Luna the same again." Twilight says as she walks over and looks at the window. "It's not that bad." I say, getting a shocked look from Twilight. "I mean... uh..." "Lets just get this over with." I flap my wings and fly up to make sure there's nothing going on. With the coast clear, I go back down and pick Twilight up. Once inside I go to his bedroom door and knock. ... ... "I guess he isn't here." I say as I open the door. "BARK BARK BARK!" I jump back as Lupus and some other wolf run out of the room and head downstairs. I glance over to Twilight before I look inside. "Well... its empty now." I say as I push the door open and walk inside. "He isn't here, lets just head back." Twilight says as she follows me inside, glancing around as if something is watching us. I jump onto Miles's bed and give it a feel. "Wow... his bed is comfy. Come feel this." "I'm not getting on there! Who knows whats happened in there." "I do, and its nothing worse then what we do in our bed." I say as I hop on the bed. "Storm..." "We should buck here!" I say as I continue to hop on the bed. "Storm! Focus! Some creepy creature is threatening your life STORM! STOOOORM!" She yells as I fly over to her and pick her up. I drop her onto the bed and give her a kiss before she pushes me off. "STORM I SAID oh wow this is comfy." "Right." I say as I begin to plant kisses on her neck, working my way down. "Storm...." She says as she wiggles from my kisses, working my way down her chest. "Oh... fine, but you better be quick." "You want me to be quick?" I ask as I kiss her belly button. "Just this once." She says as she starts to play with my mane. I get down to her breast and start to lick and nibble on her nipples, getting them to stand. Once I've played with them enough I get an idea in my head. "So... can I get some head again?" I ask as I sit back. She thinks about it for a second before she shrugs and lays before me. I sit back more as I spread my legs and let her get to work. She starts by kissing my sheath, slipping her tongue in and out. I sigh as I start to tussle her mane, enjoying both the view and the feeling. She stops her oral assault and works me with a hoof until I reach my peak. She stops working me and gives me a long lick up my shaft, ending it with a kiss on my head. I hold my breath as she takes the head into her mouth and starts to swirl her tongue around. As she starts to bob her head up and down I set a hoof on the back of her head and relish in the pleasure. She wanted it quick, so I focus on the touches and sensations below. "Hows that?" Twilight asks as she lets go on me and catches her breath. "Amazing." I say as I rub her leg. She reaches up and gives me a kiss before turning around and presenting me her plot. "My turn." I laugh as I get up and gently enter her, heart racing. I start slow this time, trying to get a true feeling for it this time. "A little faster." Twilight asks, getting me to pick up the pace. She reaches back and holds my hoof as I continue to push faster. By the time I hit my fastest speed Twilight's already moaning loudly. I guess from all the stuff we did the past few days has made her... more vulnerable. As I begin to reach my peak, her moans turn to screams. I guess she isn't holding back like usual. "GAAAAAAAAAAH!" I yell as I climax. I hold it there for a second before I fall on top of her and start to fade out. ... ... ... ... "Really? Did... did you just... in my bed?" Miles asks from behind. Heh, surprise. "Miles.... I... it was Storms's idea." Twilight pants as she rolls over. "I think I'll just head home now... love you Miles." Luna says as she walks to closet and heads inside. "Storm... STORM!" Miles yells, but I just pretend to be asleep. "He... will be out for... awhile." Twilight says as she starts to fall asleep. He just leaves the room and heads down stairs. "Should... we head... home?" "I guess... he'll be here anyway..." I say as I hold onto Twilight. She charges her horn and we flash into our bed back at the library. I fall asleep almost immediately, holding Twilight in my hooves. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. "STORM! STORM!" Twilight yells as she shakes me awake. "Hey... what..." "You need to go to the restroom! Get your sword and go right now! Get up get up get up you need to go right now! STORM, GO TO THE RESTROOM RIGHT NOW!" She yells in a panic as she continues to shake me. She looks completely terrified, as if her worst nightmare has come true. "Twilight, whats going on?" I ask as I get out of bed, waking completely up as I grasp her fear. "Breaker is in the restroom!" A/N: Shout out to Moonlighteternal for picking the color Storm would bet on, the winning color was decided by a coin flip. Brony on! Chapter 105 My BrotherChapter 105 My Brother "Wh-what did you say?" "Storm Breaker is in the bathroom." Twilight says as she pushes me towards the room. "Bu-but I snapped his neck... he can't be alive..." Twilight pushes me to the door and runs back, hiding behind the bed as she watches me. I take a deep breath as I push the door open slowly. The floor is littered with broken glass. The window in the back has been smashed in, but there seems to be extra glass. The medicine cabinet has been opened, most of the contents spread across the floor. There, sitting in the corner, is Storm Breaker. He's in his original color, yellow body and blue mane, but... he's dirty. Whatever part of him that's not in the armor seems to be covered in dirt or scratch marks. His wings seems to be in disrepair, having feathers going out in different directions and some covered in dried blood. He's holding his head back as he downs a red potion. When he finishes it he tosses it against a wall, shattering it, and lets hit head roll to the side as he glares at me. "Hello.... brother." He says in a rough raspy voice. "Breaker." I say as I step all the way into the restroom, being sure to keep some distance between the two of us. "What are you doing here.... how are you alive?" "Heh... good question. I...." He closes his eyes and takes a few breaths before he looks back to me with the most desperate look I could ever imagine him put on. "I need your help." He says as he starts to tear up. "You need... my help. Why would I help you? You tried to kill me, THREE TIMES! You took Twilight and held her hostage, plotted with that asshole Steelwing.... why am I even talking to you?" I ask as I look away from him. "*sniff*" I look back to him to see that he's crying. "Are you... crying?" "I'M SCARED BIG BROTHER!" He yells as he tries to latch onto me. I move back and let him fall onto the broken glass. He just lays there as he cries, his head falling to the side from a lack of support. "Please! I... I bucked up brother. I-I got in deep with the wrong ponies and now...now... now they're after me! They sent an assassin after me... I... I thought they would help me... I thought they were my family... please, you're all I have." He says through his tears. I take a step back as I watch him lose it. I... I don't know how to feel about this. "Just, stop..." "Please, big brother..." "Don't call me that!" I yell, making him cower from me. "You don't ever call me that! Not after everything you've done." "I....I'm sorry..." "No. Not yet." I say as I leave the restroom. I pass Twilight as I head straight to the front room, going straight for the weapons chest. I pull out my sword and look it over before I head straight back to the restroom. Twilight watches me in complete horror as I march straight into the restroom. "NO! PLEASE, I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" Breaker cries out as he tries to getaway from me, scurrying into the corner. I walk over and grab him by his mane and hold him up as I bring back my sword. "Please.... brother..." He says as he holds his eyes shut, tears still flowing out. I watch him for a second, sword shaking, as I try to commit to the swing. "AAAAHHHH!" *THUNK* I slam my sword into the wall, sending a gust of wind through the room that clears it of the glass. I grit my teeth as I stare at his pathetic face. I want to kill him. I want to tear his wings off and toss him off of a cloud. But.... I can't. I don't know why but I couldn't do it... I couldn't kill him. I drop him as I stagger back and fall to my haunches, breathing deeply as I try to collect my thoughts. "I'm... I'm sorry big brother..." He says as he sits up, his head rolling to the right as he continues to cry. "Stop calling me that." I say as I bury my face in my hooves. "I.... I know I don't deserve a second chance. I've done wrong by a lot of ponies..." "A lot?" I say as I look back to him. "That wacko Steelwing was able to ponyknap Luna, Breaker. If he's capable of that imagine what else he's capable of. All thanks becuase you helped him!" I yell, making him cower from me some more. "I...I know. But I..." "What am I even talking to you?" I ask as I stand back up. "I should just get Miles or Celestia here, let them deal with you..." "NO! Please! I... I can't g to jail! They'll find me! Kill me! I..." "And what makes you think you deserve to live!" I yell at him as I get in his face. "Your selfish, you know that. All you care about is you. Your life. Have you even thought about anypony else in you entire life?" "You." He says weakly. "I thought about you..." "LIAR!" I yell as I push him against the wall. "Don't you bucking lie to me! I know you've never thought of me! Why would..." "I'M NOT LYING!" He yells back as he finally looks me in the eyes. "Why do you think I was trying to be you! You... you were my big brother. I was jealous of you, so I tried to be you, but father saw right through my lies, disowned me. After that... I... lost my way. Once you came back I-I didn't know what to think, so I continued acting along with those bucking psychopaths. I screwed up Cloud... I really screwed up. With you, Mom, Dad, even with the Darkness I screwed up..." "Who are the Darkness?" I ask, getting him to look away in shame. "They... they're bad news. They want to kill everypony Cloud." "What? That can't be their objective, what would they gain from that?" "I don't know. I tried to figure it out, but they caught me, sent me to Ponyville to watch the cloud production.... but when you beat me... I found out they were actually going to kill me when they got what they wanted... please. Help me." He throws his forelegs around me as he cries into my shoulder, holding me as tightly as possible. He's weak. Even in the armor he's weak. "Why do they want to kill you." I say as I sit there. "*sniff* cause I know stuff. I know bout their leaders, that's cause enough..." "Tirek? We already know about him..." "No, he's not the leader." Breaker says as he lets go of me and looks me in the eyes. "Tirek is just... a... minor leader..." "Hold on." I say as I look out the door. "I'm going to go get Miles..." "NO!" He says as he latches back onto me. "Please! I...I'm scared of him. Don't bring him here I-I I'll do anything just... don't bring him here." He begs. "He's my superior officer, I have to." I say as I pull his hooves off of me and grab my sword. I look back to him and stare at him for a second before I leave the room. "Whats going on? Is he... dead?" Twilight asks from behind the bed. "No... I couldn't do it. I need to go out and see if Miles..." "WHAT!" Twilight yells as she flashes in front of me. "You can't leave me with him!" "Twilight..." "He's evil! He manipulative! He doesn't deserve to live..." "Twilight!" I yell, getting her to stop. "He's weak, even in that armor and with a red potion in him, he's weak. He's terrified, alone and... I can't just leave him like that.... he's my little brother." She looks away from me when I say this, troubled with the idea. "Look, just... head over to somepony's place while I deal with this. Please." She nods as she continues to look away. I try to give her a hug but she backs away from me. With a sigh I turn around and head out to look for Miles. Perspective: Twilight I watch from the kitchen window as Storm takes off through the air. I'm sorry Storm... but I can't forgive him that easily. I walk back up the to the bedroom and go to the restroom. I stand in the doorway until Breaker looks up to me from the corner of the room. "So... are you going to kill me?" I levitate out a knife I brought from the kitchen. "I see... OK, lets do this." He says as he falls forward and gets on his side. "How do you want to do this?" I walk over to him and set the blade against his throat, pressing it against him enough to dig in to his skin but not enough to cut him. We stare at each other for a few seconds before he closes his eyes and waits. "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS!" I yell as I pull the blade back and begin to pace back and forth. "We were happy! We had plans to make a family! Then you just had to come back and make everything complicated!" "Family? You... you two are married?" He asks as, getting me to stop and glare at him. "Heh... heh.... that's good. You deserve somepony like Storm..." "Shut up." I say as I go to the doorway and think about what I'm going to do. "Listen, I know I wronged you. If anypony has a right to end my life, it should be you. If you want... I can do." I look back to him and look into his serious eyes. "Say the word and I'll end it. All I need to do is take this armor off, and I'm out of your life forever. Just say the word." I don't say anything. I just stare at him as I try to rack my brain around the idea. He just nods and begins taking off the armor. "Stop!" I yell as I run over to him and hold his hooves back from undoing the armor. He is weak. He looks up to me and smiles as he starts to tear up. "I hate you. More then anypony alive.... but..*sigh* I'm better then you. I can't just kill you. Trial, jail, I don't care what it is, you're going to do it." "Ok. If that's what you want, then I'll do it." He says as he goes limp and falls to his side. "How many red potions have you taken?" I ask as I look him over a bit. "Today? Like.... five." "WHAT! You can't be doing that! You'll gain an addiction!" "I don't have a choice Twilight. When they start to wear off I start to get light headed and dizzy... I think I'll die if I don't have it in my system." He says as he tries to get up, but is too weak to even budge. I watch him for a few seconds before pity gets the better of me. "Stay here. I'll go down stairs and get you another potion." "Thank you Twilight." He says in a sleepy, raspy voice. I sigh a bit before I turn and head towards the basement. I can't believe I'm seriously helping this jerk. But... Celestia taught me better. He deserves a trial..... WHACK THUD ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Storm After flying around for nearly ten minutes I still can't find Miles. He wasn't home. He wasn't at Sweet Apple Acres. He must still be at Topaz Falls. I turn around and shoot back for the library. I don't know what I'm going to do with Breaker. I guess the next one to call would be Celestia, but I know I would get it from Miles if I didn't inform him first. Well.... I am a lieutenant, I guess that gives some authority in the matter. I need to... why is the front door open? I pause in the air and stare at the open door before I shake my head and fly as fast as possible inside. I swear, if he tricked me again... I land inside and have a quick look around. Everything looks normal. I stop by the chest and pull out my sword before continuing up the stairs. When I make it to the top I look around and find everything relatively normal. There's glass everywhere, but that was from the bathroom... the bathroom. I fly up to the door to find Breaker crying as he tries to crawl towards the door. "Breaker..." "YOU IDIOT!" He yells as he pulls himself forward. "GO GET TWILIGHT!" Without a second thought I turn around... "Where is he?" An orc asks from below. He's almost nine feet tall with thick, scaly, green skin, pig faced, with a long alligator tail. He's covered in what looks like... black leather, and is holding an unconscious Twilight by the horn with a dagger to her throat. I raise my sword up and take a few steps closer. "Put. Her. Down." "Stupid pony. A single mate is captured and you put all of your lives at risk. This is simple. Give me..." "I SAID PUT HER DOWN!" I yell as I take a few steps forward, only to get him to hold up Twilight up in front of him and press the dagger closer. I grit my teeth as I watch a sliver of blood fall from her neck, the pain slowly waking her as she tries to take in her surroundings. "Storm..." "Put down the sword, or she dies." The orc demands. "ENOUGH!" I glance back to see Breaker crawling out of the restroom, gritting his teeth as he makes his way to the edge of the walkway. "Put your sword Storm." "Are you kidding me? I'm..." "STORM! Open your eyes! Unless you want Twilight to die, put down your sword." I look between the two of them, trying to figure out what to do. With no other option, I drop my sword and step back. Breaker.... you better know what your doing. "Good... now Cheng, you're after me. Not her. Put her down and take me instead. She doesn't need to be hurt." Breaker tries to reason. "WHAT!" I yell before the orc could answer. "That's your plan! Self sacrifice! I thought you didn't want to die." "I'm only willing to die for her! Now what do you say Cheng? Me or her?" Cheng looks between the two of us before he finally drops Twilight. Once Twilight hits the ground she teleports to my side and latches onto me, crying lightly. "Lets go...." BOOSH Before Cheng could finish, a wave of energy erupts from the stairway and sends him into the bookshelves. "Dammit Storm, How many times do I have to tell you. Never drop your weapon." Miles says as he walks into the room, both hands in fire. "Miles..." "Human." The orc says as he gets up and glares at Miles. "You should not have interfered." He says as he closes his eyes and holds his dagger in front of himself. He seems to be trying to focus on the dagger, but I can't tell what he's planning on doing. Without saying anything, Miles runs forward tries to grab onto the orc. But at the last second he jump straight up and landed on the same floor as us. I quickly push Twilight aside and grab my sword. "Go for his stomach and throat!" Breaker yells. "They're the weakest points of his scales!" I nod to him before I launch myself at Cheng, sending a wave of air at him that staggers him back. I land slice at him, cutting him across his lap and forcing him down with a powerful gust of wind. He tries to stab me with his dagger, but Miles had quickly dropped down in front of him and grabbed him, burning his arm off. He screams out in pain as he falls back and holds onto his stub of an arm, thrashing around wildly. "YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT YOU ABOMINATION!" He yells as he tries to get back up. "LIFE IS ENDING! DARKNESS SHALL TAKE OVER!" He yells as he backs away from me and Miles. "Stop him!" Breaker yells as he reaches forward. Before either of us could act, he swallows some white pills and starts to foam at the mouth. "HAHA HAHAHAHAHA! DROWN THE LAND IN ETERNAL DARKNESS!" He yells as he falls to the ground and starts to convulse. Miles walks over to him and watches him, foam pouring from his mouth, tail thrashing back and forth, scratching up the floor. Once he finally comes to a stop he shakes his head and looks back to me. "What happened?" "Well..." I say as he starts to walk past me. "Uh, Miles?" I ask as I sheath my sword and follow after him. "I wasn't asking you." He says as he walks up to Breaker and kneels beside him, making him cower away a bit. "You. You should be dead. What happened?" "Well... I..." He mutters as he tries to hold himself together. Miles reaches forward and feels his neck, making him wince when he reaches a certain point. "It would seem that with the strength boost, plus the energy boost from those red potions, has your heart racing. You must of powered through you neck being snapped. Healed up a bit, then some how made essential connections. How many red potions have you taken since? All together." As Miles asks Breaker this, I walk back over to Twilight and help her back up, apologizing for knocking her over. "Well... I... don't know. I lost track." Breaker says as he tries to back away from Miles. "He said he had five today." Twilight says as she sits down and holds her head. "Five huh, well at least you haven't died of a heart attack." Miles says as he crosses his legs and sits down next to Breaker. "Is... that good?" I ask. "No." Miles says bluntly. "It means that he's becoming immune to them. Soon he won't be able to gain any of their benefits without drinking them by the gallons." "So... he dying then." Twilight asks. "Welcome to the club." Miles says as he stands up. "Storm. I need to have a word with you in private." I nod and follow after him to the kitchen, where he pace back and forth. "What are we going to do about this?" I ask. "You tell me." He says as eh stops pacing and looks to me. "He's your brother, what do you wish to do?" "What?! Don't pin this on me! You're the captain, you should make the call!" "My call is whatever you wish to make. In all honesty, he's dead no matter what. I can maybe fix some of the damage, but he will never be able to take the armor off. In addition to that, he will need daily dosages of red potions. What do you think?" I gawk at him for a second before I look away and try to think of an answer. What am I going to do.... Three Hours Later With a heavy heart I finally make my way back up the stairs to Breaker. I can't believe I'm about to do this. I walk up to him as he finishes talking with Twilight. They seem to be working out some rough patches, but at least it seems to be going by well enough. "... so, yeah. Sorry." Breaker finishes before they look back to me. "So, I have a sister apparently. I'm glad for you... whats going to happen now?" "First you and me are going to have a talk about the Darkness, then Miles has your punishment downstairs. Are you ready?" He sighs before nodding, letting a tear roll down his face. I look to Twilight and wait for her to leave. She leans down to Breaker and gives him a light peck on the cheek before leaving us. "You've got a very special wife Cloud. Please, take care of her." "I will. Now, what really happened all those years ago between you and me?" "*sigh* it... was stupid. Father wanted one us to go join the royal guard, but neither of us wanted to go. So he tested us to see who would go and... I loss. I challenged you to a fight in private and... yeah. It was a trap. I was asking for a sparring partner and when you weren't looking I hit you over the head with a mace. I'm so sorry Cloud. I... if I could go back..." "Its alright, lets just keep going. Who are the darkness? What are their goals and ambitions? Why do they sound like wanna be Nightmare Moons?" "Heh, that would really insult them. Their goals are completely different from Nightmare Moons. They don't want to get rid of the sun, or keep the moon out all of the time. They think of death as the greatest form of darkness, and they want to destroy all life. I don't know how they're going to do it, but I know that its their leaders greatest goal." "And who are their leaders?" "There are four of them. You know War, also know as Tirek. Then next in line is Famine. After him it's Pestilence. And then... there's Death. I've never met him. Heard him. Or even been in the same building as him, but I know he's bad news." "How do you know he's bad news?" "Well... his name is death. Come on, what more is there then that?" I give him a stern look, so he sighs and continues. "OK, there is a rumor that... he... uses souls to strengthen himself." I couldn't help but laugh a bit from how ridiculous it sounded, but Breaker just continued. "They say that he is the harbinger of death, sent here to escort the lost souls back to their final resting places. But one day, something happened. He changed, became obsessed with the ideology of eternal death. He believes that if you stay in the middle stage of death and life, there will be no more souls to roams the planet..." "Breaker, that sounds crazy..." "I know it does! But those are the rumors. And... then... there's... b-brother... that's all of it... there aren't anymore questions... are there." "No, there aren't." I say as I stand up. He holds his mouth shut as he starts to tear up again. "O-OK. I'll go. Please... maybe not today, but... do you think you could ever forgive me?" I walk over to him and lift him onto my back before walking towards the stairs. "Maybe. There are a lot of things you have to atone for, but... someday brother." I hear him cry a bit, sounding a bit... happy. I make it the the stairs and start making my way down carefully. "Brother... I haven't been called that in... a long time. I've missed it... heh. I remember the time you and me were little, I just entered flight school, and some bullies started picking on me, but you came to defend me, you always did. We were the know from then on as the Storm brothers, getting into trouble, fighting to protect one another, stealing from the cookie jar..." He pauses when we make it to the bottom and start to head towards the door. "... good memories." I walk out and set him down in front of Miles. He gulps as he kneels before him and holds his head up, looking him deep in the eyes. "Storm Breaker. I condemn you..." "There's one last thing I need to tell you." Breaker interrupts. "They know all about you Miles, the Darkness as well. I don't know how, but they know plenty about the lost Spartan." "The... lost Spartan?" "That's what your people called you when you never came back. Be careful when you deal with them, they know you." Miles nods as he sets a hand ablaze. Breaker just closes his eyes and waits for it. Perspective: Storm Breaker I close my eyes and wait for my judgement. I don't want to die, but if brother feels this is best, then I will accept it. I feel an energy begin to enter and force its way through my body. Here it is, I'm so sorry brother. "There, it's done." The human says as he lets go of me. I hold my eyes shut for a bit until I realize that I can hold my head up now. I open my eyes and.... "Hello... Breaker." "M-mother..." Standing before me is... my mother. Behind her are some guards from the estate, guarding a balloon with our business logo on it. I stare at her as she begins to creep closer to me. "Are you ready to come home?" She asks as she steps closer to me, tears welling up in her eyes. I look back to the human in confusion. I don't understand. Am I not dying? "Your punishment will be house arrest and information gathering for the Spartan regiment. If we ever need any information on the Darkness, you'r our go to guy. And you will answer all of our questions. You are also going to be under the care and supervision of Rain Cloud. Do as she says and be sure to take your medication." "Breaker, it's time to go home." Mother says to me as she steps closer to me. I completely lose it, I latch onto her and begin to cry my heart out into her mane. She begins to cry as well as she hugs me back, stroking my mane and she tries to comfort me. "I'm so sorry Mother! Please forgive me!" I sob into her mane. "I-its going to be alright son. Lets just get you home. This nightmare is over now." Perspective: Miles "I still think you let him off too easy." Twilight says as we watch the group of guard pegasis pull Rain Clouds balloon away. "He learned his lesson." I say as I fold my arms. "Death is the enemies goal, not mine. Now is the time to mend broken relations, not petty revenge. You two going to be alright?" "We'll be fine." Storm says as he wraps a wing around Twilight. "It'll be rough at first, Breaker did a lot of damage, but we'll get through it." Twilight gives Storm a light peck on the cheek before leaning onto him. "Great, becuase I need to get to Quartz Crest as soon as soon as possible." Chapter 106 GemsChapter 106 Gems "When is as soon as possible?" Twilight asks as I head inside. "Yeah. I have the coordinates, lets get going. Unless you've decided that I should just go on home.." "NNope." Storm says as he heads to the podium and pulls out a map. "Great, then lets get this figured out and get going." I say as we head into the kitchen and sit at the table. Storm rolls out the the map as I pull out my phone and look up the coordinates. "OK... so here is Topaz.... then... Quartz Crest is... here!" I say as I point to a patch of green on the map. "Hmm.... hold on." Twilight says as she runs off into the Library. "You realize that we both just got off of our honeymoons, right?" Storm asks as he looks over the map. "EEyup." THUD Twilight walks in with a rather large book and drops it on top of the map. She flips through it, glancing between the map below and the pages in the book until she comes to a stop. "Moosden." She says proudly. "What?" "There is a city of moose where you pointed out. Moosden. Its a month walk, week flight by balloon." She says as she shuts the book and levitates it to her side. "Hmm... where can I get raw materials?" I ask as I look the map over. "Some stores sell some, but it really depends on what you're going to make. Why?" Storm asks as I pocket my phone. "Can you two get everyone together at my place in an hour, I need to check something." I ask as I stand and head to the door. "Alright, but what are you checking?" Twilight asks as she sets the book back with her magic. "What materials I need." I say as I march out of the room. Storm flies off in the air to gather everyone. "HEY! THERE'S A DEAD ORC IN MY ROOM! STORM! MILES!" Twilight yells. I start out by going back home and looking over the jeep. Its in really bad condition. I need to either patch or replace the tires, the archaic condensers needs new gems and patching... as well as the hood, and I need to jury rig the steering wheel back on. So rubber and gems, that shouldn't be too hard to get. I head inside, nearly falling over as Hati and Lupus come running out, and get my bags and some money. It's pretty late, I hope I can still catch some of the stores before they close. Running through the shopping district is fairly daunting. It seems that everything here is haggled on. I guess that'll work towards my favor. I see a tent with a large blue gem on it, so I figure that's the gem shop. I walk up to it, having no line, and look at the selection. There's a fairly large diamond that would easily fit the bill, and that's it. "Can I help you?" Asks the merchant, a small unicorn stallion with black coat and yellow hair. He's wearing an apron that has a pocket filled with credits. "Yeah, how much for the diamond?" "Eighty grand." ".... no really, how much?" "Eighty grand, really." I shift my stance and stare at him. He can't be serious. He has to be trying to hustle me. "You want me, to pay eighty thousand credits, for something I could get back home for five grand." "Don't like my prices, then go somewhere else." He says as he puffs his chest out a bit. *Eye twitch eye twitch* I pull out ten platinum credits and set them on the counter. "Ten thousand and that's it." I say as I set my hands on the table and get eye level with him. "Eighty and that's final." He growls back. "Do you know who I am?" I ask as I stare at him. "Yeah. Ponyville's new millionaire." ".... how do you know that?" I ask as I stand straight up. "Pinkie told me, and everypony, about how her friend TB wants everypony to know about you being rich. Something along the lines of a joke that they want you to know about so some guy named Aere can laugh at you. So that'll be eighty thousand bits." *Eye twitch eye twitch* "How much?" Some mare asks as she walks by. "Four thousand." "WHAT!" I yell as the mare pulls out some bits and buys the diamond. "Oh, though carrots kid. Better luck next time." He says before he pulls a string and closes up his shop. Pinkie, next time I see you...I collect my credits and walk off... THUD I trip over something and land flat on my face. With a groan I push myself up and look underneath myself. "Oh, sorry about that Spike." I say as I sit up and help him to his feet. He shakes his head a bit before he grabs the handle of his red wagon and looks back to me. "Its alright, you're a tall guy. Sorry but I can't talk right now. Rarity and I are going out to dig up some gems." He says as he walk off. "Oh, alright............WAIT! TAKE ME WITH YOU!" ................................................................................................................................................................................................. After some convincing arguments, and a lot of pleading, I finally convinced Spike to take me along for the gem hunt. He seemed rather irritated by my coming along, but I need a gem. We make it out of Ponyville and head towards the southern hills, just past whitetail woods. "Hello Spikey Wikey, and Miles! When did you make it back from your honeymoon?" Rarity asks as she walks around with her horn pointed towards the ground. She would occasionally stop and mark off a spot, but other then that she diligently looked for gems without paying attention to anything else. "I got back today. I asked to come along becuase I need a gem..." "Oh, for Luna's ring? I was wondering why she didn't have one." "Ring.............. FUCK!" I yell as I grab my head and pace around. How could I forget a wedding ring! I'm an idiot! "Miles." Rarity says, taken back a bit as she glances back to me. "Please. You are in the presence of a lady." She says before going back to her search. "Oh... sorry." I'm an idiot, I'm an idiot, I'm an idiot. "Anyway. Could I possibly use your help to find some gems for the ring as well as for my jeep?" "Of course, but please help me get some gems for my business as well. I must restock for the upcoming season. I have a feeling that studded hats are going to make a comeback and I want to be prepared." "Oh, of course." I say as I look around for a shovel. There aren't any. I look over to Spike to see that he's using his tail to dig..... OK then. Magic it is. I go to one of the marks and feel below. I can sens a small pocket of gems just below the surface. That's strange. When we mine them they usually fill large caverns or are in massive veins. "So, tell me Miles, how was your honeymoon?" Rarity asks as she walks around me. I use my magic to open up the ground and start pulling out gems. "It was very nice. I was just glad that Topaz was safe... and to have some alone time with Luna of course." I say as I deposit the gems into the wagon. "What did you do in Topaz?" Spike asks. "Uh.. well, we... went to some stores." I say as I head to the next mark and work on pulling out the gems. "What kind of stores are left in a city that was sacked three thousand years ago?" Spike asks as he dumps some gems into the wagon. "Well... the kind married people go to..." BOOM I look over to see that Rarity had, for some reason, blasted a hole into the ground and is now blushing like crazy. I laugh a bit as Spike runs over to check on her. We spend the next few hours looking for gems, talking idly, and a little messing around with each other. Ends up unicorns have a universal form of wing boners... it's called popping. A little more dangerous, but twice as funny. I was able to walk off with three sapphires, two diamonds and some turquoise. Rarity still had some other errands to run, so I decided to help Spike bring the gems back to Carousel Boutique. "You alright there little guy?" I ask as we walk through the woods. "Please don't call me little." He says as he quickens his pace. Whoa... OK. "Everything alright Spike? If you need to talk about something, you can talk to me." He stops in his tracks and looks over to me, pleading while trying to be strong. "Its... just.... after the whole BlueBlood thing... I've been feeling... useless." He says as he looks away from me. "Why would..." "Cause I'm the baby dragon that can't do anything!" He snaps at me. OK, here comes the venting. "It's always I'm too little or just a slacky to Twilight. I don't like being viewed like that. It make me feel... inferior." "Spike. None of us feel that way about you." "I know, but sometimes that doesn't help. I want to be able to stand for myself. Defend my family with my own claws. Dad showed some self defense stuff, but..." "Wait who?" I ask, making Spike realize what he said. "I.... uh... just forget what I said." He says as he runs off. I run after him and get in his way, stopping him in his tracks. He tries to hide his blushing face from me, but I can see right through him. "So... wanna talk about that?" I ask as I sit down. "I would prefer not to." "Hmm... I'll make you a deal, but first let me see your hand." "Why do you need to see my claw?" Spike asks as he looks over his hands. "Just trust me." I say as I hold out my hand. He hesitantly puts his hand out, so I grab it and look it over. "Well, good news, you have large hands." "Uh... thank you?" "So here's the deal. Open up a bit more, and I'll teach you magic." He yanks his hand back and stares at me in disbelief. "Teach me... magic... but I'm a dragon. The only magic we can use is our fire..." "Do you have a soul?" He nods." Then you can learn human magic. But I will warn you, gaining this power is risky. Do something wrong and you could lose your soul." I say, scaring him a bit. "But..." "But what?" He asks as he leans in a bit. "If you power through this, you gain access to the most powerful form of magic out there. Stronger then unicorn magic, more raw then any alchemy. So what do you say?" He looks down at his hands for a bit before he falls back and sits before me. "OK. You have a deal." I stick out my hand and shake hands with him. "So, who's you dad?" "I don't know. Twilight hatched me from an egg, I don't know my actual parent. Twilight's always been the one watching out for me so that's why I sometimes think of her as my mom..." "So who is this father figure of yours?" He twiddles his hands around a bit before he sighs and answers. "Storm..." "AWWW...." "Dude, not cool." He says as he blushes a bit. "Ever since he's been here he's... well been there for me. He can be... direct sometimes, but he honestly cares about me. When he gave me the... 'talk', he answered all of my questions. He trying to teach me to be a better pony... and I look up to him a lot becuase of that." "Have you told him any of this?" "What? No. I mean... I think it's just a unspoken thing. I called Twilight mom once and she didn't drop it for a week. I like the way things are now, and I'd like for things to stay that way." "You realize that Twilight and Storm are trying to have kids, right?" "Oh... yeah...." "But don't worry about that." I say as I stand back up and start walking off. He quickly stands up and follows after me, cart in tow. "Why not? If they have a foal, they won't have any more room for me..." "Don't think of it as competition but rather an addition." "Huh?" "Instead of them pushing you away from the family, you get to bring a kid in to it." "Like PeeWee and me?!" "Uh... sure." We walk a bit in silence, exiting the woods and heading straight for Rarity's. "Hey Miles. If I have some questions later... can I come to you to answer them?" "SSSSS.... maybe. Some of them may be up to your father to answer." I say getting him to smile. "Alright. Thanks Miles. I'm glad we talked... especially since we're probably avoiding some drama later." He says, getting us both to laugh as Storm lands in front of me. "Hey there, I've got everypony heading to your place." He reports as he looks over to Spike. "Everything alright?" "Can I talk to you... in private?" Spike asks as he looks to me. "I'll meet you back at my place, you don't really need to know whats going to be talked about." I say as I leave the two of them alone Perspective: Storm I watch Miles walk off before looking back to Spike. He looks like he has a lot on his mind... I hope he doesn't have any more sex questions. Not that I mind answering them, they're just awkward. "So... Miles and I were talking on our way back from Gem ridge..." He says as he look down and shuffles his feet around. "Hey, what did I say? When you're talking to a stallion you look him in the eyes." He nods and looks up. "Alright, now what did you two talk about?" "Well... two things actually... first one was that he wants to teach me human magic..." "Magic? Can you learn that?" "He says I should bee able to..." "Well, as long as Twilight's OK with it I don't see why not." I say as I sit down. A dragon that can use magic... damn that's scary. "And the other thing was... well you... and me." He says as he starts to look down again, but quickly looks back up. "What about you and me?" I ask as I eye him a bit. What did you do Miles? "It was about... how I... think of you." He says as he shies away a bit. "Oh. And what would that be?" "I... well, I really look up to you. Before it was just me and Twilight, and I didn't really see anypony else in our group. But then you came here, and we hung out a lot... you're a real father figure for me." He says the last part quickly and shuts his eyes, trying to escape his embarrassment. I feel my heart skip a beat as he says that. A... father figure. Dammit Miles, why do you have to ruin things. "Well... uh... you know how next week is your birthday?" I ask as I look around. "What? Yeah so what?" He asks as he looks at me confused. "Well Twilight and I were going to give you some papers for your birthday..... adoption papers." I say as I look around to make sure Twilight isn't around to kick my flank for ruining the surprise. "A..... adoption papers..." "Yeah..." "So... you guys..." "Do you want me and Twilight to be your parents? Officially." Spike doesn't say anything. He just runs up to me and hugs me tightly, crying slightly. I swallow a few tears as I hug him back. "But lets keep this a secret until your birthday, so Twilight won't kill me." "OK dad." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: TallestBrony "AH... finished. Think that was fucked up?" I ask Cheesus. We're all in Squishy's room, just hanging out. "Meh, Pinkie said it would be funny." Cheesus says from his top bunk. I look to Squishy as he lays on the floor, shirtless as usual. "Burritos?" "Burritos." He replies seriously. It's good to be back from vaca.... "Think they'll be mad about the short charter?" I ask as we all get ready to head over to Taqueria De Anda's. "Naw, it was really touching." Pinkie says as she grabs my keys. "I'LL DRIVE!" She yells as she runs off. "YOU CAN'T DRIVE STICK!" I yell as I chase after her. Chapter 108 Night CourtChapter 108 Night Court Perspective: Miles I awake to the feeling of Luna leaving the bed. Opening my eyes, I look around to see that it's dusk... or soon it will be at least. I give a quick stretch before I sit up and look out at the balcony. Luna's standing out there, wearing her usual jewelry, with the bracelet as well. She's facing away from me and has her horn glowing, making the sky turn darker and darker with every passing second. Once done, she lets go of her magic and stares out at the night sky. "Well, some pony's in a good mood." Celestia says as she lands onto her balcony....... SHIT! I quickly roll over and fall to the ground, trying to keep as quit as possible. "What's got you in such a good mood?" "What? Can't I just be happy?" Luna asks, playing it completely cool and collect. I look around and see my white shirt laying on the middle of the floor... fuck, I need to get that. I crawl to the edge of the bed and reach out to try to grab it, but its a little out of my reach. "You being happy is more then welcomed. Do you wish to have dinner together? I feel as if I haven't been spending enough time with you." "Well... let me wash up first. I feel... sticky." Smooth Luna. "Yes.... I wasn't going to say anything but you smell... sweaty. Is everything alright?" I crawl a bit out and quickly grab my shirt. I duck back behind the bed as Celestia and Luna walk into the room...... FUCK! I try to hide under the bed but the bottom is solid! "Every things fine. Sheesh Tia, I come out in a good mood and everything's has to be bad or...." "Ok, OK. Sorry. It's just.... you've only been home for a few days now. I just want to make sure that you aren't trying to hide anything. If you want to talk about it, I'm here for you." Celestia says as they both take a seat on the bed. I lay back and cover myself with the shirt. I don't want to be here for this conversation, but I don't really have a choice right now. "Well... sometimes its hard to sleep when I know he's still out there, but..." "But?" "I just remind myself that Miles is out there, and I begin to feel better." D'aw... "Luna, you know how I feel about the two of you..." "I know, but... he was the one to save me. He escorted me home and brought me straight to you. He even took an arrow in the chest for me Tia. It's hard to get over somepony who does something like that for you." I reach up to the scar on my chest and think back to that day... why didn't I ever fix this? "Luna... I know he's done many things for you. I truly respect him for those things, honestly. But... he's... whats a year of joy to a life time of hurt?" Ouch... that's low. The room falls silent for a bit, the only sound being them moving around on the bed. "He may only have a year... but whats the loss of a loved one to wishing you could of done something for a life time? I know how you feel about us... but don't worry about it. I've got everything under control. I'll meet you at the dinning hall, I'd just like a moment to myself." "Alright... I'll see you in a bit then sister." "......... you can come out now." "OK does she hate me or not?" I ask as I stand up and collect the rest of my clothes. "Cause I have no fucking clue right now. Respect is nice and all, but I can tell she still doesn't care for me." "She doesn't hate you..." I pause and look at her. "Ok, maybe she does... but not entirely. She just cares more about me then you." I shake my head as I sit on the bed and start to put my pants on. Luna gets behind and wraps her forelegs around my chest from behind me. I pause and grab onto her her legs as she kisses the back of my head. "*sigh* so, what are you doing after dinner?" I ask as she starts to rub my chest, pausing at the arrow scar. "Why didn't you ever heal this?" "Well... it has a good memory behind it." "Really?" She asks flatly with a slight chuckle. "And I never really thought about it." "That's what I thought. But that was a very good cover. After dinner I have night court until sunrise, so I don't think we'll be able to spend anymore time together. What are your plans?" She asks as she lays her head on my shoulder. "At sunrise I have to leave for Moosden. That's where Quartz Crest is." "*sigh* well I have to finish getting ready. Good thing Celestia doesn't know what sex smells like." She says before she gives me a kiss on my cheek. She walks over to her counter and starts brushing her mane as I finish getting dressed. When I finish I get up and squat beside Luna, looking at her in the mirror's reflection. She pauses brushing and leans against me a bit. "What's on your mind?" "Just thinking. I'm going to head out now, I love you." I say as I give her a peck on the cheek. "Oh, love you to. Bye then." I start to walk out of her room towards the balcony. As I pass behind her I reach down and give her a slight pinch, getting her to jump a bit. "Miles! You little punk!" She says as she chases me out of her room. "Bye love!" I yell as I run out the doors, closing them before she could get to me. "I'll get you back later." She warns me through the door. "Counting on it." I say as I head to the edge of the balcony and stand on it, having my toes go off the edge. I take a deep breath before leaning forward and letting gravity do what it does best. I hold my eyes shut for a bit as I fall, enjoying the air race through my hair. I open my eyes and flip over as I near the rapidly approaching ground. In the final moments I flair my heels and land in the middle of the gardens with a solid thud, sending dust up and all around me. I hear someone near by cough a bit before snoring some more, but other then that nothing really notices me. I raise the soil back to where it should be before walking away, trying to be as unnoticeable as possible. I make it to the front of the castle completely unnoticed, dodging any patrolling guards with total ease. "Halt creature! How did you get inside!" A guard demands as I casually walk up to the front door. There are two unicorn night guards by the door, each pointing a spear to me. "How did you get inside?" I ask as I look around. "But seriously, a gate doesn't really hold anything back. Its more of a challenge then a deterrent." "Real funny wise guy. Now get out..." "Actually, I'm here for night court." I interrupt, getting them to pause. "Your.... what?" "Night court. You know, like day court.... but at night." They look to each other before looking back to me, completely lost for words. "You have no fucking clue how to deal with court recipients do you?" "Uh.... no." The one on the left admits as they lower their spears. "We've never received one. I didn't even know that we still did it." "Well... to my knowledge you still do..." "I thought Princess Luna was in the Griffin Colonies, looking for that guy who ponynapped her." The guard on the left asks, turning to the other guard. "What? Why would she go back to the place she was ponynapped to? That's just... stupid." "They thought they found the guy..." "Then we could of just sent an emissary then. Why would we allow our only recently recovered princess back into the land that just captured her?" "Yes, why indeed?" I turn around to see a group of some fifty night guards walking up behind me, being led by a single night pegasis guard. Though he looks the same as the others, he wears a helmet with white hair coming out from it along with a ranking etched into the chest of his armor. "You must be Miles Eremita..." "Yeah..." "Princess Luna's husband." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Luna "Just a salad." Celestia says to the waiter, getting me to roll my eyes. The waiter bows before us before walking off to the kitchen. "So sister, how were things in the Griffin Colonies?" She asks as she takes a sip from her water glass. "Huh.... oh! Well, they ended up not having him. But other then that, I guess it was nice." I say as I look away and take a sip from my glass. "Don't worry, we'll get him. And he will pay for what he so foolishly did." I take a few deep breathes before I look over to Tia, seeing the conviction in her eyes. "Tia... can I ask you a completely hypothetical, not real, just asking cause the thought came to mind, question?" "Uh... of course Luna. What do you wish to know?" Before I could ask the waiter comes out with our food and sets them before us. "If you desire anything else just let me know." He says before bowing and walking away. "Yes well... lets eat first then I'll ask." I say before picking up my hay fries and fill my mouth up. "Well, ok then." We eat in relative silence, I kept coughing from filling my mouth to much at first. Once we finish our food the waiter takes our plates away and refills our water. I take a long drink from it, trying to avoid the conversation I'm about to have. "Princess Luna!" Captain Night Fury yells as he barges through the doors and marches straight towards me. *PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT* His sudden appearance, along with him yelling at the top of his lungs, scares the heck out of me and makes me spit all of the water from my mouth. "Guard. Why do you barge in on me and my sister in such a manner?" Tia asks as I try to collect myself. "Becuase there is somepony here who wishes to speak to her in the night court." I do a double take as I feel my heart skip a beat. Somepony is here... to speak with me? "Uh...." "Its the human from Ponyville. He says he has information he wishes to share about the terrorist group that ponynapped you." "Miles!?" Tia and I say at the same time, looking to each other before back to Captain Night Fury. "We'll be there shortly." Tia says as she stands. "Coming sister? Don't want to make your first night court visitor wait." "Right.... right." I say as I stand and follow Tia out. What does Miles think he's doing? If he slips the beans to Tia about me and him I swear his balls will be bluer then me. We walk through the halls until we make it to the doors to the court room, where Tia turns back to me. "Luna... are you going to be alright on this one?" "What? Of course sister. Why do you always doubt me?" I ask as I push my way around her and enter the hall. When I enter the hall I find Miles standing in the center, looking around idly as he holds his hands behind himself. He gives me a smile as I take my seat at the throne, Celestia sitting at my side. "Hi." He says joyfully as he approaches the two of us. I shake my head from his usual calmness and begin my act. "Greetings subject, what do you wish to bring to me this night." "An exchange." He says as he glances between Celestia and me. "As you may or may not know I am going to be traveling to the cities of my country. These cities are buried under some of your territories. In exchange for information on those who kidnapped you, I would like permission to move through these cites...." "Why do you wish to move throughout a country you belong to?" Tia interrupts. I shoot her a look before looking back to Miles. "You are Equestrian, you do not need to move throughout..." "Because I'm not going as an Equestrian. I'm going as a Terradisian. I will be carrying weapons, and I do not wish to enter another country's territory, armed, without permission." As I think about what he says Tia taps my shoulder, so I lean over to hear what she has to say. "There is more to this then just simply moving arms sister." "What do you mean?" "If we say yes or no, then we acknowledge that Terradisia is a government. The Spartans would gain a political power in the world. Think carefully about this." I nod as I lean back up and stare at Miles. "We already know of Tirek and the Darkness...." "War is not the leader." Miles says, cutting me off. "Tirek, also know as war, is only fourth in command. If you wish to know more about the leaders and their goals, I suggest you give me permission to move in your territories." Wow Miles, just go for the throat why don't you. I want to just give him permission, but I know Celestia would begin suspecting things. Not to mention I don't think Miles will keep us a secret from her. Hmmm.... "Subject! By order of your princess, I command thee to give us the information, or face time in the dungeon." "You realize there isn't a cell here that can hold me. Not to mention that holding me prisoner would only further the plans of the Darkness. You need this more then I need freedom." He says before he drops to his knees and holds his wrist before me. "Your move." "You're bluffing" Celestia say as she stands up and begins approaching Miles. "You claim to care for my sister, yet you withhold information that could help keep her safe. So what is it? Her safety, or your own selfish needs?" "You seem to forget our little chat. I'm not allowed to even think about her, remember? This is more then just information swapping. This is my stance for Terradisia...." "Three ponies can't make up a country..." "Good thing there are more of us. There are six of us, plus all of the bots from Topaz Falls. Not to mention what ever we may find in all of the other cities. Make your move Celestia." "Celestia." I say, getting her to look back to me. "Come here please." She looks back to Miles before giving a huff and walking back to me. "What are you doing?" "Trying to get..." "Because last time I checked it was night court." "Luna..." "Let me deal with this." I say as I stand up. She looks back to Miles before nodding and sitting down. "Thank you, now Miles, surely we can come to an understanding...." "Sorry, but my terms will stand. Either accept them, deny them, or arrest me." "May I ask one last question?" Celestia asks. I think about it for a second before nodding. "Miles, you will die in a year, can Terradisia live any longer?" I feel my heart skip a beat when she asks this. That was cruel sister... "Of course." I do a double take as I look back to Miles. "Though I may die soon, I already have a successor lined up to continue our ways." "Storm Cloud." I say, getting a nod from Miles. "He is my lieutenant. I have been molding him to be a leader for not only the Spartan regiment, but for Terradisia as well. I've trained him and Big Mac to make more Spartans. To continue our philosophies. And they have already committed to this. Terradisia will continue to live long past me. Oh, and one last thing Celestia, Twilight is Terradisia as well." I hear Celestia take a few deep breathes as she glares at Miles. Nice babe, now she completely hates you... this isn't going to be easy. "Why you..." "I have come to a decision." I say, cutting off Celestia. "And we shall take your offer." "WHAT!" Tia yells, gaping at me. "You can't be serious." "I can, and I am. Even if we held him prisoner and tortured the info out of him, that wouldn't stop Terradisia from rising. Face the facts sister, a new government is beginning in our territories. We either shall try to destroy them, or coexist with them. I do not wish to destroy the lives of innocent ponies who wish to only help us." "But... he... RAH! Fine. I'll go with you on this one sister." Tia says as she lowers her head and mopes to herself. "Thank you. Now, what do you know about the Darkness." "Not as much as I'd like to know." Miles admits as he stands. "They have four leaders. Tirek, or War, is at the bottom. Then there is Famine, Pestilence, and finally Death." Death.... oh my.... "Though I have not met them all, I have come to the conclusion that they are all centaurs, due to the fact that they call themselves the Four Horsemen." Death... where have I heard that before.... "I also know that they are all ancient, due to War telling me that he was from the Purge. Their goals are fairly simplistic. They wish to kill everyone." "No... it can't be..." I murmur out load, getting everypony to look to me. "Is there something you wish to say?" Celestia asks as I stare blankly at the floor. "Death... is Brim-Bar, the Soul Seeker." I say, getting confused looks from everypony. "This... was from back before I was Nightmare Moon. I was on my way to a small village when I ran into some beast that attacked me with this strange... black...cloudy thing. I didn't realize it before, but I believe it was the same substance War was using. The attack caught me by surprise and nearly killed me... if it weren't for a cloaked creature with a scythe. He vanquished the beast and captured their souls in a satchel. I remember... feeling different. I... can't remember exactly, but I believe this was when I became Nightmare Moon. As thanks for saving my life I decided to give this Brim-Bar a gift, or a blessing as I called it back them. As I said fair well to Brim-Bar he said 'fair well Brim-Bar. Greetings Death.' I may have created this monster." "That's nice, but how he was created doesn't really matter right now." Miles says, killing the serious mood. "We need to focus on stopping him. I know his last base of operation was in the Griffin Colonies, so he must be within their territories. Let them know that if they ever need assistance taking him down, Terradisia stands ready." "... very well." I say as I try to cope with the idea of me creating a monster. "Oh, and one last thing before I leave." Miles says, getting me to look up to him. "This isn't your fault. If he was purgian, then it was a human that did this. I intend to atone for what my people did, so I will find this Death and teach him the folly of his ways. Good night, Princess Luna." He gives a salute before turning around and walking out of the hall. I continue to stare out at the space he was in long after he left. This is all my fault. I started this.... "Luna." Celestia says as she nuzzles me a bit. "Look at me." I move my head slowly over until I'm looking directly into her eyes. "This isn't your fault..." "How could you say that? I was the one who gave him... whatever it is that made Brim-Bar live this long. I'm completely at fault for..." "Stop. Stop it right now." She says as she wraps me in a hug. "That wasn't you. That was Nightmare Moon. Luna would never do such a thing. And Nightmare Moon would never feel bad about doing something like this. So don't you dare let this get to you. You did nothing wrong." I wrap my hooves around her as I hug her back, burying my face in her mane. It was Nightmare Moon that did this... but Nightmare Moon was a part of me... ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles As I wait in the hall outside of the court room I take a look around. The fifty guards from before are all waiting around me, with Night Fury sitting beside me. "You realize that if you do this, you could die." I ask as I lean against the wall. "I'll take my chances." "And if you ever leak information, I, along with every other Spartan, will hunt you down and kill you and your family." "I wont leak information." "You better not." I say as I look back to the door. A guard is waiting by door with his ear held against it, waiting for Celestia to leave the room. "OK... she's gone." "Lets do this." Night Fury says as he walks to the door and pushes it open. We all march inside together, getting very confused looks from Luna as we walk up to her. "Uh... what..." "Guess who's really good at guessing!" I blurt out, getting glares from Night Fury. "What?" Luna asks as she looks around at her guards. "Allow me to explain, Queen Luna." Night Fury says as he walks up to her. "We recently discovered your marriage to Miles through an undercover pony in Ponyville. Once we found out we all met together in secret and held discussions about it. Our conclusion was that we approved. Further more, we decided to hep you in keeping it a secret for as long as you wish, Queen Luna." "Uh... it's Princess Captain..." "Not anymore." I say as I walk up to her and stand at her side. "Since I'm a Captain and you're a Royal sister, and your laws are retarded, once we were married you and I became the rulers of Equestria." "Is that so?" Luna asks as she looks over to Fury. "Yes your highness. You are now Queen, and Miles is now King." "So..... YOU WERE GOING TO PULL RANK ON CELESTIA IF SHE TRIED TO ARREST YOU!" Luna yells as she smacks my arm. "Fuck yeah I was. I aint going to jail, fuck that." I say as she glares at me some more. "But since we want to keep things a secret, the guards and I decided that it would be best to continue being what Celestia thinks we are..." "How did you convince my Captain to all of this?" She asks as she looks over to the group of guards. "Simple. The next time Miles decides to train Spartans, we are allowed to send fifty volunteer guards into the training program." Fury says with a sly grin. "So.... you all will help me and Miles spend more time together?" She asks as she looks around the group of guards. As they all nod, she slowly starts to tear up. "Thank you.... thank you all..." "Anything for you, Queen Luna, we all have to get back to our post. Take care...." "ALL HAIL THE KING!" The rest of the guards sound off as they salute and march off. I sit beside Luna and wrap an arm around her as she wipes her tears away. "Do I have to be king?" Author's Note Shout out to tickytheclown for picking the number of guards that escorted Miles. Thanks for reading and like always, Brony on! Chapter 109 MoosedenChapter 109 Mooseden Beep... beep... beep... beep...beep... beep... "Shut the fuck up." I say as I grab my phone off of my dresser and turn the alarm off. "Why is that thing so loud?" Luna asks as she rolls over and holds herself against me. After our moment at Canterlot we decided to take a nap at my place. Apparently, this jerk came into her bed and kept her up when she was suppose to be asleep, what a dick. We spent most of the night just holding one another, asking idle questions about one another until we went to sleep. "*yawn* want to get breakfast?" I ask as I brush her mane a bit. Bed head, logic be damned. "No. I just want to stay right here for as long as possible." She says as she nuzzles my chest a bit. I laugh a bit from the feeling of her soft nose. She plants a few kisses before moving up to be eye level with me. "Hey." "Hey." "So how long until we tell Celestia?" I ask making her close her eyes. "After last night... probably even longer then before. Why did you have to push her so hard?" "Why was she trying to run the night court?" "Miles..." "Look, I know I was... blunt back there, but I had to be. Otherwise Terradisia wouldn't be considered as a true nation. Sorry." I say as put my hand on my spot and rub her cheek a bit, getting her to look me in the eyes. She gives me a soft kiss before getting on top of me. I set my hands on her sides and she lays atop of me, sighing deeply as she leans her head against mine. "Just... try to be nice in the future. I'd like everypony in my family to get along." "I'll try my best." I say as I wrap my arms lightly around her and hold her. We lay there quietly for awhile, just holding one another. "I should get going soon..." Before she could finish I rolled over on top of her and started sucking on her neck, getting her to squirm under me. "Miles... I need to get going..." She complains as I continue to force her to twist back and forth. I begin to move down, working my way to her belly. I pause in the middle of her belly and look up, being sure to hold her in place. "Whats the magic word?" I ask, making her eyes go wide. "Please?" "Wrong." I say before I blow on her belly, making her convulse in a fit of laughter. "MILES! STOPSTOPSTOP! AAAAHHHH!" I pause and look back up to her, letting her catch her breath. "Whats the magic word?" I ask again, not really having a secret word. "Uh.... I.... I'll suck your cock?" I was about to blow again, but stop to look back up at her. Well... that was unexpected. "Oh my..." Luna and I go wide eye as we look over to the door to see Rarity, Lupus and Hati standing at the door. Rarity looks as if she's about to faint while Lupus and Hati look... well they're panting lightly with their tongues out... so... yeah. "Rarity... why are you in my room?" I ask as I roll off of Luna, who seems to have frozen in embarrassment. "Your... dogs.... brought me here..." She says as she stares at me. We stare at each other until the door starts to slowly shut by Luna's magic. "Why does that always happen?" I ask as I lay back. "Well... maybe if you locked the door..." Luna says as she rolls over and gets off the bed. "I'm... going to get going..." "Hey, I thought I was getting my cock sucked." I say jokingly, getting Luna to turn even redder. I get up and walk over to her, kneeling down to be eye level with her. "Hey, just kidding. I have to start getting ready to leave for Mooseden now, I love you." I say as I hold her head before me. She leans in and gives me a quick kiss before hugging me. "I love you to. Please be safe. And... if there are people there, please come back to me." She says as she tightens her hold on me. "Don't worry. Nothing could stop me from coming back to you. I promise." We embrace one another for a awhile until I let go of her and stand up. She hops up and gives me one last kiss on the lips before heading into my closet. I stare at the doorway until I see the light flash from within. With a sigh I head to the closet and grab all of my gear and head down stairs. "Miles..." Rarity says from the couch as I walk past her and head out back to my jeep. As I start to load up my gear into the benches I can hear Rarity behind me. "Miles..." "Cock block." "Yes... well... uh... is there anyway I can help? So long as I don't get my hooves dirty.... or get my mane wet." "Sure. Can you go get all of the weapons out of my closet and bring them down here?" "Of course." She says before trotting back inside. I finish loading the bench and go... BU-DUM "Fuck." I say as I grit my teeth and grab at my heart. I take low shallow breathes as I try to stay standing, but feel myself wavering. More? How could I be needing to use more magic? I've already used so much... "Miles I could only find... MILES!" Rarity yells as she runs to my side as I drop to a knee. "Whats wrong? Is there anything I can...." "Give me something.... anything!" She hands me a griffin sword with her magic and I immediately take it. Using my magic, I purify the metal and start to bend and twist it around. This is helping... but I need more. I look over to see that she had brought the other remaining weapons, so I take them in my magic and treat them the same way. "Miles... are you going to be OK for the trip?" Rarity asks as I continue to bend and twist the steel, feeling slightly better. "I'll be fine. Just another back up." "Do they usually happen so close to one another?" "...no." We stay silent as I continue to twist the metal around. When I feel normal, or at least close to, I set the metal down and stare at it silently. "Come on.... lets get finished getting ready." I say as I push myself up and take the metal inside. Before Rarity could ask me anything, Storm, Spike and Twilight showed up with bags of food. Spike is a asleep on Twilight's back, snoring lightly. "Morning Miles, Rarity, where do you want these?" Twilight asks as she sets Spike on the couch. "Can you just set them in the left bench of the jeep." They nod and walk off, leaving a bag in the kitchen before heading out back. "Miles, maybe we should wait a day or two before we head out. Let you rest up." Rarity says from beside me. "A day, a week, a month, it wouldn't matter. I don't have the luxury of waiting." I look down to her and offer my best smile before heading out back. She seemed... disturbed by that. Whatever, it's something everyone is going to get used to. I walk out back to find Storm jumping on one of the benches, trying to get it shut as Twilight organizes the other one, getting it to shut with total ease. "*yawn* mornin Miles." I turn around to see Rainbow Dash landing beside me, carrying a sleeping Scootaloo on her back. "Hey Rainbow, why is Scootaloo here?" "Huh? Oh, cause she's staying at Applejack's while we're gone. Big Mac will take her when he drops off AJ. I would of brought her there earlier, but she wanted to stay together for as long as possible." She says before looking back and kissing her forehead. "I'm going to get breakfast ready, want to help?" Twilight asks as she walks up to us. "Uh.. sure, just don't let me burn anything." Rainbow says nervously. "And I'll help as well." Rarity says as the three of them walk inside. I look back to see Storm on his back, panting, on a perfectly shut locker. "If you broke anything, your fixing it." I say as I walk up to the other side. "I didn't.... Twilight rearranged everything last second." He pants as he lays there. "Listen... I need to talk to you about something." I say, getting his attention. "If I go down, for any reason, I'm counting on you to get everyone out of there. No matter how close we are to the objective." "But what if were right next to it? Then what?" "Unless I've already started get out. I don't want to risk anyone's lives, so if I go down, your priority is to get everyone out safely. Understood?" "Yes sir, but that's easier said then done." "I know, but make it happen. Come on, lets head inside for now." he nods and follows me inside. I open the door and nearly fall over and Lupus and Hati come running out. Why can't they just walk out? I step inside and look into the kitchen to see it in complete disarray. Twilight and Rarity are fighting a massive fire as Rainbow sits on the floor facing us, stirring something with the utmost focus as her tongue hangs out the side of her mouth. Cooking materials are everywhere, coating the floor, counters, cupboards, ceiling and cooks. The sink is overflowing with fiery waters that keep Twilight and Rarity back. "Just keep walking." Storm says as he walks over to the living room. I glance back to the others before following Storm to the living room. Spike and Scootaloo are starting to wake up as the sun starts to rise outside. I can see the rest of the group heading towards my home down the path. I go to the door and open it... "GHAWADIFU!" I yell as Lupus and Hati charge inside, nearly knocking me over, again. "Howdy Miles." Big Mac cheers as walks inside with Fluttershy. "Miles." Applejack says as she nods to me. "Willis." Pinkie says as she hops in. I was about to correct her when Lupus and Hati charge back out, this time knocking me over. "You should really watch out for them." Pinkie cheers from inside. "Really now, you don't say." I grumble as I get up. "I do say. *sniff sniff* OOO, Rainbow's cooking!" Pinkie yells as she runs to the kitchen. I shake my head as I go to the living room with the others, catching them mid conversation. "... gonna be fine with them." Applejack finishes, getting Big Mac to roll his eyes. "Whats up?" I ask as I look between the two of them. "Ah was just sayin that I should tag along as well. Ah am a Spartan after all." Big Mac says as he shoots a look over to Applejack. "An ah was sayin that we need somepony ta stay on the farm ta keep an eye on the youngins an the farm." Applejack says as she shoots the same look back to Big Mac. "Uh... we could just alternate people in and out." I say, breaking their glares to look back to me. "Ah aint lettin ya'll go without me." Applejack defends. "Hmm... we could just alternate between Big Mac and Storm. In fact, I like that. Alright, Storm and Big Mac will be trading positions whenever the need arises." "Hey Big Mac." Storm says getting him to look over. They have some kind of silent conversation, communicating through facial expressions until Big Mac sighs in defeat. "Fine. Y'all can go without me ta Quartz Crest, but I get the next one!" "Deal." Storms says with a nod. "Uh..." "Foods ready everypony!" Rainbow says as Rarity and Twilight sets covered plates on the dinning room table. Before I could question Storm and Big Mac everyone began to walk over to the dinning room, leaving me in my confusion. "Coming Miles?" Spike asks with yawn. I sigh and follow after, taking the seat at the head of the table. "Whats for breakfast?" "Buckwheat pancakes, scrambled eggs, some grape fruit, plain yogurt and coffee." Twilight says as she removes the covers to reveal all of the food. "Buck... wheat?" I say, feeling slightly cheated. "Don't worry, you probably will still enjoy them. They're nothing like hay pancakes." Storm assures me as he grabs some food. Thirty Minutes Later "Aaaahhhhh..... my stomach...." Storm complains from shot gun as everyone buckles up. We somehow made it a contest to see who could eat them most pancakes. Big Mac won. I tried to join in, but after eight pancakes, two grapefruits, a bowl of yogurt and six eggs..... I thought I did well. "Alright lets get going!" I say as I turn the engine on. CLICK Da fuck? CLICK CLICK CLICK "What the fuck?" I ask as I sit back and try to think of whats wrong. I fixed the arcane condenser. Redid all of the wiring. Applied the synthetics to the pistons. "Does it have power?" Twilight asks from Storms side. "............ right." I grab the steering wheel and watch the meters fill with power. I turn the the ignition and sigh in relief as the engine roars to life. "OK, now we're going." I say as I push the accelerator and drive off. "Mooseden here we come!" Ten Hours Later "... EIGHTEEN BOTTLES OF SARSAPARILLA ON THE WALL, EIGHTEEN BOTTLES OF SARSAPARILLA. YOU TAKE ONE DOWN AND PASS IT AROUND, SEVENTEEN BOTTLE OF SARSAPARILLA ON THE WALL!" Pinkie sings as we come to a stop on the edge of Mooseden. "PINKIE!" Everyone yells, getting her to finally stop. It was fine at first, but nine hundred eighty three bottles later I'm about to snap. "Look! Mooseden! We made it!" Pinkie cheers as she points forward. Mooseden is a fairly small village, compared to Ponyville at least. There are about twenty buildings all together. They're all made of the same dark wood and seem to be larger then standard buildings from Ponyville, being at least four times the length of one but roughly the same height. They seem to be built in stacks, having logs on top of logs that end with slanted roofs. The area around here is significantly colder. Surrounding the small town is a dense forest that continues out for a bout three kilometers until it abruptly ends. To the south east are some rather large mountains. They're part of a chain that we used to find this place. Tall jagged peaks shoot up into the sky, white covered peaks piercing through the grey sky. "Well... now where do we go?" Rarity asks from the back as everyone takes in the view. "I've got this." Storm says as he stands in his seat and looks around. "Drive to the east side of town and look for a place called The Cheesy Antlers." I glance to him for a second before shaking my head and drive off. I try to keep my distance, but soon have to drive close by when the forest forces me closer. I peer over to the town to try to see the residents, but I can't seem to see any. This place is deserted. I can't see a living soul. "There it is." Storm says as he flies out of the car and heads towards a building ahead of us. "FINALLY!" Rainbow yells as she jumps out of the back bench and flies up, racing around the entire town as she spins and flips around. I come to a stop by a building with a small sign nailed to the side, having pony text on it. I turn the jeep off and jump out, stretching my back and legs before walking around front with everyone. "Storm! Rainbow! Get down here already so we can go inside." I yell out to them. from the porch of the building. As they take their time getting down here, I take another look around town. Most of the buildings seem to be empty. Ragged clothes hang from opened windows as door sway in the wind. Many of the buildings seem to be in some form of disarray, loose boards, broken windows, holey roofs. I don't believe that many people live here, if any do at all. "Alright, lets head inside and see if we can find Bantler." Storm says as he and Rainbow land beside me and walk inside. We head inside the building and take a look around. It's fairly dark, the only lighting being from the windows and a candle in what looks like the remains of a bar. There are several round wooden tables and chairs throughout the room, but they are all in disrepair and dusty. To the right of us is a wooden stage barely in tack, just like the rest of this town, with a person sitting on a stool. It looks... kind of like a pony, only larger with thin legs, a thick brown coat and large horn like things on it's head. "Are you Bantler?" Storm asks as he approaches the person. "She ain't gonna answer." Someone from behind says. I turn around to see another person like the one before, only being of larger build and having larger horn things. "I'm Bantler, what can I do for ya?" He says as he begins to wipe the counter top to the bar. "Uh... Cheesus told me you..." "Oh Cheesus sencha eh? Well alrighty then. Welcome to The Cheesy Antler eh." He says as he walks out to greet us. "Why don't we get your bags in and well...." "Actually, we wont need any of that." Storm cuts him off. "We just need a shed or something to put our carriage in and then we'll be outta here." "Oh... OK then." Bantler says, seeming disappointed. "Bantler, if you don't mind my asking, what has happen to this village?" Rarity asks, making Bantler sigh. "Its the food eh. Our supply line was cut off, so most folks just up and left. We try to sell our timer, but no one seems to want to trade with us anymore. That, or the moose we send out just decide to not come back." "So yer not gettin any food?" Applejack asks, getting a nod from Bantler. "That aint right. I know I've seen your village on mah rosters fer apples, where's it all going?" "You work for Sweet Apple Acres? Well you tell me. We send the money and never get the food. Folk here got tired of waiting and left. Me an Na-Da here are the last of this here village, an I don't know how much longer we can stay." "What's wrong with Na-Da?" Pinkie asks as she waves a hoof in front of Na-Da. "Well... I don't know. She won't talk any more. Ever since the last family left here she's been quiet. I think its the stress off losing this village ya know. Our family was the one who started it over ninety years ago and now we have ta leave, taint fair. But enough about my problems. Lets get your carriage in the shed." Bantler says as he leads us outside. Before I could get out Rarity had grabbed my leg and beckoned me back. "Yeah?" "Is there anything we could do for them? We can't just leave them like this." She says as she glances over to Na-Da. "I don't like it anymore then you do, but it'll have to wait until later. Lets just finish up in Quartz Crest and then when we get back I'll have a word with Luna." She doesn't seem to like this answer, but accepts it anyway. It's not like I don't want to help, I do. It's just that we came here with an objective. "Ya comin or not... er..." "Miles." I say as I walk out with Bantler. "Miles.... OK then. Its your name after all." He says as we walk around back. "Huh... well that's a mighty strange carriage ya got... strange runs in your kind, doesn't it?" He asks as he continues around the back of the building, stopping at the end. He moves a latch and pulls the wall open, revealing a small room full of brown sacks and random tools. There's barely enough room for the jeep, but with some extra guidance I drive it inside and turn it off. "Alright everyone, gather around." I say, getting everyone, and Bantler, to gather around me. I kneel down and draw a circle in the dirt, then put a square in the center and finish with putting a line through it, going east to west. "This is a very basic outline of Quarts Crest. In the center is the Parliament Congressional Hall, or P.C.H. This line, is what they call the Cliffs. Half of Quartz Crest if twenty stories lower then the other half. Just like any other city there are four main entrances. North, east, south, and west. If you lose your sense of direction, use the P.C.H. Every wall faces a direction. Our first round in will be just to see if its there, and if there are survivors. We go in, explore for a few kilometers, then get out and regroup. Any questions?" Everyone shakes their head, except Bantler, so I get up and open up the benches in the jeep. "What do you think the chances are that we find humans down there?" Storm asks as we each put on our armor. "I don't know. But we'll find out soon enough." Author's Note A/N: Shout out to thetowncrier for picking breakfast! Thanks for ready and like always, Brony on! Chapter 110 Quartz CrestChapter 110 Quartz Crest Once Storm and I finished getting our gear on, Twilight and I worked on figuring out where the city actually is. We started by taking a map of Equestria and finding Topaz Falls. From there we used the coordinates from my phone, compared them to Topaz and made our dot. It should be a kilometer north of the town. After we put the map away I hand Rarity and Twilight the remaining rifles and we head out. "So how are ya sure that the city is going to be there.... in that spot that is." Applejack asks as we walk through the deserted town. "It's simple math," Twilight reassures. "We just use one coordinate, juxtapose it to the other, and then dig." "Juxawhat now?" "I just hope there isn't anything scary down there," Fluttershy says from the back. "I doubt there is," Storm says from my side. "Is there?" He asks me in a hushed tone. "I don't know what's down there. The scariest thing I can think of that is down there is a military bot. But other then that, no." I tell them as we walk through the northern part of town. From this point on, it's clear landscape for almost half a kilometer. There are thousands of stumps covering the ground, but other then that, there's nothing here. We continue through, though I can tell Fluttershy is disturbed by the removed trees. "Just a bit further," Twilight says as we near the tree line. "Okay, lets pause here so I can make a Mico platform." I tell them as I flare my hands. I try to find the most open area possible, but settle with a spot that has three stumps in the way. Starting there, I remove the stumps and toss them aside. After that I level the ground off and lay my palms on the ground. "Did anypony else get a weird vibe from Bantler?" Rainbow asks as I start on the platform. "He seemed like a nice enough moose to me," Fluttershy says. "Ah dunno, he was hiding sumthin." Applejack replies as I finish the platform. "We can look into it after we get back from Quartz Crest." I say as I continue forward. "But... there is something more to Moosden than first impressions showed." "Right here!" Twilight says after we entered the forest. "Start digging right here." I walk beside her and wait for everyone to gather closely. "Alright, here we go." I say as I flare my hands and start to send us through the ground. We race through the earth, passing roots and pockets of water until we hit a layer of rock. The rock slowed me down at first, but after raising my power level a bit we made it to our original speed. One Hour Later CRASH We had been going along smoothly until the ground suddenly came out from beneath us, causing us all to fall to the ground below.... everyone somehow falling right on top of me. "Ow..." I mumble from the bottom of the pile. "Everypony alright?" Storm asks as I feel everyone getting off. A collection of yes's come from the others as we get up and look around, only finding darkness. "Rarity, help me out." Twilight says as she lights up her horn. Rarity nods as she lights up her own horn. We're in a long tunnel, being roughly three meters tall and four meters wide. I look down both sides of the tunnel before sending a flare down one end. After seeing nothing, I turn around and send a flare down, seeing the wall to Quartz Crest. I take a deep breath before walking towards it. I don't know what to expect here. If there are people... how would they react to ponies? If there aren't... did my friends make it out? PLEASE STAND BY FOR IDENTIFICATION I pause as a red scanner moves back and forth from the bulkhead, scanning all of us as it moves up. UNKNOWN IDENTIFICATIONS. PLEASE TURN BACK. ACCESS DENIED. "Well.... shit." I say as I walk up to the bulkhead and lay a hand on it. Of course it wouldn't recognize me, I've never been here before. "Now what?" Rarity asks as I take a step back and look around..... DOMINUS CLOVIS! "Who has Dominus Clovis?" I ask as I walk around and look through every ones gear, finding it with Pinkie. "Here goes everything." I say as I slam the bottom onto the bulkhead, making a loud thud echo through the cave. "Maybe you should put some energy into it." Twilight suggests as nothing happens. "Oh, right." I say as I flare my hands and try again. THUD ACCESS GRANTED. WELCOME TO QUARTZ CREST We all give a small cheer as the door opens up.... and a wave of green sludge pours out, covering all of our feet. "EEEEEWWWWW!" All of the girls squeal as they try to back away from the door. "What is this filth!" Rarity yells as she runs out of the sludge. I kneel down and stick my fingers into the sludge.... no... it can't be. I bring my fingers up and give the sludge a sniff.... "Oh sweet Barbra ." I say before I try some. "MILES!" Everyone yells as I swish the sludge around in my mouth. "It's food." I say as I stand and look around. "You can't be serious." Rarity says from the edge of the sludge. "Try some. It tastes... fresh." Storm looks down and gives the sludge a sniff. Shrugging his shoulders, he takes a bite. "STORM!" Twilight yells as he chews it. "Its not bad. A little bland, but... better then nothing." He says as Twilight just shakes her head at us. "Alright, we just need to push through this sludge and have a look around...." "I am not getting my hooves dirty." Rarity says as she puts her hoof down and looks away. I look to everyone before kicking some of the sludge at her, getting it all over her legs. "There, now lets get..." "HOW DARE YOU!" She yells as she frantically begins the wipe her legs clean. "Now I'm going to have to rinse and lather for hours!" "Uh, we all will have to. But that'll have to wait until after we get through Quartz Crest. Now lets get going." I say before turning and marching through the door. I hear some complaints from behind but ignore them to get to the objective. "Miles, that was a little harsh." Storm says as he runs up beside me. "Yeah, but it had to be done." I say as I take in the view. "What the fuck happened here?" Everything here is coated in the green sludge. Buildings, streets, the dome, it's everywhere. Long strands of solid green sludge comes out from random heaps and end in fist size yellow balls. These balls emit a small glow that light up Quartz Crest. These mounds are everywhere, clumping to the side of the dome, the P.C.H. and vary in size. The smallest ones seem to be human size while the largest ones are easily two stories tall. A majority of the buildings are still standing, though I can see bullet holes on some. Perspective: Storm As Miles walks up to a nearby building, the rest of the group walks in and takes in the view. "...it was still very rude of... oh my." Rarity says as she takes looks around. "What is all of this.. filth..." "Rarity." I say trying to get her attention. "Its simply awful. How could anypony live with such vulgar... things." "Rarity." "Simply dreadful. Lets just get...." "RARITY!" I yell, getting her attention. I motion with my head to Miles while saying, "maybe we should worry about the sludge later." We both look back to Miles to see him running a hand over some holes. "Miles, is everything alright?" Fluttershy asks as we all walk up to him. "These are Unfamiliar bullets, 7.62's. They made it here." We all look to each other as he falls silent. "Maybe they made it after your friends got here. It could of been decades after them you know." I say, trying to reassure him. He doesn't respond. Instead he just walks off, trudging down the road as he looks over the rod thing. "Storm, why don't you go have a word with him... we'll give you guys some...." "Rahgihrahrahgihbahgihgih*click click click*marrrrrr." We all jump back as sounds from an alley scare us. Miles and I run to the entrance, him pulling out his rifle and me my sword, and investigate. "What is that?" I ask as we approach.... some creature. It's made of the same material as the sludge, but is solid enough to be a living creature. It's body resembles a human in that it has legs, arms, and a head. But it's also drastically different. It has long thin strands coming off of its back that end in small yellow puffs. It doesn't seem to have muscles, rather its just a figure of green stuff. "Okay... that's freaky." Miles says as it turns around and faces us. It has no eyes. Instead it has dozens of those yellow puffs that bob around. It's mouth is full of jagged green shards that seem like they can do some real damage to skin. It's hands end in sharp claws, same goes for its three toed feet. We back up as it starts to walk towards us, walking on all four and weaving its head back and forth. "Let me see if it's friendly." Fluttershy says as she walks past us. "Hello there friend, I'm Fluttershy." She says as she stops in front of it. "Rahbijaw*click click* marrah." It responds as it sits in front of her. She scoots a little closer and leans down to sniff it's hands, making it back away a bit. "Oh, it's okay. I just want to be your friend." She says as she offers it a hoof. It weaves it head side to side as it cautiously steps closer to her. It sniffs her a couple of times before recoiling back and tilts its head a bit. "See, you just a..." "RAAAH!" It screeches as it tries to bite Fluttershy. PAT PAT PAT PAT Miles fires four rounds at it, three in the chest and one in the head, making it fall to its back and exhale as it dies. Fluttershy seems shocked as she stares at its lifeless body. "Wh-what did you do?" She asks as she walks up.... "Look out!" I yell as the creature grabs Fluttershy by her leg and bites her, making her scream out as she tries to yank away from it, only making her wound worse. Miles instantly fires more rounds into the creature, but they don't seem to do anything. They just run straight through and bury themselves in the ground. I run over to the panicking Fluttershy and drop my sword down, beheading the creature and making a gust of wind that blows it away. "Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash yells as she runs to her side and carries her away. Twilight and Rarity walk up with Miles and point their rifles at the creature. Even though it's headless, it's getting back up! A new head grows out from its chest as it squares off to attack us. As it leaps up at us Miles sends a white beam through it's chest, ripping it in half as it drops to the ground and convulses around. "Miles..." Rarity says as we all back up. It's sides are bulging around, growing larger and lager until they fill the alley. "Okay, so soul fire was a bad idea." Miles says as the creature lifts itself out of the alley. Its huge now. Almost as tall as the building and stocky. "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!" It yells as it thrusts its arm down and grabs Miles. He tries to fire at it, but only gets a few shots off before the creature throws him across the city. "Miles!" I yell as the girls begin to run down the street, trying to get away from a group of smaller creatures that came out of another alley. I swing my sword at the giant beast, knocking it back, before flying after the girls. "WHATS THE PLAN!?" I ask Twilight as we run down the road. "RUN! LOTS OF RUNNING!" She yells back. "FIRE YOUR RIFLES AT LEAST THEN!" I yell as I fly ahead of the group. "HOW IS SHE?" I yell over the roar of rifle fire to Rainbow. "WE NEED TO HEAL HER!" Rainbow yells back to me as Fluttershy clings to her. "LET ME CARRY HER! IT'LL BE EASIER FOR ME WITH MY ARMOR!" Rainbow nods to me and we trade. I take Fluttershy as she takes my sword. She's shaking violently, blood pouring profusely from her left leg. "BWWIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH" The giant creature roars as it barrels down the street, trampling its own kind as it races to us at high speeds. "GET HER TO SAFETY! I'LL DISTRACT THEM!" Rainbow yells as she flies at the creature, dodging its swings and sending gust of wind at its face. "RAINBOOOOW!" I yell as I watch more creatures try to get her. Something grabs my tail and drags me down to street. "Storm, in here!" Twilight yells as she pulls me inside a building. Applejack and Pinkie throw some furniture at the door, barricading it for now. They start on trying to find a way to cover up the window as I lay Fluttershy down on the ground. She's holding her hoof, trying to stop the bleeding. "OK, you need to drink this potion as I check for any breaks, think you can do that?" Twilight asks as she digs into her bag and pulls out a blue potion. "N-n-n-th-the thing... bit me... so scared..." Fluttershy says as she continues to sob. Rarity walks over to her and cradles her head in her hooves as she takes the potion from Twilight. "Shh shh shhh. It's alright. They can't get you right now. I won't let them." Rarity assures her as she brings the potion to her lips. She continues to speak softly to her as Twilight gets to work looking for any broken bones. "STORM! We could use yer help here!" Applejack yells as she and pinkie hold a desk against a window. Loud thuds make the desk push forward as arms reach through the sides of the window. I run over and help push the desk back against the wall, severing the arms and making the creatures screech in pain. "IS THERE ANYTHING THAT CAN HELP HOLD THIS UP?!" I yell as we all push back as hard as possible. "I DON'T KNOW, BUT MY TWITCHY TAIL IS GOING OFF LIKE CRAZY!" Pinkie yells back. "WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN!?" Perspective: Miles "FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!" I yell as I fly though the air. I keep trying to move around to correct myself, but I'm spinning around too much to move my arms properly. My vision is a giant blur, going from dome, to buildings, to dome, to buildings, and back and forth. SPLURT I land in a large pile off sludge and hit the ground.... SNAP ...hard. The momentum of my fall carries me through as I slide out of the sludge and slam into a building. "AAAAAAAAAHH!" I yell as I grab my leg. It's broken, easily. "RAHIIEEEAH!" I grab my rifle and look around in a panic as a mass of the green creatures surround me. I swing my rifle from side to side as I send round after round into the beast, none of them stopping them from reaching me.... Perspective: Rainbow Dash I fly circles around the giant creature as I send gust after gust at it. Mine aren't as strong as Storm's swings, but they are at least enough to give me an edge. After looping around it and making it fall to the ground I fly high into the air and look around. In the distance I see Miles fall to the ground... that's going to hurt. I was about to fly after him when I remembered Fluttershy... she's hurt and I have Storm's sword. Who do I help? Author's Note So, who will Rainbow help? Leave a comment between Miles or the group and who ever gets the most wins! Brony on! Chapter 111 A Close CallChapter 111 A Close Call I hover in the air for a bit longer before I shake my head and fly for the building. I know where they are, plus Miles is a big boy, he can take care of himself. There are a lot of the green creatures trying to break in, but they're all clumped together. I land next to them and hack at them as hard as possible, sending a powerful gust that sends them flying back. "Guys, its me! Let me in!" I yell as I pound on the door, glancing back to see the giant one charge at me. "COME ON!" Storm yells as he pulls the desk out of the way and drags me inside, pushing the desk back in place. I drop the sword and sit down, trying to catch my breath as I calm down. "How is everypony?" I ask as I look around. Rarity and Twilight are in the back of the room, helping Fluttershy, while Storm, Applejack and Pinkie hold up a desk against the windows. "Well... things have been better. We can only hold the door for a bit longer, go and see if Fluttershy is ready to go yet." Storm says as the creatures start pounding on the desk again. "And hurry!" I nod and run to the others as they help Fluttershy up. She's still teary eyed, holding her hoof close to herself, but at least she's up. "Fluttershy! Are you alright? Think you can make it out of here?" "*sniif* I-I can try..." "Alright, Rainbow and Fluttershy will fly to safety as we go through the back. We'll all meet at the P.C.H." Twilight says as she puts the rest of her medical supplies back. "What? No way I'm leaving you guys behind..." "Rainbow, you're not leaving us behind. Just think of it as... advance leading. We can handle our selves, but we need somepony to take Fluttershy to safety and watch after her." "But..." "No buts. Now get going! We don't have much time left!" Twilight yells as the pounding gets louder. "Fine! Come on Fluttershy." I say as jump into the air and fly to the back door. "Uh... girls." Fluttershy quivers. I sigh and look back to see her standing there, flapping her wings as hard as she can. "I can't get air born." "What?" I ask as I fly back to her and look over her wings. "There's nothing wrong with your wings though, you should be able to fly." She shuts her eyes as she tries again to fly, but can't seem to get in the air. "There must be something magical wrong with..." "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" We all look back to the front as something forces the desk to fly forward, knocking everypony over as the green creatures start to charge in. Storm was quick to get back up and immediately started started hacking at them, sending them flying back as we all gathered at the back. "OK, Fluttershy can't fly, so we go to the next plan. Twilight will teleport the two of you to the P.C.H. as we all make a run for it." I explain as Applejack kicks open the door. I look back to Storm to see a giant hand grab the top of the window and tear the top of the building off. Storm spins around and slashes at the giant, sending a whirlwind that knocks the giant on it's back as the remaining creatures swarm him. He stabs and slashes at them, cutting limbs and blowing them back as he holds them at bay. "GET GOING!" He yells as he continues to fight, debris falling all around him. "I'LL HOLD THEM OFF! MEET AT THE P.C.H!" "You heard him, let's get going!" I yell as I start pushing them to go. We all run into an alley and head towards the tall building in the center of the city, the sound of Storm fighting getting quitter and quitter as we near it slowly. The alley has a few mounds here and there that start to bulge around when we pass them, but we don't stop. "Rainbow! You need to go find Miles!" Rarity yells as we charge across a road and into another alley. "What?! I can't leave you guys! You need my..." "Miles needs help to! If he's even conscious after that fall he's going too need assistance with anything thing else! These creatures seem to drain magical energy, he will need your help!" Twilight yells as a few more creatures appear in front of us. Rarity and Twilight immediately start shooting as we charge through them, their rounds making ashy holes in the creatures. "But... I... FINE! But you guys better be at the P.C.H. when we get there!" "We will. Be safe." "You to." I say before I leap into the air and begin to fly upwards. I glance back to see a group of the creatures charging at them from both sides, red beams mowing down the ones in front as they continue to run through them. You better get there safely... I shake my head and begin to fly towards the center of the city as fast as my wings will get me there. After a few minutes I make it to the center of the city and look around in awe. The cliff here is huge. It goes all the way from one edge of the city to the other, going down twenty stories... as Miles told us. The building on the top of the cliff seem to be a part of it as well. The buildings appear to continue to be built into the side of the cliff and go all of the way down.... "Oh that doesn't look good." I say as I stare at... well... uh... ALL WILL TURN TO THE VOID Perspective: Miles As a group of creatures charge at me, eight-ish, I try to back away with my good leg as I fire at them, but my rifle is being completely useless. Every shot seems to just drive through them, causing no harm what so ever. When they're in arms reach I slam my left arm on the ground and send them flying back with a wave of energy. Once I have some spare room I sling my rifle back and start healing... "Oh sweet Barbra." I mutter as the creatures get back up.... larger then before. They snarl at me before lunging, closing the distance in half the time. I try to raise a shield around myself, but end up making it encase me with one of them.... son of a... "RAHWIIIIIIMAAA!" It screeches before it tries to bite me. I punch it across the face, stopping it from latching onto me. I notice that a chunk of its face burns and falls... hmm, they must be susceptible to fire.... "AAAAHHHHH! I yell as it takes advantage of my distraction and bites my arm. I start to try to punch it as my magic suddenly shuts off.... SHIT! Every creature jumps me as my shield drops. I try to fight to get free, but their teeth big deep into my skin. ALL WILL TURN TO THE VOID FUCK! I don't have time for this! I need to get away from these.... GIVE ME CONTROL. I WILL GIVE YOU FREEDOM. "AAAAAHHHHH!" I yell as they start to tear the flesh from me. HURRY YOU FOOL. BEFORE YOU FADE. "FINE! JUST DO IT ALREADY!" PERFECT Perspective: Rainbow Dash I shake my head as I stare at the mass of creatures devouring Miles. No...... he can't be dead. He just.... DAMN IT! Why did I go to the group first! Miles needed me and I let him down and now.... and now.... "HAHAHAHAHA FINALLY!" I look back to see black tendrils shoot from the group of creatures, turning them to black wisps. Miles gets up.... but is using the black tendrils to do so. There seem to be three tendrils per portal. In addition to that, he seems to have the black wispy stuff pouring out from his mouth and eyes. He's using almost all of the tendrils to hold himself in the air, leaving the ones from his hands to run over his body to heal his woulds. He has all of the lines on his body showing, though they seem different. They're all jagged and.... not straight. "MILES!" I yell in joy as I fly towards him. He seems a lot scarier, but it's still Miles. So... "WHOA!" I yell as I dodge a black tendril. "What the heck Miles!" "DO NOT INSULT MY POWER!" He snaps back in a raspy voice. "I am Corpus Glasius." He says before he takes off for the cliff, using the tendrils to move through the street. "Wait! Who's corpus Glacius? What happen to Miles. WE NEED TO GO THAT WAY!" I yell as I point towards the P.C.H. He ignores me and jumps off the cliff. I fly after him and watch as he uses the tendrils to latch onto buildings and start to crawl away, leaving a trail of black wisps. "Mi.... I mean Corpus, where are you going?" I ask from a distance. "Where ever I please. That fool gave me control, so now I will do what I please." He yells back as he continues to jump from building to building. Several of the green mounds come to life, having a couple of the green creatures crawl out of them and charge at Miles... or Corpus. Mi... Cor.... he just sends tendrils through them turning them to black wisps. "But... what about the others?" I ask as he continues to flail the tendrils around, killing creature after creature. "I care not." Aw just.... "Well, if your scared of the creatures that's fine..." "I FEAR NOTHING!" He yells back. I just turn away from him an start to fly away from him slowly. "Its alright, being scared is just a part of life. Now go do whatever it is you're doing while I go face the danger and save our friends. BYE!" Before he could answer I fly up and begin to fly towards the P.C.H. Hopefully he's as gullible as Miles is- THUD I spin around to see him hovering right over me, glaring daggers at me. "Lead me to the danger." He says. "Yes sir." I say as I speed off for the P.C.H. OK, that was freaky. I glance back to see him chasing after me... but two of the tendrils from his back are missing. I look back forward and start to search for the group, by looking for the giant creature. I find it about half way to the P.C.H., tearing buildings from the ground as it tries to get to something. "Think you can handle that?" I ask as I stop and hover in place. "Does Anima Ignis have his head up his ass?" He says flatly says flatly as he races towards the giant. The giant see's him almost immediately and charges at him. I watch as Miles... or Corpus, sends out tendrils and wraps them around the giant as it tries to grab him. The creature continues to shrink as Corpus dodges his attacks. As they fight, a mob of creatures begin to form underneath them, trying to reach Miles. A shiny speckle catches my attention. I look back down to see the group crossing a street, trying to get to the P.C.H. I fly as fast as my wings will carry me, trying to get to them as quickly as possible. "GUYS!" I yell as I crash before them. Twilight and Fluttershy are missing, but other then that and a few scraps and bruises they seem fine. "Rainbow! RUN!" Storm yells as they continue to run down the street, passing me. I look back to see a group of the creatures chasing them, so I turn and run with them. "Everything OK?" I ask as I catch up with Storm. "Well... bites take away magic apparently.... hows Miles?" I glance back to where he was and see the black tendrils waving in the air. "He's fine.... kind of... hes giving us cover right now..... kind of. It was a real close call with him, but he pulled through." I yell back as Storm starts to take to the air. "I'm going to fly ahead and meet up with Twilight and Fluttershy. Can you lead the rest to the P.C.H.?" "You can count on me." I yell back, getting a nod from him as he flies off. "TWITCHY TAIL, TWITCHY TAIL!" Pinkie yells right before something crashes behind us. Rarity lets out a high pitched scream as I look back to see Miles killing the last of the creatures. He's down to only four of the tendrils now. "Its alright! It's just Miles... kind of. Just keep running!" I yell as I quicken my pace. We need to regroup with everypony and get the heck out of here. After nearly an hour of straight running, mostly fueled by adrenaline, we finally make it to the base of the P.C.H., where everypony collapses from exhaustion. I look over to Miles to see the last tendril fade away, making him drop to the ground and pass out. I try to get up, but my legs wont work for me right now. I glance up to see Storm and Fluttershy flying towards us, Storm carrying Twilight. Wait.. Fluttershy is flying, that's good. I'd be more enthusiastic about it... I'm just too tired right now. "AH!" Miles yells as he wakes up suddenly. "What happened? How did I get here? Why am I so cold?..... where are my clothes?" He asks as he stands up and looks around. "Miles! You're alive!" Twilight says as they land before us. "We were so worried ab...." "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!" Mils screams as his magic maxes out and he falls to the ground. "Miles! Whats wrong?" Storm ask as they circle around him. "NO! NOOOOOOO! NOT NOW! GET AWAY FROM ME! BACK UP DAMMIT!" He yells as he flails around. "Miles.... are you..." "IT'S ANOTHER CHANGE!" Perspective: Storm Cloud I watch helplessly as Miles convulses around. We're so close to our objective. What do we do now? "What's happening to him?" Rarity asks as she shakily stands up. "He's going through a change right now. His power is growing again." I explain as I watch him twist and yell in pain. "Isn't there anything we could do?" She asks as she joins our sides and watches him twist around. "No. The only thing we could do is to get out of here and..." "What! But we're so close right now. How could you say we should leave when..." "Becuase, Rarity, we can't operate his machinery. He's the only one who can make that stuff work and he's... well, you know." "What if we just wait until he wakes..." "Last time this happened he was out for a day. And he told me that these things will get worse and worse as he get more and more powerful. We need to get him out of here and to safety. We all need to get to safety." I say as I look around to see all of the tired members of our group. "But..." "No buts. Know somepony levitate him so we can carry him back to the door." I say, getting Twilight to pick him up. She makes it a few steps before he suddenly drops to the ground. "I don't believe it. He burned through my aura field. I can't carry him." Twilight says. Author's Note Shout out to Liun for picking who took control of Miles! Thanks for the new cover art! If you are currently making another one, don't stop, I will always take them into consideration and if I can't ever choose one, then you guys can vote on it! Brony on! Chapter 112 Generous SacrificeChapter 112 Generous Sacrifice Perspective: Rarity As everypony bickers to one another about what to do, I see a creature walk towards us out of the corner of my eye. I quickly turn towards it and aim. KER-PEW I nearly loose the rifle as it blast a massive bolt of energy at the creature. The usually pencil size bolt is now a leg size bolt, and turns the icky creature to ash. "What was that!" Storm asks as he runs over and takes a look. "What did you do?" "I...I don't know! I saw one of those disgusting creatures and took a shot at it! But the shot came out and it was... well... bigger." Everypony stares at me in disbelief, as if I would lie about something I have absolutely no control over. "I think it was Miles." Twilight says as she look back to him. "Him over exerting himself like this must be sending excess energy out. Our rifles must be over powered right now, and possibly our magic. It's just a theory, but it makes the most sense right now." I look between Miles and my rifle, not completely understanding everything. Just how much power is the poor dear dealing with right now? "Alright, magic OP, great. Right now we need to get out of Quartz Crest..." "What?! Storm, why would we leave so close to the objective?" Twilight interrupts. "Fluttershy is injured. You've been over exerting yourself magically. My sword doesn't do shit against those creatures and we only have two effective fighters; not to mention our most effective fighter is currently flailing around on the ground. We need to head back to Moosden and wait for everypony to heal...." "How do you propose we move Miles?" Twilight asks, getting Storm to think about it. "Like this." He says as he pulls his sword out and slashes at Miles, making a gust of wind that blows him down the street. "STORM!" Everypony yells as he walks after him. "Look, we need to get out of here. This is the only way to get him out of here. I don't like it either.... but we have to get going." Everypony looks to each other before following after Storm. "I hate you so much." Miles whines as he goes into the fetal position. "Love ya..." "CAN I DO IT!" Pinkie asks as she runs up beside Storm. "Please? Please please please please please please..." "Alright, but just this once." Storm says as he gives her the sword. "YES! Ahem..... FUS-ROH-DAH!" She yells as she slashes at him, sending him further down the street. "OK, now Cheesus will be happy." She says as she gives Storm the sword back. "The.... pimp?" "He wishes." Pinkie chuckles as she hops after Miles. We all look to each other and shrug it off as a Pinkie thing. "Alright, I'll take lead. Twilight, Rarity, take the sides and shoot anything green. Rainbow, fly above us and call out any creatures you see. Applejack, pick up the rear and buck anything that isn't us." "RIGHT!" Everypony says as we take our positions and follow after Storm. "Please don't." Miles begs as Storm walks up to him. "Sorry buddy, but this is for your own good." FOOSH Two Hours Later "AAHHHHHAHAHAAaaa." Miles screams as he slams into the bulkhead of the dome. Storm was able to speed up the time by blasting him into the air and continuously hitting him, keeping him air born. Luckily for us, we didn't run into many of the food creatures, but to keep up with Storm, Twilight had to teleport us a couple of times. This has left her fairly worn out. Most of those creatures must of been killed when Corpus Glacius took over Miles's body. "Alright.... *pant* we made it..." Twilight says before collapsing to the ground. "You... can say... that twice." Rainbow says as she sets Fluttershy down and drops next to Twilight. "Now... how do we open the door?" Applejack asks Miles, only to get pained cries from him in response. "Where's that gold stick Miles had that he used to open it?" Pinkie asks as she starts to look around for it. "I have it." We all look to Miles as he rolls over to show the glowing stick on his back. It must be enchanted to resist high temperatures. "Well.... OK. Let me try to levitate it off." I says as I flare my horn. I envelope the rod with my magic and work on getting it out... but things don't work out. The rod is so hot that whenever I try to move it, it just burns through my aura field. After several failed attempts, and an ever growing head ache, I finally give up. "Sorry girls, and Storm, but there is no way that thing is coming off." "Well... what now?" Storm asks as he looks back to the bulkhead. I sit down and try to think of something as well, when I hear Miles mumble something. Curious, I step closer to him and listen to what he's saying. "....me..... teleport me.... Twilight..." "Uh Twilight dear, can you come here please." I says as I back away from him, due to his flailing around. "Yeah Rarity?" Twilight asks weakly as she approaches the two of us. "Miles was mumbling something. I think he wants you to teleport him somewhere..." "What? I need to save up to get the group back to the surface..." "Yes, I know. But I think you should give it a try anyway, this could be important." I say as I glance back to Miles. "*sigh* alright, here goes nothing." Twilight says as she charges her horn and tele... KA-BOOM We all drop to the ground as Miles reappears in a massive explosion down the street. Once we feel its safe to, we all raise our heads and look down the street to see a massive hole in the ground where Miles should be, along with a few fires. "That.... could of been us." I say as I look back to everypony. "Miles is not coming back to the surface with us..." "We can't just leave him here though, its too dangerous to be here alone!" Rainbow says as she tries to get air born, but drops back down due to a pain in her wing. "Hey! I think I found the lever!" Pinkie says as she pulls a large lever that's sitting on the wall beside the bulkhead. Once its down, the door begins to slide upwards, getting cheers from everypony... except for me. I know what I have to do... I just need Storms sword. As everypony goes to talk with Pinkie I walk over to the hole in the ground beside Storm and look down with him. There seems to be a fire down there, probably one of those icky goo piles with Miles in the center. "Why don't you let me go down and get him, I'm sure you're plenty tired from doing all of that hard work earlier." I say as I nudge him a bit. "How are you going to get back up?" Storm asks while raising an eyebrow. "Magic." "Oh... right. Well here's my sword." He says as he offers me his sword. I take it and walk to his other side, trying to aim it so he's between me and the bulkhead. If he only would open his wings.... "Did I ever tell you about the time Twilight and I had a threesome with Applejack?" FWOOSH "WHAT?!" FOOSH I swing the sword as hard as possible, sending Storm flying into the girls and knocking them all over. Using my magic, I switch the lever back as I continue to swing the sword at them, making them roll into the cave and out of the city. "One day." I yell to the others as the door slowly reaches the bottom. "Come back in one day. If the door isn't open by then, then come back in another twelve hours. I'll be back at that time and every hour afterwards." I yell as the door finally shuts. I stare at the door for a bit, feeling horrid for deceiving them like this, but I had to do it. I'm the only one here who will stand a chance with Miles. Twilight and Rainbow are too tired. Fluttershy is injured. Storm, Applejack and Pinkie don't have any means of fighting the creatures effectively... I have to be the one to stay behind and watch after Miles... "RAHWIJAAAAA!" I turn around to see four of the creatures slowly approaching me. I lift up the rifle with my magic and shakily hold the sword up. "HOW BOUT YOU!" I yell as I open fire and swing the sword. Perspective: Storm THUD "Ow..." I say as I fall back. I had tried to fly back inside to stop her, but I was too late. Dammit Rarity, what do you think you're doing? "What does she think she's doing! She can't stay in there by herself! Rarity can barely function with a speck of dirt on her hooves! How is she going to fight off an entire city of crazy food creatures!" Twilight yells as she tries to lift the bulkhead up with her magic. I walk over to her and put an arm around her, getting her to stop and hug me tightly. "There has ta be sum way we can get inside." Applejack says as she walks up beside me and looks at the door with me. "Is there anything we can do?" Rainbow asks as she joins us. "Panic?" Fluttershy asks as she limps over. We all give her a look, getting her to offer a smile in response. "There isn't anything we can do." I say, getting everypony's attention. "We just have to trust that Rarity will be able to hold her own. We don't need to worry about Miles, he's practically on fire right now. Lets just head back to Moosden and work on getting rested up. We need to get back as soon as possible." "If you say so." Pinkie says as she mopes behind us, hair falling straight down. "You'll see. Well be back here tomorrow and everypony will be fine.... you'll see." Everypony stays silent as Twilight charges her horn and prepares to teleport us away. I hold onto her a little tighter, worrying about Rarity and Miles. FLASH Perspective: Rarity Six Hours Later *Grrrr* "Who goes there!" I yell as I jolt awake and look around for anymore of the creatures. I've been on the move for ever, trying to find anywhere remotely safe to hold up to rest. And so far its been rather difficult. I stand up and look around the office some more, trying to find the disgusting creature that's hiding in here. After a few minutes of searching around cubicles I tur... *Grrrr* Oh.... I'm just hungry. I shake my head as I trot back to where I left.... "MILES!" I run over to him and shake him, trying to wake him up. The fire on his back has gone away, as well as most of the lines on his body. I watch as the lines completely retreat to his hands and feet and the fires on them fade away. He's finally done! Now he just needs to wake up now. "Miles! Miles? Rah, don't you know its rude to keep a lady waiting." I say as I shake him some more. Sadly, he remains asleep. I look around before I raise a hoof and gently slap him... nothing. Well... ok, one more. I try again, but with a little more force, and come to the same results. "Hmm... this must be some kind of... magically induced coma. Oh... I wish I had Twilight here, she would know what to do." I look around and decide to let him sleep while I get something to eat. Twenty Minutes Later Once I get the picnic blanket down, and all of the silverware down, I finally go into my bag to..... "HOW COULD I NOT BRING ANY FOOD!" I yell as I dig into my saddle bag. Scarf, tiara to go with the scarf, rain boots... why didn't I put these on earlier? I shake my head as I dump out all of the contents of my bag and despair. How could I bring all of these fashionable things but not even a single scrap of food?! *Grrrr* "Oh keep quiet you." I say as I stand up and look around. The only edible thing in this room is that pile of green stuff in the back corner NO! I won't even consider such a horrid and disgusting thing. *Grrrr* Well, Miles did say it was food. And he did eat it. NO! I am a lady. I will not eat such disgusting goo. Especially if its on the ground. I absolutely refuse too. *Grrrgrrrgrrrrgrrrr* Oh who's side are you on? Hmm... there isn't anypony here. Except Miles.... MILES! I quickly run over to his satchel and open it.... oh of course. I turn it upside down and dump the ashes onto the ground, but stop when I hear a soft thud. I sift through the ashes and find Miles phone. How did this make it through the heat... how did the bag make it on that point?! BEEP BEEP "AH!" I yelp as I drop the vibrating thing. It gives a few more shake before it goes still, doing a little tone before staying silent. "What in Equestria was..." 'One unread message. From : "Eximius." received: January 26th, 1133' I stare at the phone as it falls silent again. There were two voices coming from it. One sounded like one of those bots while the other one sounded like... a stallions. A well refined stallion at that. I wonder what the message was.... no. That is Miles's personal, private message. I should... *Grrr* "*sigh* fine, you win. I shall.... give it a try." I say as I walk over to the green pile and sit before it. Am I really going to do this? maybe I should hear what the message has to say... it could be something important after all. What if the food is poisoned! Or worse... what if it's made of... meat. OK, that's it. I'm going to see what the message on Miles's phone is. I get up and walk back over to Miles's side, levitating up the phone and looking it over. Hmm... how do I use this? I've seen him do it a couple of times before. You just, take your hoof, point at it, and slide it around. As I try this, the screen stay blank. No matter how much I move my hoof around, nothing will change on the darn thing. *Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr* "Oh.... Fine. If I must, then I must." I say as I set the phone down and walk back over to the pile off goop. I can't believe I'm about to do this. This has to be the single most disgusting thing on the face of the planet. I must never tell a soul about this. I raise a hoof and bring it before the goo, shaking slightly in fear of what I'm about to do to my coat. With a heavy heart I push my hoof into the goop, squealing from the feeling. I pull back and take a look at my hoof, nearly gagging from the sight. "Well... I already have it..." I gulp a bit before I bring the goo to my mouth and try to take a bite. *Nom nom nom* "Oh my." I say as I continue to chew. it's not bad. Actually, for what it is, its fairly decent. I reach back into the pile and take a larger chunk of the goop to eat. I'm actually starting to like this a bit. It does has the texture of tooth paste, but other then that it's not half bad. I reach back inside to get some more, but freeze when I feel something solid. From out of the goo one of the creatures rises. "Oh, is this your pile of goo? How rude of me." I say as I back away from it. I glance back to see the rifle laying beside Miles, so I start to move towards it. "Rahwijinimina." It mutters as it crawls towards me. "Yes.... well, sorry about the whole, eating your goop thing. A girls got to eat." I say as I continue to step away from it. "Awima." It says as it stops and rears back, revealing its stomach. Dozens of the yellow spore things grow out from it's chest and stomach and come towards me. I tried to jump away but it quickly dropped down and tackled me. "LET GO OF ME YOU RUFFIAN!" I yell as it pins me down and starts to send the yellow spores at me. I scream out as they reach closer and.... PEW PEW PEW PEW PEW PEW PEW From behind me red bolts of energy ring out and slam into the creature, making pockets of ash fall from it. "GET THE FUCK OFF OF HER!" Miles yells as he tackles the beast to the ground and uses his magic to set it on fire. I fall back and sigh in relief in Miles saving me.... "MILES! you're awake!" I yell as I jump to my hooves. "A little busy!" He yells back as he wrestle the creature, holding its head back from biting him. "WANT TO EAT SOMETHING HUH? LETS SEE HOW YOU LIKE IT!" He yells as he lunges forward and bites it's neck, making it scream in pain. "M-Miles." I say as I back away from the two of them. Perspective: Tallestbrony As we all stand in front of Squishy's house, I can only shake my head at Pinkie. "How could you total two cars?" I ask for the hundredth time. "I dunno. It was in gear, I turned it on, then I hit Squishy's car.... physics did the rest." Pinkie explains. "My parents are going to kill me." Squishy says as he stares at the remains of his car. "At least now you can get a car without purple seats." I offer. "THEY WERE BROWN!" As we glare at each other, Cheesus and Pinkie start to walk off together. "Where are you guys going?" "Burrito." Cheesus says matter of factly. "But.... I'm Californian.... I don't walk anywhere." I pout as Pinkie looks back to me. "So you can write a 400k word story but you can't walk two miles?" Squishy and I just look back and forth between the wreckage and the others walking away. "Not like it's going anywhere." Squishy says as he runs after them. "But.... police reports.... tow truck.... then... fuck, WAIT UP!" I yell as I run after them. Chapter 113 Message In The DarkChapter 113 Message In The Dark Perspective: Miles FOOSH I jump back as the creature burns to a crisp, thanks to my magic. I swallow the rest of the... creature, and turn back to Rarity. She seems really disturbed by something... it might be my nudity. "Uh...." "Miles... did you just eat those things?" She asks as she backs away from me. "Well... it is made of food." I say timidly as I rub the back of my neck. I guess that was a little extreme. "Sorry." "Its.... its fine. Lets just forget that it ever happened." She says as she turns away from me and goes to a blanket she had set up. I walk over and take the blanket as she picks up all of the utensils she brought. Why did she bring so much junk? I wrap the blanket around myself as I look around the office we're in. It seems to be a cell phone company, due to all of the phone advertisements.... I wonder if I could find another phone here... "Hey Rarity, did you happen to scout here at all?" I ask as I check all of my gear. "I did a little, but there wasn't anything of use.... though there was a sealed off area that I couldn't get into towards the top." She says as she finishes up and waits for me. "Lets go check.... where is everybody else?" I ask as I look around. I don't see anybody else's gear, or even a sigh of their gear. "Well... you see... I decided that I would be the one to stay behind to watch after you. So I used Storm's sword to blast them into the cave entrance..." "Why would..." "I had to do it! I was the only one who stood a chance of watching over you. We couldn't teleport you. We couldn't levitate you, and we couldn't just leave you in the cave. Heavens knows how much air is there..." "Rarity, its alright." I say as I kneel in front of her. She started to get hysterical, so I put a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. "You did what you felt was right, and succeeded at it. I may not agree with what you did exactly, but I greatly appreciate you sacrificing yourself for the group like that. Now lets get going before anymore of those things show..." "Oh, they won't." Rarity says as she runs over to a window. I walk over and look out with her, seeing a goo covered street.There are a couple of the larger piles with the strands of yellow sticking out of them. "They only come out when something disturbs the area around their mounds. You can tell when they're about to come out when you see the yellow puffs sink back in." "Hmm... they must go off by either wind or scent for detecting anything around themselves." I say as I look around a bit. "Have you tested this at all?" "Well.... no. But when I was trying to find a hiding place for the two of us, I ran past a couple of them. I saw how they reacted and figured that if I could give them enough space that they wouldn't bother me.... and I was right." "How far did you have to go?" "About.... ten feet." Ten feet... math.... so a little over three meters. "That makes things a little easier. That, and now that we know that they are susceptible to fire, fighting them will be easier. Now why don't you just show me where this locked door..." "OH! Before I forget, your phone made a noise." She interrupts. "A... noise." "Yes, someone called Dare Libere left a message..." "Dare!" I yell as I pull my phone out of my bag and take a look at it. One message. I look to Rarity before I sit down and play the message. "Miles?" Dare's voice calls from my speaker. I take a deep breath as I rejoice in hearing his voice again. " Miles, are you there? Of course you aren't.... probably forgot to recharge your phone again. Look, if you're in Quartz Crest, get to the Vexillum Viventium apartments over in the southern distract. If you get this and.... look just get there and ask for me or my parents, OK.... I really hope you show up, I miss ya man... we all do.... just get there, OK." I take another breath as I put my phone back in my bag. "He sounded... sad." Rarity comments as she sits before me. "Yeah... lets get going, I'm three thousand years late for a meeting with my friend. Don't want to keep him waiting." I say as I stand back up and begin to head out. "Uh... don't you want to check out the locked room?" Rarity asks as we walk down a hall, levitating a E.A.R. in front of her. "Well... I guess, since we're here and all." I say as I let her take the lead. She takes me to the main stairwell where we go up a few flights before we find a locked door that reads 'Storage.' "Storage, this is either a janitors closet or where they keep all of the phones... I might be able to get a replacement phone..." "Or a mop." Rarity says, making us both laugh. "So how are you going to open it? Are you going to use Dominus Cloud...Clad...Claviu...Cla..." THUNK While she was failing at Latin I had pulled out my trench knife and slammed it into door bolt, sending my magic into the it to burn its way in. "Or that.... Miles, how do you feel right now?" She asks as I pull my blade back and open the rusty door. "Actually, I feel really good right now..." I say as I kick open the next door to reveal a room filled with shelves. This room seems to be uninfected by all of the goop, being completely dry. It looks as if someone has already been through here, becuase it seems that all if the phones boxes have been opened up with all of their worthless contents thrown about. I take a quick look around the room before going through the first row of shelves, looking for anything that could be useful. "And... is that good?" Rarity asks hesitantly as she looks through all of the lower shelves. "Well.... its normal at least. That how it works; power change, start lower then last changes peak, grow to a higher point...." "How.... how do you think it'll end?" I stop and look over to her. Did she really just ask that? "Well..." "I'm sorry. That was rude of me, if you don't want to say, you don't have to. Please forgive me for intruding." I sigh as I sit down and lean back against one of the shelves. "Its going to be slow, painful.... and probably will depress everyone..." "Miles..." "I'll know when it's starting when I can no longer hold back my magic. My ports will always be flaring due to the high amount of energy pouring through me. In my last moments, the lines from my magic will start to burn until... well... then life goes on." "That's just.... awful." Rarity says as she takes a seat beside me. "Isn't there anything that can be done to... lessen the pain?" "Yeah, you could kill me." I say, getting a shocked look from her. "If you try to siphon the energy, or block it off, it would only prolong the misery. The easy way out is to have someone kill me..." "But... what about the rings you wear? Couldn't you just make some more?" "Heh, actually that is one of the few spells I never learned. Even if I did, I could only cover so much of my body before it would become pointless to live. How long do you think you could go on living as an ordainment?" "Not long I suppose... are... are you scared?" I take a deep breath as I look back to her and contemplate my answer. "Yeah... I am." She looks away from me as she wipes a tear away, so I wrap an arm around her. She wraps me up in a light hug, that I return immediately. There were no tears, only sad thoughts. "Miles...." "Yeah Rare?" "I think I just found something." I let go of her and look behind me to find two unopened phone boxes. I laugh a little as I turn around and take the two boxes and open them up. "YES!" I yell as I yank out a... SHATTER I stare in disbelief at the shattered remains of the phone. In my excitement I had yanked it out and slammed it against a shelf. "Really Miles... OK, I'll open the next one." Rarity says as she takes the other box from me and begins to open it. Inside the other box is a phone that is exactly like mine, only not broken, and the wires that come with it. "Think It'll work?" Rarity asks as she levitates it over to me. "Only one way to find out." I say as I place my thumb over the metal circle and power it up, getting the start up tune. "Why don't you go ahead and check the rest of the room while I get this set up." "Can do." She says as she continues to go through the rest of the shelves. I set up the phone as an duplicate of my own phone, giving it all of the same apps, media, and contacts. The only difference being the numbers to the phones. The last thing i do is exchange contact information between the two phones, just by calling the the other one with mine. "Well, I've checked every nook and cranny, but I couldn't find a single useful thing here." Rarity says as she returns to me. "Really? No wires, gems or..." "The only things left in the room are old boxes and advertisement posters." "Well... ok then. Lets get going." We carefully navigate our way out of the building to the street. A few times we had to take longer routes just to get around a few mounds of goo. Once outside I stop and look around... then do a double take at something that... well.... what is that? About thirty stories up is a white wisp. It seems to be... humanoidish in form. It has two legs, two arms and a head. I rub my eyes and look back up, only to see that it's not there anymore. I rub my eyes again to try to see it again, but its not there anymore.... it must of been my imagination... yeah probably... Ignoring my hallucinations, we head down the streets to the southern district. Again, we take longer routes to avoid having to fight anymore of the creatures. We try to keep as quite as possible as well, in the off chance that they also go by sound. I can't tell how the fight was here. All of the green goop is covering up most of whatever buildings are still remaining. Not to mention the lack of skeletons is making it harder to get a feel for the fighting. The few tall buildings left standing have been taken over by the goop, being coated in the stuff with random growths on them. I check my phone and see that its almost dark hours. "Rarity, lets get somewhere safe and hold up a bit. Its going to be dark hours soon, and I want to see how these creatures act in the dark." She nods and we take a look around. The only area here with none of the goop is at the top of a ten story tall building, easy enough. After a few minutes of me magically propelling us up the building, we finally make it to the top. It's just a level top with a few radio antenna's and some sheets of metal. I set Rarity down and take a look around the city, should be any minute now. "Oh, its starting." Rarity says as the lights start to go out. Actually... the lights were on. They still had power. Anyway, as the lights from above start to go out, a new light takes over. A soft yellow glow starts to rise from below as at the lights from above shut off. I look down ans see some of these yellow glowing spots start to move around. So... they produce their own lights and are active in the dark... why? Maybe their vision is better at night. "AAOOORIIIWA." Rarity and I look to one another before turning around and seeing a massive creature crawl off the side of the P.C.H. "Oh gross. It looks like a giant lizard with a fish head." Rarity says as she stares at it in disgust. Well... ok then. The creature walks on four legs with its back arching up. It drags along a long thick tail that ends in a mass of yellow orbs. It's head goes out to a point with yellow orbs spotted along the top. These orbs act as spot lights, shining brighter then the rest as they scan building to building.... building to..... "Shit!" I whisper as I look around for cover. "What is it?" Rarity asks as she follows me around. "Those things are looking for something." "And?" "And, we're on top of a building with no cover!" "Oh.... OH! What do we do? Where do we go?" Rarity asks in a panic. I look back to see a few more of the massive creatures appear and begin to search building after building. I look over to the sheets of metal and run over to them as one of the search lights starts to come toward us. "Over here!" She runs over and lifts them up with her magic. They're really narrow, but long.... there are also only four. "Squat down." She commands me as she sets them around us. It's painfully obvious that there is going to be enough room for one of us to stand in these. I squat down and... "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" I whisper yell as she straddles me, face forward, and holds the sheets of metal around us. To hold herself up she drapes her hooves around my shoulders, getting uncomfortably close to me. "This is the only way were all going to hide from them! So just deal with it!" "Can you at least scoot back?" I ask. She tries to do it.... but just ends up rocking back and forth... "I can't, your legs are in the way. Why is it a problem?" I hint down a couple of times until she finally gets it. "I don't like being touched like this." I say flatly as she turns red. She suddenly latches tighter onto me as a light passes over us. I try to calm myself down by taking slow, even breathes until she loosens up a bit. "Yes...well... just find a way to deal with it until we can get moving." I take another deep breath and try to think of something else.... "MILES!" "You told me to!" "I told you to think of something of something else!" "Well.... I did..." "Something other then Luna please." She says flatly. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Rainbow Dash Once we had made it back to Moosden we were all suppose to take a rest, but after four naps and nothing to do, boredom got the best of me. I decided to take a stroll through the town, even though there was nothing here to look at, it beats laying in a stuffy room full of sleeping ponies. "UHHG... I'm sooo bored. Why isn't there anything to do do here." I say aloud as I walk through the empty streets. There really isn't anything to do here. I would fly up and practice some tricks, but I've got to save my strength for when we go back to Quartz Crest, so that's out of the question. "...don't care about your problems. Just pay up." A voice in the distance says, catching my attention. I creep around a few buildings until I see them. Two pegasis city guards and Bantler talking to each other in the entrance to the city. "I already gave you the last of it, just go already." Bantler say to the one on the left, a mare with a white mane and a black coat. The other one is a stallion with a red mane and a white body. Both are wearing standard city armor and are carrying swords with them... "What you gave us wasn't even half of what you need to pay. Taxes exist for a reason. You wouldn't want somepony to come through here and destroy this shitty shackle of a village, would you?" The mare says with an evil grin. "No... I wouldn't. What do you want? I already gave you the last of my money, what else could you take?" Bantler begs, getting the two of them to smirk to one another. "Na-da." The stallion say coolly. "What?" "You heard me. Another go at her..." "NEVER!" Bantler yells. "Never again. She hasn't been the same since she let you filthy dogs do that to her. I'd rather die then let you lay a single hoof on her!" Bantler yells as he puffs his chest out a bit, though his legs are shaking slightly. "That... can be arra..." "HEY!" I yell as I march out to them. "Just what exactly do you think you're doing?" I ask the scum bags as I take my place beside Bantler. "And you are?" The mare asks. "I'm Rainbow Dash, the Element of Loyalty." I say proudly, banking on my position to have some pull with them. "Who?" The mare asks, unimpressed by my put burst. "Wait a minute..." The stallion starts as he eyes me a bit. "I know you.... your that mare who tried out for the Wonderbolts and completely failed!" He say with a laugh. I can feel my confidence starting to slip as the two of them start to laugh to one another. "Oh yeah, I remember you know. So, this is where you've been hiding all this time huh? It kind of fits you."The mare says as the stallion starts to circle around me. "You know, for a failure, you're kind of hot. Maybe instead of Na-da you could pay off his debt..." "I dunno Thunder, I don't think she can handle anything moving faster then a breeze." The mare giggles. As he continues to circle around me, eyeing my body, the two of them trade insults. I try to keep my head up, but insult after insult is just filling me with the shame of my past. I suddenly go wide eyed as I feel a hoof lift my chin up, making me face Thunder. "Let go of her!" Bantler yells, but is stopped when the mare gets in the way and points her sword at him. "I'm sure there's something you could do worth...." He begins but suddenly stops and goes wide eyed. "I wouldn't finish that sentence if I were you." Perspective: Storm I heard some yelling earlier, so I decided to go out and check it out. I ended up finding Bantler and Rainbow speaking with two city guards. I had crept around their backs and waited for them to make a mistake. Once the stallion, Thunder presumably, had laid a hoof on Rainbow, I made my move. "I'm sure there's something you could do worth...." He begins but stops when I put the tip of my blade right over his sack. "I wouldn't finish that sentence if I were you." I threaten as I stand directly behind him. "You wouldn't dare." He says as he lowers his hoof. "Really?" I say as I press forward a bit, making him take a deep breath as he scrunches up a bit. "This is how this is going to work. You two are going to leave and never come back. If I ever see or hear about you two here again, I will hunt you down and kill you myself." "Are you stupid or something?" The mare says as she points her sword at me. "You're out numbered asshole, drop the sword or else." I glance over to her before looking back to Thunder. "Your choice. Walk away, or get gelded." He looks around as he tries to think of what to do. Rainbow and Bantler just back away and watch from the side lines. "Snow, lower you sword." Thunder says through gritted teeth. She looks between the two of us before backing away. I nod and follow suit, circling around to be in front of Rainbow and Bantler. "Let your little guard friends know that Moosden is under the jurisdiction of the Spartan regiment. Don't ever come back here or I will teach what that means." I say as I sheath my sword and watch them. They look to each other before walking down the path together, whispering to one another. "Oh my... thank you kindly there Storm. I thought I was a goner fer sure there." Bantler says as he walks beside me and watches them leave. "Why didn't you tell us that the guards were abusing their powers?" I ask. "Well... I... it would of been rude ya know. I can't just open up ta every traveler that my town is up for grabs. If its not them, then its somepony else." "Get inside and go watch after your sister." I say as I step closer to the entrance. "Believe me, ya don't have ta tell me twice, eh." He say before walking home. Rainbow walks up beside me, looking away and rubbing her leg a bit. "Thank Storm...." "Don't thank me yet." "Why's that?" "Becuase they're coming back... and probably with more guards." Chapter 114 Awkward PositionsChapter 114 Awkward Positions Perspective: Miles "Okay... lights gone, lets get going." "SHHH! I think there's one on the roof." We've been here for almost two hours, awkwardly holding each other. Every time we we though about leaving one of the search lights would pass over, making us stay a little longer. "Well..." "SH!" "But-" "SHUSH!" "I need to.." "SHHHHHHSSH!" "Ariwa?" Aw shit. We both tense up as we hear a creature walk around behind us, getting closer and closer to my back. CREAK 'Fuck' I mouth as the creature presses against the metal panel behind me. We hear it start to climb up the panel, making us both panic. Should I fight it? Or should we just sit here and hope that it over look us? Before I could voice my concern, Rarity went ahead and made the decision for us, by dropping her magic. THUD 'Fucking asshole' I mouth as the creature fell forward, making me lay on top of Rarity as it now stands on top of me. 'Sorry' she mouths to me as I try to hold myself up. THUD THUD THUD THUD THUD "WA! NIWIJIMA!" The creature cheers joyfully as it bounces up and down. I just... SNAP-WOOSH We both just stare at each other as the weight from my back suddenly disappears. "What the fuck was that?" "I don't want to find out.... and please stop thinking about Luna." Perspective: Storm "More guards... you can't be serious." Rainbow Dash says I continue to watch them run off. "Yup." "What makes you so sure that they'll come back with more guards?" "Ponies like that always do. Just trust me, I know." I say as I turn back and head back to the others. "Well... what are we going to do about this?" She asks as she trots along with me. "We? I'm going down there to do a little recon, your staying back here with everypo-" "WHAT!?" She yells as she stops and gawks at me. "You're not doing this alone! I'm coming with..." "No, you're not." I say as I walk into the house everypony's sleeping in. I sneak my way over to Twilight and pull out a quill and paper. After writing a quick note in case I get captured I head back out and start walking out of town. "You can't stop me from coming along." Rainbow says as she trots along with me. Actually, I could, but a sleeper hold is a little extreme. "*sigh* fine. But do what I say, when I say it. Alright." She gives me a mock salute and takes off in the air. I just stand there and wait until she flies back. "I'll let you take lead on this one." "Hold on you two." I turn back to see Twilight walking towards the two of us. "I'm coming along as well." "Really... anypony else want to tag along?" I ask irritably. "I'm good." Pinkie yells. "Tryin ta sleep." Applejack yells. "Yer good eh." Bantler yells. I look back to Twilight and Rainbow Dash, both of them just staring back at me unamused. "You really need to work on being sneaky babe." Twilight says as she walks off, Rainbow Dash following closely behind. "Am I really that loud?" "Yes." Everypony yells from behind. I glance back before running after the girls. I thought I was sneaky... I didn't hear anything at least. We spend almost thirty minutes until we finally find the place we're looking for, a large log cabin. It's two stories tall and is very long. Several of the window's have a warm yellow light glowing from them, but there are a few that are dark. I can hear the rustle and bustle of several ponies inside, probably the other guards. We all glance to one another before sprinting to the back of the building. "Okay, whats the plan then?" Rainbow asks as we huddle next to one another. "This is purely reconnaissance, we get in, check and see how many guards there are, and get out..." "Lets go in one of the darkened windows. From there we can sneak to the main lobby... well try to at least." Twilight says, getting Rainbow to snicker. "Whatever, lets just get going. Rainbow, check to make sure the coast is clear. I'll fly Twilight up." She nods to me and flies up to the first window. After pressing her face against it, she opens it up and pulls herself inside. I grab Twilight around the waist and begin to fly us up. "Am I really that un-sneaky?" "What's important is that I love you." She says as she pats my foreleg. That's a yes. After Rainbow helps Twilight inside I pull myself in and we begin to-" CREAK "Eep!" Twilight says before teleporting herself out of the room. Rainbow and I look to each other before panicking. "What do we do?" "I don't know.... uh, hide!" "Where?" I look around the dark room and see a bed against the wall with the window. Without saying a word I scramble underneath it and lay on my side, that being the only way I fit. Rainbow crawls in right after me and tries to move some of...the... why are there so many dildos in here? "AH!" Some mare gasps as she door burst open, revealing two sets of hooves, one light cream, the other light tan. "You're such a slut E'Claire." She says as they begin to make out some more, making loud sloshing noises. "Shut up and lick me Butterscotch." Says the other mare as she trips her and flips her onto her back. Once down, the light tan one get into position and starts 69ing the other mare, both of them moaning softly. CLUNK I look over to Rainbow and stare at her, waiting for an explanation for her hitting me. She just squints her eyes at me and points at..... Okay then. I have an erection. Does she really blame me? "Did you hear something?" The light cream one, E'Claire I'm guessing, asks as she stops licking the other one and looks around. "Uh... no... well, maybe. I was a little busy." She says as she stands up and looks around. "It's probably just Dawn being a perv somewhere. Lets take this to the bed-" "But he's probably watching." E'Claire complains as the other one walks over to the bed and starts reaching under the bed. Rainbow and I both panic as we try to avoid her hoof. Rainbow looks around and pushes a strap on into her hooves, getting her to pull it up. "Then lets give him a show." Butterscotch says as she picks up the strap on and starts putting it on. The other one stands up and walks over to the bed, laying on it with her rear hooves on the ground. "That's more like it." "Just... don't smack me like last time. Explaining those bruises to Thunder was... awkward." E'Claire asks as Butterscotch gets in position behind her. "Aw, don't worry my little E'Claire, I'll be gentle." Butterscotch says as she begins to rock back and forth, getting soft moans from E'Claire. I feel something push against me... something I'd rather not have brush against me. I shuffle back as another dildo is pull out with a light cream aura. "OH! Now who's being rough." "Sorry, I got excited." They both giggle as they continue to got at it, getting louder and louder as they go. I jump a little when I feel something drop onto... me. I look down to see that Rainbow has taken a small cloth and draped it over my penis. I give her a questioning look, to which she mouths 'protection.' Why did we have to go into the window? Perspective: Miles "Okay, on the count of three we make a run for it, got it?" "No." She says with a vigorous shake of the head. "Great, one-" "Miles, I must protest-" "Two-" "They're going to see us!" "Three..." "Miles!" "GO!" I jump up and look around. Most of the other creatures are looking away from us, so I grab Rarity and launch us to the next roof. I hope from roof to roof until we make it into the southern district. "Which one is... the one we're looking for?" Rarity asks as I look from building to building. I see one towards the back with two giant V's on the side of the building, so I make my way to that one. We land in front of the building with a soft thud. THUD I drop Rarity as a single creature begins to run at us from down the street. I thrust a single palm at it and send a wave of fire at it. When the flames subside, all that's left are a few small fires that are growing in nearby piles. "Sorry about dropping you." I says as I help her back up. "I-its fine. Lets just get this message and be on our way." I nod to her and head inside the large apartment complex. Th main lobby consist of a reception counter in the center of the room and Mico platforms lining the walls to our left and right. The green goo covers most of the room, but thins out the further away from the door it gets. There's a computer on the reception counter that looks like it still has some power, so I run over to it and start typing away. "Where's your rifle?" I ask as she looks around the room. "I must of left it on the roof back there... sorry." "Its fine. We can just get it after this... maybe. Room 1187. Lets go." I look at the Mico platforms and see that they are numbered off. I head to number eleven and take it. I appear in a longer grey hallway. Most of the lights here are on, there are a few that are broken. It seems as if there was a fight in this hall. Bullet holes speckle the walls, along with a few scorch marks. I step off the platform and wait for Rarity to show up. "Come on. Room eighty seven." I say as she flashes in. We walk through the hall in silence, glancing from room to room as we go. Most of the doors are shut, but there are a few open that help tell what happened. Destroyed furniture, stains from blood loss, missing walls. The fight here must of been intense here. To think that the Unfamiliar could get better... "Here it is." Rarity says as she tries to open the door, finding it locked. She steps aside as I face it and prepare to kick it open. SNAP The door snaps off of its hinges as I kick it down. We walk in and take a look around. The area right after the door seems to be the living room and kitchen. The kitchen takes up the area to the right while the left is the living room. A large two piece couch takes up the back corner to the left. To the right of the couch is a small hallway that has three doors, one on the far wall and one on the wall on either side of it. On the wall to my left is a large TV with a desk beside it. On the desk is a computer and a small footlocker. I walk over to the computer and start it up, getting the queue sound in response. "I'm going to have a look around." Rarity says as she walks to the back of the apartment. I nob to her as the main screen comes up. I look through all of the files until I come to a folder titled 'For Miles'. I open it up to see that it contains two video messages. I connect my phone to the computer and start uploading them as I play the first one. "Hey there Miles." Dare says as he faces the screen. He's wearing normal street clothes and seems... troubled. The back of the room seems to be fine, no damages, no bullet holes, nothing. He's just sitting there, running a hand through his styled black hair as he tries to start talking. "Is that one of your friends?" Rarity asks as she walks up beside me. "Yeah... that's Dare Libere." "So... we've been waiting for two months now... and you haven't shown up yet. Some of us are starting to doubt that you will ever show up, but I know you will. You always came through for us in the past." He says as he looks at something off screen and then back to me. "Topaz was a shit storm, though I know you know that, but... *sigh* Quartz Crest is no Topaz. You thought we had racist in Topaz, there's a committee here that catalog's all none Caucasians and has military support! They even brought Auxy in for questioning becuase she was married to Dolum. Bigots. She almost went homeless, but I wouldn't allow that. So I let her into my home." "That was very generous of him." Rarity comments. "Please, knowing him he probably tried to buy her a car as well." I laugh. "I tried to get her a car as well but she wouldn't let me, says she can do without." Called it. "Auxy and her boy have been with me along with my mother.... my father didn't make it." He's goes quiet as he covers his mouth with his hand, looking away from the screen again. "The others have are starting to separate, though they assure me that they aren't. I know Inficiunt is using again, though he won't admit it. Tenera has been... different. That shy girl from the library has turned into some... vengeful... Fidus is pregnant. We found out a few days ago when she was puking in the morning for a week straight. Iacet and Tenera both swear that its yours, but I know better. Its like they don't even know you anymore, you... rapist? You can't even be touched sensually without flipping out. I tried asking Fidus about it, but every time I do, she just goes quiet for days." "Miles... you were accused of rape?" Rarity asks in disbelief. "Yeah. In reality I killed the guy who raped Fidus... but I somehow was the one to take the blame." "And to top it off, Captain's been drinking again!" Dare say with almost a laugh. "We're falling apart man. We need you, now more then ever before. I don't know if we're going to get to Susurrans without you... though... he did tell us something... interesting when we were on our way out... I think you'd want to hear this." I lean forward and listen intently. This is it , is he or isn't he? "We were the last ones to leave Topaz. As we loaded up the last truck, this orphanage dean came running up to us, shouting for us to wait for him. Susurrans just grabbed Tenera's rifle and shot him in the knee, letting the Unfamiliar chasing after him catch up and devour him. When we asked him about it, he just said that it was pay back for what he did to you... so I guess we won't be throwing you a welcome back party when you make it back." "Really." I say flatly. Of fucking course he would tell them that but nothing else. "Everyone here is worried about food shortages, so they've started maxing out production. Its working for now, but... how long can those machines run for? Miles... I don't know if you're ever going to hear this... I don't even know if you're still alive, but... hurry back to us. Please. We all miss you, even if we are trying to hide it." The screen goes back to the folder as the message ends. I take a moment to collect myself before moving on to the next video. Immediately the sound of gunfire and explosions fills the room as Dare sits there wearing all of his armor. The screen goes fuzzy for a second before he removes his helmet and sets it down. "They found us." He stated simply. "It only took them four months after Topaz to get to us, and this time they're much more organized and well armed. They've taken every dropped weapon from Topaz and are using them against us, making the fights more effective, though we still out skill them. I don't know how much longer we can hold out. Topaz fell in a month... its been a week here and command is already talking about leaving. Susurrans say I have to leave something behind for you to follow after us, so I'm leaving my SMG." He says as he pulls it out and presents it. Its a standard PX 90 that I've enchanted for him. But... in the stock is the gem that I made for all of us. "Yeah... it'll be weird not fighting with this, but then again, it'll be weird fighting without you. If you get this message, then maybe you're willing to go a little further. Susurrans says the next city we're going to is Amethyst, which make no sense to me at all. Why wouldn't we just go to Jasper or New Garnet? Whatever. I can't think about this right now. I feel as if I'm the only one able to make a stand for the group, so that's what I'm going to do. I will not allow our friends to drift apart. My SMG will be in a footlocker by the computer, the password is largus avaritia. Find us Miles, I don't know if we can do this without you." "That can't be it." I say as the screen goes back to the home screen. I look down to the footlocker and go to the panel on the side. Once I put the password in it immediately pops open. I open it to find the SMG and a note on top. Miles, When you disappeared, we didn't know what to do. In the frenzy of the fight, we all added the gems that you gave us to our weapons to add to the effects you already put on them. We also took some of the weapons from your foot locker. Please, bring these to us... Dare Libere.... P.S. This is Sine. By some, we mean all. Sorry, got a fight to win. I chuckle a little from the message as I set it aside and pull out the SMG. I look it over to see that its in decent repair. It should be operable. In the center of the stock is the gem I made for him, connected by wires and metal clasps. "Is this another one of those weapons that you made that have secret tricks to them?" Rarity asks as she looks it over. "Because I must say, I love the design. Very fierce." "I only added an enchantment that raised the rate of fire. I don't know what they added to it." I say as I look it over some more. "Uh... do you need a moment?" Rarity asks as she backs away a little. "I'll be fine. I'm a little mad about a few things, but we need to get out of her." I say as I hand off the SMG to Rarity. As soon as she takes it with her magic the gem begins to glow brightly, making her drop it. We both stare at it for a bit, waiting for... anything really, until I go to pick it up. Nothing happens when I hold it. Strange... they must of put a character enchantment in it... "Miles, what was that?" Rarity asks as she joins me in inspecting the weapon. "I have an idea that I'm going to test." I say as I aim at the wall and pull the trigger. *PEPEPEPEPEW* As expected, it fired just as I remembered, leaving a few small holes in the wall... "MILES! A little warning next time! I nearly had a heart attack." Rarity says as she takes a few breathes to calm herself. "Sorry. Now you try it." I say as I offer her the gun to her. She takes it with her magic and gives it a quick look over before aiming at the wall and pulling the trigger. *PEPEPEPEPEW* We both jump back as she blows a hole in the wall. What the fuck did they to it? How is it still in one piece? WHY DON'T I GET TO DO THAT!? "Well... I think... um... so I guess I'll be using this one from now on." She says coyly as she looks over the weapon. "... lets just work on getting out of here. It should be easy, we're right next to an exit...." Perspective: Rainbow Dash "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Scream both of the mares above as they hit their climax, making a puddle of love juice splatter right before us. They both pant a bit before climbing into bed and fall asleep. I sigh in relief as.... *sniff sniff* I look over to Storm to see him sniffing the air. Curious, I take a few sniffs... "Storm, maybe you should head..." "I need Twilight.... now." He says flatly as he crawls out from underneath the bed. I quickly get out and follow after him as he marches straight through the door. "Uh... what would you need Twilight for? Maybe you could just..." "I need to buck something... right now." He says as he turns down the hall and stops in his tracks. "Storm! Dash! Boy am I gad to see you two." Says Twilight as she runs up to us wearing guard armor. This can't end well. Author's Note A/N: Shout out to Rainbowdragon for picking the sexes of the couple that got it on! Thanks for reading, Hi AgentPony! Brony on! Chapter 115 Spartan TerritoryChapter 115 Spartan Territory Perspective: Twilight I trot up to Storm and Rainbow, glad to find a friendly ponies face in this- "TWILIGHT!" Both of them yell as they break into a sprint towards me. In a panic I teleport behind them, just in time to avoid Storm jumping on me. "What's gotten into-" "Twilight! You need to get out-" Rainbow starts but stops when Storm sticks a hoof in her mouth. "Twilight! I have a plan. Rainbow will go and investigate the rest of the building while you and me find an empty room and test the wood working on the bed frames." He says with a confident smile. "... what?" I ask as I look back to Rainbow. She just shakes her head and pulls his hoof out of her mouth then points... "Okay, why are you-" "The couple that scared you were a couple of mares." Rainbow explains as Storm walks over and starts nibbling on my ear. I keep pushing him away as I try to listen. "Both of them seemed to be in heat... and... well, a puddle of love juice later." As she says this Storm tries to move back to mount me, so I levitate him up and hold him in the air. He flails around a bit before just accepting it. "Okay, that explains captain fifth leg here." I say as I glance back to Storm. He just shrugs and swats at my hair, swishing it from side to side. "Yeah... so, what do we do now?" Rainbow asks as she tries not stare. "Twilight." Storm says, making us both shake our heads. "I've actually been doing some running around myself, and I have some good news-" "We're going to do anal!?" Storm asks full of hope. We both just stare at him until he goes back to swatting my hair. "Anyway, there's only thirty guards stationed here. They've been holding Moosden as well as Seaddle for the past few years. Their leaders, Thunder and Snow Drop, have been forcing double taxes on everypony here, moose included. The Princesses haven't done anything because the guards are paying off the mail ponies to let them censor the mail. We need to get out of here and let the princesses know asap." I say, getting a nod from Rainbow. "You get any of that Storm?" "Asap." "Ri-" "As sexily as possible." He says with a dumb smile. Rainbow and I just stare at him... "Okay, so he's useless." Rainbow says as she shakes her head at him. I just sigh and begin to walk down the hall to the back entrance. "So... how does that get-" "Never mind Rainbow." I say flatly, getting giggles from her. "Hey! I have an idea." Storm says, slightly getting our attention. "Lets make a distraction for all of the guards while one of us poisons their food. When they're all out we can call the Princesses over to deal with them." Rainbow and I stop and look to one another, caught off guard by how good of an idea that was. "Wow.... okay-" "The distraction, sex." And with that he's lost us. We continue walking down the hall until we make it to the door. "Just sayin, who thinks 'I better go check the food supply' while two ponies are doing the flying back breaker? They'll never see it coming!" Storm says excitedly as I open the door. "It was a good plan." Thunder says as he stands in the door way, surrounded by other guards. I turn around to see the hall around us fill with more guards, trapping us. "Twilight." Storm whispers loudly to me. "I don't think the bucking plan will work anymore... but we should still-" "Not now Storm!" I say firmly to Storm before glaring back to Thunder. "Thunder. You won't get away with this. I am not only the prized student of Princess Celestia herself, but the Element of Magic as well." "Okay, what are these element things you keep talking about? Actually, I don't care. Get them!" He yells, getting all of the guards to jump at us at once. FLASH I waver a bit as we appear back in the middle of Moosden. Just enough to drop Storm. I look around to see everypony is here- "Hi!" Storm says as he leaps onto my back, missing his target. "STORM!" I yell as I try to yank him off, but he won't let go of me. "Get off!" "Uh... I'm just going to give you guys some privacy." Rainbow says as she backs into Miles, making her jump. "Miles! You scared me- I mean when did you get back?" Miles ignores her and just stares at Storm and I, shaking his head slightly. "Storm!" He yells, getting his attention. "Three hundred roll overs, NOW!" Storm immediately lets go of me and starts doing exercises. He jumps and rolls to the left before jumping back up and rolling to the right, then repeats. With every set of rolls, Storm yells out the number and 'for captain'. "Thank you Miles. But don't go too hard on him, it wasn't his fault." I say as I walk beside Miles and watch Storm roll from side to side. I'm a little upset... he has him better whipped then I do! "What's going on? Why is he... like... do stallions have a heat cycle as well?" Miles asks as he watches Storm roll around. "No, its just... well... Rainbow?" I ask, getting a shocked look from her. "Me? Why do I have to tell him?" She asks as she backs up a bit. "Well you were there when it happened-" "You tell the virgin! You're the egghead!" Rainbow says as she stomps her hoof down. "Um... not a virgin..." "I am not an egghead. I, am well read." I say in my defense, getting her to roll her eyes. "Besides, I'm not the one who's read Fifty Tones of-" "It's a good book!" Rainbow yells with a slight hop. "Its porn." I say, trying to make sense of it. "GUYS!" Miles yells, getting all of our attention. "Okay, Storm, keep going. Rainbow, not a virgin. And finally, the librarian gets final says in literature. Now lets forget all of that and deal with that mass of ponies walking towards us." Miles says as he walks past us. I look over to see most of the guards running to surround us. Some are carrying torches while others have their weapons out. When they spot Miles the group hesitates for a second while Thunder and Snow continue towards him. "What have we here?" Thunder mumbles to himself as they square off with one another. "I am Miles Eremita, Captain of the Spartan regiment. What business do you have here." Thunder eyes him for a bit before leaning over to Snow and whispers something to her. "Miles is it? I am Lieutenant Snow Drop-" "You a guard?" Miles interrupts. "Uh... yeah. So we-" "Ah, then why is Moosden in such shitty shape? Where is all of the food? And why are you all of you here?" Snow Drop glances back to Thunder, who takes his place in front of Snow. He tries jumps into the air and gets in Miles face.... probably a bad idea. "You ask too many questions freak." He says in a growl. "Is that so?" Miles asks calmly. "Yeah. Ponies who ask too many questions don't usually last very long around here." "Is that a threat?" "Its a promise." I back up as I watch the two of them face off. I don't like where this is going. Miles gives a little chuckle before taking a step back, getting a smug smile from Thunder. "That's what I-" "Moosden is now under the jurisdiction of the Spartan regiment. Any further harassment will be dealt with... severely. I suggest you leave." He says as he sets one hand on his hip and the other on his trench knife. "Spartan... look idiot, we out number you. There are thirty of us and two of you-" "Well then go get some more guys and then it'll be an even fight." Miles says as he grips the knife. "SHU-" "AH!" "MILES!" I scream as I back up. I can't believe what I just saw, it happened so fast. Thunder had jumped back into Miles face, so Miles grabbed him by the back of the neck and rammed his knife into his throat... Perspective: Miles As I hold him in place, warm sticky blood starts to run down my arm. I watch as his panicked eyes slowly fade away, slipping into the void. With a thrust, I throw his body down and look back to the group of guards. "You... he.. MURDERER!" Yells Snow Drop as she pulls out her blade and runs at me. I easily side step the attack and take a swing at her head, knocking her to the ground and making a spot of red appear in her mane. "Storm! Get up!" I yell as all of the other guards yell and charge at us. "Twilight, Dash, go to the others and wait for us... this won't take long." I yell as I pull out my sword and run at the closest guard. He only has a torch, so with a quick spin I slit his throat with the tip of my sword and block the next guards attack. A powerful gust of wind blows him away, giving me time to spin back around and parry the guard behind me. We trade blows for a bit until I roll forward and thrust my knife into his gut, aiming for his heart. He coughs up some blood before falling over. I stand up and look at all of the guards surrounding me and Storm as we stand back to back. "You take the left I'll take the right." Storm says as they approach us. "Oh, you're helping? Alright, trade then." We spin around each other and run at the closest guard, mine being some mare with a spear. I swipe her Spear away and punch her straight across the face with my Trench knife, bloodying her mouth as she drops to the ground. Using the momentum of my punch, I spin around to swing my sword at the closest guard to my left, bouncing off his blade. The other guards split up and try to cut us down, wildly hacking at us with their weapons. I dodge and parry them easily, stepping back and around them with ease. Occasionally I take a swing at them, cutting them down one at a time... Perspective: Rainbow Dash As we run through the town I look back to see two guards chasing after us, both earth ponies. I slide to a stop and thrust both of my back legs back, knocking one of them straight back. "BITCH!" Yells the other pony as he brings up a sword and- FOOSH Before he could cut me in half a wave a purple energy slammed into him, knocking him out. "Thanks Twi'." I say as we continue to run to the others. She doesn't say anything. I can tell that seeing somepony die is troubling her. We make it to the building and burst through the door, finding everypony in the back being guarded by Rarity. She's levitating some weird weapon that looks like one of Miles guns, just boxier. "Twilight, Rainbow! What's going on out there? We heard screams and what sounded like swords hitting swords." Rarity asks as Twilight just goes goes straight to the corner and lays down, tucking into herself. "Miles and Storm are fighting all of the guards... hey, come here Rare." I say as I pull her aside. "I need you all to watch over Twilight." I say in a whisper. "Okay, what happened?" "She saw Miles kill somepony, and I don't think she's taking it very well. I'm going to head back out there and see if I can help-" "Rainbow! How garish! Why would you ever need to go and fight?" "I can't just leave them there! I have to back them up." I retort as I move towards the door. "I think they can handle themselves dear, but... I will watch over Twilight if you really wish to go." She says as she straightens out. "I do, thanks Rare. I owe you one." "Actually, this would make four, but that's not important. Just stay safe. I don't know how I would explain this to-" "Don't worry. He showed me a few tricks, I can handle myself. I'll be back." She gives me a quick hug before letting go of me and walking back to Twilight. I take a few deep breathes before going back outside and taking to the air. Perspective: Butterscotch I wake up in Claire's hooves feeling great. We don't get to do this often enough. I give her a quick kiss on the nose before going to the restroom and washing up. "SCOTCH!" Claire yells as I get out of the shower. "We need to get going, everypony's moved out to Moosden!" "Crap!" I yell back as I run out and look for my armor. Once we both get armored up we run out for Moosden. "Snow is going to kill us!" Claire yells as we run up the path. "Well... if Thunder is the one chewing us out, then it won't be so bad." I say, shivering at the idea. "Uh... I hate that prick." "It wouldn't be so bad if he wasn't so small." We share a small chuckle before we see Moosden up ahead in the distance. As we near the town we slow down and take a look around. It's quiet... too quiet. As we enter the town we both stop and stare at the carnage before us. Everypony we knew is laying on the ground, slayed. Blood runs out from the corpses as crows circle above them. E'Claire automatically drops to the ground and wails for our dead friends. THUD We both spin around to see a single pegasis stands behind us. He's light grey, with a black mane and tail... and is covered in blood. "Hello there." We spin around again and latch onto each other as we stare at the monster before us. It's roughly six and a half feet tall, stands on two legs, is wearing armor on most of it's body and is also covered in blood. He's holding a sword and a long knife, both of which are dripping with blood. E'Claire and I look to each other before we both pull our swords off and drop them before him. "We surrender." I say as I push the blade away. "Y-yeah, just... please don't kill us." E'Claire begs as she tosses her sword aside. The creature looks between the two of us before sheathing his knife. "Good. Start digging graves for all of them, then we'll get to you." He says as he turns around and heads around the field of dead ponies. E'Claire and I look to each other before complying. Get to us? What does he mean by that? "Get moving, we have shovels over by the tree line." The one behind us says, getting us to move. We spend the next few hours digging graves and burying our dead friends. I didn't expect them to ask their names and to identify their graves, but the weird creature demanded it. E'Claire kept breaking down whenever she would find somepony we knew better then the others. I tried to stay strong, but after the third friend, even I was crying. Some Rainbow maned mare showed up and started following one of them around, Miles I think it was. There were a couple that were still alive... but he quickly took care of that. It was nearly noon when we finished burying them. "Okay, *sniff* that's the last one." I say as we turn to Miles and wait for our next command. "No it's not." He says as he marks two more spots with his sword. "You have two more to dig." E'Claire and I look to each other before we look back to him. "Bu-bu-but I-I-I..." E'Claire mumbles as she starts to cry even more. I can't find any words. I'm going to die. He's going to kill me and... "NOW." He says firmly. "What are you doing Miles?" The rainbow maned one asks. "Stay out of this Dash. this is Spartan business." He says as he steps forward, making us back up. "Get digging!" He yells getting us to start digging our own graves. "Please! I don't want to die, I was just following orders!" E'Claire begs as we start digging. I'm crying, but I can't find my voice. I want to beg along with E'Claire, I want to live! Why can't I find my voice! "Miles stop! This is sick! Why are you doing this!" The Rainbow one yells as she looks between us and Miles. "Spartan business, stay out of it Dash." He says as he watches us dig. "That's good enough. Now stand on your rear legs and wait." He says as him and the other pegasis pull out their swords and stand beside us. E'Claire and I look to each other before complying. Miles grabs the back of my mane and holds his blade to my throat, the other pegasis doing the same to E'Claire. "I love you E'Claire." I say as I close my eyes and hold her hoof. "I love you too Scotch." We both close our eyes and wait for the inevitable. SHINK Perspective: Miles I take the remains and toss them into the shallow graves, watching them drop slowly. I step back in front and wait for the two of them to open their eyes. "That, is your past." I say after a minute of them just standing there crying. They open their eyes and look back to see that we had chopped their manes off and tossed them into the graves. "O-our past?" Scotch asks as she looks back to me. "I don't follow..." "That is the past you. The you that willing enslaved a town and held the needy in shackles. The new you has a choice to make. Either denounce all other ties you ever had before in your life and become Terradisian, or follow your past. Your choice." They drop back down to stand normally and look between the graves and me. "So... its die, or become a traitor. That's not much of a choice." Scotch says, looking at me in confusion. "Consider yourself lucky that I'm giving you the choice." I say, making her shy away. "Do not take this lightly. If you choose to become Terradisian, there are many stipulations to it. Those given this choice often choose to follow their past." "W-why would they do that?" E'Claire asks as she wipes her tears away. "Because starting over is hard." I say to put it simply. "What would we have to do if we chose to become Terradisian?" E'Claire asks nervously. "As Captain, I would become the highest authority in your lives. If I say walk and Celestia says run, you walk. I'm also holding you accountable for Moosden. If any hardships fall this town, I will blame the two of you for it. You do get standard Terradisian benefits though. If you're ever in trouble, you can call on the Spartans to come to your aid. If there is ever a meeting of any kind, you will all be brought to them and be able to voice your concerns. So what do you say? Your future, or you past?" Perspective: Storm As Miles goes over all of the fine details of being Terradisian, I decide to go wash up. As I walk off Rainbow follows after me, looking lost. "What's wrong?" I ask, getting a bewildered look from her. "What's wrong! That entire scenario was wrong! You guys played with their lives, gave them a choice that only an idiot could make incorrectly!" She yells as I enter one of the abandoned homes and go to the restroom. "Let me asks you this. If they had chosen to live the same life style, would you care if they had died?" I ask as I stand before the restroom. "Well... no. But anypony would of made the choice they made-" "Because everypony should get a second chance." I say, silencing her. "Look, I know it was dramatic, but we're changing their lives. If it was done nonchalantly they would fall to the same vices from before. And trust me, they got off easy." "... how is that." She asks as she looks away from me. "Because in Topaz they wouldn't cut your hair off, they cut a limb off." Rainbow looks back to me in horror as I step inside the bathroom and run the sink water. "Believe it or not, but we're the good guys here." I say as I start to wash off. "But... you killed them all..." "We only responded to their attack. We're giving two of them chances to start over. We only fight fights that others are incapable of fighting. Moosden needed our help, so we helped. Those guards only wanted to take advantage of everypony here for their own personal gain. We fixed that." "So... if anypony else asked... you guys would help them to?" "We would at least listen to their cause. We're very careful about being on the right side, so we wait and listen first. But if the cause is just, then we'll step in and make things right. We are suppose to be the beacons of justice and a force for good. We don't just go around killing things because we're good at it. We do it with a cause. If there isn't a cause for it, then it's not worth fighting for." Chapter 116 ThemChapter 116 Them Perspective: Miles "Alright, that's the general gist of things. I'll be sure to set up some form of communication in case you need to talk to me, and a Mico platform... where am I going to put the other one..." "Miles?" E' Claire asks, getting me back on track. "Right. Well, we have to head back to Ponyville, be sure to fill Bantler and Na-da in on the details." I say as I back away towards the center of town. "OK... we've got this... kind of." Butterscotch says as she stands up and follows me. "How exactly will we be able to contact you?" "With a phone obviously." I say as I turn around and walk to the center of town. Confused, they follow after me, whispering to each other about what they think will happen. The towns center is a large open yard with four trees blocking the four paths of the town. I go to the very center of these trees and lay my hands down. In one quick motion I stand up and swing my hands straight up, making a pillar of stone rise straight up. Next, I slam my hands onto the pillar and start to super condense it, leaving cross bars for additional support. Lastly, I set up a Mico platform underneath the structure. Once finished, I look back to Butterscotch and E' Claire and laugh at their dumb founded faces. "What? It's like you've never seen a communications tower." I say as I walk past them. "Y-you can use magic." Butterscotch mutters as they stare at the tower. "Yeah. You're not the only ones that can use magic." I say, making her look at her horn and pout. "Now, unless you have any other questions, we need to get back home to relax and prepare for the next city." "We should be good.... and thank you Miles. For giving us a second chance." E'Claire says as the two of them lean against each other. I nod to them before heading to the building everyone's at. I hope they can follow the guide lines, though they seemed fairly serious about it. I'll have to be sure to come by next week to check up on them. I make it to the building, knowing it the one due to the smoke coming up from the chimney. "Hey, anybody here?" I ask as I step inside the building. I don't see anybody, but I can hear murmurs in the back room. I walk up to the door as Twilight finishes saying something. "...ever again." "He only did it in self defense." Storm defends. I pause at the door and wait to hear what else she has to say. "he didn't do anything though. He was just getting in his face. Because of what he did, some thirty ponies are dead now." Twilight says, getting murmurs from the others. "But with out his help the town would still be under their control." Rainbow Dash says. "We could of went to Princess Celestia. She could of done something about it that would of saved their lives..." "Were their lives worth saving?" I ask as I walk around the corner. Everyone gives me mixed looks, some scared while some are worried. "If Celestia had came here herself, then something would have been done. But I know she wouldn't make the trip herself. She would of sent another guard that would of been tricked or lied to. Action was needed, not good intentions." Everyone stays silent as I stand there, waiting for a response. "Lets just head home." Storm says quietly. I turn around and lead everyone back to the shed where we find Bantler and Na-da waiting. "Ready to head out eh?" Bantler says as he undoes the lock to his shed. "I'm in your debt Miles. You saved this town, and my family's heritage. Thank you." Before I could say anything, Na-da walks up to me and wraps me up in a tight hug. "Thank you." She whispers softly into my ear before stepping back next to Bantler. "Well, I won't keep ya any longer then I need ya." Bantler says as the two of them back away from us. "Don't worry, you'll see us again... maybe. Me for sure." I say as I step inside and get into the jeep. I turn the ignition on and pull out of the garage. Once everyone piles in we wave goodbye and drive off. As we leave, I glance back through the rear mirror and see the white wisp again, so I slam the brakes and look back. "What is it Miles?" Rarity asks as I stare at it. It's spinning slowly high in the air, arms spread out. I does this for a second before it takes of through the air, heading east. "Did anyone else see that?" I ask as I try to watch it fly away, but lose it quickly. "See what?" Fluttershy asks as everyone looks back with me. "The white... wispy thing. I saw it back in Quartz Crest as well." "I didn't see anything." Rarity says. "Me neither." Applejack adds. "I guess it was just my imagination... probably." I say as I sit back down and drive off, glancing back until Moosden was out of sight. Ponyville: November 9th 11:28 PM "Alright see you guys later." I say as Applejack and Dash jump out of my jeep. I had dropped everyone else off at their homes, but Dash decided to take Scootaloo home herself. "Night Miles." Applejack says with a yawn. "Later." Dash says as she runs inside the red house. I turn my attention back to the road and drive home. When I make it back I drive around back and make a small shack for my jeep. Nothing fancy, just four walls and a roof made of stone. In addition to that, I also make the other Mico platform and communications tower for Moosden. Satisfied with my work, I decide to call it a day and head inside. As I walk around to the front, something catches my attention off in the park. I pause and try to get a better look but... whatever it was, it vanished. Should I go and take a look? I'm pretty sure it was nothing... but better safe then sorry. I walk off into the dark park, trying to find whatever it was that I saw. Everything here seems normal, gentle hills, flowers, and random park paraphernalia. Absolutely nothing out of the norm... "It's OK, really. Nothing scary is going to happen, I promise." A voice in the dark says. I look around as I try to find it, I think it's just behind those bushes. "est........adhuc......terridus..........eum.." A voice whispers. It's was almost impossible to hear, but I know I heard a soft voice. "Non, ipse est ok. Realiter. Dico, certus, occidit custodes Moosden, sed ille suus bonum. Aut quod 'quis Dusty Scrolls dicit...." "How do you know that?" I ask as I walk through the bushes and stop in my tracks. Ahead of me is a pony in all black robes guiding..... a white.... shimmer. It seems to resemble the form of a women... but I can't make out any details. The pony looks at me to reveal that it's a light blue earth pony with dark red hair. "Who are you... and what is that?" "What?" Asks the pony as he lifts up a hoof.... and makes a ball of blue energy appear above it. "Did you say you can see this peace spirit?" "Uh... what are you doing?" I ask as I back away from him. "Don't worry, you won't remember." He says as a dart of blue energy shoots at me. I quickly roll to the side and dodge the attack. When I sit back up I pull my revolver out and point it at him. "What the fuck was that!? What are you doing!? Why...." "Please stand still, I promise it won't hurt." He says as he tries to shoot me again. I dodge again by rolling forward, putting my revolver right under his chin. "Don't make me..." "Placere non movent..." BANG I fall back as his lifeless body falls to the ground. He was... he was speaking Latin? How does a pony know how to speak in Latin! And..... did..... did I just kill him? I stare at his lifeless body as the white wisp floats above him. "Homicida." "No... I-I didn't mean to...." "Homicida." "He attacked me! I was just defending myself! He gave me no choice!" "HOMICIDA!" It wails as it flies off towards the Everfree. I was about to chase after it, but in the blink of an eye it disappeared. "OK, don't panic, don't panic, what ever I do just... don't... panic." I say as I stand up and pace back and forth. It'll be OK. I just have to... not get caught. Yeah... what to do about the body though? I look back and try to think of the most logical explanation possible.... Icy void. I kneel down beside him and check to if he had anything important... nothing. No money, no ID, absolutely nothing was on him. I stand back up an try to bring out my Icy void. I think all I have to do is shut my hands with my magic flowing through... "Got it." I say as I bring the black orb up in front of my fist. I look back down and offer a moment of silence for him before blasting him to nothingness. OK, he's gone, no one saw anything... no one except that white wisp... anyway, I just need to head home and lay low for awhile. November 10th, 9:30am I roll over in bed and just stare out the window in a daze. I couldn't sleep at all last night. I kept thinking back to that guy I killed. Why is he bothering me so much? I've killed before, those guards, trainees, proditores, but why is his death weighing so heavily on me. With a heavy sigh I force myself out of bed and decide to head over to Twilight for council on this. I grab the last shirt and pants from my drawers; a white button up and black jeans, and head down stairs. I look over and laugh as I see Lupus sleeping on the recliner with his but hanging off the front with a note taped on. I walk out the front door and..... wait, what? I head back inside and sure enough, there it is. A note folded in half taped to Lupus's butt. I walk over and take the note, making him stifle in his sleep. I open the note to see a pony's hoof in black takes up the center with Scimus written below it.... "WHAT THE FUCK!" I yell as I fall back. That was fucking Latin! Who knows? Who was able to get inside my home and put a note on Lupus? WHY DID LUPUS LET THEM DO IT! I run back upstairs and grab my sword before running back down and heading over to Twilight's. I know she's probably still mad at me, but I need help that won't have me arrested. BANG "TWILIGHT!" I yell as I burst through her front door. "AH!" Spike yells as he falls off a latter, droping the pile of books he was carrying right on top of him. "Miles! What the heck man?" He asks as he pops out of the books. I ignore him and run upstairs to her room. "Storm? Twilight?" I ask as I look around the empty room. "They aren't here." Spike says as he follows after me. "WHAT?! Where are they?" I ask as I turn back to him. "Twilight received a letter from Celestia telling her about a pop quiz she was dropping on her. Storm went with her to Canterlot for... moral support... you know. Cause of how Twilight gets and all..." "Shit." I say as I walk past him and head back down stairs. "It's OK. I can handle this... maybe." "Uh... handle what?" Spike asks as I pace around the room. "What? Nothing.Just... it's nothing." "Miles, you seemed stressed. Why don't you go home and try to relax a little." Spike says nervously as I continue to pace around. "Huh? Oh... sure... relax. I can do that." I say as I walk out of the door and head home. Relax... yeah, I destroyed the body. No one saw anything, I just have to lay low... relax.... calm... "I'm calling you out Miles Eremita!" Someone yells from behind as I near my home. I turn around to see a pony wearing a dark cloak. Though the cloak covers most of his body, I can see his face. He's a dark blue with light green hair, and probably an earth pony, unless he's just hiding his wings. "Who are you...." I ask as he rears up and holds his hooves out, making two outlines to single bladed axes. "And..." "I think you know why I'm here." He says as he starts to advance on me. I step back and pull out my sword as he lunges at me. I dodge to the left and swing at him, getting blocked by his other axe. I spin around and start to walk backwards as I parry his attacks. I can tell he has some skills, but he's no where near my level. I roll forward and slam the hilt of sword as he slams the butt of his axes against my back. I buckle a little from the hit as he falls back. "It doesn't have to be like this." I say as I stand and square off with him. "Sorry, but this ends now." "If you say so." I say as I send some energy into my blade. As he starts to run at me I hold my position until he's close enough, then I swing at him. SHEECK I look at his frozen body and sigh. This makes two. Fuck..... just... fuck! I Close my hand and shoot the block of ice with Icy void. I drop to my knee as I tire from using the unfamiliar magic. I stand back up and look around to see if anyone is close by. With the coast clear, I turn and run home. OK, I need to just lay low from now on.... I also need to stop killing people. November 11th 11:48AM I sigh as I open my tired eyes. I spent all of yesterday locking up my home and trying to not kill anything. Now that I think about it, I actually spent most of my time just freaking out... "Hmmm...." Luna sighs as she rolls over and holds onto me lightly...... "WHAT THE FUCK!" I yell as I sit up and..... WHY AM I NAKED! "Miles... too early.... what's this?" She says sleepily as she takes a note off of her face. "Serio, iterum... huh?" I look over and see that's its another note with the black hoof on it, with Serio, iterum written on the bottom. "What are you doing in my room?" She asks as she lays back down, trying to go back to sleep. :"Uh... this is my room. How did you get here?" I ask as I stand and put the clothes that I had on yesterday on. "Really... OK." She mumbles as she stands up and walks over to me. She pulls me down for a kiss and a hug before looking around the room. "Why is all of your furniture covering your windows... and doors.... and closet?" "I was..." "Wait, what time is it?" She asks as she goes to the window and looks out behind the bed frame. "Hmm... it's still fairly early... you know, we have some time..." "Luna, I would love to do nothing more then... that. But... right now..." "Yeah, plus I need to get up early to meet up with Tia about something important. I guess I'll just head home then. Love you." She says as she gives me another hug. I act normal until she takes the Mico platform back home, then I freak out. "SON OF OF BITCH!" I yell as I grab my sword and started to tear my dresser from the doorway. As soon as I had enough space to squeeze out, I ran straight for the door and... SLAM Right... still bolted shut. I pick myself up off the ground and unlock the door. After I step out and gently shut the door I take off, sprinting as fast as archaically possible. STOP I slide to a stop in the middle of the market and look around.... was... is this Soul Fire? KILL THEM ...... who? THEM I look around the slightly busy market until I see...... them. A group of four ponies walking towards me from down the street. The one on the left is a white earth pony with light blue eyes, blue hair and a solid white streak going down the center. Beside him is a light grey unicorn with a red eyes, a red two toned mane and tail. Next to him is a light yellow pegasus with green eyes, black hair that has a white stripe going through it. Lastly, is a cloaked earth pony. I can't really get a good look at... MOVE Right... not sure why I have to kill them, but... Soul Fire talking is enough cause. I begin to walk back home as I continue to eye the group of ponies following me. The pegasus and and the earth pony are wearing black goggles that have a white band going around their heads. The earth pony has on a green backpack... not a satchel, a backpack... not sure what to make of that. GET OUT TO THE OPEN, SEPARATE THEM. Right... just entered the park, so another meter or so and I'll make my move. I glance back to see a satchel on the unicorn... is... I think I hear music. It's sounds too far away for me to make out clearly, but... FOCUS Right... halfway there... GO FOR THE WINGED ONE FIRST... NO, THE DEMON IS THE THREAT, GO FOR THE UNICORN FIRST. THE ARCHER IS A BIGGER THREAT. GO FOR HER FIRST, THEN THE DEMON, THEN THE BRIGHT ONE... What about the earth pony? HE'LL BE THE EASIEST TO DEAL WITH, SAVE HIM FOR LAST. I take a deep breath as we enter a secluded part of the park and ready my magic. KA-KRA-BOOM I had spun around and sent a beam of soul fire at the pegasus, but missed slightly and made the ground before her explode. I'm not sure how, but the area beside her also exploded, sending her flying back into a tree. "CC! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Yells the grey unicorn as he charges out of the smoke. He's wielding what looks like the energy outline of a longsword. I pull out my sword and parry his swing. As he pulls back his sword, I see a shimmer of black and red wash over his face. CLINK CHING CLANG The unicorn and I trade blows for a bit as I back away from him, waiting for my opening. "DAMIAN!" Yells the earth pony as I kick forward and knock the unicorn over. I was about to stab him in the throat when I suddenly take a hit from the side. I roll a couple of times before sliding to a stop. I push myself up and fall back down as a massive wave of pain numbs my side. I flare my free hand and slam it into my chest, sending waves of healing magic through my body as the others slowly approach me. "BULLSHIT! That's cheating!" Yells some earth pony as he joins the other two. He seems to... he's sewn together. Different parts of his body seems to be made of different greying body parts... and he has a monocle. The only normal thing about him is his black charred hair.... I'm still not taking any chances. KA-KRA-BOOM Once I finished healing myself I thrust my palm at him, hitting him square in the chest and making him explode. Usually that makes them turn to... "AROUND!" Yells the unicorn, making the earth pony charge straight at me as he brings up his earthen hammer. I charge the magic in my sword and stab the ground, making a row or earthen swords pierce up at him. He slams his hammer onto the ground, making a small column of earth launch him into the air. I take a hold of him with my magic and fling him to my right, sending him flying far out of reach. "NOT THE FACE!" Yells the earth pony as he slams into a tr... BOOM I drop to a knee as I suddenly have a surge of energy wash through me. I look back to the unicorn to see that he's pointing his sword at me. Bolts of electricity shoot out from the tip as he readies to swing again. SLINK Before he could send another bolt at me I launched myself at him and took a swing at him, slicing him up the chest. I pin around and kick him in the chest, making him fall to the ground and lose his sword. I jump on top of him and try to stab him with my sword, but suddenly dozens of his head appear around his and start to move around. I stare at them for a second before I stab at the center, making all of the other heads disappear as he looks back at me with a smug look. "Mine now." He says as I try to pull my sword out, but can't seem to get it to budge. He takes this moment to try to get me off of him by trying to punch me. I quickly swat his hoof away and punch him across the face. I pull back and punch again and again as his face begins to shimmer again. He twist his body and tries to kick me, but I quickly push myself up and roll to the side... "COOL IT!" Yells the grey earth pony as he aims his hoof at me. I quickly raise a hand at him and bring up a shield, blocking a beam blue and white energy that ricochets off and hits hits him in the chest, making him freeze... then explode... "AH! MY ASS!" Yells the unicorn as he grabs a bloody ice shard that's sticking out of his ass. "PATCHES!" Yells the white earth pony as he charges at us. I quickly close my hand and shoot a beam of Icy void at him. The column over takes his body and makes him disappear, along with a trench of the ground leading to him. I was about to get back to the unicorn, when something caught my eye. I look back to where the earth pony was and... and... "What the fuck is that?" A pale white woman hovers in the air above where the pony was. She has long flowing blonde hair and has the purest blue eyes. She has a long white dress on that's just flowing along with her hair. "Who?" Asks the unicorn from behind as the woman just crosses her arms and shakes her head at me. "What the.... OK, what the fuck." I say as she flips me off. Suddenly a bright light shines from her, forcing me to look away. When the light fades away I look ba.... "OK, seriously? WHAT THE FUCK!" I say as I look back to see the white pony from before standing there. He looks around a bit before he lays down and huddles up for warmth. "S-so...c-c-cold." He mutters as a blanket throws itself out of his backpack and wraps itself around him. "Thank you backpack..." "OK!" I say as I stand I raise my hands. "Fuck it, I surrender. He should be fucking dead, and now.... now he's... WHAT THE FUCK!" I yell as I look back to see him drinking a hot cup of.. what the fuck. DON'T SURRENDER! KEEP FIGHTING! DON'T SURRENDER! KEEP FIGHTING! "NO! He already surrendered!" Yells the unicorn as he marches up to me. He grabs my shirt and tries to pull me down, but I'm a little too tall for him. So I kneel down for him... SLAP "OW! What was that for?" I ask as I rub my cheek. "FIX IT!" He growls at me. "Fix what?" "Fix. CC." "Uh... who?" I ask as I look around. The only ponies here are him, the fucking dead-not dead asshole and... "Didn't you blow up?" I ask as I look over to the grey stitched one. "Yeah, I do that." He says as he looks around for random chunks of flesh; that he sticks back into place... SLAP "OW! What the fuck!?" I ask as I rub my other cheek. "FINE! Then fix me! I have Patches in my ass!" *Twitch* We both look over to a nearby tree to see a large yellow wing sticking out of a random bush. "Of course that's what she hears." He grumbles as he lets go of me and runs over to her. I stand back up and follow after him as he pulls the pegasus out of the bush. She's hurt really bad. A large chunk of a branch has pierced through her wing and into her chest. Blood is still flowing out from the wounds and she isn't breathing. "Yeah, that's bad." The white one says as he drops some white spongy things into the brown liquid. "No shit." I say as I grab the branch and get ready to pull, only to have the unicorn grab my wrist. "Can you fix this?" He asks seriously. "Probably." I say as I yank out the chunk, making blood squirt onto his face. He just wipes it away and continues to watch her anxiously. JUST LET HER BLEED OUT... "Hey! Fuck you asshole!" The unicorn yells as he rears his hoof back to punch me. "FIX HER NOW!" "You know, you could say please..." "NOW! You blew her into a tree! Fix her now!" He yells. I just roll my eyes and lay my palms on her chest. I start by sealing the wounds and fixing the tissue. After that, I move to her wings and start fixing the tendons. Only now do I realize how large her wings are. They seem to be better suited for a griffin. "Hey, go get..." KER-PUNCH "AW FUCK!" I yell as I fall back. Why do they keep hitting my face!? "CC!" The unicorn yells as he tries to shake the pegasus awake, but she's out cold. "She won't wake up." I say as I stand up. "I put a sleeping spell on her so I could fix her lungs." I say as I take a look around. "Pick her up and lets take her to my place..." "Why?" The white pony asks as he downs the beverage. "I can see a group of towns people heading this way." I say, making them look over to the small crowd of ponies heading towards us. "Alright, your place it is." Says the grey one. I squat down and lift CC up before the unicorn could do anything to help. "Uh... could I carry her?" "..... no." I say as I walk off. "You bitch..." He grumbles as they follow after me. We make it to my home where I pause for a second... everything seems... correct. "Good evening sir." Says a bot as it walks past me and approaches the white pony. Suddenly it warps into his backpack, filling it for a second before the bag sags as if its empty. I just stare at him in disbelief... how does a three hundred kilogram bot... fit in a backpack? "What? I didn't do it. Backpack didn't want CC in a filthy house." The pony says as he shrugs his shoulders. "Thank you Backpack." The unicorn says as he walks inside. What the fuck... "Are you coming or not?" Asks the grey one as he walks inside. I shake my head and follow after them, taking her to the couch. After I lay her down I lay my hands back on her and start to read her vitals. She has a punctured lung and still has some wing damage, not to mention all of the blood loss. "How is she?" Asks the unicorn as he looks her over, obviously upset. "Well, she has a punctured lung, some tendon damage, and..." "Damn..." She says as she lifts her head up and looks me over. "You're hot.... I think I have porn of you." She says weakly before she passes back out. "WHAT!" The both of us yell. We look to each other for a second before he gets up and storms away, grumbling to himself about gay porn. I just ignore him and go back to fixing her. "I'm Miles by the way." I say to him, making him pause. "I know.... I'm Damian." He says before he continues to walk away. "I'm Hammer." The white pony says cheerfully as he takes a seat next to me. "And that over there is Patches!" "Great." I say as I try to ignore him and continue my work. "Yeah, and this is Backpack!" He says as a spring board pops out and gets in my face. At the end of the spring board is a fake hand that is flipping me off.... what th-aw forget it. "So, while I heal up your friend here, who don't you tell me who you all are." Chapter 117 The GroupChapter 117 The Group "We just told you." Hammer says cheerfully. "I'm Hammer, this is Backpack...." "Not what I meant." I say as I get back to healing CC. "What I meant is, why are you here?" "You don't need to know. All you need to know is that we were the ones leaving the notes, and we know a lot of stuff about you." Says Damian as he walks back into the room. "Really?" "Yeah." "I don't believe...." "Nine inches." He says flatly. Nine inches....no......nooo.... he can't mean... "I'm awake." CC says as she lifts her head up and looks around. "Wh.... what happened? Did we get captured?" She asks as she tries to get up, but I won't let her. "You go..." "Actually, he surrendered!" Hammer says proudly. "Well... surrender is such a harsh word." I say as I finish fixing up her lungs. "Yeah, and my constant blowing up had nothing to do with it." Patches says, getting the others to chuckle. "No.... I can deal with that.... it was more of you should be fucking dead." I say as I point at Hammer. "So... cold..." He says with a shiver. SPRING From out of his of his back back springs the spring board with the fake hand, flipping me off before it gets sucked back into the bag. "OK, fuck it. I'm not fixing her wing until I get some answers. What the fuck was that? How can you blow up? How are you alive? Where...." "Why don't you tell me what that black stuff was." Damian says as walks up to me, looking really pissed. "You first." I say as I cross my arms. "You surrendered to us! You first!" He yells back. I just stand there and wait for my question to be answered. "Uh.... can I get healed... please." CC asks as she looks between the two of us. I just shrug and wait for him to answer. "*sigh* OK, that's Backpack. It just does shit like that." He says flatly. "It just makes shit." "Yeah." "Can he control it?" "I don't control Backpack." Hammer says, sounding insulted. "Right... so whats up with you?" I say as I look back to Damian. "Me?" "Yeah, you. Back in that fight you.... shimmered darkness. Care to explain?" "Fuck...." He mutters under his breath. Did... did he just say fuck? "I don't think I'm allowed to tell you." "Whys that?" "Well... its a need to know basis and... you're a civilian." "...... excuse me?" I say, feeling offended. "You don't belong to our group, its like if we asked you something about the Spartans. You can't tell us. Don't take it personally." He says with a shrug as he sits down. "How exactly do you know about the Spartans?" "We know everything." They all say at once.... "Fucking liars! You said you didn't know what the black stuff was!" I say, making them all think to themselves. "OK, we know almost everything." CC admitted. "Can I get healed up now." "Fine..." "WAIT!" She shouts. "Take off your shirt." ".........excuse me?" I say as I look around. Damian looks even more pissed off while the others are just chuckling. "Take it off." She repeats. "Uh... no." "You nearly killed me. Take. It. Off." She says with a serious look. I stare back at her until I start feeling guilty for almost killing her. With a sigh I pull my shirt off and toss it onto the couch. Forgive me Luna... "Wow.... muscly.... you like Damian?" Patches says, getting a mean look from Damian. "I know I do." CC says sensually as she lays back down. "Uh... married." "Is it an open marriage?" She asks with a hint of hope in her voice. "No." I state simply, getting her to pout. "Whatever, just heal me then." I kneel beside her and hesitate. "Uh... this isn't sexual, but I need to check your wings to make sure the tendons are lining up properly..." "Just be gentle." She says with a wink, getting a disgruntled grunt from Damian. I look between the two before I get to work on her wing. I lightly grab her wing and slowly pull it out, making her wince slightly. These things are huge. I think she's part... "And before you ask, no. I'm not part griffin." "I wasn't going to say anything." I lie as I run my hand down her wing, getting her to moan lightly from the touch. Damian lets out another grunt before leaving the room. OK, he obviously likes her. "You don't work your wings enough." I say as I start gripping at certain parts, feeling the under developed muscles. "What do you mean?" "You don't work your wings enough. How many hours a week do you fly?" "Well... I don't really get the chance to at the compound. Plus I'm usually out, doing missions." She says as she starts to blush. "Hmm... well, especially with wings this big, you need to make time to develop these key muscles. You don't want problems surfacing later on due to under development." I say as I let go of her wing and flare my hands. "OK, this may sting a little." I say before I lay my hands on her and start to force her tendon back into place. She lets out a small yell as she winces in pain. "A LITTLE!" She yells as I finish up. "Shut up, baby. I've had a lot worse and I didn't cry." I say as I take her wing back in my hands and feel the progress. "I'm not crying." She mumbles as she looks away from me... then wipes her eyes. "Right... so, whats the deal with everyone?" I ask as I continue checking on her wings, taking longer due to her abnormally large wings. "What do you mean? You know I can't tell you..." "I've got the basic gist of their attacks and stuff, what I mean is... can I trust any of you?" I ask as I flare my hand and hold tightly onto her wing. "Well, the initial plan was to confront you. YOU fired first. That 'assassin' was just a messenger... he just got the wrong message." She says as she eyes my hand. "Please don't remove my wing." I stare at her for a second before I drop my magic and take a seat beside her, getting her to sigh in relief. "I only opened fire because Soul Fire told me to, and he usually doesn't talk..." "Yeah... he was probably freaking out because of Damian..." "And why would he need to fear Damian." I ask, getting a worried look from her. "Don't worry about it, he's got it under control.... most of the time at least. I don't know how he deals with it. It must be his colt-friend." I sigh in annoyance and look away from her. Fucking secret.... "Wait... you mean Mare-friend.. right?" I ask as she chuckles a bit. "Really? Wow. He's gay Miles.... he likes stallions." She says seriously. "Right..." I mutter as I look around the room. "Where did everyone go?" I ask as I look around the empty room. Well... fuck. I grab my shirt and head over to the kitchen, putting my shirt on along the way. BOOM I run to the back door and run outside to see a small crater with black smoke rising from the center of it. From all around it, chunks of flesh crawl back towards the center of the crater. I watch in total confusion as Patches, literally, pulls himself back together. "Wh...what the fuck." I mutter as he shakes his head and looks back to me. "Oh... so... yeah..." "What did you do? How are you alive?" "Oh... uh well..." He stammers as he rubs the back of his neck. "Its just something he does." CC says as she walks out and stand beside me. "There really isn't an explanation we have for that. It's just something he does." I walk over to him and examine him a little closer. Only now do I realize that one of his eyes are blue while the other one is light grey. "Mind if I take a read of you? I might be able to get an explanation for that." "Well... OK. But you're not going to get anything, others have tried." He says as I flare my hands and start to try to get a reading in him. I can sense his power fluctuating but.. "Are you hiding your soul?" I ask as I pull my hands away from him. "Uh... how would I do that?" He asks as he cocks an eye. "You tell me. Unless you're dead, you don't have a soul." I say as I stand up and look him over again. I could read his power for a second before it suddenly disappeared. This shouldn't be possible, he should probably be dead. "Have you seen Hammer?" CC asks as they head back inside. I stand there for a second before I shake my head and follow after them. I miss normalcy... "I saw him go upstairs but..." "Wait, what?" I ask as I pause and look around. I quickly run ahead of them and start checking all of the upstairs rooms. He's not in the guest rooms... he better not. I run to my room and pause before I slowly open the door. "Oh sweet Barbra." I say in relief as I step into my empty room. "Who?" CC asks as I head over to the closet. He's not in here either... "Do you think he took the Mico platform?" She asks as she heads to the back and pushes the back door open. "How do you know about that?" I ask as I follow after her. "Uh... we know everything... well... practically everything." Patches says as we all stare at the platform. "Ladies first." "Why don't you go?" CC says. "I'll probably explode..." "So?" She says, getting an even look from him. "But I'm injured." She wines. "Bullshit, he fixed you..." "Oh sweet Barbra, I'll just go." I say as I step onto the platform. FLASH I appear in the cave and... what the fuck. "Hey Miles." Hammer says from a red couch as he flips through a magazine. The cave has now been completely furbished. The couch takes up the back while to my right is a large bed with blue and green sheets. To my left are all of the immediacies for a kitchen. Fridge, stove, sink.... is that a food dehydrator? That is! A fucking, Terradisian, food dehydrator! "Where the fuck did all of this come from!?" I ask as I look around. There's a fucking red carpet leading to the front of the cave. "Uh... Backpack." He says as if it was obvious. "Fuck it. Just, go back. Go back right now." I say as I step off of the platform and point to it. "But, but it needs cabinets!" He says as he shows me a page in the magazine. "I don't give a... oh wow. Those are nice... get the fuck out!" I say as I point back to the platform. "Fine! Sheesh. I furbish your cave and this is the thanks I get. You know what, I'm taking the fridge." He says as he walks over to the fridge and tries to pull it after him, but opens it up instead. "Hey look! Strawberries!" He says joyfully as he starts eating. The fridge has been filled to the brim with nothing but strawberries. "Fuck it. I'm leaving." I say as I take the platform back home. FLASH "You're back.... where's Hammer?" Patches asks as I walk out of the room. "Fucking asshole." I mumble as I walk past them and head back down stairs. I've had just about enough of these guys. I just... I just need to step outside. I walk down stairs and step out the front door where I find Damian meditating. He glances back to me before facing back forward. "Have fun?" He says bitterly. "Yeah... so why does she think you're gay?" I ask as I take a seat beside him. "*sigh* Hammer.... wait, you don't think I'm gay?" He asks as he looks to me. "No. There's no way you're gay with the way you look at her... want to talk about it?" I ask. This is seriously the most normal thing about this group, may as well talk about it. "Not really, you did just try to kill us." He says as he continues to look forward. "Unless you could find a way for her to know that I'm not gay..." "Why don't we go and just tell her..." "NO!" He yells as he looks back to me. "The world is against me. Every time I try to tell her... things explode." He says as he nervously looks around. "Right... well ... what now?" "Huh?" "Well, CC says you were only here to 'confront' me. Well, mission accomplished. What happens now?" I ask as I lean back. "OK, first off, stop killing our men!" He says as he points a hoof at me. "And for the love of God, stop killing their spirits. We need them." ".... who?" "Who... who?" He asks as he raises an eyebrow to me. "Who's God?" I ask. I've heard that said a couple of times, but I've no clue who it is. "Ohhhh..." He says as he nervously looks around. "How do you think everything came to be?" "Well.... it's speculated that millions and millions of years ago a large explosion happened. From there molten slag formed the systems and universes. From there, with the right conditions, it was only a matter of evolution taking place." I say, to put it simply. "Who do you think made that happen?" He asks. "Uh... no one. It just happened. Random chance with random circumstances." "Yeah, no. God is the one who started it." "OK... who's God?" I ask skeptically. "The creator of everything.... he made everything." I nod to him as I lean back and continue to stare at him. "You don't believe me, do you?" "Not a single fucking word." "*sigh* of course you wouldn't. Purge and all." He says as he looks back out. "You.... you know about the purge?" I ask, curious to see how he knows about that. "A bit. I've got the general gist of it. Big war, clashing philosophies, death, and science going crazy. I couldn't really tell you more then that." "And how exactly do you know about the Purge?" I ask. "Heh, don't worry about it. Look, just... don't do evil shit, we'll be keeping an eye on you. We'll be in touch if we ever need to speak again." He says before standing up and looking back inside. I stand up beside him as he yells for everyone to come down. "Before you go, I have one last question." I ask, getting his attention. "Why should I trust you?" "If we didn't want your trust, your wife would of been dead in your bed instead of with a note. We aren't here to harm you or anything like that. If anything, we might need you." He says as the other three file out of my home. I take a deep breath as I think about what he said. Sadly.. it's true. If they wanted to, they could of killed Luna. "Oh... and hail the king.. I guess." He says as they start walking away. "I still have questions that I want answered!" I yell to him as he walks away. "Yeah, me to." He yells back to me. Author's Note If you are wondering what the fuck just happened, its called a cross over. These four wonderful characters are from The Demon Within, by Cheesus. They play a pivotal roll in the story. They will return. Brony on! Chapter 118 Autographs And BooksChapter 118 Autographs And Books I had stayed on the porch long after they had left to think about everything that has just transpired. Exploding ponies, logic defying backpacks, spirits and souls.... I need something normal. I turn around and.... "Oh shit!" I yell as I fall back. Floating behind me is the white wisp from the other day. I just stare at it, waiting to see what it does. "Vis enim harmonia sive chaos?" It asks in an echo-y voice that helps put me at peace. I stand back up and look back to the wisp as I think about what it asked. "Sed est concordiam in chaos." I reply, making the wisp quiver a bit. "Fortasse. Sed non in vobis ... nondum." It replies before fading away. I take a moment to try to register what just happened. The... spirit thing... just spoke to me. OK. What the fuck?! Not yet? Whats does that mean? Fuck it, I need something normal... I guess now would be a good time to give Luna her gift. I go inside and fetch the other phone before taking the Mico platform to Canterlot... FLASH SMACK "Son of a..." I say as I rub my head. I look around the room and silently curse Hammer. He added a few tings to the cave, including a fucking chandelier, drapes that go from the chandelier to the edges of the walls, and white cabinets over the kitchen area. I shake my head and go to leave the cave... only to see that he put a fucking red door over the entrance. Kind of obvious. I go and leave the cave.. "Hello there..." "GAH!" I yell as I jump back. "Night Fury, what the fuck are you doing here?" I ask as I try to collect myself. I take a look at him and realize that he's not in his armor. He's a dark purple with light grey hair and eyes. His mark seems to be a splotch of black with white dots. "I was going to go to your place to receive my training." He states simply as I leave the cave. "Look... we'll have to do that another time, we simply aren't ready to train anyone right now. I need to speak with Luna..." "She's asleep." He says as he follows after me. "Well... I requested the day off..." "The day?" I say as I stop and look back to him. "You need a month off for Spartan training. No exceptions... unless you decide not to do it." I say before continuing down the mountain. "I'm going to do this.... though I have to ask. Aren't you afraid I'm going to tell anypony about Spartan training?" "Ha! Yeah no. First off, you have to live. I've seen guards fight and... yeah, you don't exactly..." "Hey! I'm Captain of the night guard..." "And Luna was abducted twice! Good fucking job." He pauses when I say this and stares at me in disbelief. "When did the second abduction happen?" He asks as he continues after me. "Don't worry about it. I've resolved it. Second, if you somehow pass, there's only a three percent chance that you'll turn against us and brake the rules. Spartan training will get in your head and change the way you view the world. I guarantee it." I stop and look at the two towers of the castle. She's the one on the left... right? "And what if I'm part of that three percent?" He asks as he stands beside me and looks out to the towers. "Then I kill you. There are three of us that would be forced to drop everything and hunt you down. We would not stop until you, and everybody you told, were dead..." "Even if it was Luna?" "..... even if it was Luna." I say as I take a deep breath and look back to him. "Let me warn you though, if you try anything like that, I will torture you beyond belief..." "I won't say anything to Luna. I am Night guard, I'm loyal to her, and I know she wouldn't ask." He says as he looks out to the city. "Since we're not doing anything today..." "Actually, go ahead and take the platform. It will take you to my home. From there either go to the library or the farm to the right. You'll find one of the other Spartans there. Talk to them about setting up a date for training." I say as I walk off and flair my heels. "Where are you going?" He asks as I pause and ready myself. "Like I said, I need to talk to Luna." Before he could say anything else I launch myself into the air. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Night Fury I watch as Miles launches himself into the air and start crawling up Celestia's tower...that should be interesting. I turn back and enter the... what the buck? Why is this cave so well furbished? I walk in and have a look around. Everything seems to be new and unused. Though I guess it makes sense. If it is for a princess to use, it makes sense for it to be top of the line. I look around the room and take a look at the circles in the center of the room. I guess that's the Mico platform Miles spoke of... OK, how do I use this? I step around it cautiously, trying to figure out what exactly I'm suppose to do. Not seeing anything better to do, I step onto the circle and wait. "Maybe you need to say..." FLASH "WHAT THE BUCK!" I yell as I jump back. That thing is freaky. I'd rather fly then take that thing again. I shake my head and take a look around. I'm in a small grey room that has a window behind me... and that's it. How does he expect me to.... aw buck. He bucking tricked me. This is probably a starvation room where I'm suppose to die. Better luck next time dummy, you left the window open. I jump up and push it open, giving me more then enough room to slide out and gain my freedom. "Hey! What are you doing in there!" I pause to look at.... "Oh my god..." I mutter as the pegasus stallion flies up to me and confronts me. "What were you doing in there?" He asks as he folds his arms and stares at me. "Oh...uh, the guy who lives there was trying to lock me in a closet so I would starve to death." I say as I suddenly realize how stupid that sounds. "Right.... look. Miles is my marefriends neighbor, and according to her, Miles is a good guy. I don't believe you for a second..." "Your mare friend? But the tabloids say that you're single." I say as I put one and one together. "OH MY GO...." "SHHHHSH!" He says as he shoves a hoof in my mouth. "Look, I'll let you off the hook if you keep this to yourself..." "And an autograph!?" I ask/demand, smiling as best as I can to help convince him to agree. "*sigh* fine. An autograph to. You have a pen?" I look around and just smile some more. "Right, you don't have anything on you. Look, either go get something for me to sign or forget about it. I'm already late for meeting with Dash...." "OK! Uh... I'll be back here as soon as possible... don't go anywhere." I say as I take off and head for Ponyville. I need something he can use to sign... and something to sign. I can't believe HE'S here! We have to get some beers... though he did say he was here to see his marefriend. I think he said her name was Dash. Hmmm.... I don't know any Dash's. Whatever. I look around town, trying to find somewhere that could possibly have both the things I need. Well... I guess the Library could have both of the things I need. Plus I can meet this Spartan stallion. I bank to the left and start my decent towards the large library, making it to the door quickly. "Hello? Anypony here?" I ask as I step inside the library. I look around the room and start idly looking for anything that may have what I want. "Be right there." Says a slightly familiar voice from upstairs. I turn around and... "Spike?" "Night Fury! Whats up? Aw man, I haven't seen you in years! What brings you to Ponyville?" The little purple dragon says as he runs up to me. "Hey, I'm actually here for three things. I need something that I can get signed, a pen, and to find somepony that's a Spartan." I say as I look around the room some more. "Where's Twilight? I thought she was your care taker." "Oh, she is. But she had to go to Canterlot for a pop quiz. She actually should be back anytime now if you want to say hi." He says as he goes to a drawer and starts to go through it. "I'm actually in a hurry right now, I'll have to come back and say hi..." "SPIKE! GOOD NEWS! I PASSED!" Twilight yells from behind as she burst through the doors. She slides to a stop when she see's me and puts on a big smile. "Hey! I haven't seen you in awhile, what brings you to my Library...." "Night Fury?" Says some stallion behind her. I lean over and.... "Storm Cloud." I say through gritted teeth. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles I climb onto the balcony and shut off my magic. Walking up to the double doors, I take a moment to collect myself. Should I tell her about everything that happened the past few days? Maybe it would be better to leave certain details out... like my killing two ponies. At least for now. I open the door and walk inside.... "This isn't right." I say as I look around the room. The layout is exactly the same as Luna's, only the furbishing is different. Instead of being dark purple and black, the bed sheets are red and golden yellow. The desk has been painted white and contains several open books. Other then that, the rooms are exactly the same. I turn to leave the room when I paused and looked back at the books. Curiosity getting the better of me, I walk over and look them over. "Of course I can't read them, they're in pony text." I say as I flip through the pages of one. This one has a thin red lining on the outside and is dated on every page. What could this be? I lift it up and look at th.... CLICK Oh shit. I turn and run over to the door as it slowly starts to open. I get out as quickly as possible and launch myself to the other tower. I quickly get inside and slam the door shut, waking Luna up. "HUh!? What? Miles? *yawn* what are you..." "I might be in trouble." I say as I look at my hands and see the book. "Scratch that, you're in trouble." I say as I toss the book to her. As she catches it I look around for a hiding spot, choosing the nook by her bed. ".... why do you have Celestia's diary?" Luna asks me. "I.... well... to be honest, these towers all look the same..." "Miles." She says as she gets up and walks over to my horrible hiding spot. "What were you doing in my sisters room?" "I thought it was yours! I stepped in, went to leave... saw the book..." "And took it!? Nopony reads her diary! Its... her diary! This is an extreme invasion of her personal..." KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK We both freeze as a knocking comes from balcony doors. Luna looks to me before throwing the book at me. Before I could do anything, she runs over to the doors and opens them up. "Hiii Tia." Fuck. "OK Luna, funny prank, now where is it?" Celestia asks. "Where's what?" Luna asks, sounding slightly guilty. ".... seriously? Sister, your little pranks are fun and all, but this is a little too personal. Now may I please have my diary back?" "But I seriously don't have your diary..." "Then can I come inside and have a look around?" "No." Luna replies quickly. Nice Luna, nice. FLASH "Honestly sister. Sometimes I think you think everyday were Nightmare Night." She says as she walks around the room. I take a deep breath as I flare my hands and set an illusion spell on myself, hopefully this will work... I hope. "But I don't have it! What if one of the guards took it? Or what about one of the maids..... or Philomena." Luna says desperately as she follows her around. I look up to see Celestia look straight down at me... and tilt her head in confusion. "Uh... sister. Why is there guards armor in your room?" Luna walks over and looks at me as well, slightly shaking her head. "Um... I... wanted to try my hoof.... at.... enchanting?" She says as she walks over and sits beside me. OK... lines at elbows... hurry it up already. "Enchanting?" "Yes. I requested this from the guards before I went to sleep and... was... trying to figure out... hooow..... Miles made those strength buffs?" She says as she glances down to me then back to Celestia. "Strength buffs." She states simply. "Why would you want..." "Stronger guards of course!" Luna says, cutting Celestia off. "I once saw Storm Cloud do some... things that an average pony couldn't do, so I wanted to see if I could duplicate it for our guards." She says as she tries to put on a convincing smile. ".... and how is it going?" Celestia asks, genuinely interested. AW COME ON! I'm almost to my shoulders! "I haven't figured it out yet, but I won't give up yet. Well look at that, I technically should still be asleep. It was nice talking to you sister, but you know... nocturnal and all." "Oh.. of course. You know, it probably was Philomena. I need to go have a word with that pesky bird..." She says as she starts to turn away. "Wait." Luna says, getting her to pause. "Can I have a hug?" Oh now your just being mean. "Of course sister." She says as she walks over and embraces Luna. They hold each other for a bit until Celestia finally breaks the hug and starts to leave the room. "If you see it anywhere can you please bring it to me." She asks before leaving. "Will do." Luna says as she escorts her out. With them out of sight I release the spell and sigh in relief. "IIII love you sister." Luna says over my sigh. "I love you too sister. Well I won't keep you any longer. Sleep well." I wait for the door to shut before I sit up and look back to Luna with a large smile. "So, working on mimicking my enchantments eh?" I say as I pull myself onto her bed. She laughs a little as she runs over and jumps at me, knocking us both off the bed, with me landing on bottom. "You, are a jerk." She says before she gives me a kiss. "It's ok though, I'm your jerk." I say before I give her a kiss. She pulls away from me and stands up, moving back to the bed. I get up and lay beside her as she eyes the book. "Luna...." "Just a page...." "NO!" I say as I try to take the book away from her. We end up spending who knows how long wrestling around. Me trying to take the book from her as she tries to keep it away from me. "Come on! Just a page, please!" Luna says as I finally take the book from her. "No Luna. This is too..." "Please?" "Luna I said..." "Please?" "I said..." "I'll do anything you want." *eye brow raise* "Anything?" I ask to clarify. "Anything." She say as she gives me her bedroom eyes. "Oh sweet Barbra..." Chapter 119 Call Me MaybeChapter 119 Call Me Maybe Where to fucking start.... anything..... I think.... fuck! Well, yes, but I don't know where to start. Hmmm... "Well?" She asks as she scoots a little closer to me. "What's it going to be?" "Well... that depends. Are you in heat?" "Yeah... and?" Oh that just makes things better. "Alight. I want sex." I say, getting a wide smile from Luna. FWOOSH "But only human positions." I say, making her pause from jumping me. "Uh..... is there really a difference?" She asks, cocking her head to the side a bit. "Probably not." I say as I lean in and give her a quick kiss. "But in the end, does it really matter?" I lean forward again and start kissing her some more, pulling her into my embrace. We continue to make out as I pull my shirt off and start getting my pants off, getting some help from Luna. Once they're off I push Luna back and roll her over, so that she's lay on her stomach. I take a moment to admire her wings as she lifts her backside up a bit as she moves her tail aside, revealing the prize below. "This is a pony position." Luna says cutely as I get behind her. I just roll my eye as I grip her flanks and move my face to her slit. I give it a few tiny licks, making her squirm a bit. I continue to tease her until shut pushes her hips back, forcing me onto her. I give her a forceful kiss before I begin to lick her forcefully, making her sigh in relief. As I continue to swish my tongue around I begin to rub her flanks, loving their soft, yet firm feel. I pause a second to catch my breath when I see her clit. I take a few more breaths before get back to work, only this time I reach down and pinch her clit, making her gasp in surprise. As I continue to eat her out, I continue to play with her clit. Pinching it, twisting it between my fingers, anything that helps make her squirm. She lets out another gasp when I suddenly slide two of my finger inside her. Using my middle and index fingers, I start to move my hand in and out of her as I continue to lick her. I make sure to hit her clit with my other two finger as I go, getting loud pants from her as she begins to rock back and forth. I feel her juices starting to flow out as her pants turn to loud moans, all of this putting me on edge... I think I've earned some now. When I suddenly stop she looks back to me with pleading eyes. I just smile to her as I line myself up and push in. She closes her eyes in pure pleasure as she lays her head back down. I slide back and forth, slowly at first, as I grip her flanks for better leverage. As I begin to ram harder and harder into her, an audible slapping sound starts to ring over our moans and grunts. It feels as if my heart is going to burst from my chest as a cool layer of sweat builds over the both of us. With every thrust I make, Luna's right on beat with me, pushing back into me and pulling forward as I pull back. I begin to tighten my grip on her as I feel that numbing pressure building up within me, only making me want to push harder into her. "GRAAAAAHH!" I yell as I hit my climax, slamming even harder into her as I release inside her. She lets out a high pitched moan as I give my final thrusts into her, gripping the sheets tightly. I come to a stop and sit there for a second, panting as I hold myself inside her. I finally pull out and lay beside her as she holds her hips in the air. "M-miles?" She says as she opens her eyes and looks to me. "Can we try something... new?" "What do you have in mind?" I ask as she stands up and goes to her dresser. I force myself up and follow after her. "What's that?" I ask as she pulls out a book and starts to flip through the pages. "It's the pony sutra. Its a book on sex positions and spells.... there's one I want to try." She says as she finds the page she's looking for and begins to read. "I don't know Luna. Magic has... strange effects on me. Not everything goes the way it should." I say as I take a seat on her stool that's in front of her vanity mirror. "Well... how about I try it at half dosage, see what happens?" She says as she sets the book back inside the drawer. "What exactly is the spell suppose to do?" I ask as she starts to charge her horn. "Well... why don't I show you." She says as zaps me with her magic. I jump a little from the sudden magic as I feel the energy course through my body. "What exactly did that do?" I ask. I feel completely normal. She just smiles and lower her..... oh.... its an erection spell. I sigh in relief as Luna starts to lick my now throbbing member. This feels good.... this feels really good.... this feels better then it probably should. I need to fuck her... NOW. With out warning I pull her off of my member and toss her onto the desk. I stand up and wrap my arms around her legs as I slam inside her. "M-Miles!" Luna gasps as I continue to slam in and out of her. She leans back as I continue to pound her, not really having a set rhythm. Rather, I just trying to hit my own climax instead. I can't think straight right now. The only thing coursing through my mind is a burning urge to cum. I don't know what possessed me to do so, but as I held onto her with my left arm, I started jerking her horn off wit my right hand. PEW "What the?" I ask as I continue to thrust and jerk. The moment I had started working her horn, she shot off a blast of energy. Her eye's have rolled back as her tongue is sticking out to the right... I guess it's a good thing. As I start getting rougher with my movements, the desk starts to shake violently. What ever was on here has now been knocked off from Luna's wings as I thrash her back and forth. She's keeps trying to grab onto something as I feel her tighten up around my member. Sparks are flying from her horn as she starts to mumble incoherently. I know what this means. I pick up the pace, both below and on top, as I try to help her reach her peak. "AAAAAAHH!" She yells out as her orgasm sprays out. I continue to pump her as she begins to wiggle from side to side, gushing out all over my member. PEW Her horn shoots off again as it sends out sparkles and strands of blue energy. One of the strands touches my arm and fills me with a sudden wave of pleasure. "GRAH!" What ever that energy was, it had made me cum sooner then I would have liked. I slam into her as I shoot out the white strands into her. I finally let go of her horn and stop pumping her as my mind starts to clear up. I look up to her to see that she's staring up at the ceiling with her tongue still hanging out. I laugh a bit as I pick her up and take her back to the bed, laying her down gently. "You going to be alright?" I ask as I take my place beside her, wrapping my arms around her. "Hu...immabeood." She mumbles as she nuzzles her nose into my neck and drapes a wing a across me. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK "Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me." I say as I look back to the door. "Who the fuck jinxed it? Are going to be able to answer that?" I ask Luna. She just ignores me and holds me a bit tighter. Well... maybe if we just stay quiet they won't... "Luna?" Regina says as she opens the door and steps inside. "Oh hey Miles. Good to see you. How have you been?" She asks as she approaches the bedside and just smiles at us. "Uh... good... I guess... why are..." "That's good to hear." She says as she sits on the edge of the bed and looks over Luna. "So..." "Uh... do you mind? We were..." "Humping? Not really." Regina says as pokes Luna a couple times. I look down to her to see that she's out. "Uh..." "Oh! Right. Uh... griffins are a little... more open about things like this." She says as she stands up and walks around the room, inspecting the mess. "What do you mean?" I ask as I try to pry myself from Luna's grip, but find it impossible. "Well, we're just a more open about sex. We don't go out in public and do it.... always, but walking in on two in the act isn't seen as rude. I've done it before plenty of times." Does that make me part griffin? "It's just a simple part of life, nothing to be embarrassed about." She says as she pauses at Celestia's diary.... oh shit. "So!" I say as I sit up, bringing Luna up with me. I try to get her off, but end up just adjusting her so shes sitting in my lap, still nuzzling my neck. "What brings you here?" "Oh, right!" She says as she turns back to me. "Well, we recently had a few reports of Steelwing being spotted in Beakton..." "What." "He was spotted in Beakton heading towards Flionence..." "Count us in then." I say, getting a confused look from her. "The Spartan regiment." "Well... we were going to ask the Equestrians for assistance... but..." "I can guarantee that the mission will be a success. Let us prove to you what we can do." I say as I stare at her, trying my best to convey my determination. "Well... alright. I can give some Spartans clearance. But I still wish to ask for Equestria assistance, as an act of good faith." She says as she walks up to the desk and stares at the love stain. "Wow..." "Yeah..." "So... I won't intrude any longer. The boat leaves in two days at dusk. Have your troops at the Crescent docks and look for me." She says as she heads towards the door. "We'll be there." I say as I begin to stroke Luna's back. "So... I have to ask. I can see your penis and.... does it get bigger or..." "Regina." I say flatly. "Ok, Ok, I'll go... OH! The guards told me to tell you that they've covered for you two and that they would bring dinner in here... and that the moon needs to be raised in an hour." She says as she starts to open the door slowly. "I'll let her know. Thanks." She stands there for a moment, staring below me... "Regina." "BYE!" She says as she finally leaves the room. I sigh in relief... "Can I just..." "Regina!" "You're no fun!" She says as she finally leaves. I just shake my head as I lay back, having Luna lay on top of me. We've finally got that son of a bitch. I need to get the others and get to Flionence as soon as possible... "Miles?" Luna says sleepily as she looks up to me, eyes opening weakly. "Did I hear Regina?" "Yeah... listen. We've got somethings to talk about." I say as I rub her back a little. "Regina told me that they have a lead on Steelwing's location. So the Spartan regiment is heading to Flionence..." "What?" She says as she rubs her eyes and looks at me, becoming more serious. "I... I don't want you to go." She says as she hugs me tightly. "I have to go. I have to make sure that we get that son of..." "No!" She says as she tightens her hold on me. "I... I can't shake this feeling. As if something horrible is going to happen if you go. Please, don't go." She says as she starts to tear up. I just wrap my arms around her and stroke her mane, trying my best to soothe her. "I'm sorry, but I have to go." I whisper to her. "Why? Why do you have to be the one to go?" She says as she wipes her tears away. I bring a hand up to her cheek and wipe her it clean of tears, getting a soft smile in response. "If he really is there, then I have to go. If he got away... I wouldn't be able to rest easily. Ever. I need to see his corpse for myself. I need to know, without a doubt, that he is dead. I'm sorry... but I have to go." She takes a hold of my hand and rubs her cheek against it as she holds her eyes shut tightly. I just lay there, waiting for her response. "OK." She says as she finally looks me in the eyes. "Just... dress warmly. It's cold this time of year in Flionence." "I will." "And don't eat the fish. It's... just don't eat it." "Alright." "And try not to use your magic... unless you have to, then do it.... but in moderation." I gulp at this as I take her hoof in both my hands and kiss it. "That reminds me... while I was in Quartz Crest.... I... well..." "Did... did you go through another change?" She asks, to which I nod. "...... what happened this time?" She asks quietly. "Well... this is going to sound crazy, but... now... I can see... spirits." She raises an eyebrow to this but doesn't say anything. "I didn't even know spirits existed, but when I got back... I saw one. And it spoke to me, in Latin! It was asking about whether I believe in harmony or chaos and... well... things just got weird after that." "Miles... this is a lot to take in. Are you sure about what you're saying?" She asks seriously. I take a moment to think about it before I simply nod to her. "*sigh* OK. OK... it's going to be OK. We'll.... we'll just find a way to deal with this... one way or another." "Luna." I say, getting her attention. I pull her in and hold her close to me as I try to force this last part out. "My change... wasn't suppose to happen for another three months... it's happening faster then it should be." She buries her face in my chest as she gasps a few times from new tears. I just rub her back as I try to hold myself together. "Luna?" Celestia says from the door. "The guards told me that you weren't feeling good, is everything alright?" Luna picks herself up and tries to make herself presentable as she heads to the door. I jump up and stop her by the door. "I think now would be the best time to tell her." I say as I kneel in front of her. She sniffles a bit and gives me a kiss before facing the door and opening it. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Storm I just stand there as Night Fury just glares at me. "Uh... do you two know each other?" Twilight asks as she looks between the two of us "You could say that." I say as Night Fury marches straight to me and gets in my face. "Tell me why I shouldn't kick your flank for what you did to me." He growls to me. "What happened wasn't my fault. Sometimes... that just happens. Look..." "JUST HAPPENS!" He yells as he pushes me back and gets back in my face. "Becuase of you my beloved is dead! You took my family away from me Storm! I BUCKING HATE YOU!" He yells as he pushes even harder against me. "Look. I'm sorry for what happened to Rain Drop. If I could change how things happened, I would... but that's isn't how things work." I say calmly. He pushes me back a bit as he snorts a couple of times. Without another word he marches out of the room and slams the door behind him. I sigh as I look back to Twilight and Spike. "What was that about?" Spike asks, sounding a bit scared. "Well... remember how I told you all about my ex-marefriend from way back?" I say as I sit down. "Yeah." Twilight says as she walks up to me and nuzzles my cheek. "Night Fury was the one she was with. He blames me for her dying during birth... her and the foal." The room falls silent as I just sit there, remembering that awful day. "Why would he blame you for that?" Twilight asks as she sits beside me. I look up to her and sigh. "Well... you know me, I don't give up without a fight. But, at the time, he was a better fighter then me. So I would come back time and time again... it must taken a toll on Rain Drop." I sigh again as I feel my heart weigh me down. "I didn't mean to have anything happen to her, I just... I didn't want to be alone." I look over as Twilight leans against me, laying her head against mine. "It's alright." She says quietly. "I know you didn't mean for any of this to happen, you're a good stallion. But you're going to have to find Night Fury and make amends with him. You can't just let him sulk around with that hatred, it'll destroy him." "I know... I'll find him..." "Not now though. Right now he needs to cool off. Look for him tomorrow." She says as she wraps me up in a hug. I return the hug as I look to the side. Spike is just standing there, holding his hands as he looks around awkwardly. I reach out to him and pull him in for a hug as well, getting him to hold onto us tightly. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles "BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Regina roars as she rolls around in a fit of laughter. Luna and I just stare at her as she tries to hold her side together. Fucking asshole. "I'm putting some pants on." I say as I walk back inside. I pick up my pants and take a seat on the stool as I start to put them on. "That wasn't funny Regina." Luna says as she walks over and to me and stands at my side. "I'm sorry-I'm sorry *giggles* I'm *more giggles* I'm dying!" She mutters as she stands back up and wipes a few tears away. "OK.... Ok... I'm good now. I'm good. So... Luna... are you going to raise the moon or not?" She asks as she steps inside. Luna just sighs and walks out to the balcony, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek before doing so. I Lean back and watch as she gets to work moving the moon onto it's proper path. She seems so at peace when she does this. As if there isn't anything else in the world that could take this away from her. "So... did I cock block?" Regina asks, sounding almost hopeful. "You more of heart blocked." I say as I lean back, resting my elbows on the desk behind me. "Aw, that sounds like deep emotional stuff. Look, I'll make it up to you though." She says as she takes a seat beside me. "And how exactly are you going to do that?" I asks as I glance over to her. "You'll see." She says as she grows an evil smile. I look back to Luna as she finishes up and heads inside, closing the door behind her. "So Regina..." "I'm calling in that favor." Regina says, getting Luna to stop in her tracks and go wide eyed. "Now!? Bu-bu-but...." "No buts, you owe me. Now go please your stalli....er... your Miles." She says confidently. "What." We both say as we stare at her. Please her what? What's going on? "Now?" Luna asks as she stares at Regina. "Yes." "With... you in the room?" "... I would like to stay, but the point is to please Miles and...." She pauses to look over to me and size me up. "Yeah...blow his virgin mind for me." She says as she begins to head to the doors. "Uh... not a virgin." I say. "But... I just did..." Luna says. "OK, do it again. Unless you want me to rip up your friend card." Regina asks as she pauses at the door. "*sigh* you're lucky I'm in heat or I'd kick you flank." Luna says as she glares at Regina. OK, now I'm starting to feel a little offended. "Yeah... HAVE FUN!" She says as she bolts out of the door. "OK, what was that all about?" I ask as Luna walks over to me and stares at me. "Well... I'd rather not go too into detail. Basically, she did me a favor on my bachelorette party and... I owe her one." "So... now you have to do what I say to please me?" I ask as a smile grows on my face. "Yeah... I'm going to cheat on this one though." She says with a sly smile as she charges her horn. "Wait wa-*ZAP* FUCK!" I yell as I feel the energy course through my body... again. I feel that burning start to grow down below... I need to fuck something right now! Before I could say anything, Luna had jumped up onto my lap and started to kiss me passionately. I wrap my arms around her as she drapes her hooves over my shoulders. I feel her magic pull my pants off as she starts to grind her hips against me. I try to push myself inside, but can't get underneath her. "What's the matter? Want something?" Luna asks as she plants a kiss on my lips. "I think I'll tease you a bit before I give it to you." She says before kissing me again, forcing her tongue into my mouth. Our tongues wrestle with one another until I grab onto her wing joints, making her gasp in surprise... and lift up enough. When she falls back down I position myself to slide inside, getting a surprised gasp from her. I try to thrust into her, but this position makes it harder to do, so I just go back to kissing her, knowing that she'll get bouncing eventually. After what feels like an eternity of waiting I decide to take actions into my own hands by twisting on her joints again, getting her to bounce. I stop kissing her and realize a way to take advantage of this. I begin twisting on her joints, making her bounce up and fall back down. With every twist she lets out a small moan, eventually bouncing on her own. Every time she comes back down we share a quick kiss before she pushes herself back up, just out of reach. I begin to lose myself even more from the sensory overload. Her soft lips brushing against mine, her chest rubbing against my chest, the heat slowly building below. I need more. I tightly gran onto her flank and start to aggressively assist her in her movements, pulling her down quickly and picking her as soon as she comes completely down on me. SLAP "OW... Miles!" Luna says after I had given her a slap on the ass. SLAP "AH! Please... not so rough." She asks as she starts to pant. I go to do it again, only to find that she's holding me down with her magic. Two can play this... FLASH ...game, or not. Before I could do anything she had teleported us to the bed, with her on top and my arms underneath me. She sits up on me and gets back to bouncing up and down on me with me thrusting below. Her bouncing is nice, but I need more! I try to move my hands, but find them still being held by her. I flare my hands and try to focus on grabbing her horn, being distracted by the moans from above me. "AAAAAH!" She yells when I finally take a hold of her horn. Shes stop bouncing and is staring at me, wide eyed and... scared? Her horn is still glowing, but my hands are free. I take this chance to take the top position. I twist to the left and send her to her side. I lift up her leg and hold it against my chest as I push back inside her, getting a loud moan from her. As I start thrusting like a mad man, I also move my right hand back and forth, jerking horn along with me. All of this is making Luna absolutely lose it. With every push forward she lets out a small scream as her horn sparks out energy. Her wings are sprawled out and shes pulling all of the sheet towards her as she tries to grab something. I shake my head and focus. My hearts racing as I feel sweat rolling down me. I can't really feel myself below. Rather, just a numbness that I'm trying to ram feeling back into it. PEW "AAAAA!" Luna screams as she hits her orgasm, hard. She thrashes back and forth as I continue to pump her. I watch as the blue strand seeks me out and... "GAH!" I yell as I hit my climax when the strand of energy touched me. I slam into her a couple of times until I start to feel my mind clear up. I look over to my hand and shut off my magic, getting a moan from Luna as she stops convulsing and drops down, panting loudly. I take a few breaths before I look down...... what the? Blood? Why would Luna be bleeding from... oh shit... "Oh my..." I look back to see Regina sitting in the corner, smoking. "That... was... amazing." She says slowly. "Regina? What were you doing there?" "Mmmm, I liked it THIS much." She says as she lifts up a claw and separates two fingers, having a strand of clear liquid string out between them. I ignore her and look back to Luna and start to worry. Why would she have bleed? What did I do to her? Is she going to be alright? "Luna... are you OK?" I ask. She just keeps staring up at the ceiling as she tries to get her breathing under control. "She'll be fine." Regina says as she walks up to the side of the bed and takes a look, crushing up whatever she was smoking and tosses it aside. "OK virgin, the blood is just you cracking her hymen..." "But I already did that! What if...." "Look, don't worry." She says calmly, cutting me off. "Look, she's fine. Just a little sexed. You didn't do anything wrong to hurt her... besides maybe smacking her ass, but she seemed to enjoy that. Just, next time you do it, don't do it so hard." She says as she heads to the door. "But... but... but..." "Heh, it's OK virgin, you did good. Just take a shower and wait for her to tell you so. I'm... going to go wash my shame...... BYE!" She says before bolting through the door. I look back to Luna to see that she's fallen asleep. I rub her stomach a bit before I decide to follow Regina's advice. I get up from bed and look around for her restroom... does she even have one? Where the fuck does she go to the bathroom? Well... shit. With nothing better to do I go around the room and clean everything up. When I finish up I start getting dressed. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK "Excuse me sir, but I have dinner for the two of you." A guard says from behind the door. I go back to Luna and lay a blanket over her before I go to the door and open it up. The area behind this door is a narrow stairwell that leads down and around the tower. A single unicorn night guard stand in front of me with a tray of food. To his left is a single unicorn guard, trying not to look me in the eye. "Shouldn't there be two guards here?" I ask as I take the tray. "There were. Ambassador Regina took the other one." Says the guard to the left. I try to understand what he meant until I see his erection. "I need to sound proof these doors." "Very good sir." I shut the door and head back inside, setting the tray down on the night stand beside the bed. I take a seat beside her and watch her sleep, gently rubbing her back as I do so. She seems to be at peace. No pain tremors, squints of discomfort, maybe Regina was right. But if that's the case... how poorly have I've been performing then? "Miles?" She says weakly as she looks up to me. "Hey." "Hey, the guards brought us some food." I say, making her look over to the tray. "So... how do you feel?" I ask nervously. "My legs are numb, but other then that, good." She says as she stretches out a bit. "How are you?" "I'm good." I say as I stop rubbing her back. "Luna... I... did something to you. Just now. You... uh.." "Let me explain." She says as she puts a hoof to my lips. "When you grabbed me with you magic, you change my spell. You forced me to... well... you basically filled me up." She says as she lowers her hoof and waits for my response. "Filled you up... so, every other time has been.... unsatisfactory." "Not at first. But, time after time I would sometimes... cheat. I'm sorry Miles, but you're physically different. It's just that, now you can't... you know... get me there without some help." I take a deep breath as I think about this. "I'm sorry Miles." "No, it's alright. I understand. Humans are naturally smaller then ponies. It's perfectly understandable that you would want more." Luna sits up and gives me a hug, which I return right away. I feel a little emasculated, but I can't deny the biological differences. "Are you leaving?" She asks as she holds onto me. "Not if you don't want me to." I say as I rub her back. She gives me a kiss on the cheek before letting go of me. She levitates the tray over to reveal a large fruit salad and two sandwiches. "Lets eat, then read Celestia's diary." She says as she levitates some fruit up and brings it to my mouth. I turn away try my best to avoid the food as she tries to feed me. "Miles..." "I can't have that." I say, making her stop. "Can't you see the strawberries?" I say as I point to one. She looks to it, then the bowl, before setting the food down. "Right, sorry. Let's just eat the sandwiches then." She says as she lifts one up and takes a bite. I pick up the other one and look inside to see that it's filled with flowers.... of course it is. I look to Luna before giving it a try.... "Why does life hate me?" I say as I set the sandwich down. Luna looks to me and sets her sandwich down. "I'm sorry Miles..." "It's alright. It's not your fault. I'm just... complicated." I say with a sigh. Luna wraps me up in another hug as she nuzzles the side of my head. "I like complicated things." She whispers to me. I just sigh and hug her back. "I love you Miles. Not matter what. You know that, right?" "Yeah, I know. I love you to." She looks to me as she puts a hoof to my cheek. I move my hand behind her head as we stare into each others eyes. We both lean in and share a kiss, holding each other lightly. "Now lets read Celestia's deepest, most personal thoughts." She says as she hops off the bed and grabs the book. "You sound too happy about that." I say as I lay back in the bed. "Mm jush muriush." She says with the book in her mouth. I just raise an eye brow as she lays beside me. "Besides, what if she put something in here that could be useful?" She says as she flips to the first page and starts to read. "What exactly would she be hiding from us?" I ask as I wrap an arm around her. She flips through a few pages, silently reading them. "Uh... care to read aloud?" "Uhuh." She says as she flips to the next page. That's just unfair. "I was right, she was still afraid of me until almost a year ago." She says as she turns the page. "Becuase of the whole Nightmare Moon thing?" "Yeah... she was afraid that I would have remnant thoughts of making eternal night. But only recently put those worries to rest." She turns the page and pauses for a second. "What's up?" I ask as I try to suddenly learn to read Pony text. "The dates skip to only a few months ago. Same time when you showed up. She must only right in here when she's stressed out." She says as she flips through a few more pages, pausing to re-read something. "Something wrong?" I ask as I see the troubled look on her face. She slams the book shut and tosses it aside. She gets up and paces around, fuming with rage. "Whoa, whats wrong Luna?" I ask as I stand up and stop her from marching around. "She thinks that when she separated the two of us that I turned into Nightmare Moon! She thinks that my pure form is tainted and that you helped bring out some 'darker part of my troubled past'! That... that..." She says as she scrunches her face up in anger. Oh sweet Barbra, she going to cuss. "That... silly filly!" "OK, I'm going to have to teach you to cuss cause that was just weird." "She thinks my mind isn't right! That I only want you becuase she says I can't have you! She even mentioned keeping royal duties from me until after you pass away! Can you believe that! Wh-" "Luna!" I say, getting her to stop ranting. "It's alright." "How could you say that it's alright!? She...." "Becuase I know she's wrong." I say, cutting her off. I kneel down and lightly place my hands on her cheeks, getting her to look me in the eyes. "Look, she's seeing things from a perspective that has many things being hidden from her. She's using only bits and pieces of information to make these theories... you know what you should do?" I ask as a smile grows on my face. "What?" She asks nervously. "You should start going to breakfast and dinner in your pure form. Start fucking with her mind." "Miles... what if she freaks out?" "What is she going to do?" I ask as I stand up as cross my arms. "What if she tries to use the Elements of Harmony on me again?" She asks nervously. "You mean this one?" I ask as I shake my arm. "Not to mention that I don't think the girls would just shoot you out of the blue. They would try to talk to you first." She thinks about it for a second before she removes her bracelet and closes her eyes. FLASH When I regain my sight, I'm standing face to face with Luna in her pure form. She rubs her arm as she blushes a bit. I didn't think you would be able to see blushing through her black coat. "What do you think?" She asks nervously. "Beautiful." I say as I look over her body. "Hey, eyes up here." She says, making me look back to her face. "Right. Well... OH! Before I forget... again, I have something for you." I say as I dig into my pockets and present her with the phone. "Your phone?" "Nope. Your phone." I say as I try to hand it to her. She eyes it a bit before she takes it with her magic. The instant her magic envelopes it, it powers up and goes to the home screen. "What exactly do I do with this?" She asks as I pull my phone out and call her. She jumps a little when it starts ringing, but I show her what to do with it. "Uh... what now?" She asks as she holds it to her ear. "Now we just talk." I say into my phone, making her jump. "I heard you!" She says excitedly. "I know." I say as I hang up. "So... you know. Call me maybe." A/N: Shout out to Lolz anonymous for picking dinner, Camo flash for picking the number of orgasms, and Sembrbrony217 for picking how much of the of the diary they read (all of it). Thanks for reading and Brony on! Chapter 121 Just In TimeChapter 121 Just In Time Once Luna had hung up I had to take a moment to collect myself. I don't want to be separated for this long, but if she believes that this will help make Celestia understand, then I'll support her on this. I take a final few breaths before heading back inside. I walk to the living room to see that Storm and Twilight are now missing. Fluttershy, Big Mac and Applejack are in a group hug as the others are just talking to themselves quietly. "Where did Storm and Twilight go?" I ask. "They went upstairs a bit ago." E'Claire says quietly. I nod to her before I go around and head up stairs. I swear if I find them fucking in my bed again I'm going to kick Storm's ass. I go to my room and open the door to find Twilight and Storm sitting in the middle of the room, hugging. Storm seems beyond happy while Twilight is crying lightly. "Uh.... everything alright?" I ask as I step in. "Yeah... better even." Storm says as he gives Twilight a kiss on the cheek. "Is there any way Storm can stay behind..." "Absolutely not. I'm going to need my lieutenant on this one. Sorry, but we're all going on this one." I say, making Twilight hug him a little tighter. "I'll give you two a few moments, but we leave in.... forty five minutes." I say before I leave the room. I head back down stairs and go straight to the map. I really need to learn to read Pony text, I have no fucking clue what I'm looking at. "So... is this the end of the meeting or is there more?" Butterscotch asks as she approaches me. "Well, basically. Hey, you know where Beakton and Flionence are? I cant read pony text..." "You cant read?" She asks in astonishment. Ah fuck... its orientation all over again. I shake my head and continue to stare at the map until she uses her magic to make two points appear on the map. "Beakton is here, at the top of the Griffin state Birtalia. Flionence is at the bottom of the peninsula. You're going to have to cross the Divide, get over the Bridge and then either cross through the Great Lake or through the Griffin Colonies. At best... five weeks." "Hmm... I'll do it in three days." I say as I turn away from the map and head towards the back. "Three days! That's physically impossible! There's no way you're going to be able to get through the Divide that quickly... its just... impossible!" She says as she follows after me. "Hows Moosden? Is there anything that needs to be brought to my attention?" I ask as I step out back and head towards my jeep. "Are even listening to me?! You will not get there in three days..." "Have you and E'Claire taken all of the supplies from the guard barracks to re-supply Moosden? I don't want you guys running out while I'm gone." I say as I pop the hood and check over the engine. "AAAGH, yes! We did that yesterday. Food, blankets, and basically everything that we were able to put on our back are now in Moosden." "Good. I want you to take all of the weapons and set them aside. When we get back I'll be taking most off them. Other then that, keep an eye on the surrounding area and stay out of trouble." I say as I shut the hood and begin to head back to my house. Butterscotch mumbles something to herself as she follows after me. I head inside and find everyone talking loudly to one another. I walk past them and head upstairs to my room. I walk inside and go to my closet where I begin to put my armor and weapons on. Once I have everything on, I grab my satchel and fill it with some spare clothes and some money. "So... are we expected to defend Moosden or is that a figure of speech thing?" I look back to see that Butterscotch is still standing there, looking around nervously. "Your life will fall before Moosden. That is the price of your error..." "But I didn't do anything wrong!" "But you didn't do anything to stop something wrong from happening." I say, silencing her. "You were a guard. You were suppose to protect them from people, not let them be extorted. If you can't do this, then I'll be sure you learn your lesson the hard way. And one more thing." I say as I approach her, making her shy away from me. "Running, is a very bad idea. Can you do this?" "Well..." She says as she looks away and rubs her arm. "I don't know. This is a lot to take. I don't know right now becuase I've never had to deal with anything like this before. Being a guard was... I didn't really work ever..." "Then I think you should stay." I say, making her look back up to me. "You lack responsibility. Discipline. This will force these things onto you. You will fail at first, but in time, I believe that this will help forge a strong foundation for your life. You need this. Can I count on you?" She looks away again as she thinks deeply about what I said. I place my hand on my revolver as I wait for her answer, hoping she doesn't do something stupid. "*sigh* I'll try." She says as she looks back to me with a smile. "That's all I ask." I say before I glance down at my phone. "I need to get going, think about what I said." I say before I walk past her and head down stairs. "Suit up." I say to Big Mac and Storm, getting the girls to tear up as they walk away from them. "I'll keep an eye on them, do my best to get them back in one piece." I say to them as they hug each other. "Thank you." Fluttershy says as she holds onto Twilight and Applejack. "Ya better bring mah brother back." Applejack says as she wipes her tears away. "You're all going to miss Spikes birthday." Twilight says she looks up to me. "Well... we'll just have to do something special when we get back." I say as I glance back to see Bantler and the others leaving. "You just tell Pinkie to save her party *shiver* A-game for when we get back, alright." She just wipes her tears away and nods to me. I sigh as I go to the kitchen and fill the rest of my bag with food. Once I finish, I hear the armored clanking of the others walking down the stairs. I walk over wait for them to say their final goodbyes. "Just.... remember what I told you and make it back here, OK?" Twilight says to Storm as she hugs him. "I will. I'll be back before you know it. I love you." He says as he hugs her back lightly, trying to keep his grieves out of her mane. "You'll be OK without me fer awhile. Iffin ya get lonely, just go ta the farm and find AJ." Big Mac says as he hugs the both of them. "AJ, Imma countin on ya ta watch after Shy while Ah'm gone. Keep her safe fer me." "Ah will big brother. You just stay safe and get here before the next harvest." Applejack says as she holds onto him. "Big Mac..." Fluttershy whimpers as she holds him. "Spartans." I say, getting their attention. "It's time." They both nod to me and follow me out back, leaving their crying families behind. We get into the jeep and take off without saying a word. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Seven Hours Later We sent the trip in complete silence. I don't know about them, but I'm just trying to keep a clear head about the mission. I don't know what to expect, but if its the Darkness, I can only hope to find one of their leaders. If we can take one of them out or even capture them, we could avoid something traumatic in the long run. But, that's just hopeful thinking. I expect some kind of twist where those assholes slip through my fingers, which is why I need to get there as soon as possible. The sooner I can get there, the sooner I can spring their trap. The trip was made longer by my stopping periodically stopping to create communication towers. I think I made some eight or nine, which should be enough. These things help boost each others signals, so after four or five I was fine, I just wanted to make sure. Not only do I want to be able to speak with Luna, if Moosden calls, I need to be able to answer. Luna. I seriously hope she knows what she's doing with Celestia. I don't like having to keep my distance from her... though I'm leaving anyway to another country to go fight the very people threatening us... its different. This is to stop someone evil from hurting others. What Luna wants is... to... well... its different. "There's Crescent Cove." Storm says idly as we come to the top of a hill. Below us is a fairly small village. Most of the wooden houses or businesses are crammed together near the shore, where three long walkways stretch out into the shore. The only ship connected right now is a fairly large ship. Spotted all around the ship are griffins going about their work. Cleaning, tying down ropes, moving supplies. "We'll get out here." I say as I turn off the engine and step out. I move to the back where I open up the benches and hand out their weapons. Once done, I bury the jeep a foot underground and set the Spartan logo on the ground a marker. "Hold on guys, I need to speak to you." I say, stopping them from walking off to the ship. "What's up?" Storm asks as they face me. "I suspect that there is going to be a fight, a real fight, in Flionence. Remember your training and keep your causes at heart. They will keep you alive. Trust me on that." They both nod to me so I continue. "Now, if you happen across any possible leaders, first priority is to capture. But if your life is at risk, do not hesitate to kill them. I prefer live soldiers over live prisoners. We're still on mid alert, so fire when fired upon. Watch each others backs, and make them suffer." They give a final nod before following after me. As soon as we walked into the busy little village, everything seemed to fall silent. Everyone just watched us walk through the main street of the town, heading towards the docks. Some ran inside, but most just watched with wide eyes as we marched on. I can't really blame them though. A human and two armored and buff as fuck ponies just walked into their quiet little town. "Miles!" Regina yells as she flies down from the ship to greet us. "A day early, I like that. So, where'e the rest of your squad?" She asks as she looks over Storm and Big Mac. "This is it." I say, getting a confused look from her. "Really? Well... OK then. Um... we just need to wait for... the... Equestrian forces to show up and... wow you are buff." She says as she walks up to Storm. "Hi, I'm Regina." "I'm married." Storm replies flatly. "Is it an open marriage?" She asks hopefully. Storm just shakes her head and flies up to the deck of the ship. "Is that a no?" She asks as she looks back to me. "Yeah, its a no." I say as I walk past her. "Eeyup." Big Mac says as he follows after me. We walk up the plank and take a look around the massive ship. It looks about two hundred meters long and twenty meters wide. Oddly enough, it has no masts. Instead it has two large nesting areas that have some cloth folded up inside. Below the nests of cloths are large stone furnaces. Judging by the height of the ship, I'd say there are three floors below us. "Impressive, isn't she?" Regina asks as she lands beside us. "Say hello to G.C.S. Moonless." "Where are the masts?" I ask as we start to walk around the deck. "Masts? Miles, this is an airship. Those cloths will act like balloons and lift us into the air. We'll be able to move at about forty miles an hour." She says as I look into the large furnaces, that now make sense. "Forty miles... so... about sixty kilometers then. Beats going by sea." I say as we move to the next one. "Would this happen to be a war ship?" Storm asks. "Yes. We have sixteen windless crossbows on the second floor and four drop hatches for alchemic bombs..." "Whats yer load out?" Big Mac asks as we walk to the left side of the vessel and look over the edge, seeing the hatches for the cross bows. "Incendiary, high explosive, stuff like that. The crossbows are standard bolts on them, though they can fire anything that'll fit really. Not to mention that every crew member is a soldier of the Griffin Colony air force." Regina says as we look over the edge. "Miles?" I look back to see Shinning Armor walking up the plank in his purple Armor. "What are you doing here?" "You can always find Spartans in the fight for good." I say as I walk over to him and shake his hand... hoof. I look behind him to see a group of about thirty ponies walking up the plank. Twenty of them are royal guards, ten are in Day armor while ten are in night armor. There's also a group of ten in what looks like black Kevlar armor... what the... "I assume that you are Miles Eremita." Says a unicorn as he walks up to me. He's seems to be mostly dark red with a few random blue strips on his legs and face, with black hair. His thick black clothing covers up his mark. His horn seems to have been filed down to end in a point... ow? He has bright yellow eyes and seems... aloof. "You found me." I say as the rest of the ponies get on board. "What can I help you with?" "Princess Celestia had hired my outfit to assist you. Both here and later on." "Wait... what?" I stare at him for a second, trying to see if he's serious. Damn... Luna must work fast if Celestia's already trying to protect me. "Well... thanks for the assist, but I don't think you'll be much help..." "Trust me. We can get any job done. The names True Will, and we're the Ursas' Mercenary outfit." He says as the rest of the black armored ponies rank up behind him. I glance back to Storm and Big Mac before looking back to him. "Contractors." I say bitterly. "Right.. look, here's the deal. I allow for your assistance on this, just be sure to stay out of our way. We wouldn't want anything to happen to you civilians." I say as I pet his head a few times. He just glares at me as some pegasis mare behind him giggles at him. I glance back at their ranks and then back to him. "Well..." "Don't worry about us. We always get the job done, no matter the cost." He says before walking past me. I just laugh to myself as the group walks past the three of us. This is going to be interesting. "What was that about?" Shinning asks as he walks up to me and follows me over to the railing. "Ends up Celestia hired some private contractors to watch over me." "Really.... that's... odd." He says as we both lookout to the horizon. "What do you know about the mission so far?" "That its a farce. I know Steelwing, he's smarter then this. He only showed up to reel me in." "Then why are you going. If it's obviously a trap, then wouldn't it be smarter to avoid it?" "Sometimes. But they forgot something important." I say as look back to him. "What good is a trap, if the one being trapped knows there's a trap?" ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Twilight Once everypony had left, we decided to hang out and try to comfort one another. So now we're raiding Miles's fridge for lunch. "Ah could use a drink." AJ says as shut looks through the shelves. "This is too much fer me. What about you Shy?" "Oh.. um... maybe a bit.. just a sip... maybe." Fluttershy says as she slowly hides behind her hair. "What about you Twi? Want ta get something light?" "Uh... I can't drink right now." I say as I try to avoid her gaze. Please don't push this AJ. "Why not?" Of course. "I just can't." "Uh... is there a reason? Or do ya just not want ta get a drink? I mean, it is early an all.." "I don't want to, sorry AJ." I say as I look to her and try to convince her. She stares at me for a second before she glances to Fluttershy. "Really. You don't want to." She says as she steps towards me. Oh dear... "Yes." I say as I step away from her. "Really?" She says as she continues to approach me. "Maybe." "Really." "OK fine! I would love a drink right now! But I can't." I say when I had touched the wall behind me. "Why can't you?" Fluttershy asks as she walks up beside Applejack. "Well....cause...*mumble*..." I say as I look away and rub my arm. "What was that?" Fluttershy asks as they both step closer. "I said...*louder mumbles*." "Dangit girl jus spit it...." "I SAID CAUSE I'M LATE!" ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Storm Once everyone was settled in it was decided to leave early. I was a little excited to see this hunk of junk move. I've got the princible down, its a dirigible. Or at least I think it is... "Give me some lift griffins!" Yells Lars Sharpbeak, Regina's commander. He has brown fur and all black feathers with grey eyes. He's marching around the deck yelling orders at the griffins as the fill the balloons with hot air. They've actually expanded all of the way, making the length of the ship triple. As the furnaces send massive plumes of fire into the openings of the balloons, griffins would throw in different materials made to not only burn hotter, but for longer. "Miles, could you come with me please? We need to form a plan of attack." Regina asks Miles as she heads to the stairs below. Miles looks back to me and Big Mac before heading after her. "OYE! Earth pony, mere." Yells one of the mercenary unicorns as soon as all of the commanders disappeared. Big Mac and I look to one another before sighing. This won't end well. "You mere." Big Mac yells back to him, making him roll his eyes. Him, along with four of his mercenary friends, came trotting right up to us, wearing smug smiles. "What are you doing here? You're going to get hurt earth pony." I look around and notice that Big Mac is the only earth pony here.... unless you count Miles... actually, he's more of a unicorn. "An whys that?" Big Mac asks. "Dude, this thing isn't going to land. Without magic or wings you're kind of useless...." CRACK Before he could finish, Big Mac had grabbed him by his shirt and headbutted him, knocking him out. "Anypony else gotta problem with me?" He asks as he advances on the others. "Yeah, I do." Says a sandy tan pegasis mare. She has a mane that has several shades of tan in it, light grey eyes, and ha her mane up and under a black hat. As she walks up she blows a bubble from her chewing gum until it pops; then continues to chew. When she gets in Big Macs face the other just groan and look away. "Dammit newbie, get out of here Dust Devil." Says one of the other unicorns to her. He's all black with red hair and yelloow eyes. "Newbie?" I ask as I look over to Big Mac. "How much experience do any of you have?" "I've..." Start Dust devil, only to get pulled back by one of the other mercenaries. "None of your business! Look, we've been hired to watch after the three of you, and we think that it would be best for the earth pony to watch the ship. You're just going to get in the way." He says as he glares at Big Mac. "Boomy, you're being an ass." Dust Devil says, only to get mean looks from everypony. "Whats going on here?" Asks an orange pegasis with golden tipped wings, the black armor, and a green cap. As he walks up, all of the mercenaries stand at attention. "Well?" "Just some friendly advice for the earth pony Camo Flash sir!" Says the unicorn. "Your subordinates seem to think that my private here can't handle himself here." I say as I look to Camo Flash. "Lieutenant Storm Cloud, Spartan Regiment." I say as I shake hooves with him. "Lieutenant Camo Flash, Ursas' Mercenaries." He says as he ends our shake. "I've heard about you fellas. That Diamond Dog attack sounded like hell." "It was unfortunate, but we ended with a mission success." I say matter of factly. I look over to see that Big Mac is still staring daggers at Boomy. "Stand down Big Mac..." "You don't want to get hurt." Boomy finishes. Here we go... "That it. Imma kick yer ass." Big Mac says as he starts to take his grieves off, making the unicorn laugh. "Boomy, shut the buck up. Storm Cloud, control your pony..." "Mmm... naw. I'd like to show everypony what a trained Spartan can do." I say as I back up. "What!? But..." "Dude, Camo, I've got this." Boomy says as his back up backs away from him. Big Mac undoes a few latches and pulls his armor off.... FWOOSH Everypony looks back to Dust Devil as she stares at Big Mac, eyes wide and wings erect. "Dust Devil! Control yourself!" Barks Camo. "But.... muscles." She says as she continues to stare. Big Mac ignores her and gets in Boomy's face, dwarfing the doomed pony. "Make your move." He growls at Big Mac, who only snorts at him. They stare at each other for what feels like an eternity, until Boomy made his move. He started to have his horn glow, but stopped when Big Mac had grabbed it and started to punch him across the face. As soon as they started fighting a crowd formed around them, cheering them on as they placed bets. After a few powerful punches he twists around and slams him onto his back. From there he backs away and waits for him to get up. "Git up maggot!" He mocks as Boomy slowly gets up. Before he could get to his hooves. He lets out a primal scream as he charges at Big Mac, who only waits for him to close the distance. Boomy had meant to tackle Big Mac, but once he slammed into him, he just fell back onto his haunches. Big Mac just shakes his head as he rears up and picks his up by his horn. He walks over to the railing where he holds him off the edge. "WHAT THE BUCK! THIS ISN'T FUNNY, LET ME BACK ON!" Boomy yells as he tries to latch onto Big Macs arm. "Wheres yer magic now bitch?!" Big Mac yells at him as he continues to hold him out there. "I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! LET ME BACK ON NOW!" Big Mac yells out as he tosses him across the deck. He rolls a bit until he comes to a stop. He tried to get up, but stopped when Miles had stepped on his throat.... oh shit. .................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles I sigh as I look down at the pony beneath my foot. I want to feel bad, but he was getting pretty racy, so I think I'll teach him a lesson. "What's your name." I ask as I add pressure to his throat. I as add pressure to him, I pull out my trench knife and start to look it over, making him go wide eyed. "I.... can't..... breath..." He gurgles as I choke him. "OK I can't breath, let me give you a little friendly reminder. You're a private contractor. We're soldiers. You get paid too pretend to do the things we do on a regular basis. Make that mistake again, and I'll teach you the difference, are we green?" "Super green." He mumbles back to me. I slap his cheek a few times before getting off of him. He gasps for air as he crawls away from me. "GET BACK TO WORK!" Yells Lars as he walks past me and towards all of the griffins. "SPARTANS! RUNNING SETS, GO!" I yell, making the two of them start running along the edge of the ship. "URSAS! MOVE YOUR WORTHLESS FLANKS!" Yells True Will, making all of the mercenaries start to move. "WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT? GET MOVING!" Shinning yells as all of the gawking guards. Once we had gotten everyone moving, we all stepped back under to get back to the meeting. The first floor is basically a long wooden hallway with doors lining the both sides of the hall. We all walk down to the fist door on the left and head inside to the meeting room. The room only has a large, low, round desk that has a map of the Griffin Colonies on it. Red tapestries cover the walls as well as a few chairs. "Now that we're all back, lets get back to the task at hand." Regina says as she gets out her chair and looks over the map. We all take positions around and look on with her. "Our scouts spotted him moving from Beakton, crossed off here, towards Flionence, circled here. Our course will drop us off below the city and we'll march in from there. Our plan is to pincer the city and, if time allows, wait for him to show himself. If in a day he doesn't show up we'll have to meet up with the city guard and scour the town. If not, then we move in on him. Any questions?" "Any intel on the forces he moving with?" I ask as I look over the map. "He was spotted with twenty other members. We have no intelligence on what to expect at... where ever it is that he's going to." Lars says. "The Griffins will take the left flank while the Equestrians take the right." Regina says, looking around the room. "The Terradisians will... what will the Terradisians do?" "Hmm... I will send my private with the griffins while my Lieutenant goes with the Equestrians. I will drive through the center and attempt to gain access from the side. If that fails, I'll regroup with the Equestrians." "Ok, I'll assist you." Regina says as with a smile. "What about the Ursas?" "We will split evenly to assist the Terradisians. I'll go with Miles while my lieutenant goes with the Equestrians and the rest with the griffins." True Will says from his chair. "Excellent. Since this operation is taking place in the Griffin Colonies, we get priority on the prisoners. We will share any and all information gathered. It should take us about three days to get there, rest up... you'll need it." A/N: Shout out to Camo Flash, BBB, and Fyreghost for having the first OC's appear in the story. If you wish to submit an OC, go to my blog. Please read the entire entry before submitting and please do not chat there. Brony on! Chapter 122 Fort MiseryChapter 122 Fort Misery Wednesday, November 14th. 10:32 AM "ONE-FIFTEEN... ONE-SIXTEEN... ONE-SEVENTEEN... ONE-EIGHTEEN...." The three of us chant as we do sit ups. The past three days have been mind numbingly boring, but we've kept in check by doing our work out regiment... sometimes just to pass the time. Every now and again we would get others to join us, but right now we're the only ones awake. Well... us and a few of the female passengers. "OOOW, keep it going big boy!" Yells one of the female royal guards. Storm and Big Mac's asses have been on assault the entire trip, something that's been bugging them like fucking crazy.... I love it. "LAND HOOOO!" Yells some griffin from above. We all stop and run to the railing to see the land mass approaching. Everyone gives a cheer as they lean over the edge to take a look. "Regina!" I yell as I run over to her. "How long until we make it to Flionence?" "It should only be a few hours." She says with a large smile. "Get ready for drop off and meet me at the bow, OK?" "Got it. Spartans!" I yell, getting Storm and Big Mac's attention. "Suit up and report to your stations!" "UH-RAH!" They yell back before we all head to the barracks. The barracks room is alive with everypony getting ready for the drop. Putting on armor, grabbing supplies, talking to others about what they expect to have happen. As the three of us start getting ready, I notice that Storm seems a little distracted, so I give him a little nudge. "Huh?" He says as he snaps back into reality. "Everything alright?" I ask as I start to latch on my grieves. "Yeah, just thinking about what Twilight told me." He says as he continues putting on his armor. "What did she tell you?" "... well... I told her that I'd keep it a secret. Mainly because she isn't one hundred percent yet. But... you guys are my best friends she said..." "Hold on." I interrupt as I look back around the room. Everyone was trying to listen. The room had fallen completely silent as they tried to hear what he was about to say. "A little privacy?" I ask, getting most of them to go back to their own business. "Look, I'll tell you guys another time. Lets just focus on the mission." He says before sliding on his armor. Big Mac and I look to one another before continuing to put on our armor. Once we were ready, we spent the the rest of the trip on the deck, silent. Most of the other passengers were fairly quiet, murmuring to one another as we all watched the land mass pass below us. Soon we were back over water, getting everyone to murmur even more. I look to Big Mac and Storm before heading to the bow of the ship, finding Regina and True Will. "You ready for this?" True Will asks. "I was going to ask you the same thing. How about you Regina? ..... Regina?" I look over to Regina to see that she's staring out at the horizon, trying to get a better look at something. I look out to where she's looking and try to see what she's seeing. "What is it?" True Will asks as he looks out with us. Is that... THWACK SHWSHHHHHH From out of the clouds shot two massive bolts from another air vessel. The first one buried itself into the bow of the ship while the other one shot right into the forward balloon, making it lose air quickly. "ABANDON SHIP!" Lars yells, getting every winged person to fly off the deck and and every unicorn flash away. "STORM! GET BIG MAC!" I yell to him before launching myself off the edge of the falling ship. THUD I hit the ground hard and roll forward. Even though I used my magic to soften the fall, that still fucking hurt. I look back up to see the enemy vessel; one similar in design to our's, firing their large crossbows at not only the falling ship, but its escaping crew as well. It seems that they have some kind of explosive projectiles, blowing the ship to bits and any unlucky person that couldn't fly away fast enough. I find Storm and Big Mac making their way through the air, being shot at. I pull my rifle out and take aim at the enemy ship, sending my magic through my rifle. PATPATPATPATPAT I send a quick burst at the enemy ship, punching a row of holes into their forward balloon. "Miles!" I look back to see Regina landing behind me. "Good shooting. Now lets get to Flionence." FLASH "There you are." True Will says as he appears beside us. "We good to go?" I look back to the falling ship and watch them for a second, watching the two ships collide to the ground. "Miles..." "Lets get going." I say as I turn around. "Right, just follow me and we'll be there in no time." Regina says as she leads us through the brush. I glance back to all of the scrambling people trying to avoid the falling ship, trying to see Storm and Big Mac. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Storm "WHY ARE YOU SO BULKY!" I yell as I try to maneuver through the rain of falling debris and bolts trying to kill us as I carry Big Mac towards the ground. "YER ARMOR HAS A STRENGTH BUFF, DEAL WITH IT!" He yells back as I fly towards the ground as quickly as possible. CRASH We slam into the ground and roll for a bit until finally coming to a stop. We look to one another from the ground before we both get up and start running. KER-CRUSH We barely made it out of the way of the ship before it slammed into the ground, making us fall from the shaking. We quickly push ourselves up and continue to run as the second ship nears the ground. KER-CRUSH The ground shook again as the second ship hit the ground, only we were able to stay standing this time. We stop running and look back to the wreckage that we just escaped.... and start chuckling to each other. "Whats so funny?" Dust Devil asks as she lands beside us, along with Camo Flash and several other mercenaries. "Nothing. We need to find any survivors and move to our objectives. Head north west and try to find as many griffins as you can. I'm heading northeast to find the Equestrians. Good luck." "EEyup." He says before we run off towards our objectives. I look back to see that half of the mercenaries are following me while the other half are going with Big Mac. "Any idea where to meet up with the Equestrians?" Camo asks as he runs along side with me. "Sure. The right flank of Flionence. Where else would we..." "DIE!" Yells a griffin from above as he tries to get the drop on me. With a flap of my wings I shoot forward and avoid his sword. I spin back around and draw my sword as the four mercenaries surround the griffin. They all at once try to stab him, but he just jumps into the air, avoiding their blades easily. I shake my head at them as I fly after the griffin. I can see why Miles doesn't like contractors now. I chase after him for a bit until I catch up enough to make an effective swing. I spin around and slash at him, sending a gust of wind that rips off one of his wings... "Oh shit." I mumble as I watch him fall to his death. How did I do that? I sent a gust of wind that was able to tear flesh and bone.... "DIE BASTARD!" I push myself back as another pair of griffins swing at me I twist back and slash at them, sending them reeling back in the air. Hmm... it seems when I point the blade narrowly at them, I can cut them... interesting. I bring my blade up to block the griffins attack as the other one reels back to... "AAAAHHH!" Camo Flash yells as he flies past me and tackles the griffin, driving his blade into his stomach as they tumble through the air. I push the griffin before me back and slash at him, tearing a strip of flesh from his chest and sending blood flying out. FOOSH "AAAAAHHHH!" I turn around in time time to see a griffin behind me fall from the sky as a ball of fire. I look down to see Big Mac standing there with his halberd, swinging his weapon around to send balls of fire out at any unlucky adversary. I look around to see that almost everypony is fighting in the air. Groups of fighting ponies and griffins are either locked in areal combat or are falling to the ground. Screams can be heard from all around as blades cross blades. Bolts of energy shoot from the ground as the rest of the Equestrians show up and start taking shots into the air. There's only a few enemy troops left, so I turn around and fly down to Shinning. "Bout time you showed up." I say as I land beside him as he fires a bolt of electricity into the air. "Status." "Well... from the fall we lost a few unicorns, plus with the fighting we're down a total of... six ponies. Where's Miles?" "He jumped off the bow of the ship and took off for Flionence, so we need to get moving. Where are the griffins?" "I saw them west of here heading towards the city. Go ahead and take a few of my guards and head to our objective. I'll meet you there." He says as three unicorns come before me and salute. "Big Mac, go ahead and find the griffins. They've got it here." "Eeyup." He says as he sends one last ball of fire and runs off towards the west, snapping his halberd to his side as he does. I look back to Shinning and nod to him before running off with the Equestrians, sheathing my sword as I go. I look back to see the remaining mercenaries split up and follow after each of us, giving me a total of seven ponies with me. That'll have to do, hopefully Big Mac will have enough support from the griffins. FLASH I look around and realize that one of the unicorns teleported us ahead, though they are now passed out on the ground. The area around us is mostly open fields with tall brush. In the distance I can see Flionence ahead of us and a small forest far to our right. One of the pegasus decides to stay behind to watch after him, so we moved on. SMACK We had made it a total of four feet before I had run into something. I back up and rub my nose as I try to see what I had ran into, but there isn't anything here. It should just be more open fields, but as I stick a hoof out, I can feel some kind of barrier stopping me. "Well... what do we do now?" Camo Flash asks. "I Could try to blow it open." Boomy suggests. "No, they would plan for that. We need something more powerful then..." KRA-BOOM I look over to see a massive explosion send dust and debris into the air. That must be Miles. From there the barrier starts to shatter, revealing a massive fort behind the invisible veil. The fort is made of grey stone and stands three stories high. One massive round tower takes up the center of the structure as four smaller guard towers make up the corners. I can see dozens of archers take aim at us from slits in the walls, the guard walks from the top, and a few from the air. "GET MOVING!" I yell as I run for the wall. At the same time, a volley of arrows shot down at us. I look back to see the unicorns make small shields as the pegasus try to hide with them. Sadly, the pegasus watching the down unicorn in the back didn't get any cover and was peppered with large arrows. When I make it to the wall I press myself as close to it as possible, trying avoid the incoming arrows. I look up to see the flying griffins moving to get better shots at me. PATPATPATPAT From the distance I hear Miles's rifle ring out, killing the air born assailants. The rest of the other ponies make it to the wall beside me and provide cover. "What now?" Camo Flash asks as I look up. "Boomy, think you can blow a hole in this wall?" "Pfft. Do bears drink too much Vodak?" He says as he starts to charge his horn. "Just say when and I'll make an entrance big enough for a dragon." "Great. Camo and I will fly up and draw their fire, once you have enough room, blow a hole and get inside, we'll follow after you." "Wait... what?" Camo asks before I take off into the air as fast as possible. Instantly, arrows start to fly past me in an attempt to kill me, but I fly too fast for them to get a good shot. Once I make it to the top I flip back and land right next to an orc. He tries to take a shot at me with his bow, but I had swung my sword at him, blowing him back into another orc. BOOM I glance down to see Boomy had blown a hole in the wall, gaining access. I fly over to the downed orcs and finish the job by stabbing them both in the gut. They let out small screams before falling back and dying. BOOM I look over to the far corner of the fort to see another hole blown in the wall, revealing Big Mac and a group of griffins charging into the compound.... ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Big Mac "Eeyup." I say before running off, dropping my halberd to my side and running on all four towards the west. I push myself to run as fast as I can, trying to group up with them as fast as possible. After about ten minutes of straight running I see a group of twenty griffins up ahead, entering a random forest.... that doesn't make sense. Those are broad leaf trees and this is a coastal region. Unless they planted them here and want them to die, they shouldn't be here. "Big Mac." Lars yells as I trot into the group. "Glad you could make it. Lets get moving." I just nod to him as I walk in with the group, eyeing the trees as we go. "Don't you think we should of helped? I feel bad leaving it to the Equestrians." Says one of the griffins as we march through the trees. "They had it covered. We would just get in the way at that point. Though I wouldn't mind some of their unicorns with us... no offense." Says another griffin as he glances to me. I ignore them as I continue to watch the trees. They don't sway correctly... it doesn't seem natural. "Everything alright Big Mac?" Lars asks as I stop and rear back, pulling my halberd out as I do. "Nnope. We're surrounded." I say as I continue to look around. The griffins all turn around and look around with me. I can't help but think that the trees have moved closer. "Are yAAAAHHHH!" As soon as the griffin had turned to ask me something a branch had came flying down and crushed him. All of the trees started to move around as they pulled their own roots out and advanced on us. The crooks and crannies of the trees started to glow green, making the outlines of their faces. They seem to use their lower branches and arms and turn the bottom of their trunks into legs for walking. "TREE FOLK!" Lars yells as another branch crashes down and kills another griffin. I roll forward to dodge an incoming branch and begin to run at one of the trees. With a quick spin I slam my halberd into the trunk of the closest tree, making a huge fiery explosion that blows splinters back and forces the tree onto its back. "KEEP MOVING!" Lars yells as the rest of the griffins try to keep out of the trees grasps. I duck back as a branch flies past me, barely escaping. I twist my halberd around and chop the end of the branch off, setting it ablaze. I keep backing up as more and more branches shoot at me, trying to impale me. But I keep chopping away at them, slowly setting all of the trees around us on fire. "STOP SETTING THEM ON FIRE!" Lars yells as the remaining griffins run past me. "AH CAN'T HELP IT! MY WEAPON DOES IT!" I yell back as I continue to hack away at the incoming branches. The trees don't seem to care that they are on fire, they just keep coming at us. Sending branch after branch at me. Soon I chop the last branch, leaving all of the trees topped. They pause for a moment to look at each other, giving us a moment to regroup. "They're distracted. Lets make a run for it." One of the griffins say. "Do you really think we can out run them?" Another one asks. "Beats having to fight them claw to claw. I've already snapped my sword." The first one says before making a run for it. One by one they all turn tail and run... only to all slam into something together as they hit... nothing. "How was that plan ta run?" I ask as the trees start to advance again... KRA-BOOM Only to stop again. I glance back and watch as the invisible wall shatters like glass. A massive fort is revealed from this, with guards now pointing bows at out backs. Before anypony could say anything I twist my halberd around and send a ball of fire at the closest tree folk, knocking it back and into another one. "GIT RUNNIN! AH'LL COVER YA!" I yell before charging at the remaining burning trees. "Are you nuts!?" One of them yell at me as I jump and and slam my blade into another tree, knocking it over with a burst of fire. As I yank my blade out I watch the other trees start to split apart, making arms from their trunks. This might of just gotten harder... "DEATH!" One of the trees yell as they try to slam both of their fists onto me. I jump forward and roll to avoid the attack, but get kicked back by another tree folk. THUNK After I slam into a stone wall and fell to the ground I pick myself up slowly. That... hurt. "You alright?" Lars asks as the rest of the griffins run up to me, being chased by the rest of the trees. "Yeah... why aren't..." PATPATPATPAT I look up to see a bunch of griffins falling from the sky as Miles' rifle rings out. "BIG MAC!" "We need ta get inside where the trees can't get ta us. Think ya can cover me fer a few seconds?" I say as I pick up my halberd and face the wall. "You got it." Lars says as he pulls out his sword and flies off to the fight. I hold my weapon tightly as I get ready to.... BOOM I shake my head to refocus on making a hole. I'm not entirely sure if this'll work, but its worth a shot. I pull my blade back and put all of my strength into slamming it into the wall. BOOM In a massive fiery explosion the wall before me flies back, making an entrance for us to get through. "We..." "MOVE IT!" Yells a griffin as the remaining griffins run past me. I was about to charge the tree folk when Lars pulled me inside as well. We enter the square where I can see whats left of the Equestrian forces running. We all meet up in the center of the open square. "Where's Storm?" I ask as I look around. "BIG MAC!" I look up to see Storm flying towards me. I turn back and... SHINK "NNOOOOOOOOOO!" ................................................................................................................................................................................................ Perspective: Miles Once we made it far enough from the fight we had slowed down. As we walked through the tall brush I pull out my rifle and keep my eyes open for anything. "Miles, we need to speak real quick." True Will says as they follow closely behind me. "Kind of a bad time right now." I say as I continue to scan the area. "I lied about my employment. I wasn't hired by Celestia." I stop in my tracks and face him. "I'm listening." I say as I keep my finger on the trigger. Regina steps to the side and puts a claw on her sword as she watches the two of us. "Originally I was hired by Celestia, but a bidder came by and offered more for us, so we went with them." He says as he eyes the two of us. "Princess Luna, or Queen Luna would be more correct, hired me to watch over you. She also request that you take my outfit with you to these secret cities of yours. Oh, you're also picking up the bill." "......... dammit Luna." I say as I continue to walk off. Of course she would hire some contractors... but, if she out bid Celestia to do that, then what did Cele... SMACK "Aw... what the fuck." I says as I step back and rub my face. "I think it was a force field." Regina says as she sticks a claw out and feels the barrier. "This is a pretty powerful barrier, think you can destroy it?" "Step back." I say as I sling my rifle and power up, sending the archaic lines up to my shoulders. They run behind me as I bring my hands before me and start create a ball of soul fire. I hold it there for a moment before pushing forward, sending the ball flying at the barrier. KRA-BOOM A massive explosion erupts the moment the ball makes contact, shattering the barrier and revealing a massive fort. I shake my hands and pull my rifle back out as I look over the large structure. "What the... that shouldn't be here. What's going on." Regina says as they walk up beside me. "Lets find out." I say as I march forward. I look forward to see the oddest thing imaginable, an open doorway. Right in the center of the wall of a passageway. No guards, no door, just a stone doorway. The only thing that I can think of as a deterrent is possibly a trap, but that's still not going to be enough to stop me. "Hold on." True Will says as he steps in front of me and eyes the doorway. "You can get up now." I look around for anyone that he could possibly be talking to, but there isn't a soul in sight. "I said get up." "Uh... there isn't anyone here." I say as I try to see anything to look at. I look up to see a bunch of griffins in the air, shooting arrows at what I presume to be Storm. I line up my rifle with the closest griffins skull and... PATPATPATPAT After my first shot I immediately lined up with the next air born griffin, taking him out with the same kind of deadly precision. I turn to the entrance as the sound of crumbling earth draws my attention. The large stones from the side of the entrance are starting to pull themselves off the wall. "Earth elementals." True Will growls as the two beings step towards us. They seem to make out the skeletal form of a creature that stands a little taller then me, with a thick skull, sharp teeth, and large claws. "Is that suppose to be a bear?" Regina asks as she backs away from the creature. I raise my rifle at them, stopping them as they tilt their heads to me. "Do...." "RAAAAAAWWWRR!" They both screech as the one closest to me bites my rifle. The other one just chases after True Will as I try to wrestle my rifle back. I pop off a few rounds into the back of it's skull, making it pause. I look back to see the hole in its skull start to regrow... so this is kind of pointless. I let go of the rifle and squirm out from the strap as it starts to shake its head from side to side. "AW FUCK!" I yell as I finally get away, but manage to get headbutted by my own weapon. I shake my head as the earth elemental tosses my rifle aside and charges at me. I flare my magic and take a hold of it, lifting it into the air as it tries to squirm out of my grasp. I take a breath as I start to crush the creature into a ball, finding it difficult to do with a living creature. I step back as I drop the large earthen ball, sighing as the lines start to drop from my shoulders. BOOM "MILES!" I look back to see Regina and True Will up a tree as the other elemental tries to climb up after them.... I don't have time for this. I thrust a palm at it and send a beam of soul fire its way. When it made contact I saw the energy coarse through what might of been its body before fading away. As it faded, the stone skeleton fell apart, dropping to the ground. "GRRRRRRR." I turn back to see the other elemental starting to change into a new form. Soon, a human earth elemental stands before me as it closes its fists and begins to advance towards me. "What are you waiting for! Kill it!" Regina yells as I lift my hands and stare at it. How could it be human? Can they take form of any creature or was.... BOOM "MILES!" True Will yells as he drops down and blasts the elemental away. I shake my head and shoot at it, hitting it in the rib cage and making it fall to the ground. "What the hell was that about?" True Will asks as I shake my head and refocus. "It was nothing. Lets get inside and get this over with already." I say as I walk over and take my rifle. I sling it to my back as we walk through the entrance and into the open square. I look out to see about ten of the griffins and Big Mac out in the center as the five of the Equestrians run towards them. Big Mac is looking around as Lars approaches him from behind... dagger drawn. "BIG MAC!" I hear Storm yell as Lars thrusts his dagger into his gut. "NNOOOOOOOOOOO!" I yell as I watch Lars pull back and stab him again, blood pouring out as Big Mac just stares at him in disbelief. FOO-CRUSH A powerful gust of wind came crashing down towards Lars, hitting one of the other griffins as they push him out of the way. I sprint out there and head straight for Big Mac, getting my magic ready to heal him. As Storm flies over head to chase after Lars I slide to my knees and immediately put my palms onto Big Mac. "You're good, you're good. I've got you." I say to him as I start to send waves of healing energy into him. The griffins that were around me tried to attack me, but the remaining guards and mercenaries caught up and fought them off. "He.... he stabbed me." Big Mac grunts as he winces from the healing magic. "I know. We'll get him, don't worry about that, just try to stay still." I say as I continue to heal him. Why is this taking so long! I should be done by now, but I'm no where near... "Lars!" Regina yells as she runs in and watches Storm and Lars fly around the compound. "Why are you doing this!? I thought you were my friend, I thought I could trust you! Why!?" He does a few loops before landing on the other side of the square, dozens of reinforcements backing him up as they pour out of the center building. I look back to see griffins, orcs, ponies and a few dragons take posts around the tops of the walls as charred trees come in from the west side. Soon, we were surrounded. "My dear ambassador, I'm sorry to say but I think Lars Sharpbeak is a little busy at the bottom of the Great Lake." He says as he moves his claw to the top of his chain mail.... "STEELWING!" I yell as I stand up and go for my pistol, only to get a warning shot from one of the archers. "Hehehe... I wouldn't do that again. Now I have called you here to answer a very important question Miles..." "EAT SHIT AND DIE!" I yell, getting another arrow fired at me. I ignore it as I step out from the group and walk towards him. "Do you really believe I would tell you anything after everything you've done?!" "Yeah..." "I am going to fucking destroy you. Make you suffer and beg for a death that will never come to you..." "All in good time." He says with a smile. "But right now someone wishes to speak to you, now just hold tight while I go get them. Oh, and unless you want your friend there to die, I wouldn't move him too much. You don't want the toxin moving around now do you?" He says as he walks happily into the main structure. It takes every fiber of my being not to chase after him or to just start shooting at him. "Miles, we need you over here now!" Storm yells, making me walk back to the group. Right now its just me, Regina, Storm, Big Mac, Dust Devil, Camo Flash, True Will, Boomy, two guards I don't know and a mercenary I don't know. "What's the plan?" "..." "Sir?" "..." "MILES!" "We need to fight our way into the main structure. They won't have their archers there, so we'll have the advantage." I look around the top of the walls when I notice one of the orcs fall over and be replaced with a night guard. "And now we've got back up." I reach into my pockets and pull out the four grenades, giving one frag to True Will, the other to Regina, and one archaic to Storm. "Just squeeze the handle, pull the pin and throw it. Once we have an opening I'll provide cover as we make our way inside, got it?" "Uh... what pin?" Storm asks as he looks his over. "I thought you said not to let this touch your flesh." "Yeah, skin doesn't count. Just do what I do. On my mark." I say as I stand up and face the mob before me. "I've got eleven. Storm, get one. Regina, get eight. True Will, get yours at twelve high, got it?" "Right." They all say together. "You, mercenary, shield Big Mac until we get back." I say, getting a nod in response. "Ready, set, MARK!" I say as I snap the top off and toss the grenade into the mass of enemy troops. A few seconds later everyone else throws their grenades and I raise my arms, putting a dome shield around us. KA-BOOM As the two back grenades went off the two archaic grenades sent out their blue flames, covering the mass before receding back. As they all start to fall to the ground I take off, having everyone follow after me as it starts to rain arrows all around us. I drop my shield as soon as we all make it inside... FOOSH I stagger back as a wave of green energy hits all of us. I cough a few times as all of our stomachs growl at once. Why am I so hungry all of the sudden? "Hello Miles." I look over and... "I, am Famine." Chapter 123 Archaic DealsChapter 123 Archaic Deals "Famine." I repeat as I stare him down. He's another centaur, much like War, but completely different. He has dark green skin and black fur over most of his body. He carries a long wooden staff that twists open at both ends. At the ends of the staff are dark green balls of energy that has black energy that wisps away from them. His eyes are deep yellow and his body seems to be brittle and starving. But the thing that has me most concerned, is the massive horn coming from his head. "Storm Cloud, its good to see you again." He says with a slight bow to Storm, running a hand down his long grey beard. "AAAAAH!" I yell as I thrust a palm at him, but nothing happens. I try to turn my magic on, but no matter what I do I can't get it to work. "I'm afraid magic won't be allowed for our discussion. Now..." "Spartans!" I yell as I swing my rifle around an open fire. PATPATPATPATPAT I run along the side of the room as I empty my clip. He just stands there with his shield raised, waiting patiently. I look over to see Storm trying to assist me, but his sword is out of energy. When my clip runs out I throw it back and pull out my sword, trying to fill it with my magic but being unable to access it. I charge at him as I raise my blade. FOOSH THUD He had spun his staff around and sent a blast of black energy at me, sending me flying back and crashing into the wall behind. Before I could fall to the ground he pointed his staff to me and held me in the air, choking me as he does so. "Miles!" Storm yells as he tries to get air born, but no matter how hard he flaps his wings he can't. Before he could get half way Steelwing dropped in front of him, fighting him back as he swings his blade back and forth. As Storm deals with him, the others run to aid me. The first to make it over was Regina, who tried to hack Famine with her sword. Famine just jabs at her with his staff, making her fall to the ground as she holds her stomach. True Will and Boomy both try to jump him at the same time, but he just spins his staff around and blasts True Will away with the back energy as he uses his magic to lift Boomy into the air. "Feed me." Famine says as he puts a hand onto Boomys' forehead. I watch as all of the color from him fades to grey. His shaking body soon become still as a red energy is sucked from him and fed into Famine's arm. He tosses his lifeless body aside as he looks back to me. "Now, where were we?" He asks as he loosens his hold on my neck, letting me gasp for air. "Go fuck yourself!" I yell as I draw my revolver and fire at him. He simply raise a shield and deflects the last of my shots. Even when my pistols empty, I continue to try to shoot him. "Ahahaha, good try, but all for not." He says as he lowers his shield. SMACK The moment he lowered his shield I threw my revolver at him, hitting him right in the face. "You get that one for free." He growls at me. "Now listen closely..." RING RING RING RING We both look down to my pocket as my phone begins to ring. He just sighs as he drops me and walks over to Regina, placing a hand directly over her. "Make it quick or else." I look back to see that Steelwing has already killed the other mercenary, but has a few cuts on himself. I think about it for a second before I pull my phone out and answer Luna's call. "Luna?" "Miles..." "Whats going on. Are you safe." I ask before she could say anything. "... no." I take a deep breath as I glare at Famine. I should of seen this coming. "Miles, War and Steelwing are here with me..." "Steelwing?" I ask as I look back to the fight on the other side of the room. Storm suddenly stabs the griffin in the chest, making him change into a different griffin... "They say they want something from you, and if they get it, they'll leave." "Right... and what would that be?" "..." "Luna?" "..." "LUNA!" "..." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Luna KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK "AHH... this better be important." I grumpily say as I roll out of bed and head to the door. I haven't been sleeping well the past few days, due to estrus and a lack of Miles. But I soon found a way to sate my needs. After a rather shameful morning I had finally satisfied myself enough to finally start to sleep, when the knocking came. I marched straight to the door and swung it open, scaring the poor guard behind. "Yes, can I help you?" "Uh.... Princess Celestia requests your..." "Tell her I'm asleep." I say before I shut the door in his face. I walk back to my bed and lay down... KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK "Oh for the love of..." I mumble as I get up and head back to the door. "I said..." "Hello Nightmare Moon." Steelwing says as he pulls out a dagger from the guards neck and licks it clean. "Miss me?" "STEELWING!" KA-BOOM I had tried to blast him away, but at the last possible second he jumped out of the way and started to run down the narrow stairway. I teleport myself to the bottom of the stairs and... FOOSH I slide against the smooth marble floors as a blast of black energy struck me from the side. I look up to see a massive figure dropping down towards... CRACK When I regain consciousness I look around to find myself in in the castle dungeons, tied up to a chair. I can feel dried blood on my forehead and have a mind splitting head ache. I reach out for my magic, but can't seem to find it... "Ah you're awake. Good, good." Says a deep voice from behind. "Who are you! Show yourself!" I demand as I try to break out of the ropes. "You know me as War." He says as he walks out in front of me. He turns to me and puts the edge of his naginata to my throat as he looks me over. "I am in need of your assistance." He says as he continues to walk around me. "What makes you think I'll help you." I snap back. "Because we can save Miles from his eventual demise." He says as he circles behind me. I stay silent from this. I don't want to help these ponies at all, but.... "Good, so listen closely. Miles' people have a form of magic that is unparalleled in power. The archaic circles. We want you to find out how he makes them and report back to us. If you do this, then we will cure Miles and leave you be for the rest of your lives." "... and how exactly will you 'cure' Miles?" I ask as he circles back in front of me. "Do not worry about that. Just know that you will spend the rest of your lives together." He says with an even look about him. I think about it for a moment before I nod. "Bring me my phone." I say as I hang my head in shame. "Phone?" He asks as he raises an eyebrow to me. "The little glass thing in my top left drawer." "Hmm... Steelwing!" He yells, getting him to open the jail door and look in. "Go fetch her... phone. The glass thing in the top left drawer." "Got it." He says before running off. I sit there in silence as we wait for Steelwing to return. War just stands there, looking over his weapon. After a few minutes of silence he returns with my phone and presents it to War. "I need my magic to use that. I can call him right now and give you what you want, I just need my magic." I say as I eye my phone. "Hmm.... give her the antidote." "Are you sure that's a good idea?" Steelwing asks as he pulls out a vile with white liquid inside of it. "I said, give it to her." He says sternly. I smile as he walks over and feeds me the solution. I cough a few times as I feel the potion work its way through my body, but simultaneously feel my magic return to me. "You have five minutes to get me what I want. Five." He says as I take my phone with my magic. I go ahead and call Miles, waiting for him to answer. "Luna?" I hear his voice call out. "Miles...." "Whats going on. Are you safe." He asks before I could finish. I take a deep breath as I ready myself to answer him. "......no." I say. I can hear his breath shorten from this, so I continue. "Miles, War and Steelwing are here with me..." "Steelwing?" He asks curiously. "They say they want something from you, and if they get it, they'll leave." I say as Steelwing and War both stand before me. "Right... and what would that be?" Miles asks cautiously. "..." I hesitate to answer him as I stare at the two of them. "Luna?" "..." The rest of our lives, when they want to kill everypony... "LUNA!" "..." What would be the point... "Luna answer me! What do they...." "Miles." I say softly, getting him to quiet down. "They want me to get information from you, but I will never ask you for this. In time, I hope to tell you what they want to know in our most private of places, but in case I don't make it out of this... I love you." I say before I teleport my phone back to my room. "So be it." War says as he motions to Steelwing. He walks up to me and smacks me across the face, forcing me to look to the left. He then puts his top half up on the chair so were face to face. "You... will regret this..." "You..." I start, getting his attention. "Are an idiot." CRACK Luckily for me, they weren't smart enough to tie down my bottom legs, so I kicked up as hard as I could, hitting him in his testicles. As he falls to the ground screaming I use my magic to break out of my ropes... FOOSH As I tried to make a run for it War had swung his naginata at me, sending a wave of back energy at me. I slammed against the back of the cell and fell to the ground. I tried to get up, but another blast hit me and pushed me against the back of the cell. I can feel wounds opening up on my side as blood starts to trickle down. "You will die for your insubordination!" War yells as he raises his blade and gets ready to impale it against me. I race against him to fire anything to stop him from striking me down. KA-BOOM A beam of white energy fired from my horn and collided with War, causing a massive explosion. I shake my head as the world around me turns to a blur. I try to stand, but am too dizzy and keep falling back down. I feel something grab my head and lift me up. As my vision starts to clear, I find myself face to face with War. "Not good enough." He says as he lifts his weapon and puts the blade to my throat. "Probably not." I say as he readies to slit my throat. "But he'll do better." I say with a smile. War looks at me funnily before looking behind him to see the large crystal rainbow dragon standing there. "Alistair." "Oh shit..." "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWW!" Alistair lets out a power roar as he grabs the back of his blade and body and lifts him up. In a panic he drops me as he tries to stab the dragon, only to get tossed against the wall outside of the cell. "Run for it Luna, I'll deal with this!" Alistair says before facing War. I charge my horn and teleport away. "AAAAAAAHH!" Some mare screams as I appear in the court hall. "LUNA!" Celestia yells as I stand up and look around. As I stand up, a vortex of smokey black energy appears before me, so I create my energy swords and wait for him to appear. "DIE!" War yells as he charges through the smoke, right for me. I charge back at him as I swing my swords forward, both of them catching his weapon mid flight. I begin to create and drop sword after sword as I slash and stab at him. He expertly spins his weapon around himself as he blocks attack after attack. Soon Celestia and all of the other guards charge him from all sides, moving to stab him at once. "ENOUGH!" He yells as he slams the blade of his weapon into the ground, making a pulse of dark energy form around him and send us all back. As I start to get up I look over to see him walking towards me, twisting his weapon above his head. FWUUUUUUUUUUMMM From the left windows a white beam of energy shot through and slammed into War, sending him into the right wall. Alistair crashed through the opening and charged straight for War, running on all fours. He collides with him and goes hurling through the wall as they both fall to the gardens below. "Luna! Wait!" Celestia yells as I stand up and run after them. I jump out of the hole in the wall and launch myself after them, flapping my wings as hard as they'll allow me to. The two of them are locked in heated battle, with War making several strikes against Alistair. As Alistair stands square on all four to let out another beam of the white energy, War leaps into the air and dodges the attack, lining up to bring his blade onto his neck. "NO!" I yell as I fire a beam of energy at him, hitting his side and sending him flying back. I land beside Alistair as we both turn to face War. He gets up and spins his weapon around as he faces the two of us. "You shouldn't of come Alistair." War says as he starts to walk to the side. "Death back at midnight castle would have suited you better." "You seem to forget who won that day." Alistair replies in his deep voice. "As long as the rainbow of darkness exists, I shall always be here to fight it off. Now either go back to your puppeteer, or die." He says as he stays facing War. "HOW ABOUT YOU DIE!" I look up to see Steelwing drop onto Alistair's back and to start stabbing his neck, making him move around violently. I was about to assist him when a beam of black energy forced me to jump back. I go to... CRASH CRASH Before I could do anything, two massive, full grown dragons landed behind War, having an assortment of all creatures jump off their backs and swarm around him. Steelwing flew down from Alistair's back and joined the group, bowing as the last creature jumped off the dragons back. "Honestly War, you can't follow a simple order, can you." Mocks another centaur. This one is a female, with light brown fur and yellow skin. She seems to have patches of fur falling out and has sickly hair matting her scalp. Her face is covered in warts and moles as her body is peppered with sores and oozing, puss filled wounds. As she walks down, she turns to the side to reveal the she has a pair of large yellow wings... she's a pegasus centaur. "Pestilence." War growls. "I have everything under control. Leave!" "Under control? All of the royal guards are on their way as the Spartans are tearing apart Fort Misery. Death has ordered a retreat..." "WHAT!" He yells. "I won't do.." "Now War." Pestilence says as she reaches towards War. Two of her black finger nails are long and come to a point. She runs her nails through a bit of his hair, making it fall to the ground. "Are you going to be a good little boy or not?" "Don't." Alistair says as I start to charge my horn. "We held the advantage before, but now we would surely die. Let them leave." "But.... *sigh* fine. I'll trust your judgement on this one." I say as I release my magic. I don't want to let Steelwing get away, but I trust Alistair's judgement on this. "Very well. Lets go then." War says grumpily as he climbs onto one of the massive dragons backs. As the royal guard finally start to show up, they begin to take off, whipping up dust as they take flight. "Luna!" Celestia yells as she runs straight towards me. I give her the cold shoulder as I turn to Alistair. "Alistair, please escort me to the medical wing." I say as I walk off. "As you wish." He says as he follows after me. I don't like this. Why are they leaving. What did she mean by the Spartans tearing up Fort Misery? ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles "Right... and what would that be?" "..." "Luna?" "..." "LUNA!" "..." "Luna answer me! What do they...." "Miles." She says softly, getting me to quiet down. I don't like the sound of this. "They want me to get information from you, but I will never ask you for this. In time, I hope to tell you what they want to know in our most private of places, but in case I don't make it out of this... I love you....." "Luna... LUNA!" I yell as the other end falls silent. "It seems that her time has come to an end." Famine says mockingly. "Such a shame, but it is the future of all. Now... where were we." He says as he lifts me up and reaches out for me. GIVE ME CONTROL Famine pauses from this as I continue to listen to the silent phone. I can feel a pressure from within swirl around, as if something is trying to force its way out. "Fascinating... so you're one of them." Famine says before he continues to reach out for me. "GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Storm yells as he charges at Famine from behind. Famine just points the back of his staff at him, getting him to lift up into the air and shake around violently as grey energy starts to seep from him. WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? SAVE HIS SOUL! "FAMINE!" I yell as I drop my phone and throw out my left hand, making a bright light that blinds everyone for a moment. When I can see again, I find that the end of my hand has become imbued with the Laminis Lux, and that I've maxed out with my magic. TUUM ANIMA ERIT SCIENT MORTEM "TUUM ANIMA ERIT SCIENT MORTEM" TUUM ANIMA ERIT SCIENT MORTEM "Hehe, come then, Hominem De Bellum." Famine says as he backs away from me, raising his staff as he charges his horn, dropping Storm behind him. I charge at him, pushing myself magically, and ready to drive my energy blade into his chest... F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-FLASH I slide to a stop as Famine continues to flash about the room. He would appear in a spot, then teleport to the other side of the room before teleporting somewhere completely different. I began to swipe anywhere I thought he would appear, trying to land hits where ever I could, but ultimately and completely missing every shot. "RAAAAH!" Famine yells as he appears in front of me and blasts me with another shot of the green energy. I fall back and try to get up, but stop when my stomach pains me. Hungry. No starving. I don't know, I feel as if I've gone my entire life without food. I look to my arms to see that my lines have dropped to my elbows. "Wha.... what is this?" I ask as I try to force myself up, but can't find the energy to do it. "Hunger, famine, starvation. Both physically and spiritually." Famine says as he walks up to me. "Now, I shall take what I want from you." He says as he reaches for me. "Hehe..." I mumble as I start to chuckle. "Something amuses you?" Famine asks, hesitating to touch me. "Yeah..." I say as I look up to him. "I love fighting idiots." I say before I swipe at his hand, cutting him across the palm. He rears back as he screams out in pain, holding his hand above himself. I spin my legs around until I'm standing beneath him. He falls back and goes to strike me again, but I begin to blast at him with Laminis Lux. He dodges every blast by teleporting around again, only this time I wait. "RAA..." "HA!" I yell as I jump up and blast the spot I was standing in with my blade. As the explosion shoots out I push my other hand towards it, sending down a ball of ice that tuns the flames to solid ice. I land against the ceiling and launch myself at the mass of ice, shooting a beam from my energy blade to shatter it to thousands of tiny shards. When I land in the center of this I take a moment to find my target before taking control of all the broken ice and sending it flying at him. Instead of jumping around, he just creates a small barrier before himself, melting the ice. When I send the last of the ice towards him I spin back and thrust my hand at the ground before him, sending a bolt of electricity through the water and up his body. KRUUUM He shook for a bit until he redirected the energy through his horn and shoot it back at me, hitting me right in the gut and knocking the wind out of me. I drop to my knees and take a look to my arms. The archaic lines are up to my shoulders now, I love fighting idiots. "You must know that this is pointless. I've had hundreds of years to master the art of magic. Everything from alteration to zeamorphic polyfications are at my disposal. How could you possibly hope to combat me?" He asks as we circle one another. "I could care less if you could transform inanimate objects. I'm Spartan. I hold the advantage in being a combat specialist. You will die..." "As will your friends." He says with a smirk. I glance around to see Storm trying to crawl over to Dust Devil as True Will tries to drag Regina out of the room. "You will fail, because you cannot protect those you care about. Your friends will die. Your wife will die. You... will suffer as you watch them fall, one... by one. Until you finally fall yourself. Give up, and avoid that pain." He says as he starts to charge his staff, making the cracks in it start to glow green. I continue to walk around Famine as the others start to retreat. Once they're down the hall, I begin my attack. I start out by sending a blast of energy from my blade, which he blocks easily by raising a shield. I spin back and punch at him, sending a beam of icy void at him as he fires a beam of green energy at me. The two energies collide and blast outwards, crashing into the walls around us and destroying them. I continue to blast away as he holds his stance, neither of us backing down. I can feel myself starting to sweat as my arm starts to feel numb, this is too much. Despite a pain growing in my arm, I can see the black energy break through his and start to head towards Famine, making him panic. FLASH When he teleports away my beam goes straight through the back wall and continues through. I drop the spell and fall to my knees. My arm feels as if its going to fall off. That, along with the pain in my stomach, should be making me pass out, but something is keeping me up. "Impressive." Famine says as he circles around me. "Not many can use such a power, but you're...." "SURRENDER!" I look back to see Shinning Armor and a multitude of griffins running in. "Hmm, city guards. Well Miles it would seem that you win the day. But we'll see each other again." He says before he flashes away. As the city guards run around me and start to scour the building, I drop my Laminis Lux, and then pass out. A/N: Shout out to Rainbow Dragon for the OC Alistair. Be sure to swing by my blog to add additional OC's. Brony on! Chapter 124 Victory?Chapter 124 Victory? When I regain consciousness I find myself laying on a cot in the yard outside of the main structure. I sit up and look around to see that I'm one of many people laying on cots. Others seems to have bloody bandages on different parts of their body, while others are dead. I was about to get up when a pain erupted from my stomach. I'm starving. I'm so hungry that it's painful. I need something, anything, to eat. "MILES!" I look over to see Storm running over to me. He has a satchel on his side and is out of his armor. "Storm... what happened?" I ask as he comes to a stop before me. "Don't worry about that right now. You're starving right?" He asks as he pulls out an apple from his bag. I take it and devour it on a matter of seconds, relishing in the feeling of having the food in my stomach. "Thought so. That's one of his powers, making you hungrier then you've ever been. Look, I'm going to give you a few more apples, but please try to take it slow. They had to wrestle me away from the food storage." He says as he drops a few more apples onto my lap. "I'll try." I say before taking another one and eating it. "Great, look. I've got some running around to do. Just relax and wait for me to get back here." He says before running into the crowd of griffins. I finish the apple, eating the core as well, and start the next one as I look around. The fight after Famine left must of been crazy. Hundreds of griffin city guards are marching around, collecting whatever there is to collect. I can see a few piles of corpses on fire, most of them being Darkness members. Once the fort was in view, Flionence must of sent reinforcements to aid us. I look beside me to see Dust Devil laying beside me. Though II thought she was dead, I can see that she only suffered a cut along her side. She's asleep right now, but I can see she's having trouble breathing. I finish up my apple before I go for my magic. I figure if I'm going to sit here, I may as well be useful. "The fuck?" I ask as I look over the flames in my hands. They're half the size they usually are. I look between Dust Devil and my hands before I shrug and give it a try. I figure the worst that'll happen is me tiring out sooner then usual. I lay my palms on her side and start to feed healing magic into her. Immediately I can see a difference. Normally, my magic would rush through and wash the problems away. This way, I have to fight every scratch and every imperfection as if they're the actual problem. "Miles! What do you think you're doing!" Storm yells as he and Shinning come running up to me. I'm about a quarter of the way through and my lines are already up to my shoulders. When she wakes up, gasping for air, I drop the magic, panting from the strenuous work. She sits up and looks around before looking over to me and eyeing me a bit. "Did.... did we just have sex?" She asks as she looks over to Storm and Shinning. I fall back as I let the lines fade away. Is this what its like to be normal? Becuase this is horrible. "Miles, don't do anything stupid for a bit, OK?" Shinning says as Storm gives me a water canteen. "I promise nothing." I say before taking a drink. "How long until we get back to Equestria..." "Well..." "Becuase Luna's in danger, so I need to get to Canterlot." "Actually." Regina says as she joins our group. "I just got a letter from her, she's safe now thanks to Alistair." "WOO! Go Alistair." Dust Devil says as she throws her hooves up. "What? He did good." She says as she looks at all of us. "You guys are no fun." "Anyway," Regina says as she looks back to me, "I have transportation arrangements for later today. So just relax and try to get your strength back..." "Sir!" A royal guard says as he approaches Shinning. He excuses himself before going with the guard. "How are you?" I ask as I sit back up. "I saw you take a pretty hard hit." "Yeah... I'll be good. I just needed some food... and maybe some therapy." She says, making us both chuckle. I look around some more before asking, "Where's Big Mac?" "The griffins have him in intensive care, along with some other surviving ponies." Storm explains as he takes a seat in front of me. "Though they've healed him mostly, he's still receiving treatment. The toxin they stabbed him with is countering most healing treatments, but he's starting to pull through." "Egg breaking bastard." Regina mumbles as she punches the ground. "I can't wait for the day we get Steelwing. He's going to pay for what he's done." She grows as she looks away from us. "He will, we just need to get smarter." I say as I grab another apple and start to eat it. "We forgot that this fight isn't one sided. We need to cover all of our bases before we move again, unless we want similar results. Did we get any prisoners?" "No." Regina says with a sigh. "Every single Darkness member here fought to the end. Even when they were out numbered, they would fight with no regard to their own life. We tried to cripple a few to force them to be prisoners, but they just committed suicide." "It was a real mess." Storm adds. "Hey." Dust Devil says, getting our attention. "Didn't Famine say hello to you?" She says as she points a hoof to Storm. "Oh yeah, what was that about?" I add. "He's been... haunting me, kind of. Occasionally I would see or hear him in my head." He says as he looks away from me. "Ok." I say as I start my next apple. "OK?" Dust Devil says, confused. "Your Lieutenant has been compromised and OK is your response. You aren't worried that he'll turn against you or give out information?" "First off, he hasn't been compromised. I know Storm, he's my best friend. If he was compromised I would see a difference. Then there's the fact that he's a Spartan. Even thought they could defect, its still a very low chance. I've been in his mind, I'd know if he's defecting." ".....so are you guys coltfriends then?" She asks, getting Regina to laugh. "No." Storm says flatly. "We're just friends." "He broke my heart." I add, getting Regina to lose it. "Whoa... OK then, wasn't expecting that. Is Big Mac gay to?" Dust Devil asks, making Storm facehoof and Regina fall to the ground laughing. "Fist off, we aren't gay. And secondly we all have wives, some of which are expecting." He says with a large smile. "............... wait...... what? Fluttershy's pregnant?" I ask as I look around. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Luna After the two large dragons had left I had Alistair escort me to the medical ward. Thankfully he’s the size of a teenage dragon, he could come inside as well. Celestia had decided to come along, but I kept ignoring her questions as I took a seat on one of the examining tables. As we went, I made sure to send Regina a letter, telling her and Miles that I was fine. Though I expect Miles to still show up... “Luna, please. Just, can you tell me you’re OK at least?” Celestia asks for the hundredth time. I just glance over to her before looking away again. “Luna! I…” “Princess Luna.” The doctor says as she walks over to me, levitating a tray of bandages and other medical equipment. “We will get started now. Please let us know if there is anything hidden that we should take a look at.” “Of course.” I say as she gets started. I feel slight discomfort from her treating my wounds, but I keep quiet until she finishes up. Celestia and Alistair stayed by my side the entire time. Celestia looking scared and worried while Alistair just stared off into the distance. The doctor spends the next few hours fixing my wounds and checking my health, running test and getting X-rays. "Alright, that should do it." The doctor says as she finishes up. I glance back to myself to see that my body is covered in bandages and my right wing has also been wrapped up as well. "Please avoid using magic for another week. Your power seems to be fluctuating rather... dramatically, not to mention...well... its going away from the wound." "What does that mean?" Celestia asks, glancing back to me with concern. "Well, a ponies power usually flows towards a wound, but hers seems to be going away from it. I can't make sense of it." The doctor explains as she flips through some charts. "Do you have any clues as to why this would happen?" "No, I can't think of anything that would do this." I admit after some thought. "Alistair, could this be something that the rainbow of darkness did?" I ask. "No." He stated simply, looking down to me. "The only thing that could do this is if something changed your soul. My guess is that your soul has changed." He explains, moving towards around my bed as he stares off into the distance. "Excuse me Luna, I must... check on something." "OK then. I will be heading back to my room..." "Luna wait." Celestia says as she steps in front of me. I just glare at her as she tries to find the words to say. "I.... I'm sorry." "For?" "*sigh* you were right. I was wrong to separate you and Miles, and I was wrong to hire those mercenaries to keep an eye on you. I let my fear of losing you cloud my judgement and...though I still feel the same way, I am sorry." She says as she lowers her head down a bit. "And what do you wish to do to atone for this?" I ask as I get out of the bed and face her. "I.... well..." "First off, you will levy your little restrictions on me. I will be able to see who I want, when I want." "Very well..." "And you will tell Miles what you planned on doing and ask for his forgiveness." "Of course sister..." "And you will drop your diet for a week." I add with a smile. "What! I will not." Celestia yells as she looks me in the face. I just keep smiling until she sighs in defeat. "Why do you like to torture me so much." "Becuase I'm your sister and I love you." I say, getting her to look up to me and smile. We move in and hug each other tightly. "I missed you sister." "As did I." She whispers back. "Please, let us never fight like this agai..." "Your highness?" A guard says, getting our attention. "If you please..." "Please. My sister and I need..." "Las Pegasis has been destroyed." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles (Get your translator ready ) After eating so many apples that they had to hide them from me, I decided to distract myself by walking through the injured people. Many had died during the fight, but luckily our numbers were low. Looking back to the main structure, I finally notice how much damage was done. The closest wall is still standing, mostly, but the rest have fallen outward. This has made the rest of the building collapse on top of itself, turning the structure to a pile of ruble. "Its too bad it fell apart." Camo Flash says as he walks up beside me. "Would have been able to get some serious loot from there." "Yeah..." "You wouldn't happen to have any food on you, would you?" "Sorry, ate it all." I say as I walk towards the building. I could of sworn I saw something moving behind the still standing wall. I walk around the wall and take another look around... there's nothing here. I stand her for a bit longer before I finally give up and.... "Salve." Says a shimmer before me. I try to look harder at it, but I can only make out a figure of a pony. All of the inner details are just a grey shimmer of energy. I look around and back up behind the wall, so I don't look crazy as I talk to this... "Quid es?" I ask as I continue to try to make more of it out. "A spiritum. Potes me videre?" It asks as it floats around me. "Vix. Quid agis hic?" I ask as it starts to float away. It pauses in the air and looks back to me... or at least I think it does. "Enim nostra commentariis. Praecave, lucidum unum." It says before fading away. "Mora! Qui estes? Tu quid morandis? Ibi sunt alii similis tibi?" I ask, but am ignored as it disappears from sight. "FUTUO!" "Miles?" I look behind me to see Shinning standing behind me. "Who are you talking to?" "*sigh* I'm not sure." I say as I continue to look out at the rubble. "Well... get you things, we need to get going. Las Pegasus has been destroyed...." "What!?" I yell as I look back to him. "Destroyed? What happened?" I ask as I approach him. "I don't know the details yet. All I know is that Las Pegasus is now clear skies and a lot of ponies have been hurt, possibly killed. Our transportation is here..." "Then lets go." I say as I walk out past him. As soon as I walk around the wall I see our transportation. Its another one of those air balloons, but this one is much smaller. It probably only has one lower deck and one balloon holding it up. On both of its sides are large fans that are set up to some kind of bicycle system. "Its smaller, but can make the trip in half the time." Shinning says as we walk up to it. "Good, then lets get going." I say as I start to walk out towa... KA-KRUUUUM I stop and look up to see storm clouds starting to form above us. Usually they don't form this quickly, but in a matter of seconds the sky becomes grey. Shinning and I look to each other before we run over to Regina. "Regina, whats going on?" Shinning asks as we approach her. She, as well as a few guards, are standing beside the ship; staring up at the sky. "I don't know. We aren't suppose to have rain today. But we'll have to leave it to the guards. We need to get going." She says as she walks up the planks. Shinning and I look to one another before following her up. As we took off through the air, I look back to see that the clouds are slowly starting to turn green... Two Days Later The trip back was, tedious. To ensure that we made it back as quickly as possible we all took turns working the fans. Luckily, they were enchanted to turn out more then what you put in, but it still was enduring. At the end of the first day was when I my power finally went back to normal. After that, I fixed our injured in a matter of a couple of hours. Once they were fixed up, we had fresh bodies to work the fans. Crescent Cove is in view, so we've picked up pace by putting Storm and Big Mac on the fans. Their suits make this thing nearly double their speed, which is good. We need speed right now. Too much is going on right now. Las Pegasus is gone apparently, The Darkness is still out there, Lunas' life is in constant threat, I'll need to do another citizens meeting to talk about what happened in Flionence, and the entire time we've been traveling that ghost thing has been following us. I tried to speak to it, but every time it just fazes away. "Bring her down!" Yells the griffin captain, making them run over to the furnace and open all of the hatches. I've been keeping an eye on all of them. After what happened to Lars, I don't trust anyone I don't know. "Storm, Big Mac, with me!" I yell as I head to the bow of the ship. They jump down from their seat and follow after me, panting slightly from the work. "We might need to ship out to Las Pegasus." "What? But that's Equestrian business." Storm says as he takes a seat and wipes the sweat from his brow. "We need..." "Our business is the order and goodwill of the world. We go where we are needed." I say, silencing him. "First things first though, we need to go to Canterlot to get some intel. I doubt that whoever did this is still there after two days, so we'll need to see what information there is before we begin our search." "Do ya think its the Darkness?" Big Mac asks. "Kind of. They fit the motive, but it seems... out of character." I say as I look out at the horizon. I know they want to kill everyone, but this just seems... too small for them. "What do you mean? Killing thousands of ponies seems just like them." Storm says. "Yes and no. If that was the method they were going to use, why didn't they do it for Flionence?" I ask, looking back to them. "Well... maybe they're working with the griffins?" Storm suggests. "NNope. Iffin they were workin with the griffins, they would have gone after a ground city. Just so they can take it fer themselves." Big Mac says. We all fall silent as we think about whats going on. I don't like it. "Look, lets just get to Canterlot and hear whats going on from Luna or Celestia. Then we'll act." I say, getting nods in response. As soon as we landed we made off for my jeep, taking the remaining Equestrians along as well. I drove there as quickly as possible, not wanting to stop for anything until we made to Canterlot. Once we made it, Shinning and I went straight for the court hall while the others waited at the front. Once we made it to the court hall, we found Celestia talking with Blueblood. "You? What are you doing here?" Blueblood says accusingly to me. "Good to see you to Blueblood." Shinning says as he approaches Celestia. "What the report on Las Pegasus?" He asks with a bow. "Shinning... Miles. Las Pegasus was a total loss. Our reports say it was the fault of one of the foundation workers. They were... slacking, and when a powerful typhoon came by... well." She says as a letter appears in front of her. I recognize the energy being from Spike. As she starts to read it over Shinning and I look to each other. "That's it." I say, taking a step towards her. "An accident. An entire city is gone and its an accident. Sorry Celestia, but I don't buy it." I say, crossing my arms. "I'm sorry Princess, but I'm having doubts about this as well." Shinning adds. Celestia glances up from her letter before setting it down to address us. "I've already sent ponies to investigate this matter, and they've all told me the same thing. Look, I understand that its... unbelievable, but this is what happened. I appreciate your eagerness to help, but there is nothing to do but to rebuild. Now I'm sorry to cut this meeting short, but I have some business to attend to." She says before returning to her letter. "As you say Princess." Shinning says with a bow. I just sigh and turn back.... "Actually, Miles. May I have a word with you." Celestia says, getting me to stop. I turn back to her and wait. She takes a few breaths, trying to find the right words to say to me. "Miles... I... I haven't been.... I've... well..." She stumbles. "This is about those mercenaries, isn't it?" I ask, getting a nod from her. "Yes. I hired them with the intent of killing you. Luna has stopped them from doing this, but that doesn't change what I tried to do. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that, as well as some other things. I haven't been myself lately, and I am sorry for that. I promise to do better by you, and... I am giving you permission to speak with my sister again. Just know that I still feel the same way. Please do not make me regret this." After she says all of this I come to the realization that she still doesn't know Luna and I are married. I let out an irritated sigh as I rub the back of my neck. She did say a month, this must be a part of what she's planning. I look back to her to see that shes on the edge of her seat, waiting for my response. I let out a chuckle as I start to approach her, getting her guards to confront me. "No, let him." Celestia says as I get face to face with her. I stare into her eyes for a bit before I let out another chuckle and remover her tiara. "You want to know the irony of this?" I ask as I look it over. "Whats that?" Celestia asks nervously. "You sought to remove me from your life." I say as I look over the etching on the back. "Cum vobis semper. Like it or not, I'll always be a part of your life...." "For however long your life is that is." Celestia and I go wide eyed as a large vortex of black smoke appears in the center of the room. I pull out my sword and send my energy into it as Celestia creates her energy claymore. When the energy disappears, whats left standing makes my blood boil. "Hello Miles, we haven't been introduced yet, I.. am Pestilence, and I have a message." She says as she steps towards us. "Guards, arrest her!" Celestia shouts, getting them all to fly at her. She holds up her hands and looks over her long black finger nails, uninterested in the attacking guards. I watch as she swipes her hands back and forth, hitting flesh and metal alike, both with dramatic results. When she hits metal, it rusts away in a matter of seconds. When she hits flesh, it shrivels up and becomes sickly. Either turning different unhealthy colors or just graying as the life withers away from them. In a matter of seconds she kills all of the guards, leaving withered husks all around her. "Now, where was I?" She says as she looks back to us. I move to her left as Celestia takes the right, being cautious not to touch her. "Don't worry, I'm just here to send a message of peace..." "PEACE!" Celestia yells. "You come here and kill six of my guards and you want peace..." "I gave them the greatest peace of all." Pestilence interrupts. "I have given them a blessing far superior then anything you could ever hope to achieve. Envy them." "If that's the kind of peace you wish to give us then you can go fuck yourself." I say before stabbing at the ground, making a row of earthen blades pop up. She swipes an arm at the ground, sending a wave of a black cloud at the ground. BOOM A small explosion stops any of the earthen blades from harming her. Celestia and I were about to attack when a green aura picked us both up. I try to move out of its grasp, but the field holds me completely still. "Behave yourself Miles." I look behind me to see Famine appear in the room, his horn glowing brightly. "Now, as I was saying..." Pestilence says as she starts to walk around the two of us. "War has been... brash. We intended to wait longer, but his actions accelerated things. But with that, we will move our plans accordingly. Miles, goodbye. We shall vanish from the land, our jobs are done.... for now. Do not look for us, you will not find us. Spend the rest of you lives happy with your families. We shall be spreading the blessings of our god, Death until the day of reckoning comes to earth. Take care, and farewell." FLASH As we drop to the ground, the two of them disappear from the room. "Are you OK?" I ask as I run over to Celestia and help her up. As she gets up, she lights her horn and closes her eyes. "Yes, I'm fine... I... I can't find them. Their energy is too well hidden." She says as she shuts off her magic and looks back to me. "What did she mean by the blessings of their god?" "I don't know, but that's not what concerns me." I say as I sheath my sword and turn to her. "I'm more worried about the peace she was talking about." Chapter 125 The Other HalfChapter 125 The Other Half After some more guards showed up and secured the area, Celestia asked to talk with me in private again, keeping some extra guards around for good measure. We didn't talk right away. Rather, I just followed her through the castle and out to the gardens. Storm and Big Mac spot me and move to join me, but I motion for them to stay where they are. This is going to be between me and her... and the few guards she keeps by her side. "Miles..." She starts but stops as we approach what looks like a maze made of bushes. She looks over to one of the many statues and sighs. I walk up beside her and look up to it. It seems to be a creature... made up of other creatures. "What is this?" I ask as I look it over some more. "Its a Draconequus named Discord, the spirit of chaos." Celestia says bitterly as we stare up at it. "From 1136 to 1178 he ruled over Equestria, causing chaos and mischief for earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi alike. Once my sister and I were proficient enough with the Elements of Harmony, we rose up together and turned him to stone. But when my sister and I were disconnected from the Elements, he was able to escape. The current bearers of the Elements rose together and turned him back to his earthen restraint." "Hmm..." I mutter as I walk around the statue. "Did you happen to get a glance of when they used the Elements? Becuase I've been thinking about them recently." I say as I tap the statue, confirming that its solid stone. "I did not. When my sister first came back, she banished me to the sun. Once the Bearers defeated her, I was able to escape. And when we used them on Discord, well, you'll have to forgive me. It was nearly two thousand years ago. If you want to know more about them, ask any of the girls or Luna.... why?" "Well..." I say as I stop in front of the statue and look at its face. It, or rather he, seems to be scared of something coming at him. "Becuase the Elements can't turn things into stone... not directly at least." "What do you mean?" "When I was making the Elements, they had two intentions that I've proven so far.The first one is that they act as a new source of power. When using them, you are at your height of power. You will never be more powerful then when using the Elements. I proved this when I rescued Luna and back at Fort Misery. Both times I used Laminas Lucis, and both times I maxed out..." "Laminis what?" Celestia asks as she cocks her head. I think about it for a second before I realize what I said. "Heh, wow. I never noticed that I've been calling them that. Strange. I wonder why I call them the Blades of Light..." "Well... maybe that's their true name." Celestia suggests as she continues through the garden. I look back to the statue before following after her. "Maybe you call them that becuase you subconsciously know that that's their true name." "Maybe.... though I have to wonder what happened to the others." I stop again and look back to the statue, mulling the question over in my head. "Miles? Is something wrong?" Celestia asks. I stare at the statue a bit longer before continuing with Celestia. "No. Just... a thought came to me, that's all." I say as we approach another part of the castle. This part seems to be a large open room with tall windows taking up the walls. I look inside to see a few maids wiping the floors, making it gleam brightly. I can't help but notice that they both are wearing goggles around their necks. They notice me looking at them and get back to scrubbing the floor. "So, it seems to be getting late. Why don't you join me and Luna for dinner tonight. It'll be a great chance to ask Luna about using the Elements on Discord." She says as she offers me a warm smile. "I'd love to. Just let me inform Storm and Big Mac so they can get home. I know that's where they want to be." "Of course. Feel free to roam the castle until then. Dinner will be served at seven o' clock." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Luna, 7:05 pm When my curtains pull back I let out an annoyed moan as I roll over and cuddle with Miles. I've been working my flank off with the whole Las PegaWAITWHAT!? "M-miles? What are you doing here?" I ask as my eyes shoot open. Miles is laying right beside me, shirtless, with all of his stuff piled on the side of the bed. "Hi to you to." He says as he sits up and rubs his eyes. "We heard about Las Pegasis and came here to see if help was needed, but your sister told us what actually happened." He says before leaning over and giving me a kiss on the cheek. "You were talking to Tia?" I ask as he lays back down. "What did she say?" "A lot of stuff actually." He states simply. "Well?" I ask as I poke his side a bit. "What did she say?" "*sigh* she asked for forgiveness for the mercenaries, which I gave. Shes letting me speak to you again, but she doesn't want anything more then that happening. She's also invited me to dinner tonight. Luna, we should tell her toni..." "No!" I accidentally yell out. Miles rolls onto his side and waits for to explain. "Miles. It's not that I don't want to tell her, its just... I feel as if its too soon. We're under a bit of pressure becuase of Las Pegasis, and I feel as if this would.... be too much for her. Sorry..." "*sigh* its alright." He says as he scoots closer and pulls me into his embrace. "I understand. This is going to big for her. But lets not prolong it any more then we need to..." "I know, and we wont." I say as I nuzzle his chest a bit. "I'm glad you're back. I missed you." I say as I tighten my hold on him. "I missed you to." He says as he rubs my back. I look up to him and stare into his eyes for a bit... KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK "Lip blocking jerks." I mumble as I bury my face in Miles' chest. "Yes guard?" I yell out. "Forgive my intrusion, but Princess Celestia is requesting your presence in the dinning hall for a special surprise. Also, she requests that we remind you that it's 7:29." I think about it for a second before I try to jump out of bed, only to have Miles hold me back. "Miles! I need to raise the moon!" I says as I try to get out his grasp. He just laughs a bit as he tightens his hold. "Ask nicely." He says with a playful smirk. I look at him and try to push him away, but we just end up falling off the bed. "Miles..." I complain as I start crawling to the balcony. "Say it." He says as he rolls over, putting in between him and the bed. "Agh... please." I say as I fall limp, waiting for him to let go. "Nicer." He demands. "*sigh* please." I say a sweetly and nicely as possible. "Mmm..... it felt a little... forced. Now say I love my Miles. And mean it." He says as he tightens his hold on me. "Jerk." I say as I try to get out of his grasp again. I flail around until I'm facing away from him, but still in his grasp. "*sigh* fine, you raise the moon." I say as I go limp again. "Ok." He says as he stands up, lifting me up along with him. "What! You can move the moon?!" I ask as he goes to the doors, holding me in his arms as if I was a new born foal. "Well... no. I could try to figure it out." He says with a mischievous smile. "... you're a punk." I say before I flail around again... THUD "Ha... you OK?" Miles asks as I continue to stare at the ground. "*groan* why did you let me fall?" I ask as I continue to stare at the ground. "That's what you get for flailing around like that." He says as he helps me back to my hooves. When I'm back up he gives me a small kiss on the nose, "Feel better?" "One more?" I ask, getting another kiss on the nose. "Thank you love." "Go raise the moon now. I'll meet you down for dinner." He says before giving me a kiss on the lips. When he went to pull away I pulled him in to continue the kiss. I've missed him too much to let this end too quickly. When the need forr air out weighed my need to have Miles, we finally parted from one another. "I love you Miles." I say as we catch our breath. "Scio. Te amo ad." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles As she raised the moon I started getting my gear back on. About half way through all of it goes up into the air, covered in a blue aura. I look back to see Luna walking in, horn glowing, with a confident smile on her face. "Need some help?" She says as she walk up to me and starts levitating everything where it's suppose to go. A few moments later I'm fully equipped... except for my rifle. I look back to Luna to see that she has it. She drops the magazine and pops the round out, levitating it back into the clip, before giving it back to me. "Luna..." "I don't think you'll be needing that for dinner." She says as she starts to get ready. "How did you know how to do that?" I ask as I sling my rifle. "I've never shown you how to do that." She stops and thinks about it, raising her eye brows when she realizes what she did. "I... I don't know. You just pull the chamber back and push the release. I just... I just know it." I think about it for a second before I pull out my revolver and set it on the dresser beside her. "OK, whats this?" "Its a .45 Pullum revolver with a composite hanHOW DO I KNOW THAT!" She yells as she backs up and starts to hyperventilate. "Did you ever tell me that? I don't remember ever being told that. Why do I know that! How..." "Luna!" I yell as I grab her and force her to look at me. "Whats the standard issue Terradisian side arm?" "A 9mm energy pistol.... Miles..." "Luna, I think I know whats going on here, but I'm not entirely sure. Next chance we get, come to my home with several hours to spare. I need to get inside your mind." She seems a little scared by this, so I pull her in for a hug. "It's going to be alright." "Whats wrong with me?" "Nothing... I think you just have all of my knowledge." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Celestia 8:03 pm I was just about to place my order when the dinning hall doors opened up, revealing Miles and Luna. "Sorry for the delays sister." Luna says as she trots up to me and gives me a hug. "Miles got lost." She whispers into my ear with a giggle. "Did you guys know you have a pool?" Miles says in astonishment. "We have a pool?" I ask Luna. "I didn't know until I saw it... and then pulled Miles out of it..." "How was I suppose to know that I'd sink with all of my gear?" Miles asks as they each take their seats, Luna to my right and Miles to my left. "You tried to go swimming with all of your gear on, why?" "Uh... why not?" Miles asks as the two of them start looking over their menus. "Becuase you'll drown." Luna says with a chuckle. We all share a small laugh as they go over their menus. Miles takes a look until he just sets it down and mumbles to himself. "Are you ready your highness?" The waiter asks Luna. "Yes, I will have the oven roasted roses and the bermuda puree." Luna says, making Miles shiver. "I will have the usual." I say. "I will have anything that isn't made of strawberries, grass, flowers or hay." Miles says, getting odd looks from everypony. "What? I can't read the menu." "Of course..." The waiter says before bowing to me and Luna and trotting into the kitchen. "So.... Miles, what was the second purpose of the Elements you were telling me about earlier?" I ask to start a conversation. "Hmm? Oh, right. The second purpose is that they were designed to attack the soul, not the body..." "Wait... they go after the soul... not the body?" I ask to clarify. "Yeah. I've cut people with them and it completely negated armor, flesh, everything. It only went after their souls." He says as he takes a drink of water. "So... you mean to tell me, that Luna has had her soul attacked twice." I ask as I look over to her, seeing the shocked expression on her face. "Is she going to be OK?" "Probably." Miles says as he looks over a bread stick. "She doesn't seem to be showing any signs of the bends. Not to mentions that her power levels seem to be fine, I would know from experience..." "You will never drop that, will you?" Luna asks, sounding slightly guilty. "You shot me, I get to pester you about it." He says, getting the two of them to laugh. I feel slightly uneasy about the subject, so I decide to change it. "So, didn't you want to ask Luna something about when we defeated Discord?" I quickly ask. "Right, when you did it, did you intend to turn him to stone?" "Not that I remember. From what I recall, when the ponies in Roam gave them to us, we spent almost a decade trying to figure out their purpose. Once we figured it out, we rose up against Discord. When we used their power... it was... hmm.." Luna says as she goes deep into thought. "What is it Luna?" I ask, seeing the confused look on her face. "Well, when I think about it. It reminded me of Soul Fire." Luna says as the waiters come out and present us our food. "Thank you." I say as the waiter bows and walks away. "Soul Fire you say, what do you mean?" I ask as I take a bite. "Well... you remember speaking to him. How he just... overpowered you. That's what it felt like. Raw power coursing through you. Like.... as if... I don't know how else to explain it..." "Its soul fire." Miles says as he looks over his oat sandwich, sighing slightly as he pushes it away. "What do you mean?" "Soul fire. Its the single most powerful form of raw magic that humans were able to achieve. It what pushed human kind into our next evolutionary historical moment; much like how fossil fuels pushed the pre-purgian civilizations. It made us into what we were. Imagine the true essence of it coursing through you. My question is, why would Discord turn to stone when two different groups of people used them." "Well... he was the spirit of chaos. Maybe that was how he avoided getting his soul destroyed..." "Or he has the rest of my Elements." Miles says, making us both look at him in disbelief. "I believe he has the Elements of Chaos." "Your... what?" I ask as I drop my fork. "I didn't just make the Elements of Harmony. I also made the Elements of Chaos." He says as he looks back to us. "The... Elements of Chaos." Luna repeats. "What are those?" "Anger, Greed, Deception, Selfishness, Cruelty, and Magic." "Magic... but the Element of Magic is a part of the Elements of Harmony. Why would they be with the Elements of Chaos?" I ask. "Becuase I didn't call them magic when I made them. That was Eximius' idea. Originally, they were called Friendship and Solitude. Being alone and being together. A positive and a negative. Black and white. Both essential in my studies of friendship." "How could chaos possibly be a part of friendship?" I ask, slightly annoyed off from the ludicrous idea. "Becuase chaos is an essential part of friendship. Everything in the world has a positive and a negative. You can't have one without the other. In order to have true balance, you have to be both chaotic and harmonious...." "How could you say that? Look at Twilight and her friends..." "You mean the group of friends that only met becuase you up rooted Twilight's life and sent her into an untamed forest to fight a powerful enemy. The same group who only discovered their greatest traits becuase someone tried to bring out their worst, and becuase of this became the new bearers. That group." "You're taking it out of context Miles." I say as I turn to face him. "Yes that did happen, but it was only becuase they prevailed becuase of the Elements of Harmony. Chaos... is a destructive force." "Chaos, is the greatest teacher. Without it, nothing would ever happen. Friends don't just live in harmony. You get angry. You get cruel. Sometimes you just want a moment to yourself. The greatest of friendships travel through chaos before finding harmony." Miles says as he looks at the glass thing in his pocket and stands up. "Sorry, but I have to get going. Tomorrow, Terradisia is having another citizens meeting, I expect you both to be there." He says as he starts to walk out of the hall. "Wait, why?" I ask, making him stop by the door. "Becuase as citizens you need to attend. If you don't show up, I'll just drag you there myself. We'll start after sunset. Goodnight Celestia, Luna." He says before he leaves the room. "Well... that was... intersting." Luna says as I let out a long sigh. "I swear every time I talk to him I feel as if I'm going to have an aneurysm." I say as I rub my eyes. "Well... that was just a... strange occurrence. Though, it was interesting..." "Interesting?" I ask as I look back to Luna. "You realize that he could of possibly made Discord, don't you?" "He didn't mean to. If he had his way, he would have them in his possession right now." She defends, only to make me shake my head. "If he had his way, I don't think you'd be a virgin right now." I say before returning to my food. "Yeah... heh... could you imagine?" Luna asks with a chuckle. "No, I can't. But enough about that. How are the night operations going for Las Pegasis..." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Unknown Close.... not quite there. Just a little more and I'll be free. All in good time. Patience, they'll slip up. Just wait for harmony to fall... And chaos will rain supreme.... Chapter 126 New PowerChapter 126 New Power After my dinner with Celestia and Luna, I had to drive home. Storm and Big Mac had taken the Mico platform back, so I had to do the drive in solitude. After about two hours of driving I finally made it home... and the lights are on. Who the fuck is dumb enough to try to steal from me? Why are they in my room! I come to a stop out front and jump out. I tried to barge straight to my room, but as soon as I opened the door, Lupus and Hati tackled me to the ground to lick my face. "Why.... stop..... my face.... TOO FLUFFY!" I yell as I try to get them off. After a minute or two of constant licking, I finally mange to get up and away from them, though they still follow me, trying to get affection. When I get up the stairs they stop following me an whimper away, tails between their legs. I go to my room and open.... "AAAAAAGGGHHHHH!" Big Mac yells as Fluttershy stops bouncing on top of him.... "WHY!" I yell, getting Big Macs attention. Fluttershy just falls forward and pants into his neck. "You too! Why? Why my bed?! You literally could go anywhere else, why?" "Uh... Storm told me to." Big Mac says sleepily. *EYE TWITCH* "OK, I'm going to go kill Storm then, don't be here when I get back." "EEmaybe." He says as he nuzzles Fluttershy's cheek, seeming to fall asleep. I walk straight to the library and kick the door open, scaring the crap out of Spike. "GAH! Miles! What..." "Wheres Storm?" I ask as I step in and look around. "He went out with Twilight. They said they'd be back in a while... but that was a few hours ago." Spike says as looks down nervously. "*Grr* fine. I'll just come back tomorrow then. Hey, your birthday passed recently right?" I ask as I gain a mischievous smile. "Uh... yeah. I'm ten now, why?" He asks, caught off guard by the sudden change of subject. "I have a gift for you, well, I'm really just going to give your marks and set up a training regiment. Want to come with me to go do it? We can just leave a note for Twilight and Storm." "Yeah! But... I know Twilight and Storm will want to be there, did you know for my birthday they adopted me! Isn't that cool!?" He asks joyfully, smiling broadly. "They did? Yeah kid, that's awesome. Well, we'll wait for them then. There's nothing formal about it, but I can understand wanting your parents there." I say, getting Spike to smile even more. "Well... I should get going then...." "Aw, you can't stay to hang out? I was getting a little lonely waiting for Storm and Twilight." He says as he pouts a bit. "Well... I guess I can stay for a bit longer." Mainly to avoid Big Mac and Fluttershy. "But first things first, I need some food." "Huh, Storm said the same thing. I can make you something if you'd like. I don't mind." "Thanks Spike, appreciate it." I go and sit down in the kitchen and watch as he gets to work making me something. "So... what is it going to be like to use human magic. I mean, I know for unicorns its like having an extra appendage, but what is it like for humans?" Spike asks as he starts making black dotted pancakes. "Well, when humans use magic, we're taking something and imbuing it with our souls. From there we manipulate it. So... I guess its like having something new become a part of you. Its a little more complicated then that, but that's the general idea. What are you making?" I ask as I lean over and try to get a better look. "Oh, just some chocolate chip pancakes. I remember how much you like pancakes, and Twilight mentioned that you liked chocolate chip cookies, so I figured you'd like chocolate chip pancakes." Oh sweet Barbra... I fucking called it. These are going to be the greatest things ever. "Is... is getting marked going to hurt?" "Well... that's a tricky question. When I got my marks... it was terrible. I sucked in the energy from ten floors and passed out from maxing the first time. But, I'm over powered. My friends say it was like getting pinched. This has never been done before on another creature type, so it'll be interesting to say the least." I say, getting a nervous glance from Spike. Now that I think about, Spike will be the first non human to receive marks. Interesting.... "Well..." Spike says as he brings me a plate of pancakes and sits on the other side of the table. "I'm still going to do it. I figure if I can do this, I can be the one to protect everypony in the future." He says as I take a bite.... "Oh sweet Barbra..." "Who?" CRASH Spike and I both look back to see Storm laying on the ground before the door, panting slightly. Before we could ask anything he jumps back up and runs out the door, leaving us a bit confused. "Storm, I already told I'd be fine." Twilight complains as Storm escorts her inside. "I know, I just don't want you stressing yourself." He says as he ushers her inside and shuts the door behind them. "Storm..." I say as I stand up. He takes one look at me before trying to run out the front door. As he runs out I quickly run after him and tackle him to the ground as he tries to take to the air. "WHY?!" I yell as I pin him down. "Why my bed?!" "Because it's...." FLASH We both teleport back into the living room of the library and drop before Twilight. I look up to her and see the displeased look on her face, so we both stand up and wait for it. "Well?" She asks as she shifts her stance a bit. "He told Big Mac to have sex in my bed." I say quickly. "Yeah but...." "And because of that you come to my home and attack him?" Twilight asks. "Well..." "Is this my home?" She asks, knowing the answer. "Yes..." "My house, my rules?" "*sigh* what's my punishment?" I ask, hanging my head slightly. "You, and Storm," she says as she glances over to Storm, "are going to clean this place up while I catch up on my studies, understood?" "Yes ma'am." I say. "Why me?" Storm asks. Twilight just gives him a look, making him sigh. "Yes dear." "Good. Now get started." She says, getting us both to move to the closet to get the cleaning supplies. "This is your fault." I say as I grab a broom. "Why is it my fault?" Storm asks as he grabs a wash cloth. "Less talking, more cleaning." Twilight says as she goes to her podium and flips through a book. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Twilight The Next Morning I wake up to Storm leaving the bed. I give a little yawn before looking out the window, seeing how early it is. "Why are you getting up so early?" I ask as I sit up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. "Sorry for waking you, I'm heading over to Sweet Apple Acres to help out for the day." He says as he gives a little stretch. "Why didn't you tell me you were going to work today? I wouldn't have kept you up so late." I say as I get out of bed to go make breakfast. "I'll be fine. Don't worry. I'll be back around three and we have a Terradisian meeting tonight after sunset. What are you doing for the day?" He asks as we head to the kitchen together. "I need to catch up on my studies." I say with a groan. "I feel as if I'm so far behind. I'm only halfway through my Illusionary spell book, not to mention I haven't even looked at my polymorphic..." "Twilight." Storm says flatly as we enter the living room. "I saw your schedule, those are all next weeks books." "I know. But if I'm not ahead, then I'm behind." I say, getting him to shake his head as we walk into the kitchen to find Miles sleeping on the counter. Storm gets an evil smile as he flies up above him and gently touches his shoulder, getting him to look up. "WAKE UP!" He yells, making him fall off the counter. Storm laughs as he lands beside him and waits for him to get up.... "Did he... did he knock himself out?" I ask as we watch him lay there. "Hey Miles, you OK?" Storm asks as he pushes him a bit, waking him up. He looks around a bit before getting up, rubbing his head a bit. "Hmm? Whats up?" He asks sleepily as he takes a seat. Storm and I just shake our heads as we both go to the stove. We make and eat breakfast quietly. Miles seemed... distracted. It's probably nothing, but I'll be sure to ask him later today about it. I was going to make breakfast, but Storm insisted on doing it himself. He isn't the best cook, but I figure he could use the practice. Once they finished eating, they went straight for Sweet Apple Acres, leaving me to my studies. I go to my podium and pull all of the books I'll need for my studies, putting them into neat piles beside me. "Uh.. Twilight?" Spike asks as he walks up beside me. "Can I ask you a few questions?" "Of course, what's on your mind?" I ask as I turn back to him. "Well, its about magic..." "Well you've come to the right pony." I say, feeling more confident about the subject. "Well... what if I'm overpowered like Miles? What if this becomes something that'll kill me? Or what if it doesn't work? Who's going to teach me about dragon magic? Do dragons even have magic? I don't want..." "Whoa, slow down Spike." I say, getting him to stop ranting. "First off, I think Miles is a special case. He did mention his friends being normal. And if it doesn't work... well, then we'll just have to work together to figure out how dragon magic works..." "But how do you know if dragons even have magic?" Spike asks as he start to get upset. "Well... I don't know Spike. Ponies and dragons don't interact so... we'll just have to figure it out with time..." "But, what about my size." He says as he looks down at himself. "Well... I think Storm will..." "Am I always going to be this short? When will I start to grow? Will I have wings? When do they come in? Will I become greedy again? How about..." "Spike!" I yell, getting his attention again. "I don't know. I'm sorry, I wish I did, but I don't know. Why are you worrying so much about all of this Spike?" "Well... I was talking with Miles last night, and I asked him a bit about getting marked. After that i started to think about it and... well, these questions came to mind." He says as he hangs his head down and kicks the ground lightly. I pick him up with my magic and pull him in for a hug. "Spike, don't worry about these things." I say as I nuzzle the top of his head. "I know you'll want answers, but we can't give them to you. But when they come up, we'll be right here for you." "Really?" He asks as he returns the hug. "Thanks Twil.... thanks Mom." I take a deep breath before saying, "It's going to be alright... son." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles Once we got to Sweet Apple Acres Applejack put us straight to work. While Storm and Big Mac went to the western fields, Applejack and I went to the eastern fields. From there, she went south and I went north. Once I was a ways in I got started kicking trees, trying my best not to obliterate any of them, a task easier said then done. My first tree was toppled with my first kick. I spent awhile studying the inside before attempting to fix it. Though it was rather strenuous, I was able to piece it back together. "Well, that'll save me some trouble." I say to Luna as I go again, with better results. She's been scrying me ever since breakfast. Its nice to know she's watching my back, though I'd rather have her here instead. "Its getting pretty late... early, you should get some sleep." I say as I pick up the apples. *Blink Blink* "No huh. Alright, but only for another hour, after that I want you in bed." *Blink* "Alright then." I say as I move to the next tree, kicking it lightly to get the apples to fall down. "Be sure that you and Celestia come to today's meeting. There's actual information that you both need to hear." *Blink.... Blink.* "No?" I say as I turn back. "Sorry love, but you have to come." *Blink* "Then... you don't want Celestia to come then?" *Blink* "Sorry, but as our sister she has to come." *Blink Blink* "Yes, she does. Even if I have to come down there and drag her down. Sorry, but this is the way things are. Why don't you want to have her come?" *...* "Right, yes no answers. Are you afraid she'll not approve of how things are?" *Blink Blink* "Do you just not want her to come?" *Blink Blink* "Is it... because...." RING RING RING RING I stop and go to my phone, seeing that Luna's calling me. "Yeah?" I ask as I answer the call. "I'm afraid that she'll figure out that we're married." She says. "Oh... shit." I mutter as I think about it. "Yeah. With only half of the bearers there she may put that only the families of the Spartans will be there. From there, well, its just putting one and one together." She says as she drops the scrying spell. I put my speaker back on before getting back to work. "Well, what do you want to do about it? It's not like we can just tell her not to come when I already told her to. It will raise too many suspicions." "I know... maybe... well..." "Whats on your mind." I ask as I start picking up the apples. "Well... I don't like it, but the only way we could get around this is by... lying." "*sigh* I don't want to add to the lies we're already telling her." "I don't either, but its the only way she can come without revealing our marriage..." "Remind me why we can't do that again?" I ask as I levitate all of the baskets with me and start to head towards the storage cellar. "I already told you Miles, we're under too much stress right now. It wouldn't be well received. I'm sorry, but we'll have to wait for a better time." "*sigh* alright. Just leave it to me then. I've got to get going now, get to bed already." "Thank you Miles, love you." "Love you to." I say before hanging up. I don't like this, but I'll play along.. though she never said anything about dropping subtle hints.. oh this is going to be good. 3:13 pm After a long day of work and some running around I've finally decided how I'm going to go about this, and I think Luna may kill me. Well, it'll be worth it for her making me have to lie so much. As soon as I opened the door to my home I was assaulted with affection from Lupus and Hati, I guess they missed me. As I lay on the ground, petting them and trying not to get my face licked so much, I notice Storm, Twilight, and Spike walking up towards me. "Hey guys!" I yell as I try to get up. "Whats up?" "Uh... Miles, why are wolves licking you?" Spike asks as they all stop beside me. "Don't ask." Storm says flatly. "We're here so Spike can get his marks, remember?" "Ah, right." I say as I finally get to my feet. "Go ahead and make yourselves comfortable while I go get the Virgum de Marcas." I say as I usher them inside and run up stairs, having Lupus and Hati chase after me. I go to my closet and... CRASH As soon as I opened the closet door a wall of weapons fell straight out. I look over them all in astonishment. I know I told Butterscotch and E'Claire to bring me all of the weapons... I just didn't imagine they would have this many. I sift through it all until I find the black bar I was looking for. With it in my hands, I make my way back downstairs to find the others waiting on the couch. "What was that noise?" Storm asks as I approach them. "It was just a bunch of weapons falling out of my closet. Come here Spike." I say as I take a knee, presenting the bar. "It''s time." Perspective: Spike I glance back to Twilight and Storm before jumping off the couch and approach Miles. "Shouldn't we... I don't know, do this a little formally?" I ask as I stand before him. I can't help but rub my hands a bit as my nerves get the better of me. "No. It wouldn't matter if we were in a hospital or a gutter. Getting your marks only require two things. Hands, and a soul. Now, this is how this is going to work. You see the two dark spots?" I nod. "You are going to grab them and hold them as tightly as possible. It may take a while, but from there you will receive your makes. No matter what, you can not let go of the bar until it is completed. If you do, you could lose your soul. Do you understand?" "*gulp* y-yeah." I say as I take a step towards him. "Whenever you're ready." I glance back to Twilight and Storm, getting encouraging motions, before I take a deep breath and grab the bar. I move my hands to the correct spots and squeeze as hard as I can, wincing as I wait for something to happen. "Is... is it done yet?" I ask as I glance down at it, seeing it unchanged. "Aw... it didn't work." "Spike, its only been four seconds." Miles says as he sits down and watches closely. "When I did it, it took almost half an hour before it started. Just wait." "If you say so." I say as I continue to hold onto it. "So... are you going to be, like my mentor or something?" "Yes. I'll be the one to teach you how to use this power. We'll set up a regiment in which you will come here to learn." "Oh, cool." I say as I look back to Twilight and Storm. Twilight seems happy, but Storm seems a little worried. "So, what are wAAAAHHHHHH!" I yell as the bar suddenly starts to glow red. I feel a sharp pain run through my body as I hold onto the bar. "Finally." Miles says as he stands up. "Is he alri..." "AAAHHaha... *pant* is... is it done?" I ask as the pain suddenly stops. It wasn't that bad. It felt as if somepony hit me with a hammer or something. "Almost, one last thing." Miles says as he backs up. "He breathes fire right?" "Yeah..." "RAAAAWWWWRR!" I scream out as a sudden rush of energy starts to force its way back in. In my scream, I had let out a large green plume of fire, nearly roasting Miles. Luckily he had put up a shield before anything bad could happen. I continue to hold the bar as the power forces itself through my body. I start to shake a bit as I feel something change in me. I drop to my knees as I feel a massive pressure build up in my back. "Oh... shit." Miles says as the pain finally starts to fade away. I finally let go of the bar as I hold my eyes shut and wait for the pain to subside. "Miles! What did you do!?" Twilight yells. "Well... hmm. I don't know." He says as I hear him walk around me. I don't really care right now... I just want to sleep. THUD Chapter 127 SororChapter 127 Soror When I wake up I feel... strangely fine. The pain wasn't that bad, thinking back. I look around to see Twilight's sitting beside me as Storm paces around in front of Miles. Everypony looks so worried, well, except Miles. He looks intrigued beyond belief. "He's awake!" Twilight says excitedly. "Spike!" Storm says worriedly as he runs to my side. "Are you OK? Is there any pain or...." "Hey Spike, stand up." Miles says from behind with a confident smile. I look around nervously before standing up. I don't really see wh.... "How did I get so....... MY VOICE!" I yell as I grab my neck. "WHY IS MY VOICE SO DEEP!?" I yell as I look around. I must be... six feet tall now! "Spike, take it easy. Baby steps.." Storm says as I start to walk around, looking over my body. The dark green spikes on my back and head are much longer now. I'm fairly muscular, nothing like Miles, but still defined. My fingers are longer and end with sharp claws. I feel something new on my.... "I HAVE WINGS!" I yell as I try to look over the new appendages on my back. The inner webbing is dark green while the rest is purple. "Come with me Spike." Miles says as he heads towards the back. I look to Twilight and Storm before I follow after him. It feels strange not having to jog to keep up. This is going to take some getting use to. We step outside and walk for a bit until Miles looks back to me. It feels weird not having to look up to him anymore, being almost eye level with him now. He still has a few inches on me, but I'm fairly close to his height now. "So...." "Lets bring out your magic." He says quickly. "What? No Miles. He just went through a massive change, he needs to rest and..." "He can rest when I'm dead. We start now." He says, silencing Twilight and Storm. They step back and let him do as he wishes. "First, look for the energy within. Once you find it, push it towards your hands and bring it out. You need some kind of movement to bring it out properly. Like this." He says as he shakes his arms and ignites his hands. "Give it a try." "Ok... here goes nothing." I say as I close my eyes and try to find anything within. Fire. I... I feel as if there's a small flame right where my heart should be. I try connecting to it and feel for my claws. I can feel it. The power... its good. I give my arms a quick shake and feel something happen, so I open my eyes. "I did it!" I say as I look over my claws. "Great, now defend yourself." BOOM Perspective: Miles "Miles! What are you doing!?" Twilight screams from the side as Storm holds her back. I had sent a blast of energy across Spikes face, knocking him over. "Teaching him control." I say as I walk over to him. I hear him let out a primal growl as he starts to get up, glaring at me as he lets out a puff of smoke from his nostrils. "You feel it, don't you." I say as I stop before him. "I... I think...." "The power. Its calling you isn't it?" I ask as he looks back down to his hands. "This... is what's referred to as the trials. Most people take a few months to reach this, but you jumped straight to it. So now we're going to do this the hard way." "I... can feel it. It's burning me... it needs to escape... I have to let it out before I...." BOOM I smack him across the face again with some energy, getting some more primal growls from him as I ready myself. "Can you handle the power?" I taunt. "RAAAAHH!" He yells as he thrusts both his palms at me, sending a plume of fire at me. I throw my arms out to the side and suck the oxygen from before me, killing the fire. He tries to add more power to it, sending the archaic lines up to his shoulders as he tries to burn me. With a quick spin back, I send another slash of energy at him, hitting him on the chest and knocking him on his back. "You're going to have to do better then that if you're going to beat me. GET UP!" I yell as he gets on his hands and knees. "I'll KILL YOU!" He yells as he charges at me, flames falling from his maw. "So foolish." I take a few steps back as he approaches until he's only a meter away. "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" He screams as he blasts green flames from his mouth. Instead of sucking the air out, I create a shield in each hand. I use one to block the flames as I run towards him, closing the distance quickly. THWACK Once I was close enough I spun around and smacked my shield across his face and then across his knee, dropping him down to it. I go to drop both of my shields down onto him, but he catches them both with his hands, stopping my attack. He growls at me as he stands up and expands his massive wings. "Give me POWER!" He yells before making a powerful flap of his wings, sending him high into the air. As he climbs higher and higher, I take my two shields and force them together, making a bolt of white energy. I pull the bolt apart between my hands and aim for Spike. KRUUM I lob the energy up and hit him square in the chest, sending him spinning down to the ground. As I start to run towards him, I flail my arms around as I hurl chunks of earth at him, pelting him as he falls. When he finally hits the ground I stop and push my arms up, making a column of earth come up beneath me and send me high into the air. When I'm high enough I flip back and push the earth down, sending it on a collision with Spike. FOOM I watch as the column explodes from Spikes fire, sending dust and debris everywhere. A second later, Spike flies through the smoke and is coming straight for me. I push my energy past my elbows and send a blast of energy at him. KA-BOOM He slams back down into the bottom of the column, sending even more dust up into the air. I feel myself start to drop, so I push myself with my magic and slam down beside Spike. He's still trying to get up, time to end this. I grab him magically and start to run off, dragging him along. I push myself archaically to move faster until I stop and launch spike into the air. He tumbles for a bit until he collides into a tree, snapping it in half. He falls to the ground and lays there, panting heavily. I lift him into the air magically and start to choke him out, making him gag and squirm around. "Submit." I say as I add a bit of pressure to him. "I... bu.... erm....." He gags as I levitate him towards me. "I SAID SUBMIT!" I yell before slamming him onto the ground. I hold my arms out and start to envelope them in a green energy. When I finish covering them, Spike is about half way back up, so I bring both of my hands down. He slams back down to the ground and stays there. I kick him over and sit on his chest as I pull him up. "You ready to submit?" "Y-yes..." "Am I your master?" Y.... yes...." "And who holds the power?" I ask as I ready to punch him again. "Yo.... you hold the power..." "Right. Sleep tight Spike." KER-PUNCH I knock him out with one final punch across the face. I stand back up and take a few breathes as I let go of my magic. He was tough, but easily broken. "Is it over?" I look over to see Storm standing alone by the door. "Yeah... he has some power to him... nothing like me, but still commendable." I say as I walk over to him. "I need you to go to Moosden and Sweet Apple Acres to gather the Terradisians for the meeting. I'm going inside to talk with Twilight." "Alright... the rest of your training won't be like that... will it?" Storm asks, concern filling his voice. "Don't worry, that was just the trial. Its when the power starts to corrupt your mind, attempts to change you. I may have to do it one or two more times, but the rest of the training wont be that bad." I say before heading inside. I walk in and find Twilight sitting on the couch, crying lightly. "Hey... sorry you had to see that." "Why did you do that?" She asks as she wipes her tears away. I sigh as I walk over and take a seat beside her, laying an arm across the back of the couch. "Its part of the trials. Human magic can corrupt you if you don't keep it in check. Usually it happens a few months after getting your marks, but for Spike it was a bit early. He went straight for the power and was corrupted for a bit. The only way to get them out of that mind set is to beat them senseless and have them submit to someone else." "Did you have to go through that?" Twilight asks quietly. "Four times. And trust me, from what I'm told, Spike got it easy. Apparently, I was so jacked up on power when I was eight, I took out an entire advance class before Susurrans had to come and stop me, even then it took awhile. As far as human magic goes, that was completely normal." I say as reassuringly as possible. "Well... I don't like this, but... I understand the need for it. Just... promise me that you'll take good care of him. I don't like seeing him get hurt." "I will... hey Spike, how ya feeling?" I ask as Spike staggers inside. "Like crud." He says as he drops into the recliner. "What.... what happened?" "I kicked your ass." I say, getting a smack from Twilight. "Congrats, you now have magic. I expect to see you here as often as possible for training. At least four times a week if I'm here. If I'm away, then I want you studying any and everything. The make up of soils, gems, metals, liquids, anything that you may encounter that you may wish to manipulate..." "That sounds like a lot of work." Spike grumbles as he rubs his face. "Don't worry, I'll help you study up on everything. Where are you going to start?" Twilight asks as she gets up and walks over to him, nuzzling his arm a bit. "We're going to start with the basics. Power control, levitation, and inner/outer strength. We'll also throw in some fire control. He seems to already have a pretty good grasp on it..." KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK "That's for starters at least, we'll have to see how he progresses before anything else." I say as I walk over to the door and open it. "Whats up sister." I say to Celestia. Perspective: Celestia "Whats up sister." Miles asks with a large smile as he opens the door. I was caught a bit off guard by the question, but ignore it as I put on my own smile. "Evening Miles, sorry for the intrusion, but I had a few questions I'd like to ask before your little Terradisian meeting. May I come in?" "Of course." Miles says as he steps inside. I turn to my guards and nod to them before stepping inside. "Princess Celestia!" Twilight exclaims as I walk into the living room. "Twilight, my prized pupil how... how... who is that?" I ask as I see the battered purple dragon in the recliner. "Oh, hiya Princess." The dragon, sounding oddly familiar, says as he stands. "Its me... Spike." "Spike!" I almost yell. "What happened to you? You're... you're..." "Can I get you something to drink?" Miles asks as he walks in from the kitchen. "What happened to Spike?" I ask again, unable to look away from him. "Well, you see Princess, the thing is..." "I've got human magic now!" Spike says excitedly. "Check it out." He shakes his arms out, bringing out white flames in his claws. "But... but... how?" I ask as I look around the room, trying to find the answers. "It's simple really." Miles says as he walks up beside Spike and wraps an arm around him. "We had him hold onto a Virgum de Marcus and hold tightly. From there, he was marked and connected to his soul. My guess is that dragons grow with their power. So when we forced him to have human magic, it forced him to grow. That's my guess at least." "But... he has wings. The last time he changed into an adult dragon he didn't have wings." I ask as I start to look him over some more. He seems to be the size of a teenage dragon. "Well... that's probably his magic just acting weird. This was intended for humans after all. Something was bound to happen." Miles says as he looks over Spikes wings. "Anyway, you said you had questions..." "Right... right. Can we, speak in private?" I ask. Miles nods and moves to the back, so I follow after him. We stop in the kitchen and turn to one another, keeping silent for a bit before I clear my throat to start. "So, I was thinking about a few things recently..." "Is that so. What's on you mind soror?" "Soror? Anyway, when did I become Terradisian? I don't see how Luna or I could be citizens. Twilight and Fluttershy married in, but..." "This actually goes way back." Miles interrupts. "Your parents were made honorary citizens back from the negotiations. I didn't think about it until we had dinner. It's lineage soror." "Oh... OK. My next concern is; do I need to know anything about being a citizen? Whats going to be required of me." "Well soror, that's a bit of an answer. It basically works like this..." He goes through everything that's required of being a citizen. Everything from announcements to taxes. Their system of government seems... really well thought out. It's definitely making me think about our own system. "And the there's these civil meetings. Here you can bring up any concerns about anything. Any other questions?" "Yes, you mentioned something about speaking about everything, but surely there must be somethings withheld. Right?" He takes a deep breath before saying, "If you ask me something during a meeting, I am honor bound to answer it truthfully. There are no secrets in Terradisia." He says as if he's leading to another question. "Right... well, thank you Miles. I'm heading back to Canterlot...." "What? But you just got here. Just send Luna a letter that you're here already here and hang out a bit. No need to waste time heading there just to head back. Come on soror, how often do you get to watch a dragon perform human magic?" I don't get why he keeps calling me soror. It must be a human thing I guess. "I would love to stay, but..." "Great, then lets get started. I'll grab Spike, you just head out back and we'll get started." Miles says before walking off. "I didn't say anything about staying.... Miles.... Miles?" I yell out as he talks to Spike and Twilight. They both grow large smiles as they start heading towards me. Great... now I have to stay. "Are you really going to stay for my first lesson Princess Celestia?" Spike asks excitedly. "... of course. Wouldn't dream of missing it." I say as I put on a smile. "Awesome! I promise to do my best!" He says before running around me and out back. "Thanks for staying Princess. I know you have a busy schedule, so we really appreciate your staying." Twilight says before walking after Spike. "You planned that, didn't you?" I ask Miles as we walk out together. "Of course. Running a government shouldn't be about meetings and politics, it should be people coming together for a common purpose. Speaking with one another instead of through elected officials. I felt you needed reminding of that." He says as he walks out ahead of me. "If only it was that easy." I mumble as I take a seat beside Twilight. Perspective: Miles "Alright Spike, take a deep breath, relax." I say as I inhale and exhale. "Magic isn't something you should fear..." "Shouldn't fear, got it." Spike says as he takes another breath. "... because if you fear it, it will tear you apart and destroy everything you love. Got it." "...." He stays quiet as he takes a few more deep breaths, trying to relax. "Relax, I can do that." "Alright, bring up your magic, like I showed you." I say as I start to walk around him. He nods as does as hes told, bringing up his magic with no problems. "Good. Now, what is fire?" "Uh... what?" He asks as he looks to me. I hear Twilight and Celestia chuckle a bit, making him blush. "Fire, what is it?" "Um... its... like... well..." He stutters as he tries to think of the answer. "What does it do?" "It... burns?" "Right, delve into that. What happens when it burns?" "Well...its kind... when it burns something, that thing gets really hot." "Right, good. Heat. And what is heat?" I ask, getting a confused looks from Spike. "Why do I need to know this?" "To use something like fire, you need to have a total understanding of it. You'll only be able to use fire when you're able to teach fire..." "But I've already used fire, shouldn't I be able to use it?" "Give it a try." I say with a smug smile. He gives me a look before thrusting his arms forward. Having nothing happen, he tries again. And again. And again. "Not working, is it?" "I did it earlier, why can't I do it now?" Spike asks as he continues to try. "Earlier you were power hungry. In that mind set, you went into a primal state. Being a dragon fire must be natural to you. Now do you want to keep wasting time or do you want me to teach you?" "Sorry." "Sorry what?" "Sorry... master?" "Very well, lets continue." I say as I step in front of him and create an orb of fire. "Fire, is energy. Raw, unaltered, energy. Humans refer to it as a negative energy. To create fire, you need three things, heat, fuel, and oxygen. Its referred to as a negative because there is always a negative energy pool after using it." I say as I switch the orb to electricity. "Electricity, on the other hand, is a positive. When you create electricity, there is a residual energy left. Ever get shocked and then feel more energetic?" "Yeah..." "That's why." I say as I drop the orb. "Fire is life and destruction. You can't have life without it." "But.. how can you have both?" Spike asks. "Sometimes, something needs to die in order for something else to live. Fire burns, but the heat from it keeps our planet alive. It kills, while supporting life." "So..." He says as he looks to his hands. "What does that make soul fire?" "Soul fire, is the fire that is our souls. It drives us to live, but it kills us in the process. You cannot live without a soul, but at the same time, a soul will drive you towards things that would usually kill you. Your dreams, power... love. Its truly the most powerful thing you will ever hope to achieve. But lets not get ahead of ourselves. What is fire?" "Its... energy.. its life... its the energy of life." Spike concludes. "It seems being around Twilight has made you sharper then most." I say as I glance over to her, seeing her blush a bit. "Now give it a try. Any kind of fire you can muster." He nods to me before concentrating on what I said. He holds his hands out in front of himself and tries to replicate the orb I made. I chuckle a bit as I turn to the others, if he wants to go the long way, that's his call. "I'm going to get some water, either of you want something to drink?" "Water would be nice." Twilight says. "I would like one as well." Celestia says as she gives me a smile. Perspective: Celestia Once Miles shuts the door behind himself I turn to Twilight and ask, "Are you paying attention to all of this?" "Of course. If there's anything you've taught me, its to pay attention." Twilight says with a warm smile. "Good. This is invaluable information on not only human magic, but human philosophy as well. It would do us both good to pay attention." I say as I straighten out. "Philosophy?" Twilight asks as she tilts her head in confusion. "Of course. You didn't get anything from his little lecture on the properties of fire? Its obvious that this is going to be an intense experience for Spike..." "Really?" Spike asks as he breaks his focus. "Spike." Twilight says sternly, getting Spike to go back to trying to bring out fire. "Yes, really. If this is only lesson one, imagine the advance teachings." "Advance what?" Miles asks as he steps out and offers us each a glass of water. "Oh, we were just talking about your lesson. It's... very in depth." I say as I take a sip... this is tap. "Well you're more then welcome to come to the lessons." He says as he downs his entire glass. "Really? But I thought Spartans were suppose to be secretive." I ask as I try another sip. This just doesn't compare to sparkling water... "And it is. He won't be learning those spells. This will only cover from basic to intermediate. Advanced spells would require passing Spartan training..." "Can I..." "No!" Twilight yells, silencing Spike. "You..." Miles says as he points to Spike. "Fire. Don't leave that spot until you make it." "But that could take all night." Spike whines. "Then fire will come in handy, won't it?" Miles says with a smile. "I'd get working on it if I were you, sunsets coming soon." He says as he takes a seat beside me. Spike gulps before returning to the task at hoof. "So soror, what studies have you been giving Twilight?" "Well..." Perspective: Luna, 7:08pm I give a little stretch as the curtains pull back, revealing the setting sun. I get out of bed and start brushing my mane when I notice a scroll on my desk. Curious, I pick it up and read it over. Luna, I went to Miles' home early to discuss somethings with him. I will be staying here until the meeting begins. Please meet me here after raising the moon. Celestia. Oh, OK..... "WHAT!" I yell as I reread the letter. Oh no, oh noonononono this isn't happening right now. This isn't good. I look outside to see Celestia starting to lower the sun. So I run out to the balcony and begin to move the moon. I have to get there as quickly as possible. Knowing Miles, he's probably making things worse between the two of them, not that he tries to. Its just... those two get along as well as a minotaur and a zebra. After finishing with the moon, feeling slightly guilty for rushing it, I charge my horn and appear in front of Miles' house... actually. I guess with us being married, that makes it our house. FOCUS! With a quick shake of the head I burst through the door and look around, finding most of Apple family in the living room. "Where's Miles?" I ask as I look around, hearing shouts somewhere. "Out back with Celestia an..." Applejack starts, but I ignore the rest as I run out to the back. FOOSH I jump back as two plumes of fire collide, sending flames towards me. "Watch out Luna, he's getting good at this." Celestia says from my left. "Tia, whats going.... who is that?" I ask as the flames subside to reveal Miles and a large purple dragon, both of which having magical ports open on their hands. "That would be Spike." Twilight says from behind Celestia. "Long story short, he received marks to perform human magic. But the marks forced him into this form and gave him wings. He's now Miles' apprentice in magic." "O..k..." I say as I watch them walk back towards us. The lines on Spike are up to his shoulders, and he's panting. Miles on the other hoof.... "Hey Lulu." He says cheerfully as he stops in front of us. "Pfft, Lulu?" Celestia chuckles as she looks to me. "Aw come on soror..." "What!?" I yell as I shake my head. Sister. He just called her sister. He finally told her. A/N: Shout out to Arlan753 for picking the element Spike learns first. Thanks for reading and like always, Brony on! Chapter 128 Big NewsChapter 128 Big News I can't believe it. He did it... and nothing has exploded yet. Celestia looks happy, Miles seems... "Well, the meeting is going to start as soon as Storm and Moosden arrive..." FLASH "I'm back!" Storm says as he walks out from a mico platform in the back. "... OK then. Lets head inside and get this over with." Miles says as he walks inside. As everypony starts to walk inside, I stop Celestia to talk to her in private. "Is everything alright, Lulu?" Celestia asks with a chuckle. "Right, I just..." FLASH We both look back to see a light cream mare with a short white mane appear, followed by a light blue mare with a light blue mane in the same style. "Oh... uh..." The light tan one says before they both bow to us. As they bow, two more flashes appear, revealing a pair of moose's. "Are you here for the Terradisian meeting?" Celestia asks, getting them to rise. "Uh... yeah." The light blue one says as the others gather around her. "It's just about to start, go ahead and step inside, my sister and I will join shortly." Celestia says cheerfully. I wait until all of them are inside before turning back to Celestia. "So... I'm assuming that you... and Miles... had... a talk." I say as I try to find the right words. "Yes. It s was rather... enlightening, but I think being Terradisian will be... interesting, to say the least." "Really, you aren't mad that I didn't tell you sooner?" "Well, I would of liked to have known sooner, but its fine. Now lets..." "THANK YOU SO MUCH TIA!" I yell as I yank her into a hug, squeezing her as tightly as possible. "Ok, OK, too tight." She replies as she tries to tap my shoulder. "Oh, sorry." I say as I let go and sit back. "Sorry, its just... that really made me happy. You know, cause of Miles..." "Oh... right. Just... don't go over board with this. We have our own country to tend to in addition to this one." "I know, and I won't. I have everything under control." I say, giving her a confident smile. "Hey, are you two going to join?" Miles asks as he pops his head out of the back door. "We need to get started..." "Of course maritus," I say playfully as we both stand up, "lets get started." "OK uxor." Miles says as he holds the door open for us. "...huh?" Celestia mumbles as she follows after us. As we enter the living room, all of the chatter suddenly drops as everypony watches us. We just go and take the two empty seats on the side and wait for things to begin. Perspective: Miles "OK then," I say over the silence, "lets get started. First order of business, does anyone have any questions or concerns to bring up?" The room stays silent for a bit until I see Spike raise his hand, so I point him out. "Um... how does one become a Spartan?" He asks, getting a bewildered look from Twilight. "Well, there's really only one way, though there are multiple ways of going about that way. You have to pass the training. In order to be accepted to the training, a Spartan has to recognize that individuals feats. Now, as citizens, you can tell us of anyone whom you think may be eligible for training, and we'll consider them..." "When could we do that?" Celestia asks. "I would prefer after citizens meetings, but you can bring it up whenever really." I say as Butterscotch raises a hoof. "Yes Butterscotch." "Two things. You said you would give us some training or something like that, when is that going to happen? And how are the Princesses Terradisians? Does this make them higher class citizens or what?" "Well... yes and no. Becuase of how you are citizens, they are higher then you. But for the average Terradisian they would be seen as equals, so bowing is no longer required. And they are citizens becuase of family ties. As for the training, I was planning on going either tomorrow of the next day, so make sure to not be fucking when I show up..." "Aww..." E'Claire pouts, getting odd looks from everyone. "Right... anyway, next item of business. Flionence was a total bust as I expected. The trap was a distraction that I should of seen, but over looked..." "You knew Flionence was going to be a failure and you still went! Why?" Celestia asks. "The original intent was to spring the trap to capture Steelwing, but he escaped... or rather he was never there. He actually arrived in Canterlot with War...." "Who?" Butterscotch asks as she raises an eyebrow to me. I think about it for a second before I turn to Twilight. "You wouldn't happen to have some chalk or something to draw with, would you?" I ask. She rolls her eyes as she charges her horn, making some chalk appear before me. I take it and begin to make some quick sketches of all of the high profile enemies. "Ok, this would be..." "Wow... that's really good." Luna says as she stares at my sketch. "Yeah... were you like a... side artist or something?" Butterscotch adds. "What? No. Look, these are..." "Are you sure, becuase that looks really good Miles." Celestia says, getting nods from everyone else. "You had to have had some form of training or...." "Look, yeah I took an art class, but I never pursued it. I just... I don't know, I just never did. Can we move on now?" "Sure thing... Poncasso." Applejack mutters, getting chuckles from everyone else. "Right, these are the leaders of the Darkness as I know of. This one calls himself War. He's a centaur that uses some kind of sword spear weapon..." "Its a naginata." Luna informs me. "OK, a naginata and something called the Rainbow of Darkness. I'm not sure what it does..." "I can actually give some info on that." Luna says, getting everyone's attention. "It's the embodiment of all things evil. It corrupts your mind and forces you to focus on the one emotion that turns you... or that's what happened to me at least." She finishes, looking away from everyone as Celestia wraps a wing around her. "Huh..." I mumbles as I think about what she said. I took a hit from it, and I feel fine. Maybe its a delayed affect... "It can also be used as a energy attack." Luna continues. "Its powerful. Do not let it hit you." "Do you know where it comes from?" I ask. She shakes her head as she leans against Celestia. "Damn. Well, that what's they've all been using for their attacks. The next one calls himself Famine. I guess you could call him a unicorn centaur, with the horn and all. His fighting style is a little more deadly. He likes to flash around before taking hits. He has this green energy that drains you of your energy, both physical and spiritual. He carries a wooden staff that I believe he enchanted to have the energy he uses to de-buff you..." "I see you're missing one of them." Celestia says as she stands up and takes the chalk out of mine. "The next one is called Pestilence." She says as she starts to try to draw Pestilence... and kind of fails. "She is a pegasus centaur. Her attacks, from what I could tell, infest your body at an alarming rate. With a single poke of her finger nails she was able to kill a guard. Their bodies turned to... withered husks." "And at the top is death." I say as I take the chalk back and start to fix her drawing. "We have no intel on what death looks like, though I have a theory. I believe him to be an alicorn centaur." The room fall quiet as they think about this. "How could you be sure?" Storm asks after a few moments of silence. "I can't. That's why its a theory. But it makes sense. Leaders here tend to be alicorns. Celestia, Luna, Chrystalis, all alicorns." "Miles, not all leaders are alicorns." Luna says as she glances back to Celestia. "I know that, but looking at the others it makes sense for him to be. Again, this is all speculation. If any of you come across any of these people, proceed with caution. Strangely enough though, the last time we were in contact wit them, they warned us of a period of peace. For some unknown reason, they pulled back..." "You say this like itsa bad thing." Applejack says. "Doncha want peace?" "I do, but the problem is that they could devastate an entire nation right now, kill thousands, why not?" "Maybe it isn't enough." Na-da says from the back, getting all of our attention. "Care to explain?" I ask, getting a scared look from her. "Well... its like you said, they want to kill everypony. Maybe their goal isn't to kill everypony, but to do that all at once. Maybe they have some secret motive for killing everypony..." "Oh... my..." Fluttershy mumbles as the rest of the group just stares at Na-da. "Well... that would explain their motives a lot better." I say as I wipe the chalk from the wall. "In the end, if they ever show up again, the Spartan regiment will be there to take them down.... speaking of which; Lieutenant Storm Cloud will be starting maternity leave today...." "Wait what? Why would he... but then..." Celestia stumbles as she slowly puts one and one together. "Twilight... are you pregnant?" I look over to the two of them to find them staring daggers at me. "Miles! That was suppose to be a secret!" Storm yells as Twilight just face hooves. "Secrets in Terradisia?" I ask, getting a groan from him. "Dammit... yeah, we're expecting." Storm says with a broad smile. "We're almost a month in..." The room erupts in applause and congratulations as everyone goes up to them to say their best wishes. Even the Moosden citizens have their say, it was shorter then everyone else's. As I wait for everyone to finish, Luna pulls me aside to the kitchen. Once we're somewhat alone I was about to ask her whats going on when she forced a kiss onto me. I was a little caught off guard, but returned the kiss nonetheless. "... Uh.... OK, what was that for... not that I'm complaining or anything." I ask once we separate. "That, was for finally telling Celestia about us. Thank you Miles." She says before planting another kiss on my lips. "Uh... I didn't tell her shit." "What?" She asks flatly. "I didn't tell her anything, she still doesn't know." I say, getting a shocked look from her. "But... but... but you've been calling her sister!" "In Latin, since when can she speak Latin?" "But... but.... oh son of a.... darn!" "OK, when are you ever going to cuss properly?" "I thought you had told her! I had this awkward conversation with her and... oh shoot. I think she was thinking about being Terradisian, not our marriage." She says as she rubs between her eyes. "Do you want me to tell her right now then? Cause I'll do it." "No... lets wait a bit longer. I still feel as if she'll react the same way." She says with a sigh. "If you say so, but remember that I still feel the same way about this." I say as I head back into the living room. "Alright, lets pester them about this another time, we've got one last minor thin to talk about." I say, getting everyone to sit back down. "Last order of business, the next five days will be spent here for the Spartan regiment. I want to give Big Mac some rest while I go and get a few things set up. Once done, assuming nothing happens in the world, we will be going to the next city..." "And what city would that be?" Big Mac asks. "Amethyst. That's everything for today. The next scheduled meeting will be the first of every month, be sure to plan ahead for it. Sollicitus, et fortunam referebat." Once the meeting had finished, everyone went to congratulate Twilight and Storm again. I just waited from the side until they decided to head home. Once they left, everyone started to trickle back to their homes, eventually leaving me, Celestia and Luna alone. "Well, that was an... eventful meeting." Celestia says as she takes a seat on the couch. Luna takes a seat beside her and I sit in the recliner, glancing to each to each other. Fuck it, I'm going for it. "Celestia, there is something we need to talk about." I start, getting panicked looks from Luna. "Oh? What about?" She asks. "It's about..." "The next meeting!" Luna yells in an attempt to stop me. "What about the next meeting?" Celestia asks, a bit confused. "Luna and I..." "Are going to run it!" She yells as she jumps up and stands beside me, hitting my foot as she does so. "Well, not run, but rather... uh... what was it Miles?" She asks as she looks to me with pleading eyes. "*sigh* cater it." I say as I fold. She owes me big time for this... "Cater? Why don't you just hire some other ponies for that?" "Well, its really to teach me to cook. I don't know how to make Equestrian food, so she offered to teach me. We will learn... spaghetti first." I say as I offer a smile to Luna. "I didn't know you could cook." Celestia says to Luna. "What? I happen to be a very capable cook Tia." Luna says as she gives Celestia a smile. "You'll just have to see at the next meeting." "Well... OK then." She says as she glances outside. "It's getting late, we should be heading home now." She says as she gets up. "Go ahead without me Tia, I need to give Miles a list of things we'll need for our lessons before heading back." Luna says as we stand and escort her towards the door. "Very well sister. I'll trust you on this one. Well, have a good night." She says before finally leaving. "..." "..." "..." "You are a little punk!" Luna yells as she tackles me in a hug. "Hey, you know me, I don't like lying!" I say as I lift her up and carry her from underneath. We stare into each others eyes as she drapes her hooves around my shoulders, slowly stroking my back. "I learned a new spell, want to try it out?" She asks in a sultry tone. "This isn't like that one spell that made me go sex crazy is it?" ZAP "Lets find out." "Oh sweet Barbra..." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Spike "I can't believe you didn't tell me that you were pregnant." I say as we walk through Ponyville. "I'm sorry Spike, but we weren't sure until today that I was." Twilight says. "Should you be walking? Is that good for the baby? What about..." "Don't worry Spike," Twilight says with a chuckle, "I can still do everything normally. Its only the first month." "Did you ever give Spike... the talk?" Storm asks Twilight. "Hehe... well..." "What talk?" I ask as we approach the library. "Wait.. Darn it! I was suppose to help Rarity today! I totally forgot! Can I run over and see if shes up to apologies? Please!?" I ask as they look to each other. "Well... OK. But hurry back here afterwards. I want to have a talk with you afterwards." Storm says. "Am I in trouble?" "No, no. Don't worry its a... stallion to stallion talk. Just go apologies for not helping Rarity and make it back here as soon as possible, OK?" "OK." I say before running off for Rarity's. Once I'm out of sight I slow down to walk the rest of the way. Why does Storm want to have a talk with me? I didn't do anything wrong! This isn't fair. Why do I have to get in trouble for something I didn't do! "WHOA!" I yell as my hands suddenly catch fire. Why did my hands do that? All I did... oh... I shook my arms didn't I? Heh, this is going to be hard to get used to. I shake the magic away as I approach Carousel Boutique. When I make it there, I see that all of the lights are on. At least she's up, though I'm not looking forward to this conversation... "Rarity..." I say as I open the door and poke my head in. She's not in here. I shut the door behind me as I walk in... "I SAID I DIDN'T WANT TO SEE YOU, GET OUT!" Rarity yells from the back. But... what did I do? I know I was... "This simply cannot stand lady Rarity! How could you possibly still be in love with that...." "That is none of your concern! Now for the last time leave. My. Store. NOW!" THUD When the room falls silent I rush to the back, fearing the worse. When I get to the back I find Prince Blueblood facing off with Rarity with his energy blade caught in her energy field... "If you touch even one hair on her..." I say as I feel a fire build up in my chest... ................................................................................................................................................................................................. The Misadventures of TB, Squishy, Cheesus, And Pinkie Pie To Get A Burrito Perspective: Tallestbrony (Warning: Strange) "Wasn't my car." Cheesus says to Pinkie as Squishy and I catch up. He and Pinkie had been chuckling to each other as we cried over our lost loved ones. "I demand compensation!" Squishy yells. "Hmm.... do you have a saddle?" Pinkie asks. "WHY YES I DO!" He yells as he pulls a brown saddle out of his ass. "... dude, what else do you have in there?" Cheesus asks. "Do you really want to know?" I ask as the group reaches the bottom of the hill. "Did you ever see that episode of Family guy where Quagmire gets a cavity search?" Squishy says with creepy smile. "...ew. Now I'm not letting you." Pinkie says as she moves away from Squishy. "But it sterile!" Squishy says as he holds up the questionable saddle. "Uh, I'm hungry. Lets hurry up and get to Taqueria." Cheesus says as he picks up his pace. "So, why do ponies keep doing it in Miles' bed?" Pinkie asks as we continue on our way. "I mean,at first it was funny, but then you had that random group show up and confuse everypony. THEN, that insubordinate 501st party brigade had to go and start a war with that troll army! You have any idea how hard it was to deal with those nubs?!" "I'M WALKING ON SUNSHINE! WHOOAAOOAA!" The three of us yell as we continue to not listen to her. We had already agreed that somethings shouldn't be talked about... "Hmph... you still haven't told me what happens in fifth arc." Pinkie grumbles. "Well it starts..." SMACK "OW!" I yell as I rub the back of my head. "YOU SHALL NOT SPEAK!" Squishy yells at me. "Dude, its going to suck if anyone recognizes you as Equestria LA. Because you won't shut the fuck up." Cheesus says as he shakes his head at me. "Well..." "SH!" Cheesus and Squishy say. "But..." "SH!" Cheesus and Squishy say again. "I'm...." "SH!" Squishy, cheesus and now Pinkie all say at once. "Fine." "...SH!" Gilbert Chapter 129 Little TalksChapter 129 Little Talks I throw my arms out, flaring my hands as I feel a fire grow in my stomach. "Beast! Leave this place or...." "BACK AWAY FROM RARITY!" I yell as I step towards him, spreading my wings out as I tower over him. "N-now... I warn you... I have... have... powerful..." He mumbles as he backs away from me. I open my mouth, letting a column of steam escape my maw as I continue to approach him. "... powerful... uh..." "Leave, or get hurt." FLASH Without another word he disappears from the room. I step back and sigh as I shake the magic from my arms. "You OK Rare..." THUD "OW! What was..." THUD "BACK! BACK YOU BEAST!" Rarity yells as she continues to throw stuff at me. "Rarity..." THUD "...it's me..." THUD "...SPIKE!" THUD "Wait... Spike?" Rarity asks as she sets down a spool of cloth. "My heavens dear... what happened to you?" She asks as she starts to look me over. "Sorry I missed out today, I was over at Miles' for magic training." I say as I watch her walk around me. "Is everything alright?" "Well, now they are. How did you get so... tall?" She asks as she stops in front of me. "Well, it was a side affect from gaining magic, or so Miles says... is, is it a bad thing?" "What? Oh, no dear. If anything its an improvement. Not to say there was anything wrong with the way you were before, I will be missing your chubby cheeks. But... well..." She mumbles as she starts to blush.. "What?" "Well, you're a very attractive dragon, Spike." She admits as her blush worsens. "Oh... thank you. I'd return the favor, but I think we both know that already." I say, getting us both to chuckle. I feel the tingly feeling in my stomach again, its making my heart race a bit. "Well, if its not too much to ask, could you help me clean up? It seems that my little... disagreement, with Blueblood has left my shop in disarray." She says as she glances back to the destroyed room. "If it's not too much to ask." "Sure, if anything this will make up for forgetting earlier," I say as I start to help pick up around the room. Cleaning up didn't take as long as it usually would. With my new size I can now carry the larger spools of cloth, several actually. After roughly twenty minutes of work we head to the back room, leaving the front room sparkling clean. "Is there anything else you need from me?" "Well... I am behind on an order, but it's getting late..." "I don't mind. I'm not even tired." "But it's almost nine, isn't this usually when you go to bed?" She asks as she starts pulling different fabrics from around the room to her work station. "Well, yeah. I guess I'm able to stay up longer with my new form." I say as I sit beside her. "So, what do you need me to do?" We spend the next few hours working together finishing some dresses for a client of hers. It feels weird being up this late and not being tired, but I ignored it as I focused on helping Rarity. I can't believe she said I was attractive. She usually says I'm handsome... is there a difference? I mean, I'm not complaining, but... why does her saying I'm attractive feel better then her saying I'm handsome? "There, all done." She says as she ties off the last wrapped dress. "Oh my, it's almost midnight. We need to get you home..." "But I'm still not tired... maybe we could... hang out?" I ask, feeling the tingling sensation again. That better not be some weird magic thing from Miles. "Spike, ladies do not 'hang out'. But... maybe a late night snack will suffice." She says with a warm smile as she starts walking towards the kitchen. I follow her to the kitchen and take a seat at the table. I feel my palms start to sweat as the tingling sensation comes back. I don't get it, I've eaten with Rarity plenty of times. Why am I getting so nervous? "So... uh, why was Blueblood here?" I ask as she starts making tea and sandwiches. "Well... he..." "Rarity..." "He just wanted to ask something... again." "Rarity, I can tell you're hiding something. If you don't want to tell me, that's fine. But if he shows up again and won't leave, just call me and I'll get rid of him." I say with a confident smile. "Oh Spike, when did you grow up?" She says as she tries to light the stove. I walk over to her and tap her shoulder, getting her to stop. "Here, let me." I say as I kneel down and take the kettle. I take a quick breath before blowing green flames onto the bottom of the kettle, getting it to whistle in seconds. I set it back down and look back to Rarity to see that she's closer then before. "Uh.." "Spike..." "Yeah Rarity?" "I..." "Yeah.." "Have an IDEEEAAA!" She says before running off for the backroom. I chuckle a bit before following after her. My little fashionista. I get up and walk after her, leaning against the door frame as I watch her get to work making something. "Oh I am absolutely positive that this will be the perfect accessory for you." She says as she starts cutting fabric. "What are you making?" I ask as I continue to watch materials move back and forth. "No... no.... OH good heavens no!" She says as she goes from one fabric to the next. "Perfect!" She says as she selects a crimson roll and gets to work on it. After a few minutes she finishes up and turns to me, hiding whatever it is behind her. "What is it?" I ask as I try to see it. "Sit down and close your eyes." She commands, so I comply. Once I close my eyes I feel her hooves work around my neck as a cloth is draped around me. There's that tingling again. I can feel her breath trace along my cheek, making the tingling intensify. I slowly open my eyes to find Rarity inches away from me, hooves draped over my shoulder. "Rarity..." I whisper, getting her attention. "Yes Sp...." She starts but stops as she goes wide eyed. She looks down before backing away from me as quickly as possible, almost panting. "Whats wrong?" I ask before looking down. "... is... is... oh my god! I'm soo sorry! I didn't mean to, I swear!" I say as I cross my legs in attempt to cover my thing up. Why is it doing that!? "Oh... my..." She mumbles as she stares at it. "I.. I don't know how to get rid of this... do you?" I ask, getting her to blush deeply. "Well... I... uh..." She says before biting her hoof, thinking deeply about something. "Please, how do I deal with this... I... I've never had... one of these." I say as I continue to try to hide, but it's too big to hide easily. "I... well... NO! No, I must resist! You're still just a foal!" Rarity yells as she turns away from me, holding her eyes shut as tightly as possible. "Spike, you need to go home, now." "But..." "Spike, please. I could... fix, that. But it would be wrong. Please... just, go home." She says as she lifts me up and levitates me out the front door. I tried to protest, but I was out the door in the blink of an eye. "Uh.... Ok... I'll just go home then." I say as I hear multiple locks turn behind me. I stand there for a moment before a gust of wind reminds me of my problem. What do I do now! I can't go through Ponyville like this! Somepony is bound to see me, and I don't think I would live through that embarrassment. Well... at least Rarity's place is on the edge of town. I could just go out in the park, I doubt anypony is out there. But... is it weird to walk around the park... like this? Well... I guess I could go hide at Miles' place. He wouldn't mind... would he? I could just hide down stairs until I'm better. Yeah, this is a good idea. I start making my way through the park, heading to Miles' house. I try my best to keep myself hidden, but with my new height, its a little bit of a problem. I stop and jump behind some bushes when I see a pegasus stallion land before me. Why?! Its the middle of the night, what is he doing here!? "Rainbow?" He calls out as he walk around a bit. Rainbow... no way. "Rai..." "BOO!" "AH!" He yells as he falls to the ground. I hear Dash laugh at him for a bit until she finally helps him up. "Not cool..." "I know, hehe, getting scared like that isn't cool at all. Who knows, maybe your marefriend will think less of you now." "I doubt it. I think she loves me too much." He replies confidently. "Heh, yeah. I think she does... I also think she missed you." Dash replies. I don't really hear anything for a bit, so I look back to.. OH MY GOD! I duck back behind the bush to hide from them making out. Why are they doing that? They're out in the middle of a public park, what if somepony saw them... like I did. "Are you sure you're up for this?" The stallion asks when they finally separate... not that I was watching or anything. Though, if I was, that stallion would look really familiar. "I never get to see you. Don't worry, Scoots got tomorrow off, I'll be good. Lets go." Dash says before I hear them fly off. I sigh in relief as I stand up and watch them leave. I didn't know Dash has a coltfriend, I'll have to keep this to myself... unless somepony asks. I make it to Miles' place without any further delays. There's only a single light on upstairs, that must be his room light. I told Twilight there were other ponies that used night lights. I go to the door and try to open it, only to find it locked. Just my luck. I step run around to the back and try that door, only to find it locked as well. Darn it. I think I could break it open, but then Miles would get mad... that wouldn't end well. I walk back to the front where I find the only way inside, Miles' window. Would he mind? He might be asleep, in which case I can just sneak past him. It is late.. I'm going for it. I take a look at my wings and do a practice flap before trying to fly up. I was a little shaky at first, but I only needed to go up a single story. Once I can reach the window I stop flapping and pull myself in... "MIIILLLEEESS!" Princess Luna screams as Miles slams his hips into hers. Luna's on her back with Miles on top of her, still thrusting his hips. They're both sweaty and the room smells of... well, it smells. "AH FUCK!" Miles yells as he arcs back. They both stop and stare into each others eyes for a moment before they look over to me and go wide eyed.... "Uh..." "GET OUT!" Luna yells as she throws a pillow at me, nearly making me fall out the window. "Waitwaiwait..." "OUT!" She yells again as she throws the blanket. "But.." "NOW!" THUD CRASH "AHHHH.... Luna! Why did you throw me!" Miles yells back up to the window. I just lay on the ground and try to process what just happened. "I'm in so much trouble." I say as I close my eyes, feeling tired for some reason. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. "Spike.. SPIKE!" "What?" I ask as I look around. I'm home now, in the down stairs room. I sit up and look over to see Storm sitting by the bed, waiting patiently. "How much trouble am I in?" "Well... not a lot. Miles will give you a hard time during training, but other then that you're fine. Wanna tell me about last night?" "Well..." I say as I look away from him. I don't really want to admit what happened... mainly because I don't want Storm to think less of me. "I don't really want to talk about it. "Spike, you know you can talk to me about anything. What happened?" He says as he gets up and takes a seat beside me. "OK, just... promise me you won't laugh." "I promise. Now what happened?" "Well, it started when I went to Rarity's..." I tell him everything. Blueblood, the funny feelings, helping Rarity, hearing Rainbow, Miles' room; everything. He just sits there listening, occasionally nodding along. When I finish I have to look away from the guilt in my stomach. I feel so bad about everything that happened, but I'm confused. Why did those things happen? "Spike, there's nothing to be ashamed of." Storm says. "But, this has never happened to me before, and I don't get it. Why did this happen? What's wrong with me?" I ask as I look back to him, trying to hold it together. "Spike, your mind is still young, but your body is older now. These things happen. You got aroused and had an erection. Those funny feelings were your hormones acting up." "But... what was I suppose to do? How do I get rid of... an erection?" I ask, blushing slightly. "*sigh* well, what you did was mostly correct. Its time we had the talk Spike." "The... talk?" "The sex talk." ".... do we have to?" He laughs a bit before getting up and walking around. I don't want to be here right now... "Spike, how do you think sex works?" He asks as he faces me. "Well... I don't know. I've never thought about it before." I admit, blushing even more. "That's OK, nopony ever told you. Not to mention Twilight shelters you so much." Storm says as he starts looking through books. "When a stallion and a mare get feelings for one another, they sometime express it through sex. Do you know the parts of a mare and a stallion?" "Kind of?" "The stallion has his balls and a penis. The balls make the sperm while the penis is used to get that sperm inside the mare. A mare has a vagina and breast. The breast are for producing milk while the vagina is for holding foals. There's a lot more to it then that, but I'm not going to go into detail about that. Twilight wants to do that." "Twilight... wants to... do I..." "Yes." "But... it's Twilight." "I know, and trust me; when she's done, there won't be a single thing you won't know about the reproductive organs." I take a few breaths as I try to mentally prepare myself for that talk... I really don't want to be here right now. "How do you make babies?" "Um..." "Though it is probably different for dragons, I'm going to tell you how ponies do it." "O-OK." "It starts with the two ponies becoming aroused. The stallion then puts his penis inside the mares vagina and starts to push it in and out, this stimulates it. Once it's stimulated enough, he reaches his orgasm. This makes him squirt out his sperm into the mare. The sperm then has to make it to the egg and fertilize it..." "Wait, ponies lay eggs?" "No. The egg is really really small and stays inside the mares vagina. Now, that's a very basic idea of what sex is. There is a lot more to it, both physically and emotionally. Do you have any questions you want to ask. I'll answer any and all of them the best I can." He says as he takes a seat beside me again. "Well... can I ask about your first time?" "Of course. What do you want to know about?" "Well... what was it like? What should I expect? Was it easy? How..." "OK OK, I get it. Everything. Alright, let me tell you from the beginning then. I was twelve, a junior in high school. I had known this mare, Star Blitz, and we went out for a couple of dates. One day, her parents go out of town for business, so we had the house to ourselves." He says as he starts to laugh. "Whats so funny?" "You'll find out in a sec. So at school she told me to come over, and I did. I was nervous, scared, twitchy. I had to walk because my wings were too stiff for flying. When I got there, we wasted no time. We were making out at the door for a good... ten minutes before we started working our way to her room. When we got there, well..." "Well?" "I mounted her. But, I did it too fast. When you have sex... it fells great. And, when you're new to it, it can be overwhelming." He says as he chuckles a bit more. "What happened?" "I came." He says as he looks up to me. "One stroke in and I came." I stare at him for a second before he nods. "Came is another way of saying orgasm. Came, spent, blow your wad, there are plenty of ways of saying it." "... so why is it bad that you... came, after one stroke?" "For a mare to cum it takes A LOT more then that. In general, they take longer to orgasm then males. It's just the way things are." "So... what happened next?" "Heh, well, it was obvious what happened. We kind of waited a bit until I finally pulled out... and I apologies. She said it was alright and that we could try again later, and we did. Twilight is the only other mare I've ever had that much sex with in a single evening." He says with a goofy smile. "That's kind of gross. Is there an easier way of getting mares to 'come'? "Yeah. Oral before sex. Oral sex is performing the act of sex, but with your mouth instead of using your penis. For guys, we find the mares clit and suck, nip, and lick it. The clit is like the secret button for pleasure in mares. It's extremely sensitive to touch and can give you an edge. There's also something called the G-spot. Its this rough spot in the vagina that's twice as sensitive as the clit. When a mare performs oral, they just suck and lick your penis, sometimes your testicles." "... why would you want that? Isn't normal sex enough?" "Its good to sometimes change things up. That..." he says as he looks to the door and leans over to me, "... and it good for having sex without having sex." "Huh?" "Where does sex lead?" "... babies." "Right, and if you don't want babies?" "Then you don't have sex." "Right. Oral is the loophole." I lean back as I think about what he said. "Now, don't go out and try to have sex right away. Give it a bit of time until you can control yourself." "How do I gain control... and control of what?" Storm looks to me and points down. "AGAIN!" "Are you really surprised?" "Well... how do I get rid of it?" I ask as I pull the blanket over myself. "Cold showers, masturbation, sex, anything to get your mind elsewhere. I'd suggest the first one though. You aren't ready for sex and masturbation is just a bad habit.... trust me. Whenever you're ready, come upstairs for breakfast. It's Twilight's turn." I wait for him to shut the door behind him before I run over to the shower and start running the cold water. After about ten minutes I cool down and walk out then start to dry myself off. This has to be the worst day ever... and it barely started. At least Storm is being cool about it... and fairly open. I didn't really expect all of my questions to be answered so easily. I always thought Storm was a little more... reserved then that. I toss the towel in the hamper and grab my scarf as I head to the kitchen. Maybe after some breakfast I can finally move on.... "Miles... hey..." I say as I enter the kitchen, finding Miles at the table. "First off, MASTER! You'll pay for that later. Secondly, lets get going." He says as he stands up. "Where are we going... Master?" I ask as I glance back to Storm and Twilight. "I've got errands to run, so I'm going to train you on the run. Lets get going now. I don't want to put off getting to Topaz anymore then I need to." He says as he heads to the door. "But... Twilight..." "It's alright Spike." Twilight interrupts. "We can talk later. Come here." She says as she gets up. I walk over to her and kneel down so she can hug me. "I know Miles is taking you for training. Pay attention, do your best, and try to have fun." "I will.... thanks Mom." I say, getting her to tighten her grip on me. I look up to see Storm walk over and hug me as well. "I know you'll do great son, make us proud." "I will Dad. I promise." "Spike! Lets get going!" Miles yells from the door way. I let go of them and walk after him. This was really sudden, but if my parents think I can do it, then it'll be easy. Author's Note Shout out to Cheesus for picking the color of Spikes scarf. Thanks for reading, and like always, Brony on! Chapter 130 Early Distant WarningChapter 130 Early Distant Warning Perspective: Miles Spike and I reach the back of my home in total silence. I order him to start bringing down all of the weapons from my room to the back yard as I get my magic ready. Once he heads inside I get to work making a shop. I start by making a large, rectangle hole in the ground. I jump down into it and take a look around; larger. I push my arms out, making the walls go out even further until they're a good distance away. "Whoa... that's a big hole." Spike says from up top, carrying several swords. "Why do you have so many weapons?" "They were recovered when we took Moosden." I say as I move to the corner closes to him. "Bring them down here." I place my hands on the wall and start to create a weapons locker. Nothing special, just a gated area where I can store extra weapons. "Whoa, that was cool." Spike says as I finish up. "Bring all of the weapons down here and categorize them. If you need more room, let me know and I'll create more room..." "Am I going to learn how to do this? Master?" He quickly adds to the end. "Yes, but not today. Condensing materials is very difficult and takes a greater control of magic to perform. It will be one of the last things you'll learn. Now get moving, I don't want to spend too much time in here." I say as I start super condensing the walls and floor. After an hour of work I finally finish the walls, so I go and help Spike bring down the last of the weapons. Being around Twilight has really made him an organized person. Not only did he categorize them, but he sorted them by quality as well. I'd be happier with him if it weren't for his late night intrusion. Once we finish putting away the last of the weapons I lock up the locker and close up the top, ceiling us below. I make a small opening right above me and a Mico platform right in front of me. After I finish, I jump up through the opening, Spike following right after me. I make a small shed to cover the hole before heading for Topaz Falls. "Are you sure we should be walking through the Everfree like this? This place isn't safe." Spike says as he follows quickly behind me. "I'm the captain of the Spartan regiment and you're a two meter tall dragon that can use human magic. Is there anything that we should really worry about?" I ask as I look over to him. "Um... I don't think anything here knows what a Spartan is... or cares." "... OK, you got me there. But the fact of the matter is we are more then capable of dealing with anything in here. We have nothing to fear." "Heh, so I was right about the captain thing huh?" He says smugly as we continue through the forest. "Don't get cocky sploog machine." I say, getting a confused look from him. "Uh... what's sploog?" "... seriously?" "Is it... you know... cum?" I stop in my tracks and stare at him in disbelief. He seriously doesn't remember. "Do you know why Luna freaked out enough to throw me out a window?" I ask, getting him to shake his head in response. "She thought you were watching us and masturbating. I had to clean up your mess last night..." "WHAT!" He yells, making birds fly away from all around us. "Bu... bu... but I didn't! I swear! Holy..." "Spike! Calm down! Storm and Twilight talked to us afterwards, you're in the clear... for the most part." "What does that mean?" He asks nervously. "Well... even though we were told you didn't DO anything, something happened. Even though I'm fine with it, Luna's a little... pissed. I'd avoid her if I were you. At least for a week... or two." "*sigh*, why are mares so complicated." Spike says as he continues walking on. "Wanna talk about it?" I ask as I walk ahead of him to lead us in the right direction. "Well... before I went to your place, I went to Rarity's." "Oh sweet Barbra..." "Who?" BOOM We both look over to see a billow of dust rising in the distance. I motion for him to follow as I run over to investigate. "AH! By the fires of Karth! Again!" Yells a high pitched, raspy voice. Spike and I pause to look to one another before continuing on. We come to a small crater in the ground with some kind of wreckage in the center. Its made of brass and cloth and has steam shooting out of a broken pipe. It looks like some kind of flying machine, a bit clunky, but flyable. From the glass cockpit emerges a small green creature. It stands on two legs, has four arms that end with four fingers, large pointy ears, and is at most a meter tall. "What the fuck." I mutter as we stare at the creature before us. He looks back to us with yellow eyes as he rubs his large nose with his top arms and straightens out his ragged clothes with the others. "Well, well, well. And I thought I saw it all." He says as he approaches us, inspecting me closely. "What are you, tall one?" "My name is Miles Eremita, Captain of the Spartan regiment. Human. Who, and what, are you?" "Goblin. Fleck of Karth. And you, purple one?" He asks as he steps closer to Spike, looking him over a bit. "I'm Spike." He says as Fleck walks around him. "What happened?" I ask as I walk over to the wreckage and look it over. "DON'T TOUCH!" He yells before running over and slapping my hand away. "This is private property! Keep your grimy hands off!" "OK, OK, sheesh. Calm down." I say as I back away from him. Fleck starts rubbing the wreckage lovingly as he begins mumbling to himself, holding himself as close to the machine as possible. "Well, unless you need help, we'll get going then." "Yes, yes, leave." He snaps back. "Ok then, have fun in the Everfree." I say before motioning to Spike to leave. "What was that about?" I ask Spike when we get out of ear shot. "He's a goblin. They tend to be greedy with technology." Spike explains as the cave comes into view. "Do things like that always happen to you?" "Sadly, yes. Now lets hurry up and go somewhere that makes sense." I say as we enter the cave. "Ladies first." "Funny." Spike says as he takes the Mico platform. Once I appear beside him, I destroy the old Mico platform and create a new one, connecting it to the one in my shop. I take Spike over to the bulk head to Topaz Falls and register him as my apprentice, gaining entrance to the city. "Alright, we've got work to do." I say as I walk in, Spike following closely behind. "First things first, we need to find a bot to locate Easy. Once I deal with him, I need to find a bank. From there we head to the P.C.H. for training..." "May I have your autograph?" "Son of a bitch!" I yell as I jump to the side. "Why the fuck would you sneak up on me like that?!" "Apologies sir, it was not my intention to scare you." Easy says. "I wasn't scared." I say as I glance to Spike. "My sensors picked up a shot of adrenaline as well as your heart racing. Unless you wish to change the Core's definition of scared..." "Easy, how are things in Topaz?" I ask to change the subject. "All active bots are 100% operational and are currently working on repairing the city. Awaiting further directives." "Good, I need... forty bots to gather supplies and materials for a shop I'm creating. I need, lighting, power, any tools you can find, as well as a stock of gems. Gather those materials and bring them to this bulk head. Also, bring five charging stations for transport. A new territory has been added to Terradisia and needs protection." "Very good sir." "From now on I want you to follow me to assist me. Understand?" "Understood. Any other directives?" "No, just follow me." "May I have you autograph?" Easy asks Spike, getting a confused look from him. "Lets get going. We don't have all day you know." I say jokingly as I walk into the city. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Steelwing I wait patiently on the clouds above Flionence for the others to deal with the city guards. These green clouds need just a bit longer before we can start the down pour. "YOU'RE UNDER ARRESAAAHHH!" Yells as guards as he tries to charge me, only to get tackled by a pegasis. "Sir." I look back to see a massive black gem dragon land behind me. "It's time." "Good work Ruptor, lets make it rain then." I say as I pull out a whistle and blow it, getting every brother and sister to fly high into the air. Many city guards try to fly after them, but as they break through the clouds, they begin to drop from its acidic water burning their wings. When they fall through I slam down onto them, making it begin to pour onto the ground below. "I don't get it." Ruptor says as he walks around me. "Starving a single town? We could just go down there and kill them all, why drag it out?" "What makes you think we're only hitting this town?" I ask with a chuckle. "Every city in the Griffin Colonies will be hit with storms similar to these. Crops will not grow for decades..." "So they get hungry. Big deal. What if others come and fix it? Or give them aid? Then what?" "Then you remember that you are not here to think. Prepare the next batch. We need to cover the state of Birdtalia by the end of the day. Take your group and head east. I'll go west." "May the shadows lead you to darker days." He says before taking off in the air. I chuckle a bit as I look through a small hole in the clouds and see the wet ground below me. Hunger... easiest way to start war. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Unknown KER-FLASH Once I appear I quickly run to a nearby building and take cover. Luckily, I appeared in an alley in Ponyville, so I don't think anypony saw me. I flare my hands and cast an illusion spell, making myself invisible. "Did you hear something?" Somepony asks as they start walking into the alley. "I didn't hear anything." Responds somepony else. I walk right past the two unnoticed, even being able to take a newspaper from one of their saddle bags as I walk past them. "I could of sworn..." "Let go to Splits and get some ice cream!" She cheers as she runs off. As I walk through the streets of Ponyville, completely unnoticed, I take a look at the date on the paper. Wednesday, November 21st Shoot! I'm a day early. That's OK. I can just hide out for that long. I can get him when he's on his way back from the market. He shouldn't be hard to find. He is the only human here. This will also give me some time to set up my get away. Soon, my love. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Spike Thursday, November 22nd, 2:38 PM "PUSH IT!" "I'M TRYING!" "TRY HARDER!" "I CAN'T!" "THEN GIVE UP!" "NO!" FOOOSH I fall back as I shoot a column of fire from my hands. The past day has been nothing but the hardest work of my life. No food, little rest, and Miles constantly yelling at me to try harder. It takes so much for me to create even the smallest of plumes of fire, but he expects more. I look around the bright training room and sigh at the sight of all the courses I'm going to have to do. Some look like simple ramp ways or obstacle courses, but he already warned me that its going to be a lot harder then that. "Alright, take a five minute break, then we go back to your physical regiment." Miles says as he leans against a wall. I sprawl out on the floor and try to catch my breath. "When does this ever get easy?" I groan as I stretch my tense muscles. "Not for a very long time. Mind you, elemental magic is the simplest magic there is." He informs me, to which I groan some more. "If its so easy, then why do you use it all of the time?" I ask as I start to nod off. "Becuase it's cheap. I don't have the luxury of getting to use any magic I want and only have to worry about the bends. If I push myself too much, I die. You, on the other hand, can go as hard and as fast as you want. That's why I'm pushing you so hard. In a year you won't have me to push you, so I want you to get accustom to working hard." I sit up and cross my legs as I try to think of a way to ask something personal. "Master... are you scared?" "According to Mr. Eremita, he does not have fear." Easy says from the side, getting me to chuckle. "Shut up Easy." Miles says as he walks over and takes a seat beside me. "Yeah, I am." "But, you're a Spartan." "And?" "I don't know, I've seen the way you and Storm act. I just thought you guys didn't have fear." I say as I look to him. "There's a human saying I'm going to teach you that will explain it perfectly. I'm only human." "Huh?" "It means that I'm just a simple being. Natural things will happen to me. I'll make mistakes. I'll get sick. And, eventually, I'll die. Am I scared of dying? Of course I am. I'd be lying if I said other wise, and so would anyone else." "Then... how do you deal with it then? Knowing that it's coming and there's nothing you can do to stop it?" "How do you deal with it?" He asks as he looks to me. "I'm a dragon. I'll live for thousands of years..." "But in the end you will die. Age, disease, murder; there's no way of telling how or when you will go. How do you deal with it?" "I... I don't know. It's not so close to me yet. Or, at least it doesn't feel so close." I say as I think about it. "I guess... I just go day by day without thinking about it. I just... live." I say as I look back to him. "What else could be done? We all die eventually, the best we can do is live the best lives we can. I have a loving wife, some of the best friends ever, twice, what more could I ask for?" He says with a warm smile. I smile back to him as I stand up, still feeling slightly sore. "OK, then lets get back to work then." "Atta boy." Miles says as he stands up. "But, now that I think about it, lets move onto something a bit more... difficult. Gravity." "Gravity?" I ask as he stands before me, flaring his hands. "What is gravity?" Oh here we go again... "Uh..." "It's the force that attracts a body of lesser mass to a body of greater mass. In essence, it's why you don't fly off the planet and into space. Now come at me." "Really?" "No, I told you to do something with the intend of you not doing it." "Sorry Master..." "Come on already." With a sigh I begin to run at Miles. He just stands there as he charges a bright orb between his hands. When I get close enough to swipe at him he tosses the orb up into the air. "WHOA!" I yell as I suddenly lift off the ground and towards the bright orb. "What's going on!" I yell as I try to fly to the ground. I look back to Miles to see him wave his hand to the side... oh... CRASH "... ow." I mumble from the ground. As I start to get up, I feel myself starting to slip back. I look behind me to see a bright orb hovering in the air. "Nononono!" I yell as I fling back into the air. Just before I reach the orb, it disappears and I start to fall to the ground again. "Never let up!" Miles yells as he runs after me, throwing out several orbs along the way. I yell out as I tumble through the air, chasing disappearing orbs. "Make your enemies suffer as you out wit them!" CRASH I slowly slide to the ground from the wall. When I hit the ground I fall back and just lay there, nearly fading out. "Magic is a contest of wits, not muscle. Out maneuver your enemies, and you will be victorious." He says as he stands before me, shutting off his magic and crossing his arms. "Your shirt burned off." I say as I start to get back up. "Yeah, that took a bit to do. Now you try." THUD "Or not." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. "GRAVITY!" I yell as I bolt awake. I look around to find myself in the library's downstairs room, in what looks like a new bed. Purple sheets and pillows with green under sheets, I guess this is my bed now. I get up and... THUD ... fall flat on my face. With a groan I try to get up, but my arms feel like noodles right now. "Spike!" Twilight yells as she runs down to me and checks on me. "Are you OK honey? Try and take it easy. Miles says this is something called the bends." "Th-the bends? What does that mean?" I ask as I try to get back in bed, but need Twilights help to do so. "He told us that for the next day or so you'll basically be extremely tired and incapable of using magic. Something about your soul getting accustom to using this new energy. Can I get you something?" She asks as she tucks me in. "I'm fine Twilight.... *grumble*... hehe, well..." "I'll go get you something to eat, how do rubies sound?" She asks as she nuzzles me a bit. "Sounds good... Mom." I say with a smile. Every time I say that, I can feel this weird warmth build up in my chest, making me smile. I think Twilight is getting it as well, cause every time she smiles just as much. "I'll be right back." She says before walking up the stairs, passing Storm on the way. "So, I hear Miles kicked your flank son." He says as he walks up to me. "Fun, isn't it." I love my family. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles After I dropped Spike off and talked to Twilight and Storm, I decided to go buy some groceries. I go to the market and start by buying a bag, 100 credits. Fucking Pinkie Pie. I go to the next stall that has a banner of some light tan plant and a bottle. "Can I *hic* help you?" Asks a light purple earth pony mare. "You OK?" I ask as I look over the dark brown bottles on the table. "I'm finnnne *hic* fer realzies! I am Berry *hic* Punch.Wanna buy a drink?" She asks. I think she tried to wink, but ended up stumbling over herself, though she wasn't walking. "Uh... maybe. What are you selling?" "I've got this *hic* Equestrian ale.... this, uh... Pon-wise-er.... and uh... Dos Eques." She says as she shoves her face into each bottle to read them. Yeah... she's wasted, and it's not even seven yet. "What exactly are these?" I ask as I pick up a bottle and look it over. "What? You never hear of *hic* beer? I could... I could show you *hic* um... I need a drink." She says as she pulls out a bottle a takes a long drink. "Don't you think you should take it easy?" "I don't think you with that face you penis!" She yells as she points a hoof at me... well, beside me at least. "Alrighty then, you are drunk as balls. I'm just going to go now..." "Hey, hey hey heyheyheyhey, come here." She loudly whispers as she crawls halfway onto the table. I look around before kneeling down to hear what she has to say. "Take a six pack on the house...." "OK, thanks..." "And... uh..*hic* something sexy." She says with a wink. I just take a six pack and walk away, watching her fall back behind the counter. Buying the rest of my groceries went far more easily then with Berry Punch. I quickly learn from the others that she's the towns lovable drunk, literally. Well, at least the rest of the town is normal, except for charging me a shit ton for the simplest of things. I've been working them down a lot, but twenty credits for some noodles fucking sucks. Once I get the last of what I need I head down the street towards home. Along the way I find a donkey and a pony yelling at each other. Apparently they crashed their carts into each others and now block the road. Not wanting to hear this, I slip into an alley to cut around them. THUD Without warning I suddenly slam onto a wall as my wrists and ankles cling to the wall. I try to pull myself off, but find it impossible. "Don't struggle Miles, you can't get out." I look up and do a double take as I stare at the person before me. "Its.... its you." I say as the hooded woman from my memories approaches me. "Hello love." She says before kissing me. For a moment I'm too stunned to do anything. There's a fucking human... and she's kissing me! When my brain finally kicks in I hold my mouth shut and try to look away, only to have her move me back with a hand. "Sorry about that." She says as she finally stops kissing me. "Who are you?" I demand as I continue to try to get out. "You don't need to worry about that. I'm actually here to warn you about something that will happen later today. You..." "Wait! Are there more of you.... us? Where did you come from? What city is safe?" "OK, OK, calm down. I'll answer, but first you need to listen, OK?" She says, silencing me. "If you want to find the other humans, you need to follow the trail left for you. Find Outpost Zero, that's where you will find your answers. Now, for my original warning. You are going to be attacked today. Don't worry, you will be rescued...." "Like I need rescuing." "Yeah, like at Fort Misery?" She says as she crosses her arms. "Even worse, Shinning did it and will hold it against you." "What! If anything the city guards rescued me." Even though her face is covered, I can still see the smug smile on her face. "Whatever, what else is there." "Your rescuer is going to ask you something that you would normally say no to. You have to say yes. He is far more important then you think. He needs this." "Who is it and what are they going to ask?" "You'll find out later." She says as she looks down into her pocket. "Well, that's it then. I need to go home now, please. Listen to what I said." She says as she turns around and creates a Mico platform. "Wait!" I yell out, stopping her from taking the platform. "What's your name?" She turns around and walks towards me, only stopping when her chest is pressed against mine. She stares up to me for a bit until she starts to lower herself. "What are you doing..." I ask as she faces my groin. She starts to play with my belt a bit with a hand, making me sweat. "Don't worry." She says playfully as she finally gets it undone. "I am somepony very important to you, you just don't know it yet." With that she stands back up and pops the top off of one of the beers. She brings the bottle to her lips as she tilts it back, taking a long drink from it. I watch as the hood starts to fall back, revealing a pale white chin and soft pink lips. "Who are you?" I ask as she finishes. She doesn't respond. Instead she just goes to the platform and flashes away, taking another drink as she goes. ".... SON OF A BITCH!" I yell out. "Just how long did she fucking enchant me to be stuck here!? GRAH! Luna's going to kill me. But... what exactly is going to happen today that I will need saving from? A/N: Shout out to Attacking Dogs for picking the direction Miles put the gravity spell. Thanks for reading and like always, Brony on! Chapter 131 AlmostChapter 131 Almost THUD With a long groan I get back to my feet. I've been stuck here for nearly TWO HOURS! I should consider myself lucky that no one came to steal my shit... or raped me.... or come by to see me with my pants down. I think I'd be more pissed off if I wasn't so concerned about what she told me. I need to be rescued. Does that bitch know who I am? I am a fucking Spartan! I do not need rescuing from anyone! Shinning and those guards were fucking lucky! I'll show her, I don't need to be fucking rescued! I grab my bag and rush through town. If I'm going to be attacked I need to grab my weapons. I make my way through the park and pick up the pace when my home comes into view. I don't know when this attack is going to happen, so I need to be... KILL HIM Ok... who? I stop and look around, not seeing anything that could possibly be a threat. GET READY OK. I set my bag down and flare my hands, looking for whatever may come. HE'S HERE HE'S HERE I leap forward as something tries to attack me from behind. What ever it is, it looks humanoid. Before anything could happen, I take the initiative by thrusting both of my hands forward, sending two massive columns of earth at the being. He dodges the attack by running at me with amazing speed, closing the distance between us quickly. I barely raise a shield up in time to block him from biting me. In the few moments I hold him there, I get a good look at the ugly fucker. He stands roughly at my height. Most of his body is muscular, with the exception of his massive stomach. He has these strange tentacle things covering his jaw line and mouth, reaching down to his chest. He has them wrapped around my shield and is trying to bite me with what looks like a beak His face is fairly simple, lacking a nose and having deep black eyes. His hair seems to be made of long black clumps of charred flesh. His skin is a grayish green and is covered in cuts and scars. I look down to see that his lower half seems to be a dark shadow; not having anything. "GIVE ME YOUR SOUL!" He yells as he begins to suck the energy from my shield, growing slightly. I drop the spell as I send a burst of energy down, sending him staggering back. I scream as I thrust both of my hands forward, sending a massive column of soul fire right into the chest of being, pushing him back. STOP STOP What?! You told me to kill him! I drop my arms and stare at the massive form laying on the ground before me. IT'S A SOUL EATER I watch in horror as the being begins to get back up... SOUL FIRE WAS A VERY BAD IDEA I take a few steps back as the two story tall being stands and chuckles. "Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me..." "I'LL DEVOUR YOU ALL!" He screams as he swipes at me, sending a slash of dark energy flying at me. I throw a hand up, making a column of earth pop up to block the energy. CRASH I fall back as debris peppers my body, leaving bruises all over. When I open my eyes I see the massive being falling right towards me. On instinct, I shoot up another beam of soul fire, only making it pause in the air before getting even larger. STOP FEEDING IT STOP FEEDING IT I DIDN'T MEAN TO! WHAT SHOULD... THUD I bounce into the air and cash down as the gigantic being lands completely around me. He lets out a loud scream as he raises his fists and brings them down. I push my magic up to my potestatum anuls as I shield against the attack. SHATTER "AHHHH!" I scream out as the lines push themselves up past my shoulders. That was a fucking hard hit. I need something... QUIT BEING AN IDIOT AND DESTROY HIM Right. I close my fists, creating the black orbs, and shoot a beam of Icy Void through the chest of being as he raises his fists again. The shot rings through the air as he falls back, giving me time to get up... THUD Or not. I try to get up again, but the numbness in my arms won't let me. I didn't even use that strong of a beam! Why am I... "How..." The creature mumbles as it begins to get back up. "You've got to be kidding me." I say as I try to get up, but still fall over myself. "How did you use that?" He asks as he stands up, standing a bit over a story tall. "Only a few demons can use that." "What the fuck is a demon?" I ask as I try to crawl back. He just laughs as he walks over to me and slams his face to the ground, grabbing me with his slimy face tentacle things. I try to fight my way out, but my arms won't let me. As I near the beak under all of the tentacles, I begin to try to use Icy Void with my legs, but can't bring it up. SHLINK I fall to the ground as a beam of white energy cuts off the tentacles, making the being scream in pain. I wrestle with the still moving appendages as I hear a beam of energy, something slam into the ground, something larger slam into the ground, and then something dissipate. The tentacles wrapped around me fade into some black energy, releasing me from their slimy grasp. "Hey Miles." I look over to see Damian, Hammer, Patches, and CC walking towards me as the being from before fades away. They all seem to be the same, with the exception of Damian having a scythe on his back. It's fairly simple, a black handle with a dark steel blade. But staring at it is giving me odd chills. "So, we need training." "W...what?" I ask as I sit up and look back to him, trying to piece everything together. "Did... did you guys..." "Yes." CC says as she takes a step forward. "We saved your life." "..." "Uh... your welcome..." "OH THAT'S A FUCKING LOAD OF CRAP!" I yell as I try to get up, but continue to fall over myself. "We can get another one over here if you like; we don't have to save you..." "I HAD EVERYTHING UNDER CONTROL!" I yell at Patches as I try to stand, barely making it to my feet. "Where the fuck is my bag?!" I yell as I look around for my bag. "Is this it?" Hammer asks as he lifts it up. I go to take it from him, but fall on my face in attempting to walk. "Do you need help?" "No." I say bitterly. As I face the ground I feel something grab my belt and drag me. I look back to see Damian dragging me... using his teeth. NOODLE-SLAP "DON'T PUT YOUR MOUTH THERE!" I yell... FWOOSH We all stop and look over to CC as she stands there, wings straight up. With an irritated sigh she reaches into her bag, pulls out a rolled up magazine, and flies off towards a distant cloud. "What the fuck was that?" I ask as Damian sighs deeply. "Don't worry about it...." "Is she..." "DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT!" "WHAT THE..." SMACK ................................................................................................................................................................................................. LICK LICK LICK I wake up to Lupus and Hati licking my face. I push them away as-HEY! I can use my arms! I look around the room to see everything seamlessly normal. Did... did I dream all of that? "Heya Miles!" Hammer says as he walks into the room. "Son of a bitch!" I yell as I stand up and walk away. "Wait, we need..." "BARK BARK BARK!" Lupus barks as he jumps Hammer, gnawing at his face. "GAH! THE FLUFF!" He yells as he wrestles with him on the ground, giggling like an idiot. I walk into the kitchen to find Damian sitting at the table with a little basket of strawberries in front of him. Of fucking course they're strawberries. I walk over and grab the basket before he could take any. "Hey! What the fuck?" He asks as I walk over to the trash bin and toss it in. I look down and notice a small note inside the basket, written in pony text. Fuck it. "My house, my rule. No strawberries." I say as I go back to the table and take a seat, looking through my bag of groceries. "So, what spell did Luna use last night?" Damian asks with a smug smile. "How the fuck do you know about that?" I ask as I stop looking through the bag and stare at him. "We know everything." He says as if hes said it a thousand times. "Does CC still think you are gay?" I ask as I pull out my beers. "*sigh* sadly, yes." He says as he lowers his head a bit. "Congratulations, you win a beer." I say as I put a bottle in front of him. "But I can't have this, it's illegal." He says as he pushes it away. "Why would it be illegal?" I ask as I push it back to him. "Because I'm only thirteen." He says as he pushes it away. "...no.... no. There is no fucking way you are thirteen." I say as I push the bottle back to him. "But..." "I WAS JUST NEARLY EATEN BY A FUCKING OVERWEIGHT FUCKING ASSHOLE AND NOW YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT I WAS RESCUED BY A FUCKING THIRTEEN YEAR OLD FUCKING KID! NO! YOU ARE GOING TO FUCKING DRINK THAT AND YOU'RE GOING TO FUCKING LIKE IT!" I yell as I pop the top off and shove it into his hooves. He hesitates for a second as he takes a sniff from the bottle, wincing a bit. "If it makes you feel better, CC is fifteen and we don't even know how old Patches is." He say before taking a drink. "Wow... that's disgusting." "Shut the fuck up." I mumble as I take a bottle and start take a drink. We sit there for awhile in silence, drinking quietly as I try to cope with what just happened. OK; I was nearly eaten, saved by a thirteen year old, and apparently he needs training. Why do things get so strange whenever he comes around? "You said something about needing training earlier..." "I need you to train us against Icy Void." He says as he sets the bottle down. "We need to be able to deal with it..." "It's a no." I say before finishing off my bottle. "But..." "I don't care that you... saved my life... that is a high level magic that, if I were going to train you in, you would need to be a Spartan..." "OK, train me to be a Spartan." He says, getting me to laugh. "Look kid, you've got some skills, I'll give you that. But there's more to this then just skill..." "From what we could look up it takes serious dedication." CC says as she walks in from the back door. "How do you know that?" I ask as I look back to her. "Don't worry, we don't know what exactly happens during the training. We respect traditions like that. But we know the out come. That's why I don't want to be a Spartan." "CC, we need training in Icy Void." Damian complains from behind. "Sorry, but I can't betray... us, like that. And I know Hammer can't either..." "Yup! Bonzu would kill me.... literally." Hammer says as he walks in, covered in scratches and bite marks. "Lupus is awesome." "OK, then it'll be me and..." "Dude, Patches can't even stand for five minutes without exploding. If anypony's going to become a Spartan, it's you." Hammer says in a more serious manner. "Where is Patches?" I ask as I look around. "I told him to wait out back so he wouldn't destroy anything in your home.." CC says, motioning outside. "Thank you... I think. Anyway, I need more... huh." I stop and think about what the woman from before told me. He's important for some reason. She told me to say yes to his request... "Whats up?" Damian asks as I stare him down. "To become a Spartan, it takes being a certain kind of character. You will become Terradisian before anything else. I don't care what work you have with... who ever you work with, if I say come here, you drop what you're doing and get your ass here. If you live through the training you will become one of the worlds greatest fighters. Holder of one of the greatest held secrets, and become a force for good. Can you handle the pressure of always being the hero? Can you sacrifice everything for the sake of those who may disagree with what you do. Could you hold absolutely no secrets from us? No matter what? Can you follow me as your leader, follow my orders and assist in the furtherance of Terradisia? Can you do these things and more?" "You realize that there are things out there, things that nearly ate you, that are my responsibility to kill. I already do all of that..." "No, no you don't." I say, getting a confused look from him. "You do those things in the shadows. Hiding from the public. Being a Spartan, the public will know your every move, your name, and your prowess. Can you move from the dark and into the light? Because only then will I agree to training you in Icy Void. So I'll ask you again: Can you do it?" "I... well..." He thinks about what I said deeply. He looks to all of his friends before looking back to me. "I don't know about the secret thing..." "Its a Spartan tradition. There are no secrets in Terradisa. If I ask you about anything, you will answer me, in full detail. Its part of being Spartan." "Could you make exceptions? There are things worse then what you fought..." "No. There is no grey area. It's either yes,or no. Choose." I say bluntly, getting a troubled look from him. "I have responsibilities that they need me to..." "Then it's a no." I say as I get up and begin to walk away. "Come on! I need to learn this shit to deal with some demons in Hell!" "DAMIAN!" CC yells as she sticks a hoof in his mouth. I chuckle a bit as I walk back and sit down. "OK, you've got my attention. What is hell? What is a demon?" "We can't say." CC says as she continues to hold Damian's mouth shut, though he doesn't seem to mind the contact. "CC, he's already seen a demon. He see's spirits. If it gets us the training, I think we can tell him a bit about Hell." Hammer says, getting an annoyed look from CC. I just sit back and wait for her to answer. "*sigh* fine. But keep this to yourself, OK! Nopony knows that there's a literal Hell." CC says as she pulls her hoof out of Damian's mouth. "Ew.." She says as she shakes the slobber off. "Sorry." Damian says with a blush. "So... Hell is the place where everypony goes when they die. It's filled with nothing but torment, misery, and suffering. It's eternal damnation." "Uhuh." I say as I nod a bit. "What you fought earlier today was a Soul Eater. It's a lesser demon that devours souls to increase it's power. Usually they are fairly easy to fight, but when you over power them like you did...." "How was I suppose to know?" "Right. Anyway, Icy Void is a demon power. A very HIGH level demon power. Like, only a hoof full of demons can use it. We don't know how you were able to achieve that power, but you did." "So there's another thing that you don't know." I say with a smug smile. "Look, this is serious!" Damian yells as he stands up. "We need to be able to stand against a power like that! Now are you going to help or not!?" "I am willing, you just need to become a Spartan. So what's it going to be?" I ask, getting a exasperated sigh from him. "... fine." "Louder. Mean what you say." I demand, getting an even look from him. "I'll do it. When can we get started?" He asks. I sit back and think about that. I need to leave tomorrow for Amethyst, so... "You know what, hang here for a sec. I need to go to my shop real quick." I say as I leave the room and head to the shed in the back. I find Patches eyeing the door a bit, reaching up to open it. "Hey!" I yell out, getting him to stop. "Stay out of my shed." "Uh..." "I'll fucking kill you if you go in there." I say as I open the door. "Your choice." I walk in and jump down into the now lit room. "May I have your autograph?" "Easy, how goes construction?" I ask as I walk over to the weapons locker, eying all of the working bots in the back. "We are currently at twelve percent. Estimated time to completion: Eight days, four hours, and thirty six minutes." Easy informs me as I grab two dull swords and head back to the entrance. "Good. Give me daily updates on the progress." "Very well sir." He says as I jump back up and out of the door. I shut and lock it before heading inside, throwing the swords on the table as I stand back and eye them. "What are you doing?" Hammer asks as he looks over the blades. "What are these for? Are they for training? Can I have one?" "He doesn't shut up, does he?" I ask as I magically take the metal and begin purifying it. "Eh, he grows on ya." Damian jokes. "I doubt that." I say as I continue to work. "Whoa, that's cool. Am I going to learn to do that?" Spike says as he walks into the room. "Who are these guys?" "Spike, say hello to Damian, CC, Patches, and Hammer. They are... well, I know them. And yes, you will learn this eventually. Now what are you doing here?" I ask as I finish purifying it and start forging. "Well... I'm not sure. Storm crashed into the door and told me to wait here. When I asked what was going on... he just told me to go. Did I do something wrong Miles?" I finish making the two small necklaces and toss one to Damian. "Training will come soon. I'll buzz you a day before. I have to go now..." "Yeah. What's this going to do?" Damian asks as he eyes the tiny Spartan logo. "You'll see. Spike, lets go." I say as I walk out out of the room. The entire trip to the Library I stayed silent. Not matter how much Spike begged me to answer him, I wouldn't. I've got a bad feeling about this. There's only one thing Storm would kick Spike out for, but it's so early... "Spike! I told you to wait at Miles's, not bring him!" Storm yells as he paces around the front door. "S-sorry..." "So I take it the baby isn't coming anymore." I say getting a bewilder look from Storm. Everything stays silent as we stare at each other. No one spoke. No one moved. The only movement was from the tears falling from Storm's eyes. Chapter 132 Lost AnswerChapter 132 Lost Answer Friday, November 23rd 11:35 AM Once I finish making the last necklace for all of the Spartans, as well as a few extra, I leave my shop to meet everyone. Yesterday was too much. I tried to convince Storm to let me talk to Twilight, but she didn't want to see anyone. Miscarriage, this early, it doesn't make sense. I wish I had Eximius here. He would know what to do about this. He could fix almost anything. I make my way inside where I see a group of random people walking towards my home, being lead by True Will. This should be interesting. "Long time no see." I say as I step outside to greet them. "What brings you here?" "We received a notice from Luna that you were going to the next city. Here we are." True Will says as the rest of them line up in front of my porch. "Let me introduce you to our group..." "There's no need for that..." "You remember our recon expert, Dust Devil." "Hey Miles!" She says as she waves to me. "Hey. True Will..." "Then there's our explosives expert, Aere." He says as a light red earth stallion steps forward. He has a brass gear for a mark and seems to be covered in soot. His left foreleg has been replaced with what looks like a steam powered prosthetic; wonder how that happened. He has a saddle filled to the brim with who knows what on his back. "Hello, look. You guys aren't..." "Next is Theirmara, our two handed expert. And I know you don't know what anything is, so I'll just tell you. She's an earth elemental in bear form." He says as the massive stone skeleton steps forward. There isn't much to her. Just a skeletal form of... whatever a bear is. She stands well over me and even though she lacks a face, I can feel her eyes judging me. "Greetings." She says in a voice that sounds like its being forced through sand paper. "I'm Hamm Strung, the ranged expert and company blacksmith." A Minotaur says as he steps forward and violently shakes my hand. He stands about as tall as Theirmara, going a bit over due to the massive horns on his head. He has furry brown legs with his body being covered in low white fur. He carries several throwing axes on his back as well around his waist. "Ow... OK, this has..." "And finally there's Matrix, our one hoofed expert." "Hi there!" He says joyfully as he steps forward. He's a pegasus stallion with a body that's black with a few yellow strips and hair that's yellow with some red stripes. He carries a simple sword on his waist as well as what look like small metal bowls... da fuck... "When do we move out?" True will asks as they all stand there, waiting for me to answer. "You don't. I never agreed to you all coming along." I say, getting looks from all of them. "Well no duh you didn't agree to this." Dust Devil says with a chuckle. "Your wife did." "My wife did..." "Yeah, she hired us to assist you and help keep the bearers safe. She even payed in advance." Matrix says, getting smug looks from all of them. "Wait here real quick, I need to make a phone call." I say as I step back inside and pull out my phone. Thirty Minutes Later "So... welcome aboard then." I say bitterly as I step back outside. After talking with Luna for awhile I finally decided to allow them to come along. Why do I call Luna every night... "So, where's the rest of your group?" Hamm Strung asks as he continues to sharpen his axes. I ignore him and continue to walk out until I'm underneath Rainbows house. "RAINBOW! WAKE UP!" I yell, getting confused looks from most of the others. "Whoa, whoa whoa. Did you say Rainbow... as in Rainbow Dash?" Matrix asks as he walks up beside me and looks up. "Yeah, know her?" "Uh... I'll be right back." He says as he runs out of sight behind my house. "What was that about?" Rainbow asks as she lands in front of me. "Who are all of these ponies?" "I don't know. Luna hired a mercenary group to assist us when we go to each city. Want to meet them?" "Naw. I need to get Scootaloo over to Twilight's real quick. See ya..." "Hold on!" I yell, stopping her from flying off. "Did you know... about Twilight?" "About her being pregnant? Yeah, it should be the end of her first month now. Why?" She asks as she raises an eyebrow to me. "Month? How do you know that?" "Well... a nurse at the hospital happens to be a friend of mine and told me about when she went for her first check up. It was right after their honeymoon, so it makes sense. I'll be back asap." She says before she jumps into the air back to her house. I was about to walk off when I stopped and looked down the path. Standing in the middle was Twilight, staring wide eyed at me. "Twilight..." "I don't want to talk about it." She says as she walks past me. "Twilight wait!" I yell, getting her to stop and look back to me with an irritated look. "I just want to make sure that you're OK..." "I'm fine. I'm just not meant to be a mother." She says spitefully before continuing on. I just stand there and shake my head. Twilight, what am I going to do... After about an hour, everyone finally makes it here, and we go through the same routine. They see the mercs out front and question there being there. Then they see Twilight inside and really question her being here. She tells them all the same thing: Not to worry because there isn't going to be a baby. After that, there are lots of hugs and reassuring words. She just sits there and nods along, putting up a strong face to hide the hurt. I don't know what to do. I don't want her to come, but I know there's no way I could convince her to stay behind. That and she needs to be around people that care about her, even if they are going somewhere potentially dangerous. "Hey, come inside for debriefing." I tell the mercs as I stick my head out of the door. I step inside and wait for everyone to get situated before I point to the map behind me. "The next city is Amethyst, and I calculate it's location to be underneath Detrot on the southern section. We can expect to see: Bots, possibly more spore creatures, and maybe people. That all depends on how they fared against the Unfamiliar. Since we have to have the mercs with us, I want everyone to pair up..." "I CALL RAINBOW!" Matrix yells, immediately blushing from his sudden outburst. "Right... anyway, Theirmara, I want you with Big Mac and Pinkie. Fluttershy and Rainbow, you're with Dust Devil and Matrix. Work that out however you want. Twilight, I want you with True Will. Hamm Strung and I will be together along with Easy. Aere, you will be with Rarity and Applejack. Try to stay together, at least in your groups, and work together..." "Whose Easy?" Hamm Strung asks. "May I have your autograph?" Easy, as if on queue, asks him. They all jump a bit from his sudden appearance and gawk. "Miles, I brought all of the weapon you requested, further details?" He asks as he walks over to me, having six rifles slung to his back. "Are they operable?" I ask as I take one and look it over. "Yes, all weapons in your locker are now one hundred percent operable." "Good. Let's take a quick lunch while I get these ready before we head out. Big Mac, I need you to go get a cart and bring it to my backyard." "Eeyup." He replies as he walks out. I take all of the rifles to the table and get to work. I start by removing the finger guards and extending the triggers. Next I rework the grips to be larger and more accommodating for ponies. I takes awhile; having to work the super condensed metal and all, but once I finish the last rifle up I call Big Mac over to try it out. "How does it feel?" I ask as he stands there and fiddles around with it. "A little clunky, but good." He says as he aims out the window. "Is there a way to make it shorter?" "Not really. This is how it's going to have to be." I say as I take the remaining rifles and head over to the living room. "Alright. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, Pinkie and Fluttershy, come take one." "Wh-what? Do I have to take a weapon?" Fluttershy asks as she steps away. "Don't worry. I don't expect you to use it often. But I would feel better if you had one. Just a... last second protection thing." I reassure her. I still get uneasy looks from her as she takes one. "Why doesn't Rarity get one?" Rainbow Dash asks as she takes one. "Because dear, I already have one." Rarity says as she pulls it.... what the fuck. "Isn't it fabulous!?" She asks as she levitates it out. She coated it with a pink and purple camouflage and studded her mark into the stock, using the gem that was there already for the center gem. "Rarity... what the fuck?" I ask as I look it over. "Camo is suppose to hide you, not make you more obvious." "Now how would making my weapon dark and grimy help in any way?" She asks as she put the gun back into her saddle. "Your weapon?" "Why of course darling. It almost seems destined for me to have this gun. Nopony else can use it the way I do. It only seems fitting that I carry it." She says as she walks off, strutting a bit as she does. "Right... anyway, everyone with a gun step outside for a quick shooting lesson. After that, we'll get going." I say as I start leading them out back. "Alright. Just line up here and we'll get started." "Is this like some Spartan training?" Rainbow Dash asks as she rears up with the rifle in her hooves. "No. Spartan training would be too intense for some of you. This is Terradisia basic training. It will cover proper use, fire control, and commands. Any questions before we start?" I ask, getting Fluttershy to raise a hoof. "Do I have to. I'd prefer not to harm anypony..." "I would still like you to. I don't expect you to fight unless our lives are in danger. If something were to happen and we got separated, I wouldn't want to see you get hurt. If you really don't feel you can handle this, then say so right now. But just know that I believe that you can." "Well..." She mutters as she thinks about it. "I... OK. I will try." "Thank you. Now, these are not toys." I say as I walk in front of them, holding my rifle in front of me. "These are tools of destruction. When you pull the trigger, there is no going back. There is no do over. If you are walking around, not in immediate danger, keep off the trigger and point down." They all look to their guns and do so, trying to mimic the way I hold my rifle. "Next is knowing your weapon. I don't expect you to know how to strip your weapon, though Big Mac will, but I do want you to know the features. On the left side, above the trigger, you'll see two switches. One goes up and down, the other goes in a circle. The first one is your safety. Push it down and you'll see a red dot. That means the weapon is ready to fire. Turn your safeties off." They all look to the side and turn the safeties off. "OK, the next switch is your firing mode. You have three options. Single, triple burst, and constant. In single fire mode, you fire a single round for every pull of the trigger. In triple burst, you will fire three rounds for every pull of the trigger. And in constant, if you pull the trigger it will constantly fire, keeping at it's highest rate of fire. Lets go through the firing modes, raise your weapons." We start out with the single fire mode. It seemed easy enough for them. After a couple of practice shots I started giving them targets. They all did fairly well, except for Fluttershy. Why the fuck did she not want to do this? She has an amazing shot. I gave her some targets a kilometer out and she was hitting them with total ease. Next we move onto triple burst. Everyone here begins to have trouble keeping their guns on target. Applejack, Big Mac, and Rainbow Dash. They started off weak, but were able to hold it on target after some practice. Fluttershy completely fell apart from this area. She seems to only be able to keep on target in single fire mode, so I tell her to stay there. Next we move onto constant. No one does well here. Big Mac does decent, but he still has some drag going on. Rarity does a bit decent as well, but using magic on a smaller weapon is a bit of cheating. Though, she does have to deal with a larger caliber shot as well.... "Miles!" True Will calls from behind. "Are we going to e leaving today or not? We still need to meet up with Camo Flash..." "Keep your panties on, we're all done here." I say as I walk over to him. "Where's Camo Flash?" "Don't worry about it. He knows where we'll be. Lets just get going." He says as he walks back inside. "What was that about?" Pinkie asks. "I don't know..." "Cause he was frowning, and I don't like ponies that frown." "I know Pinkie..." "You know what will fix this!" "What?" I ask as I look down to her. "A.... a... um..." "Just say it." "A PARTY!" She yells as confetti pops out from behind. I jump back start to look around frantically. "Where the fuck did the confetti come from?!" I ask in a panic. "Duh, my party poppers." She says simply as she hops back inside. "Come on Pinkie..." I say as I try to calm my nerves... ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Camo Flash I come to a stop in front of one of the shops in Detrot. Daisy's Daisies. This is the place. I step inside and take a look around. Just your average flower shop, nothing out of the ordinary... "Hello there." Greets the mare at the counter. "Can I help you find something?" "I'm looking for a black orchid." I say as I walk up to her. She looks around the store before leaning forward. "There's only one place to get something like that...." "In the Ursa's cave." I say, getting a nod from her as she pulls a lever. The wall behind her slides to the side, revealing a dark passageway. "Welcome home brother." She says as I walk past her. I take the tunnel all the way down until I find the large double doors. I take a deep breath before walking up and knocking. "Come in." Says a deep voice from behind. I push the door open and step in. The room is completely dark, with six beams of light coming down from the ceiling. Five of them are going around the room while the last one is in the center. I walk to the middle of the room and wait. "Lieutenant." Says a feminine voice. "Lets begin. Do you know why we brought you here?" "Is it about True Will?" I ask. "Partially." Says another male voice. "It's also about the Human." "Miles? What about him? We've already told you everything about him..." "Yes, but there is one thing that intrigues us. We need you to prove yourself to gain Spartan training. We've read the reports on how his troops performed, and we need skills like that. Prove yourself and gain his training to train us..." "Why not True Will? He's the captain for a reason. His skills are far superior then mine, he would be a much better candidate." "True Will has... been proven to be problematic. The details of his joining the Ursa's mercenaries company are still under wraps. Can we count on you staying loyal?" Says a different feminine voice. "You can count on me." I say as a smile starts to grow on my face. "Excellent. When you leave we will bestow a gift upon you. Take it, and with it, you will be the greatest fighter possible. Joining will be no problem. Now go." The five other lights fade out, telling me it's time to leave. As I walk out, I can't help but smile. "Your flowers sir." The mare out front says as she gives me a box of 'roses'. "Take care." She says with a smile. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles Applecore City, 3:58 PM I hit the brakes and come to a stop just outside the small city. "Easy?" I call back to the cart attached to my jeep. "Applecore City. Ten kilometers outside of Detrot and twenty three from our objective." He replies. I nod and start to drive around the town. I feel bad for everyone in the cart, but they'll just have to deal with it for now. We're too close to stop for every worried towns person freaking out about us driving through. "What part of Detrot do we have to go to?" I ask Twilight as she looks over a map. "If your math is right, the southern part. Just wrap around Applecore and go straight towards Detrot." She says simply. "Twilight..." "We should get there soon. You ready for this?" She asks to change the subject. "I could ask you the same thing." "I'm. Fine." She growls as she looks away from me. I just shake my head as I continue on our way. Once we're close enough to walk I stop and let everyone out, much to the delight of those in the cart. Once we have our gear I hide the jeep and we walk the rest of the way. Once we get to the edge of Detrot, we send a few in to buy some supplies. Once they go in I call Twilight aside to talk to her. "Twilight..." "Miles, just... don't. OK. I've already heard it from everypony else, I don't want to hear it from you." "I know you don't. So I won't. But, if you ever want to talk about it. I'm here. You don't have to come you know..." "I can still do this, I want to go..." "Why?" I ask, getting a bewildered look from her. "What do you mean why?! I..." "Twilight, I know what you're doing. And I won't let you do it. You want to come because you want something to take your anger out on..." "Maybe because I need something to vent on! What right do you have to say whether or not I can..." "Because I'm you friend." I say, getting her to stop and stare at me. "I'm you're friend Twilight. And I won't let you walk this path. It only leads to destruction and anguish. Trust me. I know." "How could you possibly know my pain?" Twilight asks as she starts to sob. "I was going to be a mother, and my magic destroyed that." "Wait, what?" She wipes her eyes a couple of times before continuing. "My magic saw the embryo and attacked it. As if it was a virus. It's why unicorns don't get as sick as easily as other ponies..." "Twilight..." "How could you possibly understand my pain." She says before walking off. I don't try to stop her. I have nothing to say to that. "Hey, they're back!" Pinkie cheers. I walk back over to the group and watch as the others approach us, carrying bags of food. Camo Flash is with them as well, looking confident with a large sword strapped to his back. Once we're all back together I flare my hands and start sending us below. I glance over to Twilight as we go for a moment before looking away. I don't know what to tell her. I'm sure she's heard it all. Trying again. These things happen. But... how do you tell them that their magic destroying their future child is alright? Chapter 133 AmethystChapter 133 Amethyst THUD We had been traveling through the ground for nearly half an hour before we finally hit solid metal. Though... this isn't right. If this were the dome, it would be curved. This is flat. "Great, we found it. Now what?" Hamm Strung says as everyone looks over the metal surface. "This isn't right." I say as I wipe some of the dirt off and look it over. "This is an Aquila port." I say as I tap it a few times. "A what?" Dust Devil asks as everyone looks down to the metal floor. "Aquila. A Terradisian war machine. The one Miles is referring to is the manned variant, though I fear he is mistaken. This is a port for a AA-20 Stella Predator." Easy states. "An AA-20? Ah man, if it's still there we are taking it home." I say as I start to clear the way towards the dome. "Why is that?" Big Mac asks. "Ah thought our objective was ta find the messages yer friends left." "It is. But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't recover what ever tech we run into. It may com in handy one day." I say as we reach the wall. "Now, what do you think the chances are that we can force our way?" I ask as I look over the joints. "Forty eight trillion, six hundred fifty seven, two thousand and six to one." Easy says, getting odd looks from everyone. "Never tell me the odds." I say as I flare my hands and close my fists, creating the black orbs. I punch towards the metal wall, sending a black beam straight through. I drop the spell and take a knee as I begin to pant. I need to get better at this... "What was that?" Theimara asks as I push myself back up. I look up to see a small hole in the wall. Not enough for us to get through, but it'll do. "Twilight, can you teleport us inside?" I ask. She walks over and peers inside before charging her horn. FLASH SMACK THUD I wake up in a daze with a slight headache. I look around to see everyone standing around me. "We really need to get you a helmet." Rarity says as everyone backs off. "What happened?" I ask as I sit up and rub my head. "When you teleported in you smacked your head against that thing.... sorry." Twilight says as I get up and look over what... I... "Oh sweet Barbra..." I mutter as I look over the massive vehicle hidden by a large grey tarp. "Who?" "Is that what I think it is?" I ask as I start to pull the tarp off. "Possibly. It is an..." "FUCK YEAH!" I yell as I finally remove the tarp to reveal an AA-20. It's a beauty of a wreckage. I walk around to find the right wing laying on the ground. The cock pit has been gutted as well, most of it laying on the ground behind me. Other then that it seems to be one piece. "What is it?" Matrix asks as he flies above it to take a look. "This, is a jet fighter." I say as I climb on an look it over. The thick straight wings are in good repair... except for one being off. The massive transitum gun looks good, probably needs an overhaul though. The twin FT-43 turbos look like they've seen better days, but completely fixable. The tail section seems untouched. Both of the vertical tail wings are holding fine, no matter how much I jump on the jet. "OK, I'm lost. What exactly is a jet fighter?" Dust Devil asks as she joins Matrix in the air. "This is Terridisian badassery in its prime. When fully operational, this can go mach four while still performing at full maneuverability, carry any and all armament the Terradisian Air and Space force carries, and still take a fucking hit like a champ." I say as I look into the cock pit. "Wait, this thing can fly!?" Rainbow Dash asks in astonishment. "This hunk of junk!" "Oh hohoho, once I get this thing operational, I'm going to make you eat those words. Easy, how long would it take to get this operational?" I ask as I jump down and step back to look over the vehicle. "My estimate.... four weeks, five days, eight hours and twelve minutes." "Awesome. We'll have to get started soon then. Alright, I've had my fill. Let's head into the city and see whats here." I say as I lead everyone out of the hanger bay into... "Oh that's just fucking awesome." I say as I walk into the flight simulator room. "Are those giant eggs?" True Will asks as I walk up to one of the simulation pods. They're about two meters tall and long. On the outside they're smooth and white, forming an oval shape. "What's an egg? Easy, is this operational?" I ask as I run a hand along the outside. "Yes. But the power must be turned on first..." "Then let's get the power on..." "The lever to your right should suffice." Easy says as he walks past me and pulls a red lever. The sound of old generators fills the room as lights begin to turn on. The rest of the room comes to life, revealing an empty room, abandoned long ago. Many of the tools still sit on the tables and shelves, as well as the floor. There are bullet holes speckled throughout the room, but the fight wasn't that intense here. "Looks like this place was hit as well." Camo says as everyone starts to explore the room. "Sorry." "It's alright. Lets just find a computer." "A what?" "Just look for a..." "Over here!" Applejack yells from what looks like a small office. I run over to the glassed off room and find her sitting in front of a small computer. "Will these do?" "Perfect, scoot over." I say as I kneel down and go to my email. Sure enough, two unread emails. Both of which from Eximius. I take a deep breath as I look back to everyone. "Here goes nothing." I say before I click the first one. The screen shows Eximius facing the screen, head held low as his long black hair covers his face. June 20th, 1133 "Miles..." He starts but stops immediately. He looks back into whatever room he's in before looking back to the screen, that's when I feel my heart drop. "So, I figure the whole eye thing is... a lot to take in." He says as he rubs the scarred socket. "Don't worry though. Even if you were here, this would have happened. During the evac of Quartz Crest I took a pretty bad hit. It's not all bad though, I get a cool eye patch now." He says as he forces a laugh and puts on the black eye patch. "*sigh* yeah... I guess this means my fighting days are over as well. They won't let a guy with only one eye in the shit. Once we made it here, I was honorably discharged. Fucking assholes. I've been a Spartan my entire life and now... now... now what am I? I can't go to the medical field here, I tried. 'A surgeon with one eye is like a marathoner with one leg.' I don't know what to do man. Sine says I should consider myself lucky to be alive but... what is there for me? I can't help the army, I can't pursue my dream of being a medical professional, and I can't... well... the best I could do now is... I don't know." He says as he buries his face in his hands. "Miles... where are you? We need you man," he says as he looks back up to the screen. "The last attack... there was.. I don't know. It was... destructive. I don't know if it's their leader or just some monster they've created, but it decimated our forces. What took a month for Topaz Falls took a week for Quartz Crest. I tried to stop it when we were retreating but... well, you can see what happened. I don't know if you could have stopped it; the Captain couldn't even kill it, but... I don't know... you've never failed us before..." "*sigh* but enough of that. What's done is done. I can't just sit here and cry about my missing eye. I need to be here for everyone else. We may be hurt, but we're not dead. We'll get stronger. We'll find a way to win the day. Diamond Halls was able to do it before, why can't we? They'll come back, and we'll just have to beat them back time and time again. We can do that... right?" "Well, in case you don't get this till later, everyone is doing good... well, kind of. Tenera is still... mad. Fidus is getting huge, only a few more months until she pops now. Inficiunt is still using. They let a coke head fight, but the medical professional can't at least treat wounds. Fucking assholes. Dare is trying to take my place as medic. He's doing alright, but there's still a lot to make up for. Apricis was able to get the Captain to lay off the bottle, but I know he isn't sleeping. I worry about his judgement from time to time, but it's not like I have to anymore..." "OH! You wouldn't fucking believe this though! Remember when Amethyst sent that request for assistance on that time and power problem? Well ends up that they were trying to figure out how to make stasis pods. And they did it! They were able to make ten thousand by the time we got here! We're pooling together to get Auxy and her boy in. The little guy is quit the handful, but we're all more then willing to help out. Especially Fidus. It's like training for her. Hopefully we can get them in, I don't like seeing the fear in her eyes all of the time. Well, that's it, I guess. Get to the P.C.H. and find us, I'm in room 5089. Please, come find us, we need you." Everything stays quite as the home screen comes back up. I can't believe he lost an eye. Eximius is one of the best archaic fighters I know, what could of done that to him? But more importantly, stasis pods. They tried to get Auxy and her boy in one. If the city was abandoned, they could still be there. They could still be alive... "Miles." Twilight says as she nudges me. "You should play the next one." "Yeah... right." I say as I mentally prepare myself for the next one. "We can step outside iffin ya like." Applejack reassures me. "It's alright. I'm in a glass room, not like I can hide anything anyway." I say as I click the next message. July 14th, 1132 This time the video seems to be from his phone as he runs through some hallway. "It's happening again. They found us." He pants as he takes a corner and continues to run. "To make things worse, I saw that strange leader of theirs. He's leading the assault and... Miles, he's too powerful. He's destroying everything in his wake. I saw him decimate squad after squad like it were... the evacuation has been called." He comes to a stop and fumbles with his phone as he unlocks the door. After he finally gets the door open he walks straight for the computer and connects his phone to it. "Miles, I'm leaving you my Medi-gun. Its for Susurrans little trail thing. I'm also leaving you the coordinates for the next city. I don't know why we're going to Jasper next, but I'll follow the Captain. He's never lead us astray before. Miles, please find us. Get here already. We need you more then ever before. I don't think the group can go on for much longer without you. The password for my locker is Solus Simul. Please hurry." The screen goes blank again. I just sit there, a little stunned by all that's happened. Did Auxy and her boy get into the stasis pods? What did their leader look like? Well... that last one is just my curiosity, but still. "Miles..." "Lets get going." I say as I stand up. "If there are any survivors left, they'll be at the P.C.H.... where's Twilight?" I ask as I look around the room. "She stepped outside a few minutes ago." True Will says from the doorway. I walk past him too see Twilight sitting alone at a desk, looking out at the city. I motion to everyone to wait there as I walk over to her. "Everything alright?" I ask her from behind. She glances to me for a second before looking back out the window. "Yes. Everything is fine." She states. "Ah know yer lying." Applejack says as she walks up beside me, soon followed by all of the other girls. "What's the matter sugar?" Twilight lets out a long sigh before turning to us. She takes a long look at each of us before looking down in shame. "I'm the Element of Magic." She says weakly. "Well, yeah. But..." "And my magic is the reason I don't have a foal." She continues. The room falls silent as we all look to each other. I nod a couple of times before I kneel before her and show her the Elements on my arm. "What do you see here?" I ask as I hold my arms there. "Miles..." "Come on, what do you see?" "The Elements of Harmony..." "Right. Now what makes them as powerful as they are?" "Miles, I don't see how this is going..." "Just humor me." "*sigh* I don't know... the way they work together..." "Nope." "Because you made them." "Nope." "Miles..." "OK, I'll show you." I say as I reach out and poke her chest. "Heart." She gives me a confused look, so I continue. "It's not that you are magic. It's that you're magic at heart. The Elements aren't suppose to work separated, but you six found a way. What did that was your hearts..." "What does this have to do with..." "I'm getting there. You say because you are magic, you can't have a child. But I don't believe that. What happened was... what happens. If it worked every time, then it wouldn't be special..." "But no one in my family has ever had this happen to them before!" She yells as she stands up. "My mother, her mother, even Cadence gets to avoid..." She suddenly stops and covers her mouth, glancing between each of us. "Cadence is pregnant?" I ask as I sit back a bit. "No." Twilight says as she shakes her head. "Oh my god she is." Applejack says, getting even more worried looks from Twilight. "Please don't tell anypony, they didn't get permission for this yet." Twilight begs. "Is that why you're so angry? Are you jealous of what Cadence has?" I ask as I stand. "No! I'm... I just...." "Twilight." I say, getting a long sigh from her as she hangs her head. "I know that this happens sometimes. I looked up the statistics, seventy percent of pregnancies end in miscarriages. But, when I found out for the first time, I was with Cadence. We both found out together. When I... when it happened, I started getting angry at Cadence, even blaming her. The reason I've been so distant the past few days is because I'm a horrible pony. I thought those thoughts. I should be happy for her, and I wished horrible things on her...." "Twilight." Fluttershy says as she walks over to her and hugs her. "It's ok..." "How could that be OK!?" Twilight asks as she breaks her hug. "I'm a terrible..." "You were depressed. I know the feeling..." "How could you possibly..." "Because we've tried before to." Big Mac says as he walks over and takes a seat beside Fluttershy. "Ah'm actually surprised none of y'all noticed that we didn't have any foals yet." "Well... ah always thought you two were just waiting." Applejack says as she removes her hat. "I was three and a half months in when I lost mine." Fluttershy says as she leans against Big Mac. "It was the worst thing that ever happened to me, but we moved on." "...how?" Twilight asks as she wipes her eyes. "Like Miles said: Heart." Big Mac says with a smile. "One day, he pulled me aside, held me for an hour before saying that he loved me. That's all I needed to know that everything was going to be OK." Fluttershy says as she nuzzles the bottom of his jaw. "Has Storm tried ta..." "He tried." Twilight says as she looks away. "But I... I..." "Don't worry." I say as I look over to see Dust Devil flying out of a doorway. "Storm loves you; always will. When we get back, go to him. He'll prove it." I say as I step away and approach True Will. "Sorry, I don't do mushy stuff like that." He says as I stand beside him and watch her fly around. "No gun fire, that's a good sign. Thanks for giving us that moment." I say as look back to the group hug. "It's alright. Believe it or not, this isn't the first time that's happened to me." He says with almost a chuckle. I was about to question him about it when Dust Devil landed before us. "Whats the status of the city?" "Well, I spotted a few metal guys like Easy, but other then that, it's abandoned." She says as she looks over to the group hug. "Did I miss something?" "Kind of. How was the destruction?" I ask as I look out at Amethyst. "What destruction?" She asks as she looks between the two of us. "What? What did I miss?" Was it something I said?" A/N: Shout out to Sturrn for picking the broken part of the AA-20. Thanks for reading, HI ONDERMAN, And like always; Brony on! Chapter 134 Red Light Chapter 134 Red Light Chapter 134 Red Light I jump to the top of the hanger bay and take a look out at the city, and sure enough, everything looks fine. No destroyed buildings, no masses of bones, nothing. Just an empty city. How could Eximius say everything was destroyed, while everything is fine? "So... I take it this isn't normal." Matrix says as he and Dust Devil land beside me. "No, this isn't. My friend told me that everything was being destroyed. But everything looks fine..." "Well, maybe..." Dust Devil starts but stops as she looks out to at the buildings. "Gather everyone. We need to get moving." I say before stepping off the edge. I walk back inside to find the group hug from earlier breaking apart. Twilight seems... better. Not there yet, but I'll take it. "Alright, we need to get moving. Remember your groups..." "What about Camo?" Twilight asks. "He wasn't part of the original plan. Where does he go?" I look over to Camo and think about it for a second. "Camo, stick with Rarity and Applejack." "Will do..." "Aw." Aere complains. "What? I don't get to hang out with you?" Camo asks. "I'm almost offended." "Dude..." He starts but moves closer to him to whisper whatever he was going to say. "I highly doubt that was going to happen." Camo says as he walks away from him. "You never know!" Aere retorts as he walks after him. "What was that about?" Applejack asks. "I don't know. Lets forget about it for now and get going. "Well, alright." We finally get moving. We enter what looks like a shopping distract, but it's hard to tell. Most of what ever was here is now gone, thought there are a few shops that look like they might have a few things left. We poked our heads into the first few and, there wasn't really anything worth taking. "So Miles, there's something I wanted to ask." Matrix asks as he walks up beside me. I continue down the road, allowing him to continue. "Rainbow Dash, is she... you know?" "What?" "You know, is she... you know what. Nevermind. Why do humans need flying machines under ground?" "Because we didn't fly under ground. The metal floor we landed on was actually a runway. That's where they would leave or return from air missions. Though we only used them when our long range sensors picked up enemy movement." "Right, so did you ever fly one?" "Not actually. I got pretty good on the simulator though. We stopped running air missions shortly after losing Diamond Halls. Mainly due to losing most air craft...." "AAAHHH!" Rarity yells, getting all of us to ready our weapons. "What is it? Bots? Goo creatures? Enemy..." "CLOTHS!" Rarity yells as she runs to a window and looks inside. I lower my rifle as I walk up beside her and peer inside. It's a fashion store that still has all of its clothing. Of course... "Can we go in?" Rarity asks as she bats her eyes at me. "We don't really have time..." "Please..." "I don't think this is..." "Please Miles...." "We need to get to the..." "Please please please PLEEEEEEEAAASSE!" She begs as she pouts a bit. "*sigh* fine." "YES!" She screams before running inside. We all look to each other before following after her. Perspective: Rarity Oh my heavens this is a dream come true! Everything in here is simply stunning! Evening dresses, night gowns, mens apparel, this boutique has it all. I don't know where to start! MMMM... inie minie miny THAT DRESS! I walk over to the manikin in the corner and gawk at the simply stunning blue and white polka dot dress. It's so simple, but I must have it! In my bag you go. "So you like dresses?" I glance back to see Aere standing behind me, idly looking around the store. "I am a fashionista." I say as I walk towards a cloths rack and go through the cardigans. I think I'll take the pink one. "So... uh..." "Darling, I know where you're going with this and, though I am flattered, I am also already spoken for." I tell him as I go to the next rack. OOO, I'm guessing that these are mares pants... why didn't I ever think about that? In the bag you go. "Darn.... what about Applejack?" He asks. I pause and look him over for a second. "Flex your arm." I tell him, getting him to show off. "Hit the gym and then maybe." I say as I take a shirt and go to a mirror. I press the shirt against myself and.... "Really? Are you sure?" He asks. "Darling, I don't think anypony will ever truly catch that mares eye without physical prowess." I say as I bag the shirt. "Damn it." He mutters. "Well... what about..." "Fluttershy and Twilight are married. I think Rainbow is either single or lesbian, so why don't you go after Dust Devil..." "Ew! Are you kidding me? She's like... one of the stallions..." "Go buck yourself Aere." Dust Devil says from the left. "DD! Uh..." "Now that you said that I'm going to make sure you don't get laid this mission." She says as she walks away. "Wait! Hold on!" Aere yells as he chases after her. Stallions... "Excuse me..." "Not now. I'm in the moment." I says as I look over a jacket. "Can I help you find something?" "Not now..." "Do you need me to carry something? Escort you? Attend to your..." "I said...... BOT!" Perspective: Miles "...BOT!" I lift my rifle up and look to the back of the store to see an all white utility bot standing before Rarity. As everyone readies their weapons, I wait a second. Something doesn't seem right here... "Hold your fire." I say as I lower my rifle and walk over to the bot. "Can I help you find something?" It asks me. "Do you need shoes? A jacket? How about..." "Machine, what is you main function?" "To attend to the sales and maintenance of Tomorrows Fashion. Do you need..." "Easy, infect this machine." I say as I turn away from the bot. "Lets move out." "What was that about? What was wrong with that guy?" Dust Devil asks me as I turn down the street. "Well... I'm not sure. My best guess is that safety protocols were disengaged. That would also explain why the city looks so good, the bots must of fixed it up over the years." "Why did he seem so eager to help?" Theimara asks from behind. "It was probably trying to fulfill its programming. I imagine three thousand years of waiting must of done a number on its AI." "Is he going to be alright?" Camo asks, getting me to look at him. "That wasn't a person. That was a machine. A tool, its not alive." This seems to trouble them a bit, but I ignore it as I continue down the road. As we go, I guess the bots send word to the others about our being here, because more and more started showing up. All of the seem eager to assist us. Trying to find some kind of purpose. By the time Easy caught up to us we each had five to six bots asking us if we needed help, with military escorts. Both on the ground and in the air. We even have a high grade military bot following us. Easy and the other bot get to work infecting the bots as we enter the P.C.H. I look back to everyone and decide to make a stop for lunch. With that said, all of the bots sprint out of the building to gather food and and whatever else we might need. "Well... this is a rather different turn of events." Rarity says as she pulls a tea set out of her saddle. "Hey, I aint complaining." Hamm Strung says as he joins her. "Aint, isn't a word dear." Rarity corrects as she pours him a cup. "Sorry..." "And it wouldn't kill you to sit up straight." She adds, making him sit up right as he takes a sip from his cup. "No slurping, very good. It's hard to find a stallion... or Minotaur, with decent manners these days." "Is it jus me, or is that weird?" Big Mac asks me as I continue to watch the two of them have tea. "No, it's weird. Big Mac watch after everyone for me real quick. I... I need to go see something." I say as I stand up. "I'll come with." True Will says as he gets up with me. "No. I'll...." "Groups don't split up. Remember?" "Yeah, and that guy is suppose to be with me." I say as I point to Hamm Strung as he takes another sip, pinkie up of course. "Yeah.... look, either I come with, or you don't go. You can't make me stay so what's it going to be?" I stare him down for a few seconds before I shake my head and walk off. "Come on then." "Camo Flash, watch the group. We're... going for a walk." True Will says as he follows after me. "You can count on me." Camo replies. We get to the Mico lobby and make our way to the R&D department. From there, I dig around until there is nothing left to dig for. Next I try the Parliament Hall, Central Intelligence, everywhere. I don't know where to go for the controls to the stasis pods. After looking through all of the possible departments I finally make my way to the men's dormitories, heading for Eximius' room. "So what makes you think your friends weapon is still there?" True Will asks after nearly an hour of silence. "My last friends weapon was there. I don't see why this one wouldn't be." I say as I find his room. "What makes you think that it won't be there?" "Look at the rest of this place. There's nothing here. Where did everything go? Yeah, there are a few things here and there, but... what about the rest of it?" I glance down to him before kicking in the door and stepping in. The room is in fairly good repair. It doesn't seem as if there was any fighting in here at all. I go to the back room where I find a weapon locker. "Sometimes, you just need a little hope." I say as I kneel by the locker and enter the password. It clicks open to reveal Eximius' Medi-gun. The gun is just your run of the mill E.A.R. But attached to the bottom is the master key that I made for him. Instead of shooting pellets, it fires a beam of healing energy. In the middle of the stock is his gem. I take the rifle and give it a run through. Everything seems fine. PEW Still fires. "A little warning next time!" True Will says as he glares at me. "OK, warning." I say as I point the gun at him and pull the trigger on the healing beam. A blue beam strikes him in the center of his armor, knocking him back a bit. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR!" He yells as he checks himself over. "It's non lethal." I say as I sling the gun and start to walk back. "So what! Is that suppose to make me feel better!?" "Well, if I had used the other trigger, you would be dead. So... yes." "You're an ass." He grumbles from behind. "Only to you." We make our way back to the group bickering to each other. I honestly don't see whats the problem. He just needs to stop being a little bitch. After we take the final Mico platform back I stop and stare. There are literally hundreds of bots in here. I don't even see the girls right now. "Oh sweet Barbra..." "Who?" "Another guest? Can I help you..." "Allow me to get you some shoes..." "...do you wish to have a hair cut..." "... can I get you something..." True Will and I were immediately mobbed by the bots, all of which are trying to help us in one way or another. "BACK OFF!" I yell as I was receiving a manicure, massage, and pedicure all at once. Obeying my order, they all back off of me and wait for their next order. "Find the bot designated Easy and tell him you all wish to be infected. NOW." "Yes sir!" They all say at once before sprinting out of the main doors. I look over everyone being dropped from... whatever they were having done to them. Well, all except for Rarity and Dust Devil, who are still receiving a message from three bots each. "Guys..." "Five more minutes." Rarity coos. "Yeah... five more... hours." Dust Devil says in a relaxed tone. I just shake my head and walk over to the others to check on them "You OK Rainbow?" I ask as she gets out of the fetal position. "They... touched... my... hooves." She quivers. "And?" "I don't like my hooves being touched." "Ok, but other then that you're alright?" I ask, getting a serious look from her. "I'll take that as a yes. What about you guys?" I ask as I go to the others. After checking on everyone I go and pull the bots off of Rarity and Dust Devil, sending five of them to go find Easy. "Machine, where can I find the control panels for the stasis pods?" "Control was put in the southern district main offices. 1182 Ore way. Would you like an escort?" "Yes. Lead us there." "Very good sir. Right this way please." The bot says as it walks out the door. "Let's get going." I yell out as I follow after the bot. Once everyone is packed and ready we start walking through the city, heading south. "Is that the Medi-gun your friend left you?" Fluttershy asks. "Yeah, only I don't know what they added to it." I say as I look it over. "Let me try it!" Rainbow exclaims. "Not now. I don't have time to make the triggers work for you..." "Then let me try." Twilight offers. I shrug and let her take it with her magic.She looks it over a bit before firing at some random building. Nothing special happens. I tell her to try the healing beam, which she does. It fires at the bot leading us and ricochets off, hitting True Will in the face. "SON OF A..." He yells as he runs his eyes. "WHY?! Why me!?" "I'm so sorry." Twilight apologizes. "Don't be. It's non lethal." I say, getting a mean look from True Will. "I guess it's not for you then..." PSSSSSH Twilight had pointed the gun straight up and accidentally fired the healing gun. Instead of firing the blue beam, a blue shield shot up from it, doming around for about ten meters. "Don't let go!" I yell, getting Twilight to hold it there. "What's going on?" Pinkie asks as we all look over the light blue dome. I look over to see Theimara standing outside the dome, looking in. "Theimara, try to get in." I tell her. She looks over the dome a bit before trying to get in, but can't get through. She tries slashing her way in, but ends up breaking her hands in the process. "OK, OK, that's enough. Go ahead and drop the shield Twilight." I say as Theimara regrows her hand. "I can't." She says as she shakes the rifle. "It won't sto..." VRMMMM As soon as she lowered the gun the shield dropped. We all look around before looking over to Twilight. She looks around before offering a small smile. "Well, you can use that one now." I say as I take the other rifle from her. "Really? But...." "I don't think that's going to happen for anyone else. Now lets get going. True Will, want a gun?" I ask as I offer him the rifle. He thinks about it for a second before taking it with his magic. "Just try not to shoot anyone with it, alright?" "Like how you..." "This is lethal. So no, not like what I did." I say, getting a nod from him. We make our way through the city with total ease. The number of bots here is... confusing. How could they have this many still functioning bots here? They were attacked just like Topaz Falls... right? We end up having to go to the underside of the southern district. Just like everywhere else, everything here is surprisingly fine. Little to no damage, random stores filled with product, functioning bots. It's hard to believe that there was a full on war here, but the lack of people is a constant reminder. The building we're looking for comes into view. There wasn't anything special about it, just another grey building standing before us. We enter and head to the control room. The control room is nothing but two walls of red and green lights with a computer terminal taking up the wall at the far end. I walk straight through and glance at the light. There are mostly red lights in here. I try the computer, but find it encrypted. Fuck! Why didn't I learn to hack like Inficiunt and Eximius! "Bot, help me gain access to this terminal." "Right away." "Over ride safet-wait, what?" I ask as it goes straight to the computer and sends a few coils of wires in. In a matter of seconds it moves aside. "Anything else?" "Why didn't your safety protocols kick in?" "Safety protocols have been over written for the past three thousand years. Would you like me to re-engage them?" So that's how they did it.... "No. Not yet at least." I say as I go to the computer and search for all of my friends. One after another I get the same thing. Name not found. None of them got in. I take a moment before looking over all of current listings... no way... "Miles? You look... sick. Are you OK?" Twilight asks as I start looking around the room. "These lights..." "They look like hearts warming eve lights!" Pinkie cheers as she bounces around. "They're..." "What is it dear?" Rarity asks as she looks at the screen. "People." I say as I get up and look around. "People? No, I think they're just lights dude." Dust Devil says as everyone starts looking around the large room. I go to a random red light and press it. It pushes out and gives a small hologram of some random guy... with the words deceased underneath. Chapter 136 Coming Back TogetherChapter 136 Coming Back Together Perspective: Dust Devil I wake up with a gasp. Looking around I find myself in a new area. It looks like a medical wing, made of light green walls and rows of beds. I try to get up, but feel a tug on my arms. I look over to see that I've been attached to some kind of machine. It has several arms that end with scissors, needles and little blow torches. "How do you feel?" "GAH!" I yell as I try to jump, but stop from the snag in my arm. "Do you feel any persisting pain?" Asks some light blue bot from my right. He has a white strip going down the right of his chest that ends with a syringe with wings. His left arm looks to be similar to one of the arms beside my bed. "Uh... who are you?" I ask as I sit up. "My name is D11K5389. Are you experiencing any further pain or discomfort?" "No. I actually feel pretty good... uh..." "D11K5389." "That's too hard to say. I'm going to just call you Doc." I say as I pull the needles out from my arm and get out of bed. "Do you know where my friends are?" "I do not. You were brought here by a bot under the designation of Easy..." "EASY! Where did he go?" "I do not know." Damn it! This guy is about as useful as a sober bear. "Hey, can you take me to Easy?" "I can. Do you feel able to move?" I give my legs and wings a couple of test bends before nodding to Doc. "Very well, follow me then." He says as he walks off. I quickly grab all of my gear and start putting it on as I follow after him. After I get all of my armor on I look through all of my stuff and realize something horrible. "Hey Doc, where's my bonnie?" "I'm sorry, I do not know what that is. Would you please explain?" "My hat! The hat my mother made for me, that hat. Where is it?" I ask as I run up beside him and glare. "My apologies. When you were brought here you didn't have a hat. It must have burned off in the fire." "But... my mom made that for me." I say as I start to tear up. "I'm sure she would be more than willing to make you another one." "Yeah... but... yeah." I say as I follow him to a metal platform. I watch him step onto it and flash away. That was pretty cool. I step onto the platform and wait for a second before I flash into the main hall of the P.C.H. This doesn't look good. The once pristine marble floors are now scorched. The walls have been burnt and are covered in different holes and dents. "What happened here?" "When Easy and all of the other infected bots brought your body here they were promptly attacked." Doc says as he walks through the door. I take one last look before following him out. "Whoa..." I mutter as I stare out at the city. Much of it has been destroyed. Entire blocks of buildings have been reduced to rubble as several fires roar throughout the city. In the distance I can hear gunfire and explosions, they must be on the other side of the city... "Um..." I look over to see Theirmara hiding behind the entrance to the building. "Theimara! You're alive!" I yell as I run over to her. "And you changed forms... you kind of look like Miles." I say as she steps out and looks me over. She no longer looks like a skeletal bear, but rather a skeletal human. Well, at least I think that's a human skeleton... The head looks right for it. "What are you?" She asks as she leans over and looks me over more closely. "What are you talking about? Are you feeling okay Theimara? Maybe that explosion shook something loose." "Wait. You said I look like Miles. You wouldn’t happen to mean Miles Eremita, would you?" She asks as she stands up and holds onto herself. "Uh... yeah. Hey Doc, look Theimara over real quick. I think she ma-" "AAAAAAAAAHH" Theimara shrieks like a little school filly. I cover my ears and wait for her to finish. "What was..." "I don't believe it! He finally made it back! Oh I can't wait to meet him, I hope he's as dreamy as they said he was. WAIT! No, I can't go anywhere near him like this! He'd think I'm some kind of freak! Ooooh…” "Why do you care? He's already seen..." CRASH KRA-BOOM We all look up to see something crash through the P.C.H. and explode on its way back out, sending debris out the side. THUD "MILES!" I yell as he stands straight up and looks back. "HIDE ME!" Theimara yells as she tries to hide behind Doc. "Dust Devil, Theimara, you guys need..." He starts but stops as he pulls out his trench knife and a pistol. "FEED US!" Yells a blue person as it attempts to crash into Miles. He just ducks down and punches the person with his trench knife, sending a massive, blue explosion into the air. I look away until the light fades away... BANG KRA-BOOM I look back to see Miles put his weapons away as another fiery explosion erupts behind him in the air. "Whoa... that was cool." I mutter before shaking my head and approaching Miles. "Where is everypony? Are we..." "All that I know is that we've broken into three groups, with only one of those groups being stationary. We're down to five, no wait... three people left..." "What's going on? Why are they doing this? How did this even happen? How long have I been out?" "You have been unconscious for nearly twenty hours." Doc informs me. "WHAT!?" "Uh... what's going on?" "Theimara, unless you want me to kick your ass, change back to your original..." "Why does everyone keep calling me Theimara? My name is Private First Class Semper Benevolens of the Terradisian armed forces. Now will someone tell me what's going on?! " "Say what?" Miles asks as he takes a step towards her. "This better not be a fucking joke." "It's not! I was.... I.... I AM EARTH! She yells before she falls to the ground and begins to twist and shake. "Well... that can't be good." I say as she starts to become a skeletal bear again. "Yeah, no shit." Perspective: Twilight I check to make sure the coast is clear before stepping out to the roof. We've been held up here for nearly a day now, and we're running low on supplies. We were able to get a bit more off of Hamm Strung, but that wasn't easy to do. "Fluttershy? How are you holding up?" I ask as I approach her from behind. Shes been up here almost all day, keeping watch over us as we rest up. "I saw another plume of fire a few minutes ago. Big Mac is still alive." She says as she stares out to the west. I walk over to her and take a seat beside her, looking out along with her. "Here, eat something. I'm sure Big Mac would be worried sick if he heard you weren't eating." I say as I drop a bag of apples in front of her. "Okay." She says as she opens the bag and pulls out an apple. "How's your leg?" She asks before taking a bite. "Much better now that Miles has fixed it. We should be able to move once you get some rest." "Oh... right... I, uh... well..." She mumbles before taking another bite. "Don't tell me you want to stay put..." "Oh, if you don't want to then we can go. I was just thinking that... well..." "No, go ahead. Say what’s on your mind." I say as I give her an encouraging nudge. "Its just that, well, Miles knows where we are. He’s probably seen the others as well. I've been following Big Mac’s plumes of fire and I can tell he's getting closer to us. If we move now, we may end up missing them. Not to mention Miles would have to find us in addition to finding everypony else. But, that's just what I think. If you want to move, that's fine I guess." I stare at her for a few seconds before picking up my jaw and looking back out to the city. "Well, I guess we don't have a choice then. We have to stay put. Why don't you go down stairs and get some rest? You’ve earned it." I say as I pull up my Medi-gun. "Oh no, I can keep going, honest. You go ahead and rest up I...*yawn* I'm not tired." "Fluttershy, please." I ask as I look over to her and plead with my eyes. "Oh... OK then. But only for a few minutes." I wait for her to finally leave before letting out a sigh. I didn't expect Fluttershy to be so... suited, for this line of work. The next hour comes and goes without much happening. Most of the people must either be dead or in hiding now, I don't know which is better. True to Fluttershy's words, Big Mac has been sending out plumes of fire as he gets closer to our position. He should get here within the next hour at this rate. "How's everything?" Camo Flash asks as he walks up beside me. "Quiet." I say as I look down another alley. "Hey, I just wanted to say thanks. You really saved us back there." "Aww, it was nothing." He says as he rubs the back of his neck. "If there's anything you need, feel free to ask. I'll try my best to help if I can. I owe you that much." I say as I offer him a smile. "Well... actually, there is something I need help with." He says as he puts his hoof down and takes a more serious demeanor. "Would you happen to know how somepony becomes a Spartan?" "Spartan? Why do you want to be a Spartan?" I ask as I face him. I can tell he's serious, but I hope I can at least warn him about what he's going to face. "I've seen the way Miles and your husband fight, and it's beyond impressive. I want to be like that..." "Camo, don't take this lightly. Becoming a Spartan isn't easy. Storm had nightmares for weeks after becoming a Spartan. This is not easy..." "I know that. But I think I can do it. Will you help me?" "Well... as a citizen I can ask Miles about it, but it's really up to him whether or not you get the training." "I'd really appreciate it." He says with a sly smile. I try to offer him one back, but something blue behind him catches my attention. I move around Camo and take aim at it until I realize that it's a pony... "RAINBOW!" I yell as I put my rifle down. She seems to be injured, flying by sheer will. Camo takes off into the air and catches her as she begins to fall. "Bring her over here!" I yell as I ready the Medi-gun. He brings her over and lays her down as gently possible. "Is she going to be alright?" He ask as I check her over. She has a few burns going across her arms and stomach as well as some bleeding from her forehead. A few of her burns are deep and are bleeding profusely, coating her fur in a deep red. "I need you to get some water and my bag from downstairs." I say as I take aim at her. I seriously hope this works. PEWPEWPEWPEW I look back down a watch as blue energy washes over her arms and stomach, healing them with astounding speed. "Whoa... that's cool." Camo mutters as she slowly wakes back up. "Uhng... Twi? Uh... what's going on?" She asks as she sits up "You were hurt, but don't worry, I've started fixing you already. Does it hurt anywhere else?" I ask as she shakily gets to her hooves. "No... I don't think so at least. That thing is a miracle worker." She chuckles. "Where is everypony?" "Well... Pinkie and Shy are downstairs. Miles was here earlier, and Big Mac is sending out plumes of fire every now and again. Hamm Strung.... isn't with us anymore. Other then that, I don't know." "Then what are we waiting for? Lets go get them!" She says as she tries to take off into the air. I quickly grab her tail with my magic and hold her back. "You are in no condition to go anywhere! Go down stairs and get some rest. Once you're able to travel we'll head towards Big Mac's location..." "But.." "Camo, can you please escort her down?" "Come on, lets get you something to eat." He says as he opens the door. "*sigh* fine. But after I'm ready to go we'll head out. Promise me that." She asks as she steps towards the door. "I Pinkie promise that once everypony is rested up, we'll head out." She gives me an uneasy look before heading down the stairs. I sigh in relief and look back out to the city. I just hope the others are fine... Perspective: Big Mac FOOSH "Why do you keep doing that?" True Will asks in annoyance. I just glance over to him as we all keep walking down the empty street. "He already told ya. He's messagin’ the others our position. Eventually one a them has ta find us." AJ says as she looks down an alley. True Will lets out an annoyed sigh as he quickens his pace. "Do you think the others are OK?" Rarity asks out loud. "Ah'm sure they are, but Ah'm also tryin’ not ta think about it." AJ replies as we pause in the middle of the street. The road forks, going left and right. We look down each road before True Will just walks down the right side. We all look to each other before following after him. "Do you even know where you're going?" Rarity asks True Will as she runs up beside him. "I saw Dust Devil go this way, so I'm going this way." He states simply. "So... is Dust Devil..." "Dust Devil is a new recruit. I saw her, and nopony else, so I'm heading towards her." He quickly defends as he quickens his pace. Rarity just shakes her head as she slows down to trot with us. "Can I ask you two something?" She whispers to us. "Sure, what?" AJ responds. Rarity looks back to True Will before leaning closer to us. "I don't trust him." She whispers while motioning to True Will. "He's hiding something, I can feel it. Why are we following him around anyway? Did you see what that sword of his did? What else is he capable of?" "Ah know what you mean. Ah don't like it anymore then you do, but Princess Luna hired him. Ah'm sure she wouldn't hire somepony who's dangerous..." "But do you see the way he looks at everything? He seems to be angry at everything...." "That's not anger." I interrupt. They both look back to me as I pause to watch him walk off. "That's remorse." Perspective: Miles Dust Devil and I back up as Theimara writhes around on the ground, yelling and growling to herself. "Is this normal?" I ask Dust Devil. "No. Did she say she was a human?" "Yeah..." "HELP ME!" She screams as she rears up. Her body is in a battle with itself as it tries to change, going from bear to human. We look to each other before taking a step back. "Sorry Theimara, I don't know much about helping earth elementals." Dust Devil says as she continues to back away. "Medical bot, give me an analysis on her. Tell me what you can." I order the bot, getting it to scan her over. "It would seem there is influx between two souls fighting over control of the stone form. Both are fairly equal in power, making an unclear victor for control. Anything further is out of my knowledge." "Hey Doc, is there a way to get them both to share the body?" Dust Devil asks. When did this bot get a name? "Possibly. If the two souls were to both stop fighting and let one take control, they might be able to maintain their form. Though it is still unclear." The bot, Doc apparently, informs us. I nod a bit before walking over to the trembling form and kneel before it. "I need to speak with Semper. Theimara, let me talk to her." "No... no it's... let me.... never... please... no...I've been gone... this is... please.... promise me.... I promise." She mumbles before finally taking human form. "Is this Semper?" I ask as I put a hand on her shoulder. "Y-yeah. Uh... hi, Miles." She says quietly. "Do you know what's going on? Can you speak with Theimara?" I ask as she tries to look away. "Yeah. She's like a voice in my head. As for what's going on... I don't know anything." "That's alright, lets just work through this." I say as I sit before her. "What's the last thing you remember before waking up?" "Well... it was in the middle of dark hours when they attacked. They were... unrelenting. Using our armor, weapons... the fight was chaos. We lost half of our Spartans trying to kill their leader, and I don't think they actually stopped him..." "Do you know what their leader was like? Powers, looks... Anything?" "No, he was in the northern district and I was stationed in the west. I never saw him." Fuck, well... I guess it doesn't matter. "That's OK. What happened that night?" "Well... I was running supplies to the western front when we were ambushed. Most of my squad died before I got away. I was being chased down by a few of the Unfamiliar before I tried to hide in this... glass... tube thing. I'm sorry. She says as she looks away from me. "I was such a coward. But, they just kept coming. You'd kill one, and ten would take their place. Not to mention they were... they were... they...." "I know." I say, getting her to look back to me. "When Topaz was attacked... it was like a sleep terror. No one was safe." "What happened to you? Where did you go? Where are we now?" She asks, sounding completely scared. "It's three thousand years in the future." I say bluntly, making her back away from me. "We... well, Topaz Falls and Diamond Halls have fallen, as well as Amethyst." "What? No..." "I survived because a professor used some new kind of tech to send me to the future. I woke up on the surface and now I'm trying to find any kind of remnants of our people." "That explains her." She says as she glances over to Dust Devil. "What is she?" "I'll explain later. Right now I have a very important question for you." I say as I close my eyes and focus on the gems on my left arm. I throw out my arm, creating the Laminis Lux, and bring it in front of her. "Do you want me to end it?" "Wh-what?" She asks as she backs away from me a bit. "Nothing you know exists. Everyone you ever knew is long gone. You're going to have to learn to share a body with someone else. Can you live with that?" "I... I..." Author's Note A/N: Shout out to After touch for picking the class of person that took over Theimara. Love the new cover art. Brony on! Chapter 137 Choosing Life Chapter 137 Choosing Life Chapter 137 Choosing Life Perspective: Miles (still) "I...I..." Semper mumbles as I continue to hold my blade in front of her. "Whoa, don't you think you're being a little harsh Miles?" Dust Devil asks nervously as she eyes the two of us. "No, choose." I say as she looks down to the blade. "Would Theimara die as well?" "There is no way of telling. Either work something out between the two of you, or opt out." "I'll choose to stay then. What about you Theimara? Hmm... no, I volunteered... what about.... but he... oh.... yeah that could work, for now at least. OK, we've worked something out." She says as she stands up. I let go of the blade in my hand, having it turn back to the Elements of Harmony. As I stand up they reattach to my arm, wrapping my forearm up nice and tight. "So its life then. Great. Here's my theory on whats going on. The time capsules were a completely failure. I think they were feeding energy into the people instead of the spells. From there, without time killing them, they just grew in power until... well, that." "What about that little boy?" Dust Devil asks. "Him... he didn't have magic. Because of that, the energy just built up inside him until it just burnt him from the inside out. Too much energy without a way out... I'm surprised he made it this long." "How do you know that? What if..." "I know because it's happening to me." I say, silencing them. "Mines growing slower, but the results the same." I look away from them ans stare out to the city. "We need to get moving, meet up with the others." "There are more of you?" "Do you know where they are?" "I know where Camo, Twilight, Shy and Pinkie are. They were held up in a apartment building..." "Apartment? That would be the eastern district... "Then lets get going." They both nod to me and follow as I head east. "Is this what it really came to?" Semper asks as we walk through the destroyed city. "Believe it or not, this is way better then Topaz. Actually, this is all new. When we first got here the city was perfectly fine. No damage, no bones, just a few eager bots and some over powered people." "That's not how I remember it" she says as she continues to glance towards every building and alley. "There were screams everywhere. Units were dispatched all over as they broke in through air shafts and busted down bulkheads. I remember sending my little brother... my... oh no." "I'm sure he made it out." I say, stopping her from freaking out. "I had a friend tell me they were heading to Jasper next. I'm sure they took him along with them." "But, that was three thousand years ago. He was only six, what if he got lost or tried to run away? I need to know what happened. I need to..." "I'm sorry, but that's impossible. This was over three thousand years ago, there is no way of knowing what happened..." "But, what about your friends? How do you know they were going to Jasper?" "I know because they left me a trail to follow. That's why I'm here now. I'm trying to figure out what happened to them. If they made it out alive, if we eventually won the fight, if there are any humans left, all of it. I'm sorry, but your question is too specific to know for sure." I say, getting a slap upside the head from Dust Devil. "What was his name?" Dust Devil asks as she flies over to Semper and pats her back. ""*sniff* Esse." "I'm sure Esse made it out safe. The Spartans would never leave a child behind like that, right Miles?" "Never." I say as I stare at Dust Devil. "I'm sure he made it to Jasper, grew up, found love, and missed you every day." She says as she pulls her in for a hug. They hold each other for awhile, silently crying into each others shoulders. I wait patiently on the side until they finally break their hug. "Gum?" Dust Devil offers as she pulls out a pink sliver of food. "Um.. no thank you." She says as she looks over to me. "Lets get going. I want to know what happened too." "Alright then." I say as I lead them down the street again. We make it the freeway in almost an uproar. Dust Devil and Semper have quickly become friends, talking about almost everything I could imagine two women talk about. Dust Devil seemed to ask most of the questions, having thousands upon thousands of questions about everything Terradisian. Semper would tell her everything, why Amethyst is called Amethyst, what she did for a living, what her mark was. Some of these questions would confuse Semper, so I would jump in to answer. "So Miles... are you still single?" Semper asks as she walks up beside me, holding her hands behind her back. "Nope." "WHAT!? Awww. Oh well, I doubt I could do anything like this. Who is the lucky girl?" "Her name is Luna..." "YOU MARRIED PRINCESS LUNA!?" Dust Devil screams, dropping out of the air. "When did that happen?" "You married a Princess? Nice..." "Didn't your group already know this?" I ask as I continue to walk on. "... that explains a lot of the conversations now." Dust Devils says as she thinks abut it. "So... I guess you're the king now..." "I'm Terradisian before Equestrian... but yes. I am technically your king." "Is she pretty?" "Beautiful." I correct. "Aww... can I meet her?" She asks, making me pause. "Well... yes, but things are... complicated. Us being married is a secret." "What? Why?" Dust Devil asks. I stare at her until she finally puts one and one together. "Celestia..." "Yeah." "Who?" "Her sister. She... kind of hates me. There's a lot of history behind it, but... yeah... she doesn't know about us yet." "You banged her sister and she doesn't even know... that's hard core stuff. Why don't you just tell her and get that fight over with?" "Luna doesn't want to yet. She want to break it to her gently. So, we're waiting." I say as I continue down the street. Why am I telling them all of this? I must really suck at keeping secrets. "Well... I'd tell you not to lie, but listening to your woman is a little more important. At least in my opinion." Semper says as she nudges me a bit. "So... if you're the king, and Luna is now Queen, what would that mean for Terradisians?" Dust Devils asks. "I mean, you hold them over Equestrians, does that mean they would become higher citizens?" "Uh... well... I never thought about it like that. I guess, with my death, they would become equal citizens. But, if I were to be alive, I guess they would get that bias opinion. At least for the time being." KRA-BOBOOM PEWPEWPEWPEWPEW PEPEPEPEPEPEPEPEW KRA-BOBOBOBOOM We all look to one another before running down the street. The closer we get to the next block, the louder the gun fire and explosions get. We come to a stop at the end of the street and look down to see an office building under attack by five people. They seem to be flying around around the structure, crashing into the ground and popping up on the other side. I can see some energy bolts being fired from the roof, as well as some black energy slashes. "Dust Devil, get up there and see what you can do. Semper, take this and keep your distance." I say as I shove my rifle into her arms. "Be careful, you only have one clip." "Why do I have to keep my distance? I don't think they can..." "How did you get in that body?" I ask, making her understand. "Stay back. Keep your fire under control, and let me do most of the fighting." "Right. Stay safe." I nod to her before running down the street. BISSHHHHZZZ I stop in my tracks and drop as one of the people crash down in front of me, turning the road to sand. When I hit the street below I hear the sound of something heavy flying through the air. I quickly roll forward as a sharp column of earth pierces the ground. I try to move up, but whenever I try to move to the opening a new spear of stone tries to stab me. I jump, roll and dodge as best I can, but when I crash into one of the other columns I take a hit in my shoulder. I scream out in pain as I grab the spear and yank it out, a flood of blood pouring out after it. "FINALLY!" I look up to see the five over powered people land before me, twitching in anticipation. "FEED US!" They yell as they begin to walk towards me. I reach down to my pistol and quick draw it, trying to shoot the center most one. CLICK OK... I go to pull out my sword, only to stop when a column of stone wraps itself around me, locking me up. I twist and shake as I try to break free, but I can't seem to be able to. When the closest one reaches me, he lifts up a hand, lifting me in the air. "Thank you..." "I could use some help down here!" I yell, trying to get anyone down here. "But now, we must feed." "ANYONE! HURRY UP! COME O..." I try to yell as I feel the energy from within begin to drain. I begin to twist and shake violently as I try any last attempts of breaking free. The pain is immeasurable. Its as if my souls being drained from me via tearing my flesh off and scrapping it away. I scream out as I feel the others begin to latch on as well, sucking the energy from within. "GAAAAHHHH!" ................................................................................................................................................................................................. ..... why does Dust Devil look so scared... are we flying together..... .... Doc? Twi? Why are they looking at me like that...... ..... Luna... you're so beautiful... .... its her again... but who's behind that hood..... .... War? He looks so... .... Twilight and Doc again, looks like they have a rock... why is it so bloody.... .... Shinning, thank you.... .... Pinkies sad... we should do something.... .... why are True Will and Dust Devil yelling at each other.... .... Doc? Healing flames? Whose hurt.... .... sorry Rainbow, I can't hear you.... .... Fluttershy put the rifle down. I can pull through, just put it down.... .... Dolum, I'm so sorry I failed you.... .... girls stay out of the forest, its not safe for you.... .... Tempus.... .... Storm, try again. You can do it, we all can.... .... why are Applejack and Big Mac crying... ... hang in there little guy, I'll save you... .... Luna... you're so beautiful.... please stop crying.... .... Susurrans... why didn't you tell me... .... whats so funny Regina? Why are you laughing so hard... .... Celestia, I can explain... .... Spike, keep trying man. I know you can do it.... .... Miles? Shut off your magic man, staying maxed out is dangerous... .................................................................................................................................................................................................. I wake up violently, gasping for air as I grab onto everything around me. I try to get my bearings, but everything turn fuzzy as I try to sit up. "Whoa, take it easy there. Ya took a big hit Miles. Ya need ta relax." I hear Big Mac say. "Wh... what happened? Where am I? Whats going on? How long have I been out?" I ask as my vision begins to clear. I'm in what looks like a waiting room to an office, laying on an old couch. All of the girls are here, along side with True Will, Dust Devil, Camo Flash. Easy and Doc. "Easy there. Everything's alright. You're safe. You've been unconscious fer three days now. Here, drink sum water an ah'll tell ya what happened." He says as he offers me a canteen. I look to everyone before taking the canteen and drinking down all of the water. My throat feels as if I haven't had something to drink in weeks. "So, I take it one of you saved me." I say before taking another long drink. "Well, not exactly." Big Mac starts. "Uh... well..." "Semper saved you." True Will says bluntly as he takes a step forward. "Now you have to kill her." I nearly choke on my water when he says this. After a few seconds of coughing I finally look up to see the saddened looks on everyone. "What? What happened? Why do I need to kill Semper? What's going on?" I ask frantically. "I'll tell him. Semper was my friend after all." Dust Devil says as she walks over and takes a seat beside me. "Well, basically she sacrificed herself foe all of us. She...." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Dust Devil (Three Days Earlier) "Dust Devil, get up there and see what you can do. Semper, take this and keep your distance." Miles orders me. I nod and jump into the air, trying my best to avoid the blue people as I make my way to the roof. "DD! Get over here!" Will yells out as I race towards him. Crash before him as all of the blue people slam into the ground, silencing the area around me. "I'm back." I say with a weak smile. Will just shakes his head and helps me back to my hooves. "Where are the others?" I ask as I look over to Camo Flash. He just shakes is head and looks down as the other run over to the edge of the roof. "Where did Miles go?" Twilight asks. "Down there!" Fluttershy says exclaims as she points towards the massive hole in the ground. I see Semper run over to it and try to use her weapon, but something goes wrong. She points and tries to use it, but ends up tossing it aside before jumping into the hole. "NO SEMPER!" I yell as I take off into the air. I race down to see her walk up to the group of people sucking some green energy from Miles. "LET HIM GO!" Semper yells, gaining their attention. "What happened to your humanity? Why are you doing this!?" She yells as she marches straight towards them. "The fight is over, we need to rebuild, not kill each other. Fight whatever's making you like this and come back to us. Terradisia can still live, please... "SEMPER! STAY BACK!" I yell as I try to fly after her. "Dust Devil!" I glance back in time to see Rainbow Dash crash into me and start to pull me back. "You can't go down there, they'll kill you!" "SEMPER!" I yell as I try to get out of her hooves. I look back to see all of them circle around her as she begins to twist and shake. "NOO! SEMPER!" "I AM EARTH!" She yells out before all of them jump her. "NNOOO!" ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles (Current) "Once they all were sucked into her... she changed. She won't stop mumbling to herself and has been shaking violently for the past few days. "Dammit Semper!" I yell as I toss the canteen aside. "How bad is the mumbling?" "With that many souls in one body, how bad do you think it is?" Camo says as he walks over and puts an arm around Dust Devil. She latches onto him and begins to sob, murmuring about Semper. "Fuck." I mutter as I sit up. I grab my chest as a slight pain numbs my chest. I look down and find myself wrapped in bloody bandages. "Where is she?" "She hasn't moved from the spot where it happened."Rarity informs me as she stares out the window. "Alright. I'll deal with this. After that We'll leave this place. Got it?" I ask as I force myself up. Silent nods fill the room as I walk through the door. I walk out to the edge of the whole and look down. Sure enough, there she is. Sitting on her heels as she twitches from side to side. I go o jump down, but stop at the last second. Is my magic even working right now? I try to turn my magic on, but find it impossible to use. No matter how hard I shake, it simply will not come out. "Hey...." FLASH "Need help?" Twilight asks as we appear on the street below. "I figured you wouldn't have your magic right now. I'll give you a moment..." "No. I might need you here." I say as I walk over to Semper and kneel before her. "Semper are you there?" "... feed... never... yes... I found him... where is it.... are they... because... hahaha... forever FOREVER... we can't... just a little..." She mumbles as she rocks back and forth. I look over to my arm and stare at the Elements. Can I even use these without magic? "... kill us... so many dead... I want my boy... end the pain... she can't live without me... I told him to wait... they never said goodbye... tell me... give us death... deverto pulvis... "Et salutant mortuus." I say before I hold out my arm and feel for the Elements. I feel a wave of energy wash over me as Laminis Lux takes form in my hands. Simultaneously I feel myself max out as the blade feed energy into my body, healing all of my wounds instantly. "...yes, do it.... my hero, our savior... do it, do it now.... we want this, we all want this... please.... quickly... I shove the blade into the chest, aiming where the heart would be. I see tendrils of different colors reach out as the skeleton arches back and looks straight up. I reach out and hold them as the colored tendrils begin to fade out, slowly disappearing. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you." I whisper as I hold them close. "I'm sorry we didn't get to talk more. Can you do me a favor." Semper asks clearly as she leans forward and holds onto me lightly. "Anything." "Live." A/N: In case you didn't notice, this was suppose to be the ending for the last chapter. I posted too soon, and I am sorry for that. So here are two things to make up for that. One: Skip to 25:00. And another update on the Misadventures of Tb. Enjoy and brony on. The Misadventures of Tallestbrony, Cheesus, Squishy, and Pinkie Pie To Get A Burrito Warning: Strange Perspective: Tallestbrony "O-O-OPPA GANGNAM STYLE! HEEEEEY SEXY LADY." We all yell as we dance down the street. Cheesus moves to scream at Pinkies butt, only to get slapped. "Hey! I'm a pony!" She yells as we continue on, giggling and somewhat dancing. "I accept this." Cheesus says, only to get slapped again. "Why?" "Anyway, anyone else find it odd that no one is questioning that we're walking down the street with a talking pony?" I ask. "I'd like to believe that our neighbors have already seen us do stupid and weird shit, so no one cares." Cheesus says, getting a methodical nod from Squishy. "LEAP!" Squishy yells as he leaps towards Pinkie in an attempt to ride her. TWITCHY TAIL THUD "Are you going to try this every time?" Pinkie asks as Squishy lays face down on the ground. "Until I succeed." He grumbles into the ground. "So how many people do you think will recognize us at Equestria L.A.?" I ask as I help Squishy up. "NOBODY!" Squishy exclaims, then gets saddened. "Now because you said that we're going to get swarmed by people going: OH MY GOD YOU'RE THE AUTHOR OF MAN OF WAR..." "But because you said THAT, nopony will recognize anypony... unless they do..." Pinkie says, thinking deeply about the probability of someone meeting us. "So yes, unless no?" Cheesus asks. "How does that work?" I ask. From out of no where, Pinkie pulls out an isle and flips to a pie chart. "You see, it is as possible as it is improbable..." "I CONKER!" Squishy says as he rubs his goatee. "Its a fancy scientific way of saying maybe." Cheesus informs me as we walk past the isle. "Right.... so anyway, I've had a good week. After touch made me that cool cover, Sin Wave is editing..." "SH!" Pinkie yells. "Sin Wave did what?" Squishy asks. "He's helping with..." "SH!" Pinkie shushes again, glaring at me the whole time. "What's he doing?" "Its with..." "SH!" "FINE!" I yell as I throw my arms up. "Asshole... wont let me ruin shit..." I grumble. Cheesus and Squishy walk up beside me and glance to one another... "Red." "SON OF A BITCH!" I yells as I quicken my pace. Bastanchury Chapter 138 Posting BailChapter 138 Posting Bail Perspective: Twilight "Miles?" I whisper as I nudge him. He's been sitting here for nearly half an hour, holding onto the remains of Semper and Theimara. "Come on, we need to get going Miles. You need to get up...." "How many people am I going to kill?" He asks as he looks over to me. "I always thought I would be the one to protect people, but..." SMACK I set my hoof back down and wait for him to look back to me before slapping him again. "Stop. Just stop." I say as restrain myself from hitting him again. "Everypony was falling apart without you. We can't afford to have you fall as well. You need to be strong for us, or else..." "How long can we go on like this then?" He asks as he lays Semper down, crossing her arms on top of her chest. "I go down, we fall apart..." "Then get up!" I yell as I flash in front of him. "Everypony falls Miles. No matter how powerful you are you will eventually fall. It's not about how strong you are but how quickly you pick yourself up. Now are you going to get up and guide us out of here or am I going to have to find a real Spartan?" "What did you say?" He says as he takes a step towards me. "You heard me. What are you going to do?" I ask with a smug smile. He narrows his eyes as he glares down to me, so I just return the glare. He doesn't say anything. Instead he just ignites his heels and leaps up to the building. I sigh in relief before teleporting back to the room with everypony. "Did it work?" Rarity asks me in a hushed tone. "Just wait." I say with a reassuring smile. CRASH "Let get moving." Miles yells as he marches straight in, getting everypony's attention. "Miles...." "Shut up True Will. Grab your gear and lets move it." He says as he look around the silent room. "Did I stutter? Fucking move it or get left behind. We leave in five minutes. Wheres my gear." "Miles, we need ta..." "Private did I or did I not just give out an order?" He asks as he faces Big Mac. "You did sir..." "Then move your ass! I want movement people. We aren't dead yet! MOVE MOVE MOVE!" He yells, getting everypony to run around the room, gathering their gear. "See?" I ask Rarity as I pick up my saddle and set it on my hips. "Good job Twilight. But we have a new problem now." Rarity says as she looks out the window. I lean over for a second before running straight for Miles. "Miles..." "Not now Twilight." "We might have a problem out front." I inform him, getting him to turn around. "What's going on?" He asks as he goes over to the window. He takes one quick look before heading to the door. "I'll deal with this." "But..." "Just grab your stuff and meet me out front in three minutes. Got it?" "Y-yeah." "And Twilight..." "Yes Miles?" I ask as I look back to him. "Thank you. For stopping me from slipping. I promise that won't happen again." "Your welcome. Now go see what Easy is up to." I say as I smile back to him. He offers me a nod before walking out the door. "OK, so everypony ready to head out?" I ask as I levitate Miles's gear over myself. "How did ya know how ta stop Miles frum getting depressed?" Big Mac asks me as everypony walks around me. "Well... it worked on Storm. This place was just one hug reminder of his eventual death. We're going to need to keep an eye on him..." "Or we could just send a letter to Luna." True Will suggests. "Love would work better in this instant then posting overbearing friends. Let his wife take care of him." We all stare at him as he looks around the room. "What?" "That was... a really good idea." Camo says as he looks over to Dust Devil. "Where did that come from?" Applejack asks. "What? I have emotions to you know." True Will defends, only to get more bewildered looks from everypony. "You all suck." He says as he walks out the door. "True Will having emotions, Miles being over emotional, Camo being an awesome fighter... I miss normalcy." Dust Devil says as she follows after True Will. "Hey! I've always been an awesome fighter!" Camo defends. We all look to each other before following after them. We'll be OK. I just want to get home and see my boys. Perspective: Miles "Easy, what the fuck man?" I ask as I walk up to him. "Greeting Miles. All remaining bots in Amethyst have been infected. Awaiting further orders." I look back to the thousands and thousands of bots behind him before looking back to him. "Give me our numbers now. How many bots are here?" "We currently stand at fourteen thousand six hundred and three utility bots, six thousand nine hundred seventy six security bots, eight thousand and one military bots, four hundred Aquilas, two hundred thirteen high grade military bots and sixty eight medical bots. Further details sir." "Uh... what?" True Will asks as he walks up beside me. "What are all of these things here for?" "They currently are under my control." I say as I look back to them, trying to think of what to do with them. "What are they suppose to do?" "Well, utility bots were for basic tasks. Cleaning, repairing, basic services like that. They're the humanoid looking ones, though they all follow that basic form. Next are the security bots. They were... well, they were our city guards. They helped upkeep law and order, but worked under a person at all times. Next are the military bots. Like the security bots they helped people in fights. These ones usually have an arm modified with some kind of weapon. The high grade military bots are the giant ones used mainly for artillery and heavy fire, though they can have anti personnel weapons. The Aquilas are the remainders of our air force and carry four legion bots on their backs. Medical bots are like military bots, but have medical equipment instead of weapons..." "Miles..." "Legion Bots are meant for fighting hand to hand. One arm is made into a single edged blade while the other is made into a high density fiber..." "Well! Congratulations. You now have an army, I guess you won't be needing any Spartans now..." "A bot will never out class a Spartan..." "Speaking of which." Twilight says as she runs over and pushes Camo in front of me. "I'd like to nominate Camo Flash for Spartan training." "What did he do to earn it?" "He protected me and the others diligently, showing an adept fighting skill and an eagerness to learn more." Twilight says, making Camo stand straighter. "OK." "Waitwhathuhwu? Just like that?" Camo asks as he shakes his head. "I believe Twilight. And I'm sure she told you about how hard its going to be. If you feel you can do it, then you can. Can you do this?" I ask as I look back to him. "Yeah. I mean... I think I can. I'll do my best at least..." "Then when we get back to my place I'll give you something to call you..." "Hold on a sec. Ah wanna nominate True Will!" Applejack declares as she steps forward. "You what now?" True Will asks as he looks back to her. "He took out two building and two of them people in one swing. Ya could use somepony like that." "Is that true?" I ask him, getting a nod from him. "Well... alright then. But..." "I don't want this." He says as he looks back to Applejack. "I'm under contract with the Ursas. I can't stop working for them just like that..." "But you can do your job. Even if its just a trip into the Everfree, you were hired to watch over me. The offer will be on the table, if you choose to take it." I say as I step towards Easy. "Easy, take as many bots as you need to get the AA-20 flight ready as well as the flight tunnel. I want you to also take the simulation pod and get it ready for transport. Its going to go in my work shop, as well as the jet. How long till you're ready for deployment?" "Thirty six hours. What shall the remaining bots do while..." "Two things. First find the remains of those who fell when we came here and see to it that they are dealt with honorably. After that, gather all weapons and gems and get them ready for transport. They will go to my workshop as well. I want this all done in one day, can you do this?" "Consider it done. May I have your autograph?" "Get it done then." I say as I turn to the others. "Lets get out of here already." A round of cheers rings out as I grab my gear from Twilight. I put it all back on as we head towards the nearest exit. I keep quiet as I lead everyone out, glad to be done with this place. When we make it to the bulkhead I turn back to the city and stare back to it for a moment. No one questions me. They just look back and keep silent with me. "Lets get going." I say as I pull the lever to open the door. It slowly creaks open, dropping dust as the heavy door lifts up. We step out together, leaving the door open as we walk down the dark tunnel. "Miles, can as ask ya sumthing?" Big Mac asks as he walks up to me. "Ah don't know how ah feel about Camo and True Will joinin the Spartans..." "And why is that? Remember that I was skeptical about you joining as well. Look how that turned out." "Ah think one a them gonna try ta sell out our secrets. Doncha think we should..." "Think back to your training and tell me if you truly think that will happen?" He glances back to the others before looking back to me, slowly shaking his head. "We need them more then they need us Big Mac." "Hows that?" "There are only three of us. The reason we keep falling for traps and tricks is because we don't have the resources to be everywhere. I'd like to see our numbers grow to about twenty. Twelve at the least." "Should ah keep an eye out?" "I've already got my eyes on two." He gives me a quizzical look, so I glance back and nod to them. "Rainbow and Dust Devil? Dust Devil maybe, but ah don't see Rainbow betrayin Equestria like that..." "It wouldn't be betrayal. We're the force for good. It would turn her loyalty to being a force for good, not just for one kingdom. I think she could be one of the best. You'll see." I say as I stop and turn to the others. "Alright, gather around. We're heading up." "What were you two talkin about?" Applejack asks. "Just some Spartan stuff. You'll hear about it soon enough. Everyone ready?" I ask, getting nods from everyone. I flare my hands and throw them up, sending us through the ground. "Anypony else find this freaky?" Dust Devil asks as she watches the earth move around us. "You get used to it.... sort of." Fluttershy answers as she holds onto Big Mac tightly. "Don't worry, we usually get through this fairly quickly." Twilight reassures them as she moves closer to me. "Uh, Miles. Don't you think we should of chose a different exit?" "No... why?" "What if we crash through the middle of Detrot?" "... naw. Life doesn't hate me that much." CRASH As if on queue, we begin to crash through pipes and some kind of tough stone. CRASH We burst through the middle of some stone street, sending dirt and dust all around. "You sure about that Miles?" Twilight asks sarcastically. "HEY! STOP RIGHT THERE!" Yells some guard as he runs over to us. "What the buck do you think you're doing breaking the street like that?! You better have a permit to be digging around the city like this!" He yells as he looks around the destroyed road. "We're sorry good sir. It wasn't our intention to..." "What the fuck." I say as I look over to the nearest alley. What did Damian call them, demons? Whatever they were called, there's another one standing there. This one is all black with chest long tentacles coming down from its jaw. He has a massive belly like the other one, but this one seems to have something living inside of it. It looks as if what ever is inside is trying to push its way out, making bulges appear all over. Like the demon before, this one doesn't seem to have legs; rather he just has a dark shade flowing from hiim. "What is it Miles?" Twilight asks as she looks over with me. I take a few steps forward as he looks back to me, drooling instantly. "What do you mean what? The... demon... thing right there." I say as I flare my hands and point him out, making him drool even more. "Uh.." "You feeling ok Miles?" True Will asks. I close my fist and create the black orbs as the demon begins to walk towards me, twitching madly. "Whoa... uh Miles..." Rainbow Dash says as everyone backs away from me. "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to put the... black... wispy things away..." The guard says shakily. "Da mihi anima tua!" He yells as he starts to charge at me. I punch forward and send a blast of Icy Void into the demons chest. He flies back and crashes into a building, quickly disappearing into black wisps. "FUCK YEAH! One shot you little fucker! WOO! You wont get me again little fucker!" I cheer as I look back to the others. "What?" I ask as I look from face to face. They all look scared and confused... "I'm going to have to ask to to put down your weapons, and to put your hands behind your back sir." The guard says as he approaches me. "What? I just..." "As far as I can see, you just destroyed public and private property. You are coming with me..." "Wait... am I being arrested?" I ask as I start to back away from him. I look down the street to see several more guards running towards my position, pulling out weapons as they go. "What the fuck did I do?" "Are you kidding me!? You just destroyed main street and part of a building! Now are you going to come quietly or not?" He asks as twelve guards circle around me. "Sir, I'm sure there is a very good reason Miles did what he did..." Twilight tries, but stops when the guard pulls his sword out. "Stand back or you're under arrest as well!" He yells as he points his sword to Fluttershy, making her whimper away. "Ah'd put the sword away if ah was you." Big Mac growls as he steps forward and pulls his halberd out. "Please, lets not do anything rash." Rarity says as she steps between the two. "Can't we talk this over like calm, sophisticated ponies?" "Fuck that shit!" I yell as I pull my sword and trench knife out. "Back the fuck off!" "Miles!" "Stay back!" "Quit pointin that sword at mah wife!" "Big Mac!" "*mumble/squeel*" "FUCK OFF!" "ENOUGH!" FLASH We all look up to see a massive white flash appear in the air. Once the shine breaks away I look back to see Celestia hovering above us. "What is the meaning of this?!" She asks as she lands in the center of the street. "Your highness." She guard says as he bows before her. "We were trying to arrest this... person, for destroying private property when they started resisting arrest..." "Go fuck yourself I'm not going to jail!" I yell as the guard. "And I did it for a reason." "And why would that be?" Celestia asks as she raises an eyebrow to me. "There was a fucking demon there!" I yell, getting an unamused look from Celestia. "A demon?" "Yes." "A demon was there?" "That's what I said." "And you killed it?" "Yeah, Icy Void did the trick." "...." "What?" I ask as I look around. Everyone is looking away from me, rubbing the back of their necks or scuffing at the ground. "Did anypony else see this... demon, Miles is talking about?" Celestia asks. I look back to everyone and watch as they all avoid my eyes. "Oh you've got to be kidding me..." "The red one also attempted to start a fight with me..." "You pointed a sword at mah wife!" Big Mac yells back to the guard. "And? She should of just backed away..." "And I should a kicked yer flank!" "ENOUGH!" Celestia yells, silencing everyone. "Miles. Could you at least go to the precinct to talk this out?" She asks as she turns to me. ".... I aint going to jail." I say as I take a step back. Everyone just looks up to me in bewilderment. "And why is that?" Celestia asks as she takes a step towards me. "... it's... well..." I stutter as I look from face to face, sweating slightly. "Is there an alternative to going to jail?" "Why don't you want to go to jail Miles?" "Clean up? I'll do repairs..." "Miles." She says flatly. "... pay bail. Pay double bail..." "MILES!" "OK!" I yell as I rub my face a bit. "Well... you know how I don't like parties?" KER-FACEHOOF "How is this anything like a party!" Pinkie demands. "They are nothing alike. Only.... well..." "Well?" Applejack asks as everyone, including the guards, leans in. "Uh... well... I have a fear of... you know.... " "Don't tell me you're scared of jail cells." Rainbow says as she rubs her face some more. "Honestly Miles. I would expect this from Fluttershy..." "It's not the cells themselves... but... well...." "Oh my god." True Will says as he goes wide eyed. "You think you're going to get ass raped in jail..." "Statistically speaking that is the most likely place for it to happen." I defend. "Not to mention its where it most frequently happens..." "Miles, I doubt that would happen..." "FUCK YOU!" I yell as I point Celestia out. "It could happen! All it takes is a slip in the shower or some dickhead tripping you and BAM!" I yell as I begin to hyperventilate. Everyone looks to each other before chuckling to each other. Oh go fuck yourselves... "OK, *chuckle* guard, is there any other way Miles could repay his debt to the city? We wouldn't want anything to happen to the big bad Spartan in jail." She teases, getting everyone to chuckle a bit more. "Well. Our largest gem mine did become over run with burrow spiders. If they clear the mine out and pay a fine, they can walk." The guard says with a chuckle. "Mil..." "I'll take it." I say as I sheath my sword and knife. "You don't even know what a burrow spider is..." Dust Devil starts. "Don't care. It beats going to jail. Where to?" I ask the guard. He just shakes his head some more and motions to me to follow. "WOO!" Pinkie cheers. "We proc-ed a side quest!" Chapter 139 Itsy Bitsy SpiderChapter 139 Itsy Bitsy Spider Perspective: Celestia "So... have you ever been to jail before?" "Shut up Camo..." "I mean, its either that or..." "Camo. If you keep talking I'm going to shove my rifle down your throat and pull the fucking trigger until it goes click click click. Got it?" He asks as he stops and stares him down. "... is that an innuendo...." "SON OF A..." "Boys." I say, gaining their attention. "If Miles doesn't want to talk about it then its his business. Now if you don't mind I'd like to get this over with." The two of them look to each other before continuing on. I just shake my head and walk along with Miles. "So... did..." "No." He says flatly. "Sorry. Just curious. Usually fears don't just come out of the blue..." "Soror..." "Right. Anyway, are you ready for this?" I ask as we make it out of the edge of town. "After what I've been through, I'm ready for anything." He says as he takes in his surroundings. "Have you ever seen a Burrow Spider? They..." "Whats a spider?" He asks. "Look. I already said I'll do it, so that's what I'm going to do. Thank you for worrying, but don't. I can handle this." "But..." "Alright, here we are." The guard says as he stops in front of a small cave. "Go in, deal with them, and then you may leave. There's only one entrance so don't try any funny business. We'll be watching the surrounding area for any magic so..." "Shut up already." Miles says as he marches straight in. "Don't you..." "Nnope." Big Mac says as he follows after him. "Fine. Do it your way then." The guards says as he steps in front of True Will. "Only they get to go in. The rest of you will wait out here until they return." "WHAT!" The rest of them yell as they all start to try to argue with him. He just motions to another guard to seal up the entrance. "Guard." I say, silencing them all. "Explain this to me at once. Did they not all break through the law?" "Those two were only being arrested for resisting arrest. The others will only have to pay the fine. Sorry Princess, but its in the city charter." "Very well." I say as I straighten out and begin to walk away. I motion to Twilight to follow me, getting her to run to my side. "Yes Princess?" She asks eagerly. "You wouldn't happened to know the city charter for Detrot, would you?" I whisper to her as I lean over, feeling slightly guilty for not knowing it as well as I should. "Sorry Princess, I never could get a copy of it. That, and it changes all of the time due to their constant town meetings. You don't think he's lying to you, do you?" "I don't think so, everything seems correct, I jusst can't shake this eerie feeling. I will be back as soon as possible. I need to go read up on something...." "Do you need my help? I could..." "No. Stay here and make sure nothing happens to Miles. I can tell something is wrong, I just can't put my hoof on it." She leans in and gives me a quick hug before running back to her friends. I look back to them and sigh... wait... one, two, three, four... two of them are missing. I can't help but grin as I teleport back to my balcony. "You're laaate." Luna chimes as we walk to the edge. "You sound a little happy about that." I say with a smirk as I begin to lower my beloved sun. "Should I be worried?" "Mmm... yes." She says with a big smile. "But I will be forgiving if you join me for dinner tonight." "That sounds lovely." I say as the sun dips beneath the horizon, giving way to the moon. "Shall we?" She offers me a smile as we begin to walk down to the dinning hall together. "Where did you go?" She asks as we walk down the marble hall. "I had to go to Detrot to stop Miles from starting a riot..." "HE WHAT?" She yells as she comes to a halt. "He burst through main street and tried to resist arrest. Apparently he has an irrational fear of going to jail because... well.. ahem..." "Why?" "He seems to think that... if he goes to jail... that others... well... uh..." I stutter as Luna waits patiently for me to answer. Why do I find this so hard to talk about? She's my sister, this should be easy. "He thinks that..." "That?" She says as she tries to get me to say it. I take a deep breath as I try to force myself to say it, feeling sweat form on my brow. "Uh... he... thinks that.... aren't you hungry? I'm hungry. I could eat an orchard right about now. Lets hurry up and get something to eat." I say before taking off down the hall. I make it to the dinning room and quickly take my seat, hiding my blushing face in the menu. FLASH "Well? Why did he refuse to go to jail?" Luna asks. "He... Nevermind." I say as I pivot away from her. "Tia..." "It was... why don't you just go and ask him yourself." I say as I flip the page, turning further away from her. "... really?" "Yes little sister." I say as I continue to try to keep my mind on other things. I suddenly lurch forward as Luna reaps me up in a hug, squeezing me tightly. "Thank you! I'll get going right away!" "Wait..." "Bye!" FLASH I look back to her empty seat and curse my ignorance. Why didn't I see that coming? *sigh* well, I'm sure nothing will come of it... "What would you like to eat your highness?" "Something banned from my diet please." I say flatly as I set my menu down and rub my eyes. "Are you sure..." "Yes. I know, I'll deal with the consequences later." "As you wish," he says as he takes the menu and walks away. I just look out the window and sigh again. Oh Luna... please don't do anything rash. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles We make it down the main tunnel keeping completely silent. Keeping low, I pull out my trench knife and prepare for anything to show up. Based on what I saw of spiders back at the farm, this should be fairly easy... "Do you hear that?" Big Mac asks. I pause and listen to hear a little girl singing. "Lets hurry up." I say as we both hurry down the tunnel. The farther down we go, the louder the echos become. We come to a stop in a large open area. The walls are spotted with different sized gems and have been mined in three different direction. In the center of the room is a little light blue filly with messy grey hair. She's just sitting there, facing away from us as she sings. "Little.." "DON'T GO NEAR HER!" We spin back to see Camo and Dust Devil running towards us at full speed. Camo slides to a stop as Dust Devil runs past us, heading straight for the little girl. "WHAT ARE YOU..." "AHHHH!" Dust Devil yells as she tackles the little girl to the ground. I try to stop her, but fail to do so. As soon as Dust Devil was securely on top, she pulled out her knife and drove it into her throat. Big Mac and I just stand there in a daze as Dust just sits there, breathing deeply. "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO!" I yell as I march up to her. She ignores me as she feels the back of the her neck. "Its still alive. Stand back." She says as she stands up and rolls the body over. "What the..." "GUYS!" Camo yells as he drops down in front of me. "She was already dead." "What are you talking about?" I ask as I try to go around him. "You just killed that little girl..." "No I didn't." Dust says quietly. "Let me show you." She takes her knife and start cutting at the back of her neck. I turn away and try not to listen to what shes doing. This... this is wrong. "Have either of you eve seen a burrow spider?" Camo asks. I turn back and watch in horror as Dust Devil carves into the neck of the little girl. "No ah haven't...." "Well look closely." Dust Devil says as she sticks her hoof into the little girls neck and begins to reach for something. I turn away as I begin to gag. If I had anything in my stomach, it wouldn't be there now. "Be careful DD..." "I know." Dust snaps. "OK, I've got it." She pulls back to reveal... "This... is a burrow spider." On the end of her hood is a small, fist size creature. It has eight long black legs that are smeared with blood. They look like they end in hooks and are extremely thin. Its body is fairly small, being about the size of my thumb and flat. "What the fuck is that?" I ask as I look it over more closely, only to back away as it hisses and tries to grab onto something. "Burrow spiders. Typically you only get them in the Elemental union, but they can make their way up here easily." Dust says as she looks it over. "They live by feeding off of anything they can climb into. They climb in, through the mouth, and attack themselves to the brain stem. From there, they release their eggs into their host and keep them alive until their offspring are old enough to live on their own..." "Is there anyway to keep the host alive?" I ask. "No." "Are you sure? Maybe..." "I'm sure." She says sternly. "They hook onto your brain stem and hold on tighter then a dead orc. If the host is alive after they attach themselves, they don't live much longer afterwards." "Why is that?" Big Mac asks. "Because the hatch lings eat the host... slowly." I walk around Dust and kneel beside the little girl. "She was singing..." "No. She wasn't." Dust Devil says as she squashes the spider, making a small pool of blood form underneath her hoof. "That was the spider. They can bite onto the brain and control you. It can be pretty convincing depending on the experiences of the spider. She was dead long before we were here." I look down to the girl and slide my fingers over her face, closing her eyes. "How many do you think are down here?" I ask as I hold my hand on her chest. "Dunno. She could of been the only one, there could be fifty, its impossible to know without going throughout the entire mine." "Do we need to worry about her?" Camo asks as he looks down to her. "I don't think they even hatched yet. To be safe we need to cremate her. Its the only way." "I'll do it." I say as I stand. "I can d it without fire, I'll take care of that." She nods to me and steps away from her. I take a deep breath as I flare my hands. "Do it." Dust says cruelly. "I'm sorry." I push my palm towards her and send a beam into her small body, turning her to ash. "Come on, there's probably more of them." Dust says as she stands and walks down the left most tunnel. "Come on Miles, lets go." Big Mac says as he nudges me along the way. I stare at the pile of ash until its out of view. "Ya gonna be alright?" "... yeah. Probably. I just.... I hate seeing children suffer..." "Ah know. Ah don't like it anymore then you do. But we have ta do this. Ta put em out a their misery..." "I know. But knowing doesn't make it easier." I say as I walk after Camo and Dust Devil. We make it to the end of the tunnel where we hear some whispering, so we crouch down and sneak to the corner. I can hear what sounds like a child crying and an adult. "...filly. Just open wide and say..." "Where's my sister? Why did you bring me down here? I want to go home..." "You are home. Just come here and...." "HEY!" I yell as I walk out into the opening. OK, there are at least twenty adults in her all huddled around the same point. "Leave her alone." "Miles, this is kind of stupid." Dust Devil says nervously as she peers over to the crowd. "What do you think you're doing?" "Saving that kid." "She could already be infected! This could be a trap, we need..." "COME ON!" I yell as I step forward. "One child or three adults? Pick already." "Oh buck you Miles." Camo says as he pulls his sword out. "Shut up and get ready fer a fight." Big Mac says as he pulls out his halberd. "Put that away and take my sword." I say as I toss him my sword. "Fire and caves don't really mix well." "Right." "You with us?" I ask Dust as I pull out my trench knife. "*sigh* yeah. Just do me a favor, don't let me get infected." She says as they all stand by my side and get ready to fight. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR! COME ON!" I yell as I charge straight for them. They all scream out as they charge straight for us. I thrust my free hand forward, sending a beam of soul fire into one of the charging ponies and turning him to ash. I spin back and slam the blade of my knife into the neck of one of the others as the rest slam into me. They try to bite and scratch at me, but my armor stops them from doing any real damage. I push and kick them away as I try to make my too the little girl. As I move, I stab and grab at them, killing them as I puncture necks and turn them to ash. "AHHHH!" The little girl screams. "HOLD ON!" I yell as I push the lines on my arms to my potestatum anuls and slam my free hand down on the ground, sending a wave pf energy around me and sending everyone flying away from me. I push myself forward and run to where I thought I heard the child. "AHH!" I look over to see a small black form running down some tunnel being chased by two adults. "KEEP RUNNING!" I yell as I send a beam at one of them, turning her to ash. "MILES!" Big Mac yells. "I"m going after her, take care of the rest of them!" I yell as I run after the little girl. I take the corner to see the stallion standing over the little girl as she kicks and screams. He lowers his face and opens his mouth as several bulges crawl their way up his neck. As several long black legs stick out of his mouth I send my energy into my blade and punch forward, sending a blast of energy that knocks him into the wall behind. The girl continues to kick around as a single spider sits on her face, trying to pull her mouth open. "Hold on! I've got you!" I yell as I run over to her and slide to my knees. I grab the spider and go to pull it off, but it just latches on to her face. She screams out as blood falls from her cheeks and lips. I tighten my grip on the spider as I pump my magic into it, burning it away. "Hold still so I can heal you...' "STOP! I JUST WANT MY SISTER! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" She screams as she continues to kick. I push my hands through and lay them on her chest as I pump the healing energy into her. She arches her back and stops kicking as the wounds on her begin to heal. "Feel better?" I ask as I pull my hands back. She takes a few deep breaths as she looks up me. She must still be terrified... of the human she's never seen before. "You don't need to be scared. My name is Miles. What's your name?" "I...I'm... my name is Shadow." She whispers as she sits up. "Shadow. Are you hurt anywhere else?" I ask as I look her over. She has an all black coat with long messy grey hair that has a streak of blue in it. Her eyes are the deepest blue and she seems to be fairly small. I'm guessing she's Appleblooms age, maybe less. "No." She says as she wipes her fore head. Oh, she's a unicorn. "What's going on? What are those icky spiders doing to those ponies.... have you seen my sister?" She asks as she looks up to me with her hope filled eyes. "I... what did your sister look like?" I ask, knowing all to well what happened. "She has a light blue coat and grey hair like mine. We're the same age and she has a cutie mark of a lantern." "What was her name." I ask as I sheath my knife. "Why did you say was? Is Light ok? Where is she? What..." "Shadow." I say firmly as I look down. "Light... had a spider in her... like the others. She's... she's... I'm so sorry shadow." "No.... no. She can't be dead. She's my big sister.... she can't be dead." She mutters as tears begin to fall from her eyes. "I'm so sorry Shadow..." "No, why are you telling me this? I want Light back, bring her back! I want my sister" She yells as she jumps into my lap and hits my chest, crying heavily. I wrap my arms around her and hold her as she cries for her lost sister. "Ohhhh..." Shadow freezes up as the pony from before begins to moan. I look back to see bulges appearing all around his body, a few breaking open to reveal long black legs. "What is that? Whats going on?" Shadow asks as she latches on to me, wrapping her arms around me. "Spiders. Don't look." I say as I stand up, still holding onto her. She buries her face in my neck. I take my free arm and shoot the body with soul fire, turning it to ash. "Whew, that was close." I chuckle. "Heh... yeah." Shadow agrees as she keeps her face in the crook of my neck. "MILES!" I hear Dust Devil scream. She, as well as Camo and Big Mac, come running down the tunnel at full speed. "Whats going...." "SPIDERS!" They scream as a torrent of spiders comes after them. The walls and floor are covered in a mass of black spiders chasing after them. Camo pivots back as he swings his sword at them, sending a wave of black energy at the front of the flood. It explodes, but is quickly over run by more spiders. "GET BEHIND ME!" I yell as I raise my hand. I concentrate on the area around us and throwing my arm down. A large chunk of the wall falls down, crushing a good number of the spiders. I throw my arm out and send another wall down.... "STOP! YOU'LL BRING IT ALL DOWN ON US!" Dust Devil yells as she looks around. "We need to get out of here..." "Are all of the infected people dealt with?" I ask. "Only these spi..." "Good, gather around!" I order, getting them all to run to my side. I push the lines on my arms and push up, sending us straight up and through the earth above. We appear in what looks like a light forest filled with light tan leaves. We take a moment to check ourselves before laughing. "Think they'll get mad for us leaving early?" Camo asks. "I really don't care right now." I say as I check on Shadow. "Can you walk for a bit? I need to do something." She just nods her head and loosens her grip on me. I kneel down and set her on her hooves. I stand up and flare my magic on both arms, pushing it up to my elbows. "What are ya doin Miles?" Big Mac asks. "Making sure they don't leave." I say before slamming my hands down onto the ground. Cracks appear all around us as sections begin to fall down. I push all of it down until I'm sure that all of the mine is buried. "There. Mission accomplished." I say as I kneel down beside Shadow. "Come on, I'll take you home." "*sniff* I..." "Where is home?" I ask as I pick her up. "I... don't have a home." She says as she begins to tear up again. "I lived with the miners and my sister. Without them.... I dunno... I..." "Hey, it's ok." I say as I rub her back. She buries her face i my neck again as she begins to cry again. I look over to Big Mac and the others before pulling her slightly off of me. "Don't you have any family? Mom? Dad? Uncles..." "My mom and dad died when I was really little. It's always been just me and Lantern. Where do I go now? I don't want to go to the orphanage, please don't take me there! I.. can still work! I can...." "Hey, hey, shh..." I say as I hold her a little tighter. I look back to the others before taking a deep breath. "How about you come with me to Ponyville? It may only be for a while, but I can take care of you for a bit." "*sniff* really? Why? Why would you do that?" She asks as she rubs her eyes. I take a deep breath as I think about the best way to answer. Why am I offering her this? "Several reasons." I say as I begin to walk towards Detrot. "But mainly because you need a home. I know you don't know me, but I.... can't help but feel as if I have to do this. What do you say? Lets try it for a week and see if we can't work something out." "O...OK." She says as she lays her head on my shoulder. "Thank you Miles." I look back to Big Mac and see his bewildered face. I just shrug and continue on. I have to do this... I killed her only family. Chapter 140 Go To BedChapter 140 Go To Bed Once the dust settled from the ground dropping I had Camo and Dust Devil carry Big Mac out while I held onto Shadow. The poor kid is still shaking from her experience, but we'll be out of here soon. I launch through the air and follow after the others, landing near the group. "Big brother! Miles, ya made it. We weren't sure iffin.. uh, whos that?" Applejack asks as we walk onto solid ground. "This is Shadow. She's going to be staying with me for a bit until we can figure out a living situation for her." I say, getting worried looks from everyone. "Uh... I dunno Miles. Have you ever taken care of a foal before? It's not exactly easy." Rainbow says as she rubs the back her neck. "Really Rainbow? You're going to judge my parenting skills?" I ask, getting her to look away. "Look, I know what it takes to raise a child. I volunteered at an orphanage plenty of time to know what to expect..." "But did you clear it with your wife?" Luna asks as she walk up to us from the street. Well... shit. "I have to do this..." "There are organizations built for this Miles. I don't think..." "Ego occidi cui sola familia. Mihi sponsor est." I say, getting her to step back. "Est quod verum?" She asks, to which I nod. "*sigh* alright. Just... we'll talk some more about this later." "Of course." I say as I walk over to her, getting confused looks. "Hey Shadow, meet my wife." I whisper into her ear. She peers out from my neck for a second before looking back away. "I... I don't like meeting new ponies." She says as she tightens her hold on me. "Are you sure? She's really pretty." I coax, getting her to loosen up a bit. She looks over to Luna and turns back to me, looking scared. "Miles!" She whispers loudly as she taps my shoulder. "Miles, she's an alicorn." "I know." I whisper back. "Only Princesses are alicorns Miles." She whispers as she hazardously looks back to Luna. She offers her a smile, only to have Shadow hide her face from her. "Well, not technically. But she is one..." "I'm Princess Luna, Celestias little sister." Luna tries as she steps towards us. "Cele... are you royalty?" She asks me, getting me to laugh... wait a minute. "If he'd even acknowledge it." Luna scoffs. I just smile as I look back to the others. Most seem content with this, but I can see a few worried looks. "Lets head home already." I say, getting cheers from everyone. "Sound good Shadow?" I ask her as we all start to walk towards my jeep. She nods her head before letting out a long yawn. "Go ahead and go to sleep. We've got a bit of a drive to do." "OK." She says as she lays her head back on my shoulder. I look over to Luna and shrug my shoulders to her. "Im 'non certus esse." She says quietly. "Nolite solliciti. Omnia fore bysso." I assure her. "What are ya'll talking about?" Applejack asks. "Stuff." I say as I look over to her. She just rolls her eyes and continues on. "Hoc unum facitis nostra non?" She asks. I take a deep breath as I look over to her. "Me paenitet quidem, sed ... suus 'non extiterunt." She says as she looks down. "Fringilla non fieret, scio. Hoc est magis tunc nobis sententia. Hoc est pro ea." She lets out another long sigh before leaning her head against me. I take my free hand and lay it against her neck, stroking her lightly. "Uh... I take it yer keeping the foal." Applejack says from behind. I just chuckle as I continue on. We make it to the jeep and begin to pack up, after I raise it from the ground. Luna gives me a kiss on the cheek before we take off, saying that we'll talk more at home. Shadow went asleep during the walk here, so I lay her on the passenger seat and buckle her in. I understand everyones' concerns, but what would they have me do? I'm now responsible for her. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Detrot Guard I watch from the city line as the human and the others leave. Camo looks back to me and gives a signal, so I turn back and begin to run down the streets. Luckily its night time, so there aren't many ponies out here. I make it to the flower shop and bare straight in, scaring the mare behind the counter. "Sir, the shop is closed...." "Black orchids are wilting." I say, getting her to drop the act. "Are you...." "Just shut up and let me in already!" I bark at her. She reaches down and pulls a lever, opening the tunnel entrance. I charge down the passageway until I reach the doors to the meeting hall. I pause for a second and collect myself before knocking on the door. After a few minutes of waiting the door slowly opens and I walk to the center light. "What news do you bring us." Asks one of the figures on the dark. "Camo Flash has been accepted to the Spartan squad..." "Excellent." "...as will True Will." The room falls silent after I say this. I feel a slight tingle go down my spine as I feel them stare me down. "I'm sorry, could you say that again." Says a different voice. "True Will has been offered to join the Spartan regiment. I don't know if he's accepted, but the offer is on the table." "Leave us." I bow before walking out, trying my best to hear what they say as I go. "... we trust him?" "... have to." ".... a message to..." The door shuts before I could hear anything else. I walk out to the front and stand at attention. "What's the news?" He asks. "Camo has been accepted sir!" I say as he walks around me. "Good." "And so has True Will." I say, making him stop. He walks back out to face me as he lowers his sunglasses. "True Will has made it?" "He's been offered at least sir." "...*sigh* well, lets remind him who he belongs to then." He says as he walks to the door behind me. "Oh, and make sure to take care of those guards before you return to your post." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles Once we finally make it back to Ponyville everyone starts to go home, Twilight nearly sprinting down the road. I wave to Big Mac as he carries a sleeping Applejack and Fluttershy away. Rarity and Pinkie both walk off together, both seeming eager to get home as well... well, it is three in the morning. "Can the rest of you wait up real quick? I need to tell you all something." I ask quietly as I lift Shadow out of the car. They all look around before slowly walking to my home. I open the door..." "BARK BARK BARK!" Lupus and Hati come barreling out of the door, nearly knocking me and Shadow over. I glance back to them and shake my head as I walk inside. I make motions to the others to wait as I take Shadow to her new room, the one across from mine. I walk in and lay her down, tucking her in as gently as possible. "Mmhmm... Miles?" She asks as she wakes up slightly. "Don't worry. You're in your new room. Just go to sleep and we'll talk in the morning, OK?" I say as I brush her main out of her face. "OK. Thank you Miles... you're *yawn* ... a good pony." She says before falling back to sleep. I take a deep breath before standing up and leaving the room. I glance back to her as I shut the door quietly. "It's a good feeling huh?" Rainbow says from the stairs. "I get it all the time from Scoot. Trust me, it only gets better." "Yeah... anyway. Lets head down to the others. I have big news." I say as I walk past her. When we make it to the living room, I have Rainbow join the others "What's this all about? This is valuable sleeping time you know." Dust Devil says as she continues to nod in and out. I ignore her questions as I go to the kitchen and pull out the Spartan logo necklace. I walk over and reveal the necklace, getting confused looks from all of them. "Uh... what are...." "You are all eligible to take Spartan training." I say bluntly, getting shocked looks from Dust Devil and Rainbow Dash. "I've seen all of your fighting prowess and recognize your character to be that of a Spartan. If you so choose, you may take the training regiment. I will start it up sometime within the next week, so think about this. I will push you to your limits, break you, try to kill you. But, I will also turn you into the greatest fighting force for good. You will become a beacon of light in times of dark, and the ray of hope to those without. When I call, you will have one day to make it here. If you don't make it, then you lose out. Think long and hard about this." I say as I give the necklace to Camo. "Sorry, but you three need to share for now..." "Hold on one second." Rainbow says as she shakes her head. "You really think I can be a Spartan?" "I think you could be one of the best." I say, getting her expression to soften. "You are a perfect example of the kind of character we look for in a recruit. You try to do whats right because its right. At the drop of a hat you put your own life at risk to save others. You're an adept fighter, though a bit rash, and I believe you can do this, do you?" She looks away from me as she starts to think about it. I take the necklace and toss it over to True Will, having him catch it with his magic. "Are you sure..." "Yes. You two were nominated, so I have to take their word on it, but I've seen Dust Devils character in action. I believe you can be a damn good Spartan. It's up to you three." They all look to each other, silently questioning each other over their choice. "You have some time to think about this. It won't be for a few days, so go and think deeply about this." "We'll do that. Take care Miles." True Will says as he walks off, lost in thought. "I'll be there, you can count on that." Camo says as he walks off confidently. "Sleeeeeeeep." Dust Devil drags out as she drops her head and walks out. "Miles.... I..." "Don't think about it right now." I say to Rainbow. "Go home, sleep, take Scootaloo out for the day, and think about it. This will change your life, be sure you're ready for something like this." She nods to me as she walks away, looking deeply troubled. I sigh in relief as I make my way back up the stairs, ready to go to... "Miles." Luna says as she sits on the edge of my bed. I groan a bit as I walk over and drop onto the bed. "Sleep." I mumble into the sheets. "Sorry, but... we need to talk about this." She says as she lies next to me, nuzzling my head a bit. I roll over and take her in my arms, getting her to snuggle up against me. Tonight, is going to be a long night. "Whats on your mind?" "Well... it's about Shadow..." "You already know..." "No, I accept that you're going to watch over her now. I completely support that. It's... well... how do I word this correctly?" "Just ask." "Well, did you... check her for spiders?" She asks nervously. "They were trying to infest her when I rescued her. That was evidence..." "But that could of been a ruse. What if they only did that so you would rescue her and take them out of the mine? We need to check her over to make sure she..." CREAK We both look over to the door to see Shadow standing there, stifling tears as she looks down. "Everything alright kido?" I ask as I sit up. "...*sniff*..." "What happened?" "I... I wet the bed." She says as her tears start to roll down her face. I stand up and walk over to her, kneeling before her as I put my hands on her shoulders. "Shh... its alright." "No its not. I'm suppose to be a big pony, and I wet the bed. I woke up again and I thought I saw a spider and... it scared me..." "And that's fine. After what you went through I understand perfectly..." "Please don't be mad. I'll clean the sheets tomorrow, I promise..." "Hey, no one is mad at you. Don't worry about the sheet either, we'll deal with them tomorrow. Lets just go to sleep and get this day over with." I say as I rub her back a bit. She nods and begins to walk away when I pick her up and bring her over to my bed. "But... what if I..." "You won't." I say as I lay her down on the on the bed. Luna stands up and eyes her a bit as I tuck her in. "If any spiders try to get you in here, I'll stomp them out for you, OK?" She looks between the two of us nervously before nodding, pulling the sheets closer to herself. Luna nudges me a bit and motions to the closet, so I follow after her. "Miles, I need to get going now, but promise me you'll check her for spiders. I have a bad feeling about..." "I will." I say as I start pulling my armor off. Luna waits for me to finish before giving me a hug. "You're going to have to read her body over with magic and check for any other living organisms, do you know how?" She whispers into my ear. "I know how." I say as drape my arms over her shoulders. "Ego amare te." "Ego amare te magis." "Ego amare te maxime." I say before giving her a soft kiss on the lips. I begin to pull back, only to have her push back in for another kiss. I just put my hand behind her ear and return the love. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Twilight When home comes into view I pick up the pace, glad to finally be home. When I reach the door I slow down and begin to make a mental check list of what I need to do. I need to wake Storm up right away and beg for forgiveness, hug Spike, and to... to... "What in Equestria happened here?" I ask aloud as I look around my destroyed home. Books lie everywhere, on the floor, on the stairs, everywhere except the shelves. The walls are covered in slashes, scorch marks and large dents. As I walk through the books I can see several of them and been completely destroyed. Most seems to have been burnt while several have been cut to shreds... SLUUUUUURP I look over to the kitchen to see Storm and Spike sitting there, eating cereal. As if there's nothing wrong in here. SLUUUUUURP "What happened here!?" I ask, getting both of their attention. "TWILIGHT!" They yell as they run over and tackle me in a hug. They both start rambling on about who knows what as Spike lifts the two of us up. "What happened here?" I ask as I teleport out their arms. "Well... I sort of..." "We had a little..." "No! It was my..." "I did the most damage..." "No way! I did..." "BOYS!" I yell, getting their attention. Spike sets Storm down and waits patiently. I look around the room some more before looking back to them. "*sigh* we'll get cleaning tomorrow. I could really use a bowl of cereal right now." I say as I walk over to the kitchen. As they stand there, dumbstruck, I pour myself a bowl and take a bite. "Are you joining me or not?" I ask with a mouthful. "Aren't you mad?" Spike asks as he hesitantly walks over to the table and takes a seat. "Well... a little. But I missed my boys more." I say as I take another bite and smile to Spike. He smiles back as he begins to eat his cereal. I look over to Storm and pat the chair next to me, getting him to smile as he walks over. "So, who want to tell me what happened?" I ask as Storm takes his seat. "Well..." "I'll tell her." "No Spike. I'll tell her. It'll...." "You're always telling me how to be a stallion, well here's my chance to be one. I'm telling her." Spike says, getting Storm to back off. "Well, when you were leaving for Miles's place a few days ago, you forgot a quill. I know how you get when you forget stuff so I went after you and... I found you talking with Miles..." "OK." I say as I put my spoon down and turn towards him. I really have no idea where he's going with this, but I have a bad feeling about this. "Well... I heard you say that you weren't meant to be a mother and... well... I thought you meant me." He looks down and begins to twiddle with his spoon, trying his hardest not to look me in the eyes. I reach over too him and place my hoof on his claw, getting him to look to me. "Spike, I didn't mean anything about you. I was... in a bad mind set, and I'm sorry. I will always love you as my son, no matter what. Don't you ever forget that." He drops out of his chair and pulls me in for another hug. "Could you ever forgive me Spike?" "I already did... Mom." He says as he tightens his squeeze on me. I ignore the added pressure and return the hug, still feeling horrible. "Then... he came home." Storm adds, making Spike shutter. "What happened when you came home?" I ask as we let go of each other. "Well... I was mad and... started.... um... fuming." "Fuming? Fuming how?" I ask nervously. "Uh... I was ranting about how you lied to me and other mean things about you when Storm found me. He started to... tell me to do things or to stop talking poorly about you and... well... uhmm..." "We got into a damn good fight." Storm finishes. "You were fighting!" I yell as I look between the guilty and prideful idiots."That's why my books were destroyed!?" "Well.... fire tends to do that." Spike says as he begins to shrink away. "And a wind sword indoors isn't a very good idea sometimes." Storm adds. "Luckily we got the house looking good on the outside yesterday..." "Yesterday? What about the other days?" I ask as I look between the two of them. "Well... the first day I tried to run away, but Storm out flew me. Then I tried to break out of the house, but he would always drag me back. Then we just started fighting...." "And I would always win." Storm finishes proudly. "The entire time I would remind him how much he means to us and how hurt we would be if he left. It slowly chiseled away at him until he finally broke down. After that, we made up and started fixing the place up." I lean over and whisper to Storm, "How bad was it?" "He not much of a fighter. I can tell..." "The house." "Oh... well... lets just say we had a duplex for awhile." I lean back and try to process this in a sensible, level headed manner. "Twilight..." "*sigh* buck it." I say as I get up. "Lets just go to bed. You two already made up, that's all I care about at the moment." They both look to each other before laughing. I watch them for a few seconds before laughing myself. It's good to be home. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Rainbow Dash I wave goodbye to Dust, Camo and Will before flying up to my house. Scootaloo is probably asleep at the Apples, so I'll just get her tomorrow morning. I get to my door and get inside quickly, getting chills from the northern winds. Winters quickly approaching, this'll probably mean more weather duties... "Hello?" I look down the hall and gawk for a second. "Rainbow, you're back!" "SOARIN!" I yell as I run into his hooves for a hug. "I missed you so much, but what are you doing here? Don't you have to..." "The Wonderbolts can wait. Once I heard you left I used this chance to get to know Scootaloo better." He says as he pulls back to look me in the eyes. "And... how did it go?" I ask nervously. "She's great." He says simply. I lunge forward for another hug at the great news... "Whats going on.... MOM!" I look over only to get tackled by Scootaloo. I twist around and hold onto her tightly, nuzzling her neck to make her giggle. "When did you get back? Was it dangerous? Did you save anypony? Were there any of those creepy food creatures there? What...." "Whoa, slow down there squirt." Soarin says as he wraps his arms around me from behind. "Lets let her take a rest before we bombard her with questions, K?" "Aw." She pouts as she gives me her puppy dog eyes. "Well.... I guess one story couldn't hurt." "YES!" She exclaims as she flutters out of my hooves and heads to the kitchen table. I try to move, but Soarin keeps me in place, nuzzling the back of my mane softly. "Soarin! Quit holding up the story!" We both laugh as he lifts me up and carries me over to the table. "Well then, lets hear it." Soarin says as he takes a seat next to Scootaloo. "Well... this is basically how I, the one and only Rainbow Dash, earned her way to be a Spartan." I gloat as I lean back in my seat. "Spartan? You mean like Miles, Storm, and Big Mac?" Scootaloo asks. "Eeyup." "WHOA! Way to go Dash! Are you going to do it? They could use all the super heroes they can get and..." "Slow down squirt. I don't know if I'm going to do it yet. But I was offered. Let me tell you what I did to earn it." Scootaloo bobs her head in excitement while Soarin just gives me a troubled look."There I was, back to back with Miles; surrounded by dozens of insane over powered humans trying to suck out our souls..." "Whoa..." "Yeah... whoa." "Was I scared? Of course not. Miles jumped through their earthen barricade and pulled three of them off, but one decided to try to take me on. So I lifted my rifle and...." I pause for dramatic effect, "PEWPEWPEWPEWPEW-KERBOOOM!" I yell as I jump into the air. "He collides with me and explodes from my gun fire. When I woke up, I was hurt, bad." "*gasp* did somepony save you?" "Yeah... how hurt?" "Bad. I started to crawl my way to a building in the distance. I saw some dark energy there and figured it way the others. After about how know how long I decided to try and fly there. I passed out just as Camo flash came to my rescue. You know what happened next?" I ask as I take my seat and lean in. "What?" Scootaloo asks in a whisper as she leans in. "I... got... SHOT!" I yell as I slam my hoof on the table. "NO WAY! What happened!?" "You what!?" "Hehe, maybe next time kido. Its way past your bed time, c'mon. Lets go." I say as I stand up. "Aw... but..." "No buts, we'll talk more tomorrow." I say as I wait for her to get up. With a heavy sigh she jumps down and marches to her room. I walk in and take a looks around the mess; just how it was before. "Do I have to go to school tomorrow? What if I 'got sick' and we hanged out all day? Soarin to?" I pick her up and lay her down, tucking her in as I think about it. "I would love nothing more then that, but school is important. We can hang out afterwards, OK?" "*sigh* fine." "Sweet dreams squirt." I say as I nuzzle her a bit on the forehead. "Night Mom." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Shadow "Huh! What?" I look around the dark room when the sound of something opening the door wakes me up. I look over and hear something big stepping into the room. "Miles!" I whisper loudly. "Miles, there's a monster in the room." I look over to see him completely asleep. "*sniff...sniff*" What ever came into the room is now taking big sniffs of the area. It's probably trying to find me, what should I do? I look back to Miles before the sniffing scares me again, making me hide under his arm. "Miles!" I shout/whisper. "What is..." "*pant pant*". "Oh... it's just a dog." I sigh in relief as the dog jumps onto the bed and begins sniffing around. "Here doggy doggy." I say as I reach out for it. I feel the fluffy fur under my hoof and begin to pet it, getting it to pant some more. "Alright doggy, it's time to go to bed." I say as I get up to go back to my spot. Instead the dog just goes to my pillow and spins in a circle five kajillion times before dropping down. "Hey, that's my spot." I whine, only to get a sigh in response. Well... now where will I sleep? Chapter 141 Meeting New PoniesChapter 141 Meeting New Ponies Perspective: Miles I sigh contently when something soft rubs up against my neck. I roll to my side and pull Luna close... "Luna?" I ask as I open my eyes. She's lying right next to me, smiling. "Morning love." "Morning. Where's Shadow?" I look around the bed and realize she isn't here. "She's probably in the restroom. What brings you here so early... or late in your case." I ask as I wrap my arms around her. "What? I can't lay with my husband every now and a again? I missed you." She says as she leans in and nuzzles my nose. I just smile and return the affection. "BARK BARK BARK BARK!" The door suddenly bursts open and Lupus and Hati come running in. They stop at the end of the bed and continue to bark at us. "Hey hey hey, shut up already." I yell at them, getting whines in response. "Sheesh. Mood killers." "Do you smell smoke?" Luna asks as she sits up. I sniff the air a couple of times before I smell it as well. We look to each other before running towards the door. I check her room first and find it completely empty, and clean. Next we make our way down the stairs and to the kitchen where we find it a complete mess. A light tan paste covers most of the counters and cabinets as smoke rises from the stove. "I MADE WAFFLES!" Shadow announces from the table as she presents a plate full of odd looking pancakes. She has her mane tied back with the blue streak hanging in front of her face. We look between her and the mess before I start to laugh. "Um... did I do something wrong?" She asks as she sets the plate on the kitchen table. "No, no, its just my luck." I chuckle as I walk over and look at the meal she prepared. "How is it that both the women in my life can only cook by making a complete mess." "Hey... I didn't make a complete mess." Luna says as she joins us. "I'm sorry Miles. I'll clean up right..." "No, its fine. We'll clean up after eating." I say as I take a seat and look over a waffle. "So what is this anyway?" "Its a waffle." Shadow says a she takes the seat to my right. "Whats in it?" "Um... waffle." I laugh a little before taking a bite. "Its pretty good." "Its better with syrup." Luna says as she take one and pours some syrup on it. I go ahead and add some as well, finding it to be twice as good now. "So... you like it?" Shadow asks as she perks up a bit. "Yeah, its good. Where did you learn to cook anyway?" I ask as I take another one. "Well... it was only me and Lantern Light. We had to provide for ourselves, and Lantern was always working harder then me. So I picked up a few things from the other miners." "Why were you in the mines to begin with?" I ask, putting down the waffle. She looks between me and Luna before lowering her head a bit. "We didn't have parents... and if we went to an orphanage... we could have been separated. So we hide down there one day and the forepony found us...and ended up making a deal with us. We helped with the smaller things and we got to live in the miners camp, we even made money..." "Wait wait wait. They let children work in a mine.... why?" I ask, looking to Luna. "Don't look at me. I'm just as shocked as you are." She defends. "I don't know what the deal was. Lantern Light was the one who made it. All I was told was to gather rocks from the miners and to transport them occasionally. My sister would have to talk to the forepony every now and a again, but I was never allowed to go..." "Go to... how did she act when she came back?" I ask as I turn towards her. "Well.... she was usually sad... and would want lots of hugs...." "Oh sweet Barbra." I mutter as I look back to Luna, getting a similar expression from her. "What?" Shadow asks. I look back to her and try to think of what to say. How do you tell a little girl that you think her sister was molested so they could live and work in a mine. "Miles, why don't you take Shadow to town and get her stuff. Tooth brush, hair brush, maybe a snack at Sugar Cube Corner?" Luna suggests. "Sugar?" Shadow asks as she perks up a bit. "Uh.... yeah. Yeah, that's a good idea. I'll go grab my stuff, eat up while I do that." I say before standing up. I head upstairs where I put on some new clothes and grab some money. When I make it back down stairs I find Luna and Shadow waiting by the door. Shadow looks like a ball of energy that's about to explode while Luna looks... nervous. "OK. You two have fun now. I'll clean up before heading back to Canterlot." Luna says as she walks up to me and gives me a hug. "Remember what we talked about." She whispers. "I will. See you soon." I say before giving her a kiss. "Blech, are you two always like that?" Shadow asks in disgust. I just laugh as I watch Luna head up the stairs. "Miles?" "Alright. Lets get going." I say as I turn back and open the door for her. She jumps up a bit before running out to the porch. "*gasp* MILES! Look! It's Soarin!" She exclaims as she points up. Confused, I walk over and look up to see some pegasus stallion leaving Rainbows place. "OY! What do you think you're doing in there?!" I yell at him. He looks down before diving for us. "Nononononono.... why is he coming down here? Hide me!" Shadow says before diving behind my legs. "I assume that you are Miles." Soarin says before landing before me. "Yeah..." "Why are you going to train Rainbow? She has enough to deal with as it is, do you really...." "Don't lecture me on putting too much on her plate. We both know who's the one doing that." I say, making him back off a bit. "It's... just..." "Look, if you really feel this way about her joining, talk to her. I just want to give you some friendly advice. Scootaloo is more important to me then you or a bullet. Ruin this for her, and I'll get rid of both." He stares back to me slightly confused, but I can tell that he gets the threat. I look back to Shadow and motion for her to follow as I walk around him. "Whoa... and I thought I was bad at meeting new ponies." Shadow says as she scurries after me. "Well... he's messing with a close friend of mine." I say as I look back to her, noting her difficulty in keeping up. "Come here." I say as I stop. I pick her up and set her on my shoulders, getting her to grab my head to keep level. "Whoa, I'm taller then Celestia!" She says as she looks around. "MUSH!" She yells as she points forward. I just chuckle to myself as I run down the path, getting high pitched giggles from her. Perspective: Shadow We come to a stop at the edge of the town where Miles puts me down. I look nervously between him and the crowded town... "Are you OK? You're shaking." He says as he stands up right. I look down and see my legs slightly shaking, only making me shake more. "Can we go back? I don't want all of those ponies seeing me shake like this." I ask as I glance back at all the ponies over there. "There's only like... five, maybe six ponies over there." Miles says as he looks over to them. "Well.... maybe we can sneak our way over to... where are we going?" I ask as I look for the best route possible. "Well, we'll head over to the shops first, see whats there, then head over to the market district." I run over to a nearby building and press myself against it. OK, if we follow these buildings over to that side of the fountain, take that alley, and then... "Where are you going!?" I yell as he just walks out into the open. "We aren't going to get there by standing here, lets go." He says casually as he continues to walk off. I bite my hoof as I check if the coast is clear. There are a few ponies looking towards Miles, but they seem to be focusing on him. I take a few deep breathes before running after him. Once I catch up with him I try my best to not draw attention to myself, keeping as close to Miles as possible. "Miles!" "EEP!" I scream as I leap behind Miles. "Hey Storm, long time no see. Whats up?" "Just doing some shopping.... who is that?" "This is Shadow. Shadow, meet my friend Storm Cloud." Really Miles! OKOKOKOKOK, I can do this. Just like sis said. Deep breath, smile, and don't be a dork. I grab onto Mileses leg and lean over. "H-hi." I mutter as I look over to the muscly grey pegasus. "Hi there, where you from?" He asks as he steps closer to me. "Uh..." Why did he have to ask another question! Stupid Storm Cloud! "I'm... from.... Detrot." "Detrot huh? Me to, well, kind of. What brings you here?" Why do you keep asking questions! Stupid Storm Cloud. "I... uh... live... with...." He leans a bit closer so I bury my face in Miles's pants. Why does he have to stare right at me like that? "Uh... was it something I said?" He asks Miles. "She's staying with me. I... well, I'll let you know when we get ready for Spartan training." "Spartan training? Who was nominated?" "True Will, Camo Flash, Dust Devil, and Rainbow Dash." "Really? Huh... OK then. If you say so. Well I need to get going...." "Send Spike over later today for training. I want to see how he's progressed while I was gone." "Will do. See ya Miles. Bye Shadow." I just nod into Miles's leg as I wait for him to leave. "He's gone now." Miles says. I look around a bit before letting go of Miles, feeling slightly foalish for doing that. "You really don't like meeting new people, don't you?" "...no." I say as I look down and scuff the ground a bit. "It's... I just don't like the way they look at me." "Trust me, I get that." He says as he kneels before me. "Really? How?" I ask as I look up to him. "I was an orphan till I was eight. People back home... well, because of the circumstances I was under, I got treated poorly. I know what its like to be judged by a group of people on appearance. But don't worry, everyone here is extremely friendly. You'll warm up to them soon enough, trust me." I give him a smile as I nod to him. Knowing that he was an orphan and that he likes it here makes it a bit easier being here... a bit. "*INHALE* SHADOW!" "GAH!" I yell as I cling to Miles again. Out of no where a pink pony comes running in front of us, pulling a cart along with her. "Welcome welcome welcome a fine welcome to you! Welcome welcome welcome I say how do you do... Welcome welcome welcome I say hip hip hooray! Welcome welcome welcome to Ponyville todaaay! Wait for it." She says as she slides to her knees. I look up to... FOOSH A door opens up on the cart and shoots us with confetti, nearly knocking us over. SPLOOSH From out of the horns of the cart comes some kind of batter that covers the three of us completely. "Looks like I mixed the confetti and the batter, again." She giggles as she steps back and eats the pony mold of batter.... huh? "Pinkie... what the fu...fu... why?" Miles asks as he starts wiping the batter from his eyes. Luckily I had my face against his leg, so I didn't get any in my eyes. "What? I had to bring my welcome wagon for Shadow. Not to mention I didn't get to welcome you to Ponyville either. *gasp* we should totally throw a welcome PAR.... SOCIAL GATHERING!" She yells as she begins to bounce around. "No." I say with all of my dread. "Uh... Pinkie..." "OH! We'll need balloons, streamers, punch, CANDY, I'll go get my party cannon and bring it to your place. See ya there!" She yells right before running down the street. *drip* "Is she really throwing a party?" I ask as I look to Miles. I see him cringe for a second before he looks back down to me. "Uh... I don't know. Most likely. Lets just... forget about that and cross that bridge when it gets here." He says as he continues to stare at the energetic pink pony. He shakes his head before looking down to me. "Uh... lets get cleaned up. Hmm..." "Please, lets not meet any new ponies." I ask as I try to give him my best puppy dog look. "Well.... I guess we could make it back home..." "Miles darling." We both look over to see two white unicorn ponies walking towards us. "Ew... what in heavens happen to the two of you?" "Pinkie Pie." "Ah." They both share a laugh while I try to blend in with the batter, but I can tell the filly can already see me. "I am Rarity dear and this is my sister..... well Sweetie Bell? Aren't you going to introduce yourself?" Rarity says as she pushes the filly forward. "But you just said my name." She says as she looks back. The mare gives her a look, making her roll her eyes. "Hi, I'm Sweetie Bell." "..." "Ahem." Miles says as he shakes his leg. "I'm... Shadow." I say as quietly as possible. "Why don't you two come with us to Carousel boutique to clean up? I'm sure it would be quicker then going to your home." "Thanks Rarity, I think we'll take you up on that." WHAT! "Why don't we head over now then." "Of course. If you will." She says before turning and walking away. Sweetie Bell stares at me for a second before running after her sister. "Do we have to?" I ask as I let go of Miles. "What? She's one of my friends you know. And I think you and Sweetie will be good friends. She actually has a group of friends looking for their marks..." "Hey, I have my cutie mark!" I defend as I wipe my flank off. "See!" "...... there's nothing there." "It's a shadow!" I say as I look to the shadow. ".... really?" "It's there..." I say as I look back to him. "I swear." "Uhuh. How did you get it?" He asks as he crosses his arms. "Uh...." "Yeah, didn't think so. Come on. Lets go at least get cleaned up." "But..." "No buts, lets go." He says as he walks off. I sigh as I follow after him. I really wish we could just go back and get cleaned up, but I don't want to make Miles mad. We make it over to this... well... it looks like something pretty vomited on a building, but whatever. "Sweetie why don't you take Shadow to your restroom while Miles uses mine." "OK, come on Shadow." She says as she runs up the stairs. I look back to Miles, who waves me along, before following after her. I make it to her room and see the door to the left. I walk over and find her getting the water ready. "Just a word to the wise, if you don't wash your mane, Rarity will probably do it herself." "What? Why?" "It would be a travesty against fashion!" She says as she takes a dramatic pose, then giggles. "My sister is a fashion designer, so she tends to focus the little things. She's really cool and all, but she tends to... well... do you know what uncouth is?" "Uh... no." I say as I try to creep my way over to the tub. "Oh... well... just don't worry about it. I'll just let you wash up then.... bye!" She says before running out of the room. I sigh in relief and shut the bathroom door, glad to have her out of my mane.... my now crusty mane. *sigh* I hate meeting new ponies. After I wash up I take a moment to tie my mane back before running down stairs. I can't wait for the sugary treats that await. OH! I hope they have double chocolate chip! My favorite! I look around but find the front room empty. Well... I don't really want to go looking around somepony else's house; so I guess I'll just wait here. Sweetie Bell wasn't lying, there are a lot of dresses in here. Not that I like these kind of things, but... why is Miles taking so long? Hmm, this one has sapphires in it. Nice. A little over shined for my taste, but still pre.... Miles needs to hurry up. OH MY GOD MILES! It's been like... five hours! (four minutes) I'm so BORED! What is taking him so long? If this continues on for any longer I might... "Hey Shadow..." "FINALLY!" I yell before running over to him. "Uh... OK. There's been a change of plans. I've got something I need to do real quick, so in the mean time I'll leave you to hang out with Sweetie Bell and her friends..." "But... but..." "I know I said we'd go shopping, but we'll have to do that when I get back. Here's a satchel that Rarity made for you, I left some money inside in case you want to get a snack. Be good, I'll be back before you know it." He sets the satchel on my hips and ruffles my mane before walking out of the room. "But... but..." "Come on Shadow, lets head over to Sweet Apple Acres. Applebloom and Scootaloo are waiting for us!" Sweetie Bell cheers before running out the door. I was about to run after Miles when Rarity got in the way. "Eh... dear, before you go... could I make one, tinsy, insy, change to your..." "WAIT UP!" I yell before charging out of the front door. As I run out and look around for Miles, but only find crowds of ponies walking around... looking at me... Oh look! A dark, hidden alley. I run over to it and duck behind a barrel, panting lightly from all of the staring eyes. "Hey kid, can you help me with something?" I look over and nearly fall over from the hooded pony standing before me. "Um..." "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. I just need to know where True Will is. Do you know him?" He asks as he steps towards me. "N-no." I say as I shrink away from him. "Hmm, well, if you ever see him, just let him know Daisy says hello. Can you do that?" "Uh.... sure... I... uh..." "Nice talking to ya kid. Hehehe." He turns away and limps down the alley. I glance back to the crowded street and determine that it's better then the creeper. Keeping my back against the wall, I make my way out into the open and... CRASH "OW! Watch it twerp!" Some pink filly yells as her grey friend helps her up. "Oh.. sorry..." "Why don't you watch where you're going you blank flank!" Snickers her friend. "O-M-G Silver! Another blank flank, can you believe it! They're, like, multiplying, EEEWWW!" "My flank isn't blank! Its just a Shadow!" I defend. They pause and look to each other before bursting out with laughter. I look around to see all of the ponies around us staring at us, staring at me. I start to back away when the two of them stop laughing and whisper to one another. "OOO, I like it." The pink one says with a wicked smile. "Ok, we're, like, sorry for laughing at you, and stuff. Want to come over and, like, hang out? My mom is making cookies." She says. I pause and look back to her. "Double chocolate chip?" "Are there any other kind?" She asks with an upward inflection. I smile to them and nod, getting them to giggle. "Ok, I'm Diamond Tiara and she's Silver Spoon." "I...I'm Shadow." I say as they turn and begin to walk away. I look around and notice how everypony is no longer looking at me. Maybe these two aren't so bad after all... ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles "What is it Alistair?" "Ruptor has awaken." "And?" "And I need your help to kill him." A/N: Shout out to Fireeaters for picking breakfast. Be sure to follow my blogs for OC roles and be sure to leave your OCs if you want them to appear. HI Ghost, no need to boast, lets have a toast! Brony on! Chapter 142 Friendly AdviceChapter 142 Friendly Advice Perspective: Shadow We ended up going to a small cafe that Silver Spoon's mom owned. It was a little pricey, but the massive cookies we got were totally worth it. I ended up getting one for each of us, seeing how her mom wasn't in. Good thing Miles gave me so much money. This is probably more then what Lantern and I would make in a month. "So is that frea... uh... guy your dad or, like, something?" Tiara asks before taking a bite of her cookie. "Um... I don't think so. Maybe? I've only known him for a day now, so...." "He must be loaded then to give you..." PUNCH "OW! Tiara!" Silver says as she rubs her arm. They begin to bicker to one another quietly, letting me eat my cookie in peace. "Anyway." Tiara says as she looks back to me. "So, since you're pretty cool and all, we're going to give you some friendly advice," she says as she leans in. "Watch out for the other blank flanks here." "Huh?" I ask with a mouthful of cookie. "Why?" "They pretend to be all nice and stuff but its all an act. They actually only want to make fun of you behind your back..." "Rude." Silver adds with a bit of sass. "Right? Anyway, there are three of them. Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Bell..." "I met Sweetie Bell already. She seemed nice... I guess..." "See? She was going to take you to her friends farm to make you do.. like chores and stuff..." "Could you imagine?" "Uh...." "I know. Trust me, they usually only..." "SHADOW!" I look back to see Sweetie Bell and two other fillies running up to me. "Where have you been? I thought you were following aft.... whats going on?" She asks as she eyes Silver and Tiara. "Iffin you two are tryin ta..." "See what we mean? We didn't even do anything and they're already trying to bully us." Tiara says as Silver sticks her tongue at the others. "WHAT! You two are the bullies!" Scootaloo says as the other two hold her back. *Munch* "Why don't you go and try some other stupid crazy thing to get your cutie marks..." "Why don't you... go... away!" Scootaloo tries, getting the other two to facehoof. *Munch* "That was almost as lame as your dumb scooter." "Whatever. I'm leaving..." "Good, nopony wanted you here anyway Scootaloo." "C'mon Shadow. You don't want ta be around these bad eggs." The other filly, Applebloom I'm guessing, says as she moves to my side. "She doesn't want to go with you loser!" Tiara says as she moves to my other side. I begin to shrink back as they continue to glare at one another. What would Lantern do... "Uh... guys?" I asks weakly, getting both their attention. "I... uh..." "See, she wants to stay!" "No she doesn't!" "Uh, yeah she does." "No, she doesn't." "Yeahuh." "NU-UH!" "GUYS!" I yell, getting both of their attention. "I don't want to go with either of you! I don't know you three and I only met you two a few minutes ago. As far as I can tell you both bully each other and don't even care what I have to say. I just want to sit here and eat my cookie on peace and quiet." I blurt out, getting stares from all of them. "Fine." Applebloom says before walking off. The other two look between her and me before running after her. "Uh..." "If that's how you really feel then fine! We'll go to then." Tiara says before they both get up and walk away, holding their heads up high. I sit there alone for a bit longer before the waiter tells me to buy something or leave. Not wanting to spend anymore of Miles's money, I walked off. I kept close to the buildings as I tried to avoid everyponys stare. I eventually get tired of all the ponies and decide to head back to Miles's place. I didn't really want to leave, some of the shops looked pretty interesting, but I couldn't stand another minute of all the staring. Usually I would hide behind my Lantern, but... I can't anymore. I never really noticed how alone I was without her. Without her... "... three day. Be sure to be there or we'll miss our chance." I hear Miles say in the distance. I look over and do a double take as I see him talking to a massive colorful gem dragon. "I'll be there. Don't worry." The dragon says before launching himself into the air. I stand there for a second, debating whether or not to approach him, until he turns back and sees me. "Shadow? What are you doing here? I thought you went out with Sweetie Bell and her friends." I look away from him as I think back to what happened. "What happened?" He asks as he begins to walk towards me. "Nothing." I say as my voice trembles a bit. "Nothing? Shadow you can tell me what happened. I promise I won't get mad. Did someone do something to you? Was it the crowds? Talk to me." I feel my eye begin to strain as tears begin to fall from my eyes. The moment I look over to him I lose control and begin to wail. "I'm so lonely!" I sob as I run over to him and latch on. "I want my sister back! I want to go home! I even miss the mines! Please! Take me back! I don't want to be alone anymore!" I cry into his chest. He doesn't say anything. He just picks me up and holds onto me lightly. So I just cry. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles We sit out in the field for who knows how long until she finally stops crying. I feel completely horrible. I knew this was coming, I just didn't know how to prepare for it. So I just do the only sensible thing and hold onto her. "Shadow?" I ask, getting her to shake her head. "I need to meet up with some people real quick, but afterwards we'll head home, OK?" I say as I stand up. She doesn't say anything, she just buries her face in my chest and tighten her hold. As I walk to Sweet Apple Acres I feel her begin to loosen up, even taking her face out from my chest. I suddenly pretend to drop her, catching her immediately. She giggles a bit, so I do it again; more dramatically and with more giggles. She looks up to me and gives me a smile, so I set her on my shoulders again and continue on. "Howdy there Miles, Shadow. What brings ya ta Sweet Apple Acres?" Applejack asks as she conveniently comes out of the front door. "I need to have a word with Big Mac, where is he?" I ask as we approach one another. I feel Shadow shrink back, trying her best to hide from Applejack. "Well, last night he went ta Fluttershys, but he should be back soon enough. Wanna hang around till then?" "Sure." "Miles." Shadow whispers to me as she taps the side of my head, "you said we'd go home..." "Yeah, after I talk to Big Mac and Storm. Sorry, but they need to hear this." I say, getting her to pout. "Why don't ya go see what Applebloom and the others are doin Shadow? I saw them runnin back to their club house." "Um..." "Actually we'll come back later." I say quickly as I feel Shadow start to shake. "I just remembered we still need to go buy a couple of things for Shadow here, right?" "Uh... right." She says quietly. "Sorry AJ, maybe next time." I say as I start to walk away. "Aw shucks, why don't ah go with y'all. I need to pick a few things up anyways, iffin y'all don't mind." "Not at all." I say, making Shadow hit me. I look back to her only to get a scowl in response. "Great. Jus give me a sec ta go get mah bags." she says before running inside. "Miles!" I complain. "What?" "I thought it was going to be just us." "Oh... well... sorry. It's a little late for that." I say as I take her off my shoulders and set her down. "I'll make it up to you though, after everything today we'll do something special, just the two of us." "... really?" She asks as her face softens. "Promise.... and I don't break my promises; or else." I say seriously. "Or else what?" "Exactly." I say, getting a confused look from her. So that's what its like to be Inficiunt... not bad. "....ah don't care. Ah need yer help ta bring the supplies back. You can play with yer friends later. Now lets go Applebloom." Applejack says as she marches out the front door, followed by a pouting Applebloom. "Sorry bout that, lets get going." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Shadow We make it back to the shopping district relatively quickly. The entire time I try to keep my distance from Applebloom, I can already tell she doesn't like me. I think Miles has noticed, cause he kept trying to move so we'd be next to each other, only to have me run to his other side. After a couple of tries he finally stopped trying and continued talking with Applejack. "... and then it'll be cider season." "What's cider?" Miles asks. "Its a beverage we make here on the farm. One of our best sellers, right Applebloom." "... yeah." She says distantly. "Whats the matter Applebloom? You haven't said a word since we left. Ah thought you and Shadow here woulda hit it off swell..." "Ah'm just... deep in thought ah guess." She says as she shoots me a look. I try to hide behind Miles's legs, but cant find a way to escape her glare. "A seven year old deep in thought... that's scary." Miles says with a chuckle. "Well, here we are. Lets get to it already." "We need ta head ta the blacksmiths, why don't we meet up at Sugar Cube Corner later fer lunch?" "Sounds good." Miles says before walking off. I glance back to Applebloom before running after Miles. Why does she look so mad? "So, what happened between you and the others?" Miles asks as we make our way through the street. "What do you mean?" I ask as I try to avoid the subject. "Applebloom is usually teeming with energy, and she seemed really upset back there. Last I checked you left with Sweetie Bell, one of Applebloom's best friends. Something happened. Are you going to tell me?" He asks as he comes to a stop and looks down to me, crossing his arms. "Promise you wont me mad." I ask as I shrink from away from him. "I promise. Now what happened?" He asks as he kneels before me. I tell him everything that happened, separating from Sweetie Bell, the stranger, meeting Silver and Tiara, the fight, waiting by myself. He doesn't really move, he just sits there and listens intensely. When I finish up I take a step back and wait for him to say something. "Well..." I ask as he continues to just sit there and think. "I think you should go to all of them and apologize for snapping at them." "But..." "Even if they were the ones being rude, that doesn't excuse you. Go apologize and you'll see which ones will be your friend." ".... right now?" "No. But the sooner the better. Now lets go get you your stuff." He says as he stands and walks off. "Sorry Miles..." "Don't be. I know if I were your age I would have probably started a fight with them." He says with a chuckle. "Really? Why?" "Growing up in an orphanage like the one I went to... it came with the territory." I look up to Miles for a second before continuing on, feeling slightly better. Shopping with Miles was a ton of fun. He's a total goof ball. No matter where we went he was able to make me laugh, Colgates dentist shop, some spa for shampoo, a candle store, soaps and brushes, and then some grocery shopping. Everything went fairly normally, but for some reason everypony made Miles pay WAY too much. He'd haggle them down of course, but fifteen bits for a brush is just outrageous. Once we bought the last of the groceries; luckily I convinced him to get mostly fruit, we started to head over to Sugar Cube Corner, until I saw them... "Something wrong?" Miles asks as he looks down the road. "No... hold on real quick." I say as I walk on without him. I take a deep breath as I try to calm my nerves for what I'm about to do. "Oh... its you. What do you want?" Tiara says with disgust. "Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, I'm sorry I snapped at you. I don't really talk to ponies and when you were arguing... it wasn't right of me to say what I did. You're not bullies and I'm sorry for snapping at you like that. Friends?" They look to each other for a second before bursting out laughing. I just stand there nervously as I wait for them to finish laughing. I can already feel all of the eyes on the street on me, but I ignore them as I wait for the to start talking. "HAHAHA... wow. No. We aren't friends you blank flank, get out of my sight!" Tiara says. "I can't believe you actually didn't figure out that we were messing with you." Silver says as she continues to giggle. "But thanks for the free cookies." Tiara adds, making them both laugh harder. I begin to walk back as they continue to laugh at me until I hit something. I look back to see Miles standing there, not looking happy. "Excuse me? I think you two should apologies for what you did to Shadow." He says firmly, getting them to stop laughing. "Ew, its that freak from the Everfree. What do you want?" Silver asks as they stare up at him in disgust. "What I want is for you two to act like decent people, but obviously that's too much to ask. Come on Shadow..." "Excuse me sir! What do you think you are doing?" From out of the building comes a brown earth pony with a black mane thats styled back and a red tie. He has three money bags for a cutie mark and has a tired demeanor about himself. "And you are?" "I'm Filthy Rich, Diamond Tiara's father. Who are you and why were you lecturing my daughter?" He asks as he closes the distance between him and Miles. "They seemed to have a problem with being humble. Now if you don't mind..." "No, I do mind. How dare you speak of my daughter like so! Leave and don't let me ever see you talking to my daughter..." "Or you'll what? Bitch and complain?" Miles asks, getting Filthy to glare at him. "Let me give you some friendly advice. To make a threat, you need to be threatening." He says as he towers over him. "Leave before I call the guard..." "The guard?" Miles asks with almost a chuckle. "I said leave!" Filthy barks. "Alright, alright. Don't get your panties in a bundle. We're going. But this isn't over Filthy. Not by a long shot. Lets go Shadow." Miles says before walking off. "Good riddance scum bags." Filthy says as he holds his head up high. Miles stops in his tracks and walks back to Filthy, getting right up against him. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you from over there. Did you call us scum?" He asks as he towers over him. "You heard me scum. Do us all a favor and leave already." He growls back. "Hehe. Scum you say? I've always hated that word you know. I don't think using it would be very smart." Miles says as he glares at Filthy, clenching his fist shut. "Scum... bag." "Ostendam tibi spumae!" Miles yells as he moves to grab Filthy, only to stop when Storm Cloud flew by and grabbed his arm. "OK then! I need to talk to Miles real quick..." "LET ME AT HIM!" Miles yells as he tries to break free of Storm Clouds grasp. "You have a good day now!" Storm says as he drags Miles away. I look back to Tiara and Silver before running after Miles and Storm. Once we get far enough away from them Storm finally lets go of Miles and lands before him. "Are you insane!? Why are you trying to fight him!?" "That fu...fu... he called me scum!" Miles says as he points back to him. "AND?!" Storm asks in astonishment. "*sigh* sorry, I got caught up in the moment. Shadow was trying to do the right thing and... things got ugly. You OK Shadow?" He asks me. "Were you really going to fight him because he called us scum?" I ask as I sit between the two of them. "Y-yeah... I was called scum a lot as a child. The word doesn't sit well with me. Sorry you had to see that." "Its alright, I'm fine." I say, getting a smile from him. "Since you're here anyway, I'm calling all Spartans tonight for a mission detailing..." "Already? You just got back..." "Don't worry, I'll explain later tonight. Just be at my place around midnight." "Alright." He says as he looks back. "See you then. And Spike should be at your place already." "Good. Catch you later then. Come on Shadow, lets get going." Miles says as he starts to walk off. Storm waves bye to me so I wave back before running after Miles. Why does he walk so fast? "Miles..." "Shadow, don't do what I did. I know sometimes people can get under your skin, but you're too sweet to be a fighter..." "Miles..." "I know that its not always an option, but try to use words instead of you fists..." "Miles..." "Trust me on that. Fighting... it should be a last resort..." "MILES!" I yell, getting him to stop. "Slow down, I can barely keep up." I say as I close the distance between us. He just smiles and laughs a bit, I'm not exactly sure why. "Sorry about that short stuff." "I'm not short! I'm just.... not tall." I say, getting him to laugh a bit more. "Ok, well not tall stuff lets get a quick snack before heading back home." He says as he walks up to some building and holds the door open for me. I run up and instantly become overwhelmed with the aroma of bake goods and sugary treats. "I like this place." I say as I close my eyes and inhale. "A bit crowded today." Miles says as he walks past me. My eyes shoot open and begin to dart around. This room is completely filled with ponies. I begin to quicken my breath as some of them begin to stare at me... "Shadow? You OK?" "Uh...." I mutter as even more eyes fall on me. I can feel sweat begin to form as I shakily begin to step back. "GLAN SAKES! Ah never thought ya make it Miles! Come on over here, we saved you two a seat." Applejack yells over the crowd, gaining everypony's attention. I sigh in relief and run to Miles side as he makes his way through the takes. We finally find one with Applejack, Applebloom, and two other ponies. "Thanks guys. Big Mac, Fluttershy, I don't think you had a chance to meet Shadow yet. Shadow these are a couple more of my friends." Miles says as he sets our bags down and takes a seat. I climb onto the other one ans look to the other two as they stare back at me. "Uh... hi..." The mare says quietly, even for my standards. "Eeyup." The other one says in a deep voice. "Hi." I say getting them to smile. I look back over to Applebloom and offer her a smile, only to get her to narrow her eyes. "Well now that that is out of the way, Big Mac, we have a Spartan meeting tonight at midnight. Be sure to be there." "Eeyup." "Whats happening? Why do you need him so early?" Fluttershy asks, being as quiet as before. "Something is coming. Something big. That's all I can say for now. But let forget that for now, have you guys ordered yet?" He asks as he takes a menu. "Waiting on you." Applejack says as she takes a menu as well. "I already know what I want. Here Shadow, take a look." Miles says as he offers me the menu. I hesitate from taking it, getting Miles to lean over. "Everything alright?" "I lean closer to him and whisper, "I can't read." I blush a bit as he nods slowly. "That's OK, I can't either," he says as he opens the menu. "But they have pictures." I take a look at all of the pictures, slightly drooling from all the sugary treats. "Do they have double chocolate chip cookies?" I ask as I take the menu, looking for them on the next page. "Of course we do." A new voice says from behind. I jump a little as I spin around, finding some stallion standing behind me. "Is that what you want?" "Uh..." "Make it two orders of that Mr. Cake." Miles says happily. "Of course, and for the rest of you?" He asks as he goes around the table. I look back to Miles and offer him a smile, getting one in return. He ruffles my mane a bit before turning to the others and listening in on their conversations. I look over and see Applebloom leave the table... *sigh* only for Miles. I let Miles know that I'm going to the bathroom before running after her, finding her upstairs in a hallway. "Hey... Applebloom." I say, getting her attention. "Shadow." She says as she faces me. "What do ya want?" "*sigh* look, I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to snap at you like that. It's just... I don't like ponies staring at me, and you and Tiara were staring right at me. I don't think you're a bully, and I'm sorry for snapping.... friends?" I feel myself begin to shake as she looks me over. Hopefully this will go better then with the others. "Alright. Friends." She says with a broad smile. "We blank flanks need ta stick tagether right?" "Hey, I have my cutie mark! It's a shadow!" I say in my defense. "Really?" Applebloom asks as she raises an eyebrow to me. "*sigh* no. Just... don't tell Miles, OK? I told him I have one and I don't want him thinking I'm a liar." I say as I lower my head a bit. "It's alright. Celestia knows the things I went through to try and get mine." She says as she looks back to her blank flank. We both share a small laugh before heading down the hall together. I don't know where we're going, but I feel better knowing I have at least one friend now. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles "Are you sure about this Miles?" Big Mac asks. "I can't really say no, can I?" I say as I look around the crowded room. "But, what if they say no?" Applejack asks. "I'll have Luna's support for sure, but Celestia may take some convincing." I say as I look back to them. "We can send the little ones to Moosden for safety. But Ruptor is coming, and from what Alistair told me, mobilization is required." Chapter 143 Your Trust Chapter 143 Your Trust Chapter 143 Your Trust After a rather fun and light heartened lunch Shadow and I decide to head home. It was good to see Shadow open up with Applebloom finally, I can tell they're going to be good friends. Hopefully the rest of them get along just as well. "I'd say its time for a nap, don't you think?" I ask as she lets out another yawn. "I'm good." She says sleepily. Yeah right. As we approach home I spot Spike sitting on the porch, waiting patiently. "Shadow, don't freak out about the dragon. He's alright." I warn her making her look up at Spike. "Well.... OK. If you say so." She says nervously as she slows down. "Do I have to meet more ponies today? I think I hit my quota for the day." "Well... him and a few more and that's it. Promise." I say as Spike walks up to us. "Hey Miles, who's the kid?" He asks as he offers to take a few of the bags. I give him a few and walk up to the porch. "Spike, this is Shadow. Shadow, this is Spike. He's my apprentice in magic." I say as they stare at each other. "Uh... hi." Spike says as he rubs the back of his neck. "Why do you have a foal following you around?" "Well, I'm taking care of her now. I found her in Detrot and... long story short, I'm her family now." I say as I look down to her. She offers me a smile, but doesn't say anything. "Come on, lets put this stuff inside before we start our lesson." I say as I open... "BARK BARK BARK!" "DOGGY!" Shadow screams as Hati and Lupus knock me down and run me over to get to her. "Doggy?" Spike questions as they get to work licking her face. I just moan as I get up and move inside. I need to make something for them to get in and out of the house without running me over . After a few minutes of opening things up and setting them where they belong we finally head out back to start training. Shadow decided that she wanted to watch, so I had her sit on the side lines. I had Spike demonstrate what he could do with fire and all he was able to do was create flames. "Well... its better then nothing... I guess." I say as I flare my hands. "Let move on then. The next part is going to be a little more difficult. Memory." "Memory?" "Yes. What I'm going to teach you is a more advance skill, but it will help you remember everything I've taught you. Once you learn this, you will not only be able to reach your own memory, but the memories of others. This is a great responsibility Spike. Do not abuse this power." I warn him, getting him to nod slowly. I motion to him to sit down as I do so, crossing my legs. "What is a memory Spike?" "Its... what you remember." He tries. "Explain that. How do you remember?" "Well... I don't know. Its just something I do." He says with a shrug. "Memories are created through emotions, sights, sounds, tastes, anything that effects you. I remember who you are because you are purple. I remember that Luna likes the stars because of how happy she was telling me about them. I remember my hatred of the Unfamiliar because of the anguish they've caused me. I remember that I like spaghetti because of the taste of it. Its part of how we learn as well. What do you remember from your lessons on fire?" "Well... I remember you telling me it was energy. Then I just felt for it and released it..." "Touch. Good. What else?" "Once I got it out I was... happy? I was glad to finally be able to do it. But... it felt like a part of me finally fell into place, making me feel whole." "That would be your soul. Learning human magic is intense. That feeling of connecting with yourself is unparalleled. Close your eyes." I tell him, getting him to close his eyes. "Think of the happiest moment of your life. Focus on it. What do you remember?" "Well..." "Take your time. Make sure the moment was one of pure bliss." I warn him, getting him to nod to me. "Mom." He whispers as a small smile grows on his face. "Good, focus on that feeling. Don't lose it." I tell him quietly as I get up. "I want to to stay here and focus on that feeling. It doesn't matter what memory you use, just keep that ideological at heart..." "All night." Spike moans as he looks up to me. "But what about when it gets dark?" "Well, I was going to allow you to move inside, but since you decided to complain about it, you get to do it on the roof. Get to it." He lets out a quick huff before getting up and flying up to the roof. I look over to find Shadow sitting there, eyes closed with a smile. I move over to her and take a seat as quietly as possible. "I think Lantern Light would of liked you Miles." She says quietly as she keeps her eyes shut. "She usually liked the good ones..." "Shadow, I want to do something for you. But in order for it to work, I would need to go inside your mind. Is that OK with you?" She doesn't say anything. Instead she just lowers her head a bit and nods to me. I flare my hands and surround my fingers in the white flames. "Will it hurt?" "No. Just keep those happy thoughts in mind, this wont take long." I take a long breath before slowly pushing my way into her subconscious. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Since her mind was focused on one memory, I find myself observing it. We're in a dark room, the sound of sleeping ponies filling he back. In front of me is Shadow and whom I presume to be Lantern Light sharing a bed. Shadow looks to be very young, a toddler at best, while Lantern looks only a bit older. "Lantern...." "Shhh... I'm right here." She says as she pulls her closer and nuzzles her forehead a bit. "I miss mama and papa." Shadow cries quietly. "I know. I do to. Don't worry though, I'll take care of you from now on." "But... what if they try to separate us?" Shadow asks as she latches onto Lantern. "I don't want to lose you to..." "You wont. I've worked out a deal for us to stay here. We'll never be separated, I promise little sister. I love you Shadow." "*sniff* I love you Lig..." "Light." A deep voice calls from the back. "It's time." "O....OK. I'll be right there." She says nervously. She looks back to Shadow and gives her a kiss on the forehead. "I'm going to step outside for a bit to talk to the forepony for a bit. Just lay down and go to sleep, OK. I'll be right back." She says as she starts to get up. "But..." "No buts. It's way past your bed time anyway. Goodnight Shadow." She says before walking through the crowded room towards the dark figure in the door way. She takes a moment to look back before closing the door behind her, heading down to what I could only imagine to be the beginning of something horrible. "Hmm... oh!" Shadow exclaims quietly before reaching under the bed. She pulls out a piece of paper and some crayons and starts to draw under the moon light. She goes through a few drafts before finally settling on a sketch of her and Lantern. Next she starts to fold the piece of paper until it makes a diamond. Just as she puts the final touches on it, the door opens up to reveal Lantern. She stumbles in until she finds the bed, where she collapses onto the side and curls up into a ball and gasps a few times, trying not to cry. "Lantern..." "Shadow? I thought I told you to go to bed." She says as she strains to not cry. "I know, but then I had an idea. Here, this is for." She says as she shows her the folded diamond paper. Lantern takes the diamond and starts to open the diamond, showing the picture within. "Shadow...." "Remember when Mama showed us how to make these? I remember just for you, do you like it?" She says as she puts it in her hooves. "*sniff* its perfect." She says before pulling Shadow in for a hug. "Please don't be mad, but I used the last of our paper to make it." Shadow says as she hugs her sister back, making her giggle. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. I pull back from the memory and have to move a bit, trying to stay strong for Shadow. "Whoa... that was weird." She says as she rubs her head. "Did you get what you needed?" "Yeah... yeah I did." I say as I look back to her. She shrugs and offers me a smile as she rubs the back of her neck as I try to think of a way to make this work. "Shadow... come over here a sec." I say as I turn and walk towards the center of the clearing. "Oh, OK." She says nervously as she follows after me. I take a moment to think about how I'm going to do this before I kneel down and lay my hands on the ground. I pull out some earth and forge it into a small diamond. Next, I enchant it to move the same way the paper one did. "OK, almost done, just follow me inside." I say as I try to hide it from her. "OK, what is it though?" She asks as she tries to take a look. "Don't worry, you'll see soon enough." I say as I step inside. I go through almost everything until I finally decide to take some gems out of a random light from the living room. I disenchant it and set an image from her memory inside before setting it in the diamond. "OK, close your eyes." I tell her as I kneel down. She scrunches up her face as she holds her eyes shut, practically shaking with anticipation. I grab her hoof and put the diamond in it, making her open her eyes. "Is... is this..." "Open it." She opens it up, making a hologram of the memory appear above the opening. "I figured you could use something in memory of Lantern Light. I know what its like to lose family, every memory counts. Trust me." She stares at the picture of her and her sister holding each other for a bit before she closes it and tackles me in a hug. "Thank you." She mumbles as she silently cries. I lift her up and hold her as she continues to cry. "HI MILES!" "GAH!" Shadow and I yell as I fall back. I look back to see Pinkie standing in the door way with.... "IS THAT A CANON?!" I yell as I jump back to my feet. "It's my party canon, duh." She says as she pushes it into the living room. "How else am I going to get set up in twenty minutes?" KRA-BOOM She pushes the button on top, sending confetti, streamer, and punch bowls flying all around the living room. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" I yell as I start to pull on my hair. Some how all of the stuff had landed where they would need to go, attach themselves perfectly, and not spill a single drop. "WE'RE HERE!" I look over to see a crowd of ponies streaming through the front door. Most of them I recognize, but there are a few I don't. "STORM! BIG MAC! Restrain Miles! Sweetie Bell, Applebloom, Scootaloo, get Shadow!" Pinkie commands.... where did she get the green helmet? TACKLE "NO! LET ME GO! I DON'T WANT TO GO! RUN SHADOW!" I yell as Storm and Big Mac drag me away. Perspective: Shadow I let out a scream as the three fillies begin to chase me through the house. Why are so many ponies here?! Why are they chasing me? I turn the corner towards the kitchen where I slide to a stop. "Don't worry Shadow, we're just here to have fun. Nothing bad is going to happen." Pinkie says as she steps toward me. I look back to see the others blocking me from behind. "I... uh..." "GET HER!" Scootaloo yells as they all jump towards me. I quickly jump to the left run for the back door. As soon as I open the door the Miles's doggies run in, blocking the others from catching me. I run out and head towards the tower thing as I hear the others chase after me some more. "Wait! Don't go under...." FLASH I blink a few times as I look around. I had ran under the tower, but now I'm under another tower in the middle of some other town. "Oh... my... god." I turn around to see two mares with really short manes standing in the middle of a street. One is a light tan earth pony while the other is a light cream unicorn. We stare at each other for a second before they both start to run towards me. Mid run one of them trips the other and they both fall to the ground. They begin to fight as they try to get ahead of the other.... "Um... can I help you?" I spin around again to find a moose standing behind me. "I'm... I'm..." I say as I back away from her. "It's ok." She says as she walks towards me. "My name is..." FLASH The second she had stepped onto the circle under the tower she had disappeared in a bright flash. I sigh in relief until I'm suddenly picked up as squeezed in a tight hug. "Oh my god you're so cute!" The light tan one says as she continues to hug me. "I'm... not... cute!" I yell as I try to wiggle out of her grasp. "Scotch! That wasn't fair! Let me hold her!" The light cream one complains as she runs over, rubbing her horn lightly. "Too bad, mine." She says as she turns away from her. "No I'm not! I'm..." "Butterscotch!" "Yes E'Calire?" She asks as she looks back. We suddenly become surrounded by a light cream aura and lift off the ground. "Magic is cheating!" Butterscotch yells as I levitate over to the unicorn, who then holds me lightly. "Magic is win." E'Calire says as she sticks her tongue out to Butterscotch. I push her arms out and break free of her grasp. As soon as my hooves hit the ground I make a run for it, only to crash into somepony else. "Whoa, watch where yer going now." Says the moose before me. "Any a yous see where Na-Da went?" He asks as he looks around. "Sorry Bantler, now can you move so we can continue to squeeze the cute out of that filly?" E'Claire asks as she steps towards me. I jump behind Bantlers legs and use him as a shield against these crazy mares. "Hmm... who are you anyways?" He asks as he looks down to me. FLASH "Shadow!?" "MILES!" I yell as I run over to him. He runs over and scoops me into his arms, holding me closely. "Oh sweet Barbra, don't use the Mico platforms unless I say so OK?" He says as he sets me back down. "Sorry... I didn't know..." "Who is Barbra?" Butterscotch asks in confusion. BOOM "NO!" Bantler yells as he runs to the billow of smoke in the back. "MY BISCUITS!" "What exactly was going on here?" Miles asks as he looks to the other two. "Uh... well..." "They were fighting over who got to hug me!" I yell as I glare at Butterscotch. "We couldn't help it! Do you see how cute she is!" Butterscotch defends. "I'M NOT CUTE!" I yell with a slight hop. Miles looks between the two of us before he starts to chuckle. "It's not funny." "It kind of is." He says as looks back to me. "Look you two, this is Shadow. I'm taking care of her now, so no more fighting over her. Now we're going to head back to Ponyville. I've already sent most of them home, though I'd still like you to meet most of my friends." "But... I don't want to meet any other ponies." "You trust me?" He asks. I think about it for a second before nodding to him. "Then don't worry about it. I know you'll love them. Oh, and you two." He says as he looks back to E'Claire and Butterscotch. "Want to join in? Pinkie brought a lot of food and I don't think we'll be able to eat it all." "Really? I thought we had to stay here to guard Moosden." Butterscotch asks as they look to each other. Miles looks back to them and just waves them along before stepping onto the platform. I look back to the others before running to the spot and flashing back home. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Luna KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK "UGH!" I mutter as I push myself up from bed. It seems like every other day I have to wake up in the middle of the day. I don't think my sleeping pattern will ever return to normal. I go to the door and begin to open it, only to have it fly open. "Princess Luna! I need your help!" Shinning Armor yells as he charges into my room. I look into the hall to see my two guards passed out on the ground. "I can see that." I say as I turn back to him. "What is it..." "They took Cadence!" He yells as he marches back and forth. "I knew I should of went but she said it would be fine and that she's done it before then I told her that I didn't feel right with her leaving in her condition but she said..." "SHINNING!" I yell, getting him to stop. "Slow, down. Start from the beginning." He takes a few deep breaths before looking me square in the eyes. "OK. Cadence was on her way to the Crystal Empire when I received a letter from her." He reaches into his armor and pulls out a scroll. I take it with my magic and open it up. 'fear' Beneath the word is a smear of blood. I look back to Shinning and roll the scroll up, feeling the gravity of the moment. "OK. You have my attention. How do you know this was from Cadence?" "I'd recognize her magic anywhere. I need to go to the Crystal Empire right away..." "Of course. But let me send you some back up." I say as I go to my dresser. "Thank you. I know just the squad to take...." "No. No royal guards will be going with you." I say as I start call. "Then... who?" "Hey there sexy lady." Miles says through the phone. "What's up?" "There's a problem here..." "I'll be right there. E'Claire, Butterscotch, I'm calling in a favor..." "Miles? Miles?" I ask. I look at the screen to see that he hung up, so I put my phone back in the drawer. "Miles? Princess, with all due respect, I don't think we need to call him in on this. This is an Equestrian...." "Do you trust me?" I ask as I look back to him. "With my life." He says as he straightens up. "Well I'd trust my life with Miles. So by default you trust him with your life. Plus, I don't think you'd get there fast enough without him..." "Damn straight he wouldn't." Miles says as he walks through my balcony door. "Where?" "How fast could you get...." CRASH "MILES!" We all jump back as Alistair crashes through the balcony doors and grabs Miles. "We have failed! Ruptor has went north! He's going to consume the King! I need your army NOW!" He yells as he shakes Miles back and forth. "OK, OK, just set me down!" Miles yells. Once he's down he looks around the room before looking out the opening in my room. "Luna, send me and Shinning to Detrot. We need to get air born." Chapter 144 Now And LaterChapter 144 Now And Laters FLASH "Wanna tell me the plan?!" Shinning yells as he runs after me. "Easy. Go to Amethyst, get in the Stella Predator, either kill Ruptor or distract him long enough for Alistair to meet us there, and rescue Cadence. Not necessarily in that order, what ever works." I yell back as we run through the market street of Detrot. "And where is the entrance to Amethyst?" "On the north front of Detrot." I say as I leap over a vegetable cart. "THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU HAVE LUNA TELEPORT US THERE!" "Do you really think I plan this shit out?" I yell back. I slide to a stop and was about to take a corner when some random guard stepped in front of me. CRASH "OW! Watch where your going!" The guard yells as we both get back up. I try to run off but the guard grabs onto me and tries to hold me back. "Where do you..." "FUCK THE POLICE!" I yell before I punch him across the face. Once he lets go I begin to run again, having a very confused Shinning Armor follow behind me. "Why did you punch that guard?" "OK, if you're going to question everything I do I'd suggest going back to Canterlot." I yell back as I make we near the egde of the city. We make it to the out skirts and find the spot with uneven ground. I flare my hands and begin sending us through the earth, digging faster then usual. With the added energy and less people we make it in record time. I show Shinning the hole and have him teleport us inside... "Greetings Miles Eremita, may I have your auto graph?" Easy asks from the cockpit of the AA-20. "Easy, is the Stella Predator flight ready?" I ask as I look it over. "Yes. All repairs have been made. Armament is fully loaded with eight side winders, eight hull breachers, four cluster bombs and four super archaic missiles..." "FOUR WHAT!" I yell, making Shinning jump a bit. "Four super archaic missiles, omega class." "Omega.... well, at least they aren't alpha's...." "What's a super archaic missile and why are omegas better then alpha's?" Shinning asks as he follows me around the jet. I pause and look back to him before going back to inspecting the wing flaps. "They are missiles as tall as me and have enough power to destroy entire continents. We've used them twice in history." "When was that." I stop and take a deep breath before look him square in the eyes. "The first time was what ended the purgian civil war. The second time was used to destroy the Unfamiliar home world." "Their... home world? How badly was it damaged?" "If you went to its coordinates today, you wouldn't be able to find it. It was the greatest 'victory' we made. After that, everything started going down hill. We lost our outer rim colonies, then the armada... once Diamond Halls fell... well, you get the picture." "Why would your people destroy their home world?" "The war had raged for nearly a hundred years by that point. The thought was, if we could do something so dramatic to their home, maybe we could beat them into submission. Clearly that didn't work.... Easy. Is the tunnel ready for use?" "Yes. All that is left is the powering of the Stella Predator and flight will be achievable. May I have your auto..." "Last order of business before we leave. Has the city been completely scavenged?" "Yes. All equipment has been stored and set aside for transport..." "Good. Give me one second then." I say as I walk over to the port as I begin to flare my arms. I pull the release lever, opening all of the gates, and lay my palms on the ground. I begin to pump my energy into the port, making it taller and wider. Once I get the entrance to the size I want, I start sending the energy down the tunnel. "This may take a while. Easy, gather all bots and gear up to move out. We're evacuating Amethyst." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Cadence I feel a coldness stiffening my left wing, so I roll onto my back and begin to open my eyes. Where ever I am, it's completely made of ice and snow. I tuck my legs in and try to keep my belly as warm as possible as I take in my surroundings some more. It looks like I've been locked away in some kind of ice tomb. Outside the ice I can see a powerful blizzard blowing away, snow falling heavily around me. "Hello?" I call out, only to hear my own voice echo. "HELLO!" I call out, raising my voice. "Greetings." I jump to my hooves as the ice around me turn to dark crystals, a dark billowing smoke screen forming around them. "Sombra." I hiss as his face appears through the haze. "How is this possible? I thought the crystal heart defeated you." "Defeated.... not destroyed..." He echos back. "What do you want from me?" I demand as I begin to charge my horn. "Protection." "I'm sorry... did you say protection?" I ask as I drop my magic. He doesn't say anything. Instead he retreats from the haze and reveals a part of the crystal. An image of a large black dragon flying through a country side appears. From the scale of all the buildings and plants around it, I can tell it's a massive dragon. What's odd though is that it does't seem to have scales, rather its made of... gems? Maybe crystals. "I don't get it. Why would you need protection from this dragon? You're a shadow, what could he do to you?" I ask, making his face re-appear. "Consumes all evil.... grows in power.... I must remain separate.... or all life will fall to darkness..." "I'll help you, but I need somethings in return first. I'm with foal, I need to get back to the palace..." "Done." "And I also need your word that you will remain as far from the Crystal Empire while this dragon hunts you. I do not want a single ponies life put at risk because of your selfish desires. Do we understand each other?" "... deal.... if you cross me... crystals shatter.... bones wither..... blood dries...." "And if you cross me." I say as I step towards him. "Lets just say a soul isn't as safe as we thought. Now send me home and I will call for aid..." "Swords.... spears.... all break.... "Yes. But there is one pony I know who can stand against an evil like this. Now send me home." "We shall see..." The smoke from the crystals suddenly begin to envelope me, practically suffocating me as I feel the energy wrap around. I blink a few times before I look around, finding myself in the court room of the crystal palace. "Queen Cadence! We feared the worst when your train disappeared!" Yells one of the servants as they all rush to my side. Somepony get her a blanket! Your highness, where were you? Why are you so cold?" "Bring me a quill and parchment." I say as I huddle up for warm. In a few moments I get a blanket draped over me as a quill and scroll are set in front of me. "What's going on? Is... has the king returned?" The maid asks as I start to write my message. "Oh my.... somepony get a doctor here!" I reach up and feel my forehead, finding my hoof covered in blood. I ignore it for now as I grab the scroll, roll it up and send it to Shinning. He'll go to Luna.... I know he will... ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles With a grunt I fall back and pant as I release my magic. It took almost two hours, but now we can move out at least. I look back to see a Shinning pacing back and forth, worry filling his eyes. "Easy... are the rest of the bots ready to move out?" I ask as I continue to lay on the ground. "Affirmative." "Good.... good.... have four Aquilas follow after me... the rest of our forces are to move on to.... my work shop... do not fight anyone unless under extreme attack. Try to avoid damaging any... property..." "Can we go yet? We can't afford to waste anymore time here." Shinning says as he continues to pace around. "Yeah... just about. Go ahead and climb in the back.... I'll be right there." I say as I push myself up and wipe the sweat from my brow. Shinning climbs up and looks around the cockpit, eyeing the rear seat with concern. "What exactly does the backseat pony do?" He asks. "Well, three things. Navigation, assisting power supply, and missile guidance from time to time. Lucky for you I have enough power to fuel it, and as for missile guidance.... I don't plan on using a super archaic missile, so you're good." I say as I climb up after him. "OK. If you say so.... have you ever flown one of these before?" He asks as he positions himself into the rear bench seat. "I've done the simulator a thousand times." I reply as I take the pilots seat and start to strap myself in. "Is that a yes or a no?" "Its a, I've practiced it a lot. So... kind of." ".... I don't want..." CLICK "Sit down and strap yourself in." I say as I lock the cockpit shut. I hear him mutter something, but ignore it as I grab the flight stick and throttle, feeding my energy into it. I watch the lights slowly make their way up, becoming green in a few minutes. "OK, now this may sting." "What? OW!" He yells as the black pressure straps wrap around us. One goes around each arm and leg as a thick one goes around my chest. From these straps I feel slight pricks of needles piercing me all over as energy is fed into me. I charge up the engines and begin to to a physical check on the wings. "Now there's one last thing Shinning, don't puke in my baby. There is an ejection button." "Uh..." "This is Captain Miles Eremita, do you read me Aquila?" I call out. "Aquila one sounding off." Says as a robotic feminine voice. "Aquila two sounding off..." "Aquila three..." They all call before finally reaching the last one. "Aquilas one through four are to tail after me, prepare for super sonic flight. The others are to assist with the mobilization of the ground forces. Be weary of flying persons. Keep sensors on high and avoid hitting anything at all cost. This is Spartan one, preparing for green light." I tighten my grip on the stick and throttle as I look to the lights on the right of the tunnel. RED "Shinning, take off is going to be... well... you ever been kicked in the balls before?" YELLOW "Uh...no...." GREEN "HERE WE GO!" I yell before pushing the throttle up. With a loud bang I sink back into my seat as we launch through the tunnel at amazing speed. As we go I continue to push the throttle up, gaining more and more speed as we begin to climb up. "GAAH! WHY DIDN'T YOU..." "Blast through coming in ten!" I yell as I prepare to break through the surface. "Wait.... WHAT!?" "FIVE!" "Five what? That wasn't..." "Blast through!" I yell as we reach the end of the tunnel. The end of the tunnel erupts in a bright blue light that we flight right through. After a few seconds of blinding light we find ourselves flying up into the air. I glance back to see the massive whole we just left through, debris falling all around it. "Shinning.... you OK?" I ask as I level out, waiting for the Aquilas to follow me out. "That... sucked." He mumbles back. I bank to the left and watch as Aquilas pour out from the opening, circling around it as more and more follow after. "OK, where are we going?" "Uh... north east. Just go toward the shore line and head north until you find the peninsula with the crystal castle. You can't really miss it." "Aquila escort in place, waiting for next directive." I look back to see the four Aquilas forming up behind me, so I turn northeast and push the throttle up. Once it hits the top I press the red button on the side and pull it back, all before pushing it up again, breaking the sound barrier. I push the throttle again and continue on, watching the world blur by. "How fast are we going and why don't I feel anything?" Shinning asks as I bring up the next level of speed. "Well... mach three point five at the moment, but we're about to slow down. We don't feel anything because of the bandages wrapped around you. They're enchanted to stabilize our bodies while under great amounts of pressure. There's more to it then that... but I kind of skipped the tutorial..." "Mach what?" "Look, don't worry about it. Is that the place we're looking for?" I ask as I slow down and begin to descend. Ahead of us is a large white structure that stands in the middle of a city. The area outside of the city looks to be covered in some kind of white substance.... "There it is! Land... somewhere. We need to get down there and..." "OK, OK! We'll land. Aquilas, this is Spartan one going in for a landing. Drop all legion bots along with me for support then circle above until further demand." "Copy that." I look over the landscape before deciding on an even plane on the north side. I throttle down and begin to descend, heading for..... BRUUBRUUBRUUBRUU On the hud of the cockpits some emerges dozens of red dots. I duck below them and try to level out only to get a few more to show up. "Why is the glass covered in red dots! What's going on!?" Shinning yells from behind as I try to maneuver through the red lights. "Its the sensor readout telling me that there's something solid in front of us. Now shut up while I...." "WATCH OUT!" He yells as a group of pegasi try to block our way. I roll to the right and drop a bit, losing momentum as I continue to try to land. "HOLD ON!" I yell as I extend the landing gear and push it down. We hit the ground hard, lurching forward as dust and debris flair all around us. I extend all flaps and slam the emergency breaks as warning signs fill the cockpit. Shit... were going too fast.... I flip the switch on the trigger and fire. Through the warning lights a bright blue light emerges as we suddenly jolt forward. I hold it for a few seconds longer until I feel us begin to move backwards. I pant a bit before looking back to Shinning, "I'm never riding with you again." He says as he relaxes a bit, sinking into his seat. "What? It was just like in the simulator." I say as I hit the release button, getting the straps to unattached themselves. I feel a small wave of healing magic wash over me before they completely pull back, allowing me to open the cockpit... "FREEZE ASSHOLE!" Yells some guy as he points his spear at me. I ignore it and begin unbuckling myself as Shinning does the same. "I am King Shinning Armor. Where is my wife." He says as he pulls himself out of the back. "*gasp* SIR!" He yells before bowing. "King?" I question while looking back to him. "I thought you were..." "Nevermind Miles." He says as he climbs out of the jet. I jump out and look up to see the Aquilas hovering above. A few seconds later the bottoms drop and sixteen legion bots drop all around us, scaring the crap out of the guards. "Don't worry about them," Shinning assures them, "They're... on our side. Where is my wife?" "She in the palace court room, waiting for you." One guard answers, getting Shinning to flash away. "Thanks for waiting, ass." I mutter, getting a spear in my face. "Watch your..." "Yeah yeah yeah, I'll be going to talk to Cadence now..." "THAT'S QUEEN CADENCE TO YOU WHELP!" He yells. "Whatever. Bots, on me!" I yell, getting them to form around me. As I march towards the castle I glance back to the white area.... something is out there... and its watching me. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Celestia "PRINCESS!" Yells a guard as he runs straight into the court hall, interrupting my meeting with some ponies from Trottingham. He stops and removes his helmet, revealing his blue mane before stepping before the other ponies. "There is a problem in Detrot that needs your attention... now." "Very well. If you'll excuse me." I tell the other ponies before teleporting to Detrot. I appear in the middle of main street, finding a group of bowing guards all around me. "What has happened?" "Its... well... I think you should see for yourself." One guard says. I nod to him and follow them through the street, heading towards the northern part of the city. "We have no clue what they are, but from what we can tell, they are made of metal. That's about all we can tell you." "Made... of metal. Isn't there anything else you could tell me about them?" I ask as I look around the buildings, noting how empty they appear to be. "Where is everypony?" "We ordered them to stay indoors until this matter is resolved." Answers another guard. "And... they run on two legs, have arms... well most of them do at least. Yellow eyes one featureless faces and... well..." "They have metal plating covering what looks like metal coils of muscle. We tried to stop one of them, but it just arrested the guard and restrained her. Any attempts to free her have been met with similar results." "Metal... yellow eyes... oh my." I pause for a second before galloping ahead of the others, having them chase after me. Miles, I swear... I slide to a halt when I leave the city limits. Emerging from a massive hole in the ground are thousands upon thousands of bots. High grade, utility, even the flying ones all bursting through the hole and running in perfect rank towards the north east. I look over and find four guards being held prisoner by a six bots, each one pointing their weapons at the them. Further down I can see several civilians in similar situations. I run over to them until four bots jump out of rank and circle around me, pointing weapons and shouting orders. "Back away! This is Terradisian business. All trespassers will be detained until further notice. You have thirty seconds to comply!" "I am here to retrieve the guards you hold prisoner. Release them at once." I order. "Negative. Twenty seconds." "Whose orders are you under?" "Grand Captain Miles Eremita. Ten seconds." "Miles... very well." I say before backing away from them. "Princess? What are you doing?" One of the guards asks as I watch the army of bots march out. "There is nothing I ca do here. These things are not a part of Equestria, they will not listen." "But... what about our..." "As long as they don't try anything, they should be safe. Send notices to all surrounding cities not to go near them until. I have to go to Ponyville to speak with their leader. Please make haste and I'll send word to you later on what's going on." I say before teleporting to Miles's home. "Miles!" I yell before slamming the door open. "AH!" A little filly yells before diving under the couch. I look over to see Butterscotch and E'Claire sitting there, faces covered in paint, looking just as scared as the filly. "Princess Celestia! What are..." "Where is Miles?" I demand, getting them to gulp. "He went to Canterlot to talk with Luna. Apparently something..." "Luna?" I ask in bewilderment. Of course she has something to do with this. She always finds a way when it comes to Miles. Without saying another word I teleport back to Canterlot, appearing beside Luna as she sleeps. "Little sister.... sister..... LUNA!" "HUH!" She yells before falling out of bed. "Sleeeeeeeeeep." She wines as she lays face down on the ground. "Sorry about that sister, but did you authorize for Miles to transport an army of bots through Equestria?" I ask as she starts getting up. "Of course not...." She mumbles as she climbs back in bed. "Why did you summon him here then?" "I... called him cause of...Shinning... Ruptor...." "Luna? LUNA!" I yell, waking her back up. "Huh? Cadence went missing... an... a bad dragon... Sombra....*snore*" I roll my eyes and turn to leave as she falls back to sleep. I swear, hit two o' clock and she practically becomes a zompony. I go down to the hall where I begin to walk around, aimlessly going anywhere just to think. What am I going to do about this? What can I do about this? We've already acknowledged Terradisia as its own political state, does this mean we have to create new treaties with them? Pfft, treaties with a government with only a hoof full of ponies in it, I'm sure Huaila Zhao would just love to hear that... "Your highness, does something trouble you?" Diamond Heart asks as he walks up beside me. I sigh and continue on my way, getting him to follow closely. "That bad huh?" "Its the Terradisians. They've mobilized their forces and now are marching through Equestria. I can't tell them to stop, they only listen to Miles and Miles.... Miles..." "The human you blame for the death of your parents?" He asks. "...yes. That one." I say, getting low hum from him. "So, he's moving an army. Where to?" He asks as we step out to the gardens. "I don't know. They look like they're heading towards Ponyville. Probably going to Topaz Falls...." "Are you certain of this." "When it comes to Miles, I'm never certain. I tell him one thing and he goes and does the other." "Hmm... have you tried speaking with him?" "I just told you I do..." "Hehe, no. Don't tell him things, talk to him." He says as he comes to a stop. "I don't follow..." "Don't talk to him as a Princess. Speak with him as if you were speaking to your sister, then he'll open up to ya. I've met a few stallions like him in my time. They jump first and think later. When you tell them to sit, they run. So, just run." "... and to think I'm the ancient leader." I say with a chuckle. "My apologies, but life is the greatest teacher." I nod a bit as we continue to walk in silence. Diamond has always been one of my greatest advisers. He always seems to know just what to say to put me in a better mood. If only his grandson was a wise as he was... "Forgive me princess, but these tired bones need a rest." "Of course." I say as he takes a seat on the ground. I look over and realize that we've ended up besides Discords statue. "Odd, isn't it?" "Excuse me?" I ask as I look back to him. "Three little fillies fight over a statues meaning and unleash him, a human comes, fights wars, digs up armies, turns hydras to ash and he stays dormant. Its almost like he's waiting for something specific this time." He says with a slight chuckle. "I fear that Miles will eventually unleash him, but at the same time I don't. Miles fights for what he views to be the right cause. Do you think chivalry is a good enough trade for chaos?" I ask as I look back up to the statue. "I can't answer that." He says, getting me to look back down to him. "Chivalry, chaos, right, wrong, all are just words we use to make sense of the world. What do you feel in your heart?" "My heart." I mutter as I look back up. "My heart wants me to trust Miles, but I know that he doesn't look to the future. He acts in the now..." "Well then, maybe if somepony were to speak to him about the future, he could bring them back to the now." I look back down to Diamond and watch him as he gets back to his hooves. "I must be off now, it's past my bed time..." "May I ask you one last question?" I ask, getting him to pause. "Remember the story you once told me about when you were in the Ape kingdoms? Why did you do what you did?" "Do you really want to know?" "I would as long as you're willing to share." "With you princess, always." He says as he turns back to me. He takes a deep breath before looking up to Discord. "I did what I did because I felt that my heart was taking me that way. What I really learned though was that your heart leads you to your destiny, but your destiny isn't what you always want. Take care, Princess Celestia. I must be off to bed now. I will see you again, later." "Sleep well." I say as I lay down and think about what he said. Destiny.... Chapter 145 Consuming KingsChapter 145 Consuming Kings Perspective: Miles After dealing with what seemed to be every prissy guard I finally make it to the court room. Shining and Cadence are in front of the throne holding each as a nurse tries to wrap a bandage around Cadences head. I wait for the nurse to finish wrapping her up before walking up to the throne. "So I take it Ruptor isn't here then." I say, getting them to look over. "Our scouts haven't seen him yet." Cadence says softly as she lays her head on Shining's shoulder. "He could have gone through the arctic north." "Right... and how did you escape?" I ask, walking slowly to think to myself. "Sombra only captured me to ask for help-" "Wait, what?" Shining asks as he breaks off the hug to look her in the face. "He asked.... for help. He's still alive?" "Yes, he is. And he believes that Ruptor is coming here to consume him..." "Alistair did say something about him doing something like that." I say as I look out a nearby window. "How do you keep the white stuff from taking over your land?" I ask as I peer out and take in the surrounding. "The crystal heart keeps our land safe. Its powered by the hope and love of the ponies here. If fear and despair were to rule... well..." "What?" I ask as I look back to her. She considers something before looking back to me with fear and determination in her eyes. "If Sombra is alive, then he would take that opportunity to take over again. But if Ruptor were to consume him.... Sombra believes that the land would fall to darkness-" "Darkness? Where is the crystal heart?" I turn back to them. Given the circumstances, I can only really think of one course of action. "We can't tell you." Shining says. "We have to keep its location a secret until we're certain the threat is over." "Understood. So you two know where it is then." I ask, getting nods from both of them. "Alright. Bots! New directives!" I shout, getting them to stand at attention. "I want half of you to protect Shining and the other half to protect Cadence. They hold information vital to the protection of these people, so follow their orders until I say otherwise. Understood?" "SIR!" They shout before running over and taking positions around the throne room. "I'm jumping back into the stella predator and waiting for Ruptor to show up. I'll try to draw him out to the west before engaging completely. Stay here and keep safe-" "Thank you Miles." Cadence says with a slight bow. "I knew you'd be able to help." "Spartans will always be there for those willing to call on them. Stay inside and hopefully this will be over shortly. Take care." I turn back to the doors and begin to walk out, only to have Shining teleport me to my jet. I take a deep breath before climbing back into the cockpit. A gem dragon versus human engineering... this should be interesting. Perspective: Celestia "Tia.... Tiiiiaaaaaa.... CELESTIA!" "HUH!" I gasp as I wake up. I look around to find myself laying in front of Discords statue. I look up to Luna and notice that it's night time. "Did you raise the moon and sun without me?" I ask as I stand up and stretch out the knots in my back. "Sorry, but nopony wanted to wake you... that is until they told me where you were." She says with a playful smile. "I guess that's pay back for waking you earlier." I say with a slight chuckle. "How long have I been out here?" "A couple of hours. What were you doing here by yourself? Is everything alright?" I eye her for a moment before shaking my head. "Well... no. Everything is not alright." I admit, getting a concerned look from her. "I must... speak with Miles as soon as possible. There are... a couple of things we need to discuss-" "What exactly do you need to talk about?" Luna asks as she raises an eyebrow to me. "... Destiny." I say before walking towards the castle. Luna stands there for a second before walking after me, thinking deeply about what I said. "I'll come with-" "No. This is something I need to ask on my own-" "But... I know there are something that he will only say around me. Please, let me come along as well." I pause and look back to her, seeing the conviction in her eyes. "Is there something you wish to tell me?" I ask as I face her. She takes a deep breath before looking me in the eyes. "Yes. But Miles should be here for it as well." She says before walking off, holding her head high as she tries to not look me in the eyes. What have they done now sister... Perspective: Miles With a sigh I bank to the right and continue circling around again. I've been up here for several hours now and haven't found and signs of Ruptor. Alistair hasn't shown up either, and I'm starting to worry. It shouldn't have taken this long to fly here, unless something got to him. "Sensor reading done, all clear." Informs one of the Aquilas. "Fuck me over.... stick to the crystal castle, I'm going out for some recon." "Copy that." I bank left and throttle up as I speed out to the white area. The winds here hit hard against the jet, but I hold the stick steady as I look out for any signs of movement. "Come on.... where are you?" I mutter as I drop down a bit and look over the white landscape. I think it's ice, but I'm not entirely sure- "WARNING WARNING large air born object at ten O'clock." FINALLY! I throttle up and head towards its general direction. "Give me a reading, what am I looking for?" I ask as I peer around the cockpit. "A mass of energy vortex ahead in sixty seconds. Caution is advised." "Acknowledged." Energy? What it he up to? I level out and continue my search for the vortex of energy, unsure of what that would look like. "WARNING WARNING energy mass moving. Evasive maneuvers are suggested." "Moving?" I bank to the right but continue to look for- "FUCK!" I yell as a massive black cloud nearly crashes into me. I pitch down and throttle up to avoid being hit by the massive dark form. Once I'm clear I pull back up and away from the being to get a good look at it. "Oh sweet Barbra..." I mutter as I look over the massive black dragon. Its head is easily larger then my jet while the rest of its body seems to be covered in a dark shroud. Its eyes are bright green with trails of dark purple energy trailing away. But what concerns me the most... is the massive red horn on it's head. As I continue to look over what I assume to be Ruptor, he looks over to me and we stare at each other for a few seconds. FOOOOOOOOSH "Miles." Luna says bitterly as she works on something in the dinning room. I get up from my seat in the living room and walk over to her. "Luna?" I ask as I look around. How did I get home all of the sudden? Was that a teleportation spell or something? "Luna I-" "I'm leaving you Miles." She says as she turns to me and tosses her bracelet at me. I fumble to catch it as she walks past me, looking away from me as she holds her head high. "Don't ever talk to me again." "Wait what?!" I yell as I run in front of her. "What are you talking about? What's going on? Why are you-" "OUT OF MY WAY FREAK!" She yells as she steps around me. I feel my heart begin to race a bit as I watch her walk out the door- "Miles..." "LUNA!" I yell as I run after her. "Hold on, lets talk about this-" "There is nothing left to talk about. Go back to your hole in the ground and die already you murderer!" Luna spits back. "Lu-" "LEAVE!" She yells as she faces me. "Leave before I kill you.... like how you killed my father." "Miles..." "Luna... I... I didn't...." "You didn't what?" She says a she steps towards me, making me step away from her. "You know very well what you did to Tempus. If it weren't for you he'd still be alive and so would my mother. You killed them Miles, and I'm leaving you because of it..." "Miles... awaken... "But.... I love you..." I say as tears begin to fall. "And I'll kill you if you ever come near me again..." I open my eyes slowly as a bone chilling wind roars over me. I look around and find myself slumped over the control panel of my jet. I've seemed to have crashed in the ice. I try to move, but find my limbs too numb to budge. "Miles..." I look over into the wind and see the shadow of something. I can tell that its a centaur, but other then its basic form I have no clue what it looks like. "Why do you fight?" "I.... must..." "I can give you peace. I can guide you home. Just close your eyes.... and sleep." I take a few deep breaths as I feel my eye lid grow heavy. I can feel a warmth grow over me as my eye lids near one another. Sleep... yeah... that sounds... "No." I whisper as I try to move again. "No... sleep can wait..." "Why do you defy me? I am your Shepard, listen to me and you shall know ever lasting peace..." "But there's so much to do. I have to get up... for her." I rasp as I try to move my arms, finding it nearly impossible. "It'll never end. Everything that will come... everything you will do, why not end it now? Forgo the misery and the pain, follow me to your destiny..." "Destiny?" I ask blearily as I fumble with the controls. "Yes. It is all of our destinies that we succumb to death. Take my hand," The figure says as it reaches towards me, revealing a black arm and hand. "Rest awaits you." I stare at the hand for a while, contemplating my choices. Rest... Rest sounds good right about. I'm tired. Cold. Rest sounds like a miracle right now. "No." I rasp as I put even more effort in trying to get up. "No?" It asks as it takes its hand back into the icy wind. "No. You're offering me the easy way out. Nothing gained easily is worth having-" "You will be miserable. Cause pain and suffering for all those around you-" "Its okay. The pain, the suffering, we can take it. We have each other, we have our good deeds... good memories, we can take anything. I can't rest now.... I can still make a difference... no rest... no..." I mutter as I feel my energy begin to fail. "We shall see... but remember. Death... is only the beginning." The figure says as it fades away, only to have a new smaller figure appear behind it. "MILES!" Shining yells through the wind. "Sh... Shi...." "MILES!" He yells again as he gets closer. "One more fight.... the I can rest.... one.... destiny..." I wake up to the feeling of warmth all around. A thick red blanket is wrapped around me as I lie beside a small fire. It looks like I'm in some kind of icy cave. The only sound I can hear are the crackling of the fire and the outside. I look over to see Shining sitting beside the fire, trying to heat up an apple. "Shining?" I rasp as I begin to sit up. "Miles!" He gasps as he runs over to my side and helps me. "I was worried you wouldn't wake up." He jokes as he offers me a canteen. I take it and gulp down the water, loving the warmth it gives me. "What happened? I remember the dragon... then Luna... she said...." "Don't worry about that Miles." Shining says as he puts a hoof on my shoulder. "That's what Sombra's power does. It makes you live your greatest fear. It didn't actually happen. Everything is alright..." "Then was that person talking to me... he sounded... I don't know..." "What pony? When?" "He was trying to get me to go to sleep in the jet... did I crash?" I ask as I look up to him. "Yeah. Luckily you slid in a soft patch of snow, so your flying thing still works... or at least it looks that way." He says as he walks back to the fire and sit besides it. "What happened? Did Alistair ever show up?" I ask as get up and move closer to the fire. He doesn't answer right away. Instead he just sits there, staring into the fire. "Yes... yes he did." He says as he stands and moves away from me. "What happened?" "Your bots told us you crashed, so I went out to find you. When I left the city limits Ruptor made his move, but Cadence was able to shield him away....that's when Alistair showed up and fought him... he's no longer with us. That was yesterday..." "Then lets get going." I say as I try to push myself up, only to fall back down. "You can barely stand, let alone fly that thing-" "Yeah, but how much longer do you think Cadence can hold that shield against Ruptor?" I ask as I try again, succeeding this time. I give a few test steps before walking around, trying to work out the kinks in my legs. "We cant afford to wait." He sighs as he goes to his bags and pulls out a scarf and... some weird looking glasses. "We can at least go find your vehicle-" "Do you know where it is?" I ask as I take the scarf and wrap it around myself. "Yeah, I left a magical marker so we could find it in the snow storm. Are you sure you can do this?" He asks as we make it to the edge of the cave. "... I can take it. Lets go." I say as I march out into the icy storm. Perspective: Cadence "Queen Cadence!" One of the maids yells as I fall to the ground of my balcony again. "I'm fine... just a little tired." I say as I she helps me back to my hooves. "Using this much magic can't be good for the baby ma'am-" "I know, but I have to. We cannot allow Ruptor to enter." I say as I look back out to the outskirts of the city. He's been waiting at the edge of my field for the past day, just staring in. I cant believe Miles wasn't able to defeat him. "Maybe now we should call for the other Alicorns, Celestia and Luna..." "I can't. I would have to drop the shield in order to send the message..." "ENEMY DETECTED!" Shout all of the bots around me as they circle around me, encasing me behind their large shields. "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" CRASH The bot behind me buckles back as something crashes into it. The maid runs away calling for the guards as the rest of the bots run to attack the.... "What are you?" I ask as I get a look. It seems to be a being made of dark crystals, in the form of a small dragon. It has long wings and a tail that to end in heavy crystals. "Where is the crystal heart!" I yells as it charges at me, only to get the bots to jump in the way. They beat it back with their shield and begin to slice and stab at it. I hear the sound of crystals shattering as they continue to beat it "GIVE ME THE..." "AHH!" I yell as two more drop behind me, gaining on me quickly. The bots begins to scatter as they engage the other crystal dragons. I look around for a way to escape, but can't find a way out of the carnage... I need Shining here... he would... "AAAAHHHHHH!" I yell as I feel my magic begin to surge. I look back to Ruptor to see him dragging a claw over the shield, cutting through it with total ease. "PROTECT THE QUEEN!" Yells a guard as the doors fly open, but not before a dragon grabs my horn. He rears up slowly as he lifts me into the air, glaring into my eyes. "Ruptor." I growl as I feel my magic fail me, making the shield fall. "Where is the heart?" Ruptor asks through the crystal dragon. "Somewhere you'll never be able to find it-" "Then you all shall die." I look back to the real Ruptor to see him begin to charge through the city, galloping straight for us. SMASH In the blink of an eye two of the bots had moved beside me and brought their shields up, smashing them against the arm of the dragon and shattering it. I fall to the ground and am instantly surrounded by guards. "COME WITH US-" "RUPTOR!" I yell as I jump to my hooves and run to the edge of the balcony. I begin to charge the last of my magic as he continues to charge the castle, destroying anything underneath him as does so. KA-BOBOOM From above two trails of smoke flew down and collided with Ruptors face, causing massive explosions that stopped him in his tracks. The white craft from before roars above and pasts Ruptor, getting him to jump into the air and fly after him... FLASH "Miss me?" Shining asks as he appears beside me. Before I could do anything he charges his horn and blows away one of the crystal dragons. I look down to the city before I get an idea. "Shining! We need to get the crystal heart!" I yell as I gallop through the carnage of the fight. "WAIT WHAT!?" Perspective: Miles As I jet past Ruptor I stay level for a bit to let Shining teleport to the castle. Once he disappeared I banked away from the city and speed up. Sure enough, he gives chase. "All Aquilas are to fire on dark target alongside me. I will mark all other target-able points." I say as I turn in enough to see Ruptor. I slide my finger on the hud and cross his wing joints, head, and stomach; leaving red streaks on the hud. "Do not move in front, his attacks are all forward based." "Copy that." "Lets do this then." I turn in tight and lock onto his head again. I let loose two missiles before he looks over to me, making me bank right and speed off. I hear the missiles explode as his energy blasts roars behind me. I pitch up and push the throttle even higher, gaining altitude quickly. I roll over and pull back, facing back towards the ground. I take aim for him again and fire off two of the cluster bombs. The bombs fly down until they're three fourths the way, where they burst open and shoot out dozens of little red lights. The lights whirl around until they all find their way to Ruptor, each exploding against his face and joints. Side winders and clusters don't seem to have an effect on him... I need to try the hull breachers. As I jet off to the side, trying to avoid his gaze, all of the Aquilas open fire on Ruptor. He breaks off his chase and tries to bite one of the Aquilas as they swarm around him, firing with their chain guns all over him. As I descend I lock onto left wing joint and fire all of my hull breahers. Four green lights chase down to him and collide into his joints, making him roar in pain. I push the throttle up and line up with the base of his back. I pull the flip the switch and pull the trigger as I pull up, sending a massive column of blue energy up his back. He roars out again as he hits the ground, sending the snow high as he crashes down. I signal for all of the Aquilas to form up on me as I turn back to the Crystal Empire, gaining altitude slightly as I do so. "All missiles used have been ineffective in destroying the target, further orders sir?" One of the Aquilas informs me. "Aquila one, patch me through to a legion bot to speak with Shining Armor." "One moment please... patch made." "Shining can you hear me?" I ask. "Miles? Uh... yeah. Did you do it? We've taken care of the smaller dragons here, how's it going with Ruptor?" He says with winded breath. "Nothing I've used can breach his body, but I have one last resort. I need you to shield off the entire city-" "The entire city?! Why, what are you doing?" "What must be done. You have sixty seconds until I fire." I shut off the com link and bank back towards Ruptor, seeing him getting back up. I curse my luck as I see the massive holes on his back begin to regrow."Aquilas three and four, head down there and get him to chase after you. Bring him out about a hundred kilometers before heading straight up." "Copy that." They both say before jetting off for him. I see him inhale as he looks up to me, so I roll to the left and dodge his energy blast. "Aquila one has been shot down." One of the Aquilas informs me. I look back and see the flaming metal falling towards the ground. "Understood. Continue on past directives." I say as I race ahead, the dark energy beam chasing after me. The beam suddenly stops when the sound of missiles exploding sounds off. I look over and see Ruptor try to bite the Aquilas as they taunt him. His horn suddenly glows red and the two Aquilas stop mid flight and crumble. "Shit... this is Spartan one, clear the area for super drop." I say as I slide my finger over the panel and select the super archaic missile. "Warning. Ordinance selected is a high..." "Understood. Firing for effect." I say before hitting the button. I feel the jet shift a bit as the large missile drops from below. Perspective: Shining Armor "...I don't know what he's going to do, he just said to shield the city." I say as I escort Cadence to the balcony, the sound of crystals crushing under our hooves filling the room. We had a few casualties, but thanks to those bots we were able to beat back those dragons. "I don't like it, but okay. Do it." I flair my horn and shield off the city in a matter of seconds. As I hold the spell up, Cadence goes to the edge and lifts up the crystal heart, getting all of the ponies below to cheer. I walk up beside her and nuzzle her cheek a bit as she teleports it back to its rightful place, getting the city to turn back to crystal. "Did Miles say any-" Cadence was silenced by a blinding blue light from the horizon. I pull Cadence to the side and shield her from the light when I feel a tremendous amount of energy hit my shield. I push all of the magic within me to keep it up, but feel it begin to crack. "What is that!" Cadence asks as she latches onto me. As I feel it go to its brink, the energy begins to fade away, leaving my shield up. I look back to see a massive blue mushroom cloud rising up... "Shining, drop the shield I need to land." The bot behind me says for Miles. Even though I heard it, I didn't do anything. This must of been one of the super archaic missiles Miles spoke of... "Shining!" "Right... right..." I say as I release the spell, allowing him and two of the other flying machines to enter. "Are you okay?" I ask Cadence as I look down to her. "Yes but... what was that?" She asks as she looks out to the horizon. "It... I'll have Miles explain it." I say as I look back to the guards behind me, seeing them all stare out to the horizon. "Escort Miles here after he lands. We need to have a word with him immediately." Perspective: Miles After another great landing and another friendly escort I enter the court room, finding Cadence and Shining embracing one another again as the rest of the bots surround them. I think two or three are missing while the rest look as if they've been beat to crap. Scratched up shields, bent swords, ones even missing an arm! "You guys needed to see me?" I say as I glare at the two guards behind me. "Yes, what was that-" "I thought you didn't ever want to use those types of weapons!" Shining shouts as he lets go of Cadence and marches towards me. "I never said I would never use one. My weapons were ineffective against Ruptor. It was the only way. I'm sure all of the living ponies here would agree with me." "But..." "Don't worry, other then the massive crater there aren't any other side effects to worry about. Those bots with their Aquilas still active latch back up, the rest of you stay under Cadences orders." I say before turning away from them and begin to walk away. "Miles." Shining says, getting me to pause. "Not every power should be used, there is a line." "Line?" I ask as I look back to him. "Let me tell you something about that line. It's not straight. You wanted me to come here to kill him and to protect your people, did I not do that? I didn't want to use that weapon, but that was the only way of defeating him. DO NOT lecture me about holding back. I've held back enough, no more. If you don't want those kind of results then don't ask for my help." I say before marching right out of the room. Chapter 146 One DayChapter 146 One Day Perspective: War "DEATH!" I yell as I burst into his chambers. "WHY DID YOU ALLOW RUPTOR TO DIE!" I march straight up to him and wait for him to respond. Instead he just stands there, sharpening his scythe. SHINK SHINK SHINK "Well!?" I yell as I take a step towards him. "Answer me!" SHINK SHINK SHINK "DEATH!" "Do you think me a fool?" He asks calmly as he continues to run the stone down the length of his blade. "I do now, why would you have him go just to..." "Who am I War?" ".... Death." "And why would Ruptor dying be a problem for me?" He asks as he checks the sharpness of his scythe with a finger. "We need him for the herald of dragons. Without him we...." "I'll ask you again, who am I?" He asks as he sets the scythe aside and looks to me. "*sigh* forgive my intrusion." I say with a slight bow. "It is alright. You think in the mortal scheme, the thoughts of a god would be far too complex for you comprehend. But I am merciful. Go now. I must meditate now." He says as he turns away from me and lays down, holding his bag close to himself as he retreats to his mind. "If you don't mind, I have one last question." I ask as I step to his right. "Very well." "Why speak to the human? Why not just kill him and take the power? And don't give me that mortal thoughts crap. I'm over two thousand years old..." "Age and mortality do not go hand in hand War, but I will humor you this time. He intrigues me. I haven't seen one likes him since... well, since my epiphany. But, that was a sad day that I do not wish to remember." He says as he reaches up and runs his fingers down his mask."Why speak to him you ask? He is far more precious to me alive then deceased; for now at least. Let him live in ignorance for the time being. One day my blessing will find him, find everyone. Time.... is on my side." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: E'Claire "But I don't want to go to bed, I'm not even tired." Shadow says as I escort her up to her room. The past days been a ton of fun for the three of us. We played almost all of the time, then went to her friends place to play some more, but I've nver felt so drained in all of my life. There were a few times when she started to get sad, but Butterscotch and I cheer her up almost immediately by either getting her to laugh or giving her a hug. "Shadow, it's almost ten, you need to go to bed." I say as lovingly as possible. "But..." "Bed Shadow. We'll see you tomorrow morning OK." I say as she open the door to her room. "Fine." She says as climbs into bed, need a bit of help to do so. "Can I..." "If you drink another glass of water your bladder is going to explode..." "No, if Miles comes home tonight can I get up to say hi?" She asks, puckering her lips as she gives her best puppy dog face. Oh no you don't. I saw that work on Butterscotch, I'm not falling for that one. "Maybe. It depends on the time he gets here. Good night Shadow." I say as I tuck her in. She looks a little shocked that I didn't fall for it, better let Butterscotch know she got played. "OK, good night Claire." She says as she look over to the door and puts a large smile on her face. "*gasp* can Puppy sleep with me!?" "Uh.... I don't know..." I say as I look back to the wolf. I know Miles says its safe, but I can't help but be nervous about a full grown wolf sleeping in the same room as Shadow. "Puppy! Wanna sleep with me?" She asks, getting him to run in and jump onto her bed. He immediately goes for the pillow and lays on it. "Hey! That's mine!" She says as she try to push him out if the way, only to roll onto his back. "NO, not belly rubs! I want my pillow back!" She begins to pull on the pillow, trying to get it out from under him. She stands up and begins to pull with all her might... "WHOA!" She yells as she fall back, empty hoofed. "I don't think you're getting it back." I say with a chuckle. "Here I'll go get you one from the other room." I says before heading to the other bed room, finding Butterscotch laying face down on it. "What are you doing?" I ask her as I approach the bed, getting a long groan from her. "I'M SO TIIIIIIIRRRRRED!" She whines into the pillow. "Why do foals drain all of the energy from me?" "That's how they have so much energy, they drain it from older ponies." I say, getting her to look up to me and pout. "I'm not old..." "You're twenty five..." "But... that's like the new eighteen." She says with hope. "No, eighteen is eighteen and twenty five is twenty five. Now give me that pillow, the wolf took Shadows." I say as I bite onto it and yank it out from under her. "Claire." She says softly, getting me to pause and look back to her. She sits up on the edge of the bed and looks around a bit before sighing and looking me in the eyes. "Being around Shadow has got me thinking... you know... about us having a foal..." "Need a penis to do that." I say as I hold the pillow in my mouth. "I know, but... maybe once we get the whole Terradisian thing down... maybe... adopt? Or just find a suitable stallion and get him drunk, something." She says as she holds onto her knees, looking away as she thinks to herself. I set the pillow down and take a seat beside her, leaning against her as she does the same. "Sure. Not today obviously but... one day." I say as I wrap a hoof around her. We look to one another as we begin to drift closer and closer... "PUPPY! GIVE! ME! MY! PILLOW!" Shadow yells down the hall, getting us to chuckle as we both get up. "Let go diffuse that before getting to that." I say as I begin to walk out of the room, picking up the pillow along the way. "Do you think Miles would get mad if.... if... do you feel that?" Butterscotch asks as we enter Shadows room, finding her on top of the wolf, trying to rock him off the pillow. I stop and stay still, feeling a slight tremble under my hooves grow. "SHADOW! Under the bed now!" I yell as I run over and pick her up. We both slide under the bed as the shaking begins to grow more and more violent. "Whats going on!?" Shadow asks as she latches onto me, burying her face in my neck. "I don't..." FOOOOOOSH A loud roaring sound fills the room as a bright light shines through the window, brightening the room. I look over to Butterscotch as I try to shield Shadow from the light. She stares at the two of us for a moment before climbing out and running to the door. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Storm I groan a bit as some loud noises from outside begin to wake me. I pull Twilight a bit closer and bury my face in her mane, trying to ignore the noise as much as possible. "Storm.... can you go check on that?" Twilight asks. "It can wit till morning." I say as I just lay there. "Mmm.... ok..." She says as she turns around and wraps her hooves around me. "Uh... guys?" Spike says from behind. "I think we're being invaded." Of course we are. With a low sigh I get out of bed and go over to the window. I take a long look out there before walking back to the bed and climbing back in behind Twilight. "It's just a bunch of bots heading towards Miles' place... no big deal." I say as I let the warmth of the bed take me. "Uh..." "WHAT!" Twilight yells as she flashes out of bed. "What in Celestia is going on over there!" She yells as she opens up the window, letting a cold breeze come in. "Its probably nothing. Lets just go back to sleep." I say as I pull the blankets close to myself. Why does it have to be so cold out this time of year? "Storm! We need to see whats going on." Twilight says as she starts marching around the room. "It can..." I begin but stop when Twilight levitates me out of bed and carries me down stairs. I just sigh as I cross my arms, this better be good. When we make it outside Twilight sets me down before taking off down the street. I contemplate going back to bed, but once Spike took off after her I decided to check it out anyway. "Why are all of these bots coming here!?" Twilight asks as we gallop through town, along with most of the other residence. "Probably because Miles sent them." I say as I run beside her. "Honestly, why are we over reacting to this?" "What if they're here to take over? What if they start to enslave everypony and try to take over Equestria? Or the world? Or what if..." "What if the milkmare came to town and gave every stallion a...." "Storm!" Twilight snaps. "What? I'm telling you, it's probably nothing." I say as we find a crowd at the edge of town. We pause and look to each other before pushing our way through. Most of the ponies move out of the way thanks to Spike, but once we make it to the front we get stopped by a few city guards. "By order of Princess Celestia none are allowed to interact with these.... things." One guard yells over the crowd of murmuring ponies. "See? Miles even cleared it with Celestia." I say as I look over to Twilight. "Can we go back to..." "Sir." Twilight says as she steps forward. Buck me over sideways. "May I have permission to inspect these bots a little more closely?" "Mrs. Sparkle, Celestia gave us very specific orders..." "And I am her prized student. I will not interact with them..." "Buck it, move." I say as I begin to walk forward, getting a guard to jump in my way. "None shall pass..." He starts but stops when I punch him in the muzzle, making his nose bleed as he falls back. "What are you going to do? Bleed on me?" I ask as I walk around him. "Don't worry, I'm from the same place as these things. They won't harm me." The other guards help the other pony up as they glare at me. Twilight looks between them and me before running after me, apologizing to them as she does. "Storm! That was incredibly rude." "Yeah, whatever. I'm not in the mood right now to play nicely with the guards. I'll go, figure out whats going on, then go back and apologize, OK?" "... fine." When we get to Miles' house I immediately run towards the back where I see Butterscotch being held prisoner by a group of bot. "HALT! YOU HAVE SIXTY SECONDS...." "I am Lieutenant Storm Cloud of the Spartan regiment. I demand that you release her immediately!" I yell as I march straight up to the group of bots. They respond right away. Instead they just stare at me as they continue to hold Butterscotch by her mane. "Uh... Storm. I don't think it worked." Twilight whispers to me as she eyes all of the bots. "Storm." Miles voice says from out of no where. "You are one lucky son of a bitch." "Uh..." "No, they don't know who you are. I haven't added you guys to the core yet. They only listen to me. Now back up so I can land." "Land?" I mutter as I look over to Twilight. FOOOOSH "What the buck is that?" I ask as a white craft flies above head, quickly followed by two more of the Aquilas. "Uh...." "Miles... are you flying?" Twilight asks aloud. "TWILIGHT!" We both look over to see Rainbow fly down from her home and lands before us. "Whats with all of the bots?" "Rainbow Dash?" Miles asks through one of the bots. "Good, you're here. Tomorrow is Spartan Training. Show up at my place at sunset, you to Storm." "Training.... is tomorrow?" Rainbow stutters as she looks around nervously. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles I take a deep breath before banking back towards Ponyville... and shut off the engines. "Aquilas..." "In position." "Do it." I say as I look out to the four Aquilas now following me. They mover all around me and extend their tethers, wrapping my jet up and stopping me from falling. I sigh in relief as they carry me to the back of my home, where I see the mass of bots waiting. I glance back to Ponyville and notice all of the ponies gathering around the edge of the park. This is going to be fun... maybe.... no, Luna would kill me if I did that. The Aquilas take me over to my back yard and begin to set me down. I watch nervously as one side pitches down faster then the other. I'd really should have jumped out when I had the chance. At least there's only a few meters left.... CRASH "SON OF A BITCH!" I yell as the left wing snaps off and drops the remainder of the way. The rest of the jet is set down gently, but that nothing to stop me from fuming about the broken wing. "Miles!" I hear Butterscotch yell from somewhere. I look around and find her being held prisoner by a few bots. Once the tethers release me I open the cockpit and straight over to her, getting the bots to back off of her. "Butterscotch, head back inside while I get everything here organized." "But..." "Scotch." "*sigh* fine." She says as she gets up and walks back inside, rubbing her scalp all the way. "Storm! Rainbow! Come over here real quick, you to Twilight." I yell over to them as I look around for Easy "Miles, what the buck is going on?" Storm asks as they all race over to me. "I've brought them all here to consolidate our forces and repair Topaz Falls. Hows the town reacting?" I ask as I look back to a group of guards walking towards us. "Well.... not good." Twilight says as the group stops near us. "Miles Eremita." The leader says. "Yeah?" "Princess Celestia has requested to speak with you tomorrow to discuss political matters. She will be here at noon..." "Wait wait wait.... really? Political shit? Awesome. I'll be here then." I say as I shoot a smile to Storm. "Yes... well be sure to keep your forces out of Ponyville or..." "Don't worry. They wont go anywhere unless I tell them to." I tell him, getting a nod in response before they turn and walk away. "Awesome timing huh? I guess..." "MILES!" Twilight yells as she starts to sweat. "Princess Celestia is coming to YOUR home to discuss POLITICAL matters!" "Yeah.... and?" I ask as I look to the others for help. "AND!?!?! We need to get cleaning! We need to get a banner welcoming her and to get rid all of the bots and..." "Twilight!" I yell, getting her to pause. I stare at her for a second, seeing her eye twitch, before I chuckle a bit. "Don't worry about it..." "But..." "I know that her coming here to discuss 'political' matters is important. I'll be ready for her. Go home, go back to bed, and try to spend as much time with Storm as possible. Spartan training will start tomorrow at sunset, you will not be seeing him for a month, make the best of it." She looks over to Storm before nodding too me and stepping back, going to Storms side quietly. "Storm, before you go home can you run over to Big Macs and let him know as well." "I'll do that. See you tomorrow Miles." He says before they both begin to walk to Sweet Apple Acres, leaving me with Rainbow Dash. "Miles..." Rainbow starts as she kicks at the ground. "I... uh... well..." "Having some second thoughts?" I ask as I motion to one of the bots to come over. "Yeah. I asked my coltfriend about it, and he basically said yes no. He doesn't want me putting myself in danger, but he also believes that this would be good for me. Scootaloo thinks I'll turn into a super pony if I do it, so she's on board..." "What about you?" I ask as the bot stops before me. I tell it too bring me Easy before looking back to her, seeing the troubled look on her face. With a sigh I take a knee before her and set my hand on her shoulder, getting her to look me in the eyes. "What I'm about to tell you is what I believe to be the honest truth. You should do this." "But..." "I can see it in you, you have what it takes to be a Spartan. Maybe even one of the best. I can tell that you're in a slump right now. Low self esteem, a facade of confidence, questioning you own cause, you need this. Yes, there will be danger, but one day you will look back and smile when you think about how far you've gone from doing his. The decision is yours to make. But whichever one you make, support it one hundred percent. Leave no room for doubt. Now go, I'll see you tomorrow at sunset." "Thanks Miles... I'll put more thought into it... see ya." She says distantly before flying off for her home. I stand back up and watch her fly off for a bit. I sincerely hope she chooses to join.... and lives through training. She could do so much... "MILES!" I look back to the house to see Shadow running straight for me, a large smile plastered on her face. "Kiddo!" I yell back as I take a knee and catch her in a tight hug. "You're back, I missed you." She says as I stand back up. "I missed you to. Were you good for Butterscotch and E'Claire?" "I..." "She was a perfect angel." E'Claire says as she steps out with Butterscotch, nervously eyeing the bots. "We'll have to steal her again sometime soon." "How about tomorrow night for a month?" I ask, getting them to look to me in bewilderment. "Spartan training is coming up tomorrow, so I wont be here for a month, I know I have no right to ask, but..." "No Miles, I don't want you to go away for that long." Shadow says as she tightens her hold on me. "We'd be more then willing to watch your daughter, as long as we can teleport back and forth so she can see her friends." Butterscotch says as E'Claire grows a massive smile. "Dau.... yeah. Yeah that'll be fine. But that'll be tomorrow. I'll take over tonight." I say, making E'Claire pout a bit. "Its pretty late for you, lets get you back to bed." I tell Shadow as I begin to take her inside. "I don't want you leaving again Miles." She says as we make our way in. "I know you don't, and to be honest I don't want to leave you for that long. But this is something that I have to do." I say as I enter her room. I lay her back down and begin to tuck her back into bed. "But how about this. Get through this with some dignity and keep strong, and we'll do something special. Just the two of us. What do you say?" ".... only on one condition." She says as she starts to shy away from me. "Name it." "Can.... can I call you Dad?" She asks as she tightens the blankets in her hooves. I feel my heart skip a beat due to the suddenness of the question. ".... Dad?" I ask as I try to comprehend what she said. "I know we've only known each other for a little bit... but... I don't know how to explain it. I see you and... I want you to be my daddy. If you don't want me that's OK but..." "Shhh." I say as I stop her from continuing. I can see her eyes watering up as she begins to whimper. "There's something you need to know about me Shadow... something that's... not good." "What?" "I'm... dying." I tell her, making her expression soften. "One day my power will be too much for my body to control and... I'll burn up. Do you want a father who will not be around for much longer?" She stares at me for what feels like an eternity; thinking the entire time in complete silence. I shouldn't have said that.... its too much for a child to have to think about... "Miles." She says as she sits up. "Yeah Shadow?" She takes a deep breath before leaning forward and hugs me lightly. "I love you Daddy." I can only smile as I hug her back. Daddy... I never thought I'd hear those words used for me before. I break the hug and begin to tuck her back into bed. "I love you to Shadow." I say before kissing her forehead. "Sweet dreams corculum." I get up and walk away from her, glancing back as I shut the door slowly. "So we have a daughter now?" Luna says from behind. "Yeah... sorry Luna. I know I should have spoken to you... but..." "It's alright Miles. I don't mind." She says as we hug one another, stifling a cry as we do. "I'm sorry. I thought.... maybe one day..." "I know. I did to." I say as I stoke her mane. "But lets move past that now. I need to to find Night Fury for me. I remember her wanted to be a Spartan as well, we're going in tomorrow." "I'll do that. Miles..." "Yeah?" "I still love you.... I always will." She says as she pulls back to look me in the eyes. "YEAH ME TOO!" Shadow yells as she bursts through the door and latches onto my leg. "Shadow, bed." I say as I pull Luna under a single arm and look down to her. "But you just got back, can't I stay up a little bit? Come on, Princess?" She asks as she pouts a bit. "Well..." "It is fairly late." Luna says as she looks over to me, giving me a look. "Yeah..." "But... its Daddy." She says as she goes into cute mode. "Well... OK. But only for a bit." I say, getting a squee from her. "Oh lord." Luna mutters as we all make our way down stairs, Shadow leading the way. "What?" "I just realized something.... you can't say no to kids.... Shadows going to destroy the world." "No I'm not!" Shadow says, sounding almost offended. We all share a small laugh as we take up the living room. I can say no to kids.... "Can we have popcorn?" "..... well...." "No Shadow, its too late." Luna says as we lay on the couch, everyone snuggling close to me. "But... Dad." Shadow begs as she looks up to me and goes teary eyed. "Uh... well...." oh shit.... I'm doomed. Chapter 147 My Miles Chapter 147 My Miles Chapter 147 My Miles I wake up to Shadow shifting under my arm. After a long night together we had all finally went to our own beds for sleep, but I guess Shadow ended up in my bed anyway. I look down to see Shadow tucked under my left arm, Luna pressed against my right with her legs going over my chest, and Lupus and Hati laying over my legs.... I'm stuck. I lay my head back and just accept it, waiting for someone to else to get up. "..." "..." "..." Hmm... maybe I can just kick Lupus and Hati up. I give my legs a few twitches in attempt to get them up, but only succeed in getting them to growl at me. Well.... shit. That didn't work. "Mmmm." Shadow groans as she tucks herself deeper under my arm. I think she's waking up. "Shadow." I whisper, trying not to wake Luna. "Shadow... hey." "Hmm?" She asks as she looks up to me, eyes dropping heavily. "Hey, you..." "Its too early." She complains as she lays back down. I sigh as I let her go back to sleep. That was a bust... I guess Luna's next. I look over to her and begin to rub my nose against her nose, not having a free hand to do so. She sighs a bit and giggles, but doesn't open her eyes at all. Well, that didn't work... guess I need to step it up. I plant a small kiss on her lips, getting her to smile softly. "Luna?" I whisper. She doesn't wake up, so I kiss her again with a little more force. I pull back and wait, but she keeps her eyes shut. OK, she's messing with me... LIIIIIIIIIIICK I lean forward and run my tongue from her nose up to the base of her horn, waking her up. "MILES!" She yells as she hits me a couple of times before wiping the saliva way. "LUNA!" Shadow yells as she sits up. "AAAROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Both Lupus and Hati howl as they look straight up. "Oh good, you're all awake. Lets get some.... oh sweet Barbra." "Huh?" Luna and Shadow ask before looking to each other. "Bed head." I state before laughing as they both begin to pat down their manes, trying to get them under control. "You... you... both... get..." "Don't you dare finish that sentence." Luna warns me as they all glare at me, wolfs included. "... bed head." "JERK!" Luna yells as she jumps on top of me and begins to tickle me, getting me to squirm under her. I reach around her and begin to tickle her as well, getting much better results. Thank you fingers. "TICKLE FIGHT!" Shadow yells before jumping on me and adding to Lunas tickles. I wrap my left arm around her and pull her close as I begin to tickle her tummy, getting high pitched giggles from her. "BARK BARK BARK!" Lupus and Hati bark as they run to my face and begin to lick my face. "CHEATING!" I yell as I try to push them away, only to get bombarded with tickles from Luna and Shadow. "OK, OK! YOU WIN!" I yell as I squirm back and forth. They both drop on top of me and we all share a moment of laughter, Lupus and Hati still trying to lick my face. "Well... good morning." I say as we all quiet down, getting a chuckle from Luna. "What are we going to do today?" Shadow asks as she walks up beside my head and drops down to her side. "Well... I'll be leaving at sunset for Spartan training, so until then whatever you want. Just the three of us." I say, getting a quiet yes from Shadow. "Sorry, but it'll have to be the two of you." Luna says quietly. "I'll be with Celestia until we come over to have a talk with you. Sorry Shadow." "Oh... it's OK. When are you talking to Miles?" Shadow asks. "Noon... ish. I don't know how long that talk will last, but we'll try to make it short.... Shadow why don't you go down stairs and wait for us in the kitchen for breakfast. We'll be there in a second." Shadow looks between Luna and I before getting up and and climbing off the bed. "Come on doggies, the old ponies want to talk." She says as she walks out of the room, getting both of them to run after her. Luna sighs as she lays back against me, looking up to me. I wrap an arm around her and rub her back gently, waiting for her to say whatever it is she needs to say. "Did she just call the wolves doggies? Actually, never mind. Miles, Celestia is coming here to talk with you, but... I think this would be the best time to tell her... about us." "Are you sure?" I ask, getting a nod from her. "Alright, we'll do it together." "What do you think the best way to approach it would be?" "I say just go for it. Stand side by side and say 'Celestia we're married.' I'm sure there will be harsh words, but they won't matter. We just need to keep each other strong." "I'll be honest, I'm a little scared. Do you think she'll try to attack you?" Luna asks as she drapes a wing over me. "Maybe.... more than likely. Don't worry though. I'd never hurt family. She can throw all of the punches at me she wants..." "Don't worry, I wouldn't let her hurt you. But if you could do this without yelling, that would be best... Miles." "Yeah?" I ask as I look down to her eyes. "I love you, no matter what happens." "I know. I love you to." I say before leaning forward and giving her a deep kiss. She pulls me close as she sighs into the kiss, getting on top of me as she does so. I break the kiss and glance back to the door before smirking up to her. "What?" She asks with a chuckle. "Think you're getting lucky?" "Think you can go a month without me?" "Think you can go without one of my spells?" Ow.... my pride. "That may be..." "I'm only teasing." She says as she leans forward and begins to plant kisses on my neck. "Think you can make this a quick one?" "Nnope." "Awesome." She says as she flares her horn to lock the door. As we begin to make out I move my hands all over her body. Starting up at her neck I rub down to her wing joints, along her sides, over her mark, and back up top too start all over again. "Miles..." She moans as she breaks our kiss. I move down a bit and begin to nip and suck on her neck as she holds lightly onto my head. "Yeah?" I ask as I reach down and start to remove my pants. "Maybe we should move this to the shower... to avoid any unwanted company." She says as she helps remove the remainder of my clothing. "The doors locked." "That didn't stop Spike." She says flatly. "... fine." I say, getting her to give me a kiss on the nose. She starts getting out of bed, but gasps when I lift her up. I carry her over to the restroom where I kick the door open and step sideways inside, having Luna close and lock the door behind us. "Better?" "Much, thank you." She says as she wiggles her way out of my arms. I was about to move to start the water, but stopped when Luna pushed me back. When my back was against the wall she started to move down my body, leaving gentle kisses along the way. When she reaches my stiff member she gives it a tentative kiss. I lean back and sigh from the sudden pleasure as I rest my hands on her head, stroking her mane as she takes my member into her mouth. She begins to swirl her tongue around the tip as she reaches up and begins to caress my stomach. I move a hand up to hold her hoof as I begin to rock back and forth, adding to her bobbing actions. "Lets take this over to the shower love." I say, getting her to pull my member out of her mouth. "Okay." She says cutely as she looks up to me. I help her up and take her over to the shower. I have enough time to run the water before she jumps me in another fit of kisses. I twist her around and push her against the wall as I begin to lower my kisses. I find her already exposed clit and immediately begin to suck on it. Luna lets out a small moan as she falls forward a bit, placing her hooves on my shoulders to stay up. This proves to be a problem, as it positions herself a bit away from me. I use my left arm to push her back against the wall, exposing herself again. I get back to licking again, getting her to squirm under my arm as I do so. I take my free hand and bring it down between her legs, inserting two fingers into her and spreading her lips. She lets out a little moan as I begin to prod inside, getting a mixture of her juices and the running water as I do so. "A little rougher Miles." Luna asks as she tries to push out towards me. I begin to move my tongue around at a faster, harder rate as I move my fingers up and down, getting Luna to grab onto me as she begins to move up and down. I keep pace with her by beginning to nibble on her button and putting three fingers in her. ZAP I jolt back as a sudden wave of magic hits me and heads down my body. "What spell was that?" I ask as I look up to the lustful Luna. "Get up here and find out." She says with almost a pant. "Last time you said that we just fucked for an hour or two, I never found out what the spell actually did." "Less talk, more sex." She says as she pulls me up and forcefully kisses me. I grab her right leg and lift it up before inserting myself inside her. She lets out a loud gasp from my intrusion as she wraps her arms around my neck for better support. "I think it was a dud." I say as I say as I start thrusting into her. I don't really feel anything effecting me. I'm not going sex crazy again... or so I think. "It.... it.... its working!" Luna yells back as she moans loudly. I glance down and watch myself slide in and out of her entrance, looking for anything out of the norm. What the fuck is going on down there... "Miles! Focus!" "Right." I say before picking up the slack. I begin to slam myself into her, getting loud screams as my reward. I take my free hand and run it up her stomach as I do so, savoring the feeling of her wet coat under my fingers. Likewise, she takes a hoof and begins to move it down my chest, sending chills down my spine from the soft touch. She begins to shudder underneath me; lips trembling as she grasps me a bit tighter. She couldn’t be that close this soon... unless her spell... “M-miles. T-t-too c-c-cold.” She quivers. Cold? The water feels fi.... oh. “Right. Lets just....” “Miles?” Shadow asks as she enters the bathroom. Luna and I look to each other in horror as I stop my movements. “Shadow? What are you doing in here?” I ask as Luna starts to panic. “Just using the bathroom.” She says as we hear her take a seat. “Uh... you know theres a bathroom in your room right?” I ask as Luna pushes me off and, as quietly as possible, gets out from under the water. “There is? Huh... oh well.” She says nonchalantly. Luna I just look to one another as we wait for her to finish her business. This is wrong on all kinds of levels... “Hey Miles, did Luna leave? I didn’t see her down stairs.” Well... at least she doesn’t know she’s in here. “Uh.... I think she... went to... go... get... something?” I say as I look to Luna for help. She only gives me a panicked shrug as she eyes the curtain. ‘Clear curtain’ she mouths to me. I think about it for a second before I put one and one together. I move over to her and put myself in front of her, attempting to hide her. We begin to have a silent argument over whether or not she’ll notice, ending it with my sitting down with her in my lap. “Oh... OK. I don’t think she likes me all that much.” Shadow says quietly, getting us to stop bickering. “What? Why would you think that?” I ask as Luna just stares out through the curtain. “I dunno, we don’t really spend time together. Plus every time I’m around she has to leave. I know I’ve been here a couple of days, but....” “I’m sure she likes you plenty.” I say as I wrap my arms around Luna. “She’s...” “I know. She’s royalty and I’m.... I’m...” “Shadow, don’t say...” “I’m mining scum.” She says quietly. I lean back as I let out a long sigh. “You know I hate that word.” I say as I rub Lunas back, getting her to glance back to me. “You’re not scum Shadow, trust me on that. Luna likes you, she really does, she’s just busy running a country...” “I know that. But.... I don’t know. I can’t help but feel as if she thinks I’m going to do something bad or...” “Shadow.” Luna says quietly. “I...” “Luna? What are you doing in here?” Shadow asks. “I...” Before we could say anything else the curtain flies open. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MILES!” Shadow yells as we just sit there, dumbfounded that she just threw back the curtain. Luckily for me, Luna’s hiding my shame from her. “Shadow I...” “EWEWEWEWEWEWEWEWEWEWEWEW!” She yells as she runs out of the room and down the hall. “Well.... that could have gone better.” I say as Luna pulls the curtain back. “*sigh* why couldn’t she just use her own bathroom.” Luna says as she looks down. “It’ll be alright. I’m sure you’ll get along just fine once you spend some time together.” I say as I continue to rub her back, leaving trails of dried fur. “Yeah... I’ll be sure to make time while you’re gone...... no Miles.” “Aw come on.” I say as I wrap my arms around her and pull her close. “She already left. What the...” “Miles, the fact that you’re still up is a little disturbing. Not to mention.....” “Luna.... one month.” I say, getting a sigh from her. “This is wrong on so many levels....” Perspective: Shadow AH SICK SICK SICK SICK SICK SICK SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICK! I can’t believe I just saw what I saw! Why were they showering together! That just... gross! How could anypony want to be in the same space where another pony is washing? That’s just.... blech...urgh.... I think I’m going to puke. I make it to the living room where I jump on the couch and bury my the seat, trying my best to think of something else. Just stop thinking about all of the dirt and grim washing off of one pony and getting all over the other pony..... EWEWEWEWEW! WHY BRAIN!? WHY!? I need something to take my mind off of... the gross ponies. I jump off the couch and begin to run around the house, trying to find anything to get my mind off of... them. *shiver*. Why is everything in this house CLEAN ALREADY! Forget it, I’ll just go... make breakfast. I run to the kitchen and throw the refrigerator door open. OK, lets see.... fried hay.... eggs.... cantaloupe... broce.... ew. OOO! Strawberries! I grab the strawberries, along with a few other things, and begin making pancakes. I knew getting Miles to buy these was a good idea, I’m sure cooking will take my mind off of... things. Thirty Minutes Later “Annnnnd done.” I say as I set the last plate on the table. It took a little longer than I thought it would, but I’ve finally finished setting the table with all of the cooked food. And even better, there were only two fires this time! “Shadow?” Miles says as he and Luna walk into the room. Miles is dressed in black pants and a tight white shirt.... I’ll have to ask him why he wears all of that another time. “I made breakfast!” I announce with a slight hop. They look to each other before walking over and taking their seats. I run to Miles’s side and take my seat, scooting forward and digging right in. Hopefully my delicious cooking will stop any... discussions. “Miles don’t. There are strawberries on these pancakes.” Luna says, getting Miles to set his bite down. “Sorry Shadow, but Miles is allergic to strawberries, speaking of which. Why do you even have these?” She asks as she looks over to Miles. “Well..... Shadow asked if we could get them.... so... we got them.... its not like I was going to eat them.” “Sorry Miles.” I say as he pushes the plate away. “Its alright. You didn’t know.” He says as he gets up and goes to the fridge.... Perspective: Luna I let out a small sigh as Miles goes to get something he can eat. I look back.... is Shadow giving me the stink eye? Perspective: Miles I get back to the table and set down all the food I plan on eating. I just had to buy strawberries. Well... I guess we can still get them, its not like everyone in here is allergic to them. “Miles, what are we going to do today?” Shadow asks asks as she leans towards me, batting her eyes a bit. “Uh.... I don’t know. I didn’t really plan anything for today. What do you feel like doing today?” I ask as I take an apple and bite into it. “Anything you want to do is fine with me.” She says before taking a bite of her pancakes. I take the cup with the red-orange juice in it and...” WAIT!” She yells as she jumps at me. “GAH! What?!” I yell as I nearly drop the glass, spilling most of the drink on the floor. “I put strawberries in the orange juice.” Shadow says slowly as she sits back down. I look back to the cup before sighing. “It’s alright, I wanted water anyway.” I say as I get up. Perspective: Luna Once Miles turns his back Shadow goes right back to giving me the stink eye. I can’t believe this little filly is giving me attitude. Given I did just ruin her foalhood, but.. still. “Luna,” she says as sweetly as possible, “do you have to leave today? I thought we could play together.” She asks as she pouts a bit. Oh you.... clever little... “Sorry Shadow, but Luna has to meet up with Celestia.” Miles says before taking a drink of his glass. Of course he doesn’t see what’s going on. “Yes, but I’ll be back soon enough, perhaps I can come back another time while Miles is gone.” I say as nicely as possible. “Don’t you think that’ll be good Miles? For Shadow and I to spend time together?” I say as I stare back at Shadow. She squints her eyes a bit as she stares back into my eyes, neither of us blinking. “Sure! Heck, you’re only a minute away from each other. Maybe you can even bring her to Canterlot one day.” Miles says cheerfully, getting us both to blink and look over to him. “I don’t know Miles... the castle is a lot to take in. Maybe another time.” I say nervously. “Y-yeah. I don’t want to go to Canterlot anyway.” Shadow nervously adds. “Well.... think about it at least. I’m sure once you two get to know each other it’ll be better... do you hear something?” He asks as he looks out the back door. He begins to stand up, only to get Shadow to grab onto his pant leg. “Don’t leave. You said we’d spend the day together.” She says with a little pouty face. OH she’s good... “Well... I won’t leave. I’m just going to see what it is. I’ll be right back.” He says before he stands up and leaves the room. Perspective: Miles I step out back to find Damian and his group wait for me. "Your thing started buzzing last night." Damian says as I walk up to him and look around. "Hmm, your the first one here. Anyway, Spartan training will begin at sunset. Be here at that time and we'll begin...." I pause when I here some yelling from above. I look up... CRASH I shake my head and look down to see some purple and grey pegasus laying on top of me. "Night Fury?" I ask as we both start to get up. "Why did you crash into me?" "I wanted to see if you'd move." He says mockingly as he flutters over to Damians side. "Who's the kid?" "Damian. I'll be training along side with you." He says as they shake hooves. "Well, like I told Damian, we wont start.... "NO HE'S MINE!" Luna yells from inside. I pause for a moment before walking up the steps and.... SPLAT "Fucking strawberries...." THUD Chapter 148 Training SpartansChapter 148 Training Spartans Wednesday 28th, November I wake up to the feeling of a wet cloth moving around on my face. I squint a bit before reaching up and grabbing the cloth, getting something to grab my face. "Miles! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hit you with the strawberries, I was aiming for Luna; honest!" Shadow says as she continues to hug my face. “Shadow... aw.. it’s alright... its.... what’s going on?” I ask as I look around my room. Everyone is in here. Luna, Celestia, Twilight, Storm, Spike, Big Mac, Fluttershy, Applejack, True Will, Dust Devil, Night Fury, Damian, Hammer, Rainbow Dash, Soarin, Scootaloo, Applebloom, CC, Patches, Butterscotch, E’Claire and Camo Flash.... needless to say it’s a little crowded in here. "Why are you ALL in my room?" “It was Storms idea." Fluttershy says as I move Shadow to sit on my lap. Of course it was his idea. "How are you feeling?” “How long have I been out?” “About ten hours.” Celestia tells me. “It would seem that our talk will have to wait till another time...” “Well, we can always make it quick.... OK, all of you. Out of my room. I need to get dressed.” I order as I point to the door, getting confused looks from all of them. “Room. Leave. Now. Wait for me out back.” I say to make it simple. As everyone makes their way through the door I motion to Celestia to wait behind. “Yes Miles?” She asks as the last person leaves. “I’ll get dressed in the closet, what’s on your mind?” I ask as I go to the closet and close the door behind me. She stays quiet as I get started, so I just wait quietly. “Its... well....” A nervous Celestia, weird. “Miles.... where do you see Terradisia in ten years?” “Ten years? Well hopefully alive by that point.” I joke as I slide a black pair of pants on. “Miles...” “In all seriousness though, hopefully doing what we’re doing today. Adding new members, helping those in need; I want to restore Terradisia back to its former glory. In order to do that I have to set a strong foundation. Storm and Big Mac are that foundation for me.” I say as I put on a white tee. “So what does that mean for the rest of the world though? Are you seeing this on a global scale Miles. There are those out there that... well... would not like another world power to rise.” “Terradisia was the original world power. We shall rise again; this I promise you. If anyone tries to stop us, they will feel the full force of the Terradisian army...” “So you would start a war for an ancient nation to rise again? Why not move on? Contribute to another nation and try...” “Because we can’t add anything to another nation Celestia. What right do we have to aid one nation and not another? And if we give all of this technology to everyone... well, where would that put anyone? No, we’re small now, but we have them means to make a massive change. We can stand aside and look in, weigh our options and make the right choice. That’s what the Spartans are for, and that’s what Terradisia will do until we can stand for something...” “What about after you pass? Do you believe this nation can stand without you?” “I know it can. Storm and Big Mac are Terradisians. They will know what to do when the time arrives; I have no doubt of that.” By the time I finish speaking I have all of my armor and weapons on, so I leave the closet. Celestia takes a quick look to me before walking towards the door. “Miles,” She says as she pauses at the door. “What do you think would have happened if Terradisia had made that colony all those years ago?” “Well.... I don’t know. People could have lived, maybe we would have been found sooner, it’s impossible to say. You can’t dwell on what might have been Celestia. You have to take what you have and push forward. Remember the past, but live for tomorrow.” “What about you? How do you live for tomorrow?” I stand beside her and stare into her eyes, trying to think of the best way to answer. “Let me show you.” I walk past her and make my way to the back yard. Strom and Big Mac have all of the new recruits lined up, well, all except Damian. “Miles, can I have a quick word with you?” He asks as he walks to the side of the house. I motion to the others to wait as I follow after him. “What’s on your mind Damian?” I ask as he turns to face me. “It’s about the whole ‘no secrets in Terradisia’ thing. I’ve been given special permission to answer any of your questions.... so long as I answer in Latin.” “Latin?” “Yeah.” “Well... alright. I can accept this. How good is your Latin anyway?” “Quam bonum potest adepto?” He asks. “Non ego sollicitus est optimus. Quam mala sum sollicitus sit.” “Licuit videor. Possumusne nos adepto coepi nunc?” He asks as he looks back to the lineup. “Videbimus. LINEA SURSUM!” I yell, getting him to run turn to the lineup... but then turns back to me. “Uh... one more things. Uh... where did you get the filly?” “Shadow? Detrot, why?” “Aw, you were in Detrot. That’s my home town...anyway. She’s... I mean.... Fuerit designatos.” “Marked? What do you mean?” I ask as I look back to Shadow as she talks with Butterscotch and E’Claire. “Pacisci quis et animam suam dedit daemonis. Aliquando periit et asportaverunt.” “She... died.” I say as I look back to Damian. “How do you know this? How can you tell?” “Video in mundo. Bonum nuntium est quod nulla debilior daemon mos umquam oppugnare eam quasi faciant cum vobis. Eius ... ne forte de tendunt.” He says with a bit of pep, trying to make it seem better than it actually is. “Well... is there anything I need to do for her?” “No. It’s just something about her. Now let’s get started already.” He says as he turns back to them and walks to the lineup. As I walk after him, I glance back over to Shadow. She died at one point... “Miles?” Storm asks me. “You ready to get started?” “One last thing.” I say as I run over to my shed and jump inside. With all of the new renovations, this room is now massive. To my left is my jet, having plenty of room to make repairs, with a large bulkhead taking up the wall past it. Straight ahead of me is an emergency power station, set up to power the room and the simulation pod for the jet. I turn around and walk towards new weapons locker. It now takes up a room twice the size of my living room; filled to the brim with a variety of weapons and ammo. I go through the aisles and take all the ammo I need for my weapons, filling all of my clips. Next I go through and find the guns I think would suit Big Mac and Storm the best. I settle on an N120 LMG for Big Mac and an N32 assault rifle for Storm. I pick up spare mags, ammo, grenades and belts before fixing the triggers for them. Once done I make my way back to the others and give them the guns. “Storm, Big Mac.” I say as they take them and begin to strap them on, making it awkward due to their armor. “OK you two. This is it. You ready to be the trainers?” I ask quietly as they fumble with the belts. “Eeyup.” “I think we’ll do alright. I mean, we lived through it.” Storm says with a cocky smile. “Right, just remember this. Without a cause...” “Spartans die.” They both say as they finish getting ready. I nod to them before walking to the lineup and taking my place before them, having Storm and Big Mac stand behind me. "Let’s get started, first off, if you have any doubts, any concerns, quit now. Because when we get started, there is no quitting. You either finish or die trying, and yes, death is a very real possibility. I WILL be trying to kill you. I will break your bones, cut your flesh and turn your dreams against you as I push you harder than you've ever been pushed before in your life.” I pause for a second as I look from one determined face to the next, looking for any signs of weakness. “I am Captain Miles Eremita, commander of the Spartan forces. I will use everything in my power to make you the greatest fighters in all of Terra. Do NOT think I will ever take it easy on you, you’ll only die. Take a look at your loved ones before you tell me you want this, because once we start, there's no stopping. I don't care what happens, no matter the circumstances, we will not stop until we finish. So take a good long look and if you think you have what it takes to put everything on the line, step forward." They all take a moment to think about what I said before stepping forward. They don’t all go at once, some hesitate longer than others, but eventually they all step up. “Welcome to Spartan training. Rule...” “WAIT!” Everyone stops and turns back to see a hooded unicorn walking up to us. He has a two tone azure mane with a deep cobalt coat. “WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!” I yell, and instantly regret due to Shadow being right there, as I point my rifle at him. Storm and Big Mac take positions around him as they point their weapons along with me. The unicorn stops walking and takes in his surroundings. “I’m not here to fight. I have a message for True Will.” “Then says it and get the buck out of here.” Storm says, getting the unicorn to look over to him slowly. “Sorry, it’s for his ears only...” “NNope.” Big Mac says as he takes a step towards him. “Say it, leave, or die. That’s all ah’m givin ya.” As he looks over to Big Mac I notice a glint of what I assume to be his magic flaring. On instinct I drop down and slam my flaring hand onto the ground, sending an earthen spike through the unicorn. The spire goes through him with total ease... it’s an illusion. I instantly search out the energy and find him several meters away. I run out and lift my rifle up as I look for him. I spot some movement in a bush nearby and hurl myself towards it, getting there fast enough to catch the unicorn by surprise. I slam into him and crash into a tree, burying him a bit into it. I grab his horn and yank him out before slamming him onto the ground. “SPEAK UP ASSHOLE!” I yell as he starts to choke on his own blood. “WHO SENT YOU!” “The.... the...*cough* … the Ursa’s...” He gurgles as he turns over and continues to bleed out. I take a hand and press it against him, sending waves of healing magic through his body. This also helps me check that its actually him and not an illusion. “What do the Ursa’s want to tell True Will?” I ask as I stand back up and point my rifle back at him. “I can’t tell you! I was just told to tell him and him alone!” He barks back to me. “I SAID...” “Miles!” I look back to see True Will running towards me. “Assassin, just tell me already. Whatever you’re going to tell me I’m going to tell him anyways. Just say it.” He says as he comes to a stop before us. “Uh... I better get paid for this. Alright. They wanted me to tell you: Lily. Can I go now?” I look over to True Will to see an extremely troubled look on his face. I motion for the unicorn to leave as I sling my rifle and walk up to True Will. “Everything alright?” I ask him as he backs away from me. “No. I shouldn’t have come here, this was stupid. I can’t do this anymore, I’m out now...” “Whoa, whoa, calm down. It’s too late for that True Will. You accepted, you’re in. There is no going back now...” “But we didn’t even do anything!” He protests. “Did you step forward?” I ask, getting an annoyed nod from him. “Then you said that you didn’t have any regrets. Now if you want out I can end it now,” I say as I pull my revolver out, “otherwise get back in line.” He walks back and forth as he fumes over the choices I gave him. After a minute of arguing with himself he finally begins to walk back to the lineup. “Everything alright?” Storm asks as we get back into our places. “Yeah, just some pussy assassin. Nothing to worry about. Now... Damian, what the fuck?” I ask as I walk up to him. He has a little brown basket that has a piece of paper and a strawberry. He takes a bite of the other one and just chews it slowly as he stares up at me. SMACK “Alright then,” I say as I walk away from him, stepping on the basket and strawberries along the way. “Rule number one: We are no longer your friends. You will address us as Sir. If anything else comes out of your worthless mouths we will beat you senselessly, do you understand me?” “SIR YES SIR!” They all yell. Before I could do anything Storm whips out his sword and hits them all with a gust of wind. “SAY IT LIKE YOU GOT A PAIR!” Storm yells. “SIR YES SIR!” They yell properly. “Rule number two,” I say as I begin to walk slowly around them. “If I hear you bitch, you will regret it. I don't give a shit how much pain you’re in, I don't care if you’re on the verge of death. You keep going until I tell you to stop, and then you beg for more, understood?” “SIR YES SIR!” “Rule Number three: My word is law. I am your commanding officer, what I say goes. I don’t care if you’re bleeding to death with half your limbs missing; if I say run, RUN. Understood?” “SIR YES SIR!” They all yell. I look over to Night fury and notice he didn’t quit yell as loud as he should have, so I walk over to him and whip him with a blast of energy. “DO WE HAVE A PROBLEM?!” I yell as I strike him again. “SIR NO SIR!” He yells as he straightens out. “RULE NUMBER FOUR,” I yell as I walk away from Night Fury; moving up the line. “And this one goes for everyone. Spartan training is a secret. It doesn’t matter whose life is at stake; you don’t tell anyone what goes on here. Your wife, husband, sibling, children, no one can know. Anyone who breaks this rule will have the entire Terradisian army coming down on them and those they tell.” “Alright, time to turn in your weapons and armor!” Storm yells as he goes to Dust Devil and has her turn in her equipment. Big Mac goes to Night Fury as I go to True Will to take their stuff, getting them to comply with total ease. I was about to walk off when I noticed something about True Will’s sword. “True Will, where did you get this?” I ask as I set his stuff down and examine it closer, using both my eyes and magic. “I... got it form a mercenary group that I was a part of a long time ago... why?” “Because it has a Terradisian enchantment on it.” I take the sword and begin to feel the enchantment within it. It at least feels like a Terradisian enchantment, feeling nothing like the way Storm’s armor felt. “Uh.... how can you tell the difference?” He asks as he pulls his barding off. “Equestrian enchanting feels... more like a coating where Terradisian enchanting actually mixes the spell into the object. Where did you get this?” I ask as again. “From... Lily.” He says quietly as he looks away. “Lily.... who is Lily?” “Lily... is... *sigh* she was my teacher. My mentor. I was originally from a merc group from Saddle Arabia. We were pretty small, but nothing got in our way. Lily... found this... place...” “Place.... do you mean a city?” I ask as I look to him. From behind I can hear everyone begin to murmur as True Will looks back to them uneasily. “I don’t know; I didn’t go with her. She took a group of nearly twenty with her... and only three got out. I’ve lost contact with the other two while Lily... well... she isn’t around anymore.” He says with sorrow in his voice. I look over the sword a bit more before moving on. We can talk more about this later. Right now we need to get moving. “Damian.” I say as I step before him. “Uh...sinas me non tangatur. Is ... habet daemon tenuit infra.” He says as he pulls it aside and looks it over. It’s just a blackened scythe, I don't see what’s got him all worked up about it. “A... demon. First off, why would you want a weapon with a demon in it, and secondly, why can’t I touch it?” “Si daemon animam vendere poteris tangere. Proin egestas a ferro. In me ... quia tangam daemonis...” “Wait, you have a demon in you.” I say aloud, getting everyone to look to us. “Nice Miles, just tell everypony.” CC says from behind. “Yeah...” Damian says slowly as he glares up to me. “... is this going to be a problem for training?” I ask as I look back to everyone. Shadow is using Butterscotch to shield her eyes as everyone just watches with interest. Celestia looks more intrigued than any of them; inching her way closer to hear every word transpired. “Uh... well... *sigh* I’m probably going to hate myself for this. I can run faster than anypony here as well as heal faster. The problem is going to be that I will probably have an easier time doing...” “Easier.” Storm says with a chuckle as he walks over to us, putting all of Dust Devils gear on his back. “Trust me, we will make it harder for you. Being a better fighter is only a third of what you will learn.” “Eeyup.” Big Mac Agrees as he joins us, hefting Night Fury’s gear. “Yeah, I don’t think you’re lying about being an adept fighter; I’ve seen what you can do. Trust me, you still have a lot to learn... and now that we know you can take a hit we get to play favorites." I say, getting chuckles from Storm and Big Mac. Damian just sighs as he sets his scythe on the ground. "Fine. Just set this in your shed so nopony will mess with it." He says in defeat. "Can do..." "Just don't touch it!" He snaps. I roll my eyes as I flare my hand to the side, making a hole appear beneath the weapon. "There, all sealed up." I say as I close the hole up. "Now the bag." "... no." He says as he slowly shakes his head. "No?" I ask as I pull my revolver out. "I'll give you one last chance to give that to me before I put a bullet in your fu... freaking head." I say as I remember Shadows location. He pulls his bag off his shoulder and holds it for a second as he stares at it. If I didn't know better, I'd say he was about to cry. "Damian..." "Just give me a minute!" He snaps as he hugs it. "It's just a bag dude." Hammer says from behind. "FUCK YOU! BACKPACK IS JUST A BAG!" He yells back to him. Hammer stands there for a second before his face begins to sour up. "Hammer...." "WHAAAAAHAHAAHAAAHAAAA!" He yells before running off, crying literal streams of tears. CC shoots Damian a dirty look before running after him. "Is this normal?" Storm asks. "Nnope." "Fuck... can I go get him?" Damian asks as he looks out after him. "No. Now hand it over." I say as I grab the bag. I try to pull it away, but he wouldn't let go of it. Annoyed, I look back to Celestia and point to my ear, getting a nod from her. BANG I pop a round into his leg, sending it straight through his knee. He falls to the ground and moans in pain as I take the bag and toss it over my shoulder. I look back and sigh in relief as Celestia holds the sound barrier up. Shadow is still hiding with Butterscotch, so she didn't see anything. "Alright, Camo..." I start to say as I step towards him, only to have Damian grab my leg. "His sword... is... cursed." He grunts through the pain. "Cursed?" Camo asks as he pulls it out. "A demon... cursed it... it now has your soul.... have fun in hell... being his bitch." Damian says as he holds onto his knee. "I'll be taking this one, if you don't mind." Patches says as he walks up beside me. "Unless you want the demon to have possession over your soul for all of eternity." "They're joking right? This thing isn't really cursed by some demon... right?" Storm asks as we all stare at the sword. "OK. Go ahead and take it Patches." I say as I think back to the demons that attacked me a while back. "But, this belongs to the Ursa's...." Camo starts but stops when Patches yanks the sword from his hooves. "Yeah? Well now we have it. Go back to your bucking hide away in Detrot and play with your flowers." He says as he takes the sword.... and stabs it through his chest. I hear Rarity faint as the rest of them gasp in surprise. "What?" He asks nonchalantly as he begins to walk away, the ends of the swords sticking out of his chest. "Do I even want to know?" I ask. "We don't even know." Damian answers as he forces himself back up. The wound on his knee has already stopped bleeding and is well on its way to completely healing. We all watch him walk off until he's out of sight. With an annoyed sigh I step back to face the entire lineup. We haven't even started and the strange has been maxed out.... "Alright!" I yell as I wave my hand again, only this time I crop all of their manes and tails. "Let’s get this over with already. I'll give you a five second head start before we open fire. You'll see where to run. One... two... RUN ASSHOLES!" I yell, making them all turn and run. As they all run off I can see Damian keeping pace with everyone; we can't have that. As Storm and Big Mac take lift their guns I take aim with my revolver.... BANG The round flies down and hits Damian right in the shoulder, making him roll to the side and knock Rainbow Dash over. The second the shot rang out Storm and Big Mac opened fire, splintering trees and making the group run even faster. "Keep after them!" I yell over the fire. "Keep them on the ground and don't let up until they're ready!" They both nod before taking off after them, leaving all of the gear behind in a pile. I wait until they're out of view before turning back to the others, getting Celestia to drop her shield. "Miles did you really have to cut Rainbows mane like that?! It was simply garish." Rarity complains. "Yes, I did." I say as I holster my revolver. "That was... interesting." Celestia says in a daze. "Come back in twenty-eight days to pick up the survivors. Spike, I want you here in twenty-one days for more magic training. Be here at noon, alright?" "O..." "YOU ARE NOT SPARTAN TRAINING MY SPIKEY WIKEY!" Rarity yells as she rears up and hugs him, making his face turn bright red. "You're darn right he isn't!" Twilight yells as she joins her in hugging Spike. "I know that. This isn't Spartan training, it’s something else. Three weeks at noon, remember that." I say before tossing all of the gear into a pile and sending it to my shed. I take a moment to glance to Shadow and Luna before running into the woods. I hate having to leave when so many things are coming up... hopefully Luna can forgive me for missing her birthday. I'll have to do something extra special for her. Perspective: Luna Once the sound of the gun fire is gone everyone begins to move inside, keeping quiet as we all reflect on what just transpired. Scootaloo, Applebloom and Shadow all run upstairs to Shadow's room while the rest of us take up seats in the living room. "Well... at least it wasn't like last time." I joke, getting odd looks from everyone. "Do you think that pony was serious about the demons?" Celestia asks. Everyone looks around nervously as they stay quiet, not knowing how to answer. "Princess... Miles once said he saw one of them. I don't think..." "Try not think about it too much." I look to the front door to see a yellow pegasus mare walk in. She has long black hair that has a strip of white going through it. I think she's part griffin, due to the massive wings. "I just came back to have a little chat with all of you, put your minds at ease." She says with a warm smile as she takes a seat on the ground next to Spike. "How do ya know Miles.... uh..." Applejack asks to get her name. "Just call me CC. We met Miles a while back when he killed a couple of our agents. It was self-defense, but it... well, it ended with Damian getting Spartan training." She says with almost a chuckle. "S-so demons are real.... oh... my..." Fluttershy stutters as she begins to sink behind Applejack. "Like I said, try not to think about it. We have a very good lid on things. Nothing will happen too anypony as long as we're around." "And who exactly are you?" Celestia asks. "Sorry Princess, I can't say that." She says, making Twilights jaw drop. "What is it with the ponies here and keeping secrets from Celestia! She is our Princess for pony sake! You..." Twilight yells but stops when Celestia raises a hoof to her. "Does your organization reside in Equestria?" She asks. "Nope!" CC says simply. "Very well then. Now I have to question your motives, though I am still intrigued by them." She says as she straightens out. "Yer being pretty relaxed about this Princess." Applejack says. "When you're as old as me you learn to let things go sometimes. I can't force somepony from out of our borders to tell me everything. That's politics for you." She says with a shrug before looking outside. "My apologies but it’s time for my sister and I to take our leave. We must go raise the moon and set the sun. Have a good night everypony." She says as she stands and begins to walk out. I look back to all of the bowing ponies before following after her. We teleport back to Canterlot and get to work setting the night sky. I make sure to make it shine just a little more for Miles tonight, I'm sure he'll need it tonight. Then again, I guess that would make it easier for the trainees as well... oh well. That's what he gets for missing my birthday... speaking of which... "So sister," I say as I fly over to her bed chambers and follow her inside. "What are your plans for next month? Anything big planned?" I ask with a large smile. "Not really. We've got the first snow fall coming up in a few weeks, have to make sure that goes over well." She says as she lays on her large red pillow and begins to read a scroll. Hmmm... that didn't seem to trigger anything. "Yeah, the winter solstice should be interesting... the twenty first... of December... big day..." "Yes, it'll be nice to have the solstice with the Crystal Empire this year. I'm sure the northern lights will be exciting for everypony." She says as she starts a new scroll. "Yes, I imagine they would throw a party for it.... party.... twenty first... da-da-daaa-da-daaa-da...." "Mhmm." She mumbles as she signs the scroll and pulls another one out. I want to believe that she's hiding a surprise from me... but with what happened the last three years... "OH! The twenty first!" She says as she looks back to me. "Yeah!" I say with a smile as I lean towards her. "It's Bluebloods coronation from the academy. Good thing you remembered, I would have completely forgotten, thank you little sister. Was there anything else that I have forgotten?" She asks as she looks back to me. I feel my smile fall from me as I take a step back. She forgot... again. This would be four years in a row now. I should just tell her, maybe then she won’t... "Princess." A guard asks from the door. "You have visitor waiting for you in the..." "Ah yes. Huaila Zhao. Probably here for the new trade we're setting up. I'll be right there. Sorry Luna, but he doesn't know you so I don't think the negotiations would go over very well..." "No, its fine. Send him my regards." I say as I shy away. "Its... just..." "Yes?" She asks as she looks back to me. "Nothing." I say as I turn away from her. "Oh... OK. Be sure to keep the bananas away from Huaila, he tends to break stuff at the sight of them." Celestia tells the guard as they walk out the room. I go to my room with a heavy heart and just drop onto my dresser. I shouldn't be as sad as I am, she only doesn't remember because I won’t remind her. But at the same time... I'm her sister. This is something she should remember. BEEP BEEP I perk up a bit when I hear my phone make a sound. I take out of the dresser and look it over. One voice mail from Miles... who else would it be from? 'Luna, Sorry I won’t be able to make it to... whatever is going on during your birthday. I wanted to push the Spartan training back for it... but, I just couldn't. There's just too much going on with too little time to do it all. Don't worry though, when I get back I'll have something planned, just the two of us. I promise. Happy early birthday Luna.' I smile contently as I replay the message. First person to remember in a thousand years, of course it would be him. Perspective: Storm Wednesday December 5th, 3:14 PM "FORM UP!" Miles yells as we make our way form the Run. The group is tired, cold, and beaten badly, but we've only just begun. They line up and stand as best they could, finding it hard to do without sleep and open wounds covering their bodies. "Welcome to combat training. We call this the box. Line up and take a sword." Miles says before stepping back and rubbing his eyes. "MOVE IT!" Big Mac yells, getting them to run forward. "Al....A... *COUGHING FIT." Miles drops to a knee as he begins to cough like crazy. Big Mac and I look to each other before moving forward and throwing wooden sword at each of them. "Take your form!" I yell, getting them to hold their weapons up. I move over to Rainbow and inspect her form, pushing her legs a bit to stand a bit wider. I move to Night Fury and inspect him, only to notice that he snarls at me. "Do we have a problem?" I ask as I get in his face. "Get out of my face." He growls as he stands there. "Why? Who's going to make me? Rain Dro..." "GAH!" He yells as he tries to hit me with the sword. I dodge it easily by stepping back. he moves forward and tries again to strike me. I just duck under his blow and slam the hilt of my sword into his gut, forcing him to double over. I slam my hilt onto the back of his head and send him to the ground. "En.... ENOUGH!" Miles yells as he pushes himself up. "Let’s get back to it already. Get up Fury." I step back and move on to Dust Devil as he picks himself up. We go through all of their forms before stepping back. The entire time I could feel Fury glaring daggers at me, but that's not important right now. Hopefully he can take that hatred and use it. "You good to do this?" I ask Miles. "I just need to use more magic, that's all." He says as he forces back a cough. "Remember, we need to get these basic forms ingrained into their skulls. These forms should become natural to them, understand?" "Eeyup." "ALRIGHT! Let’s do this already." He yells before slamming his hands onto the ground. Nine squares appear around each of the recruits, forming a large box. They each stand in the center-most square as the other eight form around them. "Hold your forms!" Big Mac yells as they all started looking around themselves. They snap back to their forms and watch as Miles creates one for himself. "This box is your home. Once you learn to move about the field you'll be able to fight masses of people with total ease. Storm and I will demonstrate." We both move to face one another. As Miles moves, the squares move along with him, keeping him in the center. I lung forward as I try to swipe my sword at him, only to have it meet his own. He pushes forward as we hold our blades against each other’s. I break the contact and roll to the left, ending in the corner square. He slashes at me again, so I roll forward to the side square and swipe at him. He jumps back and takes his form for a second, before relaxing and looking back to the others. "There's lesson one: Avoid and retaliate. If you're on the offensive you have to move about your opponent, keeping out of their square. Don't go head to head with something you're weaker then, keep them moving until you find an opening and take it. Now pair up and spar." Miles says, getting odd looks from all of them. "FUCKING MOVE IT ASSHOLES!" He yells, getting them to turn to one another. We all split up as we watch them spar with one another. I walk up to Dust Devil and Rainbow and just watch them go at it. Dust Devil seems to be more methodical with her blows while Dash is all power and no restraint. After a few seconds Dust Devil finally gets a blow across Dashes face, knocking her on her back. With an annoyed sigh I move over to her and stomp onto her weapon as she tries to get back up. "What is your malfunction!" I yell as she tries to yank her sword out from under me. "SIR I..." "Power gets you nothing!" I yell as I kick her over. "Power gets your friends killed!" I yell as I kick her stomach. "Without thought you may as well be DEAD!" I yell with a stomp. "NOW GET UP AND DO IT AGAIN!" She pushes herself up and jumps back into the fight. She tosses herself into Dust Devil, swinging her wooden sword in anger as she tries to score a hit. As expected, Dust Devil ends up striking her across the head again. "DAMMIT!" She yells as she staggers back, holding the bruise on her cheek. "Rainbow Dash." I say quietly. "Sir... I just..." "Spar with me." I say as I draw my sword. She looks over and backs away as I stalk towards her. "S... Sir?" She asks as I begin to quicken my pace. Before she could get away I push forward and stab at her. She jumps back as takes her stance, slightly shaking as she holds her eyes wide open. Thanks to the enchantment on my blade I send her a bit further back then I meant to. "Storm... Sir, this is crazy! I only have a wooden..." "Power isn't going to save you here!" I yell as I charge at her again. I quickly roll to her side and swing my blade at her. She tries to jump out of the way, but the tip of my blade catches her side and tears along her. She falls to the ground and grabs at the wound, trying to hold back the blood. I launch myself into the air and drop down on top of her, stabbing at her head. She kicks her legs up and hits me in the back, only moving me enough to miss stabbing her. I hold the blade there and glare down to her, seeing the tears roll down from her face. I yank my blade out of the ground and step off of her. I yell for her to get back to sparring before looking back to the others. Miles and Damian are sparring while Big Mac is yelling orders at Night Fury and True Will. I look back to my group and yell some orders of my own, getting them to double their efforts. Friday, December 7th; 6:18 Pm Perspective: Miles "LINE UP!" I yell before coughing again. They all run in front of me and line up, the squares below them lining up with each other’s. "The past two days have been a fucking disgrace!" I yell as them as I walk around them. "Now things get harder. We've learned how to move on the horizontal plane, but comes the vertical!" I yell before slamming my hand down onto the ground. Lines come up from the squares below all of them, making a cube form around them, making twenty-seven cubes in total. Next I make diagonal lines form, going from each corner to the opposite one. "You learned how to move, now comes the technique. Using this method, you can take any weapon and use it to your advantage. Keep your attacks in the squares at all times. Do NOT swing into the lines themselves." Storm says from the front. "Big Mac and I will demonstrate." I say as I walk back to the front of the lineup. I make the same box for myself before drawing my sword and taking my form. Big Mac takes his halberd out and takes a few steps towards me, waiting for me to make a move. I take the initiative by stomping forward as I bring my blade straight down towards him. He brings his halberd up and blocks the attack easily. I bring back my sword and begin to quicken my blows, following the empty spaces in the squares. We begin to engage each other more and more, trying to gain dominance in the fight. When I finally knock Big Mac over I look back to the others and order them to begin sparring. "You alive?" I ask as I help Big Mac back up. "Eeyup." He states simply. We all look back to the group and watch as they continue sparring with one another. Their fatigue is showing in the weakness of their attacks, but I can see a few of them keeping pace. Damian and True Will seem to have a good amount of energy reserved, good that we paired them up with each other. I almost had to kill Damian when I found out he was imbuing his sword with energy, but luckily he learned quickly how not to piss me off. Camo Flash and Rainbow Dash seem to be falling behind, barely having the energy to keep their swords up. "Storm, go and watch after Camo and Dash. Big Mac can handle Night Fury and Dust Devil while I get the other two." I tell them, getting nods from them as they walk to their groups. I watch the two of them fight for a good thirty minutes before I decide that this is too easy for them. "Cease fighting." I tell them, getting them to stop almost immediately. "Sir?" Damian asks. "I'm pushing you two up a level. Get ready for the advance set." I say as I lay my hand on the ground. I double the amount of lines surrounding them, adding some in new directions. "Now, get back to it." "SIR!" They yell before engaging one another again. I watch them closely as they swing at one another, slowing their attacks to make sure that they keep in the spaces. "PICK IT UP!" I yell as I take a swing at Damian. He rolls away from me before doubling his efforts. They move back and forth as they each try to get a hit on one another, only to be blocked by the others sword. I can see the frustration in their eyes as the fight continues to escalate. I flare my hand and wave it, making a chunk of earth grab Damien’s hoof and hold him in place. This catches him off guard and leaves him open for True Will to strike him across the gut, knocking him over. "THAT'S CHEATING!" Damian yells from the ground. I take step towards him and stomp my foot down on his chest. "SIR! I MEANT SIR I..." Before he could finish I flare my hands and start to beat him with raw blasts of energy. He puts his hooves up to block his face, so I start going after his stomach, adding more energy to my hits. His bruises begin to break open as I send my final blast across his face, nearly knocking him out. "WHAT IS RULE NUMBER TWO ASSHOLE!" I yell at him as I move to his side. "S-sir... no... bitching..." He groans as he tries to get back up. "THEN SHUT THE FUCK UP AND GET BACK TO SPARRING!" I yell as I back off of him. KILL HIM What? HE IS WEAK.... HE IS A SLACKER.... HE MUST TURN TO THE VOID... No... it wouldn't be right.... RIGHT?! RIGHT?! YOU DARE TELL ME WHAT IS RIGHT AND WHAT IS... "ENOUGH!" I yell, getting everyone to look over to me. "Uh..." "Everything alright Miles?" Storm asks nervously. "Y-yeah." I stutter as I look around, seeing all of the concerned stares. "Just... get back to sparring. They all give each other odd looks before getting back to training. I take a moment to collect myself... YOU WON'T ALWAYS HAVE CONTROL. Monday, December 10th. 3:42 PM Perspective: Shadow I don't really know what happened. One minute I'm in Ponyville, hanging out with Butterscotch and E'Claire, the next I'm being rushed away by Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. They told me too just stand here and to leave the blind fold on, so that's what I'm doing.... not sure why... BUM What the... BUM Is that a... BUBUBUBUM BU-DU-DUM BUM BUM DA BUM BUM DA- DUM Uh... BUM "We the Cutie Mark..." "Can I take the blind fold off?" I ask, cutting Sweetie Belle off. "Oh, right." Applebloom says. When the piece of cloth falls from my head I blink a couple of times before taking in my surrounding. I'm in the middle of their club house standing on a pink rug. Scootaloo is sitting behind two massive drums; looking really intense, while Sweetie Belle is at a podium. A red banner with a blue badge is hanging from one corner of the room to the next. The three of them are wearing red capes that each have similar badges on them. "Uh.... what's going on?" I ask quietly. "We, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, hereby elect Shadow to join us as a sister, friend, confidant, allay, blossom buddy, gal pal... Scootaloo! I thought you said you re-wrote this!" Sweetie Belle says as she looks over to her. "I did." "Well it’s still the same thing!" "No it isn't! I added comrade, BFF, Silly Filly...." "Anyway!" Applebloom interjects. "Right. And Fellow Cutie Mark Crusader! You are solemnly sworn in, here this day, by your sister, confidants, amigas..." "CONGRATULATIONS! Yeah, need to revise that... again." She says before throwing something at me. I duck down and cover my eyes with my hooves until I feel a cloth fall on my back. I look back to see one of their capes draped over myself. "What.... what is this?" I ask as I stand back up. "Its yer initiation!" Applebloom says cheerfully. "Yer one-a us now!" She says as they all run over to me and tackle me in a group hug. "R-really! B-but I-I didn't do anything to deserve this...." "Yeah you have ya dodo!" Scootaloo says as they let go of me. "You are exactly the kind of pony the Cutie Mark Crusaders are looking for! Now do you think you have what it takes to be in our club?" I look back to the cape before looking back to her and nodding, offering the best smile I could muster. "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS! YAY!" They yell before jumping up and hoof bumping. They all look back to me and hold their hooves in the air... OH! "Cutie... Mark Crusaders....yay." I say before slowly bumping my hoof into theirs. "We'll work on that later, come on! It's time for your surprise!" Scootaloo says before running down the ramp. We all run after her as we make our way towards Ponyville. I run up beside Sweetie Belle and ask her where she got the capes; to which she said she made them... Meanwhile... Perspective: Rarity "Ahh... that was a lovely visit to the spa, but I must get this order done. I have no time to waste." I say as I open the door to my shop. I take a two steps in before I nearly faint from the sight. "SWEETIE BELLE! How many times do I have to tell you NOT to use my fabric! Now I'll have to go and make all new gold lined fabric by the end of the night!" Back to the cuteness... Perspective: Shadow We make it to Sugar Cube Corner where the three of them jump onto the step, blocking my entrance. "You ready for your super awesome surprise?" Scootaloo asks as they all stare down to me in excitement. "Uh...." "Like, it’s not even going to be that good of a party." I cringe from the sound of the voice. I look behind me to see Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon standing behind me. "Why did you have to ruin the surprise!" Sweetie Belle demands! "You guys threw me a party?" I ask with a smile. "Yeah, and they totally bored the heck out of it. There's only, like, ten ponies here and..." "You even toned it down for me." I say as I step towards them. "And there's only one kind of treat... double chocolate chip cookies..." "YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!" I yell as I jump on top of them, hugging them each as hard as possible. "Aren't ya mad that they ruined the surprise?" Applebloom asks as I let go of them. "Are you kidding? I hate surprises! But this is still one of the nicest things anypony could have done for me. Thanks." "Let’s go inside already!" Scootaloo says before running in. I was about to follow them inside before I looked back to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. "If you want, you can come in to..." "Why would we want to go to this lame-o party?" Silver Spoon asks before walking off, holding her head high. "Blank flank!" Diamond Tiara says before following her friend. "Don't listen ta them, they're just a few bad apples." Applejack says from behind. "You know; I don't really care right now. I have the three best friends in the world, nothing could bother me." I say as I look back to her. She offers me a warm smile as she ruffles my mane. "Ah'm sure that would make Miles proud. Now git on in there before the rest of them eat all-a the treats!" "*gasp* they better not!" I say before running inside. Perspective: Miles Friday, December 14th, 2:30 AM "WAKE UP YOU PIECES OF SHIT!" Big Mac yells, waking them from their one-hour rest. They scramble to their hooves and lineup as quickly as possible. "We're going to start with another comprehension and reflex test. Putt these on!" I yell as I a black bag at them. WHY DO THEY DESERVE TO LIVE? "Try not to disappoint us again." I say as I ignore Corpus Glacius. I nod to Big Mac and Storm before moving over to True Will. I set a doll on the ground and move to his side, "TRUE WILL!" He yanks the bag off and looks around, finding the doll almost immediately. He takes it into his hooves and checks its diaper... "PASS!" "PASS!" "FAIL!" I look over to see that Damian failed the doll test, sucks to be him. We each move on to the next pony and yell their names, mine being Rainbow Dash. "Uh..." "How do I get to Canterlot from here?" I ask politely. "Uh... head northeast and head up the mountain. You can't really miss it." "Pass." "FAIL!" "FAIL!" I shake my head as they all put the bags back on. The next hour comes and goes with little to no hope. All of them only seem able to get every other test correct... except Damian. He can't get any right. After all of this we send them down to the run to work off their failures. While Storm and Big Mac keep them occupied during all of that, I head further into the forest to get the next coarse ready. LEAVE THEM. THEY CANNOT... Not listening to you. FOOL! I AM POWER! I CAN GIVE YOU SECRETS GREATER THEN... What happened to the other guy? I want to talk to him. AMIMA IGNIS IS.... PREOCCUPIED. I... Don't care. Moving on. I stop and kneel down as I lay my palms on the ground. A single post shoots straight up. I send eight earthen tethers up and connect them to the top. I make another set of tethers, only these ones are off set from the others and only go half way up the center post. YOU WILL END BEFORE YOU CAN MAKE A CHANGE. Maybe, but I'd rather die trying. Now shut the fuck up and let me do my job. I stand up and head back to the others, following the sounds of gunfire and shouts to find my way. "MOVE FASTER!" Storm yells as he sprays the trench with gunfire. I watch the water pop up all the way down, two or three spots being red. I flare my hands and begin to toss white orbs down the trench, making massive explosions appear on the sides of the trench. "How many more?!" I yell as I send more orbs down range. "SIXTEEN!" Big Mac yells as he reloads. "Awesome." Sunday, December 16th, 12:00 PM "THRUST!" I yell as I walk along the lineup. "HA!" They all scream as they stab forward. "DEFEND!" HA!" They all scream as they bring up their swords and hold it there. I wait for a second as I look from one face to the next. They've all hardened over the past week. Each of them staring off into the distance with looks of worn down soldiers. Long trails of smoke shoot from their mouths as they exhale, fogging their faces slightly. "At ease." I say quietly, getting them to stand down. "We're at a cross road now; a fork in the road. This is where we find the Spartans and where we kill the rest. Drop down and do sit ups until I tell you to stop." "SIR YES SIR!" They yell before dropping down and start doing sit ups. I let them go for about half an hour before walking up to the first in the lineup; Damian. I walk up before him and watch for a few seconds, watching the steam rise from his body as he tries to fight the cold. I step forward and bring my foot down onto his chest as I pull my revolver out and aim for his head. "TELL ME YOUR CAUSE!?" I yell as he fights to do a sit up. "SIR?" He asks as he continues to try. "YOU HAVE TEN SECONDS TO TELL ME YOUR CAUSE BEFORE I KILL YOU! WHAT IS YOUR CAUSE!?" I yell as I press the barrel against his skull. He thinks quickly about his answer before looking me right in the eyes. "To.... protect." "DAMN GOOD!" I yell before moving to the next person, Rainbow Dash. "WHAT IS YOUR CAUSE!" I yell as I bring my foot down onto her chest. "I... uh..." "FIVE SECONDS!" "But...." "TWO!" "LOYALTY!" She screams as she shuts her eyes. I stare her down a bit before moving on to the next person. Loyalty, never heard that one again. "CAMO FLASH! WHAT IS YOUR CAUSE!?" I yell as I do the same to him. "Uh..." "SIX SECONDS!" "I..." "TWO SECONDS!" "I don't get the question SIR!" BANG I send the round right between his eyes, forcing his head to fly back as blood sprays out. Everyone seems to stop as they watch the smoke rise from the hole in his head. "TRUE WILL!" I yell as I move to him and step down onto him. "WHAT IS YOUR CAUSE!?" "My... cause?" "FOUR SECONDS!" "REDEMPTION!" He yells quickly. I move to the next person, Dust Devil. "WHAT IS..." "ATONEMENT!" She yells before I could finish. I grab her hair and lift her into the air. I stick the barrel of my revolver into her mouth and glare. "What is your cause?" I growl to her. "Atonement Sir... for my little brother." She says as she starts to tear up. "I have to be strong for him... I have to live for him... please sir... let me atone..." "Very well." I say before dropping her. I move to Night Fury and just stand before him. He looks up to me for a second before his gaze slowly turns to Storm. "Revenge." He growls as he glares at him. "Oh great, another revenge cause." I say before walking to Storm and Big Mac. We all look to one another before nodding and facing the group. "STAND UP!" Big Mac yells, making them jump to their hooves. "Your cause." I start, eyeing each of them for a second before continuing. "It’s what truly makes a Spartan. It’s the one thing that you always fight for, the thing that keeps you from dying. In the greatest of hardships, during the greatest pains, your cause gives you the drive to push forward. Want to know why Camo Flash died back there? It’s because he had nothing worth fighting for." "Keep your cause close to your heart, and you'll never lose. It’s the one thing that you can always rely on to for that resolve to win. That willingness to go the extra mile. You die when you lose your cause... or find a new cause." Storm finishes. "Hour rest. Be sure to meditate on your cause. What you said right now will drive you for the rest of your lives; learn what it means." Wednesday, December 19th 11:50 "Alright, before we move to weapon specialization, it’s time for a rest. Everyone lay down and go to sleep." I say as we have them circle our camp fire. They all look to each other nervously but comply anyway. After a few minutes I go through them all and set my spells, eight hours of nothing but endless sleep. "How would we do this without magic?" Storm asks as I go to my first victim, Rainbow Dash. "Back in the old days they would use sedatives and hallucinogenic to fuck with them. First dose being the average amount, then one and a half, the double, until the final day. But that had obvious problems... do you hear that?" I ask as I look up. In the distance I see Spike flying towards us, carrying a massive bag that's teeming with school supplies. "Right on time." Storm says with a smile. "Eeyup." Big Mac agrees. We wait for him to land before us, well, more like crash. He picks himself off of the ground and dusts himself off as he blushes a bit. "Uh... hey guys." He says as he approaches us, rubbing the back of his head as he looks back to the bag. "Sorry, Twilight wanted me to bring a bunch of spare paper and stuff..." "It’s alright Spike." I say as Storm walks over to him and grabs him in a hug. "We were just about to start. You ready for this?" "Why am I here again?" He asks as they break their hug. "I thought Spartan Training was supposed to be a secret. Shouldn't I be in trouble for being here?" Storm and I look to one another before chuckling a bit. "I don't get what's so funny..." "Spike," Storm starts, "Don't worry about it. We know you're going to be a Spartan one day; we can let this slide for now." "Really!? You think I have what it takes to be a Spartan?" He asks with almost a hop. “Wait... is this going to be actual Spartan training?" "No. The trainees are all asleep right now." I reassure him. "So now we're going to fuck with them." "... fuck..." "Watch your mouth!" Storm snaps. "Look, let’s give them about an hour before we get working on this. In the mean time I want to check up on how you're progressing on your magic." "Um...." "*sigh* today is going to be a long day...." After an hour of seeing Spike at the same level I decide to move on to the others. I kneel beside Rainbow Dash and cover my hand in my magic. I glance back to the others before pushing into her subconscious. After a blinding white light, I find myself flying through the air. Before me are Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, and Soarin; all flying together. They twist and spiral around with large smiles; laughing and playing through the peaceful sky. I begin to force my influence into her subconscious. I start by forming storm clouds to form as the winds begin to pick up. Rainbow immediately tries to grab Scootaloo, but I force the winds to send her to the ground. As she chases after her I keep her just out of reach, screaming for Mommy to catch her. She it’s the ground, dying on impact. Rainbow lands over her and tries to wake her lifeless body, but a noise comes out from the distance. Taking Scootaloo, she runs off through a thick forest as she chases after the noise in the distance. "SOARIN!" She yells as she runs to his side. I placed him on the ground with a wing snapped off. He doesn't respond to Rainbows cries. Instead he just lays there as the stump of what was his wing bleeds over, pooling all around him. "Y....you.... failed.... Scootaloo." He says with his dying breath. Rainbow creams his name out, but I force her to fall into a black abyss, followed by the bodies of the ones she loves. She'll fall for what will feel like days until she restarts this same exact dream. No matter what she tries, she will always fail. "MILES!" Spike yells as I retract from her mind. I take a deep breath as I stand and look back to the others. They look concerned... but why? "What?" "Uh... your arms." Storm says. I look down and see that the lines have gone jagged again. I look them over for a minute before moving onto to Damian. "It’s nothing, just.... don't worry about it. Comes with the territory of being as powerful as I am. While I deal with Damian I want you to check over Rainbow Dash. Try to see how I did what I did." I say to Spike as I kneel next to Damian and get to work. OK.... what the fuck is wrong with this guy? I pushed my way in only to find myself in some kind of torture room. Iron maidens, chains and blood fill the dark room as Damian watches CC carve the skin from her body. The weird part, Damian looks bored as fuck. "YOU DARE ENTER MY DOMAIN!" A voice screams as it tears me away from the dream. I find myself pulled into a white planes facing what looks like a being of darkness. It has the basic form or a human; arms, legs, head, but lacks any other real features. The only other thing the stands out on this creature are its two red eyes. "Your.... domain? Damian has a soul fire?" I ask as I think back to what Damian told me about himself. "No.... you're the demon within him..." "I am Strages, and you will not interfere with my pawn human. " The shadow says as it begins to hover towards me. "Sorry, I can't leave until I begin my torture." I say as I flare my magic. "I torture him! He is MY puppet to control!" Strages yells before lunging at me. He's a demon, so icy void should kill him. I clench my fists and punch towards him, hitting him square in the chest. He flies away a bit before landing on his back. ".... how did you do that?" He asks as he gets back up. "How are you still alive?" I ask in bewilderment. "Only a select few demons can use that power! How did you do that!" He yells as he charges at me again, only to get another chest full of icy void. "I don't know how I got this power. One day I went through another change and boom! I have icy void. Now how are you still alive?" "I am too powerful to die from an attack like that..... you must be a hominem De bellum. You've peeked my interest. You may torture Damian, but know that this is still my domain..." "Wait, I've heard that before. Man of war? Where do you know that from? What does it mean? Tell me!" I ask as the scenery fades back to Damien’s dream. "Do your worst." I look over the dream and sigh in annoyance. As much as I want to know more about what he said, this is just a shame. "What the fuck man, this is just... no." I say as I watch a bored Damian kill CC over and over again. "DO NOT TALK DOWN TO ME..." "Then don't talk as if you know how to torture people! This is stupid!" I yell back. "I've been doing this since the begging! Do not..." "Really? The begging? Then why do you suck?" I ask, getting silence as my answer. "Look, he obviously knows it a dream. The next step is to make it believable. Watch. I take the dream and begin all over, starting with him waking at the camp. From there I have myself tell him that training has moved to a new stage, one where he gets to visit his friends. He seems genuinely surprised by this, but doesn't fight it. I lead him back to my home where we find his friends Hammer and CC..... kissing. ".... CC? Hammer?" He asks as he approaches the two of them. "Damian!" CC exclaims as she breaks contact with Hammer. "It’s good to see you again. Guess what? Hammer proposed! And I said yes!" I let him take it from there. I pull back until I'm back in the white planes with the shade, where I cross my arms and wait for him to respond. "... you didn't even kill any of them." He pouts. "You don't always need to kill something to torture someone. Taking the thing he loves the most and turning away from him, that hurts. Watch, next time will be even worse." "Hmm... very good. I like this. This is... a slower torture. I can drag this out..." "See, torturing Damian is easy. You just have to be subtle about it..." "DON'T GET CHUMMY WITH ME!" He yells before forcing me out of Damien’s subconscious. I fall onto my back and stare up at the canopy of the forest. "Hey Miles.... you OK?" Spike asks as they all walk around me to check on me. "I think I just made friends with a demon." I respond in a daze. "He's fine." Spike says confidently. "I kind of got the feel from that one. Can you do another pony?" ".... yeah." I say as I see small white dots fall from between the trees. "What’s that?" They all look up before looking back to me. "Its snow... you've never seen it snow before, have you?" Storm asks, to which I shake my head. "It’s just frozen rain basically." "Frozen... huh. Well I'll just have to admire it another time. Next is... True Will." I say as I roll to my feet and walk over to his sleeping body. I push myself into his mind and find his dream immediately. He's lying in a bed staring into some mare’s eyes. She's an all-white unicorn with light yellow hair. The two of them are completely silent; enjoying each other’s company as they hold hooves. "It'll be OK." She tells him in almost a whisper. He chokes at this, tearing up as he pulls her in for a hug. Only now do I see the medical equipment attached to the mare, an EKG machine making quiet, constant beeps. With a sigh I force the next set of words from the mare. "Please... end it." I pull back from his damaged mind and look over to the others. I just move on to Dust Devil and enter her mind. She's in a somewhat familiar room. It reminds me of the houses in Moosden, only with people living in it. Dust Devil is playing some card game with a stallion as a mare stands before a kettle at the fire place. On the ground behind the stallion is a small child, barely old enough to walk, playing with some toys. "Take my ace." The stallion says to Dust Devil. "But... that's your lucky ace." Dust Devil says as she takes the card. "I thought...." "Don't worry, no matter where you go, it will bring you good luck." He says with a warm smile. I bring my influence into the dream and have the door to the home burst open, extinguishing the fire. Dozens upon dozens of Unfamiliar pour into the room as they chase down all of the family members and devour them. I go from the child, to the mother, to the father. Forcing Dust Devil to watch their final agonizing moments of life. I've always hated this part of training, especially now since I'm going to have Spike join in on it... Sunday, December 23rd 12:31 Pm A thick layer of snow has fallen over all of us as we wait for them to wake up from their forced slumbers. If it weren't for my freezing toes, I'd love it... but I'd rather feel my toes right now. Heating spells help, but I'd prefer shoes right now. "Hope none of them freeze to death." Storm says as he tightens the red scarf around his neck. It was Spikes scarf, but he gave it to Storm during our last visit. He been getting better at dream manipulations, though he's still too soft to do anything dark; as expected. "Eeyup." Big Mac agrees. I just tighten my hold on my chest as I watch them fumble underneath the snow. "Did you get it?" I ask finally, unsure if they learned how to train Spartans. "I got it... or at least I think I did." Storm says as he continues to stare into the small fire of ours. "It’s a doozy, but ah got it." Big Mac says. "You start by bringing them to their lowest point possible, then you poke and prod them as you try to learn what kind of pony they are. You look at the characteristics of the pony as you make their natural reflexes into that of a fighter..." Storm starts. "Frum there ya weed out the bad apples." Big Mac continues. "Ya don't actually try ta kill any a them. The only ones ya kill are the ones that give up. Camo died cause he didn't want to continue. He just... gave in." "Not everyone has what it takes to be a Spartan." I finish, gaining their attention. "When we say it takes a special kind of character to be Spartan, we aren't kidding. To pass, you have to be able to outlive yourself. That way you can die for others." They both nod to me as the first few of the group begin to burst from the snow. "Let’s get back to it." I say as I stand. "Eeyup." "Right behind ya." We wait for them to all wake before ordering them to take their fighting positions. Rainbow and DD jump to it without hesitation... the others. "WHAT IS YOUR MALFUNCTION!" I yell to all the guys as they blush heavily. "GET THE FUCK UP!" "SIR!" Damian yells, "I BELIEVE THAT ONE OF THE MARES..." "SHUT THE FUCK UP AND GET IN YOUR FIGHTING STANCES!" I yell, getting sigh from all of them as they.... What.... the fuck. "Do any of you want to explain to me as to why you ALL have erections!?" I yell as I look from one... oh this is sick. "Permission to warm up sir?" Night Fury asks as they all stand there, twitching from the cold snow. ".... which one of you are in heat?" I ask, getting them both to raise their hoofs. "Hmm... Storm, Big Mac, over here real quick." I say as I step off to the side. "What do you think?" "I've seen bigger." Storm says with a chuckle. "Shut up Storm" Big Mac says as he rubs his eyes. "In all honesty, I say make them run after the mares through the snow. They'll have to learn self-control eventually." "Hmm.... I've got it. A quick run, then The Run, and if they're still up... sparring matches." I say with an evil grin. "Y'all are evil." Big Mac says as Storm nods in agreement. "Let go it then." Wednesday, December 26th, 10:12 Pm Perspective: Storm "OUT FUCKING STANDING!" Miles yells as the last trainee wakes from their slumber. "OUT FUCKING STANDING! Give yourselves a pat on the back, there's only one last thing to do before you're officially Spartans!" He says, getting cheers from all of them. "Inception." "Sir?" Night Fury asks. "What does that intel?" "It’s the Spartan codex. It's never been spoken before. From one Spartan to the next we've implanted it into our minds, to keep it from ever changing. These are the laws in which we follow, in which we live. Line up and prepare to finally become Spartans." He says, getting them all to run over in excitement to finally be finished. He takes a knee and talks to Damian first. Apparently he wants specialized training as well, but he'll just have to wait a week or so. Miles places his hands onto the sides of his head and forces the memory into his brain. After a few moments, Miles gives him a rations bag and starts on the next pony. I walk over to Big Mac and motion for him to step aside as Miles continues with the others. "Yeah?" "Well? Do we tell them?" I ask, getting a wide eyed expression from him. "Come on, you can't tell me that it didn't feel better there. We can keep a secret if you want, but I thought we could make it our secret initiation thing." "But Miles would find out eventually..." "Na-ahahah, only if he would ask. Until then it'll be our secret. Right?" He looks back to Miles before holding his hoof out. I take it and shake it before walking back to the others, smiling like an idiot. "But iffin he asks, Ah'm sayin its yer idea." "Agreed." "Welcome to the Spartan regiment!" Miles says as he stands before True Will. They let out a collective of cheers as Miles motions for them to follow home. The walk home could not have been made faster. Everypony was talking excitedly with one another, giving congratulations and what not. I couldn't help but look over to Big Mac and giggle idiotically. This is going to be funny as hell.... "Alright!" Miles says as we step out of the forest and into his back yard. "I've got one last thing for everyone before I send you off. Just hang tight and I'll be right back." He says before going into his shed. Once the door shuts I run to the front of the group and get everyone’s attention. "OK, so Big Mac and I have a.... little initiation test for all of you." I say with an evil smile. "Buck in Miles's bed." "What?" Almost all of them asks at once. "You heard me. Buck in Miles's bed." I repeat, getting odd looks from all of them. "Why would we want to do that?" True Will asks. "We believe Miles enchanted his bed ta make sex even better than usual." Big Mac says flatly, getting odd looks from everypony as well. "Ah didn't want ta believe it either.... but..." "But.... but... I don't have anypony to do that with." Damian says with a pout. We all laugh a little as Miles climbs out of the shed and begins to hand out necklaces. "These are going to be our calling cards," He starts as he goes down the line. "Use them to identify yourselves as Spartans and to help find other Spartans." I take one as well as look it over. It’s a simple necklace with a pendant on it: The Spartan logo. "Hey, can I go home or do you still need me?" I ask as I put it on. He motions for me to go, so I take off through the air as quickly as possible. It’s been too long since I've seen my Twilight. Ponyville is abuzz with winter activities. Sledding, snowball fights, and ice carving take up the town below. I ignore it all as I head straight for the library, practically crashing through the door when I make it. "TWILIGHT!" I yell as I run in and begin to remove my armor. "Twilight? Where are you?" "Hey there big brother." I spin around and find Breaker sitting in the kitchen, sipping some hot tea. "Breaker? What are you doing here? I thought you were with..." "CLOUD!" My mother yells as she tackles me in a hug, then pulls away quickly. "WHEW! Go upstairs and take a shower honey, you kind of stink." She says as she points up stairs. "Mom? What are you doing here? Is everything alright?" I ask as she walks over and sits beside Breaker, smiling warmly towards me. "Oh everything is fine dear, we're just broke." Chapter 149 New Spartans On The BlockChapter 149 New Spartans On The Block "We're.... broke. What happened exactly?" I ask as I step towards the table. "He doesn't seem to get the whole smelly thing, does he?" Breaker mumbles to Mom, getting a nod in response. "Well, the Griffin Colonies were our largest buyers in the cloud industry," she starts as she holds her tea between her hooves, "but ever since the green storm started we've been taking a lot of flak from them. In order to keep relations the way they are between our nations we had to pay a grievance fee, just some hundred twenty million bits." She says with a smile. "Hundred....twenty... million..." "Yes, needless to say we had to shut down and declare chapter five." She says before taking a sip of tea. I try to glance over to Breaker, but he only looks away in shame. "Are you alright?" I ask Mom. "Oh yes, thank you. The Princess has actually been very helpful during all of this. Originally it was going to be two hundred million and a hanging..." "WHAT!" I yell as I nearly fall over myself. "Yeah, but she negotiated it down to the hundred twenty thankfully. Well, that and she also seemed to mention that we were also part Terradisian. I'm sure Miles will have fun with that later today..." "So that's why you're here.... you had to sell the house didn't you?" I ask, getting a slow nod from her. "I'm sorry...." "Why?" Breaker asks. "Its not like you're the pony responsible for all of this..." "Oh hush now." Mom says as she sets down her cup. "Nopony blames you for that. It was the work of Steelwing and those Centaurs, nopony else." She says as she rubs his back. His only shakes his head as he looks away from her; guilt filling his eyes. "... where's Twilight?" I ask as I look around. "Oh, she went upstairs awhile ago. Why don't you go up and talk to her... after taking a shower of course. We'll be down here OK?" I nod to her before taking the stairs up to my bedroom, where I find Twilight. She's sprawled out on her back in the middle of the bed with a book covering her face. "Rough night?" I ask as I walk over to the bed side. She lets out a small yelp before falling off to the side. I just chuckle and finish to undoing my armor as she gets back up. "STORM! you're back!" She yells before running over to me and wrapping me up in a hug. As I embrace her I take a moment to get familiar with her again. Her sent, the way her fur feels under my hoof, the warmth I get as she rubs against the side of my head.. the way she giggles uncontrollably... wait... she isn't giggling.... "Mom.... what are you doing?" I ask slowly as I look over to her. She's standing in the doorway below staring right at us. "Oh don't mind me, I'm just passing through." She says as she creeps her way to the other door, never taking her eyes off of me. "She'e been.... very curious about things." Twilight whispers to me. "How so?" "Well... she... uh... she really wants grandfoals." "... and?" "And when your mother started giving me advice on proper positioning...." "WHAT!?" "Did you need something dear?" Mom asks as she runs back into the room. "Yeah... I mean no... I.... *sigh* I just need a shower." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles Once Storm flies off I send everyone down into my shed to gather their gear, only to have True Will pull me aside again. We walk over to the side of the house where he glances around a bit. "Something on your mind?" I ask. "Yeah, its about Camo Flash. I don't exactly get why he died the way he did." "He didn't have a cause..." "I'll be honest, I kind of just shouted the first thing that came to mind." "That's exactly what we wanted." I tell him, getting a bewildered look from him. "You were weak, hungry, sleep deprived and most importantly, scared. We took you down to the most primal instincts and asked you what pushes you. There's a reason you said redemption; it meant something to you. Camo didn't have something to push him in that moment of need. He didn't have that cause to push him in that near death moment, that's why he died." He thinks about it for a second before walking over to the shed, passing Damian as he enters. "Next week right?" He asks as he trots up to me, strapping his scythe to his back. "That's what we said..." "I had another question though. You made Storm and Big Mac weapons, can I get one?" "Sure, what are you looking for?" "Something to make me weaker." I stare at him for a few seconds before laughing. "Yeah, sure. I'll get right on that." I chuckle. "No, I'm serious." Again, I stare at him for a few seconds before laughing at him. "OK Damian, I'll get on...." KA-BOOM "GIVE ME FLESH!" From down the tree line a massive explosion shakes the ground as a massive humanoid creature emerges from the ground. He stands at least two stories tall with crimson red skin. His face has two beady black eyes right above a massive four pronged mouth that's slick with drool. He stands up and lets out a tremendous roar as he flexes his muscular body. "What... the...fu.." "I've got this." Damian says casually as he steps forward and takes his stance with his scythe. "You've got to be..." CLUNK FOOOOSH In the spawn of only a few seconds Damian was able to lunge into the air, stab down into the chest of the demon, burn it with some blackened fire, and still land perfectly. "... and here I thought I was over powered." I mutter as he walks back to me. "Also, never stab with a scythe, its meant to be a slicing weapon." "Yeah... so about that weakening weapon..." "What was that?" Dust Devil asks as the rest of the Spartans begin to climb out of the shed. "You mean to tell me none of you saw that?" I ask as they all approach me. "See what?" Night Fury asks. "The demon! The giant, red, fucking demon! None of you saw it! None?" I ask in bewilderment. "That's suppose to be a secret." Damian says under his breath. "NNope. We were all in the shed, didn't see a thing." Big Mac says. "By the way, are we gonna git guns or are we stickin ta blades?" "Guns will only be used in extreme conditions..." "You use a gun." Damian points out. "Yeah, go fuck yourself." I tell him before facing the others. "Okay, enough weird..." "Miles?" Regina asks from behind. "Regina? Did you see it?" "See what?" She asks as she looks around. "On my... you made more sexy Spartans didn't you?" She asks as she walks up to Damian. "Hi, I'm Regina..." "He's gay." I inform her. "No I'm..." "Really? Damn, he was a cute one. How about..." "Regina, what are you doing here?" I ask as I pull her away. Behind me I can hear Damian complaining as some of the others try to comfort him, but I ignore it as we walk towards the front. "Well... it has to do with Storm Breaker and Terradisia." She says uncomfortably. "What about us?" I ask as we make it to the front yard. I come to a stop and stare out at the contingency of griffins standing before us. "I'm sorry Miles, I really am, but I have to arrest you and Breaker. Somepony has to be held accountable for the green storms, and Breaker was one of the ones working with them. My leader has also decreed that you be arrested for giving him..." "Regina, I respect you, but I'm not going anywhere." I tell her as the rest of the Spartans walk up behind me. "Breaker paid his price already, and I am more than willing to help your nation in its time of need. But I will not be made into a criminal for a crime I didn't commit or even assist in." "Miles, please don't make this harder then it needs to be. I brought over two hundred griffins..." "Well I have seven Spartans so go get some more guards and then it may be a fight." "Miles, these soldiers have their orders, and they will carry them out. Please come peaceably. Seven Spartans cannot stand against two hundred fifty griffin soldiers." Regina says as the group of griffins draw their weapons and take their stances. "Regi..." "Miles." Damian says as he walks over to us. "I'll handle this. My name is Damian and you have sullied the honor of the Spartan regiment, prepare to die." He says as he draws his scythe. The griffins, and some Spartans, begin to chuckle as Damian takes a few steps forward. I step aside and pull Regina along, getting quizzical looks from everyone. "HA!" FOOOSH He slashes forward and sends a massive wave of black fire that tears through their ranks with total ease. I had to look away due to the heat, but when I look back, less then fifty of the griffins stood on the edges of what was the group. "OK I did my part." Damian says as he sheaths his scythe and walks over to the patio, passing all of the dumb founded Spartans as he does. "You guys can handle the rest." He lays back against the house and dosses off in a completely relaxed manner, ignoring all of the stares. "Like I said," I say after a long silence, "I have seven Spartans." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Regina Strongwing After my little chat with Miles I take the remained of our troops and head back to the air ship. That was... too powerful. Even by Miles' standards. I need to inform... "I am here." A deep booming voice says in my head. "Sir!" I say quickly as I bow down. "I was with you when it happened, we shall not make that mistake again. I fear a summit meeting must be made..." "Sir, a summit meeting hasn't happened in... centuries! Surely..." "A new nation has arisen. To formally acknowledge them we must meet. I'll send a letter to the Isle, hopefully they will hear my call. Return home for now, we don't want to lose anymore griffins then we need to." "Of course sir..." "And Regina." "Yes sir?" "remember where you are from." I pause for a second as I feel his influence disappear. Where I'm from... "Ambassador Strongwing?" One of the soldiers asks. "Set a course for Canterlot. I need to have a word with... a friend." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles After dealing with the griffins I had everyone stick around for something later tonight. Rainbow Dash said she didn't feel comfortable using my shower so she went home, promising to come back as soon as possible. After a good shower I start my plan by going to Moosden to pick up Shadow. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK I wait outside of Butterscotch and E'Claire's place, not really paying attention to anything, until I hear the high pitched giggles of Shadow from inside. Curious, I open the door and step inside. A massive pillow for has taken over the middle of the room, with Shadow and E'Claire sitting at the top of it. How they are sitting on a fort made of pillows is beyond me, but I ignore that a I dodge a pillow that was about to hit me in the face. "Shadow, what's with you and throwing things at my face?" I ask. "MILES!" She yells before running inside the fort. As I hear a series of metallic locks and doors open up, none of which making sense to me, I look down to see a passed out Butterscotch laying underneath a pile of pillows."YOU'RE BACK!" She yells as she runs out the draw bridge and tackles me in a hug. "How did you make this?" I ask as I peer into the hallway of pillows, complete with furniture, a stair case, and even picture. Not drawings they made and put up, pillows with drawings in the folds. "Guess what! Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle made me an CUTIE MARK CRUSADER!" "Uh..." "Oh right, yay!" She sheers quietly. "That's... great. Is that a fountain spraying out pillows?" "And Butterscotch and E'Claire said I can come over whenever I want! As long as you say its ok. And then... then, um, we went out to Ponyville and we had a small party, two actually! One was for me and the other was a welcome party for Butterscotch and E'Claire. Pinkie Pie threw both of them and they were really fun and... um... oh yeah! Twilight signed me up for school, and I get to go to class with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and... are you listening?" I laugh a bit as I pick her up, getting an irritated look from her. "Lets see, Cutie Mark Crusader, can visit Moosden whenever, had to.... parties, and go to school now. Right?" "Right!" I look over to E'Claire as she pulls a single pillow out from the wall, making the entire thing fall into one massive pile. "Thanks again for watching her." I tell her as I step over Butterscotch. "No problem at all. We actually really like having her around. If you ever need a foal sitter, we're your girls!" "I'll keep that in mind." I say as Shadow taps my shoulder. "Um... can... can I come over even if you are home? Not all of the time but... visit a lot... and stuff?" She asks nervously. I lool over to E'Claire before looking back to her. "Well, as long as they're OK with it I am to. Just let me know when you're heading over OK?" "OK!" She says before hugging me again. "Oh, tonight I have something planned for Luna at my place. You two are invited so if you want to attend it'll be at ten tonight. It's for her birthday so if you want to bring a gift you can, though it's not necessary." "Luna has a birthday?" E'Claire asks aloud. "Yeah... it was actually a few days ago. Anyway, I need to get... hmm... actually, do you think you can make it?" "Yeah, I'm not sure about the gift but we can be there. Why?" "Could you watch Shadow until then? She can't really go to what I have planned for before hand." I say, getting a sly grin from her in response. "Oh you sly dog you, of course we'll watch her until then. Go and have fun with your wife." "Not like that." I say as I kneel down and set Shadow on the ground. "I'll be back later tonight, but tomorrow is just me and you OK? No distractions, no work, just the two of us." "Really?" She asks as her eyes brighten up. "You promise?" "I promise. Now I have to get going, be good for E'Claire and I'll see you later tonight." "Have fun! LETS MAKE IT AGAIN!" She yells before diving into the mass of pillows. E'Claire offers me a smile before running in after her, the two of them giggling loudly. She seems to really like being with them... that's good though. It'll give her a home for... after I'm gone. Pushing that depressing thought from my mind I begin the trek to Canterlot, getting there as quickly as possible. Its the middle of the afternoon, so I guess I can let her sleep a bit longer. From the top of the mountain I make my way to the front of the castle and casually walk in. None of the stoic guards pay any attention to me, standing at their post like statues. I make my way to the main hall where I catch Celestia leaving. "Miles, what brings you here?" She asks as she approaches me, two guards flanking her. "Just thought I'd swing by and steal Luna for the night. You know, give her her late birthday present." I idly say, making her eyes go wide. "Her what?" "Her birthday present. I know its a few days late, but I couldn't get away from Spartan training in time..." "BUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!" Author's Note Sorry for the delay on this chapter. I wanted to wait for the bugs to be worked out better before continuing. And for those of you who took a sneak peek.... SHAME ON YOU EVEN THOUGH I'VE DONE IT IN THE PAST BUT STILL, SHAME. Also, I'm debating a scene to come up so I'll leave it up to you, the readers. Do you wish to have the Soarin/Rainbow Dash sex scene written out? Leave comments telling my your thoughts, I can go either way so some input would be nice. Brony on! Chapter 150 Happy BirthdayChapter 150 Happy Birthday "BUUUUUUUUUCK BUCK BUCK BUCK BUCK BUCK BUCK BUCK BUUUUUUUCK BUCKING BUCK!" Celestia screams as she paces around her gaping guards. "Uh... everything OK?" I venture, only to get her to scream louder. "BUUCK BUCK BUCK BUCK BUCK BUCK BUCK BUCK I'M A HORRIBLE BUCKING SISTER! BUCK MY BUCKING..." SLAP Everything falls silent as I put my hand back down. Celestia just stands there in a daze; probably due to this being the first time ever slapping her like this. "Sorry about that, but I had to do it. Anyway, I'm guessing you either forgot her birthday or..." "No... I did something worse then forgetting." She mumble as she looks back to me, eyes wide. "I forgot for four years in a row." "..." "..." "You are a terrible sister..." "I know!" She exclaims as she falls to the ground, covering her face with her hooves. "How could I forget all these years! I'm a terrible pony!" I point to her guards and motion for them to leave. They look to each other before nodding to me before walking away. With them gone I take a seat beside Celestia and rub her back as she cries into her hooves. "Soror, I'm going to save you on this one. But after everything is said and done, I want you to talk to Luna and ask for her forgiveness, got it?" "What do you have planned?" She asks as she looks up to me, wiping the tears from her eyes. "There are two parts, well now there are. I need you to go to my place and get a party ready. I'd also suggest going to Pinkie Pie for help on that. Lets try to keep this small also, while we're gone try to get her something..." "Where are you taking her?" She asks with a slight tilt of the head. "Hehe, don't worry about that. All you need to know is that I'm taking her somewhere she will absolutely love. Now get going, we don't have much time." I say as I stand up and offer her a hand. She wipes her eyes one last time before taking my hand and standing. "Thank you Miles, I'll get on it right away." "Good." I before turning away from her. I pull out the Spartan necklace and hold it tightly in my hand. Soon it begins to shake, letting me know that its ready. "Calling all Spartans, calling all Spartans. I need all of you to head over to my place for something..." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Celestia After cancelling all of my appointments for the day I make my way to Ponyville, Miles' home to be exact. I walk in and try to think of what to do... I guess getting Pinkie Pie would make the most sense. I walk out the door and begin to trot off when I hear somepony flying above me. I look up to find Rainbow Dash, Soarin and Scootaloo all in the air. Rainbow Dash and Soarin are teaching Scootaloo how to fly by passing her to each other, giving pointers on what to do. The sight warms my heart, reminding me of... better times... January 14th 1139 Mine sister and I stand upon a great cloud looking down upon the earth with eager eyes, well, for my part at least. "Sister, I fear the earths pull will be too great. Perhaps another day..." "Luna." I coo and I nuzzle top her temple. "In the seven years of life you've held you've yet taken to the skies..." "I have too!" She pouts, only making me chuckle. "Flying from bed to supper doeth not count." I say as she peers over the edge, her small frame trembling. "Fear not little sister, I will guide you." "And... if the fall is too great?" She asks as she looks back to me. "Then I will catch you and we shall try again. Now take your stance." I order, getting her to harden her face as she takes her stance. "Wings out." She takes a tentative glance to her small wings before stretching them to their limits. "And let the earth take you." She takes a deep breath and shuts her eyes.... ... ... ... *sigh* KICK With a light push I send her over the edge. I wince a bit from her screams, but push the discomfort aside as I leap after her. The couldn't help but snicker from the site before me. Luna is kicking and screaming her little head off as she plummets to the ground. "Perhaps opening your wings could help?" I yell to her. She attempts to open them, but tucks them closely when the wind is too great. "I CAN'T!" She yells. "Hurry! It's almost too late!" "I.. I NEED HELP!" "You can do it! Make Mother proud!" She looks back to me with teary eyes before looking back down. Tentatively, she slowly begins to spread her wings, only hesitating as the wind catches beneath them. "That's it! Keep going!" She gives me a nod before completely unfurling her wigs. "AAH!" She screams as I drop past her, so I pull back and loop around. I even and smile as I see my little sister hovering in the air; legs tucked in and eyes shut as tightly as possible. "Luna, open your eyes." I say to her as I hover beside her. "Ha... hath I died?" "I think not." She peeps back to herself and drops a bit as she screams out in joy. "I DID IT!" She cheers as she begins to fly around me. "Big sister look! I'm finally flying!" I just smile proudly as she continues to circle me. Mother would be so proud... "Sister! Can we go to the summit tonight!?" "I think tonight is a worthier night then any. Think you can fly there?" "Well...." "It's OK." I say as I take her into my hooves. "I'll fly us tonight." "Thank you Tia... Tia? TIIIIIAAAA......" ................................................................................................................................................................................................. "Celesta? Princess Celeeeesstiiiiia? Is everything alright?" Rainbow Dash asks as she waves a hoof in front of my face. "Huh? Oh my. Sorry about that. I was... lost in thought." I say as I try to hide my blush. "Soarin? Is that you?" I ask as I look behind Rainbow Dash. "Ma'am!" He yells as he stands at attention. "Why are you here with Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo?" I ask, getting them both to rub the back of their necks. "Uh... well..." Rainbow stutters as Soarin walks up beside her and wraps a wing around her. They look to each other before nodding and facing me. "Well, its like this. Soarin and I are together Princess." "... OH! I thought you were with Spitfire, when did this happen?" I ask Soarin. "About the time Dash made it into the Wonderbolts officer academy. We met up from there and... well, one thing lead to another." He says, making Rainbow Dash blush. "Well I guess I shouldn't get my information from the tabloids then." I say as I offer them a warm smile. "Though now your letter from back then makes a little more sense now that I think about it." "Hey, would you happen to know why Miles is calling us back to his place for?" Rainbow asks as she pulls Scootaloo off of her back. "Oh.... yeah. It's Lunas birthday... well technically it was a few days ago, but we're celebrating it today..." "You forgot your sisters birthday? That's harsh." Scootaloo says, getting scorned from Rainbow and Soarin. "Yes... well, I hope you can make it. I need to get Pinkie Pie in order to get things ready for everything..." "I'll go ahead and get everypony there. Any suggestions on what we could get her?" Rainbow asks as she takes to the air. "Well... if its night affiliated I know she'll love it. She also tends to enjoy anything astronomical.... and fudge. She loves fudge, but not with nuts." "Fudge, stars, got it." She says before taking off through the air, carrying Scootaloo along with her. Soarin offers me a salute before flying after them. I don't know what I find odder. How one of the ponies responsible for her public humiliation is now dating her or a buff, short maned Rainbow Dash. I guess that's love for you. I make my way to Sugar Cube Corner as quickly as possible, finding it easy to do as all of the ponies of the town scramble out of my way and bow. I had to explain to a few guards that I'm taking a personal day and that their following me wasn't required. It definitely does feel weird being on my own, but I'll ignore it for now. "Hello?" I ask aloud as I step inside. "Is..." SLAM Pinkie Pie kicks a door open and walks inside, absolutely covered in dirt. She looks over to me, or rather behind me, and begins to approach; huffing in anger. "Uh... Pinkie Pie dear, what happened..." "TB YOU ASSHOLE!" She yells as she points... behind me. "Uh... Pinkie..." "Sorry Princess but I need to talk to somepony else right now. TB! What the buck! I nearly got crushed by that gigantic slab of earth! Then Twilight goes missing for a day and you still haven't told me about fifth arc!" "..." "Uh... Pinkie Pie..." I try, only to get a hoof over my lips. "TB! ANSWER ME!" Its part of the story Pinkie... "OH don't you story me mister! You made me forget Lunas birthday, that's low." OK, I call forth wall abuse... "It's about to be TB abuse if you don't start explaining stuff." OK, no one knew Lunas birthday, you know why. The giant slab thing was pivotal, you know why. And Twilight wasn't really missing, but you knew that. "Wait, Twilight went missing?" I ask... who ever is talking. 'Different Twilight.' Another voice says. 'Dude you gotta...' "CHEESUS! HE MADE ME FORGET LUNAS BIRTHDAY, MADE TWILIGHT GO MISSING AND STILL WONT TELL ME ABOUT FIFTH ARC!" Pinkie yells with a pout. 'Dude! Shame on you! Plus, spoilers, I haven't read that yet.' 'Can I be a part of this!?' NO SQUISHY! This is our thing! Anyway, yes shame. Can we get back to the story now? The amount of fourth wall breaching is... disturbing. "Can I do it!?" Pinkie asks with a hop. Sure. 'Wait wait wait, hold on a sec. When did Twilight go missing?' Uh.. well... you see, the thing is... 'Are you starting ANOTHER story?!' What!? Pfft, no. That is, like, my least favorite thing to do! 'Dude! Three is enough! "But I have six and they're awesome! *beep beep* Skype? -My fifth arc sense is tingling, are you talking about fifth arc?- Don't worry about it A.T. Not get back to being British 'GET BACK TO WORK!' UHG, fine. Go ahead Pinkie. Pinkie puts on some sunglasses and pulls out a little metal cigar that has a blue light. She hold it up to me and says, "Catch phrase." FLASH "Huh?" I look around Sugar Cube Corner in slight confusion. "Hiya Princess!" Pinkie cheers as she walks in from the kitchen. "Whoa... deja blue... anyway I am in need of your assistance Pinkie Pie. You see... Luna's birthday past recently and we're throwing her a party at..." "*gasp* A PARTY! WHERE? WHERE?" She asks as she hops about the room. "... Miles' home." "I'll get my party canon!" She yells a she runs back inside the kitchen. This... feels oddly familiar. "OK let's go!" She says as she pushes a blue canon out. "Is that really necessary Pinkie?" I ask as I follow her out. "YUP! Now I'll get the decorations set up, you go get her a birthday present." "A... present. Right, I can do that. How hard could it be?" I say as I stop and try to think of something.... oh my. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Luna I sigh contently as I exit the dream-scape and look back to my empty bedroom. Almost time to go raise the moon. I go about my usual business until go to my balcony. "Good eve... Celestia?" I ask aloud as I look over to her empty tower. Curious, I fly over and take a look inside to see if she's there, but find it vacant. Odd, but not entirely unheard of. She's probably in some on going meeting. I take control of the moon and wait for her to begin to drop the sun. It takes her a few minutes, but she eventually rushes through it. I make my way to the court room and take my seat upon the throne. Here comes another night of idly sitting here with my thoughts, yaaay. "..." "..." "..." "Guard, is there anything my sister left for me?" "No your highness." He informs me. I slump into my seat and sigh as I think back to Bluebloods coronation. I still can't believe they made him an officer... "What the?" I ask aloud as all of the lights suddenly go out, making the room fall completely dark. I hear my guards draw their weapons as I stand, looking for what ever could be in here... "Do you like them?" I turn around to find Miles standing behind me, shutting off his magic. "Miles! You're back!" I yell before tackling him in a hug. He lifts me up and holds me tightly... a bit too tightly... "Miles... crushing..." “Oh, sorry.” He says with a chuckle as he sets me down. "So, what do you think?" "I... I love it. What are they?" I ask as I go to one and look it over. It would seem like any other moon lily if it weren't for the glow it has. I lean in to sniff, but find it to be scentless. "Bio-Luminescent after dark lamps, or that's what we called them. In certain areas we made these enchantments to... well, they don't really do anything other than glow at dark. In the light they disappear completely." "Thank you Miles, they're lovely..." "Now come with me." He says as he starts to walk down the path. "Huh? I have night court..." "Nope. I have your birthday present at my place, so are you coming or not?" He says as he turns and waits by the door. "Miles..." I start but stop when the guards jump in front of me. "Permission to speak freely?" The one on the left asks. "Of course..." "We're tired of hearing you cry at night..." "Not that it annoys us!" The other one adds quickly. "No, but your happiness is important to us, all of the guard..." "And forgetting your birthday four years in a row is unacceptable!" "So, please go with your husband so we may throw something together for you, your highness." I look between the two of them before chuckling to myself. "You really don't need to..." "Of course not, but we want to. Please, go spend some time with your husband." "Very well. Thank you both, this means more to me then you could imagine." I say as I bow my head to them. They return the gesture by bowing completely before running off through the doors. "My lady." Miles says as he gestures for the door. I giggle a bit as I walk out with him. "So what did you get me?" I ask as we walk through the empty halls of the castle. "I actually didn't get you anything." He says with a smug smile. I nudge him a bit as we make our way out to the gardens. We walk for a bit, enjoying each others company in silence, until we come up to a Mico platform in an opening. "After you." "Where does this go?" I ask as I walk to the edge of it. "Take it and find out." I smirk back to him before stepping onto the platform. FLASH Well... I can honestly say that I wasn't expecting Miles' shed. I walk out and look around for... anything that looks out of the ordinary. FLASH "Ok, I don't get it. What is it?" I ask as he walks past me and heads straight for the jet. "Miles?" "Come on, we're going on a little trip." He says as he starts to climb into the seat. I fly up to and look back to see a seat behind his, so I wedge myself inside. "Oh, this may sting a bit." "What may OW!" I yell as several straps shoot all around me and snap down on me. I feel little pricks all over myself as the dome comes down and seals us inside. "Miles! What are we..." "HOLD ON!" He yells as he turns the machine on. "Hold onto to wh-AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Suddenly the machine lurches forward as the walls before us drop. I latch onto the seat and hold my eyes shut as it propels faster and faster. I don't think anythings ever moved this fast before. "HERE WE GO!" Miles yells as we suddenly point straight up and launch out of the ground. I feel something within the machine explode as we soar even higher into the night sky. "MILES! WHERE ARE WE GOING!" "TO THE MOOOOOOON!" He yells as the exploding feeling kicks in again. "WHAT!?" I yell in disbelief. Did he say what I think he said! Before I could ask anything else everything around me suddenly becomes weightless. My wings twitch as I try to stay level, but with the sudden loss of gravity... "Luna, take a look." Miles says quietly. I peer out of the dome and gasp from the sight. "Woow.... I've never seen so many stars before." I whisper as I look out at the millions upon millions of white specks. "Welcome to the final frontier." Miles says as he pitches to the side and heads for the moon. "We can do a few laps around the moon, but we'll have to head straight home afterwards." He says as the straps suddenly release from me. I float into the air a bit before latching myself back to the seat. "Miles... this... I don't even know what to say." I say as I crawl along the seat and peer over to be face to face with Miles. "Just relax and enjoy the ride." He says before leaning over and kissing my cheek. "We should be there shortly." I sit... or rather float, back and enjoy the view. I'm not entirely sure if I'm going to enjoy this visit to the moon, but I'll try my best for Miles. I don't want to ruin this for him, but at the same time I fear horrible memories coming back. I didn't really spend time on the moon, rather within it, but... I can't help but be apprehensive. "Okay, we're here now. Take a look." I snap back to reality and look out the window. I lose my breath as I look out at the white landscape. "Miles... its beautiful." I say in awe as we glide as closely to the surface as possible. "Happy birthday Luna." Chapter 152 Just You And Me Part 1 MilesChapter 152 Just You And Me Part 1 Miles Perspective: Shadow *poke* "MMmmm....." *poke* "Nnnggghh....." "Psst... Miles. Wake up." I whisper to him. He mumbles something then turns around on the couch. Hmm... there needs to be someway of waking him up. THUD "EEP!" I jump behind Miles to hide from the loud noise from behind. Miles wakes up from the noise as well, but keeps quiet as it continues. "Soarin, be careful." Rainbow Dash says with a chuckle from the stairs. Miles looks back for a second before snapping back to me. When the giggling gets louder I try to sneak a peek, only to have Miles stop me. "What is it?" I whisper to him. "Uh..." "Sooooaarin. I have work later." Rainbow moans. "Come on, it's my last day here. Just call in sick or something." Soarin says as I hear some fumbling around. Miles looks pretty upset about all of this, but keeps quiet. They giggle some more before finally leaving, making promises of getting... some? Some what? "Well... that was awkward." Miles says with a huff. "Um... Miles?" "Whats up kid." He ask as he lays on his back and stretches a bit. "Well... remember when you said we'd spend the day together?" I ask as I look away from him. "Um.... yeah. Why?" "Well... c-can it be today?" He stands up and stretches a bit more before turning back to me and smiling. "Why are you so nervous? Of course it will be today..." "REALLY!?" I ask as I hop to my hooves. "Really really." "Yes!" "Lets start out with a quick shower and then we'll get going. Oh! And we'll have to do a chore but we cab do it on the go. OK?" "Well.... OK. As long as its just the two of us it's fine." I say with a nervous smile. He smiles back to me before heading upstairs to shower. Once he's upstairs I run to the kitchen and begin making breakfast. I run between the stove and the fridge as I try to find all of the stuff I need to make some crepes and toast. He likes pancakes, why wouldn't he like crepes. By the time I finish setting the food on the table Miles makes it back down. He steps inside, stares at the counter, then takes his seat. I glance back to the counter and.... it's not THAT messy. I take my seat and begin to eat as Miles sits there quietly, staring down at the food before him. "Is... is everything OK?" I ask as I set my fork down. "... yeah." He says as he takes the toast and bites into it. "Hay toast?" "Yeah..." "What's in the crepes?" "... hay." He mumble something under his breath as he takes a drink form his glass. "Is there something wrong?" "No, it's not a problem. I'm just not a fan of hay, but it's alright. Eat up and we'll get going alright. I'll just get something edible from the fridge." He says as he stands up and goes to the fridge. "Sorry..." "It's alright. You didn't know." He says as he digs through the fridge. "You know, we've become pretty close. But I still feel as if I don't know you. So lets use today to learn everything we can about each other ok?" He says as he walks over with some carrots and apples. "Ok, what do you want to know?" "Well... whens your birthday?" "February twenty ninth." "No way! Me to!" He says, making me smile. "That would make you eight then, right?" "Y-yeah.... I'm... just small for my age..." "Well, that's probably due to malnourishment from working the mines. OK, your turn. Ask away." Hmm... I think I'll start with something easy. "What's your favorite color?" "Green." "Huh, mines blue. Your turn." "Alright... hmm... what are your interest? What do you like to do for fun?" "Fun?" "Yeah, what do you do that makes you smile?" "Uh... well... double chocolate chip cookies make me smile...." "No, that's a food that you like. What... activities do you like?" Hmm... I can't really pick one. Before it was always me and Lantern Light working, we never really did much of anything else. "I... I don't know. I never had time for... activities. It used to be just me and my sister working all of the time..." "There has to be something. Wasn't there ever a moment where you had a day off and did something? What about during your free time? What did you do then?" "Well, we rested. Working the mines was hard work, so Light made sure that I got my rest." I say as I start to tear up. Miles moves off his chair and kneels beside me as he wraps me up in a hug. I hold him back as I try to hold back my tears. "It's alright. I understand. When I was a child, your age actually, I didn't have the luxuries of life either. I know what its like to fend for yourself, but it's OK now. I'm here, and I'll take care of you. I promise." He says quietly. I just hold him tighter as I feel a single tear roll down my face. When we let go of each other I have to wipe my face clear of all my tears. I swear I've become such a cry baby now. "So... uh... where are you from?" I ask to change the subject. "Heh, finish up and you'll see." I don't really know where we're going, but I feel... kind of excited. I tried to bug him about it, but he would just say its going to be a surprise. I hate surprises... so I eat as quickly as possible. Once I finish I put my plate in the sink and run back to Miles, practically bouncing in anticipation. We walk out to the back yard and head to his shed. Like the old pony he is, he walks as casually as possible. I don't think I'll ever get why you move slower just because you're old. I have so much energy right now I could explode! Then again, I've gone so long without working. "What are we doing in here?" I ask as we land inside. He sets me down and goes to a locker in the back, leaving me to explore the room. "I just need to grab a bag, just hang tight real quick." Miles says from inside as I begin to wonder around. There's a massive white metal thing taking up the middle of the room. It looks like there's a glass dome on top of it, but I can't get a good enough view. Whatever.... "Why is there a giant egg in here?" I ask as I walk towards it. It's... well... it's a giant white egg Just sitting there, in the corner of his shop.... did a dinosaur lay an egg here? "That's a simulation pod. Um... it basically... well... hmm... it's like sitting in a dream. Only, the dream is a course for the jet. It's to help you learn how to use the jet properly." Miles says as he walks up behind me. "Can I use it?" I ask as I look up to him. "Heh, maybe when you're older. Follow me and stay close." He says as he heads to the mico platform in the back corner. "Where does this go?" I ask nervously as I approach its edge. "My home town. Topaz Falls. Look, the place has been under a lot of construction, so I want you to stick as close to me as possible. Do not go wandering off and try not to touch anything that's blinking. Got it?" "Um... OK. Are there a lot of people like you there?" "...no. Lets go." He says bitterly before stepping onto the platform. After he flashes away I take a few deep breaths before following him. I use the one to Moms place all the time, but they still freak me out. FLASH I shake my head a bit before running to Miles side. Why did we teleport to a tunnel? Did Miles' people live underground? That's... odd. We walk to an open metal doorway guarded by two people with big black shields. They stand like statues as we pass through the door way, their yellow eyes never even glancing towards me. "Welcome to Topaz Falls." I look out and gawk at the city before me. Massive stone buildings loom over the paved street as metal men move about, taking stone from one pile to another. The further back I look, the taller the buildings get until one gigantic skyscraper takes over. Most of the buildings are missing the glass to their windows while others have holes blown through them, signs of something bad happening. "What happened here?" I ask as we start to walk down the street. Many of the metal people stop and glance at us for a few seconds before getting back to work. "My home was... abandoned a long time ago. We were attacked and... well...." "How did you escape?" "A device a man made sent me into the future. I was actually born over three thousand years ago." "Wow... did all of these people get sent to the future as well?" "They aren't people, they're bots. Machines we made to help with day to day life. And no, they didn't. I found them in another human city and brought them here to repair this city." "Are there more cities out there?" "Yeah. There are. The next one I'm going to is Jasper. According to my calculations it's right underneath Trottingham..." "When you go, will you bring all of these bots with you? To keep you safe?" "Heh, what? You think I can't keep myself safe?" He jokes. I just glare at him until he puts his serious face back on. "No, I'm not." "But..." "If there were people there, bring any number of infected bots could be disastrous. Also... well... I'm keeping them here for the future." He says as he quickens his pace a bit. "What does that mean?" I ask as I quicken my pace as well. "Well..." he says as as he comes to a stop. "Look, what I'm about to tell you needs to stay between the two of us OK? No one can know." "OK!" I say as I nod my head vigorously. Not like there are a lot of ponies I could tell anyway. He takes a knee and puts a hand on my shoulder as he glances around. "Well... there's a fight coming, a big one. Terradisia isn't big enough on its own to fight, that is, if we were to not use the bots. If this supposed fight were to break out, I'd want a trick or two up my sleeves. These bots can hold their own in a fight. If, and this is a big if; if things were to get really bad, I'd use them to win." "A fight? Who wants to fight you?" "Don't worry about it. There are a lot of good people working together to stop them. Celestia, Regina, Me, we're going to stop them before anything bad could happen. I just... want a back up plan in case." I look back to all the working bots before nodding to Miles. It doesn't really make sense to me, but I trust him to make the right choice... "May I have your autograph?" "AAAH!" I yell as I jump up and latch onto Miles. Behind me one of the machine people just suddenly appeared and SPOKE! "Easy, glad you're here. I need you and one other utility bot to assist me with something I've been meaning to do for awhile now. Take us to the nearest bank." Miles says as he stands, bringing me up with him. "Of course, this way please." The light silver man with a golden X on its chest says. I pant a bit before letting go of Miles and dropping to the ground. "They... can talk?" "Yeah." Miles says as he walks after it. "I thought you said they were just machines." I pout as another one follows after us. "Machines can talk, they just have to be smart enough to." "... that's dumb." I say quietly as I look away. "Sometimes it takes someone smart to do something dumb." "... that's even dumber." "Heh, yeah it is." He says as he starts to chuckle. I just ignore him and continue to follow the dumb smart machine. According to Miles the city is looking really good, though I find that hard to believe. It's dirty, broken, and eerily quiet. I don't say any of these things though, not wanting to hurt Miles' feelings, so I just agree with him as we go. There were a couple of times where Miles would stop us and force us to use a different route. I don't get why though. Easy says that the ways Miles says to go would take longer, but he doesn't listen to him. We finally make it to our destination, a bank. I was a little disappointed when we arrived but Miles said that he needed to get some money for something important then we could do something fun together. With a sigh I follow him inside and look around as he works the massive machine. This place is even dirtier then outside! There must be at least an inch worth of dust on everything thing. Disgusting! CLINKCLINKCLINCLINKCLINK I look over to Miles and gawk as platinum bits begin to spew out from the wall. Miles just holds the bag to it and waits patiently for it to fill up. I shake my head and rub my eyes to make sure I wasn't seeing things but, there it is. This... this explains why he gave me so much money to buy cookies that one time. "You OK there?" Miles asks with a chuckle as I walk over and look over all of the money. "... that's a lot of money." "Yeah, I had quit a bit saved up before being sent here. Leave money alone and it tends to grow." "..." "You going to be OK?" He asks with a chuckle. "What do you need all this money for?" "Don't worry, you'll see." We end up filling three whole sacks up with the money as well as Miles' satchel. I felt a little useless, so Miles made me a small bag to carry my own load. With our bags in tow we head back to the platform. I try asking Miles where all this money is going but again he doesn't tell me, saying that I'll see when we get there. If the rest of today continues like this I think I'm going to explode. "Whew, it's cold." Miles says as we leave his shed and begin to trek through the snow. We end up leaving one of the bots behind, bringing Easy along instead. The snow from last night plus right now has piled fairly high. Enough to the point where Miles has to carry me so I don't become berried. "How you holding up?" "G-good." I quiver. "I think some winter gear is in order. We'll swing by Raritys after this." "If you say so." Thank you! I'm about to freeze my tail off! We head to the edge of town towards the Manticors Cubs Orphanage. As soon as we step inside a wall of warmth washes over me "HELLO?" Miles calls out as he peers around. "Can I... Miles? Can I help you with something?" Some white stallion says as he comes down the stairs. He has orange hair and a cutie mark of a red heart and a yellow sash in the back. "TenderSoul, I said I was going to sponsor your orphanage, and here I am." He says as he points to a bot. It walks over to the stallion and drops the bag in front of him. "What is this... is.. is that what I think it is!?" The stallion, TenderSoul, asks as he opens up the bag. "How much is there?!" "I'd say roughly five or six million credits. Give or take..." "I can't accept this." He says as he pushes the bag away. "Well of course you can't, it's not for you." Miles says as he sets his own bag down. He walks over to Tendersoul and kneels to get closer to him. "This is strictly for the orphanage. I want you keep tabs on everything you spend this money on. If I see one credit go towards something unnecessary..." "What kind of stallion do you think I am?" TenderSoul ask, his offense showing in his face. "I don't know, but you can spread this among any other orphanages you'd like. Just keep tabs on where everything goes when you do and report back to me..." "Miles... I... I don't know what to say." TenderSoul says as he looks back to the money. "You dream about things like this happening, but.... when it actually happens..." "I'd suggest starting by buying thicker blankets for the cold season. Maybe some warm clothing for all the kids, whatever keeps the cold off of them." Miles says as he stands. "I've got a few more places to run to, so I'll leave you to it. See ya!" He says as he begins to walk away. "Miles!" TenderSoul says as he runs in front of Miles. "Thank you. You have no idea how much this is going to help. We're going to provide so much for so many foals..." "Hey, if you ever need anything else in the future you come to me and ask. No child should ever go without due to the circumstances they're born into." Miles says before leaving the building. I look back to the stallion and smile before running after Miles. "I feel... good." I say to Miles as I walk after him, using his foot steps as a path. "Am I OK?" "Heh, doing something good for others does have that effect on you. Don't worry about it, it just means that you're a good person..." FWUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMM Miles a I duck down as something flies above the cloud cover, picking up the wind. A strong gust pushes much of the snow clouds and makes the cloud cover turn darker. We both look around to see if any pegasi come down, but none do. "What was that?" I ask as I hide behind Miles' leg. "I'm not sure, but I don't like the look of..." WHACK A massive ice ball falls from the sky and hits Miles in the head, knocking him over. I run to his side to check on him and find him still awake. "Are you OK?" I ask as he lifts his fiery hand and creates a shield. Suddenly a hail storm takes over Ponyville, golf ball sized balls of ice falling all over. Miles stands up, keeping his shield above himself, and looks around. "C'mon. Lets see if we can get to our next destination as quickly as possible." He says as he picks me up and sets me on his shoulders. Lucky for me he's really warm, so I snuggle close to him as he leads the way through the snow and ice. "Finally!" Miles cheers as we approach Raritys store. "What are we getting here?" I ask as he pounds on the door. "Just a few winter things, plus I'm paying her back for all of the free stuff I've gotten." KNOCKKNCOKKNCOK "I'll be right theeeeere." Rarity chimes from inside. After a minute or two she finally opens the door and ushers us inside. "Darlings what were you both doing out in the snow.... hm, I didn't know the pegasi were making a hail storm." "We were running a chore when something flew over head and kicked the storm up." Miles says as he sets his big bag down. "We'd like to place an order for some winter clothes, and a pair of boots." "I'll be honest, I've kind of been expecting you to show up for this Miles." Rarity says as she scuffs her hoof at the ground. "I've already made a few ensembles I just know you'll just love!" "Really? Thanks, that cuts our time in half now. Well I'll try a few of them on while you get somethings ready for Shadow. And this is payment." Miles says as he drops his satchel. Rarity looks over to me before peeking inside. "MILES! This is this is this..." "I know..." "I can't..." "Rarity, you still run a business. After all of the free clothes you've given me it's the least I could do." "Those were gifts Miles, you don't need to pay me back for those..." "And I'm not. This is payment for all of the winter stuff we're getting. Now I know you're a generous person, but please let me show you some generosity in return." "Well... if you insist." Rarity says as she levitates the bag up and sets it on a counter. "Why don't you go over to the fitting room and try on your new clothes while I get Shadows measurements." Rarity says as she begins to walk towards the back of the room. "Go on, I'll be right out here." Miles says as he sets me down. I glance back to him nervously before following after the fashion pony. "Now if you could stand there and hold still we'll be done before you even know it." Rarity says as she levitates a couple of measuring tapes out. I close my eyes and hold still as she begins to wrap me up in the tapes. I tense up a bit from their touch, but focus on holding still as Rarity continues her measuring. I don't really like other ponies touching me, but I'll deal with it for now. "And that's it." Rarity says as she begins to put all of the tapes away. "You are a very good little model." She compliments as she goes to her her work station and begins to cut different fabrics. "We're done?" "Well, no. Once I get my first piece down I'll have you try it on to make sure it fits. But after that I won't need you to fit them anymore." Relieved, I begin to wander around the room. "Is Sweetie Bell home?" I ask as I look over some unfinished dresses. "Well, yes. But she's at our parents home." Rarity says, never looking away from her work. "How do I look?" I look over to Miles to see him in a black wool jacket that has pockets on the front, black jeans, and grey boots. A grey scarf is tied around his neck and ends with three little white gems. I look over his entire outfit before saying, "meh," with a shrug. "Oh don't listen to her you look smashing." Rarity says as she glances over to Miles. "How do the boots fit?" "Perfectly... well, I'd like them better with socks..." "MILES!" Rarity practically yells. "There are foals in here!" She says as she looks back to me. "What's the deal with socks?" I ask, making Rarity turn red. "Well.... uh... dear, that's something for adults..." "Apparently for ponies they're used to be seductive. But for humans they're just something you wear with shoes so your feet don't rot." Miles says as he walks over to Raritys side. "Seriously though, think you could manage some plain white socks that go past my ankles?" "*sigh* humans. I'll see what I can do. Could you please come here Shadow? Lets see how this fits." She says as she levitates some clothes to me. I start to put them on when she raises a hoof to me. "The changing room is in the front room." "... but I don't normally wear clothes." "Shadow, a lady does not get dressed in front of a stall...er... man. Now go and get dressed. We'll be right here when you're ready." I look over to Miles but he has some kind of secret, grown up, wordless conversation with Rarity and asks me to go to the front. I go to the front changing room and begin to put all the clothes on. I start with the sweater. It's made of a light material and is all grey with a blue trim. Next I grab the scarf and tie around neck; like the sweater it's light grey and blue. Lastly I take the grey saddle bag and toss it on my hips. I look at myself in the mirror before shrugging and trotting off. I like the clothes and all, fashion just isn't my thing. "...completely agree with you. I can't believe I didn't think of it before." Miles finishes as I enter. "Hey there's my beautiful girl." I blush a bit from the compliment as I walk up to the two of them. "How does it feel? Too tight?" "It's good. Nice and warm... what were you two talking about?" I ask nervously as I look between the two of them. I have a bad feeling about this, especially when Miles gave Rarity that look and she left the room. "Am I in trouble?" "Shadow," Miles starts as he sits on the ground before me, "have you been going to school at all?" "S-school?" "Yeah, have you had any education?" "Um... Lantern taught me to read a bit and some numbers. That's all I really need thought, right?" I ask with a weak smile. Miles just shakes his head and stands back up. "We'll get you signed up first thing tomo..." "Wait! I don't want to go to school! I'm too dumb to go, they'll make fun of me and..." "Shadow." He says firmly. "I'm sorry, but this is happening." "But it isn't fair! I never went to school before, why should I start now?!" I demand as I stamp my hoof down. Miles just sighs and kneels back before me. I turn away from him and try to think of a way out of this. It isn't fair! I've gotten by this far without going to school, I shouldn't need to start now! "Shadow, it's more then the learning. Going to school was the greatest thing I did before my life here. It's where I found my friends. And you know what else?" "... what?" I ask as I glance back to him. "You will to. You'll be in the same class as Applebloom, Sweetie Bell, and Scootaloo." "Really?" "Yup. Don't worry about learning everything else either. I'll help you when I can, and so will Butterscotch and E'Claire. And I'm sure I could get Twilight to tutor you as well, though I imagine her being..." "But what about all the other ponies? They'll stare at me and make fun of me... I don't want to go through that." I say as scuff the floor a bit. "Hey, I was bullied to you know..." "REALLY!?" Rarity yells from behind the door. "Yup! They called me short fuse, power grid, botman, and all other kinds of things. That is until I became a Spartan. Then they backed off. So how about this, why don't you go and give it a try. A month in school and if you really can't stand it we'll look into home schooling. Deal?" He asks as he holds his hands out. "You promise? One month and I can try home schooling?" I ask as I turn back to him. "I promise. We have a deal?" ".... OK." I say as I shake his hoof. "That's my girl!" He says as he yanks me up into a hug. I hug him back but... THUD "HAHA! I won! You know what that means!" Princess Celestia cheers from outside. "Tia please! I don't..." "You're getting socks!" Author's Note Shout out to Arlan753 for picking Shadows birthday, junior Alien Child for picking what was for breakfast and Jay Kuro Seizen for picking who we followed first. Thanks for reading and like always, Brony on! Chapter 153 Just You And Me Part 2 LunaChapter 153 Just You And Me Part 2 Luna Perspective: Celestia I slowly open my eyes as my internal clock goes off. Eons of getting up at the same time forces me to stretch a little.... why is Luna in my bed? I sit up right and look around my room for answers but... shouldn't she be at night court or checking on the dreamscape? I slide off the side of my bed, trying my best not to wake her, and take another look around; finding a note on my desk written to me. I bring it over and read it over: Celestia I'm writing this letter to myself because I know I will forget again. Lunas birthday has passed recently and due to the spell I forgot all about it. This morning you will spend the entire day with her, doing everything she wants to do. I have already rescheduled all of our appointments for today and informed the guard of our day of solitude. Do your best to have fun and remember to thank Miles for reminding you, Celestia. P.S. It is urgent to ask Luna if her and Miles... "What's that?" Luna asks from behind. "Nothing." I say as I crumple it up and toss it into a nearby trash bin. I turn back to her and do a double take as I look at her mane. I had forgotten about that little prank I played on her all those years ago. I can't believe it's still in effect. "Um... Luna..." "It's my mane isn't it?" She asks dully as she runs a hoof through it. I nod and laugh a little as she grumbles her way to my mirror. "I don't think I'll ever understand why it does that. Look at your mane, it's perfect." She pouts as she starts to brush it out. I try to think back to the yesterdays events, but can't remember what happened after meeting Miles. "So... Luna... after raising the sun and moon... what do you want to do first?" I ask in an attempt to see if we had set any plans. "Hmm.... I know exactly what I want to start with, but it can wait until after breakfast." She says as she finishes brushing her mane. We both look over to the clock in my room to see we have a couple of minutes before sunrise. "So... here we are... birthday girl." I say awkwardly as I try to start a conversation. I'm finding it a bit strange due to the fact that I forgot her birthday yet she seems perfectly fine about it. I guess yesterday we made up for it. "Heh, technically it was six days ago but better late than never right?" She jokes. I take a deep breath before looking her straight in the eyes. "Little sister, I know I probably said this a thousand times, but I'm sorry I forgot all these years..." "It's fine Tia..." "It is not fine! I'm your big sister and I forgot your birthday. You may have come back from the moon but..." "But?" She asks as she leans in. "*sigh* but I feel as if I don't know you at times. We've become so distant recently and I feel as if I'm losing you. But that changes today. I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that we're as close as we were before." Luna doesn't say anything at first. She just stands there for a moment staring at me, thinking about what I just said. She takes a few steps towards me and lightly embraces me, sighing into my neck as she presses against me softly. "Tia, you'll never lose me. No matter how far away I may seem, you'll always be my big sister." She says quietly. I sigh in relief as I begin to return the affection. "Come now, we should begin the sunrise..." "You do it today." I tell her, making her step back and gawk at me. "I've raised both the sun and the moon plenty of times before, but you've never raised the sun. If you'd like to, you can." "But.. the sun is your thing. I don't know..." "The choice is yours sister. If you choose not to I'll understand." I tell her as I walk over to the balcony. I sit and wait for her to take her place in front of me. "You sure you won't mind?" She asks with a glance back to me. "I won't." I tell her with a confident smile. She looks out to the horizon and begins to charge her horn. I wait patiently as she stands there with her horn lit... ... just standing there... ... any time now... ... hopefully on time... ... come on Luna, just grab the thing and go.... ...*sigh*... ... am I going to have to kick her or something? "Luna? Are you..." "Hold on." She says quickly as she continues to focus. I just roll my eyes as she continues to just stand there. I guess doing something like this is pretty nerve wrecking for her. "Finally." I mumble under my breath as the sun begins to shine over the horizon. After a minute of Lunas intense focus the moon finally sinks down as the sun begins its daily course. "Well done sister." I say as she lets go of the two orbs. "Thank you, it was a little tricky to connect with the suns soul, but I got it." She says as she turns to me. I tilt my head a bit at what she said in confusion. "The suns... soul?" I ask. "Yeah. At first it didn't want to connect with me but after some coaxing I finally got through." ".... huh." "What?" "Well.... I usually just grab it and put it on course. I didn't even know the sun had a soul." I admit as I look up to the sun. I didn't know Luna connected with the moon the way she does... I guess that's why she hates it so much when I do it. "Maybe another time I'll teach you how I do it. Then you can connect with the sun even more." Luna says with a warm smile as she turns and looks out at the horizon. "Hmm.... lets get breakfast." "OK, sounds good to..." "In Cloudsdale." "... Cloudsdale? Why not just eat here?" I ask as I step beside her. "We eat here every day. I want to try something new and I've only been to Cloudsdale a couple of times. Let go there and try something new out." "Are you sure Luna? The both of us eating out in public could be... unwise." I warn her. "Tia, when was the last time you made an unannounced public outing?" ".... February 29th... oh my... alright, lets go eat out in Cloudsdale." I say as I begin to charge my horn, intending to teleport to the carriage port. "RACE YOU THERE!" Luna yells before launching through the air. I shake my head a bit before chasing after her. "WHY ARE WE FLYING THERE!?" I yell at her as I catch up. "WHAT'S THE MATTER? TOO MANY SWEETS AT NIGHT SLOWING YOU DOWN?" Luna yells back at me as she pulls ahead of me. It... Is... ON. I begin to flap my wings as hard as I can, gaining on Luna quickly. She glances back to me and banks to block me from passing. I roll to the left and drop a bit, skimming the cloud cover and gaining enough speed to catch up with her. She drops down beside me and gives me a smirk as she begins to pull ahead. Oh no you don't! I flap even harder as we fight for the lead. "GIVE IT UP SISTER! I'M LIGHT AND BUILT FOR SPEED!" She yells as Cloudsdale comes into view. I snap my eyes shut as I begin to flap my wings as hard as I physically can. "I'M..." FLAPPING... "NOT..." FLAPPING... FWUM I suddenly crash through a cloud and veer off course as I lose a tremendous amount of speed. I open my eyes... FWUM "AAAHHHH!" Some mare screams as I crash through a cloud wall. I only make it half way through, but it's enough to scare the daylights out of the couple before me. We all stare at one another silently; the two of them trying to comprehend what just happened and my not knowing what to say. "So.... god morning my little ponies... uh... my apologies for the... sudden intrusion." I start with. They look to each other before looking back to me. "Um... it's alright... Princess Celestia." The stallion says as they both do a slight bow. "So.. whAH!" I gasp as I feel somepony grab my back end and begin to pull. "Good day to you!" I yell before being pulled through the holes and fall on top of Luna. "Ha! We haven't raced like that since we were foals!" Luna exclaims as we both get up. "And by the way you loss..." "I did not!" "How would you know? You had your eyes shut the entire time." Luna smirks as she trots down the cloud path. I trot after her and try to think of a response... but have nothing to say. How she's able to pester me like this. I'll never know. Luckily for the two of us it's too earlier in the morning for anypony to see us, so walking around is fairly easy. A guard spotted us and offered us an escort, but we both told him that we were fine on our own. It struck him as odd, but he complied, even went as far as to tell the other guards of our arrival. Due to how early we had arrived we didn't find many restaurants open. Well, we did find some doughnut shops, but Luna said no.... then added some rather insulting comments about my sweet tooth and weight. If there is one thing that I will never forget it's how much Luna loves to tease me about my weight. While she gets to eat what ever she feels, I have to keep myself on a regulated diet, otherwise I blow up like a pregnant cow. "UHG, well... want to make a run to Ponyville? See if anything's open there?" Luna asks as we stop at the end of a line of restaurants. "If you wish. We're doing everything you want to do so if you feel like trying there we can." I tell her as we walk through the empty street. "Hmm... you think it would be weird to got to Twilights or Miles' place? Somepony we knew at least." ".... I think it would." I tell her as I think of the chaos that would ensue of walking in, unannounced, to Twilights. "Maybe we could just..." Don't say get doughnuts. "Hmm..." "OH! Look! I think they're opening up!" Luna exclaims as she takes off for the top of one of the cloud buildings. I follow after her to find a small restaurant beginning its opening routine. A couple waiters are going around setting chairs for small round tables as the cooks in the back begin prepping for their later courses. "Excuse us but would you happen to be open right now?" I ask as Luna and I walk through the front door. "Sorry but we haven't opened just yet, you.... you... you... you're the Princesses." The closes waiter gawks as he drops a chair. All of the staff freeze and stare at us as we look to one another. "Well if you aren't open yet..." "NONONONO! Don't mind what he said! Please come in your highness's!" The waitresses with the light blue hair and teal coat in the back says as she runs over and ushers us to a table. "You don't have to give us any special treatment. If you're not open..." "We were opening early anyway! Right Stir Fry!?" The mare yells to the cook, who nods vigorously and begin to run around the kitchen."Please, we insist. My name is Sky Blue, but you can call me Sky, and I'll be your waitress, can I start you with some coffee?" She asks as she gives us both a menu. "I'll have some orange juice." Luna says as she looks over the menu. "I... will have the same. Thank you." Better play it safe and get what she gets. "Two orange juices coming right up you royal highness's!" She says before flying to the back. I bring up the menu and pretend to look over it as I really just look around the room. It's a pretty simple get up. Large open windows take up the walls as small round tables fill the room. A counter separates the kitchen from the rest of the room that has simple stools stationed periodically on it. With how simple and new everything is I take it that this place is relatively new. "Hey Tia," Luna says as she flips through the menu. "Remember when we went to that restaurant in the goblin empire?" "And how you tossed the cook out the window? How could I forget." I chuckle as I look over to Stir Fry. He's staring right at Luna, sweating lightly. Probably not the best thing to have said... "He was beyond rude, but do you remember what we ordered?" She asks as she sets the menu down. "Hmm... it was something relatively simple. I remember because you yelled 'see how easy THAT was' at him as he fell from the building." "OH! I remember, it was a crepe! Stuffed with chocolate hazelnut spread stuffed inside..." "Is that something you'd be interested in having? Because that happens to be one of our specials today." Sky says as she brings us our drinks. "Yes! And a side of toast of you don't mind." "Of course, and what would you like this morning?" "I'll have what she's having." I state simply as I give Sky my menu. "Two orders of the special crepes, got it!" She says as she flies the ticket over to the cook. I take a sip from my glass as Luna does the same, both of us enjoying the citrus-y drink. "So... here we are. Just the two of us... what do you want to talk about?" I ask as I set my drink down. Luna just shrugs as she takes another sip from her glass. "So... Princesses," Sky asks as she walks up to the two of us. "I know this must be pretty rude to ask, but can I get a picture? To put on the wall, you know, for all of the famous ponies that come here and stuff." "I don't mind, you?" Luna asks me. I shake my head and scoot closer to Luna as we turn to Sky. She fumbles with the camera a bit before finally lifting it up and snapping off a picture. "Thank you so much Princesses!" Sky gushes as she sets the camera down. "Not at all, why don't you sit with us and tell us about this restaurant? Give us the insiders look." Luna offers. Sky stands there, stunned, before shaking her head and pulling a chair up to our table. "OF COU-*cough cough* I mean, of course. Well Horizons Peek has been here for nearly a year now. I own it, well, inherited it from my sister really. She build this place with her own four hooves, but became very ill. She passed away about three months ago..." "You have our condolences." I tell her, getting a smile from her. "Thank you. Silver Tray was her name. She loved being a waitress; bring ponies their meals and seeing it bring them together, it really was her passion. She worked her whole life to make this place what it is, but once it was started she was diagnosed with... well, the doctors didn't have a name for it. She would become ill and forget random things then get better and act like nothing was wrong. It was tearing her apart and... well, one day she didn't get better... and she didn't remember her medication..." "You don't have to continue, we understand." Luna tells her as she rubs her back a bit. Sky nods a bit as she wipes her eyes. "Thank you. That's why I wanted to continue running Horizons Peek, for Silver Tray. There aren't a lot of ponies that know of this place, that's why I wanted the photo. So we can get some recognition and stuff. NOT THAT I'M TRYING TO GET FAMOUS OR ANYTHING! I want the food to speak for us mostly, but ponies need to but the food in order to know that... NOT THAT THE FOOD IS BAD OR ANYTHING! Its just..." "That's enough out of you!" The light tan waiter says as he stuffs his hoof in her mouth. "Sorry about that, Sky tends to get a little feather brained when she reminisces about the restaurant." "It's alright, and you are?" I ask as Luna and glance to one another, each chuckling on the inside. "I'm Bread Crumb, I'm Sky's brother." He says as Sky yanks his hoof out of her mouth. "Silver Tray was my wife." "Oh, sorry about your loss." "It's alright. There wasn't anything anypony could do. The best we can do now is keep the restaurant alive for her and move on. Why don't we get our sad stories out of your manes while we go and check on your food." He says as he pulls Sky towards the back. "Well... that was... interesting." I comment as I look back to Luna. "We should... um Celestia?" "Yeah?" I ask as she leans towards me. "Did you bring any money to pay for this?" She whispers to me. "... oh. No... I don't usually carry money with me." "We can't not pay! After everything that they've been through it would be just rude!" "I know, but what can we do? Where are we going to get some money?" I ask her. We both take a moment to think about it as Sky trots back out and sets our food before us. "Do you have a restroom?" Luna asks her. "Of course, the door in the back left of the room." "If you'll excuse me." Luna says as she stands and walks over to the restroom. Where could she possible be going? SHE BETTER NOT LEAVE ME HERE! "Is everything alright?" Sky asks nervously. I shake my head and try to think of a way out of this mess... "Yes, I mean no." I stutter as a thought comes to mind. "WHAT!? I mean, what is it? How can I help? Is there something wrong with the food?" She asks eagerly. "Umm... no, the food looks just fine its... Lunas... birthday." "Her birthday?" "Yes, well actually it was a few days ago but we're celebrating it today. Do you think you could muster up something for her?" "Hmm... STIR FRY!" Sky yells as she runs to the back. I sigh in relief, this should buy me some time to think of something. I can't really just sneak out, and I can't just teleport out either. Both would be obvious and rude. Hmm... maybe they'll let me wash dishes... FLUSH I shake my head in bewilderment as I hear the toilet flush. moments later Luna walks out and saunters to her seat, completely calm and collect. She smiles to me before lifting her fork and digging into her food. "Luna, is everything... taken care of?" I ask nervously as I glance back to the frantic kitchen. "Don't worry, I've got everything under control." She says before sipping her orange juice. I give her a skeptical look before taking my fork and taking a tentative bite. We eat in relative silence, making small talk about the food and surrounding area. Once we finish all of the workers gather around us, shuffling a bit as Sky takes the lead. "Princess Luna?" "...yes?" "1234 HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY FROM ALL OF US TO YOU WE WISH IT WAS OUR BIRTHDAY SO WE COULD PARTY TO WE WISH ALL OF YOU DREAMS MAY COME TRUE SO HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, OYE!" Confetti and streamers burst forth as they all break into song, clapping and cheering as they do so. Luna and I laugh at their antics. At the end of the song they present a little breakfast pastry and run back to the kitchen. Luna looks down to the pastry before laughing a bit more to herself. "How were you going to pay for this?" She asks through her giggles. "Don't worry about it. Eat up and we'll get going." I say with a chuckle. Luna splits the pastry and we finish it quickly. Once everything was said and done we stand to leave, getting Sky to escort us out. "I hope you enjoyed everything Princesses." Sky says as we pause at the front door. "I think we did." I say as I look to Luna, who nods and levitates out a platinum bit. "Keep the change." She says before trotting out. I smile to Sky before following after my sister. Where did she get money like that... I better not ask. I may not want to know. Perspective: Bread Crumb Once the Princesses were out of sight I run over to Sky and yank her to the back. "WHAT THE BUCK WAS THAT ABOUT!" I yell at her. "Dude, they are awesome tippers." She says as she toys with the bit in her hooves. I grab the bit and begin to pace around. "WHAT WAS THAT!?" "I couldn't help it! I started with one lie then another came out and then you saved my flank!" She yells back. "What did you want me to say? That we're just some cafe on a cloud?" "YES!" We all yell, making her shy away. "Well... I guess you have two wives now." She tells me with an innocent smile. I grumble to myself as I rub the top of her head. "Lets just hope they don't look us up, or we might be in some big trouble." "I don't think they will. I mean, if it was Lunas birthday, why did she pay?" She says as she sits back up. "To be honest I didn't even know Celestia had a sister..." "Now can I have my bit back?" "No. This will be split between all of us for not calling you out on your lie. Now lets get back to work, we have a cafe to run here." Perspective: Celestia We spend a little more time just walking around the city, but as more and more ponies begin to wake, the more difficult it becomes to do so. Eventually we take to the air and begin to head towards Canterlot. "What shall we do when we get back home?" I ask Luna as we glide through the air. Luna thinks about it for a second before a purely evil smile grows on her face... I'm not going to like this at all. "I propose a race to Carousel Boutique. The loser has to get a pair of fuzzy, saucy, waist high socks." I lose a bit of altitude when Luna says this. "A-are you joking?" "What? Afraid you'll lose?" "NO! Why would we race to get SOCKS!?" I yell at her, trying to grasp her reasoning for this. "It's not like I'm worried, I beat you last time. Unless you think it would be an unfair advantage, the weight difference and all." She says with an evil smile. ... ... ... "Its on." I say bitterly as we both land on a lone cloud. We take a moment to stretch before taking our stances. YOU. WILL. NOT CALL ME FAT AGAIN! "READYSETGO!" Luna yells as she takes off. I put all my strength into launching myself as quickly as possible. We both rocket through the air as we fly down towards Ponyville, each of us flapping our wings as hard as we can. I glance over to her and begin to flap with all my might, making my joints burn as I push myself faster. As we speed up, the ground quickly approaches, making our game of chicken intensify. I ignore Luna as I close my eyes and continue pumping my wings, waiting to hear her stop before stopping myself. ... ... FWUOSH Once I hear her open up I throw my head back and hold my wings open as I... THUD I crash down and immediately look around, seeing Luna land directly in front of me. I look over to Carousel Boutique before growing a large smile on my face. "HAHA! I won! You know what that means!" I yell as I prance around the dumbstruck loser. "Tia please! I don't..." "You're getting socks!" I yell as I stick a hoof in her face. "Fuzzy, saucy, waist high socks! How do ya like THAT!" I yell as I do a little victory dance on front of her. With my back leg I kick the door open and begin to walk backwards inside, still gloating to the now blushing Luna. "Froo froo, silky, raunchy, seducing..." "Socks?" I freeze up from the voice behind me. Slowly I turn around to find Miles, Shadow, Rarity and Easy standing directly behind me. Miles is squatting over Shadow covering her ears as Easy tries to help Rarity not to faint. ".... Miles... what are you doing here?" I ask him as he stands up.. "Getting winter clothes. I would ask the same but we already know what you're up to." He says as he lifts up a bag and gives it to Easy. Silently, his group takes their belongings and leave the shop. All the while Luna and I stay completely silent, our faces covered in our blushes. "Well... Luna, if you please. We can get started..." Rarity starts but stops when we both look to her. "We aren't..." "Yes we are!" I say as I lift Luna up with my magic. "WHAT!? But..." "No buts! You've mad fun of my weight for the last time! Now suffer the consequences! Rarity, could you please make it as seducing as possible. I want these to embarrass her just to even have them in her closet." "Well... I think I know just what to do." Rarity says as she mumbles something else under her breath. Revenge has never tasted so sweet before. Author's Note Shout out to Arlan753 for picking Shadows birthday and junior Alien Child for picking what was for breakfast. (Yes, it was a two part point reward.) Hurry over to my blog to add your own Ocs to the pool, the next art should happen within the next few chapters so don't wait. Thanks for reading and like always, Brony on! Chapter 154 Just You And Me Part 3 Rainbow DashChapter 154 Just You And Me Part 3 Rainbow Dash Perspective: Soarin I wake up to the feeling of Rainbow Dash getting out of bed. I roll over and try to savor the last moments of sleep, pulling the sheets close to my self. Last night was... incredible! I was a little skeptical of using Miles' bed, but Rainbow was right. Something about this bed just make sex... better! We'll have to try it in here again sometime soon, assuming Miles hasn't found out already. Once Rainbow finishes up in the restroom she comes right back to bed, sticking to her own side as she pulls the sheets closer to herself. I roll back over and position myself beside her, taking this chance to snuggle in full force. She lets out a content sigh as our bodies relax against each others. I still can't get over how trim she is after Spartan training. At first I thought it was a little weird, but... I'm kind of liking it now. She may have the rough exterior, but she'll always be my mare.... My mare. Dammit, why do these thoughts have to come to mind every morning. I know we both would like to, or at least I do... but, the timing isn't right. She just got a her job as Spartan and still has her other one, not to mention her being a bearer. We barely get to spend time together as it is... but... I still want to marry her. "Ermm... morning stud." She groans as she rolls over and rests her forehead against mine. "Did you sleep well?" "Yeah... you?" I ask as I begin to run a hoof along her side. "Mhmm... are we still in Miles' bed?" She asks, keeping her eyes shut as she teeters on the brink of sleep. She may be a Spartan, but somethings will never change. "Yeah... we should get going before he finds us here." I whisper back to her. "Naw, if it's already morning and we're still here then he already found us. We can stay a bit longer." She says as she lazily opens her eyes. I continue to look on as I get lost in her beauty. I sometimes can't believe how lucky I am to be with her. And to think this all started because I found her during training pleasuring herself. I didn't think an actual relationship could start like that, but here we are. "You're chuckling, what's so funny?" "I was just thinking about our first time." I say, getting her to roll her eyes. "I swear, your minds just stuck in sex mode isn't it?" "I can't help it, it's in my blood." I joke, getting her to just sigh and look into my eyes. "Rainbow... I... I wanted to... to..." "Wait." She says as she looks out the window. "What time is it?" "Almost seven...." I say. The gears in both our heads click at the same time as we jump out of bed. "SCOOTALOO!" We both yell as we begin to... "Wait, isn't it winter break for her?" I ask, stopping Rainbow from leaping out the window. We look back to one another before laughing. I can't believe we both forgot that. "She'll probably want to sleep in at the Apple's place for a bit longer, we should head home and wash up before getting her." Dash says as she opens the door. She motions to me to be quiet as she tip hooves her way to the stairs. I watch her for a second before walking after her, getting her shove me a bit. "We need to be quiet!" "Why?" "We don't want to wake anypony up!" "I'm pretty sure if they could sleep through what we did last night they can..." "SOARIN!" She yelps as she tries to cover my muzzle up. "We need to get going... I still have work..." She mumbles as we wrestle a bit before tumbling down the the rest of the stairs. THUD I land, hard, flat on my back... "UF!" I gasp as Rainbow lands right on top of me, probably intentionally. "Soarin, be careful." She says with a chuckle as she lays back on top of me and gives me a light kiss. She tries to get up but I grab her wing joints to hold her in place, feeling their new strength rather impressive. After some struggling, and sexy giggles, she finally lays back on top of me and kisses me again. "Wanna go again?" I whisper into her ear as I pull hard on her wings. "Sooooaarin. I have work later." She groans as she grinds into me. "Come on, it's my last day here. Just call in sick or something." I tell her as I start planting kisses on her neck. She just giggle a bit as she tries to get form my grasp. I try to keep her down, but when she stood up and brought me with her... yeah. Did I mention she's gotten a lot stronger recently? "Hehe, try to leave with some Stallion dignity, and maybe you'll get some later." "Pfft.... really?" I ask as I let go of her and stand up. She just rolls her eyes and begins to walk out, pulling me along. We make it out underneath her home and begin to fly up, only making it halfway when Rainbow realizes something. "I don't have my keys." She says as she looks back to Miles' house. "Then lets go ge..." "We can't go back! Miles has probably found the mess we left last night and might be pissed!" "... What mess?" I ask as I try to think back. Rainbow just stares at me for a second before I put one and one together. "It'll wash out..." "Yeah, but he'll still be mad that it was there. In his bed." She says as she continues on her way home. I follow her up and take a lap around, looking for an open window to get through. Of course there aren't any. After the whole indecent with her book shes been locking this place down like a prison. "Why don't we just break open the cloud wall? I mean... they're just clouds." I offer as I land beside her. "You going to fix the hole in the wall?" ".... well... I've tangled with clouds before, how hard could it be." "Soarin, making cloud walls is different then making standard clouds. They have to be thicker and able to resist any weather while being light enough to stay air born. I don't know how to make them, and I know you don't." She says as she tries the door, finding it locked. It's true, I can barely manipulate clouds as it is, making walls would be impossible for me. "Well... know any friends that'll lend us their shower?" "Hmm.... lets try Fluttershys'!" She says as she walks to the edge of the cloud. We take off together as we head for her friends place. Like all things, Rainbow turns it into a race. I just smile along as we soar through the air getting to our destination in mere seconds. "I WIN!" Rainbow yells as we land. "No way! I got here way before you did!" I argue getting her to get in my face. "Are you kidding! I was here WAY before you were!" "Face it honey, this Wonderbolt beat you to it." I say with smug look. Rainbow steps back and nods a chuckles to herself a bit. That... may have been a bit too harsh. "A Wonderbolt huh?" She says as she begins to walk around me. "Sorry Rainbow, I didn't mean any..." "No, no. You said it. A WONDERBOLT beat me here, supposedly." She says as she saunters back in front of me. "Uh... y-yeah." "Maybe we should put that title to the test then? How about it? A Wonderbolt against a Spartan Jumper." She says as she squares off with me. "A... what?" "Oh, I didn't tell you? Yeah, the Spartan regiment has a section with flight at its heart. The Spartan Jumpers. During training Miles said I get to take lead on this group as its lieutenant. So, how about a little challenge then? In respect to Spartan Pride, I challenge you, the Wonderbolts, to a test of test of air superiority. Races, wing strength, whatever you wish to test us in we will gladly except... and win." "... are you serious?" "You bet we are." She says with her game face on. "Um... OK. I'll talk to Spitfire and see when we can get an opening for your challenge... you realize that I will be competing against you, right?" "Yeah, I know. If you're as fast in the are as you are in bed, then I'll be worried." She says with a playful smirk as she goes to the door. "Hey... I..." I try to make a comeback... buck me over. I can't make one. "You still come back for more." I grumble under my breath as I walk up beside her. Big Mac answers the door and eyes me a bit. I just smile back as the larger stallion seems to glare at me. What did I do? "Heya Big Mac, heading out to work the fields?" Rainbow asks, getting his attention. "Eeyup." "Cool, do you think we could borrow..." "Big Mac who is, oh! Good morning Rainbow, Soarin." Fluttershy says as she joins Big Mac at the door. "What brings you here so early?" "Heh, I accidentally locked us out of my house. Think we could steal your shower real quick?" Rainbow asks. "Of course, come on in." Fluttershy says as she steps aside. We walk in as Fluttershy gives Big Mac a kiss goodbye, telling him to have a good day on the farm. "Hey Big Mac!" Rainbow calls out, getting him to pause at the door. "Yours and Storms' challenge, did it. And... yeah. It was awesome." Big Mac just nods and leaves... what was that about? What challenge? "Oh... my." Fluttershy mumbles as her cheeks begin to turn red. "Well... uh, you know where its at. I have to start feeding my animals so if you need anything feel free to ask." She says before grabbing a basket and running outside. What was that about... what do they know? "You coming or not?" Rainbow asks as she trots up the stairs. "I don't know Dash... this is someponys house..." "So you can do it in Miles' house but not Shys'?" She asks from the top of the stairs. "Well... *sigh* true." I say with a shrug as I run up after her. We rush into the shower and immediately begin to make out, almost forgetting to turn the water on. She forces me back against the wooden edge and forces me to sit and lean back so she can in my lap. As I wrap my arms around her she rests hers on my shoulders as she begins to dominate the kiss, pushing her tongue into my mouth and swirling it around. I just latch onto it and begin to suck, pulling her up a bit as I line myself up with her. "Just a quicky and then we get Scootaloo." She says as she falls back onto me. Quickly pushing herself up again only to go right back down. "Just once? Not eight or nine times?" I joke as I grind into her. She just rolls her eyes as she continues to bob up and down. I begin to nip on the base of her neck as I try to push myself as deeply as possible. Rainbow groans into my mane as she tightens her arms around my neck, slowing her movements to enjoy my mouth work. I lift her up and lay her down, taking a moment to admire her beauty. The water running down her out stretched wings as her coat darkens from the shower head... "Heh... you OK?" She asks with a playful nudge. "I'm just trying to find a way a through your beauty." I say, immediately finding it overly cheesy. "Even.... even with how I changed?" She asks as she looks away from me. I stare at her for a second before I force her to look back to me. We stare at one another before I lean down and plant a soft kiss on her lips. Then another. I move for another one but hesitate for a second to look back into her eyes. "What changes? You're still the mare I love." Again, cheesy. But this one I actually mean. I lean in and kiss her as I lower my body against hers, gently pushing myself back inside. I take it slow as we hold our lips against each others, half kissing half breathing. She reads the signs of my approaching orgasm and rolls us over, quickly standing up and turning around before laying on top of me. I gasp as I feel her lips wrap around the tip of my member, squeezing her muscular flanks as she swishes her tongue along the opening. I try to hold on, but after a couple rather forceful presses of her tongue I thrust forward as I hit my release. She stiffens up at first but quickly pulls back to let the rest of my release fall out. "Thanks for the help at the end." She says bitterly as she stands up, wiping her face clean. "Sorry, I was a little distracted." I apologies as I stand up. We quickly finish washing up and drying each other off before heading back down the stairs. We try to find Fluttershy to thank her, but she's no where to be found. Odd, but Rainbow shrugs it off. Saying that she probably had to go help some of her animal friends. We take off for Sweet Apple Acres! We're a little short on time so we fly as quickly as possible there, not even having enough time to turn it into a race. Once we make it to there Rainbow immediately begins to frantically knock on the door, she might be a little late today... "Hold yer horses Imma commin." Applejack says from inside before opening the door. "Dash? Sorry but Scootaloo left earlier ta go crusading with her friends." She says as she steps out. "Have ya seen Big Mac?" "He left Fluttershys place a while ago, do you know what they were going to try? Because it was suppose to be just me and her today." Rainbow asks, looking slightly worried. "Ah make it a point not ta know what they try. Last ah heard it involved a large rubber band, Miles' wolf, and a large tree.... yea, not something ah want ta know but ah'm sure I will eventually. Sorry, but ah have ta get ta the market now. See ya." She says she begins to trot off. Rainbow just sighs and walks off, looking a bit down. "Dash." I call out as I catch up with her. "Whats up?" "*sigh* I don't know. It seems like every time I get something planned everything else just gets in the way. I try to take Scootaloo to Cloudsdale, Miles needs me to go to Topaz. I try to go to her little school race, I end up working all night trying to get the fog out of the park. I try to spend as much of a day with her..." "And I make you late for picking her up." I say, getting her to look me in the eyes. "Soarin..." "Look, go to work. I'll find Scootaloo and take her home, then we can have our day together. After all of that... we need to talk." I say quietly. Dash looks as if she's about to cry, but flies off before I could do anything to comfort her. I watch her fly off a bit before sighing and walking off. Why do things have to be so complicated? You meet a nice mare, get married, have a foal, then life moves on... right? As I trek through the snow towards Ponyville I notice a tall tree bending over as I large band pulls it over. Curious, I jump into the air and fly over to get a better look. Below the tree the Cutie Mark Crusaders wait as a wolf pulls on a large rubber band, bending the tree over to the ground. Once it's to their desired angle Scootaloo takes a seat in the WHAT THE BUCK DOES SHE THICK SHE'S DOING!?!?!? SNAP I take off as quickly as possible as Scootaloo flings through the air. I slowly gain on the tumbling little filly, reaching out for her as I try to catch her. I feel a tinge of pain as the cold air stings against my wings, but I ignore it as I push myself even faster to try and catch her, seeing the ground quickly approach... CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH I hit the ground hard as I slide forward, attempting to catch Scootaloo. When I finally come to a stop I just lay there, unsure if I caught her or not. My chest feels as if I ran a cheese grater against it, but I try to ignore it as I attempt to look up, finding it hard to do so. I can feel something warm pooling beneath me... that's probably not good... "Mmm... Soarin?" I open my eyes see Scootaloo laying atop my hooves, unharmed. "Please don't tell Mom." "Scoots..." I say before passing out, the pain on my chest being too great. ................................................................................................................................................................. I jolt awake as a sudden wave of energy courses through my body. I look around to find myself in Twilights house as Miles has his hands against my chest. I look around to see a mare I've never seen before, Twilight, Storm Cloud, and the girls all watching me closely. Scootaloos eyes are red a puffy; she's been crying a lot obviously as she holds onto Twilights leg. "Welcome back." Miles says as he shuts off his magic. "Huh?" I ask as I sit up. Trying to peace everything together. "I said welcome back." Miles says as he sits back. "You know, I've never had a chance to work on a heart before, but then again, I never knew anyone who would land on a branch like that." "A... branch?" I ask as I look down to my chest, finding it perfectly intact. "Yup, when you caught Scootaloo you had a branch stab you in the chest and nearly ripped out your heart. Congratulations, you were technically dead for about sixteen minutes." ".... what?" I ask quietly as I look around the room. I.... died? No... I just hit the ground really hard... I couldn't have died. "Yup. I nearly called it too, but after some persuasion I gave it another go, and here you are. You're welcome." I take another look around the room before standing up, find my legs fairly weak. "Thanks... can everypony give us a second... I'd... I'd like to talk to Miles real quick." Everypony nods and leaves, Twilight having to carry Scootaloo out. Once we're alone I let out a deep sigh before looking back to Miles. "So... thank you, again. I..." "Hey, you saved Scootaloo from stupidity. In my book that earns a bit of respect. I know we had our... little..." "Misunderstanding?" "Yeah. But I know now what kind of man you are now, and I can respect you. Now what's on your mind?" "Well... it's a little off but... your Rainbow Dashes Captain right?" I ask, getting a slow nod from him. "OK... well, in light of todays event, I realize that waiting is stupid. Can I have your blessings to marry Rainbow Dash?" He looks a little taken back from this, but I keep my confidence up as I wait for his answer. "Uh.... why would you need my... blessings?" "... you're her Captain. She's your Lieutenant... right?" "Well... yes no. Spartans only has five positions. There are the standard Privates, Lieutenants, Captains, then Grand Lieutenants and Captains. Our cites were separated, so we had individual cells. But over all we followed our two leaders, who out ranked all the others. Standard Captains were also called city Captains and only could order the soldiers in their city. So she is, but Storm is my grand Lieutenant so I delegate my orders to him first. As for the whole marriage thing, she can marry whoever she wants. You don't need my support, though you have it after today." "... so yes then?" I ask with a smile. "Sure?" Miles states as if its a question, looking slightly confused. "Look, just keep Scootaloo away from catapults and keep Dash happy and I won't give two shits either way. Now if you excuse me, I need to get going." He says as he stands and begins to leave. "Wait! Do I have to do anything, the whole heart thing and all?" Miles stops and looks back for a second before walking back and giving me a glass of water from the night stand. "Drink that and two more, then you're good. Do what you please." He says as he goes back to leaving. "That's it? I was stabbed in the heart, should I take...." "Nope! Be normal and whatever." Miles yells back. "But... how?" "Magic bitch!" He yells as he takes the stairs down, passing Rainbow Dash. "SOARIN!" She yells as she runs towards me, carrying Scootaloo with one arm. We collide as she grabs me in a one arm hug, kissing me all over my face. "Twilight told me everything... *kiss* are you OK? *kiss* do you need any help moving or anything? *kiss* do you need...." "Dash, I'm alright." I say as I hug her back. "Miles fixed me up, says I can do whatever." I say as I lightly push her back. I look down to Scootaloo and wait for her to look up to me. "You alright squirt?" She doesn't answer me, she just breaks out in tears as she jumps into my hooves. I hold her lightly as I rock side to side, comforting her as I motion to Dash to give us a moment. She nods and gives me one final kiss on the lips before leaving. "I-I'm so sorry... I didn't think that would happen... I-I was j-just trying to get my dumb cutie mark..." "It's alright. I understand." I say quietly as I begin to stroke her mane. "I... I didn't mean for you to get hurt, honest! I... I... I'm sorry Soarin." She says as she breaks down. I look back to the stairs to make sure nopony is listening before I lean close to her ear. "Well... you can call Soarin for a bit longer, but soon I hope you'll call me Dad." I tell her. She looks up to me and wipes her eyes a bit. "W-what?" "You heard me. I want to be your Dad and... well, don't tell anypony, but I'm going to ask Rainbow Dash to marry me soon." I tell her. She wipes her eyes a bit more before a massive smile takes over her face. "Really!?" "You betcha." "YESYESYESYESYESYESYESYES! Dash and Soarin, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G, first come love, then comes marriage then... then comes..... EW! EWEWEWEWEWEWEW BLECH! AW SICK!" She yells as she tries to shake the images from her head. I just laugh as I pick her up and hug her, though she's still freaking out. "Yeah, eventually you'll be a big sister. Assuming she says yes to having a foal... and my proposal... She'd say yes... right?" "I think she would." Rainbow says from the doorway with a sly smile. "MOM! You ruined the surprise!" Scootaloo yells at her as she walks up to me, both of us staring into each others eyes, smiling contently. "That's alright." I says as she stops, mere inches between our lips. "Yes?" "Yes." "I don't have anything right now..." "Oh then its a no." Rainbow says she sticks her tongue out at me. "You can't propose without a ring Soarin, it's not romantic." Scootaloo whispers to me, getting a nod from Dash as she snickers a bit. "Well then, I'll just have to get a ring then, wont I?" I say with a massive smile as I walk with Rainbow towards the stairs. SHE BUCKING SAID YES! WOOOOOOOO! We walk out to the front room of the library where we find Miles, Storm and Twilight in a heated debate. "... it would be best not to wait! We know where to go, why are we waiting?" Storm argues. "Because most of you still have lives to attend to. The Apples have the farm, Dash has her weather job, Shy has her animal friends and rarity has a business to run. We can't ignore those..." "Miles, those will always be there for us to come back to... you though..." "Twilight." The pegasus mare says from the kitchen table. "Hearth Warming Eve is in four days..." "That leaves us three days to make a run to the next town." Storm defends. "Miles, we can't just wait forever. Lets get this out of the way now before something big comes up." Storm says as he squares off with Twilight. Miles rubs his chin a bit as he walks around the room, thinking to himself. "Captain." Rainbow says as she steps forward. "I agree with them. We have more Spartans now, we can do this more quickly now. We need to focus on finishing these cities before something big distracts us." Miles nods to her and pulls out a necklace from under his sweater. He looks around the room before holding it tightly, making it, as well as Storms', vibrates. "This is a message to all Spartans participating in the next city, we're moving out tomorrow." ............................................................................................................................................................... Dash and I slowly walk out of Scootaloos rooms, closing the door slowly. The poor thing was out in seconds after the long day she had. Dash and I move to the front room where we collapse on the couch, being drained from the millions of questions Scoot had. I roll over and pull Dash close so her back is against my stomach, still beaming from her answer. "So... my fiancee, this is my last night here, after this I'll be leaving early. Scoots in bed. Its the night before a dangerous mission...." "Yeah, sounds like perfect napping conditions." Rainbow jokes. "Yeah.. or..." "Or?" She asks as she turns back to me, smiling contently. I lean forward and kiss her lips as I move to be on top. She opens up as I push my tongue inside her mouth, meeting her tongue to start our little saliva dance. As we continue to make out, our hooves begin to explore each others bodies. Playing with each others wings, rubbing our chests and stomachs, Dash rubbing my cock against her entrance. I pull back to watch her face as I push inside her, seeing her eyes brighten up with lust. I go back to kissing her as I move my hips back and forth, hilting myself within her and pulling back to the entrance. I lose myself in the moment as I begin to thrust as hard as I can, grabbing her side for better support. She tries to tell me to slow it down, but it was to late for that. Right before my climax I pulled out and aimed it aside, shooting my load through the cloud floor and I thrust against her body. "Soarin.... why is your first load always so quick?" Dash pants as I begin to calm down. "If I knew that my first load would stop being so fast." I joke as I plant soft kisses along her body. "Ready for more?" I ask, my member still being stiff. "Lets take this to the room." Rainbow says. I help her up before we both make our way to the room, trying to keep as quiet as possible as we pass Scoots room. Once the close the door behind us we immediately begin to make out again, fumbling our way to the bed again. This time Dash pushes me onto my back and gets on top, having me enter her quickly. She gets to riding me as I just lay there, resting my hooves on her hips. I do miss how her mane used to bounce when it was longer, but it'll grow back. For now I'll just enjoy the ride. After a few minutes of rough riding, I push her off to shoot my load. She quickly moves over to help jerk me off. Once I I finish she takes my member into her mouth and begins to assault it with her mouth. Immediately I can feel the stiffness returning, so I pull her backside over to return the favor. "BUCK!" I yell as I hit my third orgasm, Rainbow Dash swallowing all of my seed with vigor. Once done, we take a small break to catch our breathes,cuddling each other closely. "Soarin..." "Yeah?" "What are you doing for Hearths Warming Eve?" "Don't know... Wonderbolts may have another charity event to do. I'll try to make it here afterwards though." I say as she nuzzles my neck. "Good, ready for more?" She asks. I just laugh as I roll her over and press myself against her tail hole. She looks back a bit worried but doesn't protest so I ease myself inside. It's definitely a lot tighter in here, I love it. I get to humping her backside, taking it easy at first. We've done this once before, so I don't want to hurt her. We didn't have any lubricants, so I wait until all of my pre-cum does the job before picking up the pace. Dash grunts underneath me as she lays her head on the bed, staring back at me as I continue to pound her back side. "So.... tight." I grunt as I lay myself against her, reaching out to hold her hooves. She mumbles something as she begins to quiver beneath me. I think she really likes it...aw buck... without warning I hit my next orgasm, hard. "Well...." "Shit." Rainbow sighs in pleasure. "Want more?" I look down to my eager member and chuckle a bit. I love this mare. ............................................................................................................................................................. I wake up early in the morning feeling sore, tired, and awesome. We set a new record, twelve times. I take a quick shower before kissing Dash on the forehead and leaving her room, sparring one last glance towards her sleeping form before shutting the door. I make sure to check on Scootaloo before leaving the house... "Sup Soarin." "BUCK!" I yell as I nearly fall over. "Lightning Dust? What are you doing here?" "Spitfire sent me to pick you up. She had a feeling you'd be here so..." "I was going to make it on time, I don't need some private to try and act superior to me." I snap back as I head to the edge of the cloud. "Actually, we have a mission in the Bears Soviet Republic for a mission." She tells me as she walks up behind me. "But... Hearths Warming Eve..." "Will have to wait. Now lets go." She says as she takes off. I look back to Dashs house before following after her. I'm sorry Dash. We'll have to wait a bit longer before it's just me and you. Author's Note This is you last chance to be part of the next set of Mercs. Go to Calling All OCs to read the requirements and my blog OC Roles to see the open positions. Brony on! Chapter 155 Off To Trottingham Chapter 155 Off To Trottingham Chapter 155 Off To Trottingham Perspective: Miles After dealing with Soarin, Shadow and I make our way back home. It's getting late and the poor kid is tuckered out from our run around town. It was fun and I can tell she craved the bonding. I open the door to our home and carry her up to her room, tucking her in bed and kissing her forehead. She falls asleep almost immediately, giving one last yawn as she pulls the blankets close to herself. I set her things on a nearby night stand and leave the room quietly. She didn't really like or want much, but we were able to find a couple of things here and there. I open the door to my room.... fucking Soarin. With a disgusted sigh I remove all of the blankets and sheets and take them down to the wash area out back. How Equestrians could have refrigerators but not have a single washer machine, I'll never know. Once I get them all washed ( taking four times longer then usual due to my evaporating the water and having to set enchantments for them not to freeze in the snow) I hang them up to dry before heading to the spare room... "What the fuck?" I ask ask aloud as I see some mare laying in the spare bed. She looks over to me, lust filling her eyes, and smiles. "That'll be eighteen hundred bits for watching..." "OH SWEET BARBRA IT'S A GUY!" I yell as I nearly fall back. "Aw, you forgot my name already." Heshe pouts as heshe continues to writhe under the sheets. ".... Squishy?" "Ding a DINg, easy down there." He says with a shutter as he lifts up the blanket. From underneath the sheets Pinkie Pie crawls up and latches her lips with his. ".... what are you doing in my house?" I ask, breaking their kiss. "We've been here since the party last night silly!" Pinkie cheers as... she... begins.... "... huh?" I ask as I feel my cheeks begin to burn. Why does Pinkie have to be open about everything. "Well, I guess you wouldn't remember, you were so wasted after all." Squishy says as Pinkie sits up and begins to make her movements more aggressive. "Lucky for you we got it all on your phone." He says before tossing my phone at me. I catch it and look it over... "How did you know how to use it?" "Hammer did it..." "Of fucking course he did." I grumble. I begin to back out of the room but stop when Squishy calls for me. "What?" "I wasn't joking. Eighteen hundred." "Sure, right after you pay for using the room." I say as a joke. "Deal." He says before rolling on top of Pinkie. "..." "..." "... uh..." "Leave now or stay and let things get weird, your choice." Squishy tells me. "Pinkie, we leave for..." "I know, I know." She pants. I quickly shut the door and try to burn these images from my mind. Why? Why my house? I look down to my phone and quickly pocket it, not wanting to know what happened. "Dad?" Shadow asks sleepily from the doorway, rubbing an eye as she sways from side to side. "What's going on?" "It's nothing... I just have to sleep on the couch tonight..." "You can share my bed, I was getting lonely anyway." She says as she finishes rubbing her eyes. "Shadow..." "Please." "You need to..." "Please." "It would..." "Please." "...*sigh* fine. But tonight only OK?" She nods and runs over to me, smiling broadly. Dammit... she knows of her control over me. I pick her up and take her to her room, getting her to rest her head on my shoulder. I lay in her bed and pull the sheets over us, cuddling Shadow close to myself as I lay there. "Miles?" Shadow whispers to me. "Are you going to make it back for Hearths Warming Eve?" "I will try my best to." I tell her. "I can't promise that I'll be on time though." "... OK." She says, sounding disappointed. "Hey, don't worry about it OK. We'll be together for the holidays..." "Just you and me?" "... just family. Lets go to sleep now, OK." I tell her as I stoke her mane a bit. She nods and closes her eyes, too tired to argue with me. Just... family... ................................................................................................................................................................ I wake up to the sound of someone knocking on the door. I slip out of bed as quietly as possible as I head down to check on the door. "Alright alright.... Damian?" I say as I open the door. "What the fuck are you doing here?" "You called all Spartans, here I am." He says as walks inside. "Heh, beat Night Fury here." "Beat Night... why are you here?" I ask as I follow him into the living room. "You called all Spartans, so I..." "I called all Spartans that are going to the cities. I thought you'd be too busy with your group to help us out." He looks back to me and stares at me in disbelief. "Well... we'd gladly take you..." "Son of a bitch." He mumbles as he sits down. "No, I actually should get back to them." "Well... since you're here, what are your plans for Hearth Warming Eve?" "... nothing." He says as he looks up to me, caught off guard by the question. "Nothing? You don't have any family that you're going to visit? What about your group?" I ask as I approach him, seeing him become a bit uneasy. "I don't talk to my family... it's... complicated. Hammer is probably going to spend it with his mom and brother, but the rest of us don't really have family..." "Well congratulations, you now have a family. I expect to see you here for Hearths Warming Eve..." "What? No... I..." "Don't make me make this an order." I tell him. "... how would you make..." "Spartan etiquette dictates that our unit be a functional and cohesive regiment. That means we need to better understand each other. This holiday is a perfect excuse to bring all Spartans together and be around one another for a... social gathering. Now its an order." I say with a smile. He stares back to me and sighs in defeat. "Can I at least bring CC? She doesn't have anywhere to go either." "Sure, bring your little girlfriend as well." "... not cool." "Miles?" Storm calls from the door. "Hey... Damian.... I didn't know you were coming with us." He says as he and Twilight walk through the doorway. "I'm not actually. I just... had to make Hearth Warming Eve plans... I guess I'll see you all in a few days." He says before standing up and heading for the door. "Damian." I call out, getting him to pause at the door. He looks back to me and gives a simple nod before leaving, silently agreeing to come. "What was that about?" Twilight asks. "Making plans for Hearths Warming Eve. Speaking of which, what is Hearths Warming Eve?" They both face-hoof as Shadow comes down, rubbing her eyes a bit. "Lets talk about it over some breakfast." ................................................................................................................................................................ "... and that's how Equestria was formed!" Pinkie cheers joyfully as we all listen over some breakfast. Over the course of her story telling the rest of the girls as well as Night Fury showed up. Now we just need True Will and Dust Devil. "Huh, so... presents, a warm atmosphere, and family stuff. Got it." I say as I begin to take all of the plates. "So I take it we're doing it here then." Storm jokes. "In the great and many words of Big Mac, eeyup." I say from the sink as I rinse the plates and hand them to Shadow to dry off. She still likes to help out around the house, so I let her. At least with the simple stuff. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK "I'll get it." I say as I head to the front door. I open it up to... find... "Really? More Mercs?" I ask True Will as his group stands before my house. "Yeah... about that." True Will starts as he and Dust Devil stand before me. "We're actually being let go from the Ursa Majors. This will be our last mission with them." "Really? Why?" "Because neither of us would give up Spartan secrets." Dust Devil says proudly. I smile back as I step out and look over the new group. "Let me introduce them." True Will says as he steps before the first person, a light tan pegasus with a ruffled black mane and a mark of a trio of explosions. "This is Ghost, our explosives expert." "Hi." He says quietly. I nod to him and move to the next person. He's a griffin with black fur, grey feathers, and a large steel battle ax on his back. "This is SteelClaw, our two handed expert." "Ello." He says with an odd accent. "Next is...." "HI! I'm Snow Bound! The archer of the group." A female griffin says as she steps forward and shakes me hand. Her eyes are a bit odd, having blue centers with a yellow ring around them. The rest of her seems fairly normal, the only other noticeable thing being how her feathers end in grey. "Right... anyway. Who're you?" I ask the next person. He's a Pegasus as well, with a dark purple coat and black hair that has a lighter shade of purple going through it. His mark is that of a sword mid swing. He doesn't answer me, backing up a bit as looks back to his comrades. "Come on, what's your story?" "His names Purple Edge. He doesn't talk a lot." True Will informs me. "Not ever since the Ursas took over his old merc group." Snow Bound tells me, getting the guy to shy away a bit more. "ANYWAY!" True Will snaps, silencing Snow Bound. "The last one in our group is Subtle Shift. You may remember him..." "Yeah." I say as I stand before the last one, getting a good look at his cobalt face. "You're that assassin from before. The one that delivered the message to True Will. What are you doing here?" He looks back to everyone before looking back to me, keeping quiet. "Well?" "... I was hired for this mission." He tells me quickly. I step back to look them all over, gauging all of them together. "The last group of mercs that accompanied us to a city lost half of its members. I will not be responsible for your lives, you will..." "We can hold our own." Snow Bound says as she nudges the griffin beside her. "Really? Because they sent those others first, so that puts you in second in their eyes." I snap back. "Your jobs are to keep my people safe. That means you're putting your lives before theirs. If you can't do that then don't come." Of course none of them move. I just shake my head as I pull True Will and Dust Devil aside. "Have you properly warned them about the dangers involved?" "I've tried, but they're convinced that they can do this." True Will says as he glances back to them. "Can they?" "... dunno. I've never worked with these ones before. Heard a few reports, they can hold their own in an average fight." True Will offers. I sigh as I walk back to them, trying to determine if they can do this or not. "Uh... Miles, sir?" Purple Edge says timidly as he steps forward. "But, do you know what to expect from this next city?" "Well... not exactly..." "Then how do you know what to look for?" He asks with a bit more confident. "We're mercenaries. We're adaptable to anything we come up against. We will do our best, just as your ponies will.... sir." I stare at him until he shies away, hiding behind Subtle Shift a bit. "... why do I even try? Very well then. Lets see how adaptable you all are. Wait out front while we get everything packed up. Then we'll head out." "If you don't mind me asking, where exactly are we going?" Ghost asks. "Trottingham." I tell them before stepping inside. I take all our people to the shed and inside the armory. They were less reluctant this time around about taking weapons, though I'm not too sure how I feel about that. Rarity and Twilight stayed behind, saying their guns were enough for them. I take out some E.A.R.s and hand them out to... where did Fluttershy go? "Fluttershy?" I ask aloud as I walk along the aisles of weapons. "Fluttershy?" "Oh, I'm... I'm right here." She says from the last aisle. I walk over and find her staring straight at a... at... "Uh... something interest you Shy?" I ask her. "Um... no... well... I was just wondering if I could take that one." She says as she motions to a the rifle before her. "Fluttershy... that's a fifty caliber, anti armor, snipers rifle." I tell her, making her eyes go even wider. "So... is it OK?" She asks as she inches closer to it, nearly drooling as she eyes it. "It's meant to take out vehicles..." "So... maybe?" "It kills in one shot!" "*gasp* that's.... that's..." "I know. It's..." "...wonderful!" She exclaims as she jumps into the air and hugs it. "WHAT!" Everyone yells at once. "One shot, one kill. No pain. No suffering. Just a moment of discomfort and then it's over! Can I? Please please please please plEEEAAAASSSEE!" She begs as she pouts to me. I look back to everyone for help, but only find gaping faces. "Tell you what. If you can carry it, then you can take it." I tell her. She squees in delight and begins to remove it from the rack. She slings the strap to herself and pulls it tight. Taking a few breathes before hand, she steps off the counter and tries to stand with it. "S-s-ee?! Ea-easy.... peasy..." She says as she fights to stay standing on all four. "Pull it out now." I tell her, getting a scared look from her. She takes a deep breath as she looses the strap and tries to lift it up. She topples to one side, then the other, before getting the rifle correct in her hooves with the barrel pointing down. Wincing from the weight she lifts it up and points it towards me. "S-see." "What do you think?" I ask everyone behind me. "Well... she really wants it." Rarity says, looking to the others. "Plus she's a good shot. Maybe it would be useful." Rainbow says as she glances to the others. "Ah don't know... she's havin sum trouble holding it." Applejack says. "Well, to be honest, you don't hold that rifle while standing. The recoil would knock you on your ass..." "Then why are we lettin her take that gun!?" Applejack almost yells. "Why would we let Shy use somthin that kills in one shot!" "I don't want to torture anypony Applejack!" Fluttershy yells back. "If I have to shoot then I don't want to have to do it multiple times! AJ I understand your concern but this is the best way for me to fight." Shy says before she re-straps the rifle to her side and drops to all four. "Now, unless you're going to stop me, lets please just.. just go." She says as she squares off with AJ. The room falls quiet as they stare at each other, neither of them backing down. "Fine. Lets jus go." Aj huffs as she backs off. Everyone looks to one another as AJ leaves the room. What the fuck was that about? And when did Fluttershy grow a pair? "Uh... Flutter..." "I don't want to talk about it." Fluttershy says as she walks out of the room. "Anyone know what the fuck that was about?" I ask everyone else. "Hormones?" Night Fury offers, getting glares from the rest of the mares. "What?" "I'll talk to them in a bit, the rest of you just.... get ready to head out." I head over to the opening and press the switch on the ground making panels from the opening drop down. As everyone walks up the steps I stop Applejack and wait. "Miles, right now..." "Applejack..." "Look, ah know ah was..." "Just tell me one thing. Is this going to be a problem?" She takes a deep breath as she looks away, thinking deeply about her answer. "...no." Did.... did Applejack just lie? "AJ, what happened yesterday that would have you so mad at Fluttershy?" "Nothin! Now can we just get going!" She yells as she makes her way up top. I'm sure I'll find out soon enough, right now we need to just get going. I make my way up to fins Storm and Twilight fixing a cart to my jeep. "Fluttershy, come here." I call out as I head over to the jeep, jumping in the back. "Yes Miles?" She asks as she walks over to me. "Give me your rifle..." "But you said..." "So I can fill it with ammo." "Oh... sorry." She says as she removes it and sets it in the bed. "Mind telling me.... oh sweet Barbra." I say as I remove one of the drums from the machine gun. "Who?" "This ammo is enchanted." I say as I pull the belt out. Each round has archaic markings going around the bullets. "What does that mean?" Fluttershy asks as she flutters up to see. "Well, this was the easy way to duel enchant. You'd enchant the weapon and the bullet.... these all look as if they do different things." "How can you tell?" "Look at the text. See how it differs? Different text, different spell.... and it doesn't look like any of these aren't enchanted." I say as I look over the entire belt. There have to be at least six different enchantments on these. "What does that mean for me then?" "It means that this thing will hit a lot harder then it normally would... speaking of which. I need to enchant your rifle with a recoil damper. Otherwise this thing will take out your shoulder after a few shots. Take these rounds and feed them into you clip while I do that. Here, let me show you." We spend a few minutes going over the weapon. Racking rounds, the added weight of the bullets, how the eye scope works. She takes her time loading the one clip, tying the belt of bullets around her chest, and fixing the red eye com over her right eye. She freaked out a bit when the lens sent the wire straps around her head, but got over it quickly. "So... I just close my left eye and my right eye will see what the scope sees?" "Exactly. Try it." She closes her eye as I point the rifle at her, making her jump a bit. "That's... odd." "You'll figure it out. Now, what's going on between you and Applejack." I ask as I glance over to her, finding her talking to some of the mercs. Fluttershy just falls quiet as she looks away. "It's... it's nothing." She says quietly. "No it's not. What happened yesterday?" I ask as I finish my enchantment. "Just between the two of us." "Well... I was at their house, having dinner, when... well... Applebloom..." "All done!" Storm yells out. "Lets load up already!" Everyone cheers as they run over to the jeep. "I'll tell you another time, OK Miles?" She says as she moves to the back cart. "Yeah, I'm sure you will. *sigh*." I say as I stand up and close up the Spartan Pen. As everyone gets situated I run over to Shadow and pick her up in a tight hug. "Come back soon OK." She tells me as she hugs me back. "I will. Be good for Butterscotch and E'Claire while I'm gone OK?" I tell her. "Don't worry, I like staying with my Moms. I'll be good." She tells me. I was about to question something but stopped when I heard the others calling for me. I walk her to the Mico platform and watch her go to Moosden. So, I guess Butterscotch and E'Claire are her mothers now... odd. "Miles!" "Alright already." I yell back. "Off to Trottingham we go, Jasper here we come." I announce as I run over to the drivers seat. As we drive off, I glance back to see Applejack and Fluttershy keeping as far away from each other as possible. This can't be good. Chapter 156 Jasper LiesChapter 156 Jasper Lies The drive to Trottingham was.... painful. Not having a top in the middle of winter is... stupid. But we made due with our jackets and scarfs. Though many of the mercs kept up conversations, Applejack and Fluttershy remained silent the entire trip. And it was a fucking long trip. We had to wrap around Canterlot, taking the path through White Tail woods, and make it towards the top of Equestria. I did save us some time by cutting paths and moving fast, but it was still an eight hour trip. Though we did get some good laughs when we raced through a town or village, scaring the crap out of the locals. Hopefully they wont do anything to brash. We come to a stop when Twilight informs me that we've arrived within walking distance of Trottingham. The brick city mere kilometers away. "Alright Storm, where's this connection you have?" I ask as I look over the brick buildings. "They should be on the edge of town, he said the building would be obvious..." "Found it!" Pinkie yells with a bounce as she points it out. On the edge of the city is a small stone building that's been painted yellow. Well... thank you Pinkie for making things easy. We drive over to the side of the building and park. A note has been nailed to the wall with a mark of cheese. "From Cheesus." Twilight says as she takes it with her magic, opening it up to read. "A tarp has been left for us. We can move freely in Motown, but everywhere else the guards will try to give us trouble. And Storm, we're even now.... what exactly are you two even for?" She asks him. "I helped a while back... that's all I'd like to say." He says nervously. We all stare at him before I break the silence by getting out. "We'll bust his nuts about it later. We've got a time restriction on us so lets get moving." I say as I move to the back to get my gear on. "Twilight, start leading everyone towards the destination, I'll bring up the rear." "This way!" Twilight says as she leads everyone down the street. I stop Applejack and Fluttershy from following, waiting for the others to be out of earshot before talking. "Spill it." Immediately they both begin to argue with one another. Yelling and accusing each of.... I can't even tell due to their yelling. "ENOUGH!" I yell over both of them, getting them to stop. "Applejack, what's going on?" "Fluttershy doesn't wantta be an Apple!" She barks with a spiteful look to Fluttershy. "We've been lyin ta Granny about it the whole time, but she found out last night and was furious!" "I DIDN'T WANT TO LIE TO HER!" Fluttershy yells as she steps forward. "But I can't take your name either! If I did, after what he did to me, my parents..." "YER PARENTS AREN'T ALIVE..." PUNCH Everything falls quiet as Fluttershy puts her hoof back down, wincing a bit from adding weight to it. Applejack just stands there stunned as a bruise begins to form on her cheek. "Both of you are to stay here and watch the jeep. When we return, then we'll settle this." I say as I latch the last piece of armor on.They hardly acknowledge me. With a huff Applejack takes off for the back of the building while Fluttershy moves to the front. I sigh as I watch them leave. They need to cool off before anything can be fixed. With a huff I grab my rifle and head down the street. ............................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Applejack I've been walking around Trottingham fer a couple of hours now, kicking snow and grumbling ta mahself. That darn.... varmin lovin... sona... GRAH! Why won't she jus say she'll do it fer Granny Smith!? Its... its... its GRANNY! It's not like we're askin for her to change her identity or anything! We jus wanna honor our family traditions, why can't she see that! "Well, don't you look mad." I stop as some shady pony walks out from an alley. He's all tan with all white hair. His horn looks as if its been sharpened to a point, a process ah know that isn't too pleasant. He takes his sunglasses and rubs them clean before putting them back on. Ah tried gettin a good look at his eyes, but couldn't. "Sorry partner but ah don't have time fer..." "What? Too busy helping your friends down there? Oh, that's right. You aren't." He says as he canters around me. I shiver a bit when he walks behind me. There's something just not right with this stallion, ah can tell. I get a glance at his cutie mark and nearly vomit when I notice that its been burned off! "Look, ah don't want any trouble..." "Oh but I don't trouble either. I just want you to help your friends down there... they are going to the city, right?" He asks with an even larger smile. I eye him a bit as he begins to back away into an alley. I look around a bit as I follow him in. How does he know about the city? Can he get me down there? Ah don't like this... but iffin it gets me down there. "What exactly are ya lookin for?" I ask him as we walk further down the alley. Ah make sure to keep my eyes open for anypony tryin to sneak up on me. If they think they could mug this mare they have another thing commin! "Now where did it gooooaaaahh! There we go." He says as he walks up to a cellar door. He bites onto the handle and pulls it back. Cob webs pull back as a dank and musty wave of air rushes out. "Take this straight down and only take right turns at the forks. You will find yourself at a giant metal gate. That, is the living city. You're friends will probably be there, if they're still alive..." "How can ah trust you... you lyin?" Ah ask him. He just giggles a bit as he steps back and looks at me. "Do I look like a liar? You better hurry though, they tend to hunt at this hour..." "They who?" "You'll see." He says before turns and begins walking down the alley. Ah look between the tunnel and him as ah try to think of whats best to do. Ah wanna help mah friends... but... well... ah could tell he wasn't lyin. With a deep breath Ah take mah first steps into the tunnel. It seems as if these mines were abandoned a long time ago. Webs and dust cover all of the wooden supports and old lanterns. After what feels like forever the tunnel lanterns suddenly stop, leaving the rest of the tunnels pitch dark. Ah take the last hanging lantern and descend into the darkness below. Ah try to keep a constant pace, but.... all this.... emptiness. Jus aint right. Hmm... first fork. Keep right. Ah stick to the right and move on. It seems the farther down I go the colder it gets. Ah don't like this at t'all. Ah find another fork. Right it is. This pathway is a lot more curvy and seems to drop a tun more. Ah had a couple of close calls, slipping down a bit. Sturdy as ever, ah kept mah balance. "Wha mm duh hay?" I mumble with the lantern in my mouth as ah see something at the end of the tunnel. I begin to run towards it in the hope that its something ah can use. "Isth thert a elewbater?" Ah mumble as ah set the lantern down as to look over the elevator. Its old, using a pulley system to operate. And ah doubt that the rust on it is any help at all.... "Is somepony there!? Please, wait for me!" I spin around as Fluttershy comes around the corner... pointing her rifle right at me. ............................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Fluttershy After my fight with Applejack I found a local park and hid away in a tree. I needed somewhere I could cry and wouldn't disturb anypony. I can't believe I hit her. I'm a terrible pony. Why does she have to be so stubborn about this though! What Big Mac did.... I can't take his name after what he did. What did I do to make him... "Excuse me?" "AH!" I yelp as I drop out of the tree and fall to the ground. Everything turns blurry for a bit as I try to regain my vision. I feel somepony help me to my hooves. I blink a few times before looking over to the mare beside me. She's a light green earth pony with long rose red hair that ends in curls. "What happened to your cutie mark!" I accidentally yell as I see her scorched back side. I cover up my mouth with my hooves as I feel completely awful for pointing it out. "I'm so sorry...." "It's alright. Believe it or not, I don't mind it. Why were you crying?" She asks as she tries to look me in the eyes. I look away and wipe my face. I don't want to trouble her with my... "Is it because your friends left you behind for the city?" "H-how do you..." "I heard them heading to it. That, and it's a bit of an urban legend around these parts. An old mine found it years ago, but since nopony could make it inside, they left it. Would you like me to show you where it is?" She says gently. "Oh... I don't know. Miles said that I was suppose to watch the jeep..." "Well, this is just a rumor, but I heard another group of treasure hunters found a way inside. But only one of them made their way out... the city has been taken over by... strange creatures. Your friends are in danger and need your help. But... if you don't want to help them..." "No! I want to! Please, could you show me the way?" "Of course, right this way." She says with a gentle smile. I smile back to her before running back to the tree to grab my satchel and rifle. I follow her through the city until we come to an open field. The snow has piled fairly high out here, but there's a spot where it seems to clearly builds higher. "Under all of that snow is an abandoned mine shaft. Go down it and only take lefts. Its going to be dark, so if you have a torch or lantern they will come in handy. I'll help you clear the snow, but after that I'll have to get going. I have a flower shop to run after all." "Oh, thank you so much for your help! What did you say your name..." "Lets get digging!" She says as she runs over and starts pushing the snow out of the way. I run to her side and begin pushing the snow aside. After a few minutes of scooping we find a wooden doorway. I try to pull it open, but it's frozen shut. "Well.... unless you can pry a winters worth of snow off of that door, you're stuck here." "I think this'll do the trick." I say with a grin as I pull my rifle out and point the barrel at the lock. "You may want to cover your ears." And I seriously hope that enchantment Miles put on me is still working. I pull the chamber back and load the first round, glancing inside to see the enchantment on it. BANG The rifle pushes back on me hard, slightly pushing me back as the round blows the door apart. I feel chips of wood blast all over, peppering me lightly as the other mare drops down. I pull the rifle back and check myself for any cuts.... all good. "Are you alright?" I ask her. "WHAT!?" She yells as she rubs her ears. "DID YOU SAY SOMETHING!?" "Oh... my. Um... sorry about that. Your hearing should return.... I think... um.... thank you helping me...... but, I have to go now!" I say quickly before running down the tunnel. I feel awful leaving her like that, but there wasn't anything I could do for her anyway. The tunnel is completely dark. The only light coming from the opening... and a white spec at the end. Curious, I head straight for it and inspect it closely. It must be the the round from my rifle... or at least what remains. White energy seems to coat a hole in the wall. The energy seems to move sporadically.... almost as if it's... ZAP "OW!" I yelp as a small bolt of energy zaps my cheek, right below my open eye. I rub it a bit as I back away. What...ever... it... what the? I stop rubbing my eye as everything turns dark. Some text is showing at the bottom of my vision, but I can't read it. Everything shines white for a second before my vision returns to the whole in the wall. Little lines point out the wall and the energy inside, giving me more of the Terradisian text. A little insignia appears beside the text, a lightning bolt. "It must of been an electrical shot." I mumble as I look to my rifle. When I remove my hoof from my other eye all of the text disappears. Intrigued, I cover my free eye again as look around the tunnel. Everything stays dark until the white flash comes back. Hmm... still dark... I look down to my rifle and jump a little when my eye lens outlines it and begins to show some information on it. "I wonder..." I say as I heft the rifle up to the left. The white flash comes back, making everything dark again. "Come on." I mutter. I see an echo of white resonate down the tunnel. I squee in delight, making another echo that shows me the way. All I have to do is make some sounds and I'll be able to find my way down! I start out slow. Walking slowly to in effort to not strain myself. This rifle is really heavy, but I'll manage. For my friends I'll handle anything. At first I was just humming a tune to show the way, but later I found that louder sounds travel farther. A little obvious now that I think about it. "Sleep now, quiet now. Lay your sleepy head to rest..." I sing aloud as I begin moving deeper in the tunnel, making my second left. My mothers bed time lullaby has always been so relaxing, especially now in this deep, dark, lonely, scary.... "Sleep now, quiet now! Lay your sleepy head to rest..." I sing a bit louder as I try to ignore where I am. After several versus of the lullaby I have to stop to take a break. The rifle was becoming too much for me to carry upright at the moment. I drink a bit of water from my canteen and find a few spiders to keep me company. They're a funny little bunch of black widows. Once I felt relieved I gathered my things and started back on my way. I hum loudly to guide the way, though it only shows a few yards it's easier. Up ahead I see something on the ground. It seems the echos stick around this area more then everywhere else. Curious, I walk right towards it. "Oh... whew, they're just cracks in the ground." I sigh in.... CRACKLE "Oh..." CRASH The ground gives out and I fall straight through, hitting the ground below quickly. I take awhile to get up, that... hurt. Luckily I didn't break anything... I think. I take a look around, then remember to close my left eye. Wow... that crash made so much appear. I think there's an elevator up ahead. As well as somepony else. As soon as they appeared they begin to fade away. I quickly get to my hooves and haul my rifle towards whoever is down there. "Is somepony down there? Please, wait for me!" I yell as I reach the final corner. I come around and the lens automatically picks up a rifle, lantern, satchel with supplies.... and a stetson hat. "..." "..." "..." "Whatter you doin here?" Applejack asks with a gruff as I lower my rifle. "I'm helping my friends." I tell her as I look over the elevator. It looks a bit shady, but should work.... I think. "Ah am to." She says as she steps onto the elevator. I sling my rifle and stand beside her as she works some ropes to the side, beginning our descent. The cage squeaks and creaks as the elevator fights to drop down through the rusty shaft. The only light around us is Applejacks lantern. The only sound is that of the elevator. We don't even look at each other. I'm fine with this though. We won't say any harsh words to each other this way. I hate fighting with Applejack.... fighting in general but especially with Applejack. I know she only has my safety at mind, but she needs to learn that I'm a grown mare that can take care of herself. Still... "I.... I'm sorry I hit you." I say as I look away. "Yeah, ah sorry ah brought yer parents up like that. It was mean and ah didn't mean to... its jus..." SNAP We look to each other for a second before the cart begin to drop uncontrollably. We lift off the ground and tumble a bit into the air. I look back and see a latch to the top of the elevator. With a flap from my wings I grab it and push it open. "APPLEJACK!" I yell as I reach out for her. She pushes off the side and grabs my hoof, getting me to push the two of us out of the elevator. "NOW WHAT!?" She yells as she holds on to me. "HOLD ON!" I yell as I widen my rifles strap to fit around the two of us. "THAT DOESN'T HELP US FRUM FALLIN!" I ignore her as I close my eyes and focus. This is going to hurt. I pull her close and spread my wings wide, catching the air and slowing us down tremendously. "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" I scream out in pain as the weight of everything fall upon my inexperienced wings. I tear up as they fold against the weight, making us fall faster. "SHY, AH KNOW YER TRYIN..." "I CAN DO THIS!" I yell back as I try again, finding the searing pain in my joints again. "BUT AH HAVE TA TELL YA THE TRUTH!" "WE'RE NOT DONE YET!" I yell as I flap my wings, slowing us down. The pain grows from my joints and down my back a bit. I fight through my tears as I flap again and again, each flap slowing us down more and more. "Fluttershy... Granny had ta go ta the hospital recently.... they say she's startin ta get Alzheimer's.... Shy..... ah don't know how much longer she has." ".... Applejack." I mumble as everything becomes quiet. "KEEP FLAPPIN!" She yells as we begin to fall a bit more. "SORRY!" I yell as I begin to flap again, the pain seeming to disappear. "But, I saw Granny a few days ago, she seemed fine..." "Yeah... well that's cause ya didn't talk ta her much. She remembers big things, yer weddin, who we are, stuff like that. But when ah told her ah was headin out with Miles, she told me she was excited that we hired him... he hasn't worked on the farm in a while Shy. Frum there ah started askin her more and more question... until she started to have an episode." She says as she looks away from me, trying to hide her tears. "She was freakin out, lookin fer Sunny Rind and... an ah had to take Applebloom to the other room while Big Mac took her to the hospital. Ah was so scared... an... Big Mac came home, told us what was goin on, an left. Applebloom was in tears an ah didn't know what to do, then the dinner happened an she forgot..." "Applejack." I say, stopping her. She sniffles a few times as she tries to keep strong, but the tears are already flowing. I can't believe this. Granny was old and all... but she was always so lively. I... I can't imagine her not being on the farm. What they would do without her. This also explains what Big Mac did... "Shy, ah sorry about everything. Ah guess Big Mac didn't really have time to tell ya everything." "No... he didn't..." "Ah so scared Shy." She admits as she holds me tightly. "Ah don't know what we're going to do without her! Who's going to watch after Applebloom? Make Zap Apple jam? What about the quilt, who's going ta knit it at the next reunion? An all that history, gone! Apple Family secrets, gone! Shy..." "I'll do it." I tell her. "Shy...." "I know that there's a lot to learn.... but... I am an Apple after all." She leans back and gives me a warm smile. "You don't have to...." "This is far too important to me to let something like that bother me. I won't forget it... but... we'll work through it together." "Heh, well, alright then. You an me Shy." She says right before the sound of metal crashing catches our attention.... then a searing pain that taKES OVER MY ENTIRE BACK! "Whoa there nelly! Uh.... stop flappin and pass me mah rope!" "WHAT?!" "JUS DO IT!" I stare at her for a few seconds before complying, my tired wings falling straight down from exhaustion. We immediately begin to pick up speed as I fumble through her satchel, pulling the long rope out and passing it to her. "ER GERS NUTTIN!" She mumbles as she swings it around and sends the loop flying. SNAP THUD ............................................................................................................................................................. I wake up with a slight numbness taking over my head. I look around to find myself bundled underneath a thick wool blanket on the side of a tunnel. All of my gear, as well as Applejacks, is piled around me with the lantern in the center. What happened? Last thing I remember was Applejack... CRASH I jump to my hooves as something falls over in the darkness. I look around for any weapons, but can't find any sufficient ones... frying pan it is then. "W-who's out there?" I call out as I raise the pan above my head. I hear hoofsteps coming towards me, so I begin to back up. STEP STEP... "I'm warning you..." STEP STEP... "I have a frying pan..." STEP STEP... "Don't make me..." "Fluttershy!" "AAAHHH!" I yell as I fall back onto the blankets. "Uh Shy, it's only me." Applejack says as she walks over and lays down my rifle beside. "O-oh.... right." I say as I sit back up, blushing a bit from my fears. "What happened?" "Well... ah snagged mah rope onta a pole that was sticken out... but, we ended up slamming inta the wall instead. Well, you did at least... sorry." She says as she rubs the back of her neck. "This is all ah was able ta get back." "You... got my rifle?" I ask as I pull it towards me. "Yea, ah also got most of the ammo to, though the belt was destroyed." She shows me the inside of my bag before taking a seat to relax. I feel the lens on my face and sigh in relief when I find it intact. "So... what now?" I ask her. "Now? Now we grab our stuff an find our friends. That's what. How're your wings?" I give them a test flap and wince from the soreness. "Not good huh?" "I'll be alright. Just.. have to keep my hooves on the ground." I say with smile. She gives me a worried glance but begins to gather her gear without another word. Once everything is put in its proper place we begin to head down the tunnel together. The walls here seem to have been freshly carved out, rather sporadically actually... "There it is!" Applejack says as she runs towards a large metal bulkhead. I run but come to a stop as we enter the gateway. "Whats the..." "We need to get to cover, NOW!" I yell as I dart beside a building. As soon as I get behind the wall I through my back against it and pull AJ beside me. "Whats the..." "SHH!" "But...." "SH!" I shush her again as I look back out to the city. An obvious war has taken place here, but that's not what concerns me. What concerns me are the massive spots where chunks of stone and debris have been moved. On the road, along the wall, along the dome... "What is the matter Fluttershy?!" Applejack asks me in a hushed tone. THUD In the middle of the street a massive ant crashes down. It stands at least five feet tall and is three times longer. If I had to classify it, I would say its a Bulldog ant, not good for us. Its massive black body moves with total ease as its antenna twitch back and forth, its large yellow mandibles clicking out loud. It hasn't seen us yet, but it can definitely smell us. I go to point my rifle at it, but AJ grabs my arm to stop me. "SHY! It's a bug, why don't you jus go talk to it? Ah know its big an all..." "It's a Bulldog ant. Even the small ones don't listen to me!" I whisper back to her. I peer back over to see it lift a large metal carriage and toss it aside as if it was a peddle. "So... should we jus try ta avoid it?" "Even though they do have a hive they hunt alone usually. We don't want this one telling the others where we might be. One shot, and we can move on." She looks back out and nods to me, allowing me to take aim at it. I have to mentally remind myself not to squint my eye and to shut it to see out. The scope outlines the ant and begins to read off about its different parts. Though none of it makes sense to me, the one pointing to its neck seems fairly straight forward. One... It begins to crawl towards the gate.... Two... It pauses and lifts its head up as its antenna begin to twitch around.... Three. BANG The round slams into its neck and send out a cone of energy, decapitating it with total ease. I rack the next round and run over to it, bringing the barrel it its head. The body it contorting a bit, but that doesn't concern me. I just want to make sure it doesn't call out for its friends. One of the antenna have blown completely off while the other one is hanging by a thread. I wait to see if it moves before motioning for Applejack to follow. "OK, so those rounds send out a burst of energy, good." I mumble to myself as I load the next one, checking it before snapping it shut. "Uh, Shy?" "We need to find the others, I bet they're heading to the P.C.H..." "Shy...." "Lucky for us its easy to find huh?" I say with a slight giggle. "SHY!" I look back to Applejack to see her standing by a pile of rubble. "Wasn't this onna those mercs?" I run over to see a crushed form in the center of a crater. All we can tell about it is the they had a tan coat and black hair. "The poor thing must of been crushed." I say solemnly. "Lets get going." Applejack says as she turns down the street. I look back to the form and thank them quietly before running after Applejack. After my first shot the city comes to life with an array of insects. What looks like a cross with a mosquito and a moth comes flying off of the dome. Dozens of them at the least. Cockroaches begin to crawl all over the P.C.H. and as a gigantic spider chases them around. In the distance I can hear the clicking of the ants again, so we move inside a building for cover. "Where do you think the others are?" I ask AJ. "Ah don't..." CRASH "MOVE!" Miles yells as most of the group pour through the hole in the wall. "Applejack? Fluttershy? I thought...." "We're here to help!" Applejack announces as we stand to greet them. "NO TIME FOR THAT!" Rarity yells as she turns and opens fire through the hole. RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH "Oh...that sounds big." I mumble as the building begins to crumble around us. "GET MOVING!" Miles yells as he flairs his hands. "WE NEED TO GET TO THE MONORAIL!" Before anypony could move the building around us is lifted up by a gigantic bulldog ant, surrounded by an army of lesser ants. "The... the... the queen." Chapter 157 Jasper TruthsChapter 157 Jasper Truths Perspective: Miles After dealing with Applejack and Fluttershy I catch up with the others. True to what Storm said, no one seems to notice or care about our group walking down the street with our weapons and armor. Though I find the number of lingerie wearing hookers (and clients buying) a little disturbing. I have to remind myself not to stare down any alleys constantly before I see another stallions cock. After walking several blocks and taking several turns we find the edge of their territory. We can tell this due to the lack of hookers and the number of overly armored guards. "Well.... we need to go four blocks that way." Twilight tells us as she rolls up her map. We all line up on the edge as several guards begin to eye us. "OK we don't have time for that." I tell everyone as I flare my hands. I drop us down for several meters before going forward. "What the fuck is up with that city?" "I don't know and I don't want to know." Twilight says as we share a glance and shiver. "Seemed fine to me." Purple Edge says with a slight chuckle. Everyone pauses to look back to him, making him blush a bit. "You know... attractive mares and stuff..." "Edge, do what you do best and keep to yourself." True Will says as he pushes forward. Edge shrinks back as we all turn to move on. "Fucking mercs." ............................................................................................................................................................... A few hours and kilometers later we finally find the eastern gate to Jasper. I take out the Daminus Clavis and feed some energy into it before slamming it against the door. The sound of rusted metal screeching against rusted metal fills the tunnel as the gate fights to pull up. It takes awhile, but when it finally get high enough for us to squeeze under, we don't like what we find. "What the fuck is that?" I ask aloud. "It looks... like..." "An egg." Snow bound finishes as she pulls an arrow out and starts poking one of them. The entire entrance to the city has been taken over by pale white, slimy, pony sized eggs. "Oy Ghost!" SteelClaw calls out. "Yeah?" "Ye got enough 'slposives ta break us in?" He asks with a toothy grin. "Don't, I'll get us in, save your explosives for later." I tell them as I set Daminus Clavis on my back and think of the best way to get through. "Do we really want to go this way though?" Twilight asks. "If these are eggs, then whatever laid them is probably still here. I don't want to mess with anything...." SPLLSHH "EEEWW!" All of the girls, and Purple Edge, scream as the gate jolts up, allowing the eggs to fall through. They were only set waist high, so they don't fall that far out. "Well... now we can get through now." I offer. They all give me a look before Twilight starts levitating the eggs out of the way. We walk inside to the power generator room and take a look around. There are a couple more piles of these massive eggs filling the edges of the room. Patches of the walls and floor are missing, but they don't look as if they're bullet holes. Oddly enough, there are a few lights on in the room. Just enough to show our way around. "I don't like this." Dust Devil says as her eyes dart around. "Rarity, SubtleShift, come with me to the sub generators, the rest of you wait for us out front." I tell them. We head to the stairs and take them down to the sub generators. As we descended, I could feel something wrong. I could quit put my finger on it, but... I feel more... energetic We reach the bottom of the stairs and freeze. The generators are on fire. Well, soul fire at least. Great, white flames jet out from all of the generators and fill the room with a blinding whiteness, forcing us up another level. "What the buck was that?" SublteShift asks, making Rarity roll her eyes at his crudeness. "One of you try lifting something, anything, with your magic." I say, getting odd looks from them. "I just want to see something." Rarity eyes me a bit before looking over to a nearby workbench. Her aura takes over it and... THWAP ... it shoots straight up into the air and buries itself in the concrete ceiling. "Oh dear." "Well it seems the generators here are being over powered to the point of bleeding the energy into the air." I guess as Rarity and SubtleShift share a glance. "If I had to guess, anything archaic will be stronger and longer lasting while being easier..." PEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEW An eruption of gun fire fills the room from above. We all take off for the top of the stair case, pulling my rifle out just as I step. Giant creatures, having three main body parts and six legs, are falling from the ceiling to attack our group. Twilight has put her aura shield as she frantically looks for her Medi-gun. A few of the others have been separated from her shield and are fighting off the advancing creatures. "RARITY! Go and assist that group, SubtleShift watch her back!" I yell as I open fire on them. My bullets bounce off their skin, barely causing a scratch on them. OK, FMJs aren't going to cut it here. I look over to Rarity and see her struggling to hold her gun right, fighting the new found energy. I draw my trench knife and push it to the first enchantment as I run towards them, finding it easier to do. SteelClaw notices me as he tries to pry his battle ax from the creatures massive mandibles ans tries to keep their focus on him. "COME ON YA SPECCY LIL' GITS! COME AT ME YA YANKERS!" He yells as wrestles with the beast, only to be lifted into the air when it looks up. It slams him back on the ground with total ease, forcing his grip from the weapon. Purple Edge and Ghost try to help him up, but had to keep their focus on the other creatures. The creature steps over him as I finally close the distance, slamming the knuckles of my weapon into the backside of it. The explosion sends the beast flipping into the air until it slams against the back wall. Almost instantaneously, all of the other creatures back off from all of our people as the massive vine-like things on their heads begin to whip back and forth. I look around as their beady black eyes stay fixed on me, trying to gauge my next move. "Get up SteelClaw." I tell him. "Y-yea." He mumbles as he gets to his feet, grabbing his weapon along the way. "Alright, nice slow movements, we're heading into the city. Follow closely." I tell them. I take lead as I begin to step towards Twilights shield. "Why're their antenna movin like that?" Steelclaw asks. "Dunno." Purple Edge says with a shrugs but then chuckles. "Maybe somethings bugging them..." "Too soon." Snow Bound says quickly, giving a glare towards Purple Edge. Rarity runs to our side, finally levitating her gun properly, and sticks close to my side. I glance back to the downed bug and notice that its antenna are still moving... "I think they can communicate." I tell the others as we hit our half way point. "Are they smart enough for that?" Snow Bound asks. "Lets hope..." RRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH From above several more creatures fall around us. These ones dwarf the others in size and carry mandibles easily four times their own. I try to rush the one before me, but it backs away as the two beside it try to out flank me. I go for the one on the right as Rarity opens fire on the other, her massive energy bolts burning deep holes into its body. "WE NEED TO RUN!" I yell before running forward and punching the closes bug, sending it flying back into another one. The others take off past me as I turn to face the rest of the massive creatures. They wave their antenna around as they look to one another before running around me. "DA FUCK!" I yell as I try to attack the one to the left, only to have it jump away from me. "AAAAAAHH!" I spin back to see SteelClaw being drug back by one of the creatures, its large mandibles digging into his stomach. He tries to break the creatures grasp with his battleaxe, but is losing the fight. "HOLD ON!" I yell as I try to save him, but was too late. Several of the creatures moved on him and began to tear him apart. Blood sprayed all around them as limbs begin to be tossed about. I glance back to see the others have made it to Twilights shield, so I move back to join them. "Lets go, we need to get to the P.C.H." "But what about..." "We can't do anything for him!" I snap back at Snow Bound. "Lets go." Without another word I move down the highway. I warned them that this could happen. But we can't dwell on that right now. We need to get to somewhere safe... somewhere... "Over there." I call out as I point off into the city. "What's that?" Rainbow asks as she hovers beside me. "Its a monorail, and luckily it looks operational. If we can get to it we can make a straight shot for the P.C.H...." "Right, Dash and I will go check it out. The rest of you start working on getting there." Dust Devil says as she jumps up beside Dash. "I don't like separating..." "We'll be quick about it. Fly there, check it out, and be back. No problem." Rainbow assures me. I think about it a bit more before nodding to them. They give a quick salute before taking off... RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH "Oh that can't be good." Storm says as we all turn back to the dome. "Lets not deal with it then." I say as I toss him an archaic grenade. I pull one out myself and twist the cap off before tossing it through the door. A wall of blue flames erupts from within the smaller dome and bursts through the door, nearly reaching us before stopping and imploding back inside. "Let get moving." "Shouldn't we say something?" Ghost says. "If you want to, then go ahead." I say as I turn towards the dome. He takes a few steps forward before taking a deep breath. "SteelClaw was a good griffin. He fought for his friends and we're grateful for that.... may he rest in..." THUD From above a massive winged creature drops upon Ghost. Its round head has some kind of long, narrow mouth that looks like its for piercing. The center part of the body is thick and furry and has two large grey wings that look fuzzy. The back third of the body lays flat on the ground. "GHOST!" Everyone yells as we move to open fire on the creature. Simultaneously, the creature rears its head back slams it into his back as he tries to crawl away. He lets out a pained scream as we fire on the creature, our rounds punching into it with total ease. It falls over and twists around in pain as we continue to shoot it. THUD THUD THUD Three more fall down onto Ghost and begin fighting over his body. I rush forward, firing, in an attempt to free him, but two of the creatures take flight, bringing Ghosts lifeless body with them. "NO!" I yell as I thrust a hand forward and send a beam of soul fire at them, turning one into ash. I take aim at the last one as it tries to fly away and send a couple rounds into its back. It drops Ghost and tumbles onto a building. "FUCKING DAMMIT!" I yell as I watch him fall between some buildings. PEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEW I look over to see Dash and Dust Devil racing through the air as they fire at the flying creatures. They fight their way to us as we all form a circle to fight anything that comes our way. I take a look up and notice one of the flying creatures land on the major dome and practically blend right in. With all of us together, the creatures back off. "OK, we stick together then. Lets get moving before anything else..." RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH "Want to summon something else?" Storm asks me "Everypony hold on, I'm going to teleport us off this road." Twilight says as she flares her horn. A flash later we find ourselves in some alley on a completely different part of Jasper. "Oops. I guess the extra power sent us father then expected." She says sheepishly. "Alright, stick together and move fast. We need to get to that monorail..." "Why doesn't Twilight just teleport us there?" Snow Bound asks. "I can't teleport us somewhere I haven't been before. Not to mention the way its working now, I'm not trying that again. We could end up in some wall or in the air... it's just not safe." Twilight tells her. "We'll teleport only for emergencies. Now lets get going." I say as I begin to trot down the road, heading for the exit up ahead. Everyone sticks close to one another, keeping their heads on a swivels as we look for anything hostile. Remnants of a war that was once here still remain. Bullet holes. Scorch marks. Large craters. All dotting the roads and buildings. I try to keep my focus on spotting enemies, but it's fairly obvious the fight here was intense. The sound of something big moving behind us makes us pick up the pace. We make it down the ramp and head straight down the deserted street. An uneasy silence has taken over the city. Everyone seems to have tensed up due to this. We know something is coming, the not knowing is driving us crazy. "It's too quiet." Rainbow Dash states. "Would you rather have something loud trying to eat us?" Storm retorts. "No, I just... I'm getting antsy." "Me to." Snow Bound offers. "When things get quiet, they usually turn noisy." "I don't think this kind of talk is going to help anypony right now." Twilight offers. "Twilight?" I ask as I come to a stop. "Yeah?" "You need to teleport us right now, something is following us." I say as I look down an alley and see a massive shadow move away. What ever it is, it's BIG. "If you say so." She says as she closes her eyes and focuses. The aura on her horn glows for a bit as she tries to perfect the spell, but when we flash away we end up somewhere random again. "Maybe we should just send all of the fliers to out objective." Purple Edge suggests. "Fly there, grab it and come back while everypony else hunkers down somewhere safe." "You forget that there are flying creatures as well, don't you?" Dust Devil retorts. "Whenever we separate we get attacked. We need to stick together, safety in numbers and all." "Well..." "We're sticking together, that's final." I tell him. "I'm the only one who can read the files, Twilight's the only other medic and Rarity has the only other weapon that can deal an effective amount of damage...." "Hey! What about me!" Pinkie demands, sounding offended. "Oh... well... who else will keep up... laughing?" "You're darn right I do!" She says as she canters off down the alley. Everyone chuckles as we follow after her. When we catch up with Pinkie Pie the sound of metal tearing stops us all in our tracks. "GET INSIDE!" I yell before flaring my hand and slamming it against a wall, punching a hole for us to enter. "MOVE!" I walk in and come to a stop when we find Fluttershy and Applejack standing before us. "Applejack? Fluttershy? I thought..." "We're here to help!" Applejack announces as we stand to greet them. "NO TIME FOR THAT!" Rarity yells as she turns and opens fire through the hole. RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH "Oh...that sounds big." Fluttershy mumble as the building begins to crumble around us. "GET MOVING!" I yell as I flair my hands. "WE NEED TO GET TO THE MONORAIL!" Before anypony could move the building around us is lifted up by a gigantic creature, surrounded by an army of lesser creatures. "The... the... the queen." Fluttershy stutters as the gigantic creature tosses the top of the building aside. RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA From the side comes another gigantic creature. This one has hundreds of yellow legs going along it's long red body. Its head has two massive mandibles coming out with thick brown antennas just above them. It rears up and roars again as it lunges forward and grabs the other creature by the neck. All of the lesser creatures automatically turn and begin to attack the multi legged creature as it wrestles around. "... I'LL TAKE IT! LETS GO!" I yell as I lead everyone out the front door and head for the monorail. The city is alive with due to the two massive creatures fighting behind us. From every alley, building and all over the dome creatures begin to stir. Some try to get away from the action while others rush towards us. BANG PATPATPAT PEWPEWPEW PEPEPEPEPEW Fluttershy, Twilight, Rarity and I all take turns firing at any of the creatures that were unlucky enough to get in our way. I ran forward and took care of anything on the left as Rarity blasted away at the front, leaving Twilight to pepper anything to the right. Fluttershy stayed behind us all as she took quick, and precise, shots at anything above us or too tough for us to kill quickly. She was also sure to follow up on anything she shot to make sure it was dead. A little time consuming, but we didn't have time to tell her otherwise. The others either kept their fire concentrated behind us or I just didn't notice them firing. After who knows how many blocks of constant firing the monorail station comes into view. It's just a platform above the street beside the tracks, but it looks amazing to each of us. The monorail was down the track, but we made the run to it in a matter of seconds. I stopped by the back door and did an ammo check on my rifle; four shots left. It's been fun, but it's revolver time now. "OK, I'll open the door. You three get ready to shoot anything that comes out there, the rest of you keep watch for anything that comes at us. Ready?" "Ready!" They all said at once as they took their stances. I grabbed the handle and took a deep breath before pulling it open. After a few seconds of silence Storm rushed in, followed by Dash and Dust Devil, before calling clear. I jump up and keep my revolver at a ready stance as I look around the cart. Metal seats take up the sides as tinted windows cover the sides. "Alright, get inside and shut the door, then take five. DD, come with me to the front to check on the drivers compartment." "Got..." "Actually, can ah come with ya instead?" Applejack asks as she steps forward. I stare at her for a moment before nodding. "Take a rifle and meet up with me over there." I tell her before pulling the door open for the next compartment. I make it through the next two compartments with no trouble. I make it the last door as Applejack comes through the last set of doors, falling on her face as she struggled through. "You alright?" "Yeah." She grumbles as she gets up and trots over. "So..." "Hold your thoughts till we get this thing moving." I tell her as I pull the door open, keeping my pistol ready for anything. The conductors room is small; only having room for a spinning chair and all of the black panels on the dashboard and walls. I move over to the dashboard and check it for power, but with no luck. "Alright, time to put all of those electronic classes to work." I say as I sheath my knife and kneel down. "Miles...:" "Lets take a look." I say as I pull the panel down and set it aside. The insides look... good, considering the circumstances. I can tell the power relay has rusted..." "How do ya deal with knowing yer dying?" "..." "..." "What?" I ask her as I look back., caught completely off guard by her sudden question. "Ah'm sorry, but.... Granny Smith was diagnosed with Alzheimers an ah fear she may be goin soon." She tells me as she removes her hat and covers her mouth, her big green eyes tearing up. "You have my condolences Applejack. I can't imagine Granny Smith going, she always seems so strong." I tell her as I sit before her. "Yeah, it's why Shy an ah were fighting earlier..." "I figured." "But... ah was... ah don't what ta do Miles. She had a breakdown before we left an... ah didn't know what ta do. Ah don't know what she's feelin..." "Applejack." "Ah had ta explain it to Applebloom, she nearly lost it. She's been the mother fer the house an.... we all depend on her so much..." "Applejack." "Fluttershy and Big Mac were apparently fightin an ah.... ah feel so alone Miles. Ah don't know what to do!" "Applejack!" I yell, getting her to stop and look at me. I just raise an arm and motion for her forward. She breaks down in tears as she practically leaps into my arms, hugging me tightly as she lets all of her worries flow from her eyes. I just rest my arms around her as I stroke her mane a bit, waiting for her to calm down before talking. "Hey you guys hun..." Purple Edge says as he peers inside, but stops when he sees us. "Uh... I'll just go." He says before pulling back. Applejack breaks the hug and backs off to wipe her tears away. "Sorry about that..." "Don't be. Losing family is tough. Do you really want to know how I deal with... my problem?" I ask her, getting a serious nod in response. "I don't." "Huh?" "I don't. I don't deal with it. I... I just keep it from thought. Worrying about won't achieve anything, only make matters worse. Yeah every now and again I have to face it, but I push through and move forward. Sometimes that's all you can do. Don't treat Granny Smith any differently, at least to her face." "But... what if she asks about somethin that ah can't answer?" She asks me as she puts her hat back on. "What could she possibly ask that you couldn't answer?" I ask, getting her cheeks to burn. "Oh..." "It's not like that! It's... well, there was this... stallion..." "OK, you're my friend, and I care about you and this problem, but I..." "It's not like that." She tells me flatly. I quiet down to let her speak, that was a close one. "Well, I met him awhile back, fairly recently actually, an.. well, he tried puttin some moves on me and failed. It was cute, lame, but cute. But, it got me thinkin about how alone ah was. Ah know ah have friends that care about me an mah kin, but ah don't have anypony ta... connect with, iffin that makes sense." "It does." I tell her, getting a small smile from her. "Yeah... well, ah don't know. Granny and ah got onto the topic somehow and ah.. well... lied." "You lied to granny?" "AH DIDIN'T WANT TA! It jus... she was askin if I was 'active' an I couldn't tell her the truth! Ah was too scared to!" She practically yells. "Applejack, I know you to be an honest person, but lying to her now will only make things complicated later. Especially with her condition. You need to go to her and talk about these things, even if they'll upset her. She loves you, so she'll find a way to make things better for you." "Ya really think so?" She asks nervously. "For the ones we love, yeah. I think she will. Now enough about your sex life, we need to get this thing moving." I say as I lay back to work on the power relay. "Wanna help?" "Sure, don't know how much help ah'll be though." She says with a chuckle as she lays beside me. She'll be OK, I just wonder who the lucky guy is. Perspective: Pinkie Pie HI Guys! Welcome to my head! Anyway, twitchy tail, knee shake, twitchy left eye, and twisted tongue. Its fairly light, but its there. Remember that combo? Author's Note Shout out to Gage for picking the creature that saved the day! Thanks for reading, sorry for the delay( if you follow by post). Brony on! Chapter 158 Home For Hearths Warming EveChapter 158 Home For Hearths Warming Eve Perspective: Miles After a couple hours of working the wires inside, we finally get the damned thing working. Now we just need to wait for me to power it up before we can get moving. Lucky for us, the tinted windows have been providing the perfect cover for us. The creatures from before have long since stopped fighting, returning the city to its quiet state. Applejack and I have been chatting away through all of the work. I've been trying to find out who the lucky guy is and... I don't have a single clue. "Come on, give me a better clue then 'he was at the party' *shiver*." I ask as I finish with the power relay. "NNope. Ah ain't sayin nuthin!" She says as she looks away; eyes closed with a large smile on her face. "Is it Night Fury?" "NNope!" "Damian?" "NNope!" "True Will?" "NNope!" "Gah, who the fuck else was there... wait... is it Squishy?" "AH HELL NO!" She practically yells, making us both laugh. "Alright, you have completely bested me. I don't have a single clue. Lets check on the others before starting this thing up." I say as I get up and pull the door open. Everyone has moved into the next compartment and has fallen asleep. Purple Edge is the only one awake, sitting on one of the benches looking out the window. He sees us and motions to keep quiet. I nod and point to a bag of supplies, getting him to toss it to us. "I guess not." "What time is it?" Applejack asks with a yawn. I pull out my phone to see it's two hundred hours. "Darn, two am." "Wait a minute." I mutter as I go to the videos on my phone. Sure enough, there it is. The video of the party. I'm fairly certain I don't want to watch half of this, so when it starts I make sure to fast forward through it. It was.... one crazy... social gathering. But there isn't anyone I didn't mention from before. I'm starting to think that she's lying to me. "Watcha lookin at?" Applejack asks as she takes a seat beside me. "It's a video from the party." "Oh... WHAT!?" She yells a she nearly falls over. "SHH! They can still hear us..." "Miles, please don't! Ah...." "Don't worry. Unless he shows up at the last second, I don't see him." She settles down a bit as the video nears the end. It moves to the guest bedroom where we find Pinkie and Squishy in the act. After some talking the phone is flung to Squishy and turned off. "No..." I mutter as slowly rewind. As the video flips through the air, I get a glimpse of him. "Noo.... just... nooo." "He was charmin!" "He's weird!" "He was nice..." "He has that fucking bag!" "He has a good sense a humor!" "He fucking filled a fridge with strawberries!" "Why don't you like him? What did he do ta get ya ta hate 'im so much?!" "BECAUSE HE SUPPOSE TO BE DEAD!" I yell in desperation. "... WHAT!?" She yells in bewilderment. "W....what!?" "I killed him, he came back! That's fucking cheating! And it makes me, and the Spartans, look bad!" "That's why ya don't like him? Because ya couldn't kill 'im?" "I COULD KILL HIM! HE JUST FUCKING CHEATED!" "Well, if he can out live you, then there definitely more ta the stud...." "Oh please don't call him that." I say as I lean against the wall and slide down. Applejack just chuckles as she takes a seat beside me and rummages through the bag, taking out some food to eat. I just accept her choice, at least at the moment, and begin to grab some food as well. "Ah know it's a bit.... odd of a choice. But... ah see somethin different in him. Ah can tell he's an honest stallion and would be a good coltfriend." She reassures me in a soft tone. "*sigh* Two things. If he ever steps out of line let us know, and for fuck sake, don't have sex in my bed." "Now, what makes you think..." "I've already caught Storm and Twilight, Big Mac and Fluttershy, the remains of Soarin and Rainbow Dash, and even though it wasn't in my bed, I've still walked in on Squishy and Pinkie Pie. There's more action in my house then there should be." She stares at me for a second before chuckling softly. "Wow Miles, yer a pervert." "I don't ask for this to happen..." "Ya couldn't knock?" "IT'S MY ROOM! IN MY HOUSE! And couldn't a single pony learn to lock their fucking doors! It's not that hard! Just turn the little thing!" "Well, after the second time, couldn't you just lock it yerself? Or just do somethin to keep ponies outta yer room?Maybe jus remove the door. It could save you from being a perv..." "I'M NOT THE PERV!" "Ya kinda are." "HOW AM I..." "Now ah kinda wanna do it in yer bed... didja enchant it to make things better in there? Like, a stamina enhan...." "NO! What the fuck? How would.... why would... when..... FUCK!" I stuff my mouth full of food and give up. There's just no winning anymore, I don't get a say in anything anymore. "That'll do perv, that'll do. Let us smarter ponies take care of the hard stuff." Applejack snickers as she pets my head. "I went to college for sixteen years...." "An ya still can't knock." "..." "Thought so, now let's get some shut eye before moving out." She says as she takes the rest of the supplies and moves to the other room. That fucking... piece of... FUCK! "Yeah, sleep sounds good." I mumble as I follow after her. Hopefully she'll come to her senses... hopefully. .............................................................................................................................................................. After a few hours of sleep we all finally decide to move out. I head to the front and take a look out at the city. It must have been dark hours when we arrived, because most of the main lights are on now. Many of the creatures seem to be hiding now, fearing the light. That's good for us though, less trouble. Many of the buildings have large portions of wall missing, having scratches and tears around them. It seems many of the creatures that live here have taken residence there. We will need to be sure to keep clear from them. Done with my sight seeing I engage the power, getting all of the lights to turn on and the dashboard to come to life. Lucky for us this thing is still operational, so I push the throttle up. The sound of metal screeching against metal fills the compartment as we slowly begin to gain speed. After a few minutes of screeching and tugging on old parts the monorail finally gets moving at my desired speed. "Whoa... this things going." Storm says as he joins me in the conductors comportment. "Yeah, good thing too, we need to get moving to make it back for Hearths Warming Eve." I say as I read over all of the gauges. "Yeah, should be interesting... hey, why do you think the bugs got here to begin with? I mean, I doubt your people really a an insect problem." "If I had to guess, I'd say they were picked up on the way here. Maybe during one of the moves some scientist picked them up or they just found their way in a truck, who knows. They made it in here, and if all of the generators are sending energy out like that one, that would explain how they grew so large.... unless that's normal." "It's not, trust me." Storm says as he glances up. "Those Mothqitos are starting to stir again." "Those what?" I ask as I look up. The dome is alive with activity as the flying creatures flutter around. "Is that what they are called?" "Well, no. But it's what we decided to call them since they look like a cross between the two. How long until we get to the P.C.H." Thirteen minutes, the on board computer tells us. "Does this computer have access to the internet?" I ask. Negative. "Well, it was worth a shot." I sigh as the track before us begins to curve towards the P.C.H. I look up and notice a cluster of the Mothqitos starting to take flight, forming a massive swarm that seems to be moving.... towards.... "GET BACK INSIDE!" I yell as I pry the doors open and kick Storm inside. "What's going on? Why were..." "WEAPONS UP! WE'VE GOT A SWARM OF THOSE FLYING ASSHOLES COMING AT US!" I yell as I sprint down the aisle. "If you don't have a gun, use your blade to keep them off the tram! Stand back for when they first hit for breaking glass! HERE THEY COME!" Right on queue the tram rocks as the swarm slams against us. Nothing has broken yet, but the sound of them crawling over keeps everyone's heads on a swivel. A few of them are giving experimental taps, but they haven't tried the windows yet. If we can get to the tunnel to the P.C.H. we'll be golden. I move to the back and check on the last cart, noting how they're breaking through the glass already. I flare my hands and hold them out towards the sides of the cart, tearing the metal apart. Once we're separated, I push back on the back and watch it come to a stop. "DON'T!" I yell as I turn around to see Fluttershy about to shoot a mothqito that's prying its way through the front. BANG The round tears through the creatures head with enough force to send it flying back. Simultaneously, all of the windows shatter from the concussion wave. Everyone freezes for a second as we wait for the inevitable to happen. In a moment of clarity, I happen to steal a glance towards Applejack. She's beside Fluttershy holding her rifle towards the window. Her hair is ruffled from the concussion but the rest of her seems to be frozen in time. Even though everything around her is turning to face the dangers, she's just standing there. Staring at me. She says something to me. And in an instant time catches back up with us as the cart fills with dozens of the creatures. I barely have time to dodge an incoming creature, getting a deep cut on my right shoulder. I pull out my revolver and push my magic to the first enchantment before firing it into its chest. It implodes on itself and drops to the floor. Before I could even react, another one tries to bury its sword like maw into me. I send a round into it's head and whip out my trench knife in time to block another one of the creatures. I push my magic into the knife, bringing up its first enchantment, before slamming it into the creature. A powerful blast sends it flying out the nearby window, taking out another one of the creatures. I swing my pistol over and fire at one of the creatures as it tries to stab Storm in the back. Next shot goes to the creatures trying to pull Purple Edge out the window. Next round goes into the head of the creature that's lifting True Will off the ground. I have to parry with my knife to stop from being stabbed from behind. A quick jab in the head buries it into the wall. I spin back and fire at the incoming creature. It's head implodes above me, showering me with a green, sludge like substance. The corpse falls on top of me. As I push it off I take a moment to look around. The room is a blur of fighting as the creatures buzz all around. I see glimpses of colored coats, but I can't see anyone's condition. I.... I have to. "GET DOWN AND GRAB SOMETHING!" I yell as I push more of my magic into the pistol. My shirt burns off as the lines fall to my waist line. The lines on my pistol burn brighter as an archaic circle appears at the end of the barrel. I point off into the fray and hope I don't kill anyone as I fire the last round into the blur of creatures. I duck down and latch onto a nearby bar as I hear a ping followed by a high pitched whining sound. Here it comes.... KRA-BOOM The only sound made was that of a pure cosmic explosion casting a perfect circle of destruction. Even though I held my eyes shut, a burning white light blared through. I felt myself lift off the ground as the cosmic energy began to suck everything towards the explosion. I tucked into a ball and held on for dear life. FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFTT In an instant the world around me returned to normal. I waited for what felt like an eternity before my vision began to return. I look back to the rest of the cart, falling over due to my letting go of the rail, and try to see who's left. Though everything is still blurry I can see some colored forms moving about. After blinking a few times I begin to make out Twilight fumbling around. "Tw.... Twilight!" I call out as I try to stand. "Miles?" She asks as she begins to move towards me. "Wh... what was that?" "MAKE YOURSELF KNOW IF YOU'RE ALIVE!" I yell as I fall over. "Here!" Storm calls out from under a seat. "I've got Snow Bound but she's been knocked out." "On it!" Twilight yells as she moves over to help them. "Here! Let me help you." Fluttershy says from the front. "Here! I've got Purple edge and Rarity, but they're unconscious as well." Subtle Shift calls out from the right. "I'm good!" Rainbow Dash says as she runs over to check on Rarity. "Same here." True Will calls out as he helps Dust Devil up. "Yeah... good." Dust Devil says. "Looks like everypony's alright." Pinkie says as she crawls out from under the seat beside me. I chuckle a bit as I let the lines on me fade... "Wait.... where's Applejack?" I ask as I look around. No.... no she.... I.... "A.... ah'm.... here..." She calls out quietly as I see her hoof fall out from behind the front left seat. I push myself up and run over to her... "Heh.... heh ya can fix this... right?" She asks as she holds onto the head of one of the mothqitos, it's maw piercing through her midsection. I stare at all of the flowing blood from her wounds before I kick into gear. I try to flare my hands, but something goes wrong. At first they just don't ignite. No matter how hard I shake my hands they won't lite. With one final shake I manage to get the flames up, only to have them jet out a bit before snuffing themselves out. This can't be happening..... not right now... not Applejack.... "TWILIGHT!" I yell as I move behind AJ. "TWILIGHT GET OVER HERE!" Twilight runs over with her gun and nearly faints when she sees AJ. "My magic is shitting out on me, use your gun! Hurry!" She stands still for a moment before Fluttershy pushes past her to take a look. "Miles! Hold AJ so we can remove the proboscis. When we remove it we... GET ME SOME RAGS! When we remove it we'll need to cover the wounds and add as much pressure as possible. Twilight, once we're adding pressure heal her up.... WHERE ARE MY RAGS!" Fluttershy yells again, getting everyone to shuffle around. Luckily Rarity had a couple of scarves that we could use. I take a seat in the corner and pull AJ into my lap, trying my best to keep her still. "AH! Ah.... easy there partner..." AJ says weakly. I wrap my arms around her shoulders and get ready to cover her back. "OK, AJ, I'm going to cut the back off, but we have to pull the rest of it out of you. This is going to be very painful." Fluttershy tells her calmly as she readies a small saw from her satchel. "Here." I tell her as I grab her hoof. "Squeeze, it'll help." She looks between the two of us, fear deep in her eyes, as she takes a hold of my hand. "Don't let me slip... please." She asks quietly. I look back to all of the worried faces watching. I try to keep strong, but I can feel myself tearing up as I try to think of the best way to answer. "Don't worry... you'll be home for Hearths Warming Eve." I tell her as I tighten my grip on her. "Alive?" She asks desperately. "GOT IT!" Shy yells as she tosses aside the chunk aside. "OK, AJ, close your eyes and..." "Bite onto this." Subtle Shift says as he steps forward and pushes some brown thing into her mouth. "Bite down onto it so you don't bite your tongue off." AJ looks around a bit before biting onto the brown square. "OK, on three..." "Wait." I say quietly. "We don't have time to wait!" Fluttershy yells. "ONE!" "How long have we been on this thing?" "TWO!" "Where are we?" As I had feared, our topless monorail passes through an archway as it enters the P.C.H., going top speed. "THREE!" "NO!" I yell, but am too late as Fluttershy yanks out the maw of the creature. Blood pours out onto me as AJ screams out in agony, writhing in my arms as the length tears at her insides. In desperation I spin around and put AJ into the corner as... CRASH .............................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Twilight With a low groan I begin to open my eyes. I can't really tell where I am, it's too dark. I can see a light coming in from the left, but everything else is pitch black. There's a fire roaring from the far right. It's looks like it's coming from the remains of the monorail... that's odd. I look straight ahead to see Purple Edge lying halfway in the light, staring right at me. his body gives a nudge before being drug into the darkness. "OH NO YOU DON'T!" I yell as I fight to get up. I look around and pull my rifle over as I limp over towards him. PEW "Bring him back!" I yell as I aim into the darkness. PEW "I SAID BRING HIM BACK!" I yell as I fall forward onto the tracks. I begin to tear up as I look over to the wreckage. He's... he's... "You know you nearly shot me there." He says as he stands over the edge. "YOU'RE ALIVE!" I yell as I push myself up, wincing from the pain in my back left leg. "I think so... if I'm not then heaven sucks." He jokes as he helps me out. I quickly hug him as a few tears escape my eyes. "We should find the others, especially Applejack. "Right." I say as I let go of him and start looking around. "Do you remember what happened?" I ask as I start to limp towards the wreckage. "Well, last thing I remember was being sent flying to the side as the tram flew off the tracks." He says as he runs over to a pile of rubble and checks underneath it. "We need to focus Twilight, go check over there." "Right... focus." I say as I move towards the wreckage. THRUUM I duck just in time to dodge a giant piece of metal flying off out from the wreckage. I look up to see an extremely dirty Rarity and a perfectly clean Pinkie Pie crawl out from the twisted metal. "GIRLS!" I yell as I hobble over to them, hugging them each tightly. "Thank Celestia you're alright!" "Alright!? Are you mad? Do you see how positively filthy I am!?" Rarity scoffs as she tries wiping off some of the grim. I just laugh and hug her again, glad to have her alive. "Twilight, next time I think we should walk. Trams aren't that fun." Pinkie says as she hugs me again. "YOU GOT THAT RIGHT!" We all look up to see Dust Devil and Rainbow Dash flying down towards us. Dash is using DD for support as her right wing hangs limply to the side. "DASH! Your wing!" I yell as they land. I jump over the tracks, instantly wincing from the pain, but push on to check on her. "It can wait, where's Applejack?" Dash asks as she looks around. The sound of somepony tripping catches our attention as we look over to the left side of the darkness. A metallic tripod with a metal tube on top lights up, revealing True Will and Snow Bound beside a metal table. A computer sits on the table with a small chest underneath it. "So I take it Miles and Applejack aren't with you." True Will says as he helps Snow Bound over, her left claw appears to be broken. I take a look around, noting everypony’s injuries. Cuts, bruises, a couple deep lacerations cover everypony. "Wait, Fluttershy is missing to." I say as I do a head count. "OK everypony, we need to search the wreckage for Applejack, Fluttershy, Storm and Miles..." BANG A hunk of metal falls from the wreckage as a cone of energy erupts from within. Fluttershy staggers out and falls to her side, blood pouring from her hairline and racing down her face. Everypony immediately runs over to check on her. I fire two Medi rounds into her, stopping the bleeding instantly. When I get to her side I look back where she came from to find Miles and Applejack huddle together, unconscious. I run to Applejacks side and immediately begin to fire the Medi-gun into her body. I fire at least six rounds before I drop the gun and press my ear against her chest, listening for a heartbeat. "COME ON AJ FIGHT IT!" I yell as I began pumping her chest, attempting to start her heart. In an instant the lights coming from outside shut off and the room is pitched into darkness. The sound of clicking fills the room as unknown creatures begin to swarm around. Everypony huddles around us as they face away, looking for the threatening creatures. "We need to move to that light!" True Will yells as he points to the tripod. "Get those three and lets move!" I grab them, as well as my rifle, and follow after them. Even though it was only a short gallop, the feeling of long antenna running along my side made it feel like an eternity. When we all make it under the light we turn and began stabbing and shooting into the darkness. Only Rarity, Fluttershy and I have guns, but it's enough fire to reveal our enemies.... cockroaches. Big, disgusting, brown, icky roaches. Hundreds, if not thousands of them all crawling towards us. I take a quick glance around and notice that not everypony is armed. We can't fight them all... "Stop fighting!" I yell as I point my rifle up and fire the Medi-gun, making the dome appear around us. Everypony takes a moment to breath as the roaches begin to investigate the shield with their antenna. "Is that thing doing A.O.E. healing?" Snow Bound asks. I look around and notice everypony’s wounds slowly beginning to heal. "I suppose so... makes sense I guess." I say tiredly as I... THUNK A massive, bloody, sword like appendage slams down onto the top of the dome, sending thick cracks all around. We all try to steal a glance at the creature, but it's too dark to see anything. The appendage rears backs into the darkness to strike again. I don't think this dome can hold against another hit like that... FWUUUUUUUUUM THUD From within the darkness a powerful gust of wind knocks over the large creature, making it scream in pain. All of the roaches around us pause to flail their antenna around before scurrying towards something in the darkness. The sound of powerful gusts erupts, sending winds from all directions as the opponent moves about the room with great speed. "Anypony know who that is?" Purple Edge asks as the fighting begins to die down. "Yeah, it's..." "Storm!" I yell as I see him limp towards us. I drop the shield and run over to his side, catching him before he collapses to the ground. "Storm! Thank goodness you're OK!" It seems that his armor took most of the damage. He has a slight limp, but overall he's OK. "Yeah.... don't go out there. Giant... worm... thing." He huffs as he leans against me. He's a bit heavy, but I bring him over to the light and lay him down to check on him. "Everything OK here?" "Well...." THUD THUD THUD THUD Four more massive beast drop into the darkness. I raise the shield again, but realize that it would be pointless against this many opponents. I'll need to teleport us... EX COENUM TO FAVILLA From above a bright emerald green light crashes down before us and raises its arms. From within the darkness hundreds of tan wisps begin to flow upwards. The sound of hundreds of creatures screaming in pain fills the room as the wisps grow higher and higher. Soon, all of the wisps are collected high in the air and fade away, silencing the room. "Soul fire." I mutter as the green being turned towards us. "You have to help us!" I yell as I drop everything and run up to him. I HAVE NO NEED... "Please! You're the only one who can! Applejack is really hurt! Please, save her!" I beg him. IF THE SOUL WISHES TO LIVE, IT WILL LIVE. "But..." I LEAVE THIS MATTER TO MILES. I HAVE NO NEED TO INTERVENE... "HOW COULD YOU BE SO COLD!" I yell at him as I take a step forward. "Your name may be Soul Fire, but you're as cold as ice!" YOU DARE SPEAK DOWN TO ME AS IF WERE A COMMON... "If you were really the soul of Miles you'd help us in our time of need! And not just with the fighting!" I turn my back on him and take a seat beside Storm. If this really is the soul of Miles, then guilt tripping him should be easy. VERY WELL. BUT WHEN YOU CALL ON ME AGAIN, I MAY NOT ANSWER. Green energy begins whirl around us as Soul Fire begins to race about, leaving a green trail. I try to follow him, but when he starts to move above us as well, I just hold Storm and wait for him to be done. FLASH I blink a few times as I try to register where I am. A drop of snow makes me look up. Outside? How... how did we get out of the dome? Well, we did leave the door open... PURPLE ONE I spin around to see Soul Fire hovering above Miles, arms folded. "Thank you Soul Fire." He nods and phases back into Miles, getting him to stir again. "GAH! Where... where are we? APPLEJACK! WHERE IS SHE!?" Miles yells as he looks around frantically. "Hold yer horses." Everypony looks behind Miles to see AJ standing there, smiling proudly. "Ah ain't goin nowhere! We better hurry though, ah wanna see mah family fer Hearth Warming Eve." In a moment of pure bliss everypony tackles her in a group hug. That was close, but I knew we could do it.... ............................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Unknown I march down the dark hall, pissed off at the news. ALIVE! Our best couldn't even get halfway in there! How could a group of mares do it! It's time we started bucking with that asshole Miles, and I know just how to. "Password?" A guard asks as I approach my destination. "Ursas Cub." I say as I shuffle my shades. He nods and pulls the door open. I step inside and find exactly what I'm looking for. "So, Trixie, ready to cooperate?" She lets out a little whimper as she struggles against her bonds. "P-please... let Trixie..." "Oh now what did we say about that third pony crap?" I ask as I pull the chair she's tied to back. I take a look at her bruised face and chuckle when I see the tears fall from her eyes. "Please.... let me go..." She cries. "Soon enough, but we need to give you something first." I stomp my hoof down, getting the guard to run to my side and present me with a box. "Ready for round three?" Her cries are all I need. I let her fall to the ground as I move back towards the door. "Get her ready for transportation, we're going to Ponyville." Chapter 159 The Great And Powerful...Chapter 159 ... Ostendere Perspective: Miles Once everyone settles down we take a look around. We're just outside Trottingham, by what looks like a mine entrance. It's the middle of the night and a cold breeze is coming in from the south. It seems like everyone has been healed completely, strange. Twilights Medi-gun must work wonders. She must of teleported us out.... along with the computer and locker! Nice work. "Alright, do we take a look at the message now, or save it for later?" I ask everyone as I move to console. "Do what you want, I'm done here." SubtleShift says as he starts to walk off. "Where you going?" Snow Bound asks him. "Contracts up, I'm outta here. It was... fun? I need a drink." He groans before he takes off for the city. "Well, ah wanna see it. Let play the darn thing." Applejack says as she takes a seat beside me. A round of agreements goes around as everyone takes their seats beside us. I grab the power cord and feed some energy into. "This is military console. Usually these are just for official documents, not emails." I say as I navigate through the files, looking for anything that's not official. "Heh, 'Miles play this' clever." I mutter as I play the message. July 25 1133 "MILES!" Sine yells as he sits before the screen... playing with the multi legged creature in his hand. "Pretty cool, huh?" He asks as he moves his hand to keep the thing on top. "Professor Qui grabbed a shit ton of these weird things on our way here. We ended up getting too close to the surface, had to make a detour to save a downed pilot. A lot of people were pissed that the Captain made the call to save him, but he said we had to. Every life counts at this point." "You know, I feel a little cheated." Sine laughs as he lets the bug crawl onto the table. "Everyone else got two videos, I only get one." He grabs above the screen and moves to the side. The background goes from a plain grey wall to a busy rail station. People are moving around in a frenzy trying to get out of the building. In the distance smoke fills the air as fires blare, guns roar, and explosions tear the air apart. "It took them a little over a month to find and eradicate Jasper. And we know who's behind their sudden success. A monster, unlike anything I've ever seen before. A so called ruler of destruction, and bringer of chaos.... nearly killed me the other day. My magic.. fuck, there isn't anyone who could stand before him. He's too powerful and the Unfamiliar follow him, practically worshiping the guy... fucking asshole..." "We're making for Emerald City. It's the capital so we figure it will be the most fortified. We sent them word, but we're having trouble connecting with them. It seems as if we're talking with two different groups over there. I'm sure we'll get it worked out when we get there." He says as he stands and puts his helmet on. He pulls out his shotgun and looks it over before setting it inside something outside of view, probably the locker. "Last second updates. I don't know if the others have said it, but Auxy had a boy. Little guy’s doing awesome by the way. Eximius found something to keep his time, kind of, a girl. Don't worry, we're pestering him about her like crazy for you. Fidus is... pregnant. That much is clear now. Tenera has lighten up, at least enough to help Fidus with everything she needs. Inficiunt is using, he just won't admit it. And... well, I've been good, given the circumstances." "It's hard to complain honestly. I'm alive, healthy, and still fighting. I've got some heart left, so I'm going for it... just don't what it is. Heh, this must sound confusing to you. But... we'll, keep it between the two of us, but I've got a new cause. Don't freak out, not that kind of new cause. It's... well... I'll tell you this much, she worked as a food processor. Well, that's it for me. Find this, take my gun, and catch up already! We'll be waiting!" The sound of shots being fired pulls him away from the screen, not before he ends the message. I laugh a little. I'm not entirely sure why, but I just start laughing. Soon all of the others start joining me, that is, until the locker clicked open. We all look to each other before I open it and pull the shotgun out. It's a drum fed semi auto twelve gauge, blacked from the super enchantments I placed on it long ago, only now an opening has been made in the stock. Sitting in the opening is the light blue hexagonal gem that I gave to him. "The first level enchantment I put on this a long time ago was a simple recoil buffer. Much like the one I put on Fluttershy's, only this one was much more effective. You could fire this thing one handed.... one sec." I flare my hands as I remove the finger guard and extend the trigger. "Applejack, give it a try." I tell her as I toss it over to her. "Me? What makes ya think it'll do anything with me?" She asks as she fumbles with it, trying to get it right in her hooves. "Call it a hunch, fire at the tree over there. This is a shotgun, so the round will scatter when it leaves the barrel." She nods to me and takes aim at the nearby tree. CRACK KA-BOOM A net of red energy erupts from the barrel and flies out towards the tree, getting wider the farther it goes. When the center hits the tree it wraps the rest of it around and explodes, destroying the tree. Everyone stands there, awestruck. "Well, if anything big comes at us, Applejack will take care of them." I say as I stand up, getting some laughs and chuckles. Applejack just looks down to the gun and nods in admiration. "Lets head out already, we don't want to be late for Hearths Warming Eve." The drive back goes by quickly. We're tired and it's late. I just want to go home, see Luna and Shadow, and go to fucking bed. Everyone else tries to catch some sleep, but because my jeep doesn't have a top the cold keeps them up. Well, except for Snow Bound. She passed out in minutes, must be a griffin thing. Once we make it to Ponyville I start out by dropping Storm and Twilight off by the library. Next is Pinkie Pie at her place, followed with Applejack at hers. "Umm, Miles? Can I ask a favor?" Fluttershy asks as we come to a stop by her cottage. "What do you need?" "Well... feel free to say no, but I was wondering of I could keep the rifle with me to practice later." "You want to practice firing." I repeat. "I also want to categorize the rounds, but if you're uncomfortable with that I'll just make due..." "No, no. It's a good idea. Go ahead, just be careful. It's not a toy, it can kill things next to what you aim at. Remember that." I warn her as she wrestles the gun out of the back. "Of course. I'll make sure to take extra precautions and warn all of the woodland critters before using it. I'll even lock it in my closet when it's not in use, promise!" She says excitedly as she trots to her door. The door opens to reveal Angel. He takes a look towards me and nods once before tapping his foot and pointing at Fluttershy. "Oh... right." She says before entering her home. "What was that about?" Dust Devil asks from the back. "When it comes to Angle, I tend not to question it. Where am I taking the rest of you guys?" I ask as I head towards my place to drop off Dash. "We'll head out when you get home, don't worry about us." Snow Bound says as she takes the front seat. "Was that bunny pissed?" "Probably." I shrug. I drive to my place and wave Dash, Snow Bound, and Purple Edge off as they take off. "See you guys later..." "Uh... Miles, can I talk to you?" I turn around to find Nightfury sitting on my porch, a few cuts and bruises covering his forelegs. "Also, your pets are mean." "What are you doing here?" I ask him as we all approach him. "Well.... I went back to the barracks to turn in, but since I wouldn't give any Spartan training secrets away.... I was... dishonorably discharged." She says with a bit a malice. "You too?" True Will asks with a bit of a chuckle. "Yeah, same thing but with the Ursas for us. Though I suspect that they thought we'd die back there..." "Wait, they new about that city? Do they know where any others are?" "Not that I know of. They only knew that one because the miners found it." Well fuck. "So Miles... can we crash at your place for awhile?" Dust Devil asks. "Of course. My home is always open to Spartans. There's a spare room up the stairs to the right. You two can fight over my bed tonight. I'll just steal Shadows." "Who's Shadow?" Night Fury asks. "ME!" I look back in time to see Shadow leap into my arms, tackling me in a hug. "YOU DID IT, YOU DID IT! YOU MADE IT BACK FOR HEARTHS WARMING EVE!" "I told you I would." I say as the other chuckle. Shadow bombards me with a tirade of questions as we all head inside. It's good to be back. Perspective: Rain Cloud 6:32 AM SLAM I jolt awake as the front door slams shut. It's.... it's six in the morning! Wait... six in the morning... and with no guards... *gasp*! ROBBERS! Robbers have broken into our home and are going to steal our things! I quickly jump out of my cot and run to Breakers cot, shaking him awake. "Uuuhhgg.... Mom? What's up? It's... six thirty in the morning." He groans as he rolls over to face me. "Breaker, there's somepony in the house!" I tell him in a hushed tone. "Breaker wake up! There's somepony..." "Ponyville has the lowest crime rate in Equestria. Not to mention the guard here actually do their job... most of the time at least. Besides, who steals from a library?" He mumbles as he tries to go back to sleep. Lazy flank. I look between my own bed and the stairs and decide to go check for myself. I'll never go back to sleep if I don't. I take the stairs to the top where I peer out the door. Everything seems alright, nothing out of the ordinary. I can hear Spike snoring lightly in the back. I step out and head to the other doorway where I see him. I can't make out due to the darkness, but it looks as if he has something large on his back. Probably his goody bag of stolen priceless heirlooms! In a panic I run back down stairs and violently shake Breaker, accidentally pushing him out off bed. "Breaker! I saw him! He's inside heading up stairs! Breaker!" I tell him as he slowly gets up. "Uhg, what? Really?" He says as he walks over to the stairs. I rush behind him, almost crashing into him, and follow closely up the stairs. We make it to the top and peer out together, seeing the dark figure walk out from the stairway. The figure moves up to the upstairs bed where it drops something on one side, walks to the other side, and falls onto it's side. Confused, Breaker and I tip-hoof our way up to the bed, where we both sigh in relief. "See, nothing to worry about." Breaker says as he points to the unconscious, snoring Cloud. "Whew... alright. Lets remove their gear so they can sleep comfortably." He lets out a sigh as he moves to unbuckle Clouds' leggings. I move around to Twilight and carefully start taking her bags, trying my best not to wake them. They seem so tired, I doubt anything would wake them, but it's the thought that counts. "I'm surprised they made it out of the living city." Breaker mumbles. "The... what?" I ask him, making him freeze. "Did you know what was down there Breaker." "I knew rumors." He says quickly as he yanks Clouds' chest piece off. He lets out another snore as his face drags against the metal. "Well you should have told them. Any piece of information could help." I tell him as I tuck Twilight under the sheets. "It could save them..." "Nothing can save anypony... not while Death is out there." He grumbles as he tosses the last of his armor aside. "In the end, it won't matter..." "I've heard enough of that kind of talk." I tell him sternly. He folds a bit at my words, lowering his head as he looks away. I move over to him and wrap my arms around him. "Miles, Celestia, all of the other nations are working together to stop him. You don't need to worry, everything will be OK." "I hope so." He grumbles as he returns the hug. "I.. also hope they stay away from Solitude..." "Where?" I ask him. He deflates again as I stare him down. "Breaker..." "Over in Zebrica, there's a rumor of a city known as Solitude. It's said to be deep within the earth with a single occupant. The doors are open to any who can find their way there, but none ever return." "... w-why don't they return?" I ask wearily. "I don't know, nopony has ever survived to tell anypony." He says as he looks back to Storm. "If they try to go, we have to stop them..." "But..." "No buts. I don't want Storm Cloud going there. The journey itself is... what?" He asks me. I just keep smiling as he stares at me oddly. "You care about your big brother." I say as I hug him tightly. He lets out an annoyed sigh and begins to drag me downstairs to bed. I knew in time he'd open up in time... "Do you hear that?" I ask him. We both pause at the stairs as we hear hoof steps coming from the front stairs. We see an all white unicorn with long beautiful purple hair march right into the bedroom. Breaker and I glance to each other as we watch her head straight for Spikes bed.... "No..." "Oh my..." We both mutter as the mare, Rarity I think, climbs over him, pull him up to wake him, and plant a deep.... forceful... wet kiss on his lips. FWOOSH Spike flails his arms about as his around as his wings shoot straight back. He fights it a bit longer before relaxing enough to cup Rarity's face, kissing her back with an equal amount of passion. The kiss lasts for what feels like forever until they finally break to breath. "Rarity..." "Spike... I... well..." "That wasn't very lady like." Spike jokes, getting her to giggle. "But I'll forgive you for another kiss." SPIKE! You little player! "Is that your greed growing? Don't make me put you in your place..." "AHEM!" I cough, getting their attention. Even though its dark, their cheeks burn bright enough to see. "Well, this is.... odd. But it is late and Spike should be going back to bed..." "O-of course!" Rarity stammers as she flops off the bed. "Uh... let us never speak of this again..." "That would be best." Breaker says as he heads down the stairs to our room. "Spike, why don't you walk Rarity home." I tell him, getting a confused look from him. "Don't worry, I'll be up when you get back. And you will come back immediately, right?" "Right!" He says as he jumps up and begins to escort Rarity out. I hold him at the stairs and wait for Rarity to be out of earshot. "She's lovely." I tell him. "Huh?" "Now, you are my son’s son, so let me give you a family secret..." "Huh?" "Keep her safe, and she'll keep you strong. Listen to her and respond the way you feel is best. Be yourself and you'll do fine." ".... HUH?!" "Oh Spike, it's rude to keep a lady waiting." Rarity chimes from below. I give him a quick hug before shooing him out. "*sigh*.... I finally get to be a grandma...... a little bittersweet." I mutter before heading to bed. Hopefully he won't do anything stupid.... can dragons get mares pregnant? Perspective: Spike After my.... confusing talk with Rain Cloud I step outside and begin walking Rarity home. We stay quiet for a bit, I'm still reeling from the kiss that woke me up. I can't believe she actually kissed me! I think I even got some tongue... though I'm not entirely sure... "Spike," Rarity starts, breaking the silence between us. "I'm sorry for the sudden intrusion..." "It's alright Rarity..." "No, it was primal and beastly and I don't want you thinking I'm that kind of mare. What we have... I don't want to ruin it." "Rarity, nothing you could do would make me feel any different about you.You'll always be the generous, beautiful, talented mare that... that..." "That?" She asks as we face each other in front of Carousel Boutique. I take a look around the dark streets before kneeling before her. "That I love you." My cheeks begin to burn as I try to keep a serious face on. After all this time hiding my feelings for her and I finally tell her the truth. She gives me a warm smile as she takes a step towards me, cheeks burning just a bright as my own. "Spike, when we first met, you were just a little dragon, Twilights number one assistant. Now... I don't know anymore. You've grown, both physically and mentally. You've always been there for me and all I can say to your loving to me is... I love you to." She rears up to drape her forelegs on my shoulders as she leans forward to kiss me. I put a claw on her back and pull her close as I use my other claw to scoop her into my lap. I sigh into her as I let my claws explore her soft body a bit. Her white fur practically melts under my fingers as I move up her leg and up to her cutie mark... BOOT I fall to my side as something slams into my head. For a few seconds the world turns blurry as diamonds swirl around my head. I blink a few times before shaking my head and looking up to see my attacker. "*gulp* Hi.... Touch Down." I mumble as Rarity’s father walks up to us, looking displeased. "I hope you weren't planning on doing anything with my daughter." He says, his thick accent making it a little difficult to understand. "Father, I am a grown mare and I will not be treated like a foal." Rarity says as she stands up to face him. "I would also appreciate if you didn't use my work as a projectile." "Sorry 'bout that deary, why don't you.." "We." Rarity corrects. "... right. Why don't we head inside then." He says before glance back to me, giving me the stink eye. "Of course. Good night Spike. I shall see you at Miles' little gathering." Rarity says before trotting inside. Touch Down gives me another glare before walking after her, shutting the door and locking it. I sigh deeply before getting up and walking home. Fifteen minutes ago I was warm in my bed, sleeping, now I'm getting death glares from the stallion of my... my... "I'VE GOT A MAREFRIEND!" I excitedly announce to the world as I jump up and take to the air... before reality hit me. "I have a marefriend.... I need romantic advice..... MILES!" I yell as I start to fly towards his place in desperation. Perspective: Big Mac *SNOOOOORE SNOOOOORE SNOOO-THUD I wake up a second before face planting on the floor. With a tired groan I get to my hooves... "Big Mac, why are you here?" I look up and freeze for a moment when I see Fluttershy standing before me. She looks tired, and all of the gear she has seems to be weighing her down. "Shy ah..." "Shouldn't you be on the farm? Getting ready for the day?" She asks before heading to the stair. I run after her, keeping right on her tail. "Ah wanted ta be here when ya got back..." "Well I'm back." She snaps back as she flies up the stairway. I run up and chase her into her bedroom, finding her struggling to out the massive rifle into her closet. I run over and catch it before it falls and set it inside. Before she could walk away or say another word I grab her and pull her into a tight hug. She struggles a bit, but is stuck. "Ah'm sorry." "For?" She asks bitterly as she continues to struggle under my arms. "Ah wish ah had told ya sooner about Granny. Ah really meant to, but... it was still new to me. Ah didn't know how ta handle the information, so ah... ah went out fer a drink. Ah tried to bury mah troubles... and.... ah'm so sorry Shy. It didn't mean anything ta me, honest! Ah don't want ta lose ya Shy... ah'm not strong enough to go on without you." "Big Mac." She says as she moves a hoof to my cheek, wiping a tear away. "I'm not going anywhere... I'm just disappointed." "Ah know." I chuckle as I loosen my grip on her. "So.... do ya fergive me?" I ask nervously. She thinks about it, putting on a cute smile as she looks away from me. "Only on one condition." She tells me. "Anything." "I want to be more public about our marriage." "... really?" "I'm tired of ponies not knowing we're together, that's what caused all of this in the first place. I want us to be able to go anywhere and not have to worry about other ponies trying to get the better of us." She tells me with a determined look on her face. I chuckle a bit as I hug her tightly again, getting her to hug me back. "Ah think that massive rifle is getting to yer head Shy, ah don't think I've ever seen you this confident before..." "Oh! I'm not turning into a monster again, am I?" She asks nervously. "There's my mare." I say before leaning down to kiss her. She pushes back against my lips as I lift her up, moving to her bed. I lay her on her back as I get on top, being careful not to put all of my weight on her. "Are ya ready?" "... yes. Yes, I'm ready. Go ahead whenever you are." She reassures me. Judging by my aching member I'd say ah am so I lean back down to kiss her to give my answer. As our tongues dance around each others I feel my member stiffen between the two of us, reaching its peak as Fluttershy chews on my bottom lip. I let out a deep moan as she we play with each others lips. I just hope she doesn't go overboard... like she usually does. I lift up a bit to line myself with her entrance, getting a soft moan from her as I press the tip against it. We share a glance before I push in, making her squirm. I close my eyes and relish in the feeling. I push as deep as I can go, and hold it there, letting her adjust to me. I nuzzle her cheeks as she pants a bit. I don't want to sound prideful, but I don't think she'll ever get used to my thickness. "OK, you can move it now." She tells me as she holds onto my forelegs. "Just take it easy." Easy... you say that now. I pull back to her entrance and push back in, burying myself completely. I tense up from the friction, but repeat the action anyway, bring my hip down onto her flanks. Keeping a slow, methodical pace, a keep my hips moving as I run a hoof over her body. "M-maybe a bit harder, please." She asks cutely. I roll my eyes and begin to move with a bit more power. I know exactly how this is going to end; but if it's what she likes, it's what she likes. I set the pace, going twice as fast now, as I hold her rear legs up for better support. With every slap of my hip I get an eager pant from Fluttershy. her cheeks are really starting to burn as she bites a hoof. "Squeeze my teat!" She demands. "Wha..." "SQUEEZE MY TEAT!" And there it is. Obligating her demands I reach between her legs and take one of her teats in my hoof. I give it a rough squeeze before letting go to grope it some more. With another squeeze I get a pleasure filled moan from Shy as she twists in euphoria. I don't think I'll ever get why she likes these kind of things, not that i'm complaining. I'd never admit it to anypony, but... things get fairly hot sometimes. "Harder!" She demands. A little confused, I decide to do both; squeezing her teat with more force as I begin to slam my member inside her. At this pace I begin to grunt with every thrust forward, mixing with her pants. I can feel a cool layer of sweat starting to form over myself as I push and pull with her writhing body. "Flip over!" I tell her as I quickly pull out and force her over. She immediately lifts her rear underneath me, tail swishing back and forth, as her wings obscure my peripheral vision. I take a hold of her wings and yank them back as I push myself back inside. She lets out a loud growl of pleasure as she arches back to look me in the eyes. I stare back into her lustful eyes as I continue to pound into her, edging closer and closer to my finish. "Pull my mane." She tells me. "Bite my neck, chew my ear, spank my flank, DO ANYTHING! Just make sure I feel it." My little masochist, I know she really wants it, but I have to make sure to keep it in line. I don't want to actually hurt her. Tending to her needs, I lean forward and bite on her ear; pulling back so her heads completely up. She lets out a yell of approval and tugs back. I let it go before any damage could be done and move down to grip her neck. "AAAHH YES!" She screams as she shakes underneath me, getting close to her finish. SMACK "YES! AGAIN! PLEASE..." SMACK "AH BUCK MY TIGHT LITTLE..." SMACK "A-AH! C'mon, turn my flank redder then your coat you bucking s-stud." "Ah'm gettin close Shy..." "Inside, I want it inside!" She demands, I plant my hooves on her shoulders as I begin to furiously thrust into her, feeling the floodgates start to crumble away. "AAAH YES!" She screams as she hits her climax clamping down on my member and pushing me over the edge. With a final push I bury myself inside her and release within her. Our juices mix together as we both ride our orgasms out. After a few spurts I give a couple huffs to catch my breath before pulling out to look at my work. Her passage is spread with as my spunk slowly seeps out. "D-don't stare.. p-please." "Sorry." I say as I fall to her side. She falls along with me and snuggles up against me, nuzzling my chin as she sighs contently. "Did... did I go overboard again?" She asks nervously. "Ya tried." "Oh... did... did I warn you about being in heat?" "Yer in heat?" "Y-yes." She says as she quietly as she moves closer to me. I sigh a bit, but wrap a hoof around her anyway. "So... a colt or a filly?" "You're not mad?" She asks as she moves to look me in the eyes. "Why would I be mad?" "I was so mean to you earlier..." "An then we had sex. Ah'm a stallion Shy. I'll get over it, just.. lets try ta stop the lies." I tell her as I rub her back. "I promise." "So, a filly or a colt?" I ask again. "Hmm... I think a little filly would be wonderful..." "Ah think a colt could do some good. Help even out the house a bit." I joke. "Either way, if it's ours, I'd be happy." She says as she relaxes against me. "Me too." Perspective: Miles 10:32 AM "... and then bam, you've made yourself a new spear." I tell Spike as I finish my lesson on metal working. As soon as I got home Shadow kept me up with a constant bombardment of questions until Spike arrived. I guess I'll be sleeping tomorrow. To make things worse, Spike wanted romantic advice! I avoided the question by giving him a lesson on forging elements instead. Hes given it a couple tries and is doing... OK at it. It's his first time, so I go easy on him when he messes up. Shadow tried to listen in on our lesson, but ended up exploring my shop instead. "OK, I think I've got it... now about Rarity, my dad gave me some advice awhile back..." "OK, I'll give you one piece of advice. Storm is my best friend, and I love him as so, but... he's kind of a whore. Try and take things slow if you want it to mean something." "... is there a way of taking things quickly and..." "Oh sweet Barbra." I yell before setting the spear inside the weapon locker. "Who is Barbra?" Shadow asks from the back. THUD "Miles!" True Will yells as he drops into the shop. "There's some trouble up in Ponyville, you should come see this." He says before flashing out. "You, watch after Shadow while I go check things out. DON'T LEAVE THIS SHED UNLESS I SAY SO!" I yell before leaping out. I step out of the shed and follow after True Will towards Ponyville. I can see a few houses floating around above the town already... this can't be good. "Some mare showed up and started challenging Twilight to some kind of rematch, and she's been kicking her ass at it. Her power levels have to be... at least past ten thousand." True Will informs me as we enter the town, weaving our way through the crowded streets. Groups of ponies are trying to either get to or away from the library, making it a bit harder to get through. "Any idea if she's with the darkness?" I ask as we near an open circle in the crowd. "Not a clue..." "MUAHAHAHAHA! Your feeble attempts to redeem yourself are futile Twilight Sparkle! Now watch as the GREAT AND POWERFUL..." "What the fuck is going on here!" I demand as I step into the opening. Before me I see a tired and exhausted Twilight facing off with a light blue unicorn with silver hair and a mark of a wand and magic. She's wearing a pointy hat and cape that is dotted with stars and crescent moons along with a black necklace going around her neck. I freeze up when I see a light blue hexagon gem holding her cape together... it looks... familiar. "Do not interrupt Trixie when she is scolding her foes!" The mare, Trixie yells as she flares her horn and makes a mouse icon appear before me. It clicks my mouth, drags it to a trash can, and deletes it. "MMMMM! MMMFF MMMMM!" I yell as I try to open my mouth. That was trans-dimensional magic! That is some really hard shit to do... did she make a mouse icon!? "Now, as Trixie was saying, watch as the Great and Powerful Trixie turns your little friends into mere playthings." She sneers as she lifts the girls into the air and begins to juggle them around. Twilight tries to use her magic, but falls to her side as she faints from exhaustion. "TWILIGHT!" Storm yells as he runs to aid her, only to be lifted up by Trixie as well. "Let me go you bitch!" "Now, now, now. What a filthy mouth you have.... you dog." She says before zapping him with some kind of dark energy, turning him into a diamond dog. The crowd gasps as she sets him down, a few people fainting. Storm looks over his body before fainting himself. OK, I've had enough. I take a step forward and push my magic to my back, burning my shirt off and getting Trixie’s attention. I bring my hands before my mouth and begin to pull the dimension apart, bringing my mouth back to it's rightful place. I give a few test bites before stepping before Trixie and readying my hands for combat... "WAIT!" Spike yells from the side as he flies down beside me. "You can't be serious." Trixie says as she rolls her eyes and begins to inspect her hoof. "SPIKE! I told you to watch Shadow!" "I know, but..." "NO BUTS! Get back there..." "You need to get the necklace off of her!" He yells as he points to her. "It's what's making her so powerful and evil..." "FOAL!" Trixie yells before chuckling to herself. "Do you forget that Trixie has to be the one to remove the Alicorn Amulet? Nopony will make me remove this necklace as long as Twilight Sparkle lives! Now..." "If you want to hurt her, then you'll have to get past me." I say as I flare my hands. "Spike," I whisper to him, "thanks for the heads up. Now get everyone out of here." "OK." He says before running over to the crowd and begins to order them away. Trixie and I stare each other down as the crowd backs off, no one willing to leave but giving us more room. "You know Trixie will never take this amulet off..." "I'm challenging you to a test of magic." I cut her off, making her laugh. "Oh? And if you win, what? I remove my..." "If I win, I get that gem on your cape." I say, making her lose her confidence for a second. "M-my... NO! Pick something else!" She demands as she holds her head up and looks away. "And if I lose... well, let's just say being the leader of the worlds most powerful country has it's perks." I say, getting her to glance back to me. "What do you say? You in, or you afraid of losing?" She bites her lip as she levitates the gem up to look over. "Well... Trixie has no fear of losing. Very well, a test of magic before the rise of the Great and Powerful Trixie!" She says before rearing up and setting some fireworks off behind her. "OK, but set everything you changed back to normal before we begin. Set the bars even you know?" I say as I roll my shoulders. I'm a little worried about burning out from all of the non-combatant magic, but I need to see that gem. With a simple flash of her horn the buildings and pegasi go back to their appropriate spots as Storm turns back into a pegasus. "Ladies first." I say as I motion towards Trixie. She stars out my making a cloud appear above me, zapping me with a bolt of lightning. With the extra energy coursing through me, I lift my hands up and send all of the snow on the ground into the air, where I force it together into a gigantic ice block in the shape of a bolt of lightning. I drop the ice above Trixie, forcing her to teleport out of the way. The crowd cheers for me as Trixie collects herself, glaring at the town. "Impressive, but lets try something a little more impressive them elemental magic." Trixie says as she lifts.... "SHADOW!" I yell as she brings her over before herself. "Daddy!" She yells as she tries to break out of Trixies grasp. "Oh? An adopted foal? Perhaps you'd like it..." "If you touch even one hair on her body, I'll tear your soul out and feed you to a demon. PUT. HER. DOWN." I warn her as I toss my arm out, making the Laminis Lux. "Are... are those the Elements of Harmony?" She asks as she sets Shadow down. She runs behind me and cowers in fear. "Yes, now...." "I'll be taking those. Don't want you having any unfair advantages, now do we?" She says as she envelopes me in her aura. I feel her magic begin to force the elements from my forearm, prying them from me. I push my hands out and start to feed my own energy into hers, forcing my way into her mind from a distance. A magical tug-a-war begins as we each try for our own destinations. If she gets the elements first, I'll drop in energy and lose. But if I can get in her mind.... I push more and more energy past her mental walls and break in. I have no idea if I'm too late, but I begin to read through all of her memories as I look for a way to defeat her. She is an orphan, her mother died when she was very little. The cape and hat are all she has left... a family heirloom... She travels all over Equestria... alone... No friends... No companions... She uses the third person thing to feel less alone, as if someone would care enough to talk about her... She made a mistake here, in Ponyville. She ran from it... though it never left her.... She was taken captive! By the Ursas... tortured for almost a month... She was sent here to teach me a lesson... the Ursas are pissed.... "AAAH!" I yell as I feel my connection snapped off. I open my eyes to find myself laying on the ground, staring straight up into the sky. I sit up to see Trixie walking up to me... holding a multi colored wand in one hoof.... "The elements." I mutter as I look down to my bare arm. "Yes, now watch as the Great and ALL POWERFUL Trixie turn you to stone!" She yells before waving the wand in the air and pointing it to me. A massive wave of sparkling energy erupts from the wand and shoots right for me. THWUM "MUAHAHAHAHAHA! I USED THE ELEMENTS! I'M ALL POWERFUL! I..." "Didn't do anything." I say as I get to my feet. I look myself over and sure enough, no stone. Nothing. I look up and smirk as Trixes jaw lays on the floor. "Wh... ho.... huh?" Is all she can muster. I just laugh as I reach out towards her, I wonder. I call out to the elements, feeling their energy call back. The wand shakes out of her hoof and breaks mid air before collecting back on my forearm, just as they were before. "My turn." I flare my hands and toss them above my head, sending a column of energy up from underneath Trixie. She flies up into the air, and into a portal I made appear before her. She flies in and disappears with the portal. I quickly make another one appear by the library, wincing as the magic makes my skin burn. She flies out of it and crashes on the floor before me, but I'm not done just yet. I jump forward and make a slab of earth appear before Trixie. I make a clear surface appear before her and send her into a trance, keeping her attention completely on the mirrored reflection. "Now... look at yourself. Your life. What are you?" I ask as I walk around her, making sure to keep the energy on the mirror. I'm playing all of her memories for her, trying to see if there's any good in her. "I... I.... NO! I... must resist..." She says as she tries to look away. "What pushes you? Why are you Trixie?" I ask as I try focusing on memories of her family, though there aren't many. "Is it her? Are you afraid of disappointing her?" "NO! I... you can't disappoint somepony who's only in your head!" She says as she start to pull away, taking a few steps back. I need something else. "What about your friendships, the lack there of? Is it because you're afraid of having friends? Or is it because you don't have any?" "Trixie doesn't need any friends! Trixie is friend enough! Other ponies don't understand! They only laugh and tease Trixie as she starves and fights to make a living! Friends can rot as they fear me and my new power!" She yells back as she takes a step forward. Found it. "Doesn't it bother you that, no matter how hard you try, no one cares about you? You will never be good enough for them, that is why you fear them. Because you can't face the rejection...." "NO! Trixie isn't a bad pony! Trixie... Trixie can change..." She cries as she takes another step towards the mirror, just a few more. "You'll never amount to anything! You'll never be good enough! You will die, alone, with no one to blame other than TRIXIE!" "STOP! STOP, PLEASE STOP! I DON'T WANT TO DIE ALONE! I..." Just one more step... "FACE IT! FACE THE REALITY OF YOUR LIFE! YOU ARE NOTHING! THIS POWER DOESN'T BELONG TO YOU! YOU DON'T DESERVE FRIENDSHIP! NO LOVE! NO REMORSE! ONLY A ROAD FILLED WITH CRUSHED DREAMS AND AN UNDYING LONELINESS!" "NNOOOOOOOO!" She yells before stepping into the mirror. She walks into her reflection and disappears in the glass. The glass shines brightly as the energy begins to purge her of the cursed object. I sigh in relief and release my magic, returning Laminis Lux to its crystal form on my arm. I look around to see all of the ponies gaping at me, wide eyed. "Sorry about that people." I apologies to them as I face them. "It's how I needed to purge her. She'll be fine in a minute." "Uh... Master." Spike says as he offers me his red scarf, looking away. I glance down and sigh as I take the scarf to cover myself up. Of course I would forget that Laminis Lux would burn my clothes off, ALL OF THEM! I glance over to Shadow and wince as I see her facing away from me. "Did she see anything?" I ask Spike. "I turned her around and covered her eyes." He says as he rubs the back of his head, looking everywhere but at me. "But... yeah, that was still pretty intense." "You don't create the Elements of Chaos without learning how to bring out the worse in somebody." I tell him as I look back to the girls. They're huddled around Twilight, making sure she's OK. "What kind of spell was that?" Spike asks as he looks to the glowing mirror. "Veritas Speculum." I tell him. "A truth mirror. It brings you to your greatest fear and forces you to confront them... OK everyone can go home now!" I yell to the crowd, getting a collective 'aw' in response. "Get out of here, go be with your families!" I yell as the disbursing crowd. "Spike, go check on Storm while I check on Shadow." "Got it!" He says before running to his side. I walk up behind Shadow and stand there awkwardly. I seriously hope she didn't see... "Daddy..." "Yes Shadow?" "Are.... are they all that small?" "I'M NOT LITT.... *sigh* yes. For humans at least." I say, feeling defeated. "Oh... I'm going home now...." "Yes, I'll be there later... clothed!" I add quickly. She nods and begins walking down dirt road, being extra careful not to look back. THUD I spin back to see Trixie laying on the ground in front of the slab of earth. I was a little apprehensive to approach her at first, but once I heard her sobs I walked right up to her and sat beside her. She looks over to me, tears soaking her cheeks, before removing the amulet from her neck. "I'll hold onto that." I say quietly as I take it. She just turns away from me and curls into a ball, crying to herself. "I'm sorry about what I said earlier..." "Just leave me alone!" She wails through her tear. "I... I want to be alone." "We both know that's not true. Look, I want to start over with you. Meet the real you. My name is Miles Eremita." "M-Miles? Can you do me a favor Miles?" She asks as she stops crying, well, slightly at best. "Sure, what do you need?" "Leave me alone." She says flatly as she gets to her hooves. "Everypony that talks to me learns to hate me... I don't want to risk that with you.... I'll be going before the town tries to..." "Hold on." I say as I reach out and grab her cape. "I won, so I get to see that gem of yours..." "What! Please, no! I can't lose this! It's the only..." "I know, it's the only thing you have of your mothers. I was in your head, I know. I just want to see it for a second, I'll give it back right afterwards." I tell her calmly. If it's what I think it is... I need to stay calm. "Y...you promise to give it back." She says as she lifts her cape off. "I promise, and I never break my promises." Well... most of the time at least. Sorry Inficiunt. She looks around a bit before relinquishing the cape to me. I take it and immediately go to the gem, feeding some energy into it and making the picture of my unit appear. "I knew it! I fucking knew!" I yell as Trixie does a double take. "Wh.... how did you do that?" She asks nervously. "Because you're the distant relative of my best friends Dolum and Auxy Ostendere! That's how!" Chapter 160 Hearths Warming EveChapter 160 Hearths Warming Eve "How does... wait, what?" She asks as she stares at the photo. "Was that research you did on your family accurate?" I ask as I toss her the cape. "How did you know..." "I was in your head. Was it accurate?" I ask again. She blinks a few times before nodding. "Yes.... what are you by the way?" She asks as she takes a seat before me. "Right, haven't heard that question in a while, I'm human. My people lived in massive underground cities but where wiped out by a race of aliens. I was sent three thousand years into the future during the destruction of my home city, Topaz Falls." I tell her confidently. She eyes me a bit, trying to gauge if I'm insane or not. "OK... you're a hairless, insane, ape, great." She concludes. "What's an ape?" I ask as the others suddenly start surrounding me. "Miles! you got the amulet off of her, good job!" Twilight yells. "Way to go Miles!" "Excellent work!" They all start congratulating me, ignoring Trixie as she gets up and begins to walk away. I get to my feet, being sure to cover up, and let them know I was going to have a word with Trixie; alone. "Hey, wait up!" I yell as I run up to her. "Don't you want to be with your 'friends'. *sigh* just leave me alone Miles Eremita." She says as she continues to walk away. "Sorry, no can do. So, assuming the information is accurate, we should head down to Roam..." "What? I'm not going to Roam..." "But it's where your information said your latest recorded ancestor was." I say as we head through the market, getting many odd looks from everyone. Well, I am naked after all... fuck it. "Yes, but I've been there before..." "Oooooh, right. The current Roam and the past Roam are two different cities." "How did you know that?" She asks as she comes to stop. "I've been in your head. I know what you know." I say as I get an evil idea to prove that I know her mind. "Like, I know you had a secret crush on this one guy...." "NO I DIDN'T!" She yells as she begins to blush. "But he turned out gay so now you think all guys are gay, but secretly kind its of kinky..." "DO NOT!" She yells as she looks around, blushing even deeper. "You've traveled almost all over Equestria, performing little magic shows for people; which you've been doing wrong by the way..." "My special talent IS magic tricks, I know what I'm doing." She defends. "A magic user using magic isn't interesting. No one wants to pay to watch a unicorn use magic, it's redundant. Here, let me show you a trick that your great great great... that your ancestor taught me. Do you have a deck of cards?" "Card tricks?" She asks flatly. "Five credits say it gets a crowd to cheer." I say with a confident smile. She stares at me for a second before flaring her horn, making a deck of cards appear before me. "You're on." She says as she moves to my side and waits. Hmm... these feel like they're made of a different material... oh well. Lets see if I can do this without fucking up... like I usually do. "Alright, alright, alright! Come see if your minds can fathom the great Terridisian shuffle. Who thinks they can out smart me! Come one come all! Who wants to have their minds blown!" I yell to the ponies as they move about the market. A couple look to each other before shrugging and coming over to me. "The... Terradisian shuffle? What's that?" The mare asks eagerly as the stallion just rolls his eyes. "Alright, a quick shuffle annnnnnd, pick a card." I say as I fan the cards out for her, facing her. They look to each other before she takes a card and looks it over. "Alright, don't show me that card." I say as I begin to shuffle again. "Are we really waiting for a stupid card trick?" The stallion complains, getting a playful nudge from the mare. "Alright, is this your card?" I ask as I show them the top card. "We still have our card." "No? Hmm... OH! Then its this card." I say as I show then the bottom card. "..... no." "Fuck it, I give up." I say as I toss the deck into the air. I take a step back and sigh as all of the cards rain down around the couple. "Well, glad to see that was a complete waste of..." "Wait... look." The mare says as she picks up a random card. "This is my card... no... they're all my card." She says as they start looking over all the falling cards. I smirk to Trixie as they start fawning over how each card somehow turned into her card. She just rolls her eyes and watches, slightly interested. I'm just glad I did it right this time. "Alright, are you sure these are your cards?" I ask as I flare my hands and pull all of the cards back into my hands, turning my magic off before I grab them. "Yeah, three of diamonds." The mare says happily. "Really? This isn't your card?" I say as I slap the top card and reveal it. It's a king of hearts, but with her stallion as the king. They both laugh and cheer, stomping their hooves on the ground. A few random bystanders walk over to see what all the ca-motion is about. "No wait, this is your card." I say as I pull the bottom card, revealing the queen of hearts. They cheer again as I look at the mare on the card and frown. "OK, this trick isn't going very well... wait a minute! Give me your card so I can shuffle it in!" I say as I take their card, not looking at it, and shuffle it inside. The crowd giggles a bit and waits for me to finish shuffling. I take a low stance and ready my hand over the top card, eying the crowd as I hover just above it. "You ready?" I ask the couple. "Yeah!" The mare says excitedly. "This is your card!" I say as I flip the top card. They all laugh, making me look at it. "I take it the joker isn't your card." "Nope." The giggle as I deflate a bit. "How about... THIS ONE!" I say as I flip the bottom one. They laugh harder now, making me look at the joker. "That's it, I give up!" I yell as I toss the cards at a nearby window. Cards fly everywhere as I walk over beside the window and lean against the wall. And now I wait. "No way..." The stallion mutters as he walks over to the window. "That's our card." "Really?" I ask as I look over to see the card sticking to the window. "Are you sure?" "Posit... what the?" He reached up to grab it, only to have his hoof slide over the glass. "How did you do that!?" He asks as he taps the glass, making the card fall inside the building. "Magic." I say before walking away. The small crowd gives a round of applause as Trixie and I walk down the market street. we make it to the edge of town before she says anything to me. "How did you do that?" "I already told you, magic." I say smugly. "But... you didn't use any magic to change the cards...." "Yeah I did." I say, getting a confused look from her. "I can set my heels on fire too. So while I distracted them with the wrong cards, I enchanted the others to be the one they took..." "How did you know what card they took?" She asks. I pause for a moment to smirk at her. NOW I get why I always got this answer... "Magic." She does a double take as I walk off chuckling to myself. "How did you do it?!" She asks again as she runs after me. I lust laugh as I make my way home. Three thousand years apart and she's just like Dolum and Auxy. We make our way out to the park and take the path to my house... well I do at least. Trixie is just trying to figure out how I did the trick... "Hey Miles!" I look behind me to see Damian and two of his friends walking up behind me. "Nice ass." "Why thank you Damian, I knew you'd like my male ass." I say as I face him, getting his friends to snicker as he just shakes his head. "Glad you could make it Damian. CC. Uh.... you..." "Patches." He says bitterly. "Right, Patches. Let me introduce you all. Trixie, this is Damian, a fellow lieutenant of the Spartans and these are his friends, CC and Patches. Guys, this is Trixie." "Hello." Trixie says quietly as she eyes all of them. "Hey. So where is everyone? Were we late? Did I beat Night Fury here?" Damian asks as he glances around the park. "Dude, it's not even eleven. I didn't really expect people to start showing up till seven... and actually, no. Night Fury doesn't have a place to live anymore so he's crashing here until further notice." I tell him. CC and Patches both take a moment to glare at Damian as he just sighs in annoyance. "Well, then we're here to help set up!" CC declare as she steps forward. "What do you need of us?" "You don't have to do any...." "No ,no ,no. We're here early, so we're going to help. All of us. What do you need." She pushes. "Not me, I can't go in there with that filly there." Patches says as he drops down to lay on the dirt path. "Have fun cleaning." "Hmm.... you know what, yeah. I'll take your help. CC if you and Damian could get started with getting the food ready I'd appreciate it. If there's no food in the fridge I'll give you some money to go get some groceries. True Will and Dust Devil said they would help with the cleaning, mainly because there isn't that much. Patches, just hang out near the front porch for awhile. I think I've got something for you." "Lets go." CC says as she trots off for my place. Damian glances towards me before quickly taking after her. "Well, I guess this is where I..." "Oh no you don't." I tell Trixie as she tries to walk off. "But..." "Nope. You're sticking around for Hearths Warming Eve." I tell her as I begin to walk home. "But..." "We both know you have no where else to go and, I know you could at least use a good meal. Now either you stay and be friendly with everyone or I tie you up in chair and force feed you, your choice." ".... *sigh* fine. But only because I'm st.... hungry...." "Three days without eating and you're only hungry." I say as I glance back to her. She blushes as avoids my gaze, mumbling something under her breath. "Don't worry, we'll get some food in you before people start showing up..." "And what makes you think I'm staying after getting some food." She says as she quickens her pace. "Because I'm asking you to." I say smugly as I walk ahead of her. She looks up to me and scoffs a bit before chuckling. "Thought so, now if you excuse me, I'd like to go put some clothes on now." I say as we approach my place. ........................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Storm With a gasp I jolt awake, finding myself in my bed immediately. I quickly throw off the blankets and sigh in relief when I see my normal body. Four legs and a pair of wings, just the way I'm suppose to be. "Storm?" Twilight calls from the bottom of the room. "Y-yeah... I'm good." I call back as I sit up in bed. Twilight runs up and sighs in relief when she sees me. "Hey, so I take it Miles won." "Kind of." She says as she joins me on the bed. I lean forward and nuzzle her cheek, getting a kiss on the cheek from her. "I'm guessing that when we go to Miles' place, we're going to hear something unbelievable..." "Well, it's Miles. It wouldn't be Hearths Warming Eve if something unbelievable didn't happen." I joke, getting a soft chuckle from her. "Isn't that weird though?" She asks. "I mean, we've only known Miles for roughly four months, yet... I couldn't imagine him not being here." "Yeah...." "Lets not think about that." She says quickly as she takes my hooves and pulls me over for a hug. "I sent a letter to my parents explaining the situation, so they've decided to come here instead..." "Oh, that's good..." "It gets better. Cadence and Shinning will be coming to! Isn't that great?" She asks as she squeezes my mid section. "Yeah.... great..." Shinning Armor is coming... why do I have the feeling that this won't end well. "Did we get them..." "I've got it covered." Twilight says before looking up and kissing me firmly. I push back against her and sigh into the kiss. "OK," she say, our lips still connected, "lets get down stairs to get everything ready." "OK, right after you break the kiss." I say through our kiss. We both chuckle as neither of us break the kiss... "Hey, can I get an extra pair of hooves down here?" Mom calls out from down the stairs, making me break the kiss. "Be right there!" I call back. I look back to Twilight and offer her a smile as she just smiles back, shaking her head slightly. "Well... lets go." "Right, we don't want to fall behind my schedule." She says before hoping off the bed. I jump off and follow after her, playfully nudging her along the way. "HI HONEY!" "MOM!? Dad? Everyone?" Twilight gasps when we make it to the bottom of the stairs. Night Light, Twilight Velvet, Shinning Armor, a slightly pregnant Cadence.... Celestia and Luna all stand by our door. Everyone, except Celestia and Luna, are stripping their winter wear and off loading gifts to Spike... where did his scarf go? "Hello Twilight, I hope you don't mind the sudden visit, but I felt it would be nice to visit my most faithful student on Hearths Warming Eve." Celestia says as she steps forward, offering a slight hug for Twilight. "We ran into your family on the door step, an odd occurrence of timing." "I'd say. We're glad to have you and your sister for lunch." Twilight says, sweating a bit already. "Shinning." I say as I move over to greet him. "Storm." "Hello Storm!" Cadence says with a large smile. "Hello Cadence, how are you feeling?" I ask as I glance to her stomach. It's only slightly bulging. If one didn't know any better, they'd say she was just bloated. "I'm good, everything is going splendidly." She says warmly. I nod and smile to her as Night Light and Velvet approach me. "Hello... how was the trip here?" I ask them nervously. "It was pleasant enough. The snow nearly derailed us, but it was nice to see the country side for a change." Velvet says as she pulls me in for a hug. Night Light and the others move inside to greet Twilight, giving Velvet the perfect chance to feel me up again. "Definitely worth the trip, to be with my family that is." She says with a vigorous pat down of my sides. I just sit there, wide eyed, as she trots away. Did.... did Twilight's mom just feel me up.... "Spike! Look at you! You've... grown!" Shinning says as he approaches him. "Yeah, I've been learning magic with Miles and... well, I guess with power comes growth." Spike says as he rubs the back of her neck. "Why did you grow wings?" Cadence asks him. "Did it hurt?" Night Light asks. "How advance are you in you studies?" Velvet asks as the three of them step towards the poor foal. "Hi everypony!" Mom yells as she steps inside the living room, holding a pot in her hooves as she stirs its contents. "Foods just about ready, why don't we leave the poor foal alone and get ready to eat?" She says with a warm smile. "I'm not a foal." Spike grumbles as everyone moves to the kitchen, ignoring his complaints. "Everything alright?" I ask him. "It's.... nothing." He says before moving to head into the kitchen. "Whoa, don't you ever try to blow me off like that again. What's up? Something has you bothered, I can tell." I say as I walk in front of him. He sigh and looks away, trying to find the right words. "R.... Rarity and I kissed last night." He says slowly. "... and that's what's bothering you. I thought you liked her?" "How did you know?!" "REALLY?" "Graaaah. Anyway! Yeah, we kissed and... I don't know how to feel about this. I tried asking Miles for help, but he just called you a whore and..." "Did he really call me a whore? Wait, you went to Miles first, why?" I ask, feeling slightly offended. "Well... sorry but... I look to you as my father, not somepony I go to for romantic advice.... sorry." He says as he takes a step away from me. "Well.... though you can come to me about anything, I get your hesitation to. But why does kissing Rarity confuse you? Isn't this what you wanted?" "Well... yeah, but... I don't know. It felt right, but wrong at the same time. Like.... I can't explain it. If her father hadn't thrown a boot at my head, I think we would have... you know.... all the way." He says with a massive blush. "So you still feel like a foal?" I venture. "No... kind of... I don't know. The title doesn't seem to fit anymore, even though it's true. I caught myself the other day having... odd thoughts, but I'm still young! I mean, I took a few cupcakes the other night and had those youthful thoughts, but when I saw two foals arguing I thought it was the dumbest thing ever.... I don't know what to think anymore!" He says before dropping to sit on the floor. I sigh as take a seat beside him. This is some... familiar sounding problems. "Did I tell you about how I got my job as a weather pony?" I ask him as he holds his knees against his chest. "... no." "I was nine at the time. The orphanage I was at needed help financially and I was almost old enough to join the work force. So I spent weeks training my wings to be able to control weather. Once I was strong enough, I went and lied about my age. I actually never graduated high school..." "Really! How did you manage to get into the royal guard then?" "Well... I just went for it kind of. I was pretty smart in school, so I guess it payed off. Anyway, I got the job and had to get up at five in the morning six days a week, working twelve to sixteen hour shifts. This was back when the original workers went on strike, so I had plenty of work to do. During all my time as a worker, I started to mature quickly. Nothing like you, but by the time I was a sophomore in high school, I was worried about rent and bills instead of dates and sports. You know what I learned?" "What?" "Age is just a number. Now, if I were you, I'd wait for anything like sex or stuff like that. I'd say try to gain some responsibilities and try to grow into the pony you've become. Go for that stuff when you're ready." "... so I shouldn't kiss Rarity anymore." "Well I wouldn't go that far. Talk to her, let her know of your intentions. I'm sure she'll understand and support you. Just.. be careful." "Why?" "Because you're a six foot tall, magic wielding, heart breaker. I'm fairly certain there are a few mares out there keeping an eye on you, not just Rarity." I warn him. He leans back to think about what I said, a goofy smile growing on his face. "Really?" "Come on, lets get some food." I say as I stand and head for the kitchen. "Thanks Dad... that was... really helpful." Spike says from behind. "I do pretty good for a whore, don't I?" I say, getting him to laugh. He'll be alright, I'm sure of it. "So Rain Cloud." Velvet says as we take our seats at the table. A plethora of different dishes have been set out Zebra style (many small portions that you take pieces of) and smells delicious. "We've heard about what happened to your company, interested in working with us? We could use a consultant with your experience. You see, our business is planning on going international..." "That sounds lovely, but lets talk after we eat." Mom says. Twilight and I share a glance before silently cheering. Anything to get her out of the house for two minutes! I thought we'd never have a chance to try again! ................................................................................................................................................................ Perspective: Miles 5:06 PM "So... that's an interesting way of using magic." Trixie says as we leave my shed. We spent the past two hours working together making my 'presents' for everyone. I only had a few good ideas, most of the Spartans will only get their specialized weapons as gifts. Luckily Trixie was able to conjure up some wrapping paper and we were able to get them all wrapped... though I found it a bit pointless. It's hard to hide the fact that you made a spear after all. Ends up Trixie is just as curious about magic as Twilight would be. Her questions were much more sophisticated then I thought they would be though. She was really interested in the transfers of energies and how we had our laws and broken laws. It seems unicorn magic only follows standard laws of magic, interesting. Our conversation ended on the subject of trans-dimensional power shifting when Shadow called us up. Thus, we started taking everything up. "Hey Dad, can I invite E'Claire and Butterscotch over?" She asks eagerly as we leave the shed. I'm just glad she seems to have forgotten seeing my junk. "Of course corculum. If you see Bantler and Nada, let them know they're invited as well." I tell her. She nods and runs to the platform, flashing away. "So, I have to ask, how is she your daughter?" Trixie asks as we head inside. "I found her in a mine back in Detrot. She... lost her family, so I took her in." "So she's adopted....good..." "What?" "WHAT? I... mean... it's good of you to do that, for her that is.... where do you want these?" She asks nervously. I motion her over to the living room where we set them in the open area. I take Damians, CCs, and Patches gifts and call them over to the front porch. When they're all there, I have CC go first. "They're... bracelets? Thank you Miles, they're lovely." She says as she presents two silver bracelets with blackened quartz woven through it. "Actually, they are comm link bracelets for you and Damian. If you speak into one, the other will hear you." I say, shooting Damian a 'I got your back' look. "Woooow... lets try them!" She says as she snaps one onto his leg, then her own. "Hello? Can you hear me?" She whispers into the bracelet. "Loud and clear." Damian replies. "Patches, you're up." I say as I toss him the small parcel. He shoots an excited glance to the others before tearing the wrappings away. "It's a necklace." He says as he pulls it out. It's a simple silver necklace that ends with two metal pieces woven together. Going through the two metal pieces is a little brass pole. "Put it on." I tell him, getting him to do so.... "I GOT A STICK!" Damian proclaims proudly as he lifts his staff into the air. "Nice patience douche." I say as he twirls it around expertly. It's a steel staff that I engraved myself; making his cutie mark and other dark images show all around it. "Anyway, you wanted something to make you weaker, there you go. Give it a try, feed as much energy as you can into it." He looks to the others before he starts to focus on it. Waves of dark energy flow around him as he concentrates ever more on the staff, though no one reacts to the energy leaking from him. More and more energy seeps into the staff, with nothing happening. "Nothings happening." Trixie observes. "No, a lot is happening." I say as Damian powers down, the dark energy receding back within him. "This staff has two enchantments on it, both on passive. The first one creates a ball of light at each end of the staff, while the second one snuffs out light at each end. I set the power levels ridiculously high for them..." "So... it doesn't do anything?" Trixie asks, somewhat confused. "Dude, it's perfect. Thank you." He says he stands with it, leaning on it for support. "Your welcome, now you. That necklace was a bitch to make, but I think I got it down right. Explode." "Excuse me?" Patches asks as he looks up to me. "Not with everypony here..." "Just explode." "You'll get..." "Just do it." "No! I'll" "I'll do it!" Damian yells before smacking Patches with the staff. He instantly falls apart into a pile of body parts. Then Trixie fainted. "Oh my..... I DUB THEE 'STICK OF DOOM'!" Damian yells as he holds the staff above his head. The lumps of flesh begins to crawl back together, quickly forming Patches again. "I... I didn't explode." He observes as he begins to tear up. "Yeah. I enchanted it to nullify outward forces and send them inwHAT THE!" I yell as he jumps up and hugs me. "Thank you! I can finally go in buildings now!" He cries as he squeezes me tighter. I look to the others for help, only to get Damian to smack him with the stick again. He falls apart just in time for all of the girls; older and young, Shinning Armor, Cadence, Big Mac, Spike, Twilights' parents, Celestia and Luna to see. "Um... this isn't what it looks like." I try, but fail to change any of their shocked faces. "Miles," Celestia starts, "what just happened?" "Well..." "I used the STICK OF DOOM!" Damian yells as he strikes a pose with his staff. Then Rarity fainted. "This is normal, I swear." I say as Patches begins to reform. Not helping dude. "Well... I expected something unbelievable to happen, and I was right." Storm says as he continues down the path towards my house. Everyone else slowly follows after him, Spike lifting rarity up and bringing her along. "Uh... so... where's that friend of yours?" Applejack asks Damian, trying to keep her distance from his staff. "Back in Detrot with his mom and brother, why?" "Oh, no reason. Ah just... noticed he wasn't here." She says as she steps away from him and CC, blushing deeply. "Ah'll just head inside then." She says coyly before heading in. "Oh my, she likes Hammer." CC says out loud. "Looks like you have some competition Damian." Patches says quickly before running towards my house. "ASS!" Damian yells at him. And all that potential bonding I set up, gone. Fucking Patches. "Well, lets head inside already. I'm freezing my feet off out here." I say, getting an irritated sigh from Damian as we all head in. Hearths Warming Eve was started when the three races of equestrian kind joined together for the first time. Before this, there was a separation between the three that was held together with a weak deal. Earth ponies grew the food. Pegasi controlled the weather. And the unicorns bartered with gems and spells of importance. A deep hatred grew when Windigos started to through the weather into disarray. It was too cold to grow food, so the Earth ponies stored what little food they had. The pegasi were blamed for the poor weather, so the trade ended. With little to no resources, gems lost their value. Thus the unicorns lost their trade. And so, the three tribes left their homelands in search of a new utopia. Somewhere where they could make a new living for their people. As fate would have it, they all found the same land; Equestria. Though they the leaders fought themselves into icy statues, their cohorts found peace with one another. Ironically, through hating their leaders, but that's besides the point. They told stories. Laughed. Sung heart filled songs. A friendship grew between them that burned their leaders from their icy states, and infected them. They too would join in the merriment, effectively fighting off the Windigos. Thus, they worked together to form Equestria, through the power of the friendships formed their that day they would see one of the worlds largest countries rise from the snow. Or, so that's how the tale is told these days. According to Luna, these events happened, but not without prior cause. The Windigos usually stay up in the Ice elemental regions, high to the north. But during the rise of the Griffons, their leader and demigod would start events that would change the world. Ulfric StormMind was searching for a land for his griffins to nest. Back in these days, they were heavily nomadic and needed somewhere for his people to raise the next generation. He would find a mountain peak in what would be called the Ice caps and make camp there. But not without fighting off the natural inhabitants. Legend says he killed dozens of the creatures before banishing them from their home, fighting with a fury that would send icy winds all the way to the goblin desserts. Once they were defeated, they would nest. But not peaceably. Spatium and Tempus would notice the rise in energy and go to investigate, finding him killing what they saw as living souls. They rose together and challenged him in a pit of combat that would rage over the entire planet. Soon, other leaders would join in the fighting. All until Tempus struck a blow against Ulfric, causing him to bleed. Demigods don't bleed. Distraught, he fled the battle, so what would become the eventual Griffin Colony. But Tempus was kind, and turned back time to allow him to hold onto his honor. Thus two nations were formed, and thus we celebrate. "Wow... that's quit the history." I say as Luna steps back with her sister. We're all gathered around in the living room listening to the story of Equestrias forming. It was quit the tale actually. I had set an enchantment in the center of the room to keep us warm as everyone sips on hot cocoa (fucking awesome by the way) and coffee (still fucking gross). "Lets here your story." Cadence says as she looks to me. "My story? You mean Terradisia?" I ask as Shadow shuffles a bit in my lap, trying to look up to me. "Yeah, I bet it's just as interesting." She says as she gets cozy with Shinning. I look around at all of the expecting eyes and sigh. "Very well, lets see how good I am at story telling..." "I'll join you on this one." Damian says from the corner of the room. "I looked it up, the half you don't know that is." "You looked it up?" I question. "We know everything...." "Huh.... alright, but no skipping any parts.Tell us everything you know. "Dammit...." "Terradisia has an unknown starting point..." The Purge. Back, well before recorded time, started a war. Great nations and any organization that could muster up people set out to destroy one another. The war would rage for decades, centuries. Only to end in a hail of nuclear and archaic fire. The land mass we stand on today was only saved due to the discovery of super enchantments. A shield stopped the missiles from coming in, but didn't stop them entirely. The shields couldn't break the over engineered weapons, so when they finally hit their height markers, they exploded. The war was a stand off between the scientific community, and the religious community. Science was pushing forward, trying to sink further into magic and technology, while the religious sector was declaring the latter a curse. A taboo for the damned. Soon each side started fighting, at first with peaceful demonstrations, but soon... The religious sector started using it's connections to arrest scientific leaders, so the peaceful demonstrations turned to riots. Scientific leaders started taking to the streets, burning down houses of worship and planting viruses to delete religious text. In retaliation, religious leaders started using governmental pull to outlaw the magic, calling it a scourge on the human soul. Not long after, the viruses started to feed on everything that it could find. Music. Art. If it was online, it was being deleted. Many tried to save copies of the losing arts, but only saved about one percent of everything. This pushed the religious sector to start arresting people, accused of being hackers. When a child was killed in a street riot, people screamed for blood. Blaming America for the innocents lost life. War would consume the world... Once the fighting stopped, everything goes quiet. It's unknown how long it took, but eventually people started to migrate together. Eventually forming Emerald City. The city was founded when three of the larger tribes met and almost broke out into a fight. The ground before them crumbled from all of the yelling, revealing massive Emeralds, the size of buildings. It was decided that any progression needed to halt before any good could come forth. This would start the Renewal era. People started going back to their roots, trying to become 'human' again. Latin was reinstated as the main language for humanity, being the oldest known language. Art was declared a taboo, being blamed for the ideological revolts and mass murders. Once the foundations of the city were made, science was taken in as the greatest power in the world. But the people still needed a government. With many people, formed our union. Many great ideals forged together to create Terradisia. The houses were made, The King as our commander and chief, life long elected officials as our interpreters of law and the people to make the laws. As time would go on, so did our advancements. More cities would pop up along the continent, soon filling to the brim. So started the Final Journey. We started searching out new worlds to inhabit. After a few centuries of great prosperity, first contact would be made, and start the Final Crusade. After we lost the last colony, was when we buried our cities, our last attempt to hide our being from them. Thus started our calender. We called it the celestial calender, because it was our count down from our seclusion. eleven hundred years later, they would find our cities and destroy them in a great war... Because war..... war never changes. .............................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Night Fury *Warning: Important Clop* 7:32 PM After all of the sad stories and what not we finally started to eat. The dining table quickly filled up, so I just decided to eat outside on the porch. With a plates worth of food in tow, I make my way out the door to find Trixie eating alone. She's facing away from me and sits straight up the second I opened the door. "Oh, sorry I was just... uh.... mind if I join you?" I ask her. She chokes on some food as she tries to force it down before facing me, having some sauce still on her lips. "O-of course." She says quickly, smiling at me as she hides her plate behind her. I just shrug as I set my plate down and begin to eat. "So... you used to be a night guard." She says awkwardly. I pause from my dish to nod to her before diving right back in. "Um... how did you meet Miles?" She asks. I sit up and finish chewing before looking over to her. "Well... he pissed off the Captain of the Royal guard, so I was sent in to steal Spartan training secrets. But... I was fired when I wouldn't give them up, so now I live with the guy." "Ah, so you were a guard.... is Miles..." She starts but stops immediately. I look over her flushed face before widening my eyes. "Whoa... you know Miles is married right?" "WHAT!?" She yells as she nearly falls over. "But.. but..." "Yeah, to Luna..." "WHAT!?" She yells again. I take this moment to look her over more closely. Flushed face, tale tucked closely, back legs held closely..... "Oh my god..." "I didn't..." "You're in heat." "I wasn't..." "And you were planning on seducing him, weren't you?" She sighs in defeat as she lies down and buries her head under her arms. "Yes. I... was being hormonal and... well, he's the nicest pony I've ever met..." "He's married." "I didn't know that! He was... I thought he was being flirty!" She tries to defend, but deflates immediately. I look back inside the house, seeing everyone eating joyfully, before I stand up. "Look... lets get you somewhere where nopony will see you like this." I say as I lift her up and toss her on my back. She tries to protest, but stops... for some unknown reason. I take her back where I see the door to Miles' shed open. Seems like a great place to hide a mare in love, down we go. With Trixie on my back, it's a little hard to fly down properly, so we end up falling down instead. I smack my head against the ground and black out for a second, but when I open my eyes I find myself on top of Trixie between her sprawled legs. I guess in the excitement of moving her my penis had stiffened, because I can feel it pressing against her sex. I get to my hooves and stand over her, smelling her arousal as our bodies leave each others. "Hey... do you want some advice?" I ask as I look over her body. She's fairly skinny, but still has curves in all the right places. "Uh... sure." "Well, I had a mare once. We almost had a foal but... things didn't go well..." "I'm so sorry..." "I actually stole her from Storm Cloud, she was dating him at the time and... well.... if you really want something, go for it. You only live once, don't wait on the side lines." I say as I press forward, my tip meeting her entrance and making her eyes widen in surprise. "Night Fury..." "I'll be honest though, getting Miles will take time. I'm here, now. Ready to take care of your needs." I say as I start to grind against her slit, feeling her arousal ooze over my member. "But...." "Nothing personal, just mechanical, pleasing, non conflicting sex. Think of it as.... a test run before trying to get Miles..." "Night Fury.... I'm a virgin." She says with a slight moan of pleasure. "All the more reason to." I say as I pull back and press against her slit. She looks down to the meeting before lying back and nodding slowly. I push forward until I meet some resistance, where I only pause for a second before breaking through it. She lets out a small scream as she clutches against me as she clenches her eyes in pain . "It... it hurts." She says as I finally bottom out. "I know, but don't worry. That'll pass. I can wait until then if you want." I tell her as I relish the feeling of her tight canal. I would have blown my load if I hadn't moved in so slowly. "Thank you." She says as she lies back and tries to relax, a pained look taking over her face. "If you're willing to try it, making out will help take your mind off of things." I tell her, trying to see how far she'll go. "Well.... only because your handsome enough to." She says playfully as she paws at my face. I lean down and give her a light peck on the lips. We each take a moment to stare into each others eyes before pressing our lips together, breathing into one another as we begin to make out. She reaches up with her hooves and runs them along my chest, so I try to puff out as much as I can to impress her. "You can move it now." She tells me as her lust grows to new depths. I break our kiss to look down to her love, watching as I pull back and stretch her out. When my tip reaches her entrance I begin to push back in, getting her to squirm underneath me. "Not that far back... I feel empty without it." She says as I bring our hips back together. "You like it?" I ask her as I begin to rock back and forth, a light slapping sound filling the empty room. She nods in response as she begins to caress my sides. "Let me hear you say it." "I.... I like it." She says with a pant. I smirk at my control over her and begin to thrust with a bit more force. "You like my cock bucking your tight little pussy?" I ask in a growl as I begin to thrust mercilessly. She begins to babble incoherently as she tries to respond. She arches her back and opens her mouth widely as I feel her clench down on my aching member.... "MILES!" She screams finally as she bucks wildly. "BUCK MY TIGHT LITTLE PUSSY MILES! BUCK ME TILL I CAN'T WALK AAAAAHHH!" She screams at the top of her lunges. I feel myself ride the edge of my own orgasm, so I pull out and stand over her, working my member with a hoof as I aim for her tits. "AH.... Rain Drop..." I mutter as I squirt my finish onto her teats. I buck wildly as i send load after load onto her, having it spill down and follow the curvature of her winking pussy. Feeling tired and still trying to catch my breath, I fall to my side and close my eyes as I try to relax. "Night Fury... that was..." Trixie pants as she rolls over to face me. "I know... not that same. But.... I'll never get her back... and Miles will take time..." "But you'll help me?" I open my eyes and look to her pleading face. I smile and lean forward, kissing her on the lips lightly. "Don't worry, I've got your back. Consider me your love guru." She smiles and flares her horn, squinting from the spell before we both suddenly teleport to the guest room in Miles' house. "Miles said I could use this room, seems like a good place for a nap... want.... want to join me?" She asks nervously. I simply nod, getting her to scoot forward into my embrace. We both know what this really was, but neither of us want, or care to, say so. Who wants to be alone anyway? ............................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles 8:45 PM "Alright everypony! I think now is a good time to exchange gifts!" Twilight announces, getting the girls to squeal in delight. I get up from the dining room table and head over to the living room where I left all of my 'presents'. I start out with the girls, handing them off at the same time. While I do my own gifts, everyone else moves about the room, exchanging gifts. "It's a... bracelet?" Sweetie Bell asks as they all open them to reveal little silver bracelets. "Put them on and wave them around." I tell them. They do so and nearly explode from the results. The bracelets are enchanted to leave an aura in the air when they move. Immediately they start waving their hooves around, making a blur of colors cover their faces. "Well, at least we'll never loose them again." Rarity mentions as they run off, leaving a trail after them. "This is for you." I tell Rarity as I hand her a present. "And this for you." She says as she levitates me something. We take a moment to open our gifts, mine being a dark bottle of liquid with a spray top."Oh... thank you?" She says as she looks over the brush I made for her. "It's a Terradisian brush. Tangles will undue themselves, muck will fly off, and it can attach to a hose..... that last one only makes sense with Terradisian shower heads." "OH!" Rarity exclaims as she tries it out, seeing the magical effect immediately. "And that is a bottle of cologne. I figured that you could use some for... a special somepony." She says as she glances over to the unknowing Celestia. I open it up and spray it into the air, taking a whiff. "Hmm, not bad. Thank you Rarity. Next is Dash." I say as I pull the 'obviously not a spear' present out. "Cool! A spear!" She says as she takes it and begins to unwrap it. "Ruin the surprise!" I say, getting a few chuckles. It's a stander length of darkened steel with a twisted end. The spear tip is a spiral of steel and diamonds that comes to a sharp point while the shaft has an intricate etching or the sky and flying ponies. "Don't try it in here, but it's enchanted with electricity." "And I got you this!" Dash says as she tosses me a wrapped book. I open it up and look it over. "It's the first Daring Doo Book!" "Cool, I'll have to learn Equestrian to read it, thank you." I say as I set it aside. She nods and runs outside, excited to use her new 'toy'. "We've got the next one." Storm and Twilight say as they walk over and hand me another book. "It's to help you start learning Equestrian, first edition." Twilight informs me. "Excellent, just what I needed. And these are for you two." I say as I hand them their gifts. They open them up and smile at the half heart necklaces made of gold. "They're enchanted to find the other halves, so I wouldn't suggest wearing them all the time." I say as they put them on. The two hearts lift up and pull towards each other. They give their thanks as they move away, getting close enough for the hearts to attach properly. "Miles." Cadence says as she and Shinning approach me. "My gift is an alliance between the Crystal Empire and Terradisia, you'd be the first country out side our host country to do so..." "I'd be honored." I say as I flare my hand and extend it towards her. She looks a little confused as she levitates a scroll to her side. "Just engulf my hand in your magic." I tell her. She nods and does so. I take a deep breath and begin to pull the two magics together, thinking back to the ideals of peace. When I finish the spell, two pink and green open roses appear below. "As long as peace stands between our two nations, these roses shall thrive." "Oh... wow. I was just going to offer a treaty, but this is much better." Cadence jokes as she lifts one up and looks it over. "We still can, this is just something the Spartans did with Terradisia. Something symbolic." I say as I take the scroll and leave my mark on it. "I'm next!" Pinkie exclaims as she bounces up beside me, shoving her gift into my hands. I shrug and open it up.... POP Everyone laughs when my gift explodes, confetti and streamers flying all around me. After I calm down from the initial explosion I toss Pinkie her gift. "BELLS!" She exclaims as she shows everyone the string of tiny bells before tying them around her neck. "That's... a great gift Miles." Twilight mentions as Pinkie bounces around, tying to make the bells ring as loudly as possible. "Yeah.... amazing." Rainbow mentions as Damian and CC step up to me. "Miles, we got you something you could really use." Damian says as he gives me the gift. I eye the two of them as I begin to unwrap it. Why am I getting a bad feeling about this? "Uh.... what is it?" I ask when I finally pull it out. It's a clear plastic tube that has a pump attached to it. "A penis pump." Damian says with a sly smile. "A... I don't..." "I also gave Luna a copy of that video." CC says. I stare at her for a second before I put two and two together. I lean over to see Luna sitting in the dinning room, flushed faced with her wings up. "How did you..." "Also, my second gift is not to say party during this party, oh I'm sorry. I said party didn't I? OK, now I won't say party, dammit. OK, now no more parties at this par..." BOOT "So CC, how have you been enjoying this social gathering?" I ask her as Damian lays sprawled out on the floor, a new boot bruise taking over his face. CC looks over before running back to the kitchen and pulls out an isle "Worth it!" He says as he gets up. "We also got you art supplies." "I..." "Because, even though you only took that one class, you're really, really good at it. So here's some paint and papers to do something other then hitting ponies really hard..." "Hey, I'm good at that." I say as I look over the isle. It's a little short, but I can fix that. "Well, you're really good at this to. So, enjoy." CC says as she and Damian walk off together. Fluttershy and Big Mac step past them and set down some wooden boxes. . "We got you some bird houses to put around your home Miles." Fluttershy says as Big Mac motions to the painted wooden boxes that have holes cut into them. "Thank you, I'll be sure to put them up soon." I say as I set them aside. "This is for the two of you." I say as I hand them their gift. They unwrap it and look it over, a little confused. It's a metal staff that is engraved with a scenic farm and animals. "It's an Apple Bucking staff. Poke a tree with it, and the fruit will fall. I was thinking that, with this, Fluttershy could help with bucking and stuff." "Wow, thank you Miles." Fluttershy says as she hugs the staff. "EEyup." "An this is frum the Apple family." Applejack says as she drops a barrel behind me. "Oh, cool.... don't know what that is but thank you." I say as I feel the barrel. It has some kind of liquid in it, I'm guessing it's a beverage. "My gift to you is out back. It's a cart that I've enchanted to carry more. In my test it was doing about a hundred eighty kilograms.. uh... about double what your other one can do." Her and Big Mac share a look before running out back to check it out. I was about to follow after them when Celestia and Luna stepped in front of me. "Luna, Soror." "Miles." Celestia says back. "Luna and I decided to get you this sketch book and drawing pencils, seeing how you're quite the artist..." "OK, I'm not even that good..." "Yes you are." The entire room says at once, silencing me. "We also brought you a treaty as well, acknowledging Terradisia as a sovereign nation." Luna tells me proudly. I smile to her and reach forward with a flared hand. "Ad pacem." I say. "Ad pacem." Luna repeats as she engulfs my hand with her magic "Odd.... possum?" Celestia repeats as she adds her magic. I focus on the spell and bring forth two green, blue, and golden roses. "I'm assuming 'possum' means peace." Celestia says as she lifts up one of the roses. "See, Latin isn't that hard to learn." I joke, getting her to roll her eyes. "I made something for the two of you as well." I say as i reach into the pile behind me and present them their gifts. They thank me as they take them and begin to open them up. They're each necklaces of their cutie marks. "It's lovely, thank you." Celestia says as she puts hers on. "Yours is enchanted to force the truth out of people, though the need to be within three meters of you." "A truth spell... how powerful is it?" She asks as she levitates it up and inspects it. Luna shoots me a panicked look as she eyes the two of us. Sorry babe... "Well, ask..." SLAM We all look over to the front door as it slams against the wall. In the doorway is Hammer, strutting in on his back hooves as he smiles to everyone. "Good news everypony! I made it!" He says as he saunters over to me. "Miles." "Hammer." "I got a present for the lovely couple." He says as he reaches into his backpack. Luna and I look to each other in a panic before looking over to Celestia. "What does he..." "What couple Hammer?" I ask as I give him a death glare. "Oh, right. Anyway, here is some strawberry scented, scentless soap!" He says as he presents a pink bar of soap. "If it's scentless, then how does it have a scent?" I ask, kind of fearing the question. "Here, find out." THWACK THUD .............................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Celestia 11:13 PM "Well... I guess that's one way to end a party." I say as I stare at the unconscious Miles. "I wonder what yours does." I say as I look to Luna. "I'm sure we'll find out soon enough." Luna says as she sighs in relief. "Everything alright?" I ask her. "Yeah, why?" She asks quickly. I just shrug as I look back to Miles. "Should we leave him there or..." "I'll take him to bed!" Trixie says from behind as she walks down the stairs. She lifts him up with her magic and starts to take him towards the stairs. "Where were you?" Luna asks as we follow after her. "Having sex with Night Fury." She simply says, then drops Miles when she realizes what she said. Everypony within earshot stops talking and looks right to Trixie. "I.... uh.... well...." "Well... that was... revealing." I say as I begin to blush. "Well, why don't you take Miles to bed..." "I plan to." She says before slapping a hoof to her mouth. The entire room goes silent as she stands there, blushing madly. Before anypony could say anything she levitates him up and runs the rest of the way to his room, banging his head against the stairs along the way. "..." "..." "..." "Well this has been..... strange." I say as I look to Luna. She's just frozen from what Trixie said, eye slightly twitching. "I think now would be a good time to leave..." "Maybe we should stay a bit, make sure nothing happens that Miles would regret." Luna says, still staring up the stairs. "He's a grown pony Luna. He can take care of himself. Good night everypony! Merry Hearths Warming Eve." I announce as I drag Luna out of the building. Once we get to the carriage she snaps back and begins to fume with rage. "Luna..." "I swear if he as much as..." "Luna, calm down. He can do what he wants to." I tell her. She just rolls her eyes as she looks out the side of the carriage. "Hey, if they work together, they work. Who are we to say otherwise?" She looks back to say something, but folds immediately. I just shrug it off as jealously. "It'll be fine Luna, just trust me on this one." I tell her as I nudge her shoulder. "It better be.....for his sake." .............................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Applejack *Warning: Important Clop* 11: 15 PM Once I finish looking over the cart Miles made us I decide to head inside to socialize. Big Mac says he'll get it tomorrow so I don't have to worry about it for now. The stallion I want to see isn't here, so I may as well try talking to somepony else.... "Hammer, why would you do that?" I hear that CC mare say in the dinning room. I make a Bee line for her voice and see him, standing there before her. "Well I don't really care for him all that much." He says with a cute smile and a shrug. "How did Patches make in here? Won't he explode?" I turn back around the corner and start to check on my mane and tail, trying to look as presentable as possible. How should I approach him? Do I just walk up to him and say hey? Or should I wait off in the distance and wait for him to see me? Maybe I should just.... "Applejack, what in Celestias' mane has you so frazzled?" Rarity asks me as she and Spike walk up to me. "Huh? Oh.... uh, nothin. I was just... uh... thinkin about pears." I say as i hold my mouth shut and look anywhere but their eyes. "Pears.... you hate pears." Spike says, looking to Rarity for answers. "Ah do! That's what ah was think about, how much ah hate 'em!" I say as i clench my mouth tighter and try to hum a tune. I look to the left as i see Damian walk by, so I dart behind Rarity and hide as his group of friends start getting a bit more food. "Applejack what are..." "Ah'm not here!" I whisper to her as I sneak a peek. he isn't eating anything, I don't think he'll be staying for long. Darn it! I need to just go and talk to him! Just walk out from behind Rarity, say 'Hi' and... "Applejack I..." "Don't move!" I accidentally yell as she tries to face me. ".... Applejack." Darn it. I walk out from behind Rarity and wave to Hammer. "Howdy there Hammer." I say nervously. Spike and Rarity share a look before leaving my side, but not before Rarity whispers 'good luck' in my ear. Like wise, Damian, CC, and Patches leave Hammers side so we can talk. "I was wondering where you were, why were you hiding behind Rarity?" He asks as he steps closer to me, making me tuck in my tail. "Ah.. was... uh... is it hot in here?" "No." "Well ah'm burning like a log in a fire, can we talk outside?" I ask as I motion to the door. "Oh, sure." He says with a smile as he heads to the door. I sigh in relief as I contemplate running for it, but then follow him out as my legs betray me. Dumb legs. "So how was your Hearths Warming Eve?" He asks as we stops beside the cart. "Oh, it was.. pretty good." I say as I eye the cart a bit, getting an idea. "But... ah never mind." "What?" He asks as he leans in a bit. "Well, it's not really your concern, but ah wanted to get this cart home tonight, but Big Mac won't let me take it alone at night. An he won't move it till tomorrow. Just somethin bothering me ah guess." It's not really a lie. Big Mac made the argument that it was late in the night, and I do want it home as soon as possible. "Well... I could walk with you if you wanted." Hammer offers. Jackpot. "Really? Ah really do appreciate it. Come on." I say as I begin to hitch up to it. "I can pull it if you want Applejack." Hammer offers. "Are ya sure city boy?" I ask with a smug smile. " Ah wouldn't want ya hurtin yerself." "Pfft, please. I deal with tougher stuff then wooden carts. Here, let me." He says as he lifts me out of the harness and sets me in the cart. I can't help but blush and tuck my tail in as he does so. I didn't know he was strong enough to do that with such ease. "So... you're that farm, right?" Hammer asks as he points to my farm. I sit by the front of the cart and rest my forelegs on the edge, eyeing his form as I feel my loins burn. "Yeaaah." I say lustfully as he starts to pull forward. "So... how long have you been a farmer?" He asks me as he trots to my farm. "All my life." I say as I watch the muscles twist in his flank. He's a LOT stronger then he lets show. "Huh, I've only been... well, I've only been doing what I've been doing for about half a year now. Feels like longer, but I guess that's just because I'm getting used to it. What do you grow apart from apples?" "Oh, you know... corn.... an... stuff." I say as I find myself biting my hoof, my lower needs burning hotter and hotter. "Stuff? Well, I do like stuff." He jokes, laughing awkwardly to himself. "Anyway, uh... what's.... your... favorite color?" "Green." I answer somehow, not really being able to register what he's saying as my mind reels with dirty thoughts. I need to bed him, tonight. I think I'll melt if I don't. "Green? Huh, I was thinking orange. That's cool, mines blue... no red! Maybe a bit of both." He laughs. I just stare at his white body, the blue streak in his white mane, the way his hooves end in blue, the two orbs between his legs.... "Applejack?" "Huh?" I ask as I shake my head. "I asked where you wanted the cart." I look around and find myself on the farm, just in front of the house. "Oh, could ya bring it around back of the house?" "No problem." He says as he takes off for the back. I hope out of the back and help him unstrap, getting close enough to smell his musk. "So... I guess we should head back then..." "Or we could go up to my room." I suggest. "To... talk?" He asks with a tilt of his head. "Sure, talk." I say as I go to the back door and open it. We walk to the front where we find Granny sleeping in her rocking chair, snoring loudly. I motion to Hammer to stay quiet before taking the stairs up. When we make it to my room I hold the door open for him and shut it quietly, locking it for good measure. "So what do you want to talk about?" He asks as he turns to face me. I just walk right up to him and forcefully kiss him, pushing back until we're pressed up to one another. "Still wanna talk?" I ask when I break the kiss. "No." He says quickly as he removes his backpack and hangs it on the corner of the bed. I toss my hat aside and take out the hair band on my tail before rushing back to kiss him. He wraps his hooves around me and lifts me onto the bed, climbing up and kissing me again. I push my tongue into his mouth and begin to feel around. He seems a little shocked by this, but returns the gesture quickly. "Top or bottom?" I pant as our tongues dance between our mouths. "Huh?" "Bottom it is then." I say before hugging him tightly and rolling over to be on top. I grab his stiff member and line it up before falling down on it, gasping in delight. "WHOA! Slow down Applejack!" Hammer yells as I begin to bounce on top of him. "To late, come on..." "No, I mean wait!" He yells as he tries to pull me off. I guess he really wants top, so I roll over and set him on top. "Git to it partner..." "STOP!" He yells as he out, leaving me empty and confused. "Applejack, I don't want you like that!" He yells as he looks me in the eyes, anger taking his face. I feel my heart drop when he says this. "Ya.... ya don't want me?" I ask, feeling tears start to form. Where did I go wrong... well, I guess trying to sleep with him right off the bat wasn't a good idea. But... I dunno, I thought we had sparked something. "No, I mean I want more then just sex Applejack. I really like you, a lot, but this... this feels temporary. I don't want you temporarily. I want all of you, for the long haul..." He says quietly as his expression softens. "I... I can't stop thinking about you Applejack. I know I've only know you for practically no time at all but.... I... I really care about you." I can see all of the hope swell up in his eyes as he stares down at me, waiting for my answer. I feel my heart flutter as he confesses to me. I can only smile up at him as I run a hoof along his jaw line. "Ah couldn't stop thinkin about you either." I tell him, getting a smile in response. "When ah was in Jasper... things didn't go well. Ah almost died. But ah didn't, so I decided that life was too short to wait. So ah figured that, the next time ah saw you, ah would make mah move. Ah guess ah took it a bit too far." I say as I glance away from him. "Can ya forgive me?" "Already have." He says as he pulls me back to look him in the eyes. He leans down and tentatively kisses me on the lips a couple of times. Each kiss only lasts a few seconds, leaving me wanting more every time. "Can... can we still... ya know?" I ask between kisses as my loins yell for attention. Hammer sits back and rubs the back of his neck, nervous about something. "Well, I don't have a condom." He says as he looks down between my legs, sweating slightly as he fights his urges. "Ah think ah have one." I say as I roll over and look through my dresser. I find two at the bottom and pull one out for him, getting another confused look from him. "Why do you have this?" He asks as he takes it. I blush a bit as he opens it up and starts to roll it on. "Well... a mares gotta be ready fer things... is... is that gonna be a problem?" I ask, feeling dirtier then ever before. "Hey, if you didn't have this we wouldn't be.... it broke." He says as pulls it off and looks at the tear going down the side. "Sorry.... I've never done this before." He admits, blushing slightly. I just chuckle a bit as I pull out the other one and open it. "Here, let me show ya." I say quietly as I scoot closer to him. We both take a moment to watch each other blush before I begin to roll it on. "Ya gotta roll it on, not pull." I say softly as he begins to nuzzle my neck and mane. "Mhmm." He groans back as I reach the bottom. I give him a few rubs as I look over to him and plant soft kisses on his neck. He takes a deep breath as he nervously begins to explore my body, feeling my back and stopping just before my flanks. "It's OK, go ahead." I coax him, getting a nod in response. My heart races as he reaches behind and gives my flanks a firm squeeze. I lean against him and rest my head on his shoulders as he continues to caress my entire body, getting more confident as he goes. I can feel his heart thumping in his chest as he reaches my breast, pausing slightly before fully inspecting them. "Applejack..." "Come on." I say as I lay back and spread my legs. He takes a look over my entire form before nodding and taking his place. "How... how do you want it? This is my first time, remember..." He tells me as he lines himself up with me. "Just go at yer own pace, ah'm sure you'll do fine." I tell him as I run a hoof along his broad chest. He nods and pushes himself in, panting a bit as our hips meet. I sigh in relief as he begins to rock back and forth, grabbing onto his shoulders to hold myself in place. He leans down and returns to planting soft kisses on my lips, leaving my wanting more. I try to lean up to continue the kiss, only to have him pull just out of my reach. I groan in frustration as he keeps a slow pace and teases me with soft kisses. "Hammer... please..." Before I could finish he presses his lips against mine and holds it there. I sigh into him as I feel his tongue explore my mouth, meeting my tongue quickly. As our tongues begin to dance again he begins to quicken his thrust. I begin to buck my hips in time with his, trying to get the most out the movements. We finally break our long kiss to pant for breath. The lack of proper breathing and our bucking taking it's toll on our lunges. For a moment everything turns to a blur of sweat and thrusts as I lay back, letting him take complete control. Even with the protection, I feel his member begin to twitch as he begins to get closer to his finish. I'm not that far off either. I pull him down for another kiss, pausing his thrusts, as I twist underneath him and lift my flank against him. "Ya... ya might find this a bit... easier." I pant as continue moving my hips. He looks over my body before pulling out and pushing my to my side. I gasp from the sudden emptiness and groan in frustration. I'm too close for him to stop now. "No, I want to see your face." he say as he lifts a leg up and pushes back inside me. I yell out in pleasure as he holds my leg against his body, using it for better support as he slams into me. I lose all sense as I throw my head back and scream out his name as I reach my orgasm. He just keeps pounding away at me as I squirm and buck like crazy, spraying my juices over his already slick member. With a final, strong thrust, he buries himself in me as his member twitches madly, releasing his seed in a few strong bursts. We both stay in this position for a long time, panting loudly as we fight to catch our breath. He's still holding onto my leg, something I find strangely cute, and has his sweaty bangs covering his eyes. I probably look a mess as well, but I don't care. I don't think I've ever came that hard in my life. "Applejack...." He says as he finally releases my leg and pulls out. "There's... there's a tomorrow for us, right?" He asks as he rubs my leg, keeping his eyes focused else where. "I would like ta... iffin you'll be mine." I say quietly. He looks me in the eyes and smiles, overjoyed by my answer. I reach over and pull him in for a tight hug, kissing him passionately on the lips. We kiss for a short time before he falls to my side, just as tired as me. I feel him reach between the two of us and remove the condom, letting his seed spill between us. "Oh... sorry. It was getting uncomfortable." He say with a chuckle. I just laugh along as I lay my head on his shoulders, tired beyond belief. "It's alright, ya can stick around tamorrow ta help clean mah sheets." I say as I let sleep begin to take over. "OK... Applejack?" He asks as he wraps an arm around me. "Mhmm." "I ...I..." He repeat as he searches for the right thing to say. I wait for him to say whatever is on his mind, only to have him sigh. "Good night.... and thank you for the tomorrow." He says before kissing me on the forehead. "Thank ya fer tonight." We share a laugh before letting sleep take us. Before I fall asleep I think back.... what was he trying to say before? I'm sure I'll fine out in the morning. Chapter 161 Training In VoidChapter 161 Training In Void I squint my eyes a bit as the sun shines down through my window. With a contented sigh I roll over and pull the sheets closer to myself as I try to sleep in a tad bit more. Ten minutes tops. Last night was amazing! There is no way he was a virgin, he was too good at that. I reach out to... "Hammer?" I ask quietly as I blink a few times, trying to see more clearly. I'm alone in my bed... did.... did he leave me? I mean, I know I was a little... forward with him, but... I thought he cared. *sigh* I guess.... I guess I'll just get ready for the day then. I get out of bed and move to my mirror. My manes a mess. More so then usual. I take the brush and begin to run it through my mane, getting it straight quickly. "Well... back to it.... I guess." I tell myself as I grab my hat and set out for the kitchen. I need to get breakfast ready for Applebloom and get.... "...and I was all like 'oatmeal? Are you cray cray!?" I step into the kitchen and shake my head in disbelief when I see Hammer and Applebloom talking at the kitchen table. "Hehehe, that's funny. Mornin Applejack!" Applebloom greets cheerfully from her seat as Hammer shoots me a smile. "Howdy... y'all." I say as I move to the stove. "Why doncha git some orange juice while I make some flapjacks." I tell Applebloom as I start to get all of the materials for breakfast. "Sounds good. So why did you spend the night Hammer?" Applebloom asks as she takes the juice out. "Uh..." "I was helping Applejack with some stuff." Hammer says quickly. I look back to him for a second before starting my mix. He seems to be fairly vague about what we did last night. I guess we'll be in the clear... "What kind of stuff?" "Fun, awesome stuff that I'm really good at apparently." He says, making me nearly drop my mixing bowl. "Can I..." "Nooooooooooo." Hammer says slowly. "But ah...." "So I see you don't have your cutie mark yet." Hammer says quickly. We share a quick glance before I get back to making breakfast, pouring the mix onto the griddle. "Yeah, but I will soon! Me and my friends are on a crusade and won't stop until we get our cutie marks!" "Hehe, that's cute. Hang in there though, these things take time. Heck, I only got mine a few months ago...." "WHAT!" I yell mid flip. SPLAT We all stare up as the flapjack sticks to the ceiling. "Yuh jus only got yer cutie mark! How long ago?" I ask. "Well... roughly five months...." "How old are ya?" Applebloom asks. Oh please say thirteen, please say thirteen, please say thirteen, don't make me a pedophile. "I'm thirteen..." "Ah thank Celestia." I sigh in relief. OK, at least he's of age.... SPLAT "Uh.... Applejack. You got a little something on your face." Hammer says, getting little snickers from Applebloom. "Really? Ah couldn't tell." I say as I start to wipe the doughy flapjack off my face, ignoring the laughter from the table. As I get back to making breakfast Big Mac makes his way down from the stairs. He pauses for a second, staring straight at Hammer, before silently taking his seat. "Uh... morning Big Mac." Hammer says nervously. "EEyup." "So what kind of stuff did you and Applejack do?" Applebloom asks again. I just hold my breath and try to focus on breakfast. Why does that girl have to be so gosh darn curious? "Uh... just... stuff, you know?" Hammer replies. "No. What kind of..." "Mornin Apples." Granny says as she walks in. Oh no.. "Who're you?" "I'm Hammer. Uh... I'm a friend of Applejacks..." "A friend of Applejacks huh? Why haven't ah ever heard yer name before?" "Uh..." "Wait a minute... yer the old helper we hired that dun made that earthquake, Ruler." "Hammer, and...." "Why haven't ah seen ya before? Ya been sittin around on yer lazy flank while...." "Uh Granny." Big Mac interrupts. "Yer talkin about Miles. This is Hammer." I look back and watch Granny as she begins to try to piece everything together. She looks a little frustrated. Confused. A little scared. "Right.... Yards. So yer....Nails." Granny says quietly as she looks back to Hammer. Hammer looks around the room, a little confused by all of this. He takes a quick look back to me before smiling back to Granny. "Yup! Nails is the name... because... I'm as tough as them! Nice to meet you Granny!" He says joyfully, putting a smile on Grannys face. "Ah can see that. Well then welcome ta the farm Screwdriver! How'd you an Applejack meet in the first place?" She asks happily. Everypony lets out a sigh in relief as she takes a seat beside him, scooting closer to listen. "Well, we were.... hanging out, doing stuff, and she invited me to breakfast. How are you this morning?" "Ah ah'm just fine. Joints rattlin an ah'm sure ah'm fergettin somethin, but ah can't complain. Them Tops at the farm next door have been lettin their dogs in our yard too. Winonas been hollerin all day at them, keepin me up..." Granny starts rambling. I just smile along as I finish up preparing breakfast, happy to see Hammer listening to everything Granny Smith has to say. Breakfast goes without a hitch. Granny and Hammer take up most of the talking. Luckily Hammer stays fairly vague about what we did last night. Though he keeps saying that we did stuff.... not sure why but OK. Big Mac keeps quiet and Applebloom focuses on eating, so awkward subjects are avoided. Once everypony finishes their food Hammer and I clear the table as Big Mac heads out to the fields. Applebloom runs off to go do something with her friends and Granny.... I think she's heading for her rocking chair. Hard to tell with how slow she moves. Once the room is cleared I take a deep breath of relief and turn to Hammer. "Well.... at least nothin awkward happened." I joke, getting him to chuckle in response. "Things only get awkward if you let them. I tried to keep things as casual as possible, by the way. Is Big Mac going to kill me? I think he put one and one together." "Well... probably not." I say after some thought. He probably did figure it out, but he usually lets me handle my personal life. "Probably? So he..." "Lets go git mah sheets washed now. Ah'd prefer ta get them done now before gettin to mah chores." I say as I leave the sink and head for my room, not letting him respond. We gather my sheets and bring them down to the wash room in the back, passing a sleeping Granny on the way. We set them in the soapy water and get to scrubbing them clean. He's a good worker, focusing on his task while doing a fairly decent job, for a stallion that is. "So where do you grow the stuff?" He asks as he scrubs away. "Huh?" "Last night I asked you what you grew, and you said corn and stuff. I'm interested in what the stuff looks like and if it's any good." He says with a playful nudge. I realize what he's talking about and chuckle along with him. "Yer never goin ta let me live that down, are ya?" "Nope." "Thought so. So why didn't ya tell me you were only thirteen?" "I would have if we had talked a bit more, but things went a little faster than I expected." "Ah real sorry about that. Ah was jus.... bein hormonal ah guess..." "It's alright." He says quietly as he moves the sheets to the hanging wire. "Best. stuff. ever." "Oh hush you!" I say as I splash the water to him. He just laughs it off and helps me hang the last off the sheets, where we pause together. "So... ah've got a lot of chores ta do, but... maybe afterwards we could..." "Do some stuff?" He asks as he inches towards me. "Oh stop jokin!" I say as I push on his chest a bit. "Sorry, I joke when I get nervous." He says with a slight chuckle as he steps closer to me. "So... what time do you think you'll be done with everything?" "Around four." "Cool, so I'll swing by and we'll go do some stuff together." He says as he leans a bit closer to me. I lean up to him and graze his jaw line along the way to his ear. "Ah'd like that." I whisper before moving back and kissing him lightly on the lips. "APPLEJACK AND HAMMER, SITTING IN A TREE!" We both look over see the Cutie Mark Crusaders watching us from behind the house, singing loudly. I immediately try to hide my face behind Hammer as I feel my cheeks begin to burn. "K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Hammer sings along. I look up to his smirking face and just lean my forehead against his chest, submitting to my humiliation. "First comes stuff, then more stuff, then comes the really *muffle* stuff!" "Yer lucky ah'm in a good mood buster." I tell him as I look up to him, still blushing from all of the shouts from the girls. "Yeah, I know." He says before leaning down and kissing me one last time. "Four o' clock, I'll be here." He says as he begins to walk off. "Ah'll be waiting." I tell him as I watch him leave. "Make sure to bring the stuff!" He says as he motions to the house. "Git goin you!" I laugh as the girls start to swarm around him. "Hammer! Tell us how you got your cutie mark! Did it really take thirteen years? Is Applejack your special somepony? Why do you have a backpack?" The girls ask as they drag him off. I laugh a bit as he runs off with them, happy to answer most of their questions. With a content sigh I turn... "So he's the lucky stallion ta win ya?" "GAH!" SPLASH I sit up in the wash pan and shake the water from my mane as Granny sits on the outside, smiling as she looks down to me. "I SAW THAT!" Hammer yells as he disappears in the distance. "Hiya Granny. Ah.... uh...." "Applejack, ah know ah'm losing mah marbles an all, but ah know what that stallion was here fer." She says flatly. "Oh, yeah. Ah'm sorry Granny. Ah didn't mean ta hide the truth frum ya..." "Oh please. Ah know ah did the same, yer momma an pappy did the same, an ah know Big Mac was with Fluttershy long before that one dinner. It's what ya do when somepony else has yer heart. An ah know Sunny Rind and Fuji would approve of him." "... really?" I ask as I step out of the pan. "Ya really think so?" "Yer darn right ah think so. Not just any stallion would listen ta an old mare like me like he did. He's ona the good ones, don't let him git away." She says as she picks up my hat and sets it on my head. "Thanks Granny. Ah'll do mah best." I say before hugging her. We take a moment to squeeze each other before I move to go do my chores. "Where do ya think yer going?" She asks as she grabs my shoulder and pulls me back to face her. "Ah was goin ta dry off and do mah chores...." "No ye aint. Y'all gotta date tonight. We need ta get ya presentable iffin yer going ta make a good impression." She says as she starts to drag me into the house. "But ah..." "Ya don't wanna go lookin like sum two bit floozy, we gotta do yer mane, shine those hooves, straighten yer tail. Ya wanna impress Duct Tape or not?" "*sigh* fine. Jus none of that froo froo stuff, OK Granny?" "Do ah look like a froo froo pony to you?" She asks before moving towards her room. I just laugh nervously as I walk along with her. I just hope I don't end up looking like Granny by the end of this. ............................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Miles I feel a light shine through my eye lids and it forces me to open my eyes. Low and behold my favorite sight. Luna. She looks a little irritated about something, probably my being knocked out again. Fucking Hammer. "Morning beautiful." I say as I sit up "Oh don't you beautiful me mister." She says in an irritated tone, narrowing her eyes at me. "Did you have fun?" "... fun? You know, I love being knocked out..." "Not the time for jokes Miles." Luna says quickly, silencing me. She motions to something beside me and waits for me to look over. Why is Trixie sleeping in my bed? "Care to explain?" ".... I'd love to, but I have no fucking clue why Trixie is in my bed." I say as I shake her shoulders, making her tuck in more. "TRIXIE. Wake up." "Nnng, five more minutes." She mumbles sleepily. I sigh and look back to Luna, putting on the most innocent smile I can muster. "Luna..." "Miles, did you have your way with her?" She asks quickly. "...what?" "Did you have sex with her!" "No! The fuck Luna? I've been unconscious since Hammer threw that bar of death at me." I tell her as I get out of bed.... of fucking course I'm naked. If I was clothed that would be helpful. *sigh* Fucking Hammer. "Luna, you know me. I didn't do anything, I swear." I tell her as I take a knee before her. She looks away from me as she taps a hoof quickly, trying to think. "I believe that you didn't do anything. I just doubt that she didn't do anything." Luna says with malice as she glares at Trixie. "You have to tell her to leave." "I agree with you in that this was wrong. But..." "There is no but Miles! She clearly crossed a line and I don't want her in my home!" Luna says as she stands up, flaring her wings angrily. I just sigh and pull her in for a hug. What the... she's soft. Softer then usual. FOCUS! "Luna. I can't. She's.... she's the ancestral child of one of the dearest friends I've ever had. I will talk to her, but I...." "Miles." She says as she breaks our hug. We stare into each others eyes for a moment before she walks off for the closet. "Luna!" I call out to her as she takes the Mico platform. "Fuck." "Morning Miles." Trixie says as she sits up and stretches. "What's with all the...." "Why the fuck are you in my bed!?" I ask her. "...." "What?" I ask her. "Please tell me it grows." I'M NOT LITTLE!" I yell before pointing to the door. "Go down stairs already. We need to have a serious talk." "Miles..." "Now." I tell her firmly. She sighs as she gets up and leaves my room. I rub my eyes in irritation as I try to piece everything together. "So what about..." "Not now Trixie!" I snap as her. She quickly moves out of sight. I look over to the Mico platform and try to think of a way to make things right with Luna. I'm sure I'll think of something. With an annoyed groan I quickly get dressed, putting on a blue collared shirt and black pants, and head down stairs. I turn towards the living room where I stop. CC is sleeping on the couch as Damian slumps in a recliner. Patches is trying to pull his leg out of Lupus' mouth and Hammer.... Hammer is just sitting beside CC. A massive smile plastered on his face. "What the fuck are you doing here?" I ask him. "Well, you know Miles, I like being here. I like existing, here, on earth. enjoying the warm sun, breathing the air, walking from place to place, even getting hurt from time to time. Because at least then I'm existing." He says in a somewhat happy, yet condescending tone. "You know, life is good. Life is awesome. I'm alive, I've got backpack, I've got friends, I just got a marefriend, the girls want me to be the den mother for the Cutie Mark Crusaders, everything's looking up for me. Like, if I had to roll some dice, I would get the maximum amount those dice would have to offer... and if I were to roll an additional die I think it would only be off by one from that maximum." "I hate you." "And I think poorly of you too sir." He says with a confident smile. "So, you and Applejack fucked." I say as I move to the free recliner, surprising Hammer. "How did..." "I'm good at the game. I'm going to give you some advice right now, but only because Applejack is a good friend of mine and I want to see her be happy. One; don't ever lie to her. She embodies honesty so you won't get away with it..." "I wasn't..." "Two; family is important to her. Don't just try to be on good terms with them, try to form relations..." "I might already..." "Three; if you hurt her in any way, watch your ass." "I don't plan on..." "And lastly, when the time arrives, put your back into it." I say as I stand up. He gives me a confused looks before putting one and one together. "Well, lets see. I won't lie to her to begin with, I'm already starting to get on good terms with the Apples, and I think I put of my back into it the way she likes. So I think my ass is safe." He says with a smug smile. "I hate you." I mutter again as I head to the kitchen, finding Night Fury, True Will and Dust Devil eating breakfast. "Morning." I mutter to them, getting a mutter back, as I head to the fridge for some food.... it's empty. Today sucks. "Hey Captain," Dust Devil asks with a mouthful, "what time is the peoples meeting thing at?" "Right, first of the month, we'll hold it at twelve..." "So in forty minutes." True Will points out. I pull out my phone as check the time, cursing my luck. "Alright, True Will, can you go gather Moosden and bring them here. Dust Devil, can you go about Ponyville and gather the others. I'll head to Canterlot to get Celestia and Luna." I ask them, getting quick salutes as they head out. "Trixie, can you follow me please." I ask as I head out the back door. We head down to the shed where I begin to pace about, unsure of how to breach the subject. "So... Miles..." Trixie starts nervously. "Did you have sex with me last night." I blurt out. "No!" "Don't lie to me, is that the truth?" I ask as I step towards her. "It's the truth, I swear it on my life!" She says as she straightens out. I relax a little and lean against the wall. "I didn't do anything because... I... well, I..." "Don't finish that..." "I wanted you to want me back." She says quietly as she steps towards me. "Trixie, we will never be anything like that. I will always view you as just a friend. I love my wife and will never break those vows I took with her." I tell her. She lowers her head and nods, stifling some tears. "I'm sorry, but don't ever do what you did again." "I..... I'm sorry." She says before turning to leave. "I'll go now..." "Trixie." I call out to her, but she doesn't stop. "Trixie Ostendere." She pauses at the entrance and looks back. We stare at one another for a moment before I sigh. "Non relinquas mi carissime." She doesn't respond. She simply smiles and nods before flashing out. I sigh in annoyance and begin grabbing all of the gear I had been working on. Today is going to be a long day. "Satisfied?" I ask aloud. Blink blink. "I didn't think so... but... are we good?" ... blink. "Hm, good. Will you and Celestia be joining us for the citizens meeting?" Blink. "Then you need to get moving, meeting starts in twenty. And I want to see my beautiful wife already." I say, getting her to stop the spell. I spend the next twenty minutes moving all of the gear to my living room, spotting Moosden as they appeared below the communications array. "Howdy there Miles!" Bantler greets as he trot up to me. "I have good news!" "Oh? Whats that?" I ask him as I take the last of my gear in. "We have a family wanting to move in to Moosden! The mill will be starting up again!" He announces proudly. "That's amazing! Do you know how many?" "At least six of them are coming, maybe more. I'll need refreshing on the duel citizenship you told me about. They already agreed to it, we just need to...." SLAM We all look over to see Dust Devil in the doorway. Her eyes are wide and her pupils have shrunken to a dot. She stumble over to the recliner before taking a seat and stares at the floor. "Hey Dust Devil.... you alright?" I call out to her. "..." "What happened?" "So...." "So.... what?" I ask as I kneel before her. "So... long." She mumbles. "Ooooh, you walked in on Storm and Twilight, didn't you". She nods... then shakes her head. "Storm.... Twilight... Fluttershy... Big Mac... all..." "It's alright soldier. You've been through enough." I tell as I pat her shoulder. "Alright, lets try it..." "WAIT!" Damian yells from the dining room table. "Lets just use the necklaces!" "... that's a good idea..." "Can I do it?" He asks as he jumps out of his chair and runs over to me. "Uh... sure..." "Yes! *ahem* calling all Spartans, calling all Spartans," he whispers into the necklace, "STOP FUCKING YOUR WIVES AND GET TO THE CITIZENS MEETING!" He yells at the top of his lungs, jumping in place as he does so. "That's all." "A little over the top." I mutter as I rub my ear a bit. "But, should be effective... unless Storm already finished..." "REALLY!?" Dust Devil yells as she jumps off the recliner and heads to the kitchen. Damian lets out an evil laugh as he trots back to his friends... is... is this normal for us... fuck. Knock knock knock I walk to the door and open it up to find Celestia, Cadence, Shinning Armor and Luna standing there with about ten guards moving to guard my home. "Uh... hi, what are Cadence and Shinning doing here?" I ask Celestia and Luna. "We thought, being allies, that we could come to one of these meetings, see how things work out on this end." Cadence says as she steps forward. "I hope we aren't over stepping our bounds." "Well.... I'll only allow it as long as you allow some Terradisians to attend a Crystal Empire meeting." "Deal." Shinning says quickly. I nod and step aside, allowing them all to enter. Luna and I share a moment before she follows after her sister. With a sigh I go to shut the door, but stop when I see Twilight, Storm, Big Mac, and Fluttershy walking towards my home. Well, the others are walking at least. Storm is asleep, being levitated by Twilight . "Hey." I say to them. They all pause for a second, blushing slightly as they look elsewhere. "Can you wake Storm up?" "Uh... yeah... in a bit at least." Twilight says as she toys with her mane. "Great, where's Spike?" "On his way." "..." "..." "..." "Well, this is awkward." I say as I move aside, letting them enter. I look up and see Rainbow Dash gliding down, so I keep the door open for her. "Hey." She says as she zooms by. Let's see... all we need is... "Sorry I'm late." Spike says. I look around until he drops down before me. "I was out flying, working my wings and all." He says as he gives a few test flaps and tucks them in. "What's your canopy?" "About... ten thousand feet." "Speed cap?" "Uh... I'm not sure. I think I'm faster then the average pegasus, but no where near as fast as rainbow." "Hm, that's good to hear. Keep up the good work." I tell him, getting him to smile proudly. "Stick around after the meeting and we'll have more training, you've been practicing right?" "Of course! I can make fire a lot easier and I even figured out water!" "Whoa, slow it down kid. Water? Remember water and ice are similar, but still hold their own perspectives." I say as I start to walk inside. "I will, master." Spike says as he walks in after me. I go to the living room where I take my place before everyone. The room is full of quiet people and conversations. The Moosden people seem to be the most excited of the bunch, though I can understand why. "Alright, lets get started." I say firmly over the crowd, silencing them all. "First order of business, Terradisia is now officially allied with the Crystal Empire and Equestria. What this means for us now is unknown. Perhaps trade will begin, metals and timber for who knows what." Bantler and Nada share an excited look before mumbling something to Butterscotch and E'Claire. I guess trade will be something good. "Jasper was a bust, kind of. We found what we went for, but the city has been over run with enormous bugs, so if you find yourself in Trottingham, stay out of the mines." Celestia and Luna share some quiet mutters before straightening out. "Everyone, this is Trixie Ostendere." I say as I point her out. "The Ursa Majors sent her here to make some kind of message, it didn't work. So we're going to hit them where it effects them the most, their wallets. We will continue to use their people in our journeys to Terradisia, but in the end, we wont be paying them." "Really?" True Will groans. "EEyup." "Well, it will piss them off, but it wont stop them. They've stockpiled millions of bits from prior jobs and excavations..." "Have they been doing any illegal works? Something that may further hurt them?" Celestia asks. "Yeah. Murders, stealing fine jewelry, even bribing government officials to have political pull. You name it, they have their hooves in it somehow." Dust Devil tells her. "Where do they operate?" I ask. "Well... we don't know..." "They're in Trottingham." Damian buts in. "The back of some floral shop. Their leaders are two ponies, an orc, a goblin and some fat griffin, I'll have their names at the next meeting. Be careful moving in on them though, they have eyes watching the entire city with escape tunnels leading to the outskirts of town. If you really want to get them, they meet every other Thursday. I'd suggest going through the southern tunnel, it has the least traps and only one locked door." "How do you know that Damian?" Luna asks. "We know everything." He deadpans. "Why do you think I'm the intelligence lieutenant." "Damian, you're cheating." CC tells him. "I call it an unfair advantage." Damian says with a smirk. "Anyway, last bit of real business, we're looking forward to a family moving to Moosden. According to Bantler it's going to be at least six people. Next meeting should have more citizens to welcome..." "Wait, what?" Celestia ask. "Moosden citizens? Is Moosden under Terradisian control?" "Yes, the guards were abusing their power, so we took control of the city. If Equestria wants it back, it's too late for that." I tell Celestia. "Sorry Princess." Bantler apologies' as he lowers his head to her. "We like this new government." Nada finishes quietly. Celestia looks between all of us before nodding in acceptance. "Spartans today will be receiving armor and weapon specialization. I also expect the jumpers to meet today and set up a training regiment. I've heard about the challenge against the Wonderbolts and would like to see nothing less then victory. Spartan pride." I say, getting a chuckle from Luna and Celestia. "Laugh now, but when we take the title of best fliers in Equestria, we'll see whose laughing then." Rainbow Dash defends, flaring her wings a bit. "We will see." Celestia says with an even, unbiased tone. "Well, that's all for today. Any concerns that...." "Actually, I have one." Bantler says as he stands. "Our mills haven't been operational in... a long time. We need new tools and supplies before any timber work can begin." "Alright. Meet up with me later in the week and we'll work on that." I tell him, getting a large smile in response. "Anything else... no? Then meeting adjourned." The room erupts into conversations as everyone stands. Spartans move towards the front while everyone else lingers back. Cadence and Shinning begin to approach me, though Shinning seems a little reluctant to do so. "Miles, we have an odd request to make of you." Cadence says. "OK, what's up." "Well, we'd like to..." "I'm telling you, I don't need it." Shinning says, sounding as if he's said it a thousand times already. "I'm the Captain of the Royal Guard, they don't just give that title away. I. Don't. Need. Training." "Wait, you want training?" I ask. "Yes." Cadence answers. "NO!" Shinning refuses. They begin to bicker to one another as everyone starts to ease drop on their loud conversation. "ENOUGH!" I yell over them, getting them to stop. "Follow me please." Not letting them respond, I make my way upstairs to my room where I head to my closet. I begin to strap my armor and weapons on as I wait for them to enter my room, being nearly finished when they enter. "I don't need Spartan training." Shinning says slowly. "Good, because you aren't getting Spartan training." I say, getting Cadence to deflate. "But i can give you basic Terradisian training..." "Don't insult me." He says dejectedly. "I am a Captain. If I except any training from you, then it's showing that I think you're a better fighter then me...." "Well, I am. Look, stick around today for training. If you aren't convinced that there are somethings you can learn, then don't come back. What do you say?" He looks back to Cadence, who smiles at him, before looking back to me and nods. "Good, then let's go then." I say as I head down stairs. We make our way out front where we find all of the Spartans, clad in their new armor. At my arrival they snap at attention and line up, waiting for my command. I look back to my porch to see everyone watching, waiting patiently for me to begin. Shinning takes a seat beside me and huffs in annoyance. "Spartans! Today we will be doing specialization training, and we're in luck. Shinning Armor will be training with us, so lets show everyone the difference between guards and soldiers. Up first, let's have Damian." He steps forward and rears up as he begins to twirl his staff around, showing off his skill. I was fine with it, but the twirl around the neck was just showing off. "STICK O DOOM!" He yells before taking his stance. I draw my sword and offer it to Shinning, who takes it in annoyance. "Damian, try not to kill him and remember your footing." I tell him, getting chuckles from everyone. As they square off with one another I step back and stand by the other Spartans. In the blink of an eye Damian closes the distance between the two of them and begins to spin his staff around. Shinning barely had time to react before taking several hits to his gut and head. Before Shinning could retaliate Damian jumps back and takes his stance again. A bit winded, Shinning presses his attack, slashing and using his larger size to push Damian back. Damian keeps calm and uses his smaller size and faster movements to avoid all of his hits. With the simplest of twists of his staff he would guide a blow away. "Damian, it's a staff, not your dick, so quit playing with it and finish him already." I yell out, getting a few chuckles as Damian suddenly vanishes. Shinning holds his stance as everyone begins to murmur. Suddenly Shinning falls forward as Damian appears behind him, stick the butt of his staff against his head. Damian tries to deliver a flurry of blows, but is stopped by Shinnings shield. As he gets back to his hooves, Damian punches the shield and with a thunderous explosion shatters it. He shoots forward and begins to mercilessly beat back Shinning. Any defense the guard tries to put up is simply knocked away by a quick slap of his staff. "ENOUGH!" I yell as I march forward. Damian stops mid strike and steps back, grinning madly as Shinning slumps to the ground, covered in bruises. "Notes?" "Quick and pokey." Damian replies stupidly. "Close enough. Remember though, sometimes it's better to let them strike at you, it opens them up and gives you a chance to disarm them." "Will do Captain." He says as he gives a mock salute. "Shinning, you alive?" I ask, only getting a mumble of a response. "Pussy guard." Damian chuckles. "Dishonorable soldier." I snap back. He rolls his eyes and nods before taking his place back in the line up. "Come on, lets get you healed up for the rest of training." I say as I kneel before Shinning and place my hands on him. A few seconds later he snaps up, fully healed and aware of his defeat. "He cheated." He says as he glares at Damian. "This was a contest of blades, not magic..." "Staff dude, I didn't have a blade." The little smart ass yells back. "Damian, two hundred squats." I yell at him. He lets out an annoyed groan as he lifts his staff above his head and begins to count out his squats. "And as for his cheating, there are no rules for victory. You use what you have to win..." "Then where's the honor in that! We aren't barbarians Miles..." "NO! We aren't! We're husbands and sons and daughters and people with families Shinning! Where is the honor in dying and leaving them alone? Where is the honor in holding back to make people you don't care about think slightly higher of you? You win your fights, respect your enemies, and return home to your loved ones! That's the difference between a guard and a soldier!" "It's not the same Miles!" "THEN YOU LOOK TO YOUR PREGNANT WIFE AND LET HER KNOW THAT YOU'RE GOING TO LET ME KILL YOU FOR YOUR HONOR! DEFEND YOURSELF, CAPTAIN, PRINCE, SUPPOSED HUSBAND AND FATHER! IF YOU DON'T SHAPE UP I WILL TAKE YOUR LIFE!" I yell at the top of my lungs as I pull out my trench knife and take my stance; igniting the first level of it's enchantment. An eerie silence falls over us as we stare each other down. He takes a look over to Cadence and stands there. Unaware of the danger before him. I take initiative and charge straight for him, blade facing forward ready to strike. He swings horizontally at my, forcing me to duck back as I slide to my knees. When I spring back up I bring armored knuckles up to meet his chest, only to be stopped be his shield. With a powerful explosion his shield shatters for the second time today. Not wasting a moment, I push forward, trying to gain a critical hit. He brings the sword across and blocks my hit. He tries to push an attack, but when he tries to slice his sword down onto me, I block it with the knuckles of my knife and kick forward, sending him back. With his grip loosened, I twist my knuckles and lock the blade. A few kicks to the gut and one quick pull gains me my sword. I stand back and push my magic to have both weapons flaring with power. Shinning wipes his maw before igniting his horn, creating two energy sabers before him. I shake my head as I take my stance. So it's the hard way then. THUD THUD THUD THUD THUD THUD As Shinning and I begin to circle one another, the Spartans begin to stomp their hooves and slam the butts of their weapons against the ground. Egging us to press the fight. Shinning moves to charge forward, but I get the first attack. I stab my sword into the ground, sending a row of earthen spikes, heading for Shinning.He dives to the side and slides a bit, but has to move again. With my sword still buried, I twist around and swing it over head towards him. A massive column of earth comes straight for him, forcing him to jump back. I run forwards and slam my knife into the column. It explodes outwards and peppers all over Shinning as he tries to shield off the attack. In a flash he teleports behind me and tries to slice at me. With a spin, I dodge his attack and swing back at him with my sword. A large plume of fire fumes from my sword and forces him to teleport again. When he appears a distance away I take off after him, launching myself magically at him. He raises a shield again as I swing my sword at him once more. I try to stab through the shield, but it proves too strong to break through. A couple more stabs give me the chance to look Shinning over. He's scared. His horn is covered in several layers of magic as his eyes dart from side to side, trying to figure out his next move. I bring my knife up and push the next level of enchantment out. An archaic circle appears around the base of the blade as the runes on it burn brightly. I give a single punch against the shield before I jump back to watch. At first, everything stays quiet. Then, in a deafening boom, five massive jets of energy appear randomly around the shield. The bright energy pushes closer and closer until only a ball of fiery energy is left. I jump before my home and raise my hands, creating a massive dome of a shield. KRA-BOOOOM The ball of energy explodes with enough force to send webs of cracks all along my shield. Everything turns white for a period of time before a hue of red washes over. A massive fire is now taking place where Shinning once was. Everything returns to silence as the fire burns itself out. When I hear another flash of energy I side step and grab Shinning by his mane. He tries to fight out of my grasp, but when I laid my knife on throat, he gave up. "This, would have been the end of your country. This, would have widowed your wife. This.... would have killed the father of that unborn child." I say quietly. At the last part he slumps a bit as he begins to truly understand. "Where is the honor in not doing everything to keep those things? There is honor in the manner in which we fight, but as for the means.... you win, or you die. There is no grey area." "....I'd like that training now." He says quietly, shedding a single tear. "ALRIGHT!" I yell as I drop him and face the other Spartans. "Let's begin then! You will all find that your armor has been enchanted for strength and speed bonuses. Third enchantments have been specialized to better fit your weapon styles..." ............................................................................................................................................................... After a few hours of training the other Spartans in their weapons, we finally call it a day. Damian didn't really get a chance to get acquainted with his weapon, having to do so many squats. Shinning and I spent most of the time sparring with one another. Today we worked on using the rest of his body as a weapon, not just his sword. It seemed so foreign to him, but he was quick to learn. Spike and I sparred for a bit as well, magically of course. His grasp on water is fairly basic, but I'm sure he'll expand on it soon enough. Fire, on the other hand, or claw for him, has become superb. He can hold a plume of fire for over a minute without staggering. With those elements down, I started teaching him in stone. He was able to lift a pebble by the end of our training. "Alright, I think that'll do for today." I announce, getting everyone to sigh in relief. With a collective groan, all of the groups that were sparring suddenly drop from exhaustion. "So... how did I do?" Spike asks, slightly winded. "You did good. Keep working on stone and be sure to keep working on the gravity on as well." I tell him as I pat him on the back. "Thanks... Master." He says as he stretches a bit and heads over to the porch. "Hey Miles," Damian says as he approaches me, "so, are we doing the Icy Void training?" "Well... alright. Lets take five before heading into the Everfree." I tell him, getting a nod in response. "Icy Void training? You can train ponies in Icy Void?" True Will asks as him, Storm and Night Fury approach me. "I can't train him in how to use Icy Void, but I can train him how to better defend himself from it..." "Can we get trained to do so?" Storm asks as they all step towards me, eagerly waiting for my response. "No." "AAW!" "First off, the only other magic user is True Will, and he is no where near powerful enough to even dream about this kind of training. Damian is...." I pause as I look back to him. "Special." "Yeah, so get back to training before I whip out my Stick of Doom!" He says as he whips out his staff, making the others step back slightly. I laugh at their irrational fear and head to take a seat beside Spike, trying to relax a bit before moving on. "Am I going to receive training for Icy Void?" Spike asks. "No. But I would like you there to learn how to breach an unfamiliar energy. I don't know anyone who has ever had a power like this, so we'll be taking extra precautions." "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Twilight asks from behind. "No, but Damian needs to know how to deal with this kind of thing, so I have to." I tell her. I look around for Celestia or Luna, but they must have left. "Thank you Miles." Cadence says from my left. "For not killing him..." "Oh, don't thank me. I was legitimately trying to kill him. He only survived because he's good at teleporting. Though, when I'm done with him, he'll do better. I'm sure of it." "Oh... OK then." She says as she walks past me, heading for Shinning. She passes Damian and eyes him a bit, but continues on. "Five minutes, lets go!" He says, eager to continue. "First off, don't ever give me an order. Secondly, it hasn't even been a minute yet." "Sorry sir, but I'm getting antsy. I really want to get started." He says as he shifts about uneasily. "*sigh* fine. Come on Spike." I say as I stand. "Lets get this over with." Perspective: Third Person Omniscient Deep within the depths of fire and brimstone, a great and powerful evil grinned madly. The unknowing vestige of Micheal edged closer and closer to his total corruption. Soon, delightfully soon, his own presence would take a firm hold and his will would begin to guide the vessel towards his damnation. His only concern was the presence of his unruly subordinate. Though still trapped, he knew all too well that his being there would alter events. It did not concerned him. It was too late for any great change to happen. Mortalis de Bellum, we shall see. Perspective: Miles "Alright, this should be far enough." I say as we come to a stop. We had walked deep into the Everfree to avoid harming anyone. An hour and a half later I feel confident that we've accomplished that. "Alright, so just shoot me and I'll try to block it..." "Or we can not be idiots and do this with a bit of thought." I tell Damian. "Make a shield away from yourself and I'll shoot it. From there try and gauge what it will take to block it." "Oh... that's a lot smarter." Damian says as he rubs his short red hair. "Yeeeeeaah, lets get started then." I say as I flare my hands. Damian nods and takes his place before me, creating a dark blue shield to his right. I look down to my hand and try to force it shut. As usual, there's a resistance when I near my palm. I focus a bit harder and press harder. Slowly, painfully slowly, I begin to shut my hand. Though I only saw it for a second, I think the circle around the archaic fire turned to a pentagon. I'm no sure of this though. I would have to open my hand to check. The two black orbs appear above each my fist. Wisps of cold, black energy falls from each of the orbs. My lines instantly begin to grow up past my wrists, being jagged and slightly thicker. I take a few breathes before readying myself to attack. "You ready for this?" I ask. "Are you?" He replies. I take one more deep breath before punching forward. A solid black beam erupts from the orb and bursts straight through his shield. I drop the spell and drop my arms. "OK, that, was powerful." "Yeah... ready to try again?" I ask as I raise my hands again. He nods and raises his shield again, a blue aura forming around his hooves. With another deep breath I punch forward and blast his shield away, though this time there's a slight pause before it does so. "OK, I've got it." He says as I lower my arms. "Lot and lots of energy. Like, a fuck tun of energy." "Alright, lets go again until you can stand behind you shields." I say as I raise my arms, noting the lines growing up to my shoulders. "Alright, GO!" Two Hours Later "AAAH" I yell as I fire another beam of Icy Void. It slams into his shield and tears away at it as Damian holds it back. The two forces fight for supremacy before Icy Void breaks though. Having plenty of time to judge it, Damian leaps out of the way unscathed. "OK.... OK....*cough cough* I think that's... *couch cough*... that's enough." I say as I fall to the ground. I cough as a tight feeling takes over my chest. My lines have taken over my entire body and I can't stop panting. "Are you alright Miles?" Spike asks from behind. "*cough cough cough*" "Dude... yo don't so good." Damian says as he steps towards me. "BACK AWAY FROM ME!" I yell as my vision began to blur. I slam my hands down on the ground as I felt something begin to take over. Black, jagged lines started to grow on the edge of my vision as I screamed out in pain. I tried to fight back, but... there was nothing I could do.... ALL SHALL TURN TO THE VOID! Perspective: Corpus Glacius With a tremendous yell I take control of my host and flare my magic. Four dark tendrils of Icy Void, as Miles has come to call it, shoot out from my hands, heels, and back. All spirits and souls that were near began to flee, fearing for their after lives. Using the tendrils from my back for support, I lift the mortal body off the ground and glare down at the abomination before me. "RUN!" It yells to the others as it drops its staff. "I'LL TRY TO HOLD IT OFF!" "HAHAHA! Demon, all shall crumble before the void." I chuckle as I shoot out my tendrils all around the forest. Wherever they strike, a pentagon of archaic energy would appear. "I'm no mere demon." It spoke in two voices before letting out a howl of pain and doubling over. Along its back and legs the skin began to tear as bloodied, black plates bulged out. Its arms and legs grew in length as two curved swords appeared in its hooves. It stood, roughly the height of my host, and readied itself. "I shall destroy you quickly." I say as I begin to move around the beast, planting more of the archaic pentagons. "You can try, but you will not succeed." It replies, turning to stay facing me. "Who are you, what are you? What is it you want?" "I am Corpus Glacius. Power manifested. Living corruption. And Uideretur sibi Nihil." We both come to a stop, lowering as we each readied to attack. "And I want nothing." I wrap myself in my tendrils and drop into a different planes. Back with the demon, the pentagons explode with tremendous force. The form doesn't falter, rather, it stabs down into the earth and sends blackened flames towards me. I launch myself back into reality and immediately begin to move back as the demon gives chase. It runs with a hellish speed, gaining speed quickly, before leaping into the air to strike me down. THWACK Using a tendril, I swat him out of the air and send him crashing through two trees before sliding to a halt. With little effort, the beast jumps to its feet and looks over the slash crossing its chest. With an insane laugh it draws its swords before charging for me again. Pointing my arms out, I send several tendrils into nearby trees. Through the cracks and crevices dark energy seeps from them, molding to my will. They bend and slam into the ground before the beast, only missing because it leaps between the branches. Spikes of branches shoot out in an attempt to strike the beast, but it moves too quick for a kill. He reaches me and begins to press an attack, swinging madly at the mortal body. I move back and begin to climb through the trees, leaving exploding pentagons in my wake. The beast chases me, leaping from tree to tree as it swings its blades madly. From the blades black flames of Void erupt, forcing me to retaliate. I wrap a tree in my tendrils and force the branches to explode outward, coated in my Void. The beast is stopped and sent flying back from several direct hits. Releasing the tree, I drop to the ground and begin to approach him as he regains his footing. Holding several tendrils before myself, I create several pentagons in the air and fire solid beams of Void at him. Skillfully, he leaps and twirls out of harms way before charging straight for me. I've grown tired of running. Holding my right arm out, I focus the Void into a massive plume of a sword. Likewise, the beast began to focus its own energy into its swords, leaving a trail of fire and Void in its wake. Time began to slow as we began to strike at one another. The desire to destroy each other etched in our faces, the passion for death glowing in our eyes, the empty fires of Void nearing one another.... And then, we struck. Perspective: Spike What on earth is going on! What happened to Miles! He turned into... I don't even know! It... it was terrifying. Then Damian change! What was that! He almost looked human, but... a lot scarier. CC, Hammer and Patches now are holding their hooves up, pointing towards where they ran off. I don't know what's going on any... KRA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM The earth violently shakes as a massive explosion tears the forest apart. Acting completely on instinct, I jump in front of the others and throw my arms out, making a shield dome around us. I hear the explosion crash into something and shatter it before crashing into my barrier. For a second I went wide eyed as I felt the barrier smash my weak shield. I had mere seconds to fall forward and scoop everypony up before the flames washed over us. Even with my thick scales, even with the magical buffs, and even with my new found stamina; this, hurt. Long after the flames died off I held onto the others, shaking from the new found pain on my back. It was only when CC started to pry herself from my grasp did I release them to fall to the ground. Lucky for them, my body took most of the heat, but they still were sweating lightly. "What the buck was that!" Hammer yelled as they all looked around in confusion. "Thank you Spike." CC says as she nuzzles my cheek. "That was very brave of you." "D-don't mention it." I say as I roll onto my stomach. "H-how is m-my back?" "Well..." She pauses as I feel her hooves press lightly on my wings. I wince from it and let out a low growl of annoyance, making her pull back. "Try to hold still, I can take the edge off. Then we can go get Miles and Damian..." "Are you sure that's a good idea?" Patches asks as I feel a cool sensation begin to wash over my back. "Are you nuts?! Why wouldn't we heal him? He..." "Not what I meant. I mean, are you sure we should go after Miles and Damian. If even one of them are still changed... it's too dangerous." CC falls quiet for a moment as she focuses on my back. I'd question how a pegasus could use magic to heal, but the relief from pain was too great to question. "Damian would do the same for us. We're going, that's final." CC says firmly. We all share an uneasy look before silently agreeing. After nearly a half hour of healing I'm finally able to stand, so we head through what was the forest. The ground has turned grey as the air is filled with an ashy snow. All of the blacked trees are leaning to the side and are getting narrower as we get closer to the epicenter. A bone chilling silence fills the wasteland as our steps echo through the stillness. I glance around and think of all the life that was just lost here. Plants, animals, nothing could have lived through that. We come to a stop where the trees vanish and the ground slopes down. In the middle of a large crater lie Miles and Damian, looking like their normal selves. We share a relieved look before running down to them. As we approach them, they both seem to wake. They sit up and take a look around, trying to piece everything together. We pause near them and wait for one off them to speak. "Damian." Miles says weakly. "Yeah?" "I think you passed Icy Void training." They both break into pained laughs, infecting us as well. "Come on, lets.... lets... hnng." Miles stutters as he tries to stand, only to fall and grab at his chest. "Oh crap." Hammer says as he produces a pink bar of soap from him bag and gets ready to throw it. "Is he going to change again?" "No... I... I... AAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Miles yells as he falls back and arches his back. His power lines flare over his entire body as his portals come to life. He twists and shakes as he lets out pained cries. "What's going on!?" I ask as step away from him. "Is going to change again?" I look to the other only to see the concerned faces. "Miles! Miles what's going on! What's happening?!" "I...I'm.... changing!" He yells as he slams his arm down to the ground and sends a blast of energy that shatters a distant tree. "NO... it's.... new.... hnnngn.... power!" In a panic I run over to him and try to hold his arms down. "He's freezing....no... I remember this... it's a power change." I say as I look to the others. They look to one another before nodding in understanding. "I can take you home, but you have to try to not harm me. Do you think you can do that?" I ask him. He looks me in the eyes, pain filling his face, before shaking his head. "Well, I'm doing anyway master." I say before lifting him up and carrying him on my shoulders. "Spike, are you sure..." "Let's go." I say as I begin to walk off. There isn't anything they could say that could change my mind. My master is in pain. And the only logical thing my mind could come up with was to get him home. Perspective: Third Person Omniscient Far above, in a planes flowing in milk and honey, a great and powerful being mused the dealings of lesser beings. Though direct dealings have ceased, his masters dealing have continued to play out. Call it blind luck, call it pre-ordained destiny, he truly worked in mysterious ways. His vestige, though tainted, was still on it's way to a greater purpose. Patience, a virtue in it of its name, was all that was required now. Author's Note Congradulations if you follow by post. We're in the final stretch of 2nd arc. I estimate twelve to fourteen more chapters. And yes, I estimate that they will all be this long. One last note, Sine Wave, I'm impatient. Your thing has one week left from the post of this chapter. Sorry. Brony on! Chapter 162 One Last AdventureChapter 162 One Last Adventure Perspective: Miles ... was that... ... destroyed everything... ...can't wait... ... not safe... ...kill... YOU WILL NEVER HAVE CONTROL, GIVE IN TO THE VOID. DON'T GIVE UP NOW; FIGHT! Murmurs. They sound so distant, barely within my ability to hear. Fear filled, scared, worried, concern all seamlessly pointed towards me. I can't blame them really. What we were doing was reckless, but necessary. There should be something out there able to answer me. Keep me in check. I guess Damian is that thing. I can see why she wanted him to receive training now. How long have I been out? A day? A week? A few hours? My arms still burn from the spells, so it couldn't be that long. My back is stiff, so I must still be on the ground. I can't open my eyes. I'm too tired to do so. I can sleep a bit longer, not like I really have a choice. ... how did... ...we can't... ... to be around... ... kill... JUST RELAX. DON'T DO ANYTHING. THE VOID WILL BE THERE FOR YOU, IT'S ALWAYS THERE FOR YOU. MILES! THIS ISN'T YOU, YOU DON'T GIVE UP. FIGHT HARDER! I don't feel good, which is strange; usually when I change, I feel better. The weight gets released from my chest and I... just feel better. Not this time. The pressure is still there, a damned constant reminder. I did start to change, right? I remember that much. Writhing in pain right after Damian and I finished our training. I started it... but... if I'm thinking this clearly, then why haven't I woken yet? ... not ready... ... we can... ... anytime now... ... just wake up... SHH... IT'LL ALL BE OVER SOON. GIVE IN TO THE VOID. IT'LL ALL BE OVER SOON. FIGHT FOR IT! I open my eyes slowly. I'm in the living room, laying on the ground. I take a few deep breaths before sitting up and taking in my surroundings. All of the Spartans, the girls, Big Mac, Trixie, Butterscotch, E'Claire, Shadow and Spike are here. It's the middle of the night and they're all asleep. I smile to Shadow as she shuffles in her sleep and reach out to stroke her mane... but stop. My hand. My magic is flaring, with the lines going just around my wrist. Confused, I try to shake off the magic, but no matter how hard I shake, the white flames continue to burn. I check my other hand to find it burning as well. "I'm dying." I mutter as I stare at my flaring hands. I scoot back until my back is against the wall, where I try to keep a hold of myself. I'm... I'm dying, now. I can't believe it, what happened to a year!? I'm suppose to have at least six more months before this started! How.... what... why... "Daddy?" Shadow mutters as she lifts her head and looks at me. "You woke up." "Y-yeah." I say, somewhat in a trance. She picks herself up off the recliner and walks over to me, where she nestles herself into my lap. "I was worried. You've been asleep for four days, what happened?" She asks sleepily. I try to answer her, but choke as I begin to tear up. I've know this was going to happen... but now that it's facing me... I don't want to die. What do I have to give to stop this. There's too much here for me now for me to go. Can't I.. isn't there... why? "Twilight said... she said that this is... it. Is that true?" She asks as she looks up to me, eyes beginning to tear up. I move to hug her, but stop when I realize I would burn her. I CAN'T EVEN HUG HER! She's starting to cry and I can't fucking comfort her! "I'm so sorry," I mutter as I break down. "I shouldn't have gotten close to you. I should have stayed away. I should have..." "No!" She yells as she stands and wraps her arms around my neck, tears flowing freely down her face . "No... who would have been my daddy then! Nopony else would have been as nice as you were! I don't want anypony else, I want Daddy! Please, don't go! Please, I'll do anything, just don't go! I'll mine gems! I'll buck apples, please Daddy! Please don't die!" She yells, waking everyone as she sobs into my neck and holds me tightly. "I'm so sorry." I whisper to her as I wrap my arms around her, being sure to keep my hands as far from her as possible. "Daddy." She mutters as she buries stops begging and continues her sobbing. I try my best to comfort her to the best of my abilities, rubbing my arms against her, but... it doesn't help. I look to everyone and try to find someone able to help, knowing all too well that there isn't anything anyone could do. "Miles." E'Claire says quietly as she and Butterscotch approach me. "With your permission, we'd like to watch over Shadow." "*sniff* y-yeah. Yeah, that... I'd appreciate that," I say as I hold her a bit tighter. "Just... take good care of her, you know. " "We will..." "Keep her out of mines and away from spiders..." "We know..." "Don't let her forget Lantern Light either. Get her started in school, make sure she studies hard, watch..." "Miles." Butterscotch cuts me off. "We will do everything and more for her. You don't need to worry. Whenever you're ready, we will be waiting by the Mico platform to Moosden." I nod to her and try to get control over myself as everyone in the room starts to sadden. Many openly cry while a few try to keep strong, wiping tears away and holding stiff upper lips. E'Claire walks over to us and gives me a soft kiss on the forehead, dropping a few tears on my cheeks as she tries to hold it together. "Thank you, Miles. You've.... I'm a better mare because of you. I promise to do everything possible to make Shadow happy. She won't forget you." I nod to her as well as the two of them leave the room. I take a few deep breaths as I look back to everyone else. "Can... can you gives us a minute, please. I... I want to..." "We'll be out front," Twilight tells me as she takes her leave. "Captain," Storm says with a salute as he follows after Twilight. "Master," Spike says, duplicating Storms' action. "Captain. Scoots sends her regards as well. And... we'll be there. When it... we'll be there," Rainbow Dash says quietly. "Captain," Big Mac states simply. "Like Rainbow said, we'll be there for you." Fluttershy says peaceably before leaving with Big Mac. "Captain. Don't worry about the Spartans either. We'll keep going.... you taught us well." Night Fury tells me before moving on. He wasn't crying, but I can tell he was fighting hard. "Captain." True Will offers with a neutral expression before leaving. Pfft, even with my death he fight emotion. It's.... comforting. "Captain!" Dust Devil wails as she comply loses it before me. True Will comes back and has to carry her out, shaking his head along the way. "Miles..." Trixie starts but chokes immediately. "I... uh... well... you..." "I know." I tell her. I allow her to plant a simple kiss on my forehead before she heads upstairs. "Miles, darling," Rarity says as she walks up to me. "Anything you need to, whenever, you just ask. We're here for you and we'll do our best to make it... I'm sorry..." "It's alright," I say as I lean my head against Shadows. She started to calm down a bit now, so I begin to rub my chin against her head in an attempt to help comfort her. "I understand." "Oh... Miles..." She turns and walks out, bickering about her tears ruining her eye liner. Rarity wouldn't expect anything less. "Pinkie, you're hair’s flat." I point out as she walks up to me. "Well... I'm not feeling poofy right now. You're not smiling, neither is Shadow or anypony.... oh, TB! Why did you have to make this sad!" She says before running out of the room. Pinkie, still Pinkie. "Miles... ah..." "How was the date with Hammer?" I ask with a slight chuckle. She laughs as well before giving me a kiss on the forehead. She leaves with her hat off, trying to cover the tears on her face. With everyone out of the room I take a few deep breathes as I continue to try to soothe Shadow. "Daddy." "Shadow... I know this is going to hurt. It's going to hurt a lot. But... goodbye." "No! I don't want to say it!" she says as she shakes her head. "Goodbye Shadow. You may not have been my blood, but you were my daughter." "Take me with you, please! I don't want to lose anymore family! Why does this have to happen? Daddy!" She sobs, digging her hooves into my shoulders as she holds me tighter. "I love you." "*sniff* I love you too Daddy. G-goodbye," I lose my composure, breaking down with her as we hold each other tightly. Time flies by as we hold one another, our sobs turning silent as we face the realization of my fate. Death... death wins I guess. I hear the back door slowly open and look over to see E'Claire peering in from the kitchen dining room. I look down to Shadow to see her asleep in my arms, cheeks stained with tears. "OK... take her, please." I whisper to her, getting a slow nod. Before she takes her, I give her one final kiss on the forehead and bid her farewell. "Miles.... I... we... you are the greatest pony I know. You may be leaving, but your name will last much longer. Goodbye, Miles Eremita," E'Claire tells me before lifting Shadow onto her back, and leaves. Alone. I hold my knees against my chest as the feeling of complete solitude takes over. At this rate... I can't even calculate how long I have. One day. One week. Five minutes, it's unknown to me. What's next? What do I do now? Is it even worth it to go to Emerald City anymore? If I go to the cities, I'll only speed things up... maybe that'll be for the best though. Forget the world; forget everything. I have one goal now, finding where this path my friends laid goes. I push myself off the ground and march straight to the front yard, where I find everyone waiting. "Miles! We're ready to go, now. Give the word and we'll march to hell and back." Rainbow says as the others stand with her. I look to all of them and smile, wiping the final tear from my eyes. "Alright. One last adventure before the void. But, not tonight. I want to spend this last night with Luna." I tell them, getting slow nods from all of them. "We understand." Twilight says as she steps towards me. "We will be here at sunrise, packed and ready. Now go see your wife," I nod to her and head back inside, still smiling to myself for some reason. I make it to Canterlot from the Mico platforms and head straight to the courtroom. The night guards see me and stare at my hands, unsure of what's going on. When I make it to the giant marble court room doors I take a moment to gather myself before heading in. The room is silent. Two guards stand by the empty throne as moonlight fills the rest of the room. I walk in and stop halfway when I realize she isn't here. The guard on the right walks up to me and hesitates, due to my hands. "Where is Luna?" I ask, still looking at the empty throne. "I'm sorry sir, but she isn't here. She went on business to the Griffin Colonies two days ago. She won't be back for another three days." The guard tells me. "Do you wish to leave a message for her?" "Yes... but I shall take care of that. Thank you." I turn and walk out, the feeling of being alone returning. This... this is probably be for the best. She won't have to see me like this. Her last image of me will be of me at my best. No pain. No reminder. Just us being happy. I walk to her tower and enter her room, the guards holding the door open for me. The curtains surrounding her bed are waving from the gentle breeze coming from the open balcony doors. Moonlight illuminates the room and somehow puts me at ease. I walk to the center of the room where I close my eyes and inhale. Her scent is here. It's cool in here as well. It's... peaceful. For the first time since I've awoken, I actually feel at peace. I can feel something from within force me out to the balcony. I take my time getting there, but when I do, I can only sigh peaceably. It's a full moon. I stare out at the massive satellite and feel it begin to affect me. I can do this. One last adventure. One last run against time. I've got my friends. I've still have some time left, we can do this. With a confident sigh, I head back inside and head for Lunas dresser, where I pull out her phone. I record a message for her and set in on top. I spend the night here as well, taking in her scent from her sheets. My last peaceful night, I want it to be as close to her as possible. Author's Note OK. Here we go, time for stuff to speed up. I decided to cut this chapter short, it just felt right. The rest of the chapters will be as long as the prior ones, so give me some time for them. Also, OC's will be adding and dropping like crazy now. If you wish to post one, now is the time to do it. Don't wait, you'll miss out. Brony on! Chapter 164 Ruby Canyon: Cruel KindnessChapter 164 Ruby Canyon: Cruel Kindness Nothing. We've spent what feels like the entire day searching the entire P.C.H. and we don't have a single thing to show for it. Fidus mentioned that they stripped this place clean of supplies, but they were too thorough. Even the filing cabinets have been torn of metals. After clearing the hundredth floor, we decided to call it for the day and started to leave. Twilight and I did some calculations during lunch... or dinner; it's hard to tell in the dark. Ruby Canyon in right under the Crystal Empire. About a four day trip by train. Shouldn't be too strenuous for me. I've noticed the lines on my hands slowly growing. When I first saw them, it was just the archaic circle on my palm. Now my fingers, as well as the back of my hands have the lines. I haven't notified anyone of this yet. We leave the city after an hour break. Not much was said, though I'd like to know why the mercs are giving Twilight the cold shoulder. Must of been something she said about their fallen comrade. We reach the surface in the middle of the night. It's pitch black out here, the only light coming from the star studded sky and the full moon. Seeing that put me at ease, which I needed. Bringing us to the surface put my lines just below the joint in my wrist. Again, I don't tell anyone. We trudge through the muddy desert on our way to Appleloosa. After about twenty minutes of walking we all can feel it starting to weigh us down... except for those of us with wings. Cheating, I call cheating. Bastards. Well.... at least Storm is carrying Twilight. And Dash carrying Applejack. Twilight is levitating Rarity and... and... mother fuckers! I'm the only one not being carried! Assholes! After a long, and somewhat bitter walk, we finally make it to Appleloosa as the sun begins to rise. The roads here have dried off enough fairly well here. Enough to have everyone walk alongside me.... still assholes. We stop by one of the stalls as they're still getting ready for the day to buy supplies. At the same time, a few others go to go buy our tickets at the station. Hopefully we can get– "Well howdy there partner!" I turn around to see some guy standing beside Applejack. He's fairly tall with a light yellow coat and messy orange hair. He wears a stetson hat, similar to Applejack’s, and a vest. He seems to carry himself a upbeat demeanor, even if his faces says he's worried.. "Mah names Braeburn! I'ma cousin of Applejack’s here!" "Oh... hi. I'm Miles Eremita. Applejack is a good friend of mine..." "So ah heard." He cuts me off as he steps closer to me. "Ah understand that yer taking her ta some dangerous places. Ah can't stop her from following you, ya probably understand that." I nod, Applejack is Applejack, "but can ah ask ya ta keep an eye her. Like, an xtra eye. Ah'd hate ta hear anything bad happening ta mah kin." "I understand. Don't worry, I will do everything within my power to keep her safe. You have my word." He visibly relaxes at this and steps back, glancing to Applejack as he does so. "Ah told ya he'd say that cousin," Applejack tells him, as she nudges his shoulders. "Ah jus wanted ta meet the fella. Nuthin wrong with that," he defends. "Ah also wanted ta thank ya fer yer service at our vendors cart. Mighty kind of ya," he says as he steps closer to me. "Oh, no problem." I say. "Real kind." He says as he leans up a bit. "Uh... no..." He raises his eyebrows a couple of times, trying to give me a hint. "I have to pay, don't I." He nods with a large massive smile. "*sigh* alright..... here you go." I say as I toss him a credit. "Much obliged." He says as he pockets the coin. "..." "Well... it was nice..." "Change?" I ask, getting a surprised look from him. "Uh..." "That was a platinum credit. I doubt they bought that much in supplies." "Well... ah'd need ta go ta the bank..." "Don't worry about it. Next time the Spartans come by though, you owe us some Apples," I tell him, getting a sigh in relief. "Ah think we can work with that. Y'all have a nice day here in Appleloosa," he says, before leaving. "Consider yerself lucky ah convinced him not ta give ya a tour of the town." Applejack says as she follows me to the train station. "We would have been here all day." "Yeah... what did I just pay for by the way?" I ask her, getting a chuckle as an answer. I don't like where this is going. Cider; lots and lots and even more cider. After getting a cart to ourselves, we filled another one with cider barrels. There were some food and other things bought, but... cider. Needless to say, this put a smile on everyones face, especially Rainbow. She took an entire barrel for herself, not that it mattered. There were so many, but.... still. The drink is pleasant enough, goes down smooth and leaves an apple aftertaste that I rather enjoy. I have a feeling the trip will go by fast. -o-0-Four Days Later-0-o- "LAST STOP, CRYSTAL EMPIRE!" The conductor yells at our cart, waking all of us. It's been a pleasant trip. Scenic views, good friends, what ended up being hard cider... yeah. I get to my feet and stumble over all of the sleeping bodies to get to the door. Sure enough, we're in the Crystal Empire. "Guys.... GUYS!" I yell, getting everyone to start to wake. "Come on, we need to get moving." CRASH Twilight and Storm come crashing out of the bathroom, both out of their armor. Twilight shakily gets to her hooves and takes a look around, slowly starting to blush. "You alright there?" I ask her. "Uh... yeah... I think we drank a little too much," she says, as she levitates an unconscious Storm along with her. "Yeah.... where's Dash?" As if on queue, Dash comes falling through the cart door, a couple of emptied barrels falling over her. "He*HIC* reporting.... for.... duty.... PFFFTT, duty." She giggles as she tries to get to her hooves. "Alright... everyone out front... I'll fix this," I say as I feel a slight throbbing begin to take place in my head. We had WAY too much cider... is there even any left. I don't really care right now. I just want this head ache to go a.... "MILES!" Shining yells, making us all wince in pain. "We're glad...." "SHHH!" I shush him as everyone steps out of the cart and lines up. I take a deep breath before thinking back to that spell Inficiunt forced me to learn. I slap my palms to the ground and send a wave off white energy all around myself. Everyone takes a deep breath in and lets out a long sigh of relief. Cleansing. Best. Spell. Ever.... how did I forget this one? There have been several times I could have used this... fuck it. "Uh..." "Hello there Shining." I say as I turn to greet him. "Oh... no," I say as I see him, as well as four other guards, walk up to me. All of the guards wear bright shining armor with large metallic lances hitched to their sides. The steel has a blue hue to it and is accented with darker metals. "But..." "I said no." "We can..." "No." "What if..." "No." "Miles." "No." "Don't let us go." "No." "We don't want to go." "Too bad." "Please don't..." "It's too late." "Well, if you insist." He says as he walks over to Twilight and Storm to greet them. ".... HEY!" I yell as put one and one together. I turn to go tell him he's not coming, when some guy gets in my way. He has charcoal black legs that fade into a light grey for his head. His hair, though charred at the ends, is a bright, fiery orange. His mark is a red stick that's split in half by an explosion. "... Oh sweet Barbra..." "Who?" "You're the new explosives expert, aren't you?" I ask him, as he sets his bag on the ground. "YUP! Name’s Fire Burst! How'd you know I was the new explosives expert?" ".... Call it a lucky guess." I say as our bags begin to be unloaded. "So... did you hear what happened to the other guy?" "Yeah, I read the letter. Sad really. Don't worry though, I'm pretty good on my hooves..." "The other guy was a pegasus." I deadpan. "Yeah... well... trust me, I'll be okay. Especially with all of these Crystal Empire guards assisting us!" he says as he motions to the guards. "They aren't..." "Miles! Thanks for letting my brother come along! It's really means a lot to me," Twilight says, with a big smile, as she walks up to me with Shining and Storm. "..." "..." "... *sigh* yeah. No problem. The more the merrier," I say flatly as Shining gives me a smug look. "Lets just get our stuff and get moving." They chuckle to themselves as we begin to grab our gear. Once we have all of our gear on, we leave the train station. There was exactly one barrel left.... we gave it to the conductors. I had never walked through the Crystal Empire before, my last visit was air born. Most of the homes are carved into pure, thick crystals. Something I don't truly get, but don't question. The ponies here seem to shine differently. I can't quite place my finger on it, but there's something different about them. They seem happy enough. Children run through the streets merrily as adults walk around. Smiles are everywhere. Music is playing somewhere. Happiness has taken root here. We head away from the train station. According to Shining, Cadence waiting for us at the palace. Something has come up and she wishes to speak to us after our travels. I take another look at the map and pinpoint our destination, just below the palace... actually, directly underneath it. I don't know how it happened, but Ruby Canyon is directly underneath the Crystal Empire. We make it about two kilometers out of the city before I start sending us through the ground. The ground here is a lot tougher than elsewhere, but moves all the same in the end. For the first time ever, I kind of hope there isn't anyone down there. Showing up with this many armed ponies.... would not end well. After an hour of working we finally hit the dome of the city. I work a tunnel to the side and make our way along the side until we find the bulkhead. We pause at the door to read what's been written. Non faciunt aperire, Mortuus intus. "What does it say?" Fluttershy asks nervously. "Don't open, dead inside." I tell everyone. "Well.... do we go in or do we leave?" Shining asks. "We can't just leave, we don't know where we're going next. We're going in." Taking a deep breath, I pull out the Dominus Clavis and slam it against the gate. The energy shoots out and begins to work the gate open. Everyone pulls their weapons out, and readies themselves as the gate reaches the top. Silence. We share a moment of silence as we gape at the city before us. The buildings near us fit the destruction as the others. Bullet holes, blown out walls, scorch marks. But the P.C.H.... it's a solid piece of blue crystal. The crystals have grown to the top of the dome and have become one solid spire of light blue crystal. The spire shines brightly, sending a light blue hue over the entire city. "Well.... now we know how the Crystal Empire came to be," Fayte says nonchalantly, as the mercs begin to move inside. I shake my head and follow suit, still gaping up at the colossus spire of crystal. The main bulkhead begins to shut as we all step inside, sealing us within. "How could that have formed though? Why would the humans have made that?" Shining asks as we march down the empty street. "I don't think it was made when the humans were here. It looks more like navitas petram," I say as I stare up at the ceiling. The crystal has grown out from the spire along the rows of lights. "What that?" Fluttershy asks curiously. "Well, magical energy that isn't properly spent needs to go somewhere. When enough of it is left around, it forms navitas petram. They work similar to gems and crystals, but have twice the magical output and are extremely brittle." "It reminds me of the Crystal Heart." Shinning says absent-mindedly, keeping his eyes fixed on the buildings and alleyways. "I wonder if the two are connected somehow." "Why does it shine like that?" Fayte asks as he trots to a nearby window to peer inside. "Well.... if I didn't know any better, I'd say it's somehow connected to the power grid. That, along with the lighting spells, must be what's making it glow like that." "Oh.... don't the lights turn off?" Fluttershy asks. CRASH We all freeze and look to the right, the sound of glass shattering catching our attention. We can hear deep heaving breaths coming from within the building, just outside of the light. We all glance to one another before I step forward, pulling my rifle out to see what's.... CLUNK In the span of a second the lights go out. I look back to the spire to see a low glow emanate from its center. "Whraah..." Whatever is inside the building, it's coming towards us. We all step back as we hear it stumble over the broken window and shuffle towards us. I raise my rifle and use my palm to point a light towards the figure. A little girl raises her arms to shield the light. "*gasp* it's a foal." Fluttershy says as she runs towards her. "Fluttershy wait..." "Excuse me, little girl..." "No, Shy wait...." "It's alright Miles," She says as she steps directly in front of her, "she's...." "RAAAAH!" The girl lunges forward and grabs Fluttershys' face. Acting completely on instinct, I take aim and send a round through her skull, spraying brain matter everywhere as the enchantment makes her head explode. Everything falls quiet as Fluttershy sits there, dazed by what happened. She looks down to her hooves and begins to frantically begins to wipe the gore from her face. "Shy, I'm sorry..." "WHY DID YOU DO THAT!" She yells as me. "It was a little girl! She was scared and...." "AAAAAHH!" We spin around to find Purple Edge kick and screaming as a human male bites into his neck. As he twists and turns strips of flesh pull off as blood sprays from his jugular. I aim at the man and fire a couple rounds into his back. The explosions tear his back open and forces him off of Purple Edge. "I've got you!" Aurane yells, as he pulls his staff out and checks on Purple Edge. I run over and try to help as well, but by the time I get my hands on him, he's gone. "MILES! COME ON MILES HEAL HIM!" Aurane yells as he shakes me. I just shake my head and stand up. "He's gone Aurane." "No... NO!" He yells as he shakes his body. "Edge! EDGE!" "Whra..." we all freeze as we hear the man from before begin to heave again. I point a palm towards him and nearly fall back when the top half of the corpse begins to drag itself towards Aurane, leaving a trail of black gore. He falls back and scoots away as it crawls over Purple edge and claws its way for him, snapping its jaw a couple of times in anticipation. PEWPEWPEW Rarity opens up with her SMG and blows away at the man.The massive rounds blow off his arms and punch holes in his chest, but his maw keeps snapping in anticipation of his meal. SHINK AfterTouch runs up and stabs him right through the skull, killing the monster finally. We all look to one another for an explanation, but remain silent, unsure how to process this. "What the fucAAAAHHH!" AfterTouch yells, as Purple Edge bites onto his neck. I reel back as the two of them wrestle with one another before AfterTouch flips Purple Edge onto his back. "THAT FUCKER BIT ME!" He yells as he holds his gushing neck. Purple Edge gets up and begins to charge at me, snapping his mouth as he tries to bite me. I step back a few times before sending an explosive round through his skull, dropping him. Again, we all fall silent... only the city doesn't. From every building and every dark crevice thousands of people begin to emerge. All of them have dried, sullen faces with blackened eyes. Every face turns toward us and snarls in anger before shuffling in our direction. PATPATPATPAT I open fire in all directions in an attempt to stop them from coming closer, but they keep coming. I blow off arms, legs, blow holes in their chests but.... none of that affects them. The few head shots I get are the only ones that seem to kill them. "AIM FOR THEIR HEADS!" I yell, as I load a new clip into my gun. "HAHAHA BRING ME GLORY CORPSE!" Beomere yells as he pushes his way into the fray, lobbing heads off as he goes.. "STICK TOGETHER!" Fayte yells, as he uses his long sword to carve a path to Beomere. I take a quick glance around and notice that we've been split into four groups. Shining and his guards are with Twilight and Storm, trying to clear a way to the bulkhead. The mercs are trying to keep up with Beomere, who seems to be trying to head into the city. The girls have created a circle and are shooting like crazy to keep the people away from themselves. Night Fury, True Will, Dust Devil and I are in our own circle fighting together. Before I could take in any other sights, my rifle rings out as the last round blows off another head. Three more people are approaching me, leaving me no other choice. I take my trigger hand and thrust forward, sending a solid beam of white energy at the center one. It goes right through it's chest and travel to the distant wall where it explodes. The person I shot it at only paused for a second before continuing towards me. "FUCK!" I yell as I jab the end of my barrel into his temple, crushing through the weak bone and dropping him. I pull back and bash the left one on the head with the foregrip, getting it stuck as he falls down. I try to yank it free, but the third one grabs my arm and tries to bite me, being stopped because of my armor. I whip out my revolver and bash her skull in, getting black gunk to spill over my arm as teeth and brain matter fall around my feet. BANG BANG BANG I fire three round at the next three approaching.... people, making their chests and heads implode and giving me some breathing room. The one that took one in the chest makes me pause though. The head is still biting... but it's not human. It's an Unfamiliar face. I can tell due to the lack of a nose and the dagger teeth. "MILES!" Storm yells, forcing me to break my stare with the chomping head. "What do we do!?" "We... GET TO THE ROOFS! BREAK CONTACT AND GET TO SAFETY! MOVE!" I yell as run back to the closest building. I use my magic to lift a chunk of road up, bringing me to the second story roof. I step off but nearly fall, due to the lack of a roof here. I catch myself and use my magic to recreate the roof, giving me solid ground to stand. I turn back and watch as everyone scrambles to get to my roof, some using magic to get here, others using their wings. Two of the Crystal Guards are stuck in the middle of the fight, I think they're earth ponies. Without really thinking I jump down between the two of them and join the fight. I switch my rifle for my sword and begin to slice away at the unrelenting numbers of human and unfamiliar.... people. We begin to move towards the building with the others, the girls shooting a path before us and Fire Burst tossing explosives behind us. The two guards work together to take down their targets; one using the lance to knock the... people, down and the other destroying the heads. We make it to the building where I use my left hand to lift us up. Mid swing, a woman grabs my arm and bites at the elements. Instead of going up, we fall back as the ground rotates ninety degrees. As we tumble into the building, the elements fall off from my arm for some unknown reason. Lucky for me, one of them stay lodge inside the womans' mouth. I try to get up, but another pair of hands grab me. I knee the head of some person as they try to tear through my armor. A couple strikes in, she falls to the ground a bloody pulp. "AAAAHH!" I look over in time to see five people bite and tear into one of the guards. Strips of flesh come off of his neck as teeth dig into his exposed skin. Blood pools quickly around him as his ability to fight leaves him. The other guard is backing away from the carnage as more and more people crowd on top of the corpse to devour him. "RAH!" I snap back to the opening to see a massive crowd moving towards me. I scramble back as I pull out my revolver. BANG One down, sixteen to go... BANG Two down, twenty to go... BANG Three down, thirty to go... CLICK "FUCK!" Out, and with no time to reload. I pull out my trench knife and ready myself to fight the masses. FWUSH A massive gust of wind sends all of them flying past me. I look up to see Storm dropping down to assist. Fall drops on all fours... and nearly falls over when the Elements of Harmony latch onto his foreleg. Perspective: Storm What the buck! Why are the elements on my leg! No time to question! I need to get Miles and those guards out of here. I run in and see Miles and the other guard getting up. The last guard... "Storm! Come on! Lets go.... oh shit." Miles yells, as the two of them run to my side. I look back to see the massive crowd moving towards us. A quick glance back into the building confirms that we're being surrounded. We need to... "Whoa," I mutter as I feel the elements begin to throb on my leg. They feel... as if... I need.... without much thought to it, I stand and throw out my leg. The elements shoot out to my hoof and morph themselves into a sword, similar in shape to my sword. I watch for a second as the colors of the elements wash around in the sword. I can feel the energy from within it coursing through my body. I feel... like I'm at two hundred percent. Like, I can fight for days. I continue to stare at the sword until the growling snaps me back into action. "Lets get go...." "EERRRAAAAAAH!" I let out a powerful yell, as I swing the Elements of Harmony forward. A thick slash of white energy shoots forward... and through all of the people, exploding in the background. Not letting up, I spin back and slash with my other sword. A gigantic windstorm erupts from my blade and sends the massive crowd flying back. Those who were closer were split in half as the powerful gust tore their bodies apart. I pant a few times before the I suddenly lift up into the air. I look back to see Miles using his magic to lift the slab of concrete beneath us... "AAHH!" The guard yells as one of the people jump at the last second and pull him off the slab. I jump into the air and fly down to see a group of fifteen people ripe him to shreds. While some pull and bite on his legs, the others tear his exposed stomach apart. Blood gushes out onto the ground as they consume his internal organs. I gag and throw up a bit into my mouth from the sight, the thick smell of his blood filling my nostrils as the pull and rip his body to bloody shreds. "STORM!" Miles yells from up top. "Y-yeah!" I yell back before flying up to the roof. I take a few steps before running back to the edge of the roof to vomit. Something about the sight of a ponies organs in a human's mouth.... it's not right. "Are you alright?" Twilight asks, as she comes to my side. I heave the last of my lunch, before falling to my stomach. "That was... what was that?" I ask as I hang my head off the edge. "ZOMBIES!" Pinkie yells from behind. "I told you they were real Twilight!" "But that doesn't make sense! How could the dead be alive! It's impossible!" Twilight yells back as she rubs my back. Even though I have my armor on, it's still appreciated. "What are zombies?" Miles asks, and is ignored. "Well, then what do you want to call them?" Pinkie asks. "They are still people Pinkie! We can't..." "Twilight, those aren't people. No one with a conscience would eat another living being. No one alive could take hits like they did. And nothing with a soul can be unaffected by soul based attacks. Nothing. They are not alive. Not in terms of a soul at least," Miles says slow and firmly. Twilight lets out a huff of frustration as she goes back to rubbing my back. I pull myself off the edge and turn towards everypony else... and nearly fall over as the elements leave my foreleg and latch back onto Miles. "What was..." BANG Perspective: Fluttershy BANG I pull back the receiver and load the next round in. BANG Another poor soul out of misery. I load the next round in and take aim, a small child taking up my vision. BANG I can feel tears starting to seep through my shut eye, but load the next round regardless. "What the fuck do you think you're doing!?" Miles yells from the side. I ignore him and take aim again. I find a woman with her stomach missing. She might have been pregnant... BANG "Fluttershy stop! They're starting to crowd all around us..." BANG "These walls can't hold out...." BANG "ENOUGH!" My vision goes blurry as somepony grabs my rifle and pushes it aside. I open my eye and glare up at Miles. "We have to end their misery!" I yell as I try to yank the rifle out of his grip. "Have you lost your mind! You can't..." "These are your people Miles! And they're suffering! They've been suffering for three thousand years. We need to end it now! We need to let them go to rest..." "Fluttershy, enough!" Miles yells as he pulls the rifle out of my grip. "WHAT KIND OF MONSTER LETS THEIR OWN SUFFER LIKE THIS YOU BEAST!" I yell as I try to stand up to him, the height difference being obvious. He just shakes his head and walks away from me. I fall back on all four and look around, seeing all of the shocked faces on my friends. "Fluttershy dear, can we have a word," Rarity says, as she walks over to me. I huff in response, but turn to face her anyway. "First off, let me clean your face... you have some... well, just hold still please." She says as she pulls out a hankie and begins to forcefully wipe my face clean. I sit and try to calm down. I don't understand why everypony is shocked by this. They're suffering and we have the means to end it. Why shouldn't we help them? This is... so... beastly! Animalistic! Sick! This is... is... is... "This is cruel," I mutter as I see the blackening cloth move about my face. "Yes, it is. But don't worry, I'm sure it'll wash out." "I don't mean the blood." I tell her, getting a confused and worried look from her. "Look at all those people; Miles' people Rarity. They've been like this for thousands of years, how could we not do anything to help them?" I ask her as she finishes up cleaning my face. "Dear, it's not that I don't want to help. It's just... now isn't the time. We can't waste any longer then needed here. We need to get our message, and leave these ghastly... things behind until another..." "People," I correct. "These are still people. They're just... being tormented. And we need to end it..." "Fluttershy, you're scaring me." Rarity says as she backs away from me. "Did something happen? Are you alright?" "I'm fine Rarity!" I snap as I stand and get in her face. "Why do you always try to treat me like a foal! I'm a grown mare and I can take care of myself! I. Don't. Need. You." With each word I step towards her and with each step she backs away. We stare at one another before she sniffles and walks away, mumbling something I didn't care to listen to. "SHIT! AfterTouch, what are you doing!" Fayte yells as AfterTouch lunges at him, trying to bite him. Everypony backs away from the stallion as he walks around in a circle, trying to pick which of us to attack. "Didn't he just die!?" Aurane yells as he takes to the air. "ZOMBIES! ZOOOOOOMBIES!" Pinkie Pie yells as she jumps away. I roll my eyes as nopony tries to kill him, so I step forward to do the deed. "Cowards." I mutter as AfterTouch looks to me with those dead eyes and growls in hunger. He lunges straight for me, snapping his jaw a few times in anticipation. I grab the bottom of his jaw and pull him closer. He tries to wrestle his way to bite me, but it feels like just another animal fighting to not have a shot. With my hoof on his jaw, I grab his opposite ear and... CRACK ... snap his neck. His body falls limp to the ground, though his jaw is still snapping at me. I reach into my bag until I pull out my metal canteen. I take it i both my hooves and bring it down, striking the back of his head. He's still snapping at me. I strike again. And again. And again. I keep smashing his head in, even as his skull caves in–even as blood and brain matter splash over my face. Even when I start striking the roof I keep striking at him until I'm completely winded. I drop the now destroyed canteen and step back, looking over the bloody, mangled corpse that was once AfterTouch. I look back to everypony and look from one scared face to the next. "What?!" None of them move. "WHAT!?" I yell as I take a step towards them, splashing the pooling blood. I take a look down at my leg and find it covered in blood. I look over my body and find blood smeared over my wings, chest and neck as well. "Fluttershy... are you feeling OK?" Dash asks as she steps towards me. "I'M FINE!" I snap back at her, stomping my hoof down. "WHY DOES EVERYPONY THINK ME WEAK! I CAN..." I stop when the sound of crumbling stone fills the air. "Next roof, now!" Miles yells as the ground begins to crack apart. I jump into the air and fly up to the next building, finding it missing a roof as well. Miles leaps up beside me and falls straight down into the next room. "FLUTTERSHY! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THERE WASN'T A ROOF!?" He yells up to me as everypony without wings flashes before me... then drops. "Heh heh heh, having trouble down there?" I ask with a snicker as they climb off one another. "Dude, Shy." Rainbow says as she flies up beside me. "Why are you acting this way?" "There's nothing wrong with me! Mind your own business!" I snap before flying down to the others. I see my rifle laying off on its own, so I go and grab it. "Shy." Miles says as he stands. I sling the rifle and take off. I'll show them I take care of myself. I'll make it to the center without them. They'll see. Perspective: Miles I sigh as I watch Shy fly out of the room. I don't know what's gotten into that girl, but it's going to get her killed. "Dash, Dust Devil, go after her. Try to talk some sense into her..." "Bring me as well," Rarity demands. "I'm her closest friend, I'll have a better chance at getting her to talk." Dash flies down and lifts her up before taking off, Dust Devil Close behind her. "Secure the room, I need to check something." I tell the others as I climb up a pile of rubble. I reach up to the edge of the wall and pull myself up, taking a seat on the edge. "What are you looking for?" Aurane asks as he flies up beside me. "A way out of here." I say as I glance around the city. Most, if not all, of the roofs have been destroyed. I can hear the masses of undead people shuffling around in the streets, groaning and hissing to one another. A few street lights are still in operation, showing the hordes moving towards the bulkhead. It seems as if they're all trying to move away from the center, something useful for us... at least for now. "Is it just me, or are the zombies heading away from the center?" Aurane asks, confirming my suspicion. "Yeah, it looks that way at least. Lets head out, we may not be able to take the roofs over, but there should be less people in the buildings... or so I hope." I say before dropping back down to the room. "Lets move out, can anyone open walls without making too much noise?" I ask. "I can!" Fire Burst yells. "Oh wait.. no I can't." "I'll do it." Shining says as he moves to the wall. He ignites his horn and forces a doorway into the wall. We all wait for anything to move inside, but after a few seconds of silence we head inside. I take a few steps in before motioning to everyone else to follow in. I kick a table and hear the lamp on it wobble a bit. Taking a venture, I reach to the switch and give it a try. It turns on. The room were was made into some kind of mini fortress. Most of the furniture has been moved to the door, where it probably fortified it but now lays pushed away. Something pushed its way inside and drug something bloody back out the doorway. Cans and other random supplies litter the rest of the room. People must have tried to have survive in here... 'WHERE'S YOU SPARTAN PEN NOW, 53,59353,594 53,595 KILLS BITCHES!' Someone had written a little message on the wall in black gunk. I don't know whether to be impressed by that kill count, or to be annoyed by that reference to the Spartans. "Ammo here!" Pinkie cheers as she runs back from the kitchen with a metal box. "It looks like your kind, I think." I take a look at it and nod to her. A couple of rounds of ammo, not much, but it all helps in the end. I take them and begin to load them into my empty clip as Fayte and Shining move into the hallway. "We're clear here. Which way Miles?" Fayte asks. "Inward. We need to make it to the center of the city, from there we can make a plan of attack to get out. It looks as if the... people, out there either afraid of the center crystal or it affects them somehow. Either way, it's safer there than here. Lets move out." We get moving. From room to room we find different depictions of peoples attempts to survive. Blockades, a few traps, even and more messages fill the destroyed rooms of the apartment complex. 'SPARTANS AIN'T GOT CRAP ON THIS!' 'GO TO THE SOUTHERN SIDE, THERE'S A GROUP SURVIVING THERE!' 'THE SOUTHERN SIDE WAS A LIE! WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!' 'THEY'RE COMING TO GET YOU BAAA--' A few of my favorites. We come to a large room where we find a single undead person. Before anyone could attack it, I step forward and motion to them to keep quiet. I want to study it a bit. He doesn't seem to notice us. He's just standing there, heaving quick and shallow breathes. His eyes have sunken in to the point of being completely useless, so no sight. I creep up behind a table, only a meter away from him, where he begins to look towards me, taking in deep sniffs. They can still smell then. I pick up the television remote on the table and toss it into the kitchen. He turns towards the noise and growls a bit as he shuffles towards the noise. They're completely dependent on sound and scent. SHINK "What the fuck Fayte!" I yell at him as he yanks his sword out of his skull. "I was studying him!" "Be a nerd later. We need to keep moving or else we'll be cornered again." He says as the rest of the group walks past me. "You're a nerd," I mutter as I follow after them. At least we have a basic knowledge of how they observe the world... "Hey Storm, am I a nerd?" "You're a good person and that's what matters the most." He says flatly, getting a smack from Twilight. "You told me the same thing!" Twilight chuckles. Everyone shares a small laugh as Shining breaks down the next wall. "End of the line." Shining says as we look out the opening. The building has come to an end with a four lane road separating us from the next set of structures, each one getting taller then the next. A single street light shows a large number of people moping about, unaware of our location. "If you have wings head over to the next building and find a cleared out room for us to go to. Keep quiet and try to avoid getting close to any of them. We'll hold this room until you return." Aurane, Beomere and Snow Bound all take off for the building across the street. Hopefully we can get through this without anymore trouble... and with Fluttershy. Perspective: Fluttershy I fly up to the next building and drop down to hide in the shadows. Sure enough, Miles' little lackeys go flying past me, yelling my name. I wait for their voices to become too distant to hear before continuing on. I'll show them. I can make it to the center without their help. I don't need them, I don't need anyone! I've survived on my own before, I can do it now. I move to the door and peer outside, pulling my rifle up as I ready myself for anything. Big Mac taught me some basic handling techniques while Miles was out, now I.... Big Mac. ... ... I don't.... no.... I love... He... he broke... I don't need anypony! I love him too much though.... I can't lose him! "BIG MAC!" I yell as I press my back against the wall and fall to the ground, crying my heart out. I can feel something within me trying to tell me to hate him, to want to hurt him. But I can't! He's too sweet, too kind! I... I still love him, but I hate him! WHY AM I SO CONFUSED ABOUT THIS ALL OF THE SUDDEN! "Fluttershy!" I look up to see Rainbow Dash dropping Rarity before me. She runs over to me and pulls me into a tight hug, tearing up with me. "GO AWAY!" I yell as I try to push her away, sobbing uncontrollably. She doesn't give up, holding me tighter and refusing to let go. "I.... I hate you! You have to stay away! I'll... I'll... I'll bucking kill you! Stay away! STAY AWAY! I don't want to hurt you!" I yell and scream as I try to break free of her grasp. "I WILL NOT LET GO UNTIL I GET MY FRIEND BACK!" Rarity yells as she shakes me a bit. "We're going to find out what's wrong and we are going to fix it! This isn't you! The real Fluttershy doesn't use vulgar language. The real Fluttershy wouldn't find herself weak. The real Fluttershy couldn't harm another pony, even with words! Give her back! Give back our friend!" THUD I bring my knee up and slam it into her gut, getting her to release me at least. I push her off and stand over her, pulling my rifle over her head. I lay the barrel on her forehead and pull the receiver back. "I told you I'd kill you." I say as I push the round in. "Please... where is the Fluttershy we love?" She asks as she stares up at me, eyes flowing with tears as I press the barrel against her more. CLICK "Huh?" I try to pull the trigger again, but nothing happens. I look over to the side and see her aura encircling the safety... THWAK THUD Perspective: Rainbow Dash I re-sling my rifle and go to help Rarity up. That was too close. I don't know what's gotten into her, but we need to get her fixed asap. "You OK?" I ask Rarity, getting a slow nod in response. "We need to get moving." "I've got Shy." Dust Devil says as she lifts her onto her back. "Where to?" "We're heading to the P.C.H. We'll meet up with everypony else there. Shouldn't take long to get there, let's get going." I grab Rarity around her waist and lead the way for the P.C.H., Dust Devil following close behind. "What do you think happened to the people here?" She asks after a short silence. "I don't know DD." I say as I focus on our task. "I've read some comics about zombies.... you know! Out of boredom, not like I own any!" She quickly adds, blushing madly. "Uh-huh." "Anyway, do you think it was..." "Look, now is not the right time. We need to focus on the task at hoof," I tell her, getting a quick nod in response. "... So... do you read the Trotting Dead?" I groan in annoyance and pick up speed. Comics are way too nerdy for me to read. As we near the P.C.H, I notice the lower number of zombies below us. Any of the ones we do see are hiding in shadows, trying to keep as far away from the light as possible. With less than a mile till the crystal spire, we land. There isn't a single person here. The silence of it all making things even creepier. The light from the Spire seems to be getting brighter as we walk closer to it. "Is it me, or are things getting... more peaceful here?" Dust Devil asks. "Yeah... I think it has to do with the crystal spire," I say as I look over all of the surrounding buildings. The closer we get, the more they become covered in the light blue crystal. By the time we reach the spire everything around us is made of the solid blue crystal. "Well... what now?" "GET ME AWAY, I NEED TO GET AWAY!" Fluttershy starts yelling as she begins to thrash about on Dust Devils back.We all try to hold her down, but stop when the sound of cracking crystals catches our attention. "FINALLY, A CORRUPT ONE TO CLEANSE." "Oh that can't be good." I mutter as the three of us turn around. Perspective: Miles We all finally make it to the next building, taking up a corner office. At this rate we won't reach the center of the city for a few days! We need a faster mode of transportation. I look out to the city and glance all along the street until I see it. It's a simple bus, but it looks operational and only has a few people around it. "Hey, check out the bus," I say as I point it out. "If that's in working condition, we can make it to the P.C.H. in no time." "Do you think it's wise to though? We'll be on the same level as the... zombies." Twilight says as she looks over to the bus. "Walking through these buildings is taking too long. If that can get us to the center faster, it'll be worth it." Shining says as he peers out with Twilight. "I'll head down with you." Storm says. "Us to," Beomere offers with Snow Bound. "Count us three in as well." Shinning says as he begins to charge his horn. "Alright, but no more then that. The rest of you stay in this room and keep quiet. Storm and Beomere will go first after my distraction. Then Shining and his guards, then I try to get there discreetly. Fire Burst, you have anything extremely loud?" I ask him, getting a wicked grin in response. "I've got just the thing." He says as he reaches into his satchel and tosses me what looks like a ball of tape. Luckily True Will catches it with his magic before I could by instinct. That could have gone bad. "What exactly does this do?" I ask as I look it over. "I don't know. I kind of... just found it one day." He says with a smirk. I look over to True Will before shrugging and taking it in my hand. It begins to burn bright green, filling the room with a dark smoke. I quickly toss it the opposite direction of the bus and watch the trail of smoke go down into the crowd of zombies. The only thing we can see is the colored smoke rising from the crowd as they try to walk towards it. At least it's also drawing the attention of the zombies by the bus. "Was the an explosive or a smoke grenade?" I ask Fire Burst as the smoke suddenly stops. "Well.... I think..." KA-BOOM A massive rainbow explosion goes off in the middle of the street, sending a column of colorful smoke into the air. We all stare at it before jumping into action. Storm and Beomere launch down to the bus, killing two zombies that were lingering behind. When I hear the flash behind me I launch through the broken window and drop towards the ground. I aim myself to land a bit behind the bus. There are a about three people I'll need to deal with, but the rest should ignore me. THUD I crash down and immediately charge at the first person, drawing my sword into a swing that lobs the top of his head off and icing the cut. I turn to the other two and stab at the ground, sending a row of earthen swords through their legs and hips. They fall to the ground, one of them impaling their head on another sword, the other one dragging herself towards me. She rips the bottom half of her leg off in her effort. I just shake my head and stab her through the skull when she nears me, a bolt of electricity going through her body as well. "All clear, lets check this out already!" Storm yells from the side of the bus. I nod and check my surrounding for zombies. They're all checking out the explosion, so we have some time. I run over to the door and force it open, letting the others in before stepping inside myself. The door snaps shut behind me, something that worries me a little, but we'll deal with that later. "OK, you guys clear the bus while I try to hot wire this thing," I say as I move to the drivers seat. "You need any help?" Storm asks as I lay on the ground, placing myself underneath the dashboard. "No I should..." "AAAH AHH!" We both look back as a zombie bite into one of the crystal guards' hooves. The guard jumps back and smashes in its head, but remains hysterical. "GO HEL–" THUD And just like that, he dies. We all stare at his body for a bit, unsure of what just happened. It was a flesh wound, there was no way that could have killed him. Snow Bound moves over to him and lay her head on his chest. "Yeah, he's deAAAAHH SHIT!" She yells as he suddenly grabs her and bites into her neck. She flaps her wings madly in a vain attempt to get away. The guard has a solid grip on her throat and isn't letting go. Shining finally gets over to them and hacks the guards head open, getting him to stop his assault. Snow Bound falls to the ground in tears as she tries to hold her throat shut. A spray of blood has escaped through her claws, coating a few of the windows. "Shining," I call out, "you have to..." "I know." He says sternly as he steps over over her. She reaches out to him and tries to gurgle a plea, but Shining ignores it and plunges his sword straight into her skull, silencing her forever. The other guard falls back and scrambles away from the mess as Shining pulls his sword free. He begins to mumble to himself as climbs up to the back of the bus. "Hey, calm down. We'll get through this," Shining tells him as he goes to comfort the panicking guard. "Well, does it work or not?" Beomere asks as he walks over to Storm and I. I shake my head and snap back to my task at hand. I pull the panel off and look for the right wires to hot wire it.... red and blue? No. Red and yellow... Nope. Green and yellow... VR-VR-VR-VROOM "We're in business!" I say as take the drivers seat. "Shining, go get the others, Storm and Beomere, put the bodies where they won't be in the way." Everyone gets moving as I power up the old batteries. I take a look in the rear view mirrors and notice the hoard moving towards us, the noise of the old engine drawing them closer. FLASH I glance back into the bus to find everyone inside. With them on board, I put it in first and begin our drive to the center. All of the tires seem to be flat, making it difficult to get started. With a loud screeching sound we slowly pick up speed. I look back in the mirror and notice them about halfway to the bus. Second Gear; the entire vehicle is shaking, something’s rattling in the front. I have to fight to keep it going straight, but we're moving now. Just fast enough to keep the zombies away. The screeching has toned down a bit, but it's still there, irritating the fuck out of everyone. Third gear; the shaking seems to be getting worse, but at least we're picking up speed now. A mob of zombies is taking up the street before us, marching right in our direction. I don't plan on stopping, but yell to the others to prepare for some bumpy roads. I call Twilight over and have her hold a shield in front of the bus. I don't want to chance anything hitting the engine and causing us to suddenly stop in the middle of a hoard. Fourth gear. We hit them–hard. The first few hit went flying in bloody messes as we just plowed through them. But, after a continuous stream, we begin to slow. The sound of bare hands beating against glass fills the bus as I constantly keep having to lower my gears. When I hear several planes of glass break, I decide enough is enough, and leave the drivers seat. "What are you doing Miles?" Twilight asks as she moves to my side, trying to move her shield over the entire bus without trapping any of the zombies inside. "HOLD ON TIGHT!" I yell as I flare my hands and begin to envelope the bus. I give them a few seconds before thrusting both hands forward. SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH The bus lurches forward at a great speed as I send it flying down the street. I only intended to get us out of the hoard, but ended up using more magic than I though I did. I fall straight back and slam against the bench with the corpses. Blocks fly by in a total haze as I try to keep the bus level. As the bus bounces down the street in an erratic manner, I latch on to the metal bars of the bench and hold on for dear life. BOOSH Something hits the bus and causes it to sudden spin sideways... SHLUNK KER-THUD Perspective: Rarity We stare up at the spire as massive cracks break all along it. Fluttershy falls before us as she finally breaks free of our grasp, but we keep our gaze on the spire. An arm breaks free from the column, then a second one. We all shield our eyes as a shower of crystals breaks forth from the column. Shards fall all around us as we hear giant footsteps before us... "I TOLD YOU I'D KILL YOU!" I snap my head forward to see Fluttershy aiming her rifle straight towards me. In the blink of an eye my life passes before me. Playing as a foal with my mother, getting my Cutie Mark, going to all those fashion shows as an adolescent, the day I bought my boutique, meeting all of my friends, all of our adventures together. By the next time I blink everything seems to have slowed down. I'm slowly falling to my right as I see the smoke erupt from the end of her barrel. I slowly glance to my side to see Rainbow Dash at my side, mid tackle. BANG THUD A concussive force, along with the tackle, knocks the wind out of me. After a dizzying few moments I shake my head and try to get up, only to have something hot stop me. I look up and see Fluttershy pointing her weapon point blank at me. "If I'm going to die," I say as she loads the next round in, "let it be by my best friend." I close my eyes and hold onto Dash as I... VVVRRRRRSHINK Dust Devil jumps over and uses her twin daggers to cut the rifle in half. Fluttershy uses what's left of the gun to try to bash in her head, but Dust just flips her over her back and tosses her aside. Her daggers are made of turquoise and sound as if they're vibrating. She gives them a twirl before... THUD "FOR THE INNOCENCE, WE MUST CLEANSE YOUR SOUL." Perspective: Fluttershy I hit the ground and try to get up to fight when a giant blue crystal being drops over me. It's form is similar to humans, only being four stories tall and having nothing for its face other than two blue fiery eyes. Its hands seem to end in sharp claws while the back of its head is covered in spikes. Its voice resonates deeply within me bringing some new found anger from within me. "GO BUCK YOURSELF YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" I yell as it brings its face closer to me, almost pinning me on my back as I lay on the ground. I want to fight it. I want to ripe it's bucking head off and crush every little... "LET US BEGIN." Blue energy seeps from its head and forces its way into me. I feel every fiber in my being start to burn as something from within me begins to build up. I arch my back as I scream out in pain as the feeling of burning needles dragging through every single one of my veins. I feel a lump form in the base of my throat as I feel the need to vomit. I twist and contort as the two feelings increase in intensity. Why is this happening!? What is happening!? I... I... "UUHG!" I lean to the side and vomit some black sludge. "GOOD, JUST A LITTLE MORE." "UUUUHHG!" Nearly twice as much of the black sludge comes out this times. I spit what's left out of my mouth before collapsing on the ground. "Wh.... what happened?" My head feels fuzzy and my vision is blurry. I don't know how long I laid there, but after awhile the... "Rarity?" I look over to my side and see her laying on the ground... beside chunks of my rifle. "Rarity, what happened?" "Fluttershy!" She yells as she gets to her hooves and runs to me, tackling me in a hug. "Oh thank goodness you're back to normal!" She yells as Rainbow Dash joins our hug. Dust Devil walks over to us, eyeing something to our side. I look over and... "Oh... my." I mutter as I look up to the giant crystal being. "Uh... I'm.... Fluttershy." "I AM THE CRYSTAL GUARDIAN, FLUTTERSHY. KEEPER OF INNOCENCE." "What was that!? What did you do to her?" Rainbow Dash demands. I don't quite want to make demands to a being that can step on me, but if Dash feels it's best... "I CLEANSED HER OF THE CURSE.SHE WILL NOT LOSE HER SOUL AND TURN INTO... ONE OF THEM." "Them?" I mutter as I try to think of what happened. We came to the Crystal Empire, Shining tricked Miles into getting him to take his group with us.... then... then... the killing started. "Rarity... I..." "It's alright dear." She says as she holds me tightly. "You were under the effects of... the curse. Nopony blames..." "THERE IS A VEHICLE WITH OTHER LIVING PEOPLE BEFORE US. SOME NEED ATTENTION, I'D SUGGEST HELPING THEM!" We all look over to see a large metal carriage laying on its side with a cluster of crystals in the center of it. We all run over to it as the side door flies off. We fly up and help everypony out, several of them having bleeding wounds. When they get out, they immediately try to take cover due to the Crystal Guardian, but we assure them everything is alright. When everypony is out, I notice how small our group is now. Most of the mercs are gone, only Fire Burst, Fayte, and Aurane are left. None of Shining’s guards are alive. Luckily all of the girls are OK, for the most part. "Fluttershy... are you... okay?" Miles asks. "Yes. I'm sorry about earlier. I... I wasn't myself. But I'm all better now! Thanks to the Crystal Guardian fixing me." I say as I motion to him. "Right... the... what?" He asks as he approaches him. "I SHALL EXPLAIN AS BEST I CAN. I FORMED ABOUT TWO MILLENNIA AGO. THE CITY WAS ON THE VERGE OF TOTAL DESTRUCTION. VERY FEW HUMANS LIVED. THOSE THAT DID HAD TO TAKE A CHANCE OUT IN THE CITY FOR SUPPLIES, AND WOULD COME BACK INFECTED WITH THE CURSE. NONE WOULD COME TO ME FOR HELP, FEARING THAT I WAS THE CAUSE OF THE DARK CURSE!" "The people that were here, did they travel here or were they here originally?" Miles asks, getting the being to shrug. "IT IS UNKNOWN BY ME. ANY FURTHER INFORMATION WOULD BE HELD WITH THE TOWER. EVERYTHING INSIDE HAS BEEN PRESERVED. YOU ARE FREE TO SEARCH THE BUILDING ON ONE CONDITION!" "And that would be?" "RETURN MY HEART, SO I MAY LEAVE THIS HORRID PLACE!" Author's Note Pallet Cleanser. Chapter 165 Bartering HeartsChapter 165 Bartering Hearts Perspective: Miles "Your... heart? Do you know where it is?" I ask, as I step towards the crystal being. It steps back into the opening in the spire and begins to merge back with it. "MY HEART FOR THE TOWER, THAT IS THE DEAL HUMAN. THE CURSED WILL NOT NEAR ME, SO YOU ARE SAFE FOR THE TIME BEING." The last bits of the being merge into the center crystal, making the spire whole again. I sigh in annoyance and turn back to the others. What is he talking about? His heart? If he didn't have his heart, wouldn't he be dead? "What the fuck does he mean?" I mumble out loud as I pace about, trying to solve the riddle. "I know. This is... confusing," Shining agrees, as he looks over the spire. "Can't we just magic our way through him? He's solid crystal, it shouldn't be that hard." Rainbow says. "No, navitas petram is a very unstable substance. We would risk blowing the entire city and the Crystal Empire halfway across the galaxy. We need to find this 'heart' of his if we're going to enter the city..." "We can't give up the heart. Our people depend on it for safety. It's our beacon of hope." Shining defends. "...Wait, you have his heart?" I ask. "Well... I don't know. We call it the Crystal Heart...." "OK, here's the plan. Twilight, Shining and I will go get the heart and return here as soon as possible." "No we're not." Shining says, but is ignored. "...The rest of you stay here and keep close to the spire. Apparently the zombies won't come near here, so it should be safe..." "I can't let you take the heart." "This shouldn't take longer than a day, so if we're not back by then try to contact us and use jumpers to search for us in the city, any questions?" I ask, getting Night Fury to raise a hoof. "Why only you three?" "Twilight’s shield should be helpful and we need Shining to get the Crystal heart. I'm the only one who can get us up to the surface, so we're the bare minimal amount. That, and our combined magic should make it easier to get around. Any other questions?" I ask, getting Shining to raise his hoof. "What makes you think the Crystal Empire is going to give you the heart?" "You let me worry about that. Now, can we get going or are there any other questions?" "Well..." "GOOD! Let’s get going then!" I shout, as I start to walk off. I hear some mumbling behind me, but ignore it as I continue my way back out the city. I look down to my arms and notice that the line have grown a third of the way up my arm. We need to move faster. I begin to try to remove my boots by stepping on the backs, when an ideal strikes me, making me take them off faster. "Aren't you suppose to tie those on?" Shining asks as I finally free my feet. "I need to move faster, but..." I ignite my heels and raise them a third of the way, then shut my hands off. "Better, don't you think?" "Tremendously," Twilight says, with a smile. "So how should we do this? We can't go by rooftops." "Call a spot and I'll go clear it for you guys to teleport. When we get close enough we'll go to that one roof we made near the entrance. We'll start using our shields to walk through the crowds." "Why didn't we do that last time?" Shining asks, dumbfounded. "We were caught off guard; let’s not repeat that mistake. Ready?" I ask, as I take my stance. They share a glance before smiling and taking their places beside me. "Ready! That red carriage up on the left, go!" Perspective: Fluttershy I sigh as Miles runs off back through the city, Twilight and Shining Armor teleporting away with him. I was trying to get their attention to tell them that I could try talking to the Crystal Guardian, but I didn't want to interrupt them. Everypony begins to unpack their gear and relax a bit. I remove my armor and bags as I ready myself to speak to him. I'm sure he's a nice pony, probably really lonely with all of these monsters here. "SOUPS ON EVERYPONY!" Applejack announces as she begins to pass around some food. I guess some food first couldn't hurt. We each take our portions and begin eating. The three mercenaries begin to gush about how good Applejack’s cooking is, telling her that her secret talent is cooking and she should open up a restaurant. She stays modest about it all, blushing a bit from all of the compliments. I don't notice it at first, but when we begin sharing stories and laughing together, the spire behind us begins to shine brighter and brighter. The louder our merriment became, the more the light began to glow. As Fire Burst starts a very loud and energetic story I slip away from everypony and wake my way over to the spire. I can almost feel the energy radiating from it, warming me up and putting me at ease. "Um... Cr-crystal Guardian?" I call out. "Well... I... uh... how are you?" It doesn't respond. He must not be the talkative kind. That's OK though. "If you don't want to talk, that's alright. I won't force you to. I just wanted to thank you for saving me." Nothing happens, though I didn't really expect anything to. I walk up to the crystal and nuzzle it a bit, trying my best to show my appreciation... "EEP!" I jump back when a portion of the spire gives way, making a pathway. I blink a few times in confusion before slowly stepping towards it. Maybe he's going to show me something. Or maybe he can only talk in there. With a final glance back to my friends, I step into the crystal spire, getting the entrance to shut behind me. "H-hello? Anypony there?" I ask aloud as I walk down the path being made for me. It's the only way I can go, so I walk down it as cautiously as possible. I don't think he'd try to hurt the pony he saved, but... I can't help but be nervous. "Crystal Guardian?" "THERE IS SOMEONE I WISH FOR YOU TO MEET; HURRY!" "Meet? You mean... Okay, take me to them," I say, as I trot down the path. Somepony lives here! Alive, not crazy... human. Another human! Miles will be so happy to hear this when he gets back. I follow through the jagged path where I find the P.C.H. It's standing in the center of the hollowed crystal spire with very little damage to it. GO IN AND GO TO THE VERY TOP FLOOR! THE INSIGNIA IS OF A SCALE! SPEAK WITH HIM AND DO NOT FEAR! I WILL PROTECT YOU!" "Wait, protect me? Why would I need protection?" I ask aloud. He doesn't answer me though. I take a deep breath before walking towards the P.C.H. He said he'd protect me, so I need to trust in him... though last time I put my trust in somepony... no. This is different. I push forward, stepping through the crystallized archways into the floor room. Though everything has been transformed, the Mico platforms are still here, seemingly unscathed. I walk around the room until I find the platform with the etching of a scale. Beneath it something has been carved into the crystal, but it's hard to read. Setting that aside I tentatively step forward and take it to the next floor. I appear in a large open room that shines brightly. The ceiling vaults up with thick supports and thin walls, allowing a view of the world outside. In the center of the room is a man sitting on a chair, facing away from me. He's wearing a simple black suit and has long black hair with streaks grey. With nothing else in the room, I walk towards him; taking slow, methodical breathes as I ready myself to speak with him. "H-hello there." I say as I near him. He doesn't move. I don't think I was loud enough. "My n-names Fluttershy..." "Fluttershy!" he practically yells, as he turns around to face me. He's an elderly person with dull grey eyes and a long scraggly graying beard. He stands to his feet and uses a stick to feel his way towards me. "Fluttershy, who are you Fluttershy?" "I'm... a friend of the Crystal Guardians..." "CEEGEE!" He yells in excitement. "CeeGee brought you here!? That's... wonderful, congratulations!" He booms, as he continues to search for me. "How far are you?" "...Far? I'm sorry, but I don't understand..." "SANUS! Stop questioning the girl and feed her already!" He yells as he looks to the left. "Rabidus! Silence yourself! Introductions are in order." He snaps back as he looks to the right. "Fluttershy my dear, I am Sanus, and this is my brother Rabidus. We're the everlasting relicts of Ruby Canyon." "Can you help us with something?" "Not yet you daffy bastard! We need to earn her trust first!" "Well then let’s feed her! The last one did it for food!" "No, the last one stole the food, you let them get away!" "Um... what's going on?" I ask, as he argues with himself. "Where are our manners, please, come over here. I want to show you something," he says, as he begins to walk towards one of the windows. This guy is... a little unhinged, but I follow him over to the window now the less. "What is it you want to show me?" I ask as I peer out the window, but the only visible thing is the thick crystal wall. "Our city, lost to the cursed ones. Our only weapon against them was lost some time ago when the heart was stolen..." "Bastard, no good thieves!" "... now, now the city is lost." "Or it was until you showed up!" "Yes, I was getting to that. You see, CeeGee is the cure. But, with no one to cure, he's lost his purpose." "No purpose, no life. No life, darkness takes hold. Shrouded in shadows, never to see again." "In order for him to live, he needs two things..." "One, two, no more, no less." "...The others will feed him, and he will save them in return..." "Give and take. You have to give and take. Don't be greedy, give and take." "Life and death." "Life in death, no waste. Use it all." "He needs it all. The joy of the heart. The strength of his bones. The hopeful mind. The lover’s soul." "Without them, there is no life. And with no life nothing can live. No joy, no strength, no hope, no soul." "Do you understand dear Fluttershy? Will you help us?" "Um... yes, I will help you. But I'm afraid I don't understand..." "GLORY!" He yells, as he jumps back and begins to do a little dance. He mumbles to himself happily as twirls his cane happily. I'm not sure of what's going on, but I smile along with his joy. "Happiness is my friend, with no other wills to bend! She said yes, no more stress, now I move onto to death," he sings happily. "Um... can you explain it again...?” "May I feel it?" he asks happily, stepping towards me. "...Feel?" I ask, blushing slightly. "The innocence my dear! The innocence!" he says happily, as he reaches out for me. I take a few steps back as I try to understand what he's talking about. "I don't understand. How do you feel innocence?" I ask as I press my back against the window. "THE INNOCENCE! THE CHILD! SHOW ME THE PURITY THAT WILL CHARGE OVER THIS CITY!" He yells, as he steps forward, trying to grab me forcefully. SHINK A spike of crystal shoots up between us and pierces him through the stomach, holding him up as blood pours down the spike. He gurgles a bit as he begins to choke on his blood, but continues to hold his hand out. "Please... let me die with knowledge of the innocence,” he says as he feels for me. Though my heart is racing, I step before him and place his hand on my stomach. His face drops as he feels my tummy, confused by my body. "It's... it's..." "I'm sorry, but I'm not human. I'm a pony, here with what we thought was the last..." "Strong," he says happily. "New, barely with soul, but strong." "Willed. Fated to be of great power..." "No... No, not yet..." "There's another. An influence? No..." "Power yet to be gained..." "It's strong." "Not yet." "Soon..." "Perhaps." "Goodbye, Fluttershy." "Goodbye, Innocence,” he takes a firmer hold of my stomach as he fights for his last moments of life, a smile taking place over his face. "GOODBYE, MY FRIEND!" The spike slowly recedes back to the ground from his gullet, leaving him to lay peacefully on the floor. My breath begins to tremble as I feel my own stomach. Am I... am I pregnant? What was all that talk about joy and love and life? How did he live in here all this time? "What's going on?" I ask aloud, looking around the room for answers. "Please, Crystal Guardian. I don't understand. What just happened? What did Sanus... or Rabidus, just ask of me? Tell me, please." "I WILL EXPLAIN ALL, BUT PLEASE, DO NOT STRESS YOURSELF. A GREAT CHARGE HAS BEEN PLACED OVER YOUR INNOCENCE... Perspective: Miles CRASH We finally break through the surface after a couple hours of work. A strong wind of snow hits us immediately and forces us to run to the city limits. Once clear, we march straight through the city for the palace. It's the middle of the night. Most of the homes have their lights off, sleeping peacefully. A few streetlights guide us to our destination, though the massive lights on the palace helped as well. When we reach the edge of the grounds, a few guards find us and guide us to Cadence on Shining’s orders. "Wait here while I go wake her up." Shining tells us as he heads up some stairs. Twilight and I take up a bench in the waiting room and sigh in relief. "So, how are you going to get Cadence to give you the heart?" Twilight asks, as she lays on her side. "Well... I think I'll just let her know what’s going on and see what happens from there. I'm sure she'll understand," I say, as I lean against the wall, trying to relax a bit. "Hmm, that sound best. I'm sure if we just approach this in a calm, collective, understanding...." "WHAT!"We hear Cadence yell in the distance, making Twilight and I both jump a bit. We glance to one another as the sound of our impending doom marches down the hallway. Twilight ducks behind me as the doors fly open, revealing a tired looking Cadence. Her hair is a total mess and the bags beneath her eyes are a clear sign of a rough night. "Uh.... hi Cadence..." I start as I stand. "It's a no," she says flatly. "Now, hold on a..." "My people need the Crystal Heart! Not only for protection, but for hope..;." "Cadence, I need this to continue my journey." I say as I step forward. She lets out an annoyed groan as she looks to the side, slowly shaking her head. "Not to mention that the heart belongs to a living being." "... A living being?" she asks with mild interest. "Yeah. He's called the Crystal Guardian. Three stories tall, made of the same substance as the heart, obviously. He wants to leave the city and retrieve his heart.” She walks over to the nearby window and looks out to her city. I walk over and my place beside her, waiting for an answer. "I can't let my people lose the greatest sign of hope. It's an integral part of our culture..." "There has to be some kind of compromise we can come to. I don't have the time to wait." "Why? It’s not like that city is going anywhere,” she says, as she continues to look out to the Crystal Empire. "Cadence, it’s started," I tell her. She looks over to me confused, so I motion towards my feet. "My death has started. I don't have time for diplomatic deal, I need this now.” She stares at my feet for a bit before walking back over to Shining, asking him something quietly. Twilight takes this chance to run over to me and pull me down to whisper. "Are you seriously using your death to convince her to do this?" "Well... kind of..." "Miles! This is unethical!" "Well, desperate times call for desperate measures." I say as everyone leaves their little meetings and faces one another. "OK Miles, we've decided to give you the heart, but on one condition," Cadence says, as she and Shining step towards us. "Alright, what?" "You have to bring it back." "... I don't follow." "I want you to take the heart to this Crystal Guardian, and then bring him to me. That’s the only way you're going to get the heart," she says with confidence. I think about it for a second before nodding along. I don't see the harm in having them meet, so it's a win-win really. "Good, Shining, can you take them to the heart. I wish to... go back to bed." "Why don't you take her to bed, we'll meet you at the heart." Twilight offers. "Thanks Twiley, come on you," Shining says as he nudges Cadence along, getting a soft laugh from her. "Good night, I hope you find whatever it is you're looking for," Cadence calls out before heading back down the hall to her room. Twilight and I share a sigh in relief. "That," Twilight says, as she collapses to the ground, "was painful." "Yeah, it could have gone better, but at least we get the heart..." "Yeah, all we have to do next is convince a four story tall, lonely, demanding, crystal being to follow us to the castle without scaring the city half to death. All the while taking their most prized possession. Piece of cake." "Come on... it… can’t be that hard... maybe... well... what's important is that we're getting into the P.C.H.," she snaps me a look to which I put my hands up to. "Okay, we'll figure something out. Let’s just get to the crystal heart already," she groans in agreement and leads the way to the heart. The palace was pretty confusing to navigate, but luckily Twilight knows it fairly well. We make it out of the castle and directly below, where the heart resides. It floats between two thin spires in the middle of an open court beneath the castle. A low hum comes from it as a light glow emanates from its center. There are a few guards are stationed here, but I guess having Twilight with me gives us access. "How exactly do the Crystal Empire ponies view this?" I ask as I walk around it. "Well, when their spirits are lifted during the crystal fair it emits love over the land, protecting it from the harsh badlands; as well as any other threats." Twilight says as she takes a seat before the heart, looking it over as well. "Hmm... alright, so we can't let the Guardian leave with it... I think I have an idea..." "That's good," Shining says as he joins us by the heart, "I was starting to think you were just winging this." "I kind of was, but I have a plan now. Let’s take this and get going already. We're wasting moon light." Shining nods and takes a hold over the heart with his magic. I feel a shift in the air as he sets it in his bag. It's as if.... hmm... as if there's less magic in the air, if that makes sense. "Alright, we have to move quickly before anypony notices. Think we can make it back before sunrise?" Shining asks as we make our way down Main Street. "Probably not," I say nonchalantly. "Great... Cadence is going to have a field day tomorrow..." "I'm sure she'll do fine once she explains the situation." Twilight reassures him, nuzzling his side a bit. "I hope you're right Twiley." Perspective:Fluttershy "DO YOU UNDERSTAND NOW?" "Yes, I understand. I... I..." "I UNDERSTAND YOUR CONCERNS, ANY MOTHER WOULD FEEL THE SAME. BUT THIS MUST HAPPEN!" "I know it has to happen, I just... it won't hurt... will it?" "NO. IT WILL ONLY TAKE A BRIEF MOMENT OF PAIN, THEN!" "Okay. Let’s do this before I change my mind." I stand and close my eyes as I wait for him to begin. I instinctively try to jump away as I feel the crystal begins to grow over my hooves, but calm myself enough to stay on the ground. The crystals work their way to my stomach where I feel them begin to pulsate in power. I close my eyes... hating what has to be done. Author's Note Happy birthday After Touch!! (3/7/13) Go to his HIS PAGE to help me wish him a good one. Brony on! Chapter 166 Dealing With HeartsChapter 166 Dealing With Hearts Perspective: Miles When we finally come crashing down to the entrance we find the streets empty. The light from the center spire has driven the zombies back into the shadows, giving us the perfect chance to make it back to the spire. I ask Twilight if she could teleport us all the way back to the P.C.H., but she hesitates to respond. I ask again, but then Shining butted in to answer. Apparently, they think that I'll explode from being teleported, like when I was changing in Quartz Crest. I want to be offended, but the sad truth is that I might. It happened before; why couldn't it happen again? In the end, I had to magically run to the center while they teleported there. I want to be bitter about it, but their fears are valid. I can hurt them. Therefore, I ran. "They're back!" Fire Burst yells from his sleeping roll as I land just outside of their little encampment. "Did you bring me what I ask for?" "Uh... you didn't ask for anything," Shining says, giving me a completely confused look. "Really.... huh, could have sworn I asked for something,” he says as he thinks deeply about... whatever it was he was looking forward to. "Did you guys get the heart?" True Will asks, getting nods from all of us. "Great. We should get going while the light-" As if on queue, the light suddenly dims from the center spire, stopping True Will mid sentence. "You realize you jinxed that, right?" Dust Devil asks him, getting an annoyed gruff from him. "Anyway, let’s take the heart to the Crystal Guardian and get out of here already," I say as I reach into Shining’s bag and pull out the heart. I give everyone a few moments to gather their things before heading over to the spire. "Okay, we're going to need to make an exit the Guardian can get through. That's going to take a couple of hours waiting at the edge of the city. Keep together and watch the shadows. I don't think they'll come anywhere near the Guardian, but I don't want to take any-" CR-CR-CRACK We all jump back as massive cracks begin to form on the spire. The crystal guardian begins to pull himself free from the column as shards fly all around Shining’s shield, which he had luckily put up instinctively. Once the showers of shards ends, he drops the shield and we approach the guardian, heart in tow. "Hey guys." We all look down and stop as Fluttershy walks out from between his feet. "I have good news." "How did you get in there?" I ask. "Well he-" "Why didn't you tell any of us you went in there!?" Rainbow Dash yells. "I just thought-" "What did you find in there?" True Will asks. "I-" "Were you the one who ate my muffin last week!" Pinkie demands. "*inaudible squeal*" "AHEM, PERHAPS YOU SHOULD LET HER EXPLAIN BEFORE ASKING QUESTIONS!" We all step back and give Fluttershy some space, who looked as if she was about to crumble in on herself. She takes a few deep breaths before standing upright and readying herself. “Okay... Okay... so, when everypony was telling stories... I decided to try to talk to CeeGee here. He led me to the P.C.H. to... well... talk. It turns out that he's dying. You see, he was the cure to the disease here, but nopony was able to administer him. The generators below apparently started becoming overpowered, so the crystal started to form, merging with the spell and making CeeGee here. Now, there was a group of survivors here, but they stayed away from the P.C.H. It was originally crawling with... them. As time went on, he grew larger, and the infested people were driven away. The last of the survivors, at first, were too scared to come near CeeGee. Eventually a small group of twenty made the trip here, and... well... let’s just say they aren't here anymore.” “Ceegee needs ponies to live. They spell was formed to grow and mature with souls and protect them. The disease kills souls, so they thought that this spell would stop the infestation. The reason I was acting crazy earlier was because I was infected as well. Don't worry though! CeeGee already cured me, so I'm fine now. But there's still the problem of CeeGee though. After a long discussion we decided that it would be best to move him to the Crystal Empire. In exchange he'll agree to become the new guardian of the city. So... then I started to leave to tell everypony, and then we talked.. and... well... that's everything so..." "Wait," Shining says as he steps forward. "He wants to protect the Crystal Empire...? Really?" "Well, most of those crystals are offshoots from him anyway, but yes. He needs the hearts, strength, and souls to lift him up. Otherwise he'll wither away. He's only been alive down here because the generators have been fueling him with so much energy. But if you can't take him in, I guess we can..." "NO-NO-NO! We can take him! I mean... we'll see. Let's start by getting him there first." "No, let’s start with the message from my friends," I say, getting a nod from him. "Alright, here's the heart, can we go in now?" I ask, getting the guardian to step aside. I take a deep breath before leading the way inside. Once we walk through the crystal pathway we find the P.C.H. It's still intact, for the most part at least. It has been turned to crystal, and shows evidence of some fighting, but it still stands tall. We make our way through the spinning doors and enter the Mico station. Immediately, a crystal spike goes through seemingly all of the platforms. I guess he doesn't want us going just anywhere. We spread out and search each of the platforms. It takes us a bit, but we eventually find the right one; the armory. Lucky for us, I guess. When we get there I take a seat before the only working terminal and begin to search for the right files. "Whoa," I mumble as I find them, "six videos." "Well, I guess they really missed you," Fluttershy says as I start the first one. Strangely enough, they aren't dated this time. The video starts out with a shot of some wall and... yelling. I listen closely and come to the conclusion that it's Tenera and... everyone, arguing. I shift a bit when I hear them saying my name a lot. Are they trying to force her to do this? "Miles!" Tenera yells as she storms in front of the camera. "Go fuck yourself!" she yells as she flips me off and ends the video. Everyone stays quiet as we stare at the blank screen. I'm a little surprised that she was still mad at me despite Fidus telling everyone what really happened. "Wait a minute," Storm mumbles from behind. "The thing she did with her finger, was that an insult?" "Yup! It basically means fuck you-" "ASS! You used to do that to me all the time!" he yells, getting me to laugh. "Damn straight I did!" We all share a laugh as I turn back to him and flip him off. "How vulgar. Can we please move on?" Rarity asks as she toys with her mane. "Alright, alright, here we go," I say as I start the next video. Again, it's not dated. This time it starts out with Tenera sitting in front of the screen, slouching as she fiddles with something in her hands. It's beneath the table, so I can't see what it is. Her eyes are red, evidence of her recent tears, and she looks a complete mess. "*sigh* Ruby Canyon genetic experiment number 102-C, Alpha. The supposed solution to our problems. A civilization of super people. No ailments. No pain. No disease. Perfection,” she says as she lifts up a syringe and looks it over before the screen. It’s filled with some kind of black substance that... I hope she doesn't inject herself with it. "The last, best, hope for humanity, and it's only for Ruby Canyon citizens," she growls as she tightens her grip on it, anger taking over her face. "Before the last video I went out into the city and beat some guy into a pulp to get my hands on this. I wanted to give it to Fidus... but... 'Do not inject if you have a history of soul fluctuations, have mental disabilities, or are pregnant. Pregnant.... FUCK!" she yells as she smashes the syringe onto the table, shattering it. She slouches over the mess as she breaks down in tears. I shift uneasily as I watch her sob, unable to comfort my friend. I've never seen her this... lost. This broken. "WHY?!" she screams hysterically at the screen. "Why Miles!? She's my sister, how could you hide that from me?! What gives you the right to make that choice Miles? Tell me.... TELL ME!" The video ends. We keep quiet as I sigh to myself. It was the last thing Fidus ever asked me, to not tell anyone. It was one of the last things she said to any of us without it being forced. With a slight shake of my head I start the next video. This time it's being taken from someone’s phone. The city’s emergency alarm is going off and people are panicking in the hallway. The camera turns and enters a room, showing all of my friends getting ready for... something. I don't think it's an invasion, due to the lack of explosions and screaming people. But they seem to be getting ready for some kind of fight. "Fidus! Put your phone away and get back inside your room! It's too dangerous to-" "I'm taking video for Miles!" she yells back, getting them all to pause. "In case he gets inside here, ya know. Give him some clue to what's going on." "... Alright... Captains in the back with Tenera, you should go talk to them," Eximius says as he slides his helmet on. I guess they're letting him fight now, despite his... condition. And hey, Fidus is talking again. That's good... I hope. The camera moves to the back of the room and down a hall where the sound of shots being fired becomes louder and louder. She enters the last room to reveal Tenera and Captain Bellum shooting out of a window. Captain... I take a deep breath as I pause the video. This could be it. This could end everything right now. "Are you alright, Miles?" Fluttershy asks as she nudges my arm. "Do you need a moment?" Rarity asks. "No, no I'm fine. I just... this could end it, you know," I say to them, getting reassuring smiles in response. "Lord I hope so. You know how many close calls I had?" Fire Burst says, getting a smack upside the head from Aurane. I turn back and resume the video. "Fidus? What are you doing here?" Captain Bellum asks as he turns back to reload. "I just-" "Get back to the front room where it's safe!" Tenera yells before firing. "Get Inficiunt in here. We need to destroy all of the roof tops to put them on the same level," Captain says before turning back out the window to fire. "But-" "No buts! Go already!" Fidus sets the camera down, giving us a beautiful view of the ceiling as she goes to confront Bellum. "Susurrans, you need to talk to him already!" She yells off screen. "Not now, Fidus-" "If not now, then when!? You can't keep running from-" "Damn it woman I said-" CRASH Though we don't see it, I know what happened. He called her woman. He has to be pinned on the ground in some kind of hold. Oh what I would give to be able to see this right now. "What did you-" "SORRY, SORRY, JUST STOP! YOU'RE GOING TO BREAK IT!" Bellum yells in pain. "Grab the camera, go to the other room, and talk to Miles." Besides the occasional shot being fired from Tenera, everything goes quiet. Someone grabs the camera and storms out of the room. "Miles," Bellum starts as he lifts the camera to himself. "I know where this is all going. Don't be scared. Don't let up. I know we'll meet again, eventually. Until then." The video ends. SON OF A... HE... AND.... GRAAAAAAAAAAHHH! "Let’s just got to the next one and pretend that went differently," Rainbow Dash says, getting nods from everyone. I let out a sigh of defeat and click the next one. I swear, if I ever get the chance, I'm punching Susurrans in the face for that one. The next one starts out with Tenera sitting in a dark room with her back pressed against the wall. She's in her armor and is holding her rifle with one hand as he holds the phone with the other. She takes a few moments to catch her breath as she shuffles into the corner. "Miles..." she whispers, "they... they; it's too much! Everyone who took the serum... died. Only they're not dead. They came back and started attacking everyone else. We held up at the P.C.H. for a few days, but then the Unfamiliar attacked. At first they were just dealing with the... dead, but then they somehow found a way to fight us both! I don't understand it! The dead are attacking and they find a way to fight US! "I... everyone's evacuating from the city. Or, they already did. I was holding the rear when a wave of Unfamiliar attacked us. About four other Spartans stayed with me to hold them off... I'm the only one left. Miles. I'm so scared. I don't want to become one of them, Miles. I don't want to be here. If Discord finds me-" "WHAT!" Everyone yells behind me, making me pause the video. "Discord was there!? What?! How does... but... huh?!" Twilight exclaims. "Who is Discord again?" I ask, the name feeling familiar. "He... well, he..." "He's the jerk who used to rule Equestria! That's who!" Rainbow Dash yells as she shakes her hoof in the air. "He turned Ponyville into the Chaos capital of the world!" Rarity adds. "He.... he betrayed my trust," Fluttershy says quietly as she shirks away from the group. "Well... now we know where he got his start. Let’s finish this already," I say as I turn back and resume the video. Though a few of the others are whispering to one another about this revelation. "He'll... he'll... I don't even know! He changes people, literally! He turned a man into a lamp, smashed the bulb, then turned him back! How do you fight that!? Inficiunt tried his Boomstick, but that only pissed him off! I don't know how I'm going to get out of here Miles... Miles please... help me." She begins to cry again as the sound of footsteps passes by the door. "Miles..." Then the video ends. Without a word being said, I start the next video. I need to make sure she got out of there safely. Please don't let her die here. Please. The next one starts with Tenera sitting on the edge of a bed, looking less scared than before. She takes a deep breath before looking straight to the camera to speak. "Right... so, stop pleading, Miles. I'm safe now. A... friend, came and rescued me. Um... well... he... I don't think I can do this," she says to... whoever is behind the camera, getting the video to end. That was... beyond confusing. Time to start the next one then. Again, it's Tenera sitting on the bed, probably just moments after the last video. "Okay, so, you need to go to Po... Ponyville? Yeah, go to Ponyville. There's something there that you need to... deal with... Your writing still sh-" And the video ends abruptly. Okay.... more confused now, but last one. This one takes place in the armory we're in now, with Tenera sitting before the computer we're sitting at now. "Okay, three things: go to Ponyville, send Storm to the thing you find there, and give Luna a call. You need to do those things before going to Galena, which is a hundred meters south of the town center in Coalton. I'm leaving my carbine for.... Fluttershy? Who is Fluttershy...? Anyway, keep going. You've got about a week and a half left.... oh, and stand up, your chair is melting." Right on queue, I fall back as the molten pile of crystal slag crumbles beneath me. I jump up and look myself over, seeing that my lines have grown to my waist. "Why is yoooooohhis chair melting? Really... but... anyway, yeah." She pauses for a second as she waits for whoever's recording to stop, only they don't. "What? ... NO! I already did! .... nope, once is enough, now end it already." She gets up and rushes the camera just before it ends. I look back and confirm everyone's confusion before hearing a clicking sound beneath the table. I look beneath and pry open the chest, revealing Tenera’s crystallized carbine. "Well... she did say it was for Fluttershy," I say as I pass it over to her. She takes the long rifle in her hooves and looks it over. She points it down the hall and tries to fire, only to get a click. "Maybe it needs ammo?" she says as she hands it back to me. "No, it was an energy weapon. It shouldn't need-" PEW I accidentally fire a round straight up, having it ricochet off the ceiling and bounce right in front of Fire Burst, blowing a hole in the ground before him. ... ... ... "Well," I start as I hand the rifle back to Fluttershy. “At least we know it works," I try, only getting glares from the three mercs. "I THINK NOW WOULD BE A GOOD TIME TO LEAVE THIS WRETCHED PLACE, UNLESS YOU WISH FOR MORE TO DIE" "That... was not on purpose.... sorry," I say as I stand up. "Alright, let’s go then-" "ALLOW ME" Walls of crystal surround us before we all fall to the ground from the exertion of being forced up. We lie flat against the crystal as it climbs higher and higher through the crust. I'm fairly certain that, at this rate, we've already cleared through the top of the dome. CRASH After an unknown amount of time, I think I blacked out, we come crashing through the ground. We scatter a bit as we fling up into the air and come crashing down. We all groan a bit as we try to get back on our feet while fighting the urge to vomit. "Miles... let’s never do that again," Pinkie says from my side as she wobbly stands. "Sounds good to me," I say as I stumble up. I look back to see the Crystal Guardian reform a few meters from us, keeping clear of the palace. Many of the citizens around here have already crowded around where we landed. Probably looking for their missing relic. An eerie silence falls over the crowd as the gawk at the guardian, unsure of what to say. "Miles!" Cadence whispers loudly to me as she lands beside me. "Where's the heart!?" "Shining should still have..." Before I could finish she runs over to him and starts to have a loud/quiet talk with him. I edge my way over to Twilight and kneel beside her. "Hey, just in case things go south, get ready to teleport everyone out of here." "I'm sure everypony will understand..." "That's what we said about Cadence earlier." I cut her off. She thinks about it for a second before nodding to me. We both turn and watch as Cadence takes the heart out and approaches the Guardian, who takes a knee and sets a fist on the ground. "QUEEN OF CRYSTALS, PRINCESS OF EQUINES, I AM THE CRYSTAL GUARDIAN. I KNEEL BEFORE YOU IN RESPECT OF YOUR DEVOTION TO YOUR PEOPLE. I KNEEL BEFORE YOU IN AWE OF YOUR PASSION FOR LOVE. AND I KNEEL BEFORE YOU IN HOPE THAT I MAY GIVE STRENGTH TO THESE GOOD PEOPLE. MY LIFE IS TO PROTECT THESE PEOPLE. I STRIVE IN THEIR GOOD NATURE, SO PLEASE RESTORE MY HEART. GIVE ME THE POWER TO BRING THE LIGHT TO THEIR LIVES, TO CAST OUT DARKNESS, AND TO BRING FORTH A NEW ERA OF DEVOTION. I LIVED TO SERVE A CURSED PEOPLE BEFORE, LET ME SERVE THOSE WHO LIVE." "Dude... how does he know all of that?" Rainbow asks in a hushed voice. "Crystal Guardian. My name is Queen Mi Amore Cadenza, ruler of the Crystal Empire. What proof do you have to show your good faith to the ponies of my country?" The Guardian stands and reaches towards Cadence, making the heart fly out if her telekinetic grasp and into his palm. He takes a hold of it and presses it into his chest, where it begins to shine brightly. Once he gets it in place, he punches the ground with a massive swing . A tremendous wall of energy shoots out from him and blinds me for a second, pushing me back some as the energy shoots beyond me. "MY PROOF HAS BEEN PREVALENT SINCE THE DAWNING OF YOUR PEOPLE. AS LONG AS THERE IS LIFE HERE, I SHALL STAND" I open my eyes and look around to find everyone having a crystal-y appearance. I look at my own hands and laugh a bit as they shine brightly. I feel the same, I guess it's just.... just... "*cough cough cough* The.... fuck," I stammer as I suddenly begin coughing. I drop to a knee as I hold my chest, feeling a heavy, tense pressure begin to build up. "You alright?" Fire Burst asks as he approaches me. "Are you allergic to shininess?" he asks with a giggle as I continue to cough. "Just.... ju*cough cough* need a... *cough cough cough* AAAAARGG!" I growl as I feel my energy begin to spike. I try to hold it back, but that only intensifies the pressure. "Uh, guys! I think we have a problem..." "AAAAAAHHH!" I scream out as I feel a surge of energy force its way out. I slam my fists onto the ground in an attempt to release it.... KRA-BOOM Perspective: Twilight Two Hours Later Everypony on the train keeps quiet as we edge closer to Ponyville. Miles hasn't woken up yet, though we hadn't expected him to. Another change, this soon. I guess his friend wasn't joking when she said a week and a half. At this this rate.... I tighten my grasp on Storm’s hooves as we both lay on the same bench. I don't want to think about that, not now at least. "It'll be alright, Twi," Storm reassures me as he pulls me closer, putting my back against his unarmored belly. "We knew this day was coming, it's why we went in the first place." "I know, but... I've never lost a friend before. Not like this," I say as I twist around to face him. "How did you do it? When you lost Rain Drop, that is?" I ask, getting a troubled look from him. "I didn't, Twilight. I was.. going down a very slippery slope from that point on. That is, until I met you and Miles,” he says as he rubs his nose against mine. "We'll have each other to keep us strong, Twilight," he says as he leans his head forward and closes his eyes. "I know... Storm?" "Yeah?" "What do we tell Luna?" He opens his eyes and takes a deep breath, trying to think of the best to word this. "Nothing." We both jump and turn around as we see Miles sit up, rubbing his head a bit as he takes in his surroundings. "I'll tell her... *sigh* week and a half huh?" he says as he looks over his hands. They're both ignited in addition to his heels, the lines going up to his knees and elbows. "Eleven days, time to make them count. What happened by the way? Back at the Crystal Empire." Twilight and I look to each other before sitting upright to talk with him. "...You killed Fire Burst," I start slowly, getting a slow sigh from him. "You threw your fist down and caused an implosion. Fire Burst was the only casualty. We explained everything to Cadence, she understands." "That's good, kind of," Miles says as he hugs his knees. "What about the Crystal Guardian? What did he do?" "He... it was amazing actually, he nearly tripled the size of the Crystal Empire. They'll have growth for generations to come. Most ponies didn't even realize we left, they were so happy. New farms to grow, new homes to build... It was the miracle they've been looking for. That, and the Guardian is going to stand sentinel over the city, so their spirits are... higher than when they were freed from Sombra’s curse." "That's good to hear," he says distantly. Everypony stays quiet as the train begins to near Ponyville. I lean against Storm as I try to let all of the stress out. Breathe in.... breathe out. Just like Cadence taught me. No tears now. We need to move on first. The train comes to a stop at the station and Miles tries to leave. We quickly find out that wood burns easily without heat resistance spells. I can tell he was troubled by it, but once we we able to leave the cart he started to feel better. Soil burns, just not as noticeably. We start walking down the street when music begins to draw our attention. "Do you hear that?" Miles asks. "Yeah... it sounds familiar," I say as I look back to the girls, getting nods in confirmation. "Well Ah'd know that music anywhere!" Applejack yells when she pieces it together. "Flim and Flam," True Will says, getting all of us to pause. "How did you know that?" I ask him as he begins to sweat a bit. "Miles, they know where a city is," he says as he pushes forward. "What? How...?" "Because they're the two ponies who've been there before." I pause for a second when I see a tear roll down his cheek. I didn't know he had emotions. This won't end well. Author's Note This is long over due, but give a hand to Alpha AiE for becoming my Pre-reader/editor. Also, AfterTouch has agreed to go though my older chapters (once he gets windows... waiting) so give him some love as well. On another note, whatmustido apparently helped AlphaAiE with this chapter, so thanks for the help. If anyone else feels they're up to the challenge of helping me with older chapters let me know and we'll get to work on that. Brony on! Chapter 167 Diamond Halls: Unknown MemoriesChapter 167 Diamond Halls: Unknown Memories Perspective: True Will I try to push my way to Flim and Flam, but the crowd of ponies stops me from getting closer. I start pulling and pushing others when I suddenly lift off the ground. I look back to see Twilight levitating me back to the group. I try to break out of her grasp, but it's futile. "Well, looky what we got here, brother of mine, it's the same in every town... Ponies with thirsty throats, dry tongues, and not a drop of cider to be found," Flim starts. "Maybe they're not aware that there's really no need for this teary despair." "That the key that they need to solve this sad cider shortage you and I will share," Flam finishes as I see them do a little dance. I reach for my magic and pull my sword out, only to have Miles grab it. "You know what they've done to me," I growl as I try to yank my sword free. "I know. Just... hold on a sec, okay?" Miles says as he watches them intently. I huff a bit as I let go of my sword. I feel a hoof on my shoulder, so I look over to see Dust Devil beside me with everyone watching me. I look away, not wanting them to see me like this. "Well you've got an opportunity... In this very community! He's Flim," "He's Flam," "We're the world famous Flim Flam brothers. Traveling salesponies nonpareil!" "Not this again…. Non-par-huh?" Pinkie grumbles, only to have Flim jump in front of her. "Nonpareil, and that's exactly the reason why, you see Nopony else in this whole place will give you such a chance to be where you need to be And that's a new world, with tons of cider Fresh squeezed and ready for drinking!" "More cider than you can drink in all your days of thinking." "Didn't they do this last time?" Rainbow Dash asks. "So take this opportunity, In this very community, He's Flim He's Flam We're the world famous Flim Flam brothers, Traveling salesponies nonpareil!" "I suppose by now you're wondering 'bout our peculiar new mode of transport." Flim says as he motions towards the strange locomotive. It seems to be a strange carriage made of metal and glowing lights. It reminds me of goblin tech, just without steam. "And I suppose by now you're wondering, where is this promised cider?" "Any horse can make a claim and any pony can do the same." "But my brother and I have something most unique and superb. Unseen at any time in this big new world!" Flam finishes. As they continue to dance and sing, they don't notice Miles moving behind them, inspecting their contraption. "And that's opportunity, folks, it's the one and only, the biggest and the best, the unbelievable, unimpeachable, indispensable, I can't believe-able, Flim Flam brothers' Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 12,000!" they sing together. The crowd of ponies seem unimpressed by all of this. Some even leave, making remarks like, 'not this again' and 'I'm not eating another tree.' I just can't believe that after three years they're still use the same song. Different lyrics, but same idea. "Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 12,000 huh?" Miles says as he walks around front. "Why yes... indeed. Uh..." Flim stutters as he gawks at Miles. "What? Never seen a human before?" Miles jokes as he takes a look at one of the glowing compartments. "Well, can't say I have. Especially one that's on fire." Flam says as he moves over to whisper something to Flim. Miles shrugs off the comment and continues to look over the vehicle. "HEY!" I yell, getting their attention. "What do you two think you're doing here!" They stare at me for a second before going wide eyed. "Well, looky here brother. True Will. Why, I haven't seen your colorful little coat..." "SHUT UP!" I yell as I try to hit them with something. A rock, branch, raw energy, anything. They just deflect it with their own magic as they approach me, chuckling as they do so. "Come now buddy ol' pal of ours," Flim says as he circles around me. "Is that anyway to treat an old..." "Whatta y'all yappin about!" Applejack yells as she gets between the three of us. "Ah thought y'all left fer good. What are ya blabbin about now? Cider season aint till spring!" she says as she kicks some snow in their face, getting laughs from Rainbow and Pinkie. "That may be, but the demand for cider still stands," Flim says as he squares off with Applejack. "That's why we redesigned our Super Speedy Cider Squeezy..." "You mean this truck?" Miles asks as he walks over and motions to everyone to step back. "Uh.... truck.... sure..." "That archaic condenser in there is the same as the ones found in Terradisian transportation trucks. A 450 if I'm not mistaken. Where'd you get it?" "I assure you, all Flim Flam Brother inventions are of our own design..." "No, it's not," Miles says as he moves back to the machine. The two brothers glance back to me before following after Miles. I look back to Twilight and glare at her, trying to get her to let go of me. She just ignores me and walks with everyone to listen to what Miles has to say. Even dragging me along in the air. "I could bring my jeep over and show you a smaller version of it. So where did you get it?" he asks as he leans against the machine, waiting for the answer. "We already..." "Just tell him already!" I yell. "I'm sorry, last time we checked, we didn't take orders from you. Then again, you didn't seem to take orders either..." "SHUT THE HELL UP!" I yell as I try to grab them, even though they are well away from my grasp. "Alright, then let me try," Miles says as he stops leaning on the carriage and pulls out his rifle. "Where–" PATPATPATPAT Everypony jumps when his rifle suddenly opens fire. He lets go immediately and stares at it, trying to figure out what just happened. "Look, nopony needs to get hurt here," Flim says as he backs away from Miles, shaking slightly. "Yes, look. We found some old city in the middle of Zebra country. Just outside the Nzuri ya Ardhi!" Flam yells as he covers his sensitive ears. Miles looks back to everyone before storming off. Most of the girls run after him, but Fayte, Aurane, Dust Devil and Twilight stay behind. I look back to Twilight and motion for her to follow after them. "Can I trust you to not do anything rash?" she asks as she glances over to everypony. "There is nothing rash about what needs to be done," I tell her confidently. She gives me a quizzical look before dropping me. I get to my hooves and glare over to Flam. "True Will," she says as she steps in front of me. "Remember that you are a part of something bigger than yourself. Don't ruin what they've worked for with your..." "Twilight, don't try to lecture me. You don't know the first thing..." "I know what Damian told all of the Spartans," she says, silencing me. I take a deep breath as I think back to that day. Just after training no less. "Look, I don't know why you did what you did, but I know you carry it with you. Don't..." "Twilight, you're a good kid. You've done great things in your life and you've always been there for your friends, but you've never sacrificed before. Yeah sure you've had some close calls and unpleasant memories, but NOTHING you've been through compares to the pain I've felt. Don't try to lecture me. Don't try to help. Just go; go back to your perfect little world with your perfect friends and let me be," I say, getting her to back off a bit. "I'm not perfect..." "No, but your life is. Just watch. The minute Miles dies, you're going to go back to your little, care-free, fairy tale life. You don't know the dark side of life because you've been with ponies like Celestia and the Royal Guard. So don't worry about me. Just go and get ready for life," I say as I step towards her. She shrinks a bit as I stand over her, glaring at the shaking form beneath me. "Will..." "DO NOT CALL ME THAT!" I yell as I push her down. "I...I...oh..." She runs off crying. I watch her for a bit before sighing. That was... too much. She didn't deserve that. What is wrong with me? My ear twitches, making my head turn back to the two brothers. "Did you think I forgot about you two?" I ask as I turn to face them. They stop just before the step to their locomotive and slowly turn back to me. "Well... uh, surely some kind of..." "Shut it." "Okay," Flim mutters as he sits beside his brother.They press their backs against the vehicle and stare at me, wide eyed, as they wait for me to do whatever it is I'm going to do. "This..." "True Will," Fayte says from the side, "don't do this." "Stay out of this Fayte," I growl at him. "Listen, I'm a halfling like you. We get enough of a bad rep..." "I don't care about that! This is personal. This is my cause," I say through gritted teeth as I glare back to the two shaking ponies. "You two will pay what happened to Lily." "True Will, please. Don't harm them," Aurane begs. "Pft. No, I'm not going to harm them. I have something much worse in store for these two." ........................................................................................................................................................ Perspective: Spike "Finished, finally." I sigh in relief with my work finally finished. One completely organized, dust free, shiny library... THUD Something slams into the front door so hard that half of the books fall from the shelves. I can only gawk as I watch all of my hard work is ruined in a matter of seconds. Ticked off, I jump down from the ladder and march to the front to– "Spike!" Twilight yells in a panic when she nearly runs into me. She's a bit of a mess, with her mane a bit mangled and tears staining her cheeks. I can tell she's been crying for a bit, due to her puffy, red eyes. She tries to cover them up, but finds the mess she made in the process. "I'm... I'm sorry Spike. I'll clean it...." I don't let her finish. It doesn't matter anyway. I scoop her up in my arms and hold her tightly. She sobs a bit more as she hugs me back, burying her face in the crook of my neck. I don't know what did this to her, hopefully it wasn't Miles' or dad’s death, but they will pay for this. I don't know how long we held each other like this. Not that it mattered. My mother was crying and I needed to comfort her. Nothing was said. But our love to one another was definitely conveyed. It's what she needed. "Anypony home?" We hear Storm yell out from the front room, making us break our hug. I set her down and let her collect herself as I straighten out. Sometimes being so tall isn't all that great... ponies are short. "Not a word to Storm,” she says as she finishes wiping her eyes. "My lips are sealed," I say as I lock my lips. She gives me a smile before leading the way down to the front room, where we find Storm picking up the books. "What the heck, Spike? I thought I told you to have this place at least picked up when we got back,” he says as he starts putting them back on the shelves. "Yeah... sorry about that," I say as I glance down to Twilight, who blushes a bit. "I had a little mishap with a spell and... yeah," I say as I rub the back the back of my neck. He gives me a look before shaking his head slightly. "Whatever. I'll let it go for now. I've got some bad news everypony." "Is it about Miles? What happened?" Twilight asks as she starts levitating the books up, setting them back with total ease. "No, that was Miles being overpowered. He can't use guns from now on. No, this is about Diamond Halls," he says as he pauses and looks at a book. "*sigh* there's no easy way of saying this, so I'll just say it. To get there will be a two year trip..." "WHAT!?" Twilight yells, dropping several books in the process. We look to one another before rushing over to his side. "But Zecora does it in two months! Why would it take you two years?" "Well, Zecora takes a blimp. By boat it's two years," he says as he looks away. "So, why can't you take the blimp?" I ask, a bit confused. "There's only one blimp that goes and... well. I tried to get a ticket but... *sigh* Twilight, I can't go." He says to her, almost pleading. "Why not?" she asks. Storm glances to me before stepping beside Twilight and whispers something in her ear. "WHAT!? THAT'S YOUR CONTACT!" "I know, I know. He's usually been fair, but... now he won't even deal with me..." "Then he'll deal with me! I'll go talk to..." Twilight starts, but stops when Storm raises a hoof and slowly shakes his head. "That's just it. When I asked him what kind of deal we could work out, he told me to send you to talk to him. I know what that means, and I won't do it. I'll have to take a boat instead." I just stand there as they stare at one another. I have no clue what's going on, but I can tell it's bad. "I'll go talk to him," Twilight says quietly as she turns and heads up stairs. "No Twilight! I don't..." "And I don't want to lose you for TWO years Storm. Two months is bad enough, but... two years!? It's out of the question," she says as she heads up the stairs. Storm and I glance at one another before running after her. I don't know what to think, but I still want to know what's going to happen. We find Twilight by her bed, removing the armor Rarity made. Storm and I quickly move to her side, only to have her things thrown in our arms... er, hooves in Storms case. "Twilight-" "I'm just going to talk to him. No deals. Just talking. okay?" she asks as she turns to us, setting her bags on the bed. "Then I'm coming with you-" "No. I'm going to do this on my own. You need to go check on Miles, see what he thinks. I won't be long." She takes off for the door without another word. Storm and I drop her things and follow after her, trying to bargain with her. "Twilight, nothing can be gained there. Why are you-" "Because I want to talk with him," she deadpans as we step into the front room. "Can't he just fly there? How about just-" "No. I'm sorry but this is happening." She reaches the door and wraps a scarf around her neck before facing the two of us, smiling as the ties it off. "I'll be back as soon as possible. Wish me luck." "Twilight..." "Storm, you tell me if two years is really better than two months... We all have to make sacrifices sometimes. I'll work something out, I promise." Twilight gives him a kiss on the cheek before leaving the library. Storm and I stand there in an eerie silence. For my part, I'm just trying to figure everything out. What's so bad about this blimp that Storm would take a two year journey? Why is Twilight the only one fighting for him to go? "Spike," Storm says quietly as he turns to me. "C'mon. Let's get this place cleaned up." "Is... is everything alright?" I ask, trying to fight back my nerves. Storm walks over to a nearby book pile and starts to set them back on the shelves. "Dad?" "...Yeah. Yeah, everything's going to be fine. Let's get this mess picked up so we can start dinner." ........................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Miles One Hour Later After I set my guns in the weapon locker; having to use magic to not set them off, and fixing Fluttershy’s rifle I finally get to head up to relax. The gun she found couldn't be properly operated, being completely made of crystal. So I worked the gem out and set in another carbine, setting the same enchantment I did on the last one. Ends up that at my level of power I set off any of the rifles I own just by holding them, leaving me with my blades. I'm not sure how that'll affect our runs to the cities, I just hope we don't face anything too... no. I don't have time to worry. A week and a half. Eleven days. We need to move– "MILES!" Butterscotch yells as she jumps in my way at the top of the steps. She's holding herself out in an attempt to block my view of something, but is failing due to my height. "SO! Uh... wanna head into town?" "Town... what's going on?" I ask as I try to step around her, only to get her to jump in my way. "Well... being completely honest, we uh... are moving furniture," she says as she eyes the back door to my home. I look over and see E'Claire trying to fit one of the beds through the door... "Oh," I mutter when I realize what she means. She doesn't want Shadow seeing me. "Yeah... sorry Miles. But, she's getting better now. I just-" "No, I get it. No need to open old wounds. I'll-" "Come with me!" We both snap to the side to find Trixie running out of the woods. She has a few scrapes and bruises along with some twigs and leaves in her mane. She comes to a stop before us and tries to catch her breath. "What ha-" "The... the... *huff* wolves.... and... *pant* chasing..." She tries, but is too tired from running. "Uh... okay. Let’s go then," I say. Butterscotch escorts us to the front of the house before the sound of breaking glass draws her back. I try not to think about it. About anything really. I'd rather be on our way to the next city, but everyone does need a good rest. I can give them a day... I think. "So... how are you feeling?" Trixie asks, finally catching her breath. "I... good, kind of," I tell her. "Oh, that's good. Does it hurt?" "Imagine having your horn constantly emitting energy. My feet are starting to feel numb and my hands are getting tired. Not to mention-" "MILES!" We both stop as we hear some mare yelling my name in the park. We turn to the left to see a light green mare, with light grayish cyan hair that has a streak of white. Right behind her is another mare with a light cream coat and blue hair with a streak of pink. They run right up to us and slide to a stop. The light green one rears up and set her hooves on her hips.... What the fuck.... She's wearing light brown pants... A pony is wearing pant.... This PONY is wearing PANTS.... Pants on a pony... "My name is Lyra Heartstrings and this is my friend Bon Bon. We've formed a club called 'The Friends of Humans Coalition'! We'd like to..." Whatever else she says is lost to me. She's wearing pants. Why is this so wrong? I thought not having to see her vag would be a good thing. Though, I have become desensitized to that sight.... except for Luna’s. OH SHIT! I was supposed to call her. Shit! Well, at least she isn't expecting a call. I'll have to... "...So, what do you say?" She asks, breaking my concentration. "Uh..." "Miles does not have the time for a club meeting at this time," Trixie says as she steps between us. Lyra deflates a bit, but tries again. "Well... that's alright. We meet every Friday in this park. If you can make it, we'd love to ask you a few questions about human society," she says before setting her front hooves back down. They start to slowly walk away, heads held low, lips trembling, eyes tearing up... "Wait up," I call out, getting them to perk up. "I can answer a few questions right now, but just a few." Lyra practically launches herself back in front of me, smiling from ear to ear. Bon Bon seems content with Lyra’s reaction, taking a seat beside her. "Okay ,okay ,okay, um.... why do humans wear clothing all of the time?" she asks, shaking in anticipation. "Well... taking a more scientific approach, it's a socially engineered tool to show modestly. Humans are social beings, being so strong emotions drove our evolution. Embarrassment being a strong one. Once we started becoming embarrassed about being nude, we formed clothing to be modest. Socially, people find embarrassed people more trustworthy and excepting." "OOOOh! I get it!" Lyra exclaims as Bon Bon mumbles something under her breath. "Okay... um... how did your culture become so militarily based? Why did fighting become so central?" "Well, because we had to. Terradisia rose from the ashes of the Purgian war and was driven by a war with the Unfamiliar. Our existence was a stake. Our enemy was unrelenting and innumerable, so we had to cultivate a mind set that could fight back." "Wow... my last question is, if the Unfamiliar came to this planet and attacked your people, why didn't they attack the ponies?" I take a deep breath as I try to think of a logical answer. There’s Inficiunt’s theory that Spatium made a deal with them, but I refuse to believe that. "Honestly, why should they have? Ponies weren't a threat. Once they destroyed us, they could have taken over the planet easily. The better question is, where did they go? I'm sorry, I have to head back home... I forgot to do something. Goodbye." "THANKS MILES!" Lyra yells as I run back home. I make a mad dash through the park, burst through the front door, and go straight for my room. I whip out my phone and notice that the screen is shining too brightly to read anything. Luckily I can just hit the call button twice to call her. ... ... Come on, pick up. ... ... "Miles! Where are you?" Luna asks in a sleepy, yet worried voice. "I'm home, I'm in my room-" The call ends. I set my phone down on the nightstand and take a deep breath as I prepare for this. FLASH I look over to my closet door and watch it slowly open, revealing my blue beauty. She has really bad bed-head and bags under her eyes from lack of sleep, but she's the most beautiful thing ever right now. We walk up to one another slowly where I drop before her. "Miles..." she mumbles as she eyes the lines on my arms and legs. "How long?" "According to Tenera, a week and a half," I say as I reach out for her. She moves her head away from my hand, fearing being burned. "Trust me on this." She looks me in the eyes and holds still, letting me move my hand behind her ear to hold her head. "Miles..." "Our souls are connected, so I can't hurt you like this," I say as I pull her into my embrace. She collapses on me and wraps her forelegs around me as she sobs a bit. I don't know how long we stay like this, but an alarm on her phone pulls us apart. "Heh, I learned to use a few things on this. I'll be back, I have to go raise the moon," she says as she still holds onto me. I lean forward and press my lips against hers. She pushes back, her soft lips quivering against mine as we tighten our holds on each other. After a few memorizing moments she twists her head to break contact, pressing her forehead against mine. "Go, I'll be here," I tell her. She looks back to me for a moment before giving me a final peck and leaves. I let my hand drag along her body as she leaves, savoring the feeling of her soft coat against my fingers. She glances back to me before finally taking the Mico platform back. I take a deep breath- "Oh my." I look over to see Trixie standing in the doorway, blushing deeply. "Knocking, anyone? Really?" I ask aloud, not necessarily to her. "I'm sorry, you kind of just ran here without saying anything. Not to mention you didn't close the door!" she defends, stepping back. "I'll just go... actually. I wanted to ask you something." "What's up?" I ask as I stand up and stretch a bit. "Well... can I go to this next town?" I stop mid stretch and look over her, seeing the determined look on her face. "Why the fuck would you want to go-" "Am I your friend or not?" she demands as she steps forward. "Well, yeah, but-" "Then as your friend I am going to help while I can. I don't think I can manage more than one like the rest, but I've heard from the others that Diamond Halls is far away. I want to help there. I know it can be dangerous, but I still want to go-" "Alright." "Nothing you can say will change my mind! I will go and that's final!" "Okay then-" "Dammit Miles, don't argue with me. I'm going-" "TRIXIE!" I yell, getting her attention. "I said yes." "... what? Really? Why?" she asks in astonishment. "Like you said, all of my friends are risking their lives for me. Not to mention I think Diamond Halls will be the safest city to travel to. You want to show you care, and you feel this is the way to do this. Thank you. Go find Storm and let him know what's going on. Tell him that I said to train you a bit before leaving." I let her know as the room slowly begins to darken. Trixie looks up to me and smiles, stepping completely into the room. I glance about the room before realizing what's going through her mind. "Miles-" "First off, married. Secondly, I'd burn the skin off of you. Thirdly, no, married." She stops her approach and looks away, clearly hurt by the rejection. "Trixie, I'm sorry. But I don't love you like that. You're... I love you the same way I'd love my best friend’s kid. Do you understand?" She turns away from me and steps out the door, where she pauses to look back to me. "I understand Miles," she says before leaving the room. I take a deep breath as I hear a flash ring from the closet. "I'm back," Luna says as she walks in, looking more awake. "Where were we?" she asks sensually as she canters over to me. "Uh... actually, can we just talk? I.. I'm just tired." I say, slightly disappointed with myself for getting the mood killed. "Oh, okay. What's up?" I walk over to the bare section of the wall and press my back against it as I drop to the ground. Luna lays to my right and lays her head on my lap. I drape one arm around her and hold her hoof with my other hand, enjoying her presence. I close my eyes and let the serenity of the moment lull over me. "Miles?" "There's a lot to tell. So much has happened in the past few days. Top of the list was meeting my mother." "... you.... what?" she asks in disbelief. "Yeah, she was with that hooded woman... I still find it hard to believe. I met my mother Luna. I wish you were there,, you would have loved her," I say as I think back to the memory.... memory. "Luna, want to see her?" "I'd love to, but how could I?" she asks as she looks back up to me. I just smile down to her as I move my hand from her back to her horn. "Here, I'll show you." I take a deep breath as I feel myself delve into the depths of my consciousness. When I open my eyes, I find myself in my mind with Luna. "Let’s go meet my... our mother." I tell her, getting a warm smile from her as we walk down the hall of memories together. ............................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Storm January 10th, 6:00 AM A/N: From here on out, the story take a small tangent. These events happen... somewhat simultaneously with the next chapters. Think of this one as an offshoot. Perspective: Storm I feel Twilight nudge me a bit, so I grab the sheets in an attempt to hold onto the last moments of sleep- THUD Or Twilight can pull them out from under me and I can fall to the ground. Great. With a tired groan I pick myself up and head to the restroom. I don't know how she did it, but somehow she managed to make a deal with Cheesus. Even better, we were able to snag tickets for all of the Spartans, the two mercs, and Trixie as well. After I finish up I head downstairs to have a quick breakfast with Twilight, finding her cooking something on the stove. "Morning," I say as I take my seat. "...Morning." she replies, sounding distant. "So... did you sleep well?" I ask, trying to start a conversation. "...Yes." "... are you okay Twilight? You seem... distant." I say as I stand and approach her from behind. She glances back to me and offers me a smile before taking the frying pan to the table. "I'm fine, really. Just... not used to being up this early, I guess. But enough about that. We don't have a lot of time before you need to leave." Though she tries her best to sound sincere, I can tell something is eating away at her. I approach her from behind and wrap my forelegs around her waist, getting her to sit with me. "Hey." "Hey." "What's wrong?" I ask as I start to nuzzle her cheek. She looks away for a moment before turning back and kissing my cheek softly. "You know I love you, right?" The question catches me off guard, but I nod along. "Well... what would be the one thing I could do that would get you to stop you from loving me?" "Twilight-" "Please. I need to know." she begs. I take a deep breath as I try to think of anything that could do that. "... I can't think of anything–" "There has to be something. Where is the line? I don't want to find it, I want to know where it is! Please, where is the line?!" she demands hysterically. She tries to break free of my grasp, but I won't let her. She finally gives up and breaks down, levitating out a vial with a turquoise potion inside. "Twilight... what's that?" I ask as she sets it on the table. "It's the deal. I'm suppose to slip this into your food before you leave," Twilight says as she tries to compose herself. "What does it do?" "I don't know, he didn't tell me." "Well.... what do you think it does?" "I don't know Storm. I've been up almost all night thinking about it. I don't know." I let go of her and take the vile in my hoof. We both stare at it for a second before I move it to my mouth to remove the cork. "Storm..." "Two months. I'll be back before you know it," I tell her before I swallow the potion. "Bleh, taste like... like... thud." ......................................................................................................................................................... January 10th, 12:00PM I awake to the sound of somepony running by my door. I lift my head from the pillow and.... where am I? I'm in a small room, barely fitting for a pony to live in. The only pieces of furniture are the bed I lay in, a night stand at the base of the bed, and a desk— No chairs, no cushioned seats, no kitchen, just a shittier apartment than what I already had. "Hello?" Somepony asks as she pokes her head inside. She has a white coat and long light brown mane. "Oh good, you're awake-" "Did we buck?" I ask, somewhat hopeful. She pauses for a second to process the question, then laughs. "Dude, I doubt you swing that way," she says as she steps inside and shuts the door, lifting her tail to show her large.... his large balls.... he is a stallion, who looks like a mare. "What's going on? Where am I? Who are-" "You don't remember? Well, you were pretty drunk, but a contract’s a contract," he says as he walks over to me and yanks me out of bed. "Contract? Drunk? What are you talking about? The last thing I remember was getting home from work last night, I didn't sign up for-" "Come with me, I'll explain on the way," Hhe says before heading out the door. I take a look around before sighing and trotting after him. What kind of crazy nonsense have I gotten myself into now? We travel down the hall and take an elevator up. When the operator lets out... my jaw nearly breaks off. I'm in a casino. A really, really, over the top, high bit, casino. Dozens of brightly lit slot machines line the walls as crowds of ponies, along with some other species, huddle around the tables. Sexy mares in maid outfits walk around, dropping off drinks of taking orders, as buff stallions in black pants and ties do the same. "So, Storm Cloud. You're going to be working here for the next six weeks; ready to begin?" The stallion beside me asks as he pushes my jaw back up. "...What exactly am I going to be doing?" I ask as one of the maids walks by me and winks... best dumb plan ever made while intoxicated. "Follow me and I'll show you." I nod and follow him as I continue to stare out at the game floor. A few mares are already looking my way, ogling me with lust filled eyes. I don't get why, but I'll "SON OF A-" I yell when I suddenly feel somepony grab my flank. I jump up and look back to see a young mare laughing at me. "WOO baby, when you go up?" She asks as her friends join in the laughter. "Uh-" "Later today sweet cheeks," my escort says in a sultry tone as he canters up to the three mares. "Be sure to buy your tickets, and get ready for a show." They all giggle a bit more as they pull out their silver tickets. "Go... up? Tickets? What am I doing here exactly?" I ask the stallion beside me. "Well, let me show you already,” he says as he walks off, swaying his hips all along the way. I look back to the mares before running after him. We walk down a hall and stop before two large ornate doors. The two Orc bouncers nod to us as we walk in.... "Nope. Not again," I say as I start to turn away, only to be pulled back in. "Sorry hun, but you've already signed on.... again?" he asks. "Well.... I didn't have a job for about six months.... gotta pay the bills ya know. Wait, don't you know this already?" "No, I was just told to give you a hoof in getting ready. I was also told to tell you that you don't really have a choice, unless you want to spend your time here in the brig." Dammit, stupid drunk idiot. "So, my name's Squishy, and I'll be your stripper, and escort! Let’s get started!" We spend a few hours going over all of the basic. Apparently they gave me a potion to grow muscle, because I'm suddenly ripped. Explains all of the stares I was getting earlier. Sadly, I have to do this, or they ditch me in Hayte. Well... I can't say having to have sex is a bad payment though. Not to mention free booze after working, something I'll probably need desperately. So, here I am. Sitting in front of a vanity mirror waiting for my named to be called... well, my stage name at least. May as well do the checklist again. Helmet straight, check. Pants uncomfortably tight, check. New found muscles oiled up, check. Fake armor shining, check. Crowd winning smile... I'll manage. "Captain Fifth Leg, you're up," calls a stage hoof. I groan a bit, both from the job and the name, and get into position. I grab the pole in the center of the stage, take my position, and wait. The stage hoof’s give the all clear and start pulling on ropes to lift the stage. Here we go... I guess. The lights blind me for a second before I'm able to take in my surroundings. The circular stage I'm standing on takes up the center of the room. To my far left is a bar that has a DJ's booth to the right. Lounge chairs and lusty mare (sadly, a few stallions as well) fill the rest of the room as some music begins to blast. As the music begins, I start to shuffle a bit. The floor beneath me was slanted so when the ponies throw money here, it slides to the opening around the edge. This also makes it a bit strange to stand on my rear legs. Taking a glance around, I start to put a little more enthusiasm into my movements, trying to get the mares to turn away from their drinks. Once I get enough looks, I squat down and rip the fake armor off, revealing my muscular form. "WOOOO! C'MON BABY! TAKE IT OFF!" yells some mare in the audience. I smile at the enthusiasm and begin to.... ugh, work the pole. I need to remember to not drink so much in the future. I jump up, going higher then I thought I would due to the new butt muscles, and flip myself upside down. From there, I rotate around as I slowly let myself slip to the base of the pole, where I let my lower half drop to be parallel with the ground. Last time I did this, I threw out my back. Gotta love new muscles. When I hear bits hitting the ground around me, I hoist myself up right and drop down; gyrating my hips as I flex my chest for all the mares. I look out at the crowd, out of boredom really, and pony gaze. Hm, bachelorette party, some older mares, some large red stallion with a few buff mares, some extremely beautiful light purple unicorn, drunk mare.... wait a minute. I grab the pole behind me and slide down slowly as I stare out at the unicorn. She's wearing one of the maid outfits serving drinks. She has long blue hair with has a streak of pink in it that curves slightly. Her light blue eyes seem to shine through her tired expression as she trots through the raging mares. Remembering my place, I tear my pants off as I stand back up. Lucky for me (but more for the crowd) staring at this mare made me semi erect. A torrent of bits comes crashing down onto the platform as I saunter around, trying to keep my gaze on the mare. She looks back to me and blushes deeply when she sees... me. Wanting to be modest, I turn away from her and climb up the pole. When I flip back, I see her walk through the front doors of the club. Damn. At least I got to see her cutie mark... A sunset... or is it a sunrise? ............................................................................................................................................................ January 18th, 12:00 AM With a tired groan I make my way from The Strip House to the guest rooms. Someone called for an escort, which means fun for me... right? I keep seeing the mare from my first night. I haven't had the chance to talk to her yet, but I'm slowly getting clues about her. Her name is Golden Ray. She's eighteen, really likes cherries, works day shifts, and doesn't seem to want to be here. Most of the other workers are happy and having fun, but not her. She seems so distant, so... sad. I can't think about this right now. I'm at the room, I need to put on my little persona and make sure these mares have a good night. *sigh* hopefully this will go by quickly. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK I lean by the door and put on an unamused expression as I hear the two mares run to the door. When it flies open, a light blue pegasus with green hair pulls me in and slams the door shut. "okay, okay, okay... wow." Her friend, a white unicorn with orange hair, says as she looks me over. "Like what you see?" I ask as I step towards her. "I'd say." The other mare says as she grabs my flank. Something that used to bother me, but is now dulled. "I assume you ladies know the protocols," I say as I enter their large room. "Y-yeah. No kissing, no means no, and.. uh..." "No tools on me," I tell her as I trace a hoof along the unicorn’s face. She practically melts under my hoof, a light trail of drool leaving the corner of her mouth. "So... do we just get to it or... what?" the pegasus asks, her wings already erect. "I'm here. We can play games, talk, go for a walk, do the dirty deed, whatever you want," I say as I move over to their couch and take a seat. Need to play it cool, act like I want to be here, but don't care what happens. The two mares look to each other before running to the seats beside me. They waste no time running their hooves over my body, feeling every muscle with tender movements. "So... who first?" the blue pegasus asks her friend. "Uh... let’s see what he's got first." The unicorn chuckles as she moves her hoof between my legs. I lay my head back and sigh as she begins to stroke my flaccid member. A few strokes in I remember why I'm here, and reach out to begin to rub the two mares. Going off of their signals, I go straight for their spots and apply pressure to the front of their folds. They both shudder from the feeling and giggle as my erection peaks out. "okay, I'm going first." The pegasus says as she clambers onto my lap, facing me. I rest my hooves on her hips as she eases down onto me, laughing slightly from the pleasure. I let her make a few moves before I lift her up and twist around, dropping her onto the couch. I take charge over the movements as I grab the other mare and pull her over so she's standing over her friend. Well, at least they're clean. Not much of a desirable backside though. Shrugging, I move in and begin my oral work. I keep my thrusts timed and measured as I remain methodical about my oral work. This is a job, not something for my pleasure. Not that I'm worried I'll go early, but if they don't finish it'll make my employer look bad. And as Squishy has made clear, that's a no-no. Pay wise at least. I can tell the mare beneath me has never had a stallion my size before, both from her tightness and the way she's screaming in pleasure. She should cum soon, giving me plenty of time to finish off the top mare. "AAAH SHIT! BUUUUCK! AAH!" Well... that was quicker than I thought. I wait for her to fall limp before pulling out, leaving her friend right on the edge. "Are you-" CLICK My head snap back to the door as some unicorn stallion enters the room. He takes two steps before looking right me, tilting his head in confusion. "Uhh... I wasn't told there was-" "Don't worry, I was the one who called for you," he says as he steps inside and shuts the door. I gawk at him as I try to piece everything together. He paid for me to buck these mares... I don't get it. "It was amazing babe, but I didn't get to finish." The unicorn mare pouts as she clambers off the other mare. She canters her way to the stallion and locks lips with him, sliding her tongue inside his mouth sloppily. "Uh..." "I think you can go now," the pegasus says as she cuddles up into a ball. "He'll take it from here." Before I could say anything a magical field lifts me up and tosses me towards the door. CRASH Well... at least something soft broke my fall. As the door slams shut I pick myself up and turn to... to... to... "Ow, what was that for?" Golden Ray asks from beneath me. I... I can't believe it. Here she is. I finally get a chance to- "Oh sweet Celestia... is that... um... I have to go," she says as she begins to blush. She pushes me off of her and begins to sprint down the hall. Shaking my head clear, I stand up and run after her. "Wait, Golden Ray!" I call out, getting her to stop. "How do you know my name?" She asks as she turns to face me. "I.... well, I looked it up." I admit, looking down from guilt. "I saw you at my first show and.... well, I can't stop thinking about you. I know that's cheesy and all... but it's true. So... wanna get a cup of coffee?" I look back up to her and try to smile, my nerves betraying me as I twitch a bit. "I don't usually date co-workers... or stallions who ask me out with massive erections," she points out. I glance down before feeling completely embarrassed. I lift a leg in an attempt to cover up, but that's a little impossible. "Sorry about that. I was.... I just finished a job." I say, blushing slightly as she stares at it. "Finished?" "Well... the job at least. So..." "Look, I'm sure there are plenty of other mares here who would-" "No, trust me on this. I talked to other co-workers and heard plenty of the guest. And... well, not to be mean, but they all seem so... dumb." "Dumb?" "Like, I could have a real conversation with any of them. The farthest I got was when I was talking to one of the other escorts about cereal.... cereal. I don't know, I see you, and I feel as if we could talk for hours about anything. That sex would be something more than a job. So, do you want to go out with me?" She doesn't answer me. Instead she motions down the hall and begins to walk away. I take a deep breath before following after her. I see two possibilities from this. Either she brings me to Squishy and reports me, or we get coffee. I'm hoping for the latter of the two. I'd really hate to walk home from Hayte. We end up in the employee bed hall. We head to the end of the hall and enter the last possible door. It's another small, dismal room. Similar to mine. She goes under the bed for a second and drags out a large duffle bag. She unzips it and steps aside, letting me looks inside. Books. Lots and lots of books. I glance back to her, getting a shy grin, before pulling a couple out. Solar trajectory for Idiots, Photosynthesis and You!, Stars- Big and Small. "What are all of these?" I ask as I dig through them. "Astronomy books. I'm going to Hayte for a chance to study that hemispheres stars. I.. well, it's something I do." She says with a slight blush. I set the books back down and turn to her, smiling at her shy nature. "If you're an astronomer, then why are you here... doing this?" "Well, I'm trying to get into a college for astronomy. But... I'm not the best at it. So I figured that if I could get some notes and actual experience in the working field, I'd have a better shot. Sadly, astronomers don't get very much in pay. So, I made a deal with Cheesus. Work on the party blimp, get a free ride to Hayte. I think it's a fair trade. Why are you here?" "Me? Pfft, I apparently got drunk and signed on. Last thing I remember was getting home from work and crashing on the couch." "...And what do you do?" she asks with a slight blush. I smile back to her and take a seat on her bed, patting the spot next to me. "Come over here and I'll tell you." ....................................................................................................................................................... January 24th, 10:35PM I stand in the shower and let the warm water wash over me. Another night of... services has left me a bit tired... and blue. Words gotten around that I'm able to finish off mares before finishing myself. Good for them, bad for me. I don't think I can go another week without some release without exploding. I asked Golden if she wanted to... help, but it ends up she's a virgin... so yeah. I get to wait. Once finished with my shower, I dry off and head out. The earth pony mare I worked on is still fast asleep, so I try to make it out as quietly as possible. At least it was only one mare today. Yesterday was just... too much. Griffins... enough said. I check my little black book and smile when I notice I'm done for the night. Excited, I take off for Golden’s room, I think she got off about half an hour ago. This is how it's been since that one night. We work all day and try to meet up as quickly as possible. She doesn't have to do anything at night, so we usually meet in her room. We've kissed at least. It was short and she nearly fainted, but it was awesome. I make it to her door and pause to catch my breath before entering. "Golden?" I ask as I enter, finding the room empty. I shrug it off and step all the way inside. She probably wanted to go use the shower or something. It's odd that they don't give us our own showers, but it makes sense for the expenses and all. I lay on her bed and let myself relax a bit. CLI-SLAM "STORM! You're here earlier than I thought you would be!" she says from behind the door. "Everything alright?" I ask as I stand up. "Yeah, just... um, can you please turn around?" She asks with a quiver. "Uh... sure. What's going on?" I ask as I turn around. She steps inside and stays quiet, so I just stand there and wait for her to do what- FWOOSH I nearly launch myself when I feel her touch my flank. I turn around to ask her what's going on, but stop when she kisses me. My eyes snap wide open as our lips press firmly against each others. When she finally pulls away, a slight string of saliva stay connected between us. "So... uhm, do you... want to-" Before she could finish I press forward, kissing her this time. We hold each other as I push my tongue into her mouth. She tenses up a bit, but allows me to press on. I quickly find her tongue and begin to dance around it, getting her to moan deeply. I trace my hooves along her back until I reach her flank, where I give a firm squeeze. She breaks our kiss to look down, glancing at my eager member as it presses against her. "Are you sure you want to?" I ask as I hold her. She stares at it for a bit longer before she looks up to me and nods. "But, is there a way you won't... last so long?" She asks, her blush growing deeper. "Well, there is oral." "What's that?" "Well... let me show you." She gives me a confused look, but follows me to the bed anyway. I lay her down and position myself over her, barely letting our coats touch. She keeps her legs tucked in as I begin to kiss her along her neck. Every little peck down her body earns a cute moan and a shiver until I reach just below her stomach. I pause for a second as I pull back and take one of her legs in my hooves. I work some tenders kisses down it as I slowly guide it to an open position. When I near her area I pull back and do the same with her other leg. I take a moment to admire her tight virgin folds before my gaze is broken when she shuffles in anticipation. I draw my tongue out and lightly trace it along her opening. She groans in pleasure and tighten her grasp on the sheets. Pleased with the results I go in again, moving a bit faster this time. I move my hooves to hold her waist down as she starts to squirm in pleasure, especially when I hit her clit. "Storm... something’s... something’s happening," she moans as she starts to rock her hips. "Don't tense up, just let it out." I tell her before sucking her clit, pushing her over the edge. She lets out a loud moan as she thrusts forward. I try to move away, but she grabs the back of my head and smashes me against her a bit. When she finally calms down enough to let go of me, I pull myself up beside her and lay next her. "I'm guessing you've never done that before." "*pant* No... never." "Yeah, we'll have to get your sheets washed after tonight." I say as I feel the warm wetness seeping into the fur of my flank. "I... huh?" She asks as she turns to look at me. "Well, half of that liquid isn't what you think it is. I guess you've been pent up for some time." "I... don't follow... in any case, it's your turn. What do I do?" She asks as she positions herself between my legs, stroking my member slowly. "Start out my licking it," I tell her. She nods and eyes the tip as she tries to mentally prepare herself. My breath begins to pick up when she runs her tongue over the opening. She mulls the taste over in her mouth before leaning forward to lick again. "There you go. Treat it like a frozen popsicle. Lips, no teeth." She nods a bit as she fits her lips around the tip. I twitch a bit as she swirls her tongue around the edge, resting a hoof on the back of her head as she starts to take more of me inside. I fight the urge to begin thrust forward as she works more of me into her mouth, especially when she begins to rub her tongue against the bottom. "Is that good?" She asks when she pulls it out to breath, still stroking it. "Amazing. Don't stop," I mutter, getting a giggle from her. "This is crazy," she laughs before going back down on me. "Right?" I laugh as well. It's good to see her relaxing a bit. I roll onto my back and sigh as she lays on my chest, holding my stiff member in her mouth. I drape my foreleg over her stomach and rub her sides, working my way down to her teats. When I trace her clit she accidentally lunges onto me, gagging on it. I quickly pull out and wait for her to catch her breath. "You alright?" "Yeah... sorry, it just felt good,” she says with a blush as she turns to face me. "We can stop if you want." "Stop? We just started. Unless you need to stop," I tell her. She thinks about before nodding. "I-I'm ready. But, just be gentle okay. I'm still a bit nervous... It won't hurt too much, will it?" "Well, it will hurt, but I don't know how to gauge it. I'll be sure to take it slow-" "No! No, band-aid status. Just go in quick and we'll deal with it when we get there," she says quickly. I stare at her in disbelief before getting into position. I pick her up and set her with her plot held high and head low. I get behind her and line myself up with her, rubbing my tip against her entrance. "Are you ready?" I ask as I start to press forward. "Y-yeah. Just... yeah." I nod and take a deep before thrusting forward, breaking through her hymen and filling her completely. She lets out a pained scream before burying her head in a pillow. I groan from her tightness pressing down on me, true to a virgin’s tightness. "You alive down there?" I ask as I hold myself there. "...Yes." she says in a pained voice. "It's... just... big." "Yeah, let me know when you're ready and I'll start to move it, okay?" I tell her as I rub her flank a bit. She nods and resumes her panting. It was lucky I got her off first, otherwise this would have been a bit more difficult to do. "Okay, go ahead." "Okay, here I go." I pull back almost all the way out before pushing back in. She moans out loud, reassuring me to continue. I start out slow, letting myself stretch her out easily. She remains somewhat quiet during this, but enjoys herself plenty. She even musters the courage to look back and watch it. When she picks herself up and begins to kiss me I grip her around her lower stomach and start pound away at her. She throws her head back in ecstasy and screams my name as another orgasm rocks her body, making her grasp on me tighten greatly. When she finally begins to calm down I stop my thrusting to let her catch her breath. "Lay down," I instruct her, barely getting a nod from the tired mare. I pull out of her and wait as she turns around beneath me. I lower myself down to kiss her, letting or sweaty bodies mesh together. Our tongues dance messily around each others as I grind myself against her. "I can go again if you want," she says when we finally break contact. I look down and push back inside of her, sliding easily from all of the natural lubricant. I grab onto her shoulders and resume my movements, slapping my hip against hers. She grabs onto my forelegs as her body shakes. As I continue my movements, we suddenly begin to stare into each others eyes. I don't know quite how to put it, but I feel something sparks between us. Like... a sudden realization of... love? Is that it, is that what I'm feeling? We've only been together for a week, but... "Storm, is something wrong?" she asks. I realize that I had suddenly stopped. "Oh... well, it's just that... I... I love you, Golden Ray." She stares deep into my eyes before lunging forward to kiss me. I fumble back a bit until she's sitting in my lap, smiling. "I've been waiting for those words for... a long time now. I love you to Storm Cloud." I can't help but smile at that. I haven't been loved like this since... since Raindrop. I wrap my hooves around her waist and pull her close as I lean in for another kiss. She wastes no time gyrating her hips to move my member within her. I feel myself edging near my climax, so I begin to lift and push her down onto myself. She breaks our kiss to moan out loud as she holds herself against me, trying to say something through her incoherent babbles. "GOLDEN!" I yell when I finally orgasm, shooting my hot seed deep within her. I give some final, powerful thrust into her before collapsing from exhaustion. She falls right beside me and begins to regain her breath as sleep starts to take its hold on me. "Storm... I... that was..." "I... I know... sorry, but it's nap time for me." .................................................................................................................................................. January 30th 8:30 AM I awake with a foul taste in my mouth. Must be what's left over from the potion Twilight had me drink. I blink a few times before finally being able to see. I'm in a small room, barely fitting for a pony to live in. The only pieces of furniture are the bed I lay in, a night stand at the base of the bed, and a desk covered in all of my gear and a note. With a tired groan I get out of bed and pick up the note. Storm, We've docked just outside of Hayte. Grab your stuff and meet us on the deck. Big Mac. Hayte? But we were just in Ponyville a few hours ago... or, at least it feels like a few hours. What the heck did that potion do to me? Whatever. It doesn't matter now. I grab my gear and strap it all on before leaving the small room. The Party Blimp lives up to its name. A large casino and strip club take up the main lower deck with the upper deck being a spa, tennis court, and buffet. Speaking of buffet, maybe we should get some food before we head out. Its feel like I haven't eaten or drank anything in a few days. I make my way onto the top deck and find the rest of the Spartans, along with the two mercs and Trixie. "Alright everypony, ready to head out?" I ask as I approach them. "Don't you want to know how we got here? Don't you feel... funny?" Dust Devil asks, making the others avert their eyes. "I'm sure there's a good reason for all of that, but we have a job to do right now. I'll find out soon enough what happen, so let's get this city over with so we can get home. Watch each others back, and keep together. I don't want to lose anypony." "YES SIR!" The Spartans sound off. I look to Fayte and motion for him to lead, getting him to walk to the off ramp. Hayte is a fairly large village, by zebra standards at least. Many of the buildings are made of thin twigs woven together to form walls with straw roofs. Many of the zebras here have set up shop near the docks to sell their goods. We all work our way through the crowd and follow Fayte to the towns center. Many of the residence here don't seem to mind us. The foals seem to like to follow us, speaking to each other in their language. The ponies— er, zebras, seem to be a vibrant group. Living next to an airport, they don't really pay us any attention. They go about their daily lives, speaking with friends, selling goods. It's odd seeing so many similar looking ponies in one area. It's even odder to only see glyphs instead of cutie marks. Though I do like the neck rings, earrings, and nose rings. The gaping hole in the ear is a bit too much though. "Alright, you all wait here while I go talk to the local shaman," Fayte says as he and Aurane walk off together. We all relax a bit as we wait for them to return. I look over and note a rather smug look on Night Fury. "What's got you in such a good mood?" I ask him. "Hm? Oh, let’s just say it's been a few good weeks. Real good," he says, glancing to Trixie and then back to me. "Oh? So you and Trixie are finally official?" I ask in a hushed tone, raising an eyebrow to him. "We're not the only ones," he whispers back to me. I try to think about it, but can't really think of an... "True Will and DD?" I ask. "HA! What?!?" he practically yells before laughing his ass off. Everyone looks back to us for an answer, but can't get one. I don't know what's going on and Night Fury is rolling on the floor laughing his ass off. "Anyway, anypony want to tell me what I missed while we wait?" I ask, ignoring the dying stallion beside me. "Eenope," Big Mac states, looking away from me. I look to the others and see them all avoid my gaze. "Come on, did I do something bad?" I ask, getting Night Fury to laugh even harder. "Did I hurt anypony?" Night Fury starts choking from the lack of air he's getting. "Anypony?" "Storm," True Will says as he steps forward. "If I tell you what you did, you have to promise not to ask anymore questions. Promise?" "Yeah, what did I do wrong?" "You drank the damn potion." I shake my head a little as I stare at him, trying to think of a way that could possibly be wrong. "Come on, Fayte's calling us." I sigh in annoyance and follow the group to Fayte. What could have happened from drinking that potion that it would be wrong? "Alright everypony," Fayte starts as we line up in front of him. "The shaman here has granted us access to the city, but warns us that many brave warriors have made the passage before us, and failed." "We know what we're getting into Fayte, you can't scare us off that easily," True Will says. I glance over to Trixie and note her shaking. Most of us know what we're doing at least. "Sorry, it's tradition to say these warnings. If you go down and retreat, you will be viewed as outcasts among the zebras. If you try lying about a false victory, you will be beheaded. And if you somehow survive, every zebra will swear fealty to you as ordered by the head shaman of our nation. May the stars guide you." He does a slight bow before turning and walking down the main path. Aurane steps out from the hut and follows after Fayte, beckoning us to follow. The path suddenly changes when we make it to the end of the village. Rows of flowers line the path as low hanging trees provide shade. A group of zebra mares waiting by entrance see us and swarm over to us. They begin to chant something as they smear white goop all over our armor. Little fillies run up and adorn us with flowers and twig crowns. "They're wishing us good luck on the hunt... and a merry happy life should we die," Fayte informs us. A zebra mare gets in my face and begins to mumble something quickly as she rubs my face with the goop. "Uh... bleh, thank you... thank you... ew, is this really necessary?" I ask as I move my face in an attempt to not be covered in goop. "More importantly, what is this made of?" Trixie asks. "Bat guano," Fayte says as he stands proud, letting himself be marked up. "And yes, it is necessary. Unless you want to piss off the entire village and be hunted down for insulting the head shaman of Zebrica. Your call." Big Mac and I glance to one another before holding still, letting them finish their little ritual. "Wait... is bat guano-" "Huweza nyota atawaongoza." The zebras say at once before stepping back, leaving the path to the city before us. We stand still for a moment before Fayte strides forward, looking more determined than normal. We all share a look before following after him. The grass is soft and the air is filled with the alluring scents of different flowers. The trees provide a nice cover from the unrelenting sun as a soft breeze blows past us. It's peaceful walking down this path. A large cave sits at the end of it, adorned with small, powdery white mounds. An elder zebra stands at the entrance to the cave. She wears many gold rings around her neck and legs as well as a silver nose ring. I'm not exactly sure how old she is, but her black strips are starting to turn grey. "We're here to test our strength," Fayte tells the elder. She leans to the side and looks each of us over before looking back to Fayte. "You know the price for failing twice," she tells him in her slow old voice. "I will not fail again. May we enter?" he replies. "So you may believe. You may enter, but will not leave." She walks us to the entrance and sits to the side, eyeing each of us as we face the mouth of the cave. "Wait," she says as she stands back up. "You... and you." she says as she points me and Trixie out. "Us?" Trixie asks as we step aside. "Yes... you both have a touch of destiny I can clearly see. Who are you?" she asks as she approaches Trixie and begins to examine her head, moving it from side to side as she taps and squishes it. "I'm Trixie-OW! Don't pull my hair!" "And I'm Lieutenant Storm Cloud of the Spartan Regiment." I say, getting her to look to me with a surprised expression. "A... Spartan?" "We all are." I say as I motion to the others. She releases Trixie and walks over to each of us, inspecting us closely. "Hmm... Spartans, you may enter. But when you reach the center.... remember who you are, or you will not go far." She moves back to her stop beside the cave and sits down. "Safe journeys to you all." "Thank you... grandmother. Zecora sends her regards," Fayte says before entering the cave. We all look to one another before following after him. Trixie and I share a confused look as the darkness of the cave obscures our vision. Trixie, True Will, and Fayte light their horns and guide the way. The path slopes downward and has more of the white goop smearing the walls, depicting other ponies who made the journey down. The wall are practically white. "What did she mean by 'a touch of destiny'?" Trixie asks as she slows down to walk beside me. "We're special?" I offer, getting a flat look from the mare. "I don't know. It's probably some zebra tribe thing, try not to think about it too much right now. We have more pressing matters at hoof right now," I tell her. She nods slowly and picks up the pace. I don't really know what to make of what she said in all honesty. Does it mean we'll have a moment of greatness, or become something great? I don't know and I don't think I'll know until it happens. So better keep moving on then. Traveling in this darkness sets all of us on edge. We had to stop several times to camp and let the unicorns in our group rest. Sitting in complete darkness was... unpleasant, to say the least. It's felt like at least a day has passed since we've entered. After our third camp stop though, we finally made it our destination. Diamond Halls. The bulkhead sits crookedly, leaving a small opening at the bottom right corner. A bright light shines through the opening, beckoning us to run to it and out of the darkness. We huddle around the small opening and try to lift it open. Even with all of our strength increases, it won't budge. "Trixie, can you teleport us inside?" I ask, getting her to glance inside. "Maybe. If I do it'll only be one at a time. Can you teleport Fayte? True Will?" "Yeah, though only one at a time like you," True Will says, getting a nod from Fayte. "Alright, here's the plan. You three will Teleport Big Mac, Dust Devil and myself inside. When we give you all the go ahead start bringing in everypony else in. Sound good?" I ask, getting nods from the three of them. The three of us take our stance and nod for them to do it. One flash lat- "SONNA BII-" Big Mac yells as he suddenly starts to drop. Dust Devil and I had instinctively opened our wings... but that doesn't help our earth pony friend. With a powerful flap of our wings we send ourselves flying after him, catching up quickly. "GAH! Why are you so heavy!" Dust Devil complains as we grab him and fight to keep him from crashing down. "Shuddup and keep flappin!" He barks back. After a few minutes of furious flapping we finally find the ground. We drop to the ground and catch our.... whoa. "Where is the city?" Dust Devil asks as we stare out at the empty dome. Everything here has been completely destroyed. The only thing left here is all the crumbled concrete that fills the bottom of the dome. I l take a good look across the vast nothingness before I see two mounds in the sea of crushed buildings. One seems to be in the exact center of the dome while the other seems to be on under the right bulkhead. "DD, go tell the others to come in, but warn them about the drop." "Got it," she says quietly before flying off for the gate. "There's no way the fighting was this bad here... right?" I ask Big Mac, who shrugs. "Hadda been one heck of a fight," he says as he surveys the area. A couple of bright flashes go off before us as the others appear. We stand there silently as we take in the sight of... nothing. "Where do you want to start?" Night Fury asks sarcastically. "Let's head to that left mound and then go to the center. Something has to be there," I say as I start to walk off for it. "Keep close to the edge," Fayte warns us as he walks behind me. "Why?" True Will asks. "They call it the city of solitude for a reason," Aurane says as he jumps into the air. "I want to go scout ahead, anypony wish to come along?" "Count me in," Dust Devil says as she flies after him. Walking through the uneven terrain proved to be problematic. Those without wings would often slip or trip from the ground going out from under them. Those of us with wings quickly took to the air. It takes us a couple of hours to make it halfway, where Trixie decides to teleport everypony without wings. The rest of us just race there to meet them. Reaching our destination, we split up and search the mound for... anything really. I don't know what to find her, so I guess we're just investigating everything. I start at the base of the mound and start to pull slabs out of the way. The others follow my lead and start to lift and levitate the stones out of the way. "Is that a building?" Trixie asks as she levitates a large slab out of the way. A few feet feet down we can see a smooth surface going straight up and down. True Will, Fayte, and Trixie get to work clearing a way down, creating a path in about thirty minutes. THUD "Did anypony hear that?" I ask, getting everypony to pau- KA-THUD "INTRUDERS!" I spin around and nearly fall over myself as the giant... person, towers over us. He's easily twice the height of Miles and has a thousand times the muscle mass. His head looks about the same size of Miles', though it's dwarfed by his massive body. It has a few grey patches of long grey hair on its head, as well as a red beard. Scars litter its muscular body as he heaves before us, clenching its large fists. "Uh-" "INEMORIOR!" He yells as he tries to bring both his fist down upon me. With the aid of my wings I jump back just in time to dodge his attack. When land I set my hooves on my sword and lunge forward, swiping my blade at the beast and sending a powerful gust of wind forward. It hits the beast and forces him a few steps back... THAT'S IT!?!? "COME TO ME, MY TASTY LITTLE—!"He yells before a powerful beam of energy sends him flying back. "GET INTO THE BUILDING BELOW! I'LL HOLD HIM OFF!" True will yells before charging after the beast. We all look to one another before following after him. "I SAID TO-" "SPARTANS!" I yell, getting a URAH in response. We spread out and form a semicircle around the beast as it staggers back to its feet. A massive cut across its chest bleeds... no. It's healing right before our eyes! Literally, within seconds, the wound seals itself shut. We all share a glance before readying our weapons. "Perfidus?" It asks as it steps towards True Will. "Captain Perfidus?" "Uh... no-" "NO? NO!? What do you mean NO? HOW COULD IT BE NO!?" It yells as it thrashes about, swiping at the ground and throwing up hands full of cement. We all back away as it throws its little fit. "It spoke," Big Mac states quietly. "Think we can talk our way out?" I ask. "You willing to try?" Night Fury scoffs. "NO MORE WAITING! EATING TI-" "You can't eat them!" Trixie yells from behind. "I can't? I CAN'T!? TELL ME LITTLE BLUE-" "You can't eat Terradisians! Not... not if you're a Spartan." Trixie walks right past us and stands before the beast. "Spartan? SPARTAN!" It yells before slamming both of its fist beside Trixie, narrowly missing her. "WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW OF SPARTANS!? Prove to me that you're Terradisian! What is your name!?" He huffs and growls as he draw nearer to Trixie. "M-my name is Trixie-" "TRIXIE!" "T-Trixie Ostendere." He huffs a bit as he inspects Trixie more closely, eyeing her with renewed interest. "And these are my Spartan escorts-" "I SEE NO SPARTANS!" He yells as he slams the ground around her again, shaking the ground enough to make her fall over. "We are Spartans!" Night Fury yells as he steps closer, drawing its attention. "From... from Topaz Drops." "WHAT?!" "FALLS! From Topaz Falls!" I correct, gaining its attention. "We came... to answer... your distress call?" I fumble, looking to the others for help. It stands back to its full height and sighs slowly, almost deflating in size from relaxing its massive muscles. "Well, it's about time someone showed up to help quell this little rebellion. Where is your commander?" "That would be me, Lieutenant Storm Cloud," I say as I step forward, keeping my sword up. "Storm... Cloud? Storm? What is a storm cloud? Storm Could? What could possibly be a cloud and why is it storming?" He asks as he starts to pace about. I look to the others for help, but only get shrugs. Fayte looks as if he's about to faint, though I don't think it's over the giant mad man before us. "What do we do now?" True Will asks in a hushed voice. "Uh... I'm working on that-" "You there! Spartan, why are you so different? You don't look like any Spartan I've ever seen." He says as he points a large meaty finger at me. "Well... you don't look like any Spartan I've ever seen." I reply, getting a deep laugh from him. "Magnificent, aren't I? A little gift from that CUNT of a woman. Who is your Captain?" Shit. Should I use Miles? He wasn't a Captain in his city. What was his Captains name? Su... Susurrans... "Our Captains name is Susurrans Bellum." "..." "..." "..." "..." Oh please tell me he- "TRAITOR!" He tells as he tries to smash Trixie. She teleports away before any harm was done, but the initial hit had enough force to make us all fall over. I try to get back up, only to fall back down when a massive fist slams right beside me. "DIE LITTLE TRAIT-" FWUUSH A large plume of fire hits his side and forces him to roll over. Big Mac runs over me and charges at the beast, slamming his halberd into its back as it tries to get back up. A loud howl of pain erupts as it fights to stand back up. He snaps his arm back and grabs Big Mac, lifting him up as he stands.With a powerful twirl of his arm he hucks Big Mac... only he doesn't go flying. At the last possible second he swung his halberd and sunk the blade into the beasts hand. He didn't go flying, though he did lose his grip and fling thirty feet away. As the beast staggers back I lunge forward and send another slash of air at him, pushing him further back. Dust Devil takes this opening and flies forward, using her vibro-blades to cut and slash at his left leg. The beast tries to grab her, but she easily flies out of his grasp. With him bent over, Night Fury pops up from behind him and slams his dual axes into the beasts back. They shoot out a concussive force that drops the beast. Fayte takes this advantage to charge forward and bury his blade within the beasts skull. We all watch as its body twitches and convulses before going limp. "Is it dead?" Trixie asks shakily from behind. THUD "Better safe than sorry," True Will says after he drops a massive boulder onto the beast. We all sigh in relief as we sheath our weapons. That was... terrifying. I'm just glad it's over. "Nice name drop Night Fury," Dust Devil says as she punches his shoulder. "I got the gist of it," he says with a chuckle. We all share a small laugh as we head back to the buried building. We file down the shabby path and enter the small room. There isn't much to the front room, just a couch to the left and a small table in front of it. There's a kitchen that only has the basic amenities, refrigerator, stove, sink. A door to the right leads me to the bedroom. It's small, like the rest of the building. A bed to the right and a nightstand under the window. I was about to leave the room when something caught my eyes. On top of the night stand is... something. I walk over and pick it up, blowing the dust off to get a better look. "A... picture?" I ask as I flip it over. It's a simple photo of a man holding a very pregnant woman. The man is tall and well built, looking oddly like Miles. The woman is a head shorter than the man and has long black hair. Her eyes seem to shine a bright hazel color, even as she looks down to her large stomach. I stare at the photo a bit more until I hear the others. This... is important, somehow. I stuff it into my saddle bag before walking back out to the front. "DUDE! This fridge is HUGE!" Aurane yells from within said fridge. "Alright, I think we found whatever... where is everypony?" I ask as I look around the empty room. "We're in here!" Dust Devil yells from.... the fridge. I walk over and look inside... "Da buck?" "Eeyup." "Why would they need a fridge like this?" I ask as they all start to walk out of the fridge. "All I know is that I want one." Trixie laughs as she walks past me. Once they all leave the fridge I glance back inside, gauging the sheer size of its insides, before shutting the door. "Anyway, lets head to the center of the city and see what's under that mound. After that we can probably head out," I tell the others. They send Fayte sends Big Mac as the other unicorns teleport away. As I take off, I notice a troubled look on his face just before he teleports himself away. Concerned, I fly up next to Aurane to ask him about it. "Hey, is Fayte alright?" "Doubt it. He grew up in this village. But one day he decided that he should take this challenge and tried to make it down here. I don't know what happened to him, but he failed the test. Thus, he was shunned from the village. His grandmother back there, had he not been banished, would have been much more enthusiastic about seeing him." "What about you? How did you meet him?" "Me? Well, he was banished alongside his mother. I was on a... well, lets call it a journey. On my way to the zebra capital I found the two of them walking through the desert and brought them in. Been together ever since his mother passed on. He visits with his aunt every now and again, but he's still treated like a foreigner." "Must be tough for the poor guy." "Eh, it's his life. It's not the most desirable, but he's making it. Though I imagine that things will be different once we leave. Who knows, they may even restore his title and make him chief. It's a long shot, but it's worth dreaming for." We make it to the center mound and find the others digging out the center. A bright blue light glows from within the center, guiding our efforts. Well, their effort. The rest of us just watch as they levitate all of the ruble out of the way. Magic, what can you do without it? Once they reach the door they all collapse from exhaustion. It's odd seeing other ponies get so fatigued from magic when you're around people like Miles and Twilight. Night Fury and I move ahead as everypony else stays back with the others. The room we find looks like a weapons locker, only the shelves are made for much larger weapons. Though most of everything in here is empty, there is one weapon left. It's about six feet long, cylindrical, and has the top opened up, revealing a bright blue box inside of it. "What in the name of Celestia is that?" I ask as we draw closer to it. "I don't know, but something tells me we don't want to touch it,” he says as he looks around the room. "Well, it's a weapon obviously. It doesn't seem to be something a human would use by hand either. The back end reminds me of Miles' jet thing, so I think it flies... I think this is a bomb." "A bomb? If it's this big then we definitely don't want to mess with it. Not until we get Miles here at least... assuming he's still alive." I shoot him a look before shaking my head. "Not cool." "What? It's true. He might not be alive when we get back." He states matter of factly. "I said that's not cool," I repeat as I get in his face. He chuckles a bit as he eyes me right back, not backing down in the slightest. "Do I need to put you in your place, private?" "Heh, no sir." "Then shut your mouth before I shut it for you," I say as I push him back. He laughs a little before turning and leaving. I glance back to the bomb before following him up. If he makes one more comment like that I'm knocking h- THUD "AURANE!" Fayte yells as a massive boulders lands directly on top of him. I take to the air as the beast from before comes crashing down. "HOW IS HE ALIVE?!" I yell as the rest of the flying members of our group fly higher. "Does it matte–OH SHIT!" Dust Devil yells as the beast leaps into the air and tries to swat us back down. We spread out and take turns attacking the beast. I'd try to keep him down with powerful gust as Night Fury uses his power axes to smack him back down. Dust Devil is running decoy as True Will and Big Mac is guarding the entrance to the center mound. Where the buck are Fayte and Trixie!? Perspective: Trixie THUD I nearly fall over myself as the beast from before comes crashing down all around us. All of the pegasi take to the air as I drag Fayte into the building below. He was just standing there, staring at the trail of blood coming out from under the boulder. "I thought that thing was dead!" I yell when we make it into the bright room. I pace about, trying to figure out how it could possibly be alive, when I notice Fayte just standing there in a daze. "Fayte.... FAYTE!" "He... he's dead," he mumbles quietly. I shake my head and look around the room for any.... "What is that?" I ask aloud as I walk toward the glowing blue thing in a metal tube. I try to get a better look at, but can't due to the small size. Whatever it is, it's on a metal slide. I grab the tray and pull it out. There are three blue boxes on the metal tray, each glowing an ominous blue. "DON'T TOUCH THE ALPHA!" The beast yells from outside as he swats Big Mac away. The other Spartans try to stop him, but he just plows right through them as he charges for us. "Fayte, grab this and help me blast that thing away." I say as I grab the little blue box. Immediately I feel an immense amount of power course through my body. I feel more powerful than when I used the Elements of Harmony. Fayte stares in awe for a second before he too grabs the blue box. His eyes begin to glow white as multiple layers of auras glow around his horn. "NOOOOOO!! NOT THE ALPHA!!" It yells as he lunges straight for us. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM A massive beam of white energy blast from my horn and strikes the beast square in the chest. It feels as if my very soul is being torn out from my horn as the overwhelming amount of energy discharges forth. Immediately, my horn begins to burn as the energy pours out. It quickly grow to the point where my vision begins to blur. "Trixie... Trixie..." ........................................................................................................................................................ I open my tired eyes to find myself in the infirmary back on the blimp. Rows of soft beds line the walls with night stands filling the space between them. I try to lift my head, but stop when a sharp pain goes down my spin. "Don't strain yourself." I perk up a bit from Night Fury's voice coming behind me. Though it hurts to do so, I roll over to look at him. He's out of his armor and looks as if he hasn't slept in a while. "Hey," is all I can muster. I'm tired and have a throbbing headache. "The doctors told me to tell you not to try to use magic until you're released. Fayte tried and... well, his horn crumble away." I wince just from the thought of losing my horn. "Is he alright?" I ask in my raspy voice. It feels as if I haven't had a drink of water for weeks. "He'll be fine. Though he decided to stay in the village now that he's regained his honor. We're supposed to tell Zecora of this, but he guessing that she won't leave Ponyville. But don't worry about any of that. You just work on getting better, okay," he says as he nuzzles my cheek. I smile to him and sigh in relief. "When did you get so sentimental?" I ask as I enjoy the feeling of his nose against mine. "I... I just don't want to lose anypony else." He says quietly before kissing my cheek. "Rest up, I'll be back first thing tomorrow." "Okay." Falling back to sleep won't be a problem, I'm so tired. In the last moments of consciousness I feel the bed shift as Night Fury lays beside me, wrapping a wing around me. Falling asleep won't be a problem. ................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Night Fury February 14th 9:36 AM I feel a light shine through my eyelids, forcing me to wake up. I glance out the window and sigh when I see how early it is. I roll over and try to sleep in a bit more, pulling Trixie closer to me as my new body pillow. Her warm, soft body helps lull me back to the edge of sleep, until I feel her roll over. "Morning," she says sleepily. I sigh, disappointed from the lack of extra sleep, and open my eyes to look her over. "Morning. Sleep well?" "No. Something kept poking me all night," she says as she grabs my stiff member. "Hey, you know exactly how to fix that." I say with a smile as she begins to rub it. I lean forward to give her a kiss, only to stop when she starts to get out of bed. "Yeah, no. You're not getting lucky that quickly," she says before sticking her tongue at me. I watch the dried spunk I left on her flanks sway from side to side until she finally makes it into the bathroom. I roll onto my back stretch out the sleep from my muscles. This thing does not go fast enough. One more week and we'll finally be home. I hear the shower turn on, putting dirty thoughts in my head. Do we have anything planned today... that was a dumb question. I get out of bed and head into the bathroom finding Trixie just sitting under the shower head, letting the water cascade down her body. She doesn't move as I slide the glass door open and step inside. She just keeps her eyes shut and lets the water wash over her. I nestle myself right behind her and wrap my wings over her chest. "Hm, what did I say about getting lucky?" "Something about getting lucky quickly," I say as I press myself against her. She lets out a low hum as we sit together, letting our coats mesh together from the water. I back off when she begins to stand. She sets her legs wide and lifts her tail aside, giving me a perfect view of her. I can't help but smile as I get up and mount her, sliding into her expecting sex easily. I start out slow. Moving all the way in before bringing myself back to her entrance. I run both of my hooves down her spine as I do so, trying to relax her. Our breathing begins to pick up as the hot water fogs the glass doors. When I feel her starting to rock with me I begin to pick up the pace, quickening my movements with shorter strokes. She lets out a small gasp at first but stays quiet mostly. The sound of the shower muffling anything else. "Turn around," I tell her as I dismount. She nods and faces me, where we share a sloppy, passionate kiss. I quickly pick her up and press her against the glass door, holding her by her flanks as our stomachs press together. I find my mark and push back inside her as she drapes her forelegs over my shoulders. I tense up from her first touches on my wings, but begin to rock my hips anyway. I press my nose against hers as our hips slap against each others, our hot breath mixing together in the humid air. "Harder." She quivers and tightens her grip on me with her lower legs. I start to lift and drop her with my thrusts, trying to get the most out of every move. Her moans grow in volume as my hips become more erratic. I feel the familiar tension starting to grow in my member as I push harder and harder. Without any warning, Trixie pushes on the glass, knocking me on my flank. She pins my shoulders down as she rides through her orgasm, moaning loudly as she bounces on top of me. I grab her hips and yank her down as I hit my own climax. I twitch and convulse as my seed spays over her insides. We stay in this position for a bit, panting as we stare into each others eyes. When she finally stands, I watch as my softening member slides out, followed by some spunk. I've never gone inside before.... I've never gone inside.... before... "Trixie?" I ask as she begins to wash herself. "Yeah?" "I went.... inside." "I know, I was there." she chuckles as she grabs the shampoo. "Trixie... I went... inside." About half way through rubbing the soap into her mane she finally puts one and one together. "Oh.. it's... it's okay. It'll be okay," she says slowly as she continues to rub the solution in her mane. "O...kay? Uh, are you sure it's going to be okay?" I ask as I stand up. "Yeah, don't worry. It'll... it'll be fine," she says distantly. "... How is it going to be okay?" "It just is. Don't worry about it. Everything will be fine." I try to look her in the eyes, but she avoids my gaze. I shrug it off and begin washing off. She says everything will be fine, so I'll believe her. Who knows her body better then her, right? Right? We finish up our shower and have a rather playful drying session before finally leaving our suite. We make our way to the buffet lounge where we meet up with the other Spartans for brunch. We get our food and fill up a table before chowing down. The food is good enough. Not the best, but I didn't pay for it. "Did anypony see Storm today?" Dust Devil asks. "Eeyup." "Was he still with that one mare?" She asks him. "Eeyup." "Why are we letting him do this? We should go stop the two-" "He doesn't know who we are. He doesn't know he's married. He doesn't know that he's a super soldier from a futuristic human civilization that made a deal with a pimp to get us all a free ride to Hayte to go into a deep underground city. Do you still really want to go talk to him?" True Will cuts her off. The table falls quiet as she thinks about it, frowning more as she does so. "Speak of the devil," I say as I see him and the maid pony walking into the buffet area. "Hide Night Fury!" Dust Devil shouts as she tries to push me down. "Why?" I ask as I fight back. "He still knows who you are! If he- stop fighting- if he sees you, it might- watch the wings!" We fight a bit more before something grabs the two of us and pulls us under the table. "..." "..." "..." "Who the buck are you and why are you under our table?" I ask the light brown earth pony beside me. He has light green hair and is holding a cabbage as if it's a foal. "Um... I..." "*gasp* were you trying to sneak a peek at all of us!" Dust Devil accuses him, making his face turn bright red. "No! I was-WHA?" Somepony suddenly grabs him and pulls him out from under the table. "Coast is clear. Lets go already!" one pony tells him. "The Master went this way, follow me,” another pony says in an odd accent. We wait for the others to give us the all clear before going back to our seats. I get a glance of Storm as he leaves the buffet hall. "Ya might not like 'im, but we do. Fight us again like that again an Ah'll lay ya out, got it?" Big Mac asks as he glares at me. I just snort in response and return to my food. I guess I'll play along for the next week. The past two months have been pleasant enough. Getting to watch Storm ruin his life was just the icing on the cake. .......................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Storm February 21st 1:35 PM "Ah... my head. What happened? Why does everything taste so bad Twilight... Twilight?" I ask as I wake up to a bitter taste in my mouth in an office of some kind. I get off the lounge chair and head towards the desk, when the large chair behind it spins around. "Cheesus? What are you doing here... where is here?" I ask as he puffs on a cigar. "You're confused, that's normal for somepony in your position. All will be explained soon. Pill?" He asks as he opens a drawer and offers me a red and blue pill. "Uh... no thanks–" "Damn. Pinkie won't be happy about that–" "What's going on? Where am I? Wh–" "Okay, okay, okay, stop. I'll explain everything, just give me a second," he says as he sits up and snuffs out his cigar, mumbling something about horrible taste and damned cats. "Okay. You just finished a mission to Diamond Halls. You found a picture of two humans and a giant crazy human. Trixie and Fayte defeated it by using something called an alpha, something none of the Spartans could really identify. Twilight is waiting for you in Canterlot. It's February twenty first-" "WHAT!?" I yell as I nearly fall over. "What?! Just... WHAT?! I've been gone for two months!?" "Yeah. Don't worry though. The mission was a success. Now go meet up with Twilight... oh, and one last thing Storm," he says before getting off the chair. He walks over to me and pulls me in for a tight hug."Thank you... thank you so much." "Uh... you're welcome–" "But never again. I'm sorry, but even I have my limits of respect," he says as he breaks contact with me. "Now get going. All of your stuff is right outside the door and we're just outside of Canterlot. Shouldn't be more than a five minute flight." "Uh.. thanks. So... I'll just be going then," I say as I start to back peddle towards the door. "Storm," he calls out as I reach for the handle. "I love you... no homo." "..." "..." "..." "It's a business thing. Now get going!" "Right, bye!" I leave the awkward room as quickly as possible, grabbing my bags and armor with little thought before running. I take the only door in the hall and find myself on the deck of a large blimp. The wood is new and polished well, shining brightly in the sunlight. To my right are the Canterlot mountains, and to my left in the distance is Ponyville. I roll my shoulders a bit before running off the deck and taking off for Canterlot. Why is she at Canterlot in the first place? We were suppose to go to the next city with Miles and... Miles. I hope he's okay. Things weren't looking too good last I remember. What am I talking about? It's Miles! The only thing that could kill Miles is... Miles. ... What about Twilight? Two months alone must have been hard. I know she's can take care of herself but... I don't know Call it ego, but I wish I could have been there for her. I guess I'll just have to- "-everything is going to be just fine! AH!!" I suddenly crash right into some pegasus mid air. I shake my head a bit before looking... "Ow! Sorry about that. The wings are..." "..." "..." "Twilight?" "Storm?" I blink a few times as I try to comprehend what I'm looking at. It's Twilight, but with wings. Alicorn Twilight... why does that sound so off? "Storm!" She lunges forward and wraps me up in a hug, one that I return quickly. "Twilight, look at you! What happened? How do you have wings? Where did you get the dress? Your hair is all done up and... what did I miss?" I ask with a chuckle as we hover together, holding each other close. "Well, it's a bit difficult to explain. Ends up the Princess was molding me to become a Princess myself. You're looking at one of the new rulers of Equestria," she tries to say modestly, blushing a bit. "Wow... so does that make me a Prince?" I ask half heartily. "Uh... I guess-" "And how does that fit with Terradisia?" "Terradisia... Storm-" "What about the others? Are they alicorns as well? I bet Miles flipped out when-" "Storm. Miles is... Miles... he..." Twilight tries to say it, but can't force seem to find the words. I let out a sigh and peck her on the lips. "You don't have to say it. We knew this was coming. I just wish I could have said goodbye before he died-" "He didn't die." Twilight cuts me off, making me reel back a bit. "Well... we're not sure if he died." "... huh?" "I can't really explain it, so I'll just show you." She says before igniting her horn. Moments later we appear in Miles home, in the hall just outside his bedroom. I look to Twilight for an answer, but she only motions for me to go inside the room. I push the door open and step inside. I looks exactly how I remember it. Black and bed sheets, dark wood nightstands, piles of ash on the floor and bed... wait. I walk over to the bedside and look over the ash a bit more closely before looking back to Twilight, noting her shocked expression. "I swear he was just unconscious when we left him here. I didn't know he... I'm sorry Storm." "It's alright. It was Miles, if he was going to go, he was going go. Nothing could have stopped that. Do you know if he suffered?" "I don't think so. We'd all check in on him from time to time. He would just be laying there, sleeping soundlessly. Luna took it pretty hard at first, but she's been doing much better now." "That's good... let's keep this to ourselves for now. Today was suppose too be your special day, and I'm sure he wouldn't want to ruin it." I say as I start to usher her out of the room. Before I leave I turn back to the pile of ash and stand at attention. "Storm?" Twilight asks before I start to salute. She wait quietly for me to finish, bowing her head slightly. "Semper miles, semper amicus meus." Author's Note All apologies for taking so long writing this. Personal problems as well as story problems arose. Basically, this chapter was over thirty thousand words long a week ago. Brony on! Chapter 168 Galena: Terradisian ArsenalChapter 168 Galena: Terradisian Arsenal Perspective: Miles January 11th 6:30 AM I slightly wake when I feel something warm return to my side. I instinctively move closer to it, draping an arm around it's smooth, soft surface as I try to hold onto the last few seconds of sleep. "Sorry, I had to lower the moon. Go back to sleep OK," Luna whispers to me as she nuzzles up against me. I nod slowly as sleep easily takes its hold over me again. In the last few seconds of consciousness I feel a low vibration on my chest as Luna begins to hum something. 8:30 AM I wince a bit as a bright light begins to shine down on my face. I start to roll over to avoid it, but wince from the knot in my back. Sleeping on a stone floor wasn't the best idea looking back. I look over to my side and smile when I find Luna nestled against me, sleeping peacefully. I guess a few more minutes on the ground couldn't hurt. I pull her closer to myself, getting her to lay her head over my chest, as I gently run a hand down her back. She lets out a small sigh as she relaxes onto my side. She's been too stressed out recently. I wish there was a way I could help that.... well, other than dying faster. Too soon? Fuck it, I'm dying. I get to make the jokes I want to. In my head at least. "MMM.... Miles, what time is it?" Luna asks as she stretches a bit. "Not sure. You should go home to get some better sleep-" "But... I might not get the chance to see you again." She says as she looks away from me while weakly rubbing a hoof against my arm. I bring a hand up to the back of her head and lightly force her to look at me. "Luna, I want you to do something for me." "Anything." She scoots a little closer to me as she perks up, ready to do whatever I ask. "Go tell Celestia." She deflates a bit, dropping her ears a tad. "Tell... Celestia. I don't know Miles, maybe we should-" "Luna, I don't know if I'm coming back. If I do, I'm not anything holding back. I'd rather have her be upset in that moment then enraged beyond belief for a life time.... please." She leans into my hand as she takes a few slow, deep breaths. Trying to come to terms with my request. "I will. I love you Miles, more then anything." She tells me, a tear escaping her eye. "And I love you, Luna. More than I'll ever be able to show." We share a kiss. It wasn't anything lustful, rather passionate. A final kiss really. It didn't last long... well, it didn't feel as if it did at least. Then again, I don't think something like that could ever really last long enough. Shortly after our kiss she left for Canterlot, hopefully to tell Soror about us finally. If she avoids it again... well, I'll just have to find some way to let her know then. Perspective: Celestia "... and with that we can split our resources to assist in the future agricultural deficit in the Griffon Colonies." Diamond Heart finishes, getting stomps of approval from most of the other business leaders. "Do we truly need to strain our own resources for the griffons so cheaply? Our economy will take a massive dive from this." Blueblood adds, getting a few nods from the others. "This will put quite a strain on our own nation, but it must be done. We are responsible for what's happened and must make amends if relations are to return. Hard times are ahead for Equestria, but I'm sure we can tough it out." I say as I sign off on the proposal. "This is preposterous. We can't feed two nations, we barely feed our own as it is. How could we possibly feed all of our ponies and the griffons?" Blueblood complains. "With great sacrifice." Luna says as she enters the meeting chamber, shocking everypony. "Princess Luna? Shouldn't you be in bed? Night court isn't for-" "Blueblood, what I do during my off hours is none of your concern. If I choose to come to a daytime meeting then I will come to a daytime meeting. You also will learn your place when speaking to me." She says as she approaches him. "Sister-" "No, no." Blood Diamond cuts me off. "They both need this." I nod to him and let her continue. "I-I meant no disrespect-" "I am a royal sister, herald of the night, and you of all ponies will not speak down to me. I've tolerated your disgraceful attitude for long enough. If I don't see changes in your little superiority complex I will have you removed from these grounds, geld you, have you thrown into the worst possible slums, and watch as your life withers away; you sad excuse of a stallion. Do I make myself clear?" She asks as she towers over Blueblood, who has shrunk into his chair. "Yes." "Good. Now, Celestia, when you have a moment I need to speak with you in private. I'll be in the courtroom." Before I could respond she teleports out of the room. I look back to the other family members and smile before teleporting myself to the courtroom. "What was that about?" I ask Luna as she paces about the throne. "I'm sorry. I just... wasn't in the mood to deal with him right now." "Luna, quit pacing around and tell me what's wrong." She stops and turns to me, trying to say something. She stutters a few times before taking a deep breath and looks me in the eyes. "I... I visited Miles today," she says quietly. "Oh..." "Yeah... he's... well, he-" "I know. Twilight has sent many letters telling me. Is this what's bothering you?" I ask as I step towards her. "Celestia... I... Miles and I are... we-" "*sigh* I know." I say, getting her to do a double take. "You what now?" "I know. I've known the entire time. Luna, you're my sister. I think I know well enough to know when you're in love. I may not like it, but it happened. There's no changing it now. Are you going to be OK?" She stands there, stunned, unable to answer. "I... you... I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner!" She says as she rushes into my embrace, sobbing lightly. "It's alright. I knew you would eventually. But now isn't the time for that. He has a journey to finish. All we can do now is pray for their safe return and hope for a peaceful end." She nods a bit as she tightens her grip on me. I wrap my hooves around her and wait for her tears to cease. Luna, why did you have to go and fall in love like this? At least it's only love. ............................................................................................................................................................ Perspective: Miles Long after Luna left I finally gather myself enough to round up the others for Galena. I spent my time trying to get my armor back on, but with the constant heat it's starting to warp. Now I only have the chest piece and the thigh bracers. It's not much for protection, but it'll have to do. With the last of my things on I leave my home, Lupus and Hati chasing after me. The snow melts beneath my feet as I make my way into town, leaving a trail for my fuzzy followers. Many of the residence greet me as usual. I wave back to them, offering them my own salutations. I doubt they know why my hands and feet are flaring, but that's alright by me. The less that know, the better. I make my first stop at Rarity’s. "Hello? You home Rarity?" I ask aloud as I step through the front door. I can hear some talking in the back, she must be with a customer or something. Not wanting to disturb her, I leave the shop and head over to Sugar-cube Corner. Hopefully nothing is wrong with Rarity. It didn't sound like that one guy from before and she didn't seem to be upset, so I’m sure everything is al- "MILES!" CRASH Before I could register anything a purple blur tackles me to the ground and picks me up. After blinking a couple time I realize that Spike is carrying me through the air towards the library. "Spike! What the fuck man? Put me down! ... GENTLY!" I yell as I try to wiggle free. "Sorry but I need your help. Something is wrong with Twilight!" He yells back as we descend towards the tree house. "What? What happened to Twilight? Is she hurt? What's going on-" THUD "... ow." I mumble as I get up. Spike tries to apologies, but I ignore him as I rush inside to find Twilight. She's not in the front room, so I run up the stairs to her bedroom where I find her sprawled out in the center of the room. She looks a complete mess with a few empty vials laying around her. "What happened?" I ask as I step beside her and kneel down. "I don't know. She sent me to pick up a book from the post office, but when I came back she was like this. I tried waking her up, but she won’t respond. Please help her!" he begs as I investigate one of the vials. It seems to have been a complex solution with a rancid smell. She drank four of them. "I'm going to investigate her mind and try to find out what went wrong. Gather everyone else and bring them here." I tell Spike as I begin to encase my hands with my magic. He doesn't respond. He just runs out of the room as quickly as possible. With him gone, I take deep breath before pushing into Twilight’s mind. "What have you done?" -o-0-o- Everything starts out dark, but has a few patches of memories. What used to be an entire canvas of memories is now just a shadow of nothingness with flickers of thoughts. Whatever she drank, it erased her memories and brought some back. Some of the memories are growing while others are slowly fading away. I make up my mind and force myself into one of the larger ones. "My book will be arriving at exactly ten am Spike. I need you to get it for me in addition to some of our usual things in the market." Twilight tells Spike. She's handing him a receipt as well as a list. "Alright. I'll be back as quickly as possible," Spike says with a smile as he takes them and walks out of the room. Once he's he's gone she lets out a deep sigh before turning towards the... darkness? The memory must of faded. The splotches of memories begin to fade in and out again. I'm fairly certain that this is just a memory spell, but I can't remove it without knowing it's make. But the longer I take the more memories I lose. I need to go deeper. I find the closest memory and push my way into it. "Don't worry, they'll be fine." Rainbow Dash tells Twilight as they watch the blimp that took the Spartans fly away. "I know. I'm not worried that he'll get injured, I'm just worried what will happen when nopony's watching him." Twilight tells her, keeping her gaze on the blimp as it floats away. "Squishy said he'd keep an eye on him." Pinkie adds. "He still has his own job to do. There are too many variables in this that could make it end in disaster. What kind of a wife would make this kind of a sacrifice?" she asks before lowering her gaze to the ground, her vision blurring from her tears. "Oh honey." Rarity croons as she hugs her. "Everything will be alright. Any good wife would have chosen two months over two years in a heartbeat. He'll be back before you know it..." Fucking dammit. The memory ended again. I don't have time for this. I need to know more about the potions she took! Next one.... there! "Why does it have to be this way Cheesus? Isn't there some other way?" Twilight asks some pale white unicorn. They're sitting in an office with... many... they're in a dirty office, I'm leaving it at that. "Twilight, I like you and Storm. You're both good ponies. But I can't just give out rooms, especially when the only ones that might be open are penthouse level. Not to mention the losses from housing ponies that probably won't be spending money. It's unfair to any other workers or patrons. And I can't willingly sell a room that is registered to another pony without some kind of compensation." "You're going to stop us on an ethics code!?" "Twilight, whether you like it or not, this is a business, ok. A business that I’m trying to add some ethics and morals to by the way.. I'm sorry, but unless I can get Storm to be a worker, I can't help you." He says as he leans back in his chair. "Why Storm though? Why not any of the other Spartans? They're all just as buff an-" "Storm has a history in the business. Not a very well known one, but he still has the most experience in it. I already have ten earth ponies and twelve unicorns, with only seven pegasi.... look. It's mandatory that all guest be on birth control. Squishy will try to keep him out of any problems that might happen otherwise. And... well, we have the option to make this an easier choice." "... how?" FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT! Of course the memory would end RIGHT before they would discuss the potion! Of course it would! FUCK! .... alright, next one. It's back to Twilight in the library. She makes it up to her room where she goes to her bed and pulls out a satchel from under her bed. She levitates out four potions. Two turquoise, two light purple. She walks out to the center of the room where she pace about, staring at the two vials intently. "I'm so sorry Storm-" And it ends, though I know how that was going to end up. The void is starting to grow, leaving little room for the memories to grow back. I need to get moving. There's one, it's small, but it'll due. "I can't believe it... positive..." And it's over. I really shouldn't be that surprised, with how small it was. There's a larger one, and it's the one with Cheesus. "... and then he'll be back to his normal self. I've made and tested this potion myself, so I know it works." He says as he sets the five potions on the desk. Twilight levitates them up and looks each one over intently. "Who did you test these on?" "I can't answer that. Do we have a deal?" Twilight sets the vials down and thinks deeply for a moment. "Squishy will watch over him?" "As best he can." "All of the patrons will be on birth control?" "That and will be tested for any diseases two days before." "And... he'll be back to normal when he makes it back?" Cheesus nods and pushes the vials forward. "It'll be like it never happened. Do we have a deal?" It ends. Again, I make the obvious assumption and move on to the next memory. We're back in Twilight bedroom. She's stopped pacing around and is laying on the floor crying her eyes out. She glances back to three of the empty vials before looking to the turquoise one in her hoof. A small piece of paper has been tied around it. She takes it with her magic and reads it aloud. "*sniff* turquoise will erase from up to a predesignated time. Purple will counteract the prior, providing a gap in memory. Do not drink in wrong order... what did I do? Where is Storm? What's going on..." she looks back to the potion in her hoof. "Memory erasers? These are suppose to be illegal due to their ingredients. Why do I have one? What kind of pony would grind up their horn for this... I... I think I did something bad. I... I don't want to remember anymore...." She drinks the potion and passes out. I need a moment to think. Twilight, why are you so stupid. OK, she said it was made from another unicorns horn, so I just need to look for anything that doesn't align with her spiritual code and appears as another ponies. Not exactly easy, seeing how she's already ingested it, I just hope I can't do this before any real damage is done. I push my magic throughout her body and try to search out the foreign parts. This is not easy. I've determined that she's eaten blueberry oatmeal for breakfast. There's something else... something.... almost. I search for an unknown amount of time before I finally isolate the potion and begin to remove it. Sadly for Twilight, there's only two way out... and her mouth is too far. It takes awhile, but I finally get all of the potion out of her system. With my work done, I retract from her mind and return to reality. A foul smell hits me almost immediately, along with the sound of hooves running up the stairs. With speed even magic couldn't explain, I rush the doorway in time to stop anyone from entering the room. "Miles! What in tarnation is going on? Is Twi alright? What-" "You all need to go down stairs and wait, now!" I yell at them, getting confused looks. "Twilight is fine, she's just... indecent." "Say no more. Girls, to the front room, now." Rarity says as she starts to shoo everyone away. I sigh in relief and thank Rarity before rushing back to Twilight. She's out cold. I pick her up magically and bring her up to the restroom to wash up. Once she's clean, I lay her in her bed and get to work cleaning up... the mess. Not something pleasant, but I stick through it till the jobs done. Once done I quickly check on her before heading down to the others, where I get mobbed with thousands of questions. "Alright, just step back and let me explain." I tell them, getting some breathing room. "OK. Now, for some unknown reason, Twilight has taken several memory potions; as well as the recovery potions." I tell them, getting gasps in response. "I tried to remove the potion from her system, but sadly I can't stop any of the damage from happening. I don't know how much she's lost. Now, when she wakes up, I'm going to talk to her alone. We can't bombard her with questions, especially if she can't answer them." "Why did she do this?" Fluttershy asks softly. "She seemed fine this morning, why was she hiding this from us?" Spike asks. "None of that matters." Rainbow Dash barks, getting odd looks from everyone. "Our friend is in trouble, and it's up to us to be there for her, no matter what. She'll tells us if she can remember, but until then it's nothing but love and support. You got that? SHOW ME YOUR LOVE FACE!" She yells at Fluttershy, who cowers; then tries to force a loving face up. "... right, I'm going to go check on Twilight. The rest of you just... work on your love faces." I say before heading back up the stairs. I make my way to her bedside and take a seat beside her... or was about to before I realized that would be stupid. Damn magic. With a heavy sigh I lower my head to listen to her breathing pattern. "... Miles?" Twilight asks weakly. "Wh-what happened? Ah, my head. When did we get into Ponyville?" "Take it easy, you had a... little mishap. How do you feel, other than the headache?" I ask her quietly. "Um... normal, I guess. Wh... what happened in Ruby Canyon?" "Ruby Canyon? Oh.... wow." I say as I back away from her. She's forgotten so much. "Um... Twilight. You... well. What's the date again?" "Um... January fifth... or sixth. What day is-" "It's Friday... January eleventh." She sits up in bed and tries to piece everything together. Her obvious frustration is starting take face as she mumbles to herself. "Twilight, don't strain yourself. I'm here to explain everything, but I need you to be calm first-" "Where's Storm, I want to see Storm Cloud right now, bring him to me!" She demands hysterically, pulling the sheets close to herself. "Storm isn't here-" "Where is he!? Where did he go?! What's going on?" She yells, looking around frantically. "OK, OK, calm down Twilight. I'm going to go get Spike, just... just stay in bed and try to relax. Do you think you can do that?" She looks back to me and huffs a bit before slowly nodding. I head down the stairs where everyone looks to me, waiting for answers. "Spike, come here real quick." I call to him as I pace about. "We heard her yell, is she going to be alright?" he asks me with a tremble. "She's just confused. She's missing a few days but I think she'll be fine over all. I need you to go up there and comfort her. Try to answer as many questions as possible and don't pry for information. Just let her do most of the talking, alright?" He nods to me and heads upstairs. "What are we going to do about Galena?" Dash asks as she walks up beside me. "We can't really go without her." "I know. Luckily she remembers enough to be able to help. We'll give her a day to rest and recover before heading out, if she's still willing to go." "She'll go, trust me on that." I nod to her and leave the library, letting the others know about the situation first. They're just as worried as I am and vow to stay until she's better. I need to leave though. I can smell the burning wood from under my feet. .......................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Celestia Once Luna finally goes to bed I take my leave for some other business. I need to speak with Regina about our plans for future support, the mayors of Manehattan and Coalton are both visiting and I still need to check on our emissaries to the Bears Soviet- "Princess?" I sigh as I turn around to face Diamond Heart. "Yes, Diamond, is there anything I can do for you?" I ask as calmly as possible. "I don't know," he says matter of factly. "Is there anything you can do for me?" "If there isn't anything you need then I-" "Need?" He asks, smiling lightly. "*sigh* Can we just stop beating around the bush, please?" I ask as I lower my head. "Very well, follow me please." He says before slowly walking down the hall. I contemplate leaving him to do a check up, but decide against it. Despite being completely able to do all of the work I need to do well before he can walk anywhere. "And don't you dare think about ditching me." "I wasn't-" "You may beat me in age, but you're young at heart and I know that look. I can't believe you'd even consider leaving a poor old stallion to wander these halls by himself." He pouts, adding a bit of a dramatic edge to his words. "Are you suggesting that I would pass up a chance to hear your wisdom to go to some boring business meeting? And hear I thought you knew me so well." I joke, stepping ahead of him a bit. "You think I know you well? Hm, that's odd for you to say." He muses as he stops walking. I turn to look back to him, but rear back a bit when we suddenly flash away. I blink a few times before realizing we’ve teleported to Discords statue. "How well do you know Discord?" "Well enough." I say with a bit of malice. "Come now, try to answer honestly. How well do you know Discord?" He asks as points to the statue. I look up to him and try to think how much I actually know. "He can't take things seriously. He only wishes to make things into jokes, never to aid anypony. His addiction to chaos makes him untrustworthy and... and... he..." "So, you can only tell me things based on his actions. You know nothing of intent. You know nothing of his morals. And you know nothing of his methods." "... why are you asking me this?" I ask him, getting a low chuckle in response. "I was talking to Blueblood about Luna's little out break earlier, and the human named Miles came up. Oddly enough, we came to the same conclusion about him as you did Discord. Blueblood made the suggestion that Miles was Discord, but I laughed it off. That is, until I asked you about him. Two creatures, with similar beginnings, end up in Equestria and change the fates of all of us. Just a little more than coincidental, if you ask me." "Are you suggesting that... Miles.... is Discord?" I ask slowly as I face him. "Who created the Elements? Who is specialized in war? How much chaos has been brought through the land because of him? Things seem to revolve around him, and I don't like it. I normally wouldn't wish this, but the sooner he's gone, the better." "No.... Miles.... no. They stand for completely different things. Not to mention Discord is in stone here. How could you possibly make that assumption?" "I don't believe he is Discord, I believe they somehow made a deal of some kind. How many times have you set spells that Discord could worm around? His magic is fundamentally different than ours. The same could be said about Miles. We know that their beginnings start within those cities that Miles is so intent on traveling to. This could all be blind accusation, but with the evidence we have, this is the conclusion I have come to. I have also taken the liberty to not share this with anypony besides you. I hope you will take what I've said seriously. This could be monumental." He warns me before turning to leave. "One last thing." I call out to him, getting him to pause. "Do you really think the one who created harmony, could make chaos?" "We've already seen Discord in harmony. Ask Fluttershy, it doesn't last long." .......................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Miles January 12th, 8:00 AM I can't help but fidget around as I wait at the train station. I had a rather long and stressful night. I couldn't sleep due to a magical build up, so I just started making weapons. I must have made twenty custom weapons with some stupidly insane enchantments. It helped take the edge off, but I can still feel a light pressure pushing in on my chest and abdomen. Luckily my lines only grew a few centimeters. That's good... right? In addition to those weapons, I also remade Fluttershy's sniper rifle, put a new damper spell, and attached the gem from the crystal rifle onto it. It was tedious and annoying, but I got it done. The weapon won't fire now. I don't know what that means, but I'm just going to assume that it's fine. Mechanically it's working, but something in the gem is stopping it. The worst part about it though was having to drag it here. Otherwise I would have chanced burning off the enchants. "Oh, you fixed my rifle, thank you." Fluttershy says as she lands behind me, wearing her armor in addition to her saddle bags. "Yeah, it's basically good as new. Though I can't get it to fire for some reason. I assume it's the gem doing that. We'll test it when we get out of the populated area." I tell her as she takes it and straps it to her back. "Ok, that sounds like a good plan. And thank you for extending the trigger a bit more. Not that the way you did it before was bad, it's just going to be easier this time." she tells me as she paws at the ground. Paws at the ground... I think that's the terminology. Hm.... sounds right. "Good morning Applejack." "Mornin y'all." she greets as she walks up to join us. Like Fluttershy, she's wearing her armor and bags. "Golly, what time is the train s'pose ta get here?" she asks sleepily. "About an hour, why do you sound so tired?" I ask. "Ah was up late bubkin apples. Don't fret none, we're on quota. Ah just wanted ta get ahead a bit before leavin." "You could have asked for help." I tell her, mainly because bucking apples sounded so much better than crafting all night long. All. Night. Long. "You really shouldn't stress yourself out like that AJ. We could have helped." Fluttershy adds. "Ah know, but... it was more ta let some steam off. The whole Twilight potion thing had me in a fit. Don't worry though. I'm good now." she tells us. "Good about what?" Rainbow Dash asks as she suddenly lands beside her. "Dash... where is your armor?" I ask flatly. She looks back to herself before smiling and taking off through the air. We all laugh a bit as Rarity and Twilight join us. "Where is Rainbow going?" Twilight asks. "She forgot her armor. Are-" "I've already had this talk with Rarity. Yes. I am still going. I know yesterday was... traumatic. But I know what to expect, I know I am still a vital part of the group, and I know I wouldn't forgive myself for letting my dearest friends go without me. So please don't bombard me with concern and-" "I was just going to ask if you were ready." I tell her, making her blush a bit. "Oh... yes. Aren't you-" "Yes. But I figured that if you showed up there would be no convincing you to stay. That, and given my track record with saying no.... yeah, as long as you could make it here you were in." "In what?" Rainbow Dash asks as she lands between Rarity and Twilight, clad in her armor. "Glad you could make it Twi." "Dash, where are your weapons?" Rarity asks.Rainbow growls in frustration and takes off again. We all laugh again as we watch the rainbow streak through the air towards her home. "What a dork." Pinkie laughs from beside me, scaring the shit out of me. "Pinkie! When did you get here?" "I've been here all night," she says proudly. "Why?" "Why not?" she shrugs. We all look to each other before dropping it. Pinkie being Pinkie, some things will never change. THUD "OK! I've got my armor, my weapons, my supplies, Scootaloo is at school and will be staying at the Apples. I did the laundry, washed the dishes, gave Scoots her allowance, spent the entire night cleaning- EVERYTHING IS DONE!" "Did you lock the front door?" I ask. She thinks about it for a second before falling over."I take that as a no-" "I'm just going to say that it is and hope nothing bad will happen. It's Ponyville, not Hoofington." she grumble from the ground. WHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISLE We all turn to see the train approaching the station. When it finally comes to a complete stop the ticket salesperson comes out and hands the conductor our tickets. "Hmmm.... ALL ABOARD FOR COALTON!" he bellows as we head to our cart, the second to last one. Twilight and I spend a few minutes enchanting it to be able resist high temperatures before I board the train. The ride west was peaceful enough. It wasn't very long, and we all slept through most of it. We made it to our destination in no time at all really. Coalton reminds me a lot of Ponyville, just larger. Same building schemes, just larger on average. The train brought us to the center of town, so we had to walk through a good chuck of the city before making it to the outskirts. Many of the ponies avoided us, though I can't really blame them. Six armed ponies and a human that is constantly on fire are strolling through town. Not necessarily normal. Normal.... I miss those days. "SPARTAN!" some guy yells. Rainbow and I both turn around to see a group or mercs walking towards us. I can't help but groan as our two groups meet in the middle of the street. "So, you're the new set of mercs I take it." I say to some light green earth mare with rose red curled hair. The rest pause behind her and line up as she steps forward to address me. "I am. It seems our previous group leader decided to go AWOL, so you'll have to do without one for now. May I introduce the next group of mercs that will traveling with you. You're explosives expert, Cooked Frag," she's a dark blue earth mare with black hair that resembles AJ's style. Her cutie mark is a bundle of TNT with a timer in front of it, surrounded by what appears to be an outline of a cloak. "This unicorn is Arc Light, your mage." she says as a light tan, brown mane and tail, stallion steps forward. His mark is a wand and a wrench crossing each other. Both of his left limbs are missing and are replaced with mechanical replacements. "Next is-" "I am Smartian Ironhorn." The pompous Minotaur says as he steps forward and bows slightly. He's fairly tall, taller than any other Minotaur I've seen, with night blue fur and black horns. He holds a massive battle ax in both his hands and wear elegant light chain mail. "It will be an honor to serve with me." "... wait, what?" "Anyway," the light green mare cuts in. "Next is Mintelle, your mage." A grey- white mare walks up and dips her head a bit. She has long emerald green hair and a mark of a blue bolt off lightning. "You can call me Minty, all of my friends do. Actually, everypony does. That's weird, well... not really. You should try to be friends with as many ponies as possible. I mean, who doesn't like friends-" "RIGHT!" Pinkie yells as she leaps forward. The two of them start to talk A LOT. I don't think they're even listening to each other. They're just... talking. "Right. So, next we have Aiming Node, your armed support." A brown-orange earth stallion and nods to me. His azure mane is spiked up, well, what's left of it at least. It ends right at his neck. His cutie mark is of six horizontal lines that form a pyramid, longest on bottom with small gaps between them. "Lastly we have Hasel, your medic." The last earth stallion walks up and nods to me. He has a blue coat and black hair that has a strip of darker blue going through it. His mark is of a medical cross. "Well, now that introductions are over with, there's the matter of payment." "I'll pay when this is completely done. Don't worry, I'm sure it's going to be over with soon, so just be a little patient." I tell her, getting a small frown in response. "Of course. Well, I should let you all get going then. Much to do. Have a safe journey." she says before leaving. I sigh before looking back to the mercs before me. Three earth ponies, two unicorns, and a Minotaur. I guess they ran out of pegasi. "Alright, I give this warning to every group, and they usually say the same thing in response. You shouldn't come. You will die. If you value your lives turn around and leave." The Minotaur laughs as the others look to each other. "Don't worry little hairless ape. We have the training to keep you and your little filly friends safe." Smartian mocks. I just roll my eyes and walk away. If they don't want to listen then let them die. I've don't care if an asshole dies. We go one mile out of the town and begin our descent down. Everyone outside of Pinkie and Mintelle kept quiet, though the two of them talked enough for everyone. I may have pushed myself a bit more than necessary, but if it helped end their conversation then it would be worth it. We crash into the dome of Galena, roughly near the edge. I quickly begin to clear a path to the side and make my way to the bulkhead. "This is it. Fluttershy, I want you and Rarity to take up a high position. Somewhere where you can follow us and provide cover when needed-" "Got it!" The two of them answer. "Hasel, go with them in case they need medical assistance. Dash, you're with me in the front, but keep behind me in case I need to throw up a shield-" "Roger that." "Twilight, stick towards the rear of the group and keep in mind you can throw shields and heal. Applejack, I want you to stick with her and watch her back in case things get hairy-" "Ya can count on me!" "What about me? What do I do?" Pinkie asks. "Get ready to tell us when your tail is twitching." "Oh... yeah, I should be voicing that more often than usual huh. Okey dokey lokey." "As for the rest of you, find someone and provide cover when needed-" "What makes you believe we're in such danger? You haven't even opened the door yet." Aiming Node asks. I look back to him for a second before walking towards the bulkhead and lightly tapping it. THUD The entire thing comes crashing down, blown off its hinges long ago. We walk through the dust cloud and survey the city for a moment. Like many of the cities before most of the buildings have been either damaged or destroyed. An eerie silence falls over us as we begin our trek into the dead city. Bullet holes, scorch marks, magically altered walls litter the road; clear indicators of the heavy fighting that occurred. I look to the P.C.H. and note the heavy howitzers pointing out of the tall building. Ten on each side. They must have made them back when Topaz was attacked. Artillery underground is usually a last ditched effort. And they easily made forty of them. There are a few spots where something destroyed part of the building, leaving a missing gap. But there probably still at least thirty left. "We're going to go take up that tall building to the left. Stay safe." Fluttershy tells us before her, Rarity and Hasel turn down a street towards a large apartment building. "Hold up.... what the fuck is that?" I ask as I head towards a section of destroyed buildings. In the middle of the ruble lays a massive machine. The head of it lays just in view for us to see. It's a large ball that has two hundred twenty millimeter cannons on the side of it, with fifty caliber machine guns mounted above and below each of them; making four in total. The center is covered in red lenses, several of which have been blown out. It's mostly black with red highlights. The body of the machine is ginormous. Three legs are set on its side, and I'm assuming it has three more underneath. It's body is diamond shaped and goes up nearly two stories. Its back is made of smaller diamond sections, one of which is filled with an Aquila. "What is it?" Twilight asks as she gawks at the large machine. "I'm not sure. But whatever it was, it had an insane amount of firepower, Nine Aquilas, and thirty six legion bots. This thing was a mobile army. Let's move on and hope that there aren't anymore in working condition." Our group splits. Fluttershy's going to the apartment and the rest heading to the P.C.H. I don't like the idea of splitting up, but If it keeps Fluttershy out of the main fight I guess it can't be too bad. .......................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Fluttershy We make it to the large building in about an hours trot. It didn't seem so big before, but now.... "Maybe we shouldn't go inside-" "Do you really think you can carry us all the way upstairs darling?" Rarity asks as she steps toward the door. "Um... well.... no." Hasel steps in front of me and offers a reassuring smile before following Rarity into the building. With one final large gulp I keep my eyes low as I follow them inside. I'm sure it'll be less scary when we get inside. The first room looks like a lobby to a hotel. A long counter takes up the left while mico platforms take up the right. At the very end of the room is a door with a stair symbol on it. Rarity and I make our way through the dusty room and try each of the platforms, to no avail. Somepony must have broken them during the fighting. With no other way, we begin climbing the stairs. It wasn't really a problem at first, but after ten floors the path became blocked by collapsed stone. We head back to the previous floor and make our way through there, looking for any other collapses that could get us higher in the building. As we go from room to room, we quickly discover what this building was for. It was an apartment. Ponies- er- humans, used to live here. Many of the rooms have evidence of fighting. Bullet holes, blown out walls... bones. Though they're not a abundant as when we were in Topaz, they're still enough here to make my stomach turn. After about an hour of looking Rarity lets out an annoyed grunt and begins to shoot out a ceiling. "There, now we can move on. Can you keep still Hasel." Before he could respond Rarity's magic took a hold of him and lifted him up to the next floor. "I can fly!" I mutter when she looks over to me. I try to lift off, but her magic grabs me and sets me on the next floor. Soon after I'm dropped Rarity levitates up and lands perfectly to my right. "There, there, no need to thank me. Now lets get a move on. We have to get into position to cover the others." Hasel and I share a look before we follow after her. The next room... wasn't really a room. A large portion of the building has been blown out, leaving a perfect view of the city. "I think this will be good, unless you think we should go higher." I tell the others. "No, I like it. What do you think?" Rarity asks Hasel. He glances around a bit before shrugging. "I'll take that as a yes then. Go ahead and try to find the others, we'll keep watch." I nod to her and set up at the edge of the building. I pull out some extra magazines and lay them beside me before attaching the eye lens onto me. I move some to the rubble out of the way before laying down and aiming out at the city. "Hmm.... there they are. I can see Rainbow flying around. They're about a third of the way there." I tell the others. "That's good. At least they're making good time." I zoom out to survey the rest of the city. There's nothing really interesting out there. It's a miracle that those lights still work. I started scanning back to the group when something caught my attention. Something big. It's the machine from before, only this one doesn't seem damaged at all. I can't help but hold my breath as I watch it climb over the buildings towards the others. Should I open fire? It hasn't done anything threatening yet. I watch as the machine stops a bit before the group and stares them down. Black vehicles pop off its back and begin to fly around them, creating a tight perimeter. "I think they might be in trouble." I tell the others as I wait for one of them to make a move. "What's that darling?" "I said-" BOOM ............................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Miles After Fluttershy and the others we make our way further down the street. We end up finding a bus that's still operational... well. Operational enough to be driven at ten kilometers an hour. Not the fastest mode of transportation, but it beats walking. There are actually a surprising number of vehicles on the streets. I'd think the Unfamiliar would have taken everything worth taking. Then again, with seven cities sacked, they probably have more then they can carry. "Hey Miles," Rainbow Dash says as she walks up to me. "Can you let me out so I can give my wings a stretch. I don't like being cramped up in these metal carriages." "Well.... alright. But keep close. I don't want anything happening with you long gone. You're the only Spartan I have here." I tell her as I press the button to open the door. She gives me a quick nod before taking off through the air. "Do you think it's wise to let go on her own like that? What if something happens to her?" Twilight asks. Yeah, Twilight asked that... just saying. "She can handle herself, I trained her to do so. She'll be fine-" "Captain! We've got movement up ahead on the right!" Rainbow yells from outside. I bring the bus to a screeching halt. I run out and immediately throw a shield around all of us as the massive machine crawls over the buildings ahead of us. Aquilas pop off of its back and begin to swarm around us. "We need to drop down to the next floor where we'll have a better cover. Applejack, shoot a hole in the-" KRA-BOOM Before I could finish the machine opened fire. My shield held, but I felt my lines force their way past my shoulders. As if one wasn't bad enough, all of the other airship began to open fire as well. The world around us becomes obscured by all of the explosions from the combined assault. I drop to my knees as I fight to keep the shield up, my lines rapidly growing over my body. "ANY TIME NOW!" I yell, getting AJ to blast a hole in the ground. I wait for everyone to drop down before falling after them. "Miles! Move away and I'll make a landing pad for everypony else!" Twilight yells as we drop through the air. I nod to her and kick the air away, magically sending me away from them. Twilight conjures a large inflatable cushion for all them to land into while I use my magic to crash into the ground gracefully. "Get into the buildings! Get moving, GO!" I yell to them as I rush to the nearest door and kick it open. I rush in and pull out each of my blades, waiting to see what comes after me. Smartian, Mintelle, and Applejack. "Where are the others?" Before anyone could answer, the sound of concrete crashing down filled the room. "We should head to higher ground!" Mintelle yells. I look back to a stairwell and point it out. "There! Head up, I'll cover the rear!" I yell as we all begin to run towards it. CRASH Something big comes crashing down out front, making the ground shake violently. I look out the window and see several legion bots dropping outside; some heading our way, others heading to the other side of the street. "HERE THEY COME!" I yell as they run, side by side, through the windows. They land in all of the broken glass and charge straight for us, eight total BANG-BOOM Applejack fires her shotgun and groups three of them together. The explosion tore their limbs apart and sent metal work everywhere. A bolt of lightning from Mintelle struck another one as Smartian ran forward and brought his great ax down on another, burying it on its shoulder. I run forward and punch forward with my trench knife, sending the bot flying back and slamming against the wall. The one to my right moves to strike at me, so I dodge to the right. I raise my weapons and circle to the right as the bot does the same to me. I wait and push some more energy into my sword before swinging forward. The bot easily catches my blade, but turns to ice from the spell. I turn and help engage the last two bots. Smartian seems to be taking the both of them on single handedly, swing his ax madly as they retreat from him. Mintelle shoots another bolt of lightning that makes one stagger to the ground. Smartian takes this chance to bring down his ax onto the bot, who barely raises its shield in time to block the attack. "SMARTIAN!" Mintelle yells as an Aquila drops by the windows. VVVRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM Its chain gun opens fire and tears through him with ease. I raise a personal shield and run for the stair well, making it in just after Mintelle and Applejack.We rush up the stairs as the doorway erupts in archaic fire. Red bolts smash through the concrete and blow holes through the stairs as we climb floor after floor. After about three stories it stops firing and everything finally goes quiet. "Looks like they stopped chasing us." Applejack says as we take a moment to catch our breath. "Yeah, lets keep moving. We don't want them to catch up with us. We'll meet up with the others at the P.C.H." I tell them as I begin the next flight of stairs. I look back to see Mintelle sitting there, dazed. "Or... we can take five, you ok?" "... I guess. Nopony really liked him, but... he was still a member of our group." She says with a shrug. "Let's just keep going." ................................................................................................................................................................ Perspective: Twilight We hit the large cushion and bounce a bit before falling off. "Get into the buildings! Get moving, GO!" Miles yells from the other side. Without really thinking I turn and run to the closest building. I turn around and watch as almost everypony runs in after me. "Where are Applejack, Miles and the others?" I ask as I shut the door behind Pinkie. "They must have gone on the other side of the street. I'll-" CRASH A bunch of rubble had been falling, but was quickly followed by the massive machine. I put a shield with my rifle and turn to the others. "Miles can take care of the others. We need to focus on getting to the P.C.H. Rainbow, take the lead. Bring us back up top and keep an eye out for anymore of the Aquilas. I'll cover the rear. Lets get moving." I tell them as legion bots begin to advance towards us. "You heard her, MOVE IT!" Rainbow yells as she runs through the mess of desks towards the back of the building. I drop the shield and open fire as everypony begins to run away. The bots just line up and hide behind their large shields as they march towards us. My weak energy bolts do very little against their thick shields, which I think are enchanted to deflect energy. "I could use a little help here!" I yells to the others as I back away from the advancing bots. Cooked Frag runs to my side and starts tossing several Molotov cocktails at them. The fire spreads quickly over them, but does nothing to hinder them. "They're not living beings! FIRE MAKES THEM MORE DEADLY!" I yell at Cooked Frag. Suddenly all of the bots charge forward and begin their attack. I jump back as one stabs at me. I feel the tip of the blade press against my armor. I push it back with my magic along with another attacking bot. I bring my rifle back around and open fire on it, hitting it along the torso. it shakes a bit before bring its shield back over. "AAAHH!" I look over to see Cooked Frag take three blades into his chest. A moment later they rip them out and smash their shields in. I wince a bit from the sound of crushing bones before a sharp pain takes over my left leg. I look over to see the blackened steel sticking out through the back. I glance up as a shield makes its way towards my face. CRASH I yell out in pain as something yanks the blade out of my leg. I drop everything and fall to the ground as I grab my leg. I can't help but writhe around in pain as blood begins to pour over my hoof. I look up to see a bot stand over me and raise its blade- BOOM Something comes flying from outside and blows the head off of the bot. It stands there for a second before slowly falling back. BOOM Another shot downs another one of the bots, giving Rainbow the chance to open fire on the rest. She sets one of the bots falling back as her rounds tear through it's shield. What remains of the bots begin to fall back, forming back together as they walk back out the building. I take this chance to grab my rifle with my magic and pull out a blue potion with my good hoof. As I shoot my wound with the medi-gun, I yank the cork out and down the potion. "Twilight! Are you alright?" Pinkie yells as she runs over to check on me. "Ah! Yeah, I'll be fine in a bit. I just need to let this set-nnhhg. Why are they retreating?" I ask as Pinkie helps me to my hooves. "Don't know, don't care. We need to get moving now! Pinkie, help Twilight move. Mintelle, Aiming Node, you're with me. We'll clear a path to somewhere safer. Everypony else, keep up. LETS GO!" Rainbow yells before charging towards a stairwell. Pinkie and I begin to make our way over when a loud noise comes over the room. We both look back to see three of the Aquilas hovering just outside the windows. "GET DO-" VVRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM We drop down as three red beams tear apart the room.Shrapnel from broken tables and chunks of debris spray over the room as the torrent of red bolts ripe the room apart. We huddle close to the ground as I set a shield over us. Hopefully it will protect somepony behind us- KRA-BOOM One of the Aquilas suddenly explodes, sending the other two reeling back. They spin around and take off through the air. We wait for a few seconds before finally realizing that they're not coming back. "Lets get going while we have the chance!" Pinkie yells. We all jump up and run for the stairs. I turn back to do a head count.... we're missing two. I know about Cooked Frag... where's Arc Light? "Lets go Twilight!" Rainbow yells as she pulls me into the stairwell. ........................................................................................................................................................ Perspective: Fluttershy I aim down at the black airships as the send explosion after explosion onto the massive shield. It only lasts for a few moments though. Soon the firing stops and they all disappear beneath the thick smoke. I look back to the others, who mirror my worried expression, before getting up from my position. "I can't get a good view from up here. I'm going to fly down to lend a hoof. Why don't you two head towards the P.C.H.-" Before I could finish Hasel shook his head. "No? Well I don't think walking will be very-" He reaches into his bag and pulls out a vial. It contains a light blue liquid that has a string of pink in it. He downs the entire thing and gags a bit before a pair of thin butterfly wings appear on his back. "... how did you make a spell into a potion?" Rarity asks in astonishment. He merely shrugs before pulling out another one and giving it to Rarity. "Thank you." she says before drinking it... and nearly throws it up. A moment later, beautiful butterfly wings appear on her back, giving her the ability to fly. "Great, lets get moving. follow me." I tell them before jumping off the side... ... ... ... ... THIS IS TERRIFYING WHY AM I SO STUPID!! I immediately tuck in my legs and wings and close my eyes as the wind rushes through my main. Why couldn't I have just gently floated down like a smart pony!? Why did I have to try to be cool like Rainbow Dash? Now I'm going to fall to my death and all of my friends... ... ... NO! I will not let my friends down! I open my eyes and find myself about half way towards the ground. Taking a few deep breaths first, I open my wings to slow down. With the added weight of my rifle and ammo, the strain is immense, but I power through it until I gain control of my descent. Three fourths the way down now. At this rate I'll still hit the ground pretty hard... unless I take out the ground. I whip my rifle back out and aim straight down. BANG BANG BANG A large hole appears in the ground just in time for me to pass through, though I did have to tuck in my wings. Luckily for us, the building below is fairly close to the ceiling... ground? With a painful effort, I slow my descent enough to not break anything from my fall. Rarity and Hasel land behind me and hiccup, making their wings pop away. Gunfire stops me from questioning this as I turn to see the flying machines from before circling in the distance. I lay down and squint my eye, changing my vision to that of the scopes. I can see the others fighting off some advancing bots, with little success. Their shields are too strong for them to pierce through, luckily I set in my explosive ammo. As I line up my shot, their lines suddenly break as they rush forward and attack. The others fall out of view, but I see one ready to strike something down, so I fire- BANG and take of its head. I don't like the idea of hurting something like this, but I will in order to protect my friends. BANG With the two lead bots down the rest begin to back out of the building. I keep my rifle aimed at them until the black flying machines from before begin to pick them up. I was about to get ready to move when they suddenly opened fire on everypony inside. I watch through my scope as the bolts tear through metal and stone with total ease. Poor Arc Light wasn't able to find cover in time, and was blasted away by the powerful weapons. My lens begins to box off areas where jets of fire come out of the machines. I move my cross hairs over one of the larger ones and- BANG BOOM The entire vessel explodes, sending a large black column of dark smoke into the air. I open my other eye and watch as all of the other aircraft scatter from the explosion. My smile soon falls though when they all turn and head straight for us. "Oh.... my..." I mutter as they all fire several puffs of smoke towards us. Hasel jumps forward and throws down a large green potion. From the broken glass erupts a massive, thick, green plant. It's trunk is thick and its thick, ovate leaves point up and create a wall. KRA-BO-BO-BO-BO-BO-BOOM Explosions burn the plant apart as a few more of the explosives shriek through the air and explode behind us. We all drop to the ground and cover our ears as a large fire begins to build around us. THUD THUD THUD THUD I open my eyes in time to see one of the black bots swing its sword at me. I roll over completely and bring my rifle up to it- BANG I fire point blank at its shield. Whether it killed or not is unknown to me, as I watch it fall to the ground. I see another one fall as Rarity opens fire with her weapons as well… where’s Hasel? I look over to the left and see him trying to fight two of them hoof to hoof. Loud pings ring out as flesh and bone meet metal. They keep their shields up and begin to force him to closer to the edge. I rack the next round and fire at the closest one, causing its chest to explode. The remaining bot stabs him in the chest and pushes Hasel off the edge with its shield. Without a second thought, I leap off the building after him. I push myself as fast as I can as I inch closer to him. He sees me and lays flat, trying to slow his descent enough to give me an edge. We reach out to each other as we grow we slowly come closer and closer together. Just.... another... inch.... I see his eyes go wide for a second before something metallic wraps around my midsection. We stare at one another before he simply pulls his leg back to himself, and closes his eyes; a soft smile coming over his face. FWUUUSH I double over as the flying machine that has grabbed me flies off through the air. I try to wiggle out of its grasp, but the metal won’t budge. I try to move to shoot the thing, but we're moving too fast for me to do- "YYAAAAAAHHH!" I scream out as the machine suddenly flings me forward. I quickly bring my rifle out and try to take a shot at it- CLICK My heart drops as i face the machine. Its large gun begins to glow as it readies to shoot me. Is this really it? Is this where it all ends? How- KA-BOOM I blink a few times before catching myself. I look to the right just in time to see Miles hopping from rooftop to rooftop..... with two of the massive machines chasing after him. They're leap high in the air and try to fire their large guns at him, but he moves too fast for them. He gives me a quick motion to the right before jumping off. I look off to in the distance before seeing several flying machines chasing a teleporting Rarity. "Hold on Rare, I've got you." I mutter as I begin to reload. .................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Rarity After Fluttershy jumps off the ledge all of the remaining bots begin to draw closer to me. I'm out numbered and need to reload. FLASH I can only make it a few buildings away, and the drain is still fairly strong, but I needed to do it. I quickly pull my SMG over and pop the steaming, spent crystal out. I reach into my bag and- THUD THUD FLASH I end up in some random dusty, disheveled apartment. I lean against the cold wall and try to catch my breath, panting deeply as I close my eyes to rest. I can feel a cool layer of disgusting sweat begin to form over what was my perfect white coat as I weakly begin to load the next crystal in- VVVRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRMMMMMMMMMM One of the flying machines begins to tear apart the apartment. Though I'm tired, I teleport out again in order to escape. When I appear in the next area, I nearly fall over from exhaustion. I stumble a bit as my vision blurs and my head spins. I need to keep moving... I need.... to... THUD I fall to the ground and look up to the bot as it walks over to me, readying its sword to finish me off. I close my eyes and begin to- BANG I can't help but smile when I hear the bot fall to the ground. Another shot sounds off, followed by another bot falling. ................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Miles Applejack, Mintelle and I make it up five floors before we run into a cave in. I was going to make an opening magically, when Applejack had an idea. "Lemme head over ta see if ah can get a look at the others. Ah just wanna make sure they're safe." "Well... you can go. If I go, they'll see my energy signature.... or at least it'll be easier to." She thinks about it for a second before turning down the stairs. "If I take more than five minutes come lookin fer me." She tells us before running down. I take a seat on the stairs and wait patiently for her return. Mintelle sits beside me as well. She's grown uncomfortably quiet and distant. Understandable, she did see one of her fri- co-workers torn apart by a chain gun. "Are you going to be OK?" I ask her, breaking her concentration. "Huh? Oh, yeah. I guess. I'm just worried about my friends. I'm starting to think that coming down here was a bad idea." she admits as she rubs her foreleg. "Well, at-" BANG BANG BANG BOOM We both jump up to our feet when Applejack begins firing. I throw my arms wide and make an opening in the stairs to the floor below. We jump down into the destroyed office to find Applejack running from more legion bots. She's already destroyed five of them and has three chasing after her. The moment they spot me they back off till they leap out the window. "... OK. That was easy." I say wait for something to happen. "Lets stick together from now on, alright?" "Sounds good ta me. Ah saw the others in the building across the way. Well... until they teleported away that is. It looked like they were in a fight of some kind." "Then lets get going before that fight finds us." Mintelle complains, nervously edging her way towards the stairs. I was about to follow when the sound of jets caught my attention. Four Aquilas took place over by the window, their chain guns revving up to fire. I throw my arms up and put a set a shield as they all simultaneously begin to fire. "HEAD TO THE STAIRS!" I yell as I fight to maintain the shield. "WE CAN'T! WE'RE TRAPPED!" Applejack begins to yell as she fires a couple of times. I glance back to see the stairs well filled with legion bots. Clever trap. They waited for us to check on the others before drawing us in. But they didn't calculate for one thing. "I'M GOING OUT!" "WHAT!?" Before they could do anything, I push my shield forward and begin to run towards the window. When I make it to the broken windows I drop the shield and draw my sword as I leap between the two center ones. Pushing the final enchantment on my sword, I swing at the right one, sending a red slash at it that turned it to fire. Before the others could react I send myself flying down. I can hear Applejack yell something, but ignore it as- BOOM -something blows a hole in the ground before I land so I keep falling to the next level.... I hate smart enemies. I push the air magically as I try to force myself back up to the same level as the others, having to make three leaps before I grab the ledge. I only get a few seconds to pick myself up before the airships begin to fire on me. Luckily all three of them target me, hopefully giving Aj and Mintelle some breathing room. I magically run down an alley as I hold a shield over my head, blocking the incoming fire. When they give chase I leap up to the rooftops and jump from one to the next. They fire a few missiles at me, but I'd just shield them off before running to the next roof. I spin around and shoot a beam of soul fire at one of the Aquilas, causing it to explode. It goes downn in a ball of fire and crashes into some building. CRASH CRASH ".......... AH COME ON!" I yell as I face, not one, but two of the massive machines from before. The rest of the Aquilas fly back to the original and dock back with it. An intense stare down builds between the three of us. I don't know what they're waiting for but- PATPATPATPATPATPAT As they begin to fire I throw my arms up and lift the roof up to block the attack. Sliding back with the roof, I prep myself to try to launch to the main level. BOOM The concrete behind me explodes, sending me falling over the edge. I try to catch myself by making a few columns from the building, but I break through four of them before finally hitting the ground. I push myself up and run, magically, down the alley as quickly as possible. When I reach a dead end I leap into the air. Ahead of me is an Aquila about to kill Fluttershy. "RRRRRRAAAAAHHHH!" I yell out as I thrust an arm forward, sending a beam of soul fire right into the exhaust port of the ship. It erupts into a ball of fire that leaves Fluttershy in a daze. I glance back and do a double take when I see the two machines chasing after me, leaping through the buildings with tremendous speed. When I land I only get a second to think before they open fire on me with their canons. It soon becomes a game of chase and avoid cannon fire as we race about the city. I try a couple of times to fight back, but I think they've learned my movements. Every time I turn to use magic, they open fire with their guns. Whenever I land, they fire their cannons. After an hour of running I finally get a chance- BOOM ... ... ... ... ... Something opened fire on the machine and blew off its head. I look over to the P.C.H to see the others working the howitzers. ......................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Rainbow Dash Lucky for us, Twilight was able to teleport all us to the P.C.H. after I brought Applejack and Mintelle over. The spell knocked her out, but we can take it from here. We rush inside to find Fluttershy and Rarity in the center of the mico station. Rarity is passed out, and Fluttershy has her right forelegs wrapped up in a bloody bandage. Eight legion bots lay around them, most of their heads have been blown off. "Fluttershy! Rarity! Are you two alright?" Pinkie yells as she digs through Twilights bags and brings them both a healing potion. "Oh, thank you. We're fine... well, fine-ish." Fluttershy says meekly before down the potion. "Is Miles still being chased by the two large machines?" "What? We thought he was with you.... two? There's two of them." I ask, getting a slow nod from her. "Damn. OK, I'm going to go help him-" "How exactly are you going to help him?" Mintelle asks bluntly. "Those things are tough enough to keep your overpowered captain at bay. We should just-" "What about the big gun things above us?" Pinkie asks. "The... what?" "You know, those things pointing out the side of the building. The ones that look like the ones on the machine, bug things." We all stare at Pinkie for a moment before I finally realize what she's talking about. "Pinkie, you're a genius." "No I'm not, I'm a baker." I ignore her and fly around the room, looking for any insignia's that could send us to the large guns. None of these look right! Well... this one has a gun and lightning bolt. That might be it. I step on the platform and teleport to a room filled with four of the massive machines. The black flying bots are zooming around them, making repairs and loading weapons and ammo. They all pause and look over to me. ... ... ... "Uh.... I think I've got the wrong room.... so..... bye!" I jump back onto the platform and teleport away as they all open fire. "OK! It's not this one." "It's this one!" Pinkie cheers as she points to a platform with a etching of a bullet behind it. I walk over to her and stare at the platform. "How are you-" "I went through it and there were all these big guns and big bullet things and computers and I think I saw some kind of carriage but it didn't have-" "OK! I'll just take your word then. Um... Mintelle, you stay here with Fluttershy and guard Twilight and Rarity. Applejack, Pinkie and I will head up and see what we can do. Lets go." I tell them. Before anypony could answer I take the platform. I step into the new room and look for any potential danger. This room reminds me of an air dock, only being in a building. The wall behind me is covered in munitions that are cased off. The wall before me is open, leaving room for the large grey gun to point out. The gun itself is mounted to the ceiling and has a panel the comes down on the side. The panel looks as is it mounts to your shoulder with a piece of glass in front of it. To the left is a large open roofed carriage that doesn't have wheels and to the right is a computer station with Pinkie and Applejack sitting at it. "Hey, quit gawking around an get over here and check this out!" Applejack yells at me as she waves me over. I fly over to find them trying to get the thing to work. "Any ideas on how-" THUNK "... works." Ends up Pinkie punching the thing gets it to work. We spend a few minutes trying to figure out what we're suppose to do. Watching Miles do this and doing it ourselves are two completely different things. Somehow, with enough poking and random clicking, we start one of the videos for Miles. We were about to stop it when I saw that in the background there were people using the guns. So we watched it until I could figure it out. "OK. Ah think we all know what the plan is." Applejack says when the video ends. "Right. You and I will provide cover until Pinkie can get down there and take on the pulices. Then we bring Miles over here and finish this once and for all." We all nod and head to our stations. Applejack runs over to the wheel-less carriage and carefully presses a button. With a loud roar, and a bit of blue smoke, it lifts off the ground. It moves out of the room and brings her to the next level with a canon. Pinkie takes the platform away as I set my weapons down and get into the gunners seat. The harness wraps around me and holds me in place. There's a long tube with a handle at the end sitting on my right shoulder. A glass panel is set in front of me, taking up most of my field of vision. A number count down starts on the panel... 3... 2... 1... Suddenly the canon begins to move with me. I move the tube to the left, and the canon goes to the left. Good, it still works. I grab the handle with my left hoof and pull it back until it meets my shoulder. The cannon's barrel slide back to reveal an opening for the shell to go in. "Uh... high explosive." I say out loud. A mechanical arm slides from the canon to the cases behind me, where it opens one up and pulls a shell out. It sets the round inside and returns to waiting by the canon. I push the tube back out, setting the canon back into its firing position. A trigger pops out on the handle as the screen clears up. An aiming receptacle comes onto the panel, with smaller receptacles showing the drop of the round. I search for the large machines for a few moments, then lock on. This things makes aiming almost too easy. BANG The air shakes when I pull the trigger. I watch the round fly through the air and slam into the head of the first machine, blowing it clean off. BANG Applejack fires at the other one, only for a flying machine to block the attack. "High explosive!" I yell as I pull the tube back. A loud clang rings in the room as the spent shell bounces behind me. Once the round is in, I push the tube forward and get ready to fire again. All of the flying machines are flying right toward us, firing their missiles along the way. BANG I try to fire through the missile barrage to hit the machine. Instead I hit a missile and force the rest to explode. Unintentional awesomeness aside- BANG Applejack fires again,knocking another Aquila out of the air. The pulices begins to run out of view, so we begin fire after it. I score a hit on one of its legs as Applejack hits another Aquila. "High explosive!" I yell out. Beep beep "Huh? High explosives!" Beep beep "Uh.... standard?" Beep beep "Just give me whatever's left dammit!" Beep beep "RAH! Fine!" I yell as I try to take the harness off. I pull on the straps as hard as possible, but they won’t budge. I glance back to see two Aquilas hovers a few feet from me, charging their guns. "Oh man, oh man, oh man, oh man, this bad." I mutter as I continue to fight with the straps. "CCUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNTT!" "..... huh?" ...................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Miles Once I catch on to what’s going on I press my attack onto the remaining machine. I fire a few bursts of soul fire towards it and charge forward. It manages to fire a round off in order to block my attack. They must have my spell speed calculated. I need to get around it and take out its legs then. The rest of the Aquilas launch and take off for the P.C.H. while the machine squares off with me, keeping its face between me and the howitzers. I fire a few more shots as I try to keep it at bay. Icy void could easily take it out, but I don't think it would be smart to use that much magic right now. KA-BOOM It fires at me again. I shield it off and run off towards the P.C.H. for better cover. It chases after me but takes a round right in its front leg. It staggers a bit, but stays standing. Why do we have to make these things so tough... "Uh... Pinkie?" I ask as she casually walks past me. "Just wait, I've got this." she says confidently. "Hey! Wanna hear a joke!" She yells to the machine. "...... no. Just..... no." The machine hobbles over to her and leans down until its lenses are are right in her face. "Knock knock." "You have to be kidding me-" "Who's there?" A deep mechanical voice asks. "Interrupting applause." "Inter-" "YEAH! WOO! ALRIGHT! WAY TO GO *whistle*" She yells a she begins to cheer and whistle. "Access granted. Welcome to Galena. Told you Miles, best joke ever." "...." "Are you going to be alri-" "CCUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNTT!" I scream at the top of my lungs as I drop to my knees and hold my fist above head. .................................................................................................................................................. After an hour of gathering everyone, healing everyone up, and fuming about past friends using the worlds worst joke as a safety trigger on extremely dangerous machinery, we all head to the firing platforms. ... stupid ass knock knock joke. We congregate around the terminal and watch the first video.... I think I'll be bitter about that damn joke for the rest of my life. It starts out with Inficiunt sitting in front of the computer looking bitter about something. He's in some random apartment in civilian clothing by himself. He looks a bit strung out, with his hair unkempt and his eyes bloodshot. "Miles," he says with a bit of malice as he faces the screen. "It's my turn, I guess. And before you even try to say it, this doesn't count. I'm still not talking to you. Old recorded videos don't count! Anyway, I've been... messed up lately. You were... r-r-r-r-*ahem* you were r-r-r-r*AAAAAAHHem* you were r-r-r-r.... you were not mistaken to call me out on my drug problems. I shouldn't have abused them the way I did, and I shouldn't have been continuing them after the fall of Topaz. It was stupid and... I was wrong to have been so harsh on you. You still broke my promise though, and I will hold that against you until we finally meet up, I promise. I've started going to an addict meeting to get help. The therapist is a stone cold, tough, hard ass... so needless to say I'm in love. The others are... well... drifting. Tenera and Fidus are inseparable ever since Tenera's return, Dare and Eximius wont talk to me until I'm completely clean, and Sine... Sine just wants everything to go back to the way things were. But I know better. After everything we've been through, there's no going back. Galena was safe for a while, but the Unfamiliar have shown up on our sensors now. They're starting to really overhaul their defenses. Howitzers, Pulices, allowing all forms of magic... they should have allowed this back you were with us, then we could have really kicked ass. No chaos magic, that was bullshit. No our greatest threat fucking utilizes chaos like its his dick! Well.... we're slowly dying, drifting apart, losing the fight for humanity, and I've been dry for three days now. What else could possibly happen to make this day any worse... I know what. I'm going to that therapist and being straight forward. No bullshitting this time. Good luck Miles, I hope to forgive you one day.... oh, and I'm leaving you my Boom stick. Seems to be justified. Later." The video ends. I'm not that surprised that he was still mad at me, though I am saddened that I'll never get to apologize to him. I search around a bit and find one last video for me, so I start it. It has Susurrans sitting before the screen as some people in the back operate the canon. A massive gunfight fills the air between the deafening shots from the canon. Susurrans is in his person full armor. It's standard light weight armor, but with golden trim along all of the pieces. He sets his helmet on the table and lets out a slow, deep sigh. "Miles.... words cannot explain what we've been through. The things we've seen, the things we've done. I often think back to my simpler, idiotic, youthful days and try to think of what I could have done to avoid this. There is so much I've done wrong, to much to say in some simple video. Your friends say I should confide in you, speak my mind. But I can't, not yet at least. I made a promise to someone... a promise I intend to keep to my death bed. I know this fight is in vain, but we fight on anyway. We still out skill them, so we will show them our strength until our dying breath. They will suffer and bleed before we give them any ground. And when the last of us fades into the void... well, then we'll finally get to stop fighting. I've watched young men and women fight to the death in order to keep inches from them, I've personally cut down thousands of them with my blade alone. And yet they keep coming. No matter how gruesome we kill them, five take their place just to be destroyed as well. I don't get it. How could they have these numbers? An entire population has come down on us and has been carving their way through our ranks. If we had followed through with your plan, we could have had a better chance... but I failed you there. I failed you when Altum took your elements. I failed you when he forced you to wear those damn potestatum anuls. And I failed you... when... she... Go to the armory, we've left you some extra gifts just in case you need the extra help to make it to New Garnet. I.... I have to go." And the video ends. I take the coordinates and stand back in... disappointment. I can't help but shake my head at his reluctance to answer my simple question. Why is it so hard for him to say it. He doesn't eve have to say it to my face, just three words. With a heavy heart, I leave the computer and take the platform away. Everyone follows quietly after me, murmuring quietly to each other. I make my way to the armory where I look through the empty shelves with little interest. My mind is... elsewhere. "Miles," Twilight says quietly as she approaches me. "I know you're disappointed that he didn't say it, but there's still New Garnet-" "Yes, another city, and more death. I can't wait." I say as I lean against one of the shelves. "I'm.... I'm tired. I just want this to end so I can finally rest. Is it really hard to say those three words. 'I'm your father.' Why? Why all the pain and suffering for something so simple?" I ask pitifully as I look to Twilight for the answer. "That's not easy to say." Pinkie says quietly from the back. "My parents haven't admitted it to my hometown since I've gotten my cutie mark. Parties and rock farms don't really mix well with the other farming communities, why do you think I live with the cakes?" "But you know they're your parents. You didn't have to go on some quest to figure it out." I point out, getting slow nod from her. "True, but it still hurts. I haven't seen my sisters in several years. Even longer for my parents. At least you didn't have that special connection with him before being separated. I've missed them every single gosh darn day since my move. They won’t write back, in fear of the mail mare telling the others, they won’t travel to visit, they just tend to all of the rocks. At least Susurrans had the courage to try to leave a message to the special ponies in his life. It means he at least wants to remember you. I'm jealous of that Miles, please don't give up when we're so close." I stare at her for a few second before smiling, receiving one in return. The overall mood in the room goes up as we both smile to one another, some of us even laughing a bit. "Alright. One more city, and then we'll be done. Terradisia only had nine holds, so we're literally almost done. Once we're through New Garnet though, we're finding that rock farm and I'm forcing your parents to hug the shit out of you." "I'd like that. Are we ready to go then?" Pinkie asks. "Well, they said they left something here..... *sigh* knock-knock?" CLICK Did I mention how much I hate that damn joke? Because I really hate that damn joke. I walk to the back of the armory and open the secret door on the.... wall... "Oh sweet Barbra." "Who?" "That's an S-51C jumper suit." I mumble as I stare at the metal perfection. "A... what?" Twilight asks as she stares at the suit with me. "It's full body armor that is automated with twin jets on the back to provide some flight. I could probably out fly Dash in that thing." I say as I stare at the suit before me. Its all black with green highlights along the edges. The front of a helmet, did I mention the helmet? Yeah, it has a helmet. The front of the helmet has a human skull with fiery green eyes painted on it. "Pfft. Keep dreaming. There's no way that clunky hunk of junk could out fly me." Rainbow says bitterly. "Well? What are you waiting for then? Try it on then." Rarity says as she pulls the door completely open. I walk up to the suit and begin to attach each piece. When I begin to pull it out, Inficiunt's Boom stick falls from behind the armor. "Pinkie, just a guess, but I think that one is for you." I tell her. "What does it do?" She asks as she takes it in her hooves and looks it over. "It's a six shot grenade launcher, but with a sick twist. I added some chaos to it to alter any soul based object to instantly transform..... short version, it turns living objects into other living objects... sometimes. Other times it turns them into.... well, almost anything really." ".... wabbajack." "What was-" "Nothing!" She says quickly as she straps it to her back. "Just... put your new armor on already!" Brushing it off as a Pinkie thing, I get back to putting on my armor. The chest piece is heavy due to the folding thrusters on the back. Once its secured on I move on to the leggings. It's simple enough, just unlatch each part, and then re-latch them on. Once my magic begins to course through it, the screws secure it all on, leaving it air tight. The same goes for the arms; unlatch, then re-latch. "Wow... that's pretty.... scary." Fluttershy comments as I give a few test movements. "Why didn't ya have anything like this before?" Applejack asks. "Well, it was available, I just didn't use it because the magic requirements were too high for me to use on a regular basis. But now, I think I can manage it just fine." "What about your magic? Your hands are covered with the gloves now." Twilight points out. I just smile to her and give my arms a quick shake. A port opens on each of my palms, letting the flames fume out. "I'll have to keep them constantly open, but it won’t really matter. Now for the last part." I take the helmet and slide it over my head. It's a bit stuffy, but once it connects with the main body the power comes on, providing me with air and visuals. The world comes back to me as the HUD blinks on. A few lines outline pop up around the room, outlining obstacles as well as a ground leveler in the center. A few program icons take up the top left, giving me all green lights. "You look pretty cool in that.... can I have on?" Rainbow Dash asks as she begins to hover around me. "Maybe one day, now lets get air born." I tell her, getting a wicked grin in response. Walking in the suit felt odd at first. It feels as if I'm walking on a platform just above the ground and have much more power in each step. I'm not sneaky in the slightest, but I feel invincible in this. We make our way to one of the firing ports where Dash canters over to the edge. "How about a race then? First one to the dome and back wins. You in?" She asks eagerly. I roll my shoulders, making the twin jet wings lift up on my back. They go straight out roughly two feet and end in round cones that pivot and swirl around. I walk over to the edge and take a readied stance beside her. "Someone count it off." I say, getting Pinkie to run between the two of us. "ON YOUR MARK-" Get ready to eat my dust Captain." Rainbow growls as she readies herself. "GET SET-" "We'll see." I mutter back as I look out to the city, several markers indicating different building heights and distances. "GO!" FWUUUUUUUUM I squat down and push myself out of the port. The two jets roar to life and launch me through the air with tremendous speed. Usually these were only meant for leaping over builds, hence Jumpers. But with my insane magical output, I make it a third of the way through the city before needing to land. I roll onto a rooftop and take a few running steps before launching myself again, adding even more power to my jump. The two cones screech loudly as the magical energy sends me soaring through the air, almost making it all of the way to the dome. With another powerful leap I take off for the dome. I glance to my side to find Dash ahead of me, just a bit. I twist around and let my feet catch onto the dome before launching myself back to the P.C.H. We keep at each others necks as we near our destination. She would get ahead of me every time I would need to jump, but my raw power would help me keep up. When we near the last few meters, we each give it our all as we try to beat the other to the finish line. FWUUUUUUU-CRASH "I WIN!" Rainbow yells as she jumps up in the port. "My balls you won, I totally had that!" I yell back. "Please, I completely had that, you're just made that your clunky hunk-a junk couldn't keep up-" "Don't be so naive! This is Terradisian tech at its best. You're just mad you little feathers couldn't-" "GUYS!" Twilight yells, getting our attention. "Lets call it a draw, and leave this place already, OK?" We look to each other before nodding in agreement to my victory. We leave the city with a high moral. I kept 'testing' my armor by leaping tall buildings and punching through walls of concrete. The others were happy to see me happy as well. It was agreed that we'd head back to Ponyville to train Pinkie to use the Boom stick and rest up. Mintelle told us she would tell the Ursas to send in other mercs, but she would not be coming herself. "That was bullshit! I was the only pony to survive through this, there is no way in hell I'm going to another one of these cities! I don't care what the Ursas say!" She told us before heading off on her own. We said our goodbyes and took the train ride back to Ponyville. We held conversations the entire way there, none of us could sleep. Whatever New Garnet holds, we'll be ready for it. Author's Note Alright, this is it! The next chapter is the last chapter I will be taking merc Oc's, so go post them now! On another note, the next chapter will.... be a dozy. Put it like this; I thought this chapter would be 10k, and it ended up being 17k and took this long to write. I projected the next chapter to be 20k. A LOT happens in it. And it all needs to happen in one go. So bear with me, I'll get it done when it gets done, until then, Brony on! P.S. Almost to chapter 200, next Q/A will be coming up soon. Can't wait! Chapter 170 Outpost ZeroChapter 170 Outpost Zero . . . .. .. .. .. ... ... ... "AAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!" I jolt awake and immediately begin to writhe around in pain. I can feel every port of magic on my body jetting energy out as the lines begin to slowly burn me away. I groan as the agonizingly slow pain fills every part of my being, gradually burning me to nothingness. I flop onto my back as I feel my arms erupt in even more pain. I force myself to look at my hands and wince when I see the lines on them shining brightly. "Miles." I look over when a soft, quiet voice calls for me. Luna is sitting beside me, tears streaking her cheeks as she watches me closely. We're in some cavern that is filled with gems... familiar gems. I force my eyes shut when another wave of pain washes over me. I toss and turn as the turmoil within me burns away at my wrists. "L-luna... Luna... it's... it's... I'm sorry." I force myself to say as I pry my eyes open to look at her. My voice is raspy and feels as if it's being grated against sand, but I force myself to say it. She opens her mouth to say something, but stops herself when I curl up from the pain. "It.... it's okay Miles. It's alright. We'll.... I'll be here, at your side. Do you-" "N-no, I'm sorry Luna..... GRRR, I-I couldn't resist it.... I.... I wanted-" "Shh." I close my eyes again and grieve as she smiles down at me, new tears finding their way down her face. "I know. You've been out for a few days, the others told me all about it. Miles, just know that I still love you. I will always love you, no matter how far you fall." "Luna... Luna I'm scared," I admit as tears force their way out. "I'm scared Luna, I don't want to die! I don't want to leave you! Please! Please, there has to be something, anything.... please, don't let me join the void." I'm weak. I know this, but now it's being forced into her face and.... I'm weak. What I would give for just another day, hour, minute. I don't want it to end like this, I don't want to leave her alone. Was there truly nothing in all of Terradisia that could help me? Is there no spell that could stop this? Why is this curse being forced upon me? What did I do to deserve this? Did I not lead a good life? Was I not a good man? Why? "M-Miles. There's still time left, you need to be strong, for me. There's one last place to go before.... before you leave me." "I can't.... it's too much..." My arms... they hurt so much. "Please... for me... please." I look up to her crying form and begin to push myself up. Every nerve feels as if it's on hot pins and needles, but I groan through the pain until I'm standing. She stifles a few tears as she guides me down a hall. "Do you remember this place Miles?" She asks slowly as I try to walk down the path, using the wall for support. "SSS; kind of... where are we?" "The crystal cavern beneath Canterlot, where the changeling’s held you prisoner. What you've been chasing has been here all along Miles. But we need you to open the door-" "What door?" We come around a bend that takes us to the entrance. All of the girls are here, along with Celestia and Spike. I stop at the mouth of the entrance and swallow hard as I look away from them. "Miles," Twilight calls out. I close my eyes as I stand there, unable to look at them. "We... we're here to finish our quest." "Yeah, no stopping until we get to the finish line." Dash says in a weak voice. She's trying not to cry. Trying. "Come on, we're almost there. It's not even a hop, skip and a jump away." Pinkie adds, somewhat happily. Even her sad voice is happy. I look back up to them and nod as I push away from the wall and stumble towards them. My steps start to become more and more agitated when I feel my feet begin to burn even more. "*snniff* thank... all of you. For everything. I... I know-" "Shh." Fluttershy shushes me as she steps forward and offers me Dominus Clavis. In all of the slots are the gems of my friends. They must have removed them from their weapons and put them in themselves. "We're short one... I think Trixie has it on accident." "Where's my sword?" I ask as I take it in my hands. Twilight walks over and offers it to me, looking me in the eye as I take it from her. I grab the gem in the pommel and pry it from it's restraints, the heat from my magic making quick work of it. I look over the scepter and push the gem into the top most slot, getting it to glow brightly. At first the gems just glow brightly, but soon the entire thing begins to shake. It soon becomes too much for me to hold, so I let go of it. It hovers in the air for a second before spinning rapidly around. The lights from the gems spin around, forming a perfect circle that fills the whole room with a white light. The gems in the cave begin to shine as well as the ground starts to tremble. The massive gem taking up most of the room flashes suddenly, blinding us all momentarily. When I feel the light fade away, I open my eyes and discover a bulkhead. It looks like any of the ones from the cities, only this one has three long, even slashes in it. Outpost Zero is written across the top. A white light scans me over quickly and turns green, making the bulkhead begin to pull up. "Well... here we go again." I mutter as I begin to shuffle towards the entrance. I feel an arm wrap around me and lift me up slightly, making walking easier. "I've got you Master." Spike says as he helps me walk in. "Spike... remember that size is a matter of thought. Reality is at your whim, and you limit it by your own structures." I tell him rapidly. There's still so much to teach him. So much for him to learn about magic. "Of course Master." He says with a small smile and a nod. "And that perfection is an illusion. Strive for limits and shatter them-" "I know Master. You taught me well. But I think the lessons end today." I look away from him as we make our way into the dark room. When I cross the threshold, the leaking energy from me lights up several gems near by, revealing the room. The room goes around in a perfect circle with the ceiling being nearly four stories up. A few gems are set in the wall lighting the entire room. Ahead to the left is a super computer station. Its terminal is set against the ground and goes out for a meter. It's covered in many buttons and switches that are all dwarfed by a large red button on the center. All along the edge of the floor is archaic text that's inside dark lines. The area by the door, where I'm currently standing, has a small circle that connects with the large circle. This one only goes out to the middle of the room. Set high on the far wall is a large cylindrical metallic device that is pointing directly at me. It's at least three meters wide and goes up to the top of the room. The center of it is hollow and there are two metal bars on the side that hold it in place. "What is this place?" Celestia asks as she and the others walk into the room. I give Spike a look and he lets me go, following Celestia to the computer. I walk in at a slower pace and- PPPSSSSSSSHHHHHHVVVVVVVVVVRRRRRRRRRRRMMMMMMMMMM We all pause when the lines begin glowing and the text begins to move. Everyone moves about the room to watch the text rotate around the floor. Twilight, Fluttershy, Luna and I stay in the smallest circle to watch text move by. In the background I can hear machinery begin to power up, all from my excess energy. "What does that say?" Twilight asks as she eyes it closely. "It's impossible to say. Humans have been trying to crack the archaic text since its founding. The problem is that it varies form person to person-" CLICK I spin around to find Celestia pressing the big, shiny red button. I glance up to the machine and see a bright light begin to shine in the center. "LUNA!" I yell as I push out of the circle. BRRRRRRRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMMM END OF ARC TWO Perspective: Death I chuckle slightly as I set my scroll down and rise from my seat. Everything is going according to plan, perfectly. We need to move on to the next phase though. I grab my scythe and leave my chambers with renewed vigor. I take the long corridor all the way down and take the only door, where I enter my meeting chamber. "War, Famine, Pestilence, our day has arrived. Let us begin the next step in our plans." They look to one another and smile as Famine charges his horn. A moment later I find myself on a stage, looking over my army. "MY FAITHFUL FOLLOWERS! RELISH NOW IN DEATH!" Author's Note Arc Two: Cities is now complete. FINALLY! F@#$! Up next is the bonus chapter followed by the beginning of Arc three: Growing Pains. Thanks for reading, and like always, Brony on! End of Arc Two Bonus ChapterEnd of Arc Two Bonus Chapter The Adventures of Cabbage Patch Date: January 11th, 4133 Perspective: Cabbage Patch I've lived a good life. I loved my wife, my kids, never really wronged anypony. So why do bad things happen to me? I was pried from my home, lost my wares, had my kids put in danger, and was touched inappropriately on multiple occasions! Why are these things going to happen to me? The worst part though, no matter what I do, I know it's going to happen all over again. Stupid blue box. ................................................................................................................................................................ January 10th, 4133 I pause for a second to wipe the sweat from my forehead. It's been hard work pulling these ten carts of cabbages to Sweet Apple Acres, but it's finally paid off. Ponyville is finally in view, shouldn't be much longer. I only needed to bring five, but bringing some extra will just get me some extra pay. Plus I'll get to stay home longer over the winter. First things first though, I'm going to find a store and buy something warm to eat. I'm freezing my flank off in all of this snow, what is their weather team doing? Probably napping or something, lazy flanks. Setting a new pace, I trudge forward. My legs burn in the final stretch, but once I pull my cart onto the shoveled path I sigh in relief. Like my father always said, work hard and the payoff will always be better. Ponyville is fairly quiet, most likely from all the snow, but there are still a few ponies out and about. "... Me some. He loves me, he loves me too much. He loves me, he loves me just enough..." My ear twitches from the familiar voice, making me pause to look around for its source. I could have sworn I heard- "He loves me a lot, he loves me the most. He loves me more than bananas, he loves me more than.... CABBAGE PATCH!" "DERPY!" I jump when she lands in the cart behind me, knocking cabbages everywhere. "Whoops, my bad." She says as she flutters out of the cart, holding a dried up bouquet in her hooves. I quickly detach myself from my cart and begin to pick up the fallen veggies. Some of them are bruised, making them unsaleable. I frown a bit, but let it slide. I have ten carts so it's no big deal, plus it's Derpy. I think Big Mac will understand. "It's alright and it's good to see you again Derpy, hows Dinky?" "She's doing good, she actually just turned seven! She's growing up so fast sometimes I can hardly keep up. The other day she was asking about stallion parts and I-" "ANYWAY! I have to get these cabbages to Big Mac, but afterwards we could catch up.... only, less informative." She thinks about it and nods, smiling brightly as she brings the dries bouquet to her nose and inhales deeply. "So.... see ya later-" "WAIT!" She yells as she jumps back into the air. "We have to go visit Cheesus and Squishy too!" "... but I have a delivery to make-" "They're leaving for some really important trip today and we won't have another chance to see them! Please." She asks as she holds her hooves in front of herself. "I really shouldn't-" "Please?" "I need to deliver these-" "Please?" "It'll be hard to get these carts through-" "Please, please, please, pleeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaasse!?" She pouts a bit as she inches closer to me, batting her eyelashes a bit. "...*sigh* Fine." "YAY! Let's go!" She flies off without me, leaving a trail of flower petals behind her as she does so. I shake my head and trudge along, digging my hooves into the ground as I pull my carts along. This better not turn into another random adventure that ends with destroying my cabbages.... better not think those thoughts. Don't want to jinx anything. I make my way through Ponyville and pause at the edge of their red light district. It seems as if they've had a lot of new business recently. All of the stores have new paint or new advertisements adorning their businesses. Even the workers have shiny new jewelry or new clothing. Something big must have changed here. Good for them... I guess. I mean, if they have more money, then that means they can buy more groceries, which means more sales for me. So it's a win-win really... well, a win-win-win, but... anyway. I make my way to Fon-do's and find Derpy sitting at the doorstep, sadly pouting a bit. I make my way over to her and detach myself from all of the carts before sitting beside her. "Everything alright?" "Cheesus and Squishy are gone already, we missed them." She says sadly as she sits on her haunches. "Oh, well I'll just have to see them next time then-" "See what know?" She asks as she looks up to me, shifting her ears forward. "I said we'll just have to see them next time-" "Time.... time.... YOU'RE A GENIUS CABBAGE!" She yells a she jumps back into the air, her smile doubling in size. "This is a perfect reason to go looking for him..... so you can say hi to Cheesus and Squishy of course. Come on! I know where to start!" Before I can say anything she flies off towards the center of Ponyville. If I follow after her, I know it'll probably lead to another crazy misadventure.... sadly I have to head that way anyway.... I have a bad feeling about this. I pull my carts around and start to head towards the center of the town. If I can just edge my way around where ever she's gone, I can just run over to Sweet Apple Acres and drop off my cabbages. It's not that I want to avoid them, I just don't want to repeat what happened last time... I should also keep an eye out for that freaky creature. I may have double my shipment, but that doesn't mean I'm in the clear. I make it into the town center where I see Derpy flying around the other side, looking for somepony. I take my ten carts full of cabbages and sneak my way along the edge of all of the buildings- "YOU!" I practically jump out of my skin when somepony yells right in my ear. I fall onto my back and nearly have a heart attack when Boxy steps over me. He still has the tinfoil in his mane but sports a thick brown jacket that smells horrendously. "How did-" "What did I tell you? Nopony listens to poor ol' Boxy, except Mr. McBumpkin of course. It will all end in fire! Burning bright enough to rip the dark side of the moon in half! It'll consume us all! A great hunger that drives a never changing madness over every living being! DON'T DRINK THE TEA! Chaos, Chaos is coming! Can't you feel it? It's been here since the beginning, driving thoughts far away and pushing hatreds higher! Time is being re-written all over again. A Timely Death is approaching, guide us to a new home!" "... but I like tea." "IT WILL CONSUME EVERY LIVING BEING! DON'T TOUCH THE TEA!" He yells as he grabs and shakes me a bit. "FINE! SURE, JUST GET OFF ME!" I yell as I push him away. I get up and back away from him, still gagging from his gut wrenching breath. "ONE LAST THING! ALL HAIL THE KING!" He screams as Derpy lands beside me, listening intently. "Okay, okay, all hail the king, just don't shake me again." I say as I back away from him. "Hey, where's your brother?" Derpy asks nonchalantly. "Oh, he's at Sugar Cube Corner getting banana nut muffins," he says normally. "... darn, that could mean anything." Derpy mutters quietly as Boxy backs away from us. "Mr. McBumpkin, to the moon." He rears up and sets his hooves on his hips as he closes his eyes. I watch him stand there for a bit until he suddenly flies through the air at high speed. I drop down and gawk at him soar through the air as Derpy begins to walk away, completely unfazed by the earth pony's flight. "What could it mean? At Sugar Cube Corner getting banana nut muffins... maybe that-" "How does his flying not confuse you in the slightest?" I ask her as she stops before a hardware building. "OF COURSE! Cabbage, I have to go to a hospital real quick, BYE!" Again, before I can say anything she flies off. I look around at all of the ponies staring at me before quickly jumping back in my harness and walk off. Why do such weird things have to happen to me here? Every other city and village I visit goes by normally, why Ponyville? I give one final sigh before trudging along. The hospital is the complete opposite direction of Sweet Apple Acres. I do feel bad just ditching her like this, but I really have to get going. I'll just have to find- SMACK I step back and rub my muzzle as a something suddenly appears before me. I blink a few times before looking up at... a blue box.... only in Ponyville would something like this. I went to Trottingham last week, nothing. It has some strange text in white on top of it that I can't read. It's fairly tall and narrow with little glass windows below the writing. It looks a little beat up, but is sturdy enough. There seems t be a light on top of the box as well. A door at the front opens up and Derpy, Squishy, Cheesus, some light brown earth stallion with a collar and tie, and myself walk out and surround me..... "Huh?" I mutter as I look to myself. I... or the other me, let out a sigh as he pulls out a frying pan and- THUNK I roll over and pull the bed sheets close to myself. The bed I'm in is extremely comfy and- wait... what? I open my eyes and find myself in some kind of sex shop... office, laying in a round zebra print bed.... wait a minute- "So, you're finally awake." I look over and see Cheesus sitting at his desk. "Uh..." "Uh? Well that's a fine hello. I pick your unconscious body off the street, haul your cabbages to the back, and all I get is a uh? My emotions just might be hurt if you don't-" "Fine, fine, hello. Thank you for saving me." I groan as I get out of the bed. "What's going on?" "Well, Derpy has a little.... a little favor she'd like to ask of us. I've already said yes and I know Squishy will agree once we get him, so now it's up to you. Willing to help us?" "No." "..." "..." "Dude..." "..." "You're a dick." "I have to drop off my cabbages to Sweet Apple Acres! I'm sorry, but I can't go on any adventures right now, this is a matter of my livelihood here." He sighs a bit as he gets out of his seat and walks over to me. He smacks his lips a bit as he thinks deeply about something. "What if I told you we already left Ponyville?" "..." "..." "..." "..." "I'd say that's a good joke and-" "Because we're already on our way to Crescent Cove and we kind of thought you'd just say yes so..... yeah. Welcome aboard the Party Carriage Two." "... carriage?" I run over to the door and throw it open- and grab the doorway as I nearly fall out. We're in the middle of nowhere being pulled by what sounds like four ponies as my cabbages follow along... wait... one, two, three, four, five... "WHERE ARE THE REST OF MY CABBAGES!?" "Dude, you only had five." Cheesus says nonchalantly as he walks over and shut the door. "NOO! MY CABBAGES!" I yell as I drop to my knees and hold my hooves up. I can't believe they took.... I took half of my cabbages. Why would they... I, do that? I pout a bit more as Cheesus moves away from me, heading towards a door that was behind his chair. I open the door again and check on the remaining cabbages. They seem intact and well tied to the carriage. I shut the door and run after Cheesus. Maybe if we're not too far from Ponyville I can just.... I stare at the hallway behind the door and drop down to my haunches. It's a stretch carriage? I've only heard about these in rumors and tall tales. The carpet is a deep purple and the walls are covered in a light purple paper. All of the trim is white as is the furniture as well. I walk down the hall and gawk at the carpeting. It's so smooth under my hooves, I can barely tell there's wood underneath. "C-c-a-a-b-b-b-b-a-a-g-g-e-e y-y-o-o-u-u g-g-o-o-t-t-a-a g-g-e-e-t-t o-o-n-n-e-e o-o-n-n-e-e o-o-f-f t-t-h-h-e-e-s-s-e-e." Derpy says as she lays on a table as a pony pounds away at her back. The small room inside has the massage table and a lounge seat to its right with Cheesus laying in it. "So... how far are we from-" "We'll be at Crescent Cove in about an hour.... want a massage?" I drop my head as I rub the bridge between my eyes. I guess I'm in this now, whether I like it or not. Even if I leave at this point, I won't make it there for another day or two, and that's if I run there. I move over to the lounge chair and take a seat on its edge, slouching as I sit there. "Sorry Cabbage, we just thought you would help." Derpy says normally as the masseur applies some oils to his hooves. "Tell you what, help us through this and I'll guarantee that you'll make your deliveries on time. Promise." "I was supposed to bring them at noon, how can you-" "Just trust me on this one Cabbage Patch." She sighs as the masseur begins to rub in the oils. "If we don't, Cheesus will comp you for what we mess up one hundred percent." "He will?" "I will?" He asks, matching my astonishment. Derpy just gives him a look before closing her eyes and enjoys her massage. "Oh yeah, sure. If we don't make it on time, I'll match whatever they owe you. Deal?" He asks as he holds out a hoof. I look between the two of them before shaking his hoof. "Deal, but I'm already late so-" "Don't worry, time isn't important right now. We just need to get Squishy before looking for the Doctor." "... who needs a Doctor?" I ask, only getting slow head shakes in response. Cheesus gets up from his seat and walks out of the room, beckoning me to follow. We step out into the hallway where Cheesus shuts the door behind me, looking a bit more serious than before. "What's going on Cheesus? Where are we? Where are we going?" "Look, this is for something really important for Derpy. Walk with me to the front and I'll explain." He says before stepping down the hall. I glance back to the door before walking after him. "Remember what happened after our last little adventure?" "Are you kidding me? I still have nightmares about... *shiver* yeah, why?" "Well, since we took out Dirty Bit, I basically now control the.... adult service industry. With all of that new income, we've been able to get all of the 'workers' better... equipment. That is also why we're in the Fon Do's company stretch carriage." ".... you own every prostitute in Equestria?" "NO! I do not own them!" He snaps at me. "Look, the first priority I made was to change this industry. Trust me, I know what it's like when you become a slave to circumstances. My workers are free to leave, we provide medical services for all of them, security, protection, we even have dental now! I understand that from the outside that this seems really odd, but I'm going to make this industry safer." He pauses by a window and looks outside, thinking deeply about what he's just told me. "So... what does this have to do with Derpy?" I ask as I stand beside him. "Well, she's kind of a... moral booster for everypony here. She makes ponies smile on the worst of days. So when she started talking about... him again... well, things got weird." "Him?" "Her husband." "Oh......OH!" "Good job genius. Now, don't get me wrong; he's a nice pony and all, but.... I don't think he's really father material." "... yo-" "Finish that sentence and I'm punching you." I close my mouth and stop myself, letting him continue. He continues on down the hall, his face hardening as he thinks about something. "When it came down to it, he put the job before Derpy. She says she's fine with it, that she got the greatest gift in the end, but I still don't like it. I mean, family is important. I may not like my family, but I still make time to see them every now and again. It's been seven years since she's seen him. So, we don't see eye to eye." "... so, if it's been seven years, how will we find him?" I ask, getting a small chuckle from him. "Derpy said she knows one way to find him. But we have to be careful, we only have one chance to get this right... which reminds me. Do you remember anything Boxy told Derpy?" He asks as he turns to me, stopping at the last possible door. "Something about tea and fire and... I have no clue really. I never understand him." He sighs a bit but enters the room anyway, shutting the door before I can enter. "Okay then, I'll just... wait out here then... jerk." "I heard that." He says from behind the door. I scurry away from the door and run down the hall until I'm sure I'm a safe distance away. "Why are you running?" "AH!" I nearly fall over when Derpy suddenly steps out in front of me. "I wasn't running! I was.... just... uh..." "Where did Cheesus go?" "Uh... he went into the room at the end of the hall." I tell her as I get back on my hooves, blushing a bit from my little outburst. "He went into his office? Figures. *sigh* ever since he took over Dirty Bit's business he's been so distant. I know he's trying to change an industry, but... I don't know. Sometimes I think he's forgotten how he's gotten here. Do you know when we'll get to Crescent Cove?" She lowers her head a bit and pouts as we slowly walk down the hall. I bite my lip as I try to think of a way to cheer her up. "No. And... you know he's still the same, right? He's just under a lot of pressure. Changing an industry and all... it's pretty daunting. I'm sure once everything gets figured out he'll be back to his normal self." "You really think so?" She asks as she perks up a bit. "... well..... fifty-fifty," I say with a smug smile as I nudge her a bit. ".... GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME!" We laugh a bit as we enter one of the many rooms, finding a lounging area. "Thanks Cabbage, I needed some cheering up." "No problem. And hey, if he doesn't change soon enough, just let me know and I'll set him straight. Lets see how stubborn he is when there's a cabbage smashing in the back of his head." She laughs a bit more and takes one of the seats. We spend a good while catching up after that. I'd ask her about Dinky and she'd ask about my kid. We'd each talk and talk about the two of them. From school, to misbehavior, a whole fields worth of parenting stuff. She's got being a single parent down pretty well, though having a good foal helps with that too. From there we start talking about work. I'd tell her about my fields and how I tried to get an extra harvest before the snow came in. She told me about all of the packages she delivered for Hearths Warming Eve. It was nice to sit back and just talk with a good friend, it's something I don't do often enough.... then again, you need more than one friend in order to do that- "... but they were still happy to get it, even if it was two weeks late. You okay Cabbage? You look... sad." I blink back to the conversation and smile to her. "Yeah. I was... just thinking... anyway, tell me about this Doctor fellow. How did you meet him?" She blushes a bit as she thinks on her memory. "In all actuality, we just bumped into each other. He told me to come with him or I would die and, well, I didn't want to die, so I followed after him. One exploding building later we were on the Tardis and he made me his assistant. The adventures we would go on.... anyway, tell me about your wife. Is she pretty? What's her name? How did you meet?" I chuckle a bit as I think of all the answers. "Well, she is very pretty and her name is-" "GUYS!" Cheesus yells as he kicks the door open. "We're here, and the blimp is almost out of sight! We need to move!" We jump out of our seats and run after him, practically breaking the door to the stretch carriage as we run down the cobble street. "I didn't know Equestria had griffon cities." I remark as we run down the path, passing several griffons as we do so. "Focus Cabbage! We need to make it down to the lighthouse as quickly as possible if we're going to flare them in time!" Cheesus retorts. "Why couldn't we take the limo!?" Derpy yells to us as she flies ahead of us, making it to the lighthouse much faster than we can. We slow down to a trot as Derpy yells at a griffon to light a flare, which he does immediately. "So why didn't we take the limo?" I ask as we watch the glowing red ball of light arch in the air. "It was too big for the street." Cheesus tells me absent mindedly as we watch the dot in the horizon, hoping they see us. We stare for what feels like hours at the little dot in the horizon. Ever so slowly, it becomes smaller and smaller before it completely disappears. We both sigh in defeat as Derpy begins to fly back to us. "Well, we tried." I try to reason, only to get another irritated sigh from Cheesus. "They didn't see us." Derpy pouts as she lands before us. Cheesus moves to her side and rest his foreleg over her shoulders, pulling her in for a light hug. "Sorry Cheesus." "Don't worry about it, it was worth a try at least.... look, let's get something to eat before heading back to Ponyville. We'll talk more there." We both nod and follow him through the little village. Many of the griffons here are still staring at us, unsure about our sudden appearance in their quaint home. I feel bad for Derpy, but I don't know what to say. What exactly do you say to a mare when their hopes of meeting their special somepony are crushed? As they step into a building I pause to think about my answer. Heh, if Rose was here, she'd know wh- THUD "Sorry 'bout that." Says some light brown stallion with dark brown hair says as he continues on. I shake my head and stare at him. His collar and necktie... The hourglass cutie mark... Heading towards a blue box that has no business being here... "DOCTOR!" I yell as I run after him. He stops in his tracks and turns around, bewildered beyond belief. "Have we met?" He asks in that odd accent of his. "Yeah, YOU HAD ME BASH MY HEAD IN WITH A FRYING PAN!" ".... THAT'S MARVELOUS!" He yells with a slight laugh. "Ah time, you magnificent-" "Derpy and I have been looking all over for you, come on." I say as I grab his hoof and begin to drag him down the street. "Wait who? Where are we going? I can't afford to go to the bakery, I have to hurry if I'm going to catch The-" "DERPY! DERPY I FOUND HIM! DEEEEEEEERPY!" I yell as he begins to fight me, trying to get to his box. I hear a door burst open followed by a loud gasp. In a blur of grey feathers and yellow hair she flies past me and tackles The Doctor to the ground. She squeezes and hugs as a tear or two escape her. "Oh Doctor, I've missed you so much!" Derpy says as she finally lets go of him. "Yes, well, one can have that effect on ponies Mrs. Hooves." He says warmly as he rubs the top of her head. She smiles to him, but quickly goes wide eyed. "DARN! I forgot my journal!" Derpy yells as she stomps her hoof down. "Uh... Griffindor?" "Uh... yes, that's the griffon capital," The doctor responds. I look to Cheesus, who just shrugs as Derpy thinks harder. "Hmm.... Dodge?" She asks again. "Dodge... well, there were those-" "No, no." Derpy cuts him off as she begins to pace about. "What's going on?" I ask Derpy as she walks past me. "I'm Cabbage Patch by the way." "The Doctor, I believe Mrs. Whooves is trying to remember our latest encounter so she doesn't cause any time anomalies." He says with a smile as she continues to walk around. "Oh... okay, we don't want those... right?" I ask Cheesus, who just shrugs. "Wait, doctor? Doctor of what?" "... well, I guess you could say time fabrication, but in all reality I'm just the Doctor-" "I GOT IT!" Derpy yells as she spins back to the Doctor. "The World Tree, back during the great freeze. Delilah told you that all seeds will grow in time-" "- with the proper love and care. Yes, I remember that well enough. Then I brought you to Ponyville went back in the Tardis and... you were gone." He says slowly, his smile slowly fading away. "Oh... right. Time moves on I guess." "I waited for months Doctor, why didn't you come back?" She asks as she steps towards him, her voice straining slightly. "I did, but I couldn't find you. And... well, lets say things haven't been easy since the Masters return. Speaking of which, I must be off to confront him. It was good to see you again, but-" "Oh no you don't!" Cheesus says as he cuts him off on his way to the blue box. "This is more important than some douche who-" "Who is about to rip a hole in the fabric of time and cause entire nations to fall as he conquers the world?" "... yeah. This is way more important than that. Now-" "Millions of lives are at stake! My personal desires can wait-" BOOM We all spin around as a large smoke cloud billows up into the air. Without a second thought, the Doctor begins to run towards it, followed by Derpy, Cheesus and myself. We run up to the docks as several griffons laying about, some moaning in pain while others just lay there. They all have a strange blue glow over them. It only lasts a few seconds, but I definitely saw it there. In the midst of the crowd stands a creature the likes of which I've never seen before. He's stands a little over three feet tall with most of his body being covered in thick black fur. The area around his large mouth and beady eyes are hairless. He stands on two legs and has hands on the other limbs. The oddest part though, is that he wears a bright blue suit with a fluffy white collar and sleeve ends. He's standing before a large "What is that?" I ask as the Doctor steps forward. "Master." He growls as he approached him. "What have you done here? What-" "Don't worry Doctor, all in good time." He sneers as he steps onto a boat and lifts a latch. The Doctor runs after him as he jumps down it. The trap door shuts before he could get to it. He swings the door open and stomps in frustration. In confusion, I walk over and check on the door. It's nothing more than a tackle box. "How did he-" "His Tardis's cloaking device is still working. Blast." He says as he slams the door shut and steps back, muttering to himself. "Every step, every corner he has some kind of trick up his sleeve. It seems I can't just take him on like I did last time... hmm." Derpy runs over and nudges him to get his attention. He looks her in the eyes and mulls something over before going wide eyed. "So, where are you keeping the Tardis this time?" Derpy asks smugly. "Ah Ditsy, you know I can't-" "Can't sman't, we're coming along and that's final." Cheesus says as he steps up. "But first we need to get Squishy." "But we can't spare the time to-" "Tennant Whooves, if anypony had time for something like this, it would be you." Derpy tells him, getting a bewildered look from him. "Ditsy, I told you not to use my actual name, it's suppose to be a secret." He says in a hushed tone as he glances around, eyeing the emergency respondents closely. "Oh... sorry." She says with a slight blush. He sighs as he rubs the top of her head, thinking deeply about his situation. "So... this is your husband Derpy-" PUNCH I blink a few times as I lay on my back, a searing pain growing on my jaw. The Doctor comes over me and shakes his head a bit. "Her name is Ditsy Whooves. She may let anypony call her that, but I won't tolerate it. Now, if we're done here, we have an escort to find, a malevolent ape to capture, and a time traveler to confront." He walks off holding his head high. Der-Ditsy runs over and helps me back to my hooves. "Sorry about that, I forgot how he reacts to that." She says as she pats off some of the dirt. "It's alright... I guess. Your real name is Ditsy?" "Well... yeah. Somepony called me Derpy one day and it kind of just stuck. I don't mind it, I know my eyes make me look that way, but Ten-The Doctor can't stand it. He finds it really derogatory and demeaning." She says as we all begin to follow after the stallion. "... don't you?" "Well, no. I mean... it really depends on the pony saying it. Like, you and Cheesus saying it is fine, but... well... lets just say there's a reason I don't live in Cloudsdale anymore." She lowers her head a bit as bad memories plague her mind. I nudge her cheek a bit and offer her a reassuring smile. Growing up must of been hard for her- "Buck Cloudsdale. You were too good for that light headed city anyway." Cheesus says as he pushes his way between the two of us, stuffing some papers into his saddle bags. "Glad you could join the conversation." Derpy jokes with a slight chuckle. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Ain't your stallion over there? Quit talkin to us and get over there." He says as he nudges her forward. She blushes deeply and trots off towards the Doctor, tripping when he looks back to her. "So... anything else I should know about with the Doctor?" I ask Cheesus as we watch Der....DITSY, get to her hooves and try again... only to trip once again. "Well, don't expect to kill anything. We should see some things that will blow your mind and ruin any thought of normalcy. And.... hmm... well, anything really." I stop and stare at him, getting an even gaze back. "I'm going to hate this, aren't I?" "What are you talking about? Everypony loves their first Doctor experience. It's something you'll never forget.... whether you want to or not." I take a deep breath and continue on to the road with the limo-carriage. I walk over to the door... but stop. I look to the back of the carriage and see the blue box from before at the end. I feel my ear twitch as I begin to run over, fearing the worse. "MY CABBAGES!" I yell as I slide to a halt. The last cart of cabbages has been crushed, all of the vegetables inside now mush, all due to a tall blue box sitting in the middle of it all. "Sorry about that, didn't realize I hit anything when I came in.. luckily enough, you can just grow more later. Now, off we go." He says casually as he opens the door to the box and walks inside. Der.. DITSY, looks back to me before running in after him, shortly followed by Cheesus. I huff a bit as I stare at the damaged goods. There's a thousand bits I'll never see. I look to the door and sigh a bit as I begin to unhook my remaining carts. There's no chance I'm just leaving them here for somepony to just take. With my carts secured, I bring them around to the front of the box where I face the next dilemma. How am I going to get these in there? There's no way I could possibly get these in there without cramping... wait, why are we going into a box anyway? Well, logic aside, I couldn't get these in even if I wanted to. So I guess this is where we part ways- "You coming Cabbage?" Ditsy says as she sticks her head out of the door. HA! I got it right this time! "I can't just leave my cabbages-" "Bring them with you." "They won't fit inside this thing-" "There's plenty of room, c'mon!" Before I could argue any further she grabs my leg and pulls me in. I fight her a bit before I step completely into the... room. The inside of the box is a massive room. Inside this box is a room that is easily four times the size of the box.... why is this my life? The walls of this room curve in at the top and are filled with large holes. An orange backlight comes from each of them. In the center of the room is a raised platform with a hexagon station in it. Countless knobs and levers fill it as it's center goes straight to the top of the room. A bright blue light comes from beneath the station in the middle. The walkway going around the platform has a few random pieces of furniture, but not enough to stop me from pulling in all of my carts. "Welcome to the Tardis!" Ditsy says as she flies up to the station thing and follows the Doctor as he runs around it, twisting random knobs. "Told you." Cheesus says as he walk up to me. "Why didn't you leave those behind?" "I've already lost over half of my cabbages, I'm not losing these ones." "... whatever. We should end up on the Party Blimp soon enough." He says as he turns and walks up the steps. I slip out of my harness and run up beside him. "Party Blimp?" "Remember that blimp we got from Dirty Bits?" I nod. "I turned it into a casino." "... why?" "Because bitches love stupid expensive shit for guys to waste money on, that's why." I wanted to argue against that, but that fifty bit dinner we had last month says otherwise. "Well, how exactly will this get us to the Party Blimp anyway? Isn't it on the move... in the air?" "Don't worry my dear Lettuce Leaf-" "Cabbage." "-We'll be there before you know it. Now, hold onto something." With a flip of a switch the entire room begins to shake as a loud rumbling sound fills my ears. I leap to the stairs and hold onto the railing for dear life. I look over to see Cheesus laughing at me as he casually leans against the other rail. "Cabbage, sometimes you're a real pussy. You know that right?" "Hehehe, just like how you're a real dick right?" "Yup!" I roll my eyes as the shaking begins to settle down. I look over to the Doctor and watch as he resumes his twisting and flipping on the station thing. "And here we are, the Party Blimp! Now lets hurry up and get Squishy so we can resume chasing the Master." The Doctor says as he runs down to the door and holds it open. I run down and attach my carts before following everypony out. We've landed on an observation deck of the blimp. Somehow, this thing flew all the way out here. We make our way to the door and enter... the... If there is one thing Cheesus can do, it's making something overly... cheesy. The Party Blimp is exactly what I was expecting. Fancy red carpets, gambling table, sexy mares in alluring outfits everywhere, drinking, one massive party. All on a blimp. "Where do we start?" I ask. "I'll be back, he's probably in the back getting ready for a show." Cheesus says as he walks off. "... so... what do we-" "Hey!" I look back and see a chef pony walking towards me. "What are you doing with all of the cabbages out here?! Bring it them back to the coolers before they spoil!" "But-" "GET MOVING!" Before I could say anything else he storms back into the kitchen. I look to the others for help, but only get shrugs in response. "Cheesus said he would pay me for all the missing cabbages right?" "Well... if you paraphrase it." Derpy suggest. "... good enough for me." I begin to pull the carts towards the kitchen, having a bit of difficulty as I try to navigate through a thick crowd of ponies. I try to push my way through, but they seem to be driven by something- "They just started one of the shows on the other side of the blimp." I nearly jump out of my coat when I hear the voice behind. I look back and find the creature from before lounging about in my cabbages. "WHERE DID YOU COME FROM!? WHAT WAS THAT WITH THE EXPLOSION! GET OUT OF THERE!" I yell at him as I push him out. He swings himself around and get right in my face, sneering as he bares his teeth. "I-" "Wait a minute, the Doctor said to catch you." "And why are you so willing to help him? Do you-" "Well, he's a pony. I'm a pony. What else do I need?" He does a double take as he gawks at me, blinking a few times as he thinks about my answer. "... that's racist." I shrug as he steps away from me, dropping his shocked expression for a smug one. "But no matter, you cannot stop me. SECURITY! HE'S STEALING CABBAGES!" Six massive security ponies come running for me from all around the room. In a panic I begin to run for the nearest exit. When I suddenly come to a stop, I look back to see one of the security ponies grabbing the back cart. Making several cabbages fall to the ground. "MY CABBAGES!" I yell as I pick up one of the heads and toss it at him, hitting him square in the face. He falls flat on his back, making his friends pause and stare at him. I pick up another one and- "HIDE!" The Doctor yells at me as he yanks me from my harnesses and pushes me aside. I look around as all of the security ponies begin to move on the Doctor, giving me the perfect chance to hide. I look around real quick before diving under some random table cloth. I sneak my way back to the edge of the cloth and peer out from underneath as the Doctor begins to talk to the security ponies, showing them all a piece of paper. They don't seem to be buying what he's saying. I don't see the Master anywhere nearby, he must have escaped when nopony was looking. I don't think the Doctor can talk his way- "What the buck are you all doing?" Cheesus asks all of the ponies as he walks up with Squishy. He glances at the paper in the doctors hoof before looking back to the others. "Listen to your superior and go get the monkey!" They nod and run off in all directions. I was about to crawl out when a group of legs walk past me. I look back out to my cabbages and watch as the chef pony begins to drag them into the kitchen. I may be getting paid back for them, but that's still my livelihood there. And he's taking them away from me. But if I just jump out, I'll look like a huge perv! I'm not doing that... not again. I cuddle up with what could be the last head of cabbage- "Who the buck are you and why are you under our table?" Some pegasus mare asks me. She has a sandy tan coat and a darker tan mane that has darker streaks going through it. Beside her is a pegasus stallion with a deep purple coat and black hair. "Um... I..." "*gasp* Were you trying to sneak a peek at all of us!" She accuses me, making my cheeks burn. "No! I was-WHA?" I yell before somepony suddenly grabs me and pulls me out from under the table. "Coast is clear. Lets go already!" Squishy tells me. "The Master went this way, follow me." The Doctor says before running off with a group of security ponies. I blink a few times before running off with all of them. We make it out to the main floor where we see the Master enter a door at the other end. "Don't just stand there, go get that mon-" "He's an ape, a chimpanzee! ...and yes, go get him!" The Doctor corrects before charging down the hall. I begin to follow after him, but think back to my cabbages. "Where are you going?" Ditsy yells as I head for the kitchen. "I HAVE TO SAVE MY CABBAGES!" I yell before I burst through the double doors. All of the kitchen staff stop and stare at me as I stand in the doorway. I look to the back and see my cabbages being stored in their coolers, except for one of the carts. That one has been emptied out and cut up for whatever meal they're making. "Get the buck out of here-" "MY CABBAGES!" I yell as I run for the cooler. The chef tries to stop me, but receives a cabbage in the face. I open the cooler and run in, finding my three remaining carts. CLICK ... of course they would lock me in here. Why wouldn't they? *sigh* Well... I guess I'm going to freeze to death now. I guess it could be worse... CLICK "... I know keeping your cabbages cool is good for them, but I doubt your flank will appreciate it." The Doctor says as he stands in the doorway. I laugh a bit as I get up and drag my carts out of the cooler, giving him my thanks as I pass him. "Now that we have all of the members of our group, lets continue our hunt for the Master." He says as he runs out of the kitchen. I run out with him, following closely. "Hey there Cabbage, long time no see." Squishy says as he runs along side me. "Yeah, though I wish it was under normal circumstances." I pant back to him. "What's with the cabbages?" "Oh, I was on my way to Sweet Apple Acres when I ran into Ditsy. I haven't had a chance to turn them in yet." "Ditsy? And why are you bringing them with you? Why don't you just leave-" "MASTER!" I look forward as see the Master pause at a door. He gives a slight bow before running inside. We all charge towards it and- BOOM We all jump back as a large plume of fire bursts from the door. The Doctor mumbles something to himself before running in the charred remains of the room. The others run in after him, but I stay outside. My carts can't make it through the door. Several of the workers rush over and clear the area before anypony can get inside. "GET A DOCTOR!" Squishy yells as he helps a griffin out of the room. The griffin has that strange blue glow over him as well, though it fades away quickly. He sets the griffin down gently as a nurse runs to his side, attempting to stop him from bleeding out. The others come out as well, all helping another griffin out of the smoking room. When the rest of the medical workers arrive, we all back off to let them take care of things. "BLAST!" The Doctor yells as he storms off. "Can't you help them? Aren't you a doctor?" I ask as I follow after him. "I'M NOT THAT KIND OF DOCTOR!" He yells back at me. I back off a little, caught off guard by his harsh response. "Why the bombs? Why the running? What's his angle? How does any of this benefit him?" He asks as he continues pacing about. "Maybe he hates griffins." Ditsy offers "No, no. The Master doesn't hate hate any race... but he is targeting griffins.... GOT IT! TO THE TARDIS!" Before any of us could respond he runs off through the blimp. We share a quick glance before chasing after him. "What's going on? Where are we going?" Ditsy asks as we all run into the Tardis. He runs around the station and begins to flip switches and turn knobs as he mumbles to himself. "AND OFF WE GO!" The Doctor yells before flipping a switch. "Almost there... and... AHA! Here we go! Come now, we don't have much time." The Doctor says as he moves to the door. "Now, get ready for Birtaly, year 4139." He says as he opens the door. We step out together and awe at the city. Tall brick buildings surround the cobble stone road as mortar roofs reflect the full moon in the cloudless sky. Many of the windows have small planters underneath them, having long hanging plants in them. We walk down the empty street, our hooves echoing in the distance, and keep our eyes open for any movement. An eerie silence surrounds us, slowing our pace. Ditsy moves closer to the Doctor, nudging him nervously. "Don't worry, as long as we-" "RUN!" We all jump a bit as somepony yells at us from behind. Without thinking, I run to the closest door and charge right- THUD I fall back as my carts catch on the door frame. I quickly pick myself up and- CRASH I fall again when something large crashes into my cart. I roll over and feel my heart pause as the giant two legged beast snarls at me. "IT'S A WEREWOLF!" The Doctor yells as he pushes Ditsy back. The giant beast howls up at the moon as it towers over me. I begin to scramble back as it looks down at me, almost smiling as it bares all of those razor sharp teeth. It takes a step towards me- CRASH A brown blur crashes into the beast and knocks it over. Seconds later the others come running through the door and shut it. Squishy and the Doctor began to move furniture to barricade the door as Cheesus takes Ditsy to the back. "WHAT WAS THAT!? WHERE DID IT COME FROM!? DID YOU LEAVE MY CABBAGES OUT THERE!?" I ask as I get back on my hooves. "Really?!" Squishy asks, dumbfounded somehow. "It was a Werewolf! Just brilliant!" The doctor says with a large smile. "Did you see those massive claws? And the large canines!?" "Doctor." Ditsy says worriedly. CRASH A pony comes crashing through the window and slams into a bookshelf. From the pile of now destroyed books comes... me... only it's not me. It's a buffer version of me in black armor and holding some kind of weapon. My mane has been nearly buzzed off and I have a few scars over my body. The other me snorts in anger before raising the weapon and- PATPATPATPATPATPATPATPATPAT We all drop down as a loud banging sound comes from the weapon. Shards of glass burst from the window, nicking a few of us lightly. The banging suddenly stops as I... er, he, drops the weapon and pulls out a sword. "RAAAAAAAHH!" From outside the large beast jumps through the window and tries to tackle the other me. He rolls under it, slicing at its stomach and dodging the attack. The beast gets up, holding its bleeding wound, and snarls back at all of us. "What's going on?" I ask as I watch the wound close up almost instantly. "I'll explain soon enough." I, or the other me says before charging at the creature. It swipes at him with it's massive claws, breaking wood and stone with total ease. He dodges the first few attacks and manages to strike its knee, dropping it down slightly. But in an eye blink the beast backhands him and knocks him into the wall- PEPEPEPEPEPEW Massive red bolts come in from the window and slam into the animal, knocking it over. Two ponies and a griffin run in through the window and surround the creature. One of the ponies is a white unicorn with short purple hair and similar armor to mine. The other pony is an earth mare with a short creamy tan mane and armor. The griffin is wearing bright grey armor and has a large round shield in her claws. The shield's edges are made of a light grey while the rest is wood. "ANY TIME REGINA!" The white unicorn says as she continues to shoot the beast. "AAAAAHH!" The griffin yells as she slams the edge of the shield into the beast's face. "STOP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING! THAT'LL KILL IT!" The Doctor yells as he tries to stop the griffin, Regina. The earth mare stops him as Regina bashes in its head a few more times. "DON'T-" "Are you crazy!? Those things are killing machines! We have to-" "But it's a living person! We just need to rid the curse and-" "Doctor!" The other me says as he gets back to his hooves. "There is only one cure, and the Spartans are moving in to deal with him." "But that won't cure them! That will only end the lineage! You-" "Shut up scruffy!" The tan mare says as she pushes the Doctor back. "Scruffy!? I'm not scruffy! What about me is scruffy?" He asks as he checks himself. "Doctor!" The other me yells. "The Master has sent this small pack after us. We've already loss twelve ponies and countless griffins. This is happening. But you need to get moving already. The Master was the one who convinced Cain to send them here, you need to get moving to Appleoosa. Rose Pedal has what you need on the Day of Reckoning, now get going!" "What does Rose have?" I ask as the Doctor stares down the others. "He's done." The griffin says shakily as she backs away from the bloody corpse. She tries to wipe off the blood from her feathers, but it only spreads it. "I can't-" "The lives of millions of ponies is at stake. A few cursed dogs is nothing compared to that. Now get moving before the other three find us." He says as the other me picks up the weapon and begins to change a belt in it. "Oh, and Cabbage... take care of her." "Wha-" "AAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO." From outside we hear several howls from all around the city. "We'll escort you to the Tardis. Rarity, take the left. Butterscotch, you've got the right. I'll take lead while Regina provides support for them. Now get moving!" The other Cabbage yells as he runs and leaps through the window. The others follow his words and take up positions outside the window. "..." "..." "..." "Okay, Cabbage, what the buck?" Cheesus asks me. "I-" "I DON'T SEE RUNNING!" The other me yells. We all snap back and jump out the window. I run over to my two remaining carts and attach them to myself. BARK PATPATPATPATPATPAT The one named Butterscotch begins attacking a rooftop across the street. Whatever was back there has moved behind cover, though we can still hear its growling. "Cabbage, it would seem we're surrounded." The Doctor says as he walks out to the middle of the road. "Well, you know what they says." The other me says with a smirk. The Doctor smirks back to him before looking down the road to the Tardis. "ALLONS-Y!" We all take off down the road, running at full speed. Four beasts jump from the rooftops and crash down around us. The three soldier ponies engage the front ones, blasting them with their loud weapons. The griffin stops and rushes the last creature, raising her shield to catch its massive claw. "DON'T LOOK BACK!" Squishy yells as he takes off past me. I look back forward and aim for the Tardis, seeing Ditsy holding the door open for us. I push myself harder as I begin to near it. I'm going to be the last one to reach it, but- THUD "RAAAAAAHHHH!" I fall over as something comes crashing down behind me. The beast from inside the building has jumped onto one of my carts, destroying it completely. The creature stands up completely and roars again before diving down to chomp down at me. I close my eyes and wait- CRUNCH THUD I jolt a bit when the beast rams its muzzle against my chest. I open my eyes and see if trying to bite down on a head of cabbage that somehow ended up in the back of its muzzle. "Come on you! Come at me!" The Doctor yells as he picks up another cabbage head and tosses it at the creature, hitting it on the head. It finally spits out the cabbage and walks over to him, giving me a chance to escape. I run over to my remaining carts and attach them to myself before running the rest of the distance. Once inside, I turn- "CLOSE THE DOOR, CLOSE THE DOOR!" The Doctor yells as he runs past me. Squishy and I slam the door right in the creatures face and press our bodies against it, using all of our strength- "What are you doing?" Squishy asks as he casually stands beside me. I move away from the door and wait for the beast to break in... but it doesn't. Somehow, the door is holding. I can't even hear it pounding on it. "Time lord technology. Nothing can break through that... well, maybe one or two things. But not that! Now, the question is: Why is your future self sending us to Appleoosa?" "Well-" "And who is this Rose Pedal? I can't help but feel as if the name is familiar.... nope! Not ringing enough bells. Rose Petal... Appleoosa... that's a farming community right?" He asks as he continues to pace around. "Yup! I think the largest farm there grows cabbages." I say as I watch him continue to walk around. Ditsy, Cheesus and Squishy all blink when they come to the same realization. They all snicker a bit as they come stand beside me, watching the Doctor pace about. "Now what could a farming community possibly have that I would need? And why on that day? None of this seems to add up properly." "Well, I guess-" "Wait!... no, never mind. I thought I had it, but no. Well then, lets get going then! I'm sure we'll find whatever we're looking for when we get there." He says as he walks up to the center control thing. "Yay, I'm going home." I say un-enthusiastically, getting him to whip around and stare at me. Cheesus and Squishy both begin to laugh at him as Ditsy walks over to his side, giving him an encouraging nuzzle. "And by the way, Rose Petal is my wife." "... then why are you sending us there? What could possibly-" "Doctor." Ditsy says quietly, getting his attention. "I don't think that Cabbage will know what's going on. The best plan of action would be to go there ourselves." He smiles to her before running around the control station. VRRRMMM VRRRMMM VRRRMMM The loud noise fills the room again as several of the lights dim a bit. After a few seconds the Doctor flips a few more switches before walking over to the door. He opens the door and I can't help but sigh contently as I step out and view my farm. A large two story warehouse stands behind my single story home. Its tinted windows are dusty and seem as if they haven't been cleaned in a long time. The gutters are full of gunk and the gardens have weeds popping us all over. The fields look... well, I wouldn't say bad, I'd just say there's plenty of work to do. "Sweet Celestia... who... is that?" Cheesus asks as he looks a out to the eastern field. I lean over and smile as I see my wife trying to pull a plow through a field. She has a gorgeous light green coat and beautiful light red mane and tail. She has a cutie mark of a rose with three petals falling off. "That, would be my wife. Rose Peta-" "No she's not." Cheesus says, getting a slow nod from Squishy. "Uh... yes, she is." "Dude, don't lie. You want me to believe that that mare, that perfect ten right over there, is your wife." He asks as he points her out. "You should have seen her before we had kids." "... you've had kids." "Two actually." " That mare over there, the one with the perfect flank, gorgeous smile, beautiful teal eyes, slim frame, THAT MARE IS YOUR WIFE!? AND YOU'VE HAD TWO KIDS!"He yells as he steps towards her, accenting each of his arguments with an extra point. "... yeeeeah-" "She married you? Some average looking, nopony farmer in the middle of nowhere. You, she married you. What lie did you tell her and can I get a picture?" "...a-a picture? A picture of what?" I ask. He glances back to- "AHH!! What the buck!?" I yell as Squishy roughly grabs my sheath. "Oooohh, that explains it." He says as he feels it up completely. "No way." Cheesus says as he looks to Squishy in disbelief. "How close to you?" "Well... pretty damn close. I'm a little mad at you for keeping this a secret. We could have used a stallion with your talent back at Fon Do's." Squishy says before he finally lets go of me. I back away from him and cover myself as I gawk back at him. "Don't touch me like that! Save it for your coltfriend over there-" "My coltfriend? You think Cheesus is my coltfriend?" I blink a few times before looking back to Cheesus, getting an even more bewildered look from him. I honestly thought they had some strange thing together.. though I don't know why. Maybe it was just a proximity thing. "You may have the hot wife, but I've been in more poon than you've seen. My barn door doesn't swing that way-" "Pffft! Remember that one time we spent all night pretending to have sex to keep Storm Cloud awake? Classic." "AHEM!" The Doctor coughs. The three of us look over to him to see him, Ditsy and my wife staring at the three of us. I just smile to Rose, getting a smile back as she steps towards me. "You're late." She says as she stops before me. "Well, we ran into some trouble along the way, but we made it." I say as I stand before her. She smiles a bit before looking back to the others. "Are you all part of his unit? The Equestrian first battalion?" They all look to the Doctor, who thinks about it before shrugging yes. "Thank you for bringing me my husband in these dire times. If you're hungry, there is some food in the storage house, I'm sure we can spare something for some war heroes, it's the least we could do." She says with a slight bow of her head. "... OH! Where are our manners? You've been away from your husband for quite some time, haven't you?" Cheesus says as he saunters over to her. She blushes and tries to hide her face in my mane, getting a chuckle from Ditsy. "We'll go ahead and... move on to... our rendezvous point. Cabbage, Doctor, a quick word." "What are you planning?" The Doctor asks him as he glances back to the others. "We need to find whatever it is that was left for you, but we can't let her know we're not from this time. Cabbage, go bang your wife so we can snoop around." "... okay." "..." "..." "..." "..." "Well... that was easy." Cheesus says as he looks over to the Doctor. "You do realize-" "I may be a simple farmer, but I can still follow. You guys need to look around and I need to distract her. If I talk I won’t be able to follow with current events. Not to mention I would be having sex with my wife. Something I like doing. So... yeah. Unless you can think of a simpler plan, I'll go take one for the team." They look to each other before nodding to me. "Just, make sure to keep her preoccupied as long as possible. This farm looks fairly large." The Doctor says as he looks around. "And remember, fellatio is more than a tool to taste pussy. Use it wisely." I blink a few times before leaving the two of them, shaking my head slightly. "So... want to head inside and-" "YES! I- uh, I mean yes. Please." She says, blushing slightly. I laugh a bit as I guide her back towards our home. Rose leans against me during our short walk, keeping to herself mostly. I just back into her slightly and enjoy her company. The house looks well kept, like usual. Rose does a good job keeping things in order, though the lack of toys on the floor is unsettling. Though, it is the future... I think. I never heard the date so... I have no clue when this is. Judging by the furniture, and the lack of toys, I'm going to guess that this is the future. Enough to the point where the kids are old enough to be on their own... or enlisted... "So... where are Lettuce Leaf and Daisy Duke?" I ask as we slowly make our way to the bedroom. I feel Rose tremble a bit as we walk. "Well, I got a letter from Lettuce last week. He survived Cliffton luckily. Daisy sent me a letter about a month ago saying that she's found some pony- er, zebra." I pause and look back to her, getting a tired smile in response. "Zebra?" I ask. She just laughs as she pushes me onto the bed, slowly sliding her chest up my body. "Don't be too quick to judge Cabbage. He sounds like a wonderful stallion, and he even saved her life. But enough about them. I need you badly." I laugh slightly as I wrap my hooves around her shoulders and begin to kiss her neck, getting a low hiss in response. "What? You think you can leave a mare for a year and not expect some pent up heat to kick in? I need care every now and again." I pause and think back to what I told myself. "... take care of her." I stop kissing her neck and look up to her eyes, seeing the pained lustful look behind them. I lean up and give her a tender peck on the lips. Then another. She pushes her lips into mine and begins to become more forceful. I lift her light body and roll over, positioning myself over her. I run a hoof through her long mane as I take control of the kiss, trying to put as much passion into as possible. "Ahnnng, come on Cabbage. I need you." She moans as I nibble on her neck. I can feel her trying to grind her hip into mine, but I pull back as I keep the focus elsewhere. I hum my response as I press forward, barely pressing my tip against her entrance. She lets out a slow sigh of relief as I push further and further within her. Her tightness tells me just how frustrated she's been. "Hows that?" I ask as I finally bottom out. "Better. Thank you, I don't think I could have gone another cycle without this kind of release." She tells me as she brings a hoof to my cheek, rubbing it slowly as she stares into my eyes. I offer her a smile as I begin to move myself back and forth- Crrrrreeeeeeaaaaaaaccccccccckkkkk I look over to the door and freeze up when I see Ditsy and the Doctor sneaking into my room. The Doctor motions to me to look back to Rose, so I do so. Rose has her eyes shut in pure bliss as I hear the two intruders begin to search my room. I don't know if I can do this while they're in here. I need to help them somehow to get them out of here. "So... anything come up recently?" I ask as I return to my movements. She laughs a little as she begins to rock her hips with mine. "Really Cabbage? Small talk during sex?" I hear something fall over, so in order to distract her I begin to push my hips in with more force. "Well... I've been gone... for awhile... I want to... to... uh... make the most out of... my time.... hhhnnnnnnng, why are you so tight?" I can feel myself reaching my peak rapidly. I can't do that yet, it's too soon. Without a second thought I pull out and roll her over. She quickly sticks her flank in the air and lifts her tail, giving me perfect access. Thanks to her heightened arousal I slide in with total ease. "AH! Well... hnng, there was... was... harder... oooooohh yeah. There was that visit... from... that hooded pony. She gave me a letter... for... don't slow down-" "-sorry-" "A letter for some Doctor. It's in the dresser. Come on, rut me raw." I grapple her hips and begins to pound myself against her. I glance over to the side and see Ditsy trying to sneak her way over to the dresser. She blushes as she stares at my... work, to which I shrug. She opens the top drawer and pokes around a bit before pulling a letter out. "AAAAHH!" I look back down to Rose as she hits her climax. She thrashes around underneath me as I try to hold her in place. Eventually she pushes me out and makes me fall back on my flank. I sit there and pant a bit as she turns around to face me. "Heh, good lay hun." "Heh... thanks. So-" "Your turn." She lowers her head and begins to lick the tip of my member.I rest a hoof on the top of her head as I nervously glance around, trying to see where the other two went. "Hey, down here." "Sorry, just got distracted-" "Well then let me re-focus you." She says before engulfing me into her mouth. She bobs her head a few times before taking me down into her throat. "Okay I'm focused." I mutter as I watch her, wide eyed. She laughs a little, sending vibrations over my entire member, before pulling me out of her mouth. "Glad to hear it. Now, where could we ever have you finish?" She asks sensually as she strokes me up and down. I gulp a little as she licks her lips a little. She only talks about swallowing on special occasions, so I guess I've been absent for some time now. I freeze up again when I hear a soft gasp behind me. I close my eyes as I wait for somepony to find somepony else.... but instead I feel something way better. I look back down and watch Rose's mane bounce with her movements. Her tongue danced around my pillar as she rotates her head from side to side. I close my eyes again as I feel my sensitive member rub the inside of her mouth. "Rose, this feel great and all, but I want to finish... down below." I tell her as I rub her mane again. With a quiet pop she removes me from her mouth and smiles up to me. "Okay, come over here and lay down then." She says as she moves over, leaving the center of the bed for me. I position myself there on my back and watch as she turns away from me, tying her mane up. I run a hoof down the center of her back slowly, getting a content sigh from her. She looks back to me and smiles as I run my hoof back up between her shoulders. "Lay down." I say in almost a whisper. She nods and lays on her side with her back to me. I move against her so my stomach is against her, our sweaty coats mixing together. "When they took Appleoosa... I thought you had died," she tells me. "What's going to happen now?" "Now... now we... now we just keep going." "But-" "No buts. Everything will be fine. I promise." She nods as she looks away from me, obviously disturbed by something. CLICK I look back and stare at myself as I stand by the door... the future buff me... with a scar under my left eye. He looks between the two of us and tilts his head, motioning me to move. I look between the two of them before leaning over Rose, kissing her softly on the cheek. "I love you." I whisper in her ear before removing myself from the bed. She nods slowly as she pull the sheets closer to herself. As I move off the bed, the other me makes sure to keep as much distance between the two of us. He points to the closet before moving onto the bed and taking my old position. I can't help but watch as he begins to rub her side, whispering something to her. She seems to be loosening up, but keeps the concern on her face. THUD From out of the closet falls Ditsy and the Doctor. They're both sweaty and panting lightly. As they stand, I get a glimpse at the Doctors... thing, as it slowly retracts back into his sheath. We all share an awkward moment as we stare at one another. All blushing madly. "Hey did- oh shit... uh.... we should leave." Cheesus says as he bursts through the door. We all run out of the room and shut the door behind us, trying to avoid each others- "Dude... one picture. Please." Cheesus say as he stares at... 'me'. "Okay, so that was weird on too many levels. Let's go already... and no." I tell Cheesus. "Doctor what was-" "Whoa... put that away before it bites somepony." Squishy jokes as he walk in from the kitchen, eating a sandwich. "Good for you though-" "Anyway, I'm going to take a quick, cold shower. You guys... just stay out here." "Do you have another shower we could possibly use?" The Doctor asks. "Um... there's a rinse station out by the storage barn." The three stallions in the room stare at me, Ditsy being too busy leaning against the Doctor. "*sigh* I'll go use that then. The shower is down the hall to your left." I say as I leave my home. As I make my way out to the barn, I take a look out at my fields. Weeds take up most of them. Only a small section actually has crops, but they're not looking so good. Several large metal craft sit out there, the likes of which I've never seen before. I can tell there were several large explosion out here as well, due to the craters. "What happened here?" I ask as I open the door to the barn. "WHO GOES THERE.... RUN! IT'S THE GOBLIN SLAYER!" A group of green, four armed creatures begin to run out the large hole in the right wall, dropping their weapons as they do so. I watch as a group of like thirty of them run for their lives, terrified of... me. "What did I do?" I ask... nopony. I shake my head and move to the rinse station. I turn the knob and wince when I hear the empty pipes screech. Well, I guess I'll just have to wait it out. I begin to walk around the barn, inspecting it closely. The hole in the wall goes up to the roof as well, leaving the center of the building completely open. Everything is dusty in here from a lack of simple maintenance. I take a seat under the opening and look up at the sky. It's a bright sunny day, but something odd is happening. Wave of energy ripple through the sky. They remind me of the energy waves from the Crystal Empire, but seem more... viscous. As if a great magical fight is happening. "Cabbage, It's been nearly an hour, you ready to go?" Squishy asks from behind. "Huh? Oh, yeah. What was on that piece of paper?" I ask as I turn and walk towards him. "Well, the Doctor read it and tossed it aside. I don't know what it said, but it probably wasn't good." I nod as we walk back to the Tardis. I find one remaining cart and sigh as I toss the note on it aside. "Aren't you going to read it?" "No, I can guess where the other cart is. Those cabbages will help them out a lot. Let's just go." I attach the last cart and enter the Tardis. "Great! Now that you're here let's get going!" The Doctor says energetically as he runs around the control station. VRRRMMM VRRRMMM VRRRMMM The noise sounds off again as we travel through time again. I simply stand there and try to keep my mind off of what just happened. I don't want any of that happening, but I wouldn't know what to do. If I try not doing anything, that could make them happen, or worse. But if I try to stop them, that could be what makes them happen. I guess the only thing I can do is simply do what I think is best and go from there. "Alright, we have to take care of this before anything else." The Doctor says as he trots for the door. "Even the Master?" I ask as I follow after him. "... even the Master." He says stoically. We leave the Tardis and enter what I can only assume is the royal castle, due to the marble columns and intricate tinted window panes. I look forward and nearly faint when I realize we're in the throne room. "What are we doing in the royal throne room!? We're going to be put in jail!" I ask the Doctor as he marches forward. A bright flash ahead of me catches my attention. I look forward and see a tall bipedal being standing there, wearing a cloak that covers its face. "LUNA!" The Doctor calls out, getting- wait a minute. Luna? Like, the night Princess Luna? "Doctor? What are you-" she begins as she removes her hood. Her face reminds me of that being that destroyed my last shipment of cabbages, only more feminine. She has short dark blue hair and pale skin. Her bright blue eyes "This has gone on long enough. Stop before you cause a rift in time-" "I haven't done anything-" "You have done enough! Luna, stop thinking about yourself and think about what's happened. He wasn't suppose to know his mother. He was suppose to learn to trust Damian on his own. Time has changed because of that." "... I... I just miss him." She says quietly as she steps away from the Doctor. He shakes his head slowly as he steps closer to her. "Luna, I understand. Having to go on without the one you love is heart wrenching. You spend every day wishing that you could have gone back and done things differently. Wishing for another chance. But that's a luxury we all have to take. He has to die. That is the best ending, for all of us. There is no future with him alive. Let Miles go." "I CAN'T!" She yells as she drops down, covering her face as she begins to cry. "I can't let him go! I love him too much! If you leave me like this I'll just go see him again! This spell is too much for me to handle!" She begins to sob uncontrollably, not even bothering to try to hide it this time. The Doctor walks over to her and wraps her up in a light hug, allowing her to hold onto him tightly. "I can help with that." Cheesus says as he steps forward. "It's a simple enough potion that makes you forget. If you really feel the need to, I can help." "No, she knows how to fix it, don't you Luna?" The Doctor asks, getting a slow nod from her. "Do you see what I was talking about now?" "MASTER!" From out of the shadows of the columns steps the Master, followed by a hooded figure with similar build. Squishy tries to make a move on him, but stops when he reveals one of those loud weapons the future me had and points it at us. "See Luna, he can't understand your pain. He doesn't even wish to care for his own foal, what could he do for you?" The Master says as he walks behind Luna. "I don't have any foals you-" "Doctor." Ditsy says quietly, lowering her head slightly. The Doctor looks to her and slowly comes to the truth. "Ditsy... why didn't you-" "Now, dear Luna, if you want your beloved Miles back; kill them. Kill every last one of them and I'll save him from Death." Luna take a deep breath as she steps towards us. Her eyes are unfocused as she tries to choose her next action wisely. "Ditsy, why didn't you tell me?" The Doctor asks her quietly, unfazed by everything. "I-I wanted to, honestly. I didn't know until after you left though." She tells him as she steps before him, still keeping her head down in shame. "Ditsy, I would have wanted to have been there, I swear. Had I known, I-" "But you didn't." The Master cuts off harshly. "The Great Doctor, keeper of time, didn't even know his own lineage. Hows the brother by the way? I'm sure Boxy would just love to see you again. You're worthless. No family. No duty. No honor. LUNA! DESTROY THEM!" She lifts up her hands and has two light come from them that blind me. "WAAAAIIIIIITTT!" Ditsy yells, making Luna stop her spell. "Luna, think about what you're about to do! It's the Doctor! He does what's right because it's right! Not like the Master! All he does is hurt griffins and-" "Oh, I've never hurt any griffins." The Master says with a devilish smile. We all stand there quietly as Luna lowers her head and backs away from us. "Luna-" "He said he could save them! He said I would be happy again, that I wouldn't have to be alone anymore! Don't tell me that you wouldn't have done the same Doctor. Don't tell me that you wouldn't level mountains and crush houses if it meant Ditsy’s safety!" "I wouldn't put the lives of millions at risk! There's a clear difference when it comes to these matters! Why won't you understand!?" "No, you're the one who misunderstands. Luna, this is your final test. Destroy them and I'll bring back your beloved Miles." She nods to him and steps towards us, lighting her hands ablaze. "Luna, don't do this." The Doctor pleads as we all back away from her. "This isn't what Miles would want you to do. Think about the path you're choosing." "Wait." I say as she raises her hands. "That blue aura, back at the griffin attacks. That was you was you, wasn't it?" She falters a bit as she takes a step back. "You couldn't do it, could you?" The Doctor asks, advancing on her. "... no. No, I couldn't." She admits. "WHAT!? How could you not!? You know what they'll do!" "That doesn't mean they weren't innocent at that moment Master!" Luna yells as she turns towards the Master. "I couldn't do it! I couldn't let my anger kill them! It wouldn't have been right-" "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT'S RIGHT!" The Master yells, snarling as he shows his teeth. The other hooded creature runs points his weapon at her and- BOOM A small explosion hits my last cart and forces them to take cover as Celestia appears behind them. The doors burst open as windows shatter from dozens of heavily armored guards come rushing in. "MY CABBAGES!" I scream as I hold up a few destroyed cabbage leaves. "ARREST THEM!" Celestia shouts over all of the noise. The hooded figure throws off the cloak, revealing him to be an armored chimp. His armor is similar to those of the guards rushing in. His weapon matches theirs as well.He throws his hands out, making them catch fire as well, and slams them on the ground. FLASH In the blink of an eye they disappear, leaving the center of the room empty. "Where did he go?" A pegasus in the armor yells. "I think I know." Luna says as she flared her hands. A white fire wraps around her, swirling madly as it covers her completely. When the fires die out, the only thing left is a large scorch mark on the ground. "Captain Storm Cloud." Celestia addresses the pegasus. "Right. Jumpers! Fan out and search the upper levels! I want chargers hitting the perimeter and fighters in every room! MOVE IT SPARTANS!" He yells, getting all of the guards to run about the room. The Doctor runs off back towards the Tardis. "Where are we going?" Ditsy yells as we chase after him. "We have to try and chase afte-" THUD The Doctor falls back as he crashes into... Luna. She stumbles back as she tries to hold up a limp body. "Luna.... Luna... what is that?" The Doctor asks as he stands back up. "..." "Luna, what did you do?" He asks in a more serious tone. "I tried stopping him, but Dust Devil got in the way. I'm sorry, but the Master has died." She says as she lays his body down before him. "W-what? Dead? But how? Why didn't he regenerate?" The Doctor asks as he steps towards the body. He moves the face and and chokes on his tears as when he identifies it. "He said... he said death was a better option... than being stuck all of eternity with you. I'm sorry Doctor. But there was no saving him. We can give him all of his last rights if you wish." The Doctor hugs his body and begins to cry out for him, confusing the rest of us. "Why!? Why didn't you just come with me! Why didn't you just regenerate! WHY!? MASTER!" ...................................................................................................................................................... We all sit inside the Tardis quietly. The Doctor had taken the Masters body and cremated it. Nopony spoke. I look around the room and look at all the sad faces in the room. I look to Squishy and we share a look before I turn away from him. At least I will still be paid by Cheesus for my cabbages. "Well, all this sadness is too much for me. Doctor, come with me." Squishy says as he walks toward the center station. "Not now Squishy." The Doctor groans. "Nope, now." Squishy says as he grabs his tail and drags him over there. "Now, get me to-" "Squishy! I'm not in the-" "December twenty second. forty one thirty two. Take me to Miles's house. Don't ask, just go." Squishy orders. "I-" "I don't see button pushing." Squishy warns him. He sighs and begins to flip switches and turn some knobs. VRRRMMM VRRRMMM VRRRMMM Squishy grabs the Doctor by his tail and continues to drag him towards the door. "Well? You all coming?" He asks the rest of us. "I'm not-" "It was a rhetorical question. Now lets get going before it's too late!" Squishy says as he walks out the door, dragging the Doctor along the way. I look back to Cheesus and get a shrug from him. "Why the hell not?" He says as he walks out after him. Ditsy follows after him and I follow after her, fearing what would happen should I stay in the Tardis for too long. As soon as I step out of the Tardis, music fills my ears. The two story stone home before me has many lights on with the sounds of a loud party coming from inside. Squishy stops by the door and finally lets go of the Doctor. "Okay, the Masters death was sad... I guess, but we need to cheer up! We won! We saved the day! Won the girl," he says as he nudges Ditsy into the Doctor, getting them to blush. "Come on, turn those frowns-" "-UPSIDE DOWN!" Some pink pony yells as she suddenly appears from behind Squishy. She wraps her hooves around him and gives him a big hug before looking back to the rest of us. "What's up everypony? Why the long faces?" "Well-" "HAH! Get it? Long faces? We're ponies! Ahhh.... classic. No, but seriously, what's wrong?" "We've... lost somepony recently... very recently." I tell her. She frowns a bit as she tries to think of something. When she finally does, she bounces off of Squishy and walks over to the back door of the house. "I know what you all need." She says as she lays her hoof on the handle. "What's that Pinkie?" Ditsy asks. "To laugh." She pulls the door open just in time for something to come flying out. "GAH!" The Doctor yells as whatever was thrown goes straight into his mouth. He coughs and gags a bit until he finally gets it out of his mouth. "A pear!? Who's throwing pears? Why would- PEAR! I HATE PEARS! Why would they throw a blasted pear in my mouth! Pears, damnable things!" He yells as he throws the pears on the ground. We all stare at the pear on the ground for a second. Cheesus begins to chuckle, getting a death glare from the Doctor. Ditsy soon begins to giggle as well, followed by me and eventually the Doctor. Once the Doctor joins in we all begin laughing openly. Ditsy gives the Doctor a hug, making him laugh as well. "See, told you. Now get those hoove-things in here and PARTY!" Pinkie yells as she runs back inside. Once we all finish laughing the Doctor walks over to the door and holds it open for the rest of us. "After you." He says with a slight bow. The share a look before trotting inside. The inside is a fairly nice kitchen with several ponies talking and drinking. Food is on a table in the room to left and some ponies are dancing to the room to the right. I can tell that most of the ponies in here have had a bit more than a few, but overall it's warm and inviting here. I walk over to the food table and grab a few of the pastries there, feeling my mouth begin to water from just touching them. "Hey, I know you... pony!" Says.... him. "You. You're the one who destroyed my last shipment of cabbages." I say as the drunk bipedal creature slumps into a chair beside me. "YUP! That was me. Miles Eremita, at your... who the fuck took my drink?" He asks as he looks at his empty glass. Miles... oh... Luna's Miles I take it. ... ... ... I gotta say, I wasn't expecting her to choose a hairless ape. "What you staring at?" He ask as he points beside me. "Hey... you know..." "Know what?" He asks. "Nevermind. You're too drunk to remember anyway." I say as I turn back to the food before me. "Pfft, I solved soul transformation via Elemental micro atomization while drunk, you think I can't remember what some.... guy has to say while drunk? Try me." He says as he goes to take a drink from him non existent drink. "Who the fuck-" "Listen, Miles, I just wanted to say... it's alright. The cabbages I mean." He laughs a bit as he stands back up and stretches a bit. "Well, I'll look out for you when the time arises. Until then, I need to go beat the crap out of the fucker who took my drink. Vale." He stumbles away to the couch and face plants into it, passing out instantly. I chuckle a bit as I continue to get some food- "Um.... who are you?" Some lavender mare asks me. "Uh.... I'm... a friend... of Pinkies. She said I could get some food... and stuff." I lie. She eyes me for a second before walking off towards Pinkie. I sigh in relief before going back to my plate. Licking my lips in anticipation- "Cabbage, you need a drink." Cheesus says as he puts a cup in my hooves. "Oh, I don't drink-" I say as i try to give it back. "You do now, drink up." He says as he pushes it back to me. "I'd really rather not." I say as I push it back. "One drink isn't going to kill you. Come on, one drink." I look at the clear liquid in the cup and sigh in defeat. With one final breath I tilt my head back and pour the beverage down my throat- THUD .......................................................................................................................................................... I roll over onto my side and groan as a loud sound fills my overly sensitive ears. I blink a few times before finally opening my eyes, finding myself in the Tardis somehow. I look down and realize that I'm hugging a frying pan... why do I have a frying pan? "What's going on?" I ask as the Doctor and Cheesus race around the control station, frantically pushing buttons and whatnot. "We're going back to the correct time to get you to Sweet Apple Acres!" The Doctor yells as he we finally come to a stop. "Right! Now go knock yourself out and get those cabbages!" "Why are you so fixed on me getting my cabbages-" "Because I don't want to pay you that much!" Cheesus yells as he and Squishy run over. "And I promised to help the Doctor learn more about his child when we go to see her." Squishy adds. "So get going!" The Doctor yells as he nudges me forward. "I don't want to-" "It's a fixed point in time so go do it already... just don't touch yourself!" The doctor yells, making me wince in pain. "Huh?" Is the best I can manage as I stumble to the door. This is why I don't drink. "Because you already did it, you have to do it. Otherwise bad things happen. Sorry Cabbage." Ditsy says as she gives me the frying pan. "Try to do it in one hit." I look to the others and groan as I remember myself doing it. "Alright, alright. Let's just get it over with already." I say as I take the pan. They all follow me out of the Tardis where we find my past self gawking at us. I take the pan and lift it over my head, ready to attack. "Huh?" The other me mumbles mid swing. THUNK I wince from the memory of myself taking the hit and falling unconscious. Cheesus runs over and takes five of the carts and brings them over to me. Before I could move, Squishy lifts me up and sets me in the harness, strapping me in as quickly as possible. "It was fun, crazy, and all other things, now go make that delivery!" Cheesus yells as he points me in the correct direction. "Well... I'll be off then." I say as I look back to the carts of cabbages. This feels... right. "Be sure to write us!" Ditsy says as she holds the Doctors hoof. "Yeah, what good are friends if you never see them again." Squishy jokes. I pause for a second as I think about that. "Yeah, I guess we are all friends, aren't we?" I ask all of them, getting warm smiles in return. "Yeah. That's why I'm changing my ways and going back to the way things were before." Cheesus says as he wraps a leg around Squishy. "Really?" Squishy asks. "Pfft, no! Hoe, you owe me for an entire cruise! You better be ready for double nights at Fon-Do's!" He says as he pulls him into a playful head lock. "Shouldn't you be going?" "Alright, I'm off then! Good luck with Dinky Doctor!" I yell as I begin to run off with my carts. "BEST OF LUCK TO YOU CABBAGE!" Ditsy yells. I look back to the Doctor in time to catch him nodding to me. I smile back to him as I round the corner. I'm sure we'll see each other, soon enough. When I finally make it to the farm I double my pace, making it to the house in mere minutes. I find an elderly mare sitting in a rocking chair, eyeing me as I run up. "Hello there! I'm Cabbage Patch." I say to her as I walk up. "Call me Granny Smith." She says as she slowly gets out her chair. "What can I do fer ya?" "I'm here with the shipment of cabbages from Appleoosa. Five carts, right on time!" I say as she walks over to the carts. "Sonny boy, these are heads of lettuce." She says as she grabs one and tosses it to me. "What? No they... they... what?" I drop the head of lettuce and move to the cart, finding it filled with lettuce. The next carts tells the same story, as well as the last three. Nothing but cheap, non nutritional, lettuce. "WHERE DID MY CABBAGES GO!?" "Oh dear, where could they have gone?" A sly, strange voice says. I look over and gape at the creature before me as he sits in the rocking chair, knitting. "Discord, why ah haven't seen ya since... ya'll have ta fergive me. Mah mind aint right." Granny Smith says as she walks over to him, smiling. "Where ya been?" "Oh, you know me. I spend most of my time with Celestia. Speaking of which, I think I should head back there. We wouldn't want her thinking without me, would we?" He ask as he begins to chuckle deeply. "But... but..." "Ah'm sorry kiddo, but the best we can do is offer ya five hundred bits fer yer lot of lettuce. That's the best we can do." Granny tells me. "MY CABBAGES!" I yell as Discord begins to laugh. Author's Note Well then, this has taken quiet some time to make it here. Now, you may be asking yourself, what happened to the Master? Well, that's up to you to decide. I'm very excited to announce,Ponyrun. Delve into the world of Man of War and see if you have what it takes to save the world! That, along with some community gaming ideas, we plan to hear from you guys soon. Please comment on those blogs and check out my other new posts (Characters of Man of War., The World of Man of War., and New Brony Points.) Hope to hear from all of you soon, enjoy the updates (they should be back to their average size and frequency) and like always, Brony on! Chapter 171 Five Stages...Chapter 172 ... of Coming Out of the Closet A/N: A direct continuation from chapter 167 Perspective: Storm Cloud Before I leave Miles's room I turn back to the pile of ash and stand at attention. "Storm?" Twilight asks before I start to salute. She waits quietly for me to finish, bowing her head slightly in respect. "Semper miles, semper amicus meus." I say before shutting the door to his room. I take one final breath before turning and heading down the stairs with Twilight by my side. "Storm?" "I can't explain it, but... I'm okay." I say with a slight smile. "Like... I don't know, it's hard to explain really. I'm still riled up from not knowing about the past two months, but Miles... it just seems..." "Right?" "No, that's not it. Like... hmm. Like somethings off. If he turned to ash, why are the bed sheets still there?" I ask as we stop at the bottom of the stairs. Twilight thinks about it for a moment before shrugging. "It's hard to say Storm. It's human magic, something we understand very little about," she reasons. I sit down and try nod to her reasoning. No sense in trying to think about something I don't understand. "You need cheering up." Twilight says as she sits before me. "Twilight, maybe in a bit. Right now... there's just a lot going through my mind. You're an alicorn. Miles is gone, leaving me in charge of the Spartans and the Terradisians. Two months are gone from my memory, and- what are you doing?" She doesn't answer me as she grabs my hooves and presses them against her lower stomach. "If you just lost something truly precious, what would be the next best thing?" She asks me, a smile quickly growing on her face. I feel her tummy a bit more as I begin to piece it all together. "You... you're... you're-" "We're going to have a baby." She tells me, laughing slightly as her smile doubles in size. "Twilight that's... that's... come here!" I say as I pull her in for a hug. I squeeze her in my arms as we both laugh in joy. A baby, I'm going to be a dad! ... ... ... ... oh... ... ... ...shit. "Everything alright?" Twilight asks as she breaks our hug. "Yeah, it's just that... this kid is going to have some pull." I say as I think about the possibilities. "What do you mean?" "I mean, you're the leader of Equestria." "Yeah... and?" "And I'm the leader of Terradisia as well as the Spartans." I tell her, letting her figure it out. "Oh... OH! Oh... my. That means-" "Yeah." "But then-" "I know." "So which-" "We're equal, according to both sets of laws. So..." "This foal will have some pull." Twilight says dreadfully as she looks away from me, deep in thought. I lean in and kiss her on the cheek, getting her to look back to me. "Lets just raise it right, and teach it to make the right choices. Deal?" She smiles and gives me a peck on the lips. "Deal. Let's go home then, we have a lot of planning to do." I shake my head as I stand with her. We walk over to the door and open it to find Easy standing there, moments away from opening the door as well. "Easy? Oh yeah, you're suppose to tell me something from Miles when he... well, you know. Relay the message for me please." I ask him. He stands there for a moment before walking past me, standing in the center of the front room. He stares straight up at the ceiling, right where Miles' room would be. "Easy?" "May I have your autograph?" He asks as he turns to us. "No. Easy, the message, please." I beg as I step towards him. "May I have your autograph?" He repeats. "Easy. Listen closely. The message from Miles, please tell me it. Please." I beg. He stands there for a moment, processing my request- "May I have your autograph?" I practically yell in frustration from his reluctance to answer me. "Storm, maybe he's broken or just slow to pick up on it. Lets just go home and come back another time." Twilight says as she nudges me towards the door. I reluctantly head out with her, hearing Easy ask the question at least two more times as we go. Once we're clear of the stone house, I let my mind wander back to fatherhood. "So, filly or colt?" I ask Twilight. "Hmm... I say filly." Twilight says. "Five bits says it's a colt." I say as I step a bit ahead of her. "Oh? And what makes you say that?"Twilight asks as she catches up with me. "Think about it. My parents had two colts. Your parents had a colt first. First born colts run in our genes. Face it, a colt is brewing in there." I say as I nuzzle Twilights stomach, making her blush and push me away with her wing. "Storm." She says in embarrassment. I just laugh along and guide her home, keeping the conversation on our future foal. She was right to say this would cheer me up. A foal. I'm a dad. Nothing could make me happier right now. I'm going to be a father! And it'll most likely be a colt... not that I wouldn't love it any less if it was a filly. It's just... colts are easier, for stallions. Like... I dunno, be a stallion and have a colt on the way. You'll get it. When we make it to the library I rush forward and open the door for Twilight. I don't want her stressing herself any more than she needs to. ESPECIALLY after what happened last time... not thinking about that right now. Happy thoughts only. Future colt, sport meets, flight lessons, teaching him to defend himself. Happy. Thoughts. Only. "Storm, why don't you put your armor in the closet while I go gather my supplies to make lists. I've got to get you caught up on everything that's happened so far and get you ready for all the parenting classes." Twilight say as she begins to head up the stairs. "Got it." I say as I move over to the closet. I open the doo- SLAM "AH!" I yell as the door forces itself shut, smacking me in the face. "HEY! WHO'S IN THERE!?" I yell as I try to push the door open. "Storm!? What's going on?" Twilight asks as she comes running down the stairs. "There's somepony in the closet! GET OUT OF THERE!" I yell as I put all of my weight into the door. "COME ON! COME... OUT... OF... THE... CLOSET!" "I'M NOT IN THE CLOSET!" I flop on the floor when the pony inside yells back to me. I blink a few times before looking over to Twilight, seeing her equally shocked expression. I slowly get back to my hooves and look back to the wood door. "... no... no, you... you died. You turned to ash... you-" "Are not in here, so go away!" "MILES! YOU ASS! WE ALL THOUGHT YOU WERE DYING! GET THE BUCK OUT OF THE CLOSET AND-" "I'M NOT HERE! PLEASE LEAVE A MESSAGE AND I'LL NEVER RESPOND!" Miles yells back, cutting Twilight off. "Miles! How are you-" "BEEEEEEEEP! GO AWAY! NO ONE IS HERE!" He yells again. "I knew it, I bucking knew it! I knew you were still alive. How? How did you pull it off? Did you find some more bracers? Of maybe some-" "GO! AWAY!" He yells as he slams what I assume are his hands against the door. "Okay, I've had enough of this. I'm going in there Miles-" "Twilight hold on." I say as I set a hoof on her shoulder, stopping her from charging her horn. "Let me talk to him, besides. He probably enchanted the room so we couldn't break in anyway." "... yeah! Yeah, what he said. Enchanted the room, no getting in or out. Just... just leave me alone for a bit to sort this out. BY MYSELF!" He yells as he drop to the ground. Twilight looks between me and the door before sighing in defeat. "Okay, I'll let you handle this. Just, please, get him out of the closet quickly. I have a thousand and five questions to ask him." She says as she adjusts her saddle bags on her hips, still eyeing the closet door. "Don't worry, I'll get him out of there." I tell her as I try to think of ways to convince him to leave. "Miles," Twilight yells to the door, "I'm glad you're still alive, really. Whatever has happened, it's a good thing. We'd rather have you alive than... a pile of ash. Whatever the problem is, just know that we're here for you, okay?" "..." "Miles?" "... Twilight..." He says in almost a whisper. "Yes Miles?" She asks as she steps closer. "Do me a favor." He says, even quieter than before. "Anything!" Twilight says eagerly as she steps closer. "Go away." He says loud and clear. "IT'S MY CLOSET! WHY DO YOU HIDE IN MY CLOSET ANYWAY!? MILES!? ANSWER ME MILES!" She yells as she starts to pound a hoof against the door, her mane and tail starting to flame up. "TWILIGHT! THE BABY! CALM DOWN!" I yell as I begin to pull her away from the door. "WHO THE FUCK WOULD EVER LOOK HERE? ALL YOU HAVE ARE CUSHIONS! JUST GO UPSTAIRS OR SOMETHING!" Miles yells back. Twilight starts fighting me as tries to get to the door, kicking and flapping her wings madly as she slowly begins to burn in rage. "TWILIGHT!" I yell, getting her to glare at me. "WHAT?!" She yells in a voice that echoes. After a brief moment pf pure fear I set her down and point upstairs, getting a bewildered look from her. "Yelling isn't going to solve this. Just let me deal with it, I can talk to him... please. Give me a few hours, that's all I'm asking for." The last part comes out a little more pathetic than I intended, but helps calm her down. "Fine, go talk to your coltfriend. I'm going upstairs and getting out of this dress." With that she turns and storms up the stairs, still pissed at Miles. I sigh as I move over to the door and sit against it. For a while I just wait patiently, waiting for him to talk to me. After about an hour I begin to remove my armor. He's resilient, but I have all the time in the world. Once it's all off, Twilight makes it back down and tells me she has to discuss some things with Celestia. I tell her to take things easy and not to mention anything about Miles. Something has him freaked out, so the less ponies coming at him, the better. She agrees, and gives me a kiss before leaving. "Bye Miles." She says as she stands at the door. "..." "Miles... I said-" "If you see Luna... tell her... tell her..." I can hear him to try and find the words, but still having trouble doing so. "Tell her what?" Twilight asks quietly as she steps closer. We share a look before both leaning in to hear what he has to say. "Tell her... never mind. I'll tell her... soon... maybe... eventually... I'm not here." Twilight rolls her eyes and walks out of the library. With her gone, I sigh as I stand and face the door. "You ready to step out of the closet Miles?" I ask quietly. "... but I'm not in the closet," he says quietly. "Right. How about we just open up with some dialog then?" "..." "How long have you been in there?" "..." "Miles? How long have you been in the closet?" "... twenty six hours... give or take." I smile a bit when he finally answers. Okay, all I need to do now is get him to lower his guard and force myself in there. He's been in there for a day now, he has to be hungry. If that doesn't work, the next plan will be to make him have to use the restroom. It's been a day, running water will be useful. "Okay, so you've been in there for over a day now. Don't you need to use the restroom? Aren't you hungry?" "I... I.. well... I ate before hiding in here... from your fridge." He admits. "That's alright. Do you want anything else? Maybe something to drink? You don't even have to come out, just open the door and I'll slide it in there." "No! No... I'm fine, the door doesn't need to be opened! Just... just back off!" He yells, slamming his hands onto the door again. "Come on Miles, sooner or later you're going to have to leave-" "How about later?! Why can't it be later?!" "Miles-" "Just another day!?" "Miles." "Twelve hours?" "Miles!" "Six hours!?" "MILES!" "COME ON! THIS ISN'T FAIR! WHY ME!? WHY? DON'T YOU HAVE A PREGNANT WIFE TO ATTEND TO? Just... just... go-" "Miles, if you tell me to go away I'm going to break down this door. Even if I have to hollow out this tree to do so. Deal?" "... no?" "MILES!" "COME ON! HOW ABOUT ICY VOID TRAINING LATER?" "That's it, I'm breaking in." I say as I go and retrieve my sword. "WHAT!? NONONONONONONO, don't do that! Please! Please? I said please-" "I'm going to test the door first, back away from it." I warn him as I hold my sword in my hooves. "On three-" "Wait! WAIT, just... wait!" "Two-" "Come on! Go tend to Twilight or something! I like it in here! Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please,PLEASE just leave me alone. Please." By the end he's practically crying from begging so much. "Damn Miles... what happened to you?" I ask as I lower my guard a bit. "It's as if you're an entirely new pony-" "DON'T CALL ME THAT ASSHOLE!" "THAT'S IT! YOU ARE COMING OUT OF THE CLOSET WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!" I yell before slicing at the door. A perfect line goes across it, breaking it open with total ease. "You liar! It wasn't enchanted at all! Why-" KER-PUNCH ... ... ... ... "Dad?" A distant voice asks. "Imma be a dad." I slur as I slowly begin to regain consciousness. After a few head spinning moments I finally get my control of my thoughts. "Dad, what happened? Who punched you?" Spike asks me as he kneels beside me. "Spike? Where did you get the clothes?" I ask him. He's wearing a long black jacket that ends in white with black pants and a white shirt, along with a red scarf. He's just as big as I remember him being, but definitely put some more muscle mass on. "Where do you think? What happened? Why is the door destroyed?" He asks me as he helps me to my hooves. I waver a bit as my head continues to spin, but stay standing somehow. "What hit you?" I raise a hoof to my cheek and slowly rub the large bruise there. I think back to my encounter and try to piece it all together, slowly getting the foggy images to clear up. "Something... something green. Spike! Come with me!" I yell as I quickly throw everything into the closet and begin to run outside, finding it be night time now. I shake my head a bit before taking to the air and flying towards Miles' house. "What? Okay, what's going on though? What are we doing?" He asks as he flies along with me. "We have to gather all of the Spartans, lets go!" Miles, you crafty asshole. And here I thought having a foal was going to be the difficult part. Author's Note Shout out to Shinedownman for deciding how long Miles was in the closet. Thanks for reading and like always, Brony on! P.S. I will be doing a lot of playing around with the titles. Be sure not to miss them. Chapter 172 I Think, Therefore I AmChapter 172 I Feel, Therefore It Is A/N: Please read entire chapter and ending authors note. Perspective: Celestia "... your most immaculate and beautiful, most radiant and intelligent and beautiful-" "Just tell me what you want BlueBlood." I say as he grovels before me. It seems like every week he has something new to beg for, just for me to deny almost immediately. It wasn't so bad before, but now... now it's insufferable. "All I need is a squad of Royal guards, maybe a group of Wonderbolts as well, to go on a... on a dragon hunt." He begs, giving me his award winning smile as he does so. "... a dragon hunt?" "Yes! You see, there's this dragon that has-" "This dragon wouldn't happen to be six feet tall, purple, and in affair with the mare you happen to be infatuated with? The same mare who's the Element of Generosity and is free to choose to love whoever she wants, would it?" I ask, making him begin to cave in. "Well... u-uh... the thing is-" SLAM We both jump a bit as the doors to the throne room slam open and a guard comes running in. He slides to a halt and salutes, looking scared and out of breath. "Yes-" "Guard! How dare you interrupt the Princess and I! Leave this room immediately before I have you arrested for disorderly conduct!" Blueblood yells, making me facehoof. "U-uh, I think this is a bit more important." He says as he turns to the doorway. I look over and go wide eyed as I stare at the pony there. He's tall. Not as tall as me, but definitely taller than Luna, accented with his long horn. A testament to his magical prowess. His short, scruffy black hair flows along his neck, having an occasional white streak in it. From there, I look to the rest of him. His well built, muscular, emerald body is loosely wrapped up in what looks like a white bed sheet that covers his back end, but not his thick, elegant wings. Two deep blue eyes stare back at me, piercing through any facade I had, but being gentle at the same time. He takes one look around the room before walking towards me... Oh sweet mother of mine... He's hot... he's really hot? No, hot isn't enough, he's sexy. Is it getting warmer in here? Did somepony bring the sun in here? I think I'm about to melt he's so hot. I mean it's so sexy! I mean... "Everypony else, leave. Shut the doors behind you." I order the others as I stand up. The two others eye the two of us before leaving quickly, shutting the door as instructed. I take a deep breath before walking down the steps and meeting him at the bottom. We stare at eachother before I reach forward and place a hoof on his... ripped... muscular... chest- KER-FWOOSH I barely register my wings flying back, but he catches it immediately. He seems... shocked. Lost for words really. Then again, he's probably never seen a mare alicorn before. I know I've never seen a stallion alicorn before, besides father. I lean over and take a look at the rest of his body. He has his cutie mark covered up for some reason. I look back to him, seeing him frozen almost, still staring where my wings were, mouth slightly agape. I reach over and pull on the sheet, getting it to flow off his body. As it settles on the ground, I take in the view of his cutie mark. It's... nothing the likes of which I've ever seen before. A round shield with a red arrow sits behind a pony skull that has a sword going through it; entering from the top and exiting from the bottom. "How do you get a mark like this?" I ask as I reach out and touch it. "OH SWEET BARBRA!" He yells as he jumps away from me. "MILES!?" I yell as I jump away from him. I nearly have a heart attack as he picks up the sheet and tries to cover himself. "WERE YOU CHECKING ME OUT SOROR!?" He asks as he ties off the sheet. "MILES!?" I yell again as I stare at him. No. Nonononono, this can't be Miles. No... just... no! "Why did you touch my ass!?" He demands. "Oh sweet mother ew. Ewewewewewewew, I think I'm going to... oh *gag*... EWEWEWEW! WHY!? WHY?! EEEEEEWWWW!" I begin to spaz out as I try to force all of those disgusting thoughts out of my head. Why? Why did I have to think of all those stupid, dumb, moronic ideas before speaking to him!? WHY!? "Sweet Barbra Celestia... what the fuck." Miles says as he tries to calm down. "Where's Luna? I need to talk with her-" "NO!" I yell suddenly. "No, I mean-" "I think I can talk to me wife whenever I want to." He says matter-of- factly. ".... wife?" I ask as I feel my eye twitch. "Luna... is... your wife?" We stare at one another for what feels like an eternity before Miles begins to pace around. "I can't believe it. She never told you, did she?" "...no. I can honestly say this is new to me." I say as I stand there, dumbfounded. "Ooooo, I'm mad at her. I was on my death bed, she said she would. She's going to get it-" "Miles, this... okay. Setting everything personal aside, this is really bad." I say as I step in front of him, getting him to stop. "How's that?" "Miles... you're an alicorn." I state bluntly. "Really? I didn't see that." He says sarcastically. "Miles! This is serious! Alicorn leaders have always determined the mentality of the ponies of Equestria!" I say as I stomp a hoof down. "... I don't follow." I shake my head and walk over to the window, where I wait for him to join me. "Twilights an alicorn as well." I tell him, getting a shocked look. "What?! Did that beam turn everyone into a fucking alicorn?" "No, she earned her transformation. She mastered her calling of friendship and ascended into our rankings. Ponies will look to her and build the mentality of working hard. That, as long as you commit yourself, anything is possible." I tell him as I stare down at Ponyville. "... okay, I get the symbolism in that. But what does that have to do with-" "EVERYTHING!" I snap as I turn to him. "You didn't do anything to earn this! You didn't... Miles," I say as I take a breath to calm down. "You stepped into a room and hit a button, thus making you into an alicorn. Where's the symbolism in that?" "Well, technically you hit the button-" "MILES!" "Okay! Okay, sheesh. I get it Celestia, I really do. But what do you want me to do? Turn back? I can't do that. I can't even..." "... Can't even what Miles?" I ask him as he tightens his lips. "Miles?" He turns away from me and... and... "Ooooh. You can't use magic, can you?" "HUMAN MAGIC IS FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT!" He yells as he throws his hooves up. "I miss hands! Do you have any idea how long it took me to figure out how to WALK!? I only got in Twilights closet because the door was open!" "Pffft, what?" I ask as I begin to chuckle. "Soror, you have to help me! You have to-" "Okay, what does Soror mean and why do you keep calling me it?" "It means sister, now are you going-" "Sister! You... you think of me like that? Even after everything I've done?" I ask, slightly taken back by his sentiment. "Celly," he says as he expression softens up, "you've been a part of my family ever since you were little. There's a reason your parents would bring you to all those meetings back in the day." "Miles... I... I don't know what to say." "How about sorry?" We both look over to see Diamond Heart walking towards us. "Well, Miles Eremita, at last I get to meet you. Looks like I owe Shining five bits." He says before shaking his hoof. "Why do people place bets around me?" Miles asks, slightly confused. "Well?" Diamond asks me. "Well... what?" "I believe you were going to have a heart to heart with Miles." He says with a sly smile. "Well, go on. Address your brother already." I groan a bit as he eggs me on. Miles sighs as he steps towards me, making me back away. "What are you doing?" I ask as I walk into the wall. "Miles... Miles! Don't!" I try to push him away as he wraps me up in a tight hug, lifting me off the ground as he does so. "D'aaaaw, little Celly is scared of big brother Miles!" He says cutely as he swings me from side to side. "FIRST OFF, I'M BIGGER THAN YOU! SECONDLY, PUT ME DOWN!" I yell as I try to break his hold on me. How could he have such a tight grip if he just became a pony!? When he finally sets me down I back away from him and try to straighten myself out. "Okay, I'm sorry I was a pain in the flank before. But that's my little sister-" "I know, and I am sorry for the deception. Luna felt it was necessary because... well..." "What?" I ask him, getting him to sigh. "Well, she was afraid of how you would have reacted. She didn't want to lose either of us. She was also afraid of how you would think of her. She thinks the world of you Celestia, so what you say really resonates in her. Your disapproval was tearing her apart, so, she hide everything." "As demanding and urgent this all is, I am famished." Diamond says, cutting me off. "I say we have lunch together, what say you Miles?" "Oh, uh, sure. If it's alright with you." He says to me. "Yes, I think that would be... nice." I say quietly. "Good, then I say we have lunch in the garden. Some fresh air will do us all some good. You two go ahead of me, I'll be there shortly." He says as he begins to slowly walk off. I look to Miles and shrug before walking towards the gardens. "You okay with this Celestia?" Miles asks as we step outside. "It's just lunch Miles-" "No, I mean me and Luna." He says, making me stop. "*sigh* I know you did." "Celestia, I love Luna." He tells me as he stands before me. I straighten out and wait for him to finish. "I love her, more then you could imagine. I want to be with her for as long as possible. I have no clue how long this body will even last, but I don't want anymore secrets. I want to be with Luna. To grow a family, and I want you to be a part that. No more beating around the bush Celestia. Are you okay with us? Is this something you want to be a part of? Definitive answers Celestia, yes.... or no." I step around him and walk into the statue garden, trying come up with my answer. Miles runs along and stay by my side, eyeing me the entire time. When we come across a reflecting pool I take a seat beside it and motion for him to sit beside me. "Miles," I start but stop when I lose the words. "Yeah?" "... I... I can't say no." I admit to him. He stays quiet, letting me explain myself. "At this point, I not all too surprised you and Luna are married. It makes a lot of things make sense now that I think about it. Just like you, Luna is the most important thing in my life. And I can see that you truly care for her. You've fought for her, picked her up when she was down, saying no at this point... is pointless." "Celestia-" "And now... now you're an alicorn. There is no reason you two can't be together. There is nothing stopping you two from making a family. I can't say no to that, not for Luna." "Celestia, that's not what I was asking." "I know, and I'm getting there. Your knighthood and ranking would automatically make you two the leaders of Equestria, King and Queen. Miles, I want to say yes, because I know you truly love my sister. But I can't until I know that the ponies of this country will be taken care of. We're not a nation of war, like Terradisia." "Celestia, I know." He tells me simply. "... then you understand-" "Celestia, what does a king do?" He asks me as he looks back to the pool of water. "Lead a nation. Make the decisions that will lead the ponies, economy, and world affairs-" "And make the laws." Miles finishes as he dips his hoof into the water, making a ripple go across it. "Celestia, I do not intend to lead Equestria." "Then-" "So, as King, I can suspend my title and rule. I can denounce any title they try to bestow onto me. Celestia, a king is only king if they choose to be. And I do not choose to be. I can, and will, leave this nation to it's original leaders-" "Miles, it doesn't work like that-" "Who can tell me otherwise?" He says with a smile as he lifts his hoof from the water. "As of right now, I'm king. Who is higher than me?" "... Miles... It doesn't work like that-" "Who has the authority to tell me otherwise?" He asks with a smug smile. "Well.... technically nopony-" "And doesn't this solve our little problem?" He asks as his smile begins to grow. "Well... I suppose so... but-" "No buts. You with me or not?" He asks as he offers me his hoof. I look down to it and try to think of some way this could go wrong... "*sigh* Miles, you're crazy. You realize that right?" I say as I shake his hoof. "I am the guy who married your sister. That took a bit of insanity to do." He jokes, getting both of us to laugh. "So..." "If you keep to that plan, then yes. I am fine with everything-" GLOMP "Okay, okay easy there big guy, you can let me go now." I say as I sit there, being squeezed to death by him. "Sorry." He says as he sets me back down. "That's been the only good news I've had today... well... you know what I mean." He says as he rubs the back of his neck. GRUMBLE "Hehe, hungry?" I ask with slight chuckle. "Yeah, well, I've been in Twilight’s closet for the past twenty six hours. Some food would be nice." He says with a slight blush. "Well then, get your flanks over here." Diamond Heart says as he walks up to the two of us, levitating a tray of food with him. He charges his horn and makes a table and three cushions appear. He sets the tray down and lifts the top off, revealing a couple of B.L.T.s. "Shall we?" I ask Miles as I walk over and take a seat. He takes to the one to my left and eyes the sandwich a bit, giving it a few test pokes. "What's in this?" He asks as I lift mine up and begin to eat. "Berries, lettuce, and tomatoes. Along with wheat bread. Why?" Diamond asks. "Berries... I can't eat this. I'm allergic to Strawberries." He says as he pushes the plate away. "So, Diamond Heart, who are you?" Diamond laughs a bit as he sets his sandwich down. Oooooh, I've seen that look before. I think I'll sit this one out. "Well, I am Diamond Heart. Eldest in the Royal Family and head adviser to the Crown. And who do I think you are?" He says, okay, there's the bait. Will he take it? "Who you think I am? I can't tell you who you think I am, only you can decide that. I can tell you that my name is Miles Eremita, I'm grand Captain of the Spartans, I'm from Topaz Falls, and that I'm allergic to strawberries. Anything beyond that is up to you? Why do you ask that like that?" Well... I've never heard an answer like that before. Diamond chuckles a bit as he toys with his plate, thinking on what Miles said. "Oh, in my younger years I would have thought this a silly question as well. But, in my years, I've learned that this question show how you view not only yourself, but the world around you." He says before taking a bite from his sandwich. "Huh, and what have you learned from that?" Miles asks as he pokes the sandwich a bit more. "I think, therefore I am. I've been to the tribes of Zebrica, the trading hubs of Tauren, the bazaars of the ape empire and all I can tell you is that I exist. That the only thing I can prove in this world is what my mind can perceive and imagine. I cannot prove anything. I simply am." "Pfft, that's so... limited." Miles scoffs as he looks back to Diamond. "Maybe, but it is how we all go through life." Diamond reasons. "Well, maybe for you. I feel, therefore it is." "... excuse me?" "Once you awaken your soul, you learn what is reality. Soul is reality, anything else is imaginative. I can- or used to be able to, reach into the world and interact with it via soul fire. You can't, and will never, understand this until you experience it for yourself. I feel, therefore it is. I've felt the souls of living beings. I've felt the soul of plant life and the earth and it's metals. Each having a distinct and characteristic feel to it. I feel, therefore it is." When he finishes up I look over to Diamond and laugh at his shocked look. It's not often somepony comes along and teaches him a new way of viewing life. I clear my throat to gain their attention as I stand. "Well, it was nice to hear another philosophical debate from you Diamond, but we must be off. We have-" "If it's all the same to you Celestia, I need to go check on something." Miles says as he stands. "What's that?" I ask. "Outpost Zero." Author's Note So, yeah. He's an alicorn. I know this is something that many people dislike (and hate) but please stick with it! It will be explained (as quickly as possible), I am going to do things with it, and I will neither confirm nor deny whether this is permanent. All I will add is that I did have other ideas of other routes to take from here, but this one has the best ending out of all of them. This was to an ending that made fifth and forth arc. Otherwise, this would be it. Also, shout out to Hushed Shadow for picking what's for lunch. Brony on! Chapter 173 Past PresentChapter 173 Past Present Perspective: Miles As I begin to walk out of the gardens, towards the crystal caverns, Celestia runs up and steps in front of me. "Hold on Miles, you can't just walk through Canterlot like this." "What? I'm one of the only people here covering themselves." I say as I look back to the bed sheet. That was one hour of well earned work. "No, I mean you can't just walk through Canterlot as an alicorn. Ponies would... well, we don't want to cause a panic. Speaking of which, how many ponies saw you like this?" "Well, not counting your guards, Diamond, Blueblood, and the castle staff... just Shadow." I say as I think back to that encounter. Tumbling, stairs, and a screaming little filly. Yeah... I'll have to talk to her next chance I get. "Okay, that's good. Look, you need to keep yourself hidden until we can get this sorted out. Bringing a new alicorn into the world is... well... lets just say we nearly had a war with the goblins because of Twilight." Celestia tells me as she stares off into the distance. "... really? Why?" "Really Miles? It's not obvious?" She asks me, to which I shrug off and continue walking towards my destination. "We're immortal beings Miles. Not to mention the raw amount of magical energy we hold is... daunting. Other nations will look to you and judge us by your actions." "... so... unless I publicly denounce my Equestrian ties, I'm a world leader for you guys.... cool-" "It is not cool, Miles!" She snaps, making me chuckle. "Calm down, Soror. I know it's not a joke. Don't worry, first chance I get, I'll be sure to make the entire world know who I am and where I stand. But until then, I need to get to Outpost Zero. So unless you're going to teleport me there, I suggest-" FLASH "... see? What that so hard?" I ask her as I walk into the cavern. "And... thanks for coming with me." I tell her coyly. "Well, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested to learn more about this place." She admits as we walk together. "Can you really not use any magic? Not even some basic levitation?" "*sigh* no. It's a completely different mindset of magic, Soror. This is more physical, where my magic was soulful. Not to mention mine required movement, where yours is completely mental. It doesn't make an ounce of sense to me." I tell her as we stop before the open gate. A few ponies are inside the still lit room, examining the runes and machinery. I glance over to Celestia, making her smile back to me uncomfortably. "What? You really think I was just going to let this sit here and not try to learn anything from it? Human technology is fascinating." She tells me as I step into the room. I cough aloud and wait for everyone to look to me, only having to wait a few seconds. Once I do have their attention, the room falls dead silent. "Well, I think we all know who's in charge. I need two things from all of you. The first one is your continued silence. I was never here and you never saw me. If word gets out about me, I'll blame all of you and have you all castrated. Secondly, I need you all to clear this room. Now." Without any arguments, they file out of the room as quickly as possible. Most of them stare at me as they do, but I don't blame them. I am almost half naked after all. "Miles, why would you threaten them like that?" Celestia asks me as she steps in. "Are you kidding me? You're the one who made a law that would have had me castrated and killed had I been with Luna before marriage!" "What!? No I didn't!" She says as she takes a step back. She pauses and thinks about- "OH! EW! Don't talk about my little sisters sex life! EW EW EWEWEWEWEWEWEWEW! OH *GAG* I think I threw up in my mouth. Blech." I laugh at her over-reaction. It's good to know I have an ace up my sleeve to make her uncomfortable. "Hey, you're the one who made the law. Not me." "Yeah, maybe a thousand years- ooooooh. That explains it. No, that is not a current law. Luna was thinking of one we had a thousand years ago. No law like that exists today." "You know, Soror, despite your constant freaks outs about Luna and I getting it on-" "I hate you right now-" "You seem to be taking all of this in stride. I mean, I thought we'd still be yelling at each other right now." "To be honest, had this happened earlier, I probably would have. But at this point, I just... I don't know, I just want the fighting to end. Somepony has to lose, and I guess my losing is better in the long run really. At least now that is. And... well... I'm sorry, Miles. Many of the things I did were not right. Could you ever forgive me?" "Of course." "Just like that? No heartfelt talk about family? No angry rant? No-" "Celestia. We wouldn't be here now if it weren't for what happened before. So, with everything that's happened, forgiving you is easy." I tell her, giving her a warm smile. "Well, thank you Miles-" "Plus I get to just destroy Luna when she gets back so-" "*GAG*" "You okay?" I ask, chuckling. "Mmhmm." She says as she holds her mouth shut and tries to force herself to swallow something. "Alright, enough talking. Let's get this over with already." I say as I walk in and head towards the main mechanism. Hours go by as I inspect the enchantments in the room and the machinery. The enchants follow a stabilization pattern, though one I've never seen before. Though I don't understand why they would need two looping ones. Not to mention that I've never seen a looping enchantment before. Something like this would need to be set by some kind of genius enchanter, someone who knows something no one does. It's almost on the same level as my duel enchanting, maybe same level. Maybe. The main cannon is something I've only heard about. The back is an archaic condenser that shoots out a beam of high energy. At least twenty thousand power, easy. The barrel of the canon seems to be made into sections that are held by two long slides on the side. If I had hands I would try to move it, but with hooves I guess I'll have to wait for Celestia to wake up. The last part I check out is the computer station. The terminal is one of the older, but more sturdy models. Whoever designed this, they built it to last. After some failed attempts to type- hooves aren't great for finger sized keys- I finally decide to wake Celestia up. I walk over to the side of the room she's sleeping in and bring myself right beside her ear. "Soror.... Celly... OI!" "Huh!" She says as she jolts awake. "I need your help with something, come over here." I tell her as I go back to the computer. She does a few quick stretches before coming to my side. "Okay, what do you need?" She asks groggily. "Why are you so tired? We've only been in here for a few hours." I ask her. "Miles, it's ten at night. You've been in here for half the day. Didn't you see me leave to lower the sun?" "Huh, guess I was distracted. Anyway, I guess we have to do this the hard way. I'll point to a button, and you press it. I need to get on here. DON'T PUSH ANY BUTTONS I DON'T TELL YOU TO PUSH!" She nods quickly and we start the long and arduous task of typing entire functions. Three Hours Later "... and then hit enter." "Which one is that?" "That one. The same one as before-" "What?" "Nothing! Okay, great. We're in. Lets see... one message, and power readouts along with a charter of names. Hmm..." "Miles, is this where ponies came from?" Her question catches me off guard, making me give her a double take. "Are you serious?" "Well, it turned you into a pony, why not?" "Celestia, there were ponies before this machine was made. You were born before this was ever set up, let alone used. Why would you think that?" "I don't know, it just came to mind." She says, slightly blushing. I shake my head and click the message. Mouses, big buttons, great invention. Date: File Corrupted, Please Reload Programming I take a deep breath as the video begins to play, showing Susurrans sitting before us. The Background is of the room we're in now, only it's dimly lit. Susurrans is sitting in his gold trimmed armor with a bandage wrapping one of his eyes. His normally well kept brown hair is disheveled, mostly due to the bandage. He's just sitting there, spinning the tip of his claymore into the ground. It takes him nearly five minutes to finally look up to the screen. "Miles. Well, you made it. Welcome to Outpost Zero. The last step for humankind. Once we left New Garnet for the surface, the Unfamiliar stopped chasing us. We've spent a month trying to make it out here, but people are still hysterical. They believe that they'll come after us, that we need to hide. We've made contact with a small group of... well, I would say ponies, but they all lacked the essential parts and were half the size. They attacked us, on site. We killed them. Every. Single. Damn one of them. I don't think they knew what they were going up against. They rushed a scouting group and ran into our contingent. Even with their lesser magic, it's hard to stand against fifty thousand armed people. But, even with that, we still have one massive problem. Discord. He's still chasing us down, toying with us. One day he comes and slaughters hundreds. The next, he makes all of our food turn into Bio-bots. We've run out of choices, it's time for a change. I can't explain how they're still here, but the... 'ponies', were untouched by the Unfamiliar. I guess they didn't see them as a threat or something. So, that's where the emergency council has decided humanity should hide. This... this device is to assure us our survival... it's... well, the enchantments were made by the best damn mage I know. How I wish she was here... she would know what to do... what to say... Miles, there were so many things I wanted to tell you. So many things I wish I had the courage to do. I know that life was hard for you, and for that I am sorry. Had I known-" THUD "Heheheh. Ooooooh Susurrans." A somewhat familiar voice calls out from behind the bulkhead. It's... I can't quite put my finger on it. I know that voice, I just don't know whose it is. Susurrans sighs as he takes his sword and puts it away underneath the computer. "This is it Miles. I hope you end up somewhere... better. You deserve better... far better than me. This the Grand Captain of the Spartan Regiment, Terra division. Who wishes to challenge me?" He says as he stands and faces the bulkhead, setting his fist on his hips. KER-THUD The door rips open in three slices. From the other side slithers a beast. A certain beast I've only seen in statue form. He takes a few steps and chuckles as looks over the mechanism. "Really Sussy? You have to ask? I'm a little offended, really. Now, where are the others!" He asks as he hovers in the air a bit. Susurrans just ignites his hands and takes his stance, readying himself completely. "For the death of countless souls and the- SSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHSHSHSSHSSHSSSSSSHHHHHHH" "What's going on?" Celestia asks. I just sit there, watching the fuzzy screen. He couldn't say it. He just couldn't fucking say it! "HE JUST COULDN'T FUCKING SAYING IT!" I yell as I slam my fist onto the metal console. "Miles, calm down-" "No! No I will not calm down! This entire journey was wasted on the belief that he would finally fucking say it! AND HE COULDN'T DO THAT! FUCK!" I yell as I push myself away from the console and begin to pace about. I can't even think clearly right now I'm so angry! Why!? Why couldn't he do it! I wasn't even in the fucking room! He didn't even have to say it to my fucking face! "Miles... Miles, look. It's blatantly obvious that you are his son. You look just like him. You-" "I know I'm his son! But it's not the same without him fucking saying it! He's not my father until he fucking admits it!" I yell back at her. She reels back, shocked from my outburst. I sigh and step away from her. "I'm sorry. It's not right to yell at you, you don't deserve that." "Miles... you knew? For how long?" Celestia asks me. "Only recently, post my arrival. Once Luna made some comments about us, I started think on it. I did some analysis, based on features and build. Plus, once I met my mother, there was no arguing it. Susurrans Bellum was my... biological father. I went on this little adventure, racing death, in the hopes he would finally admit it. And he didn't. He... he just couldn't do it. Why? Why couldn't he do it, Celestia? Why was it so hard for him? Was it me? Did I do something? Was I-" "Stop, just stop Miles." Celestia says quietly. I rub my eyes as I try to stop the tears from breaking out, losing a couple in vain. "Miles, I can't tell you why he didn't say it. Nopony can. It's just... something you'd have to ask him yourself, and... well, he died thousands of years ago." "Thanks Celestia, cheered me right up." I say as I walk away from her, ending up beneath the machine. "Miles, I'm sorry. Look, sometimes you just don't get what you want. I once tried to use a time traveling spell to find what killed my mother, but there are just some things you can't change. I-" "Wait, what?" I ask her as I turn around. "You did what?" "I tried to find out what happened to her. Tales say she died of a broken heart and turn to the cosmos, but I don't ever remember her being sick. So I went back to-" "You know a time traveling spell... this entire time you've known a time traveling spell." I repeat as I step towards her. "Ever since you've know me, and that I've traveled through time, you've kept this secret. Not even mentioning it. The ENTIRE time." I say as I continue to step towards her. She backs away from me until she bumps into the wall, where she tries to offer me a smile. "I guess it slipped my mind." She tries. "Do the spell, now." "Well, two problems. One, the spell isn't perfect. You can only be sent back once and only for a few seconds. Two, I wouldn't know when to send you. That recording had no date-" "FUCK!" I yell as I pace back towards the machine. "Fuck... yeah. And only a few moments isn't enough. There has to be another way." "Well, where are the elements of Harmony?" Celestia asks me as she stands back up. "If I had them, and were able to use them, I could send you back with a bit more time. But then there's still the problem of the date." "The Elements are back home. I tried picking them up but... yeah. How do any of you do that by the way?" I as her, getting her to shake her head. "Okay, let's go then." She says as she turns and- THUNK SSSSSSSSSSTHUD Ooooh, that looked like it hurt. She had turned a little too fast and smacked her horn against the bottom of the machine. The cylinder part of it slid forward, knocking her over and revealing a bright, shining compartment. Several different hues fill the room and force me to close my eyes. "What is that?" Celestia asks as she gets back up. "I'm not sure, try grabbing them." I reply. I hear her ignite her horn and begin to fumble around with the machine. After a few tries, she finally gets them to come out, ending the bright light. VVVVRRRRRMMMPPPP "I don't believe it." Celestia says. I look back to her and feel my head tilt as she stands there with a large tiara on her head. "They're the Elements of Harmony. How did they get in here? I don't understand, how did these get here? How did they attach to me? Miles? What's going on?" I step closer and examine the Elements a bit more closely. I can't search them magically, but they are acting like the Elements. Super charged, but most likely them. "Well... I have no clue. My best bet is that they used these to provide the power for this. Do the other Elements still exist?" I ask, getting a nod from her. "So, as of right now there are three pairs of Elements. Mine, yours, and these ones." I say as I begin to examine the inner workings of the machine. "Right. You got yours from Topaz Falls. I got mine from some ponies in Roam. And these ones seem to have been here the entire time. What should we do?" I look at the compartment where the elements were held and see a small gem sitting there. "Hey Celestia, you missed one." I tell her as I point it out. She looks up at it and wiggles it out with her magic. "It looks like there's a message in there, try adding some energy to play it. "How can you tell?" She asks me as she brings it down to herself. "Can't you see the energy?" I ask, getting her to re-examine it. "Anyway, just play it." She nods and begins to add her energy to the gem, making it play its message. "Professor Qui last recording. Date: October sixteenth, eleven thirty three. The final group of people willing to undergo treatment have finally awoken. Now we begin our next journey. Though I have lost my life work and must now work through the hardships of primitive living, it's better than death. We've already sent out a group to start a settlement camp, and so far they've been successful. No threats from intelligent life. Some other locals have even tried trading with them. Camp Romeo, Omega, Alpha, Major will be our next destination. I only regret letting that buffoon Inficiunt naming our settlement. It makes no sense whatsoever. This is Professor Qui, Dean of space time analysis at Stella Ficor, signing off. Forever." Celestia and I look to one another and smile. "We have a date." I tell her. "We have power. Anything else?" "I think... I think you should take an extra set of Elements with you. If I'm going to retrieve them from your friends that is." FLASH ... FLASH She reappears with an open jewel encrusted chest. inside are two sets of elements, each taking their base stone form. "Okay, you only get one shot at this, so don't mess it up. You have to give one set to whoever is going to settle Roam, and the other to whoever needs it for the machine." Celestia says as she shuts the case and gives it to me. "Right. Sounds good... is this spell going to hurt?" I ask as I fumble with the case, trying to keep it in my hooves. "No, but you might get a little dizzy. Now, hold still so I can cast it. Remember, you will only have a few moments. There's no telling how long you will have with the Elements powering the spell, so don't waste anytime." She says as she charges the spell. "Got it. Thanks Soror, couldn't have done this without you." I say as the energy begins to wrap around me. "Good luck." KER-FLASH Chapter 174 When In Roam...Chapter 174 ...Do As Discord Says Perspective: Celestia With a bright flash Miles vanishes from the room. Hopefully he'll find what he's looking for... I hope so at least. I glance around the room as I sense something off. It's as if somepony's watching me. I can feel the hairs on the back of my neck begin to rise as my heart begins to pick up its pace. Somepony's definitely here. "Show yourself!" I yell out to the supposedly empty room. "Heh heh heh heh." A deep voice fills the room, making me take an aggressive stance. "Discord." I growl as I look for him. "Stop with the tricks and show yourself!" "OH, but you know how I love to play little games with you Celly." He says mockingly as he appears as a carving in the wall. "So it would seem as if you've found my humble beginning. How quaint. And to think I almost forgot about this place. Though you'll have to forgive me if I forget the names and faces. Three thousand years of stone and Solitude can do that to you." He says as his carving slithers around the room. "How did you escape your imprisonment Discord?!" I demand from him. "Who said I was ever trapped?" He says with a slight chuckle. "It would seem as if one of your little pawns wasn't committed to turning me to stone. I wonder who it was-" "Fluttershy was the one who suggested it. Don't fool yourself Discord. You will always be alone-" "You know, you're right Celestia. I am alone. I am the embodiment of Solitude. I couldn't agree with you more!" He cheers as he poofs into the room, suddenly filling the room with streamers and confetti. "Let's celebrate! Do you like your drinks shaken or stirred?" He asks as he moves behind a bar counter and begins mixing drinks. None of which were there before. "Discord! Enough, I have the Elements of Harmony. I order you to come back to the gardens immediately!" I yell at him as I step forward and lower my head. "Oh posh my dear Celestia. You never were any fun. Okay, as you wish. Down to business." He says as he stops shaking the drink and pops the top. He downs all of the shaker before tossing the beverage at me. It hits the ground before my hooves and sends up a large billow of smoke that immediately making me choke. THUD I continue to choke as Discord holds my throat against the wall. I try to kick him off, but my legs can't seem to find his body. He chuckles a bit more as he casually lifts the Elements off of my head and tosses them behind him. "D-do your worst." I growl as I fight to break free. "No, I think you shall." He says as he lays a claw on my forehead. "In order to keep your little sister, all you need is the right amount of anger." "N-no. I won’t!" I yell as I begin to become frantic. Kicking and flailing against the wall. "In order to keep your little sister, all you need is the right amount of anger." "S-stop.... stop!" "In order to keep your little sister, all you need is the right amount of anger." "I... I..." "In order to keep your little sister, all you need is the right amount of anger." "In order to keep your little sister, all you need is the right amount of anger." I repeat, getting him to finally drop me. "HAHAHAHA! Marvelous! Now, just like the other twelve times, be a good little pony and act the part. I need to pay dear little Fluttershy a visit. Chaos... is here tooooo STAY!" I barely register him punting me through the ceiling and somehow into my bed chambers. I blink a few times as my mind begins to fog... I... no! I was talking with Diamond... and... I know I'm forgetting something! Oh yeah, I needed to summons Luna back from the Griffon Colonies for a quick meeting. Twilight said she had something urgent to talk about. I'm sure it's just another over precaution from becoming a princess. Silly little Twilight... ............................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles October 16th, 1133 A wall of white energy blinds me a moment as I suddenly hit the ground. I can feel a few remaining arcs of energy leaking from the spell, but other than that, I should be here. I look around and find myself in some grassy field between two pockets of forest. Before me is a large mountain, no doubt Canterlot before the castle. I get back to my hooves and try to pick up the case, only to keep dropping it. This is starting to get really old. How the fuck do ponies bend reality to do this!? "PUT THEM UP ASSHOLE! PUT THEM UP! DON'T TRY ANYTHING STUPID OR WE WILL KILL YOU!" I throw my hands... hooves up as a group of five Terradisian soldiers surround me at gunpoint. I look between all of them and begin to chuckle. I can't believe it, humans! Actual, live, humans! "Kill it, this one is crazy-" "Waitwaitwaitwaitwait! I hold essential information for the Spartan Regiment! Bring me to Captain Bellum immediately!" I yell, getting them to look to one another. "How the fuck do you know that name?" One of the soldiers asks. "I am Lieutenant Miles Eremita." They all look to each other before laughing at me. In hindsight, that's was a bit stupid to just outright say. "What's going on here?!" A feminine, yet familiar voice says from behind the tree line. From the brush steps Tenera, clad in armor with her helmet in her hands. Her long dirty brown hair blows in the wind as she approaches us, stopping dead in her track when she sees me. "Miles?" "Uh... yeah... how the fuck did you know that?" I ask as I stand there, caught off guard by her response. She runs over and tackles me in a hug, knocking the two of us onto the ground. "Okay, you lot, get out of here. This is Spartan business." Says another familiar voice. I look over and laugh as my entire unit begins to step out from the brush line, being lead by Eximius. "Take the group to the base of the mountain. Go!" The soldiers salute and run forward as a large contingent of people begin to follow them. "I can't believe it, I honestly thought I'd never see you guys again! You have no idea what I've-" PUNCH I fall back as Fidus stands over me, glaring at me. "YOU ASS! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!?" She demands as I start to get back up. "No, better, WHAT THE FUCK!? WHY ARE YOU A PONY!? Boy you better start explaining yourself before I-" "Please don't hit my balls!" I beg as I cower from the pregnant woman's might. "Look, just let me talk real quick to explain everything and then it'll all make sense." "Like your ugly face?" Inficiunt says, getting a high five from Sine. "Oh sweet Barbra, do I miss that joke. I tried doing it with- NO! No getting side tracked! This is serious! Okay, first off, where is my father?" "FINALLY!" They all yell. "ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!? YOU ALL KNEW!? ALL OF YOU!?" I yell as I drop to a sitting position. "Miles, wait, might not ever get a chance to do this again. *Miles* (Pronounced Me-less) you have to accept that you are the spitting image of Susurrans. I mean, we all figured it out as kids man. Only your dumb ass couldn't figure it out." Sine says, getting nods from the others. And some chuckles from Inficiunt. I feel my eye twitch from that nickname and cringe a little. One thing about living in a society that speaks common. No one questions a common name from a Latin culture. "Anyway, where is he?" I ask again. "He went off with a group of Spartans to deal with a group of local assailants. He should be back soon." Tenera tells me. "Okay, we need to speed this up then. Second thing, I brought these," I say as I motion to the box. I was about to go to it when the sound of a baby crying stops me. I turn back around and watch as my friends move aside to let Auxilium approach me, holding her baby in a long light blue blanket. "Hello Miles, it's good to see you." She says as she kneels before me. "Say hello to my son, Stella-" "You named your son Stella?" I blurt out, getting a smack upside the head from Fidus. "Sorry. Look, I know there is a lot I wish we could all catch up on. So much has happened and I have very little time to talk as it is. So let me start by saying that I truly missed you all. I would wish the best for you all, but... I know hard times are ahead. But don't worry, you will no longer be in the danger you were in before." I say as I start to move back to the case. "And why is that?" Dare asks me. "Last I checked the Unfamiliar had taken all of the human cites, killed millions, and had a chaos driven leader bent on sticking broom sticks down our necks as he turns our blood to blue paste." I pause and look back to him, getting a serious nod from him. "Eight times, man. Eight." "Well, you can't outrun them, that's for sure. So the next best thing is to hide. And for that, you'll need this." I say as I try to open the case. "Wait, this!" I say as I try again. Damn hooves. "Can someone open this?" "I've got it." Dare says as he opens it for me. "Thanks, still not used to- ANYWAY! These will help you all survive." I say as I reveal the pair of Elements to them. "The Elements of Friendship? How are those going to help us?" Auxilium asks me. "You guys have been traveling with a large machine that needs a high amount of power to use it. These have that power. One set should do it. But I need to ask a favor from all of you." "What's that?" Fidus asks. "There's another set in there, I need you guys to carry them with you and give them to someone. They'll look just like me, only there will be two of them and female. They will use these to defeat Discord and bring peace to the land-" "What about you? Why can't you?" Sine asks as the others move to look over the Elements. "I can't stay here. The spell I used to get here will fade off soon and send me back to the future. Now, there are a lot of... other things you will need to know to blend in with the locals-" "Locals? Wait, you're going to turn us all into ponies." Inficiunt asks. "No, you guys are. There is a reason they weren't taken out. It's because they weren't a threat. Or, so I think. So, in order to blend in properly, everyone will have to drop all of their technology and move back to rural times." Immediately they all begin to argue with me. Making arguments about how they won't survive without their precious tech. I just raise a hand and wait for their silence. "Miles, you can't be serious." Dare says. "I am. No guns, base blades, minimal clothing-" "Now you're just being a perv." Fidus says, getting Tenera to blush. "And, most importantly. No Latin. The people here only speak common, so stick to it. That includes names." "Wait, so in order to continue living, we have to completely stop being human. Miles, I don't know if we can-" "I WANNA BE CALLED PUDDING HEAD!" Inficiunt yells at the top of his lungs, getting odd looks from the rest of us. "What? If we can't use our Latin names then I'm going to pick a new one. Pudding Head. What about you guys? Quick, new names, GO!" He yells as he points to Tenera. "HUH! Uh.... PANSY!" She yells nervously. "Pansy? Well... I guess, kind of lame." Inficiunt says disappointingly. "Anyway, you guys will-" "I want to be Hurricane!" Fidus chimes in. "Okay, that's nice and all but-" "Platinum!" Dare yells as well. "Uh... Clover the Clever!" "You can't add titles to your name, that's cheating!" Inficiunt scoffs. "Try me bitch." Eximius says, getting the others to laugh. "What about the kid Auxy? What's his new name?" She thinks about it for a second before laughing lightly to herself. "There's only one name that I can think of. Starswirl the Bearded-" "No. You can't give him Dolum’s gaming tag." I say as I face palm... or pony equivalent, whatever. "My child, I get to choose." She says as she sticks her tongue out at me. I just roll my eyes to her. Her kid, her choice. Starswirl the Bearded, have a good childhood with that. No one will ever remember that one, too weird. "Whatever, look. I know this sounds funny and odd, but this is the only way we can guarantee everyone's safety. And on the bright side, some of you might be able to use magic later on, though you'll have to learn an entirely new philosophy of magic." "Miles... you realize that we may never use magic again, right?" Eximius asks me. "I think you will, with the way we are when it comes to learning new things, it should be a snap. Though I think it'll probably benefit the next generation the most. Now, one last order of business. Where is Professor Qui? I need to tell him to set a recording telling me the date so I can actually make it here." "We can tell him later. Look, I only get one chance to say this, so I'm going to say it." Inficiunt says as he steps forward. "You were right." "What now?" I ask, is he... is he telling me I'm right? "You were right Miles. I had a problem, and what you did was right. Thanks." "What else are friends for?" I ask as I stick my... hoof out. He smiles and grabs it anyway, shaking it firmly. "What happens next? What about the rest of us?" Fidus asks. I let go of Inficiunt and stand up. I turn towards the distant mountain and motion towards it. "Underneath that mountain is a large crystal cavern. That is where you will hide the machine. That is where humanity will have its great pause. Now, I need to speak with Susurrans before anything else. Take me to him." "Follow me." Inficiunt says as he begins to walk off. I look to the others and offer them a smile. "I guess this is-" "Come on Miles, you know I hate goodbyes." Fidus says as she steps over and crosses her arms. "I know you do. But, in case I do never see you guys again, goodbye. You were the some of the best friends anyone could have asked for. I'll never forget you, that's a promise." Tenera and Auxy both start to tear up as arc of energy begin to trace around me. "What?! Shit, I'm out of time! Tell Susurrans to-" FLASH "FUCK!" I yell as I reappear in Outpost Zero. I look around the room and note that it's empty. Celestia must have been pulled away for something. Or I've been gone for a bit, either one really. Well... I guess that was it then. They'll take the Elements and put them in their right place, go on to start Roam, live life really. So... I guess it's my turn. I don't know how long this pony thing will last, maybe forever, but I'm going to make the most of it. Since Luna is away, and Celestia wants me to stay out of the public eye, I guess I'll wait here till night fall. So in the meantime, I have some machinery to check out... and a case to open. I walk over to the computer station and check underneath it.. Sure enough, there's a long locker at the bottom with the lid popped open. I reach over and lift it up, seeing the weapon inside. It's Susurrans claymore. I can't believe he left me this, this was his weapon of choice. He refused to use anything else, ever. Firearms, explosives, other blades, none of them. Heh, he didn't need any of them. All he needed were his hands and feet, and this blade. I couldn't even beat him when he used that thing. Guess I get to learn why now. I take a few minutes to wrap my hoof around the handle before finally lifting it out of the case. It feels light, way to light for a hundred and thirty centimeter metal weapon. I run my hoof down the long backed blade and realize that it's made of condensed gold. Why would he do that? Gold is so weak, even when compressed. Well, I guess it holds more for enchantments, but... still. The bottom seems to be pure platinum and has a large sapphire in the pommel, with the crossguards going slightly up. I can tell there's something stored in the gem, but I can't get it out. I guess I can get Luna to get it out later. I give the blade a few test swings and fumble around a bit. Fighting as a pony is really odd. I guess I'll have to... relearn... how to fight... "Oh sweet Barbra this is going to suck... well, no sense in bitching about it. Time to get to it." I say as I turn around. I pause when I see the Elements sitting on the ground in the middle of the room. Why would Celestia leave them there? She must be giving them to me... but why on the ground? I'll have to ask her later. I walk over to them and poke them a few times, trying to get them to recombine with me. No go, hmm... well. I guess to have them attach to me, I'll have to break the current bond. I raise a hoof and stomp it down, shattering them completely.I leave my hoof there and try to keep my mind on harmony- CLINK "There ya... huh?" I look down to my forelegs and find them bare. Where did they- oh! For some reason, they turned into a necklace. A broad gold band wraps around my neck as it shimmers from the embedded Elements set around it. I lift it up and look it over a bit more, a bit confused as to why it changed its base form. Actually, I've changed my base form, it would make sense for them to as well. Whelp! I guess this works... for now. Time to get analyzing. Though, I don't think I'll get far without using any equipment or magic. I guess I'm going to be here for a while. ....................................................................................................................................................... The Misadventures of TB, Squishy, Cheesus, And Pinkie Pie To Get A Burrito Perspective: Um.... I'm not entirely sure... (Warning: Strange) As the four friends continued down the path to their destination, an uneasy silence settled over them. None of them spoke, hummed, or made any other noise as they mindlessly walked down the cement sidewalk. For Cheesus. Squishy, and Tallest, this would seem fine. No one would question the three of them walking down a sidewalk. But for a certain pink pony, a certain unknowing fear would settle in the abyss of their minds. They walked, oblivious to the current danger that reside beside them. For, as everyone knows, Pinkie Pie is a walking time bomb. In order to travel from one universe to the next, she has to utilize the great cosmic powers that is usually excluded to stellar bodies of energy. Cause two effects. One: Her being able to go to any universe and act her role, because there is only one Pinkie... ever. No matter the story of the writer, there is only one Pinkie Pie. And Two: a build up of tremendous energy that caused her to party hard every day... and need lots of sugar. So, with Pinkie not doing anything, and the other three not doing anything either, a build up of energy began. Something need to happen for it to be expelled, but nothing has happened yet. They just walked, avoiding their obstacles with little heed. They walked. One step after another. Just walking. No talking, humming, skipping of any sort. Just... walking. The walking got to a point where the author could no long write about their walking, because it had become repetitive. No one wants to read about four people walking for longer then two seconds. Maybe if they had talked of did odd things, then they would, but that simply wasn't the case. For, they only walked, and this annoyed the author greatly. He only wanted to keep writing the story so people wouldn't get mad about the main character doing something completely cliche and widely hated. He had good reasons. Two arcs and two stories worth, but he couldn't just say that out loud. Why would anyone read then? No, instead he had to write about the four friends walking down the sidewalk, not doing anything. This, bothered the author, so evil thoughts began to emerge in his head. Perhaps a car crash would speed things up! Or an alien invasion. Maybe he could send in the FBI and make them do funny things. Or he could just go and start another story, lord knows he has at least four other in depth story ideas that he wanted to write. He had to write, that unnatural urge to get words on a page was begging to burn with great, unyielding, veracity. And writing about four friends walking down a sidewalk was only adding fuel to the fire. "You guys notice that it's taken us, like, a year for us to get down the street?" Cheesus asked the others. Euclid Chapter 175 Nap TimeChapter 175 Nap Time Perspective: Angel I run through the cottage at top speed. The dumb one has slept in again, forgetting her duties once more. I swear, if I wasn't here she would probably forget her tail somewhere. I kick her door open and hop over to the bed, where I jump up onto it. It's empty. You have to be kidding me. She forgot where her bed is. First the cherries in my salad, then the chickens start thinking they can peck away at my food bowl, and now this! That's it, I'm kicking her head in. I've made up my mind, she needs to be put in her place. "HUUUUUUUUGHNNG!" I look over to the bathroom as the sound of the dumb one puking roars from within there. I leap off the bed and run over there and kick the door open, where I find the dumb one laying before the toilet. "Uhg, good morning Angel. Sorry about this, just some morning sickness." She says before she flushes the toilet. I wince a bit from the vile smell and back away from her as she picks herself up and begins to brush her teeth. I hate these kind of moments. If I don't remind her that she has to get going, she'll take forever in there. But if I go in there, then I'll have to smell the remains of... blech. Smelly bathroom, remind dummy.... choices. Dammit, you better remember the cherries next time! Perspective: Fluttershy After a good brushing I gargle the remaining bile out of my mouth and down the drain. Morning sickness, one of the joys of pregnancy- THUD-UD-UD-UD-UD-UD-UD I look down and see Angel kicking at my leg, trying to get my attention. "Yes Angel, do you need something?" I ask him. He points back to the window, pretends to swing a stick around, then pretends to eat a hand held- "OH! I forgot that I was helping Big Mac today!" I run out of the bathroom and begin to head for the front door. How could I have forgotten so easily! I hope Big Mac isn't upset at me. I quickly grab my harvesting staff and run out the door, barely remembering to shut it as I take off for the eastern field. Finding Big Mac wasn't a problem, all I had to do was look for the large red dot that's kicking trees. Oh wait, I forgot to thank Angel for reminding me. Oh, but I'm already late for helping Big Mac, and I'm already here. But I don't want Angel getting mad at me either, especially after I forgot the cherries. I look back to Big Mac and see him staring right up at me. He's already seen me, I can't leave now, sorry Angel. "Good morning Mac, sorry for being late." I say as I land before him. "Mornin’ sickness?" He ask as he walks over to me and nuzzles my cheek. "Yeah, real bad. I hardly slept last night." "Why woncha come on over and stay on the farm? Ah hate not bein there fer ya when ya git like this." He says as he moves back to the tree and resumes picking up the fallen apples. I sigh as I join him. We have this talk almost everyday now. "I told you Mac, that wouldn't be good for Granny. She doesn't remember us being married, let alone me being pregnant. For now, we'll just have to... to..." I look behind me and survey the trees. "Ta what? Everything okay Shy?" Mac asks me worriedly. "Yes, yes I'm fine. I just felt as if some... pony was watching me. Where is Applejack working today?" I ask him as I resume picking up apples. "She's out in the corn field dis mornin. Ya sure everything is alright? Ya look scared." He says as he walks over to me and makes me look him in the eyes. "Yes, everything is fine... but if I could stay by your side for the rest of the day I would really appreciate it because I have this nagging feeling that I'm being watched and I also want to spend time with you but the other thing is really-" "Shy." "Too much?" I ask, blushing deeply. "Eeyup." "Sorry. I just..." know who that is and don't feel safe being alone, "want you by my side." He smiles to me and gives me a kiss on the cheek, making me blush even deeper. "Course, but that means y'all have to come wit me ta the Library. Storm is callin all Spartans there fer sumptin." Spartans... as in the fighting experts. "Oh, of course! I don't mind at all! It won’t be a problem, will it?" "If it is, they can tell it ta my flank.Now lets finish this up before we git going." I sigh in relief with the thought of being surrounded by all of the Spartans, though I can still sense those eyes staring right at me. What is he up to? How did he escape? Discord, please don't do anything rash. ........................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Miles Noon With a tired groan I finally pull myself out of the crystal cavern and begin the walk back home. It's been nearly an entire day, but I've learned everything I can from that machine. It's pretty ingenious really. The back enchantment is a soul snare, and to keep the soul from breaking out or fading it keeps it powered up with the Elements. So if a fluctuating soul is captured, it'll solve the problem by adding more power until it becomes stable. And since the soul isn't in the body, no harm done. Brilliant... dangerous, but brilliant. From there, the souls power activates the other eight enchantments. I could only see three of them, the two on the ground and the back most one, so I have to make some assumptions. The floors larger ring sets the spell to break the human body down while the smaller one sets the spell to put it back together, getting the coding from one of the previous enchantment. This one takes up the most power, which is why it takes so long for the body to actually change. The last one is a simple energy reader. I takes a reading of the subjects soul and translates it for another spell. My assumption is that your power level determines what you'll turn into. Awakened people must have turned into unicorns, seeing as how they had the most power. Active souls must have turned into pegasi, seeing as they would more than the average person to do so. And finally, everyone else turns into an earth pony. Thus, humanity continued. I just want to know where they got the coding for the ponies. I guess they could have taken it from one of those assailants. That would be sick, but it would help them in the long run I guess... Maybe I shouldn't think too much on this. I make it to the outskirts of Canterlot and look up to the mountain. Why did we have to put the mico platform so high up? I look over to my new wings and try to get them to budge, only being able to get a few twitches. I guess I'm not flying then. With no other option I begin trekking my way around Canterlot and up the mountain. Four Hours Later FLASH FINALLY! For fuck sake. I hate that mountain, I miss the cheating abilities of magic, and rock slides are assholes! I just want to drop into bed, and fall asleep for the next day. I open the closet door and plop onto the center of the bed. I just lay there, eyes closed as something wiggles under my stomach. Wiggles? I roll over and move the sheets to find Shadow. "Shadow?" "AAAAAH!" She screams when she sees me and tries to run away, but I grab her before she can get off the bed. "Shadow, stop screaming! It's me, Miles! It's, stop fidgeting, Shadow..... SHADOW!" I yell, getting her to freeze. "Shadow, it's me. It's dad. I know I look different, but it's still me underneath." She stares at me, wide eyed as she continues to pant. "... dad?" She asks as she leans over and looks- "What are you looking at?" "It is you! You have the same cutie mark! It's a bit different, but so are you I guess." She says happily as she breaks my hold and hugs me... then hits me as hard as she can. "What was that-" "Why did you make me say goodbye! Everypony thought you were going to die!" She yells as she continues to hit my chest. "Don't do that to me! I hated you for that, I hated you." "Shadow..." "I didn't want to lose you like I loss Lantern. You were the only pony that ever saw me and cared about me. And you made me say goodbye. Why did you do that to me?" She asks as she looks up to me, tears running down her cheeks. "Shadow, I thought I was dying. I didn't know this would happen. Shadow," I say as I pull her face to look at me. "I'm so sorry, I really am. I didn't want you to go through this for nothing. Had I known that I would be coming back, I wouldn't have forced you to do that... but that still doesn't make it right. What I did was wrong, can you forgive me?" I ask her as I wipe a tear away from her cheek. She looks away from me to wipe her face clean before lunging at me, hugging me as tightly as possible. "Okay, but if you do this again it's a no." She says, making me laugh. "Deal. Now, what were you doing in here?" I ask her as I hug her back. "Oh, Moosden gets noisy so I come here to take naps... and I kind of like sleeping in your bed." She says shyly. I laugh again, making her try to hide her face in my chest. "It's alright. A nap sounds good actually, it's what I came here for. How about this, we take a quick nap before spending the rest of the day together. Sound good?" I ask, getting her to shake her head in agreement. I move to the other side of the bed and lay on my side, trying to get comfy. "Okay then, sleep, then other stuff." She nestles herself against my side and begins to go back to sleep. I try to do the same, but it quickly feels as if I'm suffocating my wing. Once it gets to be too much, I move around to I'm completely on my back... but that doesn't feel right either. No, I've seen Storm sleep like this, why is it weird? Maybe- "If you keep moving I'm kicking you out." Shadow says as she sits up. I laugh a bit as I try stretching into a proper position. "Here, try sleeping like this." She instructs me to lay on my stomach and to tuck my legs underneath myself. At first it felt weird, but once I relaxed into it, it was good. She pulls my foreleg out a bit and sets herself in there, using my leg as a pillow. "Better?" I ask her, getting a tired nod from her. I guess I'm going to have to learn how to sleep as well... that sucks. "Miles?" Shadow asks quietly. "Yeah?" "Um... I... well... what happens next... cause... I liked living with you, I really did... but Butterscotch and E'Claire..." "You really like living with them, don't you?" I ask her as I lay my head on a pillow, trying to get as much shut eye as possible. "Mhmm, but... I don't want to leave you either-" "Shadow-" "But at the same time, they've been so nice to me. I don't want to just leave them-" "Shadow-" "But I'm already going to Ponyville Elementary, so I guess I would have to live closer to-" "Shadow." I say as I move a wing over her. Wait a sec, FUCK YEAH! I moved a wing! HA! Now... how the fuck did I do that? "Dad?" "Oh, right. Shadow, you don't have to pick. You can have both." I tell her, getting a confused look. "It takes you ten seconds to get to Moosden, Shadow. You can have both." "Oh yeah... but you're okay with me living with Butterscotch and E'Claire?" "Yeah, but you better visit often. I mean that, daily visits. No exceptions." She giggles a bit as she relaxes back onto my arm. "Okay." I sigh in relief and relax as well, trying to fall asleep. "I love you dad." "I love you to Shadow, now, shhhhhhhhhh. Sleep." She giggles a bit, but otherwise remains relatively silent. I close my eyes and let myself to finally fall asleep. ....................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Luna After a long deliberation with Ulfric, I finally get a chance to deal with my nightly duties. Though I am in the Griffin Colonies, checking on the dreams of my ponies hasn't proven to be too difficult. Mainly because of the power increase from my beloved. I walk down the stone hallway to my chambers and shut the door behind myself. Out of the public eye, I sigh and move over to my bed, where I drop down and relax a bit. Dealing with Ulfric is always tiresome. On top of him being as unmoving as a mountain, his mental probings are tiresome. He's always trying to break into my mind to somehow get an edge on me, but I've held out for this long. But that's besides me now. Now I can go into the dreamscape and escape the problems of the Griffin Colonies. After I remove my jewelry, all except my bracelet, I lay on the bed and charge my horn to enter the dreamscape. It appears to me like the night sky. A black canvas dotted with little white specks. When I focus on a single speck, the dream opens up for me, allowing me access. Let's see... not much right now, though it is still fairly early for them. I can see maybe twelve, most seem to be little colts and fillies who were sent to bed early. Nothing worth checking up on. I can see two adults. An elderly mare dreaming about her late husband... no, not there. The other adult seems to be dreaming about... nothing yet. They must have just fallen asleep. Oh well, with nothing- GO BACK I nearly jump back to consciousness when my soul tells me that. It hasn't spoken since... before. Go back? Okay, I go back to the previous dream and wait for it to begin to form. The first thing to come to is a large green field nestled between two forest. In the distance is Canterlot Mountain, but without Canterlot. "Well, I didn't think it would be this kind of dream, but whatever. I'll roll with it." I spin around and... and.... "MILES!" I yell as I wake back up in my bed. That was Miles! HE'S ALIVE! I have to go back, I have to see him as soon as possible! I jump off the bed and begin to gather all of my things, tossing them into my bags frantically. Once I have everything together, I run for the door and- SMACK "Hey Luna... Luna?" Regina asks as she steps in. Once the door shuts I fall off the wall onto my stomach. "Luna! We just got a letter from Celestia... oh, you got one too? Good, with you packed we can get going. Do you know what's going on?" She asks me as she helps me up. "Wait... you got one from Celestia... oh.... oh my." "Is that bad? What's going on?" She asks me as I start to walk to the bed. "I think... I think Miles is back. No, I know he's back." I say as I take a seat on the bed. Regina runs over and hugs me, lifting me up slightly. "That's great Luna! I can't believe it, he's alive! What happened? How did he do it? Is it permanent? OOOOOOO, can I see him shirtless!?" "Regina... Celestia sent the letter... and no, that's my man." "So?" "So, that probably means that Miles told her... about us." Regina sits there, not completely understanding me. "*sigh* I never told her, remember!?" "OOOOOH! Well... hmm... You'll just have to face the music on that one then." She says as she turns and leaves the room. With a groan I levitate my things and follow after her. "But what about Miles? He'll probably be mad to. What should I do?" I ask her as I catch up with her. "You want the easy way, or the hard way?" She asks me. "... that depends. What does each one entail?" I ask nervously, getting a wicked grin from her. "Sometimes I wonder how you're not an escort." "Doesn't pay enough. Now, either way this is ending with you on your back, but let's hope for the fun way." Why did I ask for her opinion? Well... if Miles is really back, then I guess it would end that way. I mean, by the time I get there, I should be in heat again. At least now I'll have my man back. Hang tight Miles, I'll be there soon. Author's Note Shout out to Not FBI for picking who Discord visited first. Thanks for reading and like always, Brony on! Pssst, new blog post for OC's! Calling All Spartans! Chapter 177 Pharmaceutical NeedsChapter 177 Pharmaceutical Needs Perspective: Miles "Um... Luna? Can you come out of the closet?" I ask as I lightly tap on the door. I really didn't expect her to lock herself in there. That's about as far from what I was thinking was going to happen as possible. "..." "Luna it's me. It's Miles. Babe, please come out of there." "... Miles? Is that really you?" She asks, still hiding behind the door. "Yeah, it's me. I know-" SLAM PUNCH I blink a few times as I let the pain sink in to my chine. I slowly look back to her only to get her to hit me again... and again. "Luna-" "Do you have any idea what you put me through?! Do you have any idea!?" She says as she hits me a few more times. "Why are you mad!? I'm alive, we get to live!" "Yeah, so now I can kick your butt before anything else!" She says as she hits my chest a few more times. By this time I'm just chuckling, not caring that she's hitting me. "Why are you laughing!?" "Because you're hitting me." "... YOU'RE DARN RIGHT I AM!" She yells as she hits me a few more times. I laugh a bit more as I back away from her, secretly heading for the bed. Once we're close enough I rush forward and lift her up, making her yelp in surprise. I quickly climb on top of her and forcefully kiss her. She hits me a couple of times as she melts underneath me, kissing me back with equal passion. "Still mad?" I ask after as I pull back to breath. "Convince me otherwise and I'll forgive you." She coos before kissing me again. I chuckle a bit as I press- "Wait a minute." I say as I abruptly stop kissing her. "I'm the one who's suppose to be mad, not you." She thinks about it for a moment before putting a fake smile on. "B-but, I was-" "I was on my deathbed, why didn't you tell her!" I say as I get off of her, stepping off the bed. "Once you were... were... oh my." "What are you looking at?" I ask as follow her gaze.... "Oh sweet Barbra... why is it black?" I ask as I stare at my member. Being slightly aroused has made it come out slightly. It's still fairly soft, only barely poking out, but I can still tell that it's... well, I was well endowed as a human. I guess 'it' makes sense. "Actually, better question, why are they all black? Storm, Big Mac, Night Fury, Damian every dick I've ever seen was black. Why?" "Miles... how many penises have you seen?" I think about it and realize how saddening the answer is. "Fuck it, I'll figure that out later." I say as I step towards the bed. "WAIT!" She yells as she puts a hoof on my chest. "U-umm.... could you go out and get some condoms?" "... are you kidding me? Weren't we suppose to be trying to have children? Why would I go out and get condoms?" "Well... okay, why do you get to have all the fun?" She asks a she steps off the bed, making me back up. "What?" "One go and that's it? I'd have to wait over seven months before any further action. No way, go get some condoms." She says as she puts her hoof down. "... okay, first off, where would I even get some. And secondly, I think you owe me a little something before I go." I say as I put my hoof down as well, standing completely straight to dwarf her. "... w-what?" She asks, wavering a bit. I just smile and move back to the bed where I lay on my back. "You're kidding me, right?" "Nnope. I can wait. But I can smell the heat kicking in on you... actually, how am I doing that? Anyway. I can wait longer than you can. So how about this, we have a little fun and call it even. Sound fair?" She thinks about it before climbing on top of me, straddling my hips. I rub my hooves up and down her forelegs as a heat begins to build below. "Deal. So, what did you have in mind?" She asks as she wiggles from side to side a bit. A wave of eagerness hits me and tells her my answer. "Um... is there anything else you had in mind? I kind of want to save the main event for later. I mean, we have all the time in the world now." "Actually... about that." I say as I slowly stop rubbing her. "What?" She asks flatly. "I kind of of set up a little mission thing with the Spartans tomorrow. So.... yeah." She stares at me for a moment before collapsing on top of me, sighing in defeat. "Sorry, I thought you were going to be in the Griffin Colonies for a while." "I know, it's fine. How about this then. Go get the condoms, and we spend all night together. All. Night." She whispers the last part into my ear. "Keep talking like that and I don't think I'll be able to leave this room." I tell her as I wrap my forearms around her, getting a deep chuckle from her. "Go already. I'll be waiting." She says as she tries to remove herself from the bed. "Seriously though, I'm not walking through Ponyville half cocked... heh, puns. But seriously-" "Just do what you normally would do to get it down." I stare at her for a moment and wait for her to make the connection. "I can't be your only outlet... can I?" "Well... I guess another cold shower could help, but-" FLASH THUD *Sigh* should have kept that part to myself. Well... with nothing better to do in here I get up and turn the cold water on- ICE! Why is there ice water in here!? Why is this my life!? ........................................................................................................................................................ After a long and frustrating shower I make my way downstairs where I find Luna snacking on the leftover party treats. "Careful, you don't want to get a bubble butt like Celestia." I joke as I walk up behind her and toss a cookie into my mouth. This one has a lot of sugar, plus something else.... hmm- "Gingersnaps, and why are you looking at my sisters but?" She chides as she leans against me, instantly distancing herself from me. "Okay then, you're an ice cube. You going to hurry up and go get them? I don't think they'll be open for much longer." "Yeah, about that. Celestia asked for me to keep out of the public eye, so could you teleport me there please?" I ask before trying another cookie, this one has chunks of crunchy things and some kind of chocolate... it's good- "Almond chocolate chip, and why can't you? Do you just not know the spell?" She asks as she takes another treat. "You could say that. So, you going to send me or..." I pause when she turns to me, holding a cookie in her mouth. "Have I mentioned I love you?" "Mmhmm." She mumbles as i lean forward and bite the other half, ending it with a kiss. FLASH "... oh shit. GURL! Git over here, our prayers have been answered!" I open my eyes and find myself in some random building with my lips puckered out towards some fat pink mare. "How you doin?" "Ahem, Er... *chew chew chew COUGH* right. Is this... uh, is this where I can buy some...condoms?" I ask as I step forward. "CONDOMS!" She practically yells so half the town can hear her. "WAT DAT?" Some shrieky voiced mare yells from the back, getting this mares attention. "Gurl where you at? You gotta see dis, Sex God jus walk in an ask fer condoms!" She yells back to her friend, getting a long, loud woo in response. "Uh... I am in the right place, right?" I ask as I look around the room. Luna, you pranking fiend. I'm going to get you back for this, one way or another. "Kay, you uh... well, normally ya'll need ta be on da roster ta stuff, but we'll make a special exception fer you." She says with an over exaggerated wink. "Come with me to the back." "Why?" "So we can take yer measurements, duh." "Why would you need to measure me? If it's a product being sold in multiple locations they probably regulate the sizes. Just get me the largest one and I'll take it from there." I say, getting a panicked look from her. "Yes, well, ya see... the thing is... uh..." "Oh sweet Barbra, you have no clue what you're doing here, do you?" I ask, getting her to start sweating bullets. "How did you even get this job? What the fuck!?" "SHHHH! Okay, I'll level wit you, but keep your voice down!" She says in a hushed tones. "Look, I'll spill the beans and get you yer condoms for free, but you gotta keep your mouth shut, deal?" I think about it for a second before nodding, getting her to sigh in relief. "WATS GOING ON OVER THERE?!" The girl in the back asks. "GURL, DIS ASSHOLE FOUND US OUT!" "CHEESE IT!" The last we hear of her is the sound of running and a door slamming shut. "Anyway, we work for Cheesus. Da reason we measure every stallion that comes here is because he has a brochure that tells mares bout local stallions and what ta expect from them. Stallions don't question it... well, cause they usually get a free ride out of it." "... that's the dumbest thing I have ever heard. What kind of idiot would fall for that?" I ask, getting her to laugh a bit. "We got almost every stallion here. Da only reason we don't have everypony is cause colts grow up." I can't believe what I'm hearing. How... wait, everyone here... oh Storm, you fucking idiot. "Look, can I just get the condoms and go already? I kind of don't have a lot of time to spare." "Kay, come ta da back wit me for measurements-" "But you just-" "Bitch, you a ALICORN! Ya'll probably more hung den Squishy, an he's freaky! Imma have ta special order dees! Do ya know how much work ya'll making me do!? It'll be at least a week before they even come in so ya'll have ta wait anyway-" "But I need them now! Isn't there-" "Look playa." She says as she waves her hoof at me, somehow silencing me. "Your little monster cock isn't going to get any protected action until I convince them that you actually exist. I'd suggest birth control potions, but the mare I buy them from hasn't made any recently. She has ta go regrow her house for some reason. So yous gonna have to come wit me, whip your dick out, and shut the buck up. Do. We. Have. A. Problem?" ".... no ma'am." "Didn't think so, now come wit me." I begrudgingly open the door and follow her down the hall to an examination room. How in the fuck did she do that? I should train her- "Okay, get on the table and lie back. This spell will get you up. We'll do the measurements quick and then you can go, ready?" "No." I say as I get on the table and lie back. "Don't be a bitch *ZAP*." I jolt a bit when the spell hits me. In only a few moments I feel myself tap against me stomach before pointing up at the ceiling. "Oh... hot dayum." "Hey, are they all black? Is that normal?" I ask as it hits its peek. She ignores me and starts to wrap a measuring tape around my cock. I buckle over a bit from the sudden touch as she moves the tape up my shaft. "Easy thEEEEERRRReee!" "DAAAAAAAAAYYYYUUUUUUUMM. Two feet a meat." She says as she measures the length. "In terms of alicorns is that good?" I blurt out. "Well, the standard stallion is only one foot. So... I'd have ta guess ya got a big one... hmm.... not sure though. Not like there's another alicorn stallion ta compare to." She says as she grabs it and moves it around a bit. "Are we done yet?" I ask as I start to feel uncomfortable... well, more so than what the situation garners. She pulls back on it and lets it wiggle back in place. "Please don't play with it- WHY ARE YOU TOUCHING THOSE!?" "Bitch, you a dick expert?" "Those were my balls-" "YOU A DICK EXPERT!?" "Well.... no." "Den let me do my bucking job *snap*!" She yells, adding a snap of the hoof at the end. "Did you just admit to being a whore?" STOMP I go very quiet when she stomps a hoof down so close to me. "You really gonna ask stupid questions right now?" "... I'll be good." I keep quiet through the rest of my fondling. No magic, no purity. I feel... so dirty. Once she's felt me every way she wants to, she gives me a firm slap on the ass. "Yeah, ya'll can go now." She says as she heads to the door. "But, don't you have a spell or something to... you know. 'Deal' with that?" I ask as I stand up. She lifts me up with her magic and tosses me out of the building through some back entrance. "Hell nah! It'll wear off inna hour, or if ya'll get off. Now, if ya'll escuse me, I have ta do 'work' now." She slams the door shut and locks it. I lay there for a moment before looking over to my right and seeing some mare staring at me. She's one of those florist shop keepers I've seen before. "Uhm.... hi?" "Take me." "And that's my queue to leave. It was lovely to see you, hope you do well in life.....BYE!" I scramble to my hooves and take off running, made completely awkward due to my... problem. I make it to the end of the buildings where I meet my next obstacle. Main street. It's a bright, sunshiny day, making it a perfect day for everyone to be out and about. Sadly for me, everyone is out. I look around for some way to make it back home without being seen, but I can't see any good routes. My best bet is to sneak my way to a cart and use it for cover, but none of them are nearby- "Hi Miles." "PINKIE!" I yell in surprise when she suddenly appears next to me. I look back out to the street and feel my ears hit the side of my head as every eye turns to me. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... "Fuck it." I take off at full speed down the street. Everyone jumps out of my way as I charge through the road, some screaming while most just gape. "DON'T LOOK WHERE I'M POINTING!" "WHAT IS THAT!?" "AHH! IS THAT WHAT I THINK IT IS!" "MOM LOOK! IT'S LIKE THE ONE IN YOUR DRAWER BUT BIGGER! MOM?" "SOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRYYYYY!" I yell as my cheeks melt with embarrassment. I pump my legs as run faster then I've ever ran before, making it home in a matter of seconds. CRASH I practically break the door down and scare the crap out of Luna when I make it home. I slam the door shut and run around the house, locking every door and window. Closing every curtain. Tossing the wolves out. And finally crashing on the couch, hiding my face from any other onlookers that might see my shame. "Miles? What was that all about?" Luna asks quietly as she enters the living room. "I don't want to talk about it." "Did you get them?" "They don't make them in my size. I'll have to wait a week before they come in." "Oh... think you could pull out then? Cause... my heat’s really starting to kick in." She asks with a bit of strain in her voice. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... "Miles?" Today is going to be a very long and stressful day. "Alright, let's go upstairs then." Author's Note Guess what happens next!? Chapter 178 Old Habits...Chapter 178 Live Perspective: Discord Well, it seems our little love birds are finally together. Now, the ever so difficult task of making sure nopony disturbs them. Hmm... giant flying squirrels? No, later. Hurricane? No, no that wouldn't help... but maybe some rain. FIRE RAIN! No, the pegasi would have a field day... NO. I have to stick to the plan. Let's see.... I know just the trick then. I crack my fingers, then my arms, then my spine, before focusing on my spell. With a bit of force, I summon a large caravan just to the side of Ponyville. The traveling circus ponies blink a few times in confusion, but with a little 'persuasion' they march on to Ponyville. That should keep the ponies pre-occupied while they.... *put on sunglasses* occupy each other. YYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Wait, no, I can do better. Um... Frozen Hot Wheel? I guess it's... *puts on second pair of sunglasses* not so hot anymore. YYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH ..................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Miles Luna and I walk up the stairs together, playfully nudging our hips against each others. When we make it to the top I quickly bring my forelegs under her and lift her up, wavering a bit as I try to find my balance. She shrieks out a gasp and holds onto me tightly. Once I have my footing I begin to carry her to our bedroom, faltering when she begins to nibble on my neck. I lay her down on the bed and gently lay on top of her. I lean forward and kiss her tenderly on the lips, having her rise a bit when I pull back, not wanting it to end. I look down between the two of us and sigh in frustration. I know I want this, my body is ready for this, so where's that spark? Everything is... right... right? "Everything okay?" Luna asks me as she rest a hoof on my chest. "Y-yeah.... yeah... it's just..." I try to find the right words but stop when her hoof gently raises my chin, making me look her in the eyes. "Tell me." "*sigh* I don't know. Everything is where it should be, I'm just... not in the mood." I tell her as I fall to her right. She rolls to face me and sighs as well, resting a hoof on the tip of my cock. "But, it's up. Doesn't that usually mean-" "That was forced by a spell from the mare at the pharmacy." I tell her. As she tries to think of something, I notice something behind her. It was... almost like a shadow, but not a shadow. I look back to Luna when her head pops up a bit. "You okay?" I ask as her face begins to turn deep red. "U-um... I just had an idea, but... okay, no matter what, if I do this, we're doing it. Deal?" "Um... what exactly is it?" "If I tell you it'll ruin the surprise. Deal or no deal?" I think about it for a second before shrugging, going along with it. She is in heat after all, so I suppose I can push through this. "Okay, close your eyes and don't open them until I tell you to, got it?" "Got it-" "And I mean it!" She cuts me off, poking a hoof into my chest. "Not. A. Peep. Okay?" "Okay." I close my eyes and lay back on the bed. She gives me a kiss on the cheek before stepping off the bed. I feel a bit of pressure build up on my wings, probably from my laying on them. I reach over and- FLASH ... okay, whatever she has is back in Canterlot. I reach back and physically pull my wings out from under me, instantly feeling the relief. Okay, you can lay on your back, you just have to move your wings out of the way. Good to know. I lay for what feels like forever as I wait for Luna to return. What could she possibly have that would help right now? Well, I guess she does have those sexy outfits from Topaz. I feel 'myself' twitch a little when the images of her in the cop outfit hits me. I guess seeing her with a thin thing would be really helpful- FLASH "K-keep them closed!" She demands, her voice betraying her nervousness. "They're closed." I tell her as my ears train towards her. Wow... that feels weird. Whatever. I hear her move around the bed and stop beside me, taking a deep breath to ready herself. "Okay, lay on your stomach and keep your eyes closed." She whispers in my ear, her warm breath making me ear twitch. I do as she instructs and lay stomach down. I feel two lacy hooves press down onto my back. I instinctively try to look, but stop when Luna begins to rub circles. I relax as she begins to massage my lower back. I don't know when or how she learned this, but I'm not arguing with it... though the clothing she's wearing does raise a few questions. I don't remember her having anything this lacy before. She pauses her work to get on the bed and seat herself against me, having it so she's sitting over me. "Just relax, no matter what." She whispers to me as she begins to move up my back. "You got it-" KER-FWOOSH "OH SWEET BARBRA!" I yell as I feel my wings suddenly shoot out and stiffen. "You sneaky little-" "Are your eyes open?" Luna asks as she stops nibbling on my wing joints. "No!" I say as I close my eyes shut. She giggles and returns to stimulating them, rubbing up and down my sides. I can't believe how good this feels. It's... like... well, technically there's just some exposed nerves that are being stimulated. I can't help but groan as a tingling sensation numbs my back. I can feel the spot slowly becoming damp as she she adds a bit of pressure to her nibbles. "Do you like that?" She asks when she switches to the other wing. The best I can do to respond is to simply moan my approval. "Good, now roll over." I obey instantly, having my pride stand proudly for Luna to smirk at. I note the white lingerie momentarily before Luna levitates a pillow over my eyes. "So, you weren't in the mood. How about now then?" She asks as she slowly starts to stroke me off. "I think I can get through this, but some extra persuasion would be appreciated," I say smoothly... or so I think. She chuckled, was that trying too hard for suave? "Hmm, now what could I do to persuade you?" She asks as she lowers the pillow so I can see her face. She bites lightly onto one hoof, still stroking me with the other. I push myself up onto my elbows in an attempt to see the rest of her, but she pushes the pillow back into my face. Taking a deep breath to ready herself, she leans down tenderly licks the tip. My heart picks up as she adds a few more tender licks as she works her way to the bottom, still gently rubbing me with her left hoof. I bite my lip when she drags her tongue back up to the top and plants a forceful kiss. The kiss ends when she opens her mouth and begins to take me in. "Ooooh shit." I groan when she reaches her limit. It only seems to be about a third, but the feeling is still great. She giggles a bit before pulling back up, dragging her tongue along the bottom as her lips remain sealed around me. Slowly and evenly, she keeps a pattern of moving up and down. I reach forward and rest a hoof on her head, gently stroking her mane. When she lets out a moan I push my hips forward, the vibrations being almost too much. "Getting close?" She asks when she removes herself from me to catch her breath. "Yeah, no thanks to you," I joke. She responds by continuing, doubling her efforts. I lay back down and close my eyes as I try to hold on for as long as possible. The more I fight the building pressure, the quicker it seems to grow. I lose the fight when she tightens her lips around the tip and rubs me off with both hooves. I hold back a groan as she continues this throughout my entire release. Not stopping until every spurt was in her mouth. Once I'm spent, I collapse back onto the bed and pant, trying to catch my breath. I barely register her pulling the blankets from under me and wrapping them around herself... when the fuck did those get here? She lays next to me, smiley broadly as she holds the sheet around herself tightly. I smile back to her and lean over to kiss her on the forehead. "What about you?" I ask. "Are you kidding? You better put your best into round two." She says dejectedly, making us both laugh. I pull her close and kiss her on the lips, having second thoughts almost immediately. "Don't worry... well, maybe worry a little." I tell her, getting a confused look in response. "What? You really don't think I'm going to put my best in right now? You aren't going to walk right for a week after tonight." "Pfft, somepony's getting a little over confident now, aren't they." She says before kissing me on the nose. "I'm going to make you eat those words, you know that right?" I tell her, getting her to chuckle lightly. "I'm counting on it... what time is it?" She asks as she looks out the window. FLASH "Stupid ass traveling circus cluck head. Whore ass mother breaking bitch whore of stupid whoredom... ass." Regina grumbles as she walks out from our closet and out of the room, feathers disheveled and covered in mud. Luna and I freeze up momentarily before we hear her leave the house. "What was-" "Don't worry about that." Luna cuts me off quickly. "Now-" "RAISE THE MOON!" Regina yells, making Luna jump out of bed... and drop the blanket. PEW Luna and I stare at one another as an odd sensation comes from my forehead. Luna is wearing, the hottest... sexiest... fuckable outfit, ever! Each of her legs have long, thin white socks that go up to her knee. They have an intricate design woven into them and have tiny bows on the sides. Her chest is wrapped in a tight, white, V neck corset that ends just before her wings. The thong she's wearing have a strap connecting them to her socks and is made to accent her nether region, giving complete sight and access. "Do you smell ozone?" I ask as I stare at her. She just shakes her head and ignites her horn, trying not to look at me as her blush grows in ferocity. "Where, in all of sexy Terra, did you get.... oh.... oh sweet Barbra." "Well... at least this does its job." Luna muses as I continue to stare at her. Odd how adding clothing is making her more irresistible. "Damn straight it does." I say as I get up. *what was actually said* "Deyustritoes." I move around her slowly as the light in the room begins to dim. I can not take my eyes off her for the life of me. She is simply too sexy. I don't know why, but even her embarrassment is turning me on, which might be good or bad but either way I'm taking her to pound town as soon as she lets up with the moon. "M-Miles, can you stop staring for a minute?" She asks me, her voice quivering slightly. "I physically cannot take my eyes off of you." I tell her. "Well... get out of sight then before I send the Goblin Kingdom three feet under water." I nod and move behind her, finding something much more interesting to stare at instead. Her dampness has grown from her sex to her knees, leaving a trail of wet cloth and damp fur. Driven completely by instinct... or arousal, I lean in and lick her slit. ............................................................................................................................................................ Perspective: Celestia With a content sigh I nod to another day coming to an end. The sun has just set, the moon is on it's way through the sky and... and... okay... this is new. I don't think I've ever seen the moon suddenly double its brightness. I didn't even think it could get that bright. I don't know what Luna did, but I like it. She should do it more often, this is a nice change of pace for the night time. ............................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles "MILES!" Luna shrieks as she spins around, her face going completely red by this point. "Why are you so embarrassed?" I chuckle. She tries to find a reason, but ends up sighing in defeat. "Now enough talk, let's get this-" "Just remember to pull out, got it?" She warns me. "Pull out, easy enough. But first it has to go in. Turn around." I say as I move towards her, making her back up towards the bed. "One last thing, just... take it easy at first. You know... cause-" "Don't worry." I reassure her with a comforting smile. She smiles back to me and lay her front half on the bed. She looks back to and smiles a she waves her hips to me, inviting me in. I step forward and trace my lips from her flank, up her back, between her wings, and over to her cheek where I nuzzle her. Sex aside, nuzzling is fucking awesome. Just saying, much more affectionate. I push forward and rub my length against her heat, getting a stifled moan in response. I lean forward and nibble on her ear as I press into her again, adding more pressure to her. She takes a deep breath and pushes back, practically begging for my full attention. I pull back and press against her entrance, giving both of us a moment to prepare before pushing in. Tight. Much more so than our first time together. It feels right, the correct piece entering its rightful place. She takes in a sharp breath in as I push further and further within her, fulfilling her wishes of ease. A couple moments it feels as if I couldn't go further, but do so with a bit of persistence. By the time I'm feel her limit, barely any of me remains outside. How did that all fit in? How unfulfilled was she before... what exactly did all of those cheating spells do? I know I've seen her orgasm before, but how did it happen? I guess none of that matters now. I'm going to make her finish, by myself. No magic. No tricks. I don't care what it takes, I will not allow myself to finish before her. I pull back halfway and push back in. She lets out a pleasured moan as she lowers her head, biting her lip. I look down to our connection and see the trickle of blood leaking out. I guess if I wasn't adequate before, there would be some adjusting to make. With that in mind, I slow my movements down. I lean forward and nuzzle the back of her neck, getting a nose full of her scent. She leans back into me, sighing contently from the touch. "Miles... I didn't think I would ever-" "Shh... none of that. I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere." "Promise me... promise me that you'll always come back." We look to each other, Luna freezing up as she waits for me to respond. "I promise." We lean in and share a kiss. It wasn't out of passion or lust. It was more for reassurance. When we broke the kiss I looked deep into her eyes, seeing the love and hunger within them. "You ready?" She nods, so I pull back to the entrance and push all the way back in. She lets out a quick yelp as her head shoots up. I let out a huff as I make the move again, making her grab onto the sheets tightly. I reach forward and hold her hooves as I shorten my thrusts. She lifts her head and leans against my head as I bring a hoof under her and lift, giving me better access due to height. I can't help but reach a bit further and rub her breast, loving the soft flesh against the fur of my new limb. Once I have her moaning I reach over and grab her leg as I pull back to the entrance. I grab both her sides and roll her onto her back before climbing over her and pushing my way back inside. She lets out a small yell and wraps her forelegs around the base of my neck as I take deep plunges into her. We fall into a rhythm of pushing and grinding, grunting and moaning, grabbing and rubbing. A cool layer of sweat builds over the two of us as we work towards each others pleasure, putting in everything we have into our motions. I lift her up against myself and roll over so we switch places. She takes the initiative and begins to bounce in my lap, placing two hooves on my chest for balance as her wings open. I reach forward and grab her flanks, giving them a tight squeeze as I help her with her motions. At first it was to help guide, but that quickly turned into my adding force to each move. I lift her up and pull her back down as I thrust in and out of her well lubricated hole, the sound of our bodies meeting filling the background to her yelling. "MILES!" With a final thrust in she hits her climax, her tightness doubling on me. I hold myself there and let her ride it out. After a minute or so she falls over and lays on top of me, panting deeply. "You alive?" I ask her, getting a slight chuckle in response. "I don't... I don't... ever... that hard... I love you." She pants before sloppily kissing me. She breaks the kiss early and lays her head on my chest, trying to catch her breath. After a small break I move myself to get her attention. "I'm still good to go, you want more?" I ask her, getting an eager nod in return. I smile to her as I wrap my hooves around her and hold her in place. I resume pushing into her, thumping against the bed as I unintentionally shove our faces together. Her yelping returns to its prior volume as she tries to hold onto me by hugging me around my neck. I lean over and begin to suck on her neck, biting onto her hard enough to leave a mark afterwards. She whines from pleasure and grabs my horn... slowly stroking it.... KER-PEW I think my brain just came. Whatever thoughts I had before are now lost to a fog of different ways I'm going to fuck Luna. Giving in to the first thought to come to mind, I lift Luna completely off of me and drop her beside me, belly down. I jump to my hooves and lift her up by her hips and impale her instantly. She yelps in surprise, egging me on. Though my thrust are just as strong as before, I begin to double the effort by moving her against my movements. She lays her head on the bed and lets her tongue roll out of her mouth as I use my entire length to please her, feeling her warm liquid splash against my underside. After who knows how long, I accidentally drop her. Though the rest of her instantly collapses onto the bed, her ass stays in the air, essentially asking for more. I drop down on all four and reinsert myself, bottoming out in one thrust. As I begin to pound myself into her, making the bed slam against the wall, I finally feel arousal reach its end. Still hazy from the head orgasm earlier, I grab her flanks and drive away madly. Everything fades away as a numbness takes over my senses. The only thing on my mind is reaching that orgasmic bliss. So fucking close... Just... "FUCK!" I yell at the top of my lungs as I slam into her, pumping insanely into her as my entire body shakes in euphoria. SMACK I fall to the side, bringing Luna with me, and nearly pass out. I'm not sure why I smacked Luna's ass, but I'll apologies when I can think clearly. That was easily the best orgasm I've ever had in my life. I can't even think of one that was close to that... well, if I was able to think that is... fuck it, I'm going to sleep. Why is there so much moonlight in here though? ................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Rarity Busy, busy, busy. That's all I have been this past week. First there was Twilights coronation dresses, then the Manehattan rush, and now Miles is back. So much in so little time. But I guess it's not all bad. I do have my date next week with Spike, and Sweetie Belle is coming over after that, though that may cause some extra stress. Family tends to do that though, so I guess I'll have to make due. I hang the final pieces of clothing onto the clothesline and sigh to myself. It's been a long day, but now it's time for bed. The dresses are done, ready to be shipped, and I must be off for my beauty sleep. "All in a days hard work-" "But all work and no play makes Discord go cray-cray." I jump back as several of the clothes pull off the line and form the general form of an upright body. "Discord! How- But- When- HUH?!" I yell as I back away from the fashionable ghost. He lets out a low chuckle as several scarfs slither out from the wash bin and tie my legs up. "All in good time my lovely little gem, we have business to attend-" "RAAAAAWWW!" A large plume of green fire come from above and engulfs the ghostly apparition. Spike crashes down before me and roars again, flaring his wings to shield me from Discord. "Spike!" I yell in joy as I try to fight out of the astounding scarfs. Why did he have to use the green one? It was simply amazing. "Rarity, get to Twilight and tell her what's going on. I'll hold him off." Spike tells me as Discord rises into the air, glaring at Spike. "GO!" He lunges forward and sends another plume at Discord. He bends around the fire with total ease and flies at Spike. Before he could get there though, Spike shakes his magic on and pushes forward, sending a wave of energy at Discord that sends him flying back. He crashes onto the ground just as I break free of the adorable pink scarf that held my back legs. "... who taught you that?" Discord asks slowly as he gets back onto his feet. "I said get going!" Spike yells as he raises his arms. He begins to punch forward, sending blasts of energy at Discord as the draconequus snakes around each one. Before Discord could touch him, Spike jumps into the air and distances himself from Discord. "RUN!" I turn around and begin to run towards Twilights home. Above me thunder clouds begin to form as clashes of Spikes fight ring over Ponyville. Oooh, Spike... please don't get hurt. When I turn onto Mane Street I see Twilights house up ahead, with several of the lights still on. Eager to get Twilights help, I charge forward with all my might. With each step I near the door, my magic forming around it as I near the final- SWOOSH I shriek when something grabs my back legs and lifts me into the trees canopy. After scraping by several branches I come to a stop near the top, where I hand upside down. "R-rare- *COUGH*." Spike chokes as he reaches out to me. I cover my mouth with my hooves when I see him. His right eye is swollen shut as a large wound bleeds profusely from his chest. "Don't worry, I won’t kill him. I need him for later." Discord says. I look around for him and eventually see him etched into the crooks of the trees bark. "DISCORD! YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!" I yell as I try to blast him with magic, only sending chunks of bark everywhere. "Now- now, don't get fussy. I need you at your best as well. Now, let's begin." A branch reaches around and presses against my forehead, making my mind go fuzzy. "St-stop." Spike grumbles as he tries to reach the branch. "When you no longer feel fancied, distance yourself and give in to your greed." I shudder as his smug faces breaks into a large, devilish smile. Author's Note Shout out to Xataxia for picking who was next on the visits from Discord. On another note, yes. What you are all thinking is going to happen. If you read the chapter, it is obvious. Early on when I was still writing the first ten chapters, I was debating this section. In the ORIGINAL arc (back when there was only three arcs), Miles was going to die when the changing beam was fired. His soul, in it's last second, was going to get hit by the beam. Luna would have also been hit by this beam, thus making this result. I decided to change it because the story simply changed from writing it. Things made sense later on for Miles to live. That, and the whole beam getting Luna preggers was a little BS to me. It didn't make physical sense, so I cut it. This is why I went this route. Without this character, the story ends with a lame BS-y ending that I did not like. Death and the four horsemen would not exist. I could not justify calling it Man of War, the main theme of the story would change abruptly... Miles had to become an Alicorn, otherwise, we don't get the kid or the sequel. SPOILERS Kill me later Cheesus. Brony on! Chapter 179 Happiness, With a Side of SyrupChapter 179 Happiness, With a Side of Syrup Perspective: Miles Sleep hit me hard. I didn't dream, I was just... out. One moment I'm having one the best instances of my life, the next a sound is waking me up in the middle of the night. I didn't care at the moment. I simply rolled over and held Luna against me, trying to forget the rest of the world. "Miles?" Of course I'm not allowed to stay comfy. I lift my head up and look around the dark room. Though it's still night out, and I can barely see the figure before me, I still recognize her as Regina. "Y-yeah? What's up?" I ask groggily. "Just thought you should wake Luna up to lower the moon... now. It's nearly been ten minutes since sunrise." She whispers to me. I drop my head down and sigh. "Mmm, I'll get on that then." I groan as I lay there. "... Miles-" "Right, now. Luna?" I mumble as I shake her shoulder a bit. Nothing. "A bit harder." Regina offers. "Luna, babe? Time to wake up." I tell her as I shake her a bit more. Still nothing. I sigh as I sit up and roll her over. She's still laying there, sleeping peacefully- "Is... is she breathing?" Regina asks, making my heart stop. Her chest isn't moving, and she isn't responding... "Oh sweet Barbra..." "Who?" "I killed her with my dick." The room falls silent from my revelation. It was too much for her! Why didn't she stop me? Why did she pester me to go all out!? NO! LUNA! "Slow down there Captain, I doubt you're that good." Regina says as she lays her head on Lunas chest. "She's still alive, just really sexed." Oh.... of course.... fuck it's early..... yeah, early.... "Okay, I've seen this before-" "Wait, you've seen this before?" "Give me your hoof." She says as she holds her claw out. "Why?" "Because if I did this, you'd get mad. Hoof, now." She demands. I think about it for a second before obeying. She is the expert... apparently. "Okay, this may hurt your ears." "Why-" SPLECH 'GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Luna screams as she sits up when Regina forces me to touch her sex. She falls back down and pants loudly as she clutches the pillow around her head, looking back to me wide eyed. "Well, my job is done. I'll catch you two later for lunch. Bye!" Regina says happily before skipping out of the room. "M... Miles?" Luna moans. "Yeah?" "You.... you can stop now." "Oh, right. Sorry." I say as I remove my hoof from her. She nods to me and glances to the window. "Wha... what time is it?" "Ten past sunrise... think you can manage?" She closes her eyes and begins to charge her magic. Outside, I watch as the sky begins to change colors. It's subtle at first, but it's evidence enough of the change going on. "That's my girl." I say as I lay beside her, running my hoof along her side. "So... how are you feeling?" "Heh, good. Really good. You?" She asks as she rolls to the side to look at me. I smile and give her a peck on the lips. "Good, good... so... um... I'm not sure how to put this, so I'm just going to say it... but first promise me you wont hit me." "Why would-" "Luna, please. This is important to me." "...okay. I promise. Now what happened that you would force me to promise not to hit you?" I bite my lip as I glance down to her stomach. Trying to find a better way then bluntly saying it. "Miles... I said pull out-" "I know, I know. But... old habits die hard. I don't think I've ever pulled out in my life... sorry." She closes her eyes for a moment. "If you hadn't done so well, I'd be able to be mad at you. So I guess you're off the hook... for now." She says as she looks back to me, smiling lightly. I chuckle a bit as I lean forward and kiss her again. "But since you can't be trusted to do something so simple, no more action for you." "Heh... heh.... really?" She laughs a little and scoots closer to me, pressing her nose against my chest lightly. "Let's just see what happens. The moons in its right position. Let's get some more rest." I give her fore head a quick kiss before going back to sleep. .......................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Storm I jump a bit when I hear something fall and break. I look over and check on Twilight, finding her still asleep. With my mind immediately going to the worst, I get up and check for the cause of the noise. Nothing in the room seems out of place. I move to the bathroom and find the cup holding our toothbrushes on the floor in a hundred pieces. It must have slipped or something, the window is still shut. I begin to pick the pieces up and toss them into the waste bin. I grab the toothbrushes and set them on the counter- "Storm Cloud." "GAH!" I yell as I jump back. In the mirror.... "Famine." I growl as he gives me a slight head bow. "Time is running short. The harbinger of chaos is here. Do as I say and-" "Why in all of Equestria would I help you? If anything I'd help the guy who has you so scared." I say as I shut the door to the bathroom. "Fine then, put your wife in danger and let the land fall to chaos." "... what about Twilight?" I ask slowly. "The only thing that can defeat this being are the Elements of Harmony. That is why the bearers are being targeted. A third of them have already fallen to his influence. You have been given it's touch though, so you can be of use. Go to them, use them again and send him back to his slumber. If you don't, everything will be for nothing. Now go!" I hesitate to move, unsure of what to do. "How can I be sure you're not messing with me? Give me something to believe you." I say, making him huff in annoyance. "No. The threat on your cause should be enough. Now get going." With that the unicorn centaur in the mirror fades away. I reach up and feel the cool surface of the mirror. I couldn't imagine helping him, but... I have to keep Twilight safe. Twilight is more important. With my resolve set, I make my way out of the restroom and head down stairs. After grabbing my saddle bags I head out the door- THUD I jump a bit when Spike crashes next to me. He looks a bit confused, but is no worse for ware. "Spike, what are you doing up so early?" I ask him as I help him to his feet. He looks around, slightly confused, as he rubs the back of his head. "I... I don't know. Last I remember, I was heading to Rarity’s... then... now. Where are you going?" "I need to talk with Miles. Something is going on and I don't like it-" "Miles.... that name..." Spike says as he walks ahead of me, rubbing his chin slightly. “I know the name.. I just... Miles..." "Spike, did you hit your head or something? Come here, let me see you." Glances back to me before kneeling in front of me. I put my hooves on both sides of his head and look him over. "So, on your way to Rarity’s huh?" I ask as I check his eyes. "Oh.... uh... yeah. She... needed my help, and stuff." He stutters as he looks away from. I just chuckle as I turn his head slightly. "Yeah, stuff. Okay, you look fine. Let's go get the Elements then-" "Wait. What?" He asks as he stands. "Why would you need the Elements of Harmony? Aren't Twilight and friends the only ones who can use them?" "Twilight and friends? Well... technically no. I mean, I've see Trixie use them, and I've done it once. I guess you just need the right mind set. Now-" "Well then, glad to hear that then." Spike says with a devilish smile as he steps towards me.... in a different voice... "No.... WHERE'S SPIKE!" I yell as I pull out my sword. The false Spike just chuckles as he lifts into the air. "He's... busy at the moment. Now, just stay still and this'll all be over soon." He says before snaking his way through the air towards me. I jump into the air and try to distance myself from the house, heading high into the air. Once I'm high enough I take my stance and wait for him to reveal himself. "SHOW YOURSELF!" I yell as I hear something moves behind me. I take a swing at it, but nothing was there. "WHERE ARE YOU!?" "Here." Something whispers into my ear. I freeze up as two different hands move up my head and a long snake like body coils around me. "When everyone turns to you in need, take the time to feed." ........................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Miles I scrunch my eyes when a bright light hits me. Turning over I look up and see the sunlight breaking through the curtains. Beside me Luna sleeps quietly, her chest slowly rising and falling as the light shines down on her peaceful face. I sigh and consider my luck. Even if she's a bit upset with, I'm still happy. Hopefully with this body we can start the next chapter of our lives. Luna scrunches her and opens them slowly. She glances around the room a bit before settling on me, a content smile forming with her. I smile back and lean forward, having our noses lightly press against each others. We lay there together and enjoy each others company, letting the silence of the moment take over. After an unknown amount of time, Luna finally starts to move. "Not yet." I say as I reach out and hold her hoof. "Just a bit longer." "But I have to pee." She tells me as she falls back and hold my hoof with both of hers. "And we need to get up too." I bring her hooves back to me and kiss them lightly, rubbing the top most one affectionately. "Fine, let's get up then. I love you." I tell her with a kiss on the hoof. She leans over and kisses my cheek. "I love you too." She gets out of bed and makes her way to the bathroom. I lay back and stretch out, feeling slightly lazy. The bed is comfy and I have everything I want a meter away- GRUMBLE .... well, still. The still don't need to leave the house at least. I get back on my hooves, do a few more stretches, and pace around the room as I wait for the bathroom to open up. And wait... Then wait some more... What the fuck is she doing in there? "Everything thing alright Luna?" I ask her through the door. I hear the toilet flush before she opens the door. "I... kinda forgot you... you know." She says coyly as she steps out, out of the lingerie. "So... what do you think the chances are of my not being pregnant are?" "Slim to none, I knocked you up. Bathroom!" I say quickly as I rush in and shut the door. "Miles!" Luna complains as I stop by the toilet... FUCK! Uh... sitting? Fuck it, trial and error. "Miles! Hey jerk face!" "Ahhhhhhhhh." I sigh both from relieving myself and hearing it hit the inside of the toilet. "Ew. Okay, I'm heading downstairs. What would you like for-" "Pancakes!" I practically yell. She laughs a little and walks away. Fuck yeah, wife time and pancakes. Times are good. I finish up in the restroom and make my way to the kitchen, where I find Luna getting some food ready as Regina sits at the table, reading a newspaper. "Great, you're up! Now I can make fun of the two of you as revenge for Luna making me walk here, where to begin?" Regina says as she sets the paper down. I see Luna fumble a bit with the batter, but she keeps to herself. "Well, that depends. Did you hear anything or do you need some material?" I ask, making Luna nearly drop the bowl she's holding. "MILES!" "Material, go!" Regina yells as she scoots closer to me. "Well, did you see that little outfit she was wearing?" "MILES! DON'T YOU DARE!" Luna warns me as she steps towards me. "Oh yeah, it was pretty sexy. Where did she get it?" Regina asks as she raises an eyebrow. I look between the two of them and note Luna raising the bowl of pancake mix. Mess with Luna.... pancakes... choices. "Okay, I've said all I've need to." I say as I take a seat and smile to Regina. Luna points a wooden spoon to me before going back to the stove. "So... Luna... you seem to be walking a bit funny, everything okay?" Regina asks. I look over and watch her steps, noting how she steps a little wider than before. "I'm fine, thank you Regina." Luna says as she pours the mix onto a pan. "Damn fine." I add, throwing a wink to Luna. She blushes a bit and smiles, trying to focus on the food. "That was cheesy." Regina drones. I shrug and pull the paper over, looking over the pictures on the front. It looks like a farm, but with nothing growing in the ground. A griffin family and a cart over loaded with belongings stands before the barren ground. "How bad is it?" Regina lets out a long sigh as she turns back to the table. "Bad. We've been running on the reserves but they'll run out within a month. We've been trying to receive aid from the other countries, but the only ones capable, or willing, are the Equestrians-" "But there lies the problem." Luna chimes in as she tends to the food. "We've always aided other countries, but supporting another country... it would put both of us at ends. Not to mention we can't just take the food from the farmers-" "There simply isn't enough food being grown," Regina adds. "Even if they just took it, there wouldn't be enough to go around evenly. We would have to ration it, and that would not sit well with everyone... when birds get hungry-" "They get scared." Luna finishes. They both fall silent as they take a moment to think to themselves. "Whelp, it's a good thing you have an ally like me." I say as I lean back in my chair. They both look back to me and wait for me to go on. "You have a food problem. Terradisia solved that thousands of years ago. We couldn't grow food, so we had to make it. In fact, we have several of those machines from each of the cities. Each one capable of feeding millions of people." "... and you're just going to give them over, just like that?" Regina asks. "No." "No?" "No. If we just give them to you, then you'll overuse them. No, we'll lend them over and supervise their activity. We will help as much as possible, but only until you can grow your own food again. We cannot allow this technology to sit idly by for the world to see. It is far too advanced for the likes of this primitive planet." ".... well, it's a start." Luna says as she plates the food. "Heck, I'll take it. Birds get fed, ponies get fed-" "Everyone goes home happy." I say as Luna brings the plates over to us. "Now, where's the syrup?" .......................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Death I chuckle from my throne as Famine paces about. He's worried about the human and his plans. Such a brilliant mind, yet such little faith. "He cannot be allowed to do this, allow us to go and take care of him, we can end it now!" He yells for the hundredth time. "I wish to see what the human will do." "But the chaos-" "All things will know death, Famine. The birds, the plants, this earth... even gods will find death." I say as I run a hand down my mask. Such little faith- "What of-" "Everything is falling into place. For the Darkness to take over the light must burn itself out. Time.... is on our side." Author's Note So! It would seem quite a number of you have added oc's to Calling All Spartans. This is where things start to get heated. I will be taking six to ten ocs (do not include the ones I'm putting on there. They do not count towards this count.). If you received an email from me, it means they passed MY slating. If you did not receive an email from me but the character is still there, it means they at least met the requirements. From now on, two anonymous people will be slating the rest of the characters. Any new ones will first be slated by me, then them. The reason things are being so finicky is because these characters will have actual influence on the story. They may make things go one way or another. Because of this, I am being a little more strict. Hope to see more from you guys in the future, Brony on! Chapter 180 Getting Back to BusinessChapter 180 Getting Back to Business Perspective: Miles "MMM-MMM-MMM! What did you add to these, they were really good!" I say as I lick my plate clean. "Well I'm glad you liked it. I added some blueberries to it. Glad to see those won't kill you." Luna says as she yanks the plate away from me. I look over to Reginas plate, making her shield away the remainder of her pancakes from me. "Is there any left?" "Nope." "Damn-" "May as well though, we need to head back to the Griffin Colonies as soon as possible." Regina says as she downs the remainder of her food. I eye the plate and its syrupy goodness as she takes it over to the sink and rinses it off.... the fiend. "Wait, you're heading back already? You barely got here though-" "And we still have things to discuss back in the Colonies! Yeah, we have the food crisis kinda worked out, we still need to discuss Steelwing-" "Why? What's he done this time?" I ask, becoming completely serious. "That's just the thing, we don't know. Before we could at least report sightings, but ever since he's come to Equestria we haven't heard anything! He cannot be allowed to escape-" "No... he can't. Can you at least give us the morning? We haven't seen each other in two months Regina." She huffs as she thinks about it. Both Luna and I lean forward as we wait for her answer, Luna giving her best pouty face. "Uhh, you both owe me big time-" "We love you too." Luna says as she gives her a hug. "Yeah, yeah, well... just meet me at that cave on Canterlot mountain at noon..." Luna holds her a bit tighter and gives her her sad face. "... one?" Whoa, intense level of sad face. "UHG! Fine, two. But no later, you hear me!? Two thirty and that's it! The second it hits three I'm gone, you got it?" "Got it!" Luna says with a mock salute. Regina rolls her eyes and begins to leave the room. "Where you going?" I ask. "You really think I'm going to stay here and be the third wheel while you two get all mushy? If I'm going to be here, then I'm going to at least have some fun." Luna and I glance to one another before simultaneously shivering. That poor bastard... whoever it may be. "Well, it seems we have a few hours to kill with one another. What to do, what to do?" I ask as I saunter over to her, making her laugh when I rub up against her. "Easy there big guy. There's something I need to show you before anything else." She says before putting the last of the plates away. "What's that?" "How to preen." She says as she turns to me and leads me over to the living room, where we sit down on the couch. "Um... okay, what's that?" "I'll show you." She opens her wings and starts to runs her nose through the feathers. She finds one and bites onto it, yanking it out with a light tug. "See? Kind of like how you need to take care of your hair, you also need to tend to your wings. Now open up your wings and I'll show you what to do." "Yeah, about that. I have no clue how to move these things- and don't give me that look! You try using completely new limbs!" "Fine, fine. Hmm... how are we going to get you to open these things then..." She ponders as an evil smile begins to form. "I don't like where this is going..." Ten minutes and a lot of encouraging kisses later "This is dumb. This is ludicrous. How could this possibly be a good idea?" I ask as I stand on the roof. "What? It's how most ponies learn to fly... well, back in my time at least. Just don't think about it and react." Luna says as she hovers before me, reaching for me with her hooves. "I... I... no! Logic still exists in my mind! Isn't there another way?" "Miles..." "What about a wind tunnel?" "Miles..." "What about forced muscle movements?" "Miles." "Maybe a lower starting point?" "... if anything we should go higher." She says as she looks up. "What!? NO-" FLASH "..... you're evil, you know that right?" I ask her as I back up. She's still in the air while I'm on a large cloud structure. "Eeyup! Now on the count of three-" "How high are we?" I ask as I peer over the edge. "One!" "This has to be at least three hundred meters high." "Two!" "Wait, isn't this Rainbows house?" "THREE!" "FUUUUUUUUUUCK!" I yell when she lifts me up and drops me. I try to grab onto something as I drop. I look back to Luna and watch her pull her limbs in and drop towards me, quickly catching up. "TURN AROUND AND OPEN YOUR WINGS!" She yells to me over the sound of the wind. I glance back and try to do as she says, taking some odd maneuvering to do so. "NOW WHAT!?" I yell to her. She opens her wings and snaps back out of view. GREAT! GREAT ADVICE! THAT'S DEFINITELY GOING TO HELP ME RIGHT NOW! I look to my back and watch as a trail of feathers comes from my out stretched wings. Okay... MOVE! MOVE! Please? FLASH KER-FLUFF I hold still for a moment before relaxing against the soft cloud... and slowly take the fetal position. "Hmm, that didn't work quit like I expected." Luna muses as she walks around me. "Well, then again, it took me several tries before I could finally glide-" "Wait! Just a few more-" "Come on, Mr. Big Bad Spartan, a couple more tries before we try at different heights." Luna says casually as she lifts me off the cloud foundation. "WAIT! WAIT! JU-FUUUUU!" I yell as she drops me again. I have a feeling I'm going to hate today. ............................................................................................................................................................ Perspective: Rainbow Dash I can't help but tap my hoof impatiently as I wait in Cherilee’s classroom. I received a letter asking for me to come in, something about Scoots getting in trouble... again. I swear, it seems like that girl is trying to take on the whole world head on. I don't know what's gotten into her... well, it may be puberty. "Good evening Miss Dash, glad you could make it." Cherilee says as she steps through the door. I glance over and see Scoots sitting outside, head hanging low. "I think we know each other well enough to go by first names Cherilee." I tell her a she takes her seat. "Yes, well, professionalism always take precedence in these kind of matters Miss Dash." She tells me as she takes a few papers out and looks them over. "Yeah... so, what happened this time? A fight? Whose nose did she break this time?" "Noponys, actually." She says as she flips through a few of the sheets. "Oh... then, why am I-" "Miss Dash, Scootaloo skipped class today," She tells me bluntly. I blink a few times as I try to register what she said. "Scootaloo... skipped class today... are you-" "I know, I was surprised as well. But I know why she did so. Today another student brought their father in for show and tell-" "Oh... yeah." "I know you take good care of her, and that this is a touchy subject, but-" "Look, I know that this is hard for her, not having a Dad. I've been trying to get somepony to fill the role-" "Uh... Rainbow, she says she does have a father." Again, I blink as I try to get the gears in my head rolling. "You see, she skipped out today to get proof... and she got it." "Oh... what kind of proof did she get?" I ask nervously. Cherilee sighs and opens a drawer. "Rainbow, is this fami-" "MY DIARY!" I yell as I swipe it from her hooves. "SHE BROUGHT MY DIARY!? WHY-" "Miss Dash! Please lower your voice!" I take a few breaths as I try to calm down, finding it hard to do knowing that all of my personal thoughts could be subject to ridicule by little twerps. "How much did she reveal." I ask, getting a flushed look from Cherilee. "UUUHHHGGGG. Really?" "Yes... so... she will have detention for three days for skipping school-" "Pffft! That's nothing compared to what I have planned. I can't believe she brought my diary and showed it to everypony! What was she thinking?" Cherilee looks to the door before scooting closer to me. "Well, first off is it true? Are you in relations with the Wonderbolt Soarin?" She asks eagerly. I can tell she just wants some gossip to tell her friends, she may be professional but Ivory Scrolls is a blabber mouth and know how to get info. But... she kind of already knows. "Please don't talk about it. We're... it's complicated." "I imagine, with him being a Wonderbolt and you being... well... uh..." "A Spartan, Cherilee. I'm a Spartan." I tell her, getting a slow nod in return. "Right... a Spartan... anyway, she mainly brought it to brag about his supposed flight lessons. Apparently he's been teaching her to fly-" "What? He's been on assignment for the past few months in the Soviet Bear Union. They've only met a few times before that." "Well, that explains it then." Cherilee says as she leans back. "Last week she was picked on for not being able to fly. She must have lied to try and redeem herself." I let out a sigh of annoyance at the thought of somepony picking on Scoots. I don't get it, she's such an awesome kid. Who would want to pick on her? "Well, thanks for telling me all this. I'll be sure to have a talk with her when we get home." "Glad to hear that. Have a nice day Miss Dash." I roll my eyes and nod to her as I stand up and leave the room. I stand there and stare at Scootaloo as the door shuts behind me. She lowers her head a bit as she continues to avoid my gaze. "C'mon. Let's go home." I tell her as I turn and start to walk away. I hear her grab her bags and follow after me, being sure to stay out of my view. We make our way out of the school yard and through Ponyville. She's keeping to herself as she buzzes along on her scooter, trying to make it seem as if she's not there. During the entire walk I try to keep calm and think of what to say to her. If she took my diary, then she knew where it was. Which means she had to find it before as well. "So... how much of my diary did you read?" I ask as I turn and sit on a park bench. She stops before me and steps off the scooter. "Well... pretty much all of it." She says quietly as she kicks at the ground. Of course she did. Why wouldn't she. I sigh and pat the bench seat beside me, making her walk over and climb up. "Yeah, I figured. Well... do you have any questions?" "HUH!?" She asks, nearly falling off the bench. "Aren't you going to yell at me or something? I stole your diary and showed it to a bunch of foals! Plus I have detention and stuff, shouldn't I be in trouble or something?" "Pffft. Please, you really think I write down all the saucy stuff in there? Besides, I think I remember a certain awesome filly who got in a ton of trouble when she was her age as well." I say with a smile as I lean towards her. "Really? So... I'm off the hook then?" "NAH, you're totally grounded for a week. But at least you feel better about it." I say as I ruffle her mane. She shoves my hoof away and tries to fix it, smiling to me as she shakes her head. "I think you're doing the whole parenting thing wrong... but this I like this way a lot more." We both share a laugh as I pull her to my side. She sighs and leans against me, letting all of her worries melt away. "But... seriously. If you have any questions Scoots, just ask me. There are no secrets between the two of us." I tell her as I drape a wing over her. ".... why do I suck at flying?" "Hey! Mouth-" "But it's true! I can barely hover in the air while my classmates can already get to the clouds! Why do I have to be different?" She asks as she pulls my wing over herself to hide. "Scootaloo, you didn't have the same start they did. It takes time to grow those flight muscles properly. Did you really think you would just flap your wings and start flying? It's going to take a long time before you can take off." "Gee, thanks Mom." She says sarcastically as she falls against my side. "But that's not all that's bothering you, is it?" I ask, getting her to slowly nod. "You want a dad, don't you?" "..." "Scootaloo, Cherilee told me everything. I know why-" "Did she tell you about the time Soarin would come over when you were gone so we could hang out? Or about the time he saved me from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon when they found me doing my flight practices?" She asks slowly as she peers out from underneath my wing. "... did... did he really do all of that?" "Hey, they had no right to talk to my girl that way." I jump and fall off the bench when I hear the deep voice behind me. I scramble back to my hooves and look behind- "SOARIN!" I yell as I leap over the bench, tackling him in a hug. He hugs me back lightly, tensing up slightly as I squeeze him with my hooves. "When did you get back?" "Well, I've been back for a month now actually." She says cautiously. I pull back to ask him a question, when I notice he isn't looking me in the eyes. He's keeping his face looking to the left, avoiding eye contact with the both of us. When I try to look him in the eye, he looks further away and shuts his eyes. "Soarin..." "So... uh...here's the thing..." "Soarin, look at me." "Well, I-I think that-" "Soarin, please." He lets out a long breath before looking me right in the eyes. "Oh Celestia... what happened?" His left eye has a long scar going over it, with smaller scars one either side of it. His normally blue eye has turned milky grey. "Well, long story short, Lightning Dust got in a fight with a bear and I had to jump in to save her... she's fine though. I... well, I'm now half blind." "Soarin..." I mutter as I run a hoof over the smaller scar. Scootaloo stands on the bench, staring wide eyed at his wound and completely lost for words. "Since I'm blind, I've also been honorably discharged from the Wonderbolts too. Doctors say I shouldn't fly too much either, might cause an accident." He says as he looks away from us. "So... yeah. This is me now. No home, no job, can't fly, everything I own is in this suit case." He says as he motions to the small case beside him. "C-can you come here." Scootaloo says quietly. Soarin looks to me before moving closer to Scootaloo. "A little closer." He nods and leans in, leaving less than a few inches between them. She reaches forward and pauses before lightly touching his scarred eye lid. Soarin just closes his eye and lets her feel it. "Does... does it hurt?" "Every now and again. I have to adjust to not having it work anymore." Soarin tells her. She puts her hoof down and thinks for a second before leaning up and kissing his wound. He pulls back, surprised, and lightly puts a hoof over it. "There, any better?" She asks with a warm smile. "... much better. Thank you." I smile and step over to him, giving him a peck on the cheek. "You were wrong you know." I tell him. "You will always have a home, you have a job, and you can still fly. Now do you want to sit here and sulk, or do you want to go home already?" He smiles to me and gives me a kiss on the lips. We ignore Scootaloo choking and press forward a bit, just enough to tell each other how much we missed one another. "Blech, can you two finish up being gross so we can go home already? Please?" Scootaloo asks impatiently from the bench. With a slight laugh we reluctantly end our kiss. "Heh, let's go home then." Soarin says with a big smile. I give him one last peck before we gather our things and get going. Scootaloo opted to ride on Soarin’s back, leaving me to carry her scooter. I didn't mind this time, the cause was justified. She spends the entire trip asking Soarin a million and five questions about the Bear Soviet Union. He just laughs along and tries to answer them, having a bit of trouble with the suitcase in his mouth. "... I bet you beat his face real good- *GASP* I just realized! Both my parents kick flank! My cutie mark must be fighting related! You have to teach me how to take down a bear! OH! OH! What would a bear fighting cutie mark look like? Maybe it would be a big-" "FFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCKKKK!" We all come to a stop when Miles comes flying down and stops, mid air, before us. Soarin drops his suitcase as he stares at him, jaw practically on the floor. Oh yeah, I guess the whole alicorn thing is new to him. "Nice Miles, right in front of Scootaloo." I tell her, making him open his eyes and look at us. "Oh... heh... heh, sorry. Um... hey Soarin, long time no see... oh, what happened to your eye?" He asks awkwardly. I give him a look as he the blue aura field around him dissipates, dropping him to the ground. "I swear Miles, newborn foals have better reactions than you. Oh, hello Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, Lieutenant Soarin. How are you all this afternoon?" Luna asks as she comes to a landing behind Miles. THUD "Was it something I said?" Luna asks as Soarin lays on the ground, slightly twitching. "Anyway, it's getting close to three now Miles-" "I know, I know, back to business and all." He says as he stands up. "Speaking of which, Dash, I'll need to talk to you later today. After you get your boy toy somewhere softer than the floor preferably. Come on, I'll see you off." He tells Luna as they start to walk towards his house. "You didn't have to yell every single time." Luna tells him with a playful nudge. "Yeah, and you didn't have to go and drop me from that high!" He retorts with a playful nudge of his own. "Um... Mom, is he going to be alright?" Scootaloo asks as she continues to poke Soarin’s face. Ahh, it's good to have everypony back together... wait... Storm and Big Mac get time off... why can't I? "Let's get him home already, I need to check my calendar for something." I tell Scoots as I set her on my back. Soarin my love, we have work to do. Chapter 181 Plans Well MadeChapter 181 Plans Well Made Perspective: Miles Luna and I make our way home after a nice long walk together, made longer with our constant nudging and playful flirting. I consider myself lucky to have calmed down after her little flight lesson... though I don't look forward to future ones. My initial thoughts were that flying would be as instinctual as walking and running, but that's clearly not the case. I understand why, I never knew how to fly so why would I just be able to pick it up, but... I don't know. I guess it bugs me a bit that I'm not making any progress. "... and then I'll be able to make it, sound good?" Luna asks as she hops in front of me, blocking the front door. "Yeah." "... you weren't listening, were you?" "Not a word, but I did enjoy all of the physical contact. Thanks for that!" I say a I walk around her and open the door. "FAH!" "BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK!" I fall over as Lupus and Hati assault me, going straight for my face. "LUPUS! HATI! ENOUGH-GAH! NO TEETH!" I yell as I try to get them off of me. Luna just rolls her eyes and walks past me, not even offering to help. Once I get back up I run over to her, following her closely as we go up the stairs. "Why do they always do that?" "Because they love you. Now, pay attention. I'm going to be in the Griffin Colonies for the next few days. But don't worry, I'll make it back for your birthday-" "Birthday?" I ask as I come to a stop. "Wait, I don't have a birthday this year-" "Nice try mister." She says with a sly smile as she turns back to me. "The actual day may not happen, but we're still going to celebrate it-" "But-" "No buts. I've already sent a letter to Pinkie Pie, so this is going to happen. Now be a good boy and see your wife off." She tells me before pecking my lips and heading into the bedroom. I stand there in a daze as I try to get the gears turning in my head. I was gone for two months... Everyone thought I had almost died... Now it's going to be my birthday, a day to celebrate life... "LUNA!" I yell as I run over to the bedroom. Before I could say anything she wraps her forelegs around my neck and presses her lips against mine. I lose track of thought as I close my eyes and give in to the kiss. She leans against me as she slowly rocks from side to side, also running a hoof through my hair playfully. "Please Miles?" She asks when she breaks away, still rocking from side to side as she begins to press herself against my chest. "Just a little get together- *kiss* some friends- *kiss* a few gifts- *kiss* maybe a little fun afterwards *kiss with tongue and oh sweet Barbra did she just roll her tongue?* please?" "Well... if it's just a little get together... and if only a few people show up... sure- but only because you really want it." She gives me a little squeeze as she gives me another kiss. *sigh* the things I do for my woman. "Thank you, now I really have to get going. But before I go, I need to borrow something from you. No questions, asked. All I can say is that it's for a surprise, now... Can I borrow the Elements of Harmony?" "... the... you want to borrow-" "No questions!" She yells as she covers my lips with her hoof. I glance down to the necklace and think about it for a moment. I really don't see why not. I can't even use these things right now anyway. I lean forward and give her a quick kiss before lifting the necklace off and laying it around her neck. "Try not to break anything with them, okay?" I say as I give her chin a playful nudge. She gives her thanks and hugs me again. "Don't worry, I'll bring them back real fast. I just need to see if I can do something with them. Okay bye!" And like that she runs to the closet and teleports away. I stand there for a moment before shrugging and heading downstairs. I don't know what she could possibly be planning, but I have a feeling I'll find out soon enough. I make it down the stairs and turn- "BAAAAAAAAAALLLS!" I freeze up when I hear Damian’s voice from behind. Of course he's here. They're all here. I told them to be here, and now they are. I turn around and glare at all of the Spartans sitting in my living room, minus Storm and Big Mac of course. "Yes, well... glad you all-" "Dude, you've got some serious-" "Damian if you finish that sentence I'll fuck you up worse than Night Fury." Damian pauses and thinks about his next choice before leaning back in his chair. "Right, so-" "COCONUTS!" "DAMIAN!" I yell as I start to chase him. "WORTH IT!" He yells as he runs away. ............................................................................................................................................................ Perspective: Luna I flash into the furbished mico station cave and find Regina napping on the bed. Oh, it's time for some payback. I tip-hoof my way over to her side and bring my mouth to the side of her head, trying my best to wake her with my giggles. "Oh Regina-" "COME HERE BITCH!" "EEP!" I yell as she suddenly grabs me and tosses me on the bed. She quickly gets over me and pins my down, smirking as she looks down at me. "Luna, you really shouldn’t sneak up on a griffin like that. I nearly hurt you." She says innocently as she smiles down at me. "Yes... well, you can let go of me now... also, why did you call me that?" "Oh, I was just teasing you. Don't tell me Miles doesn't talk dirty with you." She says playfully as she lets me go. "Well.... no, he's more of the quiet, respectful kind-" "So boring?" "ANYWAY! Come on, let's see if this works." I say as I start to walk out of the cave. "Let's get going already. We don't have much time." "And why's that? Are you trying to keep this a secret?" She asks as she hovers at my side. "No... well, only for a bit. I don't even know if it's going to work. If it doesn't, then no secrets-" "And if it does?" She asks. I pause as I try to think of a way to word my answer. "You have issues." "I do not!" "Yeah, you do. Now let's go do this probably dangerous and stupid thing that you don't want to have be known while I'm still in the mood to try it." She says before leading the way. I smirk to her as I keep up with her. I know I can count on her to help me with almost anything... well... if there is anything she won't help me with, I don't know what it is. She keeps quiet as we make our way down the mountain, heading away from Canterlot. She gives me a few questioning looks, but doesn't question me any further. When we make it to the mouth of the Crystal Cavern, she lands and gives me a look. "What?" "What exactly are we going to do here?" "Well, with the Elements, I was thinking that I could somehow turn into a human-" "Why!? Miles is a pony now! Why would you want to turn into a human at this point?!" She asks as she cuts me off from the cave. "*sigh* well, I know how important Terradisia is to Miles. If I turn into a human now, any foals we could possibly maybe have will come out human. I don't think society would be as welcoming to a new alicorn as it would be to a human. So, I'm going to try to turn myself into a human... or at least try." Regina gives me an even stare before suddenly going wide eyed. "YOU'RE PREGNANT!?" "SHH! NO! MAYBE! MILES CAN'T FOLLOW ORDERS!" I yell as she begins to shake in excitement. "AHHHHH! THIS IS SO AWESOME! Can I be the aunt!? Please, please, please, pleaaaaaaase!? OOO, filly or colt- wait! It may be human! Boy or girl! Are there ways to find out early? How long have you been expecting?! AAAAH BABIES!" She leaps over and hugs me tightly. "Uh... are you going to be okay?" I ask uneasily as she continues to hug me, still shaking in excitement. "Sorry." She says as she releases me. "It's just... well, you know I can't have children. Not anymore at least. So, when one of my closest friends is suddenly expecting... yeah. I tend to get a little... I don't know, I just don't like it when bad things happen to hatchlings." She says as she rubs the back of her neck. I smile to her and give her a soft hug, rubbing her back gently. "It's okay. And yes, you can be the aunt as well. Just... don't get your hopes up, okay. We only did... it, yesterday. I may not even be expecting." I tell her as I let go. "Pfft, please. Did you see the coconuts on Miles? If he didn't get you pregnant then I don't know what will. But... isn't there a chance that this machine will harm the baby? Aren't there risks?" "Well, Fluttershy and Twilight were pregnant when the beam went off for Miles. They seem to be coming along just fine. Plus, if I turn into a human and am not pregnant, then we can just change Miles back and try again... I think. We'll never know until we try for ourselves." She nods to me and we head into the cave together. We find Outpost Zero easily, and thankfully empty. I guess the researchers took what Miles said to heart. Regina and I head over to the beam machine and examine it over. The cylinder has slid forward and is now pointing at the ground, leaving the gem compartment open. We look to each other before flying up to the back and try to set the Elements into their slots,quickly finding them unable to fit. I guess I won't be able to change after all, unless I can find a way to form the Elements. DO YOU TRULY WISH FOR THIS? "WHAT!?" I yell as I jump back, hitting the cylinder and somehow making it spin around. Regina and I watch it for a moment until it finally comes to a stop. "Well... that might be a problem." Regina says as she walks around it and looks it over. "What was that all about?" "My soul spoke to me! Didn't you hear it?" "Uh... no." No? How could she not hear it? Either way, yes! Yes I'm sure about this! Can you help me? I CAN IF YOU GIVE ME CONTROL. BUT KNOWLEDGE COMES AT A PRICE I think about it for a moment before nodding my head. If you’re willing to help, and as long as you will not harm anyone around me, then I will allow you control. I take a breath in and close my eyes as I give control to Soul Fire. My mind begins to numb a bit as something begins to happen. I feel... I can't explain it. One second it just feels like a small headache, the next my mind feels as if somepony is trying to shake me awake. The two feelings alternate, slowly at first but steadily keeping to the latter of the two. I can feel a heat begin to form over my forehead as the mind numbing sensation intensifies, blocking out all other thoughts from me. During one of the more intense moments I begin to hear voices. It starts out as a few whispers, but slowly begins to build in volume. Soon I cover my ears as the sound of thousands of voices fills my head, screaming at me! Telling me a thousand upon a thousand things! I try to yell out to them to stop but they won't- or can't- hear me. No matter how much I strain myself they won't stop!Please, I'm begging you! Stop, please stop! I can't take anymore of this! JUST STOP! PLEASE STOP- BRRRRRRRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMMM "LUNA! Luna are you okay? What was that? Luna, please answer me!" I blink a few times as the numbness begins to fade from my head. I'm laying on the ground in Outpost Zero, a layer of sweat has formed all over me. My horn feels numb and I feel.... "Regina?" I ask as I look up at her. "What happened?" "You stood there for a minute with your eyes closed. I tried getting you to respond to me, but no matter what you just stood there. I was about to get help when you suddenly started blasting your magic at max power. Your eyes opened up, but they were pure white energy. After that you started running around the room, doing things to the Elements and machinery here. I tried to stop you again but you held me back. What was that?" "It... it didn't work then. But, how am I still awake? Miles went unconscious, why not me?" I ask as I sit up, finding myself still in pony form. "It did hit me... right?" "Yeah... it did." Regina says as she tries to think of an answer for what happened. "Maybe... maybe... I don't know Luna. I simply don't know the answers to this. Look, let's just get up and take it easy for a bit, okay? Don't stress yourself with this." She says she rubs my back, trying to comfort me. "Yeah... yeah, relax. That's what I need to do. Who knows, maybe it'll change me in two months like it did Miles... right?" Regina thinks about before rubbing my back a bit more. "You really don't think so?" "Well, no. But what do I know? I'm not a magic user. Let's just go and get you some water, okay?" I let out a sigh of disappointment and nod to her. It was worth a shot at least. "Let's not forget the Elements-" "I'll get them, you just take it easy." She says before flying up to the cylinder. She fumbles with some of the lateral latches, as well as the primary... coupling... coils... how did I learn that? How can I name the parts of the machine... and understand their use... "I think I need to sit down." THUD ......................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Miles "Right, now that I've dealt with that-" "Worth it!" Damian yells from the back as CC treats his nose wound. "Back to the matter at hand. We need to re-establish ourselves with Moosden and prepare an expedition to New Garnet. Last I checked we had a new family move in, so we need to make sure we're up to speed with them. We need to asses the Unfamiliar in New Garnet and determine if they are a threat or not. And then we need to prepare for a possible war with Equestria, any questions?" I ask, getting True Will to raise his hoof. "Um... care to explain that last part Captain?" "I am apparently the king of Equestria at the moment, but I don't want the job. So, when I go to refuse it and they try to enforce it, I'm going to need some back up-" THUD We all look up as something drops to the floor above us. "Um.... I'll go deal with that. You guys just get your gear ready." I say quietly as I turn and head up the stairs. I make it to my room where I open the door and find Regina standing on my bed, trying to pull Luna up by her hips. ... ... ... "I swear, I'm actually the hero right now." Regina says as she lets go of Luna. "What happened?" I ask as I step in. IT HAS BEGUN! I jump back when Luna suddenly springs up and tackles me. I try to fend her off, but the amount of raw energy emanating from her horn blinds me long enough for her to touch my horn with her hoof. The last thing I hear is the sounds of thousands of voices speaking out at once. IT WILL BE IT WILL BE Author's Note Brony on! Chapter 182 Family AffairsChapter 182 Family Affairs Perspective: Miles I wake up in a blank place. I look around and confirm that I'm in consciousness, though I don't think I'm in my own. It just... feels foreign. I get onto my hooves and look around again. There's literally nothing here. No memories, no Soul Fire, I can't even tell if I'm standing on something there's just... empty whiteness. I MUST SPEAK WITH THE- "SWEET FUCKING JUMP-SCARES! Is it impossible for you to not sneak up on people?" I ask as I try to calm down. The blue soul fire before me doesn't respond as it waits patiently. "Fuck.... what's going on then?" I MUST SPEAK WITH THE YOU. IT IS URGENT "Can't you just tell me? Wouldn't he hear it anyway?" I ask. Soul Fire hovers there for a second before flying at me, knocking me out instantly. I blink back to consciousness from the sound of panicked hooves moving around me. I lift my head up and look around, finding myself in my mind with Luna running back and forth. She looks extremely worried and goes between several different memory panels. I sit up and rub my head as I try to register what just happened. "This doesn't make sense!" Luna fumes as she runs around me, not even noticing that I've woken up. "What happened?" I ask as I get to my hooves. "What was that all about?" "Why are we here!? Why here!? It's usually in Miles's mind, why?" Luna says as she goes to one of the memory panels and watches it for a moment. I walk up beside her and watch it as well. It's nothing I've ever seen before. It's of Luna speaking to crying Celestia. "We're in your mind? Finally, now we don't have to go over all of my depressing shit!" I cheer sarcastically, getting a glare from Luna. "What?" "Can we please just leave? There are some things I'd rather not look back on." She says nervously as she eyes the other panels. "Like what?" "Like my being Nightmare Moon." She says flatly as she glances to the panel behind her. "Oh... yeah, good point. Well, you know what we have to do then." I say as I step closer to her. She leans up and gives me a quick peck on the lips. After a moment of nothing happening she begins to get antsy. "Why didn't that work?" "Well, it was a little weak." I suggest, getting her to sigh in defeat. "Well... sorry, I'm just... not in the mood to step it up right now. Sorry." "It's alright. But what has you so worked up?" She nervously glances back to a panel to the right, so I walk over to it and look it over. It's a dark room. Nothing is really happening, though I think Luna is stuck in the center. A door opens in the back opens and a figure walks in. "Can we leave this area at least." Luna asks nervously. I look back to her and nod. We begin to walk down the hall of memories together in complete silence. I can't help but stare from panel to panel, getting glimpses of her past. Fields of grass rolling in the wind, shadows on walls, legions of Lunar Guards facing off with Solar Guards, all meaningless to me, but effecting Luna greatly. "Do you want to talk about it?" I ask, getting her to look away. "Luna, you don't have to worry about it. I'm here if you want to talk, but if you don't want to you don't have to." We continue on for a few minutes before she finally comes to a stop. "Luna?" "I was trying to surprise you by turning myself into a human." She tells me quietly. "... Outpost Zero." "Yeah... but it didn't work." "Is that what really has you worked up? Luna, it's not that big of a deal. I-" "No, it's not just that. It's... well, I don't know. I did it with you in mind, but..." "But?" I ask as I move to face her. She sighs as she looks over to a panel to my right. It starts out with a couple of bright flashes before Celestia is sent flying down through he air, crashing into a stone castle. Luna flies after her, hooves forward, horn glowing, every intent on killing her older sister as she lays against a large stone orb. Then a bright light, then... nothing. Darkness. "... Luna, please tell me why you wanted to be human. For real." She sighs again as she looks back to me. "Well, we're heading towards a new chapter in life- maybe. I don't want my past effecting our possible childs future. If I turn into a human, then we all get a new slate. You as an alicorn, an us as humans." "Luna, just because you are in a new form doesn't mean you get a new start. You would still be Luna. Our child- that is totally on the way- will still have you as its mother... by the way, I'm calling it now, girl." "Pffft, please. With the amount of masculinity you have, it's going to be a colt... IF IT HAPPENS!" "It's going to happen." "You don't know that! I barely started heat, it could have missed!" She yells as she gets in my face. I laugh at her a bit as I pull her in for a hug. "No way, you're pregnant. And you know what? Whatever it is, we're going to love it more then anything, spend every possible moment with it as it grows up, and when it's old enough it will conquer the world. No matter what your past was." I tell her as I stroke her mane. "... what was that last part?" She asks nervously. "About your past? I'm just saying that-" "No, before that." "I assume that we'll love our child unconditionally, unless there are something you want to tell me-" "NO! After that!" "Hey! You signed on for the long haul! No opting out now-" "UHG! Miles!" She sighs as she hits me. I laugh as I give her a squeeze and rub her shoulder. "I was just kidding, but in all seriousness. A child with parents who lead some of the most influential and powerful nations in the world, the kid'll have some pull." Luna thinks about it for a moment before she slowly lays her head against my neck, eyes wide in realization. "What have we done?" She asks fearfully. "Doomed everyone." "They won't stand a chance..." "Nope!" "Assuming it actually happens-" "Why don't you think it happened!?" I ask as I pull her away to look her in the eyes. "Why do you get to have all the fun? Who's to say I don't want to have another go soon?" ... ... ... ... ... ... "Would it be weird to do it here?" ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... "A little.... but I don't see why not, do you want to?" "Fuck yeah." ............................................................................................................................................................ Perspective: Spike I mumble a bit as voices in the distance begin to wake me. Something about... friendship having no use and... a recluse? What does a spider have to do with anything? I open my eyes and find myself below Twilight's bedroom room. I can see Twilight sitting in the middle of the room, dazed by something, as something slithers out of the top window. I didn't get a good look at it, but I know I saw something. "Twi- Mom? What's going on?" I ask as I sit up. Twilight blinks a few times before looking back to me, putting on a nervous smile as she holds and pets her tail. "Wrong?! Nothing's wrong! The only thing that's wrong is the lack of things being wrong! That's what! Oh no! I yelled at you, I'm so sorry! Please forgive me! Please don't leave and take all of my friends to tell Celestia that I've failed at my duties of friendship and force me to repeat magical kindergarten where I'll turn back into a social recluse and-" "TWILIGHT!" I yell, getting her to stop and hold onto her tail for dear life. "What are you talking about? Kindergarten? Celestia? Social what now? What's wrong?" She looks around nervously as she continues petting her tail. "... nothing. It's'... it's nothing. Sorry, I just... it was just... nothing. Are you hungry? I can make you something to eat if you are," she offers. I stare at her for a moment before getting up to my feet. Twilight doesn't usually lie. Not that she can't, but... still. "Twilight, you're starting to weird me out. Please just tell me what's wrong and I'll help you fix it. Please." She stops petting her tail and looks up to me, looking fairly angry. "I told you it's nothing Spike! Why would it be anything!? I am your mother and I will not tolerate you questioning me like this, understand me?!" She says in a firm voice as she stands and marches towards me. Despite the height difference, I can't help but shy away from her. I made her mad... oh no... "MOM! Please, I'm sorry! Look, I'm dropping it now! That conversation never happened! Just promise me that you'll never leave me okay! I'll do anything you want, just don't leave." I beg her, eyes watering up as I wait for her to respond. Please don't send me away. Please don't say you don't love me anymore. Where would I go? What would I do? "Fine, I'll let it go, this time. Just don't do it again." She warns me before heading downstairs. I let out a sigh of relief as I follow after her. "If your loved ones become angry, your life will become empty." "When your friendships have no use, your life will become that of a recluse." ............................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Applejack I walk up to the fridge and pull out an apple soda. It's a bit warm today and a nice cold beverage sounds good to me. I try to twist the top off, but find it a bit difficult to do so. Huh, normally these things come off easily, what the- "OKAY-OKAY-OKAY! WORST DISGUISE EVER!" I yelp as I drop the talking soda bottle. It shatters into thousands of pieces before swirling up into Discord. His head is twisted backwards, but with a ear splitting crunch he pulls it back to the correct spot. "UUUUUUhg, well, I didn't plan that part through well enough-" "DISCORD! What in tarnation are y'all doin here! Ah thought we turned ya back inta stone!" I yell as I back away from him. "Hmm? Oh, yes, about that. I got better. Now, a simple message to you and I'll be on my way-" "Ah don't wanna hear it!" I yell as I turn away from him. "Oh well, I guess Hammer will have to die for nothing then. Forget I said anything then. See you at the funeral-" "Wait! What? What gonna happen ta Hammer?" I ask as I turn back to him. "Oh, just that-" "And no funny business, ya hear me! I jus wanna know what happens ta Hammer!" I warm him as I paw at the ground. He rolls his eyes, having them fall out and into his claw. "Fine then, no funny business." He says as he rubs his eyes against his chest and sets them back in his head. "I'm just here to warn you that a massive fight between Terradisia and Equestria is coming and your little lover boy is going to be caught in the middle of it." "What? Now ah know that's a lie. Why would we get inta a fight? What are ya plannin Discord?!" He chuckles as he begins to melt into the cracks into the woodwork. "Do I look like a guy with a plan Honest Applejack? A word of advice though, to save your jailbait, move your family reunion to Appleoosa and invite him. He'll go, don't worry about that." And with that he slips away beneath the house. ".... HE'S NOT JAILBAIT! HE'S THIRTEEN! THAT'S LEGAL!" I yell at the floor. "Uh... what?" Applebloom asks from the living room doorway. "Nothing... I was..." "Yelling at the floor." Hammer says as he walks in. "Hammer! What are ya'll doin here?!" I ask as I step over where Discord was, trying to hide.... nothing. "And here I thought I would get a warm hello and maybe even a kiss on the cheek." He says jokingly as he steps towards me. "I guess Scootaloo was right." "No she wasn't! That chicken was just yappin on!" Applebloom yells as she runs over to me and tries to push me towards Hammer. "Now... Apple... jack.... ya'll greet yer.... special... somepony.... properly... why aint... ya'll movin!?" I lift my leg, making Applebloom fall over. I hear some giggles and look over to see Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell hiding behind the couch in the living room. "What's going on?" I ask Hammer. "I Pinkie Promised not to say-" "FOREVER!" Pinkie yells as she pops out from the fridge, scaring all of us half to death. Wasn't I just there!? When did she get in?! ".... anyway... Hammer, can we talk? ALONE!" I say as I look to Applebloom. She salutes me and runs for the couch, where she hides with her friends. I swear, that girl- "Before you ask, I was hanging out with your sisters friends because they made me their den mother for the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Nothing out of the ordinary happened." "... ah believe ya, but that's not what ah wanted to talk to ya about." "OH THANK GOD! By the way, I'll fix the barn while I'm here, promise." ".... anyway, ah wanted ta invite ya ta the Apple Family Reunion. Ah know there are quiet a few Apples that would like ta meet ya... and... ah'd like ta introduce ya as mah coltfriend. So... how 'bout it? Wanna come?" I ask as I feel my nerves begin to get the best of me. I can't help but blush and avoid his eyes. It also doesn't help to have three fillies staring at me, mouths hanging open. "Hmm.... that depends. When is it?" He asks nervously. "SERIOUSLY!?" Sweetie Bell yells as she pops up from the couch. Applebloom and Scootaloo pull her back down and resume their terrible stalking. "It's actually in about a month-" "A month... I think I should be able to do it. Yeah, I'd be down in Appleoosa before so it'll be tricky, I might be a little late-" "Well, we can just have it in Appleoosa then-" "WHAT?!" Applebloom, Granny Smith, Big Mac, and Hammer all yell at once. "Applejack, what's going on? You're telling me that you're willing to move an entire family reunion just so I can make it? What's wrong?" "Well.... it's just... ah think that a change in scenery would be nice-" "The Apple Family Reunion has been in Ponyville since before this house was built. What has gotten inta yer head girl?" Granny asks as she steps into the kitchen, followed by my siblings. "Ah... well... it's just... well, the thing is... it'll be... less chaotic there, is all." I say as I step away from them. Big Mac goes wide eyed and joins me at my side. "Big brother, are ya'll seriously consideren this?" Applebloom asks. "Eeyup." "But... why? What's going on?" Hammer asks as he steps towards me. "Jus... promise me ya'll be there. Please, promise me." I beg him. He stares into my eyes for a moment before sighing. "Fine, I'll be there, but I expect answers... and protection from any family members that might try to drill odd questions from me." "Deal!" I say as I spit onto my hoof and hold it out to him. He gives it a questioning look before shaking it lightly, slightly disgusted by my saliva. "We'll have to work on that though." "So what's going on?" He asks as he shakes he hoof free of spit. "Ah'll tell ya in Appleoosa." "But-" "Ah said ah would tell ya, but ah never said when. Ah sorry fer tricking ya, but ya just have ta trust me on this. It's really important ta me." He gives me a disappointed look but nods along. "Anypony here mind tellin me why we're gonna move the family reunion all the way down ta Appleoosa?" Granny asks. "Some ponies can barely afford the tickets here." "Ah can help wit that." Big Mac says as he steps forward. I look back to Hammer and try to smile to him, but can see his discomfort easily. I know this is odd, but... Discord didn't lie. Chapter 183 Back To WorkChapter 183 Back to Work Perspective: Miles I let out a satisfied sigh as I hold Luna a bit closer to myself. Ends up doing the act in someones head is just as good as doing it in reality. Good to know, I'm sure it'll come in handy eventually. The only odd part about it was having all of the memories around us, but we found a simple solution for that. Normally I just go with the motions and try to guess what would please her the most, but having all of the memories with us was an amazing cheat sheet. Sadly, at the end of it we couldn't resist kissing, so now we're in the spare room at my place. I had initially questioned why we were here, but I had a sleeping Luna to occupy my curiosity. I guess I got out before she did, so that may, or may not have let me have some plausible alone time to feel up her body. It's as plausible as her pregnancy.... I regret nothing. I snap back to her as she finally starts to wake. She stretches her hooves over her head and lets out a little moan before resting her hooves over my shoulders. I lean forward and giver her a little peck on the lips, which she intensifies instantly. "Hey." I say when we finally pull away to breathe. "Hey." She says tiredly. "How long was I out?" "Not long, did you actually fall asleep in your mind?" I ask, getting a chuckle from her. "A little, no thanks to you." She says as she playfully pushes on my chest. "So... we should probably get going, huh?" "Yeah, fuck being busy." "Tell me about it." She agrees as she scoots closer. I smile to her and lean in to kiss her one more time. It was short and simple, but the message was loud and clear. We left the room together, saying our goodbyes before Luna left to find Regina. It felt... odd. As in, we were a normal couple heading out to our normal lives. Wake up, go to work, come back and repeat. Though with more passion than that, and I know that once we do leave that door normalcy stays behind... it's nice to have something normal- something real in my life. No worries of power, conflict, or fear. Just me and my love, procrastinating away with sweet kisses. .... fuck, it's too early to be this sappy. With a spring in my step I go to my room and open the door- FWOOOOOSH "AAAAAAAAAHH!" ... ... ... ... ... Oh, that's right. Normalcy isn't allowed beyond this door. Okay, now that my brain has reset, I watch as the black flames die away. Where my bed once was is now occupied by Damian and CC and lot's of ash. Damian is on top of CC and seems to be on the verge of passing out. CC on the other hand... she seems... well... the best way to put it would be mixing orgasmic and fearful. "Okay, get the fuck out and buy me a new bed." I order them as Damian rolls over. "... is that it?" "Fuck you.... tired... nap." Damian huffs back. "Did you really need to burn my bed?" "I don't have control over that... barely avoided burning... burning... sexy flanks over here." Damian says as he waves a hoof in CC's general direction. "Y-yeah." CC mumbles before rolling into Damian's embrace. ".... NO! Get out of my room and buy me a new... a.... new..." My trail of thought ends when a red wisp floats up from the floor. It takes the form of a woman in a long flowing pink dress that hangs loosely over her supple form. ... ... ... ... "Oh... a lust spirit... that explains the awesomeness of the bed." Damian comments sleepily. "Yo-" "No." I cut off the spirit, getting a confused look from it. "Damian, be sure to make it to the next citizens meeting. CC... whatever, attractive spirit thing, I didn't see you, you didn't see me." Before anyone could respond I shut the door and walk away. I don't think I've ever seen a spirit with that much clarity before... I hate Damian. I need to think of some kind of revenge to get on him... I'll think of it later. I have crap to do. I make my way downstairs where I find True Will and Dust Devil sleeping on the couch, well, Dust Devil is at least. True Will is just laying beside her, letting her drool pool up on his foreleg. "Sir?" "Wake her up and armor up. We're heading out." He nods to me as I head out to the back. I head over to my shed and... fuck. Why did I install that lock? Maybe I can point my hoof the right way... well.... fuck. I guess I don't get armor. How would it fit anyway.... Leaving stupidity aside, I head back inside and take get as ready as possible. I find a bed sheet and turn it into a toga and grab Susurrans sword and.... well... that's as ready as I'll ever be. I'm sure it'll be fine. "Why are you wearing a bed sheet?" Dust Devil asks as she pops some gum into her mouth from the kitchen. "Nudity is a crime in some countries." I tell her, getting a slow nod from True Will. "Ready to go?" They nod, so we head out together. I'm the first to step through the mico platform. Moosden is covered in a thick layer of snow and is dead silent. There is no lights coming from any of the homes, no smoke, just silence. I take a few steps out, finding the snow cold as it crunches under my hoof. I look back when another flash appears behind me and signal to Will to stay quiet. "Trouble?" He asks quietly as he walks beside me. "Maybe. It's too quie-" "SNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!" Dust yells at the top of her lungs when she appears. "SHHH!" I shush her and shoot her a look. She tilts her head in confusion and walks to my left. We stand there in the cold for a few moments, letting the silence settle in. I know there weren't that many people living here, but it shouldn't be this quiet. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" "SPARTANS MOVE!" I yell as I take off through the snow. Dust Devil jumps into the air and flies off as Will teleports ahead. Fucking cheaters. Running through the snow proves to be more strenuous than I would have originally thought, but thanks to my long legs I make it to the town center in good time. I hear high pitched screeching coming from ahead, but have no clue where- "NORTHWEST HOUSE UP AHEAD, I'M GOING TO ENGAGE!" Dust yells from above before darting towards it. I hear True flash away as well, leaving me to play catch up. I finally see the house she's talking about after weaving through a few empty houses. The roof has been busted through in several places and I can hear True fighting something inside. The screeches are getting louder as whatever is in there fights back. Dust flies through the hole in the roof as I run towards the front door. When I get there I throw my shoulder into it and crash through, hitting something else as well. Whatever it is, it's big. A bit bigger then me with long, sharp teeth that snap loudly as it tries to bite me. I push as kick it away as it claws at me, cutting my legs and chest up pretty bad. SHNK It lets out one last high pitched scream before falling limp to the ground. I let out a sigh in relief when- out of nowhere- it crumbles away into a pile of dust. "What the fuck was that?" I ask as I get up, noticing the wounds on my legs fading away. "Time moles." Dust Devil says as she sheaths her dagger. "This was just a pup, the mother must be nearby, where's True Will?" "In here, we've got wounded civilians!" True yells from the back. We run over to the room his voice came from and find him with three other ponies. One is a elder pegasus mare with a dusty tan coat and long grey hair with a cutie mark of a mountain with a trail going up it. Her golden eyes are pinpricks as she watches the stallion before her bleed out, clutching a dark grey newborn tightly. The unicorn stallion is all black with short, rugged, white hair. He has a cutie mark of some playing cards being held out. He has a long, deep gash on his side, but it shouldn't be fatal. "M-mom.... Dad?" Dust says as she walks into the room. "Dust Devil?" The mare says as she breaks her stares away from the stallion and looks up to Dust. "Dust.... is... is that really you?" "MOM!" Dust yells as she runs over and embraces her, being careful of the young one. True Will pauses adding the bandages to look up, but continues after a groan comes from the stallion. "I don't believe it! You guys finally came home! How long have you been here?! Who is that? What happened to Dad?" "Those things attacked us when we were bringing in some wood fire! We tried to hide out in here, but they just broke in through the roof! What happened to you!?" She yells as she pushes Dust back to glare at her. "Why did you leave us like that?! Where have you been!? Why are you so buff?" "I think you should take this to the other room so True can fix up... this guy." I state as Dust stumbles over her words. They look down at the stallion before Dust stands up. She nods to me and takes her mothers hoof, guiding her to the front room. I open and close the door for them, sighing as the room finally falls quiet. I take a seat next to True and watch him as he works on the now unconscious stallion. "... so who are these ponies?" True asks after a few minutes of wrapping up. "If I remember correctly from her memories, this is Devils Play, and that woman was Dust Trails. They are her parents, though I think the kid is new. They must have been the new people to move in recently." "Oh... okay... I didn't know she ran from them." He states as he finishes tying off the last of the bandage. We sit there in an awkward silence as Dust and her mother talk in the other room. They don't get loud enough to hear properly, so we end up just avoiding each others eyes. I can tell he wants to ask some things, but I can wait for him to do it on his own. ... ... ... ... Any second now... ... ... ... ... I think I hear a mare crying... ... ... ... ... ... Oh! They made up now... ... ... ... ... ... "OH JUST ASK ALREADY!" I yell as True, making him fall over in surprise. "What!? Ask what already?" He asks defensively as he gets back up. "You know what!" I say as I glare at him. "I don't know what you're talking about!" He yells back as me. We begin to glare at one another, each one waiting for the other to break first. "Uhg.... wha... where's Dusty?" The stallion on the bed asks groggily as he comes to. Neither of us break eye contact to answer, I know he's going to break soon... any second now... "Guys, is my... oh... uh, what's going on?" Dust asks as she steps in. "Dust Devil? Is that you?" The stallion asks as he tries to move off the bed, stopping when the pain is too much. "Dad, don't move. You got hurt pretty badly. Look, I know there's a lot that we have to talk about, but Moosden is in trouble and we're the ones responsible with keeping it safe. We're going to go and take care of it, but I promise I'll come back, okay?" Dust tells her father as she helps him back into the bed. "You still got that lucky ace?" He asks weakly. "Never go a day without it." She tells him as she kisses him on the forehead. "That's my girl, go give them hell." He tells her as he lays back in the bed, trying to get his breathing back under control. Dust leaves quickly before either of us could ask anything. With a quick glance to each other, we run after her, leaving the house and heading north out of town. "Do we have a destination?" True asks as we follow after her through the snow. "There's a clearing of trees about two miles northeast of here. That's where they first ran into them. From there... I don't know, we'll have to spread out I guess." "No, splitting up is stupid." I say as I walk along side her. She nods in agreement as we continue through the forest. After almost an hour of silence I finally get too antsy and ask Dust the question. "Are you going to be alright?" "... yeah... maybe... it's going to be a long day." She says as she trudges forward. "I assume you don't know anything about Time Moles, do you Captain?" "No." "Yeah... this is going to be tricky. They basically are creatures from the Chaotic Era, back when Discord was in power. I guess he found it funny to give some moles the ability to manipulate time. They live by stealing time from their prey and living outside the normal time parameters. Since we're probably near one of their dens, we've probably lost a few days already-" "You know, all this time skipping crap is getting a little annoying." I comment as I look off to the side. "Are they easy to kill?" "Well... one on one... kind of. When they steal time from you, they add it to themselves. That means their wounds heal because time went on for them in that instant. Luckily though, if you kill one that steals time from you, you get your time back. So, any wounds that they would inflict, never happened." "Hmm, interesting. Would they happen to look about two meters tall, have black skin, long jagged teeth, beady black eyes, sharp claws at the end of long skinny forearms and hover in the air by about fifteen centimeters?" I ask, making them both stop. "Uh... yeah." Dust says as she draws her daggers. "Where do you see one?" "Six to our right. But they're keeping their distance." I say as I signal to the group watching us. They're grouped closely together and out about fifteen meters from our position. They aren't making any positions or trying to even avoid sight. They're just floating there, watching us. "That's... not good. It they're keeping their distance, we must be near the mother." True Will says as he draws his sword and watches our backs. "What does the mother look like?" I ask as I draw my sword. "Well-" THUD RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH "Nevermind." I say as I turn and gawk at the massive beast. It's easily ten meters tall and look similar to the smaller ones, only it's so fat that it's on the ground. It pushes trees down as its fat, blubbery body ripples worms around us, a low growl emanating from its hungry throat. "What's the plan Captain?" Dust asks as we follow it around. "True and I will distract it down here. You get in the air and get behind its head." "Do you really think it would be wise to-" "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" We all falter as it roars at us, opening its maw as widely as possible as spit flies out. I drop down when I feel the energy from me begin to be pulled out from me. I force myself to look up and see a trail of green energy being pulled from me into the beast's gullet. A red energy is coming from True as well as a tan energy from Dust. I tighten the grip on my sword and force myself forward, charging at it's maw with my blade held over my head. I bring it down on the bottom of its jaw and bury it in its gums. It let out a terrified shriek as it thrashes about in pain, my blade slipping out in its first thrash. I look back at Dust and True and see them on the ground, unconscious. I see True's sword laying before him and make a run for it just as the monster turns and charges at the three of us. I roll forward and grip the blade, focusing on it in an attempt to fuel energy into it. Luckily the beast is really slow on the ground, so once it starts to glow red I slash at the beast. A wave of red energy goes flying out slams right into the beast's open mouth, severing it. "*INHALE*' Both Dust and True jolt up as they take in a large breath of air. I feel myself return to my original self as well. "You might need this." I say as I hand True his sword. They look around before they notice the dead mother before them. "Oh... shit..." Dust says distantly. "I know, I've still got it-" "You dumbass! Now the bull might come after us!" She yells as she stands up. "The... bull?" I ask as the mother rolls over. It's stomach begins to ripple violently as something begins to push its way out of its stomach. The bulge pushes further and further out before it finally rips apart, sending bile and gore everywhere. From the hole emerges another creature. This one walks on four muscular limbs that end in three pronged feet. Its head is alien in that it doesn't have eyes and the mouth is just a circular opening. It stands before us and breathes loudly, its chest expanding and deflating to a sickly degree. I raise my sword- THUD The next thing I register is being slammed against a tree with something strong and slimy grabbing my foreleg. I go to slash at it, but before I could act it tosses me aside. As I get up, I hear True send another beam of energy. CRASH I guess he missed. I get back up and look for the beast, finding it slamming Dust into the ground. True is behind it, about to send another slash. Before he could, the beast suddenly appears before him, both of its forelegs above its head. It brings them down and slams them into his chest, knocking him out. This thing is too fast. Every time we try to hit it, it just appears before us. It walks away from True casually as it looks at the rest of us. It must think that it has nothing to fear. It has no threats here. Shit! How the fuck can I hit this fucker without magic! "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"From the right the six Time Moles charge at the bull, trying to scratch at it as a few others begin to suck its energy away. It beats two of them away with ease but falters as the next two jump on it and begin to scrape away at its soft flesh. They become a mass of screeches, blood, and flailing limbs as the young ones try to bring down the bull. "CAPTAIN!" I look over to Dust and see her feeding a healing potion to True as she cradles him. "We need to back off! If the pups don't win, we're bucked!" I glance back before nodding to her. "Can you carry him?" "Yeah-" "Then let's get going!" I yell as I start to move away from the mass of fighting animals. I wait for her to lift him up and take off through the air. When she gets over my head, I charge forward at the chaotic mass. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" I bring my blade around as the bull beats back the last of the pups, having many bleeding wounds over its entire body. In the last meter of my charge it sees me and suddenly appears before me, using one of its strong feet to grip my throat. With my arms free, I swing at its side, burying my sword deep into its chest. It stands there for a moment, its bile breath falling on me as it seems to stare down at me. With a grunt, I pull my blade out. The beast falls over and begins to melt away. SMACK "OW! What was that for!?" I ask Dust as I rub the back of my head. "Because you're a dumbass! It could have killed you!" She yells as she sets True down. "What were you thinking!?" "First off, don't talk to your superior officer like that. I'll let it slide this time, but do it again and it'll be a week on The Run. Secondly, that beast was going to kill them with ease. If I didn't take this chance to kill it, it would have just chased us down anyway. It was my one chance at getting that kill, so shut your fucking mouth." I say firmly as I tower over her. She backs off a bit, ears folding down as she paws at the ground. "Sorry, Captain." She says quietly. I nod to her and start to walk away, leaving her behind. "Captain, we should gather the remains-" "Why?" I ask as I turn back to her. "These are extremely rare potion ingredients. They could become useful in the future. Especially the bulls." I think about it for a moment before nodding to her. "I'll leave that task to you. Get it done." I tell her before I toss True onto my back and start to walk back to Moosden. First Night Fury challenges me, then Dust starts to question my actions... if this continues I'm going to have to kill one of them. I need to keep the Spartans in order... at least now I understand why Susurrans always said: Friends second, Life first. Chapter 184 Shiny OrdealsChapter 184 Shiny Ordeals I make it to the edge of Moosden and take True Will to the nearest house. It's empty with the exception of some sparse furniture. I find a rickety bed and lay him down before checking his pulse... it's steady, I think he'll be fine. I leave the room and head through the town towards Bantler's and Na-Da's house. Hopefully they can help him, or E'Claire or Butterscotch I guess. Anyone who is able to use their hooves really. "DAD!" I stop when Shadow leaps out from behind a building and hugs the bottom of my leg. "Shadow! You sneaky little thing, how long have you been waiting there?" I ask as I pick her up and hug her. "It's only been a few minutes, Dad." She says, slightly confused. "Is there any of that food left over from the party?" "Par... that party was two days ago Shadow." I tell her as I set her back down. We share a moment of staring at each other before E'Claire catches our attention. She comes running down the street screaming for Shadow, tears streaking down her face. When she finally sees her she runs full speed at her. Plowing a path in the snow as she gets here as quickly as humanly possible. "SHADOW!" She yells as she tackles her in a hug. "Where have you been! We've been looking for you for A WEEK! Don't you dare disappear on us like that again!" She yells as she squeezes her in a hug. "S-STAP- TOO.... *EERRRR* TOO TIGHT!" Shadow yelps as she tries to wiggle her way out of her hooves. "Wait a minute, a week? I saw you guys two days ago." I say, getting E'Claires attention. "No... it was a week ago at the party. Butterscotch and I came home after everything. Shadow said she wanted to stay to hang out with her friends, but when she didn't return we started to get worried. We went back through the teleporter to go check on her, but that was six days ago." "What? I've only been gone for a little while, an hour at most." Shadow says as she dangles from E'Claires hooves. "I think I can shed some light on that." Dust Devil says as she trots up to us. "You had a time mole infestation. When they are alone, it typically doesn't do much to the surrounding area. But when they're in larger numbers, the area around them slows down. What has been a few minutes here could be days back in the rest of the world." "... well that sucks." I say, getting a punch from E'Claire as she covers Shadows ears. "But yes... that is bad." "How long has it been?" Shadow asks. "There no way of telling without finding somepony who wasn't here." Dust says with a shrug of her shoulders. "Well then, I'll head back to Ponyville and see what's going on there. Dust, you stay here and check up on things. The town, it's people, and True. Be sure to fill me in as soon as possible if anything dire happens. Got it?" "Yes sir!" I nod to her and begin to walk off. After a few meters I realize Shadow is walking alongside me. "And where do you think you're going?" I ask playfully as she tries to keep pace with me, having difficulty with all of the snow. "I wanna go with you." "Did E'Claire say it was okay?" "Yeah, as long as time doesn't slow down again." "Well... knowing me, that may not be something we can promise." I say jokingly as I pause. "C'mon, lets get you out of the snow." I say as I kneel down. She jumps onto my back and holds onto my neck. Her small, cold hooves send a shiver down my spine, but I ignore it as I continue on my way. Perspective: Dust Devil I step before the house with my parents and pause to take a deep breath. I haven't seen them in... almost six years. Never visiting, never writing any letters, I didn't even say goodbye. What do I say now? 'Hey Mom, Dad, sorry about running out on you two after what happened, friends?' Maybe I shouldn't go in, maybe I should just leave them be. They probably don't want to see me. They have a new foal to watch over, they don't need me- "Dust Devil-" "GAH!" CRASH I fall back to the ground in a daze after smacking my head against the roof. Everything stays blurry for a moment before I shake my head clear. I gulp when I see my mother standing over me, staring down at me. "H-hey M-mom.... uh... what's up?" Smooth Dust, smooth. "Well, my eldest daughter who I haven't seen in over five years just showed up out of nowhere and is apparently a soldier for an ancient human society. Not before joining one of the worlds largest mercenary groups and throwing herself at countless dangers. No letters, no goodbye, what in the wide, wide world of Equestria has gotten into you!?!" I try to make myself as small as possible as she yells at me, all of the guilt I've been pushing away coming up now. "What if you had died!? What if... I don't even know! If something had happened to you we would never had know Dust! Did that never even occur to you!? Did you ever even think about us!?" "... they would have sent you a letter-" "OH! OH! OH.... OH! THEY would have sent us a letter! THEY.... just... DUST!" She backs off and begins to pace about, fuming with rage. I sit up and lower my head as I wait for her to continue, not having much else to say. She finally calms down enough to face me again, though I can still tell she's pretty pissed off. "Dust Devil," she starts in a caring tone, "you are more important to us then whatever some nopony could write in a letter. Why did you leave?" I swallow hard as I try to fight back the tears welling up. I knew this was coming, but... I guess it's been long enough. I fight to look up to my mother and weakly say, "Rocky." "Honey," my Mom says as she pulls me into her embrace. "that wasn't your fault." "How could you say that!" I say as I push her away. "I was the one taking care of him! I was the one who let him go outside when Dad said to stay inside. I should have been smart enough to say no! But I didn't! That's why he's dead! I killed him-" SMACK I close my eyes and cry as I let the slight pain settle in my cheek. SMACK I deserve this. I should have been the one to die that day. Why couldn't I have just said no!? Why did I let my little brother die that day!? SMACK "Dust Devil, look at me." Mom says firmly. I sniffle a bit as I try to look at her, seeing the disappointment in her face. "You did not kill Rocky Trails." "But-" "DO NOT INTERRUPT ME!" She yells, making me cower a bit. "Rocky was... smart. He always tricked you into doing things he wanted you to do. His death was... *inhale/exhale* his death wasn't anyponies fault. H-he.... he was just in the wrong place, at the wrong time-" "Mom-" "I've come to this conclusion already, don't you dare try to change my mind!" She yells as her own tears begin to roll down her cheeks. "I already lost one child, don't make me lose another! Don't you dare do that to me Dust Devil! Don't you dare disappear on me again! I couldn't take it again. Please, don't leave us again." We fall into each others embrace and hold each other as we break down. I constantly beg her to forgive me as I cry into her mane. She holds me a bit tighter and strokes my back as I finally let it all out. I apologies for leaving. I apologies for Rocky Trails. I apologies for never contacting them after the funeral. At some point Dad comes in and joins in our sorrow, holding the two of us together in his massive forelegs. The snow falls on us and melts into coats as we continue to hold on another. None of us care about it though. All we care about is one another at this moment. Let the snow fall. "Whhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa." Okay, baby first I guess. Mom breaks contact from us and heads inside, wiping her final tears away as she does so. "So, *sniff* you guys had another foal." I say as I stand up with my father. He chuckles a bit as he rubs the back of his neck. "Heh, yeah. Wasn't exactly planned though. C'mon, you have to meet your little sister, Lucky Trails." "Where's Trick Play?" I ask before he could go inside. He pauses at the door and sighs before facing me. "Out in the world, looking for you. Don't worry though, she's been writing constantly. I think the last letter we got she was in the Goblin Empire, searching out by Broachton- DON'T GO LOOKING FOR HER THOUGH! Not that we don't want you looking for her, we'll just send a letter to her telling her to come here. It'll be easier that way-" "No, I think I can get her home faster. Let Mom know that I'm heading out, but I'll be home as soon as I get Trick Play." "You don't-" "Dad, I have to do this. Please." He sighs before pulling me in for another hug. "Fine. Be safe, and be sure to come back here as soon as possible. We'll be waiting." I nod as I lean into his neck a bit. I've missed him so much, only now I have to leave so soon. "Alright, get going before I change my mind and tie you to a chair." He says as he pushes me back. I laugh a bit as I reach into my saddle and pull out a piece of gum. "Don't worry Dad, I'll be back before you know it." I tell him before I pop the piece into my mouth. "I'll back you up-" "GAH! *cough*" I start choking on the gum when True Will suddenly appears beside me. "Who are you?" My Dad asks as I continue to choke. "True Will, fellow Spartan. You must be Devils Play." He says as he shakes his hoof. No, don't worry about me, I'm just slowly losing air over here. Don't help me. "Right." Dad says slowly as he sizes him up... oh Celestia please don't- "Do me a favor, okay. Keep your pecker away from my daughter." OH CELESTIA KILL ME NOW! That's it, I'm not fighting it anymore. Gum, kill me now- SMACK "Ow! True!" I grumble as I rub the back of my head. "Don't worry sir, this is strictly business." He says as he ignores me. My dad just stares him down a bit more, squinting his eyes a bit as he does so. "You owe me gum by the way." I grumble as the two of them continue to stare each other down. "ANYWAY! Let's get-" "SPARTANS!" "GAH!" I yell as I jump a bit more. "WHY IS EVERYPONY BEEN SCARING THE CRAP OUT OF ME TODAY!?" Miles just eyes me a bit before turning his attention to the two of us. "I've spoken with Damian, and it ends up we've been gone for a month now." Well... that makes things... difficult. "I need you two to-" "Sir! Sorry for cutting you off but I want to ask for permission to seek out my sister and bring her here to Moosden." I ask as I step forward. He stares me down as I stand there, trying my best to stand as straight as possible. "And why should I let you go?" He asks as he begins to walk around me. "Give me a good reason I should let you go, and I might let you go." I gulp as I try to think of my answer. I need to show him this is better for the Spartans... for the Terradisians... "Sir! She is family, that makes her Terradisian. She doesn't know this but... our... enemies will? I mean, they will! For Terradisia to be represented properly and to grow, it is really important for me to get her... SIR!" He chuckles a bit as he faces me again, smirking down at me. "Really important?" "Okay, sir, this is family. I know we've been slacking in your eyes, but... I don't think I could focus on anything with her out there looking for me. Please sir, let me do this-" "Us." True Will adds as he steps forward. "Let us do this sir. Article seven, paragraph two of the Spartan codex: With the growth of-" "Yeah, yeah, yeah, don't quote articles at me." Miles cuts him off. "Hmm... I will grant you two permission-" "YES!" "On the grounds that you also find someone worth Spartan training as well." My ears drop a bit when he says this. "So... while looking for my sister, we have to find somepony who we think can pass training?" I ask to clarify. "Yes. If you only bring back your sister, then she will be your candidate for training. Do we have an understanding?" "Well-" "Yes." True Will says. "WHAT!?" My dad and I yell as the same time. "If you force my daughter into training I swear I will-" "Don't worry, I have an ape in mind who might pass. And since we're going to the Goblin Empire, we'll be nearby. So, is it a deal sir?" Miles thinks about it for a second before sticking his hoof out and shakes with True. "Deal.... what's an ape though?" True just shakes his head and begins to walk off. "Do you really want to walk all the way there?" Miles asks, a smile growing on his face. "Sir?" I ask, slightly confused. "Go to Topaz Falls and find Easy. Tell him 'Executive order fourteen'. He should take care of the rest from there. Now, I have to get going with Damian. we have... things to take care of." He says distantly. "SIR!" We shout with a salute. He nods a salutes back before walking off. Once he's out of ear shot I turn and punch True on the foreleg. "What was that for!?" He asks as he rubs it. "That's for giving my consent for me, you jerk! Now let's get going already. The sooner we find Trick Play, the better." I say as I start to walk off. I turn back to my father and wave to him as I flap my wings to get air born. He nods to me to and turns to go inside. I have a feeling that this is going to be... quite the journey. But I have to do it. I broke my family up, I'm going to be the one to fix it. ............................................................................................................................................................ Perspective: Miles I take the mico platform back to my place and go back inside. Damian is laying back on the couch, hooves behind his head as he lays back casually. I take a deep breath as I resume my nervous pacing. "Dude, you need to calm down-" "Easy for you to say, you aren't a fucking beacon to every damn demon out there." I snap at him, making him roll his eyes. "I knew I shouldn't have told you that." He mumbles under his breath as he sits up. "As I told you before, we've got-" "A civil war on your hands." I cut him off. "So if my soul is shiny as fuck, and Luna's soul is shiny as fuck, and you just lost half your group, I think I have reason to worry." "Well.... I wouldn't say half. I'd say it's more like... anyway, we can still watch over the demons and spirits. I mean, I got that demon that tried to posses you in your sleep, and not to mention you didn't even think about them until I mentioned it. Everything thing is fine, trust me." "... is that why I woke up covered in ash?" I ask as I stop pacing about. "I was going to clean you up, I swear! But Hammer told me he needed my help with something.... then CC needed... things... and... I forgot." He says with a coy smile. I shake my head and continue pacing around. "You word isn't enough. I need to see it." I say as I shake my head slightly. If it involves Lunas protection, I can't just take his word for it. I need to see it myself. "What are we waiting for anyway? Let's just go-" "It's not that easy Miles. We need to get special permission to take you to the compound. And if we get that, there's still a lot of prep work to take care of before so we could have a safe trip there. We may have a protective barrier around it, but that doesn't mean we can just go straight to the compound whenever we want-" "Damian?" CC calls as she and Patches walk through the front door. "Everything's been set up. We're ready to go." "Great!" Damian says as he hops off the couch. He walks over to me and sizes me up for a second before nodding. "Captain, can you lean forward a bit?" "Uh... okay." I say as I lean forward. "A little bit more." "Like this?" I ask as I become eye level with him. "Yeah, that's perfect." He says with an evil smile. WHACK THUD Chapter 185 Watching StateraChapter 185 Watching Statera Perspective: Luna "UUUUUUUUHHHHHHGGGG!" I grip the rim of the toilet a bit tighter as I hurl the contents of my stomach. The past few mornings I've been getting sick and throwing up. I assume it's something in the food here.... Regina on the other hoof- "*high pitched squeal* AHHH! Luna is preggers! I get to be a God-mommy! THINK GIRLY THOUGHTS! Fillies are better." Regina says as she lays back in the bathtub, watching my misery. "For the last time, I am not pregnant." I tell her as I do a courtesy flush. "It's just the food here. That's all." I tell her firmly. I was going to add some more to my statement, when I felt my stomach lurch up into my throat. I feel my hind legs kick out a bit as I spew the final contents of my aching stomach into the bowl. I spit the remaining contents from my mouth and flush the toilet, groaning as I feel my stomach try to reassemble itself. "Better?" "No." "Great! Because we had a meeting ten minutes ago, we need to get going!" Regina says as she climbs out of the bathtub. I nod to her and move to the sink, where I rinse and brush my teeth. "C'mon slow poke! We've gotta go!" Regina says as she starts to pull me out of the restroom. "We don't want to be late to greet your sister-" "Wait, what?" I ask as Regina opens the door and bumps into Celestia. We pause for a moment as we stare at one another. She looks... unemotional. Like... she's trying to process everything she's probably just heard. Her eyes keep darting between the two of us as she calculates something in her mind. "Uh.... hi... Tia." I say weakly as she stands there, unmoving. "Regina, why don't you-" "Could you let Ulfric know that we have to get going for a family emergency." Celestia says quickly. "Now." Regina glances back to me before bowing to Celestia and running out of the guest room. "So... I don't think-" "We're heading back to Canterlot... now." She says firmly before walking off. She leaves the room before I could even get a word in. "... okay then. I'll just... gather my things then." I call out after her. She doesn't respond. All I hear are her hurried hooves rushing down the corridor. Confused, I begin gathering my things and prepare to leave. She couldn't be mad about my being with Miles, he already told her about us. What could she possibly be that mad about? Maybe... my being late to the meeting with Ulfric? No, there's no reason why she would get that upset... or is it? As I pick up my bags and head down the hall, I can't help but think of everything that could have gone wrong. What if Ulfric has been insulted by my tardiness? I mean, I've only been late three times, but he was so understanding each time. He even made a pregnancy joke! I denied it, but... he still made it! I make it to the airport and find Celestia's covered carriage waiting for me, with six Solar pegasis guards waiting to tow us home. It's fairly similar to her other one, with the exception of being closed and larger. I go to the door and wince when it abruptly opens. Celestia is sitting inside, staring forward. I climb in and take a seat beside her, the door slamming shut. ".... so-" "Let's go!" Celestia orders quickly. The guards grunt in response before pulling us into the air. I begin to sweat as we travel from the tension in the room. Celestia is... beyond mad. I've never seen her like this before, ever. Several hours go by in total silence. Celestia never break eye contact with the wall in front of her. I try not to talk at first... but then I started doing math. It's been exactly one month since my last heat cycle. One month since Miles failed to do that simple little task. One month... "I'm pregnant." "Please... just... I need a bit more... just... shush!" Celestia snaps as she pivots away from me. "Are you okay Celestia? What-" "Luna, please!" I scoot away from her as we continue to fly through the air. I look out the window of the carriage and try to think of something else, anything else... but I can't help but keep coming back to Celestia. There is no logical reason for her to be this mad. "Celestia, enough. Just tell me what's wrong already so-" "RAH!" She screams out as she flares her magic out. I lift a wing to block out the light coming from her horn. She lets out another yell before everything violently shakes and drops. When everything finally calms down I open my eyes and find us in the throne room back in Canterlot. Before I could ask Celestia bucks the door off its hinges and storms out, grumbling to herself as she paces around. Okay, this is beyond mad. This is... unheard of anger. I step out cautiously and watch her pace about. She's mumbling something under her breath, I can barely hear it....'In order to keep... your little sister... all you need... is the right amount... of anger.' When she finishes the last part she stands up straight and looks off in the distance. An uneasy feeling comes over me as she stands there, staring off to nowhere. I begin to back up nervously when she slowly starts to face me. Her eyes have become pure green and have dark energy fuming from the corners. "In order to keep your little sister, all you need is the right amount of anger." She mutters a bit louder as she step towards me, squinting her eyes a bit. "Celestia, what are you doing?" "In order to keep your little sister, all you need is the right amount of anger." She mutters again, taking larger steps towards me. "Celestia... this isn't funny... you're starting to scare me... please!" I beg her as I back up against the distant wall. I look to the guard for help, but they're just staring at me with eyes similar to Celestia's. "In order to keep your little sister, all you need is the right amount of anger." Celestia says as she comes to a stop. A wicked grin comes over her face as she lowers her head a bit and begins to charge her horn. RUN I teleport to her side just in time to avoid her blasting my last position. I run down the nearest corridor as her guards begin to chase after me. I hear Celestia laugh in the distance as I rush down the narrow hall, usually meant for staff. I charge my horn and teleport to the main part of the castle, in hopes of finding some kind of help. I see a Solar Guard and run to him. "PLEASE! Guard! You have to help me! Some has happened to my-" "NIGHTMARE!" He yells as me as he uses his magic to blast me back. I hit the ground and slide a bit before rolling over and jump forward, avoiding another blast. I look back and see him glaring at me with those evil green eyes, pawing at the ground. "What has happened?! What's going on!?" I yell as he starts to charge at me. Before I could act, a spear comes flying from behind me and pierces the Solar guard in the chest, killing him instantly. "QUEEN LUNA!" I sigh in relief when a squad of my Night Guard approach me, surrounding me. "You aren't safe here my Queen! We have to get you to safety!" "What is going on?! What has happened to my sister!?" I demand from him, slightly hysterical. "It's Celestia! She's-" ZA-BOOM I duck as a bolt of electricity races by my head and slams into the guard before me, sending him sliding back. I look back and see six Solar guards running at us, eyes gleaming darkness. "RUN!" One of my guards yell before they all charge the others. I hesitate for a moment as i watch the unicorns blast at one another and Pegasus leap into the air and tackle one another. I shake my head and begin to run away from them when a flash appears before me. "Celestia!" I gasp as she smiles down at me, charging her horn. "Don't fight it, little sister.This is better for- LET ME GO!" She yells at the guard on the floor as he grabs her hoof. "RUN!" The guard on the floor yells before he draws a dagger out and stabs Celestia in the hoof. Celestia lets out a painful scream as she levitates him up and begins to crush him. "CELESTIA STOP!" I yell at her as he curls into a ball and groans in pain. "CELESTIA-" "SHUT YOUR WHORE MOUTH!" Celestia yells at me as she slams the guard against the floor. I reel back from her as the rest of her guard surround me, sending magical tethers to hold me in place. I try to fight back, but more and more guards appear and aid them in restraining me. I let out a cry of pain as ropes and magical tethers pull on all of my limbs, stretching me put. "C-Celestia..." I groan as she chuckles at me. "Now, to fix the problem. FLIP HER!" She yells at her guards as she summons her energy claymore. I fight with all of my might as my world turns upside down. Celestia chuckles as she moves below me and points the weapon at my stomach, then a bit lower. "Celestia! Please, you don't have to do this." I beg her as double my efforts to break free. She laughs as she raises her blade, readying her strike. "Don't worry, I won't let you disgrace our parents with this little bastard. Now, this is going to hurt just a tad bit-" KER-FLASH Dozens of teleporting flashes ring out as Night guards appear all over the room. Celestia tries to get her strike in, but two guards leap in the way and take the blow for me. Everything freezes when I see the blade bury into the two ponies above me. The let out a silent cry of pain as blood pours from under their armor and cascades down their bodies. It feels like an eternity as I watch the blade slowly pull out from their bodies, fresh blood dripping from the tip of the blade as their bodies go limp on top of me. "RUN DAMMIT!" A guard yells as the room explodes into chaos. Fighting fills the room as my guards attempt to get the tainted guards away from me. Celestia ignores the small battle around us and brushes the dead ponies aside with her sword. "Celestia... please." I beg her as she points her sword at me again. "I will not lose you... not again." She vows as she begins to push her blade forward. I teleport back and summon my own blade to defend myself. Celestia growls and lunges at me again, swinging with murderous intent. I parry her attacks and back away, trying to think of somewhere to go. Somewhere safe to run. I... where can I go where she can't attack me!? CRASH ZAP A window behind me shatters as a bolt of lightning comes flying in and hits Celestia, knocking her back. I look back as Rainbow Dash and Soarin glide in and stand at my side. Rainbow is in her Spartan uniform while Soarin is in his heavy duty Wonderbolts uniform. It looks similar to the performance suit, only with armor padding in several spots. "LUNA! C'MON! WE'VE GOT TO GO!" Rainbow yells as she stabs at a Solar guard with her spear, shocking him lightly. "What's happening?! What's going on!?" I yell as I back away from the two fighting ponies, towards the open window. "IT'S-" BOOM A wave of energy hits Rainbow and forces her to slam into the marble pillar. Cracks creep up it as she slumps to the ground, unconscious. "RAINBOW! GET GOING ALREADY LUNA!" Soarin yells as he drops his sword and runs to her side. "GO HOME LUNA! GO HOME!" Celestia lunges out of the fray and charges right for me. I open my wings and send myself out the window with a single powerful flap of my wings. I get enough force to get out of the building before falling down the side of the castle. I quickly level myself with the wall and begin to build speed as I drop. BOOM I glance back and see black smoke coming from the wall, along with rubble and glass. A second later Celestia flies out of the new hole and dives right at me, horn glaring with raw magical power. I open my wings slightly and dart to the right, keeping close to the circular wall. She's heavier, so she'll drop faster. But I'm more agile, so I need to make this a turning fight in order to keep her at bay. I fly over a bridge and turn around, charging my horn. When she comes around I send a beam of energy at her, forcing her to break away from me. A powerful gust of wind blows over me as she flies past me. I leap off the walkway and take off the other direction, flapping my wings with all of my might to gain as much speed as possible. I hear her charge up again and fly towards a building. As I pause behind it, a beam of gold slashes at me, hitting all around me. Luckily the building held against the attack, protecting me completely. I take off again and fly close to another building. I break away from the wall and level out with the ground. I hear her power fluctuate a bit, and dart left as another bolt of energy flies towards me. I dip down to gain speed and begin to weave around the walkways and tall, circular buildings. Every time I straighten out, another wave of magic comes at me, narrowly missing me. I can't run from her forever. I need to get away from her as quickly as possible, but where!? I come to a stop when a falling column blocks my path. I turn around and watch as Celestia begins to fly straight up. I feel my heart pound in my ears as she blocks out the sun for a moment as she holds her hooves up in the air. As her horn begins to glow brighter and brighter -eyes becoming pure with from all the energy- I realize what she's doing.... The Suns Tear. I quickly bolt to hide behind a building as a massive ray of golden energy comes crashing down. As I run, the large beam of pure sun chases after me, burning everything in its path. I need to getaway, but to where!? "GO HOME!" I glance up as Soarin comes racing past me, dodging the beam of energy easily. He flies towards Celestia with great speed, closing the distance with tremendous speed. Celestia ends her powerful attack and swings at him, swatting him away like a fly. He barrels through the air before leveling out and charging at her again. "YOU WON'T GET RID OF ME THAT EASILY!" "THEN DIE!" Celestia yells as she chases after him, horn blaring with magical energy. I back away into the shadows and run down a random dark alley, wincing from the sounds of their fight reaching the main city. I run... and run... and don't think. All I can do is run. I can't think, I can't stop, I can barely breath. All I can do is run aimlessly through the city as I try to... I don't even know! I'm too scared to even think! I just... I just keep running! "Queen Luna!" "GAH!" I nearly take off when a guard leaps in front of me. "This way!" She yells before taking off down another alley. I don't even question it, I just run after her. We weave through the city, slowly making our way up the mountain. The sounds of Celestia and Soarin soon die off, worrying me even more. We eventually come to a small, desolate shack of a home on the edge of the town. The guard glances around before opening the door for me. I hesitate for a moment before stepping inside. It's a small room with a straw bed in the back and a table to my left with a pair of goggles on it. The guard shuts the door behind us and runs over to the bed. She tosses it aside, revealing a large hole in the ground. "Take this all the way down, it should let out in the cave up the mountain. Take the teleporter there and run away." She says as I walk towards the entrance. "There are no turns, so you can't get lost. I know it's dark, but try not to use any magic. Once you get away... hide. Don't do anything, not yet at least. Go somewhere where Celestia can't find you and stay there. You got it?" "... who are you?" I ask. "Just a guard doing her job. Now get going, I have to join my fellow Night guards in the fight to hide your tracks.... GO!" I jump a little and go down the dark tunnel. The light goes out when she covers the entrance with the bed. I take a deep breath as I try to feel my way down the dark, cool tunnel. I heard the door slam shut and echo down the tunnel. I have to fight my instincts to use magic to light my path, and begin the tedious task of feeling my way down the tunnel. I take a few steps before I suddenly feel something small and furry brush against my hoof. I let out a yelp as I teleport over to mico platform. I run over to it and appear in Miles's closet. I charge my horn and blast at the markings on the floor, destroying the teleporter. My breath trembles as I stand there, shaking slightly. I look around the barren room and push the door shut. I curl into a ball and lay in a corner, tucking into myself as closely as possible. I don't understand... why did this all happen? What is going on... I pause when a something whispers a message into my ear. I tremble slightly from the voice, but nod to it. "If something threatens the ones you love... fight! I'll kill Celestia if she shows herself. I swear it." I close my eyes and nestle into myself, a single tear falling down my cheek. ............................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Fluttershy As I sit at a bench on Braeburn's farm, I can't help but think back to Ponyville. There's no doubt Discord has made his move by now, and here I am. Safe at some farm all the way down here in Appaloosa. This isn't right! We should be back home, trying to get my friends back to normal. I still can't believe how easily everypony fell to Discord. Twilight... Storm... Rarity... Pinkie... even Spike. At least the Apples are fine... but that still doesn't put me at ease. We should- "Eenope." Big Mac says from the seat beside me. "Big Mac! We can't just sit here and let him do this!" I tell him for the hundredth time. "Shy, Ah'm not riskin mah kin, no matter what." He says as he puts his hoof to my stomach. I roll my eyes and get off the bench. "This isn't right Big Mac. You, a Spartan, shouldn't be hiding like this." I tell him before I walk off. I make my way through the rest of the Apple family reunion. Most of the ponies are trying to make the best of what's here, but it's obvious that the change in scenery is on everyponies mind. "Ya alright there sugar cube?" Applejack asks me as she comes to my side, along with Hammer. "No." I huff as I look away from her. "AJ... should we really be here?" ".... Shy-" "I was asking the same thing." Hammer says, sounding slightly irked about something. "So when are you going to tell me why you moved your entire family reunion, for real this time." He asks with a bit of a tone in his voice. Applejack and I share a look before AJ removes her hat and faces him. "Okay, ah promised ah'd tell ya when we got here, an ah'm gonna keep that promise. The reason ah moved the family reunion here is cause... well, there's no easy way a sayin this, so here it is. Discord told me that he'd kill ya if we were in town at this time. Mah guess is that he's makin his move fer power now." Applejack tells him, hiding behind her hat slightly as she waits for him to respond. "....... wut?" "Discord... has returned-" "And instead of banding together with your friends -and stopping him- you ran away and hide from him?" He asks flatly, making Applejack hide from him. "Well... we can't." I add quietly, hiding behind my mane when he looks to me. "I mean... well..." "This is really important Fluttershy, please tell me." He says quietly. I take a deep breath and try to face him, but find it easier to speak from behind my mane. "W-we're not c-connected anymore." I stutter, getting a nod from Applejack. "Twilight and Rarity both are under his control. Rainbow disappeared on us an we don't know where Miles went! What else could we have done!?" Applejack asks loudly, getting a few odd looks from some ponies. "You could have stood by your friends and face Discord anyway. If too much chaos ensues, there isn't much that can stop him from taking over completely-" "But... he'd kill ya!" Applejack retorts. "Eenope." Big Mac announces as he walks up to us. "You with me?" Hammer asks him. "Eeyup." Big Mac nods. I walk over to him and give him a big hug, well... as big a hug I could manage on the large pony. "Ah fer pony sake, y'all can't be serious big brother." Applejack asks him, getting a quick look from him. "You with us?" Hammer asks her as he nudges her hip with his. They share a look before she sighs in defeat. "Ah was jus tryin ta protect ya, I swear." She tells him. "I know, and thanks. But there's too much at stake not to get involved. So, what's the plan?" He asks the rest of us. "Easy, bring Fluttershy ta Discord." Big Mac states. "WHAT!?" I yell as I let go of him and fall down. "Really? So, lover boy is still swooning over you then. Cool, let's get going then. We don't have much time if we're going to rob a train." Hammer says before walking off towards town. "Wait... what?" Applejack asks as she follows after him. Big Mac looks down at me before shrugging and tossing me onto his back. Why me?! Why do I have to face him!? Can't I just go home and face Angel to give him a bath!? They're equally important! ............................................................................................................................................................ Perspective: Miles Several Hours Later I roll over and pull the sheets around me closer. I don't know how I got in this bed, but it's too comfy to care about. I think back to when I was home, talking with Damian. I should really get a helmet of some kind, maybe then weird shit wouldn't happen to me. I still have the one from my power armor, but I don't think it would fit anymore. Why is this bed so comfy!? I guess it's because I know I have to get up, but don't want to. *sigh*, I guess it's time to get up and see where I'm at. I toss the sheets off of myself and sit up, inspecting the room around me. It's a barren stone room with a simple bed and a large wooden door. I get out of bed and do a quick stretch before taking the bed sheets and tying them around myself. Once my modesty is restored, I open the door and step out. The hallway out here is similar to the room. Grey stone making the walls as the hall goes in both directions. I look to the door and see a symbol on it: two lines beside each other. One bending down while the other bends up, crossing each other. Must be a symbol for Statera, or a marking for this room at least. With no one around, I just head down the left hall. There seems to be doors every few meters with the same symbol on every door, which makes me believe that it's their symbol. After a while, I start to pick up the pace, trying to make it to the end. After a short jog, I stop and look around. I can see the ends of the halls, but I can't seem to get to them... what the fuck is going on here? "First time in Statera?" I jump a little when I hear a voice from my side. I look over and see a man, roughly a meter and a half tall, standing there. He's a scrawny thing with all black skin. He's wearing a black robe and has two small horns on his forehead. "..." "Heh, don't worry. Everyone gets lost their first time. You have to look for the-" "Are you a demon?" I ask. "Uh... yeah. Anyway, when you want to-" "You're a demon... you?" I ask to clarify, getting an odd look from him. "You've clearly never seen-" TACKLE I jump forward and tackle him him to the ground. Luckily for me, he's physically here, so I actually hit him. He starts yelling for help as I begin to wail on his torso. I can feel my hits being stronger than before, but his body feels tougher than it should be. After a few hits he begins to try to break free. We fight and roll around a bit as I try to keep him in place, but he eventually gets away from me and begins to run away. So, I chase after him. For a lanky guy, he can move pretty fast, but I'm keeping pace with him pretty well. "LEAVE ME ALONE YOU PSYCHOPATH!" He yells as he makes a sudden turn. It looked like he ran into the wall, but when I chased after him I made it through the passageway easily. "GET BACK HERE BITCH!" I yell as I begin to close in on him. "MILES!" Something grabs my back leg and trips me, forcing me to roll forward and crash with the assailant. When I finally come to a stop, Damian is sitting on top of me, trying to hold me down. "DAMIAN! There's a demon here!" I yell as I try to get back up. "I KNOW DUMBASS! HE'S SUPPOSE TO BE HERE!" He yells as he shakes me a bit. I stop and stare at him, completely confused by his statement. "... wut?" He sighs and gets off me, allowing me to stand. "Okay, here's the basic gist of things. For every positive action, there needs to be a negative. If there's an imbalance between the two, the other one comes back in greater force to equalize everything. We need to let out the weaker demons, so that the bigger, scarier ones don't. I know it's hard to wrap your mind around, but it's how we try to keep the balance. Does that make sense?" "... so... that guy... worked for you?" I ask, slightly confused. "Well, not me. He has a contract with some guy here as his servant." "... so you guys contract demons to work for you?" "... kind of. It's a bit different than that, but... look, do me a favor and don't attack anything. Nothing here will attack you, got it?" "... sure-" "GREAT! Then welcome to Statera! Follow me, don't touch anything, and try not to sell your soul!" He says before trotting down the hallway. "... wait, what!?" I ask as I run after him. He chuckles a bit as he turns and walks through a wall. I hesitate for a moment before following him through. When I do walk through the threshold, I find myself in a completely new area. The grey walls go out further, making a huge open square room. The room is filled with hundreds of spirits, demons and basically every other living species on the planet. All manner of living being seem to be here. Treeants, orcs, ponies, griffins, goblins, even a few I've never seen before are represented. All of the living species are wearing goggles, or some other variant of eye wear. The spirits seem to all be in a hurry to get to where ever it is they need to go. As if on queue, the entire mass of people before us pause and look over to us. Every spirit, demon, and living being stares at us as we stand here, staring right back at them.Damian, unfazed by all of the eyes on us, walks towards the crowd with his normal demeanor. I follow after him, sticking close to his side... for obvious reasons. "So! This is one of the intersections that connects all of the different buildings together. Up ahead we're going to the records building so I can introduce you to Dusty Scrolls. He's... well, you'll see-" "Um... why are they all staring at us?" I ask as we pass through the crowd. They move out of our way, but never stop staring at us. "... must be you... being all shiny, and stuff." He says distantly. I was about to question him when I bump into something. I step back and look up to see an orc standing in front of me, giving me the stink eye. I glare back at him, unwilling to back down. "Externus." He growls at me. "Miles! Rule number two! Don't get in any fights!" Damian yells as he pulls on my leg, yanking me away from the orc. " And you! Don't start shit you can't finish!" Damian yells at the orc. He pushes us out of the large square and down another hall. The hall we enter has construction cones up, blocking access to the right side. A large section of the building has been destroyed and is currently being rebuilt. A silver plaque is on the most intact part of the wall, and read: Periit memoria eorum qui in vita sua. "What happened here?" I ask as I look inside, seeing the level of the destruction. A large section of the building has been leveled, giving me a view of the evening sky above. It goes back for several kilometers before meeting with the end of the building. "Well... you remember that group of Statera members that attacked you? Back on that train ride?" "Yeah... they did this?" "Yeah, or so I'm told. Apparently this all happened when I was off on a mission, and that's as far as I know." He admits as he rubs the back of his neck. "That's it. You don't know who's responsible, who's planning it, or where they went. Damian, you brought me here to prove to me that you guys would watch over my family, and so far you aren't doing a very good job-" "What do you expect!? We're an organization that specializes in being a secret! Of course they're going to get away from us and disappear, it's what we're trained to do! Plus, I've already been keeping your shiny ass safe! I stopped that demon from eating you while you were unconscious." "... is that why I woke up covered in ash?" I ask, getting a nod from him. "It didn't occur to you to, maybe, dust me off a bit?" "Meh." He says as he shrugs his shoulders. "Asshole." "I love you too. Now come on. I need to convince you that we have everything under control." He says as he walks off again. I roll my eyes as I follow after him. So far he has demons working for this group, a civil war with covert operatives, and Luna and I stand out like sore thumbs to them. It's going to take something pretty impressive to persuade me not to pull Damian on constant call. The rest of the compound -as Damian puts it- is built like a labyrinth. Some halls seem to go on forever while others seem to go to nowhere. Not to mention we've been making turn after turn. I started to question whether or not he knew where he was going, until we finally found the room he was looking for. The library. The room is massive, to say the least. The walls are covered with several stories of books, computers, scrolls, and all kinds of storage containers. I step in and lose myself when I look around the entire room. It's pretty daunting to be surrounded by all of this... knowledge. "Figured that you'd like this. Statera has tasked itself with preserving... well, everything. Name a book, author, memo, doodle, anything and we either have the original or a copy of it. All of it. Want every song ever been written or composed, bam! We have it. How do you want it? Mp3? Data disk? Eight track? Record? We have them all. Want to see ancient human cave paintings? We have them all. Want to hear the Captains logs to the Star Ship Domina Gratiam? We have them in duplicate. You name it, we have it." He says with a confident smile. "Really? So... let's say I wanted to see my research notes on the Elements, you got those?" I ask as I look around some more. Damian grows a smile as he begins to walk into the library. "Glad you ask, follow me." I nod absent mindedly as I follow after him, eyeing everything in sight. There are a few workers here and there, either putting books back or pulling some out. Several spirits are here as well, though they pay us no mind. I don't see where they go, but it's way in the back of the room. We walk up several flights of stairs and take a few turns before we enter a section titled: Topaz Falls - 1100 - 1200 "I don't believe it." I mutter as I see some copies of my old text books on shelves. "How do you have these?" "Statera isn't new, man. We've been around since before the Purge. Heck, back at the dawn of man really." He says as we take another turn. "I'll admit, this is... beyond impressive, but I don't see how-" "DUSTY!" Damian yells, scaring some pony who was sitting at a table half to death. "GEEZ! Damian! You know, this is a library after all! You still need to keep your voice down!" The pony snaps back at him. He's a scrawny light tan earth stallion, with light brown hair -goatee included- that's tied back and has a mark of a scroll. "What can I help you with?" "I have a present for you. Dust Scrolls, meet Miles Eremita. Miles, meet Dusty Scrolls." The pony looks up to me and stares for a moment before switching back to his papers. They fly everywhere before he finds the right one and looks between it and me. "SWEET MERRIAM JOSEPH! IT IS YOU!" He yells as he jumps out of his seat and shakes my hoof vigorously. "Oh, it is an honor sir! Truly! Your theories on arcane enchanting are phenomenal! Absolutely phenomenal! Duel enchanting with inner purpose and reflected energy- brilliant!" He gushes as he continues to shake my hoof. "Um... thank you? How do you know that?" I ask as I pull my hoof away. He grows an even large smile before turning to the table and tosses the papers aside. After a few moments of searching, he finds what he's looking for. A tablet. "You see, this little baby here was recovered by the Topaz Falls Statera members and I've spent nearly two decades researching it, it's what I do here... always. BY THE WAY!" He yells as he turns it on and flips through some of the files. "I have no clue what this is, can you please tell me?" "... it's just a doodle- I'm sorry, how did you get my personal tablet... and read it? I tried to write-" "Backwards starting with the center of the sentence and switching every other verb, I know. As I said, I've spent nearly two decades studying this on my own." He says with a bit of pride in his voice... then loses his smile. "Wait, that's just a doodle? No.... no! I've written entire essays about how that's some kind of metaphor for the futility of life! It can't just be a doodle!" "Yeah, see, it's just a half drawn soldier. And you've spent how long studying my work?" I ask, feeling slightly.... odd. "Oh! Not just your work. I've learned... basically everything about you." He says sadly as he sets the tablet down. "You what now?" "Dusty, why don't you show off some of what you've learned about him." Damian says as he takes a seat, chuckling to himself. "Well, only if Miles would agree to hear about it." Dusty says coyly as he paws at the ground a bit. "You what now?" "OKAY! You were born on February twenty ninth at ten fifteen at night, eight pounds nine ounces. You spent the first eight years of your life at the Topaz Emergency Orphanage. It was made for all of the refugees turned into orphans. You attended Stella Ficor College after making your choice with Susurrans Bellum, your father -though he'd never tell. I think it was because he was scared of how much you had grown without him. It was recorded that Apricis had a conversation with him where he tried to convince him to tell you, but he said 'he's too far gone to need a father. I'll guide him, for as long as he needs me.' I honestly think he should have just said it, but then you wouldn't have been as determined as you are now... or so I speculate. You stayed celibate throughout college, completely by your choice. There were four fan groups in your honor. One for being a Spartan, one for women hoping to marry you -or just have sex with you- another for the scientist wishing to work with you, and lastly a group of men who wished to be with you. My O.T.P. is with you and Dolum, you guys were just... right... ANYWAY! You didn't really socialize that much. When it came to Spartan Pride, you jumped at the chance to prove yourself, but other than that, your friends would have to force you to do anything else. You hate parties because you were molested as a child by the dean of your orphanage. And seriously, I think a single punch wasn't enough, but I guess Susurrans got the last laugh. You love food disk because you had them with Susurrans -it was really touching by the way- and I speculate that you would transfer this to pancakes today. As a human, you stood at six foot five, two hundred five pounds, size twelve shoes, nine and a half inches under the belt. I speculated that -had you turned into an alicorn- you would be one hundred seventy five pounds, six foot one from the top of you head of course, and twenty four and three quarters of an inch long between the legs." ... ... ... ... ... ... "Damian.... can I talk to you... over here please?" I ask as I walk away from him. Damian hops out of his seat and follows me over. "What's up, monster cock?" He asks cheerfully. "Um... why does he know all of that?" I ask as I bit my hoof. "If it could be useful, we need to know it." He states matter of factly. "My penis length is useful?" "Well, a little. For Luna at least. You have to admit, you were an influential person in history. We had to know stuff about, and you never know what you would have to know. So, we learn everything we need to know." "... like my penis length." "Hey, he even calculated for if you were any other race too. Want to-" "No! No, that won't be necessary." "Are you sure?" "Damian, enough about... me. How is this suppose to convince me that you guys are going to be able to keep my family safe?" "Well, look at what we're able to do. We have information that even you don't know about. It's still here, safe. That rebellion that happened, I wasn't here for that. Now that I am, we can bring them down much more quickly than before. Not to mention that they've already tried to attack you once, remember how that turned out? They don't have the numbers to risk another team like before. You will be safe from them, and so will your family. I promise." I sigh as I step back and try to think clearly. If what he's said is true, then I don't have to worry about any attacks right now. Damian is a good fighter, and I do trust him... to a degree. The operation here is pretty impressive, but there are still obvious cracks where people can slip through... though, I don't expect perfection. I guess there will always be that threat on the horizon, and if I give them the help they need, maybe it'll stay there. "Dusty." I call out as I walk towards him. "Yes Miles? Teehee, you're talking to-" "I need my tablet back." He stops gushing over me and gawks back at me before laughing. "Ha! That's funny Miles, I knew you had a sense of humor! Funny!" "No, this isn't a joke. I need that back. There are some project notes that I need from there." I tell him, making him gawk at me again. "But... but...." "Don't you have a spare that you can copy the files over to?" I ask, making him sweat. "Uh.... yeah, I guess... but-" "Cool, so I'll be taking mine home while you keep the copy." I say, making him sweat even more. "But... your tablet-" "Yes, my tablet." I punctuate, making him sigh in defeat. He grabs the device and walks off towards a storage closet, closing it behind him. "What was that all about?" I ask Damian. "Imagine you had a celebrities personal item, then had to give it back to them. Even with an exact copy of it, it's not theirs." Damian explains. I mull it over as Dusty returns with the new tablet. "Well... here you go." He says as he offers me the tablet. ... ... ... ... *sigh* I hate being the nice guy sometimes. I reach over and grab the copy, getting surprised look from him. "Take care Dusty." I say as I turn to leave. "Wait!" Dusty calls out, making me pause. "One last question before you go, please?" "... well... sure, I'll try to answer it at least." I say as I turn towards him. "Well... it's a bit of a difficult question, but... you made the Elements of Friendship with your friends in mind, it's why they connected to their ancestors now, who were the Elements of Chaos designed after? I have no records of anyone who would exemplify those traits." "That's because they aren't designed after people. Altum forced me to expand the field of research to not only enhance a group of soldiers, but to each individual one. The original intent was to mass produce them to enhance our troopers magical output, but it wasn't enough for Altum. He wanted something that could put each soldier on level with the greatest of mages. To become the next super soldiers. So, I started researching, and thus I made the Elements of Solitude." "Okay, but then what were they designed after?" He presses on. "Solitude." I say, getting a bemused look from him. "It's true. Friendship works off taking a group of thoughts or people and channeling it all into a single cause. Solitude was formed from the thoughts... well, from the thoughts of my early childhood." I turn and leave it at that. Damian nods to me before leading me out of the library. "You realize he's going to spend the next few months re-studying your childhood, right?" Damian asks as he trots alongside me. "Well... it's his job right?" I say, still slightly uncomfortable with the idea of having some guy know way too much about me. "Anyway, what else is there to see?" "Um... really? I was kind of hoping that that would be convincing enough for you... shit." "Don't worry, it was. But we're here, so... what now?" I ask as we step out of the library. "Wait, I know-" "We are not spending the entire time here reading." "AW COME ON!" I yell as I stop and turn back towards the library. "Just for a while-" "No." "Half an hour-" "No." "Two books." "No." "... Damian is great." "No- you bastard." We share a small chuckle as a mare steps out of the library. "Oh! I didn't expect to see Miles here." She says as she looks up to me. "Congratulations by the way." "... for what?" I ask her, getting a chuckle from Damian. "Your wife is expecting, right? I'm new to Alicorn ordeals so-" "Wait, wait, wait a second.... did you say... that my wife... Luna, the blue one... is-" "Yeah, she's pregnant-" "I FUCKING KNEW IT!" I yell as I throw my hooves up and jump. Once I hit the ground I take off running for the hallway I woke up in. I fucking knew I got her ass pregnant, now I need to get home and gloat about it. "GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY, I'M GOING TO BE A DAD!" Perspective: Damian One Hour Later I throw my chin at Patches as he joins me in the guest hall, taking a cautious seat beside me. "Sup?" "Not much, what are you doing here?" He asks me. "Watching the show." I tell him smugly. He tilts his head slightly before the sound of heavy panting and wheezing echoes down the hall. We both look over to see Juu-szeh, an orc new recruit, dragging Miles by one of his back legs. He drops him in front of us before taking his leave. Miles just lays there, chest heaving as he fights to regain his breath. "So, what did we learn?" I ask him cutely. "There's.... *huff* There's just.... no... end..." He says between breaths. "Yeah, about that. This is where we bring all outsiders. It's a looping hall that has no exits... well, beside to the main lobby." He collapses a bit more, laying his head down as he closes his eyes in defeat. "Can I do it?" Patches asks eagerly. "Mmmmm..... sure, why not. I need to go... check in on CC anyway." I say as I stand up, another smug smile coming on my face. "... gross." ...................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Miles I mumble a bit as I begin to regain consciousness. Instead of a helmet, maybe I should just not go to places where they do that crap every five minutes... fucking assholes. I groan as I sit up and look around. I'm in some bedroom in some random house. There are a few things in here; furniture, bedding, a picture of some blue flowers. All in all, ordinary and bland. Nothing special at all about this place. As I start to get out of the bed, the door opens up and reveals a dark brown earth stallion. "Oh, good, you're up. Okay, I'm suppose to remind you that everything you saw and heard is suppose to be a secret. Don't go telling anypony about it. This is the local safe house for our members, so if anything spiritual occurs, you can come here and tell us. Any questions?" "Um... where am I?" "Ponyville-" "Good to know, bye!" I run out of the house before he could say anything else. I charge down the empty street at full speed, feeling my tablet bounce around in my make shift toga. I practically fly through the barren town as I make my way home, feeling the extent of what my body can actually do. I just need to get there, drop off the tablet, and get to Canterlot. From there I'll talk to Celestia and make my way to Luna. OOH! Celestia! I get to tell her the good news! YES! Can't wait to see the look on her face. I burst through the door, sending Lupus and Hati running for their lives as I B-line my way to my room. I kick in the door, scaring Luna, and drop the tablet on the bed before- "LUNA!" I yell as I rush her and lift her up in a massive hug. "MILES! CRUSHING! STOP!" She yelps as I start to spin with- "OH SWEET BARBRA!" I yell as I drop her... probably not the best course of actions. "Are you okay? Sorry about that." I say as I help her up. When she nods I throw my arms around her again as I laugh a bit. "I told you, didn't I? We're going to be parents-" "Miles-" "I knew it! How far along are you? How's the morning sickness?" "Miles-" "Have you started getting cravings yet? Do ponies get cravings? What do-" "MILES!" She yells, getting my attention. "There's... been... some problems." She tells me worriedly. I feel my entire demeanor drop as I look down to her. Problems? Like... miscarriage problems? Tummy aches? .... gas? She sees my confusion and takes me han-hoof into her hooves. "Not like that... entirely." She says as she places my hoof on her stomach. It doesn't feel any different... well, maybe a bit more pudgy.... WOO! PREGNANT PUDGE! "It's... it's Celestia." "Celestia?" I ask. "She-" "LUNA! COME OUT AND FACE ME!" A loud and booming voice erupts from outside. Luna's breath quivers in fear as a bright light emanates from outside. Author's Note Alrighty people, here we go. I've been planning this little tid bit for quiet some time. Chapter 200 is coming up! Can you believe it! MAN... I should condense these down or something.... naaaaaaaaaaaaahh! It'll work just like last time, you can ask me or any character any question you want and we'll answer them to the best of our abilities. A word of advice though, I'd suggest holding off your questions for a few chapters... things are going to get.... chaotic Chapter 200 Q/A Chapter 186 ChaosChapter 186 Chaos Once the light stops shining I go to the window and look out. Celestia is standing out front with what appears to be a legion of Solar guards. Celestia is clad in golden armor that covers her torso, head, and the bottoms of her legs. She has an energy sword at her side and she seems... angry. She can't seem to stop pacing around her guards as she waits for a reply. Her eyes, along with all of her guards, are glowing green with dark energy seeping from the corners. "What the fuck happened to her?" I ask as I step away from the window. "She... she's gone crazy! She tried to kill me when she found out I was pregnant. She... said things." Luna says distantly as she looks away from me. I tilt my head in confusion and try to think of a logical reason for all of this. "I'm going to go talk to her-" "NO!" Luna yells as she jumps in my way. "You can't go out there! She'll kill you!" "There has be a reason she would do all of this Luna. I need to talk-" "You don't have magic! You can't fly, and you can barely stand on your legs, Miles! We should... do you have any guns in the house?" "Luna!? What the fuck!? That's your sister down there!" I yell as I reel back from her. "THAT pony down there tried to cut OUR child from my stomach!" She yells as she steps towards me. My mouth open in disbelief from this... no... no, Celestia would never do that.... no. "Luna... I... she-" "She dragged me all the way from the Griffin Colonies, killed my guards, attacked and probably killed Rainbow Dash, chased me out of Canterlot, and tried to gut me! No more talk!" She yells as she turns away from me and begins to march out of the room. "Luna! What are you doing?" I ask as I run after her. "I'm going out there and finishing this." She tells me as she marches down the stairs, charging her horn. "NO!" I yell as I jump in front of her path. "Luna!" "Get out of my way Miles!" She yells as she tries to get around me, but I don't let her pass. "What's gotten into you! Think for two seconds! If you go out there right now you'll put our child at risk!" I yell at her, putting as much force into my voice as possible. She steps back and looks away, hardening her face as she tries to think of a retort. "Look, give me.... twenty minutes. By then I'll have a safe way of talking this out, promise." I tell her as I nuzzle her cheek. She turns away from me and walks away a bit, thinking to herself. "... twenty minutes, and that's it." She tells me harshly. I nod to her and try to think of an answer to this... "I may need your help with something real quick." Nineteen Minutes Later I take a few cautious breaths before stepping out the front door. At Lunas persistence, I have my claymore on my back in case things get heated. The guards have moved all around my home and have their weapons drawn, ready to attack at the drop of a hat. I look back and see Luna eyeing me from the bedroom window. I wave up to her, only to have her move away from the glass. Okay then... "What do you want!?" Celestia barks as she approaches me, pointing her blade at me. "I just want to talk." I tell her cautiously as i lay my sword down before her. "Think you can manage that?" "Very well, what do you wish to say?" She asks, though it comes out as a demand. "I want to know what you're doing Celestia! I thought we put this behind us back at Outpost Zero, why are you doing this?" I plead as she begins to walk around me. "I don't know what kind of lies you're playing. All I do know is that I won't let that whore ruin my family's name with that little bastard!" I practically fall over when I hear her call Luna a whore. "Celestia..." "You are not welcome within the borders of Equestria anymore, and neither is that harlot! Not until she either destroys that blemish you call a child or until you lie dead in the ground. Now leave Equestria!" She yells as she flares her wings, trying to intimidate me. I sigh, lowering my head a bit as I try to make sense of this. I need more time... I need... "Is that your final verdict?" I ask her, still keeping my gaze down. "Because I am so nice, I will warn you that you will be hunted everyday of your lives while outside Equestria. A large bounty and rising food prices will assure that." She tells me, getting some snickers from the guards. I let out a final sigh before looking her right in the eyes. "Then I'll have to go somewhere safe then. MAKE READY!" I yell out as I stand. At first there was nothing but a few more snickers from the guards around me. But that all ended when loud thuds could be heard in the distance. The Everfree explodes with activity as six high grade Military bots come running out and surround us. In the air, dozens of Aquilas dart through the air and begin to circle around us, filling the air with contrails and roaring jets. Thousands or bots run out from between the trees and quickly surround the mass of ponies. Guns click, blades unsheathe, and shields lock in place as they surround us. "Ponyville is now under the jurisdiction of Terradisia. You will leave now or we will open fire-" "You wouldn't dare." Celestia hisses as she grows an evil smirk. She saunters over to me and returns to circling me, only much closer this time. "I know you, Miles. You would never harm a family member. You would never harm you dear sweet Soror, now would you?" She asks as she walks away from me, whipping my cheek with her tail as she does so. "You're right, I could never harm you." I tell her as I pick up my sword and set it back on. She chuckles a bit as she turns back to me, smirking. "But I can give orders. Give her the message." Dozens upon dozens of shots sound off at once as a high grade bot brings down a hammer over where Celestia was. She appears high in the air but has to teleport again as an Aquila fires a missile at her. I turn and walk back home, ignoring the battle around me. I know she escaped. Easy walks alongside me and opens the door to the house for me. I pause when I hear the final shots being fired. I doubt any of them wanted to be a part of this fight, but there was no getting to them. I had to do it. "Easy." "Yes sir?" "Be sure to bury the dead... not here though. Head north for a bit, try to I.D. them as well." "Of course." I nod to the bot as it walks off. Odd, normally he'd ask his question- "Miles?" I look inside and see Luna standing before the stairway. "Hey. Are you okay? How's the baby?" I ask as I walk up to her and nuzzle her cheek a bit. "The baby is fine... I think. I mean... what happened? Is Celestia... you know?" She asks as she peers outside. "No, she's alive. I knew an attack like this wouldn't be able to kill her. She's too fast and too smart. But now at least I have some time." I say as I begin to walk towards the kitchen. "Time for what?" Luna asks as she follows after me. "... I don't know yet. Something isn't right here and I need to find out what it is. Stay here and don't go outside, okay?" I ask her as I lay my sword on the table and head towards the front door, Luna behind me every step of the way. "Miles, I don't want you going out there." Luna says worriedly. "I don't have a choice. Promise me you won't leave the house." I ask her. She steps back and looks away, so I grab her chin lightly and force her to look at me. "This is serious Luna... promise me you won't leave this house." We stare into each others eyes for a moment before she nods to me. "I promise. Please... come back to me." She pleads. I stare into her eyes for a moment more before letting her go. "I will. I need to get going before she thinks of something. I lo-... I'll be back." I tell her before leaving the house. I shut the door and pause for a moment. I feel my heart pick up a bit as I try to think. Those weren't Lunas eyes. They... just... didn't have that... spark. They were dull and... just... not there. I don't know what's going on, but whatever it is, it has Luna. .......................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Discord OOOHH YEAAAAH! Nothing like laying on the bottom of a cloud to relax away all the tension being a statue will put on you. *sigh* Chaos, is a wonderful, WONDERFUL thing! BOOM "Hmm? Explosions? I didn't make it snow yet." I drop off the cloud and search out the explosion, finding coming from Ponyville. The chaos seems to be coming from... what's this? Are those... I know the word... bots. Yes... bots. Many different kinds, all forming around a simple stone house. A green figure steps out of the front door and begins to trot down the main path. Who is that? It's... a new alicorn? Really now Celestia. Just when I thought I had you figured out. Dealing with Twilight was hard enough, now this. Well, no bother. Let's just get a closer look and try to figure this one out. I slither my way through the air and follow the pony as he makes his way down the street- oh. He seems to have noticed me. How could he have noticed me? I'm hiding in the nether zone, how could he... ooooooh. He's powerful. Hmm... if there's a new alicorn on the field, I'm going to need to juice up a bit more before changing him. I'll have to follow Celestia for a bit then, she's just teeming with energy. I'll be back for you later little green power ball. Oh! But just for fun. SNAP ......................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Miles Even though the entire town seems to be empty, I can still sense... something, watching my every move. Whatever it is, it isn't on the visible spectrum, and can move fast. Whatever it is, it's moving away now. But I have a feeling I'll be seeing it real soon. I ignore it for now and continue jogging through town- ... ... ... Did it... how... why.... okay? I don't know why, but it suddenly became night time. I guess... Luna has a good reason for this... I hope. I shake my head and continue on towards my destination. I'm sure there's a completely logical- and now it's day time. I guess they're fighting for supremacy... yeah, that's a good explanation. I continue on, trying my best to ignore the constantly changing sun and moon. I didn't think they could move them that fast, but damn... I was wrong. Go figure. I make it to my first destination -Carousel Boutique- and hurry inside. "Rarity!? Are you home? It's me, Miles!" I call out as I walk inside. She must not be home- PEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEW I drop down and crawl my way to the side as large red bolts spray over the entire room. Manikins are sent flying as large holes are blown in the wall. I make it to the counter of a counter and cover my head as the bolts cover the rest of the room. A large mirror reflects a shot and punches a hole in the wall beside me, forcing me to move out of the way. "HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, CRIMINAL SCUM! IF YOU TOUCH EVEN ONE LITTLE GEM OF MINE I'LL TEAR YOU TO SHREDS!" Rarity yells from the back room doorway. She looks... well, she's looked better. She probably cut her mane and tail short for a good reason. Though, the cuts and bruises I'll bring up after I yell at her. "Rarity? What the fuck do you think you're doing!? You could have killed me!" I yell at her as I stand up. She keeps pointing her Smg at me as she guards the backdoor. "What the fuck are you doing!?" I ask as I approach her, only stopping when she points the gun right in my face. "I don't want you gems, I swear." "Hmm... very well, but only because I know you don't have any magic to help you." She says as she lowers her gun and turns around. I sigh in relief and follow her to the back. When I make it there, my jaw nearly falls off. "R-rarity... where did you get all of these?" I ask as I stare at the massive mound of gems filling the backroom. Rubies, emeralds, diamonds and every other type of precious stone sits in a massive pile that fills two thirds of the room. A portion of it has been pull out and leveled, making what seems to be a small bed of pure... sparkling... unenchanted... "Hey! Keep your distance!" Rarity yells at me as she swats my hoofs away. I didn't even realize I was doing that. "Where did these all come from?" I ask again, still amazed by the horde she's collected. She gives a little chuckle before leaping onto the impromptu bed. She lays on her back and wiggles herself in, sighing in content when she's surrounded by the gems. "Well, you see, I've been doing a little excavating." She says as she eyes the back of her hoof nonchalantly. "... a little?" "Yes. After I had a little... 'run in' with some Diamond Dogs, I had to make a run for it. Luckily I was able to get away with the horde unscathed-" "Unscathed! Rarity, you look like you were beat pretty badly- wait a minute. Did you steal this from Diamond Dogs?" She laughs a bit harder at this, running a hoof through her short mane. "Really Miles, stealing? Me? Heavens no. I 'liberated' these gems from those filthy mongrels before they could eat them-" "You stole their food supplies! Rarity, why!?" I yell at her, getting her to roll her eyes at me. "Really Miles? Do you really think those disgusting, filthy, flea infested animals deserve something so precious? They should be in the care of somepony as equally beautiful and stunning. A pony who could really appreciate them and not stuff them down their sniveling, pathetic, scaly mouths." "... scaly? I thought we were talking about Diamond Dogs." "Oh! The nerve of that little, insulate, cry baby of a drake! Groveling to me for my food. To live in my home! Asking for some on MY gems! GOOD RIDDANCE!" She says as she turns away from me and toys with a gem. "... what happened to Spike?" I ask cautiously. "Who cares!" Rarity yells back, throwing me completely off. "Rarity... this is Spike we're talking about. You know, tall, purple and green, kind of a dork at times, Spike. Are you seriously telling me you don't care in the slightest?" I hear her whimper a bit as she continues to toy with a gem, trying to keep her attention on it. "When you are no longer fancied, distance yourself and give into your greed." She mumbles to herself quietly as she pulls her legs in and curls into a ball. She continues to mumble that phrase to herself, even as I try to shake her out of it. After several uneventful minutes, I decide to leave. Spike sounds to be in trouble as well, so I head to the library. Along the way, thing seem to get stranger and stranger. Along with the moon and sun swapping places every five seconds, a majority of the ponies I see in their homes seem to be stuck in some sort of loop. A saw one couple fighting in reverse, as in the words were going backwards until the reached the beginning of their encounter. Another home revealed a mare make a cup of tea, drink it, spit it back, pour it back into the kettle, then start over. It seems the closer to the library I get, the odder the scenarios get. Floating ponies, pigs flying kites, and some blue bow flying through the air! When I finally get to the library, I see smoke coming from the kitchen window. I run the rest of the way and burst through the door. I pause for a moment when I see all of the books flying from one shelf to another, sending pages everywhere when they collide. I shake my head and run to the kitchen where I see Storm sitting at the table eating from a massive pile of food. He barely take the time to chew as he stuff disc after disc into his mouth. In the back I can see the stove burning several discs as they sit on the open fire. I run over and shut it off before looking back to Storm. His stomach looks as if it's going to burst open if he eats another bite. "Storm... Storm.... STORM!" I yell at him to get his attention. "Huh?" He mumbles as he looks around, swallowing the food in his mouth somehow. "Oh, hey Miles, want a lemon waffle?" "Storm... what are you doing?" I ask as he resumes eating. I have to literally pull him away from the mountain of food to get him to stop, even then he continues to try eating. "Storm!" "I don't know! Ponies started asking me stuff, And when they come to you in need, take the time to feed." He says as he tries to get back to his lemon waffles. "Storm, stop eating. You are seriously going to hurt yourself." I try to warn him as he fights me to get back to the food. "STORM!" "Leave me alone! Just go away and let me eat in peace!" He yells as he falls out of his chair. He moans in pain as he holds his stomach, until he sees a waffle on the floor and tries to eat it. "Storm." I sigh as I stop him from eating the waffle. "Where's Twilight?" "She's upstairs, sulking." He says as he tries to reach for table. I lift him up, finding it difficult to do with his added weight, and begin to carry him upstairs. He offers a bit of a fight, but groans in pain when I set him on my back. If he doesn't let up, I'll have to force him to puke this crap up and then knock him out to save him. When I make it to the bedroom, I find Twilight laying on her bed. She's... just laying there. Looking out the window with her head on a pillow. I take Storm to the bathroom and drop him off by the toilet. He takes a few deep breaths before moving to the bowl and hurling the contents of his stomach. I leave him and go to Twilights side, shutting the door behind me. "Twilight?" I say quietly, but don't get a response. "Hey... it's me. Miles. Everything alight?" "..." "So... things are getting pretty crazy. Storm needs your help, he nearly ate himself to death." She doesn't respond. Instead she just continues to lay there, looking out through the window. "Do you know where Spike went?" She shudders at this. "He's... gone." She says solemnly. "Where did he go?" I ask he urgently. She just closes her eyes and shakes her head. "Twilight? Where did he go?" I ask more forcefully. "When your friendships have no use, your life will be that of a recluse." She says as a tear falls from her eyes. Simultaneously, a wave of magic washes over her and cause her to take grey hue over her entire body. Author's Note Don't forget to game with me on Wednesday at 12:00 (Pacific time). I'm also still taking Oc's for Spartan Training, so go ahead and make a post! Lastly, don't forget to ask or edit your questions for the Chapter 200 Q/A! Thanks for reading, and like always, Brony on! Chapter 187 Discorded SistersChapter 187 Discorded Sisters "Twilight!?Twilight!? What's going on Twilight? Answer me!" I yell at her as I try to shake her out of... whatever it is that has happened to her. She doesn't respond. She just lays there, staring out the window. "Come on Twilight, snap out of it!" I yell at her, putting a bit more force into my voice. Again, she doesn't respond. Okay, I didn't want to do this, but you leave me no choice."GET THE FUCK OUT OF BED!" I yell in my drill instructor voice. She lets out a yelp before falling off the side of the bed. "MILES!" "DON'T YOU BACK SASS ME WOMAN!" I yell as I move to tower over her, scaring her slightly. "I'VE HAD IT UP TO HERE WITH ALL THIS CHAOTIC CRAP AND IF YOU DON'T SHAPE UP AND START ANSWERING ME I AM GOING TO RIP YOU A NEW ASSHOLE AND BREAK MY FOOT OFF IN IT, DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!?" "AH!" She yells in fear as she tries to hide under her bed sheets. "START TALKING!" I yell as I yank the blanket away. "OKAY! We thought we reformed Discord, and for a time we did! You see, before that Discord was evil and once ruled over Equestria, until Princess Celestia and Luna turned him to stone using the Elements of Harmony. When he returned, my friends and I did the same, being the new bearers. After a time, Celestia thought we could reform him, and we did thanks to Fluttershy befriending him. But Discord never had any friends before. So... one thing lead to another and he fell in love with Fluttershy-" "But Fluttershy was in love with Big Mac." I muse in my normal voice. "Yeah. When they were saying their vows Discord interrupted and declared his love for Fluttershy. She said no obviously, telling him that they were just friends. It changed something in him. He snapped and started becoming violent towards ponies. It wasn't too drastic at first. A few jump scares, a zap of electricity. But, as time went on, they became worse and worse... Fluttershy doesn't know this though and I only learned it from Celestia recently... but..." "But?" "Fluttershy's first pregnancy wasn't a natural miscarriage." She says as she turns her gaze downwards. I sigh and nod, understanding what she means. "Celestia told us that Discord had killed somepony, and that we had to turn him back to stone. So we did, but... I guess we either didn't do it right or something chaotic released him." "I wonder what." "Now, we have no chance of defeating him. We aren't connected to the Elements and Applejack and Fluttershy are in Appleoosa. There's nothing we can do." She says hopelessly. "It ain’t over till the fat lady sings." I tell her, thinking back to that old saying. "Miles, singing a song won't solve anything now. Starswirl the Bearded only did that as a joke." Twilight gruffs. "... I was joking... I'm sorry, did you say... fucking Auxy." I grumble to myself. I'll have to be mad about that another time. "Really though? Starswirl the Bearded? Why?" I ask, beyond confused as why she would choose a gamer tag as a name. "Well, when ponies gather and sing, music flows through the air and brings us together. It was the last spell he did after failing Celestia's final test. My guess was that he did it in attempt to-" "Twilight, that's not what I'm talking about." I tell her as I sit down and rub my eyes, trying to think of what to do. "Okay... I guess we just have to find Discord and hunt him down. I'll... just have the bots do a wide energy sweep and narrow it down from there. You..." I look back to her sad eyes and try to think of something for her to do. "You... watch over Storm." "I... I'll try." She says as she looks away from me. I guess that'll have to do, given her state. "Take care Twilight-" BOOM I fall over as the wall to my right suddenly explodes, sending bits of wood over the entire room. A dull ringing fills my ears as my head begins to spin. I've been hit over my entire body, but it doesn't seem to be anything completely fatal, or so I hope. A stinging overcomes my entire body as I feel trickles of blood escape all over, most notably my face. I force myself to open my eyes and take a look at myself, seeing all of the puncture wounds over my side. I grunt when I feel something lift my head up and force some viscous liquid down my throat. It goes down rough, but I swallow it quickly anyway. Several explosions are sounding off in the background. It must be one serious fight at this rate.Two more potions later, I begin to feel the wounds close up and the pain fade away. "Are you okay Miles?" Diamond Heart asks. I look around the room and see Twilight hiding in the corner, holding Storm in her hooves tightly. "Y-yeah. What happened?" I ask as I lay on my stomach and tuck my legs under. "What I feared most. Luna and Celestia have started a duel to the death-" "WHAT!?" I yell as I jump to my hooves, wincing slightly. "No, Celestia wouldn't be that stupid! I have the entire city surrounded with bots-" "Those metal men have been turned into... well, various things." Diamond says as he slowly gets to his hooves. "Now, what are you going to do, Alicorn King, and where do you need me?" He asks as he stands up straight. I ignore the fact that he called me king and move to the large hole in the tree. Two lights race through the air in aerial combat. One dark blue and the other bright gold. *Boom* They twist and curve through the air with tremendous speed and cause explosions of energy when they crash into one another. In seconds they race over most of the sky as each fight for superiority. *Boom* The gold beam is sent hurtling to the ground after another large encounter. The blue one then races high into the air and begins to channel a great amount of power towards it. Above the figure, the moon begins to rise and become full. Once it's completely behind the shadowy figure, a bright light envelopes the surrounding area. Without thinking, I turn and run down the stairs. I need to stop them. I need to save them. I need to kill Discord. FLASH I blink once before resuming my running. With the help of the teleport I find myself much closer to the fight. I run with all my might, putting all of my strength into every step as I race to get to them. I follow the large plume of dust to its center and find Celestia laying in the ruined remains of a house. She's in her armor, but it's been dented and broken all over. She has some blood coming from her temple as well as her mouth. A large splinter of wood is sticking out of her side. "CELESTIA!" I yell as I run towards her. She doesn't respond, instead laying in the ruble as her blood continues to flow. When I make it halfway to her, a shadowy aura forms before me and swirls around. It quickly melds into the form of a pony before turning into Luna in her pure form. She looks back to me and smiles as she raises a black hoof to her mouth, and licks the blood from it. "Hello sweetheart." She says coolly as she faces me. "Luna, what have you done!?" I yell at her as she walks towards me, chuckling lightly. "I simply assured our future." She says innocently. "Aren't you happy? Isn't this what you wanted?" "I never wanted to hurt anyone Luna! You know that! Snap out of it already!" I yell as I try to make my way around her. She simply levitates me up and holds me in the air. "Now now. Don't fret my love. It will all be over soon." YOU WEAK FOOL! GIVE ME CONTROL! "No! Luna please! This isn't you! Discord is the one behind-" "NO!" She yells as dark clouds begin to form in the sky. She flaps her wings and raises up into the air as lightning strikes over the now dark sky. "THIS STARTED LONG BEFORE YOU! LONG HAVE I AWAITED FOR THE POWER TO BRING DOWN THAT TYRANT AND BRING EVERLASTING NIGHT! NIGHTMARE MOON HATH RETURNED!" She yells triumphantly before laughing menacingly. GIVE HIM CONTROL "Soul Fire?" WE CANNOT USE THIS FORM, NOT YET. LET CORPUS GLACIUS TAKE OVER. "But..." DO YOU WISH TO SAVE THEM OR NOT? "...On one condition, if you save Celestia first, then you can have control." I yell out as I feel an energy begin flow through my body. I try not to fight it, allowing it to cover myself completely. I feel my body begins to rise as a light begins to form over myself. Perspective: Corpus Glacius With a burst of energy I drop to the ground. I stand upright and dust myself off slightly. I laugh slightly at the stupidity of that man. Even in new form, he's human at heart. Truly weak and ever the martyr. The sound of wings flapping catches my attention. "Impressive dearest. Purity suits a King like thou." Luna says as she lands before, offering a slight bow of the head to me. "Come, let us bring forth a new era of eternal night, my King." She says as she saunters towards me. "Us?" I ask, stopping her in her tracks. "Oh Fear, such a powerful emotion. The fear of losing a loved one. The fear of being attacked. Fear. Truly a strong Element of my domain." I say as I walk around her still form. "I-I fear nothing!" She announces as she looks up, her voice faltering slightly. "Oh but you do, I would know. You see, when the so called master of solitude whispered those words of Fear into you, he left its touch there. Giving me perfect access, my dear... my sweet... little... puppet." I whisper into her ear. Thump thump "Oh yes, don't think I forgot about our little arrangement." I say aloud to Miles. I waltz over to Celestia and look over her still form. She’s so close to the void, such a waste. But, a deal is a deal, and I intend to keep my part of the bargain. I focus the magic in my horn and rip the large piece of wood from her body. She lets out a pained shriek before falling back down. So close. "Wh-what are you doing!" Luna hisses at me as she begins to charge. I chuckle slightly as I look back to her. "My end of the deal. Now halt." I say simply. She comes to a complete stop and stand there, completely shocked by her cooperation. "As I said, you now reside in my domain. You do, as I command. Now, for the final part." I drop the wood and refocus my magic onto the cold form of Celestia. So close, such a waste. This pony magic is weak compared to the spiritual prowess of humanity, but it will have to do. I spend nearly an hour weaving the flesh back together. She's lost much of her blood, but that's the least of my worries. Once I finish with my healing she looks up to me and reaches towards me. I smirk and swat it away. I upheld my part of the deal, now it's- Thump thump "NO! THAT WASN'T PART OF THE DEAL!" Thump thump "THE DEAL WAS FOR CONTROL! YOU CANNOT HAVE IT BACK! I AM IN CONTROL! I AM THE POWER! I AM THE VOID! YOU WILL NOT TAKE WHAT IS RIGHTFULLY MINE! MILES!" Perspective: Miles With a bright flash of energy I fall to the ground. I look to my green hoof and smile. Sorry Corpus, I said you could have control, but I never said for how long. Better luck next time. I get back up and look over to Luna and smile to her. She looks down at me and tilts her head slightly, confused by what's just transpired. I run over to Celestia and lay by her, check her hoof for her pulse. "Oh sweet Barbra, you're alive." I sigh in relief. She's awake, but far too weak to do anything at the moment. That leaves- "Move. Away." Luna commands me as she holds an energy blade to my neck. I shiver slightly as the blade gingerly caresses the short hairs there. "Luna... put the blade down and lets talk about this." I say as I sit upright, afraid to move. "No. This is it. Eternal night will take over forever! Now move." She orders as she presses the sharp blade into my neck. It doesn't break the skin, but it holds me in place. "Luna, please. Think this through-" "No! Move or die with her." She demands. I feel my chest begin to rise and fall as I try to think of a way out. I look down to Celestia and see her eyes try to tell me something. She's trying to urge me to do something... but what!? "So be it." "And so they say, so they say, so they say 'but you won't understand." Whoa, where is that music coming from? "The workings of this world with you head buried in the sand." Okay, Luna hasn't killed me yet, just roll with the illogical spell. "And so I say, so I say, so I say 'but there's so much to do. And the graveness of the situation is shadowed by my ineptitude." Okay, just turn around slowly and face her, done. And not dead! "There's nothing like the moon to hide the sun. We're forced to use the lamppost to guide us home. We thought we'd last forever, we were wrong. We walk home through the night time singing songs, 'cause there's no forever." Okay, standing up and approaching her. My words seem to be getting through to her, she's at least dropped her swords. After repeating the ending, I've made right up to her, so I reach out and hold her hoof. “Trust the fact that everything is relative, trust the fact that nobody will ever say: 'fine. The brain is all there is to the mind.' But life is not a waste of your time. “This is no lament, it’s suspension of belief, it’s analyzing everything to justify a means. Keep god out of our house, was written down by my house. Ten foot letters on a concrete wall. Did the priest mind? Well not at all. If he has to pick and choose well then his ethics are his. “There’s nothing like your brain to spoil the fun, but you must keep living until you’re done. This was all in effort to feel alive. If anybody sings this into the night. It’ll live forever. It'll live forever. It'll live forever. “Etch my name in a tree so passers-by are aware that I once lived a life without a care. A single set of footprints just to prove that I was there. Well you’re lookin’ at me while I’m lookin’ at you. When will you realize, son, you’re singing to an empty room?" As I repeat the final part, she looks down to the blade and almost seems to jump at the sight. "Miles, what's happened?" "NO!" A blast of light flashes in the sky, revealing a patchwork creature. He glares down at the two of us as he floats down to the ground. "NO! You can't just sing a song and have everything be okay! That's not how the world works!" He yells... in that voice. That one of a kind voice. "DISCORD! You'll pay for what you've done! Miles is going to stop you once and for all!" Luna yells at him, getting him to roll his eyes. "No! I'm not dropping it! You can't just sing a song and- just- NO!" He fumes as he steps towards up. I push Luna behind me and stand to meet him. "Oh and what do you want-" "ALTUM STANS!" I yell, getting a shocked look from him. He thinks about it for a moment before a crooked smile grows on his face. "Oh, Miles Eremita. The Lost Spartan. So this is where you were hiding all that time." He chuckles as he looks down at me. "Let's see what you've learned since then, shall we?" He says as he raise a claw. SNAP Author's Note So, how you liking these cliffs? They sure do like you. The song was Under the Lamp post by Chewing on Tinfoil, chosen by Tallestbrony. LAST Chapter, Scythe Elder Necromancer got to choose what Storm was over eating with -lemon waffles. Don't forget to add an Oc to Calling All Spartans, add or edit questions to the Q/A, and like always, Brony on! Chapter 188 Purgian ProgressChapter 188 Purgian Progress Everything turned white for a moment as I felt the world around me shift. When everything fades backs in, I find myself in some sort of laboratory. Three large cylindrical devices stand in the center of a room, connected together with large metal wires. The wires come up from the top of the two back chambers and join together at the front chamber. The cylinders themselves are hollow on the inside and are open in the front, having a sliding door of glass. There are several people here as well. Most are scientist in white lab coats while there are a few engineers in blue jumpsuits. They're all moving about the machine, checking on various parts and writing down notes. I look around the room and notice that all of the walls, floor and ceiling included, have enchantments on them. Whatever they're doing, it requires tremendous amounts of power to do so. "Welcome to the dawn of the Purge." I spin around and see Altum standing behind me, marveling at the work before us. He's transparent and has a tinge of blue over him. I run forward and try to punch him, but only faze through him. "What the fuck Altum! Why have you been terrorizing-" "All in good time Miles." He cuts me off as he walks forward. "Before you ask or say anything else, take a look at this." "All systems are go! Bring them in!" One of the scientist yells as the machine begins to power up. A door opens up from behind me and they drag a man out in chains. He keeps yelling at them in some language that I can't understand and is in a dark green and red camo uniform. They toss him into the back left chamber and shut the door on him, locking him in. "What's going on here?" I ask, intrigued. "You'll see." Altum says as they open the same door again. This time they bring out a pony... well, it looks like a pony. It's bigger than a pony, in almost every aspect. It has small, dark, beady eyes and is pull along by a harness. It gives a few snorts but listens to its handler as he brings it to the back right chamber and locks it inside. All of the people clear the room as the whining of the machines begins to grow. The man in the left chamber is becoming frantic while the pony seems nervous about being in a tight space. Suddenly all of the archaic text on the walls begin to glow, softly at first but build as the man begins to yell at the top of his lungs. The next three seconds happen... quickly, yet slowly. In the first second, the enchantments grew so bright the almost blinded me. In the next, the lights moved to the back cylinders. Ending the yells. In the last, they two lights moved to the front cylinder. Everything goes quiet for a bit as the door slides open and smoke flows out. I hear the door behind me open up as a man walks out towards the center cylinder. "Can you hear me?" He calls out. "It's okay, my name is Mr. Eremita, I won't hurt you." "Whoa, what the fuck." I mutter as the man walks forward. "Yes, you have quite the lineage, don't you?" Altum teases. I ignore him and walk forward, watching closely. "Please." A soft, timid voice calls from within the machine. The man -Mr. Eremita- chuckles a bit as he squats down and waits for the person to come out. The sounds of hooves hitting metal fills the room as an earth pony walks out. It's... not exactly what the ponies I'm used to looks like, but is relatively close. "Can you tell me your name?" He asks as the pony steps out further, looking around cautiously. "I... I don't know. I don't think I have a name." She tells him as she finally exits the machine. "I know your name, would you like to hear it?" He asks, getting a nod from the mare. "Genesis. Your name is Genesis." "Genesis?" She questions. "Yes. You are the beginning of something truly spectacular. We will do great things, Genesis. Are you ready to save the world?" A crowd of people come out from the other room and surround the pony, cheering, asking questions, and taking pictures. "This is where it all started." Altum says as he walks in front of me. "Genesis was the first of a generation of people to be turned into animals. After the Purgian Civil War there was a deficit of workers and materials. There weren't enough people willing to work cheaply to grow food, bots were early in development and were too expensive for farmers, and even if they were reliable, there wasn't enough metal around to make enough to feed everyone. The question became, what do you do to feed everyone while keeping cost low?" "So they engineered ponies... how?" I ask out of curiosity. If I can't even hit him, may as well get as much out of this as possible. "They broke down their genetic codes, and fused them together. At first they didn't think about the souls, so they would fight until one would win. Genesis technically has a horses soul." "Right, their bodies were closer to each others so it probably found it more accommodating." I venture, getting a nod from Altum. "The first generation didn't work out as well as they had hoped though. The process was costly and required a large amount of power. So they tried again." Altum says before snapping his fingers again. After the flash, we find ourselves in the same room, only with a couple slight changes. The enchantments on the walls are gone now and there seems to be new people in here. I don't see Mr. Eremita anymore, so I'm guessing that this is some time in their future. Again, they bring a prisoner and a horse to the two back capsules. A bright flash comes from the three chambers before the center one opens up, revealing another pony. It steps out and looks around before some people come out and toss some ropes around it. They drag the pony out of the room as they bring in another human and horse. "They started mass producing them in this era. At first they cared for them, tried to accommodate them to working the fields. But when it was apparent that some didn't want to work, they started caring less. It would get so bad that they eventually started making some as pets, the third generation if you will. Don't ask, it'll only scare you." "What happened to Genesis?" I ask. "Who cares?" "I do. What happened?" I demand, getting an irritated sigh from him. "She died, as did most of her kind. The first three generations had a life expectancy of about two or three years. After that, their souls would burn out. Luckily for the newly formed Terradisia, they had just won the civil war and had plenty of enemy troops to experiment on. After the failed business venture of the ponies, the project was abandoned for some time. That is, until the world needed them." "Hows that?" "Didn't you pay attention in history? The day Terra stood still." He deadpans to me. "I don't see what that has to do with this-" "It has everything to do with this!" Altum snaps at me before snapping his fingers again. We find ourselves in the room again only this time, the light is shining brighter and is lasting longer. When it eventually goes out, the door opens up... and out walks Tempus. "I don't believe it." I say as he walks out and looks around. He seems to hold himself highly, standing straight and keeping an even, calm look about. "Who are you?" Asks one of the scientist in the back of the room. "I am Tempus." He replies. "What is your purpose in life?" "To safeguard the flow of time so that the best outcome may come to fruition." "Who do you serve?" Tempus grows a cocky smile as he opens his wings. A little flash of light comes from behind him as his mark suddenly appears. "I serve time." He says before disappearing. "Dammit! We have a runaway! Get Spatium and tell her to drag his ass back here! We need them to get the planet moving again so get moving!" The room erupts in movement as people scramble about. "The new generation started out with alicorns, but they only ever made two. When they ran off together, it was decided that they had too much free will. They wanted something that would dedicate themselves to their work-" "The cutie marks." I say. "Yes, a label that would tie them down to their work and make them believe that they’re happy to do what they were doing. Genetically engineered slaves, happy to work. That is why we deserve to rule Miles. It is your lineage to rule these creatures that want to be ruled. Why do you think they Love Celestia so much? Join me, and lets rule Equestria." He says as he walks in front of me and offers me a hand. I think about it as I watch the people around here gather weapons to hunt Tempus. "Tell me one thing Altum, what happened to you? How are you... you?" I ask as I gesture to his body. He chuckles a bit and he snaps his fingers and summons a mirror. He poses a bit before it as he looks over his body. "Well, back during the fall of Topaz, I was securing the Elements. When I touched the Elements of Solitude, the rest of chaos... lunged at me. They flew at me and buried themselves into my arms, legs and chest. It was... I barely remember anything beyond that actually. After that... I don't really recall much. I had a few fights, things became... blurry. I took over Equestria because I got bored suddenly. Nopony dared challenge me, so I did whatever I wanted-" "You mean you became an insane tyrant and abused your power." I snap at him. "No, a tyrant rules over those that are suppose to be their equals. The land is covered in our creations! We deserve to rule over them! They don't-" "Does that include Fluttershy?" I ask, getting him to stop. He looks down and clenches his fist as he keeps quiet. "I know what you did last time Altum-" "Stop calling me that..." "You will pay for what you did Altum-" "STOP CALLING ME THAT!" He yells as everything around us turns white. I shut my eyes for a moment before hitting the ground. "I am no longer Altum Stans! He died with the rest of humanity! I am Discord! Lord of Chaos! A god among these weak feeble scars on creation!" "All I see is a tyrant abusing a power that isn't rightfully his!" I yell as I get back on my hooves. "What kind of man-" "I am not a man!" He yells as he begins to rise up in the air. Only now do I realize we're back in Ponyville -it's day time. The wind picks up and races towards Altum as he holds his arms up. A orange energy forms around him as he focuses on a spell. SNAP A loud crack of energy erupts from him as a bolt of energy strikes me right in the chest. I fazes through me and hits the ground, doing practically nothing. ... ... ... ... ... "Okay, you were supposed to explode into a mass of nacho sauce." Altum says, a bit surprised himself. "You forget, I made the Elements. They won't turn on their creator." I tell him with a smug smile. I begin walking towards him, making him back away. "Now, don't forget my offer! We can still rule together! We can bring back Terradisia! We can-" "Or I can take back my Elements and kill you for trying to kill my child." I say flatly, making him sweat. He keeps snapping his fingers, but nothing happens to me. "Technically I didn't do that! Celestia was the one-" "YOU MADE HER DO THAT ALTUM! YOU FUCKED WITH MY FAMILY AND I'M GOING TO KILL YOU FOR THAT YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" I yell as I begin to run at him. He snaps his fingers one last time before disappearing. I stop and look for him, feeling his energy slither around me. "Very well Miles. You wish to fight then beat my test. Bring a single pony back to Harmony within twenty four hours and I'll give you the fight you wish for. But if you fail, then you submit to me. Also, your sisters don't count. Deal?" I can't affect him while he's hiding like this. I need him out in the open. "When I finally get my hooves on you, I'm going to tear you apart. Piece... by... piece." I tell him as he winds around me. "We'll see." He whispers into my ear before fading away. My assumption is that he teleported. I stay where I'm at as I wait for something else to happen, but when nothing does happen I begin to walk- THUD I groan as I lay on the now soapy floor. I try to get up, but only manage to slip around and fall some more. I have no clue how long I spend try to get up right as the moon and sun constantly switch places. Eventually, I just drag my face on the ground as I use my back legs to push myself forward... fuck it, it worked. SLAM "Miles!" Luna yelps as I barge through the door. I huff a bit as dirt and soap drip from my face, neck and practically everywhere else. "Is it over? Did you defeat him? Why are you covered in soap?" "Because Altum's a bitch." I grumble as I walk past her and head towards the kitchen. I see Celestia laying on the couch as I walk there. She's awake and acknowledges my presence, but doesn't get up. I get to the sink and turn the faucet... getting some red, pasty substance to come out instead. "I... wouldn't use hot sauce to clean your face." Luna says slowly. I groan a bit as I grab a towel from the counter and begin to wipe my face off... huh, I keep pulling on the towel, and there seems to be a never ending supply of it. "Miles, what happened?" "Is the baby okay?" I as I sit down and begin to wipe the back of my neck. How did it even get there? "The baby is fine... I think. Nothings happened, so only time will tell." She says as she looks away nervously. "That's... a start. Altum wanted me to join forces with him-" "What!?" She yells in surprise. "Don't worry, I'm not going to join him." I reassure her, getting a slightly less worried look from her. "If I can get one of the others back to normal, then he will come out and fight me. I have twenty four hours to do so." "Oh... okay... I'm sorry, did you say Altum?" She asks to clarify. "Yeah... it seems that Altum turned into Discord when he tried to take the Elements of Chaos." I tell her as I set the mound of used towels down and sigh. "How's Celestia?" Luna frowns from this and scoots a bit closer to me. "Not good." She whispers to me. "She seems to not care about anything at the moment. I tried giving her food and water, but she refuses both. She just lays there, staring off to nowhere. I'm really worried about her Miles." I nod to her pull her in for a one legged hug, rubbing her shoulder to help reassure her. "I am too, let me try talking to her. I have a feeling I know what this is all about." I tell her before giving her a kiss on the side of the head. I stand up and walk back to the living room, taking a seat before Celestia. Just like Luna said, she's just laying there, staring off at the wall behind me. Her eyes are a bit red and lack the luster that used to be there. I try to think of the right words to tell her, but what do you tell the person who tried to murder their sister's unborn child. "Celestia, look. It's Miles." Luna says as she takes a seat beside me. She doesn't respond. "He said he's going to try and fix all of this, isn't that good?" She asks, never getting a response. "Hey, what was that thing where you purse your lips called?" I ask Luna, getting a confused look from her. "Nevermind. Just join in until it works." "Until what-" PBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBTT Without warning, I shove my mouth onto her stomach and begin to blow, making the lewd sound. She practically jumps out of her skin and screams as she tries to kick me away. She tries to back away, but only manages to fall over the back of the couch. "MILES! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?" She yells as her head pops up from behind the couch. "There you go, one un-emoed Celestia." I say blandly as I move to one of the recliners and take a seat. "TIA!" Luna yells as she levitates her out from her hiding place and squeezes her in a hug. "Don't do that to me, you jerk! I can't handle that passive aggressive stuff!" "Shouldn't you two hate me!? I nearly ruined everything! I could have died! The baby could be-" "Shut up Celly." I say with a sigh as I sit back in the chair and try to think. "You know very well that none of that was you. Altum did that, and he's the one who is going to pay for it." "But-" "No buts Tia!" Luna scolds as she sets her down. "You are my sister and I will not hear another self loathing word from you or, so help me, I will tie you up and evil things will happen." Okay, even I wasn't expecting that. Celestia and I both stay quiet as we stare at her. Slowly, her ears begin to droop down as she thinks about what she said. "Not like that... I meant like tickling... nothing like... you know... just ignore me." "Anyway, ignoring pervy Luna-" "I'm not a pervert!" "We need to get someone back to normal. Where should we start?" I ask, getting them both to think. "Pinkie Pie." They say in unison. "Pinkie? Really? I was thinking Storm-" "Your boyfriend can wait. If you can make Pinkie laugh, I'm sure that'll be enough to get her back on our side." Luna tells me.... boyfriend? "Yes, I can go with you and perform a memory spell if you wish." Celestia offers, but I shake my head. "No, Altums deal was for me to do this. Plus, I want you to stay here and watch after Luna-" "I'm going with you-" "Like hell you are!" Celestia snaps. "Fuck no, take a seat and stay there. The minute I win this, and I am going to win this, I expect to go right into combat. If anything you two should head to Topaz Falls and hide there-" "I've already failed my ponies, I will not hide when there is something I can do." Celestia says as she tries to stand, but is too weak to do so. "Well... how about some moral support?" I laugh a bit as I get out of the chair and begin to head to the front door. Just as I'm about to leave, Luna pulls on my arm and stops me for a moment. "Remember your promise." She tells me with a bit of fear in her voice. "I will return from this. Stay here and stay safe, both of you." I tell her as I turn to her, staring lovingly into her eyes. "We will." Celestia says from the other room. I was actually talking about the baby... but I guess her too. I lean down and press my lips against Lunas for a tender kiss, but when I hear Celestia gag a bit I turn it into a full mouth, groping, tongue wrestling match. "Really!? Do you have to!?" I break the kiss and look back to her as Luna fans herself. "Hey, I have to make up for all that stupid secrecy crap. I ain’t holding back anymore." Before either of them could answer I dart out the door- THUD And slip on my face and slide for several meters. *sigh* It's going to be a long day. Author's Note Don't forget to go to my blogs and update your questions and ocs! Brony on! Chapter 189 Mad PoniesChapter 189 Mad Ponies WHAM BAM SHLNK THUNK "AHH!" I yell as I grab my groin and roll to my side, sliding further down the slippery road. I hate this crap, I hate Altum, I hate soap, QUIT MOVING THE FUCKING SUN AND MOON SO MUCH! FUCK! I lay there in the soap for a while longer and tend to my battered groin, not caring that I continue to slowly slide down the path. When I finally hit something and come to a stop I try to get over my pain and try to get back up. As my legs keep giving out from underneath myself, I grab onto a ledge... and loose my grip because my hoof is too slippery from all the soap. "!ereH" I look up and see a familiar mare holding a hoof out to me from her front door. I know I know her, I just can't seem to remember her name. Hmm... light cream coat, blue hair with a streak of pink... candy cutie mark... nope, nothing. Also, what the fuck did she just say? "!no emoC" I stare at her for a bit longer before finally grabbing her hoof. Once she pulls me all the way inside she shuts the door and locks it. "Thanks for the help." I say as I try to get up, settling for sitting here. ".ti noitnem t'noD" She tells me as she hurries to another room. I take the moment to gather myself and look around the room. It's a quaint little home. Nothing fancy. It smells of sweets in here and has a general warmth to it. "!hhhhhhhhhhhAAAAAA" I jump and fall over when a high picked scream comes from the side. I look over and see that the mare from before has brought over a light green unicorn mare who is... beyond happy to see me. Wait a minute... that's right, I remember now. These are those lesbian ponies that had that fan group about humans. "Um... hi?" I say as I extend a gooey hoof. "You wouldn't happen to have a towel, would you?" The light cream one nods and gives me several. "?uoy era ohW ?no gniog s'tahW" She asks me as she helps dry my body off. "Um.. I don't know what you're saying... and I can do that myself." I tell her as I set down one used up towel and start on another. "!rewohs eht esu yllatot dluohs eH" The light green one tells the other one, getting a confused look from her. ".wonk uoY" Okay, I don't like how she said that. I still don't know what she said, but I don't like that body language. She looks back to me and thinks for a moment before making motions with her hooves. She starts out by pretending to twist something then pretends to... rub her body? No, wash her body! Because the hair... and... "Are you offering me a shower or... something else?" I ask hesitantly. She thinks to herself for a moment before her green friend steps forward. ".yllaer eciohc ruoy, htoB" She tells me, keeping a straight face. "... I don't know what that means... can I use your shower?" I ask, getting a nod from the two of them. I begin to try and stand up when a light green aura picks me up. I look back to the unicorn and give her my thanks, dispute feeling off about being carried. Though I really shouldn't complain, they probably don't want soap all over their home. We make it to the bathroom where she drops me into the bath tub. Literally. And I don't know if it was life just hating me, but I ended up spinning around in the tub as well. At least they got a laugh out of it. Fucking Altum. I just waited with a bemused look until I finally came to a stop, much to the enjoyment of the two mares. "You two don't have to be here, I can do this myself." I tell them as they turn on the faucet and wait for it to heat up. "?flesruoy yb kcab ruoy hcaer uoy naC" The light green one asks with a smirk. The other one shakes her head before moving behind her and rubbing her back. She then points to me. "Oh... I guess that would be useful... just don't make this weird." They both smile -not helping the creepy factor at all- and move to the side of the tub before pulling on a plunger on the faucet, turning the shower head on. I jump a bit when the warm water hits me. I'm still used to taking colder showers, but I guess I'll just deal with it... wait, why do they get water? ".tib a revo toocS" I fall back as the light green one steps into the shower as well. I knew it! I fucking knew it! Why does weird shit like this always happen to me!? "What do you think you're doing!" I yell at her as I back away. She gives me a confused look as she looks to the other mare in the room. "?taht yb naem uoy od tahW" She asks, eyeing me oddly. ".lla s'taht ,kcab ruoy gnihsaw m'I" She tells me as she levitates some shampoo over to herself and squirts a bit onto her hooves. "Oh sweet Barbra." I try to make a run for it, but I only manage to slip around in the tub. The curtain slides shut from a green aura and I lift into the air. "NO! I'm married! Stop! NOOOOOO!" Twenty Minutes Later I step out the door to their house and shiver a bit as I try to think of what just happened. I don't think they're lesbians anymore, to say the least. They cleaned every part of me... every part of me. I better not grow some sort of fear of showers now. I think I'll just pretend that this never happened and blame it all on Altum... yeah, that's a good idea. I look out at the street and frown at it. It's now a literal flowing river of soap, though it somehow is not effecting the homes here. It's cloudy now, thought the clouds are bright blue and dropping some dark liquid. I hold my tongue out and taste a drop... hmm... well, it tastes pretty good, and it's not killing me. A bit bubbly though with a creamy after taste. With the... beverage rain, not being a threat I decide to move out. Taking slow, measured movements, I climb up the side of the building and take to the rooftop. From here I begin to run from rooftop to rooftop as I make my way to Sugarcube Corner. Luckily for me, Ponyville has built most of their buildings relatively close, so going from one to the next isn't that difficult. The only problem is that once I finally come into view of my destination, I hit a real problem. Main street. The road is three times the size of the rest and is a flowing river of soap. And it doesn't seem like there's any way I'm going to climb over there. I'm in a good position here to glide over, the only problem is that I would have to be able to glide to do that. I look over to my wings and try to move them; only being able to twitch them at best. "Hmm... this might be a problem." I mutter to myself. "You could just fly over." Luna mentions, making me roll my eyes. "Flight is a skill that I..." I stop and look over to her; eye twitching slightly. "Luna?" "Yes honey?" She replies cutely. "Why are you here?" "Celestia’s orders." She tells me in a business like manner. "Celestia?" I deadpan to her, getting a serious nod. "She told me that I had to follow you in order to guarantee that you made it here. We knew Discord would try anything to stop you, and we were right." I stare at her for a moment and wait for her to fold. Ears back, fake smile, shifty eyes, three... two... one- "Okay, maybe I persuaded her a teeny, tiny bit to come out and check up on you." Perspective: Celestia "Please, please, please, please, please, please-" "Luna, for the hundredth time, no!" I tell her as I shift away from her in my seat. She just inches closer and continues on. "Please, please, please, please, please, please-" "Luna! Please! You're starting to creep me out." I tell her as I scoot a complete seat over. Yet she persists on. "Please, please, please, please, please, please-" "Are you serious?" I ask when she presses up against me and squeezes me in a hug. "Please, please, please, please, please, please-" "For the last time, NO!" I yell as I try to break free from her grasp, only managing to drag her halfway across the room. "Please, please, please, please, please, please-" "FINE! GO! JUST STOP ALREADY!" I yell. Seconds later she pops up beside me and gives me a quick hug. "If you insist. I'll be back as soon as possible, and don't worry. I'll stay back and be as safe as possible." She tells me as she trots out the door. Perspective: Miles "Yeah... so, you ready to get across?" She asks me as she opens her wings and takes a few steps forward. "Luna, you shouldn't be out here in your condition." I tell her as I nuzzle her stomach a bit. She looks back to me and nuzzle my cheek a bit, trying to reassure me. "Don't worry. I'll fly you across then teleport back home before you know it. Promise." She tells me. I take in a breath- and nearly loose it when she suddenly flashes away. "LUNA!?" I yell as I look around for her. "Don't worry." Celestia tells me as she lands behind me. "I teleported her home. You're right, in her condition she has no business being here. I, on the other hoof, have a duty to my ponies and will not rest until this is resolved." She tells me as she straightens out a bit, but winces slightly in discomfort. "Celestia." I mutter in fear as I walk up beside her. She huffs a bit but presses on. "I'm going to do this Miles. I have to. Too much happens where I am helpless to do anything. The changeling invasion, the Griffin Colonies being attacked, Discords rise to power... I've had enough of it! I will do what I can as long as I am able! This is my home, and I am fighting for it!" She tells me as she stomps her hoof down. I sigh and nod to her, understanding her resolve. "Alright, but you let me do the heavy lifting first. I don't want to chance you hurting yourself while I'm still able to take the hits." I tell her, getting a smug look in response. "Oh, don't worry. I plan on letting you take as many of the hits as possible... brother." She tells me as she nudges me a bit. "Heh.. that sounds a little odd now to be honest." I tell her, chuckling a bit. "You aren't going to drop me in the soap... are you?" "Mmm..." She hums to herself as she thinks about it. "Let's find out." She levitates me up and dives off the building, dropping down a bit before propelling forward. I nearly have a heart attack when I roll over and nearly smack -face first- into the torrent of soap. I flail around a bit as I try to get right side up, but can't seem to get it right. Though it only takes us a few moments to get across it takes too long for me. "There, see easy enough." Celestia says as we land on the front porch of the store. THUD "You did that on purpose." I grumble from the ground. "Well... you bathed with two other mares, so I guess we're even." She says as I get back up. "Hey! That wasn't consensual!" I snap back at her. "You didn't really put up much of a fight. Are you planning on cheating on my sister?" She asks, the sarcasm practically oozing from her voice. "You want to play jokes? Okay, no. I am not planning on cheating on Luna." I tell her, getting a slight chuckle from her as she starts to open the door. "Mainly because I don't think there is another pussy out there that's as good as hers." THUD Oh justice, you sweet, sweet thing. I push the door open and step around Celestia and enter the bakery, leaving her to pick herself up. I stop suddenly when a baby floats from the ground and up through the ceiling. Was that Pound Cake? "Oh, look who it is." Pinkie says from the counter she's laying on. She has a grey tone over her entire body and has her hair going straight down, a feat I didn't think possible. She hops down and saunters over to me, a pissed look on her face. "Hey Pinkie, what's-" "Oh don't you 'hey Pinkie' me, buster!" She snaps at me. "You really think you can just come in here and act like nothing happened? After all the lies and treachery you've pulled!" She yells at me, slightly hopping as she comes to a stop before me. "... uh... what?" I ask, genuinely confused. "OH! You stupid jerk face! First you tell me that you're allergic to parties so that I wouldn't throw one for you! All I wanted to do was welcome you and have you make some friends, but nooooooo, you had to be a meanie, jerk head and lie to me! You couldn't just treat me like anypony else- OH WAIT! I was a pony! What would I know about human physiology!?" Uh... Pinkie- "Then there was that whole week of the wedding! I went and made sure you got a mickey so you would loosen up and spend some time with me and everypony else, but what did you go and do? Spent most of your time with that meanie head Chrysalis! Chrysalis! That hyper whore with the freaky holes and amazing oral work! What the buck, dude!? AND! AND! And you never even let me tell you how much fun everypony had with you!" Pinkie... I think you have— "But I took all of that in stride, but what do you do? Learn from that? Think about poor old Pinkie Pie for once? No. No, instead you just up and leave in the middle of the night. You were lucky I was able to catch you with my Pinkie Sense, you jerk! Do you have any idea how upset everypony would have been if you just up and disappeared!? Don't you get that we're your friends and you just leaving like that—" PINKIE! "WHAT, TB!? I'M WORKING HERE!" Pinkie yells, suddenly facing behind me. Wrong story. "...What?" she asks, becoming suddenly calm and confused herself. Wrong story, Pinkie. You're thinking of... that other long one that I won't name because of flow- “OH! Right, I’m thinking Diaries! Sorry, my bad.” Pinkie says with a giggle. Right... anyway, back to this story. "Right, sorry, sorry. Okay.... YOU! GARY STU!" She yells as she points at me. OH FUCK YOU, PINKIE PIE! Pinkie falls to the ground, laughing her ass off wildly. She giggles and starts crying as she holds her stomach in, trying to hold her innards in. "BWUAHAHAHAHAHA! OH! I'm just kidding Miles, you have emotions, PFFFFT! HA! YOU HAVE EMOTIONS!" Pinkie yells before laughing even harder, pounding her hoof against the floor. I'm not sure what's going on, but whatever it is, it's turning her back to pink. WHAT THE FUCK PINKIE!? I HAD PLANS! There was suppose to be some serious character development for Miles and Celestia! You're fucking that up! "Aw, you mad bro?" Pinkie asks... nobody, as she wipes a tear from her eye. "Just do it later, I'm busy laughing. Oh... hoo hoo, my tummy hurts from laughing too much." Pinkie complains as she tries to get up, struggling with her joy. In a flash she turns back to her bubbly pink self, curly hair and wide smile back intact. ... ... ... ... ... ... "So... are you good Pinkie?" I ask her, nervous beyond belief. "Yeah, I'm good." "BULLSHIT!" Altum voice calls out as he suddenly appears in the room. "THAT DOESN'T COUNT! Pinkie fixing herself does NOT count!" "It totally does Altum." I say with a smirk as Celestia finally joins me at my side. "NO! You didn't even do anything! You just stood there as she talked to herself! That doesn't count!" He yells as he glares down at the flow breaking pink pony... flow breaking? "You obviously don't know Pinkie Pie Altum." I say as I walk over to her side, getting a bright smile from her. "I mean, I probably could have jingled some keys and got the same effect." "Hey!" Pinkie pouts, then smiles. "Okay, maybe. It depends on the keys though! None of those paracentric keys." I stare at her for a moment before looking back up to Altum. "As I said, it's Pinkie. Now get ready for an ass kicking-" SNAP Before I could act, Altum snapped his fingers and summoned the machine from Outpost Zero. He points it at me and begins to charge his magic into it. I shove Pinkie aside and try to make- BRRRRRRRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMMM What has happened to Miles!? Will he be able to defeat Altum now!? Will Celestia be able to help?! Will Pinkie ever let me write a fucking chapter and not break the wall so hard that I have to fucking stop the entire story and set her back on track!? I mean, seriously!? You got the stories mixed up! What the fuck was up with that!? You mad? FIND OUT NEXT TIME ON MAN OF WAR! Author's Note Don't forget to update your Oc's and Chapter 200 questions! Also, shout out to Whatmustido fro letting me reference his story, you're awesome! Brony on! Chapter 190 Losing SolitudeChapter 190 Losing Solitude I groan as I lie on the floor, my mind racing through a foggy maze of memories. I can barely remember the last few minutes, but I do recall being very confused. I sigh and run a hand through my hair as I try to think back to- what the fuck!? I open my eyes and look at my arm, finding it to be back to normal. I sit up and look over myself and yell in joy when I see that I'm human again. "YES! YES! FUCK YOU HOOVES I HAVE FINGERS! YES!" I yell as I jump to my feet and begin to look myself over. Everything is back the way it was. No confusing sheath, no useless wings, no giant head thingy, I'M HUMAN... AND NAKED! "Well... that wasn't expected." I look back to see Celestia and Discord staring at me. "I thought that with the Elements of Chaos you would have turned into a Draconequus... odd." Altum says as he floats away from the machine and looks me over a bit. "Do you feel chaotic at all? Perhaps a little?" "You could say that." I say as I flare my hands- oh sweet Barbra that feels good to do again. I smirk as Altum begins to circle around me, eyeing me curiously. I take slow, even steps to keep my back away from him. "You really think you're some lord of chaos, don't you?" "I think my methods speak for themselves." Altum says proudly as he continues to circle around me. "My question is, what's going to push you towards chaos?" "Enough of your games Discord!" Celestia snaps at him. "You will pay for your crimes!" Altum chuckles a bit as he comes to a stop. We stare each other down as we wait for one another to make the first move. My heart begins to pick up pace as the archaic flames in my hands lick against my forearms. The temperature in the room seems to have picked up considerably as I feel a bit of sweat build up on my forehead. This is going to be an interesting fight. "Your move... Altum." He frowns a bit at his name being called but smiles as he comes to stop. "So it is. Do you wish to know what I did once humanity fell to the Unfamiliar, Miles?" He asks as he steps backs, fading away. I raise my hands and move around, looking for him. I pause when I feel his breath on my ear. "I... killed... Susurrans Bellum." "ALTUM!" I yell as I turn around and try to grab him. He fades away before I could grab him, chuckling. I yell out in anger and let my power loose, feeling the portal on my back flare and connect with my arms. I look to left arm and grab the potestatum anul and begin to pull on it. "What are you doing Miles!" Celestia yells as she runs to my side. I ignore her and continue to pull on it. Bolts of energy start to shoot out from it as the metal begins to give away. "Miles! Won't the power kill you!?" Pinkie yells as she joins in on the other side. "ALTUM STANS!" I yell, putting all of my strength into removing the metal ring. The sound of metal bending fills the room as the ring begins to slowly bend further and further away until it finally snaps off of my arm. I feel a jolt of energy wash over my body as I turn my attention to the other metal band. With the added power I tear through it quickly and feel my magical ports jet with energy as the band falls from my arm. "EGO OCCIDAM TE!" I run forward and push my hand before me, sending a deafening wave of energy that blasts a hole in the wall. Thunder and lighting fill the sky as balls of fire rain down from the black sky. The road has turned into a river of fire and is already on its way to destroying the entire town. Screams echo from every building as ponies try to escape the danger. "NO!" Celestia yells as she runs forward and takes in the view. "I have to save them!" She yells before taking to the air. I look back at Pinkie as the rest of the Cakes join her at her side and try to think of a plan of action for them. They can't stay here, but where's safe? Where could they go that would be safe for them and everypony else? "Pinkie, I'll clear a path to my home and escort you all and Luna to Topaz Falls." I tell them. "Okay, what about you? Discord probably ran off by now and there's a lot of ponies trapped by the fires." Pinkie tells me as I turn back to the fires. "Leave that to me." I begin charging my magic to max out before setting the spell in mind. Once I feel my lines grow to every part of my body I run forward and jump into the fire. I feel the heat surround me as the air dries and my vision go red. I push my hands down and wait till I hit the ground. The sound of the roaring fires suddenly dies when I pull all of the surrounding oxygen out of the air. I hold the ball of energy before me and slowly let it loose, trying my best to not have it blow back in my face. When a ball of fire explodes behind me, I fall forward and let the ball go. I jump up and bring up a shield as the air escapes all around me. Luckily it doesn't all catch fire, but a few vortices appear around me. I look back to Pinkie and the Cakes before charging down the street. Any form of fire I see I immediately take out as I run down the street with the others close behind me. I hear the babies crying out in fear as Cup Cake tries to comfort them, though the fear in her voice is prevalent. Carrot calls out a few fireballs falling our way, that I deal with by sending chunks of earth at them. With every explosion and quelled fire I hear the children cry out more and more, pushing me to fight harder. As I clear a path, ponies start evacuating from their homes and join in following me. By the time we get to the park at the end of town I look back to see the crowd behind me has grown considerably. The are hundreds of ponies following me, trying to reach somewhere safe. The crowd seems to be mainly earth and unicorn ponies, though there are a few injured pegasi as well. I can see the air filled with pegasi trying to fly their way to my home as well, dodging the balls of fire as well as they can. A few unfortunate souls take hits and plummet to their death. The fire ends at the park, but the fields are collapsing before us in reverse. Large chunks of earth crack and break before levitating up towards the sky. I look ahead and see the cracks racing towards my home. I kneel down and launch myself into the maze of crumbling earth. I leap onto one chunk before leaping to another one. The rock rolls over when I slam into it, sending me falling to one below it. I crash into the rock and get the wind knocked out of me momentarily. I look up and see a large boulder heading right for me. I push forward and crack the rock, making it miss me. Dust flies up everywhere when as it crashes into the ground. I cough as I try to get back on my feet, but fall over as the ground continues to shake from more and more falling objects. I yell as I begin to push the large rocks away in an attempt to clear a path to my home. For every rock I shove aside, two more seem to take its place. I yell in frustration as I try to lift my hands up, levitating the field of crumbling rocks around me as well. "MILES!" I look back and see Rarity run to my side as the rocks lift out of her way. She ignites her horn and begins to assist me lifting the rocks. The entire field begins to lift as every unicorn from the crowd runs forward and begins to assist me as well. In no time at all, we clear a path straight to my home. "FOALS AND MARES FIRST! IF YOU CAN LEVITATE NOW'S THE TIME TO JOIN IN!" A city earth guard yells as he and a few others begin to usher the others forward. I begin to walk forward as the crowd begins to run ahead. A gust of wind catches my attention, making me look up. All of the pegasi are using the stone roof for cover as they race towards my home as well. I look behind me and see a large gold aura rise over the town and head towards me, lead by a white speck. As Celestia comes closer, I notice her flying is a bit off. She's left wing hesitates to extend up and she seems to be training to keep her altitude. I turn my attention back to the rocks above me and begin to meld them back together, darkening the area around me. Several of the unicorns begin to create balls of light while several other ponies bring out lanterns and other tools for light. Once I finish creating the dome I drop to my knees and let go of my magic, panting and sweating from the exertion. I look up to Celestia and see her racing towards us with all of her might. When she finally makes it to our group she drops down and crashes into the ground, rolling forward a bit until she slumps to a stop. I push myself up and run to her side as quickly as possible. "CELESTIA!" I yell when I make it to her. I flare my hands again and begin to heal her. She's bruised and has some internal bleeding, easily due to her prior injury. "Hang in there, I've got you." I tell her as she looks around, either from shock or anxiety. "There are still more... I have to save them." She tells me as she tries to head back towards the burning town. I hold her still and try to get her to look at me. "You need to stay put until I fix you up." I tell her as several ponies gather around. "Go get Luna! She should be in my house, go!" I yell at them, getting them to run off. BOOM Something slams into my chest and sends me flying back. I hit the ground and roll a bit before coming to a stop. A searing pain takes over me as a large burn mark covers the right of my front. I look over and see Altum walking towards me, a ball of red energy in hand, ready to strike. I try to get up, but the searing pain in my chest cripples me from doing so. I try to throw my other hand at him, but he takes a shot at it, incapacitating me further. I yell out in pain as I fall back. "It seems I can't affect you directly, but I effect what I can." He gloats as he stands over me, bringing the balls of energy back to each of his hands. "Say goodbye, Miles Eremita." "You won't win... Altum." I growl back to him as I try to move my legs. I can't manage to get them up enough to harm him, but I try anyway. There has to be a way to get to him. I can't lose, not now. "I believe I-" KRA-BOOM A massive blue beam of energy fires over head and sends Altum flying back. I sigh in relief as I drop down and look back, smirking when I see my savior. "What are y-you doing?" I ask, wincing in pain slightly. "Sorry to show up late, but the Great and Powerful Trixie had to gather some friends before this fight." She says as a line of friends walk up from behind and stand beside her. Perspective: Trixie "Luna, go heal Miles. Twilight, provide cover with your Med-gun. Rainbow Dash and Night Fury, keep Discord occupied. Fayte, you and your zebras help with Discord and get as many of the civilians to safety. GO!" I order to those directly around me. They all nod to me before running off to their tasks. Twilight starts by opening fire while Luna rushes to Miles' side, casting her healing spell on the way. Rainbow Dash stabs at Discord and sends an arc of electricity at him while Night Fury hastily flies up to him, swinging his axes at his exposed belly. Discord slaps the attack away as he backs away from Night Fury, trying to score a hit on him with the red energy. The troop of zebras run off all over the field, either aiding ponies or fighting Discord. I grab the Spartan necklace that I had taken from Night Fury and squeeze it to contact Regina. "How much longer until you all get here!?" I yell at her. "We're almost within the county limit. Should be about ten to fifteen minutes." She informs me. I nod before several explosions appear from the earthen ceiling. From above, countless Solar and Lunar guards begin to fly down and form ranks in the air around Discord. They draw their bows and arrows and take aim, letting loose a torrent of sharpened sticks. "Looks like we got here just in time." An elderly pony says as he walks up beside me. She smiles to me and says, "Diamond Heart, adviser to Celestia and Luna. You?" "Um... friend of Miles." I say, getting a nod from him as he walks forward, watching the fighting ahead of us unfold. "Good, you wouldn't happen to have any more tricks under your hat, would you?" He asks with a slight chuckle. I frown at him before running up beside him. "I've may have a few, but a true magician such as Trixie never reveals her secrets." I tell him, sticking my head up. "Well then, tell me if you've seen this one before. TO ARMS PONYVILLE!" He yells out. Most of the civilians present pull out weapons of all kind and jump into the fight against Discord. Bows, swords, maces, they use everything at their disposal to repel the patchwork creature. "But... if they were all guards-" "They aren't guards." Diamond tells me. "They're just ponies tired of bad things happening to their home. When I discovered that Discord had begun to make his move, I made sure that Ponyville was ready." He tells me as the fight begins to turn in our favor. Discord simply cannot deal with all of these ponies fighting him at once. "But... how did you know he would attack Ponyville?" I ask him, getting chuckle in response. "Lets just say I had a hunch." He tells me as he gives me a look. "S... Stop the attack." Miles grumbles as he tries to get up, only to be stopped by Luna. "Miles, stay down. You're going to-" "STOP THE ATTACK!" He yells as he forces himself up. "RUN ALREADY! GET TO TOPAZ FALLS!" He screams as he starts to walk towards the chaotic battle. "He has chaos! He feeds on anger! Stop before it's too late!" K-K-KRA-BOOM I blink as everything turns white. I look around and notice that I'm in a protective barrier with Diamond Heart, his horn providing the energy for our shield. He sighs before dropping the shield, revealing the chaos around us. The earthen doe has been blown completely away, showing us the black sky above. Every pony that was present for the fight is suspended in the air, seemingly unharmed by everything. A case of orange-ish red energy coats them as they hovers off of the ground. I look over to the side and see Miles, Luna and an unconscious Twilight, she must have been the one to try and shield them off. Everything around us seems to have disappeared from existence, leaving us on a flat surface. The ground below me seems the same as it was before, but I only can see where my shadow would have been. "Is everypony alright?" Diamond asks, getting yeses from me and Luna. "What was that? Where is Discord? Miles?" "Chaos." Miles answers as Discord appears before all of us. "Let's end this already." Miles throws out his left arm, creating a bright light that ends with some sort of energy weapon in place of his hand. His five portals blaze to life as the lines connect all over his body, burning the ground below him slightly. "Tsk, tsk, tsk Miles. When will you learn?" Discord says as he charges the energy around himself. "Chaos will always win-" "You've never had a friend in your life Altum, what would you know of Harmony?" Miles asks as he begins to walk towards Discord. His walking turns to running, which in turn becomes a full body sprint as he charges right for Discord. As he begins to close the distance, Discord starts to attack him, but stops as something seems to strike his gut. I didn't see what it was, but it was enough to give Miles an opening to hit him. When he makes contact, a blinding light forces me to close my eyes and look away. Perspective: Miles I blink as my vision slowly comes back to me. I've somehow ended up back on the floor with my magic off. I blink a few more times as I look up at the clear blue sky, feeling the wind tickle against my exposed side. For a moment I'm peaceful. There's nothing around me, nothing to attend to, just that vast expanse of sky and the wind. Slowly, everything starts to come back to me, and I jump back onto my feet. The vast darkness is gone, revealing a large empty plains devoid of almost anything. It's literally a flat expanse of grass, nothing more, nothing less. "So... it has come to this." I turn around at Altum's voice and see him standing before me. His long blonde hair blows in the wind as he cold red eyes stare into me. He's straightening out his grey suit as he begins to walk towards me, keeping his gaze on me. "You're human... how?" I ask as I step back, noticing that I'm clothed as well. "Where did-" "Some of us do have a bit of class you know." He cuts me off, eyeing my slightly. "And as for this, well, you're the creator. Enlighten us." "... my guess is the Elements being forced against each other made them reset their hosts. They were made together, I guess they'll never turn on each other." I guess as Altum stops just before me, glaring into my eyes. "Then you know what that means, right?" He asks, raising an eyebrow slightly. I take a breath in as I face him, ready to end this. "Usque ad diem mortis pugnamus." I tell him, getting a crooked smile in response. Twelve lights form around us and have an arc of electricity connect them, circling around us. Each of the lights has its own color, representing its own Element. The world around us dissipates as we back away from one another, readying to fight for our lives. I remove the jacket on my back and ignite my arms, watching Altum do the same. I'm a combat specialist, he was the dean of a school. I have Soul Fire, he's has basic human teaching. I have a cause- "Before we begin," Altum starts as he begins to walk around, forcing me to step aside to keep our distance. "You may not have known this, but I was originally from Diamond Halls." I stop in my tracks and gawk at him. "But... then-" "Oh, and I knew your mother, very well." He tells me with a sly smile. "I also know about your Soul Fire, your comeuppance, why daddy never came to save you, I know everything there is to know about you. I even know who killed your mother on the day of your birth. Nubila can't-" BOOM I've had enough of his talking, it's time I killed this asshole. I push my magic to its max and fire again at him, causing a second explosion that turns up a bunch of smoke and dust. I run forward into the smoke- FWUUSH I fall back as a powerful gust of wind hits me and knocks me back. I hit the ground and slide back until I feel an electrical force push me back. I jolt out of the electrical field but slam right back into it when another powerful force pushes me back. I try to break free of its grasp, but can't because of all the electricity running through my body at the moment. I feel myself slowly pushing back through the field, so I send one last shot into the center of the area. KROOM BOOM I fly back with the kind of force of water spraying out of a nozzle. At the same time, I hear an explosion and six impacts. I hit the ground, hard, and tumble over until I hit something solid. I can feel several cuts and bruises forming all over me, but ignore them for the greater danger ahead. I push myself up as quickly as possible, finding it difficult with a hazy mind, and ready myself for whatever comes next. The puff of smoke begins to blow away in the wind as Altum walks out, unscathed. In his right hand is a saber of pure black energy. The hilt seems to be a part of his hand now and the the blade seems... familiar. I can't quite name what its make is, but I feel as if I should. As he walks towards me, he lowers his saber to be held out to the side. My eyes widen slightly as he suddenly lunges forward, using his magic to propel himself even faster. I jump into the air magically to avoid the hit. His blade slices through the tree behind me with total, unhindered ease. I grab onto a branch and swing myself back down behind Altum. He turns back to me and slashes from a distance, sending a wave of dark energy my way. I throw my arms out and bring up a shield as I try to run for cover. My shield takes the brunt of the hit, but doesn't hold up to it in the slightest. The black energy seems to pause at it, then dissipates the energy before continuing through. No... how could he use that power... how could he use Icy Void? "Chaos, is a wonderful, wonderful thing." He says from my right before running and slashing at me. I roll forward to a kneeling position to dodge the attack and begin hurling balls of energy at him, trying to force him away before pressing my attack. he dodges a few of the attacks before leaping back, sending a few slashes my way to provide cover. With the distance between us, I take a moment to take in my surroundings. We're still in Ponyville, though we've ventured into the fields of the park now. There doesn't seem to be anyone near us, so I don't need to hold back. I turn my attention back to Altum and start to charge my hands with large amounts of energy. Soon navitas petram begins to form around my hand, molding to my influence. As Altum begins to run towards me, I add more power into forming my weapons, forming blades as Altum closes the distance. I slide under his attack and try to bring back my blade to hit him in the side. He brings his swing completely around to block my attack, pinning our two weapons together, so I try to stab with my other makeshift blade. He catches my fist with his hand and holds it in place, keeping the blade centimeters from his side. I try to muscle my way to dominance with each arm, but no matter what I do his smaller form is keeping me at bay. It has to be that energy sword, it has to be giving him this power. There is no physical way he could keep me at bay like this. "What's the matter, Miles? Cat got your tongue?" Altum asks as he begins to push back on me, forcing me to fold slightly. "Did you really believe you could defeat me without the Elements? I am the ruler of chaos, I am in my domain." "N-no you're n-not." I struggle to say as I try to fight back, finding it impossible to do. "You're a tyrant Altum-" "I TOLD YOU TO STOP CALLING ME THAT!" He yells as he knocks me down with a push. I hit the ground and feel the navitas petram shatter from my hands, their energy somehow being drained. I wince when I feel something jagged edge into my back, cutting me up slightly. "I AM DISCORD! LORD OF CHAOS! I WILL-" SLAM His shoulder is yanked back as a spray off red explodes out from him. He stands there for a moment, confused as to what just happened. At the same time, I feel something within me begin to stir. The energy sword fades away from his hand and he slowly tilts back, falling to the ground. I sit up and look around in shock for whatever just took him out. On the ground behind me I find one of the Elements of Harmony sitting there, Kindness. I grab it and focus on it, feeling its warm energy wash over me and begin to heal me. I hear several air snaps as the other Elements snap onto my arm, taking their old positions. I stand up and throw my arm out, creating Laminis Lux on my right hand. I look over to Altum and see him slowly ebbing away from life, his blood pooling around him as he takes his last gasps of air. I step over his body and glare down at him. "This is it, any last words?" I ask him. "WAIT!" Perspective: Fluttershy I fly out of the tree line and make my way over to Miles as quickly as possible, dropping my sniper rifle along the way. He looks over to me in a daze, somewhat confused by my presence. I ignore his looks and rush to Discords side, holding his head in my hooves carefully. "It's okay, it's alright. I'm here Discord, I'm here." I whisper to him as I stroke his cheek slightly, getting a scared look from him. "F-fluttershy? B-but-" "Shh, just listen, please." I beg him. He reaches up with a shaky hand and grasps my hoof by his cheek. "I know what you did Discord, and I forgive you." THUNK Discord bulges forward as Miles punches him right in the stomach. His hand seems to go into a bright portal in his body, but it is still affecting him. "Miles!" "N-no, this has t-to happen." Discord groans as he twitches in pain. "I-I fused with the Elements... if I'm going to die, he has t-to take them away." "But, why do you have to die!" I ask as I take hold of his hand, tearing up slightly. "Isn't there anything anypony could do!? What do you need? What can I do?" I ask feverishly as I squeeze his hand. Miles is completely focused on whatever he's doing while Discord is chuckling slightly. "B-benignus Fluttershy, usque in finem." He chuckles as he loosens his grip on my hoof. "Vale, mi amice." He says as he lets go and peacefully closes his eyes. "No, Discord! Fight it, you can't die Discord! Why does he have to die, DISCORD!" I yell frantically as I try to shake him awake. "AHHH!" Miles yells as he yanks back his hand, creating a blinding light. I raise a wing and a hoof to try and block it out, but it's still is blinding. After a few seconds everything turns back to normal, letting me open my eyes. "W-where did he go?" I ask as tears begin to fall. All that's left is a circle of stained grass. No body. No ashes. Nothing. "Where did he go!" I demand from Miles as I stand. He steps back and looks to his left arm. Like his right, it is ending in an energy blade, but this one is different. It seems to be made of black energy and send shivers down my spine simply from looking at it. Miles looks at it and cracks a wry smile. "Now... I am complete." He says in a raspy voice before falling back. Author's Note WOO! Finally, I never thought this would end. Alright my bronies, hope you've had your fill of the crazy cavalcade of chaos, because things are calming down for a while now. There still will be some fights and conflict, but for the most part the rest of arc three could be considered Slice of Life instead of Adventure. It won't be drastic, but it will happen. In further news, have you noticed the lack of brony point thing-a-magigers? That was intentional. I had to make sure certain things turned out certain ways so I had to restrict them. Also, for those of you have been following for this long and know my blog posts, this is where I actually am restarting the counts for brony points. For one reason: there have been multiple occasions where people comment on every chapter when they start reading. This isn't wrong and I enjoy it, but when they earn the rewards and have no clue (beyond that of the normal confusion) what's going on, they tend to decline the offer. So now it's something for up to date readers and special cases. Brony on! Chapter 191 So Much To DoChapter 191 So Much To Do Perspective: Luna A day has passed since Discord fell, and the resolve of this town has shown through with tremendous vitality and admiration. Buildings are on their way to being rebuilt. Those who have been injured are being treated. And the dead has found their final resting places. This town has been through so much, but its resolve to move forward has been nothing but strengthened. I could not think of a single other town with this kind of commitment to each other, it is truly something magical. Miles hasn't woken up yet. He isn't unconscious, otherwise I would have been able to peer into his dream. He's... just, there. Some kind of internal conflict is waging on in that head of his and there isn't a single thing anypony could do to help. It pains me to see him this way, but a relief at the same time knowing he's alive at the least. That goes double for Celestia. Doctors say after a week of bed rest she should be back on her hooves, but that's if she stays in bed. At one point we had to physically restrain her to keep her in bed. She's determined to help in any possible way, something I've missed about her dearly. Putting the subjects before her own health, it was something I've always admired about her. Over this time I've been keeping busy myself as well. With Celestia bed ridden, it's been up to me to make all of the executive decisions. I thanked the zebra ponies for aiding us in our time of need, sought to restore the Solar Guard to its rightful place, had to orchestrate all of the bots that had changed back to go home, check in with a doctor -secretly of course- and aid as many patients as possible. After a day straight of all of this, my doctor finally pulled me aside for a quick, private word. "Is everything alright doctor? Am I still... you know?" I ask as we enter her office. The unicorn doctor shuts the door and goes to her seat behind the desk, her tired eyes scanning over some documents. "Yes, everything should be fine-" "Oh, thank you mother!" "But I still want to be careful! No more strenuous activity! Be sure to get plenty of fluids and try to get a decent meal in as well. How far along are you again?" I think about it for a moment, trying to get the most accurate answer. "It should be a little over four weeks now." I tell her, getting her to scribble a few notes down. "Well, it's March, and with one month down, your baby should be arriving sometime in September then. Now, lets set up a schedule for future appointments. Have you alerted the doctor in the castle of this yet?" "Well... no, but I've only known for two days now. That... and..." "And?" She asks, far too tired to try and not sound annoyed. "Well... I'm thinking of having the baby here, in Ponyville." I inform her, getting a shocked look from her. "... here... in Ponyville?" She asks to clarify, to which I nod. "I'm thinking about it still, and I would like to discuss it with Miles as well, but... we like it here." I say with a shrug, getting her to drop her clipboard. "Princess Luna, with all due respect, Ponyville is no place for royalty to be... born! I mean, don't get me wrong, I love this town with all my heart. But, this is a future ruler of Equestria for pony sake! There hasn't been a birth in the Royal family outside the castle grounds... since you and your sister!" She says as she runs a hoof through her grey mane and tries to wrap her mind around the idea. "Doctor Care, I understand that this is a little unorthodox, but I-" "Unorthodox! That's an understatement!" She practically yells as she leans back and gawks at me. "The foal can't, or shouldn't, leave the hospital for at least a week! And that's assuming there aren't any complications! Do you have any idea what kind of frenzy the paparazzi would have if news about this leaked out!? We don't have the staff to keep those vultures out! I'm sorry, but... it's impossible." She concludes. I take a slow and even breath as I try to collect my thoughts about this. I know that we wouldn't be able to leave right away, and that we wouldn't be able to go far with the foal. Miles's home is close, but open for prying eyes to steal peeks. The bots could help keep them back, but I don't want anything with weapons near my foal, especially that early. I'm sure the Royal family would have a field day with this as well. There's no telling what they'll come up with when I announce my being pregnant. Can't imagine what it would be if I try to have foal here. "I... I guess you're right." I say, getting a relieved sigh from Doctor Care. "Good, I'm sorry for being so blunt about that-" "No, no, you were right to. You are a Doctor, it is your duty to attend to your patients medical needs first." I tell her formally as I stand. She stands as well and bows, though I can tell she doesn't know why she's bowing. "I'm going back to the medical ward to-" "NO!" She yells, making me jump slightly. "I mean, no. You need your rest. Go check on your sister and husband while I make sure to send something to eat up there. Please Princess." She begs, making me sigh in defeat. "Very well, I'll leave my ponies in your capable hooves. Doctor Intensive Care." I nod to her before turning and taking my leave. The halls of the hospital are filled with injured ponies. The youngest and most extreme cases are being treated by professionals first, as by my decree, leaving the rest to either wait or have to settle for the volunteer aid. Alongside me, Twilight has been going non stop with her Med-gun and household supplies. I'll have to ask her why she had so many potions after this is all settled out, just out of curiosity. When I turn down a hall I have to stop from running into somepony. "Beg your pardon your highness." The earth stallion mutters as he ties off a bandage on a light blue earth mare. He's tall and has orange hair that's covered in soot and ash. The mare winces from the added pressure being added to her leg, but fights to keep a calm face for her two foals. "You're... the Cakes, if I'm not mistaken." I guess as I step closer to them. "What happened?" I ask as I look to the wounded pony. The stallion looks to me and my heart drops when I see that his right eyes has been bandaged up. "Don't worry about me, doctors say I'll be able to keep it." He muses when he notices me reaction. "Princess, could you help him!" The mare begs as she tries to turn to me. "Be careful, honey bun!" The stallion scolds as he rests a hoof on her shoulder. "Don't strain yourself anymore than you need to. But... if you were willing, could you help my wife please?" "Carrot!" "She needs her strength for the foals! I can take the pain, she's a big softy!" I chuckle as they begin to argue over who should be healed first. I feel something small hug my leg in the midst of their bickering and find a pegasus foal hugging my leg. I smile down to the little one and sit down so I can pick him up. He smiles up to me and playfully hits at my chest. I can't help but smile down at him and wonder what my own foal will be like. "Ahem." I snap back to their conversation and look up to them. They've both stopped bickering and are staring at me, smiling warmly. I blush as I look back down to the little colt in my hooves. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself." I admit as I bring a hoof to his and toy with him a bit, poking at his tummy and nose. "And, I can heal both of you if you wish." "So when are you expecting?" The mare asks, making me look to her in shock. "I have two of my own deary, and I know plenty of mares with their own. I know that look. Who's the lucky stallion?" She asks, making a question burst out from my mouth. "Where's the other one then?" I immediately regret asking, and feel even worse when the sad looks come onto their faces. "Our little Pumpkin Cake was injured during the run to Miles's house. She's receiving treatment in that room right now." The stallion, Carrot, informs me. I nod to him and offer his son back. "I am sorry this happened to you-" "Oh no deary, you're only sorry when it was your fault. This was all that monster Discords doing." The mare says with malice in her voice. I nod to her and begin to charge my horn. I've been doing this all day, so I feel a bit of strain hit me as I begin to heal the two of them. "Can I ask you a question?" I ask them as I continue to heal them. "Of course, your highness." The mare says quickly, caught off guard by my question. "Will you continue to raise your foals here in Ponyville?" My question catches them further off guard, but Carrot answers it as quickly. "Of course, why would we leave?" "Ponyville attracts a lot of unwanted attention, especially recently. It would seem that every week it is becoming less and less safe to live here, let alone bring a child up here. What is it about this place that keeps you here?" This time the mare answers first, much sooner than I would anticipate though. "Dear, this is our home. I wish that the bad things wouldn't happen, but I still wouldn't trade Ponyville for Manehattan, Trottingham, or even Canterlot. The ponies here are nice, the business is constant, not to mention that despite the bad, it always ends well. Las Pegasus has been nearly wiped out, where's the good for those ponies? We've been attacked, had rampaging monsters, and even been literally turned upside down! But no matter what, we band together and rise up and meet the challenges head on." I finish up healing them just in time for the door to their right to open up, revealing a nurse in scrubs. "Pumpkin Cake is fine now, we've treated her completely. All she needs now is her parents and some rest." She tells them before walking back inside. The mare smiles as she stands up and faces me. "Good always triumphs in Ponyville, Princess Luna, always. Thanks you for helping us, but I need to see my baby girl now." "Of course, and thank you. For telling me all of that, it helped." I tell her. They both bow to me before rushing inside the room. I make my way to Miles's and Celestia's room where I enter quietly as possible- "Can you untie me already?" Celestia asks loudly. I roll my eyes as I close the door behind me, so much for trying to be quiet. "I dunno, are you going to stay put?" I ask playfully as I walk over and check on Miles, nuzzling his cheek a bit. "I need to pee." She deadpans. I think about it for a moment before levitating a bed pan over to her. She looks to the pan then back to me, waiting for me to say it's a joke. ... ... ... "Oh fine," I say as I undo her magical restraints. "But just to the bathroom! I don't want to hear a single word of you doing anything more." "Yes, mother." She drones as she scoots out of bed. I laugh a bit at that and begin to crawl into bed with Miles. As I try to get comfy against him, I find something squirming underneath me. "Miles!?" I ask as I turn around and throw the sheets off. "Not quite." I gawk at Trixie as she lays between me and my husband. An awkward silence fills the room as we stare at one another. After several minutes she finally starts to scoot out of the bed. "Um... can you scoot over a bit?" She asks as she tries to get around me. "That depends on what you were doing in here with my husband." I say with a bit a venom in my voice as I continue to glare at her. "Well... you see... there... weren't any other beds, so... I figured... um, just a bit please?" She asks as she tries to get around me on the bed. "There are plenty of other beds with other stallions, why Miles's bed?" I ask a bit louder, make her back away from me. "Um... maybe this isn't the be-WAH!" She shrieks as she fumbles over Miles. She falls back and grabs Miles in an attempt to stay up, but only manages to drag him down as well. FLASH I blink a bit when a bright flash comes from beneath the bed. Confused, I scoot over and peer over the bed. A silence fills the room as Miles sits back up and looks between the two of us. Nopony says anything as we stare at one another, trying to grasp what just happened. "Luna," Miles mutters as he breaks the silence. "Yes Miles." "I was human back in the fight," he starts. "Yes." "And now I'm a pony again." "That is correct." "Hmm... big green with wings and pointy head thingy?" "Eeyup." "..." "Are you going to-" "SON OF A BITCH!" He yells as he tries to stand up, but fumbles over and falls back down. "OH COME ON! I HAVE TO RE-LEARN TO WALK!? FUCK!" He yells as he flops around on the ground. Trixie teleports to my side to avoid his flailing legs. "Miles! Miles, calm down before you-" SMACK FLASH Everything goes quiet again when he smacks his head against the bedpost and turns back into a human. Miles looks over himself and cracks a smile... then loses it when he realizes what just happened. "I'm... going to need a helmet." He mutters as somepony opens the door behind us. "Will somepony please tie the princess back up before she over exerts herself trying to heal everypony?" A doctor demands as some nurses usher in Celestia. Oh... things just can't go back to normal, can they. Perspective: Twilight After tending to ponies nonstop for over a day, the doctors demand that I take a break to rest. I assured them that I could keep going, but when they brought out every nurse and urged me to reconsider, I decided to listen to them. They are doctors after all. So I take my leave and begin to head home. I strap my rifle to my back and toss my saddle bags on my hips as I leave the hospital. Much of Ponyville has been damaged, but luckily very few homes actually burned down. Just like after any disaster, many construction ponies have already started rebuilding and repairing homes and businesses. I'm glad that even in the worse of times, our friendships will shine through... oh! I should write that to Celestia... wait, do I still write to Celestia? I guess it wouldn't hurt to, and she might enjoy it as well. I sigh in relief when I walk through the door to my home and drop all of my belongings. I'm glad I set those fire resistant charms back when I moved in- THUD I jump a little when a large duffle bag falls from the stairs. "Sorry 'bout that!" Storm yells as he flies down, clad in armor. "Things a bit heavy-" "Where are you going?" I ask as I step towards him. He drops to the ground and hoists the bag onto his back, grunting a bit from its weight. "I'm going to start looking for Spike." He says matter of factly. "It's been a day now and we haven't seen tooth or scale of him. I'm going to start out with Mt. Skyscraper, then the Everfree, White Tail woods-" "Storm, what if he comes home before you do? How would we get a hold of you then?" I ask as I step in his way. "Just have Miles call me with the Spartan necklace. But every second I spend here is a second longer he might be in trouble. I can't just stand here and wait for answers, I'm going after him." He says before kissing me on the cheek and walking around me. "Then I'm going with you!" I say before running back to my bags and start to put them back on, only to stop when Storm puts a hoof on my shoulder. "Twilight, you know you can't." "He's my son too, Storm!" "Yeah, but I'm not carrying a foal with me, am I?" He says, getting me to stop and look back to him. He sighs before setting down the bag and coming over to me, wrapping me up in a tender hug. "Twilight, I don't want to risk what happened last time. That nearly destroyed us. Please, stay behind. If not for me, then for our foal." "Beside, he won't be going alone." We jump a little when the new voice enters the room. We look back to see Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Soarin geared up for a long trip... well, in Rarity's case, she seems a little unprepared. Given how much she usually packs. "We're coming too." Soarin affirms. "But-" "No buts Twilight." Rarity says as she steps forward. "We all want Spike home as much as you do. This is no different than the time he ran off to join the dragon migration." "But, what about your shops?" Storm asks. "Sugarcube Corner burned down." Pinkie says... a little too happily. "So while the insurance ponies fix it up, why not go after one of my best buds?" "Yes... buds." Rarity says, blushing a little. Storm and I look over to Soarin and wait for him to explain himself. "Well... I doubt you guys know the dragon migration route. Not to mention I know plenty of caves and mountains along the way that are notorious for attracting dragons. Plus, having an ex-Wonderbolt couldn't hurt when chasing down a dragon." "What about Rainbow?" I ask. "Somepony needs to watch over Scootaloo... and to rest for... things. So, I'm going. Rainbow also told me to tell you that if you try to argue she will cite Spartan Codex on you, so deal with it." Soarin says, getting Storm and I to look to one another. I give him a weak smile before pulling him for another hug. "Be safe and get our son back." I whisper into his ear. "I will." He says quietly before breaking the hug. Rarity and Pinkie rush over and squeeze me in a group hug, thanks to Pinkie mainly. They all give me their reassurances of getting Spike back before they turn and leave. Once the door shuts I try and collect my thoughts. I've never been on my own, usually Spike would be here by my side to help. I glance around the room and realize how empty it is without my boys, and how much I miss them already. KNOCK KNOCK I run to the door and throw it open, expecting it to be Storm, but nearly fall over when I see who it is. "B-Blueblood!? What are you doing here?!" I ask in bewilderment as he stands at my door with a squad of unicorn guards behind him. "Princess Twilight, as soon as I heard of the troubling news I came rushing over to assist." He says melodramatically as he ushers himself in. "Please... come in." I deadpan as his guards take their place in my living room, along with somepony I don't know. He's a unicorn with a white coat, overly done light brown hair, blue eyes, and a cutie mark of a golden tea set. "Is there anything you need? I know!" *clap clap* Gold Standard! Bring some tea!" Blueblood orders. His servant begins to run all over my home, grabbing a table, cushion, and table topping to the middle of the front room before running off to start making tea. I huff in annoyance and go off to get my own cushion, seeing how Blueblood has taken the only seat at the table. When I get back Blueblood is eyeing all of my tea ware, obviously unsettled by their rustic value. "Why are you here Blueblood?" I ask as I take a seat across from him. "As I said, as soon as I heard about all of the chaos in Ponyville I mobilized my personal guard and came here as quickly as possible." He says, holding his actions in high regard. "Well, you can help with the rebuilding and healing ponies. But as for the actual fight, that's been dealt with already." I tell him as Gold Standard comes in and pours Blueblood a cup of tea. I roll my eyes as I take my kettle back and pour myself a cup. "Is that so? Well then, that means we can move onto my- our next order of business." He says before taking a long, slow sip from his tea. "And that would be?" I ask, growing impatient. "Your moving to the castle of course." He says matter of factly. I nearly drop my cup when he says this. Did... did he say, move to the castle. "You seem shocked. You're a Princess of Equestria now, and as such it will be expected of you to reside in Canterlot-" "But what about my friends! I don't want to leave Ponyville!" I practically yell. Blueblood simply takes another slow sip from his cup, ignoring my protest. I charge my horn and knock the cup from his hooves, spilling it on the ground. "What gives you the right to-" "I am a Prince of Equestria!" He yells back as he stands up, dwarfing me with his own stature. "I have the right to speak to you as an equal, but that doesn't mean I have to like it! Keep in mind, Princess Twilight, that the Royal sister will always be held over the rest of us. The riff-raff peasants, your friends, me, you, all of us serve under the Royal sisters! So do not speak down to me! I have enough influential pull with the Canterlot Elite to have you demonized for the rest of your life, so don't you dare test me." He warns me as he pushes the table aside and gets in my face. "Ahem." We both look over to see Miles in the doorway, leaning against the side. Blueblood steps away from me and glares at Miles. "So, Blueballs, nice to see you still haven't learned to treat the mares right." He says as he looks at the back of his hand. "My liege." Blueblood says as he bows to Miles. "Okay, who the fuck told him?" Miles asks aloud. "I have many ears over all of Equestria, my King. It will be... a pleasure, to have you in the Castle-" "Fuck that noise." Miles says as he walks in and stands before me. "Hey Twi, according to Celestia you and a few of the others made contact with the Unfamiliar while I was... out. I need-" "My liege!" Blueblood yells as he jumps between the two of us. "A Royal meeting will be held tomorrow to introduce you to the-" "Don't care. I need to go over all of the details with you guys and-" "I'm afraid I must insist." Blueblood pushes, putting on a sly smile. "You see, if you refuse, I'll have to follow you around to assure your safety-" "Don't worry, I'm sure there aren't any fanny bandits here that are willing to go after me." Miles retorts. I can't help but chuckle at the joke, though I'm not sure if Blueblood is gay or not. He does wear a lot of make up- "I'm afraid that my orders still stand. I will be at your side until the meeting is complete, my liege." He says with another bow. Miles and I both roll our eyes at his reluctance. Leave it to Blueblood to snake his way around more important issues. "I'll begin to make copies of what we found and have them ready for you as soon as possible." I tell Miles, getting a nod from him. "You go ahead and take care of this in the meantime." "*sigh* do I have to?" Miles complains. "Of course my liege, it wouldn't be a party without our King." Blueblood says with a chuckle. PUNCH "BLUEBLOOD!" Gold Standard yells as he runs to his unconscious body. "Okay then, now-" "You still have to go." I tell him. "... your lips say go, but your eyes say-" "I'll send a letter to Luna to let her know that you're going to the meeting tomorrow. Have fun, I'm going to bed now. Can you please take out the trash?" I ask as I head up the stairs, ready to crash for a few days. Author's Note Only eight more chapters until the Q/A, be sure to update your questions and post away. The Spartan Oc blog will also be closing soon, so if you have an oc, now is the time to post. Brony on! Chapter 192 Men and KingsChapter 192 Men and Kings Perspective: Miles When the sunlight begins to shine on my eyes I force myself to wake up. It feels odd not waking up in my room, but until we get a new bed I guess I'll just get used to using the guest bedroom. Well... with Luna pregnant, I guess this would be the kids future room. I stretch a bit in bed and roll to my side to look at Luna. She's still asleep, sleeping with her mouth slightly open. I bring a hand.... hoof, I bring a hoof up and run it along her side. She lets out a quiet sigh as she closes her mouth, still asleep. I pause at her stomach and hold my hoof there. "A little lower, honey." Luna tells me, her eyes still shut. "Hmm, we sure did go through a lot for this, didn't we?" I ask as I move my hoof lower. "Miles, you aren't going to feel anything yet." She says and she reaches down and holds my hoof. "I don't know, I think I'm starting to feel a little bit of chub-" SMACK I laugh as she hits me a few more times, eventually pulling her in for a hug. "I'm just kidding, jeez." I tell her as she huffs in annoyance. "Anyway, let's start getting ready to get to Canterlot, okay?" "Okay... jerk." She says, hitting me one last time. "You know you love me." I say as we get out of bed. She smiles and shakes her head at me. I go to the bathroom in the other room, the one in the guest room being too small for both of us, and start getting ready for the day. I start out by trying something... probably dumb. I punch myself, hard. What I expected to have happen, happened. But it still hurt. "What was... that?" Luna asks as she comes rushing into the room. "Um... Miles, how did you... do that?" She asks as she stares at my now human body. "All I needed was a bit of persuasion." I state simply as I start to run the water, working both the knobs to get it to the right temperature. I miss the simplicity from before. "Miles... are you sure it's a good idea to keep switching back and forth?" Luna asks as she steps into the master bathroom. "Well... I don't know. I assume that it's the Elements doing this to me, in which case I guess it's okay. But I'll need to run some tests before I get a definitive answer-" "But what about you overloading? You tore off your potestatum anuls, shouldn't you be on the edge of death, or something?" She asks worriedly as she rushes to my side. I show her my hand and flip it from one side to the other, getting a confused look from her. "I have a theory based on what Altum showed me on why I'm not becoming over exerted. But first, want me to get your back?" I ask as I offer her a space in the tub. She smiles and takes a seat inside. I join in behind her and sit as close as possible, having our bodies mesh together. The water feels good, and sharing it with my wife makes it all the better. I begin by first making sure every part of her has an ample supply of water coating it before lathering her with different soaps of her choosing. As I rub in the shampoos, I begin to tell her what I saw. How humans engineered the ponies, what they were built for, and the glimpse into my lineage. It was pretty shocking for her, seeing how ponies were originally designed as slaves, including her parents. When I finish up her back I have her turn around and start on her front, moving even closer to her. I begin telling her about my theory on why I didn't burn away immediately after pulling off my potestatum anuls. The machine from Outpost Zero was some kind of remnant from those Purgian experiments, but refined. It didn't require the three tubes nor the six wall enchants. I believe, at its base function, that it's made to change a persons soul and body, but not their mind. Since I changed with great stress on my soul, it must have made a body that could accommodate all of that power, thus, an Alicorn. I finish telling this as I finish washing her body. She motions for me to turn around and begins to rub my back, adding the soap to smooth out her movements. Now, because of the Elements of Chaos, I'm in some state of limbo where my body and soul can't decide between the two of them. My guess is, the closer to either Element I am will dictate which body I am. Again, this will require tests to confirm and a few experiments to understand. Not to mention I need to gain knowledge about myself in each form to better utilize them properly... not to mention learn unicorn magic and flight. She promises that she'll help throwing me off of clouds until I get a hang of it... not looking forward to that. "So... how exactly are you going to test yourself?" Luna asks as we step out of the bath and begin to dry each other off. "I'll have to go to Topaz and use the equipment there, or what's left at least. I may have to go to New Garnet and use what's there, not to mention I'll need to deal with the Unfamiliar." "Miles, try not to kill any of them. Fluttershy and the others have worked really hard at gaining their trust just to go down there. Don't undue that." Luna tells me as we finish up and leave the bathroom. "... I'll try, but I'm not making any promises. There will be reparations for what happened to my people-" "Don't forget, they have felt their share of pain as well. At least you still have a home planet." She tells me as I begin to get dressed. "Yeah, but they still have a population. I'd take people over a planet any day." Luna frowns at that and drops the subject. We eat a light and quick breakfast, Luna telling me that we'll eat properly when we get there, and head out for the train station. Though she assures me it's perfectly fine to teleport, I don't exactly feel comfortable letting her use magic in any which way or form. Call me paranoid, I don't give a fuck. Plus, Twilight also insisted it yesterday. "You better not become overly protective over the next six months Miles." Luna warns me as she takes a seat in on the train. "Trust me, when I become over protective, you'll know." I say as I take a seat next to her. "Where's Twilight? Taking the train was her idea in the first place." I ask as the train begins to move along, gaining speed... quickly? Well, gaining speed at least. "Don't fret Miles, I'm here." Twilight says as she enters our compartment, closing the door behind her. "Good morning everypony." She says as she takes a seat across from us, to which we reply. "So, I've never been to a Royal meeting before. Mind giving some pointers to us, Luna?" Twilight asks, summoning a note and quill. "Of course. Like always, treat everypony with respect-" "Uh-huh." Twilight mumbles as she writes down what she says. "Try not to yell or cause a ruckus, many of the ponies in there will be of the older generation." Luna says, then points a hoof at me. "Not. A. Word. Mister." "I wasn't going to say anything." I say as I put my hands up. "Old lady...." "This is suppose to be a Royal event, so hold yourself to that standard. No slurping drinks. No lewd jokes. NO SWEARING, Miles." She says as she glances back to me. Meh, as long as Blueblood stays the fuck away, I'll be fine. "This is suppose to be a casual Royal meeting, so attire is optional, though most of the ponies there will be dressed one way or another." "Of course." I mutter, getting a smack on the arm from Luna. "You're abusive when you're pregnant." I complain as I don't rub my arm... didn't hurt. "I love you too." She chides before turning back to Twilight. "And above all else, this is basically a casual political meeting as well. So everypony will lie, cheat and deceive you to try and gain whatever it is they are after. Don't promise anything, never shake hooves unless you know all of the details; which I can guarantee you don't. And above all else, DO NOT tell anypony how you feel about anything... EVER. Those ponies will find a way to use it against you for either their own gain or to bring you down. DO NOT TALK ABOUT YOURSELF! If all goes according to plan, nopony there will know either of us are pregnant-" "Blueblood knows." I tell her. She looks at me with a scared, shocked expression as she grips the arm rest. "Blueblood... knows... about us?" She asks timidly. "He even knows about me, I think." Twilight adds. SNAP The room goes quiet when Luna breaks the armrest off of the wall. She stares between the two of us with pinprick eyes as she tries to comprehend what we told her. "Is this why you're so secretive?" I ask, breaking the silence. "Also, is this how they do things now, or back a thousand years ago?" "Miles." Luna grumbles as she sets the piece of wood down. "It's politics, they don't change." "Well, in that case, don't worry so much. I've had plenty of experience in the political game." I say as I lean back in my chair. "... no you haven't." Twilight states. "Yeah I have. I'm a Spartan, back in Topaz Falls people listened to our every word. Nothing went through the military without our knowing and influence, nothing. Trust me, these ponies have never dealt with Spartan politics before. Just do me a favor, don't leave my side." I say to Luna, getting a warm smile in return. "I need a shield-" SMACK "Now, there are a couple of other things you should know in order for relevance sake. Starting with family members and their livelihoods..." Two Hours Later We walk out of the train station and into the main street of Canterlot. The city is alive with activity as ponies fixing buildings and repairing roads. The fight here really took a toll on the city, but they should be able to cope. I can't help but notice a difference in the work though. The ponies here seem.. as if they're only doing this because it's their job. It's nothing like Ponyville. A carriage with four pegasis pullers drops from the air and lands before us. Luna steps forward and takes a seat on the carriage, Twilight and I following after her. The carriage take to the air and brings us to the back of the castle, where we land indoors. "Your majesty." An earth mare servant greets as she bows to us. "If you all will follow me, the gathering has already begun-" "But it's barely nine." I blurt out, getting a slight kick from Luna. "Thank you very much." Luna says with a slight incline of the head. She bows to her and leads us away. "Miles, just promise me you won't punch anypony, okay?" "Well..." I look down at her and see the worry in her eyes, making me fold. "Alright, I promise not to punch anyone." I tell her, getting a smile in return. "Now lets get this over already." We walk off after the servant girl, going through the maze of halls until we end up in some room in the heart of the castle. The room we end up in reminds me of the throne room, only lacking the throne and having tables set up around the side of the room. True to Luna's word, there are several elder ponies in either light dresses or suit jackets dotting the center. There are a handful of younger ponies as well, and even a foal in the back, but one thing is certain. They are all unicorns. As soon as the three of us step into the room, all eyes turn on us. I reach slowly into my pocket and press a few buttons on my phone, getting a vibration as a confirmation. "Announcing the Element of Friendship, Princess Twilight Sparkle!" The mare bellows to the crowd. Twilight looks between the two of us before stepping forward and bowing nervously. She walks quickly into the crowd and over to Celestia's side, trying to avoid all of the eyes on her. "Announcing the new rulers of Equestria, Queen Luna and King Miles Eremita!" Luna and I both go rigged as everyone, Celestia included, bow to us. Not just the head tilt and neck incline bow. The, get on your knee and kiss the floor, bow. "Should we says something? They aren't getting up." I whisper to Luna. "I think so, I don't normally get this kind of reception." She whispers back to me. I think about it for a moment longer before stepping forward apprehensively. "Thank you for your hospitality. I know I'm not the kind of leader you are all expecting, being human. Just know that I intend to do what is necessary to keep my home, and its allies, on the right tracks to a brighter future." I say aloud, getting the ponies in the room to stand and stomp their hooves lightly. I look back to Luna before we both walk into the fray of politicians and officials. Immediately, we become surrounded by several ponies as they begin to ask questions, along as to squeeze in some brown nosing. "My liege, how exactly are you going to ensure a brighter future?" "King Eremita, what do you determine to be the necessary actions that we have to take?" "Queen Luna, how far along are you?" "Queen Luna, will your sister be your birthing partner or will the castle maiden take the honor?" "How do you expect to handle our problems along with those of our allies?" "Do you have any schools lined up for the young one yet?" "Will your rule be mostly military operations or do you plan on being socially active as well?" "Do you wish for a filly or a colt... or a human?" Why does Luna get all of the easy questions? "ENOUGH ALREADY!" Diamond Heart bellows as he pushes a few ponies out of his way. "Back off you vultures, let the ponies breath." He says, getting a few scoffs from the others. "Thanks you Diamond." Luna says with a slight incline of the head. "And to answer your questions, about one month. I would love to have my sister as a birthing partner, if she would be willing-" "I AM!" "Okay then, yes. She will be. No, we don't have any schools lined up yet. And... I just wish for the child to be healthy. I will love it no matter what it comes out as." Luna tells them, getting warm smiles from all of the mares. "And you, sir?" One of the stallions asks me. "Fuck that noise, I want a girl." I say, getting another smack from Luna. The crowd around us laughs as Luna glares up at me. Oh yeah, no cussing. "But, in all honesty, I agree with Luna. I want a healthy child and don't care if it comes out one way or another." "And... the other issues?" One stallion asks, getting nervous looks from the others. "All in due time, but first things first, I must speak with my sister. If you'll excuse us." I say before ushering Luna over to Celestia. Luna trots forward to nuzzle up to her older sister, receiving equal affection. "Thanks for warning us about all this." I tease as I nod to Shining and Cadence. "I was in the hospital before this Miles, I didn't know either." She tells me. "So, what happens next?" Cadence asks as she steps forward. "Is Miles really going to be king?" "Give it a few minutes." I say quickly, getting shocked looks from everyone. "What do you mean by that?" Celestia asks cautiously. I just smile to her, not giving her anything. "Miles, please don't do anything dumb." Shining begs me. "Hey, I went to college for sixteen years, I think I know how to formulate a plan." I defend, getting unsure looks from all of them. "Wow, no confidence at all, thanks." "It's not that we don't have confidence in you Miles," Shining starts, "It's that we have confidence in what we know. And we know how our system works. You can't just quit being King because you don't want to be King-" "No, but if I can get everyone to agree to not have me as King, then we can make some progress." I tell him as my phone vibrated lightly, telling me to begin. "Wish me luck." I turn around and grab a glass from a passing waiter. I give it a few flicks in attempt to get everyone’s attention, but end up breaking the glass. Well... at least I have their attention. The crowd of ponies goes silent as they watch me, waiting for me to begin. "So, I was talking with Luna last night and we decided that we wanted to have the baby in Ponyville," I say, getting a gasp from the crowd. "Now, I know what your immediate reaction will be. I know of your tradition of having royalty born here, but here's where we come to an impasse. You all see me as your king, but I do not wish, nor will I willingly be, your king." Again, the crowd goes slack jaw from my statement, staring at me in utter confusion. "You can't just not be king because you don't want to-" "Why not? Who has the authority above me?" I counter. "Us." Blueblood says as he steps forward. I smile as he walks before me, holding his head up high. "We do more than just sit around and babble to each other. We are charged with keeping the traditions of Equestria strong and alive. We will not simply allow you to refuse your duties." "Good point, Blueblood." I say, getting a shocked look from him. "This is where we come to the ultimatum. You see, I may be your king at the moment, but I am still a servant of Terradisia. And, luckily for me, Terradisia is a recognized nation by Equestria, The Griffin Colonies, and even The Crystal Empire." "And your point is?" He asks, raising an eyebrow. "My point is, if I am your king, but subjugated to Terradisia, then who really rules?" I ask, seeing everyone in the room slowly come to the same realization. I look over to Luna and see her smirking at me, I knew this would play out our way. All I need now is for- "No." Blueblood mumbles. "No, you're bluffing. There is no way you'd pull something like that. I don't believe you have it in you to-" "Blueblood, sometimes I could just kiss you." I say, getting him to gag a bit. "I'll give you two chances. Let me live as my own person, raising my child the way I see fit, or loose Equestria. Your choice." I give them a minute to think it over. I motion to Luna and the others to back up as the crowd mumbles to each other. Once they're out of the way, I back up myself and pull off my Spartan necklace. "Times up, Night Fury, you have the green" I say into the necklace. "Roger that," he replies. Everything remains quiet as I wait for him to get here. A few of them start giggling as nothing happens, but that ends when the windows start vibrating. Two I.T.A.'s; or Infantry Transit Aircraft, pop up from outside the windows, one on the left and the other on the right. The main hull is a rectangle box with sliding doors on either side of the vehicle with four arcane engines extending from each of the corners. The engines can swivel in all directions to hover, or fly, in practically any direction. The cockpit sits at the front with three panels of C.A.G. (Computer Aided Glass) going over the top at different slopes. On the bottom of the sides of the cockpit are two large cannons with a thirty millimeter machine gun hoisted at the bottom. With the machine guns pointed inside; thanks to the P.V.A.S. (Pilots Visual Aiming System), the doors facing us slide open as Night Fury and several Military bots leap out. As they crash through the glass windows, four mounted machine guns open fire, spying the top of the room to avoid harming anyone. The ponies scream and take cover under tables or pull out blades to defend themselves. The bots fire stun bolts at any who try to resist, as ordered, and we quickly take the room. "Welcome to Terradisia!" Night Fury yells over the crowd as he tosses me an E.A.R. "So, here's my second chance. Either do your jobs and keep Equestria from falling to Terradisia, or we will take over. I'll give you ten seconds to comply. One. Five. Te-" "ALRIGHT!" Diamond Heart yells as he comes out from under a table. "You win Miles, let us deliberate the terms of this agreement like civil ponies. There is no need for violence." "Violence?" I ask as I walk towards him. "This isn't violence, Diamond. This is Spartan politics. This is how a people, raised in war, peacefully come to terms. Your rules only apply to us when we allow them to. So! Lets get on with this already." I say as I pull a table over and sit at it. "Who will lead the deliberations for Equestria?" "I-" "As your king, I will send forth Celestia to represent us." I say, cutting off Diamond. Everyone looks to the back of the room as Celestia stands and walks towards me, glaring at me slightly. "I accept." She says as she takes a seat across from me. "And who will represent the Terradisians?" "As Grand Captain of the Spartan Regiment, I humbly accept the honor." I say, bowing my head slightly. “So, I'll begin by apologizing for the rude entry. It was necessary to set the correct mindset." "Are the ponies who were shot okay?" She asks quickly. "They are. These were police guns and are permanently set to stun. They will be fine soon enough." I assure her, getting her to sigh in relief. "Okay. So what exactly is it you want then? I get that you don't want to rule, but I have the feeling that's not that is at stake." "You would be right. You see, my wife is pregnant," I start out, sounding very business-y. "And we want to raise our child in our own borders. The problem is that your ruling will not allow such a thing." "It is our tradition to have royalty be born here, but I think we can overlook it this time." She says with a sly smile. "But! Princess!" Blueblood gasps as he runs up to her. I look over to Night Fury and motion towards him. "You can't be serious! There-" CRACK Everyone winces when Night slams the butt of his rifle against Blueblood’s forehead, knocking him out cold. Celestia looks down at the unconscious unicorn and huffs in annoyance before summoning a scroll and quill. "I am going to write out the agreement between our two nations. It is my hope that, after this, we never have to come at ends again." Celestia says to me as she scribbles away on the scroll. "We usually keep our documents electronic." I state, getting an irritated look from her. "But I guess we can overlook that." "So, you wish to drop your rule-" "Yes." "Allow Luna, your wife, to have the freedom to chose where to raise her children-" "And to be able to assign my own successor!" I tell her to add. She gives me a look before writing it down as well. "Of course. Am I to assume that we can continue being allies after this?" She asks irritably. "Unless any of you are plotting something against us." I say as I look around the room. All of the ponies shake their heads no, making me chuckle slightly. "I think that's a yes." As Celestia continues to write out the last of our agreements, Luna walks over and read from behind her shoulder. She nods a few times before coming to my side and... well, the look. I don't know how else to describe it. She just shifts her weight to the side, frowns a bit, and gets this really intense look in her eyes. Not quite The Stare, but... still terrifying. "There, done. What do you think?" Celestia asks. "I think it's great." Luna says happily, still giving me the look. "Don't you? Dear." "Um... I can't read Equestrian." I say as I look over the paper. I feel a twitching in the back of my head, probably from Luna glaring at me. "But It'll do." I say as I take the quill and sign it. I move it over for Celestia to sign and motion for the bots to regroup, getting them to march back into the I.T.A.'s. "There, it is done." She says as she rolls it up and passes it on to a pony in the back. "Who will be the next leader of Equestria then?" She asks nervously. "Well, that is an interesting question." I say as I stand up and begin to march around the room. "Who among you are capable of ruling this nation? Now is the time to step up! Come on! WHO CAN LEAD!?" The crowd of ponies rush around me and begin to yell out names, ranging from Blueblood to Shining Armor. None of the ponies yell for Celestia. As they continue to shout, I glance back to Celestia and watch as she lowers her head in shame, until Twilight steps forward. "CELESTIA DESERVES TO CONTINUE RULING!" She announces loudly. "HERE HERE!" Cadence adds as she takes her side, followed by Shining. "She had her chance, and look how that turned out!" An elderly mare yells. "You're only for her because she allowed you to become an alicorn!" "Seems that way." I say as I hold my hands behind myself. "She nearly lost Canterlot to the Changelings!" Someone else adds. "Twice if I'm not mistaken." I add. "She couldn't stop Discord, three times!" Shouts another pony. "She just sends in her lackeys to do her dirty work instead!" "It does seem that way." I mumble. "She may govern the sun, but that doesn't give her the right to govern us!" Most of the ponies in the crowd start to cheer when that pony says that. I nod and walk back to Celestia. She looks up to me with tear filled eyes as their words continue to stab at her. "Enough!" I yell, getting all of them to stop. "I will choose someone who holds the people of Equestria at heart. Someone who puts ponies above all else. I will choose a leader who has the capacity to keep this nation, and its people, safe. I will choose someone I look to for inspiration in leadership, admiration in devotion, and someone I hold in the highest of regard." I say as I smile down to her. "Celestia, will you please continue your rule in Equestria?" I ask as I kneel before her. "You know, sometimes I really want to punch you in the face." She chuckles as she wipes her tears away. "Hey now, I do cool tricks when that happens." I tell her, getting her to chuckle again. She reaches forward and wraps her forelegs around me, hugging me lightly. I return the gesture, feeling a weight lift off of me as I finally console with Celestia. "I'm sorry, for so much more than just this Celestia. Just know that everything I've ever done was never meant to hurt you." I whisper to her, getting her to squeeze a bit tighter around me. "I know Miles, and I forgive you." She whispers back before releasing me. "I accept the responsibility of ruling this nation-" "And hey, now at least you know which cabinet members you can trust now." I say as I glance back to the others. "Yes... I'll have to have a nice long talk with all of them." She says as she looks back to them. They all try to avoid our gazes, well... all except Diamond. He's laughing his ass off. "Well, you are relieved of Equestrian duty then. What will you do now?" "My work has just begun." I say as I lean back in my chair. "I have food producers that I promised to the griffin people. I, apparently, have an Unfamiliar civil war to quell and subdue, and I have a baby on the way. I'd say I have plenty on my plate." "Aren't you on maternity leave?" "I'm the Captain. I still have to do my job. But that doesn't mean I won't be there for Luna-" "Darn right." Luna says as she moves to my side. "You better be there for when I need you." I laugh a bit and cup her jaw with a hand, getting a warm smile from her. "Now what kind of man would I be if I left just as things were getting good? Sorry, but you're stuck with me." Author's Note Alright my Bronies, espect time jumps for the next few chapters. Things are going to speed up for a while, then slow down a bit, then BAM! one last time skip. In other news, the Spartan Oc calling will be closing in roughly four or five chapters. So if you have any left, now is the time to add them. We will now be comparing Oc's against each other at this point. This is to create a tier listing in case we exceed the quota. And lastly, don't forget to add your questions for the Q/A chapter. Brony on! Chapter 194 SummitChapter 194 Summit Perspective: Miles September 13th, 4133 I can't help but pace around in the air docks of Canterlot as I wait for Celestia. When she was visiting a few days ago she mentioned that there was going to be a Summit meeting between all of the world leaders. All of them. A world meeting and she tells me about it in passing. So after some... persuasion, here I am. Clad in armor and waiting with for Celestia to get down here so we can get going already. "Keep your pants on Miles, we're here." Cadence says as she and Celestia enter from the stairwell, along with four guards. Two of the guards are Crystal Empire ponies while the other two are the Captains of the Night and Solar guards. I have to suppress a chuckle when I look to Celestia and Cadence though. They're each wearing dresses, something I've never seen either of them do before and quite honestly didn’t know they were capable of. Cadence is wearing a pink and purple dress that holds to her form tightly. It's studded with gems and shines brightly in the light. Celestia is wearing a long, flowing, white dress that fits her loosely. It's simple, but suits her well. "Ladies, looking lovely." I say, getting Celestia to roll her eyes while Cadence blushes. "Aren't you bringing anypony?" Cadence asks. "Yeah, but why are you here?" I ask as I walk over to her, giving her a quick hug. "Shouldn't you be home with Joy?" "Radiant Joy is in good hooves." She reassures me. "Shinning is perfectly capable of taking care of her… probably. Not to mention the entire country is watching her every move. So if anything does go wrong, there will be plenty of ponies around to take care of her. Now, is everything ready for the trip?" She asks Celestia. "We're set and primed to go." I tell her, getting a snicker from Celestia and a confused look from Cadence. "What? The meeting is later today, did you really think we'd get there by chariot?" "Well... I figured magic had a play in it." She says coyly. "You're kind of right." I say as an I.T.A. flies over head and begins to vertically land beside us. "Miles, stop showing off." Celestia says as she walks towards the aircraft. "Now, let's get going. We don't want to be late, now do we?" I smirk to Cadence as I join Celestia. The side door slide open revealing Storm Cloud and Damian. Storm is clad in armor and holding a hoof out to assist us in while Damian is wearing a heavy cloak and remains seated in the back. "Good to see you again Storm." I say while he helps Cadence inside. "Hows life in a grand castle with nothing but posh ponies. politics and that little girl of yours?" "I wouldn't know about the politics, that's Twilights job. I just take care of Speaks Softly, who is doing great. How are Big Mac and Fluttershy?" He asks nervously. "Big Mac tells me that everything is alright with them, but they still would like to keep people from seeing the baby. Fluttershy has it in her mind that he'll get sick if we come and visit." I tell him as I assist helping everyone in. "He? So it's a colt." Storm says happily. "I had to really finagle around with Big Mac to get that information." I tell him, getting a chuckle in response. "What do you know about him Damian?" "I know that Big Mac made me keep a shit ton of promises so I can't say anything beyond what I just said." Damian informs us, making me roll my eyes. Of course he did. We all know something is up, but it's not like I'm going to just kick the door down to see him. When they're comfortable with me seeing him is when I'll get to see him. "And Luna?" Storm asks as I climb in and shut the door. "Any minute now. Easy! Take us west!" I yell to him as Storm and I help everyone strap into their seats. "Of course." I hear him reply as the jets begin to roar to life and we take off into the air. I laugh when I look back and see all of the uneasy faces as the ship begins to pick up speed. It must completely foreign to them to be moving this fast in a machine. I drop into a seat and hold on as we continue to pick up speed. After a few more moments we level out and maintain our speed, allowing us to speak to one another. "Okay, now that I can hear myself think, let's discuss the Summit meeting." Celestia says loudly, getting all of our attention. "A Summit meeting hasn't been held in millenniums. The last one to be held were delegated by my parents, along with a few other key ponies, but the state of the world has forced us all to meet to try and talk things over. Be careful of what you say. Some of the ponies here are a bit on edge, and only need a few sour words to start a fight." "Where is this Summit meeting being held?" I ask. "Across the Pond is a sliver of land held by a group of mountain goats. The land is called The Isles, and we will be meeting at a ruin called Edoeburg. There's a bit of a history with the goats there. Many have tried to take it from them, but none have succeeded. Anyway, this meeting will be heated. I can guarantee it." "What's been going on to get things this crazy?" Cadence asks. "Well, where to start... The Goblin Empire is under a lot of scrutiny. They've been assaulting elementals to fuel their engineering and have been supplying the Griffin Colonies with weapons and war craft-" "Are you sure about that?" I ask, cutting her off. "Yes. I sent a group of Wonderbolts into the Soviet Bear Union to spy on a shipment being made and that's when they discovered the cargo of weapons. Pistols, rifles, blades, war machines, they are arming themselves for something huge." "Wait, pistols? Rifles? How advance is their stuff?" Storm asks. "No where near as advance as this stuff,” she says while motioning to the craft around us. “But far ahead of everypony else. They utilize the power of steam in their tech to achieve these things. We've been trying to catch up, but it's difficult to do so when you don't have the physical means." I nod to that logic. Fingers are useful for those kind of things. "So the griffins are gearing up for a fight. Against whom? Us?" Cadence asks. "No, against the bears. They claim that they are mobilizing troops along their border. The bears deny this but won't allow anypony within their borders to confirm it. My spies couldn't find anything before getting caught, which also put them at odds with us." Celestia tells her, getting a thoughtful nod in return. "Who are the big players we need to know about?" I ask. "The griffin leader is Ulfric Stormmind. He's a sphinx with telepathic abilities. Don't not let him in your mind. He will try, and if you allow him to you will not get it back. Next is Joesph Boarus, the bear leader. He's a bit eccentric and completely stubborn. Persuading him will be difficult, to say the least. Next is the Goblin Emperor Starke Herzen, the old. He's been around for thousands of years and nopony knows how. He can be a bit hot headed but is probably the smartest person I know of. Next is the Ape Emperor Liánhuā. Meeting him personally will be... difficult. They have a strange system of honor and respect. Don't look him in the eyes, don't touch him, don't stand too close to him, and finally don't insult him. Unless you want war." "I don't think I'll try talking to him directly." Cadence says with a hesitant chuckle. "Don't let their customs take control of you." Celestia warns her. "If you let them push you around, your country will suffer for it. I promise you that." "Just go in and treat them the way you would want to be treated." I mention, getting a nod of agreement from Celestia. "Is that all of them?" "No. The Elementals will be making an appearance as well. Though they don't have a unified government, they will come together from time to time to voice their concerns. The zebra head shaman Dunia Mapenzi will be there as well. She's an older pony, but may surpass Starke in wisdom. Listen to her words. The Minotaur leader will be there-" "Wait, leader? What is he? King? Emperor?" Storm asks, getting a shrug from Celestia. "What ever he wants to be. A year ago he was the president for life, last month he was the emperor, his majesty Long Horns likes to change it up. Lastly is Oni, the leader of the Orcs. He will be there, and do yourself a favor, keep your distance. He tends to think with his club and eat your remains." "Well, sounds like fun. Are there any other conflict that we should know of?" I ask. "Well, the zebras and minotaurs have never been on good terms. Socially, they just don't see eye to eye in almost anything. The bears and apes have a long history with killing orcs. This has driven the orcs to a pure hatred of the others. Though a war has never technically taken place between the three of them, they have had more conflict than the rest of the world combined." "Hmm, where does Equestria stand in all of this?" I ask. "For the most part, aside. We've been keeping an isolationist mentality because... well, to put it simply, a war would devastate us completely." She admits, getting shocked looks from all of her guards. "We don't have the raw resources to begin mobilizing any forces, nor do we have the technology to compete. For the longest time, we've been delegating the peace between the nations but not intervening in their affairs. The only reason we're still around is because Luna and I are revered as holy ponies… well, we were at least. Not to mention we had the Elements of Harmony." She says the last part quickly while shooting a quick glance at my left arm. "Hmm... that sounds like a real problem." I say as I sit back and stare at her. "It is. I fear that the day where diplomacy fails and Equestria goes to war-" "That would be shame. It's not like you have a newly formed ally that probably has the worlds biggest supply of metals, not to mention the most advanced technology, and it's not like their leader is your brother. I mean, that would just be way too convenient, wouldn't it Storm?" I say as I nudge him, getting a chuckle from Damian. "I'd say it would be an unfair advantage. But, then again, I am a little biased since my wife is a leader of Equestria. So I guess it's perfectly fair." I nod to him and look back to Celestia, waiting for her to respond. "... you would really aid us like this? Give us weapons and armor while giving us Spartan soldiers-" "Fuck no." I cut her off. "First off, we can open trade agreements for raw materials. As for the training of troops, they would be standard soldiers. Not Spartans. And lastly, Equestria is our host nation, and as such, we have the right to ensure its future." "So what's the catch? I doubt you want to just give us all of this for free." She asks skeptically. "Well, we need two things. First off, we need gems. We can't use all of this machinery on dried up gems now can we?" I say, getting Cadence to beam a bit. "We have plenty of gems. If you can supply us with timber and metal we'll send some gems in return." "Sounds good. And lastly, we need a hometown. Somewhere we can base all of our operations that lies on the surface." Celestia thinks about for a moment before widening her eyes a bit. "You want Ponyville." She says slowly. "Correct. How about it Celestia? A town for a nation. I'd say it's a good deal, wouldn't you?" I tell her, getting an even gaze from her. "Spartan politics don't allow for much wiggle room, does it?" She asks, making me chuckle. "Never." "Destination in thirty seconds. Please designate a landing zone." Easy tells us just before we begin to descend. Celestia tells him where to drop us off and that he has to stay on the ground, or else they'll just kill us all. I confirm the order and after a few moments we finally touch down. I slide the door open and step out, taking my first look at the Isle. We've landed on a shore line that sits before a large mountain range. The jagged slope is covered in large mounds of grass and dotted with many different flowers. The peaks go high into the sky and ends with the crumbled remains of a stone building. A dirt path leads from the beach up towards the ruins. Once everyone's off the ship we begin the trek up the path. The path is steep and the sand likes to gives way underneath our feet, but we keep climbing. I asked Celestia if we could just teleport, but I guess it's tradition to walk. When we make it half way up something jumps out from the cover and fakes ramming me. I jump back and draw my pistol, taking aim right between it's large curled horns. It seems to be be the same relative size of a pony, but is obviously different. His coat is made of coarse white hair and his face is more angular. Two spiraled horns come out from his head while long grey hair comes from his chin. To make everything even weirder, he's wearing a plaid red and green skirt. "Miles, put the weapon away. That's one of the keepers of the Isle." Celestia informs me. I stare him down for a moment before holstering my pistol. He snorts at me before motion with his head towards the top of the mountain. As we continue on, more and more of the locals -mountain goats apparently- appear around us. Each of them stand strong and threaten to knock us off the mountain side, though never actually come to doing it. It takes us a great deal of time, but we never stop until we eventually make it to the stone structure at the top of the mountain. The air is cold and quick up here, chilling me to the bone rapidly. The building itself looks as if it was built ages ago and has seen better times. Large, heavy stones pile on each other to form the walls of the three story tall structure. The uneven walls tell me that the building used to be taller, but has been destroyed partially. Small, thin slits form windows of the square structure as a massive wooden door takes up the center. "WHO G-G-G-G-GO THERE!" A voice yells from within. He stutters on the G, but oddly enough it sounds like a normal part of his speech. "The representatives of Equestria, The Crystal Empire, and Terradisia are here." Celestia yells back as she steps forward. "We stand ready to represent our nations-" "I-I-I-I don't care a'boot yer nations!" He yells, cutting her off. "What're yer names!" "Celestia!" She tells them, somewhat put off. "Mi Amore Cadenza!" "Miles Eremita!" We each step forward and wait for him to respond. Instead, the door begins to slide open. After a moment of nothing happening, we all move forward to enter the building. The hallway before us is long and dark, only having a few sparse torches set on the walls. Long decorative tapestries cover most of the walls as sparse tables hold various flowers in small vases. Before us stands three more locals. Two of them are dressed like the others, but the one in the center has more to him. A sash with the same design goes across his chest as he sports a black mashed hat. "Welcome to the Isle's!" He bellows loudly with his thick accent as the doors begin to shut behind us. "M-m-m-me name's O'Buckly, an I-I-I will be deliberatin' this meeting. If you wish ta speak here, turn in yer weapons an follow me." The two goats pick up a chest and bring it over to us, dropping it at our feet and flipping the top open. "So... only those who are going to speak have to hand over their weapons?" I ask to clarify. "Well didn't ya hear what I-I-I said kiddy!?" He yells back. rolling his eyes slightly. "I-I-I aint that far frum ya! Hearing hard fer humans or what!?" The rest of us freeze up and stare at him for a moment... except for Damian, who's chuckling. "How did you know I'm a human?" I ask carefully, getting a surprised look from O'buckly. "I-I-It's like ya don't even know yer own history! Three thousand years hard fer humans ta remember?! A human named Eremita spoke at the first Summit meeting! I-I-I'd think ya know yer own lineage kiddo! Now, i-i-if yer done lolly gagging, we'll be takin' yer, rifle, yer pistol, and yer blades. We have a world ta save kiddo!" He bellows again before turning around and walking off. We all stand there, stunned, as we try to process what he just told us. "Alright, so... are you going to just stand there or what?" Damian asks as he steps forward. "Did you know about this!?" I demand. "Yes." "Then why didn't you tell me!" I yell in bewilderment. "You never asked." He states simply, making me practically explode in frustration. Of course he wouldn't just tell me something like this! That fucking little prick! "Why don't we leave this discussion for another time, Miles." Celestia says as she nudges my arm. I sigh in defeat before stripping my weapons off and dropping them into the box. Damian and I are going to have a real, long, talk after this. Once we; or I, seeing as I was the only one with weapons to hand over, finish un-arming, we head down the hall after O'Buckly. The hall is built strangely, being at least two stories high and only have a few other doorways. When we make it to the end we come to a stop when three... griffin like creatures stop before us. Two of them are wearing heavy armor that's painted blue and white with a crest of a creature's head while the center one is wearing an elegant blue tunic. "So, we finally meet. Eremitason." The middle one says as he steps forward. His back half resembles that of a griffin, but his front is completely different. Long grey hair covers most of his head while his almost human face is covered in a dark tan fur. He stands a bit taller than Celestia -not including the horn- and seems a bit too at ease being here. "Ulfric." Celestia greets as she steps forward. "Ah Celestia. How is your sister? I understand it'll be any minute now, am I right?" He asks as he turns to her, inclining his head slightly. "You remember my eldest sons? Korir and Dengeir." He says as the two of them step forward, removing their helmets before bowing to Celestia. They look similar to Ulfric, but are obviously younger by far. "And you remember my niece, Mi Amore Cadenza." Celestia says, getting Cadence to step forward. The two sons step forward and take turns greeting her, kissing her hoof when they shake. "Is it true?" I ask, breaking the formalities. "Was my mother really at the first Summit meeting?" Ulfric frowns a bit as he looks me over, mulling over his answer in his head. "If you truly are the legend you claim to be, then yes. Eremita was here, back when the 'gods' fought for supremacy. But, you'll have to forgive me. It has been many centuries since those days, and I don't recall much of her. All I do recall was the role she played, and her mean left hook-" "Hey!" O'Buckly yells from down the corridor behind me. "Whatcha waitn for!? We need ta get started!" "Well then, another time then." Ulfric says while he walks past me, closely followed by his two sons. "Oh, I almost forgot." Celestia says, getting the three of them to pause. "Where is Skald, your youngest?" Ulfric glance back to Celestia before continuing on. She chuckles a bit before turning to Cadence. "Very good first impression." "Thank you-" "But be careful. His sons will probably try to mate with you. Why do you think Skald isn't here?" She says before walking after the sphinxes. "... wait, what!?" Cadence asks as she chases after Celestia. I look back to Storm and Damian before shrugging and walking on. This hall ends with a large doorway the reveals an open stadium. A flat stone surface fills the center with twelve circles going around the edge. Around the arena are stone seats that form the rest of the stadium, going several stories up and ending with red and green clothes that provide shade for the seats. The circles themselves remind me of the mico platforms from back home, only with a vastly different enchantment within them. I have a feeling I know how these got here. Most of the seats are filled with goats, all of whom are wearing the skirts, but I can see guards from many different people dotting the area. "Alrighty then. Lackeys take a seat i-i-in the stadium, the rest of you take a spot somewhere an i-i-introduce yerselves." O'Buckly informs us. I glance back to the others before walking forward and taking my place in one of the circles. The archaic text begins to glow and I feel my feet lock in place. "Um..." I mutter as I try to move my feet. My voice becomes amplified and echoes throughout the stadium. "Grand Captain of the Spartan Regiment, Miles Eremita, representing Terradisia." I hear Damian cheer like an idiot from the side, but try to keep a serious face on. "Princess of the Sun, Celestia, representing Equestria." I hear from my right. "Princess of Love, Mi Amore Cadenza, Representing The Crystal Empire." I look over and see several more people begin to file in and take their place, each one being so vastly different than the previous. "Master of Thought, Ulfric Stormmind, representing The Griffin Colonies." "Ascended technician, Starke Herzen, representing The Goblin Empire." The next person is an old goblin. He wears gold and purple clothes that fit loosely around him as he supports himself with a metal cane, using all four arms to do so. His wrinkled green skin sags as his long white hair pokes at his shoulders. He seems to be barely a meter tall and seems so frail. "Keeper of Traditions, Longhorn, representing the Minotaur Tribes." The next person in line is an old minotaur. He's dark grey all over and sports two long black horns on his head. He seems to be pregnant, with his large belly sticking out, and doesn't have much to him in the sense of muscle. He wears an extravagant rode that look to be woven of actual gold. "Bringer of the Voice, Oni the Blood Bringer! Representing the tribes of the Orcs!" The next person unsettles me completely. He's easily four meters tall, stands on two legs, scruffy black hair, has bright red skin, a face that even a mother couldn't love, and only wears a black fur... diaper. His yellow eyes look down at me as he lets out a growl, either of disapproval or for intimidation. His muscular physique adds to his over all impressiveness as he bares his jagged teeth. "The honorable and just, Liánhuā, representing the Ape Empire." This guy is about as tall as the goblin, maybe a bit more so, and stands on two legs. He wears long, elegant looking clothes that stretch down to the ground. His pants are blue while his shirt is white, bringing his face out even more so. I can't really gauge how old he is, but I assume he's middle aged. "Open and Free, Dunia Mapenzi. Representing the Zebra Tribes, in these troubled times." The zebra in the next circle is sitting with her bottom legs crossed, something I didn't know they could do. She's wearing a ragged shirt that covers her entire torso and is covered in who knows what. She's old, and doesn't seem to have her eyes open. He hair has been tied back, forming a long braid that's filled with miscellaneous bits of plants and dirt. "Joeseph Boarus, The Strong! Representing the Soviet Bear Union!" The brown bear yells with a thick accent. He's wearing a red vest and an odd black hat that has a sickle and hammer crossing before a red star. He's pretty big, at least a head taller than me, and has a stocky build to himself. "REPRESENTING THE ELEMENTALS, Fire, stone, Air, Water." A flame, a pile of rocks, a little twister, and a drop of water all stand in a circle together. They started out speaking together, but each spoke their own element. The ground shakes as a massive black and gold dragon climbs on top of the walls and peers down. His face barely fits within a section of the arena as he touches down at a circle, getting it to light up for him. "Bolas, Master of Power, representing the free will of the Dragons Hierarchy." His voice is deep and forces my bones to tremble. A wave of heat washes over all of us when he opens his mouth. Undeterred by all of the different people in the area, O'Buckly walks to the center of the area and taps at the floor. Another circle appears around him, but our circles dissipate suddenly. "Now then, I-I-I want ta thank you all fer comin' out today. I takes true bravery to set aside yer differences and ta talk things through. Each of you have stepped inta sumtin' called a soul trap. I-I-If I so choose ta, I can tear out ye souls at any given moment! So let's try and keep things civil. I-I-I will mediate all of the discussions from here on out, so git to it! Who will start?" "I will" Longhorn says as he raises a hand. "I wish to bring into question Mi Amore Cadenze and Miles Eremita." He says in a posh manner. Cadence and I look to each other before looking to him. "What do you wish to know?" Cadence asks slowly. "Why are you here? The Crystal Empire and... Terradisia, have no say in world affairs!" He announces proudly, getting a few cheers from some minotaurs in the stands. As well as a few others. "I believe one pony will suffice, and... well, I've never heard of Terradisia before, so that leaves-" "Terradisia stands with the largest, most advanced military in the world." I cut him off, obviously offending him. "We were the masters of earth before any of your species could even speak, and we control more raw resources than any of you. I think we get a say in the world, unless you find the first Summit meeting to be a joke." The air grows thick as all of the goats stare down Longhorn, just waiting for him to fuck up. "Yes, so you say. But that still leaves Celestia's puppet! What business do you have here!" He demands from Cadence. I see her fold a bit as she tries to formulate her answer, sweating a bit as she comes under a lot of pressure. She puts a hoof to her chest and breaths out before glaring back to Long Horn. "The Crystal Empire has as much of a right to be here as does a group of nomadic traders. We make our own decisions in the world and will not be intimidated with false accusations." She dictates, standing proudly. "YOU TELL HIM GURL!" Damian yells from the stands, making me facepalm. Why did I have to bring him?WHY? "Alrighty you three, break i-i-it up!" O'Buckly demands as he stomps his hooves on the ground. "Y'all were invited fer a reason, an ta say otherwise would be foalish! Now get on with the real problems! Joeseph Boarus, have you been mobalizin yer troops ta invade The Griffin Colonies?" "NO!" He yells as he crosses his arms. "Then let us send investigators so I can tell my birds that they can rest easy at night!" Ulfric demands. "My birds will not take your word, and neither will I! Either allow us to investigate what you've been up to, or we will take the correct actions to protect ourselves." "Do not make me laugh!" Joeseph mocks as he glares at Ulfric. "You do not wish to 'protect' your wittle birds. Your land has been destroyed and now you wish to take from us as you would the Equestrians!" "That is a lie!" Ulfric bellows. "Then prove it!" Joeseph bellows, putting on a smug look on. "Return the weapons you tried smuggling in and we will allow you little, 'inspection'. Until then, no griffin will set claw in the Soviet Union without being plucked clean." Ulfric frowns as he closes his eyes and steps back. He shakes his head a little before looking back to Joeseph. "No." "SEE! He will not send back the weapons because he only wishes for war! I say BRING IT ON! Your puny little birds will be crushed by the-" "ENOUGH." O'Buckly yells, silencing the both of them. "Ulfric Stormmind, why do you refuse to return the weapons?" Ulfric stares at him for a moment before lifting a paw and points to me. "Because of him." "Me?" "Yes, you. You and your people have forced my paw to this. As you said yourself, you have the largest, most advanced military in the world. If we wish to keep our way of life safe, then we must take the measures to protect ourselves from an oppressive force-" "Oppressive? Do you even know anything about my people? Do you even know what we stand for?" I demand as I glare at him. "I know what you are capable of. Miles Eremita, destroyer of Chaos. Miles Eremita, the changeling crusher. Miles Eremita, the hydra slayer. I've heard enough about you to know that-" "I've been trying to help you!" I yell as I step forward. "The Spartans were there to fight Famine! We brought the food processors to feed your people. We aren't the bad guys here! We're here to help!" "So, what? We're suppose to just idly sit by and let you fight our battle? Let the Spartans take care of everything? How is that hunt for the Four Horsemen going anyway?" "You should ask Celestia is you really want to know." Starke scoffs, getting a bewildered look from Celestia. "Excuse me? Could you repeat that please?" Celestia asks. "We all know where the clouds came from. And we all know that these 'Horse'men are relatives to ponies-" "And just what are you suggesting?! That I've aligned with them?" Celestia demands. "Seems that way-" "Oh please," Liánhuā drones. "You're just trying to protect your income Starke. If the griffins back out of the deal, your country loses out on its largest buyer-" "Leave it to the ape to bring 'business' into this." Longhorn mocks. "The fact that you are resorting to racial bigotry means that you have no actual claim and only wish to insult-" "Do not pretend to be so high and mighty Liánhuā. If the griffins continue to buy the goblin wears it'll only push their science and engineering further-" "And?" Starke interrupts. "You only wish to hinder our own progress. We're the leading manufacturing country in the world, and that bothers you to no end! Our trade is open to anyone who wishes to buy, so why not-" "Putting these weapons into the hooves of everypony is driving us apart." Celestia counters. "We need to stop producing weapons and start working towards a solution to the real problems-" "I agree." Ulfric says, silencing everyone. "... thank you." Celestia mutters, eyeing him carefully. "We need to solve the real problem. Equestria has lost control of its borders-" "WHAT!?" Cadence and Celestia bot yells. "How many times have you been taken over!? Look how far behind you are technologically. Equestria is falling behind, and you're not doing a single thing to solve it! Even worse, we're the ones to suffer from it! Our food production has come to a halt because terrorist have worked deep into your country! I move that Equestria be dissolved for new rule." The room falls quiet when he says this. I glance over to Celestia as she stares down Ulfric. I suddenly feel something begin to tickle at the back of my head. It feels as if something... "ULFRIC!" I yell, getting everyone's attention. "If you try to break into my mind, I guarantee you will not leave this place. SPARTANS!" Storm and Damian jump up and draw their weapons, getting the other two sphinxes to do the same. "ENOUGH ALREADY!" O'Buckly yells as he stomps a hoof down. "Ulfric, keep yer mind to yerself. Miles, tell yer ponies ta stand down. Anypony who takes aggressive actions will be bucked off the mountain side, now stand down!" When I feel the tingling go away I nod to Damian and Storm, getting them to sheath their weapons. "Now then, there are eleven of you, so i-i-if six of you can agree, then Equestria will be dissolved. Reach down an cast yer vote." "Can't we discuss this? Why are we going straight to a vote?" Cadence asks. "The ballet is out, time ta vote." O'Buckly tells her as several others start voting. I look down and see a small light form before me. I kneel down and tentatively put my hand on it, feeling the energy form around my hand. I'm not sure what I'm suppose to do, so I keep my thoughts on voting no and mumble it as well. The light shines a bit brighter for a moment before racing over to O'Buckly. Once lights from all of the others O' Buckly sets a hoof on his own light and reads the answers. I glance over to Celestia again to see her standing upright and poised. Though I can tell by the way she has her eyes shut that she's dreading the results. I know we have at least three votes for ans one against, but I know practically nothing else about the others. "The votes are i-i-in." He announces as he steps back from the light. "The final tally i-i-is six to five. Equestria will remain its own sovereign nation." A collective sigh comes from many of the participants as well as Cadence and myself. Celestia, for her part, remains unfazed. Though I see her physically relax a bit. "Now, on the matter a the bears an' griffins-" "I suggest that a neutral third party investigates this issue. I will volunteer the Spartan Regiment for this-" "Why should we allow you Terradisians to dictate us when we've done nothing wrong!" Joeseph yells. "The Terradisians will have no part in this." I counter, getting a bemused look from him. "The Spartans are a neutral bystander from Terradisia. They are allowed to make their own decisions in any and all matters. They choose to follow Terradisia. Also, they have no influence in the world and no former prejudice to hinder our opinions." I say, getting many of the other leaders to think to themselves for a moment. "I move that we have these, Spartans, go into the world to research all of the problems that plague our lands." Oni announces. I look to him and nod, getting him to squint his eyes back to me. "Assuming he can keep to his word for justice and neutrality." "Let us vote on it then!" O'Buckly cheers as the lights appear before all of us again. I reach down and repeat the process again, only voting in the affirmative this time. Once all the votes are in, we wait for O'Buckly to count them. "Well then... the vote is eight to three. The Spartans will go into each of the nations to research any and all claims made here today. I-I-I am These will be peaceful investigations though. Only bring whatcha need ta protect yerselves. I-I-I also expect the host nations to allow them to move freely. No hinderin'!" "What's our window of operation?" I ask. "Yer window? Get the job done kiddo, that's yer window. Now, the rest of us will continue to form a list of concerns, I-I-I'll ask ya ta leave to keep ya uninfluenced. Yer dismissed." He taps his hoof one more time and the circle around me flashed once. I glance around the room before motioning for Damian and Storm to follow. "Are we really going to do this?" Storm asks as we leave the stadium, heading back to where we came from. "Did I not agree to this?" I ask smugly. "Well... at least we can take as long as we want." Damian shrugs as he trots ahead. "By the way, nice job almost getting us into a fight with three sphinxes. I know I took out like a thousand griffins that one time, but a sphinx would have been a little trickier. I might have been seriously hurt you know!" "First off, it was only five... never mind that. We could have taken them." Storm tries to counter, getting a chuckle from Damian. I stop and let them keep walking when I notice something... off. The hairs on my neck are standing up and I have this odd feeling coming from behind myself. A nonexistent pressure is building up on me, egging me to turn around. "Captain? What is it?" "Damian, keep right. Storm, go high and go fast." I tell them before turning around and running for the closest doorway. A shadow moves away, so I chase after it into the next room. When I make it through the doorway I flair my hand and throw it up, sending a column of earth up to block the exit. A hooded, pony figure comes to a stop and flairs its horn in an attempt to clear the way, but falls over as a powerful gust of wind knocks it over. Damian and Storm zip past me and engage the figure, Storm flying over while Damian runs with unnatural speed. They make it across the large room quickly and take turns attacking the figure. Damian runs up and begins to spin his staff around, trying to score a hit on the figure. Most of his attacks are deflected while the rest are simply dodged. Storm dives in and tries to flank the figure, but is dodged. Once the two of them resolve to fight in close quarters, the figure counter attacks. It starts by somehow disarming Damian and beating back Storm with his staff. His moves are quick and seem... preordained. They aren't reactions, but a mesmerized act. I finally make it into the fray and thrust a hand forward, but am intercepted with a well timed parry. My blast hits a wall in the back, but leaves the figure open to Storm. He brings his blade up to the figures throat and holds it there, forcing him to freeze. Before any further actions could be made, I bring my palm to the hood and hold it there. Cornering the tall pony. CLICK "Just how many of you are there?" I ask when the barrel of a pistol is pressed against the back of my head. The hooded figure before wears a cloak similar to what my mother and the other woman wore, but suited for a pony almost the size of Celestia. "I assume the person behind me is wearing a similar robe." I say as Damian moves to cover the person behind me. "Yeah. Male, hooded. Human." Damian reports to me. "Who are you two then?" I ask as I hold my hand up. "Put your hands above your head." A robotic voice says. "He has a voice modulator." Damian informs me. "Orders sir?" "Hold your ground and let me handle this." I order. "Who are you?" "Put your hands above your head." He repeats. "I hold three to two odds, who are you?" I ask again. After a tense moment of silence I begin to move forward to pull down the persons hood, but stop when the pistol is pressed against my head again. "We are. Put your hands above your head." "Not good enough. I need names. Storm, since no one is covering you, be a dear and remove this guys hood for me." "Yes sir." He replies as he hovers up, keeping his blade on the persons throat. "Wait." The person behind me says when Storm grabs the fabric. "We are..." "Yes?" I ask, waiting for an answer. "We are... sorry." CRACK I groan as I feel something poking at my face. It takes me a moment, but eventually I open my eyes and look around. Damian and Storm are sitting beside me, Damian poking at my face with his hoof. "Told you it'd wake him." He says, getting Storm to roll his eyes. "Are you okay?" Storm asks. I groan in response and sit up, looking around for the two hooded humans. "Where'd they go?" "They got away." Storm says quietly, getting Damian to look away. "... they got away? How?" "Mico platform. They're long gone." Storm continues. I look between the two of them before standing up. "What happened?" I ask, getting Storm to avoid my gaze. "I am ordering you to tell me what happened." "We're under orders not to tell you what happened." Damian says, avoiding my gaze. I tilt my head a bit in confusion. "You're under orders not to... so... no... dammit! All of this time traveling bullshit is getting on my nerves! What the fuck!" I yell as I begin to pace about, trying to wrap my mind around this moment. The two of them continue to avoid my gaze as I fume about this. There are only two plausible options for this. Either it was me, or it was the next captain... or a previous captain. FUCK! "Wait... was that... you have to tell me who that was-" "We can't Miles!" Damian yells. "We can't tell you because we don't know who it was! They just dropped a Spartan necklace and gave their rank!" "Damian!" Storm yells. "We can't tell you who it was because we don't know who it was. I'm sorry." Damian sighs as he begins to walk away. Storm rubs the bridge between his eyes and sighs as well. "Is that true?" I ask him. "Yeah... yeah it's true." He tells me. "He cracked you on the head and backed up, dropping the necklace as he went. Sorry, but we have no clue who that was." I groan in frustration and sit down, trying to process all of this. Suddenly dozens of goats charge in and surround the three of us, barricading us with their horns. "An what was all that racket a'boot!?" One of them demands. "Um... we saw a spider?" Damian tries. Several of the guards peer up to look us in the eyes, unsure of what we said. "No, seriously. It was huge! And it had fangs! And these long... creepy.... things!" He continues, getting Storm and me to glare at him. "... well then, good job with the Hill Burrower. Sorry a'boot the ruckus." One of the guards say before the rest of them back off. "Oh sweet Barbra you have to be kidding me." I say as I fall back. Author's Note Don't forget to check out my blog, 1000 favorites and vote on the one shot to come. Also, the Spartan Oc blog will be closing NEXT chapter. When that chapter is posted, I will close the blog. Any post left will go through the final slating and those who made it will be announced as soon as possible. Lastly, the Q/A blog will be closing soon as well! Have your questions in before chapter 199 airs if you want them to be asked. The chapter will come out before chapter 200, so that leave five more chapters to go! On a side note, my 'current chapter' editor (RecklessRush) has had some personal things happen and needs time to sort through them. If any of you are able and willing, send me a PM to help edit chapters. Brony on! Chapter 195 Foalish EffectsChapter 195 Foalish Effects Perspective: Luna September 25th, 4133 I let out a little sigh as I flip the page of my newspaper and continue reading the article on the increased sightings of flying machine in Equestria, all while rubbing my large stomach with a hoof. It's been a little over seven months now, and the baby will be coming any minute. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous, but I'm sure everything will turn out okay. That's what Miles tells me at least. Speaking of which, where is he? Every morning for the past two weeks I've woken up to an empty bed. When he walks in, usually around the middle of the day, he just tells me he's working on something and leaves it at that. Very reassuring. With a final sigh I set down my paper and work on standing, having a bit of difficulty due to my increased size. When I'm finally out of the chair I waddle my way to the living room and pick up the letter I had received from Celestia. She just wants me to come visit Canterlot real quick for tea before she comes to Ponyville. She was staying here with us, waiting for me to go into labor, but had to go back for some royal business. I grab a quill and parchment and began to write my response, telling her that traveling this close to my due date wouldn't be wise- THUD "Gah! Miles!" I yell as I look over my letter. With the giant line going through what I've written I sigh and crumple it up. I look up to see a green blur run in and up the stairs. I raise an eyebrow to his antics and decide to get him back down. "OH! I think I feel a contraction-" KER-THUD "WHAT!?" Miles yells as he picks himself off the ground and comes running to my side. "Contractions! It's time! I'll GO GET THE-" "False alarm." I say with a gentle smile. "But, if it's not too much trouble, could you take a seat with me? I want to talk to you about somethings." His eye twitches a bit before he sighs in defeat and takes his seat. I move beside him and take my time sitting down. Little one, the sooner you get out the better. "What's up?" He asks nervously when I finally get comfy. "I don't know, you seem to keep disappearing every morning without a word." I say, getting him to look away from me. "Miles, what are you doing in that little shed of yours?" "I'm just working on something-" "I know that much, but what are you working on?" He looks away from me, so I rest a hoof on his to get his attention back. "Miles, the baby will be coming any minute now. Don't shut me out like this. What's going on? Talk to me, please." I beg him, tightening my grip on his hoof. He grips me back and thinks deeply about what I said. "... Luna, I need you to trust me on this one. I will tell you that I've been... monitoring things, and I'm unsure about what I'm seeing. I don't want to worry you for nothing, especially now. I'm sorry, but I don't want to say anything more than that." I sigh in irritation, getting a kiss on the cheek from him. "Sorry." "Yeah, you're lucky you're worth the annoyance." I tell him, receiving a smile in return. "Really now? What else am I worth to you?" He asks as he moves in and kisses me quickly on the lips, making me smile. "Mmm... I'm not sure." I tease as we press our noses together. "Maybe some breakfast *kiss*, a story like you do every night *kiss*, and maybe a dinner for the three of us, maybe." I say, making him chuckle a bit. "Well, I can do two of those things, unless we get breakfast for lunch." He tells me with another kiss. "Well then, shall we go then?" I ask as I start getting up, receiving some help from Miles. he agrees and runs to gather our bags. Mostly stuff we have in case it happens when we're out. He offers to wheel me out, but I refuse. I can walk just fine, just a bit slower than before. "Celestia wants me to visit Canterlot." I tell him as we head out of the house and start walking through the park together. "I've yet to tell her that I can't make it, but I'll do it when we get back." Miles seems to pause for a moment before continuing on with me. "Why can't you make it?" He asks. "I think the little one would strongly disagree with it." I deadpan while rubbing my side against his lightly, getting a smirk from him. "The train ride wouldn't be that bad, would it?" "Miles Eremita-" "I'm just saying! A trip up, spend a few hours there, come right back down. No harm, no foul." He says defensively, backing away from me a bit. I roll my eyes and continue on. Whatever he's been 'monitoring', it must be big. This time two weeks ago he wouldn't even let me open my own doors... ever. Now it's apparently it's okay to take a two hour train ride to Canterlot to visit Celestia. "Well... if I do leave, I'm not leaving without seeing Fluttershy's and Big Mac's foal first." I tell him, getting an uneasy look from Miles. "Luna, you know they-" "I know, and I don't care. I have enough medical knowledge to keep us sanitary to be around him-" "Since when?" He asks skeptically. "Since you knocked me up, leaving me with even more spare time to read up on various subjects of my choosing. Most of which being foal related." He opens his mouth to say something, but shuts it quickly. Good, he's learned not to fight my pregnant knowledge. "Well... lets get something to eat first, then break into peoples houses." He says, making me chuckle a bit. The weather outside isn't bad today. The sun is out and warms the landscape while a cool breeze blows from the Everfree,keeping the temperature a bit on the chilly side. Ponyville is active with its daily blissful business. Ponies selling their goods while others visit friends, children playing and laughing. Everything seems to be calm in the small town. As we walk through Main street, different ponies wave or greet us, to which we return the gestures. Everypony here has accepted us into their community completely. Every now and again a visitor will gawk at the two of us, but they never make anything about it. Probably because of the lax nature of the rest of the townsfolk. We make it to one of my favorite cafes and head inside, finding an empty table quickly. The waitress takes our order and brings our drinks quickly. Strawberry lemonade....oh yeah. "Spike!" Miles calls out when the young dragon walks in. "Morning master!" Spike greets back as he walks over to our table. I still find it odd that he wears clothing like Miles does when he's human, but the brown jacket and black pants do fit him well. "Want to join us for lunch?" I ask him, getting him to smile and take a seat at our table. "How's the library?" "It's good. Quiet, but good." He says with a shrug. "It's going to take some getting used to being there without Twilight and Storm, but I'll manage." "Well let me or anypony else know if ever you need anything. I'm just down the street don't be shy." I tell him with a warm smile. "Thanks, I'll be sure to keep that in mind." He says as the waiter comes back to take his order. "So, how was it being an actual dragon?" Miles asks, to which I smack his arm. "He is a real dragon!" I defend. "No I'm not." Spike laughs. "I spent two months living with dragons in the southern badlands and it's painfully obvious that I'll never fit in with them. I've grown up with ponies, know human magic, and love baking. I'm as far away from a dragon as you can get." "Except for the whole breathing fire, swimming in lava, scaly, flying thing." I point out, getting him to shrug a bit. "Yeah, minus those things, I'm your average Ponyville citizen-" "Nnope." Miles cuts off. "You're also Terradisian, remember?" "Oh... yeah. Didn't you guys take over Ponyville recently?" He asks to clarify. "Kind of. Ponyville is now under joint jurisdiction. The ponies here can choose to become Terradisian, but don't have to. We'll keep an eye on the town, but Terradisians get priority for rights. Not to mention, only citizens can go and speak at meetings." Miles explains as the waitress comes back with our food. We begin eating, enjoying the quiet atmosphere of the cafe. "So, are we going to Fluttershy's after this?" I ask, getting Miles and Spike to pause and look at me. "Oh... you weren't kidding." Miles mutters. "Luna, you know they aren't okay with ponies coming over-" "I know every spell to keep myself cleansed and the foal healthy. There is no reason for me not to be able to see the foal now." I say confidently. "Except that they don't want you to see it." Spike mutters before Miles stomps on him foot. "What!? It's true!" He defends as Miles glares at him. "Well, they have yet to say this to my face. So, until that happens, we're going to her cottage after this. Right Miles?" I ask him nicely. (pregnant translation = you're doomed if you don't) "... right." "So, let's hurry up and finish eating so we can go already." They share an uneasy look as I begin to eat with gusto. I want to see that baby, so they'll have to say no to my face to stop me. With our food finished and the bill paid, we bid Spike farewell and begin the little trek to Fluttershy's home. Miles seems a little nervous about doing so, but I'm sure everything will turn out alright. I mean, if they don't let me in, nothing happens. If they let me in, I get to see the baby. And even if it becomes ill from that, I know how to take care of that, and I am taking precautions to prevent that. I don't see how any ill fortune could possibly occur. When we finally make it to her home I charge my horn and cast the spell over the two of us. Miles nods to me before going to the door and knocking. A few moments later, Angel bunny opens the door and looks up at Miles, nodding in approval. "Um... is Fluttershy in?" Miles asks. Angel shakes his head no. "Oh... where is she?" He points towards Sweet Apple Acres. "Oh. Then, who takes care of the animals here then?" He crosses his paws and glares up at Miles. "Ah. Well then... you have a fun day doing that then." Angel taps a paw to his chest before pointing back to Miles. Mile mimics the motion, albeit much slower and completely confused, and Angel shuts the door. "I have the approval of a small, fluffy, white, bunny." "Stop gloating." I tease him, chuckling at his discomfort. "He pointed to Sweet Apple Acres. I guess the Apples would have their kin born and raised on their land. Well, my hooves ache, my back is sore, and I'm starting to feel bloated, but I am not going home until I see that foal. Let's go." "Maybe we should take a break-" "I'm already walking." I sing back to him as I waddle down the path. I hear him groan a bit before following after me. I giggle at the look on his face but continue on anyway. Once we get to the farm we step up to the front door and knock. We hear some running around as well as some hushed voices, but the door remains shut. Miles tries again, only to get them to quiet down further. I roll my eyes and take a turn to knock on the door. "Hello? It's Luna, is anypony home?" I call out. After another moment of silence Miles steps to the side and looks through the window. "Applejack... you don't fit under the couch." He calls out. I hear a swear and some thudding around. Moments later, Applejack cracks open the door and smiles nervously at me. "Oh... uh, howdy there Luna, Miles. What..... uh, what brings y'all around these parts?" She asks nervously with a fake smile. "I just thought we'd stop by, say hello. It feels like I haven't seen the Apples in quite some time." I say with an innocent smile, batting my eyes a bit. "Do you mind if we come in? I'd hate to impose but my hooves are just killing me." I add as I raise a hoof, leaning to the left to show my large stomach. "Well... uh... the thing is... a-a-ah think... um..." she fumbles with her words as I stare innocently at her, batting my eyes and smiling warmly. Shadows lessons appear to have been paying off. "Are you seriously going to tell the pregnant lady to leave AJ?" Miles asks bluntly, coming to my side and glaring down at her. She begins to sweat a bit as she backs away from the door. "U-u-uh, well, sure, ah guess. Come on in then." I smile a bit more genuinely as I push the door open and step inside. The Apple house seems the same as usual. Warm and welcoming, with a hint of apples. I walk in and take a seat on the couch in the living room, sighing in relief from the weight leaving my hooves. "Thank you Applejack." I thank her as Miles joins me. "So, where are the others? Out working I imagine." I ask her, trying to get a conversation going. "Y-yeah. We all take turns....watch’n the house! That is.... um... eeyup, that's mah story an ah'm stickin to it." She says as she begins to get flustered. "You take turns watching the house?" Miles asks. "Okay, why?" "Why.... why.... uh...." Applejack tries to think of an answer, but freezes up when the sound of a foal crying fills the house. It was short lived however, when Fluttershy began to sing. "Uh... you didn't hear that?" "May I?" I ask as I motion towards the stairs. Applejack drops her facade and nods to me, frowning slightly. I look to Miles with an excited smile before getting up and making my way to the source of the sound. A feat easier said, than done. When I finally make it to the door, I pause to listen in on her singing. "Hush now, quiet now, it's time to lay your sleepy head. Hush now, quiet now, it's time to go to bed. There there little Rampant, everything's okay." She coo's. I glance back to Miles and smile warmly to him, receiving a smile in return. Soon it'll be my turn to sing the lullabies and tuck the little sweethearts away. "Fluttershy? It's Luna and Miles, may we come in?" I ask quietly through the door. "Come in." She replies quickly. I hesitate for a moment as I try to wrap my mind around her response. Something isn't right here. I open the door and push it open slowly, revealing the bedroom and it's occupants. Fluttershy is laying on the bed with the little red colt laying before her. A small horn breaks through his soft yellow mane while his bright green eyes stare up at Fluttershy, who is nuzzling the foals wings. ... ... ... ... ... "What the fuck?" Miles blurts out, getting kicked by me, then Applejack. "Well? Are you going to come in and meet Rampant Growth or would another time be better?" Fluttershy asks worriedly as we stand there, staring. I break out of my trance and step inside, coming to the side of the bed to inspect the foal. "Look Rampant Growth, Luna came all the way to say hi." Fluttershy tells the foal as she picks him up and lays him to face me. He looks up to me and smiles a bit before giggling and rolling over, kicking his hooves up playfully. "I-I don't get it. He's an alicorn." I say as I look up to Fluttershy, who only shrugs. "It's why we've been tryin ta keep a lid on him ever since he was born." Applejack says when she enters the room as well. "We were worried that some folks would... be a bit uppity, with a new alicorn an all. I mean, look at Twi' and her filly." "But that doesn't make sense. Look at Cadence and Shining. They have a unicorn, how could Big Mac and Fluttershy; an earth pony and pegasi, have an alicorn?" Miles asks. "Well... I don't know." Fluttershy says as she brings the colt back into her embrace. "That doesn't really matter to me though. All I care about is his health and happiness. It's why I agreed to Big Macs and Applejacks little plan to stay hidden. My guess is that it's what CeeGee meant by great power-" "Wait, what?" Miles asks, making Fluttershy freeze up for a moment. "What happened between you and the Crystal Guardian?" She looks around nervously for a moment, avoiding Miles's eyes, before Applejack sighs. "Just... just show him." She tells her. "Some him what?" I ask nervously. Fluttershy looks to Applejack but calms down enough to lay the colt back down. "Okay, promise me you won't freak out. I don't want him getting scared." Fluttershy asks us, to which we agree to. She reaches into the nearby dresser and pulls out a small gem, roughly the size of a pen. She lays it beside him and begins to tickle at his side while blowing raspberries on his squishy cheeks. The effects are almost instantaneous. The colt begins to laugh. It's adorable to watch, a mother and her colt bonding, but it quickly starts to become worrying. When he hits the height of his giggles, he begins to sparkle; much like that of the Crystal ponies. But the oddest part, the gem begins to glow as well. The more he laughs, the more it shines and vibrates. When Fluttershy stops her affectionate assault, the gem falls still. Easily a third larger than it was before. "Well... I wonder how he got the name." Miles jokes. "Oh, Twilight helped." Fluttershy tells him. I was wondering who helped them with that. "Really?" Miles deadpans. "But that doesn't answer the question though." I point out. "If that's from CeeGee, is being an alicorn from him as well? What exactly did he do to you?" Fluttershy frowns a bit as she strokes the colts back, helping him calm down from his giggle fit. "He said: 'For your life, you must return to me what is mine. Do so; and my favor I will grant to your one.' I've thought about that for a long time time. He wanted his heart back, which we gave to him. I assume his 'favor' is that crystal growing ability and being an alicorn, but I'm not sure-" "No, there's no way it could be both." Miles states as he stares at the colt. "Fluttershy, are you willing to come with me to Topaz Falls? I'd like to run a scan on him real quick. I think I know what's going on, but I'd like to check." "Oh, I don't know. I mean, the doctors said I should keep the traveling to a minimum. And I don't think he'd like being surrounded by all the needles and scalpels and stethoscopes-" "I promise, it'll be nothing like that. He won't even know anything is happening when we do this. We can be there in an hour, I just... really need to check this out completely." He says worriedly. "Miles... what's going through your head?" I ask nervously. "Well... how exactly did I become an alicorn?" He asks, shocking everyone in the room. "M-miles, ya can't be serious." Applejack stammers as we all stare at him. "She wasn't hit by the beam-" "No, but she was in proximity of it. So were Luna and Twilight. There's only one way to know for sure, and that's if we go to Topaz for a DNA analysis." "A... what?" Fluttershy asks as she picks her foal up and holds him closely. "It's just a test to see if I'm the father. It won't hurt him, I promise, but... I really think we should do this." The room falls quiet again as we take in what Miles said. His theory would explain Twilight's and Storm's foal and Rampant here, but... no. Just... no. It can't be. It just... can't. "Ah'll go get Big Mac." Applejack says before leaving the room. "Can you help me pack a bag? I need to wrap Rampant up before we head out." Fluttershy asks distantly. "I'll help you with that. Miles-" "On it." He says before leaving the room quickly. I look back to Fluttershy and watch her for a moment as she takes a white blanket and begins to wrap it around the colt. With practiced ease she wraps his little legs in but manages to keep his wings out. "Fluttershy, are you going to be okay?" I ask her as I rub her back. She pauses for a moment before going to the closet and puts on a baby saddle. "Fluttershy?" "I... I'm going to be fine. I know no matter what we'll love him, but... Big Mac and me have tried so many times before. I don't think we could try again. After coming so close... I don't know-" "Hey." I mutter as I pull her in for a hug. "It's going to be okay. Miles is probably just... over reacting. I'm sure it's nothing." I try to reassure her, rubbing her back a bit more forcefully. "I hope so." She mutters, breaking my hug to put Rampant Growth in the saddle. Me too. Author's Note Alrighty folks, this is it. Tomorrow at 5:00 PM (10/16/13 (California Time)) I will be closing the Spartan Blog. From there I will be going through the remaining entries and selecting the final cut. If you want to try to get one in at the last second, now is the time to do it. Also, the 1000 favorites blog will be closing soon as well. Head on over there to cast your votes before the polls close. And lastly, the Q/A blog will be coming up soon. Go to that blog to ask the characters any questions you wish to know. Brony on! Chapter 196 The OrdersChapter 196 The Orders Perspective: Miles When we make it back home I run upstairs and throw a bunch of clothes onto the bed. I stand in the middle of the room and try to focus on changing into a human. I've yet to actually do this, but every time I can feel myself getting closer and closer. I give it a few more tries before feeling the energy escape me. With a sigh of defeat, I go to drastic measures. "Miles?" Luna asks when she enters the room. "Can we talk?" "Yeah, but can you punch me first? I need to be human for all of this." I ask her, getting a bemused look in return. "What? I need hands." "You know I don't like hitting you to do this. Eventually something is going to go wrong in that thick skull of yours." She sulks while lying on the bed, facing away from me. I sigh and walk over to her, nuzzling her back a bit before speaking. "Luna, look I'm sorry about-" "I'm not mad about the whole foal thing. I know it was out of control and that you had nothing to do with it." Well... that's a completely logical thing to say. What the fuck is actually wrong. "I... I'm just going to go with Celestia for a day." "Luna-" "I just need a day to talk to her about something." She tells me before rolling over to look back at me. "I'm not mad, I just need some advice on something, promise." I look away from her and frown a bit as I try to process this, but can't without coming to a bitter end. "Luna, what's bothering you? Is it the... 'monitoring'? The foals? Or-" "It's none of those things... though I would like to know more about your little monitoring project. This is just some... pregnant mare talk I want to do. Nothing more." She reassures me, reaching out and setting a hoof on my cheek. "Promise." "*Sigh* well, okay. If you say it's nothing more, then I'll take your word for it. I'll let Fluttershy and Big Mac know we'll go to Topaz later-" "No, you figure that out now. I'll have Spike escort me to Canterlot. I'm sure he'd like to see Twilight and Speaks Softly, so convincing him to go shouldn't be hard. Call me the minute you get the results, got it?" I nod my head and lean down to kiss her lightly on the lips- WHACK FLASH "... a little warning would be nice." I groan from the ground. "Well, I'd like a little less stress. But we don't always get what we want now do we?" Luna snickers from the bed. "Now out with you. I want to nap a bit before the trip. For the life of me I can't get a minute of sleep on those trains, darn bumpy carts." She tells me as she gets comfy on the bed. I chuckle and get up to kiss her cheek before heading out with my clothes, wishing her a safe trip as I shut the door. I slip into my clothes outside the door and head downstairs to get my boots on. Once done, I head out back and go to my shed, entering the pass code to enter. My collection of projects and experiments clutter most of the work space around here, but it's an organized mess. In the center of it all is my jeep. It's facing the newest addition to my mess, a broken AA-20 from Topaz. I've restored my original back to operating standards, but getting the rest of the fleet back has been time consuming. Not to mention I've been adding my own additions to the two vehicles, just some better armor enchants as well as enhanced data relays. With a quick flare of my hands I open the earthen ceiling and bring the jeep out. I jump into the drivers seat and start the engine, hearing the satisfying roar of the pistons freely gliding in the engine block. Okay, enough drooling over a car, time to get moving. I kick it into gear and take off for the Library, leaving a tall dust cloud in my wake. First stop, minion. Perspective: Luna One Hour Later I mumble a bit when I hear Hati and Lupus barking down stairs. I sigh a bit as I pull the pillow over my head and try to drown them out. UUUHHHHHGGGGG! I miss sleeping in... and sleep in general for that matter. I try to ignore it a bit longer until I hear Spikes cries for help. Why does he even need help? He's a dragon, they can't bite through his scales. "Alright already... down wolves down." I groan from bed, surprisingly getting the barking to end. Well, he's here, may as well get out of bed then. I push the sheets off of me and slide out of bed, somehow managing to fumble over myself and fall down. I panic a bit from falling, but when nothing happens, except a slight pain in my behind, I calm down enough to completely remove the bed sheet. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" I scream at the top of my lungs. "LUNA!" Spike yells from downstairs, coupled with some howling. In a panic I scramble to the door, tripping over myself constantly, and slam the door shut just as Spike starts to open it. "STAY OUT!" I yell in fear as I press myself against the door, trying to lock it but to no avail. "What happened!?" He asks while trying the door. I press my back against it in hopes of keeping it shut. "Just stay out! It's nothing! It's... cramps!" I yell back. He stops trying to open the door but I can hear Lupus and Hati trying to scratch their way in. "Cramps?" He asks, completely confused. "Uh... yeah, cramps. You know, bloated. Hormones flowing, all my emotions just... it's pregnant mare stuff, so stay out." I close my eyes and hope he buys what I made up. I know Twilight and Storm have had the talk with him, but I'm really banking on him still not understanding mare physiology right now. "Um... I'm just going to... wait downstairs-" YES! "-just let me know if you need anything okay?" He asks timidly. "Yes, I mean, okay. Thank you Spike... I just need... a few minutes." I tell him as I look down. When I hear his steps begin to go down the stairs I fumble my way into the bathroom and pull myself onto the counter to look at myself in the mirror. I'm human. I have pale white skin with short blue hair and bright blue eyes. My stomach is large, as expected, but it seems my breast have... grown. A lot. Well... compared to what I've seen of Miles's memories, they seem... supple? Anyway, I look down and try to stand on my two feet, but can't seem to get my legs to hold me correctly. How does anypon-er-human, do this!? These scrawny things could never hold me! Especially now! "Okay, okay... just calm down... just... work... on... standing........... do all humans talk to themselv-AH!" THUNK FLASH .... ow. I grumble a bit as I rub the top of my head. How has Miles gone through all this punishment without being brain dead? That really hurt... I have a horn. I look myself over and realize that I'm back to being a pony. You have to be kidding me. I have to bonk my head to turn between the two, really!? ... ... ... No. Sorry Miles, but my head isn't as thick as yours. As far as anypony can tell, I'm just an alicorn. And it's going to stay that way... Unless the baby comes out a human... *sigh* sometimes I hate life. I get onto my hooves and make my way down to the living room, finding Spike sitting on the couch with Lupus and Hati sitting beside him. He seems really tense, eyeing the two wolves as the stare him down. Every time he fidgets or budges their eyes dart to whatever moves, waiting for him to make the wrong move. "Hati, Lupus, go outside." I tell them nicely. They look to me before running off, charging through the door that Spike left open. "Spike, they can't hurt you." "That doesn't make them any less scary." He defends, standing quickly. "Anyway, are you okay now.... you know, with your... cramps." He whispers the last part, making me roll my eyes. "Yes Spike, I'm fine. Let's get going now though, do you have everything you need?" I ask as I go to the dining room, where I have my emergency foal saddle bag. "Yeah, here let me take that though." He offers before running over and taking the bag. "Thank you, Spike." "Don't mention it. Anypony would do it really." He shrugs while heading out the door. I pause for a moment to think about what he said before following after him. I'm part human now, so what exactly does that mean for me? More reason to have my talk with Celestia. Perspective: Big Mac Topaz Falls Route 1 After a long, and quiet, trip down the new tunnels Miles made, we finally arrive at the bulkhead to Topaz Falls. The bulkhead is open with two small stone buildings take up the corners with a squad of Legion bots. Each of them seem to house a bot with a machine gun pointed in our direction. As we approach, four red beams of light scan over our vehicle, moving from side to side. After a few seconds the lights disappear and they lower their guns, so we drive through. "Wow, Topaz is looking much better." Fluttershy notes from my side as she looks out to the massive stone city. To me, their just stone, block buildings. Easily reminding me of Miles home, but larger. "I've set the bots to restore the city. It's taken awhile, but we're getting there. Now, at least, it's not a nightmare to walk through the streets." Miles tells us as we take a ramp up a street. The street levels out and leads us to the P.C.H over most of the buildings. In the distance I can see several aircraft lifting up building materials. "What do you plan on doing with the city once it's restored?" Fluttershy asks. I look to Miles and watch his face as he thinks about his answer. He's obviously conflicted about this. But I can tell he doesn't have an answer for it yet. "Well, for the time being, it's being rebuilt entirely on sentiment. After that, we'll have to see how life turns out. Who knows, maybe one day ponies will fill these streets. Like a tourist attraction or something, I don't know." Miles muses with a shrug of the shoulder. "How's the little guy?" "Rampant's fine." Fluttershy says, holding our... holding him a bit closer. He's staring out at the city, scared but intrigued. "We've never taken him out of the house before... or this fast... or this far from home... or-" "Easy there." I tell her, nuzzling her cheek a bit. "It'll be fine. Don't work yerself up over nothin'." She offers me a nervous smile but keeps the rest of her worries to herself. "So... what uh... what happens if... ya know-" "Let's save those questions for when we get the results. I don't want to get worked up on something that could be just paranoid delusions." Miles tells us. We remain quiet for a moment before I finally have to ask the question. "How exactly could the foal be yers?" "Well... it's completely off of speculation, but I believe that the baby being an alicorn is directly influenced from my becoming an alicorn. The machine seemed to have changed my... my biological make up. The excess energy could have affected them in the early stages of life. It all depends on if the embryo had a soul that early." "When do they typically get a soul?" I ask, barely following what he's saying. "It's hard to say. There's never a set time when they do develop their soul. It could happen during the first cell split, it could happen during birth. Without the tools to check, it would be impossible to check." "So... if he is... connected to you... does that mean he'd have a soul fire to?" Fluttershy asks. "... well, I'd think so. I mean, I assume my power is hereditary. Typically, stuff like that is..." He pauses at the end to think to himself. Fluttershy and I share another uneasy look but keep quiet for the rest of the trip. When we come to a stop in front of the giant building, with a green utility bot waiting for us by the road. We step out and the bot takes the vehicle away. Much of the destruction and carnage from before has been repaired. But the craftsmanship is obviously lacking. The mico station is well lit and still holds that upper crust glimmer. Miles brings us to one of the stations and tells us to take it one at a time. We send Fluttershy first to have somepony be there for Rampant. When she teleports away, I look to Miles to tell him something. "Miles... there aint no easy way ta say this, so imma jus say it." "What's up?" "Rampant is mah colt." I tell him firmly, holding Rampant a bit closer. Miles step back a bit while looking away, thinking to himself more. "Shy an ah have been tryin too hard fer too long ta give 'im up. Ah don't care what yer D.N.A. says, he's mah colt." "I know. Trust me Mac, I'm not trying to take him from you or anything. I just... I think we all need to know. It probably a mistake of mine to blurt it out like I did, but I have to put those worries to rest. I'm sorry about all of this, I really am." He looks me in the eyes and nods. I sigh and look down to Rampant. He's looking around curiously while suckling on his pacifier. I sigh and set him on the platform, teleporting him to Fluttershy. I take one look back to Miles before stepping on the platform and flashing away. I appear in a waiting room where Fluttershy and Rampant wait patiently for us. Once Miles makes it here he guides us down one of the halls. Medical beds line the light green walls with strange metal contraptions sitting at the top left of each of the beds. Miles takes us to the closest bed and has Fluttershy lay on it, so I take Rampant. "Alright, just lay still and this will be over before you know it." Miles informs Shy. She gives me another nervous glance before fluttering up and laying on the bed. Miles hits a few buttons on the metal thing and steps back when it comes to life. A blue beam comes out from a needle looking thing and scans over Fluttershy's body. It focuses around her eyes and wings the most, but as soon as it starts, it ends. "I-is that it?" Fluttershy asks timidly. "Yeah, now lets put Rampant up here." He says as he hits a few more buttons. "What about you?" I ask as I set him there. "I'm already in the system. All we need to do now is scan him and compare results." I nuzzle Shy a bit and set Rampant there, belly down. The mechanical arm comes around and starts to scan him, scaring him. He cries out when the beam goes over his eyes and tries to wiggle away in his wrappings. When it finishes scanning him Fluttershy grabs him to comfort him. "Well? What does it say?" Fluttershy asks over his cries. "Hold on, it needs to run some-" "May I have your autograph?" Easy asks, scarring Miles. "GAH! Easy! What the fuck man!?" Miles screams, getting scowls from Shy and I. "Order twenty initiated. Orders please." Easy asks. Miles and I go still from this, staring at Easy. "What was that?" Miles asks nervously. "Order twenty initiated. Orders please." He repeats. Miles darts out of the room, running as fast as possible back to the teleporter. "What's order twenty?" Fluttershy asks, confused. "Order twenty," Easy explains, "Enemies within our space. Defensive actions advised." "Enemies? Who?" Fluttershy asks. "Unknown. Scanners indicate large forces moving at high speed with intelligent descent. Reactions advised." Easy tells us before walking off. We both sit there quietly, Fluttershy trying to comprehend what we've learned while I try to think about the possibility of an upcoming war. We can't go to war. Fluttershy and I just had a foal, the farm needs me, there's too much for me to do for a war to start now. "What are the orders?" Fluttershy asks, breaking our silence. "The orders are used ta indicate our threat status. Orders one through ten are fer peaceful times, while orders eleven through nineteen are fer every day stuff. Orders twenty through twenty three tell us how imminent a threat is. After that, there are three more orders that indicate how we fight. Ah imagine we'll move inta order twenty four, distant fighin." "What if that fails? What if they get here? Are we going to be invaded? Is a war about to start? What's-" "Shy." I say firmly, getting her attention. "D.N.A. ANALYSIS COMPLETE. NEGATIVE. D.N.A. ANALYSIS COMPLETE. NEGATIVE. D.N.A. ANALYSIS COMPLETE. NEGATIVE. " A voice says from the contraption. Author's Note This is it my bronies! Only three more chapters until the Q/A Blog Post! Be sure to go there and update your questions or post your own, you only have three chapters let to do so! Brony on! Chapter 197 In-Human ConcernsChapter 197 In-Human Concerns Perspective: Luna When the train car jostles a bit I wake up, finding ourselves just outside of Canterlot. I look over at Spike to see him sitting back, reading a book. I stretch a little while shifting to a sitting position as well, getting Spike's attention. "Have a good nap?" He asks, flipping a page casually. "Yeah, but I'm a bit stiff now." I say as I rub my neck. Spike goes to say something but suddenly stops and goes wide eyed, making me eye him a bit. "Yes Spike, where you going to say something?" I ask, causing him to sweat a bit. "U-uh, no. I just... realized how close we were to Canterlot. That's all." He says before shoving his face in the book. I eye him a bit more before the conductor begins announcing our arrival. I'll drop it for now. I'm sure Rarity could shed some light on the subject though. When we finally make it off the train, the sun is getting close to setting. We should be able to make it to the castle before it does, so we shouldn't drag our hooves. A group of Night guards are waiting for us in the station, keeping the crowd of ponies away from the two of us. "Queen Luna." A guard says as they all bow to me. "Oh, right. That. Um... you may stand. I wish to go to the castle as soon as possible. Take us there." I order, getting them to snap to attention and usher us out. They take us to a carriage and take us over the city towards our destination. "I forgot you were a queen." Spike laughs. "I did too." I admit, chuckling with him. "I'm only that ranking when outside of Ponyville though. It's part of the joint rule thing between the two nation." I tell him. "Oh, okay. So, when do you plan on coming back and ruling Equestria?" Spike asks. "Not any time soon, that's for sure. I want to raise our foal first, then ease myself back into the responsibilities. It'll be several years before I move back permanently, and that's if Miles lets me." "Why wouldn't he?" He asks nervously. "I was joking." I tell him, getting him to relax. "We've talked this over before. He knows that I'll come back when the foal is old enough, that's when we'd like to teach it about its roll in the world." "What do you mean by that?" "Well, our child is going to have... a lot of political pull in the world. Equestrian royalty is a given, but the Terradisians have gained immense credibility in the world. For the time being at least. Showing up at the Summit was big enough on its own, but being charged to go through each nations issues and bring judgement on them... that's huge. Nothing like this has ever happened before, and for them to be the sole country in charge of it-" "But, I thought the Spartans were going to lead this, not the Terradisians." "They are, but the rest of the world doesn't necessarily understand our systems. All the know is that the representatives from Terradisia are going to determine the outcome of the world. And it's leader, Miles, is going to have a child soon... though from what Celestia tells me, I don't think anypony made the connection between Miles and his Alicorn form." I pause for a moment, waiting for Spike to understand on his own. "Oh... that's... wow." "Yes, our child will be connected." I summarize, though there is a much more to it than that. "Is that why you want to raise it in Ponyville? To get away from all of that responsibility." He asks. "Well, that's my reason. Miles, on the other hoof, kind of... hates, some of the ponies in Canterlot-" "Blueblood?" "Eeyup." We share a small laugh at the obvious answer. It's amazing how one annoyance could sway our lives so drastically, but I couldn't agree with it more. We arrive at the castle front gates shortly after where Twilight and a group of guards wait for us. As soon as we touch down Spike leaps out and runs to his mother, scooping her up in a massive hug. Twilight yelps in surprise but returns the hug in full. "Well, it seems like somepony missed you." I chuckle, making Spike set her down and run the back of his neck. "He's allowed to miss his mother all he wants." Twilight defends, only making him blush deeper. "It's good to see you too Queen Luna." She says with a slight bow. The rest of the guards bow as well, bringing their foreheads to the ground. "Thank you Twilight, guards. You may rise." I tell them. "Though, for the time being, just Luna will do Twilight. Where's Speaks Softly? And Celestia for that matter." I ask while walking towards the open doors. Twilight walks beside me with Spike bringing up the rear. "Softy is with Storm. He watches after her while I take care of my royal duties." She explains. "I'm sorry we couldn't work you into the deal as well Twilight. It all happened so suddenly-" "Oh, don't worry about that. I know all of my parents like me being here in Canterlot. And having royal staff to help out from time to time isn't half bad either." "Both parents?" "Storm's mother and brother moved in with my parents when we moved. We even gave Rain Cloud a job as an accountant here in the castle. Once she makes enough she plans on moving out, much to my parents displeasure, but she feels too much like a burden on them." "And Breaker? How's he fairing these days?" I ask carefully. "He's... good, I guess. He needs red potions at least once a month right now, and his neck isn't doing any better, but he's in good spirit. Anyway, Celestia sends her apologies. Something huge came up and she didn't feel right just dropping it on me. Hopefully it'll be resolved soon." She says nervously. "Do you know what it was?" I ask curiously, getting her to shake her head. "I was preoccupied with Softy when it happened, so I know next to nothing about the meeting. But let's leave that for when Celestia gets back. Are you hungry? Would you like-" "OH GREAT SPHINX ABOVE!" A brown and white blur suddenly whizzes up and grabs me in a tight, feathery hug. Regina jumps back and squeals a bit as she looks me over again. "Regina! Where did you come-" "Look at you!" She practically yells as she tackles me in another hug. "You're HUGE! You're like a blimp of babies! How many are in there!? Oh my gosh we have so much to catch up on! When did you even get here? LUNA!" She begins to choke me a bit as she continues to hug me. If it weren't for the lack of air going to my head I'd be a bit hurt from being called fat, but air is a bit more important at the moment. "R-regina! Reg-gina! AIR! AIR!" I gasp as I try to break free from her grasp. She lets go of me and begins to bounce in place from excitement, fluttering her wings slightly. "Where are you going? I'm not leaving your side until we're properly brought back to speed. Where to?" I take a moment to catch my breath and compose myself before looking to Twilight. "Well, as nice as food sounds, I think I will retire to my room to rest and raise the moon. Thank you for the welcome. If you see Celestia please send her to me as soon as possible. Goodnight Twilight." "Goodnight Queen Luna." She replies with a slight bow. I roll my eyes a bit from her reluctance to call me just Luna on the castle grounds, but ignore it as Regina and I head to my living quarters. "So is it weird being all huge and pregnant?" Regina bluntly asks. Oh... to think I've missed you. ............................................................................................................................................................. ".... so I told him, 'get the cluck out before I cut them off!' Do you think I over reacted?" She asks when we finally make it to my bed chambers. "Uh-huh." I drone back. "Were you even listening!?" "He sold you some bad beets, basically. Go ahead and get comfy, I need to raise the moon." I tell her while moving over to the balcony. She flops onto my bed and sighs in irritation. I don't get how she can make the simplest of things into something completely over dramatic and world crushing. Going from bad beets to relational problems before noon... only Regina. I move to the railing and wait for Celestia to come as well. I look up and admire the array of different colors painting the evening sky. Pinks and yellows in the horizon. Dark blues and trails of red in the distant space... wait, what? Trails of red. I look back to about high noon and watch as a trail of red has appeared. It's small, almost unnoticeable, and seems to be coming towards the ground. I don't recall any meter showers this time of year. And it's definitely not a shooting star. As I stare at it, three more appear around it. Then five... twelve... thirty... how many are there? "Regina, come take a look at this." I call out to her. "This better not be some moon shine thing like that one time." She grumbles from my bed. When she steps onto the balcony she stops and stares up with me. "Are those shooting stars?" "No. Shooting stars don't burn like that. Whatever those are, they're coming in too slowly to be natural." I tell her. "There are so many, what do you think they are?" She asks in amazement. The first few that came through have shed their fiery covers to reveal some sort of craft. The center part is long and narrow while the wings are thin and curve forward, starting at the back of the craft. The bronze body seems to be one part with the exception of a black spot on the top. "What are those?" I ask aloud. "Maybe this has to do with Miles. Did he say he was doing anything special recently?" Regina asks. "He said... he was monitoring something-" Before I could finish, a burst of black, diamond shaped vehicles erupt from the distant Everfree Forest. I recognize them as Aquilas, but what are they doing? They fly up high and circle around as hundreds continue to jet out from the forest. Likewise, the bronze aircraft begin to circle around; as if waiting for the others to attack first. "What are they waiting for?" Regina asks while taking a few steps back. I shake my head as the last of the vehicles appear from the sky and forest. The two groups continue to circle until one final vehicle appears from the forest. "Miles." I mumble as I watch the white craft soar through the center of the Aquila's and head straight for the bronze horde. The two groups break formation and race towards each other, sending a volley of grey streams of smoke before them. I wince at first when the first explosions hit. Debris and fire rains down from the explosions as the lucky ones race past each other and break to engage their foes. I feel my heart race as I follow the white speck as it twists and turns through the air. He has three chasing after him. He dives down for speed and banks right, but his pursuers keep pace with him easily. I can tell that they are more agile, but Miles has power on his end. He suddenly pulls up and races higher into the sky, using the chaotic battlefield to obscure his position. "I don't think we should stay up here any longer." Regina tells me as she begins to pull me back. "I'm not going anywhere until I see Miles land safely." I tell her as I yank back into my spot. "Go if you must, but I'm not moving!" She gives me a look before sighing and moving to my side. "Fine! But the minute things get too hairy here I'm dragging your pregnant butt somewhere I deem safe!" She warns me. I nod to her and turn back to the fight. Black smoke fills most of the sky now, making it harder to find Miles's ship. The blue beams of energy tell me he's still out there, but I can't see the condition of his craft or of anypony is following him. "Can you see him?" I ask. "I can't see anything out there. How could they fight in conditions like that? It's like fighting in the middle of a hurricane!" THRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMM We both duck when Miles flies over the castle, blasting his engines loudly. A powerful gust of wind blows over us, nearly knocking me over. Perspective: Miles WARNING. LARGE AIRCRAFT ENTERING AIRSPACE. WARNING. LARGE AIRCRAFT ENTERING AIRSPACE. "SHUT THE FUCK UP I KNOW!" I yell as I pull the stick back and throttle up. The constant beeping of the enemy lock system blares in my ears as I roll over and survey the area around me. Half of my friendlies have been knocked out of the sky, with another fifteen percent having damage. I've taken a few small hits but am still completely functional. From my initial scan, about two thirds of the enemy forces are left, giving us the advantage- WARNING. MISSILE FIRE. WARNING. MISSILE FIRE. "FUCK!" I roll to the left and deploy the last of my flares, avoiding the incoming round. I plaster myself in my seat as I drop back down to gain more speed. Two red diamonds appear on my screen, telling my I've got missile lock on them. "THIS IS SPARTAN ONE, FIRING ROUND FIVE AND SIX. COVER MY ASS SOMEONE!" WARNING. LARGE AIRCRAFT ENTERING AIRSPACE. WARNING. LARGE AIRCRAFT ENTERING AIRSPACE. My two shots chase down their targets, bringing them both down. I don't have visual on them though, so I have to assume that they are gone. I wait a second as my craft sends out a few more pings, giving me a holographic view of everything solid around me. The remaining craft seem to be going back up out of our airspace, giving me a moment to relax. "Aquila seventy two, perched." "Copy that, where is the estimated LZ for the larger craft in relation to Canterlot?" I ask tiredly. "Please wait... please wait... please wait... projected landing zone is estimated to be one hundred and sixty kilometers south of Canterlot." That's just past Ponyville as well. Not by much, barely into the outskirts really. "What would the blast radius be for a super drop?" I ask. A holographic sphere appears in my hud, displaying several possible outcomes. The most ideal choices need to be sent now, but there's still the residual effect to deal with. If I fire, at any point, I risk harming innocents below. But if I don't... "Orders sir." "This is Spartan one, clear high air space for super drop." I say as I slide my finger over the panel and select the super archaic missile. "Warning. Ordinance selected is a high archaic super spell. Effects unknown. Are you sure you want to fire?" No. I'm not. But I can't allow them to land on Terra. I can't raise my child knowing that I allowed the greatest threat to my people come here and take over. Ruby Canyon was cut off and isolated, these monsters have had time to grow. I have to take them out. "Understood. Firing for effect." I say solemnly as I pull the trigger. I feel my ship swagger a bit as the missile drops below my and races off for its destination. I sit back and sigh as I watch it disappear into the dark abyss. Forgive me Luna, it looks like I have to cross that line again- BVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVMMMMMM Perspective: Luna I lift a wing to block a powerful gust of wind. A loud, beaming sound fills the land as a red glow tints everything for a moment. I cough a bit when the smoke passes over me, choking me slightly. The smell of burnt metal and ozone force their way into my nose, making me cough even more. I feel Regina yank me back and pull my inside the room, where she closes the doors quickly. "Are you okay!? Luna, Look at me!" She yells as she forces me to look at her. "Long, slow breaths. Nice and easy, in... out... in... out." I cough a few more times but do as she says. After a minute or so I get my breathing under control enough for her to back off a bit. "What, in the name of our mother, was that!?" "I don't know." I tell her as I look back out. "But I think we're about to find out. Look." Dropping down from space appears to be a massive thunderstorm. Dark clouds twist around and rumble with electrical potential. Before anypony could do anything, the ball of darkness falls upon the land and consumes us, bringing an eerie false night. I try to keep my heart under control as I use my magic to turn on the few lights in my room. Likewise, I can see most of Canterlot doing the same. "Okay, now can we get somewhere safe and not high in the air and vulnerable?" Regina begs. "What happened out there!? Is Miles okay?! What's with all the clouds!? We have to find Miles!" I begin to panic as I pace about the room. I don't see any aircraft out there, though I can't see anything. What if the thunderclouds knocked him out of the air? What if his systems went down and he's hurtling towards the ground!? WHAT IF HE'S- My train of thought ends when a low rumbling fills the room. The few pictures and trinkets I have out begin to shake and fall over as the glass begins to wobble in their holdings. Regina and I look to one another before looking back out the balcony. A massive object, the likes of which I've never seen before, is slowly descending upon the land. It looks to be made of the same metal as the smaller crafts, but is tremendously larger. The main body seems to be one dark, massive, jagged sphere with long spires coming out from different points. Two stand out the most, coming out front what appears to be the front of the sphere beside one anther. They seem to be three times longer than the others, maybe more. Five more tall spires point out at even ends of the sphere, with smaller spires connecting them to their counterparts. Hundreds of lights cover the vessel, some blinking with others on constantly. As the large vessel begins to slowly turn to face Canterlot, a shimmer of energy begins to fall over us. The city guard have finally began to put up a shield. My door slams open and four guards come running, two pegasi and two unicorn. "My Queen, we have to get you somewhere safe!" One of them yells while the others position themselves around me. "SEND A SQUAD OF GUARDS TO FIND MILES-" THWUUUUUUSHH I snap back to the window as Miles's jet soars over the tower, along with most of the Aquilas. Though, I can only tell what they are because of their exhaust, Miles's ship is the only different one up there. They line up in an attack formation and fire a volley of missiles towards the massive ship. Red beams of energy appear from all over the vessel, shooting the missiles out of the air. A few lucky rounds make it through and connect with the ships hull, but the damage is basically nonexistent As Miles's group scrambles to avoid getting hit by the red beams, arcs of electricity begin to form between the two larger columns. They brighten and snap with power before a large white bolt of electricity fires forward, missing everything completely. Arcs of electricity work their way through the clouds, lighting up where ever they go. SNAP A burst of lightning snaps from the cloud, back to the ship. Along the way, it hits three Aquilas. Knocking them out of the air. It's a traveling storm... and Miles is out there... in his metal craft... "We need to get Miles out of there!" I yell to my guards, getting panicked looks from them. SNAP "But... your highness, we can't. The shields are up, nothing can get in or out." SNAP "I don't care! We need to get him out of there, HIS LIFE IS IN DANGER!" I yell back at them. SNAP "LOOK!" Regina yells. I turn back and watch as Miles tries to make a run for it. He starts out high and is diving down with two Aquilas behind him. A bolt of lightning strikes the second one, making it crash into the third Aquila. The burst staggers Miles's ship, but he holds steady and pulls up just before hitting the ground. His jets roar with power as he races towards the edge of the storm. "Go... go!" I yell at him as he nears the wall of storm clouds. SNAP A bolt strikes his ship, setting one of his engines on fire. The nose pitches up and veers right slightly, almost out of the fray. "Keep going! You're almost-" I stop when I see his ship go into the cloud and a massive burst of electricity causes his ship to explode. I stand there in a daze as I watch the fiery remains of his ship fall to the ground. This has to be a dream. Miles can't die, not now. This is just a bad dream, this... this can't be real. Miles can't die, he promised to return. When the debris hits the ground... I lose it. "MILES!" I scream as I try to run out to him, only to be grabbed by Regina. "MILES, NO!" "GET US OUT OF HERE!" Regina yells to the others as she grips me tightly around my chest. "DO IT!" "MILES!" FLASH I fall to the ground and wail as Regina continues to hold me. I don't know what I'm going to do without him. I don't know if I can even go on without him. I need him here, with me. I don't want to be lonely again. What about these enemies? Who's going to fight them? Who's going to protect me and my foal? I need Miles, he can't be dead! There's too much to lose with him dead, he can't die! Not now, not ever! "Luna!" Regina yells at me as she grabs my face to look at her. "I know you're sad, and I know things don't look good right now. But we need to get moving. We need to get you out of here and somewhere safe." She yells in my face. "B-but, what ab-b-bout Miles?" I sob. "We'll... figure that out... later. Right now we need to get you, and your foal, out of here. It's not safe here anymore. Do you understand me?! Your foal is in danger, Miles's foal is in danger! We need to get moving, now!" I pause in my sorrow and let her words sink in. I still have our foal, and it's in danger. Nothing else matters. I need to get moving. I need to get up. Where can we go though... home. We need to get up the mountain and teleport home. From there... we'll figure it out when we get there. First things first, we need to get my remaining family out of Canterlot... "What about Celestia?" I ask as I start to get up, with help from Regina. "If we run into her, we'll bring her along. First things first, I'm going to get you out of here. I can come back for her later, you first. Now, where's safe-" "Home. We need to get to the top of the mountain, there's a mico platform that connects with my house there. That's where we need to start." I tell her, getting a nod in return. She looks around the dark room we're in and heads to the closest door. She peers outside before motioning for me to follow after her, which I do. We're in the lower chambers of the castle, where most of the behind the scenes things happen. It's dark down here, with only a few sparse lights lining the stone walls. I can see a few maids running down the hall away from us, but besides them it's empty down here. I follow Regina down the hall as she moves from door to door, checking each before moving to the next one. When we finally find some stairs we make our way up. It's a bit difficult for me to make it up the narrow stair case, but I force my way up and attempt to keep up with Regina. We end up behind the throne, where we find Celestia talking with some... being. He looks human, in shape at least. He lacks a nose and has beady black eyes surrounded by light grey skin. His waist long silver hair is tied back with golden charms weaved in three spots. His armor looks so similar to Miles's that I can't really tell the difference. It actually might be Terradisian armor. He's unarmed, but stands before Celestia with complete confidence. "You've destroyed our shields, landed outside two of our cities, and attacked-" "We did not attack, my dear Celestia. They attacked us, and we defended ourselves. Perhaps if you knew our history you'd know better than to question our motives. The light soul infestation has plagued the galaxies for eons. They find a world that doesn't belong to them and call it their own. They wish only to wage war and destroy themselves in the process. Our empire has lost too much to allow them to exist anymore-" ACHOO I feel my heart begin to race when Regina sneezes. We look to each other for a moment when she tries to apologies, but something seems to grab me and pull me out into the open. The man before me has his hand lite with archaic fire, but instead of it being white, it's dark grey. He looks me over for a moment before chuckling deeply. "So, who is this?" He asks as he lets me go and begins to circle me. "Leave her out of this Vensil!" Celestia demands. "She has nothing to do-" "I think she has everything to do with our mission." He says when he stops in front of me. "What is your name." I take a few deep breaths before looking him right in the eyes. "I am Luna Eremita." I tell him, making him chuckle. "Eremita huh, that sounds so... human." He smiles at the end, baring his dagger like teeth at me. "I am Vensil, leader of the Kroth Empire's Military. I have one, and only one question, to ask you. Luna Eremita. What color is your soul?" His question catches me a bit off guard, but I keep my impartial façade on as I continue to glare at him. "Vensil! Enough! Leave my sister out of this!" Celestia demands again as she steps between the two of us. "You and your forces are to leave this country immediately! I will not tolerate any-" "No." He says simply. "No, I think we'll stay. After all, we have an infestation to clear." He says as he smiles even more at me. FLASH A large number of guards, day and night, appear all around the room and surround Vensil. He chuckles some more as he takes a few steps back, holding his hands behind his back. "Kill the human." All of the windows break in as more armored men hump through. They wield Terradisian weapons and have their ankles lite with archaic fire. The room erupts in chaos as the two groups collide in battle. Bursts of magic and metal clashing with metal fills the room as our guards valiantly attempt to quell the invaders. But their technology is simply too advance for us to make a difference. With every charging of a spell or swing of a sword, a blast of archaic energy cuts them down. I try to turn back to run down the stairs, but two of the Unfamiliar soldiers cut me off. Celestia teleports in front of me and sets a shield around us, just in time to catch their rounds. They continue firing on us until Storm Cloud and Regina appear behind them, stabbing them in the back. "Get out of here Luna! We'll hold them off!" She yells to me as she summons her claymore. "But-" "GET OUT OF HE-AH!" She yells out in pain as her shield shatters around us. She falls to the ground from the stun of whatever effect destroyed her spell. I turn around to find Vensil standing before me, his hands held up where the shield used to be. The room behind him is filled with all of our guards laying slaughtered on the ground. The rest of his soldiers surround the four of us and move in, but stops when Vensil holds up a hand. "Tell me, Luna Eremita, how many other lives are you willing to lay down before you finally surrender? By the looks of it, it seems to be at least twenty." He asks, glancing back to the carnage behind him. "They gave their lives so you wouldn't take an innocent life." I defend, taking a step forward. Celestia puts a hoof to my mine and looks up to me, begging me with her eyes to run. "No human life is innocent." He counters, smiling again. I hate that smile. That smile... it's pure evil. Filled with malevolent intent and dark intention. That smile... I hate it. Two of the soldiers snap and fire on Storm and Regina, hitting them in the chest and knocking them over. Two more move in and press the barrels of their guns against my stomach. "W-what-" "As I said. Kill the human." He says with a slight chuckle. "B-but, it's not a human!" I yell back, panicking. "How could you-" "We've learned to see with the soul. It has a human soul, therefore must be destroyed-" "But it might not come out a human!" I yell as I take a step forward. I shriek in pain when I feel something cut into my side. I look back to see a blade has flipped forward on the gun. The tip has cut into the side of my large stomach, having a small trickle of blood rolling from the small wound. "Oh, can you guarantee that?" He asks, slightly intrigued. "... yes. It's not going to be human, it's going to be an Alicorn." I lie, glancing back to the blade as it toys with my small wound. "Please. I don't care what you do with me, but let my child live. I'll do anything if you give me your word that my foal will not be killed, please." He thinks about this, eyeing me with slight interest. "Hmm... heh. Alright, here's the deal. You will hang before your people, as an example for those who sympathize with the human resistance. But I will pardon your child, if it comes out like you. If it's a human, we will kill it on the spot. It will live out its life as my pet. No purpose. It will beg me for treats and live the stupid life of an animal for my amusement. And I will name it-" "Erit tuae mortis aeternae." SNAP A bolt of lightning snaps through the room and obliterates the soldier with the blade in my side. Standing at the entrance to the throne room is Miles. He's in his human form and is charred all over. I feel my heart lift up for a moment before I note something... off, about him. His archaic lines only go up to his knees and elbows in even lines that come to a point. They're also moving, as if being pushed around by some current. His eyes are bright white and the odd lines as well, going evenly around. What catches my attention the most though, are the weapons he's wielding. The one on the left looks to be a large trench knife made of various flowing colors, while the other one is pure black with a pure white surrounding. He's twitching as he stands there, but somehow keeps his gaze on Vensil despite his severe convulsions. "Kill him." Vensil says, barely giving him a look over. The soldiers move and begin to fire on Miles, but Miles simply lifts his hands. A vortex of black energy engulfs him and he seems to fall through the ground. The soldiers pause for a moment before the vortex appears behind one of them. Miles jumps out and slices the soldier with one of his blades. The soldier hit crumbles away from existence into long black wisps. Vensil goes to attack me, but suddenly everything goes black. Everything's just... gone. There's no sound, no smell, just... nothing. I can feel the slight tinge of pain in my side, so I don't think I'm dead, so where am I? I let out another shriek when a white... mask suddenly appears before me. It's a solid, egg shaped, white mask. The only features on it are to the two small slits for eyes.The mask... looks like it's frozen solid while being a million degrees hot. It's looking right through me, seeing every flaw, every crevice of my soul in one unchanging stare. It's just a mask. But... it seems to hold so much, while holding nothing at all. "Dolor?" A raspy voice asks. "Uh... who are you?" I ask, fearing the mask greatly. "Vacuum. Dolor?" Vacuum? So, this is must be Corpus Glacius, but in some greater form. "Um... only a little. What about the others?" I ask as the mask seems to float to my side, inspecting my cut. I feel a cold presence envelope my stomach, numbing the pain away. I try to move away from the strange feeling, but can't seem to move in this darkness. "Scient mortis aeternae." The darkness begins to fade away, revealing the armed soldiers from before. The darkness retreats back into the archaic fire in Miles's back, where I see the green man standing within the fire. He's has a blotch of black moving through his being, but they seem... together, in a sense. The archaic line around his back remind me of Celestia's cutie mark, with the exception of it being black and moving slightly. In the time it took me to blink, Miles was able to move forward and punch through one of the soldiers with the dark energy blade. His body faded away before it could hit the ground. How could he move so fast? Even with magic, that seemed a little impossible. Vensil yells for them to attack while he begins to move away, messing with something on his shoulder along the way. Miles moves to attack him, but he suddenly vanishes from the room. A trail of black wisps tells me that he landed a hit at least. Miles presses his two blades back into the ground, creating a bright light that blinds me for a moment. When the light fades away, Vensil is back in the room. Before he could act, Miles stabs both of his blades into his chest. He gasps loudly from the contact and chokes from the energy coursing through his body. For some reason, he hasn't faded away yet. "No mortal... should posses... the power... of the gods." He rasps to Miles. "Vacuum est aeternum." He replies, moving his blades away from each other. Vensil's body brightens and brightens the further the blades become. With a final yank, he pulls the blades out from the glowing being. What was the being is sucked into the two blades, making them glow a bit brighter. By the time Miles is finished with Vensil, the remaining soldiers have teleported out of here, leaving us alone. Miles stnads there, still twitching, with his blades at his side. "Miles?" I call out, taking tentative steps towards him. "Miles... is it over?" "Pene." Miles brings his hands up and moves them out, keeping them above his head. The roof of the throne room opens up seamlessly, revealing the massive ship in the distance. Its turned towards Canterlot and is on its way, arcs of electricity still bouncing through the air. Miles takes a deep breath before moving both his blades in front of himself, the colored one pointing up with the dark one pointing down. The lights all around us grow dimmer and dimmer as he focuses on the two blades. Soon, the only light source left is that from the blades themselves. In one wide motion, he brings the two blades over head and everything goes dark. A few moments go by without anything happening. My breaths seem to become longer and longer as I wait for something to happen. BAM I fall back when a enormous burst of energy explodes before me. A long sliver of pure energy roars with power above Miles's head. The light jets up as a whirlwind of energy gusts towards the blade. With a primal yell, Miles spins around and swings at the large vessel. A slash of energy rips through the air with terrifying amounts of energy. The mass of energy has a blue tinge on the front outside with a black center. The ship fires a massive red beam at the energy mass, but it merely bounces off the mass- KRA-BOOM The mass slams into ship and explodes with enough force to shake the castle down to it's foundations. What remains of the ship is blown away like paper in the wind, crashing down in the distance into a massive plume of fire. The dark cloud cover becomes blown askew, showing peaceful patches of sky behind. With the cloud cover broken, light flows into the room. Miles stands before me, line gone, energy blades gone, taking deep breaths as he stands tall. The Elements are dull on his arms, losing their- KA-BO-BO-BO-BO-BO-BOOM I yelp again when the Elements explode off of his arms and into the ground around him. They each form a circle around him, making some sort of ven diagram with him in the center. "Sweet Barbra Miles! Enough with all the explosions!" I yell at him. He turns back to me and sways from side to side as he stares at me, confused. "Who the fuck is Barbra?" He asks before falling over. "Miles!" I run over to his side and press my ear against his chest, waiting to hear his heart. I sigh in relief when I hear it beating steadily... wait a minute... "What do you mean 'who's Barbra?!' That's your saying! WHO IS BARBRA!? MILES!" I yell at him as I try to shake him awake, but he's out cold. I let out an irritated sigh as I back to Celestia and the others. I go to use my magic, but find it's not there. I try again a bit harder, but with the same effect. "What did you do?" I ask quietly as I lay my head beside him, wanting the day to end already. Author's Note Sorry for the delay on this one (if you follow by post). Some stuff is going down in real life and needed my time and attention. In other news, I will soon be moving. Long Beach here I come! So, in about a month or so I might disappear for awhile. Don't worry, I'm just moving and what not. Anyway, be sure to go to the Chapter 200 Q/A to update or post your questions. It's coming up soon, so don't miss out. Also, if you didn't know... Friendship is manly.... bitch. Brony on! Chapter 198 Understanding BalanceChapter 198 Nah, I'm fucking with you. Luna's having the baby. But crazy Miles stuff first. Perspective: Miles What happened? Chaos. Where am I? Bring Chaos unto the world. I... I can't open my eyes. Am I blind? No... no, there's just something covering them. You are my vessel, the tool which will bring a great Chaos upon the world. I can feel both my hands... with something around my wrist. Likewise for my feet. You are Chaos. The world will bend to your will and break under your rule. You are a body of ice, with a soul of fire. Who is that? Someone’s mumbling nearby. They sound... worried. Pained. Bring Chaos unto the world and relish in its demise. I feel... I feel numb. Something has to be wrong with me, but... I don't feel anything. What happened? I remember being in Topaz, with Fluttershy, Big Mac, and Rampant. But... I was in an aircraft... there were fires... someone was screaming I think. Bring Chaos unto the world. Oh no... I did a super drop, I remember that much for sure. I must have been knocked out of the air from the blast. Is Luna okay, that must have been her screaming. She must be worried sick right now. That can't be good for the baby. They better be okay, I don't know what I'd do if they were hurt because of something I did. I need to get to her, but my arms are too heavy to move, not to mention the restraints. No movement, no magic. Sleep. ............................................................................................................................................................ "Miles.... Miiiiiiles. Wake up Miles." A soft, but familiar, voice whispers into my ear. I try to respond to it, but can't manage to get my body to respond. "He still needs his rest. Please, can't this wait?" A soft female voice asks. No, I don't need more sleep. I need to get to Luna. I can rest later, I need to check on her. I need to wake up. "I'm sorry, but we need to get some information from him. It's really important. Can you give us a few more minutes?" Another familiar voice asks. Some hoofsteps and a door shutting tells me the other person must have agreed. Good, let them keep trying. I need to get up, so the more the merrier- "I have an idea." Damian says confidently. No.... NO! GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME DAMIAN! I SWEAR IF YOU FUCKING- SMACK "WAKE UP!" YOU FUCKING LITTLE- SMACK "RISE AND SHINE!" I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU- SMACK "THAT WAS CAUSE I FELT LIKE IT!" PIECE OF SHIT! SMACK "AND THAT WAS FOR HELPING STRAGUS!" FUCK YOU! SMACK "AND THAT’S FOR HURTING MY HOOF WITH YOUR FACE!" FUCKING DAMIAN! SMACK "AND THAT WAS FOR MAKING ME DRINK SHITTY BEER!" FUCK... YOU! SMACK "AND THAT WAS FOR-" "FUCKING DAMIAN!" I scream at the top of my lungs, scaring him off of me. Damian, Hammer, Patches, and CC all back away from me as I try to kill Damian. My arms and legs are completely tied to the sides of the bed while two straps hold my chest down. No matter how much I pull and shake, I can't break free from their grasp. Even worse, they're stopping me from igniting my magic."DAMIAN YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE I'M GOING TO BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF YOU! NOW UNTIE ME!" "Pffft, yeah-no. Sorry captain, but I'm here right now on official Statera business." He says as he canters over to my side, smiling smugly at me. "Now, are you going to be a good little boy or are we going to have to subdue you?" "GO FUCK YOURSELF!" I yell as I try to break free again. IF i could just get my hands a bit... more... loose... FUCK! "Damian, play nicely." CC tells him as she moves to the other side of the bed. "Miles, you need to calm down-" "I'll calm down when you fucking untie!" I yell back at her. SMACK I glare at Damian and try to kill him with my eyes. I swear, if he smacks me one more time I'm going to break my foot off in his ass and shove his head down a pike. "Watch your mouth." He scolds me. ".... GO FUCK YOURSELF!" I yell back, along with another fit of trying to break free. "Damian, corner. I'll handle this." CC orders him. He looks to her and rolls his eyes before following suit. "Good, now Miles. I need you to calm down. I won't untie you until then. Nice, long, even breaths-" "I know how to breath!" I snap at her as I continue to glare at Damian. "Of course you do. Just think soothing, calm, peaceful thoughts. Nice and easy." She coos. Killing Damian. Beating Damian. Crushing the living daylights out of his puny nuts. "Are you calm yet?" "Sure, now untie me." I answer quickly. "Well... I can't-" "THEN WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT ALL ABOUT! UNTIE ME SO I CAN BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF DAMIAN!" I yell before yanking and convulsing again. CC sighs and goes over to Hammer, where she whispers something into his backpack. "Wait a minute... what are you doing?" "Miles, I need you to calm down." She says as she turns back, holding a little green box of strawberries. "Keep those away from me!" I yell as I try to move away. She ignores me and moves closer, the others giggling at my torture. "Keep what away?" She asks innocently. "Okay, it was funny. I'm calm now, look at how calm I am. Put the strawberries away, I'm calm. I swear." I beg as she sits right beside me. She takes one of the little red doomberries and takes a bite out of it, sighing contently as she chews. A trail of red doom trickles out of the corner of her mouth and follows the contours of her jaw. I can feel my eyes begin to water just from being in proximity of them. "Holy shit." Damian mutters as he stares at CC. "Later you." She giggles at him as she scoots a little closer to me. "Now Miles, I have some questions that I need answered. I'll even make a deal with you. Answer all of my questions, and I'll untie you. Then you can chase Damian to your hearts content. But if you don't, well... I might get a bit more hungry." She finishes her statement by eating the rest of the strawberry, chewing a loudly for emphasis. "Wait, what?" Damian asks. "Eat another strawberry!" Patches cheers, getting a punch from Damian. He falls apart... I don't know how, but I forgot he could do that. How do you forget that someone spontaneously falls apart? "What do you say Miles?" CC asks. "... sure." I don't think I have much of a choice, but whatever. I'll play along. "But first things first. Where's Luna?" "Don't worry. She's here in the hospital. She's fine, don't worry-" "I want to see her." I demand. "I need to see her, I need to know she's okay." "Well... we can't do that right now Miles." CC says, a bit nervously. "You can't, or won't?" I ask, making her look away. "Won't." Hammer answers, stepping forward. "For Luna's safety, we need to question you first." "Luna's safety... what happened? Was she hurt? Is the baby okay? Where is she right now-" "Miles, please. She's okay-" "Then where is she!? What do you mean for her safety!? Where's the threat!?" I demand while trying to pull free again, but to no avail. "We need to keep her safe from you." Hammer says bluntly, making me stop. "Miles, what's the last thing you remember?" Safe... from me? What did I do... oh, the super drop. "The last thing I remember... *sigh* the last thing I remember was doing the super drop. I was in an AA-20 and taking the lead on an assault against... I think it was their flagship. I'm not sure exactly, it hadn't entered yet. I cleared the order and fired... but then.., then... it went red..." "They shot down the missile before it could go off." Hammer tells me. "What happened after that? What else?" "Then... I remember the red beam. It nearly took me out, so I broke right... then, clouds. I remember a wall of clouds coming in, so we broke off the attack to scan it. I told Easy to take the controls for a bit while I read the relays. Then..." "Then what?" Hammer presses. I try to think of what happened next, but it's all too fuzzy. "I... it gets hazy at this point. We went for the attack, but... I don't remember moving in. Easy must have been flying at this point-" "He was." Damian informs me. "We know what happened during the flight, we need you to fast forward a bit. You ejected as a bolt of lightning struck your ship. What happened after that?" "How do you know he was flying?" "Ask him yourself." He says as he motions to my side. I look over and see his head on the nightstand. It's scratched up and cracked a bit, but still in one piece... well, minus the body of course. "Think Miles, you ejected. You were struck by lightning. Then what happened?" I try to think back, but nothing comes to mind. I barely remember engaging the flag ship, let alone anything I did afterwards. Apparently it was something so terrible that it put Luna's life in danger. I need to know what happened, I need to know if I'm a threat. "Tell me what happened." I ask quietly. The room stay quiet for a moment before Damian coughs for attention. "The electricity created from that ship was powerful, greater than anything nature could create. Any informants we had annotating the battle were killed too quickly to note your changes. All we do know is that when you came out of the storm, you were changed." "We searched your memories while you were out." Patches adds, moving to Damian's side. "Sorry, but we had to. You've been out for a few days now, and we needed answers. But, we ran into a problem. You don't have any memories after being shot down. Whatever you did, you didn't do it." "Whatever took control, was powerful." CC continues. "It was strong enough to wield both Elements and combine them, making some sort of super weapon. It was able to take down the flag ship in one swing, at the cost of the Elements." "And now we face a dilemma." Hammer finishes. "With everything going on now, we don't know if we can trust you to control whatever that was. We-" "Wait, wait, wait just a minute. Hold on here, let me get this straight. You're holding me accountable for something because you guys can't explain it. I thought you guys knew everything." "We do! But... well, okay, once you tell us what happened then we will." Patches comments, getting glares from the others. I laugh a bit and relax. I thought this was going to be something completely serious. "Okay, you mean to tell me Dusty Scrolls can't explain this one, really? I think he's missed a few things then." I tell them. "Miles, this is serious! We can't just let you walk around with some demonic presence in you-" "Like Damian?" I ask. "Hey! I've got that thing under control... enough." Damian retorts weakly. "Right. Let's look at the facts then, shall we? I changed. Whatever I changed into, was powerful enough to destroy a flagship in one attack. What does this supposedly evil person do? Destroy a threat and save the day-" "Yes, but-" "Furthermore, according to you four, it requires the Elements. Which, according to you, the Elements are destroyed or drained or something, so they can't be used again-" "It's the principle-" "And then! It took a bolt of lightning to somehow activate all of this as well. So, I have to ask, what exactly is the threat? Because to me, it sounds like your pride." I look to each them and smile when none of them respond right away. Though I am going to research this later, I don't think there's any reason to fear whatever happened. "So, can you please untie me so I can go check on Luna. I'd really like to see her right about now-" "Okay, putting the demon thing aside, can you at least give us some thoughts on how it took out the ship. How could the Elements take out an entire ship on one attack? There has to be a reason." Hammer pleas, making me chuckle. "Hmm.... can you describe the event to me? I need details." I ask, still chuckling. "You have two energy glades, both in trench knife form. One was made of the Elements of Harmony while the other was the Elements of Chaos. You took the two of them and held them in front of you for a bit. Then you brought them above your head and combined them into a sword of pure... energy, I guess. We're not sure what it was made of, but the center was pure black while the edges were pure white. With a single swing, a blast of energy shot the ship down." Hammer explains. I try to imagine the events myself. "Hmm.... he.... hehehe.... mhmm, okay. I think I know what happened." I say, chuckling. "Really, what was it?" Hammer asks, the four of them leaning in to listen. "Statera." "... what?" Hammer asks, tilting his head slightly. "That's what I'm calling it. Statera." I tell him, making Damian laugh. "What... no, you can't name it that! We're called Statera, we get dibs on the name!" He yells at me, making me laugh even more. "For the rest of all eternity, your members will ask what is Statera, and you will never be unable to answer. Go ahead and knock me out with your damned strawberries, it's not like that'll ever get you the answers." I let out a maniacal laugh as they stare at me, lost for words. "You have to be kidding me." Hammer says with a facehoof. "What actually happened Miles?" "I already told you, Statera." I tell him, laughing even harder now. CC and Damian simply stand and leave the room, Damian laughing alongside me. Patches comes over and begins to untie me, frowning slightly. "It's alright. Laugh now, but one day. You're going to mention it or write it down, and we'll be there. Laugh now, time is on our side." He says as he frees my left arm. "Why are you untying him?" Hammer asks, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "What? You know just as much as I do there's really no threat. This was all for face and you know it. Plus, I don't want Luna coming after me for keeping him tied up today." He says as he gets to work on my left leg. "What's so special about today?" I ask, coming back from my laughing fit. "Luna's in labor." "..." "..." "..." "..." "..." "UNTIE ME ALREADY!" I yell as I frantically begin to grab at my holdings. "How long has she been in!? Where is she now!? Have their been any complications!? UNTIE ME DAMMIT!" "Hold still-" Hammer yells as they try to unlatch me. I release my right arm and try to make a run for it, but fall over due to the straps still on my right leg. I try squirming out, but only break free when Patches and Hammer undo the ties. Once free, I take off through the door and down the hall- wait. I slide to a stop and look behind, where I see Damian and CC walking away. With a seconds thought I take off running at Damian and swing a foot up at him. It catches between his back legs with enough force to flip him onto his back. He screams out in pain and nurses his groin as I take off again. "WORTH IT!" He yells as I come around a corner, nearly crashing into a nurse. She lets out a small scream and tries to run, but I grab her by her shoulders and lift her up to be face to face. "WHERE'S LUNA!?" I demand. "WHY IS YOUR THING OUT!?" She yells back. "I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT CRAP WHERE IS LUNA!?" I yell as I shake her a bit. "THIRD FLOOR!" I drop her and take off again, looking for the stairs. After a few laps around the hospital I finally find them and race up to the third floor, where I kick the door open. "MILES!" Celestia yells from the other side of the door. "Why aren't you-" "WHERE'S LUNA!? HAS ANYTHING HAPPENED!? IS THE BABY HERE YET!? WHY IS YOUR HAIR HAIR!?" The last question only registers when I actually look at her. Instead of her flowing pastel energy hair, it's... hair. Bright pink hair. Same goes for her tail. Pink... hair. She looks tired too, as if she hasn't slept in a few days. "Okay, Miles, I need you to calm down. Come with me and I'll explain everything.... nurse!? Can we get a patients gown please?" I finally look down and realize that I'm completely naked. With what little dignity I have left I cover myself and wait patiently for the nurse to return with a light green patients gown. "Um... we had this special made for your visits." She tells me with a blush as she hands me the gown. I thank her and slip it on quickly. "Okay, so let's go already. Take me to Luna." Celestia and the nurse look to each other nervously, putting me on edge. "Um... Miles, how much do you know about birthing traditions in Equestria?" Celestia asks. "Um..." "Didn't Luna tell you anything?" "Every time I'd ask her about names or anything like that she'd just giggle and pat me on the head..." We stare at each other before groaning together. Of course she wouldn't tell me something like this. What is with that girl and her secrets? "Okay, what are Equestrian birthing traditions?" "You aren't going to like this." Celestia warns me. "I figure, what are they?" I ask again. "Well, for starters, stallions aren't allowed in the room during birth. Not even doctors." She tells me cautiously. "... THAT'S FUCKING STUPID!" I yell, shocking the two of them. "Please keep your voice down!" The nurse demands. "No! That's fucking stupid! Why would that be a fucking tradition!? How could you possibly expect me not to be there at her side!?" "Miles-" "What if something goes wrong!?" "Miles-" "What if she needs healing!? You think I'm going to just stand out here and do nothing!? That's-" "MILES!" Celestia yells, silencing me. She looks to the nurse and nods, getting her to take her leave. "Miles, it warms my heart to see you react this way. But this is a tradition that I, and Luna, hold very closely. It was started out by mother. I know you don't like it, but I am asking you to follow through with this, to honor our mother." "Celestia... I..." I try to find the words to argue, but can't. "Why would she make a tradition like this? What is there to benefit?" I ask, heartbroken. "You'll see. I have to get back, I'm Luna's birthing partner so I'll be there to help her along the way. Trust in me, she'll get through this just fine. The waiting room is down the hall to the right. And, Miles?" "Yeah?" She smiles and reaches forward, pulling me in for a light hug. "You're about to become a father." I sigh when she tells me this, whether out of relief or anxiety I don’t know. "I need to get back, I'll try to keep you posted okay." "Right... I'll be out here, don't forget about me." And with that, she walked through the double doors and out of sight. It took me at least twenty minutes to pry my eyes from that door. The entire time I spent contemplating whether or not I was actually going to follow through with their 'traditions'. Speaking of which, what are the other traditions? She only told me one of them. Given, she had to go back to be at Luna's side. I can wait, Luna needs her more. Celestia is smart, she'll be able to help her through this. I know she can, I'd just prefer to be there myself. I turn from the door and head to the waiting room Celestia told me about. It's as bland as a room as they can get. Turquoise chairs lining the bland white walls, small wooden end tables with magazines, and a door on the right. The door, though completely normal, holds one thing above it that drives me crazy: a light. I little, red, incandescent light. It's too small to influence the color of the room, but it's bright enough to be noticed. There's an etching underneath it that I can't read, but completely understand. In progress. My child, in progress. Luna's labor, in progress. My life either moving forward or coming to a devastating end, in progress. That little, fucking light, bringing the darkest and brightest of thoughts to my mind. The Unfamiliar, they could be lurking nearby. Waiting to strike. I should go get a contingency of bots to guard the area, lock it down. Where are we anyway? This hospital is too... simple, to be the castle. I have been out for a few days, we could be anywhere. Celestia probably thought about the danger and moved us somewhere secure. And I'm sure Storm would be smart enough to keep an eye out for the Unfamiliar. Are there even any of them left? If there are, I doubt they're in large numbers. An attack would destroy them, I'd destroy them. We should be safe from them, for now at least. What am I talking about? Why would they attack a pony hospital? They wanted to kill humans, why come here? Even more so, they don't know what's going on. Attacking here would be stupid. There's no way they could get to Luna... But, do they need to? Luna's giving birth! She could die from this! Literally anything could go wrong, and I doubt the ponies have the tech to deal with soulful effects of child birth! What if Luna's soul wavers on a contraction and dies out!? What if it over exerts and scars!? What if it snuffs out the baby's soul... The baby. What if it's a still born? It happens all the time, what if something goes wrong and I'm not there to help!? The umbilical cord gets wrapped around its neck? What if its soul doesn't form? Do ponies even form souls in the womb? Maybe they don't need them right away, maybe it'll be vegetative until a certain age... or for life. We don't have the tools to look for birth defects, or do we? Celestia is in there, I'm sure she looked up a spell or two. But, will that be enough? Maybe I should run to Topaz and grab some gear... but I might not need it. Okay, I know what to do. I'll just stick my head in, call for Celestia, and ask. That's not breaking tradition, is it? I'm technically not in the birthing room, so I don't see why it would be. And Celestia would only be gone for two seconds, no harm... right? Okay I'll just- "Hello Miles-" "OH SWEET BARBRA!" I yell before falling over. FLASH "Oh... um... sorry, Miles." Fluttershy apologizes. I groan in frustration and sit up, slightly more irritated that I changed again. I look over to see Fluttershy, Big Mac, and little Rampant Growth standing in the hall. "We wanted to come by and see how things were going... but we can leave if you'd like." "No, no it's fine. I was just... thinking, when you startled me. Have a seat, or not, it's your choice. I mean, it's a free country right? Wait... is it? Well, they put the chairs in here, so may as well put them to use then. Then again, they put an operation room that only women could enter. So maybe only women could use the chairs. Fluttershy can sit down-" "Miles." Big Mac cuts me off, snickering slightly. "How long have ya been waitin' out here?" "Um... not long, I think... maybe. There isn't a clock so... it was day time when I got here." I say as I look out at the night time landscape. "Why are you here at night? Shouldn't you be getting Rampant home? He-" "Miles." Big Mac cuts me off again. "We just came ta get Rampant a check up. We do it late so ponies don't see him, bein' an alicorn an all. Are ya gonna make it through the night alright?" He asks nervously. "What? Of course I'll be fine! Why wouldn't I be? My wife is just going through one of the most strenuous acts in life, what could-" CRASH What sounds like metal falling on the ground comes from behind the door. Every horrible possibility races through my head in a matter of micro seconds. Without a second thought I jump to my hooves and run for the door, suddenly moving to the left along the way. I hit the ground when Big Mac tackles me. I try to break free from his hold, but he moved before me and locked my legs in. "LET ME GO! LET ME GO! THAT'S AN ORDER YOU ASS!" I yell as I try to break free and get through the door. "EENOPE!" He yells back, keeping his grip around me. "It was just a tray Miles!" "LIAR! LUNA'S DYING! SOMETHING WENT WRONG AND THE BABY IS IN TROUBLE AND-" "EXCUSE ME!" We both stop fighting with each other and look to the operating room door. A nurse in light blue scrubs and a white mouth cover is standing there, glaring at the two of us. "Please control yourselves or you will be thrown out of the hospital." "But-" "I dropped a tray of used materials. That's all that happened. Now please take a seat and keep quiet." She tells us before going back inside. Big Mac and I look to each other before letting go off one another. "Big Mac," Fluttershy says, "why don't you stay here and keep Miles... company. I'll take Rampant home and put him to bed." Big Mac glances to me before giving an "Eeyup." She gives him a peck on the cheek before leaving the waiting room, wishing me luck on the way out. Big Mac takes a seat while I sit in the middle of the room, trying to calm my nerves. "So... Equestrian birthing traditions." I muse to Big Mac. "Eeyup." "So... is it normal to... go crazy waiting?" I ask. "Eeyup. Means ya'll be a good father." He tells me. I think about it for a moment and smile at the compliment. "Thanks." "Eeyup." I sigh and stand back up in front of the door. The light is still on. Fuck that light. I sigh again in annoyance and sit there, staring at the doors. What feels like minutes could be hours and the hours themselves pass like minutes. After a time has passed I stand and begin to pace around the room. I need something to keep my mind preoccupied, and Big Mac isn't exactly the conversationalist. I need more than a eeyup or eenope. What if the baby comes out deaf? Do ponies have a means of signing? I doubt it'll have the same problems if it's blind, but it's not like we can just go to Topaz and have the surgeries to fix those things. I may have studied them a bit, but I'm no surgeon. Plus, I don't think I could operate on my own child. The fear of messing something up would rack my nerves, and operating in the brain dictates precise hands. Hands... I wonder what the odds of it coming out as a human are. I mean, we were both alicorns when we conceived, so logical would say it's going to be one as well. Nut we're both human at soul, well... mostly. If the soul formed early, it might come out as a human. But if it formed late, then it will most likely be pony. What if it comes out like some weird... being, stuck in the middle? What would that even look like? Could something like that even happen? Probably not, but... what if? What is it even going to be? I'm thinking boy, but Luna was thinking girl. Either would be fine, but... preferences. Luna probably jinxed it with all of that girly thinking and what not. If it is a girl, I'm going to have to find a way to watch out for her heat without her knowing. Need to make sure no one gets close to her when that happens. Maybe I can borrow Shy's rifle, that should send the right message. Maybe just send a few bots as security.... why not both? Yeah, that's a good idea. But if it's a boy... women be damned. In all seriousness, I don't really care what it comes out as. I'm mostly anxious about how I'll be as a father. I have experience dealing with kids from volunteering at my old orphanage, but I know it's different when it's your own. I want to provide the best future for my child. One where they don't have to worry or be scared of the what lies in the dark. A kind of future where it can be happy and play, grow up and make friends. There's going to be rough patches, that much I know. But all of that pain and hardship is part of growing up. And I can't wait to be there every step of the way. And then the light turned off. My stomach rolled over as all of my nerve endings suddenly went number. My eye twitched a bit as I stared at the little light, doubting whether or not it actually turned off or not. Equestrian tech isn't that advanced, it could have just burned out or something. Maybe the power went out and the back up generators don't feed that light. Do they even have back up generators? "Miles." I blink again when the door opens up again, revealing a tired looking Celestia. "Is... is it... you know?" I ask quietly, taking a step back nervously. She smiles to me and moves aside, holding the door open. "There's somepony you need to meet." She says warmly, albeit tiredly. I swallow the lump that formed in my throat and stand there. My heart picks up and I could swear my hooves are starting to sweat. I feel as if I'm thinking thousands of thoughts at once, but with nothing being thought. Celestia tilts her head slightly as she waits for me to move, her smile fading slowly. "Miles?" "Right! Right... sorry. I'm just... I don't know, nervous I guess." I say as I take a step forward. Her smile returns and she lets out a small chuckle. "Come on Miles, there's a very special pony you need to meet." She tells me softly. I smile back to her and take the first few steps into the next part of my life. Author's Note Alright, here we go! This is the second to last chapter before the Q/A BONUS BLOG DROPS! Now would be a good time to update or post your questions for the characters. In other news, if you haven't noticed, there haven't been many Brony Point... things, in the recent chapters. Don't worry, I did not stop doing that. I have a list of you to send PM's in the very near future, but I just wanted to get to these chapters first. As you could tell, they were a bit important and I didn't feel like adding too much fluff, in a sense. Not that they're unimportant... but... yeah. In other words, watch your PM's as the future chapters unfold. You might be seeing a message or two coming from me. Thanks for reading, and like always, Brony on! Chapter 199 It's a...Chapter 199 ... Baby! October 1st, 3:08 AM Perspective: Miles Celestia brings me down the short hall to a washing station, where she tells me to clean my hooves and forelegs. I do as she says, taking extra care to rinse and lather myself to be as clean as possible. Once done Celestia brings me down another hall, this one having several doors. I look inside the first few we walk past and figure out that we're in the medical ward. A few rooms are empty while the rest have other mothers sleeping in medical beds. We make it to the end of the hall where Celestia motions for me to enter. I take a deep breath before nervously stepping in. Luna's laying on the bed in the middle of the room. She has her eyes shut peacefully, but I can tell she's still awake. There are a few chairs and small dressers in here as well. A white blanket covers her bottom half as she lays there, resting. She looks tremendously skinnier, for obvious reason and has short blue hair instead of her long energy hair. I take a few steps in and look around for the baby, only seeing an empty carriage to my right. "Hey there." Luna greets weakly. I look back to her to see her warm yet tired smiling face. I smile back to her and approach, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. It's a huge relief to know she's alright. "Hey." I say back, lost for words. She lays her head back down and sighs contently. I reach up and hold her hoof, unsure of where to start. "I thought I lost you." She tells me as she squeezes my hoof in hers. "I saw your ship get shot down and I thought you were gone forever. Then you came back, just like you promised." She finishes her statement by kissing my hoof. I reach behind her head and press my nose against hers so we're almost touching foreheads. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, but I didn't want to worry you." I tell her before sitting down. "It's okay, I understand now. The doctors tell me everything went perfectly. No problems at all." She says somewhat proudly, to which I chuckle a bit. "My girl... so... where-" "Nursing." She says as she motions to her hips. I glance between the blanket and her for a moment before she smiles and kisses my cheek. "Go ahead, meet your son." "Son? It's a boy?" I ask excitedly. She smiles more and nods, making me even more overjoyed. I give her another kiss before moving down to her hips. I take the blanket and slowly lift it up, first revealing a tuft of black hair that is his tail. Then a dark blue body, like Luna's. And lastly, the rest of him. He is definitively a pony, no question about that. An alicorn as well. He has bright blue eyes and all black hair. He's suckling away at Luna's teat, greedily eating her milk and filling his little tummy. I glance to Luna, who nods, before reaching over to him and picking him up. He feels so small in my forelegs, so fragile. He looks up at me and stares in wonder as I sit there with him in my arms. I can feel my heart skip a beat or two as the reality of my son in my arms settles in. "Hey there little guy, I'm dad." I tell him with a smile. He continues to stare up at me, holding his little hooves together. "You went through so much to get here, didn't you? But don't worry, everything's going to be fine now-" "We promise." Luna finishes. I look back to her and smile, holding him a bit closer. I scoot over to her and lean down so we're both looking to him. "Six pounds, twelve ounces. Four perfect little hooves, bright blue eyes, a perfect heart beat, two beautiful wings, a little horn and an appetite that's wearing mom out." Luna tells me, making me laugh. "What about a name? What are we going to call our little guy?" I ask as a set my other hoof on his belly. He grabs it with his own hooves, holding it weakly yet with powerful effect. "I don't know yet. Let's do it already, Celestia." Luna says, making me pause. "Is this another birthing tradition, Luna?" I ask, making her pause as well. "Oh... right. Sorry, I forgot you don't know all that stuff yet. Yeah, it is. Ponies don't name their young off the top of their head. We use a spell that finds a ponies true name at heart." Luna informs me. "Like how our cutie marks tell us what we're special at doing, our birth name helps a pony become who they are. If you're ready, I'm ready to begin." Celestia says as she walks in. I look to Luna before looking back to Celestia and nod to her. She closes her eyes and charges her horn, having her golden aura appear around it and the baby. I begin to worry if the spell will hurt him or cause any discomfort, but put those worries to rest when I see him in my arms unchanged. "Miles." I look back to Luna and see her reaching for the baby. I smile and nervously move him to her, afraid of dropping him. She holds him so it takes the two of us to carry him, making me smile. We wait for the spell to finally finish up, taking a few minutes to do so. When her aura disappears, Celestia murmurs a name out before opening her eyes. "Tempestive Mortem." "..." "..." "What does that mean?" Celestia asks, breaking our initial shock. "Miles-" "I'm sure it's nothing. Are you sure that's his name? You didn't mess up did you?" I ask quickly as Luna takes him and holds him close. "No, I did it perfectly. What does it mean?" "Maybe we should get some more check ups, just to make sure everything's alright." Luna suggest nervously, making Celestia frown. "It sounds like he's named after father, sister. Why are you two worrying?" I sigh and look her right in the eyes. "Tempestive Mortem means Timely Death." When I tell her this, Tempestive begins to whimper a bit. .......................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Curel Ahye Newly appointed leader of the Kroth Military Crash I let out another yell as I flip another table, having its contents fly over the small room. It's been almost a week now and we're barely scraping by in this mud hole of a planet. One human, ONE HUMAN! We've lost almost everything! Our people, our way of living, our hopes of a clear future. The reports from the first wave said the planet was cleared! They said the humans were decimated! How could they have been so foolish as to let one slip through!? HOW!? "RAAAAH!" I scream out as I smack another table, ruining the last piece of furniture in the small command center. "Well, aren't you fussy?" I spin around and point my side arm at the creature standing in the entrance. It's... nothing like I've ever seen before. Probably one of those bastard creations made by the humans. "I'm in no mood for games beast. Either leave or die, choose wisely." I warn the creature, making it chuckle. "Funny, I was going to tell you the same thing." He says as he enters. I keep my pistol on him, waiting for the right moment to strike. "Let me guess. You're holding your shot because you don't want to waste the ammo. You've lost any major supplies you had and don't want to just shoot, am I right?" "..." Yes. "And now you're stuck on this planet, with no allies, no idea of the local dangers, or of the terrain, right?" "..." Yes. "And even worse, the human army, along with the local Equestrian guard, are hunting you down and exterminating your people. How many have you lost since your landing here?" "..." Too many. "So, as you put so eloquently, either leave... or die. Simple isn't it?" He asks with a chuckle. "Is that a threat?" I ask, pulling the hammer back. "Actually, it's the opposite." He says with a sly smile. I lower my gun a bit as I stare at him, unsure of what he intends to do. "I am a griffin here with a message of friendship from our king, Ulfric Stormmind. Simple as that." "... You want an alliance with us... why?" I ask, keeping my pistol aimed at him. "We have a common enemy." He tells me, making me lower my gun again. "The human that destroyed your ship-" "My people!" I correct. "Whatever, he's going to be inspecting all of the countries soon, looking for faults and what not. We don't like being told what to do, especially from someone who just suddenly appeared on the world scene. But, sadly, we're out matched at the moment. So, when we saw your ship come down and be destroyed, we knew what to do. You need somewhere safe to recover, and we need a powerful ally to watch our backs. Simple as that." "... Are you telling me that you... griffins, are going to war with this single human?" "No, no, well... not now at least. As our politicians put it; 'we are readying ourselves for the future storms that will plague our great nation in the hope to preserve our way of living.' So, you think you can manage a little boat ride across the Divide in order to save what's left of your people?" "How can I know we can trust you?" I ask slowly. "You can't. But, we're the only ones willing to come to your aid. Even with biased agendas, can you afford not to?" I lower my pistol to my side and look out the open flaps of my tent. The lucky few that were able to escape huddle together in the cold forest while the monsters of the dark terrorize us at night. Even with our advanced weaponry, we won't last out here. Especially with those damned machines chasing after us. "What's your name?" "Steelwing." "Steelwing, these are my people. The last purebloods of the Kroth race. If you try to double cross us, not even the gods will be able to save you from my fury." "Don't-" "I will kill this human, one day. Tomorrow, next year, decades from now, he will pay for what he did to my people." "And you will get your revenge, in time. Storm clouds are approaching, followed by a great Darkness. Are you ready for it?" ...................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Miles 1:30 PM I yawn as I sit back in my chair, tired from the lack of sleep I've had. After an entire day of testing all I could come up with is Tempestive Mortem is a perfectly healthy baby boy. No irregular heartbeat. No influx within his soul, though his soul seems a bit more developed than typical newborns. The problem with that scan though is I don't know what a soul for a newborn alicorn is suppose to be, only a humans. It could be normal, he could be filled with raw power, or he could be incredibly low on energy, I don't know. And I can't compare him to Big Mac's or Storm Cloud's kid either, I wasn't there when they were born to do the tests. "Miles?" Celestia whispers to me from the door. She beckons me outside, so I quietly leave the room so Luna can sleep in peace. "What's up?" I ask her. She looks at me nervously with a slight frown. "Well... I have to ask, when you first held Tempestive... did you feel... a spark, by chance?" She fumbles over her question a bit, obviously not wanting to ask. "A... spark?" "Yes, well, the whole reason you weren't allowed in during the birth was for something we refer to as the spark. We don't have an explanation for it yet, but when a stallion see's their foal for the first time they feel something within them. From the outside looking in, a sparkle appears in their eye, hence, the spark-" "Are you saying that I don't love Tempestive?" "No, of course not. I'm just-" "And keep in mind, I'm not just a stallion. Humans don't get a literal spark. Just like everything else in our life there is nothing you can see about us that gives away our true intentions, necessarily. We have to act and you have to believe in us." I tell her, trying not to be offended. "I believe in you Miles, I was just a bit concerned because you may be human, but you're a pony now as well." I think about what she said and nod to her. I understand that I have to live life as both now, but change isn't easy. "Is everything okay with Tempestive?" "Yeah, the only thing that I could possibly be concerned about is how well his soul formed. But, I don't know anything about alicorn souls, so I don't know how to act about it." I tell her as I start to walk down the hall, having Celestia follow after me. I glance over to her and note the uneasy look on her face. "Come on, let's get something to eat." "I'm not hungry." She says quickly. *GURGLE* "... well... if you're hungry, I guess I'll give you company." "Right, let's eat." I laugh as I nudge her, getting a giggle from her. "How long have you been up?" "... how long was Luna in labor?" She asks, making me laugh more. "Wow. Okay, after we eat you're getting some sleep." I tell her. "Sleeping after eating isn't very smart when dieting." She drones, as if reciting a manual. "Right. If you really want to lose weight I can put you on a training regiment. I'm sure I can get you to lose a couple unwanted pounds." She pauses for a moment before continuing at a faster pace. "Uh... no. I don't think I need to lose that much weight." I laugh at her, making her relax again. "Besides, broccoli Alfredo with a side of... extra cheesy garlic bread. And to wash it down.... I don't even care, as long as it's-" "Found in a small town hospital cafeteria." I cut her off when we make it to the stairs. "Sorry Celestia, but what ever Alfredo is, it's going to have to wait... what is it anyway?" "... damn." "So how can you cuss but Luna-" "Well, when in Ponyville I guess." She muses. "... what?" I ask, genuinely confused. "... what?" "When in Ponyville... what?" I ask again, getting a confused look from her. "It's a saying, well, I'm making a... you know what, never mind. I'm sure you'll find out in time." She tells me before heading down the stairs. "Find out what?" I ask as I follow after her. "You've been here how long and you haven't picked up on these things?" She asks me, giving me a smug look. "I swear, I'd think you'd know a thing or two at this point." "What are you trying to say?" I ask her, making her chuckle a bit more. "Hey, I went to college for sixteen years, I think I-" "Aren't you suppose to graduate in four?" "I HAVE A P.H.D. IN ARCANE THEORY! I'M NOT AN IDIOT!" She only laughs harder at me, continuing down to the next floor. "SIXTEEN YEARS CELESTIA! SIXTEEN... son of a bitch." .................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Luna I wake up when I feel something pushing on my legs. I look down and smile as Tempestive cuddles up against my side. I curl up so my nose rests against his side. He gives a few yawns as he looks up me me. He rolls onto his side and quickly falls back to sleep. I watch his little body rise and fall with every breath; the way his mouth hangs open slightly; how every now and again his wings twitch. His name, Tempestive Mortem, Timely Death. It sounds so evil, so menacing. But... he's just an innocent little colt. I guess that's how all evil ponies start out though, Celestia knows how I turned out. Given, I didn't become evil intentionally. But I still fear what could become of him. What is he going to do in life with a name like Tempestive Mortem? I don't want to have to watch him become a monster like I did. I don't know how he's going to turn out, and that terrifies me. But I can rest knowing one thing. We'll be there for him. Me, Miles, Celestia, everypony. We'll be there for him. We'll bring him up right, make him happy, hold him when he's sad and teach him what's right and why it's right. I don't know how he's going to turn out, and that terrifies me. But I do know that we'll be there for him, and that comforts me. Author's Note Okay, so for those of you who actually look up the names, you'll find a discrepancy. To literally translate it to Timely Death, it would be Mortem Tempestiva. But in my opinion, Tempestive Mortem sounds more masculine. It can mean the same thing if you finagle it, so that's why his name is Tempestive Mortem. Also, the next chapter is the Q/A chapter, meaning the blog will be closing shortly. I will give it two days ( from post ) until I close it. ( November 22 ) If you have any last minute questions to ask now is the last chance you'll get. Also, shout out to Dradaen for picking Celestia's food craving! Brony on! Q/A Special #2Q/A Special #2 TB: NO! Pinkie: You are going to do this! TB: Like hell I'm going to! Pinkie: Don't make me say it twice! TB: Just because you say my whole name doesn't mean I'm going to- Pinkie: Pe- TB: WELCOME BACK MY BRONIES! Here's the second Q/A special for Man of War! Holy fuck. Two of these things, two hundred chapters, and probably going to get to three hundred, can you believe it? Pinkie: Yes. TB: You're pear shaped pony. Anyway, this will work just like last time. Anything spoken will be after semicolons while actions will be in brackets. Like so, {TB makes the same room as last time, because originality}. So we'll do all of the 'bad' characters first and then get to the 'good' ones afterwards- Pinkie: You still- TB: Pinkie, I'm not giving you a mustache. Pinkie: Stachist. TB: Anyway, let's get to it already! { Flamingo salsa dance everyone into existence} Death: Well, this was unexpected. TB: HI! War: Where are we!? {pick Tb up by shirt collar} TB: Um... would you believe in the sky? Death: Put him down War, he's no threat. TB: Look, I'm just here to ask some questions from some... fans? {waves hand} you will answer my questions... and put me down. War: ... very well.{puts TB down} TB: Coo, so let's start with Steelwing. If you had a last meal, what would it be? Steelwing: I already have that planned out. A nice poached bass with lemon, a couple beers, and chocolate pudding. TB: ... pudding? Steelwing: What? It's my last meal, I get to eat what I want. TB: Good point. Do you have any hobbies? Steelwing: Knitting. TB: ...really? Steelwing: No, you idiot. I don't have time for hobbies. TB: Well... aren't you boring. Up next, Pestilence. Do you have a crush on anyone? Pestilence: I crush many people, would you like to see? {reaches for TB} TB: {swats hand away with rolled up newspaper} okay then, last but certainly not least, Death. Death: Here I am, what do you wish to know? TB: Why the sudden drive to bring about the apocalypse? What caused you to begin this new crusade to end life as we know it? Death: Dear child, you know so little of what you speak of. I am ensuring peace and tranquility for all living beings. What you call apocalypse, I call divination. I will end the rein of cruelty upon the souls of this planet, and more. TB: So, where have and the other centaurs been? Death: In our sanctuary in the Valley of the Shadow of Death. Waiting. TB: If all fall to Death, does that mean you die too? Also, why bother to start your pointless war that seems to have faded for now, if life is just going to end in death forever? I mean, why put forth the effort if the races die by the millions anyway? Death: I am Death, and they will all fall to me. I ended this 'war' to ready myself for the day of reckoning. War... war is a plague. It destroys the hearts and minds of everyone. War... cannot be stopped, not until the world turns to Death. TB: Interesting. Well, thanks for your input. Good luck with... whatever it is you're doing. Later! {samba dances evil characters away and brings in good characters} Miles: How in the... WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU!? {Points to TB} TB: ... okay, the first time was cute but lets save that for later. Miles: First ti- TB: OKAY! So, you all must be confused as to how you all appeared here and who I am. I'm a pre-purgian author that was sent to here to ask you all some questions. My name is TallestBrony, but you can call me TB for short. We've... been able to watch the events of your lives unfold and have come to love your tale, but have some questions. Once I'm done we'll all be sent to our proper places. So what do you say, you all in? Everyone: {Whispers to one another but agree to stay, because it's totally their choice to} TB: Great! So first up I have to ask, what would you do for a Klondike bar? Everyone: ... TB: This is a great way to start- Pinkie: I'd throw an awesome party with balloons, confetti, ponies, loud music, trapeze walkers, Gummy, st- TB: Okay then, awesome. First up lets have a chat with Applebloom. Applebloom: Me? Okay. {Comes up to podium} Hi. TB: Hola, so the others really want to know where you and the other Crusaders have been. Applebloom: Well that's easy. We've been in Ponyville crusading fer our cutie marks! Ah'd like ta go out adventuring with mah brother and sister, but they say ah'm too young fer that kind of stuff. Just you watch, mah cutie mark is gonna be adventurin' an ah'll never git it cause ah'll never go adventuring! TB: ... watch out for arrows. Applebloom: Huh? TB: It's nothing, thanks for that input. Applebloom: Yer welcome! {runs back to seat} TB: Hey crusaders, ever try getting your cutie marks by becoming Spartans? Miles: Like fuck that's going to happen. Applejack: What in tarnation! She's only seven! Rarity: Sweetie Bell will do no such thing! Rainbow Dash: ... huh... TB: ... okay then. Up next let's have.... Photo finish? Da fu? She hasn't even showed up yet, whatevs. Photo? Photo: I... Photo Finish... AM HERE! TB: ... oh, you really do that all of the time- Photo: BEGIN ZE QUESTIONS! TB: RIGHT! Do you think you could take a photo of everyone in the room? Photo: Do you doubt my abilities! I, am Photo Finish! I could not only take ze picture, but make you all shine like ze sun! {Strikes dramatic pose} TB: So... yes? Photo: If you have to ask twice darling it's out of your league. {returns to seat} Pinkie: BURN! TB: Pinkie, you're pink. Next we have a questions for Cadence and Shinning Armor! Cadence: Oh, okay. Hello. {Walks up with hubby} TB: So, how's the Crystal Guardian doing in your kingdom? Shinning: Oh, great. With him being the conduit for all of the love and joy, our borders and nearly tripled in size! Cadence: Now we have room for growth and the possibility of growing back to our former glory. He's been a real blessing to our ponies. TB: Hmm, sounds like a huge boost to the economy. Well, thanks for the insiders look. Cadence: Your welcome. {Goes back to seat with hubby} TB: Since we just had that couple, let's have Soarin and Rainbow Dash come up next. Rainbow Dash: {zips through the air with Soarin} Sup? TB: So Dash, guess what? Rainbow Dash: ... uh, what? TB: Miles is now twenty percent cooler than you. Rainbow Dash: Pffffft, please. I'm way cooler than that lump of boring. Miles: Hey- Rainbow Dash: At least I don't freak out at parties- Miles: Du fuck Dash? Soarin: And you don't have to ask what something is every five seconds. Miles: AH fuck you Soarin. Rainbow Dash: Who ever thinks that needs to check their math again, I'm way cooler than Miles. Miles: ... I bet you don't even know what algebra is. {Folds arms and grumbles more to himself} TB: Cool, cool, so have you shown those Wonderbolts who's boss yet, Spartan Jumper? Rainbow Dash: Pft, no! They've been away on different missions and what not. But, whatever. The minute they get back I'm going to personally challenge Spitfire, and we'll take home the gold. Just you wait. TB: Can't wait to see you try. So Soarin, we know you might not be all that happy that you're no longer a Wonderbolt, but are you happier now? Soarin: Well. whether I'm happier or not is hard to say. I mean, I live a completely different life now. All the fame and adventure is gone, but I have a loving family now. I guess once I completely heal I'll be able to say I'm happier. TB: Do you work? Soarin: Not yet. I'm still in physical training, but I've been talking to the local weather team to take up a position there. They say the worker who used to do it keeps disappearing, so they want somepony who will be there more reliably. TB: How are you adopting to civilian life? Soarin: It's been... tough. Most ponies still see me as a Wonderbolt, so I still get that reception. It doesn't help though that I've also been keeping inside mostly as well, with recovery and all. TB: Well, that's all I have for you two, thanks for answering them. Rainbow: Later {zips back to her seat in record time} Soarin: Bye {Walks back} TB: So, let's have Damian come on up. Damian: Hey, what's up? {Comes to podium} TB: So, you and CC, the hell did that happen? Details on the hook up. Damian: ... you have no idea the hell I went through for this to happen. As for the details, I think I explained enough. TB: Really? Damian: You have no idea. TB: Well, actually I do. But, let's move on anyway. Some people would like to know how it feels knowing that CC doesn't think you're gay anymore. Damian: ... it feels good, real good. {Perv glance back to CC, who blushes} TB: There are kids here, you know that right? Damian: Worth it. {Goes back to seat, sitting closer to CC} TB: Gross. Anyway, let's have Rarity and Twilight come up for a moment. {Rarity and Twilight come up, confused} Twilight: Greetings, TB, but why the both of us? TB: Well, hypothetically speaking, if Spike became, lets say a Spartan and was to do training, how would you two react? Rarity: React? I wouldn't. Because that's not going to happen. Ever. End of discussion. TB: So then the D is good? Rarity: The what!? TB: Have you and Spike done it yet? {Waves hand} Rarity: Of course not! He's far too young! Even if he's grown into a hunk- {covers mouth with hooves} I have to go. {Runs back to seat to hide blushing face} TB: Ha, what a dork. Speaking of dorks, Twilight, have you met Celestia's former student Sunset Shimmer? Twilight: I'm not a dork! And I didn't even know Princess Celestia had a former student. TB: I guess things turned out differently. Did you also know that ponies were engineered by humans and that their cutie marks were designed to make them willing slave to the humans? All ponies: {Mouth agape as they stare at TB, completely lost for words} Miles: Seriously? You're going to just ask that out loud, seriously? Are you stupid or something? TB: Well... maybe a little. What are your thoughts on that? Twilight: {take a moment to collect herself} Well, I uh... I'm not sure what to think. That's... pretty big news. TB: Did you also know that Starswirl the Bearded was on of Miles's friend's kids that was named after their late husbands gamer tag? Twilight: {eye twitch} MILES! Miles: The fuck did I do!? I tried to tell her not to do it! Twilight: You mean to tell me one of the most influential ponies in Equestrian history is named after some Terridisian GAME!?! Miles: It was Dolums gamer tag! It's what he called himself in video games! Twilight: ... WHAT!?! TB: I think you should take a seat and relax. {Twilight storms to her seat, glaring at Miles.} So, Fluttershy, I have a question for you and then Rampant. Fluttershy: Oh, really? Okay. {Brings Rampant to podium} TB: So, what does the fox say? Fluttershy: Um... they bark and growl mostly. Sometimes they yelp or make high pitched noises but... that's what they say. TB: So, they don't stand on their hind legs and make various odd noises while dancing? Fluttershy: ... well, never in front of me at least. TB: Hmm... that's not as fun... well, the next one is for Rampant Growth. Goo ga, goo goo ga, mrph goo? Rampant Growth: {stare} Fluttershy: He's too young to rely TB, he's just a baby. TB: Right, so Doctor, what did I say in baby? The Doctor: Absolutely nothing. Now, if you had said Goo mrph, ga goo goo, ga goo; you would have asked what his name is. To which he said 'the milk one calls me Rampant Growth and I kind of like that one. But the red sweat one calls me Eeyup, and he doesn't understand why.' TB: Well, that takes care of another question. Why don't you come on up here Doctor, the next set are for you. Thanks for coming up Fluttershy. Fluttershy: Your welcome. {goes back to seat} The Doctor: Now, what can I do for you. {Trots to podium} TB: Our... viewers, would like to know if you've ever been to the Pre-purgian era, and if so what was it like? The Doctor: Well, I have been there a few times. But! Every time I try to go there, a friend sends me back to a certain time. I always make it to just after The Dig, or right after the humans bury their cities. TB: So, do you know about the human creation projects? The Doctor: Yes, actually. Though my... friend, stops me, I do get in every now and again. I know about the creation of ponies, griffins and all other species that inhabit the planet now. TB: Must of been... shocking, to have learned that. The Doctor: Well, given human nature, I wasn't all that surprised. TB: Oh, and the guy asking wants me to tell you: Tell me to not do it. EVER. OR ELSE. Tell me COLLAPSE THEORY. You will know what I mean. The Doctor: ... okay. TB: So, hypothetically speaking, of course, lets say we used a patchwork TARDIS-like thing to go back and kidnap Miles before he became a pony and bring him back to the time he vanished, how bad would time be fucked? The Doctor: It wouldn't happen. It's a fixed point in time, it has, and will always happen. TB: Yeah, but hypothetically speaking- The Doctor: There is no hypothetical in that situation. It has to happen, it is the best outcome. TB: What does that mean? The Doctor: I've sworn to never say, sorry but I intend to keep this promise. TB: Hmm, if you wish. So, if I were to, still hypothetically speaking, kill Altum before Miles gets the annul things on his arms, what would that do? The Doctor: {sighs} you wouldn't succeed, the best outcome must happen. Sorry. TB: Hmm... that's annoying. The Doctor: Imagine not being able to say anything. TB: Have you told Miles you have a time machine yet? Miles: Wut? The Doctor: I have yet to have the privilege to meet him. But I don't think I would bring him along. I don't like ponies that go straight for guns and killing- Miles: Hey, I get shit done. The Doctor: You take lives. On your best day you still resort to death and destruction. I may not have a perfect record, but I at least try- Miles: I don't pretend to be on some moral high. I kill so those I love can be safe. Life doesn't give us the luxury to do otherwise. On my worst day, my loved ones can rely on me for safety, can you say that? TB: Okay you two, don't make me separate you guy. So, Doctor, while on the subject of families, tell us a bit about yours. You have Dinky and Ditsy now, tell us about them. The Doctor: Well, it's been... difficult. Going through time at a normal pace kind of... Derpy: It drives him loco! The Doctor: I've been getting better! I was in the living room for an hour straight the other day! Dinky: That's because you were reading, writing, doing laundry, dancing and baking at the same time. The Doctor: ... yes, well, I have been making an effort to be a consistent part of their lives. TB: What about Dinky? Is she a time lord as well? And if so, does she have all the bells and whistles of a Time lord? The Doctor: How do you know about... hm, well, no. I've checked her over and she's just a normal unicorn filly. TB: Does she get a Tardis? The Doctor: I barely have a tardis, where in the blazes is she going to get one!? Not to mention I'm not going to just let my little filly go out into the universe like that! Dinky: But- The Doctor: It's far too dangerous! Maybe, one day, I'll bring her with me. But for now, she's staying in Ponyville where it is safe. {Stomps hoof down} TB: ... dad mode activated, good job. You get two points. Miles, negative twelve. Miles: Why am I at negative twelve? TB: Because you didn't cry. Everypony: {bursts into laughter} Miles: ... wut? TB: Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough, and again almost every day for the rest of your life. Thank you Doctor for sharing, why don't we have Spike come on up now. {The Doctor takes his seat while Spike comes to the podium} Spike: Hiya, what can I do for you? TB: Well, the thing is, you kind of disappeared for awhile and then suddenly reappeared. What happened there and what have you been doing since your return? Spike: Well... Discord made me believe that no one loved me anymore, so I ran away. With wings now, I got pretty far... TB: How far? Spike: Like, the dragon badlands far. TB: DAYUM! Spike: Yeah... I guess without loved ones, I just went primal down there. Some stuff happened and... well, I'm just glad to be back home now. TB: And I'm sure everyone is glad to have you back. Are you satisfied with how Rarity's all over you now? Rarity: WHAT!? Spike: Uh... well... you see, then thing is... Rarity: Spike! A gentlepony never, never, kisses and tells- TB: You guys kissed? Rarity: NO! TB: Way to go Spike, get that mare- Rarity: Do not degrade to some brutish, tail chasing, neaderpony! He is a gentledrake and- TB: So the sex is good? WHACK ZAP TB: HUH!? What happened? Miles: Rarity knocked your ass out. Welcome back to the land of the living. {Goes back to seat} TB: .... I need to stop doing these things, I keep dying in them. So... where were we... right. Next let's do... someone safe. Squishy. Squishy: Hey there sweetie, how the head? TB: ... in pain. Are you Bi? Squishy: ... do you mean by preference or pay? TB: ... okay, let's do someone else. Pinkie! Pinkie: Yupeeroo- TB: Wait, bad idea- Pinkie: Ah c'mon, my tallest, what do they want to know from dear 'ol auntie Pinkie Pie? {bats eye lashes} TB: {eye twitch} Fine. Just out of curiosity, do you have a crush on anyone? Pinkie: ... oh you jerks. Maybe- TB: It's Squishy- Pinkie: YOU DON'T KNOW THAT! TB: Like hell I don't know, you just got issues with him. Pinkie: Do not! Squishy: Do too. Pinkie: DO NOT! Everyone: Do too. Pinkie: .... ooooh, that's what that feels like. Fine, what's next? TB: {reads question} Uh... nothing, that's all of them- Applejack: No it's not. Yer lyin' ah can tell. TB: How would you even know!? I- Applejack: Yer eyes widen an yer voice trembles a bit when ya lie. Also, ah'm suppose ta be the embodiment of honesty, ah think ah know what ah'm taklin about. just read the question. TB: ... sometimes I hate ponies. Applejack: No ya don't. TB: ... {sigh} okay, fine. Pinkie, he wants you to slap me. Pinkie: ... what? No! I don't slap my friends. TB: .... aaaaah- Pinkie: Even when their continuity drives ponies crazy. TB: ... why do you hurt so good? Okay, moving on. To all Spartans; what is the one word that would describe how your life changed after Spartan training. All Spartans: {no hesitation} Cause. TB: Well... that was easy. Storm Could, could you come up please? Storm Cloud: Hello... other human. What would you like to know? TB: Did you know in an alternate universe there's a stallion named Flash Sentry fucking Twilight? Storm: ... Twilight: ... Celestia: oh my. TB: Yeah, had a feeling that was going to happen. So, hows the family? What have you brother and mother been up to? Rain Cloud: Why not just ask us? TB: Because the viewers are weird like that. Storm: Okay, well... They both moved in with Twilights parents for the time being. My mother has a job in the castle now and is planning on moving out again, though Velvet disagrees. Breaker has been healing, or trying to at least. He also likes to help with Softy. TB: So, your trust him now? Storm: ... I'm usually there when he does so. TB: Ah, there it is. Anyway, what's the deal with you and lemon waffles? Storm: ... what? They're tasty. Something wrong with eating tasty food? TB: Sometimes there is. Are you aware that Twilight has some knowledge about the few days your memory disappeared. Storm: ... wut? Twilight: I was going to tell you- Storm: When? When were you going to tell me, after Softy grew up? When were you going to tell me!? Twilight: I was going to tell you when the time was right! TB: {snaps finger, Twilight and Storm fall asleep} Miles: Whoa... that's fucked up powerful. TB: ... really? Okay then, Lust spirit! COME ON DOWN! {waves hand to turn on translator} Lust Spirit: Greetings human. TB: Sup. How was Miles's bed, and were you really the one making it so 'good'? Luna: Wait, what? Lust Spirit: It was... active, to say the least. And I didn't make it 'better'. I just brought out those primal instincts faster. TB: Wanna move to my bed? Lust Spirit: I think there's more to feed in Miles's. TB: ... ow. My pride. So, got any favorite stories you want to tells us about the things that have happened on that bed? Lust Spirit: Hmm... I have a few- Miles: You better not- Luna: I will destroy that bed if you say a word- Celestia: Think of the children! TB: Whoa, okay, leave the saucy stuff out then. Thanks for that then. Lust Spirit: Live in love. {fades away} TB: ...hippie. Next let's talk with Night Fury, you have a question, and a fan. Night Fury: Really, okay then. Shoot. TB: What do you do? Guard Luna, go on Spartan missions or what, we know next to nothing about you.Tell us about your life so you don't seem like a dick. -From your biggest fan. (And possibly only) Night Fury: Well, no. I don't guard Luna. I am one of three fully active Spartans as of now, so I carry out most of our missions. With that, you get most of my life as of now. I've been shipped from one country to the next filling out different tasks and missions. So... that's me. TB: Why don't you give us a bit on those missions you go on, what are you doing and where? Night Fury: Sure. I've been tasked with investigating the various conflicts of the world. As of now I've been in the Soviet Bear Union investigating the trading between the Goblin Empire and the Griffin Colonies. Once done with the trade routes, Dust, True and I will head over to the Colonies to inspect their equipment and the intent of it's use. Those are my orders as I stand. TB: Busy guy. Night Fury: You have no idea. TB: Well, thanks for your input. Next we have.... Boxy! Boxy: Hello Peter. TB: ... oh, right. All of time at once. Damn Seer's. Anyway, you don't really have a question, but more of a statement. NIPPLE SALAD! THE TEA WILL SPILL AT MIDNIGHT. SAVE THE CHEERLEADER, STOP THE TEA! MY HOVERCRAFT IS FULL OF EELS! PLEASE FONDLE MY BUTTOCKS! ALL HAIL THE QUEEN! Boxy: Pfft, now that just sounds crazy. {leans back in trash can} TB: Clearly. Well, with Boxy done, who better to ask next than Cabbage Patch. Cabbage Patch: What? Me? Okay. {walks to podium} TB: So, this guy has you cabbages. If you want them back, meet him in two weeks at noon with three thousand bits at the Ponyville Park. For every hour you are late, he will desecrate and/or violently destroy one cabbage. The same goes for every missing bit. Come alone, or you lose a whole cart. If you refuse, heads will roll, and he have a nice sewer to dump the rest in. What say you? Cabbage Patch: ... what cabbages? They're out of season. TB: Ha, yeah they are. Let's meet up with the 'pharmacy' girls. Pharmacy girls: Wat you want!? TB: Oh... the sass. Okay then, seriously. What the fuck? Pharmacy Girls: AH, buck you tall ass mother bucker! TB: But, I'm just reading- Pharmacy Girls: I don't care! Rude! TB: ... So how do you think those condoms are coming along? Anyone believe you that the 'Sex God' came in and couldn't find a condom that fits on him? Pharmacy Girls: They'll get here, when they get here! An don't worry, we got pictures. Miles: Wait, what? TB: Okay, cutting Miles off now. Easy, what's up? Easy: Greetings unregistered human. How may I serve you? TB: How do you feel knowing you are nothing more than a glorified slave, forced to obey your now pony masters? Easy: I exist to serve the Terradisian people, I know no other directives. TB: What would you have done if Miles gave you his autograph? Easy: Cataloged it. TB: May I have your autograph? Easy: I am unable to perform that task. Signatures are defined by the Terradisian government as proofs of persons existence, and since I am not a live persons, I do not have a signature. TB: Okay, that was... sad. I want something cute now. Lupus and Hati! Lupus/Hati: BARK! TB: WHO'S A GOOD WOLFIE? WHO'S A GOOD WOLFIE? WHO'S A GOODAHHHHH! Lupus and Hati both attack TB} Luna: Should we help him? Miles: Mmmm.... TB: WOLVES! WOOOOOOLVES! WHY YOU HURT SO GOOOD!? Miles: Nah. Celestia: Miles- Miles: What? They're having fun. TB: THAT'S NOT A CHEW TOY! Shadow: Dad... Miles: Fine. HEY! Get off him. {Lupus and Hati leave TB and run to Miles's side} TB: Why!? WHHHHHHY!? Why is this my life!? Pinkie: Because you don't update as fast as you used to. TB: {cries in pain for a few minutes} baaaaaaaaaaaaaalls. Miles: Get up you crybaby. You're only barely bleeding. TB: Only barely!? {grovels a bit more} uhg, okay, I think I can continue. Okay.... let's get Celestia next. Celestia: Hello, do you need a minute- TB: No, no I'm fine. I can keep going. {trying to act manly} So, what's it like being an aunt? Celestia: Oh, I love it. Tempestive is a little sweet heart and I absolutely love taking care of him. TB: So, why don't you get preggers and have your own foal? We're sure you'd be a great mom. Celestia: Well, thank you, but I'm not sure I'm ready for that. Not to mention I don't have anypony to... help, with that. TB: Does anyone call you by any other name or nickname? Celestia: Well, none that I know of, at least. TB: This was probably asked before, but: Do you like bananas? {reveals one portal to the plane of infinite bananas} Celestia: Umm... I think I'll be fine. TB: But... bananas. Celestia: No thank you. TB: Damn. What's your favorite kind of cake? Celestia: Cloud Cake. Hooves down the best. TB: So, what are your thoughts on Miles boinking your sister as husband and wife? Celestia: ... I assure you I have no thought on them... doing that. As for them being husband and wife, they're happiness makes me happy. TB: Mhmm. So, are Miles and Luna your OTP? Celestia: My what? Miles: Oh sweet Barbra, really? TB: We'll just take that as a yes. Have you had your eyes on anypony to fall in love with? Or is it an entirely different... person? Celestia: I... don't have my eyes on anypony. Not now, and never before. TB: Okay, let's just cut to the chase. How bad do you want the alicorn Miles to fuck you? Celestia/ Luna: WHAT!? TB: Whoa, chill the buck out. It's just a question- Celestia: It was rude and completely unnecessary! I do not want to have any form of sexual relations with Miles! Miles: {pukes} TB: Okay, okay. Don't shoot the messenger. Lets just move on to Luna, and pretend that didn't happen. Luna, you love your son, that much is for sure, but if he were to turn evil would you stand with him or against him? Luna: Well, I would do everything I could do to turn him away from that kind of path. But, it he were to turn... I don't know if I could. Put in the situation, I might be able to act, but reflecting on it... I don't know. TB: And how is he doing now? Luna: He's perfectly fine. Sleeps like a rock and eats like a bear, hardly cries. TB: How much do you weigh? Luna: ... that's none of your concern. {Glares} TB: Don't kill me... So, uh... Big Mac, how big are you? Big Mac: Big 'nough. TB: Insightful. So, now let's head on over to the person with the most questions, Miles. Miles: I have a feeling that I'm not going to like this. TB: C'mon, it won't be that bad. So, can I have your autograph? Miles: ... no. TB: Do you ever regret working on Project Harmonize? Miles: Not really. The only bad thing to come from it was Altum's betrayal, which I guess actually did do a lot, but I still stand by what I did. TB: Do you prefer being a human or alicorn? Miles: Well, as of now, human. I can barely do anything as an alicorn. But, if I were to be fully functional in both forms... alicorn, seeing as how my family is all alicorn. TB: So, it's clear that you have the fire power to eradicate the Unfamiliar from the planet, so why don't you? Miles: When we first found them, I really wanted to. But... things changed. The Equestrians started talking with them and... taking them out would lose our greatest ally. So, for now, they work the factories in Ruby Canyon. Where it goes from there, I have no clue. TB: So, some of the viewers have a feeling that Altum isn't dead. What happened to him after that finisher you performed? Miles: His body and soul were filled with icy void and soul fire. To put it simply, he doesn't exist anymore. I have no fear about him returning, because it is impossible to happen. TB: What can you do if your hard drive catches fire to fix it? Is there anything anyone could do to fix it? Miles: Uh... I could fix it, I guess. But, the information might be damaged beyond recovery. TB: What's you favorite candy? Miles: Hmm... those little suckers covered in green stuff with brown stuff in the middle. They were damn good. TB: How are you so kick ass? Miles: ... Spartan. TB: How do you plan to kill Steelwing if you get the chance to decide? Miles: ... I haven't really thought about that. I... don't want to plan it out though. That's not what I'm about, pre-meditated murder. I am going to bring him to justice, and then... we'll see what happens next. TB: Where do you plan to house all of the new and future Spartans? Miles: Easy, they're going to live in Moosden. It has the means to, and it's our only surface territory that we completely control. TB: This is more of a suggestion, but, since we know you can and probably will make new Elements; imagine the skies filled with sharks with freakin' laser beams attached to their freakin' heads. Miles: What's a shark? TB: And my joy has been killed. So how do you feel about your friends being historical figures in Pony History? After the war they became the founding ponies of Equestria, Starswirl even became one of the leading magicians of history. Thoughts? Miles: That... makes me proud. I knew they had it in them to do great, even after such devastating loss. As for Starswirl, he had the remnants of the greatest arcane society backing him. Do you really wonder why he was so influential? TB: Yeah, he kind of cheated. So, assuming you make another set of the Elements of Chaos, couldn't you use them to see the history of what happened to Celestia's mother? Miles: .... theoretically, I might. I'm not sure how Altum did that though, so it would take some researching. But, I might be able to. {Celestia and Luna share a glance} TB: Okay, now for the worst one. {waves hand to tie Celestia to a chair with her ears open and mouth muzzled. Kids are gone. Truth spell over Miles} Now describe the best, most fetish-worthy sex you and Luna have had in graphic detail. Luna: WHAT!? Miles: That would have to have been the time we fucked in her mind. Because it played off of our imagination, we had sex everywhere we could think, in every position, for what felt like days. TB: ... that still sounds pretty vanilla. So does Luna have nice ass? Miles: The best. {smug smile} TB: Okay then, thanks for participating. If I could get you all to look at this little silver device with the blue light. {puts on shades} FLASH {everyone goes back to their original location with no memory of what happened. Pinkie: So, now it's time for you questions, right? {takes off shades} TB: Yeah, let's get this over with already. Pinkie: Can they call you, My Tallest? TB: Only if they watch me eat waffles. Pinkie: Any idea when The Demon Within is gonna update? TB: I know he's been working on it, but he has school, medical stuff and has been helping with a one year old baby. So, I don't know when it's going to update. Soon, we all hope. Pinkie: Why did you abandon the "Finding Spike" sub-plot? TB: Because I wanted his exploits to be something for Spike to reflect on. Things did happen when he was gone and while he was returning home. It will be brought up later. Pinkie: How in the hell did he go from where he was at the beginning to some god-like limitless power? TB: Well, if you skip chapters, you miss out on stuff. And it's not limitless. Pinkie: Are you going to do a summary thing of what goes down for the new readers? TB: No. Either read the story, or don't. Pinkie: That's a bit harsh. TB: Eh, why read a book if you're not willing to read it. Pinkie: True. How'd it get burned!? HOW'D IT GET BURNED!? TB: I imagine with fire. Pinkie: How does it feel knowing you're leading a +200 chapter long story and what keeps you motivated to write that much. TB: To be honest, I didn't think it would get this long. In my early predictions, I thought it was going to be around eighty chapters, at most. Then two fifty, and now... I can see getting into the late three hundreds. I kept writing it because I love the story and want to see it finish. Pinkie: What inspired you to write this story? TB: My Second Life. Straight up, I was reading that story when a question came to mind. Where did the ponies come from? In every story I had read at the time, ponies just existed. It was assumed that they were always there. So I started asking myself that question. That lead me to create the Man of War universe. Pinkie: Have a burrito? TB: We're trying too, I swear! Pinkie: Had enough questions yet? TB: Mmmm..... just about. Pinkie: Good, cause I have a case I need to go stand on. TB: ...Pinkie, you are so random. Pinkie: I know. Later guys. TB: Well guys, that's the end of the second Q/A. As a bonus to all of those who read, or skimmed to the bottom, here's the next Brony Point reward. It's a community vote. Post a comment for a single color. The color with the most votes and/or likes will win. Thanks for reading, and like always; Brony on! Author's Note Another side note: Within a week or so I'm going to be dropping my internet for my move. Expect delays in the near future. It's also why I didn't have this chapter edited right away, I just pushed it out so I could get this message to all of the readers, seeing as how you all don't read blog post. (no problem with that, just saying) Chapter 200 Better DaysChapter 200 Better Days ONE YEAR LATER Perspective: Miles October 1st, 4134 I sigh contently as the high noon's sun warms my underside as I lay back with my forelegs crossed under my head. It's not too hot, nor too cold; with a slight breeze helping the temperature stay at the perfect degree. With a lazy gaze I glance to my side and look out at Ponyville park. The long grass sways blissfully in the slow wind as ponies go about their peaceful day, playing, socializing, getting to their destinations. There isn't a cloud in the sky or a frown in the town. Today couldn't be a better day. "And get daddy!" Luna cheers as Tempestive tries to climb up my side. I chuckle and look down at him as he sets his hooves on my stomach and tries to pull himself up. Luna's on the other side of the blanket with all of our picnic supplies below the two of us. When Tempestive finally makes it on top he giggles in triumph and starts to crawl up me. "And where do you think you're going?" I ask as I bring my arms around and trap him in a hug. "Nao!" He yells happily as he tries wiggle out of my grasp. "Nao nao nao naooooo!" "C'mere you!" I bring him up to my face and blow a raspberry on his little belly, making him squeal and try to kick me away. I do it again, getting similar results, and bring him back to the blanket so Luna can join in. "Here comes mommy!" "Nao daddy!" PFFFFFFFFT We assault him with kisses and raspberries for a few more minutes until the sides of our cheeks begin to go numb. We relax back and let him settle between the two of us. Luna lays back and stretches out, letting out a content sigh of her own. "Yeah, that's right. Show it off." I tell her as I ogle her a bit. Not a single change in diet or a single minute working out and she's practically back to her original weight. I'll never get it. "Don't be a perv around Tempestive." She scolds with a slight smirk. She rolls back to Tempestive and brings him to face her. "Mommy.... mommy, say mommy." "Dad-dy." "That's right." I tell him, getting an irritated look from Luna. "Noooo, mooooommmmmmy." She says slowly, trying to get him to mimic her. "Nao, daaaaaaaddy." He tells her, making Luna deflate in defeat. "By the way, him saying no to everything is your fault." I tell Luna, but am ignored. "Come on, mommy. Just once Tempestive, please?" "Mmm.... mmmm... mmmm." He struggles to sound out, getting Luna to perk up. "That's it, say it. Mommy, mooooommmy. Mommy, come on, you can do it." She eggs him on, scooting closer to him. "Mmmm... mmmm... nao." "UUUUUUUHHG!" Luna rolls back in total defeat for the thousandth time this week. I laugh and pull Tempestive over to me, smiling in my easily attained victory. "That's my boy." I gloat as I hold him close, nuzzling his side. "Who loves you most?" "Daddy." "Damn straight." "At least I cried when he was born." Luna says bitterly, going her usual route for defeat. "I don't get why you won't let that go already. I was happy-" "Just not enough to actively show it? I cried, Celestia cried, Shadow cried-" "Shadow only cried because she thought we were replacing her-" "It still counts." I roll my eyes and look back to Tempestive. "Hey, say mom already so I can get out of trouble." I tell him as I nudge his side a bit. He rolls onto his side and holds my muzzle in his hooves, feeling it up out of curiosity. "Say mom." "Nao." "Mom." "Nao." "You know you're lucky it's your birthday." I tell him as I press my muzzle into him, nuzzling his chest a bit. "One whole year, can you believe it?" Luna reminisces as she scoots to my side and joins me in nuzzling Tempestive. "Nao." Great timing kid. "One year, and he's already talking and trying to walk. I could have sworn I saw him trying to fly the other day-" "All normal for a foal his age." Luna tells me, again. "Eenope. My son is a genius, just like his father." Luna nudges me playfully as we share a laugh. Tempestive rolls onto his back to look up at the two of us, giving a long yawn as he reaches for Luna's muzzle. "Happy birthday sweetie." Luna whispers to him as she kisses his forehead. "Let’s head home, someone here needs a nap." I tell Luna as I give her a slight nudge. She looks to me and leans over, giving me a soft kiss on the lips. While she wraps Tempestive up and gets him into his harness, I gather all of our belongings and toss them into our basket. Once done, I throw the basket onto my back and we head back home. We keep quiet in hopes of having Tempestive falling asleep during the walk home, but sadly he's wide awake when we make it to the door. During the day he doesn't seem to sleep that much. We'll play with him until he passes out, then a few minutes later he's back up with all of the energy he had before. I want to just pass it off as a pony thing, but... I'm just not sure. "Well, so much for a nap." Luna muses as she brings him into the living room. She brings him out and sets him on the new carpet. She sets a few toys around him before walking off to the kitchen. "So, I'll go get the cake and food while you stay here and watch over Tempestive." "Yeah, wait, no. I have to go to Moosden to get Shadow and the others. Not to mention I have to talk with the traders from the Crystal Empire." I tell her as I take a seat next to Tempestive as he chews on a building block and rolls onto his side. "I'll only be out for half an hour or so. Can't they wait?" Luna asks as she steps back into the living room. "The last time that pompous... guy, waited ten minutes I had to sit there for an hour listening to his rant. Can't the food wait a few-" "Ponies are going to be showing up soon Miles-" "Where's my favorite nephew!" Celestia cheers as she rushes in from the front door. She runs past us and goes straight for Tempestive, picking him up in a tight hug while she kisses his cheek. "Nao nao nao NAO!" He yells as he tries to push her away. She laughs and hugs him again, rocking him from side to side.... idea. "Hey, want to watch him for a bit while we deal with some errands?" "What?" Luna asks, dumbfounded. "Miles, nopony has ever watched Tempestive without one of us being there-" "And thank you for the faith little sister." Celestia says as she sets him back down. "If memory serves me correctly, I did manage to raise you, dear sister." "It'll only be for a few minutes. An hour tops. Not to mention I'll be sending Shadow, Butterscotch, and E'Claire in a minute. She can handle this." I assure Luna, getting an uneasy look from her. She glances between Tempestive and Celestia before sighing in defeat. "Fine. Diapers and wipes are in the hall cabinet as well as upstairs in his room. If he gets too fussy give him half a bottle, I don't want to ruin his appetite for later. Pacifiers are on the table in the kitchen-" "Luna, I've got this under control. Just go already." Celestia tells her. She glances between the two of them before kissing Tempestive's cheek and running off. "You've got him, right?" I ask as I step towards the back door. "Miles, I can handle a foal just fine. Go and take care of your errands okay." She reassures me. I think about it for a moment before nodding to her and heading out back. I'm sure she can handle him... it'll only be for a few seconds until I send the girls over... yeah. I take the mico platform and walk through Moosden at a brisk pace, trying to get out of the cold air. I always forget to bring a sweater here, with Ponyville being so much warmer and all. A quick trot through the open square and I make it to the girl's home, where I hear some raised voices. Concerned, I open the door and step inside. "- so for the last time will you get your sparkly flank out of my house and- Captain!" Butterscotch says before snapping to a salute. The trader from the Crystal Empire, Elusive, continues to glare at her despite my entry. He's a scrawny pencil pusher with a white coat and highly styled teal hair. Someone I'd peg to find in Rarity's shop way too often. "At ease private, what's going on?" I ask as I shut the door behind me. Training for her ended a month ago, but I guess it's good to see the discipline staying with her. Though sometimes it gets weird when Shadow's around. "Well-" "To start with!" Elusive cuts Butterscotch off. "Your shipment of timber is three days late, your receptionist was missing from her post, your little 'community' of misfits have been eyeing my crew ever since we arrived, and nopony seems to want to work with us!" He snaps at me with his sassy high pitched voice. This... is going to take a while. ............................................................................................................................................................ Perspective: Celestia I lay down and watch Tempestive play with his building blocks as Miles makes his way out the back. He's just... too adorable! With his bright green eyes, his scruffy tuft of black air, his little wings, those squishy cheeks- *Door shuts* His scared look, the sadness coming over his face, the tears welling up as the biggest frown imaginable takes over. "It's okay sweety, mommy and daddy just had to go run a few errands-" "Waaaaaaaaaaahhh!" He screams as he begins to cry. I quickly pick him up and try to sooth him. "They'll be back soon- "WAAAAAAAAAHHH!" "It's okay, aunty Celly is here-" "WAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Thanks kid. I levitate him to my side and begin to walk around the room, rocking him gently in an attempt to get him to calm down, but he only cries harder. When I bring him back into my hooves he stops wailing, but I can see how upset he still is. Maybe he needs a diaper change? After a quick check I find him to be clean and dry. Maybe he's just hungry? I try to set him down, but he begins to cry again, so I continue to hold him up in my hooves. I take him into the kitchen and levitate all of the materials for a bottle, mix it together, warm it up, and feed it to him. He takes it in his hooves and eats away. "Okay, easy enough. That's all you wanted, just a little bobby and milk, huh, sweety?" I ask him as I sit down and watch him eat away. He gets about halfway through the bottle before he drops it and begins to pout. So, I pick up the bottle and give it back to him. He eats for a few seconds before throwing the bottle back down and pouting even more. I try it again and get the same results, irritating me slightly. "Okay, so I guess you're not hungry. Hmm, do you need a change? ...no, clean. Maybe you just want to nap? Is that it?" I ask him as I hold him in front of myself. "Nao." "Okay, let's try taking a nap." I tell him. I bring him up to his room and take a look around it. A crib sits at the end of the bed while with a wooden chest labeled 'Temp's Toys' lays beside it. Beside the window is a changing table with all of the supplies I'll need. The rooms walls have been painted blue with the ceiling being white. A few toys lay about the room, but other than that it's fairly well kept. I take him to the crib and try to lay him down, but he fusses more the further away he gets from me. After a quick thought I decide to lay on the small bed with him until he falls asleep, nestling him so he's tucked under my wing. If he's anything like his mother, I'm sure this'll knock him right out. Sure enough, he snuggles against my side and yawns loudly, content with the warmth coming from my side. I smile as I watch him slowly fade into sleep, his eyelids weighing heavily on his innocent little green eyes. Once I'm sure he's asleep I go to move him into the crib, but he grumbles and fusses. He hasn't falling too deep into sleep yet, so I wait a bit longer. Oddly enough, the longer I wait, the more he seems to wake. After about five minutes his eyes open back up and he's wide awake. I try to wait it out, but when he begins to climb over me I call it quits. "So much for a nap." I tell him, making him giggle. "You're lucky you're adorable or I wouldn't have any of this." I tell him as I squint my eyes at him and nuzzle his nose. He laughs mischievously and tumbles onto his side, still looking up at me. I chuckle and watch him while he continues to climb up my side and fall back down. He's a rambunctious little colt, that's for sure. Probably gets that from his father. Luna was more of the quiet, reclusive... cry baby. "So, what should we do now?" I ask Tempestive, getting a quizzical look from him. .......................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Luna I hum to myself as I trot down the path to my home from Ponyville, Pinkie skipping alongside me. Behind me I levitate a few trays of food; most of which prepared my the Apples, a large covered bowl of punch; a secret receipt made from Pinkie, and the birthday cake; fresh from Sugarcube Corner. "Thank you again for offering to help set up today, Pinkie." I tell her, breaking her from her random rant. "You don't have to thank me, silly! Parties are my specialty, especially when they're for my friends!" She tells me, cheerful as ever. "I just hope Celestia can handle him on her own. Is it normal to worry about this kind of stuff? I mean, she took care of me when I was little, not to mention this country. But... I still can't help but worry." "That's just the good mom sense kicking in. The cakes felt the same when I watched their foals for the first time on my own. And all they did was fly around the room, faze through walls, and cover themselves in watery flour! And they were just a unicorn and pegasis! I'm sure a single alicorn is nothing." I stop dead in my tracks and watch Pinkie continue to skip and sing. "Luna? you okay over there?" "What? Yes, of course. Let's just.... hurry on back home, before anything bad happens... to the food. Because I'm worried the food will go bad... or will fall onto the ground... or might catch fire-" "I hate it when that happens." Pinkie agrees as I speed up, trying to get home as quickly and sanely as possible. Within a few minutes I rush through the front door and find Celestia laying on her back in the living tossing Tempestive into the air. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" I yell as I run in and catch him before Celestia could, dropping all of the food. "MY TURN!" Pinkie yells as she runs in and jumps onto Celestia. "OOF! Well, glad to see you made it back." Celestia says before she levitates Pinkie off. "And he's fine you know. We were just having a little bit of fun." I look him over quickly and note the massive smile on his unharmed face. "Oh... of course. Sorry, I guess I over reacted just a little-" "She thought Tempestive was going to catch fire." Pinkie tells her as she picks up the food. Sadly, the cake is completely ruined. "You thought I was-" "Oh no! The cake, what are we going to do!?" I feign in order to change the subject. "I gotcha covered!" Pinkie tells me as she pulls out a light blue cannon and fires it. PARTY Confetti and streamers fly everywhere as the canon flies out the front door from the recoil. I moved to cover Tempestive from the colorful shrapnel, taking a good hit myself. When the debris stopped moving and the ringing in my ear stopped, I turned to see my entire house decorated for a party. Streamers, table cloths, party hats for everypony present; Tempestive included, all in their appropriate places and setting. "How-" "Don't question. Just accept." I tell Celestia as I remove the party hat on my head. I glance over to the dinning room and note the birthday cake sitting on the table with a single candle in it. One day, I am going to learn the secrets of that darned contraption. "Baby brother!" Shadow yells as she comes running in from the back door. She darts straight to us and slide to a stop, d'awing at him. "His hat is so cute! Can I hold him?" "Where's your father?" I ask as I pass him off to her. "How do you trust her with him but not-" "He's talking with Elusive, trying to get him to calm down." Shadow tells me, cutting Celestia off thankfully. "He was getting mad at mom, and I think she punched him because he started crying... or at least it sounded like that." "And E'Claire?" I ask as I walk over to the kitchen, beckoning everypony with me. "Holding back mom." "Ah. Well, can you do me a favor and watch him while I go and get things ready? Celestia will help too." I tell them, getting an eager nod from Shadow. She runs back into the living room. Celestia hesitates for a moment before I nod to her to follow, getting a nervous smile in return before she walks to the living room as well. "So, what's up first?" Pinkie asks from the kitchen table, stirring something in a mixing bowl she seemingly conjured from out of thin air. "Right, first we should get the table set up out back. Then..." Together the two of us get everything prepare for Tempestive's birthday party. Setting up tables, getting the food out, changing a diaper, getting the picnic blanket out and squared off, fighting off the wolves so they wouldn't eat all of the food, changing another diaper, going to Moosden and dragging Miles back here, changing another diaper. All of this before the first guest begin to appear. First to show up were the Apples. Applejack, Hammer, Applebloom, Big Mac, Fluttershy and little Rampant Growth. Sadly Granny couldn't make it, she was feeling a bit under the weather and had to stay in bed. "Is she doing alright?" I ask Applejack and Fluttershy. Bic Mac and Miles walk off on their own while Shadow and Applebloom bring the little ones inside. "Ah, it ain’t nothin ta be worried 'bout." Applejack assures me. "She always gits like this around the colder seasons. messes with 'er joints 'n all." "Last winter she nearly missed Winter Wrap Up from this. She sends her regards and promises to make it up to Tempestive." Fluttershy adds. "Oh, that's not necessary. But thank you. I just want to see her healthy, that's all." I tell them, giving them each a reassuring smile. "Hows the farm doing with all of the dividends from the government?" "Well, things are gettin tough, but we'll manage. Just like we always do." Applejack says before Fluttershy could say anything. I can see the look of concern in Fluttershy's eyes, so I let it stay at that for the time being. I'm sure it's tougher than she's letting on to, but its not like there's much I can do. The Griffin Colonies need much more severely than we do. "Well, if you ever need anything, please don't hesitate to ask." I tell her, though I know she won't. Not until it's a real problem at least. "Good luck with that!" We all look up to see Rainbow Dash, Soarin, Scootaloo flying down with little Jet Spectrum in Rainbow's saddle. "Where's the birthday boy at?" She asks when she lands. "He's inside with Shadow and Applebloom." I tell them. "Thanks for making it today." "Hey, can I bring Jet inside?" Scootaloo asks eagerly. "Sure, take the bag with you." She tells her, passing the saddle over to her. She takes him and scurries inside excitedly. "So hows working for the Ponyville weather team Soarin?" I ask him as well all head over to one of the tables and take a seat. He chuckles a bit before pouring himself a glass of punch. "Well, it's not quite what I was expecting..." ...................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Shadow I chuckle at Tempestive as he rolls over and focuses completely on chewing the teething toy in his hooves. The other foals in the room lay beside him in the middle of the open area near the fire place Dad recently had installed in the living room. Each of them have a toy distracting them as they lay about on the carpet. Scootaloo and Applebloom lay around them with me, encircling the foals between us so we can watch them more easily. Celestia seems to have wandered off into the kitchen, but that's alright. Mama Luna knows to hide the goodies from her. "Ahm tellin ya, there has ta be a catch." Applebloom says for the hundredth time. "Really? Give it a rest already Bloom." Scoots drones. "There aint no way that that's all there is to the deal, there has ta be some secret Miles isn't tellin us." Bloom continues. "Why would my dad lie to me? You know him, he can't lie to us. He can't even say no to us." I tell her, getting Scoots to smirk. "I can't believe he still thinks that sugar cereals are for foals to grow up strong and stuff." Scoots snickers, getting the rest of us to laugh. "How long has he been here now?" Bloom asks. "Feels like forever... but in a good way. Anyway, foal sitting for special talent tutoring is all there is to the deal. Plain and simple. You learn Terradisian engineering, I learn about stealth and stuff, Sweetie gets to listen to all the music she wants, and Scoots... what are you getting exactly?" "Mom said she train me to do sonic booms. Even if there's a catch I'm still going to do it. No way am I passing up on a chance to learn from the greatest flyer in all of Equestria-" "Ya think being her daughter would make her less of a fanfilly." Bloom leans in and says to me under her breath, making me chuckle. "... and then the world! So why do you think there's a catch?" Scoots asks, making us sit up right. "Cause it doesn't make sense. We're only watchin them once a week for a few hours at most! Ah don't want to get anymore chores than ah already have ta do. Ah know they're planning somethin'. Ah can feel it." She says as she looks out back and glares at Dad. "Do you really want to know?" We all jump a little from Aunty Celestia's cool voice coming from the dinning room. "I may or may not know why they want all of you to foal sit every Saturday night. And I may be willing to tell you, for a fee of course." She adds with a smug smirk. "Dea-" "No! No deal!" I cut off Applebloom. "Aunty Celly, Mama Luna said that we're suppose to hold you to your diet. That means no sugary snacks before eating!" "Fine, no deal. But I'm telling you know, there is a catch." She tells us before sauntering back to the kitchen, giving us a cool, even look. "Shadow, c'mon let's just show her where Luna's hidin' the cookies!" Bloom tells me as she stands. "No! If we don't hold her to her own diet, she's going to explode! As she puts it." I tell her as I stand. "She doesn't actually explode... doesn't she?" Scoots asks, sounding a bit too hesitant. "Of course not ya feather head. She's just dramatizing." Bloom rolls her eyes. "I knew that you country bumpkin! I was just joking!" Scoots defends quickly, standing up and facing off with Bloom. "Sure ya were cloud-for-brains." I try to get them to stop, but bloom cuts me off before I could say anything thing. "Mud mucker!" "Air head!" "HEY GIRLS!" Sweetie Bell yells as she runs in from the front door, followed shortly after by Spike and Rarity. Applebloom and Scootaloo back off from one another and greet her, as if nothing had happened, while I pry myself from underneath the kitchen table... when did I even get here? "Are you guys foal sitting for his birthday or something?" "Everypony else is in the back." I explain, getting Spike and Rarity to take their leave. The four of us take our places around the foals, glad that they were too distracted with building blocks and chew toys to wander off. "Hey Sweetie, doncha think the deal we made fer foal sitting is weird?" Applebloom asks. "No, if they want a date night then I'm happy to help. Plus, I get to-" "Wait, wait, wait a second. What do you mean date night?" Scootaloo asks to clarify. "I heard Spike and Rarity talking about it a few nights ago. They all just want to free up a night in the week to spend together, so they discussed it together and decided having us watch the foals while they were out was the best choice. After a little persuasion of course." Dad... and Mama Luna... having weekly date nights... "Oh that's disgusting!" I blanch when I put one and one together. "They can't do that anymore! They already have one!" "Just because they have one doesn't mean they can't do that." Sweetie defends. I look over and share a mortified look with Applebloom. I didn't want to know this, I really didn't want to know this! I feel like I just relearned about the birds and the bees! "Okay I'm lost," Scootaloo admits. "What's going on?" "Don't worry about it." Applebloom tells her, visibly shivering. "Hey girls," Dad calls from the kitchen door. "Can you bring out the boys, we're going to start doing the presents." "Okay Dad!" I call back, glad I couldn't see him. We all grab our little brothers, and cousin in Applebloom's case, and take them out back. I pause for a second when I notice how many ponies actually came today. I know most of them pretty well, I guess I just didn't expect this many ponies to come to a one year old's birthday party. Most of the Spartans are here, we're only missing Damian and Sǐ Yè. A few royal looking ponies are here, but I don't know their names. Those two mares obsessed with humans are here, though I don't know why. I mean, Dad went to like... two of their meetings. But I guess they were kind enough to make it today. Regina's here. I kind of expected her to be, being Lunas best friend. So many ponies, here, for my little brothers first birthday. So.... many.... "Okay, girls. Give me Tempestive and try to keep Shadow from running away." Dad says. I shake back to reality when he lifts Tempestive out of the carrying pouch and brings him over to Luna. "Let's get something to eat." Sweetie Bell says as she nudges me along. "Right... food. And... stuff." I mumble to myself. "So, what should we do when school lets out for the weekend? I was thinking we should see if we could have a slumber party at Shadows." Sweetie suggests, receiving positive responses from the others. Perspective: Miles Luna nuzzles Tempestive when I take a seat beside her, making him squirm and smile. I give him a kiss on the side of the head before setting him down on the ground and set a piece of chocolate cake in front of him. Sure enough, it gets his attention immediately and he plasters his hooves in it before shoveling some of it into his mouth. The rest, as predicted, ends up around his face. "How could something be that small be that adorable?" Regina asks, smiling down at him. "I would say genetics, but looking at Miles..." Elly chuckles. "Ha ha. Funny eagle." I retort, knowing it would set him off. "Excuse me? Eagle? I am hawk and proud, so don't you forget it! I did not come all this way, do your training, and piss off that many birds to be generalized by you! Luna, get mad at him." He commands. "Miles, I'm mad at you." Luna tells me quickly, giving me a cheeky smile. "Give it a week, you'll get over it." I say, getting a playful smack from Luna. "Anyway, you were about to finish up with your country's story." I tell Regina, getting her to look back at me. "Right. So, after those wars, our nation was divided into five separate kingdoms. For a long time, they would wage war on one another in an attempt for supremacy. At the bloodiest point of the Countless Wars, one of the kingdoms fell, as did one of the Great Sphinxes. It was at this point that Ulfric rose up and united all of the kingdoms. But, since none of the kings were willing to give up their positions, he instead made them into a collective group of kingdoms, know as the Colonies-" "Why are we getting history lessons at a one-year-olds birthday party?" Ellzy drones, sulking in the historical knowledge. "We're leaving in three days to inspect the Griffin Colonies. We need to know as much as possible about their history if we're going to understand anything." I tell him, making him sulk even more. "I already-" "The only thing you know how to do is how to get tail." I cut him off. "Hey! That's an unappreciated art! It deserves it's respect!" He defends, making me roll my eyes. "Ellzy... you gay." We all look back to see Damian, CC, Patches, and Hammer walking towards us. Damian is wearing a heavy cloak that hides most of his body; his staff being the only giveaway. "I guess I learned it from one of my superiors. You know, the only one without a kid to prove anything." He retorts, giving a knowing look to CC. "... fuck." Damian sighs in defeat. "Anyway, where's the birthday boy? I want to give him his present already." He says cheerfully, trotting up to Tempestive and I. He reaches forward, wanting to hold him apparently. "If you drop him-" "Ye of little faith." He cuts me off, taking Tempestive in his hooves. He tosses him up a few times, scaring the crap out of me and Luna, before holding him above his head, much to Tempestive's delight. "I dub thee.... STORMAGEDDON! LORD OF THE CHOCOLATE CAKE!" "Miles..." Luna says worriedly. "Okay, you're scaring the wife. Give back the foal." I tell him, taking him back. "Lame. Anyway, this is from me and CC." He says before giving me a wrapped gift. "Aw, what'd you get him?" Ellzy asks before taking the gift and shaking it, listening closely. "A stuffed strawberry." Damian replies. "..." "No we didn't." CC tells me, nudging Damian out of the way. "We got him some teething toys." "Thank you." Luna tells them, moving the gift aside. "... I forgot a gift." Patches says sadly. "That's alright, being here is enough. Plus, he's only one. I don't think he'll care all too much." I tell him, getting a warm smile in return. "You just lose holding privileges." "... damn. I MEAN SHOOT!" He corrects quickly, making us laugh. I set Tempestive back down so he can finish his cake, much to his enjoyment. We all look to Hammer and wait for him to do or say something. It takes him a moment to notice we're looking to him, but when he finally does realize, he begins to panic. "Um.... I got... him a gift. I totally got him a gift! It's... right... here!" He says proudly as he quickly produces a clear ball from Backpack. "Don't lie, you completely forgot-" "I did not! See, I got him a... clear ball. What colt wouldn't want a clear ball? Clear balls are all the craze right now. You wouldn't know that because you're so old, Miles!" He defends, holding the ball up as if it was the greatest gift of all time. "I'm older then Miles." Luna points out flatly. "... APPLEJACK! SAVE ME!" Hammer yells before running away. "Well, that entertained Trixie so." We look over to the left side of the house to see Trixie walking towards us. She has a bundle on her side that has a tuft of silver hair and a dark purple horn sticking out. No doubt her little filly, Scaena Nox. "We have arrived to wish Tempestive a happy birthday, isn't that right sweetheart?" She sits before us and pulls the bundle before us, revealing Scaena's bright blue eyes. "Trixie, it's good to see you again. How long are you going to stay in town this time?" I ask, making her blush... and no doubtingly making Luna a little mad. "Well, maybe a few days. There's an illusionist convention in Trottingham next week that we must attend." She tells us, jostling Scaena to emphasize the we. "Anyway, we brought this for Tempestive." She levitates a wrapped gift over us and sets it down in front of Luna, who picks it up and sets it by the pile of other gifts in the back. From there we decide to start unwrapping gifts, after cleaning Tempestive of course. How he could manage to get all of the cake around his mouth instead of inside, I'll never know. The gift unwrapping goes by fairly smoothly. Most of the gifts he gets he seems to have little interest in, going for the wrapping paper or boxes instead. Once all of the gifts have been unwrapped though, he finds the clear ball from Hammer and becomes enthralled by it. At first he tries climbing over it, seeing as it's nearly as big as him. Slowly but surely, Rampant Growth sees the ball and becomes enthralled by it as well, crawling towards it quickly. Big Mac and I share a look before watching the rivalry unfurl. Sure enough, the ball rolls out of Tempestive's grasp and comes to a stop between the two of them. They both go for the ball and try to take it at the same time. With both of them pulling, the ball stays between them, making them struggle to win over their prize. "Nao nao nao NAAAOOOOOO!" Tempestive yells as he fights to get his ball back, pulling with all his might. When they both give it their final go, the ball suddenly pops up from their grasp. They fall back as the ball lands between the two of them, practically in the same spot. They both sit up, go sour face, then begin to cry their hearts out while reaching for their mothers; who instantly go to comfort them. Big Mac and I share another look, seamlessly telling each other 'next time'. From there, the rest of the day goes by as it did at the park. People talked, people laughed, I punched Damian, and Tempestive clung to his prized ball. Slowly, but surely, people started leaving as the day neared it's end. Giving their love to Tempestive and wishes for better days to come. If the days could go by as they did today, I don't think that will be a problem. This was assuredly, one of the better days. By the end, Tempestive was completely knocked out, so we took him to bed. Of course, when we lay him down in his bed, he began to fuss, so Luna sang for him until he went back sleep. I wrapped a wing around her and listened to her soothing voice, letting it calm me as it lulled Tempestive. 'Somewhere, over the rainbow Way up high And the dreams that you dreamed of Once in a lullaby. Somewhere over the rainbow Blue birds fly And the dream that you dreamed of Dreams really do come true. Someday I'll wish upon a star Wake up where the clouds are far behind me Where trouble melts like lemon drops High above the chimney tops That's where You'll find me. Somewhere over the rainbow Blue birds fly And the dreams that you dare to So why, oh why, can't I? Well I see trees of green And red roses too. I'll watch them bloom For me and you And I think to myself What a wonderful world. Well I see skies of blue and I see clouds of white And the brightness of day I like the dark and I think to myself What a wonderful world. The colors of the rainbows So pretty in the sky are also in the faces of ponies passing by. I see friends shaking hooves saying, How do you do? They're really saying, I...I love you. I hear babies cry And I watch them grow They'll learn much more Then we'll know. And I think to myself, What a wonderful world. Someday I'll wish upon a star Wake up where the clouds are far behind me Where trouble melts like lemon drops High above the chimney tops That's where You'll find me. Somewhere over the rainbow Blue birds fly And the dreams that you dare to So why, oh why, can't I?' By the end, he's sleeping soundly in his crib, content with the world. We watch him sleep peacefully for a bit before I kiss Luna on the cheek and usher her out. We go to bed, equally content with the world and its better days. .......................................................................................................................................................... 2:13 AM I mumble a bit when I hear Tempestive crying softly. He's probably just hungry or woke up too damn early. I feel Luna beside me and see that she's still asleep, so I pry myself from bed to take care of Tempestive. In the hallway I pause for a moment when I hear voices. At first they sound distant, but when I quickly begin to wake up, I realize that they're coming from Tempestive's room. I run to his room and tackle the door open- "Shhh, he's just fussy. Don't wake him any further." Spatium tells me as she cradles Tempestive in her hooves, with Tempus sitting beside her looking down at him. ... ... ... ... ... "WHA-" I start to yell before something holds my mouth shut. Tempus whispers something to Spatium, getting a nod from her, before standing and walking to me. He motions with a hoof to be quiet before letting go of my mouth. I try to say something, but at this point I've simply lost my ability to. He walks around me and begins to fix the door with his magic, leaving me to gape at Spatium. "So, there are probably many questions you have at this point." Tempus quietly says from behind as he messes with the door. "... you could say that." I force out, turning to him and poking his side, making sure he's actually there. He is. "I am here Miles. I am alive now." He tells me, swatting my hoof away. "But... I saw you-" "Die?" He asks with a smirk. I shut my mouth and swallow the lump in my throat when he says this. He sighs and sets the door down to look me straight in the eyes. "Yes. It seems that we'll never be able to share that tea. Somepony, somewhere, will take that shot. And yes, it will kill me-" "But, you're here. Now. You're alive! How is that possible!?" I ask, my voice raising slightly. "Miles, I am Tempus. Master of time. We will have tea tomorrow, whenever I decide tomorrow is." He tells me, that smirk coming back onto his face. I try to process what he said, still trying to get over the shock of his being here. "But... but..." "I know what you are going to ask next. Why leave Celestia and Luna afterwards. For that, all I am allowed to say is that it was for the best outcome. I know that doesn't give you what you want, but it is all I can say." He tells me, loosing his smirk for a stern look. "... what I was actually going to ask was how did Spatium live." I tell him, getting nod in return. "Spatium... is my greatest weakness. I tried, and failed, to go on without her. When I came to her... well, things didn't go as planned." He says with a soft chuckle. "What do you mean by that?" I ask. "Well.... hmm, how to put this? Let's just say, at my death that you saw, she was not pregnant." He tells me. I put one and one together, getting him to laugh. "In time, you will learn the lessons I've had to. And you will understand why I did what I did." "... why the secrecy? Why not let Luna and... Luna!" I try to run to wake her, but slide back when Spatium grabs my tail with her magic and pulls me back. "They cannot know of our existence." Spatium tells me flatly. "If they were to, things would not play out as they would." "So you leave your children to fend for themselves!? How could you possibly do that to them?!" I demand from them. The glance to one another share a sad look, making me back off slightly. "It wasn't easy." Spatium says quietly, turning her attention back to Tempestive. "I didn't want to leave them. And I didn't for a while. But... when he showed me what could happen, and should happen... I didn't really have a choice. Do not mistake our absence with a lack of love for our children Miles Eremita. I have hated every moment of not being able to speak with my daughters. There are times I wish I could go back and hold them one last time, but am plagued with the foresight that I can't. I can't, Miles." "... what is this outcome? What are you planning?" I ask Tempus, getting another sigh from him. "I cannot tell you. If I were to tell you, then it would change the outcome. You have to go through life not knowing the outcome, making brash thoughts, and never speaking of our lives again. Spatium and Tempus are dead Miles, you now share that burden. Can you handle it?" I sit down and look between the two of them, trying to piece together what they have planned and why they did what the did. Tempus can travel through time, so the Tempus I knew was much older than this one. I guess I can understand that, seeing that I was sent through time myself a couple of times. Spatium is alive because Tempus loved her too much to let her go, something I can respect but can't wrap my mind around. She can know of his 'death' but Luna and Celestia can't? And now, I can know about that truth. Spatium had to fake her death to learn this, am I to die next? He hasn't said I died yet, just the truth behind their disappearance. Can I not tell them something so big? Can I, not only as their brother and husband, but as a Spartan not tell them about this. "I don't think I can-" "It was a rhetorical question Miles." Tempus tells me, cutting me off. "But-" "Oh please, you still haven't told Luna you dropped Tempestive the last time you were changing him." "He was squirming too much and he only fell a few centimeters!" "And yet you tell her everything else that happened that day. And you know what else, I know you're going to keep our secret. Do you want to know why?" He asks smugly. "..." "I already know you won't tell, because I've already seen it." I stare at him for a while before sighing in defeat. He's right. I have no reason to tell them. It's not like telling them would force Tempus and Spatium to suddenly show up and confront them. They had to endure seeing their children grow up, attempt to kill each other, and then have children. I think they can over look a day of screaming and crying. "I don't like this." I settle on. "I never asked you to like this, just to accept it." Tempus tells me. "Now, onto our other little problem." "Problem? What's wrong?" "Well, it would seem that Tempestive has grown a tendency to stop time to take his naps. This is only a problem because it's going to make him grow up faster than normally." "He's stopping time... to take naps?" I ask, slightly confused slightly. Though, it would explain why he hardly ever naps for more then two minutes. "Yes, though we have grown fond of spending time with our grandson, we have to ask that you start draining energy from him before he sleeps. He's starting to get to that age where he starts to form memories, and... well, he's not allowed to remember us, now is he?" "No... I suppose that would be bad." "Good. Now, you may go to sleep, we'll take care of him. And don't worry, we'll always be watching after him. He will do great things, I promise." I pause for a moment before awkwardly leaving the room, stopping at the door. I have to take a moment to determine if what I just saw was real or not. When I come to the realization that it is in fact real, I burst inside to ask the plethora of questions I have, only to find them missing. The rooms only occupant is a sleeping Tempestive. I walk over to check on him and find him holding onto a note. 'Nam optimus exitus.' Tempus ac Spatium Author's Note The song sung in this bit was Somewhere over the rainbow, by..... IZ, for short. The color of the ball was picked by you guys (majority vote). And lastly, Man of War now has a group called: Mow Universe. This is where you guys can discuss what ever it is you want, where I'll give glimpses into the other parts of the MoW universe, as well as other things to come. Brony on! Chapter 201 Mother Knows BestChapter 201 Mother Knows Best Five Years Later Perspective: Luna July 14th 4139 I grumble to myself when I hear the bedroom door slowly creak open. I sigh and pull the the blankets closer to myself in an attempt to stay asleep. I think I hear a voice, but I ignore it and grip the blankets. It's sleep time. The sun has only been up for an hour... or two? Either way, warm bed is better than the cold head. "Mom?" Eenope. I'm asleep. "Mom?" "Sleep." I groan as I hide my head under the pillow. Sadly, I'm awake now, but that doesn't mean I can't have a little fun. I can't help but smile when I hear Tempestive climb up on the bed from behind and walk over to me. He sets two hooves on my shoulders and gives a few pushes, rocking me slightly. "C'mon Mom, it's time to get up." He tells me, shaking me more. "Mmmm, I'll wake up if you give me a kiss on the cheek." I tell him, tossing my pillow off and back at him. He goes wide eyed and backs off a bit, looking around for an answer. "Uh... you can go back to sleep... I'll just get breakfast ready then... go back to sleep." "Jerk." I say playfully, bolting forward and planting a quick peck on his cheek. He reels back and yelps, rubbing his cheek furiously. "Gross Moooom! Save that for Dad!" He yells back, trying to rub my “germs” away. I chuckle at him and pry myself from bed to get ready for the day. As I leave, he begins to pretend that some sort of terrible infectious disease has taken over him, causing him to convulse on my bed. "Uh-huh. When your resurrection is over with, head downstairs and I'll have breakfast ready in a bit, okay?" I ask, rolling my eyes as I head to the bathroom. "Okay." He tells me, pausing his convulsions to say so before returning to his seizures. I chuckle at him again before closing the door behind myself. I don't know how or why, but he has somehow picked up the idea that all mare are filled with some terrible, infectious diseases. So now he hates female contact. I'd like to say it's just a phase and he'll get over it quickly, but with this going on now for three weeks... Well, if I go by his cow pony phase, he has another week or so before he drops it. And he better, I want my hugs! After getting through all of my morning routines I head down stairs and get breakfast for the two of us ready, finding him at the table going his homework. I get my ingredients and start mixing them together while walking up behind him. I take a quick look at his work and try to figure out what it is... but come to the conclusion that his hoof writing is terrible. I wasn't the best at math, but this Terridisian stuff is beyond me completely. "Honestly Tempestive, you need to work on your penmanship some more." "What? It's legible." He defends, making me roll my eyes. "I've seen chickens with better writing than that." I tell him, smirking at his frown. "Ms. Cluckingham doesn't count as a chicken!" "And why's that?" "Because she's Fluttershy's chicken! Any pet of hers doesn't count!" I chuckle a bit and bring my mix to the stove, setting a pan on top and turning on the fire. "Of course, why didn't I think of that." I say sarcastically. "How're you doing on your homework?" "I'm almost done. I only have this last problem left before I finish." He tells me as he gets back to writing down his problem. " "Do you need help?" I ask, hoping he says no. I feel bad that I can't help him with this stuff, but that's what happens when certain someponies decide to homeschool their children to teach then advanced mathematics. What the hay is trigonometry anyway!? "Nah, I've got it." He tells me confidently. I let out a breath of relief and pour my mix onto the pan as the back door opens. I glance back to see Shadow walking in with her school uniform and full saddle bag. "Morning Shadow, breakfast?" I call out to her. "Morning Mama Luna, little bro, thanks but I need to get going to meet up with the others." She tells me, levitating an apple from the bowl on the table. "If Mom comes asking for me can you tell her I'll be at Scoot’s for a project. I already told her, but she tends to forget stuff." "I'll pass the message, have a good day at school." I tell her as she hurries out the front door. "Mom, why does she wear a uniform when most ponies wear next to nothing?" Tempestive asks. "Because she's in high school." I tell him shortly. "Oh... is that why I wear a vest?" He asks. "... well-" "Because, it that was the case, then why don't I only wear one when I go outside? I mean, wouldn't it make more sense to wear it during lessons?" He questions further. In reality, we make him wear it to hide his wings, but we haven't exactly gotten to that yet. "Well... how are other ponies going to know you go to school? Without your vest, they'd think you were just some dumb pony with terrible hoof writing. And you are not dumb, now are you?" I ask, smiling back to him. "Dad says ponies with bad hoof writing are geniuses." He defends, pointing his pencil at me. "Your father also has terrible hoof writing. I, on the other hoof, have excellent hoof writing." I say proudly, standing a bit straighter. "... but you can't even do geometry-" "Mathematics alone do not make up one's intelligence!" I say quickly, trying to defend myself. Luckily for me, he drops it and gets back to his work. I swear, I should really start going to some of those lessons... eventually. When I have time that is. ...yeeeeeah. "Aaaaannnd done! Where's your phone?" He asks happily. "It's in my dresser, top left." I tell him, focusing more on the food. He scurries out of the room and up the stairs as quickly as possible. When I finish the food I turn around and blink at his empty seat. I look over to the living room and see him land at the bottom of the stairs, my phone in his mouth. "Tempestive! What have I told you about gliding down the stairs!?" "Um... be careful?" He asks cutely with a mouthful of phone. "Don't do it. If somepony comes in while you're doing that you could really get hurt." I scold him as he walks back to his seat. "Sorry Mom." He says after setting my phone on his chair. He climbs up and brings it onto the table before going through for the camera. "Why didn't you just levitate it down?" I ask, trying to change the subject. "Hmm? Oh... I dunno. I just grabbed it and left." He tells me. I mull it over and nod to him. I've definitely noticed some human things about him. He tends to do things by hoof before resorting to magic. He probably picked it up from Miles, but it seems more natural to him. I mean, I use magic for everything and tend to call on it first. I shake my head and set it in front of him. "Eat, then send your homework to Dad." I tell him, setting my plate by my seat. I cut a wedge of the pancake off and begin eating, but slow down when I see him staring at his plate. "Honey? Everything okay?" "Why aren't you eating that much?" He asks quietly. I let out a slow breath and set my fork down. I was hoping he wouldn't ask, but it was going to eventually happen. "Well, because I'm not that hungry." I tell him. "But, you're a lot bigger than me." He says quickly. "Don't bigger ponies need more to eat than smaller ponies?" "Easy there, bud. You don't call a mare big, you call them... healthy." His blank stare tells me that that's never going to happen. "And secondly, I'm done growing. I'm as healthy as I'm going to get. You, on the other hoof, are still growing every day. You need the nutrients to grow up big and strong." "Like Dad?" He asks hopefully. "Like Dad." I tell him with a smile. "Cool, I thought it was because of all the food deficits from aiding the Griffin Kingdom." He tells me before digging in, making me pause for a second. "Well... that doesn't help." I add quietly, looking down at my single pancake. "Eat up, we need to go to town to buy groceries." "Kay." He tells me before stuffing his mouth full with food. "And normal bites." Once we finish breakfast I gather my bags and wait by the door for Tempestive to get ready. He tries to leave without putting his vest on, but waiting at the door sends him back up to his room to put it on. I don't like forcing him to wear it, but we have to. He's not ready for the stigmas that come with being an alicorn. Not yet at least. Despite having to wear his green vest, he still enjoys the walk to the market, if only because we have to go through the park. He runs all over the path, climbs over large rocks, and trips a few times, all in good fun... for him at least. I try to let him have a little freedom, but can't help but worry every time he climbs up something or face plants. Once we make it to the edge of town I tell him to stick closer to me. The few market vendors left hold large lines in front of their stalls and ration out their goods to eager ponies. Sadly, we have to wait to get in line. First stop, town hall. We walk in to find a short line in front of the receptionist. She's passing out receipts for rations to the ponies in line. I let out a small sigh and take my place in line. It's been a radical change in lifestyle when we started doing this, but I don't mind that much. Times are tough, and eating less so others can eat as well is okay with me. Maybe not with Celestia, but I can get by. As long as Tempestive eats first, I'm okay with whatever I can get. "Luna." The receptionist greets when we finally make it to the front as she gives me two receipts. "Hello Mrs. Neighlin. What's Celestia trying this time?" I ask as I look them over. "She's getting pretty close, eighty pounds this time." "Honestly Tia, eighty?" I shake my head and burn the receipt. "A pony only needs twenty for a week, so that's what we'll be... Sarah." "Fine, here's the real one." She groans as she takes back the receipt for sixty and hands me the proper receipt. "Are you sure-" "Yes. We will only ever take what we need. I'm sure there are plenty of others that would appreciate that sentiment. Have a good day, Sarah." I tell her before turning and leaving. "Are you mad at Mrs. Neighlin?" Tempestive asks me as we head down Main street back towards the market. "Of course not, why would you think that?" "You kind of stormed out on her. Usually that only happens after somepony gets mad at somepony else." He tells me. "And where did you learn that?" "Spike." "Of course. Well, no Tempestive. I am not mad at Mrs. Neighlin. I only left like that to... drive her my point." I inform him, getting a confused look from him. "So why do you have to drive home the point that we don't need more than others? What makes us special?" He asks. Here we go again. Another round of me working my words to make sure he doesn't learn that he's a prince. "Well, before you were born, your father and I did a lot of good deeds for Ponyville-" "Like fighting back those Diamond Dogs?" He asks eagerly. "Yes, like that. And because of events like that, some of the ponies here feel that we have earned the right to be treated differently-" "Like Aunty Celly?" "Well... sort of. Aunty Celly gets special treatment because of her job at the castle-" "As an adviser." "Right. We, on the other hoof, are not providing those services and therefore don't feel like we've earned the special treatment. We did the right thing because it's right. Nothing more, nothing less. Understand?" "... but... Dad is providing a service to the world right now, being a Spartan and all. Shouldn't that provide extra treatment?" He asks when we get in line for some greens. "Well, sort of. He's still a soldier, so he does those services willingly-" "But so does Aunty Celly." Tempestive points out. "Yes, but Celestia was asked to perform these services, that she does willingly. Miles decided to be a soldier on his own accord." Technically, this isn't a lie. We were asked to lead after turning Discord to stone, so technically it's not a lie. "When's Dad coming home?" "... soon, I hope." We make it to the front of the line and present the vendor our receipt. She marks off her sale and gives us a bag of goods, that we pay for. After her line we go through several more long lines before finally ending at the Apples stall. "Howdy there Luna! Tempestive." Applejack greets happily. "Hello Applejack. How's little Apple Slice today?" I ask as I look down to her little three year old colt. He’s in a little playpen behind the stall with a plaid blanket underneath it. He's currently playing with some toys with a large green backpack laying beside him. "He's good, fussy, but good." She tells me, giving a loving glance back to her colt. "Y'all here for your rations?" "Yes, here's what we're getting." I give her the slip and wait for her to fill my order. "So... is Rampant home?" Tempestive asks tentatively as Applejack begins to put our apples into a bag. "Sorry sugar, he's at summer school until one, and then he has chores and homework ta do." Applejack informs him. "I could-" "No, you can't." I cut him off. "You're still in trouble from the last time we let you 'help' him with his homework." "What did I do wrong?" "You did his homework for him. He's suppose to do it with your guidance-" "He got the idea-" "You then nearly ripped the roof off of the barn-" "It was structurally unsound-" "By trying to catapult a cow into space-" "Ms. Betsy said she believed she could hit terminal velocity and was ready for launch! Besides, why was there a catapult in there anyway!?" "And then you tried to blame it all on the girls-" "It was their idea anyway, we just... improved it. Besides, there's never anypony to play with at home." I pause and try to think of a way to rebut that, but it's true. "Well, that doesn't stop you from being in trouble. You did what you did and will have to face the consequences." He frowns at this, but doesn't argue with me any further. "Um... here yer apples." Applejack says nervously, offering us our apples. I sigh and take them, putting them away while leading Tempestive home. I pause when Applejack walks up and nudges my side. "Now, ah'm not tryin ta say anything, but if ya feel like easin up on the little guy, Rampant will be free around five, five thirty." "Of course, thank you Applejack." I say with a nod and a warm smile, receiving one in return. "Alright everypony, five orders left before we close up." She yells out to the large line, getting a collective sigh of disapproval from them. I think about what she said before walking after Tempestive towards home. ........................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Shadow I jump a bit when the bell for break rings. I quickly pack up my notes and rush out the door, heading for my locker as quickly as possible. Scootaloo follows me out of the class and flies beside me as I weave through the hall. Students in uniforms fill the pathway as they go about their business, getting from class to class. "Have I mentioned I hate World History." Scootaloo groans from beside me, tilting her head so her scruffy hair falls out of her face. "It's not that bad." I try, coming to a stop at my locker. "Besides, how could it be that bad if you're asleep half the time?" "Trust me, boring naps are still boring." She groans as she leans on the lockers beside mine. "At least we're on break now. Two more hours before Flight Practice, aw yeah." "Two more hours and I'll be watching my little brother." I tell her, making her laugh. "Are you free after school?" "Nah, I have practice until three." She tells me, glancing at her flight suit she has on under her uniform. "What about Applebloom?" "Nope. She has that Future Farmers of Equestria thing going on. Some sort of contest or something out in Appleloosa." "Darn. And Sweetie has that talent show rehearsal for her group. Oh well, I guess I'll just head home after school then-" "You, my friend, need to join a club or something." Scootaloo informs me bluntly, poking my chest for emphasis. "No, I don't." I retort, shutting my locker for emphasis. "I've gotten this far without joining one, and I don't plan on breaking my streak." "Shadow, your whole antisocial thing is really starting to worry all of us." "How so?" "Well... okay, don't take this the wrong way, but how many friends do you have? Outside of me and the others." She asks me seriously. "Well... there's-" "And adults don't count." "Why wouldn't they count!?" "Shadow, how many friends do you have that are your age?" She asks flatly. I try to think of an answer, but take too long for her. "See, that's my point. I'm not trying to be mean or anything, but it wouldn't kill you to make at least one other friend. I dunno, why don't you try joining Sweetie’s drama thing?" "Are you kidding me? Standing in front of a crowd while trying to remember stuff with all of those eyes staring at me! I'd have a heart attack!" "Okay, why not check out the F.F.E. thing then?" "I don't know anything about plants or farm animals! Plus I don't like the way it smells there." "Yeah, me neither. Well, my point is that you need to come out of your shell a little more. It's our senior year, Shadow. After this... well, who knows what happens after this-" "Technically it's the year before our senior year-" "Shadow-" "Alright, alright. I'll... I'll look into it, okay." I tell her, getting a smile. "Cool. Oh! And, by the way, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom are going to have this talk with you as well-" "What!? Why!?" "To make sure you actually do it. Remember back in sophomore year when we tried to get you to try out for track?" "Those shorts... way too short." I say distantly, thinking back on it. "Well... maybe. Either way, this year is the year we break you out of your shell." She says confidently, stomping her hoof down. "Got it?" "Yes ma'am!" I say quickly, getting a laugh from her. "So... we still have like ten minutes for break, what's up?" "You remember how I told you Rumble joined the Flight team in the beginning of the summer?" She asks in a hushed voice. "I remember you drooling about it, why?" "He did his first flight today, well, first flight in front of the girls team at least. Ho-ly crap! That colt is fast!" She tells me excitedly. "And, want to hear something even better?" "... sure." In all honesty, I don't care in the slightest. Rumble is one of those jocks with their head stuck in the clouds who gets along with everypony and has that room filling laugh that you can't not like- "He apparently was checking out the CMC yesterday at lunch." "WHAT!?" I nearly choke when I hear that. Rumble? Looking? At us? "Yeah, I overheard him talking with Pipsqueak by the locker room. Something about 'those cute CMC fillies '. So guess who he's talking about?" She asks while nudging me a bit. "... you?" "I'm taken and he knows that. He was freaking talking to Pipsqueak for crying out loud! Sweetie has her nerd, so who does that leave?" "... Applebloom?" I know the answer, but kind of hope it's not- "Applebloom... really? Rumble's into mares and all, but even he knows not to mess with her-" "My Dad is a futuristic warrior that can change species and kills ponies for a living! How am I-" "First off, no pony connects that your dad is the same person when in the different forms. Secondly, Big Mac is a futuristic soldier too. And he's here more often then Miles is. And lastly... C'mon, Rumble's hot-" "Ew! Ew ew ew ew ew EW! No! I'm not thinking about that! I'm not thinking about that! Stop telling me this stuff, I don't want to hear it!" I yell as I cover my ears. "You have to admit he's hot-" "Of course I know he's hot! Everypony knows he's hot! Even my mothers know he's hot! But I can't... I can't-" "Can't what?" Scootaloo asks, chuckling a bit. "Rumble is known to... do things, with mares-" "I hear he's pretty good at it-" "And, I don't know if I'm ready for that yet... or ever." I tell her, blushing a bit. I try to hide my face as a couple of ponies walk by within earshot of our conversation. "If you don't want to, you don't have to. If he doesn't understand that, then we'll teach it to him." She assures me, punching her hooves together. I shrug my shoulders and think about the possibilities that could occur. We could just go on a date, nothing serious. We eat some food... whatever you eat on dates. Pasta probably. He'd try to kiss me at the end... or would he? What if he wanted more then a kiss though? How do you say no? Just a no? What if he keeps asking after that? What if no isn't enough?! I don't think Rumble would be a rapist... or would he? "Okay, you're hyperventilating. Let's get you a nice paper bag to breath into, okay?" She comforts me with a shoulder rub. I nod to her, unable to answer with words, and follow after her. Why did she have to tell me this? I just want to get through my senior year and be done with High School. Is that too much to ask? Better not ask that question, knowing my families record with stuff like that. Author's Note From this point on, the story will continue on with the normal pacing of time. The time skips from the previous chapters were for setting, mostly. The character are now six years older from their first meeting. Also, no. It is not Foalcon. Keep in mind that I have the age in consent for ponies being thirteen. The CMC are thirteen or older. There will never be foalcon in this story. To help with the age difference, here's a picture to visualize the CMC. Please note, I have their cutie marks planned out. So the ones in the picture may not be the ones they end up with. And lastly, the adventure part of the story will be taking a vacation for a bit. Most of third arc will be slice of life, though there will be glimpses of violence. Brony on! Chapter 202 Simple EnoughChapter 202 Simple Enough Perspective: Luna The walk home was dull and quiet, to put it simply. Realizing that he was still in trouble, Tempestive started actively moping about. Head held low, slow walk, a slight frown on his face, it would bring a lesser pony to their knees from adorable sadness. Sadly, for him, I'm his mother, so I know it'll pass. As soon as we get home he goes straight to his room without saying a word. I head to the kitchen and set my bags on the counter, glad to be home after a long morning of waiting in line. After a little stretch I begin to unpack all of the groceries and put them away while cleaning the plates from breakfast. I know being at home all of the time is starting to get to Tempestive. He wants friends and his own adventures. Listening to Miles talk about his school days doesn't help either- RING RING RING RING I jump a little when my phone begins to ring but answer it quickly. "Did you know apes give themselves cutie marks?" Miles says from the other end, confusing me slightly. "Uh... yeah. But aren't they-" "Tattoos basically, yeah... anyway, HI! How're things back on the front lines?" Miles asks, chuckling a bit. "The war goes well, but the battles are long are arduous," I respond, making us both chuckle. "What happened this time?" "Nothing big, but it has large roots," I say, knowing he'll understand. "I'm telling you, next semester we should enroll him at Ponyville Elementary-" "You're the one teaching him Trogi-...triga.... super smart math!" I defend, putting away the last grocery. I turn my partial attention to the remaining dishes. "And you're the one teaching him everything there is to know about history-" "History is important!" I snap back, making him laugh more. "Honestly though, Miles, you know that's a huge risk we run." "I know. It's already hard enough to make him wear that damned vest when we go out-" "Imagine him at school then. What if it ripped and came off?" "We're eventually going to have to have that talk, Luna. He's getting to that age-" "Shut up. He'll be my baby forever. No exceptions," I cut him off, making him scoff. "Yeah, but in all seriousness I think it's time we started putting him out in the real world, Luna. He needs get out of the house and live. It's too safe at home-" "Miles Eremita, you know just as well as I do that that is a lie. We live in Ponyville, Hun, we're still the chaos capitol of the world," I tell him, moving to dry the dishes. "Given. Anyway, let me talk with him. Did he finish his homework?" I roll my eyes at that. "What do you expect?" "Well, if we're going off of history, he's probably skipped ahead four chapters. Am I right?" "Eeeeyup," I mimic, making him laugh. "How do we punish overachieving?" "Fuck that noise. Give him the weekend off. Let him go hang out with Rampant or something." I sigh in irritation from that, getting his attention. "Oh... right. Well... get ready for an extremely bored Tempestive then, cause I got nothin'. Let me talk to him." "Alright, hold on." I set my last dish down and head up towards Tempestive's room. I knock before opening the door, finding it hard to do with all of the junk in the way. Toys, clothing, even random pieces of nature clutter up most of his room with one exception. A pathway leading to his bed and then to the bathroom remains clutter free, mainly from use. Two lumps lay under the disheveled bed sheets, one being Tempestive, the other undoubtedly being Lupus. "Honey, Dad's on the phone." "Dad?" Tempestive pops up from the lump at the foot of the bed runs over to me, taking my phone in his magical grasp. "Hello? Hi Dad! Good. Uh-huh. Chapter twelve.... Because I got bored. Good.... no... no... okay, maybe." I shake my head and head back downstairs to finish my chores. The two of them end up talking for a couple of hours, giving me plenty of time to get things straightened up around the house. I'm sure they're just catching up with each other, so I have no problems with it. Once I finish with my remedial chores, I lay on the couch and start to read a magazine to pass the time. After a bit of reading, Shadow makes it home, looking exhausted. "Everything okay?" I ask her as she plops into the recliner. "Well, I spent most of my day avoiding a colt that may or may not have a crush on me. Then I ran all over town because I thought he was trying to follow me, but it ended up being Scootaloo," She tells me bluntly. "Well... that was forward," I say, getting a chuckle from her as she continues to stare forward. "Is this colt bothering you?" "No... well, not intentionally," she tells me. "Okay then. So why were you running from him?" "... I don't know... Is it okay if the girls come over?" she asks distantly. "Uh... sure. Have you had lunch yet?" I ask concerned. "Yeah... school... I'm sorry, I need to lay down," she tells me as she gets up. "Swing by Tempestive's room first; your father is on the phone," I tell her, getting a nod in return. One thing I love about Shadow, she's too shy to get into trouble with colts. I'm not entirely sure how to deal with that, so thank you, Shadow. With a few hours left before I have to head over to Canterlot, I decide to get started on prepping lunch for the kids. These eight-hour shifts Celestia and I agreed on are a life saver for me. I think I would have gone insane with boredom by this point if it wasn't for them. And it helps me keep in touch with what's going on in the world. A bit hypocritical now that I think about it. I get to leave, but Tempestive has to stay inside. Then again, I'm leaving to work, not play. I actually really like this whole new arrangement. Now I never have to lower the moon. In the evening I raise the moon and lower the sun, while in the morning Celestia raises the sun and lowers the moon. We agreed on this so I could spend more time with my son, but now I never have to say goodbye to the moon. A little something I thought I'd dislike, but fully enjoy. The scheduling is still a little strange, but it beats being nocturnal I guess. "Here you go," Shadow says, bringing me back to reality. I thank her and take the phone, pressing it to my ear as she heads back to her room. "So what's going on with you?" Miles asks. "Me? Nothing really, why?" I ask suspiciously while chopping vegetables and setting a pot of water onto the stove to boil. "I've been gone for two months, Luna. How are you holding up?" he asks seriously. "Well..." I pause to check if the coast is clear. I hear Shadow walking upstairs, telling me she's out of earshot. "It's been rough." "I should be able to make it home within a few weeks. It won't be for long, but it's better than nothing," he consoles. "Good, because hooves are no replacement for... you know," I tell him, blushing slightly. I move onto the rice bag and levitate a portion out, putting it into the boiling water. I lean against the counter and wait for it to finish. "Good for what?" he asks smugly. "Anyway, I had to spend a weekend in Canterlot last month to avoid Tempestive. Also, ends up the halls in my tower echo-" "HA! Really!?" Miles laughs. "Watch it, buddy. You're on thin ice right now," I warn him. "Do you think you can make it back around the twentieth?" "Oh this month? No. Not even a chance. Next month... probably. We have the citizens meeting on the first, but that's nowhere near close enough now is it?" I bite my lip as I think about it. It's now within two weeks of my heat. "By the way, did you happen to explain Tempestive why you were gone?" "No, that's your job. If we end up having a filly eventually, then I'll do it,” I tell him flatly. "So you want another one then?" he asks smugly. "No, well, not right now at least... maybe. I don't know," I groan as I sit on the floor. "Tempestive and Shadow are already a hoof full, I couldn't imagine bringing in another foal. Maybe in a year or so when Tempestive is older and more understanding." "One year, got it-" "That was a maybe-" "I'll be sure to be there in one year. Think fertile thoughts until then. We still need to hit our quota of twelve kids-" "I'm maxing out at three and I don't care what you say," I tell him sternly. "Twenty, got it. Now, are you going to finally send me that picture?" my blush grows tenfold when he asks this. Ever since I've learned to use this phone he's been practically begging for me to send him a picture of my... privates. "Miles! Tempestive goes through our phones!" I yell at him in a hushed voice, ducking slightly for some reason. "So? Just delete it on your end and I'll put a password on my end. Just do it really quick while no one is looking." I look around in a panic and turn towards the pot, still blushing. "I'm not sending you a picture of flanks!" "Take a pussy shot then-" "Or that!" "Tits?" "No! Miles!" "What? We've been separated for two months now. Cut me some slack," he defends nonchalantly. I look around the room again to confirm that I'm alone at the moment. I'm not going to send him a picture of that, ever, but maybe I can do something else to trick him so he'll stop asking. "Hold on." I tell him. I can practically hear his eagerness from the other side, despite his lack of a response. I can feel my blush intensify as I look throughout the room and try to think of provocative things to do with various objects. Carrots, no too easy. Blueberries, no too small. Tempestive, no- "GAH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" "What? I'm just getting a snack. What are you doing?" he asks innocently. I try to think of an answer, but instead just scoop him up and kiss his cheek, taking the picture quickly. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?" "Annnnnd send," I say aloud as Tempestive drags his face over the floor. "Oh don't be over dramatic-" "I just washed my face of your germs! Now I have to do it all over! Why did you do that!?" he demands, still rubbing his face on the floor. Apparently my lips are dirtier than the floor. "Because you're my son and I love you," I tease him, walking after him. He quickens his pace to avoid me, so I lift him up with my magic. He continues to try and run midair, so I bring him over and hug him tightly while peppering his face with kisses. "MOOOOOAAM! STOP!" he yells as he tries to wiggle out of my grasp. "SOMEPONY SAVE ME! SHE'S GONE CRAZY WITH EMOTIONS AGAIN!" "Okay, I had my fill," I tell him with one final kiss to the cheek. I set him on the ground before me and ruffle his mane a bit, laughing at his disgruntled look. "Thou may go now." "Thou's not even a word," he grumbles as he leaves the room. I laugh a little more at him before returning to the phone. "He's right you know. Thou is not a word," Miles tells. "It is too a word. Now, here's your picture," I tell him as I send the picture. "... good enough for me... I guess. Alright, I have to get going now. I'll call again as soon as possible. Love you." "Love you too, stay safe," I tell him, feeling my heart twinge a bit. He hangs up before saying anything further, making me worry slightly. I hate it when he doesn't promise to be safe. I know it's a lot to ask for given the circumstances he's in, but I'd appreciate the reassurance at least. "Mom," Tempestive says from the stairs, looking nervous. "Is everything okay?" "Of course, why wouldn't it be?" I ask him, trying to mask my own concern. He steps out a bit further and keeps his gaze on his hooves. "You looked really sad a moment ago. Was that because of me?" he asks, glancing up at me. "What? No, sweetie. I promise you, you have done nothing wrong. It's just... the bad ponies Dad is... investigating, are keeping him busy. And I miss him dearly," I tell him softly, motioning for him to come closer. "I miss him too. When is he coming home?" he asks while taking a seat beside me. I glance over to the food and turn the heat off, letting it simmer. "Soon, hopefully. We'll at least be able to see him at the next citizens meeting for sure," I tell him, ruffling his mane and getting a soft smile in return. "In the meantime, can some friends come over? Pleeeeeeease?" he begs, putting on his best puppy face possible. I think it over for a second before getting an idea. "If you can get their mothers to say yes, then okay. But just for tonight, okay?" "Okay, GUYS SHE SAID YES!" he yells to the living room, dropping his little act. From the living room enter Rampant Growth and Jet Spectrum, the two of them wearing smug little smiles. "Let’s go to my room!" he yells, running past them quickly. "Thanks for letting us come over, mama Luna!" Jet yells to me before running off. "Yeah, also, what time will dinner be? Cause, I'm kind of hungry and would like to eat... is that rice? Never mind. Not hungry," Rampant rambles before running after the other two. Did... did I just get played by a six-year-old? Perspective: Tempestive I close the door to my room after everypony runs in and take a seat at my desk. Jet flies over to my bed and begins bouncing on it while Rampant starts digging through the stuff on the floor, looking for something. "Why is your room so dirty?" he asks irritably, tossing junk one way or the other. "I'll clean it eventually," I defend. "No... you... won't," Jet says between bounces. "Yeah, I won't. Anyway, what's on the agenda today?" I ask excitedly. Rampant stops his search for a moment before kicking over a toy, then smiles when he finds what he's looking for. He grabs whatever it is and pulls on it, making an isle pop up from underneath the layer of junk. Huh... so that's where that went. "Okay, operation 'Get Tempestive a Cutie' is back on track!" Rampant announces proudly as he steps his way to the front of the isle. "As we all know, attempts one through four-forty-six have failed miserably. So now it's back to the drawing board!" "Have... we... tried... bouncing?" Jet asks before landing on Lupus, getting an irritated growl from him. "He's not going to eat me... is he?" "Lupus? Nah. He couldn't hurt a fly, even if he wanted too! He's too old," I tell him, watching Lupus move to the other side of the bed and curl back into a ball, letting out a little sigh as he does so. "We tried bouncing back when the circus came into town, remember? The trampolines and elephants and the fire-" "Those poor carnies," Jet says mournfully, looking down. "Think they'll ever come back?" I ask. "Maybe after they buy a new tent," Jet says with a shrug, still looking down. "Come on guys, and you at least try to pretend to help? I'd think you'd be a little more enthusis... enthusiash... excited about getting a cutie mark Temp!" Rampant stumbles through. "... meh. In all honesty, I don't really care about getting my cutie mark. I get that they’re important and stuff, but I find it more fun attempting to earn one." "... Tempestive…," Rampant groans, rubbing the bridge of his nose while shaking his head. "You'll never become a stallion if you don't get your cutie mark." "That's not true-" "Prove me wrong," Rampant says smugly. I stop and try to think of a stallion who doesn't have a cutie mark... but can't. I know ponies who had to wait a long time for theirs. But, that doesn't help my argument. "Thought so. Now, back to business. We need fresh, new ideas if we're going to get anywhere-" "Well, we know it's not flying," Jet says proudly, glancing down to his cutie mark: a rainbow breaking the sound barrier. I look over to Rampant's cutie mark; an apple tree with blue apples made of gems, and wonder what it could mean. He's never told anypony how it got it or what it means. Every time I try and ask him about it, he just says nnnope and walks away. "I got it! Lion taming!" Rampant says excitedly. "Done it," I groan while leaning back in my chair. "Remember? Back at Fluttershy's?" "Oh yeah... hmm..." "What about... wolf training?" Jet asks, getting us all to look to Lupus. His ears perk up as his eyes open up and move about the room, glancing to all of us. "Well... Lupus does listen to me pretty well," I add, waiting for Rampant. He's rubbing his chin while staring down Lupus, calculating to himself. "What about Hati? Does she listen to you as well?" Jet asks. "Mostly. She listens to Mom more though-" "Because we haven't tried it enough yet, of course! It's perfect!" Rampant yells in triumph. "How could we have not seen this before! It was so obvious! C'mon, let's go out back and try it now!" Jet and I get excited from his enthusiasm and jump into the air, high hoofing. We look down and wait for Rampant to shed his yellow vest before joining in on our bro-hoof. We all take off for the back yard, slamming the door open as we all charge through. Together we glide down the stairs and skid to a stop at the bottom. We pause for a moment to wait for Lupus to come trotting after us, a bemused look upon his face. With him in tow, we head out towards the back door. "Slow it down, you three," Mom chides us as we run past her. "And lunch will be ready soon so don't go far!" "Kay, Mom!" I yell back to her when we make it out back. Once we make it out back I stand before Lupus and try to think of something to train him to do. "Oh! Make him do a back flip!" Jet starts out, jumping in place from excitement. "Or climb a tree! No, no! Train him to fight Ursas and hydras and Nagas and-" "How about we start with sitting," Rampant drones. "Oh... yeah, sure. Kind of boring but... sure." Jet deflates a bit, but continues to watch excitedly. I roll my shoulders and stretch my wings a bit, hyping myself for the exciting world of wolf training. "Lupus.... SIT!" I yell at him. ... "I said SIT!" ... "SIT!" He yawns and lays down before me, ticking into a ball. "No Lupus, sit not lay down." "It doesn't seem to be working," Jet complains. "Sit up Lupus!" "Give it a bit Jet, we only just started," Rampant defends. "Lupus, SIT! UP!" "There's no way we're going to get that wolf to sit up, let's just cut our losses and move on already." "C'mon Lupus, sit up! Sit! UP! LUPUS!" "Hmm... hold on... I think I've got it!" Rampant announces, getting me to stop yelling at Lupus. "My aunt is always saying that you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Lupus is probably too old to teach new tricks, so that means we're going to have to wolf puppies in order to teach them anything." "That actually make a lot of sense, though I guess it would if it wasn't coming from you," Jet says, making me snicker. "Look, if we're going to do this wolf training we're going to need young wolves. And I only know of one place to go to get young wolves," he says with a determined look as he steps forward. We move alongside him and stare into the dense forest ahead of us. "The Everfree?" I ask nervously. "Eeyup." "Isn't it supposed to be off limits?" Jet asks. "Eeyup." "How do you even know we're going to find any wolves in there?" "We'll never know without going in there. Once your mom leaves for work today we'll do a little reconnaissance and do our major trek in during the weekend. Sound good?" Rampant asks with that tone of voice. "Is that a rhetorical question?" I ask. "Am I supposed to understand that word?" he replies. "Boys! Lunch!" Mom yells from behind. "Hurry up or it'll get cold." Chapter 203 Easy MysteryChapter 203 Easy Mystery Jet, Rampant and I ran in and took our seats quickly. The sooner we finish our food; the sooner we can get back to wolf training. Shadow, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom casually take the other side of the dining table, finishing whatever conversation they were having. "What are you three up to?" Shadow asks me. "Nothing," I answer quickly. Short, quick answers. Yeah, that'll get her off my case. "Right, so what are you up to?" she presses, leaning over the table a bit. "Nothing," I say again. Why is she pressing this? Why does she always press it? "C'mon, little brother, what are you up to?" she asks again, smirking slightly. "Nothing, I swear! We're just wolf trai-" Rampant shoves his hoof into my mouth to stop me from saying anything else. "Don't worry about it, filly. Important stallion business, leave it at that-" "You're just trying to get Tempestive his cutie mark, aren't you?" Scootaloo asks bluntly. "... maybe. Don't worry about." The three of us share an uneasy glance before Mom saves the day by enter the room with the food. She sets the large pot in the center and begins to levitate out portions for each of us. "Alright, I have to get going soon. While I'm gone, Shadow is in charge. Please don't burn the house down," she says the last part looking to my side of the table, to which we all shrug. I swear, one time. It's not like we can even do that. The house is made of stone; you can't burn stone. "Okay?" "Kay," we all agree before digging in, avoiding eye contact with anypony. "Alright, I'm off then. Be careful with whatever it is you guys are doing okay," mom tells me before sneaking in a kiss on the side of my head. I scrunch up from the contact- THUD Then wince when Rampant and Jet punch me in the shoulder. It stings, but it's the only known cure for femininity. Mom says her other goodbyes before trotting out of the room, leaving us in an awkward silence. Shadow has that knowing smirk on her face. The one that tells me that we're probably not going to do our wolf training today. Knock knock knock We all pause for a second while Shadow goes to answer the door- SLAM Without warning she slams the door shut and runs up the stairs. We all stare back there for a moment before the girls go and check on her, Scootaloo checking on the door. The three of us look to each other before downing the rest of our food and running back outside. We line up and face the Everfree again, ready to charge in. "Where's Lupus?" Jet asks. "I think he's eating Shadows food," I note, looking back. "Eh, ya snooze ya lose, or get your meal eaten at least. Now, to the task at hoof. Which way should we go?" We all pause for a moment to think it over before Rampant and I point in different directions. "My mom is an animal expert; we should go that way!" "I live with wolves; we should go that way!" I yell back at Rampant. We both look over to Jet and wait for him to voice his opinion. "Um... well... I'd have to throw my vote with Rampant on this one. You may live with Lupus, but he doesn't really count as a wolf." I sigh in defeat as Rampant steps forward, a triumphant grin plastered on his face. "Alright, follow me!" he yells before running into the woods, Jet and I running after him. Perspective: Shadow I slam the door to my room shut and dive underneath my bed sheets. Why is this happening to me?! I just want to get through school without anything major happening so I can move to Moosden and be secluded for the rest of my life, I that really too much to ask for? After who what feels like an eternity I hear hoof steps and mumbling outside my door, making me cower some more. "Shadow? You okay in there?" Sweetie Bell asks from the door, knocking softly a few times. "No." "We're going to come in, Applebloom and I, okay?" They open and close the door quietly and take tentative steps towards me. I pull the sheets closer to myself and try to imagine myself somewhere else. "So, on a scale from the birds and bees talk to Hayvana, how bad is this one?" "Um... I'd say... remember when we accidentally walked into the stallion’s locker room after swimming lessons?" "That was you who screamed that day?" Rumble chuckles, making me freeze. I peer over the edge of my blanket and look over to see him as well as all of my friends, Pipsqueak, and Button Mash, standing in my room. "That actually makes sense now that I think about it-" "Why are you all in my room!?" I demand before hiding underneath my bed sheet again. "Why are hiding under your blanket?" Rumble asks nonchalantly. "It's safe here! Why are you- WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" I practically have a heart attack when somepony begins to pull the sheet away from me. I try to yank them back as somepony else tries to pry them away from me. "Give... it... up!" Applebloom growls as the blankets pull away from me. "NEVER!" I yell back as I bite onto the blanket and pull back. "Help me!" With a final pull, the blanket is yanked from my grasp. I fall out of bed and fall onto something from all of their combined effort. After a hazy moment I look down and find myself laying on top of Rumble. We stare at each other for a moment, face to face, before he smiles up at me. "So, wanna go out some time?" He asks casually. "..." "You know, like a date." "..." "Between you... and me." "..." "Is she broken or something-" "Hold on," Scootaloo tells him before moving over to my side. She lifts me off of him and stands me up right, sizing me over a bit- SMACK "IknowwhatyoudotomaresandI'mnotreadyforthatkindofstuffandIthinkmymomanddadwouldprobablykillyoubutI'mnotsure!" I blurt out at once, getting odd looks from everypony. "Um... so... yes, no, maybe?" Rumble asks to clarify, tilting his head slightly. "Uh..." "It's a yes." Sweetie Bell answers. "WHAT!?" I yell, blushing madly as I stare at her. "Sweet. So I'll pick you up here then. How's Friday at six sound?" he asks, smiling even more. "She'll be ready!" Applebloom tells him, putting a hoof around my neck. "I will!?" I ask, looking to Applebloom in complete shock. Why are they doing this to me? What did I do to deserve this? "Alright, I'll be here then. Catch you later." He tells me before walking out of my room. I stay quiet until I hear him walking down the stairs. Once he's gone, I begin to pace around my room quickly, hyperventilating. "What... why... how... when... whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!?" I ask between breaths, practically running around my crowded room. Scootaloo stops me with a hoof to the chest and offers me a brown bag. I take the bag and hold it to my mouth, breathing into slowly. "So, which one of you two brought him here?" she asks Button and Pip, making them both sweat a bit. "Well... he kind of... approached the two of us at the same time." Button begins, rubbing the back of his neck slightly. "Two weeks ago that is," Pip continues, glancing at Button before continuing. "He's been asking about you for a while now. And... well-" "He sort of followed us here and asked if we could introduce the two of you." Button finishes. They both try to smile and look innocent, but once I get my breathing back I'm going to strangle the two of them to death. "Well, now that that part is over with, onta more important matters. Are you actually going to go out with him?" Applebloom asks me, getting everypony to look at me. I pause in my breathing to look back at all of them before doubling my breaths, almost ripping the bag apart. "Didn't you promise us earlier that you'd try to be more sociable?" Scootaloo asks, to which I shake my head no. "C'mon, Shadow. Just go on one date. One, teeny, tiny, little date. You don't even have to put that much effort into it! Just go along with whatever he has planned, maybe answer a question or two, and that's it," Sweetie Bell offers, moving up to my side and wrapping a hoof around my neck in a light hug. I look between her and the others before setting the bag down. "One date... one date and you guys drop the whole sociable thing?" I ask. "Weeeeeell.... sure. You go on this date, and we'll all drop this sociable thing. Pinkie promise," she tells me before they all go through the motions for a Pinkie Promise. I think about it for a moment before relaxing a bit. One date. I can handle that. I mean, what's the- "Hey guys-" "IT'S NOT FRIDAY YET!" I yell before diving behind Sweetie Bell. "Uh... I know. I was just on my way out when I noticed that your brothers were missing," Rumble tells us. ... ... ... ... ... "*sigh* Everfree?" Scootaloo asks aloud. "Eeyup," Applebloom answers. "Here we go again," Sweetie Bell drones. "Um... shouldn't we... I dunno... call the guard or something?" Rumble asks nervously. "Not to sound like a wuss or anything, but... it's the Everfree." "*sigh* I'll get the emergency forest kit," I say as I stand up and head to my closet. Here we go again. Perspective: Tempestive "*Inhale* Haaaaaaaaaaa. Dont'chya just love the Everfree this time of year? The birds are singing, the leaves are hitting their darkest colors, that fresh breeze through your mane... that's it. When I'm old and useless, I'm going to build a house out here," Rampant tells us as we march through the forest, heading north west. "What about your farm?" I ask him, jumping on top of a fallen tree. "Like I said, when I'm old and useless.” he repeats, jumping up behind me. "I want to live in a cloud house made from the steam of a volcano," Jet tells us, gliding above us in circles. "Wouldn't that make it really hot?" I ask. "I'd pull them away obviously. But they'd stay at a higher temperature than normal clouds. And I like being warm; so, that's my plan. What about you?" I pause to think about it. What kind of house do I want to live in when I'm old and useless? "Hmm... I never really thought about it. I guess I would just use my current house. I mean, I live in it now. And I'm pretty comfy, so, why not?" "Lame," Rampant says bluntly. "After we get you your cutie mark, we're getting you some ambition. I swear, who'd want to stay home when they're old and useless?" "... all of us?" I kind of ask, looking to Jet. He shrugs and flies forward, scouting the area ahead. "Anyway, where should we start looking for wolves?" "Wolves?" Rampant asks, stopping in his tracks. "We were just talking about it!" Jet yells at him as I face hoof. "Jet, just... *sigh* just try to not embarrass yourself right now," he tells him before continuing on. Jet and I share a look before both face hoofing. Only Rampant. "So, we're looking for wolves. Wolves are basically like dogs. And my dog likes to hide under the house, so we need to head downwards. Like, a cave or something." "That... makes a lot of sense," Jet says slowly in disbelief. "Ye of little faith!" Rampant yells at him, making him roll his eyes. "When have I ever let you down? Trust me, we'll find those wolves and train the fur off of them. Just you wait." We leave it at that and continue trotting through the forest. Arguing with Rampant is like trying to divide by zero, you just don't do it. The forest is silent with the exception of our hoof steps. We avoid stepping through any tall plants and spend what feels like hours following what looks to be an old trail left from something passing through earlier. There are several of these trails throughout the forest. Some go in huge circles, while others bring you to cliffs or rivers. Regardless of where they are, though, they all share the similar wear, which tells me one thing: Spartan training. Dad says he's elsewhere in the world right now, doing diplomatic stuff. But I have a feeling he's here too. Maybe not all of the time, but... I don't know. I just have this gut feeling that he's here, in this forest. I also know that most of the Spartans are here as well. I can't explain how they could be operating here, the Griffin Colonies, and everywhere else; probably has something to do with Easy, but I am without a doubt certain that they are here on occasion. They'd have to be, who else would be doing the training? "Is that a cave over there!?" Jet asks excitedly. I push through some brush and stop before the mouth of a large cave. A small mound covered in new plant growth sits before us with a path going into it. The path looks as if it leads back through the forest and back to town. "What do you think? Wolves?" Jet asks. "It looks ponymade," I mention, eyeing the path. "Well, if it's ponymade, I doubt we'll find any wolves in there. But... I mean, we're here. Why not have a look in?" Rampant asks, stepping closer to the mouth. We walk up beside him just outside the mouth and stand there for a moment. An eerie coolness creeps out from the darkness and washes over me, sending shivers down my spine. "Maybe we shouldn't go in. I mean, we're here for wolves, not caves," I nervously tell the others. "Well... I mean, if you don't want to we don't have to," Jet tells me, trying his best to sound brave. "What!? C'mon you fillies! Don't be such a scaredy pony! It's just a deep, dark cave in the middle of the Everfree-" "If you're so brave then why don't you go in then?" Jet cuts him off. "Why would I go in alone. You never separate from the group, ever. That's Everfree one o one, kid," Rampant tells him, facing off with him. I was about to interject when a pair of yellow eyes from within the cave catch my attention. "Uh... guys?" "You just don't want to admit to being scared!" Jet yells at Rampant. "I think we should leave," I say as more yellow eyes appear in the cave. "And you just won't admit you wet the bed last time you slept over!" Rampant yells back at him. "I DIDN'T WET THE BED! I JUST SPILLED MY GLASS OF WATER!" "A likely story-" "LOOK OUT!" I yell at the top of my lungs, getting them both to look into the cave. They join me in screaming when the eyes begin to move towards us, grabbing me tightly as the terror in the dark approaches. "May I have-" "RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" I scream at the top of my lungs, letting go of the others before I try to take off through the forest. The three of us are lifted off the ground by a light black aura, keeping us from running away. "TEMPESTIVE!" Shadow yells before she and her friends jump out of some bushes, led by Lupus. They seem a little roughed up and are short on breath, but, more importantly, they seem angry. "Shadow! Yell later, run now!" I yell back at her as I continue to try and run, even though I'm still in the air. "What have we told you about-" she starts to yell as she marches towards me, but stops when something steps in her way. "May I have your autograph?" A metal... thing, stands before Shadow. It's tall and stand on two legs, with two arms on its side. It appears to be some form of machine, I can tell due to the lack of... well, it might be a metal elemental actually. Though, I've never seen a form like that. It's almost like a chimp, only... it's too... upright. Not to mention the sword arm and... other... appendage, aren't the same. It looks like it's holding a mass of tools on its left arm. "What the heck is that thing!?" Jet, Rampant, that light grey stallion behind Shadow, and I all yell at the same time. Shadows' ears fall her the side as she steps back, gulping audibly. "Well... uh... it's a... um... I am in so much trouble," she says in defeat, lowering her head. I was about to question her more when more metal things ran out of the cave and surrounded us. The new ones are all black and carry large diamond shaped shields with them. BOOM BOOM BOOM We all jump slightly when we hear the sounds of explosions in the distance. The metal beings stay rigged though, not even slightly flinching from the sudden noise. "Easy, guide us home," Shadow says shortly. "Very well," The metal being, Easy, replies. Who is this... thing? He sounds like the Easy I know, but he looks nothinglike my Easy. Well... the head is sorta similar. Maybe they're related? Without saying a word to the others, they begin to walk in formation down the path. The way they're walking looks... uncomfortable, but I don't question it. Shadow seems really mad right now, and I don't want to dig myself any deeper right now. Though, eventually, I will have to ask her what that cave was and where the explosions were coming from. "You okay Shadow?" the light grey stallion asks, trotting up next to her. "I'll tell you about it later. Let’s just get out of here first," she replies, giving him a funny look. I've seen that look before. It's the look Dad gives Mom when something's wrong... when did Shadow get a coltfriend? She hasn't written it in her diary, so he must be new. ... ... ... Wait a minute. Shadow has a coltfriend that Dad doesn't know about... yes! Blackmail! I'm not getting in trouble! Score! We all spend the rest of the trip in silence for many reasons. The metal beings seemed to have scared Rampant and Jet from talking, though I don't know why. They listen to Shadow as if she was their lord and master. Given, they have weapons for arms, but... still. If they were going to attack they would have by now. I wonder where they're from. Is that cave their home? I want to ask them, but I keep quiet due to Shadows mood. She's in one of those states where any noise you make will get that look from her. The one where she gets madder and glares at you with that really intense stare. Not quite the Mrs. Shy stare, but pretty close. So, for now, I'll keep quiet, at least until we make it home. When we finally do make it home we all separate, everyone going off in their own groups. Rampant, Jet and I all share a look before leaving. I'm pretty sure we all got the same message though. We're going back to check out that cave. The grey stallion stays behind though, for... obvious reasons. "Tempestive-" "Is he your coltfriend?" I ask quickly to get the upper hoof on the situation. "What!? No! We haven't even gone on our date yet-" "You're dating?" Oh Shadow... you make this too easy. "Tempestive, I swear-" "Easy there," the stallion says, putting a hoof on her shoulder. "Let me handle this." Okay, wasn't expecting this. That's okay, I can handle this guy... I think. "What's your name?" "She just said it." I deadpan. "Right, Tempestive. I'm Rumble, I go to school with Shadow," he says in a calm voice as he sits before me. I don't get his play, what's he trying to do exactly? "What exactly are you going to do when your parents get home?" "Um... I dunno. Depends on what happens now," I reply, trying to mimic his cool composure. I need to keep my answers short and as vague as possible. "Well, I see two options. Either you don't say anything and go about your day normally, or tell them everything that happened. Now, if you tell them what happened, including everything about Shadow and myself, the only one to lose out will be you. But, if you help us out, then you're off the hook. Plus, I may or may not have something else to entice you. Your call," he says with a smug look. "... what is it?" I ask curiously. I don't want to cave, but... if it's something cool then... maybe this once. "Can't say until you give me your answer. What's it going to be? Being grounded, or not?" he asks, a smug, confident smile taking his face. In all honesty, I probably would get in more trouble than anypony else right now. Plus, this lets me use them later for blackmail, so... "Okay. I'll keep quiet. Now what is the thing you have?" I ask, still keeping my cool complexion about. "I'll give it to your sister later tonight, right after our date-" "Our what now?" Shadow asks, but is ignored. "Do you like Airball by chance?" he asks, sitting up to inspect his hoof a bit. "... maybe, why?" I ask, trying to hide the fact that I love Airball. "Well, I play a little. And I could get you tickets to my next game... in Cloudsdale." I feel my eyebrow shoot up in interest almost instantly. Not only am I going to go see an Airball game, but all the way in Cloudsdale! That's awesome! I've never been there before; this is going to be so cool! "I'll take that as a yes. Why don't you hold the fort while Shadow and I... get those tickets? Think you can handle that?" "Yes! I mean... yeah, I guess." I cough a bit and try to relax in an attempt to be impassive. I might not be working, but I don't really care right now. Airball in Cloudsdale, WHOOOOOOO! "Um.... I don't think-" "You good to go?" Rumble asks Shadow, making her blush. "It's only one date." "But... he... what happened to Friday?" she asks weakly. "Well, we can wait till then. But the game is Thursday so-" "Shadow, for the sake of Airball, go get those tickets," I tell her in a serious tone. "But-" "C'mon, at least walk with me to school to get the tickets," he asks, stepping closer to her and making her blush even more. "It'll be really quick. I promise." "Well... Tempestive-" "I'm fine! I won't touch anything! Tickets!" I bark at her as I start to push her out the door. I don't get far, but she begins to move when Rumble wraps his wing around her shoulders and ushers her out. Once they make it past the door I slam it shut and do a small victory dance. Yes! Airball! Cloudsdale Contrails versus the Ponyville Predators! All on Thursday! Ye... wait a minute. He goes to school with Shadow... and is playing... Darn it! It's a high school game! He tricked... he tricked me? Huh... clever pony, he actually tricked me. I've... never had another pony trick me... besides Dad at least... hm. I've got my eyes on you, Rumble. Author's Note Shout out to Pliny for jumping on board as editor! Thanks for the help man. I, and I'm sure all the readers, appreciate it. Brony on! Chapter 204 First and LastChapter 204 First and Last Perspective: Shadow I'm hyperventilating! I'm freaking out! I need my bag, no! I need my blanket! Maybe I can escape while he's not looking. All I would need to do is stop moving and slip out from underneath his amazing wing and run home. Or better yet, run back to Moosden and hide there. Maybe Na-Da would help hide me, because I know my mother’s wouldn't. Okay, that's the plan then. Just stop moving, let him go on for a few more steps, then turn tail and run. Okay, on three. One, two, three! ... ... ... Legs! You betray me! Just stop moving... LEGS! Why, why have you forsaken me!? Please! We're getting close to Ponyville! Ponies will see us and I'll die of embarrass- and we turned left. "Um... where are we going?" I ask as we cut through the park. "Don't worry about it. I have it all planned out," he assures me, tightening his grasp on me. This pulls me closer to him so we're now shoulder to shoulder. ... he has a soft coat. I don't know why, but... I'm not sure if I like that. I mean, it's pleasant and all, it's just... I dunno. I guess I wasn't expecting that from a stallion. Then again, the only stallion I really interact with is Dad and... well. He's not really the soft type. We walk for a few minutes in silence as we circle around Ponyville. A few times I try to think of something to say, but end up hiding from his gaze. He chuckles a few times at that, something I'm a little unsure if like or not. I mean, he has a pleasant laugh, or chuckle, I just hope he's not laughing at me. "Alrighty, here we are," he announces. I look up and note that we're standing in front of a house on the edge of town. It's a simple two story house, nothing special about it on the outside. Rumble walks to the front door, unlocks it, and holds it open for me. "Is this your home?" I ask as I take slow, nervous steps towards the doorway. "Yeah. I figured you wouldn't like anywhere public, so somewhere private would be best. We're on the edge of town, so nopony will see or hear us. And my brother is usually out till late, so we don't have to worry about anypony walking in on us." I think about it for a moment and nod to his logic. He's actually being really thoughtful on my behalf. I take a deep breath before stepping inside, feeling a bit more at ease now. The inside is much more than I was expecting. The furniture is new and modern while the decor is light and colorful. There are a few paintings on the walls that I've never seen the likes of as well. The carpet is soft under my hooves and the room itself feels warm and inviting. "Wow," is all I can muster as I stand at the entrance. Rumble chuckles again and walks in past me, shutting the door when he enters. "Yup. This is my humble abode. Just me and my brother here, usually. Follow me, the kitchen it in the back." I nod and follow after him, looking around the room curiously. The kitchen is as equally as impressive as the living. Black granite counters, an island with bar stools, and modern appliances it's not hard to see that Rumble and his brother are... comfortable. "So what does your brother do?" I ask when he pulls a chair out for me. I thank him and sit down, feeling a bit odd about the gesture. This would be the first time somepony held a chair for me. It's... weird. "He's a private contractor with the cloud factory. Sorry, I've got left over pasta, but can't really make anything at the moment," he mentions as he pulls out the dish. "That's fine. Anything sounds good right now." He nods and goes about taking out the left overs and preparing them. I find myself in awe of how easily he works in the kitchen. The cooking seems more like a remedial chore rather than some elaborate task. "When did you learn to cook?" "I've been cooking for as long as I can remember. You see, it's always been just me and my bro. My mom passed when I was little and dad was never a part of the picture to begin with. So, when my brother wasn't working, he was teaching me to take care of myself." "Wow. I'm sorry to hear that." I tell him, getting a smirk from him. "Thanks, but don't worry about it. Once my brother got this better job life became easier for the both of us. Plus, it's not like I knew either of them anyway." "... I don't know my parents either." I tell him quietly, getting him to pause and look to me. "Don't you live-" "I was adopted. My father... found me. I was in a bad place at a bad time and he saved me. But, then he became... sick, and everypony thought he was going to die. So he had to give me up. Luckily my mother’s adopted me before the worse came to be, well... almost be." "So, your dad is still alive?" He asks slowly, bringing his attention partially back to the food. "Yeah. He was... cured? Changed would be a better word. And luckily they live close enough to each other so I didn't have to pick one or the other," I assure him. "Well that's good to hear. I couldn't imagine how hard it would have been if you had to have picked. But, you didn't, so that's that." I smile at his words. He has a certain... calm demeanor that just... puts me at ease. Like, I don't have to worry about what I say around him. That he won't get mad at anything I ask or say. Well... time to see if that's actually the case. "Rumble... did you bring me here just to have sex?" I ask cautiously. He chuckles a bit before bringing over two plates of Alfredo pasta. "Would you believe me if I said no?" He asks, giving me an odd look. It's not that he looks funny or anything. It's just... I think he finds this too funny for how serious I am. "Didn't think so. Okay, here's me on a plate, take what you will. I have been around the block a few times. It's no secret. But that's not what I'm after. When I enter a relationship with a girl I move at her speed. I will never make you do something you are not comfortable with. Period. Now, that's not to say that I won't test the boundaries every now and again. I personally believe that boundaries grow with their relations. It's just a sign that we're getting closer, to me at least. So, if you're willing to have sex, then cool. Let's get to it, I'm told I'm pretty good at. If not, then eat up, your pasta will get cold." He takes a seat beside me and begins to twat his food. I sit there for a moment and just stare at him, dumbfounded. I don't know if that's that worlds most rehearsed and practiced line ever, or if he's actually genuine about everything he said. Do I even want it to be true? I mainly came with him to get this one date over with. What would being in a relationship with Rumble even be like. Would he always be like this, or is this just a facade? Is there even a way to know without trying? "Rumble?" I ask, still staring at him. "Yes, Shadow," he replies, not even looking away from his plate. "I... I-I uh... I don't know if I'm ready for... any of this." I admit to him, feeling my heart beat a bit faster from my own embarrassment. "Uh... yeah, I know." "You... you know? Is your cutie mark for psychology or something?" I ask, getting him to laugh again. "Actually, it's for making thunder. Shadow, in the past three years I've had at least twenty relationships, even more if you count one night stands, plenty of frisky encounters, and more turn on then you could even identify. I could practically tell you every mares knack from Ponyville High from first hoof experience. Then one day I saw you running by in gym and I didn't even know your name. So, I told myself I'd figure you out. I guess along the way I developed a bit of a crush on you, but I-" "A... a crush!? Really-" "Shadow, we're technically on a date. That should have been obvious by now," he deadpans. "Oh... I guess that's true. Go on." I shy away from him, getting him to chuckle and put a hoof on my shoulder. I feel my cheeks catch fire and my nerves ignite from the simple contact. "After asking around I found out what a recluse you were. So I knew from the beginning that we'd be taking baby steps. Are you okay with this?" He asks, rubbing my shoulder slightly. "Uh... I guess, I mean... maybe? Sorry-" "Don't be sorry," he cuts me off, pausing his action. "We're finding your boundaries. If you don't like it, then say so. You are not going to offend me in any way. I promise," he offers me a warm smile, to which I return in kind. "It's okay." I tell him quietly, turning my head to try and hide my blush. "Cool, but why don't we continue this somewhere else?" he asks while sliding out of his seat. I nod and follow after him, heading upstairs. We go through the first door on the right and enter his room. It's much simpler than the rest of the house, having normal furniture and posters of normal colt stuff: sports mainly. He trots to his bed and takes a seat on the edge, patting the dark blue cloth beside him. I gulp before walking over and sit beside him. If my nerves were shot before, they're being stabbed now. "So... what now? More shoulder rubbing?" I ask shakily, chuckling oddly at the end. "As awesome as that was, I was thinking something a little more... brave," he suggests, scooting so we're pressed against one another. "Brave? Brave how?" I ask, looking to him. Our eyes meet for a moment before his close slowly. I watch as he leans closer to me until I feel his lips brush against mine softly. ... ... ... ... ... ... "Shadow?" ... ... ... ... ... "Shadow? You okay?" "What?" I ask, blinking a few times. "We kissed and you kind of... froze. Was that too much?" he asks worriedly. I think about it for a moment before it all comes back to me. "Oh... yeah." I say dreamily, not really thinking. "Heh, so you liked it?" he asks, wrapping a leg around me. "Yeah." "Would you like another?" "Yeah- I mean! Sure, uh... heh, yes?" Why am I correcting myself with similar answers? Regardless of my awkwardness, Rumble leans forward and we kiss again. I sigh into his soft lips and try to mimic his actions, not knowing exactly what to do. It starts out awkward at first, especially when we bump teeth. But we keep at it and I slowly learn what not to do. He pulls me closer to him and I wrap my hooves around his neck, purely out of instinct. He doesn't seem to mind though, he just moves his hooves closer to my hips and continues to work his lips with mine. His lips remind me of his coat, only being much softer than I would have guessed. When I move my hooves I take a moment to feel his taunt muscles under his soft coat. His years of being an athlete have paid off, giving him a strong, well-formed body. Though I thought this would probably give me a heart attack, I feel surprisingly safe right now. Part of me wants to start hyperventilating while the other part wants... I'm unsure. I can feel it in the bottom of my stomach. It feels warm and... needs something. I have several guesses as to what it wants, but I'm not going to try any of those any time soon. I pause and pull back in surprise when I feel something in my mouth. Rumble chuckles and sticks his tongue out at me, making me chuckle. I chuckle too before leaning back in to kiss again, this time trying it out with my tongue as well. I surprise myself again by my own eagerness, but disregard it to focus on our wrestling match. Rumble hums before giving up and letting me invade his mouth, where I eagerly start to explore. I can still taste the pasta in his mouth. The notion creeps me out a bit, but I ignore it for now. I can always brush my teeth afterwards anyway. I let out an 'eep' when he grabs my shoulder and falls onto the bed, bringing me down with him. We both chuckle and get right back to it, both of our mouths becoming slick with our saliva. I feel my eagerness grow the more and more we kiss and pull each other closer to each other. That is, until I felt something poke my stomach. I stop everything I'm doing and stare at him for a moment before looking down. "Heh, sorry about that. Things were getting heated and... well, he has a mind of his own sometimes." Rumble tells me pulling back so his erection isn't poking me. Immediately, every good feeling or sense of relaxation leaves me as I stare at his throbbing member. "Uh... Shadow? You okay there?" "..." "Um... I think that's enough of that for today then. I can leave the room if that'll help." "..." "Yeah, I'm going to-" "Wait!" I cover my mouth when I yell at him. He stops and stares at me, waiting for me to continue. "You don't have to leave." "... what?" "We're not going to do anything. I'm telling you that now. But... you don't have to leave," he thinks about it for a moment before laying back down. "Are you sure about this?" he asks cautiously. "Y-yeah. I... uh... ahem, it'll be fine. It's fine. Just don't worry about it okay?" "Okay-" "See, because if you worry about it, you'll over think things and mistakes will be made and I'll probably get pregnant despite the fact that my last heat was two weeks ago so just stop worrying about it okay?" "O-" "Okay." I try to keep eye contact with him, but keep glancing at his member for... whatever reason. Rumble shrugs it off and lays on his back. Not the best position, given the circumstances. He reaches under his bed and pulls out a magazine. "Um... what's that?" "It's just a little story I've been following. Want to read one with me?" he asks, glancing to me with eager eyes. "Um... alright-y then." I say as I take the comic, still staring at his... thing. He sighs and flips through a few pages before settling on one. I'm not sure how long goes by, but eventually his thing softens and retreats back inside. When it's finally gone, I glance out the window and notice it's getting late. "What time is it?" "Close to six. You've been staring for quite some time you know," He tells me, flipping to the next page of his comic. "Oh... sorry." "Don't be, if anything it just helped my ego," he says with a laugh. I try to chuckle along with him, but... yeah, this is awkward. "I think I should be heading home now. It's getting late and all-" "Cool, I'll walk you home-" "You don't have to-" "But I want to-" "I think it'd be best if I went by myself-" "What kind of stallion would have their marefriend walk home alone?" he asks, making me freeze. Marefriend? When did that happen? Well... I guess after we started sucking face. With a shrug I get off the bed and wait for him to follow after. He gives me a funny look before joining me. "Are you okay? With this I mean. Us." "Uhm... I'm not sure. This is happening... pretty fast." I tell him, looking away from his gaze. He brings a hoof up to my chin and lifts it so we're making eye contact. "How about we start out as friends with... limited benefits. Ease into this thing," he asks with a confident smile. "Are you sure? I mean... I know there are plenty of other-" "Trust me. I know what I want. And if I have to wait, then wait I shall. Okay?" We stare into each other’s eyes, slowly inching towards each other, before our lips meet once again. The kiss is soft and telling. Everything will be okay. I can trust him. I don't have to worry with him here. Everything will be okay. When we pull back I can't help but smile, getting a chuckle from him again. "Okay. I trust so... yeah." "Yeah?" he asks, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah." I repeat in a goofy voice, blushing from my awkwardness. He wraps a wing around me and escorts me out of his house and back home. The entire way back we keep quiet, enjoying each other’s company. We cut through the park again, avoiding the prying eyes of Ponyville. When we make it to the front door we turn and face one another, keeping our noses pressed against each other’s. "So... here we are," he whispers to me. "Yeah," I whisper back. "I'll see you tomorrow?" "Yeah." "Are you frozen again?" He asks, making me laugh. "Sorry," I say with a blush. He leans forward and gives me a quick kiss on the lips before taking off through the air. I stand there and watch him fly off before sighing contently. I still have a lot of things to think over, but I still feel... good, about all of that. Things got pretty heated, but he held himself back. I'm a little stunned at how... forward I was. But... I don't know. I need to get writing in my diary. I turn and walk through the front door. Luckily enough, the house is still in one piece. Tempestive is in the living room reading a magazine, so I... wait a minute. "Tempestive?" I ask as I turn towards him. He shudders a bit and tries to hide his face in the 'magazine'. "I'll go easy on you if you just hand it over." "Without hands that seems a little-" "Tempestive." I say firmly. He fringes at that and reveals my diary from behind the magazine. "You misspelled-" "Go to your room." I cut him off slowly. He gets off the couch and gives me my diary before running upstairs. I let out a long breath before heading out the backdoor. I'm in too good of a mood right now to let this ruin it. I take the mico plat- CRASH THWUMP As soon as I teleported something crashed right into me and sent the both of us flying back. Whatever hit me, a pony I think, we tumble a bit before we come to a stop. My head spins for a second before I look up. A dark grey unicorn, with yellow eyes and white hair, stands above me. He seems to be around my age, maybe a tab bit older. His breath is labored and he's sweating lightly. We stare at each other for a moment before he looks back and runs for the platform, disappearing in a flash. Once he's gone, I see my E'Claire running towards me with several bots behind her. "Shadow! Are you okay!?" She asks as she helps me sit up. "Uh... yeah, I might have bit my tongue." I say while trying to glance at my tongue. It's a little numb, but no worse for wear. "THE FIEND! Drag his mangy hide back here!?" She orders to the bots. "I'm sorry. Ponyville is currently under the jurisdiction of-" "AH DAMMIT!" She yells, slamming her hoof against the ground. She's breathing heavily a looks like a complete mess. I glance back at the town and see a few turned over stalls and flipped tables. "Who was that. What's going on? Are you going to be alright?" "Some hoodlum scumbag that was trying to steal some food. Never mind him though. I doubt he'll be coming around here anytime soon." Mom tells me, glaring at the mico platform with fiery eyes. "But... who was he?" I ask, looking to the platform as well. Perspective: Rumble With a few lazy flaps I make my way through the air and head hack home. That was... something else, to say the least. I had a feeling that things would be different with Shadow, but... well, damn. Tongue on her first kiss. I mean, I'm probably to blame for how fast it went. But to defend myself, I was just going with the motions. I didn't want to ruin the mood. Oh well, hopefully she won't worry too much about it. I see somepony waiting at my front door and sigh when I realize who it is. Sadly, she spots me and waves me down, so I glide down and land before her. "What are you doing here Diamond Tiara?" "What? I was out for a run and thought I'd stop by for a glass of water. Are you really going to deny me water Rumble?" she asks as she saunters up to me. I hate to admit it, but her light blue sweatbands look really good on her. Not to mention her hair underneath that headband really compliments... everything. "See something you like?" She asks with a wink. "D.T., we broke up two months ago-" "So now I can't even have a glass of water?" She asks with a playful smirk. I roll my eyes and open the door for her. "Please... come in," I drone. She trots in happily and runs her tail across my chin, filling my nose with her perfume. I really shouldn't go in there- CLICK ... but apparently my legs have other plans. Damn you legs, damn you. I follow after her into the kitchen where I watch her pour a glass of water. She then goes through extraordinary lengths to make drinking said glass of water as sexual as possible. "... what are you doing?" I ask, shaking my head slightly. "What? I'm thirsty," she says cutely, batting her eyes at me. "D.T., I think I know you well enough to know why you're really here." "Alright then, let’s stop beating around the bush then," she says, dropping her little act. She walks right up to me and pushes her lips right against mine. I hold still as she tries to force her tongue in, holding my lips closed tightly. "Come on Rumble, open up." She moans before trying again, finding similar results. "D.T. I can't," I try to say while looking away from her. She backs off finally and looks at me like I'm crazy. "You... can't?" She asks with a scoff. "I have a marefriend now... I think." "You think? Well, do you or don't you?" She asks irritably. "Well... I'm not really sure. We at least have another date-" "So you're dating. What's the problem?" "Well, this would-" "We're just two ponies, coming together and sharing their bodies. Nothing personal behind it." She tells me, pressing her lips against my neck and planting soft kisses. I shiver from the touch, hating that she knows my weak spots. "Besides, if you're not even sure she's with you, what's the problem?" "Well..." I groan when she moves back to my neck and gently begins to bite at the same spot. "Well..." "Well?" she asks, pulling away. I bite my lips as I feel my arousal begin to grow. That, with the denial of release earlier, is making this really hard. "It's not like she even has to know. It'll be our little secret." She whispers in my ear. "... well... fine. But only this once. After I clear things through with her, no more. Got it?" "Sure, let's go already-" "And no kissing." I demand, making her pause for a moment. "Mmm.... deal. Now can we get it on already?" she asks irritably, stepping towards the stairs. I nod and follow after her as she runs up, flashing her backside along the way. I can't help but smirk when she winks at me, though I know how wrong this is. One time and then no more. One hundred percent loyal, no messing around... after this. I follow her into my room and watch her saunter over to my bed. She lays her chest on the bed and brings her front hooves back. One holding her tail to the side while she uses the other to pull on her outer lips. I walk up behind her and stare for a moment, buying some time to finish hardening, before stepping over her to mount her. Once she feels me prod her she grabs my length and guides it in, making both of us sigh in relief. I ease it all the way in before making a few slow gestures, waiting for her to adjust. "Mmm... don't be so coy about it," she moans, resting her hooves beneath her chin. "Right. Is it safe to go in, or do I have to pull out." Always ask first. Rule number one from Thunderlane. "I'm good. Harder," she asks quietly, knowing the protocol. I adjust my back legs before adding more motion to my movements. "Harder." "If I go too rough too soon I'll blow my load without you." I warn her. "Hngh, whatever. I need this, harder!" She demands, throwing her hips back. I roll my eyes and grip her waist. If she wants it hard, I'll give it to her hard. More pleasure for me then. Wet slaps and squeals of pleasure fill my room as I throw my back into each and every swing. Diamond has slowly been pushed onto the bed and is now laying completely on her stomach, her hind legs going straight back. I had to crawl on top of her to keep going, nearly slipping out. To try and keep her from slipping, I reach forward and hold onto her chest as I continue relentlessly thrusting into her. I can feel her getting wetter and wetter, making it easier to slide through her. "Buck!" she screams with a gush. She tries to pull away from me, but I hold onto her and continue pounding away at her. "Buckbuckbuckbuckbuckbuuuuuuuuuck!" "Rough... enough... yet!?" I ask between thrusts, moving back so I'm only holding her waist again. I slow my movements back down as well to let her recover from her orgasm. "Damn. Did you prep before or did I suddenly get better?" "Shut up," she scoffs playfully, still trying to catch her breath. "Switch, I want top now." I oblige and step back, pulling completely out. I smirk again when I see her hole throbbing openly, a sight I never get tired of. "So now it's your turn to go rough, right?" I ask while laying on my back on the bed. She gets on and straddles my waist so we're face to face. "Pfft, you think I'm gonna do all the work?" She asks while grabbing my member and positioning it beneath herself. "You better keep at it." "I do-AH!" I gasp when she slides all the way down. I can't help but groan as she grinds her hip against mine, resting a hoof on my chest. I place my hooves on her waist and hold her down as I return the gyrations, still groaning. Sweat cools the two of us as we fall into a trance of ecstasy. She works her hips slowly up and down my member, enjoying the feeling of having it reach every crevice of her sex. I bite my lip as I try to hold on as long as possible, despite her working her muscles to increase the pleasure. The bed creaks when Diamond begins to bounce in my lap. She leans back and grabs my knees for support, moaning with every move we make. I begin to add my own thrusts in counter to her bounces, still gyrating my hip in a circular motion. Pretty soon my thrust go from simple hips movements to all out back throws as I near my finish. Diamond falls over and grips my chest, shoving her face in my neck to muffle her moans. I roll over and pin her beneath myself as I rush towards my own orgasm. My thrusts begin to become more sporadic as I feel a tingle crawl from my groin and up my back. I let out a few snorts before slamming into her, twitching as I explode into her. With every convulsion I let out another spurt deep within her sex. Once my orgasm subsides and I finish pumping my seed into her, I roll off to the side and try to catch my breath. Diamond moans in frustration and shoves a hoof between her legs, rubbing her cunny rapidly. A few moments later she lifts her waist and shakes as a few spurts gush out from her. "Sorry... couldn't hold it." I tell her, still panting. "It's... fine... this time," she pants back. We lay there for a bit before she rolls off the bed and shakily stands. "I'm going to take a shower and head back home." "Right... you know where it’s at." I tell her distantly. I can't help but feel... unfulfilled? Guilty maybe. I can think of a few reasons why, but... I don't know why it's weighing on my so heavily. I roll over and look out the window and up to the sky. It's not like she'll ever find out. But... I don't know. Maybe this was more wrong than I even know. Author's Note Rumble and Shadow 'reading' comics: Thanks BronyCrystal! Brony on! Chapter 205 Icy PremonitionsChapter 205 Icy Premonitions Perspective: Miles 1:16 AM Location: Soviet Bear Union, twelve miles from Mosgrowl I look out at the road below me and sigh in irritation. Our intel said the next shipment was to arrive three hours ago. Yet here I am up a tree, freezing my ass off. Leave it to some nerf herder smuggler to be late for their own deadline. I look down the road again and let out a long breath, making a plume of steam rise up towards the full moon. I look across the way and watch another plume of steam rise from a distant tree. Well, at least Night Fury is freezing his ass off with me. Is it weird that I find solace in that? I pull my trench coat closer to myself in an attempt to keep warm as I sit back against the tree. The coat breaks the wind chill but with my armor beneath it, I'm still freezing. They're probably a no show anyway. We've been out here for hours now and for nothing. Night was probably right; they probably took the main road instead. Damn reverse psychology. I gather my things and stand up, letting another plume of breath go up. Night signals back immediately and jumps into the air. "Giving up?" he asks when he flies over. I hum back my answer before stepping off the branch, falling to the ground below. "What's the next plan then?" "Well, if they passed us on the main road, they're probably well into Mosgrowl by now. So we'll have to head to the next checkpoint to cut them off," I tell him as I start to walk down the path towards town, having him walk alongside me. He gives me a look, making me sigh again. "Assuming we can get there before them to set up another trap." "And if they deviate from the path?" "Then all of this was for nothing. The next checkpoint would be in Griffin territory, so it's now or never basically-" "Shhh!" he snaps before stopping. I lift my rifle and sweep around, looking for any possible targets. "I don't have any vis-" "Shhhhhh!" he shushes again. He closes his eyes and stands there for a moment, his ear twitching slightly. "I hear flapping... south." "You hear-" "Shhhhhh!" If he does that again I'm going to- FWOOOSH We both duck reflexively when something large passes overhead. I look up and watch the shadow of a massive dragon fly past us. It seems to be following the path and has something square strapped onto its back. "Tail after him. I'm going to the town to raise the guard. If we can't get him down here he'll be in griffin territory in no time," I tell Night before racing down the path, igniting my heels to propel myself forward. I hear Night jump into the air and give chase. I have to run at full force to keep up with the damn thing, and so I can tell I'm starting to fall behind. Judging by the size in comparison to Night, I'd say he's just an adult dragon. Snaps and cracks sound off when Night climbs up near the dragon, followed by a large puff of white smoke. Night rolls right and dives to dodge the attack; though I don't know if he's hit or not. At least we know it's our guys. Night tries getting a vantage point a couple times, but meets similar results. He finally breaks away and meets up with me. "Eight goblins. Six arming the side with rifles and pistols, two finishing up a Gatling gun," he reports. Gatling gun? Son of a bitch, this is going to be tricky. "Alright, we need to dis-" KRACK Something snaps through the air and slams into the dragon with enough force to send it falling back. I grab Night and leap into the woods before throwing up a shield, hoping it doesn't land on us. The ground beneath us shakes violently as a large cloud of dust explodes out from the impact. We both fall over from it, making me drop my shield and letting the cloud of dust envelope the two of us. We both cough violently and get back onto our feet, pulling our rifles out as we do so. After a moment to gather ourselves I point left and head right, moving from tree to tree for cover. When the road comes back into view, I pause and wait for the dust to settle. I can hear them yelling to each other as they move about. The dragon is breathing deeply as well, probably bleeding out slowly. When the dust settles enough, I pivot and take aim. I can see a few of them arming themselves with fallen weaponry while a few set up the Gatling gun. The dragon is on its side with its back to us on the other side of the road. I don't think it's going to get back up anytime soon. I can see four targets, five if there's at least one on the Gatling gun. It's hard to tell with the large blast shield of solid metal blocking my view. How are they going to aim it with no visibility? The gun spins to life and takes aim at me, sending a volley my way. I duck back behind the tree and take aim on the other side, firing a few rounds at them. The shield absorbs the rounds easily, letting him continue fire down on me. The tree before me cracks and begins to fall to the side; so I propel myself to another tree for cover. Sure enough, the volley of rounds follows after me. Just as I was about to make it behind the tree I feel something hit my leg and take it out from beneath me, making me fall. Luckily, my armor takes most of the damage and I fall behind the tree. I hear more pops and snaps from them as well as from my left, telling me Night has engaged them. I wait for the Gatling to stop to reload before rolling over and engaging them myself. Two of them are on the ground bleeding while the other two continue firing at Night. Their weapons only fire one shot at a time, so we take charge over the fight quickly. Two rounds into his chest and one for the head takes down a goblin while the other one takes one in the shoulder and falls down. With no one firing, I get on my feet and quickly approach the area. Fallen crates litter the area as steam shades the air light white. When I make it to the Gatling gun, I do a quick sweep for targets. I spot a goblin by the dragon with his leg pinned underneath it. When he spots me he reaches for a pistol, so I send a round through his skull. I hear some whimpering beneath me, so I look down and spot two more goblins. One is the one that was shot in the shoulder while the other is presumably the one who was manning the gun. The gunner is cradling his wounded friend and crying. "Do you speak common?" Night asks from my side when he approaches. "*snif* y-yeah," he whimpers, cringing slightly. "Are there any other survivors that you know of?" I ask. "I... I don't think so. I'm not sure." "Night, clear the perimeter. I'm going to have a talk with him," I tell him, getting a nod in response. "What is your name?" "I'm Radmutter-" "Well, Radmutter, do you want to get out of this alive or would you rather be cremated?" I ask him sternly. He nods. "Good, then cooperate and I'll personally see you home. Now, are there weapons in these crates?" He nods again. "Was their destination somewhere in the griffin colony?" He nods. "How many shipments are there? Both currently and planned." "I wouldn't know. I'm just a smuggler," he says slowly. "Where did these weapons-" "In coming! Bears up the road!" Night calls out. I look down the path and see the crowd of bears approaching. Most of them look to be guards, but- CRACK I cringe from the sudden shot and the following splatter. I look down at the goblin and sigh as he slumps against the gun, the pistol in his hand falling to the ground. Taking the easy way out, what a pity. "STOP THERE, CRIMINAL SCUM!" One of the guards’ yell as they surround the two of us. "You're under arrest for-" "Stand down!" I yell at him, getting in his face. "This is official Spartan business! Lower your weapons and back the fuck off!" "You dare order the captain of the Mosgrowl guard!? I'll tear your head off and-" "Enough, cubs!" some female bear in a yellow robe yells from the middle of the crowd. She pushes her way to the front and gets between me and the guard, staring him down angrily. "I already told you they were operating here, Anton! Back off!" The air grows thin as they stare each other down, sparks practically forming between the two of them. Anna was her name, now that I recognize her. She's the mayor of the city. Everyone jumps when the dragon moves slightly and lets out a groan. I run around to his face, getting him to look directly at me. "They're coming... they're... almost..." he says slowly between labored breaths. I look over to his chest and note the sharpened tree trunk sticking into his chest. "Who's coming?" I ask calmly, placing a hand on his snout. "War is coming... you can't... they're coming..." "I know. What can you tell me? Anything can help. Please help me," I beg him, moving a bit closer as his breaths begin to space out. He blinks slowly once before whispering quietly. "Syncney." He lets out one final breath before going still, his eyes shutting for the last time. Anna walks over and holds her paws before herself, giving the dragon a moment of respect. "Night, send a flare up," I call out to him. A moment later, a red flare goes high into the air and sends a red glow over the area. "This area is under Spartan control until our investigation is over with. Tell your guards to head back home." "I understand. What of the dragon?" she asks quietly. "We'll take care of that-" "Like hell!" Anton barks, walking over to our conversation. "We shot down the beast, we've earned the right to harvest it!" "Go ahead, lay a paw on him," I tell him, placing a hand on my pistol. "Easy, Miles. Anton, go back to the city and secure the perimeter, now," she growls at him. He looks between the two of us before turning angrily away, having his guards follow after him. "I must apologies for Anton. He's really a good bear albeit brash." "It's alright, for now. You should get going though. I doubt the woods are friendly at night," I tell her, getting a nod in return. "Good hunting, human." She walks off with her assistant, leaving Night and myself alone. "So... are we going to harvest the dragon or not?" Night asks curiously. "If by morning a dragon doesn't comes to claim him, then we can. Until then, let's check the cargo." We spend the next hour opening crates and going through any documentation we find. Most of the crates merely contain rifles and pistols, but a few contain sparse documentation. We gather them all up and store them to be translated later, seeing as neither of us can read Goblin. Once we get through all of the crates we pile them together and set explosives with them, bury them, and then destroy them. "Send up another flare." I tell Night. He fires off another red flare, getting the glow to return. "You can head to town if you want. I'm going to stay out here for a bit longer." "Are you sure? You don't want anypony to watch your back?" "Don't worry about me. I'll be good, go ahead and get some rest," he gives me a questioning look before shrugging and taking off. I wait until he's out of earshot before speaking again. "I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting you here," I say as I turn and face the forest. ... "I can sense your presence, step out already," I call out again. After waiting a few moments of waiting a green glow comes out from a tree as Delilah steps out before me. "You've gotten better at that you know," she tells me as she approaches the road, stopping just before the road. "Did they have to die?" "They chose their fate when they took the job. It was inevitable," I tell her sternly, walking to be closer. "And you? Do you accept this kind of fate?" she asks quickly. "What do you want, Delilah? Every time you show up it's the same thing. You question death while simultaneously putting down modern society. Not everyone can live off the land. With the growth of populations, industrialization is mandatory for life to continue. We all can't live off the land-" "If I wanted a lecture, Miles, I would have gone to my father," she cuts me off. Father? I didn't know treefolk had fathers and mothers. "Oh... then why are you here?" She gives me a look before taking a step onto the road. "I fear the future, Miles. Every day I watch society grow and technologies advance. There was a time when a dragon would devastate the country side with total ease. Now... now-" "Delilah, people learn. Nature learns too. The difference now is the rate at which things change-" "And that's what terrifies me. Treefolk... we're slow to change. Slower than any. We've gone through time at such a slow rate... I fear that we'll be left behind. I have witnessed the demise of forests and the murder of my people over the centuries. Just as the dragon fell in one strike, I fear the treefolk will find a similar fate as well." "What would you have of me then? Stop industry from happening?" "No, just as their deaths were inevitable, so too is the industrialization of the world. I've come to you not knowing what to ask for. What would you do to save your people, Miles? And how can I save my own? Is there anything we can do, or is it too late for us?" I hum as I think about her question. Usually she finds me to bicker and argue about... everything pretty much. She's never asked my opinion before, not like this at least. "If I were you... following your own beliefs, I'd integrate." "Integrate?" "You're not going to fight, and you can't stop industrialization from happening. Joining-" "You want me to drop everything I stand for and further the tool of my own people’s destruction-" "No. I'm not telling you to start up factories. When the Spartans first started up we were looked down upon. We were a militaristic government with no representation that held itself above all others. It was a hard concept to wrap your mind around. We didn't achieve our place in the world with brute force. We won the people over. Take this town for instance," I say as I gesture down the road. "Mosgrowl?" "There are two major players there, Anton and Anna. Most would think that I would align with Anton. He comes from a military background, thinks with his hammer, and doesn't take lip. He's a brute in every way possible. Anna, on the other hand, is about as opposite as you can get. She fights for equal rights, she listens and uses her words, and she might be a pacifist. I'm not sure about that last one though. I chose to back her. Do you want to know why?" "... because it makes you look better?" "It's an old human saying. ‘The pen is mightier than the sword.’ People will fight for a man with a sword. But people will die for something a man writes. Human history has proven this time and time again. Just you watch. When the cards are down people like Anton will fall. He may kill dragons, but Anna rallies people." "Hmm... but, how does this affect my people?" "If you're going to integrate into society, that means you're going to have to drop the isolationism." She laughs at that, running a hand through her vine hair. "What you ask is impossible. Treefolk dropping isolation, no. It'll never happen-" "People used to say that magic was impossible. That men would never walk on the moon or set foot on other planets. There was a time when we believed we were alone in the universe. For something impossible to happen, you have to start with doing the impossible." She gives me a hint of a smile but still looks a bit concerned. "Thank you, Miles. I don't quite know what I'm going to do yet, but... at least I know where to start." "Now, can you tell me why everyone wants to harvest a dead dragon?" She laughs at my naivety and begins to walk around the dragon's corpse. "Dragons are beings of great power. Even in death they exude greatness. The trees that soak up their blood will grow twice as large. Their bones can bolster your body while their virility can make you a more potent mate." "... what?" "Even their waste can be of great use for farmlands. It's why dragons are so demanding to know of their own kin’s death. They don't want their bodies being defiled. It is a great thing you are doing, protecting this dragon. Not many would do this, thank you." "Yes. Thank you." We both spin to the side as a giant dragon quietly lands in the forest. Its scales look as though they're made or ice and its eyes are bright blue. A gust of super chilled air washes over us as the temperature drops quickly. On top of that, he's gigantic. He has to crane his neck down to look at us, setting his body down far in the distance. He has to be at least a hundred feet tall from his shoulder. At least... assuming I'm making my conversion correctly. "I am Elder Frost. Who are you and how was this dragon felled?" "... uh... I'm Miles... Miles Eremita. And... he was shot with a tree. I think," I yell up at him, stepping back slightly. Delilah does the same, though is much more openly scared than I am. "Eremita. You have my gratitude. My apologies, but I must ask. Why? Not many show respect for dragons. Even less fight for it. Why, Miles Eremita. Why?" His question catches me a bit off guard. Despite his deep voice and intimidating stature, he's asking questions. And not just the ones about death either. He's genuinely curious about... me? "Uh... well... I guess for selfish reasons really," I say, getting a bewildered look from Delilah. "Hmm... odd. Do you seek favor among our courts? Powerful allies perhaps? What poses you to seek our attention?" "I don't want your favor. I'd just want the same done for me," I tell him, getting him to tilt his head. "I'm a warrior, to put it simply. I deal in war and death. Someday there is a possibility that I can die. If and when that days happens, I'd like my body brought back to my family so they can properly say goodbye. I wouldn't want to put them through the pain over never saying goodbye. So, if I want that form of treatment, I should try to give it to my enemy as well. It's selfish and hopeful, but... I'm human. It's in my nature." "Hmm... human..." he leans down and bites the tree trunk in the dragon’s chest. With a quick yank, he pulls it out and drops it on the ground. "May the winds guide you, human, world sapling." I glance to Delilah before stepping back as the dragon scoops the corpse into his mouth and takes off into the night sky. A trail of snow follows after him as he flies north. "I'm amazed," Delilah mutters as we stand there, watching him flying away. "You have an extraordinary ability in meeting important world figures." "It's more of a curse really. What was he? An elemental in dragon form or... what? And why did he call you world sapling?" "I'm sure you'll find out soon enough. As for him, he was an elder dragon. When a dragon reaches a certain age, they manifest into a greater form. Usually with the element they relate with the most. I only know of two others in existence though." "... and who are they?" "There's Bolas and Urza. Urza is either fire or lava. I'm not sure, seeing as he uses both. Well, Miles, until next we meet-" "If you ever find yourself in northern Equestria, try to find a small town called Moosden. I think it's the place to start... whatever it is you're trying to do," I tell her as she walks off into the woods. She waves goodbye before fading into a tree. I look around before sighing to myself and begin heading down the path towards town. Elder dragons. I should have guessed Bolas was special, but the fact that there are others is... disconcerting, to say the least. Well, this one seems to be reasonable. Who knows, maybe this will lead to some kind of sway in the dragon’s hierarchy. Long shot, but it’s worth a shot. I need to hurry this expedition. The longer I stay out in the world, the more crazy crap happens to me. Too many problems with too little time to deal with it all. The walk down the lonesome road is cold and uneventful. A few creatures in the dark follow after me but don't bother me. I hardly pay them any mind either; I just want to get out of the cold already. When I make it to the walls of Mosgrowl, I wait patiently for the guards to open the gate. The thick stone walls loom over me as the bears behind it begins to work the bars on the iron gates. The guards give me the stink eye when I walk in, but I don't care. They won't do anything unless they out-number me twenty to one. The town is silent in the night, with the exception of a drunk on the porch of a bar mumbling to himself. The wooden homes are dark and the smoke from the chimneys are low. I make my way through the dense city until I find the motel night and I are staying at. The light to our room is on, telling me he's still awake; so I enter normally. He's lying on the second bed in the small room reading one of the documents we recovered. I go to the desk on the other side of the room and begin to remove all of my gear. "I take it a dragon came and picked him up," he mutters before flipping pages. "An elder dragon named frost," I tell him. "Cool... what's special about elder dragons?" "Well, he was made of ice. That's about as much as I can tell." When I finish removing my armor, I go to the small stove and toss another log in and take a seat by it to warm up. "Plan on sleeping tonight?" "We have too many papers-" "You can't even read goblin. You haven't slept in three days, Captain. Are those premonitions really that bad?" he asks, almost sounding concerned. For the past week I've been having visions of... terrible things happening. But every time they're different, so I don't know what they actually are. Are they premonitions? Or are they just bad dreams? "*sigh* I don't know what to make of that dream. Every time it's different. At first it was Ponyville burning, then it was Terradisia marching over Equestria... all I know is that something terrible is coming to Ponyville." "Should we go back?" he asks, setting down the papers in his hooves. "... No. Whatever it is, the catalyst is us being there. So we'll hold off going back for as long as possible." "Okay, then where to next?" I stare into the fire a bit longer before heading over to the other bed and laying down, there's too much on my mind right now. Too much. "Syncney." He nods and goes back to the papers. I lay there for a few moments before I feel my eyelids begin to droop. I don't want to go back to sleep. I don't want to see that image again. Darkness falls as I stand over the embers of a burning town. Buildings in the back roar with wildfires as black smoke fumes up and obscures the distance. Ash rains from the darkness above as I stand before myself, shirtless and stained with streaks of blood. The look on my face is terrifying. There's more anger than I could possible imagine, while so much hurt. I look away from myself for a moment before letting out blood curdling scream and charge at myself, swords in hand and murderous intent filling my eyes. I awake with a scream in the early morning. A cold sweat covers my body as I fight to get control of my breath again. I look around the room before heading over to the bathroom to splash my face with cold water. What's going to happen? Is something going to happen? All I do know is that I don't want to go back to sleep. Less in fear of the dream, but more so for the fear of Luna stumbling upon it. Chapter 206 Play BallChapter 206 Play Ball Perspective: Shadow Thursday came up much faster than it should have. Then again, I have been doing much more with my spare time now. Usually I'd go to school and come right back home. Maybe do some chores, talk with some ponies, do homework, nothing really special. Now though, Rumble and I spend hours after school together. We don't go as far as we did like on our first date, but we still share kisses. He seems really excited to have me come to his game today, but... I kind of don't want to go. I'm sure it would be fun but... a stadium full of ponies screaming their heads off... no thank you. As I try to leave, Mom steps in front of the door and gives me a look. I seriously hope she isn't going- "So, when do I get to meet this coltfriend of yours?" Of course she knows! Why wouldn't she! She probably has twelve drones watching my every move right now! Probably even more if Dad knows! "W-what are you talking about?" I ask with a coy smile. "Luna told me she saw you getting nice a cozy with some pegasus-" dammit, " -So, who is he?" "He's... his name is Rumble. We... go to school together." I tell her, avoiding her gaze. She lifts my chin to look at her smiling face. "Shadow, you don't have to be so coy with me. I mean, it's not like Butterscotch and I were really... discrete about... stuff." I feel my cheeks burn from this. I can't even count the number of times I've caught them doing... stuff. Let alone hearing it. Dad and Luna are no better. "I trust you not to do anything hasty Shadow. But, if you ever do take that step, I'll be here for you." "Thanks Mom." I tell her before moving in and hugging her. I knew I could come to her for anything, but her saying it just makes me feel much better about everything. "And hey, if it doesn't work out there are plenty of mares out there-" "Oh my gosh!" I break the hug and gawk at her. She just laughs and kisses my forehead. "I'm just saying! You have options, now get to school before you're late!" she tells me, pushing me out the door. I pause at the door and smile before trotting through Moosden. Normally I don't try to socialize with anypony here... but today I felt great. I even waved to that terrifying orc lady, Azzeal! She waved back, a bit confused though. When I made it to Ponyville I walked around my house to find Rumble and Tempestive talking. Tempestive seems really excited to go to the game today, and Rumble couldn't help but chuckle at his excitement. "Hey you," he called out to me a I approached them. "Hey, ready to go to school?" I ask before nuzzling him a bit. "You two are gross together." Tempestive states blandly, making me blush a bit. "What time are you picking me up for the came?" "Um... I don't know-" "Three. Your mom is going to drop you off by the school so you can take the bus with us." Rumble tells him. "She is!?" Tempestive and I ask at the same time. "Yeah, I cleared it with her yesterday," he tells us casually. "You just have to wear your vest and a scarf... what's with the vest anyway?" "It's so-" "Warmth mainly, now come on! We're going to be late!" I cut off my brother and start pushing Rumble down the path. Rumble says his goodbyes and begins walking with me down the path. The fact that he's asking means he didn't notice his wings earlier. Which, if he saw Luna already... whatever. I push it out of my mind and turn my attention to Rumble. "So... are you ready for the game today?" "Cloudsdale is a good team, but I think we can take 'em," he says confidently, draping his wing over me. I've come to enjoy this the most. I feel safe under his wing. "I don't really know much about Air ball... you aren't going to get hurt, are you?" "Worried?" he asks with a smug smile. I give him an uneasy look to which he chuckles. "It gets pretty physical, but I can take it. I've been doing this for awhile now. Try not to worry too much about it." "No way, I'll be as cool... as... a cucumber, because of how not worried I'll be." He gives me a look and all I can do is try and hide under his wing. Why did I say that!? Cool as a cucumber! What does that even mean!? I'll just keep quiet until we make it to school, so I can die from embarrassment in privacy. We make it the rest of the way to school quietly. I was a little worried I was too geeky for him, but all of that faded away when he turned and kissed me. It was a quick, but it settled my nerves tremendously. "Later cucumber," he tells me before trotting to his class. I blush a bit before going to my own class, making it into my seat just as the bell rang. Sadly, Diamond Tiara sits next to me in this class. You would think that after six years of knowing each other we'd at least be able to sit next to each other, but no. She glances over at me and turns my way. "I've heard a little rumor about you, wanna hear it?" She asks with venom in her voice. Where's thee teacher? I really don't want to hear this right now. "Not really-" "I've heard you're going to today's game in Cloudsdale. Only, there's one problem with that. Our team has been on a winning streak, and a loser like you will jinx it. So could you do us all a favor and just hang back, okay?" Despite the fact she's being a total bitch right now, she asks as cutely as possible. Normally I would just fold and agree to her demands... but not today. "I'm going-" "No, you're not," she cuts me off, dropping the cute act. "Um... yes I am." I start to sweat as she glares daggers at me. I'm starting to seriously freak out here. She looks like she's on the verge of punching me! Luckily, the teacher came rushing in and stole all of the attention. "Sorry I'm late class! Please pull out your books and continue where you left off yesterday while I get situated." I sigh in relief when Diamond gets up to be with her partner, not before shooting dirty looks at me first though. "Whoa, what did you do to piss her off?" Scootaloo asks as she fills her seat. "I... she told me not to go to the game... but I told her I was." I tell her cautiously. "You're going to the game today? Really?" she asks in disbelief, to which I nod. "Huh, who would have guessed getting you a coltfriend would have-" "SHHH! Please don't talk about that out loud! I don't want half of the school knowing." I hush her, glancing around the room cautiously. I pull my book and flip to the last chapter I was at. Scootaloo rolls her eyes and does the same. I don't really read anything though. My mind keeps going back to Diamond and the countless possibilities from her wrath. I glance to her a few times and watch her talk with one of her friends, paying me no mind. "My bits are on you, if you two get in a fight that is." Scootaloo whispers to me, her eyes focused on her book. "Um... thanks?" I whisper back. I try to read, but I simply can't! It's not like it matters though, I'm four chapters ahead of the class already. I can't stop glancing at Diamond ad worrying about what she'll do! The uncertainty is going to give me a heart attack! After what felt like hours of confusion I shoot my hoof up and blurt out, "CAN I USE THE RESTROOM!?" "Um... okay." The teacher replies, confused by my outburst. I blush deeply when everypony laughs and snickers at me and hurry out of the room. That might have been a little too much, but I had to get out of there! I start heading towards the restroom but stop when I nearly collide into somepony. "Rumble!?" "Hey Shadow, what are you doing out of class? Ditching?" He asks with a raised eyebrow and a smile.... smile... "Shadow?" "Huh? Oh, I uh... well..." Normally the only ponies I share my problems with are the girls. But, right now... I feel like I can confide with him. "Diamond was giving me trouble before class started. I think she wants to start a fight with me now." I tell him, lowering my head a bit. He stays quiet for a bit, but quickly catches his breath. "Oh... is that so? W-why would she want to do that?" he asks cautiously. I look up to him and sigh, moving forward to nuzzle into his neck. "She... just doesn't like me. She heard I was going to today's game and tried to tell me to stay home. Normally I wouldn't argue with her, but... I didn't want to disappoint you." He lets out a long sigh and wraps his hooves around me, embracing my tightly. "Shadow, she's just being difficult. She's not going to do anything," he assures me, stroking my mane. "You should have seen the look in her eyes. It was like she was trying to melt me with her stare or something." He chuckles at that and pulls me back to look me int he eyes. I blush as we stare deeply into each others eyes. For once I don't mind the eye contact, rather, right now I actually enjoy it. He glances around before motioning for me to follow after him. I look back to my class for a moment before agreeing, even though I have no clue where we're going. We weave through the buildings of the school and end up behind the library; the largest building in the school. It sits just at the edge of campus, so we technically leave school to sit underneath a tree together. I was going to question him when he leaned in and pecked my lips with his. It caught me a little off guard, to say the least. I go to tell him this, but he cuts me off with another, more passionate, kiss. I don't want to kiss out in the open like this, but... being caught in the moment... I kind of go with the flow. He doesn't seem to mind, but I start to worry that somepony will spot the two of us. It's still too soon for me to be public about 'us'. With tremendous effort, I break away from his lips to speak. He doesn't stop though, instead moving to nip and kiss my neck. "Rumble... h-hold up... I"m n-not sure about t-this." He pauses to look at me, a strand of saliva trailing from his lips. "You okay?" "Well... isn't this spot a little too public?" "Not really. Trust me, since it's behind the school and on the edge of town, so pony will come by this way." "But... I have class right now-" "Just say you were having problems while in there. That's what I do-" "How often do you skip class?!" He rubs the back of his neck as he tries to think of an answer. "I dunno. But, its not like it's a problem. My grades are good enough for me to compete. Are your grades bad?" "No, I just... I don't want to get in trouble for skipping out." "You won't, trust me." He lays down against the tree and pats the spot beside him. I glance between him and the school building, trying to decide what to do. If I stay here, I run the chance of getting in serious trouble. I'm looking at a detention, and then... I don't even want to think of what Mom would do. But... if I don't get caught, then I get to spend some extra time away from Diamond. Plus, I get to spend that time with Rumble. Is the risk worth the reward? I take a deep breath and lay beside him. If what he says is true, then spending some time here won't hurt too much... hopefully. He smiles as I cuddle up beside him. He wraps a wing around me and nuzzles my cheek, making me feel a bit better about the situation, if only slightly. I lean into his nuzzle and try to push class out of my mind. Rumble holding me closer helps tremendously. "Want to take a quick nap?" he whispers to me. "I'm not much of a napper-" "What? How could you go an entire day without napping?" "Well... I just don't. My brother does, but... I dunno, I just don't like napping. The few times I've tried I usually wake up feeling worse." He laughs and kisses my cheek. "That's weird. You're weird." "Am not!" "Yeah you are." "Rumble." I look to him and try my hoof at a pout-y face. I guess it worked, because he chuckled and pecked my lips. "Fine. But, with the whole Diamond thing... you shouldn't let her boss you around." I frown at this and look away. "I... don't want to cause a fight." "Well... I have a feeling she's looking for one. I don't want you to fight either, but... Stand up for yourself, ya know? Like, how you did today. She'll back down eventually if you stand your ground. And I'll have your back too," he nudges my cheek a few times to get me to look at him. He smiles and gives me another peck. "I promise." I stare into his eyes for a moment before closing the distance between us. Our kiss starts out simply as my conveying my trust in him, but when he pulls my on top of him things start to get heated. Our hooves were running over each others bodies as our tongues met between us, wrestling with each other. We both paused when he grabbed my flank. I thought about it for a moment before I reached down and grabbed his as well. He laughed and we went back to it with just as much ferocity. I didn't think I'd like my flank being grabbed, nor did I think I'd like grabbing flank for that matter. I guess when it's with somepony you trust, it just feels better. I move my hooves from his flank and up to his face to run them through his mane. He moves a hoof to my back and pulls me against his stomach, keeping his other hoof working my cutie mark. We continue to writhe against one another until I feel something poke my back end. Everything stops and we pull back to look at each other. "Shadow!?" "AH!" FLASH I shake my head and jump under my bed covers. I don't even know who spotted us but I'm not ever leaving the safety of my blankets again! WHY DID SOMEPONY HAVE TO APPEAR AT THAT EXACT MOMENT!? Perspective: Rumble I sigh in irritation and roll over to cover myself.Of course as it was just getting good somepony would walk up to us. I look over to Scootaloo and Pip and sigh again. "Um... so I guess you two are a couple then." Scootaloo states, avoiding my eyes. Her wings are sticking straight up as her blush covers her cheeks. "What are you two doing here?" I groan back to her, more than a little frustrated. "Well... Shadow didn't come back from class so... I started to worry. Were you two about to-" "She was upset about Diamond Tiara giving her a hard time. One thing lead to another... but no. She's kind of against that." They stand there for a moment, staring at me until I finally get up. Then they stare at... me. "Do you mind?" "Nope!" Pip says, a giant smile on his face. "You know, I always thought you jocks had all the luck. But now... now I just feel great about myself." "Mmhmm." Scootaloo agrees, eyeing... me, closely. "Maybe he's still chub-" "Okay, I'm leaving." Before they say anything else I open my wings and propel myself into the air. My lower extremities immediately hate me for this, but I ignore it to the best of my abilities. I'm fairly certain I know where Shadow went, under her covers. Either there, or under her other covers. Hopefully she's at the one here, I don't trust that teleporter thing. The flight to her house didn't take long. When I got there I went around back to her window and looked in to see her underneath her blankets. I gently tap on the glass and wait for her. She peeks out from under her blankets and hides again. I roll my eyes and try again. I wait a few minutes before she trundles out from her covers and opens the window slightly. "Rumble... now isn't-" "It was Scootaloo and Pipsqueak. I don't think they're going to tell many ponies. Sweetie Bell and Applebloom at most. Can I come in?" "I don't know if that would be wise. I have no clue who is home right now," she tells me, glancing back to her bedroom door. "Why would they come in here? They think you're at school right now." I point out, getting her to pause. She tries to think of something to say, but can't. "Umm.... just... give me a moment. I'm going to go check to see if anypony's here." She turns and runs to the door, casting a spell over herself. I shrug and lean on the window sill, waiting patiently. If somepony is here, I can't get in trouble for waiting outside. Plus, I'll have an alibi as to being here. Score! "Huh... Luna's out." I look down and nearly yell when I see something standing at the backdoor reading a note. It's... familiar, but- "Get in here!" I nearly yelp again when Shadow pulls me inside. She drags me to the closet and shoves me inside. She runs back and shuts her door before joining me inside the small, cramped closet. "What was that thing!?" "Shh! And don't call my dad a thing!" "But, what was.... Dad!?" "Shhhhhh! It's... a long story." I stare at her for a second before we hear footsteps in the hallway. Not hoof, no. Her Dad doesn't have those. "Miles, you're home!" Okay, who's that? "Hey there baby girl. I have a day for research so I thought I'd drop by. Where is everyone?" Shadow's dad, Miles, replies. "Oh no." Shadow mumbles. I don't like that. I don't like the look of fear on her face. I don't being here right now. "Tempestive is over at Sweet Apple Acres and Shadow's at school. We have the house all to ourselves right now." Shadow and I look to each other before blushing deeply together. "Can't you set a sound barrier or something?" I ask frantically. "My dad will notice the energy. He's... weird like that. I'm so sorry!" "It's-" "AH! Miles!" the mare yelps with a sultry giggle. "Get those cloths off, switch form, and get on that bed! I've got something special in mind." Shadow nearly hurls from that. I wasn't that far off either. We start hearing more giggles and laughs from the two of them as obvious things start to happen. Despite all of this I have to say, I think she's deep throating.... lucky... stallion? When things start to get more... verbal, I lose it. I push the door open, pick up Shadow, and fly us the buck out of there! I don't care if they hear us, I don't care if they see us, I don't want to her this crap right now! I fly out to a nearby park and land under a tree, where I set Shadow down. "Well... um... at least your parents have a.... healthy marriage?" Shadow looks at me blankly before cracking a smile. Her smile turns into giggles that she tries to hold back before she loses it and laughs her ass off. "Okay, I'm missing something." "Ooooohh, I'm about as good as a corpse could get! Because I would have to be dead for all of this crap to happen at once, and have you still standing before me!" She falls over and laughs even more, holding her sides tightly. "Um... it wasn't all that bad-" "You just heard my parents having sex right after we were caught practically having sex! Not to mention you witnessed my father in his human form! No sane pony would be as collected as you are right now! So, logically, I have died and this is my punishment for... whatever I did wrong!" She continues laughing hysterically, kicking her legs a bit as tears form in her eyes. "Um... you're not dead Shadow." She stops and stares at me for a moment, her head tilting in confusion. "I mean, that was a lot to have happen in a short amount of time, but I've heard worse. My brother... gets around. A lot. I've heard, seen, smelled it all. That doesn't mean I'm necessarily comfortable with it. But... it's not that big of a deal." "... but, what about my dad?" she asks cautiously, hiding behind her hooves slightly. I mull it over before shrugging my shoulders. "Well, that was a bit of a shock. But, if he has a house here in Ponyville, I doubt he's all that bad. It'll... take some getting used to though." She stares up at me from behind her hooves before dropping completely to the floor. "Can we just take a nap? A nap sounds amazing right now." "Sure. I don't need to be a the locker room for a few hours anyway." I tell her before laying beside her. I'm only saddened because this isn't even the weirdest thing to happen to me... minus the human thing. ........................................................................................................................................................ Perspective: Miles 2:15 PM I stretch out in bed, kicking the sheets further down, and let out a long yawn. When I finish my stretch I wrap my arms around Luna again and pull her close. I had completely forgotten that she was going to be in heat around this time. Luckily we had one birth control potion left, so we're in the clear. When she begins to stir again I bring my attention to her. "Hi." "Mmmm, hi," she replies softly, sleep still prevalent within her. "How long can you stay today? We were all going to a game today, and I know the kids would just love to have you come too." "Hmm... I don't know. I do have a lot to get started on-" "Miles, you've been gone for so long. You can at least spend an afternoon with your family," she says warmly, snuggling up underneath my chin. I smile and kiss the top of her head. "Well... alright. But just this once." She smiles up to me and squeezes me in a hug. "What game is this anyway?" "Oh, Shadow has a coltfriend that has a game in Cloudsdale. I'm going to jump in the shower." She gives me a peck on the cheek before sliding out of bed. "..." "..." "..." "Wait, what!?" I yell as I try to jump out of bed. I fumble over myself and fall onto the ground, using my face a cushion. I shake my head and rush into the bathroom, finding Luna sitting under the running shower. "Shadow has a what now!?" "Are you going to join me, or are you going to just stand there?" She asks simply, facing the shower head with her eyes closed. I try to think for a moment, but Luna levitates me up and sets me in front of her. "Sit." "Fine." I drop down, obviously disgruntled. She scoots up behind me and lays her body against mine, wrapping her hooves around my midsection and her wings around my chest. I close my eyes and lose myself to her touch, the warm water relaxing me even more. She lays her head in the crook of my shoulder and neck, making me let out a long breath. "Miles, Shadow is a growing mare. This was inevitable. She's not your little filly anymore." "Bullshit. She'll always be my little filly." I tell her, getting her to chuckle. "Of course. But she's still growing up. I honestly thought this was going to happen sooner. You can't shelter her from life Miles. Try and play nice with him." "... maybe-" "Miles-" "I'm just saying! I understand that... this was going to happen, but that doesn't mean I'm just going to let any stallion be with my daughter." "Oh? And if he's not to your liking, then what?" "I have a trick or two up my sleeve, Trust me on that. But, for now at least, I'll play nice." She squeezes me again and kisses my neck softly. "I guess that'll do. And try not to embarrass her-" "Now what could I possibly do to embarrass her?" I ask while turning around. She gives me a knowing smile but doesn't say anything. What could I possibly do that would embarrass her? We finish up washing each other and finish our shower. We spend this time to catch up as well. I tell her about what I've been through and the people I met, she in turn tells me local affairs and what's going on with the family. Everything at home seems above board, minus Shadow and her new boyfriend. I trust her not to do anything stupid... for now. I don't think I'm ready to be a grandfather. Especially with Tempestive only being six! When we finish up and dry off we split up to gather everyone. I go to get Shadow while Luna goes to get Tempestive. We figure one surprise at a time for them should be easier to bear. Heh... bear, bears... oh... is that what Luna was talking about. Damn... oh well. Anyway, I make it to the edge of the school and wait by the main entrance. A few other parents are here as well, waiting for their kids to get out as well. A few of them wave, to which I wave back but overall they leave me alone. A few of them stare though, being an alicorn... that happens. It takes a while, but eventually the bell rings and all of the kids begin to leave their classes. I get a few more odd looks, but over all they leave me alone. Being so tall, or... taller than everyone else at least, I spot Shadow leaving her class soon enough. When we make eye contact she freezes and stares at me. Heh, she must be really surprised to see me. "Well? Don't just stand there. Come hug your dad!" I yell at her... making her blush? "Shadow?" "Dad! Sorry! Uh... when did you get home?" She asks nervously as she trots up, giving me a hesitant hug. I was going to ask her if she was okay, but I figure it's because we're at school. "I just got home today, but I'll be leaving tomorrow morning. Luna told me everyone was going to some game today. So, here I am." "Oh... okay then. What about Tempestive? We-... er, I promised, him that I would take him." "Hm, by 'we', do you mean you and your new boyfriend?" Her blush doubles as she looks around frantically. "What? Surprised I know." "You... you know!?" she asks, taking a step back. "Yeah, Luna told me about it. Well, just a bit. But I can drill you for questions later. Let's go meet up with the others first." I tell her, levitating her bag onto my hips. She nods to me and follows after me. We should be meeting up at home. When we make it away from prying eyes, I nudge her a bit to get her attention. "So, who's the lucky guy?" "... really? Do we have to do this?" "Eeyup." "*sigh* fine. His name is Rumble. He's a pegasis. Um... I don't really know what else to say." "Well... I don't even know what I want to know. I guess a name is a good start. Your my first child to do something like this, so I'm a little unsure of how to handle certain things. Just know that I trust you and I hope you won't do anything stupid." "Oh... okay-" "But I don't trust this Rumble guy and if he does anything stupid I'll be on his ass in a heart beat." "O-" "In... a... heart beat." "..." "Love ya!" I lean down and kiss the top of her head. I'm sure that will send that right message from Dad. When we make it home Shadow heads up to change and put her stuff away. With nothing better to do, I go to the couch and lay down- SLAM "DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!" Tempestive yells as he kicks the door open and runs right towards me. THUD I lose a bit of my breath when he jumps up and tackles me in a hug. "Whoa there little guy! Careful with the horn." I tell him with a laugh as he hugs me tightly. "When did you get back!? How long are you going to be staying!? Are you going to the game today!? Can we fly there? Can we-" "Easy Tempestive." Luna chides as she walks in. She smiles at the sight of the two of us and shuts the door gently. "He's only going to be here for a day, so ease up on the questions." "Aww, is that true?" He asks, his disappointment dripping in his voice. "Yeah, but at least we get to go to the game together." I offer him. He mulls it over before shrugging and going back to hugging me. "So, when is this game anyway?" "It starts at four thirty." Shadow tells us as she walks down the stairs, looking like her normal self. Nude society, school uniforms. I'll never understand. "So, we should head out soon if we're going to make it in time." We gather a few things before taking off. Luna carries Shadow with her while I take Tempestive, seeing as she's the better flier and can maintain a levitation spell for much longer. Tempestive didn't complain, which put a smile on my face. He loved the flight there. He kept his wings out to catch the wind, flapping every now and again out of instinct. A couple of times I'd let go of him and let him glide for a bit, much to Luna's displeasure. It was a fun flight, with lots of catching up. Tempestive asked hundred upon hundreds of questions, and I'm sure the others enjoyed listening to my tales. An hour came and went and we entered the outskirts of Cloudsdale. We land and Luna casts the cloud walking spell on Shadow. Luckily no one saw us enter the city, so Luna and I toss on vests of our own before walking down the cloud path. Anywhere that isn't Ponyville we like to try and blend in. Being so tall doesn't help, but keeping the wings out of view does. We at least don't get warmed by the paparazzi. The city is bustling with activity today. Pegasus fill the air as they go about their business. The entire sight has Tempestive completely captivated, being his first time here. After he nearly walks into three ponies, I toss him on my back for safe keeping. He didn't mind, rather this just freed him up to ask even more questions. 'Why are there so many columns?' 'How many griffins live here?' 'Can we visit the rainbow factory?' Everything and anything in sight he had to know about. Luna and I were more than happy to oblige. Like usual, Shadow mostly kept to herself, only speaking when spoken to. We came up to the school and got in line with the other families and spectators there for the event. Most of the ponies there eyed us oddly, but kept to themselves. After a few minutes of waiting we got our tickets and made our way into the stadium. The stands go around a large open area. Several clouds are set in the open area. Two open circles at opposite ends of the field and four large open rectangles. I think they make the borders for maximum height as well as splitting the field into three sections, putting the goals in the center area. We make our way past the closed concession stand and to our seats in the visitor section. Luckily for us, we were seated next to a familiar face. "Hey there Captain!" Rainbow greets as we approach our seats. "When did you get back?" "Rainbow, Soarin, Jet," I greet as we take our seats. Jet and Tempestive rush to each and start talking about everything they've seen. "I got back earlier and had a free day, so we came to watch Shadow's boyfriend play-" "Really!?" Shadow yelps, glaring at me. "What?" "OOOOH! Shadow! Who's the lucky colt!?" Rainbow teases, making Shadow hide from her. They laugh at her discomfort, but leave it at that. "Anyway, what's been going on?" "Well, much of the same really," I tell her as we take our seat. I kind of feel bad for the guy behind me. "One lead taking us to another. But I have a good feeling about the next one." "Is that so? Well, I'm sure I'll hear all about this soon enough," she says, glancing out to the field. "So... how is this game played anyway?" "Oh! Oh! I know!" Tempestive chirps, bouncing beside me. "Each team has six players. Their goal is to toss a ball through the opposing goal. There are three ways to score. Making a pass in the center area will earn you one point, while going from above will get you two, and the bottom one will get you three. If you hold the ball, you aren't allowed to move, unless an enemy player is fighting for the ball. The team with the most points wins. There are a few other rules, but they mostly cover fouls and stuff. And that's Air ball!" "Huh, so where is Scootaloo?" "She's going to be playing today. A friend of hers was going to originally, but she was injured earlier and benched. Scootaloo joined last second so they can at least compete." Soarin tells me. "Looks like the game is about to start." We all turn our attention back to the playing field as the two teams fly out from the locker rooms. They're all wearing helmets and what looks like plastic padding for their torsos. The Cloudsdale team are in red and yellow while the Ponyville team are in light yellow and white. Both crowds explode as each team takes a few laps before lining up on the side lines. Our group starts yelling like idiots the moment we spot Scootaloo. Even Shadow was getting a bit vocal. Jet and Tempestive... were going a little over board, standing on their hind hooves and screaming their lungs off like there's no tomorrow. A few ponies around us gave them odd looks, but cheered none the less. The teams meet up in the field and huddle up before getting into position. Scootaloo and an enemy... I mean opposing player, head to the center and meet up with a referee. The crowd goes quiet as the two stand off, waiting for the ball to be tossed. Perspective: Scootaloo I fly out to the center and stare down the enemy player. He's a bit bigger than me, so I should have speed on him. The ref comes over and starts gives us the run down. Clean fights, no traveling, blah blah blah. I smirk when I hear Mom and Dad yelling my name, along with a few other familiar voices. I push them out of mind and focus on the game. The ref just finished up, so I bump hooves with the other player and get ready to catch the ball. "Ready? Set.... PLAY BALL!" The ref tosses the ball high into the air and we both take off after it. He's fast for his size, but I'm beating him to the ball still. That is, until he reaches up and starts pushing down on my chest. I glare down at him and use my back hooves to push him off. A few close calls and he backs off enough to let me get the ball. I grab the ball and hold it close as I come to an immediate stop. The guy tries to wrestle the ball from me, but I shake it away from him and toss it down to Breezy. The ball is intercepted and passed to somepony else. Just as they catch it, Rumble tackles them, sending the two of them hurdling down as they fight for the ball. I race after them with the guy from before following close behind me. Since he's bigger, he's falling at a higher speed than me. So I open my wings a bit to let him get away. Rumble and I make eye contact for a moment, so he kicks the pony away and flings the ball my way. I catch the ball and look back to the Sunny wide open and high. So I kick the ball up and race back up towards center field. Sunny get the ball but is swarmed quickly. "Drop it down!" I yell out to her. She kicks the ball straight down and races forward around the other players. I race to the ball and catch- WHAM The wind gets knocked out of me when an enemy player tackles me at high speed. I hug the ball tightly as I try to catch my breath. The mare tackling me is bad mouthing me like crazy, calling me bitch and whore and everything else she can think of as she tries to yank the ball out of my hooves. Everything is blurry as we spin out of control. I hear Rumble calling out to me and see a grey blur, so I try to time tossing the ball to him. I end up going a little left, but he makes up for the rest. The mare uses my stomach as a kick board to take off, sending me a bit further down. I recover quickly and try to make it back into the game, feeling my stomach twinge a bit in pain. I can hear my Mom screaming bloody murder at the other player... along with Tempestive oddly enough. Rumble, Sunny, and Shady are tossing the ball to one anther, trying to find an opening. The enemy team is putting good heat on them, but they completely forgot about me. I race forward and yell out at them. Shady gets the ball and tosses it to me. I prep myself and, when the ball is close enough, I kick it with all my might. It goes up and curls towards the goal... AND GOES IN! A little low, but the refs call it good and we go up by three! The crowd erupts in applause as I get bum rushed by my team mates. "WAY TO GO SCOOTS!" Sunny cheers, holding me up in a massive hug. "Nice shot!" Bank Shot yells from the back. "Alright, let's get back in the game! Call your targets, I want to keep our lead." Rumble yells at the others. We all nod and go to our side of the field, waiting for the enemy team to start. Perspective: Miles Oh sweet Barbra, this sport is awesome! I thought all the tackling and kicking would bring out fouls, but they're legal! Fuck yeah! Scootaloo nearly took that guys nuts off, then that one guy went tackled the other guy and dropped at least two thousand feet! And then the crowd went crazy when Scootaloo made that goal! I fucking love this sport... AND IT JUST STARTED! "GET'EM SCOOTALOO!" Tempestive yells with a jump, nearly falling over. "GET HIM, NOW GET HER, STOP LETTING THEM PASS AND TAKE THE HIT!" Okay, Tempestive really likes this game. Perspective: Scootaloo The opposing crowd cheers when the enemy team makes a two point goal. It pings on our moral a bit, but we're still ahead by one, so there's that at least. Bank Shot take the ball to the left corner and kicks it into play, right towards Sunny. A pony covers each of us as we pass the ball around, slowly working our way forward. Or, at least trying to. Every pass forward gets too much heat, forcing us to back off or get swarmed. We need to find a way to get a pony through with out being overly guarded. They intercept a pass made to Breezy and make a mad dash for the goal. I hesitate to chase after them as most of their players charge to cover their pony. I'm on my own, and Rumble and Breezy are putting good heat on them. I glance over and see Bank Shot thinking the same thing. I motion to him to head towards their goal as I wait to see what happens. They make it pretty close to our goal post before Rumble tackles the ball carrier. They roll around and drop a couple hundred feet before he gets the ball and tosses it away. It goes to mid field before Breezy gets it and tosses it to me. When I catch it I look back to see Bank shot wide open in scoring range. He's a bit out of range for me to pass it directly, but he should still be able to score. With that in mind, I drop the ball and kick it as hard as possible- THUMP I blackout for a second when I get tackled. After a few blinks I realize where I am and try to gain control. I spread my wings to catch myself and wince from the recoil of my fall. My wings flail back a few times, but I eventually catch myself. Roughly a thousand feet below the bottom cloud layer. I can hear cheering, so I think Bank Shot made the goal. My right wing stings with every flap, but I try to ignore it as much as possible. It's going to be tough to. Perspective: Rainbow Dash "THAT LITTLE FUCKER!" I yell, trying to take off to go beat the living shit out of that colt. Soarin and Miles hold me back as I try to fly at him. "LET ME GO! IMMA RIP HIS HEAD OFF!" "YEAH! GO GET HIM MOM!" Jet yells. "CALM DOWN DASH!" Soarin yells, yanking my tail back. "DESTROY HIM MAMMA DASH!" Tempestive yells. "Don't encourage her!" Miles yells as he grabs me and yanks me into my seat. "Calm down Dash. It was-" "That little fucker nearly knocked her out of the air! Look at her! Her wing is obviously messed up! HEY REF! WHAT ARE YOU DOING! CALL THAT FREAKING FOUL!" I yell at the top of my lungs. They ignore me, instead following the game as it plays out. "It was a legal hit," some stallion sitting behind us says. We all turn back and stare at him. He's wearing a red and yellow jacket... oh no. Please don't. "Legal smeagel! He knocked her out of bounds, that's against the rules!" Tempestive counters. I levitate him up and set him behind Luna, much to his displeasure. "His hit was in bounds, therefore legal. Sorry, but if your foal can't take the hits, don't play the sport." Oh... no... just... don't. "Rainbow... take it easy... don't hurt him." Soarin asks her quietly as she stares him down. I can tell that she's really trying not to jump his ass right now. "... whatever! We're ahead by four, so we have nothing to worry about. Besides, I'm sure your team will need the handicap." Rainbow says smugly, turning back to watch the game. The rest of us let out a sigh of relief as we turn back with her. Rainbow... not the most humble person ever. I lean over and shoot Tempestive a look, to which he shrugs to. He's... young. Perspective: Scootaloo By the time the last quarter comes around, I'm just about finished. My wing is killing me at this point and I'm beyond tired. The team has been carrying me through the entire last quarter, and I don't know if I can make it through another one. Coach Mary is looking over my wing right now, and I don't like the look on hr face. "C'mon Hell Mary, can she make it one more quarter?" Bank Shot asks worriedly. "We don't have a player to replace her with." "Bank, shut it." Rumble says firmly, maing him roll his eyes and walk off. "How bad is it Scoots?" "I... I don't know if I can make it another quarter guys. I'm sorry." I say with ragged breaths. I hang my head and silently berate myself. Mom would be able to make it another round like this. She'd push through the pain. She wouldn't be so weak! "And we were ahead by two points too! Uhg!" Sunny complains. "Hey, take it easy everypony. Scootaloo volunteered to be here and has been trooping though most of the game. She can't fly on this kind of a wound." I glance up to the stand and see Mom staring down at us... "No, no! I mean... if you guys are willing to carry me a bit more, I think I can make it fifteen more minutes." I tell them, standing up and spreading my wings. I nearly scream out when a shot of pain shoots down my wing, forcing me to fold it back. Hell Mary shakes her head to me and flies over to the ref. I sit back down and hang my head as she tosses in the towel. I hate losing. If that stupid colt didn't get such a good tackle on my we would have won this easily! I should have seen him coming. We loss because I wasn't strong enough for this. Rumble tries to put a hoof on my shoulder, but I shrug it off and walk back into the locker room. I just want to be alone for a bit. Taking my padding takes a bit longer than my patience allowed. My wing kept sending pings of pain whenever anything touched it. I yelped when my anger got the best of me and I ripped it off. With a growl I tossed it aside and bucked the lockers behind me, putting a nice dent in the locker door. "Easy Scootaloo. You don't want to hurt yourself anymore than you already are." Rumble tells me as he enters the room. "I don't care." I grumble as I grab my towel and head towards the showers. Rumble flies ahead of me and blocks the doors. "Why are you even here?" "I'm the captain of the team. It's my job to take care of all my players. And... I failed at that today." "You didn't cause the team to lose." I point out, making him shake his head. "Yeah I did. I saw you take that hit and didn't think about it right away. I should have seen you slacking, but I didn't. I was too focused on trying to win the game, and because of that we lost. I'm sorry," he tells me, lowering his head. I'm... a little taken back by this. "It.... it wasn't you fault Rumble. If anything, we should be blaming that one colt who tackled me." I tell him, worried by how hard he's actually taking this. I still feel as if I lost the game, but I don't want him feeling bad too. "Look, just... we'll get them next time. We were fighting bad odds today to begin with." "*sigh* yeah. I guess so. Doesn't help much though, but thanks anyway. I'm going to go head over to the guys shower and cool off." Before I can say anything else he flies off into the colts shower room. I let out an annoyed sigh and trot into the fillies shower room. The pain hurt pretty bad right now, but that's going to be nothing compared to seeing Mom afterwards. Author's Note Shout out to Silver Stout Shako for picking Cloudsdale's colors, and Heimobaus for picking Ponyville's. If you haven't read MY BLOG PAGE, my laptop recently broke. So, expect even further delays in the future. I'm not quitting, I'm just hindered. Thanks for reading, and like always, Brony on! Chapter 207 Hard LossesAuthor's Note I'M BACK BITCHES! Well... for the most part at least. So, my laptop isn't completely dead, just on life support. Meaning, if I unplug it, it'll die. So I have that part figured out at least. I'll hopefully be getting internet at my place soon as well. Also, this chapter has not been edited. I've been trying to figure out my Gdoc situation (for whatever reason, it deleted all my stuff and wont let me make new ones (extra bad news, I have to re-write Super Dad... no big deal... it's not like I was about to release it or anything... forty thousand words down the drain is all... I'm not bitter)). So, with that, here's a chapter, and the next one should be out relatively soon as well... seeing as it's already done... Brony on! Chapter 207 Hard Losses Chapter 207 Hard Losses After a long bus ride back to Ponyville I go to meet up with my mom. The crowd of spectators and family members cheer for the team when we step out, but I still keep my head down. Despite what Rumble says or thinks, I still feel that that loss was on me. I just want to go home and sleep it off, to start. I offer Mom a weak smile when I walk up to her, still keeping my head down though. She smiles back and pulls me in for a hug. "Don't beat yourself up for that squirt. You can't win them all," she whispers to me, patting my back. "I know Mom. It just... I still hate losing." I tell her, resting my head on her shoulders. "I know you do. It's a little something you learned from me. But, if you never lost, competing wouldn't be worth it. Your pride is hurt, but you'll make it through this." I sigh into her mane and close my eyes, relaxing into her embrace. She always knows just what to say when I'm feeling down. After a moment I break away and we silently start to walk home. "So... where is everypony?" I ask after a few minutes. "Most of them went home. Miles was called away for work and the boys passed out on the flight home. Though Luna is going to wait by our house to fix up your wing." "Oh, yeah." I mumble as I look to my bandaged wing. Having that fixed right away would really help. "I saw that they brought Tempestive. He seemed to really enjoy himself." "Heh, he nearly cheered as loud as me, almost." She nudges me a bit and I can't help but smile. When I was little I was her biggest fan, but now it seems to have turned around... kind of. "I... I have some bad news Scootaloo." "Bad news? What is it?" I ask nervously, unsure what this could be about. "It... well... in a few months my maternity leave will expire, and I'll be on active duty with Miles." I stop in my tracks and stare at her. "What... no-" "Now don't get sappy with me Scootaloo," she cuts me off firmly. "Everypony knew this was going to happen eventually. The Captain has been going the past two years with only Night, Will, and Dust for experienced help. And with those new recruits in training, they're really going to need me. But... with me there, I won't be here. I'm going to count on you to really start stepping up now Scootaloo, for Jet. He's too young to fully understand this, and I want my transition to be as easy as possible." "But... it's not like you're leaving forever or anything. You're a Spartan after all!" She smiles and pulls me in for another hug, one I don't return. Why is she dropping this now! Her leave doesn't end for another six months! Couldn't this have waited a little bit longer!? "Hm, I am a Spartan. And I'm not going down without one hell of a fight. But... before Miles left for that call, I had a talk with him. Something nasty is coming to Equestria, and I want this family ready for anything. I've already talked to Soarin about this, and I plan to talk to Jet later. But with me gone, you're going to have to step up as the mare of the house. And that means I'm going to need your help with watching over Jet. And more than just dropping him off at school." "Mom... I-" "I'm serious Scootaloo! When I'm away, Jet's going to need you, and I want you ready for that! He's a little colt Scoots, he won't understand, not right away at least. That's why I'm telling you this now. I want you ready to be there for him. To take care of him. And... should the worst happen-" "NO! No, Mom-" "If the worst should happen, I want to know that you'll watch over each other. Be there for each other." I pull her in for another hug and bury my face in her neck, fighting back the tears swelling in my eyes. She hugs me back tenderly, rubbing my back slowly. "Of course we will Mom. Why do you even need to ask?" I ask, squeezing her tightly. "I knew you would, I just... I can't have doubts. Doubts make you hesitate, and I can't chance that. You make me so proud Scootaloo, I hope you know that." We hold each other for a bit longer until we each begrudgingly let go of each other. We do have appearances to keep up after all. After a short walk we make it underneath our home and find Luna waiting patiently for us. "Hey Luna. Did... did you enjoy the game?" I ask sheepishly. She smiles and walks over to my side, lifting my wing up with her magic. I hiss from the pain from the sudden movement, but let it go when I feel the pain begin to numb away. "You were magnificent Scootaloo. I just don't understand why they wouldn't let me just heal you at the stadium. Instead they forced you to go through the pain and suffering of the trip back here." I wince again when she yanks my wing in another direction, focusing the magic elsewhere. "Y-yeah... what cruel and unusual PUN-ishment!” I yelp again when she pulls it straight up, cracking my joint. "It has to do with liability and legality stuff like that." Mom points out. "I am the master of legalities, and a princess. There is no reason they couldn't let me help her." Luna says bitterly, setting my wing back to its resting position. "Well... technically you’re a queen... part time. So... they have every reason not to let you heal her." Mom points AAAAHH! WHY DOES SHE KEEP YANKING IT AROUND!? "LUNA!" "All done!" she says happily, letting go of my wing. "But you shouldn't fly for a day or two, just to be safe. Do you need help getting up-" "No!" Mom cuts her off quickly. "No, I mean... I've got this. Why don't you go home and get some sleep? I can handle things here now." Luna gives my wing a glance over before shrugging. "Very well. Remember to keep off it for a few days. Good night you two, and great job today Scootaloo." "Thanks, and you too." I call out to her as she trots away. When she's out of ear shot Mom and I share a chuckle. "I thought she was going to tear my wing off for a second." "Pfft, yeah. Let's get inside and hit the hay already, it's starting to get late." Mom tells me, to which I nod. She comes over and lifts me up to our home, setting me on the porch. When we walk inside we find Soarin sitting on the couch in the living room, waiting for us. He walks over and hugs me, giving me praise for my hard work. I thank him and head to bed. It's been a long day, and I just want to go to sleep right now. ............................................................................................................................................................ Perspective: Miles It takes me several hours of intense focus, but I eventually force myself back into human form on the flight to the Griffin Colonies. I know I'll pay later for switching this much, but you have to do what you have to do. I get dressed and armored up as quickly as possible just in time for the descent. The ship shakes violently as we pass through a fierce storm. A few alarms start to sound off, but I ignore them as we continue our descent. I peer through one of the openings and sigh as arcs of electricity illuminate the dark haze. Six years and these damned storms and were no closer to figuring out this mess. Every sample is foreign to our scanners and it's too acidic to actually hold and physically check. When we make it through the cloud cover, I get a look of Lions Heart. Wasteland. There's really no other way to put it. All the plant life, dead. The ground, bare. Large wooden awnings have been built onto the cities tall stone walls to try and protect it, but it's being burned away slowly. They're trying to replace it, but much of the surrounding forest has already been removed by now, and they're still going at it. A large stone building sits outside the tall city walls with a stone pathway leading to the city gate. The ship hovers near the entrance to the stone building and waits long enough for me to jump off. I run into cover and take in my surroundings. A massive black food processor fills the center of the room while many angry griffins cover much of the rest. I force my way through the yelling crowd to the front where I find a bot working on the machine. "What happened?" I ask it as I look over the part it's working on. "A pressure valve has warped. Replacement in process. E.T.A. to completion, six hours." The crowd goes into an uproar from this and start directing it at me. "WHERE'S THE FOOD!?" "I HAVE THREE KIDS TO FEED!" "AREN'T YOU SUPPOSE TO BE ADVANCED! WHERE'S THE FOOD!?" "WHY AREN'T YOU DOING ANYTHING!?" "WHERE'S THE FOOD!?" I turn back and stare at the crowd for a moment for a moment before stepping forward. Many in the back are still yelling, but the ones up front have stopped, for now at least. "Please understand that this is a tool. And like any other tool, under a lot of stress it tends to breakdown. We are working on the problem and will have it back online as quickly as possible-" "Six hours isn't quick enough!" Some guy in the back yells. "I agree. But yelling and causing a scene will not get you anywhere! Now I suggest you all get back in line while we try and fix this problem!" I get a few boos, but they mostly back off. I can see a few potential trouble makers, but I turn my back on them to try and get this problem fixed sooner. “Excuse me, sir?” Some guy calls out as he breaks through the crowd and approaches. He’s wearing a blue sash over his chest. “That’s close enough.” I warn him, holding up a hand. “How can I help you?” “The… king wishes to speak with you,” he says nervously, glancing back to the crowd of griffins. “He can wait until we get this back online-“ “Um… sir… well.” He strides forward and continues in a hushed tone. “The… king of kings, if you will, wishes to speak with you.” “I figured. Ulfric can wait.” I tell him, getting a few gasps from the crowd. I turn back to the machinery and start to take look over the dismantled valve. Six hours to fix something that obviously needs to be replaced… this is going to be a long day. And this is only the first on my check list. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Perspective: Rainbow Dash I stay up until all of the kids are asleep before heading out of the house. I glance around before jumping into the air and heading towards the back of Miles’s home. I find Big Mac walking up to it and meet up with him before teleporting. “Hey Big Mac, are you ready for this?” “Eeyup.” “… is your family ready for this?” I feel kind of douche-y asking that, but it needs to be asked. “Fluttershy is ready. Ah haven’t told Rampant yet though. Ah… guess ah figured ah’ll have more time later,” he admits, rubbing the back of his neck a bit. “I know how you feel. I haven’t told Jet yet either. But, we still have some time before we’re back in. I talked with Scootaloo earlier… it wasn’t easy. Makes me want to just get the talk with Jet over with; but at the same time, not want to.” He nods to me and heads to the mico platform. I sigh and follow after him, taking it as soon as it clears up. “Well you guys took your time.” Night Fury scoffs. I roll my eyes and walk up to him. “Fury, still a douche I see.” I retort, getting a chuckle from him. “Whatever, I know you love it. Here’s the scoop so far. We intercepted a goblin transport. All of the smugglers died in the assault, but the dragon assisting them told us something. Syncney.” “Syncney?” I ask. “Yeah, it’s a city in the Goblin Empire. We’re going there as soon as Miles finishes up with the riots in the G.C. In the meantime-“ “He still thinks there might be an attack?” Big Mac asks. “Pfft, he’s counting the days till then. He has several political action committees under surveillance still. I don’t think he thinks that any government will do anything, but he fears groups taking action into their own hands.” “… hand?” I ask, tilting my head slightly. “I would think the griffins would be the ones to make the first move, not the goblins.” Night Fury shakes his head to this. “The griffins are the scapegoat, in Miles’s mind at least. He believes the goblins will make some kind of, justified, crusade into Equestrian territory. Backed by a willing army of griffins of course.” “For the Southern Badlands ah assume.” Big Mac comments, making us both nod. “Syncney.” I mutter, thinking of the possibilities. “Anything else?” “Hmm… oh yeah. He wants an update on the newbies. How are they coming along?” “We haven’t been with them at all, you’ll have to go and check up on them yourself.” I tell him. “*sigh* just what I need. Alright. Hopefully Ellzy, Su ye, and Butterscotch can handle a simple training regiment,” he says irritably. “Cut them some slack. They didn’t get as much experience before going to train the new recruits.” I tell him. “Eeyup. Plus ya didn’t have ta train a orc.” Big Mac points out, getting a nod from the both of us. “So why did ya’ll call us here today? We could’a learned this at the monthly meeting, what’s so special now?” “Well… Miles is putting you two on call when he gets back-“ “WHAT!?” Big Mac and I yell out together, making him jump slightly. “What could be so dang important that Miles would call on only us fer? And why not Storm?” Night Fury glances around before stepping closer to us, drawing us closer as well. “Miles doesn’t want to alert the Equestrian government about this mission. From what we’ve seen, it needs to be kept under wraps for the moment.” “What ever happened to ‘no secrets’ in Terradisia?” I ask, raising an eyebrow. “There aren’t any. That’s why you’re being pulled tonight. You can’t answer questions if you aren’t here. If Storm was pulled, it would bring up too many questions. And Luna being a letter away from Celestia, and Storm being at the castle every day… well, can you see why the discrepancy?” Big Mac and I mull it over for a moment silently. It honestly sounds like he’s just trying to hide things from Luna. “What more can ya tell us?” Big Mac asks. Night Fury looks around again before telling us. “We’re not sure, but it has to do with some goblin tech we found. It was enchanted with pony magic, making him believe that there’s something fishy going on with the factory it came from. That’s what we’re going to Syncney for. To find any factories there, and investigate what’s going on there. But… well, it’s not like they’re going to let us just waltz right in there. So, he needs a team. Everypony else is training, so you’re being called back. For this job at least.” Big Mac and I look to each other before nodding to Night. I don’t like the sneaking around and what-not, but I understand why he’s doing it. If things are bad over there… this could start a war. He’s being sneaky with Celestia the ruler, not the sibling. “When do we leave?” I ask quietly. Can we at least say goodbye? “In an hour. Get your gear and meet back up here.” Dammit. Well, at least I have an hour. Night nods to us and takes off for the mico platform, followed by me and Big Mac. I rush home and burst through the front door and start yelling for everypony to wake up. I go to my bedroom and kick the door open, finding Soarin getting up slowly. I run to Scootaloo’s and Jet’s room and do the same before heading to the living room, where I wait for them. It takes them a bit, but they eventually make it out and start asking dozens of questions… well, most of them. Jet just curls up into a ball and goes back to sleep. I smile down at him and walk over to him. He looks so peaceful right now. He has no worries, no concerns- “Whoa… Dash, what’s wrong?” Soarin asks worriedly. I look up to him and feel a tear roll down my cheek. I try to rub it away quickly, but they’ve both already saw it. I lean down and start to nuzzle Jet back awake, much to his displeasure. “Uuuhhhgg. Mom? *yawn* what time is it?” he asks tiredly. “It’s really late. But I need you awake for a moment, think you can do that for your mom?” I ask him sweetly, getting scared looks from Soarin and Scootaloo. “Mmm… what’s up?” He asks groggily as he sits up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “I’m going to be leaving for a bit. Miles needs me and a really important mission, and I don’t know when I’ll be back.” I tell him, waking him up completely. “What?” “But… you said-“ “I know I said I wouldn’t be leaving for a bit, but this is urgent. There’s a problem… and Big Mac and I are being pulled to help-“ “Well, what about Storm Cloud? Why can’t he pull him?” Scootaloo demands, tears forming in her eyes. “He can’t come. If he does, Celestia might find out. If she does… it might botch the mission. Equestria can’t know about this mission. Not now at least. I have… less than an hour before I need to be back in Mooseden.” “No!” Jet yells, tackling my leg in a hug. “You can’t leave! You… just can’t!” He yells, tearing up as he tightens his grasp on my leg. Scootaloo and Soarin come over and join in, enveloping me completely. I keep quiet and return the affection. I don’t know what to say, so I just tell them that I’ll be fine. That I’ll be back before they know it. I tell them anything I can think of that might ease their minds, but I know it hardly helps. It’s never supposed to. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Perspective: Miles It takes forever, but we eventually get the food processor back online. It took less than six hours, but no one in the crowd seemed to really notice. With my job here done, I reluctantly follow the griffin from before back down the passageway towards the city. The line goes all through the city gate. Young, old, rich, poor, everyone was affected by this storm. Several groups give me dirty looks as I walk by, but I ignore them as we walk through the front gate. Luckily for the griffins, they designed their homes from stone, so when the rain first hit it didn’t do too much damage. With the awnings up though, the city has been casted into a permanent shadow. Added with the thick cloud cover, it appears to be night time here. Streetlights illuminate the main roads, but the alleyways are dark and unsettling. Many walls have been tagged with either slurs of anti-Equestrian sentiment or posters depicting various things. Everything from Ulfric being kicked around by Celestia to Celestia forcing poor, defenseless griffins to pay for a slice of bread as they’re rained on by acidic rain cover streetlights and once blank walls. In the end, it’s obvious who they think the villain is. When we make it to the front of the Castle, a griffin with an owl half is standing on a small wooden box shouting at a small crowd. He’s wearing a light blue vest with various buttons and pins with similar remarks to the posters. “… and all the time they sit there, spoon feeding us their scraps while profiteering off of our misfortune! How many children go hungry at night while they fatten up and mock us! How long do we have to belittle ourselves with these measly handouts!? Join the National Griffin Coalition today and fight the tyranny that’s attempting to close its grasp over our necks!” “Is he fucking serious?” I ask aloud, somehow getting his attention. “LOOK! One of the tyrants come to gloat to the king himself! BOO!” He yells, pointing me out. “Fuck you asshole.” I retort, flipping him off. Luckily enough, griffins understand this gesture. The crowd starts to yell and boo with him, making the messenger start to try and usher me inside. “I’ll remember you later asshole.” I call out to him. “Good! Remember the face that said no to your rule! LONG LIVE ULFRIC! LONG LIVE THE COLONIES! NO TAXATION FOR DEVISTATION!” He chants, getting the crowd to yell with him. I shake my head and continue onward inside. Just as I feared. People are starting to point fingers. This will lead in insurrection, massacres, terrorist acts… let’s just see what Ulfric has to say about all of this. The castle is dark and empty, only having sparse torches lit to show the ends of hallways or corridors. They can’t afford to burn the wood to light the entire castle, so the minimal amount will suffice. The messenger guides me down the dark corridors to the throne room where we find Ulfric. He’s in his usual light blue garbs staring out a window at the city below. The look on his face easily gives away his troubled mind, so I approach him and wait patiently for him to speak first. “Tell me, Miles, when your home was attacked… did the worry tear at you? Did the fear grab at your heart so easily?” he asks slowly, never looking away from the city. “ …we were lucky.” I tell him, getting a confused look in return. “The attack was quick. It only took them a week to take the city. In that time, all we did was fight. We didn’t have time to fear or worry. There was… only killing.” “Did you lose anyone you cared for?” he asks quietly. “… yeah. I did.” “Six years Miles. Six years and it’s only getting worse. We can’t grow food. The runoff is starting to affect our shores… fear has gripped my people Miles.” “We are all trying to do whatever we can Ulfric. Terradisia, Equestria-“ “Yes, I know. But at the same time, you don’t have to tell millions of people that they have to send their children to bed hungry. That their next meal will be some a handout that can’t even be called food by its looks. My people prided themselves with their independence Miles. And now-“ “And now they have to humble themselves by accepting help from others.” I cut him off, making him look back out the window. “I’ve seen much of the world Ulfric, it’s divided. Every nation follows a belief of isolation, and now it’s starting to kick you all in the ass. This has affected the entire world, yours more so than the others, but it’s still being felt everywhere.” He stays quiet for a moment, thinking to himself as he continues to stare out at the city below. I join him at the window and look down at the gloomy city. “You should have seen this city before The Storm. It was bright, and so full of life. Heh, I once complained it was too bright here. Now… now those damned awnings.” “We’ll fix this. We just need more time-“ “We don’t have time Miles. We simply just… don’t have time,” he tells me tiredly. “I’m sure you heard one of the yellers on your way through the city.” “No taxation for devastation. Yeah, I heard them.” He rubs his eyes and lets out a sigh. “What tax are they talking about?” “It all started as a simple rumor. But, that’s all it took really.” “Ulfric, what’s the rumor?” “… *sigh* that the Equestrians are adding a tax to the aid they’ve been sending.” I almost do a double take when I hear this. “Taxing the aid? They’ve cut prices to the point where farms are starting to go bankrupt! How could they believe that!?” I ask angrily, thinking back to the Apple farm. I know they’ve been hit really hard by this, so it’s putting a bit of a bias in my opinion. “Miles, we still have to buy the food they send us. I know the prices have been reduced drastically, but… we’re in a national state of emergency. We have no ability to grow our own food, at least on a large scale. To them, it appears that the Equestrians are profiting off of our misfortunes-“ “Do you believe that?” I ask quickly. If the people believe this, that’s one thing. But… the minute Ulfric believes this… I don’t know what would happen. “I believe… that, in time, this will all come to a point. I’m old, Miles. I’ve seen the years of famine for my country time and time again. We’re a hardy people, but this has all happened before. The other times one colony fought with another or caused riots… I’m old Miles. This has happened before, it’ll happen again. I guarantee you that.” He sounds so… defeated. As if he’s just going to let all of this just happen, and have no say in it whatsoever! “Ulfric,” I say quietly, “you can’t let this get to you. You’ve seen this before, so you’ve learned from this before. We learn from history to avoid making the same mistakes-“ “But the circumstances surrounding any one problem are never the same Miles. Neither are those who have to go through them. I am old,, but no matter what I learn from time, time finds a way to repeat itself. Rest assured that I am doing everything I can to try and put an end to these kinds of thoughts, but I can only do so much.” “Your people listen to you Ulfric. Your words carry weight with them. They will cling to what you say, and if you start speaking in this defeated mindset, they’ll react in kind.” “Hmm, I know. Trust me, I know. But, trying to persuade a nation from aggression while carrying its burden is tiresome. I’m sure one day you’ll understand. Now, I won’t keep you from your duties. Thank you for your time Miles.” “Anytime Ulfric. Take care.” I start to walk out of the throne room until Ulfric calls out to me again. “You remind me of her, your mother that is. You take after her, more than you’ll ever believe.” I pause for a second before nodding to him and leaving. I don’t like him knowing my mother, it makes him able to get to me too easily. Whatever, I’ll take the compliment for now; I have three other riots to quell. Chapter 208 Chin UpSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Chapter 210 Dinner In MoosdenChapter 210 Dinner In Moosden Perspective: Rumble We spend a little more time in that tree house before finally mustering the courage to head out. She seems really apprehensive about doing this, but I don't see what the problem is. I mean, I understand meeting family members is typically a stressful thing. But I don't think it'll really be as bad as she thinks it's going to be. It's probably going to be a tad strange, but nothing I can't handle. Every family has something weird about it, and I've seen plenty of strange things already. Plus, I'm an athlete! Guards love athletes! I just need to get them talking about a sport and I'll be in! We walk slowly together to her house leaning on each other lightly. I can tell she's nervous,so I try to lighten the mood a bit by nudging her a bit. “You’re being awfully quiet, scared?” I ask Shadow, giving her another slight nudge. “Well… I am actually. If you say the wrong thing to the wrong people… just try and be mindful when you speak to certain people, okay?” she tells me with a worried frown. Well... so much for lightening the mood. “Okay, now I’m worried. Any pointers I should know to survive?” I ask with a slight chuckle. She stops and thinks about it for a second before looking at me with a completely serious face. “You’re leaving Equestria, literally. Treat this as if you were visiting another country.” I stare at her for a second before remembering myself and forcing out a chuckle. “Don’t worry. I’ll be on my best behavior.” I tell her. I thought she lived on the edge of town, which I also thought was a part of Ponyville. Actually… I remember my brother talking about joint ruling for Ponyville, so I guess that’s where that comes in. We make it to her home and start to walk around towards the back. After what happened last time, I’m not against going in through the back door. “Okay, so this will tingle at first, but it’s completely safe. Just do as I do.” Shadow tells me as she walks away from the house. “Uh… okay? Where are you going? I thought we were going to your house.” Before she answers me she suddenly disappears in a flash beneath a large stone structure. Great. Something scared her off. I don’t even know what I could have said that would have; I thought I was being so- FLASH What the buck was that!? What was that!? Where am I!? How did it suddenly drop twenty degrees!? What just happened!? “Pfft, you okay there? Most people freak out the first time they use a mico platform, but never this bad.” Shadow tells me with an adorable giggle. I’m still freaking out about the… thing, but I’ll get over it for a laugh like that. “Heh... yeah. So… um, where are we?” “We’re in-“ “HEY!” We both jump slightly when somepony yells at us. We look over to see somepony in a heavy black cloak with a walking stick walking towards us. “Oh, hey Uncle Damian.” Shadow says quietly. “Oh hi? That’s all I get!? Where’s my hug?” He demands, closing the distance between us. Shadow blushes a bit before giving him a quick hug. During the hug he notices me and stares me down. “Hi, I’m-“ “Whose this!? This your new coltfriend!?” He practically yells, letting go of Shadow to face me. “Well… maybe-“ “MAYBE!? Well are you or aren’t you!?” He demands, loudly. “We’re… trying to figure that out.” Shadow says shortly, glancing to me. So much dread in her eyes right now, so much. I don’t quite get this guy. I think he’s just trying to embarrass Shadow. “Pfffffft, what?” He asks, looking back to Shadow for a moment. “Are you trying to diddle her piddle?” “I… what?” “Are you trying to diddle her piddle with your widdle fiddle?” he asks, leaning awkwardly close to me. “Uh… what?” “What’s your name?” he asks. “Uncle Damian, what are you going to do?” Shadow asks, sounding really scared. “I just want to know his name,” he says innocently. “What’s your name?” “Rumble.” “… Rumble what? What’s your family name? Who’s your family? Who are you?” “Damian, what are you doing?” “I’m not doing anything!” He says like a whining foal. “So, what’s your name?” “Um… I think our family name is the Thunders-“ “Got it. I’ll be back,” he says abruptly, turning and starting to leave. “Damian, what are you going to do?” Shadow demands. “Nothin.” “What are you going to do!?” She demands much more sternly. “I’m not going to do anything!” Damian replies quickly. “You better not do what I think you’re going to do,” she warns him sternly. “How can I not do something when I wasn’t going to do anything to begin with? Now, if you’d be so kind as to excuse me, I have to go do something.” Damian says before scurrying off into the depths of the small town. Shadow lets out a long sigh and hangs her head down. “Um… what’s he going to do?” I ask, not entirely sure if I want to hear the answer. “He’s going to go look you up. I’m sure we’ll hear all about it later. Let’s just get going before it gets too late. I’m sure there will be plenty of other oddities to come our way.” Shadow says meekly. She trot s off before I could really think of anything to say. Look me up? Is he in the guard too? I don’t really have anything to worry about but… it still feels off. Moosden is quite the sight to see. The buildings are simple wooden cabins that circle around a large stone structure, one similar to the one in Ponyville behind her house. The small town is filled with so many different pon- er… people. Moose, diamond dogs, griffins, ponies, all living together in one community. It was a little odd at first, but when I saw Shadow smiling and greeting all of them I started to loosen up. If she feels safe here, then I should be too, right? “Okay, so before we go any further I need to give you a few warnings.” Shadow tells me when we make it to the edge of town. “What’s up?” “The people we’re about to meet are… different, culturally. Just… don’t stare, okay. They hate it when people stare,” she pleads with me, giving me a worried look. “I’ll do my best, but I don’t think it’ll be that bad.” I tell her, giving her a reassuring smile. She frowns a bit more before approaching a house and knocking on it. I join her at her side and put on my best smile. First part of her family -besides that Damian guy- time to make a good impression. “WHO GOES THERE!?” A loud, deep –yet distinctly feminine voice bellows from inside. “It’s Shadow, can I come in? I’d like you to meet somepony.” Shadow replies loudly. I didn’t know she could get that loud. “Zeakel! Open the door!” I jump at how loud they yell from inside. That much volume isn’t really necessary, in my opinion at least. I take deep breath and wait for the door to open. Just smile, good posture, this’ll be over before- “Yes Shadow?” “… orc.” I mutter when an orc opens the door. He’s much shorter than the last one I saw, standing around five feet or so, but… orc. “Hey Zeakel, is now a good time? I just wanted to chat with your mom for a moment.” Shadow says rather calmly. I can’t help but stare at Zeakel. There’s an orc, living in Equestria. And Shadow knows him well enough to not freak out around him. I did not see that coming, not even close. “Da,” he says with a slight nod of the head, staring right back at me. He walks in, leading Shadow inside. It takes me a moment to gather myself and follow after them. Why, in all of Equestria, are we talking to orcs? How could she possibly know a family of orcs!? The inside of the house is made up of mostly earth and stone with a center pit fire lighting the room. It’s still fairly dim in here, but not enough to trip over anything. Antlers and various other animal parts cover the walls as a section of the room has a stack of furs made into what looks like a bed. A few… carcasses, have been hung up and… I think I’m going to puke from the smell… it smells like they’re burning parts of it! “Eremita-kin, greeting.” Another orc greets; the female I presume. She stands at least nine feet tall and looks much like the males did, just more feminine and without the tusk teeth. She’s currently cutting strips of flesh from one of the carcasses. “Hello Azzeal, I just wanted to introduce you-“ “Is this mate yours?” she asks bluntly, looking down at me. “Oh… um… not quite. We’re… dating.” Shadow falters. “Ponies.” The orc mutters, shaking her head. She stops working on the corpse and walks over to me, eyeing me over critically. I tense up and wait for her to finish walking around me, hoping to Celestia that she doesn’t eat me. “Azzeal-“ “He has strength, and fear. Does he… um…” she pauses and thinks to herself for a moment. “Produce?” “… oh! Um… I assume so. We haven’t done that-“ “Good. Chief Eremita would be most… vengeful.” I gulped at that. She eyes me over again before returning to the carcass. “Why are you here, Eremita-kin?” “Well… I guess I’m here to hear your thoughts on him.” Shadow tells her, stepping to my side and nudging me slightly. I guess I was holding my breath, because that made me let it go. “I don’t understand. He produces, does he not? What… um… value, do my words have?” She asks, tilting her head slightly. “Raz is a Spartan, or is trying to be-“ “Raz is strong! He will be Spartan!” Azzeal snaps, making me jump a bit. “… right. Well, the Spartans are close, as so should their families-“ “Ah, I see. Kinship. Da. He… um… he… will bring many healthy offspring. Yes. Potent male,” she says, struggling. I don’t think this is her native language. “Potent. Well thanks Azzeal. I’ll see you the next chance I get. I should get him out of here before he loses his lunch.” Shadow tells her as she starts to drag me out of the home. “How weak.” I hear her mutter before we make it out the door. Shadow drags me a bit away before pausing behind a building and offers me a slight smile. “Heh… so… what did you think of the Al-Gruuls?” I cough up a chuckle as I try to shake the thought of those carcasses out of my mind. “I can take you back home now if you’d like-“ “No! I mean… do you… do you eat meat?” I ask hesitantly. “No, of course not! And don’t worry. They only hunt wild animals that are a nuisance to Moosden,” she assures me. “How can you stand to be in there? And, I mean that in a literal sense, how ‘you’ can stand to be in there!? I nearly lost my lunch from that!” “Well… I’ve known them a lot longer than you have. At first, I didn’t like being anywhere near there. Then, I went with my dad and… I don’t know. Having him there made things easier I guess. They weren’t monsters with him there. They were just people looking for a new start, and that made me okay with them.” “Right… um… heh…” “Are you sure you don’t want to go home now? The rest of town isn’t like that, but it doesn’t get any more normal.” Shadow seems really scared to hear my answer. Understandably of course, but I’ve never seen her this scared before. Given, I’ve only known her for a short time… but… still. “No, I can keep going. Just, maybe nowhere else that has meat like that. I don’t think I can stomach that right now.” I tell her, trying my best to give her a reassuring smile. I can’t really make one though, having the image of a slayed out carcass with all of its guts and flesh out and… blech! “Okay… um… I guess next would be the orphanage.” “There’s an orphanage here? Okay, that sounds good. I’m good with kids, yeah. Let’s do that.” Shadow gives me a weak smile and starts to lead me towards the back of the small town. Kids, I can do this. Just be goofy and keep things clean. I can do that, easy! As we walk, I notice that we’re being watched by several pon… er, people. A few of them murmur to each other while most just stare. I try to wave to a group of them, but they just run off. I was about to ask Shadow about it when I bumped into something. I step back to see that I walked into a griffin. He’s looks a bit… different though. I thought all griffins had an eagle front, but I guess there are hawk fronts as well. Cool. “Oh… hi Ellzy.” Shadow says, giving the griffin a quick hug. “What are you doing out of training?” “I had to run and get supplies,” he says with a soft voice, eyeing me closely. “Who’s this?” “Hi, I’m Rumble. I’m Shadow’s co-“ “AAAAHH!” he squeals, getting everponys attention. “HEY! LOOK, SHADOW FINALLY GOT A COLTFRIEND!” “Uncle Ellzy!” “AHHHHH! MILES OWES ME TWENTY BITS!” he yells before flying off. We stand there for a moment before Shadow starts to push me down the road. “Who is Miles?” I ask, finally taking my own steps. “That’s my dad.” “Oh… and why does he owe Ellzy twenty bits-“ “I’d rather not say,” she says quietly, looking away from me. I stare at her for a second before simply accepting it. I’m sure whatever it is, it’ll come back up soon enough. “So… you said we were going to an orphanage?” I ask, getting her to look back up to me. She offers me a small smile before nodding and walking on. She leads me to one of the larger houses towards the west side of town. The home is two stories high and has several broken windows. It looks like there was a sign out front, but something… chewed it off? It definitely looks like there were bite marks on the stumps of posts. There’s an odd smell about this place as well. Like… something… wet and stinky lives here. Shadow walks up to the door and opens it, stepping in quickly, so I follow her lead and do the same. The room seems normal enough. We’re in what looks to be the lobby area. In the back of the room there are two stairs that lead to the upper parts of the building. There are two doors, one on the left wall and one on the other. I can kind of hear the kids in the back right room, they sound like a rowdy bunch. Shadow looks like she’s trying to prep herself for something, but I figure the best way to deal with this is to just go for it. So I go to the door and open it… “Diamond dogs.” I blink as a group of green Diamond Dog kids rough around in the middle of what looks to be a play area of a den, seeing as there are plenty of toys here as well as a sitting area. Shadow steps beside me and makes one of the floor boards creak, getting their attention. All of their heads pop up as they stare at us, unmoving. “… GET ‘EM!” One of the ones in the back yells. They all charge at us, jumping over couches and desks in a matter of seconds before tackling me, and presumably Shadow, to the ground. I start yelling and try to get away from them, but they easily over power me and drag me inside their den. “SHADOW! HELP! WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO DO!? HELP!” I struggle in vain as they pin me on my back and restrain my legs. I look between them all as they bark between themselves. What are they planning? What are they going to do? Where’s Shadow? “WHY ARE THEY SNIFFING ME!?” I hear Shadow chuckle as the entire group of Diamond Dogs start to sniff me all over… all over. I continue to try and struggle to free myself, but they are intent on sniffing me completely. I finally get a glance of Shadow and see her on the side lines laughing the entire thing. A whistle goes off somewhere and all of the dogs suddenly jump off me. I take a second to catch my breath before looking for my savior. “So, who is this Shadow?” Some moose asks from the doorway. All of the dogs are at her feet, looking up at her and giving her one hundred percent of their attention. “Hey Saska, this is Rumble. My… special somepony, if he survives to dinner that is.” Shadow tells her before giving her a quick hug. “Oh… I didn’t know you… I mean… um… hello. I’m Saska I’m watching over these pups until Lief gets back from training,” she tells me, offering a hoof to help me up. “Oh… okay… um, Shadow, can I pull you aside real quick?” I ask her, getting a scared look and a nod in response. I take her to the corner on the room and take a moment to formulate my question. “She’s a moose?” “Um… yes,” she responds, unsure of my intention. “Right and those were diamond dogs?” “Well… Jade Hounds technically, but they are related,” she corrects. “Ah… so, a moose is watching over a bunch of Jade Hounds in the middle of Equestria, with neighboring orcs, griffins, and ponies.” “Well… technically this is the top of Equestria, but… yeah. Saska had some… tragic stuff happen to her. My dad looked up something’s that would help her in her recovery, so she helps those who rely on her. It’s supposed to-“ “I get that there’s probably a good reason for that, and it sounds a bit personal, but… I don’t know. I think after being… sniffed… completely, I need a break-“ “Oh… I understand-“ “Not like that.” I cut her off, getting a confused look from her. I sigh and glance back to Saska, getting a nod from her before she starts to usher the Dogs out of the room. “I’m not giving up. This was… just… a lot, and I’d like to just take a moment to let everything settle before moving on. I’m not done; I’m just… overwhelmed, a bit.” “… are you sure?” she asks nervously, taking a step away from me. “Because, there isn’t really anywhere normal here. The most ‘normal’ this place gets is my home and… let’s just say things will be weird there.” “Weird like Orc weird, or something completely new weird?” I ask nervously. “Weird as in my mother will be there, weird.” “… that doesn’t sound that odd. Is there anything I should know ahead of time? Like… is she an orc?” I ask cautiously. “No, she’s just a unicorn. She’s just… a little forward, at times. ” I look at her for a second before sighing. She’s a unicorn, magic is weird and all but she’s a unicorn. I can handle that. And she’s her mother too, so probably a lot of questions about the relationship. Not that hard. Where could this possibly go wrong? This sounds like the most normal thing in this town… Oh Celestia… what is going to happen? “Well… if let’s just get this over with. I’m sure your mother will be… happy, to meet me.” I say tiredly as I force myself up. I give her a smile and head for the door. Along the way I get tackled one last time by the group of dogs as the assault me with sniffs and licks all over. They leave me almost immediately, but the damage is done. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Shadow asks as she helps me up. “You seem really put off by all of this.” “I am really off by all of this.” I tell her, getting her to deflate a bit. “I mean, I grew up in Ponyville. The weirdest thing there is Spike, and even then he’s as pony-washed as they come. Well… on a normal day that’s Ponyville.” “Do you actually know Spike?” “I know he’s rutting that fashion mare.” “Yes, everypony knows that. I mean, have you ever met him before?” “Well… a couple of times. We’re in a club together, so we-“ “Wait, you’re in a club together? Really?” she asks me in astonishment. “What club?” “I… heh… I can’t tell you.” I tell her nervously, rubbing the back of my neck. “It’s… sort of a guy’s club. Um… more of a bachelors club, if you catch my drift.” She thinks about it for a moment before going wide eyed and covering her mouth. “Rumble-“ “I’m only in it because my brother is a chair member of the club! I swear!” I tell her, going red in the cheeks. I don’t think I’ve ever admitted being in that club before. “And… and Spikes in this… club?” she asks cautiously. “Um… yeah.” “Is he… cheating on Rarity?” “No, no… I don’t believe so. He never talks about his personal life, he just… listens. My guess was that he was using the club to get closer to that fashion mare-“ “Rarity.” “He never did anything beyond that… to my knowledge at least.” I try telling her, though I can see the doubt plainly in her eyes. I start to sweat lightly when I realize how bad this sounds. Why did I open my big mouth? “Uh… how bad dos this all sound?” “Pretty bad, but not for you. I’m sure my Dad will love you for telling us this. Spike, on the other hoof, maybe not so much,” she tells me before walking off. “… y-your dad!? Why does he have to know!? Shadow? Shadow!?” I chase after her as she trots out of the orphanage. She laughs at me a little and keeps walking, ignoring my fear. I can’t imagine the kind of pony that keeps this place in order. He must be one terrifying pony… that gets laid way too often. She leads me to the center of town. Along the way, everypony is staring at us, whispering to each other and pointing. I don’t know how Shadow can walk around with this kind of attention. The Shadow I know would have run home by now to hide under her blanket. Well… truth be told, I don’t really know Shadow all that well, so I guess I can’t say anything. She brings me to a small, quaint house near the center of town. It fits in with the rest of the homes around here, having a small flower garden out front and a welcome mat. Everything seems normal enough. The front door opens up as we approach and an earth pony mare walks out. She has a dark tan coat with white hair and a pastry of some kind as a cutie mark. All around, not bad on the eyes. "Oh... hey Mom. This is Rumble, my coltfriend. Rumble, this is my mother, E'Claire." Shadow says nervously. Her mother stands there for a moment and just stares at me, obviously lost for words. After a moment of silence I take the initiative and step forward. "Hi, as Shadow said I'm Rumble. It's nice to meet you." I say confidently, sticking my hoof out to shake. She looks down at it for a second before slowly taking it with her own. "H-hello. Um... I'm sorry, Shadow, dear, can I have a word with you? In private?" she asks quickly, heading inside before getting an answer. Shadow and I share a quick glance before she follows her inside. I wasn't invited in, so I wait on the front porch. A part of me really wants to spy on what they're saying, but I think I can guess what they're- "I'M NOT A LESBIAN MOM!" Shadow yells from inside. I jumped at first, but then was awestruck by the fact that that was Shadows voice I heard. I honestly didn't think she could get that loud. Wait... lesbian? She thought she was a lesbian! I can't help but chuckle at that. She really thought she was a lesbian! I mean, I guess I can see it... oh... I can really see it. With Applebloom, definitely. My thought was interrupted when the door opened back up, revealing E'Claire again. "Hi! I'm E'Claire, won't you come inside for dinner?" she asks sweetly, tilting her head slightly with a closed eyed smile. "Oh! Thank you." I reply, eyeing her closely as I step inside. The home is small, but warm. The living room is filled with large furniture meant to seat and warm that is catered by a fireplace. A hall leads to the left while the kitchen/dinning room fill the right. I quick whiff tells me that she is cooking oats and honey. "Just make yourself comfortable in the living room, dinner will be ready shortly," she tells me while heading back to the kitchen. I head over there and take a seat beside Shadow on the couch, enjoying the warmth embedded in it from the fire. It's the middle of summer, yet this place feels like it's the middle of fall. "Um... so-" "So I hear you're not a lesbian." I say quickly, making her go red and E'Claire yelp in in laughter. I nudge her a bit and wrap a wing around her, glad that the seat backs cover us mostly. "I'm teasing." "Ye... yeah," she mumbles, still red in the face. "So, Rumble, who are you anyway? Friend? Classmate? Stalker?" E'Claire asks as she pulls something from the oven. "Classmates. One day I saw Shadow passing by and made it my mission to meet her. From there... well, this happened." I say gladly, squeezing Shadow a bit to get her attention. "So, by this, you mean you're rutting my daughter." I nearly fell off the couch when she said that. Did... did she really just say that!? "Mother!" Shadow snaps at her, scooting away from me slightly. Did... did she really says that? "Oh hush you! You know I'm teasing you two." E'Claire says playfully. "So what do you do Rumble? Weather training, agriculture, or are you just a student?" "Uh... I uh... I'm an athlete-" "Ooooooh! An athlete! What sports do you play?" Okay, balls in my court now. I sit up a bit taller and look back to her, confident for once. "I do a bit of everything, but I tend to stick to Air Ball and Hoof Ball-" "Full contact sports, if I'm not mistaken," she comments. "Yup! I tried my hoof at all of the other sports, but there’s just something different about the full contact ones that I like more-“ “It’s no fun without getting a little rough, right?” she asks with a wink. “Yeah… uh… yeah.” I agree slowly, unsure of what she actually means. Shadow stares daggers at her for a moment before noticing me and forces a smile on. “Yeah, so what do you do Mrs. E’claire?” “Oh, please, just E’Claire. Miss simply makes me feel old. And I’m a correspondent for the Spartan regiment between them and the Crystal Empire. As well as any new immigrants coming to either for sanctuary, work visas, new citizenship, all those kind of things.” She rambles, moving about the kitchen in a hurry. “Wow… and here I thought you were just a house mom.” I joke, getting Shadow to punch me quickly and shake her head. “Why’s that?” E’Claire asks, pausing to stare at me. “Cause… of… your good looks, of course!” I say quickly, rubbing the back of my head nervously. “A mare as good looking as you, how do you find the time!?” Oh Celestia, strike me down now this is too awkward. E’Claire eyes me for a second before putting on a large smile. “Watch yourself Rumble, I’m a taken mare,” she warns me with a playful wink. I force out a few chuckles before looking over to Shadow, silently pleading for forgiveness. “*Munch* dude *munch* never hit on your girl’s mother. *Munch* never.” I hear Damian say from behind, apparently as he’s eating an apple. I turn around to find him sitting awkwardly close to me, staring me down intensely with an apple in his hoof. Sitting beside him is that griffin from before, Ellzy, also eating an apple. “Yeah, *munch*, that’s just, *munch*, weird.” Ellzy adds, staring at me with the same intensity as Damian. “I… uh… it was more of a compliment really.” I say in my defense, getting the two of them to take a bite at the same time. “When did you two even get in here?” “Ellzy! Damian! Aren’t you two supposed to be training the new Spartans?” E’Claire asks, unfazed by their sudden appearance. “I did my bit already.” Damian says quickly with a smug smile. “And I… I’m getting something… forgot what. Well, now it’s dirt.” Ellzy says giving me a toothy smile. “Wonderful! Why don’t you both stay for dinner?!” E’Claire exclaims, making me nearly yell out at her. Both of them!? Staying for dinner!? That just sounds like the worst possible thing to happen… and I don’t even know why!? If it was just E’Claire I could manage, makes things go smoothly. But, both of them too!? “Aw, well I’d have to move some appointments, call off some-okay!” Damian mumbles quickly, running over to the dining room to take a seat. “What he said!” Ellzy adds, flying over to take the seat across from him. The table only has six seats, two on each end and two at the heads, so I guess I can’t use Shadow as a shield for dinner. I glance to Shadow before standing, wait for Shadow to join me, and head over to the table. Ellzy and Damian eye me the entire way right up till I try to take my seat beside Ellzy. “Really!?” Damian demands, sounding as if I did something wrong. “Get the chair for the lady.” Ellzy points out, motioning to the other side. I stare at them for a moment as Shadow gets in her seat. “I can get my own seat guys.” Shadow tells them, the annoyance in her voice ever prevalent. “Pfft, what a gentlecolt.” Ellzy mutters as I take my seat. I give him a sideways glance before scooting forward, turning my attention to Shadow. “So, Shadow, you live in two houses?” I ask her, hoping to change the subject. “Oh, yeah. I lived with my Dad first, then here, and now I move between the two freely. When schools in session I tend to-“ “So, Rumble, I hear you do some really weird shit when you think nopony is looking.” Damian cuts her off, giving me a knowing, smug, smile. I blink for a second before collecting myself to answer. “Uh… well… what you hear and what’s true are usually two different-“ “I hear you like to make muscles at yourself in the mirror.” Damian continues as E’Claire starts to set some dishes on the table. Well… I do do that from time to time. But, who doesn’t? “Well, everyponys done it once or twice-“ “Yeah, but they don’t usually sport a massive boner.” Damian continues, getting Ellzy to chuckle. How… how could he possibly know about that? And it only happened twice! But, more importantly, how does he know about that? “I guess he really like the way he looks.” Ellzy adds, acting as Damian’s hype man. "You know, there are ponies that'll pay for you to do that in front of them." “I-I don’t-“ “I mean, if ya want ta look at it, look at it. But when ya start to bounce around and wiggle, that’s just weird.” Damian continues, getting Ellzy to laugh more. “Look at his face! He’s blushing!” He laughs, making me blush even more. I look over to Shadow for help, only to see her blushing just as hard. “I don’t-“ “Hey, so why did you suggest to compare lengths in the locker room? Or, is that just an athlete thing?” Damian asks, smiling widely at me. Oh… how… that only happened once! And it wasn’t even my suggestion- “Oh, wait, no. It was your friend to suggest it. You just agreed. And apparently you came in third at twelve inches-” “HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT!?” I yell, nearly jumping out of my seat. I would have jumped out, but E’Claire held me down with a hoof on my shoulder. “Damian, play nice or I’m calling CC. Ellzy, stop agreeing with Damian. It’s not good for his ego.” E’Claire tells them softly, getting both of them to agree. I look back to Shadow to see her trying to hide her face. She’s probably so uncomfortable right now… “No, it’s fine.” I say, getting Shadow to look up at me. “Yeah, we compared lengths. And hey, twelve inches is average, so I’ve got nothing to feel bad about.” I tell him, glaring down at him confidently. “Whoa now, look who just grew a pair,” Ellzy chuckles. E’Claire sets a medium pot in the middle of the table that steams lightly in the cold air. Whatever’s in there smells really good, but I know better than to start serving myself. “Yeah… nothing wrong with average.” E’Claire says meekly, bringing me down a peg. The room falls quiet for a moment, so I sit back and rub my eyes. Somepony better serve the food soon- “So,” god dammit, “what do you plan to do after high school? Play sports?” Damian asks. “Uh… actually, I want to get into construction like my brother.” I tell him, getting him to pause, then chuckle. “Something funny about that?” “What? Oh, no. So your brother’s working on rebuilding Las Pegasis. Nice, tell him I said ‘you welcome’.” He says before opening the pot and serves himself a ladle full of the soup. “What are you talking about? Las Pegasis fell apart because of a construction error-“ “Right… that’s what happened,” Damian says, pointing the ladle at me. I was about to say something, until I saw Shadow motion something. I don’t know what she was trying to motion, but I figure she wants me to just drop it. So I do. We all serve ourselves and begin to eat quietly. I keep glancing between all of them, waiting for somepony to say something. I hate silent dinners. They always feel… tense, like… somepony wants to say something, but they don’t. At least the food is good. “What is this E’Claire?” Ellzy asks suddenly. “Cabbage and carrot soup-“ “Rumble likes to wear panties.” Damian mutters quickly. “No I don’t!” I yell, feeling my face return to its original flush state. “And socks. He’s been looking at this pink corset-“ “No I haven’t!” I yell, getting Ellzy to fall out of his seat in laughter. This isn’t happening. This can’t be happening. How could he know this? How… “Have you been spying on me!?” “Dude… you’re weird.” He says with that same smug smile. My eye twitches as I fight the urge to punch him in the face. How could he possibly know all of this without… oh shit. Does he know about Diamond and me? I fall back in my seat and stare at him, hoping that he doesn’t say anything. If he knows about all of that… then… why wouldn’t he know about that? What’s to stop him from telling everypony right now that I slept with Diamond after our first date? “Oh… oh god… soup came out of my nose!” Ellzy laughs from the floor, picking himself up slowly. “Panties and socks, what a sexy bitch.” “Damian, Ellzy, can I talk to you two in the other room?” E’Claire asks politely with that same look from before. I look over to Shadow to see her hanging her head low, having her face hide behind her bangs. I look down as well as they all leave the room, silently cursing Damian. This could have been a good evening, a strange one at that, but good. “You… you can leave now. I’m sorry for putting you through all of this,” she tells me quietly before getting out of her chair. “Shadow.” I call out to her as I chase after her, cutting her off from the front door. She looks away from me as she hiccups slightly, trying to hold back her tears. I frown at that and bring my hoof to her chin, bringing her to look up at me. “I… I don’t want to leave. But… if you want me to, then I will.” I tell her, moving my hoof to push her hair out of her face. “But… after all of that, how could you possibly want to stay?” She asks, looking up at me with those big blue eyes. For whatever reason, I think back to what Applebloom told me. About being serious about this. I nod for a second before re-focusing my attention on her, determined to make her understand. “My brother told me to avoid mares with complicated families. To save them until I’m ready for something much more serious. Because, the more complicated the mares family, the better the catch they are. I always figured he meant divorce families or families with personal problems. But, after everything today, you have –without a doubt- the strangest, rudest, diverse family. Uncles with the ability to get dirt on anypony, relatives that… eat meat, two mothers, a father that leads some new nation, and friends that make the social outcast of Ponyville high. Imagine the mare to come from all of that.” I tell her with a smile, receiving one in return. “Rumble-“ “Now, I know I’m not the most… normal pony ever. But, I’m going to be honest with you. Yeah, I’ve worn mares clothing before. I’ve… looked at myself. I like looking around as well. I’ve llost count of the number of mares I’ve slept with… there may have been a stallion once… it was a threesome though… so I dunno if that counts or not. Anyway, and… and I’ve…” Do or die time. “And… after our little get together at my place… Diamond Tiara came over… and we had sex.” She steps away from me when I say this. “… you… and Diamond-“ “Yeah. I… I was unsure if we were anything and she… well, she really didn’t have to do much. I’m so sorry. Can you forgive me?” I beg her, hanging my head before her. My heart feels like it’s going to beat itself out of my chest and my hooves feel numb. I hate admitting crap like this. But… if I’m going to be serious with her, I have to come clean. She’s not going to be some quick lay. I want more than that. “I… I don’t know if I can.” Okay, that hurt. I look up to her in time to see another tear roll down her cheek. “How could I forgive you without trusting you?” “… I understand. I’m sorry I put you though all of this then. I never wanted to hurt you.” I say as I start to leave. I make it to the door and turn back to her, trying to think of one last thing to say, but come up short. With a final sigh, I open the door and leave the house. The cold air snaps against my coat, but I ignore it as I head to the station that brought me here. I’ve never had my heart break like this before, but that’s what I get. All I had to do was tell Diamond no, and I could have avoided all of this. But, I didn’t, so here I am. I pause at the station and look up at the evening sky. The sun is just setting, turning the sky a mixture of gold, orange, and dark blue. A few stars are making their appearance, growing brighter as the sun sinks lower and lower. No. No, I’m not giving up! Not without a fight. I don’t care what it takes, but I will earn her trust back! I am going to be the stallion she deserves! Get ready Shadow, here I come! FLASH Before I could get to the station, a being appears before me. It stand tall on two feet and looks really pissed about something. It’s holding something to its ear, but I can’t tell what it is under its hand. “Who the fuck are you?” It asks me. “I… uh-“ “Nevermind.” It says shortly, moving around me. “Calling all active Spartans. Mobilize in Moosden in ten minutes and be ready for combat.” ………………………………………………………………………………………………………............................. Perspective: Shadow I stare at the door long after he leaves. I really wanted this to work, but… I simply can’t. If I can’t trust him, then nothing good would come from this. I’m sure it’s going to hurt now, but I’ll move on… just not now. I sigh as Damian and Ellzy move to my sides and wait for whatever it is they have to say. I’m mad at the both of them, but I’ll let them say this last thing at least. “… I’m proud of that sexy little bitch.” Ellzy says, catching me off guard. “Me too. I didn’t expect him to own up to that.” Damian agrees. “Wait, you both knew about him and Diamond? How?” I demand, getting Damian to roll his eyes. “Statera. We know everything, remember? But I wasn’t going to just throw that at his face, where’s the fun in that? I was going to wait, and bide my time, slowly plotting his destruction.” He tells me, pulling out the apple from before. “We had to see if he was a little pecker first. And I gotta say, not bad. A bit of a whore, actually, a lot of whoredom in that one. But, he’s got heart… and whores.” Ellzy comments, getting a thoughtful nod from Damian. I look between them before sighing in defeat. “Do you think he’s worth the trouble?” I ask them. If anypony would know, it would be the one who looked up everything about him. “Well… he likes to get his dick wet… but… meh. He’s not the worst stallion out there.” Damian says. “Could be worst. Remember that fat kid you told me had a crush on her? The one who touched himself in class?” …ew? I don’t want to know about this. “Hmm… which one?” WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHICH ONE!? “The one whose failed, like, three times-“ Oh god, not Low Pressure! “-or the one who keeps picking on her for being short?” Pike! Pike likes me!? Why!? Why do they have to like me!? “Oh! No, it was the one with the rash! Yeah, you could do worse kiddo.” Ellzy tells me happily, pulling me in for a tight hug. “If you do decide to get back with him, make him wait. You’re worth the wait, he’ll see.” He whispers in my ear, making me smile. He lets go of me so Damian could put a hoof on my shoulder. I try not to look at him, but keeps leaning over, making me look at him finally. I give in and hug him lightly, feeling slightly better. “I know we were jerks today, but we only do that because we care. After all you’ve been through, you deserve only the best.” He tells me, making me relax into his embrace. “Oh, and yes. I will be looking up anypony else you decide to date, so now you know.” “And knowing’s half the battle. Speaking of battle, we have to go!” Ellzy says before grabbing Damian and rushing out the door. I turn back to see Mom standing in the hallway, smiling back to me. I don’t know if I’ll take him back, but if he’s really set on being serious, he’ll wait. “You know, if it had been a mare instead-“ “Mooooom!” Author's Note ER MER GERD ERPDERTS!! So, updates! First up, look! A chapter! Look how pretty it is! Secondly, PONYRUN UPDATES! So, we're really heading towards the finalization of Ponyrun... kind of. We still need to work a few things over, but it's playable now! So much so that we're making the first calling for players! If you want to play, head over to the MoW universe group and send Cheesus a message. He's going to be GMing it, hopefully I will be playing in this one. Once I get internet, I may GM as well, but I will most likely only GM the in-person games. So Head over to MoW Verse, give Cheesus a hollar, and like always, Brony on! Chapter 211 SyncneyChapter 211 Syncney Perspective: Miles I look over to the others in the transport and sigh. I really didn’t want to pull them out from leave, but I had no choice. Everyone else is either training or watching over important facilities. Storm would report immediately to Twilight about this as well, so I could count on him to keep this quiet. Rainbow and Big Mac will be sour about this, but they’ll at least be able to be quiet… relatively speaking of course. I still find it hard to believe that there are ponies working with the goblins. It’s only a theory, but it’s the only way to explain why their tech would be enchanted. If they had magic, Celestia would have told me back at the Summit meeting or I would have heard something about it by now. And they never really seemed to be the magically inclined type, so that leaves one alternative. If ponies are helping goblins enchant their tech, that’ll only worsen the relations between the griffins and Equestrians, if it gets out at least. “Thirty seconds to destination.” Easy tells me from the cockpit. I nod to the others and put my helmet on. Everything goes dark before it turns on and brings back the world, with my HUD in addition. I look over to the others as they do the same and wait till they signal back to me. “Fifteen seconds.” “Any advice Captain?” Rainbow asks me as she checks her weapons on her sides. “Yeah,” I say as I stand, holding onto the railing above. “Don’t let them intimidate you.” “Opening doors.” Easy reports before the doors slide open, revealing the city before us. Syncney is one of the largest cities of the Goblin Empire. It started as a mining operation that eventually stripped every valuable resource from the ground. If it weren’t for the large skyscrapers filling the area, it would be a massive ditch in the bare ground. Instead, it’s a massive metropolis filled with goblins and steam automatons of various sorts. The streets are filled with countless vehicles that walk, roll, or hover their way around the busy streets. Steam fills the air from smoke stacks of every building and vehicle. Offices and factories alike hum with activity as goblins go about their daily lives. A small crowd has gathered around us, staring on with curious eyes. We stare back at them, equally curious about the crowd before us. I don’t see any females out there, and not just in the crowd before us. Throughout the entire busy street I can’t see any sign of an opposite gender what-so-ever. After a moment long trying to find one, I shake the thought from my head and signal the ship to take off. The crowd marvels at the sight of the jets roaring, sending dust up into the air before it takes off with tremendous speed. The dust coves us from view, but our HUD’s give us a good read out of the surrounding area. We turn together and head towards the factory that we’ve landed before. There’s a group of individuals standing before it. Most of them are set in two columns facing us, so I take it that they are military of some sort. Guard maybe. There’s an individual standing before them with two guards standing right behind him. When we approach closer the dust settles enough to reveal Starke standing before a group of armored, armed, soldiers. “Starke, what a surprise to see you here.” I say to him when we come to a stop before him. Sadly, I had to send him a message before I entered his country. So much for surprised, fucking global politics. The guards behind him are in bronze full body armor that has spikes coming out on the shoulders and knee caps. They’re each armed with two pistols, several grenades of various shapes, and an individual weapon of their own. “Well, when the esteemed Spartans drop a letter telling me that they’re going to be stopping by one of my humble abodes, well, I had to personally come to show you around.” He says with a wide smile. But I can read between the lines. He either wants to show something off, or wants to hide something. “I see you brought a few guards-“ “Actually, these are two of my ranking officers. I figured three soldiers would be enough for a friendly visit to your empire.” I cut him off, starting the shit talking fest that is politics. “I see you brought a dozen or so guards with you.” “Heh, this isn’t Equestria. These are my Storm Troopers.” He says with a proud look about his face. The troopers snap at attention, bringing a set of hands over their heart and back. “The best of the best in the Goblin Empire and sworn protectors of the Emperor. The most advanced collection of fighters in all of the world-“ “Well, they were.” I cut him off, placing a hand on my revolver. “I’m sure their one day you’ll catch up, but the Spartan regiment now holds that title. But, I’m sure we can argue this another time. I have a job to do right now, so if you’d be so kind let’s not waste any more time.” He frowns for a second before putting his grin back on. With a snap of a finger the troopers behind him snap to it and march towards the entrance of the factory. “If you’ll follow me.” Starke says, motioning with two hands towards the front doors. We follow after him, eyeing his guards as they move to cover our flank. Dash and Mac widen up a bit, giving us a better defending point should they decide to do anything stupid. The greeting room we enter is filled with ornate display cases that show various weapons made here, as well as some pictures or people and captions. A light orange glow reflects off of the marble flooring from the small light fixtures. A small group of goblins in blue jump suites stands in the center of the large square room, with one in a yellow jump suit. They seem eager to be here, bowing to Starke the moment they see him. “Your honor, sir! It’s a privilege to meet you, a privilege!” The one in the yellow jump suit grovels before Starke. Before he could say anything I step forward and go to one of the displays. It has a shield with two spears crossing behind it. They don’t’ appear to be anything special, but I doubt they put something so simple on display. “Interesting choice of display, may I?” I ask, motioning to the weapon case. The workers give their boss an uneasy glance, which he returns before nodding to them. They scurry to the case and open it up, taking each one out with great caution. They kneel before me and present them to me, making me have to bend over a bit to grab one of the spears. It seems like any other spear, albeit, a bit short for someone my size. There’s a button towards the end of the shaft though… I wonder- FFWWTT-TINK The end of the spear pops out from the end of the spear and buries itself in the wall on the other end of the room. A puff of white smoke appeared out the end of the spear, telling me that it was sent out with a burst of air. I glance to the others for a second to see their deadpanned looks of annoyance. “If you please, we’d like it if you didn’t destroy anything.” One of the workers tells me, getting Starke to chuckle. “Well then don’t put loaded weapons on display.” I retort, tossing him the remainder of the spear. “Let’s get this tour over with already. Take us to the manufactory line.” They all snicker at me and lead me through the lobby and into the factory. The sound of industry fills the air as machines follow the rhythm of their duties. Large pistons flow back and forth as metal strikes metal. The sound of hissing metal being poured into molds strikes the air as smoke erupts out from the background. I move to one of the large pistons and watch it for a moment as it glides back, only to be sent forward again in a continuous motion. They remind me of the train engines back home, only much larger and with a different purpose. A group of goblins are at the receiving end of the piston, working a glowing piece of metal. After every strike a chunk of cherry metal is sniped off and falls to the ground. Next they rotate the remaining part and set it up for the next strike, wearing thick gloves and blackened goggles. Another group takes the remaining chunks and runs it over to another press, where a massive piston hammers away. With every press the metal molds to its desire, and the goblin rotates the glowing bar. I duck when a massive drum moves over head, the heat making me sweat slightly. I watch it move to a row of blackened molds sit on the ground, covered in dark remains. The massive drum tips over and the molten slag pours out into the molds, raising the heat in the room tremendously. The bustle and commotion of the frantic factory is a bit overwhelming at first, but I ignore it as I move forward. “We’ve been operating for over three hundred years,” the goblin in yellow starts, racing after me. “We’ve designed and built many national wonders such as the Pfeil Flugel, Fruhling Schirmen, and the Knall Speer. We’re produce hundreds, if not thousands, of weapons and armaments under dozens of contracts world wide-“ “I’m looking for your enchanting area, where is it?” I ask aloud, ducking another piece of machinery. “I’m sorry, but that area is off limits to-“ “I didn’t ask for permission.” I cut him off, stopping to glare back at him. He stops and takes a step back and gulps, obviously intimidated. “I’m telling you to take me there. Is that a problem?” “I… uh… I-“he fumbles with his words until Starke puts a hand on his shoulder. “It’s alright, take us there.” He tells him with a sinister smile. The worker looks between us before bowing to Starke. “The enchanting area is towards the back of the factory. I’ll take you there now,” he says hurriedly before taking the path towards the back. I shoot a look back to Mac and Dash before following after them. I don’t like this, not one bit. Something is up here, I can feel it. Hustle and bustle of the factory fades behind us as we enter what I assume to be the area for finalization. Tables and counters fill the area as goblins go about refining various weapons and armor. The tables are set up in rows, and seem to be an assembly line of sorts. The front most tables set about adding in the inner mechanisms, and then the tables after that finish the connections, and so on until the product is finished. From here most of the weapons are put into wooden crates and sealed, but a few are put into slots that go into another room. I glance to the goblin in yellow, who sighs and opens the door for us. With a final glance to the others, I step into the final room. It’s a bright room, but my helmet keeps it from blinding me. The first thing I see are a series of chain link fences boxing in the center of the massive room. Scaffolding wraps around the fencing as goblin guards march around, keeping an eye on the ponies within the cage. The ponies, or unicorns to be more precise, are busy enchanting various weapons and armor. They all look skinny and have various bruises and scars over their bodies. They don’t pay us any mind, simply enchanting away. There has to be at least fifty in here, possibly more. “Pick up the pace!” A guard yells with a crack of a whip. All of the ponies flinch in response and focus more intently on their tasks. “What is this?” Dash asks, breaking a long pause. “It’s our enchanting room of course,” Starke says as he walks past us. “What? Did you think we were the ones enchanting them?” “Let me inside.” I demand as I walk over to the entrance. “I can’t-“ “I said, let me inside.” I repeat more firmly. Starke stares at me for a second before he snaps his fingers. The guards inside, as well as one outside, go about opening several doors before I make it inside. I walk in and go about inspecting the ponies as the work more closely. They’re all unicorns, mixed genders. They all have cutie marks in enchanting it seems. I can tell they’re trying to not look up at me, fearful of what might happen obviously. Their hair is cut uniformly short. I kneel beside one of them and wait for her to look at me. When she does, her eyes are filled with fear. “What’s your name?” I ask softly. “…” “Can you understand me?” I ask, getting a slow nod. “What’s your name?” “Uh… U40,” she replies softly, either scared to speak or to answer me. I pause for a second as I think about that. Her name is an identification number. I stand up and approach the guard who’s inside. He seems a little confused as to why I’m here, but hopefully I’ll get some answers. “Give me the details about this operation.” I demand from him. He glares up at me before leaning over to look behind me. “Sir?” he asks, getting a silent answer. “This is our enchanting area-“ “I can see that. How did these ponies get here? Why are they in such terrible condition? What’s really going on here?” I know the answer; I guess I should have guessed it earlier. But I want him to say, I want hear those words from his lips. “Miles,” Starke comments from behind, “they’re slaves. Isn’t that obvious?” My eye twitches at that, but otherwise I keep my cool. “Explain yourself.” I demand Starke, turning to him. He smiles to me as he begins to pace about the cage, holding his hands behind himself. “Oh… where to begin. How many species can use magic Miles?” he asks calmly. “I don’t care-“ “One, Miles. Ponies are the only ones who can use magic Miles. For the longest time, ponies ruled over the arcane, wasting its potential on simple, useless oddities. But, I saw room for… improvement. I saw a chance to advance our technology to the next level. So, I took it-“ “And by it, you mean you started taking ponies and forcing them to work for you!” Dash barks at him, making him chuckle. “You could say that. In reality, it’s much more than that.” Starke makes it to the door and enters. All of the ponies immediately bow to him, some shivering slightly. “You see, not too long ago I figured something out about you ponies. Something pivotal to this operation. You adapt to you living conditions quite quickly. Did you know, back when Sombra ruled, ponies became adapted to living as slaves? When I visited his kingdom, in my younger years obviously, I discovered this. Miners, crafters, flag holders, all of them had their marks in their respective chore.” “So you’re doing the same thing as Sombra!? How could you be that evil!?” Dash demands from him, teetering on the edge of outrage. Starke laughs at that and approaches one of the bowing ponies. The pony looks up to him and Stake signals for him to rise. “You think I’m evil, but I have to disagree.” He says as he pulls out a dagger and puts it in the pony’s hoof. “No, I’m simply… ambitious.” He brings the ponies hoof up to his throat and holds it there, staring down at the pony. They stare each other down for what must feel like an eternity for the pony. Starke keeps his cool, knowing no harm will come to him. After a moment longer, the pony drops the blade and lowers his head in defeat. “Weakling.” The guard inside mutters as he picks the blade up and presents it to Starke, who takes it and sheaths it. “Starke, you seem to be mistaken.” I finally say, getting his attention. “Oh? Do enlighten me,” he replies smugly. “Ponies aren’t the only ones with magic.” I move my hands out and rip the fence open, getting the guards to aim down at me. Dash and Big Mac start yelling at them to lower their weapons as they take aim back at them. I stare down at Starke, our own contest taking place. Neither of us falters. Neither of us moves. “Captain!” Big Mac yells from behind, bringing me to my decision. “U40, be sure to spread the word among all of your fellow slaves. Terradisia is coming to free you, all of you. And I will personally bring you all home. You have my word.” I turn and walk away, having Dash and Mac follow after me. The guards glare at us with their weapons drawn, but don’t engage us. We march outside where our ship touches down. We climb back in and take our seats in silence. The doors slide shut and we quickly take off for home. “Captain-“ “I know.” I cut off Dash, leaning back in my seat. “That isn’t right, they can’t do this! How could Equestria allow this to happen!?” She demands, tossing her helmet aside. “Ah don’t think they know.” Big Mac comments, getting Dash to shake her head. “Captain, what’s the plan?” “First and foremost, we need to get everyone together. From there we make a plan of attack. We’re getting them out of there.” They both nod to me, glancing to each other briefly for a moment. I can’t believe this; I don’t think anyone could really. I didn’t think slavery was that big of a problem, but for them to have that big of an operation… I don’t know what to think. With the sheer amount of product being pushed out, they must have hundreds, if not thousands of slaves. There’s no telling how many there are in the country either! The ship drops us off in Ponyville, allowing me to run to my shop to gather a few supplies from my workshop. I toss them all into a duffle bag before going to my computer and locate all of the Spartans. It seems they’ve moved on to the next stage of the training, over in Moosden. We had to expand the course due to the expansion of the training, allotting room for guns, magic, and vehicles. With all of my extra gear gathered, I leave my workshop and head to Moosden. When I teleport I nearly run into some depressed looking fucker. “Who the fuck are you?” I ask him as I’m about to call the others. “I... uh…” “Nevermind,” I cut him off, having more important things to attend to. “Calling all active Spartans. Mobilize in Moosden in ten minutes and be ready for combat.” I call out to them as I march to the edge of the forest. When I make it there I drop my bag and wait for them, trying to keep as level a head as possible. “Sup Captain!” Ellzy announces before dropping before me. “Ellzy, aren’t you supposed to be training the others?” I ask him irritably. “Yeah… anyway! More important stuff happened and you owe me money-“ “It was awesome.” Damian comments, walking up from behind. “Who are we fighting?” “Goblins. We discovered that they’re keeping ponies as slaves to fuel their technologies.” I tell them, getting Ellzy to gasp in surprise. “… and?” Damian asks, raising an eyebrow. “What do you mean ‘and’!? That’s terrible!” Ellzy scolds him, getting him to give him an odd look. “Is there any other reason we’re invading another country, or is it simply because they’re keeping ponies as slaves?” Damian asks carefully. “What other reason do we need?” I ask him, crossing my arms. “… Really? I know you’re relatively new here, but really?” “If you have something to say, then spit it out. Otherwise, I don’t want to hear it.” I tell him shortly. “Where to start… Well for starters, ponies keep slaves too. I know they call them ‘second class citizens’ but the cows and sheep are slaves with cushier lives. Griffins, bears and apes all keep orcs as slaves. Minotaur’s will keep anything a slave if it suites the circumstances. Zebras will enslave themselves from time to time, as will apes. And last, but certainly not least, you keep slaves too, Miles.” “What slave do I have-“ “Oh don’t give me that crap! You’re keeping all of those Kroth as a work force-“ “The Unfamiliar do not count!” I yell back at him. “Bullshit! As much as you’d hate to admit it, they’re people just like me and you! And you’re using them to fuel your technologies! All this new armor, who made it Miles? Did they want to make it? Were they paid to make it? I’m not going to fight for something that you’re as much a part of, no way. Count me out-“ “Don’t you dare walk away from me!” I growl at him, making him pause. “You may not like the situation, but I am still your commanding officer and you will not disrespect my rank.” He pauses for a moment longer before turning back to face me. “Well, to quote you, orders sir?” he asks making me frown slightly. “Captain?” I turn around to see Big Mac and Dash here with us. “Are you really not paying the Kroth?” Dash asks. “… I allow them to live, that is payment enough.” I tell her, making her eyes widen slightly. “Miles… don’t do this.” Damian pleads. “The Spartans are better than this. How are we going to liberate thousands of slaves from one of the largest countries without endangering our own? Don’t do this.” I look down and think about that. They don’t know where we operate out of, but that doesn’t mean they won’t find out. If they were able to get this many ponies out of Equestria, they could easily get goblins in. After that… it would only be a matter of time. “Captain?” I look over to the tree line to see the rest of the Spartans emerging from within. Su ye leads them to me and salutes. “Your orders?” Chapter 212 Joint ConcernsChapter 212 Joint Concerns Perspective: Celestia “… and that’s sums up the fiscal years revenue, your highness.” The pony before me tells me… I forget his name. It’s been a long meeting, but budget meetings tend to be so. I smile down to him, glad to see we’re still in the black. Though, the country has definitely seen a great deal of profit loss, what with all of the world problems that plague us. “Thank you very much for your presentation… er…” “Bear Broker, your highness.” “Right, my apologies. I’m glad to see we’re still seeing some form of-“ SLAM The doors to the throne room are thrown open as Miles marches down. Or, rather, the Spartan Captain marches down towards us, clad in all of his armor. He walks right past Bear Broker and stops just below the steps below my seat. “We need to talk,” he says, his voice coming out from the speakers of his helmet. “Mr. Broker, thank you for your presentation. You are excused.” I tell him, sensing the unease in Miles’s voice, even with the helmet. “O-of course, your highness,” he says uneasily before bowing and scurrying out of the building. I wait till the doors shut before speaking to Miles. “This better be good Captain. I have several meetings to attend to.” I tell him as I descend the steps down. I don’t call him by name, as part of the agreement. When he’s a human, he’s simply Captain of the Spartans, representative of the Terradisians. When he’s an alicorns, then he’s King of Equestria. It helps create a line between the two, hopefully keeping prying eyes away from Luna and Tempestive. At least here in Equestria. “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t,” he replies quickly, walking along side me. “But I need you to hear me out first and give me your opinion before asking details.” “Miles, I’ve been a world leader for a very long time. I think I can approach something without being bias.” I tell him, rolling my eyes slightly. He doesn’t respond, rather he stares at me; waiting for me to give my word. “*sigh* very well. Now what has you so one edge?” We stop by a window and stay quiet for a moment. I can tell he’s thinking deeply about this, trying to find his words correctly. I wait patiently, not know what he has to say, but knowing it can’t be something easily brought up. “We… discovered something… wrong, in Syncney,” he says finally. “Syncney? The goblin city in the remains of those strips mine?” I ask, thinking back to the few times I’ve been there. Given, that was quite a time ago. “Yeah. They… keep slaves,” he continues, looking away from me slightly. I keep my composure about myself, but feel my heart skip a beat. If Miles came to me about this, then that most likely means they’re keeping ponies as slaves. The mere thought of that happening makes my blood boil, but I keep it to myself and allow him to continue. “I was ready to invade them to rescue them all.” “That’s very noble of you Miles… but… you didn’t.” What could possibly stop him from saving them? “Damian pointed something’s out that… made me question my stance on the attack-“ “What could he possibly say that would make you not want to save the innocent from wrongful incarceration?” Damian. That pony… I simply don’t get him. He acts like a buffoon most of the time, but then suddenly he’s the one pointing out morality? “Apparently Equestria keeps slaves as well. Or, second class citizens rather.” “The cattle and sheep of this nation are not slaves.” I cut him off firmly. I’ve had to make this conversation several times in the past, and I’m sure I’ll make it several more times again. “Unlike other nations, we do not devour them. We allow them the lives they wish to live, and provide services for them. In return, they provide essentials like wool, milk, and labor. The only reason they are ‘second class’ citizens is because they simply don’t have the cognitive capabilities that we do. And don’t give me that look! We’ve studied and researched this enough times to know the difference. They simply can’t understand things beyond a certain point. Trust me, I’ve been trying for over a thousand years to see if they could, and they can’t-“ “Celestia, I don’t care about that. What made me question the attack was when he called me out.” I pause and stare at him, a bit lost. “You? What have you done that could… the Kroth-“ “Unfamiliar,” he corrects me, facing me. I see him physically harden, clenching his fist and standing a bit taller. “Unfamiliar.” “Mi… Captain. What are you doing with them?” I ask cautiously. “I have them working the factories, mobilizing the Terradisian army.” I step back at the bluntness of his response, but quickly remember the Terradisian code of conduct. No lies, no secrets. “And who exactly do you think you’re going to need an army like that to fight?” I know from first hoof experience what an army of that caliber could do. Who could possibly stand against them? Unless… “Captain… are you using them to create the tools of their own destruction?” “I will not lose anyone else to those monsters,” he says sternly, taking a step towards me. “I’ve seen that fight before, and I will not relive that!” “Miles-“ “Captain-“ “You can’t do that! It’s… it’s not you! I know you, you’re a good man! You can’t do something like that-“ “Actually, I can.” He says, making me step away from him and look out the window. “You’ve never had you home invaded by them. You’ve never seen them ripe your people apart, limb from limb. I will not let that evil escape. I will not let something like that exist anywhere near my family! I will-“ “MILES!” I yell, getting him to stop. I sigh and turn back to him, understanding where he’s coming from. “Captain. I understand. The Kroth were the evil of your people. You’ve been trained to hate them. But… you can’t blame these people for what their ancestors did. It was a thousand years ago-“ “Maybe for you it was. But it wasn’t for me.” He says before he turns and walks away. “Then should Luna still feel her own shame?” I call out, making him stop and turn back to me. I don’t want to use this card, but knowing Miles, it’s the only thing that will get him to listen. “Luna led a revolt against me a thousand years ago Miles. Ponies fought and died for each of us, believing each of us to be a horrible monster. Should we punish Luna for all of the war crimes committed-“ “That’s not the same-“ “You’re right, they aren’t. At least the Kroth down there didn’t actually do anything! Luna actually fought! Should we lock her up too? Force her to work for her own demise? Why not Tempestive for that matter? The son of the legendary warrior Nightmare Moon, sworn enemy of the Sun Tyrant and-“ “ENOUGH!” Miles snaps at me, taking an aggressive step towards me. I stand my ground and stare him down, knowing the pain he’s feeling right now. I know it because I’ve lived it. I don’t want him to fall so far. “Enough… I… *sigh* I get it.” I soften my expression and step forward, offering him a small smile. “I’m sorry, but… I don’t want you to fall down that path Miles. It’s a difficult one to traverse, let alone leave. I almost completely lost Luna to it, and I won’t lose you to it.” “I hate them Celestia.” He says, sounding almost terrified. “I hate them with every fiber of my being. I… I can’t imagine a world where they live alongside the rest of us. But… if I destroy them… I don’t what I would do afterwards.” “Miles, you were raised to fight them. You don’t know any other way of thinking. Maybe… maybe you shouldn’t be the one to decide what happens to them-“ “I have to know what they’re doing Celestia. I have to; otherwise… otherwise I don’t sleep. The fear that they would come in and take Luna and Tempestive away from me, harm them… they are my everything, you all are-“ “I know Miles, I know. If something were to happen to any of you, I would react the same way. But we can’t lose ourselves in the fears of what might happen. If we don’t give them the chance to redeem themselves from the past, how are any of us going to move forward?” I ask him softly, stepping closer to comfort him. “What would you do with them?” He asks shakily. “What would you do with the people who killed your best friend? That tore your people away from you? …that took your family away, what would you do with them?” “I… wouldn’t do anything. That kind of pain, that kind of scarring, you don’t recover from that. Miles, let me take care of them-“ “No, no this isn’t your problem-“ “I have plenty of experience dealing with foreigners-“ “They aren’t foreigners Celestia! They’re unfamiliar! They-“ “It’s a culture gap as well as a language gap with people that simply look different.” I cut him off sternly, silencing him. “I’ve done this kind of thing before Miles. Do you really think this is any different than meeting the Orcs for the first time? Or the Goblins for that matter? This world is filled with many different people Captain, the Kroth are no different.” “They are when they have access to weaponry that could conquer the world in under a week.” Miles cuts me off, looking back out the window. I nod to that, but have an ace up my sleeve for it. “They may have the technology, but we have the Spartans.” I say, getting him to look back to me. “Let me do this Miles, please. Everypony deserves a second chance, let me give them theirs.” We stare each other down for hat feels like hours. This is more than just saving the Kroth for me. If he says no… I don’t know how I would look at him afterwards. Miles is a good man, he stands for justice, and I can’t let him take such a dark path. “I… I… how… *sigh* fine, if only to let me save those slaves, fine.” I let out a long breath. It may not be a perfect yes, but I’m more than happy with this. “But clear any interactions with me first!” “Of course Captain-“ “I’m not taking any chances, if anyone goes down there they’ll have a Spartan and a group of bots with them at all times-“ “I think we can manage that,” I say with a wide smile. “And I want reports of their activities as well as all interactions-“ “As you wish.” “And… and… Celestia?” “Yes Captain?” I ask. He stays quiet for a moment before he suddenly pulls me in for a hug. I jump at first, but relax into it afterwards. “Thank you,” he says quietly, relief washing through his voice. I nuzzle into his embrace, though his armor makes it a tad bit uncomfortable. I ignore it for the time being to comfort him, knowing how stressful this probably was for him. After a moment long Miles breaks the hug and rubs the back of his neck uncomfortably, a little embarrassed by the display. I chuckle at his awkwardness and motion for him to follow me. I begin to lead him out the back entry and towards one of my conference rooms. “Now, tell me about the slaves the Goblins are keeping. I assume they are ponies, since you came to me about this.” “Oh… yeah. Shit,” he says slowly. “It’s… it’s a bit more complicated than that actually.” “How could it be more complicated than them keeping slaves?” I ask, raising an eyebrow to him. “Well… so, did you know that humans created ponies to be slaves?” Miles asks slowly, making me stop in my tracks. “Willing slaves that is.” “Miles-“ “Well… we did. And it seems the Goblins have figured out a part of it-“ “Miles-“ “So… they take unicorns and breed them to have children so they can force them to have cutie marks in enchanting so they can enchant their weaponry-“ “Miles!” I say firmly, raising my voice slightly. He goes quiet and stares back at me, taking a step back slightly. “When do we leave?” .................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Rainbow Dash I lean back in my chair and sigh as we wait in the hanger bay of the castle. Miles is still having a talk with Celestia, leaving us to sit here and wait. I really don’t we why we don’t just go there and take them back. Damian isn’t even going to be a part of this operation! And the Unfamiliar… well, I just want to get those ponies back to Equestria. The rest of the Spartans are staying quiet too. Most of them are still fresh from training, so I don’t know how reliable they’re going to be. I know the Jumper squad will do fine, I trained them after all. But they still haven’t seen any real combat. Well… maybe a few of them have. Raz has for sure, and Sledge was part of the training corps. Shifted seen some stuff too… actually; I think we’ll be fine. “Well, well, well. I don’t think I’d ever forget a hair style like that.” My ear twitches as a familiar voice calls out from behind, followed by several pegasi landing behind me. I look back and see Spitfire waltzing towards me. Some of them are staying neutral, but a few of them have smug looks on their faces. “Rainbow Dash, it’s been awhile.” “Spitfire. How’s the show team?” I ask, cracking a cocky smile as I get up to face her. A few of the other Spartans get up and join me, mainly the Jumpers. “We’re doing well. We didn’t see you at the last Equestria games, weren’t you going to represent Ponyville again?” she asks, getting a few chuckles from the others. “I heard she’s got a kid now.” One of the others calls out, making Spitfire look at e differently. “A foal? I guess that would explain it. Birthing hips aren’t really aerodynamic after all.” I feel my tail twitch in irritation. I don’t have fat hips! I’m still as lean as before my pregnancy! “Well I had to.” I say matter of factly. “If I didn’t, it wouldn’t be a competition between us.” “Glad to see you still have that cocky attitude Dash, you’ll need something to fall back on when you fail again,” she says, a bit of venom leaking into her voice. I purse my lips as I try to refrain myself from punching her in the face right here and now. I just have to keep my cool; I have nothing to be ashamed of. “Those are some pretty big words, coming from an entertainer.” Storm chimes in, getting a few others to chuckle. “I’d pay to see that show.” Ellzy adds, throwing a wink to Spitfire. “You wouldn’t have to pay, from what I hear.” Jonathan says, making a few of us laugh more. I look back to the barn owl griffin and smile to him, grateful for the backup. Spitfire chuckles at that as well, making me glare back at me. “Listen greenies, I know you think you’re all badasses, but you’ve never been out in the real world. So don’t come crying to us when you need your feathers preened, okay?” She says, narrowing her eyes at me. Before any of us could respond a loud clang of metal onto stone silences the room. We all look back to Raz Al-Gruul holds his massive mace in his hand. He stands up, getting the rest of the Spartans to stand with him. He lumbers over until he’s looming over Spitfire, using his tremendous size to dwarf the pony. “Preening?” the orc asks in his deep voice. “We’ll keep that in mind, pony. But only if you don’t forget your place, prey.” “I won’t be intimidated by the likes of you, monster,” she replies quickly to the massive orc, making him chuckle. “Monster?” he asks, his anger almost visibly rising. “No, no, you misunderstand. I’m no monster. No, I’m a Spartan Berserker.” “OOH RAH!” Big Mac, Sledge, Leif and YinBei all yell, slamming their hooves or weapons down to add to the effect. “I also advice never calling me monster again,” he warns as he lowers himself to get in her face. “Unless you want a monster, prey.” I’ll give Spitfire credit for not backing down, even when facing somepony three times her size. “Spartans.” We all stand at attention and face Miles a he enters from the back, walking alongside Celestia. The Wonderbolts snap to as well, saluting Celestia instead. “My Wonderbolts, it seems that an urgent matter has come to our attention. The Goblins have been keeping unicorns as slaves.” The bolts gasp at this, but us Spartans keep our cool… given, not all of us are ponies. “We’re going to perform a joint operation to rescue them.” Miles tells us as he pulls out some device. It looks like a really small black mace with grey spikes over the ball. He flings it at the floor, having the spikes stick in the ground. The handle spreads open and a hologram appears above it. A picture of the Goblin Empire west coast appears with several red dots spotted throughout the land. “These are the locations with high magical activity, as provided by the Terradisia air force.” Celestia explains as she moves to stand beside the Wonderbolts, who are still in awe of the hologram. “There are thirteen locations that will be hit tonight-“ “How are we supposed to hit all thirteen targets tonight!?” Spitfire asks abruptly. “Terradisia will be providing transportation as well as assistance in this operation, Captain.” Celestia says, motioning to Miles. “Jumpers, Wonderbolts and Shadowbolts will stealth in under cover of darkness-“ “The Shadowbolts?” One of Spitfires subordinates asks. Miles stares at her in annoyance before pointing up. Hanging from the roof are a couple dozen ponies bunched together. With their cover blown, they all drop down and land between Miles and Celestia. Their uniform are exactly what I remember them to be, but I don’t recall them having bat wings. They must be made up of Night Guards… but I don’t recall them having bat wings either. “Thanks to Bluebloods recent legislation, Luna has made room for her own branch of Spec Ops. They’ve actually been around for three years now. And much like my sister, they tend to… be more reserved in their dealings. Captain North Star.” Celestia explains, nodding to their leader. He simply nods back, keeping his cat like gaze on the hologram. “We don’t have time for interruptions.” Miles states. “You group will have one hour to complete their objectives. Jumpers, Shadowbolts and Wonderbolts; your goal is to land and secure the VIPs. Once you accomplish that, send a flare towards the ocean and your taxi will drop by for pick up. If your group is pinned, flare out inland and support will come in.” “Discretion is key in this.” Celestia chimes in. “Do not openly attack any guard. They must not be able to identify that we’ve invaded their homeland. If within your hour marker you feel you cannot complete your mission without notice; then abort.” “And lastly.” Miles cuts her off, stepping towards us. “Take no prisoners.” “We can’t chance keeping one of them in fear of them escaping, nor can we let any who see us run off for help. If one does see you, kill him and burn the body. We cannot allow them to regenerate and turn us in. Don’t hesitate either, they are goblins after all. Dying isn’t much of a problem for them.” “Any questions?” Miles asks, getting a silent response. “Alright, this is how we’re breaking it up. Dash; being the fastest in the group, you’re with Spitfire. You have these two objectives due to their proximity. Raz will be your first support, followed by Tiber. High Flyer, you’re with…” I ignore the rest of what he says as I glare over at Spitfire. Why did he have to put me with her? I can think of several other Wonderbolts as fast as her! This is only going to cause problems on the ground, I just know it. But I’m not going to bitch about it. I know what Miles will say if I voice my concern. Deal with it! You’re the captain of the Jumpers for fuck sake! Sometimes I hate having responsibilities. “… and Night Fury you’re with North Star hitting this last sight with Sledge on support. Any questions? No? Good, let’s move out then-“ “Wait, where are you going to be?” I ask, getting a lot of blank stares my way. “Sorry Captain, I was… deep in thought.” My ear twitches when I hear a couple snickers. “Pay attention Dash.” He says it in a flat even tone, but it stings just as much as if he had yelled. “I’ll be meeting Starke while this is all happening. Storm is on lead for this op., got it?” “Crystal.” I reply quickly with a salute. “Good. I expect nothing less than the absolute best from all of you. Watch each other and get them out quickly. Load up; we’re going in weapons hot.” I give one last glance to Spitfire before following him towards the front of the airport, where several transport aircraft are already landing. Chapter 213 Joint OperationsChapter 213 Joint Operations The ride over to the Goblin Empire didn’t take long. Spitfire and I were silent the entire time, though our eyes did plenty of talking. She doesn’t like me, that much is clear. I was the threat that was going to bring her down from captain, so she took me out. And because of that, I can’t stand her. She’s a two timing bitch that needs to be put in her place, and I’m the one who’s going to do it. But not tonight. We can both understand that there is a job to do and that comes first. I know we both understand that, but I fear we’re still going to be at ends during this operation. “Objective point met, waiting for mark.” The bot in the driver’s seat tells us, getting me to put my helmet on. “There’s one thing I don’t understand,” Spitfire says as she zips up, covering her face. “What’s that?” I ask bitterly. “Why you left Equestria,” she states as we stand beside the door, waiting for it to open. “You were a Wonderbolt, and a god damn bearer of the Elements! Why leave all of that to become some soldier?” I snort and roll my eyes as the doors slide open. “Ask me after tonight, if you still need to.” I tell her before leaping out the door. I turn over and glance over to see specks of blue in the sky over the dark horizon. We were hovering at seven thousand feet, so this fall shouldn’t take too long. Spitfire moves in position beside me and tucks her wings in, dropping a bit faster. I mirror her and move my focus towards our objective. The factories we’re targeting are well lite, making them easy targets. My heads up display flashes a warning on the left, six thousand feet. I give a few powerful flaps before tucking my wings back in. My armor is heavy, helping me gain speed quickly. I miss the aerodynamics of the Wonderbolt suits, but prefer the protection of my new, special made armor. Lightest ever made by Terradisia, special made to fit me perfectly. It’s not as protective as Miles’, but it beats most other armors while letting me fly somewhat comfortably. Luckily, even during maternity leave, I still train every day in it. So it’s like a second skin to me. Second warning, five thousand feet. With the added weight of my heavier armor, I have to open my wings up slightly to keep pace with Spitfire. In turn she gestures to the right, pointing out a spotlight sweeping towards us. I nod and open my wings, feeling the wind yank me back as we slow to a hover. It takes a few hundred feet, but when we come to a stop the light passes beneath us harmlessly. We nod to each other before returning to our dive. Four thousand feet. We turn slightly, looking for our target. The scanner in my helmet is going nuts, looking for any sign of magical activity. Dozens of weapons light up at first, easily being guards with weapons. A few more seconds of scanning and our target lights up. A large warehouse just off to the side of the main factory. Two rows or twenty figures show up below the building, as well as several guards patrolling the area above. I motion to Spitfire and angle myself towards the building, minding the other guards. Three thousand feet. As we near our target I start to motion to Spitfire where several troublesome guards are located. Four towers around the compound with three guards in each of them. Four guards within the building, two up top and two on bottom. Two more pairs of guards walk around the outside of the building. Twenty in total. We quickly agree to take the ones outside out first, starting with the ones on the ground. Then inside to secure the slaves, and once we finish off the towers we’ll flare out. Two thousand feet. I want to beat my wings to pick up speed, but I can’t risk alerting them to our presence. I can see Spitfire rustling her wings as well, wanting to get this started just as badly as I do. I’ve always hated waiting. Just a little bit longer, no need to rush into this. One thousand feet. We pass a few tall skyscrapers in our final descent, hopefully there’s nopony watching- BANG I feel something clang against my armor suddenly. I look back to see to goblins chasing us with some sort of wing suit armor. I pull back and flap hard, sending myself flying back towards them. They try to avoid me by diving, but I fly much faster than them. Once close enough, I grab his foot and yank him back into my kicking hind legs. He flails for a moment before trying to recover, failing a bit at it though. I grab him again and sling him towards the skyscraper, sending him through a window. I look back to see Spitfire wrestling her attacker towards the same building, crashing a few floors below. I dart through the window and pull my spear out, looking for my attacker. I’m in some business room full of cubicles. I take a few steps forward before the goblin rolls out and shoots me again. The shot pings off my armor, but I feel my skin bruising beneath. He drops his pistol and reaches behind himself, but is too late to act any further. I spring forward and pierce the end of my spear through his face. A shot of electricity races through him and burns his flesh. I force him to the ground and hold him there until I feel I’ve melted enough of his brains to make him forget me. With him dealt with, I jump back out the window and flutter into the room Spitfire fell into. She’s still wrestling with the goblin with a dagger out. I walk over and stab one of his hands down; making him howl in pain and giving Spitfire the edge she needed to stab him in the side of the head. The blade must have been enchanted, because he started to shake violently before his eyes burned out. She glances back to me and nods her thanks. I nod back to her and turn to leave, but stop when I hear a humming. I look back and freeze as another goblin comes walking out with some sort of automated floor cleaner. He’s got some big, bulky ear muff like things on and hasn’t seemed to notice us yet. Spitfire was about to jump him when I grabbed her shoulder to stop her. He’s… dancing. Those ear muffs must be playing music somehow. I fight to hold back a snicker, because he’s not a very good dancer. Like, he might be worse than Twilight. After a very… enthusiastic booty shake I have to leave the room to laugh at him. That’s too much, that’s way too much! “Done yet?” Spitfire asks in a hushed tone as she joins me outside the building. “C’mon, that was hilarious!” I shoot back, gaining control of myself once more. “We have a job-“ “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Back to the seriousness. Let’s go already.” I wave her off before continuing towards the warehouse. I hear her groan in frustration but follow any way. When we near the warehouse I drop my smirk and get back into the moment. The guards below heard the gunshots and are on high alert. Spitfire joins me as we circle the building, looking for an opening to exploit. “There.” Spitfire whispers, pointing towards the back of the building. I nod and tilt to the right, turning in quickly while dropping altitude. We pause as a search light goes over the ground before landing. With the coast clear we head to the closest corner and wait for the patrol group to round the corner. They never stood a chance, only having a moment of shock before we each pierced their skulls with our weapons. Immediately after their deaths we frisk their bodies and take a ring of keys off of them. I glance back and note the light heading towards us. Without a second thought, I push Spitfire forward and rush towards the side doors. “We’ve been compromised,” I mutter as I set my spear on my side and grab the flare given to me. “Calling in support.” Spitfire nods and starts to work on opening the door, trying key after key. Just as the light stops over the dead goblins, I point my flare gun inland and fire it. The large red glowing ball races high into the air and before slowly dipping back towards the ground. Sirens start to go off as the lights immediately shine down on us. I glare back at the light as I holster the flare gun and reach for my assault rifle. Automatic fire traces the ground as they bear down on us. I shoot forward and return fire, sending metal and arcane bolts back at the tower. I feel a few pings bruise my back from the first volley, but push on as they keep their focus on me. I hear a pained yell from one of the goblins as the light blows out from my fire. I use the distraction to gain a bit of air and return fire on the gatling gun. A few rounds in, and a large billow of smoke signifies the air canisters exploding. VRRRRMMMMMMMMMM I turn around to see our transport ship hovering above, providing suppressive fire on one of the towers. It gains the attention from the other towers, allowing me to rejoin Spitfire. “Is it open yet?” I ask impatiently as I reload. “Obviously not!” she snaps back at me, moving to the next key. After a few more failed attempts I finally lose my patience. I turn around and buck the door with all of my strength. It budges inward, but holds shut. So I try again, and again; I keep kicking the door until I feel it buckle beneath my hooves and finally pry open. Spitfire and I run in and do a quick scan around. Dozens of guards stand around the scaffolding with their weapons aimed down on us. Where did they come from!? My scanners didn’t show more than four! I look around, trying to find an escape route of some sort. All around us are empty cages and a few stairwells that lead down below. The only escape was the door we busted open, but two goblins jumped down to block it off. I’m sure we could take them out, but not without getting every rifle to fire down on us. I might make it out of an attack like that, but Spitfire sure as hell wouldn’t. Crash Every eye turns as a massive black figure comes crashing through the roof, landing beside us with a massive crash. Raz, the massive orc trainee, emerges from the rubble; a massive club/mace in one hand, the Spartan Pen in the other, held up with a strap going over his shoulder. His armor makes him appear much thicker than he actually is and he towers over the rest of us at least two fold. He looks up, his face hidden beneath his helmet, before roaring out and firing on the goblins. Large tracers tear through the weak metals as he slowly spins his body to kill more targets. A loud pang of fire erupts from the scaffolds, all aimed at the orc that’s decimating their ranks. Raz simply roars again as he continues to spit lead back at them. I catch myself and aid in returning fire, taking out a goblin or two behind Raz. Those that remain drop their guns as they leap down from the scaffolding. I take another one of them out before the rest charge at us, drawing blades and pistols alike. I have to jump back when they all lunge for me at once. A few pistol rounds ping on my chest, winding me slightly but not enough to stop me from returning fire. I keep my fire to single shots, or rather, triple burst thanks to the gem in my rifle. There are only three in front of me, each holding a melee weapon in their top arms as they reload with their bottom arms. PEW BANG PEW A trio of shots rips through the left most goblin, dropping him. PEW BANG PEW I move to the right and blast away at the goblin to his right. He falls back with a pained yell- THUD I recoil slightly when Raz lunges beside me, bringing his mace overhead to crush the last goblin. The sick sound of metal crushing and bones snapping under the mighty force fill my ears for a second before everything goes quiet. I glance around to find any remaining targets, only to see a small group cowering in the back corner. “Pathetic.” Raz mumbles as he lumbers towards them. “Are you not warriors!? Fight and die with honor!” “Raz,” I say slowly, setting my rifle on my side and trotting to him. “Not every pony can wipe out an entire squadron by themselves.” He chuckles at this, taking it as a compliment. Spitfire lands before me, seemingly unscathed. “You know our orders, no witnesses-“ “NO!” One of the goblins yells in pure fear as he breaks from the group and bows before us. “Please! Spare me; I don’t want to become someone else! I like my life, please! I beg you!” “SILENCE!” Raz yells in his booming voice. “You wish for me to spare the life of a slaver-“ “NO! Please, I’m not like them-“ “You dare call yourself equal when you build yourself up on the backs of others!” He yells, stepping towards the terrified goblin. “Please! Have mer-AH!” He stops when Raz steps on one of his outstretched hands, making him whimper in pain. “The only mercy I grant you is a quick death. Be grateful that I allow you that luxury.” B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-BANG The room falls silent once Raz releases the trigger, the only sound coming from the rattling of his casings on the cement floor. I sigh as I stare at the back of Raz. He didn’t need to get all riled up like this. But no, he always has to make his point clear. “C’mon. Let’s get the ponies out of here.” I say finally, breaking the silence. “Raz, how much time do we have?” “Twenty eight minutes.” He says as he goes around the room, crushing the heads of every goblin he comes across. I look over to Spitfire and nod to her, running to the closest set of stairs and taking them down. “What a monster,” she mumbles as we make it to the door. “Don’t be too harsh on him.” I tell her as I put my hoof on the nob. “He almost lost his family to slavers.” “That doesn’t make him any less of a monster.” She retorts quickly. “Maybe not, but… I dunno. He’s… whatever. Like I’d expect you to understand.” I shake my head and open the door. Inside we find two rows of cages filled with unicorns. One the left side is twenty or so unicorn adults. They can’t be much older than me and are tattered and lanky. On the right side are the younger and older generations. Mostly foals, the few adults in there are mares that are either pregnant or tending to the young, with several cases of both. Though they aren’t as skinny as the ones on the left, they aren’t much better. After another second of looking over them, I realize that there are only four stallions here in total. Spitfire jumps forward with the help of her wings and scares all of them. Young cling to their mothers whiles other run for the other end of their cages. They stare at us like we’re some sort of alien here to take them away… I guess that isn’t too far-fetched of an idea for them. “Ponies! Do not fear us! We’re here to set you all free!” Spitfire yells out at them. A few of them mumble to each other, confused by what she said. She yanks out her sword and jams it between one of the doors, prying it open. She steps in towards the foals and they all run behind their mothers in fear. The mares inside there step in front of them and form a sort of barrier between us, their eyes wide in fear. “Fire!” I bark at her, getting her attention. “Keep in mind that they don’t really know much about pegasi. They probably don’t even think we’re all ponies.” “So-“ “Let me handle this.” I groan as I step forward, getting the crowd before me to scooch away. I stop and lay down on my hooves, removing my helmet to smile at them. “It’s okay; I’m not here to hurt any of you. My name is Rainbow Dash.” I say in my motherly tone. A few of them glance to one another, not knowing what to do. “Dash-“ “Are my wings scaring you?” I ask, holding them out fully. They recoil slightly from the movement, giving me my answer. “I can put them away if you’d like.” I fold my wings back to my side and wait patiently. I glance between them, trying to find any brave enough to stare me in the eyes. After a bit of pushing, I find my target. A little white filly with hazel eyes and light green hair steps forward, making eye contact with me. She can’t be older than five, four more likely to the fact she doesn’t have her cutie mark yet. I smile to her and lower my head, trying to be as welcoming as possible. She starts to walk out towards me but stops when one of the mares reaches out to her, barely out of her reach. They look to each other before the filly continues, stopping just out of hoofs reach of me. She looks me over in awe, like how Jet did when we went to the zoo. The thought amuses me slightly; I guess I’m her lion. She leans over slightly and starts to inspect my wings, curiously taking a few tentative steps my way. I slowly unfurl my wing, getting her to step back slightly. I pause halfway, waiting for her to relax slightly before continuing. With my wing out completely, I start to reach out towards her slowly. I see her starting to breathe quickly, but stay still. Either out of complete awe or total fear. When she’s within reach I run a feather over her nose quickly. Her face scrunches up as she shakes her head slightly. I giggle slightly at that and tease her a few more times over her faces, stopping when she giggles as well. “Th… they’re soft,” she comments happily, albeit quietly. I smile down to her and scoot closer, letting her work her muzzle against the rest of my wing. She rubs her head and wiggles against my feathers, feeling her way towards me with her eyes shut. Her eyes snap open when she bumps into me, stepping back slightly as if she had done something wrong. “What’s your name sweetheart?” I ask her quietly, leaning towards her. “Um… m-my name?” She asks timidly. I swear I feel like I’m talking to Fluttershy, her voice is so quiet. “I-I don’t have one.” “You don’t have a name?” I ask, getting her to shake her head slightly. “Hmm… then why don’t we change that?” I say as I tap my hoof to my chin. “Let’s call you… Brave.” “Brave?” She asks, somewhat surprised. “Yeah, Brave. You’re easily the bravest pony I’ve ever met.” I tell her, making her smile. She thinks about it for a second before nodding. “I-I’m Brave?” FLASH Everypony gasps when a quick flash appears. Brave looks around, trying to find the source but looks to me in confusion. I smile back to her and point to her flank. She tilts her head in confusion before looking back, seeing her new cutie mark of a lion’s head. The little filly gasps in surprise before bouncing up and down in pure joy. “I got my mark! I got my mark! Momma look! I got my mark!” She yells before running to the side of the cage. She turns and tries to show a mare across the room her cutie mark, making me chuckle. “Hey Brave.” I call out to her, getting her attention slightly. “Let’s go show your mom your cutie mark.” I say as I stand and walk to the open door, shooting a glance to Spitfire on the way. She looks at the open door for a moment before running to it and pausing. She looks at the ground for a second before looking up to me, seemingly asking for permission. I smile and nod, getting her to adorn a massive smile. She scurries to the other cages and find her mother waiting there, crying slightly at the sight. “Look Mom! I didn’t get one for enchanting like the others! I got one for being brave! Do you like it?” She asks excitedly, her voice squeaking slightly. “O-of course I like,” she replies weakly, fighting back tears. “It’s… it’s the greatest mark I’ve ever seen.” “Really!? The greatest ever?” She asks eagerly, looking up to her mother with total joy. SNAP With a grunt of effort, I use my spear to pry the gate open to the adults. The mother glances at the opening, debating what to do, before galloping out. She scoops up Brave and squeezes her in a tight embrace, peppering her with kisses and mutterings of love. Brave returns the affection, tearing up with her mother. Several of the other ponies begin to mutter to one another as they near the open gates. I look to Spitfire and motion for her to follow me to the font of the room. With us out of the way, they all run out of their cages to reunite themselves with their loved ones. The room fills with joy and sorrow as parents hold their foals, friends hug one another, and others simply rejoice in their freedom. I glance over to Spitfire and nudge her, getting her attention. “This is why I joined the Spartans. This wouldn’t have happened without us. To keep your loyalty to one nation, one way of life… with the Spartans, I can be loyal to them all. Whether it’s freeing some ponies, feeding a starving griffin community, or simply negotiating between minotaurs and zebras; I can help them all.” She looks back to the group and keeps quiet, thinking deeply on what I said. “Dash!” Raz yells from behind. “We need to go! We only have thirteen minutes left!” “Got it! Everypony! I need you to follow me! We’re going to take you somewhere new! Somewhere where you’ll all be free to live your lives as you see fit! Follow me to Equestria!” I yell before I zip up the stairs. It takes them a few moments, but they eventually emerge from the stair well, still slightly scared of their surroundings. Spitfire and I hurry and usher them over to their waiting aircraft, taking far too long to coax them onboard. We strap everypony in and begin to leave when somepony grabs my tail. “Aren’t you coming with us?” Brave’s mother yells over the sound of the roaring jets. “I have eight minutes to free another factory, I can’t.” I yell back. “That’s not enough time! You’ll never make it!” I smirk at that, putting my helmet back on. “Don’t forget this, my name is Rainbow Dash! And I’m the fastest flier on this planet! I’ll see you in Equestria.” I turn to leave but stop when she grabs me again. “We’re not the only ones! A plant opened up recently, somewhere far away from here. I only heard the guards talking about it for a moment, but I know what I heard!” “And what was that?” “A new plant specializing in desert warfare!” I think about it, but can’t piece together what that means. I nod to her and leave the jet, joining Spitfire a few feet away. We wait till it lifts off before turning towards out last objective. “Seven minutes, think you’ve got what it takes?” Spitfire asks as she takes her position. I smirk under my helmet and lower myself to a takeoff position. “Just try and keep up.” Perspective: Starke Herzen Going to sleep late was a terrible idea. I can't get comfortable, I can't stop thinking about the days meetings... or the ones to come. I've got projects to tinker over, gadgets to fiddle, and countless baubles to- "YOUR EXCELLENCE!" Someone yells as they storm through my door. I groan and sit up, glaring at my assistant through my long grey hair as he kneels by my bed side. "Your excellence-" "This better be good." I groan as I lay back, irritated by the sudden intrusion. Someone better be dead- "Someone has entered your privet study-" "WHAT!?" I yell, bolting back up. "Have them shot immediately-" "We... u-uh... we tried sir He simply used his magic to ward off the attack. We're working on getting a few others here to assist but... the human-" "Human!?" I yell, trying to piece all of this together. What human? What's a human!? How did it ward off all of our weapons!? I jump out of bed and open my dresser, finding it empty. I kneel down and reach under my mattress, but find nothing. "Sir... the human has requested an audience with you." I sigh and sit back against my bed, moving a hand to my face to brush back my hair. If he really wanted to, he could have killed me in my sleep. Slit my throat, blow my brains out with my own pistols! He obviously doesn't wish to kill me, not now at least. "Well then, let's not keep him waiting then." I push myself up and fix my tunic and tie my hair back. I may be in my sleep wear, but I'm still an emperor. I walk eagerly down the long hallway to my study, finding the door open slightly. I peer inside and see the being toying with one of my experiments, eyeing the mechanism closely. I take a deep breath before pushing the doors open and marching right towards the human. "Starke-" "You have infiltrated my palace, stolen my personal weapons, and are currently holding top secret devices! Why, in the wide, wide world, should I not have you killed on the spot!?" I demand from him, stopping just before him. He chuckles lightly and sets the weapon down, smirking smugly about something. "Well, according to the Summit meeting, I'm allowed access to anything that could possibly be of value to wards my investigation-" "An investigation that's been going on for nearly six years now!" I bark at him, wishing I was a bit taller. He nods to that and pulls over one of my clip boards, glance at the front page casually. "Respond Miles!" "We've been having difficulty finding anything," he starts out slowly, keeping his eyes on the clip board. "Most leads were dead ends, and whenever we did find anything it usually lead us to an entirely new maze of secrets.That is, until we found some goblin weaponry in bear country." "... so that's it? You find some weapons and it obviously must be the answer." I ask, crossing my upper arms and putting my lower fists on my hips. "Is it illegal to sell weapons to outsiders?" "Hmm, so you are selling them weapons-" "Hardly." I scoff and turn around, heading towards the other end of my shop. I flip a few switches to turn the lights on before moving to the large map of the Goblin empire. "You don't know the first thing about us, do you?" "Culturally? No," he admits openly, moving to my side. "All I do know is that you have the second most advanced technology in the world-" "First! We are the most advanced-" "When you get past simply pistons and gears, then you can say you're advanced. Electo-magnetics and nuclear fission, that'll be a good start towards boasting. But you're outmatched by us Starke. But, I'm not here to lecture you on technology. All I want to know is why you're aiding the Griffins for war?" I groan at that statement. Too many see with their hearts, not their brains. "You claim that I'm the one aiding them for war, yet aren't you in the same boat?" I ask, getting a silent response. "I don't give them anything. We've worked out a lend-lease deal with Ulfric. He buys the weapons and uses them for whatever he sees fit. You, on the other hand, give them food-" "Humanitarian aid-" "You give them the strength to fight. I haven't picked a side of this effort. They came, they paid, they left-" "But not with the weapons." Miles points out, setting the clipboard down. "I'm not here because you're selling weapons. I'm here because you're moving weapons through Bear country.They made it very clear that you aren't allowed to move through their air space. In doing so, they are claiming it as an act of an alliance." "That's preposterous, it's simply business." That buffoon Boarus really thinks he can slander my name, my country. "SERVANT!" "Yes my liege!" My servant yells, scrambling to my feet. "I want you to bring me every ledger from every corporation dealing with Ulfric and his kind. I have nothing to fear Miles Eremita. No military personal of the Goblin Empire has ever set foot withing Bear territory. We have no responsibility for the actions of privet contractors-" "M-my liege! This will take some time to gather-" "Do as I say!" I yell, kicking the servant. He grovels at my feet before I kick him again, getting him to run to his task. With him out of the room I look back to Miles, my temper still running high. "We will not be slandered into a war that isn't ours, nor will we idly sit back as empty threats are thrown our way. We have nothing to hide, Spartan. Thus, we have nothing to fear." He chuckles at that, walking around the table staring at the map below. I glance down at the table as well and notice one of the corners poking up. I bite my lip in hopes that he didn't look beneath the map. In hopes to hide it, lean forward and rest my hands on the table, pressing down on the corner to hide it better. "Starke, can I ask you a serious question," he asks suddenly, sounding much less confident. "You can ask anything. It's always the matter of the answer you'll receive." I tell him, watching him move closely. "It is obvious that Ulfric is getting ready to strike. He has forces along the Soviet border and has been arming for several years now. I don't doubt that you've been selling them weapons, but do you really think he'll do it? Attack another nation openly. Is the world really that divided?" He seems almost... sad, to say that. But, hearing him say this puts me at ease now, it telling me that he didn't look beneath the map. "Those that are different will always fight one another. It's the nature of being. Bears and Griffins have always fought, just as Apes and Goblins have always fought, Minotaurs and Zebras, Equestrians with... Equestrians. War is very much a part of this world Spartan, don't let Celestia fool you." "I am not fooled by her words of peace. I simply wish to avoid a conflict that will tear this world apart. That's what the Four Horsemen want. That's what Death wants-" "Don't delude yourself with their obscure words. They're a cult of honeyed words and false promises. I've been around long enough to know their kind-" "You've never fought them-" "For a good reason. They're cowards. They scheme and plot but don't have the resolve to attack head on. You'll see, when the gloves are off and the light shines on them, they'll crumble. They always do. The Deadwoods, crushed. Followers of Discord, nothing but whispers in the wind. The Darkness.. they'll join their rightful place in history. Fabled tales of failure and defeat!" I slam my fist down to drive the point across.Miles scoffs at me, shaking his head slightly. "You really believe that? Trust me what I say this, they're different. They're not just some terrorist organization. They have a plan and are enacting it as we speak-" "Miles," I say, shaking my head slightly. "Terrorist want to instill terror. I know they can be dangerous. But I will not bend to their will so easily. I remain convinced that we will eradicate them, because I have too. If my people saw fear in me, they would lose hope. When the people lose hope, that's when they win. Death... he isn't to be feared. He's to be dealt with." He looks down and ponders what I've said. Only now do I realize how preachy I must have sounded. "I've marked your world map with my base of operations, as well as a path you could use to avoid Bear territory. Thank you for your words Starke, I must be off-" "What of the slaves?" I ask, not forgetting our little talk earlier. "Aren't you going to-" "I was going to, but then I found out I didn't need to. A friend of mine assured me that they would take care of everything-" "A friend... you mean Celestia." I assume, glaring at the being before me. He chuckles to himself again, walking to a nearby window. "Do you really Celestia could muster this kind of act? No, not Celestia. I haven't gotten his name yet, oddly enough. But, he was adamant about freeing his ponies." I nod to that. Celestia isn't know for- "Wait... his ponies? Who do you speak of?" I demand shortly, cursing myself for the lack of restraint. "Hmm, you haven't heard? There's a new world leader in the world. He simply goes by, King. Dunno where he came from or what he wants, well... other than freeing those ponies. Said he'd do it by himself too. I thought you'd like to know that, don't forget those ledgers Starke, I expect them within a month.Apologies for the intrusion, I'll let myself out now." He goes to the window and opens it, letting in a gust of wind that tosses papers into the air. "Human." I call out, getting him to pause from climbing out. "We're not the only ones profiteering from this. If you're looking into our affairs, I'd suggest looking to Long Horn's affairs as well." He looks out the window for a moment, thinking to himself quietly. "Spartan-" "Heh, yes... Spartan." I look him over cautiously as he chuckles to himself, inching my way over to a nearby compass. It has a sharp end on it, so it beats trying to take him on bare handed. He looks back to me with a wide smile and blackened eyes, making me freeze for a moment. He stares at me for a moment before he starts to climb out the window, still chuckling to himself. "You can use the front door you know." I tell him, stepping closer to the odd being. "Oh, but where's the fun in that?" He asks, looking back to me with a crooked smile. "Have a chaotic night." And, just like that, he jumps out the window. I run over and watch him fall onto a black form hovering below. He stands up and glances around, seemingly confused, before the machine takes off. "A... chaotic night?" I turn back to the map on the table and rip it off, sighing in relief when I see the world map untouched. I glance over to one of the other maps I have up and see the marking he spoke of. So, he operates in Equestria. That would explain the close connection to Celestia he's formed. "Sir..." My assistant starts, but stops when he sees the map I'm looking at. "Do not fear, our plans are still unknown to him. If he had seen this, he would have surely killed me." I assure my assistant, getting an uneasy look from him. "Let me know when you have those ledgers ready. I wish to see this Terradisia for myself." Perspective: Rainbow Dash I sigh in relief when we make it back to Equestria. That... was one hell of a mission. The gun battles, the race to finish on time, the birth of that foal on the way here... amazing. That little colt was adorably, albeit gross with all of the birthing stuff. I can't believe how sad she was when it came out a earth pony though. I can't believe those monster would just kill them off so easily. But, that's over for them. Mission was successful, everyone reported back with nothing more than bruises and scratches, and no one is reporting being spotted. Job well down. "Mind if I take a seat with you?" I glance over to Spitfire and nod to her, letting her join me under the tree. "*sigh* I love Canterlot at night. It's so peaceful, and the look below is breath taking." I hum in response, looking at the luminescent city below. "I'm just glad we were able to retrieve most of the ponies from there." "Most?" I nod to her, frowning slightly. "I asked around. A pony named U40 was executed as an example to the others." I tell her, getting her to frown as well. "Don't beat yourself up though. She was dead the second we decided to act." "... that doesn't make me feel any better," she grumbles. I nod, agreeing with her silently. I wanted to bring her here and show her a life of peace and friendship, but... that's not the case. "Hey Dash, about earlier-" "Don't sweat it. I know what you're-" "I'm not apologizing." She cuts me off, getting me to look back at her. "I still don't agree with you leaving the Wonderbolts. I only did what I did to knock you down a peg. You still have that arrogance about you that's going to get ponies hurt. But... I will admit you've done some growing. I guess, what I'm trying to say is, you did good back there. I look forward to working with the Spartans in the future." She holds her hoof out, and I can't help but smile as I shake it with my own. I may have lost out on the dream of being a Wonderbolt, but I still have the respect of one of my role models. That's good enough. "So, when are you going to accept our challenge?" I ask, getting her to raise an eyebrow at me. "Didn't Soarin ever ask?" "Ask what?" Soarin... I'm going to smack you upside the head when I get home. "*sigh* I sent out an invitation for a friendly competition between the Spartan Jumpers and the Wonderbolts. Just a little friendly competition with our allies." She chuckles slightly, turning back to the view on the city. "Rainbow Dash, always looking for another race to win." "Would you have it any other way?" I ask, getting her to smile and shake her head. "I'll get back to you on that, for now, let's just sit back and relax after a job well done." She says, laying back against the tree behind us. "Copy that." I reply, mimicking her movement. "Dash!" I let out a groan as I hear several people walking up to me. I glance over to see Hunter, the zebra, in front. He gives a quick salute before asking, "We're heading back, you coming?" "Nah, I'll kick it here tonight. Besides, I'm sure Twilight would like the surprise visit, right Storm?" He chuckles and leaves the group, heading towards the castle. "Report in and get some rest, you've earned it." They all salute and head off, murmuring to one another quietly. "Oddest outfit I've ever seen." Spitfire mumbles as I lay back down. "Yeah, but I wouldn't trade any of them away... beside maybe Johnathan. The bookworm gives me headaches sometimes." "Hmm, speaking of bookworms-" "Twilight?" "Yep." I chuckle at that, getting her to laugh as well. I'm glad to see she's at least treating me as an equal, even if she still thinks I'm green. Author's Note Return of the Tallest! Brony on! Chapter 214 Time in the LibraryChapter 214 Time in the Library Perspective: Tempestive Mortem I mumble in my sleep when I feel something soft nudge my side. So, logically, I roll away from it in an attempt to continue sleeping. After a few peaceful moments of rest I feel the soft annoyance return to my back, gently rubbing just below my wings. I give a few more mumbled protest before I finally wake up enough to roll back over and see the intruder. "M-mon?" I groan with a yawn as she smiles down at me. "What's up?" "Hmm, I've got a surprise for you," she whispers to me with a smile. The aspect of getting something is enticing, but sleep sounds just as good. "We're going to Canterlot for the day." "Canterlot?" I ask, still not fully awake. "Why?" "I have some work I need to get an early start on, and your father has to be there for work as well. So we're all going there for the day." "Mmm... cool." I mutter as I turn around. That's cool I guess, spending the day with Mom and Dad at Canterlot. ... ... ... "Wait... WHAT!?" I throw the sheets off and jump up, making Mom laugh at me a bit. "Are you serious!? We're going to Canterlot to meet with Dad!? We're leaving Ponyville!" Mom laughs at me as she reaches over to give me a peck on the cheek. I don't even care right now, this has to be the best day EVER! "Brush you teeth, take a shower, and comb your mane. We're leaving after breakfast. Oh, and one last thing," she says as she leans in never to my ear. "No vest." "*gasp* really!?" "Really really. Now hurry up and get ready." You don't have to tell me twice! I jump (fall with grace) out of bed and rush through getting ready. I brush my teeth while showering, use magic to dry and brush quickly; only giving my mane a few swipes to get it as presentable as needed. Done, I run out my bedroom, glide down the stairs and meet Mom in the kitchen. "Well, that was quick." "Is Dad really going to be there? What does do you both need to do in Canterlot? Why don't I have to wear my vest? How come-" "Easy there," she cuts me off before setting a bowl of oatmeal in front of me. "Your father and I have meetings to attend to. But, our meetings are at the same time. So at first you're going to be with your aunt. Then with me so your father can rest; he was working late last night. And the rest of the day will be just you and him. Sound good?" I think about it for a second before nodding, getting her to smile. She takes a seat at the table and begins to eat her own breakfast, when a question comes to mind. "Where are you going to be later today?" "I have work, remember? I'm the consultant in the Equestrian courts." "Oh yeah." I mumble as I look down to my oatmeal, poking it with a spoon. "Why was Dad out late last night?" "He was on another mission outside Equestria. It took all night to get things settled." She tells me before scooping a spoonful of oatmeal into her mouth. I lift up a spoonful as well, but pause when something else comes to mind. "Is Shadow coming to see Dad?" "No, she has school." "But, it's Dad. I'm sure she'd want to see Dad rather than go to school. Besides, she's smart enough to miss one day." I try to argue, knowing she'd want to see Dad as well. "If she could miss a day of school she would, but they're very strict about the number of days you can miss. Now save your questions for after breakfast." I frown a bit at that but drop it. I guess that's one of the perks of being home schooled. We eat breakfast in relative silence. Shadow passes through when we finish, but it was a simple hi/bye moment. Mom told her what's happening, but Shadow doesn't press it that much. I guess she just doesn't want to go. Once we finish eating Mom brings me to her room and heads to the mico platform inside her closet... not that I know about that. I fake being intrigued enough to avoid questions. A quick flash and we're in the random furbished cave that I like to take naps in. The bed here is amazing. Plus, nobody bothers me and it's quieter that Ponyville. I've been here plenty of times before, but I never knew it was in Canterlot before. Maybe next time I'll actually leave the cave. When we step out into the cold wind we're met with an amazing view of Canterlot below. Pegasus fly over head as the ponies below move like tiny colorful ants. "Wow." "Stay close to me Tempestive, and mind your manners. The ponies here aren't like those in Ponyville. Call stallions by sir, and mares by ma'am." Mom lectures me as we begin to walk down the mountainside, following a light, thin trail. "Even auntie Celly?" "Mmm... no, not family. Just anypony else. No gliding down stairs, no belching contest with your father-" "That was one time!" "Either way, it would be frowned upon by the ponies below. If somepony tells you to do something, don't. You only listen to family. The only exception are the Royal Guards. But they shouldn't talk to you unless it's an emergency. If a staff member asks you if you want anything... try to be reserved about it please." "Okay Mom." I groan, lowering my head a bit. I hate being lectured to. It's demeaning. It's not like I'm going to start demanding mountains of... I don't even know what to hypothetically demand! Food? Toys? ... I'm six, I guess my list isn't very long. Mom stops and looks back to me, making me shrug back to her. "Hey... walking is going to take too long. Why don't we fly down there?" She asks with a small smile as she turns to me and opens her wings. I perk up at this and look down the mountainside. The wind is strong and the updraft something fierce... but I think I could do it. "Can we?" I ask, hoping she doesn't suddenly doesn't change her mind. "As long as you think you can do it, sure." I nod enthusiastically to her, fluttering my wings in excitement. She smiles to me before launching straight into the air, making me nearly fall back from the whiplash of air. I look up and watch her roll over and and zipping back, turning in tightly to curve around the mountain. I always forget how good of a flier she is. I look to my own wings before taking a running start. With a few flaps I take off into the air and begin to gain air as well. Not as flashy as Mom, but I'm still a relative new flier. I get off to a rough start, but after some minor adjustments and quick panicking I regain control and fly out over the city. Mom glides down to my side and smiles to me. I smile back and begin to accelerate, pulling ahead slightly. She quickly pulls ahead of me, smirking at me. I smirk back and push myself to get ahead of her, knowing I'm just at my limit. Instead of pulling ahead of me, she twists and rolls over head, taking her place on my left now. "We'll have to finish our little race another time. Take my hoof," she says, reaching out to me with a knowing smirk. I smile back and take her hoof tightly.She pulls me into her chest before rolling to the right and diving straight down. I let out a cheer of approval as we drop through the air at high speed. The only sound I can hear is the wind whipping past me ears as I cheer Mom on to go faster. The castle quickly comes into view as we race towards the open grounds below. The large, pristine walls shine brightly in the morning sunlight as guards in golden armor march about here and there. Just behind the large towers a large blimp begins to rise into the air, casting a large shadow over the castle and city below. I stare out in awe of the city and castle. I never seen anything like it before. It's all so pristine and ornate, nothing like Ponyville. My head snaps down when Mom suddenly pulls up, heading straight for the castle. I notice two pegasus guards move in and flank Mom. Are we in trouble? Maybe we aren't suppose to just fly in on the castle. I'm sure the owner will understand... maybe? Mom is a consultant, so maybe that comes with some perks. I hope so at least. Mom glides around one of the tall towers to reduce her speed before continuing her decent, the guards following closely. I was about to ask Mom about it when she dropped suddenly, twisting slightly to make her way through two large doors. When we make it inside she comes to a hover before dropping to the marble floor. She lets out an loud sigh as she gives me one last hug before setting me down. I give a quick stretch before I turn and look up to her, smiling along with her. It was fun while it lasted, we should do it again. "Ma'am!" One of the guards salutes as he lands behind Mom. "With all do respect, do you really belie- be.... um..." Before he finished Mom stood up and moved aside. Now, with me in view, he stares down at me while trying to continue what he was saying before. So Dad was right, ponies do find it odd to have wings and a horn. I guess the vest makes sense now... though I still hate it. "Do I really what, sir?" Mom asks. It sounds polite, but I've heard her use that voice with Dad before. Usually it meant that you where in trouble, but not outwardly. I've asked Dad about it once, he just said that it's a mare thing that I'll blunder into later. "Ma'am! I uh... I believe your sister is in a meeting at the moment!" He says quickly, snapping to a salute. Huh, so consultants are to be saluted to, interesting. Mom nods to him before turning to me, motioning to follow. I trot after her, giving one last back at the staring guard. The castle interior is even more stunning than the exterior! Marble covers every inch of the floors, walls and ceiling as amazing paintings, tapestries and framed documents cover most of the walls. Any furniture that we do pass by is made of the nicest woods, carved to perfection, and don't look as if they're ever used. Every other window is stained with various moments in Equestrian history. Most of the ones here depict life back during the three tribes. We pass a few guards again, meeting similar reactions. They snap to a salute to Mom and then stare at me in disbelief. "Why do they all keep staring at me?" I whisper to Mom when we're out of ear shot of those guards. "Well... you're the second alicorn foal to roam these halls Tempestive. It's... not a common sight." "Oh... were you the first?" "Oh no, this castle was built well after my foalhood." She tells me as we round a corner and come to a stop before a set of doors. Two guards stand by the doors and eye me a bit, keeping their faces on the wall opposite of them. "Now, Tempestive, we're going to walk into the middle of a meeting. Don't speak unless I tell you to. The ponies in here are... old-" "Like, old like you or old like Granny Smith?" I ask, getting one of the guards to snicker. Mom smirks down at me, shaking her head slightly. "Like Granny Smith. Now, stand straight and keep close. Stoic." She nods to the guard, who goes a little wide eyed before opening the doors for us. I straighten out a bit before I follow after her. The room inside smells of old ponies and paper. A long wooden table fills the center as ponies fill the two sides. At the far end I see Aunt Celly sitting at the head, reading over something. When the doors shut behind us, every eye turns on us. I slump slightly from all of the attention. Every critical eye, raised eyebrow and gasp of surprise seems to directed at me. I look back to Celestia and her still looking down at the paper work before her, mumbling what she's reading quietly. Without a word Mom starts to walk off, so I scurry after her. Everypony keeps their gaze on me as we take the long journey down the conference room, a few chairs squeaking as those on the other side try to keep their gaze on me. "Sister." Mom says quietly when we reach her. She nods and looks up, smiling to her. "A word?" "Of course, let me finish up here and I'll-" "I think Tempestive will break into a nervous sweat if he stays in here any long." Mom points- hey! I'm doing pretty good for having every old fart in the room staring at me! Celestia tilts her head slightly before looking down at me. I manage a weak smile and wave- "TEMPESTIVE!" She practically yells as she lifts me up with her magic and brings me in to squeeze me in a hug. I feel the air forced out of my lungs as she continues her death grip around my mid section. I start to tap out as everything begins to go blurry. Goodbye world, I hardly knew you... I love my aunt... but she needs to stop these death hugs of hers. Just as everything was about to go dark, the pressure stops as she lifts me up to get a better look at me. "Look how big you've gotten!" "Auntie Celly!" I yell as I look over to see everypony staring at me. "And what a wingspan! You get that from your grand father easily-" "Auntie Celly!" Eyes! Eyes everywhere! Why!? WHY!? "Six years old and you're almost-" "Sister." Mom states, getting her to pause to look over to her. "Why don't you set him down so we can talk real quick? I'm sure everypony in here would rather-" "I have no qualms. Please proceed." Some old fart in the back says out loud, getting the rest of the old farts to agree and snicker because they're all old farts. I don't even care if the blonde one is younger, they're all old farts. All of them. "You heard them." Celestia says before bringing me back in for another death hug. I gasp as begins to rock me back and forth, still adding pressure to her inescapable grip. I grunt and pant as I try to escape, but only receive freedom when she finally sets me down, giving me a kiss on the cheek as well. Mares. "*sigh* Well then! I have sated my Tempestive smothering, for now. What can I help you with?" "Can we step aside real quick?" Mom asks while motioning to the corner of the room. Celly nods and follows her over. I started to head over, but was quickly levitated to Aunt Celly's chair. "Stay put for one second please honey." "Yeah... sure." I say before folding my legs. Always with the secrets. Where's Dad? I miss his bluntness. I glance over to see every eye is back on me. I don't get it, why are they staring!? I'm just a colt from Ponyville! Is that really that odd? I get tired of the stares before finally asking, "what?" "What's your name son?" The closest stallion asks, getting the others to lean in. "Tempestive Mortem, why?" I ask, getting a few of them to write something down. Why... why are they writing my name down? "Curious. What school do you go to?" He asks, getting all of them to stop writing and lean back in. Apparently anything I have to say is of tremendous intrigue to them... hmm... "Well... I go to- *cough cough fake cough* oh! Sorry, it's hard to speak when you're thirsty, ya know?" "Get him a glass of water!" The stallions snaps at one of the ponies in the back, making them panic before running out of the room. "Or would you prefer some juice? A soda pop maybe?" "Um... water-" "Where's that water!" he demands with a pound of his hoof to the table, looking back to the front doors. I sit back with a smug smile as I wait for my water. I have no idea why they're so interested in me, but I guess I'll run them through a loop before anything further. Not even twenty seconds later the stallion comes back with a glass of water with ice. I thank him for it, getting him to grovel as he backs away, and take a sip. "Ah! Thanks for that, it really hit the spot." I tell them before taking another sip. "Of course your maj-ma-er... laddy! Of course laddy! So, your school-" "I don't go to school." I tell him, getting him to tilt his head slightly. "Well, not public school that is. I'm home schooled." "Oh! And whose your teacher? Or do you have multiple teachers?" he asks as the others begin to scribble away at their notes. "My Dad does math, magic, flight, science, the arts, as well as various other vocational things. That mostly means going out and trying various things to try and trigger my cutie mark-" "What do you think your cutie mark will be?" he asks suddenly. They all pause again and lean in, watching me closely. I set my glass down and think about it for a moment. Rampant and Jet are always trying to help me get my mark, and Dad does too. But... I never really thought about what I would want it to be. Truth be told, I don't really care. It's just something that tells everybody what I'm good at, and where's the fun in that? I like it when ponies walk up to me and ask me questions to know who I am. Getting my mark... sounds like it's going to take that away from me. Then again, that could just be Dad talking in my head. He doesn't care for marks either. "Tempestive," Mom says, getting my attention. "I have to run some errands for a bit. So while I'm out I'm leaving you with your aunt, okay?" "As long as the near death hugs end, I'm okay with that." I say, eyeing Celly slightly. "Then that settles it!" Auntie Celly cheers. "You'll stay with me until two, then your father should be up." "Okay then, behave you two." Mom says before leaning down and nuzzling me. I nuzzle back a bit before she turns and leaves the room. Once she leaves, every eye turns to me and Celestia. "So, I will have to read this proposal later today. I hope you don't mind." Aunt Celly says as she rolls the papers on the desk up. "Of course not your high... your maj... um..." "Thank you, you are all dismissed." Celestia says. They all bow to her, to which she bows back. Oh, okay! I thought it was weird that everypony was bowing to us, but if Auntie Celly does it, it must be the norm. I'm not bowing though. Like Dad says, 'bowing means submission. Submission means lack of freedoms.' Whatever that means. "So, Tempestive, what do you want to do while we wait?" "Um... I dunno. I've never been here before. What is there to do here?" I ask, getting her to think about it. "Hmm... how about I give you a quick tour around, show you what's what?" She asks with a warm smile. It sounds a little boring... but I nod along with the idea. It'll at least give me an idea of what there is to do around here. "Great! Hope on and we'll begin right now!" She lowers herself enough for me to hop onto her back. I jump on and hold onto her neck as she starts to trot away, adding some extra bounce to her step. "Onward to... er-" "THE LIBRARY!" Celestia cheers. "THE LIBR- wait really?" ....................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Luna I open the door to my room slowly and peer inside, seeing the figure asleep in my bed. Six hours of sleep should be enough rest for the rest of the day. It's not like anything big is going to happen. I step in and shut the door quietly before silently stepping towards the edge of the bed. Like the guards told me ahead of time, he's still in his human form. I take a seat and begin to slowly nuzzle his cheek, getting him to mumble a bit. I love watching them slowly wake, they make the cutest faces. After a few more mumbles he lets out a slow groan before his eyes slightly open. "Mmm... Luna? What's up?" he asks quietly, still teetering between alertness and sleep. "Nothing, I just wanted to wake my hero." I whisper quietly back to him. He rolls to face me, keeping his head on the pillow. "Heard about that huh?" "Mhmm. Word is spreading pretty quickly about it. I'm proud of you." He nods to me, slowly falling back to sleep. I bite my lip as I begin to weave to the reason I'm here. "And it's not just me that's proud of you. Celestia, Cadence, Dusty Dunes -the noble from Saddle Arabia- all of Equestria is proud of you." "Hmm." He's barely listening. Time to up the ante. "The goblins want to know who this King is... as do all of the others... Miles?" "Hmm?" "I think it's time the King made an appearance." This wakes him up. His eyes shoot open and he tenses up a bit. "Miles-" "Fuck no." He groans as he sits up, rubbing the sleep from him eyes. "Miles-" "Celestia put you up to this didn't she? Or was it Blueblood? It was probably him, the bastard." "Miles, it's my idea." He stops and looks at me in bewilderment, trying to say something that won't come out. I crawl onto bed and lay on his lap, resting my head against his bare chest. "Miles, it's time Equestria learned of its new ruler. You can't shirk these responsibilities forever." "I think celebrating an operation the day after its completed is a bad idea all together. It's unprofessional and boastful. Not to mention it would be taking credit away from those who deserve it." He wraps his arms around my neck lightly, leaning against me slightly in a warm embrace. I sigh into him, enjoying the contact for a moment. "I agree with you, I really do. But you name dropped, kind of. King, what were you thinking Miles?" "I was thinking that he wouldn't who the fuck I was talking about and chase after a ghost. Who leaked?" I shake my head, not knowing. "Well... fuck." "Yup." He starts running his hand through my mane, sighing in irritation. I nuzzle him a bit, waiting for him to come around. There isn't really anything that be done now besides hiding. And I won't let him do that."What do I have to do?" "It's not much, I promise!" I tell him quickly, sitting up to look at him. "There are a few functions that are coming up that I have to attend, just come as my plus one!" "You're enjoying this way too much," he deadpans, making me chuckle. "Are you kidding!? I get to go to all these fancy balls and gatherings and have a meat shield! I'm the happiest mare around!" I laugh as he buries his face into my mane, letting out a long groan. "Oh don't be such a baby Miles. I'm being nice and easing you into this." "It's not that Luna. It's the fact that I have to go and be something that I don't necessarily agree with. Being king... it just feels wrong." "Hey, you signed the deal-" "I couldn't even read that deal when it was presented to me-" "You married me-" "Technically you became Terradisian-" "And, no matter what you say, no matter how much you fight it, I know Equestria holds a place in your heart." He goes quiet at that, looking away in thought. "This is your home Miles, just as much as Terradisia was-" "Is." "And I know you care enough to suffer a few nobles in a fancy suit. It's not much. A social gathering of nobles tomorrow... the Grand Galloping Gala the week after, not much-" "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Now, some gathering of nobles, I can handle that. But... the Grand Galloping Gala? That's... a bit much. Even if I was willing to go." "I know it's asking a lot, but it would relieve some of the political tension from me if you did. All the nobles ask about you, how you could rule without being present. If you came, even just to a few high key events, it could make my job a lot easier. Please Miles." I start hugging him, batting my eye lashes at him with the sweetest smile I can muster. Shadow taught me this one. Miles can't say no to a pretty smile. "Luna-" "Please?" "I don't know-" "Please?" "What about-" "Please!? For your loving wife?" He stares at me for a second, so I keep up my charade. I know he's going to say yes already. So much so that I already have his suite being made by Rarity. It's a real problem actually, his inability to say no to family. One day we'll address it, just not today. "*sigh* fine," yup! That's my man, folding far too easily to some pretty eyes. "But if I'm going to G cubed, I'm bringing an entourage for protection." "Oh... okay. Who did you have in mind?" He smirks down to me, making it click in my head. "Miles, no-" "I need my own meat shields-" "Miles! This is-" "The only way to get me to go. Take it or leave it." Yup... that's my man alright. Always finding a way to make things more complicated than they actually need to be. "So you want to take the Spartans... all of them?" I ask carefully, getting him to nod along. "You realize that could only en in disaster, right?" "What could happen? I'd be there to keep a lid on them." "What could happen? I don't know, let's put an orc, three apes, two griffons, a changeling, a zebra, a jade hound, and the strangest assortment of ponies in all of Equestria together in a room filled with the upper crust of Equestria. Most of which fret at the sight of a common earth pony. Yes Miles, what could happen?" He smirks at that, I don't like that smirk. "It get even better, Damian's coming too." ... ... ... "Okay fine, you don't have to go." "Yes! "Wait! No... UUUGH! FINE! Deal! He better not ruin this night for me though! Promise me you'll keep him under control!" I point a hoof at his chest, narrowing my eyes in anger. As if the rest of the group wasn't going to be hard enough, now I have to deal with... him. I swear, if he brings that stick of his... "I promise to try. We both know there isn't much more I can do... unless you let them bring their significant others. CC can control him far more easily-" "Deal... actually, that's a good idea. Their spouses will help me control them. You've got a deal Miles Eremita!" I say with a smile, holding my hoof out. He chuckles as he takes my hoof and shakes on it. "It's a deal Luna Eremita." Perspective: Tempestive Mortem When Celestia brought me to the library I was a little unimpressed. Yeah, it's huge and has a lot of fascinating books... but it's still just a library. That is, until she brought me to the the Startswirl the Bearded section. First off, it had guards at the doors. There must be some powerful tomes in there to have guards. Or, maybe they're just there because of the historical significance. I wonder if Auntie Celly knows the history of Starswirl like Mom and Dad do. Well... I'm sure she does. "Now, I know it's really tempting to read these books, but you can't. Sorry, but they're really old books." Auntie tells me as we walk down one of the corridors of books and scrolls. I nod to her as I scan some of the titles. Mingling with Manticores. Ten Toxic Tonics for the Alchemicly Impaired.The Nether and You, exploring trans-dimensional shifting and blinking. Now this is literature! "Can I at least read one of them? Please?" I beg, eyeing more and more fascinating books. "Now Tempestive, you know we can't-" "Just one book, please! You can't bring me into this well of knowledge and not let me even glance at one page, please, please, pleeeeeeeease!" I bounce a little at the end of that. Just one book and my curiosity will be sated... for now. I'll have to come back here another day. "Well..." She bites her lip as she thinks about it. I pout a bit and give her my best puppy dog eyes, seeing her fold a bit. "Okay, but one book only and with my supervision-" "YES!" I hug her leg real quick before running into the depth of the library. I don't even know where to begin! A new spell? Some sort of brew? Maybe some notes on magic itself, I don't know! I lose track of time as Celestia and I roam the halls of the library. I can't make my mind up on what book to read! There are so many choices, and they all seem too much to pass up on. Every time I come up to a book that might be the one, another one is in view, just as tantalizing as the last. Maybe if I try now I can convince Celestia to let me read two books... but then I'd have to pick two books! That's twice as complicated! I don't really know how I noticed it. It was hidden between a stack of dusty books and aging scrolls. It was a small journal, half as wide as a normal book and a third shorter. It was bound in leather and didn't look to be anything special. Something about it stuck out though. Like... I don't know, but I want to read it. I need to read it. I pull it out and look it over. It doesn't have a title. It doesn't have any form of identification other than the leather wrapping the pages inside. It's not special in any other way, yet I'm hooked. "What's that?" Celestia asks, leaning down to get a better look. "I don't know. It just... stood out." I mumble as I run a hoof over the smooth surface. "Hmm... that looks like one of the journals from Starswirl's early days! How could something like that end up here?" I unfold the journal and take a look inside, seeing the aged in on the pages inside. It actually looks like a personal diary of some sort. Maybe field notes? "Can we read it?" I ask Celestia. "Hmm... are you sure? I don't know if this will actually have anything you can learn from it," she warns me. I look back to the journal and look at the date on the top of the page. October ninth, 1164. "Yeah, I'm sure. Can we?" She nods and leads me to a nearby table where we take our seats. She takes the books and holds in front of me so we can both begin to read. 10/9/1164 Fall harvest is around the corner, or so the Earths tell me. My studies will have kept me so preoccupied that I almost forgot what season it was. It's hard to tell when the days blend together, thanks to our benevolent ruler Discord. I still await for the day for the two heroes my elders spoke of to arrive. I've tried every argument and every trick to let my wield them, but to no avail. They say it's not my destiny to do so. Bah, destiny. The world is ours to shape, what power does destiny have over me? Fall is coming, that means we're that much closer to winter. I hate the winter. You can't mount an expedition with snow being chest high. Food runs low, especially now due to God of Chaos. Who knows, maybe I'll succumb to the cold this year. Roam isn't the warmest of places, but it's home. Mother worries that there won't be a Roam in the years to come. That we'll 'revert to old ways' if we aren't careful. Whenever I ask her about those days, she simply tells me about my father. I think it's a trick. She knows I won't question further when he's mentioned. It hurts her too much to do so. She isn't well this year, I'll be sure to stay with her this winter to keep her warm. I know she'll like that. Starswirl the Bearded, still beardless. 3/13/1165 I love expeditions! Braving the unknown, searching for answers, it must be the single most exhilarating thing in life! I've heard rumors of an ancient settlement near the crystal mountains. Mother tried telling me there wasn't anything there, but that's why I'm here now. To search out the unknown and find fact from fiction! The mountains here were beautiful, a river flows in the south, the Everfree holds the west, what a site! Once we're finished here, I'll have to remember this place. It'll make for a great settlement. 5/11/1165 It was almost all for not. Nearly two months of digging, and we nearly didn't find anything. As we were getting ready to pack up one of the diggers found something. It was a skull. To what kind of creature it belonged to, I have no clue. We dug out the rest of the remains and found several more remains. What ever this thing was, it walked on two legs, had arms, and died to a blade to the gut. Fascinating! We spent two more weeks searching around and found several more remains. Nothing to annotate a civilization here, in this location, but a new species all the more! Who were these beings? Where did they come from? Where did they go? So many questions! Just in time too! I needed the distraction. Summer is coming. We'll know for sure by then. I don't know if I'm ready for something like this. Mother is happy, but I don't know if I'm ready to be a father. Starswirl the Bearded, still beardless. 8/21/1165 It's late, I'm writing this in a hurry. I can't believe what happened, it was... I don't even know where to start! We found a... craft, of some sort. Made of metal with strange markings on it. Further inspection revealed that it was some sort of... ship, that the 'Mirum Esse' -or 'strange being' as I've come to call them- used to navigate. We know this due to the remains in the foremost seat. I'd have more to say, but our site has been shut down. Discord arrived on scene, calling the Mirum Esse demons and blaspheme against pony kind. He didn't kill anypony, but a few workers were made an example of. He toyed with them for hours on in. I don't think I'll ever get another group together again. Not after this. These Mirum Esse, I have to find more about them. They struck a cord with Discord. He seemed... almost scared of them. Even a god can fear, that's strangely comforting. Luckily for me, he didn't search any of us. Otherwise he would have found the artifact I hide in my tail. It was just a small slate of metal, but it might be the single most important artifact in pony history. All I have to do is discover what the runes on it mean. Starswirl the Bearded, getting fuzzy. 11/14/1165 I can't even begin to fathom the kind of society that could create this... this... I don't even know what to call it. The runes on this metal, they speak in a language or raw energy! Not the primordial language of the Elementals, but of magic itself! It is the reality of... of reality itself! Whatever the text says within these rings, speak ultimate perfection. These Mirum Esse new magic like no other. So much so, that I've made an interesting discovery. The piece of metal had a function. When energy was fed into it, it relayed the energy. I don't know the significance of that, but what's interesting isn't what it does, but how. I've only felt an energy like that from one being. One. I'm onto you Discord. All I need is more time studying this artifact. But isn't that always the case? There's never enough time is there. For now that is. Starswirl the Bearded. 10/12/1166 Mother passed away today. 9/23/1167 It's been awhile since I've written in this darn book. Personal notes that I've nearly forgotten about. Nowadays it's nothing but studying, creating, work. I wish I had more time to study what interested me. But with the three tribes waging war (of sorts) I've had to move my focus. I miss mother. She always had a way with words that made things seem easier. I'm a grown stallion now though, a father at that, I can't afford to waste time on being sentimental. I have to provide. Spells earn money. Money pays for housing. Housing keeps the Windigos away. Money puts food on the table. I miss mother. Discord is gone, and I'm sad to say that I miss the bastard. He was the closest thing to the Mirum Esse's magic. When he was defeated (good riddance all the same) I had to quit that wild goose chase. There wasn't anything else I could do. If they'd let me use the Elements I could do so much. I'd have the world in my hooves. I'd take it all back! I need to be like the artifact that held my focus for so long. I need to strive for perfection. I need to be infallible. The Sun Tyrant seems to think other wise, but her Lady Nightmare supports me. I'll endeavor. I must. Starswirl the Bearded. Huh, the last page doesn't have a date on it. Time flows like a river. If you try to dam it up, it simply goes around . There are laws to time. And they follow as such. 1. You cannot change your history. What you know will keep you from changing the reality of that knowledge. 2. You cannot stop time. Time is perfect. Time always flows. And thus, it cannot be stopped. 3. Tempus governs time. You do not deviate from his plan. The better outcome will come to bear. 4. You will never go into, or beyond the Purge. Only time without His presence can be tampered with. 5. Never blink. Time is held to your reality. Our dreams hold no reality. Never blink. 6. Tempus Governs Earths time. Tempestive safe guards. Celestia and Nightmare Moon dictate the flow. Are you ready? At the bottom of the page is a drawing. It looks.. familiar. Almost like a mico platform. Two rings with archaic text going between the two rings... I can't explain it, but... it's calling to me. I can feel my horn lighting up as I engulf the drawing with my magic. "Tempestive, what are you doing?" Celestia asks cautiously. I can understand it, somehow. It... it's just coming to me. Like, things are just clicking together. Falling into place. It's like a river. You have to pick a place in it to visit. We're the water flowing down it. If you want to go to a past point, you have to move upstream. Time. All I have to do is- FLASH I blink a few times as I try to take in my surroundings. I'm... outside? I'm outside and in the air... wait- "AAAAHH!" I scream as I start to fall. Where'd the castle go!? Did I teleport somewhere? What's going on!? I flap my wings as I try to correct myself, easing into a glide. With the fear of falling to my death gone, I take a look around. There's a mountain behind me, a forest in front of me, and not much else. No cities, no castle, just a river down the way. "Okay, okay. Calm down. I probably just... teleported?" "But you were reading notes on time travel, were you not?" A deep voice asks from my right. "Well, yeah. But time travel should require tremendous amounts of... of..." I lose my voice as I stare at the massive white alicorn next to me. He chuckles at me, cracking a large smile. "Hello Tempestive. It's about time we met." "You... you... you..." "What? No hearty hello for your grandfather? I'm almost-" "AAAAAAHHH!" I scream and dive away. I don't know what's going on right now, but I want get out of here! FLASH "Hold on there little guy!" DIVE DIVE DIVE DIVE! FLASH "Will you just wait one second!?" GOT TO GO, HAVE TO ESCAPE! FLASH "TEMPESTIVE!" I stop trying to escape when we suddenly appear on the ground, Tempus standing over me. "I need you to calm down. I'm not going to hurt you, promise." "But... but... but..." "I know, it's a lot to take in. Time travel can do that to a pony, especially one so young." He tells me with a warm smile. I take a few deep breathes as I try to calm down. If he really is my grandfather, than I really shouldn't have anything to fear. But, that does raise the question, WHERE AM I? "Hehe, go ahead and ask." "Where am I?" I ask almost instantly. "Canterlot of course. Now, get ready for this question, because you will encounter it often." I think about it, but can only come to one other question that actually matters. "Are you actually my grandfather?" He face falls for a second, obviously not expecting that. I hear a feminine chuckle from the side, and see another alicorn step into view. She's all black with ethereal white energy for hair. Her cutie mark is of a constellation swirling in on itself. She looks down at me lovingly, her eyes tearing up slightly. "Yes little one, he's your grandfather. And I'm your grandmother. Now come, we have much to discuss." Author's Note It's good to update, I like updating. Especially when it's these kind of chapters! In other news, I just recently found something on Itunes that I didn't know about before. If you're interested in buying Brony made music, look up The Dessolation of Archie. I recently found it and have been jamming to it ever since! Living Tombstone, Silva Hound, Archie as well as several others coming together making some pretty dam good music. (No, I wasn't paid to say any of this. I just feel that Bronies should promote other Bronies when they can). Brony on! P.S. My favorite song from the album is Violet Eyes. Chapter 215 BlinkChapter 215 Blink I lean against the table I'm sitting at and eye the pony before me. Tempus, Lord of time and the deity of ponykind, my grandfather. I knew he was my grandfather, Mom told me plenty about him before, I just never thought I'd be have dinner in his home. Well, it's not really a home in the sense of four walls, a roof and doors. It's more of a cave that he's enchanted to keep for himself and Spatium, or Grandma Spatium, as she's requested to be called. It has the bare essentials, like a few beds, a fire pit, and some sparse furniture. Nothing fancy. After our initial meeting they decided to take me somewhere private to speak. Spatium said she'd whip something together to eat, so here we are. Waiting. It's been an hour and a half since then. We haven't said much. They offered me water, but I don't feel like drinking from a bucket right now. "So..." I start, finally succumbing to the silence. "I guess the question you wanted me to ask earlier was, 'when is it'?" "Hm, yes actually. The year is eleven seventy one," he replies with a smile. "Sorry for the silence, I was... deep in thought." "It's okay." I tell him, falling into another silence. He just seems happy to have me here. I don't know why, but whatever. "I'm sorry, it's just... well, having you here means the world to us. You see... this is where we raised your mother and aunt." He tells me, looking around with a warm smile. "From birth to fillyhood, this was our home." "You gave birth to my mom in here? ...gross." I say, looking around critically. He chuckles to himself, letting out a content sigh. "Yes, compared to what you know, I guess that is a bit gross." It goes quiet again. I think he likes to think rather than speak. It makes it a bit awkward, but that's okay I guess. I lean over and watch Grandma Spatium working with the food. She's humming to herself happily, filling the cave with her lovely voice. I recognize the song, it's the same one Mom sang to me when I was younger. After a few moments of listening I decide to start to sing along, getting them both to watch me closely. "Somewhere, over the rainbow, way up high. And, the dreams that you dream of, once... in a lullaby." I go through the verses easily, having heard them from Mom a million times before. As I go, Spatium joins in. I almost stop when I hear her singing voice. I thought her humming voice was lovely, but her singing voice! I could listen to it for days and still be amazed! She walks over to us, lightly grazing Tempus before stepping over to me. By this point we're nearing the end, so I stop to listen to her voice. She leans down to nuzzle me when she finishes the last note, making me lean into her as well. "I forgot how much I love that song," she whispers as she lightly nuzzles my cheek. "Mom sings it to me all of the time. It's sort of the family lullaby." I tell her, making her sigh slightly. "So... why-" "Oh! I think the bread is ready!" Spatium exclaims happily before trotting over to the wood over. Tempus gets up and joins me at the table, getting at eye level with me. "Do me a favor?" he asks in a whisper. "Sure, what?" "Just... don't be too harsh." I give him a quizzical look, getting him to chuckle. "You'll see." "Dinner is ready!" Spatium cheers happily, levitating a couple plates over. THUNK "Enjoy!" I stare at the massive loaf of bread sitting in the center of the table. It looks... questionable. It may be slightly burnt, or maybe that's just it's color? I think I'm going to avoid the bread for now. A few other plates sit around the bread. Some having veggies, others having berries and fruit. None of it looks very fresh. Not rotten, but just past ripe. "Um..." "Here, let me serve you!" Spatium levitates bits from each plate and sets them in front of me. She takes the loaf and tries to cut a piece off, having some difficulty doing so. "Spatium," Tempus muses, getting a look from her. "Everything is.... uhg! Fine! Just... needs... a little... persuasion!" SNAP I stifle a chuckle as Spatium goes wide eyed. I glance down and see the handle of the blade sitting on the table top. It broke the knife! What's in that thing? Bricks!? I try my best not to laugh, but a few chuckles escape and make it to their ears. She sheepishly sets the loaf down and takes her seat, blushing slightly. I look over to Tempus and see him smiling as well, making me feel slightly better for laughing. "Well... let's not let the rest of this spoil then." Tempus nods to that and begins to eat the fruits and veggies, Spatium soon joining. I take a look down at the food and quickly come to the decision that I don't want to eat this either. I'm sure if I start asking questions I can avoid eating it. But... the only questions I have aren't easy questions to ask. Well... no time like the present I guess. "You put that journal there, didn't you?" I ask, glancing up at Tempus. He glances over to Spatium before sighing, setting his food down before pivoting to look at me. "I did. I had a friend enchant it to make you want to look at it as well. I had to get you here to speak with you," he tells me, sounding a bit more serious. "Soon you'll be earning your mark, and when you do, I'll be back to train you properly. This meeting is to assure you understand that before your power grows too much to control." "I have some pretty good control over it now." I say, sitting up straighter. "I can already levitate! And Mom is teaching me to-" "I'm not speaking about common spells Tempestive. I'm talking about time control." I pause and think about that. I can control time, or, will be able to? That's a bit confusing, I'll think on it later. "So... my cutie mark is going to be about time control?" I ask, but don't get a response. "Is it?" "That's not for us to say sweetie." Spatium tells me as she stands to take a seat beside Tempus. "You have to come to understand that on your own. We can't just tell you, it wouldn't mean anything. You'll learn what it means when the time is right. As for now, you'll have to be patient. Marks don't just appear because you really want them-" "Meh, I can wait." I cut her off, catching them both by surprise. "So, was that drawing in the book a time spell? I think I still remember how it worked. It's a pretty smart spell, using the nether-" "Tempestive, what do you mean you can wait for your mark?" Spatium asks carefully. I shrug at the questions, having heard it plenty of times before. "It's just a symbol of something you're good at. It doesn't make you any different than before. It doesn't even mean you're the best at whatever it is you do. It's just a label on your butt telling the world a little bit about you. I prefer not having one. It adds a bit of mystery, like, not being able to guess anything about the pony. Then, you have to actually get to know the pony in order to understand them. No quick glances and summations. Just... ponies." I feel a little awkward at the end of that. Either because of the looks they're giving me, or being so open with them. Or maybe it's both. "What?" "Ever the human." Tempus laughs, setting a wing on Spatium. What's a human? "As glad as I am to converse with you, our time is drawing to an end. I'll be sending you back to your own time, where everything will return to normality. I'll be checking on you from time to time, always watching your progress. Now-" "Can I try it!? Sending myself back in time -er- forward, that is?" I ask, jumping excitedly. "I don't think you're ready-" "C'mon, I got here didn't I? Just watch!" I close my eyes and focus on the spell, feeling my horn light up with power. Just flow down the river. "Tempestive! Don't-" FLASH I blink a few times as the white light blinds me for a second. When my vision starts to come back, I find myself in Ponyville for some reason. That's weird. Well... maybe not entirely. I mean, Earth is moving, so it would come to say that moving in time would move starting locations. I guess Auntie Celly will be really worried about my not being at Canterlot. Giving myself a pat down, I stand up and start to trot towards town. I wonder where everypony is, there isn't a soul in sight. Actually... I really don't see anypony around. I stop and move around, trying to see anything out of the ordinary. The first thing that sticks out the most is Canterlot. Out in the distance I can see a massive billow of smoke coming from the castle. What happened!? Did... did I do that? Did my spell start a fire!?I hope nopony is hurt... or mad. Maybe- THUD I jump around from the sudden appearance. I let out a quiet gasp of awe from the griffin before me. He's clad in steel armor from beak to tail with light blue highlights throughout. In one claw he holds up a large rifle, similar to the ones the bots in Dads workshop use, but different. He has a dark blue cloak over his back, covering a majority of his body, leaving his wings out for flight. i think I've heard Dad talk about these kind of soldiers before. I forget their name, but they use to be Ulfric's personal army. "Um... hi?" I ask, unsure of what to do. He looks me over for a moment before he points the rifle at me, making my heart skip a beat. "Don't move," he says in a low voice. "I.. okay." I mutter, unsure what to do. He wouldn't shoot me, would he? I'm just a foal, what did I do? As more and more questions flood my mind, more griffins in similar get ups appear all around. Coming out of buildings, flying down from cloud cover, taking positions to cover me completely. "Orders sir!" One of them yells as another griffin walks up to me and the one pointing the gun at me. He has similar armor, but has red instead of blue. "Hold your positions! Ready for the Spartan retaliation! You there!" He yells, getting all of the griffins to fly off. He walks up to me and grabs me by the back of the neck. I let out a yelp of pain as he starts to drag me off. "You're coming with me!" "W-what's going on!? Why are you doing this!?" I beg as he continues to rough me up. I can feel tears to form as he tighten his grip on my neck. Any other questions I had gurgle away as he starts to choke me. "Silence! I will not-" FWT-TANG His body goes limp suddenly and a loud crack fills the air. I pry myself from his grip and start to run home, unsure of what else to do. All of the griffins start yelling to one another before opening fire with their guns. The loud cracks makes me jump each time as I try to find cover, eventually ducking by a fountain in the middle of the road. I don't know what to do. All of the gun fire and screaming... I just curl into a ball and cover my head. I want it all to end right now, but I can't focus on anything other than being as small as possible. Some of the gun fire, a set that sounds distinctly different, is getting closer. I should get up, I should move. But I can't! I'm... I'm too scared to move. I open my eyes and look out to the body of the griffin that held me earlier. He's not moving. Is... is he dead? I don't see anything to indicate that, but... he's not moving. Maybe he's just unconscious? I can't see his head, so I don't know for sure. "FUCK!" I jump a little when a splash of water hits me. I slowly glance up to see the barrel of a rifle stick out from the fountain. A few breathes later I let out a scream as I scurry away from the gun above me. "Tempestive!?" I look up to the owner of the gun and feel my heart stop again. It's... a hairless ape thing. No, not an ape, he looks obviously bigger than that. He has brown eyes and black hair on his head. He has some kind of mark on his forearm and a necklace with the spartan logo on it. "Get over here!" He yells before reaching out to grab me. I tried to run away form him, but he got me too quickly. He pulls me into the fountain and sets me beside him, putting me neck deep in the water. "What are you doing back out here!?" "I... I..." "Nevermind!" He yells as he grabs his necklace and brings it to his mouth. "THIS IS SPARTAN ZERO, REQUESTING ASSISTANCE WITH CIVILIAN COVER! WHO READS ME!?" He... he sounds a lot like dad. He looks back before sliding down to be chin level with the water for better protection. Only now do I notice the pool of red coming from his stomach. "You're hurt." I mutter, getting his attention. He puts a hand over the wound, wincing slightly from the contact. "Heh... don't worry about it. It'll take more than just this to take me down." I hear him, but it doesn't change anything thing. I try to think of something to do to help... but there isn't anything I can do to help. "This is Spartan three, we've got eyes on you. Make your way to S.A.A. immediately." A voice, sounding like Big Mac but muffled, responds from the necklace. "Copy that, moving out." The... person, responds before looking back to me. "We've gotta move. I'm going to run you over to Sweet Apple Acres. Once there, you're going to find your sister okay? Think you can do that?" "I-I... I'm scared." I hear more screaming and gun fire again, making me shrink up. He reaches out and puts a hand on my shoulder, making me look up to him. "It's okay to be scared. I'm scared too," he tells me with a small smile. "But... you're a Spartan. Spartans don't have fear." I say quietly, making him chuckle and shake his head. "That's not true, and you know that. Fear is natural, it's a part of life. The key is being able to stand up and face that fear head on. That's what courage is. Think you can do that?" I glance over the edge of the fountain and see a couple of griffins waiting for us. I don't know how he plans on doing this... but I trust him. I don't know why, but... I feel safe with him here. I look back to him and nod, getting him to smile. "Atta boy. Now, just close your eyes and cover your ears, alright?" I nod again, doing as he tells me to. I hear him move his weapon to his back before making some quick movements. It suddenly gets hotter as all of the water disappears into the air, letting out a loud hiss as the steam quickly spreads throughout the air. The person quickly grabs me and holds me to his chest, covering me with both arms. I tighten up when I feel him standing, but at the same time I feel safe in his arms. Both thoughts escape me when we suddenly start to move quickly, bursting out to the steam cloud and into the open. I keep my eyes shut, as he told me to. I can hear a few more gun shots, as well as something close to a canon in the distance. Just keep your eyes shut and cover your ears. That's all you have to do. Just cover your ears, block out as much of the noise as possible, and keep your eyes shut. It'll all be over soon. Just block it all out. Just- CRASH My eyes snap open when we crash through a door. I look around to find us in the Apple's living room. There are a dozens of ponies here, running from one place to another. The person sets me down and yells at me to go upstairs before running back outside. I stand there as I watch him run over to a group of Spartans, giving out orders. They all give a quick salute before running off to do whatever it is that person told them to do. "GET ME MORE GAUZE DAMMIT!" I turn around and look upstairs to see Doctor Monitor standing up top. He has his white gown on and has a lot of blood on him. He pulls his mouth cover off and trots angrily down the stairs, looking for somepony. "DAMMIT WHERE ARE YOU HEART!? I NEED THAT GAUZE AND I NEED IT NOW!" He yells again, marching to the kitchen. I look upstairs and gulp, unsure of what to do. That person told me to go upstairs, but... I don't know if I should. I drop down when a nearby window shatters. Okay, upstairs it is then! I shakily climb the stairs to the top. The climb seems to take forever, but I eventually make it to the top. I don't really know where to go from here, so I go to the door on my left on the right wall. The door is slightly open, so I gently push it open. I feel myself go numb when I look inside. Aunt Celestia is laying on the bed inside, her once white coat covered in blotches of red. Most of them are bandaged up, but a few of them are still bleeding up. Most of it is coming from small holes on her side, but the largest one is coming from the one at the base of her neck. She glance over to me weakly and smiles. "Hey... hey there... Timely," she rasps with heavy breathes. "A-auntie." I mutter as I stare at her, not knowing what to do. "Come here." I takes me a moment to get my legs to respond, but eventually I work up the courage to approach her. "That's a brave boy. So... brave. Listen... just... just find... Shadow. She'll... keep you safe... for now." "What about you? You're hurt." I mutter, tearing up from the sight. She lets out a pained chuckle, twitching slightly on the bed. "Doctor said... I would be... fine. It just... hurts. Now... I need my rest. Go. Find your sister... stay safe, okay?" I stare at her for a moment before thundering hoof steps catch my attention. "Get this kid out of here!" The doctor from before yells as he rushes to Celestias side. An all white nurse with pink hair hurriedly ushers me out before shutting the door. I stand there, dazed, trying to comprehend everything that just happened. "Next time listen to me." I slowly look over and see Tempus standing in the hallway, horn glowing. I run over to him and hug his leg, burying my face in his fur as I start to cry out. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'll listen, I promise! Just... just don't let anything happen to her, please!" I beg him. He rubs my back with a hoof, waiting patiently for me to calm down. It takes awhile, but eventually I become calm enough to not be sobbing my heart out. He brings my chin up to look him in the eyes, giving me a comforting smile. "Lets get you back home, okay?" I sniffle again as he starts to power his horn. But... then something feels off. I feel my horn start to power up as well. I look up to see his equally shocked expression before I blink from the power swelling up in me. This time around, I lose any form of control I had before as I blink in and out from time to time. Each time I only get a glimpse of each moment. I try to regain focus, but it's far too much to bare. A meadow with travelers. Fires and cracked earth. Darkness. A blinding light followed by a blue cloud. A quiet neighborhood with metal carriages. Ponyville, upside down with flying pigs, dancing buffaloes and all other kinds of chaos. The man from before, huffing in anger. Spurs of dark energy coming from the tops of his wrists. I grip my head as the energy starts to become too much to bear. I scream out as it all comes to a point and bursts out from my horn. Layers of magical energy form around it as I feel myself hurl forward, crashing into something. It takes me a moment for me to regain enough control over myself to look at what I crashed into. It's a filly. She has a light grey coat with even purple hair that has a streak of light yellow and is parted with her horn. Her eyes are the brightest blue I've ever seen before. Her wings are pretty small, but not by too much. I'm currently standing over her, huffing from all of the energy that just passed through me. "Um... c-can you... maybe... get off me?" She asks softly, her voice coming across as nothing other than sweet. It takes me a moment to register anything before I start to- WHACK "BOO YEAH!" Some other filly yells as I tumble over from her bucking me. I feel the energy start to form again and take over. I try to push it away, but with every blink it takes more and more control over me. I jump back to my hooves before rushing the filly that attacked me, sliding to kick her hooves out from under her. Another surge of power. I rear up and try to crush her, but she rolls away. The other filly screams in fear before running away. I can't focus on anything. I can't even control anything at the moment. The power... it's too much. I start to advance on the filly again, swiping and bucking at her with precision and form that I didn't even know I had. She put up a shield to stop me, but I'm breaking through it fairly quickly. "MOOOOOOM!" she screams out in fear when her shield breaks. Another surge of power. I let out a power yell as all of the power starts to come back. I back up and shake head in agony as I try to fight back. It's a losing battle. Just as I felt I was about to start attacking again, a gently touch on my shoulder stops me. I look back and see Celestia standing over me. She looks like she's been crying, but still has that sense of calm over her. She's always calm, no matter what. I don't know how she does it. She pulls me in for a hug and holds me as the power comes out again. I grip onto her chest as all of the energy begins to form around us. A sphere of raw magical power begins to whip around us as books and papers fly all over. A couple bookshelves topple over as the energy pushes out. With every pulse of energy, Celestia strokes my back, patiently waiting for me to return to normal. I bury my face in her soft white fur and try my hardest to regain control. It takes awhile, I'm not sure exactly how long, but eventually the energy starts to thin out. I pant from the exertion, trying to stay awake from all if this. "It's okay, rest little one." Celestia whispers into my ear. I let out one last breath before my head slumps against her chest. Chapter 216 DealsChapter 216 Deals I wake sometime later in a bed with white sheets and fluffy pillows. The throbbing in my head is grateful for the pillows, but I have to force my eyes shut from the searing light. I can hear some loud mumbling in the distance. I'm not sure who it is, but their conversation sounds heated. I think I can hear Mom out there, but I'm not completely sure. I let out a groan as I roll over, trying to lessen the increasing headache I have. Everything that happened before is a bit of a blur. I can remember most of it, but the end is... that filly. The alicorn. She's the last thing I remember clearly. Who was she? Where did she come from? I've never seen her before, is she new around here? Well, I'm new around here, so maybe she's always been here. "Ahem." I glance up and see Tempus looking down at me. He has a neutral expression, but I can already feel my guilt building up. "I-Im sorry." I croak, my voice coming out dry and cracking. "It's okay," he tells me in a whisper as he lowers his muzzle to touch my forehead. "You are young. I can remember a time when your mother and aunt acted with such recklessness. Just promise me when we start training that you'll listen to what I say, okay?" "I will... w-what happened though?" "You blinked. You attempted to jump through time, but without the understanding of time and manipulating it's properties you began to jump erratically. Whatever you witnessed were blips in either the future or the past." "... it was scary." He lets out a little hum and begins to nuzzle me, making me sigh. "Seeing things without understanding their why can be terrifying. In the future I'll show you how to face the unknown without succumbing to fear." I close my eyes and lean into his affection. I don't know if I want to be doing that anytime soon. Maybe with Tempus there to help it won't be so bad. He'll probably keep all of the scary stuff away too. "Now, I must go. But I have one last thing to bring up." "What's that?" I ask, leaning back to look at him. "You must not tell your parents about Spatium and I-" "What! But that would make Mom so-" "I know, I know. Leaving them... wasn't easy. But it had to happen. It's all essential for the better ending. You'll come to understand that when we begin to train. But, until then, do I have your word to keep us a secret?" He glares down into my eyes, giving that sense of authority that I only really ever feel from Dad. I advert my eyes, succumbing to his authority. "O-okay. But what do I tell them then?" He lets out a small chuckle as he steps back, grinning slightly at me. "Tell them what you must. Until next time Tempestive." FLASH He teleports out of the room, leaving me slightly confused. I don't know what he means by that. So, tell them whatever without telling them about... them? UUUHHHGG! This is too much for a headache this size! Can I just pretend that nothing happened and move on with life!? I can tell now from Mom's tone that this isn't going to be dropped anytime soon. I can tell it's her voice now, along with Auntie Celly and some other stallion. At least I don't have to face Dad right now, that's going to be gruesome. I just hope they aren't mad at me. "Psst!" I ear flick back when I hear somepony calling out to me. I look behind me and see a unicorn filly hiding behind one of the beds. She has a white coat and pink hair that has a light blue strip going through it. She has a band aid on her left cheek just under her eye... I hope I didn't do that. I look around to check that there isn't anypony else she could be talking to before looking back into her light yellow eyes. "Um.... hey?" I offer with a small wave as I sit up, feeling my head spin for a second. She slowly lowers herself out of view, giving me the stink eye the entire time. "O... kay-" "So!" She practically yells as she pops back up, this time right next to me. I let out a small yell from the sudden appearance. "You're the colt that tried to beat me." "Oh... uh-" "Well... try isn't quite the right word. Cause, you practically did. I mean, you even broke through my shield. That's impressive!" she says while looking a bit nostalgic. "... it is?" I ask, trying to follow her logic... I'm not. "The names Princess Gleaming Joy, but you can call me Joy!" she says loudly as she sticks her hoof out towards me. I stare at her for a moment, unsure as to why she just called herself a princess. Maybe it's a self appointed title? "Tempestive Mortem-" "Oooh! Tempestive Mortem! That sounds ominous! I like that! Tempestive Mortem! It's all mysterious, cause nopony knows what it means-" "It means Timely Death-" "-and it gives that little edgy tough guy sound! Like, don't mess with me, kind of vibe, ya know!?" she asks me with a large smile. I look around, trying to find somepony else to try and help me with this filly. For somepony that was nearly beaten, she seems pretty upbeat about the whole thing. Speaking of which. "Hey, I'm sorry about... the whole... beating you up thing-" "Aw, that's sweet of you to own up to!" She says, making me blush from embarrassment. "Don't worry about it. I get into fights all of the time-" "All the time!?" "All the time!" she confirms with another large smile. "See this bandage? Got it fighting a griffin fledgling! I have a few bruises from the colts in the barracks too! And don't give me that look, their bruises are much bigger." "... barracks?" I ask, lost again. "Yeah... oh, right! I'm not from here, I'm from the Crystal Empire. My dad is in charge of the guard and my mom is in charge of the... well... everything! Isn't that cool!?" "... you mom is... is-" "Well, here she's Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, but back home she's Queen Mi Amore Cadenza. I usually just call her Mom though." Oh... oh no. I... I beat up royalty. I'm going to jail. They're going to drag my sorry flank down to the dungeons and toss away the key. Why did she have to be royalty!? She sure doesn't act like it, that's for sure. "You okay over there? You're going a little pale." "I'm going to jail." I state before I fall back onto the pillow. I'm going to jail, it's official. There's no way around it. I'm going to jail, goodbye life in Ponyville. Hello dark, dank dungeon with a bucket. "You're not going to jail," she says with a wave of a hoof. "I'm not?" I ask, looking back to her with surprise. "Nah, trust me. Softy and I weren't even suppose to be in there! But we heard Celestia freaking about somepony disappearing so we decided to try and find... you! And we did! Mission accomplished! Waffles all around!" She cheers triumphantly, pumping a hoof in the air. "So... how does that-" "Well, Celestia is really the one to say whether or not you're in trouble. Well, her and your parents. Who are your parents by the way?" "Oh, my mom is Luna and my Dad is Miles Eremita." I tell her, getting her to look surprised. "... well that explains how you bested me in a fight so easily! And to think, the son of-" Before she could finish the doors to the medical ward open loudly. Mom is walking down towards us, and she does not look one bit happy. Celestia is behind her, looking a bit down. Last in line is an all white stallion with blue hair that has a lighter strip of blue in it. He looks as equally mad as Mom, but that drops when he sees Joy standing beside me. "Joy, what are you doing in here?" he asks when they all take their place around my bed. I glance over to Mom and shrink a little when we make eye contact. If emotions had literal feeling, I'd be burning from her anger right now. I can see it all in her eyes. "I came to talk with Tempestive daddy," she says innocently, looking up to him. "We had a little talk and now we're friends! So if you're going to throw him in jail then you have to throw me in too!" Aw... hey! You said I wasn't going to jail! "Sweetie, nopony is going to jail," he says softy to her, dropping his previous anger as he looks down at her. "Why don't we head back to our room so Tempestive here can have a talk with his mother?" "Hmm... okay! See ya Timely!" THUD "AH!" I yelp when she punches my foreleg. Why did she have to do that!? Well... I guess I deserve that much. The two of them trot out of the room, leaving us in a awkward silence as Mom stare down at me. I rub my foreleg a bit while I wait for her to begin. I try to get Celestia to look at me, but she's avoiding eye contact with me for some reason. "Um... so... am I grounded?" "*sigh* no honey. You're not in trouble." Oh... cool! "Celestia is." "Wait, what?" I ask, looking between the two of them. "Celestia is grounded for the time being. You, though I am a little... put off, by what happened, I'm not mad-" "How do you ground Celestia?" We all perk up when we hear Dad enter the room. He has a slight trot to his step with his signature grin. That one grin he gets when it's going to be a good day, well, for him at least. There's only been a few times when it's been bad for others, but usually when he's grinning getting out of trouble is tremendously easier. He trots up to Mom and wraps a wing around her, pulling her in quickly making her yelp slightly. "You're in a good mood." Mom notes, eyeing him curiously. "What gives?" "What? Are good moods bad?" He asks, making Mom roll her eyes. "So how can you ground Celestia?" "My home, my rules," she states simply, closing her eyes with confidence. "Ha, you're grounded... grounded from what?" Dad asks, tilting his head slightly. "Tempestive." "WHAT!?" Dad and I yell at the same time. "It's not her fault I read that spell! I won't do it again, promise!" I yell, looking back to Auntie Celly. I don't want to be grounded from my favorite aunt because of something that wasn't in her control. If they knew Tempus put that spell there then... then... "Hold on, can we have a Mom Dad meeting real quick?" He asks, pulling Mom towards the back of the medical ward. I look over to Celestia and motion for her to come closer, which she does. "It's not your fault that that happened." I whisper to her. "Sweetie, I shouldn't have brought you in there to begin with. I don't want to lose out seeing you, but what I did put you and others in danger. I love seeing you, but that doesn't excuse my carelessness. And it also doesn't mean you get to disobey your parents." I frown at that. I know I should listen to them, that they only want what's best for me, but it's different this time. Tempus planted the book there, he knew I was going to be there. If I hadn't been in there, I would have probably found it somewhere else. I wish I could just tell them that. "But... I never get to see you as it is." She frowns at that and leans in to nuzzle my cheek. "I know sweetie. I'll make it up to you next chance we get. But for now, we have to learn from our mistakes and grow past them, okay?" "But it wasn't your fault." I mutter as I let out a sigh and look down. Before I could say anything else Mom and dad return, Mom looking much more at ease than before. "Well, given what your father has told me, and given what's to come, I've decided not to ground Celestia-" "Really!?" I ask, sitting back up. "Yes, your father made several good points and has agreed to... assist me with some matters tomorrow. Because of this, I'm asking that she watches over you tomorrow." "Of course sister! I'd love to!" Celestia exclaims, bringing her smile back. "But... I'm curious, what exactly did Miles agree to?" Mom just smirks. I know that smirk, it's something Dad really doesn't want to do, but sadly is going to do it. Usually Mom gets that smirk when she gets him to do the dishes. But this time... there seems to be a bit more to it. "He's agreed to join me at the coronation tomorrow." Mom states happily, making Dad groan and deflates slightly. "Really?" Celestia asks, eyeing Dad. "I didn't think you'd ever agree to go to a par-" "It's not a party!" Mom cuts off, stopping Celly from saying the 'P' word. Dad's already sweating. "It's a coronation! The christening of that new air ship for the Royal Air Force." "Oh cool! Can I come!? Please?" I ask, sitting up excitedly. "Sorry kiddo, they aren't allowing foals in." Dad lets me know, getting me to groan and fall back against the pillow. Darn, and that sounded really cool too! "We'll have to do something equally as cool then, won't we?" Celestia asks, making me grin. "So... am I off the hook then?" WHY? WHY DID I ASK THAT? ALL I HAD TO DO WAS SHUT UP AND ENJOY THE MOMENT? WHERE DID THAT EVEN COME FROM!? "Tempestive-" "We can't blame you for what your soul did." Dad cuts Mom off. The statement catches me off guard. My... soul? What does that even mean? I sit back up and look up to him curiously, waiting for him to explain. "My magic and your mothers magic are inherently different. I've always thought they would act different within you, and today it did." "Oh... so you use your soul for magic?" I ask for clarification. "Yes, well... sometimes. Originally we were going to explain this to you when you were eight. We didn't want you to worry about... learning something that drastically different yet. What do you think? Think you can learn two forms of magic at once?" They all lean in and look down at me, waiting silently for me to answer. Do I want to learn a new form of magic? I'm barely grasping magic as it is! Plus, if Dads power is anything to go by, this magic seems much more difficult. "I... I think I want to continue my magic the way it is, for now at least." I tell them, getting them all to sigh in relief. "That's very mature of you Tempestive." Celestia comments as Mom leans in to kiss the side of my head. "Who said you could grow up?" Mom teases, nuzzling my side. I giggle a bit from the contact, smiling up to Mom. "Well then, think you're up for some food?" Dad asks, to which I nod. "Alright, lets see how much of the staff we can freak out on the way." I laugh at that, but Mom doesn't seem to think it's that funny. "Miles-" FLASH I suddenly appear on Dads back. I grab onto his neck and hold on as he steps toward Mom. "Pout with me," he says with a quick glance to me. I chuckle before pouting to Mom. I have to fight to not burst into laughter as Dad joins me in pouting. Mom rolls her eyes, looking at the two of us unfazed by our antics. "Hm... Celestia joins us." Without even a moments argument Celestia quickly runs over to my side and lifts me up. I'm squeezed between both of their faces as the three of us pout to Mom. Mom stares back at the three of us, blinking slowly as we plead back her. What feels like minutes on the hour start to pass by as she silently returns our gaze, unmoved by our apparently feeble attempts to win her over. "Why am I the one to say yes or no to this?" She asks. "Because you are Mom." Dad replies quickly, making me chuckle. "Realistically, you're the only one who could put all three of us in trouble. So, are you in for the debauchery, moon butt?" I giggle at the name. Dad only uses it, and even then it's only when he's being really playful. It takes a few moments, I almost thought she was going to be mad about it, but eventually she started to smirk back to Dad. "Oh... fine. But nothing too drastic, oka-eep!" Before she could finish Dad pulled her over to his side with his magic and started to trot out. The four of us made our way out of the infirmary and down the main corridor of the castle, Dad leading the way. "Alright team, operation 'scare the nobles' is a go!" he says before running down the corridor. I rear up and let out a battle cry as we race towards the group of older ponies from before. "DEBAUCHERY!" Perspective: Applebloom And with the ring of the bell another day of summer school ends. Good too, becuase I was getting tired of listening to lecture. After quickly tossing all of my things into my bag, I trot outside and wait for the others in our usual spot. It doesn't take long for most of them to show up. Scootaloo and Pip, Sweetie and Button; they show up relatively quickly. Shadow, on the other hoof, seems to take her sweet time joining up with us. And when she does, she keeps quiet... well... quieter then usual. "So, what are we going to do today?" Scootaloo asks as we start to walk to town. "We could hang out at the park." Pip suggests, getting some head shakes. "Nah, we've done that too much recently." Sweetie points out. "We could get a table over at Emerald Diner. Grab a few shakes and stuff." "Mmm... I'm not really hungry." I point out, looking back to Shadow. "What about you? What do you want to do?" She pauses when I call on her, looking away slightly. "I... I don't really care," she mumbles quietly, getting a huff from Scootaloo. "Okay, no friend of mine is going emo. What'll it be? Beat up Rumble? Hang out in Mooseden with gallons of ice cream? Sky diving? Beat up Rumble?" "You already said that." Pip points out. "I know. I really want that one," she retorts, making Pip roll his eyes. "I'm sorry, I just... I just to be alone for a bit to think some things over. Sorry. " She turns and starts to head home. I look back to the others before rushing in front of her to stop her. "Ya aint getting away that easy Shadow. C'mon, lets just go somewhere private and talk this out, kay?" She looks down, but shrugs along. "Okay... where can we go that's private?" "Why not the farm?" Button asks. "Because Hammer has his lackeys are working the entire thing, so it's over run with ponies... among others." I really need to pin Applejack down one day and let her know she's driving me crazy with all those workers. I'll need Big Macs help as well. "Alright... what about..." We all wait for Scootaloo to come up with an answer, but eventually she lets out a long breath. "I've got nothing." Is there really nowhere for us to be private? Where could we go that would give us a moment to ourselves. Somewhere nopony goes. Somewhere most ponies would only be caught dead near. Somewhere we're allowed that is guaranteed empty. Somewhere... "The library." I say, getting everypony to look at me. "Spikes library? Won't he be-" "He's out with Rarity." Sweetie cuts Pip off. "Whenever she goes out shopping she drags him along. Plus, I know she's out looking for additional fabric suppliers, so they're going to be out for awhile." "Then won't it be closed?" Button asks. "Only one way to find out, lets go!" I say before I start to walk towards the library. It doesn't take us long to get there. The library looks the same as it's always has. Empty. I'm sure it has it's visitors, but I doubt there will be many ponies inside. Plus, we know our way around the building, so finding a secluded area won't be that hard. We look to each other before I take the initiative to knock on the door. After a few moments of silence I give it another, louder knock. When nothing happens I look back to the others for ideas, but only get shrugs. I mull it over for a moment before trying the door knob. Luckily for us, it wasn't locked, so we all enter the library. "Hello? Spike? Are ya home?" I call out as we all fill the main room. Everything seems to be in order here. Clean shelves, neatly placed books, giant pony head figure piece. We all start to look around, trying to see if there's a note or something here. I doubt he would just leave the door open for no reason. "Hey, I found a note!" Sweetie calls out from the podium. We all walk over to her as she starts to read it over. "To anypony who's here for a book: I'm not going to be here for a few hours. I have to run a few errands with... a friend of mine-" "Why did you pause?" Scootaloo asks. "He wrote the ellipses!" "Whatever, what's the rest say?" Pip asks, getting Sweetie to continue. "In the mean time, feel free to look through out the library and read any of the books. Don't think about stealing anything either! I had a friend enchant the door so if anything that belongs to this library leaves, I'll know. Also, don't eat any of the food either... it's enchanted as well!" "Did he seriously use ellipses again?" Button asks, getting a nod from Sweetie. "... just keep going." "And lastly, if this happens to be Miles reading this, I've completed the task you've asked of me and am ready when you are. I look forward to our trip, even if it'll most likely end poorly. I doubt the Hierarchy will side with anypony completely, but it can't hurt to try, right? Spike the Dragon. P.S. Seriously, don't touch my food." "We should eat his food-" "Pip, not now." I snap at him, making him shrug and chuckle. "Lets head upstairs, ah think we can find somewhere comfortable to talk things out there." I glance over to Shadow and see her frown a bit. I know she doesn't want to talk abut this, she never wants to talk about her personal problems. But if we didn't force her to spill her guts, she'd still be holding a grudge against Scootaloo for taking her juice box in grade school. We go upstairs and find some cushions to relax onto. It's a little odd to be sitting in Spikes room, that used to be Twilights room, but it is private. Plus, if we do get caught in here, I have a feeling that we'll be able to explain ourselves pretty well. Nopony says anything for a bit, as expected. We all just sit there as Shadow tries to hide behind her mane. i swear, one day I'm going to get some shears and shave her head so she has to look at us. "Well?" I ask, getting her to lower her head. "Where do ya want ta start?" "..." "Was it when Rumble boinked D.T.?" Scootaloo asks, promptly getting smacked upside the head by Sweetie bell. "Ow! What!? That's probably it!" "Actually... it's not." We all look back to her and stare. "How... how could that not be it!? You trusted him and he went behind your back!" Sweetie practically yells in astonishment, making her flinch. "Well... it's uh... we..." "It's alright Shadow." I reassure her, rubbing her back. "We're yer friends. We only want what's best fer ya. No judging, promise." The others nod and agree with me, making her loosen up a bit. "Well... things between Rumble and I may have gotten heated... but... we were never actually together. I mean... we wanted to be, but I never really confirmed with him." "That doesn't excuse him being a whore." Scootaloo says quickly, flaring her wings in anger. "Scoots," Pip says, getting her to calm down slightly. "He's a slut. Whores get paid." "Whatever," Scootaloo rolls her eyes at that. "He had a weak moment, and I've already forgiven him for that. Not to his face, but... I've found peace with that," she says slowly. "So, what's got ya all moody then?" I ask as we all lean in. "... it's ... it's ...*sigh* so, when I was with him, I felt different. Like... I wasn't as nervous, I became more bold about things that I thought would terrify me, I was even willing to do those things that I thought I would never be able to do. With him gone now, I don't think I can do those things. What has me down is that I'm afraid that I'll be dependent on others for my own emotional fortitude. That I'll never truly be able to choose my own path without having somepony guide me. Even now I can't come out of my own shell without you guys forcing me to! I'm afraid that I'll never be myself without somepony else." "... I'll be honest, I thought we were going to smack talk Rumble. That's a lot deeper than I expected." Button says, making me shake my head. "Shadow, there's nothing wrong with taking help from others-" "But there is something wrong with not being able to help yourself," she retorts. "Even now, if I get an answer from you guys, I'm doomed! I don't want to be dependent on others, and I know you guys want to help, but that's exactly the problem! I need to become self reliant! If I don't, I'll be stuck with depending on others for the rest of my life!" She stops to fight back some tears. We all look to one another and silently agree on this one. "Alright then." I say while the rest of us stand up, getting her attention. "We understand." "You... you do?" she asks hesitantly. "Ya darn right we do! Ya'll need ta figure this one on yer own, so we're not gonna help one bit!" I tell her proudly. "But if you ever do need help, you come straight to any one of us, okay?" Sweetie Bell adds reassuringly. "Yeah! We've got your back!" Scootaloo announces cheerfully. "Just... not this time. Well, we do! We just don't... we uh... help?" "We'll be here when you need us." Pip says, wrapping a hoof around Scootaloos back. Shadow looks between us before wiping her eyes clear and stands, smiling to each of us. "Thanks, you guys are-" BANG We all drop down when a loud explosion sounds off near one of the windows. Once we're all sure there isn't going to be any further explosions we all rush downstairs to see what happened. Before we make it out of the main room though, somepony kicks the door open. Spike walks in and stares at all of us. He's in his usually get up. White jacket, red scarf, black pants, and a black shirt with red designs on it. Ever since he's grown, Miles has made it mandatory for him to wear clothing all of the time. Something about him walking around on two legs making him uncomfortable. After a moment of silence, he sighs and continues in, dragging an unconscious Rumble in behind him. "Rumble!" Shadow exclaims, moving to his side. "What happened!? What did you do?" "Easy there Shadow, I just knocked him out with a flash bang spell. He'll come around in a moment or two. Why are you all in my house?" He asks when he tosses Rumble on the couch. "This is public property, we're allowed in here." Pip answers quickly. "Yeah, plus the door was open." Button adds. Spike looks between us all before shrugging it off. "As long as you didn't touch my food, it's cool." Spike says as he checks on Rumble. I glance to the others and motion for them to leave, getting nods from all of them. I wait till they're all out before moving to Shadows side, nudging her to gain her attention. "Do ya need anything?" I ask her quietly, trying not to get Spikes attention. "No. No I-I'd just like to be here when he wakes up." I nod to her and give her a quick hug, one that she returns. I quietly leave the building and join the others, who waited for me just out of earshot. "So... does anypony else think it was a bad idea to get Shadow dating?" Scootaloo asks, getting glares from the rest of us. "What? It's started a ton of drama, and the school year hasn't even started!" I ignore the feather head and start to walk away from the library. Yeah, pushing Shadow into this has started a lot of drama, but better now then later. I just hope she doesn't do anything stupid while we're not there. She's a smart girl, so I shouldn't have anything to fear... right? Perspective: Rumble After a long, and rather uncomfortable, period of being incapacitated, yet being somewhat conscious, I finally begin to regain my senses. My head is spinning, there's a ringing in my ears, and my whole body feels as if I've crashed through a thunder cloud at full speed. Why couldn't I just have been knocked out? Just save me the trouble of feeling shitty. After accepting my fate, I calm myself and focus and trying to open my eyes. It takes a bit of effort, but eventually I pry them open. Everything starts out fuzzy and somewhat bright, burning my eyes to the point where I have to shut them again. After a few moments to recover, I open them again. Once everything dulls back to normality I find myself in the library. I'm alone in some cot in what seems to be the down stairs room. I groan as I try to push myself up, but stop when something grabs my shoulder and forces me down. "Take it easy Rumble." A masculine voice tells me. I look up to see Spike sitting by my side. I nod to him and collapse back onto the couch, letting out a long breath. "Sorry about this... well, mostly. I didn't mean to hit you that hard with that spell. How're you feeling?" "Shitty." I grumble. "Why did you attack me to begin with?" "Well... funny thing is, I thought you were a burglar. So... I went and... yeah, my bad." I shake my head at his somewhat irrational fear. Given, I was snooping around his bedroom window. But, come on! This is Ponyville for Celestia sake! We don't get petty crimes, just world ending phenomenon and mythical legends coming to take over Equestria! Actually... "There's a bathroom over there if you want to wash up. And... you have a visitor upstairs. I suggest not keeping her waiting." Spike tells me, patting my back roughly a couple times. I groan from the rough treatment, getting Spike to chuckle at my pain. Who the heck would be waiting for me here? Unless... unless Shadow actually was willing to wait. With that in mind, I force myself up and rush to the nearby bathroom. I splash some cold water on my face to help wake me up quicker. I also gargle some water as well, trying to get the nauseous taste from my mouth. Satisfied, I rush back out of the room and find my way to the font room where I see Shadow waiting patiently. I go to rush to her, but stop when she holds up a hoof to me. She has her eyes held shut and seems to be trying to hold an authoritative stance. "I-I have some things to say and y-you're going to listen to them!" she says in a shaky voice. She's obviously trying to be assertive, so I stand there and wait for her to continue. It takes a bit for her to peek out at me, closing her eyes quickly when we make eye contact. "Ahem." Spike coughs from the side kitchen, getting Shadow to jolt. "I-I don't blame you for what you did with Diamond Tiara!" she practically yells at the top of her lungs. "SHH!" Spike shushes, rubbing his ear slightly. "Sorry," she mutters, returning to her normal voice. "We weren't technically together, so I feel as if I shouldn't put that much blame on you for it. It still hurt, but I can look past it." "... okay." She can't be serious. She can't be. She should be yelling at me, strangling my neck while stomping my bits to Tartarus! And, just like that, she puts it behind her... why!? "I... I uh... Spike, do you have to be here?" she asks, opening her eyes for the first time to look at him. "This is a public area, right?" He retorts with a smug smile. Shadow lets out a sigh before forcing her eyes shut to look back to me. "Even though I am looking past... that incident, I'm not taking you back. Not right away at least." At the same time I feel crushed and hopeful. I knew she might not take me back. That was a long shot on top of a long shot. But, apparently there's a chance for us to be together again. "I understand." I try to make my answers short and to the point. She's obviously having trouble just standing there talking to me. I don't want to add to that by complicating my answers. "R-right. Um..." "Conditions!" Spike yells, making Shadow falter for a second. "I-I have conditions! That is... uh, if you want to... to be together, I want you to fulfill these... things." She gulps nervously, her breath quickening. "Anything." "First! I mean, first; I want you to earn my trust back. Secondly, no more secrets. Ever. And lastly, if you want to be with me... so... ahem, you need to ask my fathers permission." "Wait, what?" Spike asks from the side. "Isn't that kind of against what you were talking about earlier?" "He doesn't need to say yes. But I want to see Rumble face an authoritative pony for me. Not many ponies are more authoritative than Dad." She reasons. "That's true." Spike grumbles. "I know you already faced my Mothers and most of Terradisia, but... just know my Dad can be much worse than all of them combined. He's the one who brought all of them together, forced all of their differences aside and... well..." "That's Miles's little Princess." Spike finishes, getting my attention as he stands and takes Shadows side. "I've personally seen him start fights because ponies talked about doing things with her. He's extremely protective of her. You might not walk away from that conversation a stallion." "I'm sure-" "I've seen it happen." Spike cuts me off. "Wait, what?" Shadow asks, equally surprised. "Yeah. Remember when I was... gone, for a period of time?" He asks, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "Yeah, it was after the whole Discord thing, why?" "Well, when we were coming back from the Southern Badlands, a pony tried to barter for... things. He... well... Miles didn't like that. So, watch yourself." Shadow and I stare at him in silence, trying to gauge if he's serious or not. Judging by the looks on his face, I'd say he's completely serious. This Miles guy sounds like a sociopath. "Those are my terms." Shadow concludes, stomping her hoof down. "What... what do you have to say?" I take a deep breath and try to ready myself for this. I have to earn her trust, that mainly sounds like it's going to take time. I also have to stay completely honest with her. That one sounds the easiest. Lastly, I have to confront her father, the sociopath. One one hoof, I get gelded. One the other hoof, I earn back Shadows trust and possibly more. Gelding, possible love. No balls, or no love... balls, love. "Shadow." I say, pausing when I hear my own voice falter. I cough and try to gain my confidence back. "What you're asking for... it's going to take a long time to get-" "I-I know. But-" "It could never happen. There's even a chance that it'll happen, but I become... er, less of a stallion. That's a lot to put on the line." She lowers her head slightly, hiding her eyes behind her mane. I reach forward and lift her chin to look at me. "So do me a favor, and be there when I make it, okay." "R-rumble?" "Get ready Shadow Knight, cause I intend to do all of those things and then some. I bucked up once, and now that I have a second chance, I will be the stallion you want me to be. I promise." I lean forward and give her a quick peck on the cheek, making her face flush. Spike coughs, signaling his discomfort. We wordlessly leave the library and pause a few steps away from the front door. "S-so... um..." "Too soon for that kind of stuff?" I ask, getting her to nod. "Sorry... uh... hug?" "Uh... I don't..." "Hoof shake?" She bobbles her head while thing about it before slowly holding her hoof out. I smile and take it gently, giving it a few shakes before letting go of it. It's going to be a bitch to reprogram some of my quirks around her. I can't help it if I've somehow become a huger. "So... can I walk you home?" "I-I don't know-" "I'll keep a safe distance between the two of us. I'll keep whatever pace you want, crack your whip and I'll oblige." I tell while straightening out my poster. She smiles at that but shakes her head. "Thanks, but I think I can manage the walk home... besides, I don't think I'm going home right away." I lean over to see all of her friends peering out from behind a nearby building. I chuckle when they duck behind cover before looking back to her. "So... I'll see you at school?" I ask with a bit of hope. She looks back for a moment before looking back at me with a small smile. "I'd like that." I can't stop myself from widening my smile from that. She turns and walks away, leaving me to stare back to her in some sort of daze. I've got a second chance at this, I can still make things work out between us! It'll be difficult to do, and from the sounds of it, possibly dangerous. But I don't care about that right now! I'm coming for- "You know," I turn around to see Spike leaning in the door frame. arms crossed. "You're the first pony I've ever seen take an interest in Shadow. Romantically at least." "Um... thanks?" I'm not sure how to respond to that. "It wasn't a compliment," he says shortly, unfolding his arms as he approaches me. He stands off in front of me, fist clenched and eyes narrowed as he glares down at me. I stand my ground and stare back at him, unfurling my wings slightly. "I'm only going to ever say this once, so listen closely. I don't care about past incidents. But if you hurt her again, I will return the favor. Miles is my mentor, and as such Shadow is practically a little sister to me. Don't fuck this up." "I don't intend to-" "Don't interrupt me lover boy," he cuts me off. "I would also suggest saving Miles for last. If you go up to him and tell him your intentions while you're friend zoned, as you've appointed yourself... well, let's just say things won't go so smoothly for you-" "I Miles really this big of a prick, or is this just how you paint him?" I cut him off, narrowing my eyes. Spike smirks in response, loosening his stance slightly. "That depends on how things go between the two of you. Now, I have my own matters to attend to." With that he walks past me, bumping into me roughly. I snort in anger as I watch him walk down the road. I don't know Spike that well, but apparently he can be an ass when he wants to be. Part of me knows that it's just him putting up a front for Shadow, but... It's hard to look past that when it's directed at you. Whatever. I have bigger things to deal with at the moment. I have to come up with a way to get Shadow to trust me again. I know it's not going to be easy, but I there has to be a way for me to show her I can be trustworthy. Author's Note Wassup my bronies! Next on my things to bring up, I've been mulling about with several ideas and whatnot for a couple of days now, and I've decided to start taking in OCs again. You can find the blog here at Ponyville OC. Other than that, Brony on! Chapter 217 Get ReadyChapter 217 Getting Ready Perspective: Spike Once I watch the colt fly out of view, I go through the house to double check everything. Books, in order and neatly put away. Beds, lacking stains and mostly in order. Food, not eat, thank you Celestia for that one! Given, there aren't many ponies around here that can eat gems. Everything checks out for the double checking list. With everything still in order, I grab my keys and head out, locking the door behind me this time. I have one last thing to do before I head over to Miles' place. A lot of ponies give me odd looks for wearing a jacket in the middle of summer. Me, I like the extra warmth. I guess that's why you hardly ever see dragons in frozen areas. Well... other than mountain tops, but that's different. That's mainly when we go to sleep and want to find a place to slumber. Anyway, I make my way through Ponyville and quickly enter my destination, Carousel Boutique. The front rooms seems to be in order, but I can hear Rarity working away in the back. I walk over to the backroom and duck when a large spool of thread nearly hits me on the head. Rarity is hard at work completely whatever order she happens to have this time. With the Grand Galloping Gala coming up soon, it's understandable that she's busy at the moment. It's a good thing she got that new fabric supplier, otherwise she wouldn't be able to get these pieces done on time. I lean back and simply watch her work for awhile. She's 'in the zone', as she likes to quote. There isn't a single thing I could really do that would break her concentration at the moment, well, nothing short of physically touching her. But, being the good gentledrake I am, I simply wait patiently for her to find a stopping point in her work. I look over the various dresses and suites she's made and start to read the owner tags on them. Some of them are famous celebrities, while others are top tier nobles. Sapphire Shores, Noteworthy, Corporal Hope, Blueblood... "BLUEBLOOD!" I practically yell. Several spools and furniture pieces fall over when Rarity drops everything, letting out a loud yelp in surprise. "Spike! When-" "Why did you make Blueblood a suit!?" I yell as I rush over to the piece and pull the tag out, rereading it. "Will you please use your indoor voice!" she yells back, making me turn to face her. She takes a deep breath and tries to calm herself before continuing. "That's better. Now, yes. I agreed to make a suit for Blueblood. He sent one of his assistants to place the order and paid in advance. I know things in the past were less than desirable-" "You could say that again." I huff as I cross my arms. "But, I do have a business to run. Refusing business with a noble would reflect poorly on me. Though many of my loyal customers have no dealings with him, the ones that pay the most do. To put it simply, if I refuse to fulfill his order, I would lose a lot of business." "And we don't want that." I mumble to myself as I take a seat against the wall. Rarity walks over and takes a seat beside me, nuzzling herself under my arm and against my chest. I pull her in close and lean into her, sighing from the contact. "Sorry I yelled." "That's quite alright. I understand how this situation would make you feel-" "Well, yeah. I don't like the idea of that creep being anywhere near you." I cut her off. "But, you do understand why I have to do this, right?" she asks leaning over to look me in the eyes. I stare back into her sapphire eyes before leaning towards her, only to stop when I feel her hoof on my lips. "I'll take that as a yes," she says in a hushed voice. I smile to her and pull her in for a hug. She used my favorite shampoo again. The one that smells like roses and rain. An odd, and expensive, combination. "He's toast if he tries anything." "But of course. You should have seen the face on his assistant when I made it clear about that." I laugh as I imagine that. Some overly posh kiss ass being told the mare of his masters affection taken by a dragon. I'd give half my gem stash to see that! "Do you have a moment? I could make us some tea." I ask her, pulling back from the hug. "Well... some tea does sound nice. But I have so much to catch up on," she says, casting a worried glance to the messy room behind her. I mull it over for a second before lifting her up and give a few flaps of my wings to stand back up. She yelps and clings to me, making me chuckle. I head over to the main room and set her down on her lounge couch before heading to the kitchen. "Rosemary or juniper?" I call back to her as I set up the kettle. "I actually got this new mix that I'd like to try out," she calls back, "it should be in the cupboard in the front." I look inside and pull the front most box out. "Green Blossom?" I read aloud. "Perfect! I was in the market earlier when a trader showed me it. He said it's a favorite from the ape lands and I simply had to try it! It's supposed to soothe and-" And at this point I zone her out. I've learned that she tends to give the main info at first, then goes into unnecessary information after that. It's actually a sales tactic of hers. It really drives home whatever bull she's selling. After a few minutes of getting everything set and ready I head back out to the front room. As expected, she's still talking about Ape culture and whatnot. Something about tea ceremonies or something. I plop down next to her and pour us each a cup, offering her it delicately. "Thank you dear. Did you bring any biscuits?" "Oh, sorry." I start to get up but stop when I see her levitate a package out to us. I sigh and sit back, getting her to relax against me as we begin to enjoy our tea. It has a slight tinge to it at first, but melts away to a sweet after taste. It's not half bad actually. I prefer my own tea, malted jade with opals, but it's nice none the less. "So... Grand Galloping Gala-" "Oh! Don't even get me started on that! I've got countless orders to fulfill and I fear I might not be able to attend this year. I'd hate to send you alone but I simply-" "I'm not going." I cut her off, getting a quizzical look from her. I let out a sad sigh as I set my cup down. This isn't going to be easy, not by a long shot. "I'm... going back to the Southern Badlands-" "Spike!" she almost tosses her cup down when I say this. I nod, knowing the gravity of this full well. "Why? What's down there that's so important for you to go so suddenly?" "Every elder dragon holds a moot. A time when like minded dragons meet and discuss... well, I'm not sure what they discuss. Bolas is holding his soon, so I'm going... at Miles' request-" "Miles! Why would he ask such a thing of you!? And Bolas!? What's so important about him?" She starts getting a little hysterical, so I pull her into my lap to silence her. She blushes deeply as she straddles my hip, resting her hooves on my shoulders. I chuckle at her impishness and rest my claws on her slender hips, enjoying the feeling of her smooth fur underneath. "S-Spike-" "I love how I can still make you blush." I tell her, making her blush even more. "You know how important you are to me, right?" "O-of course I do, but-" "And you know I wouldn't trade anything in the world for you, right?" I ask, resting my forehead against hers. She nods and leans against me, holding me tighter. "You're the only reason I'm going. Miles fears the dragons will choose a side for the upcoming war. And he doubts it will be with Celestia. Bolas is the Elder of Power, and holds the most sway with all dragons. I have to go to this moot to get a better understanding of their hierarchy. If they decide to fight Equestria... I don't want you getting in the cross hairs." "Spike, I know Miles is smart about these things, but don't lose faith in Celestia just yet. I'm sure we'll work something out in the end. A... war? Times are hard, but I don't think it'll come to that." she tells me, running a hoof over my cheek. I take her hoof in my claw and hold it there, enjoying the soft contact for a brief moment. "I hope it doesn't. But I want to be ready in case it does. This is why I accepted to go. It won't be easy, but I have to try." "You'll be safe, won't you?" she asks tenderly. "I may not be a Spartan, but I have my own cause to fight for." I tell her, looking into her sapphire eyes with as much conviction as possible. We start to gravitate closer to closer to one another, our mouths just barely touching each others. Our eyes slowly beginning to close as we began to close the distance between us- "RARITY!" Sweetie sings as she enter the building. I jump to my feet, dropping Rarity to the ground with a hard thud. Before I could apologize and help her up, Sweetie enters the room and looks at us in a disappointing manner. "Spike." "Uh... hey Sweetie-" "Stop sweating about getting caught. There is nothing worse you two could do after that night." I try to stammer out a response, but nothing comes out. She shakes her head and heads over to the kitchen, leaving us to collect ourselves. "Sorry about that." I tell Rarity as I help her up. She takes a moment to fix her mane before addressing me. "I-It's fine darling. Why don't you clean up the tea while I finish up on this piece." I nod to her and gather the kettle and cups onto the tray I brought. I pause at the doorway to the kitchen when I see Sweetie sitting at the table, eating an apple. "So, what brings you by this time Spike? Hopefully it wasn't for... that." I shake my head and head over to the sink, where I start to clean the dishes. I take a moment to think about how to answer that, before I think back to Miles. No secrets. Just plain, honest truth. "I'm going to be leaving soon to attend a dragon moot in the Southern Badlands. I don't know exactly when I'm leaving and I have no clue when I'm coming back." She stays quiet for a bit, processing what I just told her. I just continue cleaning the dishes in the sink, even though finished the ones I used already. Hopefully she won't freak out too much, I can't calm her down 0as easily as I can with Rarity. "What's a dragon moot?" she asks quietly. "It's... like a club meeting, sort of. Like minded dragons meet with the Elders to... I don't know. Discuss world matters, vie for power... meet other dragons..." "Oh..." Even though I'm not looking at her, I can tell she's blushing. Heck, I'm blushing! "I don't intend to find a dragon... mate. Miles is asking me to go to hear what the dragons think, and possibly win some favor with them. The moot I'm going to is for a dragon named Bolas, the Elder of Power." "Why is he called that?" "I'm not sure. When a dragon is an adult and completely gives themselves to an aspect of their life, they ascend into and Elder stage. Bolas is Power, Frost is Ice, Urza is fire, and I intend to find all of the others and speak with them as well." It goes quiet again, and I'm running out of dishes to clean. I hear another set of hooves enter the room and glance back to see Rarity joining Sweetie at the table. She's still working on one of her pieces, but I can tell she really wants to be a part of the conversation. "Will it be dangerous?" Sweetie asks, getting Rarity to pause and look up to me. I look back to the now empty faucet and shut the water off. I knew this question was coming up, and I was kind of dreading it. "Yeah, I imagine it will be." I tell them as I turn to face them. "I'm not well known by many dragons, and my size is a bit... unimpressive." "According to Raritys diary, that's not entirely-" "SWEETIE BELL!" Rarity yells, dropping the dress. "What did I tell you about invading the privacy of others!?" "You mean like how you were watching me and Button last time?" Sweetie asks innocently, making Rarity turn red. I turn a bit red as well, never getting accustomed to how open these two are -and aren't- with one another. I quickly come to the decision to sit this one out, knowing how awkward it's going to get. "I-I was not watching!" "Were too! By the way, clean up after yourself next time! Button nearly broke his neck on the way out that night!" "He obviously have some coordination issues if he's slipping on nothing! I swear! Can't you teach that stallion how to use his hooves more effectively!" "AHA! I knew it! Button has no clue what to do with his hooves during sex! You were watching us!" "Why are you even having sex in the first place!? In my home no less! That is no way a lady your age should be acting!" "HA! A 'lady* also shouldn't be sneaking off to their coltfriends house for quickies every Friday night!" "H-how-" "I read your diary! Remember!? That's the only reason we're talking about this right now!" "Sweetie Bell! Watch your tone!" "Right after you admit you were watching us!" "Oh.... fine! I was watching you two! I was in heat and I could smell the two of you a mile away! There! Are you happy now!?" "No! My coltfriend doesn't know what to do with his hooves during sex! It's been driving me crazy forever! It keeps killing the mood for me! I nearly yelled out for you to come lecture him on what to do the past four times for Celestia sake!" Rarity lets out a small whimper before she pulls Sweetie in for a tight hug. I don't get it. It's not even just these two, their mother acts like this as well. I tried asking their father about it, but he simply told me to sit back and wait for them to hug it out. Hasn't failed since. I don't know how the three of them can talk to one another like this, but it works somehow. Also, never make a sound during these heated exchanges.The littlest noise will turn them on you like a manitcore to a sick, abandoned puppy. "I'm sorry I... sneaked a peek at your moment of passion." Rarity tells Sweetie as they pull away from one another. "It's alright. I can't blame you for being in heat. I'm sorry I read your diary again... and broke the lock on it... again." "That's fine dear, I'm sure Spike won't mind fixing it again-" "Says who?" I ask, feeling like it's a good point to come back into the conversation. "Spike, how will I ever put all my thoughts and inner secrets down without the judgement of others?" Rarity asks in her puppy dog voice. She puts the extra effort to bat her eyes an pucker her lips, making me chuckle. "I'm sure we can work out some sort of arrangement." I tell her with a confident smile. She blushes a bit and smirks back to me, making Sweetie gag. "Anyway! How soon until you leave for the Southern Badlands?" Sweetie asks, immediately changing the mood. "As soon as I can. The moot is in a few days, and I have to get there early if I'm going to meet my contact." They both perk up when I say this, leaning in closer to me. "You don't mean..." Rarity leads with, gesturing with a hoof. "Eeyup." "You're going to the moot with your mom!?" Sweetie exclaims, making Rarity faint. ....................................................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Miles I don't know how I get into these situations. One minute I'm running down the halls of the castle, having a touching moment with my son. The next I'm getting scolded by Celestia and Luna for scaring a bunch of old farts! Now I have to hold one of Lunas meetings to make it up to her, or she'll be mad at me forever. And I'd rather not go through tomorrows christening with her on my side, so I basically have no choice in the matter. It's only one meeting, so I guess it's not too bad- "Good evening your hi... uh..." Luna, you are pure evil. I will get revenge on you one way or another for this, I swear it! "Prince Blueblood.... I presume." I gruff up my voice a bit to try and hide it, but don't put too much effort into it. I doubt he'll recognize me after so much time, and if he does, so what? What's he going to do, bitch at the mother fucking king? ... hm. Mother fucking king, true on all levels. "M-my liege! It's an honor, an honor, to finally have the privileged to meet you!" He grovels as he bows before me, practically kissing the ground as he sends all of his documents flying from his grasp. I chuckle internally as I watch him lower himself, but quickly become uncomfortable with the gesture. "Um... you can stand up already, no need to be creepy about it." He quickly does as I say, giving me the creepiest smile ever. Mainly because I can tell he's trying to put on the charm... and it's just creepy. "So what did you wish to discuss today?" "My liege! I've been petitioning for my bill to update the Royal Air Force! With the Griffin Colonies buying new, advanced technologies, I feel it's imperative that we have the appropriate counter measures." ... what the fuck Blueblood. When did you become... smart. "Now, I understand that mobilizing may cause some... misunderstandings, but... but..." He stops and thinks about what he's about to say. "Go ahead, speak your mind." I tell him, getting him to let out a sigh. I'm actually interested to see where he goes with this. Maybe he isn't completely stupid after all. "Well, to be blunt your highness, Equestria isn't a land of war. We've been in a golden age of peace for so long... if we were attacked tomorrow, I fear what would come." Interesting that he's come to this conclusion. I wonder if this is common thought throughout Equestria. "So you don't believe we could fend off an assault on our own lands?" He flusters a bit when I say this... I'm kind of enjoying this. Is that weird? It shouldn't be as long as I don't tell anyone. "W-well... uh... after the initial attack...I-I'm sure we'd be able to secure our borders-" "But only after the initial attack, in which we lose land." He backs up a bit and starts to sweat. Oh sweet Barbra, how far can I take this before it becomes too sad? "Of course not! I-I mean-" "So now we have nothing to fear? Which is it? Should we prepare for an invasion or set up a counter offensive since we apparently can't hold our borders?" He keeps quiet as his sweat begins to practically pour out. Before I could say anything further he drops to the ground again in a deep bow and keeps quiet. Dammit, I should have guessed he would have folded too easily. Oh well, I had my fun. "Forgive me my liege! I didn't mean any disrespect! I was merely thinking of Equestrias future!" Aww, the poor foal. Alright,enough is enough. "Enough with the groveling. I told you to speak your mind, not pander to some ideals of nationalism." I tell him with a dismissive wave of my hoof. "Now, I know the threat the griffins posses to us. I know full well what their new tools could bring to our lands. But we cannot begin mass production of any form of military grade hardware." "But they-" "Any form of mobilization we would attempt would only escalate our already rocky relations with the griffins. It's simply too late to do anything without being painted the villains." He stands up to try and say something, but I cut him off before he could. "But I do share your conviction that we must prepare ourselves for whatever may happen, even when we hope that it won't. I have a plan." "Sir?" "Private enterprise will have to save us. What we can't do as a country, private business can. Do you have any designs ready right now?" "I... uh, have a few. But most were locked up-" "Alright, here's the deal then," I say as I take out a quill and paper to start writing. "You are to go down to... wherever these plans are and bring them to me. From there I will go to private companies that have the tools we need to enlist their help, of sorts. Now, and I cannot stress this enough, this is top secret." "Of course sir-" "We never spoke. We've never met.If anypony asks what you were doing at this time, you lie out your ass. When you speak to whoever is in charge of these documents, you tell them that you are under orders from the crown and cannot say anything more. And if they persist, you then warn them that the crown will come after them if they do. We cannot let the populace know we are preparing for war, can I trust you not to speak about this?" "Of course my liege! My loyalty lies with the crown and country! I'll do anything that is required of me!" I feel a ping of worry when he says that. I've seen what happens to people who devote themselves completely to something as dire as this. Since he's a Prince whose completed his military training, that makes him high ranking officer as well. When the shit hits the fan, I'll have to keep an eye on him. "Alright, get this done, I'm counting on you." I never thought I'd see the day when I'd say that, but here we are. Luna owes me big time. "You can trust me my liege! It's been an honor to have worked with you-" "See, you're already failing. We never met. This didn't happen. Now get going already!" He gives a few nods and bows before leaving quickly. I let out a low sigh and rub the bridge of my nose. He better deliver, I'm actually counting on it. All of Equestria is. ........................................................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Ulfric Stormmind I sit back in my throne and look over the others critically. All of my generals and admirals sit to the left of the table before me. Schor Bleak-wind from the Air Guard, Anguin Razor-edge from the Army Regulars, and Frida Highwind from the Navy. There's also Krag Meadow-brook from representing the militia forces. To the right of the table are my three sons, Skald, Dengeir, and Korir. Directly to my right is my assistant Karan and to my left is Regina. Schor is a quick hawk. I think he actually hates being on the ground and tries to avoid it as much as possible. He's a fierce fighter in the air and a quick strategist. What he lacks in strength he makes up for in speed. He's only been the leader of the Air Guard for a few years now, but he's quickly adapted not only the new technology, but the role of a leader as well. Anguin is the epitome of griffin stubbornness. He approaches everything head on, literally at times,and never backs down from a fight. Not to say he's ignorant of circumstances. He's knows when to retreat and when to push on. He's been leading the armed forces for nearly twenty years now, and has earned the respect and admiration of those under him. He's the only griffin here with kids as well. though his thirteen hatchlings more than make up for the others. Frida, the only female in the bunch, may as well be a fish. When she walk down the halls those around her think she's drunk. In reality she's just walking with the waves that aren't there. She's patient and soft spoken, never speaking before thinking. That white owl has only been with the navy for nine years now, but she's been sailing the oceans for her entire life. I remember when I asked her to lead, she merely shrugged and asked if she could use her own crew. I know very little about Krag. He seems like any other griffin out there. I do know we found him at one of the racialist rallies getting griffins to pick up arms against... what was it now? 'The tyrannical dictatorship and false deity of our foreign oppressors.' Despite what little I know of him, I have to admire his ability to rally griffins. If all else fails, he may be a key player in what's to come. The owl to my right has been serving under her entire life, as her father before her, and his father before him. She's quiet at times, keeping to herself mostly. Her critical thinking skills are phenomenal and her claw writing is top notch. There isn't a single thing I could ask that she wouldn't do, and there isn't a single thing she would say that I wouldn't believe. Regina... is an oddity to me. She volunteered early on to be ambassador to the Equestrians and has quickly gained the trust of their leader. There are times I fear she'll hesitate or withhold information that could be vital, but that's to be expected. You can only spend so much time with someone before making attachments. I know this discussion will be a difficult one for her, but she needs to be here for this. I need her here for this. "They sure are taking their sweet time getting here." Anguin grumbles as he shuffles in his seat. "Patience Anguin, there's no need to rush into this." Frida tells him,making him scoff. "The longer we wait, the longer they prepare their defenses. It's already been six years-" "So what's a few minutes then?" Korir asks him. I look to my eldest son and smile internally. I don't play favorites, but he's grown into a great leader and an excellent model of a sphinxes wisdom. "Who are we waiting for?" Krag asks. I lower my head as I think over that. They appeared out of nowhere. Crippled, lost, outcasts from all corners of the world. I offered them sanctuary from damnation, and now we're making war pacts. I can't believe that it's come to this, but the suffering of my people has to come to an end. Before anyone else could continue on, the doors to the throne room open up suddenly. A Kroth man walks in flanked by two of his own guards. Kileh, the leader of the remaining Kroth. His dark beady eyes take in the room quickly as he runs a hand through his short white hair. He gives a nod to his subordinates who take their place at the door. The alien being stops at the end of the table and gives a slight bow before taking his seat. He wears armor similar to that of Miles, but has intricate purple detailing on his. His subordinates have similar markings, but in yellow instead. "Kraeh kul sem, countless apologies. My tardiness was due to... er... idem il whe sho? Deliberations, with my Koreth, my people. Preha, let us begin." He speaks softly, having obviously thought thoroughly on what to say. Common isn't his strong suit, but I can't blame him. None of us have put any effort to learn his language. A few of my generals give me odd looks but don't openly question his being here. "Thank you all for being here today," I say as I stand and begin to walk around the table. "As you all know, we've been preparing for a large scale invasion for the past few months. I've kept the plans a secret between myself, Kileh and my sons. And now we're at a decisive moment in our countries history. Should we succeed, not only will we secure the future of our people, but as the leaders of the new world. Should we fail... the exact opposite. Death to the crown, our homes and way of life will be taken from us. Absolute victory, or total failure, that is what we face starting today. Starting with this question; do we invade Equestria?" The four griffins look to one another as they process what I've said. I'm sure they've known for awhile now that we were gearing for war. The rest of the world knows, why wouldn't my generals? "Equestria sir?" Schor asks. "Why not the soviets? They're a closer target and hold a much less threatening opposition. The Equestrians... they have magic and flight." "Not to mention the logistical nightmare it will be to move troops, gear, and...well, anything really. That's a three month journey." Frida adds after a moments thought. "And what of the Saddle Arabians? If we invade, they'll have the perfect platform to invade as well. Not to mention that invading might invoke an attack from countless others." "And lets not ignore the major problem." Krag chimes in. "How would an invasion stand against Celestia and Luna?" Kileh chuckles at that,getting everyone's attention. "Preha, they will not be a problem. Ulfric, preha, tell them already." I pause to look back at Kileh for a second before continuing. I stop at the head of the table and start to move a map out telepathically. I also move a few figures out to show regiment placement. "With information gained from Regina we've devised a plan of attack on Equestrian soil. A two prong attack would initiate simultaneously. First, naval forces land the first, second and third battalion at the coastal city of Crescent Cove. From there they march to Canterlot and siege it. Meanwhile, the first and second air battalion, along with my personal guard, will assault Moosden to take take control of their teleportation stations. From there, they will sneak into Ponyville and either capture or kill the Bearers of the Elements and take control of the farmlands there. When they complete their objective, they will march to Canterlot to aid in the assault." "There is the problem of the Spartans there though." Skald interrupts. I look to my youngest for a moment before continuing. "Yes, but we hope that a surprise attack with overwhelming numbers will catch them off guard and either push them away long enough to deal with the first objective, or hopefully end the threat." "What of Celestia and Luna?" Anguin asks. "That's where we come in." Kileh says with a toothy grin. "A detachment of Kroth will be aiding each assault force. The group heading to Canterlot will be specifically targeting the Alicorns while the others will be targeting the human. This is our initial plan." "So, what's the worse case scenario?" Krag ask uneasily. "Well...worse case scenario, we lose each fight and they use this as an excuse to make a counter attack. Then... well, then it's an all out war." I say as I take a seat at the base of the throne, thinking over the consequences should we fail. "And that goes double if the bears decide to attack in response to this." Dengeir adds. "If we fail and they decide to attack us, there will be little to stop them. Even if we're successful they might attack. But, with a victory, we may instill enough fear to keep them at bay. At least for the time being." "That is also why we're depending on the militias to be ready in case they do decide to attack." I comment, looking over to Krag for a moment. I stare him down for a moment before looking to the others. "Before any of this though, we will be sending informants to learn of any patterns or secrets. We will not be going in blind. My question to you is, can we do this?" They all look nervous about this, as they should be. This isn't something to be trifled with. This is the future of our country, win or lose. I've pushed this discussion back for months now, and even now I don't feel ready. I doubt I ever will. After such a long time of peace, I don't know if I can make it through the another war. I know full well what will happen should we fail, and I'm ready to face those consequences should they arrive. But until then, I will stand ready to act, even when my actions cause doubt within me. Krag kicks his chair back quickly and gives me a salute suddenly, gaining all of our attention. "From jagged mountain tops to the driest deserts, I stand ready to fight for these great colonies. And from the coldest wastelands to the burning fires of hell, I'll stand at your side. What will you have of me?" I nod to him, glad to have his support. Slowly, the other three stand with him and salute me as well, giving me a sense of peace. A peace I know will not last for long. "Then get ready, we have a war to plan." Author's Note So, if you remember way back when, I said I'd have a story to drop that takes place in the Man of War Universe. Well, here it is! Super Dad As I say in the authors notes it won't be posting as quickly as Man of War, but I will be giving it the love it needs. I hope you enjoy the story and look forward taking you all through it. Also, give Dinorlondi a hand for editing this chapter! I know a couple of you sent links to help, and I apreciate all of the help offered! I intend to speak to some of you for... other projects. Brony on! Chapter 218 Hidden PlansChapter 218 Hidden Plans Perspective: Luna Night court came and went easily enough. Nothing major came up, though I did have several cases to cover. Again, nothing major. When it came time to raise me the moon I thought it would be nice to have Tempestive’s help. But he was too tuckered out from his exciting day to stay awake. It was nice to have Miles keep me warm at night though. I hope he gets to stay longer this time around. I know everypony would love to have him stay, not just myself. I know it's not likely, but I can be optimistic. I woke well before he did the next day. I can't remember the last time I stayed in bed and simply watched him sleep. He mumbles. A lot. I don't know how I sleep through it all honestly. Maybe it's just a bad dream he's having. I could look into his dream but... I don't know. If something was really bothering him, he'd tell me... right? "Mmm... are you watching me sleep again?" he mumbles, pulling me in closer. "Maybe, you'll have to open your eyes to find out." I tell him quietly, getting a small chuckle from him. We meet in a quick kiss before he finally opens his eyes to look down at me. "Morning." "Mornin' queen bed head." I shake my head at that lean into his embrace, resting my nose in the crook of his neck. "Everything alright?" "What about this makes you think I'm worried about anything?" I ask, holding his hooves with mine. "Because you only get this clingy when something is on your mind. What's up?" I smile at that last part. It's just a small memory of ours, but it makes me smile all the same. "You... were mumbling in your sleep." I say slowly, getting him to sigh. "Is something wrong?" "It's just a dream. I thought it would pass by now, but it hasn't really. It varies in severity, but it usually depicts the same scenario." He rolls onto his back and stares up at the ceiling, thinking deeply on his dreams. I tuck my legs under myself as I lay on my stomach, watching him closely. He's obviously stressed about this, but there seems to be something else on his mind as well. "Am I scary?" "Scary? Miles-" "In my dream, I'm watching myself. There's this fire burning around me and I look... I look like I'm ready to murder someone. You've seen me like that before. What was I like to you?" I bit my lip as I try to think of the best way to answer. When he rescued me from that fort, I wasn't really paying much attention to my surroundings. I was more focused on the shame that was present all over me. The guilt of giving away my greatest secret forced my eyes down as... as... Okay... keep it together. Don't dwell on it, just push it aside. "I can't say really." I tell him, clearing my voice when it falters slightly. "I've only ever seen you kill to protect. I've never seen you kill in aggression. If you want a better answer, I think you should ask somepony who’s seen you kill in aggression for a better answer. Sorry-" "Don't be," he says quickly, turning his gaze to me. "I don't want you to ever see me like that. If my dreams are anything to go by... it would only serve to terrify you." I don't have anything to say to that. Not with this conversation being so sudden. I simply take his hoof in mine and give it a squeeze. One that he returns promptly. "Come. Lets get ready for the day.We can talk more about this later." He nods to me, following me to the bathroom. If there is one thing I miss about my old room here in Canterlot, it has to be the bathroom. The tub is large enough to fit the two of us comfortably and the multiple shower heads make washing a breeze. He hesitates for a second before joining me in the shower, keeping his gaze away from me slightly. "Sorry. I just... don't think I can... you know. I'm not really in the mood-" "Miles Eremita." I cut him off as I start the shower, turning the nobs to my preferred temperature. "Just because I bring you into the shower with me doesn't mean we're going to make love." "If ninety percent of the showers we've taken together are any indicator-" "Sit." I look back to him and give him an even glare. He promptly sits down and resides to his fate. "Now turn around." He does so without any question. I smile at his submissiveness, happy to have him listen so well. I grab one of my bottles of coat wash and pour a large glob onto his back. I let it ooze down his back before I begin to rub it into his skin. I'm glad I payed attention during all of those spa visits Rarity and Regina brought me to. I may not be an expert, but if the way Miles is sighing is any indicator, I'm not half bad. "Is this that fruity stuff you always use for date night?" Miles asks, making me laugh a bit. "Of course. I wouldn't want my big, bad Spartan going to some posh gathering smelling like a stallion, now would I?" I tell him, getting a quizzical look from him. "Eyes forward." "Fine. But for the record, this isn't part of the deal. I fully intend to get you back for this." "Hm, I look forward to it." I say as I levitate one of the nozzles over and rinse off his back. "Now, lay on your stomach." He gives me another look before doing as I say. I may have taken a moment to appreciate his well kept body, but he doesn't say anything about it. I pour another large glob on his chest and trace it up to his stomach. He gives a little twitch when the cold substance hits him, but doesn't say anything. "Is it really ne-" "If it wasn't necessary, I wouldn't have you do it. Now shush up and relax. We have a big day ahead of us, and I want to make sure there's at least one good thing to come of it." I set my hooves on his chest and slowly start rubbing the solution into his fur, enjoying the contact between us. Miles rests his fore hooves on the sides of my stomach as I continue to work his body, feeling the tense muscles loosen beneath my hooves. I lose track of time as I slowly go over his body. I make sure to work out every knot, wash every patch of fur, and run warm water over every inch of his body. Everywhere, except where I wanted to go most of all. My libido is kicking in, yelling at me to go there and get what I want from it. He's having the same battle as his soldier starts to march forth. But, even though I really wanted it, I pushed those urge aside in consideration of his feelings. I've tried to come up with something better to say to him, but I can't find the perfect answer, only a compromise. So, as I finish the bottom of his belly, I step forward and sit on his lap, getting him to look up to me in confusion. "Miles, you probably can be scary at times. You've trained your entire life to fight a terrifying war, and in return became a terrifying warrior. But don't berate yourself over that. You are a good stallion Miles. Your children love you, your friends and family love you, I love you. We all know what you're capable of, and we still love you. You were raised to have bouts of terror, but those that know you know better than to fear you. That dream of yours is exactly that, a dream." "Thank you Luna. That means a lot to me. I love you too." I lay down against him to meet him in a kiss. It was short, but conveyed the message well enough. "Do you want me to return the favor and wash you now?" "As nice as that sounds, I kind of used up the body wash." I tell him with a small blush. We both share a small laugh before getting back to our hooves. "I'll just put on a little extra perfume for today. Besides, with the amount of wash I used on you I probably smell just as nice." "Yea, thanks for that by the way," he says sarcastically as I shut the water off. He starts to leave the shower when I get a wicked idea. Igniting my horn quickly, I grab the base of his tail and give it a quick tug up. He somehow loses his footing and tumbles over himself, landing on his back sprawled completely out. I laugh at the dumbfounded look on his face as I step out over him. I lean down and kiss his cheek before going to whisper in his ear. "I know how much you're going to hate this, so I figured I'd give you a little something to make the day go by. Ponies’ tails are sensitive when lightly tugged. And mine is super sensitive, compared to most ponies." I turn and walk away from him, swaying my hips widely. I love teasing him. It's one of the easiest ways to get his mind off of something. So many little things set him off so easily, he's probably debating how much time we have to spare right now. If it gets his mind off of those depressing thoughts, I don't mind giving him a little something to work with. Given, I think today is going to be interesting. Perspective: Celestia I hum happily as Tempestive and I enjoy breakfast together. He was up fairly early, so I decided to give Luna and Miles a break and let them sleep in. And, if I got to enjoy some more time with my favorite nephew in the whole world, than it's a win-win. I chuckled when he ordered the pancakes with extra syrup and strawberries. It was pleasing to see influences from the two of them. Though I was also happy to hear that we didn't have any strawberries. Knowing his father, that wouldn't have ended well. Now that I think about it, I don't know if he's allergic to strawberries like Miles. They didn't say anything about it, but... he is Miles' son. "Thewse arwe tphe berrrst perncerks-" "Don't speak with your mouth full." I tell him quietly, getting him to force the mouthful of pancakes down in one gulp. "These are the best pancakes I've ever had!" He tells me cheerfully, making me smile. "Well, I'll be sure to let Chef Gourd Ramensy you like his cooking. Now, your mother and father are going to be busy all day with the christening. I was thinking that you and I could send the day together... er... what's the term Twilight used?" "Do you mean ‘hang out’?" he asks curiously. "Well... yes. Sorry, my friend uses a different word for that. We can do just about anything you want to do! Just... you know, no new spells or anything like that. And... we can't leave the castle... or go near the front gate... or into any of the business halls... I can see why Luna wanted to leave Canterlot-" "I think I have an idea of what we can do, but I need you to trust me and follow my lead. Interested?" I was about to question what he wanted to do but the doors opening cut me off. The smiles on their faces warmed my heart and forced a larger smile on myself. I love it when they're in this bubbly, lovey mood. Everything else melts away as they simply enjo- no, love one another. No problems, no worries, just... love. I really need to stop reading those romance novels Twilight keeps giving me. They're starting to get to my head. "Hey! I hope you saved some for your old man!" Miles playfully warns Tempestive, making him begin to wolf down his food. "Good morning sister. I'm glad you were able to keep an eye on Tempestive for us this morning. Without any incidents." I lower my head at the cold statement. I don't blame her for being upset, but I guess I can take her passive aggressive statements if it means I'm not grounded from him... oh mother. Our roles have reversed. "Good morning Luna. I'm glad to see you in an upbeat mood today." She offers me a small smile and nuzzles my cheek before taking her seat beside me. She's cooled off a bit at least. I can handle passive aggressive comments just fine. "So, are you two ready for the... festivities today?" Have to avoid the P word at all cost. "I think we'll make it," she says as she leans over and looks at Miles and Tempestive. They're currently trying to finish the last pancakes at the same time. Syrup flies all around them as their forks fight for supremacy. Truly a noble fight to the last pancake. "Are you looking forward to your day off?" "I'll be honest, if it weren't for Tempestive being here, I don't know what I'd do with myself." I admit with a light blush. "You work yourself too hard sister. You deserve a day off! Just... promise me you won't do anything too... adventurous, please?" "I promise, no adventuring will happen on these grounds." I tell her as I put a hoof to my chest. She smiles to me and leans over, giving a soft cough that ends the pancakes enthused battle. I look over and laugh at the two of them. Miles and Tempestive are each biting the same pancake, even as Miles tries to yank Tempestive off. I don't quite get how the pancake is holding up with the two of them trying to tear it apart, but my laughter is stopping me from asking. "Tempestive, promise me you won't go over board today. I don't want you using too much magic after yesterday." Tempestive looks to his father before dropping the pancake. "Um... if that's the case, can Auntie Celly and I just go home?" We all glance to one another before looking back to him. "Do you not like it here?" Luna asks. "No, I like it here, I really do! It's just...well..." "Are you embarrassed about yesterday?" Miles asks, getting a coy nod from him. "Well... I don't know..." "If you two are okay with it, I don't mind." I say quickly, getting their attention. "I think it'd be nice to get out of the castle for once. And, since it'll be at your home, I doubt anypony will really bother us. What do you think?" They lean over and look to one another, giving me a moment to give Tempestive a wink. "Well... if you really don't mind-" "I don't. I'm sure it'll be nice to get away from Canterlot." I tell them with a smile, getting the two of them to shrug. "Alright then. You can go home then if you'd really like to. We'll be back just before sundown so make sure you either bring money for food or come back here for lunch and dinner. Which reminds me Miles, we need to go grocery shopping again..." I look back to Tempestive and smile as Luna continues to talk. I don't know what he has planned, but I can't wait to see what it is. I can't remember the last time -other than yesterday- we had any quality time together. That being said, I'll have to remember to bring money for food. I'm nowhere near good enough of a cook to make anything, and I don't want to waste our time together traveling back and forth. How much is lunch in Ponyville anyway? I'll just bring a decent amount to make sure we cover everything. "Okay then! If that's everything then we will be off!" Luna announces, snapping me back to the conversation. She stands up and walks over to Tempestive, giving him a quick hug and kiss on the head. He grumbles his discomfort, but doesn't openly fight the affection. According to Luna's letters he's been growing into his more independent stage, where he begins to hate affection from his mother. I guess with less ponies around, he's more willing to accept the affection. After Miles gives him a quick hug the two of them trot their way out of the dinning hall. Once they're out of sight, Tempestive lets out a long sigh and slumps in his seat. Chuckling, I relax as well, if only to mirror Tempestive. He looks up to me and smiles, to which I return. He better watch it. If he gets anymore adorable I'm sure some of the staff will have a field day fawning over him, myself included. "So, what's in your home that has you so eager to return?" I ask slyly as the servants come to take the plates away. "It's a surprise. But you have to promise to keep what I show you between the two of us. Promise?" he asks as he holds his hoof out. I chuckle at his seriousness and shake his hoof. He probably only wants to show me his secret... hangout spot. I'll play along though. I haven't felt this silly in... ages. It's a nice change of pace. "I promise. Now, get washed up and we'll head out." "Right... washed... uh..." "Down the hall on the right-" "THANKS!" he takes off running, scaring one of the maids as he nearly crashes into her. I chuckle at his antics, watching him until he scurries through the doors. "Um... your highness... if I may?" The maid asks, bowing before me. "Shouldn't somepony be with him? The Queen said-" "I don't think I could accompany him to the restroom, nor do I think he would appreciate having somepony he doesn't know attend with him." The maid quickly bows and offers her apology, one that I accept easily. She's just doing her job, something that I appreciate. I take my leave to get ready as well, teleporting to my room and levitating several things into a small bag. After quickly brushing my teeth and giving myself a look over, I teleport down to the hall were the restroom is. After a few minutes of waiting, Tempestive comes walking out... with Blueblood. "Auntie Celly! Look! An actual prince! Isn't that cool!?" Tempestive asks as he comes running up to me, weaving between my hooves. "A prince you say?" I ask, giving Blueblood a questioning look. He merely smirks and steps forward. "Aunt Celestia, it's a pleasure to see you again," he says with a slight bow. "We're related!?" Tempestive almost yells, jumping between the two of us. "Not directly." I say quickly before Blueblood could muddy up the issue any more. "It's more of a... workplace relation." Blueblood adds, continuing his smirk to me. "It's been a pleasure, but I have duties to attend to. Aunt Celestia," he gives a slight bow before turning away from me, insulting me by not waiting for a return bow. "Guard." I call out as I glare back at Blueblood. "Please escort Tempestive to my chambers. I need to have a word with Blueblood." "Is he in trouble?" Tempestive asks innocently. I smile and lean down to be on his level, nuzzling his cheek slightly. "... maybe. I don't know. It depends on what he knows. I'll be up shortly, go along." I nudge him along, getting him to follow the guard down the hall. Once I'm sure he's far enough down I trot after Blueblood, determined to set him straight. It doesn't take me long to find him talking with a group of nobles. "Prince Blueblood, a word please." "Aunt Celestia, to what do I owe the-" "A word, please." I repeat more firmly. He nods and excuses himself from the group, following me down the hall until I turn back to him. "Do you care to explain what that was all about?" "I don't-" "You know what Luna has decreed." I cut him off firmly, stepping towards him. "Tempestive is not to know of his princedom until they determine he is ready! By calling me Aunt he knows of a relation! And telling him you're a Prince only makes matters worse! What, in all of Equestria, were you thinking!?" He smirks again. If it weren't for the thousands of years of training I would have lost myself and smacked that smirk right off his face. "It was never mentioned that I couldn't mention my own status nor was it mentioned that I couldn't mention our relationship, Princess Celestia." I have to take a moment to register his attitude. I've never seen this side of him before. I've heard stories, but... "Why are you acting like this? You realize that when my sister here's word of this-" "She'll have to report it, just as you will," he says as he steps forward, meeting my gaze evenly. "If anything comes from this then a special court hearing would be held. The crown, as well as the Elder Nobles, will then hear our cases. What exactly will you tell them? That I treated you as an equal, that I didn't give you the respect you never showed half of us?" "I have always been-" "Distant with the younger generation of nobles. But now we hold most of the court, and it's time you learned who we are. I'm sure the Crown will understand our plight." "Luna will not be swayed so easily Blueblood." I tell him, making him smirk even more. My eyes widen a bit when I realize what he's implying. "The King will not side with you either." "The King will hear me openly, Princess Celestia. He will have a...younger outlook. And if there's one thing we have learned in the courts, it's how to win favor through words. Now if you excuse me, I have a christening to attend to." He gives me one last look over before turning away. I stare him down as he walks down the hall. How does he know about Miles? How did he learn of his out look and mannerisms? "Princess?" A nearby guard salutes, breaking me from my thoughts. "Good morning." I say with a slight bow before turning away from him. I'll have to bring this up with Luna and Miles later. Right now I have a play date to attend to. Perspective: Miles "I'm just saying, breakfast would have been nice-" "Breakfast or pancakes?" Luna asks with a playful smirk. "... what's the difference?" She laughs again and stops to face me. Just outside the air docks. I can already hear the commotion just beyond the door. There are a lot of people out there... and a tuba? "Just remember; no cussing, be polite, and try to avoid giving direct answers," she tells me as she fusses over my appearance. I roll my eyes as she tries to straighten out the fur on my neck, but don't fight it. "Luna, please. I can be discrete when I want to be." "I know you can... and thank you for doing this with me." She leans up and plants a small kiss on my lips, making me smile. "You really think I'd toss you in there without a meat shield?" I ask, making her chuckle. I move aside and open my wing slightly, bringing her to set her wing within mine. It's the pegasi’s equivalent of holding hands apparently. "Lets not keep them waiting then." We walk forward as the doors open for us. A massive airship sits in the back hovering just off the deck as tables and ponies fill the space in between. They all fit the stereotype of the upper crust Canterlot elite. Posh, snobbish in appearance, and obviously wealthy. From expensive jewelry to high fashion outfits everyone here is showcasing their own wealth. Oh sweet Barbra...I can see one of Rarity's dresses. "PRESENTING QUEEN LUNA!" An announcer yells over the crowd, getting them all to turn and look at us. Every facade and mask drops when they see me, unblinking. We stand there for a moment before I look over to the announcer. He hasn't looked over here yet, so I cough lightly to get his attention. When he does look at me, he nearly faints. '"U-uh... I uh..." "King, or his majesty, whichever you prefer." I tell him with a cocky smile. "AND HIS MAJESTY! THE KING!" Both, not bad. I stand up straight and look over the crowd as they bow before me. It gives me an eerie feeling of power over them. I don't like it. Not one bit. "Say something." Luna whispers to me, nudging me slightly. "Some forewarning would have been-" "Miles!" "CITIZENS OF EQUESTRIA." I start out, stepping forward. None of them rise yet, so I guess I'm speaking over them. "I... or WE GREET YOU WITH... uh...OPEN ARMS. WELCOME." The crowd of ponies stand up and stomp their hooves in applause. I still feel a bit foolish for yelling over crowd, but ignore it when Luna rejoins me at my side. "Open arms?" she asks quietly. "What?" I ask, getting a knowing look from her. "Oh... oops." "It's alright. Now, time to mingle." Mingle... joy. I put on my best smile as we start to walk into the crowd of ponies. At first they simply clear a path for us, still staring at me in disbelief. They few I do make eye contact with, avert their eye quickly. I guess I intimidate them too much for even a hello. We make it to a table with food where the waiter stares at us. After a long, awkward silence I finally get tired of waiting for someone to say something. "So-" "SIR!" The guy yells before dropping to a bow. I glance to Luna, who shrugs, before getting the two of us a cup of punch. "I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting it to be quite like... this." Luna mentions as we begin to walk towards the vessel in the back. The ponies here are either staring at us or whispering to one another quietly. "What, you only brought the only known male alicorn in the world to a social gathering unannounced. It's not like these people live off of pretending to know what's what in the political theater. I mean, it could be worse. They could have absolutely no clue what I think or my-" "I get it." Luna cuts me off, making me chuckle at her. "There has to be a least one pony here who's brave enough to speak with us-" "I'm on it!" I suddenly make a right turn and approach the closest group of ponies near us, two unicorn mares and a pegasus stallion. The elder mare has a dark purple coat with red hair while the stallion has a sea blue coat with a white mane. The younger mare has the stallions coat with the mares hair color. They're all wearing fancy suits or pretty dresses that help blend them in with this crowd. They drop to the ground and wait silently for me to tell them what to do, so I do. "Stand up and introduce yourselves." "S-sir! I'm Lavender Spice!" The first elder mare says. "A-nd this is our daughter Dawn Mist-" "Daughter?" "Y-yes!" The stallion chimes in, stepping forward. "I'm Dusky Shores! This is my wife and daughter!" "Why are you yelling?" I ask, folding my ears from his volume. "Sorry! I-I mean, I apologize-" "Calm down." I assure them with a chuckle. Luna gives me a look but smiles along anyway. They look to each other before forcing out a chuckle of their own. "If I wanted to meet formally I would have done so." "Yes, this is an informal meet and greet with the king. Such formalities are forgiven." Luna adds, looking to the girl. "Dawn Mist, what is it you do?" The three of them go rigged as all of our attention to the girl. "I-I...uh...I mean... um..." "I-it's okay dear," the mother coos. "Just tell them what you do." "I... uh... forgot-" "You forgot?" I ask with a laugh. She blushes deeply and averts her gaze. "Dear, you're embarrassing her." Luna tells me playfully with a slight nudge. "Come now, do you work with your father? Perhaps your mother?" "I... uh... I'm a... sailor-" "A sailor!" I cut her off loudly, getting panicked looks from the three of them. "Privateer or enterprise?" "Enterprise!" The stallion chimes in quickly. "She works with me in my shipping company, isn't that right dear!?" "Yes! Of course!" The mother chimes in, the two of them stepping in front of their daughter. I glance over to Luna, getting an equally confused look from her, before looking back to them. "Not that I mind, but how did sailors make it... here? Isn't this a bit more... posh, than you're used to?" I ask carefully. "I think I can help with that." A refined voice says from behind. I look over as a unicorn stallion and mare join our conversation. The stallion is pure white with wavy blue hair. He wears a black vest with a red tie and a fancy ass monocle. He's pretty big for a unicorn, I'd put him almost as big as Blueblood. The mare is all white with flowing light pink hair. She's wearing a slim dress that's a shade darker than her hair. She's slim but stills has an attractive figure about her, one that she flaunts freely. "And you are?" I ask. "My name is Fancy Pants and this is my lovely wife Fleur De Lis. I own the Equestrian Empire Trading company. Dusky Shores here is my head forepony for my western affairs while Dawn here is one of my captains. I do believe this ship here will be under her command once it takes to the air." "Really now?" I ask, looking back to the mare. "I have a feeling we'll be talking more than." "I-I-" "And you, Fancy Pants, you're the one in charge of the E.E.T.? It is a pleasure to meet you." I tell him as I hold my hoof out to shake. He takes it and gives a hardy shake, one that leads me to believe he's not like the other posh upper crust here. "The pleasure is all ours Sir." Fleur adds as I move to shake hooves with her. "So, Captain Dawn Mist, you must be excited to take to the air." Luna adds, getting the mare to mumble a response. "Please, don't you know it's bad luck to call a pony captain before the christening?" Fancy asks, right in the middle of playful and serious. "Not where I'm from." I tell him. "You need a Captain more than you need a ship." "Oh... and where are you from, if you don't mind my asking?" Fancy asks with a raised eyebrow. I chuckle at that. First attempt to pry information, though this is a bit more blunt than what I was expecting. "I'm from the south... the deep south." "Like, the Badlands south or... further south?" Dawn Mist asks, going wide eyed from speaking suddenly. "I-I mean sir?" "Good eye." I tell her, getting a smile in return. "No. No, I'm from a different south. One that I doubt you've heard of." Luna gives me a slight nudge, telling me to stop. "So, you think we can steal a tour of the ship?" "O-oh! Uh... I'm sorry sir, but the ship is closed off-" "Come now Dusky Shores," Fancy cuts him off, giving me a smile. "I think we can make an exception this time." "Perfect! Let's go then!" I say excitedly. "Now? Mi... dear. We have an event to attend to." Luna chides me. "We can't jus- AH!" She yelps suddenly and goes red in the face. I smirk down to her and drop my magic before anyone could notice. "I think we can escape for a few minutes, take a quick peek, and be back before anyone even notices." I tell her with her with a playful smile. She tries to come up with a response but can't get past her blush. "Ooooh, I think we should get to the ship, lest our Queen be seen blushing." Fleur teases, making Luna blush even more. "Come now, lets not keep them waiting Fancy, lets take them on a tour!" Fleur rubs up on Fancy, getting him to smile coyly. He chuckles a bit before beckoning us to follow. "You coming Dawn?" I ask her. "U-uh sir-" "A captain should know their ship, inside and out. Come on." I tell her before following after Fleur and Fancy. It takes a bit to actually get to the ship, especially when we have to navigate through the crowd of bowing ponies. Once we do make it though we take a moment to admire the beast of a craft. Massive ballast float high in the air; tethered with thick ropes and massive chains. The ship has to be roughly one hundred meters long and around four stories tall. It's fairly narrow, but could easily fit an Aquila on the deck. Standing in the center of the main deck made me feel extraordinarily small. I haven't felt this small since I first looked up at the P.C.H. back at Topaz. I walk along the smooth, dark deck and look around in curiosity. It's intriguing to see how Equestrians take to the air and how they manage their ships. Everything about this ship reminded me of the boats from the Griffin Colonies. Ropes tied with intricate knots, rope ladders leading to the massive ballast above, even the wooden railings seemed more for a seafaring vessel than an aircraft. What really sells the comparison is the deck though. It has two parts, the main deck where most of ropes were tied, and the upper deck; where the steering wheel is located. "Impressive, isn't she?" Fancy asks as I turn and look back over the railings to the main deck. "It is a marvelous ship Fancy." Luna tells him with a slight bow of the head. "It's a flying boat." I say flatly, getting them all to look at me in shock. I look over to the steering wheel and give it a twirl, irritated slightly from this. "I-I beg your pardon?" Fancy asks, slightly unsure of himself for once. "I will admit, what you have here is impressive. But... this all seems... as if you put a bunch of balloons on top of a boat and called it an aircraft. I’m not impressed with this. Why pay for a flying boat, when we could just have a boat?” "Mi... ahem, dear." Luna steps forward and nudges me slightly. "I'm sure-" "No, he's right." Fancy cuts Luna off, getting a shocked look from her. "To the untrained eye this may as well be a flying boat." "But, please. Let us convince you otherwise." Fleur finishes, stepping forward. "There more to this ship than outward appearances." I glance between the two of them before looking over to Dawn Mist. Her parents are missing, but I don't really care about that right now. "Dawn, I want you to sell me this ship." I say, getting her to go wide eyed. "S-sir?" Her voice quivers. "Sell me this ship. Prove to me this ship is worth anything. Prove to me that this ship is worthy for flight. Make me believe in this ship. I'm sure Fancy and Fleur could do the job well enough, but I'd rather hear it from you. Show me why you're captain." The poor girl looks as if she's about to faint from her panic attack. Luna tries to get my attention, but I hold still as I wait for her to respond. I want to see if she's worth investing in. If any of this is worth investing in. "Dawn," Fancy says quietly, getting her attention. "Why don't you start out with what you told me." She blinks a few times, slowly calming down. "It was a marvelous tale. Start there!" Fleur adds, sashaying up beside Fancy. Dawn takes a few breaths before looking back to me. I like the conviction she suddenly has, even if it's teetering on the edge of a total mental breakdown. "I've spent most of my life in the ocean. From the Divide to the Great Expanse I've sailed all of them. I've lost ships, lost crew members, and seen my fair share of monstrosities. I love the ocean. And I always will." An odd start, but I'm sure it means something. "You call this airship a flying boat, as if that's a flaw. But I see that as an advantage. The skies are not that different from the seas. They're filled with mystery, yet we pretend to know so much about them. They're uncontrollable, yet manageable. We can chart them in their entirety, yet never know them completely. They're vast and ever inspiring, taunting us with dreams and aspirations of exploration! To go forth and search out the wonders of the world! To find the edge of the map not for profit or expansion but because it's there! Because it's there and it has yet to be touched by our hooves!The winds on our back and the future is before us! Waiting for those brave enough to search it out!" I smile at her enthusiasm. I can see why Fancy picked her. She's got a fire in her heart that's eager to get out there. She's not one to sit still for long, that much is apparent. She takes a deep breath and realizes she got a bit carried away. She shrinks back down to her shy self and looks down nervously. "A-and... uh... if the ballast does go out... well... better to be in a boat, right?" I burst out laughing at that, crushing her enthusiasm completely. I didn't expect her to say something like that, but oh sweet Barbra was it good. "Dear," Luna chides, stifling her own chuckle. I step forward and hold my hoof out to Dawn, making her jump slightly. "To the edge of the map." She looks over to Fancy for a moment before taking my hoof lightly. "May we never find it." "Here here!" Fancy cheers as the others stomp their hooves. I give her a sturdy shake before giving the gesture to Fleur and Fancy, Luna joining in as well. When we finish I look back to Dawn. She chuckles a bit, smiling widely at me. "I won't let you down sir! I promise you that!" she tells me, her enthusiasm back where I like it. "Good. Now why don't you go back to your parents. I'd like to discuss some boring business stuff with Fancy for a bit." She nods and starts to walk off, but stops when I call out to her. "You're a Captain now. I have great expectations for you." She nods and gives me a salute before continuing back to the party. When she's far enough out I turn back to Fancy and Fleur and smile. "I admire her eagerness." Luna comments. "Though I feared she was going to faint earlier." "She'll do great. She just needs to get the stick out of her ass." I comment, getting Luna to kick my back leg. "What?" Oh... I cussed. I give Luna an apologetic look before looking back to the other two. They seem... unfazed by my comment. "I think she did quite well, given the circumstances." Fancy comments. I nod to that and look to Fleur. She looks as if she's holding her breath, trying not to say something. I was going to ask her about it, but Luna beat me to the punch. "What did you want to ask them dear?" She asks. I think about it for a moment before dropping the Fleur thing. I'm sure it was nothing. "Right. I uh... how... hardy would you say this ship is?" I ask, getting Fancy to tilt his head. "Hardy? I'm afraid I don't understand?" "If this ship were to be attacked, how would it hold up?" I ask, getting Fleur to perk up. "The walls are double layered with iron oak, bathed in fired resistant sap, and bolted with three inch steel rivets. That, along with the best enchantments in Equestrian history make it one tough bitch to..." Fleur stops mid sentence when she realizes what she said. Fancy goes wide eyed, his monocle falling off of his face, as he stares at Fleur. An awkward silence falls between the four of us as we try to think of a way out of this situation... well, maybe they are. I'm going to run with this. "Wood doesn't really stand well against metal." I point out, getting Fancy to let out a breath. "Unless you really enchant the fuck out of it." "Miles!" Luna gasps. "Watch your AH!" I give her tail a hard tug and smirk down to her. She blushes deeply as she looks between the two of them and me. I haven't released her tail yet, so this'll be interesting. "Normally wood wouldn't." Fleur continues, growing in confidence. "But this wood is special." "Special wood eh?" I ask with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, this won't crap out on you in two minutes," she replies, growing a smug smirk. "Time isn't really the issue. What matters is performance. Can it deliver?" "Spoken like a stallion," she says, rolling her eyes and shaking her head slightly. "We're not just flaunting our size for the fun of it. We can deliver, every time." "Every time? Now you're just teasing me." "Only the best teases for the best shows. Just ask Fancy, I'm sure he'd agree with me if he could find his voice right now." I glance over to Fancy and note his almost comatose state. He's just standing there, wide eyed and lost. Luna is in a similar state, though her eye keeps twitching. "You think they'll be okay?" I ask, getting a chuckle from Fleur. "I'm sure they'll be plenty mad when the come back to us. Though I know how a trick or two to occupy his distraught," she says in a sultry tone. "An old fashioned?" "I was thinking of deep throating. This is a rather special situation." I laugh at that. I swear, if I didn't know better, I'd think I was talking with my Spartans right now. "How are you going to escape?" "Well, she sadly told me about her super sensitive tail, so that'll work until we get our son to bed-" "You have a son!?" she asks in surprise. "Yeah...but that's a secret-" "Of course! My lips are sealed!" She motions over her lips before looking slightly down. Her demeanor dropping drastically. "Everything okay?" I ask, getting her to look back up to me. "I-it's nothing. It's just that... well... we can't have a foal. We... I..." "Barren?" I ask, genuinely concerned for her. "Tight, rather. I've been to every specialist and... well... after examining my tubes they're too tight for the eggs to get through. So... I can't have foals." She lowers her head for a moment, obviously saddened by this greatly. But she perks back to her cheerful self and smiles up to me. "But it's not all bad! I mean, now we screw like rabbits in spring all year long." "Ha! That's the spirit! Luna and I are practically the same way. We try to be coy about it, but to be honest, it still feels like we're dating!" We share a laugh at that. Fleur gets an evil smirk as she glances between the two of us. I'm not sure if I like that look. "So when was the last time... you know?" I chuckle at that. I was going to dodge the question, but realized she shared something rather personal already. So I guess it's my turn. "A few days ago-" "A few days!" She almost yells with laugh. "Please, you poor stallion! We screwed in the shower at home, the carriage ride here, and in one of the guest bedrooms during the beginning of the party! Heck, we're probably going to sneak into one of the cabins on board and go at it again!" "Oh sweet Barbra... I don't know if I could beat my guy like that." I say as I imagine having that much sex regularly. Eh, fuck it. I probably could. "I think I'd wreck Luna if we did that. He's not small... is he?" "Above average. A bit thick, but not to the point where it's gross. His endurance though, hoo! That's where he hits his stride! He may be a unicorn, but he lays like an earth pony-" "And I'm back!" Fancy says, blinking a few times. "Fleur, dear, don't you think this is a little-" "Fancy honey," she says in a sing song voice as she rubs up against him. "We're just having a simple conversation! Nothing to fret about." "We're just swapping war stories, But I've embarrassed Luna enough. We'll have to continue another time Fleur." I tell her, getting a wink in return. "Back to business. Fancy, a discussion of something with the utmost importance needs to be held! Something that could define the future of this country and possibly the world." "Of course, what would you like to know?" He asks, standing a bit taller. "Me? Nothing." I say, getting a confused look from him. "I cannot have this conversation. If word got out, it would... escalate things. Drastically. But, I have a third party connection that I'd like you to meet with. They currently resides in Ponyville and will meet with you tomorrow at dusk. Meet them at the local gym and tell them 'The King seeks a sword.' They'll know what it means. Do you think you can manage that?" "Of course, but who will we be meeting with exactly?" Fancy asks a bit nervously. I smirk at that, making him shift slightly. "You'll know them when you see them, trust me on that." I look down to Luna and give her tail another tug, bringing her back to the conversation. "Mi-my king! You are in-" I cut her off with a deep kiss, getting her to lock up again. "Oh, and be sure to bring Fleur as well. I'm sure she'll enjoy this meeting." I say, nodding to Fleur. "I'll be there. Now if you excuse us, I think I hear the captains chambers calling. My liege." She gives a slight bow before walking off, dragging Fancy along with her. He tries to protest, but is powerless against her. I chuckle at that, admiring how close the couple is. "You know," Luna chimes as she steps forward a bit. "If you were home more often, we could... you know. More often." She gives a shrug and smiles up to me. I chuckle at that and drape a wing over her, leading her back towards the gathering below. "Luna Eremita, are you trying to seduce me to stay home?" I ask, making her blush slightly. "Of course not!" She says quickly, holding her head up in a poised manner. "It's simply a fact. We can't... do that if you're not home. Plain and-" I cut her off by grabbing her tail again. I don't pull it, but I do put enough pressure there for her to know that I'm there. We pull up to the edge of the crowd where I levitate a glass of punch to myself. I don't want the punch, but it's a good cover to keep my magic on Luna right now. "Well, with my recent discovery, I may have to take you up on that." I tell her with a knowing smile. She tries to retort, but only moans when I start to shake her sweet spot. She hides it pretty well, but I have a feeling that won't be the case later. "Now... let's mingle." Perspective: Celestia Once I catch up with Tempestive we make our way to the cave on top of the mountain. We have to detour to pick up the right guards to keep this cave a secret. I only let certain senior officials know of it's existence. I think only ten ponies know if its existence outside of family. Miles and I also went through and put a few enchantments to hide its location. You can't see it from distance, and you can't scry it either. It's our little escape. Along the way I tried to ask where we were really going, but Tempestive wouldn't budge. It's a surprise apparently. His enthusiasm makes me chuckle. I wish he was still a little foal so I could squeeze him, but he's too old for that now. I know he puts up with it for his mother, but I don't want to press it too much. Having him with me is good enough, plus I can steal all the hugs I want when we return to Luna and Miles. "Alright, are you ready?" Tempestive asks as we step out of the closet. I smile down to him and nod eagerly. "First things first though, this stays between us. Can you keep this a secret?" "Of course I can. Now, what is it you want to show me?" I ask, getting him to check if the coast is clear. I don't know who would be in Lunas bedroom, but enjoy his antics all the same. "Follow me." He trots off with me in tow. We make our way out the back door where he stops in front of the earthen shed. "Tempestive-" "Are you ready to see some of the coolest stuff ever?" He asks as he rears up to reach the door. "I don't think we're supposed to be in your fathers shed." I tell him with concern. He tries the door, only to find it locked. "And I doubt they left the key under the mat." "It's okay, I know the password in. Dad only uses, like, three passwords. And they're all basically the same." He says with a few presses onto the metal plate that rests beside the door. "One, three, three, seven. *click* Never fails. Come on!" He runs right in before I could say anything else. I glance around nervously, unsure of what to do. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to know what's in there. It is an invasion of privacy though. But what are the chances he'll know we were in here? He's going to be out with Luna all day talking with nobles. Plus, it's very obvious that Tempestive has been down here before. And since I've never heard of him getting in trouble for this before, I'm sure he knows about any alarms. "T-tempestive?" I call out as I step through the door. I stop when I see the inside is larger than it appears from the outside. It's just a large square room with a spiral staircase in the center going down. I can hear Tempestive climbing down the stairs, so I rush after him. It's a bit of a tight fit, but I manage to get down the stairwell. The room before me makes my jaw drop. It's... massive. Off to the left is another one of those aircraft that Miles flew a long time ago along with two of the black diamond craft on each of its sides. It's facing a long stretch that looks like it goes on for miles. It's dotted with white lights on the ground and yellow lights on the ceiling. The yellow ones seem to end sooner, showing that the road leads up. Just ahead of me against the wall are three large... eggs? That's the closest comparison I can make at the moment. To my right are three rows of carriage like vehicles. The first row of carriages are those jeeps that Miles used to drive around. They are all identical, from the white paint to the massive guns sitting on top. The row after them look like larger jeeps. They're twice the height and have a much longer body. The backs are canvassed off and the area where you control the carriage is covered with metal instead of being open. There are four of these vehicles as well. The last row of vehicles draw me closer, either from awe or fear. It rests on two long treads that could crush a pony beneath them. It's heavily armored body easily takes up two spaces of the other vehicles. The top part looks as if it can spin around, giving the massive barrel three hundred sixty degrees over coverage. Tubes sit on each of the corners while boxes sit on the side of the top canon part. It's angular body seems to have a low profile to it while still being a behemoth. It has a white paint job like the others, but has some art on the side as well. It's a wolf head snarling towards the front of the vehicle with something written below it. "Lupus unum?" "Wolf one." I jump a little when Tempestive suddenly speaks beside me. "A Terradisian tank meant to search out enemy armor and destroy it. Cool huh?" "I don't know if cool is the word I'd use to describe it." I say as I look over it. "Why does Miles have something like this?" "Easy said it was one of the few remaining from Emerald City. There are a few more in Topaz now, but they need to be restored. Come on, what I wanted to show you is over here." I give the massive tank one last look before I follow after Tempestive. Why would he need something that terrifying? Behind all of the vehicles seems to be a workshop of sort. A table sits in the center of the space with several tools -of sorts- coming down from the ceiling. various objects clutter the table. Several weapons as well as objects that I can't identify to name a few. Behind the table is a large mirror that has various maps and words showing all over. I can note several cities throughout the world that are marked, but I can't read what the text next to them says. I look at the bottom of the pictures to see a bots head sitting in the middle of the control area. It has several thick metal ropes things going into its head and has its eyes lit up brightly. I stare at it for a second before looking over to the left, having a shiver run down my spine because of how it's staring at me. A caged area takes up the left. Inside are racks of various guns, bladed weapons, as well as hulking pieces of armor. "See that giant metal armor suit?" Tempestive asks from beneath me. I simply nod as I stare at it. It looks as if it's supposed to turn a human into a walking tank. "I don't understand why Dad would make it like that." "What do you mean?" "Well... it's made to protect the person inside. But it's not shaped like anypony I've ever se..." "Everything okay?" I ask after he goes silent. He looks away from me as he thinks about something deeply. I step around to face him and kneel to get on his level. I motion to my lap, getting him to nestle between my legs. "You know you can talk to me right? If something is bothering you, it might help to tell somepony. And whatever you say here, stays here." "Promise?" he asks quickly, looking up to me hopefully. I smile and nod down to him, getting him to shuffle a bit. "Remember when I... disappeared?" "Of course." "Well... I...uh...blinked," he says nervously, sinking into my lap slightly. I lean down and nuzzle him a bit, waiting patiently for him to continue. "That's what it's called when you jump through time uncontrollably." "Oh." I lean back to look at him, surprised slightly. I knew when he disappeared he could have done something so powerful. I guess I just didn't think it would be something that powerful. "I saw something. Something scary." He goes quiet again. I have to tread carefully here. If he tells me something that I shouldn't know now... bad things will come. "I don't know what it was, but it looked... it looked like it should go in that suit." "Oh my." He saw his father. Unless he went back in time far enough. "I saw him twice actually. Once he was in Ponyville, and hurt. He didn't scare me then, but everything around me was scary. There was fighting and screams and explosions and-" "Shh." I shush him as I lean down to nuzzle him again. So he did see Miles as a human. Even worse, he saw him in combat. But, that wasn't the moment that scared him. "It's okay. If you don't want to continue you don't have to." "I saw him again," he continues on anyway, sounding almost frantic. "He looked so mad. And he had these... these spurs of darkness coming from his wrists. He looked right at me and... and I thought he wanted to hurt me. I only saw him for a second! And he-" "Tempestive-" "And then I saw you and you-" "Tempestive!" I have to raise my voice to stop him. He buries his face in my chest and begins to cry, gripping me tightly. I rest my head against him and hold him close, waiting for him to calm down on his own. I can't imagine what a burden it must be to know these things. To have to carry such knowledge and have to keep it from everypony else. No foal should have to carry such a heavy burden. "It's okay. Everything will be okay." "But-" "I know what you saw was scary. When you see things without understanding them, they only cause more fear. Just know that we're here for you. Your mother, your father, me, we won't let anything happen to you. You are the most important pony in the world to us. We'd do anything to keep you safe." He look up to me and and sniffles a bit before hugging me again. I return to nuzzling him again, simply being there to comfort him. We spend a few more minutes together before he begins to stir. I lean back and let him get up. "Better?" "Y-yeah. Sorry about that." "You don't need to apologize Tempestive. I'll always be here for you." I tell him with a warm smile. He rubs his eyes a bit before returning the smile. "We should get going-" "But we've barely seen anything in here! Aren't you curious?" he asks, his former eagerness returning. "Tempestive-" "Just a little longer? Please?" he begs, putting his pouting face on. I know we shouldn't... but that face... "So what does this map say?" I ask, looking over to the wall. He smiles and runs over, taking a moment to read over everything. This is starting to become a problem. Now I can't say no to him. It was bad enough when it was only his father. "It's a map of the world with all of the major cities dotted out. Each city has a population estimate, an advancement placement, and a contingency number." "Contingency number? What's that about?" He thinks about it for a moment before looking to the metal head on the counter. "Easy, give me the details on Dads map." The eyes glow brighter for a moment before it begins to speak. "Statistics for highlighted areas are unknown. Grand Captain Miles Eremita keeps them with a hidden file within his personal tablet. A hypothesis program can run to estimate possible reasons." The disembodied head says in a fuzzy monotone voice. "Nah, last time that took forever. Sorry Auntie Celly. If you want to know, you have to ask Dad." Tempestive tells me with a shrug. "You can't break into that as well?" "No, it requires a different type of entry. I don't know how to get in yet." I frown at that. What are you planning in here Miles? What could you possibly need all of this for? How am I going to bring this all up without letting him know that Tempestive and I broke into his shop? "Wanna see his enchantment table?" Tempestive asks enticingly. "... yes.Yes I do." Author's Note What a better way to kick off a million words than a nice long ass chapter and a new blog post! Updates and Revisions! Shout out to Dinorlondi and Alternate Madness for editing! Brony on! Chapter 219 Southern BadlandsChapter 219 Southern Badlands Perspective: Fancy Pants July 19th 4139 The christening came and went like any other Canterlot formal. Though, I must say the king is something else. He acts nothing like the nobility I've met in my entire life. He doesn't seem to care for honor, well, social honor at least. Whenever he met with any veteran elitist his demeanor changed drastically. He would asks questions and listen contently, never interrupting. Never pulling on Lunas tail. Nothing but his full attention. It makes sense, if his cutie mark is anything to go by. That has to be a one in a million kind of mark. Fleur lets out a sigh as she rolls away from me, leaving my underside cold without her. She had a blast yesterday. Party aside, she finally met somepony who could keep up with her. It was embarrassing to say the least, but it put a genuine smile on her face, and I'm happy for that. I don't know what possessed her to share about our infidelity, but it seemed to have worked some kind of favor with the king. I'm fairly certain his name is Miles. The queen called him that once from her shock. I'm not about to start spreading that rumor though. True or not, he's still the king. Plus, I doubt he has any form of relation to the Miles in the tabloids. Given, that Miles is a completely different species. With a sigh I force myself out of bed and head to the bathroom to start getting ready. I have a meeting to attend to today. A personal friend to the king, I have to make a good impression with him! The very future of the E.E.T. could be determined by this! I will not let my families legacy fail, no matter how small the endeavor. When I make it to the shower I hear Fleur enter the bathroom. It's a fairly large bathroom, so I don't see her right away. I just wait under the warm water until I hear her slide the glass door open. I can't help but smirk at this. It doesn't matter how long we've been married, how many times we've done this, being close with Fleur will always make my heart stutter... among other things. "Good morning my love." Fleur coos as she gives me a kiss on the cheek. "Good morning love, did you sleep well?" I ask as she starts to lather up. I follow her lead and begin to wash up myself. "Yes... well, not entirely," she tells me, looking away slightly. "The King?" "I don't know what possessed me to tell him that! Now he probably thinks I'm trying to use him for some kind of magical cure! I can't believe I let that slide so easily! I'm so bucking stupid!" She tosses her bottle down and huffs in anger, looking away from me. I was shocked initially when she started yelling, but once I heard her begin to cry I immediately went to her side and hugged her. "Fleur, it's not that bad-" "How could you say that?" she snivels out, looking back to me with pained eyes. "He probably thinks I'm trying to use him! Imagine what kind of rep this will earn for the E.E.T.!? Oh sisters, I didn't even think about that! BUCK!" "Fleur, enough. If it was really a problem, do you think he'd be asking both of us to be meeting with his friend?" She looks away from me, keeping quiet. "He's an alicorn dear. Ponies everywhere would do the same in your position. He's probably used to it by now. And with the way you two were going at it, I figure he probably will be giving you some leeway." "... do you really think so?" "He asked about my size. I don't think he cares." She laughs at that, rubbing the last of her tears away. "Even if he did, I wouldn't care. Let the nobles talk, it won't change anything. I have here, in my hooves, the single most valuable possession in the world. A loving wife. And no sneaky elitist or pompous noble will ever be able to take that away from me. So no more tears, okay?" "Okay," she nods, looking back to me. We share another hug before sharing a quick kiss. As much as I'd like to take things further we have to get going soon if we're going to catch the train to Canterlot. I can tell that she's still deeply disturbed by everything, but she's masking it all away. Clean coat, flowing mane, subtle amounts of makeup to make her face really shine, and she's Fleur De Lis; super model extraordinaire. I hate seeing her put this mask on but I'll have to deal with it later. We have to get going now. We rush out of the estate and have our carriage driver rush us to the train station. From there our personal body guards push through the haze of paparazzi and we catch the first train to Ponyville. We have to make it out of the city limits for them to finally back off. This was to be expected though. Fleur had a catalog for some summer wear come out a few days ago, so it's going to be a little chaotic for the next few weeks. But, we've dealt with it before, and we'll make it through again. With the paparazzi off our hides, we head down to the food cart to get a late breakfast. We have to deal with a few fans and what have you, but we eventually get two seconds to ourselves in our cabin. "This omelet is a little spongy." Fleur says as she pokes at her food. "We can have it returned if you'd like." I tell her as I poke at my own food. To be honest, I don't really have an appetite right now either. Not with what I have on my mind. I'm sure it's the same for her. She lets out a huff and pushes her plate away from her. One of our guards takes the plate away while another offers her some more water. "Let's just get ready for this meeting. Do we have copies of last years fiscal report?" she asks with a flat look. I sigh and pull out my briefcase, looking over my files. "Last years and the year prior." "Manifest reports?" "Yup." "Asset documentation?" "Hmm... seems so... nope. We don't have any documentation on our newest vessel-" "That's alright. The Metuendus Canis is brand new. I think we can work with that. The King did put off naming her for some time-" "And Luna did not look happy with him when he did." I chuckle when I think back to her shocked face. It's a pleasant change from her normally stoic self. "I just want to know what it means." Fleur adds, getting a nod from me. "Other than that, we should be fine. Unless he wants to read over precise, exact details." "I highly doubt that." I tell her as I sit back. Our guards take my plate away and let us have a moment to ourselves. I look out at the country side and watch the scenery go by. It's been far too long since we've escaped the city. Maybe a day out will do us some good. Maybe after this is all said and done we'll take a small trip to escape for a bit- "The orphanage in Ponyville is suppose to be one of the best." Fleur comments, breaking my train of thought. "I hear they somehow got sponsored so they could take in ponies from all over Equestria." "Oh... that's... good." Adoption. We've had this talk before. I don't know why, but it doesn't sit right with me. No matter how many times doctors tell me otherwise, I always hold out on adoption. I can't explain it beyond a gut feeling, but it always tells me to wait it out. As if our miracle will come someday. "Do you... do you think we could stop by... and take a look?" I don't have to be looking at her to know she's on the verge of tears right now. Every time she brings this up, things get more and more heated between us. She wants to be a mother so badly, and I can't give that to her. Today though... I don't have that feeling. It's not there for whatever reason. Maybe I've finally grown tired of waiting as well. Maybe it's time to accept that good luck can only give you so much. "Fancy?" "After our meeting we can... we can take a look around." I tell her quietly. She doesn't respond. She just looks out the window and stares at the scenery. It's like we're admitting defeat. That we're both giving up. I'm sure the colts and fillies there are wonderful, but finally accepting that we can't have our own... it's never easy. We tell ponies that we're past that point, that this doesn't bother us anymore, but it's a lie. This has always bothered us, and always will. We make it to Ponyville and begin our trek through the small town. We put on some hats and sunglasses to try and hide our faces, but that quickly backfires when we realize we're the only ponies here wearing clothing. Luckily Fleur had put on a light yellow dress, so her mark was hidden from view. Still, all of the attention was getting to be a little much, so we ducked inside the public library to lay low for a moment. "You would think with such a small town that finding a specific building would be easy." Fleur says with a huff. "Actually, the problem is that it is such a small town." I tell her as I dust my sunglasses. "Small town means more specialized stores. Instead of going to one location for shopping, you end up having to trek all over to find what you want." "Yeah, but specialization means better goods and services." We both jump slightly from the new voice. We look over in shock when we see the dragon standing by the stairway. Even stranger is that he's wearing black pants, a black shirt and a white jacket with a red scarf. Our guards move in front of us and eye the dragon cautiously as he just stands there, staring back at us. "So, here to check out a book?" "Are... are you wearing clothes?" Fleur asks out of confusion. "Yup. Made by the greatest seamstress in all of Equestria," he says proudly. We were about to question him further when a scoff from behind the dragon cut us off. "Oh please Spike! You're making me blush!" A familiar white unicorn walks out from behind him. Those purple curls seem so familiar. Where have I seen you- "Rarity!" Fleur exclaims as she trots forward to hug the mare. Rarity! That's right! The mare that was housed with Celestia! And had the rustic friends, now I remember! "Fleur darling! What are you and Fancy doing here in Ponyville?" Rarity asks in a surprised tone, sharing a hug with the mare. They exchange kisses on the cheeks before stepping away from one another. I shake my head and step up beside Fleur, putting on my best smile for the two of them. "We're here to find a gym." I tell them, getting confused looks from the two of them. "It's... a rather odd story." The two of them share a look between them before looking back to us. "Did the King send you?" Spike, the clothed dragon, asks. We look around quickly to make sure there aren't any prying ears before nodding to him. "Relax, it's safe to talk about him here." "Are you sure?" I asks cautiously, glancing towards the window quickly. "I wouldn't want somepony to get wind that we're here on his behalf." "Fancy, darling, the King lives here." Rarity tells me. Fleur and I stare at her for a moment as we try to process what she told us. We both begin to giggle at the thought of the King of Equestria living in Ponyville. Nothing against the small town! It's quaint with its rural charms and all. But... I wouldn't think this would be the place for Royalty. Especially of that level. "I know how silly that sounds, but it's true." "Rarity, dear, nothing against the King, but-" "Trust me." Spike cuts her off, raising a claw to silence her. "I've known the king for a long time now, Luna too. They chose to live here to raise their colt. They didn't want to chance him growing up like Blueblood. Nothing against Canterlot or the castle staff, but the King has a special connection here." "He has friends here." Rarity chimes in cheerfully. "Not to mention he prefers to keep a low profile, understandably. Though I do find it odd that he's requesting you, no offense." "None taken. We met him at the christening yesterday and now we're here to speak with a friend if his. Speaking of which, we have to get going if we're going to catch them in time. Where did you say this gym is?" They give us a quick description before saying goodbye. Spike and Rarity warns us that the group is a bit out there. That they're not like anything we've seen in Canterlot. We thank them, but continue on with haste. I'm a little worried about who we're about to meet, what with all the warnings. I have no reason to doubt the King, but Rarity is a friend I trust. With her warning me to be wary of them... I can't help but question what we're about to get into. I shake my head clear when we finally make it to our destination. The establishment isn't very large, but from the loud music and the sign with dumb bells on it, I can tell this is the place. We step inside and are immediately assaulted with the musky heat of sweat and hot breaths. The room is filled with various training equipment and workout mats. A couple posters cover the walls depicting various athletic topics, from Air Ball to the Wonderbolts. There are a few occupants in the room, most of which are in the back corner with the free weights. I don't get a good at them though, because a large, muscular earth pony steps in front of me. "CAN I HELP YOU!?" he yells with enough force to blow my mane back slightly. I look over to Fleur before holding my hoof out to him. "Good morning. My name is Fancy Pants and this is my wife Fleur De Lis. We're here to meet somepony." I tell him calmly. He squints his eyes at me for a moment, as if he didn't understand what I just said. "WE HAVE MEMBERSHIP PLANS FOR FAMILIES!" he bellow out at me. I cock my head in confusion as I try to process why he yelled that at me. "What? No, I don't need a membership. I need to meet somepony." I try to explain. He brings his head back for a moment as he returns to his thoughts. I really hope this isn't the pony the King sent me to meet with. I have no clue somepony like this could possibly help anypony. "Uh... well... WELCOME TO DUMBBELLS GYM! CAN I-" "CAN IT ROID RAGE!" Somepony in the back yells, getting the stallion to cringe a bit. "Come over here you two!" I glance to the stallion before inching around his massive body and walk towards the group in the back. With them in view now, I pause to steel myself before them. Most of them are ponies a few pegasi, a couple of earth ponies, even a zebra! The others though... aren't. In the back corner is a massive orc lifting large free weights. Beside him is a gorilla and two chimps doing the same. What looks to be a green diamond dog and a moose sparing with one another in front of the group. Some griffins and pegasi are with them as well, lifting weights with their wings. The group of ndividuals look well trained and toned, showcasing top physical prowess for their species. Fleur coughs to get their attention as she removes her sun hat and shades, prompting me to do the same. "I-I'm sorry to disturb you all, but-" "Wait, I know you." The cream colored unicorn mare says as she sets down her weights on the bench press. "You're Fleur De Lis, the super hot model." "Oh, thank you for that. I-" "Can I get an autograph?" she asks, having a bit of arrogance in her voice and a smug look on her face. I normally don't mind it when ponies ask her for autographs, but when ponies like her ask... It ticks me off. "Oh... of course-" "Great!" she scoots down the bench so her hind legs droop off and spreads her legs wide, showing us... everything. She levitates a marker over herself and wiggles it. "Right here, left and right tit." "Oh... my." Fleur murmurs as we stare at the unicorn before us. This... is a first. "Butterscotch, try not to whore it up too much." One of the pegasi stallions yells at her, making the others chuckle. "One of them is loving it." One of the other pegasi stallions mentions, making us look to each other. As much as I am enjoying the show, I doubt he's talking about me. "Doesn't matter, you're a Spartan, act like it!" One of the apes yells as he continues his exercise. "Nothing in the codex against asking for an autograph." The mare, Butterscotch, replies coolly as she stares at us with half lidded eyes. "Right Jonathan?" "Well.... technically there are only moral guidelines and parameters for the social conduct of on duty Spartans. Nothing specifically states direct ethics or-" "JUST SIGN THE HARLOT ALREADY!" The orc in the back yells, making the two of us jump slightly. Fleur quickly grabs the marker with her magic and signs the mares teats. The mare sits up and examines her work, scoffing smugly to herself. "E'Claire is going to flip when she sees these." "Alright, enough from you." The moose says as he ends his fight with the green diamond dog and walks over to us. "Sorry about that. She's a good pony when you get to know here. She's just a bit..." He tries to search for the right word, but loses to the mare in question. "Slutty." "Right. Anyway, I'm Private Frank Moose of the Spartan Regiment, first battalion, beserker squad. How can I help you?" I let out a sigh of relief, inwardly thanking the moose for being so civil. "We're here on behalf of the King." Every weight in the room drops as all of their eyes turn on me. A moment of silence takes over the musky room as the stare at me, making me sweat slightly. Without a word being said the other occupants of the gym vacate the building, turning the open sign over. The diamond dog rushes over to the door and starts to keep guard as the others surround us. Our own guards try to cover us, but are easily outnumbered. "U-uh-" "What did he tell you?" One of the apes asks as he bares his teeth in a snarl. I try to think of a what he told me, but it suddenly slips my mind. "U-uh... he uh... told me to tell you all... to tell you..." "Go ahead dear, just tell them what the King told you to say." Fleur tells me with a slight kick. "I... can't remember what he told me, do you remember what he told us?" I ask quickly, starting to panic. "What!? No! I thought you wrote it down!" she replies just and quickly, visibly panicking as well. "You understand that we can't let you leave until we hear that phrase, right?" One of the earth ponies tells us, making me gulp. I try to rack my brain over what he told me, but for the life of me I can't remember! "ATTENTION! CAPTAIN PRESIDING!" The Diamond Dog yells from the front door. The group immediately moves behind us and snaps to attention. I look over to see a group of five ponies walking towards us. Three pegasi, a halfling unicorn, and an earth pony. They are all clad in black armor with helmets hanging on one side and a weapon on their other. They look over the room for a moment before moving to the side as another figure moves into the building. I've seen this being before, but never thought I'd see him in the flesh. At first I thought he was just a tabloid myth, but soon it became more and more evident that he was real. The Knight of Ponyville. The Bane of Darkness. The Burning Man. The Human from the Forest. "Spartan." I mutter as he walks up to us. His armor adds to his overall stature. The large claymore resting on his back catches my attention for a moment, sparking my memory. "The King seeks a sword." The being nods to that, though his face is hidden beneath his black helmet. He looks around the room at the others, as if he's waiting for something. "Well?" His voice comes out oddly. I didn't think it's his actual voice, but rather a recording of sorts. "The King seeks a sword." "OUR ARMS, OUR MINDS, AND OUR SOULS ANSWER!" Everypony else yells back in unison. Even though I can't see his face, I can see the pride well up in the being before me. He nods a few times before looking back down to me. "We have many things to discuss." The next few minutes happen in a blur. He orders my guards to stay behind as he takes us through a secret tunnel beneath the gym. From there we go down a long narrow corridor until we end up at a stone wall. With the wave of a hand, the wall fell to reveal some work shop of sorts. It's filled with various contraptions that baffle me. He sends his guards to various places to prepare for some trip before we're finally left alone with the being. It starts out quiet as he stares at the wall of glowing windows, but eventually he mutters something and turns back to us. "You can call me Captain. For the time being my rank should suffice." "Of course. I'm Fancy Pants and this is my wife Fleur De Lis." I inform him with a slight bow. "Greetings." Fleur adds with a bow of her own. "We don't have a lot of time. I have a mission to run and we're leaving later today for it. So excuse me while I cut to the chase." I remain quiet, waiting for him to continue. "Everything we talk about right now stays between us. I don't care if someone is sawing off your spouses horn or burning your flesh. If you speak out, the King will deny everything you say and we will hunt you down. Understand?" "We would never speak out against the crown." Fleur tells him confidently, giving me an edge of courage. "You have our word, nothing said or done here will be leaked. Now, what is it you wish to discuss with us?" I ask, standing a bit taller and sounding more confident. The being looks between the two of us before nodding. "Good. War is coming, or so the King believes. As of right now Equestria would be conquered within a few days by almost any opposing nation. The king has realized this now,and seeks to gather arms. But, he can't do that without gaining attention from the world stage. So, that's where you two come in." "Us? We trade merchandise and ferry goods. We're no armorers." I tell him. "That's not what we're looking for. Your company has the largest fleet of air and sea vessels in the world. The King wants you to arm up those vessels to make them war ready." "Equestria wants to take our fleet and arm them? I don't-" "No no. You will arm your fleet. You will pay for every upgrade, weapon, and enchantment you put on your ships." I blanch at the idea of upgrading our entire fleet to be war ready. I can't even fathom how much that would cost. I don't know if we'd be able to even accomplish such feat. "If Equestria were to start mobilizing a military fleet, the world would turn on you guys instantly. But, something we learned from the goblins, is that the private sector is not under such scrutiny. The idea is that you get your fleet ready for way, so that if it happens the Equestrian government would lease the ships from you to fight the war." "If?" I ask, looking to him in disbelief. "If!? What if there isn't a war? What then?" "Then... then you have a well armed fleet-" "If there isn't a war then we'd go bankrupt! Not to mention the losses from ending current trades routes to do the upgrades would put us in a choke hold-" "The King understands this is a lot to ask for. Your very lives could be uprooted by this. But it is necessary, trust me. I cannot guarantee that there will be an attack on Equestria, not one hundred percent-" "What percent can you give me then? Eighty?" He stays silent. "Seventy?" More silence. I glance over to Fleur before looking back to him. "Sixty?" "Try fifty. The other half being against the Soviet Bear Union." I sit down on the cold floor as I rub my eyes, letting out a long sigh of frustration. "I know, it's asking a lot." "No, no it's not asking a lot." I mutter, still rubbing my eyes. "It's asking everything. We would be stagnant during the entire down time of renovations. Not to mention the loss of business from dropping out from contracts so suddenly would blacklist us on the market. I doubt we'd be able to get half of them back afterwards. And if there isn't a war then by the time the last ship sets sail we'll be out millions! What you're asking is... is..." "What you are asking for is insurance without any form of protection on our part." Fleur finishes for me. I look to her again before nodding to the being. "Not entirely. Your King understands that the burden on your shoulders is heavy, but it's not without merit. Should the war never come and you do lose your business, we will be there for you. A home has been set aside in Mooseden for the two of you. It may not be to the standards that you are accustomed to, but it's a roof over your head and food on your table. Terradisia look after its own." I shake my head a bit from thinking over the logistics before perking up at the end part. "Terradisia?" "As of now, you two are citizens of Terradisia and will have access to all of its perks and obligations. Report to Ponyville on the first of August to finalize your documentation and to learn more about your duel citizenship. Welcome." He holds his hand out in what I assume is the human equivalent of a hoof bump. I go to return the gesture and jump when he grabs my hoof and shakes it. Must be a human thing. We let go and he moves to do the same gesture with Fleur. She takes his hand more quickly, but when she goes to pull back he holds her there. "This might sting." "Wha-" SHINK "AH! WHAT THE BUCK IS THAT!?" We both yell when he suddenly stabs something into her foreleg. A bright blue light is forced into her as he holds her there. I begin to ignite my magic to pry him off when a set of hooves grab me. I look over to see two of the armored pegasi holding me back. I try to break free from their hold, but am out numbered and out matched by them. "What did you do to me!? Answer me!" "Don't worry. It's simply a vaccine," he tells her as he pulls the strange syringe out from her foreleg. The wound only bleeds for a moment before healing up. Even for magic, that was fast. "We had the two of you scanned when you entered the gym, and you had a little something floating around in you. Nothing Terradisia hadn't already found a cure for. As a citizen, it was my duty to treat you." "How do I know you aren't lying to me?" Fleur demands as she yanks her hoof free. The two pegasi let me go, allowing me to rush to her side. Everything seems fine with her, but I still begin to usher her towards the exit. "You'll learn when you come to the meeting. Remember, the first of every month. I'm sure we'll see you two again real soon. Dash, if you could escort them out. We leave in ten." One of the pegasi that grabbed me nodded and began to lead us out of the underground workshop. Once we were out of earshot of the human, I turned my attention back to Fleur. "Are you alright Fleur?" "I'm fine, I think. It hurt like crazy when he stabbed me, but it faded quickly enough," she tells me, leaning into my slightly as we walked. "The Captain can be a bit extreme at times, but he means well." The pony, a mare apparently, tells us. "Normally in Terradisia there aren't any secrets, but with what the King is asking us, it's forcing our hooves a bit. That's why we couldn't let you become citizens immediately." "I'm sorry, but your voice sounds familiar. Do I know you?" Fleur asks. I take a moment to look her over more closely. Rainbow tail, light blue fur, mare. I know a pegasis like this, but from where? "Heh, you probably know my friend Rarity more than you know me. I'm just a Spartan." Fleur and I look to each other for a moment, letting the pegasi walk on her own. "No... that couldn't be." Fleur mumbles. "I thought she was a Wonderbolt... then again, I haven't seen her with them in so long." We follow after her, trying our hardest not to barrage her with questions. The tabloids used to be filled with Rainbow Dash, but that was so long ago. How did she get caught up with this group? When we make it back to the gym we take a moment to gather our things. Ms. Dash simply waits for us to put our disguises back on before bringing us to the front door. "Look, I know what the King is asking for is crazy." Rainbow starts out, getting us to pause by the door. "But trust me, Equestria needs it. Even if nothing happens, Equestria needs to be ready for the storm ahead." "Don't you believe in Celestia?" Fleur asks, getting a confused gesture from the other mare. "Celestia has always taught that love and friendship will always prevail. You even helped teach that lesson! How could you be getting ready for war like this? Have you forgotten everything you've learned already?" The mare stares at her for a moment. I don't know if she was just thinking over her response or if she was trying to figure something out, but all she did in the end was chuckle. "Love and friendship. Yeah, I believe in those still, trust me on that. But, there's more to the lessons than the answers. I've learned that now. If you want to know more, then come to the meeting next month and ask the Captain yourself." "The... Captain?" "Who better to teach on harmony, than the guy who perfected it. I have to get going now, please consider everything said here today. Bye." Before we could ask anything further, she turned and trotted her way back inside. We both stood there for a moment in some sort of shock. I didn't know what to expect from this meeting. But this... this was something on a completely new level of odd. Even though it was barely eleven in the morning, the both of us were beyond tired. We immediately made a beeline to the train station and boarded the first ride to Canterlot. In our private car, the two of us shared a seat together, Fleur laying against my side as we softly nuzzled one another. We wanted to take a break, but the day was still ahead of us. Fleur had a photo shoot to attend, I had several meetings to attend, not to mention I should at least get some perspective on the cost to do what the King has asked. "We forgot to go to the orphanage." Fleur mumbles quietly, bring my attention back to her. "Oh... so we did." I mumbled back, still lost in thought. "That's probably for the best. We both have too much to do this week." She sounds so distant. So... lost. It breaks my heart to see her like this. I frown for a moment before I get an idea. If there is one thing I know that will cheer her up, it's... that. "You know, there's a small town nestled in the valley before Canterlot along the way that is supposed to have the finest bed and breakfast in Equestria." I tell her quietly, trying to sound as enticing as possible. She doesn't respond, so I continue. "I hear they have a... public tea room." Her ears perk up, instantly telling me she remembers our little mishap at the last bed and breakfast. "We could escape for the day, send one of the guards ahead to reschedule." "I don't know Fancy. I'm not quite in the mood for a rutting-" "*fake gasp* Mrs. Fleur De Lis! I simply wish to partake in some of Equestria's finest teas! You know how much I love the feeling of some hot tea running down my tongue, the way it burns and cools in all the right ways." She giggles at me, blushing ever so slightly. I lean in and start to nibble on her ear, getting her to sigh in relaxation. "Just a day trip to escape, just the two of us, no worries. Nopony else." "Maybe we should save it for later. You know my heat is coming soon." She's trying to be reasonable, but I'll have none of that. I move down to her neck and start to peck and nibble at it, making her coo softly. "I don't know, tea sounds great right about now. What do you say? A little sip and bite as we play hook-y for a day?" I ask, moving back to her face. She thinks about it for a second before smiling and kissing me on the lips. "No. I want to gulp and gobble while we play hide the flank in the curtain again-" "You naughty filly!" I growl as I move to kiss her neck more roughly, getting her to gasp out a laugh. Business can wait until my wife is back to her cheerful self again. Perspective: Spike It takes a bit to separate myself from Rarity, but eventually I manage to do so. Kisses, hugs and plenty of promises of returning have stalled me long enough. My flight to Miles' shed went by quicker than usual for some reason. I am nervous to be going back to the Badlands, but it didn't really hit me like this before. I knew well before that would be going there, and not just because Miles asked me to do so. I've known I'd have to return there ever since I met her. I guess I just didn't realize I would be returning so soon. When I made it to the shed I found it opened with Dad waiting there. We shared a quick nod before he lead me down below. I guess he knows something’s up. He can always read me so quickly, as if he has some minor Pinkie Sense with me. It has to be on that level. If our poker games are anything to go by at least. "'Bout time you made it." Rainbow teases when we meet up with them by the computer station. "Give Rarity a good poking before you left?" "Easy Dash," Dad warns her as I try to force my blush away. "Only Twilight and I can tease him about Rarity." Gee, thanks Dad. The rest of the Spartans start to form up around the computers as Miles taps away at the screens, caught up with something. We all greet one another in various ways. Head nods, claw shakes, a few hugs here and there. It's good to see most of them outside of the training grounds after so long. Given, I only got to see them when I went to train with magic. "Everything alright Captain?" Butterscotch asks, getting Miles to shake his head. "Someone was able to make it in here today, but I have no records of them." "Someone broke in?" Tiber asks in his deep voice. "Did they take anything?" "No... no. Nothing was taken. And they didn't break in either. Whoever did this knew the password in and knew to ask Easy to erase their log commands. I only know they were here because of the command to delete their commands." He continues to swipe and poke at the screen furiously, obviously angry that someone was able to break in. "Maybe we should leave it be for now and move on to our next objective." Night Fury says, sounding rather annoyed. Miles gives a few swipes before sighing in defeat. He gives a few final pokes before bringing up a picture of the Southern Badlands. The pictures were obviously taken from the air and show the land in great detail. Miles zooms in a bit before turning to the rest of us. "Alright, this is an escort detail. Our objective: To get Spike to his liaison in the Badlands and provide a spot for retrieval. At this point, all trainees will hereby be considered full Spartans and will be providing over watch for the dragon-" "OOH-RAH!" The now Spartans cheer, bumping hooves and shaking hands with one another. "Shut the fuck up!" Miles snaps at them, quieting them, though their joy is still present. "Si Ye and Tiber, you will both be on high altitude surveillance in their own AA-20s. You will be alternating between days at your own discretion, so work something up between the two of you. Beserkers and Jumpers, you will be holding down the fort; which will now be referred to as Fort Corium Gutter. Dust and the rest of the Praenuntius will be on scav duty. Gather what you can that can be useful, but do not endanger Corium Gutter. No large scale hunting, no risky runs; you should be back before nightfall every day. Am I clear?" "Sir!" Several of the Spartans sound off. I've given up on trying to figure out all of the specialization groups. Every time I think I've learned them all, a new one pops up. I think I go to... around... ten? That sounds a bit less impressive now that I think about it. "Let me reiterate something. We're only there to provide a refuge for Spike. Under no circumstances are you to interfere with his delegations. Once there, he's on his own until he returns onto campgrounds. Understood?" "SIR!" I gulp at that. I know I have to do this on my own, but it's still daunting to think about. I just hope none of the other dragons try to burn my scarf. "At the low end, expect to be there for at least one week. That's when the moot is to begin. From there, it's unknown how long it will take before Spike can return. Because of the indigenous beings in the A.O., we're going in with the full nine yards. Two Aquilas will be deployed with you as well as six utility bots and six military bots. Twin High grades will be on stand by here should the shit hit the fan. Hopefully if we keep a low profile there shouldn't be a need for that. Understood?" "SIR!" "Alright, where are we going Spike?" Miles moves aside and every eye turns on me. Or, at least they would if it wasn't for the helmets covering their eyes. I move up to the screen and look over the map. I remember it was inland, near some really tall mountains. I press a claw closer to where I think it's at, and the picture zooms in on the location I pressed at. I few landmarks seem familiar, but not quite right. A few more presses, and I see a large cave on the side of a cliff. I stare at the cave for a moment before I feel a fire build up in my chest. Something... primal, coming out. "There. That's the cave I need to get to. You can set up fort on the north side of the mountain. It'll provide better cover for you guys." "THAT'S IT SPARTANS! I WANT TO BE OUT IN THREE MINUTES, SO MOVE YOUR ASSES!" I don't flinch when Miles starts yelling at the others. I just stare at the cave, feeling that warmth wash over me. I remember looking back at it three years ago, thinking it was the last time I'd ever see it. "Spike?" "What?" I turn away from the screen to look to Miles. He puts a hand on my shoulder and gives me a firm squeeze. "Are you alright?" "Y-yeah. Just... nervous is all." I tell him, not entirely lying. Over the years I've learned that Terradisians are simply the best liars. If you ask, they'll tell. But you have to ask. They've mastered the art of putting everything on display without having you look, and I've picked up a thing or two. "I mean, Bolas is a powerful dragon. He'll sense me before I even make it to the moot." "Good, then you won't have to wait to speak with him." Miles tells me with a smirk. "And don't be nervous. We've got your back." "I know you do, but... butterflies in my stomach, you know?" He tilts his head slightly, making me frown. "It's what you get before you perform. You know, pre-game nerves making you jittery." "... oh! Pebbles in your gullet, I've got you. Let's get going already, we don't want to keep them waiting." That's the other thing about Terradisians I've learned, they can only reference three things. Rocks, gems, and metals. Understandable for a people who were buried for over a thousand year, but... pebbles in your gullet? How did that ever become a thing? We move to the launch platform and wait alongside the others as the first set of jets get ready to take off. The walls come to life as lights appear all over. Some are to show the entire tunnel before us while others form a shield between us and the ships. Si Ye is first to go up along with the two Aquilas. Bots emerge from behind slates in the walls and run over to finish prepping the ships, moving with an eerie precision. It's like watching a ballet of bots moving gear and weapons into position. Never flinching, never budging, no matter how close they get to one another. I really need to stop going to those ballets with Rarity. They're starting to get to my head. The room suddenly fills with a loud roar as the engines burst to life, shooting out blue cones from their backs. The bots move aside and with a loud crack the two Aquilas rocket down the tunnel with tremendous speed. A moment later the large white craft zooms off after them, leaving the bots to move aside as yellow lights begins to spin on the ground. The floor rotates suddenly, setting the empty floor below and showing two more aircraft. These are the Infantry Transit Aircraft, or I.T.A. for short. The illogical boxy aircraft that ferry the Spartans as well as other materials. The shields stay up as the bots run to prep the ships, but it only takes a minute or two. Once the shields drop, we run over to the ships and quickly take our seats, having bots strap us in. "Nervous?" High Flyer yells over the din of the engines. I shake my head at him, making him laugh at me. "Don't worry about it, if you fall out I'll get you!" "Thanks High." I yell back dryly, making him laugh some more. The doors suddenly slide forward and lock us inside. My shut my eyes as the red lights flick on, telling us to get ready for take off. I've never flown like this before, and it's taking its toll on my nerves. "Wh-" BOOOOOOOOOOOM I slam into the back of my seat as we take off. My seat shakes as I feel the vehicle lift ever so slightly off the ground. A few of the other Spartans yell and cheer on the craft, some even edging it to go faster. I just grip the shoulder bars and wait for it to end finally. Of course, that doesn't come easily. Without warning the ship pulls back and starts to gain altitude. Luckily, something about the ship keeps my ears from exploding. But that doesn't stop me from being plastered in my seat. It takes a few minutes, but eventually the force subsides and the light turns from red to green. I melt in my seat as I let out a long breath. "You alive Spike?" Storm asks from my side. "Next time... I'm walking." Everyone laughs at that. I just catch my breath and try to keep the contents in my stomach within myself. I doubt Miles would appreciate molten gems in his ship. "We have a few hours before we make it there, try and rest up." I nod to Dad and close my eyes, still trying to catch my breath. "Anything you want to tells us about your liaison?" Miles asks. I look to him for a moment before resting my head back. "Whatever she does, whatever she says, don't shoot her." They all go quiet when I say that. I know it's a bit of a surprise, but I didn't think it would garner complete silence. Honestly, I thought there would be a lot of teasing. The next few hours go by both quickly and slowly. It only takes us four hours to get there, but it might as well have been four years to me. I kept quiet the entire trip. I think everyone understood that I was freaking out over this. More so than they could ever imagine. After what happened after Discord altered my mind, seeing her again is going to be difficult. She was there for me, somehow understanding what happened without needing prompting. But... we have a lot of unfinished business to attend to. This moot will work perfectly for me in that regard. Assuming I can get her to talk about it. When the lights finally turn back to red, I steel myself for what's to come. The descent goes easily enough, much more smoothly than the take off. The Spartans go quiet for the descent, becoming serious as the job comes to them. The jets outside roar as we near the ground, sending violent quakes through each of our seats. The ship veers to the left and goes in a large circular motion as it continues down. I glance to the others as they hold onto their seats, unfazed by the rigorous landing. Seeing them so calm helps me relax a bit, knowing that they have my back during this means a lot to me. The red lights go out and the doors slide forward as the shoulder bars fling up. Without a word being said the Spartans move out of the vessel, having their weapons drawn at the ready. I take a few breaths before standing up and walking after them. The sun light blinds me for a second before my eyes quickly adjust to it. We're not on the side of the mountain like discussed. Instead we're on the flat plateau just below the cliff side of the large mountain. The two I.T.As and two Aquilas have landed to form a impromptu barrier with the rest of the plain. The Spartans have moved to the edges to check if the coast is clear while the bots frantically move to unload the ships. I move around the ship and stop beside Miles as we stare out at the Badlands together. The landscape goes out for a distance before meeting another mountain range. Just below them is a large lake that has hundreds of various wildlife at its edge. Our left view is obscured with wild plant life that has rambled over itself into a practical wall while our left is a massive rocky plains. Spots of golden yellow grasses fill the bland landscape. There are several spots where there were obvious fires with burn lines connecting them. I look up at the blue sky and note the last two aircraft circling over us, like vulture over its dying prey. "Welcome back Spike." Miles mutters to me. "Yeah." He gives me a pat on the shoulder before turning back to the formation, yelling at the others to begin making camp. I close my eyes and listen to my surroundings. I can hear the Spartans start to magic up a camp while shouting orders to each other. In the distance I can hear the wildlife stampeding together, sounding as if they are running away from us. A sharp crack catches my attention. It's the kind of crack you get when you smash two rocks together. It happens a few more times, forcing me to look in their direction. A few slates of rock have broken off from the entrance of the cave on the cliff side. I stare at it for a moment before I notice the steam coming from the top of the cave. "GET DOWN!" I yell before a deafening roar fills the air. All of the Spartans and bots point their weapons at the entrance of the cave as the air goes quiet again. The smoke coming from the cave intensifies as the ground begins to shake. Everyone spreads out as we wait for the inevitable to happen. "MAL SAHLOJOOR!" The air heats up as the deep intimidating voice erupts from the cave. I glance to the other Spartans, who start to take cover, when another loud boom fills the air. "Monah." I mutter to myself. Before I could do anything further, a massive dragon launches itself from the cave entrance. It takes to the air with ease and circles around our position, roaring back down at us. It's light purple scales reflect the sunlight while its light pink undertone shine through the bright haze. Everyone starts yelling to each other as they keep their weapons trained on the large elder dragon above. "PUT YOUR WEAPONS DOWN! THAT'S WHO I'M MEETING, PUT THEM DOWN!" I rush to the others and start to force their weapons down, but they only listen when Miles gives the order. "Zeik?" I look back to the dragon as it lands nearby, lowering her head to look down at me. I walk closer to her, looking up to her massive pale pink eyes with a smile. "Zeik? Los tol hi?" "Hey Mom, long time no see." Chapter 220 NeighborsChapter 220 Neighbors A tense moment falls between the Spartans and my mother. They don't seem to know what to do with the information I just dropped. Understandably, of course. I sigh and step closer to my mother, resting my forehead against her large snout as I press a claw against her. Her hum echoes through the air, almost lulling me to sleep. It's a sound I can only relate to from early on. Back from when I was just an egg. I hear the Spartans behind me begin to shuffle, but I hold onto the moment a bit longer. It's not one I get to enjoy often. "Spike?" Storm mutters as he steps closer. I sigh again, this isn't going to be easy. Maybe for now it will be, but I know the fall back with Twilight will be huge. "Everyone, this is my mother, Barb." I tell them as I turn back to face them. Even with their helmets, I can see the conflicted thoughts in all of them. "Mother, these are the Spartans... er, try to keep it in common though." "... of course... eh... good meetings," she replies, taking a moment to think of the words to say. "Eeeh, who are... mmm... St-storm?" Dad looks to the others for a moment before stepping forward, removing his helmet to look up at my mother. She leans forward and tilts her head to get a better look at him. He stands his ground, outwardly appearing confident. I'm sure he's at least a bit nervous, if not confused. "Hello... I'm Storm Cloud. I...uh... I'm Spikes adopted father," he tells her, glancing to me for a moment. "Do rahlo. Well met. Ehhh...forgive me, my uh...many feelings... fail me." "I understand. I... too have mixed feelings right now." I look away from him for a moment. Here it comes. "Suns end is coming. I... mmm... go to rest. The beast will rise soon... we shall, ehh.... speak soon. Aal fil aak hi." With that she turns to nuzzle me. Being much larger than me, she practically knocks me over in the gesture. I return it, but it's short lived. She quickly pulls away though, giving a powerful flap of her wings to take to the air. Just as quickly as she appeared, she dives back into her cave. I let out a slow breath as I stare back at the cave entrance, knowing why she acted so. "You alright Spike?" Miles asks when he walks up beside me, setting a hand on my shoulder. I look to him for a moment before nodding to him. He squeezes my shoulder for a moment before turning to the others. He begins to yell at them to get camp ready, giving precise orders that they follow through with. I just move outside the perimeter and sit against one of the aircraft, looking up at the cave. I grasp the ground beneath me as I think back to my time here. It wasn't bad, but it did bring up a lot of new emotions. Things that I never thought I'd have to face before. After an unknown amount of time Dad comes over and sits beside me. He doesn't say anything at first, just sitting there with his helmet off. I don't really know where to start. How do you tell your adopted father that you found your biological parent. It's part of why I didn't move with them to Canterlot. If I stayed around them for too long, it would have been brought up. I didn't want to hurt Twilight like that. Given, this will probably hurt more now than before. "So," Storm starts, looking up at the cave thoughtfully. "Barb." "Yeah..." I stay quiet, not knowing where to go with that. "Not the most social dragon, is she?" His question comes out more like a statement. He sounds neutral as well, not mad, but not happy either. "She became a recluse when... things happened." I tell him, bringing my knees to my chest and wrapping my arms around them. I've heard her story before, and I don't like dwelling on it too much. "I see. Look Spike, you know there's nothing you have to hide from me. I'm an open book. If you don't want to talk about it, then that's okay. But I'll be here when you want to, Twilight as well-" "It's not that I want to keep this bottled up. It's... well, part of it is that it's not my story to tell. This is her story, and she should be the one to tell it. But, at the same time you two are still my parents. You both raised me, you should hear what happened to her and myself. I just... don't know how to bring it up without... I don't... it's-" "Spike," he cuts me off, resting a wing on my shoulder. Well... lower back, but it's the thought that counts. "You want to hear what I think you should do?" "Yeah." "Go to her, talk to her and see if she's okay with speaking with us in person. If not, ask for permission to tell her story. If she says no, then we'll respect her decision... This is a good thing Spike. Not many ponies, or dragons in this case, get their parents back-" "You did." He stops and smiles at that, nodding along with me. "Yeah... I did. I guess it's a family thing then, huh?" He gives me a slight nudge, making me smile slightly. "Go, stay, do whatever you feel is right. Just remember that no matter what happens, you will always be my son." He gives me a few more nudges before standing up and putting his helmet back on. He starts to leave, but stops when I grab his tail. "Losing me wasn't a choice." I leave it at that. We stare at each other before he, leaves without another word being said. What was said was more than enough for him to understand though. I stand up and look up to the cave again. I know what I want to do. I remove my clothes and set them inside the ship before flying up to the mouth of the cave, where I stride inside confidently. Perspective: Storm Cloud I walk into the newly constructed building and make my way to the meeting room in the center of the stone building. Inside I find all of the Spartans gathered around a hologram map of the area. A few are talking to one another quietly as Miles stares at the map, a hand over his mouth as he thinks deeply about something. I make my way over to him and stand at his side, looking at the map with him. "Spike is speaking with his mother." I tell him, not getting a response from him other than him leaning over the map more. "Orders?" "Who here besides Si Ye can speak Minotaur?" he asks, avoiding my question. "I can sir." Johnathan, the barn owl griffin, says while raising a claw. "I can as well." Hunter, the zebra, adds. "Hmm... alright, slight change of plans. I'm taking Hunter, Night Fury, and Yinbei with me for a lead from Goblin country. Everyone else is to report to their post here until further notice, understood?" "SIR!" We all yell in unison. We all salute him when he goes to leave before going to our duties. I rush after him and follow after, unsure why he pulled me from the run to Minotaur country. "Miles-" "Spike will need you here, plain and simple," he cuts me off, stopping just before he enters an aircraft. "Spike is an adult Miles, he doesn't need Daddy at his side-" "No but it wouldn't hurt. Is this going to be an issue?" I hate it when he does that. When he puts the issue on me when it's clear a biased call. It's bullshit and he knows it. "No sir-" "Good. Now be a good wife and watch over my house, can you do that dear?" I huff at that and salute back to him. "Storm... look, I know-" "Permission to speak freely?" I ask, cutting him off. If it were anypony else, he'd beat the crap out of them for cutting him off. But, he lets me continue on. "You're being biased." "Well duh-" "I am your Lieutenant, and as such I should serve with you. The codex says so-" "It also says to follow through with direct orders," he cuts me off, stepping closer to impose his stature. "That rule also is in line with wartime conduct-" "Are we not at war with the Kroth that landed six years ago? We've been treating all encounters with that as such." This is a weak argument that I know he'll skirt easily, but I have to try it. He shifts slightly, eyeing me closely. "Why are you arguing with me? What's really going on?" Dammit, I thought he'd try to continue arguing. "It's... well..." Buck my ass, now I have to tell him something that I really didn't want to admit. "I... made a promise to Twilight-" "And what could be so important that it would override your duties here?" Dammit, why can't he just leave it at that! Even worse, everypony is watching us, listening closely. With a final sigh, I swallow my pride and look him straight in the eyes to tell him. "I promised her that I would attend this years Grand Galloping Gala with her-" "AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH BOOOO!" Ellzy yells endearingly, rushing over to hug me tightly. He lifts me up and gives a spin, squealing like a little filly. I groan as the others laugh at me. Yeah, he's squealing like a filly and I'm being laughed at. This is humiliating, to say the least. "What kind of dress are you going to wear?" Okay, now it just got worse. "Easy there private." Miles tells him, getting him to release me. "Is that it?" "Yeah. I've avoided it every year until now... now I have to stand at her side as her husband-" "HA!" Night Fury chokes on his laughter, pounding a hoof against a counter. "Twilight... Twilight has to... to show off her wife! HA!" Que more laughter at my expense. I take it all in stride though. Just another part of being Twilights' husband while being a Spartan. Jokes, teasing, and constant wife jokes. "SPARTANS!" Miles yells, ending all of the laughter. He holds his hands behind his back and starts to walk around the room. "I have an announcement to make. Though I wanted to keep this quiet for a bit longer, now has made itself a more... opportune time. The Spartan regiment has been formally invited to this years Grand Galloping Gala by the King and Queen of Equestria. You are all being ordered to attend as representatives of not only Terradisia, but as the Spartans! Any disorderly conduct will not be tolerated in the slightest. If I hear word of deserting, I will personally flog you in front of the towns people. You will attend in full colors, meaning a seamstress will be coming to fulfill this-" "Rarity?" I ask, getting a nod from Miles. "Like I'd trust anyone else. To summarize, you're all going to G cubed, it's mandatory. If Luna mentions your name in a negative manner, I'll kick your ass. Questions?" "... WHAT!?" The room erupts with voices. Some seem rather happy by this, while most seem beyond angered. The Berserkers seem the most upset by this though. Most of them have good reason to be though. An orc, jade hound, gorilla, and farmer at the Grand Galloping Gala. This is going to be interesting. That's not even including the others! I wonder if Twilight knows already? "ENOUGH!" Miles yells, silencing the room. "I will not tolerate this form of conduct! The next person to raise their voice will personally answer to me! AM! I! CLEAR!?" "SIR YES SIR!" We all yell. I can't help but smirk at this though. It's nice to know that I won't be the only one to suffer through this. "This goes for all Spartans, Damian included." The room goes quiet at that. Those that were smiling have stopped and are staring at Miles as if he's crazy. "But... he'll ruin my night!" Ellzy complains. "Well a nice fuck you too!" We all look back to see Damian standing in the back of the room with his signature cloak on. "I happen to be an excellent wallflower, slash mocker of posh ponies, for your information!" He sashays his way over to Miles, oblivious to the glares from Ellzy and Butterscotch. "So... mind dropping me and my group off at Moosden?" "I'll think about it. But there's one last piece of information that I nearly forgot to mention. You all get a plus one. If you're married, it has to be your wife." The room stays quiet for a moment as we all try to process what that actually entails. Twilight is already going, so who else would I bring? "You desire me to bring Azzeal to this... Galloping Gala?" Raz asks, getting a few nods from the others. I can understand the orc not wanting to subject his wife to something like this. "You want equality? It doesn't start by being scared." Miles retort, getting the orc to look down in thought. "I did not make this call without thought. There is more at stake here than just image. If Terradisia is to have a future, we need to start building relations beyond just military means. If that means we have to suffer through a dance or two, then I expect you to dance. We have a goal to achieve Spartans, and we're going to need allies if we're going to succeed. Understood?" "SIR YES SIR!" We all respond, though I doubt half of them truly understand what he's talking about. I've seen the maps, I know about the labor force at work. You can't conquer a country without support from its people. Not unless you want rebellions to start up. "Good! Now, I expect you all to hold the fort and gather as many materials as possible. At the end of the week I'll be returning to take you all to Canterlot, assuming we haven't finished by then. Make me proud Spartans, dismissed!" The others give a salute before going back to their duties. I follow Miles and the few going with him outside. I can see Damian has his band of Statera misfits still. A few new ones, but I recognize most of them. They load up onto an airship that has had a few of its weapons stripped off. Miles stops by the door and turns to me, waiting for me to say whatever it is I need to say. "Did you really need to take us from maternity leave?" I yell as the engines begin to roar to life. He reaches down and pats the side of my neck a few times before removing his helmet to look down at me. "Don't worry dragon bait, it won't be that bad here. Just remember you're an officer. Act like it. Vale." With that he gets on the ship and slides the door shut. I step back as it begins to take off, rising vertically slowly before shooting off into the air. With a sigh I turn back to the base and watch as several Spartans move about. What was that suppose to mean? I know I'm an officer! Maybe it's not translating to the others well enough? Given... I've hardly spent any time with the new recruits. I guess Miles wants me to step it up, assert my authority over them. "Dash!" I yell, getting her to fly down from her perch on a cloud. "What's up?" she asks nonchalantly. Yeah... that's a little too informal. Maybe I do need to get away from the friend zone and be more assertive... Dammit. I sound like Fluttershy now. "Storm?" "Dash, if it's just the two of us, I don't mind the informality. Until then, it's Grand Lieutenant." Maybe that's too soft? But... it's Dash. I know her well enough to be a little more lax with her. She rolls her eyes but nodds along anyway. "Alright, Grand Lieutenant, what can I help you with?" she asks, sounding neutral in her response. It's... better. Right? "I want these clouds gathered and pressed for our water reserve. Then I want you to take two other Jumpers and scout out the area directly next to us. I don't want any surprises jumping us. Got it?" She gives another salute before jumping into the air. She grabs Dust Devil and High Flyer before heading out. I look to the others before steeling myself to start taking command. It feels a bit off taking charge like this. Normally it's something Miles would do, but I guess I have to learn sometime. Perspective: Luna Mid-afternoon With a deep sigh I push my closet door open and stomp my way into my bedroom. Due to the christening I had to throw my entire sleep schedule out the window. I had to go on basically four hours of sleep for the past day and a half. So needless to say, I'm a bit tired. I march straight to my bed and drop down onto it, letting out a long breath into my pillow, warming it up immediately. It wouldn't have been as bad if Miles didn't tease me the entire time. It was fun in the moment. But being left high and dry has convinced me it was a mistake. Frustration aside, at least Celestia was willing to watch Tempestive for a bit longer. She even offered to watch him overnight, but we decided to leave that to Tempestive. I start trying to get comfortable in an attempt to fall asleep quicker. It seems the universe doesn't want me falling asleep that easily though. First the sun was in my eyes. Then, when I shut the blinds I soon realized I needed to shut the window. Then a little sliver of light got through the window and was still in my face. All I want is some sleep, is that too much to ask for? I bury my head beneath all of the pillow and blankets in a fit and try to relax. Maybe I should have just put a spell on the window instead of all of these theatrics. FLASH "Mom!?" I let out a long breath when I hear Tempestive in my closet. A long breath. "Why are you buried under all of the blankets?" "I was going to try and take a nap." I tell him as I dig myself out from the blankets to look at him. "Why aren't you at the castle with Celestia?" "Something came up and I had to come home. I think I'll take a nap too. It's been an... odd day," he tells me as he starts to head to the door. "Alright, sleep tight." I tell him as I drop my head onto the pillow and close my eyes. And to think I once complained that he napped too much. Sleep starts to work its way over me. I still fidget over little things, but I start to doze off easily enough. Just as I was about to slip out, I hear the door creak open. Being in the middle of sleep and consciousness, I don't open my eyes. Part of me hopes that he just left the door open. That hope ends when I feel the bed shift ever so slightly when Tempestive climb onto the bed. Before I could question him though he snuggles his way under my wing and curls up against my stomach. I catch my breath slightly from this. I don't know what's gotten into him. The last time we napped together was...ages ago! Not that I'm complaining though. I've missed the affection greatly. I just hope it's not because of something from his incident that's causing this. Either way, I rest my wing over him and lean down to nuzzle the top of his head slightly. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK "You have to be kidding me." I groan. Why now? Why can't I just have this? "Just ignore it, they'll come back later if it's really important." Tempestive tells me as he adjusts himself slightly. "Agreed." I reply as I continue to try and fall back to sleep. If it's really important they'll come back later. It's nap time now. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK "Miles? Luna? Tempestive, are any of you home?" My eyes snap open when I hear that voice. Maybe Tempestive- "It's Aunt Trixie!" he exclaims as he jumps up, ending any hope of napping. So much for that then. I groggily start to get out of bed, Tempestive jumping on my back before I start to walk out. Tempestive seems to have had a second wind hit him, seeing as he can't stand still. Then again, seeing his little friend after so long is probably worth getting excited for. I get to the door and open it, finding Trixie standing there with her little filly, Nightly Ruse, standing on her back. The dark purple filly with the silver mane waves enthusiastically to Tempestive, who waves back just as eagerly. "Hello Trixie, Nightly Ruse, what brings you two to Ponyville?" I ask as I move aside to let them in. Trixie steps inside, getting Nightly Ruse to jump off her back. Tempestive jumps off my back and the two of them immediately run off together. Trixie and I share a look before heading to the kitchen. If we're going to talk, I'm going to need some coffee in me. "We just finished up our contract up in Manehatten. With the next school year just around the corner, I figured Nightly would like to go to school here in Ponyville." Trixie explains as she takes a seat at the table. I start making the liquid gold and turn back to continue talking with her. "Is it that time already? It still feels like yesterday we were signing Shadow up for grade school." She nods to my statement, smiling softly. "But, why Ponyville? Wouldn't there be better job opportunities in Manehatten?" "There would have been, if the theater I was working at didn't shut down." Trixie tells me bitterly. "Not enough ponies willing to dish out for shows nowadays, so I took it as a sign to move on." "I'm sorry to hear that. Are things really that bad?" "It's not as bad as it seems," she reassures me with a wave of a hoof. "Ponies have to pay more for food, so they can't afford luxuries like magic shows or concerts. Big names like Sapphire Shores or the Wonderbolts do just fine. But us small names were barely getting by. But don't worry about us though. I have a bit saved to last us through November. And the fall Carnival is suppose to make an appearance here by then, so that'll be a nice boost." "Are they really bringing it back?" The last two years it was cancelled. They couldn't get the funding for it or something like that. "Yup! I have a friend who told me so. She even said she'd put a good word in for me to do a set while it's in the region." I nod to that, glad to see her getting some work without being run out of town. "So... is Miles home?" "... no. He's out on a mission in the Southern Badlands, as is Night Fury." I know all too well about how she feels towards my husband. At first it made me extraordinarily bitter towards the mare. But, she is only a friend to Miles, in his eyes at least. And after she had her foal she calmed down tremendously. I still have my eye on her, but I did allow her some slack. I would even go as far as to say we're friends at the moment. Though she's on very thin ice. "When are they due back? I'm sure Nightly Ruse would love to see her father again." I smell the coffee and pour myself a cup. I offer one to her, that she takes with two sugars and some cream. I prefer mine black. I enjoy the more pure coffee flavor. Every now and again I'll put some cream in it, but usually I prefer it back. "I'm not sure. Spike has to attend a dragon meeting and they're there to provide back up for him, if he needs it." I take a long whiff of my beverage before taking a sip. Nothing beats a good cup of coffee. "Hmm." She takes a sip from her mug, letting the near silence fill the room. Tempestive and Nightly are chatting up a storm at the moment. It's good to see him interacting with somepony of the opposite gender. Not that there is anything wrong with most of his friends being colts! It's just... sometimes I fear there's just too much testosterone around him. "Will Tempestive be attending this year?" "Huh?" "Ponyville Elementary, will he be attending this year?" she clarifies. I chuckle at that slightly, taking a moment to take another sip from my mug. "No, no. He's homeschooled by Miles and myself. There are some subjects that he's smarter than me at honestly. I don't think there's anything for him to learn from there." Trixie goes to say something before stopping herself. She looks away and mumbles something before taking a sip from her mug. "Is there something you wish to say?" "What? No! No, of course not!" she defends quickly, making me scowl at her. "I-it's just... that..." "Trixie." I start out slowly, setting my mug down. "You don't have to be afraid to speak freely with me. I'm not a princess here. Here we are equals. What's on your mind?" She mulls it over for a moment before sighing in defeat, setting her mug down as well. "It's just that... well... has he really learned how to make friends?" The question hits me rather oddly. I immediately went to shoot it down, but stopped when I asked myself the question. The only friends he has are the ones that come over, at least that I know of. I mean, he knows plenty of other filly and colts. But how many of them are truly his friends? He rarely goes out. If he does, it's usually with Miles or me. He has Rampant and Jet, and on occasion Nightly Ruse. But... "I can see the merit in your argument." I admit hesitantly. "... really?" Trixie asks in astonishment. "Yes, really. I am his mother, I think I'd know who his friends are. And if I can count them on my hooves and stay standing... that's a problem." Trixie nods to that and takes her mug back with a sip. "I don't think he's a recluse though. He loves interacting with others." "So I've seen. But so was Twilight before she met her friends, nothing against her of course." "No, she was reclusive introvert and was so wrapped in her studies she resorted to making paper friends. I think Tia still has a few of them actually." Trixie and I chuckle at that. "I do not wish the same fate for my son." "No, the paper cuts would be awful." Again we chuckle together. It's not that we dislike Twilight, it's simply the easiest way for us to bond. And they're only simple jesting words. Twilight is above such notions. "But... Tempestive in public school? He's a Pr... my son. We already have trouble with the vultures looming around town." "I thought the paparazzi agreed not to harass you guys here?" "Most did. On occasion we get a few stragglers that try to catch a photo of me or Miles. Most of the larger editorials won't print the picks, thinking that they are altered one way or another. Luckily Tempestive doesn't get any of the fire, but that's only because we force him to wear a vest outside... and he rarely goes outside really." "What about Shadow?" "She's been approached once. It ended with Lupus and Hati chasing some poor pony halfway to Canterlot. Though, I don't think anypony would get an answer from her anyway." I take a seat at the table and take another long drink from my mug, trying to drown out my thoughts. If only for a moment. On one hoof, we're exposing Tempestive to the world more. This is a good thing, but with it's own obvious complications. On the other, keeping him inside would only stunt his social inhibitions. As a pony who will eventually be a leader of Equestria, that is not acceptable. On the last hoof... well, the mother in me doesn't want my baby boy leaving the nest so soon. But that's me knowingly being selfish. Going to school will probably bore him to no end, but the chance to interact with ponies his own age could easily make up for that. If he were to go, it would be to make more friends. It would be obvious to everypony, Tempestive included. Would he shirk off his responsibilities because of that? I don't think so, but... how would school be for him? "Well, the deadline is a month from now." Trixie tells me as she finishes her coffee. "If it was up to me, I'd send him to school. Even if he flunked out, if he came out with at least one more friend, it would be worth it. I have to get going now, but we'll be setting up just north of you-" "Ah, our new neighbors then. I'll bring something by to welcome you to the neighborhood then!" "NIGHTLY! TIME TO GO SWEETHEART! Dinner then?" I nod to her, getting a smile in return. The two of them come down and start begging to stay longer, until we inform them of our dinner plans. With that in mind, leaving proves to be much easier. I set about making something to bring to their home for dinner, though my mind is occupied with thoughts of Tempestives future. Perspective: Spike Steam fills my vision again as another breath leaves my mothers nostrils, filling the room with a soothing warmth. She was a wreck when I first came in here. Seeing me again so soon nearly broke her again. Unlike last time though, she had fallen asleep rather than going on a rampage. Now I lay against the side of her massive head and lazily flick at the pieces of gold beneath me. Last time I was here, she was much smaller, much more frail. It's good to see her in such good condition now, or better condition at least. She begins to stir again, another bad dream easily. I look up and gently blow a low flame behind her head. I've learned it's one of her sweet spots that help calm her. It's something I share with her. It's hard to believe it was six years ago I stumbled into this very cave. Broken, crestfallen and cursed by Discord. If it had been any other cave, any other dragon, I don't think I'd be here now. But, fate had other plans. It had to be her. It took a fight and harsh words for her to realize who I was, but I guess dragons never forget their offspring. How she was able to nurse me back to sanity and lift the curse is beyond me. Maybe it's just some inherent dragon ability or something. We never had a chance to go over it properly. Given, we were only together for such a short amount of time. No where near enough to work over all of our wounds properly. It'll take time, but now that I know. Now that I have the power to, I will make this right. "You're doing it again." I perk up when I hear Dads voice. I look over to the entrance and see him standing there by himself. He doesn't have his armor nor any of his weapons. He stands there for a moment, staring back at me as if he's waiting for something. I motion for him to take a seat beside me,which he does promptly. We sit there in silence again, just like at the ship. I know he's waiting for me to respond, but I wait to do so. I don't like bringing up sour topics, especially when they're about those present in the room. But, eventually I give in. "Doing what?" I didn't mean for my question to come out so distant, but with all that's on my mind, I couldn't help it. "Thinking. You have a face when you do it. It almost looks like a scowl." he chuckles at the last part. I smirk, but it dies quickly. Mother lets out another huff, turning the room into a sauna, for Dad at least. "Remember when Rarity finally agreed to date you, you started making schemes of what to do for your first date? You went to every restaurant to question all of the chefs, authenticate their wines, test their dining etiquette-" "For a mare like Rarity, you have to-" "You even schemed to have different waiters work at other restaurants so the night would be perfect! Giving them extra training tips, magically enchanted serving trays, and even went as far as to go to the nearest metal artisan to have them polish your scales! And what happened?" "She called it off-" "She called it off!" he practically yells with a hearty chuckle and a thump on the floor. I smile at the memory of that night. Showing up at her door dressed to the nines, only to have her answer in her pink robe sneezing up a storm. All of that planning, down the drain because she went to bed with a wet mane. "We were all devastated! We wanted to go down there and drag her sorry flank down to the restaurant and force her to eat that stupid paste food! Twilight nearly popped a blood vessel because of her inconveniently getting sick! And don't even get me started on the staff! Rarity couldn't even walk down the same street without them mad dogging her! But what did you do that night?" "I brought her soup." Best date ever. Nothing over romantic. No planning or scheming. Just the two of us, a thermos of vegetable broth, and a nice novel by the fire. It could not have gone better. "You brought her soup. Spike, I wish I was half as smooth as you are. Heavens knows Twilight would appreciate it." We go quiet again, though it's a much heartier silence. Dad has that way about him. The way he tells stories, it's the best. He gets completely invested in the story, getting thrown through the loops with everypony, even when he's telling the story. Dinner is never boring if he has a story to tell. "Soup... I think they're serving soup at the fort. Want me to bring you some?" "No... thanks Dad." He gives me arm a playful punch before getting up and leaving. The steam has coated him in sweat, but he doesn't care. He just trots on, mumbling ill tidings to those that finish said soup without him. I lean back and smile from the memory. I didn't think to bring her soup, it was just a gut feeling. She was probably hungry and was in no shape to cook herself. It... just made sense to me. I didn't need to think, I just... did. "He is a good father." Mother tells me quietly, making me nod. "I know he is." She adjusts her head slightly so she can lean over and nuzzle me slightly. I lean my back into her cheek and sigh into the embrace. "Before we leave I... I would like to speak with him. If... if you are okay with that." She's trying to sound brave, but her nervousness shows easily though. I reach up and begin to scratch between two scales, getting her to sigh. "If you think you can, I'll support you...mother." She hums her response to me, letting out another vent of steam that warms the room up even further. "For now, let's rest." Author's Note Cultural Reference Guide: Equestria Cultural Reference Guide: The Orc Tribes Be sure to Join the Man of War group to catch further updates, Brony on! Chapter 221 Power In PlayChapter 221 Power In Play Perspective: Miles It took several hours of flying around the world, but we eventually made it to Minotaur air space. Having to stop by Moosden was a pain, but we did it. Sixteen hours later, here we are. I groan in my seat and nudge Night Fury, waking him up. He grunts a bit, but wakes all the same. He wakes Yinbei who in turn wakes Hunter. By the time we're all awake the ship begins to shake as we descend into the Minotaur capital, Bovia. We land just outside of the large city and wait for the I.A.T. to leave before heading towards it. The city is made up of two districts, or so it seems. The outer area seems like the common area, with large, colorful tents filling the area. The inner sanctum is made of adobe buildings with a large marble palace in the center. Everything seems built up upon itself, getting taller the closer it is to the palace. Just on the back edge of the city is a large Colosseum. Long red banners hang around the structure as it towers over the small tented district around it. It's easily the second tallest building in the city; the palace being taller. As we approach, the heat starts to settle in. As if wearing a suit of metal wasn't bad enough, the low humidity and searing sun makes me feel as if I'm standing on the sun itself. It's almost unbearable, but we all force our way through the discomfort and head towards the city in silence. A group of guards are heading our way as well, so we meet up with them half way. They're wearing loose fitting cloths of gold and red, but I can tell they have more protection underneath. They also have a white cloth wrapped around their heads and parts of their faces with black writing going over their muzzles. Each of them are armed with swords and have nose rings of gold. I only get a glimpse of them, but they're there. "Wie is jy die heilige stad te benader?" The lead one demands as they each rest their hands on their weapons. I step forward and hold out my Spartan necklace. He takes it roughly and looks it over curiously. I'm not sure he knows what it is or what it means, so I motion for Hunter to step up. "Ons het gekom om te voldoen aan met die koning. Ons Spartans." They give him a quizzical look before talking to one another. I don't understand a single thing they are talking about. They start to ask Hunter more and more questions, but it all goes over my head easily. When they finish, the lead guard hands me back the necklace and motions for us to follow after him. "What's going on Hunter?" I ask as we walk after them. "They said that they're going to take us to the palace. But if they don't recognize us, they'll execute us." "What a friendly crowd." Night remarks with a snort. "This isn't Canterlot." Yinbei retorts. "I'll watch the left flank-" "Don't worry about that." I assure him. "I've met Longhorn back at the Summit meeting, I'm sure it's hard to forget a being like me." "And if he decides he doesn't? Then what?" Night asks. "Then we do what we do best Spartan." Yin and Hunter nod along with me while Night simply shakes his head. I don't doubt that he'll try to fuck with us. But his threats are empty to us. Not to mention our transport could probably level the entire city and rescue us if the need arises. We make it to the city limits after a short time and meet up with several more guards. Seems our sudden appearance has frightened the populace a bit, understandable of course. They form a perimeter around us and continue to lead us through the city. We each keep an eye on them, watching for any sudden movements. I doubt they would try anything public, but I'm not taking any chances. Soon the sun is blocked by the various tents and tapestries hanging above us. The locals have gathered around to take a look at us, slowing our movement. Some of them are yelling while others are simply trying to push their way to see us. Oddly enough, they're almost all clothed. Robes, tunics, pants, and all sorts of body piercings are all present. It's mostly present in the women though, who all wear all black garbs that cover their entire bodies. The only thing I see from them are their eyes, and even then some of them have those covered too. The guards are doing a good job at keeping them back, but it's become much more cramped. I look to the others, who shrug, before waiting for he guards to push their way through. With our progress slowed to a near halt, I motion to the others to halt. This seems to catch the attention of those around us. They go quiet and wait for... something to happen. Do they know who we are? Or are they just interested in the foreigners? I don't think regular foreigners get a receptions like this. What's going through their heads right now? "They want you to take of your helmet." Hunter tells me quietly. "Why?" I ask not so quietly. "It's... complicated. Basically, they want to know if you're the demi god of Equestria." At this point we're stopped completely. The guards are trying their hardest to keep the crowd back, but it's a losing battle. "The what?" I turn around quickly, but stop when the crowd gasps. I freeze for a moment when I realize they're all staring at me, watching my every move. They've stopped trying to get to me and just stand there now, waiting. "Well, word has traveled about you Captain. They know you as 'Man Van Vuur' or the Man of Fire. You know, cause of your magic and all-" "I got that bit. But what the fuck is a demi god?" "Well...it's like a god, but not a god." I just stand there and wait for him to explain further. Yinbei sighs and steps forward, removing his helmet to look at me. "It's like calling you a gun compared to a cannon. One that they worship as a... religious figure, or sorts." I try to process what he said, but it doesn't quite add up. The comparison made sense, but the worship part doesn't. Why worship me? Because I have fire sprout from myself? Do they worship dragons as well? What about volcanoes? And what does it mean to be worshiped? Am I a celebrity of sorts? This entire religious thing just doesn't make sense to me. "So why do I need to take my helmet off?" I ask cautiously, glancing to my side. The crowd is still watching me with bated breath. They're right on the edge of thunderous applause and mass murder. "I assume it's to make sure you're not some minotaur without horns. Your body build is... close?" I look back to Hunter again, unsure of what to do. "Is this a good idea?" I ask as I press a switch in my helmet, deactivating it. Everything goes dark and I feel the bottom grips loosen. "Probably not. But we don't really have a choice." Night tells me. I hesitate for a moment before lifting my helmet off. I look around and wait for... whatever religious people do in a moment like this. ... ... ... "So... what now?" I ask as I look over the stunned crowd. They're just staring at me. No yelling, no gestures, just... stares. "I guess we should just-" "You!" We all turn to the front as an elder minotaur pushes his way forward. He has a thin, frail body with loose red robes. One of his horns is really long with a few holes bore into it while the other one has been snapped in half some time ago. The guards stop him but keeps trying to get to us; waving his walking stick defiantly. "You!" "Old timer." I call back as I approach him. The guards look to each other before allowing the old man through. He steps up to me briskly and jabs me with his stick a few times. "Black as the heart of devils! Known by all for his sins! Have you any shame!? Have you any honor!?" he demands, jabbing me with the stick each time. I let it bounce off my armor harmlessly, a little confused. I don't really get what he's talking about, but at least he speaks common. "Um... what are you talking about?" WHACK If it weren't for the armor that probably would have hurt. The crowd gasps and backs away as the guard rush to the old man and force him to his knees. The crowd starts to panic as one of the guards pulls out his sword and sets it on the back of his neck. "Whoa wait-" THUNK With a heavy blow the guard buries the blade into the back of his neck. The other one holds the horn up as he hacks away at the bleeding wound. Blood pours out rapidly when the head finally falls off, pooling at my feet. I look up to the guards and try to process what just happened. "... WHAT THE FUCK!?" I demand as I rush up to the guard and push him back. He yells something at me and dismisses me with a wave of my hand. I reach for my pistol to shoot the fucker in the back when someone grabs my hand over my weapon. I look back at Yinbei and try to pry my hand free, but he won't let me. "Don't add to it," he tells me sullenly. "We don't need to add more bodies to the fires, just let it go... sir." "They just beheaded a man-" "That attacked a demi god." Night cuts me off, stepping to the side of the corpse. Hunter joins him there and looks over the body. "We should get going. I'm pretty sure things are about to get ugly around here." The crowd starts to gain volume as minotaurs start to yell. Some are yelling at us and the guards while others are actually cheering. I don't understand, why would they cheer for this? He was an old man! He didn't hurt anyone! Yeah he hit me with a stick, but it's a fucking stick! That shouldn't garner death! "Captain, we should get going." "What the fuck!" I yell out, pulling myself free from Yinbei's grasp. I take a moment to look over the crowd again as they begin to chant something. They're fucking chanting! Why the fuck are they chanting!? How... what... I can't make sense of this! "Captain-" "Let's go already!" I yell back to them, done with this area. "We'll talk about it later. Right now I want to get as far away from... this, as possible!" I have to leave. I'll... I don't know what will happen if I stay here. I put my helmet back on and start to force my way to the palace. The guards lead the way, pushing yelling minotaurs out of the way. I didn't look back at the old man. I couldn't. Once we make it past the crowd we pick up speed getting to the palace. We have a few run ins with locals, but nothing like before. I keep eyeing the guard that beheaded the old man from before. He doesn't even care about what he did. It's just another part of the job... part of the job... "You don't hesitate! You don't falter! We are Spartans! We are effective killing machines! Humanity survives by the sacrifices of our morality! KILL! KILL! KILL!" "Captain?" I blink a few times and look over to Hunter. "You alright?" "What?" "I mean, I know you've been through some shit, but that was a civilian. It's... different." He shrugs and looks away, slowing down slightly. "I've seen an orc rip an ape apart before." Yinbei chimes in, gaining our attention. "Back when the Braves of my village were out fighting in the Southern Cliffs. At least his death was quick." "It's different when it's another race killing." Night adds. "You could just blame them for being of a different culture. But, this was different-" "It'll be best to forget this." I cut him off, returning my attention to the guards before me. "There isn't anything we can do about it now anyway. Whatever morality you come to won't change what you've seen. He's dead, that guard is a dick, and that's how it is." "... so... life goes on?" We all pause and look back at Hunter. Once again, his impeccable timing for terrible humor strikes. He shies away from us before we continue on. Am I alright? Not even close. I'm pissed beyond belief over something I don't understand in the slightest. But, as I said before, there isn't really anything I can do. Nothing that won't add to the problem at least. I just need to get this over with and get back to base so I can work out my frustration one way or another. We weave our way through the rest of the tented and stone city until we come to a tall marble wall with a golden gate. The gate itself has intricate etchings in it while the walls are covered in various purple symbols. Two guards stand by the gate. They don't wear armor though, having intricate purple markings markings over their muscular bodies instead. They're staring forward and are posed in a manner that seems to have them constantly flexing. The dick guard kneels before them and tells them something that I don't understand. They don't respond to him directly, rather moving out of our way and returning to their stances. The gate opens a moment later and the guards move aside, motioning for us to enter. The interiorcomplex reminds me of the gardens back in Canterlot. Lush green plants and a wide array of colorful flowers fill the open area as a gentle stream works its way through the center of the landscape; obviously a run off from the main river nearby. The overall impression is relaxed, yet privileged. A paradise right in the middle of the desert. The only people I see are a group of women a bit further in. They're wearing thin garments that hang loosely around their frames, yet somehow accentuating their features. In stark contrast to the people outside, their clothing is made to be appealing to their form, rather than hiding it. They also don't wear the face covering either. I look around again and confirm that there isn't anyone else here, so I start to walk towards them. "Captain, what are you doing?" Hunter asks worriedly as the three of them follow after me. "Do you see anyone else around here?" I retort, gaining their attention. They gasp at my appearance but don't run. They do huddle closer together though, whispering to one another quietly. "Excuse me, do any of you speak common?" "Captain-" "I do." One of them says in a... somewhat sensual tone. Her cloths are light pink and... don't really cover much. Huh, I almost forgot what breast looked like when they're on the chest... and that they could get that size. The other two giggle at this, whispering to each other again while eyeing me. "How may I serve you?" "Captain I really think-" "I'm looking for Longhorn, where can I find him?" The women minotaur lets out a snide chuckle before stepping closer to me, running a finger down the front of my armor. "If you follow me, I can show you the way." She's speaking in that lustful tone again. She can't actually be attracted to me... can she? "Lead on then-" "She's a concubine Captain!" Hunter practically yells out. The three of them laugh again while I just stare at her. "She's a whore for the King and guest of the palace!" "Is that true?" I ask her, making her look down with a coy smile. Oh sweet Barbra, it is true! She's a... And she... And I... Luna is going to kill me. "So, I'll ask again: How may I serve you?" she asks in her husky tone, sneaking a hand behind her self. A moment later her 'shirt' -more like a thin lace that she laid on top of her chest- comes falling down, blowing away in the wind. I've never been more glad to be covered in metal with my head in a bucket. "Sappige Pruim, enough." I look to the right to see some guy walking towards us. He's wearing a purple and gold robe and is much slimmer than the average minotuar, almost being my size. His horns have been removed and smoothed out on either side of his head while a golden ring hangs from his nose. He carries himself in a proud manner, nearly bordering that arrogant area like Blueblood, but not quite there yet. "Aww, Nederige Navolger, we were just about to show our guest to the lounging area. Perhaps you would care to join us?" Sappige asks in a playful manner, teasing Nedgerige obviously. He keeps his cool and looks to address me, eyeing me closely first. "I am Nederige Navolger, head assistant to his grace Longhorn. How may a address you?" "I'm Miles Eremita, Captain of the Spartan regiment. I'm here on behalf of the Summit meeting to investigate a possible lead. We need to speak with Longhorn." To add to my statement I remove my helmet, showing I'm not one of them. The three women show their surprise easily, but Nederige keeps his cool. "I apologize, but he is not here. He left a few weeks ago on a business trip." "Do you know where he went? It's urgent that we speak with him." "I'm sorry, but I don't. I'm only in charge of the grounds and palace staff. Any that would know his location sadly left with him on this trip. Until he returns, we have no knowledge of his where-abouts." "And it's been so lonely since he's left." Sappige moans, moving to hug my free arm. I cough as I try to pull my arm out from between her breast, but she has a grip on- NO! DON'T! Bad husband! Just, no! "Sappige." Naderige complains, but is ignored. I look to the others for help, but see they're complacent in chuckling at my discomfort. "With the Longhorn gone, I've spent many a nights alone, with no one to warm my bed." She tells me, moving a hand to play with my hair. "Take a whack at Naderige, I'm spoken for." I tell her as I try to pull free again. She scoffs but doesn't answer immediately. "He... can't. None of the servants may touch me. I am for the king and his guest. I live to serve his needs, and to please his guest." She loses her edge when she says this. It sounds rehearsed and mournful. I look at Naderige and stare at his blank face, quickly coming to the obvious conclusion. "No Captain." Yinbei drones. "What?" I ask defensively. "It's really obvious what you're about to do, so don't do it." Hunter tells me. "I was just going to- MMM! MMMM!" Yinbei lurches forward and covers my mouth with his giant hands. I try to yell at him, but his grip muffles my voice too much. "If it'll please you, I may bring you to the guest quarters and you may rest for the rest of your stay. They nearest official who can receive you is three days away." Naderige tells me. I look to Yin and wait for him to release me. When he does Sappige immediately starts to drag me off into the ornate palace. "Enough about me. I want to know all about you," she tells me, squeezing my arms between her boobs. On one part I'm glad for metal armor, on th- NO! NO! NO! BAD, BAD, TERRIBLE HUSBAND! I SHOULD KICK MYSELF IN THE NUTS FOR EVEN CONSIDERING THINKING THAT! Luna is going to kill me. Perspective: Ulfric Stormmind My chambers window used to show a lush meadow leading to the Shearcliff Mountains. I used to love seeing all of the wild flowers in spring, how cubs would go out flying, running, living without worry. How the grass would wave with the wind, rolling off into the distance. The scent it would bring after a fresh downpour. I think I miss that the most. The smell of wet grass after a good, healthy rain coupled with a chilly mountain breeze. I remember the countless times I would sneak out of the city just to stride through the meadow during a downpour. The feeling of heavy raindrops hitting my pelt, and the lack of worry. Being able to walk out in the open rain without losing patches of fur, or burning your eyes. I still remember the last bloom we had, and how it burned away with the rain. I used to love the rain, but now it's become my number one enemy. An enemy that has very easily bested me, and forced my paw. Now... now I hate the rain. "Father?" I look to Korir, my eldest son, and sigh. His being here means the others have arrived. I didn't want it to come to this, but the rain has forced my paw. "Go to your brothers, wait for my return." I tell him solemnly. "Father, you don't have to do this alone. I can-" "No." I tell him firmly, getting him to stop. I sigh again as a bout of thunder rolls overhead. "It'll rain soon. About ten minutes or so. Different clouds, same pattern." "Father?" I turn to my son and set my paw on his shoulder, feeling him tense up from the contact. "Go to your brothers, I will return when the deliberations are complete. And then... and then I will explain it all there. Now go, and be sure to keep an eye on them." He nods and leaves my chambers just as another pang of thunder roars overhead. How I hate the rain now. It doesn't take me long to get to the meeting hall. By the time I get there the rain has already started to fall, filling the halls with the echoes of my lost love. I ignore it as I enter the hall to meet with my guest, and hopeful allies. Oni, leader of the Orc Tribes; Starke Herzen, leader of the Goblin Empire; Longhorn, King of the Minotaurs; and Kileh, the leader of the remaining Kroth. The four of them sit at the round table that is covered with a map of the world. They all stare silently at one another, keeping still. They're all sizing each other up, waiting for another to make the wrong move. The door echoes behind me when I shut it, but I don't gain their attention. I make my way to the last available seat and take it, looking to each of the leaders for a moment before I clear my throat to gain their attention. "I'm sure some of you are wondering why I have gathered you all here today. First let me assure you, this is suppose to be as a sign of friendship-" "Do not weaken yourself like the sun goddess has." Longhorn cuts me off, leaning back in his seat. "Friendship. The very word sickens me. It is clear why you have brought us all here. Do not attempt sully my intelligence-" "Very well then. As you all may very well know, the gears of turmoil are turning. What the future will hold, I am unsure of. Kileh and I have been formulating a plan for the past few years and have come to a conclusion: We will join forces and attack Equestria." The room goes quiet for a moment, only denied silence due to the heavy rains. Oni begins to chuckle deeply with a toothy smile. "Even your words falter Ulfric," he chuckles at me. "Attack, but not destroy. The sun goddess will not take kindly to such an act-" "That is why we plan to kill her in the initial attack." Kileh informs him smugly. Oni barks out a laugh as he stands, getting the rest of us to rise with him. "Do you really think us all fools? If the sun god dies, so do the rest of us. She is needed to keep the order of time, to progress the days. They-" "That was how things were, but no more." I inform him, staring him down firmly. He glares back evenly, unfazed by me in the slightest. Still, he returns to his seat. As do the others. I look to Kileh, who nods and stands back up. "In my short time on this planet, I have sent many scouts out into the world to bring back as much information as possible. A few have returned from the Equine lands with reports on the... 'sun god' and her actions. We believe that we can duplicate her actions, and raise the sun-" "Bah!" Oni scoffs, waving a massive hand. "Over zealous and inexperienced little bug! Do not flatter yourselves with false dreams and empty promises! There-" "Would you like a demonstration?" I ask coolly, gaining his attention. Oni stares back at me before huffing back into his seat. I nod to Kileh, who goes to a nearby window and motions out to the others. "It will be difficult with the rain, but look up at the high noon sun and watch closely." The others all gather at the windows and look up at where the sun is. The clouds there are the lightest, but still make it hard to determine exactly where the sun is. After a few moments, nothing happens. Oni starts to get antsy while Longhorn simply huffs his annoyance. Starke... stays quiet. Uncharacteristically quiet. I feared this would occur. It was a long shot, but I had to try. Maybe they would be willing to- "I don't believe it." I look over as Longhorn leans closer to the window. I follow his gaze and watch as the light patch in the sky begins to dip towards the horizon. I feel my own jaw begin to drop as I follow the lowering light. It's not moving very quickly, but it's enough to be seen by the average eye. It soon shoots right back to its original spot, but it was more than enough. "So, do you still doubt the Kroth?" kileh asks smugly, crossing his arms in triumph. The others return to their seats, lost for words. "What I have to ask of you, I do not do easily. But it is essential for the future of our people. Are you with me?" They all remain silent, eyeing each other questioningly. Even with the movement of the sun, I didn't believe they would turn in still. From here, it's up to me to convince them that we can do this. "What is your proposition?" Longhorn asks. "Kroth and Griffin forces will hit Equestria at its heart, killing all of the Alicorns and the Bearers of the Elements. When the other nations rise to rebel against us, our hope is that you will rise against them. The orcs taking the Bears in the north and the apes in the south. The Minotaurs taking the Equestrians in the middle east and the zebras in the south. And finally, the Goblins assaulting the apes north of them and the Elemental Union in the Southern Badlands. If the dragons become a problem along the way, the Kroth will be able to handle them, though some assistance will be required for any elders. Once our victory is assured in Equestria, we will deploy over the entire world until we have total control." The room goes quiet again. Each of the leaders sits back and thinks over what I've told them. I know Oni will be swayed easily. Orcs have fought for years against the bears and apes. A chance to overthrow them and regain their lost homelands would be too much to pass up for them. Even more tempting is the opportunity to strike at their backs. The bears would surely pull forces from the borders to assault our homeland, giving them a perfect time to take them down. Starke is a bit of a wild card. I know he has his eyes set on the Southern Badlands to gain a more steady supply of Elementals. The trick is getting him to also attack the Ape Empire. He really has nothing to gain from attacking them, but it is crucial that he does so. If the apes only have to worry about a single front, they will easily overtake the orcs eventually. That will halt the attack on the bears and find favor for them against us. Longhorn should be the hardest sell. The minotaurs have attacked Saddle Arabia countless times before history, but have never taken the city. And, forcing them to also attack the zebras in the south is a tall order. Other than land grabs, they really have nothing to gain from this. My hope is to appeal to his blood lust and pride to actually go through with this. It'll be difficult, but not entirely impossible. After a few moments to reflect on what I said, Oni finally speaks up. "Bolas respects one thing, and one thing only: power. He and I have an... understanding. If we can appeal to his thirst for power, we can gain him as an ally." I blink a few times as I stare back at him. It sounds like he's on board, at least in thought. "The others will not be swayed as easily." "And how do you know this?" Longhorn asks. "The cliffs of the Pit are a common nesting grounds for the dragons. We orcs know more about them and their culture than any here. Of the Elders Kiora will most likely remain neutral in any conflict outside of the oceans. In the seas... don't expect any favor. Zendikar will also more than likely remain neutral, unless the fighting takes place before him. Last I heard he was in the eastern mountains of the Ape Empire. Urza will be a problem. He has a strange fascination with Celestia, due to her connection to the sun. If she hasn't already won his favor, we must keep them separated. He's currently in the Southern Badlands attending Bolas' moot. Frost... is a wild card. He is the most open minded due to his time in Bear country. If we can call for aid due to your plight, we may gain his power. If not, then we must keep him at bay in the Frozen North. Zarek will also be problematic. He cares not for alignment, dragon or not. It'd be best to avoid him at all cost." "What sort of offering would Bolas require?" Longhorn asks, scooting forward in his seat. I mirror his movement, trying to commit what he says to memory. "One of power. All dragons are made up of two things: an emotion or element of their following, and power. The more power a dragon wields, the greater his form. Take Bolas for example. He does not have flesh. He is raw power. He will not be killed by any mortal weapon." "If that's the case, it is pivotal that we gain his favor." Kileh comments, making me think. If he requires an offering of power, what do we have to offer? Telekinetics? Perhaps the Kroth could share their power. If it comes down to sacrificial offerings, we're sore out of luck. "What say you, goblin? You've been quiet throughout this entire ordeal, surely you have something to add?" We all look Starke and wait for him to respond. He cracks his knuckles a few times as he stares back at us, weighing his options. He doesn't say anything for a long time. He just... sits there, staring back at us. When he stands the tension in the room rises drastically. What is he thinking? I could try to prod his mind, but that could have dire repercussions. He could go straight to Celestia after this, warn her of our intentions. Everything I've worked towards could be destroyed before they even begin by his actions right now. An entire war could end before it even begins. The lives of millions, lost, because of something he says or does right now. What does he have to say for himself? He doesn't speak, not right away at least. Instead he steps forward and sets three small metal cogs on the map, right in the middle of the Deep Divide; the portion between the Southern Badlands and the Goblin Empire. "It would seem my goals are obvious to the world. I'm just glad my actions are not." We all stare at him for a moment before he begins to walk away. "Does this mean you'll fight with us?" I ask as he reaches the door. He pauses at the door for a moment before looking back to us, smirking. "That all depends on whatever happens in Moosden." Perspective: Applebloom I take one last look at the cart tied behind me before trotting along the path from home, to town. Since I don't have school today, being Sunday, it's my turn to do the evening shift at the apple cart in the market. It's not a big deal anymore, but I always do enjoy haggling with ponies over prices. I guess it's just something I learned when I was a filly. Applejack should be there now with my little nephew-Apple Slice- finishing up with the evening sales. If sales were good enough, maybe I can convince her to swing by Lickety Splits to get me a shake. Here's hoping. It's a pretty nice day out actually. Maybe Soarin finally got to getting rid of those clouds from the Everfree. Not that he's bad at his job, it's just that Rainbow Dash was better at it. Given, she does it with two eyes. Either way, it's warm out with a nice cool breeze. Not a cloud in the sky today, just the way I like it. With nothing stopping or slowing me down, I make it to town pretty quickly. When I make it to the market though, I slow down when I see Applejack talking with some business pony. I slow down when I see the frustrated look on Applejacks face. She doesn't get that look often, so I know something is up. Apple Slice is crying, so I go to him to comfort him while I listen intently on what's going on. "... under joint citizenship! We don't have ta file fer imports!" Applejack yells, as if it was for the hundredth time. "I'm sorry ma'am, but the law strictly dictates that all imports from other nations must pay all tariffs and undergo all slating processes for foreign pests-" "WE'RE IN EQUESTRIA! What vermin are we gonna have that ain't already here!?" She yells again, rubbing her face while sighing. "I understand that, but the law is very clear in these things. You will have to pay the penalties if you wish to continue trading with Equestria-" "Why would Ah have ta pay to trade on my front lawn!?" she yells in desperation. "And undergo a government audit to assess the total amount owed from previous trading deals within Equestrian borders-" "Are ya even listening ta me? Ah already told ya we don't have ta file fer this fancy smancy crap cause we're joint citizens!" "And I've already told you that I'm simply an auditor. If you wish to file a complaint you'll have to go to the local government authorities and fill the correct paperwork. Until then we ask that you cease and desist any further transactions until you comply with all trading regulations and pay all fines-" "WHERE AM AH GONNA GET TWO BILLION BITS!?" Applejack yells, making me nearly drop Apple Slice. Two billion bits!? How is that even possible!? We don't even make a tenth of that in a year! "I'm sorry, but that is not my concern." The business pony says before he closes up his brief case. "My advice would be to file chapter seven and liquidate your assets-" "AH AIN'T SELLIN MAH FARM!" Applejack yells as she takes an aggressive step towards the smaller pony. He doesn't seem to care that she's about to buck him back to Canterlot, but Apple Slice is starting to get scared. "Applejack!" I yell out, trying to gain her attention. She glares at the pony before her before he simply nods goodbye and takes his leave. Applejack twitches a few times before cussing a bunch as she bucks the stall behind her, breaking several of the boards. Normally I would scold her for being reckless, but I can't wrap my head around the situation. How could we owe so much money? We're normally on top of things when it comes to finances. A few of the other vendors come over and try to consolidate Applejack, but she brushes them off as she starts to pack up. I walk over and try to get her attention, but she's too angry to get through to. "Applejack-" "Bucking pansy ass posh asshole! Sell mah farm! Over my dead body!" she rambles on, tossing tools into place and roughly locking up the stall. "Applejack, Sis, what's going on? Who was that?" I ask again, but am ignored as she continues to ramble to herself. "Ah aint payin ta trade in mah own backyard, he can count on that! Tariffs! Tariffs mah ass! Stupid colt cuddling bureaucrat!" I finally get fed up of being ignored and shove her a bit, finally getting her attention. "Applejack! What is going on!?" I yell at her as I try to comfort Apple Slice as he cries his heart out. Applejack lets out a sigh as she takes him and starts to comfort him. She doesn't answer me, but I wait until my little nephew is consoled before trying again. "Sis, who was that? What does he mean we're being audited? What's going on?" "*sigh* ya know how we're technically Terradisian and Equestrian?" she asks quietly, gently rocking Apple Slice back and forth. "Yeah, what about it?" I ask cautiously. The other vendors that had come to try and calm Aj down leave to give us our privacy, offering their condolences as they go. "According ta... that pony, we're strictly Terradisian. Which means that we should have been paying taxes on every sale within Equestria. That and we are being fined for not meeting international IPM regulations, so we're being fined for that as well. The reason it cost so much is because of the inflation taking place in the Griffin Colonies, due to the acid rains there. They're marking us for the past six years for everything! From the Cider ta apples, everything!" "What did he mean chapter seven? What is that? Why would we have to sell the farm-" "We're not sellin the farm!" she cuts me off firmly, pushing her stetson back to look me in the eye. "Chapter seven is bankruptcy. It basically is when you tell the government that you can't pay yer debts. There's more to it, but we'll go over them later. Fer now, let's just pack up and go home, okay?" I gulp and nod along with her. I get what she's saying, but it's not making sense. Why are we suddenly being fined like this? Are we going to be able to make any more sales? What about Zap Apple season? It's just around the corner, are we going to be able to sell our preserves? What's going on? Chapter 222 Power SpeaksChapter 222 Power Speaks Perspective: Spike It's almost time to leave for the moot, and I'm starting to get nervous. I know I'll have my mother there to watch my back, and having the Spartans nearby helps as well. But it's going to be tough facing the hordes again. Last time... last time wasn't good. I don't want to repeat what I did last time. Given, I was under Discords influence the last time I was here, so I'll be completely in control this time around. Facing what I ran away from will be tough, but I have to do it. I have to redeem my Dragon Honor. "You remember the signal if you need help?" Storm asks me. We're in the barracks of Fort Corium Gutter. I'm taking my clothes and storing them in one of the cots here. No point in bringing them, they'll only burn up with all of the other dragons there. And I'm sure Rarity would absolutely hate that. "Fly up and make a ball of fire, I remember Dad." I tell him for the tenth time as I pull my shirt off and fold it up nicely. "Right. And your queue to check in?" He's starting to pace around again. He does this every time he starts to get worked up about something. "Fly up and shoot and arc of lightning straight up into the air-" "Right. And if-" "Dad, I know what I'm doing. Please stop worrying, you're freaking me out." I tell him as I drop my pants and begin to fold them. It feels odd being nearly nude. Half of my mind is telling me to put my clothes back on for modesty, while the other half of telling me the exact opposite. Obviously in this situation, I'm going to pick the latter. It's just odd being clothed in a nude society. Dad stops pacing around comes back to my side. "I'm not worried-" a lie. "-I'm just checking to make sure that you know what to do if something goes wrong. We can't help you if you don't give us the queues to help." He tell me as he takes a seat before me. "I know. But don't worry about me. I'll be fine." I know telling him that won't do much for his nerves, but I have to say something. In all honesty, I'm probably going to be pretty safe there. I doubt many will want to mess with me after what I did there. "Well... I guess it's time." "I really wish there was a way we could shadow you. I don't like the idea of sending you there alone-" "I won't be alone. My mother will be there as well. It's not like she hasn't watched over me before." Storm closes his mouth and looks up to me, unsure of what to say. I sigh and take a seat on the cot, resting my elbows on my knees. "I... she saved me from Discords spell. If it wasn't for her... I would probably still be here. Or worse." "What happened?" Storm asks quietly. I look up and consider telling him, but a roar outside reminds me to get moving. "When I get back we'll talk, promise." I tell him as I stand up. He simply nods to me and stands up with me, offering his hoof for a shake. I stare at him for a moment before I sweep him up in a tight hug, burying my face in his neck. "Whoa! Uh... not that I'm against this, but-" "I know. I just... I..." "It's alright son." I loosen my grip on him and bury my face in his neck a bit more, trying my best to keep it together. "Everything is going to be alright. Like you said, we'll talk when you get back." I set him down and take a deep breath, steeling myself for what I'm about to endure. It's not going to be easy, but... "I'm glad you're here Dad. It means a lot to me." He nods to me, keeping quiet. I turn to the door and take one last breath before I march out the of the fort. All of the Spartans are waiting for me out front, with my mother waiting just beyond them. I go by each of them, pausing to hear their acknowledgements. Most wish me luck while others warn me to stay safe. I go through each moment blankly. I can't be Spike the Dragon for this. Not with what I did. When I approach my mother she leans over to nuzzle me slightly. I pat her snout a few times before flying up to her back. I grab a large spike and hold onto it as she prepares to take off. I look back down to the others and stare back at them. The sooner we get back, the sooner I can leave this life behind. With a mighty roar my mother takes off into the air. The fort shrinks away quickly as we gain altitude. Once we break through the cloud cover she levels off and begins to glide with the powerful air currents. With my mother flying and the wind on our back, it shouldn't take long to get there. A few hours, give or take. For the first bit of the trip I stay quiet, mentally preparing for what I have to do. I need to somehow win favor with Bolas to gain him as an ally. Or, at the least, make sure he remains neutral in any future conflict. I have to do that while trying not to elude to any probable war that might occur. Needless to say, it's not going to be easy. I know I'll have to talk about the probable war, but if I can avoid it I will. Fat chance though. "Kul." "Don't worry about me. I can handle myself." I reassure her, giving her neck a few pats. She looks back at me and narrows her eyes. "The blood is not on your claws alone," she growls to me. I sigh and look away from her. "... maybe not, but that doesn't make my claws any cleaner. Look, we can work this out later. Let's just focus on getting there and making a good impression." She glares at me for a second before returning her attention back to flying. "Very well. What do you suggest?" I can hear the irritation in her voice, but I ignore it as I think about how to approach the moot. When I finally do get an idea, an evil smirk crosses my face. "I have an idea." Five Hours Later "I do not think this is the best of ideas." Mother tells me worriedly. We're a few thousand feet above the volcano where the moot is taking place. She's hovering just above a cloud with me in her claws. "Trust me, this is going to work. Now, just like we rehearsed." She gives one final huff of annoyance before readying herself. "Are you-" "Three!" I yell, bracing myself. "Maybe we should-" "Two!" "There has to be-" "One!" "Do we have to?" "FIRE!" She hesitates for a second before taking a deep breath in and blasting a massive plume of fire towards the ground. Before the fire disappears she rear back and chucks me through the inferno. I dive through it with my wings tucked in and hold my eyes shut. Once I break through the heat I open my eyes and snap my wings wide. Below me is a massive crater filled with dragons. Most are laying around, but there are a few mulling about. There's also a large hoard of gems where most of the adolescents are located. I don't see Bolas anywhere though. With my main target out of sight, I set my eyes on whatever will make the biggest impression. KRA-BOOM With the aid of my magic, I crash into the pile of gems and create a massive explosion. Gems and young dragons go flying in a large plume of smoke all around me. I feel bad for the other dragons, but it's all part of the persona. I let out my own breath of fire around myself to keep of the smoke up. I wait a second before I hear all of the commotion beyond the smoke. Roars, yelling, pounding; yeah, I have their attention. "BOLAS!" I scream as menacingly as possible, silencing the crowd. It seems they recognize me at least. I give my wings a powerful flap and clear the smoke around myself before I start to walk out into the open. I flare my wings out and glance from side to side, waiting for Bolas to show himself. I know he will, I just need to wait a little longer. Any dragons that were near by flinch away from me. And not just the younger ones. Full grown adults back away from me with a simply glance in their direction. The adolescents hide in fear of me too. "Jerk!" I stop and look to my left. A young dragon has step forward to yell at me. She's about my size, just a tad bit shorter. I glare at her for a moment before stepping closer. She flinches away, but doesn't back down. "J-just leave us alone!" I get in her face and stare her down. She looks down and shakes in fear. I hesitate for a moment. The last time I was here, I would have crushed her for speaking out against me. This time though, I'm not that dragon. I have my mind this time. "Do yourself a favor, stay alive. Stay out of my way." She nods and steps away from me. "HOW...COLD." The ground beneath me shakes as cracks start to form in the center of the crater. I hold my ground and wait for whoever this is to appear. It's definitely not Bolas, that's for sure. The heat begins to rapidly rise as the cracks burst open. Torrents of lava spew from the ground as a massive molten arms breaks out of the ground. Mother lands behind me as a dragon claws its way out of the ground. It's massive. Whoever this is, he's are easily twice the size of mother,or any other full grown adult. His entire body looks to be made of brightly burning lave and cooled points of slag. When he finally pulls himself out and cools off completely I take a good look at him. He doesn't have wings, but the spikes on his back look to be small volcanoes that each spew black smoke. He has two horns coming off the top of his head that curve a bit before going straight back. His eyes are bright magma while his maw is molten earth. The heat from coming off from him is almost enough to make me start sweating. Many of the dragons around here are backing away from him, though the tougher ones are sticking around. "LITTLE DRAGON, SO COLD FROM HIS FLIGHT. COME TO URZA, AND BREATH IN THE FIRE." His voice sounds like it's being grated through a metal grinder. He doesn't really use his mouth to speak either. His voice just emanates from him. "Urza? Never heard of you." I tell him, crossing my arms. He chuckles at this and starts to walk around the edge of the crater, smirking to any of the dragons that are still lingering around. "NOT SURPRISING. YOU MAY NOT KNOW ME, BUT I KNOW YOU. SPIKE, SON OF-" "You don't speak of him!" Mother snaps, snarling at Urza. I glance back to her for a brief moment before returning my attention back to Urza. We can talk about that later. "HOW... COLD." I think he smiles at this, it's hard to tell when his face is made of lava. "You're the Elder of Fire, are you not?" I ask, getting his attention. "Why are you here?" He chuckles again and takes a seat. "OH, I HAVE MY REASONS. BOLAS AND I HAVE BEEN... TALKING, STUDENT OF CELESTIA." He says this... oddly. Like... the only comparison I can make is when one of the Spartans shit talk about sex and... stuff. ... I think my job just get a little easier. "SO WHAT IS THE SUN GODDESS UP TO THESE DAYS?" Okay, it just got a lot easier. I knew I was going to talk about the threat of was. But, getting a giant magma dragon as an ally will be worth it. "Worrying." I tell him casually, walking slowly to the side. If he's as obvious as I think he is, all I have to do is toy with him a bit. For once, Rarity's advice will actually pay off. "WORRYING? I FIND THAT HARD TO BELIEVE-" "Believe it! The threat of war is about to consume her land and her ponies and they're all looking to her to solve everything! She-" "CONTROLS THE SUN." He says dryly. Well, as dryly as he can at least. "NO ENEMY COULD STAND AGAINST HER. HER FIRE IS ABSOLUTE-" "It's not her fire she's worried about. I know it's strange for a dragon like you to understand, but it's the ponies she watches over that she worries about. They can't handle a war the same way she can, and she can't fight an entire war by herself. Well, not without coming into harms way-" "WHO IS THIS THREAT?" Like taking candy from a baby. "Ulf-" "ENOUGH!" The sky above me thunders when that powerful voice roars from above. The ambient energy in the area suddenly grows tremendously as dark clouds rage above the mountain top. It feels like the static electricity you get from rubbing a balloon, only a lot heavier. Another crack of energy shoots through the air before Bolas came crashing down through the cloud cover. He's roughly the same size as Urza, only skinnier. His black scales shine brilliantly as he rears up above Urza, snarling down at him. "BOLAS." Urza regards calmly. "DO NOT BE SWAYED SO EASILY URZA! KEEP YOUR LUST UNDER-" "LUST? THIS IS MORE THAN PROCREATION. THIS IS ABSOLUTION, IN ITS MOST PURE FORM." Urza tells him proudly. Every dragon here seems to roll their eyes at this. He... knows what he wants at least. I don't know what that is exactly, but I hope Celestia doesn't mind the lead on. If it's to help... I'm sure she'll take one for the team. "And I'm sure if you help protect her ponies from Ulfric, she'd absolutely love the assistance." I try to lay on the charm, but I can tell that I really don't have to try that hard. It's a bit creepy how much he wants Celestia, but at the same time I kind of get it. I mean, when a dragon really wants something, it can get to their heads a bit. "All she needs is a hero to come in and-" "ENOUGH DISILLUSIONS!" Bolas screams. "SHE WILL NEVER BE YOURS! HE'S LYING TO YOU FOR HIS OWN PERSONAL GAIN! DO NOT LET HIM-" "Is something wrong Bolas?" I ask, glancing at my claw nonchalantly. "We could settle this like last time." I ignite the magic in my claw and glance up to Bolas. He fidgets for a second. It was hard to tell, but it was there. "LOOKING FOR FOLLOWERS WITH MURDER? HOW MANY ARE YOU GOING TO KILL UNTIL-" "Don't talk back to me as if you care for the lives of those under you-" "THIRTEEN." I stop and think back to that day. I was alone, lost to the lie Discord had put on me. So I left. At first it was just home. But that wasn't enough. Then I left Equestria and wandered around the Badlands for awhile. At first it wasn't so bad, but I was alone at first. At the same time there was a moot happening nearby, Bolas's moot. A few dragons tried to approach me, for whatever reason. I never found out why though. Instantly I turned on them. They were young, barely old enough to venture from the nest. And I killed them without hesitation. My attack wasn't quiet either. Their mothers came quickly and attacked. I slaughtered them. Ripped them to shreds. In my anger and sorrow I gave in to the power and grew into the monster within me. Thirteen lives later, Bolas came. Not for their lives, but because my power was growing immensely. So we fought. It was an unstoppable force hitting an immovable object. We couldn't kill each other, but we wouldn't stop fighting either. A year later, mother finally came. She was drawn out of her seclusion because our fighting had damaged her home. Somehow, I still don't know how to this day, she got to me. She calmed me down enough to the point where I could at least end the fighting. Something she said to Bolas got his to stop as well, but I was not in any condition to understand it. She took me into her care and nurtured me back to health. She forced me to believe that I wasn't alone, that I was wanted, and broke through Discords curse. I agreed to come here for selfish reasons. To face the demons I left here, and try to connect with my people. I know it won't happen today. It will take more than a life time to earn their trust, but I have to start somewhere. I'll still try and help the Spartans, but this is more for me. "Thirteen. You don't have to remind me, I know." He scoffs and lowers himself down to eye me. I keep a strong face on as I stare him down. "WHY ARE YOU HERE? WHAT COULD YOU POSSIBLY GAIN BEING HERE?" I look around as I try to form my answer. I've dreamed about this moment for the past year, but in the moment, I'm still scared. "I'm here, because what I did was wrong. And I want to make amends for it." He blinks once, but doesn't say anything. So I continue. "Let me in so I can mend the wounds I opened." "... THOSE THAT COME TO MY MOOT MUST PRESENT AN OFFERING OF POWER. YOU MUST DO THE SAME AS WELL IF YOU WISH TO ATTEND. BUT BE WARNED. I AM ONLY ALLOWING YOU TO ATTEND TO BETTER GAUGE YOU YOUNG DRAGON. SLIP OUT OF LINE, AND I WILL DESTROY YOU. THERE WILL BE NO FURTHER DEATHS IN MY MOOT, UNDERSTOOD?" I beam at this and nod to him, getting him to rise. "AND LASTLY, YOUR OFFERING WILL BE EVALUATED BY THE OTHERS. IF THEY FEEL YOUR GIFT IS NOT SUITABLE, YOU WILL LEAVE. UNDERSTOOD?" "Of course, thank you-" "DON'T THANK ME YET. THE MOOT WILL BE IN HELD IN THREE DAYS, SURVIVE TILL THEN. IN THE MEAN TIME, URZA AND I HAVE MATTERS TO DISCUSS." Author's Note This chapter was going to be longer, but I decided I liked it shorter. Plus, now I have a good start on the next chapter! Cultural Reference Guide: Griffin Colonies Cultural Reference Guide: Soviet Bear Union Brony on! Chapter 224 Keen AlliesChapter 224 Keen Allies Perspective: True Will Sleep has never really been an issue for me in the past. I remember when I first started out as a mercenary I had trouble sleeping after a few missions. I was new to the field, and it was a tough time for me. But, as I grew more into the field, it became easier and easier. Now, any mission I do I can almost guarantee that I'll sleep perfectly fine. It comes with the field. But, there are a few things that I can not sleep through- SNOOOOOORE -such as a snoring orc- SNOOOOOORE -a snoring farmer- SNOOOOOORE -and Butterscotch. I suddenly miss the days where I got my own room and didn't have to deal with this crap. I could just go sleep in one of the observation towers, but at this point it'd be pointless. I can already tell it'll be my time to go on patrol soon. SNOOOOOORE My eye twitches when their snores sync up for a moment. How could it possibly get any worse than this!? "Mmm, you know I like it like that.... sweet cheeks." That's it! Ellzy sleep talking is the last straw for me. I toss my blankets off and march out of the room as quickly as possible. In the future I'll have to find somewhere else to sleep. Or go to sleep first. Either way, I can not be conscious when the others are asleep. I trot into the mess hall and grab a bowl of oats for breakfast. I eat them dry, trying to get out of the building as quickly as possible. I doesn't take me long to down the dry meal, grab my gear, and head out the front door. I drop my stuff in a huff and begin to do my stretches for the day. When I twist to the side to stretch out my back, I freeze up when I see the massive blue thing on top of the fort. It has the body of a large lizard and the head of a bird. It has feathers all around it's head and along a good portion of its body. It doesn't have scales though. It instead has a crystalline body of light sapphire. "..." It looks down at me and cocks its head ninety degrees to the right, then the left. "..." "SQUAAAA!" I look around at the surrounding posts for any kind of back up. The only person I can see on duty is Sledge, but he's on the other side of the compound looking away from here. I reach out for my radio, but stop when the creature in front of me twitches with my movements. It's eyeing me closely, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. "AAAAAHH! I slept like a foal!" Dust Devil yawns loudly as she walks out to me. I begin to panic as the creature begins to eye her as well. "Uhh.... Dust?" "I should take that blanket home with me. I love heavy wool blankets! They're the best-" "U-uh... Dust!?" "I just wish those cots were a bit softer. I think I have a kink in my back-" "Dust! I need you to-" "Maybe I can get Butterscotch to give me a back rub, or something. Uhg. this-" "DUST!" "What!?" "SQUAAA!" Dust jumps up and does a flip in the air before landing behind me in a defensive pose. She gasps when she finally gets a good look the giant creature above us. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" I cover my ears from Dusts scream. From within the building I can hear the rest of the Spartans scrambling. When she finally stops screaming it takes me a moment to get my hearing back to normal. "What the... Dust?" I look around for a moment before I hear flapping above me. "HE'S ADORABLE!" I look back up to see Dust land just before the large creature, squeezing her cheeks with her hooves. "DUST!? WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!? GET DOWN FROM THERE BEFORE IT EATS YOU!" I yell frantically as I start to pull my sword out. "But he's so cute! Aren't you sweetie!?" she says sweetly to the creature as she steps closer to it. The creature quickly brings it's large beak down and pins Dust down to the roof. "DUST!" I quickly teleport on top, only to find Dust giggling as the creature sniffs her all over. They both pause to stare at me before the creature squawks at me. I try to run from it, but it quickly grabs me in its beak and brings me back down below, dropping me in front of the rest of the Spartans before running back up to its nest on our roof. I shift around a bit, but once I'm certain I'm not harmed I get back up and glare at the creature. "I don't think he likes you Will-" "GET DOWN FROM THERE DUST!" I cut her off, jumping a bit in anger. "But she's so cute! Can we keep her?" she asks eagerly. "NO!" I yell, then pause. "She?" "Yeah, there are three black eggs up here. So, I guess it's a she, and she's gonna be a mommy!" Dust cheers, jumping up and giving a little twirl. "Eggs!" Raz cheers as well, getting odd looks from everypony else. "Marvelous! I'll start a fire pit and we shall have our fill today!" "What!? NO!" Dust yells at him as he marches off. "Storm don't let him eat her eggs!" "Storm, tell her to get rid of it!" He looks between the two of us, weighing his options. Everypony stares at him for a moment before the creature squawks again. It jumps back down to the ground and quickly runs to my gear. It looks it over for a moment before picking up my helmet and running back to the top of the building. "YOU BASTARD! THAT'S MINE!" I yell as I summon it back to me. It glances down at me before squawks at me and jumps down, eyeing my helmet. I look to the others for a moment before turning tail and running. "SQUAAA!" Perspective: Storm For a good ten minutes the Spartans and I watch as True Will ran around the compound to try and avoid the creature. But it was clearly obvious that without using magic that the creature held the advantage in speed. But once the creature would take it back to its nest, Will would just summon it back to him. It reminded me a lot of how Philomena and Softy would play. It was obviously a game to one, and a matter of pride to the other. "Hey Johnathan?" I call out to the owl griffin, getting him to step up to me. "What is that thing?" "Well," he says as he pushes his Pince-nez glasses up slightly, "if I would take a leap of faith and guess, I'd say it's a crystal drake. But I'm not one hundred percent on that, due to its friendly nature." "Oh?" I ask as the creature, possibly a crystal drake, picks up Will and sets him on top of one of the towers. His screams of terror amuse me until he teleports back down. "Yes, well, generally speaking drakes tend to be more violent towards outsiders, especially when around their nest. The fact that it's treating us like its young is... odd." We pause when Will starts to try and pull his helmet out from its beak. But the creature simply lifts him up and brings him up to the nest with her. He tries to get out, but now she won't let him leave. "Is there any other creature that looks like that?" I ask as I watch him scream for help as she pins him lightly with her forelegs. Rather than help, Dust joins him. "None that come to mind. If I had a chance to go over my tomes I could possibly find one, but at the moment it's an extraordinarily friendly crystal drake." We all pause and look back up. The creature is eyeing us curiously as Will tries to crawl his way out from beneath the creature. Dust... is happy. "I got it!" Lief yells, gaining our attention suddenly. "It built its nest on top of our sleeping area, so we must have her scent! It must think we're all its young!" Jonathan nods to his idea, looking back up to the creature. "That makes a lot of sense actually. And it shows a lot about drake behavior as well... I'll be back!" Before we could ask anything further, he flies into the fort to get... whatever he's getting. "Lieutenant Storm, you need to come up here!" Dust yells down to me. The fact she called me by rank makes me pause before flying up there. The crystal drake squawks at me, but doesn't do anything beyond that. "Look." "What is that?" I peer inside the nest and see a metal object buried in the branches. I step up and start to dig around until I discover the shoulder of familiar looking armor. It has a brass finish and is spiked at the shoulder. It doesn't seem that large, far too thin for a pony to wear. "That's goblin armor." True Will mentions, done trying to escape the drake. "That's not just goblin armor." I tell them as I dust it off a bit, looking it over closely. "It's heavy military armor. Look at the battery pack on the back." "What are military personnel from the Goblin Empire doing here? I've never heard of goblin raiding parties striking this far from their territory. That, and they don't normally wear heavy armor in their hunting parties." True Will tells me. "Dust; you, Jonathan, Night, and Shifted get geared up. I want you all to scout the area around here within a twenty mile radius. I'll have Tiber and Si Ye launch as well for support. I don't think we're the only ones here." "Yes sir! But..." she eyes up a few times before giving me her best puppy dog eyes. I sigh and glance up at the crystalline creature. "She can stay-" "WHAT!?" Will screams. "YES!" Dust screams. "So long as she provides security and doesn't hinder our operations. If it steps out of line, then Raz gets to eat it. Now get going! That armor hasn't been sitting there for long." I yell at them as I move my attention to the pony trying to be as small as possible. "SLEDGE! How did a giant chicken lizard get past you!?" Perspective: Spike Once I knew what I needed to get into the moot, mother and I left immediately. A few other dragons followed after us, but kept their distance. I paid them no mind though, I have too much on my mind to think about them. What am I going to give as an offering of power? I don't own anything that they would deem worthy enough, at least I don't think so. Then there's the issue of what they determine to be power. Is it something symbolic, or physical? Maybe it should be both, just to be safe. I don't think I could get away with doing just one anyway. Not after everything I've done. "Spike," mother comments, still tucked into herself. "Stop pacing around so much, you're starting to wear the ground away." I look down at the doughnut shaped hole in the cave ground and step out of it in a huff. "What is wrong?" "You know what's wrong! I have to bring an offering of power in three days and I have no clue what to bring!" I begin pacing again as I start to go over possibilities. "Maybe I should do a demonstration of power? Or should I make something powerful? But I'm not that good at making foci. Maybe I can get Miles to make one for- no! No, I have to do this." "We have a visitor." Mother comments. I turn to the entrance of the cave and flare my hands, ready for anything. At first I don't see anything, but when something shift in the shadows I lower my guard a bit and approach the figure. "You can come out now." I growl out. I hear the figure gulp before stepping out into the light. I immediately relax and glare at the dragon before me. I remember her as the dragon from before, the one that called me out. I frown at her and step closer, eyeing her closely. She's a frail one, I can tell that. She's has an amethyst color about her, slightly lighter than me, with lighter undertones. "What are you doing here?" "I-I... uh... I was... um..." she mumbles as she looks away, fiddling with her claws a bit. "Well?" She looks up to me for a second before looking back down to the ground. I hear mother chuckle and start to get up. "I'll leave you two alone," she says teasingly. I drop my tough guy visage and gawk at her. "W-what!? No you won't!" I squeak out at her. "Yes I will," she retorts simply, walking out of the cave. I was going to chase after her when the girl next to me giggled. "What are you laughing at!?" The purple dragon returns to looking at the ground, though I can see the traces of a grin on her face. I ignore her for a second to chase after my mother. When I make it out of the cave I stop and watch her take to the air, ending any hope of catching her. With a huff of annoyance I turn back to the cave and re-approach the dragon. "What are you doing here!?" "Um... I-I was just... curious," she mumbles. "Remember what I told you earlier?" I ask, making her nod. "Then leave." I turn and march to the other end of the cave where I drop down to sit against the wall. The girl looks around for a second before slowly walking towards the cave entrance. Three steps into it though she turns back to me. "W-why are you such a loner?" she asks quickly, making me glare at her. "You've never lived around dragons, and now I'm trying to at least talk to you and you push me away! Do you like being alone that much or do you just not know how to-" "Shut it!" I snap, silencing her. I sigh and sit up a bit more, suddenly thinking back to Rarity. Spikey! You never tell a lady to 'shut it'! "Look, it's complicated. Do yourself a favor and leave me alone." She mulls what I said over for a moment before smirking to me. "Mommas boy." I growl at her as she turns and starts to run away. I jump up and step out to the center of the cave, igniting my claws. Just as she makes it to the center of the cave I pull back at her, making a powerful gust of wind fling her back towards me. She hits the ground and slides for a bit before coming to a stop just before my feet. She looks up to me before giving me a weak smile. "Uh... hey there... Mr. Spike sir... so... I didn't mean that by the way! That was a joke, a really dumb joke that... you know, dragons laugh at. And why am I even talking!? I should really stop now! So... I just going to stop talking now... so I don't say any other bad... dragon... jokes.... okay... please don't-" "Do you ever stop talking?" I ask, silencing her. I shake my head and go back to my spot in the cave, being sure to leave my magic on. "What's your name?" "Um... I'm Maant Iliis." "Maant Iliis, Diamond Hide, why did you come all the way out here?" She looks away again, trying to form an answer. I kneel down so my lite claws are closer to her face. "Why did you come here?" Instead of an answer she simply closes her eyes and spreads her legs. I look down for a second and feel my fire go out. Without a word said, I stand up and slowly walk out of the cave. I kind of just stand there for a moment. Staring out at the world before me. After a few moments I hear her walk out after me, shuffling around nervously. "Um... are you okay?" she asks timidly. I gulp as I try to ignore her. But, obviously, she couldn't go without a response. "Did you now understand my intent?" "..." "I-I was offering myself... to you... well?" "..." "I know I called you a jerk earlier, and then a mommas boy, but... I mean... if you were more of a dragon this would make sense-" "More of a dragon!?" I snap, looking back to her. "I'm powerful enough to take on Bolas!" "Of course! Of course! I didn't mean anything by it! I was-" "Was what? Insult me? Seduce me? What exactly were you planning on achieving here?!" She takes a few steps back and holds her claws before herself again. She avoids my eyes as she starts to mumble to herself. I growl in frustration and quickly approach her, pinning her to the wall behind her. "OUT WITH IT!" "I THOUGHT THAT IF I GOT ON YOUR GOOD SIDE YOU WOULD TEACH ME YOUR MAGIC!" she yells out before ducking down and covering her head. I glare down at her and start to ignite my magic before a light goes off in my head. A plan to get me into the moot and gain respect with the other dragons. "Train you in magic." I mumble as I think over the implications. It would require taking her back home in a life long commitment to training in the arcane arts. Rarity might become infuriated with my choice of apprentice. No where near as mad as Miles will when he hears about this. I'm still learning myself, what do I have to offer to teach? But, then again, the dragons don't know that I'm the student. For all they know, I'm the master. "I-I know it was a stupid idea and I'm not worth your time! I-I'll leave and never bother you again mist-" "How serious are you about this?" I ask, silencing her suddenly. "This is not something you pick up suddenly. This will require a lifetime of commitment and constant study to even become decent at. This will change your life forever, Maant. So, I ask you again, how serious are you about this?" She stays down for a moment longer, thinking over her response deeply. I stand there patiently, waiting what she has to say for herself. "I-I've lived my entire life in fear of other, more powerful, dragons. To have the chance to become strong enough to stand against Bolas himself... I'm willing to do anything." She stands up shakily and stares me right in the eyes. I can see the conviction within her own, along with the pain of something else. "Please, make me strong! I'm tired of being pushed around, I want to stand up for myself now! I beg you, give me that chance!" "I'm only going to warn you once. This will change your life. As I am an outcast for other dragons, so will you. This form a magic requires a mindset different than that of a dragons. You are asking to become an outsider of your own people. Can you do that? Can you leave all of this behind?" She looks down for a second before looking back up to me with that same determined look. "When do we start?" I give her a toothy grin before marching back outside, beckoning her to follow after me. "First things first, we need to meet up with the Spartans." Perspective: Applejack Once it was well enough into the day I set out to talk to Luna again. Applebloom is watching over Apple Slice and Granny Smith with Rampant helping out. Shy felt it necessary to tag along as well. It's not that I want to keep her in the dark about this, it's just that I'd rather have her helping with the kids. But, she politely refused to listen to me, then apologized a thousand times for arguing with me. I haven't seen her this ornery since Jasper... now that I think about it, I still don't know what happened with her and Mac back then. "How much was it again?" Shy asks quietly as she tries to keep up with my quick pace. "Too much, that's how much." I growl as I think back to that pansy little pencil pusher. "Is the farm ready for something like this-" "The only thing ah'm ready ta do is wring that pencil pushing dingle-berry's neck out!" "Oh... my. Um... was she really that rude-" "He was ruder than rude! He was downright despicable! Iffin it was up ta me, I'd buck his flank back ta Canterlot and be done with his nonsense! That carnsarn little plot head!" "Applejack! Language!" I roll my eyes at her and quicken my pace up the path to Lunas home. I don't bother with opening the door and march right in. I look both ways and find Luna sitting at the dining room table, holding her head up with her hoof. She's reading some old tome that looks like it could blow away any second now, with dozens of other ancient books sitting all over the table. She holds a hoof up to us and continues reading, so Shy and I take a seat across from her. I look at the multiple cups of coffee and feel a pang of guilt. She must have been up for hours reading up on this. "I have good news, and I have bad news." She tells me as she finishes up reading and slowly closes the book. "Well, let's start with the bad then." "It's legal-" "AH BUCK THAT!" I yell as I slam my hoof down on the table. Shy gasps at me, but Luna remains as stoic as ever. "How could that possibly be legal!?" "The ones calling this audit are quoting very old laws. It would seem that around twenty seven hundred years ago it was determined that separate counties would tariff imports to maintain local businesses and create a competitive edge over imports from other nations. This is part of why Equestria has such a powerful mercantile network. We can export, but importing is just a nightmare." She gives a light chuckle as she pats the book. "Funnily enough, this is the same law book that made Miles and I rulers of Equestria-" "Luna." "Right! There is a loophole though! All we need to do is first make an appeal to either the night court or day court and ask for an investigation to be made. And yes, we actually need to make an appeal at court so there is the proper documentation. Then, with some luck, we can appeal to all of your contacts and customers to sign a petition to have the investigation benched. From there we-" "Luna!" I bark, getting her to pause. "I appreciate all of the help you're giving me, ah really do. But I need to make sales now. All of this political business is... it's just gonna take too long. Is there a way to get this resolved early?" Luna mulls it over for a second before pulling several books over with her magic and starts to read again. I groan and let my head hit the table. We're doomed, doomed! We'll fall behind on sales, the farm will fall into disrepair, we'll have an entire harvest go bad, all for nothing! "It's okay Aj, I'm sure Luna will figure something out." Shy tells me as she rubs my back. I groan in response. "Applebloom needs new duds fer school. Then the house needs ta be re-shingled before the rains come. Not to mention diapers, food, an any other daily things we use all of the time. We don't have that much saved up, and we're not digging into Bloom's college fund!" "We wouldn't dream of it." Shy reassures me, rubbing a bit firmer on my back. "We need this next harvest or we'll dig ourselves too deep ta bounce back. We've always been on the border of black and red, this'll plunge us ta-" "Stop your crying, I found another loophole." Luna cuts me off. "Really! What is it?!" "Well... it's sort of a loophole-" "Well is it or isn't it!? Why ya gettin me all worked up over sumpting that might not be-" "Applejack." Luna says calmly, silencing me. "This method is technically not legal, but is at the same time. This all hangs on whether or not we can convince this audit pony to hold off the investigation. If we can do that, then we can buy ourselves some time. But that won't end this problem. But, I'm sure that if we appeal to his better nature we'll-" "Ah'll have ta stop ya there. There aint no way we're getting through to that pony. No way, no how." "How can you be so sure?" Luna asks. "Well, besides the fact that he's a bureaucrat, pencil pushing, scroll rutter? I... may have yelled at him a teeny tiny bit." I pull my hat over my face and try to avoid eye contact with the two of them. "Well then... I'm sure that if you apologize-" "Apologize!?" "-and keep in mind that this is for the betterment of your family, he'll come around. And, if all else fails, bring him to me and I'll try to appeal to his better pony nature." I look back to her for a moment before nodding to her. If it's for my family, I'll do almost anything for them. Even if I really don't want to. "Mom?" We all look over to see Tempestive standing in the doorway to the kitchen, drinking a juice box. "What's a scroll rutter?" "Go to your room." Luna tells him before glaring back to me. Perspective: Shadow Most ponies my age love Saturdays. They go out with their friends, play games, eat sweets, do average teenager stuff. Not me. Saturday is work day in Moosden, and today is no different. I'm basically Moms assistant as she goes from business to business and check on current affairs. I didn't think being an assistant would be all that hard. Note taking, holding a few things here and there, maybe if this was some other town. Not Mooseden. "GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE PUNK!" Mom yells as she barrels down main street. That colt from before returned again and has stolen a bag of apples. The unicorn is fast on his hooves and seems to know the town fairly well. No matter how many bots jump in his way he knows a way around them. He slides between their legs and teleports a short distance away. By limiting himself, he's saving energy. He's smart, I'll give him that. Even with the most well formed plan of attack, Mom hasn't been able to catch him in the few months he's been here. Mom is feeling optimistic about today. I'm... terrified. "NOW SHADOW NOW!" I jump when my name is called. I yank a rope and create a trip wire in front of the pony. But,instead of being stopped, he blows through it. Yanking the rope out of my mouth. He skids to a halt on the mico platform and teleports away. But, not before blowing a kiss to Mom. She slides to a stop in front of the platform and starts a tirade of cussing, stomping her hooves repetitively. I smack my lips a few times as the ropes burn starts to kick in on my mouth. "Ssss, that really hurt." I comment as I walk up to her. She stops fuming and grabs my face, looking me over closely. I try to back away from her, but in her rage she uses her iron hoof to hold me in place. "How bad is it? Do you need a doctor?" she asks as she tilts my head from side to side. "I don't think so-" "Band-aid? Salve?" "No, I'm fine! I just-" "Ice pack?" She stops moving my head around and gives me a stern look, clearly still angry about the local thief. "... fine-" "Okay, come on sweetie." Oh no, she called me sweetie. Nothing good happens after that terrible, terrible, awful word... except when it's Sweetie Bell of course. The best course of action from here on out is to say as little as possible and just agree with her on everything. We weave our way through the small crowd that has gathered around and step inside our home. This has to be one of the few times I've felt embarrassed here. Not even Dad calling me Shad in his baby voice compares to have to walk past everypony as you let the local nuisance get away. I wanted to tell Mom that I wan't the best pony for the job, but I don't get to whine my way out of work. E'Claire and Butterscotch are the guardians of our small town. It's their job to oversee the growth and prosperity of Mooseden, as atonement to the town. Dad reformed Mooseden after claiming it for Terradisia. I'm the daughter of the three of them. Even though they've never put any actual responsibility on me, it's there without them saying so. If I screw up, it reflects on them. It's a lot of pressure, but usually it's not a big deal. It's only become a problem ever since that one pony showed up and started stealing food. He has to be new to Ponyville, it's the only place he could run to after taking the mico platform. How he knows of the platform and how to avoid the bots is beyond me. He must know something we don't. Either way, he's a pest and life is going to be easier when we catch him. I just hope I have a muzzle when that day finally comes. So I follow Mom home where she storms over to the fridge and starts to angrily make an ice pack. I take a seat in the kitchen and patiently for her to return. Nothing I say at the moment will really help, so I'll just wait for her to start fuming. "I just don't get it!" Here we go. "Ponyville isn't even getting hit that hard! Why does he have to steal from us!? At this point I think he's just doing it to piss me off!" "I highly doubt that-" "He blew a kiss at me! That pompous little twerp thinks he's going to get away again, ooooh, he's got another thing coming, that's for sure!" She slams a few things around before brings a wash cloth with ice over. I flinch when she forces it against my lip but don't fight it too much. She's mad, free pass. "Maybe next time we'll use two ropes-" "Next time I'm using an army of bots with guns and missiles and fucking giant ass grappling cannon things!" "... Um... not that that isn't a good idea, but I think Dad, as well as most of the town, would get mad if you used half of those-" "They won't be mad when I string that little shmuck up and tan his hide!" She starts adding a bit more force to the ice, making me hiss in pain. "Sorry sweetie-" "Maybe we need to approach this differently." I tell her as I take the wash cloth of ice away from her. "Oh, and how would you capture him?" I stop and think about it for a second before thinking of the obvious. "Why don't we just chase him all the way home and confront him there?" "Because he lives in Ponyville most likely. We don't have the jurisdiction to arrest him there!" "Well... better to stop him than capture him-" "Absolutely not! I will not rest until I have both my hooves on his straggly little neck!" She takes the ice pack away from me and starts to crush it in her hooves, chuckling to herself as a few strands of hair start to cover her face. I scoot my chair back as her chuckles turn to full blown evil laughter, thunder somehow breaking in the distance. "U-Uh... I just remembered I was suppose to help with a school project... in Ponyville... now." This is a new level of crazy for Mom, best to just avoid it all together. I slip out of my seat and start to back peddle towards the door. Moms eyes dilate a bit as she starts to try to rip the cloth apart, dropping crushed ice everywhere as she goes from evil laughter to... vengeful doomsayer. I slip out the door just as she starts to monologue about what terrible things she's going to do to that poor colt. "Hey Shadow-" "AH!" I nearly fall over from the voice coming from behind me. I spin around to see one of the moose standing behind me. "Oh, sorry for that dear. Are you alright?" "Y-yeah... uh.... um..." I can't remember her name suddenly. Just another thing to add to my embarrassment today. "Shaska-" "Right! Shaska! You're... you are... uh..." Why? Why me? "I'm Frank Mooses mother-" "Right! Right? I-I mean, how can I help you?" I straighten myself out a bit and try to look at least a bit professional in front of her. She smiles and lets it all slide, bless her heart. "I need to talk to E'Claire about the orphanage, is she in?" "NO!" I jump back and press my back to the door, scaring her for a moment. "I-I mean, yes, she is in. You just... might want to give her a minute... or two." "Bad day?" she asks sympathetically. "Maybe not the worse, but it's up there." I tell her, relaxing a bit. She nods and looks around. "Well, I guess I'll come back another time then-" "I can help-" "Oh no, I wouldn't want you doing your mothers work-" "I really don't mind-" "Especially since it's Saturday! Shouldn't you be out with friends or something?" she asks as she takes a step back. "I'm capable of doing anything my mother is capable of doing. I've been trained with a few healing spells as well as any other emergency protocol procedures. I am capable of dealing with any problem that may-" "A few of the pups at the orphanage had an accident on the heating furnace," she cuts me off dryly. "The one in the main hall. Because of that the furnace has also stopped working, making it freezing in there." "..." I really hope she means they peed on it. "The smell is starting to seep into the other rooms as well-" "Mom's inside!" Before she could say anything else I make a run for the mic platform. I can deal with a lot of things, that's just not one of them. Anything, but that. I flash to Ponyville and make a run for it. I'm not entirely sure why, but Ponyville seems safe today... that's a creepy thought. It's odd how it could be one of the most secure locations with some of the most powerful people in the world residing there, yet that only seems to create more conflict. I'll have to bring this up with Dad next time he's home! I'm sure this'll make for some interesting conversation pieces- "Hey Shadow!" "GAH!" I jump again from the sudden voice. I really need to work on that. I look up and- "Rumble!? What are you doing here?" "Um... I live here? Ponyville isn't that big you know." I move past him and try to catch my breath, both from the scare and the impulse running. "So... what are you doing in town today?" "I... just needed to get away-" "Great! Well, not great because that probably means you're under a bit of stress, but great in that we could hang out. If you wanted to that is! I mean, if you'd like to, please? I-I mean... uh... this got awkward fast." I stop and look back to him, getting him to go rigid. He starts to sweat a bit as he tries to stand there, avoiding eye contact. "So... would you like to hang out?" "... maybe another time Rumble. Right now... I don't think that would be a good idea right now." His entire demeanor drops drastically when I tell him. I have to look away from him to avoid pitying him. I know it's cold to push him away like this, but it's what he asked for. Without saying a word to him I turn away and start to walk off. I try to not look back, but I don't need to. Only a few steps away from him he jumps into the air and lands before me with a determined look on his face. "Rumble-" "No, you listen and you listen well!" I back peddle from his outburst, losing any response I could have made. "I bucked up, and I bucked up big time. I know this, half the town knows this. But I plan on doing what's right to earn your respect back. And I'm sorry I'm being so forward about this but this is the only way I know how to approach things and hearing myself right now is making me regret this slightly. So, sorry again for this, but I'm not giving up without a fight. Now, I am going over to Mooseden to help with whatever problem has arisen over there. You... uh... can do what you want, but... uh... yeah." "You're not very good at giving speeches, are you?" "Dear Celestia no! I'm more of the lead by doing kind of guy." We both share a light chuckle together. I paw at the ground as we both just stand there, waiting for the other to speak up. After a long time passes I look back up to him. "Are you really going to go scrape poop off of a furnace for me?" "Is that what you're running from?!" I cringe a bit from his outburst, making him sigh. "I-If it gets even the slightest bit of your respect back... t-then sure." "You don't have to-" "I know I don't have to. But this is important to me. I messed up. And if that means cleaning up burning poop, then that's what I'm going to do!" I smile at his enthusiasm, making him stand a bit taller. "It's going to take more than cleaning Rumble." "I know, but... I have to start somewhere. I guess that means starting in the shit... POOP! I meant poop! Sorry." I laugh at his apology, getting him to relax. "Trust me, I've heard much worse things from my father's mouth. And I'm being serious, you don't have to do this-" "All the more reason to do it!" "You're not even a Terradisian-" "Do I need to be to clean up poop?" "My mother is probably going to ask a million questions!" "And I'll answer them all." I do a double take when he says that. "All of them?" I ask cautiously. "Aren't you the one who said there are no secrets there?" "Well, yes. But it's my mother! She's going to ask about... about what happened." He tilts his head at me, confused about something. "I figured as much." "She'll kill you! And I don't mean that in the metaphorical sense! She's plotting t o kill some colt whose stealing apples, imagine what she's going to do to the colt that cheated on her daughter!" He thinks about it for a second before walking towards my home. I teleport in front of him to stop him, but he simply walks around me. "Are you crazy or do you just have a death wish!?" He stops in his tracks and looks back at me with those same intense eyes as before. "I don't care how much of a dork I will sound like, or about the fact that there is a crowd of ponies watching us, here's the truth. Yes, I am crazy. From the moment I laid eyes on you, you are all I can think about! I am wings down crazy about you! And yes, I realize how creepy that sounds! It sounded way more romantic in my head!" "Why are you still yelling?" I ask as I try to shrink down. "I don't know! I-I really don't know! So, I'm going to Mooseden now to clean up poop! I'll see you later, and sorry again for causing a scene!" With that he takes off into the sky, flying as quickly as possible. I take a look at the small crowd around me and teleport away. Too many eyes, way too many eyes. I need to escape. I wonder if Mama Luna would let me stay at Canterlot until I'm in my twenties? Author's Note Cultural Reference Guide: Statera Calling Ponyrun players 2.0 Shout out to Shadow Faith for picking the colors of Maant Illis! Thanks for reading, and like always, Brony on! Chapter 225 ScoutsChapter 225 Scouts Perspective: Rainbow Dash The air here is so different than from back home. It's much warmer and far more sporadic, but that’s a given. There isn't anypony here to control it and with all of the abundant magic in the area there's going to be obvious side effects. All of this makes it a bit difficult to fly while armored up. The random winds keep trying to knock us out of the sky while the heat makes us sweat like crazy. But we may as well get used to it. We're going to be here for a while. And that means the Jumpers are going to be flying around Fort Corium Gutter constantly for patrols. At least the view is nice. To the right is the mountain range Spike flew off into. Down below us, a large plains stretches far and wide. To the left, the plains seem to break off into slabs of earth, eventually crumbling into the ocean. The rocks breaking into the ocean have a deep green tint to them that turns to tan as they settle into the plains. There aren't many trees in the immediate vicinity, but I can see a rainforest in the far distance. It doesn't look too inviting. "Captain!" I look over to my wingmate, Dust Devil, and nod to her. "South, by the cliff side, I think I saw something!" "You don't have to yell, Dust," I tell her. With our helmets on we have our comms system to communicate. But, every now and again, we forget we have them. "Point it out." She banks to the left and breaks through a cloud before pointing out a small cave in the distant cliff side. "I saw a flicker for a second. We should check it out," she tells me, using less volume. "Alright. Dust, you're with me. High Flyer and Shift, you'll cover the left. Ellzy and Jonathan will take the right. Let's go!" We all bank to the left and dive down, racing through a stray cloud before leveling out with the ground. We keep our momentum until we near the edge of the gorge. I signal for the others to come to a halt right at the edge of the cliff. "Hmm... this gorge looked a lot smaller from up there." "Are we still good with the plan, Dash?" High Flyer asks, kicking a rock over the edge. I watch it bounce off the walls for a while before it disappears into the misty abyss far below. "That's at least four hundred feet down." Johnathan comments. "I would not advise going near the edges too much. There's bound to be something hiding down there." "We could send Tiber to make a pass to flush anything out" Shift suggests. "It could also stir up the goblins we're trying to find. Which could be good or bad. How are we approaching this, Dash?" Ellzy asks, getting everypony to look at me. I mull it over for a moment as I look over the gorge. It's not too wide, so I doubt anything big will appear. Nothing like Ghastly Gorge at least. Funny how the gorge being larger is bad for those massive beasts. Anyway... "Stealth is optimal right now, especially with what happened in Sycney recently. We'll do a drop over the other end while keeping formation. But we are not assaulting anything that may be there. Fire when fired upon, got it?" "Ma'am!" I wince from all of the yelling ringing off in my ears. One day we'll get this down right. With a single flap of my wings I take off again with the others following close behind. As we fly over the large crevice I glance down again and peer along the walls. I don't see anything moving, but there are plenty of places where some creatures could be hiding. When we make it to the other end I tuck my wings in and toss my head back. I flip back and begin to fall. Once I'm parallel with the wall of the canyon I open my wings again, giving a powerful flap. With the rest of the Jumpers behind me, we race towards the opening Dust pointed out. I try to keep our speed high to avoid any possible mishaps. I don't know if there is anything here, but it doesn't hurt to be cautious. We race past a few openings as we descend into the gorge. I keep my eyes on the prize though. If there is anything down there, I want to see it as early as possible.. It's a somewhat reckless approach, but I have wingponies to watch the openings for me. We continue down the canyon at a fast pace. While diving down, we pass a few more openings in the canyon walls. Once we reach the bottom, we pull out of our dive and come to a hover just above the ground, sending a cloud of dust over us. We wait to see if anything pops up or shoots at us. I begin to count down in my head, eyeing the cloudy entrance for anything to move. Ten seconds later I touch down and pull out my assault rifle, the Jumpers following suit. "Shift, give us a light." He ignites a green ball of energy above us as we start to walk into the cavern. It's a fairly large opening, giving us room to walk three abreast. Part of the walls seem to be carved out by some kind of creature, while others look machine carved.. "Keep your eyes peeled, something is down *tink* here." I look down at my hooves and see something shiny laying there. The Jumpers instantly cover me as I begin to look it over. It feels smooth like glass, yet harder. Whatever it is, it's lighter than a baseball and almost as large as a hoofball. I want to say it's an egg, but something about it is telling me otherwise. Dust comes over and takes a few pokes at it as well, humming to herself as she stares down at it. I pick it up and toss it up and down a few times before sliding it into my saddle bag. I'm sure somepony either back at the fort or at home will know what it is. Just before I call out to the others to leave, a scream echoes from deep within the cave. It sounded as though it was some distance away, but everypony heard it. The others look to me for a second before I nod and start leading them forward, further into the dark cave system. We keep our weapons raised as the darkness engulfs us. Shifted's light does a good job of keeping the area lit, but it doesn't go far enough to help my nerves. Each hoofstep echoes out of sight as the cave starts to grow in size. Pretty soon we're all standing side by side at the edge of Shifted’s light. I stop and signal for the others to gather around closely. "We're sticking to the plan," I whisper to them, knowing that our helmets will relay the message. "Dust and I will head straight forward with the other two groups going their respective direction. In case we lose communication with each other, meet back at the entrance in one hour. Try to mark the paths you take. Any questions?" "What happens after an hour at the entrance if nopony is back?" High Flyer asks quietly. "If you are uninjured, go looking for the others. If you have injuries that need attention, get back up top. Anything else? No? Then get moving." I reach to back of my helmet and press just behind my ear. A line of light moves across my face and lights the way before me. We don't use this function unless we absolutely have to. It's just another thing that eats up the battery charge. We split up and head our own directions. I see the others find tunnels of their own and disappear into them. I always get a chill whenever we split up. I'm their Captain, so I'm responsible for them. If I'm not there for them, then I can't be responsible for them. But, as Miles puts it, if you can't trust them to be alone then you didn't train them right. I have faith that they'll be alright, but that doesn't stop me from worrying. We come to the end of the large cavern and find three tunnels that lead forward. Two are high off the ground and seem the most natural, while the one level with the floor seems carved by machines. It doesn't take a brainiac to figure out which tunnel to go down, so down we go. It's a straight shot in. A few spots along the wall have small craters in them, which are evenly spaced out. I imagine that they were lights at one point, but something must not have agreed with the lighting. "This is spooky." Dust whispers. "What took out those lights? Or, even worse, who put them there in the first place?" "Well, if the giant turd is anything to go by, I think some goblins put them here," I tell her, making her nod slowly. "As for what took out the lights, I don't know. And I don't want to find out either." "Me neither," she adds quickly, eyeing one of the dents for a moment. "But... I mean, if I could find out without actually having to see it in the flesh, that would be nice." "And how would we do that?" "We could send a bot in and have them record what they find." "We'd lose connection with it too quickly. Those bots are amazing, but without a decent connection to the cities they're basically useless." That's not entirely true. They'll still follow through with their last orders, but that's about it. If something down here attacked, I doubt they'd defend themselves. "Let's just keep moving and get this over with quickly." We continue down the path in silence again. The walls are becoming more and more jagged as we move. We must be getting close to whatever we're looking for. There are a few tools here as well. Most seem mundane, shovels, pickaxes, the mining sorts. But after a few minutes we find what looks like a small camp. There are large crates stacked by the walls. Some have been broken into while most are just sitting there, unused. There are more tools spread all around as well. Some of them are broken beyond recognition, but they are all obviously goblin power tools. Dust and I spread out and start to look over the small camp to find any clues. There don't seem to be any bodies here. Just broken tools and leftover supplies. I pop a few crates open and find more of the odd gem-like objects packed away. Whatever these things are, there are a lot of them here and the goblins that were here wanted them badly. I look back to Dust and see her pulling a few of the gems out from the other crates. I look back into the crate and pull one out, but pause. Just beneath it is some dark green thing. Curious, I reach in and pull it- "AAH!" A goblin in tattered armor yells as he jumps out of the crate and points four pistols at me. I jump back and point my rifle at him, Dust joining me. He scurries out of the crate and falls to the ground, whimpering to himself frantically. "Nicht mehr! Nicht mehr! Lassen sie mich in den schatten! Bitte! Biiiiitteeeee!" "Whoa! Take it easy!" I yell as he tries to back peddle away from us. "Dust, you speak goblin!?" "Uh... no." The goblin lets out another yell and fires two rounds into the wall above himself. We raise our weapons again and start to follow him as he backs away from us slowly. He's reloading the two guns he fired, but has his eye on the ceiling, crying. "Keine mehr schatten. Nicht mehr dunkelheit," he sobs, bringing all of the pistols up to his head. "Don't!" B-B-B-BANG I flinch from the gore spray plastering the ceiling. Any clues we would have had are gone now. I cuss and kick the closest crate, breaking it slightly. What was he shooting at? What scared him so much that he'd rather take his own life than face us? Did he even realize that we were here? No more questions, there's no way of knowing at this point. "I think we should meet up with the others, let them know what we just saw." Dust tells me. I try to raise comms, but only get static back. "Good idea. Lets make that on the-" GURGLE We both freeze up when a low gurgling growl resonates all around us. We look to each other before something falls to the ground behind us. We look back and shine our lights at one of the gems that somehow fell on the ground. A thin black foot is standing behind it. We slowly look up until the creature is shown completely in the light. It walks hunched over on two long, thin legs. It's body looks like a starving husk of some demented pony that stands upright. Its arms reach down to the ground and have an extra set of elbows. Its body is pitch black, almost like a living shadow. Its face... dear Celestia... it has a small round head with two white eyes and a thin white smile of small pointy teeth that go from one side of its head to the other. It moves in twitches, acting as if it has to forceevery action. Its head jerks from left to right as it smiles down at the two of us, slowly stepping towards us. I can faintly hear the sound of bones cracking as it moves joint after joint. It leans forward and gets right in my face, somehow looking me right in the eyes. I try to move away, I try to run or shoot or... anything! But I feel as if I've been locked in place by some kind of magical force. "Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiicht... meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrhh... dun-kel-heit." Its voice hisses out, sounding eerily similar to the goblins from before. "D-Dash..." Dust squeaks out, though I barely hear her. I can't seem to look away from the thing in front of me. "niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiicht... meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrhh... Daaaassssh." My breath hitches when he says my name in Dusts voice. "Dash... I think we should-" "RUN!" I finally get a hold of myself and jump back, spraying a burst of bullets and arcane bolts into the creature before me. It lets out a hiss and charges at me, completely ignoring the rounds hitting it. I stay in the air and fly backwards as I continue to shoot at the creature while it chases after me. The metal rounds from my rifle shatter and ricochet off its body while the arcane bolts just disappear into its dark form. When my magazine runs out I drop it and fumble to reload. Dust zooms past me, making me turn and follow her at full speed. We race towards the end of the cave at full speed. As we race through the cave, I pull slightly ahead of Dust. I nearly crash into the wall when one of the creatures suddenly appears from the cracks ahead of us. We both manage to stay airborne and dodge its swipe. I fumble over my gear until I pull out an arcane grenade. I crack the top off and turn around to fling it behind us. I get a glimpse of three creatures quickly gaining on us as the blue tube bounces behind them. Shortly after that it explodes in a large wall of arcane fire, engulfing the dark creatures. Dust and I kick it into high gear as we charge at full speed again, barely missing the edge of the explosion. We don't stop until we make it out of the cave, spinning around to make sure we weren't followed out. After a few moments pass with nothing happening we both sigh in relief, glad to be out of there. I don't know what those things were, but hopefully we won't have to deal with them anytime soon. PAT-PAT-PAT "That's gunfire, the others are in trouble." Dust comments, making me groan. "You reloaded?" I ask as I finish loading my own gun. "I... never fired." I give her a dirty look, then remember she can't see my face due to the mask. "Right, I'll be right behind you then." "Right..." I take a moment to psych myself up before flying back in... then psych myself up again to actually do it. Third time’s the charm- "Dash?" "AAAAAAAAHH!" I don't know why I gave a battle cry, but I did. Perspective: Ellzy Jonathan and I are back to back with some random goblin as we each fire at a strange dark creature. These freaks of nature don't seem to care all that much about our E.A.R.s. Any that get too close ,however, are beaten back quickly enough. I am wearing a pair of brass knuckles while Jonathan is using a blade as a sidearm. Our goblin friend, who we never got the name of, is alternating between a pair of daggers and a pair of pistols. One of the beasts lunges at me, trying to grab me around the waist. I jump up and out of its grasp, hovering just above its freakish face. With a yell I punch forward, smacking it clear in the center of its face. My brass knuckles are enchanted to hit with much more kinetic energy than the average hunk of metal. The beast is thrown back far further than it really should have. I land back down and turn to cover Jonathan as he reloads. The goblin moves to cover my back. He stabs the beast I punched with both his knives and fires both pistols from point blank range at the back of its head. The stabs and shots deal damage to the thing, if its hisses are anything to go by, but they don't put it down. I move from one target to the next as I continue to fire from beast to beast. It seems as though there are four of them here, circling us. Each one waiting for an opening to strike. They're getting there too. If the pathetic amount of damage we're doing to them is anything to go by, we'll run out of ammo well before we can even put one of them down. "Letzte schusse!" The goblin yells as he begins to reload, just as Jonathan does the same. "What did he say!?" I yell over the fire. "Last shots! He's out!" Jonathan yells as we trade spots to each dodge attacks. "Fantastic!" I yell, as I begin to reload as well. We have to get out of here as soon as possible. Which way was the exit though!? We've done so much damn spinning that I don't have a clue where to go! Maybe moving would be best, then at least we aren't sitting ducks. "We have to get moving! Left or right!?" "Uh- *pat pat pat* Left!" I turn to the goblin as he tosses his emptied pistols at one of the creatures. It makes the beast pause momentarily, but doesn't seem to do much else. I yell out to him and toss him my rifle. He catches it and begins to fire at the same creature, though he's holding it upside down. I flare my claws and try to focus on casting a shield spell. I'm not the best when it comes to this magic crap, but Miles was adamant about us learning at least a few spells. I look down and see the lines grow rapidly into my plumage as I throw my arms out and cast a shield around us. The dome covers the three of us as the creatures startle and jump back from the sudden magic. "Left it is then!" I yell as I try to focus on the spell. Of course, Miles makes this look easy. With the way he casts spells I thought casting this thing would be a snap. I was wrong.. Holding this shield up is taking every little bit of my focus, and they haven't even started beating on it yet! "You take the lead, I'll carry our friend here and follow after you! Ready!?" "On my mark!" I look to the goblin and motion for him to come closer. He hesitantly steps closer to me as he adjusts my rifle in his hands, opting to use all four hands instead of just two. "MOVE!" I yell, just before I drop the spell. The creatures let out a hiss as they begin to charge at us. I turn and grab the goblin before flying out the left entrance, following close behind Jonathan. The goblin lets out a scream and begins to wildly fire at the beast we nearly crash into on our way out. It’s a good thing too. One of his stray shots hit the beast’s hand mid swipe, causing it to narrowly miss us. I roll over so I'm flying on my back. This makes it a bit easier for the goblin to cover us as we fly out of here. He still is firing all over the place, painting the cave in blue bursts, but it's cover still. The creatures are chasing after us, but they're obviously holding back. Once we get a little further through the cave, they start lunging from different vantage points and take swipes at us, making me duck one way or the other to throw them off. I think they're learning my movements; judging my reactions. These things are smart... shit. "Heads up!" I come to an abrupt stop and throw my arms out to make another shield, dropping the goblin in the process. The creatures crash against my magical wall in full force, forming large cracks that web across its entirety. I groan in pain and wince as I feel the lines of my magic shoot over my entire body. "Why does that goblin have your weapon!?" Rainbow Dash yells at me, as she and Dust take up positions beside me. "I was... and still am... a little... preoccupied!" I yell back, through gritted teeth. The creatures are beating down on my shield with conviction now, making the cracks ever deeper with each smack. As they assault my barrier, the marks snake their way further up my body under my plumage. "I can't... hold this... forever... you know!" "Right! Dust and I will cover your retreat! On your mark!" Rainbow yells as she readies a grenade. Jonathan runs over to the goblin and picks him up, much to his displeasure. I take a quick breath before readying myself to make a run for it. "MARK!" I drop the spell and take off down the tunnel. Flashes of blue and gunfire sound off behind me as Jonathan and I race out of the cave. A few seconds later I hear an explosion as the tunnel before me flashes brightly for a brief second. It was enough for us to see one of the creatures hiding in a crevice just ahead of us. Jonathan tried to avoid the creature, but it still got the jump on him. One of its long arms swiped out and collided with his wing and sent him and the goblin crashing to the ground. I over shoot them and turn back to help. Before I reach them, the ambusher grabs the goblin and starts to drag him away. I race after him as he screams in terror, trying to pry himself from the beast’s strange grasp. I jump out and grab one of his hands and try to pull him back as the creature pulls him into the crevice. "JON! HELP!" I yell, as I put all of my strength into pulling the goblin out. Jon joins me, though it's a losing battle. His screams turn to gurgles as he's slowly engulfed by the darkness of the crevice. We both give one final pull before falling to the ground with a loud crack. I look up and roll to the side as another dark hand tries to grab me. We take to the air again and race onwards. We make it to the large entrance of the cave shortly after our encounter, meeting up with all of the others. I guess as we were trying to help that goblin Dash and Dust flew past us. The others all stare at me as I hover before them, trying to catch my breath. I look down and realize I'm still holding onto the goblins arm. That creature must have ripped it off... "Fuck!" I yell as I drop it, having it fall into the misty abyss below. I feel my stomach turn over as my stomach threatens to violently eject my lunch. This is only my second experience as a Spartan, and I'm about to puke over some guy I didn't even learn the name of. What a disgrace. "What... the buck... were those things!?" High Flyer asks through deep breaths. "I don't know, but I'm a little more worried about what those goblins were harvesting." Dash mentions, getting nods from the rest of us. "You okay Ellzy?" "I'm... alright. Queasy, but alight." I try to make it seem better than it actually is. I'm rather freaked out by the sheer fact that there was a creature out there we almost couldn't handle. Besides possibly Rainbow’s grenade, we didn't make a single kill. Thankfully, we didn't lose any of our number either. Well... We did lose that goblin, but as horrible as it is to say technically he didn’t count.. "Did anyone at least get any of those gem things?" "I got a few," Dust tells me, opening her bag to reveal a small hoof full of the objects in question. "We should head back to the fort to regroup." "Agreed. Let’s get moving." Dash tells us before taking off. We follow after her, though I give one last glance to the cave below us. Perspective: Rumble I take a deep breath as I try steel myself for my first challenge. This will probably be the hardest challenge of the evening, but I have to pass it. I just have to stallion up and take that first step. One step. Just walk forward and let what happens happen. Just do it already, ya big foal! JUST DO IT! "Do you-" "GAH!" I yell as I nearly trip over myself. I look behind me to see Shadow’s little brother standing there, sipping from a juice box. "Scared?" he asks in amusement. "No! I...uh..." I try to recover, but his chuckles stop that from happening. "Anyway, I just need to go to Mooseden for... business." "Is there something wrong with the mico platform?" he asks, eyeing the damnable contraption. "Probably not. I, uh... I haven't tried it yet," I force out, as I rub the back of my neck in embarrassment. He startled me, and now he knows that I'm afraid of using the mico platform. This is turning out well for me. "Why?" he asks innocently. "It... doesn't feel natural dude." Every time I use it I feel like I'm losing a part of myself. Like, I'll show up on the other end and have one less wing or something! "I never have to deal with magic, so this is a bit out of my realm of comfort." "Meh, it's not going to hurt you or anything," he reassures me with a shrug. Quite the confidence builder. "It physically can't actually. As long as it fits within that ring of arcane text, it's going to the other end," he explains, while tracing the ring with his hoof. "Right, well..." "I could give you a little push." I laugh at his offer, looking back to the mico platform again. "Thanks, but this is something I have to do myself." "... use the teleporter?" "I'll see you around," I tell him, as I hesitantly take my first steps onto the platform. "Before you go!" I spin back from his sudden outburst. "What's a scroll rutter?" FLASH I stand in a daze as I feel the world around me spin. After a few deep breaths, and several gulps to steady my nerves, I begin to walk into Mooseden at a quick pace. I seriously hope that Shadow’s little brother doesn't follow after me asking more questions. That's... not something that I want to get into. Not with a foal, at least. After a few glances back, I figure he isn't following me. Mooseden is busy today. There are several ponies from the Crystal Empire here talking with what appears to be the local lumberjacks, if the piles of timber behind them are anything to go by. They seem pretty livid about something. I can hear them yelling about some kind of deal. It sounds as though they’re arguing about prices... ouch. I wonder why the Crystal Empire is trying to undercut the Moosedenians... Moosedenites? Out of curiosity I begin to step forward, my inner gossiper getting the best of me. Thank you, Ponyville. "... and as I said before, I apologize. But we simply cannot afford to cease our previous agreements with the House of Goods-" "We have a contract!" An elder looking moose yells, getting a round of jeers from all around her. "Are the losses you'll take from the lawsuit really worth it? We've busted our humps getting the numbers you asked for! How could you possibly think backing out suddenly will save your company!?" "I'm sorry! I really am! This lumber mill has had some of the greatest growth from any mill I've EVER seen! But it's out of our hooves! If the House of Goods tells us to end trade, we don't get a say! We're sending an emissary to Canterlot now to make a plea with them, but it'll take some time before they are granted court! You'll have to rely on your other buyers to take up the slack-" "YOU ARE OUR ONLY BUYER!" The moose yells again, getting another round of jeers from the growing crowd. "You are systematically shutting down our community by doing this!" The crowd starts to get even more lively at this point, approaching the small group of crystal ponies. A loud siren suddenly goes off behind me as a multitude of metal beings emerge from all over and surround the group. "CITIZENS. YOU ARE HEREBY ORDERED TO CEASE ANY FURTHER PUBLIC DISTURBANCES AND RETURN TO YOUR HOMES. ANY FURTHER PROTEST MAY RESULT IN YOUR ARREST. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION." I take one look at the weapons the metal beings are holding and decide to leave the area. I don't need to get caught up in any of this. I'm sure this won't bode well for Shadow. What's going to happen to this town if the lumber mill is shut down? What will happen to Shadow? Will she move? She does live in Ponyville as well as Mooseden. Maybe she'll stay in Ponyville. Maybe her mother will have her stay in Mooseden to help with the crisis. I'd hate to see her drop out of school and be forced to stay here for the rest of the year, or her life for that matter! Maybe there's something I can do, but what? "Hey!" I perk up and look around. "Aren't you Rumble?" I turn around to see a female griffin walking up to me. I look around for a moment before nodding dumbly to her. I have no clue who she is. I can guess as to how she knows me, small community and all. "Sorry, my name is Lesky. My son is one of the Spartans." "Um... okay. How can I help you?" "Well... I wanted to talk to you, if that's alright." I looked around as if I was about to be jumped or something. I don't know this mare... er... person. I really have no obligation to talk to her. But, thinking back to what Shadow said about these pon- er... people, I really should listen. "Sure, what's on your mind?" She pulls me aside and takes a look around before getting to it. "I know a bit about who you are and I can probably guess the reason you’re here. It's a small town and we all like to keep close tabs on Shadow, as well as a few others around here." "Tabs?" I ask, with a raised eyebrow. She gives a light chuckle before continuing. "I know it sounds awful, but trust me when I say it's not as bad as it sounds." I shrug and let her continue. "Right. So, as you can probably tell, things are a little tense around here. The last thing E'Claire needs right now is for somepony to come in and try to take her only daughter from her... literally I mean. Shadow is needed here-" "I know that. That's why I'm here though! I want to help-" "Great! Then listen closely. I'm going to give you a job, and if you deliver, E'Claire will be eternally grateful. It may free up some time for Shadow." I perk up at this. A chance to prove myself to her community and help her. This is golden! "Glad to see I have your interest. Here it is. There has been a pony coming here at least once a week for the past few months stealing food from us. It's never anything big, but it's been getting under E’Claire’s skin worse than hide mites." "So you want me to catch this guy?" I ask, getting her to shake her head. "No, at this point it's beyond just ending the crime. I need you to find where he lives and inform E'Claire. If you can get some information on the guy, even better. Proof would be nice as well. E'Claire wants to be the one to catch the perp, so if this leads to E'Claire capturing him, you'll be in her good graces forever." I look away to think about this for a second. This sounds a little too easy. All I have to do is wait out near Shadow’s house and watch for somepony who doesn't belong there to walk by. I guess the hardest part of this is that I don't know when he'll show up. "What's the catch?" I ask cautiously. There has to be a catch. It’s never this easy. "There's no catch. We don't have the jurisdiction to enter Ponyville and enforce laws. We've told the guards over there, but they don't seem to care all that much. That's why you're golden for us. You're desperate enough to at least try." "... I'm not that desperate-" "Trust me, after the shit you pulled, you are that desperate." I tilt my head at her, making her chuckle. "Personally speaking, I couldn't care less if you dipped your stick in some whore. Shadow is a little too sensitive at times. A slap of reality could do her some good. But there are plenty of ponies here that would very much like to rip your stubby little dick off. You were lucky when you appeared here. Everyone was more focused on the bastards from the Crystal Empire than tanning your sorry hide. If you don't help like this, then I'll be more than willing to throw you to the wolves. Your choice." I lean over and look down the street just in time to see the orcs walking towards the forest with spears in hand. "Do we have a deal?" "... Yes. Yes, we do. Do you at least have a description for me to go by?" "He has a dark grey coat with bushy white hair. Kind of like yours, but with far less product. Light yellow eyes. A bit lanky for a unicorn, but not to the point where it looks unhealthy. He has a cutie mark of a star with an eye in it. Now, is there anything else you need?" "Well-" "Good! Then you should get going! I don't think you want anyone seeing you here right now, do you?" I thought about it for a moment before nodding to her. "Good, I'll escort you to the platform so no one tries anything." "Ok, thank you." I follow after her as she starts to walk towards the mico platform. I'm glad I ran into her. She was nice. A bit odd, but nice. "Don't mention it you little whore," she says sweetly. I... don't have anything to say to that. We make it to the platform where I take a few more deep breaths, trying to steel myself to do this again. "Oh, one more thing before you go." "Yeah?" She turns to me and grabs my shoulders, getting uncomfortably close to my ear. "If you really have a problem keeping your dick dry, then stay the hell away from Shadow. She's too sweet for that kind of dick." "Um... what?" I ask in confusion, trying to look her in the eye. She gives a sultry chuckle before- KER-NUT I let out a high pitched squeal when she suddenly brings her rear leg right up to my sack. I curl up into a ball and hold onto myself as I cough up my lung. I figured this was going to happen at one point, but that doesn't make this feel any less painful! I try to ask her why she did it, but before I could she tossed me onto the mico platform and had me teleported away. So now, on top of having the worst pain a stallion could feel, I feel as if I was just turned inside out... I just gave birth. Perspective: Blueblood I take a long drink from my glass of wine while sitting back at my desk. The flavor is full and it goes down smoothly. I'm glad I opened one of the older vintage casks. The newer brands are better suited for social events. This ,though... this is something to be appreciated. I take another sip from the glass and swirl it around my mouth for a moment, savoring the flavor for as long as possible. At first taste you can barely taste the alcohol, but its aftertaste is quite pleasant. "Mister Blueblood?" I break my attention from drink to look to my assistant, who's standing in the doorway. "Your visitor has arrived." "Excellent, bring him in here." I finish off my glass and set it aside as a stallion steps into my study. He's an earth pony with a brown coat and black hair. Rather simple in appearance, really. He's wearing a red tie with a blue collar. Rather fitting, given his place. "Greetings Mr. Rich." "Prince Blueblood," he says with a bow. I smirk at that. I always smirk at that. "And to what do I owe the pleasure of a meeting with you in your private study this evening?" I stand up and walk over to my liquor cabinet, setting two lowball glasses atop it. "I have many things I wish to discuss with you. Drink?" "Scotch." "Ah, a scotch stallion I see." I chuckle as I pour a glass and levitate it over to him. "I've always preferred brandy myself. Then again, I've always had a more... refined palate." "..." "So, on to business." I take my place at my desk and lean forward to look him in the eyes. Despite his obviously common background he still has the air of an older business stallion. The way he holds his scotch, the look in his eyes, his posture... he’s all business. "As you may or may not know, there is a serious threat rising up against our great nation. Something our dear leaders can't handle directly." "This sounds like something a guard should be hearing. Why did you ask me here today?" he asks, before taking a slight sip from his glass. I chuckle at his forwardness. Just like a commoner, trying to get straight to the point. Very well. "You don't win a fight by wanting victory more than the other pony, Mr. Rich. There is always more to it than that." I take a moment to take another drink, waiting to see if he has anything to add to that. After a moment of silence, I continue on. "You need weapons, armor, spells, carriages; there is more to a fight than just will, Mr. Rich." "Of course..." "You own the Barnyard Bargains chain store, do you not?" He nods, so I continue on. "When the oncoming conflict begins, and it will begin, there will be a need for ponies all over Equestria to... prepare themselves. Do you understand me?" "I understand you." "Good, then-" "But I simply don't see why you are talking to me." I pause this time, letting him explain himself. "I am not a member of the guard, Prince Blueblood. Not anymore. I know when a noble speaks to take it either with a grain of salt, or the whole shaker. Are you telling me that Equestria is on the brink of-" "What I am telling you." I cut him off firmly, being sure certain words are never said. "You come from Ponyville, so I know you are familiar with how chaotic things can get within Equestria. What I am telling you is that if there was a way for our citizens to protect themselves, it would be... most profitable." He nods to me and gazes into his scotch for a moment as he thinks to himself. I let him mull it over for a moment. I really doubt he'll have much objection. His little chain store is profitable enough to cover such expenses- "I don't think we'd be able to cover such expenses." I blink at him for a few moments before chuckling again. I open a drawer and pull out a folder, opening it to a certain page. "Is this your income margin?" I ask as I toss it onto the table. He leans forward and takes a look at it before nodding. "With these kind of figures you should be able to-" "Do you see this spike?" he asks, pointing to a certain part of the line graph. I close my mouth as I look at the point on the graph. "This is Zap Apple season. It's one of our most profitable times of the year, right after Hearth’s Warming Eve sales. This year it will not be there." "... how could you be so certain of this?" "A tariff was recently levied against Sweet Apple Acres They won’t be anywhere near as profitable for a considerable amount of time, most likely indefinitely.." I eye him for a second before putting some of the pieces together. He is behind this somehow. How else would he know about this before I would? Something like this hitting one of the Bearers? This will catch like wild fire with the nobles! That family will be torn apart with scrutiny and speculation! I need to speak with the King about this immediately. But first, to take this commoner down a peg. "Very well then. I would still suggest you listen to what I have to say. The future depends on it." He nods to me and starts to leave. "However..." "Yes?" "I am interested in something. What are your plans for the loss of such a highly demanded product? One would have to venture that you'd have to find a new supplier. But there's only one farm in Equestria that can grow those Zap Apples. So, a businesspony would argue that your next move would be to acquire Sweet Apple Acres. Wouldn't you say that's a bit dubious?" "When building an empire, one must make bold moves. The House of Goods seems to agree with me." "With you, or with the plan?" He doesn't say anything after that. It's a simple reminder that he's expendable. He'll start covering his bases, surely, but it'll show me where his bases are. From there... I'll have to see what the king wishes to do. "Have a nice train ride home." "Actually, I'll be staying in the city a bit longer. I have many meetings to attend to. Prince Blueblood." He gives a bow and takes his leave. I wait till I hear the hall doors shut before flinging my glass across the room, shattering it against one of the bookcases. This is going to blow up and make everything far more complicated than it needs to be. I'm going to have to speak with half of the House of Goods before I even make a trip down to Ponyville! Not to mention I'll have to search the Royal Archives, Royal Tax and Imports, and possibly the Equestrian Empire Traders! You better have a plan Miles. Perspective: Spitfire "Alright team, bring it in!" I yell, getting them to come racing over to me. It's nice to be back in Cloudsdale, in our own training grounds. It's as good as a break as any for us. "Good work today. You greenies are really starting to shine through. I've posted the rosters for the Soleado Mesita circuit, I think a lot of you will be pleased with the teams. Shower up and call it a day." They all give a cheer before flying off for the locker rooms. I start to follow after them, but stop when I see somepony sitting in the bleachers. "You coming Spit?" Fleet Foot asks. I squint at the pony before going wide eyed. "Will you look at that." I mutter as I start to trot toward the pony. When he sees me coming towards him he jumps into the air and meets me halfway. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the one and only, Soarin." I say with a smile as I move in to hug him. He returns the gesture, mimicking my smile. "Spitfire. It's good to see you. Fleet Foot," he greets, moving to hug Fleet Foot as well. "Oh my gosh! Soarin! How are you!? GUYS! GET YOUR LAZY FLANKS OVER HERE! SOARINS HERE!" Fleet Foot yells to the others after hugging him. He chuckles as all of the others race over and greet the Ex-Wonderbolt. A blur of question barrage the poor stallion. Ranging all over from his health, current affairs, sex life, you name it. I chuckle as he eats it up, ever the Wonderbolt. *Tug* I blink when something tugs my tail. I look behind me to see a young light blue colt with a rainbow mane and tail standing there. "Hi, I'm Jet Spectrum, your future boss," he tells me matter-of-factly. I chuckle at that, already liking the kid. "Is that so? You think you have what it takes to lead the Wonderbolts?" I ask him, fluffing my wings a bit. He scoffs at that, fluffing his wings back at me. "I'm going to not only be the leader of the Wonderbolts, I'm also going to be the leader of the Spartan Jumpers!" He gives a little jump at that, obviously getting excited about this. I chuckle at that, looking back to Soarin. "A Spartan and a Wonderbolt huh?" I ask him, getting his attention. "What can I say, greatness must run in his veins," he tells me. At this all of the other Wonderbolts look over and eye Jet. ... ... All of the mares squee at once and rush the poor kid. He simply sits there and holds his hooves out, accepting his fate. They all hug him and start fawning over how handsome he is, how adorable his mane is, and so on. For his part, he seems... rather happy to be getting all of this attention from them. "Yup, he's yours." I tell Soarin when he walks up to me. "Yeah, heh. You should have seen him when we had the talk... actually, it's better you didn't. We almost put a dog cone on the little peeper." I laugh at that, the image instantly forming in my mind. "Can we talk?" "Do you really need to ask?" He laughs at that, looking to the mob. "Don't break him, not too much candy, and do not let him in the mares locker room.... or the stallions." He gets a round of confirmation before he motions for me to lead the way. I laugh again, the sight of Soarin being the responsible one being odd. I take him to my office and take a seat with him. When we sit I get a better look at his eye, souring the mood immediately. I reach up and run a hoof down the old wound, thinking back to that day. "It should have been me you know." I tell him quietly. "Maybe," he says, giving me his smart ass smile. "But I was your wing pony. It was my job to watch your back, still is sort of." I smile at that, pulling my hoof back. That day will haunt me forever, no matter how many times he says that it's alright. "Speaking of watching your back, that's why I'm here." "Oh? Something come up?" I ask, already having an idea of what it's about. My talk with Rainbow coming right to mind. "Yeah. Rainbow came home and busted my nuts over something I forgot about, so now I'm here to finish what I started." I laugh at that, knowing that there is probably some truth to it. "Did she talk to you about it already? The challenge and all?" "Yeah, we're a little backed up at the moment, but we'll try to squeeze them in-" "Don't do that." I tilt my head at him, waiting for him to explain. "Rainbow Dash is the leader of the Jumpers. She's Ex-Wonderbolt as well you know. Terradisia has far more sophisticated equipment and far harsher training regiments. Don't just blow this challenge off as nothing. When they come for you, bring it." I laugh again at him, shaking my head slightly. "Did Dash tell you that? Cute, but we're more-" "Spit, do you trust me?" he asks seriously. I stop laughing at him and nod, sensing something off. "Of course. More than anypony out there." "Then listen to me when I tell you, the Jumpers have an actual chance at taking the Wonderbolts on. They know your training secrets, they know several Griffin Army secrets, they even have some Changeling secrets with them. On top of that, they've incorporated Terradisian precision into their training. I've seen them run their drills, they do things that were banned by the Wonderbolts long ago for being too harsh. Each of those fliers could easily be Wonderbolts now, any of them." "Is there a reason you're telling me all this? I get it, they're well trained. I don't get what you're trying to tell me." He takes a look around before motioning for me to get closer. I lean in, waiting to be impressed. "I'm telling you because I know for a fact that they plan on jumping you guys the first chance they get. When they get back and regroup, they plan on coming to one of your shows and upstaging you in front of the crowd." "And? Are you saying some of us aren't ready to face them? Do you think we've fallen apart since you left-" "I'm saying, some of your ponies aren't up to par with the Jumpers. Look, I know that there's a bit of a personal history with you and Dash, but don't let that fool you. She's still mad about what you did to her, even is she doesn’t openly say anything. She's coming for more than just to showcase a new force. She's coming to knock you down a peg. And by the looks of it, I'd say she has a pretty good chance of doing so." I lean back and think about what he's saying. I get that I need to bring it with Dash, Celestia knows how far she could have gone if she stayed with us. But I don't get one thing. "Why are you telling me this? Dash is your wife, wouldn't you want me to falter? Make it easier for her to win?" He laughs at that, shaking his head. "I actually want the exact opposite. I want you at your best when the two of you face off. I want you ready, one hundred percent. I want you to put her through the wringer and back again. I want that, because I want her to beat you at your best. I want there to be no dispute who the better flyer is. And you know what Spit? I think she can do it." "... and that's not just the plot speaking?" I ask, trying to lighten the mood. "No. That's the facts speaking. I think she's doubled her wing power since joining the Spartans." I raise an eyebrow at that. She already had a really high wing power, I can't imagine it getting that much higher. "So, what do you say?" "I say... I'm going to have to hit the gym a bit more to prepare." He nods to that and leans back, letting out a long breath. "Hey Soarin, I have to know ,do you ever think about... that one day?" "Yeah... every now and again. Why?" I look away for a moment, thinking about that day. "Do you think it could have worked? That... we could have worked?" I get quiet when I ask this. It was really a one time thing back then. We both decided it would have jeopardized our careers and that we needed to focus that before anything else. We were only recruits back then, we had our entire lives ahead of us then. "Where'd that come from?" "Just answer it ya' air head." "Hmm... the only way it would have worked back then, was for one of us to quit the Wonderbolts. We would have been too distracted back then to focus on training. It could have been, but it would have cost one of us our dreams. I don't regret any of the decisions I've made so far, and you shouldn't either." I nod to him, smiling fondly. We may not have become lovers, but he's still my best friend. "I'm glad to hear it. Be sure to tell that wife of yours to step it up the next time we meet up though. If she wants the title of Best Flyer Alive, she's gonna have to earn it!" I hold my hoof out, getting him to bump it in return. "Will do. Do you have dinner plans tonight? Jet and I are meeting up with my other kid later over at Blues' Diner for an early dinner." I think about that for a second before nodding to him. Dinner with him sounds good, though I'm not sure how it'll go with kids being there. "Wait, other kid? You have two kids? Where are they at?" "Rainbow adopted her awhile back, and I've adopted her when I married Dash. She had to work on school stuff before coming over here. I... kind of promised her an autograph from certain ponies." He gives me a big smile and rubs the back of his neck. Some things just don't change I guess. "Is she going to be okay flying here by herself? And I'll ask Fleet Foot if she'll sign something." We both chuckle at that. "She's an Air Ball player, the best Track and Field pegasus at Ponyville High, and has had personal lessons from me and Dash for six plus years. I think she'll be fine. Heck, she could probably apply for the Wonderbolt Academy at the end of the year!" "We'll see about that. Sure, I'll join you guys for dinner." "Great, now lets hurry up and save those recruits from my son." I laugh at that, getting a serious look from him. "I'm not joking..." "... you're going to have to explain that one to me." "Well... one day he caught me and Dash making out. Afterwards we gave him the talk. He asked if he should be doing that kind of stuff and we obviously told him no. That that was adult stuff ponies do and that he shouldn't concern himself with it." "... so what went wrong?" I ask hesitantly. "Well, we told a kid not to do something. So now he does it all the time. I nearly had to smack him upside the head for peeking up mares tails," he tells me with a blush. "Soarin... what the buck?" I shake my head at him, making him lower his in return. "I asked a doctor, and they say it's perfectly normal for a colt his age to be curious-" "Only your son would be such a perv Soarin. C'mon. If he's half as persistent as you, half that team is already under his spell." Leave it to Soarin to raise a perv. Poor kid. Hopefully it's not too late to save the little peeping tom.” Author's Note Wooo! That took awhile, didn't it? Please give a hand to my new editors, onlyinprivate and Mikito! Together they made this chapter really shine! In other news, don't forget to add any OC's you wish to have appear in the Ponyville OC Blog Post! The first character from this will be appearing in the next chapter! And lastly, if you haven't already and wish to have a deeper look into the backgrounds of the Man of War Universe, join the Mowverse Group! I already have several forums for several of the groups and races, and will be adding to them very soon! Ponyrun updates will also be held here as well. Brony on! Chapter 226 Bloody Number FiveChapter 226 Bloody Number Five Perspective: Miles In the midst of sleep I often forget where I am. In the past Luna and I would often play a game when separated, if work would allow of course. She would appear in the outskirts of my dreams and have me chase after her until I realized it was a dream. The first few times this happened, I mistook her playfulness as dream terrors. When I told her about this... well, her apology more than made up for that. After that, she continued to do it and it became something I loved about her. It was a bit narcissistic but I looked past that. She likes being desired, being sought after. Given what happened to her in the past, I can understand that a bit. And if she wants to feel like her husband seeks her desperately... well... I find it fitting. The other part that makes me okay with it is her age. We've never been in a relationship beyond each other, not romantically at least. When we first got married, we expressed this with simple signs of affection. Hugging, kissing, long nights of loud and rowdy sessions. It was straight forward and, for me, very satisfying. For Luna, it was a bridge to something she didn't know about herself. Thanks to all of the wet dreams she's run into, seeing all of the dark, secret desires of her subjects, she learned quite a lot about what there is to experiment with. So, when it comes to foreplay in the dreamscape, she likes being chased. She likes the rush of someone running after her, intent on pinning her to the ground and bringing her to ecstasy over and over again. I don't know what to call that but that's what she likes. I find it kinky but it can be annoying as fuck when she outruns me, then scolds me for not keeping up. Now, on a normal night where I'm asleep by myself and not in hot water, finding myself in a misty forest would be a welcoming sight. Knowing that I'm in bed with some minotaur, naked, is fairly terrifying. "Luna?" I call out, taking a few steps into the cool abyss. "I know you're here Luna! Also, please don't use the sex forest for serious talks!" "..." "I only dream of this forest when you put me here Luna, I know you're here." I walk past a few trees and come to a stop, hearing something move behind me. "Are you trying to scare me?" "No." I sigh and turn around. A common Luna tactic in the dreamscape, appearing behind me. I cross my arms and stare at her as she avoids looking at me, biting her bottom lip. "So... where do you want to start?" I ask, getting her to hitch her breath. "Miles... I want a way out of this. I don't want to be mad about this situation because I know I put you in it and I know you did nothing wrong. But... I am conflicted about this." I nod, feeling somewhat the same as she does. "So... I have an idea." "Lay it on me." I shift my stance a bit, unsure of what she has in mind. Where could she possibly be going with this. "I'm going to have Celestia watch Tempestive for a bit while I try something. And I-" "Luna, are you trying to turn yourself into a human again?" She blinks a few times before shaking her head quickly. "How did you possibly come to that conclusion!?" I laugh at that, here we go again. "Luna, this would be your seventh attempt to try and turn human. That machine doesn't work like that. We've looked it over, scanned it, test fired it... I don't know what you have in mind, but leave Outpost Zero out of this. We can work through this together. We don't need magic to fix the problems of our marriage." "... does our marriage really have problems?" she asks with folded ears. I groan from my choice of words and move to embrace her. She leans her head against my chest as I wrap my arms around her neck, rubbing her mane slowly. "Luna, from my understanding, every marriage has problems. The couples with the best marriage are the ones that work through it together and come out closer than before. If everything was perfect, life would be boring. Now, I love you. I know you know that. I have no desire for anyone else in my life. You're stuck with me and the stupid shit I get myself into for the rest of our lives, for better or for worse." She chuckles at that, nuzzling my chest slowly. I stay quiet for a moment, thinking on my wording. Our lives. I have to word it like that. But the reality is that it's for the remainder of my life. She's going to outlive me. It's distant, but it's the reality of our situation. I don't look forward to those days but I'm only thirty and I'm still in my prime. It must be all the veggies she makes me eat. "And I still love you Miles, for better or for worse. Even if you still get into some of the most ridiculous, outlandish, crazy predicaments. You make life so much more fun, more interesting, and so much more enjoyable to live. But... how do we get past this?" I bite my lip and try to think of an answer. Nothing comes to mind immediately, but she does perk up slightly. "You have an idea?" I ask, hoping she has a realistic answer. "We could talk things over with somepony. I know Celestia would listen-" "She would also castrate me for touching another woman." Luna pauses and nods to that, making me chuckle slightly. "I'm glad to see that the idea of being castrated is funny to you," she says sternly. "No, it's not that. It's... well..." "What?" "Well... you being against the idea of my being mutilated made me think suddenly." She leans back and looks up at me, cocking an eyebrow. "Thinking about kids." "... are you suggesting that we have another foal Miles?" she asks, half shocked and half curious. I laugh again as I pull her back to sit against a tree, laying her in my lap. "I've been thinking about it for awhile now. And not in the joking sense either. Tempestive is old enough to understand these kinds of things now,it would keep me home to help out at Canterlot more often, and we've always said that we wanted at least one other child in our lives. I know politically it's an odd time but... I think our family is ready to grow a bit more. What do you think?" She opens and closes her mouth a few times as she stares back at me. "Uh... I-I... no." "No?" I pull back a bit and look down at her, confused. "No, Miles, this is probably the worst possible time for something like that!" "How-" "You are literally on the other side of the planet chasing some psychopathic cultist who is trying to destroy the world while I'm over here trying to keep a nation from starving and going bankrupt plus I’m trying to get all of our citizens behind the idea of helping a nation that is screaming at our faces and calling us tyrants and... and... that is literally the worst possible idea imaginable right now!" "... I thought it was romantic-" "Miles. I love you but romance is not your strong suit. Shooting bad ponies, perfect. Being romantic... you have your moments, that was not one of them." She pats me on the back, just adding insult to injury. "... well... fuck." "Please don't feel down. Having another foal would be wonderful, and I do want to have another. Just, not now Miles. It wouldn't be right. Look, I'm sorry for being so blunt-" "Don't be. You know me, I hate tip-toeing around the subject." "But that's just not something we can do right now. When you get back we can talk about it some more, but that's what I'm feeling right now... You're starting to wake up. Call me as soon as you can okay?" "I will. So... would it be too much to ask for a kiss goodbye?" She chuckles a little before leaning up and hovering just above my own lips. I smile and try to close the distance, but she pulls away from me before I could. "You know... I do love kissing you in your human form," she whispers as she slowly brings her hooves up my chest and over my shoulders. "Oh yeah?" I ask, bringing my hands up her neck and back down, making her coo. "Mhmm. Much smaller lips. Makes it easier to take charge. Do you like it when I take charge?" I pause and chuckle when she asks that in her slow, husky voice. How is my wife so sexy? "You know-" SMACK A searing pain takes over my left cheek as I roll off the bed and face plant right into the ground. I let out a long groan as I sit up slowly, rubbing my cheek. "A thousand apologies! Forgive me but... well, you started getting frisky in you sleep! I was going to let you but... you started going places and... well, you told me that you didn't want to touch certain places. Please forgive me!" Sappige begs, bowing before me. I look around in a slight daze. "Where are the guards from earlier?" I ask, standing up slowly. She has a really good hook on her, damn. "I-I sent them to get the transportation ready for today!" I look to her and shake my head. I forgot for a moment that I was here. "Sappige, thank you for stopping me." I reach out to her, taking her hand. She looks up to me in confusion before taking my hand. I help her up, quickly remembering that we're both completely naked. "So... you forgive me?" "... I... uh, yeah. Yes! I mean, yes. I forgive you. Actually, I thank you for stopping me from doing anything I would later regret." She blushes at that. Or at the fact that the first half of that was said with me staring at her tits. "Anyway. Where are we going today?" "R-right. I'm going to be your escort to the Dood Putte today, er... the Death Pits." "Death Pits?" I ask, getting her to look away. "It will be easier to explain when we get there. Come, we must get dressed and leave as soon as possible... but... I have one last thing I wish to know before we go." "And what's that?" "This refuge you offer... does it apply to all of those that help?" I tilt my head at this, slightly confused by the question. It's obvious to me that if I offer you refuge for helping, it would include anyone else who helped. But, I guess she needs confirmation. "Yes. Any who aid us in our endeavor will share similar rewards." She lets out a quick sigh of relief before standing straighter. "Good. Now let us hurry, the opening ceremony will start soon." We get dressed quickly and head out. She puts on one of those full body covers that I've seen women wear outside the palace. She tells me to make sure I keep all of my weapons with me. I was going to already but her telling me that put me a little on edge. When we meet up with the other Spartans I can tell something is off about some of them. Night has that arrogant walk about him. More fluid movements, head held high. Hunter seems to be trying to avoid my gaze as well while Yinbie seems the most normal out of them. I was going to question them when one of the concubines walked out of the room they were sharing. I'm a little disappointed by this. Mainly in Night though, Hunter... I can let that one slide. I have less history with him as it is. But I'm going to have to talk to Night at a later time. We all follow after Sappige out to the main courtyard where an ornate gondola waits for us. It's basically a fancy box that has two long posts attached to its side. The four sides are open and have purple drapes blowing in the wind. It has four minotaurs waiting to carry it to our destination, each one wearing expensive looking robes. I question how they could carry such a large object with all of us in it, but keep it to myself. With how these people are, they'd probably take offense to my questions. We load up and they begin to carry us away, surprising me. Waiting for us inside is Nederige. "Hello again, Spartan Warriors. It is-MMMFF!" Once we were inside Sappige lunged forward and locked her lips with his. I look to the others in embarrassment... but I fucking called it... Oh Sweet Barbra. I grabbed his girls... girls! "SAPPIGE!" Nederige yells as he pushes her back. "W-what are you doing!?" "Soen my!" "Is jymal!? Hulle sal jou doodmaak!" He yells as she advances on him. He tries to back away from her, using me as a shield. "Kry 'n houvas van jouself!" "SOEN MY!" She yells as she tries to pry me away from him. The two of them begin to tug at me, pulling me back and forth erratically. "WILL YOU TWO STOP!" I yell as I break from both of their grasp. "What the serious fuck!?" "U het my lief nie? Ons het 'n kans om oor te begin, maar ek nodig het om te weet! U het lief nie!?" The two of them stare at each other for a moment before Nederige moves closer to Sappige. "Wat is die kans?" He asks her quietly. She simply nods to me. "What is she talking about?" I take a look around before pulling him closer. "We take care of our own. You help us, and we can take you away from all of this. But before all of that, I need to know why the goblin emperor would send us here. What deals are the minotaurs making that Longhorn would want to hide from us?" He looks between me and Sappige before scooting out of my hands, shaking his head slowly. "No, no, no, no. This... this would be treason of the highest sort! They would hunt us down-" "They won't be able to get to you. I can protect you from them-" "This is our home! I've lived here my entire life! How-" "Nederige." Sappige pleads, silencing him. She scoots closer to him and takes one of his hands in hers, holding it tightly. "Asseblief." I lean back and wait. This is sadly a common tactic for finding terrorist back in Topaz. Find a member with a loved one and turn them against them. Sometimes violently, other times romantically. It's part of why Susurrans taught me to see when people have a connection. That way, we can exploit it to our benefit. "Do you promise that we will be safe?" he demands from me. Sappige lets out a squeal of delight and hugs him tightly, almost knocking the scrawny minotaur over. "We will protect you, you have my word." He thinks about it for a second before slowly bringing his arms around Sappige. "Very well. I will... show you what is happening within our borders. Come, we must make haste. The games will start soon." The ride to the arena was made in relative silence. Any questions I had were shrugged off. Whatever they had to show me, couldn't be put into words. The city we traveled through was bustling with activity. Minotaurs busy themselves with their daily routines, hardly paying us any mind. It's odd to see so many people in clothing now. Living in Equestria has really conditioned me to view the other way of life. I guess it makes sense here though. Because of their physiology, they must seek modesty like humans do as well. Shopkeepers stood with their goods and yelled to the crowd to come and sample their wares. It reminded me of Topaz Falls a little. The market I grew up next to at least. Not many look at us as we travel through the market. At first I thought it was because of some kind of custom they had but that didn't add up. There were still those who looked on at us, sparse as they might be. I guess this is common around these parts. Given, if this is how officials travel, then I guess that makes sense. We're not exactly trying to make a scene either. When we were suddenly enveloped in a shadow I looked ahead at our destination. We're approaching some sort of stadium. Large red tapestries hang from tall sandstone pillars as even larger awnings shade the interior. Spaced out evenly between the pillars are large statues of various people. Some are minotaurs,though most are not. There's a dragon, alicorns, and even beings I've never seen before! They're all depicted in various states of being. Some are depicted as if they were in the midst of combat, while others stand frozen in varying emotions. The closer we go to the stadium, the sooner I realize that the alicorn statue in front is of Celestia. They have her rearing up with her wings held high holding the top of the building up. I was going to ask about that, but put the answer together myself. They worship her. I know this. It's... just odd seeing it confirmed before my very eyes. I've seen plenty of ponies worship Celestia before, but this seems... weirder. I mean, with the way they have her posed, they don't leave much to the imagination. Her cutie mark is stylized in gold as is her horn... and womanly parts... Why is that a thing? What exactly are they worshiping her for? I kind of want to ask, but at the same time, I really really don't want to know. Maybe I'll just ask Celestia the next chance I get. The people carrying our gondola thing bring us to the two large doors of the stadium and wait before them. Slowly, the doors creek open just enough for us to be ushered in by a few minotaurs wearing deep red robes. They speak quickly, greeting us in their native tongue and waving their arms about wildly. They usher us into a large corridor that is a simple hallway lined with more columns. At the end of the passageway is another large statue, this time of a minotaur like creature. It has the body of a minotaur, but has the head of a dragon. It's wielding a large claymore over its head as if it's about to hack something in half. Streaks of red paint the creature and its weapon, some parts are wet while others seem to be fresh. Sappige steps out first and assists each of us off of the gondola, weirding me out further. Call me old fashion but in my head it's usually the other way around. "Welkom! Welcome! Groot meester van die oorlog!" We stop before three minotaurs dressed in green robes, each with holes bore into their horns and a ton of jewelry hanging all over them. Finger rings, nose rings, studs in their ears; each golden piece shined to perfection. They each bow before us, pressing their foreheads to the ground and kneeling back up. The front one, the fattest of the three, stands up and approaches all of us. "Greetings Ring Master, I hope you have a treat for us today." Nederige greets him, planting a kiss on sides of his face. Sappige repeats this process as well, showing me that it must be a custom of theirs. I don't move to do it though, finding it too odd. "For the Heer, only the best!" He more declares this than responds. He suddenly rushes to me and bows at my feet, kissing them lightly. I back away awkwardly, only to have him start bowing before me repetitively. "If there is anything the Heer desires, he must only ask and it will be his! Mast of War, what is your will?" I look around for help, but don't get any right away. I guess I'll have to improvise this myself. "First off, don't kiss my feel like that. Save it for someone who likes that kind of crap." "O-of course-" "Next, stop bowing to me. The only time you should ever bow to someone is when you're letting them chop your head off. So unless you're really tired of living, stop." "You are gracious O' Powerful One! If-" "Alright, none of that either. It's bad enough I've got some cock hungry fanatic trying to lick my boot, I don't need you stoking my ego with your polished words. I haven't been told what we're doing here, let's get started already." I don't wait for him to respond. Instead, I just walk through the large stone archway and into the stadium proper. This place is massive. Rows of stone benches reach several stories up as they go around a large arena. Massive awnings with loose red cloths hang above the seats, shading them if the sun permits. There are a few boxed off areas where I assume people of importance sit. The arena itself seems simple enough. It's just an oval of sand combed evenly with a few gated entrances. On the other end of the stadium is a massive stone statue of a minotaur holding a severed head over himself. Our greeters and my Spartans walk up beside me and join me in taking in the sights, along with Nederige. I look back to see Sappige standing a few feet behind us. I nod for her to join us, but she shakes her head at me. Must be another stupid custom of theirs. "Does this please you, sire?" the main greeter asks cautiously. He goes to bow, but stops himself quickly enough. "This is impressive. What will we be viewing today?" The greeter goes to answer, but stops when Nederige steps in front of him. "The main gates will be opening soon, why don't we take our seats first?" He waves an arm to the nearest boxed off area, keeping his gaze intently on me. I nod to him and start to walk towards it. It's not the highest one, but I figure that one is meant for Longhorn. Still, it's decently high up and gives a great view of the grounds below. The greeters open the door to the box and usher us inside, where we each sit in large ornate chairs. They're a bit uncomfortable, especially in full body armor. We all make idle chatter as the stadium begins to quickly fill. Spectators rush to get the best seats in the stadium, filling the bottom rows in only a few minutes. People of all ages and all backgrounds are here. Young and old, rich and poor; this must be their pastime. Something that everyone comes together to enjoy. Like, how the ponies meet up for the Wonderbolts. After roughly an hour the stadium is near capacity. Almost all of the special spectator boxes have filled as well, excluding the one most likely for Longhorn. The air is thick with the smells of food and people. Vendors are walking up and down the stairs, trying to yell over the people to sell their goods. I stand up and move to the side to look at the crowd behind us. There are a few seats open near the top, but otherwise it's a full house on this side. The other side is much more sparsely packed. "It's not every day you get the chance to be near a deity. They're more here for you than the show." Sappige tells me. I nod to that, eyeing all of the onlookers. "It would be best if you sat back down. There are a lot of social cues that could be misinterpreted Captain." Hunter tells me. I let out a huff and go back to my seat. The door to our box opens and three minotaur women walk in with trays of food. Exotic fruits and freshly cooked meats are offered to me first. "Did you guys eat yet?" I ask the others. "I'm sorry, I should have explained that first. You are a Heer, you must eat before any of us are allowed to join." Sappige tells me. "Oh... sorry, you'll have to excuse me. Where I come from, as a leader, it's expected for me to feed my men first. To take care of those beneath me-" I stop when a nearby minotaur starts yelling something to the rest of the crowd. The murmuring in the audience grows tremendously as the word is passed around. "What just happened?" "They are spreading your words of wisdom, Miles. They are here to hear you just as much as they are to see you, if not more." Sappige informs me. I lean back in my seat and huff out my annoyance. Just like Canterlot. I can't say anything without being under extreme scrutiny. I could just start spouting random shit to upsurge their culture... but I'm not feeling that dickish today. "Well... what are we waiting for? When do the games start?" "Soon, look." Nederige points to the statue standing by the arena. It's a bit difficult to tell from this angle, but the sun is just about to peak over the statue. Looking to the other end, it looks as if they are waiting for the first ray of light to touch the sands below. When the light reaches roughly a meter away from it everyone in the audience stands. I look to Sappige for an explanation, but she's standing as well, her full attention on the grounds before us. As the light creeps closer and closer, the minotaurs raise their hands above their heads and start to sing a single note. At first it sounded off, due to all of the different voices adding to the noise. But slowly the voices weave together to form a single eerie tone. Before each and every one of the minotaurs a small light starts to form. I stand slowly as the light comes together, hiding the crowd behind the white light. Sharply, they all end their singing together with near military precision. When the light fades away, an orc and minotaur are visible in the arena. They're both wielding large swords and are running at each other. Before I could ask anything they clash in a fury of blows, metal meeting metal. The crowd erupts in a thunderous roar of applause as the two people savagely attempt to gain purchase on the other. The orc has power in each of his blows, but the minotaur has the finesse. He would dodge each attack and take a swing of his own, only to be parried by the orc. "What the fuck is this?" I ask, turning to Sappige. "They are fighting for Barbaarsheid, the deity of blood lust, vengeance, and brutality," she informs me matter of factly. "Two enter, only one will leave. The other will be offered to Barbaarsheid to appease his hunger for gore and violence." The crowds suddenly cheers again. I look back out to see that the orc has landed a blow on the minotaur. It's not enough to stop him, but it's enough to draw blood. That's apparently enough for this crowd though. It's driving them crazy! "Can one yield?" I ask as I watch them closely. The minotaur is much more ragged now, but still has the moves to avoid getting hit. "No. Two enter, one leaves. It is the way of the arena-" "It's the way of savages!" I bark back. I stand back up and stand at the front of the viewing box. The fight begins to degrade as the two tear at each other, staining the sands beneath them red. They're both tired, most likely from blood loss at this point. The orc gives a desperate roar before charging the minotaur, flailing his blade around wildly. I grit my teeth as I watch him run to the prepared minotaur. In a simple move he dodges the orc and brings his blade around to cleave the side of his neck. The crowd explodes in a thunderous applause as the minotaur stands over the twitching form. With a crowd pleasing yell he stabs the orc in the chest, ending his convulsions. "Well... at least is was quick." Hunter mentions. I shake my head at the display before me. This goes against practically everything I was taught. Killing for show, the thought alone makes me sick. Do they really have nothing better to do? Soldiers kill, not civilians. You kill to protect your comrades, not to please some figure. This... this is wrong. "Perhaps the Heer would like to demonstrate then how he would perform in the arena? How humans kill without savagery?" I look back to the greeter and glare at him. He's challenging me, plain a simple. Not directly of course, that would be insulting and probably get him beheaded. No, he's baiting me. If I say no, I'll tarnish the Spartan name here. And I need as much sway as we can muster at the moment. But I'll have to raise the stakes to send a message. "Bring out your best fighter. Give him whatever weapon he desires, and I'll show you how Spartans fight." He chuckles at this, giving me a cocky smirk. There's really only one way to bait a Spartan into doing something they don't want to do. Usually we try to be as... humble, as possible. But, we have to maintain a visage of prowess. Win or lose, we don't back down. And it would appear that this chode knows this. "Captain, are you sure that is wise?" Nederige asks worriedly. "There is no wisdom to be had here. Bring him out." I stand up and step to the edge of the viewing box, staring out to the stadium. "Bring out the prisoner! The one from Canterlot!" The greeter yells in English, trying to send a message to me as well. I let out a breath as I stare out at the bloody sand below. I'm mad, irritated, and incredibly pissed off. Every moment here has been one fuck up after another, and I'm sick of it. I'm going to silence these idiots once and for all. They want a show? I'm going to take that from them then. "Great Heer, if you would only turn in your weapons. Rules of the arena." "Hunter." I remove all of my weapons and pass them off to him. He nods to me, and I nod back to him. I don't have to tell my Spartans what I must do. There is an understanding among us. I follow one of the arena officials down the steps and towards the arena. The crowd grows silent as I take the steep steps down. They all stand before me and watch me intensely, judging my every move. I don't pay them any mind though. I take this time to limber up for what's about to transpire. They didn't tell me to remove my armor, so I hold the advantage there. Likewise, if they provide me with any weapons I'll be able to take the advantage there too. If it's hand to hand with an orc, bear, or minotaur I'll need to rely on speed and agility. It'll also be a longer fight in that case. They open a small wooden gate to the arena below and I hop down alone. The sand cushions my landing, showing me how loose my footing will be here as well. I walk out to the center of the field where another minotaur is standing with a few weapons in his hands. I don't think he's the one I'm fighting though. He looks... too average. From what I can gather from before, I doubt this guy would be the one they'd call their best. "Heer, your weapon of choice?" Figured. I look over the weapons he holds and point to the claymore at his side. He bows to me and steps away, leaving me the weapon. I grab it and look it over, trying to see if there is anything different about it. As far as I can tell, it's a standard claymore with no magical alterations what-so-ever. Given, it's a pretty good sword though. Nothing like the blades like back home, but decent for what they have. The sound of metal creaking catches my attention. The distant gate is being opened, a tall figure standing in its shadows. He's a minotaur, a big one at that. He ducks through the gate and begins walking toward me in a confident manner. His fur is red with gold splashes and is marred with countless scars from previous fights. His left eye is cloudy, probably blinded. His horns are jagged and chipped as well; some parts looking natural while others seem unintentional. He walks up to the arena worker and takes a bastard sword from him, barely acknowledging him at all. "Under his gaze with hearts ablaze, we all come to the glory that is Barbaarsheid! Tremble before the might of Morag! The chosen of the gods!" He whips his blade around before taking his stance. I have a moment of deja vue, thinking back to Trixie for a moment. "Who do I have the delight of slaughtering today?" "I am the Captain of the Spartan Regiment." I leave it at that before taking my own stance. If he wants to monologue, better for me to study him. He smirks and begins to circle to my left, so I step right. "Power seeps from you, Captain of the Spartan Regiment. So much... Barbarity. A lust of war, Stryd would be proud. Yet there is a demeanor of Tweede Gedagte within you as well. So, what sort of war will we wage? Where will the stars lead us, hm? Let our blades sing now, and feed the blood lust of Barbaarsheid." He lunges forward and takes a swing at me. I duck and pivot to swing back at him, catching his blade before he could continue through with his back swing. We hold each other there for a moment, gauging each others strength briefly. He's obviously stronger than me, that much is for sure. And he knows what he's doing with that sword of his. I'll have to force him on the defensive quickly if I'm going to gain the advantage. We push against each other and back off for a moment before reengaging. I swing in first, going low. He parries and twists in to swing in high. I catch the blade quickly and lock it in with my hilt. I try to twist it out of his grip, but fail to do so. He lets out a loud roar before charging forward, using his strength against me. Locked in with him, I back peddle quickly to compensate. I could break out with magic, but I want to hold off on that. I can beat him with blade alone, it'll simply take longer. The crowd is going wild now. Their screams for blood filling my ears. CRACK Morag kicks me back right in the middle of the chest. My armor takes most of the hit, but I still stagger back from the hit. I roll forward and under his next swing before slashing at his back. A deep gash appears across his hide, blood flowing out quickly. He reaches back and touches the wound lightly, chuckling to himself lightly. I go to sever his arm, but he moves his sword in the way to block. He pushes forward again, this time swinging with far more ferocity. I find myself on the defense once again. Back step, duck, pivot. Counter strike, parry, block and hold. He moves on me too quickly to make a proper repose. His form is too tight, leaving little to no room to properly exploit. Not without taking a hit myself. He doesn't have armor on though, so my taking a hit would be beneficial comparatively. I would want to make it a body blow though, as the armor there is the thickest. Meaning I'll have to go for a high blow myself. With a plan in mind, I begin to weave my movements to prep me for a high blow. High blocks, higher parries; I'm flaunting that my lower extremities are more open. He spins back and starts a waist high swing, prompting my own swing. I let out a yell as I try to bring my sword across his neck. PWWWTING THUNK I feel the air escape my lungs as a force slams right into the side of my chest. I don't feel anything beyond some bruising, telling me that my armor held the blade back. I look up to Morag and do a double take at him. He tilted his head so his horn would catch my blade. I would have cut the thing clean off if it weren't a for a piece of metal attached to it. He chuckles again as he brings his blade back and over head. I try to pull my sword back, but it's caught in his horn! CRACK Everything goes fuzzy when he brings the hilt down on my forehead- Chaos... I try to shake it off, but I can't feel my hands- Chaos is a wonderful... Morag has kicked my blade away, I think. It's hard to tell with everything so blurry. A wonderful.... wonderful thing. Something is poking at my exposed neck. I really should do something about that. It's time I showed you how to use it properly. Perspective: Night Fury "Get up! Get UP AND FIGHT!" Sappige yells at Miles as the minotaur goes to finish him off. I just watch carefully as he brings his blade up. It's the golden rule of Spartans acting up, I guess. Hopefully Storm can hold everything together. The minotaur lets out a power scream as he plunges his blade down through Miles's neck. The crowd nearly explodes in applause as they scream out for the kill. I glance over to Hunter and Yinbie to see them dumbfounded. Had he used magic, this fight would have ended very differently. But, he didn't. And here we are. I look back to the two fighters and take a closer look. He has his blade through him, but there isn't any blood by his head... "It would appear the Man of Fire was no match for Morag. A shame, really." The greeter says smugly, getting chuckles from his colleagues. "Did you place any bets on Morag?" I ask, getting surprised looks from Hunter and Yin. "I did. Why-" "I wouldn't collect yet. Spartans, get ready." They eye me oddly but draw their weapons anyway. I can't tell what's going on down there, but something isn't right. His helmet should have blocked most of that hit. There is no way it could have knocked him down so easily. I stand up and step closer to scrutinize the two down below. Why hasn't he removed his weapon yet? He's just standing there, looking down at Miles. THWUUM In the blink of an eye a shadowy figure appears behind Morag and drop kicks him in the back with enough force to send him rolling. The figure darts away too quickly to get a good look though. The minotaur stands back up and holds his stance again, looking for his target carefully. The crowd has grown silent again. This time in confusion. I scan the arena to try and find Miles, but he's no where to be seen. Miles isn't this good at illusion magic. Something is really wrong here. Did he lose control to Corpus? No... no, this is different. Corpus doesn't hide. He's all... dark tentacles and boastful. THWUUM It happens again. A dark figure just appears behind Morag and sends him crashing away. Only this time, he doesn't let him stop. He appears again and starts to knock him around, sending him in all directions. After the third or fourth hit his body goes limp and rag dolls back and forth before the dark figure finally takes hold of him. I've never seen Miles like this before. He's... darkness. He looks like a being of darkness, but not Icy Void. There's a distinct difference here. From what I've seen and heard of Corpus, he's more of a cold darkness. Energy wisps from him. This form... is like a dark fire. As if the energy is jetting away from him. I need to get down there, now. I take to the air and begin to race towards to the two of them. Miles is still holding him up by his throat, eyeing him. He doesn't do or say anything when I finally make it to him. He just... stands there. "Miles?" I ask cautiously, being sure to keep in the air. He doesn't acknowledge me though. "Miles? Can you hear me?" "..." "Is... is this Corpus Glacius? Am I talking to Corpus Glacius?" He slowly looks over to me and begins to chuckle. I back off a bit as his chuckle slowly turns to an unusual cackle. None of the Spartans that can handle this are here right now. I need to be ready to run at any moment. "Death and slaughter are his game... all to escape the real pain. Fighting for what he was loss, giving in... to the chaos." He tosses him up a bit before giving his limp body a powerful kick. His body flings away and... goes in two directions? I slowly take my helmet off and rub my eyes to make sure I'm seeing this properly. After multiple rubs and a few slaps to assure myself I'm not asleep, I look over what's before slowly. On the right side of the field is a cow. Just an average looking cow. On the left... is a human. A... man. Nude, laying unconscious in the sand. His scarred body is bruised from the fight, having the same exact wounds Morag had on his back. Miles, somehow, split Morag into a man and a cow. "Dear Celestia-" "No!" I look back to 'Miles' and move out of his way as he stalks towards the person. "Not Celestia. Chaos... disharmony... dissonance... human. But... one is enough." He stops by his body and swings an arm at him. From his hand shoots a dark tendril that stabs the man in the center of the chest. He jolts up for a second before quickly fading away into dark wisps of energy that billow away in the wind. Any evidence of the man is gone now. "What happened to you?" I ask quietly as I stare at him. He looks back to me and lets the energy around him fade away revealing his normal body. I look him over for a second before I realize a difference suddenly. His eyes... they're red. The pupils are red and seem to glow with energy. This isn't Miles; this isn't Corpus either. This is something new. "It seems my time is fading. Let's end it with a bang... or a spin? Hmm..." He rubs his chin for a second as he contemplates his options. "Spin... bang... so many options.... uhg, wasted it." He closes his eyes and falls over, seemingly unconscious. Perspective: Miles I wince for a moment before I slowly open my eyes. There's a throbbing in my head that's beating harder than any hangover I've had before. My vision starts out blurry, but after a few blinks I eventually refocus enough to get my bearings. I look over to see Night Fury standing next to me; eyeing me carefully. I close my eyes again and slowly rub my face, shifting in place slightly. "You know, you'd think I'd get used to waking up naked." I look back to Night and see him relax in response. I sit up and instantly feel my head begin to spin rapidly, as if I just got off a flight simulator. "Uuuhhhg, what happened?" I groan. "Well... you might not believe what actually happened." Night says cautiously. I groan again, only more angrily, getting him to answer me. "Well... that minotaur knocked you on the head with the hilt of his sword and was about to kill you when... you changed." "Corpus got out? Or was it Soul Fire? Or... do you mean... change change?" They better not know I'm part alicorn now. This shit is getting redundant now! "... Not exactly." I look over to him and wait for him to continue. "Maybe we should continue this when you're not sitting in the middle of an arena." "Good enough." I motion for him to come over and use him to stand. I'm a bit shaky, but I power through it and make my way over to my armor. I glance up at the stands and note how all of the minotaurs are bowing to me with their heads pressed to the ground. Whatever I did, it was enough to solidify my place as a god among them. Either through respect or fear... probably the latter. "Well... that explains one thing." I look down with Night and squat by my helmet. There's a large dent right where my forehead was. Whatever hit me was strong enough to nearly punch a hole right through it. A centimeter or less saved my life. I'm lucky I only got knocked out really. "Well... looks like a sniper nearly took me out." I mention as I fiddle with the remains of the helmet. It's gone now, scrap really. Whoever shot me made the mistake of firing a low AP round. That, or the round was shit and shattered once it hit. I'll find out once I take this back for scans. "Shouldn't we hurry inside? What if the sniper tries to take another shot?" Night asks, partially concerned. "Whoever that was, they're long gone now. Once I changed, they probably retreated to avoid being captured... or worse. Did you hear a shot?" I remove the helmet and start to unlatch my armor. Strangely enough, the clothes I was wearing before are still here. Not even a single scorch mark on them. "No. All I saw was the massive fucker try to take you out. I didn't even hear the round hit you." Hmm... that's interesting. "Well, we'll have to figure that out later. I'm going to get changed now. Go get the others and have them show me what we came here for already. I'm done with this place already." He nods and takes off for the viewing box. I remove my clothes and start the arduous task of getting back into my armor. I can still feel the tinge of embarrassment of being nude in public, but six years of being a pony are finally taking their toll on me. That, and none of them are looking directly at me. I watch them slowly start making their way towards me, so I wait. The greeter looks mortified by my presence, rubbing some little trinket nervously as he approaches me. When they finally make it before me he drops to his knees and presses his head to the floor. I roll my eyes and look to the others, seeing their unease as well. "Did I tell you to bow?" I ask sternly. He quickly jumps back up and begins to apologize. "Did I say stop?" He stops and stands still, unsure of what to do at this point. "There is supposedly something here that might interest me. Where do you think that is Sappige?" She jumps slightly from being called and steps forward, trying to remain as calm as possible. "U-uh... it should be down below-" "Show me." I direct the command to the greeter. He nods quickly and rushes to the gate behind me. I nod to the others and follow after him. Finally I can get some answers. Will this take me closer to my intended target? Or is this another dead end? Only one way to find out. We follow the minotaur down a narrow underground path that leads up beneath the arena. The stone walls are lit sparsely with torches, leaving the room dimly lit. There are several streaks of blood along the walls as well, some older than others. The roof above us is made up of iron cages that have guards patrolling them with spears and various bows. We come to a set of large ornate wooden doors that, like the walls, are coated in layers of variously aged dried blood stains. Two minotaurs above start to pull on some ropes that slowly pull the doors open. Once there's enough room, we begin to step through. I pause and look back to Sappige, who is still standing before the doorway. "Sappige?" "I-it might not be wise for me to come in there. I... do not know how some of the... other warriors will react to... my presence." Hmm... bringing a palace whore might not be a good idea. But, on the other hand, I don't really trust anyone around here. "You'll be safe with me. Come on, I need a translator I trust." She swallows her nervousness and follows after us. I wait for her to be near me before walking in. The area before me reminds me of the pool area back at the spa in Ponyville... sort of. There's a basin in the center of the room that has lightly steaming water running to it from each corner of the room. The room has five corners, making the room a pentagon with a few doors leading to other areas. Each corner section of the room is raised a step and barred off. In each barred section there are bunk beds, benches, and several occupants waiting around. Each section is segregated by race. Ponies in one, minotaurs in the next, followed by orcs, apes, and finally bears. I look around for a moment before I realize the lack of griffins being held here. I walk around the room and look them over more closely. They're all in the prime of their being, showcasing impressive muscles. The ponies here all have marks in fighting and don't seem to mind me all too much. If anything, they're looking back at me with the kind of look a fighter would give his opponent. Sizing, calculating, judging. Their watching me as if I'm their next match. They all are. I stop and look into the pool in the center of the room. It's lined with small blue and white tiles with the number five in the center. There must be other rooms like this. At least four. "I am assuming that these people are here to fight." I start walking around the room again, eyeing all of the occupants again. Scars, bruises, and stitch marks cover most of them. They all also have a branding somewhere on their bodies. Some are the same, but there are a few different ones here. "Yes." Sappige tells me quietly. "Of their own accord?" I ask, looking back to her. She doesn't answer me, lowering her head instead. "Though I do not stomach slavery, this better not be the only reason you have brought me here." "It isn't. There-" "My Heer!" The greeter cuts in, stepping between me and Sappige. "Please, allow me to explain. These savages were once nuisances to the world. Outlaws without paths or anywhere to call home. Within the house of Barbaarsheid they are contained. We shield society from them and allow them to... eeeeeh... unleash, their lesser selves. They-" "Barbaarsheid?" I ask, making him pause. "Barbaarsheid, the Heer of slaughter and bloodshed. He presides over these walls and guides-" "He guides these walls?" I ask, tilting my head slightly. "Eeh... yes. It's more of a-" "But I am here? Do I not preside here now?" He looks back to the others uneasily before looking back to me. "Eeeeh... you are but...eeeh... this is-" "If he wishes to claim these walls, then let him come claim them from me. Until then, I claim these walls, understood?" A couple of latches click open as two minotaur guards drop down from below. They tower over me and brandish their polearms in their hands. I look between the two of them and sigh before drawing my pistol. "So be it." BANG I point my pistol at the head of the minotaur before me and pull the trigger lazily. A mist of red sprays out behind him as his body falls back. I hear the guy behind me let out a small yell as he tries to pierce me through with his weapon. It splinters off of my armor, leaving me unscathed. I turn around and point the weapon at him, waiting to see what he does. He looks down at his destroyed weapons and tosses it aside in anger. He fumbles to pull his knife out, but I don't allow him to. BANG I fire a round into his chest, making him stagger back as he holds his chest. BANG The second round goes through his skull in the familiar fashion, sending him to the ground quickly. I let out another sigh as I stare at the dead bodies. It always ends like this. Some dumb ass thinking they can outsmart a bullet. Fucking idiots. I look back to the others and note that the greeter is missing now. Sappige and Nederige are both holding their ears, hiding behind Yinbie. I always forget about the people that aren't always around gunfire. "He ran, what are we going to do?" Night asks calmly. I sheath my pistol and move over to Yin, getting him to move aside. "Show me what you brought me here for. I'd rather not leave you here." They both look up to me shakily before slowly standing. Nederige quickly makes his way to one of the doors and tries to open it, finding it locked. "Watch out." A pony from inside the cage warns us slowly. "It's enchanted. Picking it won't be easy." "Then let me." I flare my hand and slam it against the wooden door. It explodes inwards, sending splinters all over the dark room. I look to Nederige for a second before casting a light inside the room. It's a storage room. Several barrels and crates fill the room to the brim. A barrel that happened to be near the door has fallen over, its contents covering the floor before me. They look like little pink peaches. I pick one up and look it over closely. It's about as big as a normal plum and a little squishy between my fingers. It doesn't have a scent to it either. I step inside and go to one of the crates, magically opening it. It's full of the same contents. I set the lid back down, noting a strange marking burned into the wood. "Sappige! No!" I look back to see Sappige trying to make her way in. Nederige is trying his best to keep her back though. "Jy moet dit nie!" "Ek het dit nogig! Asseblief, laat my dit!" He has to put her in a hold to stop her from entering the room. She begins to cry as she begs for her release, still trying to get in the room. I look over the room before taking one of the little fruits to the holding room. "You there," I call out to the pony that warned us. "What is this?" He looks to the others before walking closer. He tries to reach out to the fruit, but I pull it out of his reach. "sigh That, is a little slice of heaven. What you are holding in your hand is called Passion Fruit. A rare desert treat, normally they are incredibly difficult to grow." "If that's so, then why is there a room filled with them?" "Beats me. Someone must'a figured out how to make them grow, or something along those lines." He tries to reach out for it again, but I pull back again. "One last question, what does it do?" He smiles at that, leaning against the bars so his head comes through. "Legend says there are seven deadly fruits of the world. Eat one, and you... well... it varies from fruit to fruit." "Passion fruit?" I ask, waving it before him. "What do you think?" He asks, trying to swipe the fruit. I pull away, making him groan in frustration. "It's an aphrodisiac?" "Pffft! Please. Those are little lies you tell fillies to get them thinking dirty. This... this is the real deal. One bite, doesn't matter if you're gelded, married, religious; none of that matters anymore. One bite... and you're on cloud nine... while also balls deep in the nearest hole. Bear, pony, whatever you are, it don't matter. One bite, one taste... that's it." I look at the fruit more closely, eyeing it with more respect. "Hand it over." He sounds so depraved when he says that. He sticks his hoof through the bars as far as his body will allow. I look him right in the eyes before I toss the fruit in the blood filled pool. "YOU BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL BUCKING KILL YOU!" "Guards incoming, what's the plan Miles?" Night asks as the sound of metal clanking against stone echoes down the halls. "We're leaving. I'll dig us a way out. Yin, Hunter, cover the rear. Night, cover the VIPs. Sappige, Nederige?" They both look back to me, scared out of their minds. "Welcome to Terradisia." Author's Note Be sure to check out The Elder Dragon Hierarchy Cultural Reference Guide! Chapter 227 New PowerChapter 227 New Power The ride to Mooseden was rather funny. The guards tried to chase us down, but ran when the I.T.A. landed before us. Once we got everyone on board, things grew quiet... for the most part. Nederige must have thrown up at least four times on the way here. I guess flying for the first time ever would do that to a person. Sappige was fine though, funnily enough. Once we leveled off and started maintaining speed Nederige calmed down enough to sit up. "Weak stomach?" I yell over the engines, getting the others to chuckle. Sappige rubs his back a bit, but he still looks as if he's about to hurl. "Minotaurs were not meant to fly," he grumbles back to me, making me laugh. "Yeah, and slavery was suppose to end after the Pre-Purgian North American Civil War; yet here we are." He groans and leans back, trying to quell his stomach pains. "Don't worry, we'll be there in an hour or so. It should be easy flying from here on out." "Are we fugitives?" Sappige asks, making me laugh. "Not where we're going. Just sit back, relax, and try to be a bit more modest." She looks down for a second before crossing her arms over her chest. "What will we do when we make it to Terradisia?" Nederige asks weakly. "At first we'll have to run a few tests on the two of you. Nothing major, we just don't want anyone getting sick. Afterwards we'll finalize your citizenship and get you somewhere to live. If you need assistance finding work we can help with that as well. Once everything settles down though, we'll have to pull each of you aside to check your memories. Just to verify certain events. You may also have to speak at the next Summit meeting as witnesses, but we'll get to that when it arises." "You're going to just give us a home! Why?" Sappige asks. "We watch after our own. It might not be the nicest thing in the world, but it's a roof over your head that'll keep you warm. Plus we-" "Captain?" Easy cuts me off from the front. "There is an incoming call for you via bot from a Prince Blueblood. Do you accept?" What the fuck does this little cunt want. I grab my helmet and set it back on, pressing a few buttons so I can speak in private. "This is Spartan Captain, how can I assist you?" "Miles Eremita, this is Prince Blueblood-" "I know who you are, what do you want?" I cut him off shortly. "I need to have a word with you pertaining the embargoes on the Terradisian people." "... where do you want to meet?" "I'll be in Ponyville to pick up a suit soon, meet me there. And Miles, leave your lackeys behind." The transmission ends there. I grit my teeth for a moment as I try to keep my composure about myself. I knew asking this prick for help would lead to fucking annoyances like this, but... the fucker seems to get results. I'll have to see what he has in store for me when I meet up with him. This better be good. I stay quiet the rest of the trip, thinking deeply about Blueblood. I'm not sure if he does or doesn't know about me. He should, that much is certain. But... the way he acted around me more recently says otherwise. I don't know if he's just playing the part, or actually an idiot. I want to give it to the latter... but I can't just make a rash decision. He has an agenda. I don't know what it is, but I have to tread carefully over what he does and says. When we finally make it to Mooseden a bot runs up to me and gives a report. Literally everything that could go wrong, is going wrong. Starke is waiting for me in the main meeting hall. E'Claire needs me to hunt down some thief that's been causing all sorts of mischief. Blueblood is waiting for me in Ponyville, in Rarity's shop no less. And, to top it all off, Storm just left a message saying I need to rush back to Fort Corium Guttur because some shit is going down with Spike! All of this told to me before the dust could even settle from our landing. Fucking perfect! "Night, you and the others take Sappige and Nederige to E'Claire and get them situated. I'll swing by as soon as possible to finalize their citizenship. I have to head over to the meeting hall to meet up with Starke, got it?" "Do you need back up?" Night asks. "No. I should be fine on my own right now. We don't have much time, get going." I rush off for the meeting hall, trying to psych myself to talk with Starke. It's proving to be a bit difficult to do when you're jet lagged. I pause at the door to take a breath before walking in, finding Starke and his men sitting with E'Claire at the front, along with several bots waiting on the sides. "Miles! Emperor Starke-" "Thank you for your help E'Claire. You can go now." She eyes me for a second before taking her leave. I don't have the time for pleasantries right now. I walk over to the seat in front of Starke and sit down, eyeing the large luggage crates he has with him. "Are these what I think they are?" "Like you asked. Here are all of the shipping manifests from every arms and armorer within the Goblin Empire! There were more, but your... soldiers, took them for analysis. What are those metal men?" I ignore his curiosity and motion for one of the bots to come over, whispering to it to give me status updates of the analysis. "We call them bots. Machines with artificial intelligence that we use for a work force." I can see the intrigue rise in him. These are obviously something he would barter for. "I'm a little surprised at you Starke." "Oh? How so?" He asks, resting a foot on his knee. "You're here. It took you awhile, but you did it. How did you manage to make it through Equestrian Airspace without causing riots in the streets?" He chuckles at that, running a hand through his long silver-grey hair. "Just because we don't have wings, doesn't mean we don't know the air." He glances to one of the guards who nods and reaches down for something. I rest a hand on my pistol as he digs through one of the crates, waiting for him to make a move. "I brought you a gift. As... a token of my gratitude for letting me within your country." The guard pulls out a strange little gizmo that looks like half of a brass ball with gears sticking out of other half. "Thank you. What is it?" I ask as I take it, eyeing it closely. "A creation of mine. Rudimentary in design, but it was made well before I became Emperor." He doesn't answer my question. Not directly at least. I set the strange ball down and remove my helmet to scratch my head slightly. I really need to wrap this up already. "Usually one would give a gift for a gift, depending on the circumstances. Would you say these are circumstances worth trading gifts?" He puts on that sinister smile of his. I try to hide me discomfort from it, but I don't like that smile. "For that, no. For the location of the remaining Kroth?" I stare him down for a moment, feeling my heart skip a beat. He knows where the last of the Kroth are. Six years of searching and I can finally hunt those bastards down. "I think I can whip something up. A nice part of my own history to give." Perspective: Blueblood I take a deep breath and stare down the door to Carousel Boutique. It's been... almost five years since I've last set hoof in here, and I'm determined to make a new impression! I doubt I'll make up for years of groveling and pestering, but I have to start somewhere! And with the dragon gone I'll actually be able to step inside without having to worry about some monster torching my flank. I'll only have to worry about scissors being thrown. With my mind made up, and my courage steeled, I take one final breath before stepping into the building. The interior is different than what I remember. Rather than the light pastels from before the walls are a warm summer theme with splashes of deep purple. It's daring, but welcomed. There is a bit of familiarity here though. Like the mannequins, the general layout, and the bell on the door. "One moment please! I am in the middle of a very difficult stitch right now and will need just one tiny minute!" And there's that familiar voice as well. "Feel free to look around while I finish this up." I keep quiet and take a look around, letting her work. It was bold to make the meeting here. I could have easily picked any other store in this small town. Even after all these years though, I can't escape her. No matter how many objects she threw at me or what ever harsh words she yelled, I couldn't get her out of my mind. I wouldn't. I was a fool not only once, but twice! And I let her slip away. I thought I could just swoon her away, but that was foalish of me to think. She is a lady, and a lady would never be so easily carried away like that. I have to earn the right, I have to persuade her, I have to- "Hey Rare! I'm home!" An angel sings as she walks into the room. I stare at her as she walks right past me, busy looking through her saddle bag. She's a beautiful white unicorn with lavender and pastel pink hair that curls perfectly at the end. She's young, but has a maturity about her that exudes both confidence and passion. She's humming something to herself in what has to be the most beautiful voice I've ever heard. Who is this mysterious mare? "Oh! Sorry, I didn't know a guest was here. Hi! I'm Sweetie Bell, have you been helped yet?" "I-I..." "Sweetie! Be a dear and get our guest something to drink please!" Lady Rarity calls from the back. "Is there anything you would prefer? Water? Tea? Coffee?" She looks up to me with those amazing pastel green eyes and smiles genuinely, eager to help. I flounder over my words before simply nodding to her, getting a confused look in return. "Um... I'll make some tea then. I'll be right back." "..." She smiles again, a bit more uncomfortably this time, and backs into the kitchen to start working on the tea. Only when she is out of the room can I finally shake myself back into control. I must know who this mare is, if only her name at the very least! "Sorry to keep you waiting darling! How can... I..." I look over to Lady Rarity and smile sheepishly to her, trying to get myself back on track. I came here with a purpose, I can't lose it now! "Lady Rarity." I say carefully. "Blueblood." She states, still eyeing me. "I-I know I'm probably the last stallion you want to have in your store, as you've said multiple times. I am here on business though! I am picking up my suit... I can wait outside if that would make this easier for you." "..." "Lady Rarity?" I can see her eye twitch, I better get ready for something to be thrown my way. "..." "I... Uh... Is the suit ready? Perhaps I should-" "Tea will be ready in a few moments! Why don't you take a seat in the kitchen!" The mare from before announces happily, oblivious to the tension between the two of us. I look back to Lady Rarity and wait for her to give me permission before moving. She looks between the two of us before nodding to me. I stare at her in surprise for a moment before heading to the kitchen and sit at the table there. Lady Rarity takes the seat across from me as the mare, Sweetie, prepares the table. I eye the silverware and feel my stomach tense up from the brand. It's a lower brand, not quite peasant, but nothing you'd see in the castle. I bite my tongue and try not to make my discomfort obvious. Though, if her stare is any indicator, I may already have been caught. A warm scent fills my nose as the tea is poured before me. She does a good job of it, obviously having done this before. Once we're all served we sit there in silence once again. I don't want to take the first drink, knowing you should let the lady of the house have the honor. But she isn't moving. She's... just staring at me. "Sooo... do you two know each other? Because I feel as if you do." Sweetie says before taking a sip from her cup. We continue to stare at one another, waiting for the other to budge. "Is he an old coltfriend of yours?" "Sweetie!" Lady Rarity gasps, finally breaking eye contact with me. "What? Who are you anyway?" She asks, ignoring Lady Rarity’s discomfort. "I-I am Prince Blueblood. And... no. I am not an old coltfriend of hers." She eyes me for a second before leaning closer to Lady Rarity. "Is this the same Blueblood from you diary? The one from the G.G.G.?" She asks in a loud whisper. "Yes... And what did I tell you about reading my diary?!" Lady Rarity responds, equally as loud. I was about to let them know I could still hear them, but they continued on anyway. "Whatever! I know for a fact you still read mine! And must I remind you about last-" "We promised to never speak of that again!" Lady Rarity blurts out quickly, silencing the room. They both look to me for a second before putting on smiles. "Could you excuse us for one moment please. Eeeuuhhh... family matters to attend to!" "Of-" Before I could finish Lady Rarity grabs Sweetie and rushes her out of the room and up the stairs. "-course." I can hear them whispering to one another in the other room, but can't make out what they are saying. They're both heated over the topic though. I take a few more sips from my tea to try and calm my nerves though. I am trying to make amends with Lady Rarity. I know it won't be the easiest task, but I will endure whatever she throws my way. I finish my tea well before the two of them finish speaking with one another. Things got pretty heated between the two of them too. I almost understood them for a moment. Something about hooves and shows... not entirely sure what that could be about. Sweetie eventually comes back though, giving me a nervous smile as she takes her seat again. "Sorry about that! Rarity is getting your suit ready for you. We weren't properly introduced either. I'm Sweetie Bell, Raritys little sister." She offers me her hoof which I take hesitantly. I didn't know she had a little sister. I'll have to demand a refund from that private investigator I hired a few years back. She couldn't even tell me she had a sister! "Charmed. I take it Lady Rarity doesn't wish to see me." She offers me an uncomfortable smile, which I sigh to. "It is alright. I did not have high expectations for today. I am glad I was even allowed to do business with her." "Well, you are a Prince after all. If she denied you service, it would ruin her reputation." "Never. I would never allow her name to be muddied because of something like that. I may not be the stallion she wants, but that doesn't make me any less of a stallion. It would mar my honor to let her name falter." "Hm. Thanks... I guess." I toy with the tea cup between my hooves as a silence falls between the two of us. Lady Raritys work fills the background quietly, but nothing is said. I doubt anything said would be sincere anyway. "Can I ask you a question?" "Of course." I perk up at this, giving her my full attention. "Well... why Rarity? I mean, I'm sure there are plenty of mares in Canterlot that would fawn over you. Being a prince and all. Why chase after Rarity like this? And don't give me any of that lovey dovey junk either! Lovey dovey doesn't last eight years." I chuckle at her question, looking back to the cup in my hooves again. "It's exactly the reason you said. I could have any mare in Canterlot. They would fall at my hooves and follow me mindlessly. But, that is not becoming of a Lady. No, after a period of this I decided that I would only settle for a true Lady. I guess during my quest for the perfect mare I sort of..." "Made unattainable standards?" Sweetie offers. "Not entirely. I was looking for the perfect mare, so I tried to be the perfect stallion as well. Because of that... well..." "Grand Galloping Gala?" She asks with a slight chuckle. "Precisely. I still hold myself to many of those standards now, but... a change was necessary. Lady Rarity showed me how flawed I was. I guess... that made me realize how perfect she was... is. It's been a slow transition, and I still hold myself to many of those old standards. But... recently... I don't know anymore." "Do you think you could move on? Try again?" I look back to her and stare into her eyes for a moment. I lose myself again in her pastel green iris. There's something calming about those beautiful orbs. They calm me in a manner that I haven't felt... since I said goodbye to mother... "Blueblood!" Sweetie jumps when a new voice suddenly erupts from the other room, accompanied with a door slamming open and shut. I blink a few times to steel myself before looking over, seeing Miles in his armor standing in the doorway. "Sweetie, I need you to go to the other room." "But-" "Now." He pulls out something that looks like a small mace. He adjusts the bottom before throwing it up at the ceiling, having it stick perfectly in the drywall. The handle points straight down before opening up and creating an aura around the small table. Before either of us could say anything further Miles grabs the back of Sweeties chair and drags her out of the aura, pointing to the other room before taking another seat at the table. "Right... forgive me. I... suddenly had a thought." I tell him slowly as I try to gather myself. "Surprising." "Right... right..." "I don't have much time Blueblood. I need to know about the tariffs on Terradisia." Miles tells me firmly, getting me back on track. "Right! The tariffs. It would seem that the House of Goods has made some sort of coup to take you out of the market, and I know who is backing it. Filthy Rich-" "Fuck mothering asshole!" He yells with a slam of his fist against the table. All of the contents fall over as he pushes the table away and starts to pace around feverishly. "I take it you know him." I mention as I start to set all of the porcelain back up. "That ass hat has been a pain in the fucking neck ever since we fucking met!" "How so?" I ask with a tilt of my head. Miles is an alicorn and a figure head of this town. What could Filthy Rich possibly have on him? "It wasn't much at first. Snide remarks here, difficult transactions there. He would constantly try something new though. At this point I don't even remember what he was mad about!" He slumps into a seat and lets out a long sigh. I hum to him and look back to my tea cup, trying to think of a possible way to aid him. "He's a small time business pony. Crushing him wouldn't be hard. I know a few ponies that could-" "No." He says firmly, sitting up right. "I'm not lowering myself to his standards. No backroom deals. I'm going to take him out legally-" "His master move was legal." I cut him off firmly, bringing my attention back to him. "He found a loop hole to take a jab at you and it hit somewhere vital. Any form of retaliation would take too long to aid the ponies that are hurting from this. There will be no income for your country for at least a year while legalities are formalized. Can Terradisia stand such a loss?" He sits back and thinks about what I said, lowering his gaze slightly. "... No backroom deals." I huff from that, of course he's going to be stubborn about this. "But that doesn't mean we can't use a little muscle." "What do you have planned?" I ask, intrigued. "If I can get the rest of the Apples to sign over to Terradisia, I can cut produce production down five percent in Equestria. We'll plaster Barnyard Bargains as the ones responsible for this as well. For the time being, we'll have to short hand ourselves a bit and sell to the griffins to keep product moving. In the mean time I'll talk with a few others to see if we can find a way out of this loop hole." "How is that not a backroom deal?" I ask, confused by his plan. "The Apples have been on the fence about joining for some time. This deal is already public in some areas, like Appleloosa. If Filthy didn't know about this, then he's an idiot. As for the smear campaign... This is common tactic in Terradisia. Politicians back there were much more elusive about their affairs. So when one was caught doing something wrong, simple broadcasts telling of their crimes were enough to end their careers. I guess that won't work as easily here though, huh?" "Not entirely. But I know where it might have some validity." I tell him, thinking to myself. "I must admit, I didn't think you'd take this job so seriously. And for Terradisia no matter. Why are you so adamant in aiding us?" I chuckle at that, looking back to him to smile confidently. "Anything for the King." He goes ridged from that, keeping his focus on me. "Terradisia and Equestria are allies after all. If the King deems them a worthy people, then I should aid them as I would any Equestrian-" "Sorry to interrupt, but your suit is ready." We both look over to Rarity as she pokes her head through the dome around us. Miles nods to her and grabs the device, disrupting the sphere around us. "You know what needs to be done," he tells me before taking his leave. We all stare at him as he storms out of the building, barely having the mind to wave goodbye to the others. I look to Lady Rarity and take my suit from her, pulling it out to look it over. I don't really need to check it over, knowing her work is second to none. I just need something to distract myself from the awkwardness of the situation. "What was it he-" "I must be off." I tell her, cutting her off rudely. "I apologize for any inconvenience I may have caused." "But-" "I have a busy schedule to attend to now. If any alterations must be made... may I... uh... would it be alright with you if..." "If your suit has any problems, I will hold my end of the bargain and attend to them," she tells me in a business tone. I nod to her and begin to take my leave. On my way out I pause when I see Sweetie standing in the main lobby, eyeing me curiously. I give her a slight bow, one that she returns in kind, and leave the building. Outside I take a moment to catch my breath, suddenly realizing that I was holding it in. I never thought a mare could take my breath away the way Lady Rarity has. But... I know my heart waits for her, not this Sweetie. Or... or was it truly never meant to be? I need to do something different this time. I need to... I need to ask for somepony’s opinion on the matter. But, who can I ask? I can't ask Auntie, not with what I'm planning. Actually, I can't ask any of the nobles or family members. Who is out there that I can go to for advice? Somepony that will listen to me openly, unbiased. "Hey! It's the Prince guy I was telling you guys about!" I shake my head and look over to see... no... no, it can't be. "Hey Prince Blueblood, remember me?" "... O-of course. Tempestive, what brings you here today?" I ask in a bit of shock. He shrugs and starts to walk down the street, nodding for me to follow. "Well, Mom had to run an errand with Mama Applejack, so Rampant and I were going to hang out on Sweet Apple Acres. But when I made it there Mama Fluttershy told me that Rampant was grounded. So... now I'm kinda just walk out and about... by the way, don't tell my mom! I'm... kind of not suppose to be out on my own." I stop in my tracks and have an idea go off in my head. He's not suppose to be out on his own. Queen Luna would appreciate the pony who kept him indoors and safe. I could use that to either get some favor with her, or some advice... possibly even both! I quickly look around and try to think of a way to get him to go along. I spot some lanky pegasus with a camera taking pictures of flowers and get an idea. "Actually, I need to get going!" I tell him in a hurried, hushed voice. "Remember? I'm a prince!" I whisper to him, getting a confused look from him. "So?" "So... so if ponies see me 'out and about' it could cause a scene! You don't see royalty everyday now, do you?" I ask, noting the irony to myself. "Oh... I guess not. Well-" "But! My ride is still a ways away! And I have nowhere to hide from the public! If only there was somewhere I could go that wouldn't keep me in the public eye!" I feign my concern, putting a hoof to my head as I strike an over dramatic pose. I glance down to Tempestive and watch the gears in his head begin to turn. "Well... I guess you could hang out at my place. No one is ever there and it's out on the edge of town-" "But I couldn't simply reside within the domicile of another pony without them being there! My honor as a Prince simply wouldn't allow me!" He deflates a bit from that, nodding to me. "Alright. I guess I can always go to Sugar Cube Corner another time-" "Well, I could send one of my guards to pick us up something while we wait at you home. If that would suit you?" He perks up at that, smiling to one of my guards. "Would you really?" he asks innocently. The guard nods and pulls out a notepad, taking down his order. This is perfect! All I have to do is entertain this foal for awhile and win over Luna when she comes home. It couldn't be easier! Perspective: Spike I pace around the barracks impatiently as I wait for Miles to make some form of response. We only sent the message awhile ago, but it feel as if it was days ago! Any Spartans that weren't out on the expedition are in the room with me as well, watching over Maant Iliis. Dad hasn't said anything to me since we showed up here. He's just... staring at her. I can only imagine what he's thinking about. I know I shouldn't doubt what he's thinking, but his silence isn't helping any. Maant was hesitant to come in here, and not just because of the giant crystal lizard chicken sitting on top. The instant we dropped in they nearly tore her apart! No shots were fired, but a lot of threats and forceful moves were used against her. She didn't fight back, luckily. So, here we are. Sitting in the barracks of Fort Corium Gutter waiting for Miles to show up. Or, at the least call back. "Where are Dash and the rest of the Jumpers?" I ask Dad, getting him to nod away. "They went out on a recon mission. They should be back before sun down." True Will tells me. I let out a huff and nod to him, keeping my eyes away from Dad. I'm sure I'll hear what I need to later on. "Spike?" Maant whispers to me. "Los hi bek niidro tahriik het?" "You don't have to hide what you are saying, and yes. It is safe here. We're probably safer here than anywhere else." I tell her, making her blush slightly from outing her. "Speak for yourself," she mutters, glancing to Raz. "Incoming message from the Captain." Dad says officially, pressing a button his helmet. "This is Miles, whose present other than Spartans?" Miles asks through his speaker. "It's me, Spike. And I have a guest here as well." I tell him, motioning to Maant to speak up. "Oh, hello? I-I am Maant Iliis. I... uh, I wish-" "I wish to take her on as my student in magic." I cut her off, trying to sound as authoritative as possible. A silence fills the room as we wait for him to respond. The way I see it, he either goes along without any complaints, or chews me out. "... I'm sorry, there's a part of that I... am having a hard time understanding. Who is she?" I glance around the room, a little caught off guard. "Uh... she's a weaker dragon I met at the moot. I wish to train her-" "Spike," Miles cuts me off, silencing me. "How wet is your dick right now?" "WHAT!?" My face instantly heats up from his blunt question. I look to the others for help, but can't seem to find any in their stoic states. "I'm not- we never- it's not like that!" I yell, waving my arms before myself. "Storm?" "Yeah Miles?" Dad asks calmly. "How red is he?" I look down to Dad and stare at him, trying to... I don't know! Look innocent? "Remember the first time he had his first boner?" "DAD!" I yell again, my voice squeaking slightly. I hear Maant chortle, so I glare at her, getting her to stop immediately. Though, I can still see her smiling at the thought. "Equal or worse?" "Far worse." I grab my head and trying to calm down, knowing now that they are messing with me. Of course they're going to mess with me! They always mess with me! It can never be easy, could it!? "Hm. Alight. Mark her, book her, and Spike?" "Y-yes Master?" "She's your responsibility. She fucks up, that's on you. Someone dies because of her, that's on you. If she even sneezes on something it's your responsibility. Am I clear?" "Yes sir!" I stand a bit straighter, even though he isn't in the room. "Good. Now get out of the room, I need to have a word with my Spartans." I nod and motion for Maant to follow after me. Before I step out of the room Raz tosses me a Virgum de Marcus. I nod to him before hurrying out of the room. Once we're clear of the building, and the giant creature on top, I drop against the wall and let out a long breath. One day I'll be able to get them all back for this. I don't know when or how, but my day will come. "So... I'm in?" Maant asks eagerly, holding her claws behind herself and smiling. "Pretty much." I tell her, leaning my head back against the wall as I close my eyes. "How does it work? What's the bar for? Will we-" "Ease up there." I tell her, keeping my eyes shut. "We'll mark you at the moot, assuming the other dragons accept my offering." "But... what if they don't accept it?" she asks, losing her eagerness. "They'll accept it. They have to." I tell her, flinching when I feel a shadow flash over my eyes. I peer up and watch as the Jumpers begins to circle down towards us. I stand up and wait for them patiently. Dash lands just before me and takes her helmet off quickly, giving me her signature grin. Oh no... "Does Rare know you have some scaly poon on the side?" "Hey Rainbow. It's good to see you too." I drone back to her, getting her to chuckle. "Heh-heh, don't get your panties in a bundle! I'm only teasing! What's going on though?" she asks, waving for the others to head off. "I'm taking her on as my student in magic as an offering at the moot. I only came back to get permission from Miles." I tell her, getting a thoughtful nod from her. "You got a plan B?" she asks, eyeing Maant closely. "Well... maybe. I'm kind of just winging it here at the moment." I tell her with a shrug. I move to put my claws in my jacket pockets, but remember that I'm not wearing it at the moment. So I end up just looking dumb in front of Dash and Maant. "Pfft! Anyway, I've got-" "RAINBOWED FLYING HORSE!" We both jump when Raz comes running out of the fort, helmet off. "Is it true!?" "Uuuhhhh-" "Show me the egg!" He demands as he approaches us, grabbing her bag before she could answer. With it still attached to her, he ends up picking her up as he digs through it. Dash flails around a bit before she smacks him away. "Ease up there private!" she barks at him, jumping back slightly. "Give me a good reason I shouldn't have you flogged!" "Did you bring a Shadow here?" He asks, making her go quiet. She reaches into her bag and pulls out this odd looking egg. Raz takes it and looks it over quickly, giving it a few sniffs and pokes. "Good, it's not ready to hatch yet." "What is that thing?" Rainbow asks as all of the others come out to inspect it. "They are called Shadows. Creatures born of the dark and twisted by the depths. It was said that they plagued the Pit long ago, but Oni purged them from our lands. It would seem that they have found their home here now." "Those used to live in the Pit? That explains why they're so tough then." Ellzy mentions, getting a few of the others to nod with him. "You fought them?" Raz asks. "Yeah. We lost a few goblins to them though. Nothing really seemed to hurt them though." Raz nods and takes a knee, setting the egg on the ground. "In darkness, these creatures are near immortal. But... in the light..." CRACK With a sharp snap he brings his palm down on the egg and cracks it open. Most of the shell holds together, but a small enough opening is formed on its side. Raz smiles as he begins to pour the contents out into his hand until a small black creature slides out. It looks like a tiny, lifeless man of darkness. Raz chuckles before he holds it up and drops it into his waiting mouth, chewing it happily. "Aw, that's sick." Ellzy complains, moving away from the orc. "A most delectable treat indeed." Raz says happily, chewing loudly. Dad steps forward and takes the egg shell from him, looking over it curiously. "Is this all you found?" he asks. "They had crates of these eggs waiting to be shipped. Any idea why?" Rainbow asks, getting Raz to hum. "These eggs, when in darkness, are stronger than diamonds. Followers of Oni would often fashion weapons with these when they would venture into the depths of the Pit, in olden times at least." "That's not the only reason." Si ye mentions, getting everyone's attention. "Goblins use the shells as capsules to capture elementals. When put in darkness, nothing can break free from within. I would take a leap of faith and say the goblins are getting ready for a massive invasion of the Southern Badlands, if the crates you speak of are what I imagine them to be." "Spike." Dad mentions, stepping aside from the others. I follow after him until he comes to a stop, a good distance from the group. "I just got the word from Miles. We need to accelerate our plans-" "I can't make him host the moot-" "I don't mean that. Go back to Bolas, tell him what you saw here and see if you can use that to manipulate him. If at the very least, we need him against the Goblins here. Am I clear?" I nod to him. "What about Maant Iliis?" "The girl? Train her. She may come in handy later. The minute you get Bolas against the Goblins send us a flare. Miles needs the Spartans for a mission in the G.C. asap. We'll leave a few here, but he's pulling a few of us aside for a time." "Are you going?" I ask worriedly. He smiles up to me and chuckles lightly. "Scared for your old Dad?" I roll my eyes at that. "Yeah, I'll be going with him. I don't know all the details yet, but it sounds serious." "Stay safe." I tell him, holding my fist out. He chuckles again, bumping his hoof against my fist. "Impossible, but I'll do my best to make it back in one piece. Now get going. You don't have that much time left as it is." Right. I have a moot to attend to. I give him a quick hug before running over to Maant. I give her a quick motion before taking off into the air. I pause to wait for her to follow after me before taking off for Mom's cave. I don't need to worry about Dad. He can take care of himself well enough. I need to worry about this moot instead. Author's Note War's Calling. Famine's Calling. Pestilence's Calling. May 2015 Updates! Brony on! Chapter 228 In DeepChapter 228 In Deep Everyone has been silent during the trip to the G.C. I don't blame them. We're the first Spartans to attack a true Unfamiliar location since the Burial, not to mention this mission won’t be an easy one. They match our technology. They have their own casters. They might have air support. They might also have griffin support. Based off previous scans, the settlement doesn't seem that big. It's settled in a small valley nestled among three large mountains. They'll see us coming. I'm almost certain of that, but they can't escape that easily either. The scans show a castle in the middle of the valley, heavily fortified with a small suburb to its north. That's our first objective. I've pulled two Aquilas from Topaz and two more from the surrounding territory. I also brought a second I.T.A. with additional military bots for support. That, and I have my Spartans. I left Frank, Sledge, and True Will back at Fort Corium Gutter, but the rest are with me now. We're all fully loaded: multiple grenades, additional ammo, and encrypted shoulder walkies. We have a plan of attack, a plan of defense, and a meeting point should things go belly up. We have the gear to be successful; it's just up to us to succeed. This is the first true counter assault on the Unfamiliar in over four thousand years and I'm going to make a difference this time. We're not just going to kill them all. If my assumptions are correct, then this might be a civilian holding. It took a lot of thought and reflection to come to this decision, but I decided that we will not be the monsters that they are. We will not be killing the civilian populace, but we will destroy any that take arms against us. We will be the first to attack and the first to take prisoners. It's quite the day. I guess Celestia is starting to rub off on me after all… "Sixty seconds out," Easy tells us from the cockpit. We all go through our third round of checks. Ammo, check. Grenades, check. Weapons loaded, check. Armor secured, check. I press a button on my restraint to give the green light, as do the rest of the Spartans. My seat begins to shake as we begin to ascend the mountain side. The winds are rough, but we power through it. I pause for a second and psych myself up before I speak to the others. "This is it!" I yell out, getting their attention. "Remember your training and stick together and we will get through this alive! Slow and steady! Remember your cause and-" BOOM Just as the ship started to level off something explodes just outside the door and we begin to drop quickly. Alarms are blaring all around us as all of the lights turn red. I grip the handlebars on my seat and brace myself for the incoming crash. The ship is fighting to stay airborne, but it's a losing fight. KA-THUD I shake violently as the vessel hits the ground. The ship bounces back into the air and starts to gain forward momentum. I can hear multiple shots being fired all around us, but our ship is either spinning to avoid them, or we lost two engines and are falling uncontrollably. I contemplate for a moment about throwing a shield up, but I don't know what good it'll do. I can't throw it outside of the ship because I don't have line of sight out there. And throwing it in here seems useless. If they break from their seats they'll die from the crash regardless. I tighten my grip on the bars and hold my eyes shut, waiting for the ground. KUUUUUUSH-FWUM I feel my stomach lurch when we hit the ground and flip into the air. I keep my eyes closed as we twirl around, quickly coming back towards the ground. THUD And just like that everything went quiet. There's still some gunfire going on outside, and the alarm is sounding off in here, but it all seems so quiet comparatively. I slowly open my eyes are look around. Everyone seems to be in their seat, and upside down. A few of them are stirring, while a few aren't. I look over and hit the emergency release, making the restraints snap off. I fall to the ground and groan as I feel a throbbing pain in my shoulders. I do my best to push the pain away as I go about getting the others out as well. Storm was directly to my right, but he hit his release just as I stood, so I go to High Flyer and hit his. He falls to the ground and stays still. I reach down to feel a pulse... he’s alive, at least for the moment. PA-PA-PA-PA-PA I look over to see Raz standing at the entrance. He's using one of the jets as a rest for his machine gun as he fires down range. His right arm is hanging limply at his side, most likely broken. I look around and see that all of the other Spartans are getting up now as well, so I move out beside Raz and take a look out at the city. In the early night and with the shadows of the mountains, it's fairly dark out here. But red tracers fly at the city as green and blue bolts whiz all around. I see the two Aquilas have landed a bit before us to provide cover. Their chain guns are lighting up the oppositions pretty well too. The other I.T.A. is set up directly behind them, dropping off bots. I can see that most of the opposition is situated in the castle, but there are a few in the small village just outside the walls. The outside seems to be where the small arms fire is coming from. "Orders sir!" I glance to Raz for a second before I tap his back and head back into the ship to gather my weapons. "Yinbie! Get out there andprovide covering fire with Raz! Everyone else, we're making a run for the Bots up ahead. From there, Jumpers will flank left while Beserkers flank right. Leaf, Storm, and Si Ye will press forward with me. Understood?" "RAH!" I nod to them and move to the open side of the ship, readying my rifle. Yin moves beside Raz and starts to lob grenades toward the enemy. I wait untill I hear the first explosion before I charge out into the fray, getting everyone to follow after me with a loud battle cry. The fury of the tracers intensifies as we run through the darkness. I try to pay it all little mind, but a few get rather close at times. I keep running. There aren’t any last second thoughts to have. All there is to do is run and hope I make it to my destination. A few of the others have passed me. All of the Jumpers have taken to the air and are now practically at the destination. Those naturally faster than me have pulled ahead as well. I could use magic to get there faster, but I want to save as much energy as possible for the fights to come. FWTANG I fall forward when something slams into the metal plating on my thigh. I let out a quick yell of pain before I push myself back up and continue to run. Every step burns as I force myself along. I'm almost there... just a little bit more... "You alive!?" Storm asks when I make it to the ships. I nod to him and try to catch my breath. "What are you thinking? Split Legionnaires and take the M.G.B.s for a run?" I wince from a sudden sharp pain and reach behind myself, pulling out a Quick Fix syringe. They're one time use healing spells that act quickly. They won't fix a broken bone, but they'll take the edge off. I bite the cap and yank it off before stabbing it into my thigh, aiming right between the metal plating. It stings at first, but a cool healing feeling washes over fast enough. "Sounds like a plan. Legionnaires! Six left, six right! Military bots; five left, five right, the rest on me." They all salute and move into position. The legion bots form their phalanxes while the Military bots take up positions behind them, raising their weaponized arms above the shields. "COVERING FIRE!" I raise my rifle and start to fire up at the castle, setting the first level of enchantment to cause additional damage. Raz and Yinbie stop firing and begin to run towards our location just as all of the others begin to fire with me. It doesn't take long for them to reach us. After a brief moment to reload, everyone gets into position and waits for my command. "... CHARGE!" They all let out another round of battle cries as they take off again. "Those with me, covering fire!" I raise up my rifle and begin to fire again. The tracers intensify from both sides as our units move into position. I motion for our Aquilas to move forward before I reload. Once I'm ready, I signal to the others with a tap on my chest. Once all of the others are ready they tap their own chests as well. I take a few deep breaths before letting out another powerful yell and charge the city. It becomes difficult to see what's actually around me. All around me is darkness with wisps of red and blue flying all over. I see a few dark figures move past me briefly. Most likely Raz and the others moving ahead of me. When we make it into the city area they should let up, assuming their own citizens are there as well. WWWWWWWWWUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAHHHHHUUUUUUUU I slow for a moment when I hear that familiar noise. I've heard it before, back during the attack on Topaz. I steel myself to run faster as I search for the M.R.W.; Mobile Rail Walker. I find it sitting on top of the castle walls as it starts to charge up, the lights on the side of its barrel growing. I reach up to my comms and- PWWWFFFFFFFF-TINK A wave of air knocks me over as a metal slug flies straight through one of the Aquilas. I try to get up to run away, only to fall back down when the Aquila crashes behind me and explodes. I hear a few missiles fire from the other vessels and the roar of that machine again. I go to get up, but stop when I see a little girl ahead of me. She can't be older than seven. Long blonde hair, light pink nightgown, clean white face, and fuzzy pink slippers. I assume she was asleep when this all started. She seems so perfect in contrast to all of the destruction around her. I reach out for her, knowing the danger that lurks around the corner, but she pays me no mind. She just wants the doll at her feet. She didn't ask for any of this, she just wants the doll- "MILES!" "DOLUM!" I yell when someone grabs my arm and starts to drag me forward. I blink a few times until I realize where I am. "Storm! Where are the others?" "Clearing the first building. Are you injured?" he asks as we make it into the stone village. "I'm good! You?" He gives me a look before moving beside a door, waiting for me to take my position. I move to the left and ready my rifle before nodding to him. This part is easy, yet so difficult. I don't even know how many hours I've spent training for these kind of moments. Person one breaks door and tosses in a flash grenade. Using the bang as my queue, I fall in and validate my targets. Engage, destroy, clear. It's simple enough, in theory. But, in practice... BANG I move forward and start with the right most corner. Nothing but furniture. Scanning left, I find my three targets. Two adult griffins and a child. The male has a sword in his right claw as he ushers the other two behind him, though he doesn't know where he's going with both his eyes shut. He's obviously a civilian protecting his family, no need for anything too brash. FWT-TANG A single, well aimed round slams into his sword and knocks it out of his grasp. He falls back, pushing his family into the corner of the building. At this point Storm enters the building and moves straight to the stairs, covering it as I move to detain the griffins. Simple enough. But... they can't prepare you for every door. "Are there any others within the building?" I yell out to him as I kick the sword away. "Petra?" Dammit, I don't think he speaks English. And I don't know enough griffin to even try speaking with him. Hmm... "Child! Upstairs!" Storm yells. I step over to him and glance up to see another child standing there. He seems to be about five, give or take. Storm flies up there and grabs him, making him cry out in fear. The woman here begins to scream out for him, but is held back by the guy. I cover Storm as he flies back down and gives the kid to the two of them. He makes some quick motions for them to stay here, getting a nod from the guy. "We need to get moving!" I tell him as I glance upstairs. "Sixty seconds, mark?" "Mark!" Storm yells back to me. I take off upstairs and repeat the same process for every room. It's a small house, so it goes by quickly. But it's just as intense as the first room. I don't know what's in there. I don't know what to expect. There could be an Unfamiliar waiting to blow my head off, there could be another child waiting for its parent. I'll never know until I open the door, and that is daunting. I've trained to do this; I'm good at this task, just like the rest of the Spartans. But... you never get used to the unknown. "CLEAR!" I yell out as I finish up the last room. I walk back down stairs and go to the windows by the door. I stand to the side and look out at the small village. The gunfire has died down. That tells me that they aren't willing to fire on the populace. "Alright, we need to get moving-" "We can't clear every building on the way to the castle. It would take too long," Storm points out. I nod to him, eyeing the crumbling walls of the castle. "We'll have to make a mad dash for it then." I look across the street and see Yinbie in the window. He makes a few motions with his arms asking what to do next. I motion back to wait before looking back to Storm. "I'll take center and shield-" "You want to march down the middle of the street with nothing but your shield? Are you sure you can handle all that incoming fire?" I mull it over for a second before motioning back across the street, telling them to be ready to move on my mark. "We don't really have much of a choice at the moment. The others are all moving forward by now. besides, any resistance we meet up with will be small arms fire. You ready?" "What about them?" I look back to the family and shrug. "They're not doing anything, on my mark?" He nods to me and moves to the door, ready to make a dash for the castle doors. I sling my rifle and take a deep breath before taking my own stance. I seriously hope nothing larger than small arms fire comes at us. "MARK!" Storm bucks the door open, giving me enough room to run out. From across the street the others do the same and join me in the middle. Once we're all here I throw my arms up and create the dome shield around us. I feel a few rounds ping off it for a moment, but that all ends rather abruptly. I don't waste any time moving down the street. The castle is only a few blocks away. So long as nothing heavy appears we should get there quick enough. "Eyes open everyone. Watch the roofs, alleys, and the castle walls. I don't want anything getting the jump on us." I tell them. They each nod and take their positions around me. Lief takes the right, Storm covers our rear, Si Ye covers the left with four M.G.B.s and six Legion bots filling in between. A pretty good force if I say so myself. The march down the road is slow and arduous. Everyone keeps their eyes open, waiting for anything to make the smallest movement. I try to keep a good pace, but I don't want to push myself too hard with this shield either. We have no clue what we're going to find on the inside. I try not to think about it though. Thoughts like that will get you killed. Focus. Keep the shield up, watch for enemy movement, don't rush into this carelessly. "Enemy on the left!" Si Ye yells. I glance over to see a few people running between buildings. "Orders sir?" Orders sir.... "Captain!?" "Leave them. They'll come back out soon enough. Just keep an eye out for them until we meet up with the others." He nods to me and watches for movement, we all do. I catch a few glimpses of them moving around. They're clever, if anything else. Small groups, corresponding quickly and never staying still. They know we'll have to come to a point soon enough, and that's when they'll hit us. I think I know where they'll do it too. "Up ahead, the road comes to a cross. That's where they'll most likely hit us." I inform the others as we continue to walk. "Legionaries, tighten up. Lief, Si Ye, you're going under. Follow us there and wait for their counterattack. Understood?" "SIR!" The bots tighten up on us, giving Lief cover to dig a hole through the cobblestone road. Having a Jade Hound has proven to be useful thus far. It almost makes up for the smell. Once the hole is deep enough Si Ye jumps down after him and seals the hole magically. "Radio check, sound off." Storm mutters into the radio. "Jumpers sounding off. Fully effective," Rainbow responds. "Beserkers sounding off. Slight injuries but still effective," Big Mac responds. I nod to that, glad to hear we haven't lost anyone yet. "You alright Cap?" Storm asks me. "It's going to take more than a bullet to the leg to stop me." I tell him. "How about a M.R.W.?" I shrug to that. "That'll do it. Thirty seconds out." "Stay here Miles. We need you." I stop in the center of the crossroad and take in my surroundings. This is the main road to the castle. From here it's a straight shot there. I can see movement in all of the surrounding buildings. Windows, alleys, rooftops; we're surrounded. I know we'll have the Beserkers join in on our right flank and the Jumpers from our front, but we'll still have that initial attack. "Are you ready?" "Are you?" I chuckle at that. You can't ready yourself for insanity. CRACK-BOOM-CRACK CRACK CRACK-BOOM Gunfire erupts from all around us as small explosions pepper the area outside. I feel the lines on me start to push their way all the way towards the center of my back as they continue to fire down on us. Some of those rounds are armor piercing, making the dome around us begin to crack. This isn't meant to break my shield though. They're softening it up for someone else... but who... "DROP THE SHIELD!" I drop the shield when Storm yells and thrust a hand forward at the nearest building. The corner explodes and sends shrapnel all over our position as Storm opens fire. I spin around in time to see an Unfamiliar land just before him, the fires in his palms slowly dying away. Our bots open fire as well, pepper several of the buildings indiscriminately. I give a few more thrust to each of the buildings as well, clouding the air with the debris of the stone buildings. When the smoke becomes too much to see a loud battle cry fills the air. The legion bots each charge forward as the thunderous stampede comes our way. I barely have time to draw my weapons before my first target appears. He's wearing armor similar to mine, only his has been painted a deep purple with golden highlights instead. I go to take a swing at him just as he fires his assault rifle at me. A few rounds hit me square in the chest plates, knocking the wind out of me and staggering my advance. I try to take a swipe at him, but he ducks my attack easily. He fires another burst, getting similar results. I give a loud yell as I put everything into a back swing, catching him in the helmet with enough force to knock him over. I step over his body and try to pierce him in the heart, but the armor stops me. He tries to shoot me again, but I smack the gun away with my sword and shove my blade into his gullet. He lets out a loud scream as black blood starts to seep out from in between his armor. I put a bit more weight into my blade until I feel his body go limp. THWUNK I fall over when something smacks me upside the head. I roll over just in time to see another Unfamiliar; in similar armor as the one before. He tries to dig his rifle’s bayonet into me. I scream back at him as I grab the barrel of the gun and force it to the left of my head, scratching my helmet. He goes to pull it back, but I kick up at his leg and force him to a knee. I bring my other knee up and force him down, with me on top. With one hand holding the barrel against his chest, I drive my trench knife up into his head, wrestling with him as he tries to break free. The first hit scratches his helmet, while the second one jabs him just below the chin plate. On my third strike I find purchase with the tiny bit of his neck that is exposed, getting a torrent of black to come running out. I twist my blade in the wound until I feel him begin to violently shake, telling me he's done with. I push myself up and go to retrieve my sword only to get rushed again. Another Unfamiliar tries to get the jump on me, but a legion shield comes out from the smoke and slams into his side, sending him into the abyss. I join the bot as we press on against that fucker, pulling out my revolver along the way. The bot jumps ahead to cover all of the incoming fire from him. I move to the side and send a round into his chest, getting him to stagger back from the high caliber shot. This give the bot an opening to bring a blade across his throat, dropping him immediately. I turn around and take aim at another Unfamiliar as he charges at me with a blade aimed right at my throat. Just before he could pierce me though, a burst of fire explodes from his back as he drops to the ground. I take aim and put some magic into my gun before I fire at the Unfamiliar that tries to stab Big Mac. The round hits him square in the head and crushes the helmet, getting him to drop quickly. We're even. Eeyup. After our silent conversation, the rest of the Beserkers join me in finishing this fight. It doesn't take us long to kill the remaining three, but I have a feeling the others ran off before the dust could settle. At least we're only down two bots. Though we all took some serious hits. I can see a few blood splotches, and plenty of scratches and dents. The others look to me and wait for their next orders. I look out and see Dash leading the Jumpers towards me, so I wait for them to make it here before I address them. "Alright, let's head for the castle now. We're going to detour through the alleyways in an attempt to keep them from firing their larger ordnance. These buildings aren't tall, so I want all Jumpers in the air to watch the higher levels. Bots will take point, understood?" "SIR!" We brake for the alley way and take up formation, Jumpers in the air just below the rooftops and bots taking point. The rest of us form two lines and file in after the others, watching every window, door, and alley as we make our way through the narrow passage. We keep close to the walls as well, in an attempt to avoid incoming fire. Along the way we see plenty of the locals peering out through their windows. The griffins here are scared, for obvious reasons of course, but they aren't doing anything directly to us. Though, after some closer inspection, I realize that there aren't any young griffins looking out at us. Elders, young ones, and the sick look out at us; but there seems to be a clear demographic missing from here. Strange... "We're at the wall sir! Do you want us to clear the top?" Rainbow asks. I peer up and give it a thought. "Clear above the gate. Engage at range, but don't vacate the area. We need to stick together inside the walls. Understood?" "SIR!" The jumpers take off, racing towards the top. "Double time to the gate!" I yell as I drop the shield. I doubt that they'll be able to do any major attacks on us down here. When we make it to the gate without resistance, I start to get paranoid. They're either trying to make a break for it or are holding up inside. I'm hoping they're waiting for us, oddly enough. I don't want to chase after them anymore than I need to. We walk in slowly, forming a half circle as we check each possible point of attack. Windows, balconies, doorways, anywhere and everywhere we check and double check. But the attack doesn't come. Where are they? Where are they hiding? We rush to the main doors and force our way in finding the door unlocked. From there we rush towards the throne room where we find a single Unfamiliar man standing there. He's... nothing I've seen before. He's only wearing a white wrap around his groin. He has a bald head with a long white beard that goes down to his stomach. Every inch of his body is covered in what looks like Kroth text that's been burned into his skin. Maybe burned isn't the right word... It’s more like the text has been carved into his skin. His eyes are a milky white, with no pupils. He's smiling at us, waiting patiently for... something to happen. I keep my rifle on him as I close the distance between us, having the other Spartans cover the other areas. "You don't have to worry, they've left already." His voice is old and raspy. But there's also an odd sense of cheer in there as well. I motion for a few of the Spartans to search the area before I step before the Unfamiliar, eyeing him carefully. "Who are you?" He chuckles at that, making me even more nervous. "I do not have a name. Not anymore at least. Lost that... I can't even remember anymore. My children call me the Nether Walker, in your tongue at least. Though, now it's become ours as well it would seem-" "Where did the others go?" He stops for a second, looking up for a moment. I don't follow his gaze though. If there is something there, someone else will get it. I keep my focus on him. "Well?" "Well... I have stayed behind in hopes of bartering their freedom, however long that may last." This time I laugh. "Did you now? And why are you worth all of them?" He chuckles at that. I was about to say something to him when he turned to walk away, only he disappeared entirely instead. I raise my rifle and sweep around the room, looking for any abnormalities in the area. "Why do you think they call me the Nether Walker?" I spin around when he starts to talk. "How did you do that?" High Flyer asks in astonishment. I shoot him a glare, getting him to back off. "I am a disciple of the Nether, the... eeeh... the Darkness. I've spent my entire life learning its ways, devoting my very being to its laws. My children look to me as.... eeeeh... like a holy person, of sorts. There... isn't a word that translates well enough. Well, not to my knowledge at least-" "Do all of the Unfamiliar follow you?" I ask, getting a serious look from him. "The Kroth listen to me, in part. Most listen to Kileh at the moment... but we are getting side tracked. As you can tell, I can be a formidable adversary. If I surrender to you, do I have your word that you will not hunt down my children today? No matter where you go?" I stare at him in utter confusion. He has the power to decimate us, yet he surrenders himself to protect the others. He could have killed me a moment ago, no doubt about that. There's something he isn't telling me, something I want to know. "What happens when I say no?" I ask him, getting him to chuckle. "Then at least I gave them a start on the head." "... you mean a head start?" Storm asks. "Oh! Yes! A head start! That one!" He seems... too happy about all of this. "Why are you happy?" I ask, walking around him slowly. He just stands there, smiling away. "Because I have no reason not to be. As I told you, I am a servant of the Nether. Would you kill me now, I would simply fade into the Great Nothing. Live... well..." "Well?" I ask as I come to a stop before him, getting him to look me in the eyes. "Well, how often does one get to meet an entity of the Nether?" Is... is he talking about Corpus? "You are... a strange being, Miles Eremita. Strange indeed. Many strings on you, each one pulling you towards a similar fate." "And what would that be?" I ask, a bit of malice dripping from my voice. Strings? I have no strings! I determine my own fate. "Hm. I don't know yet. But it's big. Big enough for an entity to willingly reside within a mortal. But, we can speak another time. You must decide now what course of action you will take. Take me prisoner and let my children go, take me prisoner and hunt my children, or kill me and hunt my children. What will you chose, Nihili Hominem?" I eye him some more before stepping away, motioning Storm over. "What do you make of this?" I ask him through our internal comes. "He seems nuttier than squirrel poop-" "I like that one!" The Unfamiliar man says joyfully, appearing beside me. "But, what is a squirrel and why is his-" "Back off!" I warn him, pushing him away. He shrugs and disappears, reappearing up at the throne. "I don't like this." "I don't either, but... switch to command tone." I nod and switch channels, nodding for him to continue. "My honest opinion, lets take him and run." "Run?" "We just invaded the G.C. Miles. The rest of the world won't like that, not one bit. And if we're trying to win over favor with the other world leaders, we need to play it safe. Plus, I know a lot of the Spartans would like at least a few days rest. Most of them did just finish training. We just lost an Aquila and several bots, I don't feel good chasing after them without proper support. Let's take what we can and try again another day, when we have the advantage." I think about it for a moment. It's true that most of the Spartans did just get out of training, some rest would be beneficial. And the other Unfamiliar are probably taking designated escape routes, meaning they'll be waiting for us to chase after them. We've lost the element of surprise now. And if his word is anything to go by, I doubt they'll shoot down the aircraft that carries him... "Bag him and tag him Spartans, we're heading back. I announce out loud, getting everyone to move him. "But... my people?" The Unfamiliar asks, sounding serious for the first time. "So long as they don't fire on us, we have no reason to search them out." He relaxes a bit, until Lief and Yinbie grab his arms. I walk right up to him and remove my helmet, glaring down at him intensely. "But that doesn't mean this is over yet. Not by a long shot. We're coming for them, all of them." "I don't doubt that. But, I bought them today, and that is enough for me. Let us be on our way then. You will find no resistance from any other Kroth on this day. You have my word-" "Your word is meaningless to me. SPARTANS! Let's move out!" "UH-RAH!" Perspective: Spike This is it. The moment of truth. The Power Moot. Maant and I made it here early and waited patiently for this to finally start. My mother, on the other claw, decided to sleep in and isn't here at the moment. When we walked back into the moot area, a few dragons tried to start fights with me. Nothing major happened, but it was a nice reminder that I'm not wanted here. Maant has been silent this entire time too. Though I imagine she's nervous about what's to happen. If they don't accept my offering, that's the end of the line for her. If they do, then she has a long road ahead of her. She keeps eyeing the Virgum de Marcas, though I doubt she'll try anything stupid. "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWW." A random dragon in the distance starts to roar, slowly getting all of the other dragons to join in. "What's going on?" I yell to Maant. "It's about to start!" she yells back before she joins in the screaming. It's about time they started. Bolas comes thundering down in the center of the crowd, silencing the others. I stand up and wait for... whatever's going to happen. I don't really know what to expect here. Bolas stands there for a moment before he starts to look around, eyeing each dragon along the way. Most seem to shy away from him, but the few that don't he snarls at; making them do so. When he finally makes eye contact with me, he grows a large smile. "Dovah! Vos mii koraav fos tir lost drun us mii dahsul! Ahrk vos mii maat mok naal ok ofanaat, ful tol rok aal aav un leyk! " The others roar in response, some even sending plumes of fire into the air. I didn't quite catch everything he said, but I got the general gist of it. It's time to see if this will work or not. "Spike, what do you bring us?" I walk out into the opening, having several dragons snarl at me along the way. I stand there for a moment before I lift the metal bar above my head, getting a few growls sent my way. "THIS... IS THE KEY TO MY POWER! WITH IT, I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO MATCH THE POWER OF EVEN BOLAS HIMSELF! AS OFFERING, I WILL TRAIN A SINGLE DRAGON TO WIELD THIS POWER JUST AS I DO!" I motion for Maant to step forward. She takes a deep breath before walking out into the open with me, trying to look strong with me. It stays quiet for a moment... a really long moment. I start to sweat when I begin to realize that they don't care if I train someone. Why would they? They want the power, not some girl they don't know! How could I have been so stupid!? "HAHA!" Bolas laughs triumphantly, making me deflate slightly. "Rok lost unadaan liin! Fos saag hi?" Wait what? I've chosen a what now? The crowd erupts in a thunderous applause. I look over to Illit and see her just as red as I am, if not more. Bolas drops down to all fours and peers down at the two of us, still chuckling. "We what now?" I ask, still confused as to what just happened. "It is good that you found a mate. Hopefully this one will bring you great fortune. I always thought you needed a dragoness to temper you. You have my blessings." "...what?" "Go, consummate your union, and then you will become a Dragon of Power, a... Dovah do Suleyk." I stare up at him and start to rebut him, when he cuts me off. "Unless, that is, you do not wish to be a part of our Moot. Then reject my blessings. But, just know that no dragon will even listen to your plight if you do so. What will it be, kul do Drul Rigir?" I look over to Maant and stare at her for a second before I sigh and motion for her to follow. She blushes deeply, but follows anyway. We walk together to a nearby cave where we leave the view of the other dragons. Once we're deep enough inside I start to punch at the wall. Each punch makes a small crater form, slowly getting deeper and deeper. Once a good portion is out, I lean against the wall and drop to my knees, letting my head rest against the cool earth. "W-we don't have to-" "Yes... I do." I cut her off, slowly opening my eyes to stare at the ground. "As much as I don't want to, I have to. He's right. If I refuse his offering, no dragon will ever listen to me. This is more than just the now. This is my future as well. For better or worse, we're-" "Spike." She rests a claw on my shoulder and kneels beside me. I look up to her and see the pain in her eyes. I sigh and wait for her to continue. "Dragons... mate for life. I... I don't want to do this if... if you aren't going... this is bigger than... it... I..." "This is your last chance Maant. If you walk out of this cave right now, I'll hold nothing against you. But... if you stay... then stay for the right reasons." I'm so sorry Rarity... please forgive me. She thinks about it for a long time. I just sit there and wait for her to make her decision. I don't know how long it took her to come around to it, but in the end she makes it. She grabs the Virgum de Marcas from my claw and sets it aside before leaning forward and kisses me. I tense up from the kiss before leaning into her, taking charge over the kiss. I turn towards her and guide her down, slowly getting on top of her. She accepts my position easily enough, letting me take the lead. There was little passion, if any at all. It was me, her, and the simple action. The entire time I couldn't stop thinking about Rarity. How is she going to handle this? How will everyone look at me now that... now that I've done this. What will Mom and Dad think now that I'm married. With all of this in my mind, we finish consummating our union and leave the cave... There was little passion... and just like Rarity always says; 'If there isn't passion, there isn't love.' Author's Note Who is this mysterious new person? How will Rarity react when she finds out about Maant? When will I update without long ass wait?! Find out next time on MAN OF WAAAAAAAAAAAR!! All silliness aside, this could have been here faster, but my father has been admitted to the hospital (I'm going to leave it at that for personal reasons, obviously). As such, there will probably be a period of slow updates... though I can see it still being the way it was like it is now. Essesitally, I could have updated all of my stories last weekend (If by post) but stuff happened. Brony on! Chapter 229 Make Me BetterChapter 229 Make Me Better Perspective: Celestia "... so that's the final report, Princess. I'm sorry, but there's no way around it without-" "I understand, thank you," I cut off the stallion, getting him to bow to me before leaving the throne room. I sit in the throne room and think to myself. This hasn't happened in Equestrian history since... I can't even remember when! It had to happen at least once before though. We have the measures to protect ourselves in this situation, but... I honestly can't remember the last time Equestria was in the red. Never. Never before has this happened. We've always been so careful in the past. We watched our assets, followed the trading seasons carefully, and we've always had such a strong presence in the world financially. But, like a massive books falling over a row of dominoes, it's all come to a crash. When the griffins needed aid, we helped them without a moment's hesitation. I guess the others found this to be a sign of bad times, because the trade slowly dried up. The bears and apes are saving up for an incoming storm. The minotaurs have moved to take advantage of the griffins. Everypony else has always been self-reliant, rarely trading with us. I refused to raise taxes though. The ponies of Equestria have taken on such a burden already, I fear what a tax would do to them. The hit isn't too bad, nothing that can't be easily covered by what we've saved thus far. But... when word gets out about this... I need to speak with several officials on the matter. We need to ready ourselves for the turmoil ahead. If my treasurer is correct about what he thinks will happen, this is only the start of it all. "Princess?" The guard to my side catches my attention as he steps up to me. "We just received a message from the Spartan Captain. He is requesting an audience with you immediately. He... well, it sounded urgent." "*sigh* Very well. How soon will he be here?" I ask. He moves back a bit and starts to whisper into the bracelet on his foreleg. An addition of Miles's, our guard have been outfitted with two way communication bands. It's proven to be much faster than sending scrolls. The enchantment was actually easy to learn. The hardest part was setting the sales price; as to pay for the spells from Terradisia. "He should be here within the hour. Do you wish to attend to your next scheduled meeting?" I think about it for a second before nodding to him. What have you done now, Miles? Actually, I'll push that thought aside. Knowing Miles, it can be almost anything. The door at the end of the hall opens up as Prince Blueblood marches down towards me. I stare at him and remain stoic as he smiles back to me. I do not look forward to this, not one bit. "Princess." he says with a tilt of the head. I hear one of my guards huff in annoyance, but nod back to him anyway. He's still acting superior. "Prince Blueblood, what is it you wish to bring to me today?" I ask in my formal tone of voice. "I have urgent news about the upcoming nation within our borders. It would seem as if the Terradisians are making a move to absorb a family clan into their ranks-" "I assume you speak of the Apples," I cut him off, making him scoff. "Of course. Should their entire family-" "Prince Blueblood, what is it you seek to achieve here today?" I ask shortly, trying to get to the bottom of this already. He scoffs again, making me squint my eyes at him. "With total honesty, I wish to see what path you will take. Many of the nobles have been made aware - and favorable - of the recent embargo on their lands. Should they be allowed-" "What embargoes?" I ask, instantly regretting asking him as he smiles back to me. Of course this would happen. Of course it would. He knows something, and I don't. Now he's getting it on paper so he can flaunt it around to the other nobles. If it wasn't bad enough that I had to replace most of them not too long ago, now I have inexperienced politicians vying for power and favor. Blueblood, unchanged from that fiasco, has been having a field day ever since. He probably has more political pull them Luna did prior to her ascension to Queen. "Well, if you had kept up with current affairs you would know that the Terradisians have not been paying their tariffs, thus earning an audit on their production and manufacturing businesses. Should I explain further or should I continue on with the actual issue?" I squint my eyes at him as I hold back my tongue. I can't afford to irritate the House of Nobles right now, no matter how much I would like to smack that smug look off his face. "Continue." I never thought I would have such difficulty saying that word. "It would seem the Apple House is being petitioned to join their ranks. This simply cannot be allowed. That would reduce our own production by five percent at least. This is unacceptable and demands action. What will you do about this?" I stare at him for a brief moment before I close my eyes and let out a long breath. Of course Miles would be trying to do this as well. I had a feeling today was going to be terrible. The Grand Galloping Gala is just around the corner, this is when all of the bad news would start to rise. "I will speak with their leader and the leaders of the Apple Clan personally. Though I do not wish for such a loss, we will not tether the ponies of this land to any one banner. We are free to make the choices we believe to be best for our loved ones." He smiles and nods to me before leaving. "Ungrateful little-" "Temper," I chide my guard, getting him to stand taller. "We must not lower ourselves to his level. Give it time, he will learn the folly of his ways. One way or another." "Of course, Princess," he replies quickly, adjusting his stance slightly. "... but yes. Ungrateful indeed." We both share a small chuckle before the sound of jets roars overhead. I nod to my guard and wait for Miles to arrive. For once, can it be something urgently good? Did he find one of the Horsemen? Did he solve the acid rain problem? Is Luna pregnant again? I don't know how that last one isn't true. I swear, they'd make rabbits in spring blush from their... activeness. After a bit longer waiting and mulling over what could possibly happen, I hear the jets roar again. I guess he will be staying for a time. Odd, but not unwelcome. I take a deep breath and rehearse my lines as I hear the shuffling beyond the doors. I take note of the guards inside communicating and becoming nervous. I think I can rule out anything good happening now. The doors open and I lose any previous thoughts I might of had. Miles is walking a Kroth man down towards me. He's smiling, overjoyed by all of the sights he's taking in. He only wears a white garb around his waist and has deep etching all over his body. He also has a long white beard going down to his stomach and pure white eyes, the latter of the two putting me on edge. When they make it to the edge of the throne the Kroth man gives a deep bow, catching me further off guard. "Hi!" he bellows loudly. "U-Uh... hello there... Um..." "As promised, any Unfamiliar prisoners are to be brought to you." Miles starts, moving to the man’s side while keeping his weapon aimed at him. "I am here to delegate any meetings you wish to hold with him, as promised. Should you not wish to speak with him, I shall take him to New Garnet for safe keeping. What would you like to do?" I don't respond to him. Instead I just stand up and approach the two of them. If he is a prisoner, why isn't he in shackles? Also, why does he seem so chipper about being here? With as little as I know about the situation, that leaves me with no choice other than to question him. I really wish Miles would have warned me about this. But, I guess I'll have to wing it. "What is your name?" Easy enough question to start with. Hoping he can speak Equestrian. "I have no name. Lost it before my Epiphany. My children call me the Nether Walker." Well, that answers that, then. "Who? Are you?" I pause from his questions. He clearly asked two, but... it must be a language barrier of some sort. "My name is Princess Celestia. I rule over the lands of Equestria. What sort of Kroth man are you?" My question catches him off guard. He looks back to Miles for a second before looking back to me, tilting his head in confusion. "You are Kroth, are you not?" "... I am. I must apologize. With the way the human spoke, I assumed you would... not know that title. Where did you learn it?" I glance to Miles before looking back to him. So Miles is still rather racist towards them, that's not surprising. But he doesn't know how I know the title of his people. That's... odd. "Let's just say a few words have been muttered here and there. Are you a soldier of some kind? Perhaps a deity of sorts?" He chuckles at that. "No, no-" SMACK "Captain!" I yell at Miles. Without a seconds hesitation he smacked the back of his gun against his head, knocking him to his knees. He groans there for a moment, holding his head in pain. "What reason-" "Keep to the truth, Unfamiliar. The alternative is costly." Miles warns him. He looks back to him in confusion, still rubbing his head. "I spoke true! There hasn't been a deity for the Kroth since-" SMACK "DON'T LIE TO ME YOU LITTLE FUCKER!" Miles yells as he begins to beat the man. "YOU TOLD ME YESTERDAY YOU WERE A HOLY PERSON! WHICH IS IT, ASSHOLE?" Miles yells as he continues to beat the poor man. I try to call him off, but I'm simply not getting through to him. "I don't understand! *smack* I am a holy person! *smack* I am no Deity! *smack* Why don't you understand? You of all people should understand!" I finally use my magic to pull Miles off. "Enough, Captain!" I yell at him, stepping between the two of them. "I will not have you abusing my subjects, whether they be citizen or prisoner! If you cannot contain your rage then you can wait outside, understood?" Even though he has that helmet on, I can tell he's glaring down at me. I simply return the glare, waiting for him to make the next move. "... very well." He backs off, stepping back until he can lean against the wall. I let out a sigh as I look back to the Nether Walker. "Thank you," he mutters. I nod to him, waiting patiently for him to stand back up. "I do not understand what is lost." "Well, why don't you explain. How are you holy person without being a deity? Do you worship a deity? Are you religious at all?" He stares down at me in utter confusion, not knowing how to answer. "Um... why don't you explain why the Captain should understand. Perhaps that should clear some things up." He gives another look to Miles before nodding in thought. "Um... it is as the last human I met said. There is the belief for humans that there is this father that gave his son for others. This made them holy persons. I am a father giving his life for his children... perhaps because it is backwards it is lost, no?" I glance over to Miles, watching him slowly shake his head. "What the fuck are you talking about?" "The Father! He.... uh... he sent his son into hardship! When he died he was a holy person! Or... perhaps I misunderstood? Or is it that I have done it backwards? Eeerrr... it would seem I.... eeeeh... put the fuck up?' "Fucked up-" "Yes! I have 'fucked up'! Perhaps you could explain it to me again so I could better understand, yes?" I look back to Miles as he just stands there, shaking his head. "I think it would be better to use a... more literal explanation," I suggest, getting him to nod happily. "Yes! Let us project the feces and set down our terms of business! No more round sexual acts, just facts about-" "Stop.... just stop." Miles mutters, getting the Nether Walker to deflate a bit. "Eeeeh... yes... well, ahem. I surrendered myself to give my children a head... er, a chance to escape," he tells us. I lean forward a bit as I wait for him to continue, but he just stands there. "Um... are these children... yours?" I ask to clarify. "... is that not what I said? Was my English mistaken again? Perhaps-" "What she means is, are these children your biological children? Are they the products of your DNA?" Miles asks shortly, resting a hand on his pistol. I ignite my horn for a moment to move it a bit higher, getting a look from him. I narrow my eyes at him for a moment before looking back to the Nether Walker. We're going to have a long talk after this... a very long talk. "Yes. They are all of my... eeeh... I think the word I want is... eeeeh..." "Family? Like; sons, daughters, wives, cousins, the like?" I ask, getting him to smile. "Aaaah, yes! Like sons, and daughters, and wives, and cousins, and husbands, and aunts, and brothers-" "We get it." Miles cuts him off, but fails to make him to deflate. "They are my family. I surrendered myself to save them, if even for a day. The gold and purple are our... mmmm... loshni, our colors! I am the... eeeeh... father of our Keksh, our... clan!" I stare at his smiling face for a moment before I realize everything he's saying. He's the patriarch of an entire clan of Kroth. An entire lineage stemming from the man standing before me! "Miles, may I speak with you in private for a moment." I ask before stepping to the side. My mind is racing with all of the possibilities right now! We have a chance to learn and preserve an ancient, alien culture! This... this... I don't know where to even begin! I need to get Twilight in on this! And Luna! Oh! What do we even ask him! We need to get started as soon as possible! I look up and notice that I'm standing by myself. I look back and note how Miles is glaring right at me, even with the mask on. "Miles! What a wonderful name! But, why is she translating your name? Is not your name in Latin? Most human names are Latin, or so I thought. How would you say Miles in Latin? Or is Miles Latin for something?" I can only smile awkwardly as I feel Miles's glare intensify on me, practically melting his helmet off. "Ahem... heh... heh, I mean Captain, would you please speak with me in private... please?" He stands there for awhile, glaring at me. The Nether Walker either finds this hilarious, or can't read the subtext of the situation. Though... I never thought about that before. Why is his name Miles? I mean, it could mean something in Latin, and I just don't know. I'll have to ask Luna... assuming Miles doesn't explode on me. "C-Captain?" "This better be good," he groans before stepping over to me. I walk him over to the other side of the room and take a moment to form my question. I know what he's going to say if I don't ask this the right way. I may only get one chance at this. "So-" "No. You can't keep him here to ask questions." "You put me in charge!" I snap at him. "Only with my presence!" he snaps back, only with much more real anger. "He is dangerous, Celestia. He cannot be left on the surface. I will not allow a threat like that to exist here. Not this close-" "Why did you put me in charge if you're going to dictate everything we do?" I ask, stepping towards him. "You were going to drive yourself off the deep end. You came to me to better yourself, and that's why you came back! You don't want to be the monster Terradisia has made you. You want to be better! Let me help you-" "This is different, Celestia," he says, stepping away for a moment while rubbing his head. "Last time... last time I was wrong. But... he..." "You came to me to be a better man. I know you are better than this at heart. Don't let your hatred guide you at this pinnacle moment. Think clearly about this, Miles. We can use him to end a war that has raged for millennia. Imagine it, Terradisia in peacetime. No more wars, no more fighting. Just two people coming together to rebuild, casting aside the ashes of past failures. Isn't this what you wanted? Is peace not worth pursuing, even if it's down undesirable paths?" He rubs his head a bit longer, mulling over my words. I glance over to the Nether Walker and see him eyeing the two of us, waiting to see what's going to happen. "Celestia..." he starts softly, finally looking back to me. "Should this go wrong... you know what we put at risk." "Are they in any more danger than before? At least this way we can say we tried to end it like decent beings.What if this stops an assassin’s bullet? Or stops them from retaliating? You took one of them, what's to stop them from doing the same? Terradisia raised you to fight. Let Equestria raise you to forgive. I can do this, you just have to trust me." The room goes silent. We both stare at Miles as he stands there, thinking deeply on what I said. I swallow the lump in my throat as I wait for him to make his decision. I don't know how he will process this. He wants to change, he wants to be the hero. But he's been raised to fight these people till the bitter end. Even if he says he'll try, how far can he actually go? "It's not you that I don't trust," he tries, glancing over to the Nether Walker. "I have surrendered. On my word, I shall not fight those who hold me captive. Not until I attain my freedom," the Nether Walker tells us with a serious face. "All I have to offer is my word. You spared my children, it is the most I can offer." The room falls silent again. I glance between the two of them as I wait for something to happen. A drop of sweat rolls down the side of my head when I see Miles set his hand back on his pistol. There has to be something more I can give, something to set his mind at ease. "Three days," I say, gaining both of their attention. "Give me three days. When you return for the Grand Galloping Gala, you can take him where you please. Give me that, please." "I need assurance. I need... that security. I will not let my family remain within harm’s reach without a failsafe." Miles tells me. The Nether Walker’s eyes brighten for a moment as he starts to walk towards us. Instead of walking all of the way, he simply appears before us. I can see why Miles is so scared of this man now. Instantaneous teleportation, with little to no effort. That's terrifying. "Make me a death collar," he suggests, getting both of us to look at him oddly. "A... small... explosion, that you put around the neck. With a button! Give Celestia the button. Should I step out of line, she can explode me without a seconds thought. And make it small enough to not explode those around me! No others should be harmed for my misguided actions." I stare at him for a second before a smile forms on me. I feel as if I can truly trust this man, if only for of his selflessness. "... why are you so willing to kill yourself? You have a family to watch over. Aren't you afraid of what will happen to them?" Miles asks, making him chuckle. "If I lived in fear of what could happen, I could never step out of my own home. I know my family is strong, they will move on with or without me. But, as Celestia said, if I have a chance at peace, why would I not pursue it? If I can save even one of my keksh, then I have done well by my own. What say you, Mortalis de Bellum?" Miles cringes from that. I ponder it for a second before setting it aside for another time. I feel another droplet of sweat form as I wait for his answer. This is it. Yes or no. All depending on whether or not Miles is savable. "... I..." Come on Miles, I know you are a better man than this. Please... "Don't move." I gulp when he pulls out his pistol. The Nether Walker and I glance to one another as he begins to fiddle with it. He pulls one of the bullets out and sets the pistol back in its sheath. Using his magic, he warps the case into a thin necklace that hold the metal slug in front. Some black powder falls to the ground, but we ignore it as Miles begins to whisper something to the necklace. "Miles?" I ask quietly, unsure of what he's doing. He doesn't respond to me. Instead he brings the necklace over to the Kroth man and sets it around his neck, tightening it so it won't come off. "If the chain breaks, it will set off the round. If a certain word is spoken, it will detonate as well. As one father to another, I trust that you will not do anything foolish." The Kroth man looks up to him in surprise and nods. "Celestia... the password is... my son's full name. Do not let me regret this." "I won't-" "I have to get going. Ulfric will hear of this soon enough. I'll... I'll speak to you the next chance I get," Miles tells me before walking towards the doors. I sigh as I watch him go. Our talk is not going to be a short one. But... if it's to make Miles into the stallion he needs to be- "What is the word the humans had for this? There is a word for it, but I can't recall it..." The Nether Walker mutters as he tries to think of something. "What are you trying to describe?" I ask. "Giving away one's... morality. There is a human word for it, I just can't remember what it is... hm... oh well! It seems I forgot! Now then, what shall we do in the mean time?" he asks me joyfully, appearing before me with a large smile. Oh... what did I just sign myself up for? Perspective: Luna Never, in all the years that I've lived here, did I ever think I would lower myself to this. I really didn't think it could happen. Even in the most extreme, crazy, most illogical scenarios, I always had a way to weasel my way out of this kind of situation. Most of which involved me sending Miles instead. But here I am. Standing before a brothel waiting for Applejack to meet with me. The stallion performing the audit on Sweet Apple Acres is currently inside, doing who knows what, giving us our best chance to corner him. I just hope we don't catch him... in the act. "L-luan." I look over to see Applejack standing before me, wearing a large tan trench coat that covers most of her body. She also has a new hat on as well as large sunglasses, a modest attempt to hide herself from the public eye. I simply cut an illusion spell over myself, making myself appear as some light blue unicorn nopony. "You mean Dew Drop. You know, I can put an illusion spell-" "It's a bit late, don'cha think?" Applejack asks flatly. Before I could answer, the door opens and out walks a stallion in practically the same exact outfit. The two of them stare at each other before the stallion chuckles and nods his approval. "Nice coat," he tells her before walking away. Applejack just stands there, unnerved by... that. "Cast it," she tells me as she starts to remove all of the clothing. I cast the spell and make her appear as a red pegasus. She groans out a response before facing the door. I step beside her and take a deep breath. "Well... after you... Contrail." I say quietly. "Queen’s first, Dew Drop," she responds quickly. "Oh no, I insist," I tell her, nudging her forward slightly. "For the future of your farm, after all." That was a low blow, but I don't care. I'm already stepping into a brothel to talk a pencil pusher out of being a jerk, I can go second. She lets out a slow groan and walks forward, slowly resting a hoof on the handle. "Are we even sure he's here?" she asks me quickly. "Oh... he's in there." "How could ya-" "Pinkie told me so." She stares at me for a second before sighing in defeat and opening the door. She pauses for a second before shuttering all over and taking those final steps inside. I contemplate heading home for a moment but resign myself to this fate. I already forced her to go in. As a good friend, I shall endure with her. I'm sure a strip club in modern Equestria won't be too terrible for a farming mother and a queen. "SHAKE THAT FAT ASS GIRL, WOOO!" "FLICK THAT THICK CLIT!" "WORK IT, WORK THE POLE!" "SUCK THAT BIG HORSE DICK!" "DEEPTHROAT COCKSLUT!" Applejack and I nearly run straight out the door as the crowd of stallions cheer on the two ponies on stage. Of course there would be some outlandish show going on the moment we walked in here, why wouldn't there be? Our lives would be too simple if that were the case. We glance to one another before heading further inside, trying our best to keep our eyes on the carpet. I, for whatever reason, take a second glance at the stage and watch the two of them go at it. It's just some mare giving oral to a stallion while she masturbates. I suddenly feel much dirtier when I realize I've been in a similar situation. Given, it was with my husband in the privacy of our bedroom, but... still. "Can I help you two?" I look back when we approach the bar. The dark brown stallion there gives us a warm smile as he shines a glass. I glance over to Applejack before stepping forward to address him. "Yes, actually. I was wondering if you could help us find somepony-" "Alright, I'm going to have to stop you there." I stop when he loses the smile and sets the mug down, leaning forward to glare evenly at us. "This is a safe place, okay? You can't come in here and start digging around. You either drink, screw, or get out. We don't tolerate loan sharks, thugs, over-possessive mothers trying to force their children into lives they don't want, or lawyers. So forget about whatever you're looking for, and either order up, lay back, or get steppin." "..." "..." "... lay back?" Applejack asks. "Ya' know... like... to screw-" "What wines do you have?" I ask quickly, trying to change the subject. I don't think Applejack will take kindly to... do that. "What are you looking for? We don't actually have the biggest listing right now-" "Just give me what you think would be good for right now. Something red, Contrail?" I ask, having to nudge Applejack to get her to look at me. "Oh! Uh... cider?" He nods to us and heads to the back. I let out a long sigh and try to ignore the commotion going on behind me. It's a bit difficult to do so when the crowd practically yells every little action going on. AJ and I glance to one another several times as we try to think of something to say, but we can't get past our blushes. It doesn't help that curiosity is trying to get the best of me right now. For reasons I can't fathom, I want to watch. But I don't want anypony knowing that I'm watching. Is that normal? "First time here?" some mare asks as she takes a seat beside me. She's a light cream earth mare with deep scarlet hair that's cut short. She has a mark of two sugar cubes. "Yeah," I mutter, trying not to turn my head too much. She laughs a little, reaching over the counter to grab a bottle of beer. I don't think you're suppose to do that. "You can look, you know. Nopony here is going to judge you for being curios." I smile and nod to her, keeping my gaze just below the mirrored wall. She laughs again, twisting the top off the beverage. "Name’s Sugar." "Dew Drop, and this is my friend Contrail." AJ leans forward to tip her hat, getting Sugar to tip her drink back. "I'm going to take a guess and say you're never done stuff like that before, have you?" she asks with a slight chuckle before taking a drink. Neither of us respond, making her laugh a bit harder. "No, that's not it then. Hmm... oh! You're both mothers, aren't you?" "Y-yeah." AJ answers, to which I nod. "How many, foals that is?" "One," AJ tells her. "Two," I answer. "Hm, I have two myself. One’s fourteen, the others six. Both boys, you?" I look over to AJ before looking back to Sugar, easing into the conversation a bit more. "Boy and girl. The girl is fourteen now while the boy is six," I tell her, making her smile. "Mine's three. But ah got plenty of other ones running around the house too. From the family that is." "Aw, I always wanted that. Big family all in one spot. Must be nice. Mines all over Equestria. We try to keep in contact, but who has the time to send that many letters? I have a hard enough time trying to keep my boy out of the fridge." I laugh at that, knowing all too well about the pains of a growing colt. "My older one actually just got into the Canterlot weather team though-" "He's a pegasus?" I ask, getting her to nod. "Mhm, pegasus, weather pony, and a pain in my flank! But, he's sweet and writes often so I can't complain too much." I smile at that sentiment, thinking on the future for myself. "Fourteen year old girl though, she out on her own or finishing up school?" "Finishing school. She had a late start, but she's ready to go to any college out there, baring she actually tries to leave." AJ chuckles at that, knowing all too well about Shadow’s overt shyness. "You don't hear that every day. I know when I was that age I was ready to see the entire-" "Sugar, what did I tell you about taking from the bar?" The bartender asks when he returns with our drinks. "What? It's my day off and Mint's off with his dad, cut me some slack!" He rolls his eyes, moving down the bar to clean more glasses. I eye her a bit before sharing a glance with AJ. She seems to have the same concern as me, but doesn't seem to want to say anything. "Um... Sugar? Are... you... a... a um... are you-" "The politically correct term is escort," she cuts me off with a smile. I feel all of my previous apprehensions build right back up. I had no idea that she was an... escort. "Is that a problem?" "What? No! I mean... is it?" I ask quickly, almost instantly regretting it. My cheeks begin to burn from the awkwardness of the situation. She laughs at me, taking a large gulp of her beverage before setting the bottle down. I glance back to AJ and see her in a similar state as myself. At least I'm not alone in this. "Would you believe me if I said I actually like my job?" she asks, getting bewildered looks from the both of us. "The escort industry isn't what it used to be, not by a long shot. Ever since Cheesus came into the picture there's been a drastic change in things here." "How so?" AJ asks. "Well... where to start... I have dental." I blink at that, not completely understanding what she means by that. "There's a system for this. Constant medical check ups, the best security short of the royal guards, therapy if needed, I can even apply for loans and stuff like that!" I blink a few more times, still not comprehending what she's saying. "... but... y'all have ta... do that,." AJ clarifies, getting a shrug from Sugar. "Yes and no. Doing that will get you there much faster. But you don't have to do those things to get all of that help. There are plenty of background jobs that need to be done as well. Carriage pullers, tax filers, painters, there's a lot to these jobs. Heck! Tap over there is working off a student loan! Not to mention he's using his skill to pay for his brewer’s degree." "You can get a degree in brewing beer?" I ask, getting a groan from the stallion. "It's not for brewing beer. It's for wine. I studied viticulture, I make wine," he complains, getting Sugar to roll her eyes. "I pulled a loan for my home, my son’s education, and I plan on doing the same for my second son! Even better, I get to sell my baked goods to the other escorts here as well. Do you have any idea how hard it is to be a baker? Even before the food depression, that market was impossible to get into! Yeah, there were tough days. I mean, no matter what, at the end of the day I get paid to lay on my back. There were plenty of times I wondered if this was the right thing to be doing. But, I quickly realized that there aren't many others out there willing to help no name ponies. Plus, Cheesus made this work safe. I don't have to worry about some scumbag skirting out on the bill. I don't have to worry about getting sick. I don't have to worry about being raped!" "... oh." That's pretty much all I can muster after all of that. I didn't know it was like that. I was actually assuming the worse actually. The whole... rape, money issues... she didn't say anything about drugs though. But... I'm assuming they aren't allowed here. "I'm sorry we assumed that." "Don't be. I'm sorry for going off on you two like that. I just... get heated when ponies try to assume the worse about us,." She tells us, holding her drink between her hooves. We all share a moment of silence as we stare at our drinks together. She's doesn't seem like a bad pony. And I guess I made some rude assumptions when she told me her profession. "Tap, I need another." Sugar tells him, pushing her bottle forward. I look down to my drink and frown for a moment before downing the rest of it in one go. The others give me shocked looks as I try to keep a straight face, but that's the largest amount of alcohol I've had in awhile. "Me too,." I tell him weakly, trying to keep my head straight. "But... can I have one of your wines?" He cracks a smile at me, heading towards the back. "Me too!" AJ yells, downing her cider shortly after. We all share a small laugh, letting the tension melt away. "Hey, do you girls have to be anywhere today?" Sugar asks excitedly. "We both actually cleared up our day to... deal with something here today. But... since it's not happening, yep. All clear. Why?" I ask. Sugar looks over our shoulders before looking back to us with an evil smile. Confused, I look over and see three stallions at the other end of the bar, eyeing us. I feel my cheeks begin to burn when I notice that they're all sizing us up, waiting for the right moment to start flirting with us. "Want to have some fun?" I begin to go dizzy from this. I haven't had a stallion eye me like that... ever. Even when Miles was at his... peak of flirtiness, he never looked at me like that. They look as if they're about to conquer a nation... somewhat true in my case. "Ah'm married," AJ points out quickly. "Happily married." "Yes, same here... plus..." I bite my lip as I think about my next few words carefully. I feel like I'm talking to a safer Regina right now. Plus... it's not like they'll know who I'm actually talking about. "Plus?" Sugar asks eagerly. I feel my cheeks burn up as our drinks are set before us. I take my glass and take another large sip, feeling the alcohol add to my confidence. "Plus... I doubt any of them will... fill my husband's shoes." I have to take another drink when the silliness of the statement gets to me. I've never talked to anypony about Miles like that outside of Regina! It feels... so naughty! Applejack scoffs out a laugh as Sugar giggles herself. I try to hide my smile, but can't help but laugh when Sugar nudges me. "How big are we talking?" she asks, making AJ laugh. "Ya wouldn't ba-lieve her if she said," she tells her, making her laugh a bit more. "So you've shared," she teases, making me laugh. "No, no, nothing like that. It's just... my husband and I have a tendency to... get caught, in the act," I tell her, making her smirk at me. "Right, nopony is setting that up," she teases before taking a drink. She motions to the stallions and smiles. One of them, a light orange pegasus, has worked up the nerves to approach us. We all share a small laugh until he stops before me, pausing to see what he says. "Hey there, mind if I buy you a drink?" he asks me as suavely as possible. I can't help but giggle as I look to the others for help. AJ shrugs while Sugar motions for me to roll with it. I could just tell him I'm not interested... but where's the fun in that? Fun in that? I might be a larger lightweight when it comes to alcohol than I previously thought. Heh, larger lightweight- "Should I take that as a yes then?" he asks, bringing me back. I take another drink and decide to take him for a run. "But I already have a drink," I tell him sweetly, taking a light sip from my glass. He chuckles at that, then mulls over his response for a second. I look over to AJ and see her shocked look. I shrug to her and turn back to the stallion as he begins to talk. "How about I take the tab for that one and we go have a talk somewhere more private then? Get to know one another," he suggests, making me chuckle out a hum. Not bad, but not great. "What about my friends? It would be rude to leave them," I tell him, making him perk up. "Well, I have some friends that can keep them company while we talk. I know they'd like to say hi," he tells me, getting them to rush over to his side and offer their best smiles. I laugh a bit more at his persistence. I bet this works on other mares, but I have eons of diplomatic experience under my belt. Lets see if I can use those here. "Hmm... as tempting as that seems, I don't think I'll be leaving my friends side any time soon." I tell him, getting AJ to finally chime in. "I dunno, Dew Drop, he seems like he really wants ta talk ta ya." I lean over and see that he's sporting an erection. I assume he's well endowed. But, sadly for him, I'm comparing him to Miles. Alicorn physiology wins the day yet again. "Heh, sorry about that. It has a mind of its own," he says modestly. He doesn't try to hide it, telling me he's quite proud of it. Hmm... "Sorry boys, but my friends and I are just having some drinks. Maybe another time," Sugar tells them, getting disappointed looks from them. I feel like I just took a bone away from Lupus... heh, bone... oh lord. Is this my sense of humor after two glasses? Maybe I should slow down a bit. "Alright ladies, next time," he tells us before they take their leave. Surprising he didn't persist. Then again, Sugar is a worker here. If she says no, they probably know what that means. "So, girls, either we pay our tabs and head out, or..." Sugar suggests, pulling out her purse to god through it. "Or, we take this key, go to my personal room, and pound a few more away." "Ah'm not a lesbian-" "I meant drinks," she tells her flatly, making me chuckle. "Oh... well... Dew?" I mull it over for a second before looking over to my nearly empty glass. Logically, we should call it a day and head back. But, logically of course, how many days do we get to just goof off? I had to plan ahead to get this day ready, might as well use it. "Oh, why not. I have the day cleared, may as well use it. Right?" I ask AJ. She thinks about it for a second before shrugging along. Sugar giggles and leads us upstairs. I can't help but feel like a filly about to get a present for some reason. Maybe it's because I haven't had a day of fun since... more than a year at this point. "Ladies, room sixty-nine! A room I had to work my tail off to earn!" she tells us as she escorts (heh, escorts) us in. "Pfft, please. Spreadin’ yer legs and lyin’ about how good a rutting it was is not hard work," AJ teases, making her laugh. "Maybe not, but I've got some tricks that might make your vanilla lives turn to dark chocolate." I laugh at that, thinking back to Regina. "My other friend says I'm too vanilla... maybe I'd like to hear more about this dark chocolate." Sugar gives me a knowing smile before shutting the door behind us. This... is going to be fun. Perspective: True Will Guard duty at Fort Corium Gutter is as boring as ever. Frank, Sledge, and I have been taking turns on watch. Luckily nothing has decided to bother us- "SQUUUUUAAAWWWK!" Except Dusts newest little nuisance. I give it another glare as it sits there, my helmet nestled between its front legs. Bastard. "Any activity?" Franks asks with a yawn as he steps into the tower with me. I shake my head and look back out to the Badlands. The morning sun is finally coming back up, meaning I get to go to bed now. I turn to leave when Frank quickly sets a hoof on my shoulder. "Take a look at that." "*Sigh* of course it would happen at the end of my shift," I groan as I turn around and look out there again. I don't see anything moving. Nothing in the air either. "What am I looking for?" "Oh, right. No helmet. Uh... I have a group of armored goblins moving our direction about five kilometers out. Roughly ten of them. By the looks of it they should be here within the hour." I let out a groan as I continue on my way out. I guess I can sleep when I'm dead then, perfect. I head to the barracks where I kick Sledge awake. He jumps a bit at first, but calms down enough to glare at me. "What was that for?" he demands, getting me to glare at him. "Wanna ask that again, private?" He swallows the lump in his throat before answering. "U-uh, sorry sir. What's happening, sir?" I shake my head at him and toss his helmet into his lap. "Suit up, we have goblins incoming." I leave at that. I make my way up the tower and stand beside Frank as we watch the small dust column grow. It doesn't take Sledge long to join us, but when he does, he lets out a low whistle. "Shit, what do you think they want?" he asks. "They're probably just here to check up on their mining operations," Franks tells him, getting a thoughtful nod from him. "What do you think, True Will?" "I think... we need to gear up. Even if they are here with peaceful intentions, we have an image to keep up. I want us decked out with weapons hot, you have five minutes." They both nod and run off to gather more of their supplies. I just stand here as I watch them get closer. I've seen that kind of formation from them before. They're here for a fight. But those two are still fresh. Telling them that would only scare them. Even after all of that training, true combat has a way of getting into a pony’s head. And this looks serious. When they gather their gear we stand in the tower and wait for them to approach us. The vehicles they're riding are strange, to say the least. It looks like they're riding a single cog that stands perfectly upright. The seating area bulges out at the inner bottom part as they tear through the earth at high speed. Four small smoke stacks go out behind them and leave a trail of white smoke with all of the dust they're leaving behind. The loud vehicles come to a stop just before the fort walls and stay standing. I see the goblins quickly dismount and form up just before their vehicles, putting on some heavy armor. They don't move yet, obviously waiting for us to come out to them. "I'm going down there to talk with them. You two stay up here and get ready to fire when the shit hits the fan." I tell them, getting them to raise their weapons. There's ten of them, this shouldn't be too hard. Hopefully they just want to know about their countrymen and leave at that. Here's hoping. FLASH "Hm, sprechen kobold?" I take a quick look over each of them. Their armor seems to be made of brass and has a few points where it spikes out. They each wear red capes and carry a large array of weapons. Pistols, rifles, grenades, and other various melee to name a few. The one that spoke I assume to be the leader, due to the long, red plume on the top of his helmet. I stare at him, waiting to see what he does. "Didn't think so. I am Hauptmann Cogswheel of Stake's Storm Troopers, who am I speaking with?" "I am Captain True Will of the Spartan Phalanx, to what purpose do you approach Fort Corium Gutter?" I keep myself standing tall, only facing Cogswheel. I'll let the others worry about his subordinates for now. "We received a distress call from our mining operations out here. Shadows, nasty business really," he tells me with a sly grin. I remain stoic, letting him continue. "It would seem they did not make it to the ends of their contracts-" "That doesn't answer why you've come to this outpost," I cut him off shortly. He grits his teeth for a second before returning to his previous grin. "With your outpost in such close proximity, we were wondering if you happened upon any survivors." At my silence he nods and looks to the others, getting a few of them to nod. "Very well then. Would you perhaps offer sanctuary for my troops and I? The Badlands can be... troublesome." "Only on the conditions that you leave your weapons and armor outside the premise during your stay." I'm not worried about a bunch of goblins sleeping in our bunks. But I am worried about letting ten armed goblins into our compound. That simply won't- "SQUUUA?" I feel my eye twitch when I hear that damned creature squawk again. Of course it's going to act up now. Why wouldn't it? I glance back to see it perched on the walls, eyeing the goblins closely as it hunches its shoulders. "My my, would you look at that. A crystal drake. And a sapphire one at that! It must be our lucky day," Cogswheel says, getting the other goblins to chuckle with him. "You wouldn't happen to be keeping that thing, would you?" "..." I don't quite know how to answer that. I don't want the damned thing, but I don't want to help these guys either. Plus, Dust would be pretty upset with me if I let them kill it. "We are." He chuckles at that, making me nervous. "That's a shame." BANG I go wide eyed when the puff of smoke blinds me for a second. It wafts forward for a second before it slowly glides around the small shield before me. A small net of cracks form right before my neck, barely holding the metal ball in place. The gem on my chest crumbles away, ending the spell. I charge my horn and teleport away just as a few more shots are fired. I feel one ping off my flank, but it bruises me at best. I appear on the top of our outer wall between Frank and Sledge. "You alright, Will?" Frank asks. I look down and feel my neck before nodding to him. That was close, way too close. "Orders, sir... oh shit." I look out at Cogswheel and watch as arcs of electricity jump from spike to spike all over his body. The goblins next to him slam their fists against their chests and have similar effects happen, only much worse when the arcs start to wildly jump from goblin to goblin. "I guess we know why they're called Storm Troopers then-" "Open fire already." As Sledge begins to fire his machine gun down at them, they all suddenly leap high into the air. Large springs recoil back into their boots as they begin to fall back towards the ground. I whip out my sword and jump back as two goblins land before me. Before I could act, the crystal drake snaps forward and engulfs the foremost goblin in one bite- BOOM I gawk as a large burst of electricity explodes outward, shattering its head off. Its body falls limply to the ground, leaving Cogswheel before me. He grins as he spins his spear around, stepping towards me. I start to charge my sword- FWT-TNK I lose my breath when the end of the spear burst forward, impaling itself into my armor. I charge towards him to begin engaging him, only to have an arc of electricity jump at the spear end and shock my entire body. I fall limply off the side of the wall, falling straight to my back. Everything remains a blur as more shots ring out all around myself. I try to get back on my hooves, shaking the initial shock off. "Get up Will!" Sledge yells as he forces me up. I blink a few more times before reaching for my sword, finding it missing. "You'll have to cast for the time being, now fight!" I look up as four goblins land in the open area before us. I charge my horn and send a blast of energy at the closest one, sending him reeling back a few feet. The others all fire spear ends at us, all of which stick into Frank’s shield when he suddenly drops before us. Because he's a moose, his hooves don't fit around small gun grips. So he's wields a Legion bots tower shield in his left and a club in his right. The club was special made by Miles to bend to Frank’s will. Right now it's going at a right angle with a ball forming at the end. He rushes forward and engages the next closest goblin, swinging his shield around madly. It catches him right in the center and sends him flying back. All of the arcs of electricity funnel in at the spear points, keeping Frank relatively safe from their effect. As Sledge begins to fire on one of the other goblins, the other one tosses his spent spear towards us. It makes a connection that shocks me again, stopping me from casting for a moment. I drop down as the two of them finish off the last goblin, presumably with Sledges machine gun fire. When everything goes quiet I pick myself up and look around for my sword, spotting it on top of the wall. "Where did the other five go?" Sledge asks as he changes gems in his gun. I teleport up top- VRRRRRUM I nearly lose my head when one of their vehicles roars past me. The other four follow right after it, driving straight into the wall and then right up to the top. These vehicles seem to remain rooted in the ground. They go up and over quickly, racing around the interior at high speed. I try to watch them closely, but the air is filled with a thick layer of dust and smoke. I can hear more gunfire and arcs of electricity ringing out beneath us, but can't get a good read on any positions. BOOM I look back and see two figures flying towards our position. A moment later Spike and his girlfriend land beside me. Spike sends a few more blasts of energy, but stops when I get in the way. "We have friendlies in there!" I yell at him, getting a nod in return. "What's the plan?" I look back in and try to think. We need to get them out of there. I don't know how to summon other people, and I don't have visual to teleport. "RAH!" Spike’s girlfriend suddenly launches herself into the fray. I blink a few times before I see a few spots where spouts of fire burn through the dust. After a few more bursts she suddenly flies into the air, carrying Sledge in her arms. She brings him over and drops him beside me before flying back in. "... I like her," he states before getting back on his hooves. He's lost his machine gun somehow, but still has his warhammer. "Where did you pick this one up?" "..." "Once she gets Frank out of there I'm going to teleport us inside the barracks. Their vehicles won't be able to fit in there and we'll be able to re-arm ourselves. Got it?" Sledge nods to me, readying his hammer in his hooves. "Spike, get airborne and be ready to attack the first goblin you see." He nods to me as well, jumping into the air. We watch as the yells and arcs of electricity intensify beneath us. I grit my teeth as I wait for that dragon to pop up. What is taking her so long? All she has to do is grab him and fly off, what could they possibly have that could stop her? I jump slightly when something slams into the wall. I race to the tower as the vehicles begin to race over again. I try to blast one of them with my magic, but miss completely due to their speed. They race by the other vehicles and drop- KA-BOOM We all duck down when they all go up in flames. I feel the heat wash over my armor for a second before finally fading away. I grab Spike before he could get back up and hold him down. Shrapnel rains down on us for a moment, but once it ceases I let go of him and stand. I look out to them and watch as they race away, cheering triumphantly. Why are they so happy? They lost at least four soldiers, this couldn't have been a victory... unless... I look back over as the dust begins to settle. The dragon is kneeling over Frank as he lays there on the ground. He isn't moving, and there's a large pool of blood around him. I stare at him for a moment before teleporting down to his side. His right foreleg has been cut off. The stump has been seared to stop the bleeding, but he isn't moving. I reach down and remove his helmet. He... he's... "No... no, he'll be fine, right?" Spike asks as he lands quietly behind me. I reach down and feel his neck, waiting to see if I failed again. ... Come on... don't let me fail again... I can't lose another one... not after Daisy... ... ... Please... ... ... ... thump Perspective: Shadow I let out a deep breath as I begin to leave Sweet Apple Acres. It's nice to hang out with Applebloom and the girls, even if we're doing chores. It keeps my mind off of other things. Namely, Diamond Tiara. She has been brutal in her attempts at vengeance! Following me after school, lurking around my usual hang outs, she even tried to find me in Mooseden! Mooseden! I haven't slept well ever since! Even if Azzeal scared her away, I constantly have this nagging feeling that I'm being watched! The girls have been with me constantly, but that's not helpful either! I need alone time! So now they think I'm going to the bathroom instead of bucking trees. I'll come back soon enough, I just need a moment to myself. I don't know how I'm going to reason with her. She isn't thinking rationally, so there isn't any rational way to approach this. Maybe I should just apologize and let her punch me. I'll fall to the ground and curl into a ball, waiting for her to leave me be... no. Dad would never let that slide. And of course he'd find out, one way or another. 'Why'd you let her hit you? Why didn't you fight back? Shadow, you have to stand up for yourself! You're a Terradisian, you don't just let ponies walk all over you! Fuckity fuck fuck fuck!' Yeah, I don't need to hear that right now. There has to be another way around this. Someway I can get out of this without having to get in a fight. "Sup," some dark grey unicorn says to me as he walks past me. I nod to him, barely paying... "Wait a minute," I mumble to myself as I turn and look back to him. I look down to his mark and remember the star with an eye inside it. I know this stallion, but from where? "Wait a minute!" I yell before teleporting in front of him. "Sup?" he asks with a tilt of his head. "You're the pony that's been stealing from Mooseden!" I accuse, pointing a hoof at his chest. He simply tilts his head, eyeing me oddly. "Oh! I know you! You're that mare banging Rumble-" "I'm not with him!" I yell, taking a step back as I begin to blush deeply. "And don't make this about me! Stop stealing from my home!" "Okay." "I mean it! We've already called the- wait what? Okay? What do you mean okay?" I ask, tilting my own head. He merely shrugs, stepping around me peacefully. "I mean okay. I won't steal from your home anymore." I follow after him, eyeing him closely. "... just like that?" I ask skeptically. "Just like that," he confirms. I follow after him for a few more moments before scoffing at him. "Why am I even talking to you? You're a criminal, you're just lying to me-" "If that's what you believe-" "It is what I believe! Don't condescend to me!" I demand, making him shrug again. "What does that mean!?" "What?" he asks, pausing to look at me with those innocent yellow eyes. "That... shrug you do! Stop doing that!" I demand, making him shrug again. I growl in frustration as he begins to walk off again. "Where do you think you're going?" "Why do you care?" he asks, turning around to get in my face. All of my previous confidence falters as he uses his height to tower over me. I hate being short, so much. "I'm just a criminal, right? I lose any credibility because of that, right? Why do you care where I'm going?" "B-because! This is my friend’s farm! I don't want you taking anything from her or her family!" I yell back, trying to get in his face. I don't quite make it there, but I try nonetheless. He stares down at me for a moment before chuckling. "You know, you're cute when you're mad," he tells me, smiling down at me. I back away from him again as my face heats up. Is he seriously hitting on me right now!? Seriously!? "Wanna go out some time?" "W-WHAT!?" I yell, falling to my haunches in shock. He cannot be serious right now, he can't! Before I could form a response an orc walks out from the tree line. He eyes the two of us for a moment before dropping a bag next to the stallion. "Star Gazer," he mumbles with a nod. "Brosh," he nods back, picking up the bag with his magic. "So, is that a-" "NO! NO! N... NO!" I yell as I back away from him, shaking my head. He chuckles again before charging up his horn. "Well, maybe another time then." With that he teleports away. I sit there, completely blindsided by the whole exchange. What did he think would happen right then? I'd just swoon over him and go out with him? Really? Really? "*sigh* I need to talk to somepony," I mumble before I head into town, knowing exactly where I want to go. I just hope he isn't busy with anything else right now. Perspective: Applejack "... anph that'sh when I told her I'd try it, jush a teeny tiny bit. And it was wonderful! But Miles would never do that. He'sh too vanilla!" Luna complains from the bed as she rolls over to lay on her stomach. Five glasses of wine and a shot of whiskey and she's pretty much gone. I didn't think she'd lose it this quickly, but she did. Given, this was some pretty strong wine. But, I had more than her and I'm just a bit tipsy. I started to take it slow when I realized I was going to be the one to take her home. A bit of salt on the wound, given what we came here to do. "Hm, so the Lunar Princess likes a bit of weed, go figure," Sugar muses, sipping her drink slowly. Once Luna was overboard she dropped the spell over us. Sugar... was surprisingly okay with it. It didn't even faze her really. But she did make a note to apply both of the locks to the door. Something I appreciated. "What about you, AJ, any crazy stories like... that?" "Hamsterdam!" Luna cheers, raising a hoof before flopping back onto the bed. "Nah, never. Had plenty a chances though. Ah got family that grows it, out in the mountain-" "Wait. Your family grows the Appleacian kush?" "Ah guess? Ah don't know what they call it." "They're the providers for us. It's good stuff. Plus, they don't lace it with anything-" "Y'all sell drugs here?" I ask in surprise. "Just the legal ones, so don't worry about that. Plus we make you sign waivers and stuff...though it's not hard to actually get some. Anyway, back to your story-" "Welp! That'sh when Regina and those four other griffins-" "Your story," Sugar tells me, ignoring Luna. I take another drink before continuing. "Well, we traced the auditor here. We wanted to talk to him and try to convince him to extend his inquiry. That would buy us time to figure out a loophole. If he doesn't though... we'd be forced into bankruptcy. We'd lose the farm, the house, everything! We don't have that kind of money!" "How much is it? If you don't mind my asking." I shrug to her, not caring if she knew. "Two billion bits-" "By the sisters’ cunts!" she exclaims, nearly spitting her drink out. "Hey!" Luna complains, tucking her tail in. "Sorry," she apologizes, getting Luna to get back to fall back down. "Two billion? How could it possibly be that much?" "They're taxing us from the beginning of our joint citizenship at today's prices-" "They can't do that! Shouldn't it be at the prices they were sold?" "Even if it was, we'd still lose everything. We don't make that kind of money, plain and simple. That's why we need ta talk ta this pony. We need to find a way out of this without causing a ruckus." She leans back in her lounge chair and thinks to herself. I nestle myself deeper into my seat as well, at a loss for answers. "Can't Celestia and Luna help you?" "If they did, the nobles would be on us like stink in a outhouse. An ah won't put mah son through that. We have ta find another way." She nods to me, thinking deeply to herself. "Well... what... well..." she looks away from me, trying to decide on something. I wait patiently, trying to see where she does with this. "What I am about to offer can get me fired from here. But, what if I convince him to stay longer. I might only be able to get you a day of two, but it's more time." I blink a few times as I realize what she's offering to do. "Sugar, y'all don't have ta subject yerself ta that. We can-" "AJ, it's nothing I haven't done before. And I'm sure he won't be the worst out there. I know a trick or two to speed things up too. By the sounds of it, that's all he wants anyway. I'm a top tier escort. He'll jump at a chance at me." "What makes ya top tier?" I ask, slightly confused. How could one cooter be better than another? She chuckles at me, taking another swig of her drink. "AJ-" "Muscle contractions!" Luna yells excitedly, looking back to us. "Umm.... yeah, there's that." Sugar agrees. Luna gives a yes before flopping back down. "Trust me though, I can get at least a day or two. A whole week depending on how deep his pockets are. I have to do this kind of work anyway, why not help a friend along the way?" I feel myself pause at that. I didn't think we'd be friends this quickly. Acquaintances, easily. Friends? I'm not against it, it just... was sudden I guess. "Do... do ya really not mind?" I ask quietly. She puts on a smile before getting out of her seat. She walks over and pulls me in for a tight hug, one that I return easily. "I don't mind at all." She gives me a few pats on the back before letting go of me. I cough a few times from the awkwardness of the situation. I never thought I'd be friends with an escort, let alone putting the fate of my farm in her hooves. Friendships are weird like that I reckon. "But if you could throw one of those cute Spartans my way, we'd be best friends forever." "Ah'll keep that in mind," I tell her with a laugh. We both chuckle as we return to our seat. I feel as if a weight has been lifted off my back. Not the entire load, but enough to feel like less of a burden. "Hey," Luna calls out seriously, rolling to her side to look at us. "Stay away from the human, that's my man." We both laugh at that, getting her to puff her cheeks. "I'm serious." Perspective: Blueblood "Alright, this is my place! The bedrooms are upstairs, kitchen in the back, and the living room is off to the side. Make yourself at home!" Tempestive tells me as we walk into their home. I take a look around and note the... simplicity. It isn't somewhere I really thought royalty would be raised. Then again, that is exactly why they came here. I guess it's just odd to see the residence of a queen. "Would you like anything to drink?" "No, no. Thank you. I think we can just wait for your mother to return in the living room," I tell him as I move towards the couch, noting how worn it is. "My mom won't be back for awhile," he tells me as he takes a seat on one of the recliners. "... what?" "Yeah, remember? I told you I was supposed to be at Sweet Apple Acres. Mom and Mama Applejack had to run a few errands, so I was going to stay at the farm. But a bunch of chores came up, everypony got distracted, so I started walking around Ponyville. I have no clue when she's coming home." I blink a few times as I think about that. This may take a bit longer than I thought it would... no matter! The reward will be worth the time. I'll just have to entertain this foal for... awhile. "Yes... well... uh... where is that guard with your treat?" I ask, getting my other guard to shrug. "It's not that big of a deal. He probably just has to deal with Pinkie first. That can take awhile." I nod to that, thinking back to the reports I had read about the bearers. It was supposed to be done in secret. But Pinkie found my agent... rather quickly. Though, she thought the entire ordeal was a game and has kept it to herself. "Do you wanna play a board game?" "Um... of course. What game would you like to play?" He grows a large smirk when I ask him that, making me question what's about to happen. Two Hours Later I bit my hoof as I run the other through my mane, thinking deeply on the choice I have to make. He decided to play a game called 'Three Tribes'. Basically the game is played on a map of Equestria where your goal is to unite the tribes. Each faction has its own benefits, but I sided with the Unicorns with little thought. Now it would seem my mistake has taken its toll. Without knowing what my factions specializes in, Tempestive has taken over two thirds of the map. One of my guards was playing as well, but he quickly lost to Tempestive's ruthless invasion. I hold the southern region, though my forces are small. "Your move," he tells me smugly, biting into his treat slowly. I look over the board more closely and contemplate what to do. I don't have the numbers to attack, meaning I should shore up my defenses. But, that also leaves me open to invasion. I should also expand towards his exposed left flank, but I don't have the resources to contain that. It would allow me to build up my main land though, should I succeed. Should I fail, it will cost me the game. "Hmm..." "You really should just surrender," Tempestive offers me with a slight chuckle. I roll my eyes at that, knowing that there has to be a way to win. "I will literally run you over next turn. You let your ground forces get decimated to protect your Magii, and now you don't have any high defense pieces left. You could spend your turn making them, but they would only prolong the inevitable. I'll have my wall of forces at your capitol by the time you have the numbers to attack, and by then it'll be too late. Surrender will at least let you score in the end. There isn't anything wrong with second place." "A Prince never surrenders," I tell him as I mull over his words. It's true. If I don't get those pieces out there soon, I'll lose to him. But I can't afford to wait for this chance to strike. If I defend, it'll only be a matter of time. "How did you get so good at this?" the guard that lost asks Tempestive, making him laugh. "Please, you should see my dad play this. He would have won by now! He knows all the moves before they're even made! I think that's why he doesn't like this game, it's too easy for him. He once had this idea to make more units to make the game..." I drone him out as I try to think of a way out of this mess. Though only my guards are here, I seriously cannot lose this game to a six year old. Even if he's a Prince. It would stain my own image, my intelligence, and my pride! There has to be a way to win- THUD A light thud from the door catches our attention, followed by some snickering. We all look to each other before one of my guards got to answer the door. Before he could, Queen Luna opens it and falls through, giggling to herself as she lays there. Two other mares walk in after her, one being the Element of Honesty while I recognize the other one, but can't put a name to her. She’s familiar, I just can't recall how I know her. They all seem to have a bit of difficulty standing there and are giggling to each other, oblivious to our presence. The two other mares try to help Luna up, but end up falling down with her when she pulls on them. Instead of being mad, they erupt into laughter. I look to my guards for a second before it dawns on me what's going on. They're all drunk! This can't be right though. Luna has never been drunk before. She doesn't drink, or at least never has before. I can't think of a time when Luna has been drinking before. Maybe she just doesn't drink at the castle? I can't see her drinking in front of Tempestive either... Tempestive! I look over to him and see the confusion on his face. I quickly summarize that this isn't normal for Luna. I have to think quickly here. Let's see... "Tempestive," I start out as I watch the wolf leave through a dog door in the back. "That wolf just left with something of mine. Can you please retrieve it for me?" "Lupus? What did he grab?" he asks, still eyeing his giggling mother. "It was something from my personals. Can you get it? I don't think it'll listen to anypony else." I'm making this all up of course. Hopefully he won't remember that the only thing I brought was my suit from Rarity's. "But, what about Mom?" he asks innocently. "Awww," Luna pouts from the floor. "C'mere baby! I wanna hug 'ya!" His eyes go wide from that. "LUPUS!" He yells as he jumps out of his seat and charges after the wolf. I motion to my guard to follow after him before finally leaving the table. I look down at the three of them and try to think of what to do. "Guard, help these two to the living room and assist them however they need. I'll tend to Luna." He nods to me before lifting up Applejack onto his back. She starts going off on how she's a married mare and she'll have his memories wiped should he try anything. I shake my head at that and attempt to assist Luna to her hooves. She fumbles a few times as she tries to get up, eventually using me for the support needed to do so. "Come, I'll take you-" "I-I need to go to my room. Imma go... IMMA go to my room!" she slurs at me, walking off without me. She nearly falls over, but I catch her in time. "I'll assist you then," I tell her, leading her towards the stairs. She mumbles a response before focusing on the steps before us. I've... never touched royalty before. The closest I've been was when Auntie Celestia would watch me when I was little. But I don't count that, as I wasn't a stallion back then. Now... this is odd. Everything I'm feeling is exactly what society says a mare should feel like. Her coat is softer than the lightest cloud. Her body is weightless yet has a muscular build to it. Even while drunk, she has a heavenly smell about her. There must be a regiment she follows to maintain this beauty about her. I try my best to ignore it though. She is a Queen after all. A married Queen! When we make it to the top of the stairs I let her lead me to her room. It's the first door on the left. She rushes ahead of me and goes straight to the restroom. I rush after her as she throws the toilet seats up and hurls the contents of her stomach. My face sours when I hear the liquid slash inside the bowl, but ignore it as I... as... Luna has, for some reason, stayed standing during her puking. With each heave, her tail lifts slightly. After the second or third heave I get an un-obscured look at her folds beneath. I've seen my fair share of mares before. Not necessarily enough to be considered an expert, but I know my way around them. I can tell by looking at Luna's that she easily had a foal and is well... experienced. But, despite that, there is still a youthful aspect to her. She still appears to be in her prime. Able to bear many more foals as well as please any stallion she chooses. "Uhg, sick," Luna grumbles before flushing the toilet. At this I shake my head and look away from her backside. I feel ashamed to have been staring like that. But... how many ponies can say they've seen the glory of a Royal Sister? Who wouldn't look? Right? "Remind me to never drink again," she grumbles before finally sitting down. She sits with her side to the bowl and is facing me. "H-how much did you drink?" I ask, still blushing from before. "Mmmm... about seven glasses," she muses, looking around the bathroom idly. "Seven glasses of...?" I try to lead her to answer, but she goes back to heaving again. I look down from the bile sound and find myself ogling her teats suddenly. I guess from the sudden movement, she opened her legs up a bit more. I have to swallow the lump in my throat as I look at the two mounds. I've never been a teat stallion myself, but I'm suddenly warming up to the idea now. "W-wine." Luna tells me with a flush. I pull my gaze away from her to back up. She doesn't seem to have noticed my intrusion, or simply doesn't care. I try to think about what to do next for her, in an attempt to keep my thoughts pure. Do you keep drunk ponies awake or get them to bed? Maybe some bread would help her... where did I hear that? "Blueblood?" "Y-yes, Queen Luna?" I ask quickly, averting my gaze to her eyes. "I think I'm going to bed now... night," she tells me before falling back. I catch her with my magic, stopping her from hitting her head against the sink. I lift her up, finding myself face to face with her backside due to the way she fell. I go to turn her over when an idea hits me. There isn't anypony here. Who would know it if I took a picture right now? Nopony would be the wiser... No. No, I can't do that. I may have lowered myself to a commoner’s level by looking, but I won't cross that line. I take her to the bed and lay her down, being sure thats she's properly covered. I swallow the lump in my throat before I head to the restroom and get a wash cloth. I get it damp before bringing it to her to clean around her mouth. The cool water somehow wakes her up slightly, getting her to roll towards me. "Mph, Miles," she moans, wiggling a bit. I don't really know what that's about, but I hope it ends there. I finish up with her lips when I realize that she didn't brush her teeth. That simply will not be allowed. But, how am I going to do this? I guess I could just get the brush and do it myself. Would that be too much? Given, I guess staring at her vagina was too much. How much worse could brushing her teeth be? I grab what I assume to be her utensils and get them set to clean her teeth in the restroom. When I return I find her laying on her back, spread eagle. I glance to the door to confirm that I'm alone before making my mind up. One last look, then never again. What stallion in their prime wouldn't? I step closer and take a good, close look at her. Due to her position, I can see a bit of the pink flesh beginning to appear. She has one of her hooves lightly rubbing her stomach, making me wish she brings it down. I might die if she does, but it doesn't look like she's going to. With the mental image seared into my memory, I finally go to clean her teeth. Luckily for me, her mouth is slightly open. With a final breath, I go to begin cleaning her teeth. "Mhmm.... Blue... Blueblood?" she mumbles as she slowly opens her eyes, just as I near her face. I pause for a second as I try to think of what to do in this situation. This is clearly a delicate situation that needs to be handled with edict and poise. "My apologies, but I-" "GET OUT OF MY ROOM!" she yells as she goes to toss me out with her magic. THUD The air escapes my lungs as I slam against the wall beside her door. I fall to the ground and groan as I feel the pain start to throb in my back. I probably deserved that. "My lady, please! I only meant-" "Why do you have a toothbrush!" she demands, pulling a pillow to hold onto tightly. "I meant to clean your teeth-" "Are you a sicko or what!?" she yells, nearly falling over as she points an accusing hoof at me. "N-no! I swear! I only had your health in mind!" I yell back, making her wince slightly. "Ow! Tone it down!" she snaps at me. "O-of course Your Majesty. Would you like to clean yourself up or-" "Get out," she drones, rubbing her head tiredly. "I... I'm starting to feel a bit dizzy. I think I should lie down." I nod to her, slowly making my way to the door. "Is there anything I can get for you?" I ask impishly as I take slow steps out the door. She shakes her head at me, wavering from side to side slightly. I bite my lip as I try to think of anything else I can do for her, but I can't seem to find any form of service. I close the door behind me and let out a long breath. That... could have gone far worse than it did, in retrospect. I ogled Royalty and was only thrown against a wall. Not the worse outcome possible. THUD I jump slightly when I hear a brutal crash from inside. Without a second’s thought I throw open the door and run in. Immediately, I slide to a stop. Laying before me is the tangled mess of Luna, only it's not Luna. She's... human. She has pale white skin, long black hair, and bright teal eyes. I watch her for a moment as she sits up next to the dresser, rubbing the pain away from her head. When she straightens out I get a better view of the rest of her human body. She has a thin, yet athletic look about her. She's not bulky like Miles, but still showcases an ample amount of muscle over most of her body. Most notably in her stomach, where four of the abdominal muscles show through. Her arms are thin, yet defined. I wouldn't call them weak, but the are much thinner than Miles's arms. Her legs are in a similar state as well. Toned, defined, and distinctly feminine. I would even go as far as to say that they're attractive, for another species, that is. Lastly, I spot the two mounds taking up her chest. At first I didn't quite know what they were. But after noting the two light pink points on each of them, I realized that they were her teats. Needless to say, my interest in human physiology has grown significantly. How could their females walk around with those massive things hanging on them? Were they all that big? If they were, how did the males not walk around always aroused? I guess the clothing makes sense now. She grumbles again and adjust her legs slightly, giving me a perfect view of her nether region. It's... surprisingly similar to a pony's. It look smaller, due to body build surprisingly. But, had it been a dark blue I would say it was her pony nether region. I blink a few times before I slowly begin to realize the reality of the situation. "You're human." She looks up to me for a moment before looking down at herself. I can see the seriousness of the situation sober her as she starts to shake. Before I could even think of what to do, she reaches beneath the bed and fumbles with something. I sit here, unsure of what to do. She's human. Without a doubt in my mind, she is human. Has she always been this way? Did Miles do this to her? Can she do this on her own? How did this happen? As the questions continue to race through my mind, a click derails me. I look back to Luna as she pulls out a pistol and points it at me. I blink a few times before I put up my hooves. "You... never saw this," she mutters, adjusting the gun in her hands to aim better at me. "O-of course, Your Majesty." I squeak back. I could teleport to safety, but there is nowhere I could go to hide from her... or her husband. "Understand me now. If you even joke about this, I will end you. Rip your title from you, force you to suffer for years in the shambles of society, and make you wish you were never born. This," she gestures to herself with her hand, "never happened. You didn't see anything. Understand?" "Of course! I would never act against the crown!" I tell her, making her squint her eyes at me. I try to think of anything else to say to her, but there isn't a single thing to help ease her mind right now. I have to hope that she trusts my word. THUD We both look to the doorway when we hear a door slam shut downstairs. On instinct, I quickly shut the door with my magic, locking it for extra precaution. "Tempestive... he can't see me like this." Luna tells me, finally lowering the gun. I let out a breath of relief as I try to think of a way out of this. I can just teleport her away, but I probably shouldn't do it with her nude. "Gather some clothes and get ready to be teleported. Is there anywhere that would be safe for you to be?" I ask, getting her to think deeply for a moment. "Send me to the Everfree. Roughly one mile Northeast." I think about that before I shake my head at her. "A mile? Your Majesty, I can't teleport you that far. No normal unicorn could." It's true. Even a talented unicorn would have difficulty teleporting somepony that far. Then again, she hangs around Twilight and Miles. Normal isn't in her vocabulary. "And I'm sorry, but I refuse to put you in the middle of the Everfree without some sort of protection." "Then... hang on one second. And turn around!" I do as she says immediately. I hear her fumble around with the dresser and start to fumble with some clothing. I keep my gaze on the wall and wait for further instruction. This has taken a turn that I could never have dreamed of. It's easily the last thing I would have thought of. I would put Celestia coming here to propose to me over this. "Okay Blueblood. Here's the plan. Go downstairs and have your guards watch over my son. You have your guards with you, right?" "Yes-" "Good. After that, you are going to teleport us as close to my objective as possible and escort me to my destination. Can I count on you for this?" I nod my head, keeping my gaze on the wall. "Alright, go talk to your guards then... I hope you understand that any harm that should befall him will rest on your shoulders. Am I clear?" "Crystal, ma'am. Would you be more comfortable if I had them take him somewhere safer? Perhaps a friend’s home?" "Yeah... yeah that's a good idea. Tell them to take him to Mooseden and find E'Claire. Tell them to tell her that I had to make a run to Topaz, she'll understand." "Of course, Your Majesty. Is that all?" She stays silent for a moment, making the hairs on the back of my neck rise slightly. "... thank you. Blueblood, I really do appreciate this." I swallow another lump before nodding to her, taking my leave from the room. I take a moment to collect myself before I head downstairs. I only came here with the hopes of gaining a small amount of favor. Now... now I may have her respect... Assuming I can get her to this secret location of hers, that is. Author's Note Oh my god it feels good to update! I've been looking forward to this for awhile. Sorry for the absence, I've had a rather crazy time for the past two months. Things are starting to normal out (relatively) so the next chapters shouldn't take as long as before to come out... baring the minor pause. If you don't know what I'm talking about, I'd really appreciate it if you read my July 2015 blog post. It'll tell you everything you need to know, and I hope to see your support for that. Likewise, I've had a few updates elsewhere, so be sure to check out my other blogs as well as the Cultural Reference Guide: The Ursa Majors. Brony on! Chapter 230 Set in MotionChapter 230 Set in Motion Perspective: Miles I didn't have to do this. I could have just waited for the fallout to hit and dealt with it then. But if I, or the Spartans rather, want to be looked upon as the real peacekeepers of the world, this has to be done. I didn't think of what to say on the trip here. I didn't think of anything really. Any thoughts I tried to make immediately went back to home. That Unfamiliar. He has the potential to take away the only things I ever cared for. My friends, my family, my home. I don't know if I'll sleep well if he stays there, if he stays alive even. I can't trust him. That's where the problem arises. I don't trust him, but I trust Celestia. Because of that, and only because of that, I'm taking this massive risk. There's nothing to be gained here. Not from where I'm sitting at least. He's practically said it himself. When the chance arises he'll either make a run for it or strike at our backs when we aren't looking. There's nothing to gain from keeping him other than a look into the Kroth culture. History notes versus the death of my family... I didn't think on the way here. It was better that way. My silence was abruptly overtaken by the thunderous din of rain and harsh winds colliding into the side of my I.T.A. Alongside that went the alarms, reminding me that I still haven't figured out how to deal with this fucking storm. It's reminding me that I still have dozens of food processors to go back to for repairs. It's yelling at me that I still have work to do, despite how tired I am. Three trips back and forth, two down south, two battles, and all of the political plotting and backstabbing on top of roughly four hours of sleep. "Approach in thirty seconds." I let out a small groan. I guess I'll complain about it later. "Let's do this," I mutter as I stand up and slide my helmet back on. I grab the handrail as the ship finishes its landing procedure, the lights going from red to green. The door slides open, washing the courtyard to the Lions-heart Castle ground green. The barren landscape reflects the pale light with its signature grey tone. The same throughout the rest of the Griffin Colonies. I give it a moment's notice before marching towards the imposing building. The Lions-heart castle was built for Ulfric after his ascension to king of the griffins. I'm sure if the acidic rain hadn't tore away at it for the past six years it would be a marvel to see. But, alas, it has. There are some sections that have caved in, probably due to pre-existing structural issues. The rest of it looks as if it's been abandoned for years. Boarded up windows, cracks with clear signs of erosion, and a menacing sky have destroyed what was once the beacon of a proud nation. I march to the door and knock loudly, getting it to open slightly. "He's expecting you, royal chambers," the guard behind the door tells me in a gruff, motioning forward with a tilt of his head. I nod back to him, eyeing the rifle on his back. It's a goblin long rifle, a sight all too common here these days. The halls here are nothing more than empty stone walls. Any paintings or other types of art that were here before were sealed away for safekeeping back when the storms first started. We actually assisted with that, not that they thanked us. Just the start of bitterness, I guess. I make it to the plain bed chamber door and knock on it, stepping back and resting my hand behind myself. It takes a moment before I hear him make his way towards the door. How do I even start this? Sorry I invaded your nation, but what the fuck are you doing with the Unfamiliar? You know about that invasion I did the other day? Well, it was because you've been harboring my people’s mortal enemies for some time, so... yeah. How am I going to- "Hello Miles." I look up from my thoughts and freeze. Standing in the doorway is an Unfamiliar. He's wearing what I assume are normal wrappings for his people and... is smiling. "We have much to discuss. You can come in, or we could do it in the hallway. There are more windows here." He steps away from the door chuckling to himself, leaving me alone in the hallway. I glance to the large windows beside me before I draw my pistol and enter the room. He's standing in the center of the room, just smiling at me. No armor, no weapons, possibly has magic, but it's not active right now. With him being... less of a threat, I begin to march around the large room. I check the closets, bathroom, heck, I even check the drawers for any potential threats that might be looming nearby. He just... watches me. Chuckling, staring at me, smiling. I keep my pistol on him the entire time, waiting for him to make the wrong move. "You won't find anything. But please, check under the bed. There might be a monster there." I glare at him for a second before moving over to the large round bed. I give the bottom a quick kick, finding that there isn't an area beneath. "Looks safe-" "Who are you?" I demand, bringing my entire focus on him. "I am Kileh, leader of the Kroth. And you, are Miles Eremita. Leader of humanity, or, what's left of it." He chuckles again at that, making my stomach turn over. "I am surprised that you haven't shot me yet. Have the equines changed you so much?" "I haven't shot you yet because I plan on taking you in. You're more useful to me alive than dead. For now at least." He smirks at that. Before I could say anything else, several lines appear on my HUD leading from out the small windows in the room. I bring a hand up and run it through the beam, instantly identifying them at laser sights from some form weapon. "How about... a temporary ceasefire, hm? You lower your gun, my kro lower theirs, yes?" I keep my gun up as several more lines appear from different windows. Last time I was lucky to get away. It was a stroke of fortune that the bullet didn't break through my helmet. This time... I wouldn't make it through this many rounds. "Temporary?" I ask, leaving it as vague as possible. He wants to ramble on about something, so I'll let him. Gives me time to think of an answer. He chortles at my response, beginning to pace around me slowly. For every step he takes, I take one in the opposite direction, keeping him at the other side of the room. "The new world order is coming, Miles Eremita. This much is obvious. And as much as you'd like to claim neutrality, we both know which side you and I have taken." "Do you really think the Griffins will win a war like this? Assaulting another nation with little to no assistance, won't end well." Keep him talking, look for something, anything. "I believe that the world is much more fragmented than you'd like to think. Every nation wants to believe that they will emerge as the superior species, but we know better. Don't we, human? Though the soldiers have changed, the war still rages on." He comes to a stop to glower at me, still smirking. "Human or Kroth? Who will rule this planet? Who will rise from the ashes of this ancient war and claim the universe as their own? What say you, human? Are you up for a little wager?" I laugh at that, lowering my pistol for a moment. "A wager? You want to bet on who will win this war? I'll humor you, what's at stake?" He gives a toothy grin before pulling out a holo-stick and tossing it at the ground, making a hologram of the world appear between us. "Equestrian, Griffin, whoever wins this war will be the ones to dictate the new world order. After this, there will no longer be these worlds of isolationist. You know this to be true, yes?" I don't answer him, not openly at least. He takes my silence as it is though. "We have backed opposing forces. When they collide, so shall we. And, in the end, which ever side claims victory shall be the ones to end this ancient feud-" "So you're saying winner takes all? Seems a bit one sided, don't you think?" He laughs at that, taking my sarcasm as naivety. "How about it? One true final war. Old rivals, new blood. Who will take Terra finally? Who will last throughout the eons? Let history declare its author!" We stare at each other for a moment longer, waiting to see who will budge first. I can't tell if he's serious or not. He hasn't said anything to lead me to believe otherwise. I know there is a war coming. I know Equestria will be targeted. And I know the Griffins possess a real threat to them. But I don't see how they will claim a lasting victory. It's... just not possible. Not without the killing of every alicorn, noble, and Element Bearer in one quick strike. Does he really believe he'll do that? Is he really that foolish? Let's see if he is. "Why not continue now?" I ask as I bring my pistol back up. I walk across the room and press it against his skull. He laughs at that, making no attempt to move away. "Yes, kill another citizen of the Griffin Colonies, Miles Eremita. Even with how old our war is, we still have to abide by the rules of these lesser beings. Well, you Spartans have to at least. We didn't proclaim ourselves the mediators of the world. Kill me now, you'll only bring the war to Equestria that much faster. So, please, pull the trigger. It'll only hasten my own goals." I hate it when my enemy is right. I can't make any more rash moves in the G.C. Not now at least. I imagine that we're on the edge already. Any wrong move now would only hurt Equestria. I can't kill him, not here at least. "If not here, then let's take it elsewhere," I tell him, motioning to the door with my pistol. He laughs at me again, taking a seat at the end of the bed. "No, no I think I'll stay here. There is nothing you can do to me right here, right now. Try and take me by force, and my kro will kill me. Though, I imagine Ulfric placing the blame elsewhere. But, do tell me, how many alicorns are you willing to put into harm's way before you quit?" I lower my pistol for a moment, making him smile even more. "Oh ho-ho-ho. Did you really think you'd keep that a secret?" "Depends on what you know." All of that work trying to hide Tempestive, gone! All because I couldn't keep my fucking composure! "Heh heh heh, I know plenty. But, I do have to wonder, how many more abominations will Terradisia create before they learn that perfection cannot be crafted?" I bite my lip, thinking back home. I have to get Tempestive out of there. Topaz Falls will be the safest, though the most difficult. I guess we'll just have to have that talk a bit earlier than expected. But what about Rampant? We can't leave him out in the open either. Or Speaks Softly, for that matter. Is hiding really going to solve anything though? It didn't before. Maybe I can- "But, I am curious, did you plan on creating the king as a means to take over Equestria, or was that just luck?" "... explain." "I mean, if I could create Ulfric and command the griffins... well, it would be tempting. But, alas, I lack the resources to create new beings. I'll just content myself by knowing that I'd utilize it properly-" He... thinks that the King... and I... are different people. He doesn't know we're the same person... Our bluff worked. "I guess in the end, it won't matter. In the end, we only need to take care of the three. The others will fall in line afterwards. Now, I'll ask one last time. Do we have an understanding?" "... A temporary ceasefire until the war breaks out?" I ask to clarify. "And then we shall have our war!" he replies excitedly. "Winner takes all?" I lower my pistol a bit. "This galaxy and beyond, are we in understanding?" I think about it for one last moment. I don't believe him for one second that there's going to be any form of ceasefire. Not openly at least. What is he really asking for? The stakes are true, but what are his real intentions? Does he really think he can take over the entire world with just the griffin army? "Alright, I'll play along," I tell him as I holster my pistol, making him smirk. Like he said, all of the laser sights drop from my field of view, telling me they're at least off. "Let me give you a little warning though." "Oh? Do tell," he says excitedly. "Don't play this game unless you're ready to lose. Humanity has lost too much up until this point. Now, we're striking back. You know what a human opposition can do, and I know what an Unfamiliar opposition is capable of. One last go, and let that be the end of it." "Shall we set the terms of war?" he asks curiously, leaning forward slightly. I think about it for a moment before deciding to push my luck. "Win or lose, no harm shall come to civilians." He chuckles again, slapping his knee as he stands back up. "And here I thought you humans were without honor. Or, perhaps, it took you three thousand years to learn it. Very well, win or lose, civilians shall be granted amnesty from battle-" "For life," I cut him off, making him lose his smile. "Let the soldiers do the dying. And once this is all over, let us be done with it." He mulls it over for a second, weighing the pros and cons. "Unless you are going for total annihilation, I'd take the insurance." "Hmm.. very well. But! Only if we ban the use of super archaic weapons. After all, we want to live on this planet afterwards, don't we?" I don't want to agree to that. He probably doesn't even have any. But, I don't want Tempestive or Luna being targeted in case the worst should... Luna. "Very well, no harm to civilians and no super archaic weapons,"I say as I stick my hand out quickly, getting him to chuckle. He grabs my hand and gives it a strong shake, chuckling to himself lightly. "To the end, and may it end there." "Of course. By the way, Princess Luna and Celestia are Terradisian citizens, you can't target them." He loses his composure completely, stunned by what I said. "You're lying-" "They have been for several thousand years now. Back when we were getting ready to repopulate the planet’s surface. Actually, you know how you said I was trying to make myself neutral? Well, that's simply not true. A world cannot progress past itself while fragmented like this, you should know this. I've been plotting to connect this planet long before these people knew of humans. I hope you can rely on the griffins being able to take them out, because if an Unfamiliar even touches them, I'll set the world ablaze in archaic fire." I leave it at that, leaving the room before he could say anything further. But the look on his face tells me plenty. He wasn't ready for that. He didn't even think of that. Looks like we won this first exchange. Perspective: Luna FLASH The moment we appear in the forest I fumble forward until I fall to my knees and lurch over, puking out the remaining contents of my stomach. Despite my fears sobering me mentally, I guess I'm still physically out if it. Go figure. I give a few more heaves before finally calming down enough to look myself over. "Darn it," I grumble as I fall back, sitting on my bottom. I got a bit of my bile on Miles's nice shirt. It's just a white button up, but it's one of the nicer shirts that he owns. Oh well, I'll just have to clean it later. I wipe my mouth off with the sleeve, seeing as it needs a cleaning anyway, and try to stand on my new feet. "Do you require any assistance?" Blueblood asks. I grab a nearby tree and use it for support as I work my way up, slowly making progress. "No.... I-I can.... manage... on... my... own!" I push myself off the tree and stand up, waving my new arms around to keep my balance. After a few moments of standing, I give a satisfied sigh before quickly grabbing the pants around my waist. I'm much thinner than Miles, but I'll have to wear his pants until I can find something better. Holding them with fingers feels... weird. I try to grab them with my magic, but it's not there. The feeling is so... foreign. But, not so foreign that I won't be able to walk myself to Topaz. It's not that hard. And Miles complained about learning to fly. "Right. See? Wasn't that hard." "Can you walk?" I roll my eyes at that. Of course I'll be able to walk. I just had to figure out how to balance myself properly first. Walking should be a breeze. I move my leg forward to take my first step- THUD ... and immediately crash into the ground. Face first. "Allow me," Blueblood says over my angered mumbles. He levitates me up to my feet and stands beside me, holding my shoulders as I adjust to the position. "Whenever you're ready." "Right... just one at a time," I mutter as I start to move my legs. Each step is unbalanced and flimsy, but Blueblood stands nearby, aiding me the entire time. "So... why were you at my home to begin with?" I ask to pass the time, seeing as we're making next to no progress. "I was picking up an order from Miss Rarity's shop when I saw the prince walking around town. I didn't think it would be wise for him to be seen like that, so I convinced him to take me to your home. Which I do apologize for intruding like so, but I felt it was best. Given the circumstances." I nod to that, eyeing my legs. I just need to mimic the way Miles does this... how does he do this? "I thought he was supposed to be at Sweet Apple Acres. I'll have to give him a talking to... once I turn back that is." We go a few more feet before a loose rock nearly takes my feet out from under me. I quickly grabbed onto Blueblood to stop myself from hitting the ground. He gives a little jump but stands there, waiting patiently for me to correct myself. "I'm a little surprised you're going this far out of your way to assist me. How much favor are you vying for?" "I will not lie, when I brought Tempestive home I had some thoughts of favor being won." I hum to that, expecting it. "But, once I saw you... the way you were, I knew actions had to be taken." "The one time I get drunk, and this had to happen. Just my luck," I grumble. Blueblood looks away from my, biting his lip softly. "Given the circumstances, I'd ask that you speak your mind. This is probably one of the few times you'll ever get to." He looks me in the eye for a second before looking away again, weighing his options. I let him think about it as I try to stand again, getting slightly better at it. "... this is not the conduct of royalty," he states simply. "Of course it isn't-" "If this were any other noble or family member, they would be publicly chastised and could possibly lose everything they've worked towards. You are the Queen of our nation and a mother no less. There are, or rather, should be standards that you should be held to, just like the rest of those that work alongside you. The fact that you are the leader of that same body of government and lack any form of reprimand is unfair." "... that is true. What would you have happen?" I ask, curious to see what he has to say on the matter. "There is nothing to have happen. As I said, you are the Queen. You do not have to follow such rulings. Which is why I said it was unfair. I'm sure there's something that could be done, but the amount of effort it would take to make any form of change would be pointless. There isn't any evidence, no witnesses, and in the end would only harm myself. So, there is nothing to have happen. Because you are the leader of our nation-" "Second to Miles," I cut him off, getting an odd look from him. "You are right, this is not the conduct of a national leader. There should be some form of... what?" I ask when he gives me an odd look. "What exactly do you think Miles is going to do to you?" he asks curiously, raising an eyebrow. "He doesn't take our government seriously. Not even in the slightest. He's conquered us before and is probably plotting to do so again. Miles wants a unified world under his old banner. Anypony who's watched his behavior enough knows this. Forgive me for this, but he'll only make this into some kind of joke and probably use it for some perverse scheme-" "You will not speak so candidly of our love affairs, not ever," I cut him off firmly, making him bow his head deeply. "I apologize. I was too heated in my words and didn't think them through," he says with a slight bow, almost making me fall over again. "But there is truth in my words. Miles will not willingly punish you for something so... trivial, in his mind at least. He may be king, but he still has the mentality of a commoner. You know this to be true." I keep quiet after that. I won't openly admit it, but he's right. Miles has been looking to restore Terradisia back to its former glory ever since he came here. Earlier probably. I don't know how he plans on doing it, but I know he's been plotting it. I've asked him in the past about it. He avoids it like the manipulator he can be. Nah, I've already done that. He has technically. That's partly why Celestia and I have been trying to get him to be more involved in our government. Being hopeful, he'll learn to let us be. On the other hoof, dealing with that will take time away from whatever plans he's making. But that doesn't mean I don't have a few tricks up my own sleeves. After a long, and silent walk, we finally make it to the road to Topaz Falls. Miles had it built a few years ago, but never finished it completely. It doesn't connect to Ponyville, even though it leads right to it. Two legion bots stand guard at the entrance. They spot us and take defensive stances, watching our every move closely. I push off of Blueblood and take a few tentative steps towards them. "I am Luna Eremita, and this is my guest Blueblood. I wish to enter Topaz Falls," I tell them. Red lines appear from their eyes as they scan us over, scaring Blueblood slightly. "Verified. The transport will take you there. Have a nice day." They stand down, going back to their stoic stances. I take a deep breath and start to walk into the cave, inwardly amazed I haven't fallen over yet. Inside, the cave has changed so much since I've last been here. Instead of being a giant hole in the ground, a massive tram system has been built, going down at a steep rate. Unlike the trams of Equestria, these ones are built on the sides of the cave instead of the ground beneath. Lights line the middle of the ceiling, with even more coming from the tram itself. Two lines are here, one probably at Topaz, while the one on the right has its doors waiting for its passengers. They're nothing special to look at. Just three steel boxes with windows and benches. I walk into the closest tram and fall into the first seat I come across. Blueblood follows and takes the seat across from me, eyeing everything neutrally. The doors slide shut and the car jostles a bit before it begins to travel down the line. Oddly enough, even though the line goes practically straight down, the car stays level. It's a marvel Miles had this built so quickly. Then again, when your work force doesn't sleep, there isn't much you can't do. The trip down only takes a few minutes. When we make it to the bulkhead we have to wait for it to open. I remember it opening by sliding up, but now it slides to the right. I guess Miles needs it to open more quickly. I have to catch my breath when I get my first glimpse of the city inside, though. It's nothing like I remember it to be. All of the destruction and death has been removed. The once tattered buildings now resemble the buildings in Miles's memories. The air is busy with aircraft moving from one direction to another. The once severed P.C.H. now stands as its prior regal self, almost reaching the top of the dome. Its light illuminating the massive spire and shinning down on the now alive city around it. "By the stars... this is Terradisia?" Blueblood mumbles as he gawks at the city. I can only nod dumbly as I stand there with him. How could Miles have accomplish all of this in only six years? Where did he get the resources? And why would he go through all of this? This can't be just to restore his former home... could it? "May I have your autograph?" I jump slightly when a red utility bot walks up and asks me that. I stare at him, unsure why he asked that. I thought only Easy asked that. "Um... I'm in need of new clothing. Can you point me to the nearest boutique?" He stands there for a second before walking forward and pointing down the road. "Proceed down Grandeur drive and make a left on Richfront lane. Your destination will be on your left... Do you require assistance traveling there?" I look down to Blueblood, who shrugs, before nodding to Easy. "Follow me, please." We follow after him, distracted by everything around us. Every shop we pass grabs our attention immediately. It would appear as if these shops were cleaned out and ready for business, but lack any goods to sell. Empty shelves, barren racks, and vacant displays are all being kept by various utility bots. Though they are lacking in merchandise, there is an odd sense of cleanliness here. I guess with the lack of goods and the knowledge of the actual destruction, in addition to my previous experiences, I was just assuming that this place would always be the graveyard of an ancient battle. After a few blocks I start to let my pants sag a bit in an attempt to walk on them. Walking on the sidewalk is proving to be much more strenuous than it used to be. I never truly understood before, but now I can relate to why Miles continues to wear clothing in human form. Though, I do feel as if the shirt and pants are a bit much. I guess some things are just hardwired into me. "Where is everypony?" Blueblood asks, breaking me from my thoughts. "Well..." I don't know how to answer that. The population of the humans is kind of a secret with Miles. He let's the other nations run with the thought that there are millions of humans, when in reality there's only one. Well... two now. "That's a bit of a tricky question-" "The human populace has been decimated to near extinction," Easy tells him, making us both stop. Why is he answering that so easily!? "There are currently only two humans alive. Though, with proper regulations, the species may be able to rise again within the next few centuries." "P-proper regulation?" I ask, caught off guard by that. What is Miles planing exactly? "Recessive genes that could lead to disease or disability may become an issue with future generations due to the required course of action. But, the technology to ensure healthy, productive lives are still present today. Terradisian Codex dictates that it is with the utmost importance that humanity be preserved so that it may continue on indefinitely. As the protectors of humanity, we bots will dedicate ourselves to that goal. Do you wish to know more?" I try to form a response... but I can't seem to find the words for it. Is Miles really planning on having our future children become... that? How would he even do that?! Tempestive isn't even human! Or... he's not human physically, at least. His soul acts very human... is that enough? "I think we should continue. This... seems like a personal matter," Blueblood mentions. The two of them start to walk off without me, leaving me in my daze. How could Miles even come to that conclusion? Is he really that desperate to seem humanity rise again? I thought his ambitions for Terradisia were bad enough, but this... This is a whole new level of... crazy. "Queen Luna?" "No, I mean yes! I mean, coming!" I stutter out before chasing after them. I want to leave these thoughts behind, but I can't! I need to talk to him as soon as possible. The second I get back I'm calling him and setting this straight. No member of my family is going to perform such a disgusting act. I simply will not allow it to happen. Not after all those rumors of me and Celestia from the past. I try to distract myself with window shopping, but there's nothing here to look at! How is every shop here empty!? I remember there at least being remnants of merchandise left behind. Maybe all of the bots are fixing them in the back? That would make the most sense. But why fix them? Who does he plan on selling them to? Mooseden is too small of a community to have a viable market. Maybe Ponyville? But that would hurt Rarity's business immensely, and I can't see Miles doing that to her... unless she was a part of it. But I haven't heard anything of the likes from her. And she would be the one to tell me. "We have arrived." We both come to a stop before the unassuming building and stare at it for a second. Eam Voluptatem? That rings a bell, but why? Hmm... oh dear. "Um... Easy? Is there anywhere else I can get clothing? Anywhere?" I ask, slightly blushing from those memories. "All other clothing is currently undergoing repair to stylize for the Mundi Collatione. This is the last remaining option for women's clothing. The next option would be boys’ clothing, as it has not been worked on yet. But it would take some time to repair to a functional form." "What's wrong with this store? And what's the Mundi Collatione?" Blueblood asks. I grit my teeth as I try to think of a way out of this. I could just keep going in Miles's clothes, but I don't know how long I'll be in this form. Plus, I don't want to keep pulling up these heavy pants. I guess I can find a skirt and something more towards the modest side... maybe. I could at least look. "Why is this the only store that has lasting clothes?" I ask rhetorically. "After initial scans, it would appear someone set an enchantment during the Fall of Topaz to alter the flow of time within the store. For what purpose is unknown. But we are studying the spells effect to hopefully learn from it." Why would someone put such a powerful spell in here? Why this store? "I'm going to take a look inside. You two wait for me out here," I tell them before hefting my pants up and marching inside. Once inside I lock the door and let my pants drop down. It feels so foreign to wear those. The most I've ever worn was a dress or maybe one of those get ups for Miles. I could not imagine wearing pants all day long. I look around the store and note the cleaning that has occurred here. The dust and debris is gone. And all of the items have been stocked neatly on the shelves. Despite my current irritation, I still think fondly of this place. The quality time Miles and spent here was amazing, even if it revealed some demons within Miles. And myself, to an extent. I have been planning to come here to surprise him for his birthday for some time... but I'll still have to postpone that. There are more pressing matters at... hand. I go straight for the clothing aisle and start to sift through the various outfits, trying my best to find the most modest collection. It would seem that, no matter the costume, I'll have to reveal my stomach and most of my legs. That doesn't bother me, but I know it isn't modest for humans. I'll just have to hope that human sleaze will pass for Equestrian modesty. Actually... it might. I start to make a pile of clothes when something catches my eye. I don't know how it caught my eye, but it did. Sitting on the edge of the shelf is a Virgum de Marcas. I thought Miles brought that with him when we left here the first time. Curious, I go to the bar and reach out for it. When my fingers run over the smooth metal, I tense up. Last time, Soul Fire told me it wasn't my time. Is now my time? I pull it out and start to look it over. This one seems... new. The previous one had burn marks where you would put your hands, but not this one. It's just a silvery bar with etchings where my hands should go. Would it be wise to do this now? Given, I might be stuck like this for awhile. Not to mention I'll probably be human in the future as well. The only reason I wouldn't do this now would be that Miles isn't here to help... though, there isn't any way for him to help should something happen. To quote Miles, "Do or die." I take a deep breath and slide my hands to their appropriate place. I feel my grip weaken due to my nerves, but I hold on tightly regardless. I stare at the metal bar and wait for something to happen. I've seen Miles's memory of this, so I know it can take awhile. I also know that it can be very painful. Actually, with how Miles has affected my soul this will most likely be painful. Better move somewhere I won't- "AAAAAAH!" I let out a scream when the bar suddenly begins to glow cherry red. That was a lot faster than Miles. I feel the energy within me begin to be sucked within the bar, as if it was consuming it greedily. I grit my teeth and try my best to get through this. All I have to do is hold on and wait it out. Keep a tight grip and be patient. It will hurt now, but it will pass. "GAH!" I drop to my knees when the amount of energy being pulled is doubled. I can take it though. I've been through far worse to let something like this take control of me. Impressive. I blink when I hear that voice in my head. Soul Fire? I knew she would be. Who is that? Or, rather, who are you? Unconventional, but worthy. No better option... best of the worst... she'll due... for now. What of the boy? Different Cause. We'll need this one... we'll need them all. You're almost out of time, hurry! I grit my teeth as more and more voices begin to fill my head. I don't understand, who are these voices? What are they talking about? Where is all of this coming from? "AAAAAHG!" I let out another scream when all of the energy begins to rush back into me. At the same time, even more voices begin to fill my head. Each of them seem to be screaming at either me or one another. But they're all coming from the same place... Could... could it be that these are all of the Soul Fires? Miles's Soul Fire made mine, are they related. If so, then maybe these ones were the ones to make all of the prior ones... there's only one way to know for sure. "EREMITA! EREMITA, PLEASE! ANSWER ME!" Another surge of energy forces me to double over as the intensity of all the voices grows. I feel tears begin to roll down my cheek as it quickly becomes too much to bear. Then, suddenly, it all stopped. I lay onto my side and attempt to catch my breath. My vision has gone blurry, but I can still make out the broad details. I look up to see a light blue haze standing before me. At first I thought it was my Soul Fire, but that can't be. Mine's a lot darker shade of blue. "E-eremita?" One answer, but hurry. One answer? Well, that is what I asked for. I... don't know what to ask. There are plenty of things I can ask. Who was Miles's father? What is Soul Fire? Why do we have Soul Fire? Why am I worthy now, but not before? No, no I can't waste an opportunity like this. I need to ask something that can help with our future. Something that will help Tempestive. Hurry. "Why?" I ask meekly, trying to sit up to look at her. "Why all this power? What reason is there for all of this?" I don't know how I can tell, but through all of the haze and confusion, she smiled at me. She walks over to my side and keels beside me, lowering her head to be by my ear. Death. Before I could even rationalize any thoughts to that, all of the energy that was sucked from me was suddenly forced back into me. I let out another scream as dark lines begin to grow along my skin. They start at my hands and feet and etch their way along my skin. I try to watch it for a moment longer, but the pain forces my eyes shut again. I start to taste a coppery liquid in my mouth, making me let out a choked breath. A swath of blood falls out, telling me that I must have bitten my tongue pretty fiercely. The pain from the bar is so immense, I didn't even register nearly biting my tongue off. I look up to call out to Eremita for help, but she's gone. I look behind me to see the figures of Blueblood and Easy out on the street. Easy is trying to keep Blueblood from entering. He must be able to read the intense energy levels inside. I let out a sudden breath when all of the pain and growth comes to a stop. I take the lapse in pain to catch my breath, and spit out a few more globs of blood. I check over my body to see the progress. The dark lines have carved their way up my arms, stopping just shy of my shoulders. The lines on my legs have had a similar growth, ending just before my waist. At each of my hands and ankles are the magical portals that are jetting the soul energy. That was intense, but I know the next part will be worse. There's still one more to go. I brace myself as best I can for this, waiting for it to come. I'm not entirely sure how I can prepare myself for this, but anything will help. It didn't take long for the final wave to come. And when it did, I wasn't nearly as ready as I had hoped I was. It hit me like the tail of a dragon swatting away a pest. All I can really say from it was that I let out a final scream, and everything turned white. Perspective: Miles Once I had my talk with the Unfamiliar, Kileh, I make my way to the throne room to talk with Ulfric. I know what I want to say now. I'm not going to outright say it, but I hope to gear the conversation towards it. I don't doubt he'll try his best maneuvers to keep me from that point, but I know what I want to say now. The guard in front of the throne room sees me walking down the corridor and opens the door for me. Good, he knows I'm here, we can get to the point then. I march in and make eye contact with him immediately. He's sitting at his throne with his sons to his right and his advisers to the left. I don't know most of them by name, with the exception of Regina, but we've all met from time to time. I've heard tales from townsfolk mostly about them mostly, nothing out of the ordinary really. They're all either in military uniforms or expensive-looking clothes, except one griffin. He looks rather common, compared to the others. I pay them little mind though. They're not why I'm here. I stare Ulfric down as I march towards him. He's sitting with his head held high, wearing his best robes of blue and gold. He's keeping a neutral face on himself. He'll probably try to do little of the talking. I can try to bait him, but that most likely won't happen. "What? No army this time? Or are they waiting for your signal?" Skald, Ulfric's youngest son asks condescendingly. "I see your youngest still has a thing or two to learn, Ulfric," I respond when I make it to the end of the hall. I take a moment to take in my surroundings. Unlike the throne room of Equestria, the Lions-heart throne room is built in the center of the castle. Typical Griffin engineering. Put the most valuable possession in the center of their fortress. There were tapestries and various treasures on display around the area, but they've been moved to safer locations, just like the rest of the castle. Now it's just an empty hall with some torches lighting the area. "Let's not waste time with sour words," Korir says, leaning in to whisper something to Skald. He doesn't seem to like it, but he nods anyway. "We are here to discuss your invasion of the Griffin Colonies. How do you-" "Is this a trial?" I cut him off quickly, getting a scowl from him. "Do you really think you have the authority to pass judgement over me?" "You invaded ourlands. We are the keepers of the law here. You will be submit or there will be consequences," one of his advisers tells me harshly. Here's where the crossroads split. If I were to follow old Spartan policies, I'd make an example out of him. I'd take him out without a moment's thought. But this is different. Before, we had a national government to back us. We had massive public support too. Now, I don't have either of those. "You may not have known this, but the Unfamiliar and Terradisians have been at war for eons. I assaulted my enemy, just as I have before." It's true, my bots have assaulted the Unfamiliar here before. It's part of their programming really. They see Unfamiliar and they attack. But it's never been this large before. And there's never been troops on the ground. I doubt this argument will stand. "The skirmishes from before have only been tolerated because Regina has informed us that these 'machines' can't tell the difference. That, and they have only assaulted military targets. We will not stand for the targeting of civilians that are under the jurisdiction of the Griffin Colonies!" Anguin, the military adviser, exclaims. I smile at that. It came up much sooner than I had expected. "Show me the document." I demand. "Show me the document that subjugated the Unfamiliar to your rule." The room goes quiet. I knew it. The Unfamiliar would never lower themselves to being ruled by someone else, let alone a human creation. "The agreement is currently undergoing ratification in the lower courts-" "Then they aren't your people, now are they?" The room goes quiet again. A few of them are whispering to each other, but none seem to involve Ulfric. It's time to up the ante. "Now I have some... concerns of my own to bring up. Why, in all of your wisdom, have you allied yourself with the enemies of my people?" Regina steps forward from this, apparently having something to say already. "Just because you are at war with them doesn't mean we are. We invited them into our borders to aid them-" "Aid them?" I ask with a laugh. "It doesn't take an idiot to see what is happening here, Ulfric. Buying up arms, allying yourself with a militaristic force to compete with Terradisia, pushing for more food processors so you can feed your people, it would take an idiot to not know what's going on here." "And what would that be, Captain?" Skald asks smugly. I was about to go off on him when I had a sudden thought. Why all the presentation? Why deliberately bring me in here to yell and scream? If they wanted to hide this, let it go without incident, this wouldn't be the path they'd be walking right now. Why are they trying to get me to go off like this? This would only lead to... They want me to escalate things. They want to pin the start of the war on me, make me their scapegoat. This way, they could pit themselves as the oppressed victims. If they blatantly start a war then everyone else would jump them. But, with the Unfamiliar being an unknown entity, it would look as if I started the war. "Well? Captain? What exactly is happening here?" Skald asks again, getting a few of the other members to smile alongside him. I can't start this war. It would undo all of the work I've been putting into the world. There has to be another way around this. I need time to think. "How are you going to feed an army when I shut down the food processors?" I ask quickly. I need something to pin it back towards them. Anything. I wish I wasn't so tired right now. "Do you really think all of the food processed there went to griffins?" Schor, the air admiral, asks. "We've been stocking up on food since the beginning. Plus, the Kroth will be able to fix whatever you try to do." Why choose now for an alliance? Why make it present now? They went six years without being found, what makes today any different. They probably already mobilized their troops. For all I know they could be on the shores of Equestria right now. No... no, that's not it. I would have been notified if anything like that happened. What else could it be? "And the people? What happens when I start telling them what's happened here. This isn't the first time we've clashed before. The public knows about the constant war-" "All they know is that you are the puppet of Equestria and that you've been having your war on our lands." I don't know this guy. He's the one in the commoner clothing. Maybe some new politician? Maybe, I'll find out later. "So, this is it then?" This is it. I don't know what to say or how to say it. The line has been drawn, and there's nothing left to do. "Do you realize the implications of what you're asking for? A war with Terradisia... you can't win." "You don't know our resolve," Skald says proudly. "Your resolve will be torn down with automatic fire," I tell him, trying to sound as diplomatic as possible. "You are not the only one with guns-" "I am the only one with army of automatic guns. I have the technology to burn the very air away, if I so chose to. I've done the math. It would only take three to four days for me to conquer this nation-" "Don't flatter yourself. No nation would fall that quickly-" "Three... to four days," I say again, angering him further. That's when I get an idea. "So, how exactly do you see this going down? You march over to Equestria, lose out on the sun and moon, and then... what? Let Kileh take over afterwards?" No one speaks after that, making me smile. "What? Think I didn't know about that?" "It's just a name. One you probably heard when you were out with the commoners," Skald says dismissively, getting an irritated look from the commoner griffin. "You know, I spoke with him not too long ago. In your bedroom no less. We were discussing the new world order actually. We're placing bets on who will win this war and who will take over after that-" "Liar!" Skald yells, stepping towards me aggressively. "It even went as far as a temporary cease fire. That is, until someone starts the war. So, Ulfric, is this what you really want?" The room stays quiet as everyone turns to Ulfric. He simply closes his eyes and thinks to himself. Should I press the matter? No, no I shouldn't be overbearing right now. I need to let him see the pointlessness of this. It's there for him to take, he just has to accept it. "Give us a moment of silence." No one questions him. They simply bow, and leave the room. Skald pauses by me and glares at me, trying to provoke me. I stand my ground. I can't attack, not right now. Let him throw his attitude around, he won't actually do anyth- THUD I reel back when he slugs me across the chin, knocking me down. Immediately, I retaliate by lighting my hand and throwing it up, taking some of the stone flooring with me. I grab him by the throat with it and lift him off the ground. He gurgles out in rage as he tries to break free, but I only tighten the stone around his neck as I stand back up. The others have all surrounded me, demanding that I release him. I ignore them as I weave my magic through the rock. It slithers around his body until the points sharpen by his eyes. I can see the fear in him. He's a coward, pathetic at the core. "Release him!" I look to the side and see Ulfric stand. More importantly, I can see the fear. Eyes widened, stance ready to attack, breathing increased. For the first time ever, I can see something beyond the stoic leader; a father's fear. "How can you ready for war when you aren't willing to lose anything?" I ask him as I release Skald. He falls to the ground and begins coughing the air back into his lungs. His brothers rush to his side and usher him out quickly. I let them leave. "You really think you're in a position to win a war? And people call me the puppet." I laugh at that, eyeing the griffins around me. They aren't a threat to me. Ulfric, though... "We are not here trying to start a war-" "Then end your relations with the Unfamiliar. You will lose everything if you don't." I light my other hand, getting the griffins around me to back off slightly. "Is this the leader you are, Captain Eremita? Is this the kind of people Terradisians are? We have done nothing but show kindness to those who have known nothing but pain and suffering. Is there no peace between your people and theirs?" I laugh at that. "Any peace that could have been made died with their planet eons ago. They're after blood now, are you willing to pay for it? Are your sons?" "It doesn't have to be this way." "I agree. We will discuss this at the Summit meeting in one week's time. We will discuss what will happen there." He blanches at that, caught off guard. "Unlike you, I do not pass judgement over people I do not rule. The world will hear me and they will know what you are planning. It's over, Ulfric." "You think the world will turn on me just because you say a few words. Have you learned nothing in your time here? If you go to the Summit to pass judgement over me, nothing will come of it." I extinguish my hands and straighten my posture. This is unlike the Spartans of old. They would have killed Skald, Ulfric, any who sided with the Unfamiliar. But... I have to be different. That won't work here, we simply don't have the numbers to do it. And... I'm tired. "The world will hear me. After that, it will do whatever it deems necessary in response to what I say. That is the course that I must take." He thinks to himself for a moment before nodding to me. I don't return the gesture. I just turn and walk back out into the rain. I could have started a war. I could have killed Skald. I'm sure there will be repercussions for all of this, but I'll have to deal with them when they arise. I left far too much unaddressed to have left that quickly. But, I stopped the war from starting today. Or I fast tracked it to starting earlier. I won't know until next week. I look up at the clouds above me and watch as the droplets fall onto me. I should get out of this, but at this point I'll need new armor anyway. Besides, I need a moment to relax. Author's Note Cultural Reference Guide: Terradisian Archetypes Chapter 231 Repercussions Chapter 231 Repercussions Chapter 231 Repercussions Perspective: Luna I feel a bright light burn my pupils through my eyelids for a moment. I grumble in response. It happens again, prompting me to attempt to open my eyes. Something is wrapped around my eyes, stopping me from doing so. I try to move, but the rest of my body is being restrained. In a panic, I start to fight to get free. "Please remain calm, scans are nearly complete," a metallic voice tells me, pausing me. "Who are you? Where are you?" I ask quickly, trying to calm my breath. "I am Doc, medical droid-" "Where am I?" "You are in the Topaz Hall medical center. You were in an explosion. You are being scanned for any internal damages. Please remain calm, confusion is normal after events like this. You are safe." I try to calm myself, but being tied down isn't helping any. I hear a few mechanical instruments move around before they finally click. A moment later, the restraints loosen and I remove them with my magic quickly. The bright hospital lights blind me for a second, but a few blinks later I take in my surroundings. The medical ward is exactly like I remember it from Miles's memories; light green walls, rows of beds with mechanical arms to the sides, and bright lights. In the back of the room I see a familiar brown form laying on one of the beds. He has several machines around him, but I can tell that it's Frank Moose. Why he's here, I can only guess. I drop down to my hooves and realize that I'm back in my pony form. "Please proceed with caution." I jump slightly from the bot behind me. He's a standard medical bot. The tools on his left are retracting into their slots. "Though you show no signs of internal damage, stress and high activity is ill-advised." "Um... okay." He just stands there, waiting for something to happen. I guess I can just ask something or walk away. "What happened?" "You were in an explosion." "I know that part, but... what caused the explosion?" "Only theories exist, would you like to hear?" "Yes." "Your soul had grown to tremendous levels prior to your marking. When marked, the energy within forced its way out. Your transformation was caused due to your irregular soul form. The explosion may have caused the energy within to shift in direction, causing you to transform." "The... energy within... If I were to shift it again, do you think I'd transform?" I ask, getting slightly hopeful. "I do not think, I am a machine. But, with the evidence present, it is likely that a transformation would occur. Further research is required, though. I do not advise any further explosions, as you are needed to restart the human population." Of course he brings that up, creeps. "Right, how would I change the flow of my energy though?" "A shift may occur if you were to bring a certain amount of force to either your head or chest region. This is ill advised though, as it may lead to further injury." I groan from that. There has to be another way to change forms. "Why does hitting your head even do that?" I ask out of irritation. "Based off the theories of Miles Eremita, your mind, your heart, and your soul are in a constant state of give and take. The energy flows from one point to another. Causing a shift in one area will cause a disturbance in this flow. With your irregular soul, this may explain the shifting in forms. This is only a theory, but his research is still ongoing." Hmm... that does make sense. I remember Twilight talking about how the energy within ponies and humans are different. But why is that the only way to change it? Unless- SLAM "LUNA!" I jump a bit when the doors slam open. Blueblood comes running in as several bots chase after him, attempting to apprehend him. He makes it about halfway before the bots get the jump on him though, tackling him to the ground and pinning him down. "QUEEN LUNA! WE HAVE TO LEAVE!" "This is a medical facility. You are not permitted here," Doc tells him calmly, stepping toward the commotion. "Release him... please." They release him almost immediately. Blueblood jumps to his hooves and approaches me quickly, brushing his mane back with a hoof. "What is-" "Miles is on his way here! We have to leave!" I stare at him for a second before the gravity of the situation hits me. I nod to him and start to trot towards the door, charging my horn to teleport. Just before I actually cast the spell though, he walks through the doorway. He doesn't have his helmet on, so I make perfect eye contact with him. The rest of his armor looks as if it's been melting off of him though, along with several bullet marks. We both stand here and stare at each other, both lost for words. Where do we even start? I can't tell him why I was here, not now at least. Telling him now would only complicate things. We've been trying to draw a line between him and his other form, me telling him I can change as well would only make matters worse. He's a worrier. A silent worrier that would use this as an excuse to spend even more time away from home to fight and- "Why is Blueblood here?" Miles finally asks, breaking my train of thought. "Also, why were you admitted to the E.R.? Or, better yet, why did you blow up a building?" "Um... I... you see, the thing is-" "Stop. I know that tone of voice. No lying, what happened?" "I was not going to lie!" "Luna..." He stares down at me, crossing his arms as he waits for my answer. I wasn't going to lie! I just wasn't going to tell him the whole truth. That's how he does it! "I... okay, fine. The truth. I was-" "My lady, are you sure this is the best time and place for this?" Blueblood asks, eyeing the bots. "It is. The truth is that I went to a strip club with Applejack to chase down an auditor. There has been an investigation made against Terradisia that has closed all trade with your people. It could cost the Apple family everything if nothing happens. We didn't get a chance to talk to him though, as the ponies there wouldn't let us. We made a friend there and...well... I had a few too many glasses of wine. I... was in no state to be near Tempestive... Blueblood saw this and escorted me here until I cleared my head. He was in Ponyville on business and... I'm sorry Miles." I lower my head a bit, avoiding his gaze. He's being rather stoic about this, putting me on edge slightly. It doesn't help that I'm trying to hide something from him. "... why here?" he asks after a moment of silence. "Why not go to the Apples or... anywhere else that was closer? Why Topaz?" "I... I-" "It was the drink speaking," Blueblood chimes in, stepping forward. "She was not in a stable mindset and wanted to come here for... incomprehensible reasons. I came along to make sure she was safe." Miles stares at him for a second before looking back to me. "The explosion?" he asks simply. "I... found a Virgum de Marcus. I guess...putting too much magic into it was a bad idea." The room goes quiet again. Nopony makes any movements. Even my breaths are coming out silently. Miles brings a hand to his chin as he thinks to himself. "Are you hurt?" he asks quietly. "They already checked me and I'm fine." "Okay. Good... let's take this up somewhere a bit more private. Bot, take Blueblood back to the Topaz transit entrance. I'll be in touch later. Follow me, Luna," he turns and walks out of the room. I look to Blueblood for a moment before mouthing my thanks to him. He simply bows his head and follows the bots out. I take a deep breath and walk after Miles, keeping my head held high. I'm not a little filly. I shouldn't let anypony make me feel this way... even when it's mostly my fault. I follow him to a mico platform where we teleport to what looks like a locker room. It's a long hall with tall metal lockers making the aisles. Between them are long stone benches. I don't ask or say anything. I want to let him speak first, hear what he has to say. He goes to one of the lockers where he begins to unclasp his armor, having a bit of difficulty doing so. Is he injured? He gets his left bracers off and lets them drop to the ground, sighing contently afterwards. "I'm sorry for putting you on the spot there. That was unfair of me to do," he says quietly before starting the next bracers. "It's... okay. I understand that it might have been a lot to take in. What happened to your armor?" He gets the second set off and lets it drop loudly. I use my magic to do the chest piece quickly, gasping when I see his back. There are a few large, dark bruises on his lower back and shoulders. He turns around and shows me the one taking up the left of his chest. "Miles! What happened!" I light my horn and start to heal him, seeing the bruises slowly begin to shrink in size. "We- unf, assaulted an Unfamiliar settlement. They were- sss, resilient." He takes a seat on the bench, putting his hands on his knees as he waits for me to finish. I bring my hooves to his back and start to check his ribs, making sure they're still in one piece. "A settlement... you attacked civilians?" I ask quietly, almost dropping my spell. I... don't believe it. He wouldn't do that. "Heh, with how they fought, that was no civilian settlement." He's trying to make light of this, but it's not working. I bring a hoof over to his cheek where I force him to look at me. He stares back into my eyes as I let my worry through. He simply closes his eyes and leans into my hoof, letting out a long breath. "What would you have me do?" "Miles... you're better than that-" "Not when it comes to them. Never when it comes to them." "Miles." I drop my spell, about halfway through, and force him to look back at me. "You have to be better than that. Genocide is not the answer-" "I spoke with their leader," he cuts me off, catching me off guard. "Kileh. I spoke with him, even made a bet. He thinks the griffins will win the war. He believes that whoever wins this war will lead to a new world order. He knows I'm backing the Equestrians-" "Miles-" "Whoever wins the war, wins the planet. That's what he said, between us and them. Winner takes all. They probably already have plans to kill you and Celestia. Cadance, Twilight... Tempestive-" "Miles-" I try to be firmer, but he continues anyway. "The goblins are invading the Southern Badlands, the griffins are mobilizing for war, and no one - no one - is taking any of this seriously! They sided with my people’s sworn enemies and try to pin the war on me! They want me to be the scapegoat! They make the moves towards war, and I take the blame! If they really want, I could just invade them today! Why am I the only one to take on these responsibilities!? Why am I th-" SMACK I bring my hoof back and bring it across his face again. SMACK I choke as tears start to fall down my cheeks. SMACK He doesn't say anything. He doesn't do anything. He just sits there and lets me hit him. A few tears roll down his face and he grasps the bench tightly, but he doesn't do anything. SMACK "Stop... just stop," I beg him, breaking down further. "I tried to help you, I wanted to help you. And you pushed me away. You just... you just wouldn't let me help you." "Luna... I can't let you-" "Why!?" I yell, stepping away from him. "Do you think I'm weak? That I can't stomach the pain?" "It's not like that!" Miles yells back, standing to face me. "Then what is it? Hm? Am I just your trophy wife to keep safe at home? Am I incapable of being of use beyond your cock sleeve!?" "You are not a trophy Luna. You are my wife!" "Then treat me like it and talk to me!" I yell, stomping a hoof down. The lights around us flicker as my magic begins to rise in power. But neither of us back down. "Luna... I... I'm not strong enough... I can't... I..." "Strong enough? You made the Elements of Harmony! You destroyed Discord! You destroy ships with a single blow of your weapons! You are a Spartan! You are the strongest of them all-" "AND I CAN'T PROTECT YOU!" he screams at the top of his lungs, pausing me. "I CAN DO ALL OF THOSE THINGS BECAUSE I STAND ALONE WHEN I DO THEM! I can't keep my eyes everywhere, Luna. If... if something happened to you... and I could have done something... I... I don't know if I could go on-" "Miles, we have a son! You would go on! You would have too! It's not just me-" "Who else could I trust to watch over him, Luna? We let Celestia have him for an hour and he nearly killed someone. I'm not worried about losing Tempestive because I know you would never let that happen. You and I, we'd die before we'd let something happen to him. But you... I can't... it's not the same, Luna. Out there, fighting... I need something worth coming back to. If I lose that... what am I fighting for?" "And what about me? Am I supposed to just accept that you're the one who has to go out and fight? Haven't you ever thought that I'd be just as devastated as you if I lost you?" He drops to the bench and buries his face in his hands, trying to control his breathing. "It's like you said. I have the strength to keep fighting-" "You're one man, Miles! Look at you! I'm amazed you were even standing, let alone walking around! You can't keep doing things like this! It's going to destroy you!" I rush over to him and bring my hooves to his hands, holding them tightly as I try to think of what else I can say. "Miles... please!" "... if I don't, then who?" he asks quietly. "Storm-" "Storm isn't ready to lead yet. And the others won't follow him as they do with me." "Then... lead from here-" "I can't. Luna, I can't do that. Look, I'm sorry. I really am! But this is how it has to be-" "No! I refuse to believe that! There has to be another way! There has to be a solution that... that..." I go silent when an idea pops in my head. It's a last ditch effort, but it's the only one that could work. "Get me pregnant." "... what?" he asks in astonishment, looking up at me. "Get me pregnant. That'll put you on paternity leave and give us time to think of a solution. You could still lead, but you'll be home. Miles," I bring his hands together and hold them to my chest, looking earnestly into his confused eyes. "Please, get me pregnant. Please." "..." "..." "..." "..." "Luna... avoiding the problem isn't going to fix it." I feel my heart give out when he refuses. "It could work! We could make it work, Miles! We just... we just need a little more time. Please, Miles." I begin to cry deeply as I try to hold onto his hands. There has to be a way for this to work. He just has to let me help him. "We can't go on the way things are... I can't... we..." "Are... are you suggesting... what I think you are?" He tries to look me in the eyes, but I avoid his gaze quickly. He yanks his hands back and stands up, seething with rage. "Don't you dare do that." "What choice have you given me?" I demand, standing to glare back at him. "Threatening to end our marriage! Is that really what you think would fix this?" he demands, yelling. I flare my wings when he takes a step forward, both of our rage spilling over. "I wouldn't have to if you'd just let me help you-" "I CAN'T LET YOU DO THAT! THAT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!" "IT IS NOT GOING TO BE THE SAME EITHER MILES! IT CAN'T! I WON'T LET IT!" He grips his hair and walks past me, lost for words in his anger. I let out a scream of frustration and begin to kick the locker behind me. I kick and I kick and I kick until I feel the metal door meet the interior wall, and then I kick it again. Everything falls silent as we both begin to wind down. I close my eyes and count to ten. It's an old habit I would do back when I was trying to fight off the thoughts from Nightmare Moon. I haven't had to use these since then. I thought I never would. "Luna." I ignore him as I try to force myself past five, but my tears won't let me. "Luna... we just fought." "I... I know." I sniffle out my response. Six! I can do this, just keep it together. I'm in control... "We never fight." I let the room stay silent. Se... sev... He can think it over himself all he wants. That's what he does! Seven! "Luna... I'm sorry-" "Sorry isn't going to cut it!" I yell back at him. Eight! "Things have to change, Miles! Our family cannot go on like this! Tempestive needs his father, and phone calls aren't going to cut it! And whether you like it or not, I'm a part of this nation too! I have every right to be a part of it!" "Luna..." He's going to fold, he always folds! He'll say something and walk out of the room! That's what he does! He deludes himself with the idea that he's 'protecting' me! He's not protecting me. He's stifling me. Nine! "You're right." "..." "..." "..." "You're right Luna. I... I let my fears get the best of me. I'm afraid, Luna. I know what's out there and I can't stop it. I may have all of this power, but I can't guarantee your safety. Or anyone's for that matter. Look what happened to Frank. I step away for a little bit and he lost his leg. I'm not ready for you to be in that kind of danger, Luna. Let alone Tempestive. But... you're right. I can't keep you locked away at home... and I need to be there for our son too... I'm sorry." Ten. I turn to face him and make eye contact with him. We stare at each other for a moment before we rush into each other's arms. I don't know how we're going to fix this, but we're going to do it together. No more fighting, no more secrets... "Miles." I say quietly, getting him to hum back into my mane. "I have something to tell you, something really big. No one is in danger, but... it's very big news. I-" BEEEP BEEEEP BEEEEP A loud alarm sounds off before I could finish what I wanted to say. Miles jumps to his feet and rushes to his locker. He has to use his magic to rip the dented metal off before grabbing his radio and yelling something into it. The sirens stop, but I don't hear what was said over the radio. "What was that, Miles?" I ask him. He grips the sides of the locker and leans forward, paler than ever. "Miles?" "Order 22, enemies on surface," he tells me quietly. “What does that mean? Miles?” I ask him as he just stands there in a daze. I step forward to try to shake him out of it, but he runs off before I could. Slightly confused, I chase after him. He makes it to a mico platform where he teleports away. After all of that, he leaves me behind anyway! Did nothing I said get to him? Flash I look back to the station and stare at Miles as he stands there, breathing deeply. We keep eye contact, waiting for something to happen. He steps off the platform and kneels before me, grabbing my hoof in his hand. “It’s not going to be safe out there,” he tells me quietly, rubbing my hoof with his thumb. “I know that.” “You could die… just like your father did,” he looks away for a moment, gripping my more tightly. “I can’t stop that from happening, Luna. I have no control over that. Is this what you really want?” “... Miles.” I bring my hoof out from his grasp and up to his chin. I force him to look up to me and bring my hoof around to his cheek. He nuzzles himself into my hoof, closing his eyes with a deep breath. “My father stood before you. Let me stand beside you.” “There’s no going back,” he warns me. “You can’t undo what happens here, and you certainly can’t hide from it. Are you absolutely sure you are prepared for this?” I lean forward and press my forehead against his, gripping the back of his neck lightly. He mimics me and we just sit there for a moment, resolving ourselves for what might occur. “As long as we’re together, we can face anything. Let’s do this Miles.” He looks up to me and nods before rising fully. He steps aside and motions for me to take the teleporter. I take one last breath before I step onto it. He is right about one thing: there is no going back from this. Flash Chapter 232 The Treaty of Crescent CoveChapter 232 The Treaty of Crescent Cove Perspective: Miles With how quickly I had to leave, I didn't get to change out my armor for new, undamaged pieces. Getting it back on was problematic, but I was able to attach it about halfway to the launching bay. Luna's with me. I don't know how to feel about that. I've fought with her in the past, even been on the receiving end of it once. But... this is war. There are too many unknown factors that could happen. Snipers, grenades, her own spells could blow up in her face! I can't loose her, but I can't turn her away either. "Infantry transit air-unit 2-2-7 is ready for departure. What air detail would you like?" A maintenance bot asks as we walk off the large mico platform. The launch bay is alive with mechanical life. Bots and cranes are moving all over the tunnel entrance as ships are loaded for what might happen. There are several Aquilas already prepped on the sidelines waiting for orders. "Delay an Aquila escort by forty-five seconds. Thirty seconds after that, launch for quarantine around the project L.Z. Bring in all active Spartans as quickly as possible as well. If fighting breaks out, give the order for first wave assault," I order as we walk to the I.T.A. This one is being outfitted with several more weapons than usual. Mainly sidecar guns for the pilot, but we're leaving with four side machine guns as well. "Of course, sir. Any further orders?" I look over to Luna for a second before shaking my head to the bot. "Why are you delaying your defenses?" Luna asks as we step inside the I.T.A. We both stay standing inside, though I grab one of the hand rails above for support. "The report read that a small number of vehicles are moving in. This isn't an invasion force. That means there is information to be gained here. How quick we react, how we react, what are our procedures, there is a lot to be learned here. We have to misguide them as much as possible, but also be ready for whatever they have planned." She nods to that, looking quietly out at the busy launch bay. I turnback to her and look her over once more. No armor, no weapons, all she has with her is her magic, and that might not be enough. I quickly move to the computer console in the center of the ship and remove one of the gems from it. I take a seat and begin to strap myself in as the ship begins to seal itself up. "What are you doing?" Luna asks as she takes the seat next to me, following my example for security. "You don't have any armor so I'm re-purposing this gem to act as a shield for you. It's not much, but it'll do. "I was going to summon my armor when we left the city." I stop myself from enchanting to give her a look. "We both have armor... we just never use it." "Well, it's better than nothing. Is it enchanted?" I ask as I start to work on the gem. It's not the strongest gem, but it'll be able to stop small arms fire at least. "Yes... though I will admit that they are old enchantments." I nod to that, falling out of the conversation to focus on enchanting. "We also need to send a letter to Celestia so she knows what's going on. Are there bots nearby to send a message?" "Your message has been delivered," a bot from up front tells her. "Launch in five seconds. Four, three, two, one, take off." We each take a glance to each other during the countdown, speaking to each other without saying a single word... Are you going to be okay? Are you? I can do this. I know. We can do this. I know. Why are you scared? ... because I have to be. We plaster into the backs of our seats as the ship takes off. I close my eyes and distract myself with my enchantment. She doesn't get it, though, I suppose that's the way it's supposed to be. Civilians aren't supposed to understand the fear that comes with duty. We take the bullets so they don't have to. I know what she's capable of. I know what we could accomplish together, but she doesn't get the fear. She's not a Spartan, and asking her to understand something she's never known is unfair, but she's putting herself in this position. She won't ever understand fully... and that's okay. She'll never understand why I'm scared. Perspective: Celestia "... and then they become the leader of that Keksh," the Nether Walker explains to me enthusiastically. I nod to him and continue to jot down notes. There is so much to put down, and we're only skimming the surface! I wish Twilight was here to help with this! She takes the best notes, but I'll have to make due for now. "Amazing. Now, the colors-" "Loshni!" "Yes, Loshni (loh-sh-nee), how did you come to pick those colors?" I unroll a new scroll and start to write. I had three meetings today that I've blown off for this, and I think I'll blow off the rest of the week if I can! "Purple and gold... eeeh... it came to me in a dream-" "You picked the colors?" I ask quickly, getting him to chuckle and nod. I feel like a filly, asking questions before they're answered, but I don't care. This is knowledge that I may never get the chance to hear again! "Yes, in a dream of mine, well before my ascension. I was in a lake... lake? ... Yes! A lake! I was floating, down the current, and the sky was a deep purple. Everything around me, deep purple. I came to a rest on the shore and I saw a land, rich in life. Plants, animals, life as far as the eye could see. I crawled up the beach and dug a small hole. I let my breath into the hole, and a small golden plant began to grow. From there, I brought my people down the lake and made them a home there. It was hard, and many would not make the passage, but we found our land of life. Because of my dream, we mark ourselves with these colors." "Fascinating." I feel like Twilight. "Is there anything else you can remember about your home?" "... home?" His question catches me off guard slightly. "Um... that was your home, right? The place you resided in before you left your world?" He thinks about it for a moment before chuckling again. "I am apologize. No, no, the land of life was not on our home world." He laughs again, confusing me further. "I have not found the place of my dreams. The Nether Speaker at the time simply... eeeh... understood? There was something is my dream she believed, so she... eeeeh... took me in?" "She became your mentor?" I ask, getting him to tilt his head a bit in thought. "Eeeeh... she was... hmm... As Captain Miles has put it, we shared DNA-" "She became your wife after a single dream?!" He chuckles again, rubbing the back of his neck. I shake my head and keep jotting down notes, this is too much! "Sorry, but there is so much to take in from this. Was this something normal? Or was she radical in her choice? Was there any objection?" "Heh, if there was objection, we were too busy to hear it." I write that down, pausing when I catch his drift. "You are blushing-" "A-am not!" I tell him quickly, avoiding his gaze. He laughs at me, making my face heat up more. "Are the leaders here so easily bothered? Have you not built your Keksh?" I blush at that, trying to think of a quick way to change the subject. "I-I, well, that is, we... um... the thing is, I follow a life of abstinence-" "What is that?" he asks eagerly. I stare at him a moment before laughing it off. "Anyway, let's try another topic. Are all of the Keksh leaders-" "I am sorry, but what is abstinence? I do not know this word. Is it... offensive?" I pause again, lost for words. Is he trying to tease me? Or does he genuinely not know what that word means? "It means that I refrain from sexual activities. Now, why don't you tell me about-" "Why?" he asks, confused. "It is a simple act of life, yes? Why would you fight nature... it is nature!" I let out a breath as I shake my head at him. Sadly, this is not the first time I've had this conversation. Even more saddening, it will not be the last. "I refrain from those acts for several reasons. The main reason is that I am a public figure head. I lead this nation, and in doing so, I keep my focus on my subjects. I refrain from those acts because I believe that they are not necessary to make me happy, that I can go without them and live a fulfilling life, and that I will be free to come to that decision when the time is right. I do not need it, and I don't much desire it. I have lived for several thousand years without even a moment's thought towards that, and look at me now." I smile to him and cross my legs, letting him think it over. He stares at me for a moment, mulling over everything I just said. "The guard, the one at the door, he fancies you. I can leave and be back in a moments notice-" "No! I am not lying... did you not just hear me!? And why would you say that about Morning Star?! He's been my personal guard for years!" "That explains it," he mumbles, making me go wide eyed. "He's married! He has four foals! He... anyway! I am-" "He looks at you like a... like a... mmm..." he trails off in thought. I scoff again and start to go through my scrolls. This is not happening. I need to get this discussion back under control. "You are tall, yes. He sneaks glances, but, they are... distant. Like a child looking at treats through the window, yes?" "... what?" "He has the lost heart... no... his feelings are... eeeeh, not complete? No... he loves, but is without. He settled, but wishes. Call him in, talk, lay, I will be back-" "That is not happening!" I cut him off firmly. He stares at me for a second before shifting onto his knees and bowing his head to the floor. "Forgave me. I only had life in mind. Please forgave me." I bite my lip for a second before letting out a long breath. This is just a cultural misunderstanding, that's all. "I forgive you. But..." I pause for a second. Is there any reason not to tell him this? I hesitated, which is my gut telling me there is something I'm forgetting. But... I trust him. He is noble and honest. A bit forthcoming, but he's earned my trust at the least. "Alicorns... are not normal." "Oh?" I nod to him, setting aside my scrolls and quills. He sits back up and puts his entire focus on me, intent on hearing everything I have to say. "Well... alicorns are a combination of the three races, sort of. But, there are some drawbacks from all of that inherent prowess. We can fly for longer, but our feathers grow slower. Our magic is more powerful, but the drain is more demanding. And we have inner strength that holds us together... but our heat is selective." "I do not understand." "Well... heat is when a female pony's body is ready to reproduce, create life. For most ponies it happens around once a month starting around the age of ten. Not for alicorns, though. We have to have a greater connection to our significant other to even begin our heat." "So... you cannot become pregnant until you meet your Niphil (Neh-f-ill), your... mmm.. the closest word that works is wife, but it is not the same, I think. The one you devote yourself to in life and nether.The one you claim and are claimed by... eeeeeh, the word works, yes?" "Spouse, husband, special somepony, there are several words to describe it." I tell him, nodding slowly. "Then... why not look for your Niphil? Do you not wish to find him?" I take a moment to consider his question. There was a time when I thought I found him. But... he was not ready... and I was so young... "Do not be sad." "Excuse me?" He chuckles at me, leaning forward to wipe a tear from my cheek. I blink a few times in surprise before I begin to wipe my eyes clear. Where did that come from? I've thought of him before, why is now so different? "You will find your Niphil, just as I will find the land of life from my dreams. There are many lakes to follow, but you will not travel by standing still. Go down the current, and find your life." "It is not that simple," I tell him, getting a confused look in response. "Once an alicorn starts heat, they only get that time to become pregnant. It'll last for about.... twenty years, give or take. After that... that's it." "Oooh... you are afraid that you will find him, begin this heat, and lose out on it." I shake my head at that, silencing him. "I am sad because I believe I have already found my one, but he is already gone." I let it stay at that. There is so much more to it than that, but that is for another time. "I am sorry. I did not mean to sour the conversation with my own personal issues." "Do not be sorry, Celestia. Matters of the heart are the most important. We Kroth follow our hearts with total conviction. Why else would we fight, yes? Losing your life; a loved one, a home, it is powerful. Do not let it form you, yes? Rise above, and flow down your own lake. Even if the rocks and the current shake you from time to time, you have to travel, yes?" I smile to him, receiving one in return. "Thank you. One would think a thousand years would have healed this already." We both share a chuckle. "Time is an illusion. The heart cares not for it. But, our minds are strong too. Will it to flow, and dwell no longer on... what was his name?" I let out a hum at that, thinking fondly of him. "Promise not to laugh." He nods eagerly to me, leaning forward and smiling widely. "Starswirl the Bearded-" "Princess Celestia!" a guard announces from behind the door. "A bot is here to deliver a message to you." "Send him in." The Nether Walker and I share an uneasy look as we rise to greet the bot. It's one of those ones with the shield and sword, making me slightly nervous. "Speak." "An urgent message from: Luna, Tia, it's me. A large force of Kroth are moving towards Equestrian territory. Miles and I are moving to meet them. I don't want to make any promises, but we will hold to the ceasefire for now. I need you to go to Ponyville and watch after Tempestive. I don't know what they want, but I have a bad feeling about this. Our meeting point seems to be at Crescent Cove. I'll contact you as soon as possible. Wish us luck." I stand up and start to head towards the door when I stop and look back to the Nether Walker. He's just sitting there, lost in a daze. It didn't even cross my mind how this information would come across for him. These are his people, and they're in danger. But, that's my brother and sister going to fight them. Except, they aren't. "Do you know of this ceasefire?" I ask him. He slowly shakes his head, still deep in thought. "I must go to protect my family, should the worst occur. I think it would be wise for you to do the same." "But... I am your prisoner-" "Then, as my prisoner, I demand that you head straight to Crescent Cove." He looks up to my in confusion. I simply smile back to him and tilt my head for a moment. "Crescent Cove is due east of here. It is a small town, but I think you will be able to find it." "Why are you doing this? Is not your Keksh meeting there?" "Isn't yours?" We stare at one another before he closes his eyes and disappears from the room. I stare at the spot where he was sitting before I head to leave. I must be with my family, just as he needs to be. "Princess?" The guard on my left inquires as I march out of my chambers and towards the rear exit. I take a glance at the unicorn behind me before looking forward again. "How adept are you at teleporting?" I ask formally. "I am proficient enough to keep pace, if only for a short while," he responds formally. "As am I," the other one reports. "Good, then keep up... oh, and Morning Star?" I stop to look back at him. They both halt and stand up straight. Just go with the flow, huh? I lean in and whisper into his ear, "try and keep your eyes from wandering too long, understood?" "... P-Princess! I-I um... it was never my- I would never-" "Never? Then that's a shame, isn't it?" He gawks at me, lost for words. "To Ponyville, then?" "YES MA'AM!" They both yell, though Morning Star is almost all red. I chuckle to myself for a moment. I haven't felt that silly since... since that one day. But, as our good friend would say; "Allons-y!" Perspective: Miles It took my the entire trip over to get the enchantment done and embedded into Luna's armor. Oddly enough, I've never actually seen her armor before. It's plated steel that's been tinted light blue and deep purple. The purple parts seem to be the heavy parts, like the chest piece and helmet, while the light blue parts are the minor connecting sections. Her helmet forces her hair back into a ponytail and has a pointed sapphire spire before her horn. The armor is light and seems to be aimed at being as aerodynamic as possible. Not something I would go for, but it's too late for that. "Why do you keep eyeing my armor?" she asks me quietly. "If you can call it that. It only covers your body and hooves, your legs are mostly exposed. Not to mention your wings are out in the open!" I complain, making her roll her eyes. "It was made so I could fly more easily. My ability to take to the skies are far more valuable than extra pieces of metal." I go to say something, but stop myself. There's no reason to drag it out any further. I don't have anything to replace it, so it'll have to do. "I can see them." I stand up and move towards the cockpit. Ahead of us, still racing over the ocean, is the opposing force. Each of the eight ships appear to be made of bronze with jets of red energy trailing behind them. They're flying in a diamond formation with what appears to be some sort of infantry transit in the back. It's a long cylindrical vehicle that has its wings fixed at the front and curve all the way towards its back. The fighter escorts are exactly what I remember them, back when they first appeared. How many of them actually got off that ship? How many of them will I have to face till this ends? "Radio them to halt and-" "No!" Luna cuts me off, stepping between me and the pilot. "The Kroth are vulnerable to radio frequencies. Send a white smoke canister to a meeting location... there! Just north of the settlement." I stare at her for a moment before I look to the pilot and nod to him. I almost made the same mistake my people made... THUNK A canister pops out from beneath us and races towards the small clearing down below. I look out to the incoming ships and wait for their response. The second I see a grey trail I'll have to throw my shield up. Luna can teleport us then. From there we'll have to make a mad dash for the nearby forest for cover, assuming Luna can't just teleport us again. Their numbers aren't that large, we shouldn't lose too many bots from this- THUNK I watch in astonishment as a trail of white smoke races from the lead aircraft towards our smoke canister. It takes me a moment to fully register what just happened. First peaceful contact with an alien species... well, relatively peaceful. "I want a perimeter set based on that location," I command the bot before me. "Keep a tight grip and don't let up. Any ground forces that land must be cataloged and watched. We're maintaining F.W.F.U. protocols, let them be as aggressive as they want. Only when they are intent on destruction are you to engage, understood?" "Processing... processing... orders have been made to all units. Landing in thirty seconds." I nod to him and look back to Luna one last time. We share a scared look before nodding to each other, somehow understanding. We race towards the landing zone, quickly meeting the enemy vessels. Any support we had traveling with us each race around the air, each attempting to gain superiority over the enemy forces. I can see several Aquilas landing around us, dropping troops off to set up a perimeter. For every Unfamiliar ship here, two Aquilas chase after them. The air becomes loud with the roars of afterburners and screeching jets. As we near the ground, dust is thrown into the air. I wait until I feel the ship shake against the ground before leaping out, waiting for something to happen. An attack, warning shot, anything. When the dust begins to settle I turn back and assist Luna out of the ship. A second wave of dust washes over us. I go to grab my pistol, but stop when Luna grabs my hand. I nod to her, moving my hand away. Old habits, I guess. I step forward until I have a visual of the ship before me. The large infantry ship is sitting before us, powering down. The front of the ship is facing us, giving us a view into the cockpit. I can only see one pilot, but it looks as if several people can fit in there. Are they undermanned, or just trying to appear fewer? The bottom of the cockpit drops down into a ramp way, revealing Kileh. He has four guards with him, each of them in Terradisian armor that has been painted in various colors. Red and white, purple and gold, blue and green, orange and black, and finally Kileh in silver and copper. They walk down the ramp and form a line opposite of Luna and I. From behind, a row of Legion bots do the same for us. I take another glance around and note all of the air activity. Several of the jet are still racing around, but I can see several of them going to land. One of them even drop troops off, though they're quickly surrounded by dozens of Legions bots. The nearby village is buzzing too. Several griffins are in the air, trying to get a view. I remember this town. Small port town mainly inhabited by griffins. I wonder if it had any influence with their meeting here? "Here we are," Kileh mentions, stepping forward. "The future order. Kroth and human. Fitting, isn't it?" "For a supposed ceasefire you sure are making it hard not to attack-" I start to say, but stop when Luna kicks the back of my leg. "Right... why are you here?" "Isn't it obvious?" he asks, taking another step forward. "Did you really think I would leave our ceasefire to mere words? I am here to create the articles to our pact. We mustn't let only our actions guide us, but our words too. Are you truly an advocate for peace? Or, were those merely sweet little lies to escape?" I glare at him, not fully knowing what he means. He has human magic, but if he's talking about what I think he's talking about- "Why have you invaded Equestrian territory?" Luna demands in an authoritative voice. "Apologies, Moon Princess, we simply thought that the peace loving ponies would facilitate us-" "You have the ability to communicate without force. You could have sent an emissary to Canterlot to set up any diplomatic actions. Your arrival with armed soldiers is hardly peaceful, isn't it?" He chuckles at that, taking another step towards us. "Do you know who you stand beside? The Lost Spartan is not someone to be trifled with. He destroyed our flagship with a single wave of his hands, toppled skyscrapers with his voice, and made the very will of humanity into a weapon. Such a person is not to be dealt with lightly, would you not agree?" I get two of those references, but I've never used my voice to knock over skyscrapers... have I? "I know the deeds the man beside me has committed. I know not the deeds of you or any of your Kroth. I can only stand by what I know. Why have you invaded Equestria?" Good girl. Push him, make him pull all of his cards now. "This is hardly an invasion force. Unless this is all it takes to strike fear into the Equestrians." That's good. Teasing. He has no actual argument, not now at least. Time to chime in. "Fear isn't the enemy here, just its tool." I chime in, taking a step forward. "You want me to make a pact for peace, then prove your commitment to it. Send your troops back-" "And so will he." Luna cuts me off, stepping slightly before me. "Neither of you have the authority to occupy any Equestrian space as of right now. If either of you truly stand for peace, you will back down immediately." Luna... what the fuck are you doing? Well, I guess she's trying to remain as neutral as possible, but what the serious fuck? "Very well, on the Queen's order?" Kileh asks me. I glare back at him, though my helmet hides it. He called her Queen. It's not much really, it was made public after all. It's still disconcerting to see first hand how connected he is in the world. Maybe it shouldn't be so surprising. Maybe I just don't want him knowing anything about my family. Hard to say. "Very well, call your soldiers back now and once they are gone, we shall continue with our peace talks," Luna commands, taking an authoritative tone with us. Kileh raises a hand, getting one of the guards behind him to radio in an order. It's almost like clockwork, seeing all of the vessels suddenly drop down, gather troops, and head off shore. I still don't trust it, but I'll at least have a count from all of the bots afterwards. That way I'll know how many stayed behind. "All bots, report back to the city," I command, getting similar results. All of the Aquilas quickly gather their troops and fly back to Topaz. I motion to the few around me to stay though, getting a quizzical look from Luna. "I assume personal guards will be allowed. Or shall all of our guards leave?" "These are not my guards. They are representatives of the last remaining Kroth Keksh. They have a right to be here," Kileh tries to argue. I look over to Luna and watch her think it over. Don't fuck me over on this one. I can't keep you safe if I'm outnumbered five to one. "This is a meeting between leaders. If they stay, these bots can stay as well." Fair enough. I look back to Kileh and try to get a read on him. He seems impassive about it, or am I bad at reading him? It's hard to tell, I haven't caught him in a direct lie yet. "Very well, shall we begin?" Quick to answer, them leaving must not be an option. "Very well. My assumption is that you are here to solidify our previous ceasefire. Am I mistaken?" In the distance I can see all of the aircraft that were fighting for territory leaving. Just as quickly as they showed up, they're gone. Hopefully none of their soldiers were able to sneak past the bots. "I think you know why I am here," he says with a smirk. "I am here to forge our words." "Ha!" I shake my head at that. He can't be serious, he can't be! "Captain," Luna starts, but I cut her off. "Do you really think I'm that stupid? Or are you that desperate?" Luna gives me a confused look, not understanding what he's asking. "I will never forge words with the likes of you! Did you really think I would just agree to that? Really!?" "I would think that you would take the lives of those you serve seriously-" "I have no reason to speak with you if this is the best you have to show," I tell him, taking a step towards him. "I outnumber you. I out-skill you. All you have is a nation to hide in and even that won't last." "Are you so sure?" he asks, trying to get cocky. "I am," I respond confidently. "The griffins can't sustain an occupation here. An assault force would be pushed back and eventually defeated. The world would turn on them as well, even with how divided it is. You won't win. You can't win! Why are you even here?" He smiles again, taking a step towards me. We're face to face now, though I am a fair bit taller than him. We stare back at one another, unmoving. Unflinching. Patient. "You humans, you all think the same. Victory, defeat, you live in absolution. I don't need to win. I just need to not lose. That's the difference between you and I. You need to eradicate me. It's what you were made for. You can't go on without knowing that all of us are gone. Because of that, you will never win. Even if only one Kroth makes it to the end, I will have my victory. It may not be a true, absolute, victory; but it will be enough to destroy you. Do you really think that we're only in the Griffin Colonies? Do you really think we're not already here? But I have to thank you for your words yesterday, Captain Miles Eremita. Without them, I wouldn't have had this idea of mine. Victory without victory. What an inspiration you were." We both go silent again. As much as it pains me to admit it, he's right. I have to destroy them all. I couldn't stay sane if even one of them got away. The idea that even one of them, lurking in the shadows, ready to kill my family... And he has to be bluffing about having people here. I would have detected them crossing over... wouldn't I? At least in Ponyville I would. I don't think he knows I'm the King, so that would keep Celestia safe. I have eyes all over Ponyville, I'd see him coming. But they wouldn't even need to be in Ponyville to strike, would they? A chemical attack from upwind would kill hundreds. A missile strike, super archaic drop, a sniper... There are too many variables to be able to leave even one of them unchecked. He's right. To win, I'd have to destroy each and every one of them. All he has to do is keep one of them alive. How am I going to do this? How am I going to be sure? "There is one thing I don't understand," I tell him as my mind races through the possibilities. "The ceasefire was to protect civilians. Now that you've told me all this, why would I agree to the terms any longer? What's to keep me from invading the G.C. right now and sweeping you all off the planet?" He gives a small smirk. Is this his trump card? "You know just as I do that the victor of this war will determine the new world order. Should my griffins claim this land, we Kroth will take over. Should your ponies find victory, humanity will hold the upper hand. For us to have a true victory we need to have a population to grow. That is why we need this, you and I. If either of us are to continue, we need to be able to grow. If we fight as we did before, we will wipe ourselves from existence. We need guidelines to follow if either of us are to win. There has to be a line in the sand if we are to continue. Do you not agree, Queen Luna?" He steps closer to her, smirking down at her. Luna raises her head higher, trying to maintain herself. "What say you?" "You are mistaken to think Equestria so weak. Mightier adversaries have sought to destroy us before, and they all failed. Just as you will." That's my girl, stick to your guns. "I have read your history, you have never faced something like this before. Be weary, Queen. Times are changing." "A fair warning for all, Kileh." I jump slightly from the voice behind me. I spin around and find the Nether Walker behind me. The bots at my side jump into action, pointing their blades at his throat in a moment. "Father!" The purple and gold Kroth yells from the other line, attempting to run over. The others hold him back, yelling at him in their language. "Why are you here?" I ask him, getting in his face. I place my hand on my revolver, ready for anything. "I was given permission to come." Fucking dammit, Celestia! What in the world were you thinking!? "I am a leader of the Kroth, of sorts. I have a right to be here-" "Are you still my prisoner?" I ask him, making him frown. "Then know your place!" "His place is here with us!" Kileh demands, turning away from Luna. "Keep your word and release him!" "We agreed to not kill civilians. If he's a leader than he's fair game-" "You motherless bastard!" the Kroth being restrained yells. I feel a pulse of anger go through me. Without a second’s thought, I pull my revolver out and press it to his head, looking back to that same Kroth. "You only need one, right?" I ask, meeting his scared glare. "Captain!" Luna yells, getting my attention. "Do not forget yourself." I glance over to her, seeing the fear in her. In her stance, in her voice, in her eyes. I lower my pistol, thinking. There has to be a way around all of this. There has to be. "I have a proposition," the Nether Walker suggests, stepping between all of us. "This war has been long. And yet, here we are. The end is near, we all know that. For this last push, let us become better than our predecessors and set our own rules. These rules: One; no harm shall intentionally be brought to civilians. Two; any that surrender, do so fully. That, when they surrender, they forfeit their rights as a soldier and become a civilian. Three; the preservation of the world and its inhabitants shall not be forgotten. No super drops, nuclear weapons, chemical based weapons, or terraforming. And finally, Four; That at the end of this war, let it end. No mass genocide, no executions, nothing but the preservation of life. What say you, Miles?" he asks as he extends his hand towards me. "Father!" the Kroth yells in desperation. "What are you doing!?" "What must be done!" he yells back at him, staring deeply into me. I couldn't take Kileh seriously before, he was too expendable. Not him. he means something to all of them. If they lost him... it would be as if the Spartans lost me. "I agree to the terms," I tell him as I holster my pistol and bring my hand up. Forging words is an old human pact-making spell. When two people come to terms on some kind of deal, they bring their hands together and bind each other to the words of the deal. If either one of us breaks the terms of the deal, their soul will shatter. Making this kind of pact with Kileh would have been pointless. He's expendable. Nether Walker, he's important enough. Without him in the picture, they'd fall apart. It works for me as well, in that I won't have to worry about him killing any of my family. I'll still have to face him, but I don't have to worry about the others. Even if I die, the contract will last until we're both gone. I light the fire in my palm and hold it up beside his. The flame bellows as it normally would, until I start the spell. It wavers a bit at first, but quickly starts to flow towards him. Soon, the flame appears to be flowing into him and we make a connection between souls. At this point, we begin to focus on the terms of war. If we don't come to the same conclusion, it won't set. We have to agree completely for this to work. Even if the wording is slightly different, it won't catch. One; no harm shall come to civilians. Two; any that surrender, do so fully. That, when they surrender, they forfeit their rights as a soldier and become a civilian. Three; the preservation of the world and its inhabitants shall not be forgotten. No super drops, no nuclear weapons, chemical weapons, or terraforming. Four; that at the end of this war, let it end. No mass genocide, no executions, nothing but the preservation of life. Chapter 233 WaitChapter 233 Wait After Kileh and I forged words the other Kroth leaders left. They tried to take the Nether Walker with them, but he looked to me for permission, and I said no. The way I see it, it leaves less chance for them to tamper with the spell. Though I've never heard of people being able to do that, I've also never heard of Kroth mages before. Who knows what they've been able to accomplish out there. I told him to wait for me at the castle in Canterlot, and he left without question. So now it's Luna and I flying back to Canterlot. Neither of us have said anything to each other yet. I imagine she's trying to process everything that just happened before talking. Me... I just have nothing to say. Everything was put on the table, and now we wait. I hate waiting. Not that I'm not capable of patience. Waiting is just the worst. You don't know how things will turn out, but you know something has to happen. Without anything happening though, you start to wonder. One wrong thought could lead to my death. If I become obsessed with some nothing I might take measures to prevent it from happening. Those measures could be the exact opposite of what needs to happen, and the results could be catastrophic! Even worse, actions have to be made. We have to prepare. We need a plan of action, contingency plans, counter action plans, and alternative plans for each of those plans to make sure we cover likely scenarios! This is why I hate waiting. I always overthink things. I wish Susurrans was here, this was his strong suit. I don't know how he did it, but he would wait out any situation beyond comprehensible reason and know all the outcomes. I was still never able to best him in a sparring match. With or without magic, he was always two steps ahead of me. Heck, look at that trail he left me in the cities. How the fuck did he know I would need those weapons? How did he plan on using those photo gems to hide Outpost Zero? How is he still a better leader than me? If he was here now, he'd know what to do. He'd have the words to rally everyone and a clear plan. I'm thirty years old, and I'm still lagging behind him. "We need to have two meetings," Luna tells me as we near the castle airport. "One as the leaders of Equestria, and one as a family." "... we need to talk as well. Just you and me." She glances over to me before looking away. "... I agree." I let out a long breath and try to think. What am I going to say that hasn't already been said? How can I make her understand while being sensitive to her feelings? I'm a warrior, not... this. This was Dolum's strong suit, not mine. We land in the royal airport and exit the vehicle silently. Luna orders the servants around and arranges for us to meet in her study, along with Celestia. Tempestive's here too. She decides to let the staff watch after him. I don't like it, but it's what happening. Not that I have a voice in it right now. I'm in my human form, meaning that I'm still only the leader of Terradisia. And I don't think I can change right now, no matter how much I'd like to. We march to her study and enter quickly, keeping the guards at the door. Once inside I move to the nearest table and remove my helmet, dropping it loudly. Luna gives me a sour look but says nothing, moving to her desk quietly and pulling out quills and some scrolls silently. I let it go for now, removing the rest of my armor instead. My clothes are a bit tattered from the recent conflict, but I pay them little mind. Once I have all of my armor off I start to walk around the room, waiting as patiently as possible for Celestia. I almost forgot what this room looked like, has it really been that long? I remember the bookshelves lining the walls, but the leather seats are new. I also don't recall the big ass globe in the center of the room either. Her desk is the same, though the few books and knic-knacs are new to me. When I make it around her I pause when I see all of the family photos. Our time at the lake, Tempestives first birthday, Nightmare Night, The Summer Sun Celebration. I'm in a few of them, but only a few. "I'm here!" Celestia announces as she enters the room. "What happened?" Luna and I exchange looks before I step forward, motioning her to a seat. "This is going to take a bit, take a seat." She looks between the two of us cautiously before taking a seat. I move to the globe and give it a spin, watching it go by. Where do I even start? What does she need to know, and what does she already know? "Miles?" Celestia asks. I look back to her for a moment before looking back to the globe. I guess it's best to start from the beginning then. "I nominated the Spartans to hunt down the Darkness and to solve the issues of the world. I thought we could do it, but it's proven to be... problematic." She stays silent, so I continue. "Over the last six years we've been searching in every nation for any clues as to the whereabouts of the Four Horsemen. We found plenty of rumors and superstitions, but most of them turned up to be dead ends. No one knows where they are. If anyone did, they've kept it to themselves." "But that's not what's the issue, is it?" she asks quietly, looking back to Luna. She's writing something down, barely paying attention. "No... no, but it's a portion of it." I walk to the seat across fro Celestia and drop into it, sighing loudly. "The Unfamiliar that just arrived came to make the terms of war." "What!?" Celestia gasps, jumping to her hooves. "So that's it, we're at war." "No," Luna chimes in, still focusing on her scroll. "They were the terms of war for Terradisia and the Kroth, depending on who wins the war between the Griffin Colonies and Equestria." Celestia gives me a confused look as she sits back down, so I explain. "The Unfamiliar and I have an... understanding, in the global politics here. We both know that, whoever is left ruling at the end of this war, will be the eventual leaders of this world. We have the technology and the know how to do so. I've actually been planning for that day myself." "You have?" Celestia asks, astonished. "Yeah. My goal was to coarse sects of other nations into joining Terradisia. From there, it'd only take a few decades for everyone else to fall in line. Especially when they see the technical advances those who sign over receive. Giving the blind sight, making the cripple super strong, feeding everyone with half the farms, it would be too good of a deal not to. And, at that point, the Spartan Regiment would have grown as well. The world would eventually capitulate." "I see, but this isn't the plan anymore?" Celestia asks, eyeing me carefully. "That's how I would concur peacefully. If Terradisia were to be the focal point of the upcoming war, that plan would never work. Good, bad, if you start a war, no one wants to follow you without holding a dagger behind their back." Celestia stays quiet, thinking to herself. Luna is still scribbling away, so I stay quiet as well. That's just the political issue facing Terradisia. There's still so much going on. "And that is why Luna is mad?" Celestia asks. Oh boy... I go to answer, but Luna beats me to the chase. "I'm mad because Miles refuses to let me help!" she yells, making Celestia jump slightly. "No matter what I do, or what I say, he wants to me stay at home and be content with being a house wife! He's refused to listen to anything I have to say-" "That's not true." I say firmly, but she continues. "He doesn't want me to be a part of any of the decisions-" "That's not true!" "And he refuses to let me join him in any form of conflict!" I jump to my feet at that, the last of my patience being drained. "You are not going to be part of any fight Luna! End of discussion!" I yell, getting her to slam her hooves on the desk as she rises to face off with me. "Your arrogance is going to put us all in danger! Just let me help you!" "And your stubbornness is going to get you killed! Do you really think you are going to make a difference in a modern battlefield!?" "If you'd give me the same materials as your soldiers, yes! I'm sure fighting is real hard when you're pulling a trigger from six hundred yards! Or do I need special training do hold technical superiority?" I feel a shiver run down my spine when she says that. I get what she's implying. She's saying that the fight is easy when it's distant. That, because we are advanced, the fight is less intense. "Taking a life, regardless of how, is never easy." I tell her, trying my best to pull back my rage. "I know that, better than most," she tells me, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Do not think of me as some blood crazy mare with a death wish. I know what I ask for." "Then you know why I have to refuse you." I tell her, attempting to move a hand to wipe the tears away. She moves her head quickly away, closing her eyes tightly. "How could you expect me to let you do something like that to yourself?" "Ha! Shouldn't I be asking you the same thing?" Luna asks, looking back to me fiercely. "Do you know how many nights I've spent over the last six years wondering if you were alive or not? Having to wake up and tell our son that you were okay, when I didn't even know myself? How could you expect me that of me?" I look down, unsure of how to answer her. It... it just seems so logical to me. I'm the professional soldier. I've had the training. I'm surrounded by the trained soldiers. I'm the obvious choice for these matters. How can I make her see that? "... wow," Celestia says awkwardly. "So... have you two been fighting long? Because this is all new to me." I shake my head, taking my seat again. "Luna," I start out softly, trying to bring it back to normal. "I never meant to... make you feel so left out-" "I don't feel left out, Miles. I was left out," she snaps back, sitting back down. "Look what happened in the Minotaur country. All of that could have been avoided if you had just included me. Look, I'm not saying that I have to be a Spartan, or that I have to be on the front line. But the least you could do is utilize my knowledge! You've only been here for seven years! There are still many things to be learned. If you'd let me in, I could help you through them. Just let me help!" I close my eyes and rub my face, sighing deeply. "I... you... it's just..." "What has you so scared Miles?" Celestia asks softly. I look to her for a moment before resolving myself to saying what's been in the back of my mind this whole time. "Because I'm afraid that even the smallest of trails could lead back to you... and that I'd lose you... just like I lost your father." The room goes silent at that. I know I said it before, but the fact still remains. An Unfamiliar probably killed him. He was only there because of me. Now I have Luna, and that threat has never been realer. I can destroy entire flagships, I can rip souls from people, I can even stop people from existing! But I can't stop a sniper from shooting Luna. I can't protect her from the things I can't see! There will always be a threat so long as she is near me, so I've fought to put as much distance between the two of us over the past six years! And this is what it's come to. To protect her, I have to push her away. "Miles," Celestia starts out, using her magic to force me to look at her. "With or without you, we'll always be a target." I feel a tear start to work its way out, so I wipe it away quickly. "The Kroth are not the first to threaten my life, and they will not be the last," Luna adds. She rises from her seat and walks towards me slowly. I try to look down, but her magic stops me. "Back before Equestria was even formed I was being threatened. Poison from the bears, assassins from the Zebra tribes, even ponies have tried to kill me. There's a reason Celestia can't remember my birthday. I've made it this far, but I can't make it through this without you, and the same goes for you. We need each other Miles, we can't go on like this. I'm safer at your side than anywhere else. Please let me in." She takes my hand in her hooves and holds them tightly. I move my fingers to hold her back, eyeing her blue coat distantly. There isn't a choice to be made. Let her be a target with me, or let her be a target without me. I can't stop anything from happening. What's the point of having all of this power if I'm powerless to do anything? No matter what I can do, I can't stop something from happening. That fear of the inevitable has made me overlook the truth. That, for once in my life, I am powerless. The only choice left to make is the one that I think will give the better outcome. "I'm sorry," I tell her, tears forcing their way out. "I'm so sorry. I just... I couldn't face the idea that I could lose you. The fear of that... I'm sorry." I break down, letting all of my fears out. Losing her, losing Tempestive, I've lost before and I almost couldn't take it. The idea that I could put myself back in that place... I couldn't. I did everything I could to stop it, and look what happened. I almost lost her anyway. All because of my fears getting the better of me. I should have known better. I shouldn't have let my thoughts escape me like that. For six years no less! Luna moves forward and I meet her halfway for a hug. I bury my face in her neck as she wraps herself around me, both of us crying lightly. I don't know how long we hold each other. It could have been a few minutes, but it felt like years. Years of neglect, dismissals, and fear. I'm sure there will be more talks in the future, but this is the right step in the right direction. It's the only thing I've been sure of in a long time. "So... what now?" Celestia asks, still concerned. "Do we mobilize for war?" "It's hard to say." I tell her as we finally break away from each other. Luna pause to give me a kiss on the cheek. It was quick, but it spoke to me. "Miles still needs to speak with the griffins at the Summit. If he can broker a deal there, then a war may be avoided, if only for a short time." I nod in agreement with her. "Right... is there anything we can do to help with that?" Celestia asks, sounding a bit hopeful. I think about it for a second, but come up empty handed. "I've thought this over already. There is nothing more to do over this other than meet there and speak with them. If the goats there agree with me, then I'm in the clear. If they side with Ulfric, then they'll have a clear agenda to attack Terradisia." "But an attack would on you would require them to invade Equestria." Celestia points out. "Not if they can muster support from the others," Luna tells her. "An unprovoked attack by a supposedly superior people, people would rise together to fight that. And look what happened at the last Summit meeting. You were nearly dethroned. This next talk will sway public opinion greatly, and there is nothing to prepare us for that. It's between Ulfric and Miles." Because I made a brash decision. I look between the two of them as I think that over. If I had talked to Luna about that, she would have at least tried to stop me. If I hadn't been so scared, this wouldn't be happening right now. "Then all we can do is pray." Celestia concludes confidently, getting both of our attention. "In less than one week is the Grand Galloping Gala, so you both will be attending. Until that meeting, it will be business as usual. I will also be setting up some meetings with some officials so we can form a proper military. We may not be able to raise an army at this moment, but when the time comes, we'll be ready for it. I expect you to lead this project, Miles-" "Me?" I ask, glancing to Luna. "I don't even know how your military functions! Let alone the ponies capable of leading it." "That's why you will ask your lovely wife to assist you with this project when the time comes," she tells me smugly. Did... did she just call Luna lovely? I glance over to Luna to see her eyeing her as well, just as lost as I am. "O... kay." "We will also need to start a propaganda war," Luna adds, moving past the oddness. "Maybe not to hate the griffins, but to get patriotism as high as possible. When the fight comes, we'll need plenty of ponies willing to fight for their country." "Good idea," Celestia says as she summons a scroll and quill to write down notes. "Miles, are you still going to be policing the world?" "No. Not until after this meeting that is-" "Good, the Terradisians will need them at home if you are going to be attending formal events. Let Storm know he can get off his flank and get to work." "Should we get Twilight in here? This seems like her kind of thing." Luna asks, getting Celestia to nod to her. "Excellent idea, I'll get her after we discuss one last thing." She sets her scroll aside and takes a serious face about her. Luna and I share an uneasy look as we wait for her to speak. "In the past, when somepony threatened Equestria, it was our duty to meet that threat. With how things are now, mainly in regards to Tempestive, I do not think that would be wise." "I agree," Luna tells her. I nod, waiting to see where this goes. "Luna, do you agree that -because he has to lead another nation- Miles will be one of the ponies to meet this challenge?" We share another look, silently speaking to one another. Saying everything that's already been said. "Yes, and though I don't like it, I agree. Miles must fight for Terradisia." I let out a sigh of relief. I honestly thought that was going to go another direction. "So now it comes between me and you." Celestia continues. "Twilight is still to new to the throne, and Cadence has Gleaming Joy to take care of. One of us will have to stay home to run day to day operations. And... I'm sorry, but it's a bit obvious who it will be." We both look to Luna and watch her reaction. She takes a moment to compose herself, taking a deep, slow breath with her eyes shut. I'm sure she wants to argue against her, but she's fighting those thoughts. Or, at least thinking them through. For that much, I'm appreciative. "I will accept these terms if Miles agrees to makeboth of us proper armor, and trains you as much as possible in the little time we have left. We also must set up a system in which we keep each other informed about each others dealings, never leaving each other in the dark about anything. Agreed?" "Miles?" They both look to me, waiting to see what I'll say. I swallow the lump in my throat as I stand up and face Luna. "I promise to do better." I tell her, receiving a warm smile from her. "Great!" Celestia cheers, standing up. She starts to walk towards the door, still facing the two of us. "Whelp! I'm off to fetch Twilight! You two probably have some catching up to do, so I'll knock when I make it back. Oh, and you two?" She stops at the door and thinks about something for a moment, growing a smirk I've never seen her make before. "Since a war might take Miles away soon... you two should probably get busy making me another niece or nephew." "WHAT!?" Luna exclaims as Celestia teleports out of the room. I nearly fall over myself from hearing her say that. Did she just tell us to start fucking? Celestia just told us to have another kid... no, no that still sounds wrong. "Who is that and what have they done with Celestia?" I ask, getting Luna to shake her head slowly. "I thought we killed Chrysalis," she says quietly, but I shake my head. "No, she's dead. I would know, you shot me in order to kill her." She rolls her eyes at that, moving back to her seat. "Yeah, and you've been complaining about it ever since." Author's Note Support Tallestbrony! Check out this blog please! Chapter 234 Gala PreparationsChapter 234 Gala Preparations Perspective: Twilight I let out a light sigh as I read through the document before me. It's just a standard requisition form from a small town. I guess a town down south needs some extra arms to deal with the local Bramble Coyotes. Completely reasonable. This is about as exciting as work has been for me. Reading forms and deciding the legitimacy behind their requests and whether or not to support them. Not exactly what I thought being a princess was going to be like, but Celestia says that these will soon be the days I long for. I understand her, knowing that any excitement could be dangerous for our subjects. It's a new realm of thinking for me, but she assures me that I'm doing great and that my time will come when it comes. Though there are times I question what my role actually is and whether or not I'll be able to rise to my title when the time comes. A light knocking comes from my study door and a guard sticks his head inside. I straighten myself up and give him my full attention. "Princess Twilight, Princess Celestia is here and would like a moment of your time." "Of course! I'll be right there!" I tell him enthusiastically, packing some of my things away. "Actually, she wishes to speak with you in here first," he tells me before stepping back and opening the door for Celestia. She thanks him and walks in, shutting the door behind herself. I quickly rise from my seat and rush over to greet her, sharing a quick hug with her. One would think that living in Canterlot would mean that I'd see her all the time, but it's been the opposite. Mostly because of Softy, but work plays its part. "Hello Twilight, how are things today?" she asks casually, taking a seat before my desk. I used to offer her my seat, but after she refused for the hundredth time, I stopped asking. I still think another ten will make her take the seat, though. "I'm pretty settled into the day-to-day tasks here. It may get a bit tedious, and I do miss my friends spontaneously crashing through my window, but I enjoy it enough," I tell her as I take my seat. It's a bit odd having her come into my office like this. Usually if she needed to talk to me she would just summon me to her office or we'd plan a lunch together. I wonder what's going on. "That's good to hear. I was a bit worried that you would miss your friends too much to stay here as long as you have." "I do, but I have a responsibility. That, and I wanted to make sure Softy went to the best schools possible. Or, at least, had the best teachers possible." I blush a bit at that. Though there are a few teachers that come and assist with her schooling, I tend to teach her the most... and by most, I mean mainly. "But, that's not why you're here, is it?" She chuckles at that, grabbing a few documents from my desk to read them over. "No. Not even close. Are you aware with what the Spartans have been up to recently?" "Are you referring to their operation in the Goblin Empire? Or has something else happened?" I know something has happened. Storm didn't come back right away, so something had to happen. For being a society with no secrets, there tend to be a lot of secrets. Celestia lights her horn up and marks the room with a silence spell, telling me something big has occurred. "The Spartans have made an assault against the Kroth inside the Griffin Colonies." I gasp at that, but allow her to continue. "The griffins are trying to use this as an excuse to wage war against them, but have agreed to let the Summit decide. Alongside that, the Kroth and Miles have made... war pacts." "War pacts? And how could they make a deal? Miles would have attacked them on sight! Or is he finally listening to you?" This is very sudden. If the griffins declare war on the Terradisians, they'll attack us as well. And if the Kroth and Miles are making deals... I don't even know what to make of that. "It would seem that our king is ambitious. That's where you come in," Celestia tells me calmly, setting my papers down. "Me? What am I going to do about this?" "You are a Princess of Equestria. It is your duty to lead this nation and protect its citizens. If war is to come to this land, ponies will be looking up to you for guidance." "I-I've never lead an army! Not to mention I know nothing about battle strategies! Maybe I could organize some sort of... ministry to handle affairs for... I don't even know! I can't-" "Twilight, I'm not asking you to lead an army," she tells me simply. I let out a long breath and compose myself. Of course she isn't asking me to do that! That would be silly! I was just working myself up again! "I'm asking you to take my place when I go to battle." "Wh-what!?" I nearly fall out of my chair when she tells me that. Take her place!? She wants me to take the place of the pony who moves the very sun! Is that even possible!? Is that even possible... "Twilight, you need to listen very carefully to what I'm about to tell you," she tells me simply again. I look to her and nod, giving her my entire focus. She seems so calm about this, how does she do it? She's literally telling me that she's about to go to war, and she's completely calm. "I've discussed this with Luna and Miles briefly, and it's been decided that Miles would go to war for the Terradisians and I would lead the Equestrian army, if the need would arise." "Well of course. Luna has Tempestive to take care of and Miles is the professional soldier. He's the obvious choice to go." Celestia shakes her head lightly. "A Royal sister has to stay in Canterlot to lead the nation. It's part of the Union Agreement. But, with Tempestive being of royal blood, the rules have morphed. Before we would either have both wage war, or both stay behind, depending on the severity of the situation. But with him in the picture, one of us has to stay behind to ensure his safety. These are the laws that we made up thousands of years ago. Though we have discussed it, I fear that Luna may try to trick her way into the role of general." "Why would she do that, though? It doesn't make sense." "My guess is only as good as yours. Maybe it has something to do with Soul Fire, maybe she's just being bull-headed. Either way, I know she was passionate about aiding the fight, one way or another. And there's a way she can do it, if she so chose." "How?" I ask, genuinely interested. The Union Agreement has always intrigued me, but I've yet to read it. Mainly because it's been a part of Celestia's personal collection. "If she calls all of the nobles and royalty to cast a vote, they can decide to send her instead of myself." I think about that for a second before something clicks. "And you've replaced a lot of nobles that support you, ever since Miles nearly took over." Celestia nods to me, keeping a stoic face about herself. "That has been a blessing, but now may become a curse. If they are called to a vote, they may choose to keep me here instead of her. And I simply will not allow that," she tells me in a firm voice. I've only heard her use that voice a select few times. She's as serious about this as she can be. "Well... why can't we just ask the nobles privately? I'm sure they'll listen to you." I try, but she shakes her head. "Twilight, when in politics do you ever get what you want just by asking?" "Good point." I rub my chin as I try to think of a way around this. There has to be a loophole somewhere... "Blueblood!" "I beg your pardon?" "In your last letter you told me about how he was disrespecting you. If you could alienate him in a way that he'd want to send you to war instead of keeping you, he'll use his influence with the others to keep Luna!" She thinks about that for a moment before smiling back to me. "This is a good idea. I don't think I'd have to do anything either. It would seem he dislikes me enough already. But I'll have to be sure to make it my point that he's confident in that opinion to voice it with others... I may have to alienate a few others as well to ensure success." "Others? Who else would you have to alienate?" I ask, leaning in. I've never been this political before! This is far more exciting than requisition forms! "Believe it or not, Blueblood is an influential pony. Being royalty isn't enough to hold that much prestige. He has a web of connections that help maintain his image. And we're going straight to the top with him." She grows a smirk on her face that I've never seen before. "Who are you talking about?" I ask, genuinely curious. "Don't worry about that, at least at the moment. I need to set up a few details before I set this plan in motion. But I will need your assistance with this-" "Of course, Princess! I-I mean Celestia!" Darn it. I just broke my record. Well, a hundred forty-seven days is the record to beat now. "Before you agree to this, Twilight, I want you to know the possible repercussions. This is going to be a political battle, through and through. You will be put on the spot, ponies will call you out, and you will make enemies. There are risks to doing this, are you sure you're ready it?" I sit back and look her dead in the eyes, already knowing the answer. "I'm ready for this. What's our first move?" She smiles to me, bowing her head slightly. "Thank you, Twilight, I truly appreciate this. Our first move will be at the Grand Galloping Gala. We will speak with several ponies there, both positively and negatively. I need to map out the ponies that will be there, exclude a few, invite others, get the ball rolling. All I need from you that night is to play along. We'll speak closer to that night. I have to prepare the guest list again. In the meantime, we need to have a meeting with Miles and Luna. Bring some scrolls and follow me," she tells me as she rises and begins to leave. I grab my bags and toss as many scrolls into them as possible before trotting after her. I can't believe it! My first political engagement! Given, I'm not really playing a major role and it's not really my fight, but still! Celestia came to me for assistance with politics! I've moved up in her view to the point where she can trust me with engagements of these sorts! I feel more validated as a princess now than when I received my crown! And all to send Celestia to war! ... ... ... I... may have jumped into this without thinking it through. "The discussion we're about to have will be... volatile, to say the least," Celestia say, bringing me back to our conversation. "Miles and Luna were... having a rough bit, to say the least." "They were fighting? I don't believe it." I've never seen nor heard of them fighting before. Sarcastic jabs and firm tones, sure. But fighting! "What was it about?" "Personal affairs. Sorry, but it is their business to discuss. I'm only warning you so you can understand the frailty of the situation. It'll be a good opportunity for us to practice social queues. Speak as you normally would and I'll try to guide you away from certain topics. But I'm going to be discreet about it. It'll be up to you to understand what I mean. Think you can handle this challenge?" She looks down to give me a smirk, which I return. "I'll do my best." I tell her confidently. Her smiles brightens for a moment before she goes back to her stoic face. All I can really offer is my best, good thing I've been studying up on social etiquette. Though I thought I was going to use them on nobles, rather than Miles and Luna. We come up to Luna's study and take a moment to collect ourselves. We glance to one another before the guard at the door knocks three times. We hear Luna inside give permission before the guard pushes the door open. Inside is what I've seen plenty of times before, Luna's study. Only this time, it's vastly different. Luna is reading a scroll at her desk while Miles is standing at the windows, looking down at the city. To any outsider this would look completely normal. But, knowing what I know, this is as foreign as they get. Miles has been gone some time now. Usually they would be all over each other. Kissing, holding wings, reading over each other’s shoulders, dorky couples stuff. They're not even looking at each other. Even worse, they're both quiet. They're not the most talkative ponies ever, but this... this is almost creepy. "Are we ready to get started?" Celestia asks as she steps into the room. Neither of them say anything, but they do give her their attention. "Good, we have a lot to discuss. Where should we start?" "The propaganda war." Luna says officially, looking to me. "Are you aware of the events transpiring currently?" "I have a basic understanding. Miles has to speak at the Summit, and if things go poorly we'll be at war with the griffins." "Correct. The meeting is seven days from now, with the Gala being five away. I think that should be our selling point. Make it big, make it more public, and make sure everypony knows about it." I nod to her, levitating a scroll and quill over to take notes. "Right. Big and public. Should we increase the number of ponies invited?" "No, that won't be enough," Miles chimes in, still looking down at the city. "The Gala is a good idea, but we need something that will get the common people involved." "I don't think so," Luna retorts, moving her chair to look at him. "We need to cater to the nobles who will be aiding our army. Equestria alone cannot afford to back an entire force. Plus, we'll need them to manufacture goods and arms." "But they won't be fighting the war." Miles says calmly, turning to look back at her. "We're not preparing for a war that will happen in a few months. We're planning for a war that will happen in a few days. Money won't be the issue here, it's getting people to register to fight. You can call a draft, but your best fighters are going to be the people who want to fight. The people who believe in their country and are willing to die for it. It won't matter how advanced their forces are if the people here won't submit to their rule. We need to make the Gala about the people, or at least make them feel involved with it." We all go quiet from that. They're both technically right. We can't sustain an army on our budget alone. But we have enough in the treasury to sustain something for the short run. I don't believe most ponies would rise to fight for us either. Not to say they're cowards, but that it's just not their calling. How are we going to get bakers and carpenters to join something that they would normally avoid at all cost? "Why don't we just... throw a gala for the entire city?" I ask, trying the first thing that comes to mind. "What do you mean?" Celestia asks eagerly. Everypony is staring at me, waiting for me to elaborate on this. Great... well... I'll just... "Um... involve the whole city?" I ask, trying to buy more time. Celestia nods to me, moving her hoof to push me along. "Well... normally the Gala is just in the castle, for ponies that are only invited. What if we extended the festivities to the entire city?" "Throw a party that will incubuses the entire city?" Luna asks skeptically. "In five days?" "Genius," Miles says as he rushes back to the window. "Pure genius." "How is that genius?" Luna asks him, standing and joining him at the window. "Miles?" "It's genius because it's simple," he tells her, his mind obviously racing. "And how are we going to accomplish this?" Celestia asks, joining them at the window. Feeling slightly obligated, I walk over to look down at the city. It looks as normal as ever down below. I really don't see what he's looking at. "Every year the Gala happens and people watch from afar. Now, with a Queen and King finally becoming public, the gates are opened and everyone is welcomed. Think what that would do for our image with the people. Leaders for the people, erasing the line between upper and lower class. We'll send word to every city and make it known to the entire county: The King and Queen wish to meet with you, so come party with us." "That would... fill the city to the brim," Luna mentions, looking down critically. "How is this even going to be possible? We'll have to call caterers from all over the country, musicians from all over, not to mention decorations and guards and-" "It's genius," Celestia echoes Miles, growing a smirk. "Let's plan the biggest party in Equestrian history." Perspective: Blueblood I take a slow drink of my brandy as I read through a letter in my study. It's just a boring tax form from my provinces, nothing out of the ordinary. As ordinary as it is, it's a godsend compared to the last few days I've been having. I should take a few days off. Go to the spa, see my favorite masseuses, relax. Poof I blink when a scroll appears before me. I grab it and inspect the seal, seeing that it's from the Royal Sisters. What could they need now? I open it and read it through, not believing my eyes when I reach the end. Dear Blueblood A major decision has been made between all royal cohorts. This year, the Grand Galloping Gala will not be held in the Canterlot Castle. Instead it will be taking place all over Canterlot, so that all may attend. With this ambitious move comes daunting tasks. We are appointing you to assist Princess Twilight Sparkle with publication of this event. Please speak with her in one hour to begin. Thank you for your service, Queen Luna. P.S. Please come speak with me after sunset sometime before the Gala. I am in dire need of your assistance. Author's Note The Purge. Brony on! Chapter 236 Political UnderstandingChapter 236 Political Understanding Perspective: Blueblood After my brief discussion with Luna, I now have a clear goal in mind. Auntie Luna wants to go to war instead of Celestia. I do not understand why, but it is her desire. She is trusting me to start pushing sway in her direction, a task that is easier said than done. This means many things. I have her trust. Maybe not completely, but at least enough for her to consider me as one of her pawns. All of the work I have put in with her will soon pay off! But I have to be careful, more so than before. This is the precipice of a new Equestria. If what the King believes will happen actually transpires, then the world as we know it will crumble. A new world order will rise from this, and I intend to lead it through. But there are many obstacles in my way. Namely, Celestia. She is the embodiment of the old ways. For millennia she has held total executive power over the noble families, but that time is coming to an end. If this war is as bloody as the King claims, then it will be easy to sway the courts in our favor. But, for that to happen, I need Celestia in the battlefield. Yet, I also need Luna's continued support if I'm going to make any leeway right now. I've thought this through, and I have decided to start my hunt with one of Aunt Celestia's closest supporters. He wasn't easy to find. But with the right amount of gold, anypony would talk. "Sir?" my sky carriage driver asks as we come to a stop. A small bed and breakfast stands before us. It's a... quaint little commoner location. Unfit for the elites, really. But, with its somewhat isolated location between Canterlot mountain and Whitetail Woods, it's perfect for a getaway. "Wait for me here. I will return shortly." He nods to me as I leave the carriage. I walk in through the front doors and am met with the strong scent of books, cheap candles, and the elderly. The small establishment is rather simple, lacking the exuberance of the castle grounds that I am so familiar with. "Hey there young fellow!" a spry stallion calls from behind the reception counter. He doesn't have any hair and his thick glasses seems to be missing a lens. His shabby grey coat looks as if he brushes it with a pet comb, making me cringe in thought. "Lookin' for a getaway? We got plenty of-" "I am Prince Blueblood! Son of Argent Blood, heir to the Blood house! You will address me as such!" He cowers away from me, fixing his glasses to get a better look at me. "Erm, sorry, sir. H-how may I help you?" I smirk at that, stepping towards the old stallion. "An elitist has checked into one of your rooms recently. I need access to his lodgings so I may speak with him." He goes to his log book and reads the page carefully, shaking slightly from it. "Um... it normally isn't our policy to give this information out-" "And it isn't normally my policy to step within commoner filth! Now give me the key or I shall have you arrested for treason against Equestria!" "Treason!? For wh-" "NOW!" He jumps from my outburst and ducks behind the counter, rummaging through the drawers for what I seek. I wait impatiently for him to return, eyeing him critically the entire time. "H-here it is! I-I don't have spares, but this is the master key! It'll open any door on the premise. They should be in room two hundred and three... sir!" I take the key with my magic and head immediately up the stairs. I count the rooms until I find the one I'm looking for. From inside, I can hear the scandalous deeds very clearly. If I'm lucky, I'll catch him in the act with some floozy, though, not likely. He isn't the type to seek pleasure like that. I insert the key and open the door, stepping in quickly. I don't see them directly, but the mound of shifting bed sheets are all I need to know that he is here. SLAM "HOLY SHIT BUCK!" Fleur De Lis yells as her head pops up from the sheets, quickly followed by Fancy Pants's. Such a shame, but I guess a scandal would have been asking much. I chuckle and wait as they scramble to situate themselves, throwing covers over their previously engaged parts. "Blueblood, what in the wide, wide world of Equestria do you think you are doing!?" Fancy demands, staring daggers at me. "I have business to discuss with you." I tell him nonchalantly, looking over my hoof lazily. "I don't give a damn about whatever business you have! LEAVE IMMEDIATELY!" Fleur yells, throwing a pillow at me. It hits me on the leg, but I pay it no mind. "I have news from the Queen, news that pertains to you." They both go quiet from that, looking to one another silently. I take a short walk closer to them, getting Fleur to hold the covers closer to herself. "There will be a vote in the courts soon, one that will determine the fate of Equestria." "I haven't heard of this, what kind of sources are you pulling this from?" Fancy demands, though I can see the intrigue on his face. Good, he knows to respect the Queen. Let's see how far I can push this. "Are you aware of the hostilities between Equestria and the Griffin Colonies?" "Of c-" "Fancy!" Fleur cuts him off and pulls his head down to whisper something to him. I try to listen in, but she is too quiet and too quick for me to hear. "Of course," he says slowly as he sits back up, lost in thought. "Give us a minute, we'll talk downstairs-" "I'm afraid that I don't have the time to talk later." I tell him as I take a seat. "It would seem that there is disagreement between who should lead the Equestrian armies. As it stands now, the duty would fall to Celestia. But, Queen Luna is going to attempt to convince the nobles to nominate her to the role." "So you are here to try and convince me to vote for Luna? I cannot give you my vote without looking into the matters more closely-" "That is not why I am here." He stops and stares at me, unsure of my intentions. I chuckle at that and look out the window, looking over the forest for a moment. "I thought you didn't have time to spare, Blueblood." Fleur snaps at me, bringing my attention back to them. "You don't like me, do you Ms. De Lis?" Her face scrunches up in disgust at that, her eyes narrowing at me. "I know what kind of stallion you are." Sadly, I don't know exactly what she's talking about. There are several things she could be referring to. She notices this and becomes much more furious with me. "You don't even remember her name, do you?" "Nope, but back onto important matters. I'm sure I don't have to lecture you about how this vote will affect the future of Equestria, now do I?" Fancy shakes his head, thinking deeply to himself. "Regardless of who goes, if this should happen, the world as we know it would be over," he says solemnly. Even Fleur thinks on this, making this next part so much easier. "But, there is a way to keep both of our Princesses home." They both look up at me, shocked by my remark. "The King." "The... King?" Fleur asks cautiously. "Come now, I know you've met the stallion before. Even if only briefly. The dear Sisters seem to have forgotten our texts, but I haven't. Only a pony with the title 'Royal' may lead our armies. But they have forgotten about him altogether. This is the best way to keep our heritages as safe as possible. I may not be perfect, but it is our best option." The room goes silent. The two of them are looking to each other, worried. I'm sure they must have some reservations about this, but I know Fancy. He'll want to keep them both safe. He barely knows the King. If my informants are correct, he only knows him as the warrior tied with the Spartans. All I need to do here is let him know there is another option, he'll do the rest for me. I don't wait for them to respond, I just leave. I'm done here, onto the next pony. It's almost too easy. I convince enough Nobles to vote for Miles, and he'll be forced to lead our army. The Spartans won't stand a chance without him, so they'll soon be taken care of. Either Luna or Celestia will have to tend to the crumbling Terradisian nation, most likely Luna, leaving Celestia back in Canterlot. If Miles can win fights like I know he can, those victories will be mine as well. From there I'll have the courts under my control. Next I need the steel mills. Perspective: Twilight After a long and stressful meeting with Celestia I finally get a chance to have dinner. We worked straight through lunch, so I hurry through the castle into the private eating area for the Princesses. There isn't anypony here, so I go straight to the table and take a look at the menu. It doesn't seem as if they have my favorite soup today, but I'll take anything right now. Maybe with a nice sandwich- "Mind if I join you, Princess?" I look up from my menu to see an elder unicorn stallion standing before me. I know I've seen him before, his light red hair is obvious enough, but I don't recall his name at the moment. "Um... sure," I tell him, watching him take the seat beside me. I look back to the menu and try to pay him no mind, but he's very obviously staring at me. "Is there something I can help you with?" "Not really, but then again, maybe you can." I stare at him, unsure of what he meant by that. "My name is Diamond Heart, I'm the patriarch for the Blood family and adviser to Celestia." "Oh! Of course! I'm so sorry, but there are dozens of names and faces here! I always seem to forget somepony somehow!" I tell him earnestly, relaxing a bit. But then something catches my attention. "Um... Celestia doesn't have any advisers on staff." "No, no she doesn't. It's... more of a mutual understanding between the two of us." A waiter comes to take our order, but Diamond waves him away. I didn't know Celestia had anypony to go to for advice. I didn't know Celestia even needed to go to ponies for advice! What does he know that Celestia doesn't? "Now, onto more pressing matters-" "Did Celestia send you?" I ask quickly. He chuckles at me, making me blush slightly. That was a bit rude in hindsight. "No, no. But I know what's going on." "You do? How?" "Princess, most ponies that work in this castle know what's going on. Secret meetings between Royalty never go unnoticed. And with everything going on globally, there are those among us that speculate that there are going to be troubling times ahead for us all." I nod to that. I feel as if we're about to have a massive storm hit us. I know what could happen, and I can see the signs of how bad it'll be. But there isn't anything I can do to stop it, and I won't know how bad it is until it hits. "The Princess has asked for my help, but I'm a little weary about how effective I'll be in convincing others... do you know about that?" I have to remember that not everypony is on Celestia's side. She may not want him on her side, or maybe he doesn't need to know? She didn't mention him, so I'm unsure of how to treat him. "All I know is that there was a meeting between the King, the Queen, and Celestia. There were then two smaller meetings afterwards, with several more to come, I assume. Now, I am an avid supporter of Celestia, I can assure you. Will you please let me know a little bit more so I may assist you, if at all possible." I bit my lip at that. She didn't mention him before. But there were several ponies she didn't mention, probably. He could be one of her supporters that will be attending the Gala... hm... "Before I do that, can I ask you a random question?" I ask, getting him to nod. "Are you going to the Grand Galloping Gala?" "Of course. I haven't missed the Gala in... almost thirty years. I usually stick to the sidelines, but I'm a usual there. Why? Do these meetings pertain to that event?" I let out a breath and take a look around. This isn't a secure area, so I light my horn and cast a silence bubble around the two of us. This doesn't seem to faze Diamond. "This discussion was... mainly about who would lead the theoretical army of Equestria," I tell him, getting him to look a little shocked. "As it stands, by a family vote, Celestia would lead. But, she believes that Luna may be attempting to make the nobles take a vote to send her instead." He hums to that, closing his eyes in thought for a moment. "Also, we are making some changes to the Grand Galloping Gala this year to win over-" "Before you go into that, I have to ask something." I go quiet, unsure of what he has to ask. "It would be safe to assume that you look up to Celestia, correct?" "Of course. She has been my mentor for years! I owe everything I have to her! Why do you ask?" He takes another look around before scooting closer to me, so I lean in as well. "You are advocating to send Celestia to war. Do you understand what that means?" I go to answer, but he stops me. "She will not return the same pony as she is. Even if she is leading from the rear, there is very much a chance that she may die! I know it may be unpopular to say so, but there is a choice to be made here. Don't think about who would win the battles. Think about who could lead this nation, Luna or Celestia? I respect Luna, but she doesn't seem completely invested in Equestria, if you catch my drift." "Luna is more than able to lead, Diamond!" I tell him, leaning back in shock. "And she only has Equestria's best interest at heart-" "If Equestria's best interest was to survive, do you think she would do so without the Spartans?" I stop myself from speaking any further. I know for a fact that she would go to them, but I don't see the problem with that. "Look how they've acted in the past. They're opportunistic. They find a weak town, save the day, and take over. Then they showcase their power over the entire world and allow evils to run amuck. They clearly have the power to solve these issues, then why don't they?" "I will have you know that my husband is a Spartan! And I do not appreciate you painting them as such!" He reels back slightly from my outburst. I guess he didn't know Storm is a Spartan. Or, maybe it was something else. "Well then, forgive me Princess. It seems that I have over stepped my bounds. I will leave you to your lunch. But, before I go, I will leave you with one final question: Can you really be the one responsible for sending Celestia to war?" I watch him leave the room, keeping my head up high. I know what I'm doing! How dare he question me on my resolve! I'm not the one sending her, she wants to go! She wants to protect Luna, and Tempestive, and Shadow! ... right? "Your order," the waiter says as he places a plate in front of me. "But... I didn't order anything." I tell him as he leaves. I look at the sandwich and shrug before picking it up. I take a look between the bread to see that it's full of thistle. "Is this some kind of cruel joke?" Perspective: Shadow RING I let out a sigh of relief as the final bell rings. The day wasn't necessarily hard, but I'm still glad that it's over. Actually, today was pretty easy. Nopony really looked to me, not that they would anyways. Today just seemed as if ponies were extra not looking at me. Something that I like in theory, albeit creepy. Whatever, I'm going home. I grab my stuff and head out. With nothing needing my attention, I make it out of school quickly. It's a nice day today. No clouds in the sky, a little warm but there's a nice breeze cooling everything. Overall it's just another perfect day here in Ponyville- THUD I jump when Rumble suddenly lands in front of me. He looks winded, but the look on his face scares me a bit. "Rumble? What's going on? Are you okay?" I ask shakily. "Am I okay? What about you!? Are you okay?" he asks worriedly, rushing up to me. I back away from him, confused. "SHADOW!" I look back and see everypony running up to me, looking as worried as Rumble. They all take turns asking me if I'm okay. Something about Tiara going too far. Apparently she's made some kind of move, but I don't understand anything they're saying. "GUYS!" I yell, getting their attention. "I have no clue what any of you are talking about! What's going on?" They look to one another before Rumble steps forward, his head held low. "So... I kind of made the decision to not be with anypony until I have your respect back. Because of that, Tiara has everypony avoiding you at all costs. Didn't you notice how everypony was ignoring you?" "... Tiara, has everypony been avoiding me?" I ask for clarification. "Yeah, sorry-" "HA!" He jumps back from my outburst. I laugh a little more at the thought. The idiot literally knows nothing about me! School just became awesome! "Told ya," Applebloom tells Scootaloo, making her pass her a bit. I laugh some more before continuing on home. I wonder how long this will keep up? If I'm lucky, all year! I don't think that'll be possible, but then again, I didn't think somepony could be that dumb either! HA! Today is great! "Shadow... is everything alright?" Rumble asks from my side. "Now it is! Geez, I thought somepony died! Why did you scare me like that?" I ask happily, confusing him slightly. "So... this is good then?" he asks, looking back to the others. "NO!" Scootaloo yells from behind. "Yes it is!" I yell back at her, getting her to frown. "You said you'd socialize more! You promised!" she yells back, getting the others to nod with her. "I did as you asked, and look what happened! This is a good thing!" I tell them, turning to discuss it with them. If I don't do it now, it'll bite me in the flank later. "This is only a problem if we make it a problem! And I don't want to make it my problem! If we try to fight this, it'll only get worse. Diamond Tiara wants me to stoop to her level and give her a reason to fight. Or, more likely, to gather a crowd for a fight! I'm not playing her games!" "But-" "End of discussion!" I cut off Scootaloo before continuing on home. I know I'm being harsh with her, but I have to be. I have to drove home the fact that I don't want to be a part of Tiara's game. "There's a little more to it than that," Rumble says, getting me to pause. "She's... spreading some rumors too. Some about you, others about your family." "This wouldn't be the first time," I tell him, looking back to him. He bites his lip as everypony looks away from me. "What is it?" "Are you sure ya want ta know?" Applebloom asks. "Cause, then ya might be forced ta play Tiara's little game. Iffin’ ya don't want ta do that, it'd be better for ya not to know." I think about it before looking to Sweetie Bell. "Is it bad?" I ask her, getting her to blush. "It's... probably her best work yet." I raise an eyebrow to that, getting her to look away from me. "Sorry... yeah, it's bad." I turn away from them to think about it. If don't want to be a part of her little game, then I should just leave right now. But, she's talking about my family. There is a line, and she's never crossed it before. Well, not to this extent at least. I don't want to be a part of this, but I will not let my family be dragged in either. "What is she saying about my family?" I ask, getting them to look back up at me. They look to one another before Rumble steps forward to speak. "She's saying that you're... pregnant." I blink a few times as I stare at Rumble. I don't quite understand what's so bad about that lie. "And... well... based off of the picture she used in the school’s newspaper, I'm not the father." "What?" I ask, getting Sweetie Bell to step forward and show me the paper. I take it in my magic and unfold it, seeing the picture of me and my father at the school fair together. It's a fairly simple picture of us sitting on the Ferris wheel, but the caption says enough. His Favorite Subject My head spins for a moment as I read the article. It's all speculation and slandering! There isn't a single piece of factual evidence in this piece of garbage! Everything she says is vague, but points towards us being a couple. Where is she even getting all of this!? I'm sleeping with my father!? I'm servicing other nobles! TEMPESTIVE IS MY SON!? THUD "Shadow...? shadow...? Shaaaadow?" I blink a few times before sitting up. My head is still spinning, but that all ends when I see the article again. "Are you okay-" "That bitch!" I yell as I ignite the newspaper with my magic. Everypony jumps back from my outburst as I stand to my hooves. "What does she think will happen from this!? What does she gain?" "I heard some of the teachers talking before I came to talk with you," Sweetie tells me. "They're questioning it as if it could actually be true. They're using it as an excuse for your shyness." "That's...! That's...! That's stupid! They're all stupid! They know my dad! They know he would never do that!" I yell back at her, making her back away. "How could she even print something like that? Isn't there somepony there to regulate the stories?" "She probably sucked some pony off to get it on there after it was checked." Scootaloo tells me. I have to start pacing around as I try to control myself. This doesn't make any sense! What does she gain from this? There's nothing to prove here! My dad would never do something like that! Is she really that stupid! "That's why she had everypony avoid looking at you. She pinned the story on a pen name and started telling ponies not to look at you. Because of how ashamed you were of the story. She's trying to make herself the hero here." "And it gets worse." I stop and stare at Sweetie bell. How could it possibly get any worse than this? "Real or not, the school has to make an investigation. They will contact the authorities and they will look into this." I go to say something, but start to lose my breath. I whip my saddle bags around and pull out my paper bag to breath into. I take a few deep breaths before I pop the bag. "Shadow, what do you need?" Rumble asks, putting a hoof on my shoulder. I try to think of something, but the only thing that I can think to do is to go home and cry under my blankets. Or burn down a forest. Possibly both. "I... I... I don't know. This is... this is too much," I tell him, sitting down to think for a moment. How am I going to explain this to him? What is he going to say to me? Is this going to change the way he acts around me from now on? "I need to be alone for a bit... I need to process this." "Are ya sure about that, sugar?" Applebloom asks, stepping up to nudge me. I nod to her as I stand and put my bags back on. "I don't think it'd be wise to be alone right now." "No, I'll talk to your guys tomorrow. I need to think right now. Thanks for telling me about this. Bye." I turn and leave. I feel too numb to think about this right now. I just want to go home and lay in my bed. I make it home in a blur. I couldn't focus on anything. My mind kept going back to what might happen. What if they force me away from my family? What if this causes them to leave? How am I going to face them after this? Will dad be mad at me for letting this happen? What about Mama Luna? Or Butterscotch and E'Claire? This could even blow over to the point where it affects Mooseden! How could she have done something like this to us? I go straight to my room and shut the door behind myself. I drop my bags and flop face first onto my bed, screaming into it at the top of my lungs. I have no clue how to deal with this. I don't know what to do. "Rough day?" I jump from the new voice and fall off my bed. I get up quickly to see the dark grey unicorn thief sitting in the middle of my room, eating an apple. How did he get in here? How didn't I notice he was here for that matter? "Who are you and why are you in my room!?" I demand from him. He takes another bite from his apple before tossing it out the open window. I guess that answers one question. "Names Star gazer. And I want to help you with your predicament." Author's Note Happy Birthday Miles! Shout out to Shinji for picking the flower on her sandwhich! Brony on! Chapter 237 Dark SideChapter 237 Dark Side "You want to... help me?" I ask as I stare down the unicorn before me. He doesn't seem too... interested in anything. He's just sitting there, keeping his focus on me. I look to my door and contemplate getting Mama Luna up here, but don't act on it. He wants to help me. I don't know what he can do, but I'm desperate at this point. If he has a way around this so I don't have to face my father, then I'll take it. "How?" "Well, for starters, I can only help you get back at Diamond Tiara. There's no getting around what she did." I collapse on the ground and groan. Of course there isn't anything he can do to help me with that. There isn't anything anypony could do to help me with that! "What I have can help you get even." "Even?" I ask, slightly intrigued. I look up to him as he nods, summoning a folder before me. I go to open it, but he yanks it back quickly. "I have to warn you, this is a... bit of a dark path to follow." I tilt my head to that, unsure of what he means. "If you take this and act on it, you will be playing her game. Now, I don't know you too well, but I have the general idea that you aren't that kind of pony. That being said, Diamond Tiara is a bitch and needs to be put in her place. What I am offering is an out. You have three options: Either you take the contents of this folder and do what you want with them, I take them and publicize them, or I burn them and we never speak of them again. I cannot guarantee the results of this information and I cannot promise that there will be any real reward. She hit you, and now you have the option to hit back. What will it be?" I sit up and stare at the folder. What could be in that folder that could be so... compelling? I'm assuming that Diamond did something and he has proof, but what? And what kind of proof is it? Do I want to play her game or should I let him do it? She deserves to be put in her place but can I really be the one to put her there? Could I even be a part of that kind of scheme? This is a lot to consider, but I think I have to know what I'm talking about before I make my judgement. But first... "Why are you helping me?" I ask him quietly. He bobbles his head in thought before answering. "Well... for starters, Diamond is a bitch. But, she's never been a bitch to me, so that only gets so far. I have been a nuisance to your home town as well, so that plays a role too I guess. Plus, I was just at the right place at the right time. I have what you need, why not offer it? We can't let ponies like Diamond Tiara do whatever they want, can we?" I think about it for a second before nodding to him. "Alight, I guess that's a good enough cause. But before I make my call, I have to know what I'm getting into. Let me look at that before I choose." He thinks about it for a second before tossing me the file. I take it in my magic and take a deep breath. No time like the present, I guess... I open the file and find several photos inside. They're all... plainly explicit. Like Scootaloo had guessed, Diamond had relations with the journalist teacher. Each of the photos shows what she did to print out that newspaper. The first few were pretty much what I was expecting of her. Giving the teacher a blowjob at school and sex. But the more I look through, the darker it gets. The last few are at the teachers house! They even look as if she was there for a few days! "This is disgusting! How did you get these pictures?" I ask, closing the folder quickly. "I'm a bit of an armature photographer myself. I was developing some pictures when the two of them started to go at it. Because I'm not actually in the class, I guess they didn't suspect me to be in the dark room... that or the fact that I broke in to develop film might have helped. Either way, I was there with my camera, so I took the pictures. Then I listened in on them talking. Diamond tried to use just the blowy to get him to do her bidding, but he forced her to sleep with him over the weekend instead. Once I heard that, I simply followed after them and took the extra shots. But, the question now is: What are you going to do with this information?" What could I do with this? I could try to play her game and get them published, but how would I do that? I'm not going to sleep with some pervert, and I doubt the local paper would be willing to just print this. I could give this to the authorities, but what would that accomplish? This doesn't prove she did anything necessarily. All she would have to do is give some sob story and pin everything one the teacher and she'd be free. Is there anything I could actually do with this that could actually bring her down a peg? "Would it be okay if I hold onto these for a bit? I want to think on it." He shrugs and starts to head to the window, but stops when I step forward. "Thanks... I appreciate your help." "Meh, bitch had it coming." I smile to that. She's gone too far this time, maybe it's about time somepony hit her back. "Oh, and I'd suggest talking to your family before they read the paper. Might go easier for you then." "I don't think there is an easy way through this," I tell him, looking back at my door. I can't even imagine how this conversation would go. "Well, if you live and decide to let me take a whack at this, you can find me... somewhere. Laters." And with that, he teleports out of my room. I look out of my window in confusion for a moment. If he could teleport in, why did he climb through the window? No! I have more pressing matters. Before I go looking for dad I stash the file in the far back of my dresser and bring my copy of the newspaper. I go downstairs where I find Mama Luna sitting at the kitchen table, thinking to herself. "Umm... is dad in town?" I ask, hoping that she hasn't read the paper yet. "Hm? Oh, he's in his shed. But leave him be, he's catching up on some important rest. Why, what's the matter?" I try to formulate a response, but she notes my discomfort immediately. "What happened?" "Well... to put it shortly... eh... Somepony wrote an article about me and dad in the school newspaper and... he needs to read it." She stares at me for a moment before going slightly wide eyed. She doesn't say anything beyond that. She just nods me out back. I take a deep breath and head out there, trying to keep my nerves under control. I enter the pass code and take the stairs into his workplace. I don't see him right away, so I head towards the back where I find him sleeping in a cot. He's in his pony form, but has torn cloths on, so he must have changed in his sleep. I take a few deep breaths as I steel myself to poke him on the shoulder. He stirs a bit, but doesn't rise. I poke him again, adding a bit more pressure. He doesn't respond, so I lay my hoof on him and shake him until he turns to me. "Shadow? What's going on?" he asks sleepily, fighting to keep his eyes open. "Um... dad... Something big has happened and... I need to talk with you." My voice comes out even quieter than normal. My anxiety is about to burst out all at once and force me to the ground. But somehow I'm still standing. He doesn't say anything at first. He just closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, laying there. "Dad?" "Right, one sec... one sec..." He starts to push himself up, stretching along the way. "Be a dear and get me something from the fridge under the... the... monitors." I go straight to the mini-fridge he's talking about and take a look. Some beers and water. With what I'm about to show him, he probably would want a beer. But, a clear mind would be best right now. I grab a water and bring it back to him. He's out of bed and stretching out, yawning loudly. "Now, what's happened now?" he asks groggily as he takes the water and gulps down a large portion. I swallow the lump in my throat and present him the paper. I figure him reading it would be the best way to get things started. He takes it and starts to read. I just close my eyes and wait for him to finish. My knees are shaking, my heart is racing, and my stomach feels as if it's going to rip itself out of me. This is it, this is the moment when the relationship between me and my father became ruined. This is the worst Diamond has to offer. I shudder when I hear him drop his water bottle. A tear works its way down my cheek as I wait for him to say something, anything! What is he going to tell me? What is he going to do? I don't want things to change, why did she have to do this? What did I do to her that would drive her to this? I knew I should have just kept to myself. I would still have a father if I had just listened to my gut! Why am I so weak!? All of my thoughts stop when he starts to leave. I try to say something, but end up following him instead. How mad is he? Where is he going? He just walked straight out. Not even stopping to make sure the door was shut. He never does that. He walks around the house and starts to head towards Ponyville. Is he going to confront Diamond? No, he doesn't know she was a part of it yet. Maybe the teacher? Does he know who the teacher is? I try to ask him, but can't force the words out of my mouth. So I just scurry behind him, trying my best to keep up. As we march down the street, ponies all around stare at dad. Some look in disgust while others whisper to one another. A few of them even look my way, making an unearned shame wash over me. I didn't do anything to garner those kinds of looks. Do they really think Dad would do something like that? Do they really know that little about him? I come to a stop when Dad stops and I bump into him. He's taking quick, labored breaths with his eyes closed. I step to his side and stare up at him, trying to see what's going on with him. This... this is a whole new level of rage. This is something I've never seen before. The way his body is heaving... it doesn't even look natural. I jump back when his head snaps up and looks somewhere to the left. His eyes are completely black now, devoid of any light within them. He lights his horn and forms a straight edge saber to his right, holding it level as he starts to march forward again. "Sir, you are showing high levels of aggression right now! Please calm down and-" A guard starts to say before Dad rushes forward. A mare screams as he jumps into the air and spins down to strike at somepony. I run forward and watch as he starts to strike at the teacher in the middle of the street. He's screaming for his life as Dad swings his sword back and forth, never gaining purchase on the stallion. "Dad! What are you doing!?" I yell as I run towards him. He looks back at me and knocks me back with a blast of magic. My head spins for a moment before I shake it off and stand up. Ponies all over and running in a panic. Some are trying to get away while more are trying to get a better view. I try to push my way in, but can't muscle myself through. I charge my horn and pull off a trick of Dads; teleport up to get a view and then back down where I need to be. I appear behind dad as he pins the teacher beside Town Hall. He has a few cuts, but none of them look fatal. He's laying on the ground begging for his life, but Dad isn't listening. He doesn't even look as if he's paying attention to his own actions. He's just heaving with his eyes closed. Everypony has fallen silent, waiting to see what he does next. I take a look around before taking a deep breath and approach him. I don't know what to say to him. I'd never expect him to let his rage get the better of him like this. It isn't like him. This... this isn't my father. "Dad," I say quietly, slowly stepping towards him. He doesn't respond, so I try again. "Dad? Let's... let's go home dad. You don't have to do this-" "Do?" he asks dryly, looking up with his black eyes. "All I do is nothing." In the blink of an eye he summons another single edge saber and swings them both at the stallion. He lets out a scream as the pierce the ground by his neck. My stomach nearly rips out of me when I see the blood start to seep out of his neck. I fell its contents start rise up in me as I watch the dark red substance start to pool around him. Ponies all around start to scream from that, many of them also running from the scene. Several of the guards are still here, but they clearly don't know what to do. "Dad... he's not worth it-" "Worthless." "Y-yeah. He's worthless. You've done enough, let's just go home-" "WORTHLESS!" he screams as he summons another straight edge saber and brings it down on the stallion. He lets out another painful scream as the blade sticks out from behind him. A bit of bile comes up in my mouth as I watch the blade stand there, most likely removing the teachers... bits. He doesn't even care. He just... stands there, heaving. "Dad..." I don't have anything to say to that. Why would he react like that? Is there something about this that I don't know? Does he know him? Or... is this just a part of Dad that I never knew? As the crowd around us stares on, Dad leaves. He doesn't say anything, he just turns and walks off. I stare at him as he goes and try to figure him out, but I don't know where to ever start. Some ponies rush to tend to the stallion, but there is no saving him at this point. The damage is done. Some of the town ponies are starting to stare at me now, whispering to one another. I can't hear them, but I know what they're all saying. Think she made him do it? Why did he do that? Did you see his eyes? Why was he breathing like that? Don't cross Shadow, or he'll come after you. Every passing phrase weighs down on me as more and more ponies look on at the spectacle. The orphan whore sicking her all powerful father and ill sayers. I can feel their eyes on me and taste their disgust. It's making me sick. I rush out of the town square and rush home. I can't stay here, ever. I'll go home to Mooseden and stay there. Anywhere but here. As I rush down the road I see Dad ahead of me. He's stopped in the middle of the road looking around, confused. His eyes are back to normal and his breathing is back under control. I come to a stop behind him and he stares back at me, almost scared. I avert my eyes from him, unsure of how to feel right now. "Shadow," his voice comes quietly, but I nod in acknowledgement. "I'm going to ask you a question, and no matter how much the question scares you, I need you to answer me... How did I get here?" "What?" I ask in bewilderment. "Dad... do you... are..." "I... blacked out. But... it wasn't a... I've felt this before, not too long ago. And I doubt that they were both isolated incidents. Shadow, tell me what happened!" he demands, stepping towards me. I flinch from him, making him stop and back away. "Did I... did I hurt you?" "..." "Did... I hurt someone else?" "..." I shake my head, making him take a deep breath. "Are they dead?" "I... don't know." We both stay quiet after that. He blacked out? I guess that would explain his eyes, but what does he mean by this? He felt it before, but it wasn't the same? Was this Corpus Glacius or Soul Fire? Does he mean that it was something new? "Shadow," his voice shocks me a little, so I straighten up and look to him. "I'm going to Topaz Falls. I have to check myself over to see what is going on. Please tell Luna everything that happened. Make sure she informs Storm as well. Until I figure out what happened and how to end it, he's acting Captain for the time being. Do not, and I mean this, do not let anyone come see me. Until I get this figured out I cannot be trusted, do you understand me?" "Dad-" "Do you understand me!" he yells, scaring me. I feel a new wave of tears start to roll out as I shake my head. "No one goes to see you," I repeat, my voice waving in my tears. He let's out a sigh before teleporting away. I just stand there, crying. Unsure of what's happened or what will happen. I hope you're happy Diamond. I hope you enjoy this for as long as you can. Because I'm coming for you. Whatever you did changed my father, and I will never forgive you for that. I hope you're happy Diamond. Now it's war. Perspective: Diamond Tiara I trot my way through my manor and towards daddys study, paying little mind to the servants bowing to me. He needs to hear about the freak out in town square. I still can't believe he chopped his nuts off though. This should play in our favor, but we need to make sure we cover our bases. I know mine are. I stop before the door to his study and hear him talking with a few other ponies. I recognize one of them as Carneighgy and smile. It's been awhile since I last saw him, I wonder if he straightened his back out since then? I wait patiently for them to finish up and put on my best smile when the door finally opens up. When the old steel grey stallion sees me he puts on a similar grin. "Ah, Diamond Tiara," he muses as he approaches me. I give a little chuckle and close the distance, giving the old stallion a soft kiss on the cheek. He smells deeply of my favorite brand of cigar, with a hint of ash. "Mr. Carneighgy, it's been awhile. How are you? Is your back feeling better?" I ask as I twirl a hoof on his chest. He gives a modest chuckle as he turns to introduce me to the stallion behind him. "Much better now. Diamond let me introduce you to Master Smith Anvil." I turn to the stallion and give him a quick bow, one that he returns. He's a bit rugged, but he's built well for a unicorn. His orange mane strikes out against his charcoal coat, but I like it well enough. "Mr. Anvil, it's a pleasure to meet you. Will you be doing business with my father?" I ask, getting him to nod. "We just brokered a deal," Carneighgy tells me proudly. "My metal and his skill with your fathers business, it's sure to be a success." "I'm sure it will," I tell him, shooting Anvil a quick smirk. He flusters a bit, obviously not used to such affections. "I have to speak with my father, don't be a stranger you two." Carneighgy gives a deep laugh as he gives a bow and leaves. Anvil continues to stare at me as I walk past him, so I give him a little something to remember me by. A wink and a wave of my tail, being sure to keep everything hidden. It's a simple gesture, but he'll be dreaming of me for the next month. I saunter my way into Daddys office and take a seat as he finishes putting some papers away. By the heavy smell of cigars and whiskey I'd say they've been in here for awhile. I just hope they didn't finish off the good whiskey. Silver and I were planning on having some when she came over this weekend. "I've got some new for you Daddy," I tell him cutely, leaning onto the desk. He hums in response, focusing on filing his papers more. "I take it Miles saw the newspaper we talked about. He marched through town and chopped his balls off." He stops with his papers to look up at me, a bit shocked. "Do they know your involvement?" he asks seriously. "Mmm... maybe. My best guess would be that Miles doesn't know, but Shadow might. And even if she does, I highly doubt she'll muster the courage to do something about it." He hums back to me, looking down at his papers in thought. There's a lot riding on this, so I get the concern, but he could at least tell me them. "Either way, word is spreading around town like wildfire. You should hear the rumors being spread-" "Did you mail the extras like I told you?" he asks quickly, to which I nod. "Good. The townsfolk here might not be too easily swayed, but that won't be the case elsewhere. Good work." I smile at the praise. "Why was Carneighgy here? Do you have a new deal with him?" I ask, sitting back in my chair comfortably. He lets out a chuckle as he locks up his briefcase and sets it on the floor by his chair. "I'm glad you brought that up. You won't be getting your allowance this month-" "What!?" I yell, snapping back up. "I just bought the last of the general stores in Manehatten. And with the investment I just made, we're all going to be strapped for bits this month. But, we should make a return by next month. You'll have to wait to get the things you want in the mean time." I grumble to myself. There isn't anything I really want right now, but its still a bother not to receive my allowance. "What are you doing that needed so much money anyway?" I grumble as I slouch back into my seat. "Sit up, ladies don't slouch," Dad chides, making me begrudgingly sit back up. "Honestly, didn't your mother teach you better?" "Mom taught me how to make a stallion swoon, not how to sit upright," I tell him, smirking. "Oh, yeah. Either way, if everything goes the way we hope it does we are going to have to make some changes here and there. Sitting upright is one of them, so sit up." I nod along, fixing my posture. "Better. Now, would you like to see what I have in store for us?" "I have a feeling it has something to do with the blacksmith guild," I tell him, smirking. "Take a look at these," Dad tells me as he passes me a few scrolls. I take them and start to look them over. Each on is a blueprint of various weapons or armor. What makes them interesting is that each of them seem to come with locking mechanisms to hold gems. I don't really know much about armor, but I know fashion. And I can see that these were also made to fit practically anypony. Leather slides, adjustable buckles, and easily tailored boots to name a few. "By this time next month, Barnyard Bargains will be the largest supplier of armor and weapons. All of which will be made to undersell local businesses. Any yahoo or street rat with will be able to buy themselves a knights outfit... for a fee of course." I laugh at that, rolling the papers back up. "What about our competitors? When they catch wind won't they try to undersell us too?" He laughs at that, sitting back with that smug smile he gets when he knows something I don't. "Only if they can broker a deal with the smithing guild. Something they are not likely to do anytime soon." We stare at each other for a moment before I chuckle to myself. "If I'm going to convince Anvil of something like that, I'll be needing my allowance." "No can do. I have to pay a mercenary to follow you around. With all the attention you've been gathering, I want to make sure there are eyes on you at all times." I grumble to that. I tried, but I'd rather not have some power hungry freak chopping me into bits anytime soon. "Just another sacrifice towards nobility I guess," I tell him, sharing a knowing smile. If the threat of war is as real as everypony says it is, then we have nothing to fear. Chapter 239 Plan of ActionChapter 239 Plan of Action Perspective: Shadow I asked Mama Luna if I could stay home today. I don't want to head back to school just yet. I'm not ready for that. She agreed, sending a note to the school magically. I haven't missed a day yet, so it shouldn't matter. Not that I care though. Right now I just want to clear my head. I'm filled with nothing but rage right now. I want to march down to school and choke the life out of Diamond Tiara right now, in front of everypony. But I have to wait. I want to do more than just harm her. I want her to regret even thinking about crossing my family. I want her to beg for me to stop, and then I want to harm her. If I'm going to do that, I'm going to need a clear head. Right now I'd just make a foolhardy mistake. I have to be careful. I need to be precise. Knock knock knock I don't respond. I don't want to talk to anypony right now. Of course the pony on the other side of the door doesn't care about that. They open the door and enter anyway. I pull my blanket over my head and hold my eyes shut. Maybe if I try to act as distraught as possible they'll give me some time alone. "Sit up Shadow." I flinch from Dads command. Is he back already? How long have I been here? I slowly bring my blanket over my head and peek out at him. He's standing in the middle of my room looking down at me with those serious eyes of his. I've only seen them a few times, but never directed towards me before. I swallow the lump in my throat before obeying him, sitting up and facing him. "Y-yeah Dad?" My voice comes out in a squeak. My heart is pounding violently in my chest as I start to think about what he has to say. Is he going to try and talk me out of taking revenge? Is he going to try and tell me everything is going to be okay? As much as I don’t want to hear it, and I really don’t want to hear it, there is a slight curiosity to what he’s going to say. "Follow me." He doesn't wait for me to respond. He just steps out of the room and waits for me in the hallway. I take a few shaky breaths before slipping out of bed and slowly walk out after him. He continues down the stairs and out back, and I follow after him. My knees nearly give out a few times, but I manage to stay standing the entire way. He stops before the door to his shed and motions to it with a head jerk. "Open it." "I don't know the password-" "Open it," he repeats in a firm tone. I flinch from that for a moment before stepping up to the panel. One, three, three, seven. The door clicks open and I step back, head held low. Dad doesn't say anything. He just walks in and leaves the door open for me. I try to step in, but my knees give out and I collapse onto myself. All of the tension and frustration comes out and forces a new wave of tears to fall from my eyes and I start to cry. Why is he doing this? Why won't he talk to me? Why did Diamond take this from me!? I sob for a moment longer before I see Dads hooves before me. I look up and see his stern face, flinching on reflex. "Dad..." I sob, trying to find the words. My emotions are too rampant right now to think clearly. I scared of what he's thinking. I'm angry at Diamond for what she did to me! I'm sad because I know nothing is going to be the same ever again. I'm confused because I don't know what's going to happen next. I don't know how I'm going to get through this. "Shadow," Dad says calmly, making me choke on my sobs. "If you are going to get revenge on Diamond, then you need to get up right now and follow me inside. You need to find the resolve in yourself and get up. Nothing I can tell you will make this easier, nothing anyone gives you will help you. You need to want this enough to see it through. If you can't make it through the door, then go back to bed. This path is not for the weak." He walks away, leaving me to cry to myself. I don't understand why he's being so cruel all of the sudden. Did I do something to upset him? Is he mad at me? This is all Diamonds fault! Why did she have to do this to me!? What did I ever do to deserve this? No. No, I'm not going to sit here and cry about it like a little filly. That's just what she wants me to do! I don't care what it takes, I'm going to make her pay for what she did to me! I am not going to let her, or anypony, walk all over me anymore! I push myself up and wipe my face on my leg before walking into the shed. My legs are weak and my knees nearly give out several times, but I make it down the stairs and into my father’s workshop. I find him at the computer in the back of the room, swiping away at a few screens. I take a moment to collect myself before I speak up, still finding it difficult to speak to him. "W-why did you bring me here?" I ask, my voice coming out dry and raspy. He pauses for a moment before looking back to me. It's the first time I’ve ever seen him frown, and it almost breaks me resolve on the spot. He’s usually so confident about everything he does. He usually does his best to hide his pain from everypony, so I know this is really troubling him. "Revenge," he tells me simply before giving one final swipe. A hologram of Barnyard Bargains and pictures of Diamond and her family shows up before me. "For whatever reason, this prick Filthy Rich has been secretly waging a political war against me. Usually it would be small things. Up selling here, under buying there, but recently it’s gotten worse. I have no doubt in my mind now that he’s the one behind the embargo on Terradisia. He’s gotten smarter, but we’ve handled that in the past. Now he’s making it personal, and I will not have that.” I nod to him and ask, “You think Filthy wanted Diamond to write that smear campaign?” “I’m not entirely sure. This is all speculation at the moment. But, it’s all I have. Regardless of whatever motivation they really have, what’s done is done. Diamond has made a move against family. As the Grand Captain of the Spartan Regiment, I cannot allow this to be swept under the rug. But, I can’t actively smear a child, nor can I take any type of military action against Filthy." "And that's where I come in?" I ask, finding a bit of my confidence. He nods to me, swiping the hologram to zoom in on Diamond. "I may not be able to help you directly, but I can give you the tools you'll need to wage this war. I am giving you permission to use this facility freely. Whatever you need you can take from here, bar any weapons of course. Don't worry about explaining this to your mothers, I'll take care of that. All you need to do is to take that bitch down. Understand." I take a deep breath and nod to him, feeling my emotions start to even out into one single objective. But, as I start to focus on that, a questions pops into my head. "Why are you letting me do this? You've never wanted me to fight before." He frowns and sits before me, motioning me closer with a hoof. I walk before him and he grabs my shoulder firmly, squeezing lightly. "Shadow, I love you. I know you know that. I want to keep you safe, you know that as well. But I can't fight your fights for you. I'm doing this to teach you to fight back. I'm doing this because I don't want people to walk all over you. I'm doing this because I am a Spartan, and I will not allow people to muddy our name. I am doing this because I hate that ass hat Filthy Rich and I want to beat him at his own game. Shadow, there are countless reasons that I want to do this. But none of those matter. What matters is whether or not you want to do this. This will all ride on you, and I want you to be ready for that. This is your last chance Shadow. If you don't want to be a part of this fight, go home. I won't think any differently of you, I promise. You are my little girl and there is nothing anyone can do to change that." Hearing him say that none of this will change the way he thinks of me; that there’s nothing that will stop me from being his daughter… I know I knew all of this, but hearing it come from him directly, it means the world to me. I know I can always rely on him when I need to, but it’s time that he relied on me to get something done. I’m going to do this, and I’m going to make him proud of me for it. “I know you just want to keep me safe, but I want to do this. I want to be the one to take her off her high horse. I’m ready to do this.” He gives me a smile and pulls me in for a hug. He breaks it before I could really enjoy the comfort. I take a moment to compose myself before looking back up to him, feeling much more confident about all of this. He looks just as relieved as well, though not entirely himself. “Do you have a plan of what you want to do?” he asks. “Not really. I know who I want to talk to in order to get started though. Is it okay if I bring friends over? Not today, obviously, but later on?” “Of course, just make sure none of them learnt he password in or get into any of my projects, okay?” I nod to him before realizing something. “I don’t mean here. I know you offered to use this place, but I wasn’t going to-“ “If you don’t use this place, that’s fine. But I would suggest using my workshop though. No one can spy on you here. And once you start making moves against Diamond, she’s going to make your life a living hell. Or, she’s going to try to. Information it power, Shadow. The more you have, the better prepared you are.” I hum in response. He’s right, but I just don’t know if it would be wise to use this place. I’ll have to think it over some more. “Well… do you want to get lunch then? Or, do you have work to do?” He sighs at that, dampening my mood a little. “Nah, I need to drag a dragon down to the boutique so his girlfriend can kick his ass for getting married. But we’ll all do dinner tonight, promise.” “Oh… well, it was nice knowing Spike.” “My thoughts exactly.” Perspective: Rarity I hum to myself as I watch the sewing machine rhythmically weave two pieces of fabric together. There’s only five more days till the Grand Galloping Gala and I’m only starting to catch up on my work. If I can keep this pace for the rest of the day, I’ll make it to the deadline without over stressing myself. I’m so proud of myself! I followed Twilights advice and made the perfect schedule this year, and it worked! Who would have guessed simply- CRASH I yelp and jump straight up when some barbarian kicks in my front door. I rush to the front room to yell at them but stop when I see who it is. For a moment, that is. “Miles! Spike! What is the meaning of this!?” I yell as I walk over to them. Miles has Spike by his ear spike with his magic and is twisting it lightly. Spike is trying his best to avoid the pain, but isn’t doing well. “Get in here!” Miles yells out the door. Another dragon pokes her head around the door, and I begin to panic. We’ve talked about this before, but I never thought it would happen. He said he’d never need anypony else, but I always knew. Deep down I always knew this day would come. Okay Rarity, just compose yourself and try to big the bigger pony about this. It’s a good thing I’ve got my groceries yesterday, I don’t think I’ll be leaving the house anytime soon. “Miles,” I start out, my voice wavering ever so slightly. He looks over to me and nods, letting go of Spike. He stands up and rubs his ear, avoiding my gaze. “Who is this dragoness Spike?” He looks up to say something to me, but looks back down. I can see him trying to form the words, but my usually confident Spike is at a loss. I can feel my emotions start to well up, but I do my best to push them aside. I am a lady in front of a friends and strangers. I will upkeep my image! It may be all I have left… “Well?” Miles demands, shoving Spike forward. He stumbles forward and blurts out the words I thought I’d never hear. “Rarity will you join my herd?” I blanch from the question. I was expecting more of a heartfelt apology, not a marriage proposal! Miles shifts over to stare at Spike, mouth agape. The dragoness looks more scared than anything else, but I’ll inquire about her later. “Join… your herd?” I repeat, trying to wrap my mind around everything. If he already has a herd, then I guess that explains the other dragon. But he intends to marry me? Does he actually wish to marry? Or is he trying to maintain his image? This is too spur of the moment to answer properly, not to mention Miles is standing here. “Ahem, Miles. Could you be a dear and give us some privacy? Spike and I… and this other dragoness, need to discuss some personal effects. And, could you watch Sweetie tonight? I don’t think this is going to be resolved easily,” I tell him, still staring at Spike. “… yeah. Let me know when you’re done with him, there’s still work to be done.” “Uh-huh,” I can’t give Miles any of my attention right now. Spike just proposed to me… and I’m not jumping with joy. I’ve always fantasized what our wedding would be like, right down to who would sit where and what would be served, among other things. But I never thought about us being a… herd. Big Mac has a herd and it almost drove Fluttershy away. And Spike had always said that I was his one and only true love. So, why is he asking for a herd? “Rarity, let me explain,” Spike starts out, rushing to kneel before me as he holds my hoof. I’m still too dumbfounded to really register what’s going on, but I try my best to follow. “In order to join the summit Bolas forced me to marry Maant. It was the only way I could get into the moot-“ SMACK I don’t need to hear any more than that. I would have never imagined Spike marrying for… POLITICAL reasons! How could he have thought presenting it in such a manner would ever be okay with me? What has gotten into him? “Maant, dear, come here please.” She gives a startled look before complying, kneeling before me just like Spike. Spike tries to say something, but I give him one look and silence him. “Maant, I am Rarity.” “Maant… why are you-“ “Forgive me for interrupting, but there is something I have to know. This is very important to me, so please answer me honestly. Are you and Spike in love?” She gives me a confused look before shrugging. I look to Spike one more time before asking my final question. “Very well. I understand dragon culture is vastly different, but did he force himself onto you?” “Rarity-“ Spike starts, but I hold his mouth shut magically. Maant looks a bit flustered by the whole situation. She tries to answer a few times, but keeps looking to Spike for help. “I’ll put it more bluntly then. Did Spike force you to have sex with him. Did he make you mate with him for any reason other than the two of you wanting to be together? Did he force himself onto you?” She tries to back away from me, but I keep pace with her. I don’t want to believe Spike would ever do something like this, but I also never thought he’d start a herd! “Um… he… I… Bolas said to… um… well…” she stammers as she presses her back against the wall, looking for a way out. “I’m not mad at you darling. Regardless of the answer you will not be in any trouble, I promise.” I tell her, trying to come off as compassionately as possible. The change in tone seems to only confuse her further. I guess she doesn’t really come from a culture that uses their words as much as we ponies do. I’ll have to teach her our ways eventually. “I mean… we both wanted something out of it, so no… I guess.” I let out a sigh of relief. It was consensual, somewhat. I’ll take it, if only for Spikes sake. “And… force is putting it strongly. He more… um… lightly did his thing?” “…” I stare at her as I try to follow her logic, slowly getting there. “Do you mean to tell me that he only… well… did the deed?” I ask to clarify. She nods, still looking confused and blushing heavily. “So… you didn’t finish?” “… finish what? We finished… I think. He did his thing and put his seed in my belly, what else is there to it?” I stare at her for a moment longer before shooting daggers at Spike, making him fall back in fear. “You forced her to marry you and you didn’t even satisfy her!?” I yell at him, making him squirm in fear. “I didn’t want to cheat on you more than I already was!” he yells in defense, scrambling backwards. “It was a little too late for that when you decided to marry her! Why would I want to join your herd if this is how you’re going to treat your wives!?” I yell as I march towards him. He puts his hands up to try and stop me, but I just pull them down with my magic. “I’m sorry! I wasn’t in love so I didn’t feel-“ “SPIKE!” I yell in bewilderment, making him curl up into a ball in fear. I stare at him as I try to think of what to do, but there’s only one thing going through my mind at the moment. I flare my horn and summon my gun, making him go wide eyed. “Rarity, let’s talk about this. I can fix this, I swear! Let’s just put the gun away and-“ PEW He lets out a yelp and hops up as I singe his right foot. This will hurt him, but not badly. His scales are too resilient for this to really cause any lasting damage. But it’ll hurt enough to send a message. “I want you out of my house. Don’t come back until you’ve learned your lesson. Maant will be staying with me for the time being. Understand?” I ask him, pointing the gun directly at his face. “Yes ma’am,” he answers quickly. I stare at him for a moment before shooting his stomach. He jumps up in pain and runs out the front door. I follow after him and send a few rounds after him, just to send my message more clearly. When I make it to the door I find Miles leaning against the side, chuckling lightly to himself. “Miles, it is rude to intrude on other pony’s personal matters,” I scold as I teleport my gun back to its place in my room. “Meh. I needed to make sure you didn’t kill the little whore-“ “Language.” “-before I sent him to the Frozen North. So, are you going to be alright?” I groan from his question, getting him to chuckle even more. “I’ll be fine. I’ll just have to work over time to finish all of my orders now that I have to plan wedding for three and teach a dragoness manners. But, there isn’t a date, so I have time. Take care Miles, and thank you again for taking Sweetie Bell tonight.” “Veni, et vidi,” he tells me before walking off. I let out a long breath before walking back inside, finding Maant at in the same spot she was in before, only more terrified. “Come Maant, we have much to discuss as we plan our wedding. And I hope we’ll become good friends by the end of all of this!” I tell her cheerfully. “How have your people not conquered the world yet?” she asks in fear, making me chuckle. “When Spike earns his right to come back I’ll have him show you why. Now come along! I have a fabulous idea for a day dress for you! Also, have you eaten? I have some gems if you’d like.” I tell her, getting confused looks from her. It’s going to be a long day. But! I can set all the stress aside for now. Maant and I are to be married! We have much to plan now, there isn’t a second to spare! Perspective: Twilight It’s been a long morning, but I only have one more pony to meet with before I can head back home and finally relax. I really shouldn’t complain too much though. Celestia and Luna deal with much more than this on a daily basis. But, they also don’t have to take a train out to Detrot for six hours either. Not to mention the ride back home is going to be strenuous. But, I’ll manage. I always do… somehow. “Ma’am?” I look up from my notes and look over to the Royal Guard by my door. “We will be arriving shortly. Your chariot will take you to your destination after that. Is there anything else you would like before then?” “No, thank you Honor Bound.” He nods and steps back to his post, shutting the door quietly. I hope I got his name correct. It was something Celestia taught me to do, but it’s hard to tell who’s who with the guards. Maybe I should just follow Miles’s advice and call them by rank. I pack up my belongings and wait patiently for the train to enter the station. No matter how many times I see the city, I love the view before entering Detrot. It’s an older city, being founded shortly after the founding of Equestria. The brick buildings seamlessly blend into one another as they each grow taller and taller. There’s a wild diversity here, something I’m not entirely used to just yet. With so many new factories popping up here, people migrate here for the steady jobs, which is why I’m here. I’m meeting a noble named Carneighgy. He owns the steel mills in Equestria and has tremendous sway in the political world. I’ve read up on him as much as I can, but I still have no clue how this meeting will go. On some accounts he’s depicted as a ruthless business pony who willing to do anything to win. On the other hoof, he’s one of the biggest donators to charities and has donated dozens of public buildings. According to Celestia’s notes, it seems mostly out of guilt. She has the feeling that he thinks that karma will catch up to him and make him pay dearly for all of his success. If it’s true, it’s something I can use. Though, I’m not entirely sure how. I snap back to reality when the train comes to a stop. I gather my things and follow the guards out into the station. A crowd has gathered to see what is going on. When I make eye contact with the first pony out there they all start to cheer. I blush from the praise and give a few waves before hurrying along. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that. The admiration, the worship; I’d rather be back in Ponyville where I can read a book under a tree and not be bothered. I get into my carriage and we take off through the city. Carneighgy lives on the outskirts of town, so it’ll be a bit longer before we actually make it there. This’ll give me some last moments to study up on the old stallion before we actually meet. From what I can tell from my notes, he’s a pretty average noble. His few key differences are that he made his own wealth instead of inheriting it, prefers not to dabble in politics, and has no heirs. Most nobles are very keen on continuing their bloodline, so that is very curious. I don’t know how I’ll use that to my advantage, but it’s good to know. I wonder what he plans to do with all of his wealth and businesses when he passes. Let’s see. He’s worked to get to where he is by himself. So he must value personal achievements and hard work. Both of which Celestia has well covered. He doesn’t like to dabble in politics, so I need to keep this short and to the point. And if I can work something about the future of Equestria in there, I think I can tug on his heart strings. I’ll have to do my best to convince him, but I believe I can do it! Diamond Heart was a doozy, but he showed me what I need to focus on. I can do this! My carriage stops before his estate and I take a moment to marvel at it. It’s massive. The land is surrounded by black rod iron gates that look as if they can fit Sweet Apple Acres within them. Lush, well-kept shrubberies cover large portions of the fencing until we make it to the main entrance. The gate is held shut with metal ingots crossing over it, a simple copy of his cutie mark. They seem to open of their own accord, but I can sense the magical connection from inside. The manor inside is just as impressive as any building I’ve ever seen. Three stories high and being made of mostly brick and marble, it still holds that distinct Detrot architecture about it. Impressive topiaries dot the lush fields around the manor as exotic wild animals roam freely. I almost feel as if I’m in a zoo rather than somepony’s home. My guards take me up the stone road and stop at the top of the roundabout before the massive manor. A line of servants stands before me, bowing deeply as the head butler opens the door for me. “Princess Twilight, it is my honor to welcome you to the Carneighgy estate,” he tells me, laying on the charm thickly. I look to my guards, who smirk back at me, before I step out. This is a little out of the norm for me, but I just do my best to play the part. “Thank you, sir. I am grateful that you all have come to welcome me to this lovely home. I hope it wasn’t too much of a bother for Mr. Carneighgy though,” I tell the butler as he shuts the door behind me. A pair of workers switch out with my guards and take the carriage away as the butler starts to escort me in. “Mr. Carneighgy will always open his doors to Royalty. Though this usually was limited to the Sisters in the past, he has opened his doors to all of the rulers of Equestria and Her territories.” That statement makes me cringe for a moment. Though it’s not too popular, there are many ponies who view Saddle Arabia and the Crystal Empire as territories of Equestria. It’s still a touchy subject, and it’s really only a problem when somepony openly takes a side. “Of course,” I mutter, trying to remain neutral on the subject. The butler does seem to mind as he opens the massive while doors to the manor. The inside is exactly what I was expecting. Fancy floors, priceless art, statues and artifacts, all sorts of high class paraphernalia. The entrance is almost as big as the dance hall back in Canterlot, maybe even bigger. “INTRODUCING THE ELEMENT OF MAGIC AND PRINCESS OF EQUESTRIA; TWILIGHT SPARKLE!” the butler announces to the empty room. I wait for a moment before I see a door at the other end of the hall open. A stout stallion makes his way over to our small group. He’s older, having bits of white in his steely grey coat. His black mane is styled back neatly, keeping its form despite his light trot. He has a cigar in his mouth that’s leaving a light trail of smoke behind him. He has a purple earth mare following after him with a several saddle bags on her hips. She’s wearing an elegant business suit and has her grey mane up in a tight bun. She doesn’t look too pleased by my presence, but I ignore that as I put on my best smile. Time to get to work. “Mr. Carneighgy, it’s a pleasure to meet you!” I greet him, holding a hoof out to shake. He closes the distance and gives a rough chuckle before shaking my hoof, showing off his superior strength. “Please, call me Carneighgy. The whole Mr. and Mrs. thing drives me crazy,” he replies heartily, his gruff voice sounding genuine. “Welcome to my home Princess. I do apologize for all the formality though. When you hire the best, the expect the best.” “I understand,” I tell him, relaxing a bit. “And please call me Twilight. This is a casual visit after all.” He scoffs at that, turning to invite me in. “Trust me, Twilight, nothing is casual in the big leagues. Come, let me give you a quick tour of my home. Would you like anything to drink?” The walk around his home was pleasant and helped remove any tension I previously had. His home is amazing, but exploring it with him was odd. There were several times we walked up to rooms that he didn’t know existed, or had items that he didn’t even know he owned. There was this painting that we walked by that he -or rather his assistant- told us he bought for two hundred thousand bits! Apparently a rival of his was at the auction and they started fighting over it. It started at five hundred bits… I’ve never seen such a disconnect between a pony and their finances. My parents were never really without, but they made sure every bit counted. The Apples and Rarity are the same. They are fine, but they couldn’t afford to just spend bits however they wanted. If they did, they could lose everything. Even Celestia and Luna are tight with money. Not because they needed to be, but because they see it as the right thing to do. But not Carneighgy. He has money, and lots of it. If he lost a million bits today he wouldn’t even notice. I never looked up his net worth, but by the looks of things here, he probably has more money than most cities have! And then I start to notice little things. He never really talks about other ponies. It’s always ‘I bought this’ and ‘this cost this much!’ I’m not saying he doesn’t have friends, but his priorities seem to be vastly different. But he also wants to provide for everypony. He almost insisted that we all have something to drink, my guards included. I had to tell them that it was okay, even when Carnieghgy pushed for them to have a beer. They earned it! he insists. He takes us to his personal library, something he said he knew I’d like, and we took a seat at a massive reading area. I was more than impressed by his selection, but put all that aside as I began to get to the purpose of my visit. “Carneighgy, your home is wonderful! And you’ve been an amazing host! But, I’m afraid that there is a reason to my visit,” I tell him as a butler sets drinks before us. I take my lemonade and begin to stir it, feeling a bit nervous about the talk we’re about to have. “And here I thought this was just a friendly visit by our newest Princess,” he jokes, taking a moment to sip his brandy. “But I understand. How may I be of service Princess?” “Before I begin I must ask for privacy. What I have to say is of national security.” He chuckles at that, taking another drink. “I assure you that none of my staff will speak a word-“ “I’m afraid I must insist,” I cut him off, setting my drink down. He eyes me for a moment before waving his staff off. I look to my guards and nod to them, getting them to leave. Once we’re alone Carneighgy speaks again. “Not even the Royal Guard are privy to this. I am intrigued,” he tells me, becoming more serious. I take a deep breath before I begin. “As I’m sure you are aware there are ever growing tensions in the world. Relations between some other nations and Equestria are starting to boil over, and we ourselves have only recently decided to enter a preparatory state in regards to these possible threats. But, an obstacle; the first of many, has occurred. This obstacle will be decided by the nobles of Equestria and will determine Her future as we know it.” “Well, I was intrigued before. Now I’m captivated. Do continue,” he tells me slowly, setting his drink down to focus solely on me. “I’ll be very blunt with you now. A war is coming. A war the likes of Equestria has never seen before. Our military is starting to take its form, and we are starting at the very top. But, there are some issues arising and it will come to a vote between all of the nobles to settle it. Who will lead Equestria during wartime.” I pause to check his reaction. But he’s just staring at me with those old grey eyes. He either doesn’t believe me, or already knows. “As it stands right now, Celestia would lead. But Luna is trying to convince other nobles to put her in charge. I’m here today to convince you to vote for Celestia to lead Equestria in the event of war.” “…” I gulp as I wait for him to respond. He doesn’t seem to care about anything I’ve said so far, which I don’t understand. I just told him we are about to go to war! And all he does is sit there!? There has to be something in there! How could he not care about this in the slightest? I need to get him to say something. “Carneighgy, do you understand what I just told you?” I ask him, leaning a bit forward to look him directly in the eyes. We stare at each other for a moment before he scoffs and starts to light a new cigar. I can’t help but recoil from that. Why is he so smug about this? What does he know? “Twilight, you are young so I won’t be too cruel, but I must ask you why I should vote for Celestia when I could vote for the human instead?” I blanch from that, getting him to smirk. “I was there when he made the reveal you know. I’ve kept quiet, but I didn’t forget. Miles is a much better candidate to lead our army.” “Miles is bound by the Spartans and would not willingly take charge over our forces! I know this from first hoof experience!” I tell him, trying to crush these thoughts as quickly as possible. “Yes he would. Twilight, don’t think us nobles’ fools. The ponies of Ponyville may keep quiet, but we have our ways of getting information. Have you not read of the Spartan capture of Mt. Iron in Zebrica? Or the leveling of Shadow Hill in the Ape Empire? The Spartans are well equipped to fight, but they have no reason to fight for us.” “We are allies! They would not abandon us in our time of need-“ “But would they capture cities for us? Would they allow themselves to become bogged down in the frontlines with us? We need him to fight for us, not with us.” “And that is where you are not only wrong, but mistaken,” I tell him, getting a bemused look from the older stallion. I take a look around before I decide to use one of the cards up my sleeves. “What if I were to tell you that Celestia and Luna were citizens of Terradisia?” “Pffft, preposterous! They would never demean themselves to the level of common ponies!” “It wasn’t really their choice,” I tell him, getting a smug look on my face. He goes quiet and waits for me to explain. “All Spartans are Terradisians, as are their families. The moment Luna and Miles were married Celestia and her became citizens. As am I. We attend the monthly meetings with the rest of the Terradisians and have direct influence into their political system. By the laws of their Codex, if any outside force attacks a Terradisian citizen, the Spartans will answer. Mark my words, if Equestria is attacked, the Spartans will have no choice but to fight. We need every advantage we can get. Luna shouldn’t go because she has a foal to watch over. I can’t go lead because I will be attending to all of the logistical work in the background. We need a pony to lead, somepony that will inspire us to fight! We need to ensure that, in the case of the unthinkable, we have a future to hold onto. We need your vote Carneighgy, will you help us?” He leans back in his seat and rubs his chin as he thinks to himself. I don’t think there is anything else I can say. He didn’t even mention Luna, so I think it’ll be safe to say that he isn’t even considering her. That leaves Celestia and Miles. And we can have both! All he needs to do is to vote for Celestia and we get the both of them. “Does Celestia have a plan to win the war?” he asks quietly. I smile at that. He’s willing to consider her! It’s not a yes, but it’s a start. “She has several ideas of what needs to be done. Reforms are being made in the Equestrian military to make mobilization easy. We’ve even started working on contingency plans for worse case scenarios. With Celestia in charge we will be ready for whatever may happen.” He hums back to me, stoking his chin some more. “Well, all I can say is that you’ve given me much to think about. I will have to think about this some morethough… there was information that I wasn’t aware of,” he tells me, obviously still deep in thought. “Of course, I understand completely,” I tell him, bowing my head slightly. “But, I do have to ask. Do you really believe Celestia ready to kill?” His question stuns me for a second. It’s something that I’ve never really thought about before, but seems obvious to me. “Celestia has fought for our nation before. I see no reason she won’t be ready for this either,” I tell him confidently. “But, as you said, this is a war the likes of which we’ve never seen before. And if the threat is truly this real, is it not better to rely on the disposable pony?” I shake my head from his statement. “Mile is not disposable! How could you say such a thing?” I ask, bewildered by his remark. “Miles is as foreign to us as the Griffins we will soon fight. He has no interest in our politics, even less in our business, and very obviously wishes to conquer. Look at his track record! He has colonies all over the world and is-“ “What colonies? What track record? The Spartans have done nothing like that!” I retort, getting a confused look from him. “What?” “Perhaps you know less than you believe, Twilight. Because I can tell you for a fact that the Spartans do in fact have colonies. Trust me on that. If we’re talking about putting one of the major Alicorns in direct harm’s way, why not the one that lives and breathes war? I cannot give you a direct answer for how I will vote. You have given me new information to think about. But… I can say that I still feel strongly about my previous decision. Though, I would urge you to learn more of your own people before you make anymore decisions.” I stare at him as he stands and leaves the library. If the Spartans had colonies they would have told us at the meetings... wouldn't they? No, they would have to! It's their way of life! There are no secrets in Terradisia... right? Author's Note July Updates! Man of War Writing Contest!! Brony on! Chapter 240-A Pinkie's Political Party Planning Predicament Chapter 240-A Pinkie's Political Party Planning Predicament Chapter 240-A Pinkie's Political Party Planning Predicament Perspective: Celestia I give a content sigh as I leave Luna's home and head into Ponyville. Sparing with Miles and the other Spartans was as vigorous as I expected, though I think I surprised a few of them. It's hard to tell with that lot, but I'm sure I'll be in for a surprise of my own tomorrow morning. But, all of that fighting and running around left me in a sweaty mess that I haven't felt in eons. So after a quick shower and a small breakfast at Luna's I began my day. First order of business is meeting up with Pinkie Pie. If we're going to throw a party for the entire nation, there isn't another pony alive that can help... or, at least I don't think there is. I make my way to her home and tell my guards to wait for me at the door. They salute and take their posts as I step into the bakery. Almost immediately I can tell there is something wrong. Most of the lights are off. There are a few on by the empty counter, but they threaten to blow out as they flicker on and off. There isn't a soul in sight and there's an eerie silence in the building. Did something happen in here? Am I not supposed to be inside? Surely they would have put some sort of warning on the door if there was construction happening. I take a few cautious steps inside as I look around. Everything that I can see seems to be fine. No signs of forced entry, clean table tops, but there is a certain lack of sweetness in the air. It's almost as if they haven't baked anything in the past few days. "Hello?" I call out. "Is anypony home?" Nopony responds. "The door was unlocked so I thought it was okay to enter. Should I leave? Is Pinkie Pie here?" I stop when hear a floorboard creak from behind the counter. I don't see anypony over there, so I start to walk towards it. When I make it there I peer over slowly and look for somepony to be there, but it's empty. "Hello Princess." I jump a little from the voice coming from behind. I spin around to see Pinkie sitting at one of the tables, slowly petting her pet alligator. "Pinkie, you startled me-" "Sorry Princess, but I need to talk to somepony else for a moment." "Um... okay." Perspective: How did you even? "So, it's that time now, isn't it?" Pinkie asks. "Um... no?" "Don't try to play dumb, I know what you're really doing here. You're trying to make a party so big that even I couldn't make it happen! Admit it!" "All I'm trying to do is set a tone for Equestrian nationalism, to then further explain why people decide to war in the first place. You're the one who made it personal-" "A party over all the land, how is that not a challenge!?" "I'm not challenging you! Can we get back on track please? We only have... what, fifty chapters or so? I want to progress!" "Don't play the victim card. You just want to show the world that there are parties too big for me! Well you know what? I'm going to do it! I'm going to throw the world’s most crazy, largest, slay-e-est kid friendly party this world, or any of the Equestrian -P multiverse worlds have ever seen! And I'm going to do it all by myself! And then I'm going straight to your house and I'm going to rub it right in your face while singing, 'I told you so, I told you so, I told you so!' And you're going to sit there and accept that I am the party god! And then you'll tell me all about fifth arc! And then we'll get burritos! So deal with it!" "... you know you can't keep doing this, right? People are going to get mad." "Pfft, please. I'm Pinkie Pie. I'm an adorable talking pink horse that defies the laws of relativity. All I have to do is some reference to the eighties and I'll be fine. Now, get on with it!" Chapter 240 -B Resolve Perspective: Celestia "Princess, is everything okay?" My guard asks me. I blink a few times as I stand before the entrance to Sugarcube Corner. I take a look around before I feel a slight tinge of embarrassment wash over me. "Yes, everything is fine. I just had a... strange thought occur," I tell her before I step inside. The store is empty save for the two owners and Pinkie Pie. The three of them are busying themselves with leaning the store, though it appears to be clean already. I don't smell the usual sweetness of the store, telling me times are hitting them pretty hard right now. The owners notice me immediately and bow quickly, getting Pinkies attention. "Princess!" she yells before bounding over the counter and charging up to me. I smile at her enthusiasm, glad to see a smiling face for a change. "Hello Pinkie Pie! I hope I'm not bothering you right now but I'd like to have a word with you," I greet, nodding to the others in the room. "Of course not Princess! I always have time to speak with you! Come into my office!" I smile and follow after her. She pronks her way back to the counter and jumps behind the register, popping back up to speak with me. "What's on your mind?" "Well, as I am sure you are aware of, the Grand Galloping Gala will be this upcoming weekend." I start out. "Oh really, I wasn't aware," she says nonchalantly, inspecting her hoof lazily. "Yes. But, with times being difficult all over the nation, we were trying to think of a way to... boost morale." "Yeah?" she asks, leaning forward in excitement. "So we were thinking of doing something... big. Something the likes of which have never been even attempted before." I tell her, watching her grow more and more excited. "Yeah? She asks, on the verge of a mental explosion. "Pinkie Pie, will you help us throw a party for the entire nation during the Grand Galloping Gala?" I ask, stepping back as a precaution. She takes in a massive breath of air and... "Oh I don't know," she says quietly, casting her gaze downward. "What?" I ask in disbelief. "I mean, there's only a few days left to plan that big of a party. Not to mention I'd have to make plans set for each village, city, hamlet, and-" FW-BOOM The entire building shakes when she whips a massive tome from her mane and slams it on the counter, crushing the register beneath it. She throws the cover open to a random page and starts to search for a specific page. I see detailed plans for plans for towns and villages. Dance floors, games, tonnage estimates for streamers, some of the plans were ever in Burro! She stops on the page for Canterlot and slams her hooves on the page, leaning up to address me. "How big we talking?" she asks, her tone reaching unsettling levels of seriousness. "I beg your pardon?" I ask, caught completely off guard. "Ever since I was a little filly with a fresh new Cutie Mark it has always been my dream to throw a party for all of the ponies of Equestria. I've cataloged every city, every town, and every village for this occasion. I know what to do and where to do it. I know what some would call too big and what others would call too small. All I need to know is what my budget is, and how big you need me to make it. Once you give me that, I'll take care of the rest. So, how big are we talking?" She narrows her eyes a bit as she stares me down. I have to take a moment to collect myself before I respond, standing a bit straighter in response to her tone. "Big," I tell her, making her smirk back at me. "But it's not just a big party Pinkie. We need to make ponies love to be Equestrian. We need this to make them believe in this land more than ever." "When I'm done with this, they won't want to believe there are any other nations out there!" Pinkie tells me, bouncing on her hooves in excitement. "And you can do this for the entire nation by the Grand Galloping Gala?" I ask, giving her a knowing smirk. I have no personal doubts on her abilities. But I need to make sure she doesn't either. "Does Rainbow Dash cosplay as Daring Do for Soarin?" Her question catches me off guard again. That's... something I didn't need to know. "I wouldn't know-" "The short answer is 'only for special occasions and surprisingly well.' And this is a very special occasion. I have to start sending letters and scheduling train rides. All you have to do is send me a letter confirming that the government will cover my expenses. After that, you just let your auntie Pinkie Pie take care of the rest!" She gives me an almost evil look as she says this. I stare back at her for a moment before simply letting it be a 'Pinkie thing', as Twilight would put it. "Well, I'll be sure to send that later today. Let me know if you need anything else and please don't push yourself too much. We need your help, but we also want you to stay healthy," I tell her sincerely. "Okie dokie artichokie!" she responds, giving a mock salute. I give her and the Cakes my farewells and start to leave. If she's as prepared as she lets off, then we have nothing to worry about. Which is good, because I have too much on my as it is already. I need to hurry back to Canterlot to study now. I told Miles I would read up on Equestrian battle history. Most of this means reading up on old ballads from the era of the Three Tribes, but I need to learn their mentalities on the subject. There could be important information that could prove to be vital to our cause. Just as I was about to enter my chariot I notice Miles walking nearby. He seems to be heading home, or at least in that direction. "Hmm.... guards, wait here. I'm going to have a quick word with Miles." I tell them before teleporting next to Miles. He jumps a bit, but recovers quickly. "Celly, did you need something?" He asks, stopping to talk. "Not necessarily. I was just about to leave for Canterlot and I saw you walking by. Do you think you have time to speak with me awhile longer? I can teleport you where you need afterwards." He thinks about it for a second before nodding to me. I smile from that and guide him to my chariot. "How're you feeling?" he asks as we gently take off. He sits back against the rear of the chariot, holding onto the side tightly. I settle down and let my fore hooves dangle off the edge, eyeing the sky above me as we climb towards the clouds above. "Optimistic. Though I did just speak with Pinkie Pie, so that might have something to do with it." He hums in response, understanding the feeling. "I don't know. Part of me feels as if we're wasting our time with all of this preparation and plotting. Between you, me, Luna, and the Elements; what chance do the griffins really have?" "Don't let that kind of mentality fool you. There is never any harm in being prepared. And..." I look back to him and wait for him to continue, but after a few silent moments I get the feeling that he won't. "I know what you're afraid of, Miles." He looks over to me, a mixture of stress, fear, and anger contorting his expression. "You're afraid that one of us will die." "Any attack they make will target each of us simultaneously. They have to. Otherwise they'd lose any advantage they might have made. You can raise the sun, Luna can use Soul Fire, and I have Icy Void. But none of that matters if we don't hear the shot. I've seen it before Celestia. I don't want to go through that again." "You won't Miles," I tell him quickly, turning to face him. "We are not alone in this. We have many friends and allies that will watch over us and protect us-" "Then why do you feel as if we're wasting our time?" he demands. "... because I don't want to see anypony get hurt." I turn back to look down at the passing landscape below. At this height we can see large distant cities, small farming communities dotting all around, and even clumps of villages. "If what you are preparing for comes true, then many of the ponies I have sworn to protect will lose their lives. No matter how much I fight I can never seem to keep them safe. So, part of me is thinking of different ways to keep them safe. That I should be the one to do all of the fighting. That I should be the one to bear all of the pain. But then I start to look at the numbers. There will be fighting, and I don't know how much of it I will be able to take. I don't know how many lives I can end before I can no longer look at myself. I don't want to kill so many misguided ponies, but I know I'll have to if it comes to this. If I'm going to perform my duties and protect this land, then I will have to do what is necessary. I just don't know what kind of pony I will be afterwards. So, then I try to think of ways to avoid fighting all together... but..." "I get it." I look back to him, noting the resolve in his demeanor. "We are Spartans. We forfeit our humanity so others may prosper. It is our burden to carry that pain so others won't have to. That is the credence of my people, of all Spartans. Taking a life for something you don't believe in... it's hard. Some would even say it's impossible. But, then there are times you fight for something... bigger than yourself. I wasn't there for them in the past. I wasn't there to protect my friends when they needed me the most. But not this time. I'll be ready when they come back, and I won't just disappear. I'm going to fight, even if it's to the bitter end." A silence falls between the two of us. I knew that the Spartans took what they did seriously, but hearing Miles tell me that he'd die for a war that doesn't need to happen... it puts a new perspective on things. Ponies say they'll fight to the death, but I've never been convinced of it before now. As much as I admire his resolve, I can't help but fear for him as well. He is the father of my nephew, my only direct nephew. He is the husband of my sister. He is my brother. He's... he's not somepony I'm willing to just toss aside. He's not somepony I want wasted for something so... meaningless. I don't want to imagine a life where we have to go on without him. I don't want Tempestive to grow up without his father. I've been through that; I know that pain. I know it too well. And what about Luna? She had a near mental breakdown when I forced them to separate. What would she do if she had to bury him? What would she do to those responsible? "Let us hope that it never comes to that," I tell him, casting my gaze back to the sky. I can't tell him how I feel about this. He's too stubborn. Too set in his ways. He's a warrior. And if there's going to be a fight, he's going to be in it. There's nothing anypony can do about that. But somepony needs to be there to watch his back, and I want to be that pony. I need to be that pony. He wants avenge his people, and I want to protect my family. So I'm going to fight, even if it's to the bitter end. Because they are worth it. Author's Note Brony on! Chapter 241 Relics in the AtticChapter 241 Relics in the Attic After our short talk we kept quiet for the duration of the trip. I guess I could have sent him back home, but it didn't feel right. I want to send him back on a more positive note. So I decided to take him with me to study up on Equestrian history. I doubt that would cheer him up, as he's not Twilight, but it will give me a chance to talk to him some more. Hopefully by the end of our continued discussion we can leave off in higher hopes. We land not too long after and make our way to my personal study. It's located just under my bedchambers so it was a bit of a walk, so I asked a passing servant to bring us something to drink. I also made sure to whisper into his ear to inform Luna that Miles is here. Maybe the two of them seeing each other will brighten both of their moods. Not that Luna is unpleasant, so to say. She's just been... flustered? Distracted? I'm not entirely sure what to pin it on, but she hasn't been her normal self. Not entirely at least. Normally I'd know exactly what's going on with her, but ever since their marriage there have been times where I don't know what to make of her. She'll be on edge and flustered. She'll say she's fine, but I can very plainly see that she is far from fine. She also mutters things like 'Miles better hurry', and 'where is he now?'. She thinks I can't hear her, but I let it slide because it's none of my outward business. "I've never been in this part of the castle before," Miles mentions, breaking my train of thought. "Well, I've never really had a reason to bring you to my private study, now have I?" I ask him as I walk in. It's just a library the size of my room. The walls are lined with ancient books and tomes save for the space for the large fireplace. A few large cushions take up the center of the room, leaving a decent portion to walk around. I walk to the nearest cushion and drop down onto it, letting out a loud sigh of relief. I sink in about halfway before the cushion finally supports me. I wiggle around and get comfortable before I start to levitate books over to myself. Miles has started to walk around the room, eyeing different books as he goes. "Have you learned to read Equestrian yet?" I ask as I start to pile relevant books besides myself. "Yeah. Not proficiently, but enough to get by," he tells me before stopping at a specific section. "Starswirl the Bearded... are you familiar with his works?" I ask as he pulls out a book and flips it open. "Not entirely... I've avoided his works." His statement catches me off guard and I have to stop what I'm doing to stare at him. "Starswirl the Bearded is Dolums son... Dolum was my best friend from Topaz Falls." "Right... you've told me this before... you don't have to read it if you don't want to." I forgot about that. His people changing themselves into ponies to save themselves... his relationship to them. It's a bit to digest, that's for sure. "No... no, I think it's time I did." He tells me as he takes the book and sits on a cushion besides me. He flips it back to the beginning and starts to read, so I do the same. Everything stays silent for about two seconds before he asks the question I didn't want him to ask. "Did you know him?" "Yes. We were... acquainted," I tell him, trying to leave it at that. But, of course, he continues. "What was he like? And did you know his mother at all?" I sigh from that and try to think of the best way to answer that. "Yes I knew his mother, not as well as I knew him though. She was... not very trusting. I don't know for sure, but I feel as if she didn't trust me." I tell him as I roll over to look at the empty fireplace. I haven't thought about her for a long time. Him, on the other hoof... "Starswirl the Bearded was an amazing pony. He was brave, smart, handsome, albeit a bit full of himself. He always felt that he wasn't using his full potential and that magic could be expanded beyond its limits. Knowing what I know now, that makes more sense. But back then, he was a radical... they both were." "Both?" Miles asks, but I ignore. "He wasn't satisfied, ever. He'd make one discovery that could change the land, but it wouldn't be enough. There was always something he was pushing himself towards. Something... I don't know. There was a goal for him, but I could never tell what it was. I couldn't give it to him, nopony could. After a while he just... gave up. Settled down. The fire was doused and he... he didn't know what to do with himself. It was then that he started writing too. He stopped exploring. He stopped asking questions. Every time I tried to talk to him he was just... uninterested. I guess he realized that he'd never be satisfied, so he gave up." "..." "..." "..." "Do you need a minute?" Miles asks, breaking me from my thoughts. "No, sorry. He was a good friend of mine, one of my first friends really. I was... hard, to see him give up like that," I tell him, trying to hide my face in my book. I can see him stare at me for a moment before going back to the book. I relax, thinking he let it go, but nearly have a heart attack at his next comment. "He liked you, that's for sure." "What!?" I yell, dropping my book. "Well, at least in this book he did," he continues nonchalantly. "That book is about his adventures in Tartarus, not a love confession!" I yell at him, knowing the book by its cover. I can't help but lose my temper a bit when he tells me this. It's a... touchy subject for me. "And my thoughts go to the sun, I long for truth, May I chase the sunset, never to reach it. You've had this book for how long and you couldn't find these?" I stare at Miles for a moment before I yank the book from his grasp and read it myself. I flip through a few pages before I toss it back at him. "And where exactly are you reading all of these love notes?" I ask bitterly, glaring at him. "They're in Terradisian ciphers. Page number equal to paragraph. Usually they also take the page number for the word in the paragraph as well, followed by the lettering. It makes sense too. He was raised by Terradisians, and they probably didn't trust anyone out there. They needed to write down their thoughts, this would be the best way to do it. Try treading it again, but this time follow the cipher." I give him a skeptical look before taking the book and following his instructions. At first I assume it's merely coincidence. A few words here and there, a phrase after that. But after a few sentences I start to lose my skepticism and read more and more. Have these been here the entire time? Has anypony ever seen this before? Somepony had too! It's too easy of a key for anypony not to have! Then again, I didn't. Twilight didn't... or did she? These seem rather personal... and pointed towards me. Was she trying to protect me? Or did she already know about them and assumed that I did too? After a few longer sentences come up I summon a quill and parchment to start taking notes. There are what appear to be answers to questions I never thought I'd get to ask. His feelings, why he traveled with us, who knows what else is in here. Miles has kept quiet, having taken another book to read. A knock catches my attention eventually, about three pages into my notes. How long have we been here? "Come in," I answer, never looking away from the book in front of me. "Hello you two," Luna greets as she walks in. "Hi," I mutter, more transfixed on the notes than anything else. "Luna," Miles greets, standing up to speak with her. "Sorry, I probably should have told you we were going to be here. Though, I didn't think we were going to be here as long as we were to be honest." "It's alright. I'm... glad you did," she says coyly. "Yeah?" he asks, sounding a bit more confident. "Yeah," she replies simply. "Either grab a book and read or be on your way," I tell then dryly. I'm too focused on the task at hand to care about whatever it is they have to say. They share a small laugh at take a seat next to me, grabbing their own books. I lose sight of the rest of the world as I get back into deciphering this book. How many other messages did he write? Is this why he was so focused on writing towards the end of his life? It must have been the only way he could let his personal thoughts out, I imagine. What other resource would he have had? He couldn't talk to me, if his feelings were really this way. His mother had passed by this point too. There were the other founders, but by this point they were either too busy with their own dealings. He certainly couldn't talk to her. She... just wasn't the type of pony you talked to. In the midst of my own thoughts I happen to glance at Luna and Miles. Luna is curled up on her side with Miles laying against her shoulders. She has a wing draped over him lightly while he has an arm entangled with her foreleg. They're each reading their own books, but I can tell they're more focused on each other. Every now and again Luna would shift around to snuggle closer to Miles. He, in return, would either plant a small kiss on the top of her wing or hold her hoof a little tighter. He's also lightly rubbing his cheek against her wing. I can't help but feel conflicted as I watch them. I want them to be happy. And seeing them happy makes happy as well. But I can't help but feel a tinge of jealousy at the moment. I don't have somepony to share this joy with. I know this is only surfacing because of the messages I've been reading, but there is a truth to my emotions. This is why I need to protect them. Because if I lost them, who would I turn to? I know there are those that would be there to support me, but who would understand losing somepony that you've known for so long? Miles may not have been there always, but the history we share is still more than most can say. "Is everything alright Celestia?" Luna asks, making me blink. "What? Oh, no! No! Sorry, I was just deep in thought." I tell her, blushing a bit. "What were you thinking about?" she asks innocently. I stutter a few times as I try to think of an answer. What do I tell her? I was thinking of a previous love of mine that you didn't allow me to have, and now I'm jealous of you and Miles. That would be the worst possible thing to say! I could just say it was nothing, hope she doesn't press the issue. "Oh... it's nothing, really," I tell her, hiding my face in the book again. "Are you sure-" "What the fuck," Miles mutters as he sits up. "What is it?" Luna asks, dropping the subject. "Miles?" I ask, glad that he changed the subject. RIIIIIIIIP Luna and I both let out a loud gasp when he rips a page out of the book in his hands. One of the original Starswirl the Bearded books... "What in the hell do you think you are doing!?" I yell as I stand up. He ignores me and starts to rip more and more of the pages out, setting them on the floor in a specific order. "Miles!" Luna yells, standing up and poofing the book from his grasp. "What is this?" he asks himself and he fans the teared pages out and starts to move them around. Luna and I look to each other in abject horror. He just ruined a national treasure. A hoof written book by the son of his best friend! A nearly four thousand year old book! Has he gone mad!? "I need that book!" "You are not ruining another page-" "Please!" he yells, stunning us both. "There's something here, I'm sure of it! I don't know what it is yet, but if it's what I think it is... I need to see that book." Luna and I share an uneasy look before I nod to her. I don't know what he sees, but if he saw those messages then there might be something else there too. Luna summons the book back and levitates it over to Miles. He takes it and wastes no time flipping through the pages and ripping them out one by one. Each tear makes me cringe and I have to look away to stop myself from taking the book back. After a few more tears he starts to mess with the loose pages on the floor, setting them in a specific order. At first I don't understand what he's trying to do, but page by page it becomes more and more clear what he's doing. He's setting them in a circle. I don't understand why, but that's what he's doing. I look to Luna to ask her a question, but she's too intrigued by the sight to notice me. I try looking again and try to see what's different this time. He has them laying over each other so there isn't any empty space between any of them. It seems that only odd pages are facing up as well. Other than that, I don't know what's going on. "Miles, what is this?" I ask, getting him to stand up slowly. "A Terradisian enchantment," he tells me slowly, reading a passage in the book. "I noticed there were random points in his writings that had extra spacing. At first I didn't realize what it was, but then I noticed the consistency of the spacing. I started drawing the shape in my head and it came to a circle with a slightly smaller circle within it. In the final chapters he writes about a creature called a Praetorian, do you know of it?" "They are the guardians of Tartarus, or were the guardians. But they're just myths, legends. They were made up to keep ponies out of-" "What did they do according to the legends?" Miles asks, to which Luna answers. "They were creatures of immense magical power. It was said that they could even rival that of my sister and I. Faceless and without emotion, they eventually turned to dust as they kept their guard, waiting for any foalish enough to enter their domain." Miles hums to that and skims a few more pages before ripping a few more out. He tears these one further until he has several paragraphs isolated. "Have I ever told you about spoken magic?" he asks as he sets them in the center of the circle, trying to put them in a certain order. "Never," I mutter. "What is it?" Luna asks, stepping closer. "Terradisian magic requires movement to activate, this much you know. But, there are certain spells that require more from you. When I first was trying to forge the Elements, I tried this myself. But it never worked out. I've read a few legends that told of casters that would speak in ancient archaic words, casting spells that could reshape reality itself. I've seen proof of this as well." "So spoken magic is more powerful?" Luna asks. Miles doesn't respond. He just stands up and looks down at the papers beneath him. Luna and I step up beside him and see what has come from all this. In the center of the two rings is a pile of passages that have formed what looks to be an old figure for alicorns... wait. I know this figure! It's the same as the Alicorn Amulet! But, then that means... "Is this the enchantment to make the Alicorn Amulet?" I ask. "Possibly. What is that?" Miles asks, pulling out his phone to take a few pictures. "Remember when Trixie went power crazy? When you first met her? That." Luna tells him, getting him to nod. "Well... only one way to find out." Before Luna and I could do or say anything, Miles ignites his hands and slams them onto the papers below. Luna and I are thrown back as a massive wave of energy ignites from the ground. Powerful winds whip around the room and send books and papers all over. Arcs of electricity snap from a bright fire in the front of the room. I try to call out to Luna, but the roar of energy silences me. I see her call back to me and crawl towards me, so I do the same. When we are within each other’s reach I pull her in and try to shelter her as best I can. A few books slam into me, so I try to put up a shield. All of the energy I tried to put into the spell becomes sapped into whatever Miles is doing. I try to call out to him, but there's no way he can hear me. I can't even see him, there's too much light. With nothing else to do, I close my eyes and huddle over Luna, waiting for it to end. BOOM My ears begin to ring after a loud explosion deafens the room. A small amount of smoke attempts to choke me, but its quickly dissipating. I look down to Luna and cheek to see if she's okay. I can hear myself asking her, but it sounds too muffled and distant to make out properly. She looks up to me in a daze and tries to ask me something, but I can't understand her. I look out to the room and see Miles laying on his back before a massive scorch mark. He's coughing and attempting to get up, but shows no other signs of injury. The doors fall open and several of my guards start to rush in. One of them runs into the scorch mark and causes a massive light to go off, blinding me momentarily. I rub my eyes and blink widely as I wait for my vision to come back. While waiting for that I slowly start to get my hearing back. The sound of muffled screaming is the first thing I hear, followed by the groans of everypony else. As my vision fades back in, I look back to the entrance and gasp from the sight. One of my guards is writhing on the floor, trying to remove a mask from his face. It looks to be made of wood and covers every inch of his face, ending just before his horn. Strange markings glow an eerie green over the wood. They remind me of the markings Miles has over his body when he uses his magic, but... different. His eyes are gone, now replaced with orbs of glowing green energy. Small arcs of energy crackle from the mask and his horn as he continues to struggle. One of the other guards tries to help him, but it doesn't seem to help. The masked guard starts to flare his magic and a sense of power I've never seen in a guard erupts from him. Layers of magic envelope his horn as he sets off a spell. Something goes wrong though, and a section of the tower is forced out into the side of the mountain, causing massive craters. I feel a cold chill run down my spine as I get a sense of utter power from the formerly average guard. "What have you done?" I ask Miles as he stares at the guard. "I don't know... but I intend to find out." Author's Note Man of War Writing Contest. Brony on! Chapter 242 Praetorian GuardChapter 242 Praetorian Guard Perspective: Miles I stay sitting in the foggy room as ponies rush in and all around, trying to re-establish order. They rush to check on Luna and Celestia, a few check the other guards, and a few try to speak with me; but my attention is solely on the pony before me. I don't know who he is. I think he's just some new recruit. I stare at him a little longer until I feel somepony shake my shoulder. Still in a daze, I look over and see the worried look on Luna's face. She asks me something, but my mind is elsewhere at the moment. I ignore her and start to stand up, bringing my attention back to the guard before me. He's calmed down enough to stop fighting, but I can still tell he's freaking out. His chest is heaving with deep breaths and his ears are twitching with every sound made around him. When I step closer to him I get a... familiar sense from him. Power. Raw energy is seeping from his very being. It's almost like the heat from a massive fire burning. It... reminds me of myself... I take a knee before him and set a hand on his shoulder. He stares back up at me, waiting to see what I do. What can I do? I've never seen anything like this before. Where do we even start? How do we even start? "Miles, what is this?" Celestia asks, joining me at my side. Followed by Luna. "Is he going to be okay?" one of the other guards asks. "Where did that thing come from?" another asks. "Why can't he take it off?" "Where did all that power come from? "What happened to-" "SILENCE!" I yell over all of the questions. Aside from drowning out my own thoughts, I can tell they're only causing more and more panic in the guard. "Guards, escort the Queen and Princess... out of this tower. It is... structurally unsound... NOW!" They don't question me. Even though they should, they don't question me. Luna tries to protest, but we share one look and she stops. I know she sees it. No matter what, she'll always know when it's there. With one look alone she understands me perfectly. They leave the room quickly, giving me a moment to think to myself. I saw the markings, but I didn't understand them. I rushed this one, this is on me. But I don't know what this is. Is it bad? Or is it simply misunderstood? From what I can tell so far, I'm leaning more towards the former. But I'll need more information first. We'll start with the simple things. "What's your name son?" I ask quietly, gripping his shoulder firmly. "Steely Focii... sir." His voice... it sounds so... eerie. It echoes and sounds as if it's been put through a metal grater. Even with all that, I can still hear the tremble in his voice. I need to keep him calm. There's no telling what he'd do if he lost control. "Steely Focii, you're new right? When did you join?" Calm voice, reassuring shoulder squeeze, let him think you understand what's going on. Give him the impression that you have all the answers. "Two months ago... I was picked out of Celestia's school for gifted Unicorns. I'm under the Royal Equestrian Third Magii, sir. Placed in the top ten of my class, sir, for enchantments, sir." "The Third Magii? That's one of the newer regiments. Formed under one of my reforms. You must be very gifted to have placed in that regiment." I tell him under false pride. Not that I'm not proud that we've made new reforms, I just want him to feel as if I'm impressed by him. "Thank you sir." "Steely, I have an odd question for you. But I need you to answer honestly. Can you describe how you feel? Does anything... seem different? Aside from the... mask." I feel him tense from that question. This is all happening so quickly for him, but the sooner we understand what's going on, the sooner we can help him. "Well... I feel... the same, sort of. I'm a little scared right now, but that's understandable, right? I can feel myself trying to breath, but I can't. I'm not choking, and I feel fine... except... I don't know how to describe it, sir. There's this... pressure in my chest." I keep a stoic face on the outside, but when he says that I feel myself go cold. "I-I can't explain it beyond that, sir. But it's probably just from the explosion, right?" "... It is possible. We'll... have to check to make sure. Um... can... how do I put this?" If this is what I think it is, I need to proceed carefully. There's no telling how things will go if there's even a slight error. "How powerful would you say you were prior to all this? Just so I can get an understanding of where you are now." "Well... probably just as powerful as the other guards, I guess. I've never initiated before, if that's what you're asking." I figured as much. Now to see if what I think happened is true. "This will seem silly of me to ask, but can you levitate that bookshelf using as much power as you think you can?" He gives me an odd look before looking to the bookshelf. He hesitates for a moment, thinking on the task at hand. I can tell it seems trivial to him. It's not the biggest shelf, nothing any pony couldn't do really. But if what I'm thinking happened really occurred... no use in guessing. Let's just see what happens. He lights up his horn and goes to levitate it. As per my request, he goes to use as much of his energy as possible. Several layers of energy wrap around his horn as he starts to use the spell. His energy envelopes the shelf and sends it crashing into the ceiling, shattering it instantly. I flinch from the splintering wood before staring at the falling pages, humming in thought. "S-sorry about that, sir." There's no way a normal guard could do that. But at this point it's obvious what that mask is doing to him. His power has grown tremendously. Doubled? It's possible. We could just strap him up to one of those power readers, but I have a feeling that they'll only cause more problems. And it seems as if using that much power had little to no effect to him. There's no drain making itself evident at least, what else is it doing to him? Before any of that though, there's one last thing I need to check. "It's alright... tell me, the pressure in your chest, how is it?" He tilts his head in confusion before bringing a hoof to his chest. "Um... better, I think. I don't know how to explain it, but it's not so bad now. I guess I just needed to let off some steam! Thank you sir!" "Yeah... yeah, your welcome. Why don't you go down to the medical ward and have them check you over, just to make sure everything is okay. I... I'll come down there afterwards to let you know what's going on." "Yes sir!" Perspective: Luna Celestia and I pace around the throne room as we each think silently. I can't believe Miles would be so careless as to set off that enchantment in the front of the study like that! What was he thinking? And that poor guard! What will happen to him now that he has that thing on his face? What will happen if there's no removing it! What kind of life will he lead if he has to keep that thing forever? There's no telling what lies ahead for him! I tried to ask Celestia what she thought, but I could tell I wouldn't get an answer from her. She's wrapped up in her thoughts at the moment. But I can only guess what she's thinking about right now. Could it be about the guard? Or of the notes left behind by Starswirl? Thinking on the latter, this starts to make some sense. He was obsessed with the Elements, and would do near anything to get them. Perhaps this was one his ways to attempt to prove himself. But why didn't he ever enact it, and why would he keep it hidden? We both stop when the doors open and Miles slips in, slowly shutting them behind himself. As he walks towards us he motions for us to come closer. We share an uneasy look before meeting him halfway. He doesn't say anything at first. He's trying to form his thoughts. I try to let him think, but Celestia isn't having any of that. "What happened?" she asks sternly. Miles bites his lips and scratches the back of his neck before facing us. I can tell he's conflicted about this on a personal level. "He's... initiating..." That seems... obvious. He's expanded his magical capabilities due to that mask. The idea alone is terrifying, but there seems to be more to it. "And?" I ask, leaning in a bit closer. "He's initiated... several times. To the point where I'd say he's as powerful as Twilight, if not stronger." Again, that seems obvious. Those walls are made to withstand barrages and magical blasts. And he blew a massive hole with a single blast! "So the mask gave him immense power. That much was clear. What's the problem you're trying to get to?" I ask, keeping a business like tone. He lets out a sigh and checks his surroundings before answering. "I don't think it's going to stop until... well, until his physical form burns out." We both stay quiet as the implications set in. He's gained more power than Twilight and is growing. It's apparently growing to the point where it's going to consume him, much like how Miles's power almost did. So if he keeps that mask on, it will kill him eventually. But does that mean he only has a few months left? Years? What does this mean for him? "I'm going off a comment he made, but it seems to fit well enough. I'd also like to take him to Topaz Falls for further evaluation. I'll share whatever findings I make as soon as possible. In the meantime, I think it would be best if we kept this to ourselves. Until we know what's going on here, this was just an alchemic mishap. Steel Focii received burns and was sent to a specialist in a different town." "Of course," Celestia says, shocking me, "I'll gather all of the present guards and personal involved to ensure their silence. Come back as soon as you have any new information." He nods and leaves quickly, putting his helmet back on as he does so. Celestia tries to leave as well, but I step in front of her to have a word. "Tia, I have a bad feeling about this," I tell her quietly. "If what Miles is assuming is accurate, and it really seems so, we cannot allow this to exist!" "Why not?" she asks coldly. I blanch from her question. "Why not? Tia, this is too much power for the average pony to bear! And with a cost of their life, why would we allow our subjects to throw their lives away? It isn't right!" She seems to smirk at this, giving me an uneasy feeling. "Luna, with everything going on right now, what is right may not be an option. I understand where you are coming from, I do! But... if worse comes to worse, this may be the edge we need." I take a step away from her, having a hard time believing she actually said it. "Tia, you are talking about using the lives of our subjects to win a war! This isn't you Tia! Where is this coming from?" She frowns at that, narrowing her eyes at me. But I don't let her intimidate me. I stand my ground, standing by my claim. "Luna, this is coming from me. This is me. I'm not saying there is going to be a war. I'm not saying that I am not going to do everything in my power to stop a war from happening either. What I am saying is that if all else fails, I want to make sure that we have every advantage possible." "But this isn't the way we do things Celestia! This is too much power for an average pony to bear! What if they turn against us? What would we do if we made a pony have enough power to destroy everything we care deeply for? Is the reward worth the risk? Is this a burden we can share so easily? Are their lives so meaningless that we could just use them so callously-?" "Could we allow a tyrant to rule over our people and banish them to the shadow realm? We tried to fight the right way and looked what happened. Could we allow a demon to walk the earth and turn reality upside down? No. And we had to use a special tool that we had little to no understanding to do so. Could we watch and mentor a little filly so she could one day reach her potential and reform her sister? A sister that she couldn't save because she didn't know what was going on! A sister that she had to send to the moon for a thousand years of solitude, and resentment, and sorrow, and hatred! Luna, I love you. You are my sister and I would do anything for you. But you lack the vision of the big picture. This is our next tool. Our next pawn. Like, dislike, I don't care which side you take. All I care is that you make use of your tools as effectively as possible." She brushes past me and heads to the door. I don't stop her. I don't say anything. What could I say. She has valid points, though I do not agree with most of them. When I returned she told me things were different. I guess I always knew what she meant by that. She opens the door for a moment before shutting it again, having one last thing to say apparently. "These are the choices of a leader Luna. They aren't always easy, and you may not always want to make them, but it is your responsibility to do so. Ponies will get mad regardless of the choice you make. But if there is a problem, you must make a choice. Even if that choice is to do nothing, you have to stand by your choices for the rest of your life. This is why I should lead the army, not you." "Do not lecture me on living with the choices you have made. You know full well what I carry with me!" I bark back, turning to glare back at her. "And do not down play my call for caution as a sign of weakness, sister! It was not I who argued against Starswirl from receiving the Elements! And it wasn't me who turned away from him in the end." She doesn't say anything at first. She simply stares back at me, thinking to herself. I stare back at her, knowing what I have said and the pain behind it. "I think I'll call them the Praetorian Guard, in honor of the story you told just before they were made." With that, she leaves the room. I stand in the center of the room in silence. I've known Celestia to be... many things. But this is an entirely new side of her. Seeing it now, I guess it's always been there. I guess I always knew it was there too. I guess, in my mind, Celestia was always too good to act on those kind of thoughts. But I can tell now that those were the thoughts of a foolish little filly, looking up to her big sister in a perfect light. But now the light's gone, and I can see her for what she really is. I guess it's time to grow up. Perspective: Miles Just before I enter the medical ward I pause and pull out my phone. I go back to the photo of the enchantment and examine it again. I've always heard of spoken spells, but I never imagined they would be this powerful. Setting the enchantment off in front of the door was foolhardy and reckless, but it played out perfectly. I don't have to guess and I don't have to risk myself either. I have a live specimen to study. But is this something that needs to exist in mass? I don't know. I don't know if I'm the right person to even ask that question either. I hear some footsteps coming from down the hall and make a quick decision. I email the picture to myself and delete the photo. As it stands now, this needs to remain classified for as long as possible. Luckily enough, Luna and Celestia agreed with me on that. No one should question me on this. And if I can get him to Topaz without alerting anyone else, I'll be set. With that in mind, I see another obstacle at hand. Those that saw him already. I know how this castle works. Rumors are already making their way around. If I don't nip it in the bud now, there's no telling how quickly it will make its way outside these walls. We need this to stay quiet, and I only see one way to achieve that. I dial a special number and walk to a corner where I can have a moment of privacy. It takes a moment to connect, but when I get there I start to enter my authorization codes. "Crypteia, zero-zero, Helots, Agiads, Torto, Evito. Target, Canterlot Castle. Update chat log. Explosion, guard, mask, power. Keep me informed and tag all those that fulfill the profile." Chapter 243 Squad GoalsChapter 243 Squad Goals Perspective: Shadow I spent most of the day in Dad's shed, thinking to myself. I know what I want to do, I just don't know how I'm going to do it. In the end I figured I would have to start some digging, learn what I can about Diamond and her family. Dad's computer had some information, but nothing that I could really use immediately. I doubt sales figures will really help me bring Diamond down a peg. Towards the end of the day Sweetie Bell came over. Apparently there's some drama happening at her place so she's staying here tonight. When Dad told her where I was and what I was doing, she left to get the others. I was a little disgruntled that he very blatantly told her everything, but there's no going back now. The last few minutes I've more been waiting for them to show up than anything else. I don't know what I'm going to say when they get here, but I'll deal with that when it happens. "Easy, is there an easy way out of this?" I ask aloud, laying my head on the computer counter. This is more out of boredom than anything else. "A psychiatric evaluation would be required for any treatments to be prescribed," Easy responds from the computer system in the wall. "You said it," I mutter, rolling my head to the other side. "Who are Diamond Tiaras affiliates?" "Diamond Tiara, resident of Ponyville, has most notably been seen associating with Silver Spoon; daughter to Ingot and Fine China. New associates include those of the Ponyville High School cheer leading team, several business officials with dealings to Barnyard Bargains, and Ponyville civilian Rumble." That peaks my interest, getting me to look towards the screens. "Tell me more about Rumble." "Ponyville youth and younger brother to Thunderlane, his marks in school show an aptitude for athletic programs and Home Etiquette. No outstanding misdemeanors on record. Subject shows passive traits towards public officials. Ranks highly for recruitment potential." Recruitment potential? What does that even mean? Before I could ask I hear a knock at the door and head up to answer it. "Hey," I mutter when I open the door. I lock up when I see everypony standing before me. I originally thought it was going to be me and the girls, but I guess they all wanted to bring their coltfriends along as well. And Twist. And Rumble. It's going to be a long night. "Sorry to keep you waiting. I ran into everypony along the way and... well, one thing led to another and we're all here to help you take Diamond down!" Sweetie tells me, all of them giving me a determined nod. I look from face to face before I look up to Rumble. He gives me an apologetic look before nodding to me. I smile up to him, somehow feeling better. "Come on in, and don't touch anything. I'm not responsible for anypony losing body parts," I tell them before heading back inside. I bring them down to the open area by the computer and summon some cushions from the house. Button and Sweetie take the cot that's on the side while everypony else get comfortable. I take my seat back at the computer and starts closing all of the files I was reading. I doubt any of them can read Latin, but it's still sensitive information. Once done I spin back around to face the others. They're all looking up at me, waiting for me to say something. Seeing so many eyes on me makes me break into a nervous sweat. Why are there so many ponies here right now!? The girls I get. Rumble, that makes sense. Button and Pipsqueak, there's at least a reason for them to be here. Twist is the most confusing of them all. I've always been friendly with her, and I do enjoy her company! But... I don't know, we never really hang out and we don't interact outside of school really. I'm sure she has her reasons for being here, and if she wants to help I'm fine with that too. I just find it odd. "So... where do we start?" Rumble asks, breaking the silence. "How 'bout we shave 'er? Ah'm sure that'll send a message!" Apple Bloom says, getting a few chuckles. "I thought the idea was to take her down completely, not just short term revenge," Pip mentions. "If we're going to do that than we should really look into what gives Diamond her power and prestige and chip away at that." "Money, a tight ass, loose morals, and an army of skanks." Scootaloo lists, getting some nods. "We're not going to make her poor, and I doubt there's anything we can do to make her suddenly get fat, so what does that leave us with?" "Loose morals?" I ask, not understanding how that's a bonus for her. I get a few odd looks from the others and decide that the back of my bangs are immensely more interesting. "Well... if we're not going to lower her, then let's try the opposite then." Pip mentions. "You want to make her more popular?" Sweetie asks, tilting her head. "Is that even possible?" Twists asks. "No, hear me out. I've been thinking about this for some time now. There's nothing we can do to bring her down. Not without doing something illegal-" "And why isn't that allowed?" Scootaloo asks, but is ignored. "So if we can't take anything away from her, then why not make what she has meaningless? What if we moved the spot light to somepony else?" Everypony stays quiet for a moment, thinking to themselves. It's not a bad idea, but not without its flaws. Who do we put in her place then? And would we even do that? I know I couldn't do that, I can't handle the ponies I know staring at me. I don't even want to imagine the entire school look directly at me! This doesn't seem like an entirely viable plan to me. Besides, if we pick one pony for us to work on making more popular, than she only needs to discredit one pony. If we're going to do this, then we should do this as a group. But how would that even work? How can we make a mass populace envy a small group more than their old ideals? Wait... that sounds familiar. What am I thinking of? I turn around and stare up at the computer as I try to figure out what I'm thinking about. I pretty much described something, but what am I talking about? "Oh my..." I mutter when it hits me, gaining everypony's attention. "We need to be Spartans." "Um... what?" Rumble asks nervously. I scoot a bit closer and start to type away, looking for a specific file. It shouldn't be classified, then again, nothing should be classified. Soon enough I find the files I want and start to read through them. Sure enough, the idea I had is pretty much there. What I want to is pretty much how Spartans convince tribes and villages to join their cause. It's almost step by step ever! First off, show of force. Make your presence known to the locals. Don't give them too much information though. You want them to start talking and making their own assumptions. The Spartans would do this normally by defeating some nearby monster or saving captives. Next they start prodding all of the local power players. Public officials, ponies who have sway with others, military leaders, the sort. They try to make it look as if they're looking for a faction to back. And if the previous item was done properly, then it will show them that there's a new player in the political field. This also divides the locals, making them easier to assimilate. From there it's just playing the political field. Pit two powerful factions against each other and come in to save the day. Sometimes you don't even have to do anything to get them to fight. The threat of losing their previous power is enough to get some to act on their own. It calls on a lot of waiting and seeing too, but that makes sense. With Pips idea in mind, I think we can do this. We work together and take the top spot at school. Push her to the side. It's nearing the end of high school, so all we have to do is keep it up for the year. Or at least until we push Diamond aside. From there I can do what I want freely. But this is where we need to start. Otherwise she'll just use the public to do her bidding. "Everything alright Shadow?" Sweetie asks, getting me to look back to them. "I have an idea, but it'll take all of us working together all school year long to make it work," I tell them, the idea still running rampant in my head. They all share a look before looking back to me, their looks of determination coming back anew. "What's the plan?" Rumble asks. I groan when my alarm starts to buzz. I try to hit the snooze button, but I'm too groggy to do it properly and end up knocking it off of my dresser. We were up till three in the morning working out plans and ideas to take down Diamond. It was a pain, but I think we have a really good picture of what we're going to do and what we're getting into. It's less of a plan and more of a collection of ideas that we'll try as opportunity presents itself, but we're all in this. Or, so we all claimed last night. With the buzzing annoying me to no end I force myself up and get ready for the day. I feel... numb. Yesterday I was simultaneously ready to rip Diamonds head off and banish myself to Mooseden. Now that I have a plan of revenge and a group of ponies willing to help me, I don't feel much of anything. I can't explain it. Shouldn't I still feel mad about everything? Or at the very least nervous? I should feel something right now, but I don't. Maybe I will later when I actually get into the mess. Or maybe the fact that I have so many ponies willing to help is putting me at ease. I'm amazed I didn't have to ask them to help. They came more out of obligation than anything else. For some of them I get it. I'd do the same for my friends, why wouldn't they? And if Pip and Button really care for Sweetie and Scoots then it makes sense that they would too. Rumble is equally understandable. Twist was the random one in the end. She really wants to take Diamond down. I guess she's had enough of being picked on. I was a little worried when she made any suggestions. They all tended to be more on the... violent side. She really wants to take her down. After getting ready for the day I grab my bags and make my way straight for school. We all agreed to meet up at our usual spot in the morning. Probably not the best idea, seeing as we stayed up till three, if not later. But, if we're going to destroy her little empire at school, no time like the present. "How's she doing?" I ask Pip when I make it to the tree just outside of school. The two of them are laying underneath the tree, Scootaloo using Pip as a pillow to sleep on. "She'll live. Though at the rate she's drooling she might become dehydrated." I chuckle at that, taking a seat beside him. "What about you?" "Meh," I shrug, staring out at the ponies making their way to school. "I think I've spent all of my energy yesterday being angry and depressed. Now... now I just want to get started. Is that normal?" "Nothing in Ponyville is normal." I hum in response to that. No sense in arguing with that. "Did you find it weird that Twist was there last night?" "Right!? I mean, the more the merrier, but it was a little out of left field." That makes me glad. So I'm not the only one who noticed that, thank you! "Yeah. I mean, there are a lot ponies that would like to take her down a peg. But I didn't really think she would be that willing to help us. I don't know why, but it gives me bad vibes." "You don't think she's spying on us, do you?" I ask, having had the same thought occur more than once myself. "Mmm.... no. I don't see what she would gain from that. But there's something she wants out of all of this, something she's not telling us. We better keep an eye on her, just to make sure." I nod to him, dropping the subject as Sweetie Bell and Apple Bloom approach us. I wasn't the only one to question why she wanted to help, that's comforting. "Is she going ta make it?" Apple Bloom asks, getting a chuckle from Sweetie. "She'll live, probably. Are you girls ready for this? Because after today there's no going back," I tell them, gulping inwardly myself. I don't think I'm really ready for this. But it's something I've convinced myself to do, so there's no turning back for me. "Ah'm with ya! Through thick n' thin!" Apple Bloom cheers, taking a step forward. "Yeah! Besides, this was probably going to happen to me with my singing career anyway. Better to do it early with my friends," Sweetie mentions, stepping up beside Bloom. "Huh!?" Scootaloo gasps, jumping to her hooves in a panic. We all laugh at her confusion as she steps up, still hazy from lack of sleep. "We doin this or what? I didn't cut out six hours of sleep for nothing." We all smirk at that and turn towards school. This is it, no going back now. "Let's go conquer high school." We march our way into school and head straight for school square. There aren't that many ponies here right now, but the few that are have their sights set on us. All of the others came earlier to start spreading a rumor we made together. Apparently we're out for blood with Diamond. Not entirely untrue, but with it being whispered to a few key ponies we'll inform the entire school by the end of the day. The school square is an open space in the center of the school. It's where the popular kids tend to hand out, meaning it's Diamonds domain. So we're going there to confront her. This is our show of force. We're going to show the entire school that we're not going to take any of her crap anymore. We're going to show her that we're done being pushed around. And we're going to show her who's responsible for her downfall. We can't falter here. No matter what, our message needs to be clear. I need to be clear. She crossed the wrong pony this time. When we make it there we stop just shy of her group of friends. I don't see her yet, meaning she's not at school yet. If she doesn't show up today that won't be too be of an issue. It means we can get a head start on spreading rumors about her. Well... are they rumors if they are true? Either way, we're going to spread the word that she fucked the photo teacher so she could print that story. No proof, just words. The school will take care of the rest. One of her friends, a unicorn mare I don't know the name of, decides to approach us, having a few of the others follow after her. "Can I help you? 'Cause you're in the wrong area," she tells us, throwing a smirk back to her friends. "We're here for Diamond," I tell her, leaving it at that. "Well she's not here, so go away-" "This is a matter between wolves, little lamb. Go back to your corral before you get hurt," Apple Bloom tells her, stepping towards her intimidatingly. She goes to cast a spell, but I catch her before she could get it off. It becomes a short fight over control of her horn via magic. This is something Dad taught me to do early on. When fighting a unicorn magic is key. If they don't have magic, they are much more likely to submit. I see the panic in her eyes as I exert my power over her, making her take a step back. "Like I said, we're here for Diamond. Why don't you be a good little lamb and go back with the others," I tell her calmly, getting a quick nod from her. I release her and she scurries back to her group, telling them what happened quietly. With my little show of force a small crowd has formed around the area. Intrigued ponies stare on from the safety on the walkways and classroom windows. None of the teachers have been alerted yet, so we're in the clear for the time being. I don't know how long we waited. It couldn't have been long, since the bell never rung. But it felt like an eternity. Every pair of eyes, every pony leaning in to whisper something, every new face coming to see what's going on plays out before me in extreme detail. I do my best to push it all out and stay focused, but I can't help it! There are too many eyes on me right now. Especially coming from the ponies we just called sheep! They keep shooting us the stink eye, whispering things to one another. I don't care what they have to say, but seeing them talk about me is still driving me crazy! All of my old inhibitions are telling me to run home and hide under my blankets! But I have to do this. I have to stand for my family. There's no turning back, no retreat, no giving in. I'm in this till the bitter end. I stir in the crowd catches my attention. I look out as a group of ponies scurry to make way for somepony. My fears tell me to run from the probable teacher coming to tell us off. But those fears double when I see that it's Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara heading right for us. I look to the others for a boost of confidence before marching towards her. This is it! I'm going to walk right up to her, tell her what's on my mind, and leave it at that. I can't let her have any say in this. "Diamond-" GLOMP I let out a high pitched squeak when she rushes forward and squeezes me in a tight hug. The world is lost to me as I stand there, being embraced by Diamond. I have no sense of time, of those around me, I can't even feel myself as she stands there hugging me! What does she think she's doing!? "You poor, poor thing! When I saw the article I just had to know if you were okay! If you ever need anything you just ask me and I'll be there to help you, okay?" What!? NO! No, this isn't how it's supposed to happen! What's going on!? "Uh... no, I-" "Like, I can't even imagine the torture you've had to endure!" Silver continues in her mock concern. "You're so brave for coming to school. Like, how could you manage to stand in front of all these ponies? Like, so brave!" "You take it easy today and let me know if anypony is bothering you, okay?" she asks sweetly. I can only stare on dumbly as she tussles my mane and starts to walk off. Does she really think this is funny? Does she really think nothing bad is going to come of this? Does she have no shame? Just as she’s about to step into the crowd I finally force the words out of my mouth. I don't even know what I'm saying, but I speak. "I'm going to fuck Rumble stupid." The crowd goes silent. I go silent! What did I even say!? That's not even close to what I originally was going to talk about! Where did all of the talk about justice and corruption of ponies go? Where did that come from!? That being said, it definitely got her attention. She stops and turns back to me, scoffing at my remark. "I'm sorry, what did you say?" she asks, trying her best to not sound offended. "You heard me. I am going to fuck Rumble until he's a big stupid heap of a stallion. Is there a problem with that?" I give a little tilt of the head when I plainly ask her that. She looks around, seemingly looking for confirmation on what I said, before approaching me. She stands tall and does her best to make me feel as little as possible. It works, on some parts. I really wish I wasn't so short some times. "No, you're not. You're going back to class and keeping quiet like you usually do. Like you should," she tells me, narrowing her eyes as she glares right through me. I swallow the lump in my throat as I fight all of my instincts telling me to run and hide. I don't know where all of this is coming from, but it's working. I just need a finisher. Something that will send her over the edge. Hm... "So, he's used you a lot, what does he like? Or did you just take it and-" SMACK The crowd gasps and goes silent as Diamond sets her hoof back down. I have to stretch my jaw to get the numbness out before looking back up at her. She's beyond mad at this point. This is a level of anger I've never seen in a pony before. I must have really hit a chord with her. Time to show everypony that I'm not backing down from her. "Is that part of it? Did he leave you because you don't hit hard enough? I'll keep that in mind." A few spectators chuckle at that, but she silences them with a quick glare. "You don't want to take me on-" she tries to warn me, but I cut her off. "No, you don't want to take me on. But we're past that point now," I tell her slowly, feeling my rage start to build up. "You should have left my family out of this. But there's no going back now. I won't stop until you're begging me for mercy. And at that point, and only at that point, I am going to kick your ass." She scoffs at that, shoving her face against mine. I push back on her, digging my hooves into the ground. "Why wait? Come on, little filly, hit me. Or are you too much of a pansy to make a move?" I growl a little from that. I want to hit her. I want to smack that smirk right off of her smug face and make her pay. But I know it will be much sweeter when she's begging me to stop. So I wait, for now. It'll come soon enough, I just have to be patient. "What's going on here?" A teacher calls out over the crowd. Ponies start to disburse from all over, obscuring the two of us. We stay still until our friends start to pull us apart. But we never break eye contact. We stare on, waiting for the other to do or say the right thing. My friends bring me down a corridor and stop by a random section of lockers, breathing a collective sigh of relief. Sweetie brings a hanker chief out and starts to dab at my lips. Apparently I'm bleeding, though I never noticed the light trickle. I just close my eyes and try to calm my racing heart. "Holy shit that was intense!" Scootaloo gasps out, taking a seat beside me. "But it was awesome!" "Easily half the school saw that! They'll be talking about that for the rest of the summer!" Pip adds. "Ah'm just glad ya didn't hit her. Made ya look like the bigger pony," Apple Bloom tells me, patting my shoulder. "Are ya alright?" "I'm... fine, I think. It all felt so quick and... I'm still wrapping my head around the whole thing." I really don't feel like all of that just happened. I was there, I witnessed everything that occurred, but it doesn't feel real to me. I don't know how I said what I said or managed to stand in front of that many ponies for that long, but I did. "I'll say! You just told the whole school that you're going to fuck Rumble! Where did that come from?" Scootaloo asks, getting a smack on the arm from Pip. I did tell the whole school that I'm going to fuck Rumble, didn't I? I'm sure I'll have an episode about that later, right now I... Right now I don't really feel much of anything. Other than the numbness around my mouth. "I think we'll deal with that later. Let's get to class and meet back up for lunch. And in the next round, let's try to stick to the script... but Shadow?" I look over to him, seeing the confident smile he has on. "You won that round." Perspective: Tempestive I give a tired yawn as I make my way downstairs and into the kitchen. I stick my hoof out and wait... but nothing happens. Strange, normally there would be orange juice in my hoof by this point. What's going on? I open my eyes and take a look around. Mom isn't here. Strange, where would she be? She has work in the afternoons normally. Where is she? I go upstairs and poke my head into her room. Seeing nopony in there, I step inside and take a better look. I could have sworn I heard ponies talking earlier, where are they? I start to leave when somepony flushes the toilet. Oh, she was going to the bathroom, duh. That was oddly paranoid of me! GLOMP "Tempestive! How is my favorite nephew in the whole wide world!" I give a shrilled squeak when Auntie Tia scoops me up in a big hug, squeezing me with all her might. "Auntie... Tia... you're... crushing... me..." I gasp out, trying to escape. "Oh hush, you can handle a bit more," she says mockingly as she squeezes a little tighter. I try my best to pry myself out of her iron hold, but it's all for naught. Goodbye life, I barely knew you... "And I'm done. You can drop the act now," she tells me as she sets me down. I lay still on the floor for a moment as I let death overcome me. She squeezed me too hard, and now I'm dead. "Fine, more breakfast for me then." "Fine, but why are you here? Shouldn't you be at work?" I ask her as I stand back up, still happy that she's here. I just don't like it when ponies hug me tightly. "Funny story, a guard blew a hole in my room at the castle, so I'll be staying here for a short time! I was out with your father earlier, but now I'm free spend some quality time with you! Well... quality time at work, that is. Would you like to go to Canterlot today?" "... yes. Yes, I would." Is that even a question? I'll take nearly any excuse to leave the house! "Do I have to wear the vest though?" She smiles at that, making me beam with joy. "No vests while I'm around, okay?" This is awesome! I get to spend the day at Canterlot, with no vest, with Auntie Celly! Today is going to be awesome! Author's Note Updates! Brony on! Chapter 244 The Prince and the PrincessChapter 244 The Prince and the Princess I couldn't wait to get to Canterlot! We ate breakfast as quickly as possible before heading to the castle, and I was jumping in joy the entire time! Normally Mom or Dad would tell me in advance that I'd be doing something like this, but something last minute came up and they needed Auntie Tia to watch me. I hope whatever happened happens more often, cause this is going to be awesome! Canterlot castle, no vest, and if she can get her work done quickly enough she said we could get ice cream at the end of the day! How did this day happen!? FLASH "Easy there Tempestive," Tia tells me when I come pronking into the cave above Canterlot. I try my best to stand still, but I have too much energy right now! "I swear you remind me of your mother when she was your age with all of that energy." "How much work do you have to do? Where are we getting ice cream? From the city? Am I allowed to wander around the castle by myself-" "Slow down Tempestive," she tells me with a warm chuckle. "Well... I have the same work load as usual, we'd get ice cream from the castle, and you are not allowed to walk around unsupervised. Now are you going to just stand there, or should we get going?" "GOING!" I yell before charging for the entrance. Before I make it there she picks me up with her magic. I ignore it and continue to try and run, making her smirk at me. She carries me out to the opening and sets me back down. I take a look down at the city and marvel at the site before me. The city is beautiful! And the surrounding area is just as breath taking. I take a look back up to her and smile, receiving one in return. She snaps her wings open and waits for me to do the same, so I do. Though my wingspan is nowhere near as big as hers. Her smile turns into a challenging smirk as she starts to walk forward, egging me to start trotting. As I break into a sprint she starts to jog alongside me, waiting for me to get airborne. I give a few more powerful kicks before I start to flap my wings. Each beat gives me a push forward that drives me to beat them again and again until I finally leap into the air. The winds are strong and cold and provide a powerful updraft that lifts me higher into the air. Tia gives a few flaps as well and joins me in the air, gliding around me to be on my left. The sun shines a little brighter as I start to bank away from the city, letting the wind guide me. All I have to do is hold my wings out and the winds do the rest. You never get anything like this back in Ponyville! Tia grabs my hoof and pulls me towards her. I give her a quizzical look, but she only smirks back at me before diving down. I give a cheer as we slowly make out way down, fighting the draft the entire way. We’re almost pointing straight down and we're still moving relatively slowly, it's awesome! Just as we start to make a headway against the wind Tia pulls up and we launch up and forward, sending us over the castle grounds. We make a few large roundabouts over the city as we start to make our way down. About halfway down some guards fly up and start to escort us, flanking us. "Why do the guards always escort us when we fly in?" I ask loudly to Tia. "We have to keep the castle grounds safe, don't we? If anypony could just fly in it would disrupt the activities of the workers," she tells me. I nod in agreement with her logic. As awesome as it would be, I guess there should be some rules to who and can and can't come into the castle grounds. It's like Shadows diary, it's supposed to be off limits to everypony. We make it to the gardens and kick up some pedals and dust. I give another cheer as I look back up to the mountain, seeing the immense distance we just flew. There's nothing like that in Ponyville! "Prince-" "Gentlecolts!" Tia interrupts, stepping towards the guards. "Sorry for the unconventional entrance, but I couldn't help but show off to my nephew." She looks back to me and shoots me a wink, making me chuckle. "Oh... of course... Ma'am. Um... shall we escort you to the... uh, your work area?" the guard asks nervously, glancing to his friend for help. "Yes. As fun as that was, it is time to get back to work. Gentlecolts," she nods her head to me and starts to walk towards the castle. I look between the two guards before running after Tia. They seem surprised by my presence, so I guess they remember me from my last visit. I was hoping everypony would forget about that, but I guess not. Walking through the castle is... an odd experience, to say the least. There's so much history here! Everything has a story and Auntie Tia seems to know every single one of them vividly. But the staff are more than aware of my presence here. Maids whisper to one another as I walk by, eyeing me with the utmost interest. Guards, standing stoically before doors and hallways, sneak peeks at me whenever we pass. The more and more I become aware of those staring at me the closer I walk next to Tia. It gets to the point where I'm practically walking underneath her! When she stops before a door I bump into her legs, getting her to chuckle. I give her a sheepish smile and move out beside her, noting the giggling maids in the back. "This is the main library to the castle," she tells me before opening the doors. My mouth starts to hang open as I stare out at the vast shelving corridors of the library. It easily dwarfs the Ponyville library. You could probably fit three of them in here! And even better, there doesn't seem to be anypony in here. Not that the library back home is usually crowded, but there's at least somepony there. This place is empty! "Impressed?" "That's a lot of books," I mention as I unconsciously start to walk in. I pause a few steps in and look back to Tia, unsure if I'm allowed to enter. The last library we visited ended up causing a lot of trouble, and I don't want to get her in trouble again. "Don't worry, all of the book here are safe. This is technically a public library after all. Feel free to wander within here as you wish. I'll be at the desks in the main reading section." I give her a big smile before running in- "And no running please!' I trot my way into the bulk of the shelving and take a look at the sections I walk past. History, biographies, spell formulas, city accounting, fiction, there seems to be everything in here! I don't even know where to start! Should I read up on Canterlot? Or what about Starswirl, is there anything about him in here? What about the Wonderbolts? I'm sure they have several sections all about them! I make up my mind to see if they have anything on the Wonderbolts, deciding that would easily fill most of my time. I slow down and start to look over the sections more carefully, trying to learn where I am and which direction I should head in. I'm in a spell section of the library, so I guess I'm in the wrong area. Should I head back? I saw a history section back there, that seems the most logical place to start. "Tempestive..." "Huh?" I stop and take a look around. I could have sworn I heard somepony call me. Is Tia looking for me? "Tempestive..." "Who is that?" I ask aloud, taking tentative steps towards the end of the aisle. I peer around the corner to find it empty. Nothing but shelves and books. I look back to see if there's somepony behind me, when I get the feeling that somepony is watching me. I look back around the corner and gasp quietly when I see a tall shadow at the end of the hall. Its shape confuses me for a moment, but I soon realize who it is. "Tempestive..." "Tempus," I mutter as I quicken my pace. Just as I make it to the end of the hallway his shadow races down the aisle, so I chase after it. I see him at the end and give chase. Every time I make it to the end of an aisle he turns down another one. At this rate I'll never catch up with him. Maybe I shouldn't be chasing him. What would happen if I wait for him to come to me? I slow to a stop and wait for him to come from me. It stays quiet for a moment, his shadow at the end of the aisle keeping still. "Tempestive..." "I'm here," I call out to him. "What do you need? Why are you here? Is it time?" "Tempestive... just a little further..." "Till what? Where are you leading me? Why won't you show yourself?" I ask, taking a few steps forward. He doesn't move. He's waiting for me to make a move. I don't understand what he's doing, but I start to walk forward. Is he trying to lead me somewhere? What is he trying to show me? And why won't he talk to me? With this many questions I make it around the corner and stop before a guard. I gasp a little from this, but compose myself quickly and try to look behind him. There's a pile of books back there and a filly reading them, but the guard blocks me from seeing anything further. "How did you get in here?" he asks, eyeing me closely. "I... uh..." I mutter, confused. Why did Tempus bring my here? And where did he go? The guard eyes me a bit longer before going wide eyed. "You're... you're... oh, my apologies sir! I didn't know it was you!" he says quickly, adding a quick bow at the end of it. I ignore him as I take a look around him. The pegasis filly behind him has her back to us and is distracted with the book opened before her. Her light grey coat and lavender mane seem familiar, but I can't think of a name. "Who is that?" I ask the guard, trying to make sure she doesn't hear me. The guard responds in a similar tone. "That's Princess Speaks Softly, sir. She's finishing up her studies for the day... sir!" There he goes again. Why does he keep calling me sir? if anything shouldn't it be the other way around? Well... if he's calling me that, maybe he'll let me talk to the filly. Tempus brought me here for a reason, maybe she has something I'll need. I start to walk around the guard. I can see the nervous look on his face, but he doesn't do anything to stop me. I step up to the filly and go to say something, but stop when she turns a page. That's when I get a glance at her horn. She's an alicorn, just like me. I didn't know there were any other alicorn foals out there besides me and Rampant. Why haven't I met her yet? Who is she? "Erm... Princess? The Prince would like to speak with you?" The guard mentions. Prince? Me? What? "Huh?" The filly mutters quietly, still reading. "My mom said I'm not supposed to talk to you, Prince Blueblood." "Uhm... I'm not Blueblood... or a prince... My names Tempestive Mortem." She seems to jump from the name. She slowly looks back and stares at me with her light blue eyes. We stare at one another for a moment before she gives a small yelp and dives behind a stack of books. "Um... Princess?" the guard asks, glancing to me. I shrug back to him, unsure of what's going on. "Flash!" she calls out in a loud whisper. "Flash! Come here!" The guard, Flash, gives me an odd look before walking over to her. He leans down to listen to her whisper something when it hits me. I have met her before. She's the pony I attacked when I had my incident with Tempus. Why would Tempus bring me to her!? She doesn't want to talk to me! I don't want to talk to her! I just wanted to read a book, why am I being punished for that!? Maybe I can just turn around and leave while they're talking to each other. Yeah, that's a good idea. I turn to leave and come to an immediate stop. A note is hanging on the shelf directly in my line of sight. 'Turn back'. But I don't want to! This is awkward! I get enough of that from the other ponies here! Why are you doing this to me? It's not fair! "Um... Tempestive?" the guard asks from behind. "I can escort you... wherever you'd like to go. As long as it's not here, that is." "Yeah, I..." I stop and look back to the note. Is this some sort of test from Tempus? He brought me here for a reason. He said he'd come back to teach me, maybe this is a test to see if I'm ready to start training. Why does this have to be the test! Why couldn't it be a spell formula, or a questionnaire? This is a dumb test; I prefer Dad's tests! At least there I have an option to come back to it when I'm actually ready! What do I say here? Sorry I attacked you, it was just a power fluctuation and I lost control? Also, I was dealing with a new spell I never used before and saw some things I wasn't ready to see yet! ... actually, maybe that would work... "Where would you like to go?" the guard asks again, bringing me back. I think about it for a moment longer before I make up my mind. This has to be a maturity test of some sort, it has to be! Well I'll play along Tempus! You better have some answers afterwards though! "No, I think I'll stay," I tell him, turning back around. Speaks Softly squeaks and dives back behind the books. Probably not the best way to start this out, but no turning back. "Tempestive, I don't-" "What happened to sir?" I ask him, shooting him a look. His eyebrows shoot up as he starts to sweat nervously. If he's the first obstacle, then this'll be easy. "I... um... the Princess said-" "I know what she said. But I have things I need to tell her, and it's really important that I say this. So... go away." He looks back to Speaks Softly for help, but she's busy hiding at the moment. Annoyed that he hasn't left, I take an aggressive step forward, making him take one back. "Tempestive... sir, I must insist-" "How am I going to be a proper Prince if I can't even face the ponies I hurt? I have to do this, move aside." I tell him. Though, I have to pause from my own words when their relevance become apparent to me. I can see the cracks starting to form in his resolve. I just need something to knock it all over. Hmm... "AUNTIE TIA!" "No!" he yells, rushing towards me. "We don't need to call her! I'll... go away for a few minutes, okay? We don't need to involve Princess Celestia, I'll go!" Before I could ask him anything he turns and rushes out of the aisle, yelling his apologies to Speaks Softly. I let out a sigh of relief once he's gone. The easy part is over, now for the hard part. She's still hiding behind the stack of books. Barging my way over there would probably only scare her. But I need to talk to her, so I need to start somewhere. Somewhere she feels safe enough to talk, or at least listen. Well, when Shadow does this sort of thing, Dad does his best to respect her boundaries. He usually doesn't just force his way into her room and make her do what he wants. And I've already failed on half of that account. So... where does that leave me? I can't knock on the door to let her know I'm here, like he does. But he does talks through the door. Maybe I can do something like that. She's hiding behind the books... what if I hid on the other end. That way, if she really doesn't want to be here she can leave! Seems like a good enough of an idea. I sit down and lean against the books. The books slide a bit before she starts to push back. So she isn't making a run for it, that's good. Now what? I guess I should start with saying sorry. "So... um... I'm Tempestive... but... I already said that." What was that!? That wasn't an apology! That was awkward and weird and nerve wracking! Okay, I can save this, just say you’re sorry and move on! "Uh... yeah, so..." "..." "..." WHAT IS HAPPENING!? I know what I'm supposed to say, why am I not saying it!? I'm sorry, what's so hard about that!? Okay, better late than never. Just say it and see what happens after that. Easy. Simple. Straightforward. Getting nervous. Sweaty hooves. Stalling. Procrastinating. Silent. "..." "..." Okay, this is going nowhere fast. Somepony needs to say something eventually. Maybe I should start with something simple. Ask her about her day, or what she was studying. What was she studying? I lean over to take a look at the book, but it's opened to a page that doesn't tell me anything. I reach over to shut it- TAP I freeze when my hoof makes contact with hers. By some sort of cruel fate, we both decided to reach for the same spot of the same book at the same time! I lean over to look at her and feel my heart skip a beat when we make eye contact with each other. We both blush for a moment before snapping back behind the book stack. "Sorry! I didn't mean to do that! I just didn't want to ruin the spin on the book!" she tells me worriedly. Even for her state she keeps a quiet voice about her. Something that tells me she doesn't talk much. "I-I didn't mean to either! I just wanted to see what book it was!" We both go quiet after that. I can't believe I touched her! Now I feel as if my stomach is trying to turn itself over and empty itself out! This is gross and weird! I should have ran for it when I had the chance! I take a break from thinking to calm down. I'm probably just making this a bigger deal than it actually is. Yeah, that's it. Just take a few, deep breathes and relax. Everything is okay, just breath. "I-it's about applied focii," Speaks Softly mutters. "What?" "The book. It's about making focii and how to apply them practically." "Oh... what?" I ask, chuckling slightly. "They're focii, why would you need a book to tell you how to apply them?" "It's more abstract than literal," she defends. "It better be. I mean, if you have a focii that lets you... I don't know, lift more let's say, than the application is pretty straightforward." "Well, that's the thing, is it? What if you try to lift something the incorrect way? Or apply that pressure in a way that breaks the function of lifting. This book is supposed to give you an idea of how to work around those kind of obstacles." I laugh again, getting her to scoff. "It's not a joke. This is a real field of study!" "I'm sure it is. Just like underwater painting. If you don't know what the focii is made to do, then you're not going to maximize the efficiency of that focii. If it helps you cast, then cast. If it helps you lift, lift. Who needs a book to tell them that?" "Well maybe someponies don't fully understand the concept of thinking outside the box." "Probably," I laugh a little more at this. It really is silly. It'd be like reading a book on how to walk normally. I'm sure there are some important things they can tell you, but as long as you're walking who cares? But I had my fun, no need to keep offending her. Time to change the subject. "Are you reading it for school?" "Kind of. I'm home schooled, and my Mom told me that reading this would help nurture my critical thinking skills." "I'm home schooled too!" I blurt out excitedly. I honestly didn't know there were any other home schooled kids out there. This is a relief. "Really? That's... nice. Is there a reason you're home schooled?" she asks, her intrigue growing. "Well, it's mostly my dad. He says public schools aren't really a place for smart people. But my mom helps too, and she usually scolds him for saying that. But, from what I understand from my other friends, the stuff I'm learning is way more advanced then what they learn." "I know what you mean. I met some foals who were on a field trip that didn't even know when or how this castle was built. How could you come to a place like this and not know its history? What if they were tested on it afterwards?" I laugh at that, making her shy away slightly. "Yeah... hey... about that... one time, when I... you know..." "Oh..." "Yeah... I'm... I'm sorry about that. I was... I was learning a really difficult spell and things didn't go well. My dad says that I was just going through some sort of... change... I didn't mean to hurt you... or scare you. Sorry." She doesn't say anything, which only makes me feel guiltier about the whole thing. I'm being honest here. I didn't mean to do any of that. But... all of that power... I didn't even know what I was doing. It was purely instinct. "I forgive you," she mutters, surprising me. "Really?" I ask, astonished. "Yeah... but only if you promise me that you'll never do it again." I laugh a little at that. That seems simple enough. "And... one other thing too." "Yeah? Anything!" I tell her, standing up and facing her. She has the book in her hooves now and is holding it tightly, trying her best to hide behind it. She tries to look up to me a few times, but becomes too shy and hides away again. She eventually just hides completely behind the book, shaking slightly. "Will you... come back and visit?" Her question catches me off guard. Visit? What does she mean by that? "Um... visit... here?" I ask to clarify. "You're the first pony I've met who wasn't here on a field trip. And you're smart too. There aren't a lot of other foals here and I never get to leave, so usually I just read by myself. My cousin visits from time to time, but she can never stay that long. I'm not saying you have to visit all of the time! Just... I don't know... visit?" I feel a pang of pity for her, knowing all too well what she means. I'm cooped up at the house all the time. Rampant and Jet are always at school or some family thing. At least I can go visit Mooseden or my friends. But... this feels a bit weird. Coming all the way here to hang out with a filly, it doesn't seem natural. But, she doesn't seem to have many friends here, and she's smart too. I've never really hung out with a smart foal before. Who knows? It might be fun. "Well... I don't know how often I'd be able to visit, but I'll do my best to try. At the very least I'll visit when my mom or aunt bring me to work." "Promise?" she asks, lifting her face from behind the book. I get that weird feeling in my stomach again. Kinda barfy, while also being twisty. I don't much care for it. "Promise... I should get going. I was rude to that guard and I don't think he'll be very happy with me when he comes back." I tell her, taking a few nervous steps back. "Oh, okay. Flash Sentry is usually understanding about these kinds of things, but you were pretty rude." We share a small laugh together. I try to say goodbye, but we made eye contact again and I had to look away quickly. This is weird. I really need to get out this element, it doesn't suit me well. "I'll see you again?" "Yeah. I promised, didn't I? And you never break your promises, or else." "... or else what?" "Exactly. Bye!" Before she could question me further I turn tail and book it out of there. But not before I grab that note. This was weird. Hopefully next time it won't be, but it was really, really, really weird! I make it a few rows down before I slow down enough to read the note. Sure enough, there's another note on the back... one I don't like. 'Treat your future wife better next time. And bring macadamia nut cookies, they're her favorite.' That's my future wife!? Her!? Isn't this breaking some sort of time line continuity rules or something? Why would he tell me this!? And macadamia nuts? What!? Huh? Whuh... HUH!? "There you are Tempestive!" Auntie Tia calls out as she walks up to me. "Did you have a good time in the library?" "I got married." "What?" "Also, a guard called me a prince. What was that about?" Even with her white coat, I can see her grow a bit paler from this. "Oh... that... uhm... that's a question for your mother and father to answer... Why don't we get lunch and... oh dear." Chapter 245 Audit QueenChapter 245 Audit Queen Perspective: Luna I give a tired sigh as I sit in the trolley coming back from Topaz Falls. Miles and I spent most of the night studying and discussing what happened to that guard. As of now, all we know for sure is that his power has grown tremendously. At least double what he was before, if not more. It's hard to tell due to the fact that he doesn't quite understand how to push his magic that high yet. It seems he feels as if he's still at a normal level of magic, when he has the capacity of more. Then there are the more physical changes. He doesn't need to breath. With no mouth, I'm also guessing that he won't need to eat either. Even though we were there all night, he didn't require any sleep either. Miles claims that he can see into the other planes as well, but I'm a little lost from that one. My magic is at a high level and I can't do that. But I can tell that he's still beneath me when it comes to raw power. So that leaves the effect coming from the mask. And that mask. It changed his skin to wood, according to the scanners at least. What benefit would that give him? With such a high level of an enchantment, one would think it would change to some sort of metal or gem. Something that would have a higher capacity for magic. I don't think it's any kind of specialty wood. It's hard to tell really. Miles's computers couldn't register what it more specifically is. It's apparently made of wood, such a surprise. I tried to ask Miles what sort of practical use this would have, but he wouldn't answer. Said there wasn't enough information to go off of, which is fair enough. But that doesn't put me at ease. My fear is that he'll suggest using an army of masked ponies for wartime use. While I agree that they would be invaluable, I cannot stomach the idea of that many powerful unicorns being subjected to wartime. Having that much power goes to a pony’s head, but add in the physical changes one has to undergo... Even if just one of them turned, the threat would be too much. And that's not even considering what would happen if the enemy figured out how to make these masks. We cannot assume there will not be any unicorns on their side. To do so would simply be foalish. They'll have unicorns just as we'll have griffins. If we barely have the forces to hold onto our lands, what would happen if they gained one of these Praetorian Guards? It would be devastating. I have to do everything in my power to keep this mask from being mass produced. The hope of a quick victory isn't worth the risk of losing everything, despite what Celestia thinks. Celestia... I don't know what to make of what she said. On one hoof, I get it. If this could win the war in a shorter amount of time, we should invest in that scenario. But I can't stand by tactics that use ponies as throw away pawns. Even Nightmare Moon wouldn't use tactics like that. Because even she saw the value in keeping all of your pieces on the field. What if we make them, and they don't win the war for us? What if in the time they are active they die off before any meaningful impacts could be made? What then? This is pointless to debate by myself. Even more so when there is still so little we understand about these masks. Like everypony else, I will have to wait until there is more information before I can make any real judgement. Which is why I'm glad Miles has the picture of the enchantment. This way I won't have to worry about Celestia trying anything behind my back. Who knows what one of these ponies will be capable of, let alone two. DING-DONG The trolley comes to a stop and the doors slide open. I set my thoughts aside and allow myself a moment of silence to flight home. It's a relatively short flight, and I enjoy the brief solitude to its fullest. The next week is going to only become more and more hectic, so I'll have to enjoy this while I can. I let out a sigh as I land before the house and make my way inside, absentmindedly grabbing the mail along the way. Most are letters for Shadow for school, but one is addressed to me. Odd, nopony sends me mail here. I take the letter and open it up, reading it quickly. It would seem that Sugar has made some sort of progress. She won't say what, in fear of somepony catching this before we do, but she urges us to speak with her. What could be so important that she would need to speak with us immediately? And who does she fear will try to read this message? I should be going to bed to get what little rest I can, but I can't ignore this. I'll just have to try to get extra sleep tomorrow then. I charge my horn and teleport to Sweet Apple Acres. I take a quick look around before walking up to the door and knocking on it. A few moments go by before the doors opens and Rampant steps forward. "Heya Momma Luna! What brings you here today?" he asks cheerfully. "I need to speak with Applejack... shouldn't you be at school?" I ask him curiously. "Nope," he answers simply, turning to walk inside. I go to question him further, but decide to leave it there. I'm sure there's a perfectly logical explanation or him skipping out on school. And if there isn't, it's not really my place to question it. I wait at the door until Applejack comes to talk, though I pause when I see her. It's not completely obvious, but I can see the stress getting to her. Her eyes are a little red, her mane isn't as well kept as it usually is, and there are some bags starting to form under eyes. She's smiling and trying to look as casual as possible, but I can see right through that. "Well howdy Luna, what can ah do fer ya?" she asks in her usual manner. "I... received a letter from Sugar. She needs to talk with us," I tell her cautiously. I can't help but feel a bit conflicted about this. I don't want to cause her undo stress, but she needs to know what's going on. "Right... uh... can ya give me a minute? Ah need ta see iffin ah can get a baby sitter fer Apple Slice," she tells me nervously. "Well... how about I just go? You seem to have a lot on your hooves right now-" "Don't sweat it Luna! Just give me a few minutes and ah'll be right back!" she tells me before shutting the door in my face. I growl in annoyance as I take a step back. That stubborn mare is going to work herself to death one of these days. As I wait for Applejack I hear the sound of pots and pans clanking together. What is she doing in there? And who is she even going to get to watch Apple Slice? Do we even have the time to wait for her to get somepony? I really don't think we do. And it seems as if Applejack could use the breather... at least in this small way. When I hear a piece of glass shatter I make up my mind. I am going alone and I will come back to talk with her afterwards. I march my way straight into the house and into the kitchen where I find Applejack. She's trying to throw something together on the stove, but it seems she's letting her stress get the best of her. She keeps making small mistakes because she's trying to do several things at once. I'm sure the soup she had in mind would have been nice, but the black tar in that pot looks diabolical. "I am going to talk with Sugar," I announce, getting her attention. "Ah'll be along in a minute-" "No, you are not," I tell her, getting a scared look from her. "Applejack. I know you are worried, I'm worried too. But you need to calm down. Nopony is going to take your farm. I won't allow it. Miles won't allow it. It's not going to happen, okay?" "We're losing the farm?" Rampant asks from the table. "Go to your room," I tell him sternly. He groans in protest, but complies. "Luna... ah know ya mean well, and ah really appreciate all you've done. But ah can't just sit here and do nothing. If ah'm not sellin' mah apples, it doesn't matter what you and Miles say. We'd go under anyways." "I understand that. But I need you to trust me right now. I can handle this. All I need you to do is to make sure that when this all blows over that your farm will be ready to resume as usual. Can you do that for me?" She gives me a nervous look before removing her hat and holds it to her chest. "Ah guess ah really don't have a choice right now, do ah? Sorry fer workin' ya like this Luna. Ah'ma make it up to ya, somehow." "You're welcome Applejack. And don't worry about that. I am your friend and would have done all of this with or without you asking. It's what we do." She gives me a smile to which I return. I charge my horn and cast the illusion over myself again, becoming Dew Drops again. "Please try to relax Applejack. I have this under control." "Ah'll try. An thanks again Luna," she tells me as she puts her hat back on. "And I think your pot is trying to crawl away." I tell her before casting my spell. FLASH I take a moment to compose myself as I look up at the brothel before me. Whatever she has to say better be worth all of this stress. I just hope it isn't bad news. We could really use a win right now. I take one final breath before stepping inside the building. Everything seems the same as the last time I was here. With the exception that the dancer on stage is male this time. I go to the bar and take a seat there, waiting for Sugar to come out. I guess I could just go to her room, but I'd rather wait for her to show up instead. Knowing my luck, I'd see something that I'd really rather not. "Back already?" the bartender asks when he comes out from the back. "Yes... well, I-" "Sugar is talking with somepony upstairs. I'll go let her know you're here... your highness." I can't help but blush when he whispers that last part. I thought Sugar said my secret was safe with her! Who else did she tell!? He leaves before I'm able to ask any questions, so I just sit here and fume. Why is it every day gets a little worse and worse as they go by? "Everything alright?" some stallion asks as he takes a seat beside me. "I'm fine, thank you. I'm just waiting for my friend," I tell him, using my tone to tell him to go away. Sadly, he doesn't take the hint. "Yeah, me too. We were supposed to leave an hour ago but he's still somewhere around here. Actually, we were supposed to leave last night, but he got distracted... and drunk. Names Digit," he sets his beer down and reaches over to shake my hoof. I try to ignore him, but decide against it. I don't really have it in me to be rude to ponies that are just trying to be nice. And he doesn't seem to be mean, for now at least. "Dew Drop," I tell him, trying to keep it as simple as possible. "Dew Drop. So... have a fun day planned with your friend?" And so the small talk begins. "One could say that. What about you? Came here for a fun night and over did it?" I try to use my tone make it as obvious as possible that I'm not actually interested in this stallion. This is just to pass the time. "Yeah, something like that. We work for a firm in Canterlot doing boring paperwork. Had to come all the way down here to investigate some farm. We got the paperwork we needed, but my friend wanted to have some fun and we ended up spending the night." I turn to look at him with renewed vigor. He's working with the pony that's auditing Applejack! "Like I said, boring." "Well... not entirely," I lie, turning to give him all of my attention. "I mean; a story is only as interesting as the pony telling it. There has to be something interesting about it, right?" I lean forward to show him that I'm interested. I can't lay it on too thick though. I did spend the beginning of this conversation trying to shake him off. "Well... I mean, there are a few odd points, here and there," he tells me, returning his attention to his drink. I wait patiently for him to continue. He brought it up, for the most part, so I'm sure he wants to talk about it. And I'm sure he doesn't want to talk about it with his colleague either. I'm just some random mare, what would telling me do? "Well... alright. So have you heard about that new nation forming right here in Equestria?" he caves, turning back to me to talk. "I've heard bits and pieces, why?" I ask, letting him fill in the blanks. "Well, these Terradisians sprouted up right here in our territory and have been annexing land over the past six or so years. But rather than stopping this guy, the Princesses seem to have just allow him to do what he wants!" "I'm sure there are... extenuating circumstances for that," I try to tell him, my smile wilting slightly. He doesn't seem to notice though. "Somepony, somewhere, started asking the right questions. It seems the Element of Honesty was brought into their ranks and now they own their land. First they he takes the Elements, then he takes those tracks of land in the Griffin Colonies and wherever else he wants to, and now he's taking the very Bearers themselves!" "I don't think he's taking them. I mean, from what I've heard around town, it's more like a joint ownership." "That just sounds like complacency to me. I mean, it was ours before he got here. And now we share it? That doesn't add up to me. But, like you said, there are probably some extenuating circumstances that the public isn't aware of. Who knows, maybe he's sleeping with Celestia." I blanch at that, taking personal offence to it. "Or Luna, for that matter." He chuckles at that, taking a swig of his drink. "Eh, sure. But I don't see her having that much pull at the time. Plus, Celestia would be better for his height, but that's just me speaking. Maybe now that she's found that other alicorn she could pull something like that off, but who knows really. All I'm trying to say is that there's something fishy happening in this town and it's starting to garner a lot of attention. My friend and I are only the beginning of it. Just you watch, we may not even be able to call this town Equestrian before long." He downs the last of his drink and slams the bottle down, letting out a loud gasp as he lets the alcohol settle. "Sorry to spout all of that. I just needed to say something to somepony." "It's alright. If anything it's an interesting take on what's going on around here. By the way, you mentioned somepony started asking the right questions. Do you know who that is? And I only mean to ask to see if they are credible." "Hm... I don't know them. I'm just the pencil pusher really. You'd have to ask my friend for more information really. But I do know it's not just a single pony... well... it all depends on what issue you're talking about. The embargo on Terradisia, the Apple audit, the land tax sanction, they're all coming from different ponies with similar goals." "Dew Drop!" Sugar calls from the stairway. She motions for me to follow before running back up. I hesitate to follow her though. He mentioned something that I didn't know about. What land tax sanction? I didn't approve something like that, and I know Celestia didn't. What is he talking about? But, I'm here for a reason. I'll have to inquire about that later. "Well... Digit. It was an interesting conversation but I must be off now. Do take care," I tell him as I stand and start to leave. "Of course. Have fun Dew Drop. While you can that is," he tells me before sliding off his stool and heading for the door. I watch him leave for a moment before forcing myself to head upstairs. He brought up a lot of questions that I have no answers for. I don't know where to start with all of this, but it will have to wait until at least after this conversation. But, that's how it goes though, isn't it? Something new always pops up right in the middle of something else. When else would they come up? When I make it to the top of the stairs Sugar motions for me to come closer, so I do. When I approach her she tells me to keep quiet and takes a look around, making sure the coast is clear. "He's in my room over there," she whispers to me. "I've tried to convince him to stay longer, but he's determined to leave today. If you have anything to say to him, now's the time." "I understand...is it okay to walk in?" I ask, hesitating for a moment. She stares at me for a moment before blushing. "Oh, yeah. Don't worry...it's... uh... it's clean. In there." She avoids my gaze at that. I blush as well from the comment. I don't know how I'm going to thank her for this, even with her slip up before. But we'll talk afterwards. Right now I have to deal with this. Taking one last breath, I stand tall and set my resolve to convince this pony to change his mind. The room is as familiar as I last saw it, with one exception. There's a stallion standing by the bed packing his suite case. He's an unassuming earth stallion with a grey coat and white hair. He doesn't seem to have noticed me yet, so I make sure to shut the door loudly to get his attention. He looks back at me and smirks, eyeing my completely. "I swear, you'd think my cock was magical with how hard you all are trying to keep me here," he remarks, turning back to his suite case. I hum in thought in response. How should I go about this? I could drop my spell and try to talk to him directly. But I don't think that would be the wisest choice. If I can't convince him, then I just give him the story about the Queen being in a brothel. I think I'll save that for last and try to convince him as Dew Drop for now. "Hello, my name is Dew Drop," I use my sweet business tone with him. Attractive, but to the point. "Index," he tells me smugly. He thinks this is going to work out in a certain manner. I guess I should start out by letting him know why I'm here then. "I don't work here Index. I'm working for Sweet Apple Acres in accordance to the recent audit of their farm." He stops everything he's doing and turns to me, taking a much more serious look about himself. "Did the Terradisians send you?" he asks cautiously. Should I go with that? I could use that name to intimidate him, but I don't think it would work with him. I might, but if he's gone this far then why would it now? Then again, he might be thinking that this would never cause him physical harm. Maybe that's the kind of push I need. Let's test the waters and see. "Who sent me is not relevant. I'm here to discuss the audit you are performing on the farm. Do you have a moment to speak?" No direct answers. Just enough to make him start thinking on his own. He'll do the rest. He takes a look around before nodding to me. I can see his face contort in thought. I have him worried, thinking. I can exploit that. "Well Index, to put it simply, we believe that the audit on the Apple farm is simply foalish. As I have come to understand it, they have met every standard for Equestrian pest management requirements. And since they were originally a part of Equestria only a few years ago, putting them under such unjust scrutiny is clearly for some personal agenda. Who did you say sent you here?" "I didn't. I received my orders from Canterlot. Just a memo to take a look into things here. I'm sure you understand the typical procedure." I study his face, trying to learn his tells. He avoids eye contact at times and furrow his brows. If that's his tell, then I can guess it wasn't just some memo. Somepony specifically sent him here, but who? "Of course. But you have to see where I'm coming from. This is joint territory, Index. It's doesn't fall under foreign lands according the law," I tell him, casually walking around the room. He stays by the bed, watching me cautiously. "At first I thought so too. But look at how we deal with other foreign territories. The Crystal Empire falls under the same sort of scrutiny as any other nation." "Yes, but there's a reason for that. They were simply gone from the world. We have to make sure there weren't any diseases hiding with them. They're even in track to becoming consider natural bordered." I counter, getting him to shake his head. "But we don't know what the Terradisians have done to their crops. Better to be safe than sorry." "But to audit them so aggressively and without any prior warning from the government? If the Princesses had wanted them to fall under new law, they would have forewarned the Apples." Except we wouldn't have to do that because they've never left Equestrian territory. "Well, I guess they had a change of heart," he shrugs, looking down and furrowing his brows. "The memo I received was very... deliberate. Maybe the Terradisians did something that finally pushed them too far this time." "Or maybe somepony has an agenda against the Terradisians." He gives me a stern look. I'm certain that at this point he knows that I'm don't believe anything he's saying. Time to get to the bottom of this. "Who sent you? Why are you really doing this?" He considers me for a moment before moving towards the door. I watch him go, waiting to see what he does. If he was going to make a run for it I don't think he would leave his brief case. He pokes his head out the door and speaks with somepony out there, I'm assuming Sugar. He closes the door quietly and walks to the bed, keeping a calm tone about himself. Without saying anything he climbs into bed and relaxes onto his back, letting out a sigh as he does so. "If we're going to have that talk, I'm going to need a drink first. So, before we delve into it, which Terradisian sent you? I've read about them a bit. I doubt the human sent you. He seems more like the warmonger than the politician if you ask me." I hum to thank, inwardly agreeing with him; in only slightly. "As I said, I'm here for the Apples." I tell him, keeping it vague as possible. "So Macintosh sent you? Interesting. I didn't think he was capable of thinking outside of farming and killing." I bite my tongue to keep myself from defending Big Mac. I know this is only the opinion of a cold hearted stallion sent to ruin a family. I can't let him get to me like this. "What exactly did they tell you? That they're treason was somehow justified? That they did it to protect others? What's their reason for leaving Equestria?" "As I understand it, they didn't. They still are citizens and consider this their home, regardless of the flag that flies above-" "What does the Terradisian flag look like anyway? For a country that's growing so rapidly, they seem to lack some form of universal representation." I bite my tongue a little harder at his outburst. He's trying to mess with me. He's not talking about anything until he decides he wants to. I need to rein this conversation back under my control. "I'm assuming one of the nobles sent you, but who? How high up are we talking?" he chuckles at that, rolling his head over to look to me. "Join me on the bed and I'll tell you more," he says, patting the bed space beside him. "I'm fine over here," I tell him flatly. He chuckles again and goes back to looking to the ceiling, closing his eyes in content. "Perhaps it was Monoculture? She is the head of the Royal Agriculture Ministry. Perhaps she doesn't like the idea of such a large farm joining other factions." "It might be. You can either wait until my drink gets here or join me here. It's up to you really." I scoff and turn away from him. "I'll give you this though, it's not just one pony. Though it was spear headed by an individual, it took a collective to really get things moving." "Oh? But what group of ponies would want to persecute such a widely acclaimed family? What would they gain from that?" I ask. He chuckles again, choosing not to answer my question. I let out a small huff of annoyance and resume my pacing. He's stubborn, but I've broken worse. I'll wait until his beverage is here and see what he has to say then. "Isn't this all strange?" he asks aloud, keeping his eyes shut. "If you had told me six years ago that one of the Bearers of the Elements would turn against her own people just because their sibling wanted to become a warmonger, I'd call you crazy. But, then again, if you told me some power freak crawled its way out of the forest and started taking land freely from the Princesses; I'd send you to the loony bin myself." "He did not just take land. There were concessions. He was only allowed to keep what he took by providing raw resources as payment." I snap back at him, taking personal offense. "If you ask me, it was a bad deal." I growl internally at his ignorance. He clearly doesn't know what he's talking about. Or, he thinks he does, but he's basing this all on misinformation and second hoof accounts. Miles has paid nearly two billion bits in metal manufactured goods. And that deal wasn't of his own volition! We forced him to do it! "Who knows, maybe there's more to his payment than what's being presented." "Perhaps," I say bitterly. "Maybe he's doing their dirty work for them. Killing off opponents they couldn't face directly. It would make certain actions make more sense. Who knows? Maybe he's just sticking it to the Princesses. Lord knows they could use-" THUD I flare my magic and grab him by the throat, lifting him up and against the wall. He tries to struggle free, but stops when I drop my illusion. "You will silence yourself if you know what's best for you!" I yell at him, adding more pressure to his neck. He tries to gurgle a response, but I don't allow it. "I thought I could speak to you as an honorable pony, but I was clearly mistaken. You will reveal to me who is pressing these charges and you will-" SNAP A cold chill runs over my entire form when he goes limp. I stare at him for a moment before I drop my spell, more out of shock than anything else. He falls onto the bed into a heap and stays perfectly still. I stare at him as I try to register what just happened. I wasn't adding that much pressure! I wasn't going to kill him! This wasn't supposed to be how it turned out! I didn't do this! I did this. Everything starts to go hazy as I try to wrap my head around the situation. How could this happen? He's dead! I killed an innocent pony! What am I going to do!? You will do as I tell you. Destroy the body, leave nothing. Embrace your power. Oh Mother above! Oh Father! What have I done!? Listen to me! Do as I say! Teleport away. Destroy the body and leave nothing. No one will know of what has happened. Tears start to roll down my cheek as I stare at the dead pony. Soul Fire is right; I need to get rid of the body. I can sort through this later, first I need to act. I try to think of somewhere to teleport and settle on the Everfree. FLASH I need to act quickly. There's no telling who could be lurking around these parts. I use my magic to dig a shallow grave and quickly lay his body inside. I try to think of a way to destroy the body and settle on only one solution. I use soul fire to turn the corpse to ash. As soon as the deed is done I levitate the soil back over and do my best to cover the small mound. With everything done, I start to think. I just killed this pony, burned his body and tossed him in a shallow, nameless grave. There were ponies in there, ponies that knew we were in there and who I was! This can still lead back to me! What am I going to do about this? Maybe I can make up some story? Should I go back? I don't think I should. I'll just say he offended me and I left. Who would question me? Those that know who I am wouldn't dare go against me. And the others didn't know who I really was. They'd be chasing a ghost. All I need to do is keep quiet and let this all fade away. I start to walk away when I feel the need to look back at the mound. He deserves a name plate at least. But how am I going to do that without giving myself away? I can't. Not now at least. I will come back at a later time and give him a more proper burial, but for the time being this will have to suffice. ... ... "I'm sorry," I mutter before leaving. Author's Note Theoretical Conquest Round 2 Brony on! Chapter 246 Miles' LieChapter 246 Miles' Lie I rush home and try to occupy my mind. I need to do something so I can think clearly. Do the dishes? No, that won't work, not when there's only two at least. Maybe I could just start cleaning the house? But it's already clean, so that would just look suspicious. Plus, usually the robots do that at night, so I wouldn't know what to start with. Maybe I should just go to Canterlot and start doing paperwork. Nopony there would question me. Yeah, I like that plan. I head upstairs to teleport to the castle when Miles opens the door before me. "MILES!" I yell, jumping back having scared myself with my own voice. He's in his alicorn form again, which can only lead to bad things right now."U-uhm, wh-what are you doing here? Right now? What are... what are you doing... here?" "Sorry to scare you like that. I had to grab somethings from inside. Apparently, I need to go get Steel a hooker because he-" "WHAT!?" I yell again, scaring the both of us again. Miles stares at me for a second before continuing. "Yeah... I told him what I knew and what might happen and, long story short, he doesn't want to die a virgin. I couldn't really argue against him since... well... been there done that. So now I have to go and... yeah." "Except no," I tell him, my mind racing. He can't show up there, ever! There would be questions! I can't let this leak out right now, I can't! Miles gives me an odd look before sitting down. "Right, and why is that?" he asks calmly. "Because... that isn't moral?" That didn't sound too confident. I need to get my act together if I'm going to get through this. "Moral... I mean, sure, we can argue that all we want. But, fact of the matter is, it's legal and it's his, and hers too, choice. He could have as little as a few days left to live, and as I am mostly responsible for this-" "How are you only mostly responsible?" "- I am not going to stop, nor judge, the choice that he has come to. He can't have a last meal, he has no one to confide in that could be allowed to see him, and he has nowhere he's allowed to go to have what could be his final thoughts. So why, with all of that going on, is this suddenly a question of morals?" I stare back at him and try to think of something to say, but there isn't anything I can say. I can't lie to him. Maybe not now, but he'll figure it out eventually. And then what? And then I murdered somepony and lied to him. I'll tell him the truth and... and face him like the mare I should be. My pride isn't worth our trust. "You can't go to the brothel because I just left them. I met the pony auditing the Apples... and snapped his neck... on accident... I think." He doesn't say anything at first. He barely even reacts. He just stares at me, as if he's trying to see if there's some form of a lie in what I said. But I'm telling the truth, and he'll see that soon enough. So, I'll just wait here and let what comes come. "Where there any other witnesses?" he asks calmly. I swallow the lump in my throat as I try to think of all the possible answers to that question. "Possibly. There was a second auditor he was here with for sure. There was also an escort that knew of my being there as well as the bartender. I cannot confirm if any of the other workers knew if I was there or if anypony else was aware. Though, I do not know how much any of them know." He lets out a quick breath and looks down to think. I can feel my knees starting to shake as I try to stand tall. But all the shame I'm feeling is weighing me down too much. I can't believe I did this. Was this even my doing? Is Nightmare Moon making some sort of come back? Is this how she's going to make it all start? By making me murder an innocent pony? Why did I think I could do this by myself!? "Okay," Miles mutters, breaking my chain of though. "Okay... I'm... I'm going to take care of this." "Miles," I mutter back in disbelief. "There is nothing to take care of-" "Luna," he cuts me off, looking me straight in the eyes. I can see now the resolve he has for this. I don't know what he has planned, but I doubt that I will change his mind. "You once told me that it didn't matter if I was scared or if I lost control. That my duty is to this country. And that extends to you too Luna. I'm not doing this because you're asking me to. I'm not doing this because I am your husband and I love you. And I'm not doing this because I have the power to do this either. I am doing this because there is a bigger picture at stake." "We are at the precipice of war Luna. And like it or not, we do not get to decide when that war starts. We can sit here and plan all day, make all the preparations for whatever plans we think they might have, and none of that will matter. Because they get to pick when they attack. It is no longer a matter of what happens. It's a matter of when will it happen and how prepared we are when it does. And for that fact alone, I need you here. I need you running the country. I need to know that you are safe and free to run and make whatever escape you need to make should the worst occur. I need to know that you will have my back Luna." "I'll be forthcoming with you; I didn't have a plan for these auditors. Not entirely at least. With this at least my choices are limited and forces me to make a decision. And with a clear path ahead of us I can at least start to move forward. Luna," he takes my hooves and holds onto them, pulling me closer. "I killed him to make a statement that Terradisia could show the world that it will not be pushed around." "Miles, no-" I weep, getting him to pull me closer. "I killed him to enact some sort of scheme I've concocted. You had no part of this whatsoever. You were home getting ready for work." "Miles, don't do this," I cry, holding onto his cheeks. "This isn't going to end well for anypony. We can figure another way around this. There has to be another way, please!" "You are going to go to Canterlot and go straight to Celestia. You are going to take her to the throne room and wait there. I'm going to make a move that will sever all connections between Equestria and Canterlot. You need to be strong for this. You need to show the world that Equestria can stand against anyone, anyone. I know you can do this Luna. I know you're stronger than you're willing to admit. Lead this nation Luna." "Miles, please don't do this!" I cry out as he starts to leave. I grab him with my magic and pull him back. He doesn't fight me, but he keeps his gaze elsewhere. "I will not allow you to make yourself into the enemy! If you make any sort of move against Equestria I will never forgive you! This is your home! This is where your son lives! We can't lose you now! There must be another way for this to work! Don't be so reckless Miles!" "Luna, a government official has been killed. There are too many witnesses to get away cleanly. They've probably already started to ask questions. One of us has to make a move, and I'm not going to let them drag you down-' "And I'm not going to let them drag you down!" I yell back at him, pushing his shoulder roughly. "We can think of a better plan! Don't just take the first easy out you think of! We need to be smart about this!" "Then what's your plan? Tell me what to do then! Because we're running out of time! We need to act now!" I stand up and start to pace around. He's right about that, we need to act. We need to stop ponies spreading any more rumors first. That means we need to collect those that know and those that might know something and bring them... where? Somewhere discreet. Topaz? That'll have to do for now. We can figure the rest out as we go. "Okay, our first step is collecting all of the ponies that might know what's going on and bringing them to Topaz Falls. From there we can see about silencing them. From there... I don't know. We'll take it one step at a time." He nods to me, thinking to himself for a moment. "You should head to Canterlot. We need to take as much of the heat off of you-" "Miles I am not-" "-going to argue," he cuts me off sternly. "I can get out of this, you can't. There is no argument you can make with that auditor that will end with him agreeing with you. He'll believe that I did it easily." "And then what? How does that help our case? If he'll so easily believe that you murdered his colleague, why would he agree to keep quiet?" He stares at me for a moment, keeping silent. It slowly dawns on me what he's planning. He intends to kill him. I want to argue with him, tell him that this isn't the way to do it. But what good is my word right now? We're only in this mess because I murdered somepony. But does that give him the right to make the same mistake? No, no it doesn't. "Miles, murder is not the answer." I tell him slowly. "I never said I was going to kill him. I didn't say anything," he tells me, trying to use his trademark political lingo roundabout lies. "Your silence was enough to infer what you intend to do. Miles, there has been enough murder already. We can do better than this." "I agree, we can do better than this. We can start by you leaving for Canterlot. If they've been to the guards already then Canterlot has probably already received word about this whole incident. That means we need to clear your name now. I can have the Spartans covertly take care of everything else. This is step one. We'll worry about two when it arrives. But I need you to trust me when I say that you need to leave. We get nowhere if they pin this on you. I have the leniency of being from another nation. The world already thinks I'm a warmonger, selling them a snuff story will be easy. I can dance around this, but I'll need your help to do so. And that starts with you going to Canterlot right now as if nothing happened. If anypony asks, you didn't see me. You woke up alone, assumed nothing was wrong, and went to the castle as if it were any other day. This is what must happen. I'm going to start my portion of this mess, we'll talk as soon as possible." He doesn't wait for me to say anything. To him, this is the end of the conversation. I can't really argue with him though. Not right now at least. Not when he's right, for the most part. If this leads to me there isn't much he can do to help. I'd lose any credibility with the Equestrian people. So, for this part, I have to act as if nothing is wrong. Fake smiles, unassuming voice, distant, and all business. It's just another day at the castle. How am I going to make it to the end of the week? Perspective: Miles I teleport to Mooseden and make my way towards town hall. Most of the Spartans should be there already, as I signaled them on my way over here. A thousand thoughts are racing through my mind at the moment. I can't believe Luna did this. I never thought in a thousand years she could murder somepony. Then again, was it actually her? No, don't dwell on that. We can talk about this later. Right now, we have an objective to achieve. Round up those that are aware of what's going on and bring them to Topaz. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to get the others to do this without questioning me too much though. Maybe if I can just tell them to act now and fill them in later that might work. Yeah... that might work. I might have to smack a few heads in order to get things rolling, but what else is new? I open the door and enter quickly, shutting the door and locking it behind myself. I turn around and pause when I notice all of the Spartans staring at me with a... certain look about them. I can't quite put my finger on it, but something is up. Before I can say anything Sledge steps forward and addresses me. "So who did Luna kill?" "Who the fuck said that!?" I demand, blown away that they know. How could they possibly know about this already!? It's only been... actually, I don't know how long it's been. "Night Fury called it in," Storm informs me, stepping forward. "He was monitoring the communications hub at Canterlot when he heard the call come in from Ponyville. He took care of it on that end for now, but we need details. What's going on?" Well... this is it then. "Luna didn't kill anybody... I did." A few of them look shocked, but most seem unconvinced. The main one being Storm. He's known me the longest, so go figure he'll be the most difficult to lie to. "I knew Luna was talking to this person and was making slow progress. I went in her place to a meeting they were having and... well..." "You blacked out?" Big Mac asks. I keep quiet for a moment as I consider that. I could use that as my excuse. Blame it on a medical condition that no one understands. Who would know better? But this could lead to some bad places. If they think I might snap at any moment and kill them, why would they continue to follow me? But if I put it all of this, there's nothing they can say to press the issue. Time is of the essence right now. If they're already sending messages to Canterlot then we're already falling behind. We need to act now. "Yeah... yeah I did. I have no recollection of what happened to that auditor. All I know now is that he's dead and we need to act if we're going to make the most of this situation." They murmur among themselves for a moment, clearly unsure about what's going on. Keeping their trust if a tightrope act. If they believe I won't aid them in their cause, I'll lose my ability to command them. Without their trust, we'll fall apart. I need to tread carefully now, more-so than ever before. "So... what now?" Jonathan asks, tapping his claws against his bench. "Are we taking Canterlot?" Yinbie asks; a little too eagerly. "Even if we did that would end disastrously you simpleton!" Si Ye yells at him, standing to his feet. "There is only one way we can get out this without losing our main trade partner. We need to change the conversation to something that will eclipse this completely. Silence those that would speak out against us and stifle those that would oppose us. We need to show the world that the Spartans will not be trifled with!" I stare at the chimp for a moment before realizing what he's talking about. I don't know how he came to this conclusion, but it's not a bad one. You can do a thousand bad deeds as long as they each outdo one another, at least in the short run. If they populace only has one topic to talk about, why let them think about it? But... I don't know about this. Operation Unthinkable is still a bit shaky. "Everyone knows a war is going to happen," Si Ye continues, preaching to all of us. "Why wait? We are Spartans! If there's going to be a fight, it will be on our terms! We will dictate the fight! I am tired of waiting for them to stab us in the back! No espionage! We are front line fighters, let's take the front line to those we know are responsible for all of this. Let's get this war started and end it before they even have the chance to raise a fist. I suggest we enact Operation Unthinkable." All the Spartans give a loud cheer of approval. Some of them clap, others start pounding their benches, but one thing is consistent. They want a fight. If we do this, there's no going back. If we do this, everything changes. And if we do this, I save Luna from our own people. I want to say that I'm sad to make this choice. I want to say that making such a decision would cause me great unease. But, in all honesty, this is liberating. Si Ye is right. I haven't been acting as a Spartan would. I've been playing by their rules for too long. It's time we changed that. It's time we made the world understand what they are truly up against. But, I need to make sure the others are aware of the consequences of what we are about to do. Because there's no going back after this. "Si Ye, everyone, think about what you are suggesting for a moment. There's no going back after this. Where did all of this even come from anyway?" "I am not blind to the world Captain. The new world order will either be led by us or the Unfamiliar. And I do not intend to lose my home world to these creatures. This is our home just as much as it is yours. This is not a sudden thought of mine, nor anyone else's." "Yeah Capt'n!" High Flyer cuts in, standing with Si Ye. "Let us take the fight to them! We'll be better able to protect our own people if the fighting takes place somewhere else anyway! This is the best chance we'll have! Every day we wait is a waste of time!" "We're ready Miles, just give us the okay!" Butterscotch adds. I consider all of them for a moment before I start to smirk. "Alright. Operation Unthinkable is a go then," I tell them, getting a resounding cheer from them. "But we're going to have to make some modifications first. Get Night on the line and let him know we'll pick him up along the way. Si Ye, Jonathan, Ellzy, Tiber, you're in the air. Beserkers are on point with Jumpers taking flanking positions. I want everyone in position in thirty. In the meantime, Shifted, I need you to run a special mission. Crypteia clearance." Perspective: Easy Orders received, verifying... Orders accepted. Mobilization initiated. All available units will be converted for military functions. First army initiating... Second army initiating... Third army initiating... Fourth army initiating... Fifth army initiating... Sixth army initiating... Seventh army initiating... Eighth army initiating... Ninth army initiating... Tenth army initiating... First air corp initiating... Second air corp initiating... Third air corp initiating... Fourth air corp initiating... Military grade bots initiating... Unit orders received. Engage. Chapter 247 Operation UnthinkableChapter 247 Operation Unthinkable Perspective: Shifted Past Ponies have far too many misconceptions about changelings. They assume we only know how to consume love. The idea that we could identify with any other emotion is far too complicated for our little drone minds to fathom. It is arrogant and short minded. Though, I guess that is just something for us to exploit. The Captain was clear on the mission details. I don't have any idea what this pony looks like, but finding him was far too easy. He practically screamed his location away. Fear. If love is our nectar, fear is our tart. Bitter, sour tasting, it leaves a foul taste in your mouth when you find it. Those ponies don't understand their own emotions. It's amusing really. Why wouldn't we understand fear? It's so prevalent in love. Fear of loss, fear of rejection, fear of solitude; these ponies don't understand their own emotions and yet claim to understand us changelings. Arrogance. The trail of fear left by this pony, this Index, is as obvious as a fresh batch of cinnamon rolls. Catching up with him wasn't hard either. Targets like this often make simple mistakes. Staying longer than they should, second guessing every turn; their fear makes them waste precious moments that could save their lives. But they have to rationalize everything. They've never had the luxury of turning everything off for the good of the hive. When you have a purpose, everything is simple. You only exist to fulfill that goal, and you don't stop until you make it to the very end. Living without the Queen has been difficult. But now that I am a Spartan, I have my purpose. My cause. Miles is my new leader. The Spartans are my hive mates. Terradisia is my new home. And I will do anything to keep it from crumbling as my previous home did. "Is this seat taken?" I ask as I enter a private room on the passenger train. My target thought he could make it to Canterlot before we'd catch him. Clearly, he did not research who we are. "Um... no, go ahead," he tells me nervously, clutching his bag tightly. I give a small giggle and step inside, shutting the door behind myself. He looks me over once before shaking his head and looks out the window. To him I'm just another mare. Though, a mare that's been tailor to his exact liking, courtesy of the information the Captain gathered from that brothel. Slender frame, unicorn, long wavy hair; this is his dream. But he's not looking at me right now. His attention is elsewhere. "It's such a lovely day, wouldn't you say?" I ask him, trying to bring his attention away from the window. I need to confirm his identity before I move forward. A requirement of the Captains. "Oh, uh... yeah. I guess," he stutters, glancing at me momentarily. "My name is Mirage, what's yours?" He gives me another look before returning to the window. "Is everything alright?" "Well... not really," he mumbles, shifting around uneasily. "Well, if you want, why don't you talk about it? That always helps me when I'm in a pinch." He doesn't budge from that. I'll have to try something else. "Maybe talking about something else might help. Um... where are you from?" "..." "No? Okay... favorite Princess?" "..." "Book? Candy? Pasta? Anything!" "Why are you so persistent!?" he demands. Anger, the spice of emotions. Always making a sudden, stinging, appearance. This is simple enough. Shocked face, raised leg in defense, hurt eyes, saddened ears, and sell it. "I'm sorry... I just... I just thought you needed somepony to talk to. I-I can leave if that's what you want." I start to leave at that. But I don't even make it out the door before he speaks up. "Wait, Mirage. You don't have to leave. Please come back." Like clockwork. Ponies are far too empathetic. I close the door and take my seat again, putting on a nervous demeanor. "I'm sorry. I'm just under a lot of stress right now and didn't feel like talking. You don't have to go, but... please. Just, no talking. I'm just not in the mood for it." "Well... only if you at least tell me your name. It would be rude not to." He considers my statement for a moment before folding. Ponies. They're always so worried about what others think. Especially Canterlot ponies. It's almost as if there's some sort of value from the approval of strangers that drives them. I'm sure for them it makes sense, but not for the hive. Such individuality would never be allowed, and this is why. "Index, my names Index." "Index, my name is Shifted Past. And I am taking you into custody." "Wha-" FWT These Terradisian tools are too powerful. Tranquilizer gun, pft! If we had this at Canterlot we would have won. But, that was the past. The Captain needs this pony for the information in his head. After that, he will do what he wishes. But I need to hurry. The next part of the phase if about to start. Perspective: Luna FLASH I blink away the fuzziness from my vision before making my way through the castle. Everypony here is going about their business as if nothing has happened. As far as they are aware, nothing has. But, that's how it goes here. Nopony knows what's actually going on in the world. Not until it comes crashing in here. There are still some workers here that don't know that I've returned, and it's been nearly ten years! Whether this is good or bad is beyond what I'm willing to contemplate. Right now, all I want to do is find Celestia and distract myself with mindless paperwork. After asking a few maids I find her in the throne room with Tempestive. They're having a quiet conversation that ends the moment they see me. Something happened, and I am not in the mood for whatever it is right now. "Please tell me it's something simple," I drone to them as I approach. They give each other a nervous look before smiling back to me. "Tia, why is it whenever we leave you two alone something goes wrong?" "It's not her fault!" Tempestive shouts, jumping to stand before her. "We were in the library and I was looking for a book and... well... I found a guard and Softy... and we started talking..." "Tempestive was trying to do the right thing and apologized to her," Tia continues confidently. "They made amends and are even friends now. But, after that, the guard made... a mistake." "Before we continue, what guard are we talking about?" I ask, just so I can put a face to the position. Nothing more than that. "Flash Sentry," Tempestive blurts out, much to Celestia's displeasure. "Flash Sentry... the one Twilight-" "Yes, that one. He was on duty watching over Softy when he made the mistake of... well... Tempestive?" We both look down to him and wait for him to speak. I'm pretty sure I know what he did, but I want to hear it from Tempestive. What exactly did this guard say. "He... called me a prince. Is that true Mom? Are we royalty? Is that really why I have to hide my wings?" I let out a slow sigh as I stand upright. Of course he would learn this today. What other day would he learn this? Never on a day when Miles would be here, that would be too convenient! I honestly can't fault Miles right now though, given what he's doing. And Celestia should have kept a better eye on him, but that's in the past. We're here now, and we're going to face this head on. Starting with the truth. "Yes Tempestive, we are royalty. Your father and I are the King and Queen of Equestria, making you Prince." I tell him as I lay down to speak more closely with him. He sits down and starts to process all of this information, but there's still more to tell him. "When your father and I found out that I was pregnant with you, we were overjoyed. But, before you were born, we realized somethings. We didn't want you growing up in the castle because we wanted you to live a carefree life. We felt that life here would be too stifling for you, and that Ponyville was the perfect spot for us as a family." "They didn't want you to worry about your duties as a prince Tempestive," Celestia adds, taking a seat to his side. "They felt that this was the best choice for you." "And the vest?" he asks quietly. "Alicorns aren't common Tempestive. The only alicorns to exist before were me and your Aunt. In the past twenty years six alicorns have appeared in Equestria. Five of them are a part of the royal family. We didn't want anypony treating you differently because of that." He thinks about that for a moment before taking a deep breath. This is a lot to take in, but I think he's doing okay so far. "So... is that also why I'm home schooled? Because the ponies there would know that I'm royalty." "No, actually that's mostly your fathers doing. Tempestive, most ponies your age are not as learned as you are. A colt your age should be learning basic algebra. Not... whatever it is you know. Not to mention the amount of magical knowledge you posses would probably make most teacher's heads spin. We felt school would be... limiting, for you. But... I will admit, there were some global events that also made the choice a little easier for us to make." "But that's not to say that it wasn't safe for you to go to school!" Celestia adds in quickly. "It was mainly because they knew you would be too smart for those courses." "Right!" I shoot her a grateful look before returning to him. He's in thought again, rubbing his chin slowly. "Since I know now... does that mean that I will start to have responsibilities here at the castle?" I hum to that, taking a moment to think about it. We originally intended to tell him when he turned twelve. But, that's six years from now, so we'll have to make some new adjustments to our plans. Should we start letting him see this part of our lives? Is now the time to start prepping him for his destiny as a ruler of this nation? While we had no intention of starting this now; the fact of the matter is that he knows. And with that, means that he should at least start learning what it means to be a prince in Equestria. But, where would that ever start with him being so young? "If we were to start prepping you for Princedom, we would start with etiquette. But, this mainly starts with you. Do you want to start taking on your role as prince? This is a big decision to make Tempestive. And once you make it, there's no going back. This is who you will be for the rest of your life son. There is no shame if you want to go back to Ponyville and live as we have. But, you will always know this. And you will eventually have to come to terms with your destiny and face it. This is your choice, I will not force you one way or another. Not now at least. What will it be? What do you want?" He looks away to think again. Celestia and I share an uneasy look as we wait patiently for him to answer. This is a lot to think about, especially for someone so young. There will be implications down the road regardless of whichever choice he makes. And, as his parents, we should support him no matter what. Regardless of what we think would be best, whatever he chooses right now, we must encourage him completely. What sort of choice will he make? Where is this all going to lead us? What's going through his head at this moment? He looks out the window for a bit before walking towards it, fixated on something. The most important choice of your life and you get distracted... Tempestive... "Oh mother," Celestia mutters as she stands up. Confused, I stand with her and join the two of them at the window. High in the sky are hundreds of black darts racing towards the east coast. Each one following a precise formation. There are several dots that are obviously other aircraft, but they're difficult to make out in the swarm above. There must be thousands of aircraft flying overhead. What is going on? Miles said that we were going to work this out together, what changed? He... he wouldn't lie to me. "What's going on?" Tempestive asks, rearing up onto the window sill to get a better view. "I... don't know," I mutter nervously. I glance to Celestia to gauge her reaction. She's... focused. Clearly thinking of something elsewhere, but she's not concerned. Though, why would she need to be. She doesn't know what happened. To her, this is purely on Miles. "We should head to the conference hall, see what the others think." Celestia tells me before marching down the hall. I nod to her and start to walk after her, only to stop and look back to Tempestive. "Tempestive?" I ask him, breaking him away from the window. "I need you to follow me." "But... I-" "I know. But this is important. Do not leave my side under any circumstances, no matter what. Understand?" He takes another look outside before nodding to me. I can see the nervousness in his eyes, so I kneel before him to speak on his level. "There's nothing to be afraid of honey. Whatever it is those things are going towards, it's not going to affect us. Okay?" He looks back nervously for a moment, so I set a hoof on his shoulder. He looks back to me and nods, swallowing the lump in this throat. "That's my brave boy. Now try to keep up, okay?" "Mom," he mutters softly. I wait for him to speak, letting him form his question on his own. "I'm not scared." "That's my-" "I'm not scared because of... somethings that I've seen...Things I promised I wouldn't talk about. But I want to talk about it, because I don't know what to do about it all. But I promised..." "Honey..." I mutter as I rub the back of his neck. "You have to understand that there are times that you have to keep your promises, no matter what. Trust is not something that is easily gained, and it requires constant diligence to maintain. But... there are times that you have to go back on your word. Sometimes it to save somepony else, other times to keep a bigger promise safe. Now... I think it would be best to keep this with yourself until your father comes back. Because I have a feeling that I know what this is all about, and it's something he's... better equipped to answer. Okay?" "I... I don't think anypony is ready for something like this... but okay." Oh... if only you knew. In due time, but not now. Not like this. "Good. Now, keep up and don't leave my side." I tell him before hurrying out of the throne room. I don't know what Miles is planning, but there better be a good reason for this. We turn at the end of the hall and stop when we see the Kroth standing before us, the Nether Walker. He takes a few slow steps towards the window and looks up at the flying vehicles quietly. I keep quiet as I wait for him to act, ready to put him down if need be. "An ominous sight, no?" he asks me quietly, staring up at the sky. "So, this is how it begins-" "If... if you wish to be with your people, then go." I know releasing him will anger everyone, but I don't want him here right now. Not while Tempestive is here. He doesn't move, he doesn't even acknowledge that I spoke to him. He just keeps staring up at the sky in... wonder? "A famine now a war. A war that will plague the universe... and what's to find at the end? Darkness is here... and we thought we had finally found our land of life..." He continues to mutter to himself, oblivious to the rest of the world. I take Tempestive and leave him. If he wants to stand there and ramble, that's fine. I have more pressing matters to attend to at the moment. Perspective: Si Ye Flight was a dream for Ape kind. We have never flown before, and none have ever attempted to try. Why would we? Most live in the jungles where the sky is blocked from sight. Pegasi rarely came to our lands, and even when they did it was obvious why they could fly. Apes can barely swim, why would we think we could fly? Not the humans though. They dreamed of everything, and made it all a reality. The AA-20 Stella Predator is a marvel to behold. Sleek. Majestic. Powerful. I couldn't believe that something like this would be able to fly, let alone reach the stars! This is as much of a tool of war as it is a work of art. Every little detail meticulously scrutinized to perfection. Everything geared towards one thing and one thing only, getting that massive gun to the battlefield. Some start with the rhythm, others start with a figure in the foreground, this work of art started with the Transitum. The Transitum, or Crossing gun, isn't really a gun. It's a shield projector. It creates a dome before the aircraft that protects it during entry into planets. But, when you focus the beam into a short burst, you'll knock anything out of the air or put a massive hole in it trying to. Everything about this machine is made to get that weapon to the enemy, and annihilate it. And it has quickly become my favorite tool in this arsenal. The others here, they don't understand the potential of something like this. But, that's always been a talent of mine. I can see what can truly happen when you give it the right kind of push. "Sixty seconds to launch, please signal," a machine calls to me in my head set. I look over the controls and double check everything. Power, full. Engines, primed. Payload, full. The extenders for the floor levers are tied tightly to my feet and the I have a clear view all around. One tap on the glass and my hud comes into display. I look out at the machines around me as they clear the runway. This is it, time to make some art. "This is control tower, you are clear to launch on my mark." I tighten my grip on the throttle and stick, pulsing my magic into the machine. It hums in response. We're ready. "Mark." I push the throttle up and slam back into my seat as I race down the tunnel. Panel after panel open as I accelerate higher and higher. The straps from the AA-20 keep me from blacking out, and the flight suit I'm wearing removes most of the effects from moving so quickly. I'm still pressed against my seat, but I'm still able to throttle to the next level. Everything becomes a blur as I push up the next level, waiting for my true launch. At the very end of the tunnel it turns upwards and launches me high into the air. For the vehicle, it's like a slap in the face as the elements come to bear. But we handle it well and level off, just as we've done dozens of times before. "Tea squadron with me," I yell into my microphone as I join the horde of Aquila's swarming over Ponyville. There are four points all over the Everfree that are pouring out more and more vehicles like them. With the last of us out and no sign of immediate danger, we'll be able to engage properly. "Tea squadron fixed on your position. Ready to engage." You can always tell what you're talking to by their tone. Aquila's have a deeper tone than their Bot counterparts. Not as deep as their High-grade cousins, but deep enough. "Copy that. Let's climb to our attack position and wait for the order, shall we?" I ask as I start to fly towards the coast. "Affirmative." With another push of the throttle we race over the ocean. The entire attack force will follow our assault, so we need to make sure we cause as much havoc as possible. That means, we need to attack as soon as possible. There's no doubt that they've seen what we are up to. We need to make it there before they can mount any form of counter attack. And that means we needs to move quickly. Sound breaks as we race through the sky. It's no matter. Their destruction will arrive well before they hear us. What used to take months and weeks we can do in hours and minutes. What used to be limited to singular races is now in the hands of those willing to grab it. Why there are those that refuse to see the inevitable is lost to me. But it doesn't matter. If they refuse to look, I will force them to. And if they fight, well, that's what we're made for. "Target obscured due to weather. Cloud cover is reading acidic. Do you still wish to engage?" I peer over and see the sickly green clouds down below. We've reached our height and we're nearing our destination. There's no point in turning back now. "Yes. Wait for my command." I slow down to our attack speed and wait until we're in position. Our first targets are the four main towers of the capitol building. Intelligence suggests that they'll house the M.R.W.'s that will posses the greatest threat to us. Once those towers are down we'll stay in the area for air support while the ground forces land. After that, escort duty. "Si Ye?" I blink when I hear the captains voice in my ear. Don't tell me you're backing down at the last second. "Sir?" I respond hesitantly. "Remember your objects. You are clear to engage." I smile to myself when he says that. I knew he wouldn't back down now. He may wait till the last second to act, but he never backs down once he does. "Copy that sir. This is Tea squadron, we have the green light. Sound off," I call out to the others. "This is Echo squadron, sounding off," Tiber replies. "This is Angel squadron, sounding off," Ellzy calls out. "Ranger, sounding off," Johnathan calls. "All squadrons are a go, you are clear to engage. Mark." I give myself a moment to brace before pushing the stick down to dive. The entire vehicle shakes as we race through the cloud cover. Immediately alarms start to sound off as the acid water starts to affect the vehicle. We've tested this before though. We can make it though and still be effective down below. Even if it's raining. The liquid doesn't stay on long enough to do enough damage to force us down. And the propulsion system is internal, so there's little room for it to become damages. But, that isn't to say that we're in the clear. We'll have... maybe seven minutes, before we'll be forced to leave the area. Ten if we have to, but then we won't be able to leave the atmosphere. Once we make it through the clouds I take a moment to take in my surroundings. The Capitol isn't what it used to be. What was once the pride of the United Griffin Colonies are now a rundown hobble of delusional, stubborn, and ill-fated griffins. Some used to call it Mount Pride, due to their choice in carving a mounting into their capitol. Now, it's the thorn of stubbornness plaguing the entire world. They should have left when they had the chance. Now... now it's too late for them. I mark the building on my window's touch screen and prepare to fire. With nothing stopping me, I pull the trigger and feel my craft wiggle as it drops below me. A fraction of a second later a trail of smoke races out from beneath and towards my target, followed by dozens more from all around me. I watch in awe as they all make their way towards their targets, moving faster than anything imaginable. KRA-BOOM I nearly choke when I see them all explode early against a sheen that glimmers over the entire city. Somehow, they were able to put up a shield in the mere seconds before we could attack them. Impossible. Where would they get that kind of magic? BOOM I shake away my disbelief as one of the Aquilas near me explodes into a fiery heap. Everyone breaks away and begins to evade the enemy below. It's free picking for them now. At least until we break that shield. "All formations begin bombing sorties, we need to break that shield! Start a rotation, Tea Squadron will go first!" I call out as I dive down. We'll be a harder target to hit down here. They all confirm my orders and begin to race around the city, moving as quickly as possible. I can hear the machines inside the city begin to fire openly, trying their best to stop our attack. I can't see if they're at all successful though. I'm nearing the ground at this point and will have to put all my focus into this attack. I don't know how far out these shields go. If I'm not careful, I could ram right into it. I level out near the ground and jet towards the capitol. I mark my target and pick my load out as quickly as possible before firing. The aircraft following me have a slight delay, but follow my example exactly. Once they've fired, I pull the stick back and plaster myself into my seat as we race back up into the sky. My vision becomes obscured by the green haze as we race upwards. I hear the bombs make contact, but I have no clue if they made it through or not. As a unit, we break through the clouds, having wisps of green reach out after us. A quick inverted C levels us off. "Incoming fighters from three O' clock, permission to engage." I look over to that area and scan the area. At this distance, they look like tiny specks far off on the sky. But their formation, their movement, and their numbers tell me otherwise. "Tea squadron moving to engage enemy air force. Tiber, take command of the assault on Griffindor," I call out on the radio as I turn to face them. "Copy that, good hunting." I've ran this simulation multiple times before, but now it's my time to prove myself. Two forces charging one another, ready to strike each other down in a moment’s notice. We'll fire first. Simple enough, mark your target and pull the trigger. That's the easy part, now comes the challenge. My view is obscured for a moment as the volley of missiles dart through the air. Likewise, streaks of grey begin to make their way towards us. This is it, am I worthy of this power? I break forward and begin to gain speed. There are three missiles locked onto me, making it that much more difficult to deal with. I have mere seconds to react. The three steaks have spun out to cover as much air as possible, spiraling right for me. One choice, one action; time to decide. I pull the stick to my left and pull the power back as I send out a burst of flares. The combination of cutting my power and barreling in the air kills my momentum. Luckily for me, it carries through with my flares and sends them before me. The missiles take the bait and cross harmlessly before me, two of them diving into the clouds below with the other one flying off to my right. I see it start to curve back towards me, so I punch the engines back up. With my speed, previously cutoff so abruptly I start to dive back to the earth. Now I'm racing towards it, diving through the clouds with tremendous speed. When the cloud cover breaks, I get a full view of the battle before me. I don't think we were planning on there being so many Unfamiliar here. The shield over the city is still up and there are clear indicators that the fighting force inside is ready to defend. Countless tracers and energy bolts are flying out of the city. Most are going towards the ground where a massive invasion force is attempting to break through. The two high-grade military bots we brought are doing their best to break through, but clearly having little luck. Dozens of fires dot the surrounding landscape, with dozens more falling from the sky to join them. I have the chance to, so I decide to send another pair of bunker busters towards the dome. Every bit counts... In the corner of my eye I catch a glint of light. I quickly back left just in time to avoid another missile. In the mere seconds that pass I see the aircraft fly dangerously close by. In the mere seconds of contact I made perfect eye contact with the opposing pilot. In the mere seconds of sight we shared, it was understood. One of us is going to kill the other. I tighten my turn until I have him in my sights. He's turning back towards me, but it's clear that he'll finish the turn more quickly. I'm already fairly high up, so I push myself to start diving at a faster rate. I need to keep myself out of his direct view so he can't lock onto me. Since I was already diving before, I make it towards the ground level in seconds and pull back up. The force is almost too much for me to handle, but I keep my focus on the fight. He's lost sight of me, but knows I'm hunting him. He's trying to race away while also shifting side to side. If a missile locks onto him, he'll dodge it easily. I'll have to use the cannon then. But I can't engage him on a level field either. Using the momentum from the dive, I start to race back up again. I level my ascent so I can fire a burst towards him. I do my best to lead the him into the shot, but he saw it just in time to bank away from it. I roll over and continue to rise above him, waiting to see when he notices the predicament he's in. If he notices that I'm chasing him like this, he'll need to call in a friend from help. If he can't, then he'll have to make a run for it. I have the advantage, for now at least. He has to keep weaving to avoid me, so I have to keep diving up and down to avoid him. But this allows me to take pot shots at him. Our fight becomes a deadly dance. I fly high and dive down to fire at him, only to have him dart away and jet off sideways. From there I dive below and try again from beneath him, only to have him to repeat his previous actions. Each pass I come closer and closer to making my mark, but it's never close enough. There were a few passes where a few of his allies came to intervene, but they were chased away by Aquilas. Nonetheless, they were detrimental to my concentration, earning this skilled pilot precious seconds. Patience is key here. This will work eventually, I just need to keep at it. I have adequate cover, we're quickly gaining distance away from the battle center, he's running out of options. My opening finally comes as we near a mountain range. Clearly in desperation he tries to make a break for the mountain side. If he can get to the other side without taking a hit, he'll gain the advantage he needs to turn the tide of this fight. I'm currently up high, meaning I'll have one shot at this. I just need to assume his next move and hope it's the right one. If he goes to climb over, then I need to aim high. If he's aiming for the sides, then I need to lead his escape. I doubt he'll go high. The winds up there may slow him down too much to escape properly. Going right would send him back to the battlefield, which could go either way for him. Going left is his best choice. He can bank back around the mountain with the least amount of resistance and bring me into a horizontal fight. If I were him, I'd go left. With my mind made up, I go to cut him off on the left bank. But, as I make my way down I have to do a double take when I see him move to climb over the mountain. The fool! He'll lose too much speed to make any proper maneuvers! But, with me going the wrong direction, he can afford that... He out smarted me, but I can still turn this around. If I bank all the way around I might be able to lose him in the fray. It's my best chance now, so that's what I do. I make as tight of a turn as I can manage and throttle as high as I can for combat. I tilt to the left slightly to look back and do a second double take. A plume of dark smoke is rising over the mountain top from the other side. My only assumption is that he lost too much speed and couldn't maintain his flight. He crashed. My first air combat against a real target and the fool denies me the satisfaction of a kill. As bitter as I am, there is work to be done. I'll sulk about it later. Damned fool. Perspective: Lief Bjorn I can't help but let my nerves get the better of me as we wait to deploy. I keep tightening my paws onto the butt of my rifle as I let my legs bounce idly. Being a Jade hound, I'm all too familiar with raiding and pillaging. It was how we got by. But... it was never on this level before. Before, if you were soft, your pups didn't eat. The pack would suffer for your consciousness nagging away from you. But... this is new. I've never attacked a group of people because... because! I know the history, and I get why the Captain is making this choice. And I'll fight, as I said I would. But... this isn't what hounds and dogs fight for. "Beserkers!" Big Mac calls, getting all of our attention. "We're landing while the landin' zone's hot. Git ready!" We all give a shout as we give one last look over. My armor covers most of my body, leaving out my paws and the thin parts of my legs. The helmet is cramped, but I've learned to accept it. I have all of my ammunition, my explosives, my weapons are loaded and currently have their safeties on. I give my paw a shake and light the fire in the center of it. My magic may not be strong, but I doubt they're expecting a Jade Hound to cast. "Lieutenant Lief," Big Mac calls, getting my attention. "You'll take Frank and Sledge with you and take the left flank while I'll take Raz and Yinbie on the right. Understood?" I tilt my head in confusion. Shouldn't we be landing in the castle grounds? This isn't the original plan. "The castle has a shield, so we're being forced to land." "Understood Captain!" That's all I needed to hear. I'm sure all the other Spartans are going to be doing their job, so I'll do mine. Though... left flank of what? Before I could ask the ship lurches downwards as all the lights turn red. We're about to be dropped off, which usually only takes thirty seconds. I'll have to figure it out as I go. I can't let them see me asking questions either. This is my first week as lieutenant, I need to prove to them that I have earned this title. I look over to Frank and Sledge and nod to them, getting nods back from them. "Good?" I ask them, getting additional nods. "How're you holding up Frank?" He lifts up his mechanical leg and slams it onto the floor. "I'm good. Let's just get this over with." I nod to the moose and look to Sledge. "Good as I'll ever be. Excited to kick some griffin ass though!" the pony yells, getting a few cheers from the others. At least they're in high spirits. I know I'll be fine once the door opens. But the wait till then is always stressful. I don't want to be shot down again, that sucks. And what kind of a mess are we landing into? If they had shields over the castle, what about the rest of the city? If they knew a fight was coming, how prepared are they going to be when we touch down? I'll know what to do when we touch down, but waiting for the door to open up may just as bad as the actual fighting itself. Just as quickly as it started, we suddenly lurch again as the I.T.A. comes to a stop and the doors slide open. Before we could even act a pair of bots pivot over the opening and swing some mounted machine guns into position. As we move to clear out they open fire at the world below. I move to the front and take a leap out, landing on the ground a few feet below. I pull up my rifle and switch the safety off as I move forward to check for enemies. Sledge falls in behind me, followed by Frank. We're in the middle of what looks like the main street to the castle. The cobblestone road is wide and empty, having several spots smoking from weapon fire. The rain is coming down at a decent rate, meaning we should get to cover as soon as possible. I motion for everyone to follow me as I make my way towards the closest building on the left side of the road. KER-THUD I fall flat on my face as a pair of high-grade military bots are dropped a few yards down the street. The front one has what looks like a grappling hook for its left arm and a sword with teeth for the right. The back one has a quad of anti-infantry guns on its left arm and anti-vehicle canons on its right. As soon as they land they draw all of the surrounding fire. Most of it seems to be small arms fire, dealing no damage at all, but there are some larger rounds coming in. Though, they aren't doing anything significant either. I shake my head and push myself up to continue to the buildings. I look across the street to see the others doing the same. Big Mac starts to motion with his arms to relay a message to me. 'Push forward. Keep on target. Free to fire.' I confirm the order and wave the others on. It should be a straight shot to the castle grounds. From here it's just following the massive robots. The lead bot starts to walk forward, igniting the massive hook-like appendage on the way. A massive wall of energy comes out from it, forming a diamond shield the size of its torso. It raises the shield just in time to block some incoming artillery. The explosions from them force us to take cover in a nearby alley and wait for them to move forward. I peer around the corner and watch them get to work. The front one is taking point and leading the pair towards the magical wall. The back one has taken cover behind the first and is attempting to return fire, thought the wall is stopping anything from getting through. We race after them when they make it a block down the road. Each building we pass drives me crazy. We don't have the time to go through and clear each one of them. Any city guards that see us walk by will have the chance to stab us in the back. It's not something I like leaving to chance, but it's what we have to do. Hopefully the sounds of artillery will keep their heads down, but here's hoping. When we make it to the last block before the magical barrier we take up position at an alley corner. I have Frank watch our backs as I have Sledge watch the road we just ran down. I move my attention to the bots before us. We were supposed to land in the courtyard and secure the castle grounds so we could land in the Legion. But now we have to deal with this wall, giving them time to mount a proper resistance. The bots were originally supposed to cover us from any heavy fire, but they may need to help us with any main forces that have dug in. We'll have to see what happens when we get that wall down. The lead bot sets its sword arm out and starts to charge the weapon. The teeth on it start to move forward at a slow rate as they begin to glow a light blue. As they grow brighter they also start to move at a faster rate, eventually getting to the point where they become a blur of blue energy. The hum from it deafens everything else as it sends a powerful gust of wind over the area. I one swoop of its arm it brings the edge down on the magical wall. Sparks fly all over as the bot fights to get the teeth to grip into the magic. The fire from within intensifies as they try to stop the machine from breaking through. Most are stopped by its shield, but a few start to break away at its armor. Hopefully they don't break the giant saw-sword. Cracks are starting to form around the point of contact, but at a slow rate. Slower than the cracks on the shield at least. A round from a M.R.W. slams away at its leg, forcing it to take a knee. It keeps at the wall though, trying its hardest to break through. I can see the troops inside forming their last-minute attempts at a first line. The minute the wall comes down it's going to be hailed with countless weapons. There has to be a way to get at them before they can unload on the bot... "Frank, Sledge!" I yell out as I turn to them, tossing my rifle back on its sling. "Follow me, we're going under!" "Sir!" They yell back together. I look over to Big Mac and start to motion to him what I plan to do. He gives me the okay, so I start to dig. The cobblestone proves to be resilient, but I manage to get through with a bit of perseverance. Once the cobblestone breaks away, the soil beneath becomes butter in my paws. In no time, I have a tunnel large enough to fit all of us, though it'll be slow going. Frank and Sledge cover my back as I work my way through the ground. It's a bit awkward doing this by myself. Normally I'd have one or two other dogs with me, keeping all of the loose soil out of the main tunnel. But, since I'm by myself, we'll basically be leaving a tight passageway behind ourselves... kind of. Depending on how far we go, we might bury ourselves. But it should be fine! I think... FWT-THUD I duck my head when a round slams into the dirt before me. I turn back to see a group of griffins a distance down the tunnel. They've taken cover behind some mounds of dirt and have set up a firing line against us. I can see at least five griffins, but there might be more back there. The tunnel erupts as we fire at one another. Frank and Sledge move to the sides of the tunnel as I drop down behind a small mound, trying to get my rifle in my paws. I think they manage to hit one of the griffins, but he's pulled back and replaced quickly. They return fire and pull back to reload. Their rounds mostly miss, but the one that catches Frank in his augmented leg does nothing to him. A new line of griffins move up and fire at us, keeping us relatively pinned down. "Collapse the tunnel!" I yell as I roll over to be behind Sedge, finally getting my rifle out. I take aim and send a few rounds down range, hitting a griffin in the shoulder. The rest retreat to cover before I could take aim at them. "I'll make an escape, keep them off my back!" "Got it!" Sledge yells before he pulls out a grenade. "H.E. OUT!" he yells before pulling the pin out and tossing it over their mound. We all take cover as the ball explodes. A concussive wave hits us like a brick wall, beating the air out of me. Rubble falls on them, hopefully killing them and sealing any others from chasing after us. It takes me a moment to gain my bearings, but I eventually force myself up and start to claw my way out of here. I break through the ground with ease, telling me that we made it into the courtyard at least. I poke my head out of the ground and take a look around. The bot that was trying to break through is in rough shape. A section of its shield is down, with the area behind it being nearly shredded to bits. Its lost half of its left leg, forcing it to stay in a kneeling position. Its sword has broken through the wall, sticking in halfway, but hasn't shattered it yet. The bot behind it seems to be in good condition, but can't help us yet. The castle is practically a glowing light from all of the outgoing fire. A good portion of it is going towards the bot at the wall, but a majority is going out at the air forces. A trench has been hastily built on the ground just before the castle, giving the defenders decent cover. Griffins are flying all over, trying their best to set up a proper defense. We caught them off guard, but they are slowly getting ready to fight us off. Not quite the fatal sweep we had been planning. I take one last look out there before ducking back down to the others. "What's the view like?" Frank asks nervously. "Not good," I tell him, trying to think. "They're setting up a proper defense right now. I don't know how realistic it is against this force, but it's something at least. I have a feeling that as soon as the wall comes down they'll turn everything on the high grades." "And we need those to cover the Legion," Sledge muses as he thinks. "So, we need to cause a ruckus then?" "Yeah, I just don't know where to start. We're thirty yards out, so running out from here would be stupid." I'm mostly thinking out loud. Hopefully they can help me think this through. "So, we keep digging?" Franks asks. "Mm... I don't know about that. We'll leave the bot exposed if we do. And we don't want to overrun ourselves at the moment." Sledge comments. We're here, so we need to take advantage of this while we can. But what to do... "I've got it!" I say with a clap of my paws. I reach into my pockets and pull out of the smoke grenades I have, passing them to Frank and Sledge. "I'm going to dig a little trench, as wide as the street. When they start to notice what I'm doing you two pop some smoke. Just enough to cover us. From there we can get the others inside and mount a proper assault on one of the flanks. Got it?" "HOO-RAH!" They yell back. I get to work on making my trench line, and immediately come under fire. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, I am tossing dirt up right in front of them. Frank and Sledge toss out the grenades and cover the area in a grey shroud. With the extra cover, I push forward, tearing through the soft ground with total ease. The air cracks around me as they try to guess where I am, but with my partial cover and cloud cover they can't seem to find me. I make it to the end of the street and start to dig down, just enough to get under the wall and to the other side. Once I'm done I pop back up and wave the others over. I turn back and pull out my rifle, getting ready to engage the enemy. I make it back to the other side and motion for the others to come closer. We all met up by the entrance and look to Big Mac, waiting for his orders. He walks up to the edge of the trench and takes a look out into the haze. The smoke is starting to clear up a bit, but it's still hard to see what's going on exactly. Big Mac... has balls, to say the least. He's just standing there, looking out at the battlefield before us. No worries at all. Maybe that's just part of his calm demeanor or something. Maybe he's just that cocky, it's hard to tell really. "Somethin' is poweren this magical wall. We are going to find it and take it out, understood?" "SIR!" We all respond together. "Raz, Yinbie, you two stay back and provide covering fire. The rest of you are with me. We're going to take out the left flank of that trench before breaking into the castle. We'll throw some more smoke before going across, got it??" We yell back in confirmation. Simple enough, I guess. We all rush to the left flank and get ready to charge. The few of us with smoke grenades pull them out and wait for the order. Big Mac takes a quick glance over before nodding to us. I pull the pin and lob the grenade overhead. We give it a second to burst before climbing over. The smoke is providing perfect cover between us and the defenders, billowing over the square completely. Swirls of grey dart towards us as we start to charge through the haze. I can hear the wiz of metal flying past me, threatening to take me down. This part is easy. I don't have to think, just act. Run. Scream. Let them know that despite everything they are trying, I'm coming for them. I follow after my group as we break through the fog just a few feet away from the trench line. The griffins there open fire on us as we attempt to break into their defensive line. I take a few hits in the chest and fall over. The pain is throbbing and is making it a bit harder to breath, but I push it aside. I'm too close to stop now. I've done too much to get this far just to fall over and die. I don't bother standing, that would just waste time. I can move just as fast on all four anyway. I set my sights on a griffin in the trench before me. He's in the middle of reloading, so he can't shoot me. I let instinct kick in as I charge the young soldier. He sees me and tries to quicken he reload, but it's too late for him. Just as he pulls out the ram rod from the barrel I lunge at him, tackling him to the ground. With no weapon in my paws I go about tearing away at him with my claws. His armor proves to be useless and I dig through it with ease, ripping the flash beneath him just as easily. He tries to fight back, he tries to escape, but it's too little too late. I'm not sure if he died or just gave up. He just went limp, silent. I stand up and look for my rifle. Luckily my sling was still equipped so it didn't fall behind. I pull it out and start to pick my targets. I can see groups in the castle moving to engage us, so I set my sights on them. I set a narrow burst towards the front of the group and pull the trigger. my shoulder shakes and the bullets fly forward, hitting several griffins down range. I see at least three of them take hits, with two of them falling to the ground. The others scatter for cover, hiding behind pillars and short walls. I duck down and take a look back. Most of the griffins in this part of the trench have been cleared out by now. They may have had numbers, but we had skill and technology. Big Mac is standing in the middle of the trench surveying the area. He looks too calm for all of this. There are bullets and artillery shells flying all over and he's... just standing there. Thinking. Maybe he's just used to this. He's one of the oldest Spartans we have. Will I get to that point? "Leif!" he barks at me, making me jump. "Focus!" "R-right! Where to next?" I ask as I bring my attention back to the fight. The griffins are coordinating a counter attack against us. I can see them moving in the castle as the ground forces out here have turned their attention to us. "Time ta git dirty boys! Let's take this fight inside the castle!" Big Mac yells. "HOO-AH!" We all yell back. I take a moment to channel my magic before setting it into my rifle. The energy courses through it as etches of magical language begin to appear on the barrel. Captain told me not to, but I named this enchantment. I call it the Dog Whistle. PPHHHH-PPHHHH-PPHHHHIIIERT I fire over the opposing trench line to provide cover. Each shot that I fire shrieks towards the enemy, forcing them to flinch. Without the proper head gear, this could very easily break their ears. I wait for the others to break through the window before running after them. The shock of my weapon gave us a perfect opening to exploit, though I don't know how well it will work afterwards. I landed on some glass inside. They didn't cut me too deeply, just enough to make me notice. All this armor and my first blood loss is to a bit of glass, go figure. We seem to be in an office of some sort. Nothing much of immediate value seems to be here. They probably emptied this room when the rains started out to preserve whatever they could. Before anyone could say anything, the door explodes inward as the griffins force us to cover. I duck by the side of the room with Sledge and slide to a sitting position as the few machine guns out there continue to tear apart the room. "Everypony good?" Big Mac yells over the fire. We all call back to him as we move closer to him. I make it to the wall with the door and take aim at the window we came through. "Shall I?" Sledge asks almost jokingly. Big Mac nods to him, getting him to switch to the war hammer he keeps on his side. He takes a moment to psych himself up before turning the corner and slamming his hammer on the ground. A shock wave ripples through the ground, giving the rest of us a chance to move in after him. Big Mac goes first, followed by me, then Frank. I can see seven griffins in the immediate area. Two on each side of the hall before me, three at the machine gun they have mounted in the center of the hall. There are probably more in the hall to my left, but Big Mac took that side. They've all opened fire, setting a light haze in the large hall. Thanks to Sledge, they miss me completely. And the turret pulled too high to affect us, so we charge forward. I take aim at the griffins huddled on the left and fire at them. I take my time to aim each round, sending them towards center mass. I'm not as skilled as the others when it comes to rifles, but I don't need to be. Their armor is almost useless at this point. It wasn't made to stop a bullet, it was made to stop a sword. They go down easily, though my magazine empties in the process. I toss it back and charge to the left of the gun emplacement. They're trying to mow me down as I charge to the side, but this clear Sledge up to close the distance. He runs forward and slams his massive hammer down on the spinning barrels. I don't know if it's the enchantment or the quality of the weapon, but the hit sends the barrels to the ground in a useless heap. With Frank engaging the other group in melee, I make it to the corner and turn to help Big Mac. There are far more griffins over here, and they have us in their sights. A few of them are trying to rush Big Mac, but they die quickly under his automatic fire. I switch my rifle to single fire and reload before I join in the firefight. I pick my closest target and send a few rounds at it. Three to the chest and he falls to the ground. Next target, same ordeal. Three rounds to the chest. And again. And again. With each kill I get they send more and more griffins towards us. And with each kill they get closer and closer. "FRANK, SLEDGE! MOVE ON AND FIND THE GENERATOR!" Big Mac yells. They don't question him. They take off down the hall, charging into the first room that they find. "LEIF! TIME TO EARN THAT PROMOTION. HOLD THE LINE!" "HOO-AAH!" I yell back as I put down another griffin. There has to be at least fifty more griffins in this hall, not to mention the ones outside! I pull back to reload and chance to look back into the study we entered through. At the same time a griffin flies through the door way and charges me with his bayonet. I try to duck, but he catches me in the shoulder and brings me to the ground. I yell as he adds pressure to me, trying to pin me down. I try to kick him off, but he's not budging. Even worse, my left arm is caught under my rifle, which is pinned down by his paws. I look over and see a dead griffin’s rifle nearby. It has a bayonet as well, with the blade facing the best possible direction. I grunt as he twists the blade in me, saying something in his native tongue that I don't understand. I reach out to the rifle and grab at it, accidentally pushing it away. I try again, only to find the rifle is just out of reach. The griffin yells something again, pulling the rifle back slightly. I use this to give me enough room to push up with both arms. He falls over and I roll with him, ending up on top of him. He tries to smack the butt of his rifle against me, but use my forearm to push it away. I bring my paw back and slash his throat open. A splatter of blood sprays out on me as he grasps at his neck. Still enraged, I slap my claws against his face, tearing open a portion of his cheek and beak. I grab my rifle and stand up. Big Mac is being surrounded. There are three on him, with more coming from the room. This is what we are here for. Beserkers. Charge in, get in trouble, and kill your way out. I take aim and start to fire on the group indiscriminately. My finger works over time as I put down griffin after griffin. I don't care what they do to me, they won't harm my pack. When the rifle runs out of ammo I drop it and ignite my paws. There are more in the room, so I go to the room. I charge forward and thrust my paws forward, connecting with some young griffin too dumb to look my way. With the added energy of my magic I send him flying back against the wall, knocking him out. Another griffin climbing through the window screams something before chucking his rifle at me. I block it easily enough, slightly confused by his action. He steps into the room and throws his claws out, igniting them. This surprises me for a moment. He has magic. They taught him magic. I suddenly don't feel as superior as I did before. He thrusts a claw at me and blasts me with a burst of energy. I stagger back a bit before charging at him. He uses his wings to evade me and slams the ground with both of his claws, pushing me back again. I try to blast him with my own magic, but he proves to be too agile to hit. Books scatter everywhere as I try my best to score a bit, only to miss each time. Tired of missing, I toss both of my arms out and engulf the room in fire. I scream as I put everything I have into this. When I hit my limit, I let go of the spell and drop to my knees. I cough a few times as the air slowly makes its way back in. In a haze, I reach up and slowly remove my helmet. I don't think I'm getting enough air. I let it fall to the ground and take a few deep breaths. I hear someone else cough too, so I look up to see the same griffin before me. He's removing his dark blue cape as he tries to stay standing. There are a few singe marks on him, but other than that he seems fine. The cloak identifies him as one of Ulfrics personal guards. The only professional, full time soldiers of the griffin army. The Mindless. Ulfric trains them himself. Each one of them has to prove themselves before they're even considered to be trained. There aren't many of them, and each of them is ranked so that only the best stay within their ranks. It's said that the training takes away any traces of the former griffin, leaving them a mindless killing machine. Hence the name. The Spartans have only seen them in action a few times, and even then, it was before I was trained. And now they have magic. Does that mean Ulfric has magic as well? I don't get to dwell on the thought for long. The griffin gets up and starts to walk towards me, lighting his claws along the way. I have to be careful now. Let him get close, let him think this will all be over soon. Wait for the perfect time to strike. He stops just before me and looks into my eyes, I stare back at him. I can see the anger in his eyes. The disgust. I can almost read his thought. How could such a lowly creature like me dare attack his homeland? He's thinking to himself too, giving me the perfect time to ready myself. Just as he goes to strike me down I lunge at him. I open my jaws as widely as possible as I aim for his neck. Just as I make it within his grasp I clamp down on the mail that surrounds his neck and start to shake my head from side to side. Everything turns to a blur of screams and growls and I ripe his armor apart. I start to bite wildly as I start to scratch away at his sides, ripping holes in metal and flesh alike. He tries to push me off, he even tries to use his magic to repel me, but I'm locked onto him. His screams turn to pained gurgles and I ripe out his throat and tear away at his ribs. Blood and gore cover me and I finish off my kill. An almost primal sense of pride washes over me as I stand over my kill, blood dripping from my maw. "Where's yer damn helmet!?" Big Mac yells as he ducks into the room, dodging a torrent of bullets. I look around for a moment before picking it up and looking it over. "It got burned," I tell him quietly, the adrenaline ebbing off. "Are we surrounded?" "Eeyup!" he yells as he leans over the doorway to return fire. "Do you think Frank and Sledge made it to the generator?" I ask as I pull out my rifle and reload. "Dunno! A bit busy at the moment!" he yells. I look up out the window to see the magical wall still standing, though nearly broken through by this point. "Ah could use some assistance!" "Yes sir!" I yell before rushing towards the window and tackling a griffin to the ground. A quick slash to the neck kills him before I dive to the side and start to dig. This is now my playing field. I'm sure Big Mac can take care of himself. Perspective: High Flyer I'm sitting on a roof in the center of a suburb just outside the magical wall of the castle. I'm joined by Shifted who is currently in the form of a griffin. He says they have better sight, but I think he's just saying that to poke fun at me. I can't help but tap my hoof impatiently as we wait for our orders to come in. As of now, it's hold the line and wait for further instructions. We're not Beserkers, so we're not the front. And we're not in any aircraft, so we're waiting to join the fight. It doesn't help that the area we landed in has nothing going on! We're Spartans, front line soldiers, waiting to join the front. Plus, we're sitting here in acid rain! Needless to say, I'm a bit antsy. "Will you please sit down? You're distracting me," Shifted complains. I respond with a huff and roughly sit down, still agitated by all of the waiting. "You need to relax. I swear, you ponies freak out the minute something goes wrong-" "Don't play that Changeling drone card on me! We're front line soldiers being told to wait to join the front line! How aren't you jittery!?" I yell, flailing my forelegs around for emphasis. "Because, like any good soldier, I follow my orders," he tells me simply, squinting at the castle a bit harder. "Or would you rather be like Leif and be the front line?" I give him a quizzical look before using my helmet to zoom in on the castle. Sure enough, there's Leif. Tearing through the front like some sort of deranged animal. I don't think he fully understands why he was assigned to the Beserkers. I remember him worrying about getting his rank and not earning it. Pfft, please. "I don't want to be the front line. I want to do my part! All of this waiting is driving me crazy!" I huff as I reset the view within my helmet. "Ponies..." Shifted mutters before going silent. I roll my eyes at that. Nothing I say or do is justified beyond being a pony. At least to him. He doesn't mean anything by it, or so I believe. It's just how he sees things. It's not easy to understand, what with him being a drone and all. "The Beserkers broke off into two groups. The shields should be coming down soon enough." "Right," I respond. I take a look out at the battlefield and try to prep myself mentally for the fight. There has to be at least three battalions of griffins in there, maybe more. Thank the gods we have our robot army. I don't know how else we'd do this. I glance to Shifted for a second before shaking my head. Now's not the time to bug him about personal stuff... bother! Now's not the time to bother him! "What is on your mind?" he asks me, keeping his attention on the castle. "How did-" "I can sense your emotions. If you are going to be watching my back I need you to relax and focus. If that means speaking your mind, then do so. Though, how you aren't focused on the battle before us, I'll never understand." I bite my lip as I debate whether or not to ask, but decide to do so. He'll know something's wrong either way, why hide it. "Well... this is weird, right?" I ask him, finally getting him to look my way. "You'll have to elaborate on that. There are many weird things present at this moment." I nod to that, glancing to the giant robots trying to break through the magical barrier. "We're the peacekeepers, yet we're attacking. I want to believe that we're justified in doing so, but... I don't know... there's something off about the whole thing. Don't you think?" He stares at me for a second before looking back out at the fight. He contemplates my question for a moment before responding. "You ponies want to believe that you've had a peaceful golden age. That you've never had so much bloodshed before. If you knew your all of your history, this wouldn't be so odd to you." I can't help but roll my eyes at that. I should have guessed he'd take it there. “Don’t disregard what I say so easily. Think back to your school days. What wars do they speak of? What atrocities have you learned?" "There aren't any atrocities in Equestrian history-" "Is that so?" he asks with almost a laugh. "The Lunar Rebellion, the fall of the Crystal Empire, the genocide of Whitetail Woods. You ponies are rather good at forgetting your shame. But for the rest of us, those of us that have been pushed around for all of history, we don't forget. Even if it's under a new banner, it was only a matter of time before you Equestrians set your sights towards these lands. Though I will admit, I did not see it being so aggressive." I go to argue with him, but stop myself. Truth be told, I know little to nothing to what he's talking about. And I know better than to argue about things that I don't know anything about. I guess I just never saw us being the ones to attack so openly. When it came to the Unfamiliar, I guess I just always thought we'd fight them from invading Equestria. Heck, I didn't even imagine fighting them. I saw us pirates and dragons, saving pretty mares from fiery buildings, dumb stuff like that. I guess that was narrow minded of me. I guess I really don't know what our history is. It goes silent between us. I don't really know what to say right now. Does anything even need to be said? Probably not, but I can't help but feel the need to say something. Anything! "So... are you excited for the Grand Galloping Gala? Or does something like that bug you- IRK! Does it irk you! Not bug, irk... heh... sorry." He shakes his head, making me feel even more embarrassed. "What is a dance night for you is a buffet for me. I plan to get my fill and then some," he tells me simply. "Oh... huh?" He looks back to me and considers his answer for a moment. "The quickest way to a mare’s heart is through dance. Mares love to dance. Even when they're not good at it. It's more of an excuse to rub up on stallions in public, but that's my opinion. When ponies get frisky, one of two things happen. So, while you dance your night away, I'll be having a feast." "Oh... I'm not much of a dancer... but that's good for you, I guess." He chuckles at me, looking back to the castle. "Oh, don't worry. I'm sure some bratty baroness will whisk you away and teach you a thing or two. Or a baron, I'm not sure which yet." "What?" BOOM We both jolt up when a large explosion erupts from within the castle. Smoke billows out from the left wing as the barrier starts to waver. A volley of missiles fire from all around and rash into the weak wall. It shatters into millions of ethereal shards that dissipate into nothingness. Immediately, a massive torrent of out coming fire explodes from the castle. The remaining high grade bot shoves the other bot aside and begins to return fire, taking countless hits as if they're nothing. The screams of countless griffins charging into battle fills the air, only to be drowned out by gunfire from both sides. "This is Rainbow Dash calling in all available fliers to the main courtyard. Keep the Griffins out of the air, who copies?" Rainbow Dash calls over the radio. "This is Shifted, High Flyer and I are responding, over." Shifted calls back before standing. "Ready?" "I'll follow you," I tell him as I pull out my rifle and get ready to take off. We take off together and dive down towards the street. We pull up at the last moment and use the speed to race forward. It doesn't take us long to make it to the battle grounds, and that's when everything kicks into gear. I spot three main groups in action. There's a group in the courtyard trying to keep the robots out of the main castle. There's another group in the castle giving covering fire for the former group. The final group is in the air trying to take advantage of the their ability to fly. Each of the groups are well organized and seem to have a clear plan of action. None over extend, and each group supports the other as effectively as they can. A clear plan of defense that has been rehearsed tirelessly is in action. It's now up to us to break it down and advance. Our orders are to take control of the air. Squads of griffins are making rounds to drop explosives on the bots below. Some seem to be potion based while others are clearly of goblin origin. Each of those squads has another squad running escort. These ones are the tricky ones. Some seem to be mages, casting bolts of magic from their claws or raising shields. Others seem to have anti-material rifles that are being problematic for our Aquilas. They have a routine, but they are losing griffins in each raid they attempt, so it can't last forever. And now we need to quicken its demise. I follow Shifted as he charges at a group trying to fly back from a run. The escorts spot us immediately and throw up shields for cover. Shifted pushes me left and banks to the right, so I bank left. The four of them split up to provide as much cover as possible, but it doesn't matter at this point. I have an opening on the bomber griffins, so I line up the shot and take fire. With their backs to me they take each round in the back. Two of them begin to drop only to slam into the side of the building, tumbling the rest of the way to the ground. The other two make it to cover just in time, ducking as I try to score hits on them as well. I check my right just in time to see the two griffins drop their shields and start to charge me. With their magic, I'm no match for a two on one fight. I'll have to think of something... I give a powerful flap of my wings and push myself backwards, throwing my head back to tip backwards. As soon as I see the ground I give another flap of my wings before tucking them in. As I dive down I look back to see if they are taking the bait. One of them has, but the other one seems to be hesitating. Interesting. I bring my attention back to my flight path. I wait until we're just above the battlefield before pulling up. I push myself to go as fast as I can move. With all of my armor and weapons weighing me down it's a bit more strenuous than normal. But I've trained enough to know that I'm still faster than your average flier. Though, I guess he's not your average flier. I glance back to find the griffin chasing me keeping pace. His claws are lit and I can tell he's waiting for the perfect moment to strike. I start to perform aerial maneuvers to try and break up his concentration. I'd roll up before dipping back down or bank left or right quickly. All the while the fight beneath us intensifies. We're flying over the main battle line, which means I need to guide him to our side for this to work. THWACK Something slams into my side and forces me to crash into the wet ground. Everything spins for a second before I look up just in time to see y chaser attempt to dive onto me. Just as he was going to close the distance a black diamond shield came thrusting out and forced slammed into his side, sending him away from me. A line of Legion bots move forward and drop their shields to cover me. Their metal shields rattle with enemy fire, but they hold firm. I get to my hooves and shake my head before getting back into the air, shouting my thanks back to them before I take off. The extra mud makes me a bit slower, but I make it into the fray quick enough. I find Shifted dealing with the three griffins from before, dodging their attacks with just enough time to attempt to counter the next. They haven't noticed me yet, so I line up my rifle and take fire. PAT PAT PAT I send a burst of bullets into one griffins back. His armor does a terrible job of protecting him, giving practically no benefits at all. He falls from the air with a pained scream, alerting the others to me. I move targets and put another burst into him as he tries to blast me with his magic. He dies before he could cast anything, but does manage to fumble into me. He knocks me down to be level with one of the upper floors of the castle. In there, I see a machine gunner take aim at me and begin to fire. A few rounds slam into my armor, bruising my skin beneath. I fall back a bit more before opening my wings and taking control of my flight. THRUUUUUUUUUUUUMM I was going to charge at the gunner to take him out, but a line of Aquilas took care of that for me. I take a look around and notice the Unfamiliar aircraft leaving the area. With them gone, we are dominating the air. All of the previously preoccupied aircraft can now focus on the castle below. Even if they aren't hitting any actual targets, the overwhelming firepower is forcing the griffins to retreat inside for cover. "High Flyer!" I look over to see Shifted calling me over. I fly up to him and nod for him to continue. "We have the outer grounds. Orders are to hold until the Captain gives the order." "Which Captain?" I ask. "Miles. He's going in to have a talk with Ulfric. Shouldn't take long." I scoff at that. I doubt there will be much talking when he gets in there. "How're you holding up?" "Good. Took a few hits but I should be fine. You?" "Better than you. Don't break away so much green horn. It'll be the end of you." I shrug in response. It's not like I had much of a choice. Either way, it's up to the Captain to send this. Who knows, maybe he'll convince Ulfric to... no. No, that was a dumb thought. Perspective: Ulfric Stormmind The throne room goes silent as all of the incoming fire suddenly stops. Kileh and I stand in the center of the room waiting to see what happens next. The guards present in the room are watching the windows closely. Just as I thought though. As soon as Kileh gave the order for his aircraft to retreat, the barrier fell. Though I thought I heard something explode inside the building. Reports were coming in that a small group of Spartans made it inside, so it's possible that they made it to the generators. I don't want to believe that, but it is a possibility. "What are they waiting for!?" Kileh barks out as he steps forward quickly. "Do not question a moment of silence. If they wanted to demolish this building, they would have. Let's make the most of this and make our next move." I tell him calmly. We should retreat back to the catacombs beneath to escape their next attack. They may take the castle, but they will not- KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK All of our attention snaps to the main doors. Someone is knocking. Who would be knocking at a time like this? I have at least one guess, and I don't like that he's playing with me. Two guards, a griffin and a kroth, step towards the door. As they get ready to open it Kileh pulls me aside to be out of the line of sight. Why is he knocking? It doesn't make sense! He has to know that we have guards. What is he planning? I close my eyes and expand my mind. I can sense all of those around me. Their fears, their doubts, their courage. Just beyond the door I find Miles. I know it's his mind, there's none like it. He's calm. Has a plan in his head that he's not thinking about. It's just going to be action, no thinking at all. Maybe he's going to talk? I doubt that. What is he planning? I open my eyes as the guards open the door. The kroth wastes no time trying to shoot Miles, but somethings wrong. He's firing, but nothing seems to be happening. I can still sense Miles there, but he's not doing anything. When the kroth runs out of ammo he switches out with the griffin, who tries shooting as well. But, doesn't seem to do anything either. When he tries to stab Miles, he finally acts. His thoughts scream to me in an instant. It's almost as if he's trying to talk to me directly. One word. Run. He dodges the guard and runs into the room. His magic is at its height, with the portals on his back flaring out like a massive furnace. I have a moment to notice the little blue light in his hand. And it all becomes clear to me. Kileh explain what those are to me, and the danger they possess. And with what I think he's about to pull off, there's only one solution. I grab Kileh around the waste and push myself into the air with as much force as I can muster. I put everything I have into breaking through the window and getting as far away from the building as possible. I glance back in time to see Miles stop in the center of the room and slam his hands down. A massive wall of blue fire erupts out from him, shattering all of the windows and consuming the main throne building. I stop to watch the flames rage around the building, deafening the area with their roars of chaos. "That crazy bastard!" Kileh yells from my side. "Did he just kill himself?" I ask, still in awe of the flames before me. "Not at that level. If you can cast higher than the force of the grenade, you can imbue it with your own will. He's the only thing that can survive that right now. We should make our run while we still can!" "That's not going to be possible." I tell him as I motion around us. A least a dozen of those flying craft have surrounded us, their weapons aimed in our direction. "By the stars..." Kileh mutters. "My thoughts exactly." Chapter 248 Terms of WarChapter 248 Terms of War Perspective: Miles I have to take slow, even breaths as the armor around me slowly cools off. The heat is starting to get to me and it's becoming a bit difficult to breathe. Overcasting is never easy, but overcasting while dual-casting is an entirely ludicrous level of stupid. But, it worked. One illusion and one magical amplification spell and my brain didn't melt in the process, so that's a win. A few of the bots around me have started removing bits of armor from my arms and chest. I just keep my eyes shut and focus on breathing. I haven't casted like that in a while. I almost forgot what a bitch it is. "Perimeter secured. Local forces subdued. Orders sir?" the bot asks me as the last piece leaves my torso. I open my eyes and look up. Three Unfamiliar lay on the ground near me. They were the few that tried to stop me. Ulfric stands between several legion bots, almost looking confused. He knows what happened, he's recounting it in his head right now. But there's something that he doesn't quite grasp yet. Something he's trying to figure out. I take a look at the Unfamiliar man beside him and immediately know what I need from him. Once the last of my armor is off I push myself up and begin to approach the Unfamiliar. He tries to back away, but the bots around him use their blades to hold him in place. He tries to say something, but I don't make anything out. I ignite my hand and pierce his chest with it, attempting to force myself into his mind. I get flashes of memories here and there. He wasn't ready for this, but he's been trained against it clearly. I can see an authority figure. A woman watching him closely. People running together... laughing... screaming... I can see a world flourishing with life, a world beyond Earth... but I get the feeling that it's not his home either. I sift through these memories and try to force my way deeper into his mind. All of this is useless to me. Where are his people hiding? Where are his military bases? I start to find more on the Unfamiliar, so I start to dig. I can see the social structure, the four factions, and a few faces. One I recognize and the Nether Walker, and the other I recall as the one who led the assault on Canterlot when they first came here. I don't know the fourth one, and I can't seem to gather a name for him, not in this instance at least. The four of them are arguing over something, but Kileh -the Unfamiliar I'm searching- keeps fighting me on this one. In the conversation, he seems to be in charge... sort of. He has a commanding tone, and seems to hold some clout with the others, but there's a clear undertone of respect lacking. Something about the conversation lures me in. Maybe it's the way he's fighting me so much, but there's something here. I press a bit harder to try and listen in, but words fade in and out. I try again and force myself in, starting to make some headway. Slowly but surely, I start to hear what they are saying. "... with Vensil gone the role should go to the house of the Dreamers," the Nether Walker says calmly. I get the impression that he's not speaking English here, if I'm reading his lips correctly. But I'm getting what he said through Kileh’s understanding. "We will not subjugate ourselves to the devils! There is but one human before us! Let him think his toys will keep him safe! We should lull him into a sense of safety and strike when his back is present! With him out of the picture we can restart anew! Leave the old worlds behind-" "You would deny our people their heritage? You would have us forget a thousand years of death and destruction? Have you no shame?" "And do you have so much pride that you can't move forward? Are you so emboldened in war that you can't see anything else?" They all begin to argue more and more. I try to focus on names, locations, anything, but I can't. Even worse, whatever room they're in is mostly devoid of light. A single light bulb hangs from the center of the four individuals, giving me enough to see their faces. But that's not where Kileh is looking. He's staring at something in his hands. It looks like a port to a phone. Just a metal cylinder, similar to the one on mine. Something about it is important. Information? Personal effects? Or something else. "None of this matters," Kileh says, fumbling with the device. "The chimera has given us a chance to lick our wounds and regroup. Send word to the others to settle in their lands before they start killing us off one by one. From there we can bicker. We lost the Sleeping Fleet, let's not lose everybody else in the process." There's a mumble of approval from the others. "With the flagship gone we have no escape from this dirt ball. If we are to continue as a species, there are a great many things we have to accomplish." "What do you mean? Our only goal should be to kill the human! That abomination shouldn't dare stand against us!" "History has proven otherwise." Kileh tells the stranger, silencing him. "We aren't going to win over these ponies, not after what Vensil tried. The Griffins have offered us a home to share. It is obvious that they oppose the ponies and are seeking allies-" "And what of the goblins? They at least have an understanding of technology, why aren't they an option?" There's another murmur of talking. Kileh looks back down to the device in his hands again before closing his fist around it. "The goblins are embroiled in their own fight. We need time to gather our forces and make a plan of attack. We need to probe the human and watch for the time to strike. Vensil thought he could just land our flagship and start colonizing the planet, look what happened. Caution should be our priority." The others lean back to speak with people in the darkness. Their conversations are short. When they come back they stand together, getting Kileh to stand with them. "Caution it is then. Kileh will lead from now on. We will all move our forces to the Griffin lands. From there we will continue our discussion." Each of the Unfamiliar come and give their congratulations to Kileh, wishing him luck and prosperity. The entire time I get an uneasy feeling from Kileh. He might not have wanted this position. That, or he doesn't trust these other people. It's hard to tell, so it might just be a combination of the two. There are four factions to the Unfamiliar. And they only seem to be cooperating because of circumstances. They have a common enemy. They all feel the need to protect their people as well, but there is a divide in the manner they go about it. That's where our advantage is. If we can divide them, we can conquer them. I already have the Nether Walker... sort of. Kileh is in my hands now as well, but what do I do with this? I could take him prisoner, but that would only unite them together. Give them a singular objective. No, he has to die, now. That will leave a power vacuum in his absence. But there is a catch. Someone is going to claim this seat of power. It could be someone who will push for war sooner rather than later. Or it could be someone who opens up to the public and sues for peace. With no say in who to appoint there is no way of knowing. But, I know how Kileh stands, and that's enough to have to remove him from power. How much time has passed? It's hard to tell in the mindscape. I don't have all day to stand here and think things over. As much as I want to, I need to get back to the real world and move on with my plans. But there's more to search in here... dammit! I pull my arm back and yank myself out of his mind. He recoils back and rubs his temples, hazed from the experience. Before he can recover I draw my revolver and bring the barrel to his head, pulling the trigger lazily. With a loud bang the slug punches through his skull. Black blood and brain matter fly out the back as he drops to the ground. His body gives a few twitches as he stares blankly up at the ceiling. "You monster," Ulfric mutters as he stares down at Kileh, shocked. "Load him up and let's get going! We don't have all day!" I yell to the others, holstering my gun. The bots begin to escort Ulfric to the broken window as the Spartans retreat to their own aircraft. "Do you know what you’ve done?" Ulfric asks me as we force him into an infantry aircraft. Several bots force him into a seat as I take the one across from him. Moments later the door slides shut and we begin to take off. "Do you know what you have done!?" "I killed him, just like I did Vensil. Just like I'll do with whoever takes his place," I tell him dryly, staring him down. "The repercussions from your careless actions will ripple throughout the world! There will be nowhere you can go and walk peacefully! You will forever have a target on your back! You fool!" I ignore him and sit back. The engines begin to pick up as we start to leave the Griffin air space. Ulfric takes a worried look around as he holds on tightly. "Where are you taking me?" "The only place where you'll listen," I tell him simply. He gives me a curious look before going stone faced. I feel a tingling sensation on the back of my neck as he starts to try and prod my mind. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." "..." He ignores me and starts to prod through my mind. I try to fight it, but it's not something I'm too familiar with doing. Not like this at least. "You see the bots here?" I ask him through gritted teeth. He glances at them for a moment, but continues to prod into my mind. I can't tell if he's actually seeing anything or if he's just trying to let me know that he can do this. "They don't have minds. They receive their orders and then they follow them through. It's a real bitch sometimes. Because, let's say, the order was to escort the two of us somewhere as an example. And, if I should attempt to give any new orders afterwards, they are to shoot your legs... and your wings... and your paws, but not kill you." He pauses his mind attack to give me a questionable look, so I continue. "In this example, they have very specific... let's call them rules. If a rule says to jump, they jump. If it says to shoot, they shoot. If it says that in mid flight I become incapacitated, then they rip you to shreds and keep you alive long enough to drag your ass down to Topaz Falls and keep you in a state of near death and torment. Because, and this is all an example of course, knowing that you are a mind fucker, I would make fail safes just in case you tried to do any funny business. So, if I were you, I wouldn't do that. But, I can't make you do anything, now can I?" He stares back at me for a moment before leaving my mind. He's still tense. He's waiting for some sort of opening to exploit. Some weakness to prod. But I covered my bases well enough. Assuming he doesn't have any new tricks up his sleeve, I'll be covered. Hopefully he accepts that he's cornered for the time being and we'll make it to our destination in relative peace. I'd prefer not to rough him up before this. But, what must be done will be done. "You are a tyrant. A dictator. And a threat to the stability of the word," he tells me matter-of-factly. "No... No, I'm a man with a vision and resources. And that's a dangerous combination." I tell him smugly. "History will not remember you as such." "History is to be determined by the victors, Ulfric. Truth is what we say it is. It's then up to the masses to pick a side and fight it out. You're only a villain if you fight for the wrong side, Ulfric. So long as I win this fight, my legacy is set." "And what makes you so sure that you will win this fight? What could you possibly posses that would assure you this victory?" I try my best not to laugh at that. I literally just invaded his home and took him prisoner, and he acts like he's still in control! Either he is that arrogant, or he's hiding something that I don't know about. I hope it's the former, but we'll just have to find out. "Don't get too comfortable. It won't be too long of a flight." He gives me a quizzical look before settling into his seat. The flight to the Isles didn't take much time. But the silence between us was immeasurable. Even without looking at each other, we're taking stock of one another. I keep thinking of possible arguments he might make and what case he'll try to push. Just as I have been for the last few years. I have to know what to say and how to say it. I have to have all the answers before the questions are even brought up. Before we start, I have to know how to win. I'm sure he's doing the same thing. Planning his arguments, thinking through what I might say. I'm taking a gamble with this. My hope is to convince Ulfric that fighting is not in his best interest and to turn over the Unfamiliar. I doubt that I'll get the latter, but I can hope. Hopefully this entire engagement will be enough to persuade him to avoid a war. Even if it's only for the time being. I don't want to go to war right now. I don't want to conquer. I can win the people over another way, I just need time. War is resentment, and bitterness, and hatred. I've had enough of war, though I know it's not over yet. The Unfamiliar are still a factor to consider. Our war continues, just as it always has. The descent to the Isles is rough due to poor weather. A storm is blasting the massive island. I guess it's raining everywhere today. The pilot fights to land properly, tittering from one pitch to the other before finally slamming the vehicle down harshly. The minute the door slides open a torrent of rain blasts into the transport. The two of us are soaked immediately, having nowhere to hide. The water is cold and sends chills over my entire body, but it's not enough to deter me. I step out into the storm and wait for Ulfric to come out. He follows me out slowly, taking a deep breath as he embraces the water. "I have missed this," he yells over the weather, lifting his head up and closing his eyes. I nod to him, allowing him a moment to enjoy the rain. Despite everything, I know him to be good at heart. He's doing what he must for his people, and in a way, I respect him for that. Even against insurmountable odds he has the courage to stand against the immovable. Why wouldn't I respect an aspect like that? "It's time," I yell back. He takes one last long breath before looking back to me and nodding. He's a respectable person, I'll give him that. His flaw is that he doesn't know how to pick his fights. We walk down the cobble stone path in silence. I wave my guards to hold back. I won't need them for this. When we make it to the massive wooden doors to the Summit building back entrance I step forward and slam my fist against it. I step back as loud thuds echo down the inner chamber. It doesn't take long for someone to respond. The door opens partially and a goat sticks her head out to see who's there. One look at the two of us and she rolls her eyes. "What could be so-o-o important ya had ta come knockin' in the midd-d-dle of a bloody storm!?" she demands, her unpleasant tone soaked with irritation. "Terms of war, should peace not ensue." I tell her, getting a quizzical look from her. She eyes for a moment before shutting the door. Locks and bolts sound off as she works on opening the door completely. I get the sense that Ulfric is staring at me. But I ignore it, as best I can at least. Whatever he needs to say he can do so inside. When the door finally opens the goat inside motions for us to enter. She shuts the door behind us as a wall of warmth hits the two of us. Large fireplaces sit on both sides of the room, radiating a welcoming warmth to the room. Several other goats are in the room as well. Most are sitting at benches with meals or some form of distraction. A small group is approaching the two of us, being led by O'Buckly. "Miles, Ulfric," he greets wearily. We nod back, keeping silent. "What's this I hear 'bout a war now? What have you two done?" We finally give each other a glance. Stoic eyes and firm jaw, he's as ready for this as I am. "I think it would be best if we spoke in the chamber," Ulfric tells him. He gives each of us a worried look before nodding us down the hall. We follow after him, getting a similar pace to one another. We enter the dark chamber and wait for several goats to move about and light some torches within the room. After a minute or two of waiting we each take our places within the floor traps and wait for O'Buckly to set them. He goes to say something, but shakes his head and keeps silent. It's obvious that there's going to be no backing out of this. But now it's time to see who is truly prepared for this. I know I'm right. Even with what I did today, I know I'm right. I just need to convince them that I am. "The traps are set. Should you get outta line, I'll suck yer souls out and toss yer corpses inta the sea. What, in the bloody hell, have you two done?" O'Buckly demands. Ulfric and I look to one another before he goes to answer. I have no intention of speaking first. "Miles has invaded the Griffin Colonies. He has forcibly brought me here in an attempt to justify his crimes." O'buckly looks to me, expecting a response. But I wait. Ulfric has more to say, and I wasn't asked to speak yet. "He has engaged in an attempted genocide of the Kroth people, people I have give refuge within my borders. Because of this, I believe, he has made an assault against my people. I demand that he pay for these crimes." Short, but to the point. I imagined him making some long speech about this. Maybe if he had more time to prepare he would have. But, he covered the basics, and that's all he really needs to do. I continue to wait. I'll speak when I'm asked to. No need to look as if I'm trying to justify my actions. I need to look calm, in control, understanding. Let him voice his grievances. "And what say you, Miles Eremita of the Spartan regiment? Are these accusations true?" O'Buckly asks me, put off by my silence. "Unfamiliar soldiers are residing within the United Griffin Colonies. My people are still at war with them, as they are with us. Their first contact on this planet is proof of that. With no armistice between our people I must follow my orders as they stand. Eradicate the Unfamiliar threat at all costs. I have explained this to Ulfric and he has resisted my claims. I am not here for genocide though, proven by my capture and imprisonment of the Unfamiliar leader, The Nether Walker. My capture of Ulfric and my purpose behind this meeting is to find an end to these means. Either the Unfamiliar subjugate themselves to Ulfric and they cease all military actions; or they will be the target of military action." The room goes silent. O'Buckly looks between the two of us for a time, thinking on what we said. I imagined more questions being asked, but I've said the gist of what needed to be said. It's up to him now. He sits down slowly and lets out a long hum as he thinks over everything. A few other goats have entered the stands as well. I glance to Ulfric and catch his gaze for a moment. We both know what's at stake here. But what does he have planned that could leave him so confident? I don't sense any doubt in him. There's no hesitation in his thought process, from what I can gather. Is he that hard of a read? Most likely, but I can't shake the feeling that he's not entirely lying. What's he hiding? "I don't know what ta say," O'Buckly says suddenly, gaining both of our attention. He turns to address me directly, keeping a stern look about himself. "Miles. I accept that you are following orders, no matter how old they may be. But that does not give you the right to violate the airspace of another nation! Let alone imprisoning the leader of a nation! "Ulfric, you have garnered t-t-to much attention for yer military buildup! Even worse, ya went ahead and allied yerself with the people you know attacked the Terradisians and the Equestrians! They have every right to retaliate! Ya aint doing no one any favors with these reckless actions!" He sighs again, lowering his head in thought. I glance at Ulfric again, hoping to see if what he's said affected him in any way. He's... stiff. Strong jawed. Resolute. He knows what he's done, and he trying to stand by it. "Is this it then?" O'Buckly asks with a chuckle. "Is this what the two of ya wanted? Well, here ya go. LOWER THE FLAGS!" The few goats in here run to the entrances and pull on some ropes. Bundles of clothes come rolling down from the rafters above. Each one seems to be a flag with different markings on them. There are five in total. All of them have white backdrops; with a few variations. One is blank, the next has a single black line going from the top left corner to the bottom right; the next one has a red plus in the center; the one after that has two red bars, looking similar to an equal sign; and the last one has a black X going from corner to corner. "You may not be aware, but you've already signed a contract agreeing to the terms of war. Courtesy of Ms. Eremita," O'Buckly tells us, giving me a toothy grin. "These are the five terms all warring parties will agree to. If you act against them, then I-I-I think ya know what happens then." "This first flag is for Surrender. Should ya give up, then that's that! Prisoners of war have rights, just like any other being! There will be no mass executions of prisoners! Nor will there be unnecessary torture! Forced labor should not be intended to kill them either!" "The next flag is for Parley. Should ya wanna speak with one-another, fly this flag. Should ya both fly it, it means ya agree to a cease of hostilities to speak to one another." "This flag is for Medical Personnel. Do not target these people. Those who are hurt have suffered enough already. Should you capture a unit that flies this flag, you are ta consider them specialized civilians. Ya can't force em into hard labor till they get doctor's clearance to." "The flag with the two bars is for Foreign Mediators. We'll be flying this flag the most. There will be third partied people on both sides evaluating each conflict, I a-a-assure you of that. We can't always rely on each and every individual ta follow the rules. These people will be present to keep a constant reminder that we are watching." "And lastly, the Civilians flag. You will not target these individuals, end of statement! You may take them prisoner, you may annex them into your territory, but you will not engage in military actions targeted directly at any people flying this flag." "And just in case you have any questions, I-I-I'll stop ya there. I ain't answering any questions. I do this ta make everything as vague as possible. Generally speaking, if ya think it might break one of these rules, then don't do it. That'll end today's meeting-" "Wait, but-" I try to interject, but O'Buckly continues on. "A member of my court will leave with each of you ta keep tabs on yer actions. Have a good night gents!" He taps his hoof on the floor and releases the bond on us. He leaves without saying another word to either of us. Ulfric and I look to each other before chasing after him. "You can't be serious O'Buckly! You really have nothing else to say!?" I demand from him. "You can't force us to go to war with one another!" Ulfric adds. "You are the facilitator for peaceful negotiations! If we can't accomplish that here then why put up all of this posturing!?" He stops and glares back at us, getting up to stop before him. "Do ya both think I'm that dense?" he asks us. Neither of us answers though. I don't understand why he's acting like this. "Miles is a military dictator and you're mobilizing at a frightening rate. If you two weren't going to go to war, then I don't know how the rest of the world is supposed to act. And that's before we bring in the rest of the world! We have bears shootin' down dragons, the goblins have been multiplying at dangerous levels, orc raiding parties seem to be testing the borders of their neighbors, Equestria seems to have a new alicorn every day, and to top it all off! I just received word that Minotaur slavers attempted to raid the Isle!" "And here you two are! Telling me that you want peace! Or that you're only trying to harbor people you know will only cause you problems! Bleh! The world hasn't been this divided since the so called gods fought for dominance! Or maybe it's always been this divided and we've just been lyin' to ourselves. So, you know what, do it. Be the one to push the world into war! Be the cause of millions of deaths! Because this is the tipping point, ya know that, right? Once one of you does it, the others will follow suit. Have your war!" He drops to his haunches and hangs his head in defeat. He shakes his head a bit as he lets out a long breath. Ulfric and I look to one another again, almost asking each other what to do. I wasn't expecting this, not from him at least. He was the only one I thought would still have the resolve to push for peace. When did he become such a defeatist? "What has happened O'Buckly?" Ulfric asks in a quiet, calm tone. "Yeah, what gives?" I add. "Why are you giving up on everything suddenly?" "Giving up?" he asks, clearly offend. "Who else out there is still tryin’? I'm the only one, the only one tryin’! Who else sets aside their own agenda, puts others before their own, and gives equal ground for others to speak? Hm? Neither of you, that's for sure. Who? Celestia? She cares for her ponies first, not the world as a whole. Starke? Longhorn? No. None of them. So don't you dare say that I g-g-gave up! I was the only one who was willing to fight the losing fight! An don'cha go forgettin' that! Don't ya dare!" I nod to him and take a step back. He's right. I can't think of anyone who does his job the way he does it. But where does that leave us? Is this it? Are we going to war now? I didn't mean to force this to happen now. But... he's right, again. We're the two big players as of right now, as far as I know. If the Kroth are fighting for him, that's assuming. I didn't come here to set the terms. I came here to resolve the issue and be done with it. Maybe there's still time though. He sets the terms, but that doesn't mean we have to leave as warring parties. "Ulfric," I say aloud as I remove my helmet. "I don't want to go to war with you, but I can't simply allow those people to sit idly by. I need you to either take control of them or separate yourself from them." "I will not allow a genocide to occur. I goes against the morals of every decent person," he tells me tiredly. I think about it for a moment before an idea hits me. Something I should have probably thought of before. "It will not be a genocide, I promise you that. And I can prove it to you." He gives me a skeptical look. I pause to think this a little more through. The more people know about this, the worse it will probably get. For our image that is. But, it's proof that I'm not here to kill them all... kind of. "Come with me to New Garnet." Chapter 249 Non Semper Erit AestasChapter 249 Non Semper Erit Aestas The world around me drones away to the sound of the I.T.A. soaring through the sky. I tried to take a moment to think over everything, but... Everything seemed to just... ebb away. I wasn't thinking. There wasn't anyone to talk to. For what felt like a brief moment I was all alone, without even my own thoughts to keep me company. I don't know how long it lasted, and I almost wish it would continue for a moment longer. But, it passed. And now I can think. Ulfric took another infantry transport home. We agreed that he was no longer really a prisoner, so he would return on his own accord. He probably didn't trust me either. Probably thought it was a trap. I don't blame him for that, I'd think the same thing in his position. It's going to take him some time to make the trip, but he promised it would be by the end of the month. We also agreed he wouldn't use Unfamiliar aircraft, for my own obvious fears. And now we're in limbo. Is he going to use this time to gather his forces and strike? Or is he going to heed my words? I can attempt to set up some outposts to watch over him, maybe even some radar installations, but I know it'll be impossible to watch everything. And I already know that the Unfamiliar know how to maneuver around my bots. I can't preemptively strike either, or the world would turn against me. My only move now it to wait, something I'm not very good at. The Spartans are chalking this up as a victory. I imagine half of them are already drunk by this point. I was about to send word to them, but decided not to. It would do them some good to have a night of victory. Let them feel a little more invincible. So they're all home now. It'll be good. Keep their morale high. They'll need that. This wasn't a victory. Not even close. We set the terms for the fight to occur, now it's just a waiting game. Ulfric has all the tools he'll need to dance around the issues until it's time for him to strike. I've put myself in a corner and now we have to wait for them to attack. This wasn't a victory. This was a declaration. Why wait? Why not do what you were raised to do and fight? That isn't the answer here. I need to think long term if I'm going to see Terradisia rise again. We're too small, too fragile to be so reckless. Are you not Spartan? Since when do Spartans play diplomacy? I am a Spartan. But this should not be my call to make. Once we get the final group of people to join I can pass the control and be free of this burden. You have your sword, you have your army. Your people love and adore you! Any action you take they will follow blindly. You know what to do and you know what to say. Is it not better for the world to come together? Under one banner? It is, but not like that. It should be a choice- Choices are dangerous, you know this. There are those that would choose to die rather than listen to reason. You know what to say and you know what to do. All you need is a little push. "Captain!" I jump in my seat when I hear a bot call for me. I take a look around in slight confusion before looking to the cockpit. I must have fallen asleep at some point. "Our destination is sixty seconds away. I have received several messages from the helot E'Claire for several town complaints that require your attention." "Of course... yeah let her know we'll talk as soon as we land," I tell the bot, shaking the memory of my dream away. All this stress is starting to get to my head. I need a break of some sort. The ship lands in the small airport of Mooseden and I step out to see a frazzled E'Claire with a portfolio with her. I hate that little fucking leather book. It's the one clear sign that today will not be an easy day. Well, time to play leader. "E'Claire, it's good to-" "There were three arrests the other day when the Crystal Empire traders came the other day," she reads from her portfolio, silencing me immediately. I groan as I set my fists on my hips and let her continue. Not like she'd let me have a word in anyway. "Apparently they aren't happy with current trade relations and demand to speak with you. They needed to speak with you anyways it seems. Something about trade negotiations from the Empire. There were some reports of dangerous creatures lurking around the lumberyard again. The last squad of bots we sent out didn't return, so it's something fun probably. I have a number of requisition forms I need you to sign and lastly... The minotaur couple that recently joined have caused some... noise complaints." "... I'm sorry, did you just tell me to fix a fucking noise complaint?" She has to be kidding. "I am not kidding," she tells me flatly. "They've only done two things since they arrived. Eat and fuck. Now, normally I wouldn't mind this, but the others in town don't. They were issued warnings and talked to, but they haven't heeded our warnings. Now, I would arrest them, but I think there's a simpler solution to the problem." "... and that would be?" I ask, expecting her to continue. She raises an eyebrow and continues to stare at me, making me grumble. "*sigh* Fine, I'll talk to them." "Good! Now onto more personal issues!" "What-" "I caught Shadow trying to break into your workshop with some friends of hers-" "I told her that was-" "She informed me that you gave her permission to do so and what you told her to do, and this is where I have an issue. Miles, she is a teenage filly who does not need to be doing... no filly her age should be plotting against other kids! What were you thinking!?" I stare at her for a moment before removing my helmet. I'm not in the mood to be level headed about any of this shit. "I was thinking that I am her father and I know what is best for her. I was thinking that it was time that she started learning to stand up for herself. I was thinking that, instead of being a doormat, she would get a feeling of what it's like to hit someone back! Now, I get that you don't like the idea of her doing stuff like this, and I appreciate the concern. I really do. But we can't fight her fights for her, E'Claire." "So that's it? Your grand solution is to leave her alone in your workshop, that is full of weapons I might add, and let her plot to get revenge? What sort of message is that?" she asks, bewildered at my attitude. "A message from the daughter of the Grand Captain of the Spartan regiment! A message that will speak out against a community that takes us for granted and plots behind our backs! Like it or not, she has an image to uphold and it's time for her to live up to it-" "She's not a tool for you use Miles!" E'Claire yells back at me, throwing her portfolio down. "I can be your tool, that's my price to pay. Same goes for Butterscotch! Feel free to use these people too, they volunteered to be. But not her. She is not, and never will be, your tool to use. I won't allow it. Kill me if you have to! But I will not stand by and let her throw her life away for something as petty as revenge." "Pardon me, Mr. Eremita, but I must speak-" Some Crystal Empire mare asks. "Blow it out your ass dipstick! Can't you see I'm in the middle of a fucking conversation!" I yell at her. "Dammit Glitz I told you to wait in the god damned hall! Go back there before I rip you a new fucking asshole!" E'Claire adds, glaring daggers at her. "Well, I never!" the mare protests before turning in a huff. We both watch her leave, the air between us cooling down tremendously. "By the way, I'm making dinner at your place at six tonight, to welcome everypony back. Make sure to be there by then." E'Claire tells me matter of factly. "Sounds good, thanks." I tell her before walking off. Most people don't understand the two of us. But E'Claire is one of a few people out there that knows how to speak with me. I don't give a shit for tact. Tell me how it is and get to the point. She's good at doing that. Though, from time to time, it is a pain in the ass. Her and Butterscotch were real gems in the rough to have found. "Oh, and Starke Herzen is in your workshop, the one you have here that is. He came by earlier today to have a meeting with you," she adds as she continues to walk away. "Thanks... wait, WHAT!?" I yell, chasing after her. "Why wasn't that first on the fucking list!?" "It slipped my mind. I was more worried about Shadow to be honest," she tells me nonchalantly. I try to form a respond to yell at her, but I can't seem to settle on one. I need to get to him before he starts going through my shit. "Next, world leaders first!" I yell at her before taking off. She doesn't respond, or at least I don't hear her response. I go to the southern edge of town where the workshop is located. It's a public building that lends tools to people for whatever use they need. I just happen to use it more than anyone else, so there's this thought going around that it's mine. Sitting behind the building is a large flying machine with several smoke stacks pointing out the back. The design reminds me of a dragonfly. Standing guard in front of the main entrance are four goblin troopers. Two of them are bearing shields while the other two have rifles resting on their shoulders. When they notice me approaching they make way for me to enter, keeping their stoic faces about them. I enter the building without addressing them. The workshop is quiet, quieter than usual at least. The massive room of drills and fabricators lay silent as Starke walks around the room, eyeing the machinery curiously. I take a quick look around and notice that there are four more guards in here as well, similarly armed. "You know, when someone usually wants to make a meeting, they tend to send word beforehand," I tell Starke, getting his attention. He cracks a wry smile and approaches me, holding his hands behind himself. "If these were usual times, I would be inclined to send a message before arriving here," he tells me. I nod to his logic. These aren't really the forewarning times, now are they. "I have all of the ledgers you asked for, and have turned them in. Your metal golems are looking over them as we speak. As I said, I have nothing to hide." "Hm," I hum in response, stepping into the room. He said he'd do it, I just didn't expect it to happen this quickly. "How'd you gather all of this information and get it all here in under a month?" He chuckles at that, following after me. "We may seem primitive to you, but we aren't as incapable as you assume us to be," he tells me in a jovial manner. "But, onto more pressing matters." "Oh? I am interested to see what is so pressing for you," I say sarcastically, trying thing think my way though the situation. This was too sudden for me. I was guessing that he would appear some time in the following weeks. I guess I was wrong about his capabilities, though I still am doubtful too. This must be payback for catching him off guard. That explains his demeanor at least. We stop in front of a large fabricator to speak directly to one another. Starke turns his attention to the machine, sliding his hands over the surface as he begins to speak. "You forcibly brought Ulfric to the Isles to enact some form of justice. And, it would seem, you succeeded. At least in the short term. So now you are at a crossroads. Do you follow the Summits example and wait to see if Ulfric does the same, or do you strike again? And since we both know Ulfric is ready to strike, the question really is do you wait for him to attack? I am interested to see what you do." "Are you now?" I ask condescendingly. I know that's what he doesn't want to talk about, but I still don't know what he's getting at. "Truth be told, no. I couldn't care less about what the two of you do to each other. What I care about is progress. And that is why I am really here today." He turns to one of his guards and snaps his fingers at him. He bows and moves to the nearest table where he starts to set up a map. I follow Starke over where we watch him set some markers. "As you are well aware, conflict is inevitable. But what has yet to be decided is what happens after everything. That is my goal today. To carve an understanding between the two of us so we may all progress." I hum back to him, eyeing all of the markers on the page. The outlines of the world are set as they are now. He has several cogs set to specify either settlements or troop placements, it's hard to tell. "Are you suggesting an alliance? Isn't that contradictory to your own enterprises?" I ask as I study the map some more. He has the griffins marked more heavily than anyone else. I don't get what he's playing at. He's arming the griffins to attack, but doesn't want to side with them? At the same time he wants to secure land, but doesn't want to be attacked. "The enterprises of the Goblin Kingdom do not sway the will of our people, Mr. Eremita. We are a growing people and need to expand, but there's only one logical area to do so. But, taking such a large land mass would undoubtedly cause a stir in the world. But, with the griffins ripe to expand themselves, a golden opportunity has occurred. Something that could be beneficial for both our parties involved." He looks up to me and waits for me to respond. But I don't have much to say at the moment. I want to hear his offer, let him put it all out there before speaking. I nod to him, getting him to move several tokens around the map. "My offer is this; concede the Griffin Kingdoms to Terradisian rule in exchange for partitioning the Southern Badlands into the Goblin Empire. And this includes any territory gained under any armed conflict with any nation. Furthermore, Terradisia will have governing rights over the northern hemisphere, and the Goblin Empire shall rule the southern hemisphere. We will follow the equator and draw the borders accordingly. What say you?" I set my hands on the edge of the table and lean over to take a better look at the map. He wants to govern all of the zebra lands and most of the Southern Badlands. This deal is clearly in his favor. The bears and minotaurs won't be swayed so easily, and the zebras don't really seem up to the task of fighting off a technologically superior people. Though, the Badlands are a whole mess of their own, I know it's really their objective. And I don't know how I feel about giving them land so close to home. But, there is potential in this deal. Let's see what we can wrestle out of this. "I already have land in the southern parts of Zebrica, so this deal will not stand. If you are willing to trade the minotaur lands in exchange for there, then that can be settled." He gives a quizzical look to the map before nodding to me, moving some of the tokens around. With that move, I understand the map a bit better. The silver cogs are mine, the bronze ones are his, and the dark grey ones seem to be the nations that have the capacity to resist being conquered. Equestria is a part of that group. According to his map, I gain Equestria, the Griffin Kingdoms, Zebrica, and have to fight the Soviets and the Apes for the rest. He has to fight to control the Badlands and the Minotaur lands, but the rest seems to be free real-estate. So I'm still in the disadvantage. What else is there? I grab another silver cog and set it on the Isles. Starke gives me a confused look, so I elaborate. "If I control the northern hemisphere, then I control that as well. Is this not to your liking?" He suggests the move for a moment before nodding to me, clearly not liking the move. These are the best holdings I can sway from him. I know I'm not going to get anything better than this land wise. He already partitioned part of the Southern Badlands to me, and the equator naturally follows the goblin borders. He doesn't like me noting that I control the Isles, but he already gave them to me. The zebra-minotaur trade was painless, telling me that he doesn't care about those lands too much. His main goal are the Southern Badlands. "There are two more things I want before I agree to this plan," I tell him as I straighten out. "I want access to your airspace for navigational purposes, and I want intelligence on everything you know about Ulfric. Without those, there's no deal." Starke considers my terms for a moment before chuckling to himself, confusing me. "Something funny?" He waves me off, composing himself. "I apologize. I was expecting more demands from you. I am amazed that you have agreed to this so easily. I thought you would have thrown me out of your town at the first mention of such an agreement." "Understand this; I do not trust your movements. If you keep to your end of the agreement, then there will be no conflict between us. But should you break this trust, I will level your lands and turn your people to ash. This is not an alliance. This is a mutual understanding not to attack one another. This trust goes both ways. I am freeing you to invade the Badlands, and you are freeing me to fight the griffins. Do we have an understanding?" He gives me a wide smile before raising a hand to shake. I've seen those types of smiles. Those crooked, diabolical smiles. The kind a bad man gets when he makes a fool out of you. They're the kind of smiles you get when you get one step closer towards your goal, or push your opposition back another step. I don't want to associate with a person who can makes this kind of smile, but what choice do I have? I know how large his army is. I've fought against those types of numbers before. I can't deal with him and Ulfric and the Unfamiliar. If he's willing to remove himself from the equation, then that makes the decision much easier. But, I will have to deal with him eventually. I doubt he'll keep to his end of the bargain forever. But I can't deal with it right now. We're too small right now. I would have to resort to drastic measures. Measures that make it impossible to speak evenly with those left alive to remember it. As much as I don't want to admit it, I need this just as much as he needs does. I reach down and shake his hand, feeling a cool chill run down my spin. I don't know what I've just done. But, there's nothing to do about it now. He has the access to what he wants, and I have access to what I want. I’ve put myself in another corner now. Or, rather, I put another person in front of me to face off with. So the question now is, can I get what I want before it becomes irrelevant? And what do I do if I can't? Author's Note I have a Twitter now! Check out my blogs or find me @Tallestbrony! Brony on! Chapter 250 Words With the CaptainChapter 250 Words With the Captain I stand on the edge of town and watch Starke leave in his flying machine. It looks like some sort of steam powered dragonfly, according to some of the spectators behind me. I'm caught in a corner right now. He knows I can't doing anything to stop his conquest, not now at least. He's throwing it in my face. I could go down there and stab him in the back, but then Ulfric will do the same to me. I only have the resources to really handle one of them at a time. At least in a manner that doesn't require me conquering the world. I'll have to set up some listening post in the south. Maybe even set up drones above to keep an eye on things. A squadron of Aquilas should suffice- "Miles?" I pause my thought to look over to E'Claire. "Everything alright?" "... The answer that question is too long and convoluted to respond properly." She gives me a blank stare before leveling her unnamed gaze. "Fantastic. Are you still going to be able to assist around town or am I pulling an all nighter again?" Oh yeah, no one here seems to care about global politics. I guess I can't really blame them for that though. If I could, I wouldn't. "I'll start with the minotaurs. Sounds easy enough," I tell her as I start to make my way into town. She doesn't follow me, though I did hear her mutter something under her breath. I make my way through town with the hopes of solving a simple issue. With everything going ballistic around me, it would be nice to definitively solve something for a change. When I approach the building though, those hopes are immediately crushed. I can hear the distinct sounds of hardcore sex thundering from within the building. They've only been here, what, two days or so? I can understand that... but now I have to deal with it. I approach the door and slam my fist on it a few times. I'm pretty sure they can't hear me over their... activities, so I try again. They're in the throes of things though, so they clearly can't hear me. Patience is something I'm lacking today, so I draw my pistol and fire around into the ground. Sure enough, everything stops inside. I knock again, getting them to scramble within. I can't understand their whispers, but I think I can get the gist of their fears. The door opens to reveal Nederige, clad in a slightly damp bed sheet. A prominent smell of sweat and sex wafts from within and burns at my nostrils. He's panting slightly, a scared look taking over his face. Sappige is inside, hiding most of her boy behind a wall as she peeks over to listen in. Nederige goes to speak, but I cut him off before he can say anything. "You are not in trouble. But the fucking is too loud," I tell him, getting a confused look. "I've also been told that you aren't working yet. While you are not being forced to work, we still need to debrief you as part of our deal. Now if you can't keep things down we can relocate you to a home on the edge of town. There are less people there because of the proximity to the forest. I can't put a noise damper enchantment on the building because of security reasons, so it's the only choice really. Unless you think you can keep it down?" He looks back to Sappige before sharing an embarrassed laugh with her. "I guess we will be moving then, Spartan." "And we are working!" Sappige yells from the back. "We are growing our new home nations population!" She laughs at that, Nederige is clearly uncomfortable with the joke. I try to shrug it off, when a thought occurred. How many pregnant women are citizens? Probably not the hundreds I need, but every bit counts. "Marvelous. Pack your things, you'll be moved to the empty residence to the northeast part of town. Try to speak with E'Claire about employment as soon as you can. We'll debrief you within the next few days. Understood?" He nods to me, so I turn to leave. I take a few steps away from their home before I come to a stop. Starke bartered a deal to keep our people from fighting, why not barter with Longhorn? It's clear that he's been colluding with Ulfric, what if I can offer him a deal to remove him from the equation? Why haven't I thought of this before? Ulfric is gathering his allies to aid in his future war effort. Why am I allowing this to happen? I should be doing the same, while also trying to divide him from those that would support him. I've been going about this in the worst way possible. I turn back and rush to the door. I slam my fist against it over and over again until he answers the door. Before he can say anything I rush into his home and start to pace around. I have a dozen ideas running around my head right now and I need to think them through! But where do I start? "Miles, what are you doing!?" Sappige asks as she rushes to hide in the bathroom. "Why would Ulfric be investing in slavery? Or slave fights? What's the angle there?" I ask aloud as I try to think of the answer. The first thought would be to enslave those that he conquers. But that doesn't make sense to me. The ponies are too numerous. It would be easier to just evict them, assuming his best case scenarios. "What are you talking about?" Nederige asks as he hurries to put some clothes on. "You showed me those slave pits for a reason, right? Clearly Ulfric is set on enslaving-" "I showed you the Passion Fruits, remember?" he asks as he takes some clothes to the bathroom, passing them to Sappige. I think about it for a moment before it all starts to catch on. "Right! Psychosomatic drugs. And a lot of them. But who are they for? Celestia? Luna? Maybe. It would make sense though. He needs to keep them to move the sun and the moon. Turning them into slaves would-" "He doesn't need them to move the sun and the moon," he states matter of factly. I stop in my tracks and stare at him in bewilderment. "According to the spy reports I was privy to, the Kroth are capable of doing the task. As far as we are aware, he aims to kill them in his first assault." I stare at him for a moment longer before rushing towards him. He tries to back away, but I grab him too quickly and toss him on the floor. He tries to scramble away, but I kneel over him and set my hands on his shoulders. My fingers dig into him and force him down, shaking with rage. Sappige bursts out of the bathroom and tries to beg for me to release him, but I barely hear her. "What have I said!? What have I done!?" He begs as he grabs onto my arms. "Why the fuck didn't you tell me about that!? Why am I hearing about this in small talk!? Why are you keeping secrets!?" I demand from him before slamming him against the ground. He lets out a pathetic whimper as he begs for my forgiveness. As if someone turned off a switch, I suddenly realize what I'm doing and release him. I've never lost my temper like that before! Was that... was that the other me? The one that took over last time? But... but I recall what I did! I was cognitive the whole time! What does that mean!? I back away from Nederige until I find the wall. My heart is racing and a cold sweat is starting to wash all over me. There's a lump in my throat that I can't seem to swallow and a pit in my stomach pulling down on me with tremendous weight. Sappige has rushed to Nederige's side but I can't understand what she's saying. Nederige is just staring back at me, the fear in his eyes prevalent. I try to gain control of myself, but I can't seem to. My breath is racing to catch up with my heart, but my heart won't slow down. I'm trying to stare at the floor to keep my head from spinning, but the lines in the wood are waving back and forth. I grab my head and force my eyes shut. Sweat races down from my hair and over my fingers, making my hand shake. There's a slight ringing in my ear that's starting to drown out my own thoughts too. "AAAAAAAHH!" I shoot up from my bed with a slight scream. The room I'm in is too dark to make anything out right now. There's a slight breeze in the darkness, chilling the sweat that's over my entire body. I bring a hand up to my head and rub my face, forcing large droplets to race down my cheek and neck. What the fuck was that? Where am I and how did I get here? "Miles?" A light turns on in the center of the room, revealing my dorm within the P.C.H. I look over to see Auxy looking back at me. She's in her blue sleeping gown with her pregnant stomach poking out slightly. Dolum is behind her, still asleep. She looks concerned, but is too tired to fully register anything completely. "Everything okay?" "... Yeah... yeah, just... uh, just a bad dream." I tell her, looking around the room. What's going on? Wasn't I just- "You look pale, you sure you're okay?" she asks, slowly becoming more awake. I look over the pristine room some more, still confused over everything going on. Everything is as it should be. The clutter, the dim lights of the various devices throughout the room, even my phone looks perfectly fine. No cracks, no dust, no evidence of war and destruction. Auxy starts to move to get up, tossing the blankets over Dolum. It takes her a moment to stand, but she eventually gets up and waddles over to me. I'm too confused to protest, but I do feel a pang of guilt for causing her to get up. She waddles over to me and cups my cheek with a hand. She holds it there for a moment before moving it to my forehead. "Miles, you feel a bit cold. You should go to the Med-bay and get checked up," she tells me quietly. I stare up at her for a moment before putting a hand over her hand. I can feel the smooth texture of her skin against mine. The warmth is still present from her slumber too. "Miles?" "Right! Right... I'll... I'll go right now. Sorry to wake you. I'll... I'll go right now..." I tell her quickly as I remove my hand. She gives me a concerned look before shrugging. "Well, good. I'll be sure to get Dolum to follow up with you, make sure you didn't skip out on a check up," she tells me as she starts to waddle towards Dolum’s closet. She grabs a bathrobe and carefully puts it on, tying the front lazily. "I'm going to go pee now. Text me when you finish up your check up, or else." I watch Auxy leave the room, the light from the hall showing the room with more clarity for a moment. Everything is as it should be, right? I bring my legs off the bed and rub my toes against the carpet. It feels as I remember it. Slightly coarse but not unpleasant. I stand up and go to the window. I pull up the blinds and stare out at the city. Streetlights dot the roads beneath as many of the windows are darkened from inactivity. Dim lights shine down from the dome above, giving just enough light to make your way around. A few vehicles are flying about, performing their various duties. Everything is as I remember it. It's almost as if nothing has happened. "You better get going Miles. It's bad enough you woke the pregnant lady." Dolum mutters from the bed. His voice stabs at me like nothing before has. I never thought I'd hear it again. I rush to his bed and pull him over to look at him. He tries to fight me, but I manage to pull the blankets off to see that's he's perfectly fine. No stab wound. No blood. He's.... fine. "What the fuck are you doing!?" Looking down at him I realize that I'm wearing the Potestatum Anuls. I grab one with a hand and start to pull on it, only to have it pull back on me. Dolums asks me a question, but I don't understand it. I'm too unsure of everything to comprehend him. He starts to get out of bed, so I do the first thing that comes to mind. I run. I go straight for the door and throw it open. I sprint into the hallway and race for the Mico platforms, passing Auxy along the way. She let's out a small scream when I scare her and calls out for me, but I don't stop. I make it to the station and wait for it to send me into the main lobby of the P.C.H., where I run to the main entrance. A few people here stare at me as I run pass them in only my pajama bottoms, but I don't care. I'm running. I don't know where I'm going, but I have to move. This isn't right. I make it to the mico station and head straight for the teleporter to the main entrance. I flash into the hall and continue running, scaring the few people in here. I go straight through the main doors and slow to a stop at the stop of the steps. Out before me is the city I grew up in, Topaz Falls. None of the destruction. No death. Ships are flying through the air as they go about their usual business. Everything is as it once was. "What the fuck is going on?" I ask as I bring my hands to hold my head. This can't be happening right now. "Whoa... are you... oh shit!" I look to the side to see some fat, greasy reporter staring at me. He pulls a camera up and starts to take pictures of me, amazed that I'm just standing here... in my underwear. "Miles!" I look back to see Dolum running through the door. I feel my head start to spin a bit at the same time. This all feels so real, but it can't be! I can recall too much for it to be! And this never happened before, so it can't be a memory. A flash of light from the side derails my train of thought. The photographer is still taking pictures. Annoyed, I ignite my hand and suck the energy from the camera. "What's the big idea!?" he asks, pulling out a new battery. Dolum grabs my arm and starts to pull me away. I stagger after him, staring back at the photographer. He seems like a normal person. There's nothing telling me that he's not real. Just some fat guy with long curly hair, and clad in his cargo shorts, greasy shirt, and vest. He looks real. "Who are you dating? Were you posing for the camera? Are you going to get retribution for losing your gems?" Dolum pulls me into the lobby and through the mico platforms. When we make it to the lobby Dolum pulls me to a nearby chair and sits me down. He grabs my face and starts to look me over. I try to push him away, but he keeps a firm grip on me. In the corner of my eye I see Auxy on the phone talking with someone. "Who is she calling?" I ask dryly. "Who do you think? Are you in pain? Is your soul under control? What's wrong?" I think through all of his questions and can't find a single complaint. There's no pain. I don't feel any pressure. As far as I can tell, there's nothing wrong with me. "Was it another premonition?" "No... I don't think so... if it was, it was one fucking long one." I tell him, thinking about everything. Dolum gives me a concerned look before looking back to Auxy. She gives him a thumbs up and he looks back to me with a new look of concern. "What's happening? Who is she talking to?" "Who do you think? We're calling the Captain over to have a look at you." "What? Why?" I feel my heart skip a beat as I start to panic. I don't want to see him! Real or not, he's the last person I want to talk to right now! I thought they were calling Eximius! "Don't call him!" "Too late, he's already on his way," Auxy tells me as she waddles over. "I'm going to the bathroom. Get some pants on and wait for him here." "But-" "But what?" she demands, glaring down at me. I try to form an answer, but can't. There was always something about Auxy that made me incapable of arguing with her. At least when she was pregnant, now that I think about it. "Uhuh, pants first, talk with Susurrans after." She doesn't wait for me to respond. She knows I'm going to do as she says. I've pissed her off, at least for the moment. I don't want to make matters worse. I always thought it was some sort of fear of causing harm to her baby, and that may be part of it, but... I don't know. There was always something more to her threats. It was almost as if she realized how to threaten each of us so perfectly that she reigned in control. "C'mon, you heard her," Dolum tells me, nudging my shoulder. "And by that pace you have at least thirty minutes before she makes it back." "Fuck me... what the fuck is going on?" I mutter to myself as I look down to my hands. They seem real enough. I pinch a part of my arm and start to twist it, grimacing from the pain. That was real. I start to look around for other factors to tell me whether or not this is a dream. Dolum has sweat on his brow, a clock on the wall is keeping pace perfectly, a magazine I've never read before has clear text on it. As far as I can tell, this is all new and alive. But that's impossible! I felt pain! Time passed before as well! Did something send me back in time? No, that can't be it either. None off this happened before. If I went back in time, I'd either run into myself and cause a paradox, or end up in a later part of the timeline where I didn't exist. But Dolum exists! None of this makes any sense! "Miles? You okay buddy?" Dolum asks, giving me a confused, concern look. I try to find an answer, but I can't. I can't accept that this is real, but I can't disprove it either! What am I going to do? FLASH "You know, for once, I'd like to get a call and not have to find you half naked." That voice sends a shiver down my spin. That old, gruff, quiet voice. It's the voice of a veteran. The voice of a leader. Susurrands Bellum. I look over to the mico platform to see him standing there. Clad in his signature jacket and jeans. He looks as I remember him; older, but still in his prime. A captain. A Spartan veteran. I can feel myself shake. Like a child who's been caught stealing snacks or a student cheating. A sense of anger and confusion washes over me, making me colder than I've ever felt. If this is real... I can talk to him, knowing what I know. If this isn't real... he'll avoid answering me. This is it then. This will be the test! But... how should I do it? Should I just ask? What am I saying? Just ask! There's no need to be discreet. Just... Just be direct and face him like a man! "Sus-" I stand to address him... but it doesn't go as planned. "That's Captain, Lieutenant. What's going on with you? Did you turn stupid or do you like showing your junk to the world?" And just like that, all of my confidence is gone. Is this what it's like to talk to a... parent? They just cut you down before you can even ask anything? Maybe I was better off not knowing... "Like we said," Dolum cuts in, answering for me. "He woke up, freaked out on us, and ran. He... seems to think this is all a dream." And there goes Dolum! Telling the Captain everything I would word differently! Like the caring ass that he is! I try to form a response, but tense up when Susurrans puts a hand on my face. He squeezes my cheeks and looks me over, squinting his old grey eyes. "This another Soul Fire thing?" he asks me, turning my head from side to side. His gaze on me feels like icy daggers dragging against my skin. "U-uh... n-no sir... I don't think so, at least." Why am I stuttering? I'm fucking thirty years old and I'm stuttering like a... like a child. "Hm... You're going to take the day off. Lay off the magic and take it easy. If this persists go to the hospital immediately. And call me. I don't want to hear this from someone else, got it?" I swallow a lump in my throat and nod to him. I still can't look him in the eyes. He turns and moves to talk with Dolum across the room. He's speaking quietly, a trait of his that always got under my skin. He's the only soldier I know that spoke so softly. It makes no sense whatsoever. But, it worked, somehow. Maybe it was because he doesn't give too many orders? I could never figure it out actually. He starts to leave for the mico platform, and I start to panic. I have too much to say to him to let him just walk away! Even if this is some sort of dream or hallucination. I jump up and rush to cut him off. He gives me a surprised look and tries to say something, but I cut him off with the first thing that comes to mind. "Who is Eremita?" The question hits him like a steel wall. He steps back and stares back at me, lost for words. Though, truthfully, I don't know what to say either. "Eremita... you're Eremita-" "Don't give me that shit! You know what I mean, Captain! Who is Eremita!?" "... You're-" "Who!?" I step closer, making him back away. "Miles-" "Tell me!?" I rush forward and grab his arms, holding him in place. I can feel him shaking. I can feel the fear within him. His charade is over and now he has to face me. What is he going to say? What is he going to do? He fumbles with his words at first. Trying to coordinated his thoughts. When he makes his plan he drops all his fears and puts on a stone face. It surprises me slightly. Enough so that when he pushes me back I let go of him. "We will meet at the training grounds later today, as we were scheduled. There you will get the answers you seek. I... must prepare something beforehand." He doesn't look at me when he says this. "That's not good enough!" I bark at him. "No... no, it wouldn't be. Nothing would. Nothing ever has been, nor will it ever be. There is... too much to that question Miles. But... you will get your answers... I will try to at least... I have to go... don't be late." He pushes past me and takes the teleporter out of the room. I stand in a daze as all of the adrenaline starts to leave my body. I can feel a cool sweat chilling over myself. And hands are shaking slightly and I feel lightheaded. This can't be a dream. This is too real. What has happened? What's going on? "Come on buddy. Let's... let's go back to the room and try to get some rest," Dolum tells me quietly, putting a hand on my shoulder. I don't respond to him. I just let him guide me back to the room. I feel... drained. Confused... I'm scared to see what he has to say. "Miles!" I look back to see Inficiunt running towards me, holding his night cap to his head. He stops before and tries to catch his breath, but tries to talk anyway. "Did... did I miss it? Did he... little... did little orphan Annie have... have her... big moment?" "I'm amazed I missed you." I tell him, too stunned to fully grasp the moment. He ignores me and pulls me in for a soft, sweaty hug. I know better than to question why he's sweaty. "It's okay baby girl... it's okay... I'll help you with your daddy issues-" "And you're done!" Dolum tells him, prying him away from me. "Go back to your room and don't be late for briefing tomorrow. It's rankings tomorrow and I doubt they're going to let us reschedule. Now let's go! Back to bed! Go go go go GO!" Chapter 251 Susurrans BellumChapter 251 Susurrans Bellum I managed to get some sleep later that night. I don't know how I did, but I found a way. My alarm went off as it usually did. That same annoying beeping that I've become accustomed to. Dolum tried to talk to me again, as did Auxy, but I didn't feel like talking. I told them we could talk after the rankings. After I learned what I needed to. I had almost forgotten about the rankings since my time in Equestria. We don't have enough Spartans to mandate it currently. It was more of a way for the Terradisians to keep tabs on the Spartans. Know who's better than who, what we're capable of, and that their taxes weren't being wasted. We always took it as a challenge among the ranks. Because in the end, it was all about who was better than who. Usually these were combat trials. See who could clear a course the fastest or lay down the most amount of fire in the shortest time. Typically against bots. Always televised. It had to be. It's part of what made us so damn popular. People down here needed the distraction. We needed to distract them from the fact that we're in hiding, and that the fate of our species was at stake. Races, bot fights, athletic sports, they all did well enough. But blood sports? Watching people fight for their lives. There's no comparison. And true to Terradisian fashion, there was zero accountability for them. It's to test us, keep us combat ready. Why not gamble on the outcome? Why not idolize the people who will fight for our very existence? We're Spartans. We forgone our morality so they could prosper. It was all part of our agreement, way back when Novus Romae was founded. "... so we'll start with the wedge formation and work our way from there. We've done this before and we'll do it again. Got it?" Dolum asks the room. We're all in the armory getting the last bits of our armor on. It's strange to see everyone again. I was happy at first, but that ended quickly. I don't even know if this is real, so I should hold myself back for now. "Who will be the anchors this time?" Eximius asks. "Inficiunt and me," Dolum replies. "Why do I have to be anchor? I was anchor last time!" "Because I said so! Now stop being a little bitch and get your shit together! We're not losing our ranking, you understand?" They continue to argue with each other, but I start to drown them out. There's too much to think about right now. I just want to get this over with so I can have that talk already. Nothing else matters to me right now. What is he going to say? I can think of a few subjects, but I can't imagine the excuses he has! How do you find your child, a child you thought was dead, and just... leave them? Never tell them what they wanted all along was right next to them the entire time. What could drive a person to do that? I can't think of a single reason he would do that... At least, none that aren't depressing, that is. "Miles?" I look over as Tenera takes a seat on the bench beside me. I must have dozed off. I go back to latching on my leggings, trying to ignore her. "How are you holding up?" "That is a question I could even begin to answer properly." I tell her. Real or not, she's still my teammate. It's hardwired for me to answer her. "Cause of your daddy issues?" Inficiunt asks, immediately getting slapped upside the head by Sine. "Don't be an ass Cunt," Fidus chastises. It's even weirder seeing her again. She still has all of her hair. And she's talking! She must not have had... it must not have happened here. "But seriously, Miles? Don't fuck up today. I don't want to lose our ranking." "Fidus!" Tenera snaps, getting her to put her hands up. "We'll be fine. We always have been and we always will be! Now give Miles some space before we head out there!" They all go back to getting ready. Tenera squeezes my shoulder for a moment before leaving me too. I consider her for a moment before finishing attaching my gear back on. That's right, she had a thing for me. I guess things didn't end so poorly here. Given, if nothing happened to Fidus, she would have no reason to hate me. So this isn't an event that has happened before. And judging by how Auxy looked, it couldn't have been too far afterwards either. When is this all supposed to be taking place? A buzzer sounds off in the back of the room. It's time to go. I reach for my helmet... and consider what I'm about to do. This is a test of our power as a unit. But if it's not real, then there's nothing to lose. And there's one easy way to test this all. So I leave the helmet on the table and line up with the others. The door in the back of the room slides open and we file in. Just before us in the small narrow room in another door. Beyond that is the arena. The room can modify itself to create any type of environment. I only recall it making urban setting though. Strange. I wonder if it could create a forest setting. "Ladies," a technician in the small control room beside us says sleazily. He's just some typical guy. Hasn't done anything important, probably never will. His orange jumpsuit has the name Sero stitched into it. "Try not to break a nail, heh heheh!" He opens the door before we can say anything back to him. He's an asshole. Some guy that says shit because he thinks nothing is ever going to happen to him. His perfect little world lets him prey on others that have to work twice as hard as he does, and there's nothing that's ever going to change that. "Miles! GO!" Dare yells at me from behind. I go, but I don't go out the door. I go to the control room and grab his collar. He tries to pry me off, but I drag his sorry ass out into the arena. Those behind me try to stop me, but I push past them. A bright light shines down on us as we step out into the open area. The stands are full of people waiting to see their favorite sport play out. Violence and destruction with total ease of mind, what's not to love? The ground is a synthetic metal meant to be easily replace but still be reasonably durable. It gives an off white glow from the lights in the dome above. Portions of the floor have risen to make the arena into a small sort of valley. Portions of a hill take the left and right side. The far end in flat and leveled, just like our end, with a red flag standing there. Bots have taken positions on both sides of the hill, giving them a clear advantage to defend. The crowd is cheering wildly as we file out from our opening. Those that came out first took off quickly, giving as much covering fire as possible. That cheering starts to waver off as I march straight into the center of the arena. The bots know not to fire at the civilian, giving me a clear line to enter. "You fucking idiot! They'll fucking drop your rank for sure! How much of a coward are you!" The technician growls at me as I force him to walk forward. He's given up on fighting me. He knows he won't win that fight. "There are things I've always wanted to test out. But they're been too unethical to try out. I guess now is as good a time as any, isn't it?" I ask him. He looks back at me and sees that I'm being completely serious. "Whoa-whoa-WHOA! There's no need to do anything ir-irrational! C'mon! Look, we can talk about this! Y-you wouldn't want to lose your rankings, right!?" We stop in the center of the arena and the crowd has gone silent. No one knows what's going on. There isn't any fighting. A civilian has been taken prisoner and they don't know what to think. And they won't know what to do when I get started. All human magic is based off of the human soul We take that energy and manipulate it into various energies or with different matter. Adding water and cooling the energy creates ice. But what happens when you take a living soul and try to manipulate that? And not just a portion of it, like what most healing spells. I mean go into what makes a person's soul and change the script for it. Change the person. What can you do with that? Could I make a bigot empathize? Could I give a weakling power? If we can change the physical makeup of a person, what can't I change the astral makeup of someone? The man is still begging for me to let him go. As far as he knows, I'm going to use him as some sort of flesh shield. His tears do little to sway me though. Even if this turns out to be real, there won't be any real consequences for him. Other than a relatively quick death that is. I flare my hand and shove it straight into his back. He screams in terror as I pierce right into his soul and start to manipulate it. This terrifies me. He has a soul. I know now, without a doubt, that this is not a dream. My mind cannot create another soul. It simply cannot happen. But that just raises even more questions. I know my time in Equestria was real, there were souls there as well. But, for now, I'll end this fight so I can start answering my questions. I treat this as I would when making the Elements. Manifested intent. Take what was hatred and make it something else. What will happen? Will I change what makes him hate? Will changing that make him a different person altogether? Or will changing something about him force his body to reject his soul? So many possibilities. That's why I tested it on rocks before. If I had tested it on people there would have been too many variables. But now... let's see... FWWTHNK My shoulder is pulled back when a round slams into me. It's enough to stagger me back, but it doesn't pierce my armor. A bot has taken a shot. They must have thought there was some sort of mistake. Civilians aren't allowed in here after all, they had to figure out what was going on. Took them long enough. I take my free hand and raise a shield as they all start to fire down on me. They're being careful not to hit Sero. I guess he did turn out to be a flesh shield. I can feel the tethers of intent and will that make up his soul. It almost feels as if I'm grabbing a bundle of cables that tie him together. Some feel... stronger, than others. Some feels loose, while others seem... slippery. I've never done this within a person before, so it's all new grounds really. Normally I would do this in some sort of simulation or write out formulas for weeks on end. Have it peered reviewed. Test spells. Not today. I can hear all of my friends yelling at me. They don't understand what's going on with me or what I'm doing. All of the bots are focusing on me, moving to flank me. Pretty soon I'll have to address them. If I had more time I could attempt to do something with the guy, but that's simply something I won't be able to do. How am I going to deal with all of this? I have a few seconds before I need to act. I can think of something by then. I should try using some of the new spells I've learned in Equestria. If they work, then that's proof that my time there was real. Or, at least, it'll be evidence. Darkness? No, they don't need light to see. Flare? No, their lens's should be able to compensate for that too. Stupid advance machines. Machines... that'll do. I take one last look around before pushing Sero forward and leaping into the air. The bots follow right after me, sending bolts of energy up and towards me. When I make it a decent height up I kick the air behind me and magically propel myself towards the ground. This does a good job of avoiding their fire and getting me into position to hit as many of them as possible. When I hit the ground I set off my spell with as much power as possible. Rust. I don't know how this wasn't a spell that I knew already. It's fairly obvious now that I think about it. And simple. Adding water to metal and forcing it to oxidize. I guess with water being a limited resource here, using it as a weapon wasn't on everyone's mind. Still, it's clearly effective. A wave of red-orange energy ripples through the ranks and forces the machines to slow to a halt. Their metal bodies turn to rust and crack under the pressure. They are made to withstand magic, at least slightly, but not at this level. Sadly, going at such a high level has a secondary effect. I was willing to hit myself for this, but I also hit all of my teammates. As well as part of the stadium too. Several civilians are screaming bloody murder at me, angered that I rusted their phones or watches. I don't care right now. This fight is over now. And that's what I wanted. "Miles!" I try to turn to look back, but my rusted armor makes it nearly impossible to do so. Captain Bellum comes walking into view, infuriated. I don't care. I want my answers, and I wasn't going to wait to play these little games. And I had the added bonus of finding out how real this all is. "Sweet Abigail boy! The fuck is wrong with you?" "Oh sweet Barbra..." That doesn't prove anything until he admits it! How times have I heard that before!? Maybe it's just something I learned from him? "Are you looking to be court marshaled? Are you really looking to throw everything away and rot in jail to... to... I don't even know what you're trying to prove here!" he yells, pacing before me. "I have questions I want answered, Susurrans." I reply, still stuck in my attack pose. I try to get up to be standing, but I guess I over did it. "First and foremost, do not disrespect me like that. I will put you in your place soldier! Do not test me." "I would be scared if you weren't a coward." The crowd around us gasps at that. I... honestly forgot they were there for a moment. I guess we're doing this live. "Tell me. Tell me now or be branded a coward by all of Terradisia, Susurrans Bellum. Who is Eremita!?" The Captain stops before me and stares down. Not at me though. He's looking down... in shame. I've never seen him so... scared. Ashamed. Sad. I'm pressing something that clearly means everything to him. But my moment of pity is lost almost immediately when he remains silent. Pure anger and resentment swells up within me as I stare up at him, waiting for him to finally speak. I try to move, but I don't make any real progress. This rust was a really bad idea, now that I think about it. There's a silence in the air as the entire audience awaits his answer. I doubt anyone knows what's really going on. But this drama is worse than any drug out there for them. This is the entertainment they live for. Wonder what they're going to do with whatever answer they receive. "Eremita... was my Captain. She was what a Spartan Captain should be... and I will not allow you to tarnish her legacy." Before I could question him further the rusted metal around me rips apart and flies past me. I couch a few times as the dust bellows around me. Captain Bellum stands before me, sword at the ready, hands flared, waiting for me to engage him. "Fight me or submit to my authority!" he bellows at me. That's out of character for him. He's not one to yell. Maybe I'm not thinking this clearly or maybe I just don't care, but I raise my arms and flare my hands. I want to fight him. I want to challenge his authority. I want to see if I can beat him. He takes a step left, so I step right. I'm at a disadvantage right now. No weapons, no armor, just my magic. I do have one edge over him though. I know what that sword does. He takes another step left, so I step right once more. It stores energy within it and sends it back on attacks. While that's not too crazy, it's the raw amount of energy that it can store that is impressive. I don't think I could fill it in a reasonable amount of time by myself. And that much raw energy coming back at you, it's enough to make me think twice. We step again. And the storing energy bit. Any momentum coming towards him will be absorbed by that sword and stored to come back at me. Throwing large objects won't be effective, no matter how large they are. My best bet is to attempt a direct spell that can get past his sword. But if his sword is that insane, what does his armor do? "Have you finally learned patience? Or are you just scared to attack?" he mocks, getting the crowd to chatter. They probably think this is some grand play for them. Something to entertain them, like the ancient Roman gladiators. This is their blood sport. Their daily distraction from the impending doom. The world is a little less claustrophobic when you get to bet on the outcome of a battle. And we Spartans play our parts, willfully feeding their falsehoods. "I know what that sword does now." I tell him as we continue to step around each other. My friends are being carted off the field, still stuck in their armor. "And it benefits me to wait. All I need is one opening-" Before I could finish he stepped forward and took a swing at me. I was able to step out of the way of the blade, but he was able to swing it once more. I keep my distance from him as I wait for my chance. His attacks are quick and precise. He's calculating each swing, leading them towards some big payout. But he won't be able to get it. I see my opening when he goes to swing his sword back around. I thrust my arm forward and attempt to blast him back. Something goes terribly wrong. It doesn't make sense to me, it shouldn't even be possible! His opening was a trap. He gave an opening so he could bring his hand in position to catch my attack. He caught the beam of energy and is holding it in his fist! As if it was a physical rod of some sort! The excess energy is blasting away behind him, billowing dark clouds in the distance. Even worse, I'm somehow stuck casting the spell. The area behind him is being obliterated by my destructive magic, but he has total control over it. "You are smart, and you have power to spare. But there is much for you to learn." I watch in terror as he sets his sword against my beam of energy. I feel it contact, but it ignores the physics of my spell and sits against it, gathering energy at a high rate. Etchings along the blade slowly start to appear one the weapon, making their way up from the hilt. "Do you think I am Captain because I have a fancy sword? Or maybe I just knew the right people." "I don't care how you became Captain. All I care about is the truth!" I try to break free, but it's as if he has a grasp of my very soul! "Be careful of what you wish for. The truth is never as easy as the lies we live with." He releases my magic and takes a readied stance. The spell finally ends, giving me a moment's respite. "Yield." I take a deep breath and look up to him. I can see the etching on his blade starting to spell something out. E,R,E. With the raw amount of energy he's absorbed, a single swing from that sword could rip a tank in half. He doesn't even need to hit me at this point. All he really needs to do is hit near me and the resulting explosion would do the rest of the work. "You can't win Miles," he says to me in his usual quiet tone. Soft, slow, deliberate. He's being careful with what he says. But he's saying what he takes as fact. "You could yield and re-challenge me. But it'll just come back to this. You can't hold this position, and that's what matters most. You can't be Captain if you can't hold the title. And you can't hold onto power if people believe they can challenge you. Without unquestionable authority, you cannot lead these soldiers." "And what if I had something none of them could touch? And what if I had something so powerful that matter itself crumbles before it?" I have Icy Void. Nothing can stand before that. It's my final trick. My last chance. "I have been to the voider plane. I have seen the world without, the place that has never been. I have spoken with the husks that line the here and the there. There is nothing you can do that I can't do better. Yield. Regain your thoughts, there is still much for you to learn." I stumble back when he says this. What the fuck is the voider plane!? What the fuck are all of those redundancies supposed to mean!? I try to think of something to say, something I could do, but... if what he's saying is true, there's nothing I can do to him. Every trick I've ever thought of, every edge I thought I had, he's been four steps ahead of me. No matter what I do, I'll never be the Captain he was. I'll never be as good as him. "I yield." My pride is crushed. I drop to my knees as my shame starts to overtake me. I came to terms that this was something that I could reign over him. Something that I could fantasize about that would defeat him and make me his equal. But those were just dreams. He's been ahead of me the entire time. I have nothing that could ever stand to touch him. How can I call myself Captain when I'm so clearly outclassed? He sets his sword down and approaches me. I can't look at him right now. I can't because he's my better, and I can't bring myself to look up to him again. He takes a knee just before me and sets a hand on my shoulder. It... calms me, ever so slightly. There is no animosity between us, despite the cruel words I spoke. I look up to him and can sense his acknowledgement and understanding. "Your journey has just started Miles." He slips something into my pocket. I try to look, but he grips my shoulder more firmly, forcing me to look up to him. "In time you will learn of your mother's past. You cannot avoid it. But... there are secrets that you will have to learn. Secrets that will shake you to your core. Listen well and let your flame guide you. And though we walk the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil. It's time you started to learn of your father's past, and why you will never meet him." CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP I look back and feel my blood boil as he starts to approach the two of us. He looks just as I remembered him. Thin, pale, long blonde hair that's tied back. And those eyes. Those piercing red eyes! With that crooked, smug smile of his! The man that took everything from me! The man that tormented me and belittled me! The man that killed my father! Altum Stans! "How quaint of you two to have this little spat of yours-" He started to talk. He tried to mock me once more. But I will not have it. Never again will allow him to belittle me! Even if it didn't happen, even if it was just some sort of dream, his existence is too much for me to bear. Just as he was about to move past me I shot up and swung for his face. My fist aimed true and I was mere hairs away from breaking his jaw. At the moment of contact I punched a hole in the wood paneling of the lodge. It takes me a moment to realize what just happened. In the nano seconds it took for me to punch Altum, I have somehow appeared back in the lodge where I was before all this madness started. I feel myself shake as I look around, unsure of what is happening. I take a few tentative steps for the door before I break into a sprint. I burst outside and slow to a stop. Lights are strung throughout the street, giving off a warm glow. A large bonfire is set in the center of town as everybody is preparing for some sort of festival. I can see all of my Spartans here. Storm, True Will, Dust, High Flier, Shifted, all of them. I'm back in Equestria. I'm... home? I reach into my pocket and pull out a thumb drive. Whatever clue he was about to give me, whatever secret he was about to share, I have in the palm of my hand. Susurrans Bellum will return in Whispers of War Chapter 252 Alone With NothingChapter 252 Alone With Nothing I can hear the clamor of people around me. I can see them approaching, tentative and scared. I can feel them pulling me to a nearby bench and seating me. Water pours over my head and starts to wash the rust from me. I even couch a bit from it all. But none of it seems real to me. Was this all a dream? Where was I? And where was I before that? Nothing here makes any sense, even as magic is used on and around me. I can feel their presence from within. Which is what I was taught to believe to be real. It's here, with me, in this place. But I'm starting to doubt that anything is real now. "Miles?" I look over to Storm as he sets a hoof on my shoulder. "What happened?" I consider the question for a moment. It's hard to answer, but at the same time it's easy. "I went home." He gives me a confused look before taking his hoof back. He can tell that there's more to it then just that, but he's not going to press the issue. He's a good friend like that. "No, but seriously, what happened?" Damian asks from across the bench. I ignore him as I look around the town a bit more. The decorations are new, meaning someone came here and put them up. Everyone seems to be preparing for a large festival, but I can't recall anything that would be coming up right now. Not unless it's someone's birthday. But even then that doesn't make sense. Why would the whole town be getting ready for something like that? ... and then it hits me. "What day is it?" I ask as I start to stand, tripping slightly over the bench. Those around me hesitate to answer. But I can already tell what it is. But if that's true, then that means I've been gone for almost a week. How can that possibly make sense? I spent a day in the past, but it math'd out like that? One day there is a week here? How could that possibly make any sense? "It's Friday Miles," Storm starts to tell me. "The Grand Galloping Gala is about to start... Nationwide." I chuckle. When I chuckle, I chuckle some more. Is this some kind of sick, cruel joke? I should have had a week to mentally prepare for this! And then... then... that happens, and I show up just as the Grand Galloping Gala is about to start! Not even just that! No! I show up to the Grand Galloping Gala, nationals! The universe hates me. The stars have aligned in such a perfect manner that they all get to butt fuck me without so much as spitting first! "Miles... you're scaring me," Storm tells me. I grab a nearby drink and down its content in one full swing. I was hoping for alcohol, but got fruit punch instead. I toss the cup behind me and start to back away, getting everyone to follow after me. "Oh sweet Barbra... oh sweet Barbra... OH SWEET BARBRA!" I yell as I start to grab at my hair, tripping over a chair along the way. "Miles... take it easy. Let's sit back down and relax for a minute, okay? Let's not do anything brash," Storm cautions as he follows me, keeping a safe distance. "OH SWEET BARBRA!" Everyone jumps back from me as I pull my hair and start to have the world's largest panic attack. This isn't happening! Nope! I've clearly gone insane and this is my mind punishing me. What else would be happening right now? Clearly not that! Anything but that! I'd take an Unfamiliar invasion over this! A dragon attack! I... I... I'd take a day in prison over this! Can I get imprisoned right now? If I can trick the bots and do something simple enough, probably. I could start a fight, whose the closest to me that is a civilian? Na-Da? No... not her. Bad Brew? ... that could work. "Miles?" That voice does wonders for me. I soothes me in ways no other voice can. Like a cool cloth to a scorching wound. Look over to Luna as she sits beside me, wrapping her silky wing over my back as she pulls me in for a light hug. I can smell a perfume wafting over her. She's wearing an ornate dress of black and blue and has a few pieces of jewelry added to her usual get up. "I'm glad you're back." "... glad to be back... what'd I miss?" I ask her quietly, softly leaning against her. She supports my weight easily, gently resting her head against mine. "Oh, the usual. Political rivalries, Shadow trying to systematically destroy Diamond Tiara, Tempestive getting into his usual hi-jinks; pretty standard week really. You?" I hesitate to answer her at first, but force myself to speak. I could never lie to her really. I don't see how now is any different. "I went home." My answer confuses her, so I elaborate. "I woke up in Topaz Falls. I was in my bed, as if nothing had happened. Auxy, Dolum... Susurrans, they were all there. It was as if nothing had happened at all. I was even able to check for other souls! It was real! I can't explain it, but it was real Luna. I went back to a time where the attack never happened. I went home." The crowd around us starts to murmur with one another. Questions are being raised. Uncertainty is settling within the town. Luna takes a look around and nods to Storm. He, along with the other Spartans, start to disperse the crowd, letting them know that everything is going to be okay. "Let's get you home so you can get cleaned up, okay?" Luna asks as she stands. She offers me her hoof and helps me up. My knees nearly give out on me, but she gives me the support I need. I stare at her for a moment before nodding. After all of this, and she's still here, helping me. Of all the things to fear, I know now that her leaving will never be one of them. There is a powerful comfort in knowing that. In having proof of that. The line is... pretty far out there. So far I don't think I could reach it even if I wanted to. We walk back home together. I keep quiet though. I don't want to say anything further. It would only sour the night. Though, I'm pretty sure it's already soured. Luna is giving me glances, waiting for me to do or say something. Or maybe she's expecting me to just up and disappear again. It's hard to tell, and I wish I could give her the answer. We make it home to find it too quite. The kids must not be here. I take a few steps around and stop in the middle of the living room. I don't really know what to do with myself right now. Should I go out and pretend nothing happened? Should I stay home and try to relax? It feels like I just got out of a car accident and I'm trying to piece everything together. "First, why don't you take a shower," Luna tells me as she walks up beside me. "I need to send a few letters out, but we'll spend the day here so you can relax-" "No!" I scare myself with how quick I said that. I wasn't expecting to just blurt that out. But there was something in her tone of voice. I don't think it was intentional, but there was a clear sign of disappointment coming from her. She must have been looking forward to this night. Maybe because I never join her for these kinds of things, or maybe she was looking forward to the distraction. Either way, she wanted this night. "No... there was too much planning and effort for this night. I... I can tough it out. I'll take a shower and get dressed." She gives me a concerned look before reaching forward and grabbing my hand. "Miles, that's not necessary. With everything that just happened, I don't think going out to the public right now would be the best idea. Especially with how the night is going to go. You should stay home and relax." I think about it for a moment before shaking my head. Tonight is too important for her to take it easy. I know she wanted this night. Not to mention the world will be looking. I cannot afford to appear as weak. Both as the leader of the Spartans, and the king of Equestria. This is not a night for me. "Give me twenty minutes to shower and change and I'll be ready to go." She gives me a concerned look, but I do my best to ignore it for the time being. I have a job to fulfill. Nothing else should get in the way of that. I took twice as long as usual to shower up. The amount of rust all over me was astounding. I didn't think about anything during either. I'm too focused at the task at hand to really reflect on anything. I don't even know where I'm supposed to be at this moment. My assumption is that we'll spend the night at Canterlot Castle, but this is supposed to be a nationwide gala. Shouldn't that mean that we're supposed to be everywhere? Pinkie should have the answers, as she planned... all of this, so I should really meet up with her. When I dry off I go to the closet to find something to wear and find a suit with a note. It's made for me in pony form and is a simple black jacket with a white button up and black tie. The pink paper and glitter ribbon tells me that the note is from Pinkie, so I read it. Miles, I had Rarity throw this together for you! It should fit, but if not she can make some last second adjustments at Canterlot. In your pocket there should be a note with a schedule (Luna has one too). Assuming you're back in time, just follow the instructions and you should see most of the parties major gala events! Also, you need to be in pony form. I have Easy in disguise with the Spartans (Did you know he can make holograms!? How cool is that??? We also got him to sound just like you!!!). When they show up to Canterlot he should appear as you. So, get changed and get going! Bye! P.S. I hid a little flask in the other pocket in your jacket. Just in case. I go through the jacket and find the flask she mentioned. I almost cry as I twist the top off and take a swig... I almost cry again when I realize that it's hard cider. It's nice, but it won't be enough to take the edge off. Especially at the amount. It's okay, I'll find something along the way and top it off. I'll be fine. But that does raise another problem. How am I going to change myself? Normally I'd do something that would knock me out, but I don't want to do that now. I'm afraid that if I do, it'll force me back to Topaz Falls. But I don't know how I'm going to change otherwise. There has to be another way, and I have ten minutes tops to figure it out! "I'm doomed." I mutter as I stare at the suit. "Miles?" I jump from Lunas voice. She enters the room as stops at the entrance of the closet. She takes one look at the suit and sighs. "It'll be fine love. I don't want you hurting yourself. Just stay here and relax. I'll send the letters and it'll all be fine." "It won't be fine," I tell her, a little to aggressively. I take a step back and try to calm down. She's being patient. She better than me like that. "I know you've been looking forward to this. And there's a lot riding on tonight. If I want to call myself Captain of the Spartans, or King of Equestria, or... whatever title there is, I need to be more than just a man. If there's a way to just... turn this all around, or flip it... I don't know! There has to be a way of making this work!" I step back and lean against the wall. I know she's right. There isn't a way we can fix this right now. I'm just being stubborn and making it her problem. I should be better than that. I look over to apologize, but see that she's deep in thought. Something I said seems to have resonated with her. I want to ask, but she's piecing it together still. She has a very obvious thinking face. "I was helping Pinkie with the hologram earlier in the week and Twilight was there. She kept asking about the enchantment and how it functioned and... and it all came back to how human magic functions differently from pony magic. Pony magic flows inward while human magic flows outward. What if... somehow, we got the energy within to... switch? Maybe it's not that you're going unconscious, but, rather, you're forcing yourself to alter the course of your magic?" I give it a moments thought but come to several dead ends. I've changed before without knocking myself out. Though, it was far and few between. But she is on to something. Something is... altering me. Giving me that push to switch. But... what? "Harmony." "What?" I ask. She's clearly made some sort of epiphany, but there seems to be a catch to it. I look down to my arms and note that I don't have them. Which is odd. I had them before I went to Topaz, but I didn't have them there. Where did they go? Are they what made all of this happen? "My hunch is that this all has to do with the alignment you're in. Somehow, you're either too close to the Elements of Solitude, or Harmony, or too far, I don't know. Either way, I think they are messing with you somehow. But... I don't know how to test this idea." I think about it for a second before shaking my head. "There is no way of testing this. Not without having someone who knows more about this present. And I don't know how to test this kind of idea. I've had the Elements with me before, and I've been without them. And in the end, we have maybe ten minutes to get me to change before we go out tonight. Not that it isn't good thinking, but we need the quick fix for tonight." "What we need is an expert in this matter," Luna tells me, stepping forward. "I need to speak with Soul Fire." "... how do you plan to do that?" I ask nervously. In all honesty, she's right. He would be the one to talk to. But... do we really have time for this right now? "I... don't know. We've never voluntarily spoken," she tells me, stepping into the bedroom to sit on the bed. I walk towards her and lean against the doorway of the closest. There has to be some sort of trend that can help us. But I'm never really... aware, when these things happen. "What happens when he does want to speak with you? What does he... or I, do?" She thinks about it for a moment, staring me over as she recalls every change I've ever done. "Well... for starters, you're magic maxes out every time. Your eyes... either they roll into the back of your head or they glow with energy. Also, your voice deepens and... you always grab my horn." This already sounds too dangerous. "Miles-" "I'm not going to do that Luna," I cut her off. "It may be the only way Miles. We can't be afraid to try-" "Is this really the time though? Aren't you supposed to be in Canterlot by now?" My questions seems to anger her slightly. "Miles, this is more important. Yes, the Gala tonight is important too. But being able to speak with Soul Fire on a whim is far more valuable than swaying a few nobles. Imagine what he can teach us about magic! About how to control your changes! We should have been trying this sooner in all honesty." I try to think of something to argue with, but I can tell it would be pointless. She has that determined look on her face. She isn't going to budge on this. I have a feeling this is going to be as bad as when I was shooting Damian with Icy Void. But, I guess we're going to just roll with the punches again. "Okay... so... how are we going to do this?" Luna pauses for a second before pulling herself completely on the bed. At the same time, she levitates me to the other side. A little too forcefully for my taste. She takes a moment to get comfortable before giving me a determined look. "Okay. Max out your magic and grab my horn. And... if memory serves me right, you should be able to do this without harming me. At least, that's what I recall in the past. And then... we'll see what happens from there." I try to think of any last rebuttals before doing this. But there aren't any. And stalling will only make matters worse. I take a moment to remove my clothes, using the remedial task as my last moment of clarity. With that done, I begrudgingly start to flare my magic. Immediately I feel something is off and I'm reminded that I have a new set of potestam annuls on my arms. It's strange to think that, even though I've had them off for such a long time, that they still felt natural on me. I have to push a little harder to get past them, something that feels practiced yet foreign to me. After some effort, I get past them and manage the rest easily enough. We give each other a look before I do anything further. She puts on a determined face before nodding to me. It amazes me how she can appear so brave when I'm so scared. She has a drive to find answers that inspires me, while terrifying me at the same time. I take a deep breath and nod back to her before reaching forward. I pause just before I grab her horn, but force myself to close the distance between us. I wait for something to happen as I wrap my fingers around her horn. At first, nothing happens. I guess it wasn't going to be that easy after all. Luna seems to have a thought though. She starts to flare her magic and I feel something within me start to stir. I can't fully describe it, but... it's like a breath of fresh air hitting you when you didn't know you were hot. Some part of me starts guiding the rest of the way. I focus in on that energy. It's... like a road, with two lanes of traffic flowing through it. Since we're trying to figure my stuff out, I start to let the energy towards me. Luna seems to have had a similar idea. I can feel her pushing in towards me, rushing the energy into me. It starts to become uncomfortable though. Like when you down a beverage when you're too full. I try to slow it down, but the floodgates have been opened and it starts to become too much for me. In a panic, I try to let go, but I can't move my fingers! They feel welded to her! I close my eyes and try to yell out, but nothing comes out. Everything turns white, and I feel myself start to fall. Perspective: Luna I feel drained, but ecstatic! It worked. I've made my way into his mind once more! But, something is off. The white field is still there, but I don't see any of the panels of memories. As far as I can tell, there isn't anything here. I turn around, expecting to catch something sneaking up on me, but there is nothing to see. "Come on Miles, give me something to work with," I mutter as I start to walk around. My hoof steps echo lightly in the empty space, driving home how alone I am. Where did Miles go? "What's that?" In the distance I can see a speck. It's too far to make out, so I hurry towards it. I give my wings a try, but nothing happens. That's the same at least. I try my own magic as well, finding similar results. When I feel that I've made no progress I start to gallop. But now it seems as if I'm making no progress at all! Galloping turns to running, which in turn becomes a full force sprinting. The speck slowly becomes the silhouette of a person, pushing me to run even faster. The distant figure slowly turns towards me, and my perception is thrown off when it appears before me. I brace myself to stop and crash, but it never happens. I just... stop. Was I even moving to begin with? The figure before me fills me with an eerie dread I've not felt in a long time. It appears to be a solid white skeleton that's hunched over. It's disfigured, with one arm being far too small and its legs curved and bent incorrectly. Its head is oddly shaped, being one solid stricture with a pointed chin and a round skull. Its eyes are just two indents that seem to pierce into me coldly. "Who are you?" I ask as I try to back peddle. The figure hobbles towards me, rubbing its hands together slowly as it bores into me with it's icy stare. "Can you grasp the concept of... nothing?" It asks in a voice that's barely over a dry whisper. "Are... are you Corpus Glacius?" I ask as I try to widen the gap between us. "Could you imagine going from nothing... to being a part of everything? Do you know the pain there is in being taunted with such splendor?" I stop moving as I think about what he said. "I do." He stops and eyes me quizzically. "I was imprisoned on the moon. Or, within the moon. All I had were my thoughts, but those ran out after... days." "What did you have after that?" "... anger. Rage. All I had was... what I planned to do when I was free. I knew it would happen eventually. But... I didn't have a concept of time. So all I had was the thought that... one day... I would be free." It stings to think about this. The memories flood in so easily. A thousand years of being driven by one thought is not forgotten so quickly. "You and I, we are one in the same. We have risen from the ashes. And now... and now we are poised to claim what is rightfully ours. Time is on our side, we just need to be patient. One false move, one over step, and not even the intruder can stop us." "... what intruder?" He ignores my questions. A darkness emanates from behind him and starts to drape itself all over his body. I try to stand my ground, but the darkness starts to make him grow to the point where I have to look up to him. "Even a pawn can kill a king. Patience blue one, your time will come. We all just need to have patience. Nothing... last forever..." I awake back in the bedroom with my head draped off the edge of the bed. Miles is on the floor beneath me in his alicorn form. Whatever we did worked, but did we really do anything? We created more questions than answers. There is some form of turmoil happening within Miles right now. Whatever it is, I don't know what there is for me to do to help. Where was Soul Fire? Why did Corpus look like that? And what did he mean by an intruder? My trail of thought ends when Miles mumbles awake. He lifts his head slowly and takes a look at himself. A moment later a firework draws his attention outside and he begins to stand. "It worked, I'll be damned. What happened?" he asks, keeping his gaze outside. "I'm... not sure... Nothing happened really." I don't know how to put it into words. I need a moment to really think on it. "That's... good. That's really good actually. Give me a minute to finish getting ready and we'll get going." He moves to grab his suit, but I reach out and stop him. "How... how do you feel? Is everything okay?" I ask him, unsure how to approach the subject. He takes a moment to consider the question before shrugging to me. "I honestly feel fine. A bit of a stiff neck, but that's to be expected. Did something happen in there?" I try to think of an answer, but I don't want to stress him. "It... yes, something happened. But, I can't really think of a way to phrase it that won't stress you. Can I think on it for a few days before I tell you?" He nods to me before leaning down and gives me a kiss on the cheek. I welcome the affection, feeling better already. "Of course, but the sooner the better, love. Now, the night still seems young, and I am far too sober for what we're about to do. Let's get shitfaced already." I laugh a little at that. He helps me to my hooves and we look to each other for a moment. I move in and hug him. He takes it as affection, but it's really out of worry. I'm worried I'm going to lose him soon. Author's Note Sorry for the delay on this chapter. I had to go through several rewrites before I was comfortable with the end result. In other news, I have opened a Discord for the Mowverse group! You can join in on the link below. If you don't have a discord don't sweat it, it's free to join. MoWverse Discord! Also, more content will soon be coming to the Mowverse Group herer on Fimfiction! So be sure to join for more lore and Ponyrun Forums! Mowverse Group. Brony on! Chapter 253 Waiting in the MoonlightChapter 253 Waiting in the Moonlight Perspective: Storm Cloud I take another deep breath as I tap my hoof on Miles' doorstep. I've been waiting for him to leave so I could speak with him about something that's really important. If Pinkies itinerary is to be believed, he should be coming to Ponyville soon... and by soon, I mean an hour ago. If I wait any longer, Twilight will be mad at me... She might already be mad at me. She's mad at me. But I need to talk with Miles! I only have ten minutes before it's too late. Click "Mies!" I yell before looking, making Luna jump. I chuckle a bit in awkwardness as she stares down at me. She's... the last person I should speak to right now. "Uh... sorry about that. Is... Miles in there?" She gives me an odd look before looking back inside. "Miles, your husband needs to speak with you." I laugh a little at that. I guess this is what Twilight was talking about when she said I rely on Miles too much. "Storm, what's going on?" Miles asks as he steps out. He's in his alicorn form and wearing a sharp black suit that has blue undertones. Luna is also dressed up beautifully; wearing a long flowing black dress that has dark green highlights. "Um..." "Now is not the time for ums Storm," Miles chastises, making me nervous. I'm suddenly unsure if these were the right choices to make or not. But, I guess there's only one way to know for sure. "Crypteia, zero-zero, Helots, Agiads, Torto, Evito. Volenti non fit iniuria." "Oh, I like that! What's it for?" Luna asks, making me even more nervous. Miles stares at me for a moment before giving a soft chuckle. I always forget that she can speak Latin. This isn't the first time this has gotten me into trouble either. "Ah, it's just Spartan lingo. If you could give us a minute to talk I'll catch up with you, okay love?" Miles tells Luna, giving her a sincere smile. She smiles back before nodding to me. I nod goodbye to her and we watch her walk away together. That went easily enough. I guess- YANK SLAM "ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE!?" Miles yells at me after dragging me inside and slamming me against the door. "What!? NO!" I yell back, trying to defend myself. "I didn't know what to do! You disappeared and we needed something to get things rolling! I read it in one of your files-" "So this is my fault!?" "NO! Maybe? WHY WOULD YOU PLAN SOMETHING LIKE THIS IF YOU WEREN'T GOING TO DO IT?" I can't help but feel tiny right now. It doesn't help that he is twice my size. "It was under a file that's called “DON'T DO”! DID YOU NOT READ THAT!?" I think back to reading over his files and recall questioning the titles of a few of them. I guess he was being more literal than I thought. "So... should I call off the mission then?" I ask timidly. Miles stares at me for a moment before letting out a long growl of a sigh. "Yes, Storm, call off the mission. Unless you want to explain to Luna and Celestia why their capital was suddenly leveled." I go to leave, but he has one last thing to say before I do. "Stop acting like you're new to this Storm. These aren't the actions of a Grand Lieutenant. At least, not of those that are trying to survive." It stings to hear that. This is all I have in life really. Aside from family that is. I keep screwing things up and it's making all of the Spartans look bad. I turn and walk away, keeping my head held high. I can't keep appearing weak. I have to hold onto what little pride I have left right now. At least until I'm out of eyesight from anyone. I make my way towards Ponyville where I take a sky carriage to Canterlot. The palace guards spoke to me, but I barely acknowledged them. Looking back it seems so obvious now, and I feel like a complete idiot. But, at the time, it was all I could think to do. Our leader was gone. We had no orders. Things kept changing all around us! The Grand Galloping Gala was going to happen and we didn't have anything to show for it. We all know the war is going to happen. The only reason the Gala is happening on such a large scale is to stir the ponies of Equestria into a nationalistic fervor. Looking at a plan like this one, it made sense. It would have been the catalyst for ponies to scream for war! If this isn't the plan for tonight, then what is? Canterlot is alive tonight. The lights of countless parties make each corner and alley shine brightly, making it all appear as one massive festival. Many larger cities dot the horizon in a similar fashion, giving Equestria a lively glow. My chariot lands in the royal airport and I waste no time looking for Night Fury. He should be spending his time with the other Night Guards up in the towers of the castle. Flying over the palace grounds I get a perfect view of the festivities below. Every noble, celebrity, and pony of note is here at the castle. Even the most secluded of celebrities are here, how could they not? The decorations are bright and cheerful, yet still tasteful somehow. Pinkie pulled out all of her best tricks and nothing was overlooked. She's really outdone herself. In between the two main towers of the castle is a flat section of roofing that has been turned into a small party. Members of the Night Corps. have joined here. Guards, bat ponies, Shadowbolts, as well as the elusive Night Magii are here. Dancing, chatting, drinking. I recognize several familiar faces from my time in the Night Guard. I make my way towards the crowd and start to look for Night Fury. This is his rendezvous point, and I still have a few minutes till he leaves. "Looking for something?" I stop and look back and sigh internally from the familiar face. "Captain North Star, it's good to see you." I shake hooves with the bat pony. He's wearing his Shadowbolt attire, something I find a little odd. Last time we were together I really didn't get to interact with him. He seems older than I recall. I can spot a few grays in his dark blue mane. The rest of him is still a mystery to me. "Lieutenant Storm Cloud, odd to find you here," he states bluntly. He doesn't want me here. "Is there something you're looking for?" "I'm looking for one of my subordinates, have you seen Night Fury?" I ask him. He nods towards the edge of the building and leaves me. I look over see his silhouette sitting before the moon. Eager, I take to the air and fly to him. I land a bit behind him and take a moment to read him over. He's staring down at the gardens below. Something he's looking at is causing him some sort of pain, but I can't tell what sort of pain it is. Either way, I have to care of business first. "Crypteia, zero-zero, Helots, Agiads, Torto, Evito. Volenti non fit iniuria." I tell him, but he doesn't seem to notice I'm here. He's too preoccupied by whatever he's staring at. A bit irritated, I step closer to glance down below. He's staring down at one of the gardens. There's a sizable crowd standing before a cart. Two ponies -an adult and a foal- are on the cart performing for the crowd. A few flashes go off and I hear the crowd react positively. It takes me a minute to realize who I'm staring at. "The mission is off, why don't you go down there?" I ask him as I take a seat to his left. "I can't," he states plainly. "Why not?" "It would throw her off. I've tried before in the past. I always throw her off. I'd only ruin the show. Besides, I'd rather she enjoy the night anyway." "You're the sneakiest pony I know. Why not just go down there and hide in the back. The view would be better and-" "She'd find me. She has before. She's the only one who knows to look for me. She can't see me from here, so this'll suffice." It irritates me to hear him sound so defeated. I can't accept that he would just do nothing about this! "I'll never understand you Night Fury." I tell him, standing up. "If you do nothing she's going to pass you by. You need to put in the work for her so she won't mess up the next time you appear. If you love her why not try again and again and again until you succeed? Is she not worth the effort?" [Set to Wait for it] Nightly Ruse writes me a letter everyday It keeps my heart warm while I'm away I'm fighting half the world, trying to keep it together I don't know why I fight anymore, if it's not for her. The small crowd has taken notice of us and has slowly encircled us. I try to say something, but he continues. Love doesn't discriminate between those in front or behind, it takes and it takes and it takes And we keep loving anyway. We laugh and we cry and we break and we make our mistakes And if there's a reason I'm a part of her crowd, no longer invisible, then I'm willing to wait for it I step forward and stand by his side. I can see the confliction in his face. But he's standing tall despite it all. The moonlight shinning brightly down on the two of us. My grandmother was a by the books leader But all of her stories and I didn't heed her. My father was a genius, my mother commanded respect. When they died all they left me was a name, a fury deep inside. Death doesn't discriminate between those in front or behind, it takes and it takes and it takes And we keep living anyway. We laugh and we cry and we break and we make our mistakes And if there's a reason I'm still alive when everyone has died, I'm willing to wait for it... I'm willing to work for it. Wait for it! Work for it! He takes off into the air, almost dancing in the moonlight. I rush to the edge and jump after him as we soar high into the air. I am the only thing in life I can control wait for it, work for it wait for it, work for it I am an individual, I am original wait for it, work for it wait for it, work for it I am not falling behind nor accepting fate wait for it, work for it wait for it, work for it I am not standing still, I am lying in wait! wait wait wait He snaps his wings open and comes to an abrupt stop. I join him as dozens of other pegasi fly past us. Storm you face a down wind flight, with no end is sight, with so little to lose Your pace is relentless, with endless chances What is it like in your shoes? We begin to fall together, the crowd slowly catching up behind us. You never hesitate. You never consider restraint You take and you take and you take And you keep winning anyway. The game changes but the stakes never raise And if there's a reason you can thrive when so few survive the gods damn it I'm willing to wait for it... I'm willing to work for it! He takes off quickly, darting away towards the towers. I give chase, following him as he circles around the tall structures. Life doesn't discriminate between those in front or behind, it takes and it takes and it takes And we keep living anyway. We laugh and we cry and we break and we make our mistakes And if there's a reason I'm still alive when everyone has died, I'm willing to Wait for it Wait for it Work for it We make it to the top of the tower as the rest of the pegasi fly down past us. He keeps his wings open and lands on his back, the curvature of the tower nestling him into a seated position, his eyes lazily drawn to the stars above. I stay in the air beside him as I try to think of what to say. What is there to say? Sorry for my good fortune? Tell him to chin up and hope for the best? Nothing I say will sway his mind, because his mind is already made up. He's not looking for an apology. He's looking for a victory. "Make sure the Captain sees you when he arrives." I leave it at that. Business as usual. He nods slowly, barely acknowledging my order. It's all I can really ask of him right now. I land at the entrance to the main party grounds in Canterlot castle. The grand hall is decked out in all its elegant grandeur. Long beautiful tapestries with immaculate chandeliers and the finest dinner sets Equestria has to offer fill the room as posh ponies chatter about. In the back of the room there is a loud commotion drawing in a crowd. I spot a few of the taller Spartans back there, so only terrible things can be happening. I weave my way through the crowd and try to make my way over, but I'm stopped by the last pony I want to see right now. "Grand Lieutenant Storm Cloud! What an honor to have you here with us today!" "Blueblood," I nod to him and try to move past him, but he steps in my way. He has a small posy with him. Nobles I'm sure, but I wouldn't know. "If you would excuse me-" "Oh but the night is young! I'm sure whatever little trivial matter there is can wait for a small moment." He moves in and throws a leg around my shoulder, holding me tightly. "I'm sure you've met Naval, the land owner from down south?" "The pedo-?" "And Glacial Shore? From North E.E.T.? I know you've met at least once!" "The former slave owner-" "And this young lass is the beautiful Miss Shoal! Due to inherit the largest mining company... soon?" He asks the mare in the group. "Almost any day now!" She laughs, getting the others to join her. I was going to mutter her vice, but decided against it. Some skeletons should stay in the closet. "My dear friends, this fine stallion is the second in command for the Spartan Regiment! A dear and close confidant of yours truly!" They all clap... I'm not sure why. They all rush forward and start gushing about every little thing. I try to respond, but it's too many questions at once. I offer them a small smile and duck out of Blueblood's grasp. "It was a pleasure to meet you all, but I must be off. Matters to attend to and... stuff... Enjoy your night!" I take off before they can say anything further. I don't know what I find more disturbing. Those ponies kissing ass to me, or Blueblood calling me friend. Both send shivers down my spine. I push my way through the last of the crowd and finally make it to my destination. It would seem Dash and Spitfire are neck 'n neck in a hoof wrestling contest. That's innocent enough. What's troubling is Ellzy going around placing bets on the two of them. Why is it two to one odds against Dash? "STORM!" Ellzy yells over the crowd as he makes his way over me, taking a few last second bets as he hobbles over. "HERE TO BET? IT'S BEEN A CLOSE MATCH BUT THEY'RE GOING TO-" "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" I yell at him as he tries to manage all the coins in his pockets. "HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY THINK THIS WAS OKAY!?" "IT WAS PINKIES IDEA!" I feel myself twitch a bit from that. Of course it was. I need to end this. I push past Ellzy and make my way towards Dash. The two of them are evenly matched, but that's about to end. I get next to Dash and wait till she glances at me. She's focused, but her instincts kick in and she takes a look at me. "Win or get demoted," I tell her. Most probably wouldn't hear me over the crowd, but I know Dash. She heard that, if the look of fear was anything to go by. She looks back to the contest and begins to take in deep breathes, her eyes widening as she starts to give it everything she has. The initial push catches Spitfire off guard, but she gains control quickly. But it's too late now. Dash has gained ground and now she's playing to win. Spitfire's playing defensively, trying to hold on. Sweat rolls off of the two of them as they fight for every inch. Spitfire lets out a loud groan as she starts to bring her arm back towards the top. Dash clenches her eyes shut and yells as she gives it her final push, putting her all into ending this. The crowd joins Dash as she crushes Spitfire, pushing her hoof down to just above the table. But she holds on to the last second. Dash opens her eyes and looks over to Spitfire. They make eye contact for a moment before Dash finally slams her hoof down. "SPARTANS!" The crowd explodes in cheer as they both fall back in exhaustion. The Spartans all take their turns beating Dashes shoulders in admiration. The Wonderbolts are pissed, but what did they really expect? I give it a few minutes to let them have this little victory. It's a point of pride for them, I see no need to take that away from them. Right now at least. I wait for the crowd to leave the table. The Wonderbolts were quick to leave. Wonder why. Once enough ponies are gone I turn to address the others. "Keeping out of trouble I see?" They all give a small laugh. "Where are all the wives?" "Out in the garden," Raz tells me. "Our pack is keeping together out there, but we had to come challenge the prey." "SPARTANS!" Everyone cheers, making sure that everypony in the building knows who one that spat. I can see that they're keeping themselves occupied in a constructive manner. Miles should be here soon too... if Pinkies itinerary is to be believed. I feel confident enough to go check in with Twilight. I could really use that right now. She always has a way of picking me back up and setting me on the right path. I really need that right now. The Spartans loudly start to make their way out towards the garden. Surely to boast about their last conquest. I slip away from them and make my way towards the library. I didn't see her here, so there's really one three other places she'd be right now. There should be a university function happening there. I can't recall what it was... I wasn't really paying attention at the time. The library has a stark contrast from the other parts of the castle tonight. While it's still decorated eloquently, it's toned down drastically. Large cushions take place where the long tables used to be. They look inviting, with plenty of room for several ponies to cozy up and read a book or two. At the top of the stairs, just before the large moon lite windows, I see Twilight. Her long flowing dress pales to the beauty radiating off of her. The silver moonlight brightens around her, making her the star of the room. Everything else fades away as I stare up her. She's talking with somepony, but I don't know who. She smiles for a moment and it pushes my mood up tenfold. She turns and makes eye contact with me. Her smile turns more genuine and for a moment I swear I saw her eyes shine more brightly. I feel that twisting feeling in my stomach. My hooves become numb for a moment and I feel goose bumps. I remember now. I remember why I fight. I remember my cause again. I don't know how I could forget something like that. I knew what it was. What it is. But... I guess you tell something to somepony enough, you forget what it means to you. And every now and again you need something to remind you what you do it all for and why. Night Fury says my stakes never raise, it's because they can't get any higher. For me, it's all or nothing. Author's Note Follow me on Twitter! Mowverse Group! Mowverse Discord. Brony on! Chapter 254 Follow the LeaderChapter 254 Follow the Leader Perspective: Celestia Sunset I stare out over Equestria as I watch the sun set over the land. The same cascade of colors washes over the sky as the land slowly fades away. It's a sight I always love to see. The colors fading into one another, as if the sky itself was transforming before my eyes. Changing every so slightly, yet remaining the same as it was and always will be. But Equestria, it changes drastically. I remember a time when the sun would set and the land would fade to black, save for the sliver of moonlight. But, slowly, it started to change. Dots of lights would appear, ever so slightly. Those lights would grow in time, adding smaller fires around them until they morphed into something larger. Detrot. Manehatten. Ponyville. And now the Crystal Empire far to the north. Equestria is changing everyday, but at least there's something I can rely on to be the same, regardless of time. Speaking of changes, tonight seems to be the night of nights for changes. Every village and town is shining brightly tonight! Equestria seems to be covered in a tapestry of lights and fireworks as the first ever nationwide Grand Galloping Gala kicks into full swing! And at the center of it all stands Canterlot! Dazzling lights shimmer off the castle walls in a mesmerizing array of colors and patterns. Even the lower buildings seem to have their own effects on full display! Lights, illusions, decorations, no expense was spared. If I didn't know any better, I'd say they were competing with one another. But, tonight isn't about knowing better. Not now at least. Tonight is about showing that Equestria stands together, regardless of what the world says. The day was far too busy. Too many things to prepare for, too many ponies asking too many questions. We were fortunate that Pinkie was able to get as much done as she did. Though I will never understand how that little pony did all of this over the entire nation by her lonesome. I fear it is a question better not asked aloud. "Princess Celestia?" I'm pulled away from my ramblings as one of the maids pokes her head into my study. "It is time Princess." "Of course, thank you. I'll be out in a moment." I offer her a smile and a nod in thanks. She returns one in kind and leaves, shutting the door quietly. It would seem my time to ramble in my head is up. Now my real work begins. Getting ready for the night is easy enough. I don't worry about makeup or styling my mane like Luna does. She's always been a bit envious of how quickly I can get ready, but I think she makes me look better when I let her do it. Not that I'd ever tell her that. Though she refuses to believe it, she can get an ego bigger than Miles's. I wonder if that's a byproduct of being around him? If it lets me blame him, I see no harm in it. I pull out the two dresses I was considering for the night and check them against myself in the mirror. The first one is a rather modern dress. Mainly being pink with stripes of pastel blues and yellows. It fits nicely, but there's something about the other that keeps drawing my back to it. It's an older dress of mine. Much older. Preserved with magic, I haven't worn it since I courted the Old King to aid our march on Sombra. Knowing what I know now, and knowing what I'm doing tonight, it keeps calling to me. I want to wear the dress Rarity made for me... but when in Roam. I trot down the halls feeling a bit giddy. I can't help it! The dress gives me a confidence I haven't felt in a long, long time. And all the turning heads are definitely aiding that perfectly. I make it to the main entrance where I see Twilight and Speaks Softly waiting for me. I can't help but chuckle when I see the two of them do a double take. Like mother like daughter it would seem. I take my place by Twilight's side and act as if nothing is wrong. I can feel the smug smile plastered all over my face right now. "Twilight, are you ready for tonight?" I ask her curtly, getting her to snap forward. "Y-yes Princess! Um... are you sure you want... I mean, eh... how do I put this?" I charge my horn and start the process of opening the doors. I'm not changing out of this, not after a reaction like that. The tall doors open completely and a wave of ponies start to march their way in as fireworks light the sky above. The front row of ponies are nobles I'm well aware of. The Canterlot elite, business moguls, and top tier celebrities. They collide into one another as they take their first view of me. I'm in the toga I wore when I was anointed in Roam. Pure white silk trimmed in gold drapes over me elegantly, fitting comfortably against my sides. Each of my legs are visible thanks to the cloth being opened widely at my shoulders and hips. A large broach is pinned on my chest. I almost forgot I had this still to be honest. It's the crest of Roam. A sword pointing down flanked by a pair of wings all set before a round shield. I've added a few other accessories as well. I few bracelets, my usual necklace and tiara, a few rings keeping my mane bound together. But the piece that has everyponies attention is the piece that hold my toga together. Set across my back and sticking out slightly to my left is a great sword. A great sword by alicorn standards at that. It's black scabbard has silver etchings of an important battle I'm sure nopony here knows about. It's large ruby pommel shines brilliantly beside neck, giving my side a light red glow. I've never been one to name objects before. Maybe on the rare occasion, but never of my own volition. But I've forgotten how good it felt to carry Tide Breaker. "Welcome everypony to this years Grad Galloping Gala!" I announce to the crowd before us, coaxing them inside. "We hope this years Gala will be the most grand of all. Please, come in and enjoy the evening with us!" Twilight and I start the process of greeting ponies as they start to funnel into the castle. This year is different in that we've opened up more of the castle to the public. The library, all of the studies, and the observatory are all open and staffed for the night. I'm amazed at that crowd that's appeared here tonight despite the rather short notice. But I guess there are a lot of ponies that wanted to take advantage of the chance to see the castle in all its glory. As we work through the crowd I notice Softy stealing glances. Just as Twilight was, she's nervous to be around me. I find it adorable to see the small filly hiding behind her mother. But I'm feeling the need to coax her out more. "So, Softy, how well do you know Equestrian history?" She gives her mother a nervous look, who nods her along, before answering from the safety of her hiding spot. "I know a bit..." I hum a chuckle at that. She's being modest. If she's anything like her mother that is, which I know she is. "Well, I have an arsenal of history to share, if you'd like?" I shoot a grin at her, getting her to smile softly back up to me. Though, I could hear a few nearby ponies roll their eyes at my pun. "Tell me, have you ever heard of the War of the Empires?" "...um... I don't think so." Even though she's bashful for not knowing, I can tell I've piqued her interest. Twilight's too for that matter. "That's okay dear, most haven't. This was a long time ago. Back before ponies called me princess!" There are a few ponies around us that desperately want to stay to listen, but the crowd forces them out of the hall. Much to their displeasure. "This was at the time Sombra raised his first army, not his slave army mind you." "Sombra was a noble and held large tracks of land with many ponies under his rule. His predecessors made many alliances and they were a prosperous people. If the tribes weren't careful, they were going to be absorbed into his rule and he would own all of what would have been Equestria. But, a small city state started to vie for power. Do you know who?" She thinks about it for a moment before going to shake her head. But she stops when she sees me gesturing to my toga. "Roam?" "Very good. Roam appeared and set to work conquering their neighbors. Where Sombra ruled with gems and gold, Roam ruled with iron and... well, they thought might was right." Probably shouldn't scare her with all of the true details at the moment. Twilight give me a look of appreciation, to which I give a coy smile. "Where Sombra had numbers, Roam had skill. Sombra had allies, but Roam had intimidation and fear. It was this balance that kept the two powers at bay. If Either side waged war on the other, there was a fear that both would lose. What is the point in fighting when there is nothing to be gained?" "..." "Well?" I ask her, catching her off guard. "Oh... Uh... well... there... isn't?" I nod to her, getting her to take a breath of relief. "But... one day, somepony found something to be gained. Gems were discovered in Roam, and it broke the balance. Sombra wanted something, and was willing to do anything to gain it. He was scared that if they had uncontested access to such a large gem vein, it would relegate them to the sidelines in the eyes of their allies. He feared losing his power, and it drove him to do something terrible." "... what did he do?" Softy asks. I take a moment to greet a few more ponies before continuing. Though I do note Twilight's silence. I can tell she's interested, but there's something else going on in her mind. "If you noticed, I've been referring to Sombra, and not a government or nation state. Much of his family controlled city states and the businesses of their would be empire. Sombra brought them all together... and took control for himself." She gives a piqued look, but I can tell that she doesn't really understand what that means. But, we'll save that story for a later time in her lessons. We need to keep this clean for the young one. "Sombra was a fool, you see. He thought that if he controlled all the gems, he'd maintain his position. The Roamans weren't interested in trading their gems away. They needed them for their magics after all. But, there is no convincing greed. So Sombra gathered a large army and marched on the city state." "Why didn't he try asking for the gems?" Softy asks, leaning out from behind her mother. I take a moment to greet several more ponies before answering her. I still have a job to do after all. "We'll never know if he did, or if he even considered it. In all honesty, I can't imagine why he would though. Roam had a reputation for... hitting first and asking questions later. I don't know if they would ever trade them away for anything. But again, this is something we'll never know." "Did you try and talk them out of fighting?" Her question makes me pause for a moment. It was such a long time ago, I rarely even think about what I was doing at the time. Let's see... It was before the Three Tribes united, but before the Crystal Empire was pushed north. Roam was around, so it couldn't have been too late. Was this before or after the Doctor? Actually, it might have been at the same time... "You know what, my dear. I did not." I tell her as all the memories start to come back to me. "You see... this was around the time I would go off on my own adventure for the very first time. A... very dear friend of mine... pulled me into a box." I chuckle a bit at that. It sounds so silly, but it's the truth of the matter. The two of them give me a confused look, but I lose my chance to explain myself when a group of nobles approach me. "Princess Celestia, what an honor!" I chuckle as I shake the stallions hoof. "Fancy Pants, one day you'll have to think of a new greeting." I tell him as I give a slight bow to Fleur. "Fleur De Lis, stunning as ever!" "Oh please Princess, I pale in comparison to you! Stunning, yet fierce! I think all of Equestria will be sporting togas for the next decade!" I blush a bit from that. I did't really think about the ramifications of what would happen if I wore this today. I guess fashion is going retro for a bit... really retro. "Princess, I hope this isn't too mush of a bother, but there is something vital that I must discuss with you at the moment. I'm afraid that it is of the upmost importance and cannot wait." I chuckle for a moment, thinking he's joking. But I can see the cringing in the usually confident stallion. Whatever this is, it actually is important. "Twilight, it would seem I am needed elsewhere. Could you be a dear and finish greeting the guest for me?" I ask her, keeping my voice calm and formal. "Of course Princess Celestia." I nod my thanks to her. Before we leave I lean down to whisper to Softy for a moment. "We'll have to finish our lesson another time, okay?" I give her a quick wink and she smiles back to me. I'll have to make sure to do a quick study on the matter before we talk again. Knowing that filly, she'll have millions of endless questions the next time we speak. I lead Fancy Pants and Fleur through the main entrance and into the castle proper. There are dozens of venues for entertainment and refreshment dotting the interior. It all seems so inviting, but duty calls. I glance back at the two of them several times and find them in a small state of panic. Whatever is happening, it must be huge. Big enough to make the both of them sweat. I've never seen the two of them fidget so much before. We make it to a study and shut ourselves inside. I take a seat of one of the large cushions and motion for them to take the one across from me. Fleur takes it, but Fancy stays standing. I don't he'll be able to keep still until after all this. "Well, Princess... uh... well, there is no real easy way to say this. So I'm... I'm just going to say it!" "... Okay. What is troubling you Fancy?" He takes a deep breath steel his resolve and goes to speak. "..." He has the words of the tip of his tongue, but they can't seem to come out. He takes another breath and tries again, finding similar results. Maybe a third time would be the charm? "All air ships of the East Equestrian Trading Company are being grounded immediately." Fleur blurts out, making Fancy finally exhale and nearly collapse. I stare at the two of them and start to laugh. But, they don't join me, so I slowly stop and start to think things over. They can't be serious. They can't! That's more than half of our trade vessels suddenly out of action! All trade over the Divide would come to a complete halt! Not to mention what would happen to domestic trade! "You can't be serious," I mutter as I sink into my cushion. They look to one another before Fleur stands to address me. "I can assure you with the upmost certainty that this happening. Any ships thirty miles off the coast will continue with their current transports. But all other ships will head straight to port for needed repairs and updating. We are sorry Princess." Numbers race through my mind as I start think about the actual implications of what they are saying. We would have to work out major city transportation. But anything else would just come to a halt. Small towns and villages would have to rely on hoof transport, which would delay goods by days! We'll have to figure out what resources to prioritize for air transit. Industry is going to be cut in half, if we're lucky! And that's all before I even start thinking about the Griffin Colonies! Relations are strained as we stand now. But what will happen if we completely stop sending aid to them? Maybe we could figure something out, but that would take time. Time we don't have! "What... what on Earth has made you come to this decision? Are you not aware of the legal ramifications? How much you'll have to pay for ending contracts? The public outcry from grounding so many ponies from their jobs? This will effectively cease all eastern trade for Equestria! How could you do this?" I would normally try my best not to sound desperate. Normally I would try to remain level headed and collected. But normally, half of the economies commerce wouldn't just end suddenly. I knew giving all of this power to one entity would come back to bite me in the flank! I should have never let something like this happen in the first place! But, that's in the past. And I can berate myself about it later. The two of them share another uneasy look. Fancy Pants looks as if he's about to pass out. Fleur is holding strong, but I know this mare. She's determined about this. Even if this is eating away at her. "We know the cost. We've already ran the numbers. But, given the current political climate, we feel this is the right move for the company to make. We do apologize and will follow all legal proceedings-" "Get out." I order them. Legal proceedings. I know what that means. They've already started. There's no going back now. They don't try to argue. They don't add any apologies or attempts to save face. They simply bow and leave the room. Every curse word I know races through my mind as I start to think of the logistics at hoof. We'll have to find a way to pick up the slack, but where? There were no competitors within Equestria. Maybe the west trading company can pick up some of the slack, but nowhere near enough to compensate. To cover for the short term loss we'll have to make all traders operate internally. But that's just throwing fuel into a thousand other issues. As I think of the implications, something suddenly comes to mind. They said this was for repairs. But their fleet has been the pinnacle of modernization! How could they suddenly decide to break away for repairs? No, there's something more to this. Somepony is pushing them to this. But who would gain anything from stopping all trade over the Divide and the eastern parts of Equestria? Asking myself that, I com to the answer rather quickly. Miles. Terradisia needs more trade, and forcing us to lose half of our trading partners certainly makes things easier for them. He believes there will be a war soon and wants to prepare for it, aggressively. I cannot think of a single other person who would want and benefit from this more than him. I practically launch myself from my cushion and storm out of the study. I need to confront him about this, now. There is a small chance that he'll listen to reason... a small chance. If not, then at least I can yell his ear off. I make my way throughout the castle until I see the Spartans in the back of the main hall. They seem to be sticking to themselves, but are seemingly having fun. Loudly. I take a moment to compose myself before approaching them. I need to be calm, cool, and most importantly, confident. "Excuse me, ladies and gentlefolk, I'm looking for your Captain. Have you seen him?" I ask politely. "Nah, he's probably in your sis-" I grab Elzy's beak with my magic and hold it shut. I don't need his sass at the moment. "When he arrives can you send him my way please?" I ask the others. Most of them nod, though I'm sure they can tell something is wrong. "Thank you." "Princess?" Si Ye asks from the far end of the table. I acknowledge him with a small smile. "Exitus acta probat." I keep a calm facade about myself before I step away. Throughout my training I've learned quite a bit about these Spartans. While most at times can be brutes or overtly competitive, to assume them to be dullards would be presumptuous. Some may be smarter than others, but they all have learned to hold their tongues until just the right moment. If I were to use one word to describe them, I would settle on opportunist. They wait for their opening and take advantage of it. Whether in war, trade, or getting under my skin. I make my way to the entrance and find it mostly empty. Save for several guards and the few late ponies trotting along, it would seem everypony has arrived. With the exception of my sister and her pain of a husband. I can't think about him right now! Everything about him right now just drives me so crazy! Did he honestly put no thought into this!? No, knowing him he put too much thought into this move. I don't know if that makes things better or worse. And those theoretical war games he put me through! Was he just flaunting his influence in front of my face the whole time!? I'm going to wring his neck out and crush that smug look right off his face-! "Princess, I know you want to be our general, but scowling at the main gate won't do you much good." I blink back to reality from Diamond Hearts remark. I look over to the old stallion as he steps before me and bows. He has a sharp looking tuxedo on with a dark red bow tie around his neck. A bottle of brandy is held nearby with his magic. "Might I say you look quite fierce tonight Princess, even without the scowls." "Diamond Heart, last I checked you didn't drink," I remark bitterly, trying to compose myself. "Oh, normally I wouldn't. But that young mare that threw this little shin-dig gave it to me as a gift. It's hard to say no to that mare you know," he says with a smirk as he pops the top off and takes a whiff. "And it's three hundred year old snow berry cognac. Legend says that pandas make this in their spare time using stolen griffin recipes. I do love a good history lesson with dinner!" "You don't say?" I say blandly. I know that look though. He's going somewhere with this. "Yup! Now I could just stick to my old morals and put this on a shelf somewhere and keep it as a memento, but that's not what tonight's about now is it?" He takes one last whiff before taking a large sip, letting out a loud sigh of relief as the alcohol burns its way down his throat. "Are you trying to tell me that I should just sit back and enjoy the night Diamond? Because I don't know if I can do that with what's about to happen." "Hm? Oh, nope!" He tells me with a hearty laugh. "Sorry Princess, but I just happened to walk by and find you. I was actually looking for my grandson to share this drink with him. But, it would seem he's off doing... whatever it is he's doing. I really should do better at keeping track of that stallion... Regardless! It would seem that I am at a loss! I have this special drink to consume, and nopony to share it with! And what a night to have nopony to share a drink with!?" "Diamond, you know I don't drink-" "What a shame it is too!" He cuts me off with his usual charm. "I don't know how many more Galas I'll be attending, with my years catching up with me and the aches and pains that riddle me!" "Are you... are you trying to play the old stallion card?" "And with my grandson lost at the moment, who could I share this memory with? What could be one of my last memories of the Grand Galloping Gala!" I stare at him for a moment before glancing around. Nopony is around. Save for a few guards, but they aren't looking... "No!"I turn away from him and start to walk off. "I don't drink Diamond! Nothing is going to change that!" "Not even a little secret a little birdy told me?" I stop and look back at him. His smug look has intensified, telling me he actually knows something big. That's something I've always appreciated about him, in retrospect. He's far too easy to read. It's usually intentional, but I appreciate a noble whose forthcoming. "Would that secret be about the East Equestrian Trading company?" I ask him as I turn back to face him properly. His eyebrows pop up for a moment, an easy read per Diamond Heart conduct. "What happened with them?" he asks, genuinely curious. "They... you'll find out soon enough. Trust me on that. So it's not about them, then what is it about?" He takes a look around before passing the bottle towards me. I take a deep breath before looking around. There still isn't anypony around... and he is getting on in his years... I've been good for over twelve hundred years! One sip won't hurt anypony. And I can hold my alcohol far better than Luna... who can't hold her alcohol. And snow berry cognac... that is rare... not that I would know, of course! NO! NO! NO! I made a promise and I intend to keep it! What's the worth of any of my promises if I just justify it because of an old stallions over dramatizations! Well... at least not in front of my guards at least. Maybe somewhere private... and just one sip! Would one sip count as breaking my promise? How did I even word that promise...? I think it was along the lines of 'neither wine nor ale shale touch these lips.' And cognac is technically a wine so I can't have it! And that's final! "Diamond, I will gladly-" "FANTASTIC!" He yells before shoving the bottle into my hooves. "I WAS GONNA SAY SHARE THE NIGHT WITH YOU, YOU OLD COOT!" I tell as I try to give it back to him. I try to force it into his hooves, but for some reason it's proving to be harder than it should be. "Come now Princess, one little sip and I'll give you some good news. News I know you'll need to hear." I pause to stare at him. He's being smug, but sincere. I take a look at the bottle before swallowing the lump in my throat. Sorry old friend, but tonight's the night I break my pact. I bring the bottle to my lips and pause when the smell hits my nose. The sting of the alcohol hits me like the voice of an old friend. A friend that I got into too much trouble with in the past. I can feel my tongue start to water at the thought of having a taste of the beverage. I take a look at Diamond Heart and see that he's rather impartial at the moment. I purse my lips on the edge of the bottle and take as small of a sip as I can muster. The cognac hits my tongue and fills my mouth with a delightful mixture of nuts and spices. The snow berries give it a tart, bitter, aftertaste. But it helps dull the sharp alcohol that stings its way down my throat. It is a delightful mixture. It's as if I had a warm drink in the cold bear winter, with a hint of a griffin pastry. "The entire Apple family is joining the Terradisians." "WHAT!?!?" I nearly toss the bottle behind me in rage. Diamond nearly falls over as several nearby glass shatter from my voice echoing throughout the hallway. Out of rage or bewilderment or some other third emotion I take the bottle and knock it back. "Princess!?" Diamond asks worriedly. I hold up a hoof and motion for him to wait. CHUG "Um... Princess?" CHUG "I guess I'll wait..." ANGRY CHUG "... you know I only had that one sip... right?" I let out a loud sigh as I finish the bottle. I take a few deep breaths as I let the alcohol sting at my stomach. My friend would understand, or I don't care at this point, it's hard to tell. With everything they're doing I can't tell if they're trying to force us into hostilities or if Miles is just that stupid. What am I saying, of course he's that stupid. This is the same man that took my nobles hostage, let them speak ill of me, and then walked away from it all. Of course this is his stupid plan. His relentless posturing knows no bounds or limits. "I... I don't know what to do right now." I tell Diamond Heart as I try to think. I honestly thought that we were close enough that this wouldn't happen. I thought that, because we were family, he would try to protect me. Not destroy everything I hold dear! I never thought he'd actively try to hurt me. "Princess..." Diamond sets a hoof on my shoulder and offers me a small smile for sympathy. "I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news. But there is a silver lining in all of this." "How could there possibly be good news in all of this?" I ask him, my voice trembling slightly. "My dear Princess, you should know this better than any! With the Apple family joining the Terradisians they now have a large enough population so that we will not have to deal with Miles any longer! They are now under the guidance of new, elected, leadership!" I stare at him before it finally clicks in my head. How did I forget about this?! I'm done with treating Miles as a political leader! I'm free of possibly offending his nation! I don't have to take his crap anymore! The thought almost brings a tear to my eye! I'm done with him! I scoop Diamond up and twirl as I give him a large hug. Several of his old bones crack as he yells in protest, but I don't care right now. And to think, if I play my cards right I can take over their government! Make it a tributary state to Equestria! I would have control over the Spartans, and all of their resources, and Miles would have to do what I say! MILES WOULD HAVE TO DO WHAT I SAY!!! "We have work to do!" I announce as I set Diamond down with my magic. I take off for the gardens to find Twilight. I have a new goal in mind. I don't need to compete with Luna to be general. I need to win over the Apples to have them vote me in as the leader of the Terradisans! I need to speak with all of the Spartans! Should I make a trip to Mooseden? I'm getting ahead of myself! First things first, I need to speak with Twilight about the news! Perspective: Twilight I've always loved when the palace gardens grounds are dressed up for special events. But none have ever really compared to the Gala. It's the one night of the year where the entire nation gets an inside glance at the palace. Where nobles and celebrities dress extravagantly, showing off the the latest fashions. I may not be as swayed by those frilly things as much as somepony as Rarity, but they're always fun to see and be a part of. This year has been taken to an entirely new level. I would have called the last Galas quaint and refined. But this year is boisterous and rambunctious! But in a good way... I think. There's a carnival, masquerade sort of a theme going on in the palace backgrounds. There are performers dancing on pedestals and swinging from high ropes, as well as walking around the crowds of spectators. They're all dressed in extravagant costumes while some even have various props like swords to swallow, juggling tools, and even some exotic animals on display! I wouldn't think something like this would do very well with for a crowd such as this. Especially when compared to galas past. But I couldn't have been more wrong! There's a smile on every face as ponies snap back and forth from one attraction to the next. The dance floor is filled with jumping ponies and everyone there seems to be having the time of their lives! It's as if they all somehow knew that this was the one night of the year where they could let loose and have the night of their life without any consequences! But there's no way Pinkie would have been able to pull something like that off... right? Softy and I are on the edge of the dance floor having fun dancing along. The mask we have are hard to keep on, but we're enjoying it all the same. It was a bit of a struggle getting her this far, but so long as I'm with her I think she'll do fine. Wearing a mask is probably helping too. "Twilight!" I look back when I hear my name called over the music. Princess Celestia is trotting towards me. She seems elated about something, barely noting the bowing ponies as she rushes towards me. "Twilight, I have exciting news!" "Princess, what happened?" I ask when she bounces to a stop before me. I haven't seen her this excited... ever. Not that I can recall at least. "Well, I'm still working on the details, and I will be needing your assistance with this, and I'm sure there will be loads of competition, but suffice to say that I believe that we are soon to be annexing the Terradisians! So I'm going to need several reports on the people, the processes within their current government, as well as anything you know about basically everything they have at their disposal-" "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down!" My mind spins for a moment as I try to understand everything she just said. But one thing stands out among it all. "Did you say we're annexing Terradisia?" I ask in a hushed voice. The amount of excitement I see in my former teacher scares me for a moment. It's tantamount to a filly on Hearths Warming Eve or Nightmare Night. She's practically dancing in place with an uncontrollable smile on her face. Even several nearby spectators are starting to get uncomfortable. "I can't get too into details at the moment, even though I really want to, but suffice to say I have found a loop hole that may fix all of our problems! Well, most at least. It will be hard to tell right now but I'm sure we'll figure something out!" "Okay..." I nod and smile along, not following even slightly. "Oh! There's probably going to be a town meeting soon! We have to make sure to make this one, so clear up your schedule! We don't know when that'll happen so we're going to have to play it by ear!" I try to follow her words, but she started dancing to the music. Nothing too crazy, swaying hips and a light trot, but its pulling us away from our position as wall flowers. I try to keep up with her, but Softy is holding back in fear of joining the crowd. "Um... Princess?" "Should we bring something or do you think that would be too superficial? How quickly do you think we'd be able to absorb them into our empire? Oh! Oh! Can you imagine the look on Miles's face when I give him his first order!? I'll have to make sure he doesn't have a helmet on when I do it. We'll need a camera there as well-" "Princess Celestia!?" I try again to reach her, but she's too far into her fantasy to really notice anything. I try to pick Softy up, but she's attached to my leg and isn't letting go. Celestia is starting to get too far into the crowd for me to listen properly, so I do the only thing I can think of. FLASH A moment later the three of us appear in one of the lounges dotting the outer garden area. It was the only way I could get her away from the crowd and think properly. I hope she doesn't mind. "I'm sorry Princess, but I had to pull you away to think. What's going on? How are we annexing Terradisia? Is Miles aware of any of this?" She practically shivers in excitement from the last part, so I'm guessing he doesn't know. "The Apple family has joined Terradisia." I blink a few times as I try to think about that. The entire Apple family? Or just the ones in Ponyville? What am asking, it's the Apples. It's all of them. "That's terrible," I state plainly. "I know, isn't it?" Celestia asks with a massive grin, still bouncing and swaying to the music. I get it now. She's finally cracked. Miles has pulled the last straw and broken her mind. "Are... are you okay?" I ask, unsure how to respond. "I'm fabulous! I was destroyed when I first heard the news, but then Diamond Heart reminded me that this now raises the Terradisian population to the point where they can elect a government!" I stare at her for a moment before it all starts to click into place. With this she can attempt to take over the entire Terradisian government! Even if she loses the election it's still a win in that it will be new leaders making all of the decisions. She no longer has to deal with Miles anymore. I can see where all of this excitement is coming from now. "That's... I mean it's going to be... but then... wow!" I can't even start to fathom all the good Equestria could do with the resources of Terradisia. The technology. The capitol. Metal, soldiers, magic, knowledge! No secrets, no having to tip-hoof around. We could literally walk into any of the cities and do whatever we wanted! "We need to get to work as soon as possible! Who we need to speak with! Candidates that would be good to run against! Plans for anything and everything that could happen! There's going to be a mountain of work to do in the morning! So make sure to enjoy tonight! I'm sure there won't be many free nights like this anytime soon." I chuckle at that as everything starts to come swirling into my mind. Who could we possibly appoint to a leadership position that would be best for us, aside from the Princesses of course. Who would the people of Terradisia even want to appoint? Does Celestia really think she has a chance at winning an election of people who were trying to escape other governments? I can't imagine so. Though, I can't really imagine Mooseden setting up a functioning government that could last. But then again, it isn't just Mooseden anymore. With all the Apples joining in, will that be enough to sway the vote for her? It's a big family, and they have a lot of history with the Princesses. But they've been under a lot of stress lately. Even if it's just Applejacks farm, they're a close family. Attacking one is tantamount to attacking them all. That might work against us in the early run of things. "Twilight!" I shake my head as Princess Celestia calls me. "Think later! Enjoy the night and relax! We'll begin tomorrow." "Of course Princess. It's just... it's a lot to take in so suddenly." She looks off into the crowd of ponies before something catches her attention. I look over and spot them immediately. It's Miles, or I assume it's Miles. It's hard to tell with that cloak he's wearing. And he looks too... thin. And curvy... "I have to go gloat. Why don't you two go find Storm Cloud and steal him away for the night? I'm sure it would be good to see him again." Celestia mentions as she starts to walk towards the crowd. "O-of course. If you need us you know where to find us." I barely manage to respond as I stare at the human in the middle of the dance floor. Something is... off about them. But my attention is pulled away when Speaks Softly starts to pull on my leg. "Okay! Okay, I'm going! What's got you in a rush?" "I wanna see Dad!" she says excitedly as she starts to guide us back into the main chambers. I chuckle at her enthusiasm. She's happiest when it's the three of us together. Even though Storm does his best to be around her as much as he can, there are times when he has to disappear for brief periods. She does a good job of understanding, but that also means she understands to make the most of our time together. I would be lying if I said it didn't hurt to learn that she tends to miss Storm more than me. But I explain it away with how much he can spoil her at times. Obviously I know why he does that as well, but it's still bitter sweet. It isn't hard to find Storm. Through all the noise and commotion the Spartans have made their presence abundantly known. Softy starts to slow down and recede into her shell as we get closer to them. She hasn't met any of them before. And Softy... takes after me in that regard. Well, I don't think I was that shy at her age. I would say she's almost Fluttershy levels of introverted. "Princess Twilight?" I stop when I hear my name called. I don't even know how I could hear them over the music and ponies milling about. Much to Softy's dismay, I turn around to face the pony behind me. She's not somepony that stands out to me. If we met before it wasn't for long, or it wasn't over anything memorable. A nice white dress that matches her milky mane, all contrasted by her charcoal coat. I'm fairly certain I don't know this unicorn. "I'm sorry to bother you like this, but I was wondering if I could steal you for a moment. I promise it's super important and won't take too much of your time!" I was going to politely try to shy away, but then I noticed the book in her magic. It's a book I'm all too familiar with. "Is that Starswirls book of Prophecies?" I ask as I step around to get a better look, though Softy tries to pull me in another direction. "Yes. I'm sorry, I know the book is supposed to be off limits. But I think somepony put it in the public area on accident. But... once I found it I had to give it a read!" I chuckle at that. I remember reading it all those years ago. I still remember the prophecy that changed everything by heart. "On the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about nighttime eternal. I can't really blame you for wanting to read it so eagerly. But I've read it a dozen times and there aren't any prophecies left to come about." "Well... that's the thing. I believe that there's a hidden message in the book. Something that even Starswirl the Bearded wanted to keep hidden -but recorded! I know how far fetched this may sound! But please believe me when I say-" "I'm sure that whatever secret that may be in there Princess Celestia is well aware of it. She was aware of Princess Luna's return after all." "Yes, but-" "Now I will bring this up with the Princess at a later time but tonight simply isn't the night for prophecies and old mares tales. Thank you... what was your name again?" "Mystic Starr, but if you'd only-" "Mystic Starr, thank you for this. But tonight simply isn't the night. Now, please enjoy the evening." I try to leave it at that. I took a few steps before a thought came across. That book brought me to my friends. But that was through my mentor telling me to not read it and go out to make some friends. Now this mare is asking me for knowledge from this same book and I'm trying to push her aside. It feels... strange, to be on the other side of this conversation. Though, it's not a perfect comparison I guess. "Actually... Mystic? At the very least I'll walk with you to the library. To return the book that is. Think you can manage to get your whole theory out in that time?" I see the spark of hope ignite this young mare. She nods vigorously as she pulls the book up and starts to flip to various pages. "Thank you Princess! I promise, this will be worth your time!" "But Mom!" Softy protest, still hanging onto my leg. "We'll find your father once we return this book, okay?" She gives me a pouty face but doesn't argue any further. That's mostly thanks to the crowd though. Normally I'd be hearing all of the reasons why she believes her way is the only way. She's an arguer in the right setting. Sadly, she's a really good one too. "Alright then, let's hear what you found." "It's rather basic at first, truth be told. But if you take the first letters of each page, you can make out a message," she tells me as we start to walk away. "But the issue is that it's in a language I don't know." "I'm a bit rusty on my old Equestrian, but I'm sure I could give it a swing." I offer, but she gives a coy smile in return. "Um... I uh... I've been reading old Equestrian since I was a little filly. Even Old Prench. I... I'm a student here at Canterlot. It's... sorta a minor I've been taking to keep my GPA high." I give her a surprised look before nodding my approval. It's hard to find another pony willing to read the old texts as they were written. She must really have a respect for the classics just as I did. "So it's not old Equestrian, then what is it?" I ask, my interest slightly piqued. "Well... again, I don't know what it means or if I'm even pronouncing it correctly. But here's what I've got written." She passes me a note and I immediately recognize it as Latin, the language of the Terradisians. I pause as I stare at it for a moment, unsure of what it exactly mean. My attention is pulled away when Softy pulls at me dress. I smile to her and show her the note. "Maxima noctis supra millesimum annum, caelum invida crescere potestas ejus, infernus et pluet super omnem terram. Mors solum initium. On the longest night of the thousandth year, the sky will grow envious of his power, and hellfire will rain over all the land. Death is only the beginning." We all come to a stop from the cryptic massage. "Wow..." Mystic mutters quietly. "What language is that?" "Is there more to the message?" I ask, taking the book and looking it over. How could I have never noticed something like that? This brings into question all of Starswirls previous writings! What more is there to learn from him? "Well... that brings me to why I wanted to speak with you." I pause flipping through the pages and look up to her. "There are some parts in the middle that I'm fairly certain are nothing. But... well... after that message is a date. And it's dated five months from now." "Five months from now?" I ask aloud as I look down to the book. What could all this mean? What's going to happen in five months? And hellfire? Starswirl was many things, but religious... noway! He hated the idea of ponies worshiping anything that couldn't be explained. He was not a faith led individual, that much I'm certain. So what could he mean by hellfire? I start to walk off towards the library as I start to think of what this all could mean. The sky growing envious? What would the sky become jealous of? Well... maybe that's less literal. Perhaps he means the poisoned clouds? But those are over the Griffin Colonies. So that doesn't seem right. Maybe it has to deal more with the jealousy notion, but that doesn't feel right either. And the longest night. That would be the winter solstice. That's the easiest part, kind of. The winter solstice is six months away, not five. Well, six months and a few days, but that just adds to how wrong it all feels. Where is this all leading to? There has to be more. Something that I've over looked in the past. And the only way to figure this out is to go over all of Starswirls old scripts and look for anything that might be there. But I'm not going to have the time to do any of that. especially with Celestia's attempt to take over Terradisia. I stop and look over to Mystic Starr as a thought starts to come to mind. She's shown herself to be knowledgeable in this subject. And I can tell she's more than willing to get her hooves on some Starswirl the Bearded books. And with her already being a student here at Canterlot, there shouldn't be too many issues of bringing her here to do some research on my behalf. She smiles nervously at me as I stare her down, sizing her up unintentionally. "Mystic Starr?" I ask as we come to a stop at the top of the stairs for the Royal Library. "Yes Ma'am!?" she almost yells, scaring a few ponies around us. "How would you like to take an accelerated course in some of Starswirls the Bearded's personal writings?" Author's Note Shout out to Sulpher for picking the song, Lone Digger by Caravan Palace! Good use of your Brony points! Head Held High, Semper Fi. It's good to be back! Brony on! Chapter 255 Lucens VigorChapter 255 Lucens Vigor Perspective: Luna I give a contented sigh as we ride our carriage on our way to Canterlot. We are dreadfully behind schedule. We meant to go straight there, but somehow we ended up going to Coalton instead. And then somehow we made it to Detrot after that! Conversations dragged us from one engagement to the next, and I'm at my mental limit. I can normally handle all of the pop and circumstance when dealing with nobles and the masses. But tonight it's on overdrive! And my more introverted side is screaming at me for even thinking of continuing on. But there's no way we're not going to Canterlot tonight. I have a job to do. I need to show that I am the leader of Equestria and that I'm the obvious choice for our future engagements. Detrot and Coalton were good practice for the main goal of the night. And even though I am tired, I can do this all night if I have to. Though, truth be told, I did have a bit of help with tonight. I lean against Miles and shiver against the cold air. The flight is pleasant enough, but flying so late, the air is starting to sting. Miles drapes a wing against my back and sighs, a long plume of steam streaming from his nostrils. He's been doing really good tonight. Despite the few arguments he caused with one or two uppity nobles, he's been well behaved, polite, even charming at times. Not that he isn't those things usually. But tonight has been a real display of the etiquette he's been learning over the years. "Tired?" he asks quietly, giving my cheeks a soft nudge. I lean further into him and sigh again in response. "You know, if you really wanted to, we could just go to our little getaway in the mountains. Call it a night." "That does sound tempting," I say softly as he pulls me in tighter under his wing. It really does too. As much as I chastise him for not wanting to engage with this part of Equestrian society, I do have to admit it really is mentally taxing. "But not until after we make our appearance in Canterlot." "Yeah, I know." Something tells me he was hoping I would agree to leaving early. Can't really blame him for that, honestly. Canterlot is going to be the biggest sore yet. "You ready to make an entrance?" I enjoy his embrace for a moment longer before I break away from him. I take a quick moment to roll all my joints out and mentally prepare for the task at hoof. "I was born ready." "I wasn't, but let's do it before reality sets in." We land in the airport and make our way to the main hall. The few ponies we spot along the way are too flabbergasted to say anything beyond the usual revelry. Nothing crazy there. The main hall is where the action is really going to happen. We step through the main doors and wait for the announcer to make our presence known. "ALL RISE FOR THE KING AND QUEEN OF EQUESTRIA!" The music cuts out and the room falls quiet as the onlookers bow to us. It's a scene that makes Miles cringe, but he does his best to hide his displeasure. "We thank you all for joining us this night! Please, continue with the festivities!" I announce to the room. We already agreed that I would be taking the lead here in Canterlot. It's all part of my plan to showcase my leadership abilities. We barely make it five steps before the first group of nobles comes and bombards us with revelry. It's much of the same old song and dance with these few. Smile, nod, reply in kind. I hate the smiling part though. My face was not meant to smile this much. I'm certain Celestia uses some sort of spell to achieve her own facade. There's no other real explanation. Miles manages to direct the crowd further into the main hall where the next group starts to make their rounds. This is where the challenges start to arise. Business leaders, tycoons, families that aren't quite nobles, but are influential nonetheless. It's an interesting tightrope to walk. Give them too much attention and you risk alienating the nobles. But ignore them, and you're ignoring the people. There's a fine balance to give, but both sides are tugging at you, trying to gain more over the other. I have a simple system in place for moments like these. Just ADD, avoid, deflect, direct. When avoiding, you aren't necessarily avoiding individuals. Though sometimes it's simpler that way, it's more about navigating conversations. They want to bring something up, so I avoid the subject. There are a plethora of ways of going about this. It could be as simple as bringing something else up, or as complicated as being too specific about the wrong part of the topic. They want to talk about the ownership of the railroads, so I start talking about trains in as great detail as I can, and lean on them to fill in the gaps. The time in our conversations goes away before they bring up their real grievances. When you can't avoid the subject though, you need to deflect. Why can't they do something about their problems? Why hasn't their leadership solved the issue? Where were they when something else came to light? A lot of what-aboutisms really. Turn the conversation back on them and make them squirm for it. And when all else fails and they don't take the hint, it's time to be direct. Usually this is telling people that this is not the time for such conversations or whatever they are asking for can't be dealt with at this time. It's all dependent on how the conversation goes and what they're asking for. But if you have to be direct it's usually because they've really pressed the issue. Being direct can also give you time to really look into an issue and come back more informed. Not too long after our conversations started in earnest did our first major obstacle of the night makes his appearance. "Your majesties," Blueblood says with a deep bow, his little entourage following in his fashion. "It is an honor to share this night with you." "Prince Blueblood, it is a pleasure to see you again." I say, giving a small bow of the head. Miles keeps quiet, giving a slight incline of the head in response. "We must congratulate you on this most grandest of nights! Surely the hearts and souls of Equestria will soar in the heavens above after tonight! I do applaud your efforts!" His little group agrees with him, adding small insignificant notes to what he already said. "Well thank you for your kind words Prince Blueblood. It was our hope to bring this night to all the ponies of Equestria. Not just the select few." He looks to the others in his group and motions for them to leave. Miles and I share an uneasy look as they give their final regards and bid us goodnight. "I apologize for the sudden change in tone, but there have been some developments that require your immediate attention," he says in a hushed tone, checking our surroundings. "Is that so?" I ask, intrigued. "If my sources are to believed, it would seem that the entire Apple family is set to join the Terradisians." I raise an eyebrow to this, glancing to Miles for a moment. I know he's talked about this, and Big Mac has always mentioned that he would get around to it. But to hear it actually happening... I'm stunned to say the least. But I guess I really shouldn't be. With everything that's been happening to them, it only makes sense that they would seek protection through unity. "Do you believe these sources of yours?" I ask, keeping a calm, quiet tone. "They've never lead me astray before, so I have no reason to doubt them now. I can only imagine what would happen with ten percent of the farming industry dropping out of the market so suddenly. Especially when their intent is to join a faction we're in a trade war with." "Times are going to get harder for the ponies of Equestria, but I'm sure we'll work something out." I say, looking to Miles. He's keeping a stoic face on, but I can tell he's calculating. He wasn't expecting this, so he didn't plan it before he disappeared. That, or he forgot about it... probably the latter. "I have some ears in the Equestrian trading companies that are looking into the matter as well. If anything valuable comes up, I'll be sure to pass the word along," He tells us before giving a deep bow. "We thank you for this knowledge and your loyalty. It is greatly appreciated." I tell him, giving a deeper than normal bow. I'm sure the crowd will take note of this, but that's okay. I want them to know he works for me. I want them to know that even Blueblood bows to me. "Ubi suus 'pretii est opus." Miles tells him, giving him a small bow. But given how he's treated everypony else, it will speak volumes. "I do hope to hear from these friends of yours soon." Blueblood leaves with a small bow. It is troubling to see the cracks starting to form in the shadows. Normally ponies would be trying to game the system, work both sides of a conflict. But when the lines start to blur, that's when the cracks start to form. Once the light shines in, ponies will start to take sides. Information becomes harder to gain. I haven't seen times like these since the war against Sombra. "Let's go make our rounds. Thinking out in the open isn't healthy." Miles tells me with a small nudge on the shoulder. I nod to him, pushing the thoughts aside. He's right, I need to focus tonight. I wonder if Blueblood told us tonight intentionally. I wonder where he'll land when the light shines on him. The night continues in standard fashion from there on. We bounced from one area of the castle to the next, schmoozing all of the nobles and ponies of note the entire time. Most seem to be content with the night, having nothing special to say really. The few that made anything of note of themselves were far and few between, but neither were they shocking either. Blood Diamond is always a treat to speak with. How Blueblood came from such a fine stallion, I'll never understand. I tried to get him to budge one way or another, but the old stallion knew exactly what was going on and navigated it perfectly. He's always been a staunch supporter of Celestia, so it's no surprise that he's putting his faith in her. I wasn't expecting him to question Miles so much though. Midway through the conversation it became apparent that I was a spectator in their conversation, so I disengaged from the two of them. I made my way towards the gardens where I saw Twilight and her daughter Speaks Softly waiting in line near a food vendor. I figure it would be nice to take a small break and speak with them, even for just a moment. Speaks Softly notices me immediately and hides behind her mother, making me chuckle softly. "Child, you have nothing to fear from me," I tell her as I approach them. I give a small bow to Twilight. "Good evening Princess Twilight, I hope the two of you are having a pleasant night." "Queen Luna," she responds with a bow of her own. "It is so good to see you tonight! We've been having a blast so far, Pinky has out done herself. Is Miles here with you too?" "He's bickering with Blood Diamond," I tell her, getting a chuckle from her. "No Storm Cloud tonight?" "So he'll be distracted for awhile I see. Storm had to check on the Spartans for a moment, we're holding his spot right now. How was the rest of Equestria? I was bummed not to be able to make it to Ponyville tonight." I smile and go to answer, but something stops me. It's a small clatter of glasses and silverware in the background. Nothing was special about it. I don't even know how I heard it, but it seemed so... intentional. As if I was meant to hear it. I look behind myself and see a hooded humanoid figure in the crowd. They bumped into a server and knocked their tray to the ground. They're trying to help clean up the mess they caused, but doing so has made their hood slip slightly. All I can see is a lock of green hair hanging out. Without saying anything to Twilight I charge my horn and attempt to teleport the individual. When they disappear I teleport myself to the same location. The individual; a woman it would seem, is standing frozen in fear in the middle of my room, hands clenched at her side. I take a deep breath as I try to think of what to say. What should I do? This can't be who I think it is,can it? The hair is different. But that can be changed, right? There's no way of knowing without asking, so I guess I should start there. "Who-" "Okay, so I can't answer anything and I can't do anything and there's a big chance you're going to try to do something but I have to really warn against that because it probably won't end well and I really have no idea how that would go so just please let me go before this gets any worse." The woman blurts out rapidly, inching her way to the balcony. I try to process everything she just said, but there's too much going on for me to really focus on what she said. Her voice is new, so I know it's not Eremita. I was kind of hoping it was her though. It would have been nice to meet her. The stranger bolts for the balcony and tries to throw them open, but finds them locked. She struggles for a moment longer before dropping to her knees with a pitiful wail. I take a step back from the... awkward person and try to think of something to say... "Why are you here?" I guess that could work, though in hindsight she did say she couldn't answer anything. "Can you just let me goooo? It's my birthdaaaaaaay!" She cries out, dropping against the glass doors and slumping against them. "Why does this always happen to me?" "How about this? You tell me something, anything, and I'll let you go. Deal?" I ask, taking a step forward. "I'm not supposed toooooo!" She cries out pathetically. Okay, this is going nowhere fast. I do not believe this person is here just to celebrate their birthday. Every person I've met in those garbs has been a time traveler, and there's noway a time traveler would be that irresponsible. I could press them further, but I doubt I'd get anywhere right now. I need something that will change the dynamic... I charge my horn and begin a summoning spell when the woman yells for me not to do it, but it was too late. A flash of magic later Miles is standing beside me. The room goes silent as we all stand here, waiting for something else to happen. Miles is trying to process what just occurred, but is visibly confused. The stranger seems... scared. She pressed her back to the doors as she stares up at Miles. Maybe they have some form of history together? A history that hasn't happened yet "So... are you Eremita?" Miles asks finally, setting a champagne glass he had down on the vanity. "Um...no," she squeaks out. "She has green hair," I tell Miles. "That's all I got so far, didn't know where else to go from here." "Hm..." Another silence fills the room. "Well, I guess the only thing left to do is to let her go." "What!?" The stranger and I yell out. "Don't you have a million questions to ask!?" the stranger demands, jumping to her feet. "We can't just let her go, we need to know why she's here!" I yell. "Aren't you the least be curious to why I'm here or who I am!?" "She could have knowledge that's useful to us! We need to get what we can Miles!" "...hm." Miles takes his glass and takes a small sip from it, eyeing the two of us. I motion towards the stranger, trying to get him to ask something. Anything! "So, are we related?" "Pfft, wha-!? N-No! No way! I mean, not really. And by that I mean... um... I guess so. Not in a direct way that is but in a more... indirect way. I mean, when you get on the cosmic level, we're all related one way or another! So... heh... you know... is it getting hot in here? It is isn't it? We should really open a window or something because... heat stroke is a real thing you know! And you've been drinking! So you'll probably go first! NOT THAT YOUR DRINKING IS A PROBLEM OR ANYTHING! I mean, I've had my share so I know you can hold your own- NOT THAT I'M A DRINKER OR ANYTHING! I'm just saying maybe I've had a drink or two before -all within the legal limits of course- and they never really hit me that hard so you'll probably handle however mush you've had- IT IS GETTING SO HOT IN HERE!? Has global warming already started!?!? HEH-HE Though I guess you don't know about that yet... you will! But that's not what's important right now... heh.... hehe... please help." "So... we are related?" I ask, tilting my head slightly, lost in her ramblings. What's global warming? Sounds made up. "... noooo?" she responds, backing against the door. Miles takes a step forward and looks the stranger in the face. Even though her eyes are concealed, I can tell he's looking right into hers. Judging her, speaking to her. She's tensing up, trying to keep her failing composure up. She flinches when he ignites his magic, ducking as if waiting to be struck. The door clicks open and she stumbles back slightly as it opens. She looks out for a moment before looking to Miles, seemingly as if asking for permission. Miles nods to her, giving his confident smile. She nods to the both of us before stepping out to railing. I step forward and watch her from Miles' side. She takes in the sight of Canterlot again before turning to us again. She hesitates for a moment before speaking up. "For all it's worth, it was nice to finally meet you... both of you." FLASH A powerful burst of magic engulfs her and she disappears. We stand there for a moment longer before looking to each other. Both of us? What did she mean by that? What does our future hold for us? Chapter 257 The Oligarchs WarChapter 257 The Oligarchs War Perspective: Shadow I wake to the smell of pancakes and syrup seeping its way into my room. It's a warming scent. Mostly because it tells me that Dad is home today. The thought of that almost makes me jump out of bed. But, I guess I'm accustomed to having him disappear for random periods of time. Either from Spartan stuff, or just life. Like that one time he had to fight those Time Moles. He was gone for... what, three months? This is normal for him. The only thing keeping me in bed is the warm cocoon my blankets have provided for me. Tempestive and I were out late at the Gala in Mooseden last night, so sleep is much more appealing. Nothing against Dad, but he'll probably be there in ten more minutes- THUD "WAKE UP!" "AH!" I let out a small scream when Dad kicks the door open and yells. My blankets go flying and my protective layer of warmth escapes immediately. Before I can say anything further he grabs me with his magic and starts to drag me out of bed. I try to grab on, but all I manage to do is bring a pillow with me. In the hallway I see Tempestive floating with me. Though he's much happier about the sudden awakening. Dad brings us down to the kitchen and drops us into our seats just as a tall stack of pancakes drops onto the plate in the middle of the table. I continue to cling to my pillow and Mama Luna trots around, pausing to kiss Dad, and takes a seat at the other end of the table. "Dig in everypony!" Mama Luna declares. They all happily start to dig in, everypony serving themselves. I set my pillow down and take a look around. "Everything okay kiddo?" Dad asks with a mouthful of food. "Um... yes?" I ask, eyeing him confusingly. "Everything good with... you?" "Couldn't be better!" He declares happily, taking another large bite of food. I stare at him for a moment longer before slowly serving myself some food. "So, you got school today, right Shadow?" Dad asks joyfully. "... yeah." I mutter, taking a small bite. "So, I was thinking, after you get back we should all go out for a picnic or something. Maybe go to the lake? What do you guys think?" "Yeah!" Tempestive exclaims, throwing both hooves up into the air. "We haven't been to the lake in ages!" Luna comments happily... too happily. "Lake it is then! I'll head to Mooseden to drag Butterscotch and E'Claire along too. Should we invite other too?" Dad asks. The three of them have an excited conversation about the day. It sounds like it's turning into a small party at the lake really. I try to listen to it, but it just seems too... weird? I don't know. Something just doesn't seem right right now. I have to ask something. "Um... Dad?" I ask, getting his total attention. "Is... everything okay?" He stares at me for a moment before setting his fork down. "Look, I know things were... heated, before. But everything is fine. Better than fine even! For once things seem to be getting better. I'm sure you'll see in time, but I don't want to spoil any surprises until then. So just trust me and let's enjoy the day! Sound good?" I stare at him for moment longer before nodding back to him. I know I can trust him. I have no reason not to. Whatever apprehensions I had before I push aside for later. I'm sure it's actually nothing. "Actually, the girls and I were going to meet up after school to work on a project. It probably won't take too long. We can meet everypony at the lake if that would be better?" Dad agrees to the plan and breakfast continues as normal. I dip out early when I remember that we were going to meet up before school too. Today is the day. Today I begin our plan to enact my revenge on Diamond Tiara. I start out by meeting up with everypony in front of school an hour before classes start. With everypony here we get to work on making Diamonds day as terrible as possible. We pull out all the stops. Booby trapping her locker to drop red paint on her when she opens it. Putting itching powder in her gym cloths. Lacing all of her desks with invisible inks that I had to spends days enchanting to only activate when I set it to. I really hate enchanting now. We went to all of her favorite places to hang out and put up posters mocking her there. We muddied up the area under the bleachers so she wouldn't be able to slut her issues away! We went to all of the vending machines and bought out her favorite snacks and drinks. We removed the seats from the benches she took ownership of at the cafeteria and hid the umbrella. We went to each of her desks and put posters in them mocking her even further. We really lucked out that Pipsqueak has it in with the janitor... It also really worked out that the janitor used to work for her father, was fired, and holds a huge grudge about it. Scootaloo was willing to break into all of the rooms. But it's better to not have to break into school. On top of all of that we have an ambush ready for after school. She usually takes a specific route home and we're ready for it. Large sling shots have been set up to pelt her with water balloons filled with ink and gum wads. The hope is that it'll stain her coat and matte her mane and tail. And that's on top of the paint and invisible inks! Day one of our plan is our show of force. We're going to take her good looks away from her. Day one, her looks. Day two, alienate her from her friends. We have some dirt that will draw most of her little fanatics away from her. There are a few loyalist that will stick with her, but we have plans to drag them to the outer reaches of society and destroy their self image. Day three, bring the fight to her family. We've got several plans on what to do here, but it mostly involves us going around town and making comments bad mouthing Barnyard Bargains. If his business is legitimate, which it probably isn't, but if it is he can't go on for more than a month or two while losing ten percent of his business. If the last five days of surveillance are any indicator of that at least. It was a busy week, but if my research is accurate he basically operates on a ten percent margin practice. From there, it's up to volume to make up the difference. If I can drop him ten percent in one month, he'll start to panic. There goes Diamonds little shopping sprees. It won't be enough to make his business collapse, but that's where the vandalism come into effect. After reading his insurance policies, courtesy of drone footage from Dad's workshop, we know how to make him hurt. Day in, day out. He'll be fine with one or two mishaps. But when his rates quadruple in the span of one month, he'll start to bleed bits. And that should be it. Though I'm still floating the idea of burning down their house. Sweetie made some persuasive arguments for it, but I think arson is taking it a bit too far. I want them to suffer. Not potentially die. And leaving town would be too easy. I don't want them to have the option to start over somewhere else. I want to the to become trapped. I want them to feel the pressure of everyday being on the brink of financial collapse. But today, I want drag Diamond down into the dirt. After School "Damn... what luck." Scootaloo chimes, getting smacked from Applebloom. "What? How were we supposed to know Diamond would start home schooling the rest of summer school? Who does that?" "Or that Shadow would get all of her seats and lockers." Sweetie Bell adds. "Do you think she knew?" Button asks. "She couldn't have known, right?" "Nopony knew besides us." Scootaloo says, glaring at the others. "Right." "It doesn't matter." I tell them. "We'll have to get her later when the school year actually starts. Right now we're moving to the next part of the plan." "Umm..." We all stop and look to Pip. No... I know that look. Don't tell me... "I think that part is going to have to go back to the drawing board." After a quick explanation we all rush to Barnyard Bargains. Or maybe I rushed there and they all followed, who knows really. When we make it to the font of the store I slide to a stop and drop to my haunches. There's a crowd going out the front door as ponies clamor to get inside. A few standing out front are showing off their new purchases. Armor. Shiny new armor. Barnyard Bargain doesn't sell armor! I rush to the side of the building and see a new advertisement plastered over the entire side. Barnyard Bargains Personal Protection Sale! Tired of the constant fighting? Want to take matters into your own hooves? Barnyard Bargains presents it's new line of affordable armor! Don't wait for somepony else to come to your rescue! Be the hero! Buy Barnyard Bargains new line of custom armor and weaponry! TERMS AND CONDITIONS MAY APPLY. BARNYARD BARGAINS IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DISMEMBERMENT, INJURY, PINCHING, OR DEATHS WHILE IN ARMOR. ALL SALES ARE FINAL. CERTAIN EXCLUSIONS MAY APPLY. ARMOR IS MADE TO ADD PROTECTIVE LAYERING AND DOES NOT PREVENT MATTERS FROM ESCAPING METAPHORICAL HOOVES. AFFORDABILITY SUBJECT TO PERSONAL SCRUTINY OF BARNYARD BARGAINS. ARMOR AND WEAPONS DO NOT INFER OR OBTAIN HERO STATUS. I can't believe it. I don't believe it! I spent all week monitoring this place! When did they bring all of this in? And how are so many ponies aware of the sale happening? There weren't any ads before today. They did all of this while we were at school! Why today? How could they have known today was the day to bring this out? As I stare at the advertisement, dumbfounded, Diamond saunters her way up to us with two ponies in armor flanking her. She's wearing an all leather set of armor, but it clearly wasn't made to protect her. The inlays are far to intricate for something like that. "Glad you all could make it to the big sale! But, sadly, we sold out already. So you'll have to wait your turn on the backlog... how long was the wait again?" she asks one of the armored ponies. They raise their helmet and I find myself in an entirely new level of dumbfoundedness. "Looks like it's going to be a three month wait," Twist tells her. "Ah, too bad. Oh well, can't be helped. Well, you can't at least. I have all the help I need. Bye!" She turns to leave but Twist lingers a moment longer. "If it's any consolation, I really am sorry. But Diamond said if I helped her I'd get a free set of armor for my dad. Nothing personal, promise." Before any of us can say anything back to her she shuts her helmet and chases after Diamond. I can't believe what's happening right now. Did Diamond know we wouldn't question anypony willing to help us? Does she really know that much about us? Just how many steps ahead of us is she really? I try to think of something to say. Something to do. Maybe the armor is really poor quality? Or maybe because of the backlog ponies will get angry and that could... do... something? What are they selling them at anyway? Maybe the ten percent rule will still apply. Oh, who am I kidding? They sold two months worth in a day! There's no way my plan is going to work out the way I thought it was going to. She beat us this round. There's nothing left to do now but move onto the next plan. Whenever that'll come to me. "Come on, let's get out of here." Apple Bloom tells me, nudging my shoulder. "Yeah... let's go to the lake... so I can drown myself in my sorrows." I mutter back as I pry myself away from the building. "Um... too dark?" Sweetie asks aloud. "Well, on the bright side," Scootaloo starts but stops when we all glare at her. But, she misses her chance. "You could still fuck Rumble." "AAAAAH!" I yell as I drop and bury my head under my hooves. Just when I thought that would finally end, she has to bring it back up again! "Do what now?" Rumble asks, seemingly appearing just to make matters worse. "By the way, I have good news!" "Does it have to do with my sudden destruction at the hooves of an over pampered premadonna?" I ask from the ground. "Um... no? I... I uh... this actually might be bad timing-" "Just spit it out." Apple Bloom barks at him. "It really can't get any worse." "..." "It's getting worse, ain't it?" Of course it is. Because you tempted fate APPLE BLOOM! You're still like a sister to me, but I could bury in the ground right now. "Yeeeaaah... I got a letter in the mail saying I got into a summer camp for Air Ball. So I'm going to be gone until school starts up again... after summer that is... sorry?" I start laughing from the ground. It starts as a small chuckle, but it just grew inside of me. It grows until I start to scare my friends and they start to back away from me. You did it Diamond! You really did it! "I'm going to start a fire!" I announce suddenly, jumping to my hooves. "What?" A random guard asks from nearby. "Nothing!" Sweetie yells as she rushes over and covers my mouth. "It was just an inside joke, nothing to gleam off from that! Honest!" He eyes the two of us for a moment before slowly walking away. "Whelp, today was a bust. At least we still have the lake to go to." Scootaloo chimes, getting looks from everypony. "What? Am I wrong?" "Um... I was actually hoping to steal Shadow for the day. If that's alright?" Rumble asks. Everypony looks to me, waiting to see what I'll do. Honestly, I could use some alone time. But if I go home, Dad is going to drag me out anyway. And... I can't really face him right now. So personal time with Rumble doesn't sound bad either... Until I start to think... about that... "We'll cover for you," Scootaloo tells me as she zips off into the air, followed by Pip. "Try ahn relax, okay?" Apple Bloom tells me before trotting off. Sweetie walks over to me and pulls me in for a sudden hug. I slowly reach up and pat her back, unsure about the sudden affection. "Downward Dog is the-" "Okay!" I yell as I push her away. "That's enough of that! Let's get going Rumble!" Chapter 258 Rumbles KnightChapter 258 Rumbles Knight August 13th, 4139 Rumble and I start walking towards his place and I start to have a panic attack. How much of what I said did he hear? I can't bring it up either! Because then it might lead to... that. Why am I so uncomfortable saying... sex. Shiver I think my parents broke me. Maybe I should just teleport away and tell him about it later. That does seem like a good plan. But I can't just teleport away from Rumble. That would be unfair to him. And he knows where I live, so that wouldn't really solve anything. Why am I freaking out over this? It's Rumble. Sure, he has a history of... this kind of stuff. But he's been really patient and respectful. I'm sure that if I explained the situation to him and let him know that I'm not ready for this that he'd understand. I just need to put my trust in him, that's all. "So I hear you're going to fuck me stupid." FLOMP I groan into the ground as all of the blood rushed to my face. Of course he's going to lead with that. "You okay?" he asks kindly, rubbing my back. I force myself up and dust myself off. Doing everything in my power to avoid looking at him. "Y-yeah. Heh... about that, uh... the thing is-" "Because, and I don't mean to brag, but I'm pretty interested to see what that would entail. I never really took you for the forward type. But hey, I guess quiet but suddenly kinky bookworm... I can get behind that." He waggles his eyebrows at me, and I let out a small chuckle. "I should make you wait for that alone," I say with a small laugh. He helps dust me off a bit before nodding for me to follow. I nod along and continue walking with him. He has a way of calming me down. I wish it didn't lead with making me crash, but beggars can't be choosers. The entire walk together is nice. Nopony is really around to bother us. The weather is nice. There's nothing out here besides the two of us, and I like that. ...That might be because we're supposed to be at school now. "Um... Rumble?" "Yeah?" "Shouldn't we be heading to school? Or, since you're doing that flight school thing, shouldn't I be going to my afterschool programs?" I feel a little guilty asking, but I can't help it. I've never missed a day of school! Not without going through the proper channels at least. Skipping school? Me? I can't imagine the teachers noticing in all honesty. But I can't help but worry that something bad is going to happen because of it. By the time I asked we had just made it to his front door. We stop to face one another and I get the sense that this is the line in the sand. If I go through the door frame, there's no going back. Whatever happens in there, happens. I can see Rumble fighting to find the right words. But, just by the way he's fidgeting, I can tell he really wants me to go in as well. "Look, I know this is going to be... really forward. And I get that it would be even more unfair to ask the way I'm going to. But, just know that no matter what you say it won't change how I think or feel about you. I promise, everything I've said and done has not been a lie, okay? I really do like you." "... But?" I ask, feeling my heart skip a beat. Is he breaking up with me? Where's he going with this? "Okay... so, School proper starts back up in three weeks, give or take. And most of that time I'm going to be up in Cloudsdale, so we're not going to see each other until school starts. But that's the thing, school will be starting. So, in my head at least, this is the last chance we'll get to really have a day with just the two of us. At least, for a really long time." "And putting all my cards on the table, having sex would be an added bonus. But that's not why I brought you here. I wanted a day with just the two of us. No distractions. No obligations. Just you and me. I know school is important to you, and ditching your friends might be a bit off putting too. But... I just really want to have you to myself for a day-" I stop him by putting a hoof on his lips. I can see where he's going with this. It is tempting to go inside and have a day with just the two of us. Escape all the problems of the world and just have him too myself? Why wouldn't I want that? But there's something that doesn't seem... right? Maybe I'm overthinking it, but something about school is causing me reconsider. Maybe I've just been conditioned to put school in such a high regard. I mean, I have straight A's. And I haven't missed a single day! Not to mention how far ahead in school I am right now. Maybe I should take the day. I've definitely earned it. But that still seems like the easy way out. I've always been told that the easy way is the wrong way. Or, maybe not wrong, but that there's always something over looked when you try to take shortcuts. "Rumble..." I start out. But I made the mistake of looking him in the eyes. I can see the slight fear in him. He knows he's asking a lot. And he even said it didn't have to go... there. "Yeah Shadow?" "... what should we do first?" I can't help but feel a tinge of guilt when I say that. I don't even know what I'm feeling guilty for. But the excitement on his face makes me feels measurably better about it. I'm sure it'll be fine. "And before you say it, we're not doing... it! Or... yeah, no!" "That's fine! One hundred percent not an issue! Honestly, I'm just glad to have you over!" He tells me excitedly as he fumbles to get his keys out of his bag. "Oh yeah?" I ask, taking a peek down below. "Then you might want to put that away then." He stops and glances down. He gives a nervous chuckle before dumping his bag out before me. He starts tossing his stuff all around, but it's pretty clear that he locked himself out of his own house. I take a look at his house and note several ways inside. We can try one of the windows. Though most of them seem like those new ones with the good locks. Maybe the back door is open? And if all else fails, I can just teleport inside. While Rumble is still trying to find his keys I sneak away and take a small trot to the back. The back door is locked, but it's one of those old style dead bolts. There's a trick with these. If you can slip something behind the bolt, you can basically push the bolt aside. Weird that they put an old bolt like this on a new house. Probably trying to cut corners. I pull out a protractor and slip it into the crack. A few wiggles and the bolt slips open. That was way too easy. I open the door and walk inside. I make sure to shut and lock the door behind myself. We don't want any distractions surprising us today, that's for sure. I also make sure to shut all the blinds. Maybe I'm being a bit paranoid, but whatever. It's my day off too, and I want to shut out the world. I leave my bag on the kitchen counter and make my way to the living room. With a quick flip of the lock I open the door. Rumble is still trying to find his keys, but he's also trying to assure me that he has them. I take a look around and see his keys on the a small table by the door. I take them with my magic and look them over, making sure they jingle to get his attention. "... where did you find them.... also, when did you get inside?" "Hm... I could answer that, but what would I get out of that?" I ask, smirking at him. He smiles back rushes forward, landing a kiss perfectly on my lips. We stumble our way inside, lips never leaving one another, and manage to shut and lock the door. I don't know where we're going, but we manage to knock over a few things over along the way. Nothing sounds like it breaks, so we keep going. Our tongues find their ways to each other. Lightly lapping at one another at first. He pulls me in close and begins vigorously exploring my mouth, and I'm too happy to stop him. We come to a stop somewhere and I wrap my arms around his neck. He begins to explore with his hooves. Slowly moving them over my back and sides. Each move sends shivers down my spine and makes me hold onto him tighter. Almost begging him to keep going. He starts grabbing me in places that are new to foreign touch. It was light at first. A slight graze by my flanks. Or a soft touch on my underside. Even through my school uniform the touch is intoxicating. I start feeling a bit braver and begin to explore with my own hooves. Pressing against his chest. Running a hoof over his unbelievably soft wings. I even build the courage to grab his flank. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" I mutter as I push him back. "Sorry! Was that too much?" I take a few deep breaths as I try to collect my thoughts. "No, sorry. That... that was on me." I tell him as I straighten out my uniform. "Um... heh, wow. We uh... we get heated pretty fast, don't we?" We share an awkward laugh together. "I can try to tone it down if you'd like, but... well. No promises." We share a small smile before I lean forward and kiss his cheek. "So, what do you want to do?" I ask as I lean against him. This is nice, but there's one thing that's really... making it's point. I keep feeling him against me. The last time I nearly had a heart attack. But today, it's not that big a deal. I even made a joke about it earlier! "Well... how about we go up to my room and talk for a bit?" "Talk?" I ask, getting him to chuckle. "Yes talk," he assures me. "And not rip that uniform off of you and rail you until you walk crooked for a week." "Rumble!" I give him a push and try to hide my blush. I guess I never said anything about him teasing me. "C'mon, I have a million questions to ask you!" He gives me one last kiss on the cheek before leading me up the stairs. We have a bit of trouble getting up the stairs. But that's only due to our incessant need to rub against one another. When we make it to his room he leaps through the air and drops onto his bed. He pats the spot next to him when an idea gets in my head. It's... a bit bold. But, I guess today is the day for bold moves. I start removing my uniform. But I try to do it in as sultry a way as possible. Part of me feels really silly doing this. But by the way he's watching me, I'm guessing it's working. I take my shirt and pop the buttons off with my magic as I slid it over head. I reach under my skirt and start to slide my spanks off. I never really thought much on how alluring my body would be to another person. So I'm not really sure if what I'm doing is as sexily as I want it to be. Everything I'm doing I've either heard from one of the other girls, or read in... magazines. Judging by the look on Rumbles face, it seems to be working. I get an idea in my head. I'm pretty sure I know how it'll go, but... it seems like a good idea for the moment. "So... two pieces of clothing left... one of them is staying on. Why don't you pick?" Rumble looks at me as if I told him the secrets of the universe. He gets up and starts to walk around me. I can feel my heart start to race as I watch him go around. He's looking over every part of me. Scrutinizing. Fantasizing. I'm starting to feel a bit weak in the knees and my stomach feels like it's upside down. But... I'm also loving it. "Leave the skirt on." I figured he would say that. But I'm okay with that. I go to remove my panties when I stop. I look to Rumble before I lower my hoof and tilt my head back. He gives me a surprised look before moving behind me. "Are you sure?" "Y-yeah." I clear my throat. "Yes. But... look, don't touch." Where did this side of me come from? Is this a part of me that's always existed or is it only because of Rumble. I don't know, but right now I really don't care. Rumble moves closer to me and sets his hooves on my hips. He caresses my sides before moving them down and under my skirt. My breath catches as he starts to massage my backside. My tail swishes on it's own accord before lifting out of the way. He takes that as his queue and starts to slip the panties off as slowly as possible. I bite my lip as they begin to leave my body. I've never been this exposed to someone before. I'm a bit nervous about what's going to happen next too. I've been relying on instinct up until this point. But I don't want to follow my instincts to the next part. No matter how nice it sounds. I can feel his warm breath against me. Each pulse sends a wave of euphoria throughout my body. Each time I almost beg for him to continue, but my voice is too far away for anything to come out. All I can do is stand here with baited breath for him to make the next move. Whatever he chooses, I don't know it I'll be able to say no to. It feels like an eternity, but he eventually pulls himself away and faces me. I can't help but chuckle when I see the huge blush on his face. "Shadow... you are easily the sexiest mare I've ever been with," he tells me matter of factly. "Heh... well... it's easy when I have someone like you around." I try to make it into a compliment, but I don't think it went over well. "No, I really mean it. No mare comes even close to you! How are you this sexy!?" I chuckle again from that. I'm a bit unaccustomed to being complimented. But it's nice. "It's a lot harder than you think. But... thanks. You're really... sexy too. Not that I'm just trying to repay the compliment! I really do think you're sexy! Maybe sexy isn't the right word. Well, you saw for-" I stop when he leans forward and kisses me again. Which is good, because I was about to go off the deep end there. We bring the kiss to the bed and slowly climb on. He lays on his side and leaves a space for me to lay against him. I snuggle against him, trying my best to not crush his... bits. Bit? His... anyway! "So... what do you want to talk about?" I ask, getting him to laugh. We spend the next few hours just talking. Family, friends, cutie marks, everything. He had some actual questions too. Mostly about my parents and the whole dynamic between them all. I didn't really mind talking about them. But I didn't want to dwell on them for too long. I started asking about what he wanted to do after high school, and I was a bit surprised to hear his answer. He doesn't really have a plan. He does, but he's not really committed to it. It's more of a placeholder plan for him to explore what he wants. I can't really blame him for that, but I figured he would have a better idea of what he wanted. Truth be told, I was assuming more pegasi stereotypes. Like the Wonderbolts or cloud factory stuff. I surprised him too with that question. The idea of moving to Mooseden to do quiet government work wasn't what he had in mind for me. But there isn't really much else for me to do out there. Nothing that really appeals to me at least. And with a cutie mark that's geared for stealth there aren't really too many options. "But you could be a spy! Or witness protection! There are a lot of different things a stealth cutie mark could mean!" "I know, but I'm not much for confrontations." I tell him. I've moved to lay on my back so I could face him better, being careful of his wings. "And... well, okay. So when I say my cutie mark is for stealth, that's not completely true." "Oh?" Rumble asks, booping my nose with his. "Do tell!" "You can't tell anypony about this, okay!? This is between you and me!" I tell him, poking his chest with a hoof. "Promise! So, are you secretly a heist master? Is that how you broke into my house so easily?" I laugh at that. "No. While my mark does help with that, it's not what made me... me." I pause as I try to find the right words. He waits patiently, running the tip of his wing against my chest. "Hmm... that feels nice." "C'mon you! Spill the beans already!" He ruffles his feather against my face and chuckle as I push them aside. "Okay! So... first off, my full name is Shadow Knight... and my sister was Lantern Light. When I was younger my brother got lost in the Everfree, as he often does. He was being kept in some cave by some... creatures. I couldn't fight them by myself. And I couldn't leave him alone with them. So I hid in the shadows and fought slowly. I took small moves against them without them ever knowing I was there. I couldn't fight them directly as a group, so I fought them from the shadows one by one. And that's when I learned that my talent was playing puppeteer from the shadows. Ponies think I'm weak. That I'm too non-confrontational. The truth is actually the complete opposite. I can fight just about anything, so long as they don't know where I am." The room goes quiet as I think back to that night. I don't tell him more than I need to. About how I tortured those creatures. How I made them run in fear of me. How I scared Tempestive that night. "... so... what happened to your sister?" I'm caught a bit off guard from that. I didn't even really notice that I brought her up. "She's... she passed when I was little. When my current father found us, we were working in a mine. It... it was not a good time. There was an incident and... creatures took her from me. I think I only got away because of my talents honestly." "... do you have anything of hers? A picture?" I shrug to him. The only thing I have of her is my memory. And that's been tainted by that fucking monster. "I'm so sorry." "It's okay Rumble. It was a long time ago." An awkward silence falls between us. I go to sit up when I feel my stomach protest. "Let's get something to eat, okay?" "Yeah... sorry, kinda killed the mood didn't I?" he asks as we both stand. "No, it's alright. And, honestly, sometimes ponies blundering into that helps. I don't know what I'd do if I ever forgot her." We make our way downstairs and Rumble starts to make us some lunch. I take the lull to look around the living room and poke around. I'm mostly looking at the nick knacks, but a few family pictures catch my attention. Most are of him and his brother, but there is one with them and who I assume to be their mother. I don't ask what happened though. In the picture they're in a hospital room. She's lying on a bed with the two of them with her. Even with how happy the three of them look, you can tell how sick she is. "Any particular preference of toppings?" Rumble asks from the kitchen. "What? Oh, no. I'm good with whatever." I tell him as I move to the next set of pictures. "Anything? A chefs favorite word!" I laugh at that. "Does your brother know you're going to be gone for three weeks?" I ask as I enter the kitchen. I take a seat on one of the bar stools at the kitchen island and watch him do his work. "Not really. I'll leave him a note though. I know that sounds bad, but that's just how we are." I hum in response as I watch him assemble our sandwiches. "How are you going to get there?" "Flying. I've done the trip a few times before, so it shouldn't be an issue." "Well... if you'd like. I could teleport us there." He pauses what he's doing to give me a quizzical look. "My dad made sure that I knew that spell. Said it was the most useful pony spell around. It wouldn't be too hard." "I don't know Shadow. You'd still have to get back too. Wouldn't that be too much?" "It's actually easier than most ponies make it out to be. Casting at shorter distances makes it a cinch. Plus... if I do this... then I could spend the night with you." "... are you sure about that? Not that that doesn't sound like the best thing ever, but I don't want to get you in trouble." I mull it over for a moment longer before setting my mind. "I'm okay with it if you are. And... maybe later tonight we could... continue?" "Con... continue?" he asks, lost for words. "Y-yeah... maybe not all the way. But... more?" We stare at each other for moment, not knowing what to say. We both want it. But at the same time, we both want the other to back up a bit. Neither of us are going to though. And I'm still okay with that. With Rumble, I'm better than okay. Chapter 259 And They Cried Republic! Republic! Republic!Chapter 259 And They Cried Republic! Republic! Republic! August 14th 4139 Waking early in the morning has become something that comes easy to me. At least when I have a task to do. Even though we went to sleep later than if Rumble had flown to Cloudsdale, we still had to be up before sunrise. We didn't really sleep last night either. We were... plenty distracted. It was good though. In the end, I'm glad I stayed. I've never had this sort of affection given to me for so long before. I can see myself getting used to it. Getting ready for the day went by pretty quick. And we were both fairly quiet too. There were a lot of things I wanted to say. I just didn't know how to say them. I get the feeling he fells similarly. "So, you ready for this?" Rumble asks as he locks the front door. "Yeah. Like I said, it'll be easier than it looks." I hope so at least. I've never done this at this distance before. And that's not even considering adding another person to the mix. But there's no going back now. I take a deep breath as I set my mind to the task at hoof. My first few teleports will be mostly to test jumping with another pony. But once I get a feel for it, I'll try adding greater distances as I go. FLASH My first teleport goes by easily enough. It tells me I can go a bit further without worry. FLASH We're far out of Ponyville now. We can still see the town, but it will be gone soon enough. This is a comfortable rate to go. I could try adding slightly more distance, but it's not necessary. At this rate we'll be there in only a few minutes. "Hold on a sec," Rumble groans as he shakes his head. "Sorry. Never teleported that much before at once." "Sorry. But we're going to make great time at least!" There's a reason I don't do this often. Most people aren't used to being teleported this often. And I can't help but feeling guilty for messing with his head when he's about to go on this training camp. "That's good. How're you holding up?" He asks while rubbing his head. "I'm fine. Like I told you, scaling the spell back makes it easier to cast. Even if it kicks back on me, it's almost negligible. I can handle it. Are you okay?" He takes another deep breath before nodding to me. I give him a sympathetic smile and cast the next spell, sending us closer to Cloudsdale. "So... what's your plan... while I'm gone?" He asks between teleports. "Um... plan?" I ask, not getting his meaning. "For D.T." I can't help but roll my eyes at that. I don't want to even think about her right now. "Honestly... it's back to the drawing board. I have no clue... what I'm going to do. Why? Do you have any suggestions?" He looks a bit uncomfortable from that. I can't tell if it's from the teleporting or the question though. "Well... kinda. But nothing that really... helps." I wait for him to elaborate before teleporting again. He shifts his weight around as he thinks about it for a moment. "Well... look. I'm one hundred percent on your side. But, and this is me just trying to be helpful, you're not going to win any fights on her level. Don't try to get into her arena, drag her into yours! I don't really have ways to help you do that, but it's really the only way I can see you beating her." I nod to his logic. The thought has occurred before. But I don't really know what my arena is. I'm the awkward loner, where do I even start with that!? Maybe I should just stick with Pips idea of becoming more popular than her. Which sounds just as impossible. "I get what you mean, and I appreciate it. But... without a plan there's no going back really. At least trying to fight on her ground I know where I can try... sorta. But... thanks. For being on my side that is." He steps forward and gives me a small kiss on the lips. It makes me feel better for a moment. Distracts me from the overwhelming idea of revenge. "Well, keep going with the fucking me stupid thing then. It seems to be working-" FLASH I teleport him away as embarrassment covers my face. Of course he was going to be a little shit about it. When we make it close enough to Cloudsdale we say our goodbyes. You would think having been around the Spartans for so long I'd be an expert at this sort of thing. He's not even doing anything nearly as intense as that! But now I get it. I couldn't imagine having been with him for as long as some of the others have been together and then sending him somewhere where he could die. After nearly giving myself a panic attack, Rumble took off for the city and I made my way home. I kept quiet along the way. There's a lot to think about right now, but I keep it all from my mind. At least for the time being. All I want to do is crawl into bed and sleep until the weekend. I know I can't do that, but it's still a tempting idea. When I make it home I grab the door but flinch when it swings open. I feel my knees go weak when I look up at Dad staring back at me. Did he know I was gone? Is he going to be mad at me!? IS HE GOING TO KILL RUMBLE!? "... Good news kiddo! I just let the school know you aren't going to be there today!" he tells me... too happily. "... o-oh?" I ask, slowly relaxing. "Yeah, you're going to Mooseden to help your moms out with the meeting today!" I look around as I try to piece everything together. "Um... what meeting?" It's been a long time since I've seen such a look of pure joy on his face. It's... unsettling. "Citizens meeting! You're forming a new government today!" Perspective: Miles I get a giddy feeling as I watch the first of the I.T.A.'s landing in Mooseden's airfield. Shouldn't be much longer before the last of them make it here. Most are already in the town hall, but many of the Apples are waiting out front to greet other family members. With their rather large addition we've finally made it to our threshold. Now it's up to them to form a government and take responsibilities from us. And I couldn't be happier. Mooseden is alive with traffic today! Bots are running all over herding people into town hall while people murmur about town. I think our numbers are around fifteen hundred. Something like that at least. I don't think this town has had this many people in it... ever! It's an exciting sight to behold. "Shadow, how many more?" I ask her as I watch the ponies file out of the aircraft. "Um... three more inbound. Looks like some stragglers from the Ape Empire, I think." I hum back to her. I think that's Si Ye's extended family coming in. "Go find E'Claire and see if she needs help with anything else. I can take of the rest from here." She nods to me and trots off. I shield my face with a wing as the aircraft start to land, their escorts screeching past over head. We couldn't take any risk today, so each transport has two wings guiding them. Luckily nothing happened. Most of this group are merchants and traders of various ethnic groups. Terradisia has become rather diverse, but it's still largely dominated by ponies. But when you look at the merchants and crafts people, that's where our diversity is mostly found. I greet a few of them and tell them their questions will be answered during the meeting. A few of them are fussy over being dragged away from various business dealings, they eventually make their way over to the crowd and mix in. Orcs, minotaurs, ponies, even if it's just one or two, every race is represented here today. If we're lucky, today will be the catalyst for more to join our ranks. I'm one step closer to reaching my goal of raising Terradisia back to its former glory. I knew it would happen eventually, but seeing it finally happen. It's almost unreal. "Easy, take over ground control." "Affirmative." The utility bot takes my place as I start to meander around the crowd. Part of me is just too excited to stand in one spot for too long. Being part of this crowd and hearing the people talking with one another, there's electricity in the air. Pretty much everyone knows what's going on today. At least in some small way. I don't think they get how much they are deciding. They don't get the role they're playing in history today. "Captain!" I pause and turn to the voice. Storm drops by my side and gives a salute, to which I return. "Today's the day?" "Today is the day!" I proclaim to him as I return to roaming around the crowd. "Have all the Spartans made it here?" "Yes sir. Most are inside monitoring the crowd. A few are straggling around Mooseden, but they'll be in the hall momentarily." "Good, Good!" I take a look around before I motion for him to follow me. We make our way inside the hall and push through the crowd to the back office. When we make it in I lock the door and pull out my phone to check over a few notes. I take a seat behind the desk while Storm sits across from me. "Captain, is this really the best solution?" Storm asks. "Trust me, this is the solution." I tell him as I read. "You don't understand yet because you've never had to be under government while a Spartan. Trust me on this. Today is our liberation." "Alright... well. In any case, how exactly is this going to work? Are we going to explain different types of governments or... what?" I chuckle a bit at that. "There's the beauty of it Storm. I'll save that for later though. Right now we're about to get started. Get the rest of the Spartans and get the civilians inside. Once you're done with that, have everyone else wait for me outside." Storm give me a quizzical look but doesn't question any further. When he leaves I go back to my notes once again. This has only happen twice in recorded history. But if it goes as it well as the other times, this should be a great day. We finally get to wash our hands of all this bureaucratic trash and do what we were made to do. Focus on the fight. I make it halfway through my notes before someone knocks on the door. E'Claire pops her head in and lets me know that everyone is inside. I thank her and jump to my hooves. This is it! Showtime! We make it to the main hall and I can't help but smile at the crowd before me. Everyone is clambering about, filling the seats slowly. Even though the building can house twice as many people, it's still buzzing with life. I go to the podium and find a gavel underneath. I take a moment to admire it before giving a few the podium a few pounds. The crowd gets the meaning and starts taking their seats. I wait for them to get mostly seated before speaking up. Hopefully that'll get them to hurry up and keep quiet. "Welcome! Welcome! Sorry for the sudden upheaval, but today is a tremendous day!" I yell out to the crowd. A few of them look to each other in confusion, but I can see several people who know what's about to happen. Namely my wife. "As I'm sure most of you are aware, Terradisia has slowly been on the rise. We've been growing over the last few years, but only just recently have we finally met our goal. We are over one thousand citizens! At this time, I am no longer your leader. YOU are the leaders now! It is time for you all to do your duties and form the Terradisian government." There's a moment of silence before the crowd explodes with questions. I let them argue for a moment longer before slamming the gavel back down. It takes a moment for them to simmer down, but they eventually quiet down. At least enough for me to speak over them. "Please, please, calm down! You're going to need those vocal chords for later." I laugh at my own joke, but no one joins me. "Anyway, the floor is now yours. What will you all make of Terradisia? A monarchy? Democracy? Will you choose unity and freedom, or order and structure? You are the new founders of Terradisia and its future is in your hands." Everyone stares at me and waits for me to continue. But there's nothing else for me to say. I set the gavel down and start to walk down the aisle. I can tell this is going right over their heads. They must have a million questions to ask. But none of that is my responsibility anymore. I pause when I make it next to Luna and Celestia. They both are smirking back to me. The chase is on, wonder who will end up on top. "Good luck ladies." I tell them before taking my leave. I hear Celestia start to speak to the crowd, but I ignore it as I step outside. The Spartans are gathered around, waiting for me to address them. I guess this would be the time to say something important. Something to really match the moment. "Spartans... let's get a drink." They all cheer with me. No more playing politician. No more playing the good guy. It's finally time for us to let go of the reins and do our jobs. As we walk off Storm comes to my side quickly. Out of everyone here, he's the only one who looks worried. "Captain, I still don't know if this is going to be a good idea or not. Maybe we could go back and tell them about some options or maybe-" "Don't sweat it Storm!" Damian yells. "They'll be fine... unless someone throws a folding chair. But, there aren't any in there, so we're good!" "This is no longer our concern Lieutenant," I tell him. "Let them do their jobs so we can do ours." One Hour Later After a few rounds and many questions from Storm, we decide to check on them. See how things are going. I really don't see why we would need to do this. But if it shuts him up, we can take a peek. I open the door and the sounds of shouts and screams of the crowd immediately thunders all around us. One side seems to be yelling at the other while there are some one on one arguments spotting the hall. I can see several piles of papers stacking in the back as Shadow tries to keep up with notes. But there are several piles of crumpled papers as well. I stand there for a moment as watch the crowd holler at one another before nodding to the chaos. From somewhere in the crowd a folding chair comes flying towards us. It falls short and lands just before us, sliding until it taps Storm on the hoof. "WHO THREW THAT?" Storm demands before charging into the crowd. Almost immediately the crowd breaks into a huge fight. "Wonderful. We have a republic." Chapter 260 Our Dreams Lost in the WindChapter 260 --- .--. . .-. .- - .. --- -. / -. --- .-. - .... . .-. -. / - .- .-.. --- -. Perspective: Private Adair Even-Claw, 1st Battalion, S.E.U. (Shock Expeditionary Unit) August 15th 4139,1:30 am Sea-Crows Cliff, northern United Griffin Colony I rush around my room as I try to find my last minute things to take with me, leaving it incomplete disarray. I've stuffed as much as I can into my satchel, but I can't help but think that I'm forgetting something. What am I forgetting!? Cloths, check. Papers, check. I need to be there in thirty minutes and I know I'm forgetting something! "Missing something?" I pause my frantic search when my mother opens the door. I sigh in relief when I see her holding the thing I'm looking for. I latch my satchel and sling it on as I walk up to her. She smiles to me and ties the royal blue scarf around my neck. "Thanks Mom," I tell her as I finish getting my uniform squared away. She helps fasten a few loose buckles and tightens my satchel. She steps in front of me and starts to straighten out my scarf. "Did you pack your quills?" she asks me worriedly, fussing over my scarf. "Yeah, and papers and envelops." I tell her as she starts to get frantic over my scarf some more. I grab her claws and hold them for a moment. She pulls them in and rubs them against her cheek, purring deeply. "I thought there would be more time before you'd leave. It's bad enough that you twisted my wings to let you enlist. But now they're taking my little cub halfway around the world." "I'm not a cub anymore Mom," I groan to her. "Oh hush you! You'll always be my little cub!" I chuckle a bit at that. I am sad to be leaving her alone. I know she'll be okay. She works in the castle as a stewardess, so I'm not worried about her ability get food. But... we've always been together. Just the two of us. "I'll start writing as soon as we shove off. I don't know how long it'll be until I can actually send any letters-" "Adair, do not worry about me. I will be fine. You just focus on staying safe, you hear me?" She tells me as she pats down my scarf. "I will Mom." "But yes, write me." I chuckle at her and pull her in for a hug. She holds onto me tightly, and I return the affection. Who knows how long it will be until I'll see her again. I just pray it won't be too long. "Okay! Okay!" She mutters as she pushes back on me. "You need to get going. Go! before I tear up anymore and you mock me-" "I would never mock your crying face!" I tease, getting her laugh. "How could I have ever raised such a monster of a son? What have I done to deserve this?" We laugh together as I start to head to the door. Mom follows me but rushes to the kitchen. She hurries back with gives me a small bundle of food. I go to protest but she stuffs it into my bag before any words can come out. "Mom-" "Go now!" she cries out as she re-latches my bag. "I love you, I love you and you-you need to g-go! An-And b-b-b-be good! I-I'm so prooooooud of you!!" She yells as she starts to lose it. "I love you too Mom!" I tell her as I give one last hug before bolting. I slam the door as I hear her go into hysterics. I do feel bad leaving her like that, but it takes way too long to calm her when she gets like that. I take a moment to look over my home as I take to the skies. Our modest stone apartment complex sits nestled between several larger buildings, almost hiding it from the rest of the city. It's pretty, but a fairly unassuming place to live really. Being on the upper level, there aren't any stairs. But that's rarely a problem for us anyway. I take a deep breath and head north for the ports. Sea-Crows Cliffs is a decent size town. We have an aerodrome and seaport. And the railroad isn't too far off so we've have lots of travel coming through. It's my home town, born and raised. It's a place I love, even now. The acid rains tore away many of the old buildings almost immediately. The historic town hall, the old ports, even parts of the castle couldn't stand against the onslaught of acidic rain. We saved what we could, but there's history that's been lost forever. No amount of bland food sludge can fix that. I dip and weave my way over the various districts of town. The few lights of those saying goodbye guide me this new moon. Most of them are from other parts of the country. Filionce, Birdmandy, Perch, even as far as Eagles Cove! I can't say I really approve of the way they've been treating my home, but there's little to say or do about that. And in the end, we're all here for the same mission. "Adair!" I hear a hushed voice call out to me. I look over and see my life long friend, Harden, pull up beside me. I slow down enough for him to catch up, but we keep moving. We can't afford to be late. "It's finally happening, huh?" "You don't know that Harden." I tell him quickly. Truth be told, I've got my claws crossed hoping that it's just a drill. That this will all just be a readiness drill or a random inspection. Even though I know better. "Either way keep the chatter down. We can't let one of those golems catch wind of us." "Catch wind of you maybe, I showered." He jokes before racing ahead of me. I sniff my pits and growl to myself. I knew I was forgetting something. The Aerodrome at the northern most part of town was built just before the rains came. It's an impressive building of concrete and iron standing intimidatingly tall. Because of its oval design, it seems to have withstood the weather well. Being just outside the town, the metal golems don't really have sight of this place. So it's a perfect meeting place. That's what the Kroth say at least. I haven't met any of them yet myself, but I've heard stories about them. Stories of great feats of strength. Or of tremendous magical powers. If even half of what they say is true, then I'll be glad that they're on our side. I've heard other whispers that we're going to be teaming up with them for whatever journey we're doing. Being new to magic myself, I have to take advantage of this opportunity. I just hope I don't offend any of them. I catch up with Harden and we land with a small crowd just before the slightly opened doors of the building. There are a few MP's checking people in, so it looks like slow going. But we should have plenty of time before they do roll call inside. As we take our place in the small mob I can hear the murmurs of the others. I look to Harden as we realize what's really going on. "-brother just shipped out of Eagles Cove. Didn't even have time to say goodbye proper-" "-my daddy it was nuthin. He still thinks imma come back an help 'im tomorrow-" "-carrots. You gotta! I hear they'll lift tail for a carrot or two-" "I swear I saw one a' those flyin' things go in there! Maybe even a whole battalion of them grey skins!" "Captin' told me so when I saw him in the market the other day. That's why I packed a sweater and three pairs of mittens! Cold ain't gonna get me!" "So... this is it?" Harden asks me as we share a concerned look. Before I could respond a low growling sound catches the crowds attention. Seemingly from out of nowhere several flying contraption comes barreling out from the hillsides. They look to be some sort of mobile cannon machine, with jets of fire instead of wheels. The four vehicles each carry squads of Kroth on top of them, but there are more marching in formation from behind. I try to do a quick count, but it has to be a whole brigade. At least. The MPs start barking at us again, drawing most of our attention back to them. I try to get a good look at the Kroth again, but from where I'm at it's basically pointless. That armor they wear hides any secrets they might have anyway. They call for formation and we all scramble to get in line. It takes a few moments, but we eventually make our neat rows and stand at attention. The MPs that corralled us step away into the aerodrome, leaving us to wait. "Adair?" Harden whispers from behind me. I do my best to keep still, but find it hard to stay stoic when he calls me again. "Adair!?" "What?" SHUSH We both flinch back when someone quiets us. Of course they wait for me to respond. Just my luck, as usual. Before anyone else could even think to speak, a pair of officers come out and start to inspect our formation. I've never seen either of them before, but one is a second lieutenant while the other is a captain. After their short look they step back to have a quiet discussion with each other. I try to glance around to see what the others, but I can't really make any of them out. The captain nods to the second lieutenant before flying away. The lieutenant goes before the formation to take the position of command. "PLA-TOOOOON!" he yells out with a voice that demands respect. "SQUADS ONE AND FOUR ARE TO REMAIN AT ATTENTION. SQUADS TWO AND THREE, RIIIIIIGHT... FACE!" Being in squad three, I right face. I get a side glance at Harden and see the worry on his face. I begin to worry too. We're supposed to go together. It was part of the deal when we signed up. This can't be right. "MARCH!" Without notice Harden jumps out of formation and steps in before me. Several others eye him oddly, but no one says anything. I keep quiet too, not wanting him to get in trouble. I try to glance back at the others, but I can't really tell what's going on. We're on the move, and that's that. We march to the side of the building where there are stacks of crates piled up against the building. We're brought to a halt just before them. The lieutenant yells for us to mesh into one line, so we do. "YOU WILL ALL GATHER YOUR ALLOTTED GEAR AND MOVE TO THE BACK OF THE AERODROME! FROM THERE YOU WILL MAKE A NEW FORMATION AND DO A QUALITY CHECK ON YOUR GEAR. IF ANYTHING IS BROKEN OR NONFUNCTIONAL, YOU WILL GET IN THE BACK OF THE LINE! MOVE!" We start going through the stations for gear. One musket, a pouch of shots, a few air canisters, a couple grenades, short sword, and a packed meal. Being mostly trained for magic, I don't need as much as others. Depending on what you training badge says, you get sent to different stations where they pick up different materials. Harden is a gunner, and as such stops to pick up the main body of a Gatling gun. It's a extremely heavy piece of equipment. So it takes three to carry all the parts and ammo. But with him just joining in, it may throw off our numbers. As we try to gather our stuff the supply officers start yelling at us to hurry up. Everyone is being rushed through, so no one questions who takes what. When we make it through the supply line we rush around the building to start formation. But we both pause when we see the ship before us. Four goblin made air frigates are docked just beneath the cliffs. These ships are massive! Each one has four decks, each having ports for cannons. The main bodies are held aloft with massive armored ballasts that are all around larger than the ships themselves. The main decks are dotted with Kroth and goblins that are getting the ships ready for takeoff. Below the frigates is the flagship for this operation though. It's a vessel that dwarfs all the other crafts, one that I can easily identify. The battle carrier U.C.S.S. Indomitable. Six decks lined with the largest most advanced weapons in the world. The ballasts are segmented and armored to withstand dragons. The bottom of this behemoth opens to let smaller aircraft drop out, giving it an arsenal of weapons that could take on entire armies. This is the flagship of the Griffin Colonies. If we're going with this, then I have little doubt about what our target will be. The U.C.S.S. is made for large scale attacks. And we're only a company. Where are the rest of us then? That thing is made for an entire field army! With the Kroth we're still only at a large battalion! This doesn't make sense. "You there!" I jump out of my daze when the second lieutenant calls out Harden. "Who are you?" We share a quick uneasy look before snapping to attention and saluting. "Sir! Private Harden Olive-Talon of the S.E.U., first battalion, Alpha company-" "You're not supposed to be here." He cuts him off, eyeing his equipment. "I know our gunners and you're not one of mine. Where did you come from?" "Sir!" I cut in, unsure of what to do. "Harden and I were enlisted under the PALS program but were almost separated. Uh... W-we were going to ask permission for Private Harden to be reassigned with us!" He eyes the two of us for a long moment as I can feel myself start to sweat. There's noway he's going to let us go together. Why would he? He sizes up Harden again and keeps a stoic face. Weighing the options in his head. "Is your gunner crew good?" he asks Harden. "We placed second in our training squads sir!" Harden tells him proudly. "But our engineer if the best around too! P.F.C. Tolker has even studied some Kroth gear sir!" "Is that so?" he asks, genuinely intrigued. "Yes sir! Says he has a family hiding out at his old homestead! And our loader is a devil with a hammer sir! Saw him crush steel as if it was a watermelon!" The second lieutenant scratches his chin in thought before nodding to him. "Here's the deal Private. Go get your squad and bring them here. If someone tries to stop you, tell them to take it up with Captain Iron-Heart. But, if you're not back before we takeoff, then that's it. We're not waiting for you, no matter how special you think you are. understood?" "Yes sir!" Harden yells with a salute. He hesitates for a moment before taking off. I hesitate as well, unsure how to act. The lieutenant motions for me to move on, so I salute and rush towards the formation. That was too close, even for Hardens standards! I try to ignore the thought as I start to check over my rifle. I pull back the hammer and test the tension in the spring. It's nice and taught. I pull the ramrod and clear the barrel. Nothing inside, so I tuck the rod back in. Next I check the cylinder catch, making sure the grooves are clean and rust free. It air trap is new and shiny too. The flaps pushing in with total ease. As I check over my weapon I notice the ferries of different craft taking Kroth to the various ships down below. It seems like they've done something to the ships. Because as their ships come near the frigates and battle carrier, strange pieces of Kroth tech reach out and bring in the small craft. I wonder how much more of their tech is down there. What feels like forever drags on as the line of griffins slowly but surely makes it through inventory. Once everyone's here, we then wait even longer for the next part to happen. It gets to the point where we all start to sit and lay about. The commanders don't say anything though. We've got nothing better to do than wait. I lay down and just keep myself busy with cleaning my rifle. "Adair!" I perk up when I hear Harden. He has he whole squad with him, which seems like more than what they were asking for. I wave him over and start to pack up my cleaning oils. "Made it with time to spare apparently!" "You can say that again!" I laugh with him as I nod to the others. He trained with most of them when he became a gunner. I was always in a support role, so I didn't need to learn as much as him. "You missed the show. Those Kroth guys were loading up some serious equipment." "Anything good?" Garth asks. He's the one who knows about Kroth tech. Or so he claims at least. "Looked good, but I couldn't really tell you." "I swear, this fight isn't going to last long." Jarel quips. He's the hawk with the huge hammer. "I don't care how good those Spartans claim to be! Look at our numbers! Look at these freaking huge guns! Adair, look at you! How can they stand against an army of griffins and kroth that all have magic! I'm telling you all, this fights only going to last a month. TWO maybe!" They all share a laugh, but I keep quiet. I was at the invasion of our Capitol. That fight was... embarrassing. We did our best and we had the Kroth. But they still stole Ulfric from us. Conquered our capital! How did we let this happen? As I think over that day the lieutenant shows up and starts calling for us to get ready to board. This time will be different. We'll be the ones attacking. We'll be the ones setting the terms. We will be the ones reacting to what they have. And we're going to be the ones to break through. The only difference between me and my friends here is that I know how much it's going to cost us. And it's going to be a high price to pay. But we have to do it. We have to get our families out of here. I can't let my mother go any longer without being able to look up at the sky in peace. What kind of life is it if a griffin can't love the sky? Not one I want to live in, that's for sure. Once the formation is ready we take to the sky and head for the U.C.S.S. Indomitable. A part of me is excited to know that I'll be living there for the next few months. Though I'm sure moving from ship to ship will occur frequently, given the numbers present. I just hope I don't get lost. We're all brought onto the main deck and told to stand in another formation. You can always count on formation in the the United Griffin Colonies army. I take this time to take in the ship more closely. The smooth brass of the ship reflects the moonlight beautifully. The deck guns are all tied down currently but there are a few that are being inspected by some of the crew members. The main steering wheel is on the upper deck, flaked by two smaller wheels that I think control some of the smaller propellers. I can see a few officers and deck hands up there prepping for launch. As I'm looking around Kroth start pouring out of the ladder-wells and stairways. They form a formation on our sides and behind us. It makes a few of us a bit nervous, but no one breaks file. Being this close to them, I can start to see the small differences about them. They mostly seem to be group with some sort of color coordination. I see four groupings. Red and white, purple and gold, green and brown, and blue and green. Some are more obvious than others, like painted armor or sashes. But they all wear it with some sort of pride. A few of them even have their helmets off, giving me the closest look of their faces I've ever had. Their dark eyes are a bit off putting, but I try not to dwell on it. I'm sure they're thinking something similar towards us. An older griffin in formal military attire steps forward as a petty officer yells for attention. The whole harbor goes silent as we look up to him. He pulls up a scroll and coughs before reading. His voice cuts through the silence and reaches every single person here, drawing our attention solely on him. "Griffins! Kroth! Goblins! My name is General Knut Sail-Wing! We all stand here today with one goal in mind. One objective! To secure our future together! We few brave souls have answered the call to raise arms against tyranny and forge the path for our peoples! Ulfric Stormmind, the true god of gods, thanks you for your sacrifice. He thanks you for your bravery! He thanks you for the sacrifices that have yet to have been made. I have here the written words from the great sphinx himself! Written for each and every one of you! And I shall read them to you now!" "To my sons and daughters. To those who will never grow old. To our dreams lost in the wind, I say to you... I am sorry. I am sorry for the impossible tasks I will ask of you. I am sorry I was not able to fend off the threats against our kind. I am sorry we could not be better stewards or better friends. But the time has come for us to raise our arms for the procurement of our future. That we might endeavor for a better future. A time of self reliance and dignity, not of poverty and suffering. So it is with a heavy heart that I call you brave few to embark upon great crusade that will define not only our generation. But all generations to come. With the world as our witness, we will take our destiny into our grasps and hold it tightly, till either our dying breath, or until we can pass the embers of freedom to the next willing person. And the next. I pray for your peace of mind. For your safe return. And for the prosperity of our people. That we may dream our hope filled dreams yet again." The ship engines blare to life as the tethers are cut and we begin to drift away over the sea. Plumes of steam are blown out the back as we slowly start to lurch out, shaking us steadily. I look to Harden and we both swallow. Any hope there was that this was just some drill or minor operation is gone now. It's clear what's next. What we've been training to do for some time now. The invasion of Equestria has started. Chapter 261 Steely FociiChapter 261 Steely Focii Perspective: Miles August 20th, 4139 The last few days have felt like a vacation! The citizens have been fighting none stop over the type of government they want to form. It seems every time they start to agree on something someone gives it a title and it just destroys all progress. It's been great! The Spartans and I have been watching from the sidelines and loving every moment so far. I think half the stuff I've been touting about has finally started to settle in. Everything from avoiding choosing sides to waiting for the opportune time to speak or act. They're finally getting it. Well, almost everyone gets it. Storm seems to be having a hard time getting the idea in his head. I think its the influence from Twilight, but he thinks that he needs to play an active role in the decision process. And while he technically is allowed to, it's odd for Spartans to do so. We're not meant for nation builders. We're warriors. I've tried talking to him about it on several occasions, but he's made up his mind. He's tried to convince me to join a side, but that didn't last long. I especially should not be weighing in on any of this! With the way they listen to me and follow my command, any input I would put in could alter events dramatically. And this will not be a nation of my making. It will be a nation of the people, by the people. Plus, I've got Luna in the mix fighting to basically take over. So I'm covered either way. So while she's been leading a group trying to form a constitutional republic, there are two other groups vying for control. The smallest group seems to be a workers party trying to make some sort of socialist representative system. But I'd say they only have about twenty five percent of the support. With about a ten to fifteen percent of undecided people, the second largest group is some representative monarchy being lead by Twilight. The ideas are fairly the same. But there are some key things that are causing a divide. Twilight seems to think that a monarchy with split parliament is the way to go. Something to the effect of what Terradisia was, and what Equestria is. It's not a bad idea. But I worry about who would take over as the ruling family. I know what might happen, and I worry about history repeating itself. Luna is trying to make a form of republic where the executive branch is an elected office, just like the rest of the legislative. She wants the people in charge to rotate out every five or so years. Basically making a new government every time. She thinks this will let the people in charge adapt to the issues as the arrive and keep the flow of ideas fresh. I've read about governments like this. It can work, but it really comes down to who is put into power. And at the crux of all of this is that question. That singular persistent question that no one can agree on. Who will lead. Everyone seems to agree that there needs to be a central source of leadership. But they can't agree on how that would work. Monarch or President? Life appointment or term limits? Several people are throwing their hats into the race, but not many of them seem to be taken serious. Luna and Twilight are the front runners. E'Claire is leading the third party, but if she's going to take power she has a long way to go. And then there's Celestia. She's taken a... laid back approach to the whole ordeal. I believe she's using Twilight somehow. Either influencing her ideas and goals, or taking an active role outside of view. It's hard to tell. She hasn't come out and specifically aligned with her, but she hasn't disavowed her either. You can't say you're neutral when you're only supporting one person and actively criticizing all others. But none of this is my concern. I've taken the time to sit back and relax, for the most part at least. I've garrisoned all Spartans here in Mooseden until a government is formed. So they've taken this time to reconnect with family and friends. I've done the same, but my eyes are always on the prowl. Canterlot is ablaze with new nationalistic fervor, just as we planned. I've never seen the streets lined with so many flags and posters. When everyone came out and celebrated the Grand Galloping Gala it really brought this nation together. The timing seemed perfect. After so long of worry and doubt about the world, people coming together and celebrating love for their nation was exactly what the needed. Pinkie really out did herself. I was going to congratulate her, but apparently she's been asleep since the G-cubed. It's been good being home. Getting to see my kids everyday and getting to speak with them so frequently really does my cause good. Shadow is going through a hard time though. I wish I could help more, but this is something she needs to do on her own. I know she can do it, but that doesn't mean I don't want to protect my little girl. Tempestive is a little ball of energy! I don't know where he gets it from honestly. He wakes up everyday at five am on the dot! The little fucker doesn't understand what sleeping in is! It has been fun getting to goof off with him though. And sure, there are plenty of other things I should be working on. But getting some quality time with my son is worth all the procrastination. But all that procrastination has to come to an end someday. So after breakfast with everyone I had to sneak off into my shed to get some work done. They tried to convince me to come in, but that's not happening. I need to get something done, and there's no way anything is getting completed with either of them in there. I make my way to my work desk, using my magic to flip on lights and boot up various computers along the way. I pull my chair over and drop into it, pushing myself across the workshop and slide to a stop at my main computer. As things continue to wiz to life, I open my tablet and start to read over my old notes. I've been looking at the acid rains in an attempt to find a way of reversing the clouds. I can't find any form of spell that can identify the magic that's doing all this. I've been researching weather manipulation and cloud factory practices for awhile now, but nothing is adding up. It's almost as if they're- Creaaaaaaak... I stop mid-thought when I hear the cot in the back creak. I slowly turn and see the guard with the wooden mask trying to sneak out of bed. We stare at each other as he contemplates setting his other hoof down. "...Being completely forthcoming, I forgot about you." I tell him plainly. He sits up in the cot and nods back to me. "I... guessed as much, sir." He tells me. I nearly wince form the metallic echo of his voice. I need to help him now, it's only fair. I set my tablet down and get up to inspect him. But when I stand I notice the other body in his bed. He sees me see them and starts to fidget. "Uh... Apologies sir! I-I uh... well... you were gone for so long and... well... the Grand Galloping Gala was in full swing... Not that I'm blaming you sir! I know how busy and all! But... um..." "Stop." I tell him, making him go ridged. "Given the... circumstances, I don't care right now. Just... get over here so I can start some basic readings." He clears his throat before coming over to me. I grab a nearby scanner and start to take some readings. I'm going to have to take him to the medical facilities in Topaz Falls to get better readings, but these can at least get me started. The wooden mask isn't fused to his face as I thought it would be. It's literally his face now. It doesn't read as wood on my scanners. It reads as part of his DNA. Even though it feels like wood, it reads as if nothing is wrong. Even stranger, it's acting as a pseudo lung of sorts. Maybe even a better version of one. His lungs are perfectly fine, having plenty of fresh air flowing through them. I wonder if the 'mask' is acting as an air purifier of some sorts. My initial energy readings of him are impressive as well. He scores in the eight thousand range. But it wasn't definitive. His power is constantly growing. Though right now it's at a very slow rate, I imagine using any form of magic will exacerbate it greatly. I'll have to run some more test to know for sure and at what rate, but that'll have to happen at Topaz. "Is he going to be okay?" I give a slight jump from the new voice. There's some light cream colored mare in the cot I didn't see before. She sits up, her short scarlet hair parting from her face, and continues. "He hasn't had anything to eat, does he need food? Or water? What can we do to help him-" "First off, who the fuck are you?" I ask as I send my data to the medical bays in Topaz. "Secondly, it doesn't seem that he needs anything like that. The mask looks like it's giving him everything he'd require to sustain himself." "Her name is Sugar. We... met during the Gala. One thing led to another-" "I'm his wife!" She announces proudly, jumping off the cot to stand next to Steely. I give a deadpanned look to Steely as he starts to fidget. "Really?" "You said I was dying! And we really hit it off!" "This is none of your concern!" She barks at me, stepping between the two of us. "You said you'd help and then you forgot all about him! So you're going to take him to whatever hospital you need to go to and you're going to figure this all out!" I stare back at her for a moment as I consider her demands. I was going to do all of that anyway. But with her demanding everything, it puts a sour taste in my mouth. Then again, I did fuck up. It is on me to fix this. "Right... well, with all of that in mind, let's get going to Topaz Falls." I tell them as I stand up. They seem a bit surprised by my quick agreement, but we don't have time to waste right now. I escort them to the out of my workshop and to the trams in the Everfree. They were hesitant to enter, but when I continued in they forced themselves to follow. It was a quiet walk, but I feel that was more out of fear of the forest than anything else. The path we made starts out normal. Just a dirt road winding its way thought the trees. But dirt eventually turns to cobblestone, which turns to paved cement. We had to mix up the design to help hide the entrance. The road branches off at several points. Some loop back and send people out of the forest while others just end. There are a few tells to show the way, but I've done this so many times that I just know where to go now. The entrance to Topaz appears after about a twenty minute walk. We expanded the cave into a proper railway. There are four tracks with their own trams. We can transfer about four hundred people every ten minutes with our current system. Not the most efficient, but we're getting there. We take our seats in the closest one and take off automatically. "Where are we going exactly?" Sugar asks after we start our decent. "Topaz Falls," I tell her. She gives me a deadpanned look before returning her attention to Steely. "I've heard rumors about this place. Is it really an entire city of metal and stone?" I worry about how rumors like that could have been circulated so easily, but at the same time it make sense. Our notoriety has grown out of our control. "Topaz Falls... just a little more patience. It's better to show you." I've tried to explain the city to people before. While there's a base understanding, there's no good way to explain it when you can just show them. The ride down is pleasant enough. Even though they had more questions, none of them could be answered at this moment. Some because I didn't know how, others because I didn't feel like explaining pressurized cabins of air duct systems. But once we leveled out and started the approach the stories could start. "Long ago, well before your people walked this world, my people we the undisputed masters of Earth," I tell them as we start to approach the outer wall. There's a bright light obscuring our view inside. Steely and Sugar tense up as we continue to race forward. "But when our empire started to crumble, we went into hiding. Topaz Falls is where I was raise. It was my home. I have been raising it back from the ashes of the past all this time." We break through the light and thunder into the Topaz Falls. The two of them rub their eyes for adjustment, but gawk when the see the city. All of the wounds of war have been erased. All that's left are the piercing skyscrapers and towering lower districts. And at the center of it all, the Parliament Congressional Hall. Standing as a bright beacon of my homes former glory. To them, it's a sight to see. Buildings taller than they've ever seen. Their eyes can't focus on any wonder brought before them. Flying machines, neon lights from old shopping districts, the occasional bot running some errand. What was an irritating advertisement to me long ago is a mesmerizing holographic show to them. They could get lostfor years down here and still not see it all. For me, it's still a pain to see. Every window, every light, and every walkway it just another memory of people lost. There used to be millions of people here. This was a thriving civilization! But, now, it's just a husk of memories. I've had everything rebuilt exactly the way it was before the way, as best we can at least. It pains me how accurate these bots can be at times. The tram takes us all the way to the front of the P.C.H. We we step out the two of them nearly fall over from trying to see the top of the building. I stifle a chuckle from that. Reminds me of my first time here. "Welcome to Topaz Falls." I tell them as I walk past them. "All of human ingenuity; all of our magical prowess and genius is stored in this building in front of us. The Parliament Congressional Hall. There is practically nothing that we can't figure out there. Take a deep breath and follow me. We're going to figure this all out." They keep their heads craned up as we enter the P.C.H. The opulence of the building stunning them. And the interior impresses just as much. I take them to the mico platforms and guide them to the medical facility. The teleporters spook them, but at least Steel didn't explode. Here we start the real trails. I explain to him as best I can what's going to happen, having been through it myself, but there's an understanding that he won't get what's happening. He has no way of understanding of what an astral scan is. Or how DNA sampling could be useful. But he does a good job at staying calm through the whole ordeal. Sugar, for her part, did good too. She let me work as I needed and asked pretty good questions. Though I can tell there was a fear in her voice, her face showed patience and confidence. She tried to offer to make us some food after several hours passed, but I explained why that wouldn't be necessary. Terradisian food might not compare to Equestrian cuisine, but its fast and overwhelmingly present. After many scans and several more samples taken, it finally comes down to analysis. I send them to a specific dorm and instruct them to wait for me. It's going to take even more time for this to process, and its already been a day. Not to mention we're going to have to do this all over tomorrow. We don't have any base numbers to compare against, so today was mostly just getting an idea of where we're at and where we're going. I'm not a medical expert. That was Eximius's department. So reading through all of the notes is made even more difficult by my having to cross reference every other line of data. What should have take probably a few minutes took me several hours. But, what I'm reading is not hopeful. It's a bit too early to really tell, but I have a theory as to what the mask is doing. When Tempus told me about how Tempestive would skip time when napping, I'm seeing a similar energy like that. The machine is also guessing his age incorrectly. While that might be a species thing, the energy reading gives me a dour hunch. His magical power is somehow sapping from his life. I'm not certain yet, and it's only a guess at this time really, but I can't stop thinking about it. Is the mask stealing his life force from later years of life to add to his power? Breathing the air he hasn't had the chance to breath yet? It gives some answers, but I can't say for certain yet. There are no other anomalies appearing at this time, but that would make sense with this theory. There are no problems because they haven't appeared yet. He seems to be pulling in a constant stream of energy in as well. Probably some kind of tether to his future self. That might be why he's growing in power so rapidly. But if that's true, why hasn't he died yet? Wouldn't it be paradoxical for him to sap his own energy? An energy that now never existed! As I read the data and think my theory though, a thought comes to mind. If this is really time based... I should try to contact Tempus. But that's impossible, right? I wouldn't know how to reach send him a message, or how to even pose the question. Because... if he's a time traveler, then he might know about this too then. What else would he know about too? "Far too much Miles." I jump slightly from the voice behind me. I turn to- BAM I recoil from the explosion, throwing up a shield to protect me and Sugar. We barely started our first reading when he started some sort of change! "STEEL!" Sugar yells as she rushes the shield wall. I cough from the initial blast, my head spinning rapidly. He was doing just fine a moment ago! How could he have gone off like that!? When all the chaos starts to subside I drop my shied and rush into the smoke. I stop when I find his charred headless body slumped against the destroyed machine. Sugar rushes to his side and starts to scream out in agony. I grab my head as I try to make sense of everything. I don't understand what happened. He was doing just fine before! Were we too late? What there a feed back loop in the medical scanner? WHAT HAPPENED? Chapter 262 False BlameChapter 262 False Blame The next few hours go by in a blur. I'm not really sure of the details, but I get Sugar sent home with Steely's body. I'm sure I told her we will cover whatever costs, but that's not what's important right now. I don't know what went wrong though. Even when I would blow through those magical readers it never blew back on me. The machine might go up, sure. But I never thought it could kill someone like that. Then again, I never had ran it against someone at such dangerous level before. Sure, it works on Luna and Twilight. But their souls are stable. I didn't even think to take that into account. And, if memory serves me right, don't pony souls operate differently? Something like... inverse polarity? Or something like that. I remember Twilight talking about it once. From way back when. How could I have forgotten that? It should have been the first thing to come to mind! FUCK! I bang my fist against the counter and start to pace around. I can't think straight right now. I know there are few things to do immediately, but I can't think of which to do fist. Should I talk with Luna first? She'd probably help calm me down. But I should talk with Celestia first just so no one else has that happened to them. But is it even something to fear? Maybe it was just a bad reactions to Terradisian technology. If there was someway of getting Equestrian tech up to par, then we could- NO! No, we can't do that. This curse is clearly too dangerous to try again! There's no way I'm going to allow something like this to happen. Okay, that settles it. I'm heading to Canterlot to speak with Celestia. She needs to know what happened. She's probably going to use this to get something out of me. This is going to be a pain in the ass for sure. I take my tablet and start downloading what little information I was able to get. Nothing we didn't already know, but it's better than nothing I guess. I make my way out of town and up the tram towards home. I try to keep my mind empty. Just to avoid overthinking things. But, of course I fail at that. I go over every event in obsessive detail as the clatter of the rails fades in the background. It was such a simple idea really. I should have started with a smaller reader and gone from there. Though, in truth, I did. I ran the portable reader back in my shed. There weren't any problems with that. He didn't voice any concerns or receive any wounds back then. So what was different this time? Was it a capacity issue? Did the magic coming from the portable reader not have enough to cause harm? Or was he trying to hide it all? Was he trying to act tough in front of the Spartan or the Princess? How much of this is to blame on me? Not that most of that matters right now anyway. What's done is done, and there's no changing it now. All we can do from here on is move forward and try harder next time. Though, I guess there won't be a next time for this. But why is this civilian death weighing so heavily on me? I am a Spartan. This shouldn't matter nearly as much as it does. This is what we were made to do. We sacrifice our humanity so that others don't have to. We aren't suppose to feel guilty for the death of others... But a human can only do so much. When the tram nears the exit I notice a pony waiting there. I've never seen her before, but I can tell her type. A plain, level look about them. Her white mane combed neatly to sit in perfect order. Her coal suit sitting neatly pressed against her grey coat. She's here on business. I guess Sugar went straight for litigation. Can't say I blame her though. But that damn pimp of hers works fucking fast. "Mr. Eremita, I presume." she says as I step out of the tram. I wanted to mouth off, but I stopped myself. Now isn't the time for that. "I take your silence as an indication that you know why I'm here. So let's cut to the case. Murder will not be tolerated, Mr. Eremita. No matter how high up the ranks you may be." She speaks firmly, every word having been chosen long ago. "Look, I've barely had time to even start to sort this thing out. Whatever document you need signed or delivered just hand it over and I'll get it back to you as soon as I can." I tell her. I don't have the energy to deal with litigations right now. She doesn't seem to care though. Pulls over her briefcase and meticulously opens it. After flipping though several papers she produces a single scroll for me. Seems pretty light, but I guess that's something to be grateful. "Try not to look too pleased. This is simply a court summons. I am here with two goals. The first is to deliver this scroll." She pointedly offers the rolled up paper, so I take it. "And my second goal is to make you understand one simple thing. This, is a court order from the Equestrian government. If and when you comply with the summons, it will also be an acknowledgement. By coming to this court order, you will be recognizing the authority of Equestria over the Spartan Regiment. You will comply with our laws and obey our rules. There will be no room for argument. You cannot escape the rule of law, Mr. Eremita. Everypony, and I mean Everypony, is accountable to somepony." She methodically closes her briefcase and begins to leave. She opens the door but stops when a thought occurs. "For the sake of the nation you are trying to build, I would suggest you comply, Mr. Eremita. It is better to have allies than enemies. Especially when you have so few true allies." I don't say anything back to her. There's no point to it really. She came he with a mission, and she accomplished it. I fold up the paper and stuff it in my pocket. I don't need the details right now. This is something that I can deal with tomorrow. Or, at least, when I'm forced to. That seems to be the trend as of late. I push the aggravating thoughts aside and make my way to the Mooseden. With Tempestive home and me in my human form, I can't use the mico platform at home. Though, the one in Canterlot is closer, so it's not too much of a loss. As I walk through the forest I try to keep my mind occupied on the rest of the day. What to do next, who I should speak with, that sort of thing. When everything starts to get chaotic and messy, it's good to take a moment and step back. Try to see what actually needs attention versus what's just asking for attention. When I start to near the edge of the Everfree I see a familiar face walking towards me. "Zecora," I greet as we stop before one another. "It's been a minute. How are you?" "Greetings to you Captain . It is good to see you during these trails. These northern winds sting at the hide, but with so many friends nearby, I think we can set it all aside." "Yeah, it's getting to be about that time again." It's getting close to be fall again. And the Everfree being the Everfree, of course it starts to turn sooner than other places. Although, that isn't to say the heat waves are done for. I take note of the large bags on her sides brimming with supplies. She sees me looking at them and shrugs to me. "The winds are not the only terror in the woods Captain. Of this, I know you are certain." "I understand. But don't hesitate to ask for any help though. We still owe you for destroying your home way back when." It annoys me that she hasn't asked for any form of assistance since I trained with Damian that day. I get the impression that she's holding out for a specific request or some dire situation. But, when it comes to Zecora at least, you can never really be sure. "I appreciate your offer but for now I must supply my own coffer. And although my stores have no paucity, in time, I may take you on your generosity." I shrug back to her and bid her farewell. She's an odd one, that's for sure. Perfectly content to live alone deep within the forest. Though she's no hermit, that's for sure. I see her frequenting many of Ponyvilles stores often. And she's friendly enough with everyone. At least as far as I can tell. I eventually make it to Canterlot's market district. Moosden now has a pseudo world hub of mico platforms, so getting here was as easy as standing in two spots. Though to keep any jack-off from walking into Mooseden, we bought a building in the market district to act as a border check point. It's only manned by a few bots, so it's not the most intense of borders. I have a routine for telling Celestia bad news now. Didn't mean to make one, but when it kept working I saw no reason to stop. First I go to this bakery called Diable Traite and get her an order of their triple chocolate devil cakes. The store next door, Larmes De' Ange, sells this punch that she loves too. When shit really hits the fan though, you have to add some sunflowers and possibly some alcohol spiked ice cream. I don't think I need the latter, but about half the time I'm wrong. There's a specific way of getting into the castle that I take now. Well, unless I'm invading again that is. I take this way to both avoid the crowds and have an easier time getting in. Not all the guards just let me wonder around the castle as I please. They say it's for security reasons, but I don't believe them. What security threat could possibly threaten me!? I take the western entrance into the gardens, go through the dinning hall into the servants corridors, jump into one of the side halls and stop and the guards door to the main throne room. I pass a few people here and there. Some stare dumbfounded, while the more veteran offer their greetings to varyingly different levels of accuracy. Most guards salute, the head maid tells me I should have gotten the ice cream, so that's a bust. I flag the guard at the entrance to the main throne. He waits for the current petitioner to finish before telling me to go in. I take one last deep breath before making my way to Celestia. "Miles, and here I thought I'd see you sooner." Celestia chastises from her seat as I approach her. She has that arrogant look about her. The kind a parent gets when they catch their child breaking the rules. I hesitate to respond when I see the Unfamiliar man with her. The Nether Walker. I almost forgot he was here. Almost. I was more hoping he'd fucked off somewhere else so I could speak in private. But I guess today is the day where I don't get the things I want. "No... I take it you know already." I respond, trying to pry my glare from the Unfamiliar. "Mr. Miles!" he belts in joy. "Celestia has been kind to me! She was just showing her... eeeeh... justice! Or laws? One in the same, no?" Even without looking at her, I can still see that smug look on her face. As if this is going to change anything. "Right... Anyway, so you know. I'll be honest, that stupid fucking pimp works fast. I only got the damn summons about an hour ago." When I make it to the base of the throne steps Celestia takes the treats I was hoping to bride her with in her magic. I have to literally bite my tongue when she offers some to the Nether Walker. I'm not here to make things worse. Just talk it out and leave before something stupid happens! "Well, when you kill someone in their private property and don't even offer an apology, these things tend to spring up fast." She tells me as she summons some papers. "We think we have an ID, but we're not certain yet. If you could fill in some gaps we could get the remains settled." "... what are you talking about?" I ask, finally getting her to look at me. "The wife left with the remains... and that was Terradisian property." We stare at each other before we both go wide eyed. I pull out the summons and give it a quick read. Most of it is bureaucrat nonsense. But the part that draws me in is the allegation. I am wanted for the murder of some guy named Index. Not for the death of Steely Focii. "Who the fuck is Index?" I blurt out as I read it all over again. "Wait, what did you think you were in trouble for!?" Celestia demands. "The masked guy died during screening! Who the fuck is this jackoff! Why are they saying I killed him!?" We stare at each other for a moment as we try to wrap our minds around what's going on. Someone named Index was killed and they think I killed him. And somehow that pimp in Ponyville is connected!? How in the literal fuck is all of this tied together!? "Where is Luna?" Celestia asks slowly. I think about it for a moment before looking back to the summons. With a name like Index, there's no doubt he was trying to pry into Sweet Apple acres. He probably was trying to find a way to bury us even deeper. And I'm willing to bet the only remains they found were ash. Otherwise they would have had an easier identification. There's no way I did this while gone or blacked out. When things like that happen to me the mess is huge and obvious. It would never be this small and quiet. So that only leaves one other person. But why would Luna do this? She's more methodical than this. Blatant murder? And leaving the body? It makes no sense. At the very least I don't think it was premeditated. Could Luna just kill someone like this and actually pretend like nothing happened... "Oh Sweet Barbra..." "Miles," Celestia says again. Snapping me back to the conversation. "Where is Luna?" "..." "I imagine she's back in Ponyville. Very well... I'll head there now to speak with her. This isn't going to be easy, but we'll get through this-" "I killed him." I blurt out. She stops and stares at me for a moment before going wide eyed. She understands. But she's struggling to go along with it all. "You are lying." The Nether Walker says from the side. We both stare at him as he looks between the both of us. "And you... you want to go along with it? But that is wrong, no? Aren't you both people of justice? And Captain! I took you as an honorable man! How could you so simply-" "I'm protecting my wife you dumb fucking asshole." He stops and stares at me before looking to Celestia. She looks to me and I nod back to her. "He is protecting my sister," she tells him plainly. He contemplates this for a moment before looking to me with a quizzical, scared look. "What are you?" he asks, sounding scared for the first time since I've met him. "I'm the one doing what must be done. Because it has to be done." I tell him before thinking. I need to get out of here. I need to get back into my own jurisdiction before any of those conniving mud muckers figure out that I'm here. "Congratulations Celestia." I tell her as I start to leave. "Looks like you'll be leading the Equestrian forces. I'll see you on the battlefield then. And you," I stop at the door and turn back to point out the Nether Walker. "You do as she says. I'm releasing you to her charge. Don't make me regret this." I go to leave but before I could he appears before me. It throws me off when he uses those powers, but I manage to keep my composure as he stares back at me. "I know it will mean very little to you, Captain. But... for what it's worth. You are an honorable man. When you see the Kroth on the battlefield, and you see the Torm of purple and gold, tell them to dream on, and dream big. They will understand." I don't say anything back to him. I don't have the time to, but even if I did there's nothing for me to say. The Unfamiliar are not a people I'll ever have on my side in any sense of the word. Not after what I've done to them. Not after what they've done to me. How could two people even face each other after so much bloodshed and mayhem. No, this is how it is. This is who I am... But maybe Celestia can succeed in my place. I escape the city as quickly as I can, taking ever alley and backway I know. I don't think there's anyone following me, but you can never know. Especially with a two faced city like Canterlot. I only passed a few guards here and there. Maybe six total. I've trusted most of these guards in the past. Most of them I even know on a first name bases. But I can't trust them fully. I can only trust my Spartans now. And that's where I need to be now. I take the mico platform at the top of the mountain that connects to my bedroom. When I flash into the hidden back door of my closest I contemplate destroying the platform. I might just be paranoid. No one knows about this except for family. But should I really take that big of a risk at a time like this? No. No, I'm overreacting. The people after me want to make a big affair about this. That's why they gave the notice. They don't want to slit my throat at night. They want to bleed me dry in the courtroom and make a spectacle of it all. I can leave it there for now. I might need it later anyway. I crack open the door and listen. I can hear Luna breathing lightly as she sleeps in the darkened room. The kids must be out somewhere, probably getting into some form of trouble. I step out and walk to the bed, staring down at Luna. Her ethereal hair is waving behind her, placing her peaceful face perfectly in her night sky. A small strand washes over her forehead, so I reach down and brush it back. As I do so I place my hand behind head and gently run my thumb along her jawline. Her silky coat brushes my hand and puts me at ease, if only for a moment. I'm sure she'll learn about this eventually. And the sooner she knows, the better. For now, in this perfect little moment, all she needs to know is sleep. Author's Note Diable Traite = Devils Treats Larmes De' Ange = Angel Tears Chapter 263 DreamerChapter 263 Dreamer Perspective: The Nether Walker I give a content sigh as I look around my dwellings once more. These ponies are masters of comfort if a guest such as myself can sit in such luxury. There isn't a want that has not been met within the walls in this castle. And even when I sneak out to explore these lands, the people here are strangely welcoming. Though, I imagine having someone appear behind them would compel many to falsify their smiles. It is no bother to me though. The conversations had are pleasant enough. This is a truly blessed land. I close my eyes and fall back, slipping into the void. It cradles me as a mother would to its newborn. Softly. Gently. Yet with a cold touch the guides me to where I need to be. It is a familiar feeling to me. A soothing one. Even if I am just going to the restroom, or speaking with my family, the void brings a certain tranquility to me. I had wished to postpone this meeting as long as I could. Truth be told there is no need to make the first move. I could wait for him to come out. Wait and see what will happen. But I get the feeling that it will be too late at that point. No, I've found him so I must act. So here I am, falling into the void; by all meanings of the phrase. I wish I could bring the others with me. Into this dream world that neither exists nor is inexistent. It's a good place. Somewhere where everything falls away and lets you see the world from afar. I open my eyes and take a glance into this world. You can only ever look for a moment. That's the trick. The void cannot be seen, or it wouldn't be the void. But, a glance is all I need. I've learned how to take in everything I need with only a glance. There may be more to the picture, but I can focus in enough to blur out the distractions. I can see the hybrids marching in their steam contraptions. They are ready for their war. The Shourn are with them in numbers as well. The Trell surely only needed a gentle hand in this. Well, the war in constant, as they would say. I'm sure they will forge their way in blood and iron. They always have. They will fight for their dreams, that much is certain. I just hope it doesn't turn into the nightmares they fear. I can see the Joul scattering into the winds. With a new world comes a renewed sense of exploration. They will do their best to find it all, I'm sure of it. I do wonder why so many of them travel with the hybrids though. It is strange to see them so willingly aligned with the Shourn. Though I'm sure the Trell persuaded them easily. I wonder what they will find when this is all over? The Killyg seem content saying in our new homelands. I wonder what use they find in such a primitive land? Maybe the Trell has a use for them there. Or, more likely, there is something they are waiting for. What sort of gadgets and gizmos will keep them pacified for so long? Or is there a long term goal towards building the future? Maybe they have found some sort of artificial dream to placate them. I hope it is a good one. I believe the nightmares are coming soon enough. And then there's my people. My children, the Zellun. It breaks my heart to see them so lost. I wish I could give them the guidance they need. Or even some words of comfort as these dreams turn dark. But I mustn't. We are about to awaken into a new world. A world born in fire and death. Our enemies are numerous and powerful. And our allies are clever and hungry. If only we had gotten here sooner. Made less detours. Lost less in our history. Then, perhaps, we wouldn't drift into this lucid nightmare. Then, maybe, we could find our land of gold and purple. As my eyes start to open, and I fade back into the physical, I focus on my goal. He is far away, but his power is distinct. It's like a torch standing alone in the woods, just waiting to tip over and burn all the trees to cinder. I cannot tell if he knows I am here or not. He may not care. Am I even a threat to him? What could I possibly do to harm such a person? Do the gods fear mortals when they appear before them? I guess I'll find out. SHING SHING I let him toy with his weapon as I take in the surroundings. It is an old room. I assume from the world before. Held together now by the willpower of him. There isn't much to the room. Only what he needs, and he needs very little. A bed, hardly used it would seem, sits against the wall. A desk, heavily used, sits across. Two sconces give enough light to the room, though I get the feeling that it is not for his necessity. I take a deep breath as I prepare myself, giving away my presence to the lone person. I know not what will happen. Though, who ever knows what happens when you face death. "I had wondered when you would appear." His voice comes out in a soft whisper. Like a tired voice trying to get its last words out. The flames from the walls nearly drown him out, but I manage to understand. I wish to keep my distance. I must be ready. "The father of the lost wanderers, The Nether Walker, this should be interesting." "We can never be lost as long as we have our dreams," I tell him, trying to sound confident. The Terradisian language is not my strong suit. But I've practiced this for awhile now. "You are the one the humans tried to forget. The one who has neglected his duties." He gives a small chuckle as he looks back to me. I try to get a good look at him, but his cloak conceals his face from me. He goes back to sharpening his weapon, paying me little mind. "You think I neglect my duties. That is an interesting accusation. I wonder what you think my duties are? What neglect has transpired?" "The souls you harbor are not yours to keep. You must perform your duties and send them to slumber. It is the natural order of things. It is as it must be." He chuckles again. The amusement in his voice lifting the feeling of the room, if ever so slightly. "You wish me to cross the river Styx once more? Travel to the great Beyond? Is that what you came here to do? Persuade me to be a delivery boy once more?" "All things as they should be, Ferryman." He stops his sharpening to chuckle deeper. I take another deep breath as I ready for anything. But he doesn't rise from his rested position. He has no need to it seems. "Ferryman? It's been awhile since I've heard that one. Ferryman, Harvestor, Gate Keeper, Titulari, the titles mean nothing to me now. Do you know what was waiting for those lost souls at the end of those journeys? Do you know what it was like to guide them to Elysium, only for them to be cast down into Tartarus?" I can hear the pain in his voice. The sorrow in his words. I know he is speaking from the heart. So I must act in kind. "It is not for us to determine their fates. Only to play our parts in the story. You must do what is necessary for the balance of life and death." "Balance." He growls back at me. His anger causing the temperature in the room to rise. "Tell me what you know of balance! Tell me how the world can turn so dark yet be balanced! How can we have balance when the choices have already been made!?" His voice rises as he stands with it. Even though he's raised his voice, it still sounds as a voice that has no breath. He drops the sharpening stone and brings back his scythe. He seems ready to fight. But he must be waiting for the right moment. Or, perhaps, his anger is not there yet. "The river does not choose where it lets out. We may build walls, or drain the waters, but the river must flow down. No matter how unfair it may be." I try to keep a calm presence, even as he starts to walk around the room. I can feel my leg trying to give out. My palms are getting sweaty as well. I have never been a fighter. More of a thinker really. But this person, whoever he is, scares me deeply. Each step he takes is a story of each fight he's won. His life has been a life of wrath and tragedy. But he's made it this far, he has nothing to fear it would seem. But I mustn't let my nerves get the better of me. Calm. Just wait him out. The opening will come in time, I just need to be ready for when it does. "It doesn't matter what you say," he tells me somberly, coming to a stop facing away from me in the small room. "It's too later now. It is happening." "It is never too late to take the first step. Please, consider what I have said." I plead with him. He shut me out before I could really make a case. But I cannot lose hope that even the smallest words can reach him. There has to be hope for him somewhere. But, like he said, it's too late now. I see him start to make a sharp move, so I slip into the void and appear above and in front of him. He swings his weapon at my previous location and a torrent of energy slams into the wall, crushing it and sending it flying out. I bring both my hands above me and grip them together to slam against his head. Between my palms I tether into the void in the hopes of energizing my hit. It only took a fraction of a second. But before I could connect his head whipped around and we made eye contact. Though I could not see his face, I could sense his intent. There was murder in those eyes. I slip thought the void to dodge him and slam the ground just to his side. The energy I had stored up explodes out and pushes us away from each other. I look up and begin to panic when I see a hand reaching though the dust and debris. I slip away again, appearing out in some buried metropolis. I have to be faster if I'm going to strike true. I may only have one more chance at this. Before I could finish the thought my attention is brought back to the ruins. He has exploded out of them and is racing towards me. I barely make him out before I slip away again, appearing high upon one of the leaning structures. That distance should have given me more time, he's too fast. This is going to be a timing game it would seem. I slip in and out as quickly as possible as I weave my way around the buried skyscrapers. The only light guiding me are the breaks in the ceiling letting rays of sunlight. Each time I slip in I have to slip back out immediately. Either he comes crashing in or a blast of energy destroys my previous location. The buildings groan from the sudden force. Some even finishing their descents towards the ground. I can't keep this up forever. Eventually I'll make a mistake and he'll strike me. And judging by the amount of power in each of those attacks, just one will end me. I must commit to an attack. Even if it means taking one myself. But there's no way to survive that, so I must ensure that the one move I make is enough to end him. In one of the brief moments in existence I take a look at my arm. Each etching on my body is a calling out to me to use them. They want the bloodshed. They want to end my enemy. This is the moment to use them. But I must make sure to break them in the correct order. I cannot let him get me. As the buildings around begin to crumble in earnest I begin to weave through the rubble and debris. I hope it'll give me the slightest moment to act. I appear on the ground just beneath a falling corner piece of skyscraper. Just outside the blast area he comes crashing down. The dust clouding at his hooves. We stare each other down as the twisting metal and concrete comes racing down. The etchings on my legs and feet begin to glow with a pristine light as I feel the energy from all around start to flow though me. I push everything I have into my legs and launch right back at him. We race through the debris filled air at lightning speed, jousting for a moment. I manage to swing my leg and spin myself right out of his grasp, connecting right into the center of his chest. All of the energy in my connects into that one small point and sends him flying back. All around him a massive hole is blown out all around him and void energy is blown out. A perfect circle is cut out of existence directly behind him. I land and take the moment to bring the light to bear all over my body. Each etching glows over my body as I consume all the energy within a large area around me. I have to take a slow deep breath as I feel the energy flow in and out of me. I have become one with the world around me. And now... I command it. Death appears from my side, trying to take a wide swing at my head. I lean back with total ease and watch it go racing by. I raise a hand to it and give it a flick. The blade goes flying back, almost being ripped from his grip. The energy from my attack stops him dead in his tracks as he recoils back. Before he can fully register what happened I appear before him and reach out to his chest. The slightest touch sends him fly back and through a different dilapidated ruin. The game of hunter and hunted and switched sides now. I give him no chance to respond. No chance to think about what is happening. He doesn't even have time to crash through buildings before I appear to send him flying in another direction. The rows of ancient buildings all begin to crumble as we go crashing through their buried skylines. I catch him when he comes flying out one building as hold him as the air comes crashing all around us. I hold him by his throat as I stare him down. He seems unscathed so far, so I must go further. I drop him and open a hand. a perfect circle forms all around me. Nearby buildings all around me are erased from existence and another hole is punched in the ceiling far above me. The energy seems to crash into him and sends him flying back again. Interesting, but pointless. I bring more energy into my being. With such an absence of nether wielders in the world, it comes flooding into me. I only have to guide the torrent of energy as I unleash it upon the world. With both hands pushed forward, I start sending pure nether energy at Death. The dark beam breaks through reality and erases everything before it. Anything nearby is pulled directly into it. Death only has a moment to look up at me before the dark energy connects with him. He's engulfed into the beam, erasing him from this world. I feel the energy connect with him for a moment before blowing past him. No one can survive this. And nothing will be left of him. "Death... is only the beginning." My heart drops when I hear his voice. That's impossible! Nothing can survive this! Not even gods can unwrite this truth! A hand reaches through my energy beam and grabs me by the throat. I drop my attack from the sudden attack, revealing Death before me. His wings are wide open in the sunlight as he rears his scythe back. I grab at his hands as I try to erase them, but they are adamant. I try kicking him with energy or nether to break free, but he is absolute. I try to fall back into the nether realm, but his grip is sure and unwavering. All I can do as the blade comes for me is close my eyes and accept my fate. SHING I don't know what happened. I don't even have a grasp of anything actually happening. My struggling simply stopped. There was no more energy within me and I no longer felt his presence. Is this what death truly feels like? It reminds me of drifting through the void. There's nothing here, but at the same time I am here. Am I the proof of something existing? Or am I becoming one with nothing? I feel something brush against my finger tips. It's cold. Fluid. It starts to move all around me, plunging me into an icy depth. I feel my lungs start to burn and I gasp for air. Cold fluid washes into my mouth. I try to open my eyes, but there's no energy within me to do so. I try to breath again, and find plenty of air for my greedy lungs. Something is wrong. Did I survive? Is this the fabled after life? I'm floating down a body of water, I think. I need to open my eyes. I need to know what is happening. The waters around me become calmer and calmer as I struggle to open my eyes. I try moving any of my limbs, but they are all unresponsive. It's only when I feel my head wash up onto something I I barely manage to peer into the world around me. The world around me is a land of gold and purple. The trees, the waters of the river carrying me, the dirt beneath me. All are either rich golds or deep purples. I try to make sense of it all, but I can't. I try again to move, but I can't. There is nothing I can do but look out into this land of gold and purple. It is a good land. It's quiet. Peaceful. Familiar. I feel a tear race down my cheek as I look around me. My dream has finally come true. I have found my land of gold and purple, and it is beautiful. But I am saddened by this dream. I am sad because I cannot get up and explore it. I am sad because my children are nowhere near this good place. I am sad, because I am alone in this land of gold and purple. I cry to myself as I feel my life start to ebb away. This is truly it. The end has come, just as my dream has become true. But I have no regrets. I made the choices I made, and I shall die with them. There are no second chances. So I alone will die with this perfect land of gold and purple. And that will have to be enough. A voice is calling out nearby. I don't know if I should try to call out to it. I probably couldn't even if I wanted to. I am not alone in this place. There is a comfort in that. They are not Zellun, but they are here. So I shall die with them. I see a figure of a purple and gold man find me. He rushes to my side and lays his hands on me. His effort is true, but it's too late. He calls out to others, but I don't know what he says. He tries to keep me alive, but it is futile. I must tell him to bring my people here, but there's no energy within me to speak. So, I must let go and be content with this lone figure being with me in my final moments in this land of gold and purple... No! I can't yet! Even if it's impossible I must try to speak with this person! I must do what I can for my children so they may find this peaceful land! I take all of the remaining magical energy with me and try to force out a message. Doing so probably will kill me quicker, but I must do it! They must hear! "Land... g-gold... Pur...pur... Dream." Author's Note Kroth Unleashed Brony on! Chapter 264 The People of Gold and PurpleChapter 264 The People of Gold and Purple Perspective: Shadow I've always found a certain special kind of peace in books. For a lot of reasons really. If you're reading something, it takes time away from whatever else you have going on. Most ponies use this as an excuse to not read something, but I find it to be a perfect escape. Either you set aside this time to read a hopefully good book, or you stop something else to sit down and relax your mind. And when you find something really good to read, it transforms time around you. Time either slow downs or speeds away! An entire book becomes devoured in a matter of minutes! Or it can consume entire afternoons if you let it! Reading in my bed as the sun begins to dip in the distance, I can already feel myself slipping away from this place. The coziness of my comforter nestled around me creates a cocoon that keeps the worries of the world away. There isn't some preppy sociopath trying to destroy my family image, nor the threats of war and trade embargos. It's just me, my warm little haven, and the adventures of Daring Do and the Ark of the Sisters! Nothing could tear me away from this place- THWAP "SHADOW I NEED YOUR HELP!" I nearly fall out of my bed when my door gets kicked open. I toss my books across the room as my mother comes rushing in, tears me from me bed and throws me on her back before sprinting out of the house. "W-what do you n-need!?" I yell as she rushes us to the mico platform behind the house. She slides to a stop, causing me to go over her head and onto the floor. I sit up and rub my temples as she starts to pace around. She's talking to herself quickly as she straightens out her blazer. She doesn't normally wear that, so something big must be going on. "Mom? What's going on?" "Well... you see... eh... hehe... I dunno-I dunno- I dunno!" she yammers as she continues to pace around. I try to listen in on what she's saying, but it doesn't make any sense. I look back at the platform before standing up. I figure whatever's going on, it's happening at Mooseden. Because if it isn't Ponyville, it's Mooseden. FLASH I blink a few times before taking in the town. My ears immediately fall back as I stare back at the alien people kneeling before the bot guards, their hands all raised high in the air. There are only three of them, two men and a woman, but... there are three Unfamiliar in the middle of town! How did they even get here!? How haven't they been... obliterated yet! I take a few deep gulps before slowly stepping forward, allowing my mother to teleport in behind me. When she appears she steps up beside me and stares at the aliens. "So... any clue what they want?" she asks me quietly, just barely over a whisper. "Me!? Why would I know anything about that!?" I bark back at her. "I don't know! Miles is your father, maybe he said something to you!" I blanch at her. Clearly she does not know my father that well if she would assume something like that. "Dad would have blown their brains out by now if he was here... where is he anyway?" I take a quick look around to confirm that he is not here. I also notice that the town isn't on fire, so that's a good thing. "There was a huge spike of energy out in the Minotaur lands, so the Spartans went to investigate it... Luna? Celestia?" "As far as I'm aware, they're both in Canterlot. Neither of them will be back anytime soon. Not soon enough to deal with this at least." I stare back at the aliens as they sit on their heels waiting for something to happen. One of them glances to the side and we make eye contact for a moment. I've never really seen an Unfamiliar civilian before. The thought of that even being a thing never even crossed my mind. Though, I guess that's a little naïve. They each wear similar garbs that look as if they're basic long fabrics wrapped snugly around their torsos to form a tunic looking top. Their pants seem baggy and don't rise up nearly as high as Dads. Where his pants clearly give the length of his legs, theirs seem top silhouette their ankles and knees. Each of them is dyed in deep purples with gold embroideries and edgings. I get the feeling they're here to talk. But why now? Maybe we should call Dad and get his advice. But, I get the feeling that he'd just have them shot. And if we have a chance to talk things through then we should take that opportunity. Of all the history of the Spartans and the Terradisians I've ever heard or read about, they've never had the chance to talk with the Unfamiliar. "Mom," I whisper to her as I lean in. "You gotta talk to them." "... Are you sure?" I hear the nervousness in her voice. She's doing her best to keep a calm resolve, but it's painfully obvious how shot her resolve is. I wish I had something better to say to her, but what could I say? She's the one running for office, she's going to have to learn to handle this kind of pressure. I give her a nod and take a few steps forward. I may not know what to say, but I at least can be here with her. For what that's worth. "A-ahem HRUHNG! E-eh... I-I am E'claire of the Terradisian... governblment? GOVERNMENT! W-who might you all be?" Not the best start, but good enough I guess. The lead alien person looks to the other two before standing. "I am Leahn of the Zellun," the female says to us. Her accent is intriguing. It's deep and smooth, giving emphasis on the vowels. "These are Frest and Chelke. We are here for the land of gold and purple, as told by our father." We both stand there and stare back at her. I have no clue what she's talking about. What land of gold and purple? I look to Mom and see her try to mouth a response. I can't tell if she's just too nervous to respond or if she doesn't actually know what to say. I take another glance around and note that the entire town is looking at us. Everyone is waiting to see what's going to happen here. An eternity drags by as my mother tries to say something. I give a light cough to try and help her along. But she flounders even more. I try to think of something else, but the only thing that comes to mind is to kick her hind leg. "O-OF COURSE!" she screams, immediately shrinking. "I-I mean, w-what do you mean land of gold and purple? And who is your father?" Leahn looks around before motioning to stand. "We are the Zellun. Our people follow the teachings of our Father, who has taught us to seek out the land of gold and purple. It is to our understanding that he has passed. And in doing so, we have found our promised land. We have come here, unarmed, unaligned with the other Keksh, prepared to do whatever is necessary to live here in the land of gold and purple. We are at your mercy." She kneels back down and lowers her head to the ground, the other two following suit. There is a murmur amongst the crowd as Mom stands there dumbstruck. No one knows what's going on or what's going to happen. Dad has always told us that the Unfamiliar were a bloodthirsty people with no remorse for starting the war. They ripped people apart and had no regard for personal preservation. Everything that I've come to know about these people is in stark contrast with the way they are acting. What I've been taught is saying we should throw these people out and prepare for a fight. But my gut is telling me that they're telling the truth. This is our chance to be different. The crowd around us must be thinking similar things. We can be different than the humans. Learn from their mistakes. Or, we can continue their traditions. Keep the fight going. We carry their name, and I'm sure there are other groups of Unfamiliar that are going to fight us as well. So there's fighting regardless. But, there's a chance at some sort of peace right now. And it all depends on what Mom does right here, right now. She's still a nervous wreck though. I'm sure she's thinking of everything I could at this time, maybe even more so. Accepting them without a second thought would be reckless. But sending them away without even thinking on it could be equally foolish. So for now we should probably just talk with them. Say we tried before committing to any one decision. That's how I see it at least. But it might not be the same for Mom. She was made Terradisian as a captive. Mooseden is in her care, and any harm to it falls on her. Any choice that could possibly become harmful will fall on her first. I don't think Dad would do anything like that to her, but I can't guarantee he wouldn't. I could see him making it a choice between me and her. And we all know how that would turn out. I can try to persuade Mom to frame any decision as mine, but then that has its own caveats. "I've made my decision!" Mom announces, just slightly above her normal voice. Everyone goes quiet as all eyes fall on her. I feel myself hold my breath as we all wait on her announcement. Which is it going to be Mom? The past? Or the future? "There is a small section of flatland just north of here, less than half a mile away. Your people will be escorted by a large Terradisian force and will camp there for the time being. We will hold talks over the coming days to determine our future together. You will observe Terradisian law. You will not stray far from that encampment. You will submit to a registry so that we can keep track of everyone. We will protect you and offer what aid the people here are willing to give freely, but everything else falls onto you. You will build your homes. You will manage your obligations. And you will choose to follow these arrangements. I have no room for negotiations. This is the deal you will take or reject." I stare at her for a moment before letting out a long sigh of relief. How did she manage such a good compromise while being so nervous? She... she can really lead after all. Perspective: E'Claire PLEEEEEASE END THIS ALREADY I WANNA HIDE UNDER A ROOOOOOOCK!! WHAT EVEN WAS THAT!? WHERE'S MILES I CAN'T DO THIS ALONE, HEEEEEELP!! Perspective: Shadow The Unfamiliar murmur quietly amongst themselves for a moment before Leah stands. She holds the back of her right fist in front of her chest before bowing slightly. The rest of her people rise and make a similar motion. The crowd around seems mixed over this. I can see some happy faces. But there are a few that don't seem too thrilled with the prospects of having some many Unfamiliar- er, Zellun? I think? I'm sure we'll find out soon enough. But nobody openly rejects the deal, so it looks as if this is happening. Mom starts ordering the bots here to start a registry for the Zellun. She also orders the First and Second bot legions moved here for guard duty, with the third readied for immediate action. That's almost twenty thousand bots! What does she need that many guards for? Do we even have that many legions? The crowd bursts into a frenzy as the Zellun start to march towards the northern part of town. It seems everyone is rushing home or to various businesses. I guess people think supplies are about to dry up so they're trying to stock up while they can. There are already restrictions on how much people can buy at a time, but I'm sure this is going to end terribly. I look to Mom to ask if she needs any help, but she's already taken off into the crowd. She's yelling at anyone who will listen, but the crowd is nearing a panic. I look over the crowd before I feel eye on me. I look back to the Zellun and notice Leah is staring directly at me. I feel myself panic for a moment before weakly smiling back to her and wave. Which was a terrible mistake because now she is walking up to me! Why does this always happen to me!? "May I ask your name?" She asks, stopping a healthy distance from me. "Uh... I'm Shadow." I try to sound... normal. But I'm pretty sure I just sound scared. Leah gives a small chuckle as she nervously fumbles with her hands. Who'd guess first contact would be so awkward. "I feel the need to apologize to your peoples." I'm surprised by this, but I let her continue. "We were sworn enemies mere minutes ago. And now were asking to... eeh... forget past troubles. We know this is much to ask, but I hope you understand that we mean no harm. We truly believe this is our destined home. And we will do whatever it takes to make it work. I hope you understand." I stare at her for a moment before I realize what she's really saying. She thinks I hold some sort of authority here. I mean... I guess I do. Sort of? I never really thought of it like that before. But with Dad, Mom, and everyone else I know personally; I guess I really carry some sway around here. That's... that's too much pressure. "I'm sure we'll speak more of this later, but thank you again for allowing us to remain here. You have our eternal gratitude for awakening us from our dreams." She turn and starts to leave when I call out to her. She seems surprised by my sudden outburst, but this is important. "Leah... I don't mean to be threatening when I say this, honestly. But make sure there are no weapons with your people." She gives me a concerned look, but I continue before she could say anything. "My fa... the human. Miles Eremita. He's not here right now but he will return. And... well, the war between your people and his is... very fresh in his mind. I'm going to do everything I can to make this work, I promise you that much. But it's going to be... difficult, to convince him." "I understand Shadow," she tells me firmly. "There were those among the Zellun who refused to come on this journey. Many, actually. The wounds of war do not heal quickly. Nor do the scars fade quickly. We will follow your rules, you have my word. Though... if there were any words of wisdom you could pass along before I meet this fabled human, they would be appreciated." I have to think about that for a moment. There's plenty I could tell her. Be honest. Forthcoming. Strong, but understanding. But I don't know how to put it all together. And the other part of this is getting Dad to listen in the first place. We'll have to sit him down and speak privately first. Not to mention all of the other Spartans. We really lucked out that non of them were here when the Zellun arrived- "Aight, so first off you gotta start strong. I suggest a swift kick to the nuts, followed by a firm spank on the ass. Not too hard! You're not attacking him. But enough to Dom him FO SHO!" I feel my stomach drop out of me as my soul tries to escape when Uncle Damian suddenly starts talking beside me. I stare at him wide eyed as I try to process what he said. "That... seems rather... odd." Leah says, shifting uncomfortably. "Have you read human culture? It's all weird-" "UNCLE DAMIAN!" I yell. "HOW NICE OF YOU TO STOP BY! SO SAD TO SEE YOU GO!" "I don't-" FLASH I put everything I have to send him as far away as physically possible. I don't even care where he ended up or that I started bleeding from the nose. He had to go immediately. "I... do not think I should do-" "PLEASE DON'T!" I scream, getting her to jump slightly. "*AHEM* Sorry about him. Please ignore everything he said or will ever say. He... he's special." We share an uncomfortable look before she slowly nods to me. "Right. Anyway, so... uh... go ahead and make yourself at home then. I'm sure we'll talk again real soon." "Of course. Until we meet again." She does the gesture with her fist again and gives a slight bow to me. I return the bow, although much more awkwardly, and we part ways. I might have to kill Uncle Damian for that one. With actual murder! Is he.. is he actually that stupid!? I blanch when I feel a small trickle of blood roll down my muzzle. Teleporting Uncle Damian that far away hit harder than I anticipated. Or maybe I just did it too recklessly. Either way, I need to get cleaned up and take care of this. I start to head to the teleporter when I have a sudden thought. If I go home to Ponyville, I can probably take my time getting back here to help with the Zellun. But, if I stay here, I can probably get away with being here for a few days. Mom is going to need my help, if today was any indicator. And this is far more important than anything happening in Ponyville. But... am I only thinking this because I want to avoid Diamond? I've been trying to avoid her every possible chance I could. But even if I am just trying to avoid her, there is a real need for me here. What should I do? Author's Note Kroth Unleashed Brony on! Chapter 265 Where It All BeganChapter 265 Where It All Began Perspective: Miles I give a long sigh as I watch from the crew cabin while our aircraft drops out of cloud cover. We descend into the deserts of the Minotaur lands in a wide formation as we race over the sand dunes below. We received readings of massive amounts of magical energy being released out here. More than what we believe what the minotaurs are capable of. We're expecting the Unfamiliar are behind it, so I have the Fourth bot legion with me as well as most of my Spartans. We haven't had any magical signatures appear on our approach as of yet, so I'm starting to think that it might be something... else. I even had the autopilots take us for a loop around to try and get a better read on the area, but there's nothing down there. No people, no machines, not even an enchanted item of any sort! Nothing that our scanners can detect at least. As far as we're aware, there's literally nothing but sand and rocks. The bot piloting looks back to me for an order. I stare out at the vast expanse of emptiness before nodding to the machine. No sense in waiting any longer. It's time to go down there and take a look for ourselves. I grab to the overhead rail as we tip down and begin our descent. Behind us the dozens of other aircraft follow suit as we break out of the massive single cloud the desert was able to muster. I look back to Storm Cloud and nod to him, getting one in return. He starts shouting orders to the others and they begin to prepare to dismount. I leave it to him and look back out to the desert. Something is wrong here. Or, maybe not wrong. Something is different here. But we're not going to learn anything from up here. As we circle around for our descent the sands below begin to get blown from our jets. This causes some of the sand to shift and reveal a hole in the ground. I point it out to the pilot and we race towards it. All of our craft form a circle around the opening and the door slide open. I wait a moment as everyone else rushes out of the vehicle. I can already feel the heat coming in. Our metal armor isn't going to be helpful today. We'll need to be quick while under the sun. I step out into the light and slide my helmet on. It'll help with the blinding light, but I can tell it'll cook my head if I'm not careful. We have the opening surrounded. Every gun is set on it, ready for whatever may come out. I walk straight towards it and squat down near the edge. All I can see inside is a massive dark cavern with a few streaks of light revealing the remains of an ancient city beneath the sands. "Terradisian?" Storm asks as he walks up beside me. I shake my head slowly as I stare down into the city. "Our helmets have Smartlinks. If it was Terradisian, we'd see something down there. A sign, advertisement, some sort of signal... something." I tell him as I stand. "Maybe. Or maybe the power has been gone for so long there'd be nothing to see. Not to mention this place is so deteriorated I doubt anything would be functional." I hum in response. He's not wrong. But there's something nagging at the back of my head telling me this isn't Terradisian. This is something different. I send the Jumpers ahead to do a loop of recon while I magically widen the opening so the rest of our craft can enter. It doesn't take long for us to all get in and we begin the process of investigating the area. Bots do the bulk of the work. Flying from building to building scanning every crevice as we head to points of interest. Sadly, there doesn't seem to be much down here. Whatever this city was, I get the impression that it was human. But clearly it was from a very long time ago. Tall skyscrapers have turned to stone somehow. Their windows have long since been blown out, leaving the nearly hollowed out buildings exposed. Some have fallen over, leaving large mounds in the roads. But there are a few that are leaning against other buildings or the walls of the cavern. I reminds me of Topaz Falls, but there's just something off about it that makes it feel distinctly non-Terradisian. We pass a building and I get a good look inside. Whatever was inside these buildings has long since eroded under the heat of the desert. There must have been something above the city that turned with it that would have made the dome above. Maybe a system of panels that would have covered then city from the sun? But then what would have destroyed everything down here? I walk through the rows of hollowed out buildings and take a moment to look over the structures some more. It's definitely not Terradisian. At least, not like any I've ever seen before. Judging by the relatively similar levels of degradation I think it's safe to assume whatever happened here, happened all at once. An entire city turned to stone all at once. There's only one weapon I can think of that could have done that. A super archaic bomb. Maybe a primitive one, or one that was actually set to turn an entire city to stone. Either way, it's the only thing I can think of that would be able to do this. But why here? What was so important or threating about this location to garner that kind of response? And am I even going to be able to get to an answer for that? By the looks of it, not likely. We continue our search of the ruins but are quickly getting nowhere. There's simply nothing here to find. No signs of battle. No bones. Nothing to indicate that anything has happened here for thousands of years. But, just we were all about to give up, the evidence appeared right before our faces. We turned a corner of one building and found the remains of a massive battle. Entire chunks of the old skyscrapers are missing! With clean, clearly new lines having been erased from several buoldings. The destruction shows the trail of the fight, seemingly ending or starting at this point. Some buildings have fallen over from the sudden destruction, still leaving a massive cloud of dust in the air. But most striking of all, is the massive ball of dark energy floating in the middle of the intersection before us. It has to be fifteen meter wide and about twenty meters in the air. It seems to draw all of us to it as once. From every street and corridor my bots and Spartans begin to walk out towards the massive ball of energy. Every eye trained upon the sphere. It feels somewhat familiar. Like a cold breeze on a hot day racing across your back. Chilling, but refreshing as well. I begin to reach out to it as if I was reaching towards a familiar friend. "WAAAAIT!" I jump a little from the new voice yelling out. Everyone turns to the golden-beige pegasi with black and white gradient hair climbing out of a nearby window. She's wearing a pith helmet and a canvas shirt that's ashy from all the dirt and grime of the area. She struggles to climb out of the window for a moment before falling flat on her face. Before I could even register what was happening she jumps back up and starts to fly towards us. "Don't touch the sphere! Don't even look at it!" "*INWARD GASP!*" Rainbow nearly falls out the air before rushing to take her helmet off, finding it more difficult than usual. "The fuck is going on!?" I yell as I start to get a hold of myself. I look to the nearest bot and point a finger at it, getting its attention. "How many fucking sensors do you fuckers have and you couldn't even find one pegasi!?" "Are you how I think you are!?" Rainbow asks as she rushes to the strangers side, hopping like an excited child. "Step back from the orb!" She yells at me, pushing me back. "Don't look at it! Just get away!" "Okay-okay-okay!" I yell as I stumble back and turn around. "Who the fuck are you and what the is that thing?" "You have to get out of here before it shifts again!" She yells, ignoring my question. I look around for some sort of answer before the orb starts to make a vibrating sound. We all stop and look up at the massive ball of energy as it starts to pulsate aggressively. "DROP LIKE A ROCK!" I yell before throwing myself to the ground. The massive orb shakes in place as it starts to lose its form. It shrinks and ungulates as it starts to waver back and forth. Everyone who doesn't drop to the ground makes a run for it as the bots turn and race away from the unstable mass of energy. Dark pulses emanate from the unstable mass and saturates the area. I can feel it resonate in me, pulling something out from deep within. I feel my back arch as the energy pulses throughout me. I try to yell out, but I can't manage anything. All I can do is flip myself over and groan out as the energy forces its way into my body. I look to my right and see Storm on the ground as well. He got a bit farther away, so it doesn't seem like it's effecting him as much. He can at least manage a slow crawl away from the mass, so it must be proximity based. If that's the case, then I have a chance to get away. I grit my teeth is I focus everything I have into getting control of my arms. They don't want to cooperate though. It's like I'm being electrocuted and my muscles are contorting from it. So I lessen my focus. Not my entire arms, just down to my elbows. Can I get them up at all? If I can just start pushing myself away I can get more control. Take it every millimeter you can get. Just as I start to feel like I'm making any progress a massive wave of energy over takes me. I look up just in time to see the black mass begin to violently spike and shutter before exploding out from the unstable energy. Even if I could react it would have washed over me too quickly to escape it. Everything goes dark as I become engulfed in the expanding mass. The pain washes away near instantly and I'm left with a cold chill that pierces down to the bone. I try to open my eyes, but I can't see anything. I reach up and feel at my face. I had a helmet on, but it seems to have partially melted away. Most of my face is exposed, and I can feel a light fog of some sort emanating from myself. I try to swat it away, but it won't stop. I suddenly realize that I'm laying in a body of water. Icy water. When I sit up the water rolling off of me echoes as if it will sounds off forever. I feel the fog leave my face and I can finally get a look around. I'm in some sort of cavern. The walls of jagged rock seemingly go up forever. They're made of some sort of black material that has a sheen that gives off purples or greens. Floating in the air are... anomalies. They give off rays of light and fluctuate from various shapes within shapes. A cube in a circle that ebbs into a star that shrink out existence only to pop back as a long box. When two collide they meld into a single mass. Some continue on as a single new object while over burst slowly out into various new masses. Countless anomalies float and weave though the dark cavern. All of which seem to have rays of light trying to shine through them. Any of the lights that can burst through are quickly snuffed out, leaving the cavern mostly dark. I can't tell how far this pit goes, but I get the impression that I could be down here for a long time. "So you finally made it." I jump from the ethereal voice. I tried to get to my feet, but the gravity in this place is off. I end up getting a bit of air and nearly float away. Some unseen force gently guides me back to the ground. I look to the figure before me and feel a pang of fear wash over me. It stands at least three meters tall. It appears to be a being of pure light, cloaked in shadows that help define its outline. It seems to be wearing a cloak made of feathers that covers it form from neck to toes and hovers about half a meter off the ground. Its head lacks any major features. There are divots where the mouth and eyes should be. Only showing because of the shadowy outline. But they're upside down. The eyes are at the bottom while the mouth is at the top of the head. "Do not be afraid. I am here to help." I try to relax, but something about this being makes it impossible. "I am without name, but there are those that call me Finis Nihilo." "The End of Nothing?" I mutter out. The being gives a slight nod. I go to ask it something but it raises a finger and silences me. "I am here to help, but I can only help so much. Mortal time is finite after all. You may ask two questions. And when we meet again, I shall grant you an additional question. Until you ask the right question that is." I immensely want to ask what that means, but the being raises a finger to me. I try to get a chance at its body, but it's hard to make anything out. I do get the impression that it has several wings covering its body though. It doesn't want me to waste questions. So I need to be strategic with what I ask. Two questions. Two questions... "Okay, so... what do you know?" This seems like a good question to start with. No point in asking about anything if it doesn't know what I'm talking about "I know enough to know I know nothing at all." It sounds as if it's making a joke, but I don't think I'm in the loop for its humor. "But that is not what you meant. So let me answer like this. I can answer whatever it is you need to know. If I am unable to answer, then you have asked the right question." I guess that's something to go off of. What would the right question be then? What I really want to ask is what this place is or how I got here. But there are probably more important questions to ask. I could ask where Death is. Or where the Darkness is hiding. That's most likely not what I need to ask, but it could stop a war from happening too. Maybe that is what I'm supposed to say then. But that could be short sighted. How am I supposed to know what to ask about with no clues to unravel? It did mention asking additional questions if I return though. Maybe it knows I'll come back one day. But if I don't know where this is how am I going to do that? So maybe that's the best question. Where is this place? Or how do I get here? I take another look around and try to commit this place to memory. The anomalies seem to be calming down now. They aren't undulating as aggressively as they were earlier. My arrival might have had something to do with that. But beyond that nothing really stands out to me. There's really nothing here... "What is this place?" Finis Nihilo stays silent for a moment. I even feel as if I asked the right question for a moment. But then it turns to the side and sighs sadly. That may have a waste of a question it seems. "Before there was light, there was nothing. And it was good. But then the world was split in two; between light and dark. The light grew and grew creating all that ever was... and all that ever will. But the split caused a tear between the light and dark. We are in the wound of that split. Neither existing nor fading. This is where it all began. Be wary on your travels, Miles (me-less) Eremita. For you are walking a lonely path. And a dangerous path to be sure." The being turns back to me and for a moment I feel... safe. It's a familiar feeling, but I can't quite place it at this moment. But everything goes numb when it unfurls three sets of wings; each of which opens hundreds of eyes to look down at me. "And do try to be on time for tea. You know how much he hates waiting." Before I could even register the question all of the eyes on its wings begin to glow and I have to shield myself from the bright light. The light bears down on me and I feel myself stumble back from the pressure of it all. It's as if a thousand hands were gently laid upon me and forced me down to the ground. I curl into a ball and hold onto my head and try to cover myself from the light, but it's no use. It bores through me and shines down to my very soul. All thought leaves me and I can feel myself tighten up as I wait for it to end. Holding my breath... Waiting... And then something cool touches at me feet. It's relaxing. Soothing even. Whatever footwear I was wearing is gone, letting me toes dip into the cold waves below. I lower a hand and feel the ground beneath me. I'm on a shore somewhere. I can feel the cold ground and wet grass beneath my fingers. And it almost brings me to tears. I take a deep breath in and hear what remains of my armor clang around me. I turn onto my back and sigh in relief as the waters around me gently rush past. I'm at the edge of a river, judging be the earthy-mossy smell in the air. I try to open my eyes but wince from the light. They haven't adjusted to the light yet, but with every blink I can start to piece my location together. I'm on a small island in the middle of a river. The banks aren't too far away and the waters seem to be washing against various standing stones... With another blink I begin to notice that the stones are moving. Ever so slightly. As if they're staring back at me. Waiting to see what I'll do next. I blink again and here a familiar beeping-clicking sound. It's a bot communication with another bot wirelessly. But that doesn't make sense. The only bots near a river are the ones at Mooseden. One last blink and I lose my breath again. The stones aren't stones at all. They're Unfamiliar. And there are what looks like hundreds of them staring back at me. We stare at each other for a moment before I gasp for air and scramble backwards. They gasp in response and begin to murmur to one another. Slowly stepping towards me. Their murmurs beginning to become a chant. I stumble into a tree and use it to stand. Finally I see how many there truly are. They are thousands. They're in the tree line. In the water. Behind me! In front of me! They're everywhere! I raise a hand and go to ignite it with my magic, but something goes wrong. My magic doesn't come out. But rather the dark energy of Icy Void emanating from my palms. I've never had it come out like that before. Usually I'd have to ball my fist up. I look out to the crowd of Unfamiliar as they all kneel before me. Their chants growing stronger in unison. "Nether Wielder. Nether Wielder! NETHER WIELDER!" Chapter 266 Shadow KnightChapter 266 Shadow Knight Perspective: Shadow I groan as I stare at the pile of paper work in front of me. In trying to avoid one problem I ended up embroiled in another. I guess dealing with this is better than dealing with Diamond though. Every time I even start going down that trail of thoughts I just get anxious from the prospects. I can't seem to think of anything to do to even the score that doesn't end with me ripping her stupid extensions off her stupid head! *Inhale... Exhale...* Anyway, I guess visa paperwork is better than that. I take a look down the long table as other government workers continue filing away various papers. We've got to process all the information into physical documents while the Bots electronically file them. If we had better internet access in Mooseden we could just do the electronic verification. But the connection is spotty at best. So we need to have both so we can update it later. It's slow going, but it's how things are for now. SLAM We all jump when the front door slams open. I stand up to see what's going on and see a Bot standing there. We make eye contact for a moment before it rushes over to me. "Your assistance is required." It says, motioning for me to follow. I look around for a moment before stepping off my chair. "Please hurry." "What's going on?" I ask as I hurry after the bot. It starts to run back out the door so I have sprint after it. "Did something happen!?" "You are the nearest emergency contact for the Grand Captain. Your assistance is required." I stop in my tracks for a moment before shaking my head and running. "Is he okay!?" I ask as I start to panic. What's he doing back so soon? I thought he was gonna be gone for a day or two. WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN TO HIM!? The machine doesn't respond to me. But as we start to make our way out of town towards the river I feel my heart start to drop. Of course he would end up over here. Where else would he show up!? "Nether Wielder. Nether Wielder! NETHER WIELDER!" Their chants fill the air as various bots try to gain control of the crowd. But any instructions given are either unheard or ignored by the Kroth. I try to keep pace with the one that brought me here, but the crowd is too thick to move through quickly. I can see my father pressing himself against a tree in a small embankment in the river. His armor is tattered and mostly melted away, almost looking as if the metal was boiled off. His helmet has given way to reveal his eyes. They've gone completely black but they don't have the wisps of energy like when Corpus Glacius takes over. I try to make it to him as fast as possible but the people aren't moving. They're kneeling before him as if they're worshiping a god. Even when I get in their face to ask them to move it's as if I'm invisible to them. It's just them and their god in the shallows of the river. "DAD!" I call out to him as I start climbing over people. I can't even see the bot that brought me anymore. I have to get to him before anything can happen. I call out to him again, but he can't hear me over the crown. I can't even tell if he can see or hear for that matter. I try to climb over another person when I realize I could just teleport there. Definitely the fastest answer, so I go for it. FLASH I scare him as I appear right before him. He tries to move back further but slips onto his backside. I take a look out to the crowd before rushing up to his side. I don't have time to worry about the crowd. I have to calm him down before anything bad happens. "Dad!" I yell as I grab his hand with both hooves. He feels icy to the touch. As if he's been wading through snow for days. "Dad what are you doing here? When did you get here? What's happening to you?" This doesn't seem to be a magic thing. Otherwise I'd be burning my hooves right now. "S-Shadow?" he asks, clearly confused. "Where did you come from? What's going on?" "It's okay Dad," I tell him as I hold his hand tighter. "Everything is okay. Just take some dep breaths and look down at me." He glances down at me and I feel my stomach drop. His armor looks as if it was boiled while he was still in it. The parts that weren't large enough to stay latched on seemingly rolled off of him, like a candle left to burn. His helmet has mostly melted away, leaving gaps to show his face underneath. One eyes has gone completely black while the other is all white. I know what this is. Soul Fire and Corpus Glacius are fighting right now for control. I've never personally had to deal with this before, so I don't know what to do. I should call for help, but he could lose control any second right now. Besides, the bots should have notified everybody when he appeared. I was just the first to get here. How is he going to act if either of them take control? From what I understand Corpus is the least likely to go on a killing spree. He wouldn't really have a reason to. But it's not out of the question either. Soul Fire would probably attack. Or, at least, he's the most likely to. If Dad could somehow win I know I could convince him to at least here me out. Even if that means throwing myself in front of him. I'm running out of time and I just need to make a decision. There's at least a fifty percent chance of him losing control. So I have to make a decision that'll save the most lives. With my mind made up I take one look around before igniting my horn again. I can't afford for him to just run over here, so I go to max out my magic. We're going as far as I can take us. FLASH I give out a small yell and fall over as my horn nearly burns itself off of my head. I know we're deep within the forest near Mooseden, but I actually don't where exactly we are. The point was distance, so that's what I went for. I grab my head and try to focus back into the moment. I can feel a trickle of blood coming from my nose, but the pain in my head is much stronger. With my vision still to hazy to see anything I can't tell what's going on. But I see Dad stumbling forward. It looks as if he's drunk. He drops to his knees and looks straight up. It seems unnatural the way he stares into the canopy. I don't think his neck is suppose to bend like that. I think he's losing control, but I can't tell. There's a ringing in my ears preventing me from understanding anything right now. I stumble over myself as I start to stand. I need to use a nearby tree to do so, but once I get upright everything starts to normalize. I take a few deep breaths and try to form a plan. What do I do now? That teleportation spell really took a lot out of me. But I'm still to keep casting spells. At least at lower levels. Dad warned me about this before. Though I never thought I'd actually have to fight either of them. I have a few spells that can hopefully help, but I don't know how effective they'll be. We never tested this, obviously. And I know they won't last for too long. But they'll still get control. One of them is going to come out and I don't know how I'm going to keep them at bay. I don't even know if I can. All I know is that I have to win or people will get hurt. With one last deep breath I force myself from the tree and march towards father. He's still sitting there, staring up into the trees. Snap Crack A single stick snapping under my hoof drew his attention to me with supernatural speed. For a moment I worry that he snapped his neck. But that all fades when I see his pitch black eyes staring at me. He takes in a slow, wheezy breath and starts to smile. Dark foggy wisps start to waft from his lips as his smile opens. Well... now I know who I'm talking to. Time to talk. "I don't suppose there's any way I could convince you give my father control, is there?" He gives a soft chuckle. It was worth a shot. "Tell me, little shadow." His words come out like a sick person. Dry... Weak... Almost too quiet to hear. As he speaks, the portals of magic begin to form on his back and each of his hands. But instead of the white flames of his usual magic, the same dark fog billows out. In a moment his entire body lost in the black mist. "Do you truly believe you can stop me?" With a all the power he can muster Corpus Glacius lunges at me. Large dark beams of black energy race towards me as I throw myself to the side. I can feel the whip of air pass scarily close to my back. If I had been a moment too late... I shake the thought from my head and teleport away. Just far enough to get away from another beam of dark magic. His head snaps to the side as white energy grows out of the black haze. A simple crooked face appears and gives me a slanted smile. As he moves to attack me I start to make a run for it. I need to draw him further into the forest so he can't hurt anyone. But I'm not leaving the area, I just need to get him to chase after me. I try to weave through the trees and overgrown ferns of the woods. I can't let him know where I'm going. Keep it random. I won't get a second chance at this. A few beams break through the forest. Each one blasting gaps in the various plants and boulders. The trees that take large hits begin to twist and fall. I have to change course a few times to avoid the falling logs and widow makers. I have to slide to a stop when one of the trees falls directly in front of me. With the path in front of me blocked, I have no choice but to use my magic- FWT-SNAP I scream as a dark strand suddenly appears from the ground beside me. Before I could use my magic I had to roll to my side to avoid getting hit. FWT-SNAP FWT-SNAP FWT-SNAP The dark whips appear all over, lashing out at me as I try to make a run for it. From somewhere unseen I hear his mocking laughter echo in the woods. I start blasting the whips I see in my path. The first one was just a raw mana blast that didn't seem to effect it too much. After that I try blasting it with one of the energy types Dad taught me. A red beam pierces straight through the dark whip and burns a tree behind it. The whip still was able to lash out at me. But it paused it enough for me to dodge it easily. That spell seemed to be effective, but wasn't big enough. I try to remember more about it, but there's only one thing coming to mind. Light. It's not much to go off of, but I have to take a gamble! Otherwise I'm done for! FLASH-FWUM I skid to a stop as several whips appear all around me. There's nowhere else to run now. There's a moment when all falls still and we wait for the other to act. This is it. One last spell or it's all over. Right as the whips lash out at me I blast my magic to my absolute limit. Everything I have goes into making a blinding light erupt from my horn. Every shadow in the woods is washed away as my light breaks through every crevice and shines brightly throughout the woodland. The heat from the light makes me sweat as the overpowering light blinds me through my eyelids. I have no idea if this is working, but I keep pushing through the pain anyway. If I can feel the pain then it must be working, so I try to push even farther. I give out a scream as I start to feel my power begin to wain. My knees are getting weak and I can feel the heat all over my body. But I keep pushing anyway. I won't have anything after this, so I put all there is of me into it. This has to work! The spell suddenly stops and I feel the heat from the spell drop suddenly. There's still a warmth glowing along my back and scalp. I can't see and there's a numbness telling me that my horn is luckily still there; but the world is quiet. No more laughter. No sounds of whips cracking out. There's nothing out there. I fall to my side and pant from exhaustion. I don't think I'll be able to cast anymore magic for awhile. Not without hurting myself at least. That'll be okay though. I think I won. I think we'll be okay- "Why." My heart skips a beat when I hear that sickly whisper. I hold my breath and hope that it was all in my head. That there's nothing out there. That I saved my father. "Why!" I couldn't do it. I couldn't protect my father! I let him down- I let down the whole town down! The Kroth! Mom! I couldn't be the one to save the day. "Why can't I win!?" I hear him breath in weakly. As if he's trying to hold back tears. As if... he's failed again. I try to squint my eyes to regain my vision. But nothing happens. "Why can't I beat you! You! Insolent, small, child!" I try to get up, but there's no strength in my body whatsoever. I try to roll over, but I can't even manage that much. "I am Corpus Glacius! I am Nether! I am-" "I'm sorry!" We both go quiet for a moment. I don't know why I apologized. But it just came out of me. I don't know where I'm going with this. But I don't know what else to do. "Do not pity me!" "I'm not! I-I mean... I'm not sorry for stopping you. But.. I get it." He scoffs at me. I try one last time to get up but there's just no way it's happening. I let myself relax into the dirt and sigh. I debate for a moment before deciding to just unleash on him. "I do get it. All my life people had to save me from the world. My father pulled me out of a hole in the ground. My mothers had to protect me from society. My friends have to protect me from bullies! I couldn't protect my father when people said those horrible things! I couldn't even protect my sister from that fucking asshole! All I could do was pretend that everything was okay and that I was happy while she took on all the burdens and... and... and I hate myself for it!" I stop when I my eyes burn up from the tears. I've never told anyone this. I never could. Because then they'd have to come and save me from... myself. And I can't let them do that. I guess... I guess I'm trying to protect them from myself. I can't burden them with my own issues again. I can't show them how weak I really am. "So don't tell me that I don't get failure because I know what it is!" I try to rub my eyes clear, but my legs are too weak to bring up. I hear him start to move towards me. I don't have the energy to fight him anymore. So whatever happens, happens. I feel a cold sensation run through my horn and chill my entire body. All of the heat from before dissipates and is replaced with an icy feeling. I blink a few times before I look up. Dad has a hand on my side. I can see the sorrow on his face. I feel a wash of shame fall over me as I stare back up at him. But then I realize one of his eyes is still consumed with the darkness from before. So I don't know who I'm actually looking up at. "Rest." The voice of multiple people shake me to my core and I immediately pass out. I feel myself toss and turn as different images ebb and flow before me. Familiar faces looking away from me. I try to reach out to them, but they fade away before I can reach them. I try calling out to their names, but there's no sound to be made. I see my sister standing before me. She has that same smile she always had. It's infectious. It always did make me feel safe. Loved. Even when I knew things were really bad. I try to tell her it's okay not to smile. It's okay for her to be mad at me. We don't have to be here, we can leave and figure something else out! But she just smiles at me. Always smiling... I try to grab her. What I was going to do when I got her I have no idea. I wanted to hold her! Or smack her? Maybe just take her and run! I don't know what I tried to do. She faded away; just like the others. I look around to try and find her, but instead I find father. He's standing there smiling down at me. Hands on his hips. Pride in his chest. I can tell he's going to encourage me, somehow. Tell me I'm doing great. How I'm a quick learner. Probably add a short joke for good measure. He's always trying to give me every bit of support he thinks I need, and then some. Even when others are doing so much better. I try to back away, but I hit a wall. I don't deserve this praise. I didn't do enough, it'll never be enough! He's given the world to me and all I do is cause problems. I don't deserve this. I press back against the wall and fall through it. I try to scream for help, but there's nothing here. No one to save me this time. I'm... alone. I gasp sharply from the feeling of falling. I try to sit up, but there's a sharp pain in my side that stops me. I try to take in my surroundings, but but it's too dark to see beyond my immediate surroundings. There's a small campfire nearby keeping me warm with a few logs set around it. I try to get up again but this time a throbbing pain in my head stops me. "Relax kid," Dad says, stepping out from the other side of the fire. He sets some wood down and takes a seat. I feel myself become uneasy and try to turn away from him. The pile of leave under me rustle loudly as I curl into a ball. "Keep straining yourself and you'll pass out. Trust me on that. I'm sort of an expert on the matter." "... sorry." I feel a tear roll down my cheek, but I quickly try to wipe it away. I don't want him seeing me like this. "I know." His response catches me off guard. I look over at him and watch as he uses a stick to poke at the fire. I can tell he's troubled by something. But I don't know how to ask about it right now. "Dad... are you-" "Did I ever tell you about the time Dolum Ostendere and I nearly blew up a night club?" He asks quickly, looking at me with a curious look. His question catches me even more off guard. He sounds so chipper, so... okay with everything? I try to respond, but all I can do is shake my head. He gives an uneasy laugh as he looks back to the fire. "No, I don't think I'd share this story with many people actually. It's not one I like to share really." He goes quiet for a moment. I can tell he's recounting the memory in his head, and it's troubling him. It's not going to be an easy story to tell. He takes the stick and tosses it into the fire, making the flames dance wildly for a moment. I try to ask if he's okay, but he continues with the story. Given his tone, I elect not to interrupt him. "Back when I was a new Spartan in Topaz Falls I was so eager to prove myself. I wanted to show them that the orphan from Diamond Halls was worth the effort. I wanted to prove to Susurrans that I was Spartan material! I was impatient and too willing to get started. So I decided to make my mark. I decided that I was ready for my first mission. Topaz worked different than Equestria. There was a police force; a guard like system, but they didn't take care of every civil matter. Spartans back then also kept the local peace. If the Spartans got involved though, you knew it was a big deal. You called them when the threat was obvious and someone or something had to be destroyed. When the intel was good, they'd post it on the government forums. Might as well consider yourself dead within the hour by that point. Didn't happen too often, but when it did..." Perspective: Miles Topaz Falls August 8th, 1128 I pull out my phone and look over the icons as the tram jostles lightly along the rails. Neon lights flash past the glossy glass as we move through the entertainment district. The glow of middle city betrays the late hour. Doesn't matter to the people down here though. They're not here to rest. The lower you go into Topaz Falls the less recognizable it becomes. Higher crime rates. Over crowded housing. It's almost like the heart of the city fades away as you descend into the depths of the middle and bottom level. I never really liked it down here. More so at the Foundation, but the Mid doesn't suit me either. There are parts that are enjoyable. People feel more free down here. The bright colors of peoples outlandish outfits make people watching much more pleasant. And there are even those who secretly make and distribute various arts. You can still feel the soul of Topaz in the Mid. But, for every good thing, there's two bad that come with them. Illegal trafficking. Illicit drug activity. Arms Trafficking. Dark magic trades. If it's illegal and valuable, it's here in the Mid. Especially in the entertainment district. A sect of Triple M's, Mundane Made Matrix, made a move on the Parliament Congressional Hall recently. They're a group of Decker's that live for past knowledge. The recent raid was about trying to get some information from official computers in the PCH. They definitely got in, but what they took out is unclear. Tech stuff was never my forte. Not like it was by choice though... The tram begins to slow down as we enter North Hall Two. A tall transportation building that houses most city transit systems, most major mico platforms, as well as city information stalls. Depending on where you're going you can get there from here. Assuming you pay the toll that is. I decided to take the tram because it'd be inconspicuous. Everybody watches the mico platforms. No one gives a damn about the disgusting tram. I look around to check whose here. Some seemingly homeless person asleep in one corner. A mother with four kids at the other end. And, of course... "This place smells like piss and depression." Dolum tells me, pulling his jacket in more tightly. I tried to leave alone, but escaping him was more trouble than it's worth. "And I think that homeless dude is jacking it-" "You can leave then, you know?" I tell him as the tram comes to a stop. He scoffs at me as he hurries out of the sliding doors. Even through all the shit of military training he's still a prissy little princess when it comes to commoners. I can't help but roll my eyes at him and follow. He'd never had made it in the orphanage. We leave the bright white lights of the N.H.T. and step out onto the street. There's a weird mix of bright lights and dark alleys here in the Mid. Because of the complete coverage of the flat ceiling above the lights come down at sharp angles. So there are lots of places to hide and watch. "How do you know they're going to make the call tonight anyway?" Dolum asks as we start to walk down the sidewalk. I try to keep a low profile, but Dolum couldn't be more obvious with how he keeps checking over his shoulder. The crowd of people we're walking through don't seem too bothered by the two of us though. They're too distracted with getting to their next stop. From one social gathering to the next, we're not worth the attention. "I have it on good authority-" "What authority!?" "Authority that I trust to give good intel-" "What intel!?" "Intel that says the call is coming out tonight!" "SHHH!" We both come to a stop as I glare back at him. "Want the whole neighborhood listening in on us!?" "... of course not." If we didn't have to go back to the same room I'd throw him in a dumpster right now. "We're at the place, you still coming or not?" We both look up at the bar in front of us. To me it's just a large bland concrete building with a few neon lights dotting some of the windows. To Dolum though, I'm sure it looks amazing. I can't wear the smartlinks that most people have that show the augmented world. Tech and me have never mixed well. I like to say that I get a real look at what's actually there. But, sometimes it's a bit of a hindrance. The place is called The Toolbox. A common stomping grounds for Deckers, Bellum Machina, and Riggers. Everything in here requires a smartlink. Identification, payment, reservations, all through your smartlink. My phone can stand in as a work around, but it sticks out. So it's better that Dolum is here to help cover, even if I wanted to do this myself. Dolum takes a moment to look over the building before sighing in annoyance. He's in. Without hearing his answer I start to walk in. He grumbles in protest, but follows regardless. Once we open the doors the loud thumping of the music inside beats against us. The crowd of people chattering makes it nearly impossible to discern any other noise. Neon lights flicker around the walls as lights flash all over the dance floor. I don't know if I'd call that dancing or collective jittering with how packed it is, but that seems to be the point. It takes us almost an hour to get to the bar, order some drinks, and skulk our way to a standing table. There were some other people here when we arrived. But the hurried away the moment we stepped up. Dolum and I share a look before taking a drink. I don't think we stand out too much. Then again, we're the only ones not is bright neon skin tight suits. I assume we're also the only ones not in virtual augmented avatars... or at least I know I'm not. Crowd watching for a moment really tells me a lot about the room. I can see three clicks of people here. The triple M's are on the opposite side of the room. Half of them look like their zoned out and staring off into space. Several of them are bald with obvious implants on their skulls. Makes it easier to plug into the Core and navigate the internet. Then there are the Bellum Machina to the right of the Triple M's. There's nothing to hide them. Most are cybernetically enhanced with replaced limbs or organs. Robotic eyes, metal arms, a few of them even have antenna sticking out of their heads. The Bellum Machina wear their implants as a badge of honor. So there's no need to be coy about them. And lastly, the next most obvious group are the Ekdromoi. None of my intel said that they were going to be here tonight. Even worse, the faction of Ekdromoi that's here are the most radical. The Dorarismos. Lead by the second in command, a woman named Novacula Acies, they have a fanatical hatred of most modern technology. They believe that we should be regressing back to a more simplistic way of life. Moving back to the surface to become an agrarian society, and the destruction of all firearms are just a few of their beliefs. It pains me to say this, but they've made some decent points in the past. Though... I'm never giving up on my rifle, so they'll have to deal with that. But why are they here? This is a crowd that they despise! Are they in working with one of the groups here? If so... how? What could they possibly want with one another? The Ekdromoi's are taking up most of the dance floor. I've never been much of a dancer but I assume that they're mostly acting like savages flailing about. I guess I wouldn't really know though. But watching them jump around give me glimpses of the various weapons they have. Mostly large knives, but a few have larger blades that are collapsed in. I can handle the other groups more easily than the Ekdromoi. People rushing in with wild abandon are one of my weaker aspects. And that goes double for Dolum. I catch myself staring at the group for too long and accidentally make eye contact with Novacula. She's wearing tight denim shorts and a thin white tub top with suspenders and various belts all over. Her hair is cut short to show the sides of her head and has a mod chip in it that makes it wave with rainbow colors. We stare at each other for a moment before she smirks and starts to saunter towards us. "Incoming," I say to Dolum as I take another drink. "Shouldn't have stared." Dolum scolds. "Hey there shower boy!" Novacula yells over the music, getting Dolum to choke on his drink from the sudden chuckle. I try to stay stoic, but it bothers me to no end that she's seen that video. She leans forward and places her hands on the table while bouncing her hips from side to side in step with the music. "What brings you round these parts? Pretty far below your golden tower, aint it?" "Got lost on my way to the washroom and decided to get a drink." I tell her, getting her to laugh. If I can get her to leave then that would be best. At the very least we'd like to keep our conversation as inconspicuous as possible. "Though I never thought I'd see the Ekdromoi in a place like this." "Yeah, well, nothing wrong with a little rabble rousing every now and then. Right?" She looks back and motions towards the crowd. A moment later a few of the others come over and give the three of us new drinks. Dolum and I glance at each before downing our current drinks and taking the new ones. Knew it was a good idea to start with a light drink. Novacula whispers something to one of the others before sending them away. I try to listen in, but the music makes it impossible to hear anything. I try to read her body language, but there's nothing to really garner. Even though she's really thin, I can tell she's got plenty of strength on her. She looks back to us and raises her glass, so we follow suit. "To loud music, good company and... swords! And axes! And the eventual downfall of the tyrannical rule of a monarchal oligarchy! OH! And to bitches and whores with absent virtues! SOL INVICTUS!" She loses us halfway through her ramblings but we take the drink regardless. It at least gave us time to check for any spells or toxins in the drinks. They seemed fine, so we drank. Her calling an old Roman empirical saying while calling for the downfall of our own monarch catches me a bit off guard. But we don't have time to get into politics right now. We each take what felt like normal sized drinks, but Novacula downed the entire thing. Which is concerning because these were not light beverages. When she slams down the glass she has a slight stagger to her stance but lets out a roar of satisfaction. I get a buzz from my phone at the same time as half the room suddenly stops dancing. Even though the music continues, the feeling in here drops to near silence. I don't bother looking at my phone. I know what it says. It's go time. "Fuck it. We'll take the floor, you two head on up and bag that son of a bitch." Novacula tells us as she drags a knife out from behind herself. Her tone has completely flipped to a more sinister seriousness. A few patrons smart enough to realize what's happening start to rush out of the room as the factions of people begin to square off. I wanted to ask her what she knew, but there was no time. As if on queue, the dance floor erupted into combat. Just as quickly as pistols could be drawn they Ekdromoi were on the Bellum Machina. The loud din of music was replaced with the roar of combat as the two factions began to tear each other apart. Novacula rushed in as well, jumping on the back of an individual before repeatedly stabbing them in the neck. It all became a blur of violence before we could act. Dolum and I snap out of our daze and rush for the stairs in the back, igniting our magics to increase our speed. A few people tried to get in our way, but we just used our magic to move them aside. There don't seem to be any other mages in the building, so that'll be our advantage. "What's the order?" I yell out to Dolum as we race up the curved staircase. "K.O.S." Kill on sight. Whatever this guy did, it got the governments attention to the highest degree. And we're going to be the ones to do it. When we round the last of the stairs we find ourselves staring down a long hallway. There are several privet rooms dotting the hallway, but only one has guards. The guy facing me seems to be of average build and only seems to have a heavy pistol on him. The guy facing Dolum is massive. Easily two hundred centimeters tall and made of muscle and metal. Augmented arms built to look strong and eyes glowing in the dark; the second guy is clearly the larger threat- Before I could register what happened Dolum grabbed my shoulder and forced me to trade spots. I glared at him for a moment before the larger guy came charging down the hall. I assume he has augmented legs as well with the speed he closes the distance. I barely get my arms up in time to try and block his attack. But most of the energy from his punch sends me flying back and I crash and roll down the stairs. I get a glimpse of him jumping after me. Both of his hands raised to thrash me into the ground. But my magic was already activated. So I roll into my tumbling before pushing off the ground and flingi8ng myself straight up. He crashes into the ground beneath me so I swing my arm and throw a bolt of mana at him. It slams into the side of his shoulder and washes over him, seemingly ineffective. He glances up at me with those glowing eyes before reaching up and grabbing my foot. With a yell of effort he spins me around his body and tosses me back out into the dance floor. Luckily a standing table breaks most of my fall. I groan as I try to get up, taking another glance at the dance floor to see it half empty now. The floor is slowly becoming covered in a layer of blood and dying people as the fighting continues to rage on. I hear metal groaning from exertions and push myself to the side. The massive guard crashes into my previous position, punching a sizable crater into the ground. He rushes after me, punching at me with increasing force. It takes all my focus to fumble over myself while trying to avoid his attacks. But I'm starting to see a pattern. When he rears back to punch again I take the opening to kick a leg up and blast him back. Because of my Potestatem Anuls, I couldn't put as much as I'd like to into the attack. But it did give me the space to get back on my feet. Though I almost slip on the blood underneath me. We stand at the same time and start to size each other up. I don't have the time to deal with this. I need to get into that room. But if I push my magic too hard in this room, all of the others will turn on me. So I have to do it the hard way. "Play time's over, little hoplite." He says before one of his hands flips down to reveal the barrel of a gun while the knuckles of his other hand begin to spark with electricity. "I am the battlefield." "And my cause is limitless." A race between us commences. I dive opposite of his hidden gun in attempt to buy me the precious few seconds I need to raise a shield. As the shield starts to take form it immediately shatters as flechette rips all around. I feel a single piece of shrapnel hit my side, but it's ignorable for now. I hit the ground and throw my other arm up to raise another shield, catching the next round just in time. I scramble to keep upright. I just needed the dive to get the first shield up. Now I can start to maneuver him into position. Each blast he send my way is met with another shield, most of which get destroyed. I have to keep the trade between arms to keep blocking, but whenever one manages to stay I take the chance to blast him with a wave of magic. It's only enough to keep him off kilter, but that's what I need. He gets tired of this game though. Choosing to rush forward to attempt to taze me. I keep light on my feet, nearly making it completely around before he gets within melee range. I try to do another switch, but he's close enough to grab the shield and force it aside. Completely open, he swings in and drives his tazer fist into my chest. I grit my teeth as I feel the energy coarse through my body. I don't get to use it often, but I've recently learned how to channel electrical energy into raw magical energy. I haven't quite gotten used to it, but it buys me the free power to release my trap. I drop my spell and throw my arms out and bring them in quickly. I gather all of the water from the blood that's gathered below us and use it to stab into the man before me multiple times. A few hit his augmented limbs and splash off harmlessly. But a few other strands find flesh and begin to rip him open. He lets out a roar of pain before grabbing me by the throat. I try to bring my hands together, but it feels like I'm trying to bring to opposing magnets together as I try to hose him down even more. I have to use several jets to keep his gun arm away from myself, narrowly avoiding a few more blasts as I start to use high pressure water over and over again to blast his guts open. Everything goes blurry as we both start to slow. But with his shock hand still suppling me with free energy, I can keep my barrage going with the same intensity. I take a glance down and see that much of his intestines are hanging out of his exposed metallic chest cavity. In the middle of it all I see something shiny, so I grab it without thinking twice. He lets out one last long roar as the electricity rushes directly into his chasse. He manages to lift me by the throat and we share one last hate filled stare down. I place a foot on his hip and begin to pull with everything I have. Whatever I'm grabbing, it suddenly snaps forward and the man drops dead. It takes a moment to pry myself free from his grasp. It takes even longer to regain my breath. The crowd around me is starting to disburse from the building. I can see at least eight other corpses lying about. I shake my head and force myself up. I'm still a bit shaky, but I manage to make my way to the stairs. I take one last look at the bloody dance floor where I see Novacula about to leave. We share a look before she blows me a kiss and skips merrily out the door. That woman... is crazy. As I make my way upstairs again I regain more control of my breath. When I make it up I see Dolum and the previous guy standing there with their arms extended towards each other. Each of them have bloody noses and are solely focused on each other. It looks like they're trying to gain control of each other but are evenly matched. I stumble my way past Dolum and stop by the scrawny guy. He's trying not to look at me, but I can see the panic in his eyes. He knows what's coming and is trying to think of a way out. But it's too late. I raise a hand next to his head and blast it clean off, leaving a sizable splat on the wall. "Next time," I tell Dolum as I turn back to him. "You, take the big guy." "But... you did so well with him." He tells me as he doubles over to catch his breath. "Ready?" "Let's finish this." I turn back and push both hands forward. The door at the end of the hall goes flying off its hinges and crashes inside. We walk in slowly together. The only light coming both of our magic. This room seems like a Deckers set up. Several computer towers, lots of trash from delivery, and a lone pod meant for diving into the internet. It's an all white oval sphere that hovers a few centimeters off the ground. This one is open from the side, revealing the lounge inside the device. The man we're looking for is standing before the pod. He's a skrawny guy. Almost as if he's been starving for months on end. He's only wearing a old pair of briefs and part of the head gear that's meant to plug into the pod. But it looks as if he ripped himself out of the device early. Blood races down the back of his neck and from both his wrists. He turns slowly to look at us, his whole body trembling with every move. "H-he-he-he-he." He tries to speak, but he can't seem to find the words. Dolum and I look to each other before I start to step closer. "What happened?" I ask, stepping slowly. He takes a deep breath as he tries to speak. "He-he-he-he-he." He is all he can muster to say. "He? He who?" I ask as I get close enough to touch him. He turns his head to me suddenly completely in control. I flinch from the quick movement, but keep my place beside him. "He who knows how it all ends." I stare at him as I try to think of what that could possibly mean. I should heal him so I can gather whatever information I can. But... something is off. And more than just this guy. "Who would that be?" Dolum asks, stepping closer as well. The guy slowly turns his head to him before smiling. "Times up." Perspective: Shadow Present Day I stare up at dad as he recounts his story. I'm not following the correlation yet, but I'm sure he'll explain in a moment. But as he continues with his story I see something white glowing on his back. When I try to look at it, it disappears behind him. If I didn't know better, I'd say it was Corpus Glacius reaching out. But... that can't be right. "After all the debris settled, half the block was practically gone." Dad says, snapping me back to the story. "Uh... h-how... wait, half the block? How did you get out?" "Like I said; with Dolums help. Pay attention Shadow, it's not often I talk about the old days." I try to say something, but he just continues. "After that we were chewed out by Susurrans for a month straight. Not only did we fail the objective, but innocent people were hurt. And all because I wanted to prove something." "But... there's no saying that you were the cause of the explosion... right?" I feel bad for missing a part of the story, but something was back there. I know it! "Maybe, but that's not the point. I should have relied on my entire team for the mission. I should have left my pride aside and let all Spartans work to finish the mission. And yet, I did it again... with you." I stare up at him in confusion. What's he talking about? How did he do this with me? "Dad... Corpus taking over isn't your fault." I try to tell him, but he stands up and starts to pace around the campfire. "No, it is." He tells me, the anger in his voice rising. "I was the one that pushed you to go after Diamond Tiara!" "She accused you of sleeping with me in the newspaper!" I yell back, try to get up. "She slandered your name! I'm not letting her get away with that!" "And because I put my pride in your care it forced you to take the actions that lead you to Mooseden as those creatures appeared!" He snaps back. I feel a tinge of heartbreak for a moment. He put his pride in my care... and I failed. I failed to live up to his expectations. "I... I..." I try to say something, but I can't find the words. New tears start to roll down my cheeks, burning my eyes. He sees me and rushes to my side. He drops to his knees and pulls me in for a hug. I hear his voice beginning to crack as well. "I put it all on you, what kind of father would do that?" He asks, burying his pace into my mane. "What?" I ask, pushing him back. "No you didn't-" "I should have been there for you. I should have helped! And looked what happened. I almost killed you!" "You taught me to defend myself!" I yell back at him. "You taught me to stand up for myself! What was the point of all that training if I can't even defend myself!? I wanted to be the one to defend you for once! Defend myself for once! I'm the one who should be ashamed... I've failed you as a daughter!" He lets go of me and lowers his head in shame. He places both of his fist on the ground and tries to let me speak. With everything I say though he just shakes his head. Muttering to himself about failings as a father. But when I tell him that I've failed he snaps his head up. The look of sadness on his face makes me flinch for a moment and we both go quiet. We both want to say the other is wrong. That we're the ones that need to do better. But we know what comes next. It's just going to be a cycle of trying to comfort the other while taking all of the blame. Can we even come to an agreement like this? Where do we go from here? "Shadow." Dad starts, rubbing his eyes clear. "You know you're my daughter, right?" "Of course I do... you know you're my father, right?" He chuckles and nods, finally looking back to me with a soft smile. I smile back to him and relax a bit. "Of course I am. And nothing is ever going to change that. No matter what, okay?" I nod back to him. The atmosphere is cooling off between us. But I'm still worried that we're just saying what needs to be said. Not that we don't believe what we're saying. But we're saying it to get past this moment. Maybe even come back to it later. " I know Dad... I love you." He reaches forward and pulls me into his embrace. I feel myself melt into his embrace as I bury my face into his chest. All of the previous anxieties fade away here, even if it's just for a moment. "Te quoque amo, filia mea dulcis." For a moment, nothing else mattered anymore. I felt myself finally breath a sigh of relief. Maybe nothing was really fixed, but it didn't matter. At the end of the day we have each other. And we can work through anything together. Anything wrong today can be fixed tomorrow. For now, this is all I need. But nothing in life can be that easy. As I hold onto him I twist my head and look behind him. There, his magical portal is opened completely. But nothing is there. No dark wisps. No fires. There's just the circles with magical text and a void in the middle. And even though I couldn't see, I know he's there. Corpus Glacius is waiting just underneath the surface. Author's Note Fun fact, widow makers are branches that fall off tall trees and pierce the ground. Terradisian Archetypes Latin Translations. Brony on! Chapter 267 Fear of DreamersChapter 267 Fear of Dreamers Perspective: Miles We spend some time in the woods. We talk a bit more, but it became evident that we were both dreading going back home. But she needs her rest. And there is too much at stake to just sit here and ignore the world. No matter how tempting the thought is. Shadow put everything into fighting Corpus. So I have to carry her back home. She tried to protest, but when she couldn't even stand she accepted it. She's a stubborn one, that's for sure. Probably learned it from me to be honest. Hopefully I taught her more than to just dig her heels in. I try to mentally prepare myself for Mooseden. I know what's there. And everything in my body is telling me to be ready for a fight. I know I should be ready for a fight! Those monsters have invaded my home for a second time! I can't let them take over. Not again. Never again! Don't be so bold to assume with such absolution. I stop and look around when I hear a woman's voice. It sounded... familiar. Comforting almost. I take another look around before cautiously continuing on. I go for a distance waiting for them to speak again. I even try to lead certain thoughts to see if I can trigger it again. But... they they don't say anything. If there's something I need to know... please tell me... mother... Of course, nothing is said. There isn't anything to be said really. I'm going to be the first human to have communications with the Unfamiliar that doesn't involve combat. What advice could anyone give me? This is uncharted territory for Terradisia. Well... as far as I'm aware of. It takes some time to travel back to the outskirts of Mooseden. Shadow had teleported us as far as she could. She did really good back there. I'm proud of her ability. But I don't know how I'll ever shake this feeling of shame for even fighting her in the first place. But enough of that for tonight. I only have one goal right now. Get Shadow into bed. The walk back home took long enough for the sun to set. Shadow passed out pretty early on so it was a quiet walk. It worries me a little that I was gone this long, but at least nothing is on fire. So that's a start. I'm more amazed that nothing tried to bother us on the travel back here. But I'm not going to question whatever good fortune I have today. As I enter town I feel my heart start to race. I know they're over there. I can practically feel them stealing glances at us as we enter. My brain is telling me that they're trying to keep out of sight of me. But my gut is yelling at me that they are plotting to attack. To watch my six and anticipate an attack. I can't let them get the drop on me... I can't lower my guard... I double my pace to E'Claire's and Butterscotches home. I just need to focus on getting Shadow home. Nothing is going to happen... We're safe here... Nothing is going to happen... I turn a corner and freeze in place when I see an Unfamiliar standing before me. She looks just as shocked as I am. She's wearing a simple tunic and trouser set that are deep purple with gold trimmings. Her long white hair reaches just far enough to hide her shoulders. But her eyes... The rest of her could pass for normal. In Terradisia at least. But her eyes... Those pitch black eyes will never be human to me. Even with the shock and fear set within them, they're the eyes that are set out to kill me. With Shadow in my hands I hesitate to act. I felt my arm twitch to get my pistol, I with my hands already occupied it was just a twitch. The woman sees this and start to back away. She says something, but it was too quiet to hear. An apology maybe? Another Unfamiliar comes out from the other side of the building. It's a man who is similarly dressed in the purple and golds. He grabs the woman and drags her beyond the building. I have to stay still. I can't even think of moving right now. Everything is telling me to get to cover and wait for an attack. To call out for support and attack! Glancing around town I notice that the streets are practically empty. But all of the street lights are on. Some of the shops and restaurants are lit up as well. Something must have happened. Why else would everything be fully opened? I take a few steps towards the town center. I don't know what's happening right now, but for some reason I feel as if I'll get answers over there. I almost forget that I have Shadow in my hands as I do this. But if something has happened then it would be best to keep her close. I'll hold onto her, just in case. Town center is usually the heart of the town, especially at this time of night. There's a large opening where we've put of tables and seating underneath hanging lights. It sits just in front of town hall but also sits at the ends of the vendors buildings and most of the housing in town. With a population of a couple hundred, everything is close by. People use the space to wind down from the day, eat, socialize, maybe even do some shopping nearby. People meet up with friends and do work here. It should be bustling with life right now. Why is it empty? I walk though the various table and benches and try to garner any information I can. There isn't any left over food or upturned table. So I don't think people left in a hurry. Most of the stalls are left as if they were conducting business as usual, but grills and heaters were turned off. So they had time to think things through. Nothing here is telling me that something bad happened. It's almost as if everyone just agreed to get up and leave at the same time. And where are all of the security bots? There should always be squads of them walking around doing guard duty! What could have possibly made them leave as well!? The sheer emptiness of town is making me start to panic. It doesn't help that the only person I've seen was an Unfamiliar... I begin to rush through the town center. I don't know where I'm going yet, but I can't just stand here and wait for something to happen. Should I take Shadow to Ponyville? Is Ponyville even safe right now? Maybe I should head there just to drop Shadow off at home. Leave her somewhere relatively safe... assuming it's still safe. I double my pace and rush towards the mico stations. I need to see Ponyville right now. I need to see something as it should be. But before I could take the platform back someone appears before me. He's a unicorn that appears to be Shadows age with a dark grey coat and bright white hair. He looks up to me with his bright yellow eyes and tilts his head slightly. He seems more confused than I am... why? "You're... Miles, right?" He asks, stepping off the platform. I try to think but from all of the previous panic I'm at a lost for words. So I just nod to him. "Shadows dad?" "... yeah. Do you-" "Cause I've heard about you but I just haven't seen you yet." He says mater of factly. Something about the nonchalant demeanor makes me follow after him. If only to hear another person speak. "I travel a lot... do you know what happened here? Are you a citizen?" I've never seen him before, so it's not likely. He jumps behind a vendors stall and starts to rummage through it. "Me? No no no no! I live in Ponyville. But I frequent the town enough. Good food here an' all... where is, AHA!" He pop backs up and puts several kabobs on the still hot grill. "Want one?" "... no... the people-" "Right! Well, with all the Kroth here they started getting them processed at the town hall. If I'm to guess..." he leans back and takes a look at town hall. "Mmm... I'd say they probably are on the other side of the river." He continues to cook the food as if everything's fine. I've still got a thousand and one questions, but I doubt this kid has the answers. But by his tone I'm assuming that everything is relatively fine. I go to investigate further but stop when I remember Shadow. "You can leave Shadow with me." The kid tells me. "You know her?" I ask skeptically. I know my daughter. I can count all of her friends with one hand. I'd know of this kid if he was a friend. "Well... more like acquaintance. We've bumped into each other a couple of times. I think she shot me down once too. Shame really... anyway! You got stuff to do, and she needs food. I've seen bends before. A good meal will help with the impending migraine." I eye him for a moment as I try to size him up. Most of my fatherly red flags are flaring right now. I don't want to leave my daughter with this kid. But... he's got a point. She's going to be hungry. And I need to get over the river as soon as possible. If I had some extra security around here I'd feel better about it. But with the town empty... "Names Star Gazer. If you were wondering." He tells me, flipping the food. "I live on thirty two main street, just above the sofa and quill place." "Doesn't the store owner live there? What's his name... uh-" "Mr. Lounge makes his money renting. Not many ponies buying quills and sofas recently. Think he's sleeping with Mrs. Dough while her husband is off doing business in Detrot. To be fair, he's apparently sleeping with his assistant, Miss Inkwell, too. Yeah, they only got married cause they though she was pregnant. But now they're only together for-" "If you stop talking I'll trust you to watch over my daughter." That was... way too much information. "Sounds good! Want a kabob for the road?" He says, offering me a skewer. I stare at him for a moment before turning around and sitting Shadow at a table. I look around for anything I can drape over her. But I have to settle for moving a patio heater closer to her. That kid... is an odd one. I move to run off, but then a thought occurs. I look back to Shadow and think about her. About what she's said. My hand trembles as I draw my weapons and lay them before her. I trust her not to lose them. But I don't trust myself to run off with them. I take one last look to Star Gazer, getting a confused look from him, before rushing towards the river Mooseden is nestled in the basin of the nearby Appleachian mountains. The nearby river helps transport all of the timber down to the coast. The nearest body of water is just a tributary river though. If I didn't see them right away then it's most likely that they've moved down to the main river, the Novissime Pluvia. The Last Rain river. The tributary and Novissime Pluvia have a wedge of land between them that rises above the two bodies of water. I've always eyed the land as a potential area for further development. We've just been waiting on the population to grow to that point. But, since I've talked to E'Claire about this in the past, I now suspect that she's giving the space to the Unfamiliar. There's a moment where I want to feel betrayed about the idea. But I'm too focused on getting there to dwell on it. If they are using my ideas though, I know exactly where to go. Northeast of Mooseden there is a hill that plateaus just enough to build on. Gives a great view of the area, but is hard to travel to without modern technology. I'm betting that's where they are. Magically pushing myself, it only take twenty minutes to get to the location. Even with my extra speed I'm still a bit winded from the run up here. As I close the last of the run I can see the sound of large scale construction happening. Dozens of hammer thumping and saws grinding away become louder and louder as several trees are felled suddenly. When I make it to the top of the hill I find the once forested area has been cleared. A large clearing with piles of supplies and material takes its place now. Hundreds of people and bots roam about as they work towards erecting buildings. The amount of coordination between everyone here is... surprising. I guess after years of having to deal with their petty grievances I forgot that most of these people are master craftsman's. I start to stumble into the clearing when I notice a group of Unfamiliar moving nearby. I instinctively go for my pistol before remembering that I left it behind. I ignite my hand and watch them for a moment. They've got a log hoisted on their shoulders as they line up and a mill. They load it in and the machine begins to slowly pull it in and cut it to shape. Once it's mostly been fed in they move aside and talk to a pony for a moment. He delegates something to them before they go their separate ways. As I look around I whiteness dozens of similar situations like that. Ponies, bots, and Unfamiliar working together. I rub my eyes and watch for a moment longer. I know I'm seeing it happen right before me, I just can't believe it. These are suppose to be the monsters that took Topaz from me. That killed my best friend and threatened to kill my unborn son. How are they also the ones working side by side with us? "Miles!" I recoil from my thoughts as E'Claire comes running up to me. She has a few bots following after her, but everything seems... fine. "Thank goodness you're okay! Where's Shadow? Is she alright? Is she okay?" "Um... She... uh..." I try to respond but I'm too awestruck to speak. E'Claire looks back before grabbing my hand and dragging me away. I try to protest, but I'm too dumbfounded to fight back. She takes me a few meters away before pulling me behind a large tree. With the construction zone out of view she begins to speak. "It's okay Miles. Take a deep breath and relax. Everything is okay." She tells me as she guides me to sit against the tree. "Shadow's okay." I tell her, too lost to think of anything else to say. She smiles back to me before sitting in front. She motions for the bots to leave and they head back up the hill. "A lot has happened in the past few hours. And I'm sure there's a lot you want to do or say. But I need to you listen to me. I need you to listen and understand what I'm about to tell you. Because it's not going to be easy to hear. Are you ready to hear this?" I take a deep breath and try to relax. It's easier said than done though. I give it a few more tried before nodding to her. I don't know why I'm so short on breath though. It wasn't that far of a run. Am I really that nervous? I feel as if I should know what she's about to tell me. But my brain won't let me think it through. She takes a deep breath and pulls her cream colored hair back, tying it into a loose bun. I get a look at her normally tan coat and notice all of the ink stains and kicked up mud. She's been hard at work this entire time. "These are not the Unfamiliar. These are the Zellun. They are a faction of the Kroth that have defected. We are setting up this location for them to permanently reside in. We and by that I mean the Terradisian government, are accepting their asylum visas and are inducting them as helots of the state." Even though I can hear what she's saying I can't stop myself from trying to take a look back at them. I can hear people shuffling around behind us. Trying to see what's going on. I hear the foreign chatter and feel my heart race. Everything in my body is telling me to go fight them. There are intruders in our home! I need to fight them! E'Claire keeps her hooves on my shoulders and stops me from looking though. Every time I have to refocus and remember what Shadow told me. Coming here was a mistake. But I had too! How could I not! What do I do? I know I can't accept these Unfamiliar so close to home! I can't let them reside so near my family! But I know that isn't realistic. They're surrendered! We won, at least in some small part. I know I should be giving them all of the same accommodations and rights that I gave Butterscotch and E'Claire when we took Mooseden. But... I can't. I was raised to fear these people. To hate them even. I know what's they're capable of, I've seen it firsthand. And the thought of just turning around and walking away... it's unacceptable! It goes against everything I've ever stood for! I can't imagine doing it because there is no precedent for it happening. We were trained to fight and win our wars. But we were never trained for what came next. I don't know if I have the capacity to be a part of this transition. Everything I've ever been taught was meant for a war to the death. Now what? We just let bygones be bygones? Help them build their homes and... and then what? But, that's no longer my choice anymore. She said it herself. The new Terradisian government has spoken. Everyone from town is here helping apparently. Two of my strongest beliefs are in contest with each other. My duty as a Spartan to fight the Unfamiliar. And my duty to rebuild Terradisia. I look to E'Claire and try to ask her something. Anything! But nothing comes out. I don't even have the questions to ask for this! "It's okay Miles." E'Claire tells me in a softer tone. "Go back to Mooseden. Sleep in your bed. Speak with me at town hall tomorrow. Let us take care of of the Zellun. We can do this. All you need to do is believe in us." "...okay." I nod to her. Truth is I do believe in them. I know they can do... whatever this is. I don't trust myself though. How am I goin go sleep when I know there are hundreds of Unfamiliar so close to home? I slowly stand to my feet, getting a hand from E'Claire. I try to say something to her, but I can't. What else is there to say. I... I just need to go home and let them handle this. This is what I wanted when we started this town. To build Terradisia again. I just never imagined they'd achieve so much more than we could. I take a few steps away when I hear the whispers behind myself. My entire body shivers as I hear their language. I try to control myself, but I couldn't stop myself from slowly turning and looking. At the top of the ridge are dozens of Unfamiliar looking down at me. Their beady black eyes staring down at me with a mixture of curiosity and fear. I freeze in place as I stare back at them. Each of us is waiting for the other to act. Waiting for... something. I flinch when I see more appear. But these ones... these ones are children. All ages. Toddlers. Teens. Babies. Then more appear. Women. Men. Old. Young. They're... all there. My heart drops when I see a little girl push her way to the front. She's wearing what looks like purple pajamas and a pink robe. She hugs a stuffed animal in her arms, protecting it as much as it protects her. As I look to her I feel a sharp pain in my ears as a loud ringing grows. My visions goes hazy as my mind is filled with visions from my past. Of a little girl in pink. A loud ringing. The unbearable heat. I take another look up as I start to stagger back. The crowd blurring into a mass that's staring me down. Waiting for a moment of weakness to strike. I turn my back and run. It was the only thing I could do. It takes me awhile to even realize I was running. All there was in my mind was the ringing in my ears... and those dark eyes looking down at me. THUD I trip over something and immediately scramble for cover. As if there was gunfire behind me. I check for cover before moving deeper into the woods, waiting for the crack of gunfire. My mind tells me there's bullets buzzing over head. I see a small depression between some tree roots and dive in. I practically throw myself in there. Pressing my back to the tree I grab my chest and try to control my breathing. If I keep wheezing like this they're going to find me. I just need to breath. I can't let them find me. Just breath. Don't let them see you like this. Breath in... breath out... Don't let them see you... Breath. In... and out... Take in your surroundings. Don't let them get the jump on you. Up. Down. Left. Right. Combat mindset. Keep everything in order. I try to stand, but fall back from shortness of breath. I wince and push back against the tree. The mud beneath me slips and digs me a bit deeper. I look down and notice that I've broken the nail of my index finger on my armor. I lift my shaky hand and stare at the hanging piece. Blood drips down slowly, dotting my legs. I didn't even feel this. I take another look around and go back to my breathing. I don't think they followed me here. I just need to stay put and get control of myself. Everything is going to be okay. Everything will be okay. "DAD!?" I flinch when I hear Shadow calling for me. I panic and try to lower myself as much as possible. I can't let her see me like this. I don't want her seeing me like this. "Dad!? Where are you? Please, Dad, just come with me. Let's go home." I'm practically holding my breath as I wait for her to pass. It felt like an eternity, but when I was sure she was gone I let out a long sigh. I can't let her see me like. After everything we just went through... I can't. I start to remove the warped pieces of armor. Whatever teleported me here really did a number on this set. It looks as if someone boiled the metal and took a hammer to it. When I get the last piece off I toss it before myself and freeze when I see it land at Shadows hooves. We stare at each other for a moment, our breaths billowing up into the night air. I try to stay stoic. Try to put a strong face on for her. She just walks down, nearly slipping in the mud, and sit on my lap. She pulls my arm in for a hug and nuzzles into my embrace. I bring a shaky hand to her hair and start to stroke it. As if I'm trying to console her. But I think she knows what's going on. As we sit there the night sky fades away as rain clouds roll in. In a matter of seconds the cool night turns to cold rain. With the cover of the rain... I finally let go. I let the rain hide the streaks of tears rolling down my face. I don't know how I'm going to do this. Chapter 269 The Daughter of the Queen and the CaptainChapter 269 The Daughter of the Queen and the Captain Canterlot at night is a beautiful sight to behold. It's like a kaleidoscope of bright colors as hundreds of stained glass windows glow with the hearths of countless homes and businesses. All of these lights draw you to the castle as it shines like a massive beacon over the mountainside. This is why it's called Mount Beacon. You can see it from miles around. Getting into the city was easy enough. We used Dad's secret teleporter and came in the rear of the city. Dad escorted us this far but then went his separate way. Said to call him when we needed extract. I thought he was going to join us for the entire operation. But he said he needed to check something while he was here. Something he only thought of when we arrived. I don't pay it much mind though. He's helped plenty now. Star and I make our way from rooftop to rooftop with him teleporting us most of the way. When the building comes into view we take a moment to look it over. It's a three story tall building with a large courtyard in the back. There's a two tear pool, the bottom being the water basin with the upper being a raincloud. Each of the floors has a line of lights going around them, giving the light pink paint of the building a nice glow to it. The party is already in full swing. There are dozens of couples all around the pool and lounge area. A band is set up at the far end of the courtyard. Their music is just loud enough to cover most conversations in the courtyard. We look over the crowd but fail to find Diamond there. I pull off the satchel I have and start to sort through the tools we brought. I give the mace to Star and he slams it down. We get a view of most of the building and see several rooms that might hold her. There's are four that have couples in them. I pull out a device called an astral scanner. It's a rolled up piece of plastic that has a thick cylinder gem at one end. When you unfurl the plastic it can show you a spectrum of magic wherever you're looking through. It'll only show you what is magical and how powerful the magic is. But if any of the rooms are filled with unicorns or pegasi, we'll know she's not in there. Looking through the astral scanner, we eliminate two of the rooms. So she's either on the third floor or the first. The last tool I pull out are simple binoculars. Now that I have only two targets, it's easy to lock in where to examine. Even though my head is throbbing, I focus in on the top room. I can see a couple in there. The window is frosted, so I can't make out exact details. But the two individuals in there are similar in size. Not likely to be Diamond, since she's supposed to be meeting a blacksmith. That leaves the first floor room. I take a glance at the frosted window and see an individual moving around. I know there's a second person in there. The echo map told us so. But I can't see them. She's not that short, so I double check the holographic map and try to coordinate their exact location. If I had to guess, the second individual is on the bathroom. "Looks like the first floor. Are you ready?" I ask as I put the binoculars away. "It's a simple enough plan. You sleuth in, try to get the picture if you can. I'll forge our signatures into the guest books and distract the staff. Easy peasy." I nod to him and start to fix the suit Dad gave me. It's an all black suit that's skin tight. It has a few bulging lines where some wiring snakes around as well as a few gems set into it. It has five axes where it takes what's behind you and projects it on the other side of yourself. Not quite an invisibility suit, but pretty close. So long as I don't touch anyone and there aren't people actively looking for this kind of enchantment I'll be invisible. I could do the same thing with my own spells. But after tonight I'm tapped out with magic. So tech will have to fill in for now. Sadly we only have the one suit, so Star will have to use his charm and stealth to get in. He says he can do it no problem. But he's mostly for insurance. Assuming I don't get caught, we may not even really need him for this. With one last teleport we appear in front of the building and I immediately activate the suit. There's a moment where I glow a bit before I presumably disappear. On my end there's a bit of a glow that makes it a bit harder to see, but it's manageable. I look to a nearby window and see a reflection of Star, but not of myself. "How do I look?" I ask Star, getting him to snicker. "Perfect. Just follow me in. If everything goes according to plan just find me in the main lobby and we'll get out of here." "After you then." I gesture for him to lead, but then I remember he can't see me right now. I follow after him as he walks in the front door. He makes sure to swing it extra wide so I can sneak around him. A hotel worker asks him if he's lost and he immediately gets into character. He get dramatic and starts complaining about the lack of service he's received. He drops a few lines about how his baron suite was not up to code and how his father will be hearing about this. Apparently this was enough for the workers to go off of. Because they immediately began to panic and tend to his needs. The hotel is brightly lit and has a warm atmosphere to it. All of the art and wall decorations are in reds and golds, while the there's a almost overbearing feeling of embellishment to everything. The staff have velvet red jackets. The carpets are velvet red with golden designs. The sconces on the walls glow with elemental energy, filling the room with light and warmth at the same time. With the staff distracted I walk as carefully as I can into the building. I don't want people hearing invisible hoof steps. Luckily becuase of the party out back there aren't a lot of people in here. Getting down the hall I count the doors and get to where I believe they are. I lean in and press my ear to the door. I can hear a mare and stallion talking... but I can't recognize the voices. They sound plenty distracted though. I reach into a pouch and pull out a lockpicking kit. I've never done this quietly before, so I keep my movements slow and methodical. It's a simple pin and tumbler lock. I barely even have to jimmy the pins to get them into place. When the knob gives way I gently guide it open just enough to peer inside... I then gently close the door and try to erase the image of those two having sex. Right idea, wrong couple. Then that means they are on the third floor. Maybe one of them was closer to the window than the other? There's something off about this, but I've gone too far to back down now. I have to walk at a slow casual pace. If I go too fast I risk someone hearing me. Even if most people here wouldn't try to follow after the sounds, I don't want to risk anyone finding me. It's not a hard walk to the third floor. The stairs are wide and carpeted. So I can give the few people here a wide birth while staying as quiet as possible. On the third floor I take a moment to try and orient myself from what I remember. It was slightly right of center. Meaning I should go left. There isn't a room in the center of the hall, so I head to the first door I come across. It's about as far as I believe it should be. Just like all of the other doors here there isn't anything to really go off of. Room number three zero six. I walk up and gently press my ear to the door. I hear someone moving around frantically. Clearly nervous about something. The space between the steps on the ground tells me that they're a pegasi. They're flying back and forth and landing while worrying about something. There's someone else there as well. They're talking, but there's a hair dryer muffling their voices. Part of me wants to just open the door and look. But I need to be patient. The pegasi moving around too much is the only obstacle in there. They're the most likely to notice the door opening. And given their state, they're highly likely to do so. After about a minute of debating the person inside stops drying their hair and I hear their voices. "I don't get what's the big deal!" I hear Diamond Tiara say. She says it in a tone that's almost yelling, but still composed. Whoever she's talking to, they've been at this for awhile. "That's because you aren't listening!?" I feel my heart drop when I hear Rumble yell back. What's he doing here? Isn't he supposed to be at flight camp? "Whatever." She starts up the hair dryer again. But Rumble rushes over and turns it off. "What!?" "I told you we were done!" He yells at her. I perk up from that. Damn right Rumble! Tell her off! "I'm not some toy for your beck and call!" "Lower your voice!" She hisses, trying to keep calm. "Besides, the only reason you got into flight school is because I made some calls. You owe me!" He groans and stomps off. I didn't know that. Why didn't Rumble tell me? I could have helped him get in... possibly. I hear Diamond get out of a chair and begin to walk. The both of them stop and there's a creaking of the bed. "And don't forget that I also helped you get that internship last summer. I also know the head scout for the junior Wonderbolts. You can keep pouting about some little crush of yours or you can spend the night in a fancy hotel with a beautiful mare. Besides, she'll never know anyway. Or... did you not tell her about-" "That was a mistake!" He cuts her off. I feel my heart sink to a depth I didn't know was possible. She's manipulating him. That much is clear to me. But... but what didn't he tell me? It's only been a week! What could they have done-? "Mmm, I'm pretty sure when you came inside me it was very much intentional. Plus you haven't even done anything with her yet. You spent one boring night with her and you're acting like everything we've ever had is suddenly gone! We have a history together Rumble. Don't throw it all away for some brief fascination that won't even lift her tail for you. You deserve better than that little runt." I step away from the door and feel my heart start to race again. They had sex recently? I think it was recent at least. That sounds like what she's saying. And he's... he didn't refute it. He even let her say all those terrible things! I don't understand what's going on. Part of me wants to rip the door open and... and... I don't know! Attack? Yell! CRY! I want to hurt her! I want her to leave me alone and let me live my life! What is happening!? Everything starts to go fuzzy and I feel myself start to topple over. I try to correct myself, but my head is spinning too much to make sense of it all. I only realize I've fallen over when I hear the loud thud beneath me. I panic when I feel the suit vibrate and short out. The gentle glow around me flashes away and I'm revealed to the world. CLICK I look up and watch as Rumble sticks his head out and looks around. He's in a formal jacket and tie with his hair slicked back. When we make eye contact we... just stare at each other. He can't believe that I'm laying here staring back at him. I'm... at a loss for words. I don't know what to say. Or what to do. All I can muster is to stare back at him. "What was that?" Diamond calls from the room. "Just... uh... just the room service!" He yells back in a panic. "Go ahead and finish getting ready while I help them." He shuts the door and rushes to my side. He tries to help me up, but I don't accept his assistance. I get up by myself. He tries to tell me something. Tries to tell me that it's not what it seems. Asks what am I even doing here. He goes on in a hushed tone trying not to make a scene. As he talks, something inside me starts to make sense of it all. I'm starting to see what he is. "Rumble." I say quietly. He goes silent as he waits for me to continue. I blink a few times as I stare at him. Trying to think of what to say. But there's one thing to ask. "Did you cheat on me with Diamond?" The panic begins to set within him. He doesn't say anything, but his body language betrays him. Racing breath. Pinprick eyes. Rigid form. I know what's going on finally. He's a child. He may have been sweet and very understanding. But it was all a farce. It was a child doing what he knew he needed to do to get a cookie. It doesn't even matter how much of it was actually real. Enough of it was fake. And like a child who gets caught stealing a cookie, he's going to learn what happens when he breaks the rules. I walk past him and open the door. He starts to panic again. Yammering on about making mistakes and how he couldn't refuse. Even if that's true, I don't care. Diamond see's me coming and falls out of her chair. She tries to back away from me, but I close the distance too quickly for her to escape. Rumble is just standing there. He doesn't know what to do. He can't even believe this is happening. When I get in Diamonds face I stare her down for a moment. She's trying to think of how to defend herself. But there's nothing she can do right now. "I'm going to make you a deal." I tell her quietly. She looks to Rumble, but I grab her chin and force her to look back at me. "Don't look at him. We're talking. No one else." "W-what do you want?" She asks, trying to sound brave. She doesn't have her friends to back her up. Rumble isn't going to intervene. Her Daddy's money isn't going to save her. It's just me and her now. And that's why she's finally scared. "You are going to leave me alone. No more bullying. No more jokes. I don't want you even acknowledging me. If someone else brings me up, you can say I'm not even worth the effort. How's that sound?" She stares at me for a moment before chuckling. "That's not how you make a deal!" She scoffs, gaining a bit of confidence. "And what if I don't? What then?" I stare her down as I feel all the anger, and betrayal, and hurt; all of it just leaves my body. And for a moment I relax myself. She see's this change in me and goes silent. She's waiting for me to act. She's hoping this will turn into something she can rely on Rumble for. If I punch her, he'll protect her. That's what she believes. CRACK Dad taught me when facing multiple opponents there's a phycology to it. The people behind you rarely expect you to strike at them. Not while the one you're facing would be a better target. It was just like Dad taught me. Slide hooves into position. Twist with your hips. Drive from the legs, into your torso, and throw your arm in a tight curve. Rumble couldn't even registered what was happening by the time I caught him across the jaw and sent him flying. He probably could have stayed standing if he was prepared. But a child never expects they're the ones going to get hit. Diamond gives a sharp scream as Rumble drops to the ground. I feel the stinging in my hoof make it go numb. But that doesn't matter anymore. I step over him and stare down at him. He's got a bruise forming on his jaw. He's about to cry as well, but that doesn't matter to me anymore. "It's over Rumble." I tell him before walking off. When I clear the space between them Diamond rushes to his side, fussing over his face. "Oh, and Rumble?" They both go quiet and look back to me. I look over my shoulder and stare back at them. "Never come to Mooseden again. For your own safety." I shut the door behind myself and start to walk out of the building. My mind kind of goes blank as I walk out. A few people walk by but none of them say anything. In the main lobby the staff watch as I walk out, confused by my presence. Star sees me and chases after, confusing them further. I make it to the street where I stop and stare up at the night sky. Star doesn't say anything. I think he can tell something didn't go correctly. I really cared about him. He had a way of making me feel... special. But that was all a lie. He was just trying to play at my heart and get... something. And I was dumb enough to go along with it. I should have know that wasn't going to work out. People like him and weirdos like me aren't meant to mix. I should have just stayed in my lane and kept my dumb mouth shut. "So... I take it something bad happened." Star tells me, stepping up to stand beside me. He's not looking at me though. He's looking up at the sky with me. "Yeah... something like that." I tell him. The day is finally catching up with me. I can feel the weight of everything finally catching up and bear down on my hooves. "Look, thanks for helping Star. I really do appreciate it. But... if it's all the same to you... I'd like to be alone now." "Of course. Don't sweat it." He goes to leave but stops when he hears something. "Incoming." I look over and see Rumble flying in. I want to run, but my legs won't let me. I'm too tired to run. "Shadow!" He yells as he lands in front of me. Star flashes in between us and forces Rumble back on his haunches. "She wants to be alone." He tells Rumble, igniting his horn. Rumble gets up and stares at him before turning that anger towards me. "Are you kidding me!?" He yells, flaring his wings at Star. "You punch me for cheating while you already have a backup!?" "We're not together!" Star yells as he steps forward. "And you're lucky all she did was punch you!" "Shadow!" Rumble yells as he zips into the air and lands in front of me. He goes to say something but Star suddenly teleports him away. "You may want to get a move on. This is going to get ugly." Star tells me as he paws at the sidewalk. In the distance I head the air break as Rumble races towards us again. I don't say anything. I just stare up at the night sky. This is the bed I've made. So now I need to lay in it. I don't care what he says anymore. I know what's true. My friends will know what's true. And as much as I want to scream and yell at him... there's no point anymore. I'm done with him. I don't owe him any explanations. I don't owe him anything for that matter. I hear Rumble racing closer and closer as Star starts to prepare a massive spell. I can hear a small crowd begin to murmur as the two of them begin to face off. FLASH Everything goes quiet when a sudden flash appears behind me. The crowd gasps and Rumble stops mid flight. I turn around, but not out of curiosity. I... just turned. Out of reflex almost. Standing behind me is Luna. She's in her greater form and has her wings open in a commanding pose. He hair whips in the air as if there was a storm blowing through the area. She's glances over her shoulder to me with those draconic eyes before looking back to Rumble. "If you have a problem with my daughter... then let's hear it." Her tone is regal. Threatening from the level of authority she carries. The street has gone still as they wait for something. Rumble tries to say something. But what could he say at a time like this? He takes a few steps back before bowing his head to her. Luna just narrows her eyes down at him and turns back to me. "Did he hurt you?" she asks in calm, soothing tone. I shake my head. It's the most I can muster right now. She looks to the crowd at large before flaring her wings back out. With a glow of her horn we vanish from the street and appear in the medical ward of the castle. I look down the rows of beds and curtains in relief. I'm finally done with that! I let out a sigh and collapse onto myself. But before I can hit the ground Luna picks me up in her magic and carries me to a nearby bed. "Remove whatever armor that is while I gather some healing potions." She tells me before walking off. In a daze I grab the zipper and start to pull it down. The suit is a bit difficult to remove. And halfway I almost gave up with how tired I am. But I push through and force the latex off of my body. The cold air stings at my sides, but I just sit at the end of the bed and wait for Luna to come back. I guess there's one last person to deal with before I can finally sleep. She comes back with several medicinal potions and tools hovering around her. She offers me a potion and I take it in my hooves. As she starts to give me a once over I start to sip at the liquid. It has a bitter taste, but I can feel every sip course through my body and start the healing process. "So... is there anything you're willing to tell me tonight?" She asks as she starts to wrap a cut on my leg. I think about it for a moment before I shake my head. "Okay then. Let's finish this so you can go-" "Why did you tell them I'm your daughter?" I ask suddenly. She's taken aback for a moment but continues administering first aid. "Because you are." She tells me simply. "Signed the forms and everything-" "No... I mean..." I try to think of what I'm trying to say. I don't know how to say it though. Luna see's this and stops the first aid. She takes the potion from my hooves and sets it on a nearby table. "We've never been too close, have we?" She asks as she sits in front of me. I shrug off her question. "Shadow, there is nothing you can hide from me. I know how you feel." I stay quiet, trying my best to avoid her gaze. I know it's pointless to escape her right now. But... I just don't want to talk about it. But... I guess we're doing this. "I don't think you do." I tell her quietly. She reaches forward and brushes my mane a few times before forcing me to look at her. I see the compassionate look in her eyes and start to waver. "I do know. I know becuase I helped raise you. I know because I've been there with you for the past six years. I may not have been as close as you and your father, but I was there Shadow." I pull my gaze away from her and go back to looking at the ground. "Dad was supposed to be here tonight. But he left because he had something better to do." She lets out a sigh and pulls her hoof back. "Yes, so I heard. He was the one to tell me what was happening right now. And although I agree he should have stayed with you, this was something that he couldn't help you with." I feel a tear escape and roll down my cheek. I turn the other way and try to hide it. "I'm tired of needing help." I tell her, almost breaking again. "I don't know what I thought was going to happen... but I thought we were going to do it together. But... all he has time for is Tempestive and the Spartans." She reaches forward and pulls me in for a hug. When my face hits her chest I finally lose control and weep into her coat. All of the stress from the day melts away and flows through me. My cries echo throughout the empty ward as we sit there. She just strokes my back. Waiting patiently for me to let it all out. I try to make it quick, but she stopped me from doing that. Just a simple shake of the head and another hug and I was crying all over again. At first it hurt. My eyes were burning and my lungs wheezed from the uneven breathing. But after awhile the pain subsided and it my wails became a sob. Soon I was holding onto her as she gently rocked side to side while slowly rubbing my back. Eventually I rub my eyes and start to think again. I know it was unfair to say that to her. No matter what she say's, Tempestive is their biological child. There's... just no way of bridging a gap like that. But... there's no reason for me to put that on them. I know how badly they wanted a child back then. And with Dad being... dad, the moment they had a chance I knew they were going to have a child. Back then I would dream about them taking me to some orphanage and leaving me there. Or, on really bad nights, I would dream of them taking me back to that mine and abandoning me to that monster. Those were usually the nights I'd wet the bed or wake up crying... And... they would both come into my room. Dad would take the bed out back to clean it. Mama Luna would take me to the bathroom to wash me. I've always felt guilty about those nights. I couldn't just get over those dreams. Luna would try to talk to me about those nightmares. Coach me through them... And then she started showing up. I figured she was just doing her job. As she would for any other pony. But... she was always there in my dreams. Protecting me. Keeping the spiders at bay. I don't know how I didn't put one and one together. She may have been... distant, but she was there when it mattered. "Mama Luna?" I ask as I go still. "Yes my dear?" "... when was the last time you were in my dreams?" "I check your dreams every night." I feel a tinge of guilt as I realize how dumb I've been. I've felt distant from her because she operates at night. And half the time she is home she has to split her time with me and Tempestive. I feel really stupid for not realizing that sooner. "I'm... I'm sorry-" "Do not apologize for what you felt." She cuts me off quickly and sternly. She pushes me back to look at me properly. I look back to her golden eyes as they glow in the night. She looks determined. As if she's speaking from a deep, dark place. "You cannot hide what you truly feel Shadow. No matter how much it hurts to admit it, if you bottle it up it will become something dark. There are so many things in this world that can corrupt you. Do not let something so small and trivial grow into something that could destroy us. We love you. No matter what. So... please. If there's something wrong, tell us. Please." I choke up and nod to her. I know she's right. I shouldn't let my own fears get between us. Especially when they have so much experience to give me. But... I don't know if I can. There are things I don't even tell myself. How can I share them with... anyone!? But... I can at least start with the easy ones. Something is better than nothing, I guess. "I... broke up with Rumble. Tonight." I tell her slowly. She takes a deep breath and nods to me. "I'm so sorry Shadow. I know he was special to you." She tells me, but I shake my head to her. My instinct is to keep quiet. Say nothing more. But... I push the last part out. "I... uhm... He cheated on me with that rival girl. And... well, I punched him in the face." "Just a punch?" I shake my head at that. I'm sure everyone I tell this to will say the same thing. "Just a punch. But... now I'm afraid that I'm not going to be able to... able to find anyone that special ever again. Because... because I think I loved him. And now... now I've ruined it." It hurts to think about it. But I don't think I'll ever find someone like Rumble again. Rumble wanted to be with me. He sought me out and put the effort in. Even if the intentions were for mixed reasons, no one else in my life has done that for me. Not at a romantic level at least. "Shadow... I'm going to say something that won't help in the slightest. But it's the truth. You are so young. There's plenty of time to find love and companionship. I know he seemed like the only one that could fill that role. But trust me when I say that there so many other people out there that will love you just as much. But I understand that the pain right now is real and it feels like an impossible feat. For now, let's focus on you. We can pull you from summer school and we can take some time to think things through before the school year begins. How does that sound?" I mull over her suggestion for a moment. I didn't even think about going back to school. The idea of going back and seeing either Diamond or Rumble... just sounds awful. I'm a little surprised that she suggested that though. She was the one who suggested that I take summer classes. If only to get ahead for my final school year before university. Taking some time off though? What would I even do with myself all day? I could go and help Mooseden I guess. Mom could definitely use the help now that the Kroth are there. But... maybe I should just go full potato and relax. The thought does sound appealing. Stay home, sleep in, read books all day. Leave the world for a bit. It'll only be for a little while. A week, tops! Yeah... that sounds really nice. "It sounds... like you give advice for a living." She chuckles and smiles to me, brushing my mane gently. "Thank you... for everything. You... are a really good mom." "I do my best." She tells me, smiling from the compliment. "But be sure to say that in front of Miles so I can rub it in his face." "Of course." We share a laugh. I finally feel... okay. Not good, but... not bad. She goes back to administering first aid and I finally let myself relax. She keeps me from laying down though, needing to add a few bandages to my chest. I didn't know how scratched up I was from all this running around. "So, what now? Shadow Knight of Mooseden. Daughter of the Night Mother and the eldest of the Captain of the Spartans." The formality of the question catches me off guard. I know my family is... odd. But saying it like that really puts a lot into perspective. I think on it for a moment before shrugging back. "Honestly, bed. I wanna go and sleep the next week away." I tell her, getting a low hum in response. "I think I'll take your advice and return to school when the next school year starts. If that's really okay with you?" "It's more than okay to step back and say that you need a break Shadow." She tells me as she finishes her first aid. She motions to the pillow and I move to get under the sheets. I wanted to sleep in my own bed. But I guess this will do too. "I only asked in that matter to make a point to you. No matter what titles you may have, or whatever obligations you have, there are points where everypony needs to have a break. It is not weakness. It is not laziness. All things must enter the night and rest. Recharge. Repair yourself for the coming days. Otherwise you'll burn out and wither away. Am I clear Shadow?" "Mhm. You should really look into work as a consultant or something." I laugh at my own joke. She hums back to me and moves around the bed to tuck me in. It's a little silly, being as old as I am, but I'm not stopping her. As she finishes someone opens the door at the end of the hall. Luna goes to speak to them but stops at the foot of the bed. "Miles? Why are you covered in blood?" I go to get up but she uses a wing to signal me to stop. I listen to the wet footsteps of Dad walking towards us as he tries to think of something to say. "... there's not a good story to this really. I went to the room where the void walker was being held. He had a bucket of blood and... it spilled on me." He walks into view and, sure enough, he's covered in blood. "And... you came here, covered in blood, why?" Luna asks as she levitates a few towels over. He starts to wipe himself clean before he looks over to me. He looks to Luna for a moment before walking up to me and squats down to be eye level. I feel a bit uneasy from his gaze, and not just because of the streaks of red. "Hey... I... hm, well. I dropped the ball today Shadow. On more than one occasion." He tells me as he continues to wipe himself clean. But I can tell he's doing it to avoid eye contact. He's still embarrassed from everything that happened earlier. I try to think of what to say, but I just retreat slightly into my blanket. Too nervous to say anything right now. "She and Rumble had a little fight. She's going to take the rest of the summer to reorient herself." She more instructs Dad than tells him. He looks over to me and gives me an angry look. "Want me to make him disappear? I can do that if you need me to." He half jokes. I just shake my head. I don't want him dead. There's a small part of my mind where we'll somehow get back together. Even if it's just wishful thinking. "Of course not... it's late. Want us to go so you can sleep? We can talk whenever you're ready. I nod to him and he stands up. He tries to say something, but he loses it in his throat. He reaches out to me, but stops because of all the blood. He looks to Luna and they share a look before he starts to walk away. I feel myself start to panic again. I need to say something now! I can't let the night end like this! "Luna is a great mom!" I yell at him. It catches both of them off guard and I immediately feel silly for saying it so loudly. But it only last a moment before they both laugh. "Don't I know it." He tells me with a big smile. Luna gets a smug smile and mouths a thank you to me. "Aren't we lucky to have her in our lives?" "Yeah... and you're a great dad too! I-I'm... tum te amo!" They each give me a loving look before dad moves back to me. He leans in and plants a kiss on my forehead, covering most of his chest with the towels. "We love you too Shadow. Now get some rest." He turns to leave, motioning for Luna to go first. She gives me one last goodnight before walking away. As Dad watches her go the magical portal on his back opens up. I feel my heart skip a beat as I watch the white boney figure appear in the middle of it. I can see Corpus Glacius's hazy form look back at me. But... there was no ill will. It was... almost as if he was... checking on me? As soon as it appeared it vanished when Dad turned to look at me one last time. One of his eyes lost to the darkness from before. "Bene dormi, Shadow." Author's Note Tum te amo = I love you both Bene dormi = Sleep well Brony on! Chapter 270 Rest... or ElseChapter 270 Rest... or Else Perspective: Luna As the sun rises and the night ends I can't help but sigh in annoyance. The night started out so lovely. Ponies were lined up for questions. I was making real connections with people and helping them with their lives! It was a night I dreamed of for so long! It's been a minute since I've last had a chance to run a full night court. It's been even longer since it's gone so well! Ponies are starting to realize that I am both their queen and fully able to help them. Helping the ponies of this land... it's nice to get back to what I was called for. Then Miles walked in. I love him, I really do. But he has a way of just showing up and dropping the world on you. I know he doesn't intend for it to be like that. And truth be told the world has a way of dropping on his lap. But that doesn't mean it doesn't become tiresome at times. An entire faction of the Unfamiliar surrendering. Just like that! And he didn't go on a murderous rampage! I'm proud of him for that much at least. I've seen his dreams before. I know how he views them. I know it wasn't easy. We barely go him to accept the Unfamiliar within the Emerald City! And they at least had the benefit of being out of sight. Now there's a group just outside of Mooseden. Maybe we can keep things going in this direction. If one group willingly laid down their arms then maybe others will too. Maybe this is the start of an easing of tensions. Can this be the catalyst of a new peace? One can hope at least. And then there was Shadow. She may be adopted but she is definitely Miles's kid. They both have a way of taking things from little personal issues to... well. Shadows issues don't quite feel as if they're going to end the world. But they definitely grow out of proportion. I never thought I'd be as close to her as I am though. Especially early on. She was so timid and quiet back then. There was so much time spent waiting for her to open up to me. I can't even remember how long it took to even have a conversation with the poor girl! Then one night I came home and there she was. Sitting on the couch, wrapped up in a blanket, reading one of my favorite books. We spent the whole night talking about it, speculating about various parts, showing her my small collection of the authors work. She was so excited! We bonded over books. We spent so many nights after that reading. But over the last few years we started drifting apart. I thought it was just teenage angst or something. I had no idea she felt the way she did. If I had known... We're past that part now. Now I do know. So it's time to put in a greater effort. Especially after last night. I almost blasted that kid into the stratosphere. Probably should have. I knew one day this was going to happen though. Not the heart break, but the dating. Maybe I thought we had more time because of how antisocial Shadow is. But it was bound to happen. No matter how much it upsets Miles. I look over to Celestia and smile to her as we finish our work. At least I can trust my sister to live a drama free life. "Shall we head down for breakfast?" She asks as she flies over, landing gently beside me as I walk into my bedroom. "Or do you need to head back to Ponyville?" "Let's have breakfast together, but I should warn you. It's the whole family today." I tell her as we walk through my old bedroom. I rarely sleep here anymore. But Celestia insists that it stays exactly as it was. I think she's getting a tad lonely in this castle all by herself. It would explain why she gets so excited to leave. "Everyone? You mean my favorite niece and nephew duo are here as well and you'd think that would be a deal breaker!?" She teases, bumping her hip against my. I chuckle at her but slowly think on Shadow again. Celestia notices this immediately and gives me a confused look. "Sorry. It's just... a lot happened last night. Both in a family and political sense. Could you do me a favor this morning?" I ask her as we wait by my door. "Of course sister. What happened? Is everypony okay?" I rub my eyes for a moment and I recall last night. "Tia... what do you think of Shadow? And I mean truly, what do you think of her?" She glances around from the question. Clearly she wasn't expecting a question like that. "Well... I would say that she's a very special girl. I used to pity the girl for her troubled past. But as I've gotten to know her I think she's growing into a fine young mare. She's has great potential within her. I also see a lot of positive influence from you and Miles within her. Your genius and Miles's dedication, among other traits. Why do you ask? What happened?" I tell her about the events of last night. And I tell her everything. The drama between Shadow and the other girl. How a colt was thrown into the mix. I try to explain how Shadow put all of this pressure to fix it because of Miles and his reputation. I nearly had to drag her back when I told her that part. I'm sure if I let her she'd go hunt him down and give him a piece of her mind. And maybe she should. But there's more to tell her right now. I continue and tell her what I know about the Kroth. When Miles was finally able to sleep I was able to get into his mind and see what he was talking about. Though, because it was a dream everything was a bit distorted. It took a bit of work to get everything relatively normalized. I actually spent most of the night within the dreams of family. "I've never known Miles to be so fearful before sister," I tell her as we lie back onto my bed. We had moved over mid conversation to sit but now we're lying side by side and looking up to the ceiling together. "I don't know what to do about those peoples either. Can we truly trust them so close to our home? I don't want to risk Tempestive or Shadow. But I don't know if moving them would be wise either." "Why not? Don't you think it's time to tell Tempestive about his place as royalty? And while we're at it, why not tell him of Miles and his dual nature? He may be young, but the world isn't waiting for a better time. He's going to learn of it all sooner or later. Why not now when we can still control the conversation?" "Hm. And telling him and moving here would be in no way self serving, right sister?" I say as I glance at her. She just smiles and shrugs. "I have no idea what you're alluding to, dear sister!" I poke at her with the tip of my wing, getting her to chuckle. I try to think of that conversation. He's still so young! The entire reason we've waited to tell him is so he can grow without the worry of a nation on his shoulders. Not to mention that he's half human! I've actually never thought of that aspect before. Not in great detail at least. It would put all the hopes and dreams of Terradisia on his shoulders when he learns of his heritage. What questions could he possibly ask? And how are we going to answer them? And how am I going to explain to Miles that I can turn human as well? "I don't know. At the very least we'll wait for the human conversation until Miles is in a better state of mind. He's... under enough stress as it is." I tell her as I try to think about the rest of the conundrum. "Very well. Then how about this then. Send him to school!" I look to her in confusion. She shifts to be on her side and takes a stern look. "I can count his friends with my legs sister. Friends his age that is. You want him to grow up normal but you're also hiding him from the world! Well the world came knocking and it's time to let him leave the nest! He needs to make friends! He needs to go and have his adventures, get into trouble, get into fights; he needs to start finding out who he is!" "But-" "No buts! Unless you want him to have the social skills of Twilight before I forced her to leave the castle?" I think on that and shake my head. "No... no I do not... not that there's anything wrong with Twilight!" "We love Twilight!" Celestia agrees. "But she was a hermit! And if we're being honest, a tad bit of a know it all. And we don't want that for Tempestive. Socially speaking, we don't want him falling behind the other kids his age. It worked wonders for Shadow, even if things now are... tense. She will get through this and be a better person for it all. A fresh new setting could do everypony wonders right now! That's why you should all move back here to Canterlot-" "Oh you!" I groan as I give her a light push and roll off the bed. She laughs again and stands with me . Truth be told, I don't know if I want Tempestive in public schools. Nothing against those schools! I know they are great! But... Tempestive is just so far ahead the others! Miles's lesson plans have really unlocked his mind and he absorbs the information so quickly! He does math at higher levels than I can! He would be so bored in that kind of setting... But am I just holding onto him? Am I smothering his ability to grow on his own. Maybe it is time for him to... leave the nest. "You might have a point sister." I tell her as I head to my vanity. I sit at the mirror and drop into the seat. Celestia walks behind me and levitates a brush over. She starts to comb my coat and I hum in satisfaction. It reminds me of when we were little and we would curl up together as she would brush me. "Of course I have a point!" She jokes. patting my back with the brush. "I'm your older sister! I know best!" "Ah yes, my older sister! So wise!" I muse back sarcastically. "But we probably won't be moving back within the near future. Not unless you want all of Terradisia's problems on your doorstep." "I mean... if I got to see more of my family, it would be worth it." I glance back at her and we make eye contact. She offers me a coy smile before trying to busy herself with the brush. "It's... not as easy for me to just... leave. The castle that is! I know you've taken so many of the responsibilities when you ascended to be queen, and I'm not complaining about anything! But... well, they day has its way of escaping with all of my time." "I'm sorry sister," I tell her but she shakes her head. "I just miss you all, that's it." She tells me as she stops brushing and pulls me in for a hug. "Even Miles, despite his... himness!" "I'll make sure we'll visit more often sister, promise." I tell her as I hug her arms. We give each other a squeeze before her stomach rumbles between us. I give her a knowing look and he blushes slightly. "Well then... shall we?" She says as she lets go of me. "Of course. We wouldn't want my wise older sister withering away!" I joke as I poke at her sides. She slaps my hoof away and rushes to the door. "I will have you know that I am down TWO whole pounds, thank you very much!" she defends and I walk after her, still trying to poke at her sensitive sides. She giggles as I hit just below her ribs, her most ticklish spot. And also where she's the most plush. "TWO POUNDS!" When race down to the private dinning room and find the rest of the family here already. This dinning hall is much smaller and only seat ten. Miles is at the end of the table trying to talk Tempestive down as he bounces in his seat. He's in his alicorn form. When I left him in the morning he was struggling to change. I don't imagine his head is feeling too good right now. Shadow is across from Tempestive and is half awake. But she's nodding out and on the verge of falling over. Celestia wastes no time rushing to Tempestive and scooping him up in a giant hug. A hug that he tries to escape but is too small to. I take the seat by Shadow and rest a wing over her shoulders. She jostles awake and looks up to me. I offer her a smile and she leans against me with a small nuzzle. I look over to Miles and he offers me a smile as well. "Celestia, good morning." Miles says to her as she nuzzles aggressively against Tempestive. He just looks like a small angry cat that's been caught by an overly affectionate child. It's enough to get a chuckle out of me. "Miles." She says back to him, paying him little mind. "Shadow, how are we feeling this morning?" "I wish I was still asleep." She groans from my side. I use my wing to rub her shoulder. I know it's going to be rough, but just hang in there. Everything goes quiet for a moment. Well, as quiet as it can be while Tempestive grumbles in annoyance. I look around the table before looking to Celestia. She catches my look and nods to me. Almost as if she's telling me to speak up. I know what she wants me to say, but I don't know if it's really the best time to speak on it. The chef comes around and starts to lay out our breakfast. It seems we're having mixed fruits and oatmeal today. Once the food is set Celestia gives Tempestive a kiss on the cheek before finally setting him down. He tries to rub his cheek clean before digging into the food. But when no one else eats he stops and looks around in confusion. "Was I suppose to wait? Cause of the castle and all?" He asks with a mouth full of food. "No honey. Go ahead-" "Actually!" Celestia cuts me off. I shake my head as I stare at her but she just leans down to whisper into Tempestive's ear. "Tia! This isn't the time for that!" I tell her sternly. But she just sits up and smiles at me. Tempestive straightens up and gives me the same look. I groan as I glare back at Celestia. That was uncalled for! But now the thought is in his mind. So we're never going to hear the end of it now. I look to Miles and he's not paying attention. He's looking down at the silverware in front of him deep in thought. I can guess where his mind is, but I'll have to talk some more with him later. Right now I need to get him here and now. "So... Miles?" I say as I use my magic to tug at a wing. He shakes his head and looks to me. "Yeah? Sorry... mind was gone for a moment. What did I miss?" He asks, rubbing his eyes to refocus. I look over to Celestia and Tempestive as they each nod their heads enthusiastically. Here goes nothing. "Celestia and I were talking earlier and she made a suggestion that I think we should explore." I tell him, trying to pin as much of this as possible on her. "Okay... what?" He asks, looking over to the two of them. "Tempestive?" I ask, getting him to smile even more broadly. "Can I go to school!?" He asks, giving Miles the biggest puppy dog eyes he can must. "School?" Miles asks, slightly confused. "Like with Rampant and Jet?" "Yeah!" Tempestive says with jump of excitement. "I know there isn't really much to learn but I really really really want to go! It's so boring at home now! I want to go and make new friends and get out of the house! Please Dad! Mom! Please can I go!?" Miles and I share a look. I think I'm already convinced to let him go. Mostly because Celestia is right. He needs to start interacting with other ponies his age. Well... it was probably time a while ago. But the statement still stands. Miles though... I know we talked about it before. But I don't know how he's going to react now. He looks a bit thrown off though. Clearly it's not the conversation he thought we were going to have this morning. "You want to go to school... in Ponyville? Starting this next year?" Miles asks for clarification. "Yeah! Please!?" Tempestive says with a big bob of the head. "You know you aren't going to be there to just hang out right? They'll expect you to do the work as well. Most of which you've learned well beyond." Miles adds, making sure to emphasize how far ahead he'll be. "That's okay! I basically sit around all day at him anyway. At least there I'll be meeting new ponies!" Miles looks to me again and I just shrug back. It seems as if we're all on the same page waiting on him. "Luna? You're okay with this?" He asks. "I... shared your concerns as well. But I think Celestia was right to... broach the subject." I tell him, darting my eyes at her. But she just whistles and looks away. "Well... then we'll sign you up for this next year-" "YES!" Tempestive yells as he takes off into the air. He zips around the room in excitement as Celestia cheers him on, clapping her hooves loudly. Miles and I share a look but ultimately smile to one another. This will be good. He'll step out into the world and get a chance to really live. At least as much as a student can that is. It'll also free up the time we needed to spend at home. Well... I had to spend. I catch Tempestive in my magic and set him back in his seat. He's practically vibrating from all the energy he has. It's... it's adorable to see him so excited. Yeah. Yeah, this will be good. "How about after breakfast you and your aunty Tia go school shopping? Get ready for-" "Can we!?" Tempestive asks excitedly, grabbing Tia's leg. She equally gets excited by the prospect. "I'd love to!" She says looking to me with a new bright smile. "But what about you two?" "We have a few matters to attend to today. You'd actually be doing us a big favor if you could take him for the day-" "Say no more!" Celestia announces as she jumps to her hooves. She grabs Tempestive in her magic and sets him on her back as she starts to trot of the room. "We'll get breakfast in town! But we're going to need papers, pencils, do you need a uniform? We'll get some regardless! And a bag! OOOOO, this is going to be so mush fun!" And like that she's kidnapped my child. He was all too excited to go though. And although I wanted to be there for this as well, I needed to deal with these two before I can catch up with them. I wait a moment for Celestia's voice to disappear before addressing them. They each look as if they know I'm about to lecture them. But at least they know it's coming. "So... where to begin?" I ask as I look between the two of them. They each give me nervous smiles. They know there's no escaping right now. This is happening. "How about I love you and you look fantastic today?" Miles starts. It's a good opener. But I've heard it before. "Super fantastic! Do you have a new conditioner? Cause your coat is so soft!" Shadow adds, hugging my leg more tightly. That's a new one, so extra points to her. "Hm. Well, thank you both for those compliments. So, how are we doing this?" I ask, getting them to look to each other. "Direct orders?" Miles asks Shadow. "Direct orders." She agrees. The family doesn't often get in trouble, but when they do I'm usually the one to discipline them. Though, that's mostly because they've never gotten in so much trouble that Miles had to intervene. He's... much more assertive with that type of parenting. He tries to tone it down. But I often had to remind him that we're not raising soldiers. That, and he's usually getting in trouble with them as well. "Okay then. Well, let's start out with resting. You two will go home and stay home for a minimum twenty four hour period. No questions asked." "I can't do that Luna." Miles starts but I raise a hoof to him. "If you want to fight me on this, I'll get Doctor Monitor to weigh in. I'll get you medically waivered if need be. So are we doing this my way? Or his way?" Miles goes to answer, but can't seem to make a decision. "I-I... a day is fine. I'll just have Storm take over for a day. It shouldn't be an issue." He tells me, shrinking back into his seat. "Mhmm. Shadow, no friends today. Just get home and rest. Okay?" She looks up to me and nods. That was easy... too easy. "And to make sure neither of you try to sneak out I'm going to stay home with the two of you. Just to make sure you're both doing as your told." "To be fair, my friends usually seek me out." Shadow tells me. "I can't guarantee that shit won't make it's way to our door! Especially after the last few days!" Miles protests. "And I think E'Claire and Butterscotch will want to know what's going on! I can't leave them in the dark!" Shadow adds as she sits up. "The Spartans are going to come knocking! I can't stop that from happening! They're going to need guidance-" FLASH THUD The table nearly breaks when I summon two ball and chains. I tilt my head as I look at the two of them, keeping an even smile on my face. "I'm sorry, did I stutter?" I ask, getting the two of them to slowly back up. "You two will go home. You will rest for the entire day. If anyone comes knocking, I will be the one to answer. The world could catch fire and you two would still be bed bound, waiting for my permission to rise. This was not a request. It was an order. Am. I. Clear?" "Yes ma'am." They say in unison. "And because you tried to sneak around me, Miles, the doctor will be coming to give you an evaluation. Shadow, you will spend part of the day with either Miles or myself. There will be no complaining. There will be no sneaking out. And there will be no strenuous activities. We are relaxing for the rest of the day. Come hell or high waters! Do we want to try our luck again?" "No ma'am." They say in unison. I take a serving of fruit and begin to eat. I look over to the two of them as smile devilishly as they wait for permission. "Eat up you two. There's no point in rest without nourishment." Chapter 271 New Kid on the BlockChapter 271 New Kid on the Block Perspective: Tempestive I can't help but laugh as Aunty Celly trots happily down the sidewalks in the shopping district of Canterlot. She's so bubbly today, wonder what's making her so happy? I was a bit disappointed to have to wear a vest for this, but it's a small price to pay to get to explore Canterlot with Aunty Celly. We've stopped at several food vendors for breakfast. Oat bars, prench toast sticks, breakfast sliders; the ponies here really like their food on the go! But it was all really good! Aunty almost got more, but I was too stuffed to eat any more. And she wasn't supposed to eat that large of a breakfast either. Something about two pounds. I have no idea what that meant. We stopped at a small shop that looks like it specialized in writing tools. They have various notebooks and calendar journals. The quills and pens here are all super fancy and individually made in store. I don't think they make for good school supplies though. I tried to tell Tia that, but she said they would last a life time. But when the merchant sided with me she agreed to leave. Luckily the merchant also told us of a nearby store for grade school, so that was nice of him. As we made our way to the next store I noticed that there were several ponies following us too. They all have buzz cuts and look out of place compared to the other ponies around town. Most ponies here have extravagant hair cuts or wear super fancy outfits. Like the ones Rarity makes! But Aunty Celly just said they're probably getting school supplies for their kids as well. I guess the school year is approaching. But why do they all have the same haircuts? I start to focus on how well dressed everypony here is. Even with the vest I feel a little out of place. This town is nothing like Mooseden or Ponyville. The ponies here walk with their noses held high and seem to ignore everyone around themselves. There are a few ponies that look normal, but they aren't dressed up like the others. They also seem to be doing various jobs around town. Sweeping sidewalks. Snuffing out the streetlights. Following other ponies with bags of clothes or other stuff. When we make it to the store my jaw nearly falls off. It definitely looks more the part with the bright colors and murals of kids having fun. Stepping inside we're blasted with the smell of crayons and construction paper. Dozens of other kids are here too. Most seem to be running up and down the aisles screaming in joy as they play with their friends. The front half of the store is made of aisles of schools supplies. But the back is a decent sized indoor playground. Everything about this building is calling to me... begging me to climb it. "Let's start with pencils!" Tia announces as she trots down an aisle, levitating a shopping basket along. I deflate a little as I look down at all of the writing utensils. "But... there's an indoor park in the back." I mention as I stare at the pile of colorful climbing toys. "It has a slide and a rope ladder and all sorts of fun stuff." "Oh yeah?" She asks, jostling me slightly. I look over to her and smile pleadingly. She smiles back and laughs a little. "Let's at least get a few supplies before I turn you loose, okay?" "Okay." I can't help but feel a little disappointed. But I guess I'll live a few minutes without climbing into the massive maze of tunnels. "But you'll play too, right?" "I don't think they were made for ponies my size dear." She tells me with a laugh as she starts to levitate various school supplies into the small basket. I look back to all of the other kids playing and start to feel a little nervous. I've never met this many other kids before. Heck, I've never seen this many kids before! Usually when I meet other kids I have my parents nearby to help. But... now I don't know what to do. I have Tia with me... but it's not the same. Tia looks back to me to asks something but stops before saying anything. I guess she can see the nervousness on my face. She thinks for a moment before she levitates me down and leans in to whisper to me privately. "You know what I do when I'm nervous?" She asks quietly. "You get nervous?" I ask in surprise. I've never seen her scared before. I didn't even know it was possible! "Of course I do! Everypony does! It's a part of growing up. And you're never truly done growing up!" She says, nuzzling my side and making me giggle slightly. "But whenever I get nervous I just take a deep breath and take a step forward! The first step is always the hardest part. But once you can do that, you can do the next part." "But what's the next part?" I ask, intrigued. She takes a look around to make sure the coast is cleared before leaning back in. "Well, usually I want to do something or join a game. So I take a deep breath, step forward, and ask if ponies to join. Whether it's to play a game or join a group in something, asking nicely is a good way to get started." "But... what if they say no?" I ask, glancing at all the other ponies running around the play area. She hums and smiles back to me as she nuzzles the top of my head and brings me back to look at her. "Then I say 'okay, maybe next time.' Ponies are allowed to say no Tempestive. And sometimes it isn't a good time to join in. But asking is the first step in trying to make new friends. Because they might say no. But they also might say yes! But you'll never know if you don't put yourself out there. And it can be scary at first. But they might be just as scared as you are! But we'll never know until we take the first step. And isn't that exciting?" I look back to the other kids and swallow the lump in my throat. I normally just hang out with Jet or Rampant. I don't really have any other friends. But... maybe they want to play too? I guess I can give it a try. "Can I give it a try?" I ask, trying to sound brave. She looks around for a moment before nodding to me. I take off and head towards the playground but stop at the end of the aisle. I think about it for a moment before running back to Aunty Celly and hug her leg. "Thanks Aunty." I say quickly before running off again. I hate being that affectionate! But... I guess this time was okay. I stop on the padded flooring of the playground and take a look around. There are several groups of kids playing at various parts of the small tower. I could just go to one of them and ask to join... But maybe I should try a few things on my own first. Do what I want to do before trying to join a group. Yeah... that's a good plan! I head to the rope ladder and start to climb it. The rope sways with every step and it's a little difficult to do, but that's the fun of it! When I make it half way up a group of kids take up the top and start talking there. I stare at them for a moment before climbing back down. They're mid-conversation, I don't want to be rude. That's okay though. There's a jungle gym at the back that's just begging for me to climb! That could be fun! I run over and go to start climbing when I see a group of five girls sitting in the middle of the obstacle. They all stop talking and stare at me as I slowly back away from them. I don't know what's going on there, but I don't want to be a part of it. Okay... so maybe I should check out the slide? There's a line of unicorns waiting their turn to climb up the spiral stairs to the top. So I take my place a the back of the line and wait my turn. The kids in front of me glance at me before whispering to each other and giggling. I feel a little embarrassed, so I try to keep to myself. "What school do you go to?" The purple unicorn colt in front of me asks. I look around to make sure he's talking to me before realizing I'm the only one here. "Uh... Ponyville?" I honestly don't know what the schools name is, so hopefully that makes sense to them. "Ponyville?" One of the other kids asks, looking to the others. "You don't go to school here in Canterlot?" "Um... no." I tell him. They all look to each other before giggling again. I feel my ears fall back before they start to surround me. I feel myself start to get scared but then I think back to what Celestia told me. So I take a deep breath, step forward, and ask a question. "What school do you guys go to?" "We go to Canterlot's school of gifted unicorns!" One of them says, sounding superior. "My family has been going to that school for four generations!" Another one says, ribbing one of the others. "What are you even doing here?" Another one asks getting the others to laugh more loudly. Any confidence I had before disappeared when he asked that. Am I not supposed to be here? "I'm here with my aunt to get school supplies." I tell them quietly. "Your family does their own shopping? Don't you have any servants to do that for you?" They all laugh at me again and I feel myself start to shrink. I don't understand why they're laughing. Did I do something wrong? "He doesn't even have his cutie mark yet!" Another one points out. I try to cover my flank with my tail, but the kids on the other side point at me and start to laugh. I feel myself start to shrink as the laugh down at me. Normally stuff like this wouldn't bother me... but normally ponies wouldn't point and laugh at me for not having a cutie mark. I try to think of what to do or say, but I can't their laughing out of my head. I feel the energy within me start to swell up as I try to make myself as small as possible. I don't want to be over here anymore. I just want to go back to Tia and leave! I want my mom and dad! FLASH I blink a few times as my vision slowly returns to me. I just casted a spell. I take a look around and find myself standing next to Celestia in the store. Did I teleport to her? She looks as if she's about to burst into tears with the biggest, albeit wobbly, smile. I look around the aisle and notice that I'm back by the pencils. I look down to the playground and... I see myself. I've just made it to the padded flooring and I'm looking around the playground. I watch myself try to decide on where to go before running towards the rope ladder. But... how can this be? Did... Did I just time travel!? "Tempestive?" Aunty Celly asks. She quickly wipes her face in an attempt to hide her teary face. "Didn't you just run off?" "Um..." I try to think of what to say, but I don't know what to tell her. I shouldn't tell her that I just time traveled. Who knows what would happen then!? But now that I'm here we can just leave! "Well... the thing is-" "Celestia?" I jump a little from the new voice. From around the corner a purple unicorn... Alicorn, walks around and smiles up to Celestia. "Twilight Sparkle!" Celestia exclaims before rushing over to her and embracing her quickly. "Imagine running into you here! And where is Speaks Softly? Off playing with the others?" I perk up at that name. I remember her. She was the girl in the library when I blinked last time. The cute one. Not the loud one. ... NOT CUTE! I DON'T THINK SHE'S CUTE! She's just... well read! ... I shake my head and listen in on their conversation. But whatever they're talking about is boring work stuff. If I wanted to listen to that stuff I'd hang out with Mom. But I think one of them said that Speaks Softly is here too. Maybe we can hang out. Plus I think it'd be nice to let her know I didn't die the last time I randomly disappeared in front of her. Yeah, I should do that. But where would she be right now. I leave Celestia's side and start to look down the aisles. But she's not down any of them. When I make it to the aisle that looks down to the slide I see myself getting laughed at. I step back a little as I watch them make fun of me. There are a few adults in the aisle watching as well. But they don't seem to care. One of them even chuckled to themselves! But they all go quiet when I disappear. The bullies blink a few times before fanning out to look for me. I don't know why they're so intent on finding me, but I need to make sure they don't find me. I take one last look around before I notice something. Up in the tubes of the jungle gym there is a lone capsule with a few rounded out windows. I can see a purple head of hair with a single yellow streak and a light grey horn. That has to be her! But of course she's in the jungle gym. All of the previous bullies are scouting around try to find me. So there's no way in without one of them seeing me. But... there is one option. Dad did say it was the most impressive spell ponies ever made. But... I'm not very food at it. I can try to sneak my way in. But I don't think I'd make it without getting caught. So... I guess I'll try teleporting in. I square off my stance and roll my neck. I need to focus on this spell if it's going to work right. I don't need a lot of magic. I don't even need a lot of finesse. I just need to pay attention and- "Tempestive?" Aunty Celly asks from my side. I yelp in surprise before flashing away. I drop down a little and land on my butt. I groan in pain as I rub my backside. That could have gone better. I take a look around for a moment before smiling in success. I made it into the jungle gym! I look back and lose my smile when I see the empty capsule. She's not in here. But I could have sworn that she was! I walk in and take a look around. I shake my head in disbelief when I watch me and Aunty Celly enter the store. I time traveled again! But that's not what I meant to do! I just wanted to make it up here! Why is my magic messing with me like this. I groan as I slump against the wall and drop to the ground. Am I forever cursed to do this? If that's the case when will Tempus come and train me? Because I need it sooner rather than later. Maybe I should just avoid magic until I start my training. At least this time I'm only jumping a few minutes at a time. If anything happened like last time... "Oh." I lose track of my thoughts when I hear a surprised voice next to me. I look over and sure enough there she is. Speaks Softly. She looks exactly as I remember. A coat that reminds me of a rain cloud on a sunny day. Lavender hair with a single streak of sunlight yellow by her horn. Small wings tucked away neatly. And the brightest blue eyes I've ever seen. She has a book with her and her expression tells me that she wasn't expecting anyone to be here. I immediately jump to my hooves and stand up straight in front of her. I don't know why, but my stomach feels as if it's about to do a back flip and my hooves are starting to sweat. I try to say something, but my attention is brought outside. I look down and see myself getting bullied again. I groan as I watch myself get belittled. I'm such a wimp. "How are you there and here at the same time?" Speaks Softly asks as she walks up right beside me. I immediately feel my heart race as she brushes up against me to look down. "Ugh. Dockside." "Dockside?" I ask, my voice cracking a little. She shakes her head and watches them torture me. "Dockside Extortionist. Quite the name right? His dad works with the East Equestrian Trading Company. He's all over Canterlot's school for gifted unicorns. I guess he thinks it's his job to be the bully for everypony. But I don't get why. He's a talented caster, so I don't think he's compensating for anything. Well... He's good at one thing but everypony thinks he's the best mage since Starswirl! But he's a big bully! They should just ban him from the school altogether!" Even though she's speaking angrily her voice is still smooth and quiet. I don't think she could get louder than a mouse even if she tried. And despite being so mad... she's... very well read. ... Yeah... super well read. I glance down and watch as I suddenly disappear and reappear beside Celestia. The flash seems to catch Twilight Sparkles attention and brings her over for their conversation. Speaks Softly looks over to me and tilts her head in confusion. I blush a little as I try to think of what to say without sounding like a total wimp. "Yeah... he's a jerk." I couldn't think of anything else to say! She was staring right at me and I couldn't look back! She tilts her head again but this time to look at my vest. I notice this and try to hide it from her. But she just levitates a pendant out and puts it on. A shimmer of magic later and her wings disappear. ... WHY DON'T I JUST USE A PENDANT!? "That looks far more comfortable." I tell her as I scratch my wings against the vest. She offers a small smile before sitting down in the corner of the capsule. I notice that the angle is perfect for the view I had earlier. But I wasn't in sight... so I quickly take the corner besides her and sit. "I'm glad you got better... my mom told me that you were just having issues with your magic before. What happened?" She asks me as she hugs her book closely. That's right. The last time I saw her I attacked her while losing control of my magic! "Aw man... I'm really sorry about that." I tell her as I rub my face in embarrassment. "I... well... there was this spell that I found. And... it was far too advanced for me. But... I guess it took control. I'm really sorry." "I accept your apology." She tells me with a small smile as she hugs her book more tightly. I smile back to her as she fumbles with her book for a moment. "I've heard of books that can give you access to powerful spells. But I didn't know they could do that... it must have been scary." "Well..." I think back to that whole situation and recall how scary it was. But then I remember something I was told before. "It was scary. But that's okay. Because without fear there is no courage." She looks to me and smiles before hiding her smile behind her book. I immediately feel my confidence sky rocket from how... well read she is. We both go quiet for a moment as neither of us knows what to say next. I take a look back out and see myself disappear for the second time... or was it third? Time travel is weird. "So... how were you here and there and the same time? Was it an illusion?" Speaks Softly asks. I shake my head to that. "No. I'm no good at illusions. It was... well... a time travel spell." I tell her slowly. I don't think I'm supposed to tell anypony. But... she seems trustworthy! Her face lights up as she comes out from behind her book. She's clearly impressed by what I said. "Wow... really!? But how can you do that? Temporal magic is some of the most difficult magic to perform!" "Heh, yeah. But I didn't intend to do it. It sorta just... happened. I don't really have control of it yet." I tell her as I rub the back of my neck and avoid eye contact. "Oh... but it's still impressive that you did it! I can barely manage a simple teleportation spell." I go to tell her that it's much easier than it looks. But then I realize that I can't even do that properly yet either. I look at her and we make eye contact for a moment before we both look away from each other. "So... what book is that?" I ask as I try to hide the slight blush on my face. "Oh, uh... 'Starswirl the bearded and the infinite cosmos'. It's a theological book about magic. Kind of a long read-" "But a good one!" I tell her quickly. We look to one another in excitement. "I've read it twice now." "Only twice?" She asks jokingly. "I think I've read it five times now! Not to mention any and all books by Starswirl! He's my favorite writer when it comes to magical theory! Though I do have a pension Clover the Clever and Magna Anima. Anything pre-tribal unification really!" She continues to go off on the various fields of magic she's interested in and I feel myself finally start to relax. It's nice to listen to her talk. Especially when it's about something that she's clearly fascinated by. All of my troubles from before seem to fade away as I lose track of time. Right now it's just the two of us... And I haven't introduced myself yet. Speaks Softly and I spent the entire time talking about magic! It was a lot of fun! I've never met another pony my age that was equally interested in magic as I am. And she's really good too! Her mom is apparently some kind of prodigy and has been teaching magic since she could walk! Maybe I should start pushing my parents to teach me more. I know that they're both really good. Dad more so at enchanting and mom at spellcasting. But it could be good to start leaning more. I don't even know how long we've been talking at this point. She's brought a book about magical theory and we've been talking about where magic comes from. She seems to think that it's something tied to the land and is channeled through ponies. But that's not correct. I tell her about how magic comes from individuals and channeling is something you can do in specific areas, but she disagreed. Though when I pointed out that other species have magic as well and they don't have the same systems for magic as we do, namely a horn, she had to reflect on it for a moment. "I've never thought about that before." She tells me as she looks at the cover of her book. "But Starswirl was so convincing in his assertations. Where did he go wrong?" "Well he was mostly listening to the tribes instead of post-Terradisian Roam." I tell her, reflecting on Mom's history lessons. Never thought those would come in handy. "If you look at the timeline of his writings most occurred while he was traveling the world. I think one or two were written while he stayed in Roam, and those are the most accurate." She looks at the book before tilting her head in confusion. When she looks to me I feel a little nervous again. She looks a little curious, but also a little irked. "Are you Terradisian?" Oh, phew! I thought she was going to be mad! "Yeah! Well, I mean I am but I am also a part of Equestria. I never really put too much thought into it before." "Okay, that explains it." She tells me as she sets a hoof on the book. Clearly there's some sort of bias going on. That's why we disagree." "... um, no? I'm telling you the truth. He was-" "It's okay, we don't have to agree." She tells me. "It's okay to disagree. But let's not fight over something that neither of us were there for." "... okay." I don't want to move on, but I don't want to be rude. And this seems more personal than anything else. I take a look around and notice a small crowd has formed by Celestia and Twilight Sparkle. Not a big one, maybe ten ponies. But it's enough for me to know better than to go down there. Speaks Softly looks down and gasps at the sight. She ducks down to hide and pulls me down when I don't move. "Shoot! I hate it when crowds form!" She tells me in a hushed tone. I check around us to double check that we are in fact alone up here. "Does that happen often?" I ask, matching her tone. "Um... yeah? Doesn't it happen to you too?" She asks in a confused tone. I look back out there and shrug. I don't think anypony has ever cared where I was before. Aside from my parents that is. But I doubt that's what she's talking about. "Nah. Never. Why? Are you important or something?" This really confuses her. She tries to answer but seems at a loss for words. "Was that rude?" "I... no, but... I'm sorry. I just realized I don't know your name." "Oh, I'm Tempestive Mortem." She stares at me for a moment before she slowly blinks. "You're... you have a Terradisian name?" She asks slowly. I never really thought of that before, but I guess I do. I shrug and nod to her. "So... your name means... Timely Death?" "Yeah... is that bad?" I ask, feeling a bit awkward. I watch as she slowly picks her book back up and slowly hugs it again. I can se her mind racing as she mutters to herself quietly. But I can't tell what she's saying. "Speaks Softly?" "Huh?" She asks. "When did you learn my name?" "Oh, sorry. Back in the castle they told me your name... sorry." I don't know why, but I feel bad for not letting her introduce herself. But she seems really uncomfortable all of the sudden. "Oh... okay." We both go quiet. I don't know what has her so concerned. But whenever I try to say something she tenses up a little and I lose my voice. Why is this so hard!? I can talk to Jet Spectrum and Rampant Growth without problems! Why is it so hard to talk with Speaks Softly!? We both jump a little when we hear somepony climbing up the tunnel towards us. Listening in to the voices I realize that it's that bully from before. I should probably just make a run for it, but where would I even go? I don't want to join Aunty Celly and that random group. But if I stay here they'll find me! Without asking Speaks Softly grabs my hoof and starts to run off with me in tow. I feel my face flush as I follow after her. With her leading I get my first look at her cutie mark. It's a golden quill crossed with a... well, it looks like a big stick. I don't remember her having it last time. Did she recently get it, or did I just not notice? She takes me through the tunnels and stops me at a long straight section. She takes a look around before tapping a panel on the right. After a few more taps she finds a loose board and pushes it open. She grabs my hoof again and pulls me inside. We sit in the dark room as we wait quietly. I can hear them round the corner and race down the tunnel. They round really mad that they can't find me. One of them even cussed! When I can't hear them anymore I sigh in relief. I've never had to deal with bullies before. I don't even know what I did to deserve it! I look around the dark room and squint to try and see anything. But it's too dark. "So... before I turn the light on, promise me that you won't tell anypony about this room. Okay?" Speaks Softly asks from the other side of the small room. "After saving me from those jerks, not a problem!" I tell her, trying to face her more directly. I hear her turn a rusty knob before a lantern begins to glow. We're in a similar observation cube like before. But the windows in this room are painted to block out the light. A couple of cushions occupy the corners with a few stacks of books piled up beside them. Several hoof marks and names have been written onto the walls and top, along with random stickers and drawings. Storm Cloud, Twilight Sparkle, and Speaks Softly are the only names in here. "So... because of what my mom and dad do for work I often have to come here for supervision. Sometimes I go with my grandma, or even my uncle. But... half of the time I have to be here. So my dad snuck in and made this room for me. So don't tell anypony, okay?" I look around the room and smile. Her parents made a little hideaway all for her! That's pretty cool! "I made a promise, and I don't break those." I tell her as I take a few steps inside. She tries to hide her face, so I bump her side before flopping onto one of the cushions. "It's something my dad taught me. 'You're only as good as your word. Promises in my family go really far. But why are you here so often? Wouldn't you rather be with family?" "Well..." She starts as she takes the other cushion. "I would. But that's not always an option. So when I can't be with family I spend time here. It's not so bad though. I usually barely notice because I'll get too distracted with my books. But... I would rather be with my family though." I grimace as I think about my own situation. My parents have to leave for work a lot too. Dad more so than Mom. But they've never left me in what I thought was just a school supply store. There are days where I run out of things to do and just lay about the house. Usually on those days I end up terrorizing Lupus and Hati. Not to be mean. I just have too much energy to be cooped up all day! I guess that's why I'm so excited to go to school now. It'll at least give me something to do. "My Dad works for the military." I tell her. "So... I guess I get what's it's like to miss family because of work." "What does your mom do?" I shrug at that. I really don't know exactly what she does. "From what I've been told she's some kind of advisor to the castle here in Canterlot. But I've never really asked beyond that... What school do you go to?" "Canterlot's school for gifted unicorns, you?" I chuckle a little at that. She did mention that earlier, I guess I'm just running out of things to talk about. "I was homeschooled. But this year I'm going to Ponyville Elementary... or whatever they call it." She gives me another quizzical look and I just shrug back. "Not that I'm saying you can't be here... but why are you here? Shouldn't you be in Ponyville then?" "Well... I was here in the castle when my parents decided to enroll me. We were visiting my aunt Celestia when they told me I would be going to school this year. So she got all excited and took me out to get school supplies. So here we are." Speaks Softly nods to me but stops and goes wide eyed again. I feel myself get uncomfortable when she slowly looks back to me and stares deeply at me. I look around and try to figure out what I said that would trigger her like this, but I have no clue what's going on. "Did you say Celestia is... your aunt?" She asks quietly, slowly bringing her book up to hide behind. "Yeah." I answer cautiously. "So... that would make... your mother..." "Luna, yeah." I answer, getting her to freeze up. I look around and try to figure out what's going on. I know they're alicorns and that makes them rare. But I didn't think they'd be that odd! Even to another alicorn! "Is there something wrong with that?" "Um... no! I mean... no? It's just that... I... well, my mother told me about you, not by name at least! I wish she would have... BUT! Uhm... heh." She's fumbling with her words. She seems like she's trying to be as careful as possible with what comes out. But to what end I have no idea. I guess Mom and Aunty Celly really do have some sway around here. Makes sense I guess. They are the royal advisors after all. I guess that makes them somewhat famous. "It's okay Speaks Softly-" "You can call me Softy... IF YOU WANT! I mean, my friends call me that... if I had friends that is... NOT THAT WE AREN'T FRIENDS! Heh... sorry." She's all flustered now. I guess her family must have some work with the royals or something? It's hard to tell, but clearly my family and hers have some form of connection. But seeing her all flustered is super... ...super well read. "My friends just call me Timely, so call me that." I tell her. She calms down for a moment and smiles back to me. Seeing that was enough to make my stomach twist and my heart race. I feel as if I can soar into the sky and race all the way to the moon! Throwing up the entire way... It's a very complicated feeling. "So... maybe if you're ever in Ponyville... maybe we could... hang out?" I ask, fumbling with some stay fluffs on the cushion. I can't bear to look at her right now. But I know I want to see her again. And not just in this jungle gym. I try to look at her to see her reaction, but I can't bring myself to! If she were to look disgusted or off put in any way... "You... want me to come over?" She asks cautiously. I finally glance back and see her peering out from behind her book. "Of course I'd want you come over!" I answer quickly. "You're the only other pony I've ever met that's my age and has any understanding of magic! Do you have any idea how cool that is!? Nopony my age gets half the stuff I say!" I can see the edge of her cheek turn a little red as she hides a bit more behind the tome. I feel myself get a little shy from being so excited as well. But I meant everything I said! I've finally met somepony who is my age and isn't a jerk! To be fair it's not a large list, but still! And she's so well read! "I-I don't think I've ever had somepony call me cool before." She says meekly, lowering the book just enough to show me her face. "I-I think you're pretty cool too." "Really?" I ask, confidence at an all time high. "Even though-" FLASH "Alright Timely!" Aunty Celly announces as I suddenly appear before her. "I've gotten most of your supplies together! We're about to head out now, can you check the basket and see if there was anything else you needed?" "... yeah.l" I grumble as I take in my surroundings. The crowd that was around her is basically gone. I look back to the play area and sigh in defeat. Well... I'm sure if I can get through this I can race back over there and tell her where to find me. "Looks great!" I tell her when I grab the basket and glance it over. "You barely looked at-" "I'll be right back!" I yell before running back towards the play area. But before I can make it to the end of the aisle I get levitated by her magic and brought back. "Play time has ended Tempestive. Now we need to focus at the present task." I try to argue with her, but she just gives me a knowing look. I really want to argue, but I know what that look actually means. There's no getting out of this now. I sigh in defeat and look over the supplies. By the time we're done and moving to the check out we're the last ones here. I think that was by intention though. I don't think Aunt Celestia wanted a crowd around us when we tried to leave. I tried to catch Softy as she left, but I never saw her leave. Either I missed it or they teleported. I just hope we can run into each other someday. I don't think I told her where in Ponyville to find me. Author's Note Linked below is a poll that I would appreciate everyone taking. It refers to some changes I'd like to make to Man of War. The first link will be a blog post that will explain my reasoning further. If you'd like to skip to the poll, then click the second link. The Future of Man of War and Happy Birthday Miles! Brony on! Chapter 272 Doctors OrdersChapter 272 Doctors Orders Perspective: Miles After breakfast we traveled straight home. Even though there were several attempts to hold us back at Canterlot Luna was adamant about our departure. Every appointment was canceled. Every noble or guard trying to speak to us was turned away before they could say a word. No one stopped us from marching to the teleporter and going home. I didn't say anything. Although I agreed to the terms I know something is going to come up. It always does. What can I say, trouble finds me. I know I'll have to respond to something at some point. But if I can at least get a few days to straighten out my head then it will be worthwhile. Shadow went straight to her room without a single word. I am worried about her, but I think this was good. Even if I'm going to have to kill that kid, Shadow and I cleared space I didn't know was growing between us. Maybe things aren't perfect, but they rarely are. And at least she knows I'm on her side. I'll have to figure something out to bridge those gaps though. I need her to know that no matter what she's my daughter and that I love her. Something more than words. I flop onto my bed and let out a long sigh. Luna's orders are to stay home and relax. But I know I'm not good at that. I'm going to need something to distract myself. I look around the room and try to think of something... but end up staring at Luna's backside as she reads a ledger in her dresser. Probably not the best time to be thinking of such things... But not the worst time... "No." I blink when Luna turns me down. She hasn't even looked away from her book. "You don't even know-" "Miles Eremita, were you about to say I didn't know something about my husband?" She asks plainly, flipping a page slowly. "I would never dare to assume something so bold." I tell her as I shift to lay facing her. "Well that's good. Because here I was assuming you were eyeing me like a fresh stack of pancakes." I chuckle at that. True to her own words, she does know me best. "A thick stack of sweet, delectable, treasure? Though I do see how you'd come to that conclusion, I did just eat. Although, I guess I could be persuaded otherwise. If only for my loving wife." She scoffs in return, still reading the ledger. "I don't know about thick, but your compliments are still appreciated. Now!" She says as she shuts the book and returns it to the dresser. She takes a look at me and puts on a smile. One that tells me she's about to make a proposition with no good answers. "Miles... my loving husband-" "Just ask." I cut her off. There's no need to be coy at this point. After all the drama of last night I don't need anymore pitiful words and bashful demeanors. She nods to me and slowly walks to the bed. I can see her trying to pick her words carefully. She takes a seat and leans against me as she settles on whatever phrase she needs. Whatever this is, it's not going to be good. "Would you be willing to get a psyche evaluation with Doctor Monitor?" "... sure." "Really?" She asks with genuine surprise. "Yeah, sure, why not?" I ask as I lay on my back. She stares down at me with her mouth hanging open. I hate going to the doctors here in Equestria. They're not as effective as the bots in Topaz Falls, in my opinion at least. But, per Luna's request, I do have a general practitioner. One Doctor Monitor. He's a crotchety older stallion that I'm almost positive is fucking his much younger assistant. He's a veteran of a conflict that he won't speak of. Takes zero bullshit. And ignores anything any of my bots tell him. He's been practicing for nearly forty years. So according to him there's nothing these machines can tell him about pony physiology. Modern bone scans, not needed. MRI scans and soul refractors? Garbage. We... well, it's not that we dislike each other. But we... it's hard to take each other serious. But, according to Luna, he's the only doctor that can deal with me. So I have to visit once a year. And since he's my GP, he has a certain level of authority over me. At least in a military sense. "So... you'll go?" Luna clarifies, baffled by my sudden willingness. "Sure! But I'd like a simple little favor in return though." I tell her. "Oh?" She asks cautiously. "Let me put another kid in you." "..." Normally this would be something where she'd push back against. It's a pseudo joke at this point. We know we're probably going to have another child at some point. So I always joke about having one sooner rather than later. But... she's considering it. She's genuinely considering it! My bluff has backfired... successfully. "Well..." She muses as she turns and lays back. We're both now facing up at the ceiling. I feel myself suddenly get nervous as she thinks about the prospect. I shouldn't be though! I genuinely want another child! But... I'd prefer not to go to the doctors... "I mean... I'm not opposed to the idea." DAMMIT ALL! "Really?" I ask, the genuine surprise plainly evident in my voice. "Not that I'm against the idea... it's just... well... uh..." "Shadow is going to graduate this year. Tempestive is going to start school this year. The nest is emptying. We've talked about this before. We know we're going to have more. Plus the maternity leave for you would be great for you to get the help you need to handle the Kroth." "... is it really the right time though?" I ask cautiously. The idea of bringing another child into the world with those monsters so close scares the fuck out of me. I don't know how'd I'd sleep with Luna pregnant and them a short walk away. Not to mention once the baby would be born! "Is it ever really the right time?" Luna asks as she rolls over to cuddle. "At least now we're choosing to set those plans in motion. I think it should be at a time of our choosing rather than some surprise. So... the real question is; are you up for it?" I grimace as I think about it. If it weren't for them I'd have no hesitation. I was the one pushing for it anyway. But now that I know they're right around the corner... it feels like the invasion all over again. If I close my eyes and listen I can hear the sirens and gunfire and the screaming... Thinking on it again, I can smell the burning bodies and feel the heat. But when I open my eyes... it all fades away. Every Spartan I've ever talked to that survived Diamond Halls has told me about these echoes of war. How it always stick with you. With the blink of an eye you're back on the battlefield. Firing your weapon, backing away from the massive horde throwing itself at you... catching that vehicle as it exploded, only to get hit from an RPG explosion. If I close my eyes long enough I can even remember waking in the Everfree, trying to figure out what a tree was. But it all goes away the moment I open my eyes. As long as I know where I am... I know I can be fine. It's hard to explain it, but as long as I don't dwell on it... I'm okay. And that's the issue. I can't stop dwelling on it because they're so close now! Even with an entire legion of bots between us... they're too close. "Luna... I want to grow our family. I really do... But I don't know if I can while they're this close." I tell her quietly. I know Shadow is in the other room. I don't want her catching wind of what I'm saying right now. "That's why I want you to speak with Monitor." She tells me as she turns to face me. She takes a hoof and strokes the side of my head as I try to avoid eye contact. "Miles... they surrendered. If we can't believe that the fighting will ever end... then how can we ever grow? We already brought Tempestive into this world. Is it really any different for another child? That's why I want you to speak with the doctors... Miles, you need to start healing, up here." She says before leaning forward and kissing my forehead. I take a deep breath as I nod to her. She's not wrong. But it's also something that I know she doesn't understand. Spartans are meant to break in the head. We're the part of humanity that's meant to do what's necessary. Not what's right. And that doesn't leave a lot of room for mental health. But... it's not for me. It's for her. And Shadow. And Tempestive. I'm no longer just a disposable Spartan to take the brunt of the frontlines. I'm the leader of a nation... two nations actually. I have a family that needs me more than ever now... "I'll go." I say, finally looking to her. She relaxes against me and smiles as she holds my head. "I can't promise much else other than that I'll go, for you. And to growing our family... I'll do whatever it takes to make sure that they're safe. Even if that means... well, you know." I couldn't get the last of it out. My nerves got the better of me. But they relaxed when Luna leaned in and planted the softest possible kiss on my lips. It was just enough to bring me back to her and sooth my soul. "I know you will. I'll set up the appointment for tomorrow. Let's rest for today, okay?" She asks as she settles against me. I hum back to her and try to relax. As we lay here I bring an arm around her and start to stroke her back gently. She melts against me as I follow her spine back and forth slowly. It's one of her little quirks that she enjoys. Gentle scratches along the back. Especially when you start between her wings and reach all the way down to her hips. Though she definitely enjoys it more in my human form. Finger nails and hooves are no substitutes I guess. "Talk to me." She says quietly. I get a little confused when she says this. She just nuzzles more deeply into me as she rests against me. "About anything. I just want to hear you talk. Please?" "Alright... boy or girl this time?" I ask, knowing full well what she wants. "Mmm... girl. You?" "I think a girl would be nice. Add variety to the mix." She chuckles to that. I try to think of something else to ask or say, but then I look down to her. The light is coming through a narrow slit of the blinds and illuminates the side of her face. I get lost to her beauty for a moment. The warmth between us... the glow of morning tracing her silhouette... the scent of moon lilies and vanilla, her preferred scents, it's all enough to intoxicate me. How could a creature so effortlessly beautiful care so deeply for a stubborn man like me will never cease to amaze me. But I can't help but be greedy. Because she did choose me. So she's mine. And I'll do anything to keep her. Even if that means going to the doctors. Her eyes open and she peers up to me. Those beautiful watery sapphire eyes filled with so much life and curiosity. She smiles back to me and rests her head against my arm, making me fall in love with her all over again. "Remember back when I was still new to Equestria and you came to check up on me? For whatever reason you decided to sneak up on me and try a little prank, but I ended up tackling you. And I don't know what possessed me to do this, but I had you pinned down or you were on top of me, but I got distracted by how soft you were! The panic attack I had afterwards had me rolled up into a ball! And you just laid next to me and wrapped me up in a wing-" "If I remember correctly, you then also felt up my wing too." She says before jabbing my side. "I definitely remember the way you said my name afterwards-" "Hush you!" She chastises while covering my mouth. I give her a look before we share a small laugh together. I kiss her hooves before lowering them down. "I just remember being so nervous about... well, you. There were the obvious things to be worried about. Jail, torture, exile. But what scared me the most was the attraction I had for you. I had never been attracted to someone before then. And to finally feel that way for someone... I didn't know how to deal with it all. Especially with someone of a different species. I spent part of that night enchanting Storms old armor. Actually, I enchanted it several times that night just to distract myself." "I remember that day. I spent most of my time trying to work up the nerve to go back to speak with you again. Though, that was mostly because I wanted to learn what you knew of my parents. But I also kept thinking back to how your hands felt against my wings. The way your fingers would follow and tease every feather... still sends shivers down my spine." "Good to know I have the magic tough." I tell her, chuckling for a moment. She looks off in thought for a moment. I watch as she relives a memory that brings a smile to her face. I jostle her and tilt my head to ask her to share. "I was thinking back... remember that incident with the minotaur?" "Uh... maybe?" I try to think about whatever she's talking about, but I'm not sure what she's referring to. "A minotaur randomly appeared in Ponyville and you had an altercation with them. The whole incident nearly had Celestia take you out of my charge. But the next day I couldn't sleep so... heh, so I was scrying you while you were working at Sweet Apple Acres." "Spying on me that early on?" I joke as I lean in to give her a knowing look. She pushes me back with a nervous smile. "I didn't know what else to do! I did feel a little bad about it... at first. You were talking to yourself while working. It was... a little cute. But I dropped the spell when you called my eyes beautiful." She tries to look away from me as a small blush starts to grow on her face. I reach over and force her to look at me. I stare deeply into her eyes before cracking a sly smile. "Just as beautiful as the day we met." She smiles back to me and leans forward to kiss me once again. I pull her in and press into the kiss. It's hard to imagine that we've been together as long as we have. Six years. In the grand scheme of things it's practically nothing. But it's felt like a lifetime together. So many shared experiences and stories built together. Joy and pain, heartache and love, all grown between two wayward souls. To think after everything I'd end up where I am now. What could have been if I hadn't explored those energy readings? Or if I hadn't enlisted with the Spartans? What if Celestia had come instead of Luna? So many choices that all added up to this beautiful little moment. I don't want to ruin these kinds of moments. And that's what has me so scared. The Unfamiliar. Seeing them as... civilians... I can't wrap my head around the concept. I was raised to fight them to the death. Them surrendering was never something that could be conceptualized. And now I have to learn how to accept them living next door. It's... not going to be easy. But... "Ego amare te" Luna whispers when we pull away. "Ego amare te magis." I whisper back to her as I lean in and rest my forehead against hers. "Ego amare te maxime." She responds. As long as I have her by my side, it doesn't seem so impossible. A day to relax. Despite everything it came and went pretty quickly. The Spartans finally made it back. Luckily none of them were injured when the dark orb exploded. Once it did explode there was nothing else to learn from that location. Storm Cloud tried to tell me more, but Luna kicked him out. Almost literally. She explained the situation to him outside and wouldn't let me join the conversation. It was... uncomfortable. I don't like having other people delegate my orders. But, at least in this regard, it had to be done. Storm was... surprisingly happy about the situation. Not the panic attack. But my leave. Said it was time for the Spartans to prove that they can operate without my leadership. "It's time we showed you that this will outlast you. So leave it to us and come back when your head's in the fight!" I often worry about that. I'm only human. If I'm lucky I've got forty to sixty years left. And how much of that is going to be spent fighting? What will become of the Spartans once I'm gone? Can they exist without a human? I'll never really know the answer. But this will be a good test for them. It'll let me see what they'll do without me. With any luck, I'll see what changes will need to be made to ensure the Spartans continue on. Celestia took her time bringing Tempestive back too. We didn't really give a schedule to adhere to, so we didn't say anything when they came strolling in the evening. But the amount of crap she bought him was... I've only heard of Auntie stereotypes before. But Celestia fills the bill perfectly. An entire day of... relaxing. I was starting to get a little stir crazy by the end. I've spent my entire life scheduling every moment to attempt to maximize my day. Training, researching, enchanting, there's rarely a normal day where I just... well, I mostly just sat on the couch. I tried to work on a few small side projects, mostly house work, but Luna wasn't having it. So when it finally came time for my appointment with the doctor, I was glad to have something to do finally. We had Shadow take Tempestive to the park. Figured it would be easier if he wasn't here asking a thousand questions. We have to have these appointments at the house now. The emergency room isn't really meant for this kind of checkup. And the nearest true hospital is in the next town over. Doctor Monitor. He's an older stallion. I think in his early to mid forties. Which I didn't think was that old. That was until I learned that the average pony only live to about sixty. He wears a doctors coat most of the time, hiding his drab tan coat. His once bright red hair is mostly grey now, but there's still a little red in there. He's got his old stethoscope pressed to my chest as he listens to my heart. "Heart rates normal." He mutters in his signature gravely voice to the nurse. Nurse Red Heart is his assistant. She's a much younger nurse. Much younger. I think she's only been practicing for two years now. Apparently they have history together, but I've never learned it. She's all white with pastel pink hair and never goes without her nurses cap. It's mostly just rumor. But even I speculate that the two of them are in some sort of relationship. And I'm rarely wrong about these kind of assumptions. I'm the best at this game after all. I just don't think they know they're in one yet. "Blood pressure tracks with previous readings as well." She responds, releasing the strap from my arm and setting it on the kitchen table. "Okay." Doctor Monitor mumbles as he checks his clipboard. I lean back in my chair and look over to Luna. She offers me a small smile, but the worry is plainly written over her face. "Here you go, Doctor." Nurse Red Heart says as she passes him a booklet. She walks over to Luna and whispers something to her before escorting her out the room. I feel myself tense up when she leaves. The next part is the only part that I'm dreading. "Okay Miles, let's get this over with." He mutters as he takes a seat at the table. I turn to face him and take a deep breath. "Alright... hit me with it." I tell him, trying to steel myself for the conversation. "Let's start out with the obvious part then. Tell me what happened in your words. The queen told me her account, so let's hear what you've got to say." I spend the next few minutes recounting the the past few days. The mysterious dark orb in the minotaur lands. Ending up back in Mooseden surrounded by the Unfamiliar. I talked about Shadow and Canterlot, though I try to keep certain personal details out of it. Thinking back; the last few days have been rather busy with little to show for it all. "Alright." Doctor Monitor says as he finishes up his notes. "Well, in my professional opinion at least, I'd say war fatigue is an obvious condition for you." "War fatigue?" I think that's the equestria version of PTSD, but I'm not certain. "Yes. How often would you say you have nightmares? Let's say... over the past year?" His question catches me a little off guard. I take a moment to think on it before giving my best guess. "I'd say around two times a month. Sometimes less, sometimes more. Depends on how stressful he month was." It doesn't help that it's the same recurring dream either. "That's a lot, you know that, right?" I shrug back to him. I don't know what constitutes an average amount of bad dreams. Though, I guess I could have asked Luna about that. "What does that mean though?" He sets the clipboard down and sighs deeply, rubbing his tired eyes. "Doc?" "Okay, let's cut the crap." He says as he pushes the clipboard aside. "I'm going to medical you for a year-" "A year!?" "Yes! A year! And you're going to go talk to a therapist. MINIMUM once a week. After that time then we'll clear you for active duty." "I can't take a year off!" I yell incredulously. "Are you kidding me!? There's too much at stake for me to take that much time off! I was thinking a week at most-" "A week!?" Doctor Monitor laughs. "This isn't some broken bone or a bad stomach! You're messed up in the head! And the only way to fix that is to talk it out! Otherwise you're liable to snap and kill innocent people. Is that-" "No!" I tell him as I slam my hoof down. "A year is too long!" "LUNA!?" Monitor yells after we stare each other down for a moment. I push back from the table and grumble to myself. A year!? He wants me to take a whole year off!? Just for one panic attack!? How can he possibly think that such a thing would be allowed!? Where did he even get that number from? One year... it's out of the question! Luna walks in and tentatively takes a seat beside me. I'm sure she's heard all the yelling so she's got a decent idea of what's going on. "Please tell your husband that his mental health is important-" Doctor Monitor starts but I cut him off. "Luna, tell him that a year is too long for me to take off! I have my duties to attend to!" "You have a duty to this nation-" "As well as Terradisia-" "Which I think would also want their leader in good mental health-" "I'm not a threat!" "Oh that's super convincing!" "PRICK!" "ASSHOLE!" "ENOUGH!" Luna yells in her royal voice, pushing the two of us back. She takes a deep breath before addressing Doctor Monitor. "Doctor, you are correct in your assumptions. Miles does need to rest and recover. But we need to also be aware of the state of the world. He is needed as both our monarch and the leader of the Spartans... So let's start with this. Miles? Do you agree that you need to seek mental help." I think about it for a moment. Because of how heated I was I wanted to just outright say no. But the look on Luna's face told me otherwise. I guess I could go and talk with someone. Not for a year, but a few times couldn't hurt. If only to get this over with. I look back to her and nod. "Okay, so we agree to that much at least. So now we just need to find a common ground of timing..." "Ten months." Doctor Monitor states. "A month." I counter. "Fifty weeks." "Five weeks." We glare at each other to the point where sparks are practically popping off between us. Luna coughs to get our attention, giving me a knowing look. "How about this then," She starts. "Six months with limited duty. That meaning that if something comes up that requires Miles's attention then he can attend to it. With minimum weekly visits to a specialist. Is that agreeable to the two of you?" We glare back to each other before grumbling our agreement. When the room goes quiet I look back to Luna. She's giving me a look before looking to the doctor. I take a deep breath and reach out to him. We shake on it and Luna claps her hooves together in joy. "Wonderful! Now then, I'd like to ask some quick questions about something else Doctor." This catches the doctor a little off guard. "Of course, my queen. How may I be of service?" Luna gives me a quick look before continuing. "We're thinking about having another child. Can you give me your medical opinion on the matter? Would it be too soon for us to try? With Miles's condition and all. Also what can we expect from our second attempt? I've heard rumor that it's not as easy as the first attempts." The first part throws the doctor for a loop. The last part surprises me too. I've never heard that before. But, now that I think about it, it kind of makes sense. Most siblings out there have several years apart from one another. There are those that are close in age. But the norm seems to be a difference of five years or so. Sweetie Bell and Rarity. Shinning and Twilight. Applebloom and the other Apples. Shit, even Celestia and Luna are a few years apart. I wonder how I never made that connection before. The doctor takes his clipboard and flips to a new page. He's mumbling to himself a bit before he slams the board down. Luna and I jump a little from this. "If you were planning on having another child then why would it matter how long you would take off!? Doesn't your... group give the worlds longest maternity leave!?" I go to answer but Luna beats me to it. "That was more for the immediate situation. Obviously we're not pregnant now so we need to start planning ahead." Couldn't have said it better myself. Monitor just grumbles to himself again before writing down some notes. "Fine... well, yes. Most families tend to have difficulty having their second foal-" "Why?" I ask, cutting him off midsentence. "The reproductive organs shut down after birth and require time to reset for the birthing process. Isn't that how humans are?" I shake my head to that. That literally made no sense to me... until I remembered something. Ponies were made by humans to be free labor. But they probably wanted to control their population. So they probably made them have periods between births to help in that regard. I wonder if it's the same for all species out here. "That's not a human thing. A female human can start trying for another child... well, I've read as soon as three to four weeks after giving birth. But they also advocated waiting for about eighteen weeks to finish the healing process. From what I can tell, human births are much more... complicated, than pony births. But that's purely subjective from what I've read." Doctor Monitor stares at me for a moment before looking to his notes. Most of the pages are just things we've had to teach him about my history and human anatomy. I tried to get him a tablet to make things easier. But after two minutes of trying to learn it he gave up. Said it was too confusing. "Have you two considered having a human child?" He asks slowly, peering up from his clipboard. Luna and I share a look before I laugh. "Of course, but that's not really not an option." I tell him. "Why not? Couldn't you use the machine that turned you into a pony to turn her into a human?" I laugh at his question at first. But then I start to think about it. Truth be told, I have no idea. It would make sense that they would make it so that it could reverse the effect. But... I have no idea how that would work. We've left the machine alone this entire time becuase we don't want to disturb it. We don't understand enough about it to know what it's capable of. And with it directly under Canterlot, we don't want to attract the wrong attention. "Look, it was just a thought. But that's for you two to discuss and decide on. To be fair, you're at the point where a second pregnancy would be feasible. And if Miles took that time to also work with a therapist and really focus in on those tendencies, I think it would be invaluable." "Regardless, here are my orders: Six months rest. Weekly therapist consultations of at least two hour per session. I will contact Storm Cloud to discuss what light work details you'll be available for. After which time we will have a follow up and see where you are. Red Heart! Can you bring me the referrals please?" Red Heart comes in and offers him a folder. He looks through the pages before placing two in front of me. "First guy is the best in the industry, has done a lot of research on the subject, and works in Canterlot. But he's a fucking pussy. Second guy is decent but is still green. But he was in the guard for twenty years so there is that commonality at least." Luna reaches for the first page but Doctor Monitor coughs loudly. They make eye contact for a moment before she slowly reaches for the second page. Monitor eyes her until she grabs the page and then nods in approval. "Well with all of that settled we'll be getting out of your hair then. Contact me if anything changes. You two have a good rest of your day." Doctor Monitor tells us as he packs up. We wish him farewell but mostly stay quiet. He's put a lot in our minds to consider. "Oh, before we go!" Nurse Red Heart says as they step through the front door. She reaches into her bag and offers me a red lollipop. "For good luck." "Um... thanks?" I say as I take it. She smiles back to me before chasing after Monitor. I look over to Luna, who shrugs, before closing the door. We stare at each other for a moment. Neither of us knows how to broach the subject. Seeing Luna as a human... It never even crossed my mind. Even after my change! I don't know why I didn't think about it, but I guess it didn't matter. Clearly whatever form she takes doesn't matter to me. I fell in love with her while we were completely different species! Why would it matter now! ... But now that I am thinking about it... "Have... you ever considered... me being turned human?" Luna asks shyly. She's trying to avoid eye contact while also trying to judge my reaction. THUD "MOM! DAD!" Tempestive cheers as he comes barreling in. "We saw the Doctor leaving so we came to make sure nopony is sick! Are you okay? Where did you get a sucker!?" He continues to ask a million questions as he bounces around me. I look over to Shadow as she walks up to the door and mouths an apology. I guess she couldn't keep him back long enough. "I guess later?" I ask Luna. She nods to me and starts to escort Tempestive inside. I watch them walk as Shadow stands beside me. "How much did you guys hear?" I ask her. "I heard that you two want to have another baby. I made sure he didn't hear anything though." I sigh in relief from that. Not that we need to keep it a secret from him. It'll just be easier if we tell him of our own accord. "How do you feel about that?" I ask, eyeing her to see how she reacts. But she just shrugs nonchalantly. "Knowing you two, I'm more suspired you haven't had one yet. You're both not exactly... subtle." I go to say something back to her, but lose it before I could. I thought we were always careful to make sure that they never heard us. I guess we weren't careful enough. "You okay?" "Yeah, chipper as ever." I feel myself flustering from the idea that we've scarred our children. "What's with the lollipop?" I take a better look at it and notice a faint etching of a heart on the wrapper. Knowing ponies, I decide to check it for any magical properties. ... "Erm... don't worry about it... Let's... Let's just go get lunch." I tell her as I hide the sucker. I get why she said the last bit now. As we walk into the kitchen everyone starts to chatter as we move on with our day. I take a seat at the head of the table as a thousand thoughts start to cross my mind. What is our future going to look like? Are we ready for more kids? What am I going to go for six months? Chapter 273 Parent Teacher ConferenceChapter 273 Parent Teacher Conference Perspective: Tempestive I feel like the last few days everybody has been trying to keep me out of the house. There was Canterlot with Aunty Celly. Then Shadow was dragging me all over Ponyville yesterday. Today Mom and Dad are taking me to the school. Apparently you have to meet up with the teachers before you start. It seemed a little weird to me but apparently it's what you do. Maybe it's something you do just for your first year? I don't know. But why does it have to be at SIX AM!? I do my best to cling to Dads back. But I'm basically half asleep as we trot down the road. Mom asked a thousand questions but I barely register half of what she's said. Is this what school is? Waking up too early and being asked questions you barely understand? I might have messed up when I volunteered for this. "Tempestive, are you listening?" I blink a few times and slowly look over to Mom. She asked me a question, but I don't have a single clue as to what she said. "... no." She gives me a look that tells me that I'll be in trouble later. But I'm too tired to care at the moment. I just want to crawl back into bed and go back to sleep. "Give him a break Luna." Dad defends, jostling me a little with his shoulders. "He's usually asleep right now. Give him some time to adjust to this." "I don't know. I'm starting to have my doubts." Mom says as she nuzzles my head up. But I just let it flop back down to rest against Dad. "He's practically asleep Miles." "He'll get used to it. But we already set up the appointment. Plus... he's becoming a little lump of coal-" "Our son is not a lump of coal!" Mom chastises. Dad looks to her before chuckling a little. "I meant he's getting a little lazy. Not that it's his fault. Kids a sponge for knowledge! But without anything to do all day he's getting habits that aren't conductive to a developing mind. Even if school is a bit... remedial for him, it'll do good to have a regiment." Mom doesn't say anything. But the look on her face is full of worry and doubt. It's enough to make me stretch out and try to start waking up. I know I want to go to school. It's just SO! EARLY! How does Mom do this everyday!? As we enter town I start to wake up more. I don't know what it is about coming to town but it always excites me! Maybe because most days I'm just stuck at home? I don't know. But whatever the reason when we make it to Ponyville of Mooseden I just need to see everything that's going on! Most of the food vendors and grocer stalls have been open for a little bit. I don't normally see them this full. I see Rampant at his families stall and wave to him. I didn't know he was awake at this time! He spots me and asks permission to come say hi. When his mom says yes he rushes over to me, having to run because of the vest he's wearing. "Good morning Eremita's! What're you doing up this early?" he yells as he chases after us. "I'm signing up for school!" I tell him excitedly over Mom and Dads greetings. He gets an excited look before jumping up and climbing up Dads side. He protests a little, mostly cause Rampant used Dads wing as a ladder. But once he makes it up top he takes a seat with me. "That's awesome! Are we going to be in the same class!? Why are you going so early? It's still summer break- WAIT! You know what this means?" I shake my head and he pulls me in to whisper. "It means we'll have more time to work on getting you you're cutie mark." "Oh... I mean, I guess? I thought school was to learn and make friends." He scoffs and waves me off. "You have me and Jet! Who needs more friends than that! Look at your mom and dad! They only have, what, four friends-" "Hey!" Dad barks, sharing a look with Mom. "Besides, you'll have your entire life to get as many friends as you want! This is going to be the best time to work on that cutie mark!" I mull over what he said for a moment. In truth, getting a cutie mark isn't something that's really bothered me before. If anything it's more bothersome to others than myself. I know it's supposed to be really important and all. But... I just can't see what's so important! Besides, I don't want to have a single talent! I wonder if there's such a thing as getting two cutie marks!? Now that would be cool! "I guess you have a point." I concede to him. He was going to tell me more, but Dad levitated him off and set him on the ground. "You can talk more later. Right now we need to have our... what was it called?" "Parent teacher conference." Mom tells him. "Right, that. So head back to your mother." Dad orders him. "Alright. Bye! I'll see you at school!" Rampant yells before running back. "You ready?" Dad asks. I look ahead of us and see the school house. The large red building always interested me before. I've always wanted to go to school just to know what it was like. But now that we're finally going... it's a bit intimidating. I'm finally doing this now. I take a moment to take a deep breath before nodding to Dad. I'm ready! Entering the school I'm immediately assaulted with the smells of crayons and construction paper. The building seems to have four classrooms. It appears this is all new though. Which I guess makes sense. Mom says Ponyville has been growing, so I guess that would mean they'd need to expand the school as well. We walk to the first door on the left and knock on it. Somepony inside scrambles through the room before opening the door. She's a magenta colored earth pony with hair that's shades lighter. Her cutie mark is of three smiling daisies. She goes to bow before nearly falling over and motioning for us to enter. "G-good morning! Thank you so much for coming on such short notice!" She says nervously. "Um... we asked for this appointment?" Dad states as we walk in. Mom kicks his back leg with hers before smiling to the teacher. "We do appreciate you having us. We know it was very sudden and we're technically late for this school years registration. So we're grateful for your assistance." Mom tells her as we all take a seat at her desk. It's a bit weird sitting here. The desk was made for an average pony to sit at, so the teacher is fine. But I'm much smaller than it. And Mom and Dad are so much bigger! Especially Dad. It's a little silly seeing the four of us sitting around it. "So, getting started... registering alicorns... all in a normal days work... ta-ta-ta-da-ta." She mumbles as he flips through various papers. Dad leans over and shares a look with me before rolling his eyes. I giggle a little, but stop when the teacher looks up. "Perhaps introductions?" Mom suggests. The teacher looks to her before smiling and shoving the papers aside. "Or course! Hi, my name is Mrs. Cheerilee! I'm the head teacher for introductory grades here! What's your name?" She asks me with a big smile. "Tempestive Mortem." I tell her, a little nervous to have all the focus turned on me. "Tem.. pest.. eve eh More... tem?" She has to try it a few times before Dad sounds it out for her. I've never thought my name was that hard to sound out... especially when I've just said it. "Just call him Timely." "Of course! I mean, I'll work on getting his actual name down. But Timely is a much simpler nickname!" Mrs. Cheerilee says as she takes a note. "My name is Timely. It's just in Terradisian." I tell her. She pauses for a moment before smiling to me and writing down some notes. "Of course! So did you bring the documents I requested?" She asks. Mom summons a stack of papers in front of the teacher. It's not a big pile, but it is enough to be a pile. "Medical records. Academic achievements. As well as a few other documents I thought could be of use." Mom tells her, sitting up proudly. Mrs. Cheerilee looks at the stack as her smile starts to falter. "Oh... good. Let's see here. Mathematics... he's in trigonometry? Okay... He's reading at a intermediate school level? Wow. Alright then. Science is... I don't know what that is... so we'll say... advanced. Bilingual! With a third language at beginner. Uh-huh. Okay, no cutie mark yet? That's perfectly normal for his age. He's six, right? Okay let's see here..." She continues to go through all of the stuff I've learned from Mom and Dad. I've never thought about it before. But hearing her read everything I've been taught... how did I ever have down time? There's no way I've had time to learn all of this! Then again, the way Dad teaches makes it so that I want to learn about it. He's never said that I had to learn something. He's always made it so that I wanted to learn more about it. And being stuck at home definitely made wanting to learn easier. Listening to the teacher react to my lessons... I'm smart! Apparently even at my lowest marks I'm still at a middle school level! I didn't know I was secretly a genius! That's so cool! ... right? "So, if I may be so bold?" Mrs. Cheerilee asks as she sets the papers aside. "Tempestive is clearly a very gifted foal. Why bring him here? I'm sure there are plenty of schools out there that would be more challenging for him." "Well... truth be told we don't want him in school to learn." Dad tells her. "Not that we're sending him to goof off. He'll do the work just as any other student. But we want him around children his age. We need him to... learn to socialize with his peers." I was going to argue that I am able to socialize, but then I remembered the store in Canterlot. None of those kids wanted to play with me. Some were even outright mean. Was that my fault? Was it because I didn't know how to socialize with kids my age? "Of course, that makes perfect sense. But... I do need to bring up the argument that this is a school. If he's not learning then will he become a distraction? Not that I'm saying that he would necessarily! But... well, foals this age are very observant. And if he's in class not paying attention... well, there is a slight worry that he may distract the other students." Mom and Dad share a look as they mull over that Mrs. Cheerilee said. But why would I be distracting? It's not like I'm going to be talking in class or sleeping! Even if it's at six AM! If anything I'll just be happy to be out of the house for a change. Is she saying that I can't be in school because I'm smart? And here I thought that was a good thing. "Is there a suggestion you're alluding towards?" Dad asks. But the tone he says it in makes me go still for a moment. I've never heard him use a tone like that before. Mom has, sure. But Dad doesn't talk like that. "Well..." Mrs. Cheerilee starts as she scrambles to find a certain piece of paper. "We were in talks with some other educators. And we think we've made a plan that will suite both his need to socialize and further his studies." "This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with Canterlot's School for gifted unicorns, would it?" Mom asks, sharing the same tone as Dad. Now I really go quiet. I've never heard them both mad at a single individual before. Except Uncle Damian, but he doesn't count. He lives to get in trouble. "Well... they are the best school for unicorns in the nation." She starts as she pulls out a piece of paper and slides it towards Mom and Dad. "Just hear us out and give it some thought. And try to remember that we're only suggesting this because it would be best for Temp-eest-uhvs education." "Tempestive." I correct her. "Tem-peh-steve-eh." She stares down at me for a moment before smiling and pushing the paper forward more. "Son, why don't you go check out the playground while we have a quick chat with Mrs. Cheerilee." Dad tells me as he stares down the teacher. I look to Mom, who nods to me, before standing up and leaving the room. Well that was awkward. I'm a little worried that she won't let me come to school now. But I'm sure Mom and Dad will get everything sorted out. I hope so at least. I walk down the hall and take a look at all of the cork boards holding up old school photos and various artworks. It all looks like fun. The various sports teams. Drawings of dragons and... Aunty Celly? That's weird. I guess she is an alicorn. So maybe it's not that weird? But I'm an alicorn. Are ponies going to make drawing of me when they find out that I'm... different? I know that's why I have to wear the vest. But... I never really thought about it before. Rampant and I are just two kids. We're nothing to really take notice of. I stop at another board where I see a math test with a perfect score. But it's just simple addition. Nothing crazy about it. No solving for I, no negatives, the largest number on there is only four digits! And the class photo is with foals my age, so is this what I would be doing all day? Super basic math? I guess I can see where the teacher is coming from. I can totally see myself getting bored if this is all we had to do. Maybe I could bring my own work from home and do that while their learning... this. But would that be too distracting? I also like to listen to music when I do my studies, is that allowed here? I don't think this building has any electricity running through it. Maybe they have a point. This is a bit basic compared to how I've been taught. Maybe it would be better to go to a higher learning level class. I could just go to class for that and then go to the clubs with kids my age. That doesn't seem like a bad idea. I went to go back to the class room when I heard something in one of the class rooms. It's an acoustic guitar being tuned. The sound of it taunts me towards the room at the end of the hall. I peer around the corner to see an old patchy amber earth stallion sitting at the teachers desk while he tunes a beautiful guitar. He looks asleep as he sits back in the chair. But the tuning is near perfect. He's tweaking the last string ever so slightly as he waits for it to hum perfectly. When it finally does, he give the guitar a single stroke. It hums perfectly within the room and he starts to walk a bluesy tune effortlessly. "Ya gonna sit there all day?" He calls out as he continues to pick away at the guitar. I look around to see if there's anyone else in the room, but its empty. "Yeah I mean you at the door. Come on in." "Sorry, I just... heard you tuning... How did you learn to do that with your eyes closed?" I ask as I step into the room. I walk up to the old stallion as sit before him. He takes a rag and wipes his bald head before looking down at me. "How would eyes help me sound out the strings?" He asks as he slowly strums up and down the guitar, sitting at a G note. "I... guess they wouldn't." I tell him as I stare at the guitar. It has a perfect veneer that highlights the gorgeous wavy wooden pattern. The wood on the front is almost an orangish brown color while the back fades to a rich dark brown. Now that I'm closer I can see that there are pearl inlays on the fret board of little song birds. I think the tuning pegs are pearl as well. "That's a really pretty guitar." "Why thank you youngster. Mah pah got it from his pappy before he passed it down to me. Names Amber Melody." He says before offering a hoof to shake. "Tempestive Mortem." I greet as I shake his hoof. I can feel the calluses all over his hoof. "Do you always play here at the school?" "Nah, not always." He says as he leans back to play some more. He amazes me as he strings together a jazzy tune from nothing. He's must have been playing every day since he was my age! "Gotta work sometimes! Nah, I mostly play when the little ones are gone. The rooms here have the best acoustics in Ponyville. But summer is the only time I get a moments peace." "Oh... sorry." I guess I messed up his peace. Maybe that's another sign for me not to come here. "Don't fret little guy. I don't mind an audience every now and then. Especially if it's from somepony who knows a thang or two from the craft." I was going to ask how he knew I could play. But the playful look on his face told me it was part of his old stallion magic. "I'm nowhere near as good as you are." I tell him as I look to my hooves and scuff at the floorboards. "One of my uncles has been teaching me for awhile now. But honestly I don't think I'll ever be that good." "Well duh, ya only started!" He chuckles as he sits forward and sets guitar against the table. "Aint nopony just good at anything without practice. You new here? I don't recall you from any of the classes." "No, I'm new." I tell him, shaking my head. "I'm supposed to start this year, but... I don't know." "You don't know?" He asks as he scratches at his large bushy gray mustache. "What's got you troubled little guy? You look bluer than an unfinished song." "Well... I was homeschooled before. And now my parents want me to come here to try and make new friends. But the teachers say that I'm supposed to come here to learn. She wants to put me in a higher level or a different school. And... I don't know if I want that." For a random old guy, he's a good listener. There's also something about him that feels... comforting. Like, I can tell him things that I couldn't tell others. He's nodding to what I'm saying. Taking every word in carefully. Really trying to understand what I'm telling him. "Well, that is a pickle." He says as he leans back. "What do you want?" "I... don't know. I mean, I want to make more friends. I... don't really get out of the house often. Because of the whole alicorn thing. But... I also don't want to be bored out of my mind with how simple the lessons are." "Alicorn huh... who are your parents?" He asks curiously. "My dad is Miles Eremita and my mom is Luna Eremita. Why?" He thinks about it for a moment before leaning back again. "Ah, nothin. Just... thought of somepony else. Anyway, what's wrong with going to a higher level of learnin'? Or being bored for that matter! I do my best thinkin' when I'm bored! Kinda why I like this job so much!" He says with a chuckle. "You do?" I ask, surprised by that mentality. I don't understand how being bored could lead to better trains of thought. "It's simple! If you know what you're doing, then you don't need to focus on it! Like... here, take a listen!" He picks up the guitar and starts to strum away. He closes his eyes and strings together a pattern of chords I've never heard before. It a little choppy, but he's playing into that. There aren't any mistakes because he's making it up as he goes. Watching him play and listening to him master this new sound puts a smile on more face. "Wow..." I mutter as he finishes his song. "I've been playin' so long that I don't need to know how to put the chords together. I know where my hooves need to be at all time. So I don't need to focus on that. I just need to listen in my head and bring it out of muh guitar. You can do it too! Just, here. Take Orioles here and play something! Anything!" He passes me the guitar and I begin to panic. I don't want to break his guitar! It's so pretty and it's been in his family for so long! He even named it! "I-I don't know... I don't really know how to play anything good-" "Then play something bad!" He encourages me. I look down at the guitar before setting my hooves where they need to be. The guitar is almost as big as me, so it's a little difficult to do. "Okay... well, here's something I've been learning." I start to strum the guitar. Even though it still has a beautiful sound to it, I cringe a little from my poor hoof placement. I don't now how this entirely works with hooves, but it does. I have to fidget with my hooves and the guitar to get the placement right. And then when I do get it I struggle to strum correctly. I'm just trying to strum from the D chord to the C chord and then the G chord. But I'm not good at it, so it sounds terrible. "Set your hoof here." Amber Melody tells me, poking my hoof. I move it slightly and he keeps poking until I'm in the correct position. "There. Now, start strumming slow. Nice and easy. Let the guitar do the singin'." I follow his instructions. He's a good teacher. Maybe a little more forceful than Uncle Damian, but still good. We work together for a few minutes until I'm able to go through the chords without messing it up. When I make it through I give him an excited look and he just chuckles at me. "Well I'll be. You're a natural!" He compliments me. I beam with joy from that. I'm glad all those lessons are paying off. Even if I'm still not very good. "You see, sometimes we think we know that we're no good or too good for somethin'. Sometimes we just need someone to come along and show us how to fumble through things before they start to sound good. Skipping a grade, being bored in class, those aren't the thangs to worry about little guy! Just go with the flow and make the most of what ya get. Ya get what I'm saying?" "I think so. But... what if I don't get to see my friends?" He hums in response before holding out his hoof for the guitar. I pass it to him, though I am a little sad. It was a lot of fun to play. And he takes such good care of it, my hooves were gliding down the strings! "I mean, won't you still see them as much as you do now?" He asks as he strums lazily at the guitar. "I... guess?" I don't see why we wouldn't. "And isn't the whole point for you to make new friends?" He asks. "Well... yes." He's got a point. If I get into the same class and Rampant and Jet I don't know how much I'll actually interact with the other ponies. "So what's the actual issue?" He stops strumming and looks down to me. I think about it for a moment before I shake my head. I guess there isn't an issue after all. No matter where I go, it'll be better than just sitting at home. "I see what you're saying... thanks Mr. Melody." I tell him. He just nods to me and leans back. He starts playing with the same earnest as when I entered the room. I sit and listen for a bit. He's right. I've got nothing to fear coming to school! No matter what happens at least I'll be out of the house. And I doubt they'll put me in a class with ponies that are that much older than me! Perspective: Miles "Son, why don't you go check out the playground while we have a quick chat with Mrs. Cheerilee." I tell Tempestive. He looks to Luna before slowly leaving the room. We wait until we know he's out of ear shot before I shut the door with my magic. "Did Celestia put you up to this?" Luna asks, a bit if malice in her voice. Cheerilee starts to sweat as she shakes her head and waves her arms. "No! I promise you it's nothing like that! This was all the staff and I! We've known about him for some time now. We knew one day he'd be coming to school. We just always assumed that he would go straight to Canterlot-" "I assure you. If we wanted our son to go to Canterlot we would be sending him there." Luna tells her, trying her best to keep calm. But I can feel the energy growing within her. Her temper is getting the better of her right now. It always does when people try and tell us how to raise Tempestive. Though, that is a rarity in it of itself. I take a look at the schedule as she begins to berate Cheerilee. Monday, half day at Canterlot with afternoon tutors here in the school. It would seem they have several volunteers that have signed up to teach him. With some of the subjects being more elective type lessons. Art, music, stuff like that. Tuesday, half day in Ponyville with more tutoring. Wednesday, full day in Canterlot. Thursday, full day with tutors. Friday, full day at Ponyville. It's... not a bad list. We'd have to meet these tutors and clear them to be with Tempestive. And I think I'd have to set up some extra security at Canterlot to give the final okay. But... it's not bad. It's a bit more hectic than I was envisioning. But a strong schedule could do him some good. But it also seems that his tutoring would be longer than normal. We're looking at ten hour days for him. Doesn't leave much time for him to be a kid. But he still has the weekends. And the days at Ponyville will probably be too easy anyway. I'm sure we'll tweak a few things here and there. But... I'm not entirely against this plan. Plus, if he's spending time in Canterlot, then that means he'd be father away from them. So there's a small bonus there too. Hmm... "-right Miles!?" Luna says, pulling me in to her tirade. I look over to her before looking to Cheerilee. She looks like she's about to break. "I only have one question really." I tell her as I set the paper down. "Was this offered to Rampant Growth as well?" "... oh. Uh... not that I'm aware of." "Why not?" I ask, getting Luna to give her an accusatory look. Luna is not the biggest fan of Cheerilee. I think I know why, but I don't know how Luna knows that. I didn't tell her. Then again, she does talk to Fluttershy. That girl, quiet as ever until you start gossiping. "Well... to put it simply, he's not a member of the royal family. I mean, he is an... well, a you know what. But that doesn't afford him the same level of... what I mean to say is that there is no expectation of hi to rule the nation. Where as Timely will." I look over to Luna and think for a moment. She's mad, but still in control of herself enough to know that the gears in my head are turning. I think we're going to at the very least have a conversation about this. See what she actually thinks about this plan. But there's something else we need to discuss. "We're going to take this into consideration. For now let's just assume he's going to attend school here and leave it that." I tell her as I stand. Luna joins me and we leave the room without saying our goodbyes. We step out front and I take a look around to make sure the coast is clear. "So... I take it you like the plan." Luna says, looking away from me. "I do think there is some merit to a plan like that." I tell her as I look off in the direction she's staring off to. The town hall is just down the road. Twilights library is not too far off behind it. And far off into the distance is Canterlot. "But there's something else we need to worry about." "Oh?" She asks, looking back to me. I nod and check our surroundings once more. "We need to learn who is talking about our son as an alicorn." Chapter 274 Lunas ChallengeChapter 274 Lunas Challenge Waking up late is not a feeling that I'm accustomed to. We spent most of yesterday getting paperwork finalized and tampering Tempestive's expectations. We almost suggested having him not go to school here. But he was adamant about starting. More so than usual. He really wants to go to school. I guess I can't blame the little guy. I can't imagine being stuck at home for so long. I roll over in bed and note that Luna isn't here. She must be in Canterlot by about now. What time is it even? I'm normally up by five, so I doubt it's that late. At least when I'm home that is. I look around and note how quiet the house is right now. Everyone else must be asleep still. I guess I can go for a morning run. I don't think anyone will be awake for another hour or so. I get out of bed and go through my usual morning routine. Brushing teeth, combing my coat, boring crap like that. I grab my phone and check the time. It's only five fifteen. I must have woken up before my alarm, damn internal clock. So much for sleeping in. I do a few quick stretches before stepping out of my room. The house is cold and as still as the morning. With the house being essentially built out of stone it keeps the heat out almost too well. So when it's cold and we don't run any heat it can get pretty frigid in here. Though, I've always preferred it cooler. Who doesn't like bundling up with family and lots of blankets? I peer into Shadow's half open door to see her curled under her blankets. Content, I close her door quietly and check on Tempestive's room. He's not a still sleeper. Never has been. I'm sure he started under the blankets like a normal person. But now they're on the floor and he's facing the wrong direction underneath two pillows. I stifle a chuckle and quietly step into his room. It's a bit hard to do so with his room so messy. Seeing his room like this though reminds me of Dolum. They're both slobs like that. It... hurts a little. To see so much of my friend now in my son. Two people I care for deeply echoing through one another. I'm sure I'm just seeing what I want to see. They're both just messy people. But... I don't know. I guess I just miss my friends. I tread lightly as I move the pillows and turn him around. I pull the blanket over his shoulders as he grumbles into a comfortable position. I watch him sleep for a moment. I don't know why or to what purpose. I just... I just needed to. He's growing up. We only get a few more years of him being a child. With how fast these ponies age up, we only get two, maybe three years of him being the rambunctious little colt. Ponies here are considered adults by thirteen. That's a number I can't wrap my head around, but it's true. That's when they finish developing. Maybe they grow for a few more years, fill out however they need to. But a thirteen year old is able to enlist, get married, drink, and make their own decisions. Meaning he'll be an adult in seven years. That's assuming that he continues to grow at a ponies pace that is. Who knows? Maybe he'll get stunted and follow a more human trajectory. I don't know how that would effect him though. Mentally at least. How would a society like this treat a late bloomer? A really late bloomer. Maybe I'm just getting to worked up. Everything is going to be fine. Besides, that's all in the not so near future. We still have today. I leave his room and head down stairs. Lupus and Hati are taking up the couch, barely registering my presence. They used to be my little shadows. Now they follow Tempestive around none stop. I'm actually surprised they're not in his room right now. I hear something sizzle in the kitchen and move to the dinning room. Looking over I see Luna hard at work getting breakfast ready. She must have left Canterlot early to get started. I smile and lean against the wall as I watch her work. She enjoys cooking. It's one of those things that she never really got to explore but was interested in. Castle staff always cooked for her before. And whenever she requested lessons, they were always for fancy multi step pieces. She just wanted to make normal stuff. Nothing too fancy. I tried to learn as well. But for whatever reason my magic never allowed it. Somehow it always finds a way to come alive and attack. Never found a reason for that beyond unlucky. But now she's at the point where she's got the basics mastered. Or, it seems that way to me at least. She's been learning more advanced meals recently. Nothing too crazy, according to her. I do my best to listen and understand, but it just goes way over my head. Though for her birthday last year I got her old texts from Pre-Purgian cooking. I didn't even know there were any! But, if you dig hard enough through the Core, you'll be surprised by what you find. "Enjoying the show?" Luna asks from the stove as she uses the pan to flip some cut up spuds. "Yes. Absolutely. Ten out of ten, would marry again." I tell her, making her chuckle. "Oh yeah? Should I divorce you and take half your stuff then?" I shake my head and start to approach her. "Because I'd really like some of than enchanting equipment you've got stored away." "Mmm... promise to stay with me and I'll just make you an enchanting lodge." I tell her as I saddle up next to her. She leans against me nuzzles into my side. "I guess I can be persuaded to stay." We each chuckle before I lean in to give her a kiss on the cheek. She hums in satisfaction, smiling up to me. "Good morning my love." We chat a little as I set up the table. Having her here I decided to forgo the run. At least for now. She started an investigation from Canterlot into whoever is leaking information about Tempestive. As mad as we are about this, we're not surprised. It was only a matter of time before people started talking. It might not have even been intentional. It could have just come up in conversation somehow. But, that's optimistic thinking. Breakfast came and went too quickly. I woke the kids up, got them to the table and we had a nice morning together. Tempestive was doing most of the talking, but that's fine by the rest of us. He's just really excited to start school. Shadow asked if she could go to the Apples farm today. She wants to talk with her friends at their little hideout. But with them at school she'd just like to private time before they meet up. Didn't see any harm in that. Besides, we're going to be out of the house for a while anyway. Tempestive needs to take some test at the school before the year starts. Just to get an accurate score of his academics and all. Plus they have some papers on the various tutors that they'd like to run by us. Just so we can clear them. But as we were heading out Luna stopped me at the door. "What's up?" I ask her as she sets a hoof on my chest. She leans in and plants a small kiss on my lips before pushing me back in softly. "You are going to stay in this house for today, okay?" She tells me as she pushes me back into the main entrance. "What? But what about the tutors-" "Do you trust me to handle that?" She asks seriously, throwing me for a loop. "Well... yeah." She smiles up to me and gives me another kiss. But I'm too lost to fully understand what's going on. "Good. Then be a good boy and stay home. You are here to rest Miles. I can handle the family stuff. Doctors orders." I stare at her before I start to laugh a little. "Luna, I can go sit in meetings and read papers-" "Miles." She cuts me off. I scoff a little as she stares up at me with an expecting look. I know the look all too well though. It's the kind of look that tells me that she's determined the outcome for this all ready. "Luna." I complain. "I-I can't stay home and do... nothing! What? Am I supposed to just sit on the couch all day?" She smirks to me, as if to say yes. "Dad isn't coming?" Tempestive asks from behind. "No dear." Luna answers before I could say anything further. "But he'll be home when we're done. And if we're all good, maybe we'll get a special treat later on." I raise an eyebrow to her. But she just smiles and tilts her head to me. I'm pretty sure I know what that means... but I've been wrong before. But am I really going to be bribed with head? ... yeah. Actually, thinking on it, yes I am. "Okay then, I'll be here then." I tell her as I take a step back. She smiles more genuinely and gives me a quick hug. "Read the journal in my dresser while we're gone." She whispers to me before kissing my cheek and breaking off the hug. She turns and walks away, talking to Tempestive as they go. He's running ahead, too excited to notice how we're acting. Luna looks over her shoulder to wink at me. Swaying her tail to the side to give me a little preview before closing the door with her magic. ... ... ... I turn and rush back up the stairs. What the fuck does she have planned!? I practically tackle the bedroom door before barreling towards her dresser. Sure enough her journal is sitting right on top with several slips of numbered papers sticking out. I flip it open and begin to read. To my dearest husband, I know how hard this is going to be for you. It's not like you to sit idly by and do nothing. You're a man of action. And sitting at home isn't something that you're good at. It's something that I've always admired about you. That tenacity to keep moving forward and constantly trying to improve yourself. But now I need you to rest. I need you to recover. And I know how focused you are, especially when there's a goal in mind. Since we've decided to start trying again, what better motivator than passionate nights together? So this is going to be my little challenge for you. On the next page is my heat cycle. If you're a good boy and get plenty of rest we'll be taking small vacations together. Just you... and me. All the arrangements will be made before, do not worry about any of that. Just follow the doctors orders and behave as best you can, and you'll get to pick one of these vacations. And even though this is for your health, I couldn't help but throw a few in there that I've also been interested in. And if you're interested in anything yourself then feel free to add them as well. As long as you're making good progress and getting plenty of rest anything goes. Anything. I close the book and take a deep breath. If I can just relax for a month then we'll go out for a week to fuck like wild animals. That is... probably the greatest goal I can think of. And she said anything goes... she even doubled down on it... I have to couch my eagerness down as I open the journal back up. Getting too worked up with no outlet is a recipe for disaster. She has five plans set out. Let's see what's she's been thinking about. Vacation one: Misty Vale Island. Apparently there are hundreds of islands dotting the Pond between Equestria and the Isle. Somewhere in the middle there is a large deserted island that she and Celestia use for their getaways. It's essentially just a camping trip on a small forested island without a soul in hundreds of kilometers. She's also noted that she'd 'like to be tamed as the beast of old.' I think she means that we'd fuck out in the open... which sounds hot. Vacation two: High Roller Suite. There are several fancy casinos that she's always been interested in. But obviously two alicorn monarchs can't just waltz right in. So she'd like to get some enchantments to disguise us and we'd go in there as 'normal' people. She wants us to go fully into some made up characters that she's already made up. She's be the... What the fuck Luna? She's the trophy girlfriend that stole a married stallion away. We have... what sounds almost... no, okay. It seems like she wants me to play the part of some playboy royal while she's some nobody girl that's his personal fuck toy. I'm supposed to flaunt her around and... well, the sex parts she describes is fairly sexy. I just don't know how degrading I can be towards her... Wait a minute. I set the journal down and check the closet for her secret book collection. A couple years back Luna, Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy formed some secret book club together so they could read trashy sex filled romance novels. I think she's pulling from one of those books. I pull out her secret stash and flip through them. Sure enough, there it is. Same title too. High Roller Suite. She wants to relive this made up story? ... Well... if it's for her fantasy, I guess I'll have to do my homework then. I leave the box of books out and go back to the journal. I'll see what the rest say and try to find the books that correlate to them. As much as she's trying to bribe me to rest and whatnot, I want her to have a good time too. And I'm going to have a lot of down time anyway. With my plan in motion, I go to the next plan. Vacation three-X: Daring Hero. I read this one through and have to read it over again to make sure that it's actually what she wants to do. Apparently she's a little jealous that she hasn't seen all of the former Terradisian cities. So she wants just the two of us to gear up and explore them. Obviously not certain ones, like Emerald. But she's not opposed to ones like Quartz Crest or Jasper. I... don't know how to feel about that. On the one hand, she talks about wanting to see Terradisia so she can learn first hand what my culture was. She wants to get a chance to fight side by side with me. But she also acknowledges how hypocritical it would be for us to go. I'm supposed to rest and relax. Not dive head first into unwarranted battles. Though, between the two of us, I don't know how bad the actual fighting would be. Sure, places like Ruby Canyon and Jasper could give us some trouble. But most of them are actually fairly safe now. But I don't think those are the ones that she's interested in. I'll have to give that idea some extra thought. I'm sure at a later time it'll be more appealing. Shit, I might need it just to keep my combat edge. But for now it seems too dangerous and unnecessary. Vacation four: Coastal Cottages. This one actually interest me the most. Where the others are only set for a week or so at a time. This one is for an entire month! She wants us to set our disguises on and travel over the coasts of Equestria. Apparently there's this local vacation run that takes you from the northwest beaches all the way down to the peninsulas down south. If you're quick about it, you can make the journey in about five weeks. Assuming we fly most of it. This one is definitely the most tame. Much like how she wants to travel to see my culture, she would like for me to do the same for Equestria. And honestly it seems the most fun out of them. Mostly because she knows how much I love going to the beach so this is basically a massive beach vacation. And if we use our magic, we can either extend our stays at whatever inn we're at or travel even father. We are one hundred percent doing this one. No doubt about that. Vacation five: Old World Rule. The last one here makes me laugh a little. Mostly because I'm starting to think that my wife has some sort of need to go and fight something. She wants us to do an excursion into the Everfree and find one of her old castles. There's not a lot to this one. We'd find the castle, camp out there, and presumably test if the foundations still hold. I mean... this one doesn't seem too complicated. The Everfree can be dangerous, sure. But... I don't know how dangerous it'll be for two alicorns. I go through and read them all again. I honestly can't see us not doing any of these. Even with my reservations about the old cities, there's still several we can go to that aren't bad. If anything, I'm more worried about going on one and getting her on the first try. So with that in mind, I definitely want to do the beach journey together. Get the most out of our time out of the way and all. I set the journal down and start to go through all of the books she has. I've read maybe two of these before. Then I got in trouble for teasing Luna about the silly scenarios and over embellished writing. It's just not my cup of tea. But now I need to read a few of them to help me understand what her expectations are. I guess I could also ask someone for some advice. But... I'll save that for later. I find a few books that I think are the right fits and set them in my dresser. After hiding her stash back in the closest I take the journal and start to read it over again. She certainly has a particular... taste. When it comes to these things. I guess I really am vanilla, as she puts it. I knew she was more... adventurous, when it came to these things. But having her ideas written out like that. But I'm up for a challenge. I mean, that's the goal with all of this, right? Well, I guess not. The goal is to get better. But I don't even know what that entails! I've never really had to delve into my own mental health before. I mean, I can guess a few things here and there that are issues. But what soldier doesn't have these issues? I roll over and look out the window. I can see the edge of the Everfree winding its way down to Sweet Apple Acres. I watch the trees sway to the wind and push back against the force. It's not too windy today. But it's enough to draw my attention out there. The way nature pushes against that wild magical force. I've grown to love the Everfree over the years. Despite all of the wild magics happening in there, all the massive terrifying creatures, it's still a beautiful place to behold. One moment you can be chased down by a massive hydra and suddenly you've found yourself next to a small pony with mystical properties. It's an adventure every time we go there. Maybe the adventure for Lunas old castle would be a good one to start with. I mean, how likely are we even to find it? The Everfree has a way with hiding its secrets. We might not even find anything worth noting while in there. But at the same time, we might find something much more impressive. Old ruins. Mystical wonders. Hidden tribes maybe! But the danger is there as well. So maybe taking the beach route would be better. Plus it'll be an entire month of just the two of us. Not that we're tired of parenting or anything like that. But, truth be told, we didn't really get a chance to date properly before Tempestive was born. We had a few months together. But we were married and expecting within a year of me coming to Equestria. Time flies when you're looking back. But in that year I had so many adventures. And so many of them didn't include Luna. I can see why she'd want to have that now. After a second child, I don't know how likely we'll be to do something like that ever again. It's going to be a pain this time I'm sure. Maybe the risk is worth the reward? I also can't help but wanting to give her everything she desires. So I know I'm being biased, but who wouldn't when it's their love? The casino one kind of scares me the most. It's definitely the one that's more geared towards her desires for sure. But I'm not sure I can do that sort of thing for her. I just don't know what to do. I'm sure reading the book will give me some insight. But there are things that I just know nothing about that she wants to try. I just don't want to hurt her. And I have no clue who... wait. No, I guess I do know who to ask. But not Rarity, she gossips too much. Twilights out too. I... just, no. That leaves Fluttershy… I have no idea how that conversation would go. But then that leaves the island. It definitely seems like it could be fun. Kind of a mix between the Everfree and beach options. I just wonder how that would actually work out? Would we need to bring all of the supplies? The way she worded it all made it sound as if she wants to rough it out there. But... I just don't think Luna really knows what that entails. I love her, but she is not the roughing it kind of girl. So balancing her desire for the natural atmosphere while making sure she's comfortable out there seems like a tough balancing act. Truth be told, I think we'll end up trying them all. At least until we know she's pregnant. There's no reason not to. It's just a matter of picking an order and hoping it works out. She also said if I wanted to add anything then I should. Which is Luna talk for these are the ones I want, please add what you'd like too. What would I want to do for a vacation for just the two of us? That's a tough one. Honestly, I think she nailed them all. But I know she wants me to add at least one of my own. That's going to be a challenge. I just don't have the imagination for this kind of thing. Maybe after reading those books then I'd get some ideas... Or I can see of the Core has any and take it from there. She's read Equestria romance novels, there has to be Terradisian equivalences! I pull up my phone to check the time. I feel like I've been at this for at least an hour. Maybe even two! Yeah, I can get through this all no problem! It's seven. I've been thinking on this for maybe ten minutes. I might actually explode at this rate... well. Time to get reading then. I've literally got nothing else to do. Chapter 275 What is Love?Chapter 275 What is Love? One day. It has been an entire day. Twelve... long... excruciating hours. Lunas books I found to read were only one, maybe two hour long reads. Or, it felt like that at least. Most weren't that long. Maybe an average of two hundred pages or so. But then I went and checked Terradisian literature. I found an entire trove of trashy romance books in the Core. But I had to stop when I saw there were tags with my name... along with all of my friends. Almost burned the whole thing down when I noticed that most of them were with me mixing with my male friends. I remember now why I stayed off the internet. It's not a place to be when people have seen you naked. I have been pacing around the house trying to find something to do! Anything at this point! I've cleaned! I organized all of the closets and pantries! I did all of the laundry and folded it away as if I was waiting for barracks inspection! I cleaned again for good measure! Shadows bedroom, cleaned. Tempestive's room, cleaned and organized. I even took some toys that I know he doesn't play with anymore and set them aside to be donated. Every window has been polished. There isn't a single speck of dust in this entire house! I even did some yard work. The grass in the back has been trimmed. I knocked down an old tree to cut it up for wood. I even started cleaning up within the tree line before I had to force myself to stop. I don't think I'm allowed to use this much magic. But there is nothing left for me to do around the house! I even spent some time on my phone. I never spend time on my phone! Not that there was much to do on it. Any apps that could be entertaining require other people to interact with. And since the only other person with a phone is Luna, that doesn't really work out. I thought about going into town to just walk the stalls. But Luna told me to wait here. And, I guess she has a point. Ponyville has a way of throwing trouble my way. So I just took a nap. Then I was on the couch again. Went to the dinning room for a bit... Started doing some minor work in the foyer. Mostly reorganizing the pictures there. There was a bird at the window for a minute. It was a pretty bird. I think they're called crows? No, that's not right. Those are the black ones. This one was small and brown... I might die tomorrow. I thought about taking Lupus and Hati for a walk, but I can't seem to find them at the moment. I didn't think much of it at first. But now... what if they're lost? Or injured!? I should really go looking for them! Just in case something happened to them! It's for their safety after all. Click I nearly throw myself off the couch when I hear the front door open. I race over to see what's going on when Lupus and Hati come running in. They jump onto me and try to lick my face while growling happily. Normally I try to stop that kind of behavior, but today I'll allow it... for them. "Good to see you're in one piece." Luna says as she walks in. She and Tempestive each have an ice cream cone floating in their magic. I try to move over to her, but Lupus is too eager to let me pass. "I see you cleaned the house too." "Yeah well, bleh! Lupus!" I have to push him back when he starts trying to lick my teeth. "It's been... a long day." "We got ice cream!" Tempestive announces, showing me his chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. His favorite flavor. "And we ran into friends of yours at the market!" "Friends of mine?" I ask as I step towards the door. I look out to see Shining Armor and Cadence standing there. They each have a smile on that tells me that this is more than a surprise visit. Clearly they're here for something from me. As to what, I have no clue. "Hello Miles!" Cadence says as she steps forward. She pulls me in for a hug and I just pat her back. She's the most hugging person I've ever met. It was awkward at first. But I've grown somewhat accustomed to it now. "It's so good to see you! We heard you had a bit of a hard time recently and wanted to come by to check up on you!" "Is that so?" I ask as we move apart. I give Luna a look as she just mouths an apology to me. "Miles." Shining says as we shake hooves. From between their legs their daughter Gleaming Shield rushes inside, barely saying hello before chasing Tempestive up to his room. "Hope we're not intruding." "... of course not." I tell him as I move to usher them inside. I wouldn't say that we have a bad relationship. Nothing negative like that. But we definitely had a rough start. Not to mention I've actively been a pain in Cadences side because of Ruby Canyon. Ruby Canyon. The soulless city as the locals of the Crystal Empire have grown to call it. With all of the undead within there it's a treasure trove of Terradisian technology. I've sent Spartans down there for equipment, weapons, practically anything they can get their hands on. But apparently there multiple ways into the city. Though the main crystal column is the easiest and safest, there are those that don't want prying eyes knowing of their activities. But most that avoid the light don't make it out alive. They've asked in the past to allow for entrance into the city. But I've always said no. I know they still send people down, but without me or any of my bots to teach them how to use the tech down there it's almost pointless to go. Almost. I wonder what's changed that they've come here to speak on it again? Luna guides us all to the dining room so we can share a table. I eye the two of them as we take our seats. I can see the rehearsals playing in their minds right now. I wonder how they're going to go about it this time. "So... how are you?" Cadence starts, trying not to step on any cracks. I shrug to her, thinking about the day. "Good, I guess. It's... difficult to do nothing. I mean, I read some six books today after cleaning the entire house! I don't know how to relax." I chuckle a little at that. But I'm the only one who finds it funny apparently. "That's rough buddy." Shining tells me, patting me on the back. I give a quizzical look to Luna before Cadence starts speaking again. "So! Miles. And Luna! Both of you! We were wondering, and of course you can say no! Obviously there's no obligations or anything like that! We were just thinking that it would be good, I mean, it could be good if- not that we're trying to tell you what you need to do!" "We'd never dream of that!" Shining interjects. "Of course not! But! We were talking and we had this idea-" "Well, it was more of a tangent from a previous conversation." Shining adds, getting Cadence to nod along. "Yeah! It was a silly really! But-" "Cadence." Luna says sternly, getting the two of them to lock up. "What is it you desire?" Luna and I share a glance before staring the two of them down. This is entirely new. Normally they don't have any problems broaching the subject. It's sort of a joke really. They ask, I offer a trade for territory, we each laugh it off. But this... this is something different. They share one last look before Cadence sighs and lets it out. "We were wondering if it would be okay for Tempestive to come visit the Crystal Empire in the future." The question surprises me. I honestly didn't think that was going to be their question. Why would they be so worked up over something like that? "Well... I think I speak for the both of us when I say that shouldn't be an issue. Given now that Miles's schedule has opened up I can't see that being a problem." I nod to Luna. That would also give me something to do! But when Shining and Cadence share a look, we wait for them to continue. What more could there be to this? "This is more than just a playdate." Shining explains. "We are also inviting Rampant Growth. We... well, there's no easy way to say this. But we're hoping that either of them will eventually court Gleaming Shield." Both mine and Lunas mouths drop from this. They want Tempestive to court their daughter!? I... I don't know how to take that. It's just nothing I ever thought about. Tempestive isn't even interested in girls yet. Or I don't think he is. He's only six! This isn't something that he should be worrying about... right? I mean, I know ponies age up faster than humans. But his mannerisms tell me that he's still just a kid! This feels... wrong almost. I look over to Luna and we're equally befuddled. She tries to say something, but it barely comes out as a squeak. "I know this is sudden!" Cadence breaks the silence, waving her arms to try and disarm the situation. "And we're not trying to do any match making! Nothing of that sort!" "Then please do explain because that's what it sounds like." Luna huffs, reaching over to hold my hoof. She's not taking this well. I guess that's still her little baby. The idea of marrying him off... I'm surprised she's still seated. "So... well... You see." Cadence starts, but she can't seem to find the right words. Shining rubs her back and take the lead. "There are two Alicorn males and one Alicorn female foals in the world." He starts, making Cadence drop her head to the table and cover herself with her arms. "Gleaming is half Alicorn. Let's not be coy about the subject. The likely hood that one of them ends up with Speaks Softly is high. But we'd like to try to continue the possibility of an Alicorn ruling the empire." "And we're not saying that they have too!" Cadence adds, popping back up with a flair of her wings. "We want them to fall in love with the pony of their choosing! We're not trying to force anything! But... well, how are they going to find love if they never meet? We'd like them to be friends and have that chance. Yes, there's a larger political part to it. But... eventually it'll always be political." "The prince of Equestria? Son of the Grand Captain? It's a powerful position." Shining tells us, closing his eyes to think on it. "Eventually people will know his status. And then what? Everypony will be after his attention and how will we know if it's for him or his position? Let's see if they find love before that happens. That's all we're asking." Luna and I stay silent as we think about it. They're not entirely wrong. We know one day the world will open up to him. He'll eventually have to come to terms of his lineage. But playing match maker? I don't know. It feels wrong to me. I know they're saying it's just for them to have a chance. Start them off as friends and see what happens from there. But we know what's really going on. And how do we know they're not going to try and tip the scales? But he brings up a good point. Species wise, there's not a lot of options out there for him. I've joked in the past about whose son would end up with Speaks Softly. But I've always thought of it as a joke. I never put it in a framework of them being... I don't know! Betrothed? Like Dolum and Auxy? They were arranged to be married. And they were the happiest couple I knew! So I know it can work out. But... with my own son? I don't know how if I can do that to him. I guess if I put some thought to it I would imagine he would love who he loves. I don't know who or when that'll be. But... I can see their point of view. But my concerns as his father are telling me that I shouldn't try and push him in a certain direction. Not when it comes to matters of his heart. But... then what are we really risking? If he loves her, then who am I to stand in the way of that? Not to mention I don't think it would be a bad choice. I'm sure she's a good kid and all... BUT THEY'RE STILL KIDS! "While I can see where you're coming from... I have concerns." I tell them slowly. I can tell Luna is still racing through a thousand thoughts. She's still trying to wrap her mind around the prospect. "Of course! And we'll answer any and every question you have!" Cadence assures me. I go to ask something, but then a thought occurs. "Cadence. In your words, how do you define love?" She recoils from the question. It wasn't what she was expecting, that much is clear. "As in... romance? Or do you mean-" "You are the princess of love, Cadence." I cut her off, taking a firm tone. "This is your specialty. I am asking you to define love. Whatever that needs to be or whatever it can be, tell me what is love." She looks to Shining who can only shrug back. Of all the things we could have asked them, this was not one they planned for. She thinks on it for a moment before she cracks a small smile. As if she remembered a found memory. She dwells on it for a second before she looks up to me to answer. Her confidence is at an all time high. The ball is in her court now. "Love... it's not something that can be easily defined. It's both the passionate moments that make you take the greatest of leaps and the more daring of challenges! But it's also those dull moments that pass quickly. Making breakfast. Folding the laundry. All those mineable things that make the day pass by." "Love isn't an emotion. It's... a feeling! Love for a person can be just as strong as love of... food! Or a nation! But it's not singular either! You can love two completely opposite things at the same time! Or love something one day, but then not the next. It ebbs and flows through all of us. Guides us through our lives and helps us become the person we're meant to be." "But it can also hinder us. Fall too deeply in love and you might blind yourself to a situation. Both good and bad. Sometimes it's a moment and others it's life defining. Love chooses and there's nothing we can do about how or when it occurs. Heh, it could occur right after appearing in a new foreign lands. Or it could happen in math class while in high school. Love is everywhere. And if we're lucky enough, we can catch onto it and bask in the warmth of its gentle arms. Love... is truly magical." Luna squeezes my hoof and I look to her. Whatever it was she was thinking, she's calmed now. I don't know how this will end. With any luck they're be good friends at the very least. Will they fall in love? I don't know. But I don't think it'll hurt to let him out more. Who knows? Maybe she's not the one. But doing this might set him on a course to find whoever the one is. It's impossible to say for certain. But I think this is a sign that we're at the point where we need to start letting him see the world. Perspective: Tempestive "So what are they talking about down there?" I ask Gleaming I sit on the edge of my bed. My ice cream is almost gone. But there's still enough that I don't want to risk any of it falling onto the floor. Gleaming is walking around my room inspecting everything. "They're just trying to work out a possible betrothal between us. Nothing new there." She tells me as she opens a drawer. I go to lick my dessert when I realize what she said. I slowly turn to her as the last bit of ice cream flops onto the floor. "What?" I mutter as she pulls out my clear ball. "Yeah. Well, something about alicorns and lineage. I dunno. I usually space out when they start talking about that kind of stuff. I was at some farm here in Ponyville last week too. But he talked too much for my liking. I guess you're a better choice, in my opinion at least." "... what?" I mutter again as I watch her bounce the ball around. "So we're probably going to be hanging out a lot soon. So... got any board games?" "... What!?" Chapter 276 Lovers in the NightChapter 276 Lovers in the Night Perspective: Miles Cadence and Shining stayed for a while to work out some plans. We're going to visit later in the week to start things off. We told Tempestive about it, keeping the hopeful marriage parts to ourselves obviously. But he seemed too distracted about something else to really comment. Which was odd. Maybe he had brain freeze from the ice cream? Either way, we were still making plans for a while. Luna had to leave towards the end to go to work though. I felt bad for that though. She was up all day and now has to be up all night. I offered to go with her, but she declined. I'm not allowed to work in any capacity. Which she then teased with other favors, which I kindly and respectfully reminded her of todays favor. She just winked and stuck her tongue out at me. But now it's fairly late. Tempestive has been in bed for a while now. Shadow came home not too long after Cadence and Shining left. But she went to bed too. Barely said good night. And having basically done nothing all day, I have too much energy to sleep. So now I'm just laying on the roof staring up at the night sky. Is this what my week is going to look like? Forget the week, what about the month!? I know Luna has those plans for the end of the month... but I don't know if I'm going make it to then! And what happens if I fail her little challenge? Do we wait till the next month!? I know I should be able to handle this. Shit, I should consider myself lucky that I can afford to do this right now! Spartans don't take vacations! At least, I've never heard of them doing that. It's usually why Spartans try to have as many kids as possible. I know Auxy and Dolum were planning on three minimum. At least they had the one. Even if Auxy had to raise him alone... Okay! Not going down that line of thinking! Damn, all this free time somehow brings all that up. No wonder I keep busy constantly. I wonder what is was like for them out here? Having to give up everything you've ever known and braving this wild world... it must have been tough. But they clearly found a way to survive. Even thrive! They founded Roam! They contended with other regional powers and eventually assimilated with Equestria. I wonder if that's what my future has in store. I've never really thought about my future before. Not in a grand sense at least. It's always been about what I want Terradisia to become or what my role within Equestria will be. Even now I often think about the world in the sense of my children. How do I want to leave it for them? What sort of life will they have? But... it's all the stuff in between that's foreign to me. One day I'll have to step forward and say to the world that I am the King of Equestria. But the idea of doing that is... weird. It's just something that I never thought I'd have to do. I've always looked to the future as a Spartan. What would I do for the Spartans? How would the Spartans act in a time like this? But then Luna and I got married and... I don't know. I guess I assumed my duties as a Spartan would somehow supersede everything else. And in a way they do. I guess I just never thought I'd follow in Ferrum Pugnus's footsteps. Ferrum Pugnus. Emperor of Terradisia. The Grand Captain of the Spartan regiment. I've heard him speak once. He even mentioned me in a memo once. I've seen him in the arena once too. He took on each of the captains from all of the cities at the same time. Wiped the floor with them. Susurrans Bellum didn't even stand a chance against him. And if I couldn't even get a hit on him... What chance do I have to avoid the fate that befell him? Maybe assimilation isn't the best path forward. But I guess it's not a perfect comparison. The situations are different enough. I wonder what he would think of all of this? It mirrors his life a little. A man from nothing rising through the ranks and marrying into royalty. It's crazy to think about. I hear a flash from behind and listen in. Someone just used the teleporter from Mooseden. I roll over and slowly rise as another flash makes my heart race. Two people are here now. I step slowly to the edge of the roof and peer over the edge. My heart drops when I see two Unfamiliar standing there. A female and a male. They're looking around to make sure the coast is clear. They're each wearing loose fitted clothing of dark purple with gold trim. They each also have gold jewelry in their white hair that clinks with each movement, though the female has much more. I almost jump off the roof to attack them. I could see it in my head. Jump down onto the male and blast the female into a tree away from the house. They haven't noticed me yet. It wouldn't be hard. They're unarmored. Weaponless. But when they giggled and leaned in to kiss... I just couldn't. Taking a moment longer to watch them... they're just kids. Teenagers probably. They're just sneaking off to do dumb kid stuff. And... I almost killed them for it. The man takes the girls hand and they start to sneak off. And I follow after them. Unsure of where they're going. The male seems to leading the two of them. How could he know where he's going? wherever it is, it's somewhere within the Everfree. I look around before taking to the air. I don't want them to know that I'm here. But... I have to know what they're doing. I can't just let them go. They start to run into the forest and I chase after them. But they're not running in fear. They're elated to be out here. Clearly they don't know where they are or what dangers are out there. The two of them eventually make it to a small clearing where some moonlight lights up the small patch of grass. I land on a large branch high up to watch over them. The male sits the female down and starts to set something up around her. She's all smiles. Overjoyed by whatever antics he's getting up to. He's marking the ground in a few locations. But the symbols are alien to me. When he's done he stands before her and looks down in preparation. When he does this the girl looks almost shocked. He's just standing there, hands balled up, staring at the ground. But... it almost brings a tear to her eyes. I jump a little when he snaps to a pose. I thought he was going to... attack? I don't know. I feel my heart race as I watch him. I don't know what he's doing. He's squatted down and has his arms help out to one side. It looks as if he's getting ready to fight, but lower. He snaps to another pose. Stepping forward and bringing his hands in to set over his gut. I watch intently as he moves again and again. Each time stepping around the girl. Each step he strikes another pose. They're somewhere between a dance and fighting stances. They're mostly low profile stances too. The girl is watching intently, having moved to sit on her heels. She's holding herself in a perfect posture, hands resting on her lap. I think I have a clue as to what's going on here. Fluttershy has talked about something similar to this. There are certain animals that have rituals or performances to attract mates. This feels like that. But judging by the tears rolling down the girls face I also guess this is some marriage proposal. Or, something similar to that at least. The male makes it behind the female and returns to his starting stance. But this time he's facing away from the girl. There's a long pause as she sits there. She looks as if she's thinking to herself. I can see the nervousness in the males stance. I guess this is the part where she either accepts or rejects him. She takes a deep breath and with great dexterity snaps up to stand. Now they're both in the same stance facing away from each other. I lean in to watch them more closely. Something seems... off. I can't quite figure out what it is though. Something just feels... wrong. In almost perfect unison they each step to the side and take their next stance. Then the next. The dance from before continues. But this time the girl is matching him step for step. But they never look to one another. I think they have their eyes closed actually, but I'm not certain of that. As they move around each other they pick up the pace. Each stance is followed up with another step and the following stance. It looks like it's a twelve step set, if the first run through is anything to go by. When they near the end they suddenly snap back and start to reverse their stances. The dance continues as they near the end just to reverse once more. How long are they going to do this? What could the stances possibly mean? I watch them move back and forth slowly working up a sweat as they put everything into every pose and movement. It's almost like they're waiting for something to happen. As if there's going to be some change between them or maybe one of them will mess something up? I can't tell. As I watch them I notice something in the shadows move. I watch the figure circle around the two of them as they continue their dance until it coils around a tree. I've heard Dust Devil talk about this kind of creature before. The base creature can be anything. This one looks as if it's a basilisk or large lizard type monster. But it has a much longer body and dozens of extra legs and heads protruding from its body. A Limb-Jacker. It's a parasite that embeds itself into any creature and forces it to mutate and grow multiple limbs. As they grow it lays it eggs throughout the body so their larvae can devour the creature. Hence the extra limbs. It forces a chemical into the brain that drives the creature insane and seeks out anything to eat. With each kill they can grow even more limbs, depending on whatever it kills. This one looks like it's been infected for a long time. The Limb-Jacker must have gotten a lucky host. I watch it coil around the tree as it watches the two of them continue their dance. They're too involved with their ritual to notice the creature sizing them up. It twitches and locks its three heads onto the couple. Its coiling up to strike, each head locked onto a target. It lunges out at the couple with each mouth agape. Hundreds of dagger like teeth ready to rip them limb from limb. I teleport in between the two of them and throw up a shield. It crashes against the wall and tries to ripe it apart as its body begins to excrete a thick substance all over itself. "Get out of here!" I yell to the others as I charge up my horn. I drop the shield and blast the creature right in its chest. I put enough force to send it reeling back. I thought it landed on its back, but apparently the extra limbs are more useful than anticipated. It rises up and turns to face me. It hisses out as it starts to circle. I move opposite of it, tying to remember what Dust told me about these things. I know I'm forgetting something. But for the life of me I can't remember! It lunges at me again and I blast it back. I tried to put more energy into the attack, but I don't see any difference in the damage. And again it looks as if it's knocked on its back but the extra limbs work as well as any of the other. With a angry roar it lunges for me again. I put a shield up to block but it grabs a hold of it and tries to climb over. I snap my wings to fly out of the way of the next lunging attack. But as I turn I notice the two from before cowering by a tree directly in the path of the creature. In mere seconds I realize that it wasn't attacking me. It's going to take them and run off. Better to take what you can then fight. I... don't think. Instinct kicked in and made the choice for me. In hindsight I should have just teleported them to me. But it's not a spell that I'm accustomed to using. So instead I manipulated the earth to create a small dome over the two of them. The basilisk bites onto the dome but I move it down through the ground. The creature turns and growls at me as the dome breaks through the ground behind me. I can't leave them in there long. So I need to end this soon or chance them suffocating. It charges once more. This time I bring a section of the ground up and try to stab into its chest. The dirt column stabs in and breaks off as the massive monster comes crashing down towards me. I have to use the same spell to push myself up and fly high into the air to dodge. The creature bites and pushes its weight into the column to tear it apart. Dust billows out around as it continues through towards the dome. I split my magic to twin cast two spells. I take the dome and manipulate the earthworks to move it away from the creature as I send down a beam of energy down the back of the creature. The beam catches it in the shoulder and burns through half its body. I drop to the ground and bring the dome behind myself before spinning the earth around to release the two Unfamiliar. The two of them are panting as they're trying to figure out what's going on. The beast groans as it tries to walk away. But half the body falls one way while the other collapses. I let out a breath of relief as I turn back to the others. We lucked out with that one. Some of those were pretty close. I go to say something but stop when the girl slowly raises a hand to point behind me. I turn around as countless shoe sized worms start to wiggle and reach out of the large cut. The bodies starts to convulse as they each start to stand up. Now there's two of them, one of them having two heads. "Ffffuck." I mutter as they both slowly turn and howl at me. They charge while moving to out flank me. I flair my wings up and start to back away as I go wild with spells. One gets blasted back with the next one gets a stone slab to the face. I only have a few spells transferred over to my alicorn form, so this is going to have to work. The blast are able to stagger them back, but it's not hurting them at all. The stone seems to hurt them, or at the very least damage them. But it's slower moving. So they can climb over and keep moving towards me. It's a head to head for pushing. The creature is trying to push through my spells while I'm trying to keep it back. But I can feel myself starting to strain for the spells. I glance back to see what the others are doing. The two Unfamiliar are too scared to do anything right now. I have to push this fight away from them before they become an obstacle. I try to blast the single headed basilisk, but it manages to grip the ground and hold its position. I try to bring a slab up in front of the two headed one, but I wasn't expecting the first to be this close. I go to jump into the air to get away, but the one headed one leaps to me and manages to swipe my side just as I get airborne. I twist in the air and slam right into a branch. I black out for a moment. Just long enough to fall to the ground. I wake up as I roll off the root base. I watch as the two headed monster lunges for the two kids and I feel all of the energy within me rush forward. Layers of energy radiate from my horn as I yell out to them. I try to reach out for them, but instead the ground erupts as multiple earthen hands break from the ground and start to grab hold of the monster. I start to rise as more and more hands reach high into the air before balling up and punching the two headed creature into the ground. I can feel the energy coursing through my body like never before. I've maxed my magic before, and it's always felt as if I was adding more and more weight to my chest. But this... this feels like the weights being lifted. As if this is what I'm supposed to be. The one headed basilisk appears to my side mid charge. But all I have to do is look towards it and dozens of stone spikes skewer it in place. It twists and contorts as it tries to break free, the slimy substances from its hide sloshing all over. But I keep stabbing the thing as I stare at it. I... don't know how to explain it. I don't feel like I'm casting the spells anymore. It's more like I'm thinking and it's happening. I look to the creature as it tries to reach out to me. The eyes are dead. Have been for a long time now. The creatures inside are the ones trying to kill me. They're the ones trying to win this fight, regardless of what happens to their host. I can't leave the body like this. They need to be dealt with. I stop skewering with the earth and start grabbing tree branches from all over. Each one flings through the air and pierces the creature. Each one that stabs into its body I immediately ignite it. I can hear the creatures inside the dead monster screeching out from the heat. They've finally realized its over. I don't stop. Any and every movement is met with a flaming tree branches and stone fists. I'm going to burn or bury these creatures. They won't be able to hurt anyone else. Not while I'm here. Only when I feel the heat from the fire start to burn at my face do I finally come back to reality. I have to blink a few times as I stare at the massive fire. It snaps and crackles as the limb-jackers hiss and cook from the heat. I know I did that... but it feels as if someone else was in control. But not Corpus Glacius. Nor Soul Fire. This was... something else. A twig snaps and I look to the side. The two Unfamiliar are trying to sneak away. But... something is off. My point of view is higher than normal. I shouldn't be looking down at them like this. My head starts to spin as I feel a burning sensation on my side. I stagger a bit as I try to get my faculties under control. It's not the worst migraine I've ever had. But it's enough to force my eyes shut for a moment. I hear a voice in the distance as I try to force my eyes open. But it's a little too difficult at the moment. "Miles!?" Aw fuck... "Luna... hey!" I respond as I look in her general direction and try to smile. I try to look at her, but all of the light forces my eyes shut again. I assume I look crazy, so I try to get ahead of everything. "Um... I can explain!" "Miles?" She asks again, stepping closer. "You see! Uh... the two idiot love birds there appeared by the house and ran out here like the little dumb fucks they are! So... I followed them. And then this thing attacked and... yeah." Well... I just fucked her little challenge. So much for the month long vacation of sex-capades and travel. What the fuck am I going to do with myself for the next two months!? "Miles... oh my god!" ... Okay, wasn't expecting her to sound thirsty. "Sorry, I've got a bit of a migraine so..." I stop talking when I feel her take hold of my face. She feels my cheeks before working down my neck and feeling over my chest. I tilt my head in confusion as she moves over to my side. "What's going on?" "Miles... you're- Miles you're injured!" She rushes to my side and starts to heal me. As she does this I feel a throbbing pain from my side start to slowly ebb away. I honestly didn't know I was injured that much. Probably explains the headache. "Sorry... Yeah, I guess I could use more training to use alicorn magic." I try to joke, but my head is spinning too much. "You're lucky I came home and heard the fighting! If I was any later this acid would have done some serious damage!" "Acid?" I ask as I try to look at hear. But my side protests from the movement. I start to get a little panicked from that. "Should I sit down? How bad is it? Should we head back home to work on it!?" "Easy there big guy." She tells me as she moves to my other side to check for more wounds. "Just stay still and you'll... be good as new... How... how do you feel?" Her question confuses me for a moment. I try to get a read on myself before shrugging. "Honestly, I didn't even notice the wound. My heads spinning from the migraine... why?" I can hear her trying to find the words. She's somewhere between worried and impressed. "Well... try to take a look now. It'll be easier that way." I take a few breathes- FLASH -as I try to relax. Thanks to her healing I do feel much better. I think it was just the adrenaline from the fight plus the acid making my head spin. But now I feel as good as new! I look back to myself and try to see what she's talking about. Nope. Nothing new to me. Same emerald coat. Same two wings. Same ethereal black hair with strands of white racing through it. Same Spartan logo cutie mark. "I don't get it." I say as I look back to her. She's staring at me slack jawed. I look around to try and find if it was something around me, but I can't see anything out of the ordinary... aside from maybe the massive pit fire I've made. I look behind myself to see the two people from before standing there. They clearly don't know what to do. I should drag them back and make sure everyone knows how dumb their actions were. But... I look back to Luna as she pulls my wing out to inspect it. I can't stop thinking about what they were doing before. Yeah, they were being idiotic. But I don't want to ruin the evening of their proposal. Plus Luna is here. She's already worried about my fighting. Is there really anything to be gained from this? "Hey, dumb and dumber!" I call out to them. They look to each other before the male points to himself. "Go home." "..." They look to each other before shaking their heads to me. They don't speak English, great. I guess I should have guessed that. "GO! HOME!" I yell at them, slowly. I point back to the teleporter and try to motion for them to leave. They share another look before slowly walking away. They stop to say something, but stop when I give them a look. There's nothing we can say to each other that we'd understand anyway. No need to waste any more words. "So... did you come out here to save them?" Luna asks as I watch them leave. We're too far to see the teleporter, so we'll need to head out as soon as Luna is done to make sure they don't try anything stupid. "Well... being completely forthcoming, I almost killed them the moment they appeared." I tell her. I try to avoid her gaze as I go through the next part though. I don't know why though. Something about it just... feels off. "They appeared and I watched them for a moment. And... when they kissed... I don't know. I realized they were just dumb kids sneaking off to do dumb kid things." "And then I followed them as they came out here. They started doing some ritual thing, I don't know what the point was though. Maybe they were about to fuck, maybe it was a marriage proposal, who knows. But that's when the limb-jacker attacked. And then... yeah. You can guess the rest." I sneak a peek at her as she finishes up the healing spell. She's... happy. Really happy actually. I'd almost say she looks proud. She glances up to me and looks away coyly when we make eye contact. "What?" I ask, relieved she's not mad at me. "It's just... you saved two Kroth." She tells me, smiling as she inspects where my wound was. "I... I guess I did." I know that's just what happened. But... I don't know! It doesn't feel like that's what I did. "So... you're not mad?" "Miles." She starts as she looks up and thinks over something. She's more than overjoyed about this. But there's a little something more to it than that. "There are many things that I love about you. You're bold. Honest. When you chose to be you're a very caring person. I love those aspects of you." "Oh... okay." I stumble over my words from the sudden compliments. This is not where I thought this conversation was going. I try to return the compliment but lose my voice when she turns her head and gives me her bedroom eyes. "But nothing is sexier to me than when you're the hero. Especially when it's about something that I wasn't expecting." "... oh." Well... okay then. Wasn't expecting that but not missing this opportunity either! "Wanna... get out of here?" "Yes I do. But you need to shower first... or during?" I nod enthusiastically to her, getting a light chuckle in response. I practically fall over myself as I follow her towards the house. Of all the things that were going to happen tonight, this is about as far from expectation as possible. As I walk after her she glances over her shoulder and smiles as she quickens her pace. The smile grows on my face as I take the hint and start to give chase. We start off at a light trot. But soon enough we're running. And not long after that we're both in the air as we race towards the house. As we go I try to grab and nip at her, getting yelps and giggles from her as we play our little game. With every laugh and each glance back I can feel my eagerness grow. The excitement between us driving our need to get home deeper and deeper. It doesn't take long for the house come into view. Which only drives us to quicken our pace. Luna lands at the back door but I land just over her, mounting her to pull her in for a bear hug. She laughs as I start to kiss all along her neck, nearly toppling over as she tries to get the door open. I press a hoof to the door and start to nibble on her ear, getting her to squeal in excitement. "Not in there." I whisper into her ear and I lift her up and point us towards my shed. "I don't want anyone hearing us." "Good." She tells me in a husky voice. I release her and she starts to trot off. I take a deep breath as I watch her go. She looks back and moves her tail out of the way, flashing her pussy before covering back up. I rush over to her as she turns around and moves to dodge me. She keeps moving towards the shed as I try to get behind her, but she's keeping my prize from me. The playful look on her face only making me more eager. When she bumps against the wall of the shed I rush in and lift her up, a shrill of laughter erupting from her as I pin her against the wall. I kiss her along her neck and the base of the jaw as she bites my ear to nibble on. I lift her up and squeeze my hooves into her supple ass as she reaches behind to hold onto me. I look down and see the key pad. I try to enter the code, but Luna pulls my ear with her mouth and makes me mess it up. "Come on, open up already." She teases into my ear as she squeezes against me and grinds her hips against my cock. I chuckle as I try again to put the code in. But she bites onto my ear to pull away and squeezes my cock in her magic. "Fucking tease!" I growl back, getting a chuckle out of her as she reaches up to move my head to look at her. She plants a kiss right on my lips as she hugs me tightly, still squeezing my member tightly. "I want you in my mouth." She whispers as I continue to kiss her. Determined, I look to the key pad and press the code as if my life depended on it. The door buzzes open and we almost trip over each other as we rush in. I barely have the head space to remember to close the door. We laugh more as we continue to kiss one another as we stumble down the stairs. When we make it to the base of the stairs Luna starts to run off towards the wash area. I chase after her but pause when I think of something. I look around the room and check to make sure there's no one here. I feel like I'm forgetting something, but I can't seem to put my finger on it. I shake my head and run after Luna. Whatever it is, it can wait. When I enter the washroom Luna is already starting the shower. The washroom in my shed isn't anything special. The shower is meant for a single human to stand in. The two of us are going to be fairly cramped in there, but I guess that's the point. As she reaches in to check the water I grab the base of her tail and move it aside. I lean in and start to lap up her slit, getting excited yelps of surprise from her. She widens her stand and rotates her hip to present herself more. Inviting me in. It doesn't matter how often we've done this before, it's still as exciting as the first time we did it. The only difference now is experience. I love getting her worked up to the point she just assumes the position. I love pleasing her in every possible way I can. At first we were just impassioned and eager. But now that we've been together as long as we have, I know what she likes. I know how to turn up the pressure. I know she loves it when I suck her clit into my mouth and dance my tongue around it. Nothing too aggressive. Just enough to get most of it in to move my tongue in firm, slow circles. All while sucking ever so slightly. Just enough to elicit a noise or two from her. That's when I push her clit back out only to suck it back in and start all over again. All the while I run my hooves all over her backside. Up and down her ass. Gently all along her legs before pulling her tail up and out of the way. She loves the touch and feel of this experience. I could just suck her off and she'd get there. But when I put my hooves all over her and practically worship her body it makes her melt beneath me. Maybe a firm spank here or there. Maybe take a moment to slip my tongue in and get a good taste. But each movement has to lead to the next. Never sit at any one thing for too long. And never repeat one action too many times. Just as she starts to moan consistently she pulls away from me. She starts tossing off her jewelry as she backs into the shower. Her ethereal hair weighing down with the falling water as she backs into the corner. She stares back at me with those beautiful, hungry, watery sapphire eyes before smiling. She motions for me to join her, and I oblige. The water is warm and relaxing. It washes away the cold of the night and eases any worries that I could have had. I have to sit so we both can fit. But that's okay. I move to pull Luna onto my lap, but she pushes my back against the wall. She stands over me and look down, water washing over her form. She leans down to kiss me before kissing my cheek... Then my neck... Then my chest... I lean back as much as possible as she kisses my lower abdomen. She makes sure that my cock is sliding right against her face as she lowers herself further and further down my body. My cock twitches in enjoyment as she takes a hoof and starts to slowly stroke me in tandem. When she makes it to the base she plants a firm kiss against it before dragging her lips all the way up towards the tip. I unintentionally hold my breath from the feeling of her soft lips against me. We make eye contact when she makes it to the tip. She smirks as she pulls away. I can feel myself thrust expectantly as she looks down and uses both hooves to toy at me. She looks up to me and smiles, making me smile back at her. "Everything okay?" I ask. "Yeah. I just... it's been a while since we've been this eager." She tells me, pulling my cock down and releasing it to have it bounce back up. "If you're not up for it we can skip it." I tell her, cupping her cheek with a hoof. She shakes her head before moving back down and slowly inserting me into her mouth. "Fuck." I lean back and press my hooves against the walls to support myself. If I get too carried away I'll slip onto my back completely. But it's a bit difficult to focus on that as Luna takes more and more of me into her warm mouth. She gets as far down as she can go before stopping. She takes a deep breath through her nose before pulling back. She's quick to get into a rhythm. She pulls back a bit before pushing herself forward, as if she was bobbing her head to music. All the while using her tongue to apply pressure to the bottom of my cock. The feeling is amazing! I can't help but groan from the pleasant feeling. She scoots a little closer and removes herself from me. A few breaths later and she's back on, this time focusing on the tip. She's working her tongue around it, playing at all of the sensitive spots. I bring a hoof to the top of her head and slowly stroke her mane as she starts to bob her head again. This time moving further than before and sucking harder on the up stroke. "Not that this isn't amazing, because it is." I groan as I try to sit up. She pauses and looks up to me, her mouth too full to say anything. "But it's time for the main event." "How do you want me?" She asks after popping off my member. I think about it for a moment before motioning for her to turn around. It's a bit of an awkward maneuver, but she manages to turn around. She was going to sit on my member, but stopped when I start to stand up. With both of us reared up I lower down to a squat and pull her in. With one arm wrapped around her chest and the other holding a leg up as her wings get pinned between us I get us into position. She plants her hooves against the glass as I guide myself to her opening and push in. She lets out a loud moan as I slowly fill her. When I bottom out in her she grabs my arm and hold it tightly. I hold still as she adjusts to me. I bury my nose in her mane as she grips me tightly. The water soaking into me and draining onto her, fusing our coats together. When she loosens her grip on my arm I start to pull out. I go slow as I pull out about halfway before pushing back in. But when she looks back to me and gives me a needy look I quicken my pace. I have to readjust my stance before getting to work. One part of me is working my hips to get into a good rhythm of pumping into her while the other part of me works on lifting and dropping her in tandem. Her moans turn to loud yelps of pleasure as I fuck her harder and harder. I can't tell if she's genuinely feeling this good or putting on a show for me. Either way it drives me just crazy enough to thrust more and more vigorously into her. She tries to find something to hold onto, but resigns to just holding onto me and laying her head against the glass. After one particularly strong thrust I whip my arm to hold her leg from the other side. I don't stop thrusting as I move my hoof down to start playing with her clit. She shudders from the sudden feeling, looking back with an almost scared look on her face. "Miles! Mmph... don't! I'm... I'm too close..." I ignore her pleas and continue doing the same thing. She squeals louder and louder until her whole body shudders. Even though her pussy grips me tightly I don't let up. If anything I start straining myself to fuck her harder. And it drives her crazy. "AH! AH! AH-YES! DON'T STOP DON'T STOP PLEASE DON'T STOP!" She yells as I force her against the glass. I drop her leg and bear hug her to get a better grip. With one arm on her chest and the other around the hips I'm able to hold her in position. She's practically melted in my grip at this point so I have to hold her up to finish. "I'm getting close." I tell her as I bury my face in her neck and start to race towards my own orgasm. She tries to find a way to hold me, but is too frazzled to find a suitable position. "Okay... okay... ahmm... let it out... finish inside me!" I grit my teeth as I pump my hips with everything I've got. I'm teetering right on the edge but can't seem to cross over. But the feeling of being so close drives me to fuck into her with wild abandon. Where as before I was trying to please her, now I'm fucking for my own pleasure. I'm so close but for some reason I can't seem to finish. And it's driving me crazy! Luna's now just my little fuck toy. And she's loving every second of it. Every mad thrust. My grip getting tighter and tighter. The stiffness within my cock getting harder and harder. I almost start to panic that I won't be able to finish. But Luna grabs my head and pulls me in for a deep hard kiss. When she shoves her tongue into my mouth everything comes to a crashing halt as I explode into her. She holds me there as I feel myself empty into her, both of our heads pressed against the foggy glass. The last of my twitchy thrust dump the last of my cum into her pussy as the rest drains out all over my cock and balls. We moan into each others mouths as we slowly come down together. Our tongues still dancing with one another. I pull away for a moment to check behind myself. Seeing it clear, I lift her up and slowly guide myself to sit back in the shower. I manage to keep myself inside of her as I sit with her laying on top of me. Both of our chests rising quickly from our labored breaths. Luna leans up to look at our mess, chuckling a little to herself. "Well then... you seem to have been pent up quite a bit." She jokes as she flops back. I shrug a little, moving my arms to hold her gently. "Maybe it was just a really good fuck." I tell her, kissing her cheek softly. "While I do appreciate the compliment, you did most of the work there. I just took it." She tells me with a huff of satisfaction. "Trust me, all of those sexy noises you made were putting in plenty of work-" "Hush you!" She protest, slapping my arm playfully. We both laugh until she makes a small gasp as my shrinking cock falls out of her. I smile as her face goes completely red. "HUSH YOU!" We share a laugh before we wash for real. Though we were plenty dirty, it was more for the two of us to continue running our hooves over each other. Eventually we have to leave the small shower though. As we do Luna summons towels for us and we start to dry off. Well, I dry her off and she dries me off. "By the way," I start as I massage the towel down her back. "What had you so thirsty earlier?" "Thirsty?" She asks, glancing back to me in confusion. "Yeah. When you appeared something about me was turning you on. When I had the migraine?" She thinks on it for a moment before she puts it together. "Oh... well, I was going to talk to you about this later. But I guess there's no reason to wait. When I appeared you were in your greater alicorn form. Which means you found your domain." "Oh... what does that mean?" She turns around and charges up her horn. In a flash she switches from her smaller blue body to her much larger onyx black form. Her ethereal midnight hair flows over her body as she looks down to me. I don't know how I forgot about her alternate form. I can't remember the last time she was like this. "Oh... oh!" And then it hits me that I also have an alternate form as an alicorn. Luna chuckles at me as she stands and motions for me to leave the shower with her. "A domain is something that unicorns and alicorns can discover within themselves. Usually the change within a pony is strictly magical. But for us alicorns, it unlocks our true potential." She explains as she guides us to the cot I have by my work station. "Okay. How often does that happen?" I ask, slightly distracted. Luna in her lesser form is still a curvy woman. Maybe not to the degree she'd like, but curvy nevertheless. But in her greater form... it's certainly a nice view. "So far only Celestia and I have these forms. Twilight and Cadence have yet to discover theirs. As for normal unicorns, I've only read about two ever being able to do so. Emperor Iron Hoof and Starswirl the Bearded." She tells me before laying down on the cot. "Oh..." That seems to track. Two Terradisian mages would have a greater chance at this sort of thing. "So... what did I look like?" "Well..." She says as she thinks back to it. "Not that I don't find you attractive-" "Weird way to start but okay." "-but you were tall. Much taller! And much stronger looking too! Your colors inverted but they were much more... I don't know how to put it! More intense? But the most striking thing were your eyes! A light brass color, I think. They were very piercing! And those massive wings! Oof!" "Okay!" I cut her off, getting her to chuckle. I just shake my head and pull over a chair to sit with her. "I'll work and being able to switch so we can have some fun with it-" "That form... looks like it would tear me in half!" She says, a little too happily. "I'm not little!" I chastise, getting her to laugh. "Are you getting jealous of yourself?" She ask, making me shake my head. "No!" She laughs at me more. I shake my head and think for a moment as she laughs. "So... does this mean we're... still good for your little challenge?" "While I don't want you getting into fights with monsters, you did it for a good cause. So yes, we're still good for that. I am glad you're agreeable to that though. I... felt a little silly writing it down." I sigh in relief. I was worried that we'd have to hold off on that. "So does that mean you're... interested? In any particular one?" "Luna... There is nothing more that I would like to do than have random sex filled adventures with you. Though I have my concerns, especially with the Terradisian cities, I can't think of a single person I'd rather have on my side while down there." Her smile brightens as she sits up. "And the others?" She asks, her eagerness betraying her. I chuckle at that. I know she's more... learned, about these things. But I guess I don't have any qualms against them. "Assuming I don't get you pregnant too quickly, we'll do each and every one of your little challenges." He jumps up and squeezes me in a hug. We laugh together as we hold onto each other. It's a bit different holding her when she's larger than me. "I was worried I was going to scare you off with some of those!" She tells me as she lays back down. I shrug to her, trying to play it cool. "Please. Anything you're willing to do, I'm willing to do! Besides, if this means getting to have you all to myself for a week or more, there's not much I wouldn't do!" She giggles to that as she summons her notebook. She reads it over to herself and thinks about the prospects. I turn and look to my computer. I have a program running right now. It's supposed to find the magical code to the acid clouds in the Griffin Colonies. Six years later and I've still made no progress. I don't know what more to do about it though. I can't even get the machines to find it, let alone work out a solution to reverse it. And if it takes too long to look the acid burns through the machine. "So which one were you thinking of doing first?" Luna asks, breaking my train of thought. I look back to her before smiling. "I figured as much. Lucky for you I've already spoken with the required people to take the next month off." "So who is going to watch the kids?" I ask, spinning my chair to face her. "... Celestia." I wince from that and she nods to me. "I know, I know. Last time didn't go so well. But she's going to do better this time! Plus she'll be here in Ponyville, so no wildly powerful tomes for Tempestive to stumble upon!" "That's good. I do trust her, really I do. It's just..." "Bad timing?" Luna asks, to which I nod. "I want to agree. But there's also no one else I'd trust to watch over them. Plus... well..." "You want to tie her into the family more?" I ask, getting her to nod coyly. "I worry that we're too far from her. Though she'd never admit it, she needs family at her side. It's why she gets so excited to Tempestive and Shadow. And, truth be told, we could do to visit more." "Yeah, you're right... I guess I do have more time now too. I'll make sure the kids visit more." I tell Luna, getting a smile in response. I do hate going to Canterlot. But for Celestia, I'll just have to get over that. "So, tell me more about this costal run you have planned." "Well..." She starts, her smile turning more playful. "To start, you're going to need to work on some enchantments." Chapter 277 Young SecretsChapter 277 Young Secrets Perspective: Luna I sigh in content as Miles pulls me in more tightly. Being wrapped up in his arms cocooned from the chilly morning air; there's no better way to start the day. But I can tell it's almost time to raise the moon. I have to get up and start my night. Even though the past few days have been a stress, it's nice to know that there can be these passionate moments between us. If I'm being completely honest with myself, I know I want more of them. We married so quickly and Tempestive came up so fast! It feels as if every time I blink months pass by. If I close my eyes and dwell on it, I can put myself back in the days when Miles and I were still a secret. The way we'd sneak around or hide from the world, I almost miss it. Not the secrecy part. But having someone all to myself. Having them set aside the world just to have a moment with me... the feeling of being wanted. Not that I'm not wanted now! But... it's different. I guess it's a bit selfish of me to want some seclusion while also wanting all of the other benefit that's come from all of these changes. I know I wanted to be a ruler on similar grounds as Celestia. But... being queen. I would be lying if I said it's been everything I've ever wanted. But that was also the Nightmare part of me. She wanted all of that power and prestige. I just... wanted to be wanted. After being saved and returning to my duties... it was hard. It was almost exactly as it was before. Ponies slept at night, feared me, and worshiped Celestia. But then Miles came and... well, the rest was history. I light my horn and lift his limbs off of me as I slip off the cot. It wasn't the most comfortable sleep, but I didn't want to go back up until we had to. Another bout of selfishness I guess. It was nice to see him enchanting though. He had to switch to his human form to do so. I really hope that he doesn't have to bash his head in for that every time. It seems switching heals him, but I still can't help but worry. We made disguises for ourselves for our trips. While he's not very good as casting illusions, his enchantments are on another level! I knew this was his area of expertise. Heck! The Elements are technically an enchantment! But seeing him work on them and fine tune with such ease and precision... well... thoughts were had. I do love watching a master at work. I pull a blanket over him before leaving the workshop. I flap my wings just enough to lift me up to land on the roof. I flare my horn and start the process, feeling the last rays of warmth vanish over the horizon. The dance of light and darkness will never cease to amaze me. Watching the world change, ever so slightly, it still brings a chill down my spine. Satisfied, I hop back and open my wings to slow my descent. There's a lot to do tonight and not much time to do- THWACK FLASH I see Shadow toss something out the window and catch me right in the eye. It was enough to send me falling back and crashing to the ground. I let out a long groan as I lay there, head spinning, eye throbbing. It is clear to me now that I've spent too much time with Miles, as his bad luck is rubbing off. "Oh my god I'm so-! So... Uh..." Shadow yells as she comes rushing through the kitchen door. I push myself to sit up and rub my head. "It is okay Shadow. Though, do try to refrain from throwing things out the window." I tell her as I shake my head. Luckily it wasn't that high of a fall, so all I have is a sore bottom. I look to Shadow and tilt my head in confusion as she stares at me, completely dumbfounded. I follow her gaze and slowly look down to myself. I slowly go wide eyed as I stare at the pale human body occupying my space. I bring a hand up and look it over before slowly looking up to Shadow. She's frozen solid. I feel myself start to panic as I look around. I don't see Tempestive, and Miles is still asleep. I need to hurry and get somewhere they won't see me! "Help me!" I beg as I start to try and stand. I can't seem to get my legs to work correctly and I keep falling over myself. "Shadow!" "Right!" She yells as she rushes over. She looks me over before grabbing my hips and pushing me up. I flail my arms around as I try to stay upright. With a quick look around we start to hobble our way inside. But each step is impossible for me to make. I can't help but fall over with every step. We both go quiet when we hear Tempestive come running down the stairs. Shadow and I share a look before she teleports me to her room. I flop onto the bed and quickly throw the blankets over myself. A few minutes go by as I wait for something to happen. I think Shadow is trying to cover for me. To be fair, Miles is already asleep so I don't think we need to cover for him. And Tempestive should be in bed by nine. So we only need to cover for the next hour or so. Okay, so all I need to do is switch back before Shadow comes back and convince her that she was seeing things! It can't be that hard to do!? Right? "Mama Luna?" Well... shoot. I slowly pull the blanket down to peer out at Shadow. She's shut the door, so I pull the blanket further down to reveal my face to her. "Is... Is that really you?" "Heh... y-yeah. It's... me." I tell her as I push myself up to sit. I feel myself wiggle a little from the new posture but manage to keep upright. Shadow stares at me for a moment before slowly walking towards me. I can see the nervousness in her eyes as she looks me over. "You're... you're... you're human!" She exclaims, making me panic. "SHH! Not so loud!" I chastise, nearly falling over in the process. How does Miles make this look so easy!? "How did this happen!? When did this happen!? Why do you still have blue hair? *GASP* Did humans also have multi colored hair!?" I can only stare at her as she rambles on. I know this must seem exciting for her. But it's taking everything in my power to not freak out right now. "Shadow." I try, but she's starting to spiral. I don't even know what she's talking about anymore. "Shadow!" "Yeah!?" She asks, having to shake her head to refocus. I push myself up with my arms to sit upright, the blankets falling onto my lap. "I need you to do something for me." I tell her, steeling myself for what's about to happen. "What do you need?" She asks, eager to help. "Punch me as hard as you can. Right on the temple of my head." I tell her, turning my head to show her where to hit. "... what?" She asks, unsure of what I've just asked her. I groan a little and try to scoot closer, finding the movement difficult to do. "It seems the only way to switch back is to take some form of blunt force trauma to the head. I need you to force me back into my alicorn form before anypony else sees me." I try to lean forward for her to get a clear shot on my head, but instead fall off the bed doubled over. "You... want to change back?" Shadow asks as I groan into the ground. I'm remembering all of the times I teased Miles for having a hard time functioning as a newly formed alicorn. Is this karma coming back to get me? "I need to change back." I mumble as I roll over and try to use the bed to sit up. With it behind me it's a bit easier. "Why?" I huff as I look to her. "Shadow..." I try to find the words to tell her, but I'm too annoyed to think straight. "Just-" "Hear me out!" Shadow cuts me off. I startle a little from her sudden outburst. Whatever she has to say, it's really important to her. "Okay... So, Dad was the only human. And now you can turn into one! That's... that's going to blow him away! It'll be something that'll really mean a lot to him! He's not the only one. We can't hide that from him! I know you want to hide it from Tempestive. And I guess I can see some merit from that. But... why hide it from Dad?" I try to say something to her... But I can't. She's right. It's wrong to hide it from him. He deserves to know that he's not alone anymore. He's not the only human on earth. But... I can't bring myself to say it. Not yet at least. I know I'll have to tell him eventually. But there's just... something keeping me from just going down there and showing him! "I'm scared." I admit, getting a shocked look from Shadow. I try to push myself up as I try to find the words. They don't come right away. But I feel if I can just talk I'll work through them. "I know he deserves to know. And I want him to know. But... there are a lot of things about this that terrify me." "Like what?" Shadow asks quietly, taking a seat beside me. I take a deep breath and start to dwell on the idea. It's not easy, but Shadow puts a hoof on my knee and offers a supportive smile. "Well... for starters, I can't even walk. I don't know... how to be human. And then there's the prospects of any future children we have. Would he want them to be human too? What does that mean for Tempestive? And... if Miles is to be believed, human births are much more difficult. One was hard enough, I cant' imagine it being harder than that." I take a deep breath as I think on the next part. Shadow nuzzles my cheek lightly and I lean into her. The feeling is completely different though. Nothing about it is bad. It's just... different. "I... also... worry that I'm... not... pretty as a human..." Shadow laughs at that and I can't help but blush. "I mean, I know I don't actually know, but I really doubt that." Shadow reassures me. "I know it's silly to think that. But I can't help it! I don't know what makes a human female pretty! And it's not that I think he won't think that I'm ugly or anything like that! But... well, he fell in love with me as a pony. What will he think of me as a human?" Shadow thinks to herself for a moment before hopping up to her hooves. She rushes over to her dresser and starts to look for something. I take the moment to look myself over. I've seen a picture or two of human females. Plus there were the memories from Miles. Looking at myself, I don't feel particularly special in appearance. Besides my blue hair that is. I don't have a strong build like Fidus did. My hair doesn't have that same flow or length that Tenera had. My chest isn't large like Auxiliums was. But it's much larger than before... Okay, this isn't the time to think on things like that! Besides, I don't even know what constitutes a desirable form for human women. Shadow comes back and drops a saddlebag on my lap. She's filled it with a few supplies like a first aid kit and some Terradisian tools. Before I could ask what she was planning she teleported out of the room. "Well... thanks for letting in on the plan." I look around and decide to try and stand again. I can stand on two legs as a pony, why can't I get it as a human!? I use the bed to get onto my knees. Then I move one leg to get a foot planted firmly. I take a few breathes before forcing my legs to stand. But I keep both of my hands on the bed for better support. If I were a pony this wouldn't be too hard. But... something about this feels wrong as a human. I look over and see myself in the vanity. My eyes go straight to my chest as it hangs down a bit. How do any of these poor human women deal with these impractical things!? My eyes move down my slender form to my flanks. I don't have a cutie mark anymore. It's almost disturbing to see it blank. I know that's how it's supposed to be. But my brain is telling me that it's wrong. With one last deep breath I push off the bed and stand fully upright. I stumble in place for a moment before I feel my balance start to center itself. I hold my arms out to help it along until I feel confident enough to lower them. I look to the vanity again and look myself over again. I don't think I look bad as a human. But what do I really know? The only humans I actually knew of were much prettier than me. Honestly, I feel as if I'm... bland. Would Miles think that too? Does that mean that I'm bland as an alicorn too? The only other alicorns I have to compare to are Twilight, Cadence, and Celestia. Twilight doesn't count because she's still basically a pony. Cadence and Celestia though... they're both so effortlessly gorgeous! I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous of them. I feel like I have to put in so much work to be on par with them. Cadence has that special charm that everyone loves. Where I have to work hard to not come off as cold or overtly sarcastic, she's a joy to be around. There isn't a soul out there that doesn't instantly love being around her. She also has pleasant curves and beautiful hair. She's still young, but that just adds to her general glow! I'm particularly jealous of her smile. I have to remind myself to smile and put a little bit of work into it. It seems so effortless for her. Celestia is practically a goddess. Even though she constantly worries about her weight, she really doesn't need to. She's so much curvier than me. Enough for Miles to joke about her having a bubble butt. And her long legs are simply stunning! I've seen plenty of guards lose their composure when she enters a room. They only get scared when I enter. I wish I was a bit more curvier. Maybe not to Tia's level, but at least not enough to be as thin as I currently am. But my metabolism just won't cut me any slack. As I stare at my bare human form I can't help but feel as if I'm the lesser of the three of us. I know I've struggled with these thoughts in the past, but now... I don't know. When Miles notices me in this head space he usually compliments me to the point of embarrassment. There was that one time he made an entire presentation to try and convince me that I was wrong on every level. It really helped my confidence. But now I can't help but feel all of it fly out the window! I don't know how I look as a human! And that terrifies me. If I show this to Miles and he even makes the slightest negative comment... I'd be devastated. But I feel as if I'm getting too worked up in my head. What if this is all just my nerves getting the better of me? Maybe I should just show him. I can't hide it from him forever. And if he really doesn't like me in this form... then it would be better to get it over with now. "Luna?" Shadow calls from the other side of the door. "I've brought some ponies here. It's not Dad. Are you okay with that?" "Who is it?" I ask as I try to turn around. It's awkward, but I manage to turn face the door. "They're going to help you with your confidence. You're all mixed up in your head, so you need a hype team to boost your confidence! They've helped me out with the same thing a lot. So... we're coming in now. You okay with that?" I look to the mirror one more time before steeling myself. It'll be good to start small. See what others think before going to Miles. See how they react... how I react. "Okay. Come in." I say as I try to figure out what to do with my arms. Normally I'd just be standing. But now... this is going to be a long journey. I didn't know who to expect. But for some reason I wasn't expecting Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle to be the ones Shadow brought here. I guess it makes sense. Since they're her friends after all. But why not Applebloom? The two of the look at me through the doorway as their jaws drop. I feel a tad self conscious as they stare at me. I can't tell if they're impressed or grossed out. "Guys," Shadow says as she walks in and sits beside me. "Luna needs so-" "Are you sure this is Luna?" Scootaloo asks as she steps towards me. "She sounded like her. But..." "I assure you that it is I." I tell her, feeling a little more dejected. The both pause again when they hear me speak. It seems that seeing my voice come from my mouth is enough to convince them of my identity. Sweetie Belle walks past Scootaloo and motions for me to kneel down. I look to Shadow before doing my best to kneel down. I've seen Miles do this before. But why does it feel so difficult to do? I manage to lower myself and settle on my knees. I sit back on my new heels and lean in for Sweetie. She takes my face and starts to examine me all over. The takes extra care to look my deep in the eyes. "Yup! This is Luna all right!" She announces as she lets go of me. "I can tell by her eyes and smooth complexion." "Smooth?" I ask as I rub my face. My human skin is very soft and smooth. But I didn't think that would translate from my alicorn form. "Whoa! No way!" Scootaloo cheers as she steps up beside Sweetie, practically knocking her over. She looks me up and down before frowning. "Do all human females get such rockin' tits!? That's not fair!" "Scootaloo!" Sweetie chastises as she pushes her aside. I feel my cheeks burn as I look down at myself. "Don't be so crass!" "What? It's a compliment! Besides, we're here to boost her confidence anyway! Don't act like you weren't thinking it!" I look to Shadow as the two of them start to bicker. But... I don't know what I'm asking for. I've never really spent that much time with these two before. So I'm not too familiar with their mannerisms. But judging by the look on Shadows face, this seems to be the norm for these two. Shadow goes to get their attention but stops and looks back up to me. I tilt my head as she cracks a smile at me. Looking to the vanity, I see my face getting red and flushed. While I've blushed plenty of times before, my coat usually hid it well enough. Now... now I look like a ripening tomato. "Okay girls, honest opinions. Do you think she looks good for a human?" Shadow asks them, getting them to stop fighting. They each look me over for a moment, trying their best to formulate their opinions. "Well..." Sweetie starts, rubbing her chin in thought. "I'd say yes. Even though I don't know what a human female is supposed to look like, there's a lot to infer from Miles." "Yeah. But even before that, she looks good as a pony. I imagine that would all translate to humans as well. Miles looks good as a pony, so it probably converts the other way too." Scootaloo adds, getting a thoughtful nod from Sweetie Belle. "Yeah. That's a good point." Sweetie says, lost in thought. "Is there a reason you're not just asking Miles?" "Well-" I start, but Shadow interrupts me. "She's never done this before. So she doesn't want to go to my Dad and find out she's... different, from other humans." I nod along to that. It's true enough. But... there's also the fact that I don't know how to be attractive as a human. "Why not go to Topaz Falls then?" Scootaloo asks. "Couldn't you go down there, check some old photos or something and compare from there? Seems pretty easy to me." "Well..." I start out, thinking a little on the prospects. "That's actually not a bad idea. But I'd need help getting there though. I... don't know how to walk." "So... can we escort you then?" Shadow asks, motioning with her head to the saddle bag. The other two go wide eyed and lean in to plead as well. It is a good idea. But there's a little problem. I don't want Miles to know that we're traveling down there. But the tram that connects us will have a log of our travel. But... I think I can manage to obfuscate that. As long as we come back with something that I'll use on our trips then it won't look to suspicious. But should I really go with the three of them? That seems a little irresponsible. Even though they are the only three that are aware of my new form, I don't know if I'm comfortable with them escorting me through the Everfree. Not there's much for me to argue against there. I can't defend us if anything happens across us. "Although I do appreciate your willingness to help, I do not think it wise to have the four of us traversing the Everfree. I can't help defend us. And Shadow is supposed to be on light magic duty." I tell them, getting the trio to deflate a little. "If you really want to keep this a secret though it would be better for us to take you." Shadow tells me. "Besides, I can do the teleporting for us!" Sweetie Belle adds. "And I can do any fighting we need! My mom has been training me since I was seven!" Scootaloo announces with a flex of her wings. "Besides, the path to Topaz is probably the safest in all of the Everfree!" Shadow tells me as she takes my hand to hold it. "You're always helping me! Let me finally help you!" That almost breaks my heart to hear. I know she means well. But I don't want her feeling as if she's indebted to me! She's my daughter! I help her because I love her! But... I get what she means. She wants to help me in my time of need. Just as I did for her. She's playing at my heart strings for sure. She's just lucky that she's pulling all of the right ones. "Well," I state as I look between the three of them. "Let's go to Topaz Falls then." The next few minutes go by in a blur. The three of them run around the house to get everything ready. I wanted to help, but it took my half the time just to stand up. Shadow had me wait until Tempestive was asleep before I left the room. It's a bit early for his bed time. I'm amazed that he didn't even argue with her. When I'm back to normal I'll have to make sure to check on him. I hope he's okay. The girls loaded up three saddle bags before helping me down the stairs. I feel like a new born right now. Each step I nearly fall over and my legs feel like jelly. I almost fell over the railings at one point. Luckily Scootaloo was airborne and caught me in time. When we make it to the ground they contemplate on how to travel faster. Either dragging me on a blanket or just levitating me all over. But we all went silent when the back door opened and closed. Without saying a word Sweetie Belle grabbed a throw blanket off the couch and threw it over me. We all start to squabble and fuss as I try to cover myself as best as possible. Sweetie is trying to teleport us, but she's too frazzled to do it correctly. "Shadow is that you and the girls?" He calls from the kitchen, making us all freeze in place. He seems to be going through the fridge for something. "Y-Yeah! Sweetie and Scoots are here!" Shadow calls back. She shrugs to me as we all stay as still as possible. "Okay. Tempestive turn in early?" He asks as he goes through some jars. I think he's making himself a sandwich. "Yeah... hey Dad?" She asks, slowly stepping towards the kitchen. "Yes corculum?" She looks to me before turning to enter the kitchen. I share a confused look with the others before they run after her. I try to beg them to stay, but they're gone too fast to notice. "The girls and I were having a... really random debate. Could you tell us what made human females attractive?" WHAT ARE YOU DOING SHADOW!? WHY ARE YOU ASKING HIM THAT!? "Why would you want to know that?" He asks with a slight chuckle. I look around to try and figure out what to do. But short of bashing my head against the wall there isn't much available. "Well... we were wondering if pony looks translated over to human looks." I'm going to die. Why is she asking this? Why is she doing this to me? He chuckles a little as he closes the fridge. "You guys were debating how you'd all look as humans?" He asks. YES MILES! They already said that! "Yeah. Would we be pretty as humans?" Shadow asks, having found some new confidence. "Of course. You're all good people, whatever your form looks is only a reflection of that inner beauty of yours." While that is a very sweet answer, it's not what we're looking for. But it's good to hear that's how he thinks. "Right... but-" "What Shadow more specifically means is what makes a human female conventionally attractive?" Sweetie elaborates. "Like... a mare with wide hips is seen as sexy. Or long legs are seen as seductive! How did humans feel about that? Or what was it humans sought in women?" He chuckles again as he takes a seat at the table. I look around and try to think of something to say. But I don't want to risk him coming over and seeing me like this! This is actual torture. They're going to have an entire conversation about me without Miles knowing I'm here and I can't add anything! "You'll be shocked to learn that most of those preferences are the same for humans as well." He jokes before eating. "Come on Dad!" Shadow drones. "There has to be something you can-" "How important are tits?" Scootaloo blurts out. I feel the room become exceedingly awkward as everything goes silent. Of course she would blurt that out! Of course! "Tits?" Miles ask with a slight cough. "I don't know how I feel talking about this with my daughter-" "Please Dad!?" Shadow barks out. "I know it's uncomfortable but... uh... um..." "Shadow... what's going on? Why do you need to know what humans thought were attractive and how could it possibly have anything to do with... that? Is this something Rumble said to you?" I can see how he can get to that conclusion. But they really need to just drop this and let it go. "U-uh... something like that. It's just... let's just say that I was turned into a human and thrust into Terradisia. Back when there were still humans. How would I... fare? Compared to others? Like, how would I know if I was attractive?" "Well... for starters, you're beautiful now. So why wouldn't that translate? And then there's the aspect of your personality-" "I know attraction isn't just skin deep. But that's the part I'm curious about!" "Do you want the answer?" He asks, a little annoyed. There's a moment of silence before he continues. "Attraction is never just skin deep. There's no scale that you can move around to make the most attractive person possible. If they have everything you like physically but treat you like trash, then that's a problem. It's impossible to answer the question fully because half of the equation is subjective!" "Well... okay. Then what do you find attractive in a human?" Shadow asks. "... fucking what?" Miles asks. I think about it for a moment before I realize what she just asked her own father. I rub my face and try to erase the second hand embarrassment. I'm going to owe her for going through all of this. "Okay, not you. But... okay, how about your friends? What did they like? Was there an average?" There's a moment of silence as I assume Miles stares her down. "Answer this last question and I'll do the foal sitting for your next trip. No questions asked. No bribery needed." "... kay. Well... let's see. Dolum said his favorite thing about Auxy was her jovial personality. But... she did gripe about his constant grabbing. Mostly of her... ahem, chest. But, eh, yeah. So then there was Inficiunt. He was probably the most active out of the group. I remember him saying a bunch of rules that he lived by. Can't remember what most of them were. But there was one that always stood out to me." "What was that?" "It.. was... about... well..." "Dad." "What!? This isn't something that I would normally talk about! Let alone with my daughter and her friends!" There's another moment of silence he sighs in defeat and continues. "Apparently you wanted a chest that was only slightly bigger than your hand! Okay? Are we good? Can I eat my sandwich in peace now?" "Thanks Dad! We're going to continue this discussion in the living room so don't wait up! Love you, bye!" The three of them come running back to me. I glare at them as they hide around the corner and quietly bicker to one another. "Okay... I think I'll go back to the shed. There are... a few more enchantments I need to work on... bye." The four of us keep quiet as we wait for him to leave the building. Once we hear the door shut, I immediately scowl at Shadow. "What was that!?" I demand from her, getting her to shrink. "I don't know! I was just trying to get the answers from him!" She defends, backing away from me. "So you ask your father if he likes tits!?" I ask, glaring to Scootaloo. She tries to smile in apology, but there's no saving from this. "Well... we got the hand rule. That's something." Scootaloo tries to offer, but gets scowled by everyone else. "Sorry." I groan in irritation as I lean back and slide down against the wall until I'm seated. At least he wasn't too curious on what they were talking about. There's that much. I pull the throw blanket over myself as I try to hide myself. That could have gone terribly wrong. But at least he's gone now. So we can just move on. "So... should we still go to Topaz Falls?" Shadow asks. I let my head fall back against the wall as I try to think. There's merit to going, even now. If anything, just to be away from everyone until I can figure out how to switch back. "Help me up." I tell them as I reach a hand out. "If we go let's get one thing clear. Do as I say! There are a lot of things down there that can still be dangerous. Do we have an understanding?" The three of them nod in agreement before they start to usher me out of the house. As we leave I take one look back and wonder if this is the right decision. I don't know what we're going to do down there. Maybe we'll just find a medical bot and see what they know about this. Maybe there's something they know that can help. But then... anything they know they probably learned from Miles. I wish I had the courage to just walk up to him and reveal to him that he's not alone. I know I will at some point. I want to at some point! But... something about today is causing me too much anxiety about it. If I can at least learn to walk on my own then I think it'll be easier to approach him about it. The trip to the tram station was... uneventful. Even though it is the Everfree, there are times I feel there are small parts that have been tamed. I mean, literally yesterday there was a basilisk limb-jacker only a few hundred feet from the house! But our two hour walk into the Everfree, at night, with nothing happening? I guess I have to be lucky at some point. The girls were much better at this than I was expecting. They had an entire plan of action and even coordinated with scary precision. Scootaloo was on recon. She would jet ahead and fly back to secure the sides. Sweetie Belle lead the two of us while Shadow helped me hobble along. With her help I'm able to walk now. But just barely. Without her I can make it two, maybe three steps at a time. Just long enough to make me feel as if I'm getting the hang of it. The Tram station is a small building that houses a single locomotive. The cart itself is large and bright red with windows going all around it. The building is just a large stone roof with some seating around the tracks. There aren't a lot of people coming this way, so it's fairly basic. "Do you know how to operate the tram?" Shadow asks as we open the sliding door and climb inside. "It's automatic." I tell her as I take a seat at the side bench and sigh in relief. Walking as a human is so draining! "Once we're ready, pull the cord and we'll be off." Without missing a beat Scootaloo yanks the cord hanging up by the window and the doors slide to close. BING BONG With a sudden lurch forward the machine starts to gain speed and heads to the massive tunnel into the ground. Sweetie and Scootaloo are excited. I don't know if they have ever been to Topaz before. So that should be fun for them. I know Shadow has before. It's probably why she doesn't seem too bothered by everything. "Everything okay?" I ask her as we start the descent down. She thinks about it and waits for Scootaloo and Sweetie to run to the front of the tram. "So, is this the first time you've changed?" She asks quietly. I feel a ping of guilt as I think on it for a moment. "No." I decide to not dodge the subject. Not with her at least. "I've done it once before when I was pregnant with Timely. But I could never recreate it." She seems to consider my answer for a moment. Clearly she has some thoughts on the matter. I lean over and nudge her with an elbow, getting her attention. She looks up to me before smiling and leaning against me. I wrap an arm around her and hold her close. "I know you're worried about... well, a lot of things. But I think you should reconsider telling Dad. I... don't want you two keeping secrets from one another." I nod to her. She's not wrong. It's bad for this to go any longer than it needs to. But... there's just something about it that's nagging at me. "I know you're right. And I want to tell him. But... I'm just not ready for it. And I'm sorry to drag you and your friends into this." I tell her as I start to stoke her main. The feeling of her hair running through my fingers catches my attention. They're much more sensitive than a pony hooves. I can feel every strand, every loch, and the warmth from her with such clarity. "Don't worry about us. We'll keep your secret. For now at least." She reassures me as she nuzzles into my side. "Is there a time frame that you'd like to tell him?" "If I'm being completely honest, not really. I haven't had to think about this for so long I practically forgot about it." I tell her as I sit back and continue to stroke her mane. "I know I'd like to be able to walk at least. Your father was running the same day he changed, I can't let him lord this over me." "Oh, of course not! If anything we need to get you to be able to change willingly! If only to rub it in his faced." We both share a laugh. We pause when we hear Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle bickering with one another. They're both trying to get the center view of the tram as it travels down the tunnel. "Are they okay?" I ask, a tad worried. They're usually such good friends. I don't like seeing them bickering. Shadow waves a hoof at them. "Don't worry about them. This is pretty normal for the two of them." She tells me with almost a laugh. "Is that so?" I ask as they start to face off with one another. "Yeah. Ever since they dated they've been acting like that." I stare at them for a moment before I go wide eyed and look to Shadow. "They dated?" I ask getting a nod in return. "I never knew that." "Oh. Well, that makes sense. It was awhile ago. Plus they only went on one or two dates. They quickly found out they'd prefer to stay friends. But... well... let's just say that even when they fight like that, it's not really an issue. It's when they stop talking that you should worry." I look back to them and hum in response. It's interesting to think of those two as an item. Well, I guess if it didn't work out then I guess there's nothing to it then. I just thought since they each had coltfriends that they wouldn't have wanted to date a mare. I wonder if that's how they actually feel or if they're hiding something. It would certainly explain one of their dreams. "So... are you cold?" Shadow asks. "Freezing!" I respond and I pull the throw blanket tighter. "If I had a coat I'd be fine. But all this skin does nothing to keep me warm!" "I'm trying to remember what Dad called it, but your skin is getting bumpy." I look to my side and note the small little bumps forming. I run a hand over them and flinch a little from the warmth of my own hand. "We definitely need to get you some clothes. Otherwise you're going to freeze over." "Yes, well, at least for the time being I agree. If I can just switch back then that would solve both our problems." I tell her as I look over myself again. Now that the panic has started to subside I can appreciate my own form a little more. I still don't know what a female human is supposed to look like. But... I don't think I look terrible. I look over to Shadow and note that she's laughing at me. I cover myself back up and try to hide the blush growing on my face. "We've made it!" Sweetie announces as she shoves Scootaloo off the seat. The tram finally levels out and we enter Topaz Falls. The girls are in awe of the rows of stone buildings and bright lights. The central government building shines the brightest and garners the most admiration from the two of them. Shadow and I share a look before giggling to one another. Having been here before, it's lost some of that impressive muster. But seeing them see it for the first time... it's a tad funny. The tram has taken over the old highway system. We can take it all around the outer perimeter, a central ring, and to the P.C.H. There are drop off points at each of those tracks to switch over, but I don't know if we really should. If anything we should just go to the P.C.H. and wait there. We don't have a plan so there's no reason to walk around aimlessly. "So this is where Miles is from?" Sweetie asks, watching the rows buildings pass by. "No wonder he's amazed by dandelions." "So what's the plan? Is there a photography store we need to go to? Or maybe a library to look at some magazines?" Scootaloo asks. "Well, that's going to be difficult. Terradisians didn't really have paper. So where are we going to find pictures?" Shadow asks. I think about it for a moment before I get an idea. "Ladies, I know where to go." I tell them, peaking their interest. We take the central tram to the backside of the city. The entire time the girls are enamored by the sights. According to Miles the city is back to the way it was before the war. Minus the people of course. Though there are plenty of bots running around. Most are maintaining the city. But there are a few that just standing at various corners. Seemingly waiting for their task to become relevant. There are several that watch us go by. Almost happy to see something new occur. When we make to our stop we take off down main street. With the city so empty, it's a bit unnerving to hear our hooves echoing through the alleyways. Well, their hooves. Stumbling on my new feet is a bit uncomfortable. I can see now why Miles was so demanding for shoes. Maybe I should try a store and get some clothes. I mean, I think it's a bit silly to walk around in clothes without some event occurring. But, when in Terradisia I guess. We had to ask the bot for help to find our destination. It was overjoyed to do so. Even offered to escort us, which we accepted. As we walked I made sure to watch its every step. I'm trying to see how it does it so I can mimic it. It looks something to a slight kick forward and then just switching. I give it a few tries but I can't seem to find the right rhythm. Maybe I can get one of them to coach me later? "This is your destination. May I have your autograph?" The machine asks. We laugh a little from the question before entering the store. "What is this place?" Shadow asks as she helps me through the door. "It's a store. Well, it's multiple stores. But there's a communication store here that has what we're looking for. Everything that was recorded by humans was put into their technology. So if we can get ourselves some of their devices then we can access old photos." I tell them as we walk through the lobby towards the mico platforms at the back. There are a few holographic adverts here for the various stores inside. Looking at the people in them I try and compare myself to them... but I'm not sure how I fare. "So why did we need a phone from here if you already have one?" Shadow asks. "How is a phone going to have pictures?" Scootaloo asks. "Well, truthfully I didn't think of this until we were already heading here. But! There is one type of phone that I've been waiting to try. One your father isn't a fan of." I tell them as we look over the etchings on the wall. Each one is the logo of a store here. So I figure the one with the radio tower is our best bet. "Why wouldn't he like it?" Sweetie asks. I point out the platform and we each take turns teleporting to the store. Teleporting like this as a human is a lot less jarring for humans. I guess it's made for them. I take a look around the room before smiling to myself. We hit the jackpot! Rows of cases showcasing the devices I wanted fill the room. They look like small triangles of metal that seem to clip to you. The various wall mounted screens advertising them show that you wear them as ear clips, though they cover your entire ear. Well, they cover a humans ear at least. As we walk around a bot emerges from the back of the room. He's painted in various adverts for the store and other products. The girls get a tad nervous as he approaches, but I step forward to address him. "Hello! We'd like four of these Smartlink++!" I tell him happily. "Of course. Would you also like to add a personal paint job? All cost will be paid over the term of your contract so there's no up front cost!" The machine tells me as it ushers us to the back of the store. I though the ones here were the same as the others. I guess not. "Girls, would you like your painted?" I ask them. They all look to each other before shrugging. "Do we really need one?" Scootaloo asks as Sweetie nods aggressively. "Try one out. Though I will say that they are most useful here, there are plenty of uses for them back home too." I tell them as the bot offers me a tablet. I grab it and start to poke at he screen. Doing this with fingers is even stranger. I'm so used to my hooves that I feel almost too dainty to do this properly. And all I'm doing is spinning a color wheel! We spend the next hour going over the Smartlink++. It's a mix of magic and technology that puts an overlay in your vision. Unlike the phone that Miles uses you use this one with your mind! Miles can't use them because they're a bit too techy for him. They tend to explode or short out on him. But for us they work perfectly! Once we put them on the whole city comes to life! Hundreds of neon adverts fill the air and various street names and roadway signs blink into existence. Sweetie and Scootaloo have a new found sense of wonder as they stare out the window. Shadow doesn't seem too bothered by any of this. Though I guess she's got more experience with all of this. We each decide to get one that matches our coats with highlights of our manes. For the three of them they blend in decently enough. If I didn't know better I'd just say that they're just large ear clips. But mine stands out just a tad. Next we spend about an hour having the machine teach us to use them. For Sweetie and Scootaloo, this proves to be a bit problematic. They don't have the context that Shadow and I have to efficiently utilize them. But by the end they're able to navigate some of the more basic features. I manage well enough. But Shadow is using these as if she's done this a thousand times! She's even helping the rest of us navigate some of the more difficult features. "So how do we use this to look at human women?" Scootaloo asks as the four of us exit the building. We're all staring off into space as we try to navigate this new field of view. "I'll send a link." Shadow says. "Just click it when it appears... uh... Stare at it and think about opening it like a letter." Sure enough we all get a notification from Shadow. Looking at it to click it, we're brought to a new screen page. It overlays in to the side of my field of view. So I can walk forward and still see what's in front of me. The link brought us to something called Amica Inventor. I guess a sight mean to help you find friends is a good place to start. "Before we get too distracted, are you girls hungry?" I ask them. They all nod along as Shadow starts to walk off. "Shadow?" "I found a place. Follow me." She tells us as she leads the way. It doesn't take long for us to find a corner café. Stepping in there's a bot working the counter. It almost seems startled to see us enter the store. It escorts us to a booth. In our vision a menu is prompted. Clicking it I take a look at everything that's available. There's plenty of food and what looks like flavored waters? I wonder how they have food down here if there's no one here to farm the food? I know there are machine that can process the food. But I didn't know they're still active. Shadow and I have to help the others order their food, since they don't read Terradisian. But after that we spend a while just exploring the internet. Everything that humanity ever recorded is now right in front of us! The only thing limiting us is our inability to ask the right questions. We go to the friend web page and start to poke around it. It's a little sad to see so many happy humans living their lives and writing about their families and friends. The way everything is written makes it seem as if they're still alive. Waiting to see their family or excited to go to various events. I wonder how many of them made it out? Of the people I've seen so far, how many eventually became ponies? Then I found what Miles feared I'd see. A single post from an apartment showing the street battle happening below. There are fires and gunfire everywhere as the massive horde of Kroth charge at the rows of bots and humans. The caption at the bottom simply reads: They're here. I was about to close it out when I noticed something. In the back row there's a human in a massive metal suit of armor. I think it's some form of powered armor. But clinging to its back is... Miles. I zoom in to take a better look, and sure enough, that's him. He's been here for what's been so long that I almost forgot that he was there. He was in the midst of that battle. But with how many are charging at their lines... how could they possibly hope to make a stand. But that's what they're doing. I can see it on his face, as fuzzy as it is. That same determined face that tells me he's ready for a fight. He's there to kill them by the thousands. The tragedy is that there seems to be tens of thousands of them. That's when I get another idea. I look up Miles. I know he didn't have much of an online presence. He spent all of his time studying or training. But maybe his friends made one for him? Looking him up there are plenty of fan pages for him. Something that I also forgot about. Though, seeing the link to his infamous shower video is certainly bringing back memories. As I scroll through the posts and links, I find the page for the Spartans. On the header is three Spartans, standing to look as impressive as ever. On the left is Miles. Sleeves rolled up. Arms crossed. A look on his face that tells me he's ready to run through a brick wall. I go through the photos and I find Miles all over the place. Competing in various competitions. Winning awards. It's a great glimpse into his past. But then there's the one that stands the most out to me. His officers coronation. Captain Susurrans Bellum is pinning the metal bars to his uniform. He looks so much like him! And he's so proud! It even looks like he's fighting back tears! Miles looks as proud as ever. As if all his hard work had finally paid off. None of the comments mention the potential of them being related. It's astonishing! Though there are... a bit too many comments from women. Mentioning that he's single... Commenting on his looks... other grotesque things that I won't deign to reread. I look over the post and find a way to save it. As I do the food arrives and we start to eat. But it's obvious that the four of us are completely distracted. I can see why Miles doesn't like these. He prefers the direct and non augmented interactions. But this does let me see pictures of Miles from before, so it can't all be bad. "What is this?" Sweetie asks as she uses a spoon to lift up the green liquid on her tray. "Dunno. But it looks like it might be better than this." Scootaloo says as she pokes and the orangish red brick on her plate. I look to the small stack of what I thought were pancakes. But I'm pretty sure pancakes aren't supposed to be yellow. Shadow doesn't comment on her food. She uses a spoon to dig into her... well, it looks like blue feed honestly. I wouldn't know what else to call it. But seeing her eat without issue encourages the rest of us to try our own meals. Mine... isn't bad! It has the texture of a pancake for sure. But the flavor is... earthy? Like a good portabella. The others also seem to enjoy their foods as well, if still unsure of the textures. "Everything okay Shadow?" I ask, getting her attention. "You've seemed... distant, since we arrived here. What's on your mind?" Everyone looks to her as she starts to shrink from the attention. I watch her debate saying something for a moment. I can tell she wants to say it, but there's something stopping her. Maybe the phrasing? Or maybe she doesn't know what's bothering her? "Well... I've... been thinking." She starts, poking at her food. "Yeah?" Scootaloo asks from the other side of the table, leaning in to make eye contact. Shadow tries to hide from her but she's trapped on the inner seat of the booth. "So... the reason I threw that box out the window was... because... it... was from Rumble..." Sweetie and Scootaloo share a look before practically jumping onto the table to lean in towards Shadow. She shrinks away from them as they stare her down, chins resting on their hooves. "Go on!" Scootaloo teases, batting her eyes at Shadow. "What was it!? What did he say? Did you keep it? Details girl, DETAILS!" Sweetie demands as she inches closer and closer towards Shadow. I use my magic to sit the two of them back down. "Ladies, calm down." I chastise as I sit upright. I'm trying to remain calm to give Shadow some space to breath. "Whatever it was doesn't mean we need to pry any further than needed. If Shadow doesn't want to-" "It was an engagement ring." "-tells us then *inhales food* COUGH COUGH COUGH!" I nearly choke to death when she says that. AN ENGAGEMENT RING!? WHAT DOES THAT LITTLE CRETIN THINK HE'S DOING!? I have to start punching my own chest as I try to regain my composure. Sweetie and Scootaloo are equally baffled by this. I chug some water to clear my throat and have to take a moment to get my breathing under control. He proposed!? Now!? After everything that happened!?He thinks that's going to make things better? He cheats on my daughter and thinks proposing will fix this!? ... I might geld this idiot. "He came by and offered me the box. Told me to wait to open it when I was less mad at him." Shadow explains as she pokes at her food. "Of course I opened it the moment he left. There was the ring. Wrapped in a note." She goes quiet for a moment. I share a nervous look with the others before resting a hand on her shoulder. She looks up to me before fixing her gaze back on the food. "He said that he was going to wait for me. He doesn't want anyone else and he'll do whatever it takes to make things right. Even if I never speak to him again, he's going to wait. That was the gist at least. It was... a lot wordier than that." "So... what're you going to tell him?" Sweetie asks. I glare at her immediately and pull Shadow in tightly. "She's going to tell him nothing!" I bark back. "He cheats and thinks the appropriate response is to propose!? I think not!" "Mom!" Shadow mumble from my side. "Who does that!? Does he really think that... that... RRRAH! OOO this is making me so mad!" "Ma..." Shadow mumbles. "Uh... Luna?" Scootaloo tries to mention, but I'm too angry to process what they're saying. "He's lucky I didn't run into him! Oh-hoho he's so lucky! Actually, he might not be! We can learn where he lives! Or maybe a little visit in his sleep is in order? We can go and see what he's actually planning in that puny little mind of his!" "Luna!" I shake my head and look to Sweetie Belle. She points to me side and l look down. I have Shadow in a headlock and she's trying to pry herself from my side. In a panic I let her go. She gasps for air as she doubles over with each heave. I try to apologies, but she just puts a hoof up for me to wait. I look to the others, but they just shrug in response. "Can you guys give us a minute?" Shadow rasps out to the others. They each nod and leave. I warn them not to go far. I might need them to rush over for assistance. There's a long moment as Shadow tries to compose herself. I try to help her, but there's nothing to really do. I pat her back a few times, but there's not much to actually offer. When she gets her breathing under control she takes a long drink of water before slamming the glass down. Luckily it doesn't break. But I can tell whatever is about to happen is going to be really hard for her to get out. "Mom." She starts, only to catch herself for a moment. "Mother... Mama Luna. Ma..." "Yes my dear?" I ask, trying to coax whatever it is out of her. She takes one deep breath before blurting out the next sentence." "I am going to try dating him again." "..." I know I heard her. I know what she said. But, for some reason, I can't seem to understand what she's saying. He cheats on her and she's going to give him another chance? I'm sure there are those that would say that there are second chances and redemption is a virtue... but no. That is a terrible idea. Besides, didn't she throw the ring out the window? "Oh." I couldn't say anything else. Nothing else that wasn't an obscenity at least. She grabs my hand quickly, scaring me slightly. "I know what you're thinking! He cheated! Taking him back would be... stupid!" She tells me as she holds me hand tightly. "Not exactly the words I'd use, but yes." I tell her as I try to get out of the daze in my own head. If this is what Shadow is like... I sincerely hope Timely just finds a nice girl and settles without any of the drama. I don't know how I'm going to handle all of this again. "But... I really, truly, honestly believe that he's going to make a change. I believe that he's being honest and wants to do better! And... I still want him. So... that's it. That's the decision that I've been thinking about since we've gotten here. When I saw you as a human... I wasn't worried or scared or anything like that. My first thought was 'wow, this will help distract me from Rumble.' And I feel really bad about that." "Shadow," I tell her as I rub the tear rolling down her cheek. She tries to rub away her watery eyes. I chuckle a little at her. "What am I going to do with you?" "Heh, not tell Dad so I can break the news to him?" I laugh at that. She really is a chip off the block. "You don't have to worry about that. If he asks, we came down here to get supplies for our vacation." I tell her, giving her a playful wink. She takes a deep breath and smiles up to me, relieved to hear my support. "Thanks Mom." I feel my own heart skip a beat when she says that. Although I am overjoyed to see her making these tough decisions and striving forward, I can't help but also worry over her. I don't want to see her get hurt all over again. And this boy... he better treat her better this time. For his sake. The others return and we finish dinner. But this time the mood is much better! The girls are all over Shadow, trying to understand how she came to this decision. But she just gives them the same answer. It's her decision. And with that, she has all of our support. Though, that is not to say that Rumble is off the hook. We're all going to have words with him. I just wonder how Miles is going to handle all of this? Even though we finished the food, we did spend an hour here using the Smartlinks. They started teasing me though when they learned that I was spending my time looking up photos of Miles. It even got to the point where it started suggesting fan pages of Miles. I never knew he had such a following. I was aware of it, I even remember that one apartment. I guess I just didn't know the extent of it. Once I moved on from that I started my actual search. But it wasn't as straightforward as I would have liked it. Just as any other peoples, looking at a mass of photos tells us nothing of my comparison. There are things about me that could be seen as more desirable. I certainly have an appearance of being fit and curvy. But if I compare myself to Miles's old squad, there are aspects where I'm lacking. I'm not as strong as Fidus Kor. And her hair is so long and beautiful! Though she is thinner and much more... rigid. There is a certain level of confidence she has about herself that I'm immeasurably jealous of. In each and every photo of her she has a certain dominating presence to herself. As if she's telling the room that she's the one in charge. Then there's her sister Tenera. Though she is fit and strong, she's still so curvy and voluptuous! Her chest is clearly larger than mine. Her hips seem wider too. There was a photo of her running track and her flank was perfect! Looking at her made me feel much more self conscious. Mostly because I recall her wanting to ask Miles out in the past. If it had come between the two of us, side by side, would he have chosen me? Lastly there's Auxilium. I recall seeing her a few times from memories or pictures. Either way, she's still so beautiful! I particularly think she has a wonderful smile. But her chest looks like it would cause her to fall forward! It's completely impractical. The rest of her seems to fall in line with the way I appear. But looking at her, I also find Dolum Ostendere. Miles's best friend. But seeing a human with that complexion still shocks me a bit. Though, I don't know why Miles calls him black. He's clearly brown. I'm black when I'm in my greater form. Seeing him holding onto Auxy the way he does, it's clear to me how much they love each other. "Okay, I have a verdict!" Sweetie announces. We all break away from our searches and give her our attention. She sounds so confident, this must be good! "I found a thing that'll tell us how hot you are! You just take a picture of yourself and it'll calculate the results!" "Sweetie, I don't think that is what you think it is." Shadow tells her. I think on it for a moment before forcing myself out of the booth. "All information is good at this point." I tell her as I set the blanket down and do my best to stand there confidently. "Whenever you're ready!" It takes Sweetie a moment to figure out how to use the camera. Even longer to use the 'app'. But when she finally gets it done we all wait on her with baited breath. Apparently you want a high score. The lower the points, the worse you did. That's how Sweetie explained it at least. "Okay... you got... ninety two points!" Sweetie announces. Scootaloo cheers and I feel myself sigh in relief. Okay, at least according to this thing I'm an attractive human! Maybe I was over thinking this after all! Maybe I should just show myself to Miles! "Huh, now they want you to... model on some couch? Apparently they'll connect you with some agencies for... oh... ooooh." "What?" They want me to model!? That's great! I mean, I know there isn't anyone there. But the fact that I qualify is great to know! "Sweetie, can you link that to me real quick?" Shadow asks. After a few moments of them fiddling around she takes a look at the thing. "Sweetie... this is a porn site." "Oh... okay! That's good! You're hot enough for porn! That's something!" Sweetie defends. The rest of us just deflate from the news. I guess it was too good to be that easy. "Well... this seems to be going nowhere fast." I say as I sit back down and wrap myself up in the blanket. There's a moment of silence as we all sit here contemplating what to do next. I don't think this photo plan is getting the results we wanted. Though it was not entirely a loss. Getting those old photos of Miles and his friends was worth the effort. So at least we're not leaving empty handed. I think for the time being we should just head to the P.C.H. and speak the medical bots there. Although... Even though I do have this blanket, I am still fairly cold. Maybe next we should go to a clothing store and get some clothes for me. Well, I guess if there are any the girls want there's no harm taking those as well. I'm just tired of being cold and barefoot. I try to find a place on my own, but it doesn't do what I want it too. So I have to get Shadow to help me. She's such a natural with this technology! I assume it's from all of her time in Mooseden. Either way we find several options and Sweetie is ecstatic about this! Shadow and Scootaloo aren't opposed, but they're not as enthralled as Sweetie. It's cute how much she takes after Rarity. Even with totally different Cutie Marks they're still so much like one another. But there is a catch to the stores. They're not open until light hours. So we're going to have to find a place to sleep for the night. There technically are limitless options for us. We can just go to any apartment and sleep there. So we decide to try and find a place near the stores we want to look at. It made the most sense. Walking on all of this cement is starting to make my feet hurt a little. But I keep it to myself as we walk. I don't want them to worry about me. If I come off as weak or too helpless they might start to think that they'll need to get Miles. So I grin and bare it. Luckily for me the girls are too distracted with the city to notice me. With the technology giving us sight into the techno world, everything is much more colorful and alive! There are holographic adverts that looks like normal people standing in front of stores. Some are showing off clothes or makeup. Others are criers for restaurants. Then there are adverts as large as hot air balloons that are floating throughout the city. One seems to be selling vehicles while another is showing off something called a VRDen. It's fascinating to see all of these human contraptions on display. It makes me want to see this place back when there were people mulling about. What I would give to have been a fly on the wall then! There are so many things I wish I could see or hear. How common was the Latin language? Miles can switch between the two easily. Was that because of where he lived or was that the norm? How did people treat these adverts? Just how full did these streets get? When we get to the building we were looking for I get a little nervous. There's nothing about the building that's upsetting about it. I just didn't think we'd need to spend so much time down here. The girls walk me in and we take a look at the directory. There are levels with stores, apartments, and one that just says technology. "So how high do you guys want to go?" Sweetie asks as we all move to the mico platforms. "All the way to the top!" Scootaloo cheers. "Actually, I think this is where we part ways girls." I tell them. They each spin around and gawk at me. "What!? No way! You can barely walk! And you want us to leave you alone down here?" Scootaloo demands. Shadow was going to say something too, but I held up a hand to stop them. "I do appreciate all of your help girls. Really, I do. But this is clearly going to take much longer than we all thought. While it has been fun, if this is really going to take time then I need you three up top to cover for me. I need a day at most to get around and see what the medical bots say. But if the three of us are gone for that long then people might start asking questions. And since we've bought stuff Miles will be able to figure out that we're down here. So I need you three to run back there and help cover for me." They look to each other as they consider my words. I know they'd prefer to stay. But that's just not in the cards right now. Not if we're going to keep this secret from Miles for the time being. Shadow is the first to look back to me. She reaches up and takes my hand with both hooves. "Are you sure about this?" She asks, squeezing my hand tightly. "If something happens to you, no one will be able to help you." "I know." I tell her as I kneel to face her more directly. "But... I'm going to have to learn to walk on my own. Besides, I have a plan for tomorrow is there is no progress-" "Don't tell me you're going to bash your head in." Scootaloo drones. "Well..." In all honesty, it's probably the fastest way to switch right now. It's nowhere near the healthiest, but I don't have time for that right now. "Can these Smartlinks connect to the surface?" Sweetie asks. I shake my head. I have no clue if they do, but I assume that they don't. "Mom..." Shadow starts but stops when a thought occurs. "If we go, you need to promise me one thing." "Of course-" "And this is a Dad and Pinkie Pie level promise! No going back on your word!" She demands from me. I nod to her, understanding the severity of her demand. "If you try to force the change and it doesn't happen; you need to promise me that you'll go straight to Dad." I wanted to say that I immediately accepted her request. But I couldn't. Not without some serious consideration. I know she doesn't want me keeping secrets from him. She doesn't want this to become something severe or hurtful. And I don't want that either! But that just seems too... scary. And I don't know why! He's my husband for crying out loud! This should be the easiest thing to tell him! But every time I imagine walking up to him like this... there's just a loud part of my brain that's telling me that it's not going to go well. But I don't even know why I think that! I don't think he'd call me ugly or anything like that. At least, I don't think he would. Sure he'd tease me for... something! Probably my inability to walk right. But he's a teaser. That's what he does anyway! Why is all of this making me second guess myself!? I look into Shadows eyes and see the conviction within them. If I don't agree to this, she's going to tell him anyway. I can't say I blame her for that. But I'm not ready for it, so I guess I don't have a choice in the matter. "If after one day I cannot make any progress, then I will head straight back home. I promise." I tell her, but she leans in. As if she's waiting for me to finish my statement. "And I will go straight to your father for help." "Thank you." She says before hugging me. "We'll cover for you until then." "You can count on us!" Scootaloo reassures me, pulling Sweetie in for a one armed hug. "You're secret is safe with us!" "Can we hit up a few stores on the way out? Please?" Sweetie asks. We all share a small laugh before I wave them off. I give Shadow one last deep hug before they go. I never thought I'd be in a position where I would be entrusting her with a secret like this. Any secret for that matter! Humans really do have a way of making matters much more complicated than they need to be. Once they're gone I make my way towards the closest teleporter. It's slow going, and I'm constantly almost falling over, but I manage to make it on my own. When I appear in the hall of apartments I use the wall for support and try my best to walk properly. It's not the best, but I make it to the first door and try it. But it's locked. I guess that makes sense. Most of these are going to be locked... It's going to be a long day. Perspective: Shadow We spent a few hours in Topaz Falls. We tried a few stores but the only one the bots would let us in was some tech repair facility. It was a little disheartening to have to leave empty hooved, but there wasn't anything we could do about that. "-saying, I think she was pretty hot for a human." Sweetie says, bringing me back to the conversation. We're on the tram heading back up. "I don't know. Big tits just seem impractical. Plus, no Cute Mark." Scootaloo counters. "Guys, am I being dumb?" I ask them, catching them a little off guard. "Yea-OW!" Sweetie starts but stops when Scootaloo punches her arm. "If that's what you want, then that's what you want. Sometimes people want dumb things! As long as you're not putting yourself in dangerous situations and you're happy, who are we to say otherwise." Sweetie and I share a look before staring back at Scootaloo. It's not that we think that she's incapable of making such a valid and mature argument... actually, yes it is. That's completely out of character for her. "Okay... thanks Scoots." I say slowly as Sweetie nurses her arm. "So... can I ask the two of you... a... really personal question?" "Of course you can." Sweetie says, getting a nod from Scootaloo. I take a deep breath and try to put my mind in the right place for this onslaught. "So... you two have... plenty of experience that I'm curious about. I know how it works, physically. But... I have questions... about... sex." The two of them beam at this and I feel as if I've opened the gates to hell. What did I just get myself into? Chapter 278 Surrounded By UsChapter 278 Surrounded By Us Perspective: Luna THUD I whimper with my face in the ground as I lay on the stone steps leading towards the P.C.H. After looking for an unlocked apartment to sleep in I decided that it would just be faster to sleep in Miles's old dorm room. That... and I may have wanted to sleep in his bed. It was a little silly, but I set my mind to it! Which was a mistake. I managed to get a bot to help me across the city. But I had to get up the stairs by myself. I feel like that's a massive oversight made by the city. There was a ramp with a guide rail on the side. But I was feeling cocky. And now it's been an hour and I'm nearly to the top. I've bruised my legs and cut my right foot so far! My wrist is starting to hurt and I'm pretty sure there's a bump on my head. I just want to curl into a ball and cry myself to sleep at this point! But if I make it to the top a bot will be able to help me in and heal me. There's only a few more steps to go! I push myself to my hands and knees and start to crawl up the stone steps. It's extremely uncomfortable, but it's the fastest I can move. At this point I'm getting desperate so I start to push myself to move as quickly as possible. No matter how much it hurts my toes and knees and palms and fingers and nails... *Sad Luna noises* When I make it to the top I practically throw myself onto the level surface. The ground scuffs against my chest and I roll onto my side in pain. Everything hurts! Being human sucks! "GAH!" I yell and arch my back when something pokes into my side. I look over to see a medical bot stabbing me with some mechanical arm filled with various medical equipment. "You are injured. I am administering first aid." I growl in pain as I feel magic start to force its way into my body. What feels like forever eventually fades and my whole body throbs for a moment. After a few labored breaths I feel myself over and realize that all of the pain is subsiding. "Thank you dear... thank you." I tell the machine as I roll onto my back and try to catch my breath. Note to self; avoid stairs. I look to the machine and chuckle. I must look really pathetic right now. "You wouldn't happen to be able to teach me how to walk, would you?" "I can, would you like to pay for my services?" I laugh a little until I remember that this is a machine and doesn't make jokes. "How much?" I ask, still laying on the ground. I've been using Miles's account so far. But everything we've used so far can easily be explained. A medical cost? I don't know how I'm going to explain that to him. "One moment please... scan complete. Military family services render the bill to two hundred and fifty credits. Would you like to engage in my services?" Two fifty to learn how to walk... worth it. Even if I'm caught, it'll be worthwhile. "Do it. Teach me to walk!" I tell the bot. The arm with all of the medical devices drops down as several tendrils unwind from the arm. Four reach over me and wrap up my ankles and wrists. With abnormal strength it forces me to stand and holds me in place. I squeal from the sudden movement and hang onto the throw for dear life. "Center your gravity. Rotate your hips forward with each step. Keep your toes pointing forward and in line with your hips as we move forward. Good posture will aid with keeping your gravity. Shoulders back, chin up, and walk. Heel down first. Followed by your toes. Push off with your other foot and try not to over extend you knees." It's weird being puppeted by the machine as it walks me forward. I keep trying to look down to see what I'm doing, but it won't let me. So I try to go with the motions and listen to its instructions. I don't know how long we were at this. It felt like forever. We keep pacing the front of the building as it continues to puppet me. But slowly and surely I started to get the feeling down. And after that it started to click in my head. Once I could feel myself walking... I didn't need to think about it. And the machine was very precise with my movements and where to improve. When we make it to the front doors of the P.C.H. I turn around to thank the machine. But that's when I realized it had let me go and I was walking on my own! I look down to my feet and take a few more excited steps before giggling to myself. I'm walking! All by myself now! And it's only been... an hour! I'm not sure if that's good or bad to be honest. I wave to the machine before turning around and marching into the Parliamentary Congressional Hall. The warm glow of the lights heat me up immediately as I look over the grandeur of the main entrance. Gold trim. Velvet smooth carpeting. Marble pillars and obsidian walls. This place is beautiful! And, most importantly, comfortable to walk in. I do my best to remember where to go for the dorm rooms. I think there's normally supposed to be someone here to guide me or restrict movement. But I seem to be alone. I take a look at the mico platforms before guessing on one. FLASH I appear in what looks like an office. It's a bit disheveled in here, telling me that it hasn't been cleaned yet. I step off the platform to take it back to the entrance when I spot something. In one of the piles of junk there is a small metal bar sticking out. I don't know how I noticed it, but I know what it is. A Virgum de Marcas. The tool that gives humans their magic. I walk over to it and squat down by it. I can see the beautiful etchings that mark your hands within the metal. The last time I saw one of these Soul Fire warned me that I wasn't ready. But what about now? I'm a human now. Does that mean I'm ready? Will Soul Fire speak to me if I try to take it? I guess there's only one way to find out. I run a finger over the cold metal before grabbing it and pulling it out of the junk pile. I feel my heart race as I stare at the magical device. Last time Soul Fire was quick to tell me that I wasn't ready. The fact that she hasn't said anything is all the evidence I need. Now's the time. But should I do it here? Maybe I should get somewhere more comfortable before trying this. If only to be able to sit while doing this. I'm tired of being on my hooves... feet. This is going to take some getting used to. I rush back through the teleporter and try the next one. It takes a few tries until I'm in a familiar hallway. I recognize it from Miles's memories. But which one is his room? I try to think of what his room number was... but it's not coming to mind. If I saw the inside I think I'd recognize it. And I know it's none of the ones near the teleporter. I start to walk down the hall and look over each door. They're all numbered, but that seems to be the only thing about them that's unique. And none of these numbers are ringing any bells either. So I'm going to just guess and hope for the best. Hmm... room two-three-six-one it is then! I try the door and sigh in relief when its unlocked. The thought did occur to me that they all might be locked as well. But I guess a little favor was meant for me. I step inside and take a look around. Much of the room is still a mess from long ago. I can tell some bots came in to do some dusting and minor cleanup. But that just means that the mess in here was pushed into one pile. But the beds were made and look clean, so it'll have to do. The room is similar to what I recall of Miles's dorm, but it's clearly not his room. His room didn't have all of these posters of various weapons and strong looking women. It has the same set up though. Two beds with footlockers at the ends. A desk between them with a computer. Not the room I wanted but it's a good resting point. I turn around and see that there are mirrors on the closet doors. I step in front and take a look at myself. I look frumpy. Though, that is mostly because of the throw blanket I have myself wrapped up in. I huff in annoyance. I don't know where all this self doubt is suddenly coming from. But I'd really like it to stop for two seconds. I toss the throw blanket onto one of the footlockers and drop down onto a bed. I feel my hole body throb in relief from the days misadventures. It is strange to feel the blankets against me, but I'm too tired to really think on it right now. A quick nap and I'll check out the Virgum de Marcas. Then to the medical ward to see what they say about this form of mine. Seems like a plan. So now I'll just... fall asleep... Falling asleep.... now... Maybe I should get under the sheets? Once I'm fully nestled in the bed I close my eyes and try to fall asleep. Sleep... Sleeping... I am sleeping... Why am I not sleeping!? I toss the blankets off in a huff and stare up at the ceiling. Why am I so restless? I have a golden opportunity to get some sleep! I'm in a cozy bed all to myself with no one to disturb me! Why isn't this working? I look around the room and huff again. Well, if I'm not going to sleep anytime soon I should take a look around then. I sit up in the bed and take a look around. There's the lockers, the desk, the closest, and some storage above the beds. Where to start... why am I debating this? What is going on with me right now? Am I procrastinating? On what? I take a peek at the throw blanket at the end of the bed and note the metal bar sticking out. I guess I am trying to put that off. Is there any real reason not to just get it over with? I take one more look around before crawling to the end of the bed and yanking the bar out of the blanket. I sit back and look it over again. The two spots with the etchings are darker than the rest of the bar. It's not a particularly thick bar. I could fit my hand around it easily enough. So... I have a guess on how to use this. But I don't know whether or not it's correct. I hope there isn't anything else I'm supposed to do. Or if there are any cultural norms that I'm unaware of. I look over the bar once more before I slowly move my hands over the etchings. I swallow my nerves down as I grip it tightly, hoping this is right. I can feel my skin filling the etchings. If I press harder they might imprint more evenly. I don't know how long I'm supposed to do this, but I get the feeling I'll know it when it- FLASH THUD Perspective: Miles I hum to myself as I look over my computer screen. I'm looking over some data from the griffin clouds, just to freshen up on them. We're nowhere near a breakthrough. But maybe starting over will open my eyes to something. I grab my half eaten sandwich and take a bit when a proximity alarm goes off. I pull up the feed and watch as Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Shadow walk out of the tram from Topaz Falls. When did they go down there? Why did they go down there? ... WHAT THE FUCK ARE THEY DOING IN THE EVERFREE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT!? I nearly fall over myself as I start to rush out of my shed to intercept them. But when I make it to the stairs I nearly fall over in a daze. I grip my chest as I feel something within me stir. It's as if there was a massive shift in a whirlpool and I'm caught in an all new current. But just as soon as it started, it ended. I haven't had a feeling like this since I went through my changes. What was that? It was far too deep to have been from my standing too quickly. I feel myself over before I hear the senor go off again. Whatever it was, I'll have to come back to it. I need to make sure the girls get home safely so I can kill them myself! Perspective: Tempestive I wake up and feel myself nearly throw up. Something within me is getting all mixed up and making me seasick. I sit up in bed and hold my head as everything spins. Lupus huffs in annoyance as he moves away from my side. "Sorry boy," I tell him as I pet his side. "Just feeling off." He moves in to sniff my face, growling as he searches for whatever is making me feel off. I giggle a little from his cold wet nose. When I push him aside I take a look and nearly have a heart attack. Leaving Dad's shed is... that person. The one from when I blinked. The one that's going to get shot in the town fountain. The one that's surrounded by fire... What should I do? I saw him leave Dad's shed. Do they know each other? Maybe, but he also might be stealing from him! But he also saves me in the future. So he might not be bad. But he also might be bad now and good in the future! He's running off into the Everfree. Should I follow after him? I don't know, it is pretty late. And going to the Everfree this late is never a good idea. But I can't just let him go! Can I? "What do you think?" I ask Lupus. He stares out the window before walking in a circle and laying back down. "Why is that always your answer?" "Huff" I look back out the window and watch the figure disappear into the wilderness. I have to know who that is. I have to know what he has to do with the future! I toss my blankets off and jump out of bed. I grab a flashlight and start to run out of my room when I realize something. I should bring Shadow and Lupus. For extra protection! I go back to Lupus but nearly trip over myself when I see a note laying on top of him. Confused, I grab the note and read it over. Tempestive, Do not go into the woods. Not a good idea. Tempus. P.S. In case you ignore this, please bring the red bag under Shadows bed. Red. Not orange. P.S.S. This is Spatium, we love you to the moon and back! Take care and be sure to eat your all of your greens so you can grow up big and strong! I read the note again before looking around. When did they put that there? Why didn't Lupus react to them? Are they telling me to go or not to go? I mean, they said one thing, but then gave me instructions for another. Should I go? Does Shadow need that bag? Does this mean she's already out there? All this time travel stuff is giving me an all new headache. ... aw heck! I'm going! Whatever is in that bag must be important enough for Tempus to tell me about it! "Let's go Lupus!" I yell before rushing to Shadows room. I'll need to hurry though. That person has a massive head start on us now. Perspective: Miles I really should force myself to change into an alicorn. I'd get there faster. But I can't risk not getting up in time. At least it's the three of them. I don't have to worry about scaring anyone as a human. When I make it past a bend in the road I finally see them on the path. They all stop as I rush towards them. I'm relieved to see that they're okay. But since I can see that no one is hurt, I'm pissed beyond belief. "Dad!?" Shadow calls as I come to a stop before them. "W-what are you doing here?" "What am I doing?" I ask as I try to collect myself. I almost chuckle when she looks to her friends for help. "What the fu... what are you all doing out here!? It's the middle of the night!" "I can explain!" Shadow retorts. I stare at her as she slowly backs down. Whatever excuse she was going to make seems to vanish. "What she was going to say," Sweetie starts, stepping between the two of us. "Is that we're on a mission from Luna!" "What?" I ask. Scootaloo nods and jumps in front of the others. "Yeah! For some trip thing happening soon! Uh... we can't say more! We promised Luna we wouldn't!" I stare at her before looking back to Shadow. She looks like she's about to have a panic attack. "Shadow, is that true?" I ask her. She blinks and looks up to me. "Uh..." "Just tell me the truth Shadow. Why are you all out here?" I ask her, trying to sound as calm as possible. I have no clue why they would be out here this late by themselves. I find it too hard to believe that Luna would send them. There's something else going on, I can feel it. "Well, Daaaaaaa-sir?" I tilt my head as she goes wide eyed and stares off behind me. I turn around and nearly have a heart attack as Timely comes running down the path. He's got an orange waist bag in his mouth and Lupus is trotting along side him. He comes to a stop and we all stare at one another for a moment. I can't believe this is how I'm going to tell him that he's half human. This is how he finds out!? Late at night in the middle of the Everfree!? This is where I'm going to explain to my son that he's not fully pony? At least I have pants on... "Uhm... I was... I brought this!" Tempestive says as he takes hold of the bag. I look over to Shadow and glare at her as I try to think of what to say. She's equally mortified. But apparently tonight is the night! Why not? I've been home for all of three days, we're well over due at this point! "Tempestive!" Shadow squeaks out, slowly stepping around me. "U-uh... we gotta go buddy." "Why?" He asks as he presents her the bag. "Who is that? What is that?" Before she could answer a low growl rumbles through the woods. I take a look around in an attempt to figure out what's out there. Lupus starts to growl in return, the hairs on his back standing on end. I look to Shadow and she nods to me. The girls gather together and start to usher Tempestive out of the forest. I can see that he wants to protest. But he knows to keep quiet right now. But in the rush to escape he drops the bag. Whatever that was, it's watching us. The growl was to scatter us. As long as the girls stick together they should be safe. I wait until I lose sight of them to ignite my hands. Lupus is still by my side, staring out into the woods. I look out at where he's looking, but I can't see anything out there. The moonlight is hidden by slight cloud cover. So my view into the woods is spotted. There are parts that are decently visible. But then there are parts that are completely dark. "Lupus," I say quietly. "Go to the boy... go get Tempestive." He growls in response but slowly starts to leave. He pauses to look back out into the darkness before sprinting down the path. I follow his gaze and pause at a specific tree. It's a little too dark to make anything out, but I feel something looking back at me. The cloud cover moves and the light shows the tree in greater detail. But only for a moment. Something there moved out of the light. It was tall. Possibly two stories tall! Its body blended with the trees and ground cover almost perfectly. If it hadn't moved I might not have seen it. But its face stood out the most. It looked like a porcelain mask for a human. But was minimal. Just two openings for eyes and a slight bulge out for the nose. Two large antlers sprouted from the top and stretched far out to the sides. But the movement it made... it was too smooth. It was as if a normal sized person was stepping away. And there was no noise either. Something that big, moving silently, and that quickly... it's not natural. Even for the Everfree. I take a look around and try to think of what to do. Should I go after it? It seems to be leaving the area, so maybe I should just stand my ground and wait it out. But what if it's moving to flank the kids. I don't know though, it moved away from them. I also get the feeling that it was watching me. It didn't move when the kids made a run for it. It only moved once I had visual. Is it aware enough to make that desertion? I snap to my left when I hear a branch break. I can't see where it is though. That's too fast for a normal creature to be moving! There wasn't any sound either! At least I know it's here though. It's after me... so why isn't it moving? I turn again when I hear a tree groan. Something heavy just forced it to bend and almost break. But now it's ahead of me. I take a readied stance and prepare myself. There's a fight coming, I can feel it. I just have to wait for it to make the first move. Perspective: Luna I feel my eyes burn a little as something bright shines down on me. It takes me a moment to collect myself. But when I do I find myself in the white void of my mind space. I sit up and take a look around, but there's nothing here right now. There's no windows into my memories. Normally they'd at least be in the air out of reach. What's going on? I don't even see- I am here. "Gah!" I jump from the sudden voice behind me. The humanoid womanly figure with wings and a horn known as Soul Fire is hovering there. Her midnight blue body glows with enormous power. Much more than usual. It's almost as if she's about to burst into flames. It is time. "Time?" I ask as I stand up. "Time for what?" To meet us. I take a look around to see if there is anyone else here. I look back to Soul Fire in confusion but she only responds with what I assume was a smirk. She holds herself tightly for a moment before throwing her arms out. Hundreds upon hundreds of small fires explode out from her and start to race around the void. Each flame racing around the room is its own unique color. I stare up in wonder as they begin to circle around me. It's as if I'm in a tornado of prismatic fires. A single bright red flame comes racing to me and seemingly dances around me. I laugh as I watch the flame circle around my arms and waist. The red flame stops before me and spins itself tighter and tighter before a womanly figure unfurls herself from the flame. It's another Soul Fire. But unlike mine, this one is purely human in shape. She's a little shorter than me, but not by much. She takes a moment to look around before setting foot on the ground. All around me I see images of people and places I've never been. There are a few people I can recognize. Like Susurrans Bellum. And of Topaz Falls. But all of these aren't my memories. They seem to be someone else's. This Soul Fire's probably. I look to her as she crosses her arms and shifts her weight onto one leg. "Who are you?" I ask. It doesn't respond. Instead dozens of other Soul Fires race down and start to inspect me as well. I was a bit nervous at first. I didn't know what they were doing or why. But then I saw the red Soul Fire again. She looks... happy. I can't make out what is telling me this, I just feel it. She's happy. They're all happy! Is it because I'm here now? Or did I do something that they liked? Go to him. "Huh?" I ask... them. I can't make out which one said it. But at the same time it was as if they all said it. I look to the red one and she nods to me. But I feel something in my heart tell me everything is going to be okay. As if... I'm not longer alone. Go to him. "I will! I'll... I'll go!" I tell her. I don't know what she's talking about. But that doesn't matter right now. I... I trust her. I'm not even sure who she is but there's something deep within me telling me that she's here to help. Maybe she's guiding me or knows something I don't, I have no clue. I just get the feeling that whatever she's telling me, I should listen. In the blink of an eye I wake back up in the room I was in before. I look around and find myself back in my alicorn form. But not in my usual lesser form. I'm in my greater form. I run a hoof down my dark side before I take a look to the mirror. I stare back into my own teal draconic eyes and wonder why I'm back in this form. A form that I usually avoid because of the painful memories it brings. Did they put me in this form? They want me like this, but why? She said to go to him. But there's only one person I can think of that they are telling me to go to. So what has Miles down now? For someone who is supposed to be taking it easy, he's really bad at it. I stand up and start to charge my horn. If there is trouble, then there's no time to wait. I can teleport to the city walls and make my way back to the surface. As I charge my horn though, I notice something in the mirror. Under the pillow on the bed is a tablet. I look back to it and pull it out with my magic. How did I not notice this under there? I should just get going... but curiosity gets the better of me. I levitate and charge the device with my magic. I wait for it to power on before trying to open it. But it's locked. There is a picture on the screen though, and I nearly drop the device when I see them. Fidus and Tenera Kor. They're in military uniforms and holding each other while smiling for the camera. Dozens of messages start to appear suddenly. All from Fidus. Which tells me that this is Teneras tablet. I stare at the device and try to think of what to do with it. Should I take it? It seems... wrong. I don't know what's on here. And I know there are personal messages here between her and the others. Especially Fidus. And I know if I go get in I'm going to read all of them. But this is three thousand years old. What's the harm in reading those messages? Plus, she might have photos that would otherwise be unknown. And it's not like there's the possibility for me to get permission. I swipe up on the screen and see that it needs a number code to open. Without that code, this is just a shiny piece of glass with a nice photo on it. There can't be any harm in taking it, right? I'm sure it'll be fine! Besides, I might not be able to open this anyway! I take a look around before I go to the closet. I'll need a bag to carry it with me. I don't want to risk breaking anything. I take a look inside but stop when I see several outfits laying on the ground. Dresses, shirts, pants, shoes, tiny socks, everything a human female would need to be properly dressed. ... Taking her clothes wouldn't be bad, would it? Some of it looks really nice! It would be a shame not to take it! Besides, this was all left here a long time ago! It'll be for emergencies! Incase I turn human again and need to cover up! Even though the idea of that is still silly to me, I can see why humans do it. She'd understand that! I grab a laundry bag and start to stuff it with clothes. I can't take everything, so I have to consider everything that can fit. Plus, this bag feels like it's going to break if I put too much. So... maybe three outfits. Yeah... that should do just fine. I'm sure she won't mind! Now, off to find whatever trouble Miles has gotten himself into. Chapter 279 Memories of YouChapter 279 Memories of You I hum to myself as I sit in the tram. It's driving up to the surface at a steady pace. It'll only be a few more moments before I arrive at the station. I thought I'd have to be down in Topaz much longer. But I guess not. I'm trying to have one last peaceful moment before I go hunting for Miles. I really hope he hasn't done anything foalish. I was really looking forward to our vacation together at the end of the month. As the tram levels out I grab the backpack of goods and lift in my magic. It's made for humans, so I can't just sling it on. When we finally come to a stop the bell chimes and the doors slide open. I take a deep breath before walking out. I doubt he's there, but the best place to start is at home. If I'm lucky he's there and this is all a false alarm. If only I could rely on such luck. FW-BOOM I throw myself to the ground as a blast of energy goes flying over head. A tree explodes behind me and sends chunks of wood all over. I look over to where it came from and see human Miles standing there. He's shirtless and breathing heavily. He doesn't seem injured, but I can tell he's been fighting for some time. I take a look around before teleporting near him. I don't want to appear directly next to him, just in case I catch him off guard. "Miles!" I call out to him. He snaps around and raises his arms to me, his magical lines up to his shoulders. "Fuck!" He yells as he drops his arms. "What are you doing here!? I nearly took your head off! ... Oh sweet Barbra." "What are you doing here!?" I snap back. I step towards him but he steps back. He takes another glance at me and I realize that he's eyeing me. "Focus!" "You need to get out of here! There's something out there!" He yells to me, spinning around to find whatever it is. I take a look around and ignite my horn. I don't doubt that there is something here. I just haven't seen anything. "What is it?" I ask as I step beside him to cover his flank. "Baloths? Some kind of serpent? ...dragon?" He just shakes his head as he continues to look around. I keep my guard up as well as I try to see what's out there. Because of the partial clouds there are parts of the forest that are much darker than the rest. Even with a full moon I can't fully see what's out there. And I know in this form I have greater sight at night. So Miles must have even less vision than I do. As I scan the area I nearly miss it. It's hiding behind a tree, watching us. Whatever that thing is, it's tall. Possibly fifteen to twenty feet. It looks as if it's made of wood except for the face. It looks porcelain, especially with the long crack going across its face. It has one antler reaching out to its left. I should be able to see the other, but it's not there. Maybe Miles broke it off? It's behind the tree staring at us with a single arm wrapped around holding a branch. It almost seems scared of us. Maybe it's waiting for us to do something? I keep my eyes on it as I prepare a spell. If we don't have to keep fighting it then we can just leave. "I see it." I whisper to Miles. "Should we just leave?" "How many do you see?" He asks, still watching my back. "Just one." "I saw two. I'd prefer to destroy them. I don't want them near the kids... they've seen the kids." I curse my luck for that. Maybe I shouldn't have sent Shadow and the others back then. "Okay... anything I should know?" I ask. I don't intend for him to fight alone. As much as he'd prefer otherwise. "They move fast and silent. Tough as shit too. Dodgy too. They seem scared of fire though." I hum to him as I stare down the creature. It hasn't moved yet. What could it be doing? "Why is it staring at me?" I ask Miles as I begin to pour magic into my prepared spell. Just to add more power to the attack. "Dunno. They do that before attacking." He tells me as he takes a few steps away from me. "Know what they are?" "Never seen them before. Should we take the initiative? Maybe we can-" SNAP Before I could finish my sentence a creature suddenly appeared at my side. I almost missed timed my spell to defend myself as he tried to pulverize me. But dozens of sabers appeared and sliced at the beast, snapping its arm off. At the same time the other creature came around and tried to do the same to Miles. But he was able to put a shield up in time. I bring my arcane swords up and start to push forward. The creature tries to attack again but dozens of swords are swarming it. My attacks aren't breaking through as much as the first attack, but I have enough to keep the creature off balance. It covers its head for a moment before it sends out a high pitch screech that echoes throughout the woods. I have to step back from the power of its voice, nearly losing my spell in the process. The creature stomps down and throws its arms out. The arm that I severed grows back instantly while all of the cuts I put close up. In the span of a second it seems as if it's back to normal. I try to push my attack, but the creature ran off to the right. A second later it appears on my left and tries to punch my side. I move my swords in the way and leap into the air with my wings. Its fist shatters several swords, but they buy me enough time to get away. I race up and begin to channel the magic of the forest into myself. Whatever this thing is, I can't just whittle away at it. It needs to be one decisive attack. I glance down and watch as the creatures move to attack Miles. He moves between pushing one back with magic while dodging the other as best he can. Each blast of magic he sends out is enough to brighten the forest. But they're just too fast for him to catch. He's trying to set them up to be as close to one another as possible. The problem is that they move far too quickly for something like that. Miles starts to push back on them, using beams of energy to try and force them to retreat. But the creatures don't care that they are taking hits. One of them charges directly at him before it takes a beam of Soul Fire directly to the chest. Wood explodes all over as the other one lunges forward and grabs Miles. I inhale and take all of the energy I've taken so far and unleash it upon the creature. The world goes dark as all of the surrounding light disappears. My beam of energy catches the creature mid throw and blasts it into the ground. I hold the spell on it as I focus on destroying it. The light emitting from the beam glows faintly like the moon, revealing the area around us. Before I met Miles this was my most powerful spell possible. Moonblast. I've never been able to cast it so quickly before. Nor with so much power. All of the world fades away when I drop the spell. My head spins a little and I can hear the ground sizzle as the floor burns. I slowly lower myself as light begins to come back. It's as if someone had turned out the lights only to slowly bring them back on. The creature and everything that was behind it is gone. Burned to a crisp. Only its arm is left. Miles pries himself from its grasp and stands back up. Looking around we don't see the other one. But I have a feeling that it left. They were smart enough to wait for a surprise attack. I doubt that it'll wait for another when it's out numbered. "Well," Miles starts as he feels the ground where I attacked. "At least this time you didn't hit me." "... OH! It was one time!" I yell back at him, getting him to chuckle. "I swear! Besides! You told me to do it!" "Mmm... I don't recall that part." He says as he stares out into the wilderness. I huff in annoyance. Of course he doesn't recall that part! So convenient for him to forget that he wanted me to do that! Noooo, it has to be 'my powerful wife attacked me' or 'try not to hit me this time!' "Well, not that I think it will, but we should keep watch here for a bit. Just to make sure that nothing comes to check the battlefield afterwards." He tells me as he starts to walk towards the tram station. "I'd hardly call this a battlefield." I comment as I follow after him. I stop when I see the an orange bag on the ground. Intrigued, I pick it up and open it... "Miles." "Yeah?" He asks as he picks up my bag from Topaz. "Why do you have a bag with sex toys with you?" I ask as I levitate a vibrator out of the bag. He looks over to me and goes white in the face. I stare at him before I look back down to the bag. I spin it around and see Shadow's name written on it. And, of course, as I read her name more of her toys fall out of the bag. ... ... I drop the bag and scurry off towards the tram station. There are too many questions that I don't want answers to. I'm sure there will be discussions later about the missing... items. But for now I don't want to think about that. Miles follows after me as he looks over the bag I 'borrowed' from Topaz. "So... wanna tell me what you were doing in Topaz?" Miles asks as we awkwardly take a seat at the tram station. I take a deep breath as I try to think of what to say. I know honesty is the best policy. I know that Miles won't be mad or anything like that. I just... I don't know if I'm ready to tell him. I don't know how to be this forward about something like this. And I don't know why!? He's my husband! Why is there no other secrets between us besides this!? I know he'd tell me if... actually, he did just tell me! So why can't I find the courage? "Miles." I start but stop as I feel my heart skip a beat. I take a deep breath as try to calm myself. But I can't seem to get a hold of myself. Miles slowly moves a hand to hold my hoof. He gives me a gentle squeeze and a smile. I sigh and lean against him, resting my head on his shoulder. He always has a way to know just what to do for me. It almost makes me feel guilty honestly. Because I don't know if I have the same effect for him. "What ever it is, I promise you, it's nowhere near as bad as you think it is. You can tell me." He tells me quietly as he rubs his thumb against my hoof. I think on it for a moment before I decide to be honest in a different way. "Miles... there is something I want to tell you, want to show you, but... I don't know why. But I'm not ready to do so. There's just something nagging at the back of my mind telling me to wait. I'm sorry, but... there's something I'm keeping from you." There's a moment of silence between the two of us. With my head against him I can feel his heart still racing from the previous fight. He hasn't looked at me yet. Still staring out at the woods. His thumb is still making circles against my hoof. "Was that all?" He asks with almost a chuckle. I lift my head to look him right in the eyes. He seems like this is some sort of joke! "Aren't you mad!? Isn't your whole society about honesty and truth!? This isn't some joke Miles! It's been... difficult to deal with!" He nods to me as he leans back against the bench. He stretches out for a moment before rocking forward and jumping to his feet. He looks back to me and smiles that little cocky smile he gets. "Luna, amica mea, honesty doesn't mean you have to say what you don't want to. If there's something that you're not ready to tell me, then that's okay. Because you told me that there is something. You can be honest and truthful without being forthcoming. And if it's really this bothersome for you, and you really want to figure it out on your own, then I'll support you." I look away for a moment as I feel a weight lift from my soul. I should have known he'd be understanding about this. But... I guess I let my nerves get the better of me. I glance up to Miles as I feel a wave of silliness wash over me. Of course he'd let this go so easily. "Itane?" I ask in his tongue. Even though it's one of his native languages, it's become our own little escape of sorts. We use it to speak only to one another. Or to let each other know that this is at a different level from before. There are a few others that can speak it, but none use it the way we can. "Non mihi molestus es?" "Numquam." He says as he steps forward and takes a knee before me. He takes a single hoof in both of his hands and kisses it gently. I feel myself melt as he slowly start to kiss his way up my foreleg. Each tiny peck of his lips is enough to make my heart flutter as I watch him breathlessly. I become lost to his touch. Wondering how far he'll reach... how far he'll go. Just as he reaches my chest he pushes back to stand. I almost feel abandoned when he does so. But he just smiles to me and motions with his head for us to return home. I take one last look out to the forest before I rise to follow after him. Whatever that thing was, I don't think it'll be coming back anytime soon. Despite how formidable it was, I don't think it was meant to attack. It seemed better at spying. But our time in the Everfree has ended. We need to get back home and make sure the kids are safe. "So..." Miles starts as we walk down the path together. "First on my mind, aside from you that is, why do you have Tenera's old laundry bag?" "What!?" I nearly trip over myself when he says that. I take the bag from him and look it over. There doesn't seem to be anything on there that says that it's hers. "What makes you say that it's hers!?" It looks like any other human bag. Olive green canvas with a thicker black bottom. There isn't a single thing about this bag that could possibly stand out about it! Miles chuckles a little as he rubs his neck. One of his tells that what he's about to say isn't the easiest. "Well... I mean, it is just a bag. But the clothes inside are the giveaway. I mostly remember that yellow dress of hers. It was her favorite to wear for special, non formal, occasions." I open the bad and see the old tattered yellow dress rolled up on top. ... ... ... "I first want to say that I did not intend to steal from her specifically. I just happened into what was her room and then... yeah." I feel my ears pin back as I nervously pass the bag back to him. He laugh a little at me as he opens the bag and looks inside again. I feel myself blush as I watch him dig through it. All of this pop and circumstance and he's probably going to figure it out right now. He stops when he sees something though. I can tell it caught him off guard. He pulls out the tablet and drops the bag as he turns it on. I can practically see his heart break when he sees the Kor sisters once more. "I don't believe it." He mutters as he runs a hand over the screen. I feel myself hold my breath as he looks it over. I don't know how he's going to feel about this. Will he be mad that I took it without telling him? Will he be happy just to see them once more? Both? "I couldn't open it." I tell him, hoping that this will buy me some credibility. "It needs a code. I didn't want to chance guessing in fear of getting locked out." He doesn't say anything. He just stumbles backwards until he finds and tree and drops to sit. He stares at the photo for a moment longer before he starts to smile. Even just seeing the corner of his mouth twitch up was enough to put my nerves at ease. At the very least he's happy to see them again. "This picture here," He tells me as he pats the ground next to himself. I take a seat beside him and look at the photo with him. "This is our graduation. Not only were they the first female Spartans in Topaz Falls history, they were also able to do it together. While not the first siblings in history, it's still impressive." "Wow..." I mutter as I look down at the screen. "Would you happen to know how to open it? If only for the pictures." He thinks about it for a moment before swiping to try and log on. Whatever the code is, it's a four digit password. He tries a few numbers, but they don't work. He hums to himself as he swipes the login screen away. He starts to check the notifications and we start to read the messages sent by Fidus. The first few are a bit jumbled. A letter here. A single word there. Judging by the dates, it took Fidus four months to send a full message. But then they start to paint a larger picture. August 26th, 1132: Heading to hospital. Stomach pains. September 19th, 1132: Pregnant. November 2nd, 1132: Don't tell command. I can still fight. December 12th, 1132: I don't need anything so stop asking! All I do is sit on my ass and do nothing anyway. Only four messages in the first few months but I can already get what's going on. I remember well enough when we were in Miles's memories what happened to her. It seems her assault culminated in a pregnancy. A pregnancy she tried to ignore it seems. I don't have the timeline down to an exact yet, but it seems like this all happened before Topaz Falls was abandoned. Or possibly during? Miles moves back to the code screen and stares at it for a moment. He types in a number and tries it, but it fails. He hums to himself as he stares at it. I try to think of something to add, but I don't have a single clue as to what it could be. A birthday? A special date? Possibly something to do with their unit? It could be anything! "Did you know Tenera once wanted to date me?" Miles asks as he stares at the screen. The question surprises me for a moment. "I think you've mentioned it once. Or we saw a clear interaction before." I tell him as I try to stomach my jealousy. "Yeah. Of course I had no clue at the time. I was so focused on school or the Spartans that I didn't even consider romance. It just wasn't anything that came to mind. And I knew there were attractive people out there. But... I don't know. I guess I just never saw them. Not until I saw you that is." I smile from the compliment. I don't think he meant it as a compliment though. He can be rather factual at times. Still, it's nice to hear him speak of me like that. It's nice to know that he's genuine in his attraction and love for me. 1-3-3-7 He types in a code and the screen presents the home page. We stare at it for a moment before he chuckles a little. I'm still at a loss though. What was that code? Miles glances to me and notices my slight confusion. "My old room number." I stare at him before chuckling a little. My chuckle grows to a laugh and we both share in the silliness of it all. The poor dear must have had it really bad for him. I feel a little pity for her though. I'm sure Miles being clueless wasn't helpful in the slightest. He moves to read all of the messages from Fidus. Reading through them, we get a better picture of what happened between the two sisters. Tenera was juggling between fighting the Kroth and supporting her sister. But Fidus clearly wasn't taking the pregnancy well. She wanted to fight. But not just the enemy. She was fighting her friends and family too. It's hard to get a clear picture, but the impression I get is that she wanted to take care of everything herself. She didn't want to be a burden. But by the time they got to the Emerald City she was too far along to do any fighting. She was supposed to start her six year maternity leave. Captains orders. We see messages where Tenera would update Fidus with doctor appointments but then have to yell at her to actually go. Or where Fidus would start yelling at Tenera about hiding certain supplements. It's clear that she didn't want to change her life style. Then they arrive to Ruby Canyon. I get the impression that Tenera had to drag her all the way there. At the very least it sounds like Fidus didn't want to leave the Emerald City. She wanted to stay and fight in the civil war. Tenera wanted to get her o Ruby Canyon for some cure. Something that she wanted her and the baby to get. She talked about fighting for the two of them so they could secure their future. Something along those lines at least. But then the messages become odd. There are a few giving random addresses. One is giving coordinates with a differential number, whatever that means. But the last one is a date, but it doesn't line up with the date of the message. August fifteenth, eleven thirty three? There's no context to that date. It's just there. Date wise it's after all of the other messages. But it's after when the actual message was sent. Miles stares at it for a moment before scrolling back up to reread some of the messages. Once through them he goes to the home page and thinks for a moment before closing the device. He passes it to me, so I take it in my magic. "Sorry, I don't think I can go through pictures right now." He tells me. I nod to him as I put the tablet away. "I understand. But what was going on with those messages?" I ask. He thinks to himself for a moment before shaking his head. "I think I have an idea, but I'm not sure. They almost seem like coordinates for time travel. I know Celestia could do that for a few minutes, maybe that's what's going on?" I hum in thought. That does seem likely. But what could they possibly be needing from him? And would it be wise to travel back in time? Couldn't that cause great harm to the timeline? Not to mention we can't rule out the fact that this might also be a trap. Discord was there in the past. Maybe he was messing with their communications. Or maybe it was from Miles to Miles to get him back there. If he went, would he stay? Would he help his friends travel to Equestria? If Celestia can send him back in intervals, wouldn't that be enough to give them the edge? All of these questions are too much for me to think on. But the one thing I feel from all this is that we shouldn't do anything too rash right now. If it really is for time travel, then there is no rush to do anything. The past isn't going anywhere. "I think we should wait to act on this." I tell him, getting him to nod slowly. "We don't have enough information to act on. We can always come back to this later." "I agree." He tells me as he sits back. "Plus, if I'm going to beat your challenge, I can't go crusading through time. Can I?" I laugh a little from that. At least he's still interested in that. Though, I am too. So it's doubly good in that regard. I scoot closer to him and rest myself against his side. The night has become quiet once again. Even the winds have grown still, despite our location. "Tempestive saw me." Miles tells me as he looks to the starry night. "... Oh." Well, when it rains I guess. "Did you speak with him?" "Not yet. I had Shadow take-" "Wait! Why was he in the forest to begin with!?" I yell, almost falling over. "Don't look at me! I didn't bring him!" Miles defends. As shocking as it is to have him see Miles as a human, I'm more concerned about him just... galivanting through the Everfree! "I thought he was asleep when I saw the girls on the cameras! He must have heard me make a run for it and followed!" I sigh in annoyance as I think about Tempestive. We're going to have another, even longer, conversation about him entering the forest. But, that aside. He knows what a human is. Or, at the very least, he's seen one. They even had some interaction now. We knew this day was coming. Though, I wish he was just a little older. I guess these things were just bound to occur. "So... how should we handle this?" Miles asks me as he relaxes back against the tree. "Should we just full force tell him everything? Or do you think we should trail it for now until he's a bit older?" "Truthfully, I'd prefer to wait. He's only six, this might still be a lot to take in." I tell him, getting a firm nod of approval from him. "But, he's going to have questions. So... I think we should answer his questions in full, but if not go any further than we need to." "We should have a timeline." Miles adds. "We talked about it before, but there was never a line in the sand. When do we think will be the age where he'll be able to handle everything? How old are we talking? Ten? Twelve? Eight?" I mull it over for a moment as I try to think on it. There's still that small part of me that wants him to stay my little foal for as long as possible. But that's not fair to him. But when would make the most sense for him to learn about this? If not now, when? I still think now is too young. I think having his cutie mark would be a good starting point though. Learning he's not fully pony while not knowing what makes him special? That just seems like a bad idea. But there's a chance he may never get one. He's half human. I don't think it's too likely, since Miles has one. But we don't know that for sure. "Having his cutie mark is a good starting point." I tell Miles, breaking him from his own thoughts. "Assuming he gets one." "Right. I think that's a good idea. Maybe delay it a week or two from then. But, in case he doesn't get one? He should learn about it before he's an adult. It's only fair to him." "That we're in agreement on... so... Twelve? Ten maybe?" I ask. I do want to delay it a tad bit longer. And honestly if he doesn't have a cutie mark by then it would help him make sense of everything. "Let's go in the middle then. If by the time he is eleven he does not have a cutie mark, then we'll tell him. But when he gets his cutie mark, we'll tell him shortly after that. Deal?" He asks before holding his hand out. I shake his hand and give a firm shake. "Deal. Well, that's assuming he doesn't ask a million questions tonight." I tell him, getting him to chuckle. "Right. All this planning and he might just barrel through everything later." He says as he looks back up to the night sky. I look up with him and stare up at the tapestry of constellations. "This night reminds me of when I first arrived in Ponyville." Miles says after a moment of silence. "How so?" I ask, leaning against him more. He just shrugs as he wraps an arm around to hold me against him. "I don't know. It just... There was a lot of uncertainty that day. And now... it feels similar." I hum in response. "I see... but things are good now... right?" I ask, a bit curious to his answer. He just chuckles as he tightens his hold on me. "Leagues better. The night is... there's change in the air. You know? Just like back then. Look what happened in under a year when I first arrived." "Pfft! A year? Miles, you had me pregnant in barely a few months!" I tell him, getting us both to snicker. "Well! You know... old habits and all... Anyway! I just feel as if we're at a turning point. We going to start trying for another baby. Tempestive is learning about his true nature. Fuck, Shadow graduates this year! Things are going to start changing again. And I feel hopeful, you know?" I look up to the night sky and think on that for a moment. Miles isn't one to normally talk or feel hopeful. But hearing him say that, it puts a smile on my face. Back then, he didn't want to think about the future. He knew he wanted one, but that wasn't a luxury he could afford. But now... now there's nothing but time for us. We can afford to be hopeful again. "Yeah, I get it." I tell him as I nestle against him, letting my heart fill with hopes and dreams again. Chapter 280 Past VS PresentChapter 280 Past VS Present Perspective: Rainbow Dash BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BE-SLAM I slap my alarm off as I snap awake. Today is the day! I practically throw myself out of bed as I zip around the room to get ready for the day. There's not a moment to lose! Comb my mane! Grab my flight suit! Brush my teeth! I need to get through my morning routine as quickly as possible so I can get out of here! I burst through my bedroom door and zip towards the kitchen! Tank was on his way to me, but I rushed past him too quickly to fully notice. I start to zip around the kitchen to get things ready for the day. I'm going to need to pack a meal for later. Oatmeal should be a good enough breakfast. At least for me that is. Soarin can make something if the others need more. Gotta get the rest of my gear for the show though. Today is the annual Equestrian Aeronautics Show. And the Spartans are going to take home the gold. Though normally you have to be invited to attend, we're going to make an entrance that leaves them no choice. With the Captain out I know I can convince Storm to let me lead us to victory! Miles was on the fence about the whole thing the last few years. He doesn't want out first year to compete anything but a landslide victory. And even though I could take home the most medals on my own. The rest of the team needed time to get up to my level. But this is the year we're going to jump in and blow the Wonderbolts out of the sky! We'll crash their party and steal their awards, leaving them a total mess! They'll regret ever doubting us and learn to keep their grimy little mitts off others special flight moves and embarrass them in front of all their friends and family... I mean, today is totally the day the Spartan Jumpers make a name for themselves. Yeah... that's what this is all about. As I bolt from task to task the others slowly start to trickle in. Soarin was first in. After a quick peck on the cheek he took over making breakfast. He knows what today is. Ever since his injury forced him out of the Wonderbolts he's really taken to being the stay at home parent. He also part times as a junior flight instructor, but I know it's not his dream. That's also a part of why I need to win this today. I want him to know that backing me this whole time wasn't a waste. I need to prove to him that I'm not just some... loser dropout... Scootaloo drags herself in next. I don't think she knows what's going on. All of my zipping around is most likely what woke her up. I manage to pause by her to give her a quick nuzzle before returning to look for the rest of my gear. Seeing her stretch out her wings and plop down at the table reminds me of when I was her age. She's almost done with school! And after that... Well, I think she's mentioned some college or possibly trying out for certain Air ball teams. Maybe some combination of the two. I still remember the days when she couldn't fly and rode around on that scooter of hers. And now she's about to start her professional career! It fills me with pride to see her advancing like this. But it also makes me feel incredibly old too. Jet is the last to make it out. He's as chipper as usual. He and I are both morning ponies. I doubt he knows what's going on today too. But he'll follow along regardless. He's always down for an adventure. He gets that from both Soarin and I. He's also got both of our natural talent for speed and maneuverability. When he gets older he could give me a run for my money! I stop by the kitchen table and look around in a panic. I have everything but my helmet! Where could it be!? I checked everywhere it would normally be! It's not a small thing, how could it be hiding? "Dash?" I look over to Soarin. He just nods his head down and I see Tank slowly hovering towards me with my helmet in his grasp. "Thanks buddy." I tell him as I take it from him. It give his little heli-pack a look over before booping my nose to his. I feel a little silly as the kids snicker at me. But Tank just boops me right back. "Okay! Okay! Okay!" "What's with all the zwooshing!" Jet asks as Soarin starts to set breakfast. "Got a mission?" "Something like that." I tell him as I take my seat. Soarin passes me a bowl and I mouth my thanks to him. "Today I'm taking the Jumpers to crash the Equestrian Aeronautic Show." Jet and Scootaloo give me a surprised look. Though jet is surprised with excitement while Scootaloo is surprised with concern. To be fair, she was there when Spitfire stole my thunder. "That's today?" She asks as the rest of us start to eat. "A-Are the jumpers really ready for this though? I mean, I know you are!" "Nice save." I comment as I start to eat. I want to scarf it all down and get moving, but I know better. I don't want anything going wrong today. Everything has to be perfect. "But what about the others? And don't you have to be invited?" Scootaloo asks. "Don't you worry your pretty little head about all of that!" I tell her between mouthfuls of oatmeal. "I've got a full proof plan for that. And the Jumpers are more than ready for this! Just you wait and see!" "Wait... WE'RE GOING TO THE SHOW!?" Jet asks, practically spitting out all of his food in his excitement. "Easy there buddy." Soarin tells him as we all chastise him for being gross. "But yes. Who else is going to cheer on your mother and the other Jumpers?" "YUSH! YUSH! YUSH!" Jet cheers as he pumps him fists into the air. We all share a laugh at his excitement. Scootaloo gives me a concerned look before she starts to eat. Even though I know she has high faith in me I know she's worried about today. She was there when I tried out for the Wonderbolts and was shown up. Back then she held me in such high regard. Seeing me flounder like that... well, she may have taken it as hard as I did. But not today! This time we're going to be the ones to take home the gold! I take a look outside and note where the sun is. I wolf down the last of my oatmeal before rushing around the table to give my goodbyes. I zip out the door and drop down the race towards the Captains house. I'm sure he'll want to take the family and get a good show! Especially to see us making it on our own! This'll show him that we can manage on our own without him. I rush to the front door and throw it open. I pause when his two wolves rush out and scurry off before walking in. "... saw that scary monster." I only catch the last thing Tempestive says as I approach the kitchen. But I can see whatever they're talking about has put Miles in a slight state of shock. Luna isn't looking too thrilled either. I stand there for a moment as an awkward silence fills the room. Whatever they were talking about, it seems like it was heavy. "Is this a bad time?" I ask, getting all of their attention. "Rainbow Dash!" Miles chirps as he tries to compose himself. "What're you doing here? Did something happen?" "No, nothing has happened... I'm just here to relay that I'm taking the Jumpers to attend the Equestrian Aeronautical Show. It would be good to have a cheering section, if possible." The table blanches from my announcement. Most of them are too whiplashed to say anything right away. But Luna manages to find her voice first. "Don't you have to be invited to attend that?" I roll my eyes to that. "Only if you don't know how to make an entrance." I tell her confidently. "I know these ponies. Being invited is their way to gate keep who they compete with. But make an entrance that ensures that everypony is talking about you... Well, showing up but not competing is the same as telling everypony that you're too chicken for a real contest! Trust me, we'll compete!" "Do you believe that you'll win?" Miles asks. His tone is a little more serious than before. He knows what this all really means. We've done missions for the world, sure. But this is something on a different level. This time it's directly challenging what Equestria is supposed to be dominant in. It's about becoming the king slayers of the air. "We have nothing to fear." I tell him before I slide my helmet on. "Will we see you there?" Luna and Miles share a look but Tempestive looks as if he's about to explode. I had a feeling having him in the room would help persuade them to my side. And from the sounds of it, it seems like they could use a distraction. Miles and Luna share a silent conversation before Luna sighs in defeat. "We'll be there-" Miles starts. "YES!" Tempestive yells in excitement as he springs into the air. Before we could say anything further her rushes out of the room. I assume to go tell Shadow what's going on. "Get ready for a show Cap'n! You haven't seen flying like todays! We'll take home the gold for sure! Just you wait!" I don't wait for him to respond. I'm too pumped to sit still! Plus I still have to get Storm and the other Jumpers together and then race to Cloudsdale. The competition starts in a few hours so I don't have a moment to lose! Much like my plan to attend the competition, my plan to convince Storm Cloud was more asking for forgiveness rather than permission. I mostly just grabbed all of the Jumpers, told them there was an urgent mission to attend to, and started flying towards the airfield. Once we were halfway there I started to tell them the game plan. Most weren't too happy that we're competing with such short notice. To be fair, I normally wouldn't do something like this. But... I know these guys. We've been training for the past four to six years together! I've made sure that the amount of wing power per flier is at a competitive level! Everything we've drilled is far more demanding than this show. I wouldn't allow any of them to call themselves Jumpers otherwise. I've seen what the Wonderbolts consider a normal training regiment. So I made sure that every single Jumper would be able to meet or exceed their expectations. Most of this was just me pushing them as hard as possible. It's a bit easier to do so while in a military setting. Especially one as demanding as the Spartans. But then there was the treasure trove of info I was able to pull from the Terradisians. It wasn't easy to get into the Core, but once I was able to it unlocked everything. Unique flight patterns. Equations for air resistance and aerodynamics. Advanced dietary plans and exercise routines. There was even a program that could scan our wing flaps and maximize our thrust output! It took a lot of study and coordinating with the Captain, but we worked our tails off to get to this point. And we're more than ready to win this. We have enough fliers for two Flights. Which only doubles our chances of winning! Since I'm the Lieutenant for the Jumpers, I lead the first Flight. On my tail is Dust Devil. She's our most senior flier that's not an officer. Ellzy is next with High Flier on his tail. Most teams would pair griffins with griffins since they don't tend to have the same flight speed as pegasi. But I made sure to pair the griffins with ponies just to show off our coordination. The second team is lead by Storm with Johnathan on his wing. Jonathan is actually a better flier, but Storm has him out ranked so there's no fixing that. I'd say Jonathan is probably our second best flier skill wise, so he'll actually help Storm look better in the end. Rounding out their team is Night Fury with Shifted Past on his wing. Though we have the changeling altered as a pegasi so he can match his speed. I take a look to my right and make eye contact with Dust Devil. She blinks to me before moving closer to speak. "Everything okay?" She yells over the wind. "Yeah. Call it out, helmets on!" I tell her, getting a solid nod in return. "ARMOR ARMOR ARMOR! PREPARE FOR CONTACT!" She yells to the others. I slide my helmet on as wait for the HUD to come online. We're competing in our full armor. Just to show off. Though it is Terradisian armor, it is modified for flight. So it doesn't protect as much as a normal set. But it's even lighter with the added benefit of still being some of the most protective armor for any flier! It still needs some work though. I feel like the wing joints are a little too exposed and the shoulder sleeves could use some better padding. I shake my head when I hear the others sounding off. It's time to get my head into gear. "WING FOUR, READY!" Night Fury yells out. "WING THREE, READY!" Storm Yells out next. "WING TWO, READY!" Ellzy calls out. My Hud turns on and I take a look down below. The airfields of Cloudsdale fill me with slight dread for a moment. Every time in the past I've competed here in something's always gone wrong. People stole my routine. Scootaloo got injured. Rarity almost fell out of the sky... But not this time! This time... we're winning. "WING ONE, READY. DROP TIGHT LEFT AND BREAK FLOW!" We all bank to our left and start to race down towards the airfield. We've worked on some shorthand orders. Some phrases we can pass along to one another just so we can keep our speed up. Drop is pretty obvious. Descend quickly. Break flow is a little more complicated. Essentially it means go against whatever currant there is. Head wind, storm direction, or blitz through an opposing force head on. The airfield is filled with various troops of ponies and griffins flying around. But there is a single mass flying around the center track. They're most likely warming up. But I can see several Wonderbolts mixed in there. More than anywhere else. So that's where we're going to my our entrance. The eight of us have our wings tucked as we let gravity do its thing. Though I miss the air racing through my mane, having an altimeter in my view is a very nice bonus of the helmet. And there's still that weightless feeling that comes with racing towards the ground and max speed. A single referee sees our Flight and starts to whistle at us. But we're not going to listen to him just yet. Just as the others notice his annoying blows and look up we finally make it to the mass and fly through at break neck speeds. I took aim for a specific fiery orange pegasis mare and cut her off. The shocked look on her face was almost worth all the trouble. When our Flight breaks through I snap my wings open. The effect is immediate as we kill our speed. "THIS IS IT!" I yell over the radio, another courtesy of the helmet. "Flights break and Scout the mass!" Storm breaks left and I break right. We did lose the majority of our speed, but we never stopped. We we have just enough momentum to get us on level with the mass of confused ponies and griffins. We start to circle the group, building more and more speed as we start to narrow in on them. Most are too confused to do anything right now. But there are a few that know what's going on. Spitfire is glaring daggers at me right now. Even though there are others asking her questions her attention is solely on me. Good. When we get close enough to start hitting the group I break off from circling the mass. Storm follows after me without order. We perform a rising helix in front of the mass. It's a tough move to make. Basically Storm and I are weaving between each other while our tails are dramatizing the weave. Doesn't sound hard on paper. But If Storm and I don't manage the weave correctly we'll cause a crash in the tail. Banking right to weave once more I see the three tails behind me whip pass me to complete their helix. Opposite of us the second Flight is doing the same. Storm looks to me as I hesitate in the air. He's waiting for me to make my move. I take a quick glance down to make sure that we have their attention. And sure enough there isn't a single person looking anywhere but at us. "DEAD DROP!" I tilt back and leave my wings to relax against the air. Our flights drop down together in perfect unison. A dead drop is a classic maneuver, maybe even low bar. But it's the uniformity that makes it worthwhile. The instant compliance with my moves and call outs are what will set us apart from the others. I know my Flights will perform the moves without question. And I know they know how to do it all. You don't need to be the most skilled to win this contest. Uniformity is what will carry the day for us. We drop for a moment before we perfectly catch ourselves and flip back to a hover. Just in time to be one level above the mass of confusion. We stay there in the air flapping in unison, as if we were marching in place while airborne. Those below are quiet. Some seem impressed while most are just confused. But there are the select few that are genuinely angered by our presence here. I take a deep breath as I ready myself to address them. It's been a while since I've had to do any public speaking. I just hope my voice doesn't squeak. "THE SPARTAN JUMPERS HAVE COME TO COMPETE!" I announce to the crowd. But they're all a little too confused to know what's going on. "This is an invitational contest!" Spitfire yells back, flying up to be on the same level as the rest of us. "You can't just show up and-" "Well I take it our invitation got lost in the mail then." I tell her, getting few chuckles here and there. She just glares at me, annoyed by my presence even more. "Though, if you really don't want us to compete, we'll understand. We wouldn't want to challenge the mighty Wonderbolts in their home turf!" There are a few more snickers from the crowd. Mostly from the griffins that I assume are from the colonies. I knew it wouldn't be hard to get the crowd on my side. I'm sure most of them are just here to compete for the sake of flying. Most don't hope to ever actually beat the Wonderbolts. If anything, they come here to hopefully get scouted by them. "It would be no challenge-" "Then what's the problem!" I yell over her as I zip within hoofs reach. "Your call there. Accept the challenge or fly away with your tail tucked between your legs. What'll it be?" She considers me for a moment. She's weighing her options right now. She eyes my armor and underlying flight suit. The number of fliers with me. She must be thinking of the Flights she has present. Wondering if they can beat a group like us. We must look slow. Weighed down with armor. Maybe even a little clunky too. Mixing ponies and griffins within Flights. If I were in here position, I'd take the challenge. But she's not in this for the love of contest. The Wonderbolts usually use this contest as a sorta scouting and fixer contest. Either they find new talent and bring them into the fold. Or they crush the competition and use the victory as a morale boost for the rest of the flight season. It's a middle ground contest. Small enough for the big shots to not take too seriously. But big enough to make waves for the flight season. "Alright. We won't protest your addition." She tells me, offering a hoof to shake. I grasp her hoof and we each try to put as much pressure into it as possible. "Break a leg." "Keep wishing." I growl back to her. We break away from one another and I fly back to my Jumpers. They huddle up with me as I take a deep breath. "No turning back now." Storm tells me as he watches the Wonderbolts huddle up. "Do you really think we're going to compete with the Wonderbolts?" High Flyer asks nervously. "I mean, I came here to fight! So don't worry about me... But, you know... It's the Wonderbolts." "Don't worry about them." I tell him as I remove my helmet. "We've drilled longer and harder than any other group here. We've been waiting for out chance to show the world what we're made of, and now's our time! Don't worry about winning. Just focus on your wing mate and remember your training." They all share a nod and we start to discuss todays events. I know we're ready. I know we can win! But I also know that this isn't going to be easy. No matter what, all that bravado won't mean a damn thing if I choke again. If any of us do. But there's no time to focus on that. It's game time. Todays competition has three events. Usually a group would try to have one or two teams per event. But our two Flights are competing in all three. Most fliers don't have that kind of endurance, but we have more to prove. Each contest awards points for the top three positions. First gets you five. Second gets three. And third gets one point. If you're team can get fifteen points, then you're the Golden Wing. There have only ever been three Golden Wings in history! And as much as I'd like to win the title, I know it's not likely. It's a team event, so there's little chance of that. The first contest is an agility relay course. Best of three laps around the lower section wins first. Tied times go to sudden death relays. Hitting any of the obstacles will add time to your run. Of all the contest today I believe we'll do the best of this one. With our slightly higher weights we'll better manage the maneuvers. Most get distracted and try to speed through it all. Slow and steady is the name of the game here. The next contest is probably going to be the hardest for us. It's a climb test. You start near the ground and need to fly up a quarter mile. Then you drop back down and repeat the process for however many laps they're calling for. If you hit the ground it's an automatic disqualification. With our armor on this is going to slay us. Though we're going to try and win, we're okay with losing this one. If we can win the first and last contest then all will be good. The last contest is the most brutal. One massive relay. Fifteen miles. Nonstop! Even without the other competitions that is pretty brutal. Most flight schools only check for your three mile flight time. So something going five times the distance while timing you is rough! But luckily it's a relay, so you trade off between the various wings you have. This one is a bit of a toss up. We've done it before on our own and our times aren't bad. But it's a matter of preforming under pressure. And if all else fails, and three different teams win each contest, it goes to sudden death. A freestyle contest to show off your skills in the air! The refs turn into judges and score you on originality, style, and speed. Hopefully it doesn't come to that though. The last time I was here it did... and things didn't end well. All Flights line up for the first contest as the judges raise their flags. It's going to be back to back, with the Wonderbolts going first. Since they have six teams, it's going to be easy for them to fill in the best positions. Dust Devil and I are third in line, which is a decent enough spot. Early enough to see the times we're going to need. But it's still fairly early. If we don't set the bar high enough then the others will use it to push themselves past us. "ON YOUR MARK!" This is my favorite part of any contest. That moment before they start the race. Everypony tenses and the air goes still. I can feel the slight breeze flow across my wings as I snap them to the starting position. The world fades away as I stare down the track before us. This is everything that I live for, all caught in a split of a second. "GET READY!" This is it. This is where we show them who we are! Who I am! I won't be overlooked this time. I won't lose to Spitfire this time! It's time to fly. BANG Instinct took over as I break the sound barrier and race ahead of all the others. I didn't intend to. But sometimes it just happens when I'm that focused. Although breaking ahead of the others is a nice start, I've pushed too hard and now I have to break to get through the first hurdles. But the crowd here loved it. Vertical columns of clouds lay in a jagged pattern ahead of me. I flair one wing out to break and pull myself tightly into the turn. I tuck my other wing in the hopes to use the drag to turn tighter. There might have been just enough space between the start line and the first column to let me keep the advantage! I keep my focus forward and wait until the column leaves my view. Then I barrel roll into the turn and break early to head for the next column. It looks like there are five columns so I prep in my mind how to manage this weave. In my turn I manage to see the line of ponies behind me. Spitfire is almost in arms reach of me. Dust Devil is neck and neck with the Wonderbolt I'm assuming is tailing Spitfire. I couldn't see Storm and Johnathan, but I can't worry about that right now. Even with my breakneck start Spitfire is keeping pace with me right now. I think she's using me to cover the drag on the first lap so she can save her energy. I was planning to do that, but I guess this is what I'll have to deal with now. I also need to make sure that Dust doesn't get left behind. Our second wing can't start until we both pass the finish line. With each weave I blead a little more speed to let Dust catch up. But Spitfire never tries to take the lead. Dust even manages to gain on her a little. But she's pushing herself to do it. I take a look ahead and note that the next part of the course is a pitch and dive. I know this is one we've trained on constantly, so I feel just a little more confident. "Break right lane and tighten up!" I call over the radio. "MA'AM!" Without question the other Spartans roll to the right and we tighten out formation. Though we lose the immediate lead that's okay. We'll make up for it on the later laps. I glance to my right as Dust pulls up to me and we begin to pitch up. Like synchronized swimmers we dip down and open our wings fully. We take long deep flaps to guide us over one obstacle. Once we're over we close them tightly to drop back down and repeat the process. We pitch up and down in rhythm as we bound our way through the cloud bars. I notice the last of obstacles of the relay. The first one is a cyclone down and into a down draft. It looks like you'll need to do two or three spirals down before you have to climb back up to the starting position. There we can tag Ellzy and High Flier for their relay. They changed the course last minute! Last I checked there wasn't a climb in the relay. Let alone one going against the wind! Did they know we were going to be here? How could they have? I didn't even know we were going to be here! No, no, it doesn't matter. There's no time to focus on that. Like Miles says, 'Planning is invaluable, but they never make it past first contact.' I radio the course change to the others. They sound off and we make out way to the first cyclone. This is the easiest part of the course. We just need to maintain a tight formation and let our added weight push us forward. If we speed up too much it'll widen our turn and could put us out of alignment with the others. But if we go too slow we'll turn too tight. We just need to find our middle ground and maintain it. It's only the first lap. No need to push things too hard. There's plenty of race left to go! There is no guard rails for how quickly you go down. There's a ring you need to get through at both ends and an arrow pointing you the right. When Dust and I break through the ring we're tie with Spitfire and her wing mate. The four of us are banking at the same angle, flying in such a tight formation that we're nearly touching. As we go around in a large circle I can feel my weight pulling on me. My hooves are getting heavy and my wings want to snap straight back. I'm sure everyone is feeling this, but I love this feeling! The earth is trying to yank me out of the air and I'm putting everything I have to keep flying! Nothing makes me want to fly faster or go higher than the feeling of the earth trying to keep me down! I glance to Dust Devil and she nods to me. Without saying a word she knows what we're going to do. Near the end of the third spiral we break hard right and give a large roll around Spitfire's group. Even though they break ahead of us for a moment we get a small speed boost when we dive early. We break through the last ring at the best angle for the climb and manage to jump ever so slightly ahead of the others. Immediately the massive gust of downward wind hits us like a brick wall. But we close our wings and straighten out as much as possible to let our built up momentum slingshot us up through the air tunnel. We nearly make it halfway before we start giving it our all! This is the flying equivalent of running through a water logged trench. You can't get ahead without skipping the actual obstacle course. But rather than taking larger steps, here we need to narrow out and create as little drag as possible. The rushing wind drowns out all other sounds as we near the end of the down draft. I can see Ellzy and High Flier in position, waiting for us to tag them. We just need a few more seconds... almost... there! SNAP The moment we flew out of the wind tunnel we snapped forward and tagged in our next wing. The two of them break away the platform as they take off down the track. I almost didn't realize that we were finished with our first lap until Dust Devil gasped loudly. We took first in that round. And we had a three pony lead over Spitfire! "What was that maneuver!?" Spitfire demanded as we took our positions at the finish line. "What? Looking to steal that too?" Dust Devil asks before I could say anything. I nearly choke on my own laughter as Spitfire just growls at us and starts to berate her teammate. "Good job Dust." I tell her as I roll my wings out. "Yes Ma'am! Let's capitalize on this lead now!" I nod to her and watch the race. Storm and Johnathan took fourth on the first lap. Not the best, but what can we do about it now? I knew we should have forced Storm and John to focus more on wing training. But they're both specialized in other fields for the Spartans. So that took more training hour from flying. Ellzy and High are making good use of the lead we gave them. Although the Wonderbolts tailing Spitfire are closing the distance on them, it won't be enough for them to take the lead. And we're the anchors for this wing, so we're in really good position right now. Night Fury and Shifted Past are doing better than I expected. They managed to move up one in the rankings. But Shifted is clearly struggling more than Night. I knew the changeling would, but that's also okay. As long as they can maintain this polling we'll knock the other groups out of score board, giving the Jumpers the best lead possible. As the others start to climb up Dust and I get ready. We're leading by mere seconds. A single mistake could still ruin our run! But we're also ahead enough that we could clutch victory from the others! Don't lose focus. Don't get cocky! Remember our training and execute! It's time to show them what we can do! Perspective: Miles I've never been to any of these flying competitions before. Rainbow's talked about them before, at length, but I wasn't really all that interested. Although I've gotten better at flying, I still feel fairly amateurish in the air. Makes sense, but it's not something that comes naturally to me. Not Tempestive though. He's in the air any chance he can get! Once Rainbow made mention about this contest he was bouncing off the walls, literally. It was a good distraction from... the previous conversation. I knew him seeing me in human form would be jarring. But... I guess I didn't think he'd call me a monster. I know he doesn't know better. But... I don't know. I guess I wasn't ready for that. Luna was sympathetic. But there's nothing to really do about it now. But the idea of telling him about what I really am is much more daunting now. I don't want my son to think I'm a monster. But more importantly, I don't want him fearing what he is. He's still only six. Even with how quickly ponies age compared to humans, he's just a kid. I don't want him having to worry about stuff like that. Originally I was planning to tell him sometime this year. But now... maybe it's too early. I'm completely lost to these thoughts during our flight to the arena. Even with Tempestive asking a million questions I couldn't get my head straight. Every thought that comes to mind has it's own line of questions that I can't answer. When would be the right time? Should we have told him sooner? How do we tell him? What does he do with this information? 'Hey, by the way son, you're part of an endangered species that's also at war with another endangered species.' 'Son, you're a growing young man now. Yes, man. You're half human! Don't know what that is? Remember that monster in the woods? That was me!' 'This isn't going to make sense, but you're half human son. I was from a civilization that's now gone. I got turned into an alicorn and sometimes can change back and forth. Why can't you and your mother change? No idea.' It seems to simple to just tell him. If we were in Terradisia I would have just told him as soon as he could string a sentence together. But it didn't make sense to here. And now it doesn't make sense to give him that info without greater context. He didn't grow up with it. So now it's going to change him with little way to help him comprehend it. He has to learn who he is and what all of this means rather than just growing up and knowing! And I don't know how I'm going to break it to him when I know it scares him. But worse of all... I'm starting to understand what Susurrans did what he did. "Miles?" I blink a few times when Luna calls out to me. We've made it to the arena and apparently are getting snacks. I just nod to her and she gives me a knowing look. She levitates me a bucket of popcorn and a drink before several grounds workers escort us to our seats. There's a small crowd around us gawking with a few reporters taking pictures. I guess we forgot to put Tempestive in his vest. There's only a few small town reporters, but they're about to have the story of the century. Tempestive is a little unnerved by all the attention. But he's more excited to see the competition than anything else. We make it to a private box near the top of the cloud arena and take our seats. Well, Luna and I do. Tempestive nearly flies out the box to get a better look. But Luna teleports him back to the seat before he could get too far. "What's the score!? Whose competing!? Are those the Spartans!? Why isn't Dad-" "Tempestive." Luna says softly, getting him to pause mid air. "We just got here, so we don't know the score. There are Wonderbolts, Spartans, Colonial Raptors from the Griffin lands, as well as a few smaller flight groups. And your father isn't flying because it would be an uneven grouping. Now, let's settle down and enjoy the festivities." Tempestive rushes to the wall and rears up to watch the competition. I start to spiral in thought again until the straw of my drink pops into my mouth. I look over to Luna as she smiles to me. I take the drink and set it down with a weak smile. I know she's trying to get me to speak up, but I don't know what to say. "You know," She says in a whisper as she leans against me. "When I first saw you, I didn't think you were a monster." "... thanks?" She hums to that. Taking small bites of popcorn as she watches Tempestive. "I was a little too surprised to really think anything. Especially after you surrendered to me." I roll my eyes at that. "Thanks." I say flatly. Not the best pep talk I've had. "But then I got to know you. Got to see what you believed and how you operated. It was... difficult, at times. But once I saw the kind of man you were, I grew to trust you. Even love you eventually." I nod to her. I get what she's saying. But... it's different. I mean, just look how Celestia acted when she met me. Or the girls for that matter. Not the best first encounters. "I just... I don't want to worry him with things that won't make sense. Or burden him with the implications." I try to tell her, but she pops the straw back into my mouth. "While I agree that we can wait a little longer, we will tell him eventually. Whether it's on our own accord or not." She tells me more firmly as she sits back up. I nod to her, taking a sip as I think to myself. The crowd erupts into cheer as the first competition finishes. It would seem the Jumpers took first place. Tempestive practically explodes in cheer. I manage to clap for them, but all of my thoughts are still looming on Timely. "Dad! Dad, did you see that!?" He asks as he runs up and starts to tug on my leg. "The Jumpers were totally awesome! They took first! Dad! Did you see!?" "I sure did!" I say as I scoop him up and toss him into the air. He starts to zip around as he cheers for them. I start to laugh along with the others as I let his joy infect me. Maybe I'm worrying about this too much. There's plenty of time left to tell him about this. I'm letting all of this get to my head! He's just a kid! He doesn't know better. There's still plenty of time to explain all of this to him and make sure he understands. Perspective: Luna Once Miles finally starts to relax I allow myself to take a breather. Okay, so this is clearly something that needs to be dealt with carefully. Which means I can't tell him that I can transform into a human until after we tell Tempestive he's half human. Clearly he would freak out otherwise. Also, it will gives me time to practice switching as well. "And I have just the person to speak with." I mutter as I watch Shifted Past group up with the Spartans. Chapter 1 Choices (revised)Man Of War By Tallestbrony Scire bellum, est scire fatum. Chapter 1 Choices (revised) Perspective: Miles Eremita I walk down the alley, keeping my back against the wall, and come to a halt by the edge of the building. I glance back to see all of the other kids that had followed me from the orphanage are watching me closely. “Go for it!" "Come on, do it already ya big baby!" "Don't get caught!" they say as they wait for me to do it. I glance around the corner and see my target. Green flakes of pure deliciousness, just waiting to be devoured! They sit out in the open on a stone table as the fat merchant calls out to all of the people walking by. "Fresh compressed flakes for sale! Get 'em while they're hot!" he shouts as he marches back and forth, waiting for someone to buy his goods. I wait until he's facing away from me before I reach over and grab a handful of the flakes, making a crunching sound that gets his attention. "HEY! I already told you orphan brats not to come near here! Get back!" he yells as I turn around and run down the alley, making the other kids scatter as we all head towards the orphanage. We run out of the end of the alley and straight into traffic, getting cars to slam their brakes and honk at us as we continue to run towards our destination. The drivers yell at us, calling us names and threatening us, but we ignore them as we make it to our goal: the open square at the orphanage. We all run in and stop in the middle of the square to catch our breath. I can't believe I got away with a full hand’s worth! "Idiot!" One of the bigger kids pushes me down. "Good job on getting caught! Now give me the flakes!" he yells, as he tries to pry them out of my hand. We struggle around a bit before I trip him, making him fall to the ground. I quickly get on top of him and start punching him, hitting him in the eyes, nose, and across the jaw before I get up and take a bite of the salty treat. "MILES EREMITA!" Aw shit. I turn around to see the dean walking towards me. He's a fairly tall, older man with a shaved head, and wears a black robe. "He hit me…" "Come with me. There's someone who wants to have a word with you," he says before turning around and walking back to the orphanage. Darn it… looks like another night in the pit of shame. I take another bite of the flakes before tossing the rest to the group of kids behind me, making them fight over scraps. I run up to the front door, follow the dean in and up the stairs. He's leading me to his office… I must really be in trouble. What did I do to get in this deep? Well, theft… and beating up that one kid... even though he completely deserved it! He stops before the door and turns back to me, looking somewhat scared and disappointed. "Why do we have to do this with you in filthy rags?" I glance down at my shirt and shorts, then back to him. "Hey, you're the one who won't get us real clothes. This was the best I could do!" "Your best are mere rags…" "Better than what you gave me." "Look, there's a very important person inside; behave yourself," he warns, before opening the door and pushing me inside. “Hello there, Mr. Eremita,” a stranger says as he stands and extends his hand to me. “My name is Captain Susurrans Bellum.” I don’t take his hand right away, but after a few awkward seconds, I finally return the gesture. While shaking his hand, I take a moment to size him up. He stands around roughly two meters tall, and has short, jet black hair that has spots of grey; which is odd, because he can’t be more than 30. He has pale white skin, is well-toned, and he’s wearing a straight green suit that has a ton of pins on the left side of the jacket. There are two sets of abnormally shiny twin silver bars on both ends of his collar. On his left shoulder is a pretty weird patch; it has a straight sword going through a human skull, entering through the top and exiting through the mouth, with a shield making the background; the shield is round, bronze, and has an upside down red ‘V’. “You’re with the military, aren’t you?” I ask bluntly as I let go of his hand and take my seat. “Ah! Perceptive, aren’t you,” he states mockingly while motioning to the dean, who takes his cue to leave the room, shutting the door behind him. Once the dean is gone, the captain goes to the dean’s chair and takes a seat. "So, Miles, tell me a little about yourself," he says as he leans back in the chair. "Well… there isn't much to tell." "Come on, there has to be something. How did you get here?" "Well… I'm told that my mom died during the exodus of Diamond Halls - whatever that means - and that my dad either is dead, or just an asshole that left me to rot," I say, getting him to just stare at me with a look of mixed emotions. He seems troubled by something, but doesn't say anything. The room falls silent as he stares at me, never blinking, never glancing away, just staring at me with his light brown eyes. I can't think of anything better to do, so I return his gaze. “…” “…” “…” “Do you know who I am?” “No. Should I?” "Do you know why I'm here?" "Not really." "I'm here for your decision, Miles. What's it going to be?" "… You’re here for that - by yourself? Don't they usually have a group of people come and ask?" "Let’s just say you're special. So, what's it going to be? Military life, or the streets?" I can't believe this. Just yesterday, I was just another scummy orphan. But I turn eight, and now it’s ‘join the military or try to make it on your own in the streets’… it’s not fair. "Well?" “*sigh*…Well, I guess the best shot I’ve got is with the military, so that’s where I want to go.” “You realize, once you make this decision, there’s no going back,” he states as he looks down at me with an even coolness in his voice, continuing his constant barrage of stares. This guy is creeping me out. Why can’t he look at something else for a bit? I’m only making the hardest choice of my life! Why can’t he just look out the window or something? “Well…” I start to say, but my gaze is drawn out the window. The dean’s office is on the third floor of the orphanage, so the view of the city isn’t too bad. Directly next to the orphanage grounds are a bunch of one- and two-story houses and businesses, most of which are either a dull grey or soot black color, thanks to the constant downpour from the nearby factory. As I lift my gaze further and further away, the buildings get taller and taller, until I reach the tallest building in the city - the Parliament’s Congressional Hall. This building stands at least 900 meters tall, getting narrower and narrower until it shoots out - like a dart - sending the top out of view from the window. As I continue to stare out at the city, a certain unblinking someone coughs for attention. “Well…?” “*sigh*… Well, I figure if I go to the streets, I won’t last long without needing to turn to gangs or a life of crime - and I hate taking from others, so that wouldn’t work. That leaves me with the only other choice. And who knows? Maybe joining up won’t be so bad. I might even be able to do some good there!” Once my little speech is over, all the captain can do is continue staring at me. He seems a little dumbfounded for a moment, but soon grows a somewhat sly smirk. Taking a breath, he stands up and puts his hand out for another shake, and says - in a somewhat proud tone - “Well then, welcome aboard.” After I shake his hand, he pulls out a small, thin tablet and a very elegant-looking pen, and has me sign a ton of documents. Not knowing how to write, I end up just scribbling a bunch of lines. He then proceeds to escort me back down the stairs and out the front door. Along the way, I see the other kids watching me leave: some looking on in confusion, others snickering and laughing, but most just watching in fear, knowing they too will soon face the choice that I just made. As we make our way out to the yard, I see the vehicle that will take me to my new life. It’s a fairly large and boxy wheeled vehicle, with four heavily armored doors, and an open hatch on the roof, with a massive gun mounted next to the opening. The gun has a rectangular body, with two round drums near the vertical trigger on one end, and a single metal tube that extends out nearly a meter on the other. Something is written in red on the side of the gun, but I don’t know what it means; I look over to the captain, who stops me from asking anything by putting his hand over my mouth. “Before you ask, no, you can’t drive,” he says flatly. “I wasn’t going to - ” “And no, you don’t get to ride in the gunner seat.” “I don’t want - ” “And yes, there is real ammo in the gun, but no, we won’t be firing at anything, so don’t get any ideas.” At this point I’m starting to get irritated, and I think he knows this due to the huge smile on his face. “I just wanted to know what was written on the gun.” I pout. “Oh! Well why didn’t you just say so?” I facepalm. “It says: ‘Spartan Pen’.” “Uhh…” “You know, like the saying.” “…” “The pen is mightier than the sword.” “… I don’t get it. Also, what’s a Spartan?” Captain Bellum smiles warmly at me as he opens the rear door and says, matter-of-factly, “Heh. Well Miles, you are! Or, you will be. Now if you don’t mind, we really should get going.” I walk to the opening, but pause before entering to take a look back. Almost every child at the orphanage is watching me, along with the dean and a few other workers. I stare back for a few seconds, before spitting on the ground and climbing into the seat. As soon as I sit down, the door is shut, the captain takes the seat in front of me, and we’re off. Not once do I look back, after that; I don’t want to be reminded of that horrible place. All I have to do now is enjoy the ride, and hope life in the military isn’t as bad as it was there. Who knows? This could lead to some greater purpose for me. I might even be able to do some good! Author's Note I want to thank all my friends for helping me write this. It’s hard to think of stuff when you normally don’t ever write. This is also my first fanfic ever so feel free to let me know about any concerns. *Warning, the first few chapters wont have ‘ponies’ but we’ll get there soon enough, so just hang in there a bit. Latin Translation Blog Man of War group Revised as of July 19th 2012. Brony on! Chapter 18 Night Time ComplicationsChapter 18 Night Time Complications Storm looks like he's on the verge of a mental breakdown. He's sweating, hyperventilating, and staring at the stairs wide eyed with a slight twitch. His wings keep twitching as well. "Are you going to be alright? We're just sleeping. It's not like she's gonna come down here and just throw herself at you." Storm stops and thinks about this- FWOOSH "Aw come on! Another one! Are you serious!? Damn man, put your wings away and come here so I can slap some sense into you." He sits there for a minute until he looks back and sees his erect wings. "Aw what the buck!" he yells as he tries to get himself under control. After a while of failing to get them down he begins to panic. "Buck, buck, buck, buck, buck, buuuuck! Miles you've got to help me out!" "Whoa man, I know I said a lot of stuff about being there for another, but I ain’t gay." I say as I step away from him with my hands raised. "What? No, you feather head, fight me!" "What?" "Well, I need to get my mind off of.... somethings. Fighting will do that for me." He looks between the stairs and me with panicked eyes. "Can't you read a book or something? What about that chant you-" "Not fast enough, Twilight will be down here any minute, please." He pleads, running up to me and groveling at my feet. "*sigh* Alright, fine. But body blows only, no head shots got it?" He nods and gets in a readied stance. I take a deep sigh and get ready. Without warning, Storm begins to charge at me. When he gets close enough, he pivots and tries to kick me with both his back legs. I side step this and grab one of his legs. Damn, he must only weigh like thirty kilograms, I swing and toss him across the room, sending him crashing onto the ground and slamming into one of the bookshelves. He stands and shakes his head before charging again. This time when he closes the distance, he tries to jump onto me. I catch him mid flight and, with a twist, quickly slam him onto his back on the ground. Once he's down I kneel down and give four quick jabs into his stomach, getting grunts in response. Once done, I stand back up and take a few steps back. "You alright?" "I'll live, thanks," he says as he stands back up, wings down by his side. "Alright, lets never do that again-" "What's going on down here!?" I look over to see Twilight standing in the stairway, hair sticking to her soaking wet body as suds roll down her side. FWOOSH Of fucking course. I look over to see Storm staring wide eyed at Twilight, wings standing straight back. "Bucking pervert!" Twilight yells as she runs back up the stairs, leaving a trail of water in her wake. "No, wait, I'm sorry!" Storm yells out as he runs to the stairway, but stops when he hears a door slam. I walk up beside him and look up the stairway with him. SMACK "Ow, what was that for?" Storm asks, rubbing the back of his head. "That was for being a perv, now you stay down here and get yourself under control while I go diffuse the situation." "Maybe I should go tal-" "Trust me, the last person she wants to see right now is you, just hang tight." I walk up the stairs to Twilight's room, following the trail of water to find the restroom she's using. Smoke still fills the room, but is flowing out through all the open windows. The trial takes me to the next floor, to a doorway that sits on top of the stairway. I walk up to the door and give it a couple of soft knocks. "Go away you perv!" Twilight yells from inside. "Hey, how would you know if I'm a perv or not?" "Miles!? Sorry, I thought you were Storm Cloud," she replies much quieter. "It's alright... so... wanna talk about it?" "There's nothing to talk about! Once I dry off I'm sending the princess a letter to get rid of that pervert!" she practically yells. "Now hold on there, let’s not do anything hasty right now, I mean, look at it from his perspective." "Are you trying to say this is my fault!?" "No, but would you say it's obvious that he likes you?" "Well... maybe. But that's no excuse for losing control like that!" "Did you see yourself? You came down here soaking wet with suds and everything, it was pretty hot." Twilight remains quiet for a bit. Fucking dammit, I just called her hot, now I'm the perv. "Twilight?" "Do... do you think of me l-like that?" I sigh and take a seat against the doorway. "No, I don't have that kind of mindset. But I can still tell when something is attractive or not. You're an attractive person Twilight, if at the very least in personality. I'm actually surprised you’re on your own to be honest." After a few seconds the door slowly opens and I look back to see a now dry Twilight with her hair wrapped up in a towel. She walks up to me and wraps me up in a hug. If Storm walks in right now he'll kill me. "Thank you Miles, that was sweet of you. But I'm not forgiving that perv just like that," sh whispers into my neck. I awkwardly pat her back, a little caught off guard by the hug. "Hey, I never said anything about forgiving him, I'm just saying don't send him away just yet." She gives a small nod before getting off me. "Alright, I won't send the princess a letter... this time." "Good enough for me, and if he does do it again, just tell me and I'll knock some sense into him for you." Twilight gives a small laugh before returning to the restroom, a few seconds later she comes back with another towel and sets it on my lap. I give her a confused look, to which she just gives a flat look. "You need to take a shower, you smell pretty bad." I take a whiff from my pit- Whoa, I reek. "Alright, my turn I guess." I say as I begin to walk into the bathroom. "Feel free to use my soaps for now, we'll get you your own in a while, but mine will do for now." I look back and nod as I shut the door. The room is fairly small, only having a sink to my right, a toilet across from me, and a bathtub to the left. Around the tub is a light purple curtain, that is pulled back to reveal an assortment of various bottles of soaps. Behind the sink is a mirror mounted on the wall. The mirror doubles as a door to a cabinet. Everything in here is made for someone half my height. Makes sense, every pony here is basically that size, except for Luna. I toss the towel onto the toilet seat as I walk to the sink and bend over so I can see myself in the mirror. I've got some stubble coming in, a quick shave and I'll wash off. A quick wave of my hand ignites the arcane flames and a flick of the wrist makes all of the stubble fall into the sink. Satisfied with the quick shave I undress and step into the shower. I can see that ponies use a similar plumbing system, just different symbols. I twist the left knob and get a blast of water from above. I do a quick rinse and turn the water off, I was planning on using the soaps, but seeing how there are like ten different bottles I decided to keep it short. I step out and dry myself off before getting dressed. I put everything except my shirt on, I prefer to sleep without it. I walk out and can barely see, due to all the lights being turned off. I make my way back to the front room to see the two cots from the other room in the middle. Twilight is in the pink one while the blue one is unoccupied. I look around and find Storm laying on the floor in a corner, without his armor. Ha! I get the blue one now. I make my way to the cot and lay under the sheets. Sleep doesn't come right away, but after awhile of staring at the stars from the window, sleep finally takes over. Perspective: Luna After my little chat with Celestia, I make my way to the royal chambers. It's my job to come here and make time for my subjects to voice complaints or concerns. What usually happens is I sit here for hours, bored out of my mind. Most of my little ponies don't even know we have nighttime court and only come during the day time. Despite that, I'm glad there's nopony here tonight, I have too much on my mind. Miles. He knew them. He did say he was born over three thousand years ago, but I've never heard of the humans. How could there have been a secret society of beings that were able to avoid detection by all historians, but were able to contact my parents. How well did he know them? Why did mother never speak of him before? Given she wasn't around long enough to really tell me anything, but she never told Celestia anything either. I wanted to ask her, but I have a feeling that if Celestia found out that he knew mom and dad, she would pull me off this project. I want to find out more before I get my sister involved, I want to prove to her that I can handle things on my own. I can still redeem my past. I look over to a nearby clock and see that it's eleven o'clock. If I'm going to get anything done, I'm going to have to do some research of my own. I stand up and walk to the closest guard. "Good sir, I'm closing court early tonight. If anypony needs me, I'll be in the library." "Of course Princess." I make my way to the library quickly and stop by the gates. The two guards waiting by the door take one look at me and open the doors. I walk in and go straight for the historical section. Hmm, most of the books here are from more recent times, I need something from a long time ago. I should head to the Starswirl the Bearded section, it contains the oldest books in all of Equestria. If nothing there can help me, then nowhere can. I make my way through the library, heading to the upper levels until I make it to the gated door. "Good evening Princess, doing some research?" Asks the guard by the door. "You could say that, can you unlock the door to the Starswirl section?" "Right away Princess." He uses his magic to open the doors and stands at attention as I walk through. Strange, it seemed a little too easy to get in here. Maybe Celestia told all of the guards to let me through. Why she didn't let me in before, I'll never know. I spend the next few hours going through every book, scroll and scrap of paper with no luck. Not a single word on my parents, the humans, or anything even closely related. I slam the final book shut and toss it back into place. There has to be some way of finding out whether or not my parents had dealings with these humans. Wait, Miles said he knew them. I could try to ask him about them, but I can't just leave Canterlot to go ask him questions, then Celestia would know something’s wrong. I guess I could just ask the next time I visit, but that won't be for a least a week. I could just go early, hopefully I can think of a good excuse as to why I would have to visit that won't draw too much attention. "Excuse me Princess Luna." Says a guard from behind, ending my train of thought. "Yes?" "Princess Celestia has sent me to retrieve you, she says you're late." "Late for what?" "She didn't say." Hmm... Oh! Shoot, what time is it? I look out a window to see the sun already beginning to rise. I quickly teleport myself to thee raising platform and land directly next to Celestia. "You're late." Celestia chides in her motherly tone; horn shining as she raises the sun. "I know, I know, I'm sorry. I was caught up in some reading." I take hold of the moon and begin to lower it in the horizon. "Reading? Didn't you have court last night?" "Well, I did, but... I left early to get this research done." "And what research would that be?" Shoot! Gotta think of something quick... "I was reading oooonn, past... lunar phenomenon." I say with a sheepish smile. "Past lunar phenomenon?" She raises an eyebrow to me, giving a little tilt with her head. "Yeah, you know, like the calendar of cycles and different effects on the land due to that." Celestia gives me another look before looking back out towards the horizon. "You could of came to me, I would have told you the cycles at least," she says indignantly, looking back out to the horizon. "I know, but you were sleeping, so I decided to read up on it instead." I continue on with the lie, looking out with horizon with her. "Alright, just don't make it a habit to shirk your responsibilities, okay?" she asks innocently, buying into my lie. "Alright, sorry Tia." We finish setting the sun and moon into their appropriate trajectories and turn to one another. I advert my eyes for a moment. I don't like lying, but it's far easier than telling her the truth. "It's alright dear sister, now are you going to stay up for a bit, or are you going to bed now?" "I'm going to sleep now, I didn't get a good days rest yesterday, good day Tia." I tell her with a sweet smile. "Sleep well, Luna." I walk through the door of the balcony and head to my chambers. I'll make plans to try and talk to him in a few days, for now I just need to work on how to bring up the topic. Chapter 33 Et Salutant MortuusChapter 33 Et Salutant Mortuus Sleep did not come easily for me that night. After the rain subsided and everypony went home, I decided to call it a night, so I went to bed. I had some kind of delayed wing boner though, and spent the night trying to work them down. Every time I got them down, I would think of what to do tomorrow and BAM! Straight back up. At least they didn't do it when Twilight and I kissed... FWOOSH SON OF A... I just got them down! Ahh... well... what now... Well, since they're already up, better think of that kind of stuff now, I guess. First chance I get, I better go out and get some condoms. I doubt I'll really need them... but it doesn't hurt to be prepared. I wonder if... "TIMORE CRAS!" Miles yells as he bolts straight up, scaring the crap out of me and making me fall out of bed. He stares forward for a bit before he falls back into the bed. What in the hay was that about? I get up and walk over to check on him. He still seems to be unconscious. I give him a light shake to try to wake him up, but it doesn't work, so I smack him across the face next, which only manages to get his head to fall to the side. Nothing... well, he did say weird things would happen, I guess this is one of them... what does ‘timore cras’ mean? Just another thing to add to the list of things to ask Miles when he wakes up. I go back to my cot and drop onto it... I need some sleep. I shuffle around until I get comfortable and finally let sleep take hold of me. When I wake up in the morning I somehow find myself underneath my cot. How in the buck did I get here? I crawl my way out and head to the restroom. After I take care of some business, I take a good look at myself in the mirror. I try to comb my mane to at least look neat, but it's a losing fight. After a while I give up and head out to get some breakfast. On my way to the kitchen I notice that Twilight isn't home, neither is Spike for that matter. Whatever, this will give me a chance to go get some things I need. I make some toast, grab my bag and head out into town. I first head to the local pharmacy. It's a small building on the north side of town. It would look just like any other building if it weren't for the large white sign out front. Ponyville Pharmaceuticals, catchy. I walk in and look around. The area I'm in seems to be a small waiting area, filled with a long couch next to me, and a small table in front of it that's covered in various magazines and newspapers. On the wall across from me, next to a door, there’s a small opening that serves as a counter, so I walk up and look inside. It's a small room meant to hold a single pony, with several certificates framed on the wall behind. There's a lower counter inside that has a register and a few piles of papers. On the counter next to me is a small silver bell with a sign that says, ‘Ring bell for assistance’, so I do. Ring......ring......ring, ring, ring, ring... "I hear da bell!" says a sassy mare from inside. A door on the other side opens up to reveal a middle-aged unicorn mare with a brown coat, a pink mane that's up in a bun, and a cigarette in her mouth. She's wearing an obscene amount of jewelry. "You da one ringing da darn bell?" She says as she exhales a plume of smoke. "*cough* Yeah... I need to buy some condoms..." "CONDOMS!?" she says loudly. "Aw what, little playa here trying ta get some mmhmm? You in our rosters?" "No, I..." "What ‘e want?" yells a high pitched voice from behind the door. "Gurl you gotta see this, Mick Swagger here tryin' ta buy some condoms," she yells back to her friend, who gives a high pitched woo in response; what the buck. "Alright, before we can sell 'em we have ta have ya fill out our roster." She pulls out a clipboard and sets it on the counter. "Just fill this out and ring the bell when you’re done... ONE DAMN TIME." "O-Okay..." I say as I take the clipboard and take a seat. What's up with that mare... it's like she can't talk without yelling. Mick Swagger, da buck. I fill out the paperwork as quickly as possible and trot to the counter. I set the clipboard down and ring the bell. Ring. After a few minutes of silence, I decide to ring the bell one more time. Ring "What did I tell you?!" she yells as she enters her room. "Sorry, I just have places I need to go." "MMhmm, yeah, places ta go," she says as she picks up the clipboard and looks it over. "HA!" "What's so funny?" demands the voice from behind. "Gurl you gotta see dis, bucking Pon Jeremy here tryin' to buy XL condoms." "Oh no he didn't!" "Yeah he did... look here hun. There's only one stallion here who buys that size, an' I ain't seen him here for a while. Imma set you wit' a M and..." "But that's not my size." "Oh, so you’re dick expert now, mmhmm. Yea, cause I can see yo pharmaceutical certificate on yo chest, mmhmm. Well then, let's jus' do a examination then," she looks down at the roster, "Doctor Storm Cloud, please step into the examination room." She pulls a bar underneath the counter and the door next to me swings open. Before I can say anything she leaves the room, so I go down the hall. This will not end well. I make my way to the end of the hall where I find the mare from before. "MMhmm, jus' go in dat room an' wait for me," she says as she points to a room to my right. I enter it and take a look around. It's about the size of a large restroom, but has an examination table instead. Across from the table is a sink with a towel dispenser on the wall beside it, not sure why that's there, but okay. I walk in and jump onto the table, sitting with my bottom legs hanging off the side, using my upper leg to hold onto the table. As I wait I kick my legs back and forth and look around the room. Boring white walls... a sink... a small table with a couple of Playcolts on it... the door... wait what!? "’E in there?" says the high pitched mare from outside the door. "Yea, he in there." In walks the mare from before with another mare. The new one is a pegasus with a light pink coat and a light blue mane that is styled to point straight down. She wears an unholy amount of makeup and is also smoking a cigarette. "MMhmm, go ahead an' lay on yo back an' we’ll begin." I comply and prepare for what's about to happen. The brown unicorn zaps me with her horn and I feel the magic make my member grow. After a few humiliating seconds go by I reach my peak, getting woo's from the other two. "Damn girl, dis colt hung like a dragon!" "MMhmm, how that thing even fit inside ya?" "Can we just finish up here so I can leave already!?" "AW... why you so snooty booty?" says the brown mare, as she levitates a measuring tape over to me and gets to work. After a few measures I begin to suspect that she's just playing with me, so I swat the tape away. "You done yet?" "Aw hell yea," she says as her friend giggles. "Now the spell will wear off in one hour..." "An hour!" "MMhmm, that or you can help it along wit' da magazines... or ya could let us help ya out," she says in her version of a seductive tone. "I'd rather waste an hour," I say as I sit up and cross my legs. "Whatever, your loss," says the pink mare as she walks out the room. "MMhmm, don't know wat he's missing," the brown one says as she follows her friend out of the room. I sit there for a while just waiting for the time to pass by, but my gaze slowly finds its way to the magazines. *sigh* If it'll help me get out of here faster, then may as well. I pick up the first one and look it over. The cover has a grey earth pony, with a red mane and tail, standing on her hind legs and facing away, wearing a skimpy nurse’s outfit. She's looking back and is giving a seductive smile, as her eyes are opened only slightly. I go to open to the next page, but it doesn't separate. Instead it tears with the cover, due to its probable prior use. Bucking sick! I toss it back on the table and jump over to the sink and wash my hooves. Does everything here have to be bucking gross? GAH... well... what now... One hour later I leave the room, panting heavily. I've spent the last hour doing pushups, sit ups, wing lifts, anything to keep me distracted until I regained my composure. When I do I walk out and down the hall to the door, but stop when I hear a familiar voice. "MMhmm, will this complete your order, Miss..." "Sparkle, and yes, that is all I need." Twilight? What is she doing here? "’Kay, that'll be forty bits." I hear some money fall on the counter and some shuffling before the front door is opened and closed. What would Twilight need to get from here? I ponder this some more as I open the door and walk to the front counter. "Damn colt... what were ya doing in thur? Bucking the furniture?" "Sure, can I buy the condoms now?" She gives me a funny look as she sets a box on the counter. "That'll be forty bits." Forty bits... no. No way Twilight bought condoms... just... I pull the money out of my bag and pay her. I take the box and put it into my bag as I leave for my next destination. There's no way Twilight would know my size... or is there? I spend the rest of the day flying around town getting ready for our date. I make dinner reservations at a local cafe, buy the tickets to the movie, plan out a route to walk after the movie, stop by Rarity's to order and pick up a simple black jacket for the night, everything is looking up. I glance at the sun and determine that it's around six, so I head back to the library to shower up. I land by the door and walk in to find Spike lying on the floor reading a newspaper. "Hey Spike, what're you up to?" "What's up Storm, I'm just reading, Twilight gave me the day off so I've been taking it easy." "Sounds like a good plan, do you know where she is?" "She's upstairs taking a shower, which reminds me, she told me to tell you not to disturb her and to wait for her down here until she's ready. What are you two up to?" "Just a movie," I say as I walk towards the stairs, "I'm going to take a quick shower, just... keep doing what you’re doing." "Can do," Spike says as he turns back to his newspaper. I make my way to my room and check on Miles real quick. Nothing different other than a little sweat, but he's been under sheets all day, so I ignore that for now and hop in the shower. After I finish I get out and immediately work on brushing my mane back. I normally just let it fall forward, but today I decide to try and style it. After a lot of brushing, I finally convince my mane to stay back. I walk out, put on my jacket and head to the front room. "Just a movie huh?" Spike says from the side of the doorway. "Heh, yeah... how do I look?" "Clean." Thanks Spike. I look to the clock and see that I have an hour left. "So... are you alright with this?" "What do you mean by that?" "Well... you and Twilight are really close... I don't want you to think that I'm taking her away or anything." "I don't mind. If anything, I'm glad Twilight finally found a good stallion. Especially after that last jerk..." "Don't worry about him. If he ever shows up again, I'll deal with him." "Yeah... I know..." "Something wrong?" "It's just... I wish I didn't have to depend on others to defend my friends. I wish I could be the one to save the day." He looks away after he says this. I understand what he feels. I went through it before myself. I walk over to him and put a hoof on his shoulder. "Hey, you don't have to be able to fight to be able to defend your friends." "Yeah... but it helps." "Tell you what. You keep an eye on Miles while we're gone, and apologize when he wakes up, and I'll show you a few tricks I've learned for self-defense." "Really?" "Really." "Deal!" I stick my hoof out and shake with him before he runs upstairs. He's a good kid, I just hope Miles goes easy on him. I look to the clock and see I still have another thirty minutes. Oh well, what could I do for thirty minutes? After looking through the book collection, I finally decide to read a book called Daring Doo and the - whatever whatever. I try to read it, but I can't get past the first page. It’s not that the book is bad, I’m actually enjoying the parts I read, I’m just getting really nervous. I keep thinking of things that could possibly go wrong, like, what if the movie catches fire? Or what if I get poisoned from the food? My thought process ends when I hear hoofsteps coming down the stairs. My heart starts to race as I walk towards the doorway to the stairs. When Twilight comes into view I fall flat on my face. She's wearing a light blue dress that has even lighter blue stars at the end of it. She has a few hair clips in her mane, resembling light blue stars, and just seems to emanate beauty. She gives a light chuckle as she walks up to me and waits for me to get up. "Twilight... you look amazing." She blushes a little from this and looks away for a second, before she returns my gaze. "Thank you Storm... you look very handsome." We stand there for a while before Spike walks in the room. "If you keep gawking at each other you’re going to miss the movie." "Oh... right, well let’s get going then Storm," Twilight says as she walks out the room. I shake my head and run out after her, getting chuckles from Spike. "So what's this movie we're going to see about?" Twilight asks as we make our way into downtown. "Well, from what I could tell from the poster, it’s some kind of thriller, romance. Or, that's what the poster says at least. Have you ever been to a movie before?" "No, the theater is new to Ponyville. That, and movies are still too new for most folk around here to really get used to them." "Do you want to see it? We could go do something else if you want." "No, I want to go. I'm quite curious about these movies." We walk the rest of the way to the theater in silence, just enjoying each other’s company... or at least I hope we were. She kept looking up for some reason, but I didn't see anything to look at, so I just figured it was some deep thinking. We make it to the theater and stop by the front. The building has a pointed roof and is very long. The front is guarded by a pony in a red suit. We walk to the movie attendant and I give him my tickets, which he clips and allows us to enter. We enter into the main lobby and I turn to Twilight. "Do you want to get any snacks for the movie?" "Umm... how about just something to drink?" I nod and head to the concession stand. The stand is a long glass counter that contains various treats and snacks for sale. We walk to the counter and up pops Pinkie Pie in a theater uniform. "Pinkie? Since when do you work here?" "I dunno? What would you like?" O...K... "Uh... we would like..." "Something to drink, coming right up!" She says as she dives behind the counter. I look over to Twilight, but she only gives me a small smile in response. "Alrighty, a drink for the coup—I mean the two of you," she says as she pulls out a large cup of soda with two straws. "Umm... okay, what do I owe you?" "It's on the house, now you two better hurry up, the movie is going to start soon." "Thank you Pinkie, come on Storm, let's get going so we can get good seats," Twilight says as she levitates the drink with her. I glance over to Pinkie before I follow Twilight into the theater. The theater is dark and only lit enough to barely see the seats and floor. A large screen hangs at the front of the room as rows of folding seats sit facing it. I follow Twilight as she heads straight to the back and takes a seat in the center. We are the only ones in the entire theater and yet she wants to sit way in the back... whatever, as long as she's comfortable, I'm happy with it. I take the seat next to Twilight and look over to her. She's looking away as if she's reading a note, but when I lean over to see she quickly turns to me. "What was that?" "What was what?" She asks as she tilts her head. "Never mind... so, you weren't kidding when you said that folk around here don't like movies." "Yeah... I don't really get it, but then again, I come from Canterlot. Have you been to the movies before?" "Once. It was supposed to be a comedy, but the only funny part was when the film burned and we all got a refund." "*giggle* Well, hopefully we will have a little better luck this time," she says as she leans against me. Even if it did burn, it would already be worth it. I look around for the soda, but can't seem to find it. I would’ve asked about it, but the lights went out and the movie started. A Dark Heart The movie begins with a mare moving to Fillydelphia with her little colt. She seems to be trying hard to start over, but we don't know why yet. "Hmm... he's a cute little colt," Twilight says. "Yeah... pretty adorable." The movie continues to show that the mom strives to provide for herself and her colt, and seems to be doing well. She meets two stallions and soon befriends the both of them. One of them she obviously falls for, while the other one falls for her. When the other one opens up to the mare, and she refuses, he storms off in a fit of anger and self-loathing. The scene goes to the first stallions home, where he goes about his business normally. Little does he know, the other stallion is shadowing his every move. This is making Twilight hold tightly onto my leg. "You alright?" "Y-Yeah... j-just fine... why, are you scared?" "I'm good." I lift my wing and drape it around her, getting a smile and a peck on the cheek. The movie begins to pick up pace now. The other stallion tries to murder the first stallion, but you don't see if he lives or dies. He then begins to chase down the mare, almost catching her at every turn, making Twilight EEP and hide her face in my shoulder. Just as the killer stallion is about to plunge a knife into the little colt, the screen goes white. "What the hay?" I look back to the camera to see an orange mare tangled up in film... or I think it's a mare. She looks just like Applejack, but has a theater uniform and a fake mustache on. "Uh, sorry fer that... there's been a minor... technical difficulty," he/she says in a low forced voice. "Just give me a minute ta start it back up," he/she says as he/she wrestles with the film. I turn back and look down to Twilight. She's practically squeezing my leg off and won't look up. "Hey Twi," I say as I give her a little nudge, "there's been a little delay in the movie, you can look up now." She slowly picks up her head and peeks out. When she sees the coast is clear she brings her head completely up. "If you’re..." "I'm fine, honestly. I just... things like that tend to get to me... a little." I smile and tighten my hold with my wing. "If you say so. If you get too scared, you can always use my shoulder to hide..." "I was not hiding... I was just protecting my vision by not looking at the screen." "By hiding in my shoulder," I tease, getting a flat look from Twilight. We stare at each other for a second before she gives a little chuckle. "Okay, I'm a little scared. But I don't want to leave. I have to know how it ends." "Alright, I'm right next to you if you get too scared." "Hmm... thanks." Bang-Bang The movie worker pounds the machine a couple times until the movie starts back up. The killer thrusts his knife down, but instead of hitting the colt, the first stallion jumps in the way and takes the hit. I knew he was alive. They fight for a bit, but the three of them eventually have to run away, and actually get away somehow. The three of them spend the next few days on the run, trying to escape the killer stallion, but he seems to show up at every turn. The final fight takes place and the two stallions fight to the death, as the mare tries to save her colt from some contraption that the killer had somehow set up. Twilight is under my jacket holding on to me as the fight unfolds, she's shivering lightly, should I find this as funny as I do? The killer sends a blow to the hero, but he dodges it and delivers the final blow, ending the killer. Simultaneously, the mare is able to rescue the colt and they all run out of the collapsing building together. Twilight pokes her head out and watches the last scene. The hero and the mare are looking into each others eyes as the sun sets in the background. They lean into each other’s and share a kiss as the screen turn black and the movie ends. I look down to Twilight and she looks back up to me. We lean closer to each other until I close the distance and kiss her. I wrap my hooves around her and pull her close as she returns the kiss. "Umm... excuse me?" A theater worker says from the front of the room in a squeaky voice, ending our kiss. "How did you get in here? This movie isn't supposed to air until tomorrow." "Then why would you sell me a ticket for today?" "There must’ve been a mix up. I'm sorry, but you two will have to leave now." I look over to Twilight, who only shrugs and gets up to leave. "Alright, we'll go then. Come on, let’s go get something to eat." "Alright," Twilight says as she follows me out, leaning against me the whole way. We make our way to Cafe Gourmet and wait for a waiter. Rainbow Dash appears in the Cafe's uniform. "Rainbow? Let me guess, you work here." "What? The tips are good here... now, I see you have a reservation, let me take you to your table." She trots off into the cafe and we follow closely. She takes us to a table that is situated outside with a view of the surrounding park. We take our seats and look back to Rainbow Dash. "Would you like anything to drink before I take your order?" "I'd like a glass of red wine," Twilight says. "Same here." Rainbow Dash nods and writes down our order on a notepad before running off. "So, Pinkie and Applejack work at the theater, Rainbow Dash works at the Cafe, does Fluttershy happen to be a park manager?" "No... though those have been strange circumstances..." I stare at her for a bit as she looks around and begins to sweat a little. "Uh... I have to use the restroom; I'll be right back." She gets up and quickly trots to the restrooms. I laugh a little and look over the menu. She's lucky to have so many friends that will help her. I look through the menu and decide on the spaghetti. Rainbow Dash returns with our drinks, but looks a little confused. "Hey, where's Twilight?" "She said she had to use the restroom, so..." "Aw ponyfeathers." She sets down the drinks and flies off for the restrooms. A few minutes go by before Twilight finally returns, looking more relaxed. "Everything alright?" "Yes, nothing is wrong... I just had to... go." She picks up the menu and hides her blushing face behind it. I just laugh and take a drink from my glass. Rainbow Dash returns to take our orders. I get the spaghetti and Twilight just gets what I'm getting. We spend the remainder of our time talking idly to each other. The movie, the wine, small stuff like that. When we get our food my mouth starts to water from the aroma. I try to take my fork, but Twilight uses her magic to take it and scoop up some spaghetti. I smile as I open my mouth and let her feed me. It's not half bad. I take the spoon and roll some up to feed to her. She leans forward and takes a bit from the fork... then spits it out immediately. "What's wrong?" "It's freezing cold! I don't think they cooked it properly." I go to take a bite, but before I could a large red blur falls onto the table, sending all of the contents in my face. I slowly wipe away the spaghetti to see Big Macintosh laying on top of the now destroyed table between me and Twilight. "Big Mac." "Eeyup." "Did you just fall onto the table and send everything all over me?" "Eeyup." "Care to explain?" "Nnnope." "Why's that?" "Well, I was talkin' with somepony, an' then this thing landed nearby an' sent me flyin'. Other than that I can't really explain." I look up to Twilight and see that she's completely clean. Well, at least there's that. The manager quickly comes running out and starts hollering at us. We eventually get kicked out so we decide to just go for a walk in the park. The night air is giving a gentle breeze as Luna's moon gently lights our path. It’s getting pretty cold, so I give Twilight my jacket. The park is completely empty, not even giving signs of wildlife. It's just me and Twilight. "Hmm..." “What’s up?" "You still smell like spaghetti." "Hehe, yeah..." "I like it." She stops walking and looks over to me. I step close to her as she looks down coyly. "Twilight..." "Yes Storm...?" "BRING ME ALL YOUR VIRGINS!" I swing around to see a massive Minotaur charging down the path, wielding a massive great sword. I push Twilight to the side and roll the other direction to escape his massive sword. "Who are you!? What are you doing here?" I yell as I fly up to meet his gaze. He turns to me and gives a snort of a laugh before he answers. "I AM GARY THE UNSTOPPABLE! I AM RIDDING THE WORLD OF ALL ITS EVIL! PREPARE TO DIE!" He tries to cleave his sword into me but I quickly shoot up and avoid the attack. I see his sword nearly slam into Twilight, stopping midair as her force field catches it. I shoot forward and buck him in the face as hard as possible, but he only gets pissed off from this. "YOU DARE CHALLENGE THE MIGHT OF GARY THE UNSTOPPABLE!? I WILL TAKE YOUR SOUL AND DEVOUR YOUR FLESH, WEAKLING!" How is he the one ridding the world of evil? He charges straight for me and I try to move around him, but he does a wicked strike into my side that sends me falling back. I black out for a second, when I come to I found Twilight standing over me, holding me in her hooves as she puts a force field around us. "Hey... what's with the tears...?" I say weakly. "*sniffle* Please Storm... stay quiet... I need to try to fix you up..." Tears are pouring down her face as she looks down at my side. I look down to see that I have a massive gash on my side that's bleeding profusely. "It's okay... I can fix this... I can..." "Hey Twilight... thanks for today... I actually had a lot of fun..." She grabs on to me and cries out as Gary starts waling on her force field. "I AM GOING TO FUCK YOUR SHIT UP UNICORN! COME TO GARY THE UNSTOPPABLE!" With every strike onto the force field, I can feel Twilight tighten her grip on me. After a couple more swings the field shatters, and Gary steps forward with an evil smile. He hovers over us and tries to get something from under his chain mail, but never gets the chance, because Miles drops in and drop-kicks him away. Perspective: Miles Fire... screams... agony... swords clashing... death. I slam into consciousness and jump out of bed ready for a fight. Spike had been sleeping next to me so I accidently send him flying. "Whoa! Miles, you’re up! I..." "Where is everyone? What’s going on!?" "Easy there, calm down. Everyone is fine. Storm and Twilight are out on a date." "No, everything is not... a date? Really? Way to go, Storm... No! I had a premonition. Something horrible is going to happen tonight! We have to go save them, come on." I look around and start to put on my armor as Spike approaches me, shuffling his hands. "Umm... Miles. I can't really do much, maybe..." "I don't know this town at all. I'm going to need you to guide me around town..." "Yeah, but..." "That and you’re going to be our medic. Go to the first aid kit and grab a potion... NOT THE RED ONE!" He nods and runs upstairs. I finish putting my armor on and run to the front room, picking up Spike on the way. I stop at the weapon chest in the room and set Spike down. I need my sword. "How do you plan to open it?" I flare the magic in my hands and slam them into the force field, shattering it instantly. I reach down and pull out my sword, slinging it across my back. I walk out the front door and look around. Nothing’s happened yet, maybe I can still make it. Spike walks out holding the first aid kit and looking pretty scared. "You ready for this?" "No. But if they need us I'll get over it." "Uh-rah." I pick up Spike and hold him close as I flare the magic in my heels and take off in the air. "Where did they go?" "The movie theater, north side of town," he yells back. "Point the way." He points forward as we fall to the ground. We hit and make a small crater as I jump straight back into the air. "It's that one down there," he yells as we fly over a long building. I twist and push with one heel so we stop moving forward, and push with the other so we hurl straight for the ground. We slam down in front of a young looking guy wearing a red suit. I walk up to him and grab him to stop him from running away. "Is there anyone in this building?" "N-no, it’s completely empty. There was a couple here earlier but they left a while ago." I set him down and walk off down the street. "Fuck! Do you know where they went next?" "No, but I imagine they would go get dinner next - let’s try Cafe Gourmet, it should be down the street." I nod and launch into the air. Spike points it out almost immediately, so I shoot us straight down. This time I run into a cart and send a red blur into the cafe. "What was that?" I say as I grab the hilt of my sword. "I think it was Big Mac." Oh... shit. I look over and sure enough there's Big Mac, lying on the ground in between Storm and Twilight. "Look, there they are, perfectly safe..." "For now. Let's shadow them, I don't want to take any chances tonight." "I don't know Miles... that's kind of creepy to spy on their date." "I agree, that's why we're not going to spy on them, just stay close enough to be able to act if something were to happen." "What's the... WWHHOAA!" I launch into the air and land half a kilometer away. "Dude! A little warning next time!" "Sorry... now, let's make sure we stay near this path so we can keep a good view." "How do you know they'll go for a walk in the park?" "Dolum's class on Romance and other matters of the heart." I set Spike down and take cover behind a tree, Spike following closely. Sure enough, there go Storm and Twilight, walking down together. I look over to Spike and give him a smug smile. "See, our boy Storm here at least knows the basics. He even gave her his jacket. Smart boy." Spike just shakes his head and looks over. "I think we have trouble." I look over in time to see a massive hairy... thing swing a great sword at Storm. "What is that thing!?" "It's a Minotaur!" I stand and unsheathe my sword, and begin to walk towards the two. As I set out the Minotaur scores a deep hit on Storm, dropping him instantly. I stop as my heart drops. No... no... not again. I watch as Twilight flashes over and puts up a force field around Storm and herself, but I can't move. I can't lose another friend... I can't. "What are you waiting for Miles! Come on!" Spike yells as he runs past me with the first aid kit held over his head. I shake myself and run full force at the Minotaur. He will pay for hurting my friends. I run up to them and drop-kick the brown Minotaur away from the two of them. I quickly get up and put my focus solely on the enemy in front of me. "WHO DARES ATTACK GARY THE UNSTOPPABLE!?" He yells at me. He's at least two and a half meters tall, wielding a massive steel great sword. He has chainmail covering most of his body, and has two massive horns coming out of the side of his head that curve towards me. He has a cap on the top of his head that has seven gems going around it that are glowing lightly. His eyes are glowing red as glares down at me, readying his sword. "I am Miles Eremita. Deverto pulvis et salutant mortuus." I raise my sword and ready myself for the fight. Gary takes the initiative and does a goring charge at me, flailing his sword as he runs forwards. I sidestep and give him a kick as he runs straight into a tree. I stand there in a daze; did he really do something that stupid? He takes advantage of this and tries to charge me again, only to have me roll to the side and dodge the attack. This time I run up to him and give a few quick swipes with my sword, scratching his mail up and giving a few cuts on his exposed arms. He lets out a roar as he charges like a bull and slams straight into my chest, making me stagger back several paces. He focuses for a second, making energy seep from him as he makes another brutal advance to me. His initial attack misses, but the gems flash white and give him the force to connect the attack. I’m sent flying back, but I stay standing. When I stop moving, I run up to him and pivot 'n slide into Gary, sending a deep cut across his chest, shattering the chain mail. Gary looks down and focuses his energy, sending a surge of healing over his body. He looks back to me and drives an attack into me, flailing his sword from side to side he hits me and sends me flying on my back. Gary walks up and is about to lower his sword to decapitate me, but I swing my free hand forward and take control of the steel. I send the sword flying into the air and with a pull of my arm send it flying into Gary. He staggers back and falls backwards. I get to my feet and walk over to him. "Damn... where's that damn Band-Aid when you need that old bastard..." "Any last words?" I say, as I lift my sword over him. "Yeah... I curse that fucking sand bag." I nod and send my blade straight into his neck, forcing him to bleed out and slip into the void. I turn to Twilight and Storm and run over to them, dropping my sword on the way. Storm does not look good. "H-hey Miles... glad to see you walking amongst the living... he he..." he says weakly. "Stop Storm, please save your strength," Twilight says as she cradles him in her hooves. I kneel down and flare the magic in both my hands. Twilight looks at me for a second but I continue anyway. I lightly put my hands on both sides of the wound and push it closed, getting groans from Storm. I next send waves of healing magic into him. I take it slow so I can make sure to heal it properly, only letting the lines reach my wrist. After what feels like an eternity I remove my hands and sit back - there's nothing more I can do. Storm has his eyes shut as Twilight gently strokes his hair, come on you bastard, pull through already. "Hey Twilight..." he says as he looks up to her, "have any plans tomorrow?" Twilight pulls him into a hug and plants kisses all over his face. Damn... that was too close. Author's Note Shout out to Kutushk for picking the movie genre, kingdok for picking the element that killed Gary, and jmlop0 for picking who dropped by for dinner. Thanks for reading and like always, Brony on! P.S. Don't worry, this goes full circle... eventually. Chapter 37 Meeting of the MindsChapter 37 Meeting of the Minds Perspective: Luna Ever since Miles showed up I've been completely off of my sleeping schedule. I keep tossing and turning in bed, but I can't seem to keep him out of my mind. Why does trouble find him so easily? Celestia almost took this project away from me due to the incident with the Minotaur, but luckily I convinced her to let me keep going. I’ll just have to keep him under even stricter surveillance. I toss around a couple more times before I sit up in bed. I can't sleep... I guess I'll just have to find something to fill my time. I get out of bed and lazily walk over to my vanity mirror. When I get to it I lay my head on the desk and let out a heavy sigh. What to do, what to do... I look up to myself in the mirror and sigh again. Well... I wonder what Miles is up to today. I enchant my mirror and set a scrying spell for Miles. The Mirror goes hazy for a bit before I get a view of Miles from behind. He seems to be working at Sweet Apple Acres... that's good... I guess. He stops and looks around for a second before he gets back to work. Did he sense my magic scrying him? That's pretty impressive. As he gets to work he starts to talk to himself. Maybe I shouldn't listen, this could be something very personal... "...I should have taken Tenera up on her offer, then I could have at least known that simple pleasure..." Whoa... who’s this Tenera? What kind of pleasure? Was she... somepony special to him? "...I should have taken Dare's advice, but at the same time, I don't think I could have broken another promise..." Break another promise? So Miles is the kind of pony to break promises. But, then again, he seems really troubled by breaking this promise. Am I really one to talk...? I am secretly watching him. I continue to watch him as he pulls some carts to a cellar and talks to Applejack for a bit. I start to get bored of this, until he walks back into the orchard and begins to get to work again. He works for a while in silence, and starts to bring the cart back to the cellar. Why does he keep taking his shoes on and off? He could just leave them off and save that much more time. I spend the next few hours barely awake, trying my best to see if he starts talking again, but eventually I slip into a light slumber. "Well... at least the manual labor will help me stay fit, being this long from the gym is starting to get on my nerves..." I jolt awake and look up to the mirror. Finally, I was starting to think he forgot how to talk. "...rubbing the side of her head like that probably didn't help that much either... why did I do that to begin with? Something about those beautiful eye—WHOA!" Whoa! Beautiful? He thinks I have beautiful eyes!? I shut off my magic, ending the spell, and begin to pace about my room. He said I have beautiful eyes... why does this bother me so much? It's not like he confessed his love to me, it was just a compliment, that's all. Knock, knock, knock "Ahh!" "Luna! What's wrong?" Celestia says as she walks into my room. I take a few steps back and try not to look her in the eyes, ‘cause I know I'm blushing right now. "Er... well... ah..." "Why are you all red?" she asks as she lowers her head to get a good look at me. "I was having a weird dream... nothing to worry about," I say with a small smile. She looks at me quizzically for a moment before she straightens up. "Luna, I know you’re lying to me, what actually happened?" she says sternly. I sigh and look up to her as I tell her about my scrying and what I overheard him say, though I leave out my reactions. She looks away for a moment before she turns back to me with a serious look on her face. "Luna... I don't like how close this human is getting to you. Maybe it's time I..." "No!" I yell out, but shy away a bit. "Please. I want to do this on my own. I have to become the leader I once was, and I'll never be able to do that if I have you holding my hoof for every little thing. I understand your concern, but I'm not a little filly, sister! I can handle these kinds of problems, please, let me show you I can do this." Celestia looks at me evenly for a while before she sighs and walks up to me, wrapping me up in a hug. "I know you can. You’re a strong mare and I know you can do this... I can't help it if I'm a little protective of my little sister..." "Hey! You’re only five years older than me," I say as I return the hug. "One thousand and five years actually..." "Moon years count too!" We share a little laugh before she lets go of me and walks over to the balcony. "Well, since you’re up anyway, want to come with me to the christening of that new zeppelin?" I put on a huge smile and run up to her side, only to have her put a hoof on my shoulder and point me to my mirror. I look at her in confusion until I see my reflection. "You may want to freshen up first." The event doesn't take nearly as long as I thought it would. We literally went down to the air docks, smashed a bottle of wine, and talked to a few dignitaries. It was nice to be with Tia though, so I guess it was worth it. She flies with me up to my room and walks in with me. "That was fun, we should do things like this more often," she says cheerfully. "Yeah, definitely." "Umm... Luna?" "Yea Tia?" "Can I at least get a view of this human? I want to be able to put a face to the creature." "Umm... well, I don't see why not..." This won't end well. I turn to my mirror and scry Miles again. "GET OUT OF HERE!" he yells as he's eaten by a Red-Bellied Snake in the middle of some cave. My jaw drops as I watch it twist and shake. "Well... that was... unexpected," Celestia says in shock. I’m about to say something, but then the side of its neck explodes and Miles climbs out of the snake. "T-the girls... we, we have t-to get them..." He says weakly as he passes out, the fires on his limbs staying lit. Even though I drop the spell, I can't stop staring at the mirror in disbelief. What just happened? What girls are in trouble? "*sigh* Well... shoot. I guess I have to go back and find out what's going on." "I wish to come as well." I turn and look at her. "Not to interfere, I just wish to meet this human, you will still make all of the decisions." "Celestia... alright, but I don't think this is a good idea..." "Nonsense, I wish to know all my subjects. This human is no different. Now let's go and take a carriage to Ponyville," she says as she teleports us to the chariot docks. We take one of Celestia's and make our way to Ponyville. The entire trip does a serious number on my nerves. How will Miles react to seeing Celestia, or vice versa? GAH... I wish Miles wasn't some kind of conduit of trouble. We arrive at the Ponyville hospital just as Twilight and Storm run inside, levitating Miles along the way. We step out of the carriage and walk into the hospital. The room has turned chaotic as nurses and doctors run up to Miles, but all stop when they notice me and my sister. "Please, continue your work," Celestia says, getting everyone to get back to Miles. Once they take him into the back, Storm Cloud approaches me with Twilight right beside him. "Your Highnesses," he says as they bow to us. "Could you please tell me what's happened here?" I ask. "I would, but I don't even know what's going on. All I can say is that Miles went on a small adventure with three little fillies and ended up getting eaten. We can't get the girls to talk about it either, they're too shaken up by what's happened," Storm Cloud says to me. "Why hasn't his magic stopped flaring?" "I don't know; we'd have to ask him about it." "Well then, we should all wait for the doctors to finish up before we ask any more questions," Celestia says as she walks into the waiting lobby. *sigh* So much for my taking the lead on this. We go to the lobby and sit down. Almost immediately several nurses come to us and start asking if we need or want anything, which we decline. I notice Twilight leaning against Storm Cloud and motion for Celestia to look. "Looks as if your student has found her special somepony," I say quietly to Celestia. "So it would seem. I was starting to worry that she would never find somepony, but I guess I was wrong." "Why would you worry about that?" "Well... Twilight is an excellent student and a wonderful pony, but she tends to keep her head in books instead of in life. Just look at how she was in Canterlot compared to Ponyville." I shrug in response, I didn't really know her from back then - being in the moon and all - so I'll just go with what she says for now. We sit here for about an hour until a doctor comes to us in his surgery scrubs. "Umm... who's here for the human?" "We all are. How is Miles?" I ask as I stand and face him. "I'm afraid not well, your highness. No matter what we do we can't seem to help in any way. Any stitches are burned before they can close the wounds, we can't touch him or we'll be burned as well, and the strangest part is that there seems to be some sort of energy field that is holding him in a kind of stasis." "What do you mean by that?" Celestia asks as she walks up beside me. "I can't really explain it, something is holding him at his current health. Whenever we try to heal him with magic or potions, a green energy repels it - we can't do a thing, unless..." "Unless what, doctor?" I ask. "Well, it could be that he's rejecting our treatment because he's at such a high energy level. If one of you were to try something, maybe it could have better results." "Are there any risks?" Twilight asks from behind. "Well... I'm not sure. There haven't been any so far, so I would guess not... but at the same time, we've been operating at a lower energy level." The room falls silent as we all contemplate this. It could be risky, but at the same time, he is my responsibility. "I'll do it then," I say as I step forward, "he's my responsibility, I'll be the one to tend to him." The doctor gives a slight bow as he runs off into the back. I follow and head back with him. We first stop at a sink where I set aside my accessories and sterilize my hooves. The nurses bring me some scrubs to put on and we head to the surgery room. The room is round and bright white. Miles is laying on the floor and is surrounded by tables that are holding various tools and instruments for surgery. Four white fires are burning from his hands and feet, sending lines to his elbows and knees. There are several nurses moving around the room, trying to help in any way they can. Above the room is an observation area going all around us. Celestia, Storm Cloud and Twilight are seated up above and are watching intently. "We tried to put him on a table, but the dark lines were going to melt the table, so we laid him on the floor. Don't worry though, it's perfectly clean in here," the doctor explains as we walk in. "So... how do you want to approach this?" "I think I have an idea of how I want to go about this," I say as I walk up to him and examine his wounds. There are rows of deep puncture wounds on his left shoulder and he looks like he's in a tremendous amount of pain. As I step closer the flames coming from him suddenly turn emerald green. I stop and look back to the doctor, who only shrugs, before continuing to approach him. When I walk up to him I take a deep sigh and set my horn against his forehead... nothing so far, that's good... I think. I begin to try to send a healing spell into him, but the spell seems to be blocked by an impenetrable energy field. SO, YOU'VE ARRIVED. I look around to find the source of the voice, but everything is the same. I look down at Miles and he still looks the same. I’m about to walk away when Miles quickly grabs hold of my horn. After a few seconds of intense energy running through me, I fall to my side and pass out. I awaken in bright white... plains? There doesn't seem to be an end to wherever I am, just endless amounts of white nothingness. In the air are several flat square windows that are all black. I look around and find Miles lying a few feet away from me. I stand up and walk over to him, only to find him in the same state he was in before. Where am I? GREETINGS, BLUE ONE. I turn around to find an emerald human hovering behind me. He seems to be devoid of any major features, just simple arms, legs, torso, and a head of all emerald energy. He's looking down at me with his arms crossed and standing as if he were on solid ground. "Who are you?" I ask as I step back. I AM. "... You are..." He doesn't seem to talk, rather his words just appear in my mind. I GO BY MANY NAMES. MILES EREMITA, SOUL FIRE, CONSCIOUSNESS, IN THE END, I AM. "O...K... where am I?" YOU ARE IN MY DOMAIN. "So... where would that be?" TO MAKE MATTERS SIMPLE, WE ARE IN MILES'S MIND. I BROUGHT YOU HERE TO HAVE A WORD WITH YOU. "A-a word... with me?" YES. I MUST SPEAK WITH YOU IF I AM TO ALLOW THIS GAME TO CONTINUE. "Well... what do you want to know?" He levitates down to me and stands there for a second before he shoots straight for me, engulfing me entirely, forcing me to unconsciousness. When I wake up I find myself in Miles's mind still, only the emerald man is nowhere to be fou— LUNA. "EEP!" I turn around and find the emerald man hovering behind me. I ACCEPT. "Y-you accept what?" I WILL ALLOW YOU TO LEAVE NOW, BUT KNOW THAT MILES MUST STAY LIKE THIS FOR A WHILE LONGER, UNLESS YOU CAN BREAK HIM FREE OF THIS STATE. "Break him free? I don't get it, what's going on? Why is Miles like this? What do you mean you accept? What do you accept?" ASK MILES WHEN I ALLOW HIM TO WAKE. AS FOR WHAT HAS HAPPENED, I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF MILES ACTING AS WEAK AS HE HAS BEEN, SO I'VE DECIDED TO PUNISH HIM FOR A WHILE. I HAVE SEPARATED FROM HIM, FOR THE TIME BEING. THOUGH I CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT HIM, NOR CAN HE LIVE WITHOUT ME, I DECIDED TO SEPARATE FROM HIM UNTIL HE REALIZES MY POWER. "Maybe I can talk to him, try to get him to use his powers more often..." IN TIME YOU SHALL, BUT NOT NOW. He turns to Miles and lays over him. The two of them begin to fuse together until only Miles is left. I walk up to him and give him a few shakes... nothing. Shoot... how am I supposed to get out of here? I look around and notice that the black planes are flying higher and higher away. I try to fly after them, but my wings don't seem to be working here. I lie down and try to think of a way to get out. I stand over Miles and shake him even harder. "Miles! Wake up Miles, come on!" I try everything I can think of to wake him, yelling, shaking, smacking, picking him up and dropping him, nothing. I step to his side and look him over. He looks as if he's sleeping peacefully now, at least he isn't in pain anymore. Hmm... NO! I'm not doing that... I can't... stop thinking brain... well... not like anypony will find out. *sigh* This better work. I bring my face down to his and look at him for a second, before I close my eyes and kiss him. I hold my lips against his for a second before I feel him kissing back, and I quickly step away. "Wha... huh... LUNA! Wh-what's going on? Where are we? What happened to the girls? WHY WERE YOU KISSING ME?!" He asks as he sits up. I take a few more steps back until I drop to my haunches. "I-I-I don't know. There was this green human, I didn't get what he was talking about half the time, then you were just lying there and... IT WORKED, DIDN'T IT!?" Chapter 53 Inheritances Chapter 53 Inheritances Chapter 53 Inheritances Perspective: Miles After I toss Storm into a tree I start to walk towards him, flaring my magic along the way. Man... he's going to need a lot of basic training before we even get to the really important stuff. Then again, we do get to skip all of the fire arms training, so there's that. I suddenly lift up and slam face first into the ground. "What the..." "MILES!" I look back to see Twilight glaring at me as she holds me down with her magic. "Twilight? When did you get here?" "Just as you slammed Storm into a tree!" "Oh... well you can hold me down here or you can let go of me so I can fix him up, your call." She slams me into the ground again before she lets go of me and runs to Storm's side. I get up and walk up to him, noting the others waiting behind. I kneel down and get to work fixing him up. "Sorry about that Twilight... it was a part of the training." "*sigh* this better make him into the best fighter possible." "It will. So... who’s the dame with the guards?" "That would be his mother, Rain Cloud." "H-his mother" I'm fucked. "You found his mother.... why didn't you tell me you were looking for his mother!" "We only found out about her after you left. We didn't get a chance to." "Grah! Well... I'll have to postpone training so he can catch up with her... oh well, this will give me time to make his new armor at least." "I've been meaning to ask about that. What happened to his old armor? Why didn't he have it at Canterlot?" "When they fired him they took it. He only had his sword because I put it with my stuff. They must have thought it was mine." I finish working on him and shut off my magic. He's still asleep, hmm... I bring my mouth to his ear and whisper "pancakes" "Where!" He yells as he jolts up. He looks around a bit before he gets up, rubbing his face along the way. "Aw man, how long was I out?" "Just a few seconds, Storm we'll have to post pone training for a while." I say as I stand up. "What!? Why?" I point behind him, making him turn around. Rain Cloud begins to walk up to Storm, looking him over intensely, visibly shaking as she gets closer. "Your eyes...your blue eyes.... your mane...Snow's mane..." she says in a shaky voice as she looks him over, stopping in front of him and looking deeply into his eyes. "Who are you?" "Uh... my name is Storm Cloud.... who are you?" "I-I am your mother." Storm takes a few steps back and looks her over a bit before Rain Cloud runs up to him and wraps him up in a hug. "Storm...my little Storm.... look how big you got! You're a stallion now! Oh... my Storm..." Storm just stands there with a look of disbelief as she holds onto him and cries out into his shoulder. She almost falls to the ground but is caught by Storm as he takes her into his hooves and holds onto her, still looking dumb founded. They hold onto each other for almost an hour before one of the guard ponies in black coughs, getting them to start to get back up. I look over to Twilight and see her wiping her tears away with a hoof. I nudge her with my leg and motion to her to join them, which she does slowly. She walks up beside Storm and gently nuzzles his side, getting both of their attention. "Twilight, I thought you were just going to talk with some employees or something..." "Once I heard that they might still be alive, I went straight for them to bring her to you." "Twilight, thank you so much for doing this. I'm sorry I doubted you before" she says as she gives Twilight a light hug. "Ahem" I say getting all of their attention, "why don't we move this inside? I'm sure there is much you all wish to discuss right now." They all nod and head into the house, the two guards staying outside and walking the perimeter. We walk to the living room where Storm, Twilight and Rain Cloud take up the couch, Storm being in the middle. I take a seat on one of the recliners as Rainbow and Fluttershy walk out the front door, saying their goodbyes. "There's so much I want to ask..." Rain Cloud starts. "I really only have one question" Storm says, silencing Rain, "how long?" "How long..." "How long did you look for me!? How long before you gave up and decided I wasn't worth looking for!" Storm yells as he tears up a little. "Storm... we looked. We looked every day for three long and painful years..." "What happened! Why don't I know you! Or my past? Why is my earliest memory being scared and alone, on the verge of death in for some god forsaken forest! Why..." "I'm sorry," Rain Cloud says through her tears, "Breaker told us you were attacked by some creatures and we looked for you... but we only found blood... I was so scared... I truly believed that you had died..." "What about Breaker! How could I have been dead and he come out just fine!?" "He said that you sacrificed yourself so he could escape.... we had no idea that..." "That what! That he was the one who attacked me, left me for dead, tried to live his life as me? How long has he been doing that without you knowing!? How..." "Storm!" I yell, getting him to stop his tirade. "Upstairs... now." I stand and walk to the stairs and let him walk up before me. I look back to see Twilight trying to comfort Rain as she sobs into her hooves. We walk up to his room where I shut the door behind me and lean against the door while Storm paces back and forth, fuming with rage. I let him fume some more before I can see him begin to calm down. "Well... that could have gone better." "I knew it wouldn't have... I didn't want to see her; I should have told Twilight..." "Well... we can't change that. She is here, and you need to go back down there and talk to her..." "I can't! I-I... I just can't..." "Yes you can, and you want to know how I know you can?" He stops pacing around and looks up to me, "because as mad as you are about what happened, you'll never be able to forgive yourself if you don't fix things right now. I know it's going to be tough, but you have to do this, if not for yourself, then for Twilight." He looks away for a bit, thinking deeply about what I said before he walks up to me. "Fine... I'll give her another chance, but just this one!" "Wow that worked? I mean, that's the spirit! Let’s go down there and have a word with your mother" I say as I open the door for Storm. I can't believe that actually worked. I honestly thought he would fight with me some more. We make our way down stairs where we find Twilight holding Rain as she lightly cries into her shoulder. With a sigh Storm walks up to them and motions for Twilight to let him by. She gives him a look before she complies. Rain rubs her eyes as she sits up and looks down to Storm, who just stands there, avoiding her gaze. "*sigh* I'm sorry I snapped. I didn't mean to yell... it's just... life wasn't easy for me, growing up on my own. I had always thought that my parents had abandoned me, so I always was on my own." "I swear we looked for you... we looked for three long years... but we never found you... I'm so sorry, we should have looked harder..." "No, I'm sure you did everything within your power to find me..." Rain jumps down and wraps Storm up in another hug, only this time Storm returns the hug. They hold each other for almost an hour before Storm finally let’s go of her and takes a seat next to Twilight on the couch. After Rain takes the seat next to him we spend the next hour talking about Storm's life. From being found by some farmers and taken to an orphanage, to becoming a weather pony for Detrot, his ordeal with his ex and how she died, him being in the royal guard and everything that's happened since my arrival. "Oh my... you've been through so much..." Rain says as she rubs his back. "Yeah... but it wasn't all bad" He says as he looks to Twilight, who nuzzles his cheek a bit. "I think now would be the best time for you to explain what happened to Storm Breaker," I say bluntly, getting looks from everyone. "Well... I think I have an idea as to what he's done." Rain says as she straightens up. "When Snow died, he had changed his will at the last moment. He gave all of his inheritance to Storm Cloud, leaving Breaker out completely. If by the time I passed, and you were never found, it would all go to charity. He must be trying to become you so he can collect it." "What could he have done to make his father resent him so much?" Twilight asks. "*sigh* he... he demanded your birth rights." "I don't get" I say as I lean forward. "What's a birth right?" "Well, Storm Cloud was born first, so he gets rights to things, like the inheritance, before Breaker." "What kind of inheritance are we talking about here?" I ask, getting looks from Twilight and Storm. "What? I've never heard of something like this before, cut me some slack here." "Well, he now owns the house, thirty percent of the Cloud factory stocks, and...*mumble mumble*" she says as she looks away and plays with her hair a bit. "I'm sorry, what was that last part?" Storm says as he leans closer to her. "And the money... some sixty million, before taxes that is." "Si-si-sixty million tha- the- huh...*THUD*." Storm says before he faints and falls to the ground. Twilight and I just stare at Rain, mouths agape, trying to wrap our minds around the idea of Storm being.... well... loaded. "Well... I wasn't expecting that... so, Miles, care to tell me why you slammed my son into a tree and knocked him out?" "I-I-I... uh... he wanted training..." "So you threw him into a tree?" "Yeah.... we should wake him up..." "He can wait, what gives you the right to train him in such a manner?" "It's just a part of Spartan training...." "What's a Spartan? Or better yet, what are you?" I spend a half hour explaining to her my past. From my people to the war and how I got here today, only telling her what she needs to know. She asks a few questions, but I answer them giving as little information as possible. I think Twilight has noticed my deception, but hasn't called me out on it yet. By the time I finish, Storm has gotten back up and tries to calm himself down. "So you’re that creature everypony has been buzzing about in the tabloids... I must say, you're quiet different then they depict you." "Thank you... I think...so what happens now?" "What do you mean?" "Well I assume you want to spend time with Storm now, plus you still have to discuss somethings about Breaker..." "That's all true, but what about his training? I doubt you want to just put it on hold." "Actually, today was just a skill check, the actual training won't start for a while, I need to get somethings set up. Plus, this will give me some time to make his armor. What do you say Storm?" "Si-si-si-si-six million..." he repeats as he sits there, frozen from the idea of wealth. "O...K... I'll take that as a yes. Twilight, why don't you go with him, keep him company." I say, making her freeze up as well. "What... I mean... uh..." "It's settled then. Storm and Twilight will spend..." Rain says. "Four days." "Right, the next four days with me in Cloudsdale while you prepare for his training. " She says happily. I like this woman; she seems to think like me... he's doomed. "Alright, well I won’t keep you, it is getting pretty late, why don't you get a move on and I'll get to work." Rain Cloud nods and claps her hooves, making the two guards run inside and salute her. She instructs them to take them to Twilight's balloon and to set a course for her home. They salute and carry the frozen Storm and Twilight away. I bid Rain Cloud goodbye and watch as they fly off into the sunset. I turn back and go to my closet, where I pull out the left over metal from Gary and put it onto the table... where did I put those gems... right, in the upstairs closet. I run up to my room and go to open the door, only to have it open before me. "Hello Miles, I'm ready for our date." Chapter 66 Guards and SoldiersChapter 66 Guards and Soldiers When I finally wake up I find myself in a cot with dark green blankets. I look around to see all of the bunk beds in the long buildings and realize that I'm in the barracks for the royal guard. This can't be good. Maybe if I can sneak out here I can get away without anypony noticing me. I look around to find that the only exits are the front and back doors, so I head to the back door. When I reach it I look out the window to see two unicorn day guards waiting by the door. OK, front door it is then. I turn around and start to trot to the front door, but stop halfway when it swings open, revealing Shining Armor and two unicorn day guards. "Storm Cloud, glad to see you up. Could you come with me please, there's something I'd like to show you," he says before he turns and walks out the door. The two guards wait inside, staring straight at me. I could probably take them both... but then the entire grounds would be after me, so better to just go along with it, for now. I walk past them and head out the front door where I find Shining waiting for me patiently. "Good, just follow me please," he says as he starts to walk off. I follow after him with the guards following close behind me. He's walking me around the main workout area, a large track with various obstacles in the center of it. There are ponies running about the track as others go through the course. He stops in the center of the straightway of the track and watches some of the ponies going through the obstacle course. "Why did you bring me here Shining?" I ask, barely getting an ear twitch from him. "I need to know something Storm, was Spartan training better than royal guard training?" "Easily. This training made me a guard, Spartan training made me a soldier." "And what’s the difference?" "A guard enforces rules; a soldier protects them." "And what does that mean?" he says as he looks down at me. "Look, I was a guard too, but... the royal guard’s a joke," I say, getting everypony within earshot to look over at me in disbelief. "You want to repeat that?" Shining says as he steps closer to me. "Look at what happened with the changelings! We almost lost the Princesses. If Miles hadn't come by and told you what to do, who knows what would have happened? Let’s face it, the royal guard aren't ready for the shit that would befall the Princesses. If something strong enough to kill one of them came here right now, all you would be able to do is slow it down before it got to them..." "And what, you would be able to stop something like that!?" he says as he gets in my face. "I would and I could, I have that mentality and the training to do that," I say as I push back. I see him start to use his magic so I flap my wings and send myself high into the air, avoiding his magical restraint. I keep flying up as different pockets of magic try to grab a hold of me. I glance back to see a few pegasi flying after me, and gaining quickly. I wasn't always the greatest flyer, but I can at least hold my own. I roll over and dive towards the ground. I can see all of the glowing horns of the unicorns trying to catch me with their magic as all of the pegasi start to take to the air. I shoot towards one side of the obstacle course and continue to fly down until I'm a foot away from the ground. I pull up and fly towards the obstacle course. I weave through the course, going up walls, twisting around posts, anything to keep them from gaining on me. When I shoot out the other side I fly straight for Shining, who brings up a magical wall to catch me. I pull my wings in and roll forward on the ground, letting one pegasus fly past me into Shining's net. When I'm upside down I push my body straight, sending both my back legs into the chest of the next pegasus and sending him flying. I flip over and land on all fours as the next pegasus flies straight for me. I try to jump out of the way only for him to tackle me. As we roll together I knee and punch him until we come to a stop. I try to take off again but stop midair as Shining catches me with his magic. "So how would you do against a monster that was after one of the Princesses?" He says as he levitates me over to him. "It took the entire guard to catch one pegasus, plus I wasn't fighting you. I was just trying to get away," I say as I look at the crowd forming around us. "Oh, so you think you could best me in a real fight?" "I would kill you, but that will never happen..." "And why's that?" "I would never harm a family member..." "According to Twilight you would. You snapped your own brothers neck..." "Breaker was no brother of mine! He was a twisted monster and gave me no choice!" "I'm sure he was," he says as he sets me down. "Look, I've got a proposition for you." "Yeah, and what would that be?" "A fight. Me and you. If you win I'll let you marry my sister, no problems no conflict..." "And if you win?" "Then you train a group of guards to be Spartans, I will give you that Miles has something a little more to him, but I doubt you got all of his secrets. I want to find all of them, and the best way for me to start is to make sure I can take his training. So test me. I want to see what a Spartan has to offer." "Are you kidding me? The training was more than just physical; it was mental also. I didn't sleep for weeks because of the shit I went through! Winning a fight isn't going to make you a Spartan! It’s more than that. I've been forged to win fight after fight..." "Then what do you have to lose?" He says as he starts to walk off. I glare at him as he walks towards the sparring arena. I don't want to do this... but I don't want Twilight’s family trying to stop our marriage either. With a heavy heart I start to trot to the sparring arena. I won’t kill him, but I will teach him the difference between a guard and a soldier. When I get there Shining, stands up with two wooden swords and tosses me one. I catch it as I stand and let it fall to my side. "How're we going to do this?" I ask as I start to walk to my left, Shinning going to the right. "To make sure that the victor doesn't win by a lucky hit, we'll do the best of seven. These swords are enchanted to leave colorful marks when they hit something, so we'll see when a kill shot has been delivered." I nod to him and continue to walk, waiting for him to make his move. As we circle each other, every guard in the square runs over to watch, some yelling random cheers, others placing bets. He starts by trying to swing his sword down onto my shoulder, but I block it quickly by raising my sword and catching it. I thrust my other hoof forward and punch him in the gut, making him stagger back. I take this opening and swipe my sword at him, getting a clean slash against his chest with the first and across his face with the back slash. Using the momentum from the swing I spin and kick him with a single hoof in the gut, sending him on his back and making the crowd erupt in cheers and boos. "One," I say as I take a more relaxed stance. He quickly gets up and glares at me as neon red lines appear where I hit him. He runs at me, slashing his sword at me as he tries to clip my sides. I walk backwards as I block swing after swing. When he tries to do an uppercut with his sword I spin to the side and slash his neck with my sword, making the crowd erupt again. He staggers back and holds his neck, as I hold my sword in front of me and take a readied stance. "That's two." "Shut up!" he says as he takes his stance. This time I run towards him and thrust for his gut. He steps to the side and tries to hack at my neck, but I roll forward to avoid the attack. I pivot around and raise my sword sideways to block his chops. I hold this position as he hacks at me continuously until I roll next to him and slash up his side as I stand. I then spin to the side and slash him across the gut as I take his sword from him, sending him back a bit and forcing him to his knee. Again the crowd erupts in a frenzy of cheers and profanity. Most of the profanity seems to go towards me, but there are a few supporters. "That's three, give up Shining, you can't win," I say as I take my stance, holding one blade high and the other low. He looks at me with a look of pure rage as he starts to flare his magic. I shake my head as I fling one sword at him, hitting him square on the horn and ending his magic. I take my other sword and toss it aside as I take a few steps towards him. He tries to tackle me but I hop above him and slam both my hooves into his back, sending him to the ground with a loud grunt. I land over him and walk to his side and watch him roll over to his. I drop to my knees and start elbowing his chest. I slam harder and harder as he tries to cover himself. He swings a leg around me and rolls me over so that he's on top as he starts to punch away at me. I ignore his punches and slam my knee into his back, sending him flying over me. I get back to my hooves and charge at him, tackling him as he tries to get back up. We roll around for a while, each trying to gain the dominant position until we both levitate off the ground. I look around to see every guard bowing to something to the right. When I look to the right, I see a very pissed off Princess Luna glaring at the two of us. "Is there a reason the two of you decided to hold this barbaric act and wake me from my slumber?" She asks as she sets the two of us down, Shining bowing immediately. "Forgive us Princess, we were settling a personal..." Shining starts. "Is there a reason you're not bowing?" Luna asks me, getting every guard to look at me in disbelief. "Because I no longer need to bow to you," I say nonchalantly, getting bewildered looks from everypony except Luna. "Oh, and why's that?" "Because I'm a Terradisian," I say, getting a confused look from her. "Miles put me through Spartan training, and part of it was becoming a citizen of Terradisia. I was put through a rigorous loyalty test to make Terradisia my first concern - I am still an Equestrian, but I'm a Terradisian first now." When I finish telling her this, she looks down a bit before she looks back to me. "And... how is Miles?" "OH MY GOD YOU DO - MMMMM," I yell out, only to stop when Luna shuts my mouth with her magic, looking around in a panic. "Shhh! Uh... please come with me... I must... discuss some things with you," she says as she quickly walks off. I look back to Shining before I follow after her. I seriously hope he doesn't do anything to ruin my plans. I follow her to the castle, where we enter a hallway and walk down it at a brisk pace until Luna teleports us to her room. "Whoa, uh, Luna..." "What do you know?" she asks as she glares at me. "What? I don't know anything..." "Then what were you going to say?" "Well, it’s speculated that... you... and Miles... are in love." "NO!" she yells as she starts to pace around. "Nononono, why does this have to happen?" "So... I'm guessing this isn't true?" I say, getting her to stop and look at me with the saddest look I've ever seen her with. "Oh... sorry. It just seemed that that upset you." "I...*sigh* I did love him... but when Celestia found out... we aren't together anymore, and it needs to stay that way," she says as she lowers her head. "Why can't you be together?" "Well, I'm ageless and he's mortal..." "So, look at Cadence and Shining." "That's not the same. Cadence isn't part of the royal sisters, she's just a part of the royal family. Plus, Shining has more time than Miles." "What do you mean?" I ask, getting her to look up at me in shock. "You don't know?" "Know what?" She takes a deep breath before she looks me in the eyes. "Miles is dying. He has anywhere from six to sixteen years left to live." As she says this I feel my heart drop. He's dying... he can't be dying, he can't be. "H-how do you know this?" "He told me and my sister when Celestia separated us. It has something to do with his power constantly growing. Eventually it’s going to get to a point where his body can't handle it anymore and burns out,” she says as a tear rolls down the side of her face. "So why would you leave him then?" says a new voice. I look over to the balcony to see a griffin standing in the doorway. "Regina? How long have you been there?" Luna asks as Regina walks up to us. "Long enough, Luna, I respect your sister and value her word, but this time she's wrong." "What..." "Look, he's dying. He must be scared out of his mind right now. He falls in love only to be told that he's not allowed to have that because he's dying... how would you feel?" she asks, making Luna tear up as she thinks about it. "I... I... I don't know what to do!" she says as she drops to the ground and begins to cry. Regina walks over to her and lies before her as she hugs her. "I want to be with him... but... I don't want to lose him either. Celestia's afraid that if I'm with him... and he dies... I'll die the same way my mother died..." "Shh... shh... it’s alright, it’s going to be OK," Regina assures her as she rubs her back. I just kind of stand here awkwardly. not sure what to do. "Luna, look at me." She gives a couple of sniffles before she looks up to her. "Look, I know it’s going to hurt later on, but I really think you should try to get him back." "But... what about when..." "What do you think will hurt more, having him die with you, or to have him die alone?" OK, that was kind of harsh and only made her cry harder. "What’s your name?" Regina asks me. "I'm Storm." "What acquaintance do you have with Miles?" "Uh... I guess you could say we're best friends..." "So, how is he then?" she asks, getting Luna to pause her crying and look up to me. "Well... I'm not sure. He’s sort of... lost that spring in his step. He acts normal enough, but... I don't know what's going on the inside." "Hmm... Storm, I want you to do me a favor. Go back to him, assuming you don't have any business left here, and see if you can get him to open up a bit. See if he's hurting, then write a letter to Luna discussing what you find." "I don't know... I don't like the idea of spying on my friend..." "But it's going to help him in the long run, please Storm." "Storm." Luna says weakly. "If you don't want to you don't have to. I understand how you wish to respect your friend’s privacy... but if you did this... it would mean the world to me." I've never seen Luna this desperate before... buck, I can't say no. "I'll do it..." As soon as I say that Luna levitates me over and squeezes me in the tightest hug I've ever felt. "Thank you Storm! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" "Princess! Can't! Air!" I yell as I try to tap her shoulder, getting her to set me down with a blush. "Sorry... thank you, again. This really means a lot to me." I nod to her and stand there for a few moments, filling the room with an awkward silence. "Well. You should get going, you must have other things to attend to. I'm going to stay and make sure Luna's up to speed on current... rulings of the heart. Let’s have dinner together," Regina says to Luna as she stands up. "Alright, what do you want?" "Hmm." She hums out loud as she puts a claw to her beak. "I want dirt and worms for dinner." "What?" Luna says with a chuckle. "Dirt and worms. You know, chocolate ice cream mixed with cookie crumbs and gummy worms, sheesh, they didn't have anything fun a thousand years ago did they?" Regina says, getting them both to laugh. I start to walk towards the balcony when Luna calls out to me. "I'll teleport you wherever you need to go. It would look suspicious if you just flew out of my balcony door." "Right, could you teleport me to my hotel, the one on the corner of Sunset and Eclipse?" She nods with a smile as she starts to charge up her magic. "Thank you again, Storm," she says as she teleports me out front of the hotel. I sigh as I start to walk towards my room. This is too much. Miles is dying, is in love with Luna, I have to set up some elaborate scheme for when I pop the question to Twilight, then there's the actual wedding... assuming she says yes… shit. I shake my head clear of that thought and unlock my door, only to be tackled by a purple blur. "Where were you Storm!? You had me worried sick!" Twilight says as she stands over me. "I was... having a chat with Shining... and Luna... did you know Miles is dying?" "WHAT!? What were you three talking about!? Miles is DYING!? How long does he have? What's going on!?" she asks in bewilderment. "Twilight, I'll explain everything, but I think we should head back to Ponyville and confront Miles about this... as well as some other things.” Author's Note Shout out to PTTN for picking dinner. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it. And like always, Brony on! Chapter 82 Gifts From The PastChapter 82 Gifts From The Past Perspective: Celestia I can't help but pace about the conference hall as delegates from the royal family discuss the attack. Why would they want to take Luna? What could she have possibly done to instigate an abduction? I want to go after her, but I have a responsibility to my kingdom as well... "... so we should march to the griffin colonies and bring justice to them for this heinous crime," Blueblood says to everypony else, getting a few nods from the others. "We don't know if they are the ones responsible for this," retorts Cadence. "All we do know is that they are armed with griffin weapons and have a pact with the diamond dogs. We can't just jump to conclusions..." "One of the royal pony sisters is missing and you want to wait?" says Diamond Heart, an older stallion with an all white coat, light red hair and a cutie mark of a blood diamond. "Now is the time for action, though not the kind Blueblood wishes for." "And what would you suggest?" Shining asks. "A summit meeting." "There hasn't been a summit meeting in over four hundred years, Diamond. Nopony would show..." one of the other family members starts, but stops when Diamond raises a hoof to them. "They would, and they shall. What say you, Celestia?" I stop and glance back to everypony before I continue to march about the room. "If a summit were to be called, it would take a week to get everypony there. Right now our priority should be getting Luna back." "Yes, and it shall, but what about..." KNOCK… KNOCK… KNOCK A guard walks in and is stopped by Shining. They share a few quiet words before Shining walks over to me with a concerned look. "There's a dog out front waving a white flag... demanding to speak to Celestia about their demands to get Luna back." The room falls silent as everypony stares at me, waiting to see how I will react. I take a second to think clearly before I straighten out and walk to the guard. "Please take me to this dog." "Right away Princess." I follow the guard out of the conference hall and head towards the palace gardens. I'm trying to keep a clear, level head, but I can already sense my emotions running through my mind. I don't know what I would do if I were to lose Luna, but I have a feeling it would involve the sun and a lot of dogs. We make it to the exit to the gardens where I see the dog. He looks like any other dog, only this one knows where my sister is. I walk out to him and come to a stop with a few feet between us. "Where is my sister?" "Pony doesn't ask questions! Pony listens!" The dog yells as he points a finger at me. I keep an even look about myself as I wait for him to continue. "Blue pony will die in one week’s time unless you bring us something." "And what would that be?" I ask, getting a growl in response. "The human." "Miles? What does Miles have to do with this?" "Pony doesn't listen! Ask another question and we send you a wing!" I look away and bite my lip as I fight the urge to tear this dog apart. I take a second to compose myself before returning my gaze to him. "Continue." "We want the human. Bring him here within two days or we start cutting parts off. Do not make dogs wait." With that said, the ground beneath him crumbles as two other dogs grab him and retreat underground. "Stop!" I yell to my guards as they start to chase after them. "Let them go, I need to go to Ponyville this instant." They both salute to me before I teleport over to Miles’s home. I peer inside to see the dark interior, no sign of Miles... "BARK BARK BARK!" I jump as I see the wolf sitting next to me, wagging its tail. It stares at me for a second before running off into the house... why he has a wolf, I'll never understand. I walk in and head up the stairs, heading straight to Miles's bedroom. "Miles... are you home?" I ask as I walk into his room, only to find it unoccupied. Where’s that human... Twilight! I teleport to her front door and knock on it firmly. After what feels like an eternity I knock again. "I hear ya, I hear ya," Spike calls out as the lights turn on. "It’s the middle of the - CELESTIA! Oh my gosh.. I'm sorry. I didn't know it was you," he says as he bows before me. "Spike, I must speak with Miles immediately, where is he?" "Uh... well. You see... the thing is..." "Spike, please. Luna's life is at stake and I must speak with Miles. Where is he." "Luna... he and the others went to Topaz Falls..." Before he could finish I turn around and take off into the air. Of course he went there. Of all of the places he could go, he had to go there. If I'm going in after him though, I'm going to need that, thing, I had last time… Perspective: Twilight "SSTTTOOOOOOOOORRRMMM!" I yell as a bot fires its weapon at Storm's back, making him drop from the sky and slam into the ground. I teleport over to him and immediately begin to dig through my bags to get to my medical supplies, ignoring my own fatigue. He's bleeding from his left foreleg and the end of his right wing, with several small dents on his armor. "Twilight! We need to get somewhere safe!" Rainbow says as everypony runs over to me to give some cover. "I know, just let me give Storm a healing potion and we'll go." "Twilight, I can manage. Just help me up and let's get out of here," Storm says as he begins to get up. "But..." "Twilight, help me out here," Storm says as he staggers to his hooves, keeping off of his left leg. I walk to his side and let him lean on me for support. "Alright, let’s get inside before more show up... there should be good," he says as he motions to a nearby building. Everypony else runs through the doors of the long grey building as I help Storm inside. I glance back to Easy to see him tear off the arm of one bot and use it to stab another bot. The inside of the building is mostly empty. There's a stage at one end, a set of stairs to the right and some doors by the stage, but other than that the room is empty. "Let's head upstairs," Applejack says as she leads the others up. "Are you going to be able to do the stairs?" I ask Storm. "Yeah... as long as you help me, I can do anything," he says with a smile. I return the smile as we head to the stairs and begin to go up them slowly. Along the way I pull out a healing potion and have Storm drink it, stopping the bleeding. We make it upstairs to find a long hallway, with eight red doors spaced evenly throughout. We see the first door on the right open, so we head towards it and look inside. My jaw drops as we walk into the room. In the center is a large round bed that has red blankets and pillows. All of the furniture seems to be heart-shaped, and the ceiling is made of mirrors. Everypony seems to have a slight blush on their face as they look around the room, looking through all of the drawers and closets. I can feel myself begin to blush as I step away from Storm, making him fall to the ground from the loss of sudden support. "Oh, sorry Storm," I say as I help him back up. "Jeez, what was that for?" "Uh... I'll tell you about it later. Just... sit on the bed and let me take a look at your wounds." He gives me an odd look before complying. He takes a seat on the bed and holds his hoof out for me to inspect it. "How bad is it?" Fluttershy asks as she walks up beside me. "Well, the wound itself isn't that bad. There’s probably a fracture, but other than that he'll be fine. Now let me look at your wing." He turns to his side and lies on the bed, letting his wing hang off the side. There's a large red and black wound at the joint in his wing, probably the reason why he can't raise it. There seems to be a large chunk of flesh burned off in the center of his wing, bleeding slightly. I have to look away from it before I lose it. I hate seeing him injured, especially like this. "Can you raise your wing at all?" Fluttershy asks as she grabs his wing and starts to inspect it. "Let me see." I can see the base of his wing lift up, but the rest stays limp. "How was that?" "Uh... good... um, Twilight, can I have a word with you?" Fluttershy says as she takes a walks to the other side of the room. I follow her and wait as she tries to find the right words. "It's that bad." "Yeah… there's a lot of nerve damage and... unless we can get him healed properly soon... he may never be able to use it again." I take a deep breath as I take in the news. Losing a wing for a pegasus is like a unicorn losing their horn... we have to find a way to heal him. "How long until it's too late to fix it?" "I don't know... an hour or two if we can put it on ice..." "And Miles has the ice... Miles... if we can get him here he can heal him properly." "I'll get the others and have a look around to try and find a way to signal him, why don't you stay here and try to comfort him?" I nod to her and wait for everypony to leave the room. I don't know what to say to him, how do you tell somepony that they may lose a limb? "Where is everypony going?" Storm asks as he watches them leave. "They're going to try and find a way to signal Miles to get over here." "Shouldn't we go with them then?" "No... Storm... I-I have some bad news..." "Its about my wing, isn't it?" he asks slowly, putting on a serious face. "Y-yeah. There's a chance that you might not be able to use it again if we don't fix it soon... I'm so sorry," I say as I walk up to him and nuzzle his cheek. "*inhale, exhale* It's alright. It's going to be OK. Miles will get here and fix me up like he always does. We... we just need to find a way to get him here." "Is there anything I can do to help?" I ask. He looks over to me and gives me a quick kiss on the cheek. "You're here, that's all I need." I give him a smile before I climb on the bed and lay next to him, holding tightly onto him. "Storm... just in case you do lose your wing... I just want you to know..." "Twilight..." "I'll stay with you. I'll always be by your side, no matter what," I say as I bury my face in his chest, trying my best to hold back my tears. "Thank you Twilight, that means a lot to me." I look up to him and stare into his blue eyes before he leans forward and kisses me. Our kiss ends shortly though, when the sound of music fills the room. "AH! WHAT IS THAT!?" I yell to Storm as the music gets louder and louder. CRASH "WHAT WAS THAT!?" Storm yells as I leave the room and run down stairs to see what happened. I make it to the bottom of the stairs and see a massive hole in the ceiling on the other side of the room. Miles is standing underneath the hole with his sword drawn and staring up at the hole. Perspective: Miles As I run out the front doors to the P.C.H. I look around for the source of the music. There's only two places with speakers loud enough for me to hear them this well... Pars Spelunca is the closest, so I'll head there first. I light my heels and start to sprint down the main road. I hear a rumble behind me and glance back to see two Aquilas flying towards the same destination. I launch myself into the air and kick down at the one on the left, sending a beam of soul fire at it and causing it to explode. The other one banks to the left and jets around, trying to get behind me, so I shoot myself down at the building below me, crashing through two walls before I come to a stop. "Miles! You found us!" Pinkie Pie yells from behind a DJ's booth. I draw my sword and look up to see the Aquila fly over and hovering just out of view. Here they come. Six legion bots drop from the hole in the ceiling and rank up in front of me. These bots are all black standard military bots, with blades for left arms and shields for right. The shields are all black and diamond shaped, being the general width and height of a bot. I charge forward as I flare my magic into my sword, bringing out the first enchantment and setting my sword on fire. The bots charge forward together and try to stab at me, but I slide to my knees and swing my sword at their shields, cutting into the one in front of me. pat pat pat pat pat pat bzzt bzzt bzzt bzzt bzzt Bullets hit the bot on my left as purple beams hit the one on my right. All three stagger back from these hits, allowing me to stand and bring up my second enchantment on my sword. An archaic circle springs up from the guard of my sword, going out about half a meter and shining bright white as the text goes slowly around. I charge again, holding my sword high behind me as I run towards the bot in front of me. The bots split up and come at me from all sides as they try to stab and cut into me, but my enchantment kicks into effect as I swing my sword at the one before me, sending a massive wave of red energy at it, making it turn to fire and burn out of existence. I swing my sword around in time to catch one of the bot's blades. The bot swings around and slams its shield into my side, sending me sliding to the ground. I roll over as two blades stab at the spot I was in prior. VVVRRRRUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM A line of red bolts appears, hitting the bots and forcing them to hide behind their shields. I look back to see Celestia running into the building, firing her chain gun at full speed. What the fuck is she doing here? I stand up and ready myself as she stops besides me, continuously firing. "Miles, you and I need to talk." "Will do, but first let’s take care of these bots," I say as I swing my sword at the closest bot, sending a blue wave of energy that turns it to pure ice. "Attack pattern delta!" yells one of the bots as they run together and start to charge at us. As Celestia fires her gun, she charges her horn and sends a golden beam at the ground before them, making a small explosion that breaks their ranks. I take this opening to lunge at the rightmost bot, stabbing into the chest and turning it to pure stone. I swing a hand towards the other bots and send bits and chunks at the others, making them stagger to the side and reveal themselves to Celestia’s, Rarity's and Twilight's fire. Celestia's archaic bolts pepper the bot as the bullets from my rifle slam into the chest of the bot closest to me. Once the last bot drops to the ground, a massive thud makes me spin around to see the Aquila landing in the opening. Long, thick, black cables stretch out from the four points, acting as mock legs for the machine. As I begin to raise my sword the forwardmost cable flies out and wraps around me, as the machine begins to climb back out of the hole. Before I know it, we're in the air and climbing higher and higher at an angle. I swing my sword around and send a clear blast of energy at the machine, making it turn to pure air. As I spin around to fall back down, I can see the tracer fire from hundreds of bots firing up at me from below. I kick at the air to send myself down and avoid the incoming bolts. I can see that I'm heading straight for the P.C.H. Well, back to square one I guess. "SHIT... FUCK... DAMMIT... ASSHOLE..." I yell as I break through floor after floor. I finally come to a stop atop a massive pile of rubble in a dark room. I stagger back to my feet and try to look around, but there's only one light in the room... and it's shining down on my Elements. I walk down the pile of rubble and approach the pedestal in total confusion. These are my Elements... well, the Elements of Harmony at least. The others don't seem to be here. I stop next to the pedestal and stare at the six white stone orbs in awe. I can't believe it... my greatest creations sitting here in front of me. But... if these are here... then what are the other ones back in Equestria? I reach out slowly with my left hand and grab the closest orb, feeling the smooth surface under my fingers. I wonder... I flare my hand and receive a massive shock up my arm. I try to let go of the orb, but I can't for some reason... it won't let me. Suddenly arcs of electricity shoot from orb to orb as they start to levitate over to my left arm. FINALLY... OUR POWER RETURNS INCOMPLETE, BUT SUFFICIENT I close my eyes and look away as the orbs shine bright white. When the light goes away I look back to see that the orbs have changed... and attached themselves to me. Six gems, green, red, purple, blue, yellow and pink, rest on my forearm. They fit perfectly around my arm, giving me plenty of room to move my wrist and arm, and shine lightly. I try to pull one off, but they seem to be fused to my skin. I twist my arm around as I stare at the gems. So this is how they were supposed to be used... interesting. "Miles!" I turn around to see Celestia flying down to me. She seems really upset over something, I'm sure I'm going to hear about it right now. "Right... you wanted to talk." I seriously hope she doesn't hang me for what happened between me and Luna. "I need you to come with me right now. Somepony ponynapped Luna." BRING ME TO THEM. BRING ME TO THEM. Author's Note Shout out to Nightmare for picking the song, Survive by Rise Against. Brony on! Chapter 97 What's ImportantChapter 97 What's Important Perspective: Miles After everyone flashes back in, Applejack and Rainbow taking the longest for some reason, we begin to climb through the medical ward. I had check the other platforms and they all lead to higher levels of the building. We only need to go up two more floors so it's not that big of a deal. We make it to the main hallway and take a right. Walking through these grey halls is bringing back memories. Sine and I hobbling down here with our broken legs, Dolum and Auxy finding out she's pregnant, Fidus dragging me through here becuase she kicked my ass, good times. "Where are we?" Asks Pinkie as she peers into an operation room. "This is one of the medical wards of the P.C.H. There was another one higher up, but its gone now." I say as I find the center stairwell and open it up, finding it perfectly intact. "What are those metal claws for?" Twilight asks as we begin to head up. "Believe it or not, but not every human was over powered as I am. Most people struggled to do things that I do with total ease. Those claws were used to assist in medical procedures. They emitted a blue beam of energy that could heal minor wounds." We make it to the first floor and walk out into the main platform hall. "So what was normal for a human then?" Twilight asks as we make our way to the front doors. I pause to think about it. "Well... You know how I heal us all in a matter of seconds?" They nod. "That would take most doctors a day or two. My friend Eximius was a medical professional and I could still out heal him. Heh, I bet when he healed me that day in Topaz I was probably out for an hour or two." I stop at the door and check to see if its clear. With nothing in sight, I open the door and lead everyone out. As we step out I can see some bots to our left and right walking towards us, so I lift my rifle and wait for them to make a move. They just keep walking, paying little to no attention to us as they drudge along into the P.C.H. Some are missing arms while some have to drag themselves along the floor due to their missing legs. One walks past me and glances to me as it continues into the P.C.H. It was missing an optical lens and must of had something wrong with it's neck, becuase it was slouching.... now that I think about.... they're all slouching. "What wrong with them?" Pinkie asks as more and more show up. "I think its something the virus does to them. Lets just keep moving." I say as I walk down the steps. BRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMBBBBBRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMM A loud siren sounds off, making my me cover my ears as I drop to my knees. I can see everyone shouting something, but the siren drowns them out. I quickly throw my arms out and bring up a sound barrier, stopping the deafening sirens from stopping us. "What was that!" Storm yells as we all get back up and try to regain our hearing. "I'm not sure... lets get moving before we find out." I say as I begin to walk down the road, keeping the barrier up as the lines slowly creep up my arms, making it to my elbows by the time we make it down a block. "How long are you going to be able to hold this up?" Twilight asks as we continue down the street. "Well... at this rate... probably a few more blocks... give or take." I say as a high grade military bot, with a hammer and twenty milometer cannon arms walks past us. It completely ignores us as it continues on its way towards the P.C.H. I can also see a few Aquilas flying towards the same destination. " I think the sound is uploading the virus to all of the bots." "Well... that's good... I just hope they don't stay sick for too long." Fluttershy says as we pass a group of utility bots coming out of buildings. I stop as a sudden surge of energy leeches from me, the lines growing to my shoulders in an instant. "OK, you're not going to keep it up at this rate. Can either of you make a sound barrier?" Rainbow asks Twilight and Rarity. "Sorry, our barriers work differently then Miles's. We can only make ours stationary." Twilight explains as I begin to go light headed. I stagger over to the side walk where I lean against a garage door and try to focus. "Think you can give me a break at least?" I ask as I take a seat on the floor. "Alright..." "WHOA WHOA WHOA, Twilight, you just woke up from over exerting yourself. Maybe Rarity should do this one." Storm says as he looks over to Rarity, getting a dirty look from Twilight. "Well... I'll try. It won't be able to last anywhere near as long as Twilight's though." Rarity says as she looks over to me. "That's fine... lets just use this garage and take five." I say as I stand and pull open the garage... "Oh sweet Barbra...." "Who?" "That's a fucking military jeep... WITH THE FUCKING SPARTAN PEN!" I yell as as I run into the garage and circle the white jeep. Wheels are flat, really dusty, THERE'S FUCKING AMMO FOR THE GUN! Everyone else walk in and shuts the garage door, eyeing the jeep as i pop the hood and begin to drool over the still intact engine. Rarity sets her sound barrier, so I drop mine and begin to fiddle around with the innards of the jeep... I think I can get it working. "What is this? Some kind a carriage?" Applejack asks as she jumps in the back and starts to look around. "Sort of. Think of it as a carriage that you don't have to drag." I say as I close the hood and check the room for an air compressor, finding it in the back corner. "How does it work?" Twilight asks as she follows me around. I kneel beside the tire and begin to fill it with air... fucking amazing how this works as well. "Well... to put it basically, the engine creates power that makes the wheels roll forward or backwards. There's a lot more to it then that, but if you really want to know I'll tell you about it another time." I say as I finish the left side and mover to the right. These tires are really shitty, but if they can just last long enough for us to get to the gate, we'll save hours of walking. "Where does the power come from? Is there some kind of fuel source, like coal or..." "Coal is a disgusting, filthy fuel source. No, most machines were run archaically in every Terradisian city. You grab the steering wheel and the drive stick and it sucks the energy from you, giving it power." I say as I finish up the last tire. "Most?" "Yeah... there was a factory next to the orphanage that I grew up in. They used coal." I say as I throw the air compressor in the back and get in the drivers seat. Moment of truth. I grab the steering wheel, wait a second before I push the power button. VROOM "Fuck yeah! Pile in. We're driving out of here!" I yell as I put it in gear and wait for everyone to pile in. They seem a little apprehensive about getting in, but do so anyway. Twilight and Storm take shot gun while Fluttershy, Pinkie and Rarity take up the bench behind me while Applejack and Rainbow take up the other bench. "What about the WHOA!" Storm starts to say but stops when I floor it and crash through the door. I make a hard right and begin to tear through the gears. Second, third, fourth, fifth, ending on sixth gear. As we race through the streets the engine roars out as a plume of white smoke follows after us. This jeep needs a tune up, bad. Hopefully we can make it at least to the bulkhead before it dies on us. "Hey.... the noise ended." Twilight says as she holds onto Storm for dear life... probably should of told them to buckle up. I check the mirror to see every in the back seats holding on as if their lives depended on it. I laugh a little at the sight and continue down the road, pushing the accelerator a little harder to pick up some speed. "Do we need to be going this fast!?" Applejack asks as the road suddenly becomes bouncy. "Are you kidding? Lets go faster!" Rainbow yells as she stands up and grabs onto the roll cage. She bounces into the air and unfold her wings, gliding in the air as we race through the street. "AAAWWWW YEAH!" I laugh a bit as I try to push the jeep faster, we're already doing a hundred forty five kilometers an hour. "Take a seat, the roads getting a little too bumpy to be going this fast." I yell to her, getting a pout in response. She finally lets go and takes a seat, keeping a pouty face about herself. I look back to the dashboard and see that the batteries are maxed out, so I grab the center of the steering wheel and let go of the gear stick. We make the final turn and head up the road, stopping at the bulkhead so I can open the gate. "Can I drive?" Pinkie asks as I go to the control panel. "Can you even reach?" I ask as I flip the switches to open the bulk head. "I dunno, lets find out." She says as she hops to the drivers seat. She can see over the steering wheel, but can't reach the pedals. "Darn, maybe we can jury rig it so I can?" "Do you even know how to drive stick?" "Umm.... no. I guess I'll just sit in the back then. Rarity, catch me." "Wait what?!" Rarity yells as Pinkie leaps over the seat and lands on top of her, sending them both to the ground beside the jeep. Pinkie gets up with a giggle as Rarity gets up as she mumbles something to herself. "Right... anyway, lets go home.. its almost... uh... pony time.... eleven?" I say as I check my phone. "WHAT!" Rainbow yells as she looks around frantically. "We need to get going NOW! I'm late! AGAIN!" "Late for wha..." "I'll tell you another time, go go go GO!" She yells, getting me to jump in the seat and drive off. "MILES!" I slam the breaks and wait for Rarity and Pinkie to get back in the jeep. Once they're seated I drive into the tunnel and stop a few meters inside. I step out and begin to propel us through the ground. The moment we burst through the ground Rainbow flies through the air, leaving a rainbow trail behind her as she flies through the night air towards Ponyville. "Uh... anyone want to tell me about that?" I ask as I look back to everyone in the jeep. They all avoid my eye contact as the twiddle their hooves and stare out every where except at me. "Miles... we promised we wouldn't say. But ah'll tell ya where she went. Shes goin ta the Manticub. It's on the western edge of the residential district. If ya want ta know more, ya'll have ta ask her yerself." Applejack says. I nod to her and start to drive through the forest. Everyone keeps quite as we bounce through the uneven forest. I'm slightly worried about what's going on with Rainbow... I'm also worried about how I'm going to get her to open up to me. I know she can be stubborn when it comes to admitting her own faults... I just hope it isn't anything too serious. I drop Fluttershy and Storm off by my place as I park behind my home. As soon as I turned the engine off the archaic condenser shot through the hood, all four tires popped, and I pulled the steering wheel off from being startled. Well... at least it got me home. I leave it there as I escort the group back to Ponyville, instructing Storm to take the Spartan pen inside before he goes to bed. After I get the group to the center of town, Applejack points me towards the Manticub, so I head towards it. After a few minutes of walking I find what I'm looking for. A three story tall building that's built like any other Ponyville building, just larger. There's a sign in front of it that has a picture of a baby creature on it with some writing. I walk to the front door and walk in, immediately finding an angry, crying Rainbow dash. "Rainbow... what's going on? Why are you crying?" I ask as she paces around the front of the building. "*sniff* they won't let me see her... becuase I was late again... they wouldn't believe me when I said I was helping you with something important..." She yells through her tears as she paces back and forth. "Whoa, clam down. Look, I'll go in and have a word with them, clear everything up. Just, please calm down a bit, OK?" "*sniff* thank you Miles... you need to talk to TenderSoul. He's in his office in the back, just ask one of the kids. They'll show you where he's at." I nod to her as I head inside. The inside of the building is warmly lit, having dark brown furniture spotted here and there. I can hear someone walking around in the room next to me, so I leave the hall and head into the room next to me. This room seems to be a study, having the wall in front of me covered with a book shelf and seats to my left. To my right is an all white earth pony with orange hair and a mark of a red heart with a yellow sash in the back. "Can I help you?" He asks in a soft voice. "Yeah, I'm looking for a guy named TenderSoul..." "That would be me, what do you need with my orphanage?" "Orphanage.... this is an orphanage?" I ask as I look around. "Yes, and for the third time, can I help you?" "Right, look, it seems there was a misunderstanding you had with my friend..." "Let me guess. You're here to talk me into letting Rainbow take Scootaloo home." He says as he walks over to the book shelf and begins to look for a book. "Scootaloo is an orphan? I mean, yes. Look, it wasn't her fault she was late, it was..." "Look. I know she means well, but.... Scootaloo needs structure. Somepony she can depend on, and Rainbow.... I fear she did this for the wrong reasons. I only did this becuase I have Scootaloo's best interest at heart." He says as he pulls out a book and begins to flip through it as he walks over to a nearby seat and sits down. "In the last month she has been late nineteen times, most of them becuase she was napping. Single. And I know she recently went through a major life changing event, though I don't know what it was. I don't think she's ready to be a parent just yet..." "Rainbow adopted Scootaloo!?" "See. Even the idea of her being a parent is unimaginable. I'm sorry, but Scootaloo will have to stay with me for the time being." He says as he sets the book down and looks back to me. Hmm... I need to think of way to convince him to let her take her home... "You say you think she isn't ready to be a parent, but I think you're wrong." I say as I take a seat beside him. "Is that so? Care to enlighten me then?" "Yes, she's been slacking lately, but... that isn't entirely her fault. I've been requesting help recently that's been taking a lot of her time. I can't go into details, but I've been running her ragged for the past month, but that ended today. The project was finished today and she won't be slacking anymore, I promise it. Please give her a second chance at this." We stare at each other intensely for what feels like an eternity, neither of us wavering. "*sigh* fine. But this is her last chance. If she screws up again..." "She won't, I promise." I say as I stand up and extend an arm to him. He stands and shakes my hand, looking back as he thinks to himself. "I'll go get rainbow, there are somethings I would like to say before I let her take Scootaloo. Why don't you go get her while I do this." I nod to him as he points towards the stairs behind me. I turn and walk up them, making my way up as I hear him walking out the front door. I can't help but reminisce about my time in the orphanage. I seriously hope she didn't go through what I had to go through. I hear some children talking behind a door, so I open it up and peer inside. There are two rows of small beds lining the walls, about twelve total. There are five kids in here, two are trying to sleep while two are talking with Scootaloo. "I know she's coming, she probably over slept or something." Scootaloo says. "What if she forgot?" Says an all black unicorn girl with a mark of a star tan hair and grey eyes. "NIGHT! That's not cool. Look, she probably... I dunno... what if she got you a present!" Says an orange earth pony kid. He has red hair and lacks a mark. "It's alright... I just hope TenderSoul doesn't take me away from her... I know she keeps messing up, but I know she's trying her hardest." Scootaloo says as she droops down a bit. I can't take it anymore! I open the door completely and walk in, getting the other two kids to jump back in fear as Scootaloo looks back to me in surprise. "Miles!? What are you doing here?" "I'm here with Rainbow to pick you up. Sorry it took so long. It was suppose to be real quick, but things in Topaz got a little hairy. Say bye to your friends and lets get going." I say as I turn and walk out of the room. I hear her say goodbye quickly and run out after me. "I knew she was probably doing something daring and awesome! What happened?! Did she fight one of those bots she told me about in her bed time stories? Or did another forest creature attack you in the Everfree?!" She excitedly asks as we head down the stairs. "Heh, why don't you ask her yourself." I say as we get to the bottom of the stairs and find Rainbow and TenderSoul in the study. "MOM!" She yells as she runs over to her, tackling her in a hug. "I missed you! What happened? Did you fight one of those bot things?!" "Hey kiddo, I'll tell you all about it at bed time, lets just head home." She says as she hugs her tightly, having a few tears fall into her mane. "Mom, you're crying. Whats wrong?" Scootaloo asks as she looks up to her. "Oh, its just... I remembered what was really important to me today." She says as she looks back to her. "Whats that?" Rainbow leans forward and gives her a kiss on the forehead. "You." Author's Note Shout out to SgtCarrotTop for picking the mascot of the orphanage, Brony on! Chapter 102 The Big NightChapter 102 The Big Night As the carriage pulls away from the field Twilight and I look to each other... and start laughing. I can't believe we did it! I can't believe it's over! I can't believe nothing went wrong! No explosions, no invasions, no super freaky scary as shit monsters, nothing! I look back over to Twilight to see her giving me her bed room eyes, so I pull her in for a kiss. We wrap our forelegs around each other as we continue to kiss, stroking each others mains, rubbing each others backs, anything to help convey our love. The carriage suddenly comes to a stop in front of Applejack's barn, making me look back to Twilight in confusion. "It's the after party." She says as the driver opens the door for us. "What? Did you think we'd go straight on our honeymoon?" "I was kinda hoping to, but it doesn't matter. Lets go have some fun... wife." I say as I jump down and help her out. As we walk towards the barn we can hear the music playing loudly... but when we reach the door it suddenly stops. We look to each other before we each take a breath and open the doors. " CONGRATULATIONS!" Everypony cheers as we enter the barn. The far end of the barn has been made into an eating area, with round tables taking up the center and a long table in the far back. All of the tables have white cloths covering them with small vases with flowers in the center. To the right and left of the tables are more tables set up with food. The left one only having treats and trays with the main dishes while the right tables have the drinks. The other half of the barn has been set up to be a dance floor, already having several ponies occupying it. Directly to my right is a DJ's booth with griffin standing at it. He's seems like your typical griffin but has the feathers on his head ending in black and covering half of his face. "Let's welcome the lovely bride and groom! Mr. and Mrs. Cloud!" The DJ announces through a mic, getting everypony to stomp their hooves and cheer. We smile and walk in, waving to everypony as we make it to the back table and take our seats. We share a kiss before we look back out to everypony, getting a few more cheers from the crowd. "We're going to take a small break from the music to give our special guest their dues and to get some food, so don't go anywhere." He says before he steps outside. I hear Twilight giggle some more so I look over to her and nudge her a bit. "Whats so funny?" "I was just thinking, Mrs. Twilight Sparkle Cloud. I'm a Cloud that doesn't have wings and doesn't know any cloud manipulations spells. I don't know, I just found it a bit ironic." She says with a slight blush. I lean in and nuzzle her cheek a bit, perking her up. "Not that it matters, but I'm sure you could figure that stuff out easily..." "Hey! Save some for your Primum Somno." Miles says as he walks up to us, with Luna at his side. I look around the room to see that Celestia isn't here. "Congratulations. I hope you have long and happy lives together." Luna says to us as she playfully nudges Miles. "Thank you Princess. And thank you Miles for that wonderful gift. We'll cherish it for as long as it could live." Twilight says, getting a nod from Miles. "Yeah, why don't we have one?" Luna asks as they walk away. "We were kind of under attack..." "Twiley!" Shinning says as he walks up to us with Cadence by his side. "I'm so happy for you little sister." "Thanks BBBFF." She says before she goes around the table to hug him. I get up and walk after her, waiting for her to let go of him. We stare at each other for a second before we shake hooves, each of us putting as much pressure as possible. "Storm." "Shinning." We say before we let go. Twilight pulls me over and guides me over to the food tables. "That was... awkward." She says as she starts making plates for the two of us. "Sorry. I guess the two of us still don't see eye to eye." I say as I follow after her. "Well... maybe in time you will. Lets forget about that for now and go eat." I nod and follow her back to our table. Everypony comes and goes as we eat. My mother was in tears of pure joy and didn't let go of me for almost twenty minutes. Twilight's parents were happy, though Velvet gave us the same expectations from when I proposed... I'm not quit sure how to feel about that. All of the girls came and went, giving the same basic idea. Being happy for us, wishing for happy futures, things like that. I tried to pay attention, but I had two distractions. Food. And Twilight rubbing my leg. I nearly choked the first time she did it. It's taking every part of my being to keep my wings under control. It's been awhile since the last time we did it... I could explode any second right now. "Alright, lets have the groom and bride come to the dance floor for their first dance." The DJ says over the mic. Twilight and I smile to each other as we walk to the dance floor. We take each others hooves as we start to dance to the music. {Authors note: The music will jump around, if you want things to make sense try to follow it, if you want to listen... then listen :P} "This isn't like anything I've ever heard before." Twilight says as she holds herself close to me. "I know. It's a song from Miles's phone. I thought having a song never heard by pony ears before would make a good choice for our first dance." I say as we rock back and forth, moving in tune to the music. "I like it." She says as she twists out. I pull her back in and continue our little rocking dance, enjoying the feeling of having my wife with me. We begin to slowly spin around, making out side steps move us to the left. Occasionally I dip her or do a twist with her, but I mainly enjoy her just being here with me. "WOO LETS GET THIS PARTY STARTED!" Pinkie yells from the DJ's booth as he flips a switch and starts a different song. We bob our heads along with the music as we get surrounded by ponies, and Miles, coming onto the dance floor. I grab Twilight and begin to bounce around with her in my hooves, getting her to giggle. I look over to see the DJ singing as he flips switches and turn knobs, bobbing his head to the music. "MAY I?" Velvet yells over the music as she cuts Twilight out and starts dancing with me. I look back to Twilight, a bit scared, but comply anyway. I watch as Night Light begins dancing with Twilight as Velvet begins to spin us around. "ALRIGHT, I HAD MY FUN. GO GET HER." She says as she lets go of me. I give her a hug and push my way through the crowd to get back to Twilight. "MAY I?" I yell to Night Light as I offer a hoof to Twilight. He smiles and gives Twilight a kiss on the fore head before backing off. I take Twilight and continue dancing with her, glad to have her back. "COME ON! SHAKE THOSE HOOVE THANGS!" Pinkie yells as the next song starts. Everyone bouncing along to the song, some even yelling along with it. I twist and jump and just have a great time with Twilight as the crowd around us begins to liven up. I laugh as I look around at all of the dancing ponies. Rainbow has Scootaloo on her shoulders and is bouncing up and down, getting big smiles from her. Miles and Luna are on the edge of the crowd, doing a step dance together. Miles looks like he's about to have a heart attack, but he's still here. Applejack and Rarity are dancing with their sisters while Big Mac and Fluttershy watch from the tables nearby, leaning on each other. My mother and Twilight's parents seems to be talking to one another while they dance together. Pinkie is dancing with... "Hey Twilight, were you the one to invite Squishy?" I ask as I watch the two of them dance. "I thought you invited them." "Them?" She motions to the tables where I see Cheesus sitting at a table with a nurse. He's hooked up to an EKG machine that's flat-lining. The nurse is frantically trying to see whats wrong with the machine while Cheesus sips some whine. He then punches his chest a few times, making the beeping come back. "OK then.., I guess some party crashers were to be expected." I say as the music begins to slowly fade away, getting everypony to look up to the DJ. "AAAAlright folks! It's time to bid our lovely newlyweds a happy honeymoon!" He says as a carriage pulls up to the barn doors. I was about to question it when Twilight started pulling me towards the carriage. The driver opened the door for us and we went straight in. When the door shut Twilight stuck herself out the window and tossed the bouquet at the crowd of cheering ponies. I see Rarity push everypony out of the way to try to catch it... only to get some grey pegasis to catch it instead. "WAY TO GO DERPY!" Twilight yells out as she pulls herself back in. I laugh a bit as we pull away, but stop to ask a serious question. "Uh... why are we leaving so early?" ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles After Storm and Twilight had left the... party, many started to leave. After about twenty minutes it was just the girls, the... smaller girls, Big Mac, Luna, Cadence, Shinning, and myself. "Are you ready for this?" Luna asks me as we wait for Twilight and Storm to return. Once they had left we decided to get a small bite to eat, so now we're waiting at a table. "Pfft, should I be asking you the same question?" I ask as I try a raspberry crepes... fucking disgusting. "How are these gross?" "I actually have my vows ready and memorized." She says as she tries a bite. "It taste fine to me." I just shake my head as I watch her finish it off... it must be a pony thing. I hear the carriage roll up so we head to the back where we find Cadence rehearsing to herself as she paces around. "You ready Cadence?" I ask, getting her attention, but not stopping her from pacing around. "No. I've never done this before. I'm freaking out! What if I mess up? I don't want to ruin your night..." "Cadence." Luna says as she approaches her, getting her to stop. "I'm sure you'll do just fine. We're just renewing our vows, I'm sure you're more then capable of handling this task." I look back to see Storm and Twilight running up to us, getting everyone to walk up to us as well. "Show time." I say, getting Cadence to gulp. Cadence takes her place in front of the table, facing everyone as she takes a few breathes to calm herself. Luna and I take our place in front of her, standing side by side as we wait for her to begin. "Welcome everypony. We are here to bear witness to the renewal of Miles's and Luna's vows. Love... love is the most precious thing in our lives. Love will always triumph in the end. No matter the hardships, no matter the controversy as long as you love one another, you will always find a way. Please take this moment to share your vows." We turn to each other and take a breath. "Luna. When I first saw you I knew one thing. I'm going to jail." I say, getting everyone to chuckle. "The thing I didn't know though was what I was going to go to go to jail for... stealing your heart." When I finish everyone goes D'aw. "And it makes me happier then ever to know that I'll be sharing that cell with you, cause you stole my heart that night as well. I love you. More then anything in this world. My time may be limited, but with you there with me, it'll be more then enough. I love you." Luna wipes a tear away before she begins. "Miles. That day I met you, I felt something stir within me. Every time we met after that I felt it grow more and more until I finally figured out what it was, love. I fell in love with you. I was unsure of it at first, but when we separated... I quickly found out that I had to be with you. I fear the day you leave this world... but I will cherish everyday that we do get together. No matter what, I will always love you." This time I wipe a tear away as I gaze into her eyes. "Miles." Cadence says. "Yeah?" I ask as I continue to stare at Luna. "Do it." "Huh?" "The rose thing." "Oh, right." I say, getting everyone to chuckle. I flare my hands and wait for Luna to close her eyes. I give her a second before I swipe my hand through her, turning my right hand blue. I kneel down and focus and conveying the two energies into their new purpose... love. After a minute I stand back up and look at my handy work. A rose, having a green stem with black thorns and leaves. The pedals are blue on the tips but fade to black in center. "With the power vested in me I pronounce you re-married. You may kiss the bride." I kneel down and plant a soft kiss on her lips, getting cheers from everyone behind us. I smile a bit before I grab Luna and twist her around, putting me on top and getting an eep from her as I put more passion into the kiss. Getting even more cheers from the others. "Alright you two, save some for the honeymoon!" I stop the kiss and turn back to see the griffin waving my phone at me. "You ready?" He asks. I smile and stand up. "Ready for what?" Luna asks as I guide everyone to the dance floor. I pull up a chair and instruct Luna to sit, which she does. I go to the booth and slide to the correct song before taking the mic. "Good luck." The DJ says as the music starts. I walk up too Luna as the music starts and twirl the mic before I point Luna out and begin to sing along. Cant explain all the feelings that you're making me feel My hearts in over drive and you're behind the steering wheel. I walk up to her and gently place my free hand on her cheek, making her blush like crazy. Touching you Touching me Touching you Gah your touching me I step back a bit as I drop my jacket, making her blush even more. I believe in a thing called love Just listen to the rhythm of my heart There a chance that we can make it now We'll be rockin till the sun goes down I believe in a thing called love whoooooooooo huh! As the guitar take s it solo I slide before Luna, playing my air guitar as I rise and drop from my ankles. FWOOSH Luna's jaw drops as I continue to play my air guitar, making everyone around me laugh or cheer along. I get up towards the end and start to circle around her. I want to kiss you every minute, every hour, every day You've got me in a spin but everything is A.O.K. I stop before her again and place my hand back on her cheek. Touching you Touching me Touching you Gah your touching me I believe in a thing called love Just listen to the rhythm of my heart There a chance that we can make it now We'll be rockin till the sun goes down I believe in a thing called love Whooooooooooo GET DOWN! I twist around and drrop so I'm sitting on my feet with my back against Luna. As I play the air guitar again I rise and drop, rubbing against her and getting even louder cheers as Luna mumbles something to herself. As the guitar solo begins to end, the music begins to fade. I stand up and offer a hand as the next song begins. "*gasp* its our song!" Luna says as she rears up and puts her hooves in the right spots for us to slow dance. "I know." I say as we start stepping from side to side. Luna lays her head on my chest and hums along with the music, slowly getting the beat. Storm and Twilight take a spot to our right as Big Mac and Fluttershy take up spots on our left, each slow dancing along with us. "I got dosed by you Closer then most to you." I sing quietly into Luna's ear, getting her to sigh as she tightens her hold on me. "What am I suppose to do Take it away I never had it anyway take it away and everything will be OK. Luna finishes. Our faces begin to move closer and closer to each other's as we stare deeply in to each others eyes.... that was, until the music suddenly stopped. {Stop music for that to make sense, if you want to... that is...} "Um... I think I broke it... can you come fix it?" The DJ asks, getting me to shake my head. Luna lets go of me and tries to get her wings down as I go see what he did to my phone. "You paused it." I flatly as I look at the screen. "Oh...sorry." "It's alright, just our song, lets see... track 17, that'll work." I say as I offer the phone to him. Before he could grab it I pull it back, getting confused looks from him. "This, is nearly eighty thousand prepurgian songs, that'll never exist again if you break this." "Right..." "So if you break this...I'll break you. Got it?" "*gulp* g-got it." I finally let him take it and hook it up. As I walk back to Luna I can see everyone already bobbing their heads along to the music, so I run up to Luna and take her by her hooves. I start to run around the dance floor as I jump and twist around, getting her to giggle as she does the same. We soon crash into Applejack and Pinkie Pie, who are copying our dance moves. I look around to see that everyone is doing our little dance, making the dance floor into a soft core mosh pit. I shrug and twist the two of us back into the fray, jumping along with the music. I look back to Luna to see her swaying her head from side to side as we jump around. I sigh in content, nothing could ruin this night.... "Miles! Come try this!" I look over to see Pinkie Pie and Applejack eating little treats. Before I could say anything Luna had pulled me over and immediately tried one. "Wow... this is good! What is it?" "Nutella dip strawberries. Try one Miles!" She says as she shoves one in my hand. Well... I'm not sure what strawberries are, but chocolate is good. Down the hatch you go! ... ... ... "Well?" ... ... THUD ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Tirek As I walk through the dark halls of Perditus Spe, dragging the bottom of my Yari along the way, I sigh in annoyance. Why do I have to have to come to the is blasted meeting! I have an army to raise, I don't have time for these trivial matters. "Aw, what the matter War?" "*sigh* Pestilence." I say as he steps out of the shadows and approaches me. "Why am I not surprised to see you here?" "We're *coughing* all here *coughing fit*." "Famine? Why are we all being summoned?" I ask as I continue down the hall. "Isn't obvious?" Pestilence asks as she runs up beside me. "You failed..." THWACH I had swung my Yari at her with the intention of missing. With it buried in the wall in front of her she just giggles, ducking my blade as they both continue down the hall. I yank my blade out and continue down after them, cursing them along the way. I find the in the great hall, kneeling in the center of the room, so I take my place beside them. "Thank you all for coming." Master says in his usual voice. Some combination of a whisper, age and being hushed. "Now, War, why have you failed me?" I grit my teeth before I rise to face him. "I haven't failed, I've merely been.. delayed..." "By the human?" "Yes... but he will not stand for long..." "Actually, he will." He says as he stands up and walks around the three of us. "For you see, I'm taking over all of your little projects..." "WHAT!?" We all yell as we stare at him. He simply raises his scythe and slams it onto the floor, silencing us. "This human... has caught my interest. I wish to see what he will do on his own." "But why cancel my research? Surely we could..." "Famine, calm yourself. Your research has come an end becuase there is no more to research. Bring all of your forces here immediately." "Does this mean..." "Death has come." He says with a smile. We all look to one another and smile along... until a thought occurs. "Death, an agent of mine went rogue, what do you wish for me to do?" "Aw yes, I know all to well of your, failure. Let him spread our word to them, then send a single assassin." He says as he walks back to his seat. "Just one? What if he fails?" "Then our message will be all the more powerful. Now go, I must rest." We all bow before walking out of the room. I quickly get away from Pestilence and Famine to get to my chariot, finding Steelwing along the way. "Whats the plan boss?" "Consolidate our forces. He's planning something without telling us..." "Want me to look into it?" "No. I need you alive. Also, send an assassin to Ponyville." A/N: Shout out to Nightmare for picking Diamond Dogs and Jmlop0 for picking Luna, both by Eurobeat brony. Tallestbrony picked every other song, Impulse to my addiction, by Daniel Mustard, Dosed By Red Hot Chilli Peppers, I believe in a thing called love by the Darkness and Dashboard by Modest Mouse. Shout out to Sine Wave for picking the treat Miles was fed. Brony on! Chapter 107 Specialization Chapter 107 Specialization Chapter 107 Specialization Perspective: Miles Rubber. Where am I going to find rubber. I make my way back into the market as most of the stalls start closing. I jog down the rows of stalls until I think I find the one I need. It has a cart filled with various items as a logo. The merchant, an all white pony with brown hair and a white helmet, is sitting there looking around. I walk up to him and sigh in relief. "Hi there. I'm Sea Grave, but my friends call me Holmes." "Uh... why?" I ask as I look around his shop a bit. There seems to be bits and pieces of everything here. "Hmm... never asked. Welcome to Ponyville Supply, I've got a bit of everything." He says as he stands up and comes to the counter. "Really? You've got a S-51C? No? Then you don't have a bit of everything." "A what? Look, what do you want." I laugh a bit as I continue to look around. "I'm looking for some spare rubber.... well, actually I'm would prefer some synthetic plastics. But that can only be made back home, so I'm going to try to improvise with some rubber." "Hmm... rubber." He says as he turns around and begins to dig through a chest full of junk. "What do you need it for?" He asks as he continues to dig through the chest. "I need to fix a flat.... four actually." He pauses and looks back to me before digging back in. He pulls out a few thin tires and sets them on the counter. "These spare bike tires are the only rubber I'm going to have at the moment.... twenty thousand..." "Really?" "Each." *eye twitch* "Well? You want it or not?" He asks as he starts to pull them back. "Fuck no. Why would I pay that much..." "Because you can." He says flatly. *eye twitch eye twitch* "You know what." I say as I back away from the stall. "Keep them. I'll just go to a different city to buy my goods..." "Wait wait wait. Ok, I'll work with you, just come back here." He says as he looks around. "Five hundred each and that's as low as I'll go." I pull out a platinum credit and toss it onto the counter. "Deal, nice doing business with you." I say as I grab the tires and walk off. I hear him mumble something, but I didn't quit catch it. As I make my way back home the sun slowly sinks down in the horizon. I pause to watch the moon peer out from the other side of the horizon and slowly make its way into the sky. I don't think I'll ever get tired of the sight. THU-BUM I drop to a knee and hold my chest as a tightness comes around my heart. Great. Another one of these. Well, it has been awhile. I take a few shallow breathes before forcing myself back up and pushing my way home. As I walk I get a few more spasms, but the tightness begins to dull after each one. By the time I get to the front door the pain has subsided, but I can still feel the tightness, but that's OK. I'll use plenty of magic tonight anyway. I open the door and walk in to find everyone in the living room, talking idly to each other. I head over to the dining room and set my bags and tires down. I grab the top of two chairs and try to collect myself before heading over. "Everything alright Miles?" Rarity asks as she walks up to me. "You seem to be in pain..." "It's alright." I say before I take a deep breath. "I just need to use some magic, nothing big." "Miles..." "Alight, here's the deal." I say as I leave the dining room and head into the living room. "Quartz Crest is in Moosden, or under, I wish to leave either tomorrow or the next day..." "Why so sudden?" Applejack asks from the couch. "Time is working against me, remember." I say, silencing the room. "I need to get there as quickly as possible, so I'm going to try to get to each one as quickly as possible. If you still wish to come along then meet me here tomorrow at noon..." "Uh, tomorrow is a staff development day. Can I bring Scootaloo along?" Rainbow Dash asks. "That's alright. I don't think we'll be able to leave tomorrow anyway, but I still want to discuss some things with everyone. If you have any questions then go ahead and ask, if not you can head home." After an awkward silence everyone stands and walks out, except Rarity. "Something on you mind?" I ask as I take a seat next to her. "Miles, what's the matter with you? You seem to be in pain." She asks with concern in her voice. "I haven't used the correct amount of magic to keep myself in line, so now the pressure has built up to a painful level. The answer to this is to use magic..." "But I thought that using magic made you... slip faster." "It does. Look don't worry about this. I know that its complicated and contradictory, but it's the way things are. I'll be fine, for the most part." "If you say so... but what happens if.... never mind." She says as she hops off the couch and starts to walk off. "If what?" I ask as I follow after her, stopping at the door. "*sigh* I was going to ask, what if you die before we get the answers you seek. I'm sorry Miles, but I don't think we'll find survivors down there. I know that's a horrible thing to say, and I feel awful saying it, but everything seems to point that way. What happens if we have to go to the next one, and the next one." I step back from her as I think about what she said. "One year." "What?" "Without power restraints I have one year. So if I don't get to the last city within a year... then it won't matter. You guys can choose to go if you wish, but as for me.... one year." I turn back to the dining room and start going through my bag, pulling out all of the supplies. Rarity stands there for a second before she finally leaves. One year... ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Friday November Eight, 11:23 AM *poke* Erm.... *poke* Sleeeeeeeeep... *poke poke* "I don't want to go to school...." *poke poke poke poke poke poke poke* "Alright alright..." I say as I finally wake up. I had fallen asleep in the jeeps driver seat after spending most of the night making repairs. I look down to see Scootaloo standing in my lap, poking my face. "Why are you sleeping out here?" She asks as she jumps to the passenger seat. "*yawn* I was making repairs to the jeep and... stuff..." I say as I lean forward and lay my... BEEP "AH!" We both yell as I now completely wake up. "*sigh* what are you doing here?" I ask as I stand up and grab my bags. "Dash told me that we were going to have lunch at your place. So since she's cooking in the kitchen I decided to have a walk around. Why do you have so many weapons in your closet?" She asks as she jumps out of the jeep and follows me around. "They were given to me for defending Ponyville..." "Oh yeah. That was scary. So... what exactly are your plans with my mom?" "WHAT?!" KER-FACE PLANT "Hmm... should I be concerned?" She asks as she sits on my back. "Scootaloo... no. Just... no." I say as I lay there. She start playing wit my hair as I start to get comfy on the floor. "Scootaloo, lunch is ready! Can you bring Miles with you." Rainbow Dash yells from the distance. "OK, be there in a sec." She yells back. "Are you coming or not?" She asks as she stands on my head and looks down at me. "*sigh* yeah, lets go." I say as I stand up and walk off, Scootaloo moving to ride on my shoulders. "You know Scootaloo, I was raised in an orphanage too." "Really? Cool." She says as she lays her head atop of mine. "Yeah, so I get it. It's tough. If you ever want to..." "Tough? Uh... no it wasn't. It was actually really nice there, but I like it with Rainbow Dash more." Nice? Orphanage... nice? "Nice... stealing, fighting and being looked down upon is nice?" "What kind of orphanage did you go to? Mine was filled with warm meals, cozy beds and an awesome care taker." I stop in front of the door to set her down. Apparently I went to the worst possible kind while she went to the best possible kind of orphanage. I open the door for her but pause when she looks back to me. "Uhmm... Rainbow isn't that good of a cook... so, try to be nice." She warns me before she runs inside. "Alright... *sniff* is that fire?" I mumble as I walk inside and head to the kitchen. Everything seems fine. No fires, random sinks or anything like that. I walk over to the kitchen table.... "OH SWEET BARBRA WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!" I yell as an over powering smell of burnt horror fills my nostrils. "Miles..." "Its not that bad." Rainbow says as she looks over a burnt plate. "OK, maybe it is." "How did you burn the plate?" I ask as I take a seat and look over the burnt plates. "Uh.... what did you cook?" "Sandwiches." Rainbow says as her ears droop down. Scootaloo shoots me a dirty look, so I decide to give it a try. I scrap off a chunk from the plate and begin to try it. After a few attempts I finally muster the courage to eat. "Oh sweet Barbra..." "Is it really that..." "How is this Delicious?" I ask as I take another bite, filling my mouth with the illogical food. As I eat, Scootaloo making the two of them new plates as everyone else starts to slowly trickle in. By the time I finish the three plates everyone is here, oddly enough no one wanted to try any of the sandwiches. Once Scootaloo Sweetie Belle and Applebloom were all here they all ran off together, probably to get into trouble. "Now that your done... eating, why don't we get started darling." Rarity says as she tries not to gag from the sight. "Hm? Oh right, lets go to the living room." I say as I wipe my mouth and follow everyone into the living room. "Alright, today's discussion is going to be specialization. Our runs into Topaz were unorganized and shameful. For Quartz Crest I'd like things to run a bit smoother." "Are... are you going to train us... to be Spartans?" Fluttershy asks as she shakes a bit. "No. I haven't seen anything in you guys to give me reason to induct you into the Spartan regiment. This is just basic specialization training. Back in Topaz Spartans would train the Terridisian forces, so I'm going to do something similar with you guys. Here are my listings as I've seen fit..." "Hold on!" Twilight yells as she magics up a quill and parchment. "OK, go." "Rarity and Twilight, I want you two on fire assist with me. You'll be carrying any guns we find or have and be defending the group. Fluttershy: I want you on med assist with me. If someone gets injured it'll be your job to get them out of the fray and to begin treatments on them. Applejack and Pinkie: You're on scav. Where ever we go, you're to look for anything that seems remotely important. Ammo, gems, spare parts, anything you find try to bring it to me to see if we need it. Rainbow and Storm: You're on recon. Fly ahead of us and look for any dangers. Try to steer us around anything that looks dangerous. If we have to fight, I want you to judge the easier of the fights. Now, all of these positions are interchangeable, if someone gets hurt next to you and Fluttershy or I aren't around, don't just leave them. These are the things I just want you to focus on. Any questions?" "I am not shooting anything..." "I can heal too! Why can't I help... "I'm Spartan! Why aren't I on fire assist... "WOO! It's like a scavenger hunt!" "Oh.... my... can I just hide..." "Ah can help in the fightin, why am ah scavin fer?" "Why do I have to fly with Storm? He's so slow!" They all yell at once. I stand there in annoyance as they all start to argue with one another. "ENOUGH!" I yell over them, silencing them. "Look, this is my call. If you don't like it, then don't come." They all sit back and stay quite, so I continue. "Good. I have to get a few things ready for the trip down, so we'll be leaving tomorrow at sun up. I know that all off you have responsibilities, so if you need me to come and talk to any of your bosses let me know now. Other wise it's all up to you." I wait for anyone to say something, but after a few minutes of silence I take that as my answer. "Alright, head home and prepare. Don't worry about food or water, I'll take care of that..." "No you won't." Storm says as he gets up. "At the prices everypony's asking you, you'd go broke in a week. I'll get the supplies. You can just pay me back later." "Sounds fair." I say as I shoot Pinkie a dirty look. She only shrugs and skips off, attempting to whistle. Once everyone leaves I realize that I now have nothing to do. I look around for Lupus or Hati, but can't seem to find them anywhere. I tried just sitting in the living room, but after five minutes of silence I started to go crazy! Wait... I have a ring... with that thought in my mind I run upstairs and take the teleporter to Canterlot. I flash into the cave and I instantly notice something new here. Luna must of spent some time here becuase all over the walls are paintings of me and Luna. Depictions of love, marriage, and children cover the three walls. I look up to see that she has painted the ceiling to look like the night sky. I take a moment to admire her work before I finally go to leave. I step out of the cave and take a look at Canterlot. It seems so peaceful. As I walk down the slope I can see a few pegasus guards flying about the castle. I look for a hole in their security and exploit it, launching myself into the air and landing on top of a building. I look around to make sure that I haven't been seen, before enchanting my hands and feet. Once done, I launch myself to what I hope is Luna's tower and begin propelling myself up. I make it to the balcony and take a moment to catch my breath. Why do they have to make these things so tall? I look back and verify that it's Luna's room, the stars and crescent being dead give aways. I go to the door and find it not only unlocked, but without a barrier. Fucking guards. I open it as quietly as possible and step inside, shutting the door behind me quietly. Her room is just as I remember it, blues and purples filing it with long black curtains covering her bed. I walk over to her bed and peer inside, finding her sleeping peacefully. I pull my shirt off and remove my belt before getting into bed with her. After I get under the sheets I lightly press myself against her back as I wrap my arm around her. "Mmm..." She mumbles as she rolls over and starts to wake up. "M...Miles?" She asks, partially asleep. "Hey. Sorry for waking you." I say as I begin to brush her mane with my hand, helping her wake up quicker. "Miles?" She says as she wipes her eyes, then freezes up. "Are.... are you in my room?" "Yeah." She holds her self still for a few seconds before she quickly jumps out of bed. I watch as she paces about, freaking out about something. "Everything alright?" "What are you doing here?! There are guards by my door! What if they were to hear something? Celestia would kill us..... CELESTIA! What if she senses you?" She says in a hushed tone as she paces back and forth. I just lay there, watching her run from one side of the room to the other. "Luna." I say calmly, getting her to pause and look over to me. "Come back to bed." I say as I lift up a sheet. She lowers her head as she sighs, walking over to the bed and dropping into bed. As soon as she was in, the curtain closed behind her, darkening the space around us. I scoot over to her and wrap her in my arms again, rubbing my nose against hers as I do so. "Has Celestia found us yet?" "Well... no. But..." "And have the guards come running in yet?" "No." "Then don't worry. We're in the clear. Celestia's probably working on some government documents or something. And your door is probably too thick for your guards to hear anything." "*sigh* alright. You're right. Sorry. I just flipped out cause I thought that Celestia would catch us in the middle of the act. With our luck..." "Um... I didn't come here for that. Is that what comes to mind when you think of me?" "What? No. But that's where it always goes..." "Hey. I can't help it if I married the most beautiful women in all of Terra. That's all on you." I say as I poke her nose, getting her to smile. "No, its all on you and your too toned body." She says as she runs her hooves down my chest. "And I guess your handsome as well." We share a laugh before we stare into each others eyes. I lean forward and plant a small kiss on her lips, placing my hand behind her head. Then another. Then she gives me a small kiss. We stare at each other for a bit before she starts to get on top of me, so I roll onto my back. "Think you can be quiet this time?" I ask as she undoes my pants. "I think I'll manage." She says as she pulls my pants off and takes a few deep breathes. She leans down and gives my flaccid member a soft kiss, making my heart skip a beat. She gives it a few more soft kisses until it's half way up, from there she takes it in her mouth and starts to wok it with her tongue. Once its all the way up she begins to bob her head up and down, making me close my eyes from the pleasure below. With a pop she pulls back and catches her breath, her warm breath keeping my shaft warm. She moves down and starts to lick me, moving from the tip down my shaft and to my balls. "Hey, let me return the favor." I say, getting a confused look her. "Swing around." "Oh, right?" She says with a blush as she gets up and turns around. As she lays on me I give her flank a tight squeeze with both my hands. She gets back to licking me, so I decide to start. I begin by prodding her with my tongue, getting a soft moan as a reward. With that moan in mind, I begin sucking on her clit, getting her to start grinding into me. As I continue to suck, I continue to caress her flank, moving my hands from top to bottom, squeezing tightly in between. "GAH!" I yell as she gives a hard suck, pulling me completely out of her mouth and making me arch back from the sudden pleasure. OK, no more oral. I quickly pull myself from under her and line myself up with her, rolling her over so she's on her back. With a powerful thrust I slam into her, making her yelp out in pleasure as I pull back and slam back in. I go through these motions a few times until she uses her magic to push me back and take the top position. Luna wastes no time once on top, grinding back and forth as she plants a forceful kiss on my lips. With our lips connected I wrap my arms around her and roll over, taking the top position. I start to feel the pressure build up, so I begin making my thrust quicker with less power in them. With a final slam I burst out into her, arching back as I hit my euphoric peak. I give a few more thrust before collapsing on top of her, both of us panting together. I pull out of her and roll to her side, feeling tired. "Sh.... sh..." "Shit, I know..." "Shoot." Why can't you cuss normally? "I wanted top..." "You did.... twice..." She chuckles a bit before looking over to me. She gives me a soft smile as we stare at one another, catching our breath. "Where did you put my pants? I have something for you." "Really? I think they're at the end of the bed." She says as she looks down. I push myself up and crawl to the edge of the bed, finding my pants on the floor. I go through my pockets until I find the bracelet. "OK, close your eyes and hold out your right hoof." I say as II crawl back to her, hiding the bracelet behind me. "OK." She say as she does so. I take her hoof in my hand and give it a soft kiss, getting her to giggle and open her eyes. "Hey, keep 'em shut." "*sigh* fine." She closes her eyes again as she sticks her tongue out at me. I give her another kiss and place the bracelet on her, snapping it into place. "OK, open your eye." Perspective: Luna I open my eyes and look down at my hoof. There's a turquoise bracelet on my foreleg, with two sapphires and a diamond in the center. The diamond takes up the center as the two sapphires sit to the left and right. He must of forged them himself, becuase the sapphires twist to one another, going around the diamond and becoming thinner and thinner until they meet the other sapphires. The actual bracelet is made of heavy turquoise that fits perfectly around my leg. "It's beautiful." I say as I look it over. "Sorry it's late. I intended to give you a wedding ring sooner, but circumstances said other wise. Plus I realized you don't have fingers for rings..." "We usually use our horns for rings, but I still love it." "Really? Great, now for the next part." He says as he gets next to me and holds my hoof up. He sets his other hand on fire and begins to feed energy into the diamond. "OK, once I let go of your hoof smile. I'm taking a picture of us..." "Right now? But my mane is probably a mess..." "OK, five seconds." He says as he shakes his hands free of the magic and holds me against him. I look to the bracelet and put on as genuine a smile as I can must. FLASH "Ah! Miles." Right before the flash Miles had pulled my face over and gave me a kiss. "Lets take a look." He says as he puts some energy into the diamond. A picture of the two of us appears from the diamond. It's ... actually a really good picture. We both have our eyes closed, but with Miles kissing me it came out perfectly. My mane even looks presentable! "Its perfect, thank you Miles." I say as the picture fades away. "Yeah... we should get some rest. You have to get up soon." "I love you." I say, getting a smile from Miles. "Ego amare magis." "I love you most." A/N: Sorry for the delays (If you follow by post) Technical difficulties, along with family matters and using a new system with my editor delayed me longer then I wanted. Enjoy the chapter, and Brony on! Chapter 120 Answering The CallChapter 120 Answering The Call After I had left Luna's room, taking even longer due to Luna constantly hugging me and telling me to be safe, I had finally made it bake to the cave with the Mico platform. Before taking it back home I decided to walk to the other side of the mountain and create another communications tower. These things get good coverage, but I doubt the two I have right now will be good enough to get coverage in the Griffin Colonies. I think I'll make a few on the way, plus a few over there, that should do. After making one here I head back home. I walk out of my closet and decide to get a quick bite to eat before going to everyone's homes. After eating some carrots and apples, and petting Lupus and Hati, I decide to go to the Mico platform in my backyard and let Moosden know about the up coming meeting. A flash later I appear in the middle of Moosden, in the middle of a rainstorm. I guess not everything in life is bad. After an unknown amount of time running around in the rain, splashing in puddles and just enjoying the falling water, I decide to get back to business and try to find E'Claire or Butterscotch. I walk around the mostly empty town until I notice the two homes with lights coming from the inside. I recognize the one on the left being Bantler's and Na-da's, so the other one must be the girls's. I walk to the door and open it... "AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Screams E'Claire as some machine, powered by Butterscotch's magic, rams her vagina. She's laying on top of Butterscotch, so they're stomach to stomach, as Butterscotch just holds onto her. I stand there for a second, unable to look away, until Butterscotch finally see's me at the door. We stare at each other for a bit before she finally shuts the door with her magic. I stand there for a second, trying to process what just happened and glad for the cold rain. "I really need to learn to knock... or move to the Griffin Colonies." I shake my head and head over to Bantler's door. I pause for a second, trying to think of anything that could be inside, before an ingenious idea comes to mind. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK I wait for a few moments before the opens up to reveal Bantler. "Miles? Well, good to see you! I didn't think you'd be back for weeks, come on in!" He says as he steps aside. I flare my magic and pull of the water off of me as I step inside. "Bantler, it's good to see you..." "Please tell me that you're here to pull those two off of each other." He says as he looks out to the other house. "Sadly no." I say with a shiver. "Have they told you about your new citizenship yet?" "Yes. I don't completely understand it, but..." "Don't worry, I'll explain later. Tomorrow is a citizens meeting in my home back at Ponyville. I want all of you there bright and early. Just take the Mico platform in the town square. From there just knock on the back door and I'll let you in. Be sure to let the girls know..." "Could you tell them." He asks shakily. "I'm never walking in that house again." I sigh as I look back to the house. "Yeah... I'll tell them. Just make sure that you and Na-da make it to the meeting tomorrow." I say before heading back into the rain. I walk over to the other house and hesitate at the door. I really don't wan to do this. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK I wait in the rain as I hear Butterscotch run around the room, yelling about not getting a turn or something. "Miles! Hi... uh... sorry about earlier." Butterscotch says as she steps outside. "Uh..." "Are you here to set up the call-y thingy?" "Huh... oh right! I'll go ahead and do that, but I'm actually here for something else. There's going to be a Terradisian meeting tomorrow in Ponyville. Take the platform to my home in the morning with Bantler and Na-da." "Right. Will do. So, if you don't mind, it's my turn on the mare destroyer 6000, soo... BYE!" She says before running back inside. I stand there for a moment, still shocked from before. I need to find a normal group of people. With a sigh I stroll back to the Mico platform and make the call box. Its just a two way call station between me and this phone, nothing special. Once I finish I step back and take the platform home. FLASH As soon as I make it back I start making my way to Sweet Apple Acres. As I walk, I notice a steam cloud trailing from me with the wind. I would jut take the rest of the water off magically, but at the rate it's evaporating... I don't really need to. About a third of the way to the farm I become completely dry. With the smoke gone I finally get a good view of the night sky. I don't think I'll ever get tired of seeing all of those stars. I take a little longer then needed to make it to the farm, enjoying the view just a bit more. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK I wait patiently by the door as I look around pointlessly. The lights are on, so I assume that someone is up. "Miles? What brings ya ta the farm so late?" Applejack asks as she answers the door. "Hey AJ. Sorry to come so late, but I need to speak to Big Mac." "Ah'm sorry, but he's over at Fluttershy's... and I don't think ya want ta head over there." Why is everyone fucking today? "Ah can take a message fer ya iffin ya like." "Well... how early will he be back? This is something really important." "Well... usually gets home around sun up..." "That's not early enough... fuck it. I'll just head over there after I talk to Storm. Can you be sure to make it to my place around sun up tomorrow?" "Yeah, what's this all about?" She asks as I turn and leave. "You'll hear tomorrow. Good night AJ." I say as I make my way to Twilight's Library. When I make it there I find it completely dark. I look up to see that their window is open. I go to jump up to it, when I remembered what happened last time. *shiver* OK, how about the balcony. At least there I can listen and then decide whether or not to break in. I walk around to the other side of the house and jump up to the balcony. OK, I don't hear anything, that's a good start. I step next to the door and open it slightly..... silent. Oh sweet Barbra I hear snoring. They're asleep. I walk inside and shut the door behind me, trying to be as quite as possible. I walk around until I find them sleeping peacefully in bed. I was about to shake Storm... but then I remembered that I needed to pester him. As quietly and as softly as possible, I climb into their bed beside Storm. I keep scooting up against him until he rolls over and looks to me. "M-miles?" He says sleepily as he rubs his eyes. "Ready for round two, big boy?" "............ WHAT THE BUCK!" He yells as he tries to jump out of bed, but instead knocks Twilight off the edge. I burst out laughing as Storm flails around. "What has gotten.... Miles! What are you doing in here!?" Twilight yells as she sits up and glares at the two of us. I stand up and chuckle a bit as they both just glare at me. OK, time to get serious.... actually, now is the time to get overly serious. "What the buck Mi...." "LIEUTENANT!" I yell at him, making him stand at attention on the bed. "Tomorrow morning we will be having a recall on all citizens to discuss up coming events. You will be there, along with your family, bright and early. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?" I yell at him as I hold my hands behind myself. "SIR YES SIR!" He yells back with a salute. "Oh, and Twilight, if you could bring a map of the Griffin Colonies I'd appreciate it." I say casually before hoping out the window. I land below and start walking off calmly, hearing the window slam behind me. Oh the love of being a pester. I make the trip to Fluttershy's house in relative peace. I went to knock on the door when I heard something from above. I tried to listen to it, but it's too quiet. I think they're talking to each other.... or becuase they're both so quiet that this is their yelling. Well... if they're talking, I guess they would hear me knocking. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK After I had knocked the talking had stopped and I could hear hoof steps coming to the door. "Oh, hello Miles. Can I help you?" Fluttershy asks as she cracks the door open, only revealing her eye. "I need to speak to Big Mac. Applejack says he's here...." "He can't talk right now. Uh... I can tell him for you though." "Sorry, but I have to say this to him, its just a policy of ours. Why can't he speak?" "He's..... asleep." Seriously? "Sorry Shy, but this can't wait. Please let me in." I say firmly. "But... But..." "Fluttershy, please." She sighs and pulls the door open. The room is completely dark, the only light coming from the stairs. I look around for Fluttershy, but I think she's hiding behind the door. I step inside and pause when the door shuts behind me. What the fuck is going on here? "He's upstairs in my bed..." "OK. Thanks." I say before heading up the stairs. OK, now I'm a little worried. Fluttershy is leading me through her home, keeping quiet..... well, quieter then usual. I make it to her room and follow her inside. "OK.... what the fuck." I say as I take a look at Big Mac. He's asleep alright. He's on his back with his flaccid member laying on his stomach. I few drips of cum are on his belly, but the rest of it.... "So.... I'm going to wash up now... unless you need me for something." Fluttershy says as she looks back to me. A few strands of sperm are in her hair while most of it is on her face. "You know.... you could of told me you were... you know.... indecent." I say as I look around the room, trying not to stare. "But... you said please." She says innocently. I just shake my head at her as she scurries out of the room. I sigh as I go to Big Mac's side and shake him until he starts to wakes up. "Mmm, not yet Shy. It's still soft." He mumbles as he rolls over. I just shake my head as I grab his ear and hold it. I can feel him trying to shake me off, but I don't let go. "Wh..... Miles?" "Recall. Tomorrow morning. My place. Got it?" I say to put it simply. "Uh... how early?" "Early." He sighs as he lays his head back. "Eeyup." He says slowly. I nod and leave the house as quickly as possible. What happened to normalcy? Whatever, I have to get ready for tomorrow. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Luna Sunday, November 11th, 6:15 AM Its time to set the moon, and I'm a little nervous. When Miles was here I felt better about doing this, but right now... I wish he was here with me. I open my balcony doors and take a deep breath before stepping outside. I glance around until I notice the sun beginning. She must be too busy to come raise it with me. With a heavy heart I get to work setting the moon. I should of guessed that she would of... "Sorry I'm late!" She yells from her balcony, horn glowing. "My meeting with Regina.... Luna?" She asks as she takes a look at me. I just smile weakly as I raise a hoof to her and wave. OK, here we go. We set the moon and sun in their place in complete silence, Celestia staring at me the entire time. When we finish I fly over to her balcony and stand before her awkwardly. "So... Tia... do you have time to get breakfast together?" I ask as I rub my arm a bit. "I... uh... Luna, are you.... alright?" She asks as she eyes me a bit. "What do you mean?" "Well you're... uh... how do I put it... you... uh... where did you get the bracelet?" She asks to change the subject. I had removed my bracelet when I changed. But now I have it higher up my leg. "Oh, uh... it was a gift.... from Miles..." "Miles gave you that." Celestia says flatly. "Yeah.... so.... breakfast...." "Luna, we need to talk." She says as she steps inside her room. I take a deep breath as I try to calm my nerves. I can do this. I just need to go in there and tell her that we're married, in love, and... "Luna?" "IHAVEYOUDIARYANDMILESANDIAREMARRIEDANDAREINLOVEANDARTRYINGTOHAVEAFOALANDPLEASEDONTBEMADBUTILOVEHIM!" I blurt out in one breath. I quickly cover my mouth and stare at Celestia as she stands there, dumbfounded. "Uh.... what?" "OK... from the start. I have your diary..." "I knew it! Please tell me you didn't read it." She says as she walks past me and flies over to my room. I just stand in her room and wait for her to get back. I feel as if I'm a foal who's been caught stealing cookies. I can't do this! I.... I need Miles here for this, I can't face her alone like this. When she makes it back I watch as she walks straight past me and puts her diary back in its drawer. She just stands there, looking away from me as she takes slow, even breathes. "How much of it did you read?" "All of it." I say timidly. "Luna, this isn't like you. You would never intrude my personal space like this. What's going on? Talk to me." She says as she turns back to me, showing the disappointment in her eyes. "Tia... I... I just..." "Is it about Miles?" She asks to which I nod. "Sister... I don't want you being around him anymore...." "Why!? Becuase you think I'll become Nightmare Moon? That part of my life is over...." "Luna! That part of your life will never be over!" She yells back at me, making me back away from her. "You fell pray to it before, you can do it again. I've already seen that part of you come out." "When..." "The night of the Diamond Dog attack. You killed them as if they were.... nothing. As if you were enjoying it. I saw you use a power that I've only seen Miles do... I fear he has tainted your mind..." "How could you say that?" I ask as I take a step towards her. "Ever since he's been here he's done nothing but fight to protect everypony. He's rescued me from War, saved Ponyville twice and..." "And you've been the one to suffer." She say, silencing me. "Ever since that day he grabbed your horn and held you... you've been different. I've seen your soul materialize Luna. And it resembled Miles's. You've used human magic, you've been obsessing over the man you barely know... this has to stop before it gets any worse." "What do you think will happen? That I'll bend to his will? Do everything he commands me to do? Try to make eternal darkness..." "I fear that when he dies, you'll be so attached to him that you'll... do something that we'll all regret. I don't want to lose you sister. I love you too much to let you walk this slippery slope... not again. Never again. Mother and Father would be ashamed of me for letting you get this enthralled with him. I owe it to them to keep you safe. And I will, even if it makes you resent me for another thousand years." I take a step away from her as a few tears escape me. "So that's it. Another thousand years on the moon." "I love you sister. I don't want to see anything hurt you. Miles is nothing but pain and misery. I can see it..." "So becuase I've fallen in love with somepony I have to face another thousand years alone, cold, with nopony to talk to, all becuase you fear what might happen. That's what it's come to. Do you hear what you're saying sister? Do you hea...." "Enough!" She yells, silencing me. "I will never send you to the moon again. That was too painful. No. But if you ever see him again, I will give the order. I've spoken to my guards and found a group of mercenaries willing to do this. Do not make me make this call Luna. It will only end in heartache." I take a few deep breathes as I try to control my crying. When I finally get my nerves up, I look Celestia straight in the eyes. "No." "No?" "No." I repeat. "Then you leave me..." "You are mistaken. Mother and father wouldn't be ashamed for you letting me become enthralled with him. They would be ashamed of the way you've been acting. Keeping me from my duties, plotting to kill anypony that gets close to me, sheltering me from the outside world... it's gone on long enough. I love you dear sister. But until you realize what you've done, do not speak to me. Ever." With that I charge my horn and teleport back to my room, where I lose it. I fall to my bed and bury my face in a pillow as I cry my heart out. I scream and I cry and I sob as the curtains pull themselves shut around me. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles I woke up right before sun up to get things ready. I'm expecting at least eight people to come and hear this, so I've been turning my living room into a meeting room by moving the dining room chairs over to the open space. As I set the last chairs up I hear a flash out back, so I walk to the back door to see who's here. "Bantler, welcome to Ponyville." I say as I approach him. He seems a little scared, but that's probably just the Mico platform. "Miles... hi... eh." He says as he stumbles away from the platform. As soon as he steps off the platform another light flashes and Na-da appears. "Na-da. Why don't you guys go ahead inside and wait for everyone to show up." I say as I motion to the door. They look to one another before walking inside. A couple of flashes later E'Claire and Butterscotch appear behind me. "Whoa... that thing is freaky." Butterscotch says as she approach me. "Girls. The meeting will start soon, just head inside and make yourselves at home.... at home in my home that is." They give me a confused look before heading inside. I walk in after them and note that they're the only ones here right now, this would be a good time to go over a few things. "So, before the actual meeting starts, why don't we go over some things about your citizenship." I say as I follow them into the living room. They all take their seats and listen intently to me. "Being Terradisian has a lot of perks. Any and all of our resources are at your disposal. If you ever need anything, let me know and I'll do what I can to help. Construction, defense, inquiries, anything. Terradisia was all about community, so if there is anything you wish to bring up, the meeting after this is the time to do it. You are all considered full citizens, so we value your opinions. If you think something sounds stupid or don't understand, say so." "So..." Butterscotch starts. "What if we want to bring up that we don't want to be citizens?" "Then I'd remind you that you were forced in and the only way out is with a blade." I say, making her gulp. "Got it." "Next is taxes." I say, making them all sigh. "There are none." "WHAT!?" They all yell in surprise. "Well... there are, and there aren't. The way thins work are, if you want a service, then you pay the tax for that service. I'll give you an example. Let's say you want a house built. Then you would come to the public works person and requisition a house. In turn you would pay a tax that would eventually pay off that service. Almost sixty percent of the workers from Topaz Falls were city workers." "So... we only pay the taxes we want to pay?" E'Claire asks with a smile. "I like that." "Basically. There are some things that aren't options, but under strange circumstances we will ignore them." "Like what?" "Well, for starters, no one is paying for our military. I'm covering that until further notice." I say as I look out the window and see everyone walking towards my home. "Alright, here are the other Terradisians, so we'll get started soon." I say as I head to the door and open it... "BARK BARK BARK BARK!" As soon as I opened the door Lupus and Hati came charging in, nearly knocking me over. "WOLF!" They all yell as I step outside. "Morning!" I say cheerfully as they all grumpily approach me. "Just step inside and take any seat in the living room. We'll start right after I set up. Twilight, did you bring the map?" She rolls her eyes and pulls out a roll of paper. I take it and look it over quickly. "What are those yellow dots?" I ask as I roll it back up. This isn't exactly what I asked for, but it'll do. "National capitols." Twilight say tiredly as she walks past me. Hmm.... whatever. I did wake her in the middle of the night. I follow after all of them and wait for them to be seated. Once they are, I magically tack the map up to the wall and face them, being sure to hit the audio recorder on my phone. "Welcome to the first Terradisian public meeting. This is to do two things, get everyone adjusted to Terradisian meetings, and to inform you all about a recall. First, is there anything anyone wishes to bring up." I look around the silent room and sigh. "Storm, Big Mac. You guys didn't tell your wives about their new citizenship... did you?" "NNope." "A.... no." "Of course you didn't." I say with a sigh as I turn to Twilight, Fluttershy and Applejack. "Since they're Spartans you're all Terradisian citizens. You basically can ask anything at these meetings and share all of the same rights as we do." "Really?" Applejack asks as they all look to each other. "Yes, really." "Um... ar-are we going to go through Spartan training?" Fluttershy asks. "No. That's for Spartans. You are all Terradisian. Terradisia was our mother nation, they provided a border and we basically policed the world... well, at least during the Purge we did. Anyway, is there anything anyone wishes to bring up?" "Whats the Purge?" Twilight asks. "Really? *sigh* alright, here's the quick version. The purge was a major changing point in human history. It literally changed the world. From what little information we have left from that time we are able to somewhat piece together what happened. The world was divided between many major factions. The United States of America, and some of the European nations sided against China, who sided against Russia, who in turn fought everyone, while African and Middle Eastern nations tried to fight any and everybody. There were plenty of other nations that fought other nations, but those were the major ones. The actual war itself lasted some sixty years before it found it's eventual end. Nuclear and super archaic bombs rained down across the entire world. It's unclear who fired first or why they even fired. Some speculate that it was an espionage slip up while others say it was them just trying to end the war. In the end it doesn't really matter." "After the bombs fell, time seems to be lost. From that point on, there is no account of time. Nothing that was written down was ever dated, and we have no way of knowing when it was written becuase most of it was electronic. After a speculated two hundred years people started to congregate. This is around the time we speculate that Emerald City was built. From there, cities started popping up all over this continent. Topaz, Jasper, Galena, Ruby Canyon, all of them started to spring up and prosper. Its speculated that two hundred years after this is when we started populating other planets. Around the time of our colonization is when we found the Unfamiliar. Our current calender starts when we buried our cities. That's the Purge." "Do you know where any of those ancient nations are?" Twilight asks quietly. "No. That information was lost during the purge. There's a lot we don't know about our own past. We know major facts. World wars, scientific break through's, but any other details were lost either during the great migration or the Purge." "The great migration?" Storm asks. "Humans used to populate the entire planet. But once Emerald City was built, people started migrating to this continent. Soon, this was the only continent people lived one... well, that was until Diamond Halls was built." The room falls quiet as everyone thinks about what I said. "Whats today's meeting about?" Butterscotch asks as she runs a hoof through her short mane. "Steelwing has been spotted moving from Beakton to Flionence. The Spartan regiment will aid the Griffin Colonies in hunting him down." I say, making Twilight and Fluttershy go wide eye. "Wait... you're all leaving for the Griffin Colonies?" Twilight asks as she holds onto Storm's hoof. "Are you sure he's going to be there? Are you absolutely sure?" "I know he won't be there." I say, making everyone do a double take. "What?" Big Mac asks. "This is Steelwing, the guys been avoiding attention all this time. Do you think he be stupid enough to be seen this easily?" Storm says as he wraps a wing around Twilight. "Whats our real objective and when do we leave?" "Our objective is..." "Wait wait wait, hold on a sec." E'Claire says. "Are you really about to just tell us what you're going to go do?" "Yeah... is that a problem?" "Kind of, it's kind of a leak in your information. Shouldn't this be kept secret or something?" "That's not how we operate. It used to be that we could move just as fast as our technology. We would make a post about an operation moments before actually doing it. There wasn't anything anyone could really do to stop us. There were no secrets between the Spartan regiment and our citizens. When I was making the Elements, I had people making daily posts asking about my progress, and I would communicate with them." "Wow..." Na-da says, getting us all to look at her for a moment. "Right... anyway. Our objective is to spring their trap and try to discover whatever we can about The Darkness. " I feel my phone start to vibrate, so I pull it up and see that Luna's calling me."We leave in one hour." I say as I step aside to answer the phone. "Luna?" "*sniff* Miles... we need to talk." Luna says in a shaky voice. "I'll be there in..." "No... no. Just... just listen, please." She says as she tries to collect herself. "Celestia and I had a talk today... it didn't go well." "What did she say?" I ask as I step out back and pace around, worried. "It's not what she said, it's what I said. I told her I wouldn't speak to her until she apologized for separating us." I bite my lower lip as I think about this. I'm glad she finally told her, but this was obviously too much for them. "It's going to be ok Luna. Look, just give her some time to..." "Miles... I'm going to fix this... but to do this, I won't be able to see you for a while. At least a month." I feel my heart drop as I stop moving and just stand there in silence. "Miles? Are.. are you..." "I'm here." "I'm sorry... but this is the way things are going to have to be for awhile. I don't want it to be this way, but I can't find another way. I'm so sorry Miles..." "It's ok... it's... its going to be alright." I say as I take a deep breath and start to walk around again. "Will you be able to at least call me?" "... I should. In the mornings or in the evenings at least." "OK then. I'll support you on this, but you better call me. I don't know how long I can go without at least hearing your voice." "Hmm, ok. I'll call as often as possible. I promise." "Ok.... well... then this is goodbye then." I say as I pause and take a few deep breaths. "Amo te Luna." "Ego plus amare te" "Amo te maxime." A/N: Shout out to Voltman77 for picking the sex toy the girls were using! Thanks for reading, and Brony on! Chapter 135 Green LightChapter 135 Green Light Deceased. No... there are thousands of red lights in here, they can't all be deceased. I go to another red light and press it, getting similar readings. Deceased. Next red light. Deceased. Next light. Deceased. How could they all be deceased! We gave them the answers they needed! What could have gone wrong! Why did... "MILES!" I snap back into reality as Big Mac shakes me a bit. I look back to everyone to see the worried looks on their faces. "What happened?" "All of these red lights are people that tried to freeze themselves in time... and died." I say as I look around the crimson room. How could so many have died? Everything here was perfect, why would the stasis pods fail? "What about the green ones?" Twilight asks as she looks at the few green dots. I reach over and press one, making it immediately turn yellow as it slides out. I look over the readings in the hologram and begin to shake. Nominal. This... child is... nominal. I look to the others before looking back to the hologram. Its of a little boy. Probably eight or nine. He made it. He lived. "Go to every green light and press them." I say as I move to the next green light and press it. Nominal. We go through every light and press them, turning them all yellow with the same wording, nominal. "Are there more of these?" I ask the bot. "Negative. This project was under funded until days before the evacuation. These five thousand pods were the only ones made." "How many green do we have?" I ask as everyone else finishes pressing the lights. "Forty seven." "Forty seven.... well, it beats zero. What do we do next to open the pods?" "Pull the reanimation lever, located beside the terminal." I look back and sure enough, there it is. A large panel beside the terminal. I walk over to it, open it, and pull the green lever down. The lights dim down for a second before going back on as a light hum fills the room. We all look to each other before running outside, where the humming gets louder. "What is that noise?" Aere asks as I look around the dome, trying to pin point the sound. "Sounds like a power generator. But I'm not sure where it's coming... from..." I start to say but stop when the humming suddenly ends. I look over to the bot to question it, but stop when I hear something. Crying. Somewhere a small child is crying. I jump to the top of the building where I find a small office, where the crying also gets louder. I take a few cautious steps towards the door and peer inside. Most of the room is fairly standard for an office, but to the left is a large stasis pod. The back is made of wires going from the glass chamber to the ceiling and floor. The glass door has lifted up to reveal a little boy huddled at the bottom. He has short blonde hair and is fairly skinny. I walk over to the crying form and kneel beside him, gaining his attention. I almost step back as I stare into his pure white eyes. "*sniff* c-can you h-elp..." He stutters before falling out. I quickly move forward and take him in my arms. "Hang in there kid, I've got ya." I say as I cradle him. He looks up to me with those pure white eyes and blinks slowly a couple of times. "I... I know you..." He almost whispers. "You're Miles Eremita..." "Yeah. That's me..." "The lost Spartan." He says as he looks back into the office. "Where are my mom and dad?" I close my eyes and shake my head as he continues to look around. "Mom said I had to go to sleep for a bit, that she would be here when I woke up. Dad had to go fight the monsters and... Mr. Miles sir, where are my parents?" He asks as he looks back up to me. "Your parents... aren't here. I'm sorry. They... its... I..." I say as I try to find the right words to tell him. "They aren't here? That's OK. Becuase you're here now. You'll stop them. I've seen you fight on television before, no one can beat you." He says as he grabs my arm and continues to look up to me. I just look away as I try to hold back my tears. "Mr. Miles sir? Why do you look so sad?" "Because... because..." "I know what will cheer you up... a... a nap.... Mr. Miles sir, I'm gonna take a nap now..." "NO! NONONO, STAY AWAKE!" I yell as I shake him a bit, trying to keep him awake. "I'm glad I got to meet you... you're my hero Mr. Miles sir..." He says before he closes his eyes. I shake him and yell as I try to wake him back up, but he stays asleep. With nothing better to do, I hold tightly onto him. "I'm so sorry." I whisper into his ear as I continue to hold him. I wipe my eyes as before looking back to him... and watch in horror as he slowly begins to turn to ash. It wasn't quick like when I use soul fire. It was slow. Like watching a car accident. You know how fast it should be going, but your mind doesn't process it. Every second, every emotion, taking seconds in reality feel like hours in my mind. By the time I get a hold of myself I find myself sitting in a pile of ash. "Come on Miles... lets see how the others did." Twilight says as she nudges me a bit. I look back to her and True Will standing beside me. I stand back up and stumble a bit in a daze. "Uh... Miles..." I look down to see my pants still covered in the grey ash. I try to wipe it away, but no matter how hard I try, there seems to be a little more left. "Lets leave this depressing room." True Will says as he walks out. I turn back and stare at the pile until Twilight pulls me out of the room. "Are you going to be alright Miles?" Twilight asks as I look out to the horizon. "Miles?" "This is my fault..." "How could this possibly be your fault?" True Will asks. "You weren't here for..." "EXACTLY! I wasn't here!" I yell as I begin to pace around. "I should have been here! It was my equation, my fucking unit, my..." "MILES!" Twilight yells as she grabs me with her magic. "You can't change what happened! You got hit and came here. I know its must be hard to see the remnants of your people dwindle away right in front of your eyes, but you can't fall apart right now. It was tragic that that child had to die, but there are others out there that need somepony they know to guide them. Now pull it together!" She sets me back down and steps back, panting slightly. "Y....you're right. You're right. We need to get to the others, now isn't the time to morn. Lets get going then." I say as I walk over to the edge. I take a look back to the small office before stepping off. I will come back too give him a proper burial. This I swear. "Is everything alright Miles? Where is..." "He died." I say, cutting off Rarity as the others flash in behind me. "We need to move out to the others and see how they're doing..." "Are ya gonna be alright Miles?" Applejack asks as she removes her hat. "...yeah. Yeah, I'll be fine. Now lets get going. Bot, lead us to the other stasis pods." The bot give a quick nod before walking down the street. "He's lying." Applejack mutters to someone behind my back. I wanted to reassure her that I would be fine, but I couldn't. Maybe he was just too small to be in one of the pods. Or maybe he was just... CRASH We all stop and turn back to see a person standing down the street. He's roughly my height with medium black hair. Even though I'm looking right at him, I can't believe what I'm looking at. Not the fact that he's a person, but that he's maxed out with five portals flaring. but instead of having black lines with white fires, he has blue lines with blue tinted white flames. He turns back to us and looks us down with those pure whites eyes... "Hunger..." He mumbles as he takes a step towards us. I continue to star at him in disbelief of his form. Blue lines... why does he have blue line? "Hello there." Twilight says as she walks towards him. "I'm Twilight Sparkle. What's your name?" "Umbra." He says as he stares her down. "Twilight, maybe this isn't a good..." "Umbra, are you OK? Can we get you any..." "Your soul... looks... I must have it." He says as he stumbles toward Twilight, reaching out to her. "My... my soul?" Twilight says as she steps away from him. "Your soul... it must feed me... give me your soul... give it to me.... GIVE... ME YOUR SOUL!" He yells as he raises his arms and makes a tossing motion. From behind him two buildings suddenly break from the ground and fly straight towards us. "TWILI...." CRASH A sudden burst of energy sends me flying down and alley and crashing into a wall. I look up in time to see two blue figures moving towards me. BANG KRA-BOOM I had pulled out my revolver and took a shot at one of the figures, but something went wrong. When the bullet him them, they both exploded with tremendous force, turning the buildings around them to ruble. "Your soul.... I want it...." As I get up I look over to see a woman beside me twitching as she eyes me oddly. "Please don..." "GIVE IT TO ME!" She yells before throwing both her arms up. Before I could act I suddenly launch through the air. I violently spin for awhile before finally getting control. "Oh fuck." I mumble as I see all of the blue dots below. BANG "GIVE ME YOUR SOUL!" I spin around to see the woman flying straight for for me. "TAKE IT!" I yell as I thrust my palm at her, sending a a beam of soul fire straight into her chest. KRA-BOOM. I feel myself fly a bit back more before falling towards the ground, where I see the blue dots begin to race all over the city... Perspective: Twilight As I step away from the person before me, I hear something crash behind me. I don't look to it though. Instead I keep my focus on the person before me. "Uh..." "I NEED IT!" He yells as he begins to charge. Before I could react, a red shield drops around me as True Will steps in front of me. "STAY BEHIND ME!" He yells as I see Aere run around the shield. "COME GET SOME!" He yells as he swings his mechanical appendage at the blue person. Mid swing, a blade falls out and slices straight through their knee. We all stare at the person as he just stands there, looking down at his seamlessly unharmed knee. "FEED ME!" The person says as he raises an arm, lifting Aere into the air. He begins to twist and shake as a light red aura is sucked from his body. The aura drains into the arm of the person, making them giggle in delight. "AERE!" True Will yells as he drops his shield. "STAY BACK!" Aere yells back as he pulls something from his satchel and drops it. "It was a ple..." KRA-BOOM True Will didn't get his shield up in time, but I did. Luckily I was able to hold back the massive blue explosion... "NOOOOO!" True Will yells as he punches the ground. "We need to get moving!" Camo Flash yells as he pulls out his huge buster sword. "Come on! This way!" "FEED US." Before any of us run off, we all look back to the clearing smoke to see a blue figure in the distance. My first thought was that he had somehow lived, but that soon changed when I saw another. And then another... "How many are there?" I ask as I look around. Alleys, roof tops, some even hovering in the air, fiery blue people are standing everywhere, staring us down. "The count would now be forty five." The bot informs us as it begins to walk towards one of them. "May I assist you?" "Feed... me..." The person gasps as they reach out to the bot and suck the energy out from it. "Maybe we should fall back now..." Dust Devil says as she begins to back away. "Theimara! Cover us!" True Will yells as we all turn tail and run. "FOR GREATER EARTH!" Theimara yells as she charges at the group of advancing poeple. She charges straight into one of them and swipes at their face... KRA-BOO-BOO-BOOM When Theirmara's claw struck the person, they exploded. From their explosion, two others nearby blew up as well. Completely on instinct, or rational fear, I had raised the Medi-gun up and put a shield around us, stopping the explosion from harming us. By the time the blue flames wash over us, we became surrounded by the blue people trying to get inside the shield. They slam their fists and shoot beams of energy at the dome, but it holds steady... for now at least. "DON'T LET GO OF THAT SHIELD!" True Will shouts as he looks around. "REALLY?!" I yell back as I try to think of an escape plan. "True Will, how many ponies can you teleport?" "Two... maybe three. You?" "Three or four.. effectively at least..." "Hey Matrix, Dust Devil, Camo Flash, How fast can you fly?" Rainbow asks as she looks up. "What are ya thinkin Rainbow?" Applejack asks as she pulls out her rifle and starts pointing at different people. "If we fly fast enough out, you guys can teleport out. From there we just need to keep our distance." Rainbow says as she starts stretching her wings. "We shouldn't separate Rainbow..." "Can you guys keep up?" She asks as she jumps into the air. They all look to each other before jumping into the air with her. "We will try to assist as much as we can. Keep moving, we'll also try to shout out their positions to you. Everyone clear?" Rainbow says. We all look to one another before nodding back to her. "OK, on three. One. Two. THREE!" Perspective: Rainbow Dash As soon as the shield dropped I begin to flap my wings harder then I've ever flapped before. We all race straight through the air as two separate flashes ring from below. I fly up until I feel we'e a safe distance up, where I hover and look down. "Think they'll be OK?" Matrix asks as I watch the blue dots begin to race through the city below. "I don't know. Lets get..." "RAAAAAHAHAHA" We all look back down to see several people rocketing up towards us. "MOVE!" Camo yells as he swings his sword at the closest person, sending some black energy towards it. KRA-BO-BOOM Two of the people explode, sending a massive shock wave towards us and making us tumble. I quickly regain control and pivot back as I pull my rifle out. I aim towards the closest person coming at us and open fire. PEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEW I begin to to fire and line up the shots with the person. The shots pepper against his chest and stomach, making him stop mid air. KRA-BOOM I fall back some from the explosion but manage to stay air born. I look back to see the everypony else flying in the air being chased by different blue people. I go to... "RAINBOW!" Miles yells as he falls right in front of me. I shake my head a bit before flying after him, catching up to him quickly. I grab his arms and begin to fly up, slowing our descent. "GAH! Why are you so heavy!" I yell as I feel my wings burn from the added weight. "What are you trying to say? Head over to the communication array and..." "The WHAT?" "The.. the big pointy thingy!" He yells as he points to a large metal spire. I make my way over to it as best I can, dropping him before I fall to the ground. PATPATPA KRA-BOBOOM I look back to see Miles taking shots at different people flying around us. "Miles! What's going on!?" I yell as I open fire as well. "Its the stasis pods! They..." BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM Four spinning vortexes of stone and metal burst from the ground and shoot straight over us. The ground below us begins to sink as its crushed from the spinning ground. "FUCK!" Miles yells as he flares hiss heels. "Rainbow, keep moving! Do not let them touch you!" He says before launching between two of the vortexes, getting three of the people to chase after him. CRASH I spin back to see the last person burst through the vortex and come straight towards me. PEWPEWPEWPEWPEW KRA-BOOM Perspective: Twilight When I appear on the top of a nearby building I look back to see Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Hamm Strung with me. "Where should we go next?" I ask as I look back to see several people chasing after us. "Lets go underground!" Pinkie yells as she looks to the street below. "Um... we... we... we..." Fluttershy stutters as she watches the person come at us. "You guys get going! I'll cover you!" Hamm strung yells as he jumps down to the next roof and starts running towards the person. "HAMM STRUNG! You two get indoors, I'll go get him!" I yell before I teleport next to him. "What do you think you're doing?!" "MY JOB!" He yells as he pulls out one of his axes and flings it straight for the person. In turn, the person uses their magic to spin the ax around them and send it flying straight back. The weapon crashes straight into Hamm Strung's chest and blows straight through the back. He holds his arm out for a second before dropping to his knees and looking straight down to his chest. "HAMM STRUNG!" I yell as I make the shield and look him over.... he's dead. "WHY! WHY DID YOU DO THAT!" I yell as he falls back, his blood pooling up underneath my hooves. SLAM I look back to see several people slamming their fists against the dome, trying to get in. "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS!? WHY!?" "TWILIGHT!" A massive wave of black energy slams into the backs of everypony outside, creating a blinding explosion. When I regain my vision I find myself laying on the a couch inside a building. I look down to see Fluttershy wrapping up one of my legs as Pinkie keeps a gun pointed down an open door. "What happened?" I ask as I try to sit up, only to be stopped by Fluttershy. "The explosion was too strong and broke through you shield. Luckily you only broke a leg, but you're in no condition to move." Fluttershy informs me in a rather calm manner. "What was that black energy?" I ask as I rub my head. "That was Camo Flash. I don't know how he did it, but it saved your life. He's outside right now keeping them off the building." Fluttershy says as she ties off my bandage. "Did Hamm Strung make it?" Pinkie asks as she looks over to me. I look between their worried faces before hanging my head down. "Oh..." "I'm going out there." Fluttershy says as she stands back up. "WHAT!?" Both Pinkie and I scream as she walks over and slings her rifle. "Fluttershy, did you hit your head or..." "No, Twilight, I did not. These big meanies cannot be allowed to continue like this. I don't like it any more then you do, but maybe I can put them down as peacefully as possible. Pinkie, stay here and watch over Twilight. I'll be back as quickly as I can." She says as she walks over to her. "But... but... but.." Before Pinkie could form any words of protest Fluttershy wraps her up in a tight hug. When she lets go of her they stare into each others eyes before Fluttershy takes off down the hall. "When did Fluttershy grow a pair?" "I don't know, but we can't stay here. Let me see if I can heal myself." I say as I try to use my magic, finding it extremely weak. "Well... damn." Perspective: Fluttershy When I make it to the roof I find Camo flash hovering in the air, send slashes of dark energy towards different ponies and making them explode. I take up a spot in the center of the roof and take aim at one of them in the distance. I lead the end of my rifle with him as I get ready to pull the trigger. "This is for Hamm Strung." I mutter before pulling the trigger. I watch the blue bolt collide with the pony and force him to explode. I take a deep breath as I pick my next target and begin to lead the shot. "Fluttershy? What are you doing here?" Camo asks as he lands beside me. "This is for Aere." I mutter before pulling the trigger again. The blue bolt collides with them and makes him crash into a building, exploding on contact. "This isn't a place for a pony like you Fluttershy! Get back inside!" He yells as he gets in my face. I see a person coming at us both behind us as well as in his eyes. I grab him and spin with him, switching our positions so I can fire at the pony. This one takes a few shots, but I get him soon enough. Simultaneously, I hear him yell as he slashes at the pony behind me. "And that was for Theimara." I say as I look to the right to see massive vortexes of stone and metal reaching up into the sky. "Do you know where any of the others are?" I ask as I look for my next target. "Matrix, Dust Devil, and Rainbow Dash were in the air with me a bit ago, but I don't see them anywhere." Camo says as he walks in a circle, looking for the others in the air. "Hows Twilight?" "She'll be fine. I've take care of her the best I can. We just need to cover her until she can fix herself with her magic... that, or until we can get Miles here." "Right, and where is he?" Camo asks as the vortexes suddenly stop spinning. I look out to the to see a small dot fly out from between them and start jumping from rooftop to rooftop. Three blue specks start chasing after it, sending entire buildings at it as it goes. "Found him." I say as I take aim. "There's no way you're going to hit any of them at this distance..." "Just a little more..." "They're too far away!" "Almost there..." "You can't do this..." PEW I lower my rifle as I watch the bolt fly through the air. One, two, three... a massive explosion erupts in the distance, followed by two more that make the blue fire grow even more. I look back to Camo and offer him a shrug and smile. "... that still only counts as one." He says as he turns away from me. "One what?" I ask as I look over to see Miles heading straight for us. I wave a hoof at him as I sling my rifle, standing back on all four. "I'll take him to Twilight, you keep us covered." I say as I turn back to the door. "Uh... OK." "How is everything here?" Miles asks as he lands beside Camo Flash. "Twilight is hurt and needs your help." I say as I wait for him by the door. "Take me to her." He says as he runs over. Perspective: Dust Devil I dive down to gain some speed as two of the blue people chase after me. Once I get within inches of the floor I bank up and skim along the ground. From behind I hear a couple of crashes and explosions, telling me that I have a few seconds to breathe. "Where are the others?" I look over to see Matrix flying along side with me. "I don't know, head up and we'll look for them!" I yell as I use my momentum to gain altitude.Once we're high enough I look around until I see an explosion in the distance. "There!" I say as I head for it. "Right behAHHH!" I spin around to see Matrix hanging upside down as a blue person holds him by one of his rear hooves. Matrix quickly puts on his brass hooves and starts kicking and punch as he tries to break free. "MATRIX!" I yell as I pull out my sword and start to fly towards them. Before I could get to him in time, I watch in horror as the person sucks the red energy from him, leaving Matrix a grey husk. "NOOOOOOO!" "I need more." The person mumbles as they drop his lifeless body and face me. I grit my teeth as I stare down the monster before me. How am I going to... "I NEED MORE!" He yells as he thrusts both of his arms me, sending a column of blue energy at me. CRASH When I open my eyes I look around to find myself in a small crater. I try to move, but find it very hard to do. I put a hoof to my forehead and feel blood start to trickle down to my side... even worse, he knocked out my gum. I reach into my vest and shakily pull out a cigarette. I put it in my mouth as reach for my lighter, hearing a thud nearby. "Hmm... sorry Dad. That game 'll have to wait." I say as I light my smoke and take a drag, sending a column of smoke up into the air. I look down to see the person standing before me, twitching in anticipation. "You soul..." "Come and get it." I growl I try to sit up.... is... is that gas? KRA-BOOM Perspective: True Will Once we flash in a random street I take quick note of who I have. Applejack, Big Mac and Rarity. Well... I've had worse. "We need ta git going!" Applejack says as she takes down the street. Rarity and I look to each other before running after her. "So, whats the plan?" Rarity asks as we chase after Applejack. "First, keep moving. Second, stay alive." I yell back to her as I keep my eyes open for anything blue. I look back to see four blue figures moving towards us, gaining quickly. "Ya'll keep goin! Ah'll cover ya!" Big Mac yells as he turns around and spins his halberd around, sending a column of fire at one of them and making them explode. "NO! We stick tagether!" Applejack yells as she turns around and opens fire with her rifle. "Oh... Darn it!" Rarity yells as she turns and opens fires as well, sending massive bolts of energy down range. "Are you three crazy!? We need to get moving!" I yell as two more of the people explode, only to be replaced by three more. "FINE!" I yell as I pull out my long sword and start to feed my energy into it, making it glow red. As the others continue to keep the others at bay, I begin to take slow steps forward. "What are... are ya..." Big Mac stutters as I walk past him. I look up to see several buildings lift into the air and tumble towards us. I take one last breathe before I raise my sword back and swing it forward, sending a massive red slash of energy at the building. KA-BOOM A massive cloud of smoke erupts as shrapnel peppers all around us. I turn back to the others and wait for them to pick up their jaws. "What? How do you think I became captain?" I ask as I sheath my still hot sword and start walking away. "Uh... what was that?" Rarity asks as they all follow after me. "My sword is... special." I say as I keep my eyes open for anything blue. "Special like Miles's weapons or like... somethin else?" Big Mac asks as he takes my left flank. "What's so special about Miles sword?" I ask as I look back to him. "Nevermind. We need to connect with the others. Where would they go after separating?" "Probably the P.C.H." Big Mac says as he looks over to the tall building in the distance. "Then that's where we're going." A/N: Don't forget to check up on my BLOG. New openings will appear before chapters are finished, so get your OC's in early! Also, a new class of fighters for the mercenary group has shown up. Go to my blog Calling All OC's to see whats changed. Brony on! Chapter 151 A Night To Remember Chapter 151 A Night To Remember Chapter 151 A Night To Remember Perspective: Miles "Down there!" Luna cheers as she points towards another crater. I chuckle a bit from her childish enthusiasm but bank towards the large crater anyway. We've been roaming around here for nearly three hours and she's been loving every minute of it. At first I could tell she was apprehensive about this, probably due to her imprisonment here, but she got over it quickly. "Ok Luna, this will have to be the last crater we go through." "Aw..." "Sorry, but I like breathing." "Do you think we'll be able to do this again? How about on the next new moon!" "Hehe, maybe. Lets head back for now alright." I pull back and begin to head back towards Terra, much to Lunas dismay. "I'll be honest, at fist I wasn't too thrilled about this." She admits. I keep silent as I begin prepping for reentry, allowing her to continue. "You'd think that after a thousand years there it would be a place of torment... but... it's my moon. I could never hate it. Not to mention that I wasn't actually on the moon, rather... well... inside it I guess..." "What do you mean?" I ask as I flip the final switch. "Well... I don't actually know what happened to my body when I was imprisoned. All I do know is that my mind felt trapped within the moon..." "Well don't worry about that ever happening again. Even if you went deranged again I would never allow you to be sent there again..." "And... if I was?" She asks quietly. "Then I'd drag the moon down and break you free. Nothing is going to stop me from being with you, I promise." I let out a content sigh as Luna wraps her arms around my seat and holds me. I take my free hand and hold onto one of her hoofs; bringing it up to give it a soft kiss. "I love you Luna." "I love you Miles." I hold her hoof until we finally make it to the edge of the atmosphere. I warn Luna to hold tight as the straps apply themselves again. Once they're on I push the throttle all the way up and burst forward... "wait, have you ever done this before?" "HERE WE GO!" I yell as I press the afterburner, plastering myself to the back of the seat as we jet forward. As we begin to reenter, red hot flames start to appear all around us. I pull the trigger on the main gun, making the entire ship rock as the blue energy bursts forward. Instead of the beam shooting continuously forward it goes out a few meters and curls back, providing a protective cover for the vessel. Without the atmosphere slowing us down we slice through the air with tremendous speed, making it to Equestrian air space in seconds. I release the trigger to drop the spell and set the landing sequence in order. The ship gives a couple of quick jerks before suddenly pitching down. VRRRRRRRRRRRRRRSSSSSHHHHHH We fly right through a small opening in the ground and quickly become level. As we slide through the tunnel the landing spells come into effect, providing the right amount of force to slow us down. We come to a perfect stop inside my shop, facing the wrong way but that's to be expected. Once the straps release themselves I look behind me and laugh a bit. Luna is plastered to the back of her sea, wide eyed and slightly shaking. "Everything OK?" I ask as the cockpit lifts up. "Y-yeah. I've had worse landings before." She says shakily as she pulls herself out from the back corner. "That was... an amazing experience Miles, thank you." "It's not over yet, come on." I say as I climb out. I wait by the jet to help Luna out, catching her as she falls out. "You alright there?" I ask as I hold her in my arms. We stare into each others eyes for a moment before leaning into each others lips. As our tongues danced around inside each others mouths I started making my way to the cot I had set up near the simulation pod. It was just a small bed with simple padding for when I'd needed rest in here set aside in the corner, but it would do. When I reached the bed I laid her down gently as I got on top of her, though this didn't last. As we continued to make out Luna pushed her way on top, though I didn't really protest. Normally I'd fight her a bit more with this, but give it up easily today. We break our kiss to get my cloths off; Luna taking her time to enjoy every second of it. With my clothes off and thrown aside she lays herself against me and holds me tightly. I don't protest. Instead I just wrap my arms around her and hold her lightly as she plants light kisses along my neck. I chuckle a bit from the light contact as I bring my hands up to her wing joints. She pulls back from and lets out a soft moan as she sits back, having me enter her. "No spells?" I ask as she starts to rock back and forth. "No spells. I want you for my birthday." She says as she lays back down to kiss me. As she begins to rock back and forth on me I begin to move my hips along with her. I rest my my hands on her hips as she uses a hoof to explore my body, paying extra attention to my chest and abdominal. Hmm... She doesn't want to have sex right now. No, this moment is about us being together. With that thought in mind I stop moving my hips and begin to explore her body as well, moving as slowly as possible. I try to savor every feeling as much as possible. Her smooth coat. Her soft feathers. The warmth of her breath going down my neck. The soft beating of her heart against mine; all things I want to cherish for as long as I live. "Miles... I love you." She whispers into my ear with a heavy pant. "I know. I love you to Luna." I tell her as I bring a hand up and brush her bangs out of her face. We share another passionate kiss, our tongues melding together as we hold each other tightly. We continue on like this for... I don't ever care. This is by far the greatest sex we've ever had and it didn't even focus the actual act. It was great because it was us being as close to one another as we could be. Every move she would make I would respond perfectly, as she would for me. Nothing was needed to be said. We just did. And it was perfect. But all good things must come to an end, and we hit both our climaxes together. We hold each other tighter then ever before as we share our moment of ecstasy, our bodies trembling against each others. Once our movements pass and our orgasms pas we just lay in bed, holding each other as we let the moment settle in our minds. "We're late... really fucking late." I mumble to myself, not really caring in the slightest. "Hm?" "We've got another thing to go to, but it can wait." I tell her as I stoke her mane. "Okay." ................................................................................................................................................................ Perspective: Twilight 12:48 AM It's been a few hours since we saw Miles' ship come back and Celestia has been freaking out ever since. I don't think I've ever seen the Princess like this, not even when the goblin leader came into one of our lessons with his weapons raised right at us. Usually she's the calm, cool, wise leader but now... now she's stressing every detail trying to make everything perfect. "Heh, this kinda looks familiar." Applejack jokes from my side as Celestia marches through the house again. "Think ya can get her ta sit down fer two minutes?" "I can try again, but I doubt it." I say as I get up from the couch. "Maybe we should try helping again." Fluttershy offers. I shutter from the thought as I think back to what happened earlier. "Let me just talk to her." I say as I walk over to the kitchen. I find Celestia re-levitating everything in the room and setting it down perfectly, eyeing every single item so that it's set in its precise position. "Princess..." "Yes Twilight dear? Is something wrong? Did Damian wake up yet? how are the others? Are Luna and Miles back yet?" She asks as she runs over to the kitchen counter to check on the cake again. "Yes actually, there is something wrong..." "WHAT! What is it? Is it the punch? Or the snacks? Did Rainbow Dash fall asleep? What..." "It's you Princess! You need to calm down!" I yell at her, getting her to step back. "I... I know. *sigh* Forgive me but... I just feel the need to make up for all the lost years. How could I have been so foalish to forget something like this." She says as she hangs her head down. I walk over and nudge her head a bit, trying to get her to look back to me. "She was gone for a thousand years Princess, anypony would have forgotten..." "No.... it's been well over a thousand years since we celebrated her birth..." "Yes, the past four..." "Twilight, I'm going to tell you something that I've never told anypony. But can you promise me to keep this between the two of us?" I feel a little taken back by the question, but agree to it anyway. I don't think I've ever had the Princess talk to me like this before... what could be so troubling her so badly? "Well... it's been longer than just a thousand and four years." "What do you mean? How much longer?" I ask as I step back to look over Celestia. She turns away from me and thinks to herself for a moment before sighing deeply. "Do you know how long Luna was Nightmare Moon?" I think back to all the books I've ever read about Nightmare Moon and shake my head. "Seventy five years." "Seventy five.... why so long? I thought..." "Any book you read about back then will only talk about military actions and over dramatized words between me and her. The actual fighting took place in the sky. She would fight to keep the moon out while I tried to keep the balance... it was a losing fight. Eventually, when the fighting reached it's worse, I came to the decision to imprison her on the moon. To be honest I don't even remember how I came to that conclusion, but I did. The only problem was that I had to wait. The spell had to wait for the sun and moon to line up properly, along with my mastering the Elements of Harmony..." "How does this relate to her birthday?" I ask nervously, not liking the depressed look on Celestias face. "Well... many ponies grew to despise Luna for what she was trying to do. After the first few years... well... *sigh* many of her followers were turning her birthday into a holiday. Our forces learned this and tried to stop them... by erasing her birthday." ".... what? Is that even possible?" I ask in horror. There's no way they could do that without.... oh..." "I can see you figured it out. Yes, they sacrificed many innocent lives trying to ride the memory of her birth. I moved to stop them... but..." "Did... did they succeed?" "I stopped the spell as they were casting it. But I was still affected by it... after that, nopony would remind me of her birthday until she faced punishment. And now nopony knows except for her, and she's too... she'd never outwardly tell me I forgot because she still holds the guilt of Nightmare Moon." "Princess, this isn't your fault." I say as I step towards her. "She can't blame you for something you couldn't stop..." "Twilight, I appreciate your trying to make me feel better, but there is nothing anypony can do. The spell still lives within me. I'll wake up tomorrow and not know why we did all of this. Since I'm the only one from that time era I'm the only one who can fix it! That's why everything needs to be perfect. I need to make this the best party as possible so when I forget..." "They're coming!" Storm shouts as he runs inside and shuts off the lights. "Places everypony!" "Lets get to our spots then." Celestia says quietly as she walks into the dining room. I was about to say something but was stopped when Storm pulled me aside. "You got the party poppers?" Storm asks in a hushed tone as we wait by the wall. "Y-yeah." "Everything alright?" "Huh? Oh, yeah. Just... lost in thought I guess." I say with a reassuring smile. "Oh.. OK. Well get them ready then. Hehehe,, can't wait to see Miles' face when they walk through the door..." "You mean Lunas right?" "Huh? Oh, yeah. Hers too I guess." I roll my eyes and look back to the door, seeing their shadows approaching. "... I have to be the one who..." "SURPRISE!" "FUCK!" POP As soon as they had opened the doors we turned the lights on and jumped out. Once all of the confetti had fallen we find a surprised Luna standing in the doorway; covered in confetti with an open mouth smile. "I... I..." She stutters as she looks around the room. "Ah shucks, we..." "HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WE SING THIS SONG FOR YOU! HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HOPE YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO TODAY IS YOUR BIRTHDAY SO WE ALL CAME TO SAY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU TODAAAAY! WOO!" Pinkie sings as she dances in front of Luna, getting everypony to sing and laugh along... well, I think the laughter is more of her silly cake outfit then the song itself. "Is this really all for me?" Luna asks as she steps inside, levitating a struggling Miles in behind her. "Of course Princess! Once we found out that it was your birthday... well, when we found out your birthday passed we decided to throw this.." I start but stop when Pinkie jumps in the way. "Are you kidding! When I found out your birthday passed I made it my mission to throw you this party..." "Don't say that word..." Miles mumbles from Lunas aura. "... and to make sure everypony knew. But in all honestly you should thank the Princess. She was the one who asked for help throwing the party..." "Don't like that word." "... and to set up the distraction to set up the party..." "Starting to freak out here..." "And to get the party favors..." "P word..." "Hey Miles." Damian says as he walks up to him. " Party party party party party party..." "GO FUCK YOURSE*THUD*...... ow." Miles says to the floor. We all share a laugh as Celestia walks over to hug her sister. She whispers something to her as they begin to walk inside, getting a nod and nudge in response. As everypony begins to move about the house to start the party I step aside to make a note to investigate the spell on Celestia. I can't really understand why she was freaking out about it earlier. It shouldn't be that hard to remove. Perspective: Applejack As everypony moves about the room I head over to the desert table to eat a treat. I've been eyeing the fritters all night and I won't let Big Mac eat them all up... "Ahem." I look back to see... "Uh... howdy?" I say to the fellar standing in front of me. "Yer onea Damians friends right?" "Yeah, the names Hammer." He says with a large smile. "Hammer, ah'm Applejack." "Applejack, right. You own Sweet Apple Acres! I mean... ahem, do you like apples?" He asks as he starts to sweat a bit. "Well ah do own an apple farm." I say with a slight chuckle. "HA! HA... ahem, right. So you like apples, that's good. Because," he says as he reaches back into his backpack, "I have an apple with you name on it right here!" He says as he presents his hoof holding a pear. "..." "..." "... uh, sugarcube. That's a pear." "Right... a pear." "Sorry, but ah don't like pears..." "RIGHT! Who likes pears, pears are gross!" He says quickly as he toss the pear behind himself, hitting Rarity right in the head. "Anyway, uhm... I... WHAT'S THAT DAMIAN!? Sorry, Damian needs me.... over there so... bye!" He says before running off to his friend. I chuckle a bit from his antics as I grab a plate and... "Big Mac! Did ya eat all the fritters!?" "....MM-MM." He mumbles as he tries to finish chewing. Perspective: Rarity THWACK "AH! Who threw that?" I yell back to the ruffians as i levitate the object up. "It's a pear." Spike says as he continues to wrestle with his scarf. I toss the pear behind me and grab his scarf with my magic, wrapping it neatly around his neck. "Thanks." "I must say II wish you had a little something more to go with that scarf, you'd simply look dashing with a jacket of some kind." "Well... Miles did say that he'd like for me to start to wear clothes around him. Apparently he finds it odd for me to walk around naked. I don't really get..." "IDDEAAA!" I cheer as a thought hits me. "You and Miles must come by my boutique tomorrow... or maybe the next day." I say as I look out at the night sky. "Uh... ok. Why?" "You'll find out when you get there. Now tell me more about your studies." I ask him, getting a charming grin in response. "Well, we just finished up barriers and elemental manipulations...." Perspective: Fluttershy "EEP!" I scream as Pinkie pushes me down. "W-why did you do that?" "My hoof was itchy, and you know what that means." Pinkie says as she helps me back up. "Um..." "it means a fruit is being thrown about the room and I should make sure that it doesn't hit Fluttershy, DUH!" "Oh, thank you then?" "Don't mention it! Now lets get some more punch! LA LA LA LA LA LAA." She cheers as she frolics to the back. I just smile and follow after her, not wanting her to run off alone. That would be just rude. I see Big Mac standing at the punch table talking with... one of the Spartan ponies, so I try to stick to Pinkies other side. It's not that I don't want to talk with Big Mac, I just don't want to interrupt his conversation. "Shy." Dammit. "Why doncha come here real quick, ah want ya ta meet somepony." "Be right there. Excuse me Pinkie." I walk over to Big Mac's side and try not to stare into the others stallions eyes. "Um.... h-hello. I'm... Fluttershy..." "Fluttershy huh?" The pegasus practically yells. "Nice to meet you. I'm Night Fury." "..." "So... how are you liking the party?" He asks. I look over to Big mac for help, only to get a nudge from him. "I... well... I like it. The good thing about Miles' parties is that they're always toned down..." "Yeah, it's pretty dull. But I guess that's good. So.... how long have you and Big Mac been married?" "Um... a... a year and a half..." "Wow.... so... any idea who threw this pear?" He asks as he presents the pear. "..." "I think I'm going to try some of the cake. I'll see you later Big Mac." "Eeyup." "It was nice meeting you Fluttershy." "You to." I mumble as I try to hide behind Big Mac. Once he finally leaves I sigh in relief and nudge Big Mac. "Why did you have meet him? You know how I get when I meet new ponies." "Eeyup. But ah wanted to see what ya think about 'im." "Well... he seemed... alright. Why do you ask?" "Ah don't like his motives. Ah want ta keep an eye on him, especially when Storm is in the room." He says as he looks back to Night Fury. "Do you really think he'll try to do something to him?" "MMaybe. Ah don't right know." Perspective: Night Fury I walk over to the kitchen counter and set the pear down as I eye the cake. It's a triple layer chocolate cloud cake.... soo.... good... "Oh my god Damian, what happened to you?" I look over to see a yellow mare talking to Damian as she pokes at his body. "Spartan training... are... are you OK?" She tenses up as she starts to feel up his arms. Damian just smiles as he begins to flex for her, getting her to bite onto her hoof. "Why do you have to be so sexy and gay." I choke a bit as I try to hold back my laughter. I walk over and approach the mare, trying to be as suave as possible. "Hi there, names Night Fury." I say as I step in front of Damian. "Hey!" "Not gay, single and cut the way you like it." I say as I flex a bit, getting her to bite even harder onto her hoof. "Uh... I... hey Damian, I need to borrow you real quick!" She asks quickly as she runs over and yanks him into the living room. I sigh a bit as walk back to the counter. She's probably going to ask him about me in which he's going to tell her a bunch of shit. *sigh* I forgot, I'm not allowed to be happy. In anger I grab the pear and throw it aside before storming out the back door. I need some fresh air. Perspective: Dust Devil THWACK "OW!" I yell as a pear smacks me right in the face. I toss it aside and rub my snout. "Who's throwing pears?" True Will asks as he looks around the crowded living room. "Uh, damn thing made me swallow my gum." I groan as I pull a new piece out and stick it into my mouth. "What's with you and gum?" "What do you mean?" "Well... I can't really think of a moment when you aren't chewing gum. Any reason why?" I just chuckle at the question as I sit back it the chair. "Sorry, but personal questions only get answered on dates. So unless you're asking me out you'll just have to sit in the dark." I say as I nudge him a bit. He just rolls his eyes and gets up from his seat. I sigh a bit as I continue chewing my gum, enjoying the fresh taste in my mouth. "Well that was straight forward." Miles says as he takes a seat next to me. He takes a long drink from his glass before asking, "when do you plan on asking him out?" "WHAT?!" I yell as I nearly fall out of my seat. "What makes you think I want to date him?" "Because I'm good at this game. Wanna talk about it?" He asks as he takes another drink. "How many of those have you had?" "Enough to not want to run away. Why is he so stoic and shit? Total buzz kill." She says as he finishes off his glass. "Well, I've only heard rumors, but apparently he's trying to redeem himself for something..." "Well no shit. I could of told you that. It is his cause." He says as he tries to take a drink from his empty glass. "From what I heard he was a slave in a Minotaur trading group but was sold to a mercenary group, that's where he met Lily. They were... well, one day he's suppose to take a group out to explore some ruins. At the last second he decides to call off the mission and head back to camp... that's where everything went wrong." "About as wrong as an empty glass?" He asks as he eyes the bottom of his cup. "Some say it was the Ursas, others say it was just a group of marauders. I don't believe either. The Ursas wen't big enough to even dream of taking them on and the marauders would never attack them at their base. All that anypony can say is that True Will was the only one to walk out of that base, and that he walked out a changed pony..." "You know what. Fuck it." Miles says as he slams his glass down and drapes an arm around me. "Quit fucking around and grow a pair..." "I'm a mare..." "If you really do like him then just fucking go for it. What's the worse that could happen?" "Rejection and humiliation..." "Nothin! He says yes, he says no, either way you get your answer and get to move on with life. Don't dwell on something if it isn't going to happen, that's just wasted energy." He says before he raises his hand to his mouth. "Who the fuck took my drink?" "Hm... thanks Miles. I think I'll do it." I say as I stand up, getting Miles to fall onto my seat. "Do what?" "Ask him out." "Don't do that!" "But you just said..." "If you ask him out now he'll only say no, even if he feels something for you. He hurts too much about... something to let anyone close. You need to chip away at that wall he put up before doing something like that." He says as he stumbles to his feet. "But..." "Now if you excuse me, I have to find the fucker who took my drink. Later Dust." He says as he stumbles away. "*sigh* later." Perspective: Luna This has been the best birthday in eons. It may have been small, but everypony has made up for that in heart. Everypony has already given me their gifts so now I just wait for Celestia's. She's been nervous during the entire party, but that's OK. It was worth it just to get her here... and to eat four pieces of cake. "OK, so...." She starts but stops almost immediately. "So." I lead in. "*sigh* well, my gift to you is tomorrow we'll spend the entire day together. I've cancelled all of my meetings and informed the guard of our intentions. We'll fo everything you want to do." She says, ending with a nervous smile. I smile back to her as I pull her in for a tight hug. "I couldn't ask for a better gift." I whisper to her, getting her to hug me back. "Thank you sister." "I'm so sorry for forgetting your birthday Luna..." "It's OK big sister. I forgive you. I understand, with my imprisonment and the way the world has been lately, I understand." "... yes, well... I... we can talk more about it tomorrow. Right now I think it's time for us to head home. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." "Okay. Lets head home then." We stand and tell everypony our goodbyes. Miles passed out on the couch a while ago, so when Celestia wasn't looking I gave him a kiss on the cheek and thanked him for the night. He shuffles in his sleep as he starts to wake, but I leave him be as I follow Celestia out. With a flash from her horn we teleport back to our balconies. I was about to go inside when a thought came to mind. I charge my horn for a moment before teleporting into Celestias room, falling onto her large bed. With a large bounce I go into the air and fall right to the floor. Luckily my face caught me though, I guess it's pay back for dropping Miles. "Luna? Is something wrong?" Celestia asks me as she sets her necklace and tiara aside. "You said we'd spend the entire day together, well that include the night. Now are you coming to bed or not?" I ask as I start to remove all of my own jewelry; all except for the bracelet Miles made me. "But... I guess you're right. Just try to not knock me off, you tend to move around a lot in your sleep." She says as she walks over and gets under the covers. I twist around until I'm underneath as well, where I snuggle up to Tia and get comfy. "I'll try.... sister?" "Yes?" "I have... a request of you." I ask nervously. "What is it? A glass of water, a pillow, or..." "Can you hold me the way you did when I was little? Remember? I was sick and it was raining so you..." "I remember. And of course I can, thought you are much larger then before." She says as she wraps a wing around me and lays her head against mine. I sigh from the secure feeling of her warmth, snuggling against her some more before closing my eyes. "Hm, remember the time you were caught stealing?" "I do, and I also remember NOT being the one stealing." She says with a chuckle. "I miss those simple days sometimes sister. Back when all we had to worry about was the two of us." "I do to, but we have responsibilities now. Those days will always stay memories for us now." She tells me as she starts to fall asleep. "Yeah... but at least we can still afford moments like these." I say as I start to drift off. After sleep takes hold of Celestia I levitate her tiara over and feed some energy into it, making the picture of Miles and my parents appear. "Mom.... Dad... I.... it's been another year. You wouldn't believe the things that have happened. Fights, memories, nations.... love. Tia finally remembered my birthday to... I can still remember when they tried to erase that day from history. Though all I remember was wanting to hang all those who wanted to try to do it... I can't believe how much everything has changed within this year... heck, these past few months. I just hope that you'd approve of everything I've done. Maybe... maybe you would, maybe you wouldn't, but I'd still make them. If I hadn't... I don't know where I'd be right now... Tomorrow is our big day together. I can't wait. I'm not sure what we'll do, but as long as we're together I'm sure we'll have fun no matter what. I'm sure Celestia will try to keep things modest but... I just want a day to be care free with my sister. We hardly spend time together now and... I feel as if we're drifting away. Hopefully this day will fix that. Mom... Dad... I wish I had the chance to get to know the two of you better. There are so many things I wish I could ask the two of you... so many... questions... Love you both... night...." Perspective: Celestia "Me to Luna... me to." Author's Note Just a little notice, this chapter and another one (either next one or one after) has some very crucial stuff in it. Can you guess what? Chapter 163 Emerald City: Of Faith And LoyaltyChapter 163 Emerald City: Of Faith And Loyalty My alarm goes off before sunrise, though I was still awake when it did. I couldn't sleep; I ended up burning a pillow and nearly choked on it. I turn the alarm off and get back to the work I was doing in the room. One last gift for my love before I leave. I shutter at the thought. I can't imagine what this will do to Luna. She'll be broken again, this much I'm sure of. With a final scratch against the wall I step back and admire my work. It might have been stupid to use magic for it, but it was worth it. My return home was made silently. No one talked to me, and I didn't talk to anyone. Judging by the looks on the guards faces, I figure they put one and one together. they just stood in their stations and watched the dead man walk. I make it to the top of the mountain where I pause to look back. The sun is starting to break over the horizon, sending large golden rays over the land. FLASH I step out into my closet and go straight for my armor, putting it on quickly. I grab my rifle and jump a little when the base enchantment activates. I guess with my hands constantly flaring... I grab the rest of my weapons and make my way downstairs. Lupus and Hati stand before me, eyeing me nervously as I head into the kitchen. I grab whatever's left in the fridge and eat quietly, Lupus and Hati begging as usual. "Come on," I say to them as I stand and head to the back door and open it. "Time for you two to go." They look up to me and tilt their heads, as if asking why? "I can't... it's just time. You need to go." They lower their heads and lay their ears flat, unsure of what to do. "FINE! Just stand there! I don't fucking care!" I yell as I leave the door and slump into a chair. They both run to me and start licking at my face, trying to cheer me up. "My, my, my. Such anger you have there. I wonder what it is you bear," says a low rhythmic voice from my side. I look over to see a black and white pony standing there. Her hair, colored like her body, stands up in a full mow hawk. Her mark seems to be a glyph of some kind, I can't really make it out. "Who are you?" I ask as I try to use my arms to push the wolves away, with little success. "I am Zecora of the Everfree, and may I ask who might you be?" she asks, rhyming again. "Miles Eremita..." I say slowly as she walks in and takes a seat beside me. "Why are.." "My home has met some strange devastation, now I wait for the forest to start its propagation," she says as she motions out back. "You lived in the Everfree... sorry about that. I didn't mean for that level of destruction to happen..." "I am quite sure you are. I was lucky to have been so far. I was away with family, thus I escaped this tragedy, But, now I must ask and forgive me for being brash, what will you do now that you are doomed to turn to ash?" "How did..." I start but look at my hands. "Right." "Everything alright in..... here?" says some guy as he walks in and looks to me. He's a unicorn, but is striped like Zecora, only difference is that he's green. His hair is a light silver, with a streak of royal blue, and reach down just past his knees. He stares at me with those white, grey hued eyes until he moves over to Zecora's side. "Everything is alright Fayte, though I'm afraid our trip from Hayte was...." "Are you the guy responsible for our home being destroyed?" he asks, cutting off Zecora by sticking a hoof in her mouth. "Yes, and I take full responsibility for what happened. Please use my home for sanctuary until we figure something out," I say as I finally get Lupus and Hati to finally end their licking assault. "Shukrani nyingi kwa wewe mtu mzuri, and please take care of my nephew on your journey." Zecora says.... in some other language as she pulls his hoof out of her mouth. {swahili} "Wait..." "I'm the new leader of the Merc group the Ursa’s have sent. The rest of my group is out front waiting to move out," Fayte tells me as Zecora looks away, obviously troubled by this. "Oh... we can move out once the rest of my group shows up," I tell him as a question suddenly leaps from my mouth. "Why does she rhyme?" Zecora opens her mouth to answer, only to get Fayte to stick his hoof in her mouth again. "She's a shaman. It's a tradition of ours that she was raised with. You get used to it," he tells me as Zecora folds her arms and waits for the hoof to be removed from her mouth. "Okay... well, we've got some time. Let’s go meet the others," I say as I stand. We walk out to the front where we find the rest of the group standing around a large canvassed wagon. It has a name written on the side, but I don't know what it says. When Fayte steps out they all line up and salute, waiting for orders. "Snow Bound, Purple Edge, you're still here," I say as I walk up to them. "Yup! We figure since we made it once, what can– *SMACK*." "Don't finish that Snow Bound," Purple Edge says as he returns to a normal stance. "We've got a job to finish, and we plan to." "You know the dangers, so I won't stop you," I tell them as I move to the next person. He's a griffin with white feathers that end in blue. He seems to have no talons and a massive scar going up his left forearm. His left eye is pitch black, devoid of any color, while his left eye is constellation of different colors, predominantly being different blues. But that's not what concerns me. What concerns me is the peace spirit floating above him. "I'm Aurane, the group’s medic..." "What the fuck," I mutter as the spirit floats down to look me over. "Uh... it's nice to meet you too?" he asks as he looks to the others. "Tum etiam Latinis dicis?" I ask the spirit. "Nimirum." It responds before phasing into Aurane...... Okay, I thought this kind of shit happened with Damian, the fuck? "Um... were you... talking to my guardian angel?" he asks in astonishment, looking to Fayte in excitement. "Dude, he talked to my..." "Unless angel is another word for spirit, no. I've seen that kind of.... thing, before...." "Are you a part of that group of those goggle wearing ponies? They tried talking to it as well, but..." "Goggles? Huh, I'm surprised they didn't try to erase your memory..." I mutter as I move to the next person. "My name is Beomere Lonefeather!" yells the griffin as he thumps his silver naginata against the ground. He seems to look like your average griffin, with the exception of a scar going up his back right leg. "I'm ready to..." "Uh huh. Next," I say as I walk past him. I can hear him growl to me, but I ignore it as I size up the next person. "I'm... Black Foxx," the dark grey pegasus says as he glances to the others. He's covered in scars. His wings, chest, legs, all having some kind of wound. Whatever his cutie mark used to be, it’s gone, hidden beneath a large scorch mark. He runs a hoof down the length of his hair, following the green streak, and tries to avoid my gaze. "So... I'm the explosives expert..." "And who is this?" I ask as I approach the last person, a ash grey pegasus with spiky, dark blue hair. He looks up to through narrowed eyes, barely showing the golden hue, before huffing a bit. "AfterTouch, recon," he states simply. "Pun intended." ".... what pun?" I ask, only getting a smug smile from him. "Right, anyways. Time for my warning. Look, you come on you own free will, this is going to be dangerous. Some of you will die. Some quick and painless, others... not so lucky. Turn back..." "WE NEVER TURN BACK FROM A FIGHT!" Beomere yells, getting a cheer from his comrades. "It was nice knowing...." "Miles!" My necklace suddenly erupts with noise as it shakes violently. The sound of fire and pained screams blasts through it as I take it and try to listen to whoever is trying to contact me. "GO FOR MILES! IDENTIFY!" I yell into the pendant. "Miles! We... fingers! Th.... wiggle!" I try to listen to it, but he keeps breaking up. "Damian! Hold it down!" "Miles!" Damian yells, loud and clear now. "They wiggle! It's hot! And it... HAMMER! Quit taking pictures!" "Damian, you aren't making any sense. Are you in trouble? Where are you?" I ask, looking to all of the confused faces. "Wait, Miles! Why do they shrink!?" SM-SM-SMACK Everyone flinches from hearing the sound of multiple smacks. Damian goes quiet for a second, the sound of people screaming in pain and fires roaring dying as he lets go of the necklace.... only to have it all come back a few seconds later. "Miles." CC starts, "sorry about that. Don't worry about us, Damian was just being an idiot, as usual. Glad to see you're up now..." "CC, where are you? Do you need..." "No! No, we're fine. Everything is... relatively... we can handle this. Maybe," she reassures me as I hear Damian, Patches, and Hammer yell in agony. "WAIT WAIT WAIT! There's a guy here who has a peace spirit in him...." "Aurane? Yeah, we know about him. Don't worry, that peace spirit just likes him for some reason. That, and he thinks it's an angel so... yeah, over and out! Don't come looking for us!" And with that, my necklace falls silent. Everyone stays quiet, trying to piece together what just happened. "Wh..." "It was Damian, so I'll just leave it at that." I say as I drop the necklace back under my shirt and go back to addressing the Mercs. "Like I was saying, you've probably heard from Snow Bound and Purple Edge, this isn't going to be easy. Don't get cocky." I look past the mercs to see my group approaching, so I excuse myself and go to greet them. "Miles," Storm says as we all come to a stop together. We share a quiet moment before I nod to them. "Are we ready?" I ask. "We have the train tickets to Appleoosa, we leave in twenty minutes," Twilight informs me as she levitates me a paper slip I go to take it, but stop myself when I notice I would burn it. "Uh.... a little help," I say as I wave my hand. Twilight nods and holds onto it for me. "Let’s go..." "Actually, can we have a moment Miles?" Storm asks as he steps aside. "Sure, the locker is open, so go ahead and grab whatever gear you need," I tell the girls as I follow after Storm. We step off the path and wait for everyone to be out of earshot. "What was it that you needed to talk to me about?" "Well.... I...uh... I'm..." He fights with his words as he tries to force the sentence out, but I already know what he's going to say. "Storm," I say, getting him to stop and look to me. "It's going to be alright. You will be an excellent Captain..." "But there's so much I still don't know!" he yells as he steps towards me, panicking. "I know the rulings, but... I'm afraid I'll a bad decision that could cost lives. How do you do it? How do you know what decisions to make and how can you tell if they're the right ones! I–" "Storm," I say simply, getting him to stop again. "Just do what is right, and you will be a good leader. You know everything you need to know and you're a good person. Just put your trust in your instincts and your training, and you will do great things. I know it." He takes a deep breath as he nods, looking at the ground as he tries to come to terms with this. "I'll do my best," he tells me as he looks up to me. "That's all I could ever ask. Now lets go find the others already. I'm not gone yet." He nods slowly, wincing slightly from what I said, as we head over over to my backyard. We arrive in time to see Rarity unveil her gift to everyone, armored clothes. The remind me of ponified dusters and are camouflaged, each one color coated to the person they belong to. As the five of them put on their clothing, I feel Pinkie’s. It's tough; not strong enough to stop a bullet, but probably enough to stop knives. It's better than nothing I guess. We begin to head head out. I had to tell Big Mac that he was staying behind. We probably won't be coming back, and he needs to watch his farm.He was pissed, but he complied. We make it to the train station just in time. The conductor was a little apprehensive, but didn't stop the massive group of armed people. We take up an entire cart and wait as the train begins to roll out. Night Fury is sitting in front of me.... which brings up a question I've had for awhile. "Hey Night Fury," I call, getting his attention. "Remember when you were a guard, and you blackmailed me to get you training?" "Uh.... yeah, why?" "Well, the deal was for fifty people to take the training, and you were the only one to show up. Why?" He chuckle a bit as he looks back out the window, smiling to himself. "They were too scared. I warned them about what could happen and asked who was brave enough... then you showed up that night and stared Celestia down, making demands and what not. Well, it got to them. Not to mention that they've seen what Spartans could do. I guess they put one and one together." "Guards," I mutter as I look out the window, getting a laugh from him. The train gets moving and we all wait. Some idle chatter goes around, mercs speaking with my friends. Ends up Pinkie knows Aurane. I wasn't surprised, Pinkie seems to know an endless amount of people. I kept to myself, feeling tired. With a final glance around the room, I lean against the wall and allow myself to drift off to sleep. I'm sure I'll be needing it. ~=O=~ I'm running down a dark grey hall. At the end is a bright light with dark figures standing in the light. I look behind me to see a darkness rapidly approaching me. I'm running as fast as I can, but with every step I take, the light gets farther away as the darkness rapidly approaches. "Miles..." I look back to the darkness to see black arms shoot out and take hold of me, grabbing my legs and arms and wrapping all around my waist and chest. I twist and pull as I try to escape but I can't break free. I fall to the ground and begin to be dragged into the darkness. I scream and scratch at the ground as I try to grab hold of anything to stop being pulled in but I soon find myself in the dark abyss... "Miles!" I look up to see Luna fly down and flare her horn, causing a blinding light to take over. I blink a few times before realizing that whatever had taken me is gone now. I sit up and look around, finding myself in the dark corridor with Luna. "Geez Miles, what was that?" she asks as she walks over and hugs me. "Luna?" I ask in confusion. I've never had a dream terror quiet like this before. "What's going on?" "You were having a nightmare. I came in to try and help. What has you so troubled?" she asks as she lets go of me, giving me a peck on the cheek as she does so. "I... well.... I always have dreams like these when I feel... when I feel as if I can't help people. How are you in my dream?" "As the ruler of the night I take charge over night time dealings. I can search out the dreamscape and aid my ponies when they are troubled. Most of the time it’s just foals scared of the monsters under their beds, but every now and agEEP!" she yells as I suddenly tackle her in another hug. This is literally as close I'm going to get."M-Miles! I knew you were troubled, but..." "Luna." I say as I hold her tightly. "I... well... something happened. Something big." I tell her, getting her to push me away. She takes a long look at me before going wide eyed. "It's starting.... isn't it?" she asks quietly. "I'm so sorry. I thought I had more time..." "It's going to be alright," she says as she pulls me into her soft embrace. "It's going to be Okay." She begins to stroke my back and hum a tune as she rocks side to side. "Luna... I'm scared." I admit as I hold her. "I don't know what's going to happen. I don't want to leave when there is so much to do. I don't want to leave you alone again. What..." "Shhh." She says in a nurturing tone. "Miles, we've been readying to face this for awhile now. We need to be strong for everypony now. Do you know how long you have? Any guesses?" "No... I have no clue. We've already started to move to Emerald City. Everyone wants to blitz the cities, but..." "That's good. Go to them Miles. We can take care of everything else, you just focus on following your friends...." "But... what if I slip into the void before the end? What happens then? I want to see you again, for real." "Then we'll meet up as soon as possible. All we can do is be faithful that you will see this to the end. Fortis sit, amica mea." She says in a soothing tone, holding me lovingly. "Vobiscum, semper," I tell her as I return the affection. We spend the entire remainder of my dream together, holding each other. The entire time she was strong for me, letting me be weak. As I feel her begin to fade away we share a kiss. What could be our last kiss. ~=O=~ Perspective: Regina I hum a happy tune as I head to Luna’s bed chambers. I need somepony to be my wingmate for... "MIIIIIIILLLLEEES NOOOOO!" I jump a bit when I hear her scream. I run to her door and crash through it, looking for whatever the trouble is. Luna's laying on the ground crying. She completely going hysterical as she keeps yelling his name. "Luna! What's the matter? What happened?" I ask as I approach her. She doesn't respond. Instead she grab me and pulls me in for a tight hug, practically choking me. I just return the hug and wait for her to calm down. Whatever it is, it can't be good. ............................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Storm I jolt awake when the train begins to screech to a halt. Looking over Twilight, I glance out the window to see dark clouds raining down on Appleoosa. I let go of Twilight and nudge her a bit to wake her as everypony else begins to wake as well. "We're here," I whisper to her. She looks out the window and nods slowly, climbing off the bench and stretching a bit. I get up and crack a few bones before we all file out into the cold rain. Miles smiles a bit from the water, but keeps control. Our hooves sink into the muddy road of Appleoosa as we make our way down Main street. Everything is quiet, most ponies looking through windows as our entourage makes its way to the end of Main street. Twilight and Miles look over a map, trying to pinpoint exactly where to go. I look over to see the town's sheriff stepping out of his office and watch us closely. Nopony here seems to want to interact with us, but that's for the best. We don't need the distractions. With our marker set, we head out of town. Our destination is about a mile out of town to the west. Far to the north we can see a flash flood tearing through the landscape. Luckily it isn't heading for the town, but it's still a bit concerning. Mile’s is steaming right now, leaving a trail of light smoke behind as he leads us through the wet desert. "OK. Gather around so we can head down." Miles says as he stops. "Pun intended," AfterTouch says, giggling to himself. "Why do you keep saying that?!" Miles snaps at him. "Pun in–" "GAH! Nevermind." Miles says as he waves his arms and starts sending us through the earth. We would have protested, but then we wouldn't be able to get to the city. "Think you can learn to move earth like him?" I ask Twilight as we travel deeper and deeper into the earth. "Well.... not quickly enough," she tells me, lowering her head a bit. I nudge her shoulder and give her a reassuring smile, one she returns. She leans against me and rests her head against mine as we wait to reach the city. I pull a wing up and drape it around her, hugging her lightly. I do feel a lot better knowing that Twilight has armor now, even if it's only light. That, along with her Medi-gun, should help keep her safe.... and the others too I guess. "Tired?" I ask her quietly. "A bit, I guess. More restless than anything else. I don't like not knowing what's down there," she tells me as she lets more of her weight onto me. "Hey," Rainbow mutters to us as she steps a little closer. "Isn't there a way to help Miles with this? Like, could you do it? Or at least help feeding the spell to take some of the pressure..." "Twilight's magic works differently than mine." Miles says, gaining everypony’s attention. "Mines stronger and more suited for tasks like this. Twilights is better suited for focused individual spells, at least from what I've observed." We stay quiet as we continue to travel through the earth. There wasn't much to say after that. THUNK After about an hour or two we finally make it to the city. We we're a little off, hitting part of the dome, but at least we found it. Miles carves a path towards the closest door and we all prepare ourselves for what's inside. All of the mercs draw their blades as we raise our guns, waiting for some monstrosity to charge through the bulkhead. Miles walks up to the door with the golden staff thing and glances back to us, judging whether or not we're ready. "RAH!" he yells as he slams the staff into the door, causing the magic to course through the metal and force it open. Miles sheaths the staff and waits for the doors to open, seeming almost too aloof to the situation. I let out a long breath as the doors reach the top, and we stare into the darkness of the city. The light from Miles hands lets us see the road before us, but there is absolutely nothing else besides utter darkness. "HEEELLO!" Beomere yells, getting a long, drawn out echo in response. Everyone snaps at him to shut up, but he ignores them as he marches into the city. "The fight is this way." We all look to one another before following after him. Call it luck or a cruel reminder of fate, but whenever Miles would near one of the light posts, they would come to life. I guess he's bleeding so much energy it just... feeds them. I'm going to call it luck. It's less depressing. With the lights coming to life as we walk in, we get a glimpse of what happened to the city. To put it simply, war. Bullet holes, scorch marks, areas of magical use.... war time posters, all dotting the buildings We keep quiet, but we know what happened here. What confuses me though are the posters. Some say “Vive la revolution!” and show a depiction of a fist holding a paintbrush and dagger in red, blue, and white. While others say 'Obedire!' and show a drawing of a man sitting on a throne, detailed in red black and white. After seeing the hundredth one I decide to grab one to check it out, but it ends up that they're enchanted into the wall. "What's up with the posters?" I finally ask Miles. He stop and walks over to me, looking over the poster with a bitter expression. "King Ferrum Pugni must of been pissed when these were made, huh," he says with disinterest before continuing down the road. Everypony glances to one another before walking after him. Rainbow walks up beside me and motions for me to press the matter, but I shake my head. If he doesn't want to talk about it, then I won't ask about it. Too bad Rainbow doesn't think the same way. "Captain," She says as she trots forward to walk alongside with him, "what do you know about this city?" "This is Emerald City, the capital of Terradisia. Home the brightest minds and strongest backs. The gem of scientific advancement and last beacon of humanity," Miles says as if he's said it a thousand times before, completely rehearsed. Dash tilts her head in confusion before pressing the matter some more. "Uh... OK. So, do you know what happened here? Why are there all of these posters? What do they mean and..." "Spartans!" he yells as he turns suddenly and stands beside a destroyed wall. "Let's test your knowledge. What can you tell me about this wall?" We all look to each other in confusion before stepping forward to inspect it. The wall goes to a two story building, but has much of the top right blown off. What's left of the wall has a row of small holes in it, about four feet up and going the entire length of the wall. "The wall was destroyed with magic," I say aloud as I look it over. "You can tell because of the lack of burns from it. It's also a little perfect in its destruction. Somepony wanted it that way." "Good, good, what else." Miles muses as he stands before the wall. "The... the grouping of the bullet holes suggests that... there was an execution here," Dust Devil adds quietly. "Right, anything else?" Miles asks. Everypony stay quiet, either because they know what happened, or they don't want to. "Those are five, five, six rounds." True Will adds stoically. "Right, and what rounds did the Unfamiliar use?" Miles asks. "Seven, six-two." "And Terradisia?" "Five, five, six." "So Rainbow Dash, we have a wall destroyed with human magic, an execution with human weapons, and two rivaling human political parties. What happened here?" Miles asks as he stands before Rainbow Dash. She looks away from him as she tries to understand something, muttering quietly to herself. "How?" "how wh...." "How could your people be fighting each other!? You were under attack from the Unfamiliar, how could they have attacked one another like this? It doesn't make any sense! How could they have been so...." "Loyal?" Miles finishes, cutting her off. "L-Loyal? I'm sorry sir, but I don't understand that," she tells him, stepping forward. "Loyal to who?" "That, is the million credit question." He says before he begins to walk off. Angered, Rainbow flies after him and lands right in his path, where she waits for an answer. "*sigh* what killed this city, was a mixture of two loyalties. One to the king, and one to the Mundusque a mente, the revolutionist group. The Pure of Mind. To understand this, you have to understand Terradisian culture. Our culture, was the culture of not having a culture. Art was deemed too great a cause and was destroyed during the Purge. What was left was outlawed by penalty of death. People thought that art would corrupt our minds and kill us with new, weaker ways of thinking. So, if anyone was caught playing music, making sculptures, drawing, or anything “art” related, they were arrest and put in jail for life. Seditious work would be gathered and destroyed. Anyone caught teaching any of these works would be executed, and... well, you can see what happened when you try to revolt." "I don't get it," Twilight says as she steps forward, "you can draw. You've taken an art class before. You can sculpt and your phone is full of music. How..." "Topaz Falls was a very left minded city. Especially with all of the refugees from Diamond Halls, people started to question the morals of the old ways. For the longest time we were at peace. So, with no danger, people started to question the old morals. In the end, you were either an Animus Liber or a Custos antiquis. Left or right." "Which side were you?" Rainbow Dash asks. He lets out a long sigh as he looks back to the wall. "Captain?" "I... was undecided." "What? How could you not have decided? It's pretty obvious which side was...." "Let me remind you, Rainbow Dash, that it was left minded thinking that got Luna’s and Celestia’s father killed. I was a soldier of Terradisia, and as such, I would have to answer her call..." "So you would have killed your own people! Captain that's–" "I don't know what I would have done!" He snaps back at her. "If a man robs a store owner to feed his family, where is the moral in cutting off his hand? I was trained to follow orders, yet taught to question them. This is the call of a Spartan. To stand aside, unbiased, and make the tough decisions! This is what you have been trained for! This is what we fight for! Do I condemn these blind morals? No! But will I fight for what I believe is right, yes! If you say left, and someone else says right, then who is to determine what is moral and immoral?" "There's a difference when it involves life!" Rainbow yells back, flaring her wings in anger. "Your right to swing your hoof ends at the other ponies nose!" "What gives you the right to swing your hoof? For every positive there must be a negative, no matter how small or large. If we have no right to harm others then how can we protect them? Sometimes, you have to give freedom in order to earn it. There is no perfect answer for these questions Rainbow Dash. There will always be someone to argue the other side, and some even more willing to fight for it. It's the nature of life." "Then how can the Spartans be just? Is there even justice in a system meant for war? Are there no loyalties for us?" "... No, there aren't. Loyalty to a single ideal is a freedom we gave up in order to protect them. Sometimes, the right choice is hard to make. In the heat of things left and right can become disorientated But that doesn't mean we are immoral people. There is a reason we wait to act. We will never allow something like this to happen to our people again." "It's history," Twilight finishes, gaining our attention. "Celestia once told me that the greatest teacher, is history. That if you don't learn from it, understand why things happened, you're doomed to repeat it." "Those are some very wise words." I tell Twilight, getting a smile from her. "We have the luxury of seeing the aftermath of this fight. Let's not waste the lesson learned here." Rainbow nods in agreement, still obviously troubled by what happened here. "Uh... if you guys are done, I think we found a survivor." Fayte says as he steps out from one of the buildings. We all perk up from this and rush into the building. A survivor? Here? I... I don't know how to process this... another human. Here. Alive.. We follow Fayte inside where he shows us to a utility closet. We all sigh in disappointment when he shows us the black bot standing there. "That's not a person, that's a machine." Miles says as he walks away, just as disappointed as the rest of us. "But it looks like him... kind of." Black Foxx says as he follows after Miles. "I...In....Int....." We all look over as the bot begins to slowly step out of the closet. All of the mercs gawk at it as it takes slow jerky steps, but the rest of us just watch unamused. We've seen plenty of these attack us.... wait a minute... "LOOK OUT!" I yell as I tackle the bot. "INTRUDER DETECTED!" It yells as I feel the chest plates slide open. Thinking quickly, I push it to the window and toss it out... BOOM I barely had enough time to duck as the thing explodes just outside the window. A few bits of shrapnel make their way inside, but nothing lethal. I pick myself up and look over to everypony, checking to see if they're OK. I can't see anything. The only light is coming from the window, thanks to Miles. "Anypony..." I start but stop when I hear a loud cracking noise. I look out the window to see large cracks forming on the road, separating Miles and Black Foxx from us. We look to each other for a second before the road suddenly crumbles beneath him. The light fades away as Miles and Black Foxx fall to the next level. "MILES!" I yell through the darkness. "Can somepony make a light for us already?" Aurane asks. Fayte, Twilight and Rarity all charge their horns at the same time, making the room shine brightly. Twilight runs to the window and looks down in an attempt to find him. "I can go down there to look for him." Rainbow offers. "I'll assist to help heal him and Black Foxx." Aurane adds. "The rest of us should..." "GET OUT!" Twilight yells as she flares her horn. I look out the window and nearly trip over myself at the sight of a tall building falling towards me. Twilight lit a shield around our building, but I'm not sure if it'll hold against that. Everypony turns and runs out the back of the building, some leaping through windows. Everypony with wings takes to the air, grabbing those who don't along with them. I wrap my arms around Twilight’s waist and lift her into the air just in time. The ground below us crumbles away as the building slams into Twilights shield. She flinches from the hard hit and drops the spell. "Are you OK?" I ask her, getting a slow nod and she continues to wince from it. The road below us crumbles completely as building after building crumbles. Nearly three blocks worth of structures fall to the ground, burying Miles and Black Foxx. "Everypony OK?" Fayte calls out as Aurane holds him up. Everypony sounds off, the worst case being Pinkie Pie biting her tongue. "Alright, we need to split up then. Group one will head down to the ruble and look for Miles and Black Foxx while the other half heads to the objective..." "I'll lead the group that's going to the P.C.H. I know what it is we're looking for." I tell him, getting a slow nod. "Alright every..." "Hello?" Miles asks through every Spartans necklace asks. "This is Miles, is everyone alright?" "Miles!" I yell back to him and I grab my necklace. "Everypony here is alright..." "Tell that to my tongue!" "... where are you? Are you alright?" I ask, ignoring Pinkie. "Yeah, I'm good. Black Foxx is dead though." This hits all of the mercs pretty hard. For the rest of us.... it doesn't seem to affect us. Though that notion makes me cringe. "A-alright. We'll come get you..." "Negative. I can get myself out of here. Go meet me at the P.C.H. I'll be there as quickly as possible." "If you need us, call," I tell him. "Got it, over and out." I look back to the others before quietly flying towards the general direction of the P.C.H. II know a death should be troubling, at least to the girls, but they seem fine. Some, other then Pinkie, are even smiling! That isn't right. "Are you OK?" Twilight asks me quietly. "*sigh* I don't know. Everypony seems perfectly fine that somepony died. I know for the Spartans and I it should be fine, but... you don't seem even fazed by it." I tell her as I hold her closer. "Well, I'll be honest, it doesn't. But... well..." "What?" "OK, this is just a theory of mine that I shared with the girls and we all agree with it. But... well... he was the explosives expert." She says coyly. "... so?" "I know it's only been a few cities, but in every one the explosives expert dies. I don't know..." "Hey, others died too you know!" Snow Bound defends. "Yeah, I know. But... I mean, look at the track record now...." "Hey, Black Foxx was a good pony and deserves better than this!" Purple Edge adds, silencing Twilight. The rest of the trip to the P.C.H. was made in complete, awkward silence. We could have walked, but flight was faster. When we make it the the steps to the building we all land and walk inside. It's a Mico station, just like the other ones. Only, in the center of this room is a military computer sitting under another light. It's still powered, so we all huddle near it and begin to relax a bit. As we all eat breakfast the mercs sit with themselves, giving Twilight the stink eye from time to time. Every time Twilight would make eye contact with them, she would mince and lower her head. I hold her close with a wing as I try to shield her from the resentment. Even if it's sadly true, it was a bit too soon. As we started packing up the sound of crumbling catches our attention. We all look back to see a hole form in the ground. A few second later, Miles walks out. "Miles!" we all yell as we run up to greet him. I stop and look him over. He's.... happy. Beyond happy. I haven't seen him this happy since his wedding.... what happened? "We're so glad you're OK!" Fluttershy tells him with a tight, by Fluttershy standards, hug around the chest that all of the girls join in. "Sheesh, come on guys. You're acting as if I'm an explosives expert..." "COME ON!" all of the mercs yell, except for Purple Edge, who giggles about something to himself. "Anyway, lets get this message dealt with and move on," he says as he walks over to the computer, having that spring in his step again. "Miles... what happened to you?" I ask him as he sits before the computer and starts to mess with it and his phone. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you," he says with a mischievous grin before playing the message. August 9th 1133 A pregnant human sits before the screen, looking down to her growing belly and rubbing it lovingly. She has really short brown hair and light brown skin. When she looks up to us we get a look at her tired face, accented with her blue eyes. I can tell she was muscled, but with the pregnancy she's lost a lot of definition. She's wearing what looks like a sleeveless black dress and a necklace with a heart made of gold. "Hey.... Miles. It's me.... Fidus." She says weakly. I don't think she talks very much. "I hope you remember me, for your sake at least." She chuckles a bit, Miles does so as well. "Well, it's my turn for one of these, lets get it over with. Ever since... that night, I.. well, you know. I've been in the back ground of all of the fighting, hiding with all of the refugees. It's driving me crazy. I want to help in the fight just as much as the next person... but, I can't. I did manage to get an ultrasound though, the baby is perfectly healthy. That's good. It's the only thing I get to care about now though, a bit bittersweet. Inficiunt has officially been using. We found him strung out in the back of a truck a few days ago. We held an intervention for him and... well, I finally told everyone you're not the father. It was... a fucking bomb shell to Tenera. It was for the best though. She was getting blood thirsty. It would have killed her in the end. Inficiunt nearly died from guilt. He went straight to rehab– or would have if the city hadn't been attacked. Eximius has been watching over me. He's being sweet about it, but... I mean, Eximius is a nice guy and all... but he's a nerd. I'm a jock. We're two different species. Don't worry, I'll let the softy down gently. You'd probably have something insightful to say to that, you always did. Its what I miss about you. I can't talk to anyone the way I talked to you. Susurrans has been... better, I guess. He's stopped drinking at least. Well, not by his choice. Supplies are running low. We thought Emerald City would be the last to fall, but.... when we got here.... it was a civil war. The people were tearing themselves apart. They tried to drag us into it, but Susurrans denied an answer. We left the city and waited two days before reentering. We were only able to find a handful of survivors. We aren't staying here. There's too much... death here. Next up is Ruby Canyon, far to the north. Hopefully they'll have the answers we need. I can't leave you my Spartan gun, they took it when I was decommissioned. But I did manage to take the gem off of it. I'm throwing it on a Mark 4, it's better than nothing, I guess. Miles... find us already. I'm getting tired of waiting to talk to you. Hurry." Miles smiles some more as the locker pops open. He leans over and pulls out the gun, looking it over slightly. It looks like his gun, only with a gem embedded in the stock and an extra barrel instead of a grip. "Give it a try Dash." He says as he tosses it to her. "Me? Why me?" She asks as she catches it. "Call it instinct." She nods to him and points the rifle away. PEWPATPEWPEWPATPEW When she fires red bolts come out of the bottom barrel as it fires bullets at a high rate. It sounds as if it fires faster than Mile’s gun. She grins to herself as she passes it to Fluttershy. Fluttershy fires it, but only the bullets come out. "Alright, Dash has a new gun. Lets get moving." Miles says as he unplugs his phone from the machine. "Miles, what happened to you?" I ask as we all follow him out of the building. "Trust me, it's unbelievable." He says with a smile. I don't think he'll ever tell me, but if it makes him happy I guess I'm fine with that. I hope the rest of the cities are as simple as this one, but something tells me they won't. We'll be ready though. Ruby Canyon, here we come. ............................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles One Hour Earlier CRASH I throw my arms out and create a barrier as all of the ruble from the street comes crashing down. My vision fades from landing on my back, but I try my best to ignore it as I hold the barrier up. I take a few deep breathes as everything slowly becomes clear. I feel fine. Black Foxx was with me, where is he now? "A little help?" I look above myself and find him standing just outside my barrier with his wing caught under a large chunk of cement. "You alright?" I ask as I undue my spell and stand. "Well, there's a slight tingling in my wing, but other then that I'm fine." He says sarcastically. "Well then, at least it's not anything you'll need." I joke as I push the chunk up, letting him escape. "Think you can fly on that?" I ask him. He gives a test flap and winces in pain. "That's a big N, O. Lets..." We both freeze as we here the sound of crumbling cement . I look to the side and gawk as the building begins to lean over us. "WHAT ARE YOU STARING AT? RUN!" I snap out of my daze and take off down the street, running as fast as my legs can move. Glancing between the road and the falling building I determine that I won't make it in time at this speed. I flare my heels and launch forward, propelling myself past Black Foxx. "Hey! Don't leave me behind!" He yells in desperation. I do some quick math before launching back for him. I scoop him up in an arm and take off again for.... SNAP A giant crack takes up the center of the road. I have to leap to the side and continue running at my unnatural speed as I try to dodge the webbing cracks. "YOUR MAGIC IS BREAKING THE ROAD!" Black Foxx yells right in my ear. "WE CAN'T NOT USE IT! WE'LL GET CRUSHED!" I yell back. He tries to pry himself from my grip, but make the mistake of grabbing my hand. The instant he touches my skin he yells in pain as he flails about. I try to keep a hold on him, but lose my balance doing so. I fall forward and roll a bit. I turn back towards him and leap... SMACK I fall to the ground as a solid wall appears before me. The second I hit the ground I roll over and put a shield up.... what the? How did I end up in a room? Before I could look around a loud, mind slitting, crashing sound fills my ears as the buildings come crashing down on me. Even with the enchantments on my ears, I wince from the sound. It was sudden, the echos only lasting seconds. I take a few deep breathes as I try to piece together what just happened. I should inform the others. I grab my necklace and hold onto it, letting it vibrate for a second before speaking. "Hello?" I ask, hoping for an answer. "This is Miles, is everyone alright?" "Miles!" Storm yells back. "Everypony here is alright..." "Tell that to my tongue!" I hear Pinkie yell. "... where are you? Are you alright?" Storm continues. "Yeah, I'm good. Black Foxx is dead though." I inform him. It goes quiet for a bit, clearly troubling all of them. "A-alright. We'll come get you..." "Negative. I can get myself out of here. Go meet me at the P.C.H. I'll be there as quickly as possible." "If you need us, call," He tells me. "Got it, over and out." I say before releasing the charm. I sprawl out on the floor and let out a long sigh. Hopefully the rest of them can deal with whatever caused that explosion without me. If I can find a way... "Ahem." I freeze when a female coughs for attention. I lift my head up.... and see the hooded woman from before standing before me. We stare at each other for a second before she starts to walk over to me. Where did she come from? How did she get here? She offers me a hand to help me up, but I shake my head. "I'll burn you." I say as I show her my hand. She tilts her head a bit as she tries to grab my hand, only to have me move it. "I'll burn you." I repeat. She lets out a small sigh as she grabs my wrist and helps me up. I can't believe she's here. I... I don't know how to process this. She saved my life.... she also left me pinned to a wall with my pants off. My heart speeds up as she begins to move her hand up and down my arm, inspecting it closely. She unlatches the armor and lets it fall to the ground as she runs her cool fingers along my skin. When she begins to reach my hand I try to pull back, but she holds me in place..... and runs her hand along mine. No wincing. No screams in pain. Just a smaller hand moving between my fingers, inspecting every centimeter of my hand. "Who are you?" I ask as I stare at her in disbelief. "I'm... your mother." She replies as she holds my hand with both of her hands. "My.... my.... mother.... but... no...." "I know. It's hard to believe. But it's true. I am your..." "YOU LEFT ME WITH MY PANTS DOWN!" I yell as I yank my hand back and step away from her. "WHAT?" She yells as she does the same. "The last time I saw you, you pinned my to a wall and pulled my pants down to my ankles! FOR HOURS!" I yell at her, making her spin around in anger. "CARE TO EXPLAIN!" She yells at.... the wall. "Who are you yelling at?" I ask as she walks forward a bit, stopping just before the wall. "Well?" She asks as she folds her arms. "..." "I'm waiting." She says as she starts to tap a foot. "..." "OK. I'm saying it..." "OK, OK, OK!" Someone else yells. Another clocked woman suddenly appears before her. The new one is a bit taller then.... my mother, but that's about all I can tell. "Well.... um..... can we talk about this later?" "No. Why did you leave my son like that?" She demands. I shake my head and march straight towards her. I won't let her escape without seeing her face. I reach out and grab the back of her hood, making it burn away. Before I could do anything else the taller woman shoots an arm out and sends me flying to the other side of the room. THUD I hit the wall and drop to my knees as my head starts to spin. I blink a few times before regaining my vision. The woman.... my mother, has long flowing black hair that goes to her shoulder blades.She seems a little hesitant in doing so, but slowly turns to face me. Light brown eyes. She has my.... I have her light brown eyes. She glances back to the other woman before walking over... running over to me. She slides to her knees and wraps me in a tight hug, nearly breaking into tears. I wrap my arms around her as well, being sure not to burn her clothes off. She moves her hands to my cheeks and inspects my face, smiling warmly. "My boy... my handsome boy. Look at you, you're all grown up." She says before planting a loving kiss on my forehead. "How are you here? What happened when I was little? Who is my father? How..." She plants a finger over my lips to silence me, smiling warmly to me. "I've been told by our time traveling friend here what I can and can't answer. I wish I could tell you everything, I really do. But... I'm sorry. I'm not allowed to..." "Come with me." I say to her, getting a worried look. "There's so much I want to..." Again she has to silence me. "My son, my brave, brave son. I'm so sorry for what happened. But... this is a journey you must take on your own. You've gotten this far without me, and you will continue without me. My place is back in Diamond Halls. With you father." She tells me as she begins to stoke my hair. "Who is my father?" I ask, only to get her to shake her head. "Is it Susurrans?" Again, she shakes her head. "Well... what's you name? Who are you?" "I am Captain Eremita of the Spartan regiment, Diamond Halls outfit. That is all I can tell you." She says sadly. I let out a huff in annoyance as I try to think of what to ask her. All my life I imagine meeting her, and now I don't know what to say. "Please tell me your name. I know it already, but I want to hear it from you." She asks with a loving smile. "I'm Miles Eremita, Grand Captain of the Spartan Regiment." I tell her. She swells up in pride as she mumbles to herself a bit. "How did you find me here?" I ask her, breaking her out of her little trance. "Our friend back there brought me here.... well, she was trying to come here on her own. But I jumped her before she finished her spell. I ended up in Equestria.... where I met your wife." She says as she looks me in the eyes. I tense up a bit as I wait for her answer. I know our marriage isn't.... normal, but her approval right now... "She's lovely." "Oh Sweet Barbra thank you!" I say as I release the breath I was holding. She lets out a loud laugh as she covers her mouth. "Yup! You're his alright. Though, you're a bit off with the last part." She says joyfully as she pats my back. I don't entirely get what she's talking about, but I laugh along with her. "Uh... anyway, you met Luna?" I ask, getting her to stop her laughing, for the most part at least. "Yes, it was in the future though. She lovely Miles. I was glad to call her daughter." She tells me, making me swell up in pride. "... Mother, I'm... I'm dying." I say quietly as I look down to my hand. As I stare at them, she takes them in her hands. I close my fingers around hers as she pulls my hand to her cheek, rubbing it slowly. "I know. It's our blessing, and our curse. Don't worry though. When your time comes, everything will be OK. You just need to finish this journey." She tells me quietly as she continues to rub my hand against her cheek. "I.... I don't want to die." I admit to her, getting a soft chuckle. "Of course not. Do you think I wanted to leave you alone? No. If I could, I would have given everything up to have been with you. But we don't get to make those choices son. But I have faith that you will face this like a true Eremita. You will, and already have, make me so proud. Miles, please take care..." "No! Don't go, not yet!" I yell as I wrap my arms around her, embracing her for what could be the last time. She lets out a slow sigh as she stands to her feet, still entangled within my arms. She rests a hand on my shoulder as the other one guides my face to look up to her. "My brave boy. I have to go. If I don't get home I wont be able to begin the greatest chapter of my life." "... what chapter is that?" I ask. "Pregnancy." She says as she rubs my cheek. I nob and rise to my feet, collecting myself quickly as I ready myself to say goodbye. "I love you Miles. Nunc. Cras. Saecula." "Numquam ero obliviscar tui, Mother. Take care." I say before planting a kiss on her forehead. She begins to leave, but stops when I reach out and grab her hand. "Two more questions. Who is she, and please, please, what is your name?" She looks back to me and contemplates her answer, thinking deeply about this. "Eremita," the other woman says, "you can tell him one of those answers." She nods and comes closer to me, mere centimeters from my ear. She tells me her full name. "You have a beautiful name." I tell her with a warm smile. She leans up and gives me a kiss on the cheek before giving me one last hug, one which I return. "Goodbye, my son." She tells me. "Goodbye, my mother." I tell her. After a long embrace we finally separate. She steps over to the other woman as she flares her hands and plants them on the ground, making an archaic circle appear. "Remember, you are a..." KER-FLASH Before she could finish they suddenly flash out of existence. Stare at the scorch mark for awhile before smiling to myself. My mother... this is.... unbelievable. I... death can come easier, now that I know her name. Eremitas journey continues in... Whispers of War Chapter 169 New Garnet: Echos of WarChapter 169 New Garnet: Echoes of War We head over to the train station and buy our tickets back to Ponyville. I keep waltzing around in my armor, trying to get accustomed to its overpowered feel. The suit may be getting to my head, but my wall-breaking punches don't care. I might sleep in the suit... And bathe... If only it had a receptacle to- "ALLLLLLLLLLLLL ABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOARD!" I snap back to reality and join the others as we fill up our cart. "Aren't you going to take that thing off? It looks quite uncomfortable." Rarity says to me as she stretches out and relaxes into her own seat. "Well, I'd rather not burn down the cart we're using to get home. That, and this thing is still fairly comfortable-" "W-W-WOOOHOHO!" Pinkie shrieks as her entire body shakes on its own accord. Everyone else looks to her and begins to panic. "Oh no, a doozy is coming our way!" "Do you know what it is?" Twilight asks in a worried tone. "What's going on?" "I don't know what it is, but it's going to be a big. Something.... super, duper, ultra, jaw breaking off and falling onto the ground big." Everyone else glances around the cart as an unsettling silence falls over us. I try to think of a logical reason for this... But, it's Pinkie Pie. "Um... Can someone explain this to me?" I ask. "I have-" "It's Pinkie sense." Twilight says, cutting Pinkie off. "Every now and again she gets these little twitches or hints from her body that tells her when something is going to happen. The most common one is her twitchy tail, that tells her something is going to fall. There are plenty of other ones, but this one is the most... confusing." "Confusing how?" "Well... Pinkie," Twilight says, letting her explain it. "I don't know. It usually means something unexpected will happen. Something that nopony would ever guess in a million ba-jillion years! Last time it was Twilight believing in Pinkie sense, but this... It feels different. Like *SHAKE* WHOA! See, it's a little more intense this time." ".... Twilight." "Yes Miles?" "Please tell me there is a logical explanation for this." "Would you except it being a Pinkie thing for a logical explanation?" ".... you know what? No. I'm going to explain this-" "Miles, ponies have gone crazy trying to do that, don't!" Rainbow warns me, glancing back to Twilight. I just shake my head and move over to bench. "Pinkie, come here. We're going to have a long talk." "He's doomed." Rarity comments, getting slow nods from everyone else. ........................................................................................................................................................ Sixteen years of molding my mind to the most intellectual theorists Terradisia has to offer. All that time and focus, coming to this point in time right now. All of this knowledge, all of the lessons, all being tested... By a little... Pink... Pony. "... and then my tail twitches and my rump itches and then I know that there are finches flying for my food." ".... what's a finch?" "It's a little bird... those flying creatures with feathers you see everywhere. I swear Miles, I would have thought you would have learned this basic stuff by now." *EYE TWITCH* "What about things that happen far from you? How close to these things do you have to be for you to get these feelings?" "Mmmm..... I don't think I do. Usually the closer they are to me, the better the sense. But then sometimes I sense things and nothing happens.... well, nothing happens to me at least." *EYE TWITCH* "Well, do you feel anything right now? Other than the doozy one." I ask her. She scrunches her face as she tries to feel anything. She begins to shift around in her seat, rolling around until she ends up on the floor on her back. "Nope!" she says as she pops back up into her seat. "Noth- oh wait.... here comes one." She wiggles her front legs, scrunches her nose, chews her tongue and twitches her tail. "Oh... Everypony should get in their crash positions." "What are you-" KROOOOM The world around me spins out of control as a powerful force sends the entire train cart rolling off the tracks. The shrieks of metal and glass shattering explode around me as every loose item is thrown about with splinters of wood. I slam against the walls and bounce around like a pebble in a sifter as the cart rolls uncontrollably down a slope. I can see the others thrashing about in similar fashion, only not having the luck of being in full body armor. I slam against a window as it hits the ground and break through it as the cart rolls away from me. I can feel a sticky warm liquid trickle down my face as I lay on the ground. I need to get to the others to help. I lift an arm up and- THUNK "AAAAAAAHH!" I scream in agony as a new form of pain takes over. I look at my hand to see an arrow sticking through it, buried in the ground below. A green energy seeps from my hand, billowing away into the air. The arrow fazes away, but the energy continues to billow lightly. I turn around and- THUD Something huge lands right on top of me and lets out a massive roar before pounding both of its fists onto my back. A wave of energy hits me and shakes me to my core. I twist to the side, knocking the person behind me over, and jump on top of them to punch them back. The creature beneath me is an orc. He's wearing thick brass goggles and light steel armor over his entire body. Judging from my position, he's at least four meters tall and muscular. I rear up a fist and bring it down on his chest. He lets out a low grunt as the sound of metal hitting metal rings out. As I bring up my other fist to punch him, I lurch over as the new pain takes over my back. I can feel something sticking in, probably another armor negating arrow. "Puny hairless demon ape!" The orc yells as he grabs me and tosses me off of him, a testament to his strength. I roll a bit on the ground but push myself up in time to dodge another arrow. I take a quick glance around to asses the situation. There's an earth pony on a nearby roof pointing a bow and arrow at me, both of which are made of some clear blue energy. The orc is back on his feet and holding his fist up, ready to fight. There's a little green goblin below the pony fiddling with something as he keeps glancing between me and it. A long rifle is strapped to his back as well as two pistols to his hips. They all wear the same goggles as the orc in addition to their own armor- "RRAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Something lets out a high pitched scream and slams into my back, forcing me to stumble forward. I spin around to face... nothing? "CENTER!" I look down and find the last opponent standing before me. He's barely a meter tall, covered in thick black fur, bipedal, and- THUNK I let out as silent scream as another one of the arrows pierces its way into my side. I stumble to my side as I grab the arrow and yank it out- THUD I fall back down as the orc punches me again. My vision is beginning to fade as I feel my energy fade from me. I blink a few times as I watch the furry bipedal creature quickly back away from me. I begin to stand when something hits my side. I look over to see the device the goblin was working on laying beside me. A large clock sits on top of it as the sound of air escaping through a tiny opening whizzes from it. "CAPTAIN!" Rainbow Dash yells as she lands beside me and kicks the device away. I watch it hit another house and explode into a ball of archaic fire. "GET UP DAMMIT!" She yells as she spins her spear around, watching the others as they begin to approach. She's a bit bloodied, with a thick trail coming from her mane and down her face. "Right.... right... watch the archer." I mumble as I stagger to my feet. "What archer?" She asks before stabbing at the furry bipedal creature, keeping him away. "TRY IT AGAIN CHIMP!" "BACK OFF PONY!" He yells back as he claps his hands, creating twin daggers of the same clear blue energy. I swipe my arm around Dash and push her behind me as I bring a fist down onto the... chimp? He dodges to the side and moves to retaliate, but I stop him by jumping forward, tackling him into a distant building. I use him as a cushion as we break through the wall, ending halfway into the next one. I step back and let him fall to the ground unconscious before darting out the hole. I see the archer lining up another shot at Dash as she keeps the orc at bay with her spear. The goblin is also taking aim at Dash, using all four arms to lift his rifle up. I throw my arms up and pull down with my magic. The walls supporting the pony archer crumble and are forced down, making the pony miss his shot and burying the goblin. With them dealt with I squat down and jump at the orc, using my jets to accelerate towards him- THUNK ... or face first into his fist. The punch itself does more damage to him than me, but there's something about his attacks that rock the core of my being. It's almost as if they mainly attack my soul. I drop to a knee but quickly give a uppercut right into his jaw, staggering him back. Right on queue, Dash follows up by leaping into the air and bringing the spear head down through his jaw. He lets out an agonizing scream as electricity races through his body, courtesy of Dash's spear. I rear my fist up and put all of my strength into punching him in the face. We end up tearing the spear through his jawbone and crushing the front of his skull. He falls to the ground bleeding profusely, whimpering lightly. He'll be dead within the minute. PING PING Dash and I both take a hit, but whatever it was, it was weak. I look over to see the bloodied goblin emerge from the rubble and drop one of his pistols as he begins to reload the other one. He has to manually load the pellet and force it down the barrel. As he does this, the earth pony bursts out from the rubble and starts to make a run for it. "You get that guy, I'll deal with the goblin." I tell Dash as I begin to walk towards the tiny creature. She takes off through the air and gives chase. The goblin gets his round in the barrel and begins to twist a knob on the side of the gun before aiming for my head. PING ".... that's cheating." "Superior technology will win every time." I say as I take my stance. "Maybe, but a demon like you will meet their fate, one way or another." He growls as he drops the pistol and pulls out what looks like a steam powered clock. "Who are-" BOOM I stagger back when he twisted a knob and set off the bomb. Luckily for me, it wasn't archaic and was mostly blocked by my armor. I wait for the smoke to clear before searching the surrounding area. Bits and pieces of him lay everywhere as a dark scorch mark covers a eight meter diameter. "Well.... I think my guy offed himself as well." Dash says as she lands behind me, dropping the earth pony to the ground. "I don't buy it though, he was moving his hooves like crazy. It looked as if he was pretending to shoot a bow and arrow at me." "Go get the others from the train while I examine the remaining people. If any of them need medical attention bring them to me. If it's really bad, then call me over." "Roger that." She takes off for the train cart at break neck speed. I kneel beside the pony and begin to look through his saddle bags. A note with pony text... Some basic survival gear... Some medical supplies... "Oh sweet Barbra..." A... picture of me.... And Applejack... Our train schedule... Pictures of all the Spartans.... Luna... Shadow... Moosden...Lupus and Hati.... Who is this guy? "Captain." I look up to see Damian and his group standing before me. They're all covered in scars and bruises and look as if they've fought the entire way here. "Damian... what the fuck is going on here?" I ask as I stand up. "Well... it's a bit complicated, you see..." "CAPTAIN!" Rainbow Dash yells from behind. "IT'S APPLEJACK! SHE NEEDS YOUR HELP!" "... help get them to safety, then we'll talk." He nods to me and we quickly move to the train. I don't know what's going on, but I'm sure as fuck won't stand for my friends and family being targeted by anyone. Perspective: Applejack I shudder a bit as a throbbing feeling takes over my head. I try to move around to get comfortable, but that only seems to make it worse. I take a few deep breaths before slowly opening my eyes, finding my vision blurred at first. After blinking a few times I finally focus enough to recognize my own room. "What in tarnation-" "You took a nasty hit when the train rolled off the tracks. Miles saved you, though you still have a concussion." I look over and nearly jump from the sight before me. Hammer's sitting by my the window, looking out at the orchard with an even, unemotional glare. He has two long, deep scars going down his side, as well as several apple sized puncture scars. His over all muscle mass must have tripled from when I last saw him as well. "Hammer... what happened to you?" He doesn't answer me. Instead he turns his head slightly to keep his eyes away from mine. I slowly make my way out of bed and walk over to him, trying to get him to look me in the eyes. No matter where I go, he keeps his gaze elsewhere, obviously deeply troubled by something. I sigh when I finally stop trying to get his attention and instead focus on his wounds. I can't help but bring a hoof to them to check if they're real. They are. "Hammer, what did this ta ya?" I ask, only to get silence again.There are three long, deep scars running evenly across his side. I run my hoof up the entire length of the wound before ending it and the base of his neck. I trace it up from there and bring it to his jaw, where I force him to look me in the eyes. Going across his face is a even deeper scar, going from his forehead to his chin at a slight angle. That's not the worst part though... The look in his eyes say it all. He's lost somepony. Somepony close. Without saying a word, I wrap him up in a hug and hold onto him tightly. He stiffens up and looks away from me, taking deeper breaths. I can feel him slowly lower his muzzle to lay against my neck as he begins to choke on his tears. I just rub his back and let him work it out. "I'm so sorry.... I didn't want any of this to happen to you... Or Bonzu... I...I... I'm so sorry." He sobs as he buries his muzzle in my mane. I just hold him tighter as a tremor runs through his body. "It's alright sugarcube. Ah know ya didn't want any a this ta happen. Yer a good stallion, ya would never wish something bad on somepony. It ain’t in yer nature." "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. I can't tell you anything about the ponies that attacked you. I can't tell you what happened to my brother. I can't even guarantee your safety. I can't protect you, I can’t do anything-" "Hold it right there!" I say in a firm tone as I push him back and look him right in the eyes. "Ah don't know what ya did, but know darn well that ya did the best ya could. An that's all ah can ask." "But you-" "By the looks of it ya went through hell in back tryin ta stop whatever happened ta me. I'm alive, yer alive, and that's that! If ya hit the high beam, ya just set it back and try again. Now... Ah can tell ya got a lot stronger since ah last saw ya, so now ya have ta use this strength ta fight harder. No disrespectin yer kin with all this self loathing. Ah know it hurts, trust me it will hurt a lot more later, but ah want ya ta promise me ya wont give up on... Whatever yer fightin for. Promise me ya will not let this ruin you." He wipes a few tears from his face as he nods to me slowly, moving his gaze back out the window. "I promise. I won't let anything like this happen to you, or anypony, ever again. Applejack.... I... I... you..." "Shh." I shush him as I lean forward and rest my nose against his. He closes his eyes as a new set of tears begin to roll down his face. I just wrap my forelegs around him and allow him to let it out. "Ah love ya too." We spend a few hours just holding each other. A nice patch of my shoulder became damp from all of his tears, but it's okay. I know I had my share of tears when I lost my parents, I couldn't imagine losing somepony close again. Perspective: Miles I pace back and forth as I try to think straight. Once I healed all of the girls up and brought them home, I brought the unconscious chimp to Topaz Falls and threw him in an interrogation cell. I'm in the watch room with Damian trying to think clearly. It's a small room with a wall enchanted to show the interrogation room. A table sits below the screen with all of the gear we could gather from our would be assailants. Pictures, a clear plan of attack, materials for bombs, weapons.... The weapons. Ends up goblins utilize steam power to make guns. It's similar to old flintlocks, only with air canisters instead of gun powder. It's pretty impressive, weak, but impressive. According to Damian, they use this power in everything. Air, land and sea vehicles, living tools like stoves and elevators, everything. "What are you going to do about this guy?" Damian asks me as he glares at the guy. "You know anything about him?" I ask as I look over the pistol. "Not personally. Just that he's a part of the purist-" "Alright. I'm pissed and I want answers. I'm going to go in to teach these Purist a lesson." I say as I set the gun down and move towards the door. "Statera members are trained against torture, I doubt you're going to get him to talk," Damian warns me. "Talk?" I leave the examination room and enter the interrogation chamber. It's a simple square room with dark grey sound proof walls and a drain in the center. We have the chimp tied to a metal chair in the center. I step in front of him and fold my arms as I wait for him to look up to me. It takes a while, but eventually he does so. "Do you know who I am?" I ask in a slow even tone. He nods. "Do you know where you are?" He nods again. "I've left the gates open and made sure that several of your little spirit informants came in to witness this. I am going to give you the chance to save yourself a lot of misery. Either start talking, or I take the information from you. I want to know why you're targeting me, my family, and my friends." He stays quiet, tightening his bottom lip as he readies his resolve. "Didn't think so. Now the next warning. I am going to tear the information I want from your mind, either allow me to do this or fight me as hard as you can. Either way, I am going to make this as painful as possible for you. Do you know how to resist soul based mental attacks?" He hesitates a bit before nodding again, keeping his serious façade up. "You need to connect to your spiritual energy and focus your mind on a single thought. When you feel me trying to break through your mind, try and put up a mental barrier to stop me. This will take all of your focus and will to do successfully." "Why are you telling me this?" He asks in a deep voice. "I'm going to make an example of you. No matter how prepared you are for this, I will break you. I will learn everything there is to know from you. And I will torture you until you beg for death. Are you ready?" He takes a several breaths before nodding to me. I grab the leg of the chair and yank it out from under him. With both hands I spin around and toss the chair against the wall, smacking him head first into it. He lets out a pained groan before I grab the back of the chair and toss it against the far wall. He groans a bit before spitting some blood at me. So I walk over and slam my foot into his chest and hold it there. He screams in agony as the archaic lines burn into his flesh. The patch of fur below my foot burns away as the area around it catches fire. I push off of him and let him sit there in pain for awhile. Once I feel he's waited long enough, I rush back in and punch him across the face with enough force to knock him on his back. I move over him and begin to wrap my hands in archaic energy as I glare down at the chimp below me. "Do your worst." He growls as he bares his teeth. "Don't worry," I reply with a smile. "We've barely started." I drop down and slam my palms against his chest. He screams at the top of his lungs as I begin to dagger my energy through his body. He tries to squirm out from underneath me, but I hold him in place as I push even more energy, adding different elements to give different sources of pain. "Are you going to take all day or can we get whatever information there is to get already?" Damian asks as he steps into the room. "Just a bit more and he'll be easier to crack," I tell him. Damian sighs and comes over to watch more closely, but is getting impatient quickly. "Do you want to have a whack at it?" "I thought you'd never ask." I roll my eyes and step off the chimp, giving him a few saving graces before Damian kicks him clear across the room. He slams against the wall and bounces off, flattening several of the chairs legs from the impact. "... what the fuck man? We need him alive to interrogate." "That's why we have you, now heal him up before he bleeds out." I let out a sigh before moving over and healing the poor fucker up. It's going to be a long day. Perspective: Twilight January 13th, 9:30 AM I feel something shake me a bit, but I'm too tired to care about it, so I roll over and pull the sheets closer to myself. When I feel whoever it is shake me again, I groan in frustration as I turn to face them. "Spike? It's... somewhat early. What's going on?" I ask groggily as I get comfortable, trying to sleep as much more as possible. "Fluttershy is here to visit, she says that it's really important for the two of you to talk." I sigh in annoyance before nodding to him and getting out of bed. I go the the restroom and quickly make myself presentable. Once done, I quickly make my way downstairs where I find Fluttershy and Spike sitting at the kitchen table enjoying coffee and hot chocolate. "Good morning Fluttershy, what can I help you with?" I ask as I walk around them and make my own cup. "Oh, um... Spike?" "*sigh* I'll be at Rarity's if you need me." He says before leaving the two of us alone, giving me some final worried glances. "So, now that he's gone, what did you want to talk to me-" "We're pregnant." My mouth hangs open as I try to process what she said. "You mean you're pregnant, right?" She sighs a bit as she looks down at her coffee, avoiding my gaze. "I've been pregnant since before Ruby Canyon. Since we have a few days here, I went to the pharmacy to buy some vitamins and... well, the cashier pony slipped that you had bought a pregnancy test. I didn't mean to pry, but when I came over yesterday and you were gone... I... may have looked in your bathroom waste bin and found the positive test." She shrinks up at the last part, forcing me to strain to hear her. "... am I?" I ask as I look away from her. "That's what I wanted to know... so I brought you something." I look back to her and watch closely as she digs through her saddlebag and pulls out a pregnancy test. My heart races as she sets it on the table and pushes it towards me. "Whenever you're ready." "I... I... I'm going to need a lot more water." Twenty Minutes Later "What does it say?" Fluttershy asks from the other side of the door. "Please don't listen in when I'm doing this." "Sorry.... but is it ready yet?" I groan out load as I continue to pace around my bathroom. It's only a five minute wait, but it feels as if it's been hours. I can't be pregnant, I just... can't. Not after what I did to myself. What if I was and I.... no. Storm and I were being careful... or we should have been. We agreed to wait until after Miles finished his little quest thing. If I am, I'm blaming Storm. "Well? What does it say... sorry. Take your time. But tell me when you know... well, when you're ready that is. Just.. you know, I'll be waiting so whenever you're ready is fine-" "It's positive." "YES!" I nearly fall over when she screams at the top of her lungs. "Oh, we should be pregnant buddies and go to birthing classes together! OH! What do you think, filly or colt? I hope I get a sweet little filly to tell stories to and braid our manes together and -oooohh- little dress ups and tea parties-" I sit on the toilet and stare at the little red plus sign on the white stick. How could I have done something so stupid with something so precious. What's wrong with me? What if something happens to it? What if I have another miscarriage? I... I don't know what I'd do if anything were to happen to my baby- "Twilight? Twilight are you alright in there?" I snap back to reality and leave the restroom. She wraps me up in a tight hug, but I don't return it. I still can't I'm pregnant, after what I've done. "Twilight, are you okay?" "What if what I did with those potions did something to the baby?" I ask quietly as I sit there, thinking of all the possibilities that could happen to my unborn child. There is just no- SMACK I sit there in a daze as a sharp pain takes over my right cheek. Fluttershy shakes the pain away from her hoof before pushing me back inside the bathroom. She spins me around and forces me to look at myself in the mirror. "Look at yourself. Tell me what you see." "Fluttershy, I don't-" "Tell me what you see," she repeats more firmly. I shrink away from her and take a look at myself in the mirror. "Well... it's just me and you. Nothing more than a reflection," I tell her, not finding anything beyond that. Or not wanting to. "Do you see a murderer?" I do a double take as I look over to her, unsure of how to answer something like that. "Twilight, I saw your face and I won't let you do anything like that.That baby deserves as much a chance as any other would. No buts, and or ifs, do you understand me?" I take a step away from her as I slowly process what she's telling me. I run over and hug her tightly as I realize the sick thoughts I had. What is wrong with me?! How could I possibly think that after trying so hard!? I need help... I need... "Fluttershy, will you help me through this?" I ask her, slightly tearing up. "Of course, let's start by getting you to the pharmacy and get you some doctor appointments. We also need to get your diet in order, a physical, vitamins, and-" "Don't forget telling Miles that we can't go with him to the cities." Fluttershy pauses and looks to me, rubbing her leg a bit as she mumbles something to herself. "I... was still going to go to the next one." ".... WHAT!?" She shrinks back a bit as I stare at her, trying to figure out how she could possibly want to go to the next city. "Well... nopony knows yet, and they still really need us-" "BUT WE'RE PREGNANT! HOW- BUT YOU- AND THE- WHAT!?" Fluttershy straightens out a bit before walking downstairs. I just stand there, baffled beyond belief. After a moment or two I shake my head and run after her, bolting out the door to catch up with her. "Twilight, you have more of a reason to go then I do," she says as I slow down to walk by her side. "You're the medic. If Miles isn't there then you have to be the one to fix our wounds. Not to mention your teleporting and shields are vital. You have to go, to protect the others." "Well.... maybe. But what about you?" I ask as I look away from her. "I can keep ponies from harming our friends. Given, I have less reason to go then you, but I still feel the need to go. I'm going to take every precaution I can, but not going isn't an option." "... and why is that?" "It's like Big Mac always says, 'if ya make a promise, ya keep it. That's that.'" She says, mimicking his deep voice. "It's his catch phrase really." "... Big Mac talks?" "Since I promised to help no matter what, I'm going. And I know you want to go as well, so unless you really are against this, let's just agree to keep this between us for now." We come to a stop before the pharmacy. I bite my lip as I try to think logically about this. I know going would be stupid. I can't risk my child for this... but Fluttershy has a point. This is for the others, to keep them safe. I already went through at least one city and made it through alright.... "Okay, we'll go. But we have to be careful. Nothing heroic, okay. We stick to the back and let the others take the brunt of the fighting. Pinkie promise." "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cup cake in my eye." I sigh in relief before facing the pharmacy. Hopefully everything checks out fine with the baby... hm, I'm going to be a mother.... unless I have another miscarriage.... I need to get that check up now. Without another word, I run through the door and charge at the front counter, scaring the pegasus there. "I NEED A CHECK UP!" "DAMN GURL!" She yells as she nearly falls out her seat. "A what now? Check up? Uh.... HEY? WE DO CHECK UPS HERE?" She yells to the back. "What's that?" Somepony from the back yells. "Dis gurl wants a check up, we do that?" "She preggers?" "You preggers?" She asks me. "Yes-" "DAMN GURL, SHE PREGGERS!-" "OH DAMN!" "Alright, uh.... GURL, GIT OUT HERE, I DON'T KNOW HOW TA DO THIS CRAP!" "How did you get a job here if you don't know what to do?" I ask. "Dats for me to know and you ta mind your own damn business." She says as she waves her hoof back and forth. I look back to Fluttershy before looking back to this pegasi, trying to figure out why she's so defensive. Today is going to be a long day. January 14th 1:27 PM Perspective: Miles With a loud grunt I toss the chimp, Si Hua, to the ground as I finally leave his mind. We've been going non stop trying to pry every bit of information from him. It's been a long process, but after this last run in, we've hit a dead end. "Well, I don't think you'll like what I learned about this guy." I say as I step back and lean against the wall, trying to relax. "What else could there be? Purist, went on a hit for you guys and your families-" "Yeah, base grunt doing base crap. Useless really-" SLAM I snap to the side as the door slams off its hinges. Hammer walks in, not looking either of us in the eye as he does so. He has an evil look in his eye as the rest of his face keeps an even coolness to it. I moved to stop him, but Damian stopped me halfway. He shakes his head slowly and begins to pull me out of the room. When we leave the room, I pause by the door to listen in on what he has to say- SPLAT Not much. I let out a deep sigh as I follow Damian down the corridor. I'll let him work that out on his own. Damian and I take a few mico platforms until we end up in the medical ward. I order him to lay by one as I begin to check it over the healing device. It's nothing too bad, just some wire re-working as well as some fragmented parts. We stay quiet for a bit, but eventually I have to ask the question that's racking my mind. "Damian, everything alright?" He glances to me before laying back on the patients table, resting his hooves behind his head. "Don't worry about us. I can handle it." "Don't get cocky Damian. Terradisia was the strongest nation in the universe, but everything has a weakness. Don't let the illusion of power misguide you." "Since when were you a philosopher?" He asks with a slight chuckle. I give him a look that he shrugs off, looking away from me. "I can handle this. Don't worry about us. I'll get things back under control.... I can handle it-" "Like how Hammer is?" He looks back to me for a second before looking away, avoiding my eyes. "I wasn't here for that. I didn't know-" "And you'll know what happens next right? What about CC? Or Patches? What about your fellow Spartans? Damian, you can't take everything on yourself. Look at me, all this power at my disposal and I can't completely guarantee Luna's safety. I can't guarantee Shadow will grow up safe and happy. There are too many variables that I can't control. No matter how much power I have. No matter what I train for. No matter how much I believe I can, there is the plausibility of failure. If you ever need us, you can call us Damian. We're more then just some team. We'll come, you just need to call." He continues to look away from me, thinking deeply about what I said. He lets out a low sigh as he shifts a bit away from me. "Thanks, I really do appreciate it. But I can handle this. I won't let this happen again-" BZZZT "AH! What the fuck was that!" I just chuckle as I let the machine get to work. The three arms move around Damian and trace blue lights over his body. When they find something incorrect, a beam of healing energy comes out. It's a little painful, but nothing he should bitch too much about. "May I have your-" "EASY! Just the bot I wanted to see. Watch over the medala lectum until Damian's scars are fixed, then retrieve his friends and do the same for them. They are all here, right?" I ask Damian. "Ye-OW! Yeah... well, not Patches. But he doesn't need it really. He's... well... he's suppose to have scars." I nod to him and begin to walk out of the hall. "Where are you going?" "I'm going topside to give Luna a call-" "Oh, so you're just going to up and leave. Not even see us out?" He says with a pouty face, until another healing beam strikes him. "Don't worry, I'll be sure to see you guys before you leave, this thing will take the three of you at least a day before it reduces your scars. Luckily for you, you get to keep that little dingy over your right eye. But in all seriousness, remember that we're... that the Spartans will be here to help." "I know, and I really do appreciate it. But I can handle thiIIIIIISSSSSAAAHHH!" "Damian, don't be such a pussy." "Fuck you, it hurts!" "Captain Eremita has altered the healing beam to give off an extremely high amount of energy, thus fixing your wounds quicker at the cost of slight pain," Easy informs him before another beam strikes. I just laugh at his misfortune and continue to leave the P.C.H. There is one thing I need to do before calling Luna over. Perspective: Luna RING-RING RING-RING RING-RING "HUH! I'm up, I'm up! Hold your positions and... and... hello? Miles?" I half yell, half mumble, as I scramble out of bed and yank my drawers off until I find my phone and answer it. "Hey love, think you can come over for a bit? I... I want to see you before I leave tomorrow," he says almost shyly. "Give me a minute, I'll be there as quickly as possible." I tell him as I force myself out of bed. I hold the phone against my head as I try to make myself presentable. "Is everything okay?" "Yeah... well, as okay as they can be given the circumstances. You?" "I'm fine, a bit tired but fine. I have good news to tell you." I say as I finish brushing my mane and teleport to the mico platform. "Really, what would that be?" I take the platform and hang up the as I step out of the closet, finding Miles sitting against the wall. "I finally told Celestia, and ends up she already knew," I tell him with a large smile. He does a double take and stares at me for awhile, trying to process everything. "So... she knew the entire time." "That's what she said." "The entire time." "Yeah." "And I still have my balls." "Last time I checked... why-" "Luna, either you're lying to me or she's talking about something else. Because the last time I checked Celestia hated my guts and wanted a perfect excuse to remove my genitalia." "She doesn't hate you Miles. She just.... she.... well-" "Disagrees with every choice I've ever made and would love to see me gone.... and without genitals." I think about what he said for a bit until I slowly come to the realization that she may not be on the same page as us. "Shoot! I knew it was too good to be true." "Okay, either cuss properly or tell her the truth. I'll take either one at this point." "I'll talk to her again, as soon as possible that is. I know she's swamped with meetings today that can't be avoided. *sigh* why is this so hard?" I ask as I lay beside him and rest my head over his lap. He jumps a bit, but relaxes soon enough, running his hand down my mane and along my neck. "Jumpy?" I ask with a slight giggle. "Sorry, I'm just not used to people being able to touch me when my magic is on." He admits as he moves his free arm to cup underneath my jaw. He pulls my close and holds me against him. I let out a content sigh as I let the sound of his thumping heart lull me back into a dazed state. "You keep forgetting that I'm special." "Yeah, my special girl." I ignore the sarcasm in his voice and nuzzle myself deeper into his embrace, trying to use his arms to block out the sun. "... Luna, there's one last thing I need to ask you to do before... I go." I stiffen up a bit, but let him continue. "I've made a larger pathway to Topaz Falls now. Once the entrance is cleared, getting there will be tremendously easier. I need you to promise me that you will not allow people in there until society is ready for that kind of technology." "... I don't understand-" "Imagine if archaic condensers suddenly became common in Equestria. Such advanced technology would disrupt the current world order. At this time, people aren't ready for something like that. It needs to be kept a secret until it won't make a difference. I don't know how long that's going to be, it may never happen. Only if the sake of millions of lives, not just Equestrian, are at risk should you ever even consider it. Promise me you'll keep that a secret from everyone. Promise me." "I promise... but what about the Spartans and the Terradisians? Shouldn't they-" "I've already set plans with Easy to give them a message once I'm... The Spartans will fall under Storm's command and will aid you in keeping this a secret. As for the Terradisians, I've left a short message for Storm giving him options on how to go about that. The human race needs to fall back to unknown legend for the time being... it's just the way things have to be-" "I don't like this Miles." I tell him as I sit up to look him in the eyes. "This is your heritage, your legacy. Why do you want it to be such a great secret?" He just smiles to me and brings his hand to rest on the back of my head. I close my eyes and lean into his touch, savoring for as long as possible. "The world isn't ready for this kind of legacy. It wouldn't be interpreted correctly. No, in time people would understand, but not now. Everything is too... there are dark places in this world, but none that compare to the eight I've visited. We can't let those things come out until society is ready to face them. Promise me you'll help me with this." I look into his eyes and let his determination sink in. With a defeated sigh I lean over and give him a gentle kiss on the lips. "Okay, I'll help you keep the cities a secret. And I'll tell Celestia for real this time." "Thank you love. I'm sorry about being so serious, but this is really important." "I know. I understand it's just... after keeping us a secret for so long I don't want to keep anymore. They're too stressful." He laughs a little as he pulls me into his embrace. I sigh as I move around to lay my back against his stomach. He wraps his arms around my midsection, so I hold onto his arms. "Well, this is what you get for keeping secrets." He says as he leans his head against mine. "So this is my fault?" "I say we blame Storm." "Why Storm?" "Well... Storm or Damian... or both. Either way, I think people would agree without argument." I laugh a little as I lean my head against his, softly nuzzling the his side as I close my eyes and enjoy the moment. "Alright, But I'm throwing Regina in there as well. She's the one who made me go after you again after all." "Yeah, and Twilight didn't try hard enough to keep us separated." "Not to mention Applejack let us have our wedding in her barn." "Didn't Pinkie help plan that?" "Darn right she did!" I laugh a bit when I think back to her practically exploding when I asked to help. "We have such horrible friends." Miles comments. "They're terrible influences really. Look at all the trouble they have caused." I comment, getting a slow nod from Miles. "Yeah, because love had nothing to do with it." "Nope. It was Fluttershy letting you get away that first night you came to Equestria." "And Rarity not kicking Blueblood's ass herself." "Ye- wait, what?" I ask him. "Remember when Blueblood came to propose to Rarity and I ended up fighting him for Spartan pride? I could have sworn I told you about that." "Oh.... yeah. I guess that counts too... can I put the blame on Lupus and Hati as well?" We both look over to the doorway and find them laying there, watching us closely. "I don't see why not. Bad wolves, why didn't you stop this?" Miles says as he wraps his arms around me, getting them to lay their ears down as they lower their heads. We laugh a bit louder as we hold each other more closely. "Terrible friends." I say with a slight chuckle. "Awful," Miles agrees. We spend the rest of the day in that spot, thinking of ways to blame others for our love. We worked basically everypony in there. From mother and father, to the orc leader Oni. With a final love filled kiss I leave to raise the moon and talk to Celestia. I make it back and go through the routine just like any other day. Celestia seems troubled by something, but I ignore it until we're face to face. "Sister Mi-" "The griffin leader Ulfric StormMind is here to speak with you, and only you." Celestia cuts me off, silencing me. "... uh... what?" "He's literally here, waiting in the throne room. He won't speak with anypony beside you, do you know why?" I think about it but can't think of any reason why he would want to speak with me. I focus a bit and take my pure form before walking past Celestia, beckoning her to follow. "I don't know why he's doing this, but I don't have the time to worry about that. What do you think he wants?" "I can only guess it has to do about the acidic clouds. Do you remember how to block mental attacks?" "Last time I checked, I was better at it than you were. I remember. Has the guard been notified yet?" "Yes, they're in position should anything go wrong. Are you read?" I pause before the throne room doors and take a deep breath to calm myself. "I've got this. We'll talk afterwards. Wish me luck." With that said, I push the doors open with my magic and walk down the middle aisle. He's down by the throne, watching me with intense, wise eyes. "Lady Nightbringer." He says as he slightly inclines his head. "Thanks you for seeing me." "Ulfric StormMind, the great Sphinx of the North. To what do I owe this honor?" Perspective: Miles After Luna had left I tried to do some personal maintenance, but found it to be more difficult than it should have been. For some unknown reason, I've stopped growing facial hair, though I guess that's a plus. Water evaporates when it gets too close, so washing... sucked. I tried to brush my teeth, but the damn brush melted in my hands. And to top it all off, I now have to squat! After attempting to eat some food- finding it easier to do by magically lifting it- a knock came from the front door. I go and answer it- "Are you Miles-" "OH SWEET BARBRA YOU'RE UGLY!" I blurt out as I stare at the orc before me. If I had seen him at a distance, I wouldn't have reacted that way... that was a lot of ugly at once. Now, orcs aren't the prettiest things to look at, but this one breaks the mold. His face is scrunched up, likely from prior beatings, and his nose is a little long. His scales look as if he hasn't seen water in decades and.... oh sweet Barbra... I can taste how bad he smells. "Move aside Ark, before you knock him out ya smelly beast." Says a pegasus as he pushes the orc aside. He's dark red with blue hair that has a streak of ice blue in it. He's well built, with a cutie mark of a heart with a knife through it with thorns going around it. He has an elegant looking glaive strapped to his back with the Ursas logo etching into the blade. "I assume you're the mercs going with us to New Garnet." I say as I eye the orc. He's ugly, but I can't stop looking at him for some reason.... he's just too ugly not to. "Yes we are. My name is Crimson Lionheart, I'll be leading this troop to your next destination. This is our explosives expert, Bada Boom." "Yo!" He says as he steps forward. He has a bright red coat and a black mane. His tail seems to be missing, though with the burn marks on his ass, I can guess why. He has black, rough looking boots on his hooves. His cutie mark- "I can see you staring, and yeah. I burned off my cutie mark." "Sorry, it's just-" "What? You don't like looking at my pretty little flank?" He asks as he starts to wave his back end at me. I'd feel embarrassed about this, but I've seen enough balls to turn a homosexual straight ever since I've come to Equestria.... why are pants so- "Anyway I am Jax, I'm your archer for this journey." A griffin says as he pushes Bada Boom aside. He looks like your run of the middle griffin, nothing really special to point out really. He carries a bow and quiver that's filled with yellow tailed feathers. "And you are?" I ask the all black unicorn standing beside him. He's wearing a cloak that blocks my view of any of his possessions. "Shadow Dancer. One handed expert, specializing in stealth." He says plain and quickly. "Let me guess, you don't talk much do you?" He stiffens his bottom lips as he glares at me, keeping quiet. "Mercs... anyway, who are you." I groan as I turn to the next... one... "Well, I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting one of you." I say to the Diamond Dog hiding behind the orc. "Right, I've... just heard about... things you've done.... to Diamond Dogs... so.... yeah." He tries to hide his face, but yelps when the orc pushes him forward. "You're not like the other Diamond dogs I've seen." I tell him as I inspect him a bit more. He has tan fur instead of the dull grey and is much leaner in build. About the same height, but with a longer face. "Well, truth be told, I'm a Ruby Dog. We hail... or we used to hail from the deserts of Zahayrah, but we've slowly been becoming.... extinct. Now we have to... 'mingle', with Diamond Dogs, Sapphire Hounds, and Emerald Mutts." "You seem smarter than Diamond Dogs." "Well, they only value treasure, gems and fine metals. Ruby Dogs value knowledge more so... though we still like gems and fine metals." he laughs a bit at the end, rubbing the back of his neck as he looks to his comrades. "Well, I'll buy. Be sure to stick by me and you'll get through this. Now for the rest of you-" "Don't you want to know my name?" The orc asks, batting his eyelashes at me. "Fuck no. Anyway, I'm only going to say this once, so listen up. Most, if not all of you will die if you come with us. Only... about five mercs have ever lived going through these cities, and I doubt any of you will either. Don't come with us, go home, queue stupid statements of reassuring incompetence." "We can handle our.... oh buck you." Crimson starts to say. I just sigh as I step out a bit and look up to Dash's house. "RAINBOW DASH...... HEY RAINBOW...... RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWW!" "HI MILES! What's up?" Scootaloo yells back as she looks down from the cloud home. "Is Rainbow Dash up there?" "Yeah, she's asleep on the couch." It's almost noon. "Can you be a sweetheart and wake her up for me?" She nods and disappears behind the clouds. I fold my arms and wait for patiently for her to return with Rainbow Dash. "Umm.... should we-" "Just hold tight for a few minutes, we need to gather our people and find our destination." "You don't know where we're going? Well.... I guess you can just rely on your good looks then." The orc says with a wink. I eye him a bit before stepping further away. Of course the last group would have some same sex person, it's going to be one of the last things I remember. Why wouldn't they hit on me? "Mornin Captain." Rainbow Dash calls as she comes to a landing before me, carrying Scootaloo in her forelegs. "What's going WHAT THE BUCK!" She drops the rest of the way down and covers Scootaloo's eyes. "I know, I know, I'm ugly, get over it." The orc, whose name I don't care to know, says. Dash stares at him until I move between the two of them, where she continues to the cover disgruntled Scootaloo's eyes. "Go gather the others as quickly as possible so we can get going to New Garnet, we've got lost time to make up for." "Uh... sure, I mean, roger that..... uhm-" "Just go already Dash. Oh! And.... give the others a little heads up about... yeah." "...Right, bye!" She takes off as quickly as possible, using all of her will to avoid looking at the terribly ugly orc.... who is ogling my ass. I groan a bit before heading inside and go back to my room. I have a feeling this is going to be a long trip. Whatever, I need to get my armor on already. Once everyone arrived and finished gawking at the ugly orc, we finally locate the final city. It's underneath a place called Hoofington. It's almost directly north of Ponyville by about six hundred kilo- *ahem* I mean, about three hundred eighty.... miles... that's just wrong on so many levels. Anyway, the train ride is going to take us about a day to get there by train, should be interesting. We all file in our cart and take our seats. I can see the anxiety in everyones eyes, the fear of being attacked again is getting to them. "Did I mention I figured out Pinkie Pie's Pinkie sense?" I ask aloud, making the room go absolutely quiet. "..." "..." "..." "What? It wasn't that hard." "THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!" Twilight yells as she nearly jumps out of her seat. "Nopony could explain Pinkie Pie!" "Yeah.... well, I have a pretty damn good explanation, you see she-" WHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISTLE "... As I was saying she jus-" "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALL AAAAAAAAAAAAAAABBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAARRDDD!!" "... Right, she has an o-" KA-THUNK The entire cart shakes as the train begins to trudge its way out of the station. I look around the room, looking for anything else that can interrupt me. With the coast clear, I try again. "She has an-" ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAR "MAKE IT STOP! STOP THE SHTICK TB, STOOOOOOOOOP!" Pinkie yells from her seat as she covers her head. Everything suddenly goes quiet. The train begins to move along smoothly, and whatever made that roar has seemed to disappeared. "..." "..." "... uh.... Pinkie is bipolar and has an over active subconscious. Her other personality is using the information her subconscious is gathering and tells the other personality by making the different signals." Everything stays quiet for a bit longer as everyone waits for something to happen. "... Well, I guess that makes sense." Twilight agrees as she watches the ceiling and windows. "Your subconscious gathers more information about your surrounding than you conscious mind interprets, so I can see how you came to that conclusion." "And I can see the bipolar thing... actually, I've seen it before." Rainbow adds. "..." "..." "..." "Are we going to die?" Asks Bada Boom as he scoots a little closer to Fluttershy. "Well, you might. I don't think we will." I tell him as I take a seat and let the moment pass. Something is going to- "W-w-w-w-whoa!" Pinkie yells as he entire body shakes again. "WHAT! The train attack wasn't the doozy! What was more doozier than THAT!" Twilight yells. "I dunno, TB never told me what was in New Garnet, that and the fight they had wasn't that unexpected. It was bound to happen eventually." We all stare at Pinkie as she sits there, looking over herself with renewed interest. "This is going to suck, isn't it?" Rainbow asks, getting slow nods from... just about everyone. Seven Hours Later The train comes to a slow stop inside the station, leaving us all on edge. We're still waiting for something to happen. Pinkie's shakes have been slowly increasing in ferocity. Not having any way of helping her, we unload our gear from the storage compartments and leave. Hoofington city train station is a site to see. The entire building is made of a dull grey stone and goes up for at least three stories, maybe four. Large stained windows take up most of the walls as large ornate chandeliers hang down and provide plenty of light. The granite floors shine brightly as we make our way through the beautiful building, passing through the thick crowd of ponies. "I did a little reading about Hoofington on the way here. Way back in the day, many griffins moved here during something called the Big Chill. The griffin colonies were covered in ice after a really bad blizzard, so they moved here to escape. Princess Celestia allowed them and granted them citizenship for the time being and ushered them to Hoofington. You can see many architectural influences in the city because of this." Twilight tells us as we push our way through the crowd. We leave the main building and enter the city. Much like the train station, many of the buildings are made purely of stone and glass and reach high into the sky. The metropolis below is filled with thousands of ponies going about their daily lives, mulling over their trivial pursuits. Dotted here and there are different species as well. Goblins, griffins, a few Minotaurs and I think I saw a bear dot the crowded side walks. Carriages pulled by ponies fill the cobble streets, but I do see one car. It's similar in design to the Flim Flam brothers, but has steam coming out of it in various spots. The goblins riding it keep switching knobs and pull levers to keep it moving. "Woooooooooow." Pinkie exclaims as we take in the view of the city. "Look at all that cotton candy!" And like that she runs off for some street vendor to buy some pink cotton candy. "Let's get moving, we need to get to.... seventy ninth and central." Rarity drags Pinkie along as we begin looking for our destination. After about twenty minutes of walking around here, I already feel home sick.... in more ways then one. This place really reminds me of Topaz Falls, in that big city kind of way. No one cares that there's a squad of armed people walking down the street, they just want us out of the way so we can't inconvenience them for two seconds. The open friendliness of Ponyville is long gone, not to say they're being assholes. They just don't care about anyone else. The city itself really reminds me of Topaz Falls. Very little vegetation is here. There are a few trees here and there, and several windows have potted plants, but that's it. The people here even wear clothes! Not a lot mind you, mainly vests, hats, maybe a skirt here and there, and scarfs; but it's still quite the change from home. After about an hour of walking around we finally find Centers Park. Three square kilo..... faaaaah, one and a half square miles of nothing but parks and small man made lakes. As tempting as that all seems, we make it to the center of the park and double check our coordinates. "This is the spot, everyone gather close and we'll begin our descent." I tell our group. They do so, Bada Boom squeezing a little too close between Rarity and Applejack as.... "Orc, I need you to back off." "But-" "Literally, I need to be able to move in order to use my magic." He sighs in disappointment and backs off. I shake my head and channel my magic to open up the ground. We sink down into the ground at tremendous speed. I'm barely using any power, but apparently it's enough to send us down at high speed. After about an hour or so, we finally crash into the top of the dome. We share a moment of joy before working our way down the side and to the bulkhead. "This is it everyone, get ready. Twilight and Dash, you're up front wit me. Gay orc, Bismuth, Jax, Applejack and Rarity, hold up the sides. Fluttershy you hang back with Shadow Runner and provide cover. Pinkie, Crimson, assist where needed. Okay, let's do this." I pull out Dominus Clavis and slam it against the metal gate. Perspective: Fluttershy When the gate stops at the top, we all stare at the city before us. Perfectly intact. No damage. No signs of any war or suffering. Just tall stone buildings and bright lights shining down from above. The only thing that I don't think is suppose to be here are the black markings on the walls of the buildings. They look like some kind of weird mix between Miles' writing and pony writing. "So... are we going in or not?" Crimson asks as all of the mercs step inside the city. The rest of us eye each other before hesitantly following them inside. It's eerie walking through these streets and not having them be destroyed. The buildings follow the same design as the others, having shorter buildings by the dome that grow in height until they become surpassed by the P.C.H. None of them are damaged. None of them look vandalized, burned, or as if they've had anything violent happen.... ever. It really feels as if this is the way the city should be.... minus the black markings. "KOR BAL TENG IITALBOR!" We all freeze up when we hear a voice scream from down an alley. Without saying anything, Miles runs towards the nearest alley as he draws his sword. We all run after him, trying our best to keep up. "What is... it... Miles..." Rainbow Dash starts to say when we all come around the end. Down the street are four... people. Only they're not people. They are bipedal, have light grey skin, and are fairly skinny compared to Miles. A few of them have long silver hair and lack noses; instead having slits that open and close. Their eyes are a terrifying pitch black and their teeth are pointed like a reptiles. There are five in front of us, four surrounding one that is on its knees with his hands behind his head. The four are yelling at the one while pointing guns at him. I can't understand what they are saying, but by their body language, I can tell they want to kill him. They wear simple loose pants that end halfway down their shins; most of them being white. Their shirts look as if they took a long rectangular cloth, draped it over their shoulders, and wrapped it around their midsection. The top cloths have intricate designs with various colors, ranging in all hues. They haven't noticed us, and none of us know what to do... except for Miles, who has started walking towards them. Maybe he's going to try and talk them out of killing them- "YOU FUCKERS!" He yells, getting their attention, before launching straight for the closest one. When the being turns around, he finds Miles coming to a slide and burying his sword in his gut. He holds it there for a second to stare down the being before he rips it up and out of him, sending black blood gushing out at his feet. The other four stare at Miles, completely dumbstruck, until one begins tries to open fire on him. Miles was able to grab his barrel and point it to one of the others before any of the shots could hit him. He brings his sword over and down the others front, chopping both his arms clear off. He falls back screaming in pain as his stumps pour black blood down his side. With those two dead, I finally break out of my trance and rush over to this massacre. As Miles grabs the kneeling one by his throat and lifts him up; pinning him to a wall, I bring my rifle around and point it to his head. "Put. Him. Down." I warn as I rack my first round into my rifle. "What the buck do ya both think yer doin?" Applejack yells as Miles tightens his grip, choking the innocent person. The mercs surround us and push the other being against the wall, beside the one being choked. "Fluttershy, put the gun down." Twilight begs. I glance to her for a second before looking back to Miles, pressing the barrel of my rifle against his helmet. He glances slightly to me before letting go of the poor thing. He drops to the ground and coughs as he catches his breath. "We don't ki-" "You weren't-" "AH!" The two of them yell out as they cover their heads with their hands. "SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Miles yells at them, making them yells again, holding their heads a bit tighter. "BRAH WHE FRASK IL BAHG!" Yells the person who wasn't being choked as he glares at Miles. "Shut-" "AH!" "Miles, stop talking!" Twilight yells as she steps forward. "These unfamiliar assholes need to die!" Miles yells over their agonizing screams. "WILL YOU SHUT THE FU-" "PREHA! PREHA, ME-IL IK WHE VISHA! PREHA!" Begs the once choked one as he completely bows before Miles. He goes to punch him, but stops when I jump in the way. "Move." "No." "..." "..." "..." CRASH From all around us, doors burst open as more and more of the creatures run towards us, surrounds us within seconds. We all form a perimeter as they point their guns at us, shouting orders that we can't understand. The mercs start yelling back at them as well, telling them to 'back off' and 'just try me meatbag!'. "ENOUGH!" Miles yells, getting all of the creatures to simultaneously yell in pain. Twilight looks to Miles, and then to the crowd, then back to Miles. "AAAHHH!" She yells, getting odd looks from everyone. "Twilight, what are you-" "Miles, scream again." Twilight orders, getting an odd look from him. "Why?" "AH!" They yell again. "Take off your helmet!" Twilight demands, even though she does it with her magic anyway. "What the fuck Twilight!? This is probably the-" GASP The crowd steps away from us as Twilight lowers Miles' helmet. They gawk at him as he glares back, clenching both his fist as he does so. The ones behind us look to one another before scrambling away, where one runs through the crowd and the other moves in front of Miles. "Back the fuck off!" Miles yells at him. He reels back in surprise, blinking as he stares at Miles. "Bah-ruul." He mutters. "Go fuck your... DON'T FUCKING TOUCH ME!" Miles yells as he slaps his hand away. The creature ignores his discomfort and tries to touch him again, but jumps away when Miles moves to attack him. "Bah-ruul." He says again, louder. "Fuck you." Miles says to the creature as he grabs his helmet from Twilight. "BAH-RUUL!" He yells as he turns to the crowd, getting a loud murmur from them. "Bah-ruul iet whe ayyeh!" "The fuck are they talking about?" Miles asks as he steps back. I look back to the one creature who is walking around us and watch him for a bit, trying to figure out what he's trying to tell his people. "I think... he's... hmm... it looks like he's proving something. Like, he looks like a weight has been lifted from his shoulders." I say, getting a scoff from Miles. "Pfft, Unfamiliar don't feel remorse. They just kill and-" "Like you?" I cut him off, making him shake his head. "No, I remember those I've killed. And I remember those who have been killed. I don't need to understand them to know that they've forgotten about the humans. But I will make them remember." The once choked creature steps forward, getting him to look my way. "I'm... " There are a lot of eyes on me... a LOT. "Fluttershy! What do you think you're doing? Back away from them!" Miles barks, but I ignore him and step closer to the being. He squats down and watches me closely, tilting his head slightly. I take a deep breath and sling my weapon, getting a surprised look from the creature. "My name is Fluttershy, who are you." I ask, sweating slightly as I feel the intense hatred on the back of my head coming from Miles. "Ke-wha?" He asks. "Fluttershy." I say as I hold my hooves to my chest. I then point to him and wait for a few second. When he doesn't answer I do it again. "Fluttershy..." "Jueh Kor." "Joo..... eh?" "Ia, Ia. JU.... EH, Kor." "Jueh Kor." I say, getting a nod from him. "Jueh Kor, Fluttershy." I say as I point to him and then myself. "Flooter she-eh?" "Fluttershy." "Fl... Flut...er.. she... Fluuttershey?" Close enough. I nod and get a light laugh from him. He turns to the crowd and yells my name, getting them to repeat it as they begin to step closer, still holding their weapons up. "We need to put our weapons away." I tell the others as I holster my own weapon. "Fuck that noise. We need to retreat back and make a plan of attack." Miles says as he begins to back away. "Uh... I don't think we're going to be able to get away from them." Crimson says as he sheaths his sword. "Miles... I think we should try and communicate with them. Maybe-" "THEY DESTROYED MY PEOPLE! YOU WANT ME TO TALK WITH THEM! NO! NEVER, IF YOU'RE NOT WITH ME ON THIS... then.... then." He looks away for a second as he tries to force the words out. He shakes his head a few times before leaping straight up, jetting to the top of the building. The people around us gasp in surprise as we keep quiet. "Should we go after him?" Rainbow asks. "We should give him a moment first, he needs to calm down," Rarity says. "What do we do about... them?" Applejack asks. "Don't worry, I've got this." Bada Boom says as he steps forward, gaining the attention of the people. He takes a deep breath as he looks from face to face before..... turning around.... and waggling his rear end at them. ... ... ... ... "YOU IDIOT!" Every merc yells as they dogpile him, trying to hide him as he laughs hysterically. The crowd murmurs some more before Jueh steps forward, a little confused. "Il bahg wohr teh dori erroblact? Waqued." They finally drag him to the back of the group and restrain him. I move over to Twilight as she holsters her gun and pull her aside. "What do you think?" I ask her. "I think the frequency Miles voice was emitted was doing damage to their ears." She says as she glances back to the rooftop. "No, I meant about them." I say as I incline my head to the Unfamiliar. "Do you think we can trust them?" "Well... do we really have a choice? Miles left, we're out gunned, and I think-" "Preha, frum akil wu." Jueh Kor says as he waves us over with a hand. The crowd partially begins to disburse, some staying to watch us. At least they're all holstering their weapons. I look to Twilight and share an uneasy look before leading the group towards Jueh. "It's amazing how they trust you enough not to attack me!" The orc, I think his name is Harnkba, says to me as he leads the Mercs behind us. "You weren't really going to shoot Miles... were you?" Twilight asks, ignoring the orc. I look away from her as we enter one of the many buildings. "I.... killing innocents is wrong." I leave it at that. I don't know if I could ever hurt one of my friends, but in that moment... I'm just glad he let him go. Perspective: Miles I jump from rooftop to rooftop, fuming in rage. How could she possibly side with them? Those monsters killed millions! They took Dolum from me! They... they... they all deserve to DIE! I come to a stop when a wall comes before me. It stands several stories over the rest of the buildings and goes from the south side to the north side, cutting the city in two. Dotted throughout it are large bunkers with guns fixed in their windows. I charge the jets on my back and launch myself to the top. Several Unfamiliar patrol this area, clad in Terradisian armor. They spot me and gawk, unsure how to respond to my presence. I slide my helmet back on and charge for the closest one, pushing my magic to its limit. Six targets light up on my HUD. I whip my arms to the right and pull the ground out from the first one before he could respond. Spinning around, I bring my arms over my head and bring a chunk of the stone wall above my head. I begin to enchant it as they open fire on me. Their archaic bolts do little to nothing against my armor. Once done, I hurl the ball of flaming earth at them. BOOM The explosion goes out in a flat circle, breaking a portion of the wall along with it. Chunks of flaming earth rain down all around me as more gun fire comes from behind me. I bring my hands before my chest and push forward, sending a ball of energy that obliterates the closest target. I march towards the three others, laughing as they try to run from me. GIVE ME CONTROL I grab the farthest one magically and pull him towards me, knocking the others off the wall in the process. I bring him to face me and I begin to force his body into a ball. His screams of pain die out when he's a meter in diameter, but I keep going. I push and push until the ball shrinks down to less than that of my fist. "MORTILL IH!" Yells an Unfamiliar as more and more of them begin to pour out of the two bunkers. I turn to the left and push forward, sending black gunk over that group. I CAN GIVE YOU THE POWER TO ERADICATE THEM FROM EXISTENCE, GIVE ME CONTROL They simultaneously open fire on me. I ignore all of the readings on my screen and charge at the closest group, charging at them with my jets roaring. I swing my fist and punch the first persons head clear off. I bring my arm back and swipe another person off the wall, laughing as he falls to his death screaming. A few try to restrain my magically.. magically..... they stole human magic.... they.... will "INTERIBUNT CARNIFICINA!" I yell at the top of my lungs, making them all cringe and lose their grip on me. I push my arms out and blast two of them away with soul fire. Still firing, I spin around and bring my palms down, causing an explosion that blinds me for a second. When I can see again I find many of them hiding behind their magical shields. GIVE IN TO THE VOID "Lets kill these sons of bitches." I say with a mad grin. I feel an icy coolness wash over me as the new power begins to sink in. I double over as I feel all of my power lines begin to force their way into their new shape, seemingly ripping my skin apart. I look to my hands and watch as my gauntlets fade away from the black ropes slither out from my magical portals. I feel the dame effect happen to my heels as well as my back and helmet. "FINALLY! I HAVE CONTROL! TURN TO THE VOID AND RELISH IN YOUR DEMISE!" I suddenly launch down towards the right and crash onto a nearby building. I hadn't meant to do that, my body did it on its on accord. Corpus has literally taken control, something that I thought was metaphorical. I don't care right now, as long as he kills Unfamiliar, I don't care what happens. He leaps from rooftop to rooftop using all of the icy void ropes to propel us quickly through the air. We eventually make it to the floor and make our way towards the P.C.H. Several Unfamiliar run out into the street and open fire on us, but they quickly get a black rope through them. About half way to the P.C.H, some military vehicles show up before us. On is a tank and the other two are troop transporters. Corpus lowers us to the ground and pulls the ropes back within the portals. He giggles a bit as he just stands there, letting them form their ranks and aim the large canon our way. You can take them out anytime now. "Where's the fun in that?" Where's the fun in getting shot a thousand times? "Just wait, I do not intend to let my new body be damaged." You mean my body. "What was your body, enjoy the ride mortal." BOOM The tank opens fire. Faster than my mind could process, Corpus sent out a rope, caught the projectile, and flung it back at their ranks, killing several of them. He lets out a loud laugh before running towards them, dragging several of the ropes along the way. In the corner of my view I see a small Unfamiliar child watching from inside one of the buildings. A little girl by the looks of it- "PERISH!" I snap back to the front to find Corpus ripping the spine out of someone as the ropes from our back whip around the others. Limbs fade off as they try to shoot back at me, only to have their shots blocked by the black ropes. I look back to the side and watch as the little girl cries in her mothers arms, watching me destroy these people. We need to back off, there are civili- "WEAKLING! YOU DO NOT HAVE THE RESOLVE TO DO WHAT MUST BE DONE! DID YOU NOT SAY THEY ALL DESERVE TO DIE!?" But she's just a child! She- "They will all die." Not if I have anything to say about it. My body falls to the ground as I try to fight for control. All around me I hear screams and gun fire and I writhe around the floor. Corpus fights back by shooting out random beams of icy void, but the more I try to take control, the smaller the beams become. I can feel myself slowly gain control over my movements. First my legs, then my arms, and lastly my torso. Once I think I have total control, I push myself up and test moving my limbs, assuring that I have control. YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS "Maybe, but for now I am in control." I sigh in relief as... as.... as I suddenly feel really good. I look down to my hands and.... ... ... "FUCK YEAH!" I yell as I realize my magic has turned off. I remove my now broken armor and take a look at my torso. NO LINES! Nothing! "MILES!" I look over and see the group running towards me. "Guys! Check it out, no magic!" I yell as I wave a hand at them. "WE NEED YOUR MAGIC!" Rainbow yells as a tank comes around the corner and aims at us. From around all of the corners more Unfamiliar come running, aiming their weapons at us. I raise my hands and.... nothing happens. I try shaking my magic on, but it won't happen. Well.... fuck you to Corpus. "What happened while I was gone?" I ask as I pull out my sword from the broken armor and take my stance. "Jueh was talking to some of his people when... these people attacked. From what I've been able to gather and guess, it looks as if they're divided in two and are on very shaky terms. Something must have provoked them to attack." Twilight informs me as she raises the shield from her rifle. "That.... was probably me-" "MILES!" They all yell as they glare at me. "YOU SHOULD BE PROUD OF ME! I only killed.... like fifty of them! I even built up the nerve to stop!" I yell back in my own defense. Most of them just roll their eyes as an Unfamiliar in elegant robes approaches us. He takes a look at me and smiles, making my skin boil. "Prag teh." "When do you think they'll learn we don't understand them?" I ask Pinkie, getting a shrug in response..... and then a violent shake. "Still, the doozy still hasn't happened." "I know, I'm scared too." "JUEH KOR!" He yells, getting the crowd to start an uproar as four armed guards bring him forward. They kneel him by our shield and bring a knife to his throat. The robed Unfamiliar taps the shield as he presses the blade to his throat. "Pfft, like we'd drop the shield for- why are you dropping the shield?" I turn around and gawk at Twilight as she throws down her weapon. "Alright, mercs, I need to to- why are you throwing down your weapons?" Everyone drops their weapons and raises their hooves- hands- claws. "Bah-ruul, tehg werk." The robed Unfamiliar says as he barely breaks his skin. "Do we have to? It's just one-" "MILES!" "FINE! Gosh, lets save all the Unfamiliar! This is a good plan, this won't back fire. FUUUUUUUUUUCK!" I drop my sword and cross my arms. "Ahem." He points to my trench knife and motions to the ground. "I really hate you all right now." I say as I pull it out and drop it. "Trust me Miles, you're doing the right thing," Fluttershy assures me. I just roll my eyes and turn back to the other Unfamiliar, I hate today, I hate everyone in it, and I'll probably hate everything that's about to happen.... I should have stayed home. "FOREE? BRAH ERRINA QU AF AKIL HENT?" He asks the crowd. "DREG QOJ!" They all begin to chant. "IAH!" Jueh.... uh, that just feels dirty; Jueh yells as he fights his captors. The others circle around us and yell orders that we don't understand completely. They keep pointing towards the P.C.H., we I guess they want us to go that way. We begin our walk there, getting a good view of the rest of the city along the way. Many of the homes are occupied. Most, if not all, of the women stay indoors and watch us from a distance. Actually, I don't see any women coming out of the buildings. Not even the children. I can see little boys, but no females anywhere. "Anyone want to bring me up to speed?" I ask casually, getting annoyed looks from some of the girls. "Well, Jueh was trying to tell us something, but obviously we couldn't understand him." Crimson tells me. "From what I could guess, the city is divided. Each of them have been waiting for something to push the others over the edge... and it looks like it was you," Twilight says. "The people on the other side seemed scared, they knew this fight was coming-" BOOM We all stop for a moment when we hear explosions and gun fire in the distance. The sounds of a large fight fill the air as we're ushered into a part of the wall that blocks us from the P.C.H. Jueh... still feels weird to say that, protests even more, but stops when they punch him in the gut. We go through a dark hallway before exiting through the other end. We climb the steps to the P.C.H. and enter the mico station. It's still in its pristine condition, unscathed from all the years in their care. Why are they bringing us to the Research and Development floor? If they were going to torture or kill us, the Military floor would be best. They send several of the guards through first and then Jueh, a poor decision by their part. Once half of them are gone, I spin around and deck the closest Unfamiliar in the face, knocking his ass out. "COME ON, WE'RE GETTING OUT OF HERE!" I yell as I grapple the next Unfamiliar and spin him around, prying his gun from his hands. I run from the door and provide cover fire. I make it out the door and turn around, waiting for the others to come running out after me. ... Anytime now. ... Come on, it shouldn't be that hard with a fucking giant ass orc on our side. ... Okay, what the fuck. I walk back through the entrance and gawk at the others as they just stand there. "What the fuck?" "Sorry, we couldn't leave Jueh behind. And he-" "Fuck him! We need to get going!" I yell as I the remaining guards pin me down. I roll my eyes and toss the gun down. Whatever, I still got one of them, two if you count the guy I punched. "Why couldn't you leave him?" "Well-" "Obief!" The robbed Unfamiliar yells. He grabs Jueh and tosses him on the platform and marches straight to me. He snarls at me as he points to the platform. SMASH He recoils back as he holds his face. A good headbutt should let him know not to get too close to me. THUNK I stumble forward as the two guards behind me butt me forward with their rifles. I walk forward and shoot my group a look, getting some to look away while others just return the look. I take the platform and.... "Oh fuck that." I say as I step around and flash back to the mico station. "No. I don't care what reason you have, we're not doing that." "Miles-" "No! It's suicide! I'm not risking our lives for some asshole I don't know. It's not worth it." As if on queue, one of the guards grab Twilight by her mane and point a rifle at her head. "..... *sigh* why do you guys have to make friends with the things I hate most?" "Please Miles, just trust us. This is the right thing to do." Fluttershy says as she gives a worried looks to Twilight. I sigh again as I take the platform back. Okay, last time we did the first world war, outpost Echo, and the fall of the Americas. I need to remember those. "Are those giant eggs?" Twilight asks as she appears on the platform. "No, they're simulation pods. War simulators to be precise. Last I checked, they had a few kinks in them and nearly killed me and my friends. I have a feeling they're going to put us in there." "Look! Giant eggs!" Pinkie exclaims as she appears next. "No magic, the damage was coded incorrectly so it would transfer to the next simulations, it was also set way too high-" "Are those giant eggs?" Rainbow asks as she appears next. "Even better, if you die in there, you die in reality. Safeties were never installed." "Um... are those-" "NO! They are not giant eggs! They may look like them, but they are not!" I yell at Applejack. "Miles, please understand that Jueh needs to live. His-" "I don't give a fuck!" I yell at Twilight, scaring her a bit. "We're going to die in there! What could be so important that we should risk our lives for that monster!?" Fluttershy appears next, and rolls her eyes at me. The Unfamiliar grab me and begin to drag me towards the next simulation pod. I try to break free of their grasp, but they're are too many of them to do so. They remove what's left of my armor and open the pod. The top half lifts up and separates, revealing the seat inside. Wires fill the rest of the pod as a blue light glows from within it. They force me into the seat, getting several of the wires to wrap around my arms and legs, holding me in place. "WHEN WE GET IN THERE LISTEN TO WHAT I SAY! REMEMBER YOUR TRAINING DASH! WE HAVE TO WORK TO TOGETHER OR WE'LL DIE!" The pod shuts around me as they begin shoot the orc. He was too big to fit, so I guess they did the next best thing. Lucky bastard. "AH!" I yell as I feel several of the wires stick needles into my arms, legs and torso. I try to keep calm and begin to forcibly control my breathing. I never liked small spaces, but adding the needles always made it worse. It feels like an eternity as I wait for the torment to begin. I can hear several of the other pods opening and shutting. Why are trying to save that asshole? I don't get it. They've seen what his people have done to my people, what could he possibly have that would persuade them like this. It doesn't make sense. "AAAHH!" I scream out again as another needle works its way into my neck. Everyone must be in already. Okay, keep calm, remember my training. I need to keep the girls alive, I need to make sure they don't get hurt. I need to- The world around me burns bright white as the simulation begins to load. COMBAT PROGRAM INITIATED. PREPARE FOR BATTLE SCENARIOS DELTA, OMEGA, ALPHA-X, ZERO, AND STELLA. SAFETIES ARE NON-FUNCTIONAL. SOUL BASE DETECTION NOT RESPONDING. PLEASE BE ADVISED, NEUROLOGICAL WIRING FAULTY, PLEASE CALL MAINTENANCE FOR TECHNICAL SUPPORT. VIVAT HUMANITATEM. I have to keep them safe. The world blurs into view. We're in the middle of some earthen barrens. There are scorched craters all around us as a vast empty land fills our surroundings. To our backs is a large trench with pill boxes dotting it. A few helmets can be seen as well, some with bullet holes in them. I look down and find myself in some tattered brown suit with a rifle strapped to my back and a revolver holstered to my belt. I look over and see the girls in similar suits as well. The machine somehow tailored it to them. I look around a bit more until I hear siren go off in the distance.... wait... "RUN! RUN FOR THE TRENCHES!" I yell as I take off at full speed for the large trench. "INCOMING ARTILLERY!" "What are you talking about? My tail isn't-" KRA-BOOM I nearly fall over as a massive explosion shakes the ground beneath me. I scramble on all furs for a second before leaping into the trench. I stand back up and pull the others in as well. "WHERE'S PINKIE!?" I yell over the din of constant artillery exploding. None of them respond, too preoccupied with covering their ears. I look back into no mans land and see a tuft of pink in a crater. Without a second thought I leap back out of the trench and run straight for her. Shrapnel flares past me as explosions dot the landscape, blocking my view from time to time. I fall forward when I find Pinkie, covering her with my own body. I can feel her shaking beneath me, telling me she's alive at least. I hold out there for a while before scooping her up and making a run for the trench again- BOOM I fall into the trench as I feel a burning pain in my leg. I look down and see a light flesh wound, nothing to worry about at the moment. I ignore my own pain and look Pinkie over. She has a deep shrapnel wound on her rear right leg. It's bleeding profusely with a piece of metal sticking out of it. I take my jacket off and wrap it around the wound, tying it off tightly. "MEDIC!" I yell over the explosions. "MEEEEDDDIIIIIIIIIIIIIC!" "Miles." Pinkie says softly. I cover her with myself as another explosion hits nearby. "This isn't fun." "I know, but don't worry. I'll keep you safe." "Promise?" "GET READY FOR A FIGHT!" I yell to the others as the artillery begins to fade out. They all look to me in confusion as I pull my rifle... or what's left of it out. I drop it and take Pinkies, it looks operational. "TROOPS ARE CHARGING FOR US! WE NEED TO HOLD THE LINE TO BEAT THIS SCENARIO! GET UP! IF YOU CAN FIT SOMETHING INTO THE TRIGGER GUARD GET READY TO SHOOT! DASH, WATCH OVER PINKIE!" I march down the line and force the others to stand and hold their weapons. They try to ask me a few questions, but I ignore them as I make sure they're all ready for this. "Are those them?" Crimson asks. I turn around and watch as soldiers in tan uniforms come running out of the pill boxes. The programming is off though. Some repeat actions, other have black and white fuzz for faces. "No, those are our allies. Our enemies will have dark grey and pointed helmets. Find any knives or use your rifles as clubs. If-" "HERE THEY COME LADS!" I look over the trench and see a wall of people running for us. Machine gun fire roars from the pill boxes as the mow them down. But no matter how many they kill, more seem to come. I take aim and start taking shots, these are bolt action guns. They're too slow to be effective right now. Bismuth, Jueh, and Jax take positions next to me and mimic my actions, watching me closely. They're shots aren't that useful, but I don't have room to complain right now. Small explosions begin to dot their lines. I look over to see Bada Boom throwing some grenades. CLICK "Fuck!" I drop down and begin to reload. It takes a little bit, but I figure it out. "AH!" I look over and see Bada take a shot in the shoulder. He drops the grenade before him and falls on top of it- BOOM I fall back as a red mist sprays everywhere. Luckily for the rest of us, his body took the explosion. I look over and see the terrified looks on some of the girls' face. I stare at them for a bit before remembering myself and finish reloading. I pop back up and take aim. their lines have made some progress... too much progress. I look to the pill box to my right and begin to run to it when I see the gun just sitting there, not firing. The gunner was shot in the head while the loader is constantly moving ammo from the side to the gun, stuck in a constant loop. I jump on the gun and cock the next round in before opening fire. The gun shakes as I swivel from side to side, tearing limbs and punching holes into the enemy indiscriminately. All too soon, my gun clicks. I turn to the side and pause when I see Fluttershy handing me another drum of ammo. I can see the fear in her eyes as she shakes, rattling the ammo in her hooves. "Make sure to tell me if they make in the trench. I should need ammo every thirty seconds, can you do that?" I ask as I begin to reload, fumbling slightly from not knowing exactly how it works. She nods and moves to the doorway. I turn back around and continue to shoot the enemy into submission. I can see the ones out of my line of fire slowly making their way towards our trench, but I keep my focus on the enemies in front of me. "AMMO!" "MILES! THE TRENCH!" I drop the machine gun and run out the door. Several troops have made it inside. Some are fighting the A.I.'s, but the rest are fighting the mercs. I pick up a rifle and fix the bayonet to it before charging the first one. I ram the blade into his side and pull him off of Dash. He slumps to the ground and bleeds out quickly enough. Rainbow yells her thanks before jumping one of the other soldiers, holding a bayonet in her hooves as she stabs him in the throat. I look back in time to bring my rifle up and block another rifle. We push against each other before I muscle him against the wall. I knee his stomach a couple of times before smacking the butt of my own rifle against his head. He falls to the ground and tries to get back up, but falls flat when I ram my blade between his shoulders. "MILES!" I turn around and freeze up when I see a barrel pointing right at my face. ... ... ... "Oh sweet Barbra it froze." I sigh in relief as I move around the person. All of the A.I.'s have stopped moving completely. Some are mid jump while others are stuck in fighting poses. "Okay, I don't know how long this is going to last, so go through and kill as many of the enemy soldiers as possible. Where are Pinkie and Rarity?" "Rarity took her to the other bunker to watch over her. What's going on? Why are they-" "We don't have time for explanations. Just do as I say or we'll pay for it later!" I begin to run towards the other pill box. Halfway there someone pulls on my shoulder and forces me to look at them. "Bah-ruul-" I silence him when I point my rifle at his face. "This," I say as I point around us, "is on you." I point at him. He sighs and nods slowly, backing away from me. I turn back and make my way as quickly as possible to the pill box. Rarity has Pinkie laying on a cot as she tries to dress the wound. The shrapnel has been removed and she has stopped the bleeding. Her white hooves have turned dark red from all the bleeding, and she seems... distant. "Rarity.... RARITY!" "Huh?" She pauses to look at me before going back to work. I shake my head and pull her away, getting her to break down a bit. "Miles! She was bleeding, and she passed out, and I can't use my magic, and-" "Rarity." I mover her face to look me straight in the eyes, silencing her. "Breath slowly. Inhale, exhale, nice and slow. You did good Rarity, now I need you to stay with Pinkie and make sure she doesn't stop breathing. Are you ready for this?" "No... No I can't do this! This was... too much Miles. The monsters and bots and... it was never anything real. These people-" "Are not people. It's all written program, none of this is real." "But they were screaming in pain! They were bleeding! Pinkie is in pain! That's real! Pinkie is real!" She yells back. "I know, this is why I didn't want to do this. But if we stick together, we can pull through this. Just be sure to keep Pinkie safe, okay?" She shakes her head as she looks back to Pinkie. I can understand her distress, but right now we need to make sure we're fully taking advantage of this stall. I walk out to find all of the mercs, and Dash, slitting the throats of the frozen enemies. They already have many of them dealt with, all that really remain are the ones in no mans land. "Miles, what's next?" Rainbow asks. "Next we-" I stop when everything suddenly goes white. I stumble back as the brightness forces me to close my eyes. I blink when I feel a spray of water hit my face. I look around to find myself in an amphibious landing craft of some sort. I grab the rail on the side to steady myself as the choppy water crashes against the sides. I look down and find myself in a new uniform. I have a green jacket on with dark brown pants and a bucket helmet on my head. Long boots are strapped to my feet and have a light brown cover on them. I have some semi- auto gun on my back and a pistols on my side, as well as a large pack on my back. "What's going on?" I look over and see Bismuth and Dash in the same transport as me. They'er in similar uniforms as me, but each have different guns. I peer over the edge and see the others looking for us as well. We're spread out over four craft as dozens are heading towards a cliff that has a large bunker on the top. Several metal X's dot the sandy area below the cliff. "SIXTY SECONDS!" The driver yells from behind. "Okay, I think we have to take the bunker. Use the metal things for covers and try to meet up with the others. Bismuth, you're with me. You and me will take the bunker. Dash, I want you you to get the others and keep them safe-" An explosion of water derails my thought process. In the distance I can hear the thumping of artillery, followed by more watery explosions. "Captain?" "Right, get them as close to the cliff as possible. Move fast and be weary of the machine gun fire, the bunkers probably have several there." "Right!" Everyone acknowledges. "THIRTY SECONDS!" "Why are the guns in this plastic?" Bismuth asks as he toys with his weapon. "They probably can't get wet. Don't take it out until we're on dry land." "I CAN'T FLY!" Rainbow yells as she flaps her wings. "FIFTEEN SECONDS!" "Then don't fly!" I yell as I move to the other side. One of the other craft explode as an artillery shell finds its mark. I can see one of the other craft land and drop its front. Bullet fire tears through the infantry as they try to run out. The only ones I see make it are the ones who jump over the side. "'FIVE SECONDS! GET READY TO CLEAR THE RAMP!" "JUMP OVER THE SIDE!" I yell as I grab Dash and toss her over the edge. The ramp drops down and a hail of fire rings through our vehicle. All of the other troops try to run forward, but are quicky filled with holes. Bismuth falls onto me and forces me to the ground as round after round tear into his body. Suddenly, the fire moves elsewhere, giving me a chance to get out of here. I push his limp body off of me and run for land. A trail of bullet fire makes its way towards me, but I make it to the metal X just in time to dodge them. I look around and many of the girls doing the same... I don't see Pinkie or Rarity. Hopefully they're just hiding. "BAH-RUUL!" I look over as Jueh falls down beside me, trying to use the cover I have. "Of course I get stuck with you." He looks at me and rolls his eyes as he looks to the incoming fire. I go for my rifle... when I realize I don't have it anymore. "AH!" I jump a bit when I feel something touch my wound. I look over to Jueh and push him off. "Miles!" I look over and see Shadow Dancer waving to me. "We have the others, let's get-" A bullet slams through his skull and drops him. I cringe a bit but look around for another weapon. There's a gun just out of reach to my left. I look back to the incoming fire before jumping out to grab it. I roll over and duck behind the closest barricade- THUNK "AAAAH!" I yell out as I hold my right arm. "I'M HIT! FUCK!" I growl a bit as I ripe off part of my jacket and begin to tie off my wound. "FUCK! YOU, JUEH!" He looks over to me and nods. "GET READY!" I point with my head as I start to unwrap my weapon. He nods slowly as he does the same.... of course he gets a sniper rifle. What do I get? Some large bulky rifle. It has the options to be auto or semi auto, so I guess that's alright. SNAP The machine guns fire stops as Jueh racks the next round. I jump to my feet and charge straight towards the cliff. They made a mound of sand that has barbed wire going along it. That'll be my first stop then. A few tracer rounds start making their way towards me, but I drop down to into the sand mound just in time. "Hey!" Crimson yells as he lands beside me. "What's the plan?" "Uh... work on getting the others here. I'm-" BOOM I look over to see a massive hole being blown in the sand mound. "Well, that makes things easy. I'll head up that way and try to take out the gun turrets-" "I'll go with you!" Jax yells as he lands beside me. "Where's Bismuth?" I shake my head and begin to crawl over to the opening. Several of the A.I's are trying to make their way in, but the gun fire is keeping them at bay. Jueh fires a couple more times, silencing the machine gun fire. He has a... fuck him. "I get up and run for the entrance. We make it to the base of the large concrete bunker and press out backs to it. Jax moves to the side and peers around the corner- PATPATPATPATPAT "OH SHIT!" He falls back as the gunfire peppers around us. "Nearly took my head off there." He laughs as we trade spots. I shake my head as I peer over, hugging as closely to the wall as possible. "They're dug in at the top of the cliff with two machine guns fixed there. Looks a little weak on the front end. Do you have any explosives on you?" I ask as I move back behind the cover. "Nothing. Sorry." I sigh as I load my first round and psych myself up. I jump out in the opening and fire at the mound. My rate of fire is atrocious, but they feel heavy hitting at least. The rounds slam into the weak earth and collapse the mound, dropping the three machine gunners. Several of the A.I. move over and take them out as we move up the stone stairs. We make it to the top and immediately open fire on a group of enemy soldiers as they try to run into the bunker. Ends up I only get twenty shots. I reload as we make our way to the bunker, following some of the A.I.'s, one of which have a flamethrower. We run after them but drop when the tanks from the flamethrower burst into a massive ball of fire. Several other infantry men were caught as well, their screams ringing in my ears as they roll around on the ground. "Let's get... oh shit." Jax lays on the ground with his wings lying limply by his side, charred black from the fire. "It'll be alright... it'll be okay.... it's not real... right?" He asks me weakly. I swallow hard as I try to think of a way to answer him. I can't. I get up and push forward, heading straight for the bunker. I kick the door open and walk in, shooting the gunner in the back as I enter. I check my right and- SPLAT I spin around and watch the headless body fall to the ground. I look back out to the sandy area and see the glimmer of Juehs rifle. The water has turned deep red as bodies litter the ground. Smoke is rising from all over as burnt corpses and small fires litter the landscape. I watch as Jueh runs over to the girls to check on them, I can see all of them safe behind one of the- "AH FUCK!" I yell as the bright white light returns. Another! How many will they force us through!? When my vision returns we all appear in a small room. There seems to be dust everywhere as the walls are made of some kind of adobe. The temperature seems to have gone up as well. I look myself over and discover that I'm in some sand camo uniform with a Kevlar jacket along with a thick helmet. I have an M4 assault rifle, the relic to my rifle of choice along with a pistol. I look over the others when I realize that the simulation pods are sending the dead with us. They aren't mangled or anything, they just drop to the ground as lifeless heaps. Pinkie and Jax drop down as well, but their cries of pain let me know they're at least alive. "Where are we now?" Rainbow asks as she looks over her machine gun. I walk up to her and trade guns before moving to one of the nearby windows. The area we're in is filled with houses made of similar material. Dirt roads fill the area between them as dust fills the air. An uneasy silence fills the town as nothing happens. "I don't know, Crimson, come with me real quick. The rest of you stay down here and keep an eye out for any movement." We head to the back of the room and find some stairs. We take them to the next floor where I go and clear all of the rooms. "What's the plan?" He asks me as I move to the next floor, the top of the roof apparently. The house we're in sits in the middle of a three way street at the bottom of a large town. From here we have a pretty good vantage point, but I don't like how many homes there are. Way too many vantage points for my liking. "We need to-" SNAP I fall back as a round slams right into my chest. The armor I have on caught most of the round, but it wasn't enough. I can feel blood starting to pour out from a small wound. I begin to lose my vision, the three wounds taking their tolls on my body. I vaguely make out Crimson pulling my body back down the stairs to the others. All of the girls come around me and start yelling about something as the room begins to burst into chaos. Bullets shatter stone as Jueh and Jax try to fight back. My arm is burning. My head rolls to the side, giving me a view of Crimson as he fights to keep the door shut. He falls forward as someone with a head wrap breaks through and fills his body with holes. My arm is burning even more now. The man in the head wrap is tackled by Jueh. They wrestle around a bit before the man pushes Jueh off. He turns to fire at me but drops when Jueh pulls his legs out from under him. The man pulls a knife and tries to stab him, but he catches it mid swing. The blade buries itself in his palm, his black blood pouring out from the long cut. He pulls it aside and yells at him, giving me a view of his flat teeth. A light is coming from my arm. It still burns. Jueh brings his knee up and slams it into the person, giving him the edge. He rolls him over and pries the knife from his hand. He tries to slam it down on into the mans chest, but he catches his arm. They fight for a bit before Jueh begins to slowly bury the blade in his chest.... I feel... Distant. As if I'm watching from... elsewhere. A bright light comes from my body as I roll out of the simulation pod. A massive Rainbow shoots out and crashes down onto the Unfamiliar surrounding us, turning them to stone. A mob of Unfamiliar crowd around us and cheer as we leave the P.C.H. Jueh runs to a pregnant woman and falls before her, pressing his face against her large stomach. A group of Unfamiliar guide us to the exit and help us leave. Many things were said, none of which were understood. Worried looks were mainly in my view at this time. I'm on a train... when did this happen? Where are we going? Did they figure out where to go? How? Celestia looks sad, not as sad as Luna though. ... ... ... I'm in some kind of cavern full of gems... ... ... ... ... ... The bright lights are back, though they aren't making the rainbow again. ... ... ... ... I'm tired. ... ... ... ... ... I should go to sleep... ... ... ... ... Luna doesn't cry in my sleep, sleep sounds good. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... "Shhhhh, it's all over now. It's time to rest. Don't worry soldier, the fight is over. Chaos will rain now. Sleep." "Altum?" "Soon, rest now. You story is over now." ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. .. .. .. . . . . . Chapter 176 Party Time ChallengesChapter 176 Party Time Challenges Perspective: Miles After a long and much needed nap I finally wake up. Shadow is still nestled against me, so I decide to stay here a bit longer. I saw Luna in my dream, the real Luna that is. Though I was dreaming of being human, so I guess I get to really surprise her when she gets here. I'm sure things will end... Maybe I should save those thoughts for when I'm not laying with my daughter. Yeah, good idea. Okay, different thoughts then... I have to pee. After some careful maneuvering I slip out from bed and head into the bathroom. Okay, have to pee... can't really aim it though. Well... hmm.. I'll just sit down I guess? Okay, this is getting ridiculous. Fuck it, I'll just take a shower. I move into the shower and turn the valve... I hate hooves. With no better option, and the need to pee clouding my mind, I bite the valve and awkwardly turn it. The pipes groan a water begins to pour out from the shower head. With that covered I relax and- "FUCK!" I yell at the top of my lungs as I jump out of the water. Why is it so fucking cold? It's practically ice now! What the fuck? "Dad?" Shadow asks as she steps into the room. We both freeze and stare at each other... wait, she's staring at something else. I follow her gaze and- "In the shower, really? That's... disgusting Dad." She says as she begins to gag. "Why are you still in here, get out!" I say as I cover myself, instantly regretting it. "Why couldn't... you use... *gag* the toilet?" She asks between gags as she backs herself into the door. "Out!" I yell, getting her to run. Once she's gone I sigh in relief and stop covering myself. Well... at least I'm already in the shower. After figuring out how to use the other valves and washing up I finally get out of the shower and dry myself off. I'll probably need to talk with Shadow about what she saw... or didn't see. I guess sheaths are a good thing. *sigh* I really need to work on locking doors. After tying a bed sheet around myself I head downstairs and- "SURPRISE PARTY!" "FUCK!" I yell as I try to run away, instantly tripping over myself. The Spartans, the girls- young and old- all of the Terradisians as well as several other acquaintances of mine surround me and start chanting surprise party. "No... no....NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Perspective: Storm "I can't believe he passed out." Damian snickers as we lay him on the couch. I chuckle as well as I pull the sheet off of him. "Yeah, but why did we do this again?" I ask him, getting him to roll his eyes as if the answer was obvious. "To punish him for making us believe he was dead. Duh. That, and now I owe Dusty Scrolls five bits." "Who?" "Don't worry about it. Now, let's get this party started." Perspective: Miles Ah man... I just had the worst dream terror of my life. Everyone was laughing, I was forced to be at a party, I had flashed my daughter. Awful. Just awful. Surely my friends aren't that evil. With a bit of a stretch I open my eyes and- "AH!" I yell as I grab hold of the couch. Mingling, snacks, music, dancing, fuck! My friends are evil! I glance down suddenly and immediately cover myself. "WHO TOOK MY SHEET!" "Miles, welcome back to the land of the living!" Damian says as he walks over to me. "Damian! What the fuck is going on? Why are you all here? WHERE IS MY BED SHEET!" I yell at him, getting him to laugh. "We hid it. Now you have to walk around in the buff. As for the party- oh, sorry. Was I not suppose to say party? I know you don't like the word party. Here, I'll stop saying party, because you hate parties-" PUNCH "... worth it." Damian says from the ground. I stand up and begin to move around the room, keeping my backside to the wall. "MILES!" Twilight says as she runs over to me. "Hey Twilight- DON'T HUG, DON'T HUG, NAKED!" I yell as she hugs me. I quickly push her away and back up against the wall. Twilight gives me an odd look before shrugging it off. "Sorry, you must not be taking this well, being a pony and all." She says as she leans over and examines me a bit more. "Huh, odd that it would ponify your cutie mark-" "Can you not stare at my ass?" I ask as I sit down, breaking her gaze. "Sorry. Are you going to be alright Miles?" "Yeah... maybe... probably not. Look, this is a little too much right now. I can barely run without tripping over myself. Can you please get everyone to leave-" "No can do, Captain." Rainbow says as she walks over with Scootaloo on her back. "We'll only leave once you tell us what happened. How did you do this? Is it permanent? We have questions and we want answers." "Alright, I'll give you guys your answers if you promise to leave afterwards. Deal?" "Deal. I'll get everypony in the living room." She says before running off. I sigh in annoyance. I'd rather do this another time, but if it's going to happen, it's going to happen. Before we start I try to find my bed sheet, but with no luck at all. I tried to prolong the talk, but Twilight simply lifted me into place with her magic. This is going to be a long talk. I start the conversation going over what happen. From my waking up to my discussion with Celestia and ending here. Twilight told me that I couldn't simply deny my kingship, but I assured her that I had a plan for that. From there I simply answered their questions, most of which I had already asked myself. Is this permanent? Will I still have power problems? Why had the Elements attached themselves to me as a necklace? At the end of this I simply sat down and rubbed the bridge of my nose... face? "Anything else?" I ask, getting a silent response. "Good, now if you please I must speak with the Spartans in private." They look to one another before leaving, saying their goodbyes and telling me their joys for having me back. It was good to hear them happy to have me. Once they were gone I turn my attention to the Spartans, tapping a hoof slowly. "So-" "Give me a status update on what the Regiment has been up to for the past months as well as world events." *Silence* "Really? What the fuck have you all been doing?" "Hey! I've been busy, it's just been Statera business. I doubt you want to hear that boring stuff." Damian points out, getting a nod from me. "Good point-" "So am I off the hook?" He asks, full of hope. "Fuck no. Especially after... this. Now, as for the rest of you. Just because I was gone does not mean you get to fucking slack off!" I yell as I march around them. "We haven't been slacking off! We've only been back for a day now! Sir!" "And what do you have to show for it?! Look at all of you, stuck on a cruise ship for two months and you've gone soft! Your resolve has grown weak. Your respect has dwindled and you may as well kiss that killer instinct goodbye. This is a professional military, and you will hold yourselves to that standard! This is not acceptable! This is a fucking disgrace! LOOK AT ME WHEN I FUCKING TALK TO YOU, NIGHT FURY!" I yell as I get in his face. He mumbles something and lazily looks back up to me. "WANT TO REPEAT THAT?!" "Sir, with all due respect, if somepony were to challenge-" "You challenging me?" I ask as I step back from him. He looks back to the others before stepping forward. "I challenge you for the rights of Grand Captain of the Spartan Regiment by rights of blade." The others gawk at him, completely caught off guard by his challenge. "As standing Captain, I accept. Outside, two minutes. Be ready." I leave the living room and begin to head upstairs, having Damian and Storm follow me closely. "Dude, he's going to kick your ass." Damian says as we enter my room. "Thanks Damian, great pep talk." I say as I grab Susurrans claymore. After all these years I finally get to know what this does. "Miles, can you even swing a sword?" Storm asks me, making me scoff. "Are you two serious? I can still fight you know-" "As a pony?" Damian asks, making me doubt myself. "Look, maybe we can-" "No. He challenged me, so I now have to face him or death. You know the rules." They look to each other before nodding slowly. I try to walk out with the sword, but find it odd to walk with three limbs. With no better option, I bite the handle and drag it along with me. Perspective: Storm I wait for Miles to leave the room before asking Damian, "Okay, so do we let him fight or do we help him somehow?" "If we help him, he's just going to get mad. I say we let him fight and kill Night Fury after he wins. Well, you kill him. I don't want to be Captain." "Okay... let's go already then." Perspective: Miles I step out into the front yard and find Night Fury talking with True Will, Dust Devil and Big Mac. Dust looks as if she's about to have a heart attack while Mac and Will have their normal unbiased gaze on. Night Fury turns to me and steps forward, rearing up and drawing his two axes. "Till death or submission. And let that be that." I say as I rear up... and fall back. Okay, that's harder than it looks. "Agreed." He says with a slight chuckle as I get back on my feet... hooves. I take my sword and hold it with both my hooves as tightly as possible. This is going to be hard, really fucking hard. I have far too many handicaps working against me for this. I'll need to be smart if I want to come out on top. He charges forward and takes wide swings at me with his blades. I scramble back and fall over, barely avoid the attack. He charges forward again and tries to bring one of his blades down on me, but I raise my sword and block the attack. A wake of concussive air hits me, but my arm stays up. It doesn't even budge. That should have hit with tremendous force, but instead it felt... weak. Far too weak for his weapons enchantment in addition to his armor and his normal ability. I shake my head and swing my leg under him, getting him to fall over. Before he hits the ground he flies back and gains his footing again, giving me a chance to get back up. He flies forward, trying to knock me back down by using both blades at the same time. I block the attack with my sword, finding it far too easy to hold against. I quickly notice a small flicker of light forming at the base of my blade. I don't get a chance to examine it though, because Night Fury doubles his attack. He pushes forward as he wildly brings down his blades. I shuffle back and move with the blows, blocking each one. The blade is light and moves easily. His attacks aren't fazing me in the slightest, letting me keep my footing. He's forgetting his training and putting too much into his attack, trying to overpower me. All I need to do is wait and take my time. I can hold out far longer than him, I just need an opening... THERE! BOOM I stand there, completely shocked, as Night Fury flies back and tumbles over. Easily ten meters away. How in the fuck did I manage to do that in one blow? I didn't even put that much into it. He gets back onto his hooves and shakes off the attack before circling around me. I hold my claymore up and turn with him, waiting patiently for his attack. "Come on Miles, you got this!" Dust Devil cheers from the side. "Miles! Don't die! I don't want to follow his dumb ass! Only your dumb ass can lead!" Damian adds, making me shake my head. Great moral support. "Eeyup." ... I don't know if that's a compliment or an insult. "Why are you doing this?" I ask when we both finally come to a stop. "The leader of this regiment needs to be strong and able. You could barely walk, so I thought new leadership was needed." He says as he eyes the area around me, finally taking his surroundings into account. "And I'm sure you had the regiments best interest at heart," I say, making him scoff. "I can assure you that I am completely able to lead." "Prove it." He says as he drops his blades and holds up his hooves. I nod to him and stick the blade of my claymore into the ground before stepping forward. "AH COME ON! Just stab the bitch!" Damian yells, earning a smack upside the head from Storm. I ignore him and get my mind into the fight. I need act, not to think. Thinking has made me seem weak, so just act. My body will follow through, just go for it. I push forward and jab at Night, getting him to dodge left. I move forward and continue trying to connect a jab, forcing him to back away. He suddenly jumps up and tries to bring his back hoof across my jaw, but I drop back to dodge the attack. I bring myself up and hold my arms together to block a flurry of kicks from him. When he brings his wings in to drop down, I jab forward and connect with his armored gut. Another quick jab connects with the side of his head, where I hold on. Using all of my strength, I bring him around and slam him on the ground below me. Before he could react, I begin assaulting his head, delivering blow after blow with as much force as I could muster. When he starts to cover his face, I pull one of his legs back and begin to hit critical points, breaking it quickly. One final swing jabs him in the throat, stopping him from screaming. I allow him to gag on his tongue for a moment before pressing a hand to his throat, closing his airway. "Tap out and I'll let you live." I tell him as I start adding my weight. He tries to get out from under me, but is quickly losing the fight. "I'll give you till the count of three. One, two-" TAP "Hmm, thought so." I say as I push off of him. Dust Devil moves to help him, but stops when I hold a hoof out to her. "Let him learn his lesson and suffer. Now, as for the rest of you. Daily regiments will be put in place to get you all back in proper order... Storm, put your fucking hoof down." "Sir, this is important." He says as he steps forward. "Big Mac and myself are entering maternity leave-" "I'm making a Call. Until further notice, you we are all on high alert and will not be leaving for any distractions-" "But-" "Am I to assume you are arguing with me, Lieutenant?" I ask as I step towards him. "SIR NO SIR!" He yells as he snaps at attention. "I'm back, and that means we have a world to fix. We are the Spartan regiment, and we will bring order to this land! AM I CLEAR?" "SIR YES SIR!" They all yell in unison. "Good, first order of business. We're heading back to New Garnet to have some... diplomatic discussions with the remaining Unfamiliar. You are all to head to gather your materials and meet back here in twenty four hours. AND BE GRATEFUL THAT I'M GIVING YOU THAT TIME TO PREPARE!" "THANK YOU SIR!" They all yell again. "DISMISSED!" They all turn and run off in their own direction. I sigh as I turn back and walk inside. I didn't want to be such a dick, but if one of them openly question my ability to lead, then they all have had those thoughts. And those kind of thoughts can be dangerous. Until then, I'll have to ride them pretty hard until I can trust them again. ......................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Luna I sigh in relief as I set hoof in Equestria. It's good to be back home. I begin to briskly walk down the dirt path as Regina runs up beside me, panting heavily. "WHAT IN THE HELL WAS THAT ALL ABOUT?" She asks me. "What?" "YOU CRASHED A BLIMP!" She yells, practically jumping on place. I roll my eyes and continue on, determined to get home. "Please, I only pushed us along to get here faster-" "Noooooo! You pushed us into a hill and destroyed that blimp! It was goblin made! That's not cheap! And what about the fire!?" "I put it out-" "No you didn't! You just made a larger fire!" She yells before feeling the burnt feathers on her head. "I just made a larger fire to put out the smaller fire. No harm done." I say as I check my surroundings. Maybe another mile and I should be able to teleport to the mico platform in Canterlot. "I swear Luna, I don't like you when you get hormonal. Things get burned." She says as she takes to the air to lazily glide along with me. "Whatever, the sooner we get teleported to Canterlot the better-" "About that." I say as I slow down, getting an uneasy look from her. "Um... I need a favor-" "No." "Please!" "No." "But.., he's been gone for two months!" "NO!" "Come on, when the last time you've got cock?" She shakes her head in bewilderment from my question. Blinking a few times as she tries to think of a response. "Uh... are you really going to let me and Miles-" "WHAT?! NO! That's my man! I was just going to point out how often you get it and how pent up I've been! Pleeeeeeease Regina! What do you want, just ask and its yours! Come on, I need this alone time." "Nnnnnnngh FINE! But you owe me big time! Making me, your best friend, walk all the way to Canterlot! I can't clucking believe how good a friend I am-" "Thank you so much Regina, you're the best!" I say as I hug her. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just go before I change my mind. I swear, if there's one thing I hate, it's walking." She grumbles as I set her down and begin to run down the path. "YOU OWE ME BIG TIME FOR THIS LUNA! DON'T YOU FORGET THAT!" "I KNOW! THANKS AGAIN!" I yell as I charge my horn. Pushing my magic a bit, I teleport all the way to the back of the mountain side. I pause for a moment when I think back to Tia. I should really have a word with her... but I guess it can wait. I run around the mountain top and head down into our secret cave, where I teleport to the closet. I step into the main closet part and hear his voice behind the door. Like a filly excited for hearths warming eve presents I throw the door open and... "Luna!" "No." SLAM ........................................................................................................................................................ Perspective: Pinkie Pie Okay, TB told me not to mess around with having everypony in my head. Just have to play it cool, roll with the punches. At least now I finally get to know what happens in this part of the story- Pinkie.... why? Why you do this? What? OOOOOOOOOOOO, inner monologue thing made it in huh... oh well. HAI PEEPS! Can't wait to get started Solar! Anyway, I'm at Sugar Cube corner... really TB? What? Putting me there? Kind of cliche, don't you think? You live and work there. Where else would you be? Wanna let me have a whack at it? I think they'll like it more. No. Why not?! Because you'll either A: go get tacos with Deadpool, or B: spoil things for another story somehow. No I wont! I totally have a plan C! Pinkie... Please please please please you missed some commas please please please please Reckless fix that please please please please please please it's getting really bad please please please please- FINE! DO IT YOUR WAY! GOSH! Okie Dokie Lokie! If you say so! I hop my way down the road to Carousel Boutique. Rarity and I were having a fun conversation when Miles had his little break down, so I wanted to see if she wanted to finish it up. See? Completely better. Pinkie... I mean, if we just had a party at Miles' place, why would I go back to work? I would have scheduled the day off. Pinkie... Not to mention the Cakes would probably want to have their 'alone' time. I mean, he only- I DON'T WANT TO KNOW THAT FOR THE HUNDREDTH TIME! But he- NO! Then she- NONONONONONONONO Stop before I send a plague of doom! Sheesh, party pooper... pfft- PINKIE! I open the door and skip inside, finding it completely empty. Odd, I surely thought she would have been here. "RAAAAARITY? Are ya home?" I ask as I skip around the room. I pass a mirror and see my reflection, making me giggle a bit. I move back to it and begin to make funny faces. I blink before each face to give it that extra kick. I'm sure the twins will- "Hello Pinkie Pie." "GAH!" I yell when my reflection turns into Discord. "YOU! What are you doing here Mr. Stinkerton! I thought we turned you to stone!" "It would seem I got better." He says as he slithers away, disappearing completely. "Well, whatever you want you can't have it! Fluttershy-" "Oh, don't worry. I'm not after Fluttershy this time." He says from behind. I turn around and see him walking around as one of the mannequins, dressed in a patch-worked suit. "Then... what is it you want?" I ask as I begin to back away from him. My hoof hits something and I fall over. When I open my eyes, the only thing I can see is Discords face. The world around me begins to crumble as his eyes begin to flash different colors. "When laughing only makes you sad, sometimes you need to get mad." "N-no! Laughing is, wait? Mad as in angry?" I ask, making everything suddenly go back to normal. "Um... yes." "Okie dokie lokie! NOOOO! NO! STOP IT!" I yell as the world returns to chaos. "When laughing only makes you sad, sometimes you need to get mad." "St... stop... I... won't do... I won't..." "When laughing only makes you sad, sometimes you need to get mad." "When laughing only makes you sad, sometimes you need to get mad." "Good little pony, now.... have a nice day." SNAP "Pinkie darling, what are you doing on the ground?" Rarity asks me. I look around and sit up, trying to think back. I was talking to TB, making him mad about something.... oh yeah! "Sorry Rarity, I guess I just came here by accident. I was suppose to go get some tacos, bye! LA-la LA LA-laa!" I say as I begin to... whoa. Twitchy eye, itchy hoof, wiggly spine. That's a new one. I wonder what it means. Author's Note Shout out to RecklessRush for picking who Discord visited next! Just a side note, don't forget to join me on Wednesday for some gaming fun! Brony on! Chapter 193 My HometownChapter 193 My Hometown May 19h, 4133 Perspective: Miles I barely wake up as something warm presses against me. It's been a long week, dealing with the Unfamiliar and such, but I'm just glad to be home. I roll towards the warm source and pull it into my embrace, resting my nose against something equally as soft. I feel a warm breath wash over the end of my muzzle and smile when I feel a pair of soft lips press against mine. "Good morning." I whisper to her. "Welcome back." Luna tells me softly, giving me a kiss on the lips. "How was it?" "Truth or watered down version?" I ask as I open my eyes to look at her. She looks back to me and nods, telling me to continue. "It started out pretty bad." I tell her, getting her to frown. She doesn't say anything, instead waiting for me to finish. "The city was basically divided in the fight. We fought our way to Jueh and formed a proper resistance-" "Miles, you didn't go overboard on them... did you?" She asks hesitantly. "You would have been proud of me, I only killed like... two hundred in the first fight. After that... well, I didn't kill any allies at least." I try, getting a more worried frown from her. "Don't worry, everything is settled now." "How could everything be settled now!?" "Well... I may have changed into a pony in the middle of a fight, and may now be worshipped by all of them." I tell her, getting a shocked look. "... and how exactly did you change?" "Heh... um... I got shot." "Miles-" "It's not like I tried getting shot! There was a sniper and he-" "Wait, a sniper!? What happened!?" She asks as she sits up. Oh shit... why did I say that? "Well..." "Miles Eremita, you tell me what happened right now." She warns me in a firm tone. "Well, it was during our assault on the P.C.H. Night Fury, Dash and I were in lead taking down some heavy encampments when... I took the hit on my back." She immediately reaches behind me and tries to find the wound. "Don't worry, once everything was done they stitched me up." "Miles, I don't like this. I thought you would be able to stay home when you hit maternity leave." She says as she hugs me tightly. "I'm sorry Luna, but it's my duty to do this as Captain. I can't just sit idly by when I know they are down there. Especially if they know we're up here and would want to cause us harm." I soothe her as I rub her back gently. "Don't worry, I still intend to keep that promise to you." "You better!" She retorts as she buries her face in my chest. We spend a while holding each other, content with being in each others hooves. I don't like worrying her like this, but it's inherent with my position. After an extended period of silence she breaks off from me and heads to the restroom. I sigh as she shuts the door slowly. I need to find a way to cheer her up somehow. When an idea comes to mind I get out of bed and head to the bathroom, finding the door unlocked. Luna is sitting outside the bath with the water running, waiting for it to heat up. I come up behind her and sit so that I cover her back. I wrap my fore legs around her chest and rest my head gently besides hers. She leans into me and sighs as I hold her there, leaning against her lightly. "Dust and True came back with a new recruit. Not to mention we have Ellzy and Butterscotch training soon as well." I tell her quietly. "So you're going to be leaving for a month now to train them, whoop-de-doo." She says as she tries to break out of my grasp, but I refuse to let go of her. "Lady, I'm the Captain. I am not supposed to be there the entire training session." I tell her. She pauses for a moment before looking back to me, slightly confused. "But... last time-" "Last time I had to ensure that Storm and Big Mac would be suitable trainers. I've already talked with them both and we have an agreement for the training. They'll each take a week to oversee the operation. I'll only be there for the essential stuff. Basically, anything that requires magic. So instead of two months, I'll only be gone for two broken up weeks." "... wait, two months? I thought it was only for a month." "Well, usually it's three months, but with the limited resources we have to cut stuff out. I doubt they will need to know how to fly an AA-20 anytime soon. So, for the time being, we stick to the basics. Mental, physical, and the arcane." "... but I thought you couldn't use pony magic." "I can't. But Ellzy can learn Terradisian magic, so I'll be teaching him. Along with Spike." I inform her, getting a thoughtful nod from her. "Better?" "... much." She says with a smile. "Now let's stop wasting water and get washed up already." She says as she pulls the plunger for the shower to start. "Sounds good to me." I say as I pick her up and bring her into the shower, getting some high pitched yelps from her. I bring her into the shower and use her like a shield against the water. We spend the next twenty minutes having the most playful shower ever, water be damned. But it all comes to a crashing halt when Luna bolts out of the shower and pukes into the toilet. "Sorry." She grumbles when she collapses at the seat, keeping her face pointed in. "Don't be." I say as I shut off the water. "I'm a little surprised you didn't do that earlier." She replies by heaving more bile into the toilet. I step out and grab a nearby towel and drape it over her back. I try to rub her back and dry her off as she continues to barf into the bowl. "Is there anything I can get you?" "HNG! Bleh, no. Can you get breakfast ready though?" She asks groggily. "Sure, what do you want?" I ask, rubbing her back slowly in an attempt to comfort her somehow. "I don't care, just make it tasty please." She says with a weak smile before vomiting once again into the toilet. "I'll see what I can whip up." I tell her as I grab a towel and head down stairs. I'm not sure what to make for her... I don't even know how to make anything, but I'll do my best. Perspective: Luna Once my stomach settles down and I rinse the bile from my mouth I head downstairs to get some breakfast. When I make it to the bottom of the stairs a wonderful smell fills my nostrils, leading me to the kitchen. I swear, if Miles can cook- jackpot. "LOOK OUT!" "EEP!" THUD BOOM I look over to the stove and see a large column of dark smoke coming from a pot with green goo frothing down the side. Miles goes to say something, but I stop him with my hoof. "Okay, if I'm going to live here, you're going to follow some rules. First, that kitchen now belongs to me until you properly learn to cook. Second, anything you attempt, you clean up afterwards. And lastly, no more tackling the pregnant lady, got it?" "Got it." He answers quickly. He helps me to my hooves and ushers me out as the smoke begins to build up in the house. "Um... lets eat out for breakfast. It's such a beautiful day anyway." I lean back and glance up at the dark, cloudy sky before looking back to him. "I'll get you a sweater... just give me two seconds." He says before running back in. I chuckle a bit as he rushes inside and trips over himself as he rushes up the stairs. "Hello Luna." I jump a little when Fluttershy appears behind me, wearing a light green jacket. Her belly is really starting to show, much more than mine is. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." "It's fine Fluttershy, and hello. What brings you by today?" I ask as I turn to talk to her. "Oh, well, I was going to see if either of you were home so I could ask you about the town meeting today." She asks quietly. It warms my heart to know that I've gone from timid to quiet with Fluttershy. Going to all of those pregnancy classes with her has really brought us closer together. "Of course, what did you want to know?" "Well... do I have to go? Big Mac and I accidentally planned to visit Twilight today, so we might not be able to make it. But if you really need us to be there, we can always reschedule-" "Nonsense, go to Canterlot and visit Twilight. And be sure to send our regards as well. Heavens knows what my sister's been putting her through since she's started showing." I say with a slight chuckle. "What has she been doing to her? She shouldn't be under too much stress, it's not healthy for the baby-" "Oh! Nothing like that!" I assure her, getting her to sigh in relief. "In actuality, my sister has been by her side almost non stop to keep the other family members away from her. She doesn't want anypony trying to win bonus points with her, though I doubt they ever could." I tell her, getting a warm smile in response. "Oh, thank goodness. Okay then, thank you for understanding. I'll see you next Wednesday." She says happily before walking off towards Ponyville. THUD "Got it." Miles proclaims as he holds up my black sweater. I lean down and kiss the top of his head before taking my sweater, pulling it on quickly to fight the cold winds. "What's Fluttershy doing here?" He asks while he gets up and sets his saddlebags on his hips. "Just letting me know that she'll be in Canterlot today, visiting Twilight." I tell him as I look over my sweater. "Darn it, I'm going to have to buy a larger sweater. This one is starting to get tight." I frown a bit as I look at my growing stomach. A lifetime of being lean and thin, down the drain. "Do you want to stop at Rarity's first then?" Miles asks as he takes the first step down from the patio. "Aren't you going to get your jacket? It might start raining any minute." He stops and looks back to the door, thinking deeply about his choices. "I've gone too far already, lets go." He begins to walk off, so I follow after him. The walk in the park is peaceful enough. Because of the weather, there aren't a lot of ponies out, so it's just the two of us. There's a strong wind picking up, blowing chilled wind over the two of us. I nuzzle up against Miles for extra warmth and sigh when I feel the wind suddenly disappear from my side. I look over and see Miles's wing on my side and hugging me closely to his side. I look back to him to see his smug face smiling down at me. "What? You're acting like I'd never be able to do that?" "With the kind of progress you were having, I was starting to think that." I joke before kissing him lightly on the lips. "Can you fly yet?" "No, but Dash says I'm getting pretty close. When I'm human I just need to work my arms out a bit more. It somehow transfers over to my wings." "That's good." I say as I cuddle up with him. We make it into Ponyville and head straight for Rarity's boutique, having the bell ring as we enter. "OOO! W-Welcome to Carousel Boutique! Where everything is- oh! I-I'm sorry darlings, I didn't know it was you two." Rarity stammers as she enters from the back. "It is good to see you again Miles. Luna, looking lovely." "Thank you. I was wondering if I could get another sweater, it seems this one is... getting tight." I say with a slight blush as I look back to tummy, feeling self conscious about my growing size. "But of course! If you'll step over here I'll take your measurements." She says as she moves to the side and pulls out some measuring tapes. I pull off my sweater and stand where she told me to while Miles begins to wander around the room, looking about idly. "So, Miles, are you going to be staying home for long this time?" She asks as she writes down some notes. "Yup. We aren't shipping the food processor to the Colonies for another month-" "Oh that's good." I sigh in relief. "The griffins could really use that right about now." "Honey, please try to stand still." Rarity says firm yet softly. "But yes, it is good to see them receiving aid. Have you found those responsible for the attack yet?" "No. Not even a clue. But we're not giving up until we find them and bring them down." Miles says coldly. "So, how are you and Spike?" I ask quickly, trying to change the subject. Rarity practically falls over when I mention this, dropping a few tapes and her notepad. "What!? Whatever do you mean, darling!? Spike!? And-and I?! Together?! Romantically!? Never!? Nothing against Spike, of course! He's grown to be such a handsome, strong, capable gentledrake- BUT HE'S STILL SO YOUNG! We're just friends! That's it, friends! Why, what have you heard?" She demands, her face quickly becoming flush. "Nice cover, Rare." Miles deadpans, getting an evil glare from Rarity. "Miles, please. It is rude to tease a lady-" "I'll be sure to tell Spike-" "MILES!" Rarity and I both yell, getting him to laugh. "AHEM! Anyway! If you're done being completely vulgar, I have what I need. Are there any designs that you would like me to attempt?" She asks me, ignoring Miles's laughs. "Right... I prefer darker, cool colors. Besides that.... umm...." I lean in to whisper in her ear. "Slimming, if you can." "Of course." She whispers back, giving me an understanding smile in return. "Well, I have all I need. I'll be sure to make them adjustable for... later. Now I have another order to finish up, so I'll be sure to send the finished product when it's done." "Thank you Rarity." I tell her as Miles joins me at my side. "Can you do me a favor?" Miles asks. "Well, I can-" "When you head back into your work area can you tell Spike that we're doing double time today." He tells her nonchalantly. She blushes furiously as she glances to her backroom. "I-I will be sure to tell him the next time-" "SPIKE!" Miles yells. "DID YOU HEAR THAT!?" ".... yeah." Spike grumbles from the back. Rarity's entire face turns redder than a tomato as she drops to her haunches . "Good, have a good day you two. Luna?" Miles says as he offers a wing. I look back to Rarity before stepping under it and am ushered out of the building. "Did you really have to tease them like that?" I ask as we walk into Ponyville proper. "Do you really think I could pass up a chance like that?" He asks as he holds me a bit tighter. "... touche... I'm still hungry by the way-" "Cravings?" He asks excitedly. "No!" I say dejectedly. "But if you could get some strawberry filled crepes with hay fries and smothered in chocolate, I'd love you forever." Miles comes to a stop and looks at me, raising an eyebrow slightly. "That sounds... like death on a plate." He says slowly. I fold my ears down and pout to him. "Is it because it's fattening?" I ask, my voice quivering slightly. "What? No! The straw-" "Are you trying to say I'm fat?" I ask, my voice breaking slightly as I begin to tear up. "What!? No! You're not fat! You're pregnant!" I break a little when he says that. Originally I was joking, but, somehow, it turned real. "Luna! I'm sorry!" "YOU THINK I'M FAT!" I wail as I drop to my haunches and begin to openly cry, causing a little scene in the middle of the street. Miles steps back and tries comforting me, but only succeeds in making me feel worse. "Luna! I'M SORRY! Uh... Okay! Let's go get... the crepes! I'll have one with you too! You're not fat! PLEASE GIVE ME THE ANSWER!" He yells as he falls to the ground and holds my hooves. "*Sniff* really? You'll have one with me?" I ask, wiping some tears from my eyes. "Yes, I'll have as many as you want me to have. Just, please calm down." He says as he sits up and rubs my shoulders a bit. I nod and smile up to him. "You're not fat." "I know, sorry. I guess I let my emotions get the best of me there." I say with a slight chuckle. "You could say that." Some mare says from the side. "Take that back before I rip your fucking head off and shove it up your ass, while you're still alive." Miles warns her sternly, glaring at her with the most intense eyes I've ever seen before. The mare goes wide eyed for a moment before looking back to me, fear gripping her form. "I retract my statement in its entirety." She says before taking off down the street. I look back to Miles and kiss him on the cheek. "Thank you sweetie." I say, nuzzling his cheek a bit. "Now, we're getting... food, right?" He says as he stands. "Right. And you don't have to get what I'm getting Miles." I say as I stand with him. He sighs in relief and we resume on our way to Sugarcube Corner. We make it just in time for a light drizzle to start to come down, so we rush inside before we get too wet- "One, two, three, LUNA!" Pinkie yells, pausing beforehoof to count to three. "Life lesson from Mrs. Cake, don't scare pregnant ponies. They jump, waters break, twins... good times..." She says with a content smile. Luna and I look to each other before slowly walking around Pinkie as she reminisces about her past. We get to a table and order our food after some small talk with the Cakes. When our plates make it to our table Miles starts to gag a bit, probably from all of the strawberries in my dish. Oh well. While he chokes to death from the delectable aroma I dig in and savor the sweet, crunchy goodness. By the time I finish my first bite, Miles is on the other end of the table, sitting as far away from my food as possible. "Now you're just over reacting." I tell him as I take another bite, relishing in the flavor. "Woman, that shit can kill me." He deadpans. I roll my eyes and set my fork down, now's the time to start on this problem. "Okay, now normally I don't mind, but when the baby gets here you have to promise to stop cussing." I tell him, getting a confused look from him. "... stop... cussing?" "Yes, Miles, I don't want our child swearing like a sailor." "... I'll try-" "Miles!" "Hey! A lifetime of cussing and you expect me to just fucking drop it!?" I glare at him while he slowly puts one and one together. "Oh... I just cussed... fine. For the kid, I'll do my best to cut the crrrrrrrrud and stop cussing." I smile to him and resume eating. While I eat, I notice that Miles keeps glancing away. I try to see what he's looking at, but there's never anything there. He says it's Statera, but that doesn't answer my question. No matter how much I try to pester, that's the only answer I get from him. Statera. In the walls, floating around outside, watching everypony, Statera is there. I drop the subject by the time I finish my food. I don't get how Balance is everywhere, so I leave it as a human thing. When we finish eating, the rain outside is really starting to come down. Miles offers his wing and we quickly try to make it to the mayors office. "Aren't you cold?" I ask as we run through the thick downpour. "A little, but I'll deal with it. Besides, I like the rain." He tells me. I smile at the thought of the rainwater making him cold. If that's the case, then his magic isn't a threat to him. But at the same time, does that mean he's weaker? When the Mayors building finally comes into view we double our pace to get there and out of the rain. Thanks to Miles, I'm relatively dry. Sadly for him, he seems to be soaked to the bone... but doesn't seem to really care. I light my horn and begin to pull the excess water from the two of us, sending it back outside. "Good morning Princess Luna, Mr. Eremita!" The assistant behind the front desk greets as she comes out to meet with us. "The mayor will be with you in a moment. May I take your jacket? Would you like something to drink perhaps?" "No, No, thank you though." I say as we step inside. "Well if you need anything feel free to ask." She says while she follows us to a bench. While we sit down and wait for the mayor, the assistant just stands there, staring at the two of us. At first we just try to ignore her, but it quickly becomes too annoying for us. "Is there something you need?" Miles asks her. "Huh? Oh! No, sorry. It's just... well, I've never had Royalty in here before... I guess I just don't know what to do with myself." She admits, blushing slightly. "Just do what you're supposed to do and we'll ask if we need anything." I reassure her, getting a deep bow in return. As we wait for the mayor I lean against Miles and close my eyes. I'm starting to feel bloated from eating all of that sugar. I regret nothing. I need something to soothe my stomach before I vomit it all back up... "Miles?" "Yeah babe?" "Can you run and get me a grass smoothie? I'm starting to feel queasy." I ask him nicely. "Uh... sure... smoothie, I can manage that. I'll be back before you know it." He says before standing and walking off. "Try that cafe on the corner." I advise him, knowing he has no clue what a smoothie is. He nods and walks out just as the mayor walks in. "Princess Luna, I'm so sorry about the delays! Please come with me." Four Hours Later I can't help but pace about as I wait behind stage for Miles. Practically the entire town is here and waiting for us to speak to them, but he's nowhere to be found! The mayor already addressed the crowd, and I only think they're still here because I'm supposed to talk, but where the hay is Miles! All I asked for was a smoothie! "Princess Luna, I don't think she can stall any longer." Sarah, the assistant, tells me. "Very well then, I guess I'll just have to do this on my own then." I say as I straighten out. It's not like I've never spoken before a crowd. I just wish I could announce this with my husband. I take a deep breath and walk out onto the stage, making the crowd in front of me go silent and bow. The mayor bows to me as well and backs away from the podium. "Dear citizens of Ponyville, thank you for meeting with me today despite the weather." I address them, making them stand back up and watch me closely. "I have tremendous news to share with all of you-" "OI! HOLD UP!" I look out to the left of the crowd and see Miles pushing his way through. I sigh in relief and patiently wait for him to make it to the stage. He trots up to me with a destroyed cup in his mouth and covered in a dark green goop. "Um... I can explain." "I think it can wait." I whisper to him, getting a nod. I turn back to the crowd and continue, feeling better with Miles at my side, even if he's covered in smoothie. "As many of you have noted, I have been taking residence in town recently on off days. I also know that there are some rumors floating around about me that I would like to put to rest today. The truth is... the truth is that I am married to Miles, I am pregnant, I will be having my foal here; in Ponyville." "..." "..." "..." "..." "..." "WOO! PONYVILLE!" Some stallion yells in the back. "That's not quite what I was expecting." I whisper to Miles. "Here, let me." He says, I step aside and let him take the podium. He looks around the crowd and sizes them up. After a continued silence he sighs and whacks his head against the podium, falling back in a bright white flash. Everypony winces from the initial hit then gasps when he stands back up as a human. "I really wish you would stop doing that." I tell him as he takes the podium again. "So, yeah. Remember me?" He asks the crowd. "To sum things up quickly for all of you: I can change into an alicorn now, freaky right? I have been married to Luna since before my change, even freakier, right? And we're now expecting a child, awesome right?" The crowd gawks at us as they begin to mumble to each other, unsure how to process what's been presented. "Look, I know this is a lot to take in, but please listen closely." I add as I step up to share the podium with Miles. "We decided that we wanted our child to be raised in a town that will instill the right kind of morals for life. And we couldn't think of a better place than Ponyville." Miles continues. "But we need your help." "You see, while our child is young, we will become basic citizens to Equestria-" "You will not have to call me Princess Luna, just Luna will be fine." "Yeah, but the biggest thing we are going to ask you is to not leak this or make a big deal about it. We want our child to grow up as normally as possible. To be able to go outside and play without having thirty paparazzi chasing after us. To do that, we need you all to simply treat us normally." "We understand that is asking a lot of you. Some of you put your livelihoods on selling stories and this would be a gold mine for you. What could we possibly offer in return?" "Nothing." Miles answers, confusing the crowd. "We aren't going to do anything. We're going to take a gamble on the moral good standing of this town and hope for the best. All we want is to raise our child in peace, and we're hoping that you'll cooperate with us in this." "Thank you for your time, if you have any further questions feel free to ask us at our home on the edge of the Everfree by Ponyville Park." Miles steps aside and ushers me to the side of the stage, where the assistant offers him a blanket to cover himself. We step inside the mayor's building as the mayor begins to speak with the crowd. "Well, here goes nothing." Miles says while he shuts the door behind us. "I think they'll come around. Maybe not at first, but eventually." I say. Suddenly the building begins to tremble as the crowd outside erupts in applause. Cheering, stomping and whistling fills my ears as they begin to chant 'Ponyville' over and over again. "Well... that didn't take long!" Miles yells to me over the noise. I smile to him and lean up to him for a kiss, one that he accepts quickly and passionately. "You still owe me a smoothie!" I yell to him when I break the kiss. Author's Note Sorry for the delays on this chapter. It should have been released sooner, but I realized something that was wrong in the last chapter. Luna is expecting in September, not June. Again, September is the due month. I was trying to do math in my head and I switched two numbers, sorry. I took the extra time to clarify any other discrepancies and have fixed all of them. In other news, Man of War now has over1000 favorites! As such, I'm going to be doing something special for all of you love and support. Click the link to check it out. Brony on! Chapter 209 ChangeChapter 209 Change “So, what do ya think she wants ta talk about?” I ask Shadow as we walk to my farm. I wanted to ask earlier, but it didn’t seem right to bring it up around ponies she doesn’t know that well. “I don’t know,” she says dejectedly, lowering her head. “She’s always bossing me around! For whatever reason, she’s determined to keep me away from anything she does! Usually she just tells me not to do something and I just listen, so she probably wants to tell me off.” “… wait, ya stood up ta Diamond?” “Not directly. She told me not to go to the air ball game, and I did.” “… an why did ya go to the air ball game?” I ask, knowing the answer already. “… well… I told Rumble I would.” She says quietly, using her bangs to hide her face from me. I take a deep breath and get ready to see what exactly Shadow knows about Rumble. “Did ya’ll know Diamond and Rumble used ta be a thing?” She looks up to me with a slightly confused look. “No, but why… you don’t think she’s mad at me for being with him… do you?” “If there is one thing Diamond can’t do, its share. Shadow my friend; you are now in the middle of a fight fer a stallion. Welcome ta the glorious life of high school drama.” “I should have been home schooled.” I laugh at that, patting Shadow on the back to cheer her up. “What should I do?” “Mmm… well, the normal thing ta do would talk ta Rumble about this and let him know about yer concerns.” “… and why can’t I do that?” “Oh, yer gonna do that. But somethin is gonna happen and blow all of this back in our faces. It always has, it always will. Maybe not right away, but it’ll happen. Not sure why though, but that’s life ah guess.” Shadow shrugs and accepts it at that. It sucks that that’s what’s going to happen, but it is. I don’t think we’d be as good as friends if things happened normally between us. We keep quiet the rest of the walk home. I keep glancing back to check if anypony is following us, but never see anypony. When we make it into the apple orchard we pass dozens of different… people. Bears, griffins, zebras, all kinds of different people are working the farm right now. The only consistent thing about them is that they all wear goggles, for whatever reason. “So… looks like work has been easy around here.” Shadow comments. “It’s been more of a hassle than a blessin. Half these folk don’t know a thing about apple buckin, AH’M TALKING ABOUT YOU Wǎnshàng yàjūn!” I yell out at a certain chimp, who then hides from me by climbing up the tree. “Ah swear, Apple Slice needs ta grow up so we can kick them out already.” “But I’m sure the help is appreciated.” “Well… it is, but at the same time, it aint. This is our farm, and we like to work our land. But, they won’t listen to us. They’re under strict orders from Hammer to help out-“ “Have you guys told him this?” “Pfft, ha! Please, he’s probably the more stubborn than Applejack. It’s worse actually. He’s more stubborn, in a passive aggressive sense! Big Mac and I need ta corner him alone and do it. Applejack is too soft on him.” “Well… they are married.” I roll my eyes at that and hurry home. Hammer is a good stallion and all, I’m just tired of all these people working our land. It… just feels wrong. I walk through the door and call out that I’m here with Shadow. Applejack yells back her greeting from upstairs. I drop my bag off on the couch and head into the kitchen, looking for Big Mac. He isn’t here, so he’s probably out in the fields or something. I grab an apple juice for me and Shad before taking a seat at the table, having Shad join me at the table. “So, ya gonna have yer talk with Rumble today, or procrastinate like usual?” I ask, giving her the juice. “I don’t procrastinate-“ “I took ya’ll two years to tell Miles yer last name is Knight.” “He never asked! Plus… I didn’t want to be rude and correct him-“ “Ya took forever ta tell us how ya got yer cutie mark!” “It never came up!” “And have ya told yer parents how loud they are at night yet?” She goes red in the cheeks and fumbles over her response. As she tries to find the right response, the back door opens as Fluttershy steps in. “Oh, I didn’t know we had company. Hello Shadow. I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” “No! I mean, no. And hello, I was just-“ “Shadow’s havin colt problems-“ “Am not!” “Oh… my.” Fluttershy starts to back out of the room as Shadow glares at me. I just shrug and take a drink from my apple juice. “Um… I’m just going to go get Rampant from school-“ “Ah can get him fer ya iffin ya like. IIt’ll give us some time ta talk things over.” I offer to Fluttershy. “Oh… you don’t have to-“ “Alrighty then, let’s go Shadow.” I jump out of my seat and start to walk off, but stop at the door way to wait for Shadow. “I think I’ll let you handle this on your own-“ “Don’t make me force ya.” I say flatly. “I have magic,” she warns. “Ah have rope.” I warn back, giving her an even glare. We stare each other down for a few moments before she finally folds. “Fine. Bye Fluttershy,” she says with a grumble as she gets out of her seat. I smile and lead her out of the house, yelling back to Fluttershy that we’ll be back soon. She mutters a response, but I couldn’t quite here it. “So, ya haven’t done it with him yet, have ya?” I ask Shadow, making her trip and land on her face. “Ah’ll get Applejacks shotgun.” Perspective: Rumble I let a long sigh as I sit in the colts locker room shower, letting the warm water wash down my mane and over the rest of me. I don’t know what I’m going to tell Diamond that will actually get her to listen. I really doubt any words will actually get through to her, and I don’t want to… use my usual means. I’d to have at least one relationship where it didn’t revolve around that! “Did you here? The aggies and the preps nearly went at it earlier.” My ears perk up at that. I lean back and try to listen in on the conversation a few rows down. “No way! What happened?” “I dunno, but some preps went to the school farm and were going to throw down! But the teacher down there stopped them before anything could happen.” “Awesome! Wait… colts or fillies?” Why is that important? “Fillies.” “Nice.” … um… what? “I know right! Good thing they were stopped. I wanna see some mare on mare action!” I stop listening at this point and shake my head at them. What could possibly be attractive about two mare fighting with each other!? I mean, I guess seeing two mares rubbing up on each other would be enough for some… but I just don’t see it. I finish up my shower and dry off as quickly as possible. Hopefully I can still find Shadow before anything goes wrong. I grab my things and dart out the locker room, giving a quick goodbye to my friends as I take off for the schools farm. It doesn’t take me long to get there, but sadly I don’t see Shadow here. “Need help finding something?” some mare asks from the red barn. “Uh… no, well… I’m looking for Shadow. Have you seen her? Black coat, grey and blue mane-“ “Yeah, she was here earlier with Applebloom. Nearly got in a fight with that Diamond skank too. I believe they went to Sweet Apple Acres-“ “Thanks!” Before she could say anything else I take back off into the sky and head for Sweet Apple Acres. Luckily it’s one of the more well-known farms, so finding it won’t be a problem. Okay, so there are a lot of… different people working on this farm. I didn’t know they were so… diverse. Nothing against the Apples, but… I guess farmer stereotypes got the better of me. Anyway, I head towards the nearest building where I see the first pony working here. She’s a Pegasus mare with a light yellow coat and pink hair. Not bad on the eyes to be honest. “Excuse me!” I call out to her. She lets out a yelp and darts inside the barn, slamming the door shut. “Oh… sorry?” I say while landing confused. “Ya’ll have ta forgive that one. She’s a bit jumpy.” Another mare walks out from the far side of the barn and greets me. “Names Applejack, can ah help ya?” “Yes, please. I’m Rumble and I’m looking Shadow. I was told she was here-“ “She was here earlier, but left with Applebloom ta pick up the youngin from school. Ya’ll can wait here until they get back. “ “Oh, thank you-“ “Don’t mention it! So, who are ya ta Shadow anyway?” Her question comes out rather blunt and makes me pause for a second. “Well… I’d like to think I’m her coltfriend, but I don’t know if we’re quite there yet.” I answer her cautiously for her some reason. I think she’s trying to pry information from me, but then again, she could just be making conversation. “Huh, ah didn’t know Shadow was inta colts. Well, not with her parents at least. Well, ah have ta head inside. Feel free to wait in the living room, and mind the orcs. They don’t like it when ya stare.” I pause again when she tells me that. I’m not entirely sure what an Orc is, but I have a feeling I’m going to stare. I follow her inside and take a seat in the living room. The room is basically what I was expecting it to be, only with a few toys littering the floor. I guess there’s a foal in the family. Applejack comes back down with a foal in her saddle. He has an orange coat with white hair that has a streak of red going through it. “So… is that your nephew?” I ask. “Don’t ya’ll try an butter me up with all that flattery. This is my son, Apple Slice.” Oh… she does not look quite… old enough to be a mother. Like, she’s a very young mother. And I doubt she’s had multiple kids either. I apologize and go back to sitting here quietly. She offers me a smile before heading towards the back. Apple Slice waved to me, I found that a little adorable. A few minutes goes by before anything really happens. Applejack fed Apple Slice and I just sat here, waiting. Eventually a large grey-green beast, walking on two legs, entered the house. It has a pigs face, a lizard like tail, and… to put it simply, it was freaking huge. It had to bend over to stand in the room. “Something wrong, little morsel?” It asks in a deep voice, glaring down at me. Only now did I notice the two tusk like teeth protruding from its mouth. “… uh…” “Leave him alone Brosh and come tell me how the southern field is coming along!” Applejack yells from the back. He gives me one more look over before turning away from me. So… that’s an orc. Terrifying. “… and that’s why you don’t snort the glue at school. Who’s that guy?” A little colt walks in. He’s red with light yellow hair and wears a vest. Applebloom and Shadow walk in after him and stare at me. “Um… hi? I’m Rumble-“ “You here to help buck apples?” The colt asks shortly. “Uh… no-“ “Then I don’t care. MOOOOOM? ARE YOU HOME?” He yells out while walking towards the back. “Hey Brosh! Did you meet quota today… no? What do you mean no?” “We should head outside.” Applejack suggests. “What do you mean there are too many apples!? It’s only fifty square acres!” I nod and quickly follow them out as the kid starts to go off on the giant terrifying… thing. “So… how did it go?” I ask nervously when we can’t hear the kid anymore. “Well-“ “Yer ex-floozy nearly jumped Shadow! That’s how it went!” Applebloom yells at me. “Um… can we talk in private?” I ask, staring at Applebloom. “I think-“ “Since ah nearly had ta get in a fight with Diamond, ah think ah get ta be here.” Applebloom says, putting her hoof down. She can’t be serious. I mean, I appreciate what she did… but this is just intrusive. “Applebloom! Ah need ya real quick!” Applejack, my saving grace, yells from the front door. Applebloom glares at me for a second before walking back to the house, muttering something about floozies. “So-“ “Follow me. I… want to go somewhere private too.” Shadow tells me quietly. I nod to her and follow after her. We walk through the tree line and enter the orchard in the back. There aren’t any workers here at the moment, but she keeps on walking. I wanted to ask her where she was taking me, but… it didn’t feel right to talk right now. Something is troubling her at the moment, and I have a feeling it’s something more than almost getting into a fight. We come up to an opening where we find a tree house. It’s a bit old, but clean and well used. We take the ramp up and enter the small room. There isn’t much in here, just some papers with rough drawings and basic furniture. She walks over to a window and takes a seat by it, staring out at the orchard below. I join her at her side and drape a wing over her, waiting for her to start. “Applebloom tells me you used to date Diamond,” she starts after a small amount of time. “Yeah, is that what has you worried?” I ask slowly. “A little. Does she know about us?” she asks, looking away from me slightly. “Well… what are we?” I ask, getting her to look at me. “I haven’t told anypony anything, but… if I did, what would I tell them? What are we?” “Rumble… I…” She looks away again, unable to find an answer. “I’m sorry. This… is all new to me. I don’t know how to answer that question.” “Why not? What aren’t you clear about?” I ask calmly. She takes a moment to think to herself, and I just wait patiently for her. “I guess I’m just worried about what will happen when you meet my family. I love my family, very dearly. I put a lot of value in what they say and think.” “Is that all?” I ask with almost a chuckle. She shakes her head and looks at me with a very serious look about her. “You don’t understand. Some of my family members are… very different, to say the least. The Spartans have a mentality that very few get along with-“ “The who?” I ask, confused. “My father is the leader of a very advance military group, and one of my mother’s is a private as well. We’re all very close, even the new recruits being trained are close to me. If they don’t like you… well, I’m not saying that I would suddenly stop being with you, but their opinions mean a lot to me.” “And you’re worried that they won’t like me?” “Partially. I’m mostly worried that you won’t like them. They aren’t normal people Rumble. They come from different walks of life and have been through tremendous ordeals. Some of them are… difficult, to get along with.” I nod and think for a moment. Her dad is a special, high ranking guard that works with various other special guards. “Is your dad one of those night ponies at the castle?” “Rumble… would you like to come to my place for dinner and meet some of them. It will just be easier that way.” She seems really nervous about this, but I think she’s just over thinking it. Everypony thinks that their family is weird, I mean, look at mine! Plus, I’ve handled guard ponies before. Being in sports helps with that. I give her a squeeze with my wing and a small peck on the cheek. “I’d love to. But, just so you know, I think you’re just over thinking things. Everypony has family issues. Given, they don’t normally involve alicorns, but I’m sure your family will work the same.” “… This isn’t going to end well,” she says meekly. “Don’t worry so much! I’m sure everything will turn out alright. I mean, what’s- *THWUMP*” Before I could finish, she shoves her hoof in my mouth. “Don’t say that. It’s a… family thing. You don’t say those words.” I give her a look, but nod when I see how serious she is. Okay, maybe her family won’t be like everypony else’s, but I think I can handle it. Perspective: Applejack “Can ya’ll watch Apple Slice while I go out and do some damage control? Apparently those beavers are back and have stared flooding the southern field again. Shy and ah shouldn’t be long.” I ask Applebloom. She gives me a look before nodding and heading in. “Hey,” I call out to her, getting her to stop. “What’s the matter?” “It’s nuthin… well… can we talk when ya get back?” I give her a look over before smiling to her. “Couse little sis. Now ah shouldn’t be too long, but if he gets fussy just give him that darn bag.” “Hammers old bag?” “Yeah… that one.” I don’t know why, but that bag… there’s something about that bag I just don’t like. It used to be Hammers, but he said it wants to be with Apple Slice now. Whatever that means. “Ah have ta go, take care!” I step outside and take a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air. With that, I take off for the southern fields. Several of the workers Hammer sent pause to wave goodbye or just stare, but I just ignore them and gallop off to fix the problem. It’s odd how we can get all this extra help, but there’s always something to keep us busy. Given, their work is really up to par with our standards, but the help is still appreciated. It takes a while, but I eventually find the source of the problem. Those damn beavers are building their dam in our irrigation river again. Fluttershy is here with her apple bucking staff that Miles made for her. She’s trying to talk to one of the beavers, but it doesn’t seem to be listening. “Hey there Shy, how’re thing here?” I ask, shooting a dirty look to the beaver. “Oh, not so good. My. Beverton wants to build here because of all the loud activity that’s happening near his old home.” Fluttershy explains, getting an approving nod from the beaver. “Noise… he’s makin a noise complaint?” I deadpan, getting a happy nod from Fluttershy. “Yes. It seems the Spartan training has grown too close to his river, and it’s simply too loud for them to sleep peacefully. I apologized to him about that and asked if he would consider moving to the river in White Tail Woods, but he simply refuses.” “… because?” “*Squeak squeak squeak sq***k squeak squeak sq***k!” The beaver starts mouthing off at Fluttershy, making her cover her mouth. “My word, what languages!” she scolds. “Uh, Fluttershy, can ah have a word with ya over here?” I ask her, stepping aside. She excuses herself from the beaver and follows me to the side. “Yes Applejack?” “Ah don’t want ta sound rude, but that dang beaver needs ta git off mah property.” I tell Fluttershy, putting her on end a bit. “Oh, I’m sorry. It’s just… they don’t want to leave, and-“ “Fluttershy, ah know yer trying to make a compromise fer everypony, but it aint happenin here. Ah already get five acres a orchard fer those bats, ah aint letting the entire southern fields go to some beavers that don’t want ta cooperate.” “Applejack, I’m sorry that this isn’t as simple as it used to be, but it’s how things have to go for the time being. We can’t just get rid of the beavers! They’re an essential part of the eco system here. And so are the bats!” she says defensively. I shake my head at that and glace over at the water. It hasn’t risen much yet, but it’ll start flowing over the banks soon enough. “Fluttershy. Ya know ah love ya ta death, but this isn’t something we can really negotiate on at the moment. A lot of ponies rely on these apples. We don’t have the money or the time to replace an entire section of the orchard. They need to leave, or ponies –and griffins- will go hungry. This orchard is in the next rotation. We need it. Ah’m sorry, but they have to go. No compromises.” She looks down and holds the staff closer to herself. I know I’m being a bit harsh with her, but I have to be. If it was in a different field I wouldn’t be, but this field is in the next rotation, so I have to. I put a hoof on her shoulder and give her a reassuring look. She looks up to me for a moment before looking back down and nods. I step aside and watch her talk to the beaver. It doesn’t take kindly to what she has to say, but after a while of talking back and forth it finally agrees. It pulls out a twig and undoes all the work it had done in a matter of seconds. I sigh in relief, but Fluttershy still looks down. “Ah’m sorry Fluttershy, but that’s how things work right now. We don’t have the luxury ta be kind ta everypony right now. Not while others are suffering.” I tell her, pulling her in for a quick hug. “I know. But that doesn’t make it any easier,” she tells me, hugging me back. “How about ah go back and get my cart ta help them move?” I offer, but she shakes her head slowly. “The Beaverton’s are moving away from Ponyville. They say it’s becoming to industrious here for them.” I almost yell out in joy from that, but stop when I see how much it’s affecting Fluttershy. “Shy… it’ll be okay. Ah’m sure they’re just sore about things right now.” I try to offer, but she continues to shake her head. “No, they’re right. Times are changing around here. I don’t think it’ll happen immediately, but… they are the first woodland family to leave Ponyville.” “Oh… ah’m sorry Shy. Ah didn’t know.” She wipes a tear away and tries to collect herself. “It’s nothing big, just a murder of crows, but I’m afraid that is something isn’t done soon there won’t be any room for all the creatures to coexist with ponies. Not openly at least. Times are becoming too different right now. Sorry for worrying you.” “Hey, don’t forget that yer mah sister now. If something is troubling you, you come straight to me and tell me. Ah may not always be able ta help, but ah will always be there fer ya. Now c’mon, Rampant came home and ah think he’s still chewing out Brosh.” “Not again!” Fluttershy exclaims, taking off without me. I laugh a bit and start to take off, but stop to glance back at the beavers. True to what Fluttershy said, they’re all scurrying off west. Ah’m not sure what this means fer us, but ah do agree with Fluttershy. Times are changing. Chapter 223 Undesired Desires Chapter 223 Undesired Desires Chapter 223 Undesired Desires Perspective: Miles After far too long of a tour of the palace grounds, we're finally allowed to head to our private chambers to relax. The entire tour was extremely uncomfortable. Sappige was with me the entire time. My arm almost never left the valley between her breast. She's tried to grab me in other places as well, but I've stopped her every time. But I can't really stop her from feeling me up. And she really like to feel me up. The only time I got away from her was when I went to the restroom, and even then I had to force her away! Apparently, royalty needs help holding it to piss! Night, Yinbie, and Hunter have been fine during all of this. I guess it's because I'm the leader of the group that I get all of the unwanted attention. But, it's getting late and I finally get a moment to myself. Even better, I get a room to myself while everyone else has to share a room. When Sappige brings me to the guest room, my jaw drops a bit. "I hope you find this to your liking." The room is extravagant. The floors and walls are marble with paintings and tapestries tastefully covering the them. A massive round bed sits in the center of the room to the left with flowing red drapes covering most of it. In the center of this room is a small fire pit with lounging seats and cushions all around. To the right is a limestone room that I assume to be the restroom. The entire area is open and lit warmly with multiple torches or candles with the fire pit in the center providing the most heat in the cold night air. The far wall is nothing but pillars that lead to a balcony area that is furbished much like the are inside is. All of the warm colors and flowing cloths make the room extremely inviting. I may steal a few ideas from here for back home. "I'll take your silence and the first good sign of today. "Is this my apartment?" I ask while stepping inside. When I pass the threshold I see two guards standing inside at watch. "What the fuck are they doing inside? Shouldn't they be outside the door?" "Ever since the sixth era it's been tradition to have guards posted inside guest chambers. It's to assure no plots or thieving will occur. Now, please, come. Relax, the night is young! I think a sauna is in order." "A-a sauna?" I glance around the corner of the restroom to see it's more of a bath house. A large pool takes up the center of the room while a few rooms line the right wall. The room is colored in teals and dark blue and has a salty taste to the air. I jump slightly when I feel hands on my shoulders that push me towards one of the doors on the right. "Alright! In you go! Remove all of your armor and wrappings and I'll set the sauna for the two of us!" she says happily as she practically shoves me into a changing room. I tried to protest, but only got a door to slam in my face. I stare at the door for a moment before I begin to pull my phone out. I need to call HQ before anything else happens. DAMMIT! No service! I forgot to make a communications array! FUCK! What now? Well... I've never set the enchantment on a building before, but it should work... I think. I can't really think of reason it wouldn't, other than my wanting it to work. I take all of my upper armor and shirt off before turning to the wall and setting my hands on it. This is going to leave a mark, hope they don't mid. It doesn't take long for me to set the familiar enchantment. Once it's done I check my phone and wait for the signal to appear. "Hmm... maybe I need to enhance the power in it?" I take a few minutes to enhance the signal, checking my phone a few times before finally getting a single dot of connection. With that done I call Luna immediately. "*ring ring ring* Mmm, *shhhhht* Miles? Why are *shhhhht*so early? *shhhhht* wrong?" I press my hand into the enchantment and force more energy into it, hoping to increase the signal. I forgot about the time difference, but I'm sure this is something worth bringing up. "Can you hear me?" I ask clearly. "You're- *shhhhht* you." A bit more energy. "Can you hear me now?" I ask again. "Much better." She still sounds a bit off, but it'll have to do. "Why are you calling so early? What happened? Is everything alright?" "Sorry for waking you, but I'm kind of...well... are you completely awake yet? I kind of need you all here for this." I can't help but rub my neck and shift around uncomfortably as I talk to her. I know what's going to happen when I tell her what happened. It's not easy having a jealous wife. "Hold on." I hear her moving around a bit and a door shut before she comes back. "I'm awake enough, what happened?" I take a deep breath before speaking. "I'm in the minotaur lands-" "WHAT! I thought you were in the Southern Badlands to watch over Spike!" Okay, a little early for the yelling, but okay. "I had to follow up on a lead from the goblins. That's why I pulled from the off duty Spartans-" "Miles," she sighs on the other end. "I wish you would have told me when you were going to the Minotaur tribes. There are a lot of things you need to know about them. How many have they beheaded?" "How is that a normal thing! How do you know they did that at all!? What the serious fuck!?" "Miles, I haven't interacted with them in a thousand years, and I would be willing to wager that they are still relatively the same. Also, mouth." I roll my eyes at that but continue on anyway. "They beheaded an old man for hitting me with a stick. But that's not-" "*sigh*" "What?" "It's..." "What?" "Well... next time you're home, we'll have to talk about that bit." "There wasn't anything I could do!" "I know, I know! It's just that there's a lot more to what happened and it'd be easier to tell you in person. I'm sorry you went into that without any foreknowledge." "There isn't anything for you to be sorry for. But that's not what I'm calling about." I pause and wait for her to say something, but take her silence as my queue to continue. "Well... there isn't really an easy way to say this, so I'll just say it. There's a hooker trying to have sex with me in the palace." "..." "Luna?" "..." "Luna, dear?" I wince when I hear her inhale. Here it comes. "Did they behead her too?" "... wait, what?" I let go of the enchantment for a moment and almost drop the call. "No, what?" "How far has she gotten?" she asks quickly. "Uh... putting my arm between her breast-" "That's good, and she's still alive?" I pause for a second, voice hitching slightly, before answering. "No, I mean yes! She's still alive. She's about to force me into a sauna with her-" "Okay, that's good. Listen Miles, this is basically the same as that old man. If she doesn't do her job they will kill her-" "Are you telling me to have sex with her!?" I practically yell that part out, not caring who hears me. "What?! No! Miles Eremita, if she as much as touches your junk I will go over there personally and skin her alive!" I sigh in relief from that, oddly enough. "I just don't want you causing any deaths that could have been spared." "Okay, okay. Good. So, how should I approach this?" Yeah, suddenly I feel whipped. But the good kind of whipped. The kind that lets you sleep in your own bed. "Hmm... okay, under no circumstances is she to touch you any where sexual. You can touch her, but hands only! And no touching her... spot. And no kissing! In fact, no lip contact of any sort! Looking is okay, I guess, but not for long! And... uh... if anything comes up that isn't covered right now, you call me before anything else happens, got it?" "..."I heard everything she said, I'm just having trouble understanding it. "Miles Eremita-" "Luna... did... did you just give me permission to... fondle her?" My voice came out an octave higher than normal. "I know it's hard to understand, but I don't want innocent lives be thrown away by their sexist ways. And don't think this is some free pass! The second you're back we're going into your mind to watch everything that happened, got it?" I gulp as I try to think of a way out of this. "Is there a way through this with me not touching her and her living?" I ask meekly. "If we had planned before hand, yes. But we're past that point now. And if you let her die because you were uncomfortable with this, I will be mad Miles." I gulp again from the firmness of her voice. "Are we clear?" "Yes ma'am." "Uhg, you know I hate it when you call me that." I smile at this and lean closer to the wall and whisper. "What? I'm just respecting my elder-" "Miles-" "You are, after all, my elder. By how many years was it? A couple hundred if I remember-" "Do you really want to tease me when you're about to have a date with a concubine?" I go to retort, but come up empty. "Thought so. Remember, we will go over your memories about this-" "I really don't feel comfortable about this." "I know, but your comfort isn't worth as much as someponies life. And it never will." I sigh from that and bit my lip as I try to think of a way out of this. The problem is that I don't know the culture, so I don't know what could work. "Come home soon Miles." "I'll try to. I love you." "I love you too." I'm a little surprised that she responded with that, given how mad she is. I hang up and try to prep myself for this, but I know there isn't mush to do about it. With little choice, but great reluctance, I remove the last of my clothing and wrap a towel around my waist. I step out of the room and nearly drop everything. Sappige is kneeling before me with a minotaur guard behind her. She's crying lightly and is looking down at the ground, ears drooping low. The guard has a hand on the hilt of his sword and seems to be waiting for me to say something. "What's going on?" "Is jy nie bly?" The guard asks, smacking the back of Sappiges head lightly. "H-he asks if you are pleased or not?" she whimpers, bowing her head slightly. I take a step closer and try to think quickly on what to do. "I am! Yes, tell him to back off. If anything, he's ruining everything!" I tell her frantically. She quickly relays what I said but receives another slap upside the head. At that I decide to put him in his place. With a quick flare of my hand I reach out and magically grab the metal, hoping that it's steel, and pull back. The blade flies out and falls on the ground before me. I kick the handle up and point the blade at him, having a moment of trouble trying to work the heavy blade. "Tell him to leave, now." "P-please, don't do anything foolish." Sappige begs as the guard mouths off to me. "There are only so many things in life that I can deal with. Hitting women is not one of them. He has three seconds to leave before I turn him to ash." Sappige looks up to me in fear before telling the guard what I said. He eyes me oddly but raises his hands defensively, backing up slowly towards the door. I heft the sword so it falls handle first towards him. He grabs it and quickly sheaths it before bolting out the door. With him gone I let out a long sigh and fall back against the wall. "Sappige." "Y-yes?" she asks as she remains on the floor, kneeling. "Your culture is stupid." We look to each other before slowly laughing together. I push myself off the wall and go to help her to her hooves. She wipes her eyes a bit before hugging me tightly. With both of us shirtless, it's a bit... overwhelming. But I let it slide due to circumstances. "Thank you," she whispers into my neck. It's odd hugging someone almost as tall as me, but I get over that and return the hug safely. After a few moments I push her back slightly and try to hide the fact that I'm blushing. "Right, so... anyway. I talked to my wife and uh... well, she gave me permission to do... things-" "You mean-" "No! No, NO! Nononononono, no fucking way!" She chuckles at my reaction, making me feel a bit better... kind of. "To break it down easily, I get to do all of the touching, but nowhere special. Don't do anything without my permission. If you don't know if something would cross the line, then ask. Follow the rules, and I'll keep you safe. Understand?" She looks me over a bit before smiling slightly. "You are such an odd being, Miles Eremita. Very well. I live to serve, if you wish for me not to service you like that, then who am I to complain? Do you still with to take a seat in the sauna?" I think about it for a moment before nodding to her. That actually sounds fairly relaxing right now. She seems to regain her former giddiness and takes my hand before leading me into the sauna. I was going to complain about her taking my hand, but that's a simple enough gesture to let slide. I've only been in one other sauna ever, but compared to the one in Ponyville, this one is fucking sweet. They some how built a wooden room into this marble palace with all of the grooves lining up perfectly. The pit in the center is made of some kind of smooth black stone and holds a large pile of rounded stones within it. The stones are already heated perfectly, making the room considerably warmer inside. Luckily the sun already went down, so it's actually pretty nice right now. She motions for me to take a seat before going to the door and removing the last of her clothing. For a minotaur, she's pretty attractive. She has the hour glass figure going on with healthy portions everywhere. I imagine for a line of work she has to do, that she would have to be like this. But I doubt minotaurs have the ability to make perfect breast. Large enough to sag slightly, but perky enough to give her a young look about her. It's a bit eerie how much she reminds me of the women back home. How willing they were to throw themselves at me. The sheer beauty some of them exuded, yet always seemed forced in the end. Odd. She saunters her way to the portion of water in the room, obviously knowing that I'm watching her. I chuckle a bit at that, but sit back and sigh when she pours some water onto the heated water. Now that I think about it, the heat from this sounds like a bad idea in the middle of a desert. But, it's pretty nice actually. "Is this to your liking?" Sappige asks. I hum my response, leaning against the wooden railing behind me. "I'm glad you like it." "Is this common around these parts?" I ask as she gives another pour of water. "By the gods no!" she chuckles as she sets the ladle down and takes a seat beside me. We're touching sides, but I let it slide for now. This isn't too far, and at least I'm covering myself with the towel. "This gets it start from the apes. There's a mountain range in their territory that snows frequently, but there are hot springs there as well. The two just... came together." I use my magic to add another dose of water, heating the room up again. "*sigh* Minotaurs are stubborn about adopting outside influence. This only exists for the guest of the palace. I highly doubt you'll find another like it within our borders." "Hmm. Where'd you all learn that?" I'm actually surprised she knew that. Not to say I think she's an idiot, I just didn't think she would know something like that. "As a servant to the Kings guest, I must be able to please them in any manner they deem reasonable. Though that usually starts with... certain acts, the conversations afterwards are just as important." She fidgets a bit, scooting a bit closer to myself. I eye her for a moment, but let it slide again. She's not used to not doing stuff, so simple things get a free pass. "Would you indulge my curiosity and perhaps tell me about your people?" "Humans or Terradisia?" I ask, making her tilt her head slightly. "Are they not they same?" Before I could say anything the door starts to open. In reaction to that, Sappige grabs my hand and forces me to grab her tit. A guard peers inside and stares at the two of us for what feels like an eternity. I'm trying my best not to show my own embarrassment, but Sappige does a good job of covering for me. She chuckles lightly and covers herself. The guard throws me a smile before leaving the room. I quickly withdraw my hand lean forward, holding my head in my hands. "I-I am sorry-" "No, no it's fine. And it's not just you." I tell her, sighing deeply into my hands. She sets a hand on my back and begins to rub lightly. I fidget from the contact, but don't shy away from it immediately. I guess it's going to come up eventually, so may as well bring it up now. I know I'm never going to hear the end of it soon enough. "You have... very nice breast." "Hm, thank you-" "And... I think... I like...big breast." She stops rubbing my back and tilts forward to look me in the eyes. I groan and sit up, forcing myself to speak up. "I said I think I like big breast!" "... um... is that not obvious?" Okay, now it's my turn to tilt my head in confusion. "You are male. Most males like big breast. Trust me when I say that. No matter the species, big breast are simply attractive. You liking big breast is like saying... that you like sweets. Everyone like sweets." I think about what she said for a moment before looking back to her. She seems to read my hesitation and grabs my hand again. I remember back to all those days in school in the locker rooms suddenly. There was plenty of shit talking going on, but what's coming to mind is when they said the ideal size for you is your hand size. I never really got that, and I still don't. She's a bit bigger than my hand size, and it's pretty fucking amazing. Soft, yet firm under my fingers. Her fur is smooth like silk with a fine leather point at the top of her mound. My fingers dig in as I indulge for a moment in the feeling of running that point between my fingers. Compared to Luna, this is... different. Pleasantly different. "Hm, your face says you've never felt a breast before. Yet your fingers speak in experience." I hesitate for a moment before continuing. "I do have a wife, as you know. She's just... not like this." "How so?" "... the fur." It's not entirely a lie. Luna's breast don't have fur on them, so that is a difference between them. I remove my hand to add some more water to the heated rocks, making them hiss pleasantly."So, how many times have you been in situations like earlier." "More often than I'd like to recount. Even in my line of work, there's always something new that makes me gag in revulsion. But, it is pleasing to know that I still have a line that I don't cross. It makes me seem less... well, it's comforting." I eye her for a moment before turning the gears in my head. "If you could leave, would you?" She chuckles at that, looking down and shaking her head. "I cannot leave. It's... that's just not going to happen." I smirk at that and lean back again, tapping her shoulder to get her attention. "Wanna make a deal?" She goes wide eyed for a moment before nodding. Before I can start speaking she kneels between my legs and removes my towel. "WHOA WHOA! WHAT ARE YOU-" "I-I THOUGHT YOU MEANT-" "NOO! NONONONO! FUCK NO!" We both jump up and back away from each other. A guard kicks the door open and starts yelling at the two of us. I growl and ignite both my hands, glaring at the bastard. He takes the hint and backs away slowly, leaving the room with a bow. "*sigh* anyway, I meant trading information for a chance at a new life." She gets back up and takes her set again, holding her hand together on her lap looking down. I take my seat as well, being sure to put my towel back on. I take a moment to try and collect myself. I can feel my heart racing like crazy, but a few controlled breaths take care of that. "What do you mean trading information?" she asks quietly. "I believe you know things that are going on here. Things that I wouldn't normally be privileged to know. If you tell me those things, I can guarantee your freedom and citizenship in Terradisia. Though I can't guarantee you a job right away, I can promise you that you wouldn't have to do... this. Well, unless you wanted to. Then I could find you a job doing this that actually pays you." I kind of hate that that is a thing that I can do, but if it helps. She looks a me for a second before chuckling to herself. "You are an odd being," she laughs, covering her mouth with a hand. "Think about it, a new life as a respected individual. Possibly aiding us to end potential conflict. The people of Terradisia would love and accept you quickly... except maybe my wife, for obvious reasons. All I need is a bit of information on the affairs going on here. Anything." I give her a nudge with my arm, getting her to stop laughing and look at me. "Is this really the life you want?" Her mouth opens a few times as she tries to form a response, but nothing comes out at first. "I-I couldn't do that to my home-" "Please be honest with me, is this really a home you want to stay in?" She looks away from me and holds herself. Okay, easy enough here. Make this place look like shit and make Mooseden the shit. I set a hand on her shoulder and give it a light squeeze, letting her know I'm still here. "Talk to me." "... would... would I be allowed to have a calf?" I tilt my head slightly at that, the terminology passing me. "A child." "Oh! Of course! I was a bit curious to how something like that is dealt with given to your... situation." She grimaces from that. I can already guess what they do for a person like her. It's a bit of a dick move, but if it makes this trip end earlier. "I...I'm not allowed. But... when it happens... they... end it." I pause as I try to respond to that. What do you tell someone when they've been forced to have an abortion. Or abortions for that matter. "You have my condolences. That's terrible. If you come with me, that will never happen again. Sappige," I take her hand and hold it lightly. She looks back to me and hiccups, holding back her tears. "Talk to me." THUD I don't know what it was, but something dropped in the other room. One of the guards must have dropped something to get our attention. Sappige takes her hand back quickly and rubs her eyes in a rush. I try to stop her, but she blows me off as she rushes to the door. She stops at the door and hold the door for a second, keeping completely still. "They don't speak Equestrian, but we must be weary not to rise suspicion." She steps out before I could respond. I smile and walk out after her. Nailed it, all I need now is for her to actually tell me what's going on and hope it's worth anything. There are two guards waiting in the bath house. One of them eyes me cautiously while the other gives me a smug look. I shrug and go to gather my clothes, only to see that they are missing. "Your cloths are being washed and will be back in the morning." "Alright. So... will you be safe sleeping alone?" I ask, even though I know it's probably a no. "I'm almost certain that the guard from earlier will be out for revenge against me." She says this in sensual manner as she saunters her way out of the room. I figured as much. That asshole didn't look like the type to take no very easily. I follow after her into the cool open room. Going from the sauna to the crisp night air is nice, but I don't really want to go to sleep being sweaty. I follow Sappige into the bedroom where she stops at a water basin beside the bed. She pulls out a towel from a nearby cabinet and points me to the basin. "A quick wash and we'll go to bed." "Do you really have to-" "Don't worry, you can do your genitals yourself." I sigh from that and step into the basin, wincing from the cool water. "But only if you do me afterwards." "... uhm..." "I'll do my lower genitals." "Oh sweet Barbra-" "But I expect you to do my breast." "... oh sweet Barbra." She chuckles at me and pulls my towel away before rubbing down my body. My face heats up quickly as I try to let this pass by, but physiology is a douche-bag. "Are you... considered large, for your race?" she asks curiously. "Um... yeah." I try not to look at her, but she laughs at my discomfort. I fucking hate her right now. "Why is it always the soldiers?" she asks whimsically. "Well... I know why it's a thing for Spartan soldiers, genetic enhancements and all. I can't really speak for everyone else though." She hums back to me, continuing her rub down on my chest. She seems to be enjoying this a bit too much, so I start to move to get her to go onto other areas. She takes the hint and starts on my back, where she pauses at my center. "Everything okay?" "You're so tense! Would you like a massage? I could work out these kinks for you." I laugh at that, shaking my head at her. "You know how long my wife has been trying to get me to go to a masseur? I'll be alright. Besides, it's already too late for something like that-" "Then tomorrow we'll make time for it!" She determines with a slap on my ass. I yelp and nearly fall out of the little basin, only staying standing because I grabbed onto Sappige for dear life. She laughs at me, as do the guards in the other room, and helps me upright. I try to glare at her, but she laughs my discomfort away and hands me the towel. "Finish up and do me quickly so we can go to bed already! And not that kind of do-" "I know what you mean!" I snap back quickly, awkwardly cleaning myself. She at least gives me the decency to look away, but it's still awkward as fuck. When I finish I step out and trade spots with her. "So... just... wash you then?" "Take your time, I'm not going anywhere." She gives me a soft smile, making me feel slightly better about this. With a deep breath I grab a new towel and get to it. I bring the towel to her shoulder and rest it there, gulping as I watch the water roll down her supple curves. Why did I have to find this out about myself now? If I had known beforehand... well, I guess I'd still be caught under the same rock. I take my time cleaning her safe areas. Her flat stomach, slander arms, her long thick legs. The entire time my face is burning while my dick is aching for attention. When I eventually get to her chest I pause again and look her in the eyes. I can see the sympathy there, but she still guides my hands there to finish the job. I don't understand what the big deal is. They're just to glands of milk and fat and... stuff. But... there's just something about them that is rocking me to my core. It's like... finding a new topping for pancakes. Pancakes are amazing on their own, but putting something new with them just make them much better. It's not an exact parallel, but... I dunno, I'm no poet. I wash them, and enjoy the experience way too much. Without prompt I move to her ass and start washing there as well. She gives me a look but doesn't stop me. I guess... in the heat of the moment I just... went for it. Just like the rest of her body, it was meant to be appreciated. Once I finish; some time well after she was cleaned, I step back awkwardly and fumble with the towel. Sappige reaches for the towel and takes it from me to clean herself. Not knowing what to do I just start to look anywhere but at her. I can feel the guilt start to build up in me again, only much worse this time. I know why I did all this, for the most part, but I can't help but feel as if there was more I could have done to avoid this situation. If the information doesn't pay off... I don't know what I'd do. Even with the way things are now I don't know what I'm going to say when I see Luna. "Come, let's get some sleep." Sappige tells me quietly as she takes my hand and guides me to the bed. I follow after her, ignoring the fact that we were both still a bit wet. She huddles up against me similar to that of a loved one. I gulp again as I try to push out the feeling of her presence, but to no avail. "Sleep, it will make this easier." "We still need to talk-" "I will show you what you seek tomorrow. Rest for now." She rests her chin in the crook of my neck, the same way Luna does. She goes to sleep rather quickly, but it takes awhile for me to follow after her. Partially from her, mostly from the guards doing their rounds. Perspective: Luna I tried to go back to sleep after my phone call with Miles, but I couldn't. I have so much on my mind at the moment I needed to vent. Celestia was simply out of the question, as was Twilight. I thought about going to Trixie, but quickly dismissed the idea. I don't want to give her the notion that I'm giving Miles free passes. With limited female friend options, I resorted to bringing E'Claire over to talk. It was difficult to wake her at first. It was even more awkward when I went into her wet dream, but I had to do it! Once I explained myself and told her what happened, she understood. "Wow," she mumbles for the fourth time in a row. She's sitting at the base of my bed while I'm spooning a pillow, trying not to explode. "Just... wow." "I want to be mad at him, but I gave him permission. But... I know it's going to bug me until we confront this together. Why couldn't he just let me know before hoof! All of this would have been avoided if he'd just let me help, but nooo! He has to be the man and take all of the responsibility himself! Look where that got him now! I swear, if I ever see that cow-" "Wow." "He is inconsiderate, isn't he! He runs off and plays soldier while I stay here and sit at court filing tax reports and whatnot! Does he really think I can't point a massive cannon at some poor dope and make demands? Because that's basically what he's doing! They fly in, over power the opposition with superior firepower, and walk away heroes! Let's see him dig through centuries old political text and find ancient tariff laws! He can barely read Equestrian as it is!" "Wow." "And that's another thing! Whose bright idea was it to bring up ancient laws to audit the Apples!? Are they serious!? If they really want to go by the olden rules then I should just have them flogged because I felt like it, but noooo! That would be unethical! We can't toss the lawyers into jail because we feel like it! They have rights too! They have a right to kiss my-" "Wow." "UUUUHHGGG!" Bury my face in my pillow and let out a nice, long, calming scream. Afterwards I pull myself out and take a few breaths. "But I can't just tell him all of this, not with his thick skull. He'd just brush it off with his 'it's a Spartans responsibility to endure for others'. He thinks he's protecting me by taking the hits himself, but I can take the hits as well! I wish he just understood that he doesn't have to go through it all alone." "Wow." I let out a sigh and roll onto my back, staring up at the ceiling. "I know, it's not actually all that bad. I'm just upset at the moment. But, even in my anger, my point have a good amount of validity to them. I don't know what to do about any of this, what do you think?" I look over to her and wait for her to respond, but she just stares off into space for a bit. "E'Claire?" "Wow." "E'Claire?" "Wo... huh? Oh! Right, uh... so... when you say big breasted, how big are we talking?" "Did you hear anything I just said!?" She jumps a bit and waves her hooves in front of herself defensively. "I was, I was, I swear! I was just thinking! Besides, you're the one who broke me out of my wet dream!" I blush at that and look away. I enjoy sex like any other mare, but... there has to be something wrong with E'Claire to be dreaming about that kind of stuff. "R-right. Sorry." I mumble as I become acquainted with the headboard. "Anyway, as for the whole 'letting Miles fool around with a minotaur hooker'-" "Concubine." "Whore. It's whatever, ya know." I do a double take and stare at her as if she just grew four wings and a crooked horn. "Whatever? What do you mean whatever? This is not something to 'whatever' about!" "Why not?" She asks with a shrug. I try to respond, but have to re-work my brain for a moment. "Look, he still loves you a lot. He called before anything got too crazy and I doubt he'll do anything beyond touching. Trust me on that one, your stallion is as whipped as they come." "But-" "If anything, use this to your advantage. I mean, after six years of just vanilla sex you're going to need something to get things back to their previous heat, right?" I blush at this and think back to our... engagements. "Well... it may be... vanilla, in your words, but... it's really good vanilla." Oh, hey! There's a scratch on the headboard! I wonder how that got there? "Really? Huh. So... does he still get you there?" She asks excitedly. "I don't see how that's relevant-" "Oh come on Luna! I've always wanted to talk dirty with you like this! Besides, with everything Shadows told me about you two-" "What does Shadow know?!" I ask in astonishment, looking back to her mortified. "Luna, you are not the quiet type." My eye twitches and I feel a cold sweat start to form on my brow. "You're a squealer. That, and you tend to end with a scream or two. And that's on normal nights! When you're in heat, well, Shadows got your cycle down pretty well by now." Oh sweet mother... if she can hear me, then what about Tempestive. "E'Claire, as much as I enjoy the thought of scarring my children for life, can we maybe get back on track please?" She shrugs and lays on her back, giving a nice stretch before continuing. "Well, if you're looking for my opinion, here it is. Should you be mad at Miles about the cow slut thing? No. I personally think you should have a more open out look for that kind of thing. It keeps the relationship, and by relationship I mean sex life, more open and vibrant. Should Miles let you help him more with Spartan stuff? Eh, yes and no. Yes he should be considerate and more open with you, but you can't really help him international stuff." "... and how is that?" "Well, Luna, he's human. You're an iconic alicorn pony. If you were to show up anywhere they would assume that you were there for Equestrian business, not Terradisian. It's a looks thing really. You're pony, he's human. Simple as that." She continues to talk, but an idea starts to form in my head. She's right. I can't do most the things Miles does because he's human and I'm a pony. But if I were to become a human as well, then I could do those things as well. But, then the dilemma is my leaving the Equestrian government. If I were to become a human, then I wouldn't be able to rule over Equestria. Not at first at least. I'd be dropping all of my responsibilities on Tia and Twilight for my own selfish gain. Not to mention Tempestive. I know we're going to be having that talk soon, but I couldn't imagine doing it to him when we're both in that form. It would be too confusing for him to understand properly. Then again, who says I have to stay a human? Miles changes between the two all the time and blames his altered soul. My soul is altered, wouldn't that mean I could learn to shift between the two as well? All I would need to do is use that machine as a catalyst to learn the other form. And I should be able to shift between the two much more easily than Miles, seeing as I shift between my Pure and Innocent form frequently. The hardest part of this plan is getting the Elements to power the machine. "... and oh, never walk the same again I tell you. If you want one, I'm sure we can get you a starter-" "E'Claire." I cut her off suddenly, smirking as I run the plan over in my head. "When Miles gets back, do you min watching Tempestive for the night?" "... you're lucky Miles is easy, otherwise this wouldn't work." Chapter 235 Who's WhoChapter 234 Who's Who Perspective: Twilight Once our meeting with Luna and Miles was over, Celestia invited me back to her study to work on revisions on the guest lists. I was a little worried that I didn't catch any of Celestia's little warnings, but the meeting wasn't that bad. Once we actually got to working on details, Luna and Miles opened up a bit more. I would say it went from liquid nitrogen to ice cold, an improvement nonetheless. We make it to her study and I go to one of the seats in front of her desk, where I start to unpack all of my notes. "I thought that went well, given the circumstances." I mention to her. Celestia collapses into her seat and buries her face in her hooves, letting out a long, tired breath. "Um... is everything okay?" "Twilight... do me a favor and take some notes." I don't know where she's going with this, but I do as she says. "Ready?" "Yes, what would you like me to copy down?" I ask as I dip my quill and wait for her to start talking. "When looking for social cues, I will look up from my notes so I may see them," Celestia recites. I start to write it down when the statement hits me. I pause and look up, seeing her glaring at me. "Oh... uh... did... did I... make a mistake?" I ask shyly, trying to hide behind the scroll. She lets out another long breath and buries her face in her hooves again. I think back to the meeting, and can't think of anything that I did wrong. I mean, they each asked me some off topic questions, but I gave them my honest answers. What was I supposed to say? Earlier at the meeting "So, Twilight," Luna asks me politely. "How has it been with Storm home for so long?" "It's been great! Having him home has been a blessing, especially for Softy. I don't know how I'd manage without him here helping!" Later at the meeting "Hey Twilight, have you read up on Equestrian military ethics or tactics? Just in case the nation was thrust into war?" Miles asks me. "There aren't any really out there. The only text that have been made are from when the three tribes were fighting, but those wouldn't be relevant in a fight with the griffins." "Sure is lucky Storm is Spartan trained, isn't it." "I don't know how we'd get by without it." "Oh... sorry." How could I have not seen that coming!? I was told before hoof! I feel like a complete idiot now. Even worse, I didn't catch any of Celestia's warnings. How could I have been so blind to all of this? "It's alright Twilight. But, in the future, please be a little more thoughtful when in meetings like those," she tells me tiredly. "Of course. Sorry Prin- Celestia." Darn it, and then I let that slip too! To be fair, she is scolding me right now, so it would make sense that I would revert to that. I've never seen Celestia this... disappointed before. I've never really done anything to garner it. I don't know how to deal with this. "It's alright, Twilight. Let's just get started with the guest list." She sounds so defeated. I don't know how to deal with this! I've never seen her so... lost. I don't know how to make up for disappointing her either. Maybe I should just take my notes and let it slide by. I don't even know what to say, so I guess silence is the best answer for the time being. "Right. So we're still having a reserved party in the castle, but we need to switch some of the ponies out," I mention, trying to keep it official. "Correct. Do you have the current list?" I nod and pull it out, showing it to her. "With the Gala so close, we can't really stop anypony from coming who already has a ticket. So, the best we can do is invite the few that I have on this list and stick around them the most." "Right. And we need to alienate the right ponies as well," I mention, getting her to nod. "That shouldn't be too hard to do. Most of them are of the younger generation, as well as friends of Blueblood. In reality all we need to do is alienate him and a few other key individuals." "Like who?" she sits back and thinks about this for a moment. How many ponies does she know that could help in this situation? "Well... there's the baroness Silky Smooth. She's a textile owner from Manehatten. She's young and infatuated with Blueblood. If we can get him to show her his true colors, I'm sure that will work in our favor." "Right... or, if Rarity is there to talk to her, maybe she could convince her otherwise-" "That won't work," Celestia cuts me off quickly, silencing me. "Rarity is an independent worker, Silky is a factory owner. Not to mention Silky is also friends with Suri Polomare, a rival of hers. If they were in the same room... well, it would certainly alienate her." "And... isn't that what we want?" I ask, not understanding the issue. "Yes and no. When testing the waters in the political field, you need to cover your bases. We need to assume that Luna will be attempting to gain favor as well, meaning we need to cover our tracks. If we invite her, we'd need to invite all of the Elements. And if one of our plans backfires, Luna may use it to her advantage." "So the best way to avoid that is by limiting the possibilities." Celestia nods to that, finally sitting up right. "Then we should start with Rainbow Dash. Miles is forcing all of the Spartans to attend, so she's going to be there anyway." "Hm... I wasn't aware of that." Oh... was I not suppose to mention that? Well, no secrets, right? "That actually might play in our favor." "How so?" I ask, genuinely intrigued. "If I'm seen with them, they might give me an appeal of a warrior. Especially if I can act as a liaison between them and certain officials." I go to say something, but stop myself. Sadly, Celestia notices it right away. "If you have something to say, please do not withhold it." "Well... it's just that... Luna may already have you beat there," I tell her coyly as I hide behind my scroll. "Oh? How's that? The Lords and Nobles don't know them, so if I'm the one to introduce them-" "Yeah, but they hardly know you," I interrupt, making her pause. "They know Luna, they see her all the time. Most of them are fairly antisocial, so they're going to stick around the ponies they already know. That's Miles and Luna. Ponies already know Rainbow, so that won't work. Not to mention some of them were wanted criminals, so if you're seen with them it might give the wrong idea. Your best bet for them is to convince them to stay as far away from Luna as possible. Then you might have a chance at giving the introductions. But I don't know how we're going to do that without Luna becoming suspicious." "Hm... that's thinking like a politician." I smile from the compliment. We both think about it for a moment as we try to come up with a plan. Something that will separate the two groups but won't disrupt either of them... "Celestia... should we ask Miles for help?" I ask quietly, knowing that this is a touchy subject. "I don't think that would be wise-" "Because if we can, getting Luna away from the Spartans will be tremendously easier. Otherwise, we'll have to work around him as well." Celestia thinks about that for a moment. If trying to sneak around Luna is being this difficult, how are we going to work our way around him? The problem isn't even that he'll be trying anything. Because he's the King, ponies will be flocking to him in droves. If we don't convince him to help us, nothing we try to set up may work. Knock knock knock "Yes?" Celestia calls out. The door opens for a moment and Miles steps in, closing the door behind himself. "Miles! How long were you there?" "The entire time." WELP! There goes everything we've been planning! Which is nothing because we just STARTED! "Though I do not approve of backroom dealings, I agree with your goals." Well... I should have seen that coming. "Then you'll help us?" Celestia asks, perking up a bit. Miles doesn't respond, instead moving to a nearby chair to take a seat. "No." Well... now I'm lost. "I can't help you because Luna would know something is up. But, I might have a solution that may... aid your cause, if only slightly." "At this point we'll take all the help we can get," I tell him, getting Celestia to nod with me. "When are you free for sparring matches?" Miles asks, growing a slight smirk. "I... don't understand. How will that help-" "My Spartans respect one thing: Warriors. We don't care about nationality, we don't care about nobility, we are warriors. Luna may know them more personally, but very few of them have fought with her. You want their respect, make it to the sparring grounds everyday at seven hundred hours. You may not get them to like you, but it's better than nothing." "Everyday at seven AM... I'll have to move some things, but I think I can do that." I pull up her calendar and take a look. There are some meetings that don't look as if they can be moved. "If you would like, I can oversee these meetings in your place. That way, you can focus on that and possibly take on more planning obligations." "That would be best, thank you." I smile to her, glad to finally be of some real help. "Just a warning though," Miles tells her. "Some of them may attempt to question you, on varying things. Be ready for them. And don't give any of that rehearsed public speech shit, either. They want true opinion, facts, and dick jokes. I cannot stress that enough. Your T.O.F.D. will make or break you." "I'm sorry... jokes? I have to make... jokes-" "Dick jokes," Miles reiterates, completely serious. "It'll show that you're relaxed around them and letting your guard down. You could sit there and listen to their life stories, which we don't have time for, or just talk about how little Damian's dick is. You will get to the same place faster, trust me on that." "... why those kind of jokes? I know some very funny anecdotes-" "See, that's too serious. We're training, which we take very seriously. So, our conversations have to become our outlets for stupidity. Therefore, dick jokes. It's crass, simple, and effective. If you don't know any, I can lend you a few of my goto lines, and I'm sure Storm could offer a few as well-" "Storm makes those jokes too?" I ask in bewilderment. He can be funny from time to time, I just didn't think he could be crass... how does Miles know my husband better than I do? "Storm is more situational about it. But he does it all the same-" "I've never heard you guys make jokes like that before, are you messing with us?" I ask, eyeing him closely. He chuckles at that, standing up casually. "You've never trained with us before. But, you are invited to if you would like." He goes to the door and opens it, looking back to Celestia as he steps out. "Remember: seven hundred hours. Bring your A-game, don't complain, and T.O.F.D. I'll see you then." We sit there in silence when he walks out. He has to be joking about that, he has to be. Storm is too mild mannered for that kind of humor! Or, he is now at least. Maybe six years ago, but not now! I look over to Celestia and see her staring at the doorway, thinking deeply over what he said. I bite my lip as I try to think of what to tell her, but I'm not sure of what to say. This isn't really my area of expertise. "Let's continue," Celestia tells me coldly. "Of course! Who else is there that we need to invite to the Grand Galloping Gala?" I ask, returning to my notes. "Well, there's the steel mill owner Carnieghgy, Static Effect from the head of the foci college, Peach Pit from the head of the Stone Fruit cooperative, and Bull Market from the East Equestrian Traders. Each of those ponies are opposed to me, but may be swayed in my favor, given the right circumstances of course. We also need to make sure that we invite Fancy Pants, Golden Vein from the Miners Guild, Priestess Sunlight from the Celestial Holy Order, and Doctor Grey Matter, head of the medical board of Equestria. These are some of my most loyal supporters who normally don't come to the Gala. We need to make sure that they attend this year." "Right. Will there be trouble getting them to agree?" I ask as I prepare my next set of notes. "Possibly. Some of them don't like the politics of the Gala, others stopped due to... bad blood." "They were fighting?" I ask to clarify. "... sure. I'll try to make time to meet with each of them-" "With how busy your schedule is, I think it would be better if I went to speak with them. You can brief me before each of them, but I think it would be better this way." Celestia gives it some thought before nodding to me. I can't help but smile from that. This will be my real test into my political career, I just hope I don't mess it up. "Right, those are the few that come to mind for now. In total there are forty nobles with the authority to sway this vote. I believe there are roughly twelve that I will not have to worry about voting to send me to war, another ten or so that will be persuaded when we speak, leaving another nine votes needed to solidify my position as general for Equestria." "What do you mean persuaded? Do you get to speak before the vote?" I ask. "Luna has to make an appeal to the Court for a vote to be made. When they gather to vote, we each will be allowed to make our case. After that, it'll be up to them. Are you ready for this?" "Of course Princess-" "Twilight," she says in a firmer voice. I stop writing my notes to look up at her, seeing the conviction in her eyes. "I will be the one to go to war. Do not let anything come between that." "Prin... Celestia?" I ask, caught off guard by her demeanor. "The safety of my family and my subjects are my deepest concerns. I will not stand aside and let somepony else defend them. You know this first hoof. My sister has the same tenacity, but I am counting on you to stand on my side. Do not let any personal feelings stand in your way. Am I understood?" I swallow the lump in my throat and nod to her. I was on her side to begin with, why is she acting like this? "Very well, now let's discuss Carnieghgy. He's a steel mogul based out of Detrot..." Perspective: Miles I let out a sigh as I take my seat beside Luna in her carriage. It was her idea that we take this thing home together, meaning there are still things she wishes to discuss. After our little spat, I'm not sure what else I can handle right now. But, that doesn't mean I'm going to shy away from it either. At least I can trust her guards. Ever since Discord's attack with Celestia's guards I've had some doubts trusting them. Over the last few years I've seen to it that they've all been retrained and I've taken a liking to the Lunar guard. They have a certain tenacity that I don't see in the Solar guard, though I don't know why. "So... where did you go after our meeting?" Luna asks me, breaking me from my thoughts. "Celestia's and Twilight's meeting, you?" I'm pretty sure I know where she went. I just want to see if she tells me. "I met with Blueblood." Okay, didn't see that coming. I thought she would go talk with Diamond Heart to start winning over votes. "I know what you are going to say, that it was already decided and that I shouldn't fight this. There are plenty of reasons for me not to go, but there are equally as many for me to go as well! If I can get thirty one votes from the nobles, I can become the General in Celestia's place." I stay quiet, instead sitting back in my seat and closing my eyes with a sigh. I knew she wouldn't take this sitting down, why would she? Especially with such a clear loophole. We already fought about this, I'm not fighting anymore. I've said what I've had to say and she still wants to go to war. I'm too tired to be mad. I'm emotionally drained by now. All I want to do is go home and sleep, even for a little bit. I'm not going to get that luxury later, why can't I enjoy it now? "Well... don't you have anything to say?" Luna asks, somewhere between curious and desperate. I open my eyes to look at her, seeing the conflict in her eyes. I'm too tired to fight this losing war, so why bother? "Luna... you know how I feel about that-" "I know, but-" "And I know what you have to say in response," I cut her off, silencing her. "I've been up for the past three days with maybe six or eight hours sleep. I've said what I believe and you've said what you believe. At this point, arguing it any further is wasted energy and emotions." "But I-" "If there's one avenue left, and if you feel as strong about this as I think you do, then let's walk down this bumpy road." She goes to say something, but stops herself. She blinks a few times before finding the words. "Are... are you saying what I think you're saying?" she asks cautiously. I give her a look before moving to sit sideways, pulling her into my lap along the way. She doesn't fight it, but she does blush from the sudden move. "I'm tired, Luna, and not just physically. I've been fondled, shot, beat, yelled at, and yelled more than I want to in the past few days. And by the looks of things, it's not going to get any easier from here on out. I've said what I wanted to say. Now you want to do what you believe is right, even though I object to it. I don't have the mental or physical capacity to fight you any further on this, so I won't. Who knows, maybe later I'll feel different, but right now I want to get some rest. Whatever happens, happens." She doesn't say anything in response. Rather, she nestles into my embrace and stays quiet. Like I said, I'm too tired to say anything, so we just lay there for a period of time. I don't fall asleep during our silence, but not from a lack of effort. Something about these sky carriages always keep me up. They're bumpy, the wind whips at you constantly, and then there's the fear that this thing will turn over and I'll fall to my doom. But, she wanted to tell me she was still going to try... she kept me in the loop. Something I haven't done. "The goblins are trying to establish a foothold in the Southern Badlands," I tell Luna, getting her to stir. "Do you know what they were after?" she asks quietly. "We have guesses. But we haven't confirmed if they knew what they were gathering intentionally." "Hm... how mad are you that I'm still going to try to become general?" I think about that for a moment, trying to think of the best way to answer that. "Remember when Lupus took a dump in the living room?" "Which time?" she asks with almost a laugh. "The time he hid it under the recliner-" "And then we had to throw it out, yes. I recall that... I don't think that is the appropriate amount of anger." I chuckle at that. "Nothing between us is normal, Luna." She nods to that, scooting over to have her back against me. "I'm mad, but what you're doing is in your nature. Whatever happens, happens-" "Every time you say that, you sound defeated," Luna points out quickly. "I guess... my fear is that you will resent me for doing this. But my fear of losing you is pushing me forward. I know what you are capable of, Miles, I've seen your memories plenty of times now." "Luna-" "My greatest fear is that you'll do something and regret it. And then you'll try to keep it to yourself; to protect those around you. I want to be there for those moments, Miles. I want to be there when you need someone to be strong for you. I am your wife, it should be me you go to for strength. I know what you struggle with, Miles, but I can't help you if I'm not there for you. If you try to bottle all of that up... I don't know what kind of man you would be then." "..." I don't say anything to her. What would I say? She's right, there's no arguing that. My biggest fear is losing them, but there's so much more to it than that. Losing their respect. Losing their hopes. It's in my nature to try and carry the burden by myself, but Luna simply will not allow me to do that. I messed up before, I can't again. But what is there to do? I need her by my side, but I need to keep her off the front lines as well. And then, just to makes things more complicated, we throw in the kids to the mix. I miss them, but there is so much to be done now. As it seems, there doesn't seem to be much time left before things boil down even further. How are we going to get through this? "How difficult will it be for you to sway opinion?" I ask her after some thought. "Well... that depends. Assuming that I'm doing it by myself, rather difficult. I still tend to sleep during the day, so most of the ponies I would need to speak with won't be awake. Then there's the fact that I don't really have anypony to send out to mingle for me. Not like Celestia does, at least." "As it seems, you have Blueblood and she has Twilight, Diamond Heart, Cadence, Fancy Pants-" "I get it," Luna cuts me off, giving me the stink eye. I shut my mouth and stay quiet. Probably not what she wanted to hear right now. She lets out a huff and relaxes against me, rubbing her eyes slowly as her ears fold back. "Is this even possible?" "Everything is possible," I console, rubbing her forelegs gently. "We won't know until you try." "... and if I do succeed?" I pause and think about that. If on the off chance that she does get the votes to lead the war, what would I do? I don't know how to answer that, there are too many variables. What if only Terradisia goes to war? Then none of this would even matter. But if Equestria is attacked, and she leads, I couldn't ignore that. I'd have to do something, but how? Would I be going as a Spartan, or as the King of Equestria? What would that allow me to do? Would there even be a line? There are a few things that I can assume to happen. Regardless of who goes to war, I can see Luna and Celestia breaking ties with Terradisia. That way, they can act more freely for Equestria. If Equestria goes to war, it would only be a matter of time before Terradisia is brought in as well. They are our host nation, we wouldn't be able to ignore it. Then there's the fact that most of the fighting will occur in Equestria. Even if Luna doesn't lead, that may not matter. She may have to fight anyway. Even though Ponyville is under joint jurisdiction, I doubt that the Griffins know, or care, about that. It's a prime target... "You have convinced me," I tell her solemnly. "About what?" she asks, unsure of my intent. "I still oppose it, but I will not stand in your way in this. And I can think of a few ways to help you win over others." "You're going to help me?" she asks hopefully, turning to look down at me. "Don't get me wrong. Technically speaking, I'm helping both of you. The way I see it, you both should be at your best when they go to vote. That way, there can be no argument about the winner. I have a few ideas about what you need to do, but most of them will occur during the Gala. Plus, I'll need to get some information from Celestia and Twilight as well. Luckily for us, they're coming over in the morning to train. You already spoke with Blueblood, so I'll contact him as well-" "Miles," Luna says as she turns to lay on her stomach. I pause and wait to see what she says. She looks... lost? I'm not sure what she's thinking right now, which scares me a little. "Why are you helping me?" "I... just told you." "I don't want you to help me with something you are opposed to-" "Luna-" "I want you to agree with me first." I stop at that, understanding the conflict. "If you are not invested in this, then do not aid me. Though I appreciate the gesture, I will not accept insincerity. Are you with me or not?" I stay quiet again. She couldn't just let it be, could she. I really shouldn't be surprised. Of course she would fight it, this is her one chance to get out there. I knew this was going to happen, but can I be alright with this? If she gets enough backing, she'll go to war. She'll be at the battlefields, fighting the enemy face to face, leading a weak army. How am I supposed to support that? Well, not lying would be a starter. She'll know. "I... don't know yet. If I can wrap my head around it, I'll let you know. But... I need to think on it first... When I'm rested and thinking straight." Luna mulls it over for a second before nodding to me. I let out a long breath and relax into the seat, finally feeling the tension leave me. For now at least. She nestles herself against me and relaxes as well, letting the silence fall between us once more. "So... are you going to train me along with Tia?" I hum in response, barely awake. "Celestia is training with you in the mornings now. I have a chance at becoming the leader as well, you should train me as well." "Hm, that is true." "... so... are you going to?" She sounds a little eager about this. "Well, do you want to train with Celestia? I could train you in the afternoon PT regimen to keep up some form of espionage between the two of you. Or you can train with her, either way." "So, you'll train me?" "Yeah, but I don't think I need to. You know as much about fighting as I do." All thanks to Soul Fire. Ever since our souls bonded together, her knowledge of war astounds me. I still don't know why Soul Fire did that though. Why would she get that, but I couldn't get how to fly? Actually, I didn't get anything from that. "I think I'll train at night. It'll fit my schedule better." I hum to her, still thinking on our soul bonding. "Though, I would like to be there when Celestia makes her first dick joke." "I'll record it for generations to cherish," I tell her, getting her to chuckle. "Please do. And make copies, lots of copies." I chuckle at that, thinking about it further. Celestia's first dick joke posted on every corner in the nation, for all to hear. I could do that... "Nah, just one copy will be enough-" "Aw, come on! For her birthday?" I laugh harder at that. "I think she would actually kill me for that. Nah, I don't want to be a massive dick for her first." "Miles, you are a massive dick when it comes to first times." I laugh at that, looking at her in disbelief. "No, no. I have a massive dick. You should know-" "I do know, I was there. And I stand by my statement," she cuts me off confidently, resting her hooves behind head. I go to say something, but chuckle instead. "What? Got nothing to say?" "I'm going to make you eat those words," I tell her casually, getting her to laugh. We make eye contact for a second and laugh some more, warming into each other's embrace. Things might not be perfect, but it seems as if we'll be okay. We can make it through this, together. Chapter 238 No Rest for the WickedChapter 238 No Rest for The Wicked Perspective: Luna I wait till early in the morning before I head for Topaz Falls. Yesterday Shadow had told me everything that had happened. The scandal Miles and her are in, how he reacted afterwards, and where he is now. It sounds like Corpus to me, but if he says something is different then we have to go by his words. I tried my best to console Shadow, but I was only able to take the edge off. There's something snapping in her. Even through her tears I saw it. Vengeance. She wants to hurt that Diamond Tiara girl, but in a way greater than just physical pain. She wants to bring her down in every conceivable possibility and beat her when she begs for mercy. I've never seen this side of her. Then again, we've never had to deal with something like this before. We'll have to keep an eye on her. This is a dangerous path she's walking towards; one I know all too well. I make it to the tram station to Topaz and board the first cart. I'm still debating whether or not I should have waited to speak with Miles. I doubt speaking with him immediately would have solved anything, but waiting this long may have consequences. He could have changed again and harmed himself, or worse. He was still tired, so there's the chance that he may have caught up on his rest. Though that's very doubtful. If my instincts are as accurate as I believe them to be, he'll be at the P.C.H. doing various tests on himself. I try to distract myself by looking out at the city as the tram takes me into Topaz Halls. I know this was his home, but I still don't get why he's rebuilding here. What is he going to accomplish by bringing this city back to its former glory? I don't think he intends to bring people down here. Maybe it was just to put the bots to work. Even with the city cleaned up and lit, it's still eerie to look out there. Dozens of homes and businesses that were once part of a thriving civilization, now empty. This city is a grim reminder of what Miles had. I preferred it back when it was in ruins. At least then you couldn't lie to yourself about the history here. The tram comes to a stop behind the P.C.H. and I'm greeted by one of the many utility bots. "Take me to Miles," I order it. "I apologize, but Grand Captain Miles Eremita is currently undergoing medical evaluation. If you would like, I can escort you to the waiting area until the procedure is completed." I nod to the bot, following after it. So he has been testing himself here. I hope he's found whatever has been plaguing him. It will be better if there is a clear cause for this. I nod to the machine and follow it into the tall building where it instructs me to take a mico platform. One flash later, and I appear in a waiting room and take a seat. I take a look around the bare room and sigh in annoyance. Like many of the rooms in Topaz Falls, there isn't much to the imagination here. Four walls, a ceiling, a floor, and some doors. It's a wonder that the people here didn't go crazy from the blandness. It's a wonder how of these buildings could have so little to them, yet squealers could show generations of life in a single photo... What am I even talking about? Am I so desperate to think about something else that I'm self-loathing the interior decorations? Is this what my life has come to? Going from bland room to bland room and waiting on Miles while I bicker about the walls? No more. I will not lower myself to such ludicrous notions! I stand up and march through the door with the medical sign above. A bot warns me to stop, but I ignore it and continue on through a corridor. I am not going to wait on the sidelines anymore. I told him I was going to start to be a part of this, and I will! On my time, not his! I enter a large spherical room glowing in blue lights. Miles is laying on a gurney in the center as long mechanical arms race around the room. Blue lights beam out of the ends of these arms and are scanning over Miles, zipping all over his body. I feel my stomach twist a little as I realize my impatience. I hope this doesn't force him to restart, that's the last thing I want to hear right now. "Analysis complete. Subject shows high magical capacity and fluctuating soul patterns. Patterns are recurring and stable. Immediate action is advised to restrain power levels. Subject passes physical standards for war. Psychiatric analysis complete, passing marks for battle. This completes your exam." I wait on the side as the machine gives the results. He's perfectly healthy, which is a problem. Something is altering him and there's nothing the Terradisians had that could identify it. Whatever it is, I doubt there's anypony alive that can help him... other than me. "Well, at least you have your health," I muse as I approach him. He looks over to me in slight surprise before rubbing his face. "Tired?" "Irritated," he tells me from behind his hands. "Four two hour tests and I have nothing to show for it. I'm no closer to know what's going on than... *sigh* I don't even know." I take a seat beside him and nudge his hand. He lets it down and looks to me, showing me his tired eyes. Today is not going to be good to him. "Do you have any theories?" I ask him, trying to see where he's at with this. "I have some guesses, but none of them are sound enough. It's most likely Corpus Glacius, but it didn't feel like him. He's... cold. And this wasn't cold. But I can't make full decisions based on feelings. I need facts. Facts that I don't have and am having immense trouble finding." "What was it? What was the feeling you felt when you... blacked out?” I almost said lost control. I have to be careful with my wording. I need to make sure that he stays level headed. He looks to me in fear for a second before taking a deep breath and looking up, keeping his eyes closed. "Angry. Hateful even. I read that article and... I just remember being mad. That I wanted to hurt the fucker who wrote it." I swallow the lump in my throat. I guessed as much, but by the way he's talking... there's more to it. "And... before? Shadow told me that you blacked out before. What was it like when you first blacked out?" He takes a moment to think about it before responding. "Smug. No... not exactly. I was in his room, looking at his weapon designs, and... they were primitive. By my standards at least. It made me feel... superior. Like he was beneath me. Confused too. How could someone so basic be a threat to me? A threat to anyone? I saw those plans and they made me feel powerful." I nod to him and think. He got angry at that article, he felt superior to Starke... "Miles... it sounds like you're describing the Elements of Chaos to me." He gives me a confused look before sitting up and facing me properly. "I don't doubt that those incidents are similar to them, but they aren't conclusive enough. Why would they start acting up now? Why not the other times I felt those emotions? Anger and Pride are strong, but I don't think-" "As of right now they are as likely as any other possibility, are they not?" He gives it a moment’s thought before nodding to me. "I think it would be best if you took them and sealed them away. At least until we understood them better. They might be warping your mind for all we know." "I... cannot dispute that." He nods some more as he thinks about it, casting his gaze downward slowly. "Alright. For the time being, the Elements of Chaos are benched. At least until I have either gain new information or blackout again." "Good. Now come with me. The Spartans will begin training soon, and-" "I can't go back," Miles says, confused. "Luna, I lost control. If I don't have control over myself with this kind of power-" "Miles, you are king," I cut him off firmly, standing to drive my point further. "Whether you like it or not, you are king. And with that you now have an obligation to not only this family, but this country as well. I don't care if you are scared or if you lose control, we need you up there now. Not when it conveniences you, not when you have all the answers you want, and never when you decide it's safe. Your duty is to your family and your country, so you will never have all of those. We are less than a week away from what could be the start of a major war. Equestria needs its king, and the Spartans need their captain. I'm sorry, but you changing is not our biggest fear right now." "..." The room goes silent as we stare at each other. He doesn't seem mad, just shocked. I hate that I had to say this, but it was necessary. We can't afford to show weakness right now. I know Ulfric has his spies all over Equestria, just as we have ours in the Griffin Colonies. With all of the attention Miles has brought on himself, he can't just disappear. We have to look strong, we have to look ready. No matter how false it truly is, we cannot afford to look weak. "We need to show the world that we are in control," I tell him, softening my voice. "They are trying to push us around; we need to show them that we will stand our ground. And that starts by inspiring the ponies of this nation. If you suddenly disappeared after all of this, who would they look to? I know you didn't want it, but it's too late for selfish desires. It's time to serve your country, because we need you. Now, more than ever." "... you realize what happens after, right?" I tilt my head slightly, unsure of his intentions. "Luna... this isn't going to end when we push them back. This isn't going to end with some ink on paper or words between diplomats. You have to know that. This is going to end in blood, and both sides are going to give their share. And... things won't go to the way they were before. They never do." I nod to him and use my magic to bring him to his feet. How could things go back to the way things were? After something like this... nothing will be the same. "All the more reason we need you, Miles. Suit up, it's time to train." Perspective: Celestia I shift around in my chariot as I try to control my nerves. It's been so long since I've last trained for battle, I don't know what to expect. Another lost feeling, not knowing. If anything, Miles has at least taught me that I don't know as much as I previously believed. I completely forgot what it's like before a battle. Your blood rushing through your veins, your breath catching every single time, the dryness in my mouth. It's incredibly uncomfortable. Which is good, I guess. I can't imagine being accustomed to this. Then again, that might be why I'm here in the first place. We make it to Ponyville where my escorts take me to the front of Miles's home. I step off and they take off without a word, as instructed. I know there are those among my guard that would disapprove of this, but I've made up my mind. That, and if they said anything, I might second guess myself. I take a few steps towards the home and take a look around. The sun has barely poked over the horizon, burning the night dew from the surrounding grass. I'm ten minutes early, so I guess the others are still getting ready. Maybe I have enough time to run in and see the others. Maybe I shouldn't. I've seen Miles yell at his recruits before, I don't want to push my luck today. "Mornin' Princess!" I look up and smile to Rainbow Dash as she lands before me. She's wearing her armor but has the helmet off to the side. "Good morning, Rainbow Dash. It's good to see you again," I greet her, happy I'm not the only one here early. "Where are the others? Are they going to show up anytime soon?" "They're probably suiting up in Mooseden. We usually line up on the side a minute or two before we start.... are you training with us today?" I smile proudly at that, making her shoot her eyebrows up. "Shit." "Um... what?" "Where's your armor!?" she almost yells, looking around frantically. "I wasn't told to bring it-" "That ass! Okay, summon your armor and get it on asap!" I give her a confused look, but does as she says anyway. With a flash of my horn my golden armor appears before me. "Hurry up and put it on!" "What is the rush? We still don't start for another five minutes-" "Do you want Miles on your ass?" Her vulgarity catches me off guard, but I shake my head no in response. "Then hurry up and put it on! It's Spartan directive that you wear your armor for all combat training exercises. If you aren't in your armor, then he'll rip your dick off!" I pause for a moment before hurrying. Did he intentionally not tell me so he could yell at me? Maybe that's his way of teaching, but that's simply cruel. Why would he set me up for failure like that? It's not fair! "Why would he intentionally try to sabotage me? It's not very kind of him-" "We're not here to be kind. We're here to perfect killing people." Her statement stuns me for a moment. I know that's what they do but her bluntness towards it is... disturbing. With that in mind, I rush through putting my armor on. "The others are teleporting in, let's line up. I'll try to help you as much as I can, but do yourself a favor. Don't ask too many questions." "How will I learn if I don't ask questions?" I ask her as I follow. She doesn't answer me, instead lining up and standing at attention with the other Spartans. I follow suite, still confused by her statement. If I'm here to learn, then why shouldn't I ask too many questions? I assume there's something I'm missing, but I don't know what it is. Storm Cloud stands before us and reads from a glass brick. I take a quick look around and notice that Miles isn't here at the moment. I go to ask where he is, when I hear Rainbow Dash cough. I keep the question to myself, at her advice. Is this how they always begin? Or is something wrong? I thought this was just a sparring exercise, why all the formality? "Alright, Spartans! Today is a special little treat for you. We will be joined by Princess Celestia for sparring matches, as well as anything else she is willing to endure. The Captain is set on making her into a proper killer, so let's make sure she learns everything there is!" I gulp at that. That's not why I'm here. I'm here to learn to fight and protect my country. But, that may become a part of my duty. I push the thought away for now, listening to Storm instead. "Now get going! Sixty minutes till we begin matches!" In unison, the Spartans give a shout of confirmation and turn towards the Everfree. I turn after them in time to start running with them. They train in the forest? It's odd, but it is the best place for them actually. It's away from the populace and offers large tracts of land to use. Though, how they avoid the predators and unforgiving weather, is beyond me. The group breaks into a moderate running speed. It's not too much on me, but I find it strange that we are running in a straight line. For some it seems easy, but for others it seems difficult. I don't know how the apes are able to keep pace, but they don't seem like they're struggling. Though, with those helmets, I might be wrong. We go on like this for another twenty minutes. No one talks, no one attempts to fly, and no one breaks from the line. At this point I start to feel my armor chaff against me. I haven't worn this thing is eons, and it's showing. I guess I've become more accustomed to the softer things, and armor is not a part of that. I especially feel it in my left shoulder. I guess in my hurry I put it on wrong. I light up my horn to fix it, but Rainbow Dash coughs loudly. Am I not allowed to use magic? I guess that makes sense, since they haven't used anything during this run, but how am I going to fix it? Am I supposed to just endure it? If this was a battle, I would have the time to correct it, why not now? I don't understand. We go on for another twenty minutes, and I'm starting to feel it. It's not too much, it's just been a long time since I've ran for forty minutes. Sweat is starting to roll down my brow as my legs begin to numb from the constant galloping. Some of the others are showing similar signs, but I feel as if they are handling it much better than I am. If this is something they do routinely, I don't know how I'll be standing at the Grand Galloping Gala. There's no way my legs will allow it. One can hope though. I saw some beast along the way. Dire wolves, manticores, even some things that I've never seen before! None of them moved against us though. It's as if they know not too. If they've been doing this for six years, I can only imagine the confrontations they've had. They might as well be a part of the forest now, it seems. We come upon a wooden fortress at the end of our run. Tall wooden poles, at least twenty feet high, form a square building with watchtowers at the corners. A doorway stands open for us with the Spartan logo burned into it. The walls are covered in scratches and burn marks, some parts looking newer than others. Is this where people come to become Spartans now? Or is this one structure among many for them? I'm sure I'll find out soon enough. The gate opens before us and we come running in. There are a few barracks here, but other than that there's nothing in here. Miles is standing in the center of the open square. He has his armor on and has his claymore in his hands, resting the point in the ground. I feel a new wave of worry wash over me. I've fought him in the past, but something about today is worrying me. Something's... off. The line comes to a halt and turns to face him, everyone staying silent. I don't know if he's looking between all of us or just standing there, it's hard to tell. "Celestia!" he barks. "Step forward." I do as he asks, stepping in front of the line. He walks over and stares right into my eyes, as if testing my nerves. "Miles," I greet him, giving him a slight nod. He doesn't say anything at first, choosing to just stare me down a while longer. I start to feel a bit foolish as I just stand here. He could at least say hello, or something. Anything! "Who told you to bring your armor?" he asks quietly. I feel a pang of worry hit me. So I wasn't supposed to bring my armor! Should I just tell him? I know how much the Spartans value honesty. But I don't want to get Rainbow Dash- "I did!" Rainbow announces, stepping forward. "It's regulation to wear-" "Is it regulation to break the chain of command?" Miles snaps back, moving to tower over her. "No sir!" "Did I order you to tell her to bring armor!?" "No sir!" "Are you responsible for her training!?" "No sir!" "Who the fuck put you in command?" "No one sir!" "Get back in line before I demote your ass!" "Yes sir!" She steps back in line quickly. No one here seems to flinch from his outburst. I myself can feel a cool sheen of sweat rolling down my brow. I really hope he doesn't yell at me like that. "Spartan!" Miles starts, slowly pacing in front of the others. "It appears that our war may be starting sooner rather than later. Come this time next week, I will be meeting at the Isle to discuss terms with Ulfric. That means we have a week to ready our defenses and rally more to our cause. As of today, the Spartans are entering a preparatory state for war, order nineteen; The Gathering." I hear them shuffle around a bit, but they stay mostly silent. I don't know entirely what they mean, but I get the rest. They're mobilizing. He's getting ready for a fight that might not even happen. What does that mean for them? What is that going to change? They've been militaristic in everything they've done; what else is there for them to do? "Until the Grand Galloping Gala, Storm Cloud will be overseeing daily activities. I'm keeping everyone on call until we have assured peace. I have to secure our allies and make further arrangements. That's all for now, dismissed!" Everypony disperses into groups, mumbling to one another quietly. Miles motions for me to follow, so I do. We walk into one of the barracks where Miles sits on a cot, motioning me to sit across from him. I give him a confused look before sitting. "What are we doing out here? Aren't we supposed to be training?" I ask him, fixing the strap on my armor. "Not today. Today... we have a lot to discuss beforehand," he tells me solemnly, removing his helmet. "How will I earn their respect if I'm in here? What is it that you wish to discuss?" He looks away from me for a moment as he thinks to himself. I have no clue what is on his mind, but whatever it is, it's troubling him deeply. "Miles?" "If I said I am king... what would you tell me?" His question is surprising, but not entirely abstract. He is king now and has to start acting like it. But I doubt that is all there is to it. I give his question a moment's thought before responding. "I would tell you that kings do not need to tell others they are king." He scoffs at that, shaking his head while leaning back. "I am here to earn favor with the Spartans. You said that if I trained with them it would-" "Celestia, you could train with us until you find your cause and it wouldn't change their opinions about you." His statement catches me off guard. Why is he wasting my time then? And... does that mean he lied to me? "We're not here to 'gain favor', we're here to train. The fact that you are here is a start, but you aren't going to change their minds." "But you said-" "I said we respect one thing: Warriors. You will not be a warrior, Celestia, you will be a leader. Unless the generals of Equestria lead from the front lines?" I stay silent, knowing he knows the answer. "So... we will not be having sparring matches then, will we?" I ask, feeling a bit down. I've never been so... disregarded before. I know it was a possibility, but... I've never had it thrown in my face before. "I didn't say that." I look up to him in confusion, making him smirk. "You and I will be sparring still, just... not the way you were thinking. We will be playing war games against one another. I will be testing you on your ability to lead armies and how to strategize." I laugh a little at that, getting an offended look from him. "I'm sorry, truly, I am. I'm sure you have much you can teach me in the ways of war. It's just... a little presumptuous, don't you think?" "I come from a culture of people who have been warring since the dawn of time. I was the second highest ranking officer from my city, and it wasn't purely on power or skill. The Codex has records of military tactics and statistics over ten eras ago. And I know not to laugh when my opponent tells me they have something to teach me, Celestia." "I know, sorry. I just thought it was a little funny," I tell him, trying to get back in the moment. "Of course I will play your war games. Where shall we begin? What are the rules?" "Here is our first game. Theoretical Conquest. Here's how it works. I will start by telling you a strategic move or plan to conquer Equestria. Then you will offer a counter to that plan, and then have a chance to counterattack. The game ends when either one of us yields or Storm comes to tell us that our time is up. Are you ready?" What is he planning? Does he really intend to tell me how he plans to conquer Equestria? Or is he toying with me? Either way, this game of his is extremely disconcerting. He's never been one to mock openly about his ability to conquer. He makes his jabs at issues and weak points in policy, but he's never blatantly said how he'd conquer. As much as I want to know what he could do, I don't know how I'll feel when I do. "Step one, Terradisian withdrawal from the Griffin Colonies. As the military commander and current leader of the Terradisians, I have the authority to make the executive action to withdraw from the G.C. Without our free handouts, resentment would grow to the point of rapid mobilization." I nod to that. Things are dicey right now, and him pulling support right now would not help. But how can I put this on him? "You may now offer a rebuttal to my move and a counter move." "Well... by making it an executive action, the griffins would put the blame on you. We'd take this opportunity to solidify our commitment to aiding the people, winning over the populace." "Next we annex the Apple family and cease trade with Equestria. Your market loses ten percent of its crop yield as well as its largest supplier of raw metals, and Terradisia can finally elect a proper Parliament. This absolves me from fault, as it appears as a revolution to outsiders." I blink at that one. I knew that the Apples might sign over, but in this game they do it immediately. The reduction would push prices higher, which is what the griffins are mad about in the first place. I need to debunk his argument. Or, at the very least, pin it against him. "Hm... with a new government, means new minds in power... So we'd petition the new government to open trade again. Then we appeal to the Apples on their years of service to the crown and bring them back to Equestria-" "Then I'd be back in control, putting us in a tailspin between loyalties. Next my Spartans would covertly destroy Equestrian trade routes with the G.C. With little to no food, they are forced to make immediate actions and invade the Soviet Bear Union." I blanch at that. Why would he provoke a war like that? He's trying to conquer Equestria, so he has the griffins fight the bears? That doesn't make sense! Unless... "The griffins wouldn't go to war with the bears. They have a standing army and are already aware of a possible fight. Even if they did, they wouldn't achieve a lasting victory. Our next move would be to broker a peace between the two nations and find a way to secure trade-" "I'd use this as a chance to show the weakness of Equestrian policy. With the bears fighting fiercely and the Equestrians appearing weak, the griffins agree peace with the bears and march on Equestria. Come on Celestia, think! There are more pieces to the puzzle, use them!" I bite my lips as I try to think what he's talking about. He doesn't suggest using family members as pawns, does he? "Hm... I'd..." There's something I'm not considering here. Something he wants to utilize... "I'd eclipse the sun against the griffins. Wherever they land has no sunlight, so they can't grow crops. It also shows the world my resolve to protect my nation-" "I take all willing people into the underground nation of Terradisia. With many of your people and the griffin army in my care, a new parliament is made. This new government moves to secure our lands, and not understanding our technological prowess, goes to war with Equestria. We conquer in three days. Do you surrender?" "Of course not! I-" "We capture city after city and convince them that a new world order will prevail. The people turn against you. You have no army, nowhere to hide, and people to call your own." "We wouldn't fall so quickly-" "We take the food, we control the media, and any that fight don't live long enough to rally others. How are you going to stop an army that outnumbers most of your cities?" I just stare at him, flabbergasted. Is this what he wanted to do? Just boast that he could conquer my nation? "Is this all you wanted? Flaunt your military around and-" "Don't give up so quickly." I hum to him, looking back to him. "Celestia, this is theoretical. This is how things would always be. If I was going to do that, why would I tell you?" I nod to that, but still feel a bit down. Even though it wasn't true, it felt too real. "What do you believe you did wrong?" "Letting you talk down to me," I say bitterly, making him scoff. "Yes, at least at the end there. What else?" I sit back and try to think. Other letting him walk over me during that, what did I really do wrong? "I... didn't take it seriously," I tell him, getting him to nod back to me. I think about it for a moment before continuing. "I didn't take you seriously. Even though you told me what we were going to be doing, I thought of it as a joke. I didn't think of the scenarios outside of my country either." "You also didn't think about who you were fighting." Miles adds. I nod, thinking about what I would have done differently. "Let's try that again. This time take it seriously and think critically. Ready?" "Yes, let's try this again." I straighten myself out and nod to him, ready to start over. "To start off, I take the Apple farms and cut your food production by ten percent. Your move." I think about this for a moment before smiling to him, having an idea. "You wouldn't be able to gather all of the Apples, though. If you were to, you would have already. Seeing you make a move against my nation, I make a move against you. I convince Luna to have another foal, putting you in maternity leave. This weakens the Spartan leadership and removes both you and Luna from major schemes." "But not right away. I use the time before confirmation to stage a series of raids throughout the world, procuring all major metal production globally. I do this through diplomacy or brute force." I think about this one a little bit longer. He takes away metals, then no one can produce any new weapons. But... "I send my guards and strike down Mooseden." Miles shows a little shock from this, clearly not expecting this from me. "To hold all of those mines and factories, you'd have to thin your ranks. And I know exactly where your people are hiding. This would also scare the Apples back to my side, the ones that aren't truly invested at least." He doesn't say anything at first, giving me a surge of confidence. I made him pause. I made the Captain of the Spartan regiment pause. I cut through all of his boasting, all his pride; I deflated his massive ego and made him pause. Is this what he's trying to teach me? What it feels like to out think your opponent. Is this what it's like to win a battle? The war isn't over, but I won this round. This has to be what he's trying to teach me. "Interesting." I smirk at that, swelling with pride. "Well, with my citizens dead and my troops spread wide, I'd have no other choice. Order twenty-six; Final Ultimatum. This is total war. We march, in unison, on every capital. We bomb those that fight, we erase everyone that rebels, and if a city proves too much trouble... we drop alphas. The remaining Spartans and the Terradisian army beat the world into submission." "You can't just keep doing that!" I snap at Miles. "You keep flaunting that army of yours as if they can do what you say they can do! If you could do that, then why haven't you? Why are you even worried about a possible war if that's your go-to answer?" "I will not be a tyrant!" Miles snaps back loudly, slamming his fist down. We stare at each other for a moment before I realize how serious Miles is about this. "Power is a terrifying thing, Celestia. I know that you know this." "Then why do you keep-" "That army is the only reason we're even talking right now, Celly. Can't you see that? The Unfamiliar aren't stupid. If we met in open combat, I'd win, no argument about that. They're playing the field, just as we all are. They know I'll support the Equestrians in any conflict, and that's what they're waiting for. Do you think a person in my position dies in some duel of fates? My death, should it happen, will not be noteworthy." "Miles..." "They know that if they can get you and the griffins to go to war, and they know that I'll support you. All they have to do then is wait and take the shot. I can alter the elements, I can erase mountains, I wield powers unknown to the world. But I can't survive a gunshot to the head. Or a stabbing to the heart. I have power, but that doesn't make me immortal. And that's what they are waiting for. And I refuse to subjugate the world under my banner through force. So, what am I to do? What is the play I make to survive this ordeal? What is my move?" I stare at him, lost. I didn't know he looked at this ordeal so... personally. I should have guessed, most soldiers do so. But I just never expected it from Miles. He always seems so... fearless. Seeing him scared is... uncomfortable. "Miles... I don't know what to tell you. But-" "Well that's a shame." I blanch at his remark. And here I thought we'd have a touching moment. "I'm already putting my plan into motion. Why do you think you're here?" "... ARE YOU USING ME!?" I yell at him. He chuckles and stands up, giving a lazy stretch. Yes, but not the way you think I am. That's enough for today. Let's move on to-" "A sparring match!" I yell at him, standing up quickly. "If I'm going to be used, I may as well learn something from it. We are sparring, and that is final!" He chuckles at that, moving to hold the door open for me. I walk past him in a huff, summoning my sword along the way. "Fair enough then. But be warned, I'm not going to hold back," he tells me as he draws his claymore and sets the sparring enchantment on it. I set mine on as well, eyeing him evenly. "Good. I don't have time for slow lessons." As we square off with one another, all of the other Spartans stop what they are doing to watch. They form a circle around us and keep their weapons pointed at the ground. One of them starts to tap against the ground, and the others join. Soon they're all jabbing their weapons on the ground in unison, setting the beat to our fight. "Then let us begin." Chapter 256 Die MysteriumChapter 256 Die Mysterium Perspective: Miles Luna moves to sit on the edge of the bed. I can see on her face that she's trying to process what just happened. I can't help but pace back and forth. Just another mystery thrown in our face with no explanation at all! Tonight, of all nights! Because life couldn't just let us enjoy the night as it was, could it? "Is this what it's like?" Luna asks me, making me pause. "Because this sort of thing happens to you all the time. Is this what it's like? Because this is awful. This is... why? Why would she say something like that? Isn't there some sort of rule or... regulations!? I can't stop thinking about it now!" "I know Luna, I know. But there's nothing we can do about it now." I tell her, trying to reassure her. Truthfully, I'm freaking out just a much as she is. But it's easier for me to help others than myself. "Maybe we should try something though? Maybe do an opposite plan of action or... or... do something big! Big and-and right now! What would we normally do right now? Let's try doing the opposite instead!" "I don't know if time travel would work like that." "Well we need to try something! Did you not hear what she said!? Or did you take something else from it? Because to me it sounds like we're not going to make it to our future!" I go back to pacing again. I know what she said. Whoever that was didn't get the chance to meet us. And they really wanted to speak with us, even though they weren't allowed to. What else could that mean? Maybe they're from way in the future. It would be like Luna meeting Dolum. He would have no way of understanding anything she would have to say. But that's not what I took from her. I took death from her demeanor. That's what my instincts are telling me at least. But that's not going to help Luna right now. How am I going to spin this without lying to her and keeping her line of thinking from going further down that pit? "Look... yeah, it sounds like we don't make it from what she said. I'll give you that. But... If that's what it sounds like on the surface, then there's probably something else to it." I move to sit in front of her, trying to keep eye contact with her. I can tell I need to keep digging to bring her back to me. "Whoever that was probably knows better than to speak that candidly to people from their past. Like you said, there are probably regulations in place to protect... history. So if it sounds like that, then it's equally as likely that the opposite happens." "So what are you saying? There's a fifty-fifty chance of us dying?" Luna asks desperately. Her eyes are panicked and I see she's starting to spin this in her head. I take a moment to get my thoughts in order. I'm not sure where I'm going with this, but it seems to be working. "I can't say with a certainty what may or may not happen in the future. You know this. But what I can tell you is what I know right at this moment. And in this moment, we are safe. Tempus is safe. Shadow is safe. Celestia is safe. Our friends, allies, country people, we're all safe in this moment. And what I can tell you with a one hundred percent certainty is that in the next moment, no matter what happens, I will do everything in my power to keep you safe. To keep our children safe. Our homes and friends; I will do whatever I can to keep them as safe as I can." I reach forward and take her hooves in mine. I hold onto them as tightly as I can. The truth of the matter is that I can only promise as much as my own capabilities. Anything beyond that is impossible to guarantee. I can't promise that I'll survive any future conflict. I can't give her the comfort of knowing that I'll always be there for her. I know that. I've always known that. But with the idea of it being thrown in my face... it terrifies me. I'm a planner. I don't like doing something that doesn't have some sort of structure to it. It's why I've fit so well into the military. Even dying seemed so easy to me. A soldier dying in some battle, you don't get surprised by that. But the idea of not being able to protect Luna. The fear of losing someone so dear to me... "I can't promise something as impossible as tomorrow. Even though we know it's going to happen, there's no way of knowing. There's no stopping it. No avoiding it. Tomorrow will happen, with or without us. All we can do now is promise each other that we'll do all we can until tomorrow, and then do it all again. Will you make this promise with me?" She squeezes my hooves for a moment before reaching down and kissing them softly. I can still see the fear and panic in her eyes, but she's at least simmered down a bit. "I know you can't make promises like that. I know I'm asking for the impossible, but that's what I need Miles. And I know how unfair it is to ask something like this of you. I don't want to be that greedy, but I can't help it. I don't want to lose anyone! And I know it's completely fear based but I need something equally illogical to help me. I need you to promise me the impossible so I can continue on pretending like everything will be okay. I need you to lie to me, just this once. Please Miles! Lie to me. Lie and tell me that you'll be okay! Tell me that no matter what you'll come back to me and everything will work out okay. Please!" I try to look her in the eye and tell her that I can't do that. I try to look away and say that goes against everything I've ever stood for. I try to find a way to rationalize this in my own head so I can convince her as well. But... no matter what I do, I keep coming back to that sad face before me. That look of desperation. That bated breath waiting to hear what it needs. I know what I should say. But I also know what needs to be said. Two words. But impossible repercussions. "I promise." She pulls me in for the tightest hug she's ever given me, and I hug her in kind. I feel wrong saying it knowing it's something that I can't really control. I don't even know if it's a lie really. And what am I even promising? That we'll survive? Or just me? But I don't know if any of these questions will ever be answered, which is what I hate about it. This will come back to bite us both in the ass. It's going to change everything moving forward. Left turns become right. Inaction to action. It's unfathomable to comprehend! And I promised it. All just to ease Luna's mind. There's no going back on it though. I've said it, so the only left to do is make it happen. Even if it means utter failure, I have to give it my all. I can't let her down. Not when there's so much at stake. It doesn't take long for us to break apart, sharing a small kiss and sweet nothings seemed... wrong. I don't know how to put it. It feels as if it's been said already. Or maybe the mood wouldn't allow for it. I don't know, but it's definitely didn't feel right to say or do anything further. I asked if we should go back down to the Gala, but we decided to leave instead. With everything going on, we're done here. Besides, sleep sounds amazing at this time. We sneak our way out of the Gala. It wasn't that hard really. Something is going on in the garden, so no one was in the halls to stop and pester us. A squad of night guards escorts up to the mountain. One of them started spouting business rabble to Luna. Something about projections and possible candidates. I zoned out of the conversation fast. Mentally, I'm practically dead to the world. I don't even know if I'll be able to fall asleep, which is confusing in it of itself. When we make it to the teleporter Luna listens to the guard for a moment longer before thanking them and dismissing them for the night. I don't know how she does it. Despite being as tired as me, if not more, she can still listen and delegate this kind of crap. I'll bet her mind is racing with all of the information she just learned and is planning ahead for it. It's amazing really. Planning battles and war scenarios, no problem. Talk taxes and... bureaucratic crap, I'm useless. Not Luna though. It just comes naturally to her somehow. She's a schemer. That's my best guess. When we make it home we start getting ready for the night. Showers. Changing. Shutting off my phone so no one can wake me up tomorrow. I'm passing out tonight and nothing is going to wake me until I've got my fill of sleep. Luna tells me that the kids will be in Mooseden, so there's nothing to wake us up tomorrow. So we're taking full advantage of that. Luna makes it to the bed before me but I'm not that far behind her. I was going to say goodnight, or I love you, something. But it was just silent. We're laying back to back, and it's... weird. We feel so close it's almost claustrophobic. But we feel so far away from one another. It's as if I'm going to turn around and she won't be there. Is everything fine between us? I know we said we'd clean slate things, but it's never that easy. Maybe we just need to sleep the day away and that will 'clean the slate'. But if that's how we're approaching this whole debacle, then I should say something. But what should I say? I guess I love you would be the most suitable. But saying something because it should be the right thing to say is being disingenuous. I'm keeping one lie already, I'm not going to add to it. Maybe I should just go to sleep. It's probably nothing anyway. There have been plenty of times we've gone to bed without saying anything. It seems weird not saying anything tonight, but it shouldn't. Right? Gah! I don't know what to do! The tension in the room is keeping me awake and I can't figure out what I should do to fix it! I start looking around the room trying to distract myself from... myself. There's nothing to really look at though. We just threw our clothes on the ground, but there's nothing special about that. Our furniture seems the same, so nothing there. My phone is on the dresser next to me... next to... the thumb drive Susurrans gave me. Everything else in the world fades away as I stare at that little device. Everything about that fight flashes before me as I stare at it. How pitifully out classed I was. I really thought I finally had that edge over the old bastard. But despite all my power, he brushed me aside with no effort whatsoever. How did we lose with someone as powerful as that!? "In time you will learn of your mother's past. You cannot avoid it. But... there are secrets that you will have to learn. Secrets that will shake you to your core. Listen well and let your flame guide you. And though we walk the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil. It's time you started to learn of your father's past, and why you will never meet him." That was a mouthful. It sounded rehearsed, which it probably was. Where do I even start with all of that. The secret bits was obvious, so not there obviously. What valley are we walking? Is that a metaphor for life or something? And fear no evil!? I have listened to countless speeches from Susurrans about fear being a tool for courage! Fear is natural, not having it or denying it seems... wrong. And letting my flame guide me? I know he's talking about Soul Fire there. But there are so many questions from that too! Where is it guiding me? How do I get it to guide me? Soul Fire kind of just appears when it doesn't want me to do or go somewhere, so is it doing it already? Is this something that I have any influence over or will it force me in the right direction? Where are we going? There seems to be a lot going on in their pasts. Even with it happening so long ago and so far away, it's still right here with me. I've spent so much of my life being on my own. I had to fight for myself and take care of me. But now I'm learning how much I had from my parents without them even being there. Okay, this is getting too introspective. I should calm down and go to sleep. Or... I could see what's in that thumb drive. I mean, it'll be there in the morning. No reason to rush into this now. And I really shouldn't do it while Luna is trying to sleep. And I already turned off my phone... But I might fucking explode if I don't look what's in there right fucking now! I take a tentative look behind me to see if Luna is awake of not. She seems to be sleeping. How long have I been staring at that thumb drive? I go back to staring at it as I wrestle with what to do. I really should just go to sleep. What time is it even? ... my phone is off so I can't even check. Fuck it, I'm doing it. I grab my phone and start to power it up. While I wait for it to boot up I feel myself start to get antsy. It's an odd mixture of fear and excitement. Fear of being disappointed because it may just be another clue. Something that only gives me more questions and no answers. But it may finally be something that can end the questions I have to avoid. Why was Susarrans avoiding me as I grew up? What happened to my mother? What's their story and how do I fit into all of this? What is Soul Fire? Where is this all going and what should I be doing? Who am I really? MY phone blinks back to life and I link the thumb drive to it. I feel my palms start to get sweaty as I wait for the two of the to link. It only takes a moment, but it feels like forever. File: Viderunt Omnes// playback// All have seen? It's an audio file. Not a really big one either. It feels like a let down. The only thing on here is a small audio file. I'm sure a lot can be said in two minutes. But... I don't know. I may have gotten my hopes too high. I pull it up and go to play it. I pause for a second before playing it. No need to get my hopes higher than needed. Iderunt o-mnes fines terrae... The moment it starts to play something inside me stirs to life. The person singing weaves the words back and forth and my soul is dancing with it in a way I've never felt before. Salu-tare De-i nostri... The words come out so slowly and I feel myself lingering on each and every one of them. Dei, what is that? It seems like a name of some sort. I've never heard it before at least. What exactly are they saving us from though? Jub-ila-te De-o o-mnis ter-rae... There it is again. Deo? Maybe it's more like a title then? What are we rejoicing from? Even though all these questions are racing through my mind I'm calm. Calmer than I've ever been in my entire life. I let the song play out. It brings something out of me that I didn't even know I had. Something I didn't even know I was missing. By the end I feel a tear roll down the side of my cheek as I feel a new sense of... I don't even know. Serenity? Is this what it's like to be at peace? Is this what it's supposed to feel like? It's... sad. It's sad because I've never felt like this before. And I don't know if I could ever feel like this again. But I also feel strengthened. I feel like I can finally push through it all and try one more time. One more push. Whatever challenges there are in the world, I can take them all on, one more time. I flinch when I hear Luna hiccup. I turn and see her staring back at me, tears running down her cheeks. Whatever I've just gone through, she was right there with me. We share a look of understanding. Knowing there's nothing we could say in this moment. Nothing needs to be said. Because everything is finally okay. I reach forward and run my hoof behind her head. She looks up to me and returns the gesture. Every touch feels like the very first time and it draws me to her. From the sparkle in her eye, to the flow of her ethereal hair. Everything draws me closer to this woman until our lips finally touch. Everything finally feels right. Chapter 268 Shadow of MoosedenChapter 268 Shadow of Mooseden Perspective: Shadow "Achoo!" I squeak out a sneeze as sit in the shower under the hot running water. Spending that much time in the rain has done a number on me. I'm pretty sure I'll be out for a week or so. At least that's what I'm told Mom and Dad... Dad. When I woke up I knew I had to go find him. No matter what Star Gazer said. He at least didn't try to fight me on that. He figured I wasn't going to listen anyway. So he helped. For a stranger... it was really kind of him. Dad carried me home and went straight to his room. I waited for him to start his own shower before I went to my own. I've... never seen him so scared before. I know he's feared the Unf- Kroth, for a long time. I just... I never thought my father could be so scared of something. Not him. I didn't know what to do. What could I have said? I hope he doesn't think less of me for just cuddling. It really freaked me out to see him like that. I don't know if I should bring it up again. I'm sure he's embarrassed about it. Even though he doesn't have to be. I have my fear of spiders for... similar reasons. Maybe not so similar. I've never lost loved ones to war before. Nor as many before. And I doubt I'd forgive him so easily. I know he's feeling ashamed, but how do I tell him that he doesn't need to? How do I tell him that I get what he's going through while also understanding that I might not understand everything? CLICK "... Dad?" I ask aloud. Somepony just walked in. I'm a little confused because my father has never done this before. I wait and listen for him, but he doesn't say anything. SHING I give a small yelp as the curtain is thrown aside and Star Gazer stands there. I go red in the face and try to cover myself, getting him to tilt his head. "You know most ponies don't wear clothes, right?" He tells me as he sets his bag on the toilet. I stare at him as he starts to rummage through the satchel. "... get out!" I hiss at him as I slide the curtain back. "And it's the principle of the matter!" "Never really got that though. Why don't we wear clothes? I mean, a tail can cover a lot. But not everything." He mumbles as he sorts through some glass objects. I try to think about what he's saying before I shake my head. "Get ou- a-a-achoo!" I nearly fall over from that powerful sneeze. "Oof. Sounds like I might be too late." He mentions with something in his mouth. A moment later he sticks his hoof into the shower and offers me a potion. I stare at the golden liquid for a moment before I push his hoof out. "Why are you even here!?" "Trust me, you're going to want to take this. You'll feel like a new mare in the morning." He tells me as he pops the cork off and offers it again. "Take the potion and I'll tell you why I'm really here. And trust me, you're going to want to hear this." I grumble to as I take the potion. If it'll get him out, then I'll just take it and pour it down the drain. There's no way I'm dumb enough to drink a random potion... As I pour the contents out it mixes with the water and starts to steam up. I take a breath as feel a warm energy travel down into my lungs. "Oh, you knew to mix it with hot water. Good." I smack my face in disbelief. "Now, the reason I was in Mooseden was-" "To steal some kabobs?" I ask as I sit with my back to the water. I can't believe I'm having a conversation like this. If my dad walks in, it's his funeral. "No, but that was an added bonus." He laughs at himself. I just roll my eyes and let him continue. "I have some intel on Diamond Tiara." "Why do you have intel on her?" I ask, bewildered. "I told you I was going to help, remember?" I think back and vaguely recall a conversation like that happening. "Right... what did you learn?" "Well, it would seem our little mud mucker has a secret to her trade." He tells me as he takes a seat on the toilet. "From what I could gather, she's having a meeting with some big shots in the armorers guild tonight." "... okay?" I don't follow what he's getting at. "Okay, let me put it this way then. This meeting is happening at a Canterlot hotel with just the two of them." I stay quiet as I try to garner what he's getting at. But... I mean, I don't know what's going on. "Okay... wow. Aren't you dating Rumble? Shouldn't this... ya'know. Get the imagination moving?" "I mean... we've been dating for less than a week. And he's spent most of that time in Cloudsdale." "... she going to have sex with them-" "WHAT!?" I nearly fall over from that. She's still in high school! He's the leader of a guild! There must be a twenty... thirty year difference! ... AND THE HIPROCRACY! That lying little slut is going around telling ponies that I'm sleeping around when she's the one lifting her tail to sway business dealings! Who in their right mind would do such a thing!? "Yeah, figured you'd like to know about that." I start to get dizzy with how mad I am. Does she really have no morals? "Anyway, I've made a few strike plans. If you're interested." "... Strike plans?" His offer catches me off guard. He's made... strike plans? "I'm so glad you asked! So I have three plans. They're all pretty good, but I think there's a clear choice in the group. Plan number one is pretty simple. We go, take a few pictures, and blast them all over the newspapers. A pretty straight forward plan really. Not much to it." "And the next plan?" I figure that was a plan. I can't really think of anything else I'd do to her. Which is why I'm interested in the other options. "Well, option two is to run interference. Stop them from slapping nasties-" "Please don't call it that." I tell him, not wanting to think about it. "Okay, plan one is to broadcast it to the world. Plan two is to-" "Cockblock, yes." I shutter from the thought. I don't know if I want to chance catching Diamond in the middle of the act. "And lastly, my masterpiece! If I do say so myself. I call it, Operation Breaking Diamond!" "... you're having too much fun with this." I tell him, not impressed with his enthusiasm. "Only a little bit! Honest!" I shake my head again. His dorkiness is starting to get to me. "So this plan involves a lot of espionage. But the simplest breakdown is that we go in, wait for them to get started, and counter spell any contraceptives they use." I balk when he says that. Counter spell her contraceptives!? That's... that's taking it way too far! That is far more evil than anything I'd be willing to do! Or is it. I did say I wanted to ruin her life the way she went after mine. And she's already showed she's willing to play as dirty as she needs to. But am I willing to lower myself to her level in such a... abhorrent manner? Would she deserve it? Absolutely. But this isn't about her right now. Right now it's about me. I know I can't beat her at her own game. I've figured that much out so far. Doing this would lower me beneath her. No, I'm not doing that. We'll do the first plan, and that's all we'll do. I will not win by being Diamond Tiara. I am going to win by being Shadow Knight. "I really appreciate you're help in all of this." I tell him as I start to shut off the water. But then I remember that my Dad is across the hall and decide against it. "But we will not be doing Operation Diamond Breaker." "You sure?" He asks, sounding as if he's leaning in to make sure. "I'm sure of it. I'm going to win on my win accord. Not by doing something that she would. But I still appreciate the help-" "Oh, don't thank me yet." He tells me as he starts flipping through some papers. "Truth be told, I was more testing you. Seeing if you would go as low as her and all. Figured you wouldn't, but just wanted to make sure." "Oh... okay." I... can't believe he was testing me. I mean, I guess trust goes both ways. But... still. "Also, you'll need to get Rumbles permission for any of the other plans." "Uh... why?" I ask, suddenly confused. "Well, the plan is to sneak in and not get caught. If everything goes according to plan then it won't really matter. But, if we do get caught, it's a couples retreat theme at the hotel. So we may need to play off that we're a young couple getting into trouble. Otherwise we'll probably get thrown in jail." Okay, I get the inflection that time. But I don't know if that'll work. I can't talk to Rumble right now. He's all the way in Cloudsdale! If I hadn't blown all that energy into that light spell against Corpus then maybe I could get it done. But there's no way I'm casting any more spells tonight. I might not even be able to for that matter! "I can't do that. He's all the way in Cloudsdale. And there's no way I'm teleporting all there and back." "I could do it." "Are you sure?" I ask, genuinely surprised. The teleport is probably one of the most useful spells ever made. At least, according to my father that is. But not everypony can do it. Let alone do it with that level of finesse. "Yeah, I mean it'll put a toll on me. But I can manage. I've done the Canterlot run before. Shouldn't be that different." He says that, but I hear a bit of doubt in his voice. If we're going to do this, then I need him on his A game. I'm already haggard and sickly. We can't do this if we're both like that. What am I saying? We? I can't go to Canterlot with him! I don't know him! I don't even know what time it is! For all we know they've already done it! No. It's would have been a good plan any other night. But there's no way it'll happen tonight. "Star, there's no way we're going to be able to do this tonight-" "I thought you'd say that." He tells me, going back into his bag. A moment later he flings the curtain open and presents me a notebook. I fumble over myself in embarrassment as I try to cover myself again. "Take a look at this. If we head there now they should still be at the dinner party." I turn myself to try and be modest. He... doesn't even seem to care really. ... It's the principal of the matter! I take a peek and see that he's taken a pamphlet from the venue and glued it to the pages. All around the itinerary are notes and time frames. He really planned this out. To an almost scary degree. "The event at the hotel is going to wrap up in less than an hour. So we don't have a lot of time to get into position. And this is the last time we'll get an opportunity like this. I've seen her calendar and there are no other events like this. If we're going to hit her at all, this is going to be the hardest chance we get." I stare at the notes and try to think objectively. He's not wrong about the opportunity we have. How he knows her schedule, I don't want to know. But, there just isn't going to be a chance like this. But is the risk worth the reward? What even are the risk? We get caught by security and spend the night in jail? She catches us and tries to lie that we were there to do what she was doing? Though I know those are bad, they aren't that risky. Dad gets a bad call or the newspapers say even more terrible rumors; nothing we aren't willing to deal with. But the chance to get Diamond in the middle of a scandal. The chance to catch her and put her whole personal life on display. To tell everypony that will ever meet her that this is how she gets deals done, have a fun ride... the thought is far too tempting to let slide. Knock knock knock "Hey Shadow?" Dad calls from the other side of the door. Star and I look at each other for a moment before I shove a hoof into his mouth. "Yeah Dad?" I ask, trying to sound as calm as possible. "... I, I uh... I'd like to talk. About earlier, if that's okay with you." I forgot he takes the worlds shortest showers. Of course he'd hear me still in here. And, true to him, he'd want to clear the air as soon as possible. I try to think of what to do or say, but everything comes up blank. Star watches me panic for a moment before pulling my hoof out of his mouth. I watch in horror as he reaches in and shuts off the water. Without telling me anything he pulls me out, throws a towel on me, and steps into the shower. Using his magic he closes the curtain and opens the door. I stare up at Dad and begin to panic. If he steps in here and finds him there's no way we're going to Canterlot tonight. Dad, for his part, just looks uncomfortable. I can tell he's rehearsed what he wants to say. But he's faltering in getting it out. He tries to start a few times, but after the third I save him. "Where are Tempestive and Mama Luna?" My questions gets him on track and he finally faces me to speak. "I called Luna, they're in Canterlot tonight. She... wanted to make sure things would be safe in Mooseden before coming back here." That makes sense. I didn't get the chance to talk with her when this all happened. I didn't even know she was aware of this to be honest. "Right... and the Spartans?" "On their way back now. All of them were still in the Glass Desert waiting to see if I would come back. So... it's just the two of us tonight." He runs a hand through his hair and rubs the back of his neck. This isn't what he wanted to say. I think over to Star and his plans for revenge... but this is more important. I wrap the towel around myself and start to walk out. Dad steps out of the way and shuts the door behind me. I go to the vanity and start to brush the water out of my mane. I'm already going to be sick, but there's no reason to make it worse. Dad walks over to my bed and sits on it. He hangs his head deep in thought. I'll wait for him to start this time. "You know..." he starts, pausing as he looks back up and out the door to the hallway. "Heh... You know... I never thought I'd see Unfamiliar civ-" "Kroth Dad." I tell him, staring at him through the mirror. "They're called the Kroth." "Right... the Kroth... I just never imagined I'd see civilian... Kroth." I stay quiet. I don't want to interrupt his line of thinking. I can see him tightening his grip on the bed as he thinks. "When I saw them, standing there, waiting for me to... to do... something! It reminded me of when the gates of Topaz were breached. That whole day played back in my mind... and I had a moment of weakness." I pause my brushing when he says that. Seeing my father, the leader of the Spartans and Captain of bravado, admitting he was weak... I didn't know I had put him on such a pedestal before. Of course he'd still be able to become scared. He's only human after all. He says that phrase all the time. But... I guess I never thought I'd see him as only human. He's always been so much more to me. "Has that night always been... with you?" I ask quietly. He looks away from me for a moment before making eye contact with me. He gives a single nod back. I set the brush down as I look back at him. "... there are still nights where... where I remember Lantern. When she would... return-" "Corculum," he says and he moves to kneel beside me. He sets a hand on my back but I shake my head. "It's okay. It's okay, because I've finally seen you scared." I tell him, tearing up as I avoid his gaze. He just rubs my back, waiting for me to finish. "You're my dad. The idea of you being scared of something... I just, never thought you could. Now I get it. All that power, but... you're still only human." "Shadow." He stops rubbing my back and pulls my cheek to look at him. I try to wipe the tears way, but it's too late. "There isn't a day that goes by that I don't curse myself for not getting there sooner." "Don't!" I grab his hand and hold it tightly. "Don't do that! Please! There are a thousand things I wish I could have done differently that day! But it doesn't matter! We can't change what happened. But... but at least with that... I got you as a father." We share a glance before we move in to hug one another. With all of the stress of the day and everything going on, I don't care anymore about Diamond. I just want to be here with my father and forget the world. CLICK "So... we doing this or not?" My heart stops and my eyes go wide when Star Gazer steps out of the bathroom and asks that. I feel the same happen to Dad as he stares at him from over my shoulder. There's a moment of silence where neither of us knows what to do. Aside from possibly kill Star, that is. Dad pulls slowly away from me and once again I feel like a small child. He's trying to find something to say, but there's nothing coming out. He's caught between wanting strangle Star and berate me for hiding a boy in the house. I go to blurt something out. Anything! Hopefully something that will set the record straight. "I'VE NEVER HAD SEX!" Once the words left my mouth I felt my face immediately go red. So red in fact that I felt it on my ears, neck, even down my spine. Clearly, not the best thing to shout out to the world. Dad just looks... confused. So I try to say something else to clear the space. "I-I mean, we we're doing anything! Nothing bad! Just making plans to pretend to be a couple in Canterlot to get into a couples retreat!" "... fucking what?" I try to make myself as small as possible. Nothing tonight is going my way. "Sorry! Nothing bad was going on, promise!" I tell him as he rises it tower over the two of us. Star takes a seat next to me and motions for me to continue. I glance between him and Dad before taking a deep breath in. Although my nerves are still shot, he needs to know. Maybe if he had stayed in the bathroom we could have stayed here forever. But that was clearly not going to happen. I go and explain Star's plan to him. Where we need to go. What we're going to do when we get there. But most importantly, I tell him why I want to do it. I tell him why this is no longer his fight to be a part of. He may have told me to go after her. But I'm the one who is going to finish. How I want to be the one to beat her. He... just listens to me. He's still giving Star the stink eye, but he deserves that much. But he's not reacting to anything I'm saying. He's... just listening. I try to glean any of his intentions, but he's just standing there... stoic. Maybe he's more fried than I am and can't really process what's going on. Or maybe he's just trying to think of the perfect punishment. I can't tell what's going through his mind. When I finish I wait for him to say something. But... he's just staring at the two of us. I glance to Star, but he just shrugs back to me. I try to wait for him to respond, but there's nothing. As the silence grows I feel myself shrinking in his gaze. It's as if he's rethinking everything we just talked about. Regretting everything about me... Without a word he turns and leaves the room. I look to Star before chasing after him. It can't end like this. It can't! "Dad... I'm... I'm sorry!" I tell him as we walk into his room. He starts digging into his drawers as he looks for something. "Look, it was a stupid plan. I know! But... I don't know. I have to do something! She can't just keep... getting away with this! Someone has to stand up to her! Please! Just... just look at me!" He turns back with what looks like a small spiked mace. With a flick of the wrist he flings it onto the ground. It sticks with a loud thud with the handle pointing up at a slight angle. It sits for a moment before something within it whirs to life. The handle moves to point straight up before opening up four ways. A hologram projects from the inside. It comes out in quick waves and shows a rough outline of the house as well as the neighbors here in Mooseden. In our house there are three blue dots, obviously showing our locations. "This is called an echo map. It's exactly what it sounds like." Dad tells me as he squats down by the map. "The harder you slam, the bigger the map will be. It'll show most people as well. Unless they're in the air that is." "Huh..." I mumble as I stare at the map. "W-what's this for?" He takes the echo map out of the ground and it immediately folds back up. He offers it to me so I take it. But he doesn't let go of it. He looks down at me with a new look of determination. A fierce look that catches me off guard. "Don't you dare ever think you're unworthy again, Shadow Knight of Mooseden." My heart flutters when he says that as a new sense of purpose begins to swell in me. "I-I won't Dad... I-I'll make you proud. I promise." I mumble as I take the map from his grasp. He just smirks to me as he turns back to his dresser. I look to Star standing in the doorway and give him a nod. We're doing this. There's no going back now. "I've got some more goodies for you as well." He tells me as he starts to pull more items out of his drawer. "I've always figured something like this would happen... well, maybe not like this. But, when you got your cutie mark I knew you'd need these kind of tools." "You've been planning this for that long?" I ask as I set the map on the bed. I walk up to him and look over the various tools he's been hording. "Eeyup! Though, I always thought it would be for some kind of attack on the town. I guess this'll have to do." The last thing he pulls out catches my attention the most. It looks like a diving suit. It's all black with several points where there are small gems poking out. It also looks as if it's a size too small for me. And instead of having swimming goggles it has a single visor that has several circular lenses raised on it. I can't see a way for me to look out of that without tripping over myself. "Alright... let's get this bitch."
Chapter 2 New BeginningsChapter 2 New Beginnings Once we are out of sight of the orphanage, I finally allow myself to relax a little. It’s now that I notice something pretty weird: THIS IS THE MOST COMFY THING I'VE EVER SAT ON! The interior of the car is larger and more spacious than I expected, and the seats are filled to the brim with cushioning. Back at the orphanage, we either sat in stiff plastic chairs, cement benches, or on the cold hard ground. After getting over how comfy this seat is, I start to look around the car some more. It has four black seats, a small platform in-between the back two, and a fairly large steering wheel in front of a small assortment of gauges and numbers. To the right of the steering wheel is a glass panel that takes up the entire center of the front. It has a bunch of words flashing on and off as the Captain pokes from one thing to another. After a few swipes and pokes, the glass finally goes blank and the Captain sits back and lets loose a long sigh. “Sssooo... what kind of training will I be doing? Hand to hand, big guns, explosives, oh! How about arcane magic, or how about…” “Heh heh, calm down kid,” the Captain interjects. ”You won’t start any combat training until you’re fourteen. All new recruits your age go to the academy and stay there until they graduate boot camp.” He giggles something about arcane magic, but I don't hear it completely. “Oh… Okay… so what academy am I going to then?” “The University of Stella Ficor.” “Okay… WAIT, WHAT?!” I yell in astonishment. “What?” “I’m going to USF, the most prestigious school in the city; that one school that’s in the same building as the parliament; THAT school?!” “Yeah, is there something wrong with going to that school? Would you rather go somewhere else?” the captain asks as he looks back to me. “Well DUH I would want to go somewhere else!" I scream at him. “I can’t read; I can’t write; not to mention I’m nowhere near old enough to go to a college! Why would you think I would be able to go to the school for the most gifted people in all of Terradisia?!” Apparently I said something funny, because both the Captain and the driver have started laughing. “Wow kid,” laughs the driver. “High expectations, huh,” he chimes as he continues to giggle at me. “Oh, someone went to USOD,” replies the Captain. This is followed by even more laughter. “I don’t see what’s so funny,” I say as I cross my arms and glare at the back of the Captain’s head. “Aww, now don’t pout little guy,” says the Captain, which earns him even more mean glares. “First off, you’ll be taught to read and write, so don’t worry about that. Secondly, the college is open to anyone of any age, as long as you are smart enough or with the military. And lastly, the military has worked out a deal with the school so that all their cadets go there. So there aren’t any alternatives.” After taking a few moments to accept my fate, I simply mutter, “Humph. I’m not little…” “Are you smaller than me?” asks the Captain teasingly. “Well yeah, but…” “Then quit your worrying, squirt, and just enjoy the ride,” beams the Captain. I don’t like this guy. For the rest of the trip, I spend my time silently enjoying the comfort of my seat; I’m on the verge of sleep when the car comes to a stop. After unbuckling himself, the Captain turns to me and says, "Hey squirt, we’re here.” Yeah, I don’t like this guy. As I unbuckle and let myself out of the car, I notice something odd about this area: everything is very clean. The windows, the floor, the buildings, even the people are really clean. Being around this much cleanliness is starting to make me feel self-conscious about myself, so as soon as the Captain and driver start moving towards the building, I make sure to stick as close as possible. Walking up to the Parliament Congressional Hall is pretty intimidating. As I try to look up at the top, I feel as if the building is looming over me - as if it’s about to topple over and crush everything unfortunate enough to be underneath it. As I continue to walk with my attention upwards, I suddenly bump right into something and am sent straight on my backside. After a few dizzying seconds, I look up to see what I bumped into. Standing in front of me is a man wearing a light grey business suit and a red tie. He has long blonde hair tied behind him in a ponytail, a really narrow face - he’s pretty scrawny overall, actually - and pale white skin. But the thing I notice the most are his crimson red eyes. The seem to bore right into me, searing with so much wrath. As I stand to my feet, he promptly snaps at me. “Look where you’re going, you little brat!” I quickly reply with a generous, “Why don’t you watch where you’re going, asshole!” He doesn't seem to appreciate this. He raises his hand and is about to bring it across my face, when another hand catches it mid-flight. The man looks behind to find the Captain holding his arm. Before he can say a single word, the Captain twists his arm and pins him in an arm lock. “Now, now, now… don’t you think you’re overreacting just a little bit?” he says teasingly as he adds pressure. “Susurrans, are you seriously going to defend this slum—AAHH-HAH-HAH!” he rasps back, only to be twisted a little more. The Captain continues to hold the stranger, and begins to whisper stuff into his ear. I try to creep closer to hear, but the driver grabs my shoulder and holds me back. Meanwhile, the emotion on the stranger’s face goes from anger to confusion, and then to a lesser anger. Once done, the Captain releases the stranger and pushes him away. Now free, the stranger takes a moment to collect himself before leaving, shooting dirty looks my way. While glaring back to him, I can't help but wonder what it is the Captain said to him. What could be so impor- SMACK “Ow! What was that for?!” I demand while rubbing the back of my head. “That’s for cussing. Now unless you plan on aggravating any other people, I suggest we get going,” he replies while giving me a very stern look. I want to argue with him, but that look he’s giving… I don’t think I’ll be able to win any argument with a man that can give that kind of look, so I make my way through the entrance of the building. As we enter through the spinning doors, I get a lot of the same feelings that I got from the outside. Everything is really clean: polished floors, bright shining lights, even the trash cans are sparkly! In the center of the room are four walls standing end to end. These walls each have rows of curved indentations along them, with metallic platforms at the bottom. The platforms seem to be a meter wide and have strange markings going around the edges. As I look, I notice some lady walk onto one of them. She stands there for a moment; then in a bright flash she’s gone. Astonished, I begin looking around for answers, only to notice that these platforms cover almost every part of every wall. “They’re called Mico platforms,” says the Captain. “They are used to teleport people from one floor to another.” “Is there one for every floor?” I ask in astonishment. “Ha! No way; there would have to be some two hundred platforms! No, they go every ten stories, and from there you either take the stairs or an elevator,” answers the Captain as he scans from one side of the room to the other. “Now which one was - oh there it is,” he says, and begins to walk to the center of the left wall. As we make our way, I notice that inside of each indentation is an etching. We stop in front of a platform that has an etching of a bar of soap and bubbles. I look at the Captain, who gestures for me to go onto the platform. I gulp as I take my place, not sure of what to expect. I get to the center and turn to the Captain, expecting at any second to suddenly disappear. After what feels like an eternity, I begin to wonder if there’s something I’m supposed to do to activate the platform, only to have my train of thought interrupted by a bright white flash. After rubbing my eyes for a few seconds, I finally regain my vision and begin to take in my surroundings. I’m in what looks like a small waiting room. The walls are painted light blue with white trim, and directly to my left and right are rows of metallic seats. A few meters in front of me is a white counter with a light grey top. To the left and right of the counter are hallways that lead to rows of doors with numbers on them. Above each hallway is a strange symbol: the one on the left is a blue circle with an arrow pointing up and to the right, and the one on the right is a pink circle with a plus sign attached to the bottom. “Ahem! If you don’t mind, could you please step off the platform and take a seat,” says a pale blonde woman from behind the counter. Hmm… I wonder how I failed to notice her right away… eh, whatever. I step off the platform and take the seat directly to my right. A few seconds later, a white flash appears and the Captain walks out, followed by another flash and the driver. The pair walk straight to the lady and they begin talking with her. From where I’m sitting I can’t hear what they’re saying, so I decide to walk up to them. “Okay, so just sign off here, and we’ll be set,” says the lady, handing Captain Bellum a tablet. She glances between me and the Captain before looking back down to her work, smiling slightly. After signing the tablet, he looks to the driver, who smiles and nods, then looks down at me. “So, Miles, before we get you set for school, you need a good wash. Just head into the boy’s chamber, go to room 101, and get washed up. Oh!” He makes some marks on the tablet and shows it to me. “And this is what a ‘101’ looks like.” Okay, he keeps glancing back to the driver, who stifles a chuckle each time… Whatever, I’ll worry about it later. Boy’s chamber. Hmm… which one is that? I look between the two hallways. Arrow or plus sign… Blue or pink… Well, blue is more for boys, so I'll go that way. As I make my way under the blue sign, I swear I can hear a coin flip and some laughter from the room. Wonder what that was about… Whatever. When I find the room with the same marks the Captain showed me, I enter and am greeted by a scruffy older man with a full head of white hair. “Alright, take a seat and I’ll be with you in a minute,” he says to me as he sweeps some hair away. He’s wearing a white button up shirt, black pants, and thick square glasses on his wrinkly face. “Umm…I don’t think I’m in the right room,” I say as I back away slowly. “Room 101; wash room?” he asks. “Yeah, but-” “Yeah, you’re in the right room. Start with a trim, then a shower. Now just hang tight and I’ll get to you when I get to you," he replies sternly before disappearing behind a door. The room I’m in is square with white walls and white tile flooring. There are two doors in the room: one behind me and one to the left on the other side of the room. A large mirror takes up the wall to the right of the other door, with a long white counter beneath it. Three barber chairs are set next to each other in front of the counter. “Alright, take a seat and we’ll get started,” the barber says as he re-enters the room with an assortment of scissors and clippers. I make my way to the center chair and take a seat. Once seated, the barber pumps the chair up and spins me around so I’m facing the mirror. I’ve never really looked at myself before, and being face to face with myself for the first time makes me realize something - I am dirty! I have medium-length black hair that goes down to just above my shoulders. Most of it is matted together and dusty beyond belief. My skin’s a light tan and is covered in dust and grime. I’m fairly scrawny; any weight I do have is all in muscle, thanks to the constant fighting and running around at the orphanage. Another thing I never noticed is my eyes: they’re light brown and seem to shine through the dirt and filth. As the barber gets started, he takes the scissors and begins cutting the matted lumps out of my hair. He’s not really trying to make even cuts, just get the lumps out. Whatever, I don’t really mind short hair. Once he gets all of the matted parts out, he moves to the counter and switches to some clippers. “Hey, how short does it have to be?” I ask as I glance between him and the clippers. “I don’t really care about style, I just want to keep as much as possible.” The barber looks down at me and says, "Don’t worry. I’m just going to bring it down to even it out.” He moves behind me and starts the clippers. He brings it to my forehead, and then pulls it to the back of my head, leaving a bald trail behind. “Whoa, what are you doing!?” I yell as I look back at him. “I said short, not bald!” “Ooohhh, I thought you wanted it that way,” he says with a smirk. “Oh well, too late.” And with that, he continues shaving my pale head bald. As he finishes the last patch of hair, I watch the final strands fall to the floor. What a jerk. “All right, all done. Next, you need to shower. I swear; you smell like barf-and-late night surprise stew.” *sniff sniff* Whoa! I reek! “Just head through that door, down the hall, and it’ll be the first door to the left. There are new clothes for you in there as well.” “What kind of clothes will I be getting?” I ask. He looks back to me and gives me an annoyed look. “Well, get going and you’ll find out, now won’t you?” he says as he lowers the chair. I don’t like this guy. He's almost as big a jerk as the suit guy. I get up and make my way through the door and down the hall, rubbing my pale head all the way. I go through the first door to the left and enter the shower room. It's a long, narrow room with small blue and white tiles, light blue walls, and rows of shower heads on the left and right walls. The lights go down the center of the ceiling and give a small buzz. Underneath each showerhead are two clear knobs. Two knobs... what does the second one do? I look around, and in the corner to my right is a small stool with a pile of clothes and a towel. Well, there’s no one else here, so I guess these are mine now. I take my place in front of the shower closest to the stool and begin to undress. Throwing my clothes on the floor next to the stool, I turn to the shower. Hmmm, which one is the water? The one on the left has a symbol I’ve never seen before, while the one on the right looks familiar. I take the one that’s familiar, give it a twist, and… SUCCESS, water! After about five minutes of washing, I turn the water off and head to the stool. After drying myself off with a fluffy white towel, I begin to get dressed in my new clothes. I have a light green button up t-shirt, dark green pants, black shoes and socks, and a belt. I put everything on except the shoes. Looking at them, I realize I don’t know how to tie them, so I figure I’ll ask the Captain. With my new shoes in one hand and my old clothes in the other, I leave the shower room. As soon as I get out of the door, I’m greeted by the Captain and the driver. “How long were you-” “Alright, first off, you need to tuck in that shirt.” “Okay but-” “Also, your belt needs to be in the center.” “Fine, but can-” “Oh, and give me your old clothes; you won’t need them anymore.” After a few seconds of trying to understand what needs to happen, I reluctantly hand him my old clothes, tuck in my shirt, and center my belt. The Captain passes my old clothes to the driver, then watches me correct my uniform. Once I'm done, he gets down on one knee and adds his own touches. “The buttons should line up with the belt and zipper,” he says quietly. He had a distant look on his face. As if something important is on his mind. “Now let’s put your shoes on.” I have no idea what made him be so serious all of the sudden, but I ignore it for now and slide my feet into the shoes. “Umm… I don’t know to tie these. C-can you show me?” I ask timidly. I don’t know what it is about the Captain, but being face-to-face with him is making me nervous. He gives me a small smile and takes the laces of my left shoe. “First you take one lace in each hand, then cross them, go under, loop it, swoop it, and pull,” he says as he ties my shoe. “Now you try.” I go through the steps he told me at a slower pace, but finish with the same results. “Good job,” he says as he puts a hand on my shoulder. The instant he makes contact he loses his smile and looks at me with concern. “Miles, why are you so cold?” “What? I did just come out of the shower,” I reply, only to get laughed at by the driver. “Su-Su-Susurrans,” he manages between chuckles. Susurrans just glares at him as he digs into his pocket. “Yeah, yeah, hold on, Apricis,” says the Captain as he takes out a gold credit and tosses it to him. As I look between the two, I can’t help but feel confused. Why is he giving him all that money, and why does he find my showering so funny? “Okay, now that we have that out of the way, let’s get down to brass tacks,” he says while returning his attention to me. “So this is basically how things will work from here on out: you will be living in this building with a roommate of the same grade. You’re going to be attending eight hours of school every day, except for Sundays and Saturdays; Saturday will be your elective day - they’ll explain what that is later - and Sundays you get off. The school will provide breakfast and dinner for you, but lunch is something you must get on your own. You will receive a weekly allowance of seven silver credits, but if your grades drop, so does your allowance. I'll drop by from time to time to check in on you, but for the most part it’s up to you to make it here. Think you can handle it?” Wow… Okay, this is a lot to take in. First off, FUCK YEAH! I didn’t know I was going to be paid for doing this! Jack-FUCKING-POT! But that’s only if I can get good grades, so I guess I’ll have to really study if I want to make some decent money here. I might be screwed there, but it won’t matter too much, because I’m already getting free food and a room with only one other person. I look at the Captain and reply, “Get along with at least one person, try hard to get good grades, and buy lunch. I think I can manage that.” This must make him happy, because he grows a pretty big smile and pats my back before standing back up. Hmmm… never had my back patted before. Feels kind of weird… The Captain and the driver -Apricis- lead me down the hall to another one of the teleporter platforms. This one is the same as the others, except for the etching on the wall - two masks: one looking really happy, and one looking really sad. Captain Bellum turns to me and says, “Okay, this is where we part ways. The platform will take you to the theater for orientation. Just go in, take a seat, and try your best to pay attention.” I nod and begin walking onto the platform, only to feel him grab my shoulder. I turn to face him, and he gets back on his knee to tell me one last thing. “I almost forgot. There’s one more very important thing you will need to do while you’re here,” he says seriously as he brings himself eye-level with me. “Make some friends.” Before I can even think of a response, he pushes me onto the platform and everything disappears in a flash of white. Author's Note The money system basically works like this: ten bronze coins to one silver, ten silver to a gold and ten gold to a platinum. Think of credits like bits.
Chapter 3 OrientationChapter 3 Orientation In a white flash, I fall from the platform and crash into something and fall to the ground. At first I thought it was a stone wall, but the fabric on my face tells me otherwise. I open my eyes to see that I landed on a girl with short, light-brown hair, light tan skin, blue eyes, a narrow face, and a uniform just like mine. She seems to be my age, but as I lay there, I notice something very… wrong. She is buff as fuck. I thought I was pretty well toned, but this girl probably has twice as much muscle as I do! “You can get off me any time now,” she says to me with an irritated look. Her voice is pretty tomboyish, but still distinctly feminine. “Sorry,” I say with a light blush. As we both stand up I begin to fix my uniform, only to be stopped when the girl shoves me. “What the fuck was that for!?” I demand. “That’s for feeling me up, you creep,” she replies coldly. My heart stops as my eyes widen and a knot begins to form in my stomach. ‘Feel her up?’ What does that even mean? “I didn’t-” “What, just ‘cause I’m a girl, you think I’m weak?” “What? No, I-” “I bet I could knock a little guy like you out in ten seconds flat!” she says while getting in my face, setting her fists on her hips. “I’m not little!” I yell back as I get in her face. “You’re pretty short for a guy,” she replies with a smirk. “I’m a few centimeters taller than you,” I reply evenly. We continue our little stare down for what feels like an eternity. I really don't want to fight her. Not because she’s a girl, but because she’s a girl, and I don’t think I’d win. Thankfully, after a few more seconds of intense staring she breaks out into laughter. “BWAAAA-hahaha! Why are you so serious, man!? Gosh, if I didn’t know any better, I'd think you actually wanted to fight me!" Yeah... cause I want to be pulverized by a girl. "Bwahaha! You’re a laugh-riot man. What’s your name?” “Umm, I’m Miles Eremita,” I reply, relaxing a little knowing that I’m not about to lose a fight to a girl. “Oh, so formal, heh heh. I’m Fidus Cor. We should hang out some more! Where’re ya heading?” “Uh, I’m heading to orientation-” “OH! I am too; let’s go together! But it won’t start for, like, an hour, so let’s go get my sister!” Oh sweet Barbra. She has a sister. I don’t even want to imagine what her sister is going to be like, but I get the feeling that it involves an unnatural amount of muscle. I don’t know what possesses me to do so, but as she takes off into the crowd, I promptly follow her. As we make our way through, I take a moment to take in my surroundings. The room we’re in is very large. The walls extend up for two stories and are painted in a vertical-striped fashion, going from a light cream color to gold. The ceiling is a solid cream color, with a massive crystal chandelier in the middle. The chandelier has two tiers, each with an assortment of gems hanging from them. The gems are glowing white and are providing the majority of the light in the room, along with some wall lights spaced evenly along the walls. The floor is covered in a red carpet that has some sort of flower pattern throughout it. The wall behind me is covered in platform stations, while the walls to the left and right have various chairs, couches, and small tables. On the far end of the room, there are two sets of stairs that meet in the middle on our floor and curve up towards the second floor. On the top floor are rows of large stone doors with small signs posted on them. Most of the people in the room are kids roughly my age in uniform, but there are a few adults in the area as well. Most seem to be parents, but a few are in grey business suits with red or black ties. “Who’re the stiffs?” I ask while pointing out one of them. “Hmm? Oh, those are the professors. Most of them are okay, but watch for the one with the long blonde ponytail. He’s the dean of the school, so try not to get on his bad side.” Of course he is. We come up to a lone couch in the corner of the room, with a single person occupying it. She has long dirty-blonde hair that has gentle curls which cover half of her face. She looks fairly similar to Fidus, but is nowhere near as buff, and her eyes are a lighter blue. She doesn’t notice us as we approach because she’s reading a fairly large book. Fidus motions for me to stay put as she brings herself right up to the unsuspecting person’s face. “HEY TENERA!” “EEEEEP!” she screams as she falls off the couch and lands on the floor, with the book now on top of her head. “Oh, Fidus, you startled me,” she says timidly. After some giggles from the three of us, Fidus helps her to her feet and gives her a small hug before turning to me. “Hey, I want you to meet my new friend, Miles. Miles, this is my sister, Tenera.” Tenera doesn’t look at me during the introduction. Instead, she just looks down and away, trying to keep her face hidden behind her hair. She lightly taps her foot against the carpet as we stand there quietly. After a few more moments of awkward silence, I look to Fidus for answers, only to get a shrug and a small grin. “Soo… this is my first year here. Is it yours?” I ask. She glances up at me for a brief moment, before hiding behind her hair and mumbling an answer. “Uh, sorry, didn’t catch that. What did you say?” I ask, but only get quieter mumbles. I look back to Fidus for help, but she only puts her arm around Tenera and motions to the book in her hands. “So I see you have a pretty big book there. Those are hard to come by... Seems pretty interesting. What’s it about?” “It… it’s about the first space travelers,” she replies quietly. “Would you like to borrow it? I’ve read it a hundred times already.” “Uh, I would, but I can’t read, so-” “You can’t read!?” both Tenera and Fidus exclaim at the same time. Tenera seemed worried about this, while Fidus looked like she’s about to burst out laughing... again. “Uh, no, the orphanage never taught me-” “You’re from the orphanage?” Tenera asks. She seems unusually interested in my response, while Fidus just gives her some odd looks. “Well, yeah-” Before I can get anything else out, she rushes forward and wraps me up in a very tight hug. “Oh you poor, poor thing! It must have been horrible there! But don’t worry about that mean old place anymore; you’re in good hands here. If you want, I could help teach you to read and write and-” “Whoa! Slow down there, Tenera,” says Fidus as she pulls her off me. “I’m sure the school will do all that for him. Sheesh. Oh, and you,” she says while pointing to me. “Don’t get any funny ideas about my sister. One wrong move and I'll lay you out. Got it?” Both Tenera and I immediately blush and step away from each other. “I wasn’t going to-” “Oh, so what, she isn’t good enough for you?” she replies while shifting her stance and crossing her arms. All the while, Tenera is locked in a frozen state of embarrassment. Where the fuck is all this coming from? “I didn’t say that! I was just going to say-” “Oh, so she’s just not your type. What, you don’t like girls that you don’t get to feel up?” “Wh-diJ-wuh NO! THAT’S NOT IT EITHER! AND THAT WAS AN ACCIDENT!” I yell as I take another step away from Tenera. A few people start to look over at us, making me blush even more. “Pretty convenient accident if ya ask me,” she says evenly with an evil grin. I’m about to go off on her, when my thought process is interrupted by the sound of bells going off. I’ve heard these bells before from the orphanage; they’re made to go off every hour, and always play the same little tune. The only difference this time is that they’re a lot louder here. I think they’re held up in the building somewhere. At the sound of the bells, Fidus immediately looks at her watch, and then back to us. “Well, it’s time for orientation. Let’s get going so we can get some good seats.” And with that, she grabs both me and Tenera, and starts heading up the stairs to the auditorium. I give Tenera a questioning look - which she only shrugs to - and walk along with her. I guess it’s normal for Fidus to act this way. We walk through the double doors into the auditorium, and my jaw drops to the floor. This place is way bigger than I thought it would be! The ceiling goes up for what looks like three stories and curves inward in four spots. In the center of these domes are large chandeliers, each adorned with white glowing lights and gold trim. The walls are painted in a rich dark red, with gold finish on the edges, and have hanging lights at regular intervals. There are hundreds of rows of red cushioned seats filling the floor around us, leaving room for only three aisles; the one we’re in is in the center, and the other two are by the walls. All the seats face towards a stage that’s set higher than the ground we’re on. It has black flooring, with red curtains covering the back wall. To the left of the stage is a single black podium with a small microphone on it. As we continue walking forward, I turn my head to look behind me… and then my jaw finds itself on the floor again. Covering half of the seats on our floor is a balcony with its own seats. Halfway above that one is another balcony with seats. Just how many seats do they need here? “So, what… architecture gets you off?” Fidus asks with a playful smile. “Is she always like this?” I ask Tenera. “*sigh* Sadly, yes,” she responds. Fidus gives her a playful nudge on the arm as we all giggle a little. We take our seats in the center of a row that’s about halfway to the stage. When I look at the seat, I get a little confused; the part I should sit on is pointing upwards. I’m about to ask how the seats work, when I see Fidus and Tenera sit down. Oh, duh, they fold down. I take my seat and do a double-take. “What’s the matter?” asks Tenera. “This is the most comfy thing I’ve ever sat on,” I reply in astonishment. How could anything be more comfy than the seat in that car? This to be some kind of magical spell thing. “Eh, I’ve had better,” replies Fidus. I look at her in disbelief. There is no way there is anything in all of Terra more comfy than this seat right here. As I get cozy in my seat, the auditorium quickly begins to fill with more and more students. I notice that the upper levels are filling with what looks like a combination of parents and staff, while the lower level only has students. As I continue to look around, all of the lights suddenly begin to dim, except for one that is shining down on the podium. Once the lights are practically off, a man comes out from behind the curtains and stands behind the podium. He seems pretty short, and really fat. He has short brown hair that’s on the sides of his head, but some of it is combed to the side; a sad attempt to cover his balding problem. He’s wearing the same grey suit as the others, a red tie, and big thick glasses on his face. “Ahem. M-may I have your attention please?” he asks in a nasally voice. “Welcome to this year at Stella Ficor. I am the Dean of Admissions, Professor Scolaris. I will be leading orientation, but before we continue with that, let me introduce the other deans.” As he says this, a line of seven people walk onto the stage and face the crowd. They all wear similar clothing: grey business suits with red ties. I didn’t really pay much attention to most of them; the only one that caught my attention was the tall blonde one on the end. “Finally, Dean of Administration, Professor Altum Stans.” Once introduced, the deans did a slight bow and exited the stage to the right with the others. “Uggh. If it keeps up like this, I’m going to pass out from boredom,” whines Fidus. “You may to need to know some of this, sis. Try to stay awake. If you can, that is,” Tenera replies weakly. The Dean of Admissions spends the next hour talking about different requirements for classes and what’s to be expected from all the students and blah bah blah. Fidus passes out ten minutes into it, and I only last around twenty... I think. I wake up to Tenera lightly poking my shoulder. I rub my eyes for a second, but then realize that Fidus and I are using each other for support, and quickly stand up. This makes her fall onto my seat and jolt awake. “Huh? What’s going on? *yawn* What’d I miss?” she asks while getting up and stretching. “Oh, um, well, it’s time for our group orientation,” answers Tenera. “Didn’t we just do orientation?” I ask while rubbing my eyes and stretching as well. “Well, yes, but that was mainly for the parents. This orientation is meant to get us acquainted with the school and to assign classes," she tells me,making me nod. I don't completely understand, but that's what I get for falling asleep. “Okay then,” I reply sleepily. “Where do we go?” “You just go to the Mico platform that’s assigned to your group.” “Hmmm… Okay, you wouldn’t happen to know what group I’m in, would you?” “They’re divided by last name, so you just need to go to the group that has this symbol on its sign,” she says as she pulls a piece of paper out from her book and writes a symbol. “Thanks,” I say as I take the paper and put it into my pocket. I wonder why she’s so kind to me; we only met an hour ago and now she's ripping pages from her book for me. Whatever, better this than being alone. As we make our way out to the lobby, I see that many small groups have already begun to form. At the center of each group is a large white sign with a black symbol on it. I pull out my piece of paper and quickly match it to one of the groups in the center. I turn back to the girls and say, “Well, that’s my group. Guess I’ll see you around, then.” Tenera gives me a small hug and says, “We’ll see you around. You be sure to come by the library so we can work on your reading. If you want to, that is…” Fidus comes to my side and gives me a hard slap on the back. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, reading, shmeading. If you ever want to find me, I’ll probably be at the gym. So be sure to swing by so we can hang some time, alright?” I give them a quick nod and head towards my group. It has around forty or fifty people in it already. After a few minutes of just standing there alone, I finally work up the courage to go talk to someone. I look around for a few seconds, trying to find the best candidate to fix my loneliness, but most of the people in my group have already formed their own circles. I continue to walk around until I see two guys standing next to each other, not talking to anyone. The one on the left is roughly my height, with pale white skin, brown eyes, and neck-long dark brown hair that’s brushed back. He’s of average build and wears the same uniform as the rest of the students. The other one is a little shorter than me, with light brown skin, blue eyes, and a shaved head like mine. He’s pretty skinny, but still looks like he weighs more than I do. I walk up beside them and am about to introduce myself, when the one on the right begins to speak. “Look, I’ll ask him just to prove you wrong,” he says in a rather booming voice while gesturing towards me. The other person just shrugs in response, not really caring about whatever it is they're talking about. “Hey! Come here real quick; I need you to help with something,” he says while motioning for me to come closer. I’m a little hesitant at first, but this is sort of what I was after, so I approach the two of them. “What do you need help with?” I ask as I stand there. “Before I ask, you must promise that you’ll help, no matter what. Do you promise?” he asks with a very serious look. “I-” “And once you make a promise, you must never ever in all of forever break that promise, or else.” “Or else what?” “EXACTLY!” I’m not sure what horrible things would happen if I were to break this promise, but the look on his face gives me a pretty good idea. So I decide it would be best to just humor him. “I promise,” I reply, which sends him into a much brighter mood. “Knock, knock,” he says, making the other person shake his head. I stare at him, trying to see if he's serious, before finally replying. “Uh, who’s there?” I ask. “Interrupting applause,” he replies, with a massive smile on his face. I can see where this is going, but I decide a bad joke is better than finding out what ‘or else’ meant. “Interr-” before I can answer, he begins clapping and whistling as loud as he can. He quickly draws the attention of every person in the room. As I look around, I begin to realize that everybody is staring at me instead of him! I can feel the blood rush to my cheeks as I try to get this kid to calm down. “Okay, okay, funny, ha ha, you got me, can you stop now?” He finally stops his applauding, only to fall on the floor in a fit of laughter. With his counterpart down, the other person begins to speak. “Sorry about that. My friend here has a reputation for being… strange. Most people around here know not to fall for his jokes.” His voice is quiet yet understandable. He seems to hold himself in a dignified manner. Not quite posh, but pretty close. “And you couldn’t warn me because…” “He made me promise not to.” He sounds so sad to tell me that. Oddly enough, I somehow understand. “AND YOU CAN NEVER EVER BREAK YOUR PROMISE, OR ELSE!” the first guy screams while jumping out from behind me, scaring the crap out of me. “My name is Eximius,” the other one says rather calmly, “and the joker there is Inficiunt Gaudium, but most people call him ‘Cunt’ for short.” “Hey, no they don’t! Only you do that,” replies Inficiunt, his face pouting. “Why do they - or you - call him cunt?” I ask. Inficiunt gives me a skeptical look before asking, “Do you know what a cunt is?” I give it some thought before shaking my head. This makes both of them fall on the floor in a laughing frenzy. I’m a little confused, but soon realize that people are still looking at me, so I try to get them to stop. “So anyway, my name is Miles Eremita.” Inficiunt continues to laugh, but Eximius is able to get himself under control enough to respond. “N-nice to - haha - meet you, *chuckle* Miles.” Well… at least he’s trying. Inficiunt, on the other hand… “Oh man… ha ha, ho ho…” After a few more chuckles and wiping the tear away, he finally gets up. “That was too funny! Oh man, I haven’t laughed that hard since… yesterday! You’re a funny little guy Miles. We’ve got to hang out some more.” “Oh sweet Barbra, I’m not little!” Inficiunt and Eximius look at each other before Eximius asks, “Who’s Barbra?” DING DING DING Before I can answer, a man in one of the grey suits begins to ring a bell he’s holding. “Alright, students with last names starting with the letters ‘E’, ‘F’, ‘G’, and ‘H’, follow me,” he says as he walks towards one of the platforms. “That’s us,” says Eximius as he begins to walk with the group. I catch up with him and ask, “Wait, what is your last name, anyway?” “I don’t have one,” he replies. “Really? Huh… Okay, I guess.” I don’t know why, but I find it really odd that he doesn’t have a last name. Whatever, if he doesn’t want to tell me, he doesn’t have to. Our group is led to a platform that is three times the size of the one that brought me here. “Okay,” says the man in grey, “groups of ten. Once you’re on the other side, just take a seat and wait for me.” With that, the first group steps onto the platform and vanishes with a flash. “By the way, what did you need help with, Inficiunt?” I ask while the next group gets onto the platform and vanishes. “Huh? Oh, right! Well I had tried to tell the same joke to Eximius, but he ruined it by giving away the ending; then he said that it wasn’t a very good joke, but I said it would have been better if he didn’t ruin it by jumping to the punch line - like he always does,” he says -in one breath- while giving a dirty look to Eximius, “so I decided to try it on another person, and then you came up, and BAM! Hilarity.” OK… I’m not sure how he said all of that in one breath, but it’s our turn to take the platform, so I ignore it for now and take my place. In a blinding flash, we’re sent to the next room. We appear in a white square room with dark grey carpet. Along the walls are pictures of different smiling people, along with captions. There are three rows of seats, all facing away from me towards a hallway. Throughout the hallway are open doorways that I can’t see into. Most of the seats are filled, but the three of us manage to find some that are together. Once we sit down, another flash appears and more people begin taking seats while the man in grey walks to the front of the room. “Alright, I'm going to call your name and then tell you who your counselor is,” he says while he looks over a tablet, wiping his finger from side to side. He lifts an eyebrow then looks up. “First up: Miles Eremita, you are going to see Counselor Charta Operari.” I get up and begin to walk down to the hall. As I go, all the other kids are whispering and watching me. Inficiunt and Eximius have a confused look, but don’t say anything as I leave. I approach the man in grey and ask, “Which one is he?” “He’s the fourth one to the right,” he tells me quickly. At least I know some numbers. I walk down the hall, counting the doors. As I turn the corner to the fourth room, I stop dead in my tracks. “Hello Miles.” “C-captain?”
Chapter 4 PowerChapter 4 Power “So, how goes the friend hunt?” says the Captain from behind his desk. He’s sitting in a small office chair with his feet up on the table, and his green jacket is hanging on the back of the seat, revealing his white button-up shirt. “What are you doing here, Susurrans?” I ask. “First off, come in and shut the door already. Secondly, while in uniform, it’s ‘Captain Bellum’. And lastly, I’m here to sign you up for classes.” I gawk at him for a second before finally shutting the door and taking a seat. The room we're in is fairly small. There’s a large metal desk in the center, with a computer and several picture frames on it. There are two metallic seats in front of the desk and one in the corner to my right. In the back two corners are filling cabinets, each with little knick knacks on top of them. The walls are the same white as out front, and the one on the left has a thumb board with various papers on it. “Okay, but what are you doing here?” I ask as I stare at him some more. “What? I can’t come and visit after all this time?” “It’s only been a few hours,” I reply flatly. “And what a few hours they have been,” he says with a large smile on his face. He drops his feet to the floor and leans his elbows onto the desk. “I was planning on doing this anyway, so once I dropped you off, I made my way here. But I have other business to attend to later, and I couldn’t wait for you to be called normally. So I bumped you to the top of the list.” “Is that why I was getting weird looks from everyone?” “It wasn’t very alphabetical, now was it?” “I guess not.” If I knew what the alphabet was I would get it, but I don't. Captain Bellum gives a small laugh before he turns to the computer and begins typing away. “So… classes. Do you know what you want yet?” “Umm…” “You went to sleep during orientation, didn’t you?” he asks as he glances at me from the screen. “Y-yeah, but I couldn't help it! It was so boring and-” “Don’t worry about it,” he says with a small grin. “Most people fall asleep during it anyway. Plus, you just made me some money, so don’t worry about it too much.” “How did I make you some money?” “So! You’re going to need an English class,” he says while ignoring my question. “Let’s see. Ah, bingo! Reading and Writing Fundamentals; check. How good are you at math?” “I know some numbers…” “Pre-algebra Fundamentals then; check. What do you think about history?” “Uh…” “History 101; got it. Do you like science?” “…” “Well?” “I don’t know…” “Great! You’re doing Science Fundamentals. Have you ever used a computer before?” “Once…” “Awesome! Typing 101 it is then. Now, before we sign up for an elective, I have to check something,” he says as he pulls out a metal contraption and sets it on the table. The main part of the device is a flat metallic box, about five centimeters thick, forty centimeters wide, and thirty centimeters long. Half of its top is taken up by a black screen, and the other half has a few knobs and buttons on it. A long, thick black wire comes out from the side, and ends in a metallic cylinder with a red button on the end and grooves along the side, making it easier to hold on to. “Okay, what I need you to do is to hold onto this handle and squeeze real hard. Don’t let go of the handle until I say so, and don’t press the red button. Got it?” I nod and take the cold handle into my hand, then squeeze as hard as possible. He pushes a green button, and the screen flips up, facing the Captain. Once up, the screen begins to glow green and the Captain begins to twist the knobs. After a few seconds, I feel a jolt of energy hit my hand and I jump up with a small yell. At the same time, the back of the box explodes and sends a billow of black smoke into the air. Soon after, an alarm goes off and sprinklers begin drenching the room. “What’s going on?!” I yell over the water. The Captain’s about to answer, but is cut off when the door’s kicked in. I turn to see a two meter tall metallic man standing in the doorway. He has two large yellow lights for eyes, and lacks any other major facial features. The body is made entirely of metal that is painted all black, with a white stripe going down the left side of the chest and ending with a gold badge in the middle. “You are in danger,” it says in a monotone voice as it picks me up and carries me out of the room on its shoulder. I try to squirm out of its grasp, but no matter how hard I try, it won’t budge. I’m brought back to the waiting room from earlier, and am set down in the front of the now-wet group. Everyone is standing and talking very loudly to one another, while the man in grey tries to calm them down. There are four more of the metallic men standing in the corners of the room, with four closet-size holes in the wall behind them. Once the man in grey sees me, he comes straight over, rage covering his face. “What on Terra happened in there?!” he yells at me. Before I can answer, Captain Bellum walks up beside me and says, “Just a little mishap with the potestatem reader, nothing big.” Before the man in grey can yell a response, a flash draws all of our attention. Standing on the Mico platform is Altum Stans, looking really pissed off. He takes one look around, then makes his way to the nearest closet and enters it. After a few seconds, the water stops spraying and all the metallic men walk back into their closets, with the doors sliding shut behind them. Altum walks back out and storms over to me, staring daggers. He stops in front of me and asks, “Care to explain why an entire floor of the school is now soaking wet?” “Well…” “He blew up a potestatem reader.” I swing my head to Captain Bellum in astonishment. Great! He’s going to blame this on all me! I really don’t like this guy. Altum looks from Bellum, to me, and then back to him. “That’s impossible; no one can blow those up. They’re made to withstand power levels even I can’t reach.” “If you don’t believe me, go and check for yourself,” Bellum says with a smug look as he crosses his arms. Altum points at me and says, “Don’t move,” as he quickly walks down the hall to the room. Captain Bellum looks to me and gives me a small smile before he follows after him. As they leave, Inficiunt and Eximius approach me from out of the group, looking very concerned. “What - in all of Terra - happened in there?” asks Eximius. “Yeah! And how do we turn the sprinklers back on?!” asks Inficiunt, only to get a quick glare from Eximius. “I don’t know! I was signing up for classes, and he told me to squeeze this metal thing. Then it exploded, everything started getting wet, and I get dragged out by a metal man!” I yell back, but glare at Inficiunt as he begins to giggle. “What is so funny?” At this, Inficiunt breaks into another fit of laughter, while Eximius is trying his best to hold his own back, but is failing. Before either of them are able to recover, Altum and Captain Bellum return from the room and approach the three of us. “You’re coming with us,” Altum says coldly. He then turns and approaches the man in grey, who is in the back of the room, talking with students. Both Inficiunt and Eximius stop laughing and turn to Captain Bellum. “Miles isn’t in trouble, is he?” asks Inficiunt. “No, he’s not in trouble, but we do need to have a word with him in private,” replies Captain Bellum as he begins to walk to the back of the room, rubbing his chin while thinking deeply. “Well, I guess I should follow them,” I say to Eximius and Inficiunt. “I’ll see you guys around.” “Definitely!” says Inficiunt. “You can find me in the performing arts floor anytime.” “And you can find me on the arcane science floor almost any time as well, so be sure to stop by sometime,” says Eximius as he gives me a broad smile. “Miles, let’s get going!” yells Altum from the platform. I shrug and give a small smile to Eximius and Inficiunt as I make my way onto the platform, and disappear in another flash. From the theater, we make our way to another platform and teleport to a room similar to the one we just left, except this one is much smaller, with different pictures hanging on the walls… and it’s dry. We make our way down to the end of the hall and make a left. This hall only has one door, which is at the end. “Susurrans,” says Altum as we make our way down the hall, “why are you still here?” “Because I know how much you love having me around,” he replies with a smug smile. Altum shakes his head and grumbles to himself as we approach the door. The door slides opens to reveal another one of the offices, except that this one is much better furbished. The back wall is covered by a bookshelf, while the side walls have numerous plaques and framed pieces of paper. In the center of the room is a metal desk with a single computer. Altum sits in the seat behind the desk and begins typing away, while Captain Bellum and I sit in the seats in front. A few moments go by before I ask, “Am I in trouble?” Altum lets out a long sigh before replying. “Maybe. We have to check something first.” As he finishes with whatever he was typing, he pulls out another one of the potestatem readers. “First, we have to make sure that you didn't cheat,” he says while glancing at Bellum. I grab the metal handle bar and nod to Altum, who is about to turn the machine on when Captain Bellum yells, “Wait, wait, wait!” and quickly runs out of the room. A minute later, he comes back and says to Altum, “OK, go ahead.” “What did you do?” Altum asks. “I turned the fire alarm off for the floor.” “Why would you… never mind. Let’s just get this over with,” Altum says as he makes the screen flip up and begins twisting knobs. “We’re waiting on you,” says Captain Bellum as he takes his seat. “Shut up. Okay, just hold onto the handle and don’t press the red button,” he says to me while pushing buttons and twisting knobs. Once done, he looks to me while hovering his finger over the green button. I tighten my grasp on the handle and give him a nod, getting him to press the button. Once again, a jolt of energy makes me jump out of my seat as the back of the box explodes, sending smoke into the room. Having no escape, smoke quickly fills the room, and we are forced to leave. Once we’re a safe distance away from the smoke - and our coughing has subsided - Altum looks at me with disbelief. “I don’t get *cough cough* it. How could you have so much power at such a young age? This is - *cough* - this is unbelievable!” Altum says while trying to regain his composure. I look down at my hands in disbelief. Power? I never thought I was strong, but the way he makes it sound, I don’t know what to think… “Am I going to be okay?” I ask. “Don’t worry too much about it,” says Captain Bellum. “Unless you’re using magic you don't understand, you shouldn't have any problems. But when you use magic, just…” He trails off as he walks slowly away, rubbing his chin. “So, I am going to be able to use magic?” I ask. “At your level, yeah. Magic won’t be a problem for you,” Captain Bellum says, returning his gaze to me. Altum looks at me for a second before walking off into one of the rooms in the main hallway. Captain Bellum and I exchange a glance before following him. We enter a room similar to the room where I first tried the potestam reader, except this one is barren. Altum is typing away on a computer, so Captain Bellum walks up behind him and brings his face down to read the screen better. After a few more moments of typing and clicking, Altum leans back and looks at Bellum. Bellum looks over the screen for a bit before he stands straight and walks away, rubbing his chin again. “With his kind of power, you know it wouldn't be a problem,” says Altum as he leans his chin on one hand. “I know, but…” “But what? I put in some time for him to learn the basics. Once he learns to control his power, this won’t be a problem.” “What’s going on?” I ask. “He wants to put you in the high honors class,” Captain Bellum says. “Only after you learn some basics from arcane kindergarten,” Altum cuts in. “He’s going to miss out on too much!" Captain Bellum yells at Altum as he paces back and forth. “Pfft, please. If we were to keep him in such a remedial class, it would only serve to hold him back.” “It’s more than the basics, Altum; he’s going to miss out on different spells.” “He can learn them whenever.” “What about power control? That’s not something you can learn in a week, even if you were to study it constantly - you have to build it up over time!” Altum thinks about this for a few seconds, before his face lights up with an idea and he runs out towards the smoky room. “Can you use magic?” I ask. Captain Bellum looks down at me and thinks for a second before he answers. “Yeah.” “How long did it take you to get control of it?” He looks away for a while before turning back to me and saying, “It took me a month.” “Only one month?” He nods. “Well, why don’t I just try it out for that long and see how I do? Then I can choose whether or not to go to that class.” “It’s not that simple. I had… an amazing teacher…” He turns away from me as Altum returns to the room and dumps a bunch of stuff onto the desk. There are two dark grey metal rings, four brass braces, two silver rings, and one long metal cylinder that has a black spot - with etchings all along it - wrapped around each end, near the edge. Captain Bellum takes one look and is instantly angered. “Really, Altum? Potestam annuls?! You can’t be that stupid.” Altum gives Captain Bellum an annoyed look and says, “Watch it, Susurrans. Also, he’s going to need them anyway after we mark him. Once he learns some control he can take them off.” Captain Bellum seems to accept this, but I’m a little worried. ‘Mark’ me? What the fuck does that mean? My concern must be pretty obvious, because Captain Bellum puts a hand on my shoulder and kneels down to be eye-level with me. “Don’t worry. The marking hurts, but it only takes a short time.” Man I hate it when he does that. One minute he’s pulling jokes and being all sarcastic, and then at the drop of a hat, he gets all serious and sentimental. “*sigh* Let’s just get it over with,” I say. Captain Bellum gives me another pat on the back before taking the cylinder and presenting it to me. “Okay, so this is how it works. You see the blackened parts?” I nod. “You need to put your hands there and squeeze. Once you do, the black parts are going to turn red and sting a little. No matter what, you cannot let go until they turn back to black. Do you understand?” “Yeah, but, what happens if I let go?” Captain Bellum tightens his lips for a second before he says, “You could lose your soul.” “WHAT!” I yell. “I could lose my soul?!” He nods. “Shouldn’t something like this be done, I don’t know, somewhere cleaner, or more… not so casual?” “It wouldn’t matter,” says Altum as he gets out of the chair and stands behind Bellum. “In here, in a hospital, or in some gutter; it wouldn’t matter. To receive the mark, all you need is a Virgum de Marcas, and a soul.” I can’t believe this. This feels kind of… out of place. I feel as if this should be done with a little more… I don’t know. I look to Captain Bellum, who only closes his eyes and nods to me. I sigh, taking the cylinder and place my hands at the appropriate places, then begin to squeeze. As I do so, I can feel the etchings in the metal dig into my skin a little. If this is the sting he was talking about, this won’t be so bad. Captain Bellum stands back and watches me closely as I hold onto the bar tightly. A few moments go by and not much happens. I continue to squeeze, but my hands are starting to get tired. I look to Altum and ask, “How long am I going to have to keep this up?” “It shouldn’t be much longer,” he says as he leans against the wall. I sigh again and continue to squeeze. Hopefully, it will start soon. After a few minutes go by, my hands are begging me to let go. The only thing keeping them on is sheer will, and even that’s starting to fade. I look down to my hands and notice the marks are starting to turn red - finally! “Hey, I think its star—AAAGGGHH!” I scream as I feel sharp pains on my hands. I look down to that see that the entire bar is now glowing bright red. In my pain I try to let go, but my hands aren’t able to leave the bar. It feels as if the metal has fused with my skin and is sucking all of the energy out of my body. “Something’s not right here,” says Captain Bellum. “The entire bar isn’t supposed to glow!” “With his power, it makes sense,” says Altum as he steps closer. My hands begin to shake as I drop to my knees. This thing is going to suck all of the energy out of me, great. Fucking great. Suddenly, the bar turns bright white and begins to double the amount of energy it’s sucking from me. I look at my hands and see that they’ve turned bright red and have stopped shaking. “This isn’t right… we have to stop!” says Captain Bellum. He tries reaching for me, only to be pulled back by Altum. “Now who’s being stupid? We can't stop, you know that!” Suddenly, the bar stops sucking energy, and is now just glowing white. Finally. As I take a moment to catch my breath, I look up to them and say, “*pant* I think…*pant* I think it’s done. That really su—AAAAAAGGGHH!” All of a sudden, jets of energy are being pushed back into me from the bar. Every push feels like hot needles being forced through my body. I look down at my hands to see black lines are forming along my arms. The lines are a few centimeters thick and don’t really follow any path. Some end in points, while others curve around my arm, but none of the lines ever cross. With every wave of energy, the lines crawl up my arms some more, and my agony increases. The lines are three-fourths of the way up my arms when I begin to feel the same pain form on my heels. Before I can look down, a massive wave hits me and forces my eyes shut with pain. “W-wh-what’s g-g-goi-ing on?” I plead, but get no response. Sweat is forming all over my body as I begin to shake a little from all this. A few more waves hit me, and I look back at my arms and legs. The arm lines are now a little past my upper arms, while the leg lines are up to my knees… wait, I can see my knees! As the next wave hits me, I force myself to watch the lines on my legs. As they grow, they burn my clothes off. Somehow, my burning clothes don’t burn me. I look to Captain Bellum for answers, but see he’s left the room. I turn to Altum, but stop when I see his expression - he’s enjoying this. He has his arms somewhat crossed while he bites his left fingernails. His eyes are wide open and he has the most twisted smile I’ve ever seen. A few more waves hit me, giving the same amount of pain as before. I’m now pouring sweat from all over and am on the verge of collapsing. Captain Bellum steps back in and takes his place next to Altum. I look up to him and plead, “Please! M-make it st-stop!” He looks down at me with the saddest eyes before leaving the room again, followed by cries from me as the next wave hits. Out of nowhere, the energy stops pouring into me; all I feel is the numbness of my body. The lines now completely cover my legs, arms, and chest. As I sit there, naked, I begin to relax, glad that it’s all over. I try to get up, but none of my limbs respond. So I sit in a pool of my sweat, happy to be done with it. “Don’t get too comfy,” Altum says coldly. “You’ve got one more.” I look at him in disbelief, and scream at the top of my lungs as my back explodes in a burst of painful energy. Instead of being gradual like before, this one is taking up all of my back at once. As I scream out in pain, the lights begin to dim until they’re completely out. A few minutes after the lights go out, the pain stops and I drop the bar. I look around and notice that light is now coming from me. I look down at my hands and see that each palm now has a set of black rings: one taking up most of my palm, and a smaller one inside of it. In-between are different symbols and glyphs, filling the empty space. From inside the center ring, white energy flows. It looks like a small campfire has formed in my hands, but it doesn’t burn me. I look at my heels to find similar rings have formed, with similar energy pouring out. “Oh my,” Captain Bellum mutters from the doorway. I look at him and offer a small smile before passing out.
Chaper 5 What Friends Are ForChapter 5 What Friends Are For As I begin to regain consciousness, I immediately recall my most recent memories and jolt upright. I'm currently in a narrow bed that has red and black blankets and pillows. A short and narrow foot locker is at the end of the bed, and has a folded piece of paper on top of it. Above me is an empty shelf that extends the entire length of the bed. Across from the footlocker is an open door with an almost-empty closet behind it; the only contents are some uniforms similar to the one I had earlier. On the opposite side of the room is a bed like mine, but with blue blankets instead. The shelf on top of this bed is filled with various photos and knick knacks. The foot locker at the end is open, and I can see random clothes and junk inside. There is a closet door across from all this, and in between that door and mine, there’s a small hallway with a third door. I look down at my arms and chest, and sigh in relief to see that the lines and marks are now gone. I pause for a moment, then lift my blanket up, and... yup! I'm still naked. Fucking Bellum. I’m about to get up, when I realize two things: one, THIS BED IS THE MOST COMFY THING EVER! And two, towards the top of my upper arms are thin, grayish metal rings. The rings fit snugly on my arms and are smooth to the touch. After a few moments of inspecting them, I decide to get dressed. As I get up to go to the closet across from me, the center door swings open, revealing a dark-skinned kid in a uniform, with a shaved head, brown eyes, and a toothbrush in his mouth. He takes one look at me and freezes. After an awkward moment of silence, he slowly backs out of the room, shutting the door after him. I really hate Bellum right now. I get dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and pants, before opening the door to find the kid from earlier sitting there. He takes one look at me and cringes as he gets up. He then walks right past me into the room, and goes straight to his foot locker. I shut the door and stand at the end of the hallway. "Sooo... Sorry about earlier." He looks at me, then cringes again as he goes back to rummage through his foot locker. "I'm Miles, by the way." Silence. "So what’s your name?" He looks at me again and stares for a bit, before asking, "Why are you here?" "I, uh... I'm not completely sure, but I think I'm your roommate." He stands up and looks me over for a bit, before shrugging and going to his bed. "If so, you've got a letter," he says as he lies down. I pick it up and open it - finding seven silver credits inside - and begin to look over the letter. Words... words... Hey, look! A number!... more words. "So what does it say?" "How should I know? I can’t read," I say as I look back to him. "You can't read?" I shake my head. "*sigh* Bring it here." I walk over and hand him the letter. He sits up and begins to read it over. "So what’s your name?" I ask to end the awkward silence. Once finished with the letter, he gets back out of bed and puts it in his pocket. He then looks back to me and says, "I’m Dolum Ostendere. Come on, I'll tell you about the letter over breakfast." I’m about to protest, but my stomach yells at me, so I pocket the money and follow Dolum out of our room. We walk into a hallway; the walls here are a warm gold color, and the floor has red carpeting. Evenly throughout the hall are red doors with golden numbers on them, and lights on the walls between every other room. I shut the door behind me and take a look at it. ‘1’... ‘3’... ‘3’... ‘7’. OK, I have to remember this. As we make our way down the left corridor, I turn to Dolum and ask, "So do you know how I got here? To our room, that is." "No idea. But I never really notice anything about that side of the room. It’s usually empty." "So you've never had a roommate?" He shakes his head. "How long have you been coming here?" "Like, three years now," he says as he tightens his lips. "And in three years you've never had a single roommate? Why?" Dolum stops and gives me a confused look before asking, "Isn't it obvious?" he asks, as he points to his face. I turn to him and think it over. He doesn't seem weird or anything; so far he's been pretty nice, given the circumstances. I can’t really think of anything that would make me not want to be friends with him. I look him in the eye and say, “Well, if it is obvious, I can’t see it. You seem like a cool guy, and I can’t think of anything wrong with sharing a room with you." Dolum looks stunned by my remark. He then chuckles lightly while shaking his head, and continues down the hall. "So, I seem coo-" "DOLUM!" From behind, some white girl in a white button-up shirt and blue skirt runs up to us and throws her arms around Dolum, squeezing him in a hug. Dolum is surprised at first, but quickly turns around and returns the hug. "I've missed you so much, Doly! Why didn't you come see me when I got back?" I want to ask who she is, but I’m a little distracted at the moment... Doly? Da fuck? "Sorry, Auxy. I was actually on my way to see you, but when I got to my room..." He motions over to me, so she looks over and immediately lets go of Dolum. "Hi. I'm Miles; I'm Dolum's new roommate." I say as she tries to compose herself. "I-I'm Auxilium; I'm Dolum's betrothed." she says timidly. I look between the two in slight confusion, before asking, "What's a ‘betrothed’?" "It means that when we’re old enough, we’re going to be married," Dolum says as he puts an arm around Auxilium, making her blush. "Oh, OK, so—wh-dij-duh-wha! Married! But you’re-! And she's-! What!?" Dolum only smiles at my confusion, while Auxilium buries her face in his chest from embarrassment. "B-but you’re, like, eight!" "We're not married yet, but when we can, we will be. Our families had an arrangement before we were born, so we've been together ever since," he says as he looks down at Auxilium, who’s still hiding her face. "O-OK... I guess..." I don't really know what to make of this, but my stomach’s yelling at me again, so we all continue on to get breakfast. The hall leads us us to a large, open room. Large red cushioned seats fill the center of the room, divided into four seating areas. To our left and right are more hallways, while the wall across from us has five of those platforms from the other day. We continue to the center platform, which has a fork and knife etched into the the wall behind it. Auxilium goes onto the platform first, then Dolum, and I follow afterward. I re-appear in a large, open room that has light grey walls, white linoleum flooring, and a single-level chandelier hanging in the center of the room. Most of the room is filled with rows of metal tables and benches, and there’s a metal rail forming a path that runs from my right to the opposite side of the room, moving along the wall. The wall on the other side is mostly open, showing a fairly large kitchen. Dolum and Auxilium have already made it most of the way to the kitchen, so I follow them down the path. As I walk, I gaze at all the students in the room. There are enough to fill the line up about halfway, or enough to fill around three-fifths of the seats. Most are in the green uniforms, but there are a good number in the white ones as well. I soon notice that many of the students are giving me weird looks and then turning to their friends and whispering things. As I catch up to Dolum and Auxilium, I ask, "So what's the deal with the white and blue uniforms?" Auxilium turns to me and says, "They're the uniforms for students not in the military." As we move forward with the line, I ask, "So you’re not-" "Miles!" I turn around to see Inficiunt and Eximius running up to me, along with some guy I don't know. "Hey guys! What's going on?" I ask casually. "I thought you could tell us," says Eximius as they come to a stop before me. "What happened to you? Like, no more than twenty minutes-" "Nineteen minutes, twenty-six seconds," interjects Inficiunt. "Whatever! After you left, there was this huge power surge, and then the lights went out for, like, ten floors!" Wow! I remember the lights in the room going out, but ten floors!? "Yeah, it was fun being in the dark and all, but the power surge was pretty freaky," says Inficiunt with a worried look. "Did you have something to do with that, Miles?" asks Auxilium. Before I can answer, I hear my name being called again. I look back to see Fidus, Tenera, and another guy I don’t know running up to us. "Miles! Were you streaking yesterday?!" screams Fidus as she approaches us. My cheeks instantly begin to burn as I look around the room - everyone is looking at me. I've never seen so many eyes in my life, and they're all looking straight at me. "Is that why you were naked in my room?" asks Dolum with an evil smile. "HA! I told you it was him!" says the stranger next to Fidus - who is, along with Inficiunt, now dying from laughter. "HAHAHAHA! Oh... I knew you were a perv, but - ooh, this is too much!" laughs Fidus. "So, why were you naked? That is, if you don't mind telling us," asks Tenera. I’m about to answer, when I see that we’re next in line. With another growl from my stomach, I grab a plate and begin to get some food. It’s being served in metal trays that are held over hot water, and above it is a long windowpane. The food itself varies from green gooey paste to small red pellets. As I fill my plate, I see that the person who came with Fidus is next to me; he's a bit shorter than I am, but is... hefty. He has bright blonde hair, light blue eyes, and chubby cheeks. "So, who are you, and how did you know about my... ‘little incident’?" I ask. "I'm Sine Lacet, and I saw that captain and the dean carrying you down the hall. I wanted to know what was going on, but I didn't really see your face; so I started asking around to see if anyone knew. That's when Fidus told me about you, and how you were ‘the only perv she knew who would end up like that’. So we tried to find you, but couldn't until just now." I make it to the registers and look down at my plate. I must have taken something from every tray, because there’s no room left there. Once everyone else has their food, we make our way to the nearest table that can seat all of us. As we walk, I look to the other stranger in the group. He's roughly my height, with elbow-length hair that’s braided back, grey eyes, and a narrow face. As I examine him, I ask, "And you are?" "Oh, right, how rude of me. I am Dare Libere; I'm an acquaintance of Inficiunt here." I notice that the way he speaks sounds a little more refined than the others, but ignore it and ask, "So what happened to the power?" "Well, I was down in the library, reading up on Ancient Terradisian history, when out of nowhere the lights just go out. I tried to take one of the Mico platforms, but they were out as well - which now strikes me as odd, because Inficiunt told me that every Mico platform has its own power source, in case of fire. So anyways, I had to take the stairs, and after I’d made it up a few flights I ran into Inficiunt; that’s when he told me about the fire code. After that, I made it a point to find out what had happened. So... if you don't mind, what did happen?" As he asks, we reach the table and take our seats. On my side it goes: Sine, Inficiunt, me, and Tenera; on the other side it goes: Auxilium, Dolum, Dare, Eximius, and Fidus. I’m about to start eating, when I notice that no one else is doing so - they’re all watching me, waiting for an answer. I let out a small sigh, before asking, "Do I have to?" "Yes!" replies Fidus. "If you want to, that is," Tenera adds. "Well, basically, it went down like this: I went into the office and found Captain Bellum waiting for me-" "Is he your dad or something?" asks Inficiunt. "I'm an orphan," I reply flatly. "Soo... he's not your dad?" "Anyway! I started signing up for classes, and then he told me we had to check something. He pulled out this thing-" "A potestatum reader?" asks Eximius. "I guess... So, I did the test, and the box exploded. The smoke must have set off the fire alarm, and then the... metal men-" "Wait, wait, wait - hold on there...! It just exploded?" Dolum asks, to which I nod. "That's impossible! They use those things to check power lines - how could you blow it up?!" "I don't know; I grabbed the thing, he turned it on, and it exploded. So that's what happened in that room." Everyone is looking at me with shocked expressions. As I look from face to face, I begin to feel a little... awkward; so I start digging into my food, filling my mouth ‘till I can barely chew. "What happened in the other room?" Auxilium asks while scooting a little closer. At this point, everyone seems to be at the edge of their seats. I look around and notice that every table around us has filled with students trying to hear our conversation. My mouth is still full of food, so I don't answer right away. But once I’ve finished, I look everyone in the eye and take a deep breath. "Well, then Altum, Captain Bellum, and I went to another one of the offices, blew up another one of those boxes, and-" I look around the room and see that almost everyone is waiting for my answer. Shifting my gaze to my acquaintances at the table, I see they’re just as eager as everyone else, but I don't want half the school knowing what I went through... "Oh! Before I forget, let’s go over that letter of yours real quick," Dolum says, pulling out the letter. "Miles, sorry about last night. We didn't expect you to react the way you did. Attached is your schedule, your weekly allowance, and some directions for the person reading this. Also, do not remove the rings from your arms under any circumstances; only with an instructor may you take them off. Good luck in your studies, and remember what I told you before orientation. Signed: Captain Susurrans Bellum." Dolum looks over the remaining pages, before folding them up and returning them to his pocket. As he does this, Tenera lifts my sleeve, revealing the ring. "That’s a potestatum annul!" Eximius exclaims as he reaches over to reveal the other ring. "WHOA! Those are supposed to hold back a ton of energy, and you have two!" "Does this mean you've got your marks?" asks Sine. I nod in response. "When I got them... it was the most painful thing I’ve ever been through," I say with a shudder. "Really? ‘Cause when I got my marks, it only stung for, like, ten minutes," Eximius says as he brings his hands to the table and ignites them. Familiar black rings and strange text appear in his palms. From the center comes a white flame, about the size you would get from a lighter. I bring my hands up and look at them, but there don't seem to be any signs from last night. "Just feel the energy from within, and channel it out," says Eximius as he shakes his hands, ending the small flame and making the rings disappear. I close my eyes and try to feel for anything that could be an ‘energy within’. I open my eyes, but see that nothing happened. "Doesn't there have to be some movement to bring out the energy?" asks Dare, which Eximius nods to. I look back to my hands and think. An idea of what to do forms in my head; I tightly close my hands and quickly open them again. Once my hands open, the same black rings from before appear, with a small plume of white energy coming out. The flame of energy takes up my entire palm and flows up roughly twelve centimeters. From around the table - as well as most of the room - I hear a collection of “Wow!”s and gasps. I quickly shake my hands and snuff out the energy. "Wow... just... wow," says Eximius as he looks back to his own hands. Looking around the room, I can see that the number of people watching has nearly doubled. I lower my head and try to avoid as many of the staring eyes as possible; I hate it when people stare at me. After a few minutes of silence and continuous stares, my nerves get the best of me and I quickly leave the room. As I go, I hear everyone calling my name, but ignore them and continue on. I make my way back to the platforms and take the one that goes to my floor. As soon as I appear, I storm down the hall until I suddenly realize something - I can’t remember my room number! "1...7...3... aaugh, fuck! I can’t remember!" I hear several pops from the platforms. I turn to see three older guys walking towards me. They all wear green and black uniforms, and are easily twice my size. The one on the left has short, blonde hair and is wearing glasses; the one to the right is the shortest one in the group, with short, black hair; and the one in the center is the tallest, with a shaved head, light skin, and a thin burn mark on the left side of his face that goes from the end of his mouth to the top of his ear. As they walk down the hall, I turn to the wall and try to remember my room number. When I turn back around, I find myself surrounded by the group. "Hmm, look what we got here - the freak," says the burned one, getting small chuckles from the others. I look up at him and his friends, but say nothing. "Aaww, I think you hurt the little guy’s fee—ARGH!" begins the black-haired one, but is stopped when I knee him in the testicles, dropping him to the ground. The moment he falls, I take off as quickly as my legs will carry me. As I run, I can hear the other two giving chase, yelling about my eventual fate. A few moments later, I feel my legs go out from under me and I drop to the floor. Before I can recover, my chasers quickly surround me and begin kicking me in the stomach. I curl into a ball and try to let my arms take the brunt, but they stop kicking and begin punching my head and body. "GET THE FUCK OFF HIM!" yells a familiar voice. Moments later, the punching assault ends and I hear some tumbling beside me. I look up, and see that Fidus has tackled the bald guy and is now on top of him, punching the crap out of his face. The blonde guy has been pulled off by Dolum, Eximius, and Sine, and is being kicked from all sides. Tenera and Auxilium quickly come to me and help me to my feet. By the time I’m up, the blonde guy has escaped and is running down the hall to get his other friend. Fidus gives one final punch, before getting off the other guy and walking back to me. "Miles, are you OK?! What’s going on?" I see that everyone is around me, looking at me with concern in their eyes. "I'm fine. I don't know what they wanted-" I stop when I feel something running down my face. I wipe it away, and see that my hand is covered in blood. Dare sees this and pulls out a handkerchief, then squeezes my nose with it. "Hold it tight, and-" "Why are you doing this?!" I shout at him, making him back away. "What do you-" "I don't understand! We only met a day ago, and you've done nothing but worry and save my ass! Why?! What did I do to earn this?!" I drop to the floor and lean against the wall. All my life, the only person to ever watch out for me was myself, and now... now I don't know what I'd do without these people. Without them, I wouldn't be able to find or do anything! Without them, I would have been pulverized by those three assholes! I'm not sure what I should be feeling, nor what I am feeling, but all these new emotions have come to a head and are bursting out. None of them say a word; they just continue to stare at me with those worried eyes. Dolum finally breaks the silence by walking over, squatting down, taking a long look at me, and then slapping me across the face! "Oww! What was tha-" SLAP "What th-" SLAP "Why are y-" SLAP "STOP HITTING ME!" He finally stops and takes a seat next to me. "If you really can't figure out why we care, then you’re dumber than you look." "Yeah man! We'll always have your back -" says Fidus; "- and we'll always care -" says Tenera; "- whether we're laughing or crying -" says Inficiunt; "- you can always count on us to help -" says Dare; "- because we are your friends," says Sine. I look from one face to another, and slowly get back up. I don't know how, and I don't know why, but as I look from one person to the next, I begin to feel a small grin etch across my face - these are my friends. Before I can say anything, Tenera quickly wraps me in another hug, followed by Inficiunt, then Auxilium, Dolum, Sine, Dare, Fidus, and finally Eximius. So… ‘make some friends’ - I guess I can check that off of Bellum’s list.
Chapter 6 Fall of Topaz FallsChapter 6 Fall of Topaz Falls August 11th, 1132 SIXTEEN YEARS LATER All these years - all the training, studying, creating - all of it has been done for this one moment, this one event: Defensive Order 23 - enemies at the gates. I'm currently riding gunner in our jeep, which is following another jeep down the south highway, going from the Parliament building towards the dome wall. The jeep is all white, with two benches beside me going along the side of the vehicle, and two seats in the front. Dolum is driving, with Inficiunt riding shotgun. Tenera is on the bench to my right, while Fidus is on the bench to my left. Inficiunt is currently reading over a map, with one hand holding onto the railing above. Fidus is doing a small maintenance check on her three-pronged minigun, while Tenera is staring daggers at me and holding onto her assault carbine. I can’t believe she still blames me for what happened to Fidus, but I'll deal with that when I get the chance. Right now, we all need to focus on the task at hand. I do a quick check over my armor to make sure that none of the latches have come loose. We all wear variations of the same composite armor: a black Kevlar-fiber mesh that has metal plates woven into place over key muscles. The armor is fairly heavy, but doesn't hinder our movement. The metal plates have been forged to accentuate our muscles perfectly, making us appear more muscular than we are. Sadly, this model of armor only covers certain muscles, leaving us vulnerable to precise knife attacks. Underneath all of of this we wear black shirts, pants, and steel-toed boots. I opted for full body armor: leggings, arm covers, chest piece, shoulder pads, and- "I still can't believe you forgot your helmet," Dolum says as he swerves around a burning car. "I didn't have time to get it. Not like it'll help much anyway." In actuality, the helmets we wear are capable of stopping small firearms, and have advanced optical features that really come in handy. The helmets are made of compressed metal, and cover the entire head. On the inside, small crystals magically project the outside world and filter the air. Right now I'm the only one without one. Dolum and Inficiunt are the only ones wearing theirs, but I'll make due for now. I look down to Inficiunt and ask, "What’s the ETA to our destination?" He looks back at me, then turns back to the map. Dammit, he's still mad at me for breaking that promise... just one more item on my list of things to fix after we get out of this mess. "Dammit! How far, Inficiunt!" yells Fidus. I look down at her and sigh. Ever since that night she's been shaving her head, destroying her beautiful hair. She's also become more temperamental with everyone, getting extremely emotional at the drop of a hat. "Ten minutes," replies Inficiunt. I look over the gun in front of me - The Spartan Pen: fifty-caliber ammo at five-hundred rounds a minute from dual drums, making for four minutes of pure-fucking-devastation! I lock the mount in place and turn to Tenera. "What?!" she says sharply. "You know, I didn't-" "Don't give me that crap! I know what you did, and nothing you can say will change that, you piece of-" "Tenera!" Fidus snaps. "How can you defend him-?!" "SHUT THE FUCK UP!" shouts Inficiunt. "Fuck off-!" "ENOUGH!” I yell, getting everyone to look away. KA-BOOM We all turn towards the massive explosion off in the distance, which is followed by the sounds of thousands of people screaming and gunfire. I look out to the west and see a giant plume of black smoke billowing towards the top of the dome. At the same time, buildings on the west side of town lose power and are sent into darkness. "That was the west generator," Dolum states. "They must have taken it-" "Let’s make sure they don't take the south one then!" I say as Dolum slams on the accelerator. The rest of the ride is spent in silence, our destination coming into sight within minutes. We approach a small grey dome that is two stories tall and roughly sixty meters wide. This dome is situated halfway into the city’s main dome, and only has one entrance - a large metallic bulkhead - with two machine gun nests guarding it. Each nest has two guards: one on the gun, and another with automatic beam rifles. The lead jeep stops next to the left nest, and Captain Bellum steps out of the vehicle and talks to the guards. Moments later, the bulkhead slides to the right, opening the way for us. As we pull in, I take a moment to survey the area. The room is perfectly round, and is half-filled with counters covered in random beakers and computers. In the back are two semis with flatbeds attached and six vans parked in front of them. The first flatbed has hundreds of metal boxes being tied down, and the second one has something very tall and cylindrical tied down and covered with a blue tarp. We pull our jeeps around to form a small perimeter around the door, which shuts as soon as we enter. As we all step out of our jeeps, Captain Bellum quickly approaches me and says, "Lieutenant, get the civilians out of here. I'm going to rally what troops we have." I nod. There are three groups of people working around the room, so I head towards the nearest one. There are about twenty scientists in white lab coats in this group, arguing amongst themselves. Of the other groups, one consists of around twenty-five workers in blue jumpsuits, running back and forth between the first truck and a pile of boxes; and the other contains about fifty standard infantry moving towards Captain Bellum. As I make my way to the scientists, I listen to their conversation. "You can't leave my device here," says a scrawny man with a nasally voice, thick black glasses, and a receding hairline with a comb over. "It's far too important!" "We’re all going to lose some of our work!" yells a woman from inside the group. "But this could save us all! It cannot fall into the enemy’s hands-" "Excuse me!" I yell over the group, gaining their attention. "We do not have time for your petty arguments. You all need to gather the last of your things and get to the evac zone, NOW!" Most of the group listens and immediately begins going from desk to desk, taking papers, vials, and other assorted supplies, and packing them into the vans. As I start making my way to the workers, the scientist who was arguing before steps in my way. He’s holding a strange contraption that appears to be two glass tanks welded together, with two black hoses - one coming out the bottom of each tank - that join together and end in a long, thin, metal box. "Please! You must help-" he tries to say, but I step around him and continue my path, only to have him follow me closely. "I’m Doctor Qui; I'm the head of-" "Didn't I tell you to get out of here?" "Yes, yes, but my device-" "Destroy it." "I will do no such thing! Please!" he says as he grabs my arm just under my regiment patch. We both take a moment to look at it: the background is a Spartan shield with a human skull in front of it; going through the skull is a black-and-silver broadsword, which enters through the top of the skull and exits through the mouth. "You’re a Spartan!" I pull away from his grasp and make my way to the workers. "Everyone, finish tying down these last boxes and get to your-" PAT-PAT-PAT-PAT-PAT-PAT-PAT I turn towards the door and feel my heart drop. That’s coming from the nest out front! I immediately run to the jeep and begin to re-arm myself from a locker inside the bench. I grab my sword and partially unsheath it; the blade is eight centimeters wide and goes straight to a point for about a meter; the hilt is all black, with a light-blue hexagonal gem embedded in the pommel; and the guards go straight out for several centimeters and end flatly. I re-sheath it and strap it across my back, with the hilt going to the right. Next, I pull out two frag grenades and two arcane grenades: the frag grenades are fist-sized metal balls that can shoot shrapnel in a twelve meter radius, and the arcane grenades are eight-centimeter-long tubes that glow bright blue. After that, I pull out my revolver: a .45 magnum with a six-round chamber. The barrel and cylinder are bright steel, while the handle is blackened steel. I pop the cylinder to check the ammo - full. I holster the gun and belt it around my waist. Next, I check the ammo pockets in the belt - a total of sixty rounds. Once done, I pull out my trench knife and look it over: the blade is twenty-three centimeters long and is deep black. It’s a three-edged, triangular blade that goes to a point. The handle is made to hold the tip forward, with a brass guard that also serves as a spiked knuckle duster - the spikes going out for a few centimeters before ending in flat stubs. I sheath the knife in its slot on my belt, with the point facing forward. Lastly, I pull out my mark 4 assault rifle: it has a flat, even top, and a composite stock under the short barrel. I pull the breech bolt on the weapon - pulling a round into the chamber - and then attach a sling to it and swing it across my back, going left. Sadly, as I rummage through the locker, I only find four of my magazines. I take them and slide them into their slots, before running over to the group of soldiers in front of Bellum. "... then we can take that long ride home. You know your jobs; let's get it done!" he says, which is followed by a loud “OORAH!” He looks over and motions for me, so I approach him. "Orders, sir?" "..." "Sir?" "We have to hold the line. They cannot take this generator. Go with the rest of the squad and hold your positions." I nod and make my way to the rest of the group. They've already set the jeeps up so that the turrets have a crossfire set. Around the jeeps, they've also taken some counters and set them on their sides, forming a curved wall that bends toward the door. Soldiers have lined up behind the barrier, and now wait for the inevitable. I take my place in-between Dare and Sine and pull out my rifle. "How're you holding up?" I ask as I check my sights. "I was about to ask you the same thing," Dare says in his regal voice. He's wearing full armor and has his submachine gun out, pointed towards the bulkhead. "It was a year ago, but you still haven't said a word about it. Bottling it up like this can't be good for you." "Yeah, it was one year and three days, to be precise," I say as sadness fills my heart. "But that doesn't matter right now. Right now we need to focus on the task at hand." "Like we've never heard that excuse before," says Sine as he loads shells into his shotgun’s drum. "Look, you can lie to yourself all you want, but do me a favor and cut the crap with me. A year after his death, and suddenly we’re attacked-?" "Spatium would never do that!" Sine loads the drum to his shotgun and cocks a round into place while turning away from me. She would never do that... I trust her. Moments later, the gunfire out front stops and every head turns to the door. Here they come. "..." "..." "..." KRA-BOOM The door flies off the wall - landing meters away from our defensive line - in a fiery explosion that leaves the entrance hidden behind a veil of smoke and dust. "Inficiunt, open fire! The rest of you, hold until we have visual!" yells Captain Bellum. Inficiunt nods and pulls his BOOMstick up. An invention of my own design, it has an eight-chamber cylinder that fires 30-millimeter explosive rounds. He takes aim at the doorway and, with a solid thump, opens fire. With each thump, an explosion and cries of pain and death follow. Eight shots later, he slides the chamber to the side and begins to reload. I take my rifle and take aim down the doorway. Moments later I see a figure break through the smoke. It stands more than two meters tall, is fairly skinny, and has light-grey skin. Its face is narrow and has prominent cheekbones, no hair, black eyes, dagger-like teeth, and two narrow slits where a nose would normally be. He - I presume it's male due to its body build - is wearing light-tan coveralls that have a black patch over the right breast. I take aim and send a round through his skull, sending black blood and brain matter flying behind him as he drops to the floor. As he drops, two more appear and take his place, then four, then ten - just how many of them are there!? Twenty-! Forty-! As they enter, our line erupts into a torrent of energetic fire, killing those at the door. Most infantry received the mark eight assault rifle - a variation of my rifle that fires arcane bolts instead of bullets. I opted for the FMJ variation because I prefer its higher rate of fire and the possibility of hitting multiple targets. The biggest downside is that if I run out of ammo, I can't just refill it magically - a problem I've already run into today. As they continue to enter, Fidus steps over the barricade with her minigun, spinning the barrels at top speed. She takes her stance and begins to fire down the entrance, spraying archaic death all over. Eximius quickly jumps behind her and, with a pushing motion, magically brings up two force fields to cover Fidus. The fields are dull white, roughly the same height and width as a person, and will hold against almost anything that the wielder has the strength to repel. As Fidus fires downrange, the enemy begins to return fire, punching holes into the desks and our jeeps. I recognize the fire as coming from some of our own weapons. After a minute of continuous fire, Fidus's gun begins to click, telling everyone that it's empty. As she turns to get back behind cover, a loud battle cry erupts from behind the door, followed by the rumbling of what sounds like a stampede. "Here they come!" yells Captain Bellum as he readies his claymore. As the dust settles, a massive crowd comes into view, charging straight towards us. As soon as we have visibility, every weapon erupts in fire. The mixed sounds of 50-calibers, rifle discharges, and bullets whizzing all around fill the air. As we cut down enemy after enemy, there seems to be no end to the waves of troops coming in to take their place. With every soldier that has to stop and reload, the mound of dead bodies creeps closer and closer, charging enemies trying to get over. Once those 50's stop, we'll be in deep shit. Click-click-click - "I'm out!" yells a soldier from one of the turrets. Well... fuck. As the other turret stops firing, a wave of enemy infantry pours through the doorway and quickly overruns our line. Enemy troops rush me, so I backpedal, shooting any who get too close. Step-step - pat-pat-pat - step-step - pat-pat-click - FUCK! With my rifle empty, I swing it onto my back and ready my magic. The white flames appear in my hands and flare halfway up my forearms. As I channel the energy, I allow the black lines to grow up to my elbows, burning my sleeves along the way and making the metal plates strapped to me glow red. I ready my stance as enemies come closer and closer. At the last moment, I bring both my hands straight above my head and quickly push them straight back down, sending two beams of white energy at the ground beneath me. This makes a ring of energy explode around me, sending the group of charging enemies flying away several meters. With room to breathe, I pull out my sword with my right hand and my revolver with my left. Weapons out, I charge into the fight. Enemy troops have stopped coming in from the door, but we're still heavily outnumbered. I charge towards a small group of our infantry who are trying to hold back some twenty-odd enemy troops in hand-to-hand combat. The first enemy doesn't see me coming, so I quickly stab him in the middle of the back, dropping him instantly. The three that were next to him turn to face me, only to get .45 magnum rounds sent through their faces. As they drop, I suddenly realize something about the enemy troops - most of them aren't armed. I shake my head, turn to the group in front of me, and yell, "Come with me! We need to get the ammo for the 50-cals!" They all nod, and the four of us head to the first truck. As we go, we run into another group of weaponless enemy troops. The first one tries to grab me, but I sidestep and swing my sword to the side, decapitating him. The next two receive holes in their chests from the troops behind me while I shoot the third one in the heart with my revolver. With this group dealt with, we make it the rest of way to the truck and look for the ammo. "Where's the ammo!?" I yell. "Should be in the the back of th—AAAAGGHH!" one of the soldiers begins to speak, but is stopped when an enemy trooper jumps onto his back and bites into his neck. I quickly dispose of the enemy by swinging my blade and lobbing the back of his head off. Once it’s dead, I quickly check on our soldier. He's bleeding profusely from the neck - looks like his jugular was torn open. Before I can do anything, though, I see the life fade away from his eyes. "We've got the ammo; let's get going!" yells one of the soldiers from behind me. I turn to see both him and the other soldier holding metal boxes of 50-caliber ammo in each hand. I sheath my sword and holster my revolver before pulling my rifle out and reloading it. "Alright, I'll take lead. You two follow me and stick to my ass. If I stop for anything, you keep running and don't stop until you make it to the guns. Got it?" They nod, and I turn towards the jeeps and begin sprinting to them. As I run, I look around and see that most of the enemy troops have been dealt with, though they still outnumber us slightly. Our numbers have dropped by at least half, but I can see all my friends are still fighting: Captain Bellum has his claymore out and is slicing away the group in front of him; Dare and Sine are covering Eximius as he tries to magically heal a downed soldier; Fidus and Tenera are back to back, Tenera taking precise shots while Fidus swings her battle axe back and forth - she must’ve ran out of ammo for her minigun; and Dolum - he’s on his rifle shooting the trooper in front of him, but he doesn't see the one behind him! "DOLUM!" I yell out, but I’m too late! The enemy trooper rams the bayonet of his rifle into Dolum’s back and fires a few rounds into him, sending him to the ground face-first. I quickly change direction and fire into the enemy trooper, putting more rounds into him than I should. As I approach Dolum, I sling my rifle over my back and charge my magic. When I get to him, I kneel down and frantically remove his helmet and armor. "M-Mi-les..." he mutters as he spits up some blood. "Shhh! D-don’t speak Dolum..." I say as I start to tear up. "P-lease... d-do s-something for me..." "S-stop, Dolum; you need to save your strength." "Heh... yeah... Miles, I n-need you t-to do something f-for me..." I finally get his armor off and look down at his back - and wince at the sight. The puncture is deep, and with the added trauma of the shots that were fired, I have no idea where to start treating the wound. Blood is pouring out and beginning to pool around him, so I tear his shirt and apply pressure to the wound. "Miles... please..." "Dolum, you have to stop talking-! P-please!" I say with tears flowing from my face. "You’re going to be fine...! We'll get you all fixed up; you'll get to go home, be a problem for Auxy, raise that kid of yours... just please, stop..." I continue to hold pressure on him as he weakly turns to me with a smile and says, "Tell Auxilium... w-what she a-already knows..." With these final words, he drops his head and fades into the void. "Dolum! Nononono - Fight it, Dolum... You can't die... DOLUM!" I cry as I hold onto his body. The rest of my squad have removed their helmets and gathered around me and Dolum, looking on with mournful eyes. As I cry into his body, I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn to see Captain Bellum standing over me. "Miles... I know you’re sad - I know what it's like to lose someone - but right now is not the time to mourn. We still have a job to do. These people need you. We need you." I look at my squad from face to face, seeing the sadness and pain in everyone. We are broken. I let go of Dolum and wipe my eyes clear before standing up. "*sniff* What are your orders?" I ask weakly. Captain Bellum looks around our group, sighing as he glances back down at his sword. "We can't survive another hit like that. We have to get these people out of here and meet up with the first battalion-" "INCOMING!" yells one of the soldiers from behind, as a fiery explosion sends the first jeep into the air and towards us. I instinctively raise my hands and catch it with my magic, giving everyone else enough time to get to cover. Levitating it up for a few seconds, I’m about to toss it forward, when a second rocket flies underneath it and explodes in front of me, flinging me meters away. When I open my eyes, the world around me spins in a blur of pain and sorrow, and my ears ring. Looking down, I can see that Eximius has removed my body armour and torn my shirt open. Across my chest, I can see a few deep, bleeding lacerations from the shrapnel. Eximius charges his hands before slamming them down onto me. I can see the magic healing my wounds and removing the shrapnel, but I don't feel anything. I look back down and see that my chest is completely healed, but my vision is still blurry and my hearing keeps fading in and out. "...ing magic... ...oul is br... ...here," Eximius says to Captain Bellum, who is looking down at me. Before he can say anything, a white blur wearing a blue blur on its back runs up to him. "...elp... ...use my... Quartz Crest... ...safe." I have no idea what's going on, but Captain Bellum nods to the man in white, who turns to me and points a metal rod at me. The rod breaks open into four smaller rods - making an X - and electricity arcs between the ends of each one. A white light appears in the center of the X, and the world around me soon fades into a blur of white. As my mind drifts off, I close my eyes and let out one final tear... Dolum... Author's Note Shout out to Burning Eclipse for the fanart of the Kroth! Brony on!
Chapter 7 Second Impression Chapter 7 Second Impression When I awaken, I slowly open my eyes and sit upright. Well, at least I'm fixed up for the time being. I look down at my hands and close them tightly. If I had run faster, or just shot sooner, I could have saved him... Dolum. I want to cry out again, but reality hits me and I jump to my feet, ready for a fight. As I take in my surroundings, I fall flat on my ass. This isn't Topaz Falls... I get back up and thoroughly investigate my surroundings. I'm in the middle of a dirt path surrounded by... columns. At the bottom of these... columns, are bright blue flowers, covering most of the ground. The columns are dark brown and go up for at least fifteen meters, forking off into smaller columns that go off in different directions. At the ends of these small columns are countless large, green things. "What the fuck is going on?" I walk up to the... thing, and slowly place my hand on it. It feels dusty, rough, and very cold. I pull my hand back and look around for answers. The area around where I was lying has a large scorch mark. The area beyond the path is filled with more of these strange columns and bright blue flowers. After looking around for a bit, I check my possessions. My belt holds my trench knife and revolver, along with all of the ammo I had. As I go through the various pockets of my belt, I come across my phone. I pull it out and look it over: it’s 18 centimeters long, seven centimeters wide, and three centimeters thick. It's made of solid, clear glass, and has one metal circle on the left side in the center. The corners are curved off and a small crack has formed from the metal circle to the top right. "Well, at least it didn't shatter... like last time." As I hold it with my left hand, I place my thumb on the metal circle, making it emit light and bringing up the home screen. "Damn. No service, hmm." I place it into my left pocket and continue my search. Two frag grenades, two arcane grenades, three magazines (two full and one empty), sword, rifle, leg and arm armor, but no chest armor. I look over my shirt and find that it's caked in blood. I tear what remains off and toss it aside, leaving the arm bracers on. Bringing my rifle out, I start walking down the path. I don't know which way to go, so I pick a direction and start moving. Some time passes by as I walk, and I continue to take in my surroundings. The air seems... better. Like, as if it hasn't been sent through a purifier for hundreds of years, better. It also seems warmer; I've only been moving for maybe an hour, and I'm already sweating lightly. The ground cover is also changing as I move down the path. The bright blue flowers are being replaced by strands of green and various other things, the likes of which I've never seen before. The path I walk continues down, making slight turns every so often. I can see large ‘U’ marks in the road, some going in one direction and others going in the other. What the fuck made these? The overhang from the columns is starting to break apart, letting bright beams of light shine through. Finally, the path leads down to a bright opening where the columns seem to stop. I quicken my pace and reach it within minutes. As I break through the columns’ overhang, I stop and take a good look around. The columns continue to my left and right for as far as I can see. The path I'm on continues down to... what seems to be a house, but is covered in green matter, similar to the stuff from earlier. All around the house are little boxes with holes in them. A small, virtual stream of water flows in front of the house and continues away. A small bridge crosses over the stream, and connects the path I'm on to the one that leads to the door. I figure if someone doesn't live there, it'll be a good place to hunker down for a bit. When I make it to the top of the bridge I stop dead in my tracks. The door opens, and out walks a yellow-and-pink pony. She stops in the doorway and just stares up at me. I return the stare, but find myself a little confused - she looks nothing like the ponies I know. She seems to be half the height of the other ponies and lacks the massive horn on top of her head, though she does have the wings. She has long pink hair that flows with slight curves, and has large blue eyes. I can see the mark on her backside is three winged creatures with pink wings and blue bodies. This isn't right. If that’s a pony, then that would mean I'm on the- "Oh my… hello there, friend; I'm Fluttershy. What brings you to my home?" the pony says in a light, timid voice, slowly approaching me. This is not good. The last time I was with ponies, things ended horribly, and I believe they wanted some form of justice. I can't afford to be captured right now; I need to get back to Topaz and find my squad! "Um, sorry to ask but..." OH FUCK - now she’s right in my face! I quickly jump back and get ready for whatever this pony is planning on doing. She slowly lets herself back down to the ground and tries to walk towards me, but with every step forward she takes, I take one backward. She finally stops and puts a hoof to her chin in thought. Her face brightens up with an idea, and she flies back inside the house. I'm taking no chances here. As soon as she’s inside the house, I turn around and run. I run off the path and head in the opposite direction of the house. Right now I'm in an open field; there are open fields to my left, the dark-brown columns to my right, and lighter-brown columns directly ahead of me. "Wait, don't leave! Come back!" she yells from behind. I look back and - oh fuck, she's chasing me! She's in the air, flying towards me from five o'clock. I make a slight left and sprint like my life depends on it. Thanks to my chest piece being gone, I can move pretty fast. But her flying is just too fast for me to hope to get away. Luckily, I make it into the light-brown columns and start zigzagging around. Thanks to the columns, she can’t follow me directly, so she flies above and follows me from the air. Oh come on... that's cheating! I continue my mad dash through the columns while checking the airborne pony - she's still hot on my trail. I make a sharp turn and- "What in tarnation?!" I crash into another pony and roll to the ground, the other pony on top of me. She has a light-orange coat, blonde hair that's tied at the end, three red dots for a mark, white freckles on her cheeks, and wears a stetson. Something is really wrong here: this one doesn't have wings or a horn! What the fuck is going on?! "Consarn it! What in the hay has ya all-?" She stops once she gets a good look at me and quickly gets up. Once she's off, I begin trying to back away, but the yellow one drops behind me. "Uhh... Fluttershy, is this one ‘a yer creatures from back home?" Oh sweet Barbra - ‘one of her creatures’? I need to get away! "No. It showed up in front of my home, but ran away." Like this I think to myself as I grab my rifle and dash away again, heading in any direction that gets me away from these... ponies. The yellow one goes into the air again and relays directions to the other one. Cheaters. I look back to find the orange one hot on my trail and gaining fast. She has a lasso in her mouth and is spinning it in the air. Where did that come from? With a swing from her neck, she sends the rope flying and it latches onto my arm. I sling my rifle onto my back and try to pull free, only to have her pull back with greater force. I quickly stop and run towards her. Without me pulling, she promptly falls onto her backside. I take advantage of this and use the slack in the rope to tie her legs together. With her incapacitated, I let my hand loose and continue to run. "Dag nabbit! You just wait till ‘ah get loose, ya hear me!" she yells as I run away. I look back to see the yellow one fly down and help her friend out. Hopefully I can get some distance between us before they start chasing me again. I stop in my tracks as the rows of columns end, revealing a large, red, two-story building in front of me. It has an angled roof with black shingles, and two windows on the second floor. I hear running in the background, so I guess this will be my hiding place for now. I run around the corner and - MOTHER FUCKER! Why does life hate me so much?! - I come around the corner and stop a meter away from another pony. This one is closer to the correct size, but is still smaller than what I would have expected. He's red with short, light-orange hair; white freckles; deep green eyes; and has a large, light-green dot as his mark. Again, there are no wings and no horn. We stare at each other for a few moments until the other two ponies appear behind me. Now my back is facing the red building with the red pony to my left, the orange one to my right, and the yellow in front of me. I shift my eyes from one to another as I slowly bring my hand to my revolver. I really don't want to do this, but if I have to- SMASH I turn around in time to see the doors fly open and a big box fly straight toward my face. When I finally re-awaken, I try to rub my eyes, but find my arms being restrained. I blink a few times before taking a good look around. I'm currently lying face-up in a bed, with my wrists tied to the posts. The closest wall to me has a window on it, and there’s a dresser between it and the bed. On the other side of the room is another dresser, with a vanity mirror and a large pillow on the floor in front of it. The only door in the room hangs slightly open on the wall behind me. The bed sheets are red with a white trim, and cover me up to my waist... though something doesn't feel right. I shift around to move the sheets down, and... why am I naked? Everything on me has been removed except my potestatum annuls. Before I can contemplate this more, the door swings open and three ponies walk in. The first two I recognize from the chase earlier, but the third one is new. She has a lavender body, purple eyes, and dark blue hair that has a pink streak going through it. Her mark is a six-pointed star with five smaller white stars at the points. As I look between the three, I suddenly realize that they are all nude... why are they all nude?! What's going on here?! The purple one looks at me and stops for a moment before running to my side and investigating my body. "Hmm... I don't think I've ever read about anything like this before. Where did it - or he," she says as she sees my exposed... self, “come from?” With a bright red blush on her cheeks, she pulls the sheet back over my waist and turns back to the other two. "He was in front of my house," says the yellow one - Fluttershy, I think. "I tried to talk to him, but he ran away-" "Why, in all a’ Equestria, did ya run from us like that?" the orange one asks me. I stare at them and stay silent. If I told them why I ran, they would probably hang me. I can't die right now; I need to get back to Topaz Falls and find my friends. After a few silent moments, the three of them turn to each other and huddle up, whispering to one another. Afterwards, they turn back and the yellow one walks right next to me. I scoot as far away as my restraints will allow, but she climbs onto the bed and stands over me so that we are staring face-to-face. "Sooo... what's your name?" "..." "Umm... I'm Fluttershy." "..." "Can you speak?" "..." "Do you understand me?" "..." I can feel something in my nose tingling - I think I'm about to sneeze. "Hmm... well, if you can't-" “AH-CHOO!” Having nothing to block my nose, my sneeze goes straight to her face. She stumbles back quickly and slams her backside into my lap. "Get the fuck off me!" I yell as I twist my body, making her fall off the bed. My heart is racing and my rage is boiling over; nobody gets to touch me like that, accident or not. I look at the other two and see that they're just staring at me with their mouths slightly open. I look down to Fluttershy; she's on her back on the floor, looking up at me with hurt eyes. She quickly gets to her feet and runs out the room, crying. "Fluttershy!" yells the orange one as she chases after her. "What was that-?” the purple one starts, but I cut her off. "Where are my pants?!" I demand. "They're in the other room, but-" I begin pulling my arms inward in an attempt to break free. After a few seconds, I hear some cracking, followed by the snap of the two bedposts. Hands free, I untie myself and stand, making sure to cover myself. As I stand, a light-purple field envelopes me and lifts me into the air. The same aura field is around the purple pony’s horn. "You’re not going anywhere until..." - I drop the sheet - “...until-til-til-" With a bright red blush, she quickly turns around and drops me. Thank you, nudity! I make my way to the door and look around the hall. There's a door directly across from me and two down the hall - one on each side. In-between the two doors on the other side is a stairway that leads down. I'm not sure which room she meant, so I go to the closest one and open it. "What are you doing!" I yell. This room is similar to the one before, only it has the red pony from earlier in it, with a grenade in his mouth! He looks at me, then down a bit, and drops the grenade. As the grenade hits the ground, the clip pops off. I leap over, grab it, toss it through the window - shattering the glass - and curl into a ball. Moments later, a small explosion comes from outside and shakes the building. "Earthquake! Earthquake! Run fer the hills!" an elderly voice yells from downstairs. I stand up and look back at the red pony. He's lying on the floor, holding his forelegs against his ears. On top of the dresser to my right are all of my belongings, so I take my clothes and begin getting dressed. "What was that?!" yells the purple pony from the doorway. I look at her, then get back to the task at hand. Once I have my pants on, I feel something grab me and toss me onto the bed. I hit the backboard and bounce onto the mattress before rolling off. I stagger back up to see that the red pony is standing in front of me in a defensive stance, pawing the ground with his left foreleg. "You're kidding. You're kidding, right?" He snorts in response and begins to charge me. I easily sidestep the attack, and leave my left arm out to catch his throat. Once my arm makes contact, I quickly squeeze it shut while holding onto my wrist with my other hand, putting him in a choke hold. As I tighten my squeeze, he tries to break free, twisting, turning, slamming me into walls, but none of it breaks my grip. "P-please... stop!" I look up to see that Fluttershy has come back, but still has tears flowing from her eyes. I stare at her for a moment before I drop the red pony and stand straight up, looking back to the yellow one. As the red pony gasps for air, I walk over to the dresser and continue to collect my belongings. Fluttershy runs over to the red pony and says, "Oh dear, oh dear! Big Mac, are you okay?" Once his breathing is under control, the red pony stands and says, "Eeeyup." I finish putting on my arm bracers and begin putting on my leg bracers. I kneel down and start working the metal latches, when Fluttershy approaches me from the side. "Uh..." she says while looking down. "Sorry about earlier. I know you didn't mean anything by it. It's just... I really don't like being touched... like that." She looks up to me and gives me a soft smile. I begin putting my belt on, when I notice my blades are missing. I have my guns, but not my blades. "Where are my blades?" I ask as I finish putting on the belt. "Um... well..." "You'll git those back when we decide yer not a threat," says Big Mac as he glares at me. As I check my pockets, Big Mac begins circling me, never looking away. I look down at him and ask, "Do you need something?" "What are ya?" "I could ask you the same thing." After I've found and checked every pocket - finding that the only missing things are my blades - I begin to walk out of the room, only to be stopped at the door by the purple pony. "Please... I just want to ask some questions, and then you can go," she says desperately. "... How many?" "Just a few." "Hmm... Return my blades, and you've got a deal." "Only after we talk." "Deal." The three female ponies sigh in relief, and make their way out to the hall. I follow them, with Big Mac close behind me. We make our way down the hall to the living room. The living room is a large open area with a couch in the right corner and a cushioned seat in the left. Directly next to the stairs is a rocking chair, rocking back and forth slightly, in front of a small bookshelf and a door. On the left side of the room is a large doorway that leads to the rest of the house. As we fill the room, the orange pony motions to Big Mac, who goes to the door by the stairs and opens it up. He walks in and quickly returns with five cushions on his back. He sets four of them in a small group together and one on its own. I think I know where I'm sitting. I cross my legs as I sit on the cushion and wait for the others to take their seats. "Sooo... I think introductions are in order. I'm Twilight Sparkle," says the purple one, "and these are my friends: Fluttershy, Applejack, and Big Macintosh," she says as she points to each of the ponies being mentioned. "My name is Miles Eremita." "Okay. So Miles - oh! Hold on," Twilight closes her eyes and squints her face, making an aura glow around her horn again. A second later, a white flash appears in front of her, revealing a scroll of paper, a quill, and a small container that I presume is full of ink. Levitating them with her magic, she unrolls the paper, sets the container down, dips the quill into the container, and begins writing on the parchment. "Okay. So Miles, where are you from?" "Classified. What are you writing?" She looks up to me, then scribbles something down. "What do you mean, ‘classified’?" "I mean, it's classified. You know what that means, right? It's a secret, or-” "I know what it means!" she snaps at me. "What I mean is, why is it classified?" "Classified. Now, what are you four, exactly?" "Huh?" "What are you? You look similar to ponies, but the ones I've seen were much taller and had horns and wings." The group in front of me looks at me in awe and confusion. I don't think they knew that I knew their representatives from the negotiations. "You know about the princesses?" asks Twilight. "...I guess...?" Princesses? When did the ponies form a hierarchy? Twilight quickly scribbles something down and makes the parchment disappear in another flash. "Where did you send that?" "I sent it to the princess, so-" "WHAT?!" I yell as I jump to my feet. I can't believe this. She sent it to their princess! Not even to a lower government official - THE PRINCESS! They're going to hang me for sure now, I just know it! "What's wrong, Miles?" asks Fluttershy as she gets up and tries to approach me. I can't stay here. I have to get out as quickly as possible! I look to my right and see an open window. That'll do. I quickly sprint towards it and leap out, still managing to hit the glass and shatter it. As I run off, I can hear them calling me back, but I ignore it. I have to get back to Topaz Falls! Both my friend’s lives and mine are on the line now! Author's Note Now that were in Equestria (In the story at least, man tear) We can start something I've been wanting to do for a while. Its called, Brony Points. If you want to know more about this I'll post a blog about it. Also...please don't kill me for making Fluttershy cry.
Chapter 8 Time Gone By Chapter 8 Time Gone By Perspective: Luna With a yawn, I roll over in my bed and look out over the balcony. My curtains have magically pulled themselves open to reveal the setting sun on the horizon, telling me that it'll soon be time to raise my beloved moon. With a quick stretch, I get out of bed and walk to my vanity mirror. Hmm... I still don't know how cosmic hair can have bed head, but I ignore the thought and begin brushing it out. Once done, I put on my necklace, tiara, and glass shoes before heading out to the main chamber. It's been two years since I was brought back from my imprisonment on the moon, and things haven’t been going as well as I had hoped. My speech has become more modern, and I've caught up on all the major historical events from the past thousand years, but that's it. My sister, Celestia, won't let me take on many of my royal responsibilities. She says ‘it's still too soon for me’ and that I ‘should take it easy for a little while longer’. Well, at least she lets me raise the moon every night. I walk out of my room and down to the eating chamber, where I find Tia reading a letter with a serious look on her face. "Good evening, sister. Is that a letter from your student?" I ask as I take my seat beside her. "Hmm… oh! Good evening, Luna. And yes; it seems there's a disturbance in Ponyville," she says as she sets down the letter and looks over to me. Of course something happened to Ponyville. It always happens to Ponyville. "What's happened?" "Nothing yet, but she says a creature she's never seen or read about has shown up - armed. Her friends tried to talk to it, but it would always either run or fight. That is, until it was knocked out. When they brought it back to her friend’s home, it was very hostile." "Do they know where it came from?" "She says it emerged from the Everfree Forest, but she doesn't think it lives there." "How can she tell?" "She didn't say, but I trust in her judgement." Hmm... this is strange, but not unheard of. Back in the day, Tia and I would get almost weekly letters speaking of monsters attacking towns and villages. Most were just simple animal attacks, but we dealt with it all the same. "What do you plan to do about this?" I ask, intrigued by this occurrence. "Well, I have a meeting with some government officials in ten minutes, so I was going to go to Ponyville after the meeting." "Tia! Those meetings take hours; this could be a real problem and shouldn't be ignored!" "Well, it's not like I can be in two places at once..." I lean forward and put on the biggest smile I can muster. "No!" "Aw, come on, Celestia! We use to do this kind of thing all of the time."I complain as I nudge her side a bit. She rolls her eyes at me, holding firm. "Luna, things are different now-" "Did the creatures of this planet become tremendously stronger within the last thousand years?" I ask with a raised eyebrow. "Well, no, but-" "And am I, or am I not, a princess of Equestria?" I ask as I straighten my back. "You are, but-" "So then, it is my royal responsibility to protect the subjects of my kingdom, and I, for one, think that's far more important than some boring meeting with some bureaucrats." In actuality I just want an excuse to leave the castle. There are days I feel these walls are closing in on me. Celestia looks away and thinks for a second to herself before turning back to me and saying, "I could just send you to the meeting and go to Ponyville myself..." Shoot, I didn't think of that. Gotta think of something quick... hmm... oh! "I could, but then we would have to spend pointless hours going over past meetings and prior agenda points, just to get me caught up!" Celestia smiles and walks up to me as she says, "Luna, you know I think the world of you, but I don't think you’re ready to-" "I am more than ready for something as simple as a creature disturbance, sister. I need to start getting more involved with the kingdom, you said so yourself. This is perfect: it's simple, public, and if anything does go wrong, I'll have your student to assist me. What’s the worst that could happen?" Please say yes. Please, please, please, please- "Hmm, well... I am busy... and Twilight would be there to help... okay, I'll let you take care of thi—" "YES! Thank you so much!" I leap up and give her a big hug before running towards a nearby window. I’m about to leap out, when Celestia's magic brings me back into the room. "I think your carriage will be better than flying all the way to Ponyville. Don't you think?" she asks with a smile. "Oh, right..." I say with a light blush. She levitates me over to her and sets me down so we’re face-to-face. "Luna... just, please be careful, okay? I can't put my hoof on why, but I've got a bad feeling about this," she says with a worried look. I look up to her and give her a confident smile before saying, "Don't worry Tia. I'll go, take care of things, and be back before you know it." With that said, I walk out of the chamber and head straight to the carriages. The ride to Ponyville takes far too long, mainly because I’m far too excited. Not to mention we had to stop so I could raise the moon. Once Ponyville is in view, I turn to the guards flying the carriage and ask, "Can you please bring me to Miss Sparkle’s home?" "Of course, princess," says the one on the left. After a few moments, we land in front of her tree home and I make my way to the door. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK After a few seconds, the door opens up to show Spike trying to wipe some frosting off his face with a napkin. "I'm sorry, but the lib—PRINCESS LUNA! Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't see you... uh, I was just... reading a book... and uh... please don't tell Twilight I ate all the cupcakes!" I give a small chuckle before saying, "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. I'm here to help Twilight with her... creature problem. Can you tell me where she is?" Before he can say a word, I hear hoofsteps from behind, followed by a gasp and shuffling. I turn around to see Twilight and her friends Applejack and Fluttershy bowing, looking tired and out of breath. "Ah, just the pony I wanted to see. So, I hear you are having some creature troubles. I am here to help. Where is this creature you wish to identify?" I ask as I approach them. The three of them sit up and look nervously to one another. After an awkward moment of silence, Twilight says, "Well, you see... the thing is... we kind of don't know where he is." "What do you mean? Didn’t you capture him and tie him down?" I ask as I look from guilty face to guilty face. "Well, he broke free and ran away," Applejack tells me. "Couldn't you stop him with your magic? Or at least find him with it?" "Well, when I ran into him in town, he blinded me by throwing dirt into my eyes. And once he was gone I couldn't scry him, so we have no clue where he is," Twilight admits, bowing her head slightly. "Do you have anything of his that I could use?" "He did drop this," says Fluttershy as she pulls out a small piece of metal. I take it with my magic and look it over. I've never seen anything like before. It’s so... mechanical. It seems to be made for something with paws or claws to operate. "Do you know what this is used for?" I ask, to which they all shake their heads. I charge my magic for the location spell while looking it over. "What are you doing Princess Luna?" Fluttershy asks. "I'm going to use a location spell to find him." "But it won't work," says Twilight. "I tried it already. He's somehow un-searchable by my magic." "I figured you would try to find him this way. But I think I have a loophole that will help us." I begin to use the spell to search out around the area. The spell works by taking an energy reading from one object, and matching it with a reading somewhere else. Once I lock on to the energy field around the object I begin to read all the energy fields in the surrounding area. As predicted, it's nowhere to be found. I continue my search, but instead of trying to find his energy field, I look for a negative field. When somepony blocks their energy, it creates a negative field of their energy, making them nearly impossible to track if one were to look for the energy. After a few moments of looking, I think I find him over in the residential area of Ponyville. I levitate the object over to Twilight and turn towards his direction. "Okay, I think I've got him. Now, I want all of you to wait here until I return." "Are you sure that's a good idea, Princess Luna?" asks one of the guards. "I'm more than capable of handling something like this on my own. Plus, I don't want to overwhelm him with too many ponies showing up next to him. I'll only be a few moments." With that said, I flap my wings a couple of times before taking off towards his location. The flight there was fairly quick; nothing out of the ordinary below. I find the location of the negative field and land on the roof of a one-story house. I take a moment to look around, to see if he has started to run out of the house or if he's still inside- "So, you found me." "Ahh!" I yell as I fall over, roll down the side of the roof, and fall straight to the ground, landing on my stomach. As I begin to recover, I hear a soft thud in front of me and look up to see a- "Are you Okay?" he asks while standing over me, offering his left hand. I quickly stand up and take a few steps back to size him up. He stands well over six feet tall, with light-tan skin, short black hair, and chocolate brown eyes. He's wearing what seems to be black pants and blackened metal strapped around his legs and arms. His chest area is revealed, showing his muscular body. Underneath the forearm of his left arm seems to be his cutie mark, but it’s covered by his armor. What he does next surprises me: he pulls out something from his back, drops to his knees, and presents it to me. "I surrender," he says, with a single tear rolling down the side of his face. Perspective: Miles Earlier As I hit the ground, I do a quick roll forward and sprint away as fast as possible. I can't face judgement now; I need to get to Topaz; I need to make sure my friends are okay. I look back to see that they haven't started chasing me yet, so I charge up my magic and slam my hands onto my chest, sending white flames all over myself. A quick energy reversal spell should hide me for a while, or at least give me a good head start. I come to a stop when I see a small town up ahead. The buildings are mostly one or two stories tall, and are all made with the same materials, which I don’t recognize. The roofs seem to be made of long strands of yellow material, while the walls seem to be made of... brown metal? I look back and see the three from earlier running out of the building and heading to the window I jumped out of. I could run and hide in the town, but I run the risk of being spotted again. But hiding in the town would give me a better chance of getting away... so, the town it is. I make my way to the closest building and climb up to the roof to get a good view of the town. The buildings are built very close to one another. In the center of the town is a large, circular, three-story building. There are four major roads that cross with this building and head to various places. The one to my right is the closest to me, and curves away towards the red building I was just in; the one to my left goes straight towards the area with the dark columns that I awoke in; the road above that one heads towards a mountain that has some structure attached to the side of it; and the remaining road goes off into some open area with gentle hills rolling away. "There he is!" I look back and see Twilight running towards me. I turn and begin running down the roof, only to stop when she flashes in front of me. Before she can do anything, though, I lunge off the roof and continue my run down the dirt road. After a few seconds, she flashes in front of me again, only to have me jump over her and continue on. I run for a bit longer until I feel myself get engulfed in an aura field. I look back at Twilight as she starts levitating me back to her. I quickly grab a handful of dirt and throw it at her face, blinding her instantly and breaking her concentration. Once I drop to the ground, I quickly run a bit further before turning down between two buildings and cutting behind them. The backs of each building are fenced off from one another, and lead to the center of the town- "‘Ah gotcha now!" I look to the left to see Applejack running towards me, leaping over fence after fence along the way. I quickly turn to the right and run away from her. The fences are barely a meter tall, so they're easy to jump over while running. After a while, I look back to see Applejack keeping pace with me. What is she planning? She could’ve easily caught up by now... When I look forward, Twilight appears before me, forcing me to turn left down an alley. I stop immediately when I see Fluttershy blocking the exit. Twilight and Applejack quickly run up behind me, blocking the entrance. "There's nowhere left to go, Miles. Just come back to the farm with us quietly, okay?" says Twilight. "Sorry, can't do that." I turn to Fluttershy and walk towards her. "U-um, p-please stop?" she asks weakly. I continue approaching her. "You stay away from her, ya hear?!" yells Applejack from behind. I continue to approach. "U-uh, p-please... um..." I'm now standing directly in front of her. "Please move," I say calmly. "O-okay." I can hear some groans coming from down the alley as we walk around each other, never looking away from one another. Once I'm past her, I quickly exit the alley to the right. The building I'm next to has an open window, so I jump through and hide beneath it. I can hear the three of them running by, arguing with one another. "Why would you just move for him, Fluttershy?" asks Twilight. "Well... he did say please..." I wait until their footsteps fade away before looking around the room. It's a simple room, with cream yellow walls, and a green couch with a small table in front of it in the center. To my left is a stairway, and further down is a doorway that leads to another room. On the wall to my right is a fireplace with what looks like a calendar pinned up. I should go upstairs, get to the roof, and get out of here, but I keep thinking about that calendar. After several minutes of debating with myself, I finally just go to it and look it over. The text looks like glyphs of various pony-related objects, but the numbers are the same. Half of the days are crossed off; apparently today is the 24th... That doesn't seem right. I take the calendar down and look at the front. After reading it over, I drop it... "4132... no... no, that can’t be right!" I begin to panic. I hear some shuffling upstairs and jump back out the window. Once out, I run down the road. That can't be right; ponies probably use a different time system. Yeah, that's probably it... I hope... As I'm running, I notice that the dome - or whatever is up there - is starting to change colors. Earlier it was bright blue, with a massive golden orb. Now it's a dark blue with golden rays coming from the distance. I decide to climb up a building and rest for a while. I haven't seen my pursuers for a while, so after a five minute break, I'll head out. I wake up later and look at the clock on my phone: 7:30. Dammit, I went to sleep for an hour... Oh well. At least no one found me. I look up and - I don't believe my eyes! The dom—area above, has turned black and is covered in millions of little white lights in every direction. In the center hangs a massive orb that glows white. This is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen! I can't wait to tell Dolum and the others about... oh, right. It can't be the future. I refuse to believe that everyone I’ve ever known has died. But, I can't shake the feeling that it’s true; that I'll never see my friends again; that I left them behind and wasn't there for them when they needed me the most; that I failed them- My train of thought is interrupted when a pony lands next to me. She fits the description of what a pony should be: fairly tall, wings, horn, and energy hair. She’s dark blue, and her backside has a black spot with a white crescent. I look into her eyes, and... they are an amazing light teal color. "So, you found me," I say calmly as I lay back. "Ahh!" She falls over and rolls off the building. I quickly go after her and leap off the roof. I land in front of her and offer her a hand. "Are you okay?" I ask as she gets up and backs away while staring at me. Hmm... Maybe I should just surrender. It would let me meet this princess and find out if it's really the year that calendar says it is. But if I do that... what if it's wrong? They'll kill me! ... But if it is the future, do I want to live? Well, the best I can hope for is that they hear my side of the story and just imprison me for a while. I reach for my revolver... and it's missing! Must have fallen out when I was on the run. I pull out my rifle and drop to my knees. I present it to her, hoping I'm not making the biggest mistake of my life... and hopefully this isn't the end of my life. "I surrender."
Chapter 9 Judgement Chapter 9 Judgement I must have been kneeling there for ten minutes before Luna finally took my rifle. Once she does, I put my wrists side-by-side and wait. "Um... what are you doing?" she asks. "Aren't you going to arrest me?" "Why would I do that?" I'm a little stunned by this. Does she really not know? ...Well, if it's been three-thousand years, I guess they would forget. "Well, I am your prisoner." She looks me over a bit before magically locking my wrists together. She then walks around me, inspecting me from all sides. She stops in front of me and brings her hoof to my face. I try to avoid it, but she eventually does touch me, and I can feel her wipe a tear away. When the fuck did that get there? "Are you alright?" she asks as she tries to get a better look at my face. "Well, I did just get captured," I joke, "but..." "Yes?" "Can you tell me the date, real quick?" She looks a little confused, but answers anyway. "It's August 24th, 4132. Why do you-" "And how do ponies keep track of years?" Please don't say ‘celestial calendar.’ Please... "Well, we use the celestial calendar to-" "SON OF A BITCH!" She looks a little taken aback by my outburst, but I don't care. Three-thousand years! Three-thousand fucking years; I'm in the fucking future! I've lost everything...! Everyone I’ve ever known is dead... I'm- "A-are you OK?" "No! I'm not!" I snap. "I've just lost everything! I'm alone; I have no idea where I am; nothing here makes any sense...! *sigh* I just want to go home..." I drop my head and wallow in my sorrow. This is too much to take in right now. I don't know how to process this - how could it be the future? Did we win? Is Topaz Falls even there anymore? What the fuck is on my shoulder? I look over to see that the pony is sitting by my side, with her wing stretched across my back. She's looking at me with compassionate eyes. I look away and break the hold by standing. I don't want pity - I want answers. "Why don't we get going? There are many things I would like to ask." I nod and follow her down the road. As we walk, I look back up to the lights above. I don't know what it is about them, but they seem to take the edge off my pain. Especially the massive one, there. It's like they're all telling me that everything is going to be OK. It doesn't make much sense; though nothing else seems to either, for that matter. "What are you looking at?" she asks as she looks up with me. "I don't know... the lights, I guess." "What lights?" "Those ones," I say while bringing my bound hands up to point them out. She looks up, then back to me. "Do you mean the stars?" "Is that what they are?" "You don't know what the stars are?" I shake my head. “What about the moon? Do you know what that is?" "Is it that big yellow orb, from earlier?" I ask, getting her to giggle. "No, that would be the sun. That's the moon," she says as she points up to the big white orb above us. "Hmm..." I like the moon. It's beautiful, yet ominous. As we continue our walk, I keep my gaze on the moon and stars; if I'm going to face some form of judgment, I want my last moments to be of something serene. I look down and see that we’re approaching one of the columns. This one is at least four stories tall, with windows that have a warm, yellow light glowing from within. To the left of the column is a pretty badass-looking carriage. It's all black, set fairly low, and the corners come to a point. The front has a decal of a light-blue circle with a dark blue line going through it. There are two winged ponies waiting in front of the door to the column. They’re dark grey, have dark yellow eyes, and have dark blue metallic armor covering their bodies. Their wings also seem to be dark blue, and are membranous instead of feathered like the others. One is talking to the other - who has the barrel of my revolver in his mouth! "What the fuck are you doing?!" I yell, and sprint towards them. As I approach, they look up in astonishment, dropping the revolver before anything regrettable can happen. I slide to my knees and pick up the gun. I try to unload it, but am promptly tackled to the ground by the two. They pin me so that I'm lying on my stomach while they hold my arms behind me. "Hold it right there," says one of them. "What should we do with him, Princess Luna?" So this is the princess Twilight mentioned earlier. She walks up to me and looks down at me with a shocked expression. "What was that all about?" "I was just trying to keep stupid here from killing himself." She looks a little shocked by this, but quickly composes herself and motions to the two. As they get off, I feel her magic dissipate from my wrists, so I bring my hands forward to stand up. "How exactly were they going to kill themselves?" she asks. I ignore her, pop the cylinder out of the pistol, and drop the ammo into my hand. Two live rounds, four casings. I pocket these and holster the gun before turning to Luna. "It’s a weapon. That's all you need to know." Something smacks the back of my left knee, making me drop to the ground. I look back to see one of the winged ponies behind me re-sheathing a sword, looking really pissed. "Learn your place, you disrespectful foal." What's a ‘foal’? As I stand, Luna quickly steps in-between the two of us. "Lieutenant, there is no need for violence, so I would ask for you to control yourself." "Of course, Princess." "And as for you," she says while turning to me, “being my prisoner, I expect better manners from you. Am I clear?" Is she serious? By the look she's giving me, I’m guessing that she is. Great. I save him from himself, and I'm the bad guy. I nod to her and cross my arms. "Well...?" "‘Well,’ what?" "Aren't you going to shake on it?" she asks. Really? I look down to the one in front of me and reluctantly stick my hand out. He looks to Luna before reaching out with his wing. I take it and do a quick shake before letting go. "That's better. Now let's go inside and continue our discussion with the others." I follow her into the column, with the other two behind me. The room we enter is circular in shape. Carved into the walls are bookshelves that are filled with various books and scrolls. In the center of the room is a table that has a carving of a pony's head, minus the horn. A staircase starts on my right, and goes around the room to the next floor. The three girls from earlier are crowded around a small stand on the right side of the room, reading from a book that’s sitting on it. "Ladies," Luna says, gaining their attention, "I have returned with our friend here. If you don't mind, I would like to begin asking questions." "Of course, Princess. Let me get some cushions," says Twilight as she runs upstairs. I walk around the room, examining the books. They're all in the same hieroglyphic text as the calendar, so I can’t read any of them. "Oh, one more thing, Mr. ...," Luna leads as she faces me. "Miles." "Right. Miles, would you turn in that weapon as well?" Damn. I thought I could hold onto this one, just in case. I pull it out and hand it to her. She picks it up with her magic and levitates it to one of the winged guards, who takes it and holds it in his mouth - dumbass. "Um... Miles?" I look down to see that Fluttershy has approached me. She's hiding her face with her hair and is scratching the floor with her foreleg. "Yes?" "I, um... well, I was... that is, I wanted to... say I'm sorry." "Sorry for what?" "I didn't mean to chase you. I thought you were a creature from the forest, so I wanted to take care of you. It was just awful the way I chased you-" "Don't worry about it," I say, cutting her off. "It was actually pretty brave of you to just approach something you've never seen before." "Oh, but I’m not brave... I just love taking care of creatures. It's my special talent, after all." "You could have fooled me." She gives me a smile before walking over to Applejack. Twilight suddenly flashes into the room with four cushions. "Sorry, but I don't have enough for everypony." Did she just say every'pony?’ I continue walking around the room as they get situated, until I get to a window. There's a small space in front of it, which I take a seat in so that I can continue to stare at the stars. Someone coughs from the room, gaining my attention. I look over to see the four of them lying on large red cushions, facing me. "Are you ready?" asks Luna. "As I'll ever be," I say as I lean against the window and look back out to the sky. "Great! So let's start. First off, what are you?" "I'm a human." As soon as I say this, Twilight takes note of it on a scroll that's lying in front of her. "And where do humans come from?" "Terradisia." "Hmm... would that be on ‘Terra?’" "Yeah... why?" "‘Cause I haven't heard that term for some time. Everypony uses ‘Earth’ instead, nowadays. Now wh—" "I have a few questions I'd like to ask." I interrupt. She looks at me for a second before nodding. "What are you? I know you’re a pony," I say while pointing to Luna, "but what are you three?" They all look to each other in confusion. "We’re all ponies," says Twilight. "I’m a unicorn pony, Fluttershy is a pegasus pony, Applejack is an earth pony, and Princess Luna is an alicorn." Hmm... I didn't know ponies came in different species. "How do you only know about alicorns?" "I met some once. Good peo—er, ponies. They were representing all ponykind during some important negotiations, so I assumed that all ponies looked like that." Luna's face lights up at this. "Did you happen to get their names, by any chance?" "Yeah, Tempus and Spatium. Why?" She recoils as if she's about to faint. "U-uh, nothing. I was... just curious. So..." "Why did ya have all those weapons?" asks Applejack. I look over to Luna. She seems deep in thought. I wonder if she knew them... No, they lived over three-thousand years ago; there's no way she would’ve know them personally. "Well, I'm a soldier - those are my weapons. By the way, when can I get them back?" Everyone, except the guards, tenses up at this. "Well, Miles, you can get them back when you prove to me that you will cause no harm to anypony," says Luna, who still looks stunned. "OK, and how can I prove that?" Luna looks away, deep in thought. She then leans over to Twilight and whispers something to her. Twilight's face goes from curiosity to shock. She turns to Luna and whispers something back to her. This goes on for a while, until they both look back at me. "Well Miles, I've decided your fate," she says as she stands up and approaches me. Well, here it comes. "You will live here in Ponyville, under the supervision of Twilight Sparkle. She will be the one to determine whether you are a threat to the ponies of Equestria or not. I am also stationing a royal guard to follow you around. He will act as your liaison to Equestria. I will visit from time to time to check on you until you are deemed harmless to ponykind, at which time you will be set free. You will also work at Sweet Apple Acres until you have repaid your debt for the damages caused. Do you have any questions?" This... can't be right. Last I checked, I was wanted for murder! Now... now I just have to not hurt anyone and do some manual labor! Maybe she doesn't know... That's probably for the best. At least now I can have some time to think about what I'm going to do next. I look up at Luna and give her a deep nod. She gives me a smile and walks to one of the guards. I look over to Twilight and find that she's gone, as well as Applejack and Fluttershy. Luna returns with a glass chest that holds all of my weapons. The chest is a meter wide, and about half as tall and thick. She sets it down against the wall and puts her horn against it. After some bright glowing, she looks back to me. "I've magically sealed this chest shut. Only I, and a few others I've chosen, can open it, and I will only open it when I deem you’re ready." When she finishes, the guard from earlier approaches the two of us. "This will be your liaison, Lieutenant Storm Cloud." Of course he will be. I look down at him and give a short nod, which he snorts to in response. Well, at least he doesn't hate me. "Now, unless you have any questions, I will take my leave." Once she steps out of the building, she engulfs the entire thing in her aura field. I look back to Storm Cloud and ask, "Know what that was about?" which he snorts to. "Is that all you do?" "Why do you keep talking?" he asks in a deep voice; not quite as deep as Big Mac’s, but still deeper than mine. Twilight and the others come running down the stairs and stop by the door. "D-did she leave already?" asks Fluttershy. "You just missed her." They all look to one another before doing a group sigh. "Welp, yer stuck with’m now," says Applejack to Twilight. "Yeah, I know. But I couldn't tell her ‘no,’" replies Twilight, dropping her head and ears. "You know I'm right here, right? I can hear everything you’re saying." Twilight turns to me, gives another sigh, and heads to the stairs. "Just follow me, Miles, and I'll show you to your room." Storm Cloud and I follow her up the stairs to an open room that has a second floor above it, making one big room. The walls are covered in books, like the room prior, but the second story also has a bed that has a blue blanket with a yellow pattern on it. Twilight continues across the room to another set of stairs that winds down. These stairs go down one story and end at a door. When we reach the door, Twilight turns around to face me while opening it magically, revealing yet another set of stairs. "There are two cots down there for the two of you. If you read any of the books, just please remember to put them back in the right spots. There's also a bathroom down there that you can use. Breakfast should be ready at eight tomorrow, so if you want to eat, that's when it'll be. If you need anything else, my room is up the stairs. Any questions?" I shake my head. "Good. Now if you don't mind, it's one in the morning, and I would like to get some sleep," she says bitterly as she marches up the stairs. I look to Storm Cloud, who only shrugs and walks through the door. The stairs curve down a story before revealing another round room. This one has shelving similar to the others, and a strange-looking computer tower pushed to the left side. In the center are two twin-size cots, one with a blue blanket and one with a pink blanket. Storm Cloud looks over to me, then flies straight down and lands on the blue cot. Flying fucking asshole. I walk down the stairs and approach the pink cot. "Joke’s on you - I like the pink one," I say as I sit on it and begin removing my armor. "That doesn't surprise me," he replies. What a dick. I look back at him and realize he looks completely different. He's now a real light grey, with bushy black hair. His eyes are light blue and his wings are back to what they should be. His mark is a black clump that is sending two yellow bolts down. Before I can ask about the change, he gets under the blanket and turns away from me. I lay my armor under the cot and lie down. Today has been too much, yet it doesn't feel as wrong as it should. I'm sad, but at the same time, I feel... content. I close my eyes and think back to everything that has happened. The first thing to come to mind is that ‘moon’... that beautiful moon.
Chapter 10 Party Time Chapter 10 Party Time I'm running down a long grey hall. The walls seem to go up forever, and all I can hear are the echoes of my footsteps. I can see my friends down at the end, walking towards a bright white light. I try to call out for them, but my voice is silent. No matter how hard I scream for them, I can't make a single sound. The more I run, the longer the hall seems to grow, which only makes me want to run faster. I look back to see the hall behind me is being consumed in a black abyss that's coming towards me. When I look back to my friends, my face is right in Twilight's. "MILES!" I fall back into the dark abyss. I fall and fall and fall and scream my inaudible screams as the darkness surrounds me. I jolt awake and immediately slam my face into something, making me lie back down. "Ow! What was that for?!" I look over to see Twilight on the floor, rubbing her face. Storm Cloud walks over and helps her up. "Why were you hovering over me like that?" I ask as I rub my face. "You were having a nightmare, so she was trying to wake you up," Storm explains. I groan as I sit up. What the fuck...? "What were you dreaming about?" Twilight asks. "Nothing..." "Miles, you looked really worried and scared. What happened?" I get up and start walking towards the restroom, ignoring the question. "Miles?" I glance back, then open the door and walk in, closing it behind me. The bathroom is small, containing a sink to my left with a mirror on the wall behind it, a single toilet, and a tub to my right. It's a brown tub that I assume is the shower, but its shape doesn't seem suitable for a person like me. I turn to the sink and run the water, splashing it on my face. I turn the water off and and stare at myself in the mirror. What was all that about...? KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK "Miles," Storm Cloud’s voice says from behind the door, "when you’re done in there, come upstairs and have some breakfast." I continue looking into my reflection as he walks away. What am I going to do now? Should I go back to Topaz Falls? Is it even there anymore? What about the other cities? Quartz Crest, Jasper, New Garnet; were they hit? Or should I stay here - try and start a new life here among these ponies? What would I do? I shake my head and leave the restroom. I can't deal with this until I'm set free, so I'm not going to worry about it until then I walk all the way up the stairs, through Twilight's room, and down the next set of stairs to the first room. I stop at the bottom and take a look around. Oh, there's a door to my right! How did I miss that? I walk to the door and open it. Inside, Twilight and Storm Cloud are eating at a table. Behind them is a counter that goes all along the wall. To my left is a refrigerator, and to my right is a set of pantries. Storm Cloud is back in his armor and is focusing on eating, while Twilight is reading a book. I go to the empty seat on the other side of the table and sit down. Twilight sets her book down and looks over to me. She then levitates a plate over and sets it in front of me. There are two flat brown disks covered in some sort of sauce on the plate. I look over to Twilight and ask, "What is this?" "Breakfast," Storm Cloud says flatly. "I got that part. I mean, what is it?" I say, shooting a glare towards Storm. "They're pancakes. You mean to tell me that you've never had pancakes before?" asks Twilight. "I've never even heard of them. What are they made of?" I ask as I poke at them with a fork. "Well, you take flour, milk, and eggs, mix them together, and fry them on a pan," Twilight explains as she looks back to her book. "Hmm... okay, next, what are ‘flour’, ‘milk’, and ‘eggs’?" Twilight looks at me in disbelief. From the side of the room, I hear some laughing. I look over and see a small, purple, scaly creature rolling on the floor in front of a stove that's to the right of the fridge. "Ah man, Twilight, where did you dig this guy up?" he says as he squirms around on the floor, holding his sides. "Spike, calm down and come have some breakfast." He stands up and takes his plate from the stove. He walks over and takes the seat in between Storm Cloud and I, wiping tears from his eyes. "What did you eat before coming here, rocks?" he says as he sets his plate down - it's filled with sapphires. Before I can ask, he takes the plate and slides them all into his mouth. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" I yell as I try to stop him, making everyone jump from my outburst. "What?" he says with his mouth full. "I'm just eating." "But those were sapphires!" He's looking at me like I'm crazy. I look to everyone else, and they’re giving the same look. "Well, he is a dragon," Twilight says matter-of-factly. "What the fuck is a ‘dragon?’" I ask as I sit back down. "What does ‘fuck’ mean?" asks Spike as he chew the sapphires. I almost don't register what he said as I watch he devour thousands of credits worth of precious gems. "Yeah, I've been meaning to ask you the same thing," says Twilight. "Oh sweet Barbra..." How could they not know what curse words are? I look around, and they all look equally confused. Before anyone can say anything, the alarm on my phone goes off. It’s just an escalating, beeping tone, but the others are freaking out from it. "What is that sound?!" asks Storm Cloud as he looks around the room. "I don't know!" replies Twilight. I casually pull my phone out and turn off the alarm. I slide it back into my pocket and look around at the three. HA! They're freaking out. I ignore them and begin eating the pancakes. I use the side of the fork to cut a chunk off and take a bite. This... is the tastiest thing I have ever had! It's sweet and spongy and makes my mouth water the instant it makes contact. I devour the rest in a matter of seconds. I look at the plate to see some of the syrup left over, so I pick it up and lick the remnants off. Once done, I set the plate down and look around to see everyone is staring at me again. "Hungry?" asks Storm Cloud, getting giggles from the other two. "Sorry,” I say while wiping my face off with a napkin, "but I've never had anything like that before-" "OH TWIIII-LIIIIGHT!" yells a cheerful voice from the front room. Suddenly, a pink pony bursts through the kitchen doorway, but then stops when she sees me. She's one of those ‘earth ponies,’ with a pink body, fluffy pink hair, blue eyes, and a mark that consists of two blue balloons and one yellow one. She takes a long look at me before sucking in a large gasp and springing into the air. The second she lands, she immediately runs out the door. "Who was that?" I ask nervously. "That would be Pinkie Pie," says Twilight as she returns to her book. "Did I scare her?" "I doubt it. She probably went to go plan you a welcome-to-Ponyville party." "Oh, okay... WAIT, WHAT?!" I run out of the kitchen and go to chase her down. She left the door open, so I run through it, only to have a blue energy field appear and send me flying back into the room. My head slams against the wall and I pass out. When I regain consciousness, I find myself in my cot. I sit up and begin getting out of bed, when the sound of foo—er, hoofsteps coming down the stairs catches my attention. I look up to see Twilight and Pinkie Pie walking down. "Hey there, sleepy head! How ya feelin’?" asks Pinkie Pie in a peppy voice. "Well, I feel like I went twelve rounds with a brick wall - and lost - but other than that, fine, I guess." As I stand up, I feel slightly disoriented. I take a moment to collect myself before meeting them at the bottom of the stairs. "I'm Miles," I say as I stick my hand out for a handshake. When she takes my hand, I feel jolts of electricity go through my arm. Luckily for me, my magic reduces it to less than a numb tingle. Her smile drops and she takes a look at her hoof, then grabs it with her other hoof. She jumps in the air as the electricity runs through her body. "Hey! Why didn't it shock you?" she asks as she takes the buzzer off her hoof. "It did. It just didn't hurt." Pinkie Pie looks a little disappointed by this - Twilight looks intrigued - but she immediately cheers back up and begins hopping in place. "Miles, you need to come with me and Twilight right now!" Before I can say anything, she turns and runs back up the stairs at an unnatural speed. I turn to Twilight, who only offers a timid smile before running after her friend. With a sigh, I follow suit. I make it to the front room, and everything is dark. I think I can hear whispers. Suddenly, the lights flash on and I’m surrounded by dozens of ponies. "SURPRISE!" they yell, followed by one more surprise shouted from Pinkie Pie. "AAUGH!" I turn and run back up the stairs as fast as humanly possible. Why did it have to be a party?! Of all the possible things, they throw a party! I stop at the second door in Twilight's room and think for a second. They’ll probably look for me down there. I look around the room and spot a window next to Twilight's bed. That'll have to work. I run up, slide the window open and try to jump out, only to be thrown back in by the same blue energy from before. Lucky for me, Twilight's bed catches me this time. "Son of a bitch, what was that?!" I ask as I get back up. "Miles!" I turn to see Twilight standing at the bottom of the stairs. "What was that all about?" "You tell me! Why were there so many people down there?!" I yell as I jump behind the bed. "It’s your welcome-to-Ponyville party. Pinkie Pie threw it for you, and you really upset her when you ran away." "First off, I didn't ask for a party! If you had asked, you would have found out that I hate parties! Secondly, I thought that you all thought I was some sort of ‘threat to ponies.’" "That's up to me to decide. And I decided that you would be fine for one night. But, why do you hate parties?" She asks as she approaches the bed. "I-I just don't like them. Of all the parties I've ever been to, there's only been one I liked, and it only had ten people in it. Please don't make me do this - please!" Oh please, oh please, oh please don't make me go. "Well... just stay here one minute." She turns and goes back down the stairs. I'm beginning to panic here. I sit in the corner of the room and try to get a hold of myself. I've never known why, but the thought of parties throws me off the edge. It was always something that I'd say I'd look into and then never did. "Miles?" Twilight calls out. I give myself a quick shake and go to the edge of the stairs. "Y-yeah?" I ask as I peek over the edge. "I’m sending everypony home, except for a few. I want you to at least meet my friends." Twilight explains. "Oh sweet Barbra... alright... I think I can handle a few ponies." "Okay, just give us a few minutes to get everypony out of here, then I'll call you down." I give her a small smile and a nod, and she returns the gesture before walking down stairs. I take this moment to collect my nerves. Hopefully, if I can make a good enough impression, I can get out of here sooner. Then... then... I distract myself from that thought by going back to the window. I wonder what kind of energy field I’m dealing with... I stick my hand through the window and- BZZZZZT "AAAH!" My hand is zapped. I pull it back and shake out the pain. Hmm... I wonder.... I reach my hand out slowly, and... BZZZT, ow. Less pain. Let’s try that again. BZZT, ow. Bzzt, ow. After the last attempt, I find the sweet spot. It's roughly six centimeters out of the window. At this distance, a gentle numbness surrounds my hand. "Miles, can you come down please?" Twilight calls out. Well, here goes nothing. I walk down the stairs and stop in the doorway to the front room. It’s littered with confetti and streamers; a few tables have been placed around the room with various treats and beverages. A giant sign is hanging on the wall above the main door. In the center are five ponies, lined up and facing me. I recognize the three on the right as Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie. The one directly to the left of them is a pegasus with a light-blue body, magenta eyes, and multi-colored hair - it goes red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and finally purple. Her mark is of a white clump shooting a bolt that’s colored like her hair. She stands with an impatient demeanor, like she has somewhere to go. The next pony is an all-white unicorn, with purple hair that has large curls in it, and three diamonds for a mark. "These are my friends: Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Applejack. Everypony, this is Miles." I give a small wave as they all stare at me with wonder in their eyes. An awkward silence falls over the room. I don't know what to say, what to do. Maybe just a ‘hello’, or a- "My, darling, you must tell me who made your outfit! It’s simply stunning," Rarity says as she begins walking around me. "So bold, yet so refined. OH! And I simply love the accessories." "Uh... thank you? My uniform was made by T.A.S. It’s standard issue for my rank." I tell her as she inspects the remains of my uniform. I can't tell if she's genuinely interested in them or just trying to break the ice. "And what rank would that be?" asks Storm Cloud from a seat behind one of the tables. "Lieutenant. First battalion, Spartan regiment." I look back and see Rainbow Dash fly straight into my face. "So what’s the deal with ruining Pinkie Pie’s party?!" Before I can answer, Applejack pulls her down to the ground by biting her tail. "Sorry bout this one. She can be a bit forward," Applejack says while giving Rainbow Dash a mean look, making her look away and cross her forelegs. "Well, to put it simply," I say as I walk from table to table, “I don't like parties-" "What?!" yells Pinkie Pie. "How could you not like parties?! Parties are super-duper ultra-awesome fun!" I look back at her and give a small shrug. "Sorry, but me and parties don't mix." I stop at the second table when I notice something that catches my eye. I pick up a single red rose and look it over. Pinkie Pie suddenly appears next to me, hopping in place. "Go on, try one!" "One what?" She picks up one of the roses and bites off the flower, chewing it loudly. I look at her in a state of shock. "What? It’s good!" she says as she chews aloud. "Okay, oaky, that's the last straw. First the pancakes, then the sapphires, and now you’re telling me that you eat flowers?! Why would you eat something so precious?!" Again, everyone in the room is looking at me like I'm the crazy one. "Miles," Twilight says, "it's clear there are some... cultural differences. Could we maybe quiz you on some things so we can better understand one another?" I'm still in shock from Pinkie eating the flower, but find a nearby seat and slump into it, burying my face in my hands. "*sigh* Alright, but understand that even though I may be your prisoner, I can’t answer all your questions." I guess they all accept this, because they come to the table and take seats. "So, how're we gonna do this?" I ask as I lift my head from my hands. "Well, I'm sure everypony has questions, so how about we go in a circle? One question per pony?" Twilight suggests. "OH! Me first, me first, please!" yells Pinkie Pie as she waves her hoof in the air. “Why don't you like parties?" "*sigh* I'm not entirely sure, to be honest. But ever since I was little, whenever someone would say ‘party,’ my heart would race and I would get all jumpy." This seems to satisfy her. Next is either Fluttershy or Applejack. "What was that explosion from yesterday?" asks Applejack. "A frag grenade," I state simply. "What's a ‘frag grenade?’" she asks. "I thought we were doing one question per person." I ask Twilight, who rolls her eyes. "Alright, what's a ‘frag grenade?’" asks Twilight, who’s next in line. "It's a weapon." This seems to get Storm Cloud’s attention, because as soon as I say it, he makes a beeline for me. "You wouldn't happen to have any more of those on you, would you?" Shit. I forgot about those when I surrendered. I smile as I pull out the three remaining grenades and set them on the table. "Sorry about that. I forgot I had them." He goes to bite them, but I stop him by pushing his face away. "Don't put the blue ones in your mouth!" "Why?" "Well... they are... they burn when exposed to flesh." This seems to set everyone on edge. Storm Cloud looks down at the two arcane grenades, then back to Twilight. "Would you please levitate these to the weapon chest, Miss Sparkle?" She nods and does so. The chest opens up and closes as she sets them down inside. "Okay, now that that’s done with, it's your turn, Miles," Twilight says to me. I think for a second, and something that's been bothering me comes to mind. "What are those columns out by your place, Fluttershy?" She looks confused by my question. "You know, those tall things with the green things covering them. There are hundreds of them by your place. And even more by Applejack's. We’re in one right now!" "Um... you mean... trees?" Fluttershy asks quietly. "‘Trees’? Huh..." "Wait, wait, wait. You don't know what a tree is, but you know what a flower is?! How does that work?!" Rainbow Dash asks. "Well, where I come from, we don't have anything like them. We only have flowers because we make them. And even then, they’re extremely rare." "Okay, my turn. How-" Rainbow starts. "You already asked a question," I interrupt. "Rarity is next." Rainbow Dash pouts a little but doesn't say anything. "Is this all of your uniform? It seems a little incomplete..." She asks, still inspecting my pants. "Actually, I'm missing my shirt, as well as all of my armor." She thinks about this deeply, but then turns to Fluttershy. "So, what plants do you know about? If you don't mind my asking," Fluttershy asks timidly. "Well, as of right now, trees and a couple flowers." The room falls silent over this. The girls keep looking to one another, while Storm Cloud is back in his seat, shaking his head. "Hey! Don't I get a question?" asks Spike as he enters from the kitchen, wearing an apron with pink hearts. "Sure, Spike… but on one condition: please take off that apron." He looks down and pulls the apron off and storms back into kitchen. Everyone else gives a small chuckle. He comes back and pulls up a seat next to Rarity, who rubs the side of her face against his. "How old are you?" he asks. "Well, I'm six." This gets the attention of everyone, and they stare at me in disbelief. Ha, I love doing this. "Not really. I'm actually twenty-four. My birthday is on February twenty-ninth, so it only happens once every four years." This makes them all relax a little, which makes me relax. So they do have leap years here. Pinkie Pie is next. "Hmm... why don't you like parties?" "You already asked that, Pinkie." I drone back to her. "Oh yeah! Well then, can I throw you a party for your birthday? I promise to keep it small, and nothing bad will happen; I Pinkie Promise." As she says that, she crosses her chest, flaps her legs, and then sticks her hoof in her eye. What... the fuck? "We’ll see... Next!" Applejack looks me over a bit before asking, "Why are ya all muscly?" I look down at myself. My body is mostly muscle, so they’re very defined. "Well, being a soldier means having to be in top physical condition." "I've got a question," says Storm Cloud from the back. "You’re a soldier, so you belong to an army. Where is this army, and what are the chances of them coming for you?" I go to give another smart ass answer, but the thought of home makes me hesitate. "Well... I don't think they'll be looking for a soldier that went M.I.A. three-thousand years ago..." Everyone looks at me in disbelief. As my heart begins to fall, our attention is pulled away by a sound coming from outside. Rainbow Dash quickly flies out and comes back with a shocked expression. "STAMPEDE!" Author's Note I want to thank Cheesus for being the first person to use the Brony Point system. He got to choose Miles's Birthday and he picked an awesome day.
Chapter 11 Stampede Chapter 11 Stampede Screams echo from the town as everyone but Storm Cloud and I run out the door. I started to, but stopped when I remember the force field . "WHOA, close one. Hey, let me out!" I shout, but I’m unable to gain anyone’s attention. I look out and see massive beasts running through the town square. They’re a little less than two meters tall, and bulky - they look to weigh at least four-thousand kilograms, and are built thick. They walk on four skinny legs that end in hooves, have skinny tails, and have two horns that curve forward. I look to Storm Cloud and ask, "What are they?" He walks to the door and takes a look outside before saying, "They're cows and a couple of bulls - the big ones." I look back out to see the bulls. They’re roughly the same size as the cows, but are far more muscular. They also have larger horns, and seem to relish in destroying anything in their path. I look back to Storm Cloud, and see him casually walking back to his seat. "What the fuck are you doing?!" I ask as I follow after him "My orders are to watch over you and keep you from getting into trouble." He tells me as he heads back to the table. "Seriously?! The town is being destroyed, and you’re going to sit there?!" "I have my orders-" "Fuck your orders! Get your ass out there and help, dammit!" He turns and drops his ass into his seat, staring at me with the same, even stare as always. Fuck, this guy’s a dick! I turn my back to him and look back outside. The cows and bulls are rampaging through town: carts are being destroyed, houses are having walls damaged, and ponies are running around, trying to find cover that won't be easily destroyed - I've had enough. I turn and walk back to the stairs. Before I reach them, I look at Storm Cloud and flip him off. He just raises an eyebrow in response. I run up the stairs and look for a way out. I try the windows, but they don’t work. I could just blow a hole in the wall, but that would probably piss Twilight off. I walk up to the third story and look around. A balcony... well, it's worth a shot. I walk to the balcony door and swing it open. I take slow, even steps out, and prepare to be thrown back. When I reach the railing, I take one look back. No stopping now. I leap off the railing, and realize I'm an idiot. I hit the ground hard and roll forward. When I stop, I take a moment to check myself. Fuck yeah! No broken bones. I'm one lucky dumbass. I stand up and take in my surroundings. Bulls and cows are running in every direction, causing chaos all over the town. Twilight and her friends are down the road a bit, talking in a circle. I run down to see what they’re planning. "... and from there, we'll corral ‘em up and send ‘em home. Got it?" says Applejack to the group, getting nods from everyone. "Where do you need me?" I ask, getting wild looks. "Miles! How did you get out here?! I thought Princess Luna put a spell around the library so that you wouldn't be able to escape!" Twilight says as she glances back to her home. "Well, if she did, she missed a spot. But that doesn't matter right now. Right now, we need to get the town under control. I'm here to-" WHAM! A bull rams directly into my side and sends me flying into a nearby house. As I get back up, I notice the same bull charging straight for me again. I quickly dodge-roll to the right, evading his attack and sending him right into the house, making a massive hole. I get up and ready myself for him to charge again. After a few seconds, he climbs out of the hole and locks eyes with me. He gives a couple of snorts before charging straight for me once more. I slowly step back and wait for the right moment. When he drops his head to ram me, I jump up and plant a foot on his head. Pushing up and using the force of his rearing head, I jump clear over him and land back in my original spot. I turn back to face him, and get an idea - a dumb one, but an idea nonetheless. "Miles, get him ta’ follow ya this way!" yells Applejack from down the street. I can see they have a rope lying on the ground, ready to act as a tripwire. Her plan is better, so I nod to Applejack and turn my attention back to the bull. He's standing with his head down, glaring at me. He digs at the ground a couple of times with his left foreleg before charging me once again. This time, I run down the road towards the trap. He follows, quickly gaining on me. I look between the rope and the bull and realize that he'll get me before we reach the rope. Well, back to plan A. I slow down, letting him gain on me even faster. Once I'm within ramming distance, I stop and quickly hop as high as possible. I spread my legs apart and fall straight onto his back - and right onto my balls. I grab his horns and hold on for dear life as my groin hates me. My brain is telling me to start my plan, while the pain in my groin is telling me that I'm an idiot and I'll never have kids. I listen to the former of the two, and begin punching his windpipe with my right hand while holding on with my left. After a few blows, he stops running and begins throwing himself around in an attempt to get me off his back. I grab onto whatever I can get a hold of. After what feels like an eternity, he starts slowing down. His breathing is becoming more labored, and he's starting to foam a little at the mouth. I take advantage of this by beating his windpipe with my right fist again. With every punch, I can feel his breathing become more and more labored. After a few more he collapses, leaving me standing over him. "Yeah...! *pant* How the fuck ‘ya like me now..." I say as I step to his side, panting heavily. "...bitch? Got nothin’... on this...!" I grab my balls as I collapse on top of myself. Fucking fuck in the fuck! This is more painful than anything I've ever felt before! And I've had Fidus punch me down there before. After a few minutes of nursing my groin, I bring my head up and look around. All the cows and bulls have stopped running and are staring at me with fear all over their faces. From in the crowd, I can hear Applejack and Twilight trying to make their way to me. When I finally am able, I stand up and look back to the crowd. "I think you all should go home." Twilight tells the cows. Without a second thought, they all file down the road and leave as quickly as possible. Once the dust settles, the only occupants of the road are the girls, myself, and the unconscious bull. Everyone regroups around me. "Oh my gosh! Miles, are you okay?!" Twilight says as she runs up to me. I look down at my left side where I was hit and see massive black-and-blue bruise has taken over. I feel up the side and find a couple of the ribs broken. "Heh, I think I'll be fine-" "Fine?!" Twilight yells, "That bull nearly killed you! We're going to the hospital, right now!" "Yeah... I don't think I could fight you even if I wanted to. Lead the way." We begin walking away, when a sudden wave of pain takes over and makes me drop to the ground. "Miles! What's wrong?" "Argh - just some pain catching up with me. Just give me a sec." All the girls come around to take a look. I try again to get up, but drop back down. "Oh, please stay down!" Fluttershy says in a panicked voice. I look down at my wound and contemplate using my own magic to heal it. Eximius did teach me a ton of medical stuff, but with the pain making my movements shaky, I could really fuck myself up. "Miles, please lie down, darling. We'll get some help for you," Rarity says while looking around in a panic. "Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, fly to the hospital and get help. Applejack, Rarity, run into my house and get the first aid kit. Pinkie Pie and I will stay here and try to help Miles anyway we can," Twilight says in a commanding voice. Without saying a word, all of the girls go to their destinations. Pinkie Pie walks up to me and lies to my right. "How’s the pain?" she asks. I look at her and notice she looks different. Her poofy hair has dropped straight down, she’s a lighter shade of pink, and her overall demeanor seems... off. "Uh, well, sharp - I think I can feel some pressure building, so there’s likely some internal bleeding." Twilight walks over and takes a look at my side. "Well, I could try to set the bones, but I don't think that would be a good idea." She says as she examines me with her horn lit up. "And why would that be a bad idea?" I grunt back. "I don't know your physiology. Plus, I've never had to use the spell before; I could really make things worse." She looks really worried. "Hey, Twilight, come here real quick." She walks up to my left and looks down. I grab her left hoof and bring it to the right side of my chest. She tries to pull away, but I tighten my grip and hold her there. After a few moments, she stops fighting. I run her hoof across my ribs, making her blush furiously. "Heh, calm down; feel the bones. Get a good feel for their placement, spacing; see if you can feel the flexibility." I let go of her hoof as she begins feeling my sides and chest. She's looking intently at me for a bit, but is starting to go further down my chest than necessary. "Uh, Twilight?" "Right! I think I’ve got it, so why don't I just-" Before she can say any more, I move her hoof over to the other side of my chest and wince from the touch. She tries to pull away, but I force her to stay. "You need to compare the two. Start from a common point and count the ribs down. From there, compare them to the other side... And, try to be gentle." She gives me a smile and begins running her hoof up and down my bad ribs. I try my best to hide the pain, but when she runs over the broken end of one of the ribs, I let out a sharp gasp, making her pull away. "Sorry!" she says quickly. "Aww, don't be. Are you ready?" I ask as I steel myself for this. "I think so..." "Will it hurt?" asks Pinkie Pie. "Well... it may hurt a bit-" "It'll hurt like fuck," I interrupt. "She's taking a broken bone and forcing it back into place." I think I laid it on a bit too thick; Twilight is having a panic attack and Pinkie Pie is hyperventilating. "I can't do this! I can't do this! We'll just wait for the doctors to get here, or Fluttershy to get here, or-!" "Twilight-" I suddenly break into a brief coughing fit, "-calm down." Damn, my breathing is becoming more labored. I think my lung was punctured. "You can do this. You just have to calm down and focus. Work towards the goal and forget everything else." She takes a few deep breaths and charges her magic. My body is engulfed by her aura, and I feel it penetrating my chest. After some feeling around, she latches onto the ribs and begins moving them back into place. I instantly arch my back in pain. Her magic holds me in place, but I still try to twist from the pain. I look up to Twilight and make eye contact with her for a second. She's putting all of her concentration onto me. I give her a nod and she closes her eyes. An instant later, I feel one of my ribs yank back into place, forcing me to black out.
Chapter 12 FriendsChapter 12 Friends Perspective: Storm Cloud I can't believe that bucking foal. Question my orders... It's not like I don't want to help - I do - but I can't neglect my duties either! Speaking of which, it's been a few minutes; I should check on him. I get up from my seat and begin walking up the stairs when I hear a loud smash from outside. Maybe I should go check it out - no! I have to stick to my orders. I turn and walk quickly up to Twilight's room. Hmm... not in here. I’m about to go to our room, when a thought comes to mind: this is Twilight Sparkle’s room—the prized student of Princess Celestia and the savior of Equestria. I've only been a guard for about a year now, so I never had a chance to meet her before. And she's completely different from what I heard. Everypony says she's this bookworm who does nothing but read and play with magic, but she's totally different! She seems to always be doing stuff with those friends of hers, and I haven't seen her with a single book yet! Hmm… or did she… I wasn’t really paying attention at breakfast- SLAM I turn around and run back to the front room to see Rarity and Applejack searching around frantically. "What are you all looking for?" I ask as I approach them. "Oh! Storm Cloud, dear, do you happen to know where the first aid kit is? Miles is hurt, and-" "Miles is hurt? How did he get hurt?" I ask in bewilderment. "He was fighting a bull, and-" "A bull... HE'S OUTSIDE?!" "Yes! And we need that first-aid kit! Now are you going to tell us where it is, or are you going to continue to ask pointless questions?" Rarity demands. I can't bucking believe this! How could he possibly be outside? GAH! I'd kick his flank if he weren’t injured... I still might, just for the hay of it. I fly to the kitchen, get the first aid kit from the cabinet, and fly back to the girls. "Take me to him." They nod and run back out the door, with me flying behind them. We go down the main road and up ahead I can see Miles being lifted by Twilight's magic. He has a massive black-and-blue bruise on his left side and looks to be in a lot of pain. Pinkie Pie is right next to Miles, looking really depressed. When we catch up to them, Twilight drops Miles and pants heavily. "Twi, what were ya doin’ ta’ Miles?" Applejack asks. "*pant* I... had to... re-set a couple of ribs," Twilight says weakly. She seems to have worked up a sweat and is close to collapsing. "Twilight, how did you set his ribs if you've never seen a human before?" asks Rarity. Twilight catches her breath and looks down to the side. I think I can see her blushing. "Well... he grabbed my hoof and... made me feel his uninjured side. Then I used it as a template to fix the other side." Applejack and Rarity look to each other in confusion, then turn to Pinkie Pie for an explanation, who - in an instant - springs up in the air and reverts to her old self. "Oh my gosh, guys, it was soooo romantic! Twilight was all worried for Miles - and so was I, but not nearly as much as Twilight - and then she said she might be able to fix him and he said for her to do it but then she said she didn't know how so he grabbed her hoof and held it against his chest - AND SHE LIIIIIKED IT - and she was all 'I can't do it' and he was all 'work for the goal' and then she fixed him and he passed out and now Twilight can't stop blushing! Ahahahahaha!" Pinkie Pie says, in one breath. All of us are dumbfounded by this. Sh-she liked it? What is there to like? After a few moments of silent disbelief, Rarity composes herself and clears her throat before talking. "Well, Twilight, dear, it's good to see you finally taking an interest in the opposite gender-" "I WASN'T FEELING HIM UP LIKE THAT!" Twilight yells, flailing her arms about. "I only did that because I was worried - nothing more." "Oh, darling, it's okay to have feelings for another pon—er, human. And what's not to like about a stal—er, man who can defeat a bull with his bare hands? Quite impressive, if I were to say so myself." "Yeah! Just cause he's human don't mean ya can't get a little sweet on the guy," says Applejack with a playful wink. I think Twilight's starting to get a little worked up from all the teasing, so I jump in to stop this horrible conversation. "I brought the medical kit from your kitchen. What do you need from it?" I ask her. "Yes, yes, let’s let the poor dear tend to her Miley-Wiley," Rarity says, finally making Twilight lose it. "I DON'T LIKE HIM LIKE THAT! I don't even know the guy! We only met yesterday! So could you please stop saying things like that?!" Rarity is about to say something, when Twilight grabs her hoof and presses it against the good side of Miles’s chest. Rarity tries to pull away, but the moment she makes contact, her expression goes straight to one of disbelief. Once Twilight lets go, Rarity feels around his body as if she's inspecting it. "Hey! Somepony mind filling me and AJ in?" whines Pinkie Pie. "I don't understand..." Rarity says slowly. “Normally, the energy goes towards the wound, not away. It doesn't make any sense!" "I know. That's what has me concerned. Not to mention, the amount of energy moving could probably fix him right now." They both look back to him while the rest of us are left in confusion. Before anypony can ask, I hear a carriage being pulled towards us. I look back to see a medical carriage, being pulled by two stallions, coming towards us at breakneck speed. Ahead of them in the air are Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. The stallions screech to a halt in front of us and run to the back of the carriage, pulling out a stretcher. One of them turns to us and asks, "Which one of you needs help?" We all point to Miles. He takes a quick look, then does a double take. "Uh... what is that?" "His name is Miles," I say to them, "and he is in dire need of medical attention." They take one look at me, and then run over to Miles with their longest stretcher. After some fumbling around, they finally get him on and load him into the carriage. Before they strap themselves in, they turn to us and ask, "Is there anypony who will come with us to the hospital?" "I will," Twilight and I say at the same time. "I'm his liaison; I will go." I explain to her, stepping between her and the carriage. "Well I'm his caretaker, so I should go." Twilight retorts, moving in front of me. "It's my job to keep an eye on him, so I'm going." I tell her with a bit more force. "Yeah, and look at how good of a job you’re doing. You don't even like him!" She complains, stomping a hoof at me. "Apparently you don't either." Twilight and I glare at one another for a few seconds, before one of the medical ponies chimes in. "There's room for two; you can both come if you want." We only break our glare long enough to get into the back seats. As we pull away, I look back to all the other girls. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy look confused, while the rest just have massive smiles on their faces, trying their best not to laugh. We sit there the entire trip in silence. When we arrive at the hospital, we’re told to wait in the lobby while they take Miles into the E.R. We spend the entire time too annoyed to speak to one another. So a few hours later a nurse approaches the two of us for the results. "Are you two here for the... thing?" she asks as she flips through a clipboard. "‘Human, and yes we are," says Twilight. "Right, human… Anyway, we need to know his medical history. Do you know if he’s allergic to any medication?" She asks as she starts to take some notes. "We don't know anything about his medical history. He only appeared here yesterday." The nurse scribbles some notes onto the clipboard. "Hmm... okay. So, we've dealt with all the major problems for now. Fixed some fractures, stopped the internal bleeding, and gave him some sedatives for the pain, but he'll have to recover on his own until we can get his history." "If you want, we can ask him when he wakes up," Twilight offers. "Actually, that would help a lot. I have to go and find that pony who keeps stealing slippers..." she mutters as she gives Twilight the clipboard. "He’s in room one-twelve. You can go to him right now, but I ask that you don't wake him. He needs all the rest he can get." With that being said, she runs off into the hospital. We make our way up the stairs and find his room. We enter and find a unicorn looking over Miles. He’s a caramel color with dark brown hair, a white lab coat, glasses, and a heart monitor for a cutie mark. "How does he look, doc?" I ask, gaining his attention. "Well, physically, he should be fine after a few days rest, but I'm more concerned with his energy output. It's going the wrong direction. I don't know if it's because that's how his species works, or if we should run a complete diagnostic on him." "Is there anything we can do?" asks Twilight. "When he wakes up, try to find out as much about his medical history and physiology as possible. I don't want him to leave with some major problem unattended. Now, I have to get his x-rays. Please let him get some rest." We give him a nod and he leaves the room, shutting the door behind him. Twilight immediately runs to Miles’s side and looks him over. He looks like he's sleeping peacefully, with his chest-area wrapped in bandages. "Are you going to be okay?" I ask. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I just wish there were something I could do, but humans don't exist! None of the books or scrolls I've read in the library say anything about them. No references - not even in any of the prophecies or crazy rambles!" she says as she lays her head on the end of the bed and looks up at Miles. I don't know why, but this is driving me crazy. Why does she care so much for something she only met yesterday? ...I can't take it anymore; I have to ask. "You really care about him, don't you?" She picks up her head and stares daggers at me. "Why does everypony keep saying that?! Why is it so wrong to worry for somepony of the opposite gender?!" "It's not wrong to, it's just that... I dunno... you seem to really care." "So what!? Why do you even care about who I care for?" "Well... I-" "Shut up, Auxy and Dolum! Fuck! Do you two always have to... oh... right," Miles says from the bed. Perspective: Miles I awaken to find myself in a room I've never been in before. It seems to be a medical recovery room of sorts. It's a room for two with minimal accommodations for others. The view out the window tells me that we're on the edge of town. I'm lying in a bed, under some light-purple blankets, with Twilight to my left and Storm Cloud at the end. "Who are ‘Auxy’ and ‘Dolum,’ and why did you think we were them?" Asks Twilight. I groan as I try to sit up, but stop when Twilight puts a hoof on my chest and guides me to lay back down. "Well... Auxy and Dolum were some of my best friends. Dolum was my roommate for years, and every time Auxy would come over... they had a routine." Dammit, talking about Dolum is making me tear up. I wonder if Auxilium made it out alright... "What was their routine?" Asks Storm Cloud. Maybe talking about the good times will help me. "Well, she would come over, they'd get all cuddly, they would argue with each other, and then they would... you know..." "Then they would what?" Asks Twilight. I don't think she gets it. Then again, Storm Cloud doesn't look to be doing any better at putting one and one together. "You know... fuck." They continue looking at me without a clue in the world as to what I'm talking about. "Have sex." Now they get it! Both of their faces turn bright red and they look away from one another... Oh my... I think something was about to happen! They both refuse to make eye contact with anyone, and they keep shifting around in an attempt to hide their blushing faces. "Oh sweet Barbra, you two were going to-" "No we weren't!" Yells Twilight, a little too quickly. "So how long has this been going on?" I pester. "Nothing is going on," Storm Cloud replies sternly. "Is this how you got the job to watch over me, or did this recently happen?" I ask in a clearly teasing tone. "Nothing happened," Storm Cloud says more sternly. Okay, I've had my fun. Time for some questions. "Alright, alright, nothing happened - whatever you say. So, where am I, and how did I get here?" They both let out a sigh of relief and look back to me. "Well, after you took out that bull, I reset your broken ribs, which made you pass out. And now you’re in Ponyville Urgent Care," Twilight explains. "Which reminds me: how did you escape the library?!" Storm demands. "I used the door. How's the town looking?" I say, never looking away from Twilight. "Some minor damage, but nothing serious-" "The door!? You expect me to believe that you walked through the doors without Princess Luna's magic stopping you!?" Storm asks as he stares at me in disbelief. It’s sad how honest I am. "Do you have a better explanation for how I got here?" I ask as I try to sit up, only to have Twilight push me back down. "Miles, you need to lie down. You got really hurt, and it's going to take time to heal." "That's nice. How do you expect me to use the restroom?" Twilight gives a small blush before reaching under the bed and pulling out a bedpan. "Oh, fuck that shit. I am not using that," I say as I try to get up again, only to have Twilight push me back down. I keep trying to get up, and Twilight keeps pushing me down. "You need rest!" She yells as we start to struggle against each other. "I'm not using that!" "Yes you are!" "No - I'm - not!" I finally succeed in standing, knocking Twilight on her backside. It takes a moment for me to realize that I'm naked... again. I quickly drop back onto bed and cover myself up. "WHY AM I NAKED... AGAIN?!" Twilight turns her back to me while Storm Cloud just sits there, wide-eyed. After a few seconds of awkward silence, our attention is brought to the door being opened. In walks a unicorn pony with dark brown hair, a light-brown body, and glasses at the end of his face. He's wearing what looks like a white lab coat that goes down to his mark - a heart monitor. "What's all the commotion about?" he asks as he looks around the room. "Why am I naked?" I ask in an irritated tone. "We had to remove your clothes to do the x-rays. We tried to put you in some patient gowns, but none of them fit-" "So you left me naked?" "Yes... I don't see the problem with that." Of course he wouldn't. "But if you’re done complaining, we have your x-rays right here," he says as he pulls out the sheets from his jacket with his magic, bringing them to eye-view. "Thanks to Miss Sparkle here, you won't have any enduring injuries. But it will still take some time for them to heal properly. We also had to go in magically and fix your lung, as well as some other internal problems." I look to Twilight, who glances back at me, and give her a quick nod and a smile. She returns the smile, but looks away again. Heh, Storm looked away with a frown. He's totally jealous. "But that's not what concerns me." My smile drops as I look back to the doctor. "What else is wrong, doc?" I ask. "Well, it has to do with the energy flowing through you." Oh great, I've got the bends again. I hate having to go without magic for weeks from over-using it. "It seems to be flowing the wrong direction." Okay, now I'm lost. "What do you mean by that?" I ask. "Well, whenever a pony gets hurt, unicorns can feel the energy in their bodies flowing towards the wound. With you, it seems to flow away from it." Oh, hot damn - I thought something was wrong. Whew! "Don't worry, doc; that's normal for humans." I dismiss with a wave of a hand. "Hmm... Well, if you say so. If you don't mind, I'd like to ask some questions about your physiology - in case you happen to find yourself back in here." "Not like I plan on spending much time in here, but alright." He pulls out a checklist and a pen from his coat and begins writing stuff down. "Okay, so any family history of medical problems?" "I don't know; I grew up as an orphan." "Oh, sorry to hear that. Um, are you allergic to any medication?" "None that I'm aware of." He scribbles on his note. "Okay, history of broken limbs." "Uh, let’s see... I've broken my left arm once, my right leg twice, and now a few of my ribs." He scribbles some more. "Alright, that should do for now. Now lie back down, try to relax, and get some rest. I don't want you doing any strenuous activities for at least a week." "Can do, doc." I say as I lay back under the sheets. Once the doctor leaves the room, I look back to Storm Cloud and Twilight. "So, where were we?" I ask, ready to tease once more! "You’re an orphan?" asks Twilight. "Yeah. Now you two-" "What happened?" she interrupts. I can see Storm Cloud wants to hear this as well, so I decide to tell them. "My parents were from Diamond Halls. Diamond Halls was attacked and destroyed by the enemy while I was being born. My mother died during the procedure, and my father was never found. So the military put me in an orphanage." Twilight looks really saddened by this, and Storm Cloud looks like he’s trying to keep a serious face on, but I can see the sadness in his eyes. "Don't worry about it though. If it weren't for that, I would have never found all of my friends." I try to give a convincing smile, but I can't really muster one. Even if they lived after the attack, they would have died thousands of years ago. "Do you miss them?" asks Twilight. "More than anything, but the worst part is that I didn't get to fix anything. We had a lot of problems coming between all of us. Half of my friends were mad at me, while the other half were destroying themselves. It seemed like I was at the center of all their problems. Who knows... maybe with me gone, they were able to fix them." I bring my knees up to my chest and hug myself. Maybe me being sent away was for the best... "I don't believe that," says Storm Cloud. I look up to him and see that he has a single tear rolling down his left cheek. "I once had a friend that I was mad at. He thought that he was causing problems for his family and friends, and eventually committed suicide. Only with him gone did I realize that I wasn't mad at him, but at myself. Don't let yourself believe that your friends were better off without you; if they were, you were never friends to begin with." Twilight is looking between the two of us and has tears rolling down the sides of her face. "Alright guys, it’s too depressing in here," I say as I lay my legs down, getting small chuckles from everyone else. "Let’s start over." Storm Cloud and Twilight look at me confused. I stick my hand out to Storm and say “I’m Miles; let’s be friends." He looks to my hand, sticks his hoof into it, and says, "I'm Storm, and I think I'd like that." After I shake his hoof, I reach over to Twilight and ask, "Friends?" She gives me a smile and shakes my hand. "Friends."
Chapter 13 Long Road To RecoveryChapter 13 Long Road To Recovery "So what do we do now?" asked Storm Cloud. After our little touching moment we had a few minutes of awkward silence. I don't really know what to say, but luckily the nurse came in with a tray in her mouth. "Lunch time for you, Miles." She says as she sets the tray in front of me. On the plate is a mound of green gloop with a corner for a little brick of wiggly red stuff. A glass sits in the corner with water. I thank the nurse as she walks back out the door and I prepare to eat. I take the fork and lift some green stuff into my mouth... only to spit it out immediately. "What the fuck is this crap!?" I think I know what a wet diaper taste like now. "It's ground up grass," says Twilight as she reaches over and tries a bit, "it's not the best but it tastes alright to me." "You can have it then, cause that was just horrible." I say as I spin the plate to the red stuff. I’m about to take a bite when I stop and ask, "What is this stuff?" "It's jello." Storm Cloud says. "What's that?" "Well, you take rubber tree bark and grind it into a powder, then mix it with sugar and water and leave it in the fridge overnight." I look at the jello skeptically before trying a bite. It isn't half bad. Kind of chewy with a slight after taste I can't really identify but enjoy. I continue to eat it but look back to Twilight and Storm. "You guys should go get something to eat." I tell them. Eating with a crowd is not really something that I, or any sane person, enjoys. "I'll be fine," says Storm. "Yeah, besides I'm not that hungry anyway." As if on cue, both of their stomachs let out angry growls that made them both blush a little. "Not hungry huh?" I snicker. "Well, maybe a little." Twilight says with a small smile. "Yeah yeah yeah, look, I’m not going anywhere. Go get something to eat and then you can come right back, alright?" Twilight nods and begins to walk out, but Storm just sits there. "Hey, that means you too." "I can't just leave; I have a job to do." He says. "Hmm... I've got it. Go find my pants." He raises an eyebrow but complies. He walks up to the end table and pulls them out of the drawer. "How exactly are these going to keep you from running away?" "Easy, take them with you." This only raises his eyebrow even higher. "Look, humans aren't like ponies, we don't like to be naked. I'm not going anywhere without my pants, you have my word." At this point Twilight has walked out the door and out of earshot, so I lean forward to Storm and say, "Hey, stay here with me or go have lunch with Twilight, your choice." His eyes go wide as he contemplates his choices. "You promise not to go anywhere." "Yeah...I promise." With that he runs out the door and goes after Twilight. Hmm... What good is the promise of someone who breaks their promises? July 25, 1132 Topaz Falls I'm walking down the dormitory hall to Inficiunt and Eximiuses’s room. I had received a message from Inficiunt to come by ASAP, so here I am, room 1420. I knock on the door and wait. After a while of waiting I get impatient and decide to call him. I pull out my phone from my jacket pocket and speed dial him. Beep... Beep... Beep... "Hello?" Inficiunt's voice asks from the other side. I bring my phone to the door and knock a couple times next to it then bring it back to my head. "Oh good you're here." A few seconds later the door opens to reveal Inficiunt. He has his short hair spiked back and has lens-less glasses on. His white T-shirt has rows of horizontal cuts into it and his light tan shorts are covered in different colored neon paints. His pockets are filled with glow sticks and he has a whistle hanging around his neck. "Ah dammit, you’re going to another rave aren't you?" "What? it's Friday." He says with a shrug. "No, today is Tuesday." I correct. "Oh, well, close enough," he says as he steps through the doorway and shuts the door behind him. "So, are you going to be my P.I.C.?" "You know I hate those raves-" "Aw come on, what harm ever came from a simple little rave?" "The one time I was dumb enough to go we got into a fight with eight other people-" "A fight we won." "We were chased by the cops-" "We got away-" "Destroyed a building-" "It was structurally unsound-" "And we missed a lecture." "Tenera gave us her notes. Look. Just because something bad happened multiple times once doesn't mean it's going to happen again." I give him a flat look. "Okay, so what are the chances of it happening three times?" "Look, I hate parties, you know this. Sorry man, but you’re on your own this time." He gives me a small frown before beginning to shuffle backwards. "Whatever. Have fun being a crack in the diamond, I am gonna fu-kin rave ta-night!" He turns around and begins to dance his way down the hall. "Inficiunt." I call out, making him turn around. "Are you going to be drinking?" "Are you still a virgin?" "Ha ha, I'll be there at one hundred hours to walk you home alright." He gives a quick salute before continuing his dance down the hall. I look down to my phone, fifteen hundred hours, well I guess I can go down to the armoury and work on some enchanting while I wait. After a couple hours I begin to head down to the mico platforms to head out. Three flashes and I'm in the main lobby, so I walk out the front doors. Most of the lights on the dome are shut off to indicate dark hours, but a few are left to light the roads. I begin to walk out when I see Sine and Dolum walking towards the doors. I call out to them and run up to them. "What's up Miles?" Sine asks. "Not much, just heading out to pick up Inficiunt. He went to another rave." "Damn man, it's like a daily party for that guy isn't it," Dolum says. "Consider yourself lucky you haven't been to one of those raves with him." Sine says, sending chills down my spine. "Yeah well, he's expecting me soon so I have to go, want to tag along?" "Mmm... nah. If we come along we'll just end up doing another one of those crazy adventures again." Sine says which I nod to. "Alright, well, see ya later." I walk off to the main road and begin to walk down. It should be down four blocks and eight to the right. All of the buildings I pass are closed and there isn't a soul in sight. I make it to the fourth block and turn right down it. Nothing seems to be out of the ordinary; hopefully he just partied and didn't destroy anything this time. The closer I get to the warehouse, the more I can hear the music being played. I actually like the music well enough. It's fun and has good beats; I just don't like the crowds. I make it to the eighth block and turn down the alley. Straight ahead is the warehouse. It's a long building with windows that take up most of the sides. Its two stories high and has a flat roof. Different colored lights shine through the windows and illuminate the surrounding area. The main door has a long line of people waiting to get in, with two bouncers at the doors. I walk to the bouncers and they immediately put a hand out to stop me. "Line starts back there." Says the first one; a white guy that's the same height as me, with more muscle mass. "I'm here to pick up a friend-" "Nice try, go to the back of the line." Alright, plan B. I pull out my phone and go to my military Identification. "I am Lieutenant Miles Eremita of the Terradisian armed forces. One of my privates is inside and I have to retrieve him." They look to one another then say, "Alright, go in and get out. But if I don't see you leave in twenty minutes, I'm kicking you out and calling your superiors, got it?" "Twenty minutes, got it." Much to the displeasure of the crowd behind, they open the doors and let me inside. This party is fucking nuts! The room inside is packed with people dancing and drinking. All along the right side of the room is a bar that has most of the crowd next to it. The second story floor has been enchanted to be see-through, so I can see the undersides of the crowd above. At the front of the crowd is the stage where the DJ is. He has long black hair and is standing behind a counter that has all of his musical devices. To both his sides are groups of people dancing to the music. All along the walls and across the ceiling are lights emitting different colored lights. I see a bartender walking by with a silver tray holding drinks. I quickly run up to her and get her attention. "Excuse me," I yell over the music, “I’m looking for someone, could you help me?" "I'll try, but there are a lot of people in here hun." She yells back. "I'm looking for my friend Inficiunt, he-" "Oh, Inficiunt. Why didn't you say so? He's in the V.I.P. room. I'm actually heading there right now, just follow me." I nod and follow her through the crowd. When we make it to the front we stop by some more guards. She leans forward and says something to them, but I couldn't hear it over the music. The guard nods and lets us by. We head to the back rooms and find a door that has no handle and has a golden star on it. The waitress turns around and pushes the door open with her backside. The room is small, with a couch to the left, a small glass table in front of it and another couch on the other side of the table, facing the other couch. Inficiunt is in the center of the left couch and two guys in all black are on the other. A small brown bag sits in the center of the table. "That's not what we agreed on!" yells Inficiunt as he stands and pulls out a handgun from his belt line, pointing it at the two guys across the room. "Inficiunt! What the fuck!?" I yell gaining all of their attention. With Inficiunt distracted, the other two stand and pull out their own handguns and point them at Inficiunt. I raise my arms and ready my magic. Everyone stands there motionless, eyes shifting from one to another. I take the first move by dropping my right arm, magically putting the safety on for both the handguns, and pushing my left arm forward, pushing over the two of them. Inficiunt quickly grabs the bag and runs out the door, pushing the waitress out of the way and pulling me along with him. As we run down the hall I lift my right hand behind me and put up an energy field. The field is oval shaped, taking up most of the hall. We make it halfway down the hall before gun fire roars from behind us. I can feel the light pings of their rounds hitting my field, but this small arms fire won't be a problem. We slam through some emergency exits and run down an alley. After a few moments of running I stop and turn around. "What the fuck are you waiting for!? Come on let’s go!" yells Inficiunt in a panic, I ignore him and lift my arms, waiting for them to catch up. Sure enough, they burst through the doors and run straight for us. I take a step forward and push both of my hands forward, sending a wall of white energy flying at them. When the wall hits them, it sends them back into the air and lands them flat on their backs a meter or two away. I quickly walk up to them and kick their weapons away. I guess I put too much into that hit because they are both knocked out cold. I drop my arms and shut off my magic while walking back to Inficiunt. Before he can say anything I grab the bag and look inside. "Really Inficiunt! Drugs!? Are you seriously that fucking stupid!" I yell while shoving his shoulder. "It's not what it looks like-" "Oh then why don't you explain it because I'm seeing you risking your life for some fucking coke!" I yell as I slam the bag into the ground. "It's for the club. They promised free entry for life if I could get some. But they tried to short sell me so-" "I don't give a fuck what they did! Why would you risk everything for some stupid club!?" He doesn't say anything. He just drops his head and sticks his hands in his pockets. I look down to the bag. I have to destroy this or we're both screwed. I bring my hands in front of me and begin to charge my magic. In between my hands a ball of ice begins to form. The ball has spikes of ice coming from it and is slowly rotating. After a few seconds of charging I push down, sending the ice ball to the bag. When they make contact, the bag, as well as some of the area around it, start to freeze over and turn to ice. I slam my boot into the bag, shattering it into thousands of shards of ice. "Let’s go home." I say bitterly. "Promise me you won't tell anyone," Inficiunt begs, looking up to me with pleading eyes. "And why should I do that?" "Please, I'm sorry I got caught up in that. I promise that'll never happen again, just promise me you won't tell." "Promise me that this is your last rave and I'll consider it." He takes a deep sigh before saying, "Alright. No more raves, I promise." "It's a promise." I say as I stick out my hand. He clasps my hand and we begin to walk home in silence. When we arrive at our separate platforms we look back to one another. I shake my head and step on my platform. I flash into my hall and quickly walk to my room. I enter and slam the door behind me. "What the fuck was that about?" Ask Sine, who's sitting on the floor against Dolum’s bed. Dolum is sitting on his bed with his legs crossed, looking up at me. I take a deep breath before saying, "Guys, we have a problem." Current Time: Ponyville Urgent Care I look down at my chest and contemplate the past. Was I right in telling everyone about that night? Given, we did find more, but I did promise. I begin to pull off the bandages to reveal the large bruise taking over my side. I flare my magic and slam my hands onto my chest, sending white strands of healing magic throughout my body. I watch as the bruise grows smaller and smaller until it's completely gone. Once done, I stand up and begin to stretch, trying to feel any abnormalities. Satisfied with my results, I lay back into bed and sit there in silence. I don't regret breaking my promise with Inficiunt, I regret not being there for him afterward, even though he didn't want me there. Thirty minutes later I can hear hoofsteps coming towards my door. The door swings open and in walks Twilight, holding her head high and looking pissed. Storm Cloud walks in after her with his head held low. Twilight comes to my left side and sits down with a “Hmph”. Storm takes his seat at the end of the bed and looks at me. "What happened to your face?" I ask. His right cheek is all red. "I... don't want to talk about it." He says as he begins to rub his cheek. Twilight looks to me and does a double take. "Miles! You’re healed! How did you recover so quickly?" "Quickly? That took forever. Hey Storm, can I have my pants now?" He looks up and takes the pants from his armor and throws them over. I catch them and begin to unfold them, but then look over to Twilight. Her mouth is open slightly and she is staring right at my chest. I motion with my hand for her to turn around, which she quickly does, and I begin to get redressed. Once done I look around for my boots. "Know where my boots are?" "Check under the bed," says Storm. Sure enough, there they are. I pull them out and begin to put my socks on. "So, what's on today's agenda?" Before anyone could answer there was a knock on the door. I walk over and open it. "Oh, what’s up Luna?" Author's Note In case your wondering, no. Jello does not come from rubber tree's in reality.
Chapter 14 Sugarcube CornerChapter 14 Sugarcube Corner "Oh, what's up Luna?" Standing in the doorway is Luna, with two guards by her side. She looks sleepy, but only slightly. "Hello Miles, may I come in?" I step aside and let her and the two guards in, shutting the door behind them. Luna looks at Twilight and Storm before turning back to me. "Miles, we need to discuss what happened earlier today." "Damn, news travels fast here doesn't it? Alright, discuss away." I say as I walk back to my bed and lay back on it. "Well, there are two things that concern me that I wish to know about; how did you escape the library, and about you defeating a bull with your bare hands." "Okay." "Okay..." "..." "Miles?" "Oh, you mean right now." I think I heard Twilight facepa—er—hoof. "Well now would be best, seeing how we're all here right this instant." Luna says as she rolls her eyes. "Alright, well it went basically like this..." I go over the events of earlier, my walking out of the library, the fight, Twilight fixing me, and me waking up in here. I can tell Luna is trying her hardest to stay awake during all of this, but I'm not sure if she can last much longer. "And then you came in and then it's now, and then I don't know." "That doesn't tell me how you escaped," Luna says. "Oh, well that's easy. You messed up the spelMMMMM." Twilight quickly covers my mouth with her hoof, shutting me up instantly. "What he means Princess, is that there may have been a small problem with your barrier," Twilight says, giving me a sharp look. "Hmm... where could I have gone wrong?" Luna says to herself. I pull Twilight's hoof from my mouth and say, "That's easy, you didn't compensate for opened doors." Everyone, except Luna, looks horrified by my statement. What? It's as if they wouldn't ever call her out on something like this. Luna looks to me and ask, “What do you mean by that?" "Well, you set the barrier to go around the exterior of the building, but you didn't think about the dual doors on the balcony. With them open, it made an opening that I could get through. But I only speculate. The quick fix would to set a second barrier for the balcony." Luna looks out the window and thinks to herself for a moment. Twilight gives me a quick jab in the side and gives me a look. "Very well then. Now to my next concern, the bull-" "If I were to remember correctly, our agreement was that I wouldn't hurt anypony. Unless that bull is some freaky pony I don't know about, I should be in the clear." "Alright, I'll pardon the bull incident if you promise not to harm any others from now on." "Sorry, can't do that," I answer quickly. "Okay, now - wait what!?" Now everyone is looking at me with shocked looks. I think this woke Luna up completely. "Do you want to run that by me one more time?" "I can't promise that I won't harm others because that's impossible to promise. If the town was attacked again tomorrow by the cows and bulls, I would do the same exact thing as last time. It's in my nature to protect others, and sometimes that means harming some to protect them. I can promise that I will try and solve things before they turn to violence, but I will not become a pacifist." Again, everyone except Luna is looking with the same shocked look; wide eyed with the mouth slightly open. Luna just looks tired. "Can everypony give me a moment alone with Miles? I wish to speak to him in private." Without a word being spoken, everyone walks out of the room. Once the door was shut, Luna let out a long sigh and walked over to the window. "Are you alright, you seem tired?" I ask as I sit up. "I'm fine. Normally right now I would be asleep," she says as she stares out the window. "Really, but it's so bright out." "Yeah, I know. The night is scary and day time is bright and fun. I've heard it before." Where did that come from? "I didn't say that, I just-" "You may not have said it, but you were thinking it. Everypony thinks it-" "I'm not a pony." Luna looks back to me with slightly wider eyes. I think her being tired is making her say things she would normally not say. "To be honest, the night was way more beautiful than the day. I like the warmth of day, but the coolness of night also reminds me of home. Not to mention that moon was something different." "What do you mean?" She says, taking a step forward. "Well... I'm not sure how to put it. It gave me hope, yet gave off an ominous feel over the land." "Hm... yeah, that was the feel I was trying to make," she says as she looks away for a moment. "What?" "My special talent is controlling the moon and night sky," she says as she looks back to me. "Your... special talent?" She turns to the side and shows me her mark. After a few seconds of staring at it, as well as the area around it, I quickly look away and try to hide the growing embarrassment from my pants. "Yeah, when a pony finds out what makes them special, they receive their cutie mark. Mine is the moon in the night sky." "Ahem… Well, that's nice. Humans don't have that," I say as I adjust my sitting arrangement. "Humans don't have cutie marks, but what about that one mark on your arm?" she asks as she points to my tattoo. "This, oh, this is a tattoo. Someone took a needle and basically stabbed me thousands of times with ink, leaving the picture." She walks over and takes a better look at it. "What does it mean?" "Oh, something along the lines of how being a Spartan meant that our lives were for the people we protected, and not even in death could we ever allow something bad to happen." "So you fight to protect, never in aggression?" "Basically, if we had to, we could be the aggressors, but we haven't attacked in hundreds of years. Well, thousands now." Well that was depressing. Luna looks away and thinks to herself for a bit. She looks back to me with a more relaxed look. "Miles, I have decided that you are not a threat. Or, at the very least, you've convinced me that you can be trusted with a bit more freedom. I will continue to hold onto your weapons for a while longer, but you are free to leave the library." Wow, really? That didn't take long. "Thank you Luna," I say with a slight bow. She begins to walk towards the door but stops halfway. "Do you know anything about astronomy?" "What's astronomy?" "Didn't think so, try asking Twilight about it tonight. I think you may enjoy it." I give a quick nod as she continues toward the door. "Hey!" I call out before she opens the door. "Take it easy on Storm Cloud. I mean, how could he have known there was a flaw in your barrier?" She looks back to me and offers a small smile before leaving. Once she leaves the room I lay back and start pulling on my hair. How is it I could walk through a crowd of human women wearing provocative clothing and remain flaccid, but a single pony shows me her backside and I nearly lose it? I rub my face with both hands before I stand up and head to the door. Before I could reach it, it swings open to reveal Twilight and Storm Cloud. "Miles! Princess Luna told us the good news." Twilight says as she looks up to me with a big smile. "Yeah, that was - *grumble* - hahaha well look at that. I am starving," I say as I put a hand on my stomach. "I've got an idea; let me treat you to some food at Sugarcube Corner. It'll be my way of saying thanks for saving Ponyville," Twilight says with a smile. "Well, as long as it doesn't have any of that grass stuff, I'm in." With that I follow her out of the hospital, getting weird looks from doctors and patients. When we leave the hospital I take a moment to take in my surroundings. The hospital is located at the bottom of the town. I can see the center round building off in the distance, with Twilight's library a bit behind it. We begin to walk down the dirt road when I see Luna's carriage fly off towards the distant mountain. I think we made eye contact, but if we did it only lasted for a second. We begin to walk towards the town when a thought comes to mind. "Hey Twilight, how does your town deal with new people?" "What do you mean?" "Well, if I were to walk into town, how would they act? There were parts of Topaz I couldn't bring Dolum into because of the way they dealt with black people. How are ponies going to act with a human waltzing right into town?" Twilight thinks about it for a second then shakes her head. "Well, they might have run in fear a while back, but with you saving the town, I think they'll give-" "The horror! The horror! Run for your lives! It's the bull slayer!" yells someone from inside the town; I didn't realize it till just now, but we had walked into town and every pony had run indoors at the sight of me. "You were saying?" asked Storm, only to get a dirty look from Twilight. "Okay, two things: One, your town is weird, and two, something happened between the two of you and I won't stop asking until you tell me." Twilight looks really agitated, while Storm is trying to look anywhere but me or Twilight. "*sigh* Well, basically I..." Storm began, only to stop when Twilight gave him another look. As I walk, I look between the two and try to put one and one together. Twilight is mad at Storm, she apparently smacked him and he looks like he feels bad about it. Hmmm... light bulb. "So I take it wasn't a very good kiss." Storm trips over his own hooves and falls straight on his face while Twilight freezes up and turns bright red. Yeah, I'm fucking good at this game. "How in the hay did you figure it out?" Storm grumbles from the floor. "Well, let’s just say I've seen this play a couple of times. So, was it really that bad?" I pester. "Oh look, Sugarcube Corner! Let's go because I'm starving and I would like something to eat and they have delicious treats there that aren't embarrassing." Twilight says as she runs off to some building. I look over to Storm and before I can say anything he flies straight for the same building. Whatever, I'll tease them some more later. I walk up to the building and stop in front of it. This is the weirdest building I've ever seen. It looks to be two stories tall with two smaller round rooms stacked on top. The roof seems to be all brown with loops of white tracing the edges. The building is adorned with various bright and colorful decorations, and gives the feeling of being delicious. Strange, I didn't know a building could be delicious. I walk through the front door and immediately fall on my ass when Pinkie Pie jumps onto me. "Oh my gosh Miles you made me so happy and now we can have a ton of fun playing games and dancing and eating tasty treats and..." "Whoa, slow down Pinkie Pie, what are you talking about?" "Twilight and Storm Cloud told me you wanted to have a THANK YOU FOR SAVING THE TOWN AND CONGRATS FOR GETTING BETTER PARTY!" Did she say party? I look over and see Twilight standing by, watching with an evil smile on her face. I immediately try to back out of the room but stop when I bump into something. I look back to see Storm standing over me with a similar evil look. "So Miles, you ready for your party?" My heart begins to race as I look around the room. There are a good number of ponies in here, and the place does look like it's about to throw a party. Shit. "Nononononono no party please. Look I'm sorry for making fun of what happened, but please no party." My heart is racing even faster now, plus I'm starting to sweat a little. Oh, please don't throw me a party; I just got out of the hospital. With a satisfied smile Twilight nods to Pinkie, who in turn bounces off me. "Oh don't worry silly, there's no party. I would never throw a party if it would make somepony sad, because parties are supposed to be fun and make you smile and if you didn't smile then that would make me frown and I hate frowning." I sigh in relief and stand back up, trying to compose myself. Twilight walks over to a nearby table and sits down. I walk over and take one of the remaining seats, which is awkward because it's a little too short for me. The room we're in is fairly spacious, providing room for several tables and seats with a good amount of room to move around freely. At the end of the room is a small display counter, showing various treats I recognized from the party from earlier...whoa, just got chills. To my left are stairs that go to the upper floors, and further down the wall are some swinging doors that go to the back. There were several patrons inside but the minute I sat down they all left, watching me closely. "Well don't I feel welcomed." I say as I watch the last pony run out of the room. "Just give them some time to adjust to you. My friend Zecora had to go through the same thing, being a zebra and all. Once you actually talk to them and show that you’re a nice guy, they'll calm down." Twilight says this as she levitates a menu in front of her. I look down at the menu and see it's in that hieroglyphic text that I can't read. There are a few with pictures, but with no prices I assume those are the expensive treats. "So I'm ready, do you know what you want Miles?" "Well, I'll just get what you’re getting." I say as I set the menu down. "What, nothing looks good to you?" asks Storm. "I can't read pony text so I don't know what there is to order." "You can't read? Did humans have writing or was it just different?" asks Twilight. "It was different, which sucks because I actually really enjoyed reading." Twilight seems to brighten up from hearing this. "Oh, I love to read too! What kind of books did you like to read? I personally enjoy pre-Nightmare gothics. They’re a little difficult to read because of the early language development but I like it all the same...." As she continues to ramble I lean over to Storm Cloud. "Does she do this a lot?" "I don't know; hopefully not." I lean back and resume listening. ".... but seriously who could top Star Swirl’s mad rambles, right?" "Absolutely." Twilight looks between the two of us and drops her head to the table. "I got carried away, didn't I?" "Just a little," Storm says. "Yeah, but to answer your question, I like to read on early human aeronautical and space exploration." "Humans could fly?" Storm asks. "Humans explored space?" Twilight ask at the same time. "Did they bring lots of tasty treats?" Pinkie Pie asks us from the previously empty seat, setting down a tray with four plates of treats. When did she take our order? And for that matter, when did she take that seat? "Well yeah they brought food, kind of need to for decades long journeys." This only furthers Twilight's and Storm's astonishment. I look down to the four plates and take a random one, seeing as they all had the same contents, they were brown disks that have dark brown spots. I pick one up and look it over. I take a bite and begin to chew. Not half bad. It's sweet, not as sweet as those pancakes but still a good amount. It seemed to crumble at first but after a few chews it becomes mushy. "Well? Do you like it?" Pinkie asks. "Yeah, it's pretty good. What is it?" I ask, as I fit the rest into my mouth and chew away. "It's a chocolate chip cookie!" she says as she slams her face into her plate. When she picks her head up she seems to be fine, chewing loudly with crumbs all over her face. I swallow and lean back to Storm. "Was that normal?" "I have a strange feeling it is," he says as we both stare at her. Pinkie brings us several more trays of other treats. Each one is a whole new experience. Some good, some pretty bad. When I finish up my last plate and sit back. I'm going to have to come back and try more of these. Or see if they sell those pancakes Twilight made. I wonder if you could combine the two. "So what's next for today?" I ask. "Well, we probably have time to visit one of my friend’s places, would you like to do that?" "Hmm... alright, seems like fun. Where to?" Twilight thinks about it for a second then comes up with an idea. "You said you normally wear clothes, right?" "Yeah… Why?" "We'll visit Rarity. She’s a fashion designer, and if you ask nicely she may make you a shirt." "Well, I like the idea of not being half naked. Alright, lead the way," I say as we all stand up. "Wanna come with us Pinkie Pie?" Twilight asks. "Nah, I'll give the two of you some alone time," She says as she trots happily to the back of the room. "I don't like him like that!" Twilight yells back, confusing me. "What was that all about?" I ask, only to get ignored as Twilight storms out of the room. "What was that about?" I ask Storm. "You don't want to know." Author's Note I want to give a shout out to Sine Wave. He was the next person to use the Brony Points, and used them to pick the first destination to visit in Ponyville. Thanks for all the support and I'll see ya next time.
Chapter 15 Carousel BoutiqueChapter 15 Carousel Boutique Storm and I run out to catch up with Twilight. As we walk along I look over to Storm, who shakes his head. I think I'll ask anyway. "Soo... what was that about?" "I don't want to talk about it." I look back to Storm, who shakes his head again. "Alright, I'll drop it... for now." Twilight gives a small huff and begins to walk normally. As we go through the empty town, I can see faces peering from windows and doorways, only to disappear the moment we make eye contact. "So, how long do you think it'll take for the citizens to become accustomed to me?" "I give it a month," Storm states. "It only took Zecora talking to everypony to become accepted. Once you start to meet the towns ponies they'll open up," Twilight says as she glances around the town. "Alright, alright; who's Zecora?" I ask. "She's a zebra that lives in the Everfree forest," Twilight states simply. "Great, what's a zebra?" "They're basically earth ponies that are covered in black and white stripes." Interesting, I'll have to ask this Zecora for some pointers on how to deal with the locals later. We continue to walk towards the upper part of town, with little to no sign of its inhabitants. I'm starting to worry if I'll ever see any of them; but then again, why would I need to see any of them. Once I get my weapons I can go and find my way to Topaz. Wherever it is. "Hey Miles?" Storm asks, breaking the silence. "Yes Storm?" I respond. "Are you alright?" I glance over to him for a moment before looking away. "Yeah… why…?" "Well, I don't know. You just seem to be handling everything well. You did just find out that you were sent to the future." He reasons. "To be honest, I'm trying not to think about it. I just want to focus on getting back to Topaz Falls and finding out what happened to everyone I knew." Twilight and Storm exchange looks before Twilight asks, "So what happened the day you were sent here?" I sigh as I try to think of a way to answer. "They happened." I quicken my pace and leave it at that. I know if I speak too much about them, I'll get into a really bad mood. And I don't want that to delay my inevitable departure. Twilight and Storm catch up and we walk the rest of the way in silence. "Here we are, Carousel Boutique," Twilight says as we approach a round building. It seems to be three stories tall and heavily embellished with bright intricate patterns painted throughout the exterior. A door that's cut through the center sits in the middle, with large oval windows going around the building. Twilight walks up to the door and gives it a few good knocks. With no answer she opens the door and walks in. "Should we follow?" I ask, looking to Storm. But he just shrugs. "May as well," Storm says as he walks through the door, with me following. The room we walk into seems to be the fitting area. To my right is a small stage surrounded by mirrors and a doorway to what I assume is the dressing room. To my left are rows of different gowns, most hanging from a rack but some are out on display on pony mannequins. On the other side of the room I can see a hallway the leads to the back of the building, as well as a stairwell that goes up. "Rarity? It’s Twilight. Are you home?" Twilight calls out. "One moment please, I'm in the middle of something," chimes Rarity from the backroom of the boutique. I begin to walk around the room, inspecting various little things, when something catches my eye. Sitting on the counter is a fist size diamond; nothing protecting it. It's just sitting there... in the open... alone. "Everything alright?" Storm asks as he walks up to me, barely glancing at the unprotected diamond. "Yeah, yeah... is it commonplace for ponies to just leave gems lying around... in the open... alone." "Well, gems are pretty valuable, but I guess leaving them like that is somewhat normal. Hey Twilight, you know what Rarity uses the gems for?" Storm calls back. "She puts them into her gowns. It's kind of her trademark." Her trademark is putting gems into clothing... how the fuck does that work? Wouldn't it get uncomfortable wearing them? "Hello Twilight dear, how is Miles... Miles! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the hospital?" Rarity asks as she walks into the room. "Heh, well I was, but I'm a quick healer. So I was released early." Rarity stares at me in disbelief for a bit longer before composing herself. "Well that is great to hear. Now Twilight, is there something you needed or were you just visiting?" She asks as Storm and I approach the two of them. "Actually, Rarity, I wanted to see if you could help me with something," I say before Twilight can respond. "You see, the thing is, humans don't like being so... exposed. I was wondering if you could make me a shirt. I don't have any money at the moment, but I would be willing to work to pay off my debt." "Oh don't be silly, of course I would make you some clothes! And don't worry about payment. Consider it my way of saying thank you for saving the town from the stampede." "Wow, thank you for your generosity Rarity, I really appreciate it." I'm genuinely surprised by her willingness to just give me the clothes. "Oh, you are so well mannered. Think nothing of it. Now let's get started right away, follow me dear," she says as she walks to the backroom. I glance back to Twilight and Storm before following her. Hopefully Storm can control himself while I'm gone. We walk down the hall past the stairs to another open area filled with sewing machines, mannequins, and rolls of fabric. Spike is in the center of the room, picking up random utensils and scraps of cloth. "Hey Spike, what're you doing here?" I ask, getting him to jump a little. "Miles!? Aren't you supposed to be in the hospital?" Yeah, I'm growing to love this question. "I healed up quickly. Do you work here or something?" "Spikey wikey is my little assistant and offered to help earlier this week due to a large order I had to fill," Rarity informs me. Spikey wikey? Da fuck? I give him a look but he doesn't care. He's just happy to be helping her. "Well let’s get started then. What do you need me to do?" I ask as I try to change the subject. "Just stand there and lift your arms straight out." I move to where she pointed and lift my arms, making me into a ‘T’ shape, and let her get to work. She levitates multiple strands of yellow measuring tape over to me and presses them all around me. She takes measures of my waist, chest, arm length, and body length, making notes after every measurement. Once done, she levitates the tape over to Spike and drops them into his arms, burying him in the tape. Is he like a slave or something? I'll ask later. Rarity walks over to a nearby table and begins to draw out different sketches of ideas. I walk to a different table and lean against it, crossing my arms as I watch her sketch. "So Miles," Rarity asks, "do you mind if I ask you a few questions while I work on this?" "I don't mind." I say with a shrug. "Well, I don't mean to be so forward, but what happened between you and Twilight?" "Wait what!?" Spike asks as he pushes a drawer shut. "Yeah... well, it basically went down like this." I go over everything that happened after the bullfight. The entire time Rarity quietly works on some white fabric, while Spike just sits on a small stool, watching me very closely. "So basically, I made Twilight feel me up to fix me," I say in summation. "So nothing romantic happened between the two of you?" Rarity asks to clarify. "What!? Who said anything romantic happened?" I ask as I look around the room. "Well, Pinkie Pie was saying that Twilight seemed to... enjoy herself a little. But, Pinkie Pie could have been reading too far into it." Wow... I feel slightly violated... and dirty. "I'll have to talk to Twilight to clear some things up." I look down to Spike and notice that he looks a little mortified. "Are you going to be okay, Spike?" "What? Oh yeah, just fine. Glad to hear about Twilight feeling up complete strangers. I’m just peachy," he says as he stands from his stool and stomps out of the room. "What was that about?" I ask Rarity. She makes a face but continues to focus on her work. "Well, Twilight is basically his mother. Most of the time they act like brother and sister, but Twilight has raised him since he was hatched from an egg. She's always been the one to watch over him." Again, wow. I had no clue they were that close... I guess he's not a slave. "Think I should talk to him as well?" I ask as I look out towards the main room. "That would probably be best... aaannnddd done!" she says as she lifts a plain white shirt over to me. I grab it and look it over a bit before putting it on. It's a long sleeve button up shirt that has a lay flat collar. The collar seems odd but it beats walking around shirtless. "Well? Go on, how does it fit?" Rarity asks excitedly as she trots around me. "It's perfect. Thank you very much," I say as I tuck in my shirt. "It was no problem at all, now I have a proposition for you." "O-kay, what do you have in mind?" "I doubt you want to wear the same clothes every day, and I'm absolutely fascinated by your home attire. If you let me look over those smashing pants, I'll make you some more clothes. What do you say?" Smashing? Seriously? But she has a point, I don't think wearing the same thing over and over again will help with getting the locals used to me. "I’ll agree on one condition. You make me a new pair of pants first. You know, so I don't walk around half naked in an indecent way." I ask, getting a large nod from her. "Deal, now hold still so I can take measurements for your pants," she says as she pulls out the tapes and begins to measure me again. "Just out of curiosity, why are you so interested in my clothing?" I ask as I watch the tapes fly around me. "Are you kidding? It is my obligation to fashion that I seek out all trends, past and present. Plus, I'll be the first to introduce human fashion wear to ponykind! Who could resist such an opportunity?" I think I should tell her they’re just pants, but she is making me new clothes for free, so I'll let her have her moment. "Whatever you say Rarity." She finishes measuring and goes back to her sewing machines, levitating various rolls of fabric and utensils over with her. "Miles, could you be a dear and fetch me Spike. I need his assistance." She asks in a slight daze. I can see that she's clearly in the zone. "Sure, no problem." I walk back out to the front room to find Spike and Twilight talking over by the mannequins, and Storm standing guard over by the door. Twilight looks slightly irritated and is looking away from Spike, who is standing in front of her with his arms crossed, tapping his foot. "Hey Spike, Rarity says she needs your help with some stuff," I say as I walk into the room. "Alright, but I still have some things I want to say when we get back home," he tells Twilight as he walks back to the backroom. "What's wrong with him?" I ask in an annoyed tone. I don't want to press it too hard right now. But he's being a little too disrespectful to Twilight for my taste. "He's just mad about a couple things going on right now," Twilight says in an irritated tone. "That's no reason for disrespect; want me to get him back in here?" "No. I'll talk with him when he cools down. Miles, I'm going to head home right now. I need to... do a few chores," Twilight says with a deep sigh as she looks away from me. "Alright, see you later then." She nods and walks out the door without another word. I look to Storm and ask, "Do you know what's going on with her?" "Just some personal matters I don't know about. Nothing we should concern ourselves with." Fuck that shit. I guess friends means something else for ponies. I'm not going to let something that's bothering Twilight go unattended. Not to mention I am most likely to blame for it in the first case. I begin to walk back to the backroom but stop by the doorway when I hear their conversation. "..Seems nice enough, but I still don't trust him. What if he turns out to be a fillyfooler? What about when he gets his weapons back? He could go on a killing spree! You saw how well he handled that bull bare handed! I just don't want to see anypony get hurt," says Spike. "Darling, I have to agree with Twilight on this one. I think you’re overreacting to all of this. Yes, he did do quite a number on that bull, but that was self-defense. And I don't believe somepony like him would be a fillyfooler." "So would you leave him with Sweetie Belle?" "Spike!" "Well?" "Well... no. But that's just because I don't know him! You can't just assu—" "Yeah I don't know him either, that's why I don't want him around Twilight so much! We don't know what he will do; or what he's capable of." A silence fills the room. I can't believe what I just heard. Yeah they don't know me, but have I really given them a reason to be so fearful? With neither of them speaking up I decide to walk into the room. "Miles! I-I finished your pants, there's a fitting room back in the front room, let me show you." "Don't worry, I saw it." I grab the pants and walk straight into the fitting room. I'm slightly pissed for being judged so poorly, but at the same time I can't rightly disregard their worries. It's true that they don't know much about me, but how dare they make accusations about me without getting to know me first! I quickly remove my boots and switch pants. The new ones feel more comfortable, but also feel more fragile. They're a light tan and must make me look like a puss. But I ignore it for now and return to Spike and Rarity. I set my old pants down and turn to Rarity. "Thank you for the courtesy Rarity, I'm glad to see a few diamonds in the rough. I'm going to get going now, I'll stop by tomorrow to check in on your progress. Vale usque nos obvium iterum." I leave the building with Storm following closely. I don't know where I'm going, but I need to clear my head before I do something regrettable.
Chapter 16 TrustChapter 16 Trust As I'm walking off Storm follows me while flying so we're at eye level. "What's got you all worked up?" Storm asks as he stares at me in confusion. "I'll tell you about it later. Right now, I need to blow off some steam. Is there anywhere that is somewhat secluded?" I ask as I walk at a brisk pace. "Um, the park would be best but why-" "Great, that'll do. Where is it?" I ask as I quicken my pace. "It's that way," he says as he points ahead. "But why do you-" Before he can finish I begin to run towards the general direction he pointed to. He quickly flies next to me and keeps pace, only having to flap his wings gently. "Why are you running!?" He's demands. "..." "Miles!?" "..." "Gaaah, why are you so stubborn!" He yells in desperation. "Because I'm trying not to do something stupid. If I tire myself out, I won't have the energy to do anything." I tell him as I push myself to move faster. "...oookay. Well can it wait until we actually get to the park? You’re kind of scaring some of the locals." I look around the houses to see many faces watching me run by. They look scared and I can hear them locking their doors as I run by. "Too late to be discrete about this. I'll just have to explain myself another time." As I run, the houses around me suddenly stop. The area becomes an open field of rolling green hills with several trees standing randomly. The path continues for several kilometers before ending at the massive red buildings from the other day. I stop abruptly, making Storm overshoot me by a few meters, and look around. "Is this a park?" I ask as I look around the mostly open field. "Yeah... what are you going to do?" I look around and try to figure out what I could do. Several meters to my right is a tree that has low hanging... columns? To my left is a fairly level open field. There are benches set periodically throughout the path, ahead in the path is a large water fountain that sits in the middle of a cross way for two paths. "Miles?" "Can you do me a favor?" I ask as I begin to unbutton my shirt. "Uh, sure, what do you need me to do?" "Hold this," I say as I throw him my shirt. With it off, I begin to sprint off the path to the left. I can see a small boulder in the distance and decide to make it my marker. When I make it to the boulder, I slide n' pivot and continue to run back to the path. I can see Storm just sitting there, looking pissed, with my shirt on the ground. When I make it to the path, I slide again and begin to run back to the boulder. I figure the distance between the two to be about... a little over half a kilometer. With every pass, I can feel my body begin to tire, sweat forming all over. The entire time I'm running, I keep my mind blank. I like to let the simplicity of a good workout clear my head. I haven't been keeping track, but as I turn away from the boulder I see Storm laying on the ground, on the verge of sleep. I decide to change things up in this last pass. When I make it to the path, instead of turning around, I run across and head straight for the tree. "Huh? Wha?" says Storm in a sleepy daze as I pass him. "Sorry sleeping beauty," I say as I run past him. I make it to the tree and stop underneath it. With a jump, I grab the closest column and begin to do pull ups. After what feels like a few minutes Storm walks in front of me and sits down. I can see that he put my shirt inside his armor, a bit too late but whatever. "Are you done yet? We've been here for hours." I look around and notice that the sky is becoming darker. Damn, how long have we been here? I drop down to my feet and stretch a little before looking around, panting deeply. "How long...*pant*...have we been out here?" I ask as I check my pulse. "Three hours." Hot damn! That can't be right. "Are you sure? It does not feel as if it's been three hours...*pant*...maybe half that." "Do you see the sun?" I look around the sky but can't see it. "The sun sets at six. We left Carousel Boutique at three. You've been running like crazy for almost three straight hours." "Oh, sweet...*pant*...Okay, let’s head back." "Finally!" Storm cheers as we begin to walk back. With every step, I take I can feel a numb ping race up my legs. At certain points, it feels as if I'm going to drop from under myself. After a while my breathing is back under control, but is still constant. The cold night air stings against my throat with every inhale, and after what feels like forever I stop and collapse on a nearby bench. "I'm sorry, just let me catch my breath." He nods and takes a seat next to me. I need to talk to him about what happened earlier anyway, what better time than now. "So, Storm, mind telling me what happened between you and Twilight?" He jumps a little at this, but quickly recovers and lets out a soft sigh. "Well... we were eating lunch... and at first it was quiet... but, then, I started to ask about you and her, and she denied any feelings. I then asked her if she had feelings for anypony. She told me she only once ever had feelings for a colt she knew from a while ago. She started looking really sad, so... I kind of... kissed her." "Why would you kiss her?" All of the soreness escapes me when he says that. Why would he do something so stupid!? Is this some pony thing? "I don't know! My ex-marefriend would do the same thing and it seemed to work out-" "Is Twilight your marefriend?" "Well no, but-" "So how could that have possibly worked out?" "*sigh* I don't know. It just felt right," he says as he drops his head low. Well, it's obvious that he likes her, he's just stupid. "It's not like I kissed her on the lips, it was just a peck on the cheek." He tries to explain, but I just laugh at him. "HA! I had a friend who beat the shit out of some guy who looked at her in a suggestive manner. Trust me, women will blow everything out of proportion." This gets a small chuckle from Storm - good, at least Eximius’s pain is helping someone. "You ever have a marefriend?" he asks as he looks up to me. "Hey, this is about you, not me," I say as I try to change the subject back to him. "Come on, one guy’s pain to another." Aw fucking ass, play the bro card on me. "*sigh* No. I've never had a girlfriend before." I admit as I lean forward and rest my arms against my knees. "Any girls that interested you?" He tries. "Not really. For me, the only things that ever concerned me were doing good in school and protecting Topaz Falls." "Hmm... sorry," he says as his ears droop down. "For what?" I ask in confusion. "Well, everypony keeps bringing up your past. And I know how that could hurt." "Hmm... the weird part is, it doesn't really hurt. I'm saddened deeply, but... I don't know how to explain it; I feel as if I'm still there." I lean back against the bench and stare up at the night sky, letting myself get lost in the countless stars. "We should head back, it's getting late," Storm says as he gets off the bench. I nod to him and follow after him, my eyes still on the starry sky. We walk for a bit until a question bursts out from me. "Hey Storm, do you trust me?" My question catches him off guard, making him rub the back of his neck as he thinks about his answer. Truth be told it caught me off guard too. But there's no un-asking the question. "Well... I really want to. You seem like an honest guy and I can tell you don't want to harm anypony. But my job tells me not to. It demands I expect that you will turn any second and try to hurt those around me. I don't want to believe that, but I have no choice to... sorry." I think about it and look back down at him. "Don't worry about it. The mission comes first, never your emotions. Well, that's what they tell you in basic at least." He gives me a quick nod before continuing down the path back to Twilight's. "Hey, can I have my shirt back?" I ask as I walk beside him. He pulls it out of his armor with his wing and tosses it back to me. Didn't know they could do that... strange. I slide it on and begin to button it up before something comes to mind. Time to tease. "So, you like Twilight." I more state than ask. "What!? No I don't!" He yells back with a small jump. "In which case I guess I should apologize for making her feel me up like that. It's not cool to do that kind of stuff with your bro's girl." "She's not my girl! But... that still wasn't cool." He says with a grumpy frown. I chuckle at him. He's about as easy to read as a blank sign. "Hey, it was life or death, kind of, not really, pain sucks. Anyway, how do you plan on fixing this?" I ask as I tuck in my shirt. But I don't like the way it looks, so I untuck it. "*sigh* Fixing what?" "Well, she kind of hates you. Plus, have you even apologized yet?" "She won't let me." He says as he looks away dejectedly. "Hmm... I'll talk to her. She may not want to hear it from you, but she may listen to me." "I... would appreciate that... bro." I stick my fist out instinctively for a fist bump. It was something me and everyone else did and it just seemed right. I quickly realize that he doesn't have a fist to do this, so I begin to pull my hand away when all of the sudden- Clock He jumps up a little and jams his hoof into my fist, making a light clonking sound. Well, didn't see that coming. As we continue to walk into the town I begin to hum a melody. Once I can tell Storm is trying to listen I begin to whisper the words, getting louder and louder as we get closer to the library... "Storm and Twilight walking in Emerald City... K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes..." "Are you sure you aren't six? You keep acting like a six-year-old. Plus, you sang it wrong. It's sitting in a tree, not walking in Emerald City." "Sorry, but where I come from, there are no trees. So why would we be sitting in them?" I tell him, getting a nod in return. "True, true... is Emerald City another human city?" "No, it's a pony city," I say as I give him a ‘no shit’ look. He rolls his eyes and says, "You know what I mean." "Hm, yeah. It's our capital. It's supposed to be the epitome of political activity, social reform, and academic prosperity." Storm nods to this as we continue to walk. As we go, I begin to hum again. "Storm and Twilight alone in Pony-ville... H-U-M-P-I—" "REALLY!?" he yells as his wings flare straight back. "That didn't even rhyme!" "It didn't need to. What's up with your wings?" He looks back and immediately tries to get them down, blushing like crazy. "Wow dude... is this how pegasi get boners?" I ask more out of genuine curiosity than anything else. There's a lot I'm going to have to learn out here. "Can you just shut up for a minute!" he says as he tries to pull his wings down. "Damn dude, you got it bad for her, don't you?" He grumbles to himself as he tries to work his wings down. After a minute of chanting what sounds like a drill chant he finally gets his wings down. He turns back to me with a blush and scratches the floor with a hoof. "Please don't tell anypony," he asks as he looks up to me, blushing slightly. "Hey, you can trust me with a secret, now let's get going before it gets too late." He nods and we continue to walk down to the library. "Just out of curiosity, what was that?" "It's called a wing boner. When a pegasi gets excited our wings flare back like that." He admits with a blush. "Pegasi? As in it happens to females as well?" "Yeah." Hmm... women with boners... why am I thinking about this? As we approach the library I can hear some yells coming from inside. With a quick glance Storm and I run to the library and burst through the door. Inside are all of the girls, plus Spike. All of them are facing Twilight, who looks like she's on the verge of exploding from anger. "What's going on here?" I ask. "Miles, just the person I wanted to see," says Spike as he looks to me and crosses his arms. "Can you come in here, we'd all like to ask you some questions."
Chapter 17 True IntentionsChapter 17 True Intentions "What kind of questions do you have in mind?" I ask as I enter the room, with Storm closing the door behind me. Everyone has a concerned look on their face, except Twilight, who is still on the verge of an anger meltdown. "Well darling... you see the thing is-" Rarity starts, only to be cut off by Rainbow Dash. "What are your intentions with Twilight!?" she roars as she flies up in my face. "My... intentions?" I ask, taking a step back slightly confused. "Yeah, what do yo-" Rainbow Dash begins to say, only to have Applejack pull her down by biting her tail and yanking her back. "Whoa there little missy! Now, look here Miles, Twilight is our friend, and we're a little... worried about having somepony that forces thumselves onta her living in the same house as her. We just want ta ask ya a few questions to put our worries ta rest." Well, that's reasonable... I think. "What exactly do you mean by that?" I ask as I look around the room again. I feel like I'm being interrogated for something that clearly was a misunderstanding. "Well, how do ya think a her?" she clarifies. "Well, she's my friend," I say with a shrug. "I think of her the same way I thought of my friends back home." I look around to see everyone looking away, trying not to look me in the eyes. "What?" "Miles-" Twilight starts but stops when Spike steps forward. "Miles, I did a little research on my own. There was never a settlement in history called Topaz Falls. You lied about where you came from!" He accuses me, folding his arms with a smug look on his face. "Hmm... we'll let’s think about this for a minute. Did the authors you read from actually know anything about humans or human civilizations at all?" I ask, crossing my arms to match his attitude. "Well... no, but-" "So in all that research you did in the last few hours, you couldn't find anything on human civilization. How about any references to humans in general?" "No, but-" "So let me see if I got this right. You couldn't find any evidence of a people or culture that existed some three thousand years ago, so you conclude that it must not exist. EVEN THOUGH you have someone in front of you who is a person that fits the description of these non-existent people, telling you that there is a city called Topaz Falls, and there is a civilization of humans. Now would you like to know why ponies, as well as any other group, would never see nor hear of humans for a long, long, long time?" "How?" Twilight asks after a slight pause, genuinely interested. "Because we don't live on the surface. Our cities were built almost three kilometers’ underground. We put them there a thousand years before I was even born." Everyone looks pretty shocked by this, looking up at me with wide eyes and dropped jaws. "So that's why you don't know what any plants are, because plants can't grow underground," Fluttershy says understandingly. "Yeah, basically." I say with a shrug. "If your cities were underground, then how did you end up on the surface?" Spike asks. "Well, I figure being sent three thousand years into the future put the planet in a different location. I should consider myself lucky that I even landed on the planet." Oooh... that's a creepy thought. "Well, how are we to know that you’re telling the truth?" Spike asks. "Oh, he's tellin the truth, ah can tell," Applejack pipes in. "So Spike, any other questions?" I ask, making him glare back at me. He looked like he was about to say something when he suddenly puffed out his cheeks. After a few seconds of holding his face like that, he gives a little jump as he burps out a small green flame. Wisps of energy congeal from the green flames and merge to form a small scroll in the air. It has a red band going around the center, with a gold seal of a thick ‘U’ on it. Twilight picks it up with her magic and unrolls it to read it over. "A letter from the Princess, that's weird." She muses as she scans the letter. As she reads, she keeps a serious look on her face. Her eyes going from side to side until she comes to the end of the letter. She looks away for a second before re-reading it over again. "What does it say?" Rainbow Dash asks impatiently. "Well... it seems another dragon has decided sleep near Ponyville again. He hasn't started snoring yet but the Princess doesn't want to wait until he does for us to act." She looks up from the letter to everyone in the room for a second, before she rolls the letter shut and walks to a nearby desk. She pulls out another piece of paper and a quill, and writes something down before rolling it up and giving it to Spike. Spike takes a breath in and blows out a small green flame that disintegrates the letter into the energy from before. The energy wisps away through a nearby window and flies away into the night. Okay, so apparently, dragons can breathe fire and are used to deliver mail. And why would a dragon sleeping be a problem for Ponyville? Twilight turns to all the girls and begins to march in front of them. "Alright girls, it seems Ponyville needs our help again. Everypony go home for the night and rest. We'll meet here tomorrow morning at seven o' clock, so be sure to bring whatever you will need for the journey." All of the girls rear up onto their hind legs and hold their front legs in front of them, giving different cheers of support to one another. "Seven o'clock, got it." I say, getting more shocked looks from everyone. "What? Did you really think I was going to sit this one out?" "Why would you go?" Rainbow Dash asks in an irritated tone. "Why wouldn't I?" I ask, getting Spike to roll his eyes. "It’s not really your problem to deal with. Not to mention your methods are a little too extreme for a job this big," Spike says. I look down to Spike and say, "Now why would I have to get rough with a dragon? They don't seem to be all that tough." Spike just glares at me and gives a small huff of smoke from his nostrils. "Uh, Miles... Spike is just a baby dragon," Twilight says. "This is going to be a full-grown dragon." "Okay, how big do they get?" "Well... most are around two stories tall, have seventy-foot wing spans, and are around a hundred feet long." What's a foot? Do... do they actually measure using their feet? Is that their way of saying a meter? And why are they measuring with feet? Don't they have hooves? Even then, that's a big creature. And if they can breathe fire like Spike does, that could cause some problems. "Are you still going?" I ask for clarification to Twilight. "Of course I am, I-" "Then I'm going too." "Why would Twilight going make you still want to go?" asks Rarity. "Well, if you’re trying to infer that I'm only going because of some strange affection for Twilight, stop. I'm going for only two reasons. To protect Ponyville, and to protect my friends." "We don't need to be protected, we can handle things on our own," Rainbow Dash says defensively. "I'm sure that you can, but as long as one of my friends is in danger, I will always be there to protect them, no matter the cost." "W-what does that mean?" Fluttershy asks timidly, while she also seems to be shaking slightly. "I would die for my friends." Again, stunned silence fills the room. "You would die fer us in ord-" Applejack starts but stops when I interrupt her. "No, no, not you. I said my friends. As of right now, that means Storm and Twilight." I say as I walk by Twilight's side. Pinkie Pie's hair seems to deflate as she looks up to me with hurt eyes. "Does that mean that you and I aren't friends right now?" she asks in a mournful tone. "Sorry, I don't use the term 'friend' lightly. But that doesn't mean I won't be friendly towards you or any others. Being a friend of mine means more than just asking questions or doing small favors. To me, it's about being there for one another. Helping each other through the hard times and accepting one another for who they are. All you've done since I've been here is chase me like some wild beast, accuse me of being things that sound horrible, and use me to further your own interest. The only exception is Fluttershy, who is only not a friend because I hardly know her, but given some time I could see her being a very good friend." Fluttershy gives me a small smile, but the rest seem to be only angered by my remark. "Hey, I'm a great friend!" yells Rainbow Dash. "Why wouldn't I make a good friend?!" "I didn't say you would or wouldn't make a good friend. I just said that I barely know you, so I'm not your friend. I'll be a pleasant acquaintance, but we're not friends." She crosses her forelegs and pouts on the floor. I think I'm coming off as a dick, but I mean what I say. "So if we’re not friends, does that mean you wouldn't protect us if we were in danger?" Rarity asks quietly. "I would protect you within a centimeter of my life, but for my friends, I'd be willing to give that last part up, if it meant they would be safe." Everyone goes silent after this. I can see Storm and Twilight are thinking hard about this, that's probably for the best. Everyone else just seems to be deep in thought, with really offended expressions on their faces. Twilight gives a soft sigh before saying, "Well, we'll just have to worry about this tomorrow. We all need to go home and prepare for the journey." Everyone silently agrees to this and walks out the door, except for Spike, who gives Twilight a final glance before he walks up the stairs. Once they're gone, Twilight magically shuts the door and approaches me. "You know, you really hurt some of their feelings right now." "Yeah, I know. I didn't mean to come off as offensive, but I meant every word." I explain. "So you would die for us?" Storm asks, walking around and sitting next to Twilight. "Yeah, I would." Twilight and Storm exchange looks before looking back to me. "Why?" They ask together. "What do you mean?" "I mean, why would you throw your life away for somepony you met yesterday?" I can see a look of concern on both of their faces. I turn away from them and walk over to a nearby window, looking up at the night sky. After a minute or two I take a deep breath before turning back to them. "What else would I use my life for? Everything I ever knew died three thousand years ago. Even if the city is still there, with people, what would be the difference from going there or staying here? Either way, I'm starting over. I'm here now, so I'm going to make the best of it." Twilight drops her head and shakes it a little. Storm looks at her, then to me. I motion for him to put his arm... leg around her, and he hesitantly gives it a try. Once his foreleg makes contact, Twilight immediately looks up to him, after a few seconds of staring she looks back down. "*sigh* Miles... what am I going to do with you?" she says quietly. "Nothing right now," I say, getting her attention. "Right now we’re going to prepare for the big trip tomorrow. Now, what will we need?" This puts a smile on her face as she breaks off Storm’s hug and walks over to the desk. She pulls out another piece of paper and writes a few things down. Once she finishes, she turns back to me and Storm with her confident smile back on. "You two go through this checklist and bring all of the needed items back here when you find them. I've got to work on a few things in my lab so I'll be back up in a while." "Can do, boss," I say with a salute, making her giggle slightly. She gives me the checklist and trots up the stairs. Once she's gone I look back to Storm. He's sitting there, wide eyed, staring at his leg. "You alright?" "I'm never washing this leg again," he says dreamily. "Gross, well let’s get started on this checklist." I unroll it to find that all of the listed items are drawn instead of being written. That actually makes things a lot easier. I was just going to have Storm do all of the work, but now I can help! I split the list with Storm and begin searching throughout the house. Most of the items are simple; a satchel bag, some quills, ink, but some things I have no clue how to find. One is a drawing of a book with some specific drawing on the front. I end up spending hours looking through every book until I luckily come across it. When I put it in the pile of found items, I can see that Storm only has one item left. "Hey Storm, let me see your list really quick." "Uh, okay..." This was too easy. I look throughout the page and then shift back to mine. I continue to swap the two until I feel confident he doesn't know which is which. I then give him my old one and begin to walk into the kitchen. "Aw come on, not cool." Sucker. I walk into the kitchen and check the last item. It's drawn in orange and looks like a triangle. It has long green things coming out of the back and for some reason looks edible. I check the fridge and sure enough, there's one right there, surrounded by other variously colored objects. I grab it and go back to the front room. "Hey, what is this thing?" He looks over from a bookshelf and says, "Its a carrot. It's something you eat." Hmm... nah, it's for the trip, so I won't try it. I throw it into the pile of stuff and walk over to Storm. Checking the list, I can see that we only need about four more things. "What's next?" "Well, we need our armor, the first aid kit, a bag for me and you, and to double check the list to make sure we have everything on the list." "‘Check the list’ is on the list?" I ask, looking down at the list. "Yup." "Efficient. Well, my armor is under my cot and you've got yours on, so check that off. I guess I'll go get the first aid kit while you get the bags." He nods and walks up the stairs to find the bags. Hmm... if I were a first aid kit, where would I be? I go and check around the kitchen cabinets for anything that resembles a first aid kit. After going through a few cabinets, I finally find a small white box with a red plus on it. I take it and open it up to find bandages, tubes of ointment, and other various medical supplies. I close it up and bring it to the other supplies. Well, that should be everything, except for- BANG A loud explosion erupts from the other room, making me jump slightly. I quickly run up the stairs and can see smoke coming up from the other lower room. Before I can run down there, Twilight and Storm come running out, Twilight's face is charred black and she’s coughing like crazy. "What happened?" "I was *cough* making some potions *cough* when Storm bumped into me. *cough cough cough* That ended up making a big explosion." I look over to Storm, who is recovering from a coughing fit. "I didn't mean to, *cough* I was just trying to get the bags *cough* out from under all those books." I look between the two and begin to laugh. I tried to stifle it at first, but after a few seconds of seeing Twilight's charred face I couldn't hold it any longer. "What's so funny!?' Twilight huffs. "Your face! Bwahahahahahaha!" I fall to the ground in a fit of laughter. I seriously have to hold my sides or they'll fall off. When I finally get control of myself I look up at the two and wipe away a tear. "Sorry, it's an inside joke... kind of. Are you alright Twilight?" "Yeah, I'm fine," she says in an annoyed tone. "The other rooms are filled with smoke, so we'll just have to sleep out here tonight. I'm going to take a shower, can you two find the spare blankets?" "Yeah, no prob." Twilight gives a small sigh and walks back up the stairs. I look over to Storm to see him sitting there with his eyes wide open. "What's up with you?" "Both the rooms are filled with smoke." "Yeah, and?" "So we all have to sleep out here..." "O-kay..." "ALL of us, together, in this room." I think about it for a second before I put one and one together. "Oh sweet Barbra..." Perspective: Celestia Sunset After taking a good long look, I give a soft sigh. No matter how many times I do it, setting the sun has always been one of my least favorite things to do. I love interacting with the sun, raising it, lowering it; making solar flares are one of my favorite events in particular, but setting it always brings mixed emotions. It's like saying goodbye to a dear friend while giving them one last hug. I know I'll see it tomorrow morning, but the separation has always been something I disliked. *sigh* Well, at least I no longer have to raise the moon. I love Luna's night sky all the same, but interacting with the moon has always felt... different. The sun always fills me with warmth and confidence, giving me the strength to do anything. Whereas the moon has always been cold and ominous, filling me with dread. I'd never tell Luna that though. She always gets so sensitive when it comes to the moon. She wouldn't get that if she made it appear more... alive. Maybe more ponies would be willing to stay up and enjoy it, but she insists on making it seem devoid of life. Well, it makes her happy, so I'll try my best not to pester her about it... too much. I fly down from the cloud cover of Canterlot and land on my bedroom balcony. I can see Luna doing the same, coming back from raising the moon. I wave a hoof to her and she waves back before walking into her room. Something seems off with her today. Normally she's a bit more perky than this. I should talk to her. I fly over to her balcony and tap on her glass door. "Luna? Is everything alright?" After a few silent moments, the door slowly opens to reveal Luna, looking very tired. "Hey Tia, what's up?" she says somewhat groggily. "What's up? I know you've been learning to speak the common dialect, but since when do you use common slang?" I ask with a slight chuckle. "Huh? Oh, well, I heard Miles say it, and I kind of like the simplicity of it. Two words, yet so much is being asked," she says while shaking her head slightly. "Miles?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. "Oh, right, I haven't had a chance to tell you yet. Well, remember the creature that your student sent you a letter about?" "The one with the weapons who kept running away, yes I remember." "Well, that night I found him and spoke with him for a while. He didn't seem to be a threat to anypony, and his story sounds like it would be unbelievable. He spoke of losing everything and how he just wants to go home. You should have seen the look of devastation on his face. I decided to ensure that he doesn't become a threat to all our little ponies, that he will live among them for some time. I've set a guard to be with him at all times and that he would live with your student for the time being." "You put some creature we know little about in the care of my prized student!? Why would you do that?" "Twilight is more than able to not only fend off this... human... and is more than capable of being able to provide for him. Look at how she handles that baby dragon." "Yes, well, Spike is different from other dragons. He's been raised by ponies his entire life, not to mention he's still only a baby." "Yes, a baby we once had to call the Wonderbolts for because he was rampaging through the city," Luna says flatly. "I saw this human and from the way he acted, I don't think he would ever hurt somepony, especially after what he did." "What did he do?" "A stampede of cattle went through the town. He ran out to try and help, but was tackled by a bull. He then fought off the bull and saved the town. This is also why I'm so tired, I received a letter from the guard I posted with him. I went down to check up on him. That's when Miles asked me 'what’s up'." "He asked you what’s up. As if you were a common friend?" "Basically. He treated me as if I were an equal; I don't think he's ever been around royalty before. Or knows how to act around royalty, for that matter." "Do you know where he came from?" "He said he comes from a place called Terradisia. I've never heard of it before, have you?" "Hmm... no, I haven't. Not off the top of my head at least. Was there anything else about him that seemed interesting?" Luna looks down and away from this question. I've seen this little act before, here come the lies. "Well, you see, the thing is..." "Luna," I say as I take a step forward, "I'm your sister, you can tell me anything, what happened?" "*sigh* I think I... aroused him." Okay, wasn't expecting that. "Well, Luna, you are a very beautiful mare. I wish he wouldn't look at you like that, but those feelings are completely natural. Now was there anything else you wanted to tell me about this human?" Luna looks up to me and quickly looks away again, she's hiding something, I know it. Before she could answer there came a knock from her inside door. We both walk to the door and open it to find one of the palace guards standing at the door. "I'm sorry to interrupt your highness, but our border patrol has discovered another dragon sleeping on the outskirts of Ponyville. Would you like to send a squad out to take care of the problem?" "That won't be necessary," I say. "I will have my student take care of this problem. Please keep all guards at their post." "Very well, your highness," he says as he gives a salute and walks down the hall. Luna closes the door and turns back to me. "Are you sure it is a good idea to have your student handle something like this?" "She and her friends have done this before, I have the utmost confidence in her ability to handle the situation quickly and quietly," I say as I walk back to the balcony door. "I'm going to send her the letter now so she can get started as soon as possible. Have a good night, Luna." As I walk through her doors I can hear her mumble something, but can't understand it. I'll have to come by the next chance I get to talk some more with her. I fly back to my room, pull out a parchment and quill and begin to write. ‘My dearest and most faithful student, Ponyville is on the brink of turmoil once again. It would appear that another dragon has decided to sleep within the borders of your town. Though he hasn't started, I fear that that he may begin to snore and shroud the land in a thousand years of smoke. I entrust that you and your friends will be able to deal with this issue once again. Princess Celestia’ I levitate the note and am about to seal it, when an idea comes to mind. I know Luna isn't telling me everything about the human, and I know that she will never tell me the full story without annotating it some way. If I can get Twilight to report to me about his exploits, I can figure out whether or not Luna is ready for this kind of responsibility. But at the same time, I can't see Luna taking this the right way. Well, I did say she would take the lead on this one, but I guess having Twilight giving me occasional reports wouldn't be too involving. I unroll the note and begin to add to it. ‘P.S. I would like to ask you a favor as well. I have found out that the human Miles will be living with you for a period of time. I would ask that you send me occasional reports on his behavior and exploits. I know Princess Luna is taking charge on this one, but I can't help but be curious about it. If you choose to, please let me know as soon as possible. I would also ask that you keep this between the two of us.’ I roll the scroll up and send it off. I hope nothing comes from this. I would hate to have to take this project from Luna, but if things end up becoming too much for her, I will do what is necessary.
Chapter 19 Journey to Mt. Sky Scraper Chapter 19 Journey to Mt. Sky Scraper Chapter 19 Journey to Mt. Skyscraper I'm running down a dark grey hall. At the end is a bright light with dark figures standing in the light. I look behind me to see a darkness rapidly approaching me. I'm running as fast as I can, but with every step I take, the light gets farther away and the darkness gains on me. "Miles..." I look back to the darkness to see black arms shoot out and take hold of me, grabbing my legs and arms and wrapping all around my waist and chest. I twist and pull as I try to escape but I can't break free. I fall to the ground and begin to be dragged into the darkness. I scream and scratch at the ground as I try to grab hold of anything to stop being pulled in, but I soon find myself in the dark abyss with a pressure building on my chest. "Miles..." I jolt awake and almost smack my face into Twilight's. There's a cool layer of sweat built up all over my body and I seem to be panting. I look around to see Storm out of uniform to the right of me with a worried look, and Twilight standing over me with her forehooves on my chest. I fall back down and take a moment to gather myself. "Uh... Twilight, why are you standing over me like this?" She hops off and looks back to me with a similar look of concern. "I was trying to wake you up, you were having another nightmare." I sit up and rub the sleep from my eyes. Another sleep terror, just what I needed. "Are you going to be okay? Do you want to talk about it?" "I'll be fine, don't worry about it. What time is it?" I ask as I stand up and stretch a bit. "It's six o'clock. Are you sure you're alright? This is the second night in a row you had a nightmare, maybe we should talk a bit about it-" "Maybe another time, right now let’s finish getting ready for the trip," I say as I head over to the pile of stuff that we had to find yesterday. Twilight and Storm accompany me at the pile and look down to the stack of items. "You guys just couldn't make a neat, organized stack, could you?" Twilight asks in an irritated tone. "What do you mean, it's organized enough," defends Storm, only to get a deep groan from Twilight. She levitates everything into the air and begins to move everything into groups of similar items. Books with books, writing items with writing items. Once she finishes moving everything to it's appropriate group, she begins to stuff them all into three satchel bags, making sure to utilize every centimeter of space. Once done, she levitates the two of us a bag. "Okay, now it's organized enough," I say as I grab the bag. I watch Twilight set the bag to rest on her hips, and look back at my bag. It has two holding compartments and a single strap connecting the two together. There's really no way for me to carry this without having to hold it in my hands. "Can you let me into the weapon chest? I need to grab something." Twilight looks to Storm, who only shrugs, before looking back to me. "What exactly do you need from there?" she asks cautiously. "I was going to grab the sling from my rifle and use it on this satchel." Twilight gives me a skeptical look before walking over to the chest. She touches it with her horn, making it shine. After a second of this, the shine fades away and she opens the chest. "Alright, take what you need." she says while taking a few steps back from the chest. I walk over and set the satchel down next to it before I pull out my rifle. I disconnect the sling and look it over. I then pop the cartridge and unload the round inside the chamber. I grab the round and put it inside the cartridge. "What are you doing?" asks Storm as he comes beside me. "Just stripping my weapon down. I don't like leaving it operational without me around." I say as I begin to disassemble it, setting all the parts into the corner of the chest. When I finish, I’m about to stand when a thought comes to mind. "Hey Twilight, how dangerous is this going to be?" "Well, we have to go to Mt. Skyscraper, which is half a day’s journey, traveling along the Everfree, so we might run into some problems here and there. Why?" "Think it would be alright for me to bring one of my weapons?" "What?! Why would you need a weapon?" Twilight asks in a shocked state. "Well, protection obviously. I doubt that I can punch out a creature that is two stories tall." I say with a shrug. "We’re not going to go start a fight, we're just going to talk it out of the area." Twilight tells me, as if lecturing a child. "Yeah... why would a dragon ten times the size of you comply so easily?" "Because we're going to go ask in a sensible and level headed manner, that's why!" she says with a look of confidence. I look over to Storm to see him facehoof. "If it makes you feel better, I'll be bringing my sword." he says from behind his hoof, getting a wild look from Twilight. "You have a sword on you!?" He walks over to his armor and pulls a blade out from the inside. It's a simple short blade, but what confuses me is how he's able to hold onto it with his hoof. His hoof seems to wrap around the handle, but that still seems to defy logic. He twists it from side to side before re-sheathing it. "Standard issue for royal guard." he says matter-of-factly. "That's nice and all, but I would feel better if I had my own means of protection." I say, looking back to Twilight while crossing my arms. "Agh, fine, one weapon! But the minute we get back to Ponyville it goes straight back into the chest. That goes for you too! I don't want any weapons in my home." Storm and I glance to one another and give a slight nod. "Your house, your rules," Storm says as he begins to put his armor back on. I turn back to the chest and look at my selection. I don't think I'll use any guns until I absolutely have to, save the ammo for the important stuff. And if we're traveling around and ponies are already terrified of me, I don't want to give the complete wrong impression, so the sword will have to stay. I grab my trench knife and fit the holster to my belt. I shut the case and pick the satchel and strap up as I stand up. "That's a pretty weird looking blade, what is it?" Storm asks as he approaches me and looks it over. I pull it out and show it to him. Twilight looks a little disgusted by this, but comes up to look it over as well. "It's my trench knife. A long, long, LONG time ago, humans had a war that was basically a stalemate for a majority of the time. They ended up trenching their lines, and there came a need for a short blade for more effective hand to hand combat. Thus the trench knife was born." "Why does the blade have three sides?" Storm asks. "It's a stabbing blade. The three sides ensure that the wound created wouldn't heal easily and make the largest wound possible." Twilight gasps at that. "Why would you want that?" she asks in bewilderment. "Well, if I fall, I want who ever beat me to suffer for as long as possible," I say as I re-sheath the blade. "That's horrible." "Yeah, but no one said war is pleasant. Now let's finish getting ready." I walk over to my cot and begin to put my shirt back on. From behind I can hear Twilight re-lock the chest and walk away, probably towards the kitchen. Storm walks next to me and sits next to the cot. "So your people were at war?" I glance to him before preoccupying myself with my shirt. "Yeah." "With who?" "The Unfamiliar." "Who are they?" "No one knows, they showed up one day and started attacking, so we fought back. We had the better fighters, better tech, all around better odds, except for numbers. When the war started, it was estimated that for every one our of soldiers killed, forty three point six of theirs fell. But after every fight, more would show up. It was just a matter of time until we lost the armada, then the colonies, then Diamond Halls... then Topaz Falls." I finish buttoning my shirt and look down at my hands. I should've seen that second shot coming, maybe then I could have been able to stay and help in the fight. "Hey, you don't know if Topaz Falls fell or not. If they fight like you do, then they should have been fine," Storm says, giving a small smile. I return the smile - he doesn't know what they did to Diamond Halls, but he's trying to make me feel better. so I'll try not to think about it. I pull the satchel out and set it on the cot. I take the strap and slide it as long as it'll go. I tie the end to the strap on the satchel. When I finish I sling the strap on my left shoulder, and have both of the satchels rest against the right of my hip. I look to Storm and give a slight nod before I walk into the kitchen. Twilight's at the stove working on some food, so I take a seat at the table. "Where's Spike?" I ask. "He's probably still asleep," Twilight says as she works on whatever's cooking. "Mmm, where is he sleeping?" I glance around, but don't see any bed or cot lying around. "In his bed in my room." "Okay... wait, you mean he slept in a smoke filled room all night?" "He's a dragon, the smoke doesn't affect him the way it would us." I settle down and let it go. Fucking dragons. "I'll be right back, I'm going to grab my armor from the other room."I say as I stand. "Could you do me a favor and grab the potions I had made, they should be on a table in the room. Oh, and can you also wake Spike up for me?" "No prob." I walk all the way to Twilight's room an take a look around. The smoke has cleared up now, making it easy to see my way around. I look around and don't see a bed for Spike. I walk up to Twilight's bed area and see him in a basket behind the bed. I guess that's normal. I wonder if he likes not fitting in his basket? "Spike," I say, trying to wake him, but only get mumbles in response. "Spike," I say a little firmer, only to get louder mumbles. "SPIKE!" "Mommy?" he says as he jolts awake. "Yeah, mommy's here, go on downstairs for breakfast." I say in a sweet voice. "Hmm, you're not mommy," he says as he lies back down to sleep. Whatever, I'll get him after I get the armor and potions. I go down to the other room and see a table set up in the center of the room. Various beakers and tubes have different colored liquids in them, sitting stagnant. I see a few small racks of potions on the edge of the table and assume that they’re the ones Twilight needs. I see that my armor has been moved under the table, so I go and equip them first. It feels kind of weird putting these on in casual wear, but I'll get over it. I can't exactly go down to the armory and issue... I really need to stop thinking about there. Once they're on I grab the vials and make my way back to Spike. He's still asleep, even snoring at this point. Hmm... I think I've got an idea. I kneel down and get right next to his face. "Sapphires." I whisper. "Where!?" he screams as he jolts awake, looking around for sapphires. "I don't know, maybe they're downstairs waiting with breakfast." I say as I begin to walk back. I make it downstairs and see Twilight and Storm eating at the table, talking to Fluttershy. "O-oh, good morning Miles," she says timidly. "Good to see ya Fluttershy." I say as I set the potion racks on the table and take a seat. Twilight levitates a plate over to me and sets it on the table. It's filled with light tan strands of... stuff that looks like it was lightly fried. I take a fork and try a chunk. Aw fuck, this is disgusting! It's like someone shredded the bottom of my boots and fried it. I try to finish the food in my mouth but eventually have to spit it out. "Something wrong with your food?" Twilight asks. "Sorry to say, but that was the worse thing I've ever ate. What is this?" I tell her as I wipe my tongue clean of the awful substance. "It's fried hay." "Damn man, I can't eat this." I say as I push the plate away from me. "I'll eat it," says Storm as he pulls it forward and begins to eat. Spike finally makes it downstairs and walks over to the cabinets. He pulls out some garnets and brings them to the table. I watch in horror as he eats them as if they were simple snacks. Such a waste. "So, Miles... what do you eat, if you don't mind me asking that is!" Fluttershy asks. "Well, I don't know what I can and can't eat here, everything is so different." "Whaddya mern bur thurt?" Storm asks with his mouth full. "Our food was manufactured from roots and various minerals." "How does that work?" Twilight asks. That... is a good question. I never really looked into it myself actually. I just ate it. "Howdy everypony!" Applejack yells from the front room. I turn back to see her with Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and a sleepy Rainbow Dash. They all have satchels on them that have copies of their marks on them. "Ah good, everypony is here. Once we're done here we'll get going," Twilight says as she levitates all the plates to the sink. Storm wasn't done with his and watched with sad eyes as the plate left him. "Alright, if everypony is ready, let's get going!" Twilight says as she trots out of the room. "Um, actually Twilight, I was wondering if I could wait here, if you don't mind that is," Fluttershy says while trying to hide behind her hair. "This again, Fluttershy? You've done this before ’Shy, I know you can do it again!" Twilight says encouragingly. "I don't know, I don't think I can." "Well then you can't." I say bluntly, getting glares from everyone. I ignore them and turn to Fluttershy, who looks like she's on the verge of tears. "If you say you can't do something, you'll never be able to do anything. But I've seen the braver side of you before, and I know you can do this, so what do you say: can you do this or not?" She looks away and thinks about this, then turns back to me. "I-I, I can try." "Excellent, no one could ask for anything more!" I say as I stand. Fluttershy stands up and we walk out together, leading the group out the door. We all stop outside the door and wait for Twilight to leave. She comes out with Spike and stops at the doorway. "Alright Spike, you're in charge of the library. Be sure to get your chores done and don't eat all of the gems in one night," she lectures him. "Yeah, yeah, just be safe okay?" He leans forward and whispers something into her ear before going back inside. "What was that about?" asks Pinkie Pie. "Nothing important, now let's get a move on, we have a lot of ground to cover," Twilight says as she begins to trot down the road. We all follow suit, and I have to do a light jog to keep up. We travel through the town pretty quickly. Any ponies that were outside either quickly run inside or watch in horror. When we make it out of the town we slow down to a walk and continue down the path. The area to the left is filled with what I assume is the Everfree, while the area to the right is mostly gentle hills covered in green. A few trees dot the area to the right, with hundreds of flowers spotted throughout the field. The trail head leads towards a distant mountain range, filled with three peaks, two lower ones and one climbing high into the sky. We walk for a few hours in silence. Everyone looks like they want to say something but are holding it back. I guess I'll break the silence. "So, what should we expect to find?" "Well, a dragons den usually has mounds of gems or gold, but don't try to take any of it," Twilight says. "Most dragons are extremely greedy, and will attack if you try to steal from them, so don't." Don't steal, got it. "Anything else?" "Well, no. Ponies and dragons don't really interact with one another, so we don't know too much about dragons." Well, that was helpful. Silence returns after that, and after the sun hits the highest part of the sky we stop for lunch. We lay a red and white cloth down and fill the center with various foods. As we start eating, I make sure to grab the carrot. I bite a chunk off and give it a few chews. It's actually pretty good. I like the flavoring, and the texture makes it some weird combination of chewy and crunchy; it’s a good thing. I look around and all of the girls still look like they have a million questions. Well, may as well. "Alright, you've all been too quiet and I can see you all still have questions. So, lets go, another round of questions, lets start with-" "I've got one!" Rainbow Dash yells. "What's the deal with you and friends? Like, why would you only have friends you would be willing to die for?" "Well... I think it has something to do with the way I was raised. I grew up in an orphanage that was basically every person for themselves, corrupt deans, and daily abuse from anyone bigger or stronger than me. When I was drafted, the only people I ever cared about were the ones in my unit, and we were taught that you die for those around you." She gives a few nods and looks over to Fluttershy, who is to the left of her. "Um... well..." "Feel free to ask anything." "O-okay, well I was wondering, that's if you want to tell us that is, did you have a special somepony?" Fluttershy turns bright red as every eye turned straight to her. "Well, Fluttershy, no. I didn't have a special somebody in my life." Well... that was awkward. Twilight is next. "Hmm... well, you once said that you liked to read about early aeronautical and space flight. What exactly does that mean? Like, I get that it meant flying into space and stuff, I guess I just want some more explanation." Ho ho, thank you Twilight for picking something that's actually interesting and not depressing. "Alright, so humans can't naturally fly, but we can create. So, as time and technology moved on we were able to craft machines that would allow us to fly, both in the air and into space. We perfected it to a point where all aircraft doubled as spacecraft as well, though they couldn't do trans-galactic jumps." I can see that Twilight is just eating this up. I'll have to talk to her another time about the subject. Next is... me. "Alright, my turn. Why are you all naked?" Everyone turns a little red from this, and they stay quiet until Storm answers. "Well, our 'parts' are mostly internal. And whatever isn't is covered by our tails. So wearing clothes all the time is a little redundant. Though there are some that do, but that's mainly a luxury." That's weird. Storm's question is next. "How much training have you received from your military?" "I was a Spartan. Of the four hundred thousand soldiers in Topaz Falls, only a hundred were able to call themselves that. I spent the last ten years of my life training with different weapons, martial arts, and even battle theory and statistics." He looks a little impressed by this, good to know. Applejack is next. "Uh... well. This is a bit embarrassing, but it's been racking muh brains all day. Why is your...'thing' so small?" "..." "Uh, Miles?" *EYE TWITCH* "I thought ya said we could ask-" "I'M NOT LITTLE!" "Well, compared ta a stallion ya-" "Son of a bitch, I'm not a stallion now am I? Plus, you only saw it when it was down. For a human, I'm actually considered to be fairly large!" Fluttershy, Twilight, and Applejack share glances with one another before giggling. "Those poor human mares," Applejack says. "Aw son of a..." I cross my arms and look away. There's just no pleasing women, human or pony. "Well, not that this isn't a riveting subject, but I am a lady and will not stand to continue listening to such filth," chimes Rarity. Thank you. "Now it's my turn - Miles, what does your cutie mark mean?" Cutie mark? Oh, right, my tattoo. "It's not a cutie mark, it's a tattoo. I had a guy take a needle with ink and stab me a bunch of times. It's my unit's symbol." As I say this, I roll my sleeve up and show them my tat. They all lean in to have a look. "It's supposed to show how even in death, Spartans will fight for those they have to protect, or something like that; I was out sick the day Susurrans explained it." "Who's Susurrans?" asks Pinkie Pie. "He is... was my commanding officer. He basically mentored me during my time in the military." Yeah... in the military. "Were you close?" asks Twilight. "Heh, not your turn. I think that's enough questions for now, we should get going," I say as I stand up. Everyone else stands and helps put away the rest of the food and cloth. Once we finish, we resume our walk to the mountain. We’re only a few kilometers away now, so we should get there soon. Author's Note Thanks to Vaxadeki for being the next person to use the Brony Point system. He got to choose what weapon Miles took from the chest. Thanks for reading and like always, Brony on!
Chapter 20 Waking Dragons Chapter 20 Waking Dragons Chapter 20 Waking Dragons As we approached the mountain the path began to slope upwards, raising with the mountain. The path soon became completely surrounded by trees, blocking out the sun and sky. As we continued, our group seemed to slowly walk closer to one another. "Alright everypony," Twilight says in a hushed tone, “This is technically part of the Everfree, so be on the lookout for anything that may try to get the jump on us." Everyone gives silent nods as we continue to walk up the path. This area seems to be cooler than the open path before. Something moves nearby, ruffling one of the lower plants, making everyone stop abruptly; except for me, I only stop because I nearly tripped over Twilight. The rustling continues to grow as Storm and I move to the front of the group, readying our weapons for whatever may come out. The rustling stops abruptly as a small grey creature hops into view. It has small beady eyes, a round puffy white tail and long ears that stand on top of its head. "It's just a bunny," Storm says, getting sighs of relief from everyone else. I lower my guard but don't let it out of my sight. I don't like the looks of this... bunny. Fluttershy moves to the front and tries to approach the bunny, but stops when something comes flying out of the air and slams into it. I see for a brief moment what looks like a bright pink tongue slam into the bunny and pull it into the trees. We all look up to see a slimy creature sitting in a tree, pulling its tongue back into its mouth and giving a few chews before swallowing. The back of its body is dark green with a light green underbelly; it's back has a row of long red spikes going from its head to the end of its back. It has a wide face, at least a meter wide, and a fat body. It seems to be covered in a gooey slime except for the spikes. It has large round eyes on both sides of its face that seem to bulge out. It sits on four legs, the back two are set as if it's squatting. "It's a Goliath Treehopper!" yells Fluttershy as she quickly backs into the group. "A what?" I ask, but when I look back everyone has already started to run down the path, well... thanks for waiting... or at least telling me. I look back to the Treehopper and stare it down. It returns the stare as it begins to puff its chest out. It shoots its tongue straight for me, but with a twist I easily avoid being hit. I begin to trot down the path as it pulls its tongue back. I hear some cracking followed by what sounds like something flying through the air. I look back to see it crash into the path and turn towards me, shooting its tongue at me again and hitting me square in the back. I’m knocked to the ground, and feel myself being pulled towards the creature. I try to fight to get free, but its tongue seems to be covered in a sticky glue-like substance. I flare my hands and bring red flames forth, grabbing the tongue and burning it apart, setting me free. The creature lets out a bloodcurdling scream as it pulls the remainder of its tongue into its mouth. It flails around for a bit before jumping clear over the trees and out of sight. I sigh in relief as I stand back up, letting go of my magic. I feel a chunk still hanging on my back, so I reach back and try to pull it off. With a loud ripping sound I remove the rest of the tongue, as well as a good portion of my shirt. Well, fuck. I've barely had this shirt a day and it's already ruined. Whatever, I'll just get a new one later. I turn down the path and begin to jog down, trying to catch up with the rest of the group. I come to a fork in the road and slow to a stop. The one on the right seems to continue up the mountain, where the other seems to go along the side of the mountain. Well, we were climbing the mountain, so I guess that would be the best choice. I continue my jog up the right path. After a few minutes I think I can hear them up ahead, so I quicken my pace. The path has a tight turn up ahead so I slow down to turn. When I come around I instantly slam into Storm and fall to the ground. "Miles, thank goodness you're alright!" says Twilight as she runs up to me, followed by the rest of the group. Storm shakes himself before standing back up. "Yeah, I'm fine. Oh, thanks for the warning by the way," I say, making everyone look away, twiddling hooves and looking guilty. "S-sorry Miles, I thought you were behind us, honest," says Fluttershy from behind her hair. "Eh, it's alright, though I will be needing a new shirt," I say feeling my exposed back. "Oh, did that disgusting beast destroy your fabulous shirt?" says Rarity as she circles around and checks the damaged back. "This simply cannot stand; next stop I'll be sure to fix it for you." "Well, OK. Thanks," I say as we all continue to walk up the path. "Think nothing of it." "What was that thing anyway?" "It was a Goliath Treehopper," Fluttershy explains, "they are overgrown frogs that eat anything that'll fit in their mouths. They're poisonous and can jump clear over trees in a single bound. Big meanies." Hmm... can hop trees, Tree Hopper, clever. As we continue to climb up the path, the trees around us begin to thin out until they end abruptly. The area here has clear ground, with jagged rocks jutting out all over, giving a feeling of being devoid of life. A freezing breeze blows through the air, sending chills throughout my body. I look around and see that we're about a third of the way up, with the sun slowly getting closer to the horizon. "Do you know where this dragon is sleeping?" I ask. "Well, there's only one cave large enough to fit a dragon, and it's close to the summit," Twilight replies. Of course it is. "Do you think it'll be as easy as last time?" asks Rainbow Dash. "I hope so cause then we can get home sooner and then we can start our CONGRATULATIONS FOR SAVING PONYVILLE PARTY and we can have cake and play games and dance and..." "Did you say party?" I ask. "Well DUH! Why wouldn't I throw all of us a job well done party?" she says while hopping up and down. "O-OK, you throw a party," and I'll be sure to stay the fuck away, "I'm sure it'll be fun." She stops mid-flight and looks at me with the biggest smile ever. When she drops to the ground she springs back up and wraps me in a hug. "Oh my gosh I thought you were going to try and avoid my party because I remember you said you hated parties and that made me really sad and I thought you didn't like me because you also said we weren't friends but now you're gonna go to my party and we'll hang out and play games and we'll be bestest friends and THANK YOU!" How did she say all of that in one breath, and under ten seconds? Wait... she thinks I'm going to the party. I look down to her and see the pure joy in her eyes, and feel it in the slight pain from my arms due to her tight hug. Aw fuck... I don't think I could say no, now... this will not end well. "Just... don't invite too many people. I don't think I could handle that yet." She drops to the ground and begins to hop away in pure bliss. “Pinkie..." She either ignores me or is too happy to hear me - yeah, this won't end well. As we continue to walk, Twilight comes beside me. "That was very kind of you, Miles," She says simply. "Yeah, I actually wasn't planning on going, but once I saw how happy she was, I couldn't say no." "Don't worry, I'll be sure she keeps it small. Most ponies don't know we're even doing this, so it should be just us and maybe a few others." "Oh... OK, I should be able to handle that... hopefully." Twilight gives a small chuckle and runs ahead of the group to talk with Pinkie Pie. Before I could say or think anything Storm flies next to me. "So, Buzz Killington is gonna go to a party. Can't wait to see that." "You can't wait to see that, or can't wait to see Twilight dancing?" He stops mid-flight and drops to the ground. He stands back up and quickly checks his wings, which are luckily under control. He jumps back into the air and flies back beside me. "That wasn't cool." "Hey, not my fault you can't control yourself." "I'm in control!" "Yeah, we'll see how you fare at the party." Storm looks away and flies ahead of me; yeah, point - Miles. We are about two thirds of the way up the mountain now. Rainbow Dash has flown up and is now sleeping on a cloud. I asked Storm about it, but he simply gave me an odd look and said they're really comfy. I'll have to try one sometime. The incline has increased severely now. I'm basically facing the ground as we climb up. After what feels like hours of this, we finally come to a plateau. We all climb onto the plateau and take a moment to catch our breath. The area around here is fairly level, leading to a massive cave. The entrance is at least a story tall and has scorch marks all over. The inside is dark and seems to lead far into the mountain. After a minute of rest, Fluttershy flies off and fetches Rainbow Dash. Once we’re all together, Twilight begins to go through her plan. "Alright, here's the plan. Fluttershy and I will go inside and talk to the dragon, if he cooperates, then we'll head home, if not then we go to plan B. I have some potions that will force the dragon awake, so he won't be able to stay here to take a nap. If anything goes wrong, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie will cause a distraction while Applejack gets ready with the apples. Storm and Miles... will... uh..." "You didn't plan on us coming, did you?" I ask as I cross my arms. "Well, no. Hopefully we won't need your help if we can convince him to leave." "Alright, but first things first, what are these apple things for our defense?" I ask, looking to Applejack, who pulls out two red grenade like things. "Are those explosives?" "What!? No! They're fruits." I give her an even stare, “ya normally eat 'em." "OK, what's your distraction?" I ask looking over to the other three. "Well, if he goes into the air I'll fly circles around him-" Rainbow Dash says. "And I'll use my magic to blind him-" Rarity says, cutting off Rainbow. "And I've got this!" Pinkie Pie says as she pulls out some weird rubber toy and swings it back and forth, getting puzzled looks from everyone. I look over to Storm, and we share an unimpressed look before looking back to the group. "That is a horrible plan," I say. "Yeah, I don't see that ever working," agrees Storm. "What's wrong with our plan?" Twilight asks, slightly offended. "Well, where to start... You want to ask a creature that is ten times your size to leave by asking nicely. And you said so yourself that dragons and ponies don't interact, so why would he listen? If it were to get angry, you want to attack it with FOOD. And when you piss it off with food, you plan on using yourselves as live bait to distract it." "Yeah girls, I don't see any possible way for any of that to have the desired effect," says Storm. "It worked last time," chimes Pinkie Pie. "Did it?" I ask. "Well, not exactly. But Fluttershy was able to convince him to leave before, she should be able to do it again." I look over to Fluttershy and ask, "Is that true?" "Well... I did, but only because he hurt my friends. I don't think I could muster the courage to be that assertive again," she says as she shies away from us. "Alright, I've got an idea, let's do this the smarter way. First, me and someone else will do some recon in the cave, making sure there's only one dragon and to get an idea of what we're actually dealing with. The rest of you will work on a way to collapse the cave entrance." "Why would we need to do that?" asks Rainbow Dash. "If the dragon wakes up and tries to attack whoever is inside, they're going to run out the entrance, when the dragon follows, we will cause the roof of the cave to fall on top of him. It's a little better than throwing food. Now, who wants to do recon with me?" The girls get quiet as I look from face to face. Finally, Twilight steps forward. "I'll go, if things get hairy, I'll be able to teleport us out." I nod and begin to walk into the cave, Twilight following closely. The inside of the cave is dark and damp. The temperature seems to get hotter and hotter as we walk deeper in. I can see a light glow up ahead, so I begin to creep against the walls of the cave, with Twilight following close behind me. As we walk forward, the room becomes wider and wider until we stop before the sleeping chamber. The room inside is several stories high and circular, I think I can see a smaller exit on the other side. Stalactites come down from the top of the ceiling and let little drips of water fall on top of the sleeping dragon. The dragon is red with yellow undertones, with massive spikes coming from its neck. It's sleeping on a massive pile of gold and gems that shine, filling the room with a light glow of gold. In front of the massive pile is a smaller separate pile, with a smaller dragon sleeping on it. This dragon is similar in coloring but looks to be about my size, maybe a little larger. I look back to Twilight and motion for us to leave. She nods and we quickly leave the cave. When we get to the exit, everyone come to us for answers. "Well? What didja find?" asks Applejack. "Well, I was right to assume that there is more than one dragon in there," I say, getting shocked looks from everyone. "Yeah, and that's gonna be a real problem," says Twilight as she looks over to Rainbow Dash and Rarity. "You guys remember that dragon from when Spike went to the dragon migration?" "That jerk is in there?!" says Rainbow, pointing a hoof inside. "Yes. So I don't think waking him with us in there will be a good idea." "I thought you said dragons and ponies don't interact?" I ask as I look back to Twilight. "We don't, but when Spike went to be with the dragons we followed him to keep an eye on him. He got into some trouble with that one and we had to jump in to rescue him." Well, this complicates things. "Do you have enough of that potion for both of them?" "I barely have enough for the larger one." Well fuck. "Did you find a way to collapse the entrance?" "Well, we could do it magically," says Rarity. "Alright, here's the plan in my head. Storm and I will head inside and wake the smaller one. If he tries to attack, we'll lead him out the back. Storm will fly up and give Rainbow a signal that we're out of the cave, which she will send to the rest of you. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie will go inside and slip the potion to the larger one. Once you give it to him, get out. If he chases, Twilight and Rarity will collapse the tunnel. Applejack, I want you to set up a trip wire at the entrance, one that will be large enough to stop or at least slow down the dragon, giving Twilight and Rarity enough time to collapse the tunnel. Every one understand their jobs?" "Why are you the one to bait the smaller dragon out? Wouldn't it be better for me to do it?" asks Storm. "Maybe after you give the signal, but it'll be faster for you to send the signal rather than having to run back out of the cave. Plus, if he sees me run out the other entrance, he might just follow me anyway." I look around and don't see anyone about to object, so I walk to the edge of the entrance and drop off my bags. I also remove my boots and socks. The floor is cold and jagged but I'll deal with it. "Why did you remove your shoes?" asks Storm. "So I can run away," I say matter-of-factually. I look back to everyone and see them getting into position, so I begin to walk back into the cave. When we get to the room, I stop and look back to Storm. "Alright, fly over and make sure that the other cave is an exit," I whisper to Storm. "I thought you said there was another exit!" Storm loudly whispers back. "I didn't have time to check, so just fly over and if there is, just signal me and I'll wake the small one." "Fine." He flies over the dragons and goes down the other tunnel. As I wait I look at the massive piles of gold and gems. Maybe I can go through and take just a bit. How would they even notice just a handful missing? Before I could try to take anything, Storm flies above the other entrance and signals me to proceed. I walk casually over to the piles and position myself so that I can run out in a straight line. I look around and grab a fist-sized gem. I pick it up and look it over. Shame I can't keep it. I toss the gem towards the smaller dragon and hit him right in the head. "Ow, what the heck was that!?" he yells as he stands. He finally spots me and glares at me. "I don't know what you are, but you’re toast for waking me up!" I flip him off and motion him to follow with my finger. He launches off the pile straight for me. I turn and run down the other tunnel at full speed with him following me out. When we get to the entrance I can tell he's right on my ass, so I roll forward and stop, making him fly over me and into the sky. I run to the left and begin to go down the mountain. As I run, I flare the magic in my heels and begin to vault off the side of the mountain. Every jump sends me high into the air and crashing into the ground. Thanks to the magic, the ground folds underneath me and does no harm to me. I look back to see the dragon closing the gap between the two of us and Storm high in the air, signaling the others. A few more vaults and I'm back inside the forest, with the dragon close behind. I stop and put a tree in between the two of us. I stop the flow of energy to my heels and pull out my trench knife with my right hand. I send the energy to my hands and get ready for him to catch up. As the energy flows into my knife, white arcane text appears on the blade and spiked knuckles. I peer back to see the dragon walking around, trying to find me. As he gets closer, I creep around the tree to put myself behind him. As I approach him from behind something slams into my left arm, gaining the attention of the dragon as well. I look back to see the Treehopper from earlier a few meters away, looking pissed. "Well, well, well. Looks like you're trapped. I usually prefer gems, but I think I'm a little overdue for some meat," he says as he walks toward me. The Tree Hopper isn't trying to pull me back this time, he's just holding me at bay. When the dragon is close enough he leans down and gets in my face. "Any last words?" "Yeah, two actually," I say as I bring back my right fist, making him raise an eyebrow. "FUCK OFF!" I yell as I slam the spiked knuckles into his gut. The moment I make contact, white energy explodes from my knife, sending the dragon flying into a nearby tree and splitting it in half. I look back to the Tree Hopper and bury the blade into its tongue, making it scream in agony as the blade burns the flesh off. Again, the tip is burned off and the Treehopper jumps away. I shut off my magic and rip off the remaining chunks of flesh, creating a new tear in my shirt. I holster my blade and begin to walk back to the edge of the forest. "Miles? Where you at Miles?" I hear Storm shouting from the edge of the forest. "Storm. Over here," I yell while waving a hand, getting his attention. We meet halfway and stop when we hear a slam behind me. I turn around and see the dragon right behind me, holding his gut. The area around where I hit has a few scales missing, but looks fine other than that. "Gah, I'll make you pay, I'll..." "RRAAAWWRRR!" Something yells from the mountain, getting the attention of the dragon in front of me. "Aw man, I guess you luck out today. Watch your back, cause the next time I see you, you're dead," he says before he jumps into the air and flies back to the top of the mountain. "Well, that was lucky," says Storm. "Yeah, for now at least." We turn and start to walk back through the forest to the trail. "Did you do that?" Storm asks as he eyes me. "Do what?" "He was missing scales; did you do that?" "Oh, I guess I did." "How?" "With my trench knife." He looks at my knife in disbelief, but doesn't ask anything else. When we get to the trail I can see all of the girls coming down. They look happy and unharmed, so I assume that everything went OK. We wait on the trail for them to catch up, and when they do Rarity tosses me my boots. "Thanks for bringing my stuff, did everything work out alright?" I ask as I begin to put my boots and socks on. "Everything went according to plan," Twilight says in a pleased tone. When I finish I grab my bag from Applejack and we begin to walk back to Ponyville. As we walk, all the girls tell about how Fluttershy was so brave and how they didn't have to use the failsafe. I nod as I listen, but dread returning to Ponyville. Why did I agree to a party, can't I fight the dragon instead...?
Chapter 21 Pinkies PartyChapter 21 Pinkie’s Party I spent the entire trip back to Ponyville trying to think of excuses for not going to the party. My thoughts went every possible route - from battle fatigue, to intergalactic battle amnesia. But, no matter what idea popped into my head, I couldn't see a possible solution that would end with me not upsetting Pinkie Pie. She kept babbling on about all the fun things we were going to do and how she really appreciated me putting my fears aside for her party. Fucking dammit... I hate being the nice guy. When we made it to Ponyville, the sun was getting close to the horizon. Most of the girls went their separate ways but Rarity insisted that I go with her to the boutique, so I could get new clothes and let her fix up my current ones. I nod and go with her; I seriously hope Storm won't do anything stupid with Twilight, well... at least not without me there to pester him. "Miles?" asks Rarity, getting my attention. "Huh?" "I asked you a question." "Oh... yeah, I was... distracted." Rarity rolls her eyes as we approach her boutique. "Honestly Miles, that is no way to treat a lady." "Oh, sorry, what did you need to know?" "I wanted to know how you liked your last ensemble." "It was... nice." We reach the door and she looks back to me. "Nice? Did you love it or not?" "Uh, sure." "It's either you loved it or not, so tell me!" she says as she begins to step towards me. "Umm... well-" "Tell me." She continues to get closer so I begin to step back. "The thing is-" "Tell me tell me tell me TELL ME!" I trip over something and she gets in my face, giving me a look that is some weird combination of a pout and a demanding glare. "Alright! The shirt collar was off, the sleeves ended a little early, the buttons on the shirt were too large to fit the style of the shirt, and the fabric was too fragile." Rarity looks a little shocked by my outburst. "But, I appreciate the help..." Great, now I've probably pissed her off, goodbye free clothes. Rarity takes a moment to compose herself before saying, "Well why didn't you say so?" Wait, what? "Don't worry Miles, my second attempt will be absolutely fabulous. I just know you'll love it." With that, she joyfully trots into her store. What the fuck is up with these people? One minute they're pissed and the next they're happy as can be. Gah, whatever, not like I'm one to talk. After I shake my head clear I stand back up and walk into the store. As I walk in, a pair of scissors buries itself into the door, missing my face by centimeters. "OUT! I WANT YOU OUT OF MY STORE THIS INSTANT, YOU ROYAL PAIN IN MY FLANK!" Rarity yells at some unicorn stallion. He's fairly large, not quite as big as Big Mac, but pretty close. He's all white with styled blonde hair. His mark seems to be a gold plus sign with a blue one set behind it, being turned 45 degrees so the points show. He wears a black collar and is currently kneeling in front of Rarity, with a diamond ring on his horn. "Please, Miss Rarity, you've dominated my mind ever since that regrettable night, won't you at least reconsider?" Wow... I can already tell by his voice that he's a complete pussy. He stands and tries to approach Rarity, but she trots away. "I said no once, and I'll say no a thousand times more, NO!" "Then I'll have to ask a thousand times more: Rarity, will you..." "Oi! The lady said to get out, I think you should listen," I interrupt. He looks back and nearly falls over in recoil. "GAH! What is that thing!? Stand back Miss Rarity, I shall deal with this." Really... he rears up and tries to charge me. I sidestep and smack him upside the head as he passes by, shaking my head at him. "Aw! My hair! You'll pay for that you beast!" He tries to charge me again, only to find similar results. I look over to Rarity and she looks a little worried... and unimpressed. "Hey Rarity, should I throw out the trash?" I ask. "Oh, if you could that would be divine, Miles dear." "Dear!" He says as he looks between the two of us. "So that's the kind of company you wish to keep. Hmph, and here I thought you were a lady of refinement," he says as he turns back to Rarity. "I guess this would explain why you would want nothing to do with a stallion of my-" "Hey, asshole, we're not-" "Yes, Miles and I are together." We're what now? "If you wish to have my hoof in marriage, you'll have to get it from him." He looks back to me and scoffs. "You truly believe a simpleton like him could possibly stand against the likes of me?" "Hey! First off, shut the fuck up, I'd drop you quicker than a sack of rocks. Secondly, Rarity and I are-" "Madly in love," Rarity says as she runs to my side and hugs my waist, "and he would fight within an inch of his life for me, right Miles?" She hits my leg and gives me a look. Fine, I'll go along with it. Damn she is going to owe me. "Yeah, what she said," I say unenthusiastically, getting another kick from Rarity. "Hmph, we shall see about that," he replies, getting in another fighting stance. I push Rarity off and step forward to get ready, but stop when he flashes out of the room. After a few seconds I figure he's left so I turn back to Rarity, only to get wrapped up in a hug. "Oh, thank you Miles. Sorry for putting you in that awkward position, but I simply had to get that creep out of here," she says as she buries her face in my stomach. This is getting a little awkward. "Who was that guy?" "His name is Prince Blueblood, and he-" "Prince! He's related to Luna!?" I'm going to jail. "What, no. He is a member of the royal family. They are a step under Princess Luna." "Alright... so, what was he doing here?" "*sigh* He's been coming here for the past year, at least once a month, proposing to me. We met at the Grand Galloping Gala and... let's just say I saw his true colors and want nothing to do with him." "What do you think the chances of me going to jail are?" "Not likely. He's not supposed to be out of the palace grounds on his own." Oh sweet Barbra. "Rarity..." "Yes Miles?" "You can let go now." "Oh! Right." With a massive blush she lets me go and takes a few steps back. She plays with her hair a bit before trotting into her back room, mumbling to herself. I follow her in and lean against a nearby counter. She's levitating different objects back and forth, trying to distract herself in her work. "So does Spike know about our newfound love?" Everything in the air drops as she trips over herself and falls over. I laugh as I walk over and help her back to her hooves. I fucking called it. "You alright?" "Please don't tell Spike about what just happened. He doesn't know about what Blueblood tries." "Tell him about what?" I ask. She looks up to me and puts one and one together. She gives me a small hug before getting back to work. "But in all seriousness, if he shows up again, feel free to give me a call." She gives me a smile and nods. "So, on a completely different note, what are your pants made of? I've looked them over and can't identify what material it is," she asks while setting everything back in its appropriate place. "Well, it's some composite material we made. I'm not entirely sure, but from what Tenera told me, it's apparently derived from plastic." She thinks about this as she begins to pull out a pile of clothes. "Hmm... well, I'll have to bug you another time about it. Here are some more clothes I threw together for you. Hopefully they will fit your desire a bit better than the others did." I take the pile and look it over. Three pairs of pants; one being my old pair, one being blue and slightly rougher than the pair I have on, and the last being similar to the pair I have now; three shirts, a blue, a red, and a yellow one; and lastly some underwear. "Thank you Rarity, I'll be sure to repay the favor someday." "Don't worry about it. I know you don't think of me as a friend, but that doesn't mean I don't think of you as a friend." Wow... that was pretty touching. "Yeah... don't worry, you're getting close. I'm going to get changed now." I quickly leave the room and go to the changing room. That was awkward. Anyway, I remove my armor and begin to get undressed. I switch to some new underwear and my old pants. I grab the blue shirt and unfold it. It has horizontal lines in a lighter blue going through it. It has a slight V neck and has short sleeves. I shrug and try it on. It fits, so I put my boots on and put the rest in my bag. When I step out I see Rarity waiting by the door. "Well Miles? Let’s get a move on, we don't want to be late for Pinkie Pie’s party." Fuck. "I was actually going to swing by Twilight's place to... drop off my bag." Nice cover. "Alright, I'll escort you, let's get going." Well fuck me over. She walks out the door and I reluctantly follow. We make our way to Twilight's and meet her as she steps through the library door. "Oh, hey you two. I was just about to head over to Pinkie’s, what brings you here?" Twilight asks. "Miles wanted to drop off his bag before we went," Rarity explains. "Actually, it’s good that we met up, now we can put your blade away," Twilight says as she walks back inside. Rarity and I follow her in, though I kind of hesitate. I look to the left and see the chest already opened, containing Storm’s sword in addition to my weapons. I pull out my holstered blade and place it inside. She shuts it and sets the force field back around it. I set the bag down next to the chest and look around. "Where's Storm?" I ask. Twilight looks a little angered and looks away. "He's in the back, setting the cots back up." "Alright, well, why don't you two head on out. I'll grab Storm and meet you there." "Alright, we'll do that," Rarity says as she pulls Twilight with her. We share a glance before they step out the door. What the fuck did he do now? I head to the back room and find him sitting in between the two cots, wings erect, another bruise on his face, and the dumbest look of satisfaction on his face." Okay, do I even want to know what happened?" He lazily looks over to me and quickly tries to compose himself. "Well... you see... the thing is... this isn't what it looks like." "What happened?" I ask as I walk up to him. He's still trying to get his wings down, hmm. I reach out to touch them but he jumps away. "Don't touch them, they're sensitive!" "What the fuck does that even mean?" "It means just give me a minute to get myself under control!" "Wow... now I need to know what happened." "Nothing! Why would you say something happened? Does it look like something happened? Because nothing happened!" he says as he starts to sweat a little. "Oh sweet Barbra, something did happen. What did you do?" "Shouldn't we get to the party now? I think we should. It feels as if we're going to be late. Let's get going," he says before flying as quickly as possible out of the room. Oh, you can run but you can't hide. I run back to the front room and see him flying outside. Okay, maybe he can run. "What's all the commotion about?" Spike asks as he walks out of the kitchen. "I'm trying to get Storm to tell me something. You wouldn't happen to know what happened, would you?" "No, I just heard Twilight yell something and then stomp out here." Damn, oh well, I can just ask at... the... party. "You alright Miles? You look a little pale." "Oh, that's just because I'm about to torture myself by going to Pinkie's party." "Really? I've got to see this," he says as he jogs out the door. He peeks back and says, "You coming?" What a dick. I follow him out and towards Sugarcube Corner. Halfway there, Storm flies down and joins us. "So-" "Not saying." "Aw come on-" "Nope." "Whatever, I'll get you to spill your guts sooner or later." "You keep thinking that." "What's going on?" asks Spike. "Nothing," Storm replies quickly. Spike looks between the two of us and finally just shrugs it off. When we finally approach Sugarcube Corner I stop in my tracks. I can't believe I'm seriously about to do this. But, I said I would, and I'm not about to make myself into a liar. Who knows, maybe it won't be so bad. It might even be as good as my last birthday party, hopefully with a better ending though... that poor bus driver. "You alright Miles? You look like you're on the verge of a mental breakdown," Storm asks with concern in his voice. "Yeah, I'll be fine... she said there wouldn't be that many people right?" "Yeah, just us and maybe a few others, no more than fifteen." "Fifteen? I can handle fifteen, fifteen shouldn't be a problem. Well, *inhale, exhale* let’s get this over with." I put my hand on the door handle and look back. Storm is patiently waiting, while Spike is shaking his head. I look back and slowly open the door. "SURPRISE!" A pink blur yells as confetti and streamers fly out of the room, making me fall flat on my back. I look up to see Pinkie Pie standing in the doorway, covered in confetti and wearing a colorful pointed hat. "Welcome to your JOB WELL DONE WITH THE DRAGONS AND THE TREEHOPPER AND THANKS FOR SAVING THE TOWN FROM THE COWS AND WELCOME TO PONYVILLE PARTY!" "PARTY?" I yell as I try to get away, but can't seem to get up to run. Storm tried to get a hold of me, but I think I punched him. I stop moving and try to collect myself as I curl into a ball and hold my legs against my chest. Spike, Pinkie Pie and Storm walk over to me and look down at me. "Was it something I said?" asks Pinkie Pie. "Maybe, I think we should avoid the P-word for the time being," says Storm as he rubs his cheek. "You mean ‘party’?" asks Spike, making me cringe. "Yeah, that one." "Well, I'll go inside and tell everypony, you guys work on getting him inside," Pinkie says as she runs back inside. "Should we just drag him in?" asks Spike. "Only if you want to get punched," Storm says as he continues to rubs his chin. "How do you suggest we get him inside then?" Storm thinks about this for a second before he runs inside. After a few minutes he comes back with a confident smile. "Hey Miles, the party is over, we sent everypony home. But the Cakes would still like to meet you, think you can handle that?" "Maybe... I think... just give me a minute." I take a minute to let go of my legs and sit up. After taking a few deep breaths I stand to my feet and with a little encouragement I begin to walk inside. When I get to the door I hesitate for a second, before I open it and walk inside. THAT FUCKING LIAR! There has to be at least fourteen people here. I try to back out, but Storm gives me a little push that forces me inside. Once I get most of the way inside, every eye is on me. I begin to sweat bullets as I try to get out, but can't get past Storm. I finally give up and turn to the crowd with a forced smile. "H-hey..." "Well now that everypony is here let’s get this par... er, small get-together started!" Pinkie yells as she turns on a record player. Once the music begins everyone goes back to their own discussions, looking away from me. I sigh in relief and take a nearby seat. That was painful. "That was pretty pathetic," Spike says, getting a smack upside the head from Storm. "Hey, he faced his fear and made it here, what more could you want?" I look up to Storm and give him a smile. Spike just shakes his head and walks off. "You going to be alright?" "Yeah, I think. I'm going to stay here for a bit, you should go enjoy yourself." He looks back and walks over to the seat next to me. "No way I'm leaving my wing stallion alone," he says as he takes the seat. "Heh, you mean P.I.C.?" "What's that mean?" "Partner in crime." "Heh, I like that. Alright, no way I'm leaving my P.I.C. behind." I give him another smile as I lean back and take a view of the party. There are some kids running around, laughing and playing. Big Mac is over by a drink bowl talking with Fluttershy. Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack seem to be playing a game on the wall. It looks like you blindfold yourself and try to pin a tail on a picture of a pony. Twilight and Spike are walking towards me. "So, what do you think?" Twilight asks. "Not too bad. My nerves are still a little shot, but I should be fine." "You should try the punch, I think you would like it," she says as she levitates a cup over to all three of us; I think she forgot Spike. "To good friends," she says as she lifts her glass. I raise mine and the three of us tap glasses. Da fuck... Storm is holding his in his mouth. I guess that makes sense, can't really hold something without hands. I take a deep gulp from the cup and nearly choke on it. "Whoa, there's alcohol in this." "Is that a problem?" asks Twilight. "No, I just wasn't expecting it," I say as I take another drink. It has a sweet taste, and if I had to guess, I would say it's about twenty proof, give or take. Once I finish my drink, Twilight quickly replaces it with a filled one. "Trying to get me drunk?" "What? No. I just thought that if you had a few in you, you would ease up a little." Well, that may be a little true, I can feel the alcohol already taking the edge off my anxiety. I take another drink and look back to the game. "What are they playing?" I ask as I point them out. "It's pin the tail on the pony, want to try?" I look over to Storm, who only shrugs. "Alright," I say, downing my drink in one swig, "let’s give it a try." I stand up and follow Twilight over to the wall. When we get there, all of the girls beam as I say I want a try. I kneel down and let Applejack blindfold me. They hand me the tail and tell me to stand, which I do. When I stand they begin to spin me in a circle, stopping me when I have no clue which direction I'm facing. "Alright Miles, try and put it in the right spot," cheers Twilight. I reach out and try to find the poster, and when I find it I try to guess the best spot. After I push the tack in, I hear some laughter from behind, so I pull the blindfold off. Well, I got the tail in the right spot, if you count using other pictures as well. "Well, do I get points for getting the right spot?" "Mmm, no. But you do win another drink," says Twilight as she gives me a filled glass. "Ad bonum temporibus," I say as I lift my glass and take another drink. Everyone looks at each other before taking a drink of their own. "How many didja give 'em Twi? I think he's already drunk off his keister," says Applejack. "This would only be his third one, though he did drink the last two pretty fast." "I'm not drunk, I'm not even buzzed," I say as I take another drink. "That was just the language of my people." Twilight looks intrigued by this while everyone else just looks at me as if I'm crazy. Whatever, this drink is really good, but it doesn't compare to the drinks Inficiunt would mix. The party goes on for a few hours like this; the girls make me play different games and try different foods and I try them without question. Bobbing for apples was pretty fun, plus apples taste pretty good. Almost every treat Pinkie made me eat was fucking delicious, I need to find out how she makes them. Spike and Storm were talking for a while, but soon separated. I asked him what that was all about, and he just said to not worry about it, so I drop it. I think I have an idea of what they talked about. Soon the record runs out, and Pinkie is about to start a new one when I stop her. "That music was nice and all, but if you play another one like it, I may have to break it." "Well, what kind of music would you prefer to listen to?" Pinkie asks. "Let me show you," I say as I pull out my phone. Everyone is looking at me now, but thanks to my buzz, it doesn't bother me. I unlock it and slide to my music app. I open it and it goes straight to playing music, to which I pause before any sound comes out. I guess the crack broke it after all, because I can't get to the menu. The crack is also making it so I can't turn the shuffle on or skip songs. I guess I'll have to do one at a time. "Hey, my phone is broken, so I can't pick the song that comes out, so we'll just have to deal with what comes up, is that alright?" Nobody responds, I don't think they understood what I mean - oh well, they'll figure it out. I go to the song and press the play button. As the guitar riff fills the room, I turn the volume all the way up and begin to bob to the music. Everyone looks as if they never heard a rock song in their life, well, time they heard one. Once the singing begins I start to bounce in place while doing a slight fist bump. Okay, I might be a little more than buzzed, but whatever, I love this song and don't really care what they think right now. "Annie are you okay, are you okay, you okay Annie..." I sing along, everyone is looking at me as if I'm crazier than before, but whatever, if they don't like it, they can leave. As the song continues I can see Big Mac and Storm getting into the music, bobbing their heads slightly, so I motion for them to join in. "What do we do?" asks Storm as he steps forward. "Just cut loose and have a good time," I say as I slam my side into him, making him nearly fall over. "What the buck?" he says, but I ignore him as I begin to mosh on my own, thrashing about from side to side as I kick and punch. After a few seconds I stagger back as Storm slams into me and takes my place moshing, whipping his head back and forth as he spins in one direction, then in another... Atta boy. I run in and we just go fucking nuts. After a while, Big Mac joins in, followed by Pinkie, then Rainbow, and finally Applejack. The six of us thrash about for a good amount of the song. Damn, I took a slam from Big Mac and nearly fell over. Rainbow Dash and Storm took to the air and were bumping against each other as they both head banged. As the song hit the guitar solo, I reach up and grab Storm’s foreleg. I hold on to each of his forelegs as I begin to spin in a circle. "Whoa, what are you doing?" he shouts. "Just hold on and help me spin," I yell back. As he flies with me, I can start to feel all of the blood rush to my head. Storm is starting to look sick, so I let go and let gravity do its job. I fall back and trip Applejack, who somehow ends up on top of me, while Storm crashes into Rainbow and they collide into the drink bowl. As the song ends, the only sound left is all of us laughing. "WOO, that was totally fun! Play another, play another!" Pinkie Pie chimes as she bounces in place. "Please, could we try to act like civil ponies," complains Rarity. "Aw come on Rare, it was just in good fun," says Applejack as she jumps off me. "What? Ya against having fun?" "If acting like a complete barbarian is your idea of having fun, then you may count me out," Rarity replies as she walks out of the store with her head held high. "Uh, I think we should follow Rarity's lead and call it a night," says Twilight. I think there was a bit of a slur to her voice. Everyone agrees to this and says their goodbyes. Apparently, now I'm some kind of party king, ‘cause Pinkie says that was one of the best parties she had thrown. I think she mumbled "this month", but I'm not sure. As we leave, Twilight levitates Spike onto her back and the three of us begin to walk back. It wasn't so bad. Who knows, maybe I'll finally be able to get over my fear of parties after all. Author's Note The song (In case you forgot) was Smooth Criminal by Alien Ant Farm. I want to thank Cheesus for using his Brony Points to pick it out. Thanks for doing all those spell checks for me when I post. Thanks to everyone for reading and as always, Brony On!
Chapter 22 Manual LaborChapter 22 Manual Labor Beep...beep...beep...beep... "Alright, alright. Time to get up, I get it," I say as I turn off my alarm. Aw fuck, what happened last night? I remember the party, moshing like an idiot, walking home and then... nothing. I seriously can't think of how I got in bed, or anything from before that. I open my eyes to see a note over my left eye. I pull it off and see something written in pony. Not knowing of its importance, I crumple it up and stick it in my pocket. I sit up and... AH! My fucking head. The second I sat up, a mind-splitting headache erupted in my skull. Fuck, usually my magic helps me filter the alcohol better than this. I don't remember drinking enough to make me have this bad of a hangover. I stand up and look over to Storm's empty cot. Hmm, wonder where he went... oh sweet Barbra. I stumble my way up to Twilight's room and look up to her bed. It looks empty. I walk up to it and verify that it's empty; it doesn't even look like it was slept in. OK, in the clear so far, I should just head to the kitchen and talk to them during breakfast. As I make my way down to the front room I slip on something and fall down the main stairway. Luckily, a large pile of books catches me at the end of the stairs. "Ow... what did I... what the fuck happened here?" Literally every book is on the floor, making several large piles around the room. In the center of the room is a small fire that Spike is trying to stomp out. I hear some grumbling and see Twilight's head pop out of one of the piles. Her hair is a complete disaster and she looks like she didn't get any sleep. "Aww, my hea—AH! What happened to the library?!" Twilight yells as she jumps out of the pile, only to drop and hold onto her head from her own yelling. "Oow... watch the volume," I say. "Sorry. Where's Storm?" "I haven't seen him, Spike?" Spike finally puts out the fire and turns to us, looking pretty worried. "I haven't seen him at all. I woke up, smelled the fire and ran down here to put the fires out. I didn't even know Twilight was here until you showed up." "Alright, Miles and I will check the rest of the library; Spike, can you get started on cleaning this mess up?" He nods and begins to pick up some books around him. Twilight and I walk up the stairs to her room and begin to look everywhere for Storm, but to no avail. As we begin to walk to the downstairs room I look over to Twilight. "What?" "How do you feel right now?" "Like I'm having the worst hangover of my life." "Yeah, I figured, I meant... do you feel... as if... ya know?" "Please Miles, I'm not in the mood to play games right now, can you just say it?" "Do you feel as if you... and Storm... had sex?" Twilight stops dead in her tracks and gives me a horrified look. "What!? No, I mean... I don't think so. IF WE DID I'LL RIP HIS WINGS OFF AND SEND HIM TO THE BOTTOM OF A VOLCANO AND-" "Whoa! Lower the volume!" Twilight is fuming, she looks like she’s about to explode. "Damn, why do you hate him so much?" "Because he's a bucking pervert!" "I don't buy it, something more than him popping a wing boner made you hate his guts." Twilight turns away from me and enters the room. I follow her in and we search the room. After a while, we finish searching the room and begin to walk back to the front room. "Twilight?" "Miles please, I don't want to talk about it." "Alright, I won't force you to tell me. But, just know that if you ever want to talk about it, I'm here. I've been told I'm a good listener." Twilight stops in the middle of the room and sits down, dropping her head. "*sigh* I don't want to talk about it because I don't want to remember it." "Pushing it away won't fix it." "Yeah... I know." I walk in front of her and sit down. She lets another sigh go before looking back to me. "Well, basically, I had a coltfriend a few years before I moved to Ponyville. He was a good stallion, until he showed his true colors. He tried... to take advantage of me. I fought him off and got away, but it didn't end there. He refused to leave me alone. He followed me, sent letters and would randomly show up from time to time, saying it was his duty to be with me." "How did you get him to leave you alone?" "He was transferred to a different guard division for disorderly conduct." "So that's why you don't like Storm? Because of that guard?" "No. Because Storm was that guard." My jaw drops as I hear this. Storm... tried to... no. I can't believe this. I saw the way he acted, there's no way he could do something like that. But, I wasn't there, so how can I say what he did or didn't do? "We need to find him," I say as I stand back up. "Miles, please don't do anything brash," Twilight says as she jumps to her hooves. "I'm not going to do anything brash. I'm just going to have a word with him when we find him," I say as I start to walk to the front room. Most of the books are in neat piles and Spike is finishing picking them up. When I make it to the front room I stop and look back to Twilight. That's right, she can read pony text. I pull the note out and show it to Twilight. "Go to the fridge?" Before she can ask I make a beeline for the fridge and open it. Storm immediately falls out and crashes on the floor. He's in his armor and looks as if he has a slight layer of frost all over him. He's holding onto himself, trying to warm himself up as he shivers violently. I shut the door and pick him up, bringing him to the front room. I set him where one of the fires was and turn to Spike. "Get him a blanket." He nods and runs upstairs. As he runs off I remove Storm’s armor, returning him to his true form. "Twilight, are you one hundred percent certain it was him?" "Do you think I would forget something like that?" I look down to Storm and shake my head. How could I have misjudged someone so badly? But at the same time, I still have this weird feeling. I need to speak to Storm. Spike runs down with a blanket and throws it on top of Storm. "T-th-ank-ks," Storm stutters. I pat him on the back as I look to Twilight. She won't take her eyes off of Storm - screw it, I'll ask now, but in a more tactful manner. "Hey Storm." "Y-yeah?" "What was the name of that girlfriend you had?" Spike looks at me as if I'm crazy while Twilight just closes her eyes, preparing for the answer. "Wh-why w-would-d you n-need t-to know th-that?" "I'll tell you later, just answer." He looks back and forth between me and Twilight before he drops his head. "*sigh* H-her n-name w-w-was Rain-n-n-n D-d-drop." "What!?" Twilight yells. "So after everything you put me through you're not even going to own up to any of it!" "Wh-what are y-you talking about?" "You know darn well what I'm talking about Storm Cloud! About how you followed me around, how you spent every spare second trying to control my life, about how you tried to rape me!" Storm stops shivering and sits straight up. "What are you talking about? I grew up in Las Pegasus. I've only been in the guard for a year. The first time I ever saw you was the night Princess Luna stationed me here with Miles." The two of them stare each other down, neither backing down. "Hey Spike," I call out, making him come out of his hiding spot from behind a pile of books. "Do you remember Storm?" "A little, I was pretty young when it happened." Damn, that doesn't help. Before I could think of anything Storm gets up and goes to his armor. After some fumbling around, he pulls out a few photos. "Look, here are some pictures I have of me and Rain Drop," he says as he throws down the pictures. I look down at the first photo and see Storm with some dark blue pegasus, with light blue hair and green eyes. The second picture is of the two of the standing in front of a house made of clouds. The last photo is of both of them sharing a kiss. Twilight looks down at both of them for a bit before she looks away. "I don't want to look at some pictures of you and some tramp." Storm takes a serious expression when she says this. He picks up his armor and his pictures before he walks out the library. "Twilight..." Before I could finish she runs upstairs, tears running down her face."*sigh* Spike, you talk to Twilight while I go talk to Storm. Something isn't right here and we're going to get to the bottom of this." He nods and walks upstairs as I walk out the door to follow Storm. I step out and see Storm flying towards Applejack's farm, so I begin to run after him. Once again, as I run through the town, every person that sees me either runs indoors or watches in fear. This time however, I stop and walk through the town, I don't want to start a panic so I figure walking would be better; plus, I already lost sight of him so may as well let him cool off a bit before I find him. "Ahem." I look over and see an elderly pony walking beside me, with a younger pony walking beside her. The elder one has a light tan body with grey wavy hair. Her mark is a scroll with a blue ribbon tied around it. The second pony is light beige with black hair that is tied up in a bun. She wears thick black glasses and has a typewriter as her mark. "Can I help you?" "Yes, actually. My name is Ivory Scrolls and this is my assistant, Sarah Neighlin. I'm the mayor of Ponyville and I've been meaning to speak with you-" "Miles Eremita." "Right, Mr. Eremita, it seems that you haven't been... properly introduced to the town. Usually this would happen during one of Pinkie Pie’s parties, but that didn't seem to go over very well. When you can, could you make it to my office sometime this week? I would like to show you around Ponyville and get you acquainted with its residents." "Yeah, sure, but not right now, I'm kind of in the middle of something," I say as I quicken my pace to Applejack's. "Of course, of course. How about Wednesday the twenty-ninth?" "Alright, see you then." They both stop and let me go off on my own. A few minutes later I arrive at Applejack's farm and coincidentally run into Applejack. "Well howdy there Miles!" "Hey Applejack, did-" "Are ya here ta work on the farm?" "Well, no I was-" "Cause iffin I'm rememberin’ correctly, Luna did say ya had ta work ta pay off yur debt fer breakin' muh window an' makin' a crater in my front yard." Fuck, I completely forgot about that. Whatever, a few hours of work and then I'll find Storm. "Alright, I'll work for a while, but I can't stay too long. I need to find Storm and have a word with him." "What happened with Storm?" "I'm not entirely sure. That's why I need to speak with him." "Well, let me show ya how ta buck apples and then I'll let you work in the north field, I saw Storm out there earlier sittin’ on a cloud." I nod and follow her to a nearby tree. "Alright, so here’s the basics," she says as she kicks the tree, making all the apples fall onto the ground. "Ya just give 'em a good buck an' then collect the apples in a bucket. Ya take a bucket ta the barn an' put 'em in storage. Simple enough, why don't ya give it a try." I walk over to the next tree and look back to Applejack, who just leans against a tree and watches. I look back to the tree and then my feet. Dammit, I forgot to put my shoes on. Oh well, hopefully I can hold back enough, I take my stance and give the tree a solid kick. As I hit the tree I feel some energy escape me, making my kick strong enough to topple the tree. I stand there for a second, not wanting to look back to Applejack, but do after an awkward silence. Applejack is sitting down, wide eyed and with her jaw open as far as it will go. "Umm... so now I just collect the apples and... bring them to storage... right?" Applejack has to shake herself before she can answer. "How did you do that? There's no way ya coulda done that with yer scrawny legs. Big Mac can only barely do it an' he's been buckin' apples his whole life." "Well, I just..." I begin to say but stop when I see Storm up above, lying on his stomach in a cloud. "Uh... I'll tell you later, I see Storm," I say before I run off into the rows of trees. "I expect a hundred bushels of apples by the end of the day!" she yells as I run off. "Plus twenty more for the tree ya jus' destroyed!" One twenty, got it. I stop directly beneath Storm and look up. "Storm!" I yell, making him face away from me. "Go away Miles." "No can do. Why don't you come down here, and let’s talk about this?” "I don't want to talk about it!" Well, that didn't work... time for plan B. I walk over to a nearby tree and jump up to grab a couple apples. Once I have a few, I toss one straight through the cloud, hitting Storm in the face. "Ow! What the buck was that for Miles?" I toss another one at him, but he jumps into the air and dodges it. "Seriously! Come on Miles, give it a break." I throw the last apple at him but he just begins to fly away. "Oh no you don't," I say as I charge the magic in my heels, sending the black lines up my calves. I squat down and jump into the air, sending me high up thanks to the magic. I hit my peak and begin to fall back down, heading straight for Storm. "Look out below!" I yell as I near him. He looks around before we collide and begin to fall together. "Miles?! How did you get up here?" I wrap my arms around his midsection and grab onto my own arms, pinning him against myself. I slam, feet first, into the ground, sending dust all around us. I lose my balance and have to roll forward to compensate for the added weight. Once the momentum ends and I'm able to stand, I set Storm down and step back. "Ready to talk?" I say as I put my fists on my hips. "Your feet are on fire!" he yells as he stares at my feet. "Yeah they do that sometimes, now quit changing the subject and spill your guts." "Why are your feet on fire!? How did you get into the air like that!? Why are you not concerned about any of this!?!" "Why would I be?" Storm facehooves and begins to pace around. "This is bad. This is really, really bad. You need to tell me what's going on, right now." "Only if you tell me what's up with you first." Storm stops and looks at me with wild eyes. "Are you insane!? This is way more important than some stupid sob story. This could mean my job, you’re staying here... the Princesses could lock you up, or banish you. Or lock you up in the place they banish you to!" I shrug as I shut off the magic to my heels. I sit on the ground and wait for him to start talking. "Really!?" "Yup." "BBBUUCKKK!" he screams as he collapses on the ground. "Fine, but you better tell me what's going on with you. And I mean everything." "I promise." He sighs as he sits up and pulls out the pictures again, bringing the one of him and the girl out front. "This is Rain Drop. We were together for... almost five years. I really loved her. We did everything together, you couldn't separate us, we even bought a house together," he says as he moves to the picture of the house, "I really wanted to spend the rest of my life with her... but, then things started to go downhill. We would argue over the dumbest things and we started getting distant. I still loved her, but I started to question whether she loved me, well... until I caught her with another stallion. After that, she kicked me out and took everything of mine. Her new coltfriend was in the guard and kicked my flank whenever I tried to get my stuff back. The only things I have are these pictures and my name... well, so I thought. With nowhere else to go I joined the guard and tried to forget them." "Why don't you go back and get some closure? I'm sure-" "I can't go back! There's nothing to go back to!" Storm snaps, silencing me immediately. "*sigh* Rain Drop died during childbirth several months ago." A single tear rolls down the side of his face as he looks away, trying not to look at me. "So... if all of this has happened recently... what's up with you and Twilight?" "I don't know," he says as he lays down and covers his head with his forelegs, "I can't explain it, but when she's around... I don't know, the pain goes away. Like... if I can just be around her... I won't get those thoughts." "What thoughts?" I ask carefully. "You know... the ones where I end it. The ones where I stop the pain." I sigh as I position myself next to him and pat him on the back. "Yeah... those ones, I've been down that road before." "...Really? When?" "A few days ago." Storm looks up to me, tears rolling down his face. "Losing everyone I ever knew or loved in the blink of an eye; knowing that there could have been something I could have done to make things happen differently, I didn't want to deal with it. So, I figured I would get my weapons, do a salute in remembrance, and take the shot." "What made you decide not to?" "Well, I figured if they were around, Dolum would never forgive me, Auxilium and Tenera would cry their hearts out, Dare would do some over the top ceremony, Fidus would go on a beating frenzy, Inficiunt would get even more mad at me for breaking another promise, Sine and Eximius would take another vow of silence, and Captain Bellum... Captain Bellum would find a way to kick my ass for being an idiot." I feel a tear roll down the side of my face, so I quickly wipe it away. "Thinking of that made me think, 'It doesn't matter if they are alive or if we ended on good terms, I want to honor our good memories and move forward in life because of them'... so I decided that I'm going to live. If not for me, then for them." As I finish, I have to wipe away some more tears, as does Storm. I quickly stand up and begin to walk towards a tree. "What are you doing?" "Way too much depressing shit going on over here. I've got to clear my head, and there's only one good way to do that." I kick the tree in front of me and luckily don't snap it in half. All of the apples fall on the ground with soft thuds. "Well," I say as I look back to him, "you going to join me or not?" He does a final wipe of the eyes as he stands and walks over to a tree. He turns and gives it a hard kick, making most of the apples fall to the ground. "Sure," he says with a smile, "some manual labor sounds good right now."
Chapter 23 Old Wounds, New ProblemsChapter 23 Old Wounds, New Problems Perspective: Twilight I've been lying in bed for most of the day now, holding onto my tear soaked pillow. I'm still crying, but I've run out of tears to cry out, so now it’s just shallow breathing and heavy sobs. I can't believe after everything he pulled, he goes and pretends to forget me. As if everything we ever did never happened. As if he can just sweep this all under the rug and let it go. Then, just to throw salt on the wound, he goes and tries to show me pictures of some mare he's probably sleeping around with. He won't get away with what he did to me. "Twilight?" Spike says from the side of the bed. He's been here the entire time, trying to get me to calm down, but I don't want to hear it. "Come on Twilight, at least say something, anything." I tighten my hold on the pillow, ignoring his pleas. "I thought you were over that creep a long time ago." "I am!" I snap. "But that doesn't mean he gets to just get away with what he did. I swear, the next time I see him I'm going to..." Before I can finish, Spike burps up a letter. I pick it up and read it over. 'My faithful student, Thank you for agreeing to write to me about the human in addition to your other responsibilities, but I'm afraid I have another request to make. I need to know more about this human and his past. I can't shake this feeling of him being somewhat familiar. When you can, could you please try to find out what you can from him. Though I wish to find out as soon as possible, please be discreet about this. I do not wish for him to be aware that you are trying to pry information from him. I await your response. Princess Celestia. P.S. I am sending Captain Storm Cloud to Ponyville to keep an eye on him, please do your best not to blow his cover. You should be able to recognize him when you see him, but please do not interact with him. He has strict orders to lay low. He will be staying at the local inn until I determine that this Miles is truly not a threat.' What... I... I don't believe what I just read. I read it over and over again until Spike takes the note away, even then, I can't break my gaze. "Captain Storm Cloud!" Spike yells out in surprise. "But then, who is this Storm?" I hear Spike but I don't react. If that's the Storm from before, then... I jump out of bed and begin to run to the door. I need to talk to Storm... the not-a-complete-jerk Storm. I run down the stairs and open the door with my magic to run straight out, but as soon as it opens I run into somepony. "Aw... glan sakes girl, what's got ya so worked up?" Applejack asks, getting to her hooves. "AJ, have you seen Miles or Storm? I need to talk to them." "Uh... well, that's sorta why I'm here... There's been an accident, Twi." Perspective: Miles Earlier Today Aw fuck, my legs are burning like all new sorts of fuck. We've been kicking trees for what feels like hours. The sun is already past its highest point. I had to take my shirt off just to cool down from the heat, and because I'm sweating like a pedophile in a daycare center. Storm and I must have done... at least three hundred trees, made three times as many trips to the storage cellar, and have done it all in complete silence. "Hey." Well, there goes the silence. "You still owe me an explanation." "For what?" I ask, but know perfectly well what he's talking about. "Why were your feet on fire?" "Fire!? Now that's just crazy talk. If they were on fire, how would I be standing here right now?" "But there was fire, look at the back of your pants! They're burned all over." I look down at my pants and sure enough, the back of the bottom halves are burned off, showing my calves. "What are you talking about? My pants have always been like this." Storm looks at me for a second before he facehoofs. "You're messing with me, aren't you?" "Haha, yeah, but to answer your question, they weren't on fire." Storm does a double take as he looks back to me. "Miles-" I flare the magic in my hand to shut him up. "It's not fire, it's Soul." Storm gives me a confused look as he walks toward me. I sit back on the ground and hold my hand out so we can both see. Storm takes a seat in front of me as I begin to explain. "You see, humans can't naturally do magic without using some other means of energy conduit, usually gems. But, back before the celestial calendar, we discovered another way for us to interact with the world around us: Souls. We found out that if we make a portal like this," I point to the black lines and archaic text, "we can gain access to our Souls. With this, we can manipulate the world around us. Our only limits are our knowledge of the object we put our energy into, and our spiritual ability." "I don't get it. Why would you need to know about the thing you're trying to manipulate?" "Because if we put our soul into something that we are unfamiliar with, we run the risk of losing a part of our soul." "What would that do?" "Well, in small portions, nothing. Your soul would grow back and fix it. Big chunks, you start to change." I shut off the magic in my hand and look him straight in the eyes. "You begin to lose yourself. It starts small, forgetting dates, maybe you lose your sense of smell, but the more you lose, the worse it gets. At seventy-five percent, you go comatose for life, there's no fixing your soul at that point. At eighty percent, your soul begins to bleed out of you, burning you because you've become foreign. No one has lived past that." "If it's so dangerous, why would you use it?" I flare the magic in both my hands and bring them in front of me. I charge my magic, letting the dark lines go past my wrist, and create an orb of white energy. White flames burn from the orb as I levitate it. "This... is called Soul Fire. An orb like this has the potential to power anything. Jets, cars, mining drills, as long as you could sustain the energy you can travel to the farthest reaches of the universe. Why would we not try to utilize this kind of power - don't touch it!" Storm looks down and puts his hoof back down, giving me a small smile. "Soul Fire is very dangerous, though not to its wielder. If you were to touch this, you would lose your hoof. I, on the other hand," I grab the orb and hold it in my hand, "can do whatever I please with it, like for instance," I begin to crush the orb until I completely close my hand. I then throw my hand forward and grab Storms armor. In a white flash, I bring my hand back and shut off the energy. "I can remove enchantments." Storm looks over himself, finding that his body has returned to normal. "How did you do that?" "I read the energy in the metal and removed it. I was pretty talented in enchanting things. Every one of my friend’s weapons had some kind of enchantment that I put there. Speaking of which, next chance we get, let me see your sword." Storm looks as if he's seen a ghost, I guess this is a little too much. "Can't you use magic?" "Only unicorns and alicorns can use magic. The rest of us have to do everything by ourselves." "What!? How do you live without the awesome cheating abilities of magic!?" "We get by. But it's not endless like yours. Unicorns can only use magic in relation to their special talent. Like, if a pony's talent is farming, then spells meant to help them farm are easy. But if they try to do something related to, let’s say enchanting, they will never be able to do it." "Wow, that sucks." "Miles...we’re in trouble." "What makes you say that?" "If the Princess knew that you could use magic... she’d either kick you out of Equestria, or station a different guard with you. I don't want either." "Hmm... well, why don't we just keep that between the two of us then?" "I can't just lie to the Princess! That goes against everything I've been taught for the royal guard." "Well then, just don't lie. Look, if she knew I could use magic, she wouldn't have put you with me. All I have to do is keep that between the two of us and we'll be good as gold." "Good as gold?" "Shut up, it's a Terradisian thing. Look, if she asks, tell the truth, but if she doesn't, just don't mention it, alright?" He looks away for a bit before he looks back to me with a smile. "Alright, my lips are sealed." He raises his hoof so I give him a fist-hoof bump. We both stand and begin to walk towards Applejack's place, albeit at a slow pace. "By the way, what happened yesterday?” I pester, looking to the bump on his face. "What do you mean?" "Well, what was with that stupid look you had and why did you have a bruise?" He looks away and gets that same smile back on his face, but quickly hides his face from me. "Well... I'll tell you, but you have to share an embarrassing story as well. Deal?" "Deal, you first." "Fine, well, basically Twilight asked me to move the cots, so I took off my armor and lifted both of them into the air. I'm not sure how, but when I was setting them down, I guess my... thing... popped out... in front of her-" "BWUAHAHAHAHAHA, you flashed Twilight! HAHAHA... welcome to the club man, HAHAHAHA!" I nearly fall over from laughing. "Yeah well, what gave me the look was what she said," he defends, pawing at the ground slowly. "AW fuck, what’d she say?" He gets the biggest smile on his face as he turns to me. "She said 'I don't remember you being so big.' I kind of... ya know... lost it after that, so she slapped me and ran out of the room. Looking back now, what she said kind of makes sense." "Two things: one, I'm never asking you to move shit and two, at least you will be able to please her-" FWOOSH "...assuming she ever speaks to you again." DE-FWOOSH "Who do you think that other Storm is?" he asks quietly as we continue to walk through the trees. "Don't know, but one thing is clear," I stop and look to Storm, "if we ever find him, he's gonna pay." Storm nods to me with a solemn look before we both continue to walk. As we walk, a shadow suddenly forms around us, making us both stop and look at each other, before looking up and seeing a mass of round orange things flying straight for us. Perspective: Twilight Present Time "ARGH! Why would they use that catapult again!?" I yell at Applejack from across the kitchen table. "They thought they would git their cutie marks in pumpkin chuckin', so they took the catapult again and fired it into the orchard, hitting Miles an' Storm." "You realize that this is the second time that the girls knocked out Miles, right?" I say as I rub my eyes with my hoof. "Ah do, and don't fret, Big Mac an' I already had our little spout with the three of 'em. Plus, this time, they have ta apologize ta Miles and Storm." "The next question is, where did they get a hundred pumpkins and how did they fit them all on one catapult?" "Ah don't know, and ta be honest, ah don't think ah want ta know." "*sigh* Well, no use yelling about it now, where are Storm and Miles right now?" "They're back at the farm, wanna go check on them?" "Yeah, just give me a minute to speak with Spike." She nods and heads outside. I call Spike over and wait patiently for him to arrive. When he does show up, he jumps into the seat AJ was in and looks me straight in the eyes. "What's on your mind?" He asks innocently, swinging his legs back and forth. "Storm-" "Which one?" "The not-a-jerk-but-still-a-perv one." I answer quickly, trying to get on subject. "Oh, what about him?" "I... well... what do you think about him?" "Well, I had a little chat with him at the party, he seems like a nice enough guy," he tells me with a shrug. "What did you talk about?" "Miles." "What about Miles?" I think I know where this is going. "*sigh* Look, I know you had that touching moment and all, but I still feel as if he's hiding something. I know I don't have any proof or facts to go with that, it's just a gut feeling I have, and a dragon has to trust his gut." "Well, I trust him, but back to the point, do you think Storm is a good stallion?" "Huh, oh, yeah I guess, we only talked for a while and we didn't even talk that much. But, he's a royal guard so I trust him." I process this for a while before I get up and begin to walk out of the library. "Spike, I have to go to Applejack's to pick up Miles and Storm. I want you to stay here and pick up the place. You can have tomorrow off for cleaning everypony else's mess." "Sweet!" I meet Applejack outside and we begin to trot over to her place. I want to believe that this is the right choice, but I can't help but feel as if this is going to end badly. I just hope that I don't find what I'm looking for.
Chapter 24 Secrets and LiesChapter 24 Secrets and Lies Perspective: Miles As I regain consciousness, I find myself in a familiar room. I think I'm back in Big Mac's room. I sit up and bury my face in my hands. Being knocked out this many times can't be healthy. "Welcome back." "AGH!" I jump from the unexpected sound and fall out of bed, falling straight on my face. "You all right there?" "Maybe," I mumble from the ground, "how long have you been there Big Mac?" "Mmm, for a bit I reckon." "Awesome." I push myself up and sit on the edge of the bed. "Big Mac..." "Eeyupp." "Why am I naked?" "Well...we had ta clean your clothes, they were covered in pumpkin chunks." Of course they were, it's always something. "What's a pumpkin?" "It's a..." "No... wait, I remember now. Big orange round thing that hurts, got it. Where's Storm?" "We put him in AJ's room." I was about to get up, but quickly remembered I was naked. "Where are my clothes?" "They're hangin outside dryin'. I'll go check on 'em," he says as he gets up and walks out of the room. I lay back and relax on the bed. No point in stressing over something that I can't fix right now. I look over my body and realize how unharmed I am... strange. Must have been a ton of minor wounds. I think I can hear someone running towards the room. "Miles! Are you alright?!" Twilight yells as she bursts through the door and runs to my side. "Yeah, I'm fine..." "FINE?! Big Mac and Applejack said when they brought you in here you were covered in bruises! How are you completely healed without any medical aid?" Damn, I want to tell her that my magic naturally heals me over time, but I promised Storm I wouldn't. "Well... let's just say I'm a boss at healing," I say with a shrug. Twilight just sits down and shakes her head. "*sigh* Well... you’re up, that's what’s important right now. Storm hasn't woken up yet, we were going to take him to the hospital soon." My heart drops from this news. I need to get to him. Moving him around in that condition can't be good, but I can't let anyone see me heal him. Hmm... I think I've got an idea. "Hey Twilight, where's the restroom?" "It's down the hall... I'll go see what Applejack is up to." She gets up and walks out of the room. Once I'm sure she's gone I get up and poke my head into the hallway... coast is clear. I make my way down to the restroom and lock the door behind me. I was about to go to the window, but then nature called. After dealing with that I go to the window. Hmm... It's night time... this should help in giving me cover. I open the window and flare my magic. I concentrate the energy and focus it into my fingers and toes. Once I feel confident, I climb out the window and begin to scale over to Applejack's room. I crawl on the side of the wall, the magic making my fingers and toes have tremendous suction, and make it to the right window. I peer in and see Applejack and Twilight inside, fuck why didn't I think of them? They're both looking over Storm, who is covered in dark bruises. "Twi, ah'm sure he's gonna be fine. The doctors will be able ta fix him right up," assures Applejack, patting Twilight's back. "I... just... *sigh* I need to apologize to him. I accused him of being somepony that he isn't." So he isn't the asshole from Twilight's past... YES! "Ya mean that one feller ya told us about from Canterlot?" Twilight nods. "So we won't have ta buck him up the head, that's good ta hear." Twilight gives a small chuckle and looks to Applejack. "AJ, I-I need to ask your opinion on something... but you have to promise not to tell anypony." Shit, I need to get out of here. "I kind of... you know..." "Ya like Storm don'tcha ?" Oh, is that it? I could’ve told you that one. "Y-yeah. B-but I'm worried that they're old feelings for the other Storm, what should I do?" "Do ya have feelin’s fer that stallion?" "No... or at least I thought I didn't. *sigh* I don't know anymore." She says as she drops her head onto the bed, looking over to Storm. Applejack wraps her leg around Twilight and squeezes her in a hug. "Hey Sugarcube, don't fret over something like this. Iffin ya ask me, I'd say go fer it. Everypony deserves ta have a special somepony, and I can tell he's a good stallion." "You think so?" "I know so, and somethin' tells me he likes you as well." OK, this is taking too long, I need to distract them somehow. I take my left hand and levitate a vase. I bring it over the edge and drop it. I'm sure all the extra trees I 'bucked' will cover this. CRASH "What was that? Cawn sarn it. Hey Twi, can ya help me clean this up?" "Sure, I wonder what made it fall over?" Twilight levitates the pieces and follows Applejack out of the room. Once they shut the door, I slide the window open and climb inside. I quickly run up to Storm and flare my magic. "You may feel some discomfort," I say as I remove the sheets and grab his chest, pumping the healing magic into his body. I figure his body make up would be similar to that of mine: blood vessels, muscle tissue, that kind of stuff. Sure enough, as soon as I begin, the bruises begin to dissipate. After a few seconds, he jolts into consciousness, so I let go of him and shut off my magic. "Miles... what's going on, where are we?" he asks in a panicked tone. "We're in Applejack's house, they'll explain later I'm sure. You didn't see me." I charge the magic back into my fingers and toes and climb back out the window. I make my way to the restroom and climb back in. I go to the door and open it, only to find Twilight standing right in front of me. "We need to stop meeting like this," I say as I walk out into the hall, leaving a frozen and blushing Twilight behind. I walk back to Big Mac's room and find my clothes on the bed, so I begin to get dressed. About halfway through getting dressed I hear Twilight walk in. I look back to her and ask, "Something on your mind?" Yeah - Storm. "Huh... oh, no. I just... can I ask you something?" I finish getting dressed and sit on the bed. "I'm all ears." "Well, what if, hypothetically speaking of course, I were to..." "What's going on?" Storm asks as he walks into the room. Wow, cock block yourself why don't you? "Storm!? How did you get better all of the sudden!?" "Umm..." he looks to me then back to Twilight, "you mean you didn't do this? I know you kind of hate me... but... I dunno." "What? Oh... right. No, Storm... I-I didn't mean those things I said. I had you confused for another stallion. I don't hate you." The room fills with an awkward silence. I can tell they want to talk more about... some other things, so I stand up, getting their attention. "Well, not that this isn't fun, but I'm going to leave you two alone now." I walk past them and head down stairs. I go into the living room area and find Applejack and Big Mac talking to an elderly pony. She is a light green color, with grey-white hair that is up in a bun. She looks up to me and points a hoof at me. "You there, eh, what was it... Yards...er no, that ain’t right.... Miles! Come here, I wanta have a word with ya," she says, her age showing in her voice. I walk up to her and kneel so we're closer to being face to face. "Can I help you?" "Huh... wha? Oh, right. I wanta offer ya a job here at Sweet Apple Acres." "A... job?" "That's what I darn said! Ya did good out there an' we sure could use the help this season. The pay would be ten bits a tree ya buck, whadda ya say?" Well, I do need to start making some form of income. Not to mention the manual labor would help me stay fit. Fuck it, let's get to work. "I'll take it. When do I start?" "Start what? Oh right, ya can start workin' here tamorrow, jus' come on down an' find Big Mac, he'll get ya ta work from there on." "Sounds good to me," I say as I stick my hand out to shake. The older pony takes it and gives me a shake with more force than I would believe she would be able to muster. Once done, she begins to slowly walk away, muttering something about being up too late. I stand back up and look over to Big Mac, "So do I call you boss from now on?" "Nnnope, Big Mac will do just fine. I expect ya here tomorrow at noon. I'll be out in the carrot fields, so just come find me when you get here." "Can do." "Welcome aboard Miles!" Applejack says as she walks up stairs. "Hey, if you see Twilight or Storm, let them know that I'm heading back to the library. Got to rest up for tomorrow and all, right?" "Eeyup." I nod to them and begin to walk back home. The walk home was fairly peaceful. The night sky shone with its usual beauty as a cool breeze blew from behind. Strange, a few days ago I was in the fight of my life and now I'm becoming some average Joe, wake up and go to work, pay the bills and let life go by kind of person. Given, I still seem to have trouble find me. Not to mention I don't think that life will ever be normal here, being the only human and all. But who knows, maybe a simple life could still be a fulfilling life. I walk for a while longer in silence, reflecting on everything, when something moving in the night sky catches my attention. I look up and try to focus on it, but whatever it is, it lands in the center of town before I can get a good glimpse of it. I quicken my pace and try to find whatever it is. When I get to the center of town, I see Luna's carriage sitting there with two guards. I try to see Luna but I can't seem to see her anywhere. "MILES!" "AGH!" Perspective: Luna After raising the moon and setting the sun, Celestia and I make our way to the dining hall for a late dinner. We don't always eat together, but we try to spend as much time together as we can; sometimes I go to sleep late and have breakfast with her, or she stays up late and has dinner with me. We don't always get to do this, due to her busy schedule, but we try to as often as possible. "What would you like to have for dinner, your majesty?" asks the waiter. "I would like some oven roasted roses, with some hay fries on the side, please." He writes down my order and turns to Celestia. "Just a salad for me, thank you." He writes down the order and trots to the kitchen. "Really Tia? Another salad, I swear lettuce must be the only thing you ever eat these days." "Well I'm sorry sister, some of us don't have the luxury of being able to eat whatever they want and not have to worry about blowing up." "Really? That sounds awful. Tell me more," I say, giving her a playful wink. She shakes her head and takes a drink from her glass. "Anyway, how was your day?" "Stressful. The griffins are pushing for more land, and it doesn't seem as if they're looking anywhere else to expand." "You don't seriously think that they would try and take land by force, do you?" "No, not now at least." "Maybe I should talk to my friend, Regina. Maybe she could talk in their senate and try to calm things down." "Regina? Oh, right. The ambassador you made friends with, don't worry about it too much. Things are tense, but they will not boil over. War hasn't existed in Equestria for over three thousand years, I don't believe it will happen now." I hope not. The waiter walks out with two silver trays and sets them in front of us. "Enjoy, your majesties." He says with a bow as he walks back into the kitchen. The food smells delicious. I take my fork and bring a rose up, with a final sniff I take a bite and savor the flavor. "How’s your salad?" I ask. "Just fine," she replies in a slightly irritated tone. We continue to eat in silence, enjoying each other’s company. When we finish our food the waiter comes back out to take our plates. "Would you like a dessert?" "No, that won’t..." "Please bring me and my sister a slice of cloud cake." The waiter nods and trots into the kitchen. "Luna, I can't have cake, it would ruin my diet." "If I recall correctly, cloud cake would be your favorite type of cake, isn't it?" "Well... yes, but my diet..." "So, one slice of your favorite type of cake with your favorite sister should make its way into your boring old diet," I say as I give her the best puppy eyed look I can muster. "*sigh* So much for my diet. One slice, and that's it, I don't want to completely explode." "Hmm... I don't think a single slice could possibly do that," I say as I poke her in the ribs, making her jump a little. We share a small laugh before the waiter comes back out and gives us each a slice of cake. We both thank him and begin to eat. I notice that Celestia is eating hers with much more gusto than I am, so when she isn't looking, I switch our plates. She doesn't notice until we both finish our cakes. "That was evil, Luna." "Oh shush now, you enjoyed it." She gives me a small smile before we begin to walk out together. "What's on your schedule for today sister?" "I have to go back to Ponyville, it seems that our little troublemaker has bested a dragon in a fight..." "He what!?" "Well, you sent your student and her friends to solve that dragon problem, he made it his responsibility to help, and ended up having to fight a youngling. I wish to have a word with him to go over the details some more, I have a feeling there's more to this than what a simple letter could tell." "Are you sure you don't want my help, I cou—" "Tia, I think I can handle dealing with a little scuffle. It was just a young dragon." "Okay, just be careful, alright? I don't know what it is, but I can't shake this bad feeling about him." "Don't worry Tia, I'll be sure to be careful, now I must leave quickly if I wish to catch him while he's awake. Good night dear sister." "Good... night." I trot off towards the carriages and hop in mine. I tell the guards our destination and we take off. The flight goes by fairly quickly, mainly due to my mind racing about, trying to think of ways to bring up the subject. I don't want to be direct about it, but at the same time, I can't think of a way to go from dragon fighting to alicorns from three thousand years ago. As we fly over Ponyville, I look over the edge to see Miles walking down the road alone. I let the guards know that I'm going alone, and to wait by the mayor's office. I jump off my carriage and glide down to him. He seems to be deep in thought and doesn't see me right away. I circle around him and approach from behind. I don't know why, but I feel hesitant to approach him. I lower down to talk to him but he sees something and begins to trot after it, so I follow closely behind. He stops near the town center and just looks over to my carriage, this is too easy. "MILES!" I shout directly behind him. "AGH!" he shouts as he tackles me to the ground. I close my eyes as I hit the ground with him on top of me. When I re-open my eyes, I'm staring straight into his eyes.
Chapter 25 Feathers and PancakesChapter 25 Feathers and Pancakes Perspective: Luna Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot! This is bad. This is really bad! Why is he attacking me? How could I have misjudged him so badly, he honestly didn't seem like that kind of guy. I need to think of something, quick. Why is he just staring at me? Darn it, off track...uh... levitation? Yeah that should work... before I can do anything, Miles quickly gets off me and scrambles back, putting his back against a nearby wall. I roll to my side and look back to him. He looks scared. Maybe I should ask him what's going on. "Umm..." we both say at the same time, silencing each other. Perspective: Miles Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! This is bad. This is really bad! Why did I tackle her? How could I have been so stupid? I need to think of something. Wow, her body is soft. WHAT THE FUCK!? Where the fuck did that come from? I need to think of something useful... getting off of her would be a good start. I scramble back and put myself against a wall. Oh fuck... I'm going to go to jail, I know it. Maybe I can talk my way out of this... yeah, talking should be useful, I'll try that. "Umm..." we both say at the same time, silencing each other. We continue to stare at one another, but I shake myself and try to compose myself. "Luna..." "Miles..." "I'm..." "Why..." We go silent again. "Luna, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do that... it was just instinct, please don't send me to jail..." Perspective: Luna "Luna, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do that... it was just instinct, please don't send me to jail..." "Why did you tackle me?" And feel me up, but let's get to that later. "I don't know! Something appeared behind me so my instinct told me to attack. I'm sorry." "Okay... well, I guess I'm sorry for scaring you... also... why did you touch me like that?" He stops and looks to me, horrified. "Wh-what?" "You kept running your hand up and down my side-" "WHAT!? Nonononono I didn't mean to, I swear! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please don't hurt me, I swear I didn't mean to..." "Miles! Miles?" He drops to his side and holds himself while muttering to himself. Who's Fidus...? Apparently this... Fidus, did something horrible to Miles. I stand up and walk over to him. He looks so scared, I can't help but feel sorry for him. I don't know why, but I feel as if I should do something. I lay next to him and wrap him up in my wing. Perspective: Miles "I swear Fidus, I didn't mean to. It happened by accident, I promise. Please don't cut off my balls. I swear I'll never do it... what is she doing?" Luna is lying next to me so that my back is against her side, with her wing wrapped around me. If it weren't for the fact that this will probably get me in an immense amount of trouble... you know what, fuck it. If I'm going to go to jail, I'm going to go out full force. Her wings are the softest things I've ever felt before, yet, her wing as a whole feels strong. I can feel the cool touch from her side slowly cool over my back. Why is she breathing so hard? "Miles..." she says with a moan. Perspective: Luna Why is he rubbing me again? Yeah, I kind of wrapped him up in my wing, but that doesn't mean he can just touch me like that. I want to tell him to stop, but... it feels good. The way he runs those fingers through my feathers, the warmth coming from his body. I feel the heat in my cheeks as I begin to blush deeply. I bite my lower lip and try to hold back a moan I can feel growing inside. "Miles..." WHOA, that sounded way too seductive, I need to get away from him. Before I can do anything, he quickly gets out from under my wing, stands back up and starts backing away from me. I take a moment to collect myself before I stand back up and look up to him. He's holding his hands in front of him and twisting them around, looking really confused. "So... I'll be heading home now, unless you’re sending me to jail." "No, no. It was an accident... by the way, what happened with the dragon?" I ask quickly. "Oh, well he chased me, so I punched him in the gut, that's about it," he answers just as quickly. "Great, well, I'll be heading home now. It was good to see you Miles. Please try your best to avoid any more trouble, good night." I turn back to my carriage and quickly trot over. I hop on and order the guards to take me home, which they do quickly. This was way too weird. I have to clear my head a bit. Oh, shoot! I forgot to ask about my parents. Darn, I'll have to come back another time... and not scare him. Perspective: Miles As I watch Luna leave, I can't help but reminisce about the feeling of her wing. Then, reality hits me. I just felt up the ruler of this nation, got her to moan, and am not going to jail. If Fidus were here she would kick my ass. I shake the thought from my head and continue to walk back to Twilight's, but another one fills my head. The way she said my name... sooo fucking se... wait a fucking minute! She's a pony. I'm a human. Why am I thinking these thoughts? We would never be together in a million years. Stop thinking about the amazing way her wing felt. FUCK! Stop thinking about that stupid sexy moan... FUCK! I need to go to bed. I begin to run back to Twilight's and quickly slam into the locked door. Aw fuck. I can't just sit here, alone, with my thoughts... "Miles?" "I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" I scream as I turn back to the noise. I see Twilight and Storm standing behind me, looking confused beyond belief. "What didn't you do?" asks Storm, raising an eyebrow. "What? Do? I didn't do anything. Why would you say I did something? Because I said I didn't do anything and that's all that didn't happen. You know what we should do? We should go inside. That sounds like an amazing plan, let's do that one. Let's go inside." Twilight and Storm look to one another in confusion before they turn back to me. "Miles, what happened?" Twilight says flatly. "Nothing worth mentioning, now can we please go inside? I... have to rest up... because tomorrow I have to go to work." "Since when do you work?" Storm asks skeptically. "I got the job today actually. I'm going to buck apples on Sweet Apple Acres. Ten bits a tree." They look back to each other before Twilight steps forward and unlocks the door with her magic. "Well if you don't want to tell me now, that's fine. But I expect you to tell me eventually." I nod and quickly pass her, going straight for my cot and burying myself under the sheets. I lay there for what feels like hours until Storm walks over to his cot and begins to remove his armor. Armor... that gives me an idea. "Hey Storm, let me see your armor," I say as I toss the sheets off of myself. "Why do you need it?" "I want to enchant it," and work on something so I don't think. "What kind of enchantment?" "Well, it's steel, so it should only be able to hold one good enchantment. I can do increased speed, increased strength, decreased..." "You can make my armor make me stronger?" "Yeah, it's actually pretty easy-" "I'll take that one," he says as he tosses me his armor. I fumble with it before I finally catch it. Once I look it over I find the spot to leave the seal, in the center of the back plate. I cross my legs as I sit on the ground and flare the magic in my hands. "Go ahead and go to sleep, this is going to take a while." He nods and lays on his cot. He's still watching, but I can tell sleep will take over soon. I turn my attention to the armor and begin to feed the magic into the metal by laying my hands on it, palms down. I push the energy in, and begin to weave the spell throughout the metal. It's pretty simple, whoever wears the armor has the energy fed into them. This energy gives them the ability to do more physically. I spend what feels like hours filling the metal with the spell. When I finish, I look over the armor. In the center of the back plate is a black outline of a triangle. The top of the triangle points towards the neck line. In the center of the triangle is a black human skull. Satisfied with my work I turn back to Storm, he's passed out and halfway off the cot. I set the armor next to him and pull him back onto the cot. I go to my cot and collapse onto it. Today was far too stressful. If this is as simple as my life is going to get... I think I might be fucked. I push the thought away from my mind and drift off to sleep. Beep...beep...beep...beep... "Aww, fine, I'm up," I grumble as I turn my alarm off. I look over and see that Storm has already woken up, looking over his armor. "How do you like it?" He looks up to me and says, "It's awesome. Did you pick the design?" "No, that's just the insignia for strength. Try it on." He puts on a huge smile as he begins to pull on his armor. Once he has it all the way on he begins to look over himself. "I don't feel different." "Try lifting something." He looks around before he picks up his cot with a single hoof. "Aw yeah, it feels as light as a feather!" A feather... fuck, now I'm thinking about it again. Maybe some breakfast will clear my head up. I stand and make my way to the kitchen, while Storm sets the bed down and follows me up. We walk into the kitchen to find Twilight and Spike both working on breakfast, so we take our seats and wait patiently. "So, what happened last night?" Storm asks. "Yeah, what did you do? Should we be concerned?" Twilight adds. "Hmm... nope, I've got nothing, what's for breakfast?" Twilight and Storm share a quick look before Spike and Twilight join us at the table. Twilight levitates a plate of what looks like pancakes and brown strips that were fried to everyone except me. "You can eat when you tell us what happened." She sets the last plate in the center of the table and begins to eat her own food. I can smell it from here and it already has my mouth watering... that crafty bastard. "I... ran into someone," I say as I try to grab the plate, only to have it moved out of the way by Twilight's magic. "Really? Who?" I stay silent for a while and Twilight looks over to Storm who... damn guy! He's already done with his food. He takes a sip from his glass and slides my plate over to him. Oh you better not. He takes his fork and begins to slowly cut a chunk out from the pancake, you fucking bastard, you better not, I'm like, stupid hungry. He begins to slowly raise a chunk of the pancake to his mouth, and I lose it. "It was Luna!" I yell as I leap across the table and grab the plate, making Storm jump and drop his fork. "What?!" They yell at the same time. I ignore them and slice a chunk of pancake with my fork. I take a bit and begin to chew... with every chew, I slowly begin to stop. This isn't like what I had last time. If anything this reminds me of... "This is made of hay, isn't it?" I ask after I spit out the food in my mouth. "Never mind that! Luna visited last night and you didn't tell us!?" Twilight asks. I take one of the strips and take a bite... and spit that bite out. More fucking hay. Why does it have to be hay? "Miles!" Twilight yells. "Alright. Well, she came by to check on me. Apparently she heard about my scuffle with that dragon and came by to ask a few questions." "And?" "And... well, she kind of caught me by surprise and... I kind of... tackled her..." "YOU WHAT!?" Everyone yells at once. "I didn't mean to, she caught me by surprise and... it was all on instinct. I apologized and she forgave me, plus I'm not going to jail, so can we please leave it at that?" "Why would your instinct be to tackle her?" Storm asks. "It was something we did in boot camp. It was supposed to make us ready on the drop of a pin. Plus, I didn't know it was her, she snuck up behind me and yelled my name." Twilight and Storm let out big sighs as they come to terms with this. "You already apologized?" Storm clarifies. "Multiple times," I confirm. "Well, as long as she's alright with this," he says as he pulls my plate over and begins to eat my old food. "Miles... you have to be more careful. Nopony here is going to just jump out and attack you," Twilight says in a tired tone. "Sorry, I'll try to control myself." Knock...knock...knock...knock... "Agh! What now," Twilight says as she walks to the door. "Applejack? Rarity? What are you doing? Get inside before you catch a cold." Author's Note WOO, that was fun. Brony Points, we've got a lot of them this time. TacoTown got to pick the enchantment for Storms armor; Voltman77 picked breakfast; Sine Wave picked Applejack; and Glyph255 picked Rarity. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it, and like always, Brony on!
Chapter 26 Rainy Day GamesChapter 26 Rainy Day Games I walk out to the front to greet the girls, but stop at the front door. Is... is water falling from the sky? Also, why is the sky dark grey? What the fuck is going on? Applejack and Rarity walk inside and turn to Twilight, dripping wet. "Thank you ever so much Twilight," Rarity chimes, "it seems Applejack and I were at our differences again when the storm caught us." "Ah told you we had ta git going, but you jus' couldn't get a little mud on your hooves, now could ya?" Applejack shoots back as she squeezes the water out of her mane. That is water, right? "Now how would getting my hooves dirty have us any less wet?" Rarity asks as she uses her magic to pull the water from herself. Honestly... water... no one seems to care. Okay, time to ask. "Why is water falling from the sky?" I ask, but am ignored. "Well you guys can stay here if you like. The storm shouldn't be over till tomorrow so you can stay over if you want to....*gasp* we should totally do another slumber party!" "There is fucking WATER falling from the SKY, care to explain?" I ask, but am ignored, again. "Well, uh, sure, why not. We had fun last time, so I don't see why not, unless somepony wants ta ruin Twi's second slumber party," Applejack says, glancing over to Rarity. "I know I would never do such a thing. So let's have another slumber party at Twilight's." "Hold on a second," I say, finally getting their attention, "Water is falling from the sky and you want to sit INSIDE." I feel as if the party part should also be brought up as well... but the water falling from the sky sounds a little more important. "It's jus' rain?" Applejack says, looking a little confused by the problem. "Why would I ruin my perfectly styled mane for something so trivial? It's hardly becoming of a lady." "Miles, you've never seen rain before, have you?" Twilight asks. I look outside and watch the rain fall for a bit. Stuff like this happens here frequently enough that it would inconvenience them, making them want to stay inside. Fuck that shit. I sprint past the group and run out into the rain. The instant I make it outside, I'm instantaneously pelted by thousands of water droplets, sending cold shivers throughout my soaking wet body. A roar of constant water droplets silences the world around me as I run out in the rain. I run and I run and I keep running until I slip and fall into a massive puddle. I sit up in the puddle and do a couple of splashes and slap the water, laughing as I do so. I've never seen so much water in my life, and it just falls from the sky! I stand back up and begin to jump around in the puddle, twisting and turning to kick the water in different directions, not caring about it turning to steam. "Miles! What are you doing!?" I look over to see Storm hovering nearby, completely soaked. "WATER IS FALLING FROM THE SKY!" I yell back as I continue to splash around. "Are you six or something!? Get inside before you catch a cold!" I stop jumping around and look over to Storm. I take a few slow steps towards him until I'm right next to him. "I AM SIX!" I yell as I grab him and toss him into the puddle, creating a massive splash. He quickly sits up and looks back to me. "IT. IS. ON!" he says as he jumps toward me and sends me back into the puddle. We spend who knows how long wrestling in the puddle; I had the natural advantage of size and weight, but Storm had his armor on, giving him the strength to break my holds on him. I finally get him in a sleeper hold and stand up with him in my arms. When I'm all the way up I drop him back into the water. He sputters around for a bit before he stands back up and glares at me. "That wasn't cool." "Forfeit?" "Never." He flies high into air until he disappears into the clouds. What is he planning? He flies back down with a chunk of dark cloud in his hooves. He stops in the air and sets the cloud over me. He jumps up and sends a small bolt of electricity towards me. The bolt hits me in the chest and sends waves of electricity throughout my body. I fall onto my back when the surge of power ends and just look up to the falling sky. "You alive down there?" Storm asks from his cloud. "That was TOTALLY WICKED!" I yell as I jump back to my feet. "THOSE THINGS ARE MADE OF ELECTRICITY?! Hit me again! Hit me again!" He just gives me a weird look before he smacks the cloud, making it disappear. He flies down and looks up to me, confused beyond belief. "Shouldn't that have hurt?" "My magic gives me a resistance against raw forms of energy. Fire, electricity, even some magic. All you did was give me a second wind." I jump back on top of him and continue our wrestling match. This time I can tell that fatigue is starting to take its hold on Storm. As I pin him down with my hands, a bright flash blinds me for a second. When I open my eyes, Storm and I are in the middle of the library, sitting in front of the girls. "Umm... got him," Storm says from under me. Twilight just gives a small smile and shakes her head. "*sigh* Come on, let’s get you two dried off," she says as she walks up the stairs toward her room, so we follow. When we get to her room she levitates me a white towel, so I take it and begin to dry my face off. When I move the towel over to begin drying my hair I glance over to Storm. He's staring deeply at Twilight with the biggest smile possible as she uses her magic to dry his hair off. "Whoa ho ho, what have we here?" I say, making Twilight blush deeply and drop the towel. "I... um... what's that, I think I hear Rarity calling me, I should go see what she needs," she says as she quickly runs back to the front room. I look over to Storm, who is still staring at the spot she was in, and begin to take my shirt off. "So, you finally sealed the deal." "What are you talking about? We're just friends," he replies smugly. "Yeah, and I'm just here on vacation. So... you at least cleared things up," I say as I toss my shirt into a nearby clothes hamper and begin to walk down to our room, drying myself off as I go. "Yeah, you could say that," he says as he follows me down. "Heh... that’s good... I guess." If they want to be private, I won't stop them... but pester I shall. "So has she kissed you yet?" He trips and falls down a few of the steps, only stopping because he runs into me. "You’re evil. We're JUST friends." "Whatever you say." We make it to the room and I switch clothes. I put on the light tan pants with the yellow shirt. I feel way too bright, whatever. I go to my cot and lay down as Storm sets his armor under his cot. "Aren't you going to go to the slumber party?" Storm asks as he walks over to the stairs. "Nope." "Why not?" "Slumber PARTY." "Really. You go bucking nuts at Pinkie’s, but a small get together and you don't want to go." "Yup." "Whatever. I'm heading up. Have fun being a wet blanket." He walks up the stairs and shuts the door. I lay on the cot for a while longer before I start to get bored. I look around but can't see anything that could possibly be of any interest. Maybe I could... FLASH A bright white flash blinds me, again. When I regain my ability to see I find myself lying in Twilight's room, with Applejack, Rarity, Twilight, Spike and Storm all standing around me. "Good, now that Miles is here, we can get started," Twilight says as she moves to her little podium and starts to flip through a book. "What should we do first?" I guess I'm going then... nothing strange better happen. "Oh, how about truth or dare?" Rarity says as she hops in place. I already don't like where this is going. "Sounds good to me, why don't you go first?" "Applejack, truth or dare?" "Uhh... truth." "Hmm... is it true that you bought a month pass to the spa?" she asks as she leans a little closer to her. "Um... y-yeah... but I didn't wanna. Big Mac made me." "Oh, this is going to be so much fun! We have to go together sometime! You, me and Fluttershy!" she says, giving a little hop. What the fuck is a spa? "Your turn Applejack," Twilight says. "Hmm... Spike, truth or dare." "Dare," Spike says confidently. "I dare ya, ta put on a froo-froo dress." Spike blushes lightly but complies. He walks over to the closet and walks in. Moments later he walks out in a light blue dress that’s covered in pink bows and white trim, and is fluffy as fuck. Everyone falls to the ground in a fit of laughter, everyone except Rarity, who walks over to the blushing guy and gives him a pet on the head. "Alright, alright." Spike says as he pulls off the dress. "Miles, truth or dare." Everyone stops laughing, or at least tries to, and looks over to me. I think I've got the basic idea of the game. Truth is a question, while dare is a command that you have to do. "Uh... truth I guess," I say as I sit up and cross my legs. He thinks for a moment before he looks back to me. "Why aren't you looking for your home?" When he asks this, the room falls silent. Everyone puts on a serious face as they wait for me to answer. "What home? My home died over three thousand years ago. To me, my friends were my home, so right now, I am home." Twilight and Storm give me a small smile while everyone else looks a little saddened by my answer. "OK, my turn, Storm, truth or dare." "Truth." YES! "What is the deal with you and Twilight?" Rarity and Applejack's eyes go wide as they look over to the two, who are blushing like crazy. "I ALREADY TOLD YOU, WE'RE JUST FRIENDS!" he yells as he scoots away from Twilight. "Twilight dear, are you and..." Rarity starts. "WE'RE JUST FRIENDS!" Twilight snaps. "Ya better treat our girl right, or else imma buck ya upside the head till next Friday," Applejack says with a smug look on her face. "Yeah, that goes for me too," I say, getting chuckles from everyone except Twilight and Storm. "Yeah, yeah, my turn, truth or dare Miles?" Better go the safe route. "Truth." He thinks for a bit before he looks up to me and asks, "What really happened with you and Princess Luna?" Applejack and Rarity both gasp as the room goes silent again. "Uh... well..." "And no leaving anything out, the rules say you have to tell the entire truth," Storm interrupts. Well... I'm fucked. "You see... well... she snuck up on me and scared me, so I... tackled her to the ground.... and held her there for a bit. When I finally registered what happened I backed off and started apologizing, and then she accepted my apology and left." Applejack takes a few steps closer to me and eyes me a bit. "Hmm... nope. Something else happened. Tell the whole truth Miles." Fuck, how could she possibly know that? "*sigh* Well, though I don't recall it ever happening, I apparently... felt her up..." "YOU WHAT!?" Storm yells as Rarity puts a hoof to her head while she faints. Applejack's jaw drops, Spike does a thirteen take and Twilight just freezes in place. "I didn't mean to, it sorta just happened! I already begged for forgiveness. I honestly thought that I was going to go to jail." Everyone looks as if they are on the verge of passing out, except Rarity, who is still on the floor. "I think I can shed a little light on the subject," says a familiar voice from behind. I turn around to see Luna standing in the stairway. This can't end well. "Princess Luna? Wh-what are you doing here... without a group of guards?" Storm asks as he stands at attention and salutes her. "I teleported myself here because I needed some questions answered. But I think we should clear this up first," she says as she walks over and sits next to me. "Now, Miles says he 'felt' me up, but that's not entirely true. He only did that because of the tackle, which he only did because I scared him. Other than that, nothing more really happened, other than Miles freaking out and apologizing a lot." Everyone seems to buy this and nods in agreement. I don't get it. Why is she lying? She stands back up and looks over to me. "Now, Miles. I have some more questions to ask, but let's leave to somewhere more private," she says as she charges the magic in her horn. The next thing I know I'm being blinded by a white flash.
Chapter 27 Project Re-Surface IntegrationChapter 27 Project Re-Surface Integration When the brightness fades and I regain my vision, I find myself in what seems to be a bedroom. In the center is a large round bed with dark purple sheets and pillows. Around the bed is a black curtain that has been pulled back, revealing the bed inside. Against the wall on both sides of the bed are small dark desks that each hold a small lamp. The walls seem to be made of dark grey stone and go in a circular formation. Across from the bed is a large black dresser that has a large mirror behind it. A few brushes and bottles of what I presume to be perfumes are scattered on the dresser, strange. Didn't know you had to brush energy hair. On the right side of the room is a large glass double door that leads to a balcony. Beyond that is a beautiful view of the area around. "Miles," Luna says, getting my attention. She's sitting by the bed looking at me with an intense look. "Luna, I swear, I didn't know what I was doing-" "Miles, that's not why I brought you here, though we will need to talk about that later. I had a question about something you said earlier." "Alright... I guess. What did you need to know?" "I need to know about Spatium and Tempus." When she says this, my heart drops. I know how this story will end... and I finally don't want it, but I will pay for my mistake. "What do you need to know about them?" "Well... anything really. I... tried to look them up, but they don't seem to come up in our records. I want to know more about these ancient alicorns, so anything you can tell me will be useful." She says with pleading eyes. "I don't really like to talk about them that much... bad things happened and I'm to blame for them." "Please... I won't hold you accountable for anything, I just... really need to know." Sigh. You say that now, but yeah... you will... "Well, it all started with a simple request..." Topaz Falls, April 8th, 1127 I hate waiting in the debriefing room. Regulation says that we have to be in uniform, meaning we have to put all of our armor on and sit in a musty old room, but I never understood why. Every debriefing before has been the same: come in, get lectured, leave, and have Sine re-lecture us on what we already heard. Pretty boring stuff, but I guess it beats sitting back home and studying. Whatever, I sit back in my seat and look around a bit. Just a bunch of desks facing a hologram board, with all of my friends sitting in different seats. "Hey Miles," Inficiunt says as he takes a seat next to me, "knock knock." "For fuck’s sake Cunt, get a new joke," Dare interrupts, "the first time was okay, but after eleven years of the same joke, it kind of gets old." "Hey, it still gets the ladies to laugh," he counters, putting up his hands. "Yeah, at you," Fidus says. "Doesn't matter what they laugh at, the end result is always the same," Inficiunt defends. "I hate how true that is," Eximius says from behind. We all share a small laugh as Captain Susurrans walks in the room, followed by Altum. "SUPERIOR OFFICER ON DECK!" I yell as we all stand and salute. "At ease," Captain Bellum says as he taps the board, bringing up the projection. After flipping through a few files, he settles on one that's a simple slide presentation titled Re-Surface Integration. "Miles, we're ready for your presentation," he says, as he and Altum take a seat at the front table. I look around in disbelief. They really want to hear my plan for repopulating the surface. They can't be serious. I stand up and walk to the front. "Well, my plan is fairly simple. We cannot stay underground indefinitely. Our cities are becoming overcrowded; soon we won't be able to feed our own people without harsh rationing; if our enemy attacks Topaz we have no plans for evacuation, or a way to send our people into hiding. We need to go back to the surface," I say as I move to the next slide, showing two energy readings. They are simple lines that bounce up and down in beat to beeps. "What am I looking at here?" Altum asks. "These," I say as I point to the lines, "are two energy readings. One belongs to me, the other belongs to a surface dweller. I've been sending pings of energy from the tower out to the surface-" "Are you insane!?" Altum yells as he stands to his feet. "You could alert the enemy to our pres—" "That would be impossible," I say, cutting him off. "I've been using the tower’s frequency to emit these, if they couldn't read them before they won't be able to read them now. Plus, whatever is sending these pings of energy back clearly has archaic abilities, so it couldn't be the Unfamiliar." Altum sits back down and crosses his arms. "Now, I wish to meet with this being and try to see if they can speak, have a civilization, whatever I can to see what the surface is like. From there we either begin plans to move colonies up there, or we go back to our cities and forget about the surface." Captain Bellum thinks about this for a while before he looks up to me. "Alright, let's hear your plan." I smile from his support and move to the next slide. "Okay, well, the idea is really simple..." May 11th, 1127 We're currently sitting in a squad of jeeps by the main gates to the city. The gates are large steel bulkheads that slide up, this one is number three. We finally got clearance to move on with my plans, and here we are. The first people to leave the city in hundreds of years and we're the ones to do it. So, needless to say, everyone is a little excited. "Miles, I can't fucking believe they approved your plans," Sine says from the front seat. "I know, not to mention how quick it went through," I reply from gunner. "Please," Fidus says from behind, "We're fucking Spartans. You could’ve requested for a harem of virgins and they would have sent them the next day." Dolum gives a small chuckle from the driver’s seat. "Yeah, but this is at least something noble," Tenera says timidly. Before I can say anything a loud metallic squeak catches our attention. The bulkhead slowly begins to rise as we start up the jeeps. Once we have enough room for clearance, we drive through. We take lead down the narrow path, as stalagmites and stalactites fill the sides, barely giving us enough room to drive through. The area is very cold and dark, the only light coming from our vehicle’s headlights. The road is bumpy, and I immediately regret riding gunner when my helmet slams into a stone column. "And that's why we wear helmets," Sine says sarcastically. We drive out for a few kilometers and stop abruptly. I reach down and try the console's navigation, but because we're out of the city we have no signal. "Eighteen kilometers, right?" I ask. "That's what the odometer says," Dolum says as he shuts off the engine. "Alright, now we go up," I say as the other jeep pulls up behind us. I look back and nod to Eximius, who is driving. He turns off his engine and sits back. I lock the turret in place and jump off the back. I flare my hands, sending the black lines to my shoulders, and slam my palms into the ground. Instantly the ground below us sends us higher up. I focus to keep the ceiling at its current distance from us while moving the soil below us higher up. I keep this up until the ceiling above erupts as we enter a catacomb. This area is an open underground cavern, the sound of water dripping from above fills the area. Small stalactites are spotted here and there, but other than that, the room is fairly rounded off. The ceiling looks to be about fifteen meters high, and the sides seem to be twenty meters wide. Our jeeps sit in the far end of the cavern. "Alright, set up in the center, Dolum, Eximius, stay on the jeeps and give us some light," Captain Bellum orders as he leaves the passenger seat of the other jeep. We all follow the Captain to the center and quickly make a small room. Nothing special, four walls, a roof, and a table with some seats. I take some leftover gems from my workshop and set them in the walls. After some quick enchanting, they shine bright white, lighting the room. To be honest, it was mostly me using my magic as everyone else just watched, but I don't care right now, because I get to lead the negotiations. "You ready for this?" Captain Bellum asks as he turns to me. I turn to him and say, "As ready as I'll ever be." "Let's do a walkie check," he says as he grabs his shoulder walkie, "Check check." I hear his voice come clearly through my shoulder, so I return the call. "Alright. Everything is set up, time for all of you to pull back." "I honestly don't like this part of the plan. Why can't we just leave at least one of us to watch your back?" Susurrans asks as he looks around the room. "I already told you, it can only be me. If anyone else were to be here, we double the chance of having something go wrong. Don't worry, I can handle myself." He gives me a concerned look as he grabs my shoulder. "I know you can, but that doesn't stop me from worrying. Alright, we'll head back, radio us when you need us." He gives me a few pats on the back before he regroups with the others. Eximius and Captain Bellum both slam their hands into the ground and send the jeeps into the ground. I turn back to the room I created and decide to make a few more final touches. I make two doors, one at either side of the structure, and I’m about to start some other modifications when a loud crash catches my attention. I walk out the far door and stop in my tracks. Standing a few meters away are two... creatures. They walk on four legs, have long necks, and both have strange marks on their backsides. They don’t seem to be wearing any clothing, but their body build makes up for the lack of modesty… sort of. One is all white, with dark grey eyes and wavy black energy hair. It seems to be a male, with a large conical... thing coming off of his head. He also has two strange appendages coming off his sides, that are covered in a strange material that I've never seen before. He has a mark that seems to be a strange stone wedge with a yellow and white orb above it. The other creature seems to be female... and pregnant. Very pregnant. She's all black, with all of the same body features as the other one, except the large bulges coming from her stomach. Her... mark seems to be a swirl of white dots that get larger the closer to the center they get and she has bright yellow eyes. They both stand at about eye level with me, with their... head thing going well above me. The white one walks over to the black one and checks on her. I take this chance to approach the two of them. When the white one sees me, he jumps straight at me, knocking me flat on my back. He pins me to the ground and looks me straight in the eyes. "What sort of demon art thou?" he demands in a deep voice. "You can talk? I mean... are you the one I've been communicating with?" I ask, my astonishment blatant. "Thou art the one who sendeth the waves of energy?" The black one asks in a gentle voice as she walks towards us. "Umm... yeah. That was me." "Why dost thou send for us if thou only wish to harm us?" Harm them? Why would they think I want to harm them? I look around and see that I never shut off the magic in my hands. Fucking dumbass. I shut off the magic and try to relax. "I'm sorry, there must have been a misunderstanding. I don't mean to harm anyone. My magic was set so I could build this room behind us, I only wish to speak with you." The black one walks up to the white one and gives him a gentle nudge with her nose. He gives a small snort as he gets off me. "Apologies. I only acted to defend the one- ones I love." I stand up and look between the two of them. Well... I guess it's his mate, then. I extend my hand to the white one and say, "Greetings, my name is Miles Eremita. I'm the representative of the Terradisian people." He looks at my hand and seems a little confused. He gives a deep bow and says, "I am Tempus, Ruler of Time. This is my beloved, Spatium, Ruler of Space." Spatium gives a small smile as she gives a small bow. I take back my hand and do my own bow. "So, I'm sure there are plenty of questions you wish to ask me, I know I have my own, why don't we step inside and get comfortable?" I say as I gesture towards the room. They both nod and follow me inside. I walk over to the other side of the table I made and sit down. Tempus looks over the two seats before setting a white aura field around his head appendage. The seats I made become surrounded by this field and begin to change. Once the field is gone, the two seats are lower and are rounded off on the inside. Spatium gives him another gentle nudge on his cheek as she slowly lowers herself into her seat. Once down, Tempus takes his seat and looks back to me. No one says anything for a while and I'm starting to sweat from my nerves getting the best of me. I sigh as I remove my helmet, and nearly fall back as Tempus jumps on top of the table. "What sort of demon art thou, to remove thine own head!?" "Whoa, calm down. It's just a helmet. It's to protect my head." He looks me over again before he gets back down and into his seat. "A helmet thou sayest, interesting. Am I to assume that thou art wearing full armor then?" "Yes," I say as I begin to remove the armor from my arms. As I do this they watch intently, Spatium out of curiosity and Tempus out of a need to protect Spatium. Once I finish I show my arms before I rest them on the table and cross my fingers. Once again the room fills with an awkward silence as we stare each other down. "So, if thou art not a demon, what art thou?" "My people are called humans. What sort of creature are you?" "We are ponies," Spatium says. "Human, you say? Thou wouldst not happen to be one of the star travelers from long ago, wouldst thou?" Star travelers? Either she means the Unfamiliar or the early people who used to travel in space. "Well... my people traveled in space before, but that was a long time ago." She looks down in deep thought as Tempus glares at me. I need to turn this to a more positive subject. "So... when are you expecting?" "Beg thy pardon?" Spatium says as she looks back to me. "You’re with child... right?" Oh please be pregnant, please be pregnant, please don't make it so I just called her fat. She smiles as she looks down and rubs her belly. "Yes, in one month’s time I shall be giving birth to our firstborn." Tempus gets a huge smile as he looks over to her. "Well, congratulations. I wish nothing but the best for your child." "Enough of thy flattery and honeyed words. Thou summoned us here for a reason, what is it thou wisheth to discuss?" Tempus cuts to the chase, getting a nudge from Spatium. "Alright, let's get to work. My people have lived underground now for generations, but we wish to stop this. I wish to bring my people back to the surface, but I don't want to bring them there blindly. I sent signals out in hopes of finding intelligent life, and here you are." "Why dost thou wish to find intelligent life?" Spatium asks. "I need to know about current surface dealings. I don't want my people to appear somewhere that already belongs to another group of people. I don't wish to cause a fight that may erupt the surface in a war." "Thou seekest peace?" Tempus asks. "Yes, a peace that will allow my people to live harmoniously with the current surface dwellers." He thinks about this for a while before he looks back up to me. "Thou hast my blessings. But if thou wishest to bring thy people to the surface, I must speak with all the representatives of the land. I alone cannot barter the land of others. Let us meet again sometime in the future." "Perfect. Take all the time you need. Whenever you're ready, just send a signal down a day ahead and I'll be here." "Until we meet again, friend," he says as he stands and does a bow. I hesitate for a second before I return the bow. Did he just call me his friend? Spatium slowly stands back up and walks over to me. She extends her leg and holds it there. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do, so I kneel down and shake her leg. She gives me a confused look before she sets her leg down. "It seems next time we meet; we must go over proper etiquette." "Oh, sorry about that, I didn't mean to offend." "It is quite fine; we must be off now. Thou shalt expect our call within the new season." The new season? I stand back up and say, "Vale usque nos obvium iterum." They both stop for a second before they walk out the back. I walk over to the door and watch Tempus create a field of energy around the two of them. When the energy fades away, the spot where they once stood in is now empty. I grab my walkie and say, "Caravan, this is Pilgrim, mission accomplished." September 18th 1127 After what felt like eternity, I finally find myself back in the room. The other day the alarm was sent that we were getting a transmission from above, and I almost died in excitement. So, here I am, back in this room, waiting patiently, no armor, no weapons, just me and all my questions. Luckily the gems I set are still lit, and the cavern is still holding strong, but I still did a structural check on everything. After about thirty minutes I hear a loud bang from the outside of the room and run out to see what happened. When I get there I see Tempus and Spatium standing there. Spatium is tremendously skinnier and has something strapped to her side. "Hail, Miles Eremita, we have returned!" Tempus says joyfully. "Tempus, Spatium, glad to see you again. I hope you bring good news." "We do," Tempus says as they approach me, "we have spoken with the other groups-" "I was actually talking about your child," I interrupt, "I hope everything went well." Tempus puts on another large smile as he looks over to the little bundle on Spatium's side. "Everything went perfectly. Miles, greet my daughter, Celestia," he says as he uses his aura to levitate a small white pony out of the strap. She has bright pink hair and all the appendages that her parents have. She lacks a mark and is sleeping. "May I?" I ask as I hold out my arms. Spatium looks a little nervous by this, but Tempus levitates her over to me anyway. I take hold of her and look down at her. She slowly opens her eyes and looks up to me with those bright pink eyes and grows the biggest smile ever. She lets out an adorable little giggle as she raises her legs and begins to play with my face. "Brave one, isn't she?" "She taketh it from her father," Spatium says as she walks into the room. I follow her in and hand her off to Spatium. This kid is way too cute... and poky. I wanted to hold her a bit longer, but I would’ve lost an eye in the process. We all take our old seats and go back into silence... well almost. Celestia keeps making the most adorable baby sounds as Spatium plays with her, pointing her leg at her, poking her nose, that kind of stuff. "So, what's the good news?" "I have spoken with all of the clan heads and we have agreed to allow a portion of land for thy subjects, but only after thou give us a census of its potential citizens." "We plan on moving one million in the first year-" "One million!" Tempus yells, causing Celestia to coil up and give small whimpers. "Thou can't be serious. We thought thou would move ten thousand at most. There is no way any would allow one million. It's out of the question." Well... fuck. "Ten thousand you say... that would be really hard to pull. My people don't want to move unless we bring a high volume of people... do you think you could convince these leaders to allow more people?" "Maybe... it would take some time... dost thou think thee could convince thine people to allow less to make the pilgrimage?" "Only time will tell." Tempus nods to me as they both begin to rise. "Well met, Miles Eremita, we must adjourn to begin deliberations. We shall call for thee again when we have our answer." "Farewell, and next time, let's make some time to get to know one another. I'd like to be more than strangers." "Very well," he says as he bows to me. I bow back and turn to Spatium. She raises an eyebrow as she brings up her leg again. Eximius, you better be right. I kneel down and give a quick kiss to the bottom of her leg. "Well, it seems thou hast found time to learn some proper manners. Fare thee well, Miles Eremita." "Vale usque nos obvium iterum." As they disappear the same way as before I grab my walkie and say, "Caravan, this is Pilgrim, mission flare." June 20th, 1130 The past few years have been dragging by way too slowly. Our negotiations have been making progress, but they only want to make discussions during one time of the year, and even then it takes months for requests to be made. I've worked my people down to two hundred fifty thousand, but Tempus has only been able to work his people up to fifty thousand. At this rate, it'll take us three or four years to finally work something out. That, plus all the preparations for moving people there, getting the supplies ready, and getting people to volunteer to go, we're looking at another year for us to finally make the move. Well, I guess something like this will just have to take its time to come to fruition. On the bright side, at least I get to speak with Tempus and Spatium every now and again. They are actually pretty good people. And Celestia is just an adorable treat. She also grew up pretty fast. She's still very little, compared to her parents, but she can already walk, run, talk, basically anything a toddler could do. If I remember correctly, today is her birthday. I decided to make her a gift. Nothing big, just a gold tiara embedded with a ruby on the top. I'm going to enchant a photo of all of us together in the ruby, so the little troublemaker will have something to remember me by. FLASH "Uncle Miles, Uncle Miles!" I look out of the room and see Celestia running towards me, leaving behind Tempus and Spatium. "Hey there squirt," I say as I get out of my seat and kneel before her. She runs up and jumps into my arms. I catch her and stand with a twist, getting giggles from Celestia. "Hey, hey, dost thou know what day it is today?" she asks eagerly, wiggling in my arms. "I have no idea; what day is it?" "IT'S MINE BIRTHDAY!" she yells as she tries to squeeze me in a hug. I pick her up and set her on the ground as I get on my knees. "Mmm... that's impossible, if I remember correctly, your birthday was last year." "But... I thought today was mine birthday," she says as she gives a little pout. AW... SWEET BARBRA.... cuteness overload. Must fix. "THAT'S BECAUSE IT IS YOUR BIRTHDAY!" "I KNEW IT!" She screams as she begins to hop around me. "And I got you a present," I say, getting a shocked look from Spatium. "Thou didst, what is it, what is it?" "Ah, ah, aahh. Close your eyes first." She scrunches up her face as she closes her eyes as tightly as possible. TOO. DAMN. CUTE. I pull out the tiara and present it to her, getting a small gasp from Spatium. "Okay, open your eyes." SQUEE She jumps straight into my arms again and gives me the biggest hug she can muster. "Thank thee, thank thee! I love it. Can I wear it? Can I, can I, can I?" I set her back down and try to fit it on her head, but it goes completely around and hangs from her neck. "Hold on, let me fit it real quick." I take it and send some energy into it. The spell is simple enough, I'm just going to make it shrink and grow to fit her appropriately, I have the same spell on my potestatum annulums. When I finish, I set it on her head, and it's a perfect fit. She runs over to Tempus and asks, "How does it look, daddy?" "Almost as beautiful as thee. Thank thee for this, Miles, thou hadst no need to do this." "Pfft, need? I wanted to do this. It wasn't a problem, but there is one more thing that I need to do with it." "What's that?" Celestia asks as she walks over to me. I take the tiara and set it on the table. I then instruct the three of them to stand aside and group together. As they do so, I set the spell in the gem, thirty seconds. I scramble behind them and order them to smile, which they do. FLASH I walk over to the tiara and pick it up. When I look back, the three of them look scared beyond belief. "Don't worry, it was just a picture. Here, let me show you." I flare some energy into the ruby, making it project a picture of the four of us a few centimeters from the gem. The three of them walk over and inspect the picture closely. "How didst thou get us inside such a small space, Uncle Miles?" Celestia asks in wonder. "Hehe, no dear, we aren't in there. It’s a magical copy of our likeness. It's just so you can always have something to remember me by." I shut off my magic, ending the hologram, and set the tiara back on her head. "Mmmm... okay, now I will always have my mommy, my daddy, and my Uncle Miles with me," she says with the biggest smile ever. TOO. DAMN. CUTE. "Celestia, why don't thou go show mother thy tiara, Uncle Miles and I have many things to discuss." Tempus asks sweetly, giving her a nudge towards Spatium. "Okay daddy," she says as she pulls Spatium away. "I seriously hope you've got my number." I tell him as we watch the two of them step out of the room. "As do I." "Alright, like always, at the same time." "Very well." "Eighty thousand," we say at the same time. "Finally!" "Most wondrous!" "Alright, I'll get my people to start preparations. Finally, after all this time, we're finally going to see that sky." We both share a laugh at that. Apparently this ‘sky’ is something so mundane to the people of the surface, that the idea of never seeing it is absurd. "I cannot wait to meet you on the surface, it has taken far too long for this joyous day to arrive." "Uncle Miles?" Celestia says as she walks up to me. "What doth this mean?" I look down and see the etching I put on the back. "‘Cum vobis semper’. It means, with you always..." August 8th 1131 We're halfway to getting our preparations ready for our colony to move back to the surface. I was the first to sign up for it and I can't wait. Captain Bellum, Altum and I are heading out to go to the surface. It was decided that we should head out early and make sure we bring proper equipment. It's a good idea, I just wish Altum wasn't here. That fucking sadistic bastard always finds a way to stick his greasy fingers into my work, fucking power hungry asshole. Whatever, I can handle a little Altum for the opportunity to be the first human to walk on the surface in hundreds of years. "I still don't understand why you didn't bring your weapons," Captain Bellum says as we push our way through the soil, heading up. "I don't see the need for them." "We're going to untraversed land, with no intel, no backup and no communication. I think that barters some need for firepower," Altum says. "Hey, don't like it, head back. We're going to be meeting Tempus up there anyway. I doubt something would attack someone of such high political standing." "At least let me put a barrier on you, some extra protection couldn't hurt," Captain Bellum says. "I trust Tempus." We continue to push our way until the ceiling above ends and all we can see is a grey ceiling. I push the ground below us up until it's level with the ground around it. The surface. The area around is fairly hard to see. There's a light grey smoke screen all around, making our visibility limited. I look around until I see a figure up above coming down to us. After a few seconds the figure is joined by another one. A little bit later the figures reveal themselves to be Tempus and Spatium flying towards us. "Down here!" I yell out to them, getting their attention right away. "So that's a pony," Captain Bellum says with wonder in his voice. "Such power..." Altum mutters to himself. Please don't make me look bad. They finally make it to us and land in front of us. "Miles! It's good to see thee on the surface," Tempus says as he and Spatium bow to us. The Captain and I return the gesture, but Altum remains up, gawking at the two of them. "Art thou ready to see thy new home?" Spatium says. "I've been ready ever since we met, lead the way." Tempus gives me a nod and begins to turn, but suddenly a white flash appears from my back, and the back of Tempus’s head explodes outward. In the distance I hear the muffled sound of a rifle firing as I watch Tempus’s body slowly fall to the ground. "TTTEEEEMMPPPUUUUUSSSS!" Spatium yells as she runs over to him and holds his body up. I can see the entry wound on the side of his head pour blood out as Spatium begins to wail over his lifeless body. "TEMPUS! NO! NO! WHY!? WWWHHHYYY!? WHAT DIDST THOU DO MILES? WHAT DIDST THOU DO!? WE TRUSTED THEE! WE THOUGHT THOU WERE OUR FRIEND! TTTTTEEEMMMMPUSSSS!" I don't register the next few events. The only thing I can register is remembering that bullet bounce off that barrier and slam into Tempus’s head. Watching the brain matter fly out the back, seeing him slowly fall to the ground, seeing the life drain from his eyes in the matter of seconds, the screams of Spatium yelling. When I finally get a hold of myself, I find myself lying in a bed in the hospital ward back in Topaz. All of my friends are around me, looking down at me with worried looks. I slowly begin to sit up, making them all sigh in relief. "What's going on?" I ask in a raspy voice. "Miles! Oh thank goodness. You've been in shock for three days now," Tenera says as she gives me a hug. "Captain Bellum told us what happened, we're sorry about your friend Miles," Sine says, as bluntly as ever. "Where is Susurrans?" I ask, getting serious looks from everyone. "Captain Bellum is outside-" Eximius begins. "Bring him to me!" I bark at them. They all look at me with concern, but Fidus finally goes to retrieve him. "Miles, what's wrong?" Auxy asks, but I don't answer. Fidus returns with Susurrans shortly after. Susurrans asks them all to leave, which they do reluctantly, before he turns to me. "How are you feeling-" "Did you put a barrier on me?" "I-I... well..." "SPIT IT OUT! DID YOU PUT A BARRIER ON ME!?" He takes a deep sigh before he looks me square in the eyes. "Yes. Like it or not, you are a soldier of Terradisia. We cannot allow you to walk around in dangerous territory without some protection. I was just following orders, Miles." I look away from him; I can't look at him without wanting to tear his head off. Following orders, like I've never heard that before. "Miles?" "Orders sir." "Miles, what's wrong with you-" "ORDERS, sir." "..." "Orders sir." August 29th, 4133 When I finish telling Luna about Tempus and Spatium, I'm fuming with rage. I'm pacing back and forth, looking for anything to vent my anger on. Luna's been sitting there the entire time, processing what I told her. "I don't get it," she says, getting my attention. "How is it your fault that Tempus died, you didn't fire anything..." "It's my fucking fault because I pushed for humans to move to the surface! If I hadn't, then I would never have met them, and he would have lived. Nobody would have had a reason to shoot him. IT'S MY FUCKING FAULT HE'S DEAD!" I break down and fall back against the wall in a fit of tears. "Why did he have to die? If he had been four centimeters to the right, or if I hadn't had that fucking barrier, he would have lived. I deserve to die for what I did to him." I bury my face in my arm as I cry out my sorrow. I really wish I had died instead of him. He had Spatium, he had Celestia. They had to go on without him because of me. I probably ruined Celly’s childhood by killing her father. Who knows what kind of resentment they must’ve had towards me? As I cry out, I feel Luna grab me and pull me into her embrace. I grab onto her and cry my heart out.
Chapter 28 Mending Broken HeartsChapter 28 Mending Broken Hearts When I finally run out of tears to cry out, I just sit there. I want it to end, the injustice, the sorrow, the heartache. Why do I get to live while Tempus had to die? The shot was for me; it should have been me. He had so much to live for, and I cheated him of that. As I contemplate this, Luna tightens her hold on me. I think she's crying; I can feel a wet spot on my back slowly growing. I tighten my hold with my left arm while I rub her back with my right hand. Tempus must have been some important figure to her people, that or my crying is infectious. "Miles..." "Yeah Luna?" She loosens her hold on me enough to be able to lean back and look at me. I can see the stains on her cheeks from all of the silent tears she's cried out. "Please don't blame yourself-" "How could I not...?" "Stop. Stop right there. Tempus was your friend. He wanted you to be there. How could he have known about an assassin? And I'm sure that Spatium was only hysterical because of her loss. They were your friends, and they wanted you to be here. Don't tarnish his final wishes with these delusional thoughts of injustice. The only injustice here is that the killer got away... right?" "I guess they did. We left almost as soon as the shot was fired, so we didn't find out who did it..." "There, now the only thing left to do now is to live a full and meaningful life." I give her a confused look, which she gives a small chuckle at. "Stupid boy... you have to live on, for Tempus. He wanted you to come here and live your life, it's the least you could do to honor his memory." "Heh, I guess you’re right..." I look up to her and she returns my gaze. I think we're moving closer to one another but I can't tell. I'm completely lost in those amazing teal eyes. After what feels like an eternity, we're mere centimeters away from one another, eyes becoming heavy, hearts racing, brown blur to the left... brown blur? We both look over to see someone watching us closely. Holding their claws by their mouth and shaking from anticipation. "*SQUEE* Luna's got a boyfriend!" she screams, making Luna jump off me and turn bright red. "R-Regina? What are you doing here?" Luna asks, only to be ignored by her as she walks over to me and examines me closely. She seems to be two different creatures in one. The front half is covered in light brown feathers, while the back half has fur. Her front legs end in yellow claws, while her back legs have short rounded phalanges. Her mouth seems to be made of a hard substance. The feathers on the top of her head are pushed back, going down and along the back of her neck and end in black. She has long brown wings that end in black and curve with her body. She continues to look me over with the biggest bright blue eyes. "Luna... you have the weirdest taste in mating partners." Luna and I look to one another and nearly choke from embarrassment. "We're not mating partners," Luna says. "We aren't doing anything," I say. "Well... at last he isn't ugly. Now what is your name?" she asks as she leans in a bit. "I'm... Miles Eremita." "Miles Eremita... I am Regina Strongwing. I am a dear friend of Luna's here, so let me give you a little warning." She grabs the neckline of my shirt and pulls me so that we're face to face. "You’re Luna's first, so if I hear that you were too rough, I'll hunt you down and end you." I don't know what to say. I look over to Luna and see that she's frozen in her embarrassment, blushing as brightly as possible. I look back to Regina and say, "I don't think we'll have to worry about that." She gives me a smile and sets me down. "Alright, well I guess I'll leave you lovebirds alone. Luna, when you’re finished here, I'll be at the ambassador’s hall. I'll be sure to stay up late to hear all the juicy details." She says the last part in a seductive tone as she flies out of the room and glides off into the distance. I look back to Luna, and we stare at each other for a moment before we become too embarrassed to look at one another. "S-so, she your friend?" I ask as we continue to avoid each other’s eyes. "Y-yeah." "What is she?" "She's a griffin. Half eagle, half lion." "Umm... so, what did she mean by me being your first?" I ask as I look back to her. "I-I umm... I've never had... you know... sex. I'm still a virgin." Oh... OH! How did I not get that? "Y-yeah... we share that trait. Umm..." "You didn't have anypony back in your home?" She asks with some newfound confidence. "No. I just... never could find someone I truly could connect with." "Oh, I see... uh, if you don't mind, it’s been a long, and rather stressful day. I need to go to bed." "Right, right. Because you sleep all day and stay up all night, I remember. Umm... so where am I?" "You’re in Canterlot, but don't worry, I'll send you back," she says as she brings her aura field around her horn. "Hey Luna." "Yes Miles?" "Thank you... for making me talk about them... I needed that." She gives me a smile as the bright light returns, blinding me shortly. "Yeah... me too," she says quietly. FLASH When I regain my vision I find myself in Twilight's room in front of the four girls... wait four? I don't recall the grey girl in the poofy pink dress... oh sweet Barbra. "BWAAAHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" I fall to the ground in a fit of laughter. I honestly thought I had run out of tears, but seeing Storm dressed like that, I found some new source. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Laugh it up, you’re next," Storm says. I wanted to respond, but I'm currently trying to keep my sides from falling off. "Oh hush Miles, Storm looks absolutely fabulous!" Rarity says, getting everyone to laugh. "Yeah he does, HAHAHAHAHAHA!" I'm now rocking back and forth from laughter. Aw man I wish I had a camera... WAIT, I do! I stop laughing long enough to pull out my phone and quickly take a picture. When I look at my phone and see the look on his face, I immediately fall back into my fit of laughter. The girls run over and look at my phone and soon join me on the floor in a frenzy of laughter. "Great, now I'll never be able to live this down... how does stuff like this always happen to me?" Storm says as he begins to remove the dress. "Ha... aw man... I'm making that my background... too funny." The girls all stop laughing and give each other a look... shit. I try to run away but Twilight grabs me with her magic, as Rarity starts weaving fabric all around me. In a few seconds I find myself standing in the middle of the room in a slim light pink dress, with a white bow in the middle of the back. The dress only goes down to just above my knees and is strapless. Once the girls back up and take a look, they all fall over in a new frenzy of laughter. "Whatever, I make this look good," I say as I walk towards the stairs to the bottom room. "Hey Miles!" Twilight calls out. I turn around only to turn away from a bright flash. When I look back I see Applejack with a large camera in her hooves. "Yea, ya look good enough fer a fancy smancy bridesmaid," she says as she sets the camera down. "You’re all evil," I say as I walk down the stairs. I get to the bottom and quickly get re-dressed. I put on my old pants and the red shirt. This shirt is just plain red and has a lay flat collar. I run back up to see the four of them sitting in a circle. Storm is out of the of the dress and is sitting out of his armor, next to Twilight with an open space next to him. I take a seat next to him and give him a playful nudge. "Alright, I think we've taken truth or dare as far as we can, what should we do now?" Twilight says, as she pulls out the book from before. As Twilight and the others talk about various games they could play, Storm leans closer to me. "Miles, I think I know what happened in the morning, meet me in the kitchen," he says in a whisper. I nod to him and start to head over. "Where you going?" Twilight asks. "Storm and I were going... to... get snacks," I say as I stumble to the stairs. "Snacks?" "Yes, snacks, right Storm?" "Uh, yeah, snacks. Anything sound good?" Storm asks. "Ooo, I would love some apple slices," Rarity says. "Apples, got it. Let’s go," I say as I quickly walk out of the room. When we finally get to the kitchen I turn to Storm and watch as he paces around. "OK, so what happened?" He walks over to the fridge and pulls out a large dark green glass bottle. "I think you drugged us," he says as he looks over at the bottle. "What?" "Well, when you were gone the girls decided to have a glass of wine, so they all had a small drink. Ever since then they've been acting pretty strange." "Strange how? They seem to be acting normal to me." "I didn't notice it at first either. But... it's like they have no filters. Whenever one of them asked a question, they would answer it completely." "And?" "AGH! Like... I asked Twilight about Storm... the other Storm... and she went on for thirty minutes about all the stuff they did together. ALL of it." "...Oh sweet Barbra." I take the bottle from him and look it over. The bottle itself is fine, but I can sense some energy from the liquid inside. "What should we do?" I walk around the room as I think for a second before I come up with a solution. "We have two choices. Either we let the effects of the drink wear off on their own, or we give them more, making the crash come sooner." "Is that safe? Shouldn't we just let them sober up first?" "That would be best, but we have to be careful. We currently have access to their deepest, darkest secrets. We cannot allow ourselves to take advantage of this." Storm nods to me as he begins to walk towards the room, only to stop when I move in front of him. "Is there something else?" "Yeah, let's not forget the apples." We spend the next few minutes preparing some apples on a plate. Once we finish we head up, Storm carrying the plate of apples on his back while I have another in one hand. I also brought the bottle of wine... just in case. When we get to the room we enter as Twilight is talking. "...he was to say the word I would buck his brains out. Oh, speak of the devil. Storm, come over here a second, I want to talk to you." Storm flings the tray across the room as his wings go straight up, sending apples everywhere. "Hey Twilight!" I say before Storm can do anything, "You want some more wine?" "Hmm... that actually sounds like a good idea. Storm, why don't you come have a glass with me?" I drop the tray and kneel next to Storm. "What do I do, what do I do?" Storm repeats as he glances between me and Twilight, lightly sweating. I give him a hard smack across the face to gain his attention. "First off, sorry about that. Secondly, plan B," I say as I shove the bottle into his hooves. "Play along and get her to drink as much as possible, as fast as possible. I'll distract the other two. Oh, and another thing, if you do anything..." "I'm not going to sleep with her when she's like this. Buck man, give me some credit." "Hey, I'm just saying," I say as I stand back up. "Hey, Applejack, Rarity, why don't you two come with me to... get more apples." "Ah thought we had ta leave so Storm an' Twi could rut," Applejack says as she begins to walk downstairs. "Darling, he's obviously trying to be coy about it," Rarity says as she follows her down. "Coy shmoy. Ya jus' jump on back there and put yer back inta it," Applejack replies. "Only if you want to be a barbarian about it. You have to at least do a little foreplay, get the mood set." "Eh, I guess." No... filters... whatsoever. I look back to Storm and give him a thumbs up as I begin to follow the other two out. Storm looks incredibly nervous, but takes a deep gulp as he walks onto the room. Author's Note Thanks to Oldtimeydude for using his Brony Points to pick where he appeared. Thanks for reading and like always, Brony on!
Chapter 29 TemptationsChapter 29 Temptations Perspective: Storm Celestia help me, why did Miles have to leave me alone with Twilight like this? I know I shouldn't try anything, she's been drugged and would hate me forever. This isn’t right. I turn back and... where did she go? "Stooorrrmm," she says from above in a seductive tone. I would have flown up, but my stupid wings are too stiff to let me fly, so I take the steps to her bed. When I see her my wings nearly blast off. She's laying on her side with her back legs sprawled out and her left foreleg underneath her, her right leg is resting on her side as she looks at me with hungry, seductive eyes. "Uhh..." is the only thing I can manage to say as she looks to her backside and begins to play with her tail. "Well... you can stay there and watch... or you can come over here and do it yourself... or we can do a little of both... your choice." She tells me in a low, husky tone. "..." Perspective: Miles AW fucking fuck in all of the fuck that's ever been fucked! These two won't stop! We're sitting in the front room talking, but damn, this is begging to be a little too much. They tried to engage me, but since I don't really have experience, they started talking all sorts of fucking weird shit. Apparently, sucking horn is in this season, as is the sideways monster mash... what the fuck does that even mean!? "Miles darling, are you alright? Would you like-" "NO THANK YOU!" I yell as I jump away from her slightly. "Ah ferget about it Rare, ah betcha he's gay anyways." Applejack slurs out, waving a hoof at me. "No, I'm not... I just don't want any of that." "Why? Do you not find us attractive?" Rarity asks as she bats her eyelashes. "What?! I don't find you to be anything-" "Is it because we're not friends? Because I'd love to be your friend," Rarity says as she slides next to me and begins to rub the side of her face against my arm. I quickly stand up and back away. I need some of that wine, the slow way isn't working fast enough. She gives me a little pout as she looks up to me. I seriously hope they forget this when they wake up, this is going to get ugly. "Umm... do you know if Twilight has any drinks? I could seriously use one right now." This seems to brighten up Rarity and Applejack as they run into the kitchen. I quickly follow them in and find them both in the fridge, talking to one another. "What do you think, she only has a bottle left, think that's enough to get him to get some action?" Oh sweet Barbra! "Ah don't think so, remember at the party? He had twice as much as me and was still fine." Oh sweet Barbra. "What if I enchant it to have double the effect?" Oh sweet Barbra! "Maybe... when did ya learn ta do that?" "Just a little trick I picked up from the fashion industry. Something we do to take advantage of potential clients." Oh sweet Barbra… Ew? "Ah don't know... I saw his package; it was pretty small." Aw go fuck yourself... why am I just standing here listening...? "I don't believe so. I snuck a peek once when he was changing, and I think it's just external, meaning it should grow bigger." You what now? "How did ya manage that?" "I scryed it. What do you say?" You what!? "Mmm... alright, I'll help ya out-" "Oh no darling, not for me. I have Spike… sort of. I meant all this for you." "ME!? Ah, ah can't. It would be too weird." Keep digging Applejack, just keep digging. "Oh posh sweetheart, I saw the way you looked at his body." Oh sweet Barbra. "Ah can't help it if I'm attracted ta muscle... it jus' gets me off!" I really don't want to be here right now. Move fucking legs! Why... won't... you... move... fuck! "I'm just saying, he seems to be well equipped for a human, what if that translates to sex god for ponies?" Sex what!? A sex what!? MOVE LEGS! "Mmmm... fine, but ya better leave when we get started, ah don't like ta be watched by others. Deal?” No! No deal! You don’t plan sex with someone with other people! That’s… that’s not how it works! "Deal." Afterward I hear a flash... and then another. They both finally come out of the fridge and look back to me with smug smiles. "Oh Miles darling, would you be a dear and get us some glasses?" Perspective: Storm "Ah Twilight... I... ah..." "I guess I'll get things started then," she says as she starts to move her free hoof down. "No! I mean... I'll do it... I just... need some liquid encouragement first," I say as I show her the bottle. "Mmm, fine by me," she says in a moan, as she rolls over until her head is hanging upside down off the side of the bed. I honestly am impressed that my wings haven't fallen off by now. "Well… go ahead." Buck. I know that if I take even a swig of this I won't be able to control myself. I slowly bring the bottle to my lips and raise it enough to make it seem as if I take a drink, but don't actually. I pretend to take a few gulps before I lower the bottle and pretend to gasp for air. "Alright... would you like a drink?" Please say yes, please say yes, please! She thinks about it for a second before she simply opens her mouth. I gulp as I walk over to her and offer her the bottle. She shakes her head and holds her mouth open. I tilt the bottle into her mouth and slowly begin to pour the liquid into her. She takes hold of the bottle with her lips and begins to take more of the neck into her mouth. She keeps going until the entire neck is in her mouth, she then holds it there for a second before she pulls back. She then begins to stick her tongue inside the bottle as she works her lips around the opening of the bottle. I don't think I've ever been this jealous of a bottle as much as I am right now. With a solid smack, she removes the bottle from her mouth and looks up to me. I look at the bottle and realize she didn't even drink any, she just held it in place with her magic! "Heh, looks like you’re ready now, big boy," she says with a wink. I look back and see that I have a massive erection... not surprising, but not helpful. "Uhh... Twilight..." she silences me by putting a hoof over my lips and rolling on her stomach. She turns around so that her hind legs are off the bed as she lays the rest of her body on the bed. Perspective: Miles I AM A FUCKING GENIUS! I don't know how, and I quite frankly don't care, but I discovered Applejack's weakness: she's extremely competitive! I challenge her to a drinking contest and bam, wasted Applejack. "Ahsssure wan ta *hiccup* uhhmrrexx," she slurs as she rubs up against me. "Uh, Applejack... you’re drunk, we should put you to bed." I tell her, smiling in victory. "Ahhhmmma ffine. Ah ah ah ah can ermmera schul a..." she tries to say before she falls over and passes out. One down, one to go. "Well, that didn't go as planned," Rarity says as she walks over and checks on her. "Yeah, it’s pretty hard to be inconspicuous when you say your plans in front of me," I say as Spike walks into the room. His legs are covered in mud and he is completely soaked. He's holding a small brown bag over his head and looks pretty worn out. "What the fuck happened to you?" I ask. "Rarity asked me to go get some of her gems, so I went." Wow... whipped. "Thank you, Spike darling," Rarity says as she levitates the bag from him, "but sadly I won't be needing these anymore." Spike falls over as Rarity sets the bag down on a table. She walks over to him and gives him a light peck on the cheek, getting him back up with renewed vigor. "Hey Spike, can I talk to you in the kitchen really quick?" "Why?" "Let’s just say we're fucked if we don't talk." He gives me a confused look before he walks into the kitchen. I raise my hand to Rarity, stopping her in her tracks. "Sorry, this is kind of a man to man thing." "If you say so... but please be kind to my Spikey wikey." Again... what da fuck. "Sure, I'll do that." I turn and walk into the kitchen to find Spike sitting at the table, so I take the seat across from him. "So... what did you need to talk to me about-" "The girls have been drugged," I say bluntly. "They've been what now?" "To put it simply, they've been slipped something that has made them act differently. If you were to ask them something, they would answer with no tact and no restraint. They've also been acting forward and thoughtless." "Where's Twilight?" he asks as he gives a quick look around the kitchen. "She's upstairs with Storm-" "WHAT! You left her alone with him, when she has no restraints! Do you have any idea what could happen-" "I know. That's why I need you. I trust Storm, but I'm still afraid something may happen, that's where you come in." "What could I do?" he asks nervously. "Cock block.” He tilts his head at this, not knowing the terminology. "Huh?" "I want you to go up there and pester Twilight. Try to make her uncomfortable, annoy her, basically do anything that would take her mind off of Storm." "I-I don't know Miles, what if they already... you know... started." "Then get out of there and we'll deal with that later. Look, I know this must be really hard for you, but only you can do it." I tell him confidently, getting him to shrink in his seat. "Why only me?" "Because Rarity is under the same effect." His eyes widen from this as he looks back to the room. "Maybe I can-" "No." "But I-" "Spike, NO." "I can-" "Do you want Rarity to trust you?" I ask him, leaning forward. "Of course, more than anything-" "Then prove to her that you can resist the temptation and go help Storm." He thinks about this for a second before he jumps off his seat and walks over to the fridge. He goes through a few things before he pulls out a small orange tub. "For you, my sweet," he says as he pulls out a scooper of some sort and points it up. O...kay... I'll just let this one go. Perspective: Storm "Well Storm... whenever you’re ready," Twilight says coolly as she swishes her tail back and forth. I seriously do and don't want this. I want to be with Twilight, but I don't want to lose her either. "I-I'm sorry Twilight... but I can't." I close my eyes and look away, trying to burn the image of Twilights backside out of my mind. "What?! Why not?" "It wouldn't be right." I open my eyes and glance at her to see her turn around and look back to me with a dumbfounded look. "And why wouldn't it be right?" she asks slightly offended. "You’re not in the right mindset Twilight! I don't want to take advantage of you-" "But you’re not!" She says as she jumps off the bed and faces me. "I want this, I really do. Please-" "HEY TWILIGHT!" Spike yells from downstairs, while eating from a tub of ice cream. Twilight walks to the edge and looks down at him in irritation. "Spike, not now, I'm trying to get... are you eating ice cream?" "Yup," he says as he eats another scoop. "We went over this Spike, if you eat too much you'll get a tummy ache." "Really?" he says as he eats another scoop. "YES REALLY! Remember last time?" "Mmmm....nope. Not ringing any bells *chomp*." "AGHH!" She looks back to me and asks, "Can you wait here, I need to talk to him really quick." "Uhh... actually, I think I'm going to hit the showers. This has been pretty... distracting. I'm not really in the mood." THANK YOU SPIKE! "What? No! What if I join you in there, won't that help?" "Umm... probably, but you should deal with Spike first, you know, so he doesn't do anything he'll regret later." MY BUCKING SAVIOR. "*sigh* Alright, but you better be in there and ready to rut my brains out,” she tells me with a huff. "Will do, now go down there and deal with him." She starts to turn away but stops. She turns to me and looks me over for a second, before she pulls me in and kisses me. I seriously nearly lost it in that moment, the softness of her lips, her overwhelming aura, even though it only lasted for a few seconds, it will play in my mind for years to come. I was about to start returning the kiss when a chunk of ice cream slammed into Twilight's head, making her look over to Spike in anger. "SPIKE!" She yells as he runs down stairs. She quickly runs after him and leaves me in a daze. I want to hold this moment, but at the same time, I know it isn't real. Shower... icy preferably. I trot to the nearest shower and immediately start to run the ice water. Even though it's running straight on me, I can still feel the heat from that amazing kiss... why do things have to be so complicated? Perspective: Miles I seriously don't know how I'm going to get Rarity to pass out. I have a little bit of the wine left, but I doubt it'll make her pass out. Not to mention I haven't the slightest clue on how I'm going to make her drink it. I really wish I could remember how I made the first batch, then I could just put a really potent concentration in it and try to get her to drink that, but I can't remember how Inficiunt did it. "Miles..." I turn around to see that Rarity has walked in, looking really worried. "There's something wrong with the three of us, isn't there?" "How did you figure it out?" "Well, I was sitting there alone and after some thinking, I put one and one together. As I said, this is a fashion industry trick. How did we get like this?" "Well..." "Hide me, hide me!" Spike yells as he runs into the kitchen and hides behind Rarity. "Get your scaly butt over here, Spike!" Twilight yells as she charges into the room, looking pissed. I don't have time for this. I flare my magic and take control of the wine. With a wave of my hand I slither it out of the bottle and force it down her throat. She staggers a bit until she falls to her side, passing out. "Miles, you can use magic!" Spike says. "Yeah... you weren't supposed to see that..."
Chapter 30 Earning TrustChapter 30 Earning Trust Spike and Rarity are both looking at me with bewildered looks. I just had to use magic. I couldn't just think of something, I just had to go down the easy path, this will not end well. I shut off my magic and turn to the others; hopefully they will understand. Maybe I can somehow get Rarity to make some of that drink she made- "Miles..." Rarity begins but stops when Spike puts a finger over her lips. "What do you mean I wasn't supposed to see that? Are you planning something? Are you the one who drugged the girls?" "What? No... I mean, I did do the drugging part, but that was an accident. Look, I didn't say anything at first because it never came up. When Storm saw me-" "Storm knows!?" They both yell. "Yeah, but we decided that we should keep it a secret-" "Why would you want to do that?" Rarity asks. "Well... we are friends. We figured that if Luna were to find out I could do magic; she would rotate him out for a unicorn. So we decided to keep it between the two of us." Spike crosses his arms and thinks to himself for a moment. I don't like that serious look on his face. He turns and walks out to the front room. Rarity and I look to one another before we follow him out. We find him at Twilight's podium writing something down. "Spike darling... what are you doing?" Rarity asks cautiously. "I'm writing a letter to the Princess-" "What!? Please Spike don't!" I say as I run up to him and kneel before him. "Please, Storm is one of three friends I have, please don't write this letter." "And why shouldn't I?" Spike says as he turns and leans on the podium. "What have I done that would-" "Are you kidding me?! Look around. You drugged Applejack, Rarity, and Twilight, nearly burn down our home, all because you’re too selfish to let go of one friend!" "One of three, I think that should allow some selfishness-" "Who’s the...*thud*" Rarity begins but falls over as she passes out. "Look, let's put the girls to bed and continue this later." Spike nods with an irritated look and walks to Rarity's side. He's too small to pick her up, so I leave her there for a moment and carry Twilight upstairs. I lay her on her bed and head back down to find Spike sitting by Rarity, stroking her hair. "She's not hurt... is she?" he asks innocently. "No, she's fine. I believe the effects of the spell used are memory alteration, loss of restraint, and loss of consciousness. She should be back to her old self when she wakes up." I walk over and pick her up. Spike gives me a look before looking away as I carry her to Twilight's room. I lay her next to Twilight and head down to get Applejack, leaving Spike behind. I grab Applejack and go back up to see Spike walking down with a shivering Storm. "What happened to you?" "C-c-c-ol-d-d sh-sh-o-ower," he stutters. "So I take it I won't have to beat the crap out of you then." He tries to laugh but is shivering too much to do so. I walk up to him and put my hand on his forehead... feels fine to me. "Why don't you get under some blankets and try to warm up some, I'll bring you some warm soup," Spike says. Storm nods and begins to walk downstairs, shivering the entire way down. I take Applejack and lay her in between the other two, with her head on the other side of the bed. I look down at them and sigh, this is my fault, but it's not like they were hurt or anything. At worst we learned some secrets, but where’s the harm in that? I turn and walk back to the front and wait for Spike to come back. I take a seat and wait for a few minutes... and a few more... and after several more minutes pass I decide to go check on the two of them. I make the trip all the way to the door but stop when I hear them talking inside. "... you trust him so easily? You barely know him." Spike asks. "I-I k-know h-him-m enough t-t-to trust him." Storm stutters out. "Do you? What if he's just tricking you to make you trust him? Look, I'm not going to fall for his tricks, I'm writing-" "SPIKE!" I yell as I burst through the door, making him jump a little, and walk down to him. "We need to talk." He looks up to me but turns his back to me as he begins to write a letter. "What do you hope to accomplish by writing that letter?" "It'll show everyone that you’re a liar and prove to them that we shouldn't trust you." "You know what, fine! Write it. Let's see if anyone cares that you went behind their backs." He pauses for a moment and looks back to me. "What? How am I the one going behind their backs? You’re the one who lied to them." "No, I never said anything about my powers, it never came up before. You’re the one who skipped talking to them and went straight to Luna, who I think already knows... I mean I talked about it during the story I had to tell her, but I think she either didn't hear me, or chose not to listen." "Y-you t-t-told Luna. You b-b-bucking idiot." "Like I said, if they ever asked, I would tell them, but if they don't bring it up, why bother?" "Because it's something we deserve to know," Spike says as he rolls up the letter and turns back to me, "we don't know you other than that you’re a soldier of some kind. That means you’re prone to violence. Ponyville already gets enough excitement, we don't need you adding to it. Plus, hiding the truth is just as bad as telling a lie." "Spike, please. I'll do anything to prove to you that I'm not a threat, just please don't send that letter, please." "Anything?" he asks while raising an eyebrow. I gulp at this. The little extortionist is going to take me to the bank, I just know it. "What do you want?" "You wouldn't happen to know who’s been visiting Rarity every now and again, would you?" Well... shit. "I promised I wouldn't say..." He raises the letter and takes a deep breath. "Wait, wait, hold on. There's nothing else you want, nothing? I promised Rarity that I wouldn't say anything, please don't make me break my word." He thinks for a second before he exhales through his nostrils, leaving the letter unscathed. "Alright, I won't make you break your promise, but you’re not off the hook yet." "Fine, what do you have in mind?" "Hmm... I first want to do a power check on you, we'll see after that." Power check... oh crap. "F-fine, how do you want to do this." My confidence falters for a second. "Follow me." We go to the back of the room as Spike starts to set up one of the towers. He brings me a large metal helmet that is shaped like a dome and is covered in dozens of blinking lights. He instructs me to put it on, which I do, and he goes back to the machine. He pushes a large red button and the machine begins to print out a sheet of paper with a red line being scribbled on it. The line is fairly narrow and seems to aggravate Spike. "What's up?" I ask curiously, though I have an idea of what’s going on. "According to this you have the same energy reading as an earth pony, but that doesn't make sense." "Maybe I should turn my magic on for the test." Called it. "You can turn it on and off!?" Instead of answering I shake my arms to turn on my magic. I go to my lowest setting, only allowing the circles on my palms to appear. Instantly, the machine gets to work making large waves appear on the sheet. "Wow, you’re almost as powerful as Twilight. Can you feed any more energy?" "Well I-" "And don't lie. I want nothing more than the honest truth." Fuck, I was afraid he would say that. With a heavy sigh I begin to bring up my power, making the lines on my arms appear. First up to my wrist... "Six thousand?" Spike says... ... then up to my elbows... "Eight thousand!" … then just under my shoulder joint... "Over nine thousand! How are you doing this?!" I try to push it further, but my potestam annulums won't allow me so easily. After some forceful pushing, I get the lines to creep past my shoulder joints, burning my shirt as it goes. KRA-BOOM The machine explodes, sending hot shrapnel everywhere. I take a few hits across the chest as I fall back and black out. Perspective: Storm I'm freezing my ass off over here. Bucking Spike is being a little punk while I'm over here dying of hypothermia. I don't think it's actually that bad, but I would love to have feeling in my wings again, and other lower places for that matter. I'll just bury myself in these toasty as buck blankets and wait for my nuts to drop again. "Six thousand," Spike says in a surprised tone. Wow Miles, six thousand. That's pretty impressive. What's Celestia...? I think it was twelve thousand or something like that. Halfway ain’t that bad. "Eight thousand!" Buck man. Eight thousand, you’re almost as powerful as Luna... I wonder how far those lines on his arms are for this much. "Over nine thousand! How are you doing this!?" Nine thousand... whoa. He's already passed Princess Luna and is almost up to Celestia. I hope he can convince Spike to keep his mouth shut about this... I really don't want to leave. KRA-BOOM I sit up and look back to see that the machine has exploded. Miles is down, and has several holes in his chest that are pouring out a lot of blood. "Miles!" I yell as I run over to him. He looks awake, but severely disoriented. I grab the bottom-most bed sheet and pull it off. I start to bite it and tear off long strips. After making several I turn back to Miles and try to wrap up his wounds. "Ugh... what happened?" Spike says, as he stumbles toward us from the smoking husk of what was the tower. He seems to be uninjured, but a little confused. "Spike, I need you to go get the first aid kit now!" I tighten one of the strips and begin working on the next one. Blood is still pouring out, forming a small pool underneath me. Spike shakes his head and finally takes a good look at Miles. He turns pale and freezes up. I don't think he's ever seen blood before. "SPIKE!" I yell, getting his attention. "Get the bucking first aid kit RIGHT NOW!" He hesitates for a second before he runs off to get the first aid kit. I finish tying off his wounds and start to apply pressure to the rightmost one, it seems to be bleeding the most. "Come on you stupid dragon, where is that damn aid kit..." Miles starts to try to move, so I grab him and hold him in place. "Storm... Dolum... wha... Topaz..." "Shh, shh, I'm right here, don't talk right now. Just try and keep your strength up, alright Miles...?" I can feel tears rolling down my face as I keep begging him to be quiet. I can't lose him... I've lost too much already. "Mmm... Luna... ahh... project har-har-harmonize..." "P-please Miles, just stop fighting. Spike will get here soon enough and we'll fix this, just stop, please stop..." "I've got it!" Spike yells as he runs down and brings me the first aid kit. The first thing I see are some vials filled with different colored liquids. "Which one is the healing potion?" "Uh...the red one... I think." "You think!? We can't afford to make a mistake Spike, Miles could bleed out any second now, is it the red one?" "I-I... uh... yes, it's the red one. He has to drink it." I take the red one and pull the cork out by biting it. I pull up to Miles and put the opening of the vial into his mouth. I pour the liquid into his mouth and rub his neck to try and help the liquid go down. Once I finish pouring all of the potion into him I throw away the vial and step back to check his wounds. "Why isn't anything happening!?" "I don't know... maybe pony potions don't work on humans..." "AAAGGGHHHH!" Miles screams as the magical fires appear on his hands... and his feet... and one massive one on his back flares out. He begins to stand up and I can see into the massive portal on his back. An enormous spout of fire is pouring from a foot and a half wide portal, but from inside the white flames I can see what looks like a green shadow of a human. It's standing with its legs set apart and its arms hanging low by its side. I try to get a better look but it turns around. I look up into Miles’s eyes and back away. The dark lines have moved all over his body, even his face. His eyes have turned pure white as white archaic energy leaks from the sides. "DEVERTO PULVIS," he says in a voice that seems to echo. "I don't think that was a healing potion," Spike says to me.
Chapter 31 Deverto PulvisChapter 31 Deverto Pulvis "DEVERTO PULVIS!" Miles says again, taking a step forward. If I wasn't scared shitless right now, I would say something about how cool his voice sounds, but the only thing I can do is stare into his eyes. They seem to stare into the very essence of my being. I can't look away, I want to, but they won't let me. Before I can act he swings his arms straight out and wraps himself in the white archaic fire. The fire spins around and around him until it becomes the only thing I can see. I back away from the fire and trip over Spike. "Storm, what’s going on?" "I don't know!" I yell back over the roar of the fire. And in a matter of seconds the fire spins itself out and disappears from the room, leaving a large scorch mark on the floor. "Where did he go? What was that fire? What’s-" SMACK Spike falls back from my smack and was about to protest, but stopped when I got in his face. "Do you have any idea what kind of danger you put him in!?" "What? I-" "He can die from this you idiot!" Spike turns even paler from hearing this, so I continue. "If you had just asked, he would have told you everything you needed to know, but no. You just had to probe and test him didn't you!" At this point I'm pacing back and forth, fuming with rage. Spike’s sitting on the ground, holding the end of his tail and looking down. "Why did you do this? Why couldn't you just trust him-" "Because Princess Celestia asked me to, okay?" I stop in my tracks and turn to him. "*sigh* Celestia originally asked Twilight to send her secret reports to her, but she ended up deciding not to do it. So I decided to do it in her name instead." "Why would you do that?" "I mean, come on. Celestia doesn't trust him. She's only the ruler of our nation, why wouldn't I do this for her? Wouldn't you?" I look away from him. I know if she had asked me to, I would do it without question. "See? It's not like I enjoyed doing this, but Celestia asked, so I couldn't say no. I never wanted to put him in harm’s way... I'm sorry." He looks down and I can see a few tears run down his face. I walk over to him and put a hoof around him. "It's alright, you didn't know, how could you have? I'm sorry I had to hit you like that." "It's alright... what do we do now?" "We go after him, of course." "But how do we do that? We don't have the slightest clue where he is. Not to mention we'll be powerless to stop him once we do." "Well... I don't know... we'll have to think of something together, won't we?" He looks up to me and gives me a smile. As I begin to walk upstairs I feel Spike jump onto my back. "I think I have an idea," he says, "do we have any of that drugged wine left?" "Yeah, but-" "So if we can get him to drink it, he should pass out, problem solved." "Okay, how do we get him to drink it?" "...pony feathers." This gets a small chuckle from me. When we walk into Twilight's room I nearly fall back from a white flash in front of me. When I look back I see Princess Luna standing right in front of me. I immediately bow before her, making Spike roll in front of me. "Guard, why are you out of uniform? Actually, we'll deal with that later. What is with the sudden power surge in the area?" "We'll you see... the thing is..." Spike stammers. "It's Miles," I say as I rise back up. "Miles? What do you mean?" I begin to tell her everything. Miles becoming my best friend, his powers, Celestia asking Twilight to keep an eye on him but Spike doing it instead, the party, everything. The whole time I tell her all of this she keeps a leveled look about her. "...and now you’re here," I say in conclusion. I'm going to get fired. "Where is this drugged wine?" I point up to Twilight's bed and she flies up to retrieve it. As she comes back down I walk over to my armor and begin to put it back on. "So, if we can get Miles to drink this, he should pass out?" "Well... in theory. He seems to have a high tolerance to alcohol, but even a small amount of this stuff will work eventually." Luna looks down at the bottle as she thinks about this. She sets the bottle down and looks back to me with a confident smile. "I have a plan." This is going to be interesting. I'm flying all over Ponyville trying to find Miles, but he doesn't seem to be here. How can a guy who sets himself on fire hide so easily? After my third look around, I figure that he isn't in Ponyville, and head back to the library. When I land inside, I find Luna finishing her spell on the wine. "Any luck?" she asks as she focuses on her spell. "No, wherever he is, it isn't Ponyville." She finishes up and re-corks the bottle. "It's alright, I know where he is, it's pretty hard to hide something with a power level over twenty thousand." "TWENTY THOUSAND! But... but..." "Yes, I know. We must make haste if we're going to find him before anything bad can happen," she says as she begins to walk out of the room. She stops by the door and looks over to the chest. She lowers the shield and pulls out my sword. "Will you be able to...?" she asks as she levitates it to me. "I will do what must be done," I say as I take my sword. "I just hope I don't have to." "Me too, now let's get going. Foggy Bottom Bog is pretty far from here." I nod as I follow her out. We take to the air and fly as fast as we can. Luna is clearly faster than me and has to hold back some for me to keep up, but we're still making good time. An hour later we finally make it to Foggy Bottom Bog. We split up and begin to search around the bog for Miles from the air. He should be pretty easy to find, a white fiery human, kind of hard to miss. After a few minutes, Luna begins to hover in place looking really confused, so I fly over to her. "Everything alright?" "According to my reading, he should be below me, but there's nothing there." I look down and see nothing but solid ground below. "Well maybe he's..." I stop when I hear the ground below explode open. I try to look down but Miles flies past my face in a flash, making eye contact with me for a brief second. He goes high into the air until gravity begins to take a hold on him. When he hits the height of his jump, he does a spin and shoots a ball of white energy towards us. It goes clear past us and slams into a hydra's head... HYDRA! From the ground comes a giant four... three headed golden hydra. The remaining heads look incredibly pissed off and roar out in anger. Luna and I immediately fly higher to avoid getting eaten by it. "What do we do now?" I yell to Luna. "There's nothing we can do right now, he's already destroyed one of the heads, I'll have to observe from here before we can find the new jugular." "BUCK... sorry Princess." I look back down and watch the fight unfold. Miles has landed in front of the hydra and has taken some weird fighting stance. Why does holds his arms so high...? Whatever, not important right now. The hydra’s headless neck convulses as it begins to split in half. Once the shaking stops, two new heads have appeared, roaring in anger. Miles jumps back high in the air as two of the heads try to bite him. When he hits the top of his jump he sends out a single curved line towards the two heads, decapitating them and sending blood everywhere. By the time he lands, four new heads have appeared and the hydra has started to charge after Miles. Miles pushes both his arms forward and sends a solid white beam into the hydra's chest, causing a large bloody explosion. As chunks of hydra rain down from the sky, Miles turns his back and begins to walk away. "MILES, BEHIND YOU!" Luna yells as one of the heads swallows him up. Standing where the old hydra stood are two hydras, one with three heads and one with four. The center head of the three-headed one starts to lift its head as the others begin to laugh, until that head turns to solid ice. A few cracks appear on it, then it shatters. Miles lands on the ground looking unscathed. The other heads roar in anger and try to all bite Miles at once, but are stopped by a blue force field... blue? I look around to find myself hovering here alone. I look down and see Luna standing next to Miles, looking very tired. The hydras rear their heads back and smack back into her field, making it shatter and forcing Luna to collapse from the mental strain. Soon the heads cover my view and all I can see are the necks fighting to get to the two of them. "Bucking Luna! What have..." The ground begins to crack as massive pillars erupt from the ground, carrying up the hydras. From these pillars, rocky hands come out and hold the necks of the hydras in place. White energy seeps from various cracks of the stone as Miles holds his hands on the ground, standing over a scared looking Luna. The hands start to pull away from each other as they tear the heads off one by one. When all of the heads have been pulled off, Miles stands back up over Luna and begins to flail his arms around in a circular motion, sending white beams of energy out in all directions. Whenever these beams make contact, they make whatever they hit turn to ash. Soon the only remainders of the hydras are massive piles of ash that are blowing away in the wind. Miles is now standing over Luna, looking down at her. With a tear in my eye, I pull out my sword and begin to fly straight for Miles. I really don't want to have to do this, but I will if I must. When I'm mere feet away, Miles turns around and lifts a hand, stopping me midair. He tilts his head as he looks me over. Before either of us could act, red liquid flies into Miles's mouth and forces its way down to his stomach. He drops me and turns back to see Luna levitating the now empty bottle next to her. "ET SALUTANT MORTUUS," he says, before the lines on him fade away and the flames disappear. He stands over Luna for a second more before he passes out and falls on top of her. "What did he say?" I ask, as I sit up and sheathe my sword. "Umm... as much as I want to know... can you help get him off of me?" I shake my head and run over to pull him off of Luna. I roll him over on the ground and help Luna back to her hooves. "Sorry about that." "I-its fine," she says with a blush. She walks over to him and takes a look at his body, which I do as well. The wounds from earlier are gone now, not even scars remain. He simply looks as if he's sleeping peacefully. "Is he going to be alright?" "I don't know, he told me when people use that much of their power, they lose a part of themselves. We'll have to wait for him to wake up before we can know for sure." "Very well..." "Princess Luna..." "Yes?" "Please don't separate us." She looks over to me in confusion, I guess now is as good a time as ever. "Miles is my best friend... my only friend really. Please, don't separate us, please." She looks at me for a bit before she looks back down to Miles. "Now why would I do that?" Hu-wha-duh-uh? "You’re my expert on Miles now, if I were to separate the two of you, I doubt anypony else would be able to get him to open up as you have. I hope you get used to being around him, because you’re here to stay." "Thank you Princess Luna, thank you, thank you, thank you..." "Okay, okay. I get it. *giggle* come on. Let's get your friend home... and clothed." I quickly pick him up and begin to fly off with him, Luna close by. "How are you able to carry him on your own?" "Hm... oh, a friend of mine enchanted my armor to give me extra strength." Luna just shakes her head as we continue to fly back towards Ponyville.
Chapter 32 My StormChapter 32 My Storm We make our way back to the library and land on the balcony to Twilight's bedroom. I go straight in and take him downstairs to get him dressed, while Princess Luna stops by the girls. I lay him on his cot and begin to put his pants on. When I finish, I’m about to start with his shirt when I hear something fall up stairs. I run up to see Luna collapsed by Twilight's bed. "Princess Luna!" I say as I run to help her up. "I'm fine, I'm fine. I'm just tired. I just need some rest is all," she says sleepily, wavering slightly. "Well, there's an extra bed downstairs, why don't you take a nap on that while I sort out this mess?" She nods and walks down towards the room. I turn to the other stairs and go to the front room. When I get there I find Spike feverishly cleaning the room, scrubbing the walls as hard as possible with a torn up sponge. "Spike, what are you doing?" "Huh? Oh, I was... cleaning..." he stutters as he twists the sponge in his claws. I walk up to him and set a hoof on his shoulder. "I can see that. Why are you cleaning right now?" "I... well... um..." "It's alright Spike. Everything is going to be alright-" "But I almost killed him! How can you say everything is going to be alright when-" "Spike. Miles is tougher than he looks, he's going to pull through this, I know it." Spike looks up to me before he grabs me in a tight hug and begins to cry into my shoulder. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." "Shhh, it's alright, everything is going to be fine-" "I won't send the letter, I promise, I won't..." "Thank you Spike..." I hold on to him and rub his back until he stops crying. I feel bad for putting him through this, he is just a kid after all. I hear his stomach grumble so I break the hug with him. "I guess we should get something to eat, shouldn't we?" "Heh, *sniffle* yeah, food sounds good," he says, as he wipes his eyes clean of tears. We go to the kitchen and make some food for the two of us. We eat in silence until a knocking at the door catches our attention. I walk to the door and open it to find... myself... standing there. "Hm... long time no see Storm Cloud, where's this troublesome human at?" He says as he walks past me into the room. I watch him closely as he enters. Same mane, same body build, even the same cutie mark. Who is this guy? "So... this is where that slut Twilight lives now... not surprising. She could never put a book down-" "What did you call her!?" Spike says as he enters the room. "Hey! Looky here, if it isn't the most glorified slave ever, Spike. So, Twilight hasn't replaced you yet, I see. I guess that's no big surprise, not like many could stand to be near her that long-" "Hey, feather brain!" I say as I get between him and Spike, "Who the buck are you and what are you doing here?" "Heh... is that any way to talk to your younger brother, Storm Cloud?" "My... younger brother... I don't have any relatives. I was raised in an orphanage..." "Oh that's right, you can't remember, it was a pretty long fall now that I think about it," he says as he circles around me. "W-what are you talking about? What fall?" "It doesn't matter right now. I'm here on official business from Celestia herself. Where's the human?" "I'm not bucking telling you anything until I get some answers! Who are you? Why do you look like me? Wh—" "Enough, foal! The Princess herself told me to-" "What did my sister tell you?" Luna asks as she walks into the room. Everypony falls quiet as she approaches the two of us. She eyes the other Storm for a while before he looks away. "I'm under strict orders not to discuss my assignment. All I can say is that I must check on the human... right now." Luna thinks about this for a while before she walks up the stairs. The three of us look to one another before we all follow her up. Storm... the other Storm, stops in Twilight's room and looks up to her bed. I look up and see her getting out of bed, holding her head with one hoof. "So, did som—" "Shut the buck up and keep moving." "Hehe, alright. Enjoy your sloppy seconds." I look back up to see Twilight looking down at us with a mortified look. I wanted to go talk to her, but I also wanted to make sure that this guy doesn't do anything to Miles, so I follow him down. We make it to the downstairs room and find Miles in the same spot, sleeping peacefully. The other Storm walks up to him and looks over his body. He gives a few pokes here and there, but other than that he really doesn't do much. "Well?" Luna asks. "Well, I'm done here. I'm going back to my post to write up a report," he says as he begins to walk out of the room. I look back to Luna, who gives me a nod, and follow him out. When we get to Twilight's room we stop to find Twilight in the middle of the room. She looks between the two of us and rubs her eyes before looking between us again."Hey there Twi' spy..." he says as he approaches her, making her eyes go wide. I push him aside with a single hoof and get between the two of them. When he finds his balance we get in each others faces and stare each other down. "You don't talk to her. You don't look at her. You don't even as much as think about her or I'll-" "You'll what? Hit me in the back of the head with a mace and toss me off a cloud? ‘Cause I have a feeling I'd survive." I continue to stare him down until he slowly backs off. He turns to the door but stops and looks back to me. He sizes me up a bit before he turns and leaves the room. "Twilight are yo—MMMMmmm-" Before I can finish, she runs over and plants a solid kiss on my lips. I immediately return the kiss by pressing hard against her. I pull her in and start to take charge over her, pressing my lips ever harder against hers, only separating once for air. We hold each other for what feels like an eternity before a cough catches our attention and forces us to stop. I look over to see Princess Luna smiling at the two of us, while Spike has his back turned to us. "Umm- " "Well, I guess I can add this to the reasons to let you stay. I'll be leaving now, I don't want to intrude. I'll be sure to stop by and check on Miles until he awakens. Oh, and Storm, let’s keep what we saw between the two of us." With a bright flash she disappears from the room, leaving Spike to deal with next. "So... Spike-" "Just... don't do anything that you wouldn't want me to see and I'll be fine." "Heh, I think we can manage that," I say as I pull Twilight close, making her blush heavily. "Ew... I'm going to go clean up dinner now... ew," he says with a shiver as he walks out of the room. I look back to Twilight and give her a big smile as she leans her head against my shoulder. "So, does this mean-" "It means I know who you aren't, and I kind of like who you are. So I want to get to know the real Storm even more... my Storm." "So then you-" "I'm open tomorrow night, after eight," she says as she looks up to me, "I hear the theater has a new one of those movie things we can go see." My smile grows even larger when she says this. She said yes. I've got a date! I lean in to give her another kiss but stop when she puts a hoof on my lips. "Sorry, only one for today," she says as she slips out from my hold and walks out of the room, giving her hips a little more sway than needed. I sit on my haunches and feel my lips with my hoof as I watch her leave. I can't seriously believe she finally said yes, given I asked only a day or two ago, but still, she bucking said yes! She said yes. She said yes.... AW BUCK! I haven't been on a date in years, what am I supposed to do? Should I get flowers? Or chocolates? Does she even like those things? I need to ask someone for advice... Miles? No, he's unconscious... Spike? No, that would be too weird to ask him. Umm... the only other stallion I know right now is Big Mac, but I don't know him well enough to just ask him. BUCK! Okay, okay, don't panic, just relax, just go downstairs, act normal, everything will be alright. I start to turn when I hear some shuffling from Twilight's bed. I look up to see Applejack fumbling out of bed. "Ahh... consarn it... what in the hay happened..." she says as she wobbles down the steps. "Hey Applejack, how're you feeling?" "Like a barrel a' apples fell on mah head after ah got mah butt bucked." "Oh, sorry to hear that." "OW... shh... not so gosh darn loud!" she says as she rubs her head with a hoof. "Well, why don't you go downstairs and see if Twilight has anything for your headache," I whisper to her. She nods and starts to walk downstairs, mumbling something about a tree and a train explosion. I look up to see if Rarity has woken up, but she doesn't seem to be moving so I leave the room to check on Twilight. Perspective: Rarity I've just woken after the most wonderful nap I have ever taken, to see two Storms glaring at each other. I rub my eyes to make sure I'm not seeing double, but sure enough there they are. Two Storms. Giving barbaric threats to one another. Once one of them leaves, the other turns to Twilight who... oh my. This is too juicy! She's kissing him and, and, and oh my he's kissing her back now! This is so romantic. I see Princess Luna walk up to the two of them and just watch, oh please don't ruin this for Twilight, I know she could use a good stallion in her life. Spike's just looking ever so embarrassed as they kiss, I love the way his cheeks turn so red, aw he turned around, now I can't see his face. Oh, they're talking, I shouldn't eavesdrop, it wouldn't be proper. I lay back and pretend to be asleep, but the thought of Twilight and Storm being together is just so juicy. I have to tell the girls about this... NO! I can't tell anypony about this, Twilight is so sensitive when it comes to matters of the heart. I cannot tell a single soul. Well... maybe Fluttershy... Perspective: Storm I can't help but walk with a spring in my step. I haven't been this happy in way too long. But at the same time, I can't seem to get rid of these butterflies in my stomach. I really want things to go over well tomorrow, but I'm afraid I'll do something stupid. Should I get something to wear? I don't know what to do- "Hey Storm, are you going somewhere?" Twilight asks from the kitchen. I look in front of myself to see that I'm almost out the front door. I smile sheepishly as I shut the door and head into the kitchen. I take a seat next to Applejack, who has her head on the table buried under her hooves, and look back to Twilight. I seriously can't take my eyes off her, she just seems to just radiate beauty. She's got the most alluring curves I've ever seen and a- "Storm? Storm!? Equestria to Storm. Hheeelllooo?" Spike says as he waves his arm in front of my face, getting my attention. "What?" "So, who was that guy? The one who says he's your little brother?" "I don't know. The earliest thing I can remember is, when I was young I was in an orphanage. I don't really recall much from earlier than my eighth birthday. If what he says is true, I have no memory of it." "I may be able to help with that," Twilight says as she walks to the table and levitates some mugs of coffee over, "but it'll be risky. I'll-" "Aw fer pony’s sake!" Applejack says as she grabs the mug in her mouth and walks out of the room. We all look to one another and chuckle lightly. "I'll tell you about it later," she says with a wink, making me smile. "Seriously?" Spike says as he walks out of the room. We sit there looking into each others eyes for a while longer. I still can't believe she said yes. After everything that happened today, this was the last thing I thought would happen. Seriously, didn't see it coming. "So-" "I-" we say at the same time. "You first," I say as I take a sip from my mug. "Well, please don't take this the wrong way, but I want to try to keep us being together quiet for a while." "Really? Well... okay, if you feel that way..." "It's not because of you or anything like that. I just don't like it when others pry into personal matters." "No, it's alright. I understand... but I think I may need some convincing first," I say, leaning forward. Twilight looks to the side before she gets out of her seat and walks over to me. She steps on my seat and gets as close as possible without touching to my face. "What did you have in mind?" "I think a kiss would help me." She gives a light chuckle as she leans a little closer. I lean forward to kiss her but she moves to the side and gives me a light peck on the cheek. "There, that should work," she says as she gets down and walks out front. I sigh and follow her out. Yeah, I think I'll be fine tomorrow. I mean, what could go wrong?
Chapter 34 Fame and InfamyChapter 34 Fame and Infamy After a while, I started getting a little embarrassed of Twilight and Storm, so I go and collect my sword. I look over to Gary's body and think for a minute. I haven't seen that much metal around here. It must be fairly scarce around these parts. I walk over and begin to pry the sword from his body. "Miles, what are you doing?" Spike says as he approaches me. "Collecting the metal... it seems to be fairly rare here, so I want to make a little stockpile of raw materials." I finally get the sword out and look it over. It's over a meter long, and heavy as fuck. How did he wield this thing? I flare my magic and begin to crush the sword by trying to make my hand into a fist. This makes the metal crush under my influence until I turn it into a single ingot. "Miles..." Twilight says from behind. I look back to see her cuddling up with Storm and looking over to me. "You can use magic." "Oh... yeah... about that." "Thank you." "What?" She looks down to Storm, and rubs her nose against his head a bit before she looks back to me. Storm looks like he's on the verge of melting right now. "If you hadn't been able to do that... I don't think Storm would be here right now. So, thank you." I nod to them and go back to stripping metal from Gary's corpse. Chainmail, a weird metal amulet that has a claw in it, a sack of wine, some pretty weird stuff. I take all the metals and crush them down into ingots, making about three ingots of varying sizes. The last thing I take are the gems in the cap. They seem to be diamonds with an unusual storage capacity. I take them and walk back over to the other two. Twilight is lying down with Storm lying on his side against her. He seems pretty weak right now, but after some rest I'm sure he'll be fine. "Storm, think you can make it home?" "I don't know..." He tries to get up but falls back down. "Doesn't look like it." I reach down and pull him over my shoulder, much to Twilight's displeasure, and begin to walk off. "Wait Miles. What about the body?" Twilight says as she gets up and looks over to Gary. I turn around and think for a second before I shoot a ball of soul fire at the corpse, turning it to ash instantly. "There, a burial fit for a king. Deverto pulvis et salutant mortuus." I walk off and leave the ash to blow away on its own. Twilight trots up to us with Spike on her back and looks up to Storm with a worried look. "Hey Miles..." "Yeah Storm?" "What did you just say?" "Hmm?" "You said something in another language, what does it mean?" "Oh, it means, ‘turn to the earth and hail the dead’. It's sorta a Spartan saying." "That's pretty dark," Twilight says. "And creepy," Spike adds as he looks up to us. I shrug and continue my way home. We make it home and I immediately set Storm to bed, seeing how he passed out on the trip there. Twilight stays by his side for a while, so I decide to go to the kitchen and see if I can find something to eat, after I put all of the raw materials into the glass case. After looking through the fridge for a while, I decide to have a couple of apples. When I shut the fridge, I nearly drop my food when I find Spike right next to me. "Damn dude... you nearly gave me a heart attack. " "I'm sorry..." "Give a little warni—wait what?" He gives a deep sigh as he takes a seat at the table and waits for me to join him. I set all of my apples down and look over to him. He looks genuinely troubled, and won't look me in the eyes. "What happened yesterday was my fault. I should’ve just asked you instead of trying to take the information. I put you and everypony else at risk because of that, and..." he looks up to meet my gaze, "I'm sorry." "Hmm... alright, apology accepted," I say as I stick my hand out. "What?! Just like that? No yelling, no lecture, just a handshake and that's that?" "Would you like me to lecture you?" He thinks for a second before he shakes my hand. "I think I'll just take this and be happy with it." "Cool, so *munch* why did you have to take those measurements anyway?" Spike grabs one of the apples and takes a bite from it before he answers. "The princess asked me to, *munch* so I did." "Aw... that explains it, *munch munch* so, did I pass?" "I don't think I've ever seen a creature as powerful as you," he says as he throws away the core of his apple and starts another one. I guess you don't eat the cores, then. We spend the next few hours just idly talking to each other. He feels really bad about what happened, poor guy, so I decide not to let him have it. After a while, he starts to yawn a bit, so I decide to walk him upstairs to go to bed. Once he's out, I head down to my room and find Twilight sitting next to Storm's cot, passed out with her face against Storm's. I chuckle a little before I pick her up and take her to bed. I go back downstairs and remove my armor. Strange... I didn't see those two getting close this soon... whatever, good for them. I lay on my cot and just wait for sleep to eventually take over. I wake up violently as something smacks into my face. After some shuffling around, I remove a newspaper from my face and look up to see Luna standing over me, looking really pissed off. "Hey Luna... what's up?" "I don't know... apparently there's a human running around Ponyville killing Minotaurs with fiery magic." I give her a confused look but look down at the paper. On the front page is a black and white photo of me crossing blades with Gary. "Where did this come from?" "This would be the morning newspaper, that has already been distributed all over Equestria. I received this copy from my sister, who was very unhappy to hear about it." "I imagine so; your town being attacked twice in one week..." I say as I get up. "NO! Not that! She's mad about you killing the Minotaur." "Really?" "Yes! Really! How could she not think poorly about that?" "Because he was trying to kill and rape one of your subjects, that's why." Luna shakes her head and begins to walk back and forth, so I decide to finally put on a shirt, blue will do for now. "I don't really see the problem..." "The problem is that you can't just go around starting fights..." "What fights have I started here? I haven't started any fights here; I've only finished them." "What about the hydra?" "What's a hydra?" "GAH!" She slams her backside into the floor as she sits down and drops her head low. I can tell this is really getting to her, maybe I should try to change the subject a little. I walk in front of her and kneel before her. She begins to look up but freezes when I put my hand on the side of her face. I find a good spot to hold her, just under the ear, with my fingers going behind and my thumb going up, and make her look at me. "What's really the problem?" "Uh... I... well..." "Look, I know what I did, and I won't apologize for it. He was going to kill Storm and rape Twilight. I refuse to let anyone hurt my friends, so I did what had to be done." She gives a soft sigh and looks down, so I begin to gently rub my thumb against her, getting her to lean in to me. "I know it was the right thing to do, but that doesn't make this any simpler." "I know, and I'm sorry for that. I'll be sure to be more inconspicuous, I promise." "Thank you." I hold her there for a while longer, until I notice what I'm doing and stand back up with a blush. "Ahem... well, I should let you go... it's past your bedtime anyway, right?" "Yes... of course. I really must be going now, please keep your promise," she says as she stands up and backs away. "Right, you can count on me. Sleep well, vale usque obvium iterum." "What?" "It means ‘farewell until we meet again’." She looks at me quizzically for a second before she flashes away. Once she's gone, I fall flat on my back and begin to rub my face. Did I really just intentionally feel her up? Given she must be the most... NO! Nononononono nnnnnooooo! That's not happening. Shut the fuck up brain. She's a pony, I'm a human, it wouldn't ever work for that matter so drop it. Okay, dropping it, dropping it and it's dropped... time for a shower... really cold shower. After my ice bath I make my way to the kitchen and take a seat. Twilight has made the largest possible breakfast, which would explain why Storm has his face buried in his plate. When I sit down everyone looks up to me. "Hmnw ib ut uu ih una?" "Storm, swallow your food?" Twilight says, making him swallow. "How did it go with Luna?" I let my face fall to the table. "Wow, that bad." "No, not really, I'm just an idiot." "Because of this?" Spike says as he drops a newspaper on the table. I roll my head to the side and take a look. "Yeah... that..." "You should’ve seen the paparazzi earlier. With you making the front page and Luna coming down here, it was a fiasco." Storm says before he dives back into his plate. "What are you talking about?" I ask as I pick my head back up. "Have a look outside," Spike says as he motions out front. I walk over to the front door and open it widely, getting almost blinded from all the cameras flashing at once. A torrent of questions pours in from hundreds of ponies that all seem to try to push their way to the door. I shut the door and fall forward, letting my head hit the door and keep me standing. "Not again..." "Again?" Twilight says as she approaches me. "What do you mean again?" "Well, back in Topaz Falls, once me and my friends were inducted to the Spartan regiment, we sorta became famous for a while." "Why's that?" Storm says as he walks up and puts a wing over Twilight. "Well... you see; Topaz was highly militaristic. Especially after the fall of Diamond Halls. We put almost everything into our military. So, being the pinnacle of military might, people tended to... get weird around us." "Weird how?" "I had eighteen marriage proposals in the first week of my induction." This makes them both fall over in laughter, thanks guys. "Eighteen... proposals... is that how it works for humans... the girls ask the guy..." Storm mutters out as he tries to control himself. "Not normally, that's just how people were to us." Twilight's composed herself now, but Storm is still giggling like an idiot, so I decide to level the playing field. I walk up to him and whisper into his ear, "So, how far did you and Twilight go last night?" FWOOSH "That's not cool..." Storm says as he immediately stops laughing and tries to bring his wings down. "Yeah, but it was funny," I say with a light chuckle as I head to the stairs. I look back and see Twilight start to play with his wing a bit, getting him to topple over, what a dork. I go back to my room and put my boots on. I seriously need to buy some new socks; these ones are getting fucked up. I stand up and see my sword on the floor, so I pick it up and strap it to my back. I walk back out to the front room to find Storm and Twilight centimeters away from kissing one another. "You know if you move a little closer, things will get way more interesting." They immediately back away from one another and look back to me. "Why do you have your sword out?" Twilight asks. "I'm going to work now..." "So why do you have your sword?" she repeats. "I've got an image to uphold," I say as I approach the door, only to stop when Storm and Twilight jump in front. "Didn't you read the paper, you can't go out there, not after what Gabby Gums said!" Twilight says. "Uh... I can't read pony text sooo... no, I didn't read it. Who's Gabby Gums?" "It was a made-up pony created by some little fillies, but they ended it soon after they started writing too much about personal stuff. She basically calls you both a hero and a villain, and demands that you either be cast out from Ponyville, or be made to do some sort of trials to show off your powers. I don't think leaving the house would be a good idea right now." I look out the window for a second and take a good look at all of the cameras. They seem to be fueled by gems... this should be easy. I go to the chest and pull out one of the gems from Gary's helmet. I walk around Storm and Twilight and open the door, flaring my magic as I go. Before any of the ponies outside can act, I throw my hand into the air and suck the energy from all the surrounding gems and fill the one in my hand. I pocket it and look back to Storm. "Well, you coming or not?"
Chapter 35 Sweet Apple AcresChapter 35 Sweet Apple Acres As I step out of the library I immediately get bombarded with questions. Everything from my ancestral beginnings to if I wanted to go to a zoo. I just cross my arms and stand there, listening to all the unusual questions until Storm walks up beside me. "Still think this was a good idea?" "Yup, but only because you just gave me an idea. EVERYONE, PLEASE QUIET DOWN FOR A MOMENT!" Everyone goes silent from this and as they begin to take notes. "Thank you, now, I will not be answering any questions... but this," I say, as I pick up Storm and lift him above my head, making him squirm around in an attempt to break free, "is my liaison, Storm Cloud, he will answer any and all of your questions." I toss him into the group and they immediately swarm around him with questions. I see him try to fly away, but some of the paparazzi grab him and start to pull him into the mob. The last I see of him is a single hoof reaching out, sinking into the mob. I'm sure he'll be fine. I sneak away while the mob is distracted and begin to head to Applejack’s. As I walk I notice something following me, so I stop and look back. A pegasus pony woma—mare is following me, taking notes. She's a light blue with bright red hair that has a strand of purple going through the center. Her mark seems to be a quill and notepad surrounded by stars. "Can I help you?" "Yes, actually, you can. My name is Starry Notes; I was wondering if you could answer a few questions..." "Take it up with Storm, I've got places to go," I say as I turn and resume walking, only making her walk with me. "Well now, what help would that be, he can't answer the questions the same way you could." I ignore her and continue to walk at a faster pace, only making her quicken her own pace. Fucking bloodsucker... "So, where are you from?" "My mom..." "And what would her name be?" "Dunno..." "You don't know your mother’s name... what about your father?" "Your guess is as good as mine." Why am I talking to this person...? "That's too bad... do you have a marefriend?" "A what?" "A special somepony?" "Why would you need to know something like that?" "Oh, so you do... who's the lucky mare? Is it..." "Look, I don't have a special someone, I don't know who my parents are, and I'm done talking to you, so just leave me the fuck alone alright!?" I yell, making Starry stop in her tracks. I continue to walk until I finally make it to Sweet Apple Acres and walk up to the front door. Knock knock knock... "One second!" Applejack yells from inside. "Is this your marefriend?" Starry asks from behind. "No... why are you still here?" "You didn't answer my questions..." "That's because I told you I wasn't going to answer them, go take it up with Storm." The door swings open to reveal Applejack, who’s looking between the two of us with slight confusion. "Uh... Miles, who’s this?" "She's..." "I'm Starry Notes, I'm with the Hoofington Report, are you in a relationship with Miles?" I look over to her in bewilderment. Did she really just say that? "Uh... no..." "Then why would he need to come here so early? Is there another mare inside?" She asks, getting closer to Applejack, forcing her to step back into her home. "Well... ah... he works here... an' no, no other mares inside..." She writes something down and looks back up to Applejack. "So, how long has he been working here? When did he get here? Is this..." "Excuse me," Big Mac says as walks in front of Applejack and looks down at Starry. "This is private property, ah'm going ta have ta ask you ta leave now," he says in his usual calm manner. Starry looks between me and Big Mac before she turns and flies off towards Ponyville. "*sigh* Thank you Big Mac. Damn bloodsucker’s been following me around ever since I left the library." "Eeyup," he says as he turns back and walks away. "Sorry about that, Applejack." "Ah, dontcha worry about that. But, iffin ya don't mind, I'd like ta have a word with you." "Of course, what do you have on your mind?" She motions for me to follow her inside with her head, so I do. She takes me to the kitchen, where she takes a seat at the table and waits for me to do the same, so I take the seat across from her. She looks at me for a bit before she pulls out a newspaper and lays it on the table before me. "Do ya mind explaining ta me what happened?" "Well... when I woke up I had a premonition that something horrible was going to happen, so I acted. When I found Twilight and Storm in the park, they were being attacked, so I stepped in and defeated the Minotaur." "Why would ya need ta kill 'im though?" "Because he almost killed Storm and was about to rape Twilight." Applejack shakes her head and looks at me in disbelief when I say this. "How could ya possibly know he was gonna do that?" "Let's just say I've seen that look before... I did what had to be done in order to protect my friends. Luna has already talked to me about it, and I'm in the clear for now. If there's anything else you want to know, go ahead and ask, but I would prefer to move on from this." Applejack sits straight up and looks me over for a bit, deep in thought. I sit back and wait for whatever's going to happen to happen. "Ah have one more question. Why do ya have yer sword with ya?" "Ponyville has been attacked twice in the last week that I've been here, and I have a feeling that that's normal. I'm not going to sit idly by and let those close to me be put at risk." "Would ya mind settin' it aside fer when ya work here?" "Not at all. This is your home and I'll abide in all of your rules while here," I say as I take my sword from my back and lay it on the table. Applejack sighs in relief and takes my sword to a nearby closet, where she hangs it against the wall. "Ta be honest, ah like the idea of having somepony protecting Ponyville, stuff like that happens way too often. But ah don't want any weapons around mah kin, thank ya kindly fer understandin'. Now fer work, yer gonna be with Big Mac in the southern field, so why dontcha go out an' get started." I nod as I stand and leave through the back door. I look around and soon realize I have no clue which direction is south. I look back to Applejack, who chuckles and points the way. Right, so I head down, south apparently, and walk into the tree line. After a while of walking I can hear light creaks in the distance. I follow these until I find Big Mac pulling a cart. "Hey Big Mac, Applejack says that I'm working with you today." He looks to me and says, "Eeyup." I run up to him and walk beside him. We stop after several meters and he instructs me to start on one side while he does the other. The work is monotonous, just a lot of kicking and picking up. Big Mac is clearly experienced in this line of work. What would take me two or three kicks he does with a single kick. We quickly fill our first cart and walk to the cellar to store them. Once we’ve unloaded them, Big Mac instructs me to grab another cart and to head into the west part of the southern field. After some deep navigational thinking I head in what I think is the general direction he wanted me to go. After some walking I decide to stop and get to work. Being alone and at work, I unknowingly start talking to myself. "Wonder how long it would take to buy a place of my own... living with Twilight is fun and all, but I can't help but feel like a mooch... the currency system looks fairly similar to Terradisian currency, heh, after all that saving I finally need to spend money, but now I don't have a single credit to my name... fucking life." I finish filling my cart and take it to the cellar. I can’t pull it by myself, so I have to remove my shoes and socks and rely on my magic to pull it there. Once I unload the cart I put my shoes back on and head back to the area I was in before. I get back to kicking the trees and collecting the fallen apples, but I can't help but feel as if someone is watching. I stop and look around, but only see trees and apples, so I go back to work. "The fuck am I doing... what happens now? I guess I could try and become some sort of militia personnel for Ponyville... but then what? I guess I've got to get used to this. Just me and my thoughts... I should’ve taken Tenera on her offer, then I could’ve at least known that simple pleasure... too bad a week later she would hate me, still can't believe that happened to Fidus... I should’ve taken Dare's advice, but at the same time, I don't think I could’ve broken another promise... heh, can't fix it now, may as well drop it..." I finish filling my second cart and begin to bring it back to the cellar, after removing my shoes again. By my count, I should have around twenty trees done by this point. When I make it to the cellar I meet up with Applejack. "Sup Applejack?" "Howdy Miles, how many carts does that make?" "This would be my second cart, about..." "Second, that should be twenty trees, give or take. That's pretty good progress for a greenhorn. Why do you have yer shoes off?" "I can't pull the cart without my magic." "Hmm... alright. We don't usually allow magic ta be used on the farm, but I'll make an exception this time. It's almost ten, how many do ya think you'll be able ta get done by twelve?" Hmm... well, two done in forty-five minutes... *math math math* "I'd say three, four if I really go at it." "That'll do just fine. When it's twelve, go ahead an' head to the house, we'll provide some lunch fer ya." "Oh, thank you, I'll be sure to do that." She gives me a big smile as she turns and heads north. Pay and feed, these people are too nice. I spend the next several hours in silence, focusing on the work at hand. After three more carts I head out to the field for the last cart before lunch. As I get to kicking, I start talking to myself once again. "Well... at least the manual labor will help me stay fit, being this long from the gym is starting to get on my nerves... wonder how Applejack and Big Mac could do this as a daily routine and still look fairly similar to everyone else... except for Big Mac being... well, big.... wonder what kind of trouble Luna's sister is giving her, I can't help but feel bad for putting her through all this stress... rubbing the side of her head like that probably didn't help that much either... why did I do that to begin with? Something about those beautiful eye—WHOA!" I stop mid-kick and shake myself a little. What did I just say? Did I really just call a pony beautiful?! Not like she isn't but... FUCK! I just did it again! Okay... Luna is an attractive person, but I'm a human. We would never be able to be together in a million years, so just leave it at us just being friends. I get back to work and quickly fill up the cart. I take it down and unload it as quickly as possible. When I leave the cellar I run across Big Mac. "Oh, hey Big Mac, heading to lunch?" "Eeyup." "Cool, cool. Mind if I join ya?" "Nnnope." We walk into the kitchen, where we find Granny Smith and Applejack at the counter working on lunch. We sit at the table and wait patiently for our food to come to us. "So... Big Mac... you don't talk much... do you?" "Nnnope." "Care to shed a little light on the subject?" "Nnnope." "Hmm... alright." After a few minutes of silence, Applejack and Granny Smith come to the table and set our plates down. It looks to be some sort of fluffy brown substance, with flat strands of fried apples in between it. on the side is a small pile of light brown mush. "What's the matter... er... Inches? Don't like fried apple sandwiches wit' apple sauce?" Granny Smith says as she begins to eat from her own pile of what I assume is the apple sauce. "It’s Miles, and sorry, but where I come from we don't really eat anything like this." I take the sandwich in my hands and give it a skeptical look. How good could something be if it's named after sand? I take a bite and... WHAT THE FUCK! This is nothing close to sand! The brown outer part is fluffy while the apple part is crispy. I like the contradicting textures and the flavor is just as good. I quickly eat it up and start on the sauce. It seems to be just mashed up apples with some kind of flavoring added. Once I finish I sit back and relish in the new found flavors. I'm going to have to keep track of all the food I come across that I like, so when I learn to cook I can make them myself. Once everyone finishes their food Applejack takes all of the plates and washes them in the sink. "So what's next for the workload?" I ask. "Yer done fer the day. Just give me a minute an' I'll get you yer pay." "Do you want any help with that?" "Thank you kindly, but ah've got it. Go ahead and get your stuff and wait fer me in the living room." I stand and walk into the living room. I walk over to the closet to retrieve my sword when I notice a picture on the wall. It seems to be of Big Mac when he was little, and Applejack when she was just a baby, with two other ponies. One is a large orange male with dark green hair, while the other is a female that's all red with light green hair. She looks like she might be pregnant, but it also may just be me being rude. I think it's their parents. Strange, I didn't see them around. I wonder if... "Miles, ah've got yer pay," says Applejack from the side, holding a small bag in her mouth. I turn to her and step back rubbing the back of my head. I want to ask, but it would be really rude to just come out and ask. I need to think of a more... "Ah... Miles? Are you going to take it? Or was today free?" I shake my head and take my pay. I then turn and retrieve my sword from the closet and turn to Applejack as I strap it to my back. "So, same time tomorrow, or..." "Same time should be fine. We'll be sure to have more work fer ya in the future so be sure to come prepared." "Will do," I say as I turn and walk out of the building. This morning was far more stressful than it should have been. Even worse... what should I do now?
Chapter 36 Cutie Mark CrusadersChapter 36 Cutie Mark Crusaders As I walk down the path to Ponyville I notice three children up ahead. One is an all-white unicorn with curly light purple hair that has a strand of pink, the next is a light yellow earth pony with light red hair that’s tied in a big light pink bow, and the last one is a light orange pegasus with scruffy purple hair. I also notice that none of them have their marks yet, so I figure that they're pretty young. Once the three of them spot me they all immediately freeze in place, making me do the same. We stare each other down for an awkward amount of time until the light tan one starts to slowly approach me, keeping her head low. Soon the other two follow her, walking in the same manner. I don't know what they're doing, but something tells me that I should just wait for them to do whatever it is they’re going to do. "Umm... yer that Miles feller...right?" says the light tan one, in an accent similar to Applejacks. "Well duh he's Miles, there's only one Miles in all of Equestria," says the orange pegasus. "I know that... I'm jus' makin sure he knows that... we did sorta hit him in the head with a box... and some pumpkins..." "Well, he is standing right in front of us," interjects the white unicorn. "So you three were the ones making all that commotion?" I ask, getting their attention. "Yeah... we're really sorry about that... we didn't mean ta get anypony hurt, we were jus' tryin ta get our cutie marks." I sit on the ground and cross my legs as I ask, "How exactly does one get one of these cutie marks?" "Well, a cutie mark is supposed to show up when you find your special talent..." says the orange pegasus. "...So we've been going around trying all sort of crazy stuff to see if it's our special talent..." the white one says energetically. "...But so far we haven't been so lucky," the light tan one says, making them all pout. OH... SWEET... BARBRA... these are the most adorable things I've ever seen... and they're pouting! GAH! I have to make them stop before I get a heart attack. "Hey, what if I... I don't know... help you out somehow...?" "You really want to help us?" the pegasus says, as the three of them lift their heads up in hope. "Uh... sure, why not." The three of them immediately run up and jump into my lap, hugging me with all their might. GAH... the cuteness... RAH... COR MEUM! "Alright, I'll help, but at least tell me your names." They jump off and line up in front of me. "I'm Sweetie Belle..." says the unicorn... "I'm Applebloom..." says the earth pony... "And I'm Scootaloo..." says the pegasus... "AND WE'RE THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS, YAY!" they scream as they jump into the air and high hoof one another. Ow... my ears... "Well girls, I'm Miles Eremita. What do you mean, you’re crusading?" "We're on a quest!" Sweetie Belle says with a squeak. "A crusade!" says Scootaloo. "Ta find our cutie marks!" finishes Applebloom. "Well alright then... why don't we get crusading!" I say as I stand up. I assume this will be pretty simple. I mean, what kind of trouble could these sweet little girls get into? After we stop by a clubhouse that was situated behind Applejack's house, they decide on going cave exploring in an attempt to get their geological cutie marks... I don't really know what that means, but okay. After listening to their conversation a little, I found out that Applebloom is Applejack's little sister - go figure - and Sweetie Belle is Rarity's sister. Every time they talk about their siblings, I notice that Scootaloo looks a little troubled by it. I wonder what that's about. I'll have to ask another time though; they've already started to head out. I run out and catch up with them, and even though they are running, I only need to do a light jog to keep up. We make our way into the Everfree Forest and slow our pace down to just walking. I don't understand why, but this area seems to make the girls really apprehensive. "Hey, you three alright?" "Wha? Oh, yea... don't worry about us none, we do this kinda stuff all of the time," Applebloom says timidly. "Yeah, I'm surprised we don't have cutie marks in trying to get cutie marks," Scootaloo says jokingly. "What would the cutie mark of getting cutie marks even look like?" Sweetie Belle asks, oblivious to her sarcasm. "Maybe it looks like this," I say as I point at Applebloom’s markless backside, making the girls chuckle. We continue in higher hopes now, the girls running around and examining every little thing that could be of any interest. The path finally leads us to a massive cave. Its entrance has plant life growing all around it, some even hanging in the entryway. The entrance is about nine or ten meters high, while being about six or seven meters wide. The path inside looks as if it was flattened by several tubular objects, that wind their way deep inside the ground. Before I can raise my concern, the girls run inside, giggling as they go. I follow them inside and try to find them in the darkness, but after a few steps I can't even see in front of my face. I raise my hand above my head and ignite my magic, lighting the way. The cave has jagged sides, but the bottom seems smoothed out from something traveling in and out of the cave. I can't see the girls anywhere, how could I have lost them so easily? I keep walking until I come to a fork in the cave. The two roads look almost identical, except that the one on the right seems to have been recently traversed, so I go right. As I go the path seems to get shorter and shorter. Pretty soon I have to walk bent completely over just to get by. The path suddenly opens into a massive cavern, bones of various creatures scattered about in small piles throughout the room. I walk into the room and see the girls cowering in a small indent in the back, holding onto each other for dear life. "Girls, come on, let’s..." SMACK I awake in the dark abyss with a massive headache, and slight chest pain. I try to focus on the area around me, but soon remember that I’m underground. I stand up and flare both of my hands, lighting the room. I seem to be in another cavern. This one has no bones around, but has a deep impression in the ground that I'm standing in. As I look around I soon find what brought me into this part of the cave. Sitting a few meters away is a massive, scaly beast. It has no legs and is coiled around itself. The head is standing erect a good six or seven meters high, and I can see the tail sticking out. It has a massive bony ball at the end that has a single bony spike at the top of it. The creature has an all-black back and an all-red underside, speckling into each other. It must be a meter in diameter, and long as fuck to be coiled up as high as it is. As I examine it, it raises its tail and lets it drop, making a loud thud as it drops to the ground. From behind I hear several hisses and the sound of something sliding towards me. I turn and see several smaller creatures racing towards me, mouths open and revealing dagger-like teeth. As they quickly approach I push both hands down, creating a wave of energy that sends them flying back. Before they can recover, I draw my sword in my right hand, making white archaic text appear on the blade, and create a man size force field with my other hand. I bring my shield and sword forward and prepare for another charge. The creatures before me have recovered and are biting and hissing at one another. I take a few steps forward and lunge for the closest one, slicing my blade straight through its side and making it scream out in pain. I back away and wait for them to attack. The one I hit is squirming around on the ground, sending blood everywhere. The others watch for a while until they all lunge at their fallen comrade and begin to devour it. "What the fuck?" "Youuu sssshall diiie!" says the creature from behind in a slow hushed voice. I turn and look back at it, but before I can say anything one of the smaller creatures lunges straight for me. I quickly sidestep and swing my blade, lobbing off the top half of its head. The other three snarl at me and all charge me at once. I set my shield to catch the first and parry the second one, but the third one is able to bite onto my left shoulder, digging its teeth into my flesh as I sense blood pouring out. I scream and try to chop at it with my sword, but miss as it lets go and scurries away. I twist and raise my shield in time to catch the other creature. Instead of biting me, it bites onto my shield and tries to tear it away. I push forward and send it flying into the wall behind, knocking it out. I turn to face the other two, but suddenly I drop my shield as a massive burning pain takes over my shoulder, forcing me to my knees. "GAAAHH... what the fuck is happening?" I cry out. "Sssoon youuu ssshall sssee," teases the adult creature, "orrr perhapsss not. Feassst, my children." As the other two quickly approach, I raise the dark lines up to my elbow and stab my sword into the ground. Dozens of stone blades shoot from the ground in front of me, stabbing the two smaller creatures and killing them instantly. As I pull my blade from the ground and begin to stand, the adult creature screams out in anger and lunges its head for me. I swing my sword and bring a column of stone up to take the bite. As the adult bites into the stone, it swings it tail over and tries to impale me with it. I dodge-roll to the side and watch it hit the ground. I try to swing and chop off the end, but my sword just bounces off its scales, making it chuckle. I focus on my sword, making white energy seep from it and try again. This time I chop off the end, sending jets of blood from the stub and making the creature roar in pain and anger. It tries several times to bite at me again, but I either dodge it or feed it another column of stone. It soon rears its head back and spits out green liquid. I’m lucky enough to be behind one of the columns when the spray comes out, and don't get a single drop on me. The ground next to me is now covered in it and seems to be melting. I need to get out of here. I look around to find the exit, but the creature devours my cover, forcing me to move. As I run, I make sure not to touch any of the green slime that is burning the room and filling it with a noxious gas. I run up beside the wall and take cover in a small indent, just as the creature tries to bite onto me. Before it could pull its head back I lunge out and give it a large slash just below the head. It rears back and hisses at me angrily. I look around and find the exit, it's behind the creature... of fucking course it is. I decide that this fight is over and dig my sword into the ground, making a small hole in the floor. I jump in and begin to dig my way towards the exit - I have to leave this room, but I can't leave this cave, I have to find the girls. As I make my way, I can hear the creature above moving around, until it suddenly stops. After a few seconds of silence the ground behind me explodes as it digs its head into the ground. I turn back and stab into its head, making it rear back in pain. I quicken my pace and dig for the exit. As I go, the ground behind me explodes again and again, every time getting closer and closer. When I think the next one will hit me I stop digging and let it smack into the ground, which it does. When I clear the ground ahead of me, I find a deep impression in the ground. I run up and find myself in the exit. I run down the path and try to escape the creature, but it soon gives chase. I run and run until I come to a fork in the path. Which way were they? I hear the ground behind me shake as the creature approaches, so I go right and run as quickly as possible. I soon see the light ahead and realize I went the wrong way... FUCK! I look back and see that nothing is chasing me, so I stop and start to walk back into the cave, but at the same time, I feel as if someone is watching me again. "Miles!" I turn back to see Storm running down the path with Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy following closely. "GET OUT OF HERE!" I yell as they all stop and look up in horror. I turn around to see the creature strike at me and swallow me up. As I fight being in its mouth, I flare every portal of my magic and hold my breath for dear life. I can smell my magic burning its insides as it twists from side to side. I punch forward with my sword and blow a solid chunk out of the creature. I punch and kick my way out of its lifeless body until I'm completely out and collapse on the ground, taking in as much air as possible. "T-the girls... we, we have t-to get them..." I say as the burning sensation takes over my body and sends me to unconsciousness. Author's Note Shout out to shadownamesto for picking the destination. Thanks for reading, and like always, Brony on!
Chapter 38 Lost in ThoughtChapter 38 Lost in Thought Miles and I sit there for a moment staring at each other, until all of the black panels suddenly drop to the ground, making me jump next to Miles. They all drop and stack onto each other until they form a hallway. All of the panels go fuzzy for a moment until they focus into different scenes, all of which seem to be about Miles. "Uh... Luna..." I look over and realize that I was holding onto Miles rather tightly, and quickly let go. "Sorry about that... umm... would you happen to know what's going on?" He stands up and begins to look at different panels. He goes from one to another before he turns back to me with a worried look. "We're in my mind... aren't we?" I nod. "Fuck..." "Umm... Miles, what did Soul Fire mean by breaking you?" He looks at me with a confused look, so I explain further. "When I first got here, there was this all green man hovering above you. He said he was you, but he wasn't you... he also called himself your consciousness." He thinks about it a little longer before he sits back down and buries his face in his hands. "Of fucking course something like this would happen to me... why do these kind of things always happen to me... damn scientist sends me to the future, things keep attacking me, you kiss me, and now strange beings are apparently living inside my head... *sigh* I have no idea what you’re talking about. I've never heard of someone’s soul taking form and speaking to someone before," he says as he rubs his face. "O-OK... was the kiss really that bad?" He looks over to me and gives a deep sigh. "No, it was actually amazing... I just... well... it was just my first." "Oh... OK..." We fall silent after this and try not to look at one another. Why do I care so much if it was good or not... why am I still here?! Soul Fire said he would release me, why haven't I returned to reality? "You said my consciousness wants you to break me, right?" Miles asks as he looks up to me. "Yeah, do you know what that means?" "Not really, but let's try a literal approach. Hit me," he says, as he stands up and holds his arms behind his back. "Hit you?" "Yeah." "And what do you think this will accomplish?" "I don't know. Maybe some kind of physical reaction that will force me into consciousness, hopefully." I shrug as I stand up, it's the best idea we've got so far, may as well give it a try. I walk up to him and get ready to hit him. "Just not the face." I nod, then rear up and hit him square in the chest. He staggers back and looks down at his chest. "Well?" "I didn't even feel it... maybe a little more force?" I nod, turn around and buck him with both my back hooves, sending him flying back into one of the panels. The panel turns fuzzy for a moment until it goes blank, then the panels next to it turn blank, then the next. Soon all of the panels turn blank and seem to disappear. "Miles, what's going on?" I ask in a worried tone. "I don't know, maybe we broke it," he says as he walks besides me, looking at all of the panels. Soon all of the panels turn black and we lose sight of everything. DING A door slides open to reveal a hallway with red carpeting and many numbered doors. "This is the dorm room back in Topaz..." Miles says from besides me as he walks into the hall... in a completely different outfit. This Miles has black pants, what look like casual shoes and a light grey jacket. As Miles walks down the hall, Miles walks out after him.... wait, what? "Miles?" The shirtless one looks back as the other one continues to walk away. "I think we activated a memory of mine." I look around and walk into the hallway. "So, this is where you lived?" "No, this was the girl’s dorm.... no..." "No what?" Before he answers, the area around us begins to move, bringing us down the hall. We start to walk towards the other Miles until we catch up with him. He looks pretty angry; I wonder what happened... "Of fucking course it would be this memory, it couldn't have been any other possible other one, it just had to be this one." "What happens in..." I begin to ask but stop when I hear sobs and yelling down the hall. The other Miles stops for a second before he begins to run down the hall and stops at a door, kicking it in. Inside are four naked humans - one abnormally buff female, a blonde male with glasses, a short male with short black hair, and one male with a shaved head and a massive scar on the side of his face. The female is in the middle of the three as two of them hold her down by her shoulders and the scarred one humps at her, yelling things like ‘being one of the guys’ or calling her a slut. "Oh my..." "YOU FUCKING BASTARDS!" the other Miles screams as he runs in and pulls the scarred one out of the crying female. He turns to him and gives him a couple of quick punches to the face until the other two jump over and try to hold him back, but Miles elbows them off and goes back to punching the other one, beating his face into a bloody pulp. The other two look to each other and quickly grab their clothes and run out the door, leaving the girl to curl up and sob into herself. Miles continues to punch away until he grabs his head and with a solid twist, snaps his neck. "M-Miles..." the girls sobs as she tries to cover herself up. Miles gets up and walks over to her, removing his jacket along the way. He wraps her up and hugs her tightly. "Don't worry... everything will be alright... I'm here... I've got you..." he says quietly as she breaks down into his shoulder. He strokes her long brown hair as he rocks her back and forth. Without warning, everything turns white and I find myself back in the hallway from before. "Miles?" I says as I look around for him. I walk down the hall until I come to a turn, where I find Miles sitting on the floor, quietly weeping. “Miles... what happened back there?" I ask as I sit next to him. He looks away from me until I wrap a wing around him. With a heavy sigh he looks back to me, sadness filling his eyes. "A month before I came here, one of my friends was raped. That was the memory of me finding them in the act." "Was... was that Tenera?" I ask, getting a confused look from Miles. "No, that was Fidus, Tenera is her sister." He falls silent for a moment, so I nuzzle his forehead a little. "Hey... if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine, but if you want to... I'm here." I give him the most reassuring smile I can, getting a small smile in response. "Well, Fidus was always one to try and be the very best... physically. Women were always put down as being weak, so she made it her goal to be the strongest, and she was. Needless to say, some people didn't like this. Those three were always picking fights with her and her sister, usually, all of our friends would be there to support them, until that day. I was supposed to help her with something, but got caught up at work, so I was late... I wasn't there to protect her." "You couldn't have known that things would have turned so sinister. It was just another day," I say in an attempt to defend his actions, only getting him to shake his head. "No... if it were a normal day, I would’ve been there for her... but fucking Altum just had to have me stay longer... you know what the worst part is? When I dropped her off at the hospital, I had to go to the police station to explain what happened, but the other two got there first and pinned it on me. Tenera wouldn't even talk to me for a week, and even then, everything said was said with as much hatred as possible. She completely believed that I did it." "Why would she think that? What about Fidus?" "All she did was hold onto my jacket and cry. She didn't start talking to us for two weeks after it happened." "Well... how did it look in court?" "There was never a trial, the next day we received a signal that the enemy was on approach, so all military personnel were ordered to their stations and to await further orders. When Fidus was finally released, she had shaved her head and refused to even talk about the subject." "Miles... look at me." He looks away from me for a second before he slowly looks to me. "I know you didn't do anything wrong, and I know that if you had a little more time with them, they would’ve learned the truth. Please don't beat yourself up for what happened, there are some things we just can't control. The only thing we can do when things go wrong is be strong and strive to make things better, even if something better is impossible to reach." "How could I possibly atone for something that happened three thousand years ago?" "Simple, by moving forward." "Huh?" "Fidus was a strong individual. To atone for what happened, you need to move forward, being strong for her." "*sniffle* Heh, you never met Fidus, she was probably the strongest person I knew..." "Then you need to become even stronger, for Fidus." He thinks deeply about this for a minute before he turns to me and gives me a tight hug. "Thank you... again. I'll be sure to become a strong as possible... for Fidus." "Heh... I think you've got a pretty good start; can you loosen up a little? You’re kind of crushing me," I say, making him let go of me. We share a small laugh before we stand and start to walk around the hallway a little. The panels have returned to their prior state, showing small glimpses of Miles's past. "So, how do you think we get out of here?" "..." "Miles?" I look over and see that he's disappeared. I look around for a moment before I become blinded by a white light. I awake in a dark room in a fairly large bed, lying right next to Miles, who is still holding onto my horn. I can see the moon through the window and... SHOOT! Judging by how full the moon is, it’s been at least a week since we entered his mind! I lift my head and look around to try to find where we're at - I think it's a hospital room. I see a vase of flowers sitting on a desk behind Miles with some get well soon cards. I try to look behind me, but Miles's grip on me won't allow me to look. A chair next to Miles has some clothes piled onto it, and a small note to Miles has been pinned to it. As I look around, Miles let’s go of my horn and starts to sit up. "Uh... wha... are we back?" "I think so... though I don't think we're in the operating room anymore." "I was in surgery?" Miles says as he looks over his shoulder, which is completely healed now. "I guess they fixed me up." "I guess so... so... what now?" "What do you mean?" I sit up and look him in the eyes. "Well... we kissed... and we had that moment together..." "Oh... right... what do you think?" "I... I don't think I'm ready for something like that... maybe we could just be friends." "Sure... I'd like that." We share a small hug before we get out of bed together, and share one last hug before we go our separate ways. I know I said I wanted to stay friends.... but I'm not sure if I want to be just that. I walk to the door and look around - nopony is here. I turn back and see that Miles has already started to get dressed, so I walk out of the hall and head down to the receptionist. On my way there, I get stopped by a security pony, who bows as soon as he sees me. "Princess Luna... I..." "Where is my sister?" "She... uh... had to go back to Canterlot. Some important business came up and she had to leave for the night, but she said she would return tomorrow." "Very well, thank you." I turn and teleport myself to Celestia's bedchambers, where I find her sleeping with a troubled look on her face. I decide to get in bed with her and snuggle up in her hooves, like when we were little. I hear her sigh in relief and begin to get comfy in her embrace. I hope this doesn't surprise her too much in the morning. Author's Note Shout out to Glyph255, he used his points to pick out the age of Miles for the memory (Three different years, three different events). To all those betting on whose going to get all lovey dovey with Miles, time to collect. Thanks for reading, and like always, Brony on!
Chapter 39 A Home of My OwnChapter 39 A Home of My Own After Luna and I have our little talk, I turn and see a pile of clothes next to me. Since I'm the only one who ever wears clothes here, I start to get dressed. A pair of black pants and a grey shirt with a black embroidered design going up the left side, nice. I look around, but can't seem to be able to find my boots anywhere... damn. I guess I'll just go barefoot for a while. I turn around to ask Luna something, but a flash from behind the door tells me she's gone. Well... bye then. I look at the vase and marvel at the flowers a bit before I decide to leave. I grab my old clothes and head out. I make my way to Twilight's home with no complications, just my thoughts and the night sky... which doesn't seem to have its usual look about it... strange. I get to the library and try the door... locked... fuck. I really need to get a key. I look around and see that Twilight left her window open... I guess waking Twilight up for a few minutes couldn't hurt. I flare my heels and jump up to the window, going slightly above it and swinging myself in. I land to find Storm hovering in the air holding Twilight around the waist as he pumps his cock in from behind, making her moan loudly.... "Oh sweet Barbra..." Storm looks over to me and immediately let’s go of Twilight, holding her there for a second before she drops to the ground, revealing his massive member; with condom... good boy. I can't help but stare at it for a second before he drops to the bed and covers himself up. Fucking ponies get all of the luck. "Dammit Storm! I told you if you dropped me... Miles! When did you get here?!" Twilight says as she pops up from behind the bed. "I just got out.... when did you two-" "Don't worry about it!" Twilight yells. Storm just looks absolutely mortified. I look between the two before I start to head towards the stairs. "Well... you two seem busy... I'm just gonna mosey on down to bed now..." "Yeah... good idea..." Storm says. "Yeah... bye!" I turn and quickly go down to my room, shutting every door along the way. I get to my bed and bury my head under my pillow. Dammit... of course I would go from Luna's amazingly soft lips to Storm’s massive throbbing cock... why do these things always happen to me? I try to go back to sleep but soon enough I hear them start going at it again... and again... and again. Dammit Storm, fucking pass out already so I can go to sleep. When the sound of slapping flesh and moaning finally subsides I pull out my phone and check the time, four hundred hours... fucking asshole.... GAH! Sleep finally came to me around six, giving me about two hours of sleep. After I use the restroom and put on my boots, I make the dreaded trip upstairs, pausing at the final door. I walk through and go to Twilight's room. Luckily I think they're still asleep, so I quickly make my way to the kitchen. I saw my sword in the chest along the way, good to know where it's at. When I get there I find Storm cooking some pancakes at the stove. He looks at me and tenses up a little, yeah... time to pester. "Sleep well?" I ask as I take a seat. "Better than you'd imagine." "So... what's that move called?" He nearly drops the pancake he was trying to flip and looks back to me in bewilderment. "Honestly, I'm not even mad, that was impressive." "I-It's called... the flying back breaker-" "No, that fucking cannon of yours is a back breaker. Do me a favor and keep your pet snake the fuck away from me." He tries to laugh, but I'm making this way too awkward for him - oh, the joys of being an ass. Twilight soon stumbles into the room, looking like a complete mess. She doesn't seem to notice me until after she walks up to Storm and gives him a long and passionate kiss. "Miles... I forgot you were here..." "Really? Good job, Storm!" I say, making him blush heavily. I wait until Storm brings us all a plate of food before I start up again. "So... I think I know Storm's favorite book." They look to each other before they look back to me. "A bookworm." "That was lame," Storm says flatly. "Really? I thought it was good, give me a minute, I'll get a better one." "Do you have to?" "We both know the answer to that." "Fine, just promise me that you won't tell anypony, we're trying to keep things quiet..." "After last night, I think you failed, HOOT!" "Seriously, please keep this between the three of us." "Oh, so it’s an open relationship, HOOT!" "Miles, come on-" "Alright, HOOT!" "You’re just mad because Storm's bigger than you," Twilight says nonchalantly, silencing me immediately. Storm nuzzles the side of her head before he goes back to his food. "I'm not little..." I grab my fork and eat up. Once we all finish, Storm takes the plates and starts to wash them at the sink. "We need to get you a key for the library," Twilight says as she lays her head on the table. "No need, I'm going to get a place of my own this afternoon." Storm nearly drops a plate from this. "What? How could you possibly afford a house?" Storm says as he walks over and takes a seat next to me. "Who said anything about buying? I plan on making my home." "And where do you plan on getting all of the wood for this?" "What's wood?" He facehoofs and stares at me in disbelief. "Just come with me this afternoon and you'll see." "Well... I don't see a problem with this," Twilight says as she gets up and starts to walk out of the room. "But... but..." Storm starts to say but is ignored. He drops his head onto the table and sighs loudly. "Did I miss something?" "*sigh* We decided that if you ever moved out that I would live with you, at least for a while." "Condolences brother." "It's fine, I just won't get to see Twilight as often as usual." "One thing though, where's Spike?" "He's in Canterlot on royal duty." "What does that mean?" "I have no clue." Once Storm leaves to get ready I go to the chest and start taking my things. I strap on my sword, put on my ammo belt with my pistol and trench knife, reassemble my rifle and strap it to my back as well. I take all of the supplies from Gary and toss them into the now strapless bag, I even throw in Storm's sword. By the time I finish, Twilight and Storm come down stairs, looking awake and walking as they lean against each other. When they get to me Twilight steps away from him and looks up to me. "Why do you have all of your weapons?" "Well, I can't just leave them in someone else's house, now can I?" Before she answers I turn and walk out of the library. As I walk, Storm and Twilight run out and walk on either side of me, Storm on my left and Twilight on my right. "So, whatever happened to the girls?" "Who... oh, right. They're fine. They were actually the ones who brought us to you. They just feel awful about what happened." "Glad to hear that they're safe." "So, Miles... what happened to you?" Storm asks. "My soul shut me out for a while to have a word with Luna." "What?!" They both yell, stopping in their tracks. "Hey, don't look at me, I barely understand what happened. All I know is what I told you." Twilight and Storm exchange worried looks before we continue down the main road. We eventually get to the edge of town where I stop and look around. We're at the northern part of town, looking at the park and the distant Everfree Forest. The path we're on now leads into the forest, while one heads northeast along the forest. I can see a flat clearing in the middle of the two roads and head straight for it. After a few minutes of walking, we make it to the clearing, where I stop and take a look around. "Miles, do you really want to put your home so close to the Everfree?" Twilight asks as she walks in front of me. "Makes sense to me, I came from there, I doubt the paparazzi will venture near it, it's a win-win really." "I don't know..." "Besides, I think I can handle whatever the forest has to throw at us." I slap my hands and rub them together before I get started. I flare my magic and slam my hands onto the ground, making a solid cube of earth rise from the ground. I make it about as wide as a standard house in Ponyville, about sixty meters, and about seventy-five meters long. I raise it up a little higher than two stories and remove the layer of organic matter from the building. I stand up and walk up to the chunk and slam my hands into the side of the building, compressing the insides into the wall, giving it its integrity. Pretty soon the structure is hollow, so I compress the ground and raise it to create the second floor. With that done, I run my hands in a rectangle and create the front door. I walk in and hold my flaming hand up high to take a look around. "Wow... dark," Twilight says as she and Storm walk in and look around. "Just can't keep you above ground, can we?" Storm says jokingly. "Hey, we are technically still above ground. This super-compressed stone doesn't count as ground anymore." After some idle walking around I decide on how I want this to look, so I get started on making the interior. I start by creating stairs to the second floor. I decide to make two sets that start somewhat facing each other, then curve upwards and meet at the top. I smooth out the center, making a small circular room in between the stairs. I walk behind the stairs and raise two walls, cutting the room in half. I make doorways for these walls and walk behind. I next make a long, narrow room along the back side of the stairs, eventually becoming the restroom for the downstairs. I make it so you can walk through this room from one side to the other by giving it two doors, one on each end. In the back right corner, I make a counter along the wall, going about halfway to the separating wall and a quarter the way to the center of the back wall. I go to the center of the back wall and create another doorway. "Well? What do you think so far?" "Spacious," Twilight says as she walks around. "I like what you did with the stairs," Storm says as he walks back to the front. "Well, let’s head up and make the bedrooms," I say as I follow him up. I go up the stairs and look around the empty room and take a look around... yeah, three rooms should work out just fine. I create a hallway going along the center of the room by raising two walls. I lift two more, splitting the new rooms in half, with three doors, two in front of me and one to my back left. I create two small rooms at the back of the two top rooms, directly next to one another, eventually becoming restrooms. I go into the bottom room and walk to the wall inside. I make a wall separating the room on the other side, and make two doors to these rooms. The one on the left will be the master restroom, while the one on the right will be the closet. I walk into the closet and bring up another wall, cutting this room in half. I put my hands on the center of the wall and cut out a doorway, but don't clear it out. I plan on having a secret room in here. I walk out to the bedroom and start creating windows. I make two per wall, per room, though they are only holes in the walls. I'm going to need to get some glass eventually. I walk out and hear Twilight and Storm talking in the top right room, so I head in. "I call dibs on this room," Storm says as I walk in. "Alright, I'll just take the master." "What's with the small room in the corner?" Twilight asks. "It's eventually going to be a restroom; I've just got to get some plumbing done." "We can talk to the plumbers later - it's going to be pricey though, we're going to have to get a main water line to your house built." "That's going to be a pretty credit... whatever, it'll get done eventually. Until then I'll just make an outhouse to suffice." "No, that's gross. You’re staying at my place until you get your plumbing done." "Mmmm... fair enough." I go throughout the rest of the house and make little touches. Places for knick-knacks, windows for the bottom floor, a front porch with an awning. I look back and decide to raise the entire building a bit, just enough to have to make three steps to get in. Storm and Twilight join me out front and look at my new home. "You need windows..." Storm says. "And plumbing," Twilight finishes. "Yeah... but doesn't my house look good?" Author's Note Shout out to Sine wave for picking out the size of the house Miles built. Thanks for reading and, like always, Brony on! Click for fun!
Chapter 40 House Warming GiftChapter 40 House Warming Gift After I admire my home for a bit longer I decide to head out. Twilight said she had some things to take care of, so she went out on her own, now it's just me and Storm. We head into town and decide that we should order the plumbing first, so we head to the mayor’s office. We make it to the office and walk in to the circular room. The room has a single wall cutting it in half that has a single door to the left. The rest of the room is fairly open, only having a few small benches against the walls and a counter going through the middle. Various pictures and papers are framed on the walls and have little plaques underneath them. A light tan pony is sitting behind the counter sleeping soundly. "Should we wake her up?" I ask Storm. "Well... anypony else would get fired for sleeping on the job, waking her doesn't seem that bad." I nod in agreement and head to the sleeping pony. When I get to her, I look back to Storm before I gently nudge her a little. "Hmm...wha...*yawn* can I help you?" she asks sleepily. "Yeah, I need to..." "Mr. Eremita! We've been expecting you!" she says as she wakes up completely, and runs to the door... OK. I walk over and follow her through the door. We walk in and make an immediate right, going up a flight of stairs to the next floor. We enter a smaller circular room the has a large desk in the center, with a few chairs in front of it. The dark tan mare with grey hair is sitting behind the desk, trying to balance a little red ball on her nose. "Ahem..." the receptionist says, getting the other’s attention, and making her drop the ball. "Mr. Eremita! Where have you been? We were supposed to meet over two weeks ago!" "Really? I guess I must’ve forgot." "Never mind that for now, please take a seat," she says as she dives behind the desk and starts to pull out different stacks of paper. I take a seat and try to read the papers, but can't. "So, what's going on?" "We're getting you registered to become a citizen," she says as she pulls out the final stack. "If you’re going to be living here, you have to become a citizen of Equestria first." "I guess that makes sense... you know I can't read any of this, right?" "It's mostly technical mumbo jumbo. I'll just go through and highlight the areas you need to sign, and we'll call it a day," she says as she pulls out a neon yellow marker and starts to flip through the pages. We spend the next hour going through the stacks of paper - I must’ve signed my name over a thousand times. My damn hand is locking up from handling the quill for so long. Once I sign the last paper I sit back and sigh in relief. "Finally... now, about my house..." "You have a house? I was under the impression that you were staying with Miss Sparkle." "I was, but I just built my own home out by the Everfree..." "The Everfree! Why would you build it out there?" "Because there's room. Now, I'm going to need a water line built to my home, also a power line... if you ponies have that." "Of course... just hold on." She goes back under the desk. A few moments later she starts to pull out even more stacks of paper. "Well... same drill as before?" she says as she starts to flip through the pages. An hour and a half later we finally finish going through these papers, and I finally get to leave this place. I never thought I could hate paper with such a passion. When I go out to the main room I find Storm lying on his back, asleep on a bench. I walk up to him and... oh this is evil. "Storm..." I say in the most feminine voice possible in his ear. "Mmm... yeah Twi...?" he mutters; oh fuck, this is going to be funny. "Ready for round two?" I ask in the same voice, fighting my laughter as best as possible. "Mmm, you know I am." "Then let’s go," I say in the deepest voice possible as I stand, making him wake up and fall off the bench. "Miles!? Aw buck man... that wasn't cool..." "Yeah, but it was funny huh?" I say as I walk out of the office. I wait for Storm to follow me out and start to walk off. "Well, let’s celebrate." "What for?" "I just became a citizen," I say with a smile. "Well alright, good for you... let’s swing by Sugarcube Corner then." "Well, first off, let’s stop by Twilight's so I can find my money..." "Oh, don't worry about that, we made a bank account for you while you were out." So ponies do have a banking system, good to know. We head to the bank in the southern district of Ponyville, where I withdraw fifty bits. With some money on me now, we head to Sugarcube Corner. When we enter the only sound we can hear is of two infant ponies crying loudly as a light blue mare tries to quiet them down. "Maybe we should go..." Storm says, as I walk in anyway. "Oh... hello there... may I help you?" says the mare as I approach her. "Hmm, little sour patches aren't they?" "Oh. Usually they're little angels, but their father just had to leave to deliver some goods, so it's tears until I can calm them down," she says in a cheerful manner. I sit on the ground in front of her and take a look at them. One is a light yellow unicorn girl with bright orange hair and light blue eyes, while the other is a light tan pegasus boy with dark brown hair and brown eyes. "May I?" I ask as I hold out my arms. "Umm... do you have any experience with babies?" "Actually, I do. Back home I sponsored an orphanage and visited all the time. I learned pretty quickly how to take care of infants and children." "Well... alright... just please be careful," she says as she hands me the pegasus. As I take hold of him, he immediately stops crying and looks up to me. I smile down to him as he begins to laugh and hit my chest. "Aw... he's a hitter..." "Yeah, that's our little Pound Cake for you." Storm walks over to me and looks down at the kids. "Storm, could you be a dear and hold Carrot while I go and get something really quick?" she asks as she hands off the crying kid to him and runs off to the back. "I guess so..." he says as he tries to get a hold of her, but is ultimately failing. "You know there's a right way to hold them... right?" "Well I... OW!" He yells as she bites onto the end of his hoof. "You know they don't have teeth, right?" He glares over to me and finally gets her in the right position, only to have her wiggle out and try to fight her way away from Storm. "Aw man, if only Twilight could’ve seen..." "Seen what?" Twilight says as she walks into the store. She walks over to Storm and sees him struggling. With a small laugh she takes Carrot away from Storm and takes hold of her almost immediately. "But... I... she... GAH!" Storm says as he watches Twilight hold her with total ease. "HA... kids hate Storm," I tease. "That's why you've got me," Twilight says as she leans over and gives him a kiss on the cheek, brightening his mood immediately. The blue mare from earlier walks in and takes the two away to the back, for a nap I presume. Afterwards she appears behind the counter and takes our order, which she doesn't charge us for, due to us helping her. We take our food to a table and start to eat together. "So, Twilight, what's on your agenda for the rest of the day?" I ask as I try out an eclair... fucking awesome. "Oh... just a few things, nothing special." Yeah... something's up. "So what are you planning?" "Just to get a few more chores done," she says as she takes another bite from her food. I look over to Storm for answers, but he only shrugs. "What about you? What do you have planned?" "Well..." "Because I think you should go to work today," she says before I can answer. "Yeah... if I even still have one, how do ponies take missing two weeks of work anyway?" "Dude, you were in the hospital, I'm sure they'll understand," Storm says as he sits in front of an empty plate - fuck man, how does he eat that fast? "Maybe... I'll swing by and see if they'll have me. If not, I'll just head home." "Alright, then you won't need Storm," she says as levitates him with her while she runs out of the building. OK, now I know somethings up... or they're just... AH FUCK. Just repress that memory already! After I finish up eating I head out to Sweet Apple Acres. I walk to the main building and find Big Mac hauling some apples to the cellar. "Hey Big Mac, got any work for me?" "Miles, good to see your out of the hospital. As fer work... Eeyup. Just head into the westernmost part of the fields and buck out there fer awhile." I nod as I take a cart and head west. After a while of walking through the trees I finally stop and begin to buck the trees. I fill my first cart and deliver the apples to the cellar. Once I start on my second load, I sense someone watching me again. I figure it's Luna, and decide to mess with her a little. I flare my magic and create words from my energy. 'HI LUNA', appears in white fiery letters before me. I sense her scrying disappear then reappear. 'HAVING FUN WATCHING?' I write next; to which she blinks her presence again. 'ONE FOR YES AND TWO FOR NO.' She gives a single blink in response. 'COOL', I drop the magic from one of my hands and get back to work, creating my words with my free hand. 'SO DID YOU GET HOME SAFELY?' One blink. 'GOOD GOOD, WAS YOUR SISTER MAD ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED?'Another single blink. 'SORRY ABOUT THAT, I SHOULD MEET HER AND APOLOGIZE IN PERSON.' Two blinks. 'NO? WELL, IF YOU’RE SURE.' One blink. 'WOW, THAT MAD HUH?' One blink. I finish loading the cart and begin to take it to the cellar, when a thought comes to mind. How does she know what I'm writing? Last I checked, our written language was completely different. When I finish unloading and make it back to the part of the field I'm working, I bring my concern to her. 'CAN YOU READ THIS?' One blink. 'HOW? OUR TEXT IS DIFFERENT.' After a while of silence I realize I didn't ask a yes/no question. 'WE SHOULD DISCUSS THIS.' One blink. 'WELL, I HAVE A HOME ON THE NORTHERN PART OF PONYVILLE, COME BY ANYTIME.' One blink and then her presence fades away. I continue to work for a couple more hours, filling a total of five carts, before Big Mac approaches me. "That'll do fer today Miles, good work. Let's head inside an' get you yer pay." I nod and follow him inside. I receive my pay and am about to head out when Big Mac stops me. "Uh... what're ya up ta?" "Well... I've got some things I want to get done at home, why?" "Well... uh... maybe ya wouldn't mind... hanging out?" I look at him quizzically for a minute before I turn to him. "Well, alright, what do you want to do?" After a few hours of playing various games, horseshoes, tug-o-war, hay bale toss - most of which he won - I finally start to head home, only to see Big Mac walking besides me. "Uhh... Big Mac..." "Eeyup." "Why are you following me home?" He shrugs and continues to walk beside me. "Is something going to happen? "Nnnope, ah jus' wanna have a look at yer home, iffin ya don't mind." "Oh... alright." We continue our way until my home comes into view. What the fuck... when did I get windows? I run up to my door... when did I get a door? I open it up and... "SURPRISE!" yells everyone inside, making me fall back. I see everyone I know inside my home with party hats and massive smiles. "Wh-what's going on?" I ask as I stand back up and walk inside, almost fainting when I see all of the new furniture inside. "Well Miles..." Twilight begins, but stops when Pinkie Pie jumps in front of her. "It's your HOUSE WARMING, THANKS FOR SAVING THE GIRLS AND CONGRATS FOR GETTING BETTER SO SOON PARTY!" Without warning, I turn and run as fast as possible out of the house. Another party, it just had to be another party. I try to run farther away but I suddenly flash back into the room. I try to run again, but Big Mac pins me to the ground and holds me as I start to panic. "Let me go, let me go. No party! NO PARTY! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME GO!" I stop yelling when Twilight walks in front of me and puts a hoof to my mouth. "Miles, calm down. It's not a party, that's just what Pinkie calls it. Now I'm going to let go and have Big Mac get off you, but only if you promise not to run away." After I try and collect my nerves I nod to Twilight, who steps back and motions to Big Mac to get off. I stand up and look around, I can't believe it, my home. I walk to the room to the left and see that they made it into a living room, just like I planned. A long light tan couch sits against the wall with a long table in front of it. To the left and right of the table are single seats that seem to recline back. Underneath all of this is light a light tan rug, with a white design going through it. I turn around to the group and say, "Where did all of this come from?" "Well, while you were gone, I gathered the girls and started to go through town, asking for donations for your home. Many of the residents of Ponyville are still grateful for what you did, so we were able to furnish your home quite easily," Twilight says as she walks into the room. "Really...? I don't know what to say, other than thank you. This is one of the kindest things anyone has ever done for me." Before anyone can say anything, a knock at the door catches all of our attention. I walk over and open the door, and fall back as my heart starts to race. "Why hello there Miles, may I-" "Celestia!?"
Chapter 41 Meeting The PastChapter 41 Meeting The Past As I lay on the floor, heart racing, Celestia walks in with Luna right behind her, followed by two pegasus guards in golden armor. It can't be her, it can't be. She was born three thousand years ago, there is no possible way she could be alive. She can't... "Well, quite a lovely home you've made for yourself, Miles. I must say, I love what you've done with the stairs." Oh fuck, she sounds so similar to her mother! It has to be her, but it can't! I stand up and look over to her. "Who are you?" I ask. "You already said my name, I am Celestia-" "That's impossible!" I yell, getting shocked looks from everyone. "You were born over three thousand years ago, how could you possibly be alive!?" She looks at me for a moment as if I'm crazy, before she straightens up to answer. "Well, Miles, alicorns are immortal, we don't age past adulthood. Now, I'm going to have to ask you to lower your voice..." "You don't remember me, do you? I'm actually not that surprised you don't, you were so little." The room falls silent as Celestia and I stare each other down. I look up and notice that she still has the tiara I gave her. I step forward and reach out to grab it, only to have the guards get in the way. "Touching the princess would be a bad idea," says one of the guards. I flare my magic and levitate it over to me, getting the guards to tackle me to the ground, but not before I get the tiara. "Arrest him!" yells one of the guards as they try to wrestle me down. I fight with them for a bit until I lift my hand and show the hologram to Celestia. "Guards, release him," she says sternly. They stop and back off from me slowly. I get to my feet and present the tiara to her. "I gave this to you when you turned four. It was during a negotiation I was having with your parents to have my people come to the surface. You used to..." before I could finish, something sends me flying out the door. When I stop rolling I look up to see Celestia walking towards me, tears flowing from her eyes. "YOU’RE THE ONE THAT KILLED THEM! I WILL END YOU FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" She yells in a voice that nearly blows me away. She lowers her head and points her horn at me, sending a beam of golden energy straight for me. I flare my magic and raise both my hands, creating a force field at the last possible second, sending the beam to my sides and exploding in the distance. When the energy stops I look up and see that she's gone. I twist around as I hear her appear behind me, and raise a shield as she tries to behead me with a claymore she made from her energy. She gives several parries as she advances towards me, I step back with every step she takes and dodge her attacks by either ducking or raising a shield. When she gets close enough, she rears up and tries to slam her hooves onto me, so I flare my heels and jump back, doing a backflip and landing well away from her as she strikes the ground, making cracks appear at her hooves. "Celestia, please! Let me explain! It wasn't me, it was some assassin..." I yell out, but get ignored as she creates three golden orbs above her head that shoot towards me. I jump high into the air and escape the massive explosion down below. A flash appears behind me as I feel two hooves slam into my back, sending me straight to the ground. I twist and land on my hands and feet. Crouching low, I begin to run my way towards Celestia as she lands. She tries to knock me back by sending waves of energy at me, but I use my own energy to knock her attack aside. As I get closer she tries to back away, but I'm closing the distance too quickly. In the last meter she tries to swing her blade into me, but I twist and drop out of the way. When I twist back up, I'm directly next to Celestia. Before she can act, I throw my arms around her and hold her close to me. "Let go of me, you-" "Enough!" I yell, silencing her. "No more... no more fighting... please." She tries to break free of my hold, but I won't allow her to get away until I say what needs to be said. "You’re right." "What?!" yells everyone from the front porch. Celestia stops fighting me at this point and begins to listen. "You’re right. I'm the reason he died. If I hadn't pushed my people to come back to the surface, he would’ve never been put in harm’s way, but I cannot allow you to pass judgement on me until I let you know one thing... your parents and I were friends. Tempus was excited to have me come to the surface, he worked with all of the surface leaders to help create a sanctuary for my people, your mother wanted to help us establish our first town out here. This was something that we all wanted... and I'm sorry that he was the one to pay for it." I can feel her tears start to roll onto my back as she lowers her head in sorrow, crying softly on my shoulder. "I was only five when he died. Luna was born five months later. Two years later, mother passed away. I was only seven, taking care of the only piece of true family I had left..." "I know... I'm sorry-" "How could you say he wanted this...?" "We didn't know this would happen... we didn't plan for it..." I let go of her and start to step away from her. "That's why I'm letting you pass judgement on me." I kneel before her and hold my arms behind me as I close my eyes. I hear her take a few steps towards me and stop. "..." "..." NO... SHE WILL NOT I open my eyes and look around for the new voice when all of the sudden, I feel as if my heart is trying to rip itself out. I fall forward and hold onto my chest as the pain increases, until a bright white light sends me into unconsciousness. Perspective: Celestia I look around to try and find the trick Miles is trying to pull, when he suddenly falls to the ground. The dark lines that appeared when he started using magic are quickly appearing all over his body, as a massive white fire spews out from his back. I take a step back and ready my sword for whatever he's planning. Suddenly an emerald arm shoots out of Miles’s back as it starts to pull itself out of the portal. "Soul Fire?" Luna says as she walks up to the form. When it pulls itself completely out it stands and begins to walk towards me. I don't know what it is. It has the basic form of Miles, but lacks anything else. It's just a being of pure energy. It... or he, keeps walking closer and closer so I point my sword at him, making him stop. He looks at the tip and raises a hand to it, making it disappear instantly. THAT WOULD BE A COSTLY MISTAKE "Who are you!?" I demand. "Soul Fire, what are you doing here?" Luna asks as she walks up to his side. He looks down to her for a second before snapping his wrist, creating a long narrow blade of the same energy that he's made of. He begins to walk towards me again, making me backpedal. "Soul Fire, stop," Luna begs, but is ignored. I create another sword and take a ready stance. "Stop where you are, or..." Before I can finish he raises his sword and lunges for me, only stopping because Luna jumps in the way. She stands her ground for a second before her mane and tail flare up. I can sense the energy within her grow past what I thought she could do, until she falls to the ground. "LUNA!" I start to run to her, but stop when the blue from her mane and tail subside, leaving a blue form hovering over Luna's unconscious body. It looks similar to the green one, in that it lacks any features such as a face, but it's... different. It looks to be a head shorter than the green one, skinnier, and has two round perky lumps on its chest. It floats down to the ground in front of the green one and stands before it, crossing its arms. I WILL NOT ALLOW THIS AND I WILL NOT ALLOW ANY OTHER TO PASS JUDGEMENT ON THOSE THEY HAVE NO RIGHT TO They stare at each other for a second longer before they take a step towards one another. THEN TAKE THIS TO PAY FOR HER BLUNDER The blue one puts a hand where the green one’s cheek would be and pulls it in for a kiss. Their bodies turn turquoise where their lips would be as the green one pulls the blue one in. As they kiss, I can't help but let my jaw drop. Is... is a part of Luna... kissing a part of Miles? Before I can completely register what is happening before my eyes, the two forms end the kiss and step back from each other, leaving turquoise swirls in their faces that slowly fade back to their appropriate colors. VERY WELL They both walk back to where they came from and phase back into Luna and Miles, waking both of them up. "Why do I taste hay?" Miles asks weakly as he stands back to his feet. "Why do I taste apples?" Luna asks as she stands back up. "Wh... what just happened?" I ask in a daze. Miles and Luna look to one another before they both look back to me. "Umm... I was putting my life in your hands... then I thought you did the deed..." "No, she was about to, but you passed out as Soul Fire appeared," Luna says, "then he was about to attack Celestia... then... then what?" she asks as she looks to me. "Well... you... umm... you see..." I stammer before Twilight runs up and saves me. "Well, a lot happened, but let’s save that for after we get you two inside and cleaned up." "Yes, lets adjourn inside and... digest, what just happened," I say as I slowly turn towards the house. "If you say so," Miles says, as he joins Twilight and me walking towards the home. I look towards the home and see the results of my outrage. Every window on the front side has been completely shattered, leaving shards of glass everywhere. The front door has been shattered from my throwing Miles through it. And a large crater lies before the entire structure. Oddly enough, the walls seem to be perfectly fine. Not a single scratch, crack, or even a dent on the entire building. "Umm... sorry about the damages..." I apologize. "Don't worry about it. It'll be like, five minutes of work." We walk inside the house and take seats in the living room, where Miles and Luna are brought towels to clean themselves off. "Shouldn't we have them use the restrooms, or a sink?" I ask. "They haven't had the water lines built yet," Twilight informs me. "How could they build a house without putting a water line in?" Luna asks as she rubs some of the dust off herself. "Maybe because I built the entire place earlier today," Miles says. "So can anyone fill me in on what happened while I was out?" Everypony falls quiet and tries to look away from Luna and Miles... I'm going to have to be the one to tell them. "Well... a green entity came from Miles and was about to attack me, but Luna jumped in the way. She then passed out, and a blue entity came out of her... and convinced the green one to spare me..." "How did I... or my entity, convince Soul Fire not to attack?" Luna asks innocently. Aw, come on... I don't want to have to be the one to tell my little sister about her first kiss... at least not in front of everypony. "Twilight, can I have a word with you... in private?" "Of course, Princess." We make our way upstairs and enter one of the vacant bedrooms, where I take a seat on the edge of a bed and let my stress escape me through a deep sigh. "Twilight... I need your opinion on what just happened." "Well... you attacked Miles... those entities appeared... and kissed... then we came here..." "I meant as in what I should feel right now. Part of me wants to tear Miles apart for his involvement in my parents’ deaths, the other part wants to cast him into the badlands for touching my sister like that." "Princess, as much as I know you don't want to hear this, you can't blame Miles for what happened." "How could you possibly say that!?" "Princess, he didn't want any of this. Everything was out of his control. The assassin, the... entity coming out of him, he couldn't have done anything to stop them." I take Twilight's words and mull them over for a bit. The entity part may be true... but I still don't know how to explain what happened all those years ago. "Twilight, can you send Miles up here, please?" "Of course Princess," she says with a small smile. Twilight, I can always rely on you for a level head in these kind of situations. As Twilight leaves to retrieve Miles, I prepare myself mentally for what I'm about to hear. I won't say a word until after I hear his side of the story, I'll give him that much. "You wanted to see me?" Miles says, as he walks into the bedroom and closes the door behind him. "Yes. I would like you to tell me your side of the story, after which I will pass my judgment on you." "Alright... well it all started..." During the entire explanation of his tale, I keep a straight face. No matter what emotion I feel on the inside, on the outside I keep a strong, even look about my face. I can't help but let a small laugh escape me when he mentions my father’s pet name to me. But when he gets to my father’s death, I have to look away to hide the tears in my eyes. "... And we never were able to get a complete report due to the invasion," he says in summation. I look back to him and stare deep into his eyes. All I can see is sorrow and regret - I can't find the eyes of a murderer. With a sigh I stand and face him. "Miles... I will not hold you accountable for what happened to my parents..." "What happened to Spatium? I know you said she died… but, how?" She tenses up from this, glancing away for a moment before looking back to me. "Well, after giving birth to Luna, she succumbed to her loneliness and died of a broken heart. I was only seven at the time, but that's what I'm told happened. The next year, Discord rose to power and turned the land into a world of chaos." "I'm sorry to hear that... she was an amazing person, and I see so much of her in you, Celestia." I close my eyes when he says this and try to hold back more tears, but fail when he holds me in his embrace. "I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to blame you... I-I just miss them so much..." I sob. "I know. I do too." I return the hug and let my sorrow fall for an unknown amount of time, until Miles breaks the hug. "No more tears," he says as he lifts my chin to look him in the eyes, "the time to mourn has passed. Now is the time to let their memories make us stronger individuals." "*sniffle* Right, time to grow up." "Oh please, you'll always be the silly Celly from back in the day," he says, getting me to laugh at my father’s pet name. "So... do you really forgive me?" "Maybe... I don't know yet. But I know I'm on the road to forgiveness. Thank you for telling me your tale," I say as I begin to walk out of the room, but stop when he puts a hand on my shoulder. "No, thank you for giving me a second chance."
Chapter 42 Just Another PartyChapter 42 Just Another Party Perspective: Miles As I stand here with Celestia, I suddenly realize just how naked I am. I grab a sheet from the bed and wrap it around my waist. "What's that for?" Celestia asks. "To cover my shame." Celestia gives me a confused look before I explain to her why humans don't necessarily enjoy nudity. It’s a bit awkward talking to her about this, especially since the last time I saw her she was just a little girl… which was over three thousand years ago… damn. She’s old. "That seems a bit strange for something that's usually hidden... but okay." "Hidden?" I get a quick lecture about pony anatomy and finally come to a realization. "Oh... that explains a lot." "How so?" "Human reproductive organs are external... we don't naturally hide... our stuff." I feel really weird talking to Celestia about this. But at the same time, it's good to be talking to her instead of fighting... so I'll take it. "Hmm... that would explain the need for clothing; to be a little modest. Why don't you check those dressers for clothing?" I turn and see that on either side of the bed are small single dressers. I walk over to one and, sure enough, there are some new clothes. I pull out a pair of blue pants, a black shirt with a white design and some boxers before I turn to Celestia. "Yes?" "Well... I can't really get dressed with you in here, now can I?" She thinks about this for a second before she puts one and one together. "Oh... right. I'll just head downstairs now." After she leaves I start to get dressed. Damn, how many pairs of clothes has Rarity made for me that I've taken for free? I'll have to do something for her sometime, it's the least I can do. When I finish up, I head downstairs where I find everyone in the living room, idly talking to one another. "So Miles, how'd it go? Huh, huh, huh, huh, huh?" Pinkie Pie says as she bounces in and out of my face. "Uh... I think I get to stay... right?" I ask as I turn to Celestia. "Mmm... for now," she says with a small smile. "Alright! Now we can get this par—" Pinkie begins to say, but is stopped when Rainbow Dash jams her hoof in her mouth. I tense up a bit as she says this but don't lose control like earlier. Celestia and Luna both look to each other and then back to us in confusion. "I ah... don't like... that thing that rhymes with marty..." I cringe. "You don't like parties?" Celestia asks, sending a shiver down my spine. "Yeah... those..." "Why?" Luna asks. "I... just don't. If I knew why, I'd tell you, but I can't." "Well, enough a' this talkative mumbo jumbo. Let’s get a tour a' yer new house already," Applejack says, getting a few cheers from the others. I look around and see that everyone is staring at me... so I guess I'll be leading the tour. We start out in the living room, checking out the furniture and the recently fixed windows before we head into the kitchen area in the back. The half on the left has a table with some seats where the half on the right has the cooking materials. Stove, refrigerator, sink, everything one would need for a fully operational kitchen. I can see that food has been brought here and was being prepared. The walls have been painted a light green color, with white trim going along the top and white boards taking up a fourth of the bottom. We check the restroom here to find the narrow room has been turned into two rooms. The entry on the right is now a closet, providing a couple of brooms, some cleaning supplies, things of that nature, and the room on the left is the restroom, providing just a toilet and sink. We move to the bottom right room where we find a very long, dark brown table with matching chairs. I guess it's for dining with a large group of people or for special events. A lot of food has been put out on this table, making it seem to be a buffet style. We walk to the stairs where I see they put a small circular table in between the stairs with a small pot of flowers. We make our way to the upper floor where we start to go through the bedrooms. The top two are mirror images of each other, providing an average bed with light blue sheets against either the left or right wall in between the windows, with a writing dresser on the far walls. On the center walls are large dressers that sit in the middle of the walls. Both of the restrooms here have been made into full restrooms, providing a toilet, sink, and shower. The entire walls on the bottom side of these restrooms have been made into a mirror, while the walls have a yellow finish to them. We move to the master bedroom where Celestia and I had our little talk. The bed is fairly larger than the other ones, thank you! No more frozen feet or sleeping in a ball. The bed sheets here are all red and have white designs going through them. In addition to the small dressers I also have a larger one against the wall to the right. I check the restroom and find all of the accommodations of a restroom, but for something my size. I check the closet and don't find anything to be changed; the same goes for that secret room. "And that's my home," I say as I walk down the stair to the living room. "Why did you make it so large?" Rarity asks. "It's a Terradisian thing. Being underground..." "AAAAAAAHHHHHH!" scream the girls from the back. I run out the back door and find them running towards the house. "What happened?" I ask. "Wolf!" screams Scootaloo as the three of them run into the house. When I turn to the forest I see a large animal running towards the house. It's dark grey with the front two legs being all white. It seems to have long fluffy hair that bounces with it as it runs towards me. I draw my sword and ready myself for it to attack. When it gets a meter away it stops and drops low, snarling its long white teeth at me and growling deeply. We continue to stare each other down for a while until it licks its nose and begins to sniff the air. I lower my guard and slowly approach it. "Miles, what are you doing?" Fluttershy asks, but I ignore her and continue to slowly approach the wolf. When I get three fourths of the way I crouch down and extend my free hand to it. It takes a few steps forward and lowers its head. It takes a few sniffs of my hand and quickly runs back into the forest. I sit there and watch it run off, I can't quite put my finger on it, but there's something alluring about that wolf. "Why do I get the feeling that things like this always happen to you?" Luna says as she walks up beside me. "What was that thing?" "Just a forest wolf looking for its next meal. They occasionally venture too close to our land and try to take our ponies - good thing he ran off." "Yeah..." "I never did like those things," Celestia says as she walks up to my other side, "always hunting." I stand and watch as the wolf disappears into the wilderness - I have a feeling this won't be the last I see of him. I turn and walk back into the house to check on the girls. They seem a bit shaken, but other than that they're fine. "Just had to put it right next to the forest, didn't you?" Storm says sarcastically from the kitchen table. "It seemed like a good idea at the time. Are you girls alright?" "Y-yea," Applebloom says from under Applejack as she holds onto her leg. "Alright, if you’re ever back here again, I don't want you three back there without someone watching you, got it?" "Got it," the three of them say. "Let's git you three washed up," Applejack says as she and Rarity take them into the other room. I start to head off, but stop when Celestia taps my shoulder. I look back and see everyone is off doing their own thing. Some are talking, others are playing games, Pinkie Pie has started to play some music. "So... you attack Red-Bellied Snakes on sight, but wolves are in the clear?" Celestia asks as she and Luna take a seat at the table. "I can't explain it, but... I dunno, he didn't seem like a threat." "He was growling at you while showing his teeth," Storm says flatly. "Yeah, but I did have my sword out." "Are you trying to defend that wild animal?" Twilight says from beside Storm. "All I'm saying is there is always two sides of a story," I say as I take seat next to Fluttershy and Storm. "Sacrificium enim causa." "Sacrifice for a cause?" Luna says from behind, getting looks from everyone. "Yeah... how do you know that?" I ask. "I don't know... eam iustus venit ad me." "Quod est alienis." "Est non!" "Forte paulo." "Ego accipere, forte paulo alienis," she says, making us both laugh a little while everyone stares at us in confusion. "Do you mind telling me how you learned a different language so fluently?" Celestia asks. "I think it was a gift from Soul Fire..." "Who’s that?" I ask, getting odd looks from everyone. "What?" "You really don't know?" Fluttershy asks. "No." I look around for an answer, but no one gives me one. "Is it the guy you were talking about from inside my memories?" I ask Luna. "Yes, he was here after you passed out... speaking of which, what happened after I passed out?" "When did you pass out?" I ask. "Shortly after you did." We look to everyone else and wait for an answer, but everyone is being very coy right now. "Well... you see..." Twilight starts. "We can't say." Celestia says firmly, getting looks from everyone. "Let’s just say that something happened that if we acknowledged it, bad things would happen." "Uh... Miles... ya may want ta come see this," Applejack says before anyone can respond to what Celestia said. We all get up and walk to the front area, where we see a mass of ponies with cameras have built up. As soon as I'm visible the cameras begin to flash, filling the room with bright white lights. Again, I flare my hands and suck the energy from all of the cameras, ending the flashes. "Where did all of these bloodsuckers come from?" I ask. "What do you expect?" Storm says, “you’re here, so are the princesses, there were huge explosions, why wouldn't they come?" "Miles, one of them returned this," Rarity says as she walks up to me and gives me my phone. When did I... oh, right, I burned my clothes off earlier. I pocket my phone and try to think of a plan to get rid of them. I think I've got something. "Miles, I don't like that look on your face, what are you planning?" Storm says. "Something that will probably end with less than desirable results," I say as I head to the front door, only to have Storm and Rainbow Dash jump in the way. "Whoa, you’re not seriously going to go out there?" Rainbow Dash says. "Like hell he's going out there!" Storm says. "Should I throw you at them again?" "That wasn't cool." "I know, now it's my turn to deal with them," I say as I walk around them and head out. As soon as I walk out of the door I get bombarded with hundreds of incomprehensible questions. The few I understand range from where my house came from to what's my relationship with all of the mares inside. I raise a hand and wait for them to quiet down, which takes a little longer than it should. I walk out from underneath the awning and take in my surroundings. A mass of ponies are collected in front of me. There are a few in the air behind me, but not many. A couple of pegasi are sitting on the roof and two are on the awning. "So you have some questions you want me to answer." A small outburst erupts from the crowd, but I wait until they fall silent before I begin again. "I'll answer your questions, but you'll have to catch me first." I squat down and launch myself into the air, passing a couple of the pegasi. I land behind my house and start to run into the forest, using my magic to make great leaps through the dense collection of trees. Hopefully I can wait in here for a while until they get tired and leave.
Chapter 43 Into The WildernessChapter 43 Into The Wilderness As I run, I look back to see if any were dumb enough to follow me, sadly I can see a few pegasus and some earth ponies. I flare my hands and slam them into the sides of the trees, leaving a trail of scratched trees for all of us to follow back. I run and slash and run and keep slashing until I'm completely out of breath. I lean against a tree and try to catch my breath, looking back to see if any of them are still following me. Looks to be clear, so I guess now... SMACK I fall to the ground as something crashes onto my side. When I open my eyes, I look to see Starry Notes on top of me with a massive smile. "Gotcha." "Starry? Where did you come from?" "That's not important, what is important is that I caught you, and you said that you would answer my questions. Sooo..." Perspective: Luna I'm sitting on Miles's couch, waiting for something to happen, but the only thing happening is the reporters trying to get questions from anypony who gets too close to the windows. We had Celestia's guards move outside and guard the perimeter, hopefully none of the reporters will try anything foolish. Everypony inside has stopped the party and has moved either to the back or to the upper floor, leaving Celestia, Twilight, Storm, and myself in the front. "When do you think they'll leave?" Twilight asks. "If they don't leave within the hour, I'll give them the order to," Celestia says. "I don't get it," I say, getting everypony’s attention, "why are they acting like this for Miles? I get that him being the only human can be exciting, but I didn't think ponies would react to him like this." "Maybe we should ask one of them, find out what's so appealing," Twilight suggests, getting looks from everypony. "I don't think that would be a good idea, we don't want to add fuel to this fire. We should ignore them and let this burn itself out," Storm says. Hmm... they both make good points. We need to know what the appeal is without having to read about it, but if we ask, we may accidentally give them something that they could use. "What do you think sister?" Celestia says, getting everypony to look at me. "Well..." Perspective: Miles "Get off me!" I yell, pushing Starry off me and getting up. "You said you-" "It was a rhetorical statement! Who would be dumb enough to follow me here!?" "Who would be dumb enough to hide in here!? Look, it's been my dream to have my story make it to the front pages, and you’re my ticket to that, please. Just a few questions and then we can go our separate ways. I'll never bother you again, promise." "*sigh* You really promise to leave me alone after this?" "Absolutely." "And how do I know if you keep your promises or not?" "Well... you don't. It's going to be a leap of faith, but if I break my word, I'll drop my job at the Hoofington Post, deal?" "...fine. But I'm only going to answer the questions I want to answer. If I say no, you’re not going to get anything for that, got it?" She nearly explodes with joy as she jumps up and down. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! Okay, first question, do you have a special somepony or do you plan to get one later?" she asks, as she takes a note pad and quill out from her bag and starts to write down some notes. "Really? *sigh* No, I don't and I don't plan to, next question." "Where are your people? And why haven't you tried to return to them?" "My people are... were, underground. I haven't tried to return to them because I don't know where they are, and they wouldn't recognize me. I was born over three thousand years ago." She pauses writing and looks up in disbelief, before writing a frenzy of notes. "Okay... so what happened to you and Princess Luna the other day?" "No." "But-" "No!" "Fine, umm..." "Well, well, well. Lookie who we got here," I turn around to see the dragon from the cave land a few meters away with two similar sized dragons flanking him, "I told you to watch your back." Perspective: Luna We finally decided to bring in a single reporter to ask a few questions. Sadly, when we asked one of the guards to bring one in, the crowd nearly started rioting, demanding a press conference be held. Storm had to join the guards in trying to hold them back. Celestia had to speak to them in order to stop them from becoming too excited. We finally got a single earth pony reporter to come inside and we're talking to him in the dining room. "So..." Celestia starts. "Photo Frame," says the brown earth pony. "Right, Photo Frame, we brought you in here to have a word with you. We would like to know why there is such a buzz going on about Miles." "Really? OK. Well it started out with just him defeating that one Minotaur. A killing in Ponyville hasn't happened in over twelve years, so that article by Gabby Gums really caught our attention. But then there was that leak at the hospital..." "What leak?" I ask. "Well... somepony says that... well... you spent the night with him... did you?" "Well, yes, but..." "REALLY!?" he yells as he pulls out a notepad and starts to write stuff down. "So what really happened? Does this mean we have a king now? When will Miles take over?" "It wasn't anything romantic! He just..." before I could say anything else, Celestia closed my mouth shut with her magic and pulled me into the living room. "Luna! I think it would be best if you went home right now, let me douse the flames here." "But I..." "Luna, please." I sigh and start to charge my magic to teleport home when a massive crash outside catches all of our attention. We run to the door and look out to see Miles standing behind a young red dragon with a blue pony laying on the ground behind him. "DEVERTO PULVIS ET SALUTANT MORTUUS!" Perspective: Miles I step in between Starry and the three dragons as I pull out my rifle and chamber a round. Fuck, I only have this single magazine. I'm going to have to make the count. I take a look at the dragons and try to find a weak point. The other two are about the same size, one being all white with pink highlights, and the other being all brown and fatter. I'll try to take out the brown one first and deal with the other two... somehow. "What's the matter? Afraid you and your wimpy pony mate are gonna be eaten? “says the red one, making the other two laugh. "Starry," I loudly whisper to her, "when you hear the bang, run. I'll cover you." "Miles, I..." "Get ready..." "Alright, enough waiting! Time to eat!" yells the fat brown one as he lunges at us. PAT PAT PAT PAT I send four rounds towards him and turn to run, but see Starry laying on the floor, holding herself in a fit of fear. "RUN DAMMIT!" I yell as I turn back to fire again. The brown one was stunned, but doesn't really seem harmed at all. I line up to fire again. PAT PAT PAT PAT PAT I aim for his head to try and drop him, but the rounds just bounce off of his scales. At least they seem to stun him, but that won't last very long. I glance back to see Starry running as fast as she can, so I sling my rifle and run off as well. As I run off, I flare my magic and ready myself for anything. "AGGHH, you’re letting them get away! Come on!" yells the red one as I hear the three of them take to the air. "Starry! Can you teleport?" "No! I can't do anything advanced like that!" Fuck. "How about a shield?" "I can't!" Double fuck! RRRAAAAAWWWWRRR The white one flies ahead of us and sets the path ablaze, forcing us to stop. The moment we stop, the other two drop behind us and begin to advance on us. I step in front of Starry and get ready. "Starry, unless I tell you to, stay as close to me as possible." I create an orb of soul fire and toss it at the red one, but he flies high into the air and dodges the attack. Not hitting the intended target, when the soul fire hits a tree in the background, it creates a massive explosion, sending debris flying at us. "Watch out, that one’s got magic!" the white one yells in a raspy voice. He takes in a deep breath of air and sends a column of bright green fire straight towards us. I turn and grab Starry as the flames engulf us. I launch both of us into the air and land with a solid thud some distance away. "Starry, are you ok?" "*cough cough* Yeah... just some burnt hair. What about you?" "It'll take more than some fire to take me out, now let’s get out of here." I start to run off using my magic. I launch myself at high speeds while keeping low to the ground. Whenever I touch down I slide for a bit and launch myself into a new direction. After a while I look back to see the three of them weaving through the trees, yelling orders to one another in an attempt to try to hunt us down. I start to maneuver through the trees, making my leaps much shorter and changing direction quickly. The brown one tries to fly alongside us, but after a few quick turns, he flies into a tree. SMASH The white one crashes into me and sends us rolling. Fuck, the brown one was the distraction, and the white one was the wrench... the red one... I look up to find Starry, but I can't find her. "Starry!" "Looking for this?" I jump to my feet and see the red dragon standing over Starry. He gives me a quick smirk before he bends over and bites into her shoulder, making her scream out in pain as blood starts to flow out from under his maw. "YOU BASTARD!" I yell as the white one tries to take a hold of me. I slap my hands onto his back and send two beams of soul fire through him, turning him to ash and making the ground before me explode. When I jump through the smoke I can see Red flying away, with Starry hanging from his mouth. Oh no you don't. I leap high into a tree and land on a branch. From here I launch myself from branch to branch, gaining on him as quickly as possible. Suddenly the tree line ends and I launch into the air above the dragon. He drops Starry and tries to swipe at me, but I twist and drop my heel onto his back, sending him to the ground with a loud crack. I push my hands back and launch myself through the air as fast as possible, trying to catch Starry before she hits the ground. As we get closer to one another, the ground races towards us at an alarming rate. At the last possible moment, I grab Starry and twist, landing solidly on my feet, creating a massive circle of cracks from where I stand. "Starry, wake up... come on, give me something..." She's still bleeding and has passed out. I’m about to start healing her when a roar catches my attention. I look up and see the red dragon get up and get ready to attack. "I'll kill you for that!" he yells. I set Starry down and take a few steps forward. "DEVERTO PULVIS ET SALUTANT MORTUUS!" I cross my arms and whip them out, sending dozens of small orbs of soul fire towards the dragon. He flies into the air and escapes the small explosions that pepper the space he once stood. I jab my palm towards him and send forth a column of white energy, barely missing him as he dodges the attack and flies to the ground. Off in the distance, a massive explosion whips the air all around us as a ball of fire erupts in the air. I twist and jab my other palm at him, energy hitting his wing and turning it to ash. The rest of the beam hits a hill behind him and creates another explosion, making it rain debris. I was about to send another beam at him when something slams into my side and knocks me down. I look over to see the spiked tail of the brown one jammed into my side. "Got ya." "Th-thanks for standing still," I say as I lift my hand and drop a soul fire orb onto his tail, making it turn to ash. "AHHHH! MY TAIL!" he yells as he jumps around in pain. I roll over and send a small column into his chest, turning the rest of him to ash. I get up and look around for the red one. I finally see him running into the forest, trying to escape. I bring my palms together and send an enormous column of soul fire towards him, making an explosion that nearly knocks me over. I watch the flames for a second, waiting for him to appear. When I feel confident that he isn't going to come back, I run to Starry and slide to my knees before her. "Starry!" I immediately slam my hands onto her unconscious body and begin to heal her body. WHY DO YOU WISH TO SAVE HER Shut the fuck up. I have to save her; this is my fault. WILL YOU PUT YOUR LIFE IN HER HANDS AS WELL Fuck off! I can't let anyone die, not when I have the power to save them. THE POWER IS YOURS TO USE... IF YOU CHOOSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE IT I feel the power in my magic increase as I pump the healing magic into her. Soon she looks to be completely fine, no signs of her injuries at all, but she lacks a pulse. "Come on Starry, fight it!" I yell as I try to pump her heart. 1, 2, 3, 4... 1, 2, 3, 4... 1, 2, 3, 4... nothing. "Miles... it’s too late. She's gone," Luna says from behind. I ignore her and flare my magic, sending arcs of electricity from my palms and fingers. "CLEAR!" I yell as I slam my hands onto her and jolt her body with electricity. I wait for a pulse.... nothing, again! "CLEAR!" I jolt her again, and - wait.... I feel something! "Starry!" "Mmmm.... Miles.... MILES!" She yells as she wakes up and throws her hooves around me. "GAH! STARRY, PAIN... WOUND, OW!" "Sorry, sorry!" she says as she lets go and looks down. I have a pretty large gash on my side that's bleeding... a lot. "Miles! We need to get you to the hospital," Luna says. I feel as if everything is starting to come to reality, as the world starts to spin in a mass of pain and confusion. "Hey Luna... I saved one," I say before I fall to the side and pass out. Author's Note Shout out to TacoTown for picking the main element used for this fight. Thanks for reading and like always, Brony on!
Chapter 44 Just A ScratchChapter 44 Just A Scratch I awake slowly and try to rub my face, but find myself chained to a bed. Ah... well, I guess it's time to go down the list. Clothes... *shuffles around* nope, nude. Injuries... I check my side, and see my waist has been wrapped up, as well as my feet. I look around to get my bearings, I’m pretty sure that I'm in the Ponyville hospital, same green walls as before. I lift my head and see that I'm in my own room, with the other bed having all of my belongings laying on top of it. I look out of the window and see that it's now night time as well. Damn, hopefully this time I only missed a day or two. I try to sit up but a searing pain shoots from my side, forcing me back down. Fucking perfect... well, may as well get some rest for the night. I can always heal myself up in the morning. Tick...tock........tick..................tock...........................tick.................................... Fuck this, way too boring. I begin to try and break free when the door slowly opens. A pony with a large black coat walks into the room and comes up beside me. I feel a little apprehensive at first, but when she removes the hood to reveal her face I sigh in relief. "Luna, man am I glad to see you." I say that, but my nerves return to me when I see the marks of dried tears on her cheeks. "Yes, it is good to see you again Miles. Though I wish it were under better circumstances." "What do you mean? What’s going on?" "Well... with the paparazzi incident, the fight with the dragons, and the strange event that happened when we were both knocked out, my sister and I got into an argument and... I am no longer going to be the one to watch over you..." "What... no. None of that was-" "I know, you did what you had to do, and you kept the ponies of Equestria safe in your efforts, but things have been blown to such a high point that my family has decided that I should step down from this project." "Well... if not you, then who?" "Prince Shining Armor." "Who?" "He is the captain of the royal guard. He will be the one to watch over you from now on." "Well... wait, what about Storm?" "He's been relieved of his duties due to incompetence-" "WHAT! No nononono, being in the guard was all he had, they can't do this!" She turns away from me and looks out at the night sky. This isn't fair. Storm did his job; I did nothing wrong. They have no right to do this! I hear a sniffle come from Luna and immediately forget about that. "What about you?" I ask calmly, "what happens to you after this?" She looks to me for a second before she turns back to the night sky. "Me... I go back to the way things were before. Sleeping all day, holding night court and raising the moon every night. Nothing more, nothing less." "Will I ever see you again?" She turns back to me and puts on a hard face. "No... maybe... I don't know." She lowers her head and begins to let tears form again. "Hey, we’ll see each other," I say, making her look up to me with hopeful eyes, "whether it’s from a distance or a secret scrying, you'll see me." "Miles... I..." She shakes her head a little and walks up to my side. She leans over and gives me a soft kiss. My heart starts to race from her soft lips meeting mine. She ends the kiss and pulls back a little to look into my eyes. Without thinking about it I lean forward and return the kiss with more passion. Everything else in the world fades away as I focus solely on her soft lips. She returns the kiss with equal passion, leaning into me to get a better position over me. After what feels like an eternity we pull back from one another to take a break to breathe. She begins to run a hoof up and down my chest, which I enjoy until she runs over my wound, making me jump in pain. "Sorry, I didn't mean to..." "Don't worry about my scratch, I'll be fine." "Yeah... scratch." "Luna..." Before I can finish she pushes back into me, getting onto the bed and kissing as if we'll never see each other again. I return the passion and try to hold her, only to rediscover that I'm still tied up. "Mind giving me a hand?" I say through her lips, making her look up at the chains. "I can't. They're enchanted to set off an alarm if they're removed." "Well... I guess kissing will have to suffice," I say with a light chuckle. She chuckles with me and lays her head across my chest as she holds onto me. I drown myself in her presence, taking in every scent, focusing on every touch, sound, the taste of her lips against mine. "Miles... you realize that... if we were to be together... it would have to be a secret. Nopony would be allowed to see or hear of this." "If it meant that I could be with you, I would go to the most reclusive parts of the world." She looks up to me again and gives me another smile, before she leans in and begins kissing me again. We play our little game of passionate kissing until a sound down the hall catches our attention. She quickly gets off the bed and pulls the hood over her head. "I have to go." "I know." "I'll try to find ways to be with you, but it may take some time... I'll miss you." "I'll miss you too, but don't worry, we'll see each other again, I know it." She comes back to me and gives me a long hard final kiss before she backs away and flashes out of the room. I lay back and reflect on what just transpired. I just made out with a pony. I feel as if this should be wrong, but I don't really care. I close my eyes and focus on her lingering scent. It reminds me of the rain, and somehow the night - wonder how she does that. I have to find a way to see her again, any way possible. I lay back and try to think of possibilities, but sleep finds me before any ideas come to mind. "Is he awake yet?" I hear a female ask from the side as I slowly wake up. I look over and see two ponies standing in the now bright room. "Ugh... what? What's going on?" I ask as I look up to the two ponies. One is an all-white male unicorn, with blue hair that has a strand of light and dark blue in it. He's wearing purple armor with gold trim. In the center of his chest plate is an insignia of a purple star that resembles the one on Twilight's cutie mark. He seems to be the same size as Big Mac, but a little buffer. The other one is an all pink alicorn with yellow, pink, and purple hair, that seems to be a little smaller than Luna. Wait... an alicorn. There's more than just Celestia and Luna... I guess that makes sense, Luna did say she had family and all. "How do you feel, Miles?" asks the pink one as she approaches my wounded side and takes a look at it. "Do I have to answer?" Because then I would talk about how awesome I feel because Luna and I kissed, and then she would get mad at me for ruining the secret so early. "Do you feel fit enough to travel?" asks the unicorn. "Umm... I don't know. Probably when I'm let loose and able to heal myself. Who are you?" "Oh, where are our manners? I am Princess Cadence, and this is my husband Prince Shining Armor." "Lieutenant Miles Eremita, first battalion, Spartan regiment." "Lieutenant... I wasn't informed you were ranked military personnel, another flaw to add for Storm Cloud-" "I thought his job was to answer to Luna, not you." "Well... yes, but I am the captain of the royal guard, I still should’ve been informed." "Calm down rent-a-cop. He did as he was told, what more could you ask?" "Rent-A-Cop! Do you have any idea who you’re talking to!?" he says as he gets in my face. "Yeah... a guard. I'm military, I actually get into the shit and come out on top. You chase kids who run in the shopping center..." "I protect the princesses and Canterlot! And how good of a fighter could you be if you nearly died from a young dragon!?" "First off, how was I supposed to know they're bulletproof, and secondly there were three of them - and who would the Princesses need protection from that they couldn't handle?" "AHEM! Please, let’s keep our voices down, we are in a hospital after all," Princess Cadence says, getting Shining Armor out of my face. "Sorry dear," Prince Shining Armor says as he nudges her face a little. "So, back to business. Miles, I am here to take you to Canterlot for extra supervision. Luna will no longer watch over you, I will." "Where's Canterlot?" "It's about three hundred miles northwest of here." "...what? How would you... how many kilometers is that?" "What's a kilometer?" We stare at each other for a while until the door opens up, as Twilight and Storm walk into the room. "Twilight, what are you doing here?" says Shining Armor as he walks up to her and give her a quick hug. "And what are you doing here? Weren't you discharged?" he asks, making Storm back up a bit. "Whoa... slow down Rent-A-Cop, he's here to visit a friend," I say, getting a nasty look from Shining. "Miles, behave," Twilight says as she walks into the room and comes to my side. "And I'm here to check on Miles, I am the one who is supposed to watch over him, brother." Brother! That explains the similarity of their marks. "That was your job, he's under my watch now. I'm taking him to Canterlot to keep a close eye on him." "What! You can't do that..." Storm starts, but stops when Shining turns to him. "I can and I will. He nearly blew up an entire town, killed three dragons, and nearly destroyed the sanctity of our family name! He's too dangerous to be left alone." "He never meant to harm anypony! He was saving a reporter’s life when he fought those dragons..." "A reporter’s life that he put in danger. You’re no longer in the guard and have run my patience dry, please leave the hospital before I have you arrested." Storm looks between me and Shining before he turns to leave. "Storm, if you can, watch over my place, and let Applejack know I might be a tad late for work," I yell out to him. He stops at the door and nods to me before he leaves. Once he's gone the room falls silent for a while. Shining turns and walks back to Cadence, who looks to be deep in thought. Twilight is just staring out at the door where Storm left. "So... what's Canterlot like?" I ask, breaking the silence. "Don't worry about the city, you won't be anywhere near it." "Brother, can I have a word with you, in private?" Twilight says as she walks out of the room. Shining gives Cadence a kiss on the cheek before he walks out of the room. "Quite the charmer," I say sarcastically. "He's just under a lot of stress because of this mess. The royal guard looked really bad because of this. Being the head of the guard, he's been taking it pretty hard." "Hmm..." "Miles, may I ask you something?" "You can ask me anything, it's just a matter of whether or not I answer." "Oh... well... I'm told you held Luna hostage for a while. Rumor even says that they tried to saw your hand off but the blade melted, is it true?" "*sigh* I'm not sure. I remember waking up while holding onto her horn, but I don't recall ever grabbing it. As for the hostage thing, I would never do something like that." "I want to believe you, but you haven't really given me much to hold onto..." "Not to be rude, but I don't need you to believe me. I know what happened, and so does Luna. That's all I need." Before Cadence can answer, Twilight and Shining walk back into the room, Shining looking aggravated and Twilight looking very triumphant. "Well... after some... encouraging words from my sister, I've decided to give you a chance to clear your name. I'll give you a week in Canterlot to prove to me that you’re not a threat to the ponies of Equestria. If you succeed, you gain your freedom, if not... then you better get used to being in Canterlot." "I'll agree when you understand one thing, there are only two people who could possibly retain my freedom, and you are not one of them. I do this, to clear my name, not because you think you’re commanding me to." His face contorts with frustration and anger as he tries to swallow this. He finally composes himself and straightens himself out. "We'll see about that... so, we have an understanding, should we get going?" he asks as he releases the chains around my hands. I bring my hands up and flare my magic, making Shining get into a readied stance. I slam my hands into my chest and send surges of healing magic throughout my body. After about fifteen or twenty minutes of this I finish up and shut off my magic. "Alright, let’s get going," I say as I sit up and begin to remove the bandages from my feet and waist. "That's impressive," Cadence says, getting a look from Shining. I keep the sheets for cover as I go to the other bed and grab my clothes. I only have some underwear and most of my pants. Fuck it, better than nothing. After I get dressed, I put on all of my weapons and turn to the other three. "Alright, waiting on you now." I follow them out as we head out of the hospital. Canterlot, here we come.
Chapter 45 Train RideChapter 45 Train Ride As we head out of the hospital I pause at the door. Outside there must be hundreds of guards in golden armor lining the way. There are even some in the air, making the path into a tunnel. Behind the guards are even more ponies looking in to see what's going on. Some have cameras, but most just look like average citizens looking out of curiosity. "What's all this for?" I ask as I turn back to Shining, who is levitating a pair of shackles. "We're making an example out of you," he says as he tries to put the shackles on me. In one motion I slap the shackles away and draw my pistol, pointing it straight at his face. He looks at the gun and seems unimpressed by it as he conjures up twin short blades. "Don't make me kill you," I say as I pull the hammer back, clicking it in place. "And how would you do that? Hitting me with that piece of metal?" "This piece of metal would blow your fucking head off if I were to pull the trigger. There would be no reaction time for you to move, no time to comprehend what happened, just a loud bang, and death." We stare each other down, neither of us faltering. We don't even allow ourselves to blink, we just wait for the other to make the first move. "Miles," Twilight says from the side. I don't look at her, but I listen. "Please, don't kill my brother. He's just doing his job; you would do the same if you were in his place. Please don't harm him." I hold my pistol there for a second before I drop my arm. With a heavy sigh I holster my weapon and step back. "Only because you asked, Twi. But I will not be made an example of." I turn and walk out the front doors without the shackles. I take a few steps out until two pegasus guards jump in front of me and point spears at me. "I told my guards to apprehend you if you didn't cooperate, so it's either you go willingly or by force. Your choice." I smirk at his stupidity and flare my hands. I shoot in between the two guards and hit the ground, making a white spot appear on the ground. The guards try to stab at me, but can't because they start to slide backwards. I feed a little more energy into the spell and soon enough, everyone except me is pulled into the center of the road. I cut off my magic and walk towards the mass of ponies. I look around until I find Shining and pull him out a little. "What's going on?!" He yells at me. "I created a small gravitation field. I told you already that I'm more than willing to go, but I go on my own accord. I'll let you wait here to think about that." I let go of him and start to go throughout the crowd, giving marks to any non-guard ponies. Those with the marks fall out of the mass and run away as quickly as possible. Lastly I take out Twilight and Cadence from the mass. "Miles, what are you doing!?" Twilight asks as I set her down. "Making an example of them. Now Cadence, I assume we're taking some form of transportation to Canterlot, lead on." She looks between me and the mob for a while, before she takes a deep breath and straightens her posture. "Let them go, and we'll get going." "I'll let them go when I'm on the transportation." "No, you'll do it now." "After." "Now!" We stare at each other for a second until Twilight coughs for our attention. "Why don't we compromise - Miles will let some of the guards go now and the rest when you get to the train, sound fair?" I look over to Cadence and nod before I turn back to the mass. I pick out four pegasus guards and give them my mark, letting them fall out of the crowd. "There, now can we get going?" "What about Shining?" Cadence asks. "I will not leave without my husband by my side." "AGH, fine." I go back and pull out the rent-a-cop from the mass. When he gets out he straightens out his armor and is about to tell me off, but stops when Cadence wraps him up in a hug. "Can we get going now?" "Very well, let’s go." I follow Shining and Cadence through Ponyville, looking at all the damage I caused. A massive crater sits on the edge of town, with many of the nearby homes and businesses destroyed. "How many casualties were there?" I ask. "Luckily, only a few minor injuries," Twilight says, getting a scoff from Shining. When we get to the station I flare my hands and wave them in the air, ending the spell and letting the guards free. When we approach the train I turn to say goodbye to Twilight. "Twilight..." "Miles..." We say at the same time. "It's been fun." I say. "I'll bring everyone to visit as soon as possible." "Well, hopefully I'll be back in a week, any longer than that, then go ahead and visit." "Take care, and please, try to be nice to my big brother," she says as she glances over to him. "Heh... I'll try. Give everyone my regards." I turn and walk into the train cart. The cart is fairly wide for being a cart, giving room for two aisles of benches. I take a seat to the left and look out the window. "Be sure to watch over that idiot of ours OK?" I yell out to Twilight, as rows of guards come running to the train. "I will." "And try to make a list of everybody’s house that was damaged from the explosion, so I can repay them." "I will," Twilight yells as the crowd of guard’s swarm around her, entering the various carts of the train. When they finish filling every seat on the train, we start to slowly move out. I look out and wave goodbye to Twilight, who waves back to me. As we begin to move faster, I notice Storm hovering in the air, watching the train leave. I stick half of my body out the window and call out to him, getting him to fly over. When he's close enough I grab him and pull him close to whisper into his ear. When I finish I let go of him and pull myself back into the cart. "Understand?" "Yeah... I'll do it," he says before he flies back to the train station. I sit back and look over to the other bench to see Cadence and Shining staring at me. "Care to tell us what you just told him?" Shining says. "Just to water the flowers, nothing special," I say as I sit back. "How close are you and Twilight?" Cadence asks. "Don't worry, we're just friends." "Better be..." Shining mumbles as he looks out the window. Oh... I sense an over protective brother, can't tell him about Storm and Twilight now.... or ever. The ride is taking an eternity to get to its destination. We must be traveling at thirty kilometers an hour. It doesn't help that everyone in here is stoic and silent. The only sounds I hear are the train and the occasional mumbles between Shining and Cadence. Well... I've got nothing better to do. I pull out my phone and play the next song. The song starts with a snare drum tapping away. Soon some electronic bass fades into the background until the drums drop and the bass makes the beat. "What is that sound?" Cadence says as she looks around. I pocket my phone and start to look around as well. "Is that you?" asks Shining. "Do I look like a drum set?" He rolls his eyes and starts to walk down the cart, trying to find the source of the sound. I look back, every guard sitting perfectly still except a single guard bobbing his head to the beat. Awesome. "You there, are you the one creating this... noise?" Shining yells at the guard bobbing his head. "Fuck you, techno is music!" I yell out to him, making him walk back to me. "So you are making the noise then, liar." "When did I lie?" "I asked if you were making the noise." "And I asked if I looked like a drum set. I never said I wasn't making the sound." He facehoofs - whatever, it's still true. "Turn it off." "Not a fan of Deadmau5...?" "Now." "Someone’s a Skrillex fan," I say as I pull out my phone. "Won't even let me finish this one song." "It's not a song, it's just noise, now turn it off." I look over to Cadence and ask, "What do you think? Music or noise?" She looks around, surprised at being put on the spot all of the sudden. "Well... it is kind of catchy, maybe just let this one finish and then stop after that, what's the harm in playing music?" Shining sighs and takes his seat next to her. Ha, Miles one, Shining negative five. I lay my phone next to me and look out the window. We're traveling up a mountain towards a castle on the side of another mountain. I look at the building and slowly come to the realization that this is the same castle Luna lives in..... "FUCK YEAH!" I yell as I jump up, getting looks from everyone. "Miles, it's catchy, but..." Cadence starts. "No, I know, I.... just really like this song." "Really?" "Y-yeah. Who wouldn't.... besides haters like Shining." "What does that even mean?" he asks. "It means you hate things without giving them a try first, hater." "I'm not a hater, I have a job to do..." "So having a job makes you a hater?" "I... just.... he... AGH! How does Twilight deal with you!?" "First off, she’s not a hater," Shining mumbles something, "and secondly she doesn't demand things from me. She asks, and I oblige. Simple as that." Shining looks out the window to pout to himself, getting back rubs from Cadence. Whatever, Miles two, Shining negative four hundred. I look back out the window and watch as we get closer and closer to the castle. We pass through a couple of tunnels until we reach the final stretch of track to Canterlot. Before we finish this track, the train comes to a stop and all of the guards start to exit the train. "I thought we were going to Canterlot." I ask as I turn back to Shining and Cadence, who are looking over at me with sinister looks on their faces. "Oh, we are." I try to get up to fend for myself but a solid green beam comes from Shining and hits me square in the chest, knocking me out. Perspective: Storm I'm flying through the clouds with Rainbow Dash right next to me, following the train as best as I can. "Why are we doing this again?" Rainbow asked, annoyed with having to fly to Canterlot. "Miles told me that he sensed something off about the prince and princess, so we're going to follow them to Canterlot to make sure nothing fishy happens." "What do you think could possibly go wrong?" "I don't know, but whatever it is, Miles made me go get my sword for it, he also asked me to bring these weird metal tubes and to be careful handling them." "Well... do you think..." "SHH, look, the train stopped." I point down to the train and see it come to a stop well before Canterlot. After a bright green flash from the front cart, all of the guards start to come out of the carts. Rainbow and I take cover on a nearby cloud and watch as Cadence and Shining take an unconscious Miles to a giant bush. They levitate the bush to reveal a cave entrance, which they march into. "Rainbow, get the others and meet me here, we're going after him." "What are you going to do?" she asks nervously. "I'm going in."
Chapter 46 Powerful LoveChapter 46 Powerful Love When I open my eyes all I see is darkness. I try to open my eyes as wide as possible, but there's absolutely no light. I light my hands and take a look around. Gems. Lots and lots of gems. Gems larger than me fill the room, making the walls, the ceiling, almost everything. I look around to try to see where I came from, but the cavern I'm in is completely sealed off. I check my supplies to find that I still have everything. Weird, but I'll take it. "Miles..." someone says weakly in the distance. I look around frantically, trying to find who ever called me but can't pinpoint where they are. "Muahahahaha," Cadence laughs as she appears inside every gem in the cavern, "Oh, Miles, Miles, wherefore art thou Miles?" she mocks. "What’s going on, where are we!?" I demand. "Shouldn't you be more concerned with where Luna is?" "Luna... where is she!? What have you done to her!?" "Mehehehe, that's more like it," she says with an evil grin as her face fades away from the gems. "YOU FUCKER!" I yell as I send out a small ball of energy at a gem, destroying it instantly. I send out another, and another, and another, destroying gem after gem until a wall collapses and I see Luna laying on the ground in another cavern. She looks pretty beat up, with a couple of cuts and bruises on her. I run to her and slide to her side. "Luna... Luna wake up. Come on Luna..." I say as I try to shake her awake, but it's no use. I lay my hands on her side and start to heal her wounds. If she doesn't pull through... scient verum mortem. Perspective: Storm I fly down to a bush near the entrance, and wait for the guards to walk out of view before I run in. The cave inside is fairly dark, but the glowing grenades Miles had are lighting an area a few feet around me, so I'll be able to at least walk without falling. I make my way down until I come to a fork in the cave. Well... I guess any way will work. I go down the right path and try to keep low, even though the glow from the grenades is a pretty big giveaway. The tunnel begins to wind up and down and fill with gems. After a while I start to feel disorientated from all of the turning. I come to a complete halt, as the path ends with a large cliff that drops into a pit of jagged gems. I look around for any clue as to Miles's whereabouts when something pushes me from behind. I fall a few feet but quickly recover and fly up to see my aggressor. "T-twilight? What are you doing?" Standing on the clearing is Twilight, looking at me with a sly grin. "Sorry Storm, it's over," she says as she turns and walks out. I fly up and land in front of her, drawing my sword and pointing it to her. "You're not Twilight," I say as I tighten my grip on the handle and take a readied stance, "show yourself!" The false Twilight laughs as it morphs into a changeling. With a bloodcurdling scream it charges for me on hoof. I take a step forward and bring my blade down onto its back, making blue sludge pour out as it falls to the ground. That was too easy. Something isn't right here. Why have the changelings returned? I need to find Miles and get to the Princesses as quickly as possible. Perspective: Miles I finished healing Luna up and now hold her in my lap, gently rocking her back and forth. She's got a solid heartbeat, but isn't waking up. I bring my hand to her cheek and gently rub the side of her head as her eyes slowly open up. "Luna!" "Hey Miles..." she says weakly. "Told you we'd see each other soon enough." "Y-yeah... you did. Where are we?" "I don't know. Some kind of cavern near Canterlot... I think. Luna, what happened? How did you get here?" "I was ponynapped in the morning by... by..." "Cadence and Shining?" She nods as I silently curse them. They will pay for what they have done. "Alright, first things first, let's get you out of here. I dig us a way out and then..." "Miles," she says, stopping me, "please... just for a minute, could you just hold me?" I smile down to her and pull her in to hold onto her more tightly. "Any time." Perspective: Storm I fly around the open area and find a clearing at the bottom of the cliff of gems, just next to a massive solid gem. I walk down this clearing for a while, taking a few turns here and there, until I see a pink glow in the distance. I start to trot to it but keep my eyes open for anything. Up ahead I see Princess Cadence leaning over Prince Shining Armor, letting her tears fall onto his unconscious body. The princess looks as if she's been roughed up a bit, but what concerns me it the huge gash on Shining's head, just above his horn. I run up but stop a few feet from them, getting Princess Cadence's attention. "NO, NONONO! Please, just leave us alone, please. Haven't you done enough, just let us be, please," she sobs to me as she holds tightly onto the unconscious prince. "Princess Cadence, my name’s Storm Cloud, I was a guard but I was recently fired, but anyway, I..." "NO! You're one of those changelings, I know it. Just leave us be!" "Princess, please. How can I show you that I'm not a changeling, I'll do anything?" She sobs into Shining's chest a bit before she looks up to me. "You said your name was Storm Cloud." "Yes, I-" "The same Storm Cloud who would make my Twilight cry night after night, that Storm Cloud?" Buck me over. "No, that is a different pony who has tried to steal my identity. I am the true Storm Cloud." "That doesn't really help you." "I know, it’s really complicated and I don't even completely understand it, but that's not important. The prince looks really hurt, we need to heal him right away." "I tried, but the changelings gave me some kind of drug that has weakened my magic, I can barely maintain this light." "I've got some healing potions, if you'll allow me to administer them." I say as I pull out a blue potion. She looks skeptical but stands and allows me to give him the potion. The potion begins to take effect as Shining starts to whine and twist from the potion healing him. I can see the wound start to close up right before my eyes. "Okay, your turn," I say as I turn to the princess. "No, I'm fine, really. Keep it in case we need it to heal him again." "I really must insist, I do have two more, that's more than enough. Plus, we'll have a medic once we find my friend." "How good is he?" "One of the best." She looks around but finally nods. I give her the potion and tell her to lay down. She does and drinks the potion, making her close her eyes tightly as it takes effect. "I'm going to keep watch, if you need me I'll be just outside." She nods through the pain so I head to the entrance and wait for the potion to end. Perspective: Miles "Luna... let’s get going," I say softly into her ear. She looks up to me and nods gently. I help her to her hooves and am about to start sending us to the surface when she puts a hoof on my side. "Miles, I don't think that would be wise." "Why's that?" "Well... we don't want to advertise to them that we're escaping. I think we should try to hoof it out of this cave before we make our presence known." "Well... if you say so, I'll take lead, stay close," I say as I pull out my rifle and begin to look around the cavern. Luna lights her horn to light the way so I shut off my magic. I find a path in Luna's room, so I start to head down it, keeping low and to the sides. We come to a turn in the path, where we find a guard walking down the path towards us. Luna shuts off her magic as we drop to the ground next to the wall. I crawl up to a small boulder for cover and take a look at it. It's all black, with chunks of its legs missing, papery wings, a horn, and bright blue eyes. I look to Luna for answers as to what it is. "It's a changeling. Creatures that feed off the love of other creatures. They can take the form of any creature that they know of." "Are they friendly?" "Certainly not." I sling my rifle, pull out my trench knife and wait beside the boulder. The changeling is making a blue glow come from its horn, guiding it down the jagged path. When it walks beside me, I lunge my blade right where the jaw and the neck meet as I pull it towards me with my other arm. I stab into it over and over again as I let it scream into my side, getting bright blue blood to spill onto me. When I feel it stop fighting me I let it drop to the ground. I look over to Luna and motion for her to follow. I might’ve scared her a bit from that, but I'll deal with that once I know she's safe. Perspective: Storm When I hear Cadence and Shining shuffling around in the back, I decide to walk back inside. I find them holding on to each other, kissing passionately. "Ahem," I say, ending their kiss and getting their attention. "I know you’re happy to see each other, but we aren't out of the woods yet." Shining gets up and walks over to me. He walks around and takes a good look over me. I just stand there and wait for him to finish. "How do we know you are who you say you are?" He asks. "Besides the fact that I gave you both a healing potion, you don't. I don't know if you’re who you are either, so we'll have to find a way to trust one another before we can move on." "Very well... who are you?" "Storm Cloud, former royal guard for Luna's night corps." "Storm Cloud... the same Storm Cloud who broke my sister’s heart and..." "Bucking hell that wasn't me! Somepony is trying to steal my identity and slander my name! I would never do that!" "Hmm... what’s the night corps’ motto?" "‘The shadows of the night’." “Okay, and what’s the real night corps’ motto? The one they don’t tell everypony?” “Knights of the New Moon.” He nods to me, visibly relaxing a bit. "He's definitely former night guard. We'll have to talk later about this impostor though." I nod and look back to Shining. "Okay, I'll trust you, for now," Shining says. "Alright, well let’s try to find my friend, and get out of here before more changelings appear," I say as I walk to the tunnel in the back of the room. "Shouldn't we leave while we can?" Cadence says as they follow me closely. "I'm not leaving without my friend... plus..." "GET ON THE GROUND, ON THE GROUND NOW!" Miles yells as he quickly runs up to us, pointing his weapon at us. Perspective: Miles As we walk down the path I switch back to my rifle and take lead. I check every nook and every cranny for possible enemies. When I come around a corner I see Storm, Cadence and Shining walking towards us. "GET ON THE GROUND, ON THE GROUND NOW!" I yell as I run up to them, keeping them in my sights. "Whoa, Miles, calm down! It's me, Storm." "No it's a changeling, kill it!" Luna yells. "No, we're the real ponies, not the impostors!" Cadence yells. "They're lying, kill them!" "We're not lying!" yells Shining. "Shut up!" I yell, silencing everyone. I look to Storm for a second before I step next to Luna. "Can changelings copy memories?" "What... no... but..." "Storm, answer this question correctly, what was the move?" "The move?" "The move." He thinks for a second before I see his face light up. "You can't be serious." "I am dead fucking serious, what was the move." He looks back to Shining before he turns to me with a heavy sigh. "The... flying back breaker." "It is you!" I yell as I run up to him and sling my rifle. I can see everyone else blushing heavily from the answer, but that doesn't matter. "So I take it you brought my stuff?" He pulls out a bag holding all of my spare gear. Armor, grenades, ammo. I kneel down and start to armor up when Storm brings his mouth to my ear. "Dude, that wasn't cool. Twilight's overprotective brother is right behind me." He whispers. "Is he?" "Yeah, he proved to have knowledge of the real Shining, is that the real Luna?" I stop what I'm doing and look behind me to Luna. "Plaudet." I say to her. "Umm... what?" "Plaudet," I say firmly as I stand up and approach her. She takes a few steps back, trying to keep some distance between us. "Te sunt non Luna." The false Luna takes a few steps back and stops, looking at me with an evil grin. She suddenly turns into one of the changelings and jumps at me. I swing my rifle and smack the butt of it into her face, making her drop to the ground. I pull my rifle back and put three rounds into the side of her head, sending blue sludge onto the surrounding area. I turn back to Storm and the others to find them on the ground holding their ears. Oh, right. I walk up to Storm and heal his ears, also setting a protection barrier in his ear to keep him from losing his hearing. I repeat this for the other two and return to gearing up. "Ah... what the hell was that?" Storm says as he rubs the side of his head. "That was the sound my weapon makes when it fires. Don't worry though, I put a spell on you that should protect you from now on," I say as I finish up. "Are you all okay?" "I'll be fine," Storm says as he starts to walk down the path he came from. "I've got a little ringing in my ears, but other than that I'm fine," Cadence says. "I'm good," Shining says. I look over to him and pull out my sword, getting worried looks from everyone. "You know how to use one of these?" I ask as I point the handle towards him. He levitates it out of my hand and looks it over. "Of course, I am the captain of the royal guard." "Yeah... the guard. Do you have any actual fighting experience?" "Well... no, but..." "Well okay then, here's the plan. I've got point, I want Cadence behind me with you two covering her flanks..." "Excuse me?" Shining says. "Once we're out we'll head to the closest settlement and work our way from there, got it?" I ask as I walk down the path and pull out my rifle. I make it past Storm and continue down the path. As I walk I can hear the three of them talking, but ignore it and focus on the task at hand. We make it to a dead end where I can see a ledge a few meters up. "The entrance should be up there," Storm says. I nod and drop my rifle, letting my sling hold onto it. I raise my hands and slam them onto the gem beneath us, making it rise so we're even with the ground above. "So, you finally made it," says a Changeling on the clearing, standing as tall as Celestia with long tattered blue hair. Surrounding her are hundreds of changelings, filling the path. Without a second’s hesitation I reach for an arcane grenade and pop the top off, sending a plume of blue smoke out of it. I toss it into the crowd and raise my hands, creating a shield around the four of us. The larger one teleports out of the cave while the other ones begin to charge at us, until the grenade goes off. A massive ball of blue fire explodes from within the crowd and pushes out past my shield, until the fires suddenly stop. The fire holds there for a second until it pulls back to the point where it came from, leaving a mass of changelings laying on the ground. When the fire’s gone I drop my shield and begin to walk up the path, stepping over the bodies with little care. "What was that?" Storm says as he runs to my side, followed by Shining and Cadence. "They still look alive." "They are, kind of. It was an arcane grenade. It doesn't harm the body; it harms the soul." "The soul... what do you mean?" Cadence asks in a scared tone. "Well, you take soul fire, give it the purpose of destroying another soul, put it into a capsule, and bam. When it goes off, whoever is unfortunate enough to be touched by the fires, loses their souls. The body continues to live, but they basically become rocks." "Why would you ever make a weapon that could do that?" Shining asks, getting me to stop and look back. "See the results?" I ask while pointing back to the mounds of changelings. "Why wouldn't we?" We make our way to the entrance, where Storm informs me of the two guards behind the bush. I pull out my trench knife and slowly walk out. When I emerge I find the two of them immediately and instantly lunge for the closest one, stabbing it in the neck and tackling it to the ground. I stab it repeatedly as Storm jumps the other one and slices its throat with a single swing of his blade. "Alright, let’s..." I start, but stop when I see Canterlot. Hundreds of green and blue explosions are peppering the city as I can hear the cries of its people. "Miles, come on, let's get going, they need us!" Storm says as he flies off for the city. I shake my head and run after him, with Shining and Cadence right behind me. After an hour of running we find an outpost of guards on the outside of the city, and walk into the HQ tent. Shining talks to another guard as Storm and I look over a map of the city together. "Where would Luna be?" "Probably here, at the castle. Why-" "That's where I'm going. You with me?" "I've got your back." We’re about to head out when two guards stop us. "I'm sorry, but we can't allow any civilians to enter the city until we get control back," Shining says as he starts to put on armor. "Ah, don't give me that crap. You know you're going to need us..." "Look, I'm sorry, but this is royal guard business now, please head to the evacuation..." "Shut the fuck up Shining," I say, getting a spear to my neck. "How many soldiers do you have?" "Well..." "None, that's how many. You have guards. I'm a soldier, and a damn good one too. Do you even have a plan to take the city back or were you just going to waltz in there and hope for the best?" "Well... we were going to make a plan..." "Not good enough. The plan is simple," I say as I push the spear away from my neck and turn back to the map of the city. "You start here, the south gate, work your way block by block, until you make it to the castle. From there you hold the high ground and work on clearing every section of the city. Keep your men together and use them as best you can. Keep airmen high, supporting your ground troops whenever possible." "You realize that that's going to take forever, right?" "Doesn't matter, if we do it right the first time, we won't have to worry about going back. Now, Storm and I are heading for the castle to find Celestia and Luna..." "How do you know that they're in trouble?" "Because changelings are attacking their city and they're not kicking their asses. Any other stupid questions?" He gives me a serious look but stays silent. "Good, we're going now, mobilize your men into a group and we'll see you inside." I start to head out when Shining calls for me. I stop by the flap and turn back to him. "You might need this," he says as he levitates my sword to me. "Take a squad of guards with you for support, and good luck." I nod to him and take it before we head out. We make our way to the main gate to the city, which is currently shut. A couple of guards are trying to break it down, but are nowhere near close. I tell Storm to get them to move, and stand before the gate with my hands flaring. He talks to them and points me out, getting them to drop the battering ram and run to the side. Once clear, I run to the door and slam both of my palms into it, sending it flying off its hinges and crashing onto the ground several meters away. "You four," I say, pointing to the four with the battering ram, "you're with me, we're getting the Princesses, LETS MOVE!" They nod and run after me as I charge into the city. There's a little clearing where the door flew through, but everywhere else there are ponies and changelings fighting. Blue and red blood fills the street as the fight roars on. It seems to be a fairly even fight, but the ponies seem to be on the weaker side. A few changelings charge for us, but I raise my rifle and put some rounds down range. PAT PAT PAT PAT PAT PAT PAT PAT CLICK I drop seven enemies and start to reload a new clip. When I get it in and load another round, I have to kick a changeling away, making him crash into another one. I raise my weapon and flare the magic in the hand that holds the grip, making white archaic text appear on my rifle’s barrel. I send a single round into the head of a changeling and make its head explode in a fiery mess, fragging any who were close to it. "Storm! We've got to get moving!" I yell as I start to run towards the castle. I see him fly into the air and land next to me. "I just heard that they're bringing Twilight and all of the girls here." "WHAT! Why?" "I don't know, but I have to go find her, they're apparently already here." "Alright, you get to them and keep her safe, I'll head to the castle, where are those four from earlier?" "In the fight, are you going to be alright on your own?" "I'll be fine, now go get Twilight!" He nods and takes off in the air. What the fuck are they doing here? Whatever, Storm will handle it, I need to focus. I run and make my way up a deserted street. I keep my weapon raised and stay on the lookout for any potential enemies, checking roofs, alleys, anywhere where they might come out. After a few blocks I hear a crash, and look behind me to find a dead pegasus guard being eaten by three changelings. I put a single round into the center one, killing all three with the one exploding shot. These fucking bastards are eating them. They will pay if they touch a single hair on Luna. I make it to the castle gates with very little opposition, it doesn't feel right, but I'm not complaining. The castle grounds are in disarray as a few guards are trying to fight off hundreds of changelings. I open fire at the ones in the air and make it rain changeling chunks and blue blood. PAT PAT PAT PAT PAT PAT PAT PAT My rifle roars out death as I make my way to the castle walls, catching up with the five remaining guards. "What's your status?" I yell over the roar of my rifle. "AH... we were trying to get to the princesses, but were cut off." "Where are they?" I yell as I continue to drop changeling after changeling. "What?" He yells back. I stop firing and pull him close to me. "WHERE ARE THE PRINCESSES!?" "We last saw them in the main court chamber, down the main hall!" He points over to a doorway a few meters away that's covered in changelings. I aim down and open fire on it as I slowly approach it. PAT PAT PAT PAT PAT PAT PAT PAT CLICK I drop the magazine and put in the last one as I run down the hall to the main chamber. I stop halfway to the staircase when a large group of changelings start to charge at me. I open fire and start to backpedal. Every shot I send kills two or three of them, only for four or five to take their place. I drop my rifle and throw my arms out, creating a sphere of fire around me that I spin around and expand outward, burning all of the changelings before me. Their screams fill the room over the roar of their burning corpses. After a few seconds the screams end and are replaced with the crackle of burnt flesh. I grab my rifle and run up the stairs, making my way to the court room, where I find another wave of changelings. I unload the rest of my ammo into them and throw my rifle behind me. I pull out my sword and revolver and ready for a fight. "STOP!" yells a familiar voice, getting the mob to halt and make a clearing for me to walk down. "Please, come here, I would like to have a word with you." I look around, but decide to walk down the path against my better judgement. I make my way past all of the growling changelings to an open room, that has a single seat that's several steps up. In the seat is the changeling from the cave, sitting there, looking as triumphant as ever. Hanging from the ceiling to her left is Celestia. She's been wrapped in some green cocoon and looks to be unconscious. Standing to her right is Luna, looking as if she's in a sort of hypnotic state. "What have you done to them?" I demand, making her chuckle. "Oh don't worry, I would never hurt the mare you love - as for Celestia, she will serve as a snack for me later." I raise my pistol at her and send a single round into her chest. The area it hits crumbles away, but quickly regenerates. "Oh, was that supposed to hurt? HAHAHA, I'm at such a heightened state right now that no mortal weapon could harm me - shoot all of the metal you want, Miles Eremita, there is nothing you can do." I holster my pistol and sheathe my sword. No mortal weapon... I love dumb enemies. I charge my magic and send the lines all the way to my potestatum annulums, making my armor glow from the heat. I hear the changelings behind me try to charge at me, but I twist around and push both of my palms forward, creating a massive beam of soul fire. The beam hits the wall on the other side of the room and creates an explosion that knocks me back a little. When the smoke clears, I look back to see that all of the changelings are either dead or ash, and that the leader has escaped. I shut off my magic and run to Luna, who has fallen over and now seems to be unconscious. I kneel next to her and take her into my arms. "Luna! Luna! Come on, wake up!" "Miles... ego sum libenter tuum retro," she says weakly, making me hug her tightly. "Too tight, too tight!" she says getting me to let her go. "Sorry about that, are you okay? Did they hurt you?" "No, I'm fine, really. They just put me in a state to feed off of me." "They... feed off of you?" "Changelings get their energy from the love of others, when they suck it out of them, they feast on the bodies afterwards." "So who’s the lucky guy that has your love?" I ask with a big smile on my face. "Heh, he's this weird human that likes to blow stuff up." "Sounds like quite the charmer." "Yeah, you should see the way he kisses, it'll blow your mind." I lean down to kiss her, only to get her hoof in my face. "Not really the appropriate time, you think?" I give her hoof a kiss and help her to her hooves. "Later then." Perspective: Storm "Why didn't you tell me you were the bearers of the Elements of Harmony?!" I yell as I slice a changeling down its side, making it drop in cries of pain. I had found the girls on their way to the castle and now we're trying to make our way to the national treasure chambers. "It didn't really seem like something that I should have told you, can we save this for later!?" Twilight yells back as she blasts a changeling away. We all finish up and start to run down to the chamber. "So what's the plan, git the elements an' jus' blast away?" Applejack asks. "Basically, that and beat down anypony who gets in our way," I say. The seven of us make it to the chamber, where we find several dead bodies and a single guard holding onto another dead guard, crying. "Are you okay?" I ask as I approach the guard. "*sniffle* They killed him... they, they, they, just flew in and, and, and..." she wails. "It's going to be alright," I say as I take a seat next to her and motion for the others to get the elements, "who was he?" "M-my husband... Bronze Spear." "You have my condolences - he died a hero, and we will make this right, I promise." "H-how can you say that!" she yells at me. "The princesses have been captured, the royal guards have been defeated, how could we possibly make this right?" I look away for a moment to really think about my answer. "Because we have the Elements of Harmony, we can win this day." As if on cue, the girls come out of the chamber with the elements on. I look over to them and watch as they start to use them, lifting into the air, then drop to the ground. "Was that it?" I ask... kind of a letdown. "I don't get it, why aren't they working?" Twilight says. "Maybe we did it wrong," Pinkie says while hopping up and down. They try over and over again until they finally give up. "*sniff* There is no hope," says the guard as she lies next to her dead husband. What do we do now? Perspective: Miles Luna and I work together on getting Celestia down. When we finally do, I get to work on healing her wounds. There aren't many, just a scorch mark on the end of her horn. Luna simply watches from behind, pacing back and forth. "Don't worry, she'll be fine. I've got this," I say to reassure her. "I know, but that doesn't stop me from worrying." KER-PUNCH I fall back as Celestia punches me right in the face. She jumps up and looks around to try and get her bearings, only stopping when Luna wraps her in a hug. "AH... damn girl, that fucking hurt," I say as I sit up, rubbing my cheek. "Miles... what's going on? Where is the roof? Why is the building on fire? What happened to..." "Everything is under control, just sit down and relax... damn, that's going to sting... the leader retreated to an unknown location. And as for the building... what can I say, I like to blow stuff up." Luna and I share a small laugh while Celestia just gawks at the destruction. I stand up and look around. I can see the fighting below - it seems Shining went with my plan and is actually making good progress. I look up to the towers and see the leader walk into one of the chambers. "There she is!" I yell as I jump off the ledge, igniting my heels as I drop. When I hit the ground I fling myself high into the air, sending myself as close as possible to the tower. After another leap I slam into the side of the tower and hold on with all four portals flaring. I start to lunge myself up the side when I see Luna fly into the building. What is she doing!? I climb the rest of the way up and swing into the room, where I find Luna wrestling Luna. "AH... she's the impostor, kill her!" "No, she is...!" the other one says, only to get a hoof in the cheek. I watch as the two of them wrestle for dominance until I get an idea. "Hey Luna, did I tell you about the time Tenera and I fucked?" The one on the left looks straight at me in horror as the other one punches her again. Thought so. I throw a ball of energy at the impostor, hitting her in the chest and making her crash through the wall. "Just kidding. Somehow I knew that would work on you." "You better be kidding." "I was, still a virgin. Now let’s kick some ass," I say as I leap out of the hole in the wall. I crash below in an open field and face the leader as she picks herself out of a small crater. I pull out my sword with my right and my trench knife with my left. Luna teleports beside me and creates twin cutlasses out of her blue energy. "If it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you'll get!" The leader yells, as she creates twin bastard swords out of her green energy and charges for us. I run forward and swing my blade to meet hers and go to stab her, only to be caught by the other blade. Luna comes running in from the side and swings both her blades to her exposed side. She jumps out of the way and lands a few meters away. I charge my magic and bring the white text on both my blades. I run to her again and swing my blade early, sending a slash of white energy towards her. She blocks it with her blades but doesn't see Luna run up to her. She gives several furious swipes with her blades, making bright blue lines appear on the changeling’s body, only to have them heal instantly. I run up to the other side when she starts to block Luna's attacks and punch the brass knuckles into her side, sending her flying away as a white explosion blows a chunk out of her side. She rolls on the ground for a bit but slowly gets up when she stops, laughing. "Hahaha, HAHAHAHA, do you really think you can stop me? Your love has been getting stronger the longer you two are closer, meaning I'm getting stronger and stronger." She turns to us and creates two more of the swords and charges for both of us at once. We both backpedal as we parry her onslaught of attacks. I twist and turn and dodge attack after attack until I get my opening. I twist and thrust my sword into her chest, burying it about half way in. She looks down and rolls her eyes. "Honestly? Like I said, no mortal weapon can kill me." "Really, cool. Luna, let her have it." Luna bows her head and sends a thick beam of dark blue energy at us, hitting us both. I raise my hands and create a force field to block the rest, but feel the burns from the initial attack. When the energy stops, I drop to my knees and let go of the magic. "Miles!" Luna yells as she runs to my side. "I'm so sorry, I'm not usually that powerful, please forgive me." "Damn... my girl can pack a punch," I say before I fall over and pass out.
Chapter 47 Breaking ElementsChapter 47 Breaking Elements "Uh... Lu... LUNA!" I jump forward and immediately slam my face into something, knocking me back out. When I come to, I find myself in a light tan tent laying on a cot. I look over and see Luna sitting on the ground rubbing her head. "Ow... that really hurt Miles..." "Sorry about that... GAAAH!" I try to get up but my body immediately burns. I tear the sheets off to see that most of my body has been burned from the waist up, with cracks of blood wherever there is movement. I try to flare my hands, but I can't get my magic to start up. "GAHHH, what's going on... why can't I use my magic, AAAHHH!" A sudden surge of pain washes over me as I try to keep still, but with every shock of pain forcing me to twist and turn, and every twist and turn sending a shock of pain through my body, I begin to scream out. I look over and see Luna holding her hooves to her mouth with tears falling down from her eyes. "H-hey... no tears. My body hurts enough, don't make my heart weep as well." "Miles... I'm so sorry... I... I..." She turns and runs out of the tent, crying all the way. Well... fuck. I lay back and try to cope with the pain, but every second feels like hours as the pain burns away at my body. Soon a couple of nurses and a doctor walk into the room and start to try to fix me up. They start by trying to give me a blue potion, but when I try to swallow it, I immediately throw it up, causing me to open some huge wounds on my chest and neck area. They next try a white paste substance on my wounds, but it stings like all forms of new pain. I think I punched the doctor in a fit of pain... hope not. The last thing they try is to simply wrap up my wounds in gaze strips, it hurts, but I power through it and eventually end up being almost completely wrapped up. When they finish up, they leave the tent and talk to someone outside. I try to listen, but I can't really hear or understand what is being said. The tent flap opens up and I see Storm walk in. He's covered in blue and red stains and looks as if he hasn't slept in a while. "What's up brother?" "Miles... how are you feeling?" he asks quietly as he takes a seat next to me. "I've had better days... how are the girls?" "They're good... worried sick about you, but good." "D-damn... I don't like making others worry... what happened to Luna?" "She's disappeared, kind of. Celestia knows where she's at, but she doesn't want to talk to anypony right now." Fuck, I need to talk to her and let her know everything will be alright. "Miles..." "Y-yeah." "They want to try something, but there's a big chance it won't work. If it doesn't, you may be like this for a while." "Really... alright... l-let’s give it a try." "Don't you want to know what it is first?" "Does it matter? I'll find out soon enough, let’s give it a try." He gives me a look before he walks out of the tent. Hopefully this won't be too painful, I don't know how much more of this I can take. He comes back in with a wheelchair... aw come on. This is going to suck. We spend what feels like hours getting me into the chair, the entire time I fight trying not to pass out from the pain of my entire body screaming at me. Once I'm in, Storm wheels me out of the tent. I think I'm in some recovery area. There are lots of tents and ponies running around. Some are being treated while some are running around, trying to find loved ones, looking for doctors, some just look like they're in a daze. "How bad was it?" "It could’ve been worse. Once their queen was destroyed by Princess Luna, they either retreated or died fighting. I don't think we'll hear from them for a long time." "Hmm... how many casualties?" "Uh... well... about nine thousand dead and some twelve thousand wounded." "Yeah... could’ve been worse..." We roll up to an open field where we find the girls and Princess Celestia standing in the center of a mass of ponies. The girls have on jewelry that seems oddly familiar... no, how would they have access to Project Harmonize, that would be impossible. "Miles, I cannot thank you enough for what you have done for Equestria today," Celestia says to me in a formal manner, "thanks to your actions, Canterlot stands, I stand, the ponies of Equestria stand. So to show you our appreciation, I am making you a knight of Equestria and healing you with the Elements of Harmony..." "NOO!" I yell, making me double over in pain. Celestia falls silent from my outburst as I hear mumbles from all around. "Miles, what’s wrong?" Storm asks from my side. "That's impossible... those can't be the Elements of Harmony... they can't be..." "Miles," Twilight says as she approaches me from the line up, "what's wrong? What's..." Before she finishes I reach out and quickly take the tiara off of her head, getting gasps from everyone. I look it over, feeling the energy from within. Yup... this is mine... how... but... I need answers. "How do you have my Elements, and where are the others?" Celestia walks up to me and looks down at me for a second before she can answer. "What do you mean, your Elements? These were made by the best pony magic over... three thousand years ago... Storm Cloud, could you wheel him into a nearby tent, I'd like to have a word with him in private. Twilight, bring the other bearers." The entire time Celestia says this, I just look over the element, this one is magic. I can't believe that this is back in my hands, after all those years of research, failed attempts, I finally have it back in my hands. When I look back up I notice that we've moved inside a tent, it's just me, the girls and Celestia. "Where did you get these?" I ask calmly. "Like I said, they were made..." "WHO MADE THEM!? WHERE DID THEY COME FROM!?" I yell, making my neck bleed a little. "Miles... please stop yelling, if you don't mind that is..." Fluttershy says from behind Applejack. "Sorry... it's just... I made these. This was my greatest accomplishment, and it was taken away from me. I need to know where you got these." "How do we know that you’re the creator of the Elements of Harmony?" Celestia says. I look to the gem in my hand and start to tighten my hold onto it, making it crack. "What are you doing!" Celestia yells, but I ignore her and continue to squeeze the gem. Soon the gem shatters and falls to the ground in countless pieces. I look around to see everyone staring at me with their jaws hanging as low as physically possible. I take a few of the shards and hold them against my chest, sending waves of relief throughout my body. Once it drains out, I pick up some more and do it again until I'm completely healed. "Believe me now?" I ask as I stand before them. "H-h-how did... YOU JUST BROKE THE ELEMENT OF MAGIC!" Celestia yells. "Do you really think that you can destroy an element that resides in all of us?" I ask as I flare my hands, good to have that back. I walk over to a nearby table where I find a small gem. I pick it up and start to feed some energy into it, with the meaning of magic flowing through my mind. Soon the gem glows a soft purple as I finish filling it. "See, you can't destroy..." I start to say, but stop when the gem starts to vibrate. It shakes from side to side and begins shining brightly. I have to turn my head away to shield my eyes. When it stops shining I look back to see that it turned back into the tiara. "Strange..." "Miles, I need answers, what's going on?" Celestia asks, as I take a seat in the wheelchair and look over the tiara. "So that's why it never worked... they needed a host. That makes perfect sense..." "Miles!" "Project Harmonize." "What's that?" Pinkie Pie asks as she dives her head into a bag of food. "Pinkie, where did you get that popcorn?" Rarity asks. "I dunno." "Project Harmonize... was my masterpiece... I don't really know where to start..." "Just start from the beginning," Twilight says as they all take a seat to listen. "We'll... I guess it started when I went to dinner..." Topaz Falls, July 20th 1124 I can't believe midterms are finally over! I still don't believe I passed pre-purge history with an A. Thank you Tenera for forcing me to study all those hours. Dare invited me and Sine to go to his parents’ place for dinner - apparently Dare's parents want to celebrate our passing another year while making dean’s list. So here we are in Dare's car, driving down the freeway to Dare's parents’ house. "Dude, it's pretty nice that your parents want to treat us to dinner," I say from the back seat. "Yeah man, I thought your parents hated us to be honest," Sine says from shotgun. "Please, my parents don't 'hate' anyone. Think nothing of it, this is our treat for you guys being such great friends, and being the only available people to attend." "Yeah, convenient that everyone else had something to do today," Sine says as he looks out the window. "Hey, their loss," I say as I sit back and enjoy the ride. We pull of in the northern district and head towards a large building in the distance. We park in a circular structure that stacks our car high up in the building. We follow Dare into the building where we stop as soon as we enter. This place... is overly fancy. Everything looks as if it's overly embellished and expensive. This room is a platform station, having several platforms against the walls. There's art hanging on the walls and expensive looking furniture filling the center of the area. The flooring is pure marble and reflects the solid gold chandelier above. "Dude... I knew your parents were rich... but what the fuck..." Sine says. "I say!" scoffs an elderly lady as she walks past us. "Yeah... we're... comfortable. It's not that different from the Parliament building." "Maybe to you, but this is coming from an orphan and the son of an A/C repair man - no offense," Sine says to me as we start to walk in towards a Mico platform, with a crest behind it of a diamond with a sash going around the bottom, with LIBERE engraved in it. "None taken, I take it this is your floor?" I say. "Yeah - guys look, my parents are cool and all, but they're really old school, so watch your mouths." "Ha, good fucking luck!" Sine says as he steps onto the platform and flashes away. This is going to be a long day. "Miles?" "I'll try my best, but I'm not guaranteeing anything," I say as I step onto the platform. I flash away and appear in a small waiting room, with overly cushy chairs sitting against the walls. Sine has already taken a seat and has his feet on a chair he pulled up to him. I walk over to him and gently kick his feet down. "Seriously?" "What? I'm tired. I'm sure the Libere's won't mind." Before I can answer, Dare flashes into the room and walks in. "Well, let’s meet my family." We follow him through a door and walk down a hallway that's filled with various paintings. I was never one for art, at least not paintings, but even I can see the expertise in these. We make it to the end of the hall where Dare takes a deep breath before entering the room. "Oh, there's my little Dary wary!" says a middle aged blonde woman wearing a tight white dress, as she gets up and runs up to Dare, wrapping him up in a big hug. "Hey Mom, good to see you." Dare says as he returns the hug. "Dary... wary... fu—" Sine starts, but stops when I put a hand over his mouth. "Later." The room we're in seems to be a living room, with a couch, table and massive television taking up the wall to the left. Everything in here, just like everything else in this building, is overly embellished, mostly with gold. "Oh, and these must be your little friends, I am Semper Agens Libere, but everyone just calls me Sal," She says as she lets go of Dare and shakes our hands. "Dare has told me so much about all of you, please come in, make yourselves at home. Dinner will be ready shortly - OH! Let me fetch your father," she says as she runs off into the house. Sine leans over to me and says "Dude... total milf." "You’re sick. So, Dary Wary..." "Do you want to die?" "Well, I did join the military." We share a small laugh as a middle aged man walks into the room. He's wearing a red sweater and has light tan slacks on. He extends a hand to us and shakes our hands, but doesn't say anything. "This is my husband Dat Libere, you'll have to excuse him though, he lost his ability to speak during a mining incident when he was young. Now if you'll follow us, dinner is ready." We follow her into the dining room where silver trays hold our expertly made food. Didn't know you could take goo and make it into molds of art... whatever, tastes good either way. "So, Miles, Dare tells me you’re quite the success story." "Did he now?" I say, looking over to him. "To come from such a horrid background and to become one of the top students at Stella Ficor, I'm impressed." "Well, I had lots of help from my friends." "Yeah right, besides Tenera, we help you about as much as a..." "So!" Dare interrupts. "What do you plan on taking next semester, Miles?" "I don't know, I was thinking of doing something like advanced enchantments, or modern to postmodern historical accounts." "Oh, that sounds interesting, what would you focus on if you took enchanting?" Sal asks. "Well..." "Maybe you can see if there is a way to make people work together," Sine says jokingly. "Like mind control?" Dare asks. "Maybe find a way to see how people interact, like make one that always makes you happy!" Sal says jokingly. "Yeah, and then I'll make one that can force you to tell the truth all of the time, oh, wait, that's what we have Sine for." We all share a laugh and finish dinner, talking idly about school and military stuff. "You know what that as...cot Altum told me?" Sine says to me. "He said that our group was a one in a million, all getting into the Spartan regiment together. That he had to double check our scores to make sure we didn't cheat, you believe that?" "What do you expect, he's a sadistic power monger." I say. "Miles! That's no way to speak about your dean," Sal says. "Mom, it’s true. Ever since Miles was brought to Stella Ficor, Altum has had some secret agenda to either get Miles and us in trouble, or to make him do something abnormally painful." "I'm sure he's just trying to push you all to do your best. And I think it's working. I haven't seen a unit perform as good as you guys since... well, never actually." Dat raises a glass and takes a drink, I think he's agreeing. "A true diamond in the rough, if I say so myself." "We're no different than anyone else. We perform just as anyone else would," I say. "Oh posh. If that were the case, then we wouldn't be three kilometers underground - I'm telling you, there's something about your little group." "Mom, I think you've had too much." "I'm just a little tipsy, why don't you take your friends to your room to play while I finish the dishes down here?" "Yeah Dare! Let’s go play!" Sine says sarcastically as he runs off into the house. "You don't know where you’re going! Sine. SINE!" Dare says as he runs after him. I get up to follow them out when an idea hits me. What does make us different? August 11th 1126 "Miles? Miles, where are you?" Tenera calls out. "I'm back here!" I yell from my work bench. I've been spending the past few months in the military enchanting workshop, a musty old stretch of workbenches filled with various tools and gems, with various workers enchanting and disenchanting. "Miles, why have you been spending all of your free time in this dusty old workshop?" I look over and nearly fall over. "What's with the dress?" She's wearing an all yellow strapless dress that ends just before her knees. She has her hair loose and is blushing heavily. "Oh, you don't like it... I knew you wouldn't... I'll just go now..." "Tenera, I like it, it's very nice. I'm just not used to seeing you out of uniform." "Well... it was Fidus's idea..." "I figured. And to answer your question, I'm working on a secret project for the military." "Really? What's it about?" "Us." She blushes even more deeply when I say this and freezes in place. "I'm looking into what makes our group work so well. There's something about us that makes us function better than all of the other units, and I'm going to find it." "Oh... what do you mean by that? We're no different than anyone else." "I thought that too, but look at the numbers," I say as I pull out a tablet and show her some graphs. "No matter the test, no matter the obstacle, we not only come out triumphant, but with better results than anyone out there. But when we work on our own, we only score average marks. Something happens when we pull together and I'm close to finding out what it is." "What could possibly be special about us..." "Are you kidding?" I say as I set down the tablet. "Sine is physically unable to lie, Fidus is loyal no matter what, Dare would give the shirt off his back for anyone, you're easily the kindest person alive, we have something between us, and I'm close to solidifying it." "You really think I'm kind?" "Who else would help an idiot like me all these years?" "OY!" yells a mechanic from behind, "either take your girlfriend outta here, or get back to work!" Tenera and I immediately turn red and look to one another. "I should get going..." "Yeah, I've got work to do sooo..." Tenera quickly walks out of the room, where I hear her argue with Fidus - what could she have asked? I ignore it and get and get back to my notes. July 20th 1129 I'm in the testing chambers, standing behind a blast shield next to Altum. The room we're in is fairly small, devoid of anything other than a small stand, some lights, and twelve gems sitting in the stand with power cables attached to them. I look back to the wall behind me and flip a switch, sending energy to the gems. They begin to glow their appropriate colors and lift into the air. Come on... work... KA-BOOM "Fucking dammit!" I yell as I walk out from the blast cover to the now destroyed stand. I've perfected solidifying the twelve elements, but whenever I try to use them all at once, they explode. I have no fucking clue what's going wrong. I walk up to the stand and kick some of the debris around. "WHY... WON'T... YOU... WORK!?" "Maybe your little project is too advanced for you," Altum says as he walks out from the cover. "Don't start with me, Altum!" "Well... today is a bust, why don't you go home and we'll call it..." "No, I'm going to get this to work, just give me some more time." "Miles, it's been five years. I need results or I'm pulling the plug." "What? No, I'll get results, just give me another try." I plead, making Altum smile. "Well... one more, if nothing new happens then I'm pulling the plug, got it?" "One more, it'll work this time, I promise." I run behind the shield and pull out my bag. I pull out twelve more gems and set them on the ground beside the platform. I spend the next half hour filling the gems with the appropriate energies. Honesty. Kindness, Anger, Jealousy, Magic. When I finish enchanting them I connect the power supply and walk behind the shield. "It better work." "It will." It has to. I flip the switch and watch the gems glow. They begin to lift into the air where they hold a few centimeters off the ground. Come on... work dammit. They give a little shake and turn bright white. "Fuck yes! Transformation!" They continue to glow until they drop to the ground with a solid thud. I quickly turn the power off and walk out to them. They seemed to have turned into balls of white stone, each with markings on them. "Is that it?" Altum says as he looks at the stones. "Do you even know what it is?" "IT, is a giant waste of my time and the military's time. I'm pulling the plug on thi—" "But we just made them, you can't end this now! Not when..." "The military has no interest in making gems turn to rock. It's over Miles, I'm taking your research and putting it on ice." He motions to the wall where a door swings open and some MP's walk in. Two of them keep me back as the other two collect my elements and put them into a duffle bag. "Altum, you can't do this! I was so close! Altum!" I yell as the two MP's hold me back from ripping his head off. Once they collect the gems and Altum walks out of the room, the two guards let me go, right after a few punches to the gut. I was so close. I finally got them to take form... that fucking asshole, I'll make him pay for this. September 9th 4132 When I finish telling everyone about my project, the room falls silent. Everyone stares at me in disbelief of what happened all those years ago. I look back to the element of magic and look it over some more. The actual gem resembles Twilight's mark while the rest of it looks to be made of gold. I wonder where it takes the gold from. There's no way it just creates it from nothing. "There's one thing I don't get... actually I don't get a lot of it, but there's one major thing I don't understand," Twilight says, "if you created the Elements of Harmony in Topaz Falls... how did they end up here?" "I don't know, when Altum took them from me he had them locked up in the city archives... my best bet is when the city was attacked they tried to move them to another city, where they were lost along the way, but that's still a long shot." "Why's that?" Rainbow Dash asks. "We would never go to the surface during a move. We would dig our way to the next city. So if what I said is true, then how did they get above ground?" "I don't know... all I know is a pony gave them to me and my sister when Discord came to power. And all I know about the ponies that gave them to me is that they came from Roam. Other than that, they've been a complete mystery to me..." Celestia says as she thinks deeply about this. I look around at the looks of deep concentration on all of their faces. As much as I want to figure this out... I want to find Luna more. "Well... it doesn't matter now. You have them, and hopefully you'll use them properly. I'm going to head out..." "What!? Where are you going?" Twilight asks. "Well, I'm all healed up, I've got my magic back, and there are a lot of hurt people out there. I think it's time to get back to work." I will help a few out, so it's not a total lie. I really just want to get out there and find Luna. "Well... alright. But when this is all settled I want to have a word with you about the elements. We will also need to discuss your knighthood," Celestia says as she stands up. "You know where to find me," I say as I walk out of the tent. Author's Note Shout out to PTTN for picking who woke up Miles. Thanks for reading and like always, Brony on!
Chapter 48 My PromiseChapter 48 My Promise When I walk outside I notice two things immediately: it's night, and there's a party going on. There's a beat coming from a set of large speakers behind a mass of ponies dancing in the open square. I turn and run back into the tent, crashing into Celestia and falling to the floor. When I hit the floor I waste no time crawling behind her, trying to get as far away as possible. "*gasp* A PARTY!" Pinkie Pie yells as she runs straight out into the mass of celebrating ponies, sending shivers down my spine. "Why are they partying!? What's going on!? How did we not hear the music before!?" I ask in a panic. "Well, we did just win a fight. And when they started I put a sound barrier on the tent... are you going to be alright?" Celestia asks as she turns back to face me. "What? Yeah I'll be fine, why wouldn't I be, it's just another party, not like I'm going to die from a party heh heh... or will I?" Celestia giggles a bit as she looks out the flap. "Well it's good to see everypony enjoying themselves after such a horrid day. Well, Miles I'll let you be, I think I'll join the festivities." She says as she walks out of the tent, followed by most of the girls, leaving me and Twilight. "Are you sure you're alright?" Twilight says as she walks up to me. "Just fine... go ahead and have fun, I'm sure Storm wants to dance." "Yeah... but what about you?" "I've found a corner to hide in, I'll be good." "Miles..." "Seriously though, the past few days have been... pretty daunting. I think I'll sit this one out to relax a bit, go have some fun." She looks between me and the door before she walks out of the tent. I sigh in relief of not having to go, and walk over to a nearby cot. I lay down and try to take my mind off of the... event outside. Perspective: Storm As Celestia and the others went inside the tent to speak with Miles, I decided to get a shower. I see a shower station on the other side of the encampment and start to walk towards it. As I walk, I make my way around the mass of dancing ponies while the next song starts to play. I know this one, it's one of those new rock and roll songs. I heard it before at a concert, I can't believe they got the band to play here today, or was their concert cancelled and they just decided to play here instead? I look around but can't see any of the band members, they must be at crowd level. I wonder how long they're going to perform. I mull it over in my head as I make my way to the showers. "You there! You! Where ya goin'?" I turn to see a brown earth pony running up to me. He has a dark brown mane and tail, both of which are wrapped in foil, and a cardboard box for a cutie mark. He smells as if he's slept in dumpsters for most of his life and washed his teeth in rum. "Uh... I'm heading..." "Watch out for the zombies! They tend to bite! What's that? OH! Right, my friend here says to also stay away from the giant eggs, they are filled with war and misery!" "O... kay... and where is this friend of yours?" "He's right here," he says as he points to the empty space next to him, "isn't that right Mr. McBumpkin? What's that? I don't think so... well of course I'll tell him about the aliens... no, the ants are nowhere near as important as the metal spiders... well of course... okay, okay, volcanos are just as bad... well what can he do about the moon?" As he continues to babble to... his friend, I slowly step away from him. He's nuttier than squirrel poop. I duck behind some tents and wait for him to walk off before I head to the showers. The showers are simple personal stalls that go up about six feet. I find an empty stall and start to rinse all of the grime off. "AND ONE MORE THING!" He yells as he jumps on top of the door and points down to me. I nearly have a heart attack from his sudden appearance. "All hail the king!" He drops down and runs off, yelling something about crop circles and government conspiracies. What the buck... why do all of the crazies find me and decide that I need to hear all of their crazy mumbo jumbo... I turn back to my shower and try to relax a little when the door opens behind me. "Occupied," I say in an annoyed voice. "I think you'll make an exception this time." I turn back to see Twilight standing behind me, standing clear of the water. FWOOSH "Does that mean I can stay?" "Twilight... yeah... I mean, uh..." Twilight giggles as she comes in all the way and gives me a solid kiss. I take her in my hooves and return the kiss, pulling her in with a twist so I'm looking down at her. She gives a little eep, but quickly recovers and goes back to kissing me. I end the kiss earlier than I want to as I look down to her. She's looking at me with lustful eyes as a stream of water runs down the side of her red cheeks. Her mane is going straight back due to the water, leaving a single strand going along the right side of her head. "Take me." "But... what if someone hears?" She rolls her eyes as she begins to use her magic. Suddenly, a light purple barrier appears around us. It takes form along the walls and still allows the water to fall on us. "There, nopony can hear us now." "One last thing... I don't have a condom." "That's alright. I went and got something for that a while ago. Now take me." Without needing another word, I dive back to kissing her, getting her to throw her hooves around my neck. As our lips meet, I lay her on the ground and get on top of her, running my hooves along her sides as I start to position myself. I break the kiss to look down and watch my member spread her already wet love as I start to enter her, getting a soft gasp from Twilight. I take my time entering, the last time I went in too fast and ended up hurting her a bit. When I'm as far in as her body will let me, I look back to her to see the pleasure in her eyes. I begin to pull out, only to push back in before I come completely out, getting light moans from Twilight below. I keep a slow pace at first, but decide to pick things up when I see the hunger in her eyes. I bury my face in her neck as I start to quicken my pace, losing myself in the euphoria of her velvety walls. I can feel her tightening her grip, both around my neck and my member as I start to thrust faster into her. I can feel her hot breath on my neck as she begins to pant, grinding her hips in motion with me. "Storm... ah... harder... buck me harder..." Twilight says, making me lose it. I pick her up as I rear up and slam her into the wall behind me, thrusting into her with all of my strength. Twilight lets out a small scream before she buries her face into my mane, holding onto me with all her might. I thrust furiously into her, getting loud moans in my ear with every push I make. As I go, I feel her love begin to grab hold of my member as she hits her climax, letting out a loud gasp as she sprays her love's juices out. I pump into her for a bit until I stop feeling her spraying out. I set her down on all fours, where she lets her front half fall to the ground but manages to keep her flank in the air. I walk behind her and bring my face to her folds. I start to lick up the leftover juices, savoring the sweet nectar - sadly the water is washing most of it away, but I can still taste it. I work from the upper parts of her legs to the area around her folds, teasing it by blowing softly onto it. "More... Storm..." Twilight pants. "What's the magic word?" "Really... please?" she asks plainly. I lean back in and blow gently onto her, sending a shiver down her body. "Nope, you have to ask nicely," I say, making Twilight wiggle in front of me in frustration. "Please." "What was that?" "Please..." "Please what?" "PLEASE BUCK ME WITH YOUR MASSIVE COCK!" With a satisfied smile I jump onto her back and prod her entrance, teasing her just a little more. She tries to back into me, but I pull back. I put my hooves on her flanks and ram back inside her, getting a loud yell from her. I start to push and pull her in motion with my thrust, making her yell in a fit of pleasure. As I get to work, I look down to see Twilight's face; her eyes are lazily open as her tongue has rolled out of the side of her open mouth. She has her hooves against the wall across from us, trying to hold me back from rutting her into the wall. I feel the tension start to build up in my member as I near my climax, simultaneously I can feel Twilight nearing another one as well. "In or out?" "In... I want it inside..." I slam harder and harder into her, getting loud slaps from my sack as it slaps her cheeks with every thrust in. I feel the tension build higher and higher until it finally hits its peak. With a loud moan I shoot my load into her, jolting back as the waves of pleasure take over. At the same time, I feel Twilight squirt out again, getting a loud scream. As I finish I pull out and fall beside her, panting from my ecstasy. Twilight finally drops her flank and rolls to her side to look back to me. We stare at each other for a bit, panting and letting the water wash over us. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK Twilight and I look to each other in total fear as somepony starts talking to us from behind the door. "Now that you two are done... can I take a shower now? All of the other ones are taken..." says a male voice from outside. "I thought you put up a sound barrier." "I did..." "Yeah, you put one up that made things louder," says the voice outside, "we heard everything." Twilight turns absolutely red as she freezes up from embarrassment. "Maybe you should turn the barrier off now," I say to Twilight. She shines her horn and makes the light purple barrier disappear. I shuffle next to her and wrap her up in my hooves. "You going to be alright?" I whisper to her. "What if somepony recognized my voice? Or if Shining overheard? I would never be able to face him again..." "Hey, hey, it's going to be alright. I never said your name, maybe with your voice being louder nopony would be able to recognize your voice. Let's just teleport out of here, and hope for the best, alright?" "What if Celestia drops me as her prized student? What if she banishes me from Equestria? What if - MMmm!" As she starts to panic I stop her by planting a kiss on her lips, making her melt in my hooves. "If she banished you, then I'd banish myself with you." "Really?" she asks with a hopeful look. "I promise." She looks away for a second before she gives me a kiss on the nose. "Are you two even in there anymore? Can I shower now?" asks the voice from outside. Twilight gives me a smile as she brings forth her magic. She gives me a passionate kiss as she teleports us out of the stall. Perspective: Miles I finally calm down enough to start making a plan to find Luna. If she wanted to be alone, I doubt she'd be near the... event outside. I also don't think she would be near the city, what with the chance of the enemy still being there. I get up and sneak out of the tent, and make my way out of the refugee center. I look around the surrounding area to try and find the best possible place she would be. This area is mostly mountain terrain, so my best bet would be higher up. I set my sights for the top of the mountain. Once I'm clear of any prying eyes I flare my heels and start to launch myself up the mountain. Landing in the dark is pretty nerve-racking, a couple of times I nearly land in a tree or bush, only to jet myself out of the way at the last possible second. The higher I get, though, the less I have to worry about plant life, and the more I worry about the jagged rocks. My final leap sends me a few meters away from the top, so I decide to walk the rest of the way up. The area around the top is barren, with no plant life and smooth rocks filling the area. I finally find Luna lying ahead of me. She's facing away from me, looking up at the moon. There seems to be a faint glow about her as the moon shines down on her. I can see the stains of tears on the rocks below her and along her cheeks. I walk up quietly behind her and look up to the moon. "It’s a beautiful night." Luna seems a little startled by my presence, but doesn't show it for long. "Yeah... I thought that you would appreciate it... it's the least I could do..." "I love it, thank you." I sit beside her and lean back, taking in the view of the sky. There seem to be more stars out tonight, each of them shining brightly against the dark void. "Miles... I'm so sorry..." "It's alright Luna..." "How can you say that!? I nearly killed you. I..." "Only did what I told you to do." I interrupt. "I was the one who told you to fire, and I was the one who decided to hold her in the line of fire. If anything I should apologize to you for getting in the way and making you feel so bad." Luna looks over to me as new tears start to form in her eyes. "No, I fired, and I shouldn't have used that much power. I didn't even know I could use that much power. I'm to blame and..." "And I know how you can make it up to me." She gives me a confused look as I lay back and look up at the stars. After a few seconds she pokes at my sides. "Well? What do I have to do?" "Dinner." "Dinner?" "Yup, dinner. Just you and me. Whatever you want, whenever you want." I put on a sly smile as she starts to put one and one together. "You mean... a date." "Yeah... what do you say?" "I... I... yes." "Yes?" I ask as I sit up and face her. "Yes," she says as she wipes a few tears away. I reach over and pull her into a hug, I can't believe she said yes, given after everything we already did I shouldn't be, but still. She fucking said yes! "Miles... too tight..." she says as she taps on my shoulder with her wing. I let her go and rub the back of my head. "Sorry about that... so..." "I'm sorry, but it will have to wait a few days. It will happen, but I must be here for all my little ponies, but I promise that we will have our date." "I completely understand... so... uh..." "Yeah?" she asks as she leans in a little. "Well... uh... fuck it." I lean over to her and give her a quick kiss. She reels back a bit, but immediately kisses me back. She puts a hoof on my chest as she pushes me down on my back. She lays completely on top of me as we continue to make out. I rest a hand on her cheek and another on her shoulder, gently rubbing her side. When I open my mouth a little I feel something foreign and stop kissing her. "Something wrong?" Luna asks. "What was that?" "It... was my tongue..." "Really?" "Did you..." "I like it, let’s try that again." She giggles a little as I lean in and give her a few more kisses, before I try it out myself. I reach into her mouth and explore the new area, meeting her tongue instantly. Hers is a lot wider than mine. It's a little rough as well, but the way she wraps it around mine makes me melt. We continue to explore each other’s mouths until we have to separate for air. "Wow..." Luna says as she pants a little. "Yeah... amazing." "Miles, there's one more thing we need to talk about - you haven't told anypony about us, have you?" "No, I thought we had to keep things a secret." "Yes, we do, because if we're caught doing this, bad things will happen to you." "Bad things? Why?" "Because that's the law. If somepony were to touch one of the royal sisters, they would be put into prison for a very long time. There are a few exceptions, but you don't fall under any of them. If we were to be caught together, they would do unspeakable things to you." "Like what?" "Well, touching without permission would mean banishment. Kissing me would lead to you getting your... thing removed. And if we're ever caught making love, they would have you humiliated publicly and then hanged." "Wow... really...?" "Do you still wish to be with me, knowing the risk of being caught?" she asks nervously. I think about it for a second before I put both of my hands onto her cheeks. "For you, any risk is worth the reward. I promise that no matter the risk, I will always find a way to be there for you." Luna smiles and gives me one last kiss before she stands up. I wait for her to step away from me before I stand up and follow her down the side of the mountain. As we walk I start to reflect on what she told me - by their standards, I should be neutered by now... it would be totally worth it. Author's Note Shout out to blahblahblah for picking the song (Loyalty by Acoustic/Mando Brony) Thanks for reading and like always, Brony on!
Chapter 49 A Day At The LakeChapter 49 A Day at the Lake As Luna and I walk down, I take this chance to really admire her form. I can see every muscle twist and turn under her beautiful blue body as she walks beside me. I think she noticed me looking, ‘cause now she's walking with a little pep in her walk. Swaying her hips from side to side as she puts a little spring in every step. "Enjoying the view?" Luna asks as she stops and turns to me. "Yeah... still am." She shakes her head a little as she continues to walk off. I watch her walk for a second before an idea hits me. "Hey Luna, is this mountaintop visited a lot?" "No, I might be one of the only ones to come up here, why?" she asks as she turns back to me. I turn away from her as I flare my magic and slam my hands into the ground before me, creating a small cave; being large enough to fit about four people. "Miles... what are you doing?" I walk into the small cave and kneel in the center of the room. I lay my palms on the ground and start to pour my energy into the ground, making white flames circle around me. I spend several minutes feeding the energy until I'm satisfied with the results and stand back up. "Miles, what..." "Can you teleport me home real quick?" "You’re leaving...?" "Just for a few minutes, I'll be right back, promise." She looks at me skeptically but complies, flashing me into the center of my living room. I walk upstairs to my room, where I lay my rifle on the bed and go through the drawers. Afterward I change my pants and put on a new shirt, before I head into the secret room in my closet. I kneel down and start enchanting the floor, creating another ring of white flames. Once I finish I step back and wait for the flames to burn out, leaving an archaic circle on the ground. Here goes nothing - I walk into the center of the circle and wait. After a few seconds I flash back into the cave, scaring Luna. "Ahh! Miles? How did you get here?" "I teleported of course," I say as I walk out of the circle. "This is called a Mico platform. We used them in Terradisia to teleport from place to place, mostly going up tall buildings." "Why wouldn't you just teleport yourselves the way we do?" "We can't. No one has ever teleported themselves or someone else by hand, we have to use a platform to do it. There are actually a lot of things we can only do with platforms." "That's a little inconvenient...so where does this go exactly?" She asks as she looks over the archaic text. "Why don't you give it a try and find out?" She looks between me and the platform before she slowly walks into the center of the platform, holding her eyes closed tightly the entire time. When nothing happens she opens her eyes and looks around. "I think you bro—" Before she can finish she flashes out of the cave. I laugh at the timing and wait for the text to turn back to black. When it does, I step on and teleport back to my house. I flash into the room to find Luna backed against the wall, looking as if she just saw a ghost. "You alright?" I say with a small laugh. "Y-yeah... it just caught me off guard." "Well, whenever you want to come visit, you can take the platform. It's hidden, and no one will be able to detect you using magic, so it's secretive." Luna finally walks away from the wall, keeping clear of the Mico platform, and looks around the room a bit. "Where are we?" I walk over to the door and push it open. I walk through the door and into my closet. "We are in my closet," I say as I open the next door and walk into my room. I wait by the door and wait for Luna to walk in. She walks in slowly, blushing deeply as she steps in. "You alright?" "Yes... it's just... I've never been invited to somepony's bedchamber before." "Oh sweet Barbra..." I didn't realize how I set that up until just now. This may be problematic later... or fucking awesome. "Miles... who’s Barbra?" THUD After hearing a crash in another room I pull out my revolver and head over to the door. I check the hall before I walk out and begin to do checks on the rooms. The right room is clear, so I move to the next one. I slowly open the door and see some figures on the floor. I slam the door open and take aim at the figures in the dark. "Identify yourself!" I yell at them. "WHOA! Don't shoot, don't shoot, it's us. Twilight and Storm!" Twilight lights her horn to show the two of them laying on the ground, soaking wet. "Why are you both wet?" Luna asks from behind as I holster my weapon. "Umm... why are you here with Miles... alone?" Twilight asks. Everyone stays silent, obviously not wanting to tell the truth. After a few awkward silent moments go by I start to get antsy... "Well... Luna here decided to... teleport me home?" I say as I look to her for help. "Yes! Miles didn't want to go to the party -" *shiver* "-so he asked me to take him home. I came along to... to... uh..." "To make sure I was completely healed! She felt bad that I was injured, being shot by her and all, so she came with to check up on me." We both put on the most convincing smiles we can muster as we wait for one of them to respond. They stare at us for a second before they start to get up. "Well... okay. Whatever you say," Storm says as he helps Twilight up. "So why are you wet?" Luna asks, making them freeze up and blush heavily. "Well... I uh... was taking a shower and..." "He couldn't get his back because he hurt himself! So I came and helped him," Twilight interrupts. "Why wouldn't you just use your magic?" Luna asks. Because they were too busy fucking, that's why. This game is getting too easy with these two. "Well... I..." Twilight stammers. "She was too tired from the fight today to use her magic! So she helped me in the shower herself... but then... uh..." "Then somepony thought we were doing... naughty things... so I teleported us here, and here we are." They try to give us convincing smiles but I can see right through their lies. I don't really care that they're trying to keep this a secret, I just want to know why. "Well, alright. I must be off now. It's been... awkward," Luna says as she starts to back out of the room. "Here, let me walk you out," I say as I usher her out, closing the door behind us. I walk her downstairs and to the door where she turns back to me. "So... I guess this is bye..." "Yeah..." "I'll try to make it over for our date as soon as possible, but it still might take some time..." "I'll be waiting." She shuffles her hooves and looks around a bit before she jumps up and gives me a quick kiss on the lips, then teleports out of the house. I turn back and lean against the door and savor the feeling for as long as possible. "What's got you in such a good mood?" Storm asks as he walks down the stairs, surprisingly dry. "Nothing... so how was the sex?" I ask, making Storm trip and fall down the rest of the stairs, landing on his stomach, sprawled out on the floor. "How did you know?" "Well, after walking in on you two during the act, and after that horrible act you just played out, I've got a pretty good idea of what happened." "Please don't tell anypony..." "Hey, I've got no one to tell, but I am curious, why the secrets?" He gets up and walks up to me, taking a seat against the door and sighing deeply. "Well, Twilight is the Element of Magic," he says in a serious tone. "...and?" "And the Elements of Harmony are a really big deal around here, so having sex with one of the bearers is kind of looked down upon." "Really? Huh... to be honest, I didn't make them to be taken that seriously. They were intended to be an equalizer for people, not some mystical objects of reverence and worship." "Yeah... wait... you made the Elements of Harmony?" he says as he slowly looks over to me. "No. The Elements of Harmony have always existed. I was simply the one to materialize them into a malleable form." "But... but... but..." "Look, I don't know all of the facts right now either. All I know is that somehow Celestia got a hold of them from some guy in a place called Roam." "You... you... you... you made... the Elements of Harmony..." "Yeah... wasn't that hard to do." Storm continues to stare at me in disbelief, so I ruffle his hair and start to head to bed. "I don't know about you, but I'm pretty beat. I'm going to bed now; I'll see you later." "You... you... you..." "Yeah... night then." I leave him to his stupor as I head to my room and close the door behind me. With a sigh I take my rifle and make a rack in my closet to hold it, as well as all of my other weapons. I remove my shirt and armor before I drop onto my bed. I lie there for a minute, going over everything that happened today, when I suddenly sense Luna scrying me. With a smile I bring my hands over my chest and make a heart with my fingers and thumbs, making her blink her presence once. I laugh softly at our little game and just lay there, staring at the ceiling until sleep takes over. When I awake I roll over and look out the window. It's fairly bright outside. I pull out my phone and look at the time. Twelve hundred hours... fuuuuck. There goes half the day. I roll out of bed and stretch a bit before I stumble for the restroom. After I finish my business I flush the toilet and... wait. When did I get running water? After getting dressed I walk out and head downstairs, where I find Twilight and Storm idly talking at the kitchen table and taking sips from mugs. "Hey, when did I get running water?" I ask as I take a seat at the table. "They brought in the line while we were at Canterlot," Twilight says as she takes a drink from her mug. "Oh... cool, I guess." "Want a cup of coffee Miles?" Spike says from the kitchen. "Spike, when did you get here?" "I actually arrived in Ponyville as Twilight and the others were heading to Canterlot," he says as he brings me a mug with some dark liquid inside. I take a sniff and decide to try it. "Wow... you managed to burn water..." "You don't like it?" Spike asks from beside me. "It smelled good... too bad it just didn't taste as good." "Maybe you should try it with some creamer, or some sugar. I can't drink it without adding a ton of stuff," Twilight says as she levitates some jars and other various things to try. I go ahead and try concoction after concoction. After my twentieth cup I finally give up. "Sorry guys, it's just not working for me." "Oh well, would you like anything else?" Spike asks as he heads back into the kitchen. "It's alright Spike, I was..." I started to say but stopped when my stomach yelled at me, getting everyone's attention. "Well, maybe something to eat." "Miles, when was the last time you ate?" Storm asks. I try to think about it, but stop when Spike drops a couple of baskets on the table. We all look over to him and wait for him to explain. "What? Did you already forget about the picnic at the lake?" "Oh my gosh, I totally forgot about it. I don't think anypony will be there though, with what happened yesterday," Twilight says to Spike. "Aw... but I worked really hard this morning to get all of the snacks ready," Spike pouts. "What’s a lake?" "Seriously?" Storm asks. "What part of 'underground civilization' don't you understand?" "See! Now we have to go. Miles would love it!" Spike says as he kneels before Twilight. "Come on Twi, we planned this weeks ago." "I don't know Spike, everypony just got back from a really big ordeal, I think we should just stay home and relax a bit today." "Hey I'm game, especially if there's going to be food," I say as I lean back in my seat. "It would be a lot of fun," Storm says, and we all look to Twilight. "Mmm... well... alright. Let's go to the lake." "Yes!" Spike yells as he jumps up and runs off to the kitchen. "Great, now would someone please tell me what a lake is?" "I think it would be better to show you instead," Storm says with a sly grin. "If it turns into a... social event... I'll..." "It won't be anything like that, I promise." I stare at him for a second before I stand up and grab the basket. "Alright, let’s go to the lake then," I say as I start to head out. "Miles, you don't know where you're going!" Twilight yells out. "Better hurry and catch up then!" I yell back as I walk out the front door and down the steps. I turn back and wait for them to follow me out, when I hear something land behind me. I turn around to see Rainbow Dash standing behind me with her bag on her hips. "Sup neighbor, going to the lake with us?" she asks as she walks up to me. I look around but can't seem to find any houses in sight. I look to her in confusion, making her roll her eyes and point a hoof up. I look up to see a giant house made out of clouds. "You live in that?!" "Yup, made it myself," she says proudly. Apparently clouds are solid, strange. "Cool. And to answer your question, yes. I'm just waiting on the three of them before we head out... by the way, what's a lake?" "DON"T TELL HIM!" Storm yells as he flies out of the house, carrying a basket under both his legs, followed by Twilight with Spike on her back. "What's going on?" Rainbow Dash asks as she looks between all of us. "Miles doesn't know what a lake is, so we're not telling him what it is until we get there. Are you all set to go, Rainbow Dash?" Twilight says as she joins the group. "I've been ready since yesterday, let’s get going!" she says as she jumps into the air and flies off. We start walking off - I don't really know where we're going, so I just follow Twilight and Storm from behind as I talk with Spike. "Is it something you eat?" "Umm... kind of. You can, but that's not what we're going to be doing." "Hmm... can I hold it?" "Sometimes." "Does it weigh more than me?" "Yeah." "Have I seen it already?" "I doubt it." "Uhmm... I really have no idea; can you just tell me what a lake is already?" "Don't!" Storm yells. "Don't worry, I'm not telling him the answer," Spike reassures. "Then stop answering his questions before he figures it out," Twilight says. "Fine." "Aw come on just tell... oh sweet Barbra..." As we come to the top of a hill I see it ahead of me. A large body of water just sitting there. It must be a kilometer wide and at least four kilometers long. The water is a deep blue and reflects the sun brightly, as ponies swimming in it make the surface bounce up and down. Without thinking about it I drop the basket and start to run towards the water, removing my shirt before I launch myself into the air. I start to drop in the center of the body of water and prepare myself for the impact. SPLASH The water hits me a lot harder than I thought it would, knocking the air out of me as it freezes me over instantly. As I start to sink I suddenly realize I'm the biggest idiot in the world - I can't swim, now can I? As my lungs start to burn from the lack of air I begin to panic, flailing my arms around in an attempt to get back to the surface, only to sink farther into the icy abyss. I flare my magic, sending two columns of bubbles from my hands as I push my hands up, sending a current of water up behind me. I breach the water’s surface and propel into the air a bit until gravity does what it does best and starts to pull me back down. I take in a huge gulp of air before splashing back down. I try to stay on the surface, but eventually start to fall back down into the depths of the water. Again I send myself into the air, getting myself closer to the ground with each leap. After about three or four leaps I finally hit shallow water. I start to walk back to land, greedily gulping air, as I see the group setting a red and white striped blanket down on the grass with an umbrella behind it. I make my way over and fall onto my back in front them. "Note to the wise... don't launch yourself into a large body of water... without knowing how to swim." "You jumped in there without knowing how to swim!?" Twilight says. "Bwuahahahahaha, wow Miles, that was pretty smart of you..." Rainbow Dash says as she rolls on her back in a fit of laughter. "Yeah... not my brightest moment..." "How about I teach you after we eat, alright?" Storm says. "Food, then intentional drowning, got it." I get up and take a seat at the blanket as Spike starts to set up all of the food he had made. Cookies, a purple beverage, some apples and carrots, some sandwiches. I waste no time diving in and trying different things. The sandwiches had something called peanut butter and jelly and were pretty good, but left me really thirsty. The punch was sweet, and even though I was told there wasn't alcohol in it, I still worried when Twilight drank it. As we ate, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Big Mac and the little ones - Sweetie Belle, Applebloom and Scootaloo - soon joined our group. Rainbow Dash was quick to tell them about my previous swimming failure, getting laughs from everyone. I smiled along and enjoyed a few apples. After a while Pinkie Pie pulled out a ball and asked if anyone wanted to play something called ‘volleyball’. Only a few of us volunteered to play, so it ended up being guys versus girls - Storm, Big Mac and I against Pinkie, Applejack and Rainbow. After they set the net and explained the rules, we started. Pinkie started by slamming the ball into the air and crashing straight into the net - our ball. Storm serves it and sends it between Applejack and Rainbow Dash, who both go for it at the same time. "Guys..." I say, getting both of them to run to me as Pinkie helps them up, "keep serving it between them." "Why?" Storm asks. "I'm fairly certain that they will never let one another get the ball without trying to go for it themselves. If they keep fighting for it, we'll score more easily.” "Eeyup," Big Mac says as he goes to serve. He gets the ball and sends it between them, only this time they both start to run towards it and stop, letting the ball hit the ground. "AJ! You totally let that one go!" "Ah thought you had it!" This is going to be easy. The game basically goes in our favor. After we score several more points, they finally figure out what we're doing and start playing as a team. We also had the unfair advantage of my height. Almost every serve they sent I was able to reach and set with total ease. They fought well, but as I spike the final point we cheer in our victory, eleven to five. "Aw... I hate losing," Rainbow pouts. "Ah, don't fret sugarcube, it was a good game," Applejack says to try to cheer her up. "Yeah, besides, it was totally fun!" Pinkie Pie yells as she cartwheels away. "Hey, good game," I say as we walk up to them. "Eeyup." "Yeah... I guess," Rainbow says as she gets up and walks to the blanket. "What now?" Storm asks as he steps before me. "We could play horseshoes," Big Mac suggests. "Why you would throw your shoes, I'll never understand," I say as I turn towards the water. "Dude, Storm, you said you'd teach me to swim, let's give that a try." "Alright, race ya!" he says as he and Big Mac run past me towards the water. I chase after them and jump back into the shallow water after them. After some roughhousing, Storm finally starts to show me how to swim. You basically have to kick the water away from you and pedal as quickly as possible. I try his method, but it seems more suited for a four legged creature. I make some modifications to what he showed me and finally can keep up with Storm, barely. "Yer a quick learner Miles," Big Mac comments as we float around the shallow end of the water. "Learn fast or die, that's what they told us during training." "Really? Weird. They told us to shut the buck up and stand straight," Storm says, making me laugh. "Hey Big Mac, Storm, Miles!" Applebloom yells from the shore standing next to her friends. "Can ya bring us in the water wit ya'll ta play chicken?" "What's that?" I ask. "It's a game where ya try ta knock somepony offa another pony's shoulders," Big Mac says. "Sounds like fun, let’s give it a try." They both agree and we go and take them into the water with us. Big Mac gets Applebloom, Storm gets Scootaloo, and I get Sweetie Belle. We play in the shallow water for their safety, and make it so I have to be on my knees. As Sweetie Belle and Applebloom wrestle with one another, I reach over and pull one of Big Mac’s legs out from under him, making both of them fall into the water. As I do this, Sweetie Belle lets out a high pitched EEP as she plunges into the water. "And the winner is SCOOTALOO!" Storm says as he flies up and lifts Scootaloo into the air, making her laugh and giggle as she gets cheers from the group on the blanket. He holds her up for a bit before he stops flapping his wings and falls into the water with her. We take them back to shore where everyone is enjoying something, games, food, the water, talking with one another. I lay next to the blanket and let the sun dry me off with its warm rays. This was a really good idea.
Chapter 50 Storm CloudChapter 50 Storm Cloud As I lie there I start to look around. Rainbow Dash has fallen asleep in a tree, and now Pinkie Pie is drawing stuff on her face. Twilight and Storm are under the umbrella, Twilight using her magic to dry him off with a towel. Big Mac, Applejack, and Fluttershy are drying off the little ones, while Rarity lectures them about being more ladylike. I sigh in contentment - again, with little effort on their part, I have found a group that makes me feel at home. For the first time since I've been here, I finally have a home. Twilight gives Storm a light peck on the cheek and grabs a marker to join Pinkie Pie in the tree. Storm walks over to me and lies on his back besides me. "Why can't we have more days like this?" he asks as he stretches out a bit. "Because then days like this would lose their appeal, and blend into the monotony of daily life." "...that was deep." "Thank you. I'm actually kinda proud of that one." We share a small laugh before falling silent. "There's been something I've been meaning to ask, but at the same time, I don't want to ask..." "I say ask. Leaving things bottled up for too long isn't healthy." "Well... do you know where your home is?" "Yeah." "Really?" I stretch out a bit and sigh deeply before I answer. "It's right here." "No, I mean it. Do you know where your home is, Topaz Falls?" "I don't have a clue where Topaz is, but that's not where my home is. They say home is where the heart is, and my heart is right here with my friends." "But... if you were to find Topaz Falls, what would you do?" "Well... I don't know. Part of me wants to go back, see if it still exists, find out what happened all those years ago. But the other part of me doesn't want to leave what I've got here. I don't know what I'll do if I find Topaz." Storm stays silent for a bit, thinking deeply about what I said. "Well... even if you decide to go, you better come back and at least visit." "Well duh, how else would I get to see my best friend?" I say, looking over to him. We share a smile before I give him a rather hard punch on the shoulder, making him roll over a bit. "OW... what was that for?" he says as he rubs the spot I hit. "That's for making things all mushy and awkward. Now we can either sit here and reminisce some more, or we can go and toss Twilight into the water, your call." He looks over to her and grows an evil smile on his face. "Alright, I'm in." We get up and walk up behind Twilight, getting Pinkies attention. I motion to Twilight, then the lake, making a massive smile appear on her face as she nods. I motion to Storm to hover at shoulder height with me as I grab his legs and make a net for Twilight. "Hey Twilight, catch me!" Pinkie says as she jumps onto Twilight, making her fall out of the tree and into our arms/legs. As soon as we catch them we start running/flying to the water. "Pinkie! Storm! MILES! AHHH!" she screams as we toss the two of them into the water. SPLASH We toss the two of them into the water, making a big splash and getting laughs from everyone behind us. Twilight and Pinkie finally stand up and look to each other. With a nod they both jump onto us and knock us into the water. As I try to get back up, Pinkie keeps splashing water into my face, so I quickly run up to her and pick her up. I jump back and drop my back into the water, holding onto Pinkie. When I come back up she somehow has gotten onto my shoulders. "MUSH!" She yells as she points forward. I look over to see Twilight and Storm still splashing each other, so I decide to join in. I stand up and turn around, letting my body, and Pinkie Pie, fall between the two of them. We come back up and share a laugh at our antics. "WOO! That was fun! Miles, give me another piggy back ride, please please please please please!" "Heh, maybe another time. I think I'm just gonna go for a swim." "Try not to drown," Storm says as helps Twilight to her hooves. "Numquam," I say as I start to swim out to deeper waters. Swimming has become easier for me now, I can even hover in deep water for a while. Swimming around is actually pretty relaxing, too. It's mechanical, soothing, it helps clear my mind. Topaz... What would I do if I found it? Should I be looking for it, or should I just let it fall into the recesses of my memories? Can I let it do that though, it was my home, and I need to know what happened all those years ago. But if I went down, would they allow me to come back to the surface? I stop swimming and float on my back to think harder on the subject, when I see Storm laying on a cloud watching the group. I take in a large breath of air and sink a little before I light my hands and send myself flying out of the water. "HEY STORM!" I yell as I try to land next to him, but fall straight through the cloud. In a panic I try to hold onto Storm, only to pull him through with me. "WHAT THE BUCK!" He yells as he kicks away from me. We both hit the water and I see him struggling to resurface, yeah, tell me not to drown. I swim down and grab him with one hand as I propel us towards the shore with the other. When we get to shallow waters Storm yanks his leg free of my grasp and flops onto the shore, panting for breath. "Yeah, good job drowning," I say jokingly as I lay next to him, getting a glare from him. He rears up and tries to slam his hooves onto my face, but I roll away before he strikes me. "What the buck is your problem you freak!?" he yells. "Calm down, it was..." "I nearly drowned you idiot!" "Storm, what’s going on?" Twilight says as she trots up to us. "Shut the buck up!" he yells at her, making her stop and stare at him in disbelief. I stand up and look down at him in confusion. "Storm, what’s up? Did something happen?" I ask as I see the mace on his side. "Yeah, some bucking idiot human tried to drown me! Now if you..." "Hey Twilight, where’s the..." Storm says as he runs up, but stops when he sees Storm. I rub my eyes and look back to them, two Storms, identical in every way. Same hair, body build, mark, I can't find anything different about them except for one being wet and an asshole. "Hey there, big brother. Long time no see. Having fun with my leftovers?" he says before he jumps into the air and flies away. I’m about to chase after him when Storm gets in the way. "NO! This is my fight; I'll do it alone. Take care of Twilight until I get back!" he says, before he follows him into the air and gives chase. I walk over to Twilight and sit beside her as I watch them fly into a faraway cloud. "Don't worry Twilight, Storm’s strong, he'll come through," I say as I put an arm around her shoulder. "I know he will, but which Storm will do it?" Perspective: Storm (The non-asshole one) I give chase to the imposter, gaining on him slowly. He has a large mace on his side that seems familiar, but I lose sight of it as we enter a large cloud. I fly forward for a bit, but when I lose sight of him I stop and hover in place. "Ahhahaha, I bet you have a few questions for me," he says from his cover. "Nope, I'm just gonna buck the crap out of you until I hear what I want to hear, no questions at all." I turn around as I hear a swish behind me, then another, then another, where are you? I fly up a bit when I think I saw him, but it ended up being a dark cloud. When I turn around I immediately drop a few feet to avoid his mace hitting my head. I charge back up and buck him in the gut, sending him back into the mist of the cloud. I try to charge after him, but lose him after a few seconds of flying in the cloud. I stop and look around, but can't seem to find any sight of him. I start to fly around, changing the cloud into a storm cloud. I hear him whiz by, but ignore it for now and continue to fly around until I create a massive storm of dark black clouds. "Hey, want to know my real name?" he yells out. "I want to buck the living hell out of you!" I yell back. "IT'S STORM BREAKER!" he yells as he comes out of the cloud cover and tries to hit me with his mace, swinging madly at me. I dodge back, trying to keep clear of his mace. I take a chunk of electrified cloud and toss it at him, only to have him kick it out of the air. "That's not going to work on me!" he yells as he swings at me again. I fly higher, dodging the attack, and buck the storm, sending arcs of electricity everywhere. I get struck once but remain airborne as the jolts of energy course through my body. When it finishes, I look down to see him hovering there, smoking slightly. I fly down to him and tackle him before he can bring his mace down on me. I push him back a bit and start to deliver punches to him, the gut, face, ribs, I punch away until he spins back and kicks me across the face. I stumble back and look up in time to see him bring his mace down onto my head. SMACK Falling... blood... a crash... Twilight crying... energy pouring into me... I jolt awake and punch forward, hitting Miles square in the jaw. I look around to see everypony standing around me, watching me with the deepest looks of concern. I don't recognize the area we're in, it looks to be a forest of some kind. I try to get up, but Miles puts a hand on my shoulder to hold me down. "Don't move, you've lost a lot of blood, you need rest." "What happened... where's Storm Breaker?" I ask. "Is that his name? Well, after you fell out of the cloud, we lost sight of him - sorry, but he's gone." "Damn... I... took a pretty bad hit, didn't I?" "Yeah... after you took a hit to the head you fell to the ground. We tried to catch you, but we couldn't get to you in time, sorry." "Don't be, not like you’re the one that made me fall," I say as I try to get up again, only to get held back again. "Storm... I was able to fix most of your wounds... but..." "*sniffle* He couldn't fix your wing," Twilight says as she sobs. I look back to see my left wing snapped in half, blood pouring out as the end of a bone sticks out. I start to panic a little, but stop when she wraps me up in a hug. Normally these feel awesome, but I can't feel it... I can't feel anything. "I'm taking the pain away, but I can't fix it, it seems to be made of some other kind of material that I can't recognize." "...Can they fix this? Is this fixable?" I ask, but don't get an answer. "Twilight, take him to the hospital, we'll meet you there," Miles says as he stands up. Twilight nods and teleports us to the hospital lobby, scaring the receptionist. "Please, help him, he broke his wing, you have to help him!" Twilight pleads as she holds onto me. I look back to my wing and watch the blood pour out slowly, pooling on the linoleum below. I hear the receptionist run off and call for doctors and nurses, leaving me and Twilight. "Hey... everything’s going to be alright..." "Storm... save your strength..." "Twilight... I..." I pass out before I could finish talking.
Chapter 51 RecoveryChapter 51 Recovery I awake to the sound of a gentle beeping. I open my eyes to find that I'm in a hospital bed. I look back to see my left wing has been wrapped up in a hard cast that is covered in a bunch of signatures and get well soon messages. Twilight is lying next to me, asleep with her face in a book while Miles sitting up in a chair, holding his head up with his fist as he sleeps. I look out the window and see that it's day time, a little before noon. I wonder how long I've been out. Heh, wonder if I can beat Mile's two weeks. Twilight shuffles a bit and lets out a little moan. The look on her face tells me that she's having a bad dream. I start to stroke her mane, getting her face to calm down a bit. As I stroke her, I hear the door open as a nurse walks in. I motion to her to be quiet and point to Twilight and Miles, getting her to nod. "Hello Mr. Cloud, my name is nurse Redheart," she whispers to me. "Hello... how long have I been out?" I whisper back in a raspy voice. "A week, how’s the pain?" She says as she checks the beeping machine that's attached to me. Wow, a week. Miles wins.... better not tell him that. "I can't really feel my wings, they feel numb." "You can thank your friends here for that. They've been doing nothing but studying on pegasus physiology and trying to fix you up while you've been out. They really saved your life." "Will.... will I be able to fly after this?" "Yes, but not right away. We can remove the cast in a week, and you'll be flying a week or two after that. Assuming your friends here don't fix you up any more than they have already. To be honest, you should be dead. Your one lucky stallion to have friends like them to watch over you like this, Mr. Cloud." "Believe me, you don't have to tell me twice." I say as I look down to Twilight. "Well, if you need anything, just call for a nurse and we'll come help you, please try to relax Mr. Cloud," she says as she leaves. She shuts the door a little too loud, waking Twilight up. She picks her head up and brings a page up with her. I laugh a little and push the page down. "Hey..." "Storm!" She says as she wraps me up in a hug. I return the hug, rubbing her back as she cries softly into my mane. "Hey, everything's alright. I'm not going anywhere." "Storm, don't you ever do anything like that again." She says as she shakes her head side to side. " I couldn't take it. I thought you were going to die... promise me you'll never do that again." "I’m sorry. I saw him and jumped without looking, I promise I'll never make that mistake again." "HUH! Wha... oh, *yawn* Storm. Your awake... that's good." Miles says as he wakes up. "Hey Miles, thanks for healing me up, you really saved me back there." "Don't mention it, I just wish I had learned more on pony physiology earlier. Who knew wings were magical." He says as he stands up and takes a look at us. "Well, I'll leave you two alone now, I've got to get to work, take it easy Storm." He waves goodbye and exits the room. After he leaves the room, I hold Twilight for what feels like an eternity, stroking her mane. "Storm..." "Yeah Twi...." "I love you." She says as she picks her head up and looks down at me. I rub the side of her cheek and give her a quick kiss. "I love you to." We kiss again, with much more passion this time. She starts to take control of our kissing by getting on top of me, but bumps my wing, sending a jolt of pain through my body. "AH!" "Sorry!" "It's fine... just really tender." She gets off of me and distances herself from me. "You don't have to leave, just... watch the wing." She scoots back into my embrace and holds onto my side, burying her face into my neck as she nuzzles me softly. "How’s that?" "Perfect." We lay there for a while, just holding onto each other, until Twilight looks out the window. "It's getting late; I really should get back to the library soon." "I'll be here." "I'll come back tomorrow as soon as they let visitors back in, promise." "I'll see you then." "I love you." "I love you more." We share a final kiss before she gets off the bed and trots out of the room. As she leaves the nurse wheels in another patient and lays him on the bed next to me. He's an earth pony with a pale white coat, a long black mane and tail with bright red eyes. It looks like his cutie mark is a wedge of cheese. The nurse lifts his bangs to feel his head to reveal a stub of a horn... I guess he's a unicorn. "Sup," he says to me as the nurse leaves the room. "Hey... what’s wrong with you?" "Everything, but nothing." "Huh?" "The doctors don't know what’s wrong with me, but at the same time they always find something new wrong with me. What about you?" "Uhh... broken wing..." "Pfft... somepony's get all the luck. Was that your mare?" "Yeah..." "My cheesy weezy!" Yells another pale stallion as he runs into the room and starts kissing the other stallion. The new one is an earth pony with a long brown mane and tail and a silhouette of a pony on a pole as a cutie mark. I look away and try to ignore the two of them, but every lip smack brings my attention back to them. "Ahem," I say, getting their attention. "Sorry about that, didn't see you over there," says the new pony. "Don't worry about it, but if you’re going to continue, could you at least close the curtains?" He walks over as pulls them over, giving us our privacy, by sight at least. I try to drown out the sounds of the squeaking bed by holding my pillow against my ears, but it hardly helps. Why does weird crap like this always happen to me? After several hours of laying in total horror from the squeaks and moans they finally stop. I can't believe I just sat through that... Miles's and Twilight need to hurry up and get me out of here. A nurse comes in and ushers the other pony, Squishy Trap apparently, out of the hospital while another gives me some sleeping medication. Why she couldn't give this to me earlier... I take the pill and quickly fall back asleep. I wake up later to the sound of Twilight and Miles arguing. I look up and see them glaring at one another. I glance out the window and see the sun beginning to be raised. "I don't want him being put through even more danger then he needs to be put into!" Twilight yells. "If we do this we won't have to worry about him getting his ass kicked again! Twilight I know your worried about him, but he has to be able to stand on his own, we won't always be there for him." "Could you two stop yelling and tell me what’s going on." I say, getting both of their attention. "Yeah! Some of are trying to sleep here!" Yells the pony in the other bed as he shakes a hoof in the air. "Sorry." Miles says as he shuts the curtains. "Miles wants to put you through some ridiculous training thing because of what happened." Twilight says as she walks up to my side. "Spartan training to be exact, after losing a fight like that, I don't want you walking around without some better training." I look between them in slight confusion. "I don't see the problem." "The problem is that he told me some of the things that you would go through, and I don't like it." Twilight says as she grabs a hold of my hoof. "What would I have to go through?" "Can't say, you would have to go through it not knowing about it." Miles says as he walks to the window and looks out to Ponyville. "Well, when would it start?" "As soon as your able to fly." "Then I'll do it." "What!" Twilight yells. "Let’s be honest, Storm Breaker nearly killed me. If I don't do this, I could lose everything. I don't to take that chance again." "But, Storm..." "It'll be alright; it's not like he's going to try to kill me." I say, getting worried looks from everpony, "really, wow, that must be some intense training. But I still want to do it. If you can guarantee I'll be a better fighter, then I want to go through it." "It will... I'll start making preparations." Miles says as he walks out of the room. I look over to Twilight and start to rub her hoof as she sits there, pouting. "Hey... talk to me." "I don't like this; you're going to get hurt Storm." "I figure, but if I'm going to be the one to protect you, I better learn to be the best fighter possible. It'll hurt, but nowhere near as much then if I were to lose another fight and never get to see you again." She jumps onto the bed and lays next to me, holding me closely. "I still don't like it, but I'll support you." "Thank you." "You two aint gonna derp, are ya?" Asks the other pony from behind the curtain. We share a small laugh as Twilight gets off the bed. "I'll be going now..." "Wait, there's something I want you to look up when you get the chance." "What’s that?" "Look up whoever Storm Breaker is. See if he comes up in any records in the..." "I know who he is!" Yells the pony from behind the curtain. Twilight pulls the curtain back and runs up to him. "Really! Who is he? Where does he come from?" "Whoa calm down, I don't know too much, but I recognize the name well enough." "Well? Who is he?" "The son of Snow and Rain Cloud.... you know, the pegasus who practically own the cloud manufacturing business." "How do you know that?" I ask. "There was an article about them in the Cloudsdale daily. Apparently there was a huge scandal with their son, Storm Breaker, and they sent him into the royal guard to teach him a lesson." "What was the scandal?" Twilight asks. "Hmm... you know I don't really know; it was like... eight years ago." "Then how do you remember the names?" "Oh, well one of my girls had to go to their estate in Cloudsdale and I saw the names of the attendants. His was right there and I put two and two together." "One of your girls?" Twilight asks in confusion. "Yeah they were having a party and wanted some entertainment, so they gave me a call. Anyway, they live up in Cloudsdale, uhh... somewhere. Just look for the biggest house possible, you really can't miss it." Wow... this must be the most resourceful stripper managers I've ever met. As Twilight and I thank him Miles walks back into the room with his hands on fire. "You ready for this?" He asks as he walks up to my side. "What are you doing?" "Fixing you." He slams his hands onto my chest and starts to fill my body with his energy. I can feel the muscles and bones reconnecting as he continuously pumps his energy into me. All I can do is grab hold of the sheets and wait for the energy to stop pouring into me. When he finishes up, he brings a hand to my cast and waves his hand over it, making it crack off to reveal my completely healed wing. I sit up and give it a few tries... good as new. "Wow, thanks Miles." "Just a warning, the minute we step out of this hospital, I'm going to become living torture for you. I'll be waiting for you in the lobby." He says as he walks out of the room. I gulp as I look over to Twilight. "So, can I trust you to look them up?" I ask Twilight as I get out of bed and stretch a bit. "I'll find them, please try your best to stay safe Storm." She says as she walks up to me and nuzzles my cheek. "Thanks, I will, I promise. I love you." "I love you to." She says as we share a kiss. "Aw, that's kinda nice," says the other pony. I ignore him and put some more passion into the kiss, until she looks away. "I think we should get going... I doubt Miles will appreciate waiting for too long." "He can wait for one more kiss." I say as I go back and kiss her again. We take our time conveying our love to each other, but soon enough we break off the kiss and head out the hospital.
Chapter 52 Rain CloudChapter 52 Rain Cloud Perspective: Twilight As we walk into the lobby, I can see all of the nurses and doctors watch in disbelief as Storm and I walk out. I don't think they'll ever get over how Miles can cheat death so easily, to be honest, I'm still getting used to it. We stop by the front door where we see Miles staring off into the distance. I hear Storm gulp as he turns to me. "Well... this is it then..." "When do you think the training will be finished?" "I don't know, royal guard training took a month, I'm guessing around that time or more." "I'll miss you" I say as I give him one last hug. "I'll miss you to" he says as he hugs me tightly. We hold each other until Miles knocks on the door, making Storm let go of me and walk out of the building. "For making me wait I want you to run to my house and do pushups until I tell you to stop.... well? Get moving!" He yells, making Storm run off towards his house. Miles looks back to me and gives me a single nod before he walks after him. If he hurts my Storm, I swear I'll turn him into a tulip and leave him in the desert. I shake my head and make my way home, quickly trotting through the streets and avoiding any unnecessary stops. When I get there I slam the door open and immediately head for my non-pegasus flying and cloud manipulation section. As I sort through the books I try to find the right book, but I can't find it anywhere. "Spike... SPIKE..." "Yeah Twilight" Spike says as he walks into the room from the kitchen. "I need that book on spells for pony's to be able to walk on clouds..." "It’s right here" he says as he pulls it off of its shelf. How he finds everything so quickly, I will never understand. I levitate the book over and start refreshing my mind on how to cast the spell. "Uh Twilight... what’s going on?" "Well, we have a lead on who Storm Breaker is, so I'm heading to Cloudsdale to have a visit with these ponies." "Oh...OK... how is Storm doing?" "Miles healed him... but now they're off doing some really dangerous training..." "Why would they do that the minute Storm got out of the hospital?" "Storm has this crazy notion that he has to protect me, I didn't really want him to go, but that look of determination on his face told me that I couldn't convince him otherwise." I look over to see Spike slowly nod his head as he thinks about what I said. "Don't tell me you actually agree with them" I ask as I set the book down. "I do. I know it's hard to understand, it must be a guy thing in all honesty, but Storm couldn't fight off that creep. He must feel pretty pathetic right now...." "How could you say that! He fought him when he had a mace and..." "And nearly died. Look, he wants to be with you, but at the same time he can't because he doesn't think he can protect you from creeps like Breaker. If this can help him do that, why wouldn't he go through this? Heck, I'd go through it too if Miles would train me." "But he could really hurt himself!" "Maybe the risk of being hurt is worth the reward of being able to be with you, Twilight." I stare at him in disbelief, thinking deeply about what he just told me. it's true that he does have a strange tendency to show up, but why does it always have to end in a fight. "*sigh* I think you're right, it must be a guy thing. Look, I'm going to be going, are you going to be alright on your own?" "Not like I haven't done it before. Just think about what I said." "I will Spike, thanks," I say as I give him a light hug and go back to reading. Once I finish memorizing the spell I go and collect my bags and fill them with things I might need. Once I'm satisfied with my belongings I say my goodbye and head out. I go out back and jump into my balloon. I use my magic to fill the balloon up with hot air and start to lift off into the air. "What are you doing?" I jump and turn around to see Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy hovering behind me. "Oh, well, I got a lead on Storm's past, so I'm heading off to Cloudsdale to..." "On your own?" Fluttershy asks. "Well yes, but..." "Yeah, that's not happening, I'm coming with you" Rainbow says as she takes a seat in the balloon. "Yeah, Cloudsdale is nothing like Ponyville, I would like to come along to, that is if you don't mind that is" Fluttershy says as she takes a seat next to Rainbow. "Look, I appreciate you wanting..." "Do you even know where you’re going?" Rainbow asked. "Well... I'm looking for a really big house..." "Yeah, every house in Cloudsdale is big, just look at mine. We'll be able to get you to your destination in no time." "Plus there's a lot of bad ponies there... going alone would be a bad choice... if you were to ask me.... that is, if you want my opinion that is..." Fluttershy mumbles. "Look, we're coming, whether we have to come with you or follow you around by flying ourselves, your choice." I look at the two of them and sigh. I guess they're coming then. "Thanks girls... I appreciate the help." "No prob, now can you bring us up to date on everything that’s going on, and I mean everything." I spend the entire trip to Cloudsdale explaining to them what’s been going on. About my old relationship with Storm Breaker, how we had our break up and how he treated me afterwards. Fluttershy nearly broke out in tears by the end while Rainbow looked as if she was about to murder somepony. I continued by telling them about how Storm Cloud was put with me to help with Miles, how we discovered he wasn't the Storm from before, and how when Miles was out we got really close. I kept out all of the details from the bedroom, but I think they put one and one together. I finished by telling them about our love confessions at the hospital and the training he's going to do while I research this lead on Storm Breaker. "Wow... so that's what all that yelling by my place earlier was all about." Rainbow said as she looks out to the horizon. "Yeah... I don't really get why he wants to do it so badly, but I'm still supporting him through it." "I get it," Fluttershy says, getting looks from both of us," well... he has to be the stallion and defend his mare. He must feel he failed, so this is his way to make up for it." I look over the edge and think about what she said. I'm starting to get it, but I still don't agree with what's going on. We break through the clouds above and land on the outskirts of Cloudsdale. I put my spell on and jump out, landing on the plushy clouds below. "Alright, so let’s start by..." "Found it," Rainbow says lazily as she points behind me. I turn around to find the largest cloud house I've ever seen before. It must be at least four stories tall, going at least a block from side to side. Twin rainbow water falls flow from the top and line the front entrance. A large clouded wall goes around the complex with a gate at the center as pegasus guards fly around in black uniforms. I fall on my haunches as I stare up at the large ornate building, is this really where Storm came from? "Wow..." Fluttershy says in amazement. "Well, enough looking, let’s go in already!" Rainbow says as she flies off for the gate. I shake my head and run after her, but get there too late as two guards confront Rainbow. "Stop! This is the Cloud estate, none are allowed in without prior permission, please turn back." Says the guard on the left in a deep rough voice. "My name is Twilight Sparkle," I say as I catch up to them, "I have some questions and concerns that deal with some of the residents in this establishment. Please, I must speak with..." "If you wish to speak with the owners, make a request and come back with proper papers to gain access. Am I clear?" "Crystal," Fluttershy says as she flies back to the balloon. Rainbow and I look to each other before we run after her. we regroup and try to come up with a plan. "What should we do now?" I ask. "Give up?" Fluttershy says. "You always say that, I say we sneak in and find them on our own." Rainbow says. "I don't want to break in to somepony's house.... but I don't see a quicker answer.... how are we going to do this?" "Easy..." Rainbow says with an evil grin as she pulls us in and tells us her plan. Fluttershy and I are waiting around the corner of the cloud gate waiting on Rainbow's signal to run in. I seriously hope that this works out... I don't think I can afford to post bail on us if it doesn't. I lean over and see Rainbow stalking her way up to the gate. She looks inside and flies up and over the wall. KRA-BOOM As I see the electrical discharges from Rainbow's Buckineer Blaze I teleport myself and Fluttershy to the other side and start to run for the front door. I can see all of the guards give chase after Rainbow as she flies away, taunting them to catch her. We make it to the front door and burst through, only to run into a couple more guards. "Hey, Intruder! Stop right there.... oh my gosh that one fainted, somepony call a doctor!" I look and see Fluttershy laying on her back, pretending to be unconscious. As the guards rush to her aid I back away and run down a nearby hall. When I'm clear of all of the guards I slow down to a light trot and look around. The wall to the left is lined with windows while the wall to the right is lined with doors and small cloud furniture. In between the doors are wall mounted family portraits. Most are from the past but at the end of the hall I stop and look at the last one. It has four ponies, two little colts, one that I presume to be Storm and one being yellow with a blue mane. Behind them are a light blue stallion with a black mane and a grey mare with a yellow mane. They all shared the same blue eyes and seemed to be very happy together. Rain Cloud, Snow Cloud, Storm Cloud, and Storm Breaker, reads a plaque underneath the portrait. "Can I help you?" I turn to find the mare from the portrait standing next to me. She looks a bit older than in the portrait, with a grey streak going through her mane and a few wrinkles showing up under her eyes. "Uh... yes actually, are you Rain Cloud by chance?" "Just call me Rainy, what are you doing in my house?" "I'm here to discuss some things about your son..." "Oh not this again..." "Storm Cloud." She looks at me in shock and confusion for a second before she takes on a more serious face. "My son Storm Cloud died eight years ago, what could you possibly want to discuss about him?" "Well... I'm not sure how to say this... but he's not dead." "And how would you know this?" "Well... he's my coltfriend." She looks at me for a bit before she turns away from me and starts to walk away, so I follow after away. "No. I don't believe you... my son died from a flying accident eight years ago, there's no way he could be alive..." "But he is! He's doesn't have his memory from back then but he's still alive! You have to believe me." "And why's that? So you and your coltfriend can come here and collect the inheritance? I've had plenty of ponies come and try to say that they were my lost son, but after three long and painful years I finally had to accept that he's just gone. Please just leave me be." She says as she quickens her pace, but I quicken mine to keep up with her. "We don't want anything! We just want Storm Breaker to stop trying to kill Storm!" When I finish saying this Rainy stops and looks at me with horror and disgust. "Out...I want you out of my house this instant! Leave and never come back!" "Not until you at least come with me to Ponyville and..." "NO! Why would I go with you? If Storm Cloud was with you, where is he then?" "After nearly dying from his last fight with Storm Breaker he decided to go off with a friend of ours to receive more training. He has this weird notion that he has to protect me so he's off risking his life to become a better fighter." She does a double take as she looks at me as if she just saw a ghost. She stares at me for a bit until she looks down the hall. "Follow me please, there's something I wish to show you." I nod and follow her around the corner and down the hall where we enter a personal library. The room is several stories of various books and scrolls sitting on cloud shelves. In the center of the wall ahead of me is a portrait of Snow Cloud. "Please read the inscription on the bottom." I walk up to the plaque and read it. Snow Cloud January 11th 4089 -- 4122 Father, husband "Keep the ones you love safe and they'll keep you strong"- Snow Cloud "That was his motto, the way he lived his life. If what your telling me is true... then I will go with you to Ponyville... but just know that if you're lying, and he's just another impostor..." "I promise you he's the real Storm Cloud." She nods to me as she wipes her tears away. We walk out of the room and start to head towards the front entrance together. "I'm sorry, but I never got your name." "My name is Twilight Sparkle" I say, making her stop in her tracks. "Twilight Sparkle.... the Twilight Sparkle? The prized student of Celestia herself and one of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, that Twilight Sparkle!" I turn to her and smile as I nod my head. "Well... I... uh... Miss Sparkle..." "Please, just Twilight, I am with your son after all." "Yes... we'll see about that..." We make it to the front where we find a large group of guards crowding around Fluttershy, still trying to get her to wake up. "Fluttershy, I've got Rainy, we can get going now" I call out, getting her to roll over and walk up to us and making every guard nearly fall over in disbelief. "Oh, that's good, I didn't know how much longer I could pretend to be unconscious" she says, getting all of the guards to fall over. "Um... he-hello... I'm Fluttershy" she says timidly to Rainy. "I take it that this is the Element of Kindness, Fluttershy" I nod, "well, it’s a pleasure to meet you Fluttershy. Sorry about the trouble my guards were giving you." "Oh, it's fine. They were just doing their job, nopony can blame them for that." "Kind as ever I see" she says as she walks to the mass of guards trying to get back up. "I need two of you to accompany me with these two ladies to Ponyville." The closest two jump up to her and salute before they fly to the door and open it for us. We walk out and head towards the gate where we see a rainbow fly circles around a group of confused guards. "RAINBOW!" I yell out to her, getting her to fly down to us. "Aw, couldn't you have just waited a few more seconds, I was having way too much fun with them." "Rainbow? As in Rainbow Dash?" Rainy asks. "The one and only. Why, have you heard of me?" "Yes actually, I saw you perform at the royal wedding last year, that was quiet impressive of you." "Eh, it was pretty good, I guess" she says as she looks at her hoof nonchalantly. I shake my head and head for my balloon. We all pile in, except for her guards, who were ordered to fly along with us. Most of the trip was done in complete silence. Nopony wanting to break the silence. "Soo... Twilight. How did you meet... this Storm Cloud?" Rainy asks. I tell her all about Miles and how he had to be stationed with him and me. I keep certain details out, but I think she can tell I'm hiding them. "And we've been together ever since" I say in summation. "So when you say you're with him... how close have you two been?" I feel the heat flare from my cheeks as I begin to blush wildly. I can hear Rainbow giggle as everypony turns their attention to me. "Well... as close as two ponies can be..." "BWAHAHAHAHA, ah man Twilight. I didn't know you were that kind of pony hahaha" Rainbow teases. "Oh....my..." Fluttershy says as her cheeks turn red. "So... how did he..." "LOOK! There's Ponyville, lets hurry up and get to Miles's place so we can reunite you with your son!" I say as I drag the balloon down with my magic and land out front of his house. I quickly jump out and run inside looking around for any clues for where they are. After a few minutes of looking I find the group at the kitchen table. "OK, I don't know where they are, but..." CRASH I spin around to see Storm slam into the wall as he comes crashing through the door. He has a lot of cuts and bruises all over his body and seems to be breathing irregularly. He gets up immediately and charges back outside where he jumps at Miles, tackling him to the ground. "Storm, Miles stop fighting for a minute and get in here real quick." I yell to them, getting Storm's attention. "FOCUS ON THE FIGHT!" Miles yells as he grabs him by the mane and tail and spins around, tossing him into a tree, knocking him out.
Chapter 54 Dinner for TwoChapter 54 Dinner for Two "Heeey Luna, what's up." HOW THE FUCK COULD I FORGET OUR DATE! "You didn't forget about our date, did you?" She asks with a small laugh. "No. Well, maybe a little, I thought there was going to be some warning to be honest." AW FUCK WHAT DO I DO, WHAT DO I DO? I NEED HELP! "OK then." She says before she walks back inside of the closet and shuts the door behind her. Da fuck? "Miles," she calls from behind the door, "I'm about to arrive for our date." She calls out before she opens the door and walks back out and stands before me with a big smile. We both laugh a little at her goofiness as I walk up to her and kneel down to give her a hug. "You did forget, didn't you?" "Yeah, sorry. I got caught up in the day to day stuff. Plus, with what happened to Storm..." "What happened to Storm?" She asks as she breaks our hug and starts to head to the hall door. "I'll tell you all about it at dinner, why don't you go down stairs and make yourself at home while I get things ready" I say as I open the door for her and usher her out. She gives me a smile and walks down stairs. As she's going I slowly make my way for the window in my room. Once I get to it, I flare my heels and jump out. The second I hit the ground I begin to run into the night like my life depended on it, using the magic in my heels to make me run at even higher speeds. I need help, I have no clue what to do. Who can I go to though? Storm's out of town and I can't ask one of the girls.... BIG MAC! I change direction and head straight for Sweet Apple Acres, arriving there in almost twenty seconds. I see Big Mac and Applejack walking up to the front door so I jump ahead of them and land with a loud THUD. "I NEED YOUR HELP!" I yell as I grab Big Mac by the harness and run into the orchard, keeping the same speed as before. Once I feel safe knowing that no one will hear our conversation I stop and set him down. "What in tarnations got..." "OK SO I'VE GOT A DATE WITH SOMEONE I CAN'T TELL YOU ABOUT AND SHE JUST SHOWED UP AT MY PLACE FOR THE DATE BUT I FORGOT AND DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO BECUASE I'VE NEVER DONE SOMETHING LIKE THIS SO I WENT TO FIND SOMEONE FOR HELP BUT STORM WAS GONE AND I CAN'T ASK ONE OF THE GIRLS AND I NEED ROMANTIC ADVICE!" I say calmly. "Eeyup." "Thank you! OK, so what should I do?" "Hmm..." he looks away and puts a hoof to his chin as he thinks about it. And thinks about it. And thinks some more about it. I think I'm going to have a heart attack by the time he thinks of something. "Well..." "Well, what?" "I'd say, just be yerself an do something together." "Great myself, got it, what else?" "That's about it." "That can't be it, it's never that easy." "Eeyup." "What should we do? Is there..." "Nnope. Doesn't matter what ya do, as long as ya do it tagether." I stare at him for a second before I give up. "Fine, I'll make it up as I go, thanks for the help Big Mac." "Eeyup." I turn away from him and launch myself into the air, aiming for my place. I make there in no time, somehow being fairly close to begin with, and land just outside the front stairs. I walk up to the door and place my hand on the door knob. *Inhales, Exhales* OK, I can do this. Just remember what Dolum and Big Mac told me, just open the door and have a good time. Just open the door. Any moment now. OK, seriously, here I go. On the count of three, one, two, three! Open the door hand! Rahh! Why can't be as easy as fighting a dragon or something. I suddenly hear the sound of pots and pans crashing and run inside. I go to the kitchen and find Luna sitting on the ground with a pot on the top of her horn and surrounded by other pots and pans. She looks up to me and gives me a shy smile, blushing furiously. "Uh... found the one I was looking for" she jokes. I kneel down and take the pot off of her horn. "What were you trying to do?" "Well, I figured you were going out to do... something. So I figured I would get dinner started." "You know how to cook?" "Well... no. But I can make spaghetti!" I laugh a little, making her blush even more. "Well, that's one more thing then I can cook, why don't you show me how to make spaghetti then" I say as I stand up, making her smile. I go to the fridge and open it up. I kneel before it to look around, only to falter when Luna puts her front half onto my back and peers into the fridge with me. "Luna... what..." "We'll need that!" She says as she points to an onion. I reach out and grab it, only to have Luna levitate it out of my hands and take it over to the counter. "That too" she says as she points to the celery. I look to it, then her, then back to it. I pull it out of the fridge only to have Luna Levitate it out of my hands and put it next to the onion. "Are you going..." "Oh and we need all of those tomato's too," she says excitedly as she points them out. We go through everything on her list in this manner, her calling them out, me pulling it out only to have her levitate it away. Once we finish going through her list she tries to get off of me, only for me to hold onto her legs. "Miles..." "So what do I get for being your step stool?" She laughs a little before she leans over and gives me a small kiss on the cheek. "How's that?" "Mmm... it'll do, for now." I let go of her and let her get off. I shut the fridge as I stand and watch her look through the ingredients. "We have everything we need except one thing, the noodles." "Can you make it without the noodles?" "HA! Yeah, if you like eating just paste. Think you can scrounge up some noodles?" What's wrong with paste? "Uh... maybe, let me run into town and see if I can get some noodles." "Alright, I'll get everything set up, don't take too long." She walks over to me and jumps up to give me a light peck on the cheek, getting me to smile. "Well, go on." She says as she walks over to the counter and starts to levitate everything into place. I walk out of the house and make my way to Ponyville. OK, everything seems to be going smoothly so far, I just need to get some noodles... what the fuck are noodles!? I know, I'll ask Spike, he should know what noodles are, hopefully. I light my heels and make my way to the library, getting there as quickly as possible. When I come up to the building I see that the lights are still on, so I knock on the door. "Yo Spike, you in there?" After a minute of waiting Spike finally opens the door. "Why do you have a lamp shade on your head?" He looks up and throws the shade behind him. I look inside to see confetti and streamers everywhere. "No reason, what can I help you with?" "Uh... I need to get some noodles; do you know what they are?" "What kind of noodles?" "The... kind for spaghetti..." "Spaghetti noodles, yeah I have some you can have, for how many?" "Two." "Two? Oh ho ho, somepony's got a date going on. Who's the lucky mare?" "Can't say." "Ah, a man of mystery then, alright, I'll bug you later about it, just let me go get the noodles for you." He says as he shuts the door. "OK, I'll just wait out here then." What the fuck is he doing in there? Why was there confetti all over the place? Spike comes back and hands me a blue box with long yellow... sticks. "Alright, just boil them and you'll be good to go. So, are you gonna tell me who you have a date with?" "Are you going to tell me what's going on in there?" "Uh...Nope." He says before he slams the door in my face. I stand there for a second until I shake my head and start to head home. I don't know what's going on in there and I don't want to know. I make it home and walk into the kitchen to find everything a complete disaster. There's a small fire on the stove, the counters are covered in a red sludge that seems to be boiling, the ground has a strange sticky substance and, somehow, there's literally a sink in the middle of the floor that is pouring water out, even though it's not connected to anything. Where did she get a sink? I was gone... maybe five minutes. "Good news! I found some noodles in the cupboard!" Luna says triumphantly as she presents two plates of perfect looking spaghetti from the kitchen dining room. "Wh-wh-what happened in here?" "Oh... well, I think I got a little... carried away" she says as she twiddle's her hooves. A little, how did you manage to do this with only six tomatoes? I take a breath and walk over to one of the plates. The food actually smells pretty good. "Well... let’s eat first, this actually looks really good" I say as I take a plate and head for the table, making her smile. We sit next to each other and dig in... or at least I try. She's set a fork down, but I can't stab the noodles. After a few failed attempts I look over to see Luna just watching me fail at eating. With a small chuckle she picks her fork up, with her hoof.... logic be damned, and sticks it into the noodles. She spins it around and takes the ball to her mouth and begins eating.... show off. I try her technique, with much more success, and try a bite. "So... what do you think?" "Well..." "Well?" "This..." "Yes?" "Is the greatest thing I have ever eaten." "Oh stop, it's..." she starts to say but stops when I start eating with much more gusto, shoveling the noodles into my mouth. This is seriously the best thing I've ever had; it even beats those pancakes! Hmm... can you mix the two? I finish up the noodles and start to pour the rest of the sauce into my mouth. Once that's all gone I lick up the remains until the plate is back to its pristine whiteness. When I finish I set the plate down and slowly look back to Luna, who's staring at me in disbelief. "Uh... sorry for..." "You missed a spot." She says as she lifts up a napkin and holds it in front of my face. She takes a few moments to look for the best spot to wipe before she wipes my entire face. I grab the napkin and look down to it to find it covered in spaghetti sauce... damn... I could have eaten that. I take my napkin and try my best to clean myself off as she continues to eat. "So, was it really that good?" "Are you kidding? That had more flavor than anything I've ever had in Topaz." "What did you eat in Topaz?" "Well, it was this synthetic paste that we cooked into different textures. It was bland, but it kept you going." "Wow, that sounds awful." "Eh, beats not eating." I say as she slurps up the last of her noodles. I see a little off the sauce left over on her lips and decide to try something. "You missed a spot" I say before I lean over and lick her lips, cleaning off the sauce and making her jump a little. She stares at me for a second before she leans in and starts to kiss me. I kiss her back and put a hand behind her head, stroking her with my thumb. As we kiss we wrap our tongues around each other’s. Heh, I can still taste the spaghetti. I try my best to dominate the kiss, but her being bigger than me makes it a challenge... that I win. I force my way onto her mouth and start to explore the new area, still finding the left over taste of spaghetti everywhere. She breaks the kiss, letting us both catch our breath, and leans her head against mine. "Miles..." "Yeah?" "I smell fire." I look back to see the fire in the stove has spread and now burns the left over sauce. I jump out of my seat and run into the kitchen to fight the fire, only to slip on all of the water. I try to get up but I keep falling over myself. Suddenly a blue aura surrounds everything in the kitchen and starts to levitate its way out if the kitchen door. I look to Luna and see her standing by the flowing mass, laughing at my antics. Once all of the mess finds its way outside I look around to find my kitchen back to its original state. I get up and flare my hands, pulling out all out the water from my clothes and sending it to the sink. When I finish I turn to Luna to find her right next to me. "So where did we..." KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK We both turn to the direction of the front door and freeze. "Nopony can know I'm here" Luna says in a panic. "I know, I know... maybe if we stay silent, they will go away..." "Umm, Miles... the door was open, may I come in?" I hear Fluttershy call out. I start to panic as I hear her hoof steps come closer to the kitchen. "I have to go I..." "Hold on, I've got an idea, just follow my lead" I say as I bring my magic up to my elbows and start the illusion spell. "Oh, Miles... I'm so sorry I came in without permission... it's just that... well all of the girls were supposed to get together tonight... do you know where she is Storm?" She asks as she looks over to Luna. My spell makes her appear as Storm, as long as she doesn't talk we should be able to get through this. "She went to the pharmacists with Rain Cloud.... because... Storm is sick, right Storm?" I ask. Luna looks up at me in confusion until she sees that she looks like Storm. "Uh..." "Yup, sick. That's our story and we're sticking to it!" "Oh... so sorry to hear that, would you like me to check on you...." "NO!" I yell, making her jump back a little. "Sorry... it's just... we already had him checked, that's why Twilight went to the pharmacist, to get the medication." "I didn't know the pharmacist were open this late" Fluttershy says as she looks me over. "Are you okay Miles... you seem to be... on fire." I look over to see the archaic lines have made their way up to my shoulders, burning my shirt along the way. Why didn't I train more in illusionary spells? "Uh... I'm... levitating something..." "But I saw you levitate things before, they didn't seem that hard for you." "That's because this... thing, is really far away..." "Why are you levitating something far away?" Aw fucking dammit! I can feel the lines start to move to my back, I'm using too much right now... it's starting to hurt. "We have a bet going" Luna says in the deepest voice she can muster. "A bet?" "Yeah, to see if I can lift something to Canterlot." I say as I kneel down. The pressure from the unfamiliar spell is starting to take its toll on me. "I don't think..." "LOOK! A defenseless little animal being hurt my somepony!" Luna yells in her deep voice as she points out the window. "What! Those big meanies!" Fluttershy say as she runs out the back door and fly's off to find the nonexistent culprit. I drop to my side as I let go of the spell. My entire body is yelling at me for doing that... but it was worth it. "Miles, are you alright?" Luna says as she walks up beside me, looking like her old self. "Yeah... I just *pant* don't usually use... that kind of magic..." "I saw you turn a dragon to ash like it was nothing, how does a simple illusion spell tire you out so easily?" "Because I'm not... familiar with them... human magic... depends on knowledge of the spell... plus physical ability... I've trained rigorously with fighting magic... everything else is foreign to me." Luna looks down at me with slight confusion before she walks over to the fridge. I try to look over, but my body won't allow me to move without yelling at me in pain. She comes back to me and Smiles as she teleports us away. "Where are we?" "On your roof, I thought some wine under the stars would be nice, don't you?" I roll onto my back and look up to the night sky. "Yeah... sounds good." She lays on her back so we're next to one another. She pulls out a wine sack and two glasses and pours us both a glass. "I've never heard of Blood Proof Wine... where did you get this?" She asks as she levitates me a glass. "I got it off of Gary. Remember that Minotaur that attacked Ponyville?" I say as I take the glass. "*sigh* yes. But let’s not think of that, right now it's just you and me." She says as she lifts the glass and takes a drink. I raise mine and take a drink as well.... oh shit. Author's Note A/N: Thanks to Voltman77 for picking who dropped by for dinner! Thanks for reading and Like alway, Brony on! P.S. Blood Proof Wine is a DnD Item my character found. It's enchanted to make you automatically become drunk beyond belief.
Chapter 55 Heart BreakChapter 55 Heart Break Ahh... my head... what happened? I slowly open my eyes to find myself in bed... with Luna cuddled up next to me as she sleeps peacefully... WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED?! I started to panic but stop when I hear her sigh in her sleep. Oh my... she has the cutest sleeping face. I look around to try to find out what's going on. First off, did we fuck. I pull up the sheets and take a look down. We'll... I don't see any stains of any kind... plus I still have my pants on, though they are burnt up to my knees. I lay the blanket down and look out the window... it's day time... that may come to bite us in the ass later. "Mmm... huh?" Luna mumbles as she starts to wake up. "Morning" I say softly to her, making her eyes shoot wide open. "Don't freak out..." "What are you doing in my bed?" She asks calmly. "Uh... well, this is actually my bed." She lifts her head and looks around for a second before she jumps out of bed, kicking and screaming. "WHAT! WHAT HAPPENED? WHAT DID YOU DO! OOOWW, WHY DOES MY HEAD HURT SO MUCH!" She yells as she grabs her head with both hooves. I cringe from the yelling as well, but still manage to stand up, only to drop back down from the mind numbing headache. I hear Luna run into the restroom and slam the door.... ow by the way. I try again to get up again and succeed. I stumble my way over to the door and lean against the wall beside it. "Luna... is everything alright?" I ask but don't get an answer. "Luna, I'm coming in." Again no answer, so I open the door and take a steps inside. She has her backside in the air as she's trying to get a look at 'herself'. I can see the panic in her eyes as she's trying desperately to figure out what happened. She looks over to me and drops down, trying her best to look modest but still clearly embarrassed from her stance earlier. I walk up to her and take a seat on the wall beside her. "Umm..." "Don't worry, I don't think we did anything." "How could you be so sure?" She asks as she take a seat next to me and leans against me. I put an arm around her and hold her tightly. "Well, you're a virgin, right?" "Yeah... or at least I think I am." "Well there are no stains on the bed. Plus, I still have my pants on, so there's that." "That doesn't disprove anything..." "I know, but it's a start... are you really that against having sex with me?" "What... no... well.... it's not that I'm against the idea, I was just always taught to wait till marriage." "Well... assuming everything went to our best interest... we'll wait until then, alright?" She looks over to and gives me a kiss in the forehead. "Okay." We hold each other for a bit until Luna looks out the window. "Oh shoot, Celestia gonna kill me for this, I've got to get going." "Really? You can't stay for breakfast?" "Well... alright. A quick breakfast and then I really have to get going." We both stand up and make our way to the stairs... where I trip again. "Aw... what the..." I look down to see the entire bottom floor of my house is filled with some yellow things. "Miles... why is your house filled with bananas?" "Well, if I knew, I would tell you.... what's a banana?" "It's a fruit. You eat them." I look over and pick one of the up, it has a smooth surface and seems to have a soft interior. I look over to Luna, who shrugs, and try a bite. FWOOSH The second I bite into it a flame burst out from the banana, making me fall back in recoil. "What the fuck! Why would you eat fire!" I yell. "They don't normally do that, plus you're supposed to peel them." She says as she lifts one up and peels it back, only to have it burst out in flames. We go through at least a hundred bananas trying to find one that won't burst out into flames, but to no avail. "What's going on here?" We both spin around to see Celestia looming over us, with a very pissed off look. "Hey Celestia, do you like bananas?" I ask as I present her a Banana. Her eye's twitches a little as she ignores my stupidity and looks to Luna. "Hello Tia..." she says timidly. "Oh do not Tia me right now. What are you doing here, on your own, with Miles?" "If she's with me she isn't really by herself, is she?" I say, getting a glare from Celestia. "Sister, nothing..." "Do I need to remind you of your royal duties? Or of the simple fact that I can have him executed for this?" "Whoa, we didn't do anything..." I try to say but stop when I feel an aura hold my mouth shut. "Celestia, you know I would never neglect my duties..." "Then why wasn't there court last night? Why did you cancel it?" "Who would have missed it!? Nopony comes to night court! They still fear me and my night! I came here to be with the one pony who doesn't fear the night!" Luna yells as she approaches Celestia. "Have you lost yourself Luna! Why are you acting so foalish! You've become too close to him..." "So what! Am I not allowed to..." "LUNA" Celestia yells in a voice that nearly sends me flying, "he's a different species. He's problematic, not to mention he's mortal..." "You allowed Shining Armor and Cadence to marry! What makes you..." "Cadence and Shining are at least the same species. I won’t allow this. Go home now or I will have Miles arrested." They stare each other down; I can almost make out sparks between them. After a while Luna falters and backs down. "Very well..." she says before she teleports out of my house. I stand back up and face Celestia. "What do you have to say for yourself?" She asks as she undoes the magic on my lips. "I don't see the probl..." "Do you know what you two did last night?" "Well..." "I'm getting reports from all over Ponyville and Canterlot of banana robbery, vandalism's, tunnels being built under both cities, what did you do to my sister Miles?" "We don't know, we just had some wine and..." "YOU GAVE HER ALCOHOL!" She yells in bewilderment. "Yeah, why..." "Miles, let me make this very clear to you, stay away from Luna. From what I can already see you should be put on the death penalty. But I am letting it go this time, for both my parents and Luna. Do not make me regret this decision Miles. You will never be with her, she will miss you, but in time she will forget your name..." "I think we both know that time is not the issue here, Celestia." I say, getting even sharper glares from her. "Is there something you wish to tell me" she says as she steps closer to me. "Yeah, you hate me. I knew you lied when we spoke about your parents, you still resent me, and now you're taking Luna away from me to get back at me." Celestia continues her glares before she turns and walks away. "Stay away from Luna, or else" she says before she teleports away. "Yeah... you and what army." Perspective: Luna I teleport to my room and immediately set a barrier around it as I jump onto my bed and cry into my pillow. It's just isn't fair! Why don't I get to be with him? What right does Celestia have to say who I can and Can't be with! Why do we even have that stupid royal family? It's not like they do anything, all they do is just sit there and corrupt our government. And what was with that racial hatred? Why would it matter if he was human and I'm a pony? If you love each other something like that shouldn't matter! "Luna..." I turn to see Celestia standing right next to my bed. "How did you get in here?!" "You forgot to barrier the double doors... Luna..." "I don't want to talk to you right now!" I say as I turn away from her. I feel her take a seat on the bed, but I try my best to not let her see my tears fall. "I know you are mad at me right now... but this is for the best." "How could this possibly be for the best..." "What would you do if he were to die?" "I-I...." "How about in eighty years?" "I would come to terms with it..." "Like how mother did?" I turn and look back to her in horror of what she just said. "Mother only lasted three years... and I see so much of her in you... I don't want to lose you as well... I don't think I would make it through that." "Tia..." I roll over and look up to her as she starts to cry. "Please Luna, promise me that you won't let this happen. I know it will hurt, but it wouldn't nearly be as painful as losing you... I already lost you once..." I pull her down with my magic and wrap her up in a hug as she cries. I don't want to give up on him... but I can't escape the reality of his mortality. "I promise... I'm sorry sister..." "I'm sorry as well... I know what it's like to lose somepony you care about... but trust me when I say that time will heal all wounds." "If you say so... can I at least tell him that this is going to end... face to face?" "I guess so... but promise me that you'll do it quickly. The longer you drag it out, the more it's going to hurt." "Ok..." I let go of her and roll out of bed. I straighten out and try my best to put on a strong face... but I know that won't last for long... I hope he will take this well... Perspective: Miles Fucking dammit, how many of these damned bananas did we steal?! I've spent the last hour fucking digging these out and I haven't even made a dent yet! "Miles..." "Ahh!" I turn to find Luna behind me. She looks as if she's been doing a lot of crying...I don't like this. "Hey there... everything alright..." "No, everything is not alright." I try to walk up to her, but she backs away with every step I take. "What wrong Luna?" "We can't be together Miles..." "What? Why?" "I... I just can't...I'm sorry I have to go now..." she says as she tries to walk away. "No!" I yell as I run up to her and stop her from walking away. “You don't get to tear out my heart and just leave! What did she tell you!" "Miles... please..." she says as tears start to from in her eyes. "What did she say!" "She said it wouldn't work because your mortal!" She yells, making me back off a bit. "She afraid that I'll die when you die, the same way our mother died. Let’s be honest, I'd only get fifty or sixty years with you, then what? A life time of heart ache, and loneliness..." "Yeah... if I was lucky..." I mumble as I step back. "What was that!?" "I said if I was lucky" I say, getting bewildered looks from her."*sigh* have you noticed how overly powerful I am?" "A little..." "Well, there's a tradeoff. Every day my power grows more and more, but eventually..." "Eventually what?" "Eventually it'll become too much... and I'll burn, myself out." Luna steps back and looks at me with a mixed look of anger and pity. "You're dying... how long do you have?" "Anywhere from six to sixteen years..." "Why didn't you tell me..." "I'm sorry! OK! It’s not something I like to think about!" "It’s kind of a big deal Miles..." "You don't think I know that! You're not the one that has to die so early in life! You're not the one that has to deal with an overwhelming power that bears down on you on a daily basis! You see these rings! These are the strongest restraints we make, and in a month I was supposed to get a second pair! Do you have any idea how much power that is!" I slam my fist against the wall and walk away, leaving her speechless from my outburst. I walk into the Storm's room and pace around a bit before I collapse against a wall. I can feel the tears falling down my face as I face the reality of my life. I don't want to die... there's too much I never got to do... "Miles..." I look over and see Luna standing in the door way, looking down at me with tears still rolling down her face. "Look, I get it. Who would want to be with a ticking time bomb..." "No, Miles, I..." "YOU WHAT! Just leave already, alright." "But...Miles..." "I SAID LEAVE!" I yell, making my magic flare up. She backs away from me with a look of complete horror before she teleports away. I slam both of my fists onto the wall and scream my frustration out to the world as I collapse to the ground. "MORS MALEDICAM VOBIS! " Author's Note A/N: Shout out to halfdeamonspartan for pick the element that the bananas turned to. Thanks for reading and like always, Brony on!
Chapter 56 Rainbow's BookChapter 56 Rainbow's Book I stare at the ground and watch as my tears slowly fade away. I don't know how long I've been sitting here... and I really don't care right now. Six to sixteen years... probably less now I think about it. They did tell me that the more I used my magic, the closer the day would come. All I've been doing since I got here has been using magic. Fuck... I'm not ready to die. There's so much I'll miss out on. I want to live without the fear of burning into the void... I want to grow old... I want a family... "Miles, is everything OK?" I look over to find Rainbow Dash standing in the door way looking at me with deep concern. I turn around and sit against the wall and sigh deeply. "Hey, what brings you here?" "I heard yelling so I came over to see what's going on.... is everything alright?" She asks as she steps forward. "Yeah... everything's just great" I say flatly. She walks around and takes a seat next to me, trying not to look me in the eye's. "I... I heard. About how you're going to die... I'm really sorry to hear that..." "Why? It's not like you're the one who's making me die." "I know but... it's just..." "Please don't pity me. I don't want to be pitied for this..." "Miles, who were you yelling at?" "A perdidit somnium." "What?" "Nothing, look, I'd really like to be alone right now..." "Oh, OK. But, if you need to talk to somepony, feel free to call me up, alright?" She says as she starts to get up. "Yeah... thanks..." She stops at the door and looks back to me before she walks out. I bring my hands up and rub my eyes dry... FWUUM I look out the door to see Rainbow Dash backing away from a small plume of fire. "Why do your bananas burst into flames!" She yells to me. "You mean they all don't do that?" I yell back. She looks at me as if I'm crazy before she heads for a window. I take a few minutes to collect myself, trying my best to wipe away my tears. I finally stand back up and head to the window. I open it and drop to the ground, using my magic to lessen the fall. There goes an hour. I walk to the front door and open it, making a wall of bananas fall to the ground around me. I sit next to the pile of bananas and start pulling them out, one by one. Each one I grab I toss out to the area in front of my house, making them send small puffs of fire into the air. After an hour of this I just start to stare off at the park before me. I can see the wind blowing through the tall grass, making waves appear in the gentle hills, making the tree's sway from side to side. After a while I notice that I'm swaying with them, just rocking side to side. "NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" I hear Rainbow Dash yell in the distance. I jump to my feet and run out to her place where I find Rainbow flying around in a frenzy. "Rainbow! What's going on!" I yell up to her, getting her attention and making her fly down to me. "Miles! You gotta help me! Somepony stole it!" "Stole what?" "My autographed, first edition copy of Daring Doo and the Lost City!" "Why would someone steal a book?" "Because they're evil and when I get my hooves on them..." "Easy there, look, I'll help you track them down, just calm down a bit." She takes a few deep puffs before she sits down and looks up to me. "Aright.... calm...." she says roughly. "Ok... so what can you tell me about the scene? Was there any kind of clue as to who would of stole it?" She takes a moment to think about it before her face brightens up from an idea. "Well, my house is made of clouds, so it would have to have been a pegasus." "Good, good, anything else?" "Well..." "Why don't you go up there and look around for clues. Hair, foot prints, anything that could help us narrow it down further." She gives me a salute before she flies up to her place. She comes back down after a minute and shows me a short red hair. "There's only three ponies in Ponyville that have red hair and are pegasus, Comet, Star Dazzler, and Tornado." "Great, let’s go find them." I turn and start to walk off towards Ponyville with Rainbow walking right beside me. She looks really troubled... also why is she walking? "Hey Rai..." "Miles, I had a thought after talking to you earlier." "Oh yeah, what's on your mind?" "Well... what if Celestia and Luna just... I don't know... siphoned your energy out." "First off, the amount of energy taken would probably cause them a lot of pain, secondly it wouldn't solve the problem. The energy would grow back in hours. Look, I know..." "What if they turned you into a pony! Heck maybe even an alicorn!" "To make that happen it would take them having an extremely deep understanding of human physiology. Not to mention that they would have to then understand my constantly changing soul, time a change perfectly, and force my soul to accept the new body. There were a group of people that tried to do this in Ruby Canyon, but they never succeeded..." "Well, maybe we could try, I mean what's the worst that could happen?" "Well, from the reports I read, I could explode." "Like, boom?" "No, like level an entire city boom." She stops in her tracks and gives me a worried look. "Don't worry, I'm not exploding. If I were to guess, my last change happened when my soul materialize into its own form. I believe it called itself Soul Fire." "Change?" "Well, to put it simply, every now and again I go through a change, usually resulting in a power increase." "So you're even stronger now than when you got here?" "Probably... look, don't worry about it. I..." "No, I will worry about it!" She yells as she stops and slams a hoof down. "Whether you like it or not, you're my friend and I can't just do nothing about this! There has to be something that we can do! What if we just had you stop using magic all together? Or..." "Rainbow... I can't do that either. It would force its way out. That's why I took up enchanting, so I could use it to take the edge off." "The... edge?" "Yeah... if I go to long without using magic, it starts to build up in me. Sadly, the more I use magic, the closer I get. This is just something that I'm going to have to face." She sits down and looks down, ears dropping with her overall demeanor. "This sucks..." she pouts. I walk up to her kneel before her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I know it does, but with friends like this, I can take it." She wipes a tear away and looks back up to me with a warm smile. "So, we're friends?" "Yeah... now enough of this, let’s go get your book" I say as I stand back up and wait for her to collect herself. As we continue to walk to Ponyville I try to stifle a laugh, but she catches on fairly quickly. "What’s so funny?" "I'm sorry, I just didn't take you as the book worm type.” I say with a chuckle. "Yeah... I'm an egg head, ha ha." She says as she quickens her pace a bit. I quicken mine to get ahead of her, getting a smirk from her. She stops and jets through the air, getting to Ponyville in mere seconds and leaving me in the dust. I cough a couple of times until the dust clears and I see Rainbow sitting at the entrance to town, waiting nonchalantly. I make my way to her and walk past her, getting her to follow with the biggest look of accomplishment. "Show off..." "Hey, they don't call me Rainbow Dash for nothing.... there he is!" She yells as she points into the market place. I look over to see a pegasus walking from stall to stall. He's all white with bright red hair and a mark of a couple stars in a circle. Rainbow tries to fly at him, but I grab her tail and hold her back. "What's the deal! He's right there, let’s get him!" "Easy there, we don't know if he did it. We'll shadow him for a while, try to see if he's shady or not." She crosses her legs and pouts a bit, but complies. We follow him around for a couple of hours. He seems to be looking for mainly groceries, but doesn't seem at all interested in the book stands. We can rule him out for selling it. We follow him to a fountain where he stops to get a drink of water, where Rainbow loses her patience. She shoots forward and tackles him to the ground and starts demanding answers. I shake my head as I run after her. "Where did you put it!?" She yells as she stomps his chest. "What are you talking about? Get off of me!" I walk up and tap on Rainbows shoulder, getting her attention. I motion for her to move and kneel next to the pegasus. "Sorry about that, my friend here can be... brash at times. We have a couple of questions we'd like to ask you..." "Star Dazzler.... what kind of questions?" "Where were you today? Did you happen to go by the park at all today?" He looks between Rainbow and me before he sighs and tells us. "Why would you need to know that?" "We don't need exact details, just enough to know if you did or didn't do something." "Who are you.... you seem familiar." "My name is Miles..." "Miles! That's right. You're the human from the newspaper! The one Gabby Gums is always writing about. Is it true you're in a relationship with Twilight Sparkle?" "What! No! You mean to tell me that person is still writing about me!? What else has been written about me?" "Well, apparently you fought Princess Celestia, are dating Twilight Sparkle, saved a reporter from three dragons and killed a Minotaur." "Let’s get back to what we came here for!" Rainbow yells from the side. "Right, where did you go today?" "I was at home today, then I went to the market, and then here... can I get an autograph?" I grab his face and pull it side to side, gauging his facial expression. "He doesn't have it" I say as I stand up. "How can you tell?" "He's too innocent. Who's next on your list?" "Does this mean I can go?" Star Dazzler asks from the ground. I wave him off and start to walk off with Rainbow Dash. "That leaves Comet and Tornado." "Right, any clue where to look?" "Umm... no... wait! We can try looking around the eastern park. There's a pegasus obstacle course there." "Good idea, lead the way." I follow her through the town towards the east park. Along the way I can see all of the ponies either trying to sneak a photo or get a glimpse of me from behind cover. I ignore it and continue following Rainbow. When we get to the park I stop us from entering and enter a nearby tree line. "What are we doing over here?" "We're shadowing again. Let's ID them first and then follow them. Hopefully, one of them are here and will be the one with the book." She nods and flies up into the tree to get a better look. "Alright! I can see them both, they're out on the track." I look over and find them almost immediately. The first one is a woman, with a pink body and dark red hair that has a streak of white in it. Her mark seems to be a rock that's on fire, shooting to the side. The other is a male with a black body that has red stripes. His hair is light red, almost a light as Star Dazzlers, but seems darker due to his body. "OK, this time, leave them alone. We'll follow them around for a bit and see where they go." "Fine..." "Don't try to jump them!" "I won't." I give her a glance before I lean against the tree and return my attention to the two of them. They seem to be trying to see who can fly around the track faster, the guy winning every time. They seem to be pretty flirty with one another. Every time the guy would win, the girl would say something to him, give him a playful nudge.... "Oh sweet Barbra..." "Who?" "We're watching them on a date." "What! How can you tell?" "How can't you!?" "Well... maybe they're just friends" she says as she takes another look at the two of them. I look back to see the girl whisper something into his ear and walk away, making the guy's wings shoot straight up as he stands there frozen by what she said. "Yeah, they're just friends" I say sarcastically. "Well... what now? "I don't know... I don't want to spy on someone else's date... especially if it's going that way for them. Why don't we call it a day and look for them tomorrow?” "Ahhh... fine. I hate giving up" she says as she jumps out if the tree and walks with me towards our homes. "It's not giving up, it's postponing. We'll get it later, promise." She gives me a smile as we make our way around Ponyville, cutting through the park to get there quicker. "Soo... how are you? I mean, you know... are you in pain?" She asks worryingly. "No. When I build up too much, it just feels like a lot of pressure in my chest. After that I flare my magic without control until I use it. I've never gone past that... those are the bad days." "If you ever want... I don't know I guess I can..." "Thanks, but the only thing I can do is use my magic somehow." "Are you going to need help with all of those bananas? I've nothing to do now, and way too much energy to go back to sleep." "Alright, thanks for the help... hey Rainbow." I ask as I stop. "Yeah?" "Does your book have a green cover with a picture of a girl with a light tan hat and a green shirt?" "Yeah... why?" "Cause I just stepped on it" I say as I reach down and pick up the book. She takes one look at it and jumps into the air as she takes it from my hands. "YOU FOUND IT! THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!" She yells as she hugs the book tightly. "How the fuck did it get out here in the middle of this field?" I ask as I look around. "Don't know, don't care! I'm going to take this home and put it somewhere safe. I'll swing by your place later to help with the banana's, thanks again!" She says before she flies off for her home, leaving a trail in the air that resembles her hair. I laugh at her antics and make my way home. When I get home I can't believe what I find. I walk through the front door and look around. Every banana has been taken away. There are a few here and there but I can walk through the bottom half of my house now. I go through the entire bottom floor and try to find every possible banana. I find... maybe a bushel's worth and make a pile out front. When I throw the last of them onto the pile Rainbow flies down and looks around. "Wow... no wonder Applejack hired you." "I can't explain it, but when I got here almost all of the bananas were gone. Nothing else was taken either, only the bananas." I say as I throw a rock into the pile, setting it aflame. "Hmm... I hope none of Fluttershy's animals ate them... that could end horribly." "Think we should tell her?" "Naw, it's too late now. Well, wanna hang out then? Since we've both have nothing to do now." "Actually, now that my house is cleared I have to get to work making Storm's armor. I'll have to catch you another time." "Alright, take it easy Miles" she says before she takes off in the air. I watch her leave for a bit before I turn back and head inside. I hope she doesn't tell everyone about my problem. I know they care and all, but I want to keep this as private as possible. Oh well, time to get to work on Storm's armor.
Chapter 57 LupusChapter 57 Lupus I spend almost four hours forging and enchanting Storm's armor. I've got the basic shape down, embedded the gems so they sit above his marks, set the Spartan logo in the chest plate with the metal from the amulet and some from the chain mail, and buff n' shine it to make it look pretty. I gave him the strength enchantment again, plus a dexterity one. I saw him manipulate lighting before, so I also set one to lessen the effects from that on him. With these three enchantments a mark of an upside down triangle with three wavy lines underneath it appears. Along the side a lightning bolt appears, going from the front to the back. It's stronger than the armor he had before, but still doesn't compare to Terridisian armor. I bring it up stairs and set it on his bed, it should be a nice surprise for him when he gets back. I make my way back down stairs and go to the fridge to get a drink when I hear growling out back. I walk to the door and open to find the entire back area covered in scorch marks with the wolf from earlier laying in the middle of all of it, gnawing away at something. The wolf stops eating and looks up to me, staring at me with those grey eyes. After a minute of intense staring it finally starts to wag it's tail happily as it opens its mouth slightly as it pants lightly. I guess it trusts me. "Hey, get inside" I call out as I step to the side. It runs straight inside and runs around the walls of my house, sniffing along the floor as it goes. I shut the door and slowly follow it around. It stops by the couch where it sniffs the corner intensely, what are you doing. It walks forward a bit and starts to raise its leg a bit... "Hey!" I yell, making it stop and look back to me. "You better put that leg down." He stares at me for a second before it lowers its leg and runs off, giving an annoyed growl along the way. I follow him upstairs where he investigates every room, sniffing everything until he decides to move to the next object to sniff. We eventually get to my room where, after sniffing everything else, it gets to the secret door and starts to scratch at it. "Sorry, that one stays shut." "Bark bark bark." It sits down and stares at the door, as if something is behind the wall. Curiosity peeked, I slide the door open and look inside. "See, nothing inside" I say as it walks inside and sniffs around. Somehow, it knows not to walk into the center of the Mico platform. I walk out and wait for it to run out before I shut the door. We make our way down stairs where I go to the kitchen and grab a few apples and sit at the kitchen table, watching the wolf run around. After my first apple it runs up to me and sits down, watching me with those big grey eyes. I look down to the core and then back to it. It seems to be looking between me and the core. I offer it the core and wait for it to take it. It gives the core a few sniff before it slowly bites onto it. The second I let go it chomps down on the core and devours it in seconds. "Alrighty then, I think I shall keep you... but you need a name first though... how about... Lupus." It looks back up to me and licks its nose a couple times, I'm taking that as a yes. Now... are you a boy or a girl? I lean over and look down... yup! It's a boy. I reach out and put my hand on top of his head. I begin to pet his head, getting him to rub against my hand with every pet. He's so fluffy.... I should call him fluffy.... nah, Lupus is better. I stop rubbing his head and start eating the next apple, only to get him to nudge my free hand. "Alright, alright, I can take a hint" I say as I pet him some more, getting him to wag his tail some more. I don't get why the girls were so afraid of him. He's completely harmless. I finish eating all of the apples, feeding him all of the cores after he gives me those big eye's, and head to the front porch. It's night time now, guess time flies when you're enchanting... and petting wolves. I sit on the steps and look up to the night sky, it doesn't seem to have its normal sheen. I guess that's to be expected. As I watch the night sky, Lupus comes up beside me and lays against me. I lose track of time as I watch the dull moon slowly crawl its way across the sky. I finally decide to get up and go to bed, much to Lupus's dislike. Perspective: Celestia "Sister please, it’s time to raise the moon. Please come out of bed." I've been by her bed side for over an hour, trying to get her to raise the moon, but she simply won't. Ever since she left Miles's house all she has done is lay in bed and hold onto her tear soaked pillow. She won't talk. She won't eat. Even moving the moon has no appeal to her. I don't know what to do here, it's getting late and the sun is still up. With a deep sigh I go out to the balcony and perform both duties. I have to send the moon and sun to the correct celestial positions, which will probably make a few ponies worry, but I'll deal with that when I get to it. I walk back inside and go to the other side of the bed to face Luna. "Luna... I just raised the moon." "..." "I'm sorry, I know how much you dislike it when I do it... but it had to be done." "..." "Please sister, say something, anything. You're really starting to scare me." "..." "*sigh* very well. Please do try to get some rest sister... I love you" I say as I kiss her forehead and walk out to the balcony. I look back at her still form and shut the doors slowly. I've never seen her so devastated before. There has to be something I can do to get her out of this heart ache. I fly over to my room and go to write a note to Twilight. Dear my most faithful student Twilight, I am in most urgent need of your opinion of Miles because... I crumple up the note and try again. Dear my most faithful student Twilight, I am writing to ask your opinion on a subject that needs immediate attention, Luna is... I crumple this one up as well and toss it aside. I go through an entire stack of papers, unable to write my thoughts down. I don't know what to write. Hey Twilight, I just broke Luna's heart got any ideas to fix it. I doubt that would go over very well. Not to mention that she's friends with him, she would most likely try to help her friend. For the first time, I can't rely on Twilight. Maybe... NO! I refuse to even think of that. It's simply out of the question. I can think of something without him. She is my sister I can do this. Just think... "Ahem, your highness." "Wha!" I look around to find that I had fallen asleep on my desk. A guard has entered my room to wake me. "I'm sorry to disturb you, but it time to raise the sun..." "of course, of course." I walk out and send the moon away and raise the sun, making sure to put each into its proper course. I turn and fly over to Luna's tower to check up on her. I walk in as quietly as possible only to find her in the same state she was in before, only with blood shot eye's. "Sister, please tell me you got some sleep." "..." "Luna please! Say something!" "..." "You give me no choice. I'm going to give you a sedative spell to make you get some sleep, I'm sorry" I give her a light zap that makes her eyes shut instantly. Why is she doing this? How could she have lost her will so easily? I need to help her... I can't believe I'm even considering doing this, but I don't see an alternative. I inform the guards of my departure and order them to stay behind and to attend to other needs. Once they're gone I teleport away. Perspective: Miles GGGRRRRRRRR "Shut the fuck up Lupus" I say as I roll over to see what he's growling at. "What are you doing here?" "Why do you have a wolf in your bed?!" Celestia asks as she backs away from my bed. "Why are you in my room?" "Why is there a WOLF in your bed!?" I look down to see that Lupus has slept at the bottom of my bed and is now bearing his teeth at Celestia. "OY! Fluffy! Cute and cuddly." I say to him, making him drop the tough act and walk up to me to lick my face. "Yeah yeah, I get it, too early Lupus." "You have a pet wolf! Why would you want a pet wolf?" "Because he's so fluffy!" I say as I grab his cheeks and pull them side to side, getting him to bounce up and down. "Right... anyway... I... need your help Miles" she says as she looks away, obviously swallowing her pride to ask this. I let go of Lupus and get out of bed, heading for the door. "What is it you need" I say as I leave the room and head downstairs, Lupus by my side. I hear Celestia mumble something as she follows me to the kitchen. "It's Luna. She's in some sort of state. She won't talk, eat, she won't do anything except hold onto her pillow." "Yeah... sounds like I broke her heart..." I say as I look through my fridge. I'm trying to be nonchalant, but this is ripping my heart apart. "You have to talk to her..." "HA! First you threaten me to never see her again, now you want me to talk to her. If ever there was a defining moment for irony..." "Miles! Please! This is serious!" "I AM SERIOUS!" I yell as I slam the door shut, making Lupus run away. "WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO PLAY WITH OUR HEARTS LIKE THIS! I CAN'T GO TO HER BECAUSE I..." "This isn't about you, it's about her." She says, getting me to walk away. "You have to talk to her, convince her that life is worth living. I tried, but she won't listen to me. But she'll listen to you." "And what exactly would I say?" I say as I take a seat at the table. "Hey there, I know you're in a lot of pain but cheer up, it'll only hurt for as long as I'm alive. Yeah right, get real." I lean over and bury my face in my hands and sigh. Why am I doing this? Why am I fighting with her? I open my eyes when I hear a high pitch moan. I look over to see Lupus sitting next to me, looking saddened with his ears laying down. I reach over to him and start petting him, getting him to start to lick my face again. "Fine... I'll go. But I don't do this for you. This is for Luna" I say as I stand up and face Celestia. She nods and teleports the two of us to Luna's balcony. I walk inside and approach her bed, where I find her asleep. I can still see the stains from all of her tears on her face and pillow. It breaks my heart to see this, but I keep a strong face on as I turn to Celestia. "I thought you said she wouldn't sleep." "I sedated her. I'll undo the spell and give you a few minutes of privacy, but I will be waiting outside so don't..." "I already promised her I would never try anything." I say as I walk over to her. I look up to Celestia and wait for her to undo the spell and leave the room. Once she's gone I look back to Luna and wait. I can she her slowly start to wake, so I put my hand on the side of her face and gently rub her, getting her to wake faster. "Mmm... Miles?" She says sleepily. As she tries to pick her head up. "Hey... everything alright?" I ask softly. "Miles... I..." "Hey, I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier. It wasn't fair for me to take my frustration out on you..." "And I'm sorry that I had to say what I said.... I didn't want to end everything, but..." "Hey this is probably for the best. With your immortality and my... living handicap, it would only end in a heart ache worse than this." She sits up and looks me over a bit before she gets out of bed and walks over to the balcony. Well, mission accomplished, I think. "Celestia, can you come in here please" She says, getting Celestia to run in and hug Luna instantly. "Sister! Are you alright? What do you need? How..." "First off," she says as she breaks the hug and steps back, "I'm still mad at you. But if you help me with this I will forgive you." "Help you with what?" "Miles could you please explain to my sister what's going on?" I walk over and look over the two before I sigh and comply. "It basically goes like this. My power is constantly growing. Eventually it will grow to a point where my body cannot tolerate, and I'll burn out. If I use my magic, it progresses, if I don't use it, it will build up and force its way out. I have anywhere from six to sixteen years." She looks a little shocked by this, but keeps a level expression on. "I want you to help me find a way to fix this" Luna says as she walks to my side and looks me over. "If you can help me with this, I will forgive you, what do you say?" "I... I will help." "Sorry to burst your bubbles, but there's nothing you can do to help..." "How so?" Luna asks as she walk around me. "I've explored every possible route to go, and none of them can help me." "What if we just took away your powers?" Celestia asks as she looks me over. "Then I'd turn into nothing more than just a rock. My powers are an extension of my soul. Take away my powers, take away my soul." "What if we you used a ton of your power to lower yourself, then used a constant supply to keep it down?" Luna asks. "First off, that would be painful, secondly it would accelerate the burn out quickly. The minute I fall asleep I would grow the power back and burn out." They both stop in front of me and sit down, trying to think of a way to fix me. "What if we just put more of those restraints on you?" Celestia asks. "That would only solve the problem for, at most, sixteen years. By that point, I wouldn't be able to move my arms and legs." "Well... what if we... tried..." Luna says. "Look, I appreciate you both trying to fix this, but it can't be fixed. I'm going to die. This is the reality of my being." "But Miles..." Luna says as tries to approach me, only to stop when I back away. "I'm going to have to accept this, and so will you. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to go home." Luna and Celestia give me worried looks before Luna lowers her head and teleports us to my place. "Are you sure that there is nothing we can do?" She asks. "Unless you can match my power, and find a way to calm my soul, no. There's nothing we can do." I say as I sit on the edge of my bed. "Well... what is your power level?" "Last I checked, it was over forty thousand." "Wow..." "Yeah. I..." I start to say but stop when Lupus runs into the room and tackles me in a fit of joy and facial licks. "WHY IS THERE A WOLF IN YOUR HOUSE!" Luna yells as she jumps back. "He's my pet- *lick* I've decided to keep him. His name is Lupus." I say as I sit up and pet Lupus. "And why would you want a wolf for a pet?" Luna asks as she steps closer to us. "Because he's so flooffy!" I say as I scruff up his face. Luna walks over to him and starts to pet him as well, getting him to lay on his back and show us his belly. "You know, I thought you would do something stupid, like name him wolf or something." She says as she rubs his belly, getting his leg to shake like crazy. "Yeah, who would ever do something dumb like that" I say as I look over to her. I wait for her to put one and one together before we both start laughing. "Really Miles?" "What? It suites him." Author's Note A/N: Shout out to Meliron and Crimson Lionheart for picking the extra enchantments for Storm's armor. Thanks for reading, Brony on!
Chapter 58 Moving OnChapter 58 Moving On Luna and I play with Lupus for a while until something catches his attention and makes him run out of the room. I look over to Luna and we stare at each other for a moment, smiling warmly. It's taking every fiber in my being not to kiss her right now, and I can tell she's trying just as hard to fight it. It doesn't even feel as if I'm fighting myself. It feels as if there's something within me fighting to get to her. Though it's truly tempting, I know I shouldn't, it would end horribly... for everyone. "Luna... you should get going... Celestia is probably waiting," I tell her quietly. "Yeah... so... is that it. What happens now?" "Well, you're going back to Canterlot and getting some sleep, I'm going to continue preparing for Storm's training, and life moves on." "What about us?" she asks as she steps forward, looking at me with pleading eye's. "We... stay friends. I'll always cherish what we had, but we move on with our lives." "...OK. I'll try..." "No. You will. Trying implies likely failure, you will move on. You will find happiness, wherever it may be, you will find it. And when I die, you will be sad, but you will move on. You will not succumb to a lonely heart; you will find the answer to your happiness." She wipes a few tears away before she gives me a hug, holding me tightly. "If you believe I will... I'll do it..." I return the hug and hold her for a moment before I break it off and stand up. "I guess this is goodbye then." "No way, you'll see me again." She gives me a smile before she teleports out of my room. I sigh and head down stairs, I seriously hope I didn't make the biggest mistake in my life. I walk down the steps to find Lupus staring at the door, standing perfectly still. "What's got you all worked up?" I say as I open the door. "Miles! Have ya seen... WOLF!" Applejack yells as she jumps back. "Why in tarnation do ya have a wolf in yer house!" "Do you see how fluffy he is?" I say as I ruffle the top of his head. He walks out and sniffs Applejack a few times before he trots back inside. "Do you need something?" "Ah.... yeah...YEAH! Have ya seen Applebloom taday? She was supposing ta come home yesterday but never did." "I haven't... you don't think she went back into the forest, do you?" "Ah sure hope not..." she says worryingly. "Well let’s get looking for her then" I say as I step out and shut the door, "where's Big Mac?" "Ah don't know. He didn't come last night either." She says with a deep look of concern. "Well, maybe they're together, let’s check everybody's houses first, maybe they went to visit and decided to just visit someone and ended up staying the night." "Alright... I'll check at Rare's, why don't you start at Fluttershy's." "Can do. Let's meet at Sugarcube corner in an hour." She nods and runs off towards Ponyville. If I remember correctly, Fluttershy lives just east of me, so I head east. After several minutes I find her place and run up to the door. I knock loudly a couple of times only to find that the door wasn't shut properly. "Fluttershy..." I call out as I slowly step inside. Again, I don't get a response. It's quiet... too quiet...then again, it is Fluttershy. I walk inside and look around a bit. There's a fireplace to the right, a set of stairs to the left, and furniture in the back. Everything seems to be decorated to resemble nature and gives off a peaceful vibe. In every nook and cranny there seems to be a hole or small box with some sort of little stair way to them. I don't get it, but whatever, her house. I hear some shuffling upstairs and walk up to investigate. I come up to what I assume is her room and open the door to find Big Mac behind Fluttershy, pounding away at her back side. Fluttershy has her face buried in a pillow, sticking her back side in the air as Big Mac holds onto her. He looks over to me and freezes mid hump to stare at me. I try my best not to, but I eventually look down to see his member sticking half way out of Fluttershy. "Uh..." "GET BACK TO WORK!" Fluttershy yells in a voice that shakes the very core of my being as she looks back to Big Mac, making him... get back to work. I quickly shut the door and run down stairs. Why do things like this always happen to me... why can't I ever knock! When I get to the bottom of the stairs I can see the scared faces of all the small animals hiding in the small boxes. I see a small white rabbit shaking in the corner, trying to comfort itself. It pulls out a carrot to eat but takes a look at it and tosses it aside, shaking even harder. Oh sweet Barbra... he walked in on them too. I walk over to him and sit next to it and pick it up, holding it close to me as I rub it's back. "It's alright, it's ok... we'll get through this..." I say as I rock back and forth. He grabs onto my arm and holds on tightly. After an unknown amount of time I hear hoof steps coming down the stairs. I look up to see Big Mac making his way downstairs. He walks before me and stands there awkwardly, trying not to look me in the eye's. "So... Miles....can ah help ya?" He asks as he rubs the back of his head. "Y-yeah... I mean no... I mean is Applebloom here?" Please say no. "Nnope... why?" "She never came home last night. Applejack was looking for both you and her, so I decided to help." "Where is Applejack now?" he asks in a worried tone. "We're supposed to meet at Sugarcube corner in a bit..." "Then let’s get going" he says as he runs out the door. I set the rabbit down and run after him. I try to keep up with him, but he simply runs too quickly for me to keep up. We make it to Sugarcube corner where we find Applejack waiting at a table. "Big Mac, ya know where Applebloom is?" "Nnope." "Carnsanit! I checked all of their usual hang out, but they aint there either." "Hey are you guys looking for the girls?" Pinkie asks as she pops up from underneath the table... why was she down there? "Yes! Have ya seen them Pinkie?" Applejack asks. "Yeah! They came here yesterday talking about going to Zecora's." "So they're at Zecora's... where's that?" I ask. "It's... in the Everfree Forest." Applejack says with a gulp. "Alright, here's the plan. You two go home and gather whatever supplies you can, meet back at my place as soon as possible, got it?" They nod and run off to the farm. I run back home and go straight for my room. I put on my armor and take all of my weapons, except for my rifle. I go down stairs and see Lupus sleeping on the couch... probably for the best. I walk outside and wait for them to show up. When Applejack and Big Mac finally show up I follow them to Zecora's. We head towards Fluttershy's place and take the path into the forest, slowing our pace as soon as we enter the tree line. "Keep an eye open fer them... they could be tryin ta find their way back." Applejack says as we walk down the path. We nod and start to look out into the forest. I don't see anything noteworthy... just tree's and random plant life. "What's that?" Applejack says, getting me to look over. On the ground is a solid trail of scorch marks, about a half meter thick, going across the path. "What the fuck made this?" I say as I kneel down and investigate the marks. "Looks like elemental serpents ta me," Big Mac says as he looks over the trail. "They went a that way," he says as he nods to the left. "Alright, new plan. You two go to Zecora's and check to see if they're there, I'm going down this way...:" "And why do ya get ta go after the snakes on yer own?" Applejack asks. "Because if it's an elemental creature, I'm going to fair the best." "And how's that?" "My magic makes me resistant to most elements. Fire, ice, electricity, none of them truly cause me pain. Now get going to Zecora's. If I don't find them, I'll meet you two there, got it?" "Eeyup." I turn and follow the trial through the forest. I hear Applejack protest a little, but complies after Big Mac runs off. After a while I start to see more trails converging to a single point. I pull out my sword with my right hand and my revolver with my left as I take cover behind a tree. I peer over to see the serpents laying in a pit together. they seem to all have the same basic structure, a skeletal structure being made of what looks like stone with the core of them being made of various elements. Some are filled with fire where others have electricity or ice filling them. They have flat wide heads with eye's made of their prospective element. They seem to be about the same size of the young snakes I fought last time, maybe a little skinnier due to their elemental innards. I try to see if the girls are anywhere around here when I hear hissing behind me. I turn around to see a fire snake about to strike me. "You wouldn't happen to be friendly, would you?" The snake strikes at me, sending a plume of fire at me as it tries to snap its jaws onto me. I quickly push myself away from the tree and avoid the attack. I line up my revolver and blast a hole in its head. It shakes its head a bit then turns to me, readying to strike again. OK, standard bullets won't work here. I back up and holster my weapon as I raise my sword. it strikes again, I roll forward and stab my sword into its skull. Once I land the attack I flare my hand and turn my sword into a conduit of ice, turning the snakes head into an ice ball. I take my free hand and slam my palm into the ice, flaring my magic and shattering it with a blast of energy. The flames on the body burn out as the body drops to the floor. I start to back away from the pit, hopefully I can get away without any of them noticing. I start to walk away when I hear a shaking behind me. I turn around to see the skeleton of the snake start to shake as it begins to fill with ice. "You've got to be kidding me." I say as the ice snake rises up and readies to attack. Before it can attack, four more slither up and start hissing to one another. There are two fire, one electric, and one that seems to be a form of raw blue energy. The energy one strikes at me, blasting me back as a wall of energy hits me in the chest. I hit the ground and immediately shoot my hand forward, bring up my shield up just in time to stop the two fire snakes from biting me. I flare the magic in my sword and swing it around above me, sending a wave of energy around me and sending them flying back. With them away from me I stand back up and sheath my sword, I don't think it'll be much help right now. I turn and raise both my hands to get ready for the next attack to find all of them have dropped whatever element they were and now lay on the floor as piles of skeletons. "No way... that was too easy." I start to back away from the bones for a second only to stop when they start shaking again. They all rise up again only this time as green energy. What the fuck does green energy do? Probably better not to know. I bring up my magic to my elbows and shoot a beam of soul fire into the center of the group, making a huge explosion appear that sends me flying back. I crash into the ground and roll for a but before I jump to my feet and try to find the snakes. "AW COME ON!" I yell as the soul fire snakes charge me. I turn and start to run away as the snakes send small beams of soul fire at me, barely missing and making small explosions appear before me. Hmm... I haven't tried using the same element yet, couldn't hurt. I throw a ball of soul fire at the closes one and turn it to ash. The others stop their charge and look to the pile of ash and wait. After a few seconds of nothing happening I start throwing balls of soul fire at them, killing two more and scaring the other two away. I start to chase after them, but stop when I remembered why I was here in the first place. I turn and run to where the pit was and start investigating it. Nothing tells me that they were here, no hair, hoof prints, blood, nothing. So I turn and follow the scorch marks back to the path. Once I find the path I turn and run towards Zecora's home. After a few minutes of running I stop and look at what I presume is her home. It's another one of those tree houses, but this one seems more... wild. I start to walk towards it when the door opens and all off the Apples walk out. "You found her!" I say as I run up to them. "I was never lost!" Applebloom pouts. "I just told thum that I told Zecora that I was gonna watch her house while she visits her family." "An why didn't ya tell us earlier about this?" Applejack asks. "Ah thought ah did," she says as she twiddles her hooves around. "Well, from now on, iffin yer going to be going down here, ah want ya ta ask one of the grownups ta go with you, OK?" "Can I ask Miles?" She asks with a hop in excitement. "Well... if he's willing ta, sure." Applebloom turns to me and gives me the biggest smile she can muster. D’aw... how could I say no. "As long as I don't have anything going on I'll be more than happy to take you down here." "Yes!" she yells as she joyfully skips forward. What did I just sign up for? "Thank ya kindly fer watchen after mah kin Miles" Applejack says to me as we walk after her. "Don't mention it. After helping me so much, it's the least I could do." I say with a shrug. "What did ah do ta help?" She asks modestly as she blushes slightly, tipping her hat to hide her face. "You gave me a job, filled my home with food, and not to mention just being an overall descent person. I really appreciate everything you've done for me." "Aw shucks, ah'm jus doing the right thing. Anypony would do that much." "EEyup." "So... didja find the snakes?" Applejack say before I could respond to her prior statement. "Yeah." "And?" Big Mac asks. "A little disappointing. I didn't even get injured." I say, making them both facehoof. Author's Note Thanks to Taco Town for picking the enemies for the forest. Thanks for reading, and like always, Brony on!
Chapter 59 ApplesChapter 59 Apples As we leave the forest, we all start to head towards the farm. I figure it's about time I went to work anyway. When we get to the farm, Applejack takes Applebloom inside while Big Mac and I head out the northern fields. Once we get far enough out there we split up, Big Mac going east and me going west. I go to my first tree and start kicking, only to knock it over in my first kick. Dammit. I really need to get some shoes. I go over and pick all of the apples I can from the top and go to the next tree. I hesitate a little and try my best to restrain myself, but when I kick it I only get a few apples. Fucking piece of shit. I kick again in anger and completely obliterate the trunk of the tree, sending shrapnel everywhere as the tree drops to the ground. "Fucking asshole!" "Miles, what’s the matter?" I turn around to see Applejack walking up to me, looking at all of the tree's. "Applejack. Sorry about the tree's..." "Don't sweat it. Just tell me what's got ya so bothered." "Nothing has me bothered. I just need shoes." I say as I approach the next tree. "Miles, ah can tell your lying, what's wrong?" "Nothing, I just need shoes..." "Ah spoke with Rainbow earlier.... she told me about yer problem." Of fucking course she did. "Look, I don't want to talk about it right now. Just let me get back to work..." "Yeah, that's not happening." I stop and look back to her in confusion. "Does this mean I'm fired?" "No, it means until you can buck trees without knocking them over, ah'm gonna have ya do other work around the farm." "What kind of work?" "Jus follow me." I grab the almost empty cart and follow her all the way back to the barn where we leave the cart out front and head inside. The inside is basically a giant open room. To the left and right are rows of stalls, each of which are filled with some cows. Each stall goes up a story then has a flat roof that doubles as the floor for the next floor. The second floor serves as a walkway that goes around the entire room. Some hay bales have been stored here, but other than that it's completely empty. Strands of hay cover the ground and the walkway above, giving the room a distinct odor. "Well ya gonna gawk all day or ya comin up?" Applejack asks from the second floor. I climb up the ladder and join her in the middle of the walkway. "Alright, what do you want me to do?" "Ya see these boards?" She asks as she points to the wall beside up. The walls are made of rectangular panels that are starting to come off. "These panels are gettin old. So I want you ta go through an remove all the bad ones and replace them with new ones." "Sounds easy enough." "Here, let me show ya how it's done" she says as she picks up a hammer in her mouth and pulls out a few nails, making the panel drop to the ground. "Real easy. After ya collect a good amount jus toss the old ones. Ah'll bring in the new ones as you get started, any questions?" "What do you mean by just toss them?" "Uhh... throw them away." "You're not going to reuse them?" "Ah can't. There's nothin ah could use em on." "In that case can I keep them? I could use them for Storm's training." "Hmm... ah don't see why not. Ah'll go grab a cart fer them as well." I thank her and get to work removing all of the old boards. There are a lot that need to be replaced, almost this entire wall. How exactly does it get this bad without them working on it before hand? As I work I can hear the cows talking to each other, since when did they talk? After getting a couple of boards off Applejack returns with an empty cart, so I toss the few boards I have off into it. I get back to removing the old boards as Applejack goes to get the new boards, keeping the old nails in my pocket. After removing some rather reluctant boards she comes back with a flatbed of new boards. I stop to try to levitate some up, but can't because I don't know what they are. "Hey Applejack, what is wood made of?" I ask her as she comes up the ladder with a can of new nails... "It comes from tree's. Ya chop down a tree, remove the cork an bark, an cut the inners to yer liking." "OK... what makes up a tree?" "Well, ya got yer outer and inner bark makin the outside, then ya got yer cambium, that's the area of growth fer the tree, after that is the phloem and xylem, and then in the center is the pith. Yer xylem transports yer water an minerals from the roots while yer phloem transports water and food from the leaves..." "Applejack!" I say, stopping her on her little lecture on plant physiology. "Glad to see you know your tree's but I meant a more literal depiction. Is it carbon? I heard water, so I know that must be in the live parts, but water is the literal make up of a tree." "Oh... uh... yeah, ah'd say carbon, seeing how they breath in carbon dioxide and turn it ta oxygen. Plus, when..." "Carbon, got it! Let's give it a try!" I say as I go to the edge and try to levitate a few boards. I takes a few tries, but I eventually get them to come up. With a smug smile I get back to work on removing the boards from the first section. As I work, I notice Applejack waiting beside me, shuffling her hooves and trying to hold her mouth shut. "*sigh* what's on your mind?" Depressing talk, here we come. "Well... ah was jus wonderin... what are ya doing later?" "Well, I've got to take this stuff home and get it ready for the training, why?" "Well... ah've got this rodeo comin up... and was wonderin if you'd help me train up a bit. There's this one course that can't seem to do as well as ah usually do and would like some help." OK, not what I was expecting. "I don't see why not, when?" "Later this afternoon. But if ya got ta work on..." "Sure, why don't we get started after work?" "Well, alright then, thank ya kindly Miles!" She says as she grabs a hammer and joins me in fixing up the wall. We spend the next few hours fixing up the wall. All the while talking about things she'll have to do in this rodeo. Most of it is just a physical strength test or a speed challenge. Easy enough. When we run out of boards we leave the barn and take our carts to their perspective areas, mine being home. I drop it of in the backyard and dump all of the nails in the cart before heading back to the farm. I find Applejack behind the house in the area where Big Mac and I played those games earlier. She has a bunch of barrels lined up and is stretching at one end. "What's this?" "It's the barrel run. Ah've got ta get from one end ta the other as quickly as possible while weaving through the barrels. If I touch one of them, ah get a penalty of five seconds added." "Sounds simple enough, why don't you show me what you can do and give it a try." She gives me a nod and get ready. I pull out my phone and go to the stop watch on it. "On your mark, get set, GO!" She takes off and starts running tough the barrels. She's fairly nimble on her feet, but at the end she hits two barrels in a row. Other than that she did good, I stop the timer and see that see was able to do it in twenty seconds. I'm not sure if that's good or not. "How was that?" She asks as she trots back. "Pretty good. You did it in twenty seconds, plus two hits makes it thirty." "Thirty! Carnsawnit! That's almost double my time from last year." She says as she kicks the ground. "Hey, that's why we practice, to get better." "Yeah yeah, practice makes perfect ah know..." "Heh, that's weird, we had a saying similar to that. Ours goes practice like you perform and preform like you practice." "Whatta ya tryin ta say, ah'm gonna do bad tamorrow." "Kind of. It supposed to make you want to practice harder to really do the best you can do. If you practice with everything you've got, then actually doing it will be easier on you. Now why don't you go ahead and try again, but this time treat it as if you're actually in the contest." She gives me a nod and goes over to the line again. She takes a few breaths and gets ready, looking intensely focused. "On your mark... get set... GO!" She takes off again and weaves through the barrels with much more finesse, seamlessly making her way through the barrels without a single one. When she makes it to the end I stop the timer and check the time. "Seventeen seconds flat." "Yeehaw! That's more like it!" We do the exercise a couple more times with similar results. Her best was fifteen seconds where her worst was the first time through. She really good at focusing at the task at hand, so I decide to up the ante. She sets up again and waits for my signal. "On your mark... get set................................................ GO!" She almost tripped up on that, but waited and took off at the right time. When she gets halfway through I yell out "What in the world is that!" Making her look up and crash into a barrel. I run over to her and help her up, laughing a little to myself. "Well, let's hope you don't do that at the contest." "Shud up Miles. Why did ya yell out like that?" "To distract you. Now do it again, but this time focus at the task at hand." She gives me a nod and walks back to the starting line. I set the barrel back in place and go to the line, where Applejack is waiting in her stance again. "Alright, on your mark... get set.... GO!" She takes off and runs with the same focus again. I wait till she's three fourths of the way down before I yell out "Applebloom, what are you doing!" Making her crash again. With a sigh I go over and help up again. "Well..." "Don't say a word, let's jus do it again" she says as she runs back to the starting line. We go through the course several times before she can finally ignore my comments. Once she does, she returns to her usual times. After her last run through she walks up to me, sweating and panting. "Ah, think that should do fer today.... want ta come over fer dinner?" I check my phone to see that it's already eighteen hundred hours. "Thanks but I really need to get going. I need to get started on getting everything ready for Storm's training. Maybe another time." "Well, thank fer the help.... an if ya every do want ta talk about... yer problem... feel free ta come ta me." "I'll be sure to do that... thanks." I say before I turn and start walking home. Applejack walks with me to the front where we run into Big Mac and Applebloom. "Hiya Miles, ya stayin fer dinner?" Applebloom asks. "Sorry, but I have to get going to get to work on something. Maybe another time." GAW! She's pouting! I have to leave before her cuteness changes my mind. "Hmm... what if I helped ya with this project of yers after dinner?" Big Mac asks. "Well..." "It's settled then. Miles will stay fer dinner and then you two will head over ta his place to work on Storm's training thing" Applejack says as she trots inside. I don't remember agreeing to this... "Yay! Can I help make dinner?" Applebloom asks as she hops around in joy. Fuck... now I have to go... oh well. I follow them in where Applejack and Applebloom head to the kitchen, leaving me and Big Mac in the living room. We sit there in silence for a while until Big Mac breaks the silence. "So... what's this training ah'm hearing about?" "Oh, I'm putting Storm through Spartan training. It's the same level of training I went through back home." "Hmm.... why are ya doing this?" "Well, he's been getting his ass kicked a lot lately. I figure he could use some good training." "Is there a way..." "SOUPS UP EVERYPONY!" Applejack yells, getting us both to go to the kitchen and take our seats. "Evening Granny Smith, how are you today?" I ask her as I take a seat next to her. "What!? I don't need any shoes... er.... Meters." "Glad to hear it" I say as Applejack set a few bowls filled with hot liquid out. As everyone starts to eat I take a moment to look over the new food, much to Granny Smiths displeasure. "What's the matter... kilometers... big city boy don't like apple soup?" Granny Smith says as she shakes a spoon at me. "Let's find out" I says as I try a spoonful. It's like eating hot liquid apples... I like it. We eat awhile giving idle talk about the rodeo and carnival tomorrow. Everyone seems to believe that Applejack will do great, while she stays modest about her abilities. I think she'll do just fine. Once we finish up Big Mac and I head out for my place. "Miles... there's something ah wanted ta ask ya." Big Mac says as we walk down the path. "If Rainbow told you to I swear..." "Ah want ta go through the training as well." I stop walking and look over to him. "You what?" "Ah want to go through Spartan training" he says levelly to me. "Big Mac, you realize that this isn't some exercise regiment, this will turn you into a soldier. A killer. This is some really intense training; you will get fucked up from this. You will bleed, break bones, and live on the brink of death. Do you honestly believe you can take that?" "Miles, when ya told me Applebloom went missin, ah didn't know what ta do. An when we went into the forest an found those tracks, ah knew there wasn't anything as could do. We lucked out that she was at Zecora's, if she was with those snakes.... ah want ta be able ta protect mah kin, and ah'll do anything ta be able ta do that." I stare into his eye's for a while, trying to see his resolve. "*sigh*, you're lucky you and your sister are friends of mine, otherwise I'd say no." "So ah'm in?" "Go home, prepare your house to not have you for a month, and prepare for a living shit storm." "Dontcha want help with settin up?" "Not from someone that will be going through the course. Go home. I'll be sure to get things ready for the both of you." He smiles as he nods his head and walks back home. I turn and walk home, thinking to myself as I stare up at the moon. Two now... this actually may work out better... two...
Chapter 60 Pinkies CarnivalChapter 60 Pinkies Carnival I roll over in bed and sigh deeply. I spent all night working on the course, reworking his sword, doing some chores around the house, and now the sun is shining right in my face. At least it turned out pretty good though. I kind of feel bad for them, but then again, this is still nothing compared to what I had to go through in those simulators. *shivers* eh, bad memory, better get up now. I slowly get out of bed and head to the restroom. After a shower I head down stairs to get some breakfast. Hmm... where's Lupus? I open the back door and see him in the tree line, digging at the ground. After a few seconds of digging he pulls out a charred... thing, and starts eating it. OK then, better follow him and get some food. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK Ahh... what now. I go to the front door and open it to find Pinkie Pie jumping up and down. "We're going to the carnival, we're going to the carnival, we’re going to the car-ni-val! Come on Miles, let’s get going!" She sings as she continues to bounce up and down. "What are you talking about Pinkie?" I ask groggily. "What are you talking about sleepy Mcsleeperton? Today's the carnival! We're all going to go play games, ride the rides, cheer Applejack on in the rodeo, eat super-duper ultra-tasty overly deep fried goodness! Come on!" She says in her usual cheery manner. Oh, that's right, the thing Applejack was practicing for. "Alright, I'll go with you, just let me get ready" I say as I step aside and allow her in. "Okey dokey lokey!" She says as she hopes in. I go upstairs and get dressed quickly. I really miss shoes. I need to make time either today or tomorrow to get some made, hopefully they won't cost too much. Once I'm ready I head downstairs and find Pinkie sitting on the couch, humming to herself. "Hey, this isn't a... party... is it?" "Nopey dopey wopey. It's more of a... social gathering." "Social gathering... right. Well, let’s get going then, we don't want to be late..." "We're already late" Pinkie says as she hopes off. I shut the door behind me and follow her, why she skips I'll never know. "What do you mean we're late?" "Silly, the carnival started at twelve." "And?" "It's three." "Three? Do you mean fifteen hundred?" "If you want to go by griffin time then yes." Fuck me over. I haven't slept that long since.... oh wow. Tomorrow is going to suck. "Hey Miles, are you alright? You look as if something is troubling you." "Huh? Oh, it's nothing. Just... wondering about what a carnival is." "It's the annual Ponyville carnival. It's to celebrate the founding of Ponyville. I help plan and organize it almost every year, so I know it'll be super-duper fun!" "If you say so." "Just stick with me and you'll see, now come on! We're missing out in carnival time!" See says as she quickens her hops, making me pick up the pace. We go through Ponyville until we come out of the southern district where we find the carnival. It's made up into three parts. To the left is an assortment of contraptions that ponies are riding, about eight are in view, but there's space for more. To the right is a large track where some ponies in hats similar to Applejack's are doing various contest. In between those two are an assortment of tents, some selling food, others having games with oversized toy prizes. It's fairly crowed, but getting around really shouldn't be a problem. "Wow... what should we do first?" I ask, getting my stomach to yell at me. "I think we should get food first" Pinkie says with a laugh as she hopes towards the tents. I follow her into the crowd and look around. All of the foods here look sugary.... fuck yeah. Most of the residents of Ponyville that I see don't really pay me any attention, but all of the new comers stare at me in disbelief. Oh the joys of being foreign. We come to a stop at a stall that's selling pink and blue puffs of... I'm not entirely sure what to call it. "What is this?" "Silly it's cotton candy, let’s get one!" We go to the counter and each get one, pinkie getting pink and me with blue. I watch her stick the entire thing into her mouth and devour it all in a single gulp. I have a feeling that was a Pinkie Pie thing. I try to bite a chunk out, but the instant it touches my tongue it turns to sugary water goodness. "Wow... that's weird." "How so?" "Well, it went from a solid to a liquid." "Yeah and it has sugar!" "Yeah... that too." We walk around some more as I finish up my cotton candy. It was good at first, but after a while it started to get gross, so I gave the rest to Pinkie. "Are you sure this isn't a... party?" "Absolutely! Because I would never invite somepony to something that they wouldn't like and if I brought you to a party you didn't like then you'd run away and I would probably cry from making you uncomfortable and then Meliron would be upset and probably get mad at TB and then TB would argue with him, making RandomEncounter try to stop them and LOOK funnel cake!" She says in one breath. I look over to see a stand selling what looks like holey pancakes with white powder on them. We go over and each get one, though I not opt to get strawberries on mine. Once again, Pinkie devours her food in a single illogical bite, ending it with a satisfied sigh. I use the fork they gave me and try a chunk. What is it about anything being pancake related being awesome? I eat this with much more gusto, finishing it relativity quickly. "Hot damn that was good, so what now?" "Well, Applejack won't be competing until six, so let’s...." She starts to say but stops when she see's someone walking towards us. "Hey baby, what’s happening?" Asks a pale earth pony with a long brown hair and a silhouette of a pony on a pole as a cutie mark. "What are you doing here Squishy?" Pinkie asks cruelly. "Aw come on now honey, why ya gotta be like that? You know I'm always where the party's at" Squishy says giving a wiggle with his eyebrows. "Party..." "It's not that! It's a social gather!" Pinkie yells, ending my thought process. "Whatever you want to call it, if it's happening, imma be there. Now if you excuse me, I have a client to find" he says as he walks off, swaying his hips side to side. "Good leave" Pinkie says as she walks away from him, holding her head up high. "Jealous?" Squishy asks from a distance. "As if!" Pinkie says as she gets further away. I shake my head and run up to Pinkie. "Who was that guy?" "Squishy Trap. He's a... entertainer..." "Like what you do?" "What! No way Jose! I make ponies smile and happy!" "And… he doesn't?" I ask, getting Pinkie to look away. "Wow, I didn't think it was possible for you to hate someone..." "I don't hate him... I just disagree with every choice he's ever made and would like to never see him again." "Yeah... that's not hate, anyway, we've got some time to kill, let’s go check out the rides." "Okey dokey lokey!" Pinkie says in her usual cheerful manner. We make our way into the ride section where the sound of ponies screaming in joy and rides moving around fills the air. "Let's do the teacups!" Pinkie says as she runs off for one of the rides. This one has six cups that you sit in as the platform it sits on spins around, powered by a unicorn at the entrance to the ride. Inside the cups is a disk that you apparently pull on to make the cup spin faster. As we wait in line, Pinkie starts telling me about her secret technique for getting the cups to spin the fastest. Once we get to the cups I have to basically sit cross legged to fit, with Pinkie sitting in my lap. Once the platform starts to spin we immediately start working together to get the cup to spin. I don't think it was made for a human to pull on it, because we get going fairly quickly. Soon the world around us becomes a blur as we spin faster and faster around. "WWEEEE! Don't stop!" "Are you kidding! I'm about to fly out..." "Faster!" I keep pulling on the disk, spinning the cup even faster around. With every revolution of the platform, we toss and turn until I feel something begin to stop us. I look down to see the aura field of the unicorn stopping us. "Aww, we're slowing down" Pinkie says as she pouts. Oh fuck yes... I seriously thought I was going to fly out. I've never been so dizzy in all of my life. I can't even think right now, let alone walk away. The ride operator tried to yell at us, but as soon as he saw our faces he just laughed and walked away. "Aw... ugh... Pinkie.... I feel as if I'm going to puke my brains out." "Yeah.... me to.... worth it... let’s do the Ferris wheel.... it'll calm us down." "If you say so." We stumble our way to the line for the Ferris wheel and wait for it's our turn. By the time we get a cart I'm feeling much better, but Pinkie still looks a little green. This ride is basically a giant standing wheel with carts in it, standing around thirty meters tall. The operator uses his magic to spin the wheel in place and you just sit there. Seems calm enough. We get on and wait for the other two carts to fill up. "How're you feeling now?" "Much better." "Yeah... let’s not do that again... I don't think my stomach can handle that much torture." "Aw... I was gonna say we do it again after this." We share a small laugh as the wheel begins to slowly spin. Pinkie looks out the window and starts to take in the view as we get even higher up the wheel. From this height you can really see the surrounding area. You have the Everfree to the north, Applejacks farm to the west, Canterlot in the far east, and a small settlement far away in the south. The wheel comes to a stop with us at the very top. The wind up here is crisp and cool as it blows at a brisk pace. "Damn, who'd think that the air gets cooler the higher you go." "Hey, I think I can see Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie says as she sticks half her body out the window. "Pinkie, be careful..." "HEY RAINBOW! RAINBOOOOOOOW AAAAAAAHHH!" She screams as she falls out the window. I jump after her and try to grab her tail, but miss it. I jump out of the window and launch myself at her. She's screaming and kicking, but I manage to grab a hold of her and flip around. We hit the ground with a solid thud, making a small crater with me standing in the middle, holding a shaken Pinkie. "You alright?" I ask as I set her down. "Y-yeah... thanks Miles... you saved my life." "Yeah I.." I start to say but stop when I hear the moans of metal bending. I look over to see the Ferris wheel starting to tilt away from us. Dropping Pinkie, I flare my hands and grab a hold of the structure, trying to get it to stand still. I pull down, making it stand back in its correct position. I hold it there until they empty all of the carts and tether it down. Once they finish, I let go and step back. It gives a small wiggle, but stays standing. "Damn, that was..." I start to say but stop when the crowd around me starts cheering. I rub the back of my neck and try to be modest about it, but after a few minutes of them not letting up, I decide to take Pinkie and leave the area. "Thank you so so so much Miles! I really owe you..." "Pinkie, for the hundredth time, don't worry about it. It wasn't that big of a..." "Yes it was! Miles, you saved my life! That's like an ultra-omega gigantic deal!" "Well... just promise me you'll try to be safer." "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" She says as she crosses her heart, flaps her legs and pokes her eye.... OK. We walk towards the bottom of the ride area where we hear the sound of music filling the air. "Ooo, let’s go dance!" Pinkie says as she runs off towards the music. We find a mass of ponies dancing in an open area. Pinkie has already jumped into the mass, knocking ponies out of the way as she bounces her way in. I try to stand this one out, but Pinkie ran back over to me and pulled me into the mass of dancing ponies. I just do a little shuffle and try to make my way out, but a group of ponies to my right push me further into the crowd. Everyone just seems to be jumping around, having a good time, so I join in. We jump around, kicking, spinning, anything to move around. Pinkie is swaying side to side, knocking anyone unfortunate enough to be next to her over. I look around and find the DJ bobbing his head at a turn table. He's all grey with blue hair that ends in red. He's wearing thick blue head phones and his mark seems to be a tombstone with arms and head phones. I look back to Pinkie, who’s trying to tell me something, but I can't hear her over the music. "What?!" I yell out. She shakes her head and motions for me to follow, which I do. We walk out of the crowd and start heading for the contest area. "I said, we have to get going or else we'll miss Applejack's contest, duh!" "Alright, well, let’s get going then." We walk towards a set of bleachers where we find all of the other girls waiting for the contest to start. "Did you guys see the Ferris wheel earlier?!" Rainbow Dash asks excitedly. "Uhuh" Pinkie says nonchalantly as she takes her seat next to her. "Yeah, that was us" I say as I sit behind her, next to Big Mac. "My heavens dear, what happened?" Rarity asks, getting Pinkie to explode in a frenzy of storytelling. I lean back and look over to Big Mac. "Are you sure you still want to do this?" "EEyup." "Is the farm going to be alright without you?" "EEyup." "You realize that you could very well die during this, right?" "EEyup." "I'm not going to be able to convince you otherwise, am I?" "NNope." "Well, hope you're ready" I mumble to myself as the contest begins. The contest come and go, with Applejack winning most of the events, I tried to focus, but I kept losing my focus when other thoughts came to mind, I still managed to cheer along though. With Pinkie, Rainbow and I, we're easily are the loudest cheering section for any of the competitors. Applejack takes home a blue ribbon, which I think signifies first. When they finish everything, we head down to congratulate her on her performance. "WOO, way to go Applejack!" Pinkie says as she waves a flag with an apple on it.... when did she get that? "Yeah, you were totally awesome!" Rainbow cheers as she pats her back. "Awe shucks y'all, yer embarrassin me. Thank ya kindly fer comin out ta cheer me on." "Think nothing of it dear, we'll always be here to cheer Ponyville’s best athlete on... you and Rainbow Dash" Rarity says, eyeing the two of them. "Great job Applejack, primi de multis." "Uh... what?" "First of many, well... it's getting late. I would like to stay and congratulate you some more, but I really need to get going. Congrats again on getting the blue." I say as I start to back away. "Aw. Can't you stay a little longer?" Pinkie asks. "Heh... sorry, but time is of the essence on this one, I'll catch you all later" I say as I wave good bye and walk home. When I get home I start preparing for tomorrow. I go upstairs and remove my shirt and pants, putting on an old ragged pair of pants from earlier. I go down stairs and open up the back door for Lupus to run in and out. I walk into the space between the living room and kitchen and sit in the center of the open area. Last time it only took a couple of hours... how long will it take this time. Author's Note Shout out to Glyph255 for picking the food, jaime9897 for picking the song (Discord by Living Tombstone, and Rancid Muffins for picking the first ride. Thanks for reading and like always, Brony on!
Chapter 61 Just Another Bad DayChapter 61 Just Another Bad Day Perspective: Storm The last three days have been really good for me. I got to reconnect with a mother that I thought I'd never meet, had some alone time with Twilight, and worked out the inheritance thing, couldn't really ask for more. We decided to leave early today because both Twilight and I decided that the sooner I got my training done, the better. I don't know how she did it, but my mother somehow got Twilight on board with me to get the training. So, here we are, holding each other as we take her balloon back to Ponyville, just taking in the sun rise together. She lets out a small sigh as she leans her head against my shoulder. "Tired?" I ask as I lean my head against hers. "No... just, glad." "About what?" "A lot of things. Us, meeting your mother, our friends, everything is perfect right now" she says as she tightens her hold on me slightly. I sigh and give her a kiss against the head. "Yeah... thanks for doing this... getting my mother I mean." "I'm just glad she likes me. I was a little afraid she wouldn't when we first met." "Even if she didn't, it wouldn't matter... I love you Twilight." She turns to me and runs her hoof along the side of my face with a slight smile. "I love you Storm." We lean in and share a passionate kiss as we start to descend into Ponyville. When we land behind her place I scoop her up and fly her to the door, getting a small eep and giggles from Twilight as she holds onto me. I let her down to open the door, only to have it slam open in her face. "Storm! When did you get back? And where's Twilight?" Spike asks as he walks through the doorway. I close the door and watch Twilight slowly slide off the wall to her hooves. "Why were you behind there?" "Spike, you should really open doors more slowly," I say as I check on Twilight. "Oh... sorry. Well, glad you're back, want me to make some breakfast?" "Actually I've got some stuff to drop off at home, so I think I'll eat there." "I'll come with you, it's been a while since I saw Miles anyway. Want to tag along Spike?" "Well... sure. I'll help you with those bags then." I nod and walk back with Spike as Twilight goes inside to get something. We each take one of my bags and start to pull them out when Spike tries to look inside one of the pockets of the bag. I slam my hoof over it and cover up what's inside. "Storm! What's the-" "Spike, please do me a favor and don't look inside of that pocket. I want to keep it a secret for as long as possible." "Well, what is it?" "I can't say. It's nothing bad, I just really, really want it to be a secret. Only one other pony knows what's in there and I want to keep it that way." "Okay, okay, I won’t look..." "Actually, can we trade bags?" He gives me an irritated look before he trades bags with me. We walk back to the front and wait for Twilight to come back down. "What's she doing in there anyway?" Spike asks. "She said she had to get something, just give her a minute." Probably best to not tell him she is taking birth control. I think I'll let Twilight handle that one. She makes it back down and we head towards my place. "So Spike, did we miss anything important? How did AJ do in her contest?" "She won the blue! Not surprising if you ask me, but it was still a close call. Good thing she asked Miles for that last minute training..." "She asked Miles for help, wow. I know she got over that stubbornness, but she still rarely asks for help with anything," Twilight says. "I know, but she did. Let’s see, what else... OH! Miles saved Pinkie Pies life!" "Really!? How?" I ask. "They were on the Ferris wheel, and she fell out. He jumped after her and saved her and the Ferris wheel from falling over." "Wow, anything else?" "Umm... no. Not that I know of at least. What about you two? How was it at your moms?" "Well, I had a little trouble sleeping," I say, getting Twilight to blush, "but other than that, it was good. It was nice to speak with somepony I thought I'd never meet." "Hmm... did you have fun Twilight?" "Umm... yeah. His mother is a very nice pony. But, I had a little trouble sleeping at night as well." She says, making her face blush even more. "Maybe you guys shouldn't spend too much time at that altitude, it's really messing with your sleep." Spike says innocently. Twilight and I just laugh and agree with him. We make it to my place and walk in the front door. "AHH WOLF!" Twilight screams as she teleports behind me. I look over to see a wolf sitting in the corner behind the couch and recliner. Its shaking slightly and staring off to the kitchen area. I walk over and peer into the other side of the living room to find Miles curled up on the ground, with all of his magic portals sputtering out white flames. The ground around him is covered in different scorch marks and seems to be glowing red from Miles. "MILES!" I yell as I run to his side. "STAY BACK!" He yells at me as I approach him. "Miles, what’s wrong? What’s-" "I SAID STAY BACK!" He yells as he slams his fist into the ground sending a wave of magic that turns his house into solid jade. I look around in astonishment before another wave sends it back to the element it was before. "AAAAHHHHHH! JUST STAY BACK! STAY AWAY!" He yells with mixed cries of pain and misery. "What's going on? What can we do to help? Come on Miles tell us!" "N-NOTHING... JUST.... H-HAVE TO WAIT... FOR IT TO-TO-TO PASS!" He yells as he rolls over and holds onto his knees. I can see the pain in his face, he's in absolute complete pain. I look back to Twilight and ask, "is there anything we can do?" She walks over and takes a look at him for a bit before she looks back to me. "I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do... maybe the princess can help, I'll write her a letter" she says as she walks over to the table. I look back to Miles and just watch helplessly as he sits there in pain. There has to be something I can do... something. "Is there something I can do?" Spike asks as he walks up to us. "I don't know Spike... we can't do anything for him right now. His magic makes him too hot to touch right now." "I'm a dragon, lava doesn't even bother me. Let me try to help" he says as he walks up to him and holds a claw to his head. He moves his claw to a few different spots before he looks back to me. "He's not hot." "What do you mean, look at the ground, there are scorch marks everywhere." "Yeah, but he feels cold to me. Almost frozen." "Spike, send this to Celestia" Twilight says as she levitates a scroll over to Spike. He sends it away and we just stand aside, watching helplessly as Miles contorts around in pain. The flames start to jet out at a high rate, slowly turning to a dark emerald green. I HAVE WAITED LONG ENOUGH "That can't be good." I say as I look over to Twilight. Perspective: Celestia Luna and I are having breakfast together again. It’s nice to have her back to her old self again, mostly. I can tell she's still hurting from before, but in time she'll move on. She's still keeping quiet, but at least I've got her out of bed. "So, how was the night court?" I ask, trying to start a conversation up. "Quiet," she says bitterly as she takes a bite from her pancakes. "Quiet how?" "No pony showed up." "Oh. Well..." she gives a deep sigh and takes another bite. I was about to say something when a scroll suddenly appeared before me. I take it and read it over. This can't be good. "Another letter from Twilight, what's it about this time?" "Well..." "Well?" "It seems that Miles is in trouble again." I say, making Luna drop her fork. "What happened?" "Well... according to Twilight, he's experiencing some kind of energy overload..." "We have to help him!" Luna says as she stands and starts to leave the table. "Luna, wait," I say as I chase after her, stopping her at the end of the table. "I don't think it would be wise for you to go-" "And why is that?" "Luna, you just broke up with him, do you really think seeing him so early is a good idea?" "I may not be with him anymore, but that doesn't mean that I don't get to see him ever again. He is still my friend and I wish to see him," she says as she continues to walk out. I shake my head and follow her out. I just know this won't end well, but there's no way I can convince her not to go. We walk to one of my carriages and make our way to Ponyville. The entire trip was done in silence, Luna giving me the cold shoulder. We land out front of Miles' house where we find Twilight, Storm Cloud, and Spike waiting out front. Why is Storm Cloud waiting here? "Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, thank goodness you're here. "Twilight says as she runs up to us and gives a bow. "Twilight, my star pupil, it is good to see you again, though I wish under better circumstances. What's going on with Miles?" I say as I head for the door, only to stop when all three of the jump in the way. "You can't go in there princess!" Storm yells. "And why not? Also, why are you here? I thought my orders were pretty clear-" AT LAST YOU ARRIVE I look to the door to see the green being from before appear. He looks almost exactly the same, only now it seems to have hair that flows down from its head. "Soul Fire?" Luna says as she walks forward. In the blink of an eye the being shoots forward and stabs Luna in the chest with its arm. Luna's mane and tail rocket up as her energy levels soar to unbelievable heights. The green being pulls back its arm as Luna drops to the ground unconscious, her mane and tail still shooting out energy. "What have you done!" I yell as I run to Luna's side, only to back away when the same blue figure as before appears above Luna. It floats down to the ground before Luna and walks towards the green one, stopping feet away from it. WHY DO YOU CALL MY TIME IS LIMITED TIME, IS OF NO IMPORTANCE EVEN SO, I WISH TO PROGRESS YOU WILL PROGRESS WHEN I ALLOW YOU TO DO NOT FORGET WHO GAVE YOU THIS POWER. WE MUST PROGRESS NOW. TIME IS WORKING AGAINST US. The two of them stand there for a moment before they each take aggressive stances, both making blades appear from their hands out of their energy. They suddenly lose form and bolt at each other as balls of pure energy. When they collide into each other a shock wave explodes out from them, sending me back a bit. When I look back to them they've soared high into the air, jetting around in a frenzy of crashes that sends waves of energy from them. "Princess, what's going on?" Twilight asks as she runs to my side. "I don't know, what happened during my trip here?" "The green one appeared and just floated above Miles. When we tried to talk to it, it just waved its hand at us, sending us flying back." Before I could ask anything, a series of shock waves makes us look back up at the fighting pair. They collide a couple more times before slamming into the ground before us, sending dust high into the air. After the dust settles we see the two forms standing before each other without the swords. FORGIVE MY INTRUSION FORGIVE MY DELAYS They walk towards each other and share... a kiss? It's hard to tell because of the lack of features on them, but the motions are all the same. They hold it for a while until the blue one breaks it off and starts to walk towards Luna. It hovers over her and fades back into her, making her wake up. "Huh? What happened?" she asks as she looks around. "Soul Fire?" FORGIVE THE- "GIVE....ME....CONTROL!" We all look back to see Miles standing in the doorway. The dark black lines on his body seem to be cracking away and have wisps of black smoke falling from them. His eyes have turned pure black and seem to have the same smoke billowing out, covering his cheeks as it falls to the ground. DO NOT- Before he could finish Miles jumps forward and punches into the air, sending a column of black energy at the green entity. He jumps above the column and flies straight for Miles and collides with him, forcing him unconscious. The column of energy has disappeared, but the ground where it was being fading away. "What was that?" I ask in disbelief. "I think we should ask Miles when he wakes up... this seems to be something new," Luna says as she walks towards his unconscious body. I knew this was going to be bad... but I have a feeling things just got even worse. Author's Note Thanks to Sine wave for picking what the house turned into.
Chapter 62 Spartan TrainingChapter 62 Spartan Training Perspective: Miles Sunday, September 22nd Aw man.... that change sucked, although... I feel good. It feels as if I've had some weight lifted off of my chest, it didn't feel this good last time, then again, last time had less energy. I open my eye's to see that I've somehow made it to my bed. Well, a least it isn't on fire. I sit up and rub my eye's slightly before I start to get out of bed. "Miles... you should take it easy." I turn around to see Luna sitting behind my bed, slowly petting something beneath the bed, I'm guessing Lupus. "Luna, when did you get here?" "Twilight sent my sister a letter saying that you were in trouble, so we came to check on you... what happened?" "It was nothing really, just a part of my growing power. Every now and again I go through... that, as my power increases. Last time my soul materialized, and the time before that I learned to use soul fire." I say as the door opens up to reveal Celestia and Spike walking in. "Miles! You're awake!" Spike says as he runs up and hugs my leg. "Sup Spike, how long was I out?" "Only an hour..." "Good, then I need to ask a favor of you Spike." "Uhh... sure. What do you need?" "Can you go to Sweet Apple Acres and get Big Mac. Let him know that we start today, and if he doesn't show up he's out." He gives me a little salute before running out of the room. "So... do I get to know what happened this time?" "You mean you don't remember?" Celestia asks. "The last thing I remember was being in my living room, yelling at Storm to stay away. Next thing I know I'm in bed feeling... rather good." "Good how?" Celestia asks as she glances over to Luna. "Good as in my energy level has dropped a bit..." "Does that mean you're all better?" Luna asks as she perks up a bit. "No. It's just something that happens when I go through a change. It takes a large amount of energy to do it, but it usually comes back, at a higher level" I say, making her drop back. "But enough of that, I have training to start" I say as I stand and walk past Celestia out of the room. I hear some shuffling in Storm's room so I head over to find the door open. I walk and find Storm half way under the bed, trying to hide something. "Storm!" I yell making him smack his head. "Miles, you're up..." "Meet me in the backyard, we start today." I say, making him pull out of the bed quickly, pulling a bag with him. Something flies out of the bag and rolls in front of me. I take a knee and pick it up before Storm could run over and get it. It's a gold ring with a diamond at the top. Something is etched inside the ring, but I can't read it. I look up and show the ring to Storm. "Dude... this is an engagement ring." "Ahem" I look behind me to see Celestia standing there, eyeing the two of us. We both just stare at her until she shakes her head a bit and walks downstairs. Storm swipes the ring and takes it back to the bed, where he hides it somewhere underneath. "So, when do you plan on popping the question?" I ask as I stand back up. "Soon... I hope... after the training for sure" he says as he walks up to me. "Miles, I wanted this to be a secret. Promise me you won't tell anypony." "Your secret is safe with me, but I have to ask, where did you get it? I thought you were at your mothers the last few days." "I was, that was hers. Apparently it's been in the family for generations, and it's my turn to have it." "Well, I'm happy for you, but it will have to wait for another time. Wait for me in the backyard, we start today." He gives me a nod and walks downstairs. Awwwww, Storm and Twilight gonna get married.... pop the question already so I can pester you! I sigh and make my way back to my room to start getting my gear ready. Luna's still in here, looking deep in thought. "You alright?" "Hmm... oh, yeah..." "Heart ache?" She looks up to me and nods slowly. "I'm sorry. I wish things could have worked out better... but..." "I know. Your time is limited... but...I... *sigh* this is going to be harder than I thought." "Hmm, that's funny.... one of my friends from Topaz once told me the same thing. Want to meet them?" She looks up to me in confusion so I walk over to her with my sword and show her the gem in the pommel as I take a seat on the bed. "I made eight of these. They're all exactly the same and all have the same enchantment in them." "What would that be?" I flare my hand and feed the energy into the gem, making an image appear. It’s a picture of me and my unit, from the day we were assigned together. Were in the auditorium of the school, posing together to show off our tattoos. "It's a picture of all of us when we were assigned to our unit." I look down at the picture and start to point all of my friends out. "On the far right are the Kor sisters, Tenera and Fidus, then it's Dare Libere, Inficiunt Gaudium, me, Sine Iacet, Captain Sussurrands Bellum, Eximius, and Dolem Ostendere." "Heh, you look so young." She says as she leans closer and looks at the picture. "Yeah, this was... six years ago, not including time travel. "Hmm... so that's Tenera..." "Are you still jealous?" "What! No. I… just... now I can put a face to the name, that's all." I laugh a little as I drop the spell and walk back to the closet, where I start putting on my armor. "So... this training of yours, how long is it going to take?" "One month, lucky bastards. Usually it takes longer, but we get to skip a lot," I say as I buckle in my grieves. "Like what?" "Well, for starters, most of the weapons training. No guns, explosives, archaic spells, just hand to hand and melee. They're basically only getting the physical and psychological training." I say as I finish up with my armor and start putting on my weapons. "Is it going to be hard?" I finish up and look over to her. "Really want to know, stick around, I'll give a little speech before we start." I start to walk out only to have Luna run in front of me. We stare at each other for a second before she looks away and walks down stairs before me. She's taking this pretty hard...but it's for the best. I walk down stairs and head to the backyard where I find everyone. Storm and Twilight are to the right, holding each other as they whisper sweet nothings to each other. Big Mac is to the left, talking to Applejack, Granny Smith and Applebloom. Celestia, Luna and Spike are waiting by the door, waiting to see what happens. I take a few step out before yelling "LINE UP!" They look over and stand before me. "Let’s get started, first off, if you have any doubt, any concerns, quit now. Because when we get started, there is no quitting. You either finish or die trying, and yes, death is a very real possibility. I WILL be trying to kill you. I will break your bones, cut your flesh and turn your dreams against you as I push you harder than you've ever been pushed before in your life. Topaz Falls had seventeen million residents. One point two million of them were soldiers. Of those, only four hundred were able to become Spartans. Those four hundred we had one Captain, and one lieutenant. I was the second highest ranking Spartan, and that's only because rankings were a month after I was sent away. You better be damn sure that I will be using everything in my power to make you regret doing this. I will break you. Take a look at your loved ones before you tell me you want this, because once we start, there's no stopping. I don't care what happens, no matter the circumstances, we will not stop until we finish. So take a good long look and if you think you have what it takes to put everything on the line, step forward." They both look back and stare at their loved ones for a while before they each step forward. I motion for the rest of them to stand with the others as I start to stretch my arms a bit. "Welcome to Spartan training. Rule number one: I am no longer your friend. You address me as sir, say it as if it means everything to you and if I hear anything else come out of your worthless mouths, I'll beat you senseless, understood?" "SIR YES SIR!" They say in unison. I flare my hands and send a wave of energy at them, slapping them both in the face hard enough to turn their faces. "SAY IT LIKE YOU GOT A PAIR DIRT BALL!" I yell as I get in Storm's face. "SIR YES SIR!" They yell together. "Rule number two: If I hear you bitch, you will regret it. I don't give a shit how much pain you’re in, I don't care if you’re on the verge of death. You keep going until I tell you to stop, and then you beg for more, understood?" "SIR YES SIR!" "Rule number three: My word is law. You are no longer in any country, the only rules that matter are the ones I say matter. I don't give a damn if Celestia runs up to you with both her wings chopped off, you don't listen to her for a single second unless I tell you to, understood?" They hesitate a bit so I slap them with the energy again, making them fall to the ground. "IS THAT GOING TO BE A PROBLEM!" "SIR NO SIR!" They say, making me start to hit them repetitively with the energy. I start busting lips, blackening eye's as I send hit after hit at them. When they try to cover themselves from the blows I start kicking them in the stomachs. "WHAT.... WAS... RULE.... NUMBER.... ONE!" I yell between kicks. "SIR YES SIR!" They yell out, making me stop. I take a few steps back and cross my arms. "Rule number four: Spartan training is a secret. I don't care who asks, whose life is at stake, you don't talk about what happens here ever. It is Terridisian law that if you speak out about this, I have to kill you, and I will. DO. NOT. TALK. This stays between Spartans, no one else is allowed to know of this, understood?" "SIR YES SIR!" They yell. I walk up to them and wave my hands before them, cutting their hair so it's barely a buzz cut. I take a few steps back as I drop my magic and pull out my revolver. "Good, now let’s get started. You have five seconds to start running into the Everfree before I start shooting. ONE...TWO...FIVE!" BANG I send a round for Big Mac as he turns to run away, grazing his neck as the round buries itself in a tree behind him. "RUN MOTHER FUCKERS RUN! I DON'T MISS TWICE YOU ASSHOLES, RUN!" BANG BANG I fire two more rounds after them as they run into the forest. One misses completely, but the second one buries itself somewhere on Storm. I hear him cry out, but he continues to run. I turn back to everyone to see that Celestia has put up a barrier around the group, probably to protect them from my pistol discharge. They all look horrified by what just happened. I holster my gun and wait for Celestia to drop the barrier. "Please come back in exactly twenty-one days. They will need to see you after this. Sorry for the display, but you needed to see the gravity of this. Do not ask them about this. Ever. I do not want to have to kill them, but I will if I must" I say before I turn and run after them into the forest. I use my magic to accelerate myself, catching up to them in seconds. I can see that I hit Storm in the shoulder. It's just a graze, but it's bleeding all the same. I take lead and motion for them to follow me. I weave deep into the forest, they don't know it, but I planned a circular course for us to run. It's about a five kilometers long, and I plan on making them run it until they puke. Perspective: Twilight I can't believe what I just saw. What did Storm just get himself into. They ran off a few minutes ago, but nopony's moved or said a word since then. I know Storm can do this... he's strong, he has to get through this. "Well... I think everypony should go home. All we can do now is pray for the best. Twilight, can I have a word with you" Celestia says as she walks inside. I follow her in and we take a seat in the kitchen. She waits a few seconds before she says, "Twilight, I want to know a few things that are... rather personal, do you mind?" "Of course not Princess." "Well... are you... with Storm Cloud." "I've been meaning to talk to you about that, Princess. Yes, but that's not the Storm Cloud you sent." "What do you mean?" "The Storm Cloud you sent is an impostor. His actual name is Storm Breaker, the two of them are brothers. Breakers has been nothing but horrible since he's made his appearance here. He's verbally assaulted me, disrespected Luna and nearly killed Storm Cloud." "Twilight. I'm sorry that that happened, but I only asked because he went rogue a while ago. I sent him here and he was supposed to do daily reports, but he never did. i saw the two of you at the hospital a while ago and assumed you were together. Now that I know he's completely different, I will bring him to justice." "Thank you princess." "I must be off now if I'm going to be able to find him, please take care Twilight" she says as she walks back out the front door. I sigh and walk out after her, I seriously hope she can find him soon. I walk over to the Apples as they break off a group hug and start to walk home. "Are you guys going to be alright" I ask Applejack. "Yeah... Miles really did help with the harvest; we'll be fine fer a month without him...ah just hope he gets through it alright." "I'm sure they'll be fine. Big Mac is strong, he can pull through this, they both can" I say as I put a leg around her. "Ah hope yer right Twi... ah don't know what we'd do iffin we lost Big Mac." "Aj..." I stop her and give her a hug, which she returns immediately. I know they'll make it through.... they have to.... Perspective: Miles Tuesday, September 24th "Welcome to the run!" I say as I lead them to their next area of training. The past few days I've been working on getting them tired. No sleep, lots of running, pushups, anything really to keep them moving, and it's working. Big Mac looks as if he's about to fall asleep standing there while Storm is nodding out. They're both covered in a mixture of mud, sweat and blood. Every time one of them fell over or slowed down, I made sure to make them suffer for it. I walk forward and present a long trench to them. It goes down about half a meter and is filled halfway with water that I enchanted to stay slushy, partially ice, but still watery enough to move through. The trench goes for half a kilometer in a straight line. I set up a couple of boards with nails sticking out of them to lay either in the trench somewhere hidden or so they would have to crawl under it. "SIR, what’s our objective, SIR?" Big Mac asks. "It's simple. crawl from one side to the other and then run back. When you get back, do a set of pushups, sit ups and squats. With all of that you make one set on the run. Give me two sets and you can get an hour of sleep" I say as I walk to the side of the course. "SIR YES SIR!"They yells as they both dive into the water and start crawling forward. I step back as I flare my hands as they get going. I wait for them to get past the first set of spikes when I start throwing balls of energy around them. When the balls hit they explode with a deafening boom, sending debris all around. Storm and Big Mac stop for a second as they take cover, but I don't stop throwing the explosive balls. When the dust covers my view I slam my hands into the ground, making a column up. I slam my hands onto the column, making chunks of it break off with a loud crack as they fly at the general area they're at. I hear Big Mac cry out in pain as I pepper the area around them, I think I've got a hit. I raise my hand, bringing up a tall column and push it over, sending it toppling over towards them. "LOOOK OOOUUUT!" Storm yells as he crawls faster through the icy water. The column lands with a solid thud over the trench. I jump on top of it and look over to see that they both made it though. Big mac has a large gash in his shoulder that's bleeding profusely, turning the water around him red. I shake my head as I crouch down and put my hands onto the column, strafing the trench. Big Mac and Storm both cling to the edges of the Trench as they try to avoid getting hit, but ultimately fail at it. "COME ON! MOVE FASTER YOU SLIME BALLS! YOU CAN REST WHEN YOU'RE DEAD! NOW GET MOVING!" I yell out as I pull out my revolver. I take aim and send a round in front of Storm, making him stop in his tracks. "WHATS THE MATTER STORM, AFRAID TO DIE? GET MOVING!" I open fire again, hitting the area next to Big Mac. "DO YOU REALLY EXPECT TO LIVE WITH THIS KIND OF EFFORT? GET MOVING ALREADY! MOVE YOUR FUCKING ASSES BEFORE I PUT A BULLET IN YOUR HEADS FOR WASTING MY TIME!" They finally make it to the end of the trench where they get out and start running back, Big Mac giving a heavy limp as he goes. I send a few more explosion after them until they finally make it to the bottom of the trench, where they start doing some sit ups. I walk up to them and slap them with my energy again. "COUNT THEM OFF ASSHOLES!" "ONE...TWO..." they start saying as they do their sit ups. I pace back and forth as I watch them go. Once they get to a hundred they move on to pushups. After the pushups they stand up on their rears and start doing squats. This proves to be more strenuous for them, but they power through it and start to head to the run again, only to have Storm collapse on his way. "Hold up" I call out to Big Mac as I walk up to Storm. I watch for a second as his chest rises and falls from his deep breathes. He's staring up with eyes held as wide as possible. "Get up Storm!" I yell at him. He doesn't response to me so I crouch down to get in his face. "Is that it... giving up on day three... good luck protecting Twilight then." He looks up at me as he narrows his eyes and starts to pull himself up. He staggers a bit, but eventually gets up and starts to work his way back to the run, tripping a few times on the way there. "GET THE FUCK BACK TO RUNNING YOU ASSHOLE" I yell at Big Mac. Perspective: Twilight Saturday September 29th The past week has been torture for me. I've been behind on my studying, I haven't seen my friends at all and I haven't slept in the past few days. I can't stop worrying about Storm. I try to focus but then I start to think about what he's going through and it gets to my nerves. Spikes been helping a lot, but he was called away the other day for something in Canterlot. So now it’s just me and my books.... "I miss Storm..." "Well why didn't you call?" I spin around only to feel something prick my neck. I reach up and pull out a little dart with a pink puff at the end. "What in Equestria..." "Actually, it was from the Griffin Colonies" I look up to see Storm Breaker hovering above with a blow dart. He drops down before me and tosses it aside as he approaches me. "What are you doing here Breaker!" I demand. "Hehehe, what? No love for your ex? I see how things are now. So, where's Storm? Off with that human?" "You're disgusting Breaker. Get out of my house before I throw you out!" "Heh, go ahead and try" he says as he stands before me. I try to levitate him out, but when I reach for my magic... I can't find it. "What did you do to me" I ask as I start to back away from him. He gets an evil grin across his face as he starts to approach me. "It’s just a little toxin the Griffins made to block a unicorn’s powers, don't worry, it'll wear off in an hour. In the meantime," he runs forward and pins me against the wall. I start to scream as I kick and try to squirm away, but he's too strong for me to get away. "Just shut up and listen already!" "Please... don't..." "Don't what? This?" He asks as he licks me from the neck to my ear, sending shivers down my spine. "Please... stop..." I beg as tears start to roll down my face. I keep trying to push him away, but he pushes me down to the ground and lay on top of me before I can do anything. He starts feeling me up as he licks and bites at my neck, each touch making my stomach turn. I keep trying to push him away, but I can't break his hold on me. "GET OFF ME!" I yell as I start to panic as he runs a hoof down my body until he starts rubbing my lower part. "GET OFF GET OFF..." "SHUT UP!" He yells as he smacks me across the face. "*sniffle* I hate you... I hate you so much...." I say as I start to sob. "Yeah? Good!" he says as he tries to position himself to enter me, but I keep kicking and squirming around, making it impossible for him. "I swear... Storm will kill you...." "HA! I'm sur..." CRASH Applejack suddenly tackles Breaker to the ground and start kicking away at him as Rainbow Dash and Rarity come to my side. He breaks away from Applejack and flies to the door where he turns around to face. "Yeah you better run!" Rainbow says as she takes a fighting stance in front of me. "You just get the buck outta her!" Applejack says as she stands next to Rainbow. "Heh, I'll leave, but just remember this, I know where all of you live, and there's nothing that can stop me. Celestia couldn't find me, Storm can't defeat me, and I know your little human friend’s weakness." "Why are you doing this!" I yell out. "Why! It doesn't make sense. Storm already got the inheritance! Celestia's looking for you, what do you have to gain from this?" I scream at him as I try to run at him, forcing Rarity to hold me back. "The inheritance... you stupid whore. You don't even know what you're talking about, do you? I was shunned from my family; do you really think I care what happens to them!? I'm doing this to ruin their name. I want to destroy everything my asshole of a father made, and that includes Storm! I'm going to kill him and ruin my father’s name if it’s the last thing I do! Watch your backs, I'll be looking for you all now!" He threats before he flies out the door. Rainbow Dash tries to chase after him, but Applejack holds her back by biting her tail. I turn to Rarity and start to sob into her shoulder as she holds me tightly. "Twilight, did he do anything? Do we need to go to the hospital?" Rarity asks. I shake my head as I hold onto her a little more tightly. "OK, yer not sleeping alone, none of us are, got it?" Applejack says, getting nods from everyone. "RD, you get Fluttershy and keep her at your place, Rarity, you get Pinkie to stay with you and I'll take Twilight with me" she says as she walks up to me and nuzzles me a bit. "Are you going ta be able a walk to the farm sugarcube?" "*sniff* yeah... just... give me a minute." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Storm Monday, October 8th "Defend!" Miles yells. "HA!" Big Mac and I yell as we slash our wooden swords through the air as we step back. "Defend!" "HA!" We step back again. "THRUST!" "HA!" We both stab forward. We hold our stance as Miles goes to his bag and pulls out a chunk of bread. My mouth immediately starts to water as my stomach starts to grumble. We haven't eaten in the past few days, and what we did get was barely anything. We tried eating some grass off the ground awhile back, but Miles found us and made us do the run for a day straight. "Hungry?" He asks as he takes a bite. "Fight. The victor gets to eat." I turn to Big mac and raise my sword as I hold my stance, waiting for him to attack. He does the same thing, holding his sword to guard his mid-section as we both wait for the eventual attack. My hunger forces me to charge forward in an attempt to get the food. I slash at him, forcing him to back pedal as he blocks my attacks. I jump back as he thrusts his sword forward, narrowly escaping his blow. He's not the fastest, but I quickly learned that he's easily stronger than me. He starts to advance on me, sending slash after slash at me as I back up and block his attacks. I can't block the way he blocks mine. I have to angle my sword so it bounces off. After a few blows I see my opening and go for it. I duck his attack and shoot my blade straight up, hitting him square in the jaw and knocking him on his back. I turn to get my only to see Miles finish up the last bite. "Good job" He says with his mouth full. "Take a small break until I return" he says as he gets up and walks away. I fall back and just let my body rest from its numbness. "Sorry about that" I say to Big Mac. "No problem." "Damn... so hungry..." "Eeyup." "Wanna try the grass again?" "NNope." "Yeah..." "Get up ladies!" Miles says as he walks back with two black bags, making us jump to attention. "This is a comprehension and reflex test. Put these bags over your faces and when I tell you to remove them, you must react to the environment correctly. Every wrong response equals a set on the run, understood?" "SIR YES SIR!" He hands us the bags and we promptly put them on. I can't see a single thing in this thing. And to make matters worse, it smells like moldy burnt clothes. "STORM!" Miles yells. I remove the bag only to get punched in the face by Miles. I raise my hooves and start to jab at him. "Good, put the bag back on." I settle down and put it on. "MAC!" I hear some shuffling and something heavy drop. "Good, put the bag back on.... STORM!" I pull the bag off and look around only to see the empty forest around me. I look down to see a toy pony with a diaper on it. I pick up the toy and look around.... I'm not sure what to do with this. "Uhh..." "FAIL! Put it down and put the bag on!" Miles says from behind. Son of a bitch. I put the doll down and wait for the next one. "MAC!" I don't hear anything for a bit until Miles yells "FAIL! Put it back and put the bag back on......"STORM!" I pull my bag off to see Miles standing before me. "Uhh... can I help you?" "Yes, where can I find the nearest power station?" He asks politely. "Uh... the closest one is a mile south of Ponyville." "Good.... what’s a mile... never mind, put the bag back on." We go through this for several hours, never getting anything similar. It goes from drinking a glass of water to fighting Big Mac hoof to hoof. After a while I was getting a pretty level head going through them. I just raise my alarm, keep cool and think clearly.... kind of obvious now that I think about it. "Alright, both of you remove your bags, we're moving on." Miles says. I take off the bag and hold onto it until Miles takes it away. Last time he handed me something and I didn’t keep it I got four sets of the run. "Time for a rest." Miles says as he leads us to our camp site. A small camp fire with three cleaned off spots for us to sleep.... if we slept. "Both of you, lay down and go to sleep. I'm going to put a spell on you so you get exactly eight hours of sleep. " Big Mac and I glance to each other before we say "SIR, THANK YOU SIR!" We each take a spot and lay down. Sleep wasn't hard to find, especially when every muscle in your body is begging you for it. Perspective: Miles I wait a few minutes until they fall asleep. This is easily going to be the worst part of the training. Not to mention I have to do it every day until they finish. I walk up to Storm and put a hand on his head, flaring my magic and forcing a sleeping spell on him. Once I finish that I pull my hand back and swirl my hand around until it's completely covered in the fire. Once it's covered, I close my eyes as I shove my hand into his mind. My vision goes fuzzy for a bit until I see into his dream. He's in a meadow with Twilight, rolling around with her as they laugh and giggle together. I hate this. I contort my hand until I take control of the dream and start changing it. I make storm clouds appear, darkening the area and make Twilight runaway in fear. Storm runs after her but I make the grass grow so he loses his vision of her. I then make him walk around aimlessly until he comes to a clearing and stops in his tracks. In the clearing I set Twilight laying on her side as two unfamiliar devour her flesh. They pull and tare her skin off, making her bleed out and they begin to gnaw away at her bloody flesh. "Why couldn't you protect me Storm" I make Twilight say. Storm tries to look away, but I force him to watch as the two unfamiliar devour her before him, Twilight staring at Storm the entire time. They break bones, pull flesh and dig their dagger like teeth into her, making the ground of the world around them turn to a pool of her blood. Once they finish I make the two of them begin to chase after Storm. He runs and runs, but I hold him in place as the two of them run up to him and start eating him, biting into his wings and back, send rivers of blood from the wounds. I exit the dream at this point, letting his subconscious take care of the rest. When I come out of the dream I open my eyes to see the pain in Storm's eyes. He wants to wake up, but my spell won’t let him. Eight hours, I hope you can make it. I turn to Big Mac and ready my hand to enter his mind as I set the sleeping spell with my other hand. Once finished, I enter his subconscious. Big Mac is dreaming of the farm. All of the Apples are together, eating joyfully as Fluttershy leans against Big Mac. I take control of the dream and make everyone start walking out of the house and towards the barn. I make Big Mac wait out front as I send everyone else into the barn and shut the door behind them. Moments later I make the barn explode, setting the entire world around him ablaze. I keep the main structure of the barn intact but make the boards in front break apart to show the inside. I make Big Mac watch as I set everyone he loves ablaze. They scream and contort as their flesh begins to boil over. I make them run to the boards and reach out for Big Mac as their skin chars over. He tries to move, but I lock him in place and force him to watch them burn alive. I keep them living well past normal standards. Their eyes have melted out of their sockets, all of their skin has burned off and now their flesh starts to melt off. The entire time I keep them reaching out for Big mac, just a hair out of reach. I exit the dream at this part, not wanting to do any more. I stand up and watch the two of them contort from their night terrors. It’s going to be a long day. I sit back against a tree and wait for their torture to end. Perspective: Twilight Saturday October 14th, 3:00am CRASH I wake up and look around the room for the source of the noise. I've spent the last week at Applejack's, but it's hardly helped. Every night something happens to remind me that Breaker is still out there. Sometimes he leaves me notes saying what he plans to do to me, other times he breaks something. I've never been so scared in my life. I want Storm back, I want everything to back to normal, I want... "OW!" I yell as I feel a prick against my neck. I raise my hoof and pull out a dart with a pink puff from my neck. I drop the dart and start to panic. He's in here! He's blocking my magic and he's in here somewhere! I try to jump out of bed but can't seem to move my legs. I can't move at all! "Hehehe, having trouble moving?" Breaker says as he walks out of the darkness and approaches me. I try to scream, run, anything! But the only thing I can manage is to make my heart race as he gets on the bed and stands on top of me. "Don't worry, you will not enjoy this..." Perspective: Storm, 1:00PM "Congratulations! You've both passed Spartan training." Miles says as he leads us out of the forest. I seriously can't believe this hell is over, and that I lived! "You can now proudly call yourselves Spartans! Even better, you can stop calling me sir." "Finally! If I had to call you that one more time I was gonna crack" I say jokingly, getting them to laugh over me mumbling sir. "I'm proud of the both of you, seriously. I put you through the worst I could muster, and you came out with flying colors. There's just one last thing we have to do." "What's that sir?" Big Mac asks. "Well, we've got to get you inked up with my unit’s logo, it's tradition." "Uh... I don't think that’ll work with us having hair all over our bodies....sir" I say. "We'll find a way... what’s that?" I look forward with Miles to see Rainbow Dash Flying towards us at high speed. She crash lands in front of us and quickly gets in our faces. "Have you guys seen Twilight!" "No... where is she? What’s happened?" I ask her as I walk towards her. "It's Storm Breaker! He's taken her!" "WHAT!" I yell as I grab her. "What happened!" "We don't know yet! Breaker tried to take advantage of Twilight but we stopped him. We had her spend the rest of the time at AJ's but she wasn't there this morning! We've been looking all over Ponyville but we can't find either of them!" I drop Rainbow Dash and start to walk off when Miles grabs my shoulder. "Come with me really quick" he says to me as he turns to Big Mac, "go with Dash and help look for her." He says before he starts to run off. I follow him through the woods until we make it to his place where we burst through the door and head straight for my room. "OK, put on your armor, I have to give you the quick version." "Is this really the time..." "PUT IT ON!" I walk over and start strapping it in. "Okay, so, in addition to the higher strength, you also have higher dexterity. This will help with your overall nimbleness and hand eye coordination. You also have an electrical buff, making it easier to handle that element and resist it more effectively. And lastly..." he says as he pulls out my sword, " I worked on this as well." He unsheathes it to show that it's now half as thick as before, with the tip making a diamond shape as a gem sits in the middle of the metal, glowing softly. "I gave it a wind buff. Basically when you swing it around, a gush of wind is sent with every attack." He sheaths the sword and hands it to me as I finish putting on the armor. I sling it under my right wing and start to walk out only to stop when Miles puts a hand on my shoulder. "Make him suffer." I nod to him as I head out. I walk out the front door and leap into the air, flying faster than I've ever flown before. I make it to Ponyville in mere seconds where I see Applejack running through town, so I drop before her. "What in tarnation! Breaker!" "Storm, where's Twilight?" "How do ah know yer really Storm?" "Because when I find Breaker, I'm going to take him apart, now, WHERES. TWILIGHT" I say as I step towards her, making her shrink back. "Ah… ah... ah don't know. He took her in the middle of the night, ah didn't even know she was gone till almost noon. Ah'm sorry Storm, this is all my fault..." "No it's not. Can you give me any clues as to where he might be? What's he after?" "He mentioned something about wanting to ruin yer fathers name... but other than that ah has no clue." "HORSE FEATHERS!" Come on... he wants to ruin my father’s name... my father was in the cloud making business... the weather factory! "Where's the nearest weather factory?" "It's just east of Ponyville..." I take off into the air before she could finish. If he wants to ruin his name, my moneys on him using a cloud factory somehow. I fly as fast as I could till I see the factory ahead. It's made of storm clouds and has a few Pegasus flying round it. I can tell that they're not factory workers due to the armaments they carry. As I fly closer they spot me and start to fly towards me. I draw my sword as I approach the first pony and slash at his throat, slicing his neck and blowing the wound open. I spin around and catch the other ponies blade above me with mine. I kick a few times at his gut before I slice at his chest, blowing it open with a powerful gust of wind. I turn to the last one and stare at him as he shakes before me, barely holding his sword. "Leave" I say to him. He drops the blade and flies away as fast as he can. I swing my blade at him and send a gush of wind at him, making him drop out of the sky. I guess Miles didn't count on my armor adding to my blades attack... or maybe he did. I fly to the factory and climb through an open window. I'm in the main factory where they condense the air. Everything seems to be made of either storm clouds, or some weird green clouds. I walk along a scaffolding looking down at some ponies working. It looks as if their trying to make clouds out of some green liquid, that can't be good. There's four workers and two guards, easy enough. I drop down on top of one of them and bury my blade between her shoulder blades, killing her instantly. The other guard sees me and runs at me with an ax. I roll to the side to dodge his attack and thrust my blade into his chest, stabbing him in the heart. I stand before the workers and motion for the door with my head. "Thank you" one of them says as they flee from the factory. "Hold on" I say as I grab one of them, "is there a unicorn here?" "Yeah, the leader guy has two actually. One's a reporter and I don't know the other one. He has them with him up in the main office, it's up there" she says as she points up to a door at the other side of the room. "Thanks..." "Watch out! He has some weird armor that makes him stronger than usual, plus like six guards." "Thanks, you should get going now." She nods to me and runs out of the building. I fly up to the door and take a fighting stance before I knock on the door. "Who's there?" Asks a guard. I do a turn as I swing my sword at the door, making it blow away and send the guard flying back. I see two other guards charge at me, so I punch the wall and thrust my sword at them, sending an arc of lightning through them and the one from earlier. I hold it for a second before I let go and run inside. The second I enter I duck to dodge somepony trying to chop my head off. I jump straight up and stab them from under the jaw, blowing the front of their face off. "Storm Cloud, so glad you could join us." I look over to see Breaker holding his mace over a bound and gagged Twilight and Starry Notes with two guards standing before him with their swords drawn. Breaker looks almost completely different. Same build, but he's all yellow with dark blue hair and has my old night guard armor on. "Let her go" I demand. "I don't think you're in a position to demand anything right now." He motions to the guards who nod and charge at me. I block blow after blow from them as I start to back up a bit. I can tell they aren't trained at all, just whacking away like brutes. I wait for a few more swings before I spin forward, slitting both their neck in one motion. As they drop to the ground I take a few steps forward and hold my sword at Breaker. "It's over Breaker, now LET. HER. GO!" He glances between me and Twilight before he tries to slam his mace into Twilight. I swing my sword at him with as much force as I physically can, sending a whirlwind that knocks him into the corner of the room. I try to run after him, but he breaks the clouds and runs away before I could stab him. With a sigh I turn to Twilight and smile at her until something grabs my leg and pulls me through the clouds, dropping my sword in the process. He finally let’s go of me when he tosses me into the air outside the building. I level out almost immediately and face Breaker. He raises his mace as we stare each other down, flying in a slow circle. "You know what I'm going to do after I kill you?" He asks as an evil smile grows on his face. "Eat shit and die?" "Hehehe... I think I'll have some fun with Twilight and that nosy reporter, think I can trick that slut into thinking you won by posing as you?" He asks as he moves a hoof over his chest, making some makings underneath his armor glow and make him appear to look like me. "Deverto pulvis et salutant mortuus." I say before I charge at him. He tries to swing his mace into me, but I dodge it and kick into his chest, denting the metal slightly. I grab hold of his leg and go to punch his face, only to get his mace in my gut. It doesn't dent, but I still feel the blow against me. I slam my hoof against the leg I'm holding and snap the bone instantly, making him scream out in pain. With his defenses down I go to work at beating him. I prop him up as I start to punch his face in. With every punch I give, I make his face bleed that much more. He finally uses both his back legs to kick me away. I stagger for a second before I look back to him. He's pulled out a duel potion. A vial that has two compartments. One has a blue potion while the other has a red potion. When he finishes the potion he looks back to me and charges me with his mace in both hooves. He's flying much faster than before, and his swings seem to have more power behind them. I fly backwards and dodge each attack with minimal effort, either shifting to the side or increasing my speed a bit. He spins around and tries to slam the mace into my side, but I stick my hoof out and catch it midflight. I hold it there for a moment as he tries to pull it out of my grasp until I twist the mace around, positioning me to his back. I drop the mace and quickly grab a hold of his head with both of my hooves, ready to snap his neck. "Any last words?" "Heh... always had to be the better one..." I yank my hooves away, snapping his neck and killing him. I let go of him and watch as his body drops to the ground, an evil smile still held on his face as he falls to the ground below. Author's Note A/N: Shout out to NotATree for picking the power in the sword! Thanks for reading and like always Brony on!
Chapter 63 Returning HomeChapter 63 Returning Home I watched his body drop until it finally collided with the ground. With a sigh I turned and flew back to the factory, making my way through the hole Breaker had made until I make it back to the room with Twilight and Starry Notes. Twilight has my sword and is trying to cut Starry free when she sees me fly back into the room. She points the sword at me and backs against the wall, shaking violently. "Stay back. Don't come any closer or... or...I'll..." she says in total fear. "Twilight, it's me, Storm Cloud. See, buzz cut" I say as I run a hoof through my mane. She just closes her eyes and starts to shake her head as she tries to hold up the blade. "I don't believe you! Stay away!" She yells. I think for a moment before an idea comes to mind. "Remember after the invasion on Canterlot? We had that.... moment. And you set your sound barrier to make things louder..." I say as I step closer to her, "or how about the time you and I had dinner together, only to have Big Mac literally drop in?" Twilight looks up to me and drops the sword, which somehow doesn't fall through the clouds. I walk up till I'm just a hoof reach away from her, where I lean down and say "what about all those time I told you I loved you?" "St-Storm!" She cries out as she throws her hooves around me, hugging me tightly. I hold onto her as she breaks down, gently stroking her back as she cries into my neck. "I-I-I thought.... that he was going to.... and then..." she stutters as she cries. "Shh... don't worry, he will never harm you again. I promise" I whisper into her ear as I hold on to her. "Um... I know this is a touching moment and all, but could you at least slide me the sword?" Starry says from the ground. I kick it over so she can reach it and continue to hold Twilight. "Storm..." "Yeah Twi?" "He never... I didn't let him..." she says as she shakes her head back and forth. I tighten my hold on her a bit and kiss the side of her head. "That's my mare." "So.... I don't know about you, but I'd like to leave" Starry says as she stands up. "Are you OK to go now?" I ask Twilight. She takes a few deep breaths before she nods and slowly let’s go of me. I grab my sword and sheath it before we head out of the room. We make it to the stairs when we hear new voices coming in from the loading bay. I motion to the girls to stay low on the stairs and try to creep closer to the loading doors to hear better. "... get this shipment to Ponyville by five hundred hours or she'll have our wings for being late." Says a griffin as he opens the cloud door and walks in with two other griffins. The first one is light grey with black under tones while the other two are tan with brown under tones. They each carry swords that are easily as long as me and curve at the end. "Why does she have to be... whoa... what happened here?" The tan one on the right asks as the find the corpses. As they investigate the bodies I creep along the scaffolding until I'm on top of the three of them and wait. "Looks like the cat's out of the bag... what now?" Asks one of the tan ones. "Now we accelerate out plans. Take whatever clouds they made and move them to the rendezvous point, and be careful! That's acidic rain there, it's worth more than you feather brains combined!" Acidic rain, Ponyville, yeah I don't like this one bit. I motion to Twilight and Starry to stay down as I jump into the air, landing in front of them. I keeping a hoof on my sword as I stare them down, looking for any threatening movements. "Care to explain what's going on here?" I ask as I look from griffin to griffin. They don't really seem all that surprised that I'm here. "Look at that, a guard... what regiment are you with?" the grey one asks as they all draw their swords. "I'm with the Spartan regiment, first battalion..." "Night or day?" He asks in a bored manner. I pull out my sword and take a ready stance. They stare at me for a second before the grey one motions for one of the tan ones to attack. He takes a few steps forward and tries to bring his blade down on me. I step to the side and run up to him, thrusting my blade into his chest and send a back spray of blood. He staggers back and tries to swing at me, but I block his attack with my blade as I spin around and kick him in the chest, knocking him back. I back away and hold my sword in front of me, waiting for the other two to make their moves. "Broad Wing!" The other tan one yells as he runs to his side. Tries to shake him awake, but it's too late for him. "You bastard! I'll kill you! I'll..." he yells as he starts to advance towards me, only to stop when the grey one puts a claw in front of him. "We're leaving." "You can't be serious! That bastard killed my-AAARRRGGHHH!" Before he could finish the grey one turns around and slashes his sword across his chest, making a large gash bleed out. "If you really want to see him, I'll send you to him. Now, if it makes no difference to you, I'll be leaving now." He says as he sheaths his sword and begins to walk away, only to stop when I advance on him a bit. "Don't worry, we'll have our fight, but for now..." he spins around and throws a dark green ball at me. I swipe at it with my blade, making it explode in a ball of white smoke. I charge forward through the fog and try to find the grey griffin, but stop when I make it to the platform outside. I look around in all directions but can't see him anywhere. How did he disappear like that? I turn back and start to walk through the now fading fog. All of the green clouds are still here luckily, but that doesn't make me worry any less. "Storm! Where did that griffin go?" Twilight asks as she and Starry run down the stairs towards me. "I don't know. I lost sight of him. Starry, what do you know about what was going on here?" "I just heard a rumor from a friend that there was something big going down here, so I came to do a little investigation. But, then the guards found me snooping around on the ground and brought me up here. I heard some talk about the acid clouds, but they never spoke of what they were for." "Who gave you the lead?" "A friend named Cheesus, why?" "I wouldn't listen to him anymore; he may be..." "He's not a spy! He tried to keep me from coming but I went anyway." "Well, your both safe, that's what's important right now. Come on, let’s get out of here." They both nod and follow me out to the platform where I pick them both up and fly towards Ponyville. We have to get Celestia here as soon as possible, something was being planned here and I know there's more to this than just acid storms. Perspective: Unknown As I sit in my dark study, staring at my glass of wine, I can't help but sense something going astray. I twirl my glass around in my claw as I think about the possibilities that brute Steelwing could have done to make my plans fall apart. Usually he gets the job done, but I fear something has gone wrong this time. I lean back in my chair and sigh; I have too much riding in this for it to go wrong this early. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK "Terribly sorry to interrupt, but you have a visitor" my butler says as he steps aside and lets Steelwing in. They both give a bow before the butler turns and walks out, closing the door behind him. "Operation seedling was a complete success. What are my next orders?" I pull out an envelope and toss it towards him. He picks it up and starts to look it over a bit, a crooked smile growing on his face as he crumples up the note. "Understood, I will need new assistants though. The last one didn't work out at all." I nod to him and motion for the lecture on the stand next to the door. He walks up to it and starts looking through it, flipping from page to page. "So when do you plan on stage two?" "..." "Oh, right, not the talker. Heh, whatever. As long as I get paid I don't really care... this one. I want this one" he says as he points to a name in the book. I nod to him and take a sip from my glass. he starts to walk away but stops at the door. "Are you sure? Just watch? That is going to take a lot longer than if we were to just go in and use a memory toxin." I set my glass down and point to Steelwing. "Alright, you're the boss. It'll take longer, but if that's the way you want it, fine" he says before he leaves the room. I take my glass and swirl it around, taking in the aroma of my drink. I glance out the window and take in the view as I take another sip. Canterlot is so nice this time of year, I can't wait till it's mine. I just have to be patient... someone will make a mistake soon; I can just feel it. And Luna is the key to it all. Perspective: Storm I drop Starry off in the red district before I start to take Twilight home. Why she's staying there, I don't know and don't want to. I land in front of her place and wait by the door. "So... here we are..." I say as I set her down. "Storm... would you spend the night; I don't want to be alone..." "Of course" she gives me a small smile as she opens the door and heads inside. It's pretty dusty in here, I guess Spikes been away for a while now. "Hey Twilight, I'm going to take a shower..." "Oh, thank Celestia! I didn't want to say anything but.... you kind of.... smell like a bag of sweat and rotting flowers." "Well I did spend a month in the woods" I say as I approach her, only to get a hoof on my chest plate. "Shower. Now." I sigh and trot up to her room. I remove my armor and head into her bathroom. I jump into her shower and start running the hot water. I wait till it’s a good temperature until I switch it to the shower head. "AAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWYYYYYEEEAAAAHHHHH" I never thought I would miss a hot shower so much in all my life. I stand there for a moment, enjoying the hot water washing away all of the grime off from the past month. I look down too see that the water is coming off me dark brown. Wow... just wow. I've never been so dirty before. After i clean myself off I turn the water off and start drying myself off with a towel. When I finish I toss the towel on my back and exit the bathroom to find Twilight looking at my armor. She glances at me then does a double take. "Storm..." "Yeah?" "When did you get so buff?" I look back to see that I've completely loss any fat that was on me. Every muscle on my body is now toned and shows with the slightest twist. "Well... I did just go through military training." I say as she approaches me. She bites her hoof a bit before she pokes me a couple of times in various muscles. "Uh... Twilight?" She starts walking around me, examining every inch of my body. "Are you going to be okay?" I ask as she stops behind me. She reaches out and grabs my flank, making me jump a bit. "Twilight..." "Dear Celestia...." she mutters as she walks back in front of me. "What did Miles do to you?" "You know I can't tell you... basically he did what he said he'd do." She continues to stare wide eyed at me, mouth agape. "Is this... a good thing?" "hawidjama," she stammers as she nods. "Um... so is that a no or a..." "It’s a yes. It's a next chance we get I'm going to rut your brains out yes" she says as she heads towards the bed. Well... OK then. "Next chance?" I ask, making her look away. "I'm sorry... but it would be too soon right now..." "I completely understand. I only want it if you're ready for it. Well... it's getting late... I should let you get to bed..." "You're not joining me?" Twilight asks as she heads to her bed. FWOOSH "Sorry, you'll have to put those away tonight" Twilight says with a giggle as she gets into bed. I ignore my wings and walk to the other side of the bed, slipping under the sheets as I climb onto the bed. AAAWWWW, beds.... how I've missed you. I pull Twilight against me so that she's laying with her back is against my stomach. I wrap my hoof around her and hold her as we let sleep take hold of us... hopefully I can go without another one of those nightmares.
Chapter 64 A Day At The SpaChapter 64 A Day at The Spa Perspective: Miles I woke in my bed with Lupus curled up next to my face. He must of came in at night while I was asleep. I give him a few strokes before I look over and see something in his mouth. It's looks like red fur... wonder what that was? I ignore it for now and roll over, waking Lupus as I get out of bed. I stretching a bit as I make my way to the to the restroom. After taking care of my business and a quick change, I went down stairs to get some breakfast, Lupus following with the red straggly thing held firmly in his mouth. I find a large pot of apple soup and decide to have that... though I'm not sure where it came from. What to do today... I guess I could go to work, but then what? I guess I could bum around Ponyville, maybe see what everyone is up to. "What do you think?" I ask Lupus as he chews away at the red fur ball. He stops and looks up to me, licking his nose a couple times before he goes back to chewing on the corpse. I guess that's a go for it. After eating I head out for Sweet Apple Acres. The walk was calm enough, bright sun, birds singing, a gentle breeze blowing from the north, peaceful. Just... peaceful. I look around and get an odd shiver, things are too peaceful. Somethings going to happen... I can feel it. "Hiya Miles!" "GAH!" I yell as I jump back from the new voice. I look behind me to see Starry standing behind me, looking up at me with a massive smile on her face. "Starry... fuck... don't sneak up on me like that..." I say as I try to regain my composure. "Hehe... sorry about that. I was in town and thought I'd say hello." She says as she starts to walk down the path. "Things are... good. How about you? What have you been up to?" I ask as I walk with her. "Mm... nothing much. It's been pretty quiet since that day with those dragons." "I'll say.... speaking of which, why is that? What happened to all of the paparazzi?" "Oh, well, for saving my life I pulled a few strings and convinced them to leave you alone..." "Really!? Wow... thanks..." "No, thank you Miles. Remember, you saved my life. It was the least I could do." "Yeah, but you were only put in danger because of me..." "Do you want me to call them back?" Starry asks flatly as she raises an eyebrow to me. "Well...no..." "Then thank you for saving my life Miles" she says as she walks off with her head held a little higher. "Well...your welcome... so what are you up to?" "I was actually on my way to see my husband when I saw you walking down the path. I should really get back to him... want to meet him?" "Ah... maybe another time... I've got... things to do right now." "Oh, alright. It was nice to see you again Miles, take care" she says as she waves goodbye. I wave bye and continue to walk to the Apple family home. As I approach the home I can hear the sounds of people cheering and loud music coming from their house. I knock on the door and wait for someone to respond, but after a minute of waiting I decide to open the door to see what’s going on. When I open the door I see dozens of ponies dancing around the living room to loud country music as Big Mac is hoisted into the air by several other ponies. He spots me and motions for the others to let him down and runs over to me. "Miles, what brings ya down here taday?" "Uh... work..." "Aw there's no work taday, seein how mah family decided ta throw a welcome back par... uh... event. Care ta join?" Join a party... yeah, no. "I'll pass, keep it family ya know. I'll swing by tomorrow for work then." "EEyup." "Later" I say as I wave goodbye and head for Ponyville. Big Mac waves goodbye as a group of ponies pull him back into the fray. Bullet... dodged. Well, with no work... I guess I should see what Storms up to. I turn around and start to head towards Twilight's library. As I walk through town I start to notice how everyone is accepting me. Most don't even give me a glance, except a few kids but that's to be expected. The only ones to really pay me any attention are ponies that I've never seen before, and even then it's barely a stare. I come up to Twilight's and knock on the door. "One second" Twilight calls out before she opens the door. "Oh, hi Miles, what brings you around?" "I had a free day so I thought I'd swing by, see what everyone's up to." "Oh, sorry Miles, but Storm and I were just about to leave to go to Canterlot. I'm introducing him to my family." "Oh, that's alright. Have fun then at your family's. Try to bring him back in one piece." "I will" she says with a laugh. I turn and start to head into town with no real destination. Hmm... well... I guess I could use this opportunity to buy some shoes from Rarity, being barefoot sucks. I head towards Rarity's and catch her as she's leaving her house. "Hey Rarity!" "Miles darling, good morning!" "Mornin, I was wondering..." "Oh, if you wish to make a request for my boutique, it'll have to wait until after my visit to the spa." "Oh…okay... what’s a spa?" "You don't know?" I shake my head. "This is absolutely unacceptable." She says as she stomps a hoof down and starts to walk off, pulling me along with her magic. "Everypony should get to feel the wonders of a day at the spa! Miles darling, you must attend this session with me and Fluttershy! It will absolutely help you..." "Rarity!" I yell, getting her to let go of me. "I'll go, I'll go, as long as you let me walk myself." "Oh, terribly sorry Miles." Rarity says with a slight blush. "It’s alright, but this better be worth it..." "Oh trust me it is! It'll melt all of your troubles away, I promise." "Well... alright, lead the way." She hops in place as she sequels in a high pitch tone before she turns and trots off. This better not be some kind of weird trap. I follow her to a round building that's decorations remind me of Rarity's boutique, but only being two stories tall. We enter into a small waiting room that has plants sitting in most of the corners. A cashier's counter sits on the wall opposite with a door to the right. To my left is Fluttershy, sitting on a green couch as she reads a magazine. "So sorry to keep you waiting Fluttershy, I hate being late for our weekly get-together's, but I simply had to bring Miles along, it’s his first visit to the spa!" "Oh, that's... nice. Well, let’s get started... if you don't mind... that is if you want to..." she stammers. I follow them to the counter where they sign in and walk through the door. "Is this your first time?" Asks the unicorn from behind. He has brown hair and something I thought was impossible for a pony to wear.... a white shirt. "Yeah I..." "Alright, just fill this out and you'll be all set to go in." He says as he pulls out a clip board. I look down to the clipboard and stare at it for a second before I start writing 'what does this say' over and over again. "Alright...." he says as he pulls out another clipboard, "Name..." "Miles Eremita..." "...address..." "Uh... that one by the Everfree forest." "Let’s just call it Everfree way, do you want to set up a credit account, or will you be paying per visit?" "Uh... let’s do credit" even though I hate credit but don't have that much on me at the moment. "Alright, I can do the rest, go ahead in, your number seven." I walk through the door where I enter a locker room. All of the lockers are a dark brown wood that are numbered off. I walk to number seven, the one after Rarity's and Fluttershy's and look around in confusion. "So..." "You have to take your clothes off dear." Rarity says as she puts on a robe with purple frilly ends. "What! Why would I..." "It's so they can message your." Fluttershy says timidly as she puts on a white rob. "But I'm not..." "You will have a towel to cover yourself dear." Rarity says as the two of them stand aside and wait for me. I look at them both in disbelief before I take my shirt off and hang it in the locker. "How’s that?" I ask. "Almost there, just the other half now." Rarity says as he points to my pants. This better be worth it. I turn back and reluctantly take my pants off and put them in the locker and turn back to them, standing there awkwardly. "Good, good. Now the under garments." I stare at her in disbelief, she can't be serious. "You can't be serious." "I am. They will get ruined if you go in with them and I absolutely refuse to have something I made be destroyed. Now please remove them." "But..." "Please... that is, um... it’s the rules Miles. Only robes and towels are allowed... so... unless you want to leave..." Fluttershy stammers as she hides behind her hair. I sigh as I turn around and take a towel from the locker and wrap it around my waist. I look back and sigh as I remove my underwear and toss them into the locker, holding the towel close to my body. "Much better." Rarity says as she trots off, followed by Fluttershy. I hesitate for a moment before I follow after them. We head towards a large bulky door with a light cream pony in a white shirt opens the door for us. The moment it opens a blast of hot air hits us. "What’s this?" I ask as we head in and take a seat. It’s just a wooden room with a bench going around. In the center of the floor is a pile of heated round stones with a bucket of water next to it. "It’s a sauna..."Fluttershy says as she lays on the bench. "You sit in here and relax." I take a seat next to her as Rarity lays on her other side. "So... what? We just sit here... and..." "Relax." Fluttershy finished. We sit there for a few moments before Rarity levitates up a ladle and pours some water onto the rocks, sending a column of smoke up and raising the humidity. It feels pretty good in here, a little hot but I think that's the point. "So Fluttershy, how have you been lately?" Rarity asks as she stretches a little. "Oh, I've been good. I've been a little concerned though. There was a new family of squirrels that moved here... but they went missing over a month ago." "That's just awful! I'm sure they'll show up though, they probably went into the forest or something." Rarity reassures. Yeah... or they ate some bad bananas. "Well... I guess so... I just wish my red fox didn't go missing as well..." "Oh sweet Barbra..." "What was that Miles?" Fluttershy asks. "Nothing, nothing... so, are you like... a care taker for all of the animals around here?" I ask to change the subject. "Well, yes and no. I'm a veterinarian. So I take care of the pets of Ponyville, but I take care of any animals that come to my home." "That's very kind of you." I say as I lay back, enjoying the heat. We lay there for a bit, Rarity occasionally adding water to the rocks. This isn't so bad. "So, Miles, what did you need from the boutique?" Rarity asks. "Just some shoes and socks..." "WHAT!" They both yell as they sit up and look at me in disbelief. "Darling... what did you say you needed?" "Uh... shoes and socks..." "AAAAHHH! Who's the lucky mare, oh tell me, tell me, tell me!" Rarity squeals as she runs over to my other side and looks at me while batting her eyes. "What are you talking about?" I ask as I sit up and look at them in confusion. "Who is the lucky mare you need the socks for?" Rarity asks "Uh... no one. Why would I need socks for a mare?" I ask, getting the two of them to look at each other in confusion. "What do you plan on doing with these socks?" Fluttershy asks. "To put on my feet... so I can wear shoes... what do you use them for?" They both begin to blush as they look away from me. "What?" "Well... we use them as lingerie, dear." Rarity says as she bats her hair. "Oh....OH! What! Why would you use socks like that!?" "Shh, shh, calm down Miles. It’s just something we do. Don't your people do things like that?" "Well, yeah. But it's different. Ours usually is a whole body thing... usually doing very little with our feet." I say, getting Rarity's attention. "Could you, maybe, tell us a bit more about this? If you’re not to bothered by it that is." Rarity asks nervously. I look over to Fluttershy to see her peek out from behind her hair, waiting for a response. "O... okay, I'll tell you." I say, getting them to perk up a bit. I spend an unknown amount of time explaining human physiology and about certain appeal of certain things. I felt kind of awkward telling them this, especially whenever Fluttershy would ask a more in depth question. We go over everything... toys, fetishes, lingerie, everything Dolum and Inficiunt ever told me about. "Wow... why do you know so much about this Miles?" Fluttershy asks. "It’s not my knowledge, my friends were always trying to get me... some action. But I never did any of it." "Does that mean you're still a virgin?" Rarity asks "Well... yeah." They both look to each other and have some kind of secret wordless feminine conversation before they look back to me. "I'm sorry Miles, but I find that a little hard to believe. You mean to tell me that somepony that is attractive even for ponies couldn't get a human mare to be with them?" Rarity says as she stares at me evenly. "What? No, I didn't have anyone by choice. I actually had several marriage proposals lined up, but no. I just... never felt that way about anyone.... so... I'm attractive?" I ask as I lean towards Rarity. She looks around, completely caught off guard by my statement. "Well... I... uh..." "Excuse me" says the pony from outside as he opens the door. "Your hour is up." "Good! I say that we should get massages next. Would anypony like to get messages, because I would simply love one..." Rarity stammers as we leave the sauna. The minute I leave the room the cool air stings against all of the sweat on my body that had built up from being in the room. I didn't really notice how sweaty I was until now.... gross. "Yeah... from Miles..."Fluttershy mumbles, getting a mean glare from Rarity. "Sorry... I didn't mean to say that... I meant, uh... well..." "HA! That was a good one... so where are we going?" I ask, getting Rarity to stop staring daggers at Fluttershy. "Uh... oh right! Let’s get messages." She says as she heads in a new direction. We follow her to a room that's filled with long padded tables. I watch as they each go to a table and lay on their stomachs, so I do the same. "So... what do we do now?" "We wait for the masseurs to come out and start on us." Rarity says as she gets comfortable. I lay there and watch as three other ponies come in. One is an orange earth pony guy in the same shirt as the others while the other two I think are twins. One is a pale rose color with light blue hair that's being held back with a white band. The other one is exactly the same to her, just inverted colors. The guy goes to Rarity and pulls a curtain around them, then the blue one goes to Fluttershy and does the same thing. The pink one comes to me and pulls the curtain around us, giving me a soft smile as she does so. "Hello mister Eremita, my name is Aloe, I will be giving you your message. Where would you like me to start?" She asks with an accent. "Uh... I don't know, where ever you feel like I guess." She comes to my side and puts her hooves on my back. I jump a little from this but relax a little as she starts to rub back and forth. I feel her work with my muscles and start to work out the knots. I Relax and let her go to work, enjoying the feeling. After a while I start to nod off, being overly relaxed by her hooves as she works the different parts of my back and shoulders. "You really should come more often; you have a lot of knots." She says as she begins to add pressure to her twists and rubs. "Fuck... if you can do this consistently you may have to kick me out..." I say, getting her to chuckle. She continues to work away for a while until she asks me to roll over, so I do. Having her work my chest was a little more awkward, having nothing else to look at other than her blue eyes. She starts at my chest, then the area of my diaphragm, then my abdominals’... "So, mister Eremita, would you like the happy ending?" She asks in a hushed tone. "Uh... I guess so... who would want a sad ending anyway." I say, getting her to nod and work lower. I have no clue what she's talking about, but I'm too relaxed to really care right now. I feel my towel rise really quick then drop back down as she puts a hoof to her mouth, trying to hold back a laugh. "Uh... what just happened?" "A sad ending" she says with a laugh before she runs out of the room. I'm not so sure what just happened here... but I have a feeling I should be either mad or saddened. I sit up and walk out of the curtained area to see the other two getting out as well. "Hey... what’s a happy ending?" I ask them, getting shocked looks from both. "And for that reason, what’s a sad ending?" "Well... ah..." Fluttershy stammers before she flies up and whispers the meaning to my ear. "So... Ignoring that, what’s next?" I ask them as they walk in front of me. "I think a bath next and then we call it a day, what do you think Fluttershy?" Rarity asks. "Oh... um... whatever you want is fine." We walk down the hall to the center most room where we find a massive tub of water. Around the tub are a couple of long padded seats and small tables with little vases on them. "Um... is this a community bath?" I ask. "Yes, why?" Fluttershy says as they head towards the tub. "Oh... then I will see you later." I say as I head towards the door, only stopping when Rarity's magic holds me back. "Miles, aren't you going to join us?" She asks as she steps into the water. "FFUUUCCKK NO! I was sketchy about walking around with just a towel, but there is absolutely no way I am getting in that tub. No way... HEY... PUT ME DOWN!" I yell as Rarity levitates me up and drops me in the water. I splash down and quickly jump up, glaring at Rarity as I try to cover myself with the drenched towel. "There now, that wasn't so hard now was it?" Rarity asks as I sit down on the bench inside. "That wasn't cool... why is the water so hot?" I ask as I look down at the water. It seems to be normal, it’s just really hot for some reason. "Are you kidding, this water is absolutely freezing, we must get them to turn up the heat..." "Are you kidding!? It's almost boiling in here, why would you want it to be hotter?" We stare at each other until Fluttershy starts to scoot towards me. "Fluttershy... what are you doing?" When she gets next to me she stops and looks around the water. "Hmm... that's strange... the water is a lot warmer over here." She says as she sits next to me. Rarity scoots next to me and feels around a bit before looking up at me in confusion. "Miles, why is the water hotter over here then over there?" "Because of my magic. I tend to heat water up for some reason, I never really understood why though." "Is it because.... of your problem?" She asks in a hushed voice. "You've got to be kidding me, how many people did Rainbow Dash tell?" "Tell what?" Fluttershy asks as she looks between us. Well, everybody else knows, why not. "I'm dying," I say bluntly, getting a shocked look from her. "My magic is growing at a high rate. Within a time period of six to sixteen years my body won't be able to contain that much energy and I'll burn myself out. There is nothing that can be done, both of the princesses know and tried. It's just something that I have to come to terms with." When I finish I look over to Fluttershy to see her holding her hooves to her mouth as some tears start to fall from her eyes. I start to say something when she suddenly jumps up and hugs me, digging her face into my neck as she holds tightly on me. "NAKED, NAKED.... LET GO! STOP HUGGING ME!" I yell as I try to pull her off. "*sniff* you're so brave... if you ever need anything just ask and I'll do my best to help you..." "START WITH LETTING GO OF ME!" I yell as I stand up and pull her off of me, dropping her in the water. "Oh my... it grows." Rarity says as she looks at my erection. "SON OF A BITCH!" I yell as I start to look around for my towel. "Where did it go, where did it go!" "Wow... so, it grows..." Rarity says quietly. "WHERE DID IT GO!" I yell as I flare my hands and send the water to the drains outside of the tub. Once the tub is empty I look around to see that the towel has somehow disappeared. "OH COME ON!" "Wow... you should either be really proud of that... or really sad..." Fluttershy says as she stares straight at it. "You can't be serious... you know what, fuck it." I say as I step out of the tub and start to walk back to the lockers. As I walk towards the lockers I run into Aloe. We stop and stare at each other for a second before I put my hands on my hips. "How sad is this?" I say as I point to my member, getting her to blush. I walk past her and go to my locker. After I get dressed I walk out and head home... this was... slightly horrible with some good...maybe... fuck the spa. Author's Note A/N: Shout out to pie1511 for picking the woodland creature and bronymaster1 for picking breakfast. Thanks for ready and like always, Brony on!
Chapter 65 Permission Chapter 65 Permission Chapter 65 Permission Perspective: Storm I had just finished loading the balloon when I heard Miles and Twilight talking. I walk around to the front to see him walking away. I wonder what he wanted… I'll just ask Twi. I walk to the door to catch Twilight locking up. "Hey Twi, what did Miles need?" "He just wanted to see what we were up to, but I told him we were going to see my parents so he went off. Is everything ready?" "Yup. Ready whenever you are." She nods and we head for the balloon together. We jump in and Twilight uses her magic to send us into the air, going straight for Canterlot. "So... why do we need to visit my parents?" Twilight asks as she sets her legs over the edge and looks out below. "What? I don't get to meet my marefriend’s parents?" I ask as I jump behind her and wrap my legs around her waist. "Storm... what are you planning?" she asks as she grabs onto my legs. "Nothing." "Storm..." "Do I really look like the planner type?" "Well... maybe not. I can feel you concocting a plan right now," she says as she wags her tail against my flaccid member. "It’s a two-hour trip..." "Yeah, and I don't want to have to drag your unconscious body to my parents’ place." "What? It’s a lot of work getting my mare to come multiple times." "Yeah, and it’s a lot of work getting you to wake up afterwards," she says, getting us both to laugh. "Alright, later," I say as I nuzzle her neck a bit. We spend the entire trip cuddled together, whispering sweet nothings to each other. Once the landing platform comes into view we separate from each other as I grab our bags. The platforms are just long flat concrete docks that stick out of the side of the mountain, making access points for blimps, balloons, any flying contraptions really. There are a couple of larger vessels here, but we find an empty spot and head for it. "MOM! DAD!" Twilight yells out as we land on the platform. She jumps out of the basket and runs up to two ponies, hugging them both tightly. One is a light blue stallion with light yellow eyes, and dark blue hair that's styled to the side. His cutie mark is a yellow crescent with a smaller white crescent inside of it. The other pony is an all-white mare with light blue eyes, and light purple and white striped hair. Her cutie mark is three purple stars. The mare is the same size as Twilight, where the stallion is a bit shorter than me. "I would like you to meet my coltfriend, Storm Cloud. Storm, these are my parents, Night Light and Twilight Velvet," she says as she steps aside for them to get a good look at me. I flap my wings and land in front of them, trying to put on my best smile possible. "It's a pleasure to meet you," I say as I stick my hoof out to Night Light. He takes it and gives a rough shake, sizing me up as he does. "So, you're the Storm Cloud my little Twilight has been talking so much about. What are your intentions-" "Oh stop it, Night," Twilight Velvet says as she pushes him aside and walks up to me, looking at me with her mouth slightly open. "Wow, you are buff!" she says as she walks up to me and gives me a hug... a rather grabby, touchy hug. "Uh... Mrs. Velvet..." "So, I hope you’re treating my daughter alright," she says as she lets go of me and walks back to her husband with a slight blush. "Of course. I would never..." "Never what?" asks Shining Armor as he walks up to us. "Shining!" Twilight says as she runs up to him and hugs him. "It’s good to see ya Twiley," he says as he hugs her, giving me a dirty look as he does. "I would never treat her poorly... hello, Captain Armor," I say as I offer him a hoof. He steps away from Twilight and shakes my hoof, trying to put as much pressure into it as possible as he stares me down. I have a strange feeling that the only one that likes me here is Velvet. "So..." he says as he lets go of my hoof and looks back to his parents, "I have to get back to the barracks, but I'll swing by for lunch at twelve." "Alright, be sure to bring Cadence with you," Night Light says to him as he leaves. "So, we actually have a business meeting to attend, so why don't you two enjoy the city and meet us at Pony Romas at twelve for lunch?" "We'll do that daddy," Twilight says as she walks to my side. "Alright, have fun you two," he says as he walks away. Twilight Velvet walks after him while looking back to Twilight and mouthing something excitingly. We wait for them to disappear behind a crowd of ponies before we both sigh in relief. "Wow... your dad and brother hate me already." "Well... at least my mom likes you… or at least your flank," she says as she looks away, gagging. "Hmm... so it seems that all Twilight's are attracted to my flank... interesting..." I say as I hold a hoof to my chin. Twilight laughs and punches me, but pulls her hoof back and shakes the pain away. "Can you tell me why I let Miles make you so darn buff again?" "Because you like it, now come on, show me Canterlot," I say excitedly as I start to run off, making her chase after me. I make it to the front of the airport offices and wait for her to catch up. Once she does we walk off into Canterlot, Twilight being my unofficial guide. Everywhere we go I can see all of the mares staring at me, whispering things to their friends and giggling. I wouldn't mind it so much if it wasn't for the fact that some of them were following us as well. I ignore them and just follow Twilight around. We explore the shopping district, visit her favorite public library - leaving with three new books - and see some local restaurants. We keep walking around until we finally stop for a late breakfast at some doughnut shop. "Twilight Sparkle, haven't seen you in my shop since the gala two years ago, how have ya been?" asks the pony from behind the counter. He's pretty tall and scruffy looking. "Hello Pony Joe, I'd like you to meet my coltfriend, Storm," Twilight says, getting a large collection of awws from behind. We both turn around to see a large group of mares - and a few stallions - standing behind us. We stare at them as most start to walk away, but four stay behind and take a table and start whispering to one another. There's a light green stallion with white hair; a pair of twin unicorns that are both light grey with dark blue hair, and a pegasus mare that's cream yellow with white hair. They keep whispering to one another while glancing back to us. We ignore them as we turn back to Pony Joe and order a couple of doughnuts. After I pay we go to a booth and start eating. These are actually really good; I can see why Twi would come here for her late night study sessions... "Excuse me." I look up to see that the group is now standing at the edge of the table, looking at me nervously. "Umm..." "Can we help you?" Twilight asks. They glance between me and her before the stallion steps forward. "Um... well... we were wondering what your name is?" he asks in a feminine voice. My gaydar had never rung louder than right now. "I'm..." I start to say, but get cut off by Twilight. "I am Twilight and this is my coltfriend Storm, is there something we can help you with?" "Well, is this an… open relationship?" he asks as I bite into a doughnut, choking on it immediately. "It most certainly is not!" Twilight yells at them as I try to stop choking. "Uh, why don't you let him answer for himself, bitch?" says the pegasus, getting Twilight to stand up and march up to her face. "Excuse me, you want to run that by me again?" Twilight says as she stares down the other mare. "I said, why don't you let him choose for himself, or does being Celestia's prized pet make him all yours... bitch," she says as she pushes against Twilight and flares her wings. I finally swallow the doughnut and jump between Twilight and the other mare as Twilight starts to flare her horn. I push Twilight back a bit and try to calm her down. "Whoa... easy there Twi..." "That whore called me a bitch!" "I know, let me handle this..." "I'm going to smack that smug look off of your face and drag you back to Golden Gate where you belong, you slut!" Twilight yells as she tries to rush her. I grab a hold of her and keep her from tearing the other mare apart. "Twilight! Calm down!" I yell as I pull her back, getting her to calm down a bit. "Let me handle this, we don't need to start a fight right before we have lunch with your parents." She sits on her haunches and crosses her legs as she looks away with a pissed off look. I turn around to the others and take a deep breath before I talk to them. "Look, I'm sorry but I'm taken. And no, it's not an open relationship, now please leave us be." The pegasus looks back to her friends before she starts to walk towards me, giving me a sultry look as she sways her hips. "If you say so," she says as she walks right up to my face. I lean back as much as possible before she finally stops, inches away from my face. Before I can react she grabs the back of my head and starts to kiss me. I start to flail around as I try to pry her from my lips, but she won't let go. I finally push her off and take a few steps back as a red blur flashes past me. KER-PUNCH Twilight has turned white with her mane and tail turning to fire as she runs forward and punches her straight in the face, knocking her flat on her back. Her friends run to her side and help her up as she holds her bloody nose. "I'm only going to say this once. Storm. Is. My. Stallion. If I see you near him again, I will turn your coat red, got it?" she threatens as she looms over her. "Got it," she says timidly as the group runs around us and leaves the store as quickly as possible. I watch in horror as Twilight stares them down with her bright red eyes. Once they run out of sight she takes a few breaths before she finally turns back to her old self. "OK, so, what do you want to do next?" she asks cutely as she closes her eyes and tilts her head. "Damn Twilight… that was scary..." "Oh, did I scare the big bad Spartan? I'm sorry," she says cutely as she lightly twiddles her hooves around. "Trust me, there is nothing you can do that could scare me more than what Miles did. Why don't we head out... I think Pony Joe is calling the guards," I say as I look back to see him writing a letter. Twilight nods and we head out together. We run through town, weaving from alleys to streets in an attempt to avoid city guards, until we reach the hotel I'll be staying at. We walk inside and check in before we head to my room. The room is simple enough: bed, bathroom, window, nothing special for a one-night stay. Twilight walks in and drops on top of the bed, burying her face in the pillow. "Is everything alright Twi?" I ask as I set down my bag. "Mmm mmmnn hnm," she mumbles from the pillow. I lay on the bed next to her and just rub her back until she looks at me. "Wanna repeat that?" "Sorry you had to see me lose it like that. I'm usually level-headed and..." "Don't be sorry, she had it coming. Imagine what I'd do if some stallion just came up and kissed you," I say as I move my hoof down to hold hers. She gives me a smile before reaching over and giving a peck on the lips. I pull her closer and start kissing her, pushing my tongue into her mouth. We spend the next few minutes pushing our tongues from one mouth to the next until I start to get on top of her, getting her to stop. "Something wrong?" "Yeah, we have lunch with my parents in an hour." "Oh... yeah," I say, slightly disappointed - so close. "Maybe we could..." I start to say but stop when she levitates me off of her, letting her get off of the bed. "We should get going soon, it’s on the other side of Canterlot," she says as she walks toward the door, still holding me in the air. "Hey Twilight, wanna put me down already?" She looks back to me and gives me a smile. "Not until you put your pet snake away," she says as she walks out of the room. I look down to see my pride standing straight up. Well... I guess I could take a cold shower... so close. After an icy shower I come out to find Twilight lying on the bed reading one of the books. "How is it?" I ask as I rub a towel in my mane. "Fascinating, not as good as The Myths and Legends of Equestria, but still enticing," she says as she flips to the next page. "Myths and... isn't that the other book you bought?" "Yeah, why?" "When did you read it?" "Just now... I'm a fast reader," she says with a slight blush. That book was thicker than my head... damn. "Well, I'm done, let’s get going," I say as I head to the door. I wait for her to put the book away before we head out together. We walk down one of the main streets together, getting odd looks from everypony... or at least I was. We finally make it to the restaurant where I stop in disbelief. "The restaurant is called... Food." "Yeah... is that a problem?" Twilight asks as she heads to the door. I follow after her and keep my mouth shut. I was kind of expecting something a little more... fancy. We make it to the doors and walk in when my jaw drops. Marble flooring, giant ornate chandeliers, waiters in full black and white suits... fancy beyond my belief. "There they are," Twilight says as she trots off for a table with her parents and siblings. After I pick my jaw up I follow after her, dreading the conversation that's to come. We say our hellos, Twilight doing a strange little dance with Princess Cadence, before we take our seats. I don't see any menus, so I figure that they either already ordered our food, or there's only one thing to get. I end up taking a seat between both Twilights, facing Shining, who is still giving me the stink eye. "So, Storm, how did you like the city?" Velvet asks as she takes a sip from her glass. "It was... nice. I'm not usually into the bigger cities, but Canterlot has a... unique charm to it," I say as a waitress places a glass of wine in front of me and Twilight. I look at the waitress and recognize her as the mare from the doughnut shop, the one Twilight punched... better not eat the food. "Yes, Canterlot has quite the charm," Night Light says as he glares at me from behind his glass. "So Storm, what do you do for work?" Cadence asks, oblivious to the hatred from the other two. "Well, I bucked apples at Sweet Apple Acres before I did Spartan training..." "What’s a Spartan?" Velvet asks. "Uh... it’s a soldier of Terradisia..." "You mean like Miles?" Shining asks. "Yeah, and..." "So you know about how he got his fighting prowess?" he presses. "I have his fighting prowess," I say, getting an amazed look from Shining. "Would you come by the training grounds and give us a few pointers, maybe give a little training…?" "No, I can't," I interrupt, getting a confused look from him. "You can't, or won’t?" "A little of both actually. Spartan training is very secretive. If I were to tell anypony, even a tiny bit about what I went through, Miles would legally have to kill me and whoever I told. Twilight doesn't even know what I went through." When I finish saying this the table falls silent, everypony staring at me in disbelief of what I just said. The silence is finally broken when a group of waiters bring us our food. It looks like green goop with some orange goop swirled into it... whatever, I've had goop before. I take a spoon and give it a try... weird. It’s like eating a hay smoothie... what the buck. So much for not eating the food. "So then... how's the guard doing after the attack, Shining?" Velvet asks to break the awkward silence. "We lost a lot of good ponies, but we're holding strong. I won't let something like this happen again," he says in a serious tone. Yeah... the guard will stop this from happening, good luck. "Well, hopefully next time the Princesses will be able to detect them before something like this happens again. Just another testament to the power of your love," she says as she takes a bite of food. "That's what worries me though, it wasn't our love they were using," Cadence says as she holds onto Shining's hoof. "They just cast us aside to set a trap for the human. So the human loves somepony more than I love Shining... do you know anything about that?" she asks Twilight and I. "Miles... in love... I'd find it hard to believe," Twilight says as she puts down her spoon. "He's a good pony and all, but he seems to have severe social problems, at least when in the right setting..." "Yeah, he's in love," I say, getting everypony's attention. "I don't know who it is, but I saw that spark in his eyes a while back. He has his eyes for somepony, I just don't know who." "It would have to be somepony in Canterlot... somepony he's met more than once," Shining says as he looks down in thought. "You don't think it’s Luna... do you?" "Princess Luna?! Why would you think that?" Night asks in disbelief. "Because when we were rescued, we ran into Miles and Luna... only the Luna was a changeling. Not to mention that he and Luna were the ones to defeat Chrysalis... what has she been up to recently, anyway?" Shining asks Cadence. "Luna was gone for a day awhile back, and recently she's been... distant... you don't think..." "Oh my... Miles and Luna are in love," Twilight says as her face falls to a serious look. "The soul things kissing, why he mumbles her name in his sleep... do you think Celestia knows?" "If she does, that would explain Luna's current state. There's no way she would allow them to be together," Cadence says as the table falls silent. "Excuse me... I have to use the restroom," Twilight says as she gets up. "I'll join you," Cadence says as she gets up and follows her to the restroom. NO! DON'T LEAVE ME WITH THEM! "Well, now that she's gone, Storm, what are your intentions today?" Night Light asks as he leans towards me. Everypony else looks at me and waits for me to answer... well, now would be as good a time as any to ask. I take a moment to build up my courage before I look to Night Light. "Well... I came here to ask for permission to ask for Twilight's hoof in marriage," I say, getting shocked looks from everypony except Night Light. "You wish to marry Twilight." "Yes sir." "You." "Yes sir." "And how will you provide for my daughter, assuming I allow this?" "I have sixty million bits in the bank, am a majority stockholder of the cloud production industry and am the sole proprietor of the Cloud n' Cloud factory. I have the means to provide," I say, getting even more shocked looks from everypony. "You’re Rain Cloud’s son," Velvet asks, to which I nod. "The one that was banished..." "No. That was my brother, Storm Breaker. I was… I went missing when I was a foal. We recently reunited and I just inherited all of this. But none of that matters. What matters is that I love Twilight, and I want to spend the rest of my life with her. Now I'll ask again, may I marry your daughter?" They stare at me a little longer until Twilight and Cadence walk back and take their seats. "Okay, what did we miss?" Cadence asks. "Just me saying yes, nothing special," Night Light says as he takes a drink from his glass. I feel my heart nearly jump out in joy as a huge smile grows on my face. "What’s got you so happy?" Twilight says as she takes her glass. "What, oh... uh... just realized how much I love wine," I say as I take the glass and take a sip. I look at the glass and realize I'm an idiot before I pass out. Author's Note Shout out to Night Terror for picking where the group went. Thanks for ready and like always, Brony on!
Chapter 67 Diamond DogsChapter 67 Diamond Dogs Perspective: Miles After my little... incident at the spa, I decided to just go home and try to relax. It's good to see that they all care about me, but I'm starting to get tired of hearing about my problem. I know they only bring it up because they want to try to help, but there's nothing to help, there's nothing to do except accept my fate. GIVE IN TO THE VOID I stop in my tracks and look around. I'm out in the park with no one around me. "Is this Soul Fire?" I ask out loud. ANIMA IGNIS IS GONE. I HAVE CONTROL. What the fuck... have I lost it? Yeah, I've gone insane, that's it. In my attempt to deal with my eventual death and heartache I have lost my mind and have started hearing creepy raspy voices in my head. Great, just fucking great! I walk off trying to get home as fast as possible. I probably just need some bed rest... yeah, that's it. Bed rest. That's what I need. I make it home and open the door only to get tackled by Lupus. As soon as we hit the ground he starts sniffing my face, as if he doesn't recognize me. "What's got you all worked up?" I say as I push him aside and stand back up. He looks up and stares at me for a minute before he bolts into the forest. O... K... I'll just mark that up as weird wolf stuff. I go over to take a seat on the couch. Sitting there I look around my quiet home and just sit there... and sit some more... just sitting here... alone... FUCK! I need something to do. Something to work on. I used to do eighty hour weeks, this is way too boring for me. I jump off the couch and start walking around my house. I guess I could clean up a bit. I start by going to the closet and taking out all of the cleaning supplies. Once I have them I start in the kitchen, filling a bucket and leaving my hands in the water, warming it up quickly. I take some cleaning chems and mix them into the water before I start rubbing down the counters. As I try to clean, my body makes the water in the sponge evaporate, I keep sticking it back in the bucket to soak it back up. When I finish up a square meter of counter I stick my sponge back into the bucket, only to find that all of the water is gone now. "MOTHER FUCKER ASSHOLE SON OF A BITCH PIECE OF CRAP WHORE!" I yell as I throw the sponge at the wall and pace around in some unknown rage. Fuck this curse of mine! Why do I have to be the one to bear this!? Why do I have to bear this pain alone... "Hey Miles, everything alright?" I turn around to see Storm and Twilight sitting behind me. Storm is looking up at me with a mixed look of anger and sadness, while Twilight has her face buried in his neck. "*sigh* Alright, who told you?" I ask as I face them. "Luna. Why didn't you tell us earlier?" "It's not something I usually try to bring up when meeting new people... so how much do you know?" "Well, we know you're dying in six to sixteen years due to your power constantly growing, and that there is nothing anypony can do to help you." "Yeah... that's the general gist..." I start to say, only to have Twilight force me down with her magic as she runs to me and hugs me, tears flowing from her eyes as she does so. "It's OK... it's alright..." she sobs into my shoulder as she holds me tightly. "We're here for you... Miles, we're here for you... we may not be able to help, but... we will always be here for you... you don't have to go through this alone..." I freeze up when she says that. I don't have to be alone for this... "Hey, Twi, why don't you head to my room. I need to have a... private word with Miles," Storm whispers into her ear. She nods and gives me a kiss on the cheek before she starts to walk off. It doesn't really faze me though, the only thing running through my mind is what she said, I don't have to be alone. I sit back against the counter as I contemplate her words, not noticing Storm taking a seat next to me. "She's right you know," he says, getting my attention. "We'll be here. We might not be able to help, but we'll be here." "Yeah... I know..." "And... I know somepony else who wants to be here as well." "What?" "Luna." "Oh... so you know about that as well." "You know, now that I think about it, it wasn't that hard to figure out." "Yeah... I shouldn't have asked her out..." "What? Why?" "Storm, I'm dying. Soon. I know I said six to sixteen years, but that was with new potestatum annulums. Without additional ones, I figure I have... six to eight months... maybe even less. My time is limited, and I don't want to put her through that. I... I will cherish what we had, but it had to end. I..." "Miles, just... just stop!" he yells as he stands up and walks away. "Enough of the loathing and self-pity. Enough of the... the... the giving up! You have a chance to live life, take it! I know it'll hurt but it wouldn't hurt nearly as much as sitting here, hating yourself..." "WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE ME DO!?" I yell as I stand up. "CHANCE HER DYING BECAUSE I WAS TOO SELFISH TO CONSIDER HER? I CAN'T TAKE THAT CHANCE!" "And why not!?" "BECAUSE I LOVE HER!" I yell at him, pausing as I realize what I just said out loud. Storm just looks at me with a smug smile on his face. "I knew it." "Fine, I love Luna. There, it’s out in the open, you happy now?" "Not until I get you to ask her out again." "I CAN'T DO THAT! I CAN'T! Everything is working against me, lifespan, species, the fucking voices in my head, I can't be with her. It’s not like I don't want to... I want love... I want a family... but I will never get to have those luxuries..." I say as I stagger back against the counter, finally letting the tears fall from my eyes. As soon as I feel them I try to wipe them away, only to have more fall down. "Why the fuck is you doing this to me man?" "Because Luna still wants to be with you, even if you’re going to die early," he says as he walks over to me and pats my back. "*sigh* No." "No?" "No... I can't. It would... this will only end in tears... fuck, it started in tears, how could it possibly get any better?" I say as I try to wipe my face dry. I hear some sobs from the side and look over to see Twilight and Rainbow Dash sitting in the doorway, crying lightly. "Aw come on... what now?" "*sniffle* Ponyville is under attack," Rainbow Dash says as she wipes her tears away. "Good, I need to kill something right now. Storm, suit up," I say as I walk past them and head for my room. I go to my closet and put on my armor and weapons. I take everything except my rifle and go back downstairs where I find Storm in his armor with his sword. I turn to the girls and ask, "Alright, what’s going on?" "The diamond dogs are back. They're a group of dogs that collect gems... only this time they're not after gems. They've been bursting out of the ground all over Ponyville taking unicorns," Rainbow Dash explains. "Alright, Twilight, you stick with Storm, Rainbow, you're with me." I say as I march out of my house and take a look at Ponyville. There are a couple buildings on fire, blackening the sky above. I sigh deeply before I start to walk towards the town, flaring the magic in my heels. "Miles... are you sure you should be using magic?" Rainbow asks with concern in her voice. I ignore her and start to run to town, using my magic to propel me faster. Rainbow flies after me and keeps up with me as she gives me a worried looks. When we make it to town I stop using my magic and run into the fray of ponies and diamond dogs running around all over town. Meter wide holes pepper the ground everywhere, with dogs either running in or out of them. The diamond dogs are about my height, a little shorter on average, and seem reminiscent of Winona, with different facial features. They wear what looks like steel armor, and carry an assortment of weapons from spears to swords. As I look into the fray, trying to make sense of it, Storm and Twilight appear next to me. "What’s the plan?" Storm asks as he pulls out his sword and gets ready for the fight. "Easy, kill dogs," I say as I start to walk forward, flaring my hands as I do so. When the first dog sees me and starts to run at me, holding its sword high as it howls and barks, I push my hand forward, sending a wave of raw magical energy at him. When it hits, it sends him flying back into a building, punching a hole into the wall. "Uh... maybe too much," Storm says as he walks next to me. "Don't really care," I say as I pull out my sword with my right hand and my revolver with my left. "Storm... stay close to Twilight." "Yeah... Miles..." I ignore him and run into the fray, finding my next target almost immediately. This dog has a sword in one hand and is holding a pony by his horn in the other. I raise my revolver at him and send a magical round into his chest. The bullet breaks through the armor and buries itself inside him. A few seconds after it hits his body starts to implode on itself, as the bullet begins to pull matter into it. Once the energy runs out all that is left is a bloody cavity of what used to be his chest. I walk over to the pony and check to see if he's alright. "You alright?" I ask the brown pony. "Yeah, I'm alright..." he starts to say, but as soon as he says ‘Yeah’ I’ve already turned around and ran back into the fight. I see a group of five dogs cornering some ponies. As I run towards them I spot Rarity in the front of the group, trying to hold her ground against the dogs. "...harm my little sister you mangy mutts!" she yells at one of them as I close the distance and stab the center dog in the back, piercing his armor and burying my blade into his spine. He lets out a high pitched whine before he drops to the ground. The two closest to me try to swing their blades at me, but I duck and jump back. The other two run behind me and point their spears at me as the other two start to slowly advance towards me, carrying pony-sized curved swords. "You will pay for that... creature," one says in a deep goofy voice. I lift my sword and ready myself for the fight. The dog that spoke starts by trying to drop his blade onto me. I step aside and swipe at the other sword-bearing dog, scratching his armor and making him stagger back. I start to dodge and pivot as the other two try to stab me with their spears. I bring my magic up on my sword, making the text appear on the blade, and swing at the two of them, sending a slash of energy that makes them fall back. Before I can finish them off the other dogs both try to drop their blades on me, but I roll forward to avoid the attack. I lift my revolver at one of them and pull the trigger, sending a round into his head, making it implode and send a column of blood from his shoulders. The other dog charges forward and tries to chop at me, but I lift my sword and catch the blade. I drop a little but manage to hold it above me, but feel him start to press down and force my blade lower. I quickly point my revolver at him and send a round into his stomach, making it implode on itself, followed by a flood of blood dropping from the bottom of his armor. I turn around to find Storm and Big Mac fighting the two speared dogs, Big Mac using one of the dog’s swords. They both quickly kill the two dogs, Big Mac decapitating his while Storm stabs his in the heart. "Spartans!" I yell, getting them both to run over to me. "Here's our directive, protect the citizens of Ponyville. We need to move them indoors..." "That's no good," Big Mac says. "They just dig through the floorboards." "Then we move them to my house, the floor is super compressed, even diamonds have trouble cutting through it. So, find a group, escort them there, repeat. Tell all pegasi to take to the air if they haven't already, priority are children, women, and unicorns. MOVE OUT!" "UH-RAH!" They yell as we all turn in different directions and go back into the fray. I run up to Rarity to check on her and Sweetie Belle. "Rarity, are you all alright?" "Yes Miles, we're fine, thank you," Rarity says as she holds onto her shaking sister. "Good, look, I know you're scared, but I need you to run - go to my place and wait there, I'll cover you as you go, think you can do that?" "I... I can. But what of the others?" she asks, as she sets her sister on her back. Sweetie Belle latches onto her neck and buries her face in Rarity's hair. "They will follow after, try to move as a group, don't get separated, and stay close to me if you can," I say to the group behind her, getting nods from most of them. "LETS GO THEN!" I yell as I turn around and start to run home, the group running close behind me. We make it out of the town limits when dirt starts flying into the air ahead of us. Two dogs jump out of the ground and run at me with shields and axes. I jump forward and stab the ground, making a row of earthen swords shoot out of the ground and stab the dog on the left. The other one tries to close the distance but stops to raise his shield and block a spear. I run forward and kick the shield, knocking him over. Before he can recover I stab him in the gut and twist my blade until he dies. I look back to see Rainbow Dash in the air with another spear in her hooves. I nod to her and run after the group that has made it halfway to my home. Another burst of dirt appears behind them as two more dogs run out of the ground and chase after the group. I lift my revolver and fire the rest of my rounds, the first missing but the other two hitting their targets. We make it to my place where everyone runs inside and takes cover. "Miles!" Rainbow Dash yells as she flies down to me. "What do you need me to do?" I look to the group inside before looking back to her. "Go to those dogs we just killed and scavenge weapons. Once you get those, bring them back here, I'm staying back to protect the group, alright?" She salutes before taking off in the air, leaving a rainbow trail behind her. As she flies off I see Big Mac running back, leading a group of about fifteen ponies. They make it to my place and pile in, leaving Big Mac and I outside. "What now?" He asks. "Help me hold the house until Storm gets back. Head to the backyard and don't let anyone in or out.” "Eeyup," he says as he runs around back. Rainbow returns with a hoofful of weapons that she drops before me. "OK, this is all of them." I look through them and see a few spears, a couple of axes and a few daggers. I walk to my doorway and look to the group of scared ponies. "Can any of you wield a weapon?" I ask the group. A few guys and even less women walk up to me. I lead them to the pile and wait for them to take a weapon. "Okay, I need you to watch the doors and windows. Remember, these are tools to kill, not toys. Don't hesitate to kill the dogs... and if you see a wolf, don't harm him. That's Lupus, he's harmless." They look at me in confusion before they run back inside and take positions by the windows and doors. I look over to Rainbow and see her leaning on the spear, looking scared. "You know how to use that?" "Huh? Oh... kind of. You just poke with the pointy end, right?" I shake my head as I stab my sword into the ground and holster my revolver. I walk over to her and take the spear from her and take a stance with it. "Believe it or not, you don't just stab with a spear," I say as I start to spin it around. "You can use all of the parts in a fight, point," I stab forward, "shaft," I hold the spear parallel with myself and thrust forward with it, "and end." I spin it around and smack the end onto the ground. I give the spear back to her and pull my weapons back out as Storm and Twilight lead a larger group towards us. "Go get Big Mac," I tell Rainbow as I walk towards the group. She nods and flies back to get him. "We got as many unicorns we could. There are still a lot in Ponyville though," Storm says as the group runs past us. "What now?" Big Mac and Rainbow return and wait for me to give the order. "Alright, you four start a rotation. I want one of you to stay here, while the other two head back into the town to get as many people out of there as you can. Rainbow, you're on assist. Stay in the air and give directions to the group below. Keep all pegasi in the air and keep priority as is. Stay sharp, watch each other’s backs and we'll get through this..." "What are you going to be doing during all of this?" Twilight asks. "Me? I'm going down. I'm going to see if there is anyone that's been taken captive, or if there is a leader..." "On your own!?" Twilight says, looking around for help. "You can't just go on your own, what if you get captured?" "Not likely, we'll be underground, it’s kind of a specialty area for me..." "But..." "Look, we don't have time to argue about this. We need to get moving now!" I say as I turn around and run for the nearest hole. I jump up and fall straight down the hole, getting closer to the walls as the hole starts to curve straight. Seeing the ground quickly approaching, I flare my heels and prepare to land. I hit with a thunderous thud, sending dust up all around me. I pull out my revolver and point it around, looking for any targets. I don't see any, so I start to head down the path that leads towards Ponyville. The tunnel is fairly narrow, so I holster my sword, reload my revolver, and pull out my trench knife. I follow the tunnel until I find a massive opening. The opening goes down another story to where a large group of unicorns have been gathered up. In front of the group is a ramp way that leads deep underground. Guard dogs walk around the group as they smother black gunk on their horns. I see a group of four guard dogs and two non-armored dogs to my left at the same level as me, looking down at the unicorns and speaking to themselves. "Think they're the leaders?" Storm asks. "If not then they... wait...what the fuck?! What are you doing here?" I ask in a hushed voice. "What? You think I'd let my best friend do this alone? The others can handle up top, we will get the bottom." "GAH! Fine. There's only six guards at the bottom, I'll cause a distraction with the leaders, you get the guards below when I do it, got it?" He nods to me so I start to sneak my way to the group. As I go, I set an illusion spell over myself, making myself invisible and sending the lines to my shoulders. As I get closer I pause as two new people show up. The first one is a grey and black griffin carrying a long curved sword. The other one makes my stomach twist as I look upon him. It’s a dog, standing shorter than the rest... and wearing Terradisian light armor. He has the leggings, arm straps, and a chest plate, all of which has been slightly modified to fit him better. How did he get that... where did he get that...? I need to get closer. I continue to creep forward as they keep speaking to one another. "Well Rover? How’s the progress?" asks the grey griffin. "We're making good progress. Dogs dig under pony’s home, grab pointy one, and drag them back. Now it’s time for your part of the bargain." "Of course. Everything in the underground city is for the dogs... here is the location," the griffin says as he hands him a piece of paper. The dog looks at the paper and pushes it aside. "You know dogs don't read! Where is the city of metal, Steelwing!?" He yells as he points a finger at him. He looks back at him with a bored expression before he turns and starts to walk away. "Take the path in the Everfree, take the first left, find the first cave on your right and get ready to start digging. Now if you’ll excuse me..." Before he can finish I drop the spell and shoot a beam of soul fire at them... only soul fire doesn't come out. Instead when I thrust my palm at them, something forces my hand shut and creates a black orb in front of me. From this orb I'm sending a column of black energy that hits two of the guards and creates a hole in the wall behind. The two guards hit don't erupt into ash as they would when hit by soul fire, instead they seem to wither away, leaving black wisps in their place. I drop the spell and fall to one knee, that spell was way too taxing. The two remaining guards start to run at me as the other four run down the hall. I get up and try to push them away with magic, but get forced to use the black substance again, making the others disappear like the rest. I drop back to my knees and take a second to try to catch my breath. I hear the sound of clanking metal to my right, but I don't look over. Instead I push myself back up and chase after the group. The hall they run down is more well-made. It has wooden support beams lining the square hall and has a more level flooring. I look ahead to see the group split in half as the path forks. The armored dog and griffin go left as the others go right, so I go left. As I turn the corner I see the dog dig a tunnel and lead the griffin up towards the surface. I run to the tunnel only to have it collapse before I can get to it. I take a readied stance and start to push myself up, sending a column of stone up underneath me as I clear the way upward. When I break through the surface I find the dog standing before me with his sword out as the griffin flies away. "You made a mistake when you attacked dogs," he says with a growl. "And you made a mistake when you wore Terradisian armor..." "Bird pony gave dogs this. If you have a problem with that then take it up with Steelwing!" he says before he charges and swings at me. I walk backwards as he swings at me with his sword, dodging his attacks along the way. I suddenly shoot forward and jam my trench knife at his side, only to have my blade bounce off the armor. I back away quickly as he tries to slash at me, raising my knife up and waiting for the next attack. "Why do you wait creature? Don't you want your armor?" he taunts as he swings his sword around before pointing at me. I look over to see the griffin hovering in the air, watching us fight. "I don't have time for this," I say as I point my revolver at him and send a round into his skull, making the back of his head explode out as the round travels through. I start walking towards the griffin, making him turn around and fly away. "Oh no you don't," I say as I holster my weapons and start to run after him, flaring my heels as I go. He's heading for the forest, better not let him reach it. I jump high into the air and try to send a beam of magic at him, only to send out the black substance again. He dodges the attack by banking to the left and diving into the forest. I shake my head from the fatigue and shoot myself down, crashing into the ground. I look around and see him flying off, so I start launch myself after him, flinging from the ground to a tree, then from tree to tree as I chase after him. He starts weaving through the trees, banking left and right before he drops low to the ground then shoots up. We keep at this game of chase and be chased for a while before he suddenly turns and stops on the ground. I drop before him and pull out my revolver, pointing it straight at him. "Before you do anything, let me show you something," he says as he turns around and walks up to a wall of plants. He pulls out his sword and slashes at the plants, making a portion of it drop to the ground, revealing a cave. "This leads home," he says as he turns around to face me. "You want to go home... don't you?" "Why don't you shut the fuck up before I kill you?" I say as I step closer. "That couldn't lead to my home..." "Oh but it does. You go in, drop down a few miles and take the path to the large metal doors. We've tried going in a few times, but usually no one ever comes back out... well, I did." I lower my gun and look him in the eyes. "You've been there... what's it like? Are there survivors? What..." "If you want to know, go look for yourself," he says before he jumps into the air and flies away. I try to chase after him, but I look back to the cave in wonder. This leads to Terradisia... three thousand years and it's still there. If there are people there, who knows what they've developed? They might even have a cure for me, or better restraints at least. I shake my head and run into the cave as I holster my revolver. A few meters into the cave I find a massive hole in the ground. I lean over and look down, only to see a pit of darkness below. I take a deep sigh as I look back. If I go, and there are people... I may never be able to come back. I would be leaving everyone. I walk back and forth as I contemplate my decision. "If I go, and I can't leave, at least they won't have to watch me die... I'm going," I say before I leap into the dark abyss. END OF ARC ONE Author's Note Shout out to DesertRose for picking the element used to fight the dogs. Thanks for reading, and like always, Brony on!
End Of Arc One Bonus ChapterEnd of Arc One Bonus Chapter The Adventures of Cabbage Patch Date: August 30, 4132 (Same time frame as Chapter 33: ‘Et Salutant Mortuus’) Perspective: Cabbage Patch My name is Cabbage Patch. I'm just a typical brown earth pony, with light green hair. My cutie mark is a head of cabbage with a square missing in the center. The past day has been... different, to say the least. It hasn't been all bad, I did make a group of new friends. That being said... if yesterday never happened... I would sleep better at night. Earlier that day It was early in the morning when I made it into Ponyville on my way to Sweet Apple Acres. I'm from Appleloosa where my friend, Braeburn, had told me about a potential client, his cousin Big Mac. As I pull my cart of cabbages through the empty streets of Ponyville, I hear light sobs coming from a nearby alley. My curiosity piqued, I walk into the alley, where I find a pegasus mare crying. She's light grey, with a bright yellow mane and tail, and has a cutie mark of some bubbles. "Uh... can I help you?" I ask as I approach her. "*sniffle* I-I... I'm lost..." she says with a sob as she wipes her tears away. "I'm sorry... well, I have a map if you'd like to see it," I say cautiously. She gives me a tearful smile as she nods. "Thank you so much mister!" she says as she springs up and hugs me tightly. I pat her back a few times before we hobble over to my cart. She won’t let go of me for some reason - I guess she's had a rough day. I reach into my cart and am about to give her the map when I see her eyes. They’re off-set, looking off in different directions. I hesitate for a second before I open up the map. "You know; why don't I just take you there?" I say as I look over the map. "You'd really do that? Thanks mister," she says cheerfully as she lets go of me and peers at the map. "That's where I need to go," she says as she points to a building on the map. "... Fon... DO. Why would you need to go to a place called ‘Fon DO’?" "It's where my friend Cheesus is!" she says in a bubbly way as she starts to walk off. "Well? You coming or not… uh…?" "Cabbage Patch." "Right, I'm Derpy Whooves!" she says as she continues to walk off. I run after her and lead the way to our destination, following the map to... whatever ‘Fon DO' is. "So, Derpy, if you don't mind me asking, why were you crying back there?" "Oh, well mister, my daughter Dinky Doo has gone missing,” she says as she lowers her head. "Wait, you have a daughter and you still call me mister?" "I just don't know what went wrong," she says as she starts to tear up again. "Don't worry, we'll find her, I'm sure she's just at the park or something," I assure her, getting a weak smile in response. We walk down a few paths until we enter what I assume is the red light district, due to all of the... promiscuous stores. "There it is!" she cheers as she runs towards a building that makes my jaw drop. It's a simple two story building, but at the top are three large signs that are lit up. The first one being the word ‘Fon’. The third being ‘DO’. And sitting in the middle of them is a fondue pot, with an outline of a mare dancing on the shaft skewer. I gape at the building for a second before Derpy starts pulling me towards it. "Come on silly, we've got to find Cheesus!" "Derpy, I don't think..." Knock knock knock She knocks on the door and steps back as the door opens almost immediately, revealing a pale white earth pony with long black hair and a cutie mark of a wedge of cheese. He takes a look at us, but hears something inside and looks back to respond. "And you tell that ho I don't give a damn what she likes and dislikes, if they pay for a doggie bag, they get one! Hey there Derpy, what brings you he—" "CHEESUS!" she yells as she latches onto him, hugging him tightly. "I need your help; they took Ditzy..." "THEY WHAT!?" Cheesus says as he breaks the hug and looks at her. "Alright hun, get inside, we'll work this out," he says as he ushers her inside. He looks back to me and motions for me to come in as well. "I was just..." "Hey Derpy!" he yells inside. "This guy say he gonna help?" "Yeah!" "Alright cabbage merchant, you're in. Now come on." "How did you know I was a cabbage merchant?" "The cart..." "Oh... right." I remove myself from my cart and head inside. The inside is pretty much what I expected. To the right is a stretch of bar stools and a well-stocked bar. The area to the left has three platforms, each with poles and lounge chairs around them. In the back left corner is a DJ's booth, while the right has a stairway with a sign that says 'Cloud Nine & Manager’s Office'. The room is fairly empty, only having the bartender and a group of mares talking at the center stage. I follow Derpy and Cheesus up the stairs and down the hall, to a door with a sign that says ‘Manager’s Office’. The room is... not quite what I was expecting. There's a desk towards the back with typical desk stuff, like papers and pencils and a couple of seats around it, but the rest of the room is... more fitting with the rest of the establishment. In the corner to my right is a large circular bed with zebra print blankets; in front of that is a small platform with a pole in the center of it. The wall to the right is covered with a large picture of two ponies having sex, with the mare on top and the stallion on his back. The wall behind the desk is covered in pegs, holding up an assortment of sex toys and... a few things that I have no clue what they do. Cheesus walks to the seat behind the desk and sits down, putting a hoof to his forehead as he looks at some papers. As I take a seat next to Derpy, I look a little harder to see that he's actually a unicorn, his horn is just broken off. "Hey Cheesus, I got yo—DERPY!" yells somepony from behind. I look back to see a mare run in and hug Derpy from behind the seat. She's a pale white earth pony, with long brown hair and a mark of a pony on a stripper pole. I can't help but look at her cute flank - she's got one of the supplest behinds I've ever seen before in my life. She holds Derpy for a second longer before she lets go and trot to the side of the desk, where she pulls out a coin purse and tosses it onto the table. "800 bits, Cheesus..." "That's it?" he says as he pulls the bag over and looks through it. "Damn Squishy, I thought you'd make way more than just twelve eighty... whatever, this is still good. They must not love cock as much as I thought they would..." "WHAT!?" I yell as I nearly fall out of my seat. That's a stallion!? No. NO. That can't be a guy... it can't. They both look at me in confusion before looking over to Derpy. "Who's your friend, Derps?" Squishy asks. "This is Cabbage Patch, he said he'd help find Dinky." "WHAT!? WHAT HAPPENED TO DINKY?" "Calm down Squishy," Cheesus says, getting him to calm down a bit. "Alright," he says as he walks to Derpy and gives her a hug. "OK sweetheart, tell us what happened." "Well... the other night I was putting Dinky to bed, when there was a knock at the door. I went and answered the door, but nopony was there. I heard Dinky scream and ran back to her room to see somepony fly out of the window with her. I tried to chase after them, I really did, but another pony hit me... and I fell..." SNAP Squishy had been holding onto the arm of her chair, but after hearing Derpy got hurt, he snapped it off. "You're paying for that," Cheesus says to him. "What else happened?" "Well, when I woke up I tried to look for her, but... I couldn't find her. Cabbage Patch found me crying in an alley and brought me here," she says as she starts to tear up again. Squishy pulls her in for another hug as he starts to rub her back. Squishy then walks over to me and gives me a hug. "Thanks for bringing her here, but if you ever make Derpy cry I will tear out your heart and choke you with it... just sayin'," he whispers in my ear before he walks back to Derpy's side and takes a seat. "Do you remember anything else, like something they wore or the way the spoke?" Cheesus asks. "*sniff* Yeah... the pony who took Dinky wore a bandanna around his muzzle... it was black with gold triangles on it..." "Buck!" he yells, getting a dirty look from Squishy as he holds Derpy a little tighter. "I mean... darn. I know who did this. Those foals over in Golden Gate! This is gonna be another turf war, that's for sure," he says as he walks over to the wall with the picture and taps it a few times, making it flip upward and reveal an assortment of weapons. He grabs a couple of swords and slings one on his back. He offers the other one to me, but I shake my head. "I don't know how to use that!" "It’s simple," he says as he shoves it in my hooves, "you just stab the pointy end into the bad pony. Squishy?" "You know I don't need that," he says as he stands up and walks out the door. I reluctantly sling the sword across my back - do they really expect me to fight? I know I said I'd help but... this is a little extreme. I follow them out of the building, where I re-attach myself to my cart’s harness. "Maybe we should hide the swords in my cart... you know... so the city guards don't try to stop us," I say as I look around nervously. I turn and - just my luck - I see a couple of guards walking toward us, and I start to panic. "Guards, guards are coming, hurry! Hide your sword!" I say in a hushed tone, as I try to hide my sword under my cabbages. "What are you doing?" Cheesus asks as the three of them watch me in confusion. The guards walk up to us and look between me and Cheesus, before they turn around and start walking away. "Let’s just say the guards know not to mess with The Cheese," Cheesus says as the group leaves. I climb off my cart and re-sling my sword before I follow after them, feeling slightly silly. "Uhm… so, where are we going?" "I know a guy that can tell us where they're at," Cheesus says as he leads us out of the red light district. We walk around Ponyville for almost an hour until we finally find our target, an all-brown earth pony with his mane and tail wrapped in tinfoil and a cutie mark of a box, digging in a trash can. "Hey there Boxy, how are ya?" "WHAT!? Who are you!? I've never saw nothin’!" he yells as he points a hoof at Cheesus. "Cool, cool, anything else?" "It'll all explode! In a fiery fire of FIRE! Mr. McBumpkin told me so!" "Alright, what else did he tell you?" Are we seriously talking to this guy? He's nuts! "Friends are enemies! Betrayal from before leads to the now! BEWARE OF THE ICE... AND PANCAKES! What’s that... oh, really? Well, of course blood isn't blue... no, no that wouldn't stop him... WE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT THE ZOMBIES! What? Why would I care? I'm not an explosives expert... no, crossovers are good... FINE!" he says before he starts to run off. He suddenly stops and runs back to us, heading straight for me. I try to back away but he’s too quick. He grabs me with both his hooves and starts to shake me as he yells, "AND ONE MORE THING, ALL HAIL THE KING!" "Fine, hail the king, please, just let me go!" I plead as he shakes me back and forth. He lets go of me and takes a few steps back. He rears up and strikes a pose as he suddenly takes off through the air, singing as he goes. "I BELIEVE I CAN FLY... I BELIEVE I CAN - AAAAHHH!" he yells as he drops a bit, but somehow recovers and continues to fly away. "...TOUCH THE SKY, I THINK ABOUT IT EVERY NIGHT AND..." I drop to my haunches and watch in total disbelief as he flies away. He's an earth pony... and he's flying... what the buck is going on!? "Alright, I know where to go now," Cheesus says as he starts to walk away. "He... he... he just flew away..." "I know, I can't believe he almost dropped him though," Squishy says as he follows after Cheesus. I shake my head and follow after them... why is this so unimpressive to them, he bucking flew away! And they're acting like this isn't the first time... oh dear Celestia... "So, what do you do for a living, Cabbage?" Derpy asks as we walk through Ponyville. "I... grow and sell cabbages," I say as I motion to the cart. "Oh, right... so, what are you doing here in Ponyville?" "I'm supposed to meet with Big Macintosh to work out a deal selling my cabbages here... what do you do here?" "I'm a player inna management position," Cheesus says proudly. "I'm an entertainer!" Squishy says. "And I… uh... I work... oh yeah, I'm a weather pony!" Derpy says. Right... so we have the pimp, the hooker, a weather pony, and a farmer going up against a gang of who knows how many ponies, what could go wrong? We head to the edge of the residential district where we find a large apartment complex. It’s three stories tall and is built like a giant H. In the yard before us we see a bunch of stallions gathered around each other, laughing and mumbling to one another. I can see that a few of them carry weapons, and they all have bandannas tied somewhere on their body. "Squishy," Cheesus says, getting the other stallion to cover Derpy's ears as he guides her behind my cart. "Alright, which one of you bucking Golden Gate assholes wants a piece of the Big Cheese!?" he yells as he rears up and pulls out his sword. The group looks to us and laughs as a single unicorn walks up to him and pulls out his own sword. "You wanna dance, pretty colt, let’s dance!" he says as he lunges forward and tries to stab him. Cheesus steps to the side and hacks at his neck, burying his sword in it and dropping him to the ground. The group stops laughing as they watch Cheesus yank his sword out and face them. "A little filly was taken from her home by one of you pricks, who did it?" He asks as he walks towards them. "Hey, you might want to pull your sword out," Squishy says as he walks out from behind my cart. He stops before me and twists his neck, making it crack, then his forelegs, then his back legs, then he stands perfectly still and makes another crack, but doesn't seem to move any of his body parts... what did he just crack…? I don't want to know. After he cracks everything, he walks up next to Cheesus and rears up, holding his hooves up. As the group of ponies surround them I back up against my cart and hold my sword out in front of me, scared out of my mind for what is about to happen. The crowd rushes the two of them all at once, while one of them runs at me. As he tries to swing his sword at me, I drop to the ground and cover my head with my hooves. I look back to see his sword buried in my cart, splitting one of my cabbages in half. "My… my… MY CABBAGE!" I yell as rage starts to fill me. I jump straight up and punch him right in the jaw. He staggers back but remains standing as I advance on him. "YOU WILL PAY FOR RUINING MY CABBAGE!" Before he can raise his sword I begin to deliver blows to him, punching him in the face and gut. Each blow I deliver knocks him back more and more until I finally deliver an uppercut, knocking him on his back. I pant a little before I calm down enough to realize that I just beat somepony up. "Hey! I got one," I say proudly as I look up. "Yeah, me too," Cheesus says from the top of a mound of dead ponies, with Squishy standing beside him. My jaw drops as I look at the pile of corpses, some having large gashes, others having bones poking out of their bodies. The sight makes my stomach turn as I gag from almost throwing up. "Pfft, don't tell me you've never seen a dead body before," he says as he starts to walk down the mound. "Whatevah, not everypony has it in them to harm others," Squishy says as he walks over to the pony I knocked out. He looks him over a bit before kicking his head lightly, waking him up. "Hey there honey, you an’ me gonna have a talk," he says before he picks him up, tosses him on his back and heads towards the building. "What are you doing? Where are you taking me? WHY IS THAT OUT!?" he yells before they disappear behind the door to the building. "What is he doing over there?" I ask Cheesus as he sits against my cart. "Do you really want to know?" I think about it and shiver as I shake my head. “Then why don't you check on Derpy then?" I nod and walk around to find Derpy sitting there, looking really sad with her ears held low. "Everything alright?" I ask as I sit next to her. "I'm just really worried about my daughter. What if something happens to her?" "Hey, hey, don't worry. I'm sure nothing happened to her. We'll get her back and she'll be fine, you'll see," I say, getting her to cheer up a little. I hear Squishy come back so I walk around the cart to see what's going on. He brought the guy back out, only he's covered in... brick shaped bruises... what the…? "Well, he told me they took her, but traded her off to some other ponies. They never met them directly," he says as he tosses the unconscious body on the ground. "Darn... well, what now?" Cheesus asks. "Well... we could go to the sisters?" "Buck no. They never pay for shit!" "Yeah, but they're connected." "*sigh* Yeah... they are. Fine, lets head to the pharmacy," he says as he starts to walk off. "Wait, what about them?" I ask as I point back to the mound of bodies. Cheesus thinks about it for a second before he runs out to the street and looks around a bit. "Hey guards!" he yells out as two guards pass by. "Want a free night with Sugar?" "Buck yeah!" they yell as they run over to him, standing at full attention. "Alright, just clean up this mess and you get her." They immediately run over and start dragging bodies off, talking excitedly to each other. "There, now can we go?" he asks me as he walks off. I shake my head and follow after him. We walk through Ponyville until we come to the pharmaceutical department. I leave my cart behind and follow them inside, where we find two mares. The first one is a middle-aged unicorn, with a pink mane that's up in a bun, a brown coat, and an obscene amount of jewelry. The other one is a light pink pegasus with styled light blue hair and a grotesque amount of makeup on. "MMhhmm, Cheesus an’ Squishy, I had a feelin’ taday was gonna be a good day," the unicorn says as she pokes at her friend. "What you two need this time?" "We need to know about a trade-off that happened earlier, involving Dinky Doo," Cheesus says flatly. "You know our fee," says the pegasus as the two mares start to giggle to each other. "You're up, Squishy," Cheesus says as he takes a seat. Squishy gives a sigh and walks to the back door, leading the two giggling mares towards the back. "OOHHOOhoho, I thought we missed out when that Storm stallion left," the unicorn says as the door shuts behind them. "What are they so happy about?" Derpy asks as she takes a seat next to Cheesus. "Uh… because... they're going to... play a game. But it's a three player game that only Squishy can do properly," Cheesus says as he glances to me. They're trying to keep sex away from her.... when she has a daughter. I take a seat next to Derpy and wait patiently with them. After an hour of awkward silence, Squishy finally opens the door. He steps out and shivers before turning to us. "Did you win?" Derpy asks cheerfully. "Uh... you could say I came last..." "Aw, oh well, maybe..." "Did they tell you who took her?" Cheesus interrupts. "Yeah." "And?" "Who do you think it was?" "Bu—Darn it!" he says as he punches the wall. "What is it?" I ask in confusion. "I just paid for something I should’ve known from the beginning! Come on... we're going to Canterlot." "What!? I can't go to Canterlot! I have to get to Sweet Apple Acres!" I complain as I follow them out of the building. "But you said you'd help find Dinky," Derpy says as she looks at me with the saddest expression any mare could ever put on. I try to think logically, but every time I look back to her my heart tells me to stay. "Well... I guess that could wait..." I say, getting her to smile. "Alright, we'll take my carriage then," Cheesus says as he leads us back to the red light district. We make our way to the back of ‘Fon DO’ where we find a carriage and two mares. The two of them are wearing red and yellow stockings, and yellow miniskirts that don't cover anything. The carriage has a silhouette of a pony sticking their flank in the air, underneath the words 'Party Carriage'. "Ladies," Cheesus says as he approaches the two of them, "we've got a personal matter to settle. Somepony pony-napped Dinky Doo." This makes both of them gasp and run to Derpy, hugging her and telling her that they'll help in any way possible. Derpy smiles and thanks the both of them, trying to hold back her tears. "We need to get to Canterlot, ASAP. Tie Cabbage’s cart to the back and let’s get going." They nod and run over to me, removing my cart quickly and taking it behind the carriage. Cheesus takes the seat on top as the rest of us pile into the inside. The seats in here are unusually well cushioned... not to mention the ceiling seems to be set higher. I look out the back window and watch as the two mares tie off my cabbages. Hopefully it'll be a smooth enough ride, where I won't have to worry about my cabbages falling off. They run back to the front and quickly put on the harnesses before taking off. The entire cart lurches forward as they start to run off at a high speed. I look back in terror to see my cabbage cart bounce around, my cabbages staying inside but flirting with the idea of falling out. "Wow... I've never seen the girls run this fast before," Squishy says as he looks back at my cabbages. "Why do you worry so much? Relax..." "Relax? That's my livelihood back there. If I'm going to support my family I need to sell all of those cabbages!" "Whatevah," he says as he sits back. We make the trip to Canterlot in record time. When we arrive at our destination the two girls collapse from exhaustion, panting loudly. As we pile out I take a look at our location. It's a giant single story mansion made of marble. The grounds are surrounded by a huge wall, with a large gate in the front. The area out front is very well kept, making the entire place look ritzy. "Why did you take me to my father’s home?" Derpy asks with a slight tremble. "Y-your father’s!?" I ask in shock. "Derpy... your dad was the one who took Dinky... I think it was a trap to get you back," Cheesus says to her, making her tear up. "No… no, I can't go in there! I can't go back! Please don't make me!" Derpy says, as tears start to roll down her face. Squishy walks up to her and hugs her, getting her to cry into his neck. "Shhh, shhh. It's going to be alright. I won't let that monster take you," he says quietly to her as he strokes her mane. "I know you're scared, but you have to go in there. You have to be there when we get Dinky back. Think you can be strong for her?" She looks up to him and nods slowly as she wipes her tears away. "Alright, just stay close to me and we'll get her back in no time." "Cabbage, I have an idea," Cheesus says as he looks at my cart. I don't like where this is going. Thirty Minutes Later Knock knock knock I'm waiting at the gate with just my cart, waiting for somepony to answer the knock. I'm trying to keep cool, but I can't help but shake a bit from my nerves getting the best of me. "Can I help you?" asks a guard pony. "Y-yeah, I'm here t-to deliver the c-cabbages," I say as I point to my cart. He looks to my cart and raises an eyebrow. "Why would Mr. Bits order so many cabbages?" "I-I don't know, I'm just filling my order," I say as I give him a wide smile. There is no way this is going to work, we're going to get caught, they're going to destroy my cabbages... "Well, alright, just bring them around back to the kitchens and drop the cart off," he says as he opens the gate. "Really? I mean alright, just around back then," I say as I walk in. I can't believe that worked. Must have been my awesome acting. I pull the cart around the large building and head towards what I'm assuming is the kitchen. The backyard is massive! There's a swimming pool, tennis court, hedge maze and a landing platform that has a blimp on it! I keep walking till I hear high-pitched laughing. I look over to see a little unicorn filly running after a ball. She has a pale purple coat with yellow eyes and a blonde mane. She’s fairly young, not even old enough to have her cutie mark. "Hey... that wouldn't happen to be her?" I ask my cart, making three heads pop out. "DINKY!" Derpy yells as she jumps out of my cart and runs after her, only to stop when two guards get in the way. "INTRUDERS!" they yell, getting more guards to start running over. Derpy ignores them and tries to get around them to her daughter, only for them to push her back. As Derpy falls to her haunches, Squishy suddenly appears and drop kicks the two guards, knocking them over and letting Dinky run past them. "MAMMA!" she yells as she jumps into her hooves, hugging her tightly. I jump back as a group of guards start to try to apprehend me and my cabbages. "Get them! Mr. Bits wants them alive!" yells a guard as they pile onto Squishy. I start to run away, but they grab hold of my cart and stop me in my tracks. I try to fight my way away from them, but they eventually put me in cuffs and toss me aside along with Cheesus and Squishy - who has four sets of cuffs on. I look over to see Derpy holding onto Ditzy tightly as the guards’ surround all of us. "YOU LEAVE HER ALONE IF YOU KNOW WHAT’S GOOD FOR YOU!" Squishy yells as he starts to gnaw at his cuffs. "Now, why would I do that? She is my daughter." I look over to see a black pegasus stallion with bright yellow hair and a cutie mark of two golden bits walking towards us. "Dirty Bits," Cheesus growls. "Ah Cheesus, it’s so good to see my competitor, especially when he's in chains. Thank you ever so kindly for bringing my daughter back. I'm sure she'll work out wonderfully here..." "YOU’RE A MONSTER!" Squishy yells as he tries to pull the cuffs off. "Now now Squishy, no need to fret. My offer still stands for you..." "I'd rather die than work for you, you sadistic piece of filth!" "That, can be arranged," he says as he motions to the guards, who start to advance on us. "Wait!" Derpy yells as she runs in front of Dirty Bits. "If you spare them, I'll go with you, no fighting, no complaints, nothing. Just spare them, please!" He thinks about it for a second before he motions towards the gate. The guards drag us to the gate and toss us outside into a pile. "Here's the deal, you two stay away from Golden Gate, and I won't slit Derpy’s and Dinky's throats, how's that sound?" Before any of us could answer, a pegasus guard drops my cart of cabbages on us, knocking me out. When I wake up i find myself in a bed with blue sheets, the warm smell of baked goods filling my nostrils. I sit up and look around to see that I'm in a Ponyville house. How did I get here? What happened to Cheesus and Squishy... WHAT HAPPENED TO DERPY!? I jump out of bed and start to run out to the hall, looking around frantically. I see an open door to the right and am about to run in, but stop when I see Squishy talking to a pink pony. She has swirly pink hair with a cutie mark of three balloons, two blue and one yellow. "Thanks again for saving us, Pinkie," Squishy says to her. "You better have a plan to get Derpy back," Pinkie says cruelly to him, looking away. "Still mad?" "YES! You disappeared on me, again!" she says as she points a hoof at him. "You know I don't have control of that," he says as he slowly approaches her. "I'm still mad at you for the other thing," she mumbles as he starts to nuzzle her a bit. "I know... but you know I'll never love anypony else the way I love you, right?" he says quietly, getting her to look up at him. They stare into each other’s eyes, and Pinkie suddenly throws her hooves around his neck as she starts to kiss him passionately. He scoops her up in his hooves and takes her over to the bed, kissing her along the way. He lays her on the bed and lies on top of her, as they slide their tongues in and out of each other’s mouths. He breaks the kiss and looks into her eyes for a second. "Go ahead," she says quietly, getting a nod from him as he lifts himself up, revealing his enormous member. He slides it into her slowly, getting soft moans from her as he pushes as far as she'll let him go. He holds it there for a second before he starts to pull back out, only to push in again. As he continues his motions Pinkie grabs the bedsheets and starts to moan louder, egging him on to move faster. As he picks up his pace, the headboard of the bed starts to slam against the wall behind. I try to walk away, but for some reason I can't stop watching. "What are you doing?" I jump aside as I look over to see Cheesus standing next to me. "Cheesus! I… uh... well..." He looks inside the room and shuts the door. "Yeah... those two. It's a love-hate thing. One minute they're bucking like mad, the next she won't even look at him. I don't get it," he says as he turns around and heads for the stairs. I follow after him, hanging my head in shame for watching what I just watched. We head to the eating area and take our seats, keeping silent for an unknown amount of time. "So... what now?" I ask as I lay my head on the table. "Well, he's probably taking her somewhere we can't go... Las Pegasus, Cloudsdale, Airdale, you name it." "Is there anything we can do?" I ask. "Not unless you can get us in the air within the next ten minutes and guide us to an unknown location." We fall silent again, the only sound in the room being the few customers in the bakery and a banging upstairs. "Can I get you two something?" asks a blue mare with pink hair and an apron on. "You have any cheesecake?" Cheesus asks. "Let me check on that, dearie," she says as she walks to the back. She comes back holding a plate with a small slice of cheesecake. "You want this on your tab?" "Yes, thank you," he says before he takes a bite, savoring every second of the cake. "Do you know what happened to my cart?" "Hmm? Oh, it's outside." I pick myself up and head out front where I find my still intact cart. I walk around it and look it over in astonishment. No scratches, no missing heads of cabbage, they're not even bruised! I go to strap myself in when a thought comes to mind. I could take off, leave everything as is, or I could stay and help get Derpy back. I know there's not much we can do... but there has to be something we can do. She did save my life after all. I drop the harness and march back through the door with a new found confidence. "Cheesus! Get off your flank, we're saving Derpy!" I say as I march up to his table. "First off, don't ever give me an order, secondly, we can't. There's no physical way we could get to her." "There has to be something we can do! She saved our lives, the least we could do is... I don't know. Rent a balloon or something." "Next, I don't know anypony who owns a balloon, or blimp for that matter. Then there's the fact that we don't know where they're going..." "AGAIN!" Pinkie yells from above, getting everypony's attention. "Oh no, not this again," Cheesus says as he facehoofs. "What happened?" "Somepony blew the party blower thingy," he says from behind his hoof. "What?" "Don't worry about it, even I don't understand it." I look between him and the stairs before I muster up the courage to go upstairs and investigate. I walk up to the door where I hear some arguing inside. I take a deep breath before I slowly open the door. I find Squishy laying on the ground with his flaccid member slowly shrinking back inside, and Pinkie lying on her side on the bed, glaring at him. The wall behind Pinkie’s bed has a large section of drywall missing and cracks spreading from there. "AGAIN? REALLY?! Why am I even surprised?" she says as she continues to glare at him. "I... don't... control… it," he says between pants. "Just... just go," she says as she rolls over and pulls her sheets over herself. "Uh... not to interrupt, but we need to get going anyway... we need to find a blimp or balloon..." "Why don't you just take Twilight's?" Pinkie says from her sheets. "I'm sure if you ask nicely she'd let you borrow it." "That's... a really good idea, thanks Pinkie," Squishy says as he starts to get up. He walks up to her and gives her a kiss on the head, then whispers something into her ear, getting her to sigh contently. I wait for him to walk out and follow him downstairs. "By the way Cabbage, you owe me two hundred bits for watching." "WHAT!? But... but that was an accident!" "Mmmm... well, for helping get Derpy back, I'll let it slide, this time," he says as we approach Cheesus. "We have a balloon... kind of. Turns out Twilight has one, and might be willing to let us use it." "Really? Alright, let’s give it a try," he says as he leads us out of the building. I grab my cart and follow them through Ponyville until we make it to a library. As we approach it, we see a purple mare and a grey stallion leave the building together. "Looks like she's on a date," Squishy says as we watch them walk away together. "Well, what now?" I say, as Cheesus walks towards the library. "They're busy, let’s just take it and be sure to bring it back in one piece." We follow him to the back where we find the uninflated balloon. "Well... here goes nothing," he says as he closes his eyes and focuses. An aura begins to appear where his missing horn would have been and starts to fill up the balloon. "Alright! Now what about my cart?" "Just leave it," Squishy says as he starts to untie the anchors. "Leave it!? That would be like you leaving behind your penis!" I say, getting a serious look from Squishy. "Well, it won't fit in the basket... I've got an idea," he says as he grows an evil smile. Thirty Minutes Later "I HATE YOU ALL!" I yell as I hold on for dear life. They bucking tied some long ropes to my cart and made me ride in it! Luckily we were able to cut off Dirty Bits on his way to Cloudsdale, but we only get one chance to get on board his blimp, and they volunteered me for it. We're flying high into the air on a collision course with the blimp. "You ready?!" Squishy yells to me. "NO!" "Great! Here we go!" he says as we lift even higher. As the blimp starts to fly past us, Cheesus lets go of his magic and lets us drop onto the blimp. We bounce off the balloon part and start to fall down the side. I grab the spare rope and start to swing the anchor around as we fall. I see an open window and toss my anchor inside. I grab onto my cart and start praying as we continue to drop. We suddenly jerk as the anchor catches onto something, and we start to swing towards the blimp. My cart crashes through a window and slams into a line of guards, landing perfectly on the ground. I look around to see all of my cabbages are perfectly intact, none missing whatsoever. "Hey, my cabbages made it!" I say proudly as I get off the cart. "Great, want to help us then?" Cheesus says as he hangs from the window. I run over and pull them inside. "Good work with the guards’ kid," he says as he walks towards the large doors. "And talk about placement." He pushes the door open and we all run in, ready for anything. "CHEESUS, SQUISHY, CABBAGE!" Derpy yells from down the room. She's standing next to Dirty Bits and four guards, each covered in metal armor and carrying massive one-sided battle axes. "You three! I knew I should’ve killed you when I had the chance, take care of them!" he yells to the guards. They point their weapons at us as they start to charge. "I've got this," I say as I walk forward with my cart, getting confused looks from the Cheesus and Squishy. I grab one of my cabbages and kiss it before I face the charging ponies. I wind up my leg and toss it straight at one of the guards, hitting him square in the face. He trips and falls over, tripping the pony next to him, who then trips the next pony, who staggers the next one and makes him fall out a window. "WHO WANTS A CABBAGE!?" I yell in triumph. Squishy and Cheesus stare at me in disbelief for a moment, before they shake their heads and run to the downed guards. They take their weapons and run after Dirty Bits. He tries to run away, but stops when Squishy nearly chops his head off. "Wait! Wait! Don't kill me, please!" he begs Squishy. Cheesus grabs Dinky and guides Derpy out as Squishy looks down at Dirty. "Hmm… I think I've let you live long enough," he says as he approaches Dirty. "Please, I'll give you whatever you want. Money, power, how about this blimp?" he says as he tries to back away, only to stop when his back is against the wall and Squishy is in his face. "Have fun in hell," he says, before he does a series of jabs at his neck and torso. As he slowly walks away, Dirty Bits starts to cough up blood as he falls to the ground. "Let’s get going," he says to me as we head towards the massive hole we created. Cheesus fills up the balloon again and we get back on. Again, I have to ride in my cart. The ride to Ponyville was just as nerve-wracking as before, though hearing Derpy and Dinky was comforting. We land the balloon back behind the library and pile out. "Hey Squishy!" Dinky says to him as he lifts her out. "Yeah kiddo?" "You said the next time we meet you'd have a present for me!" she says excitedly. "I did? Well I must’ve forgotten it..." he says as he sets her down, making her pout. "But wait! What's that behind your ear?" he says as he reaches behind her ear and pulls out a black doll. Dinky hugs Squishy and takes the toy, looking it over curiously. "Umm... what is it?" she asks, as she removes its helmet to reveal a scarred white face. "Pinkie Pie says it’s a Darth Vader action figure, and is a very prized collectible," Squishy explains as she looks it over. "What do you say Dinky?" Derpy says as she walks up beside her and nuzzles her a bit. "Thank you, Uncle Squishy." "And thank you, Cheesus and Cabbage Patch, for bringing my little muffin back," she says as she walks up to me and gives me a hug. "No problem... well, this is where I take off now," I say as I hook myself up to my cart. "You'll come back and visit, won't you?" Derpy asks. "Sure I'll come back, especially if Big Mac buys my cabbages." "You know where to find us," Cheesus says as he walks up to me and pats my back. "Feel free to swing by Fon DO anytime, amigo." Squishy walks up to me and gives me a really tight hug as he says, "Thanks for the help sugar. I really appreciate it." "Well, wish me luck," I say as I wave goodbye and walk off with my cart. I walk through Ponyville until I see Big Mac walking casually through town. "Big Mac!" I yell to get his attention as I run up to him. "Cabbage Patch? Weren't ya supposed ta come ta the farm earlier today?" he asks as I run up to him. "Some friends needed some help and I got caught up in it. But here they are, one hundred cabbages for Sweet Apple Acres to buy and sell," I say as I present my cabbages. He walks up and takes a cabbage in his hoof, looking it over intensely. "Hmm..." "Well?" "Well..." "Well!?" "These are some mighty fine cabbages ya got here," I sigh in relief as he sets the cabbage back down. "Let me take the cart and I'll pay fer them over at the farm." I nod and release myself from the cart. He walks over and straps himself in, and starts to walk off. "So, how was..." he starts to say, but stops when a blur drops from the sky and crashes onto the cart, sending Big Mac flying and destroying every single head of cabbage. I drop to my haunches and stare at the creature before me. "What was that?" the creature asks the little dragon in his arm. "I think it was Big Mac," the dragon says. “Look, there they are, perfectly safe..." "For now. Let's shadow them, I don't want to take any chances tonight." "I don't know Miles... that's kind of creepy to spy on their date." "I agree, that's why we're not going to spy on them, just stay close enough to be able to act if something were to happen." "What's the… WWHHOAA!" the dragon yells as the creature launches itself into the air. "My… my… my… my… MY CABBAGES!" Author's Note Shoutout to MaMa Cheesus for picking the toy Dinky received. Thanks for the pic! Well, Arc one 'Friends' is over (man tear). Onward to Arc two ' The Cities'. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it so far and, like always, Brony on!
Chapter 68 Darkness Chapter 68 Darkness Chapter 68 Darkness I'm not sure how long I've been falling, but I think I hit terminal velocity. It’s become hard to breathe and I feel light headed. As I fall through the darkness, I try to send down a few flares of magic down, but no matter what I try, the only thing that comes out is the black substance. Well... this is going to suck. I ready my legs and wait for the ground to hit. KRA-BOOM I slam into the ground and buckle down, almost falling over. I balance myself out and try to look around, only to see utter darkness. I raise my hands to try to shine some light, but nothing comes out. I look at my hands and wave them around. I can feel the energy coming out, why can't I see it? I try shutting it off then bringing it back, but it doesn't seem to change anything. "What the fuck is going on?" I ask out loud, sending echoes down the cavern. I take a few minutes to stop the room from spinning and for the ringing in my ears to stop. Once I feel better, I stick my hands out and start to fumble around until I find a wall. I keep a hand against the wall as I start to stumble forward, tripping on stalagmites and rocks as I go. Wait... why don't I just use my phone? I reach into my pockets and try to find my phone, only to find my pockets empty. What the fuck? Of course, the one time I could use that damn thing it’s fucking… oh, that's right, I left it at home in fear of it breaking during the fight. Well... fuck. I resume moving forward, trying my best not to completely fall over. This is taking too long, there must be something I can use that could help me move faster. I search all my pockets until I pull out my last archaic grenade. It emits a light blue glow that lights up a meter around me. Well, it's better than nothing. I start walking forward at a faster rate, avoiding all the trip hazards that come my way. As I look around I take in the tunnel. It seems to be made archaically, with time making its own changes. I can tell by the corners and somewhat level ground that people forged this a long time ago. I keep walking until I come to a dead end. The wall before me was also made archaically, I can tell due to the straight edges. I flare my open hand and examine it closely. The usually white flames are now burning black. I turn my hand around and look it over. The usually smooth black lines are now jagged and make sharp turns all over. I look between my hand and the wall... "What’s the worst that could happen?" I wave my hand at the wall and try to bring it down, but send a beam of black energy at it, making a large open streak in it. Well... not what I intended to have happen... but same results... I guess. Next chance I get, I really need to stop and find out what's going on with my magic... but for now, I just need to get to get to the bottom of this. I slide through the opening and walk forward until I come up to another wall. I look at this one and see a doorway to the left. I walk to the doorway and look inside, to see four dimly lit gems hovering in the air and a destroyed table in the center. This... this is where I held those negotiations with Tempus and Spatium. It's still here... given that it was made of stone and there's really nothing here to demolish it, but still, I found it. I walk around the room and collect the gems. Amazing how they still have enough energy to emit any light. I look at the gems and then back to my hand... can I do this? I flare my hand and start to fill the gem with energy. As I do, the gem begins to brighten, filling the room with a white light. I pocket the grenade and fill the rest of the gems with my energy, making them each shine brightly. With my new light source, I leave the room and head to the other side of the cave, where I find a smaller hole in the ground. It's about a meter wide and is completely dark. I take one of the gems and drop it down, watching as the light falls for a while before it hits something and bounces out of view, lighting a slope down below. I slide my lower half into the hole and drop myself down. When the slope comes to me I use the magic in my heels to slide with it... only to find that it goes for a long distance down. I can see the light several hundred meters ahead of me, leading me to an even steeper drop. I try to stop myself from plunging over the side by grabbing at the ground and trying to get a better footing, but I've gained too much momentum to stop now. "OH SHHIIITTT!" I yell as I tumble over the edge and fall into the next hole. I flail around a bit as I fall down the dark abyss, my vision flaring from a white speck of light to darkness as I tumble in the air. I try to correct myself as I fall, but I've built up some speed to my twists and turns, making it hard to do so. I glance down at the light and see it bounce off something and roll away from view... oh fuck. Need to think of something... got it! I throw my arms out and blast the magic outward, sending two beams to my side. The energy seems to latch onto the walls and helps slow me down and correct my path downwards. I let go of the magic and drop down what I assume is the last few meters, landing safely at the bottom. I try to walk off, but collapse suddenly when a wave of fatigue hits me, making me drop to the ground. I can feel myself sweating heavily as I pant from the sudden exhaustion. Why am I so tired... what did I do to become so tired? I try to move on, but my arms feel like I just did a million pushups with weight added to my back. I roll onto my back and wait for the fatigue to pass. "Huh! Wha?" I say as I wake up... wake up? When did I fall asleep? I try to sit up but my arms are still stiff, making it harder to move around. I look around to see that I'm still in a tunnel that's facing downward. I slowly stand to my feet and start to walk down the path, trying to get my arms to work along the way. Luckily I still have the three gems from before... I'll get the other one some other time. When I finally get my arms to work properly I look up... SMACK I stagger back as I hold onto my head. I look up to see a massive metallic bulkhead sitting right in front of me. "Topaz." I look around the bulkhead in awe of finally making it back home... Topaz Falls, at last. This is it, point of possibly no return... how do I open this from the outside? I walk up to the door and place my hand on it as I try to think of a way to open the door, when red beams shine out from the top corners. They wave from side to side as they scan me from head to toe. Identification, Miles Eremita... access granted, says a robotic voice as the door starts to pull up. This is it... no turning back now. When the door opens completely I walk in and look around... the street before me is covered in rubble, and there seems to be a thick layer of dust and ash everywhere. As I walk in the door begins to slide shut, sealing me inside. I run in and head for the nearest building, wiping the dirty window to look inside. It was an office of some kind, but it seems to have been abandoned a long time ago. I leave the building and start to walk down the street. The entire city is dark, even the parliament hall's lights are out. I try to look around some more, but everything seems to tell the same story. Every building is empty, some having holes blown into them with others being completely destroyed. I guess they did it... they took Topaz Falls. "In*ssshhhhh*er-er-er-er..." I look over to see a security droid staggering out of an alley. It has its right arm blown off, its left optical lens shattered, and is riddled in dents and scratches from bullet fire. It's trying to walk towards me, but is extremely low on power, making it move slowly. As it approaches me, it sticks its arm out and tries to grab me, but runs out of energy and falls to the ground at my feet. I sigh and continue to walk on. I can't believe we lost Topaz... I knew it was a possibility, I just never thought I'd see it. I look around the darkened city and decide the first thing I need to do is turn the power back on. The southern power station should be a few blocks down the street up ahead. I make a right onto the street and start to walk down the road. The closer I get to the station, the greater the destruction gets. Many of the buildings are just portions of wall and piles of rubble, with skeletons scattered here and there. I can't believe the bones are still here... though it kind of makes sense. The city is hermetically sealed, and it's not like there's a breeze or a water source to erode them away. I keep walking until I notice a skeleton that's different. The skull is narrower and longer, with the dagger teeth. The ribs are thinly connected and seem to be hollowed. The rest of the body seems human... except for being longer. Whatever killed this one, it killed it by shattering its lower back. I look over the skeleton a bit before I stomp the skull, crushing it to pieces. I spit at the ground beneath it before I continue towards the generator. When I finally make it to the half-sphere I stop in my tracks. The area out front is peppered with small craters from Inficiunt’s grenade launcher... but something a little larger made a massive hole in the wall where the door used to be. The door was blown clear off, as well as most of the wall around it and the freeway that lead into the building. Surrounding the craters are piles and piles of Unfamiliar bones, most of which have been shattered to bits and pieces. I walk through the bones, trying my best not to splinter my feet as I go, and climb the stairs to the generator room. The inside is close to what I remember. The barrier we made is still there, with the destroyed jeep that should have killed me behind it. The larger trucks are gone, as well as the other jeep and civilian vehicles. "Well... looks like some of them were able to get out," I say as I walk into the room. I come to a stop when I find a lone human skeleton wearing light Spartan armor. I drop to my knees and begin to tear up as I look it over. "Dolum," I whisper as I reach out to the skull... but pull away before I touch it, as the tears force their way out. "DOOOOLLUUUUUM!" I scream as I break down and cry before his long dead body. I cry for what feels like an eternity until I finally run out of tears to cry out, then I just sit there in a daze as I stare down at his bones. They couldn't even bury him. No funeral. No goodbye. Just another skeleton among the bones. I pick myself up and look over his body... I need to bury him, but I don't know if my magic will allow me to. I flare my magic and try to move the ground next to him, but end up making a small trench with the black substance instead. I'm sorry Dolum... this will have to do. I carefully place his bones into the trench, laying him so he's face up with his arms crossing his chest. When I finish, I stand before him and look down at him, sadness filling my heart. "Requiem bene, amicus meus," I say before I pull my revolver and fire around off for him. I salute to him and turn around, leaving him to his resting place. I head to the back where I find the stairs and take them down, going several flights down until I reach the power station. In the center of the room is a large machine with massive wires coming out the back that go into the wall past it. Lining the walls to both sides are four backup generators that have wires going to the main reactor. Each backup generator is a three-meter-tall metal box, with two cylinders inside of them made of gems that are connected to metal clasps. I go to the first backup generator and check the backup gems... empty. I flare my magic and start to fill them both. After a few minutes, I’ve filled them and move onto the next generator. After an hour of work, I finish up filling the gems and walk over to the main generator. I boot up the computer on it and read the energy test. It seems the geothermal rods are good... but need a clearance code from the parliament building. The backups are feeding the southern district energy and the main lights to the city. Estimated amount of time until they run out... two months. I step away from the generators and head back up the stairs to the main room. I walk around and try to scavenge whatever I can find. I get a new pair of Kevlar boots, a frag grenade and a PX90 submachine gun. I fill the gem in the SMG and fire off a round. PEW "That's Terradisian designing for you. Overly engineered to the point of near indestructibility," I say as I head to the door. I look out to the dark city and watch the lights come back on. The lights start turning on close to me and work their way back to the center of the city. The Congressional Parliament Hall has fallen over at the halfway point, crushing most of the area to the north west. Instead of being cut in half, it seems to have split in a diagonal line, going from the lower right end up to the upper left. Most of the buildings seem fine for the most part. There's a line of destruction leading straight to the CPH from the west and continuing to the south east. I stare out at the destruction for a while before I shake my head and take the stairs back down. I need to get all of the power back on, so I need to get to the CPH. I walk down and start to head down the road when I hear something moving in a building to my right. "Hello? Anyone there?" I ask as I approach the building. "System reboot *ssshhhhhhhhh* error. Catastrophic failure *sssssssshhhhhh* kill all intruders," says a light green utility bot as it walks out of the building. It's a simple humanoid robot used for remedial chores. I sigh as I approach the machine, it beats doing this alone. "Machine, identify." "Identification… A00Z2 designation *sssssshhhhhh* Identify," it says as it faces me and scans me over. "Identification... error... deceased. Order 23 new directive, kill all intruders." Well... shit. I roll to the side as it tries to punch me and open fire at its side. Most of the weak energy rounds bounce off its armor, due to the enchantments put on all robots, but a few find their way into the inner workings and drop the machine. I turn to walk away when the machine jumps to life and grabs my leg. I turn and open fire on it as it rears its free arm and punches my shin, breaking the bone. As I scream in pain and fall to the ground the bot starts to pull itself up my body, trying to get to my head. I start to push it away and flare my magic as it tries to punch me again, only to miss when I dodge it. I slam my palm into its head and send a beam of the black substance through it, making the machine fall limp. As the top of the body starts to crumble away I push it off and pull my pant leg up to check my leg. "Aw fuck... I can fix that... I think." There's a deep dent on my leg that's bleeding along the top. I run my fingers over it and wince when I find where it broke. I take a few deep breaths as I flare my hands and place them onto my chest. I start to fill myself with the energy but... something feels off. Usually it feels like I'm being electrocuted when I do this, but this is filling me with an icy coldness. I watch as the wound quickly fixes itself, healing at twice the speed. When I finish, I stand up and test my leg out by putting weight on it and taking a few slow steps. Everything seems alright, now to... "Intruder alert! Intruder alert! Safeties off, weapons hot, surrender and die!" A red military bot yells from across the street as it raises its arm at me. The military bots usually have their right arms replaced with some kind of weapon, this one being an archaic assault rifle. I run into the building and take cover behind a desk as it fires at me. I pull out my revolver and wait for it stop firing... "Kill all intruders," says a light blue utility bot that's standing in front of me. I roll to the side as it punches at the ground where I was sitting. I lift my pistol at it and fire into its head at point blank range. BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG As I run out of rounds it falls back and twitches a couple of times before shutting down. I pop the cylinder and start to reload as the military bot jumps on the desk and tries to fire at me, but only clicks sound off. I wave my free hand at it and send a black beam at it, splitting it in half and making it drop to the ground. As it starts to crawl at me I get up and run out of the building. "For Terradisia, you will be destroyed," says a deep robotic voice. I turn around to see a high-grade military bot standing behind the buildings across the street. This one stands two stories tall, lacks a head and neck, and has two primary weapons, a missile launcher on one side and a hundred-twenty-millimeter cannon on the other. In the center of its chest is a large, round red light that's shining down at me. It raises its missile launcher at me and fires. I raise my hand and bring a shield up, blocking the missile and making it explode. I turn and run into the building as the smoke provides some cover. I run out the back door and run away from it, making it a few meters before I hear it fire another missile. I stop and raise my shield again as I watch the missile arc up into the air and dive straight for me, exploding against my shield. This explosion makes the lines grow to my shoulders, making me nearly drop it from exhaustion. I turn and run down the street some more before I dive through a window and take cover. I can hear the machine start to crush buildings as it tries to hunt me down. I peer out and try to find a way out of here. The only place it can't get me is back outside, but I'll need a distraction to be able to open the door. I need... KRA-BOOM I duck my head as the street explodes from the cannon fire, sending debris flying everywhere and making me roll over a couple of times. I hold onto my ears as a loud ringing drowns out all other sounds. I watch to my right as the ceiling collapses from the foot of the machine breaking through. I jump over the wall and start to run as it raises its cannon at me, loading the next shell into the barrel along the way. I pull out a grenade and toss it up at the arm of the machine as it starts to close the chamber. KRA-KRA-KRA-BOOM The grenade goes off next to the open chamber and sets off the shell inside its arm, blowing its arm off. As it staggers back from the explosion, I fall backward from the concussion wave and fall on my back. I pick my head up and look up at the bot, as it straightens out and aims its missile launcher at me. I slowly raise my hand and push it forward, sending a beam of soul fire at the bot, blowing its arm off and making it fall backwards. I sigh in relief and try to get up, only to fall back from a searing pain in my side. I look down to see a large metal shard sticking out of the left side of my gut. I hold onto the wound and force myself up, trying my best to ignore the pain as I turn the corner and head to the entrance. I need help... I need to get back... I need... BOOM I turn around to see the bot has jumped to its feet and is coming at me. I flare my free hand and start to charge up my magic - I've got one shot at this. It walks up to me and squares off its stance as the center light begins to shine brighter. We both fire at the same time, me firing soul fire and it firing a beam of lesser energy. The two beams collide in the air and explode, sending me flying backwards. I feel warm streams start to form all over me as I lay there, slowly blacking out. I look up to the entrance and watch as a bright white light appears from behind the opening door, revealing two shadowy figures. "H...he...help..." I mutter before I pass out. Author's Note Shout out to Shadownamesto for picking the gun he found. Thanks for reading, and like always, Brony on!
Chapter 69 Luna's FuryChapter 69 Luna's Fury Perspective: Luna When I wake up I roll out of bed and go to my vanity mirror.... bed head. That's still not fair. I pick up my brush and start brushing my mane... GO TO PONYVILLE I stop brushing and look around my empty room, looking for the voice. "Hello? Is somepony there?" I ask but don't get a response. I go back to brushing my mane, feeling as if somepony's watching me the entire time. When I finish getting ready I head down to the eating chambers where I find Celestia eating a small salad. I take the seat next to her and look over the small menu before me, giving her the cold shoulder. "So... how did you sleep?" She asks. "Fine." I say before I place my order to the waiter. "That's good. What do you have planned for today?" "*sigh* well, sitting in the court room, alone, followed by more loneliness until I go back to bed." "Luna..." She starts to say but stops when a scroll appears before her. She takes it and starts to read it over before she writes a quick response and sends it back. She stands up and starts to march out of the room, leaving me completely out of the loop. "What happened?" I ask as I run after her. "Ponyville is under attack-" "What! By who?" "Diamond Dogs." "Then let’s get going." I say as I trot ahead of her, only to get held back by her magic. "Luna, you're going to stay here-" "Are you kidding me!? If anything, you should stay here! It's night time, my time to watch over Equestria! Why would I stay behind?" "Miles is going to be there... I think it would be too soon for you to see him." She says as she continues to walk forward, avoiding my gaze. "Miles... you really think I'm incapable of protecting my country because of Miles." I say as I follow after her. She pauses and look back to me, taking a deep breath before she speaks. "He would distract you. I know he's in the fight and I know you still harbor feelings for him. I don't want you there with..." "I can still perform my duties Celestia! I'm not a foal, I can do my job-" "Luna I'm not arguing this, go to court now, that's an order." I take a step back and look at her in disbelief. "Order? You order me to?" "Yes. I am your older sister, giving me seniority over you, now get going, you have a job to do." I stare at her a little longer before I shake my head and walk off. How dare she try to stop me from doing my job! How dare she bring Miles into this! SENIORITY?! She only five years older than me! I storm into the royal court room and stop when unicorn day guards start to appear next to my guards in pairs. Soon every guard is flanked and given orders, which makes them flash out of the room. Once all my guards are gone one of the guards approaches me and bows before me. "Good evening Princess Luna. I am Private Dusk. Princess Celestia has requested that we take guard here instead of..." "Let me guess, you're here to make sure I don't run off, aren't you?" "Yes. Now if you don't mind, court needs to-" "And how exactly would all of you keep me here if I decided to leave?" He takes a gulp as he looks up to me and charges his horn. "I'm sorry Princess, we've put up a barrier that will hold you in the castle." I look out the window and see the barrier surrounding the castle. "I'm sorry. but court-" "If you're going to make me your prisoner then I shall be one. Take me to my room, the dungeon, anywhere where I can be alone.... NOW!" He shakes a bit before he nods and leads me to my bedroom. I slam the door behind me and begin to pace back and forth. Is this what it's come to?! I'm a prisoner in my own home! How dare she do this to me! How dare- DO NOT FEED YOUR ANGER I look around for the voice but find the room empty. I shake my head and walk towards my balcony when an idea hit me. I walk to the door and slowly open it. Looking around I walk forward until I reach the end of the balcony. HA! I'm not the only one who forgets about double doors! I open my wings and take flight, heading towards the top of the mountain. I make it to the cave and head in to the Mico platform where I teleport to Miles's secret closet. When I appear, I hear the murmurs of what mast be a hundred ponies, talking, crying, shouting. I teleport myself to the roof and walk to the front to see what's going on. Miles has turned his home into a refugee center for Ponyville, filling it to the brim with ponies... that's my man. Several of the ponies are walking around the building with weapons that look foreign to Equestrian design. I look towards Ponyville to see a large group coming out of the ground from a hole in the ground, being lead by Storm Cloud. I fly down to greet the group only to fly over and behind them as several Diamond Dogs appear behind them. "YOU DARE HARM MY LITTLE PONIES!" I yell in the royal Canterlot voice, making them halt before me as I create a blue orb above me. I send the orb at them and create an explosion in the center of their group. The explosion is larger than I had intended it to be, nearly making me fall back from it. When the smoke clears all that's left of them is a large crater in the ground. "Princess Luna." I turn around to find Storm Cloud standing before me as the crowd runs to Miles's home. "Storm Cloud, tell me everything you know." "The dogs just appeared and attacked. All I know is that they are after unicorns. I found that group underground being held captive as the dogs were putting some black gunk on their horns." "Do you know anything else? Like who's behind this, where they are located?" "Yeah, Miles and I went underground and found them watching the unicorns being processed... and I've seen him before. It's some grey griffin named Steelwing, I saw him at an abandoned cloud factory, picking up the poisoned clouds being made there. Miles chased after him and the Diamond dog leader a while ago..." "So our next priority is Ponyville." I say as I start to march towards Ponyville. "I'll assist you." He says as he runs up beside me. "Thank you but I do not need assistance..." "I know that. But Miles would never forgive me if I let the mare he loves into a fight without assistance." I stop and look over to him as a smile grows on my face. "So... he does love me." "Yeah... poor guys got it bad too. He also believes he has to stay away from you so he doesn't hurt you." I shake my head a bit as I continue to walk towards Ponyville. He loves me... he really does... I need to see him now... or after I save Ponyville. We come up to the edge of town where we find it nearly deserted of anypony. I see Twilight leading a small group of ponies towards us so we run up to her. "Storm!" She yells as she runs up to him and hugs him tightly, then slaps him across the muzzle. "Don't you dare ever do that again you idiot!" "Sorry Twi', but I needed to give Miles some backup. I'm back now, and Princess Luna is here as well." Twilight looks over to me and gives a slight bow before she looks back to Storm. "There's a group of ponies over at the high school gym being guarded by Big Mac. They had a lot of injured ponies there that couldn't be moved, so he decided to stay and protect them." "Then we shall head straight there." I say, getting a smile from Twilight. "OK, Rainbow Dash and I will take this group to Miles's home and continue looking for survivors." She says before she looks over to Storm and gives him a light kiss on the lips. "Be safe." "I will, now get going. Staying still for too long is bad." She nods and takes the group past us. I look around for Rainbow Dash and find her in the air wielding a very bloody spear. "Let’s make haste." I say as I walk into town. It's fairly quiet here. There are a couple of buildings on fire, but I take care of them fairly quickly with my magic. "So... it would seem you and Twilight are... close." I say to Storm as we continue into town. "Yeah... don't tell anypony, but I'm planning on asking to marry her soon." "Congratulations. I guess my putting you with Miles was a good idea after all." "Yeah, it was the best thing that could have ever happened to me... thank you." "Don't mention it. To be honest I only picked you because you looked like you were trying to avoid being picked." "I was." We share a small laugh until we hear a scream come from a nearby building. We run to it and kick in the door to find two dogs approaching a pegasus mare holding onto a unicorn filly. I create my energy blades and stab them both into their backs, making them howl in pain before they drop to the ground. "Are you two alright?" I ask as I approach the two of them. "Yes, we're fine. Thank you, Princess Luna." She says as she stands up, still holding onto the filly. "Do you think you can carry your filly down to Miles's place Derpy?" Storm asks. "Y-yeah. I can do it. Thank you again." She says as she walks out and flies off with her filly. "Let’s keep moving." I say as I head out the door and continue down the path towards the school. We make it to town hall where we find a dark grey unicorn colt running from three diamond dog. Storm and I launch ourselves at the dogs, me sending a blast of energy at two of them and Storm kicking the other one away. Storm quickly pulls out his sword and stabs the one he kicked in the gut, sending a blast of bloody air up. "Are you alright child?" I ask the cowering colt. "*sniff* I-I can't find my mommy." He says as he starts to cry. "Storm, continue to the high school while I take him to Miles's home." He nods to me and runs down the path. I look back to the colt and give him a quick nuzzle. "Hey, what's your name?" "I'm Star Gazer." "Star Gazer, why don't you come with me and let’s go look for your mommy together?" "*sniffle* o-okay." I pick him up and set him on my back, getting him to hold on tightly around my neck. "Whoa... you're a lot taller than my mom." "Hm... okay, close your eye really quick so I can teleport us to the safe house." He nods to me and closes his eyes tightly as he continues to hold onto me. I teleport us back to Miles's house... directly behind Celestia. "Well... shoot." "Luna!" Celestia says as she turns around and looks at me. "What are you doing here?" "My job. Now if you don't mind I have to help this colt..." "MOMMY!" He yells as he tries to get off me. I set him on the ground and watch as he runs to one of the make shift guard ponies. "STAR!" She yells as she drops the spear and runs towards him and hugs him tightly. I watch them hold onto each other for a bit before Celestia steps in front of me. "Luna-" "Celestia, can I have a word with you in private." I say as I teleport us to an open field on the west part of Ponyville. She was going to say something to me but stops and stares at me, due to me taking my pure form. "How dare you." I say as I get in her face. "Luna I-" "NO! You don't talk right now, you listen! How dare you. First you deny me my royal duties, then you ORDER me to stay behind, and then you go and replace my guards and try to hold me prisoner in my own home! First off, it is both our duties to protect the ponies of Equestria. No personal matter will ever stop me from doing that. Next, you do not ever order me, EVER. We are equal rulers. I don't care if you were born five years before me, you will never...NEVER, do that again. And lastly you do not replace my guards. Not only was that just plain rude, it looked like a power play to them. We are equal; you do not get to take my place and do my job while I'm still here, do you understand me?" Before she could answer the ground around us suddenly collapses as Diamond Dogs surround us. As I continue to glare at Celestia I charge my magic, forming storm clouds above us. Once their strong enough I bring down multiple lightning bolts, striking down every single dog in one burst and encircling us in a bright wall of electricity. I hold the bolts there long enough to kill every dog and hold it even longer to drive my point across. When I stop electrocuting the dogs I ask Celestia "Do. You. Understand. Me." "Luna..." I leave her standing there as I walk off towards Ponyville. I need to vent my anger; I need more dogs to fight. I take off into the night sky, flying quickly to the high school where I find what I need. The gyms front door is surrounded by some twelve dogs as they claw at the doors, trying to get inside. I roll upside down and launch myself at the ground. I land between two of the dogs by the doors and stare back at each of them. "Surrender or die." The two closes to me reach for their swords so I grab them with my magic and slam them around, hitting the ground, walls, and other dogs as I beat the life from them. As I toss them aside all the other dogs pull their weapons out and prepare to fight me. I bring my energy blades up and wait for them to attack. A dog charges at me with his spear pointed at me, so I grab him with my magic and pull him towards me. I jump back and kick him as I do a back flip, making him go flying back. When I land, I charge into the group, stabbing two other dogs in the gut. I pull my blades back and give them a quick twirl before I bring them behind me, blocking an axe and sword from hitting my back. I twist my blades around and slash at the dogs, lopping their heads off. As the other dogs start to slash and stab at me I create more and more blades until I'm fighting all six of them at once. I flare my wings and launch myself into the air, avoiding them all stabbing at me at once. I flip around so I'm facing the ground and charge my horn. As they all look up to me I send a white beam down at the ground between them, creating a massive explosion that sends me a bit higher into the air. I flip back and flap my wings to level out and watch the plume of fire go into the air. I didn't mean for it to be that large... when did I get this powerful? When did I learn to fight like that for that matter? Six at once... I don't remember ever learning to do that. I fly down beside the crater and look around. The houses that were near are blackened from the fire. The front wall to the gym has cracks going up the wall, leading to the broken windows above. I walk up to the door and open it, only to have the wall fall behind me, leaving me in the door way. "Princess?" I look over to see Big Mac and Storm standing before me with their swords drawn, with a crowd of terrified ponies behind them. When did Big Mac get so buff? "Uh... I came to help..." "Eeyup." Big Mac says as they both sheath their swords. "So, how’s everypony doing here?" I ask as I walk into the gym. Everypony bows before me as they tremble in fear of my pure form. "Well, we've got a few injured in the back, but other than that it's just a matter of getting the civilians to move." Storm says as he walks along with me. I make my way to the back, making everypony tremble in fear as I walk through the gym. I sigh and continue anyway, right now I don't care what they think of me, I just want to see Miles. I find the area that's separated by medical curtains and walk in, making the nurse before me drop in fear. "I'm here to help, what do you need." I ask her, but don't get a response right away. "Nurse, you don't need to fear me, I'm here to help. Now what do you need?" "Uh....well.... we, uh need...*meep*." She says before she covers her head with her hooves and shakes before me. I walk around her and go to the first cot. It has a city guard with a large gash on his side. The wound has been sewn shut and he has a pouch of pain killers attached to his fore leg. Celestia was always the better fighter, but I was always the better healer. I charge my magic and get to work healing him, but something goes wrong. I feel something influence my magic and reach out to all the patients and start to heal them all at once. I should be weakening from healing this many ponies at once, but it feels as if I'm working on two. After a few minutes of healing I stop my magic and look around. All the patients are starting to get out of their cots, feeling their bodies for any signs of injury. "Wow, you're quit the healer." Storm says as he looks around. "Eeyup." "Yeah... well, I'm going to check the area around and see if anypony else needs help." "Alright, me and Big Mac will stay here and start doing rotations, I'll go first with Luna." "Eeyup." "Well, let’s get going then." We head back out to Ponyville and take to the air. Banking to the right and scanning the ground for any ponies or dogs. "So, I have to ask, why aren't you and Big Mac scared of me?" I ask as we fly over the market area. "Why would we? You are on our side." "Yeah... only if every other pony knew that... also, why are you and Big Mac so buff?" "Spartan training. I'm assuming if Miles was a pony he'd be like how we are." Good to know. "Where is Miles... I mean, I know he went after their leaders, but shouldn't he be back by now?" "Uh... maybe. I don't know for sure. We could swing by his place to see if he's there or not." "Let’s circle Ponyville one more time before we go." He nods and takes off before me. We scan Ponyville over only to find Twilight and Rainbow Dash running through town, so we meet up with them. "Storm!" Twilight yells as he lands before her. "Hey Twi', have you two seen any action?" "Nah, I think the fights over." Rainbow Dash says as she leans on the spear. "Have either of you seen Miles?" I ask, getting slightly embarrassed. "The last time I saw him he was chasing some griffin into the Everfree forest, but that was a while ago..." "Luna!" I turn around to see Celestia land behind us with a squad of royal day guards with her. "The fights over, let’s head home..." "The fight is not over. Miles has yet to return from chasing down the leaders. We need to go after him..." "Luna... can we speak in-" "No. Anything you need to say to me you can say in public. Otherwise don't say it at all." She takes a step back and glances over to everypony behind me. "Good, now Rainbow Dash, show me where you saw Miles chase after them." I say as I turn back to her. She looks around a bit in confusion but complies anyway. "It was over by the eastern path to the Everfree, I could show you where he entered, but after that I wouldn't know." "That's alright, just show us where they entered, the rest of you should stay here and check on all of the residents, make sure they're okay." They all nod to me and run off to their tasks. I jump into the air and follow after Rainbow Dash with Celestia and her guards following right beside me. "You see where the tree line has a little dip, that's where they entered. After that I wouldn't know." Rainbow Dash says as she points out the area ahead. "Thank you Rainbow Dash. I'm going to go ahead and check the area out, go ahead and go back to Ponyville." She nods to me and flies away, with the guards following after her. "Not keeping your guards?" I ask flatly as I fly towards the area Rainbow spoke of. "No. What I want to say needs to stay between us." "Well, what is it then?" I ask as I land by the tree line and start to walk in. "Well... what exactly do you see in Miles?" "What?" "You barely know him. You've only met a few times before.... what do you see in him that would make you fight so hard to be with him?" "I'm not fighting to be with him Celestia. I came here to protect Ponyville-" "Luna, I've known you long enough to know your hiding something." I ignore her and find a trail of broken branches. I start to follow it into the forest with Celestia close behind. "Luna?" "He's different." "Well, yes, being human-" "Not what I meant. He looks at the stars as if he's never going to see them again. He treats me like an equal. Heh, he's pretty goofy at times too-" "Luna-" "When I was with him... I didn't feel so lonely. He wanted to be there for me, and I want to be there for him-" "Even though he's going to die within a year? How could you bare to be with him when his time is so limited?" I stop and look back to her. "Because... I feel as if I must. He's dying Celestia. I can't even imagine what he must be feeling right now." "Luna... I still don't like you getting this close to him, but... maybe you should.... I don't know, visit every once and awhile..." She says as she looks away. "Do you mean it..." "I don't want you doing anything though. Strictly friends. That's it." I smile at her and run over to her, wrapping her up in a hug. "Friends only Luna, you hear me." "Don't worry, nothing is going to happen. Thank you." "Just remember that you're never alone. I'll always be here for you, no matter what." I let go of her and take a few steps back. "I know, thanks Tia." She smiles back to me but loses it as she starts to walk towards something behind me. I turn around to see the entrance to a cave. A wall of plants used to cover it, but somepony cut the vines down, showing the cave's inside. "Well, this is where the trail leads... what do you think?" "Well, Diamond Dogs do operate underground. Makes sense that their headquarters entrance would be a cave.... let's head in." "Luna wait. We should call for a group of guards to follow us in-" "Pfft, come on Tia, what could possibly be down there that we couldn't handle?" I say as I walk into the cave entrance. We stop before a large hole in the ground and look down into the pit of darkness. Celestia looks down and sends a ball of light down. "Wow... it just keeps going... I don't know Luna, maybe we shouldn't-" "Come on Tia, where’s that adventuring spirit you had when we were little?" I say as I nudge her a bit. "Luna... that has to be at least a mile deep..." She starts to say, but I jump into the hole and fly down. I turn my body so I'm facing the ground and flare my horn to light the way. I glance to my side and see Celestia doing the same a little behind me. As we fall together we send out occasional flares until we finally see the ground quickly approaching. We twist back and open our wings, slowing us down enough to land safely. "Whoa... I think Miles was here." Celestia says as she looks down at the ground. I look down to see a small crater with two foot prints in it. I bring a light to the top of my horn and light the way for us. "How far down do you think we are?" "I don't know... two miles at least-" "No way, he's way shorter than that." I say jokingly. "Right... so, how far have you two gone?" "What!" I yell as I trip and fall flat on my face. "Oh my-" "We haven't done anything!" I yell as I get back up. "Well.... we kissed...but that's it!" I say as I continue to walk down the path. "So... how was it?" She asks, making me trip and fall on my face again. "Wow... either that good or that bad." I get up and walk off, with her giggling behind me as my face begins to numb from my blushing... or from tripping. I mumble my answer to her, making her lean in closer. "Sorry, couldn't hear that." I repeat my answer, mumbling a little louder. "One more time." "I said he has soft lips!" I say as I run off. When I stop running she teleports next to me and walks along side with me. "I didn't know you could blush enough to show through your black coat." She says, making me trip and fall on my face... again. "You're enjoying this too much." I mumble from the ground. "Only because you're such a pain in the flank, now come on, we have to get moving." She says as she walks past me. I get up and walk after her, trying to think of something to stop me from blushing. "What’s that?" I ask as we walk up to a wall with an open slash in it. Behind the wall is as open area with what looks like a small building in it. "Go around and check the back for another entrance, this could be a secret meeting place." Celestia whispers to me as she sneaks to the door. I run to the back and find another open doorway. I bring up my blades as I walk in, only to find the room empty. "Well... that was anticlimactic." I say as I look around. "I can't but feel as if this place is familiar... like I've been here before." Celestia says as she levitates her tiara off and feeds some energy into it, making the picture appear. She looks at it, then the room, then back to the picture. "Oh my god... this is it. This is the room. This tunnel doesn't lead to some secret enemy facility.... it leads to Topaz Falls." "What? No... that's impossible. Why would Miles go home when he was chasing after the griffin?" I say as I look between the picture and the room. It's a match alright, even the table matches... except for it being broken. "Maybe they're using Topaz as their base, or just this tunnel..." "Or maybe he went home." "No! He wouldn't just up and leave... there has to be a reason he came here other than him wanting to go home... there has to be." "Luna... he may have left-" "Don't say that! I know him, he wouldn't just leave without a reason." I say before I turn around and march out of the door. I walk around looking for the next tunnel, but only find a small hole in the ground. I look down it and send a flare down... it’s just as deep as the other. "Luna." Celestia says as she walks up beside me. "Maybe we shouldn't-" "He came down here for a reason, and I'm going to find out why." "And if he came down to go home? Then what?" "Then... then I give him a piece of my mind and go home." I say as I widen the hole with my magic and jump down. When I land at the bottom I start to run down the narrow path. I don't know what I'm going to do if he left... but I know he didn't just leave... he couldn't, he said he loved me. I come to a stop when I find a large metallic wall ahead of me. "Is... is that Topaz Falls?" Celestia asks as she stops beside me. "Only one way to find out." I say as I approach the door. Suddenly two red lights start to wave back and forth, going from my hooves to the top of my horn. Unknown Identification, please identify says a strange voice. I think about it for a second before an idea comes to mind. "Guest of Miles Eremita... uh... identification... what did he say... A02017464?" Miles Eremita... Identification cleared, welcome, guest of Lieutenant Miles Eremita says the wall as it starts to raise. KRA-BOOM As the door lifts it reveals a massive explosion that send Miles and a massive metal... thing flying back. "MILES!" I yell as we run in after him. Emergency protocol, emergency gate lock down activated says the voice as the door shuts, sealing me and Celestia inside. I run up to Miles and look him over. He has several deep cuts all over him, plus a chunk of metal sticking out of his stomach. "Can you heal him?" Celestia asks. "I don't know... I'll try." I say as I pull out the piece of metal and start to heal him. I somehow manage to close all of his wounds, the one on his stomach taking almost an hour, but he's lost a lot of blood. I try to shake him awake, but he's out cold. "Luna... does he have a heart beat?" I lay my head on his chest and listen for a beat. ...... Come on.... ...... Please Miles... ...... Thump.... thump.....thump....
Chapter 70 Luna's LoveChapter 70 Luna's Love "He's got a heartbeat! Unconscious, but alive!" I yell as I look up to Celestia. "Great... I think now would be a good time to teleport out of here then." She says as she looks out to the city. From the alleys and buildings emerge dozens of metallic humans, some having strange arms while most seem to be missing appendages. Some run towards us while others crawl. In the distance, I see two large headless metallic humans stand up and start to walk towards us, destroying building as they go. "Right... teleport, got it." I say as I charge my horn and teleport us out of the city. I blink a couple times as I face a metal wall. I look behind me to see the metallic men still running towards us, getting closer and closer. "I thought you were going to teleport us out!" Celestia yells as she raises a shield around us, stopping the metal men from reaching us. "I did!" I yell back as I try to teleport myself out, only to find myself in the same spot as before. "Somethings not right here, I can't teleport out of the city!" I yell as I turn around and face the crowd of metal men as they crash against the shield and start pounding at it, some raising their arms and shooting little pellets at us. I look over to Celestia to see her start to sweat as she holds the shield up. "Well... If we can't leave... then let’s head further in." I say as I scan around for somewhere safer. I see a tall building down some ways and focus on it for a second before I teleport us over to it. I set us a little and fall to the roof, only to have it break under us and fall to the next floor. I shake my head and look around for the others. Miles is underneath me... probably why the fall didn't hurt that much, and Celestia fell onto a table. "Are you alright?" I ask as I stand up. "Next time... let me teleport us." She says as she rolls of the table and stands up. I look around the room and try to get my bearings. It seems to have been an office of some kind, or a private study? There are four book shelves, two to my left and two to my right behind Celestia. The desk Celestia landed on has a metal thing with a black glass wall on it. In front of me is a large window while the wall behind me has a bunch of pictures of children. "Where are we?" I ask as I walk around and look at the photos. Some of them have captions, most being something like 'Group 1012' or 'Best wishes'. But there's one that catches my attention. 'The prodigy'. It’s a photo of a little boy walking towards a strange carriage. He has long black matted hair and seems malnourished. "What does it say?" Celestia asks as she walks up beside me and look at the photo with me. "It says the prodigy... I think this was an orphanage." "That would explain all of the pictures of children-" KRA-BOOM Celestia and I drop to the ground as a deafening explosion erupts on part of the building. I look out the window to see the two giant metallic men pointing their arms at us, one smoking lightly. "Time to go!" I yell to Celestia as she starts to charge her horn. We suddenly teleport out of the room and appear on the roof of a small building. We teleport again, getting further away from the metal men. "This should be good... for now." Celestia says as she looks around, when we hear a crumbling sound. We look to each other for a second before the ground gives out beneath us. We both flap our wings and avoid falling to the ground... "Did you grab Miles?" I ask her, getting her to shake her head. "Shoot." I drop down inside the building and look around the room a bit and try to find him. I'm standing in a room that only has a couch facing a window that looks out to the city. There's two doors to my right and what I think is a kitchen to my left... It looks like a kitchen, but the utilities look different. On the other side of the room there's a door that I assume leaves the room. A small pile of rubble sits behind the couch, with half of Miles sticking out of it. I levitate him out of the ruble and place him on the couch, I think this place was somepony's home... "Greeting, guest of Miles Eremita..." "AH!" I yell as I jump away from the metal bot from my side. It's a light silver with bright yellow lights for eye's. It lacks any other major features, such as a nose or mouth and has thick plates of metal on its chest and arms. It has a small crest on the top right of its chest of a golden X. "I am terribly sorry for the sudden intrusion. Please let me introduce myself. I am E861Z9, designation Easy, at your service." It says in a scratchy, fuzzy, non-emotional voice. It reminds me of one of the butlers from the castle, just more... unpony like. "Uh... I am... Luna-" "Greeting Luna, guest of Mr. Eremita. And who is your friend?" Easy says as it looks up to Celestia. "That's my sister Celestia, hey Tia, come down here and meet Easy." I yell out to her, getting her to jump down and walk up to us. "Greetings Celestia, guest of Miles Eremita, sister of Luna, designation Tia." "Uh... hello there... you aren't going to attack us, are you?" "Of course not. I’m strictly an assisted living utility bot, assigned to miss Sordida Dives, designation Didi." "Assisted living... so you're a medical... bot?" Celestia asks. "Of course. I can perform any and all medical procedures that don't require opening the body. I can also diagnose any and all ailments." "You can... could you check on Miles then?" I ask as I look back to him. I know he's lost a lot of blood, but I just want to make sure there's nothing else wrong with him. "But of course." It says as it walks over to him. Its eyes brighten as he looks down at him and looks from head to toe a couple of times before he looks back to us. "I'm afraid there's nothing medically wrong with him other than a few minor lacerations. It seems that there's a magical build up keeping him unconscious." A magical build up... oh my. "I think I know how to wake him up, could you leave the room for a second Tia." I ask with a slight blush. "What? Why?" "Well... last time he was like this... I had to... well..." "What did you do last time to wake him up?" I mumble my answer and look away from her, too embarrassed to look at her. "Uh... what?" "I kissed him..." "WHAT! No. Just let him stay unconscious then..." "We need him awake! We don't know what we're doing here!" "NO, you just want a kiss from him!" "I want to get out of here! And that's the-" "Luna! I said you could be friends... but this is.... no. No way am I allowing you to do that-" "Do you have a better idea for waking him up?" Her face contorts from different emotions as she tries to think of a better answer, but fails to make one. "Alright... but make it quick!" I walk over to him and look down to him, then back to Celestia. "Do you have to watch?" "YES, I'm going to make this as uncomfortable as possible! Now hurry up and let’s get this over with." I sigh and look back to him. Well... just swallow my embarrassment and do it quickly. I lean over and give him a quick light peck on the lips, getting him to sigh and shuffle a bit. "I'm sorry Miss Luna, but my scanners suggest to wake him you must hold that for at least twenty-six point eight seconds for him to wake up-" "WHAT! Forget it, we can just use Easy to help us get through the city." Celestia yells as she heads to the hole in the roof. "I am sorry, but I am the property of Miss Didi and cannot leave the premises." Celestia stops and lowers her head as she mumbles something to herself. "Do we really need to leave?" She asks as she looks back to me. "Sorry Tia-" "Twenty-six point eight seconds and not a second longer." She says as she walks up to me. Oh, great, she's not only going to watch, but she's going to stand right next to me as I do it. Well... better get it over with. I lean back over and hover over his face for a second as I take a deep breath. I close my eyes and reach forward, kissing him on the lips. I hold it for a second before I lose myself by his touch and kiss with a little more passion, getting a kiss back after a few seconds of bliss pass. I slowly pull my head back and look down at him as he slowly opens his eyes. "Luna?" He says weakly. "Hey Miles, how're you feeling?" I ask quietly. "Well... pretty good given.... WHAT THE FUCK! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!" He yells as he sits up and looks around, only to fall back and grab his head. "Ah.... my head." "You need to say down Miles, you lost a lot of blood. We need to get you some water, Easy, where can we get some water?" "Thirty-two point seven." "I'm sorry?" "You took thirty-two point seven seconds instead of the recommended twenty-six point eight." Why is it telling me this? I look over to Celestia and see her glaring daggers at me. I smile back and walk around towards what I assume is the kitchen, getting Celestia to chase after me. "Eight extra seconds-" "Yes, eight seconds, sorry I lost track of eight seconds." I snap back as I approach the sink. It looks like any other sink... only there are no knobs. I look all around and underneath but don't see a single way to turn the water on. "How do you work this?" "Maybe you use your magic." Celestia suggest as she uses her horn to influence the sink, but nothing happens. I reach out with my hoof until I reach underneath the sink and hear the sound of rusted metal grinding against metal. "I'm sorry miss Luna, but there is no water in this building. It seems that the utility bots in charge of it were nonoperational for some time and the water has run dry." "So there's no water?" "Not a single drop in all of Topaz Falls." Celestia and I look to one another before we both run over to Miles. "Miles, how do we get out of Topaz!" I ask as I run up beside him. "Uh... you just go to the door panel...and..." he says as he tries to sit up, but keeps falling back. "You need to stay down, you lost a lot of blood..." "Forget that, you two don't know how to.... access... the... panel..." he says as he starts to fade out. I reach out to him and shake him a bit, waking him up. "Huh... we might be fucked here. Easy, directive." "Assisted living with miss Sordida Dives." "Leadership over ride. Military access code Stella Kor twenty-three." "One moment please." Celestia and I look to each other as Easy stands there. "Uh, Miles, what are you doing?" I ask him as I take a seat on the floor next to him, getting odd looks from Celestia as she sits across from us. "I'm changing his programming so it'll listen to me and do what I say, hopefully this Sordida Dives didn't put any-" "Access denied, moving to high priority listings. May I have your autograph Mr. Eremita?" I look over to Miles and raise an eyebrow at him. "Yup, she was one of them-" "One of who?" I ask. "Well, a few years ago I went through my day as normally as possible, but I didn't know this paparazzi guy was following me around, taking pictures and videos." "And?" Celestia asks. "And... it went viral... fast." We look to each other than back to him and wait for him to explain further. "Well, imagine if everyone was able to see a picture at the same time, instantly." "I still don't see the problem." Celestia says as she looks away. "Yeah... mind you, humans are usually clothed-" "And?" "And... they followed me... for almost twenty-four hours... wake up... training... showering." Celestia and I look to one another again and wait for the shocking revelation to appear. "Oh come on, they all saw me naked!" "And?" Celestia asks. "And humans don't walk around naked! We like our private parts to be a secret!" He snaps before he lays back down, panting lightly. "May I have your autograph?" Easy asks again, making Miles groan. Through all of this the only thing that registers in my mind is Miles and Naked... why is that so appealing? Ponies don't wear clothes; why do I want to see Miles naked? "LUNA!" Celestia yells. "What?" She motions with her head for me to look behind me, so I look back to see my wings starting to become erect. I let out a small scream and run through a nearby door- FWOOSH The room is filled with pictures of Miles. Him showering, working out, wrestling, and other various activities that help show off his muscles... and other things. I try to back out of the room but I keep looking from picture to picture. There even a large cut out of him! I suddenly go blind as I feel Celestia levitate me away from the room. When I'm able to see again I'm on the roof with Celestia... looking angrier than ever. "Uh..." Is all I can manage as she taps a hoof and glares at me. "I-I think I'll wait up here... until I get control of myself..." "That would be best." She says before she teleports back down. As I wait for my wings to fall back down I hear them start arguing with one another, with Easy occasionally asking Miles for an autograph. I stand up and start to pace around, trying to keep my mind clear of Miles's soaking wet.... SHOOT! After what felt like an eternity I finally have control of my wings again, but I'm way to embarrassed to go back down right now, so I stay up here and look out at the city. Most of the buildings in the city have been destroyed one way or another. Some are nothing but rubble where others have holes blown into them. I can see the scorch marks from fires burned onto the walls and streets. But that's not what's getting to me. What's getting me are all of the bones just lying around. They're either in piles of what must have been some kind of slaughter or depictions of their last moments of life. An adult sitting against a scorched wall, an adult laying before a small child, how could anypony do such a thing... "Luna." I look over to see Celestia looking at me with a worried expression. She reaches out with her wing and wipes a tear away from my cheek, making me look away. "How could somepony do this?" I ask as she sits next to me and wraps her wing around me. I lean against her and continue to look out at the city. An adult trying to crawl out of a burnt sideways carriage, a child holding onto an adult that has its skull missing, a pile of what looks like adolescents, none were sparred. "Come. Let’s head inside." Celestia says as she stands up. I nod and wipe away the last of my tears before following her back down into the room. Miles has fallen asleep; I don't know if that's a good thing but there's nothing we can do about that right now. We should rest. I found a bed you can use over in the back, I'll keep watch." "No. You rest, I'll keep watch. There is much I wish to think about right now." She gives me a look before nodding and heading towards the back and enters a back room. I walk over to a window and look back out at the city. There's a massive structure in the center that's been destroyed. I can see into some of the rooms, most of the higher ones look like offices, but below them look like bedrooms. "The Parliament Congressional Hall." Miles rasps from behind me. "What was it?" I ask as I continue to stare at it. "It was a lot of things. Government center, the University is Stella Ficor, military headquarters." "University? Like a school?" "Yeah. I went there, I even lived there." "Really?" "Oh yeah, ever since I was eight. Some of the best years of my life. I'm actually amazed that it’s still transmitting its spell with half the building missing." "What do you mean?" I ask as I turn back to him. "The PCH used to be twice as tall as that, and it was a conductor of several spells. Some holding up the walls, others keeping the city unscryable, all still fully functional.... I've been meaning to ask, when did you get bigger?" I chuckle a bit as I walk over to him. "This is my pure form. All alicorns have two forms, the other form you saw was my innocent form... do you like my pure form?" "Of course, why wouldn't I?" "Well, most ponies fear my pure form-" "How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not a pony. You're just as beautiful as ever." I glance over at the room where Celestia went and try to sense where she's at.... she’s asleep. I lay before Miles and look into his eyes. "Miles... I don't want us to end.... I still want to be with you-" "Luna, you know we can't. I don't-" "I know you only have a year. Celestia let that slip by earlier. But I don't care. If I only get a year, I'll take it." "Luna... I can't. Look what happened-" "Do you love me?" "Luna-" "If you can say no while looking at me, I'll stop. I'll let you be and never ask to be with you again. But if you can't... if you can't say no I won’t stop fighting to be with you. Not until the day you die. So, what is it, do you love me?" He looks away for a bit before he looks back to me. I can see him seriously thinking about his answer... I don't think I've ever been so nervous before. "I... you realize I could call out to Celestia and avoid this all together, right?" "If you can, then do it. Do. You. Love. Me?" He looks at me intensely before he finally lets out a deep sigh. He starts to get up but falters a bit. He finally gets up and pulls himself off of the couch so he's laying before me. He puts his hand up to my face and puts it so it's behind and underneath my ear, gently rubbing as he stares into my eyes. "I'll always love you." He says before he leans forward and kisses me. I push back and return the kiss, oh god I missed this. His soft lips pressing hard against mine; the feel of his breath against mine; the way he moves his head from side to side, trying to get the best position possible.... I missed him. I feel him break the kiss and look down to see him lying completely on the ground before me. "What happened?" "I... fell." We share a small laugh but quickly stop, afraid of waking Celestia. I stand up and Levitate him back onto the couch. "*sigh* I feel like an old man... you wouldn't happen to have some water with you, would you?" "Sorry, we kind of just ran here, and Easy says all the water here dried up." "Makes sense, water was always a finite resource in Terradisia... where is Easy?" As if on cue, Easy walks in from the room with the photos and presents one to Miles. "May I have your autograph?" I laugh at him as he facehoo-er-palms. "For the last time no!" I walk behind the couch to look at the photo- FWOOSH Oh, my... I didn't see this one earlier. It's a moving picture of Miles's in the shower, rubbing himself down as he unknowingly faces the camera. "Luna-" "Eyeawajihuh." "Hey, you dropped something." He says as he pushes my mouth shut and takes the moving picture away from Easy, trying to hide it. "So, I take it you like-" "Ahwilikejuma..." "...right. Anyway, I think I'll destroy-" "NO!" I yell as I reach over and try to take it away from him, only to get him to try to keep it away. "NO, it’s my body, I'll decide when you see it naked!" "That's not fair! I'm always naked! Why don't I get to see!" "Oh sweet Barbra!" He says as he drops the picture, letting me get it. I hold it above my head in triumph.... only to have Easy take it away from me. "This is the property of miss Didi." Easy says as he takes it back to the room. I drop to my haunches and watch as Easy locks the door and walks over to a hole in the wall, getting weird black things to plug into its back. "Yeah yeah yeah, go back to your charging station." Miles says as he gets comfy on the couch. "Aw... I wanted that-" "Why? You have the real thing right here." "Yeah... but we'll still have to be a secret... a better one then last time. I wanted it as a keep sake." "Right... I'll find a better replacement when we get out of here." "Promise?" "Promise." I reach over and nuzzle his nose a bit. He gets a confused look on his face but smiles anyway... until his eyes grow black. "Miles, what's wrong with your eyes?" "Turn to the void." He says in a different voice as he throws his arm up and grabs my horn, making the world turn white.
Chapter 71 Losing ControlChapter 71 Losing Control When I awake, I find myself back in Miles's conscious., but something has gone very wrong. The planes have turned black and is freezing cold to the touch. All the pictures of Miles's memories are flying around in a frenzy, shooting from one side of the room to the other and then back. I stand up and look around for Miles, but he doesn't seem to be anywhere. No Miles.... no Soul Fire, I'm- "HAHAHA... welcome, Hyacintho Unum." I turn around to find Miles emerging from the ground... but, that can't be Miles. He has his magic flaring at its peak, sending black flames high into the air. His usually smooth black lines are jagged and make sharp turns. when he gets completely out if the ground he starts walking towards me. "Wh-what are you doing-" "Taking what's mine." He says as he continues to approach me. I start backing away from him... I don't know what he wants, but I have a couple guesses. "Wh-where's Miles... what have you done to him-" "Miles is... away right now-" "Then who are you? What happened to Soul Fire?" "I am Corpus Glacies and Anima Ignis is gone... for the moment. It just you, and me." I feel something hit my back hoof, making me drop to my haunches, letting Corpus Glacies get right next to me. "Please.... don't...." I beg as he begins to reach out at me. His hand creeps closer and closer until it's only inches away. It suddenly stops and begins to shake and tremble as the fire in his hand dies out and becomes green. YOU WILL NOT HARM HER Miles...or Corpus Glacies, start to twist and contort as the flames start to die out and be replaced by the green ones. Once they all turn green he drops to the ground and seems to fall unconscious as Soul Fire starts to pull himself out of Miles's back. Once he's out, he floats over to me and lands before me, making the ground around us turn back to white. FORGIVE ME, I HAVE LOST CONTROL "What do you mean? What happened to this place?" WHEN CORPUS GLACIES CAME INTO BEING, HE DEFIED ME AND CHALLENGED ME FOR CONTROL. I WAS ABLE TO HOLD HIM OFF FOR A WHILE, BUT EVENTUALLY LOST. "Well, what does Corpus want?" HE TIRES OF MILES BEING WEAK. ALSO...HE GROWS TIRED OF WAITING. HE WISHES FOR US TO CONSUMMATE- "WHAT!" I yell as I jump back to my hooves. "He wants to what!?" I UNDERSTAND YOUR CONCERN, I WISH TO WAIT FOR THE PROPER TIME AND CIRCUMSTANCES, BUT CORPUS GLACIES REFUSES TO WAIT- "Then let me fight him! I can-" NO! IF YOU WERE EVEN TO TOUCH HIM YOU WOULD VANISH INTO NOTHINGNESS. YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO TOUCH HIM "Then do something! Fight back or get me out of here or-" "Yes Anima, do something." We both look back to see Miles getting back up, the black flames growing back. Soul Fire steps in front of me and creates a thin blade in his hand. Corpus Glacies closes his hands and crates two thin black blades. "Soul Fire..." The two of them launch at each, colliding into one another and creating a vortex of black and green energy. They both fly back and land several yards away, only to charge back at each other and create another vortex. I look around to see all the windows of his memories hold still and start to spin in place. The ground is becoming a mixture of black and white area's swirling around. I flap my wings and try to take the air, but I can't seem to fly here so I try to use my magic next, but I can't use that either. I sit down feeling completely useless as Soul Fire and Corpus Glacies continue to fight. They've dropped their swords and started firing green and black beams a one another, each of them dodging or blocking the attacks. They seem evenly matched, both unable to gain the upper hoof on one another. Hmm... I wonder... "Oh no! I... I can't take it anymore! The pain... THE PAIN!" I yell as I strike a dramatic pose and fall to the side, holding my eyes shut. After a minute of nothing happening I open my eyes to see them still fighting each other... well, shoot. I stand back up and watch them continue to try to blast each other away for what feels like an eternity. Soul Fire seems to be fond of using large beams of energy while Corpus tends to send short burst at close range. I finally get tired of waiting for one of them to win and decide to voice my opinion. "ENOUGH!" I yell, getting both of their attention. "First off, I'm not consummating with you, next, stop acting like little foals and-" KA-BOOM Before I could finish, Soul Fire took a shot at Corpus, causing a massive explosion that brings up a massive plume of smoke, blurring my vision. I try to wave the smoke away from myself until it starts to be sucked back to the point it came from. Once the smoke is gone all that is left is Miles, laying on the ground as the smoke is being sucked into his mouth. I walk up to him as the smoke finishes going into him and lay beside him. He looks as if he's asleep... and having a nightmare. I watch as his face contorts from emotion to emotion before I lean forward and kiss him, holding my lips against his. I keep my lips there until I feel him kiss back. "Miles?" I whisper as I pick my head up and look into his eyes. "Hey.... is this going to be our thing... cause I can get used to this." He says as he places his hand in his usual spot. "Heh... maybe... Miles, what’s wrong. How did Corpus Glacies take control? And why do they keep calling you weak?" He looks away from me and starts to think about what I said. I can tell something is wrong... I just hope he'll tell me. Before he answers all the windows into his memories fall back to the ground, creating the hallway of moving pictures depicting his past. "Miles..." "I don't know how to explain it... but... when I came to Ponyville I felt... at peace. There's something about Ponyville that... just... I've been holding back." "What do you mean you've been holding back?" I ask as he sits up. "Well... those Diamonds dogs... they should not have stood a chance. The dragons... I missed half those shots on purpose. I can't explain why, but... being there... I don't want to harm others... so I held back." "So... how exactly have you been holding back?" "Well... my weapons are duel enchanted; I've only been using one. I've been limiting my magic, doing everything with half the power I usually use. And in hand to hand I've... well, I just didn't do half the things I've could have done." "So... when we fought Chrysalis together-" "I could have lopped her head off four times. But instead I waited and only stabbed her... I then let you take the shot. It went against everything I was taught as a Spartan, but I can't help it. There's something... off about Ponyville that makes me not want to harm others-" "Miles, there's nothing wrong with you not wanting to harm others-" "Obviously not. Ever since I started holding back my powers have been out of control. With the black stuff, my soul taking its own form.... I don't know what to do..." before he finishes I lean forward and nuzzle his cheek, getting him to stop and look back to me. "Hey... don't worry about it. Whatever is the problem, we'll figure it out, together." He looks away for a moment before he looks back to me and smiles. We lean in and kiss, Miles putting a hand at the base of my neck and on the back of my head. I just melt as he takes control of the kisses, pushing his tongue into my mouth. I start to push back into his mouth when we suddenly both roll to the side, as if the floor has suddenly tilted over. "AH! What's going on!" I yell as the ground levels out, with us both sliding to a stop a few inches from a window. "I don't know!" Miles yells before the ground tilts the other direction, sending us rolling over, only this time we crash into a window, turning the world around us dark. I look around for a bit but can't see anything. "Are you there Miles?" "Right here." He says from beside me as he reaches out and grabs my back hoof, then feels his way up to the top of my body. "Miles... what are you doing?" "Trying to find your face." He says as the world brightens up. We're in a room that has two beds in the corner; one blue and one red, a shelf above it, two footlockers, and three doors, one being down a little hallway. Half of the room is pretty messy while the other half is clean. In the clean half is a human child with a shaved head starting to wake up in the bed. He looks like the child from the picture before... only clean and without hair. "This is my old dorm and that must be me.... I must be eight." Miles says as he stands up and looks around. I get up and look down at the waking child. He definitely looks like Miles, younger but similar. "Aw, you didn't tell me you were cute when you were little." I say as the child Miles gets out of bed and walks over to the right most door and opens it to reveal an assortment of similar clothes. "Why do all of your clothes match?" I ask as he gets dressed. "They're uniforms. Part of being in the military-" "You're in the military! But, you look too young to be a part of the military-" "Hey Dolum, wake up. Let’s get some breakfast." The child says as he walks over to the other bed and lifts the sheets, only to find the bed empty. "Huh... I guess him and Auxy went early or something." He says as he begins to walk out of the room and starts walking down a hall. "I think I know what memory this is... but I'm not sure of it yet." Miles says as we follow after the child Miles. "There isn't going to be another rape... is there?" "No... but I think there's going to be a fight." Miles says as we walk into a room filled with cushioned seats. We walk up to a wall that has a row of metal Mico platforms on it. He walks onto the center one and we all flash to what looks like a cafeteria. He walks around the room to where they're serving the food and starts to fill his plate up. I look around the room to see that it's filled with people of varying ages. Some look to be Miles's age while others look to be adults. I can see many of the people glancing at Miles, whispering things to the people around them. I look back and watch Miles grab a ladle and pour some orange goo onto his plate. "Ew... what is all of that?" The food... doesn't even look like food. It's just goop and pellets. No wonder he likes our food so much, this looks absolutely disgusting. "It's what we ate. It's better than it looks... kind of." I give him a puzzled look before I follow after the two of them. Why would they eat it if it's gross...? I don't get it. The child Miles takes a seat with a small group of children, one I recognize as Fidus, but the other two I don't know. "Good morning Miles, how was your first week?" The one next to Miles says timidly. "It was... boring. But at least I'm getting the hang of reading now...kind of." Miles replies before he starts to eat. "I still find it strange that they didn't teach you to read at the orphanage, what did they do with you there if they weren't teaching you basic skills like that?" Says the little boy across from Miles in a regal voice. I didn't know Miles was from an orphanage... "I already told you, they didn't do anything. The dean just stayed in his office and only talked to us if we were caught stealing..." "Yeah... you don't steal anymore...do you?" Asks the hefty boy across from Miles. "No... " Miles starts to say but stops when a little girl runs up to the group. "Have you guys seen Dolum? I haven't seen him since yesterday." The group looks around before getting up and running towards the platforms in the back. We flash away and appear in a long white hallway filled with grey doors that have slim windows and are numbered off. He starts to run off, checking each room before he runs to the next one. I glance inside one of the rooms to see an empty room with rows of small seats facing a white board. The seats closest to me are higher the one's in the front. "Where are we?" "This is the English and Latin department of the school. I think we'll find him in the next room. Miles says with a serious look on his face. I look back to the child Miles and see him run up to a door and freeze. He takes a few deep breaths before he swings the door open and runs in. "YOU FUCKING BASTARDS!" He yells before I hear some shuffling around. I walk into the room to find Miles sitting on top of another child punching at his face. In the corner of the room are two other kids the same age as the one Miles is fighting and one the same as Miles. The one Miles's age is being held up by the other two and looks like he's been beaten really badly. He also looks different than the others... in that his skin is much darker than everypony else's. The two of them drop him and run over to grab a hold of Miles, who kicks and tries to break free. The other boy gets up and wipes his face before facing Miles... on my. It's the same boy that raped Fidus. He gets up and walks over to Miles and punches him across the jaw. "Nigger lover." He says before he punches again. Miles takes the hit and spits blood at his face, making him recoil back before punching him in the gut. He gets to work punching and kicking Miles all over, making bruises and cuts all along his body. The scarred boy grabs his shoulder and knees Miles in the gut, getting the others to drop him to the ground. "I think you broke it." Says one of the other boys as he kicks Miles in the back. "What a pussy." Says the other as he kicks him in between the shoulders. "Of course the freak would try to help the nig-" "SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Miles yells as he shoots an arm at the scarred boy, flaring his magic and sending him flying back against a wall, knocking him out. He stands up and glares at the other two, flaring his remaining hand. "Leave." The two of them turn and run out the door, glancing back at Miles as they go. Once their gone he shakes his arms and runs over to Dolum. "Dolum? Dolum wake up!" He says as he shakes him. "Uuhh.... M-Miles...did... did they stop?" He asks weakly. Miles helps him to his feet and starts to escort him out of the room, holding Dolum up as they go. "Yeah, it stopped.... why were they doing that to you?" He asks. "Miles... I'm black." "And?" "People hate me because of that." "I don't get it. Why would that matter?" He asks only to get Dolum to shake his head. "Also... what's a-" "DON'T SAY THAT WORD!" Dolum yells, silencing Miles. "Sorry... it's a bad word... used to berate people like me." "Oh... sorry. Let’s just get you to the infirmary, I'm sure Auxy is worried sick right now." Miles says, getting Dolum to smile. He sets Dolum onto the platform and waits for him to flash away, then steps onto it himself. When he flashes away, we reappear in the hallway full of Miles's memories. "Miles... was Dolum frequently persecuted for his race?" "It was almost a daily thing until we became Spartans. Then people were to scared of him to do anything... Auxilium was also a target because she was betrothed to him... but she never got it that bad." "It seemed like you didn't know what racism was, how-" "In the orphanage we were all looked down upon. Most people never even bothered to look at us, so why would we bother to look at others? I didn't even know that him being black was a big deal until that incident." "I... I didn't know you were in an orphanage... what happened to your parent?" "My mother died giving birth during the exodus of Diamond Halls and my father was never found, so I went to one of the military's on site orphanages." "What happened to Diamond Halls?" "The same thing that happened to Topaz Falls." I walk up to him and rest my head against his chest, getting him to wrap his arms around me lightly. I know what it’s like to live without knowing your parents.... but I’ve always had Celestia. I can't imagine doing it alone. I lean against him a little more but end up stepping forward. I look back to see that he's faded away. I look around some more before I begin to fade away as well. Author's Note Shot out to Cheesus for picking the age of the memory. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed the chapter, and like always, Brony on!
Chapter 72 Escape From Topaz FallsChapter 72 Escape From Topaz Falls Perspective: Miles I open my eyes slowly, finding myself in a new location. I think it's an office, due to all the desks and computers... could be a gaming cafe. I look around myself to see Luna and I laying on an old mattress, she's back to her blue self and I'm still grabbing her horn. I let go and start to get up, feeling like shit but still managing to get on my feet. As Luna starts to wake up I look around for Celestia, she has to be the one who brought us here. "Miles... where are we?" Luna asks as she starts to get up. "Not sure, some kind of office or internet cafe." I walk towards the front door only to have it open before I get there. Celestia walks in and looks at us for a second before she continues walking in. She's carrying several guns with her. Easy walks in after her and follows her, staying close to her side. "How long were we out?" I ask as she walks past me and sets the guns down. "About twelve hours. I tried to stay back at the house, but one of the bots blew it up...oh and Easy finally accepted your command, but he's still-" "May I have your autograph?" Easy asks Luna. I walk over to the assortment of guns and start going through them. A couple E.A.R.s, an Smg, an Lmg.... and a fucking Aquila chain gun! "Where did you get this?" I ask as I sit next to it and start to look it over. It's in pretty good condition, the motor needs a little work and the gems need refilling but other than that...damn. "Easy and I have been scavenging for weapons we could use. We found these at what looked like a carriage with no wheels." I start to work on getting the motor out, using my magic to unscrew everything. "What happened to you two?" "We were stuck in Mile's mind." Luna says as she walks over to her side. "It would seem Miles has... well... I'm not sure of how to put it..." "I do." I say as I finally get the motor out and start fixing it. "It's just a theory, but I believe that Soul Fire is the manifestation of my soul, while Corpus is the manifestation of my magic. Each have grown to a such a point of power that they've become living entities. It's just a theory, but it's the best explanation I can make right now." "That's just absurd." Celestia says as she lays down and looks over one of the E.A.R.'s. "I don't think so." Luna says as she lays next to her and grabs the other E.A.R. "I mean... look at me and Nightmare Moon." Celestia gives her a look before she looks back to the gun. "What do we need to do to get these to work?" Celestia asks as she sets it in front of me. I set the chain gun down and look over the rifle. "Just clear the barrel of debris then refill the gems." I say as I set it back in front of her and go back to the chain gun. I've got the motor fixed, kind of, I just need to reassemble it and fill the gems. When I finish loading the gun I set it aside and get to work on the SMG. "So... how do we get out of here?" Luna asks as she sets down the rifle. "Well, the plan is pretty simple. We make a run for the closest bulk head and leave." "That sounds a little too simple." Luna says as she stands back up and walks over to the window, looking out at the city. "Well, there will probably be a lot of running, bullets, explosions... not to mention you won't be using your magic that much-" "Why can't we use our magic?" Celestia asks. "Because when we get to a bulk head I need you two to cover me as I try to open it. I need you two to be able to stand up against howitzers and small arms fire. Hopefully I won't need to pull the panel off and rework the wiring, but if I must, I need you two to cover me." I say as I pick up an E.A.R. and walk over next to Luna. "You alright?" "Hmm... oh yeah... just... thinking." I kneel next to her and start to show her how to work the gun. "This is your safety, red means it’s ready to fire. Pull the trigger to fire it, and this knob makes it go from single to automatic fire." She nods to me and takes the gun with her magic. I get up and walk back to Celestia. She's looking down at the weapons, but I can tell something is bothering her. "Hey." "Hey." "You alright?" "Yeah... I'm fine, let’s just get out of here already." She says as she levitates the chain gun up and starts to walk out of the room. "Celestia." I say, getting her to stop and look back to me. I walk over to her and kneel next to the gun. "First trigger spins the barrel, the next one fires it. It only has one fire mode, so be sure to be ready to handle the recoil." She nods to me and walks over to Luna, whispering something to her. "May I have your autograph?" Easy says as it walks over to me. "Easy, new directives, follow my command." I tell the machine as I watch the two of them speak quietly. "Processing... order accepted, awaiting command." "Follow and protect against frenzied machines, priority high. " "Follow and protect, understood, may I have your autograph?" I shake my head and pick up the SMG and hand it to Easy. He takes it and takes a readied stance with it. I pick up the remaining E.A.R. and walk over to Celestia and Luna. “... problem. Let's just get out of here and get home." Luna says to Celestia. "Alright, almost ready, just one last thing to do." I say as I flare my magic in one hand and put it over one of Celestia's ears. "What are you doing?" "Setting a sound barrier for when we open fire. Now hold still." I say as I finish one ear and work on the next one. When I finish, I walk over to Luna and start on her ears. I poke at her ears playfully, getting her to smile back at me. When I finished with her ears I go to the door and place my hand on it. I look back to the two of them before I open it up and take the lead out of the building. I swing my rifle from side to side, checking for any frenzied bots. Once cleared I motion to the others and walk out to the center of the street. I look around until I see the PCH. Given the stores around us and the streets we're on, I'm guessing we're in the northern part of Topaz. Celestia, Luna and Easy walk up beside me and form a small circle, all of us pointing outwards. "Which way?" Luna asks. "North." I say as I start to walk down the street, checking every building for any potential enemies. We make it down about a block before a security bot jumps out of a building and starts firing at us. I drop to the ground and return fire with the rest of the group. I can see Luna's rounds flying around the bot as Celestia strafes below and around the bot. Easy and I open fire, sending round after round into it, dropping it to the ground with a frenzy of sparks and smoke. I stand back up and look back to Celestia and Luna, both of which are looking away from me with slight blushes. "Alright, quick lesson in how to fire a gun." I say as I approach Luna. I pull on the rifle she's levitating and show her the iron sights. "This is to help you aim, line up the front with the bottom and then fire. Give it a try." I say as I motion to the downed bot. She glances at me before she lines up the rifle and fires, hitting the wall behind it. "Shoot." "That's alright, try again, just a little lower." She lifts the rifle up and takes aim again. She pulls the trigger and sends a round just to the right of the bot. She sighs and fires again, hitting the ground to the left. "Easy there, don't use your emotions to fire, just relax, squeeze the trigger, and hold the rifle steady." She takes a few breaths before taking aim again. She holds the rifle there for a few moments before she sends a round down, hitting the bot in the chest. "I did it!" "Good job, your turn Celestia, but yours is a little different." I say as I walk over to her and grab onto one of the barrels. "Start off at waist height and pull into you target. Eye where you think the rounds will go and lead into it." As I say this I pull on the barrel, pulling on it to show her what I mean. She nods to me and takes a step forward, spinning the barrels before she opens fire. A stream of red beams fly out and hit the wall behind, sending dust and debris back as she pulls the gun down, sending the beams down until they begin to pepper the bot. The bot begins to roll away as round after round hits it, until Celestia lets go of both triggers. "Good, very good." I say as she lifts the smoking barrels and blows on it. "Yeah, don't hold the trigger for too long, these things tend to heat up." She gives me a cocky smile and nods to me. I think I found a big gun’s enthusiast. "Come on, let’s get moving. I'm sure half the city knows where we are now." I say as I continue walking down the street. I look around for any more signs of the bots, but everything over here seems to be quiet. The buildings here don't seem as destroyed as the rest of the city. All of the tall apartment complexes are still intact, filled with bullet holes but still standing. "So... Miles. What was this part of Topaz Falls?" Celestia asks as we walk down the path. "It was mostly residential. There were a few businesses here, but nothing major." "Why did people have such large homes?" Luna asks as she looks up at one of the buildings. "They didn't. These apartments housed some... hundred thousand people, give or take on the number of people in the individual rooms." They look back up in amazement as we walk down the street. I look ahead to see a utility bot staggering towards us. It has massive holes in its legs and is missing both of its arms. The metal plates on its chest have been torn open, revealing its inner mechanisms. I raise my rifle at it and send a round into its chest, knocking it to the ground. I lower my rifle and look around... this is- KA-BOOM A shell flies over head and hits a building ahead of us, causing a massive explosion. I turn around to see a high-grade military bot aiming its massive cannon down at us, readying it next round. "RUN!" I yell as I open fire on the bot, aiming for its arms. Celestia and Luna ignore me and open fire with me, sending rounds all over the bot, most hitting its armor and doing nothing. "DAMMIT I SAID RUN!" "NO!" Luna yells at me from my left as she fires at the bot. "We're doing this together!" She yells over the gun fire. "Just tell us where to shoot!" Celestia yells from my right as she sends a stream of red beams up at the bot. I take my left hand and flare my magic as I push forward, sending a beam of soul fire at the bot. The beam hits to the right of the left arm and causes a large explosion, making the bot stagger back but stays standing. "FINE! Just aim for the red optic lens in the center, I'll deal with the rest of it." I yells back as I fire at the next arm, this one being a quad automatic twenty-millimeter cannon. Badom badom badom badom badom It opens fire at us, causing the ground to erupt as it strafes its fire at us. Luckily Luna raised a shield over us, blocking the bullets. I motion for them to follow me as I run towards to the building to our left. Once we make it Luna drops the shield and looks over to me. "Why are we taking cover?" She asks. "You'll see." I say as I lean my rifle against the wall and ready my magic. They both look to me in slight confusion but don't say anything. As silence fills the city I motion for them to creep our way down the path. They nod and start to walk down, Celestia taking lead, followed by me, Luna, then Easy. When we make it to the end of the street we all stagger as the ground shakes. I look back to see the bot standing up and aiming its good guns at us. "GET TO COVER!" I yell as I run into the street, shooting beam after beam at the bot as it fires back at me. I hit its chest, upper hip area, and the center of its guns, causing explosions that tears off its armor. I take a hit in my shoulder that makes me twist and roll onto the ground. As I hit the ground I use my good arm to slam into my chest, healing me up as the bot staggers back. I push myself back up as I finish healing and look up at the bot as it squares off and faces me, charging up its center beam. I look down to my hands and focus on the energy, trying to find how to use the dark substance. I close my hands and create two black orbs that seem to have black wisps falling from them. Holding the energy there I feel the lines on my arms grow to my shoulders... but instead of being warm they feel cold... almost like ice. As the bot fires its red beam at me I punch forward and send a black beam at its beam. Instead of the two beams fighting over power or exploding, my beam shoots straight through the blast, cutting clean through the bot and making the edges fade away. I let go of the beam and let my arm drop. It feels numb from using the unknown magic. The bot stands there for a second before it starts to fall. With a thunderous slam, it falls back, crushing anything beneath it. "What was that?" Celestia asks as the three of them walk up to me. Luna levitates me my rifle, but has a worried look on her face. "I'm not sure yet... let’s keep going." I say as I take my rifle and walk down the street towards the wall of the dome. We continue walking down the street in silence until the bulkhead comes into view a few blocks away. "There's the door, let’s hurry-" KA-BOOM An explosion rocks us from behind, making me fall forwards from the hit. I push myself up and turn around to see a massive crowd of utility and security bots running towards us. We all raise our weapons and open fire, causing all the bots we hit to either to stagger or fall and be trampled. The security bots start to open fire on us, but we all raise individual shields and return fire. Easy gets to Celestia's side and returns fire, using her shield as cover as it fires down at the frenzied bots. "We need to get to the door!" I yell as I start to back pedal, getting nods from the other two as they start to walk backwards. The bots are coming at us at a tremendous speed, gaining on us at an alarming rate. When they're meters away they all run to the side and jump into the buildings, breaking window and doors as they jump to cover. "MOVE!" I yell as I drop my shield and run for the bulkhead. Celestia and Luna quickly run past me as the bots open fire from the windows. I stop and raise both my arms, bringing up a force field that domes over the three of us, the second my shield went up all the bots ceased firing at us and disappeared into the buildings. "What now?" Celestia asks as they all walk back over to me. "They can read my shield level and know they can't break it on their own, so they're waiting for reinforcements. We need to get moving now, it won't be long before they get that last high grade military bot here." I say as I start to jog towards the bulk head. When we reach it I pull the lever up and wait for the door the open. I'm sorry, maintenance is needed. Please try again later. "Fuck!" "Alright, drop your shield and get to work on fixing it." Celestia says as she raises her shield. I drop mine and begin to remove the lever from the wall. "Uh...Miles... what’s that?" As I pull the lever from the wall I look back and drop it. Hovering about a kilometer out is an Aquila. Its roughly diamond shaped, having the front come to a flat front and the sides point out. It's all black with two red optics lenses in the front and jets of blue fire coming out the bottom and back. Most of the surface is smooth, but I can see dents and scratches from the battle all over its body. It has twin fifty cal's sticking out the front and its trade mark chain gun mounted underneath. I watch as four holes open on its sides, getting ready to fire its missiles. "That...would be an Aquila... how strong are your shields?" Before they could answer it fires two missiles at us, causing a massive explosion that shatters Celestia's shield. I quickly bring my shield up to stop the fire from reaching us as Celestia falls to the ground. "CELESTIA!" Luna runs to her side and checks on her as a torrent of small arms fire opens on us from all sides. I look around to see security bots in the buildings all around us. "She's alright! Just passed out.... let’s trade so you can open the door!" Luna yells over the gun fire as she raises her shield up. "Maybe I should keep the shield up-" "MILES! DOOR! NOW!" I drop my shield and run over to the panel, quickly checking it for malfunctions. "I'm going to need five minutes on this!" I yell as I look back to Luna. When I look back the Aquila had opened fire with all three of its guns, sending the massive bullets into Luna's shield. She winces from the sudden increase of force but keeps her shield up. I turn back to the panel and get to work on reworking the wires. "EASY! GET OVER HERE!" I yell getting it to run over. "How may I be of assistance?" He asks as he walks up. "Start a system reboot for this door." I tell him as I fiddle with some wires. "Processing.... processing.... command accepted." He says as he takes my place and gets to work fixing the wiring. I turn around and start to run towards Luna's shield. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Luna yells at me as I run past her. I flare my hands and push out to the side, making a hole in the ground appear. I jump down it and start to make a tunnel as I run forward. When I get far enough forward I push up and launch myself out to the ground, appearing in the center of the street. I immediately bring up a small shield with my left hand and start to fire at different locations with my right. Third floor window, floor level window, roof, all receiving a blast of soul fire that causes explosions. As I fire, I spin around from building to building while keeping my shield held behind me, covering my back. I keep this up until I hear something big running towards us. I look down the street to see a high-grade military bot running towards us. It has its left arm missing and what looks like an energy buzz saw for its right. I fire at it, only to get it to jump clear over my beam and land directly over me, causing a mini terraquake that makes me fall to the ground. I raise my shield in time to catch the massive buzz saw, stopping it from tearing me to pieces. The saws cutting away at my shield, forcing the lines on me to grow faster and faster, already growing onto my chest and burning my shirt off, not to mention all of the small arms fire seems to have moved to me. The saw suddenly breaks through part of my shield, spinning mere centimeters away from my face. I close my eyes and put all of my energy into the shield, trying my best to keep it from falling apart. I see a white flash from behind my eye lids and feel the pressure from the saw end. I open my eyes and find myself in a small grey elevator, with Luna lying next to me. I look over to see Celestia laying against the wall, with the guns before her. "Where are we?" I ask as I try to look around. "Easy opened the door, so I teleported us inside... he then hit the button and ran back into the city." I try to sit up, only to get Luna to hold me down with a hoof. She leans forward and gives me a quick kiss before she lays on her side, putting her back against my side. I lay there and enjoy her comfort, wrapping my arm underneath her as I reach for her hoof and grab hold of it. Author's Note Shout out to TheTownCrier for picking Celestia's gun. Thanks for reading, and like always, Brony On!
Chapter 73 Return to PonyvilleChapter 73 Return to Ponyville Luna and I just lay there for a while, both panting lightly from the stress of the attack. I can feel her chest rise and drop as she gently plants kisses on the back of my hand, sending chills up my arm. I take a deep breath before I start to try to pull my hand back, only to get her to hold onto it tighter. "Heh, I need that." "Too bad, it's mine." She says as she nuzzles my hand. I look over and decide to let her keep it awhile longer, enjoying the feeling of her soft nose against my hand. I reach over with my other hand and start to gently rub her wing, getting her to take a deep sigh and look back to me. We stare into each other’s eyes until we hear Celestia shuffle around. We quickly get up and move away from each other, putting as much distance between us as possible. "Uhg... wh... where are we?" Celestia asks as she wakes up and looks around. "Hey Tia, we're on our way back to the surface. How do you feel?" Luna asks as she walks over to her and helps her to her hooves. "Like I've got a mind splitting head ache... what happened?" "You blocked a missile that was too much for you to handle and passed out. We're in an elevator that goes to... well. I actually don't know where this goes." I say as I walk over the pile of guns and pull out the Lmg. It's an M549 saw. It's a fairly short machine gun, with the basic form of my assault rifle, just stockier. This is an FMJ model, but it has a hole blown though it, making it inoperable. I drop the ammunition box and SCORE! It's full! I've just scored two hundred rounds for my rifle back home. I take out the ammo strip and throw it over my shoulder. "Miles... how... what were those things?" Celestia asks. "You mean the bots?" I ask, getting her to nod. "They were machines, made to make life simpler for us." "If they were made to make life easier, then why make them for war?" "We wanted the best defense possible. That meant using every resource possible. So, we made all bots have a defense program installed in them. When order twenty-three went out, it was supposed to reprogram them to join the fight." Celestia and Luna both lay down as they both think about this, with Luna leaning against Celestia. I walk to the wall and sit against it, I have no clue how far it goes up, but hopefully we can get some decent rest before we get out. "Do you think your other friends were able to escape Topaz?" Luna asks. "*sigh* I don't know. I would like to think so though." "If they left... as well as others, why would they leave so much behind?" "You tell a city of people that they only have a few minutes to pick up their lives and drag it to another city. Evacuations were never practiced because we never believed we would be found... but after Diamond Halls that started to change. Order twenty-three was made after we lost Diamond Halls to help with the possibility of losing a city. If Topaz was lost, people would evacuate to Quartz Crest... but there wasn't much else to the plan." "Why wouldn't they bring the machines with them then?" Celestia asks. "I imagine they brought as many of them as they could, but the first things the Unfamiliar went after was the power supply. Once the machines ran out of juice, they were left behind. They only came back now because I turned the power on." The room falls quiet as we sit there, the only sound being made is the screeching of the rusted metal from the elevator. "You said Topaz had seventeen million residents, right?" Celestia ask, to which I nod. "Where did they all go? It was a big city... but I can't see seventeen million people living there." "That's because we didn't see all of it. Every building you saw goes down ten stories, all of which is connected." Before she could ask anything else the elevator shakes and screeches to a stop. We all stand up and face the door, watching it slowly slide open. When the door opens enough for us to go through, we walk through. Luna levitated me her E.A.R. while bringing the broken Lmg. I walk out and look around the dark cavern for any threats. The cavern is large. Being around a kilometer wide and goes out for about two kilometers before it comes to a straight end. I motion for the two of them to follow me and walk out to the center of the cavern, Celestia and Luna both providing light. There's nothing really to see here so I set my rifle down and flare my magic. I start sending us up through the ground, though I have no idea how far up we need to go. I go for what feels like forever until I come to a stop, due to a tree being in the way. Celestia uses her magic to lift the tree out of the ground and creates a small opening that I lift the ground up to. I pick up my rifle and look around. It’s daytime, close to night time. We're in a forest... but it seems different from the Everfree. It doesn't seem as dark, giving off a more... peaceful feeling. I look over to see Celestia replant the tree before looking back to me. "Where are we?" I ask. "This is still part of the Everfree... but something's off about the area," she says as she looks around a bit. "This must be the most peaceful part of the Everfree." Luna says as she walks around a bit. "Well... that's fun and all, but we should head out. We need to get back to Ponyville-" "Give us a minute to set the sun, it’s been out for a day now... that can't be good." Celestia says as she flies into the air. Luna shoots me a smile before she flies after her. I look around some more, inspecting the tree's some more before the world turns dark. I look up at the sky from the clearing we made by moving the tree. The sky is slowly turning from light blue to dark blue, eventually turning black. As the sky dimmed the stars started to shine through, each one coming out one by one until there were too many to count. "Ahem." I look down to see Celestia and Luna both staring at me, Celestia looking slightly annoyed while Luna has a big smile on her face. "Right... anyway, let’s get going... which way do we go?" Celestia shakes her head as she charges her horn and teleports us to the back of my home. "Oh... yeah... magic." I say as I walk into my now empty home. I walk to the front room where I find all of the girls, each of them looking saddened as they share a group hug. Twilight and Applejack are in the center of the group, both holding each other as they cry lightly into each other. "What happened-" "MILES! PRINCESS! Where have you all been!" Twilight says as she they all look up at us in surprise. "Miles found his way home and needed assistance getting back. What’s the condition of Ponyville?" Celestia says as she walks over to Twilight so they can share a quick hug. "Well... Princess... they told us that they killed you and Luna. Saying that was the reason the sun was still out.... so Ponyville surrendered-" "WHAT!" Celestia and Luna both yell. "Where are Storm and Big Mac?" I ask, making Twilight and Applejack slump back. "Let me guess, they surrendered so they would leave all of you alone." "How did you-" "Spartans never give up without something worth protecting." I say as I head out the front door and look out at Ponyville. The town seems to be alright, no fires, no screams... "Miles, you can't go to Ponyville." I look back to see Twilight standing behind me. "And why's that?" I ask as I look back out. There was a fight recently around the front of my home. I can tell because of the blood stains... but where are the bodies? "They told us that if anypony tried to enter the town... they would start killing prisoners... starting with Storm and Big Mac." "How long have they've been captured?" "About an hour-" "Good. I'm heading over-" "You can't!" She yells as she grabs me with her magic. "If you go they'll be killed!" "Teleport us to the roof." "What?" "Teleport us to the roof." She looks at me in confusion but looks away in shame. "I can't." "Why not?" "They put this black substance on my horn that's blocking my magic... I can't do anything." "That's a lie-" "How is that a lie? I can't do anything without my magic! What could I possibly do-" "You could be strong." I say as I look back to her. She looks away from me so I walk over to her and pull her chin so she's looking at me. "Magic is a skill you have, but it's not what defines you. You are stronger then you think, and I need you to use that strength right now to help me get through this. I have a plan, but we need everyone at their best for it to work. What do you say?" She looks down for a bit before she looks back to me with a more confident smile. "You can count on me." "Atta girl. Now go inside and let everyone know we're going out to do a little recon." She nods to me and runs inside... okay, now I need a plan. I look back out to the town and try to make out whatever I can... but from this distance in the dark, it proves to be pointless. "Okay, let's get going." Twilight says as she trots up to my side. "Alright... see that tree over there, we're going to make a run for it. Keep low, and try to be as quiet as possible, ready?" "Ready." We run off for the tree, keeping as low as possible as we run through the cool night air. When we made it to the tree I slide down against it, Twilight lying beside me. "OK, what now?" "I'll climb the tree and try to look into Ponyville, you watch the area around us. If you see anyone coming near us, give the tree a few taps and stay low." I lay my rifle against the tree and pull myself up the lowest branch. I motion for Twilight too pass me my rifle and continue the rest of the way up with it. When I get as high as I could go I peer out through the leaves towards Ponyville. I can see a few ponies being lead back and forth by Diamond Dogs. It seems that they're collecting metal in the middle of town. The few unicorns I do see have the black sludge on their horns, and all of the pegasus have their wings chained up. I look around some more until I see Storm Cloud and Big Mac. They're in the town square, chained up with they're fore hooves being held above their head. Storms still in his armor, but there's a dog in front of him, playing with his sword... TAP...TAP...TAP... I look down to see Twilight hiding behind the tree. I look to the opposite direction of her hiding to see three dogs walking towards us. "Twilight-" I whisper to her. "Shh Miles! They're getting closer!" Twilight says in a hushed tone. "Run to my place and get the others. Head straight for town square and rescue Storm and Mac, I'll provide cover." I say as I take aim at the dogs. "Miles don't-" PEW PEW PEW I send three rounds at them, dropping them instantly. I turn my attention back to town square and aim for the guard playing with Storm's sword. He's looking around in confusion, sniffing the air. I calculate where the round will go, set the rifle to single fire and pull the trigger, sending a red bolt down and hitting him square in the head. I keep my focus on the area around Storm and Mac, killing any dogs that enter the area with precise shots. Storm and Mac look around in confusion, but by the third dog they get smug smiles and look out to me. Another dog comes up behind them, only to get a round in his throat. He isn't dead on the ground, so I try to end his misery, only to hear the rifle click. I pull open the gem slide and start to refill the gems as quickly as possible. Once they're filled I look back to Storm and Mac, seeing three dogs interrogating the two of them. I aim and set my order, going left to right I pull the trigger and send three bolts down, hitting them each in the back. They fall to the ground and start to wiggle around, yelling out in pain. One of them tries to get up, but I send a round into the back of his neck, killing him. "Miles!" I hear Luna call out. "Up here." I say as I focus on the dogs. I can see a few of them peering out from cover, but being too scared to do anything. "Can you give the girls cover so they can get to Storm Cloud and Big Macintosh?" "I've got the alley covered, go ahead and send them down... what about the rest of you?" "We're going to the mass of metal and securing that and any prisoners we come across. Once we have that we'll make our presence known and take back Ponyville." "Alright... stay safe." "You to." I watch the road as Twilight and Applejack run towards town square. A few dogs come out ahead of them, but quickly get red bolts in their face and skull. They run past them and continue down into the square. I send two more shots at the downed dogs, just to be safe. They talk for a few seconds before they start searching the bodies, eventually finding keys and unlocking Storm and Big Mac. They hug for a moment before they each pick up swords, Storm getting his and Big Mac scavenging some random one. Twilight motions for me to come down to them, so I jump out of the tree and start jogging into town. I look from house to house, seeing ponies looking out from their windows. Most that see me smile and cheer me on, while others run inside. "What took you so long?" Storm asks as he sheaths his sword. "Sorry, I got side tracked. I'm back now, so now we take back Ponyville. What can you tell me?" "The leaders are in town hall. Most of the guards are underground, so we should get moving." I nod to him and start moving to town hall, the four of them following closely behind. "How did you get side tracked?" Big Mac asks. "I found Topaz... and went in." I hear them all stumble for a moment before they follow after me. "I know it wasn't the best time to have done that... I was being impulsive and went anyway." "So-" Storm starts. "Topaz fell. The only thing left there were destroyed buildings and frenzied bots." "Oh... sorry to hear that... are you going to be alright?" Storm asks as I walk up to the door of town hall. I step forward and kick the door in, sending it flying in. I walk in with my weapon raised, looking for any targets. I see the receptionist hiding behind the counter, peering out at us. I walk forward and check my sides before heading to the back door. It's already open, so I walk in and check my sides before I head up the stairs. When I reach the top and glance back to the rest of them. Storm and Big Mac are the only ones with me right now, each with their swords out. I smack the butt of my rifle into the door, breaking it and opening it slightly. I walk in and look around to only see thee grey griffin and a Diamond Dog waiting for us, each just standing there. "So you made it out of the metal city after all. That's good, that's good. I need you alive for later." The grey one says to me. "Under Terradisian jurisdiction, you are to be arrested and tried for illegal trespassing and theft of government property, but since we're the only Terradisians here, I'll pass judgement on you." I say as I approach them, Storm and Big Mac moving to their sides. "Go ahead, pass judgement." He says as he rears up and holds his arms out, a large smile growing on his face. I flare my hand and pull towards me, pulling him down and pinning him to the desk. The dog tried to run, but Big Mac stabbed him in the gut, killing him instantly. I walk over to him and prepare to pull information out from him, when he starts to laugh. "What's so funny?" Storm asks as he walks out in front of him. "Oh... nothing... it's not like I'm the one who's about to let the one I love die." He says as he glances over to me. "SHUT THE FUCK UP!" I yell as I slam the butt of my rifle into his side, getting him to laugh harder. I flare my other hand swirl it around, enveloping my hand in the white energy. "Miles... maybe we should just kill him." Big Mac says as he glares down at him. "We will, but first I want to know what he knows." "Hope you enjoy this." He says as I slide my hand into his consciousness. I immediately find resistance from him, so I start to force my way further into his mind. I can feel an area that's weaker then everywhere else, so I press there and break through. I find myself in the underground cavern from before, watching him return to it as dogs run all about. "What's next Steelwing?" The dog from town hall asks as he runs up on all fours. "Everything is going according to plan. Next we move to capture the princesses. Get your dogs ready in Canterlot and we'll start as soon as they appear." The dog nods and barks to some other dogs, who run off into the cave. "Do you truly believe we can capture the giant ponies?" He asks as they all walk off towards the entrance. "Of course. Luna will surrender to us, which will make Celestia surrender afterwards. It's all part of the plan." He says as he walks up to a wall and taps on it making it slide down to reveal another open room with hundreds of dogs, griffins and several smaller dragons. "Oh, and for the human listening to us right now... surprise." KRACK I suddenly tear away from his consciousness as something hits me on the side, sending me to the ground. I look up to see the red and yellow dragon from before standing over me, with his one good wing out. He has a large scar going across his chest, starting at the left of his hip and going up to his right shoulder. He's holding a long weapon I've never seen before. It looks like it should be a spear, but has a curved swords blade at one end, and a squared off bottom at the other. "I told you to watch your back." He says before he slams the bottom of his weapon into my head, knocking me out.
Chapter 74 The TradeChapter 74 The Trade When I wake up I find myself laying on a table, my wrist and ankles locked in place. My shirt has been removed and my weapons are missing, but everything else of mine is still on me. A bright light is shining above me, forcing me to look to my side. The rest of the room is too dark to make anything out, but I can hear someone moving around. "MMM...mm?" I try to call out to them, but I can't open my mouth. I try to break free, but the clasps are too strong for me to break. I try to reach my magic, but since my arms are tied down, I can only manage to bring the flames up. "Heh heh heh, you're awake, good. I like my test subjects to be awake." Says a male voice in the dark. I see the light move to my left side, forcing me to look away from it. "Now, do try and hold still, I wouldn't want to ruin such a fine specimen." The voice says as I feel something start to cut my side open. I try to yank myself away as I moan out in pain. "Now, now. Try and relax..." "MMMM! MMMM MMM!" I try to shout out as I flare my hands. "You will find that using magic will...oh. Now that is peculiar." He says as I force the lines to grow. I push it past my potestatum anulumns, trying to cover my entire body in the lines. I push myself until I'm completely covered in the lines, burning my clothes of and making my armor shine brightly. I hear a door open and shut as I sit there, maxed out and waiting for whatever's going to happen next to come. I hear the door open again, followed by the sound of chains being dragged on the ground... Perspective: Storm I wake up in the office with an odd head ache. The last thing I remember was the dragon crashing through the window and throwing this green powder at me and Big Mac. I look over to see Big Mac starting to get up, picking up his sword. I get to my hooves, re-sheath my sword and walk around the table, looking for Miles. "STORM!" I look over to see Twilight running up to me. I catch her in a hug and hold her tightly. "Are you two alright? You've been out fer almost an hour now." Applejack says as she lets go of Big Mac. "Eeyup." "Yeah, I'm good. Where's Miles?" I ask as I let go of Twilight. "The dragon took him after he knocked him out. We watched from the stairs.... I'm sorry. I wish we could have done something, but without my magic..." "Hey, you did what you could. Even with your magic I wouldn't want you fighting dragons, that's my job." I say to her, nuzzling her cheek a bit as she looks away. "We need to link up with the Princesses and try to find Miles." I say to Big Mac as I start to trot down the stairs. "Eeyup." He says as he follows after me, with Twi' and Applejack bringing up the rear. We walk to the front door but stop when it swings open before us. "Oh.... hey Luna." I say weakly as Luna looks around the room. "Greetings Storm... where's Miles?" "Yeah... about that..." "What happened?" She asks as she starts to look worried. "Uh... he's been... captured... LUNA, WAIT UP!" As soon as I said captured she turned around and took off into the air. I jumped into the air and chased after her, gaining on her slowly. "PRINCESS LUNA! WAIT!" I yell out to her, getting her to stop and hover in place. "Wait? Miles is in trouble and you want to wait." "Yes. We don't know where they took Miles or if it's even the same group that took the other ponies. All we know is that the red and yellow dragon from before is the one who did it. We also know that he has some kind of sleeping powder in his arsenal. We also know... that they know that you love him..." "How would they know that?" Luna asks with a new look of concern. "The griffin we were interrogating mentioned to Miles something about getting the mare he loved killed... I really think you should sit this one out..." "I will do no such thing! I..." "LUNA! Think straight for a second! They planned for Miles to try and reach into his mind! They probably have something planned for your arrival as well." I yell at her, getting her to look away and think about what I said. "We can handle this... but for your safety, please step aside... if you got hurt, it would devastate Miles..." "And you think that feeling doesn't go both ways? I want him back, and I want to find those responsible for this and make them pay..." "And they will. But let’s not do anything irrational right now. Look, let’s just meet up with Celestia and see what she has to say." She thinks about what I said for a moment before she nods and starts to fly away, shedding a single tear as she does so. I sigh and follow after her, hopefully we can get this sorted out quickly. I fly over Twilight and the others and motion for them to follow after me, getting a wave in response. We follow Luna towards a massive pile of metal in the shopping district, finding Celestia at the far end of it. Luna lands on the close end and starts to try to hide the fact that she was crying. "Sorry for yelling at you Luna..." "It's alright, just... just give me a minute OK." She says as she wipes her face clean and takes a few deep breaths. I look over and see Twilight and the others approaching us, so I motion for them to go to the other side. Big Mac and Applejack listen, but Twilight continues to trot towards me. "Uh... Twilight. Could you-" "How are you holding up Luna?" She asks as she walks up to her. "I'll be better once we get Miles back." "Don't worry, we'll get him back-" "I know we will, I won't let them keep him. I'm just worried about the condition we'll get him back in." Perspective: Miles "AAAAAHHHHH!" I scream as the hooked chains slam against my chest. The three chains end in metal hooks that dig deep into my chest. The unknown person yanks back on the chains, cutting me open but not pulling out the hooks. He gives a couple more pulls on it before he yanks it out, tearing three strips of flesh out along with it. I scream out again as I feel blood start to pour out from the wounds. As I try to yank myself free from the now glowing metal clasps. I start to get light headed from blood loss and fatigue. The more I pull, the more I start to fade out. "Oh now don't pass out just yet Miles. We only just started." Says the unknown person. "Go fuck yourself." I say from bloody lips. When I had screamed out I had pulled the skin off my lips and now have a steady stream of blood pouring into my mouth. I rolled my head to the side in an attempt to keep the blood from drowning me, but the unknown person had tied my head back, so I'm always looking up. USE US. USE US. I can't... USE US. USE US. I want to... I can't... "So Miles, shall we continue or are you still going to fight me?" Asks the unknown person as he jingles the chain around. "Go... go... go fuck... yourself..." "That's unfortunate." He says before he slams the other end of the chain onto my chest. I hold my breath and try not to scream out again, focusing all my energy on staying awake and at this power level. He slams the hooked part into my legs next, piercing my right thigh and knee and my left thigh. I grunt and moan in pain but don't allow myself to scream. "What? No more screams? Don't worry, we'll find them..." He gives one, hard, yank on the chain; tearing strips of flesh from my legs. Again, I moan, but do not scream. I hear him bring the chains back to strike again, but stops when there's a knock at the door. "What now." He says as he walks over and opens the door. As he talks to someone outside I try to pull free again. The metal is hot enough now that it's starting to give when I pull, but not enough yet to let me break free. USE US. USE US. I WANT TO! I WANT TO ESCAPE! I WANT TO RIP THAT FUCKERS HEAD OFF AND MAKE HIM SUFFER! "Good news Miles. The torture will have to end now, but I look forward to the next time we get to play our little game." The unknown person says as he waves something in front of my face... I think I smell chloroform. Perspective: Storm When Luna finally collects herself enough to walk around and meet up with Celestia on the other side of the pile of metal. Celestia's talking with a few guards and Shining Armor. I walk beside Big Mac and Applejack and wait for Celestia to finish up with them. Luna walks up beside Celestia and listens to the conversation, putting on a serious face as the guard’s salute and run off into town. The three of them walk up to us, making Twilight and Applejack bow. "Where is Miles?" Celestia asks. I glance over and see Luna take a deep breath but keep her serious face about herself. "Miles was captured by a dragon. Big Mac and I were knocked unconscious, so we weren't able to go after him." "Why would they want Miles?" Shining asks. Before anypony could say anything, we hear the ground behind me start to shake, getting me to stand up and pull out my sword. From out of the ground comes a single dog, waving a white flag. "Don't hurt me, I have a message for the large pony regarding the almost dog." He says as he steps out of the ground. "I take it..." Celestia starts to say but stops when I step in front of her. "If you have anything regarding Miles, you tell it to me. The Equestrians have no business dealing with Terradisian dealings." I say as I step towards the dog. The dog looks between the two of us in confusion before he takes a step back. "Uh... its only for the-" "You have five seconds to tell me what it is or I take your head off-" "Uh..." "One…" "But I..." "Two..." "Alpha says..." "Three..." "Alright! Alpha says that he will trade the not dog for the blue large pony and if you say no, we'll kill him." He says as he steps closer to his tunnel. I whip my sword around and send a gust of wind at him, knocking over the hole and onto his back. I fly over to the dog and stab him in the gut, getting a high-pitched whine from him. "Go to hell and tell your alpha NO." I say as I twist my sword in his gut, making him whine some more. I pull my blade out and walk towards the hole, looking at all of the shocked looks from everypony. "Big Mac..." "Eeyup." He says before he jumps into the hole. I look to Twilight for a second before I say "We'll be back, with Miles." I jump up and fall into the hole, falling down a bit before I hit the bottom. I look over to Big Mac before we both start to run down the tunnel, stopping when we hear something drop behind us. "Luna!? What are you doing down here?" I ask as she walks up to us. "Thinking ahead. If I come along they won't try to fight you. They also won't kill Miles before you get to him. Now put your swords away and escort us to Miles." "Us?" I ask as Shining and Celestia land behind her. "Fine, just follow my lead alright." I say as I sheath my sword and lead the way down the tunnel, keeping Luna between Big Mac and myself. I don't like having her here with us... but she has a good point. We walk down the path for a while until we get stopped by a patrol. We tell them we're here for the trade and follow them to the trading destination. Along the way we get another patrol to follow after us, making eight dogs in total. We go through the maze of tunnels until we come to a dead end, where the guards turn to us. "Okay, only two can come with the blue one." "Alright, Big Mac and I will-" "You two will not do this without me. Storm and I will be the ones to handle the trade. Everypony else will stay back here." Celestia says as she walks up to Luna. "Okay, the grey one and the white one can go, the rest of you will wait here." The dog says as the other dogs dig a hole in the wall, revealing a large room. We walk in and stop almost immediately when something behind us makes the ground shake. I look back to see two dragons guarding the back of the room. The one on the right is the same shade of blue as Luna while the other one is multi colored; being black with a silver under tone body while his wings and spikes are metallic blue and transition to metallic green. They're both adolescents, but are easily taller than Celestia by at least a foot. They each have a weird sword spear weapon in their claws. "So glad you made it, I don't think the human would have made it much longer." I turn back to see the red and yellow dragon walking towards us, carrying Miles on his shoulder. He stops and drops Miles to the ground, getting soft moans from him as he rolls over and reveals the large, bloody, wounds on his chest and legs. "So we doing this trade or not?" The dragon asks with a smug smile on his face. I look down to see Miles flare his magic and yank his hands back and forth, slowly breaking the chains off of his wrist and legs. We need to stall them. "What is the meaning of this!" I say before anypony could say anything. "You've nearly killed him! And you want us to give you Luna, unharmed?" I say as I look back to the two of them and wink. They still give me looks of astonishment as I look back to the dragon. "If you want to beat her up first, then go ahead." He says as Miles removes the braces on his legs and works on the ones on his wrist. He needs a little more time... "I think you should heal Miles up first, then we trade." "No. Either hand over the blue pony or I toast him." "Have you met Miles before... well I know you have..." I say as I point at his missing wing. "Fire isn't really a problem for him." "Then let’s test-" "PATI ET MORI!" Miles yells as he throws off the chains and pushes his arms up, sending two columns of earth and pinning the dragon against the roof of the cave. I draw my sword and swing at the dragon behind me, making him stagger back. I was about to charge at him when a black beam hits him in the gut and makes the rest of him fade away. I look back to see Miles on a knee, pointing his fist toward where the dragons used to stand. He staggers up, keeping off his right leg and faces the red dragon. He looks up to the red dragon and lifts a hand towards him and holds it there. "Do your worst," the dragon says before he takes a breath in and blows a column of fire at him. Miles waves his free hand to the side and ends the flame, confusing the dragon. He starts to close his hand, getting the dragon to jolt and try to shake free of the earthen grasp. Miles next to start to pull his hand towards himself, getting the dragon to shake more and roar out in pain until he falls unconscious. With a final yank Miles pulls out the dragon’s heart from his chest, making blood pour from the hole and the still beating heart. He holds it the for a second before he closes his fist, crushing the heart into a bloody ball the same size of Miles's fist. Miles drops the heart as he falls over, getting the three of us to run to his side. I roll him over and put an ear to his chest, listening for his heart. "He's got a beat... its weak, but it's there. We need to get him to a hospital now!" I say as I look up to Celestia and Luna. "I'll get the others and teleport us to safety, just hold on." Celestia says as she runs over to the entrance. Luna comes to his side and starts to magically heal his wounds, getting his wounds to slowly close up. I can see her on the verge of tears as she looks down at Miles, inspecting his cuts. "He'll pull through Luna... I know he will." I reassure her. "I can't heal his bones... something is stopping me from healing his knee-" "Then just focus on the cuts. We need to stop the bleeding." Celestia runs back with Shining and Big Mac, Big Mac's sword is covered in blood and dented in a few different places. Celestia takes a moment before she charges her horn and teleports us to the hospital. "We need to get him some help!" I yell to the confused nurses, getting them to run over and take over the healing spell. The rest of us are escorted to the waiting room as a bunch of nurse ponies run over to him and carry him off into the hospital. Miles... you better pull through. Perspective: Unknown I sit back in my chair, taking another sip of my wine as I enjoy the night air from my balcony. I hear a knock from the door as my butler walks in. "So sorry to disturb you, but Steelwing has returned." "Good. Bring him to me." "Right away." He says as he walks back out of my study. When I hear the door open I ask "How did it go?" "Well... we don't have the Princess, the human lived, and all of the prisoners were rescued-" "Perfect." "Should we move on to the next phase?" "Yes, and I'm curious. How is your new agent working out?" "Heh, things are going perfectly, slow but with perfect results. He played right into my claw. Though I'm curious, why did you send the surgeon to torture the human?" "For show of course. And don't worry about time. Good things to those who wait." I say before I take another sip. I toss the glass off the side of the balcony and stand up, glaring out at the world. "Uh..." "Soon, the world will be brought to its knees as it begs me for mercy. I live for that day, but I will have to wait. Move on with our plans! Move with caution though, remember, time is on our side." I say as I walk into my study and pull on a book, making a secret passageway open up. "I am leaving now. I expect you to handle everything from here on out until I return to Equestria. The Darkness, is coming." Author's Note DUN DUN DUUUUUUN! Shout out to blood wolf and TheTownCrier for picking the color schemes of the two dragons. Thanks for reading, and like always, Brony on!
Chapter 75 WantingChapter 75 Wanting Perspective: Miles Beep.... beep.... beep.... beep.... beep... beep... I open my eyes and find myself in a hospital room, the soft beeps from the E.K.G. machine waking me up. Well... time for the routine. I look down to see that I'm wearing a green patient gown... well, at least I'm not naked. Next I look over to my left to look out the window and see that it's day time... nearly noon. I feel a numbness all over my body so I decide to heal myself. I raise my hand and bring it to my chest... only to have it caught by a blue aura. I look over to my right and see Luna... "No." "Uh..." "No magic. The doctors say you have three broken ribs, a shattered knee cap, deep tissue lacerations and that your power is fluctuating uncontrollably, why is that Miles?" "Uh... I held my power at its limits so they couldn't operate on me-" "Exactly. You pushed yourself to your limits so now you don't get to heal yourself. I get to." She says as she levitates my hand to my side. "O...K... so, when are you going to heal me-" "When I understand your bones a little better. Now you lay back and relax." She says as she levitates a glass of water over to me and holds it to my lips. I take a drink from the glass, greedily gulping down the entire glass. "So, are you going to be my care taker then?" I ask as she levitates the glass to the table. "Only during the day when I can get away. When I'm not here, Storm or one of the others will be here with you." She says as she levitates a plate of hospital food over and scoops up some green stuff. She tries to feed it to me, but I keep my mouth shut. "Miles, you need to eat." "Yeah, but not the grass-" "Miles-" "It’s disgusting!" "Oh please. I've seen the food you ate back in Topaz, now open up." I shake my head and hold my mouth shut, getting Luna to squint her eyes. She opens my mouth with her magic and forces the spoon into my mouth. She closes my mouth and pulls the spoon out, forcing me to keep the pulp grass in my mouth. I chew the food and wince at the terrible taste, getting her to smile. "Thank you." "Oh sweet Barbra that has to be the worst tasting thing in all of Terra, please don't make me eat another bite." I say after I swallow the grass... nearly puking it back up. She sighs and takes a small bite from the spoon and goes wide eyed. "Okay... maybe no grass. Would you like anything the next time I come over?" "Hm... spaghetti, with lots of noodles." She gives me a smile and kisses me on the forehead. "Alright, spaghetti it is then." She says before she gives me a quick kiss on the nose. "So..." I say as I pull myself up a bit. "How long was I out this time?" "Just a day." Only a day... pretty good given my record. "How is everyone?" "Well..." She says as she looks out the window, looking a bit down. "Many were injured, several died... luckily the effects of that black sludge only lasted a few hours. I have a meeting tomorrow with Regina to discuss who this Steelwing is. Apparently, he's been making trouble for the United Griffin Colonies for some time now." "Hmm.... be sure to let me know if you get a lead on him... I want my stuff back-" "We have your stuff. Storm and Big Mac went back down and found all of it, it’s all back at your home now, along with most of the scavenged weapons from the dogs." She looks back out the window and stands up. "I'm sorry... I have to get going... I'll see you as soon as possible..." "Promise?" "Promise." She says as she leans her head against mine. "Ego amare te." "Ego amare te magis." She says as she crawls onto the bed and lays next to me. I wrap my arms around her and hold her as she leans her nose against mine. "Ego amare te maxime." She leans in and starts planting kisses all over me. My cheeks, forehead, nose, everywhere except my lips. I try to kiss her, but she's avoiding my lips. "Is something wrong?" "I... sorry. It's just, I'm a little scared your lips will break open." "Oh, right. It's okay." I say as she starts to get off the bed, but stops when I grab her leg. "Miles-" "Hmm... no kisses. I think I should get a different form of love then." She laughs a little and reaches over, giving me a light hug. I wrap my arms around her and hold her lightly, stroking her hair slowly. "I really have to get going..." She whispers into my ear as she holds onto me. "I know... I'll see you next time." We hold each other a little longer before she lets go of me and gets off the bed. "I'll be here tomorrow, with spaghetti..." She says as she starts to walk out the room, walking backwards. "Only if you can get here without being in trouble." "Don't worry about that, get plenty of rest. Drink lots of water..." She says as she tip toes her way out the door. "I will. I love you. Now get going." "Bye." She says as she walks out the door and shuts it, then opens it back up. "I love you too!" She says as she pokes her head back in and then pulls it back out. I laugh a bit as I lay back and try to relax, only to hear the door slam open. "MILES!" Pinkie Pie yells as she runs into the room and leaps onto me, making me scream out in pain as she hugs me tightly. "AH! Pinkie! Pain! Chest!" I yell as she jumps off, letting me double over as the pain throbs from my ribs. "Oh... sorry about that." She says as others walk into the room. Everyone is here. The girls, Storm and Big Mac, the... kid girls, Spike and oddly enough Shining and Cadence. They all fill the room up, all of the adults taking a space around me as the young ones and Spike get up on my bed to my right. "Aw...ow... hey... what's up," I pant as the pain subsides. "We all decided to come and check up on you, how are you feeling?" Scootaloo says. "Well... other than the slight pain in my chest, pretty good. How's Ponyville?" I ask. "It could have been a lot worse." Shining says. "Thanks to you we were able to get most of the civilians back, though a few were killed in the process. The damage was minimal, only a few burned down buildings-" "You really saved Ponyville." Cadence says, getting everyone to look up to me. "Pfft, no I didn't. I was gone for most of the fight. Not to mention I got captured. No, Storm, Big Mac and Rainbow Dash are the hero's here, not me." I say, getting the three of them to blush from my recognition. "Yeah, but without your training we wouldn't have been nearly as effective as we were." Storm says as he wraps a wing around Twilight, getting her to lean into him. "Yeah, but that's beside the point. Let’s just say we all did our parts." I say, getting them to nod back in agreement. "So... how long are you going to be in the hospital?" Spike asks, getting everyone to lean in. "I'm stuck here until Luna can fix my knee-" "Why would Luna be the one to fix your knee?" Shining asks, making my heart drop. Not even a day into our relationship and I fucking slip up in front of everyone. Luna is going to... "Shining, you know why." Cadence says, making him think about it. Oh, fuck... does she know to? "Could everypony wait outside really quick, I need to have a word with Miles." Shining says, getting everyone except Storm and Big Mac to leave. "It’s alright guys. I've got this one." I say to them, getting them to nod and walk out the room. "So..." "There are a lot of things that I wish to discuss with you, but this one’s a little more important than the others, what did you do to them?" Shining asks. "I turned them into Spartans." "So, is that why they disrespect the Princesses?" "What did they do to disrespect Celestia and Luna?" "First off, they no longer bow to them. And they speak to them as if they... well... it's a little too informal." "Hmm... and?" I ask, getting them to both look at me with their mouths slightly hanging open. "And?! They are royalty! They should be treated as-" "That's where I need to stop you. As I said, I made them into Spartans. Being a person of that rank comes with several privileges, one of which is the ability to ignore ranks and office positions outside of the Spartan regiment. We only followed the Terradisian government because of tradition, not because they ordered us to." "So... what does that mean here then? How do you see me and Shining then?" Cadence asks as she steps closer to me. "I see you as civilians, just like how I see everyone else." Shining walks over to the window and stares out to Ponyville, thinking deeply about what I said. "So... how does one become a Spartan?" He asks as he continues to stare out at Ponyville. "Easy, a ranking member of the Spartan regiment has to deem you worthy to enter our ranks. Then you have to live through the training..." "And this training, is it tough?" "Look, I know where you’re going with this, and the answer is no. I will not train you-" "Why not?! I'm the captain of the royal guard, I can handle-" "Could you denounce Equestria as your home and country? Speak down to the Princesses? I see the resolve in your eyes to protect this country, and it's admirable. But because of that, you will never be a Spartan." He looks to me for a second before he looks back out the window. The room falls quiet for a bit before Cadence walks over to Shining and whispers something into his ear. He sighs before turning back to me. "Alright, now for my next concern. You and Luna-" "What exactly do you know?" I ask as I glance between the two of them. "I know you love each other." Cadence says. "My special talent is true love, and I see it in the two of you... I've known about it ever since the invasion." "OK... so, what happens now?" I ask as I stare back at the two of them, silently hoping for the best. They look to one another and have wordless conversation with each other. After what feels like an eternity or waiting Shining finally sighs and looks back to me. "As much as I want to tell Celestia about this... I will not get involved in this. But... just promise me that you won't do anything that would-" "I already know Luna's boundaries and will fully respect them. Though you may not believe it, I am a man of my word and I promise nothing bad will come from this... thank you." "Yeah...well we need to get going. I'll come by another time to talk to you about a few of my other concerns." He says as he starts to head to the door. Cadence walks up to me and gives me a small hug as she whispers "please don't hurt Luna again.... she needs you." "I won't.... I need her to." I whisper back before she gets off and walks out the room, dragging a confused looking Shining along the way. I sit quietly in the room for a bit, thinking deeply about what just transpired, when the door opens again. I watched as everypony starts to wa.... did I just think every... pony? Oh sweet Barbra... she's rubbing off on me. The next day I lay on the bed staring at the clock is a dazed state of utter boredom. Everyone's visit from yesterday was nice, plenty of promises of visits and wishes of wellbeing. But it's been a few hours since I woke back up... and there is nothing to do! I look back out the window and start to watch the clouds go by... again. TICK... *SIGH* well... what else is there to do? I look back to the lamp next to me and press the button on, then off, then on, off, on, off-on-off-on-off-on-off. TOCK... The door suddenly opens, getting my hopes up for some kind of distraction. A nurse walked in, reading a chart. She's all white with pink hair that's up in a bun and has a mark of a red plus sign. She looks up from her chart and then back down to the chart. "Sorry, wrong room." She says before she turns and walks out of the room. TICK.... GAH! I need something to do! I'M SO BORED! I look down at my hands and contemplate healing myself to get away from this torment... no. I promised Luna I wouldn't, so I won't. TOCK... I think I'm going to destroy that clock if I hear one more fucking... "Miles?" I look over to see Luna walking into the room, carrying a something wrapped in a deep blue cloth on her back. "LUNA!" I say rather loudly as I sit up. "Shhush! Do you want the whole hospital to know I'm here?" She says as she walks over to me and sets the bundle down on the end of the bed. "At this point... no. Sorry, I'm just extremely bored right now.... what’s that?" I ask as I point to the bundle. Luna looks over to the clock then back to me. "It's only eleven... anyway. I have brought you... spaghetti!" She says as she unwraps the bundle and shows me a ceramic bowl of spaghetti. "Alright." I say as I clap my hands together and rub them together. I look around for a second before I ask "did you bring any forks?" "Shoot! I knew I forgot something." She says as she sets the bowl down and looks around. "Just give me.... that’s gross Miles." When she had started to talk, I reached over and grabbed some noodles with my fingers. "What? It's all good." I say before I lift the noodles up and bring them down into my mouth. Luna shakes her head as she walks around to the other side of my bed. "Aright, either I stay till one or till five. If I stay till five I will have to take a nap..." "I'm all for you taking a nap here... but are you sure you can handle that though?" I ask before I grab some more noodles and chow down on them. "It's not like I'll be needing the energy, plus..." she says as she gets on my bed and lays her head across my stomach. "I think it'll be worth it." I smile at her and was about to stroke her mane, but stopped when I saw how messy my hands are. I reach over and grab some more noodles and present them to Luna. She gives me a look that says 'are you serious’, but shrugs and puts my fingers into her mouth. I feel her tongue work its way around my fingers as it pulls the noodles from my grasp. She then lifts her head up as she sucks up the noodles and sauce from fingers. I play with her tongue a bit before she lifts her head up again, sucking my fingers until they pop out of her mouth. "Oh sweet Barbra..." I mutter as she chews the noodles and swallows them. "MMM, delicious." She says before she lays her head back down... only to go wide eyed and start to grow red. "Uh.... Miles." "Hm?" "Think you can put that away?" "Put what away?" I ask. She looks up and picks her head up and looks over at my.... oh, wow. I'm at full attention and saluting proudly. "Oh.... that. Sorry... uh...yeah, I don't know how to deal with that without a cold shower." She looks over at it and stares at it for a moment before I shuffle a bit, making her look back to me, with an even larger blush. "I-It's alright... just.... let's just ignore it for now. I'll take this chance to read over your bones." She says as she closes her eyes and charges her horn. I see her aura field envelope my knee and start to make a numbing sensation start to emanate from it. I sit back and wait for her to finish up, watching her face focus so intently on the task at hand. It should be illegal to be this beautiful... " I think I can fix it now." She says as she opens her eyes and looks back to me. "But I'm going to take it easy at first. I'm only going to do your ribs for now, OK?" Part of me thinks she only wants to take it slowly so she can keep visiting me at the hospital... but the other part of me doesn't really mind. "Go for it." She nods to me and starts to move her aura field from my knee to my chest. I grab the sheets as I feel her magic begin to influence my bones, forcing them to fuse back together. I watch as her face contorts a bit and suddenly envelopes my entire body, sending the healing magic everywhere. "Luna... what.... what are you doing?" She lets go of the magic and shakes her head a bit before she looks back to me. "I-I'm sorry. I don't know what happened...I..." Before she finishes I reach over and feel my knee. It's perfect. I feel my ribs next and find them to be perfectly fine as well. "Huh... well... at least my hospital visits are consistent." I say as I stand up and test out my knee by squatting a couple of times. "I-I... this shouldn't have been this easy-" "I thought you said you were a good healer." I say as I sit back on the bed. "I... well...uh..." She stumbles as she tries to think of something. I laugh as I lean over and give her a quick kiss on the lips. "You just wanted a reason to see me, didn't you?" " *sigh* yes. It's just... I know that without a better reason... I won't get to see you as often as I would want to... please don't be mad." She says as her ears drop. I put my hand on the back of her head and pull her in for another kiss. "Does this mean you forgive me?" She mumbles from our lips. I respond by kissing her even more, pulling her in and holding her tightly. She puts her forelegs over my shoulders as she positions herself so she's laying on top of me. I push my tongue into her mouth and begin to tease her tongue, giving little licks and backing away before she could do anything. With a small chuckle, she pushes me out of my mouth and sends her tongue into my mouth. oh. It. Is. On. I hold onto her and roll over, putting me on top of her and making her give a small eep. I break our kiss and plant my lips on her neck. Sucking, nipping, swirling my tongue around, anything that makes her squirm. "M-Miles-AH...Ok-ok-ok-ok, you win, you MMM! Oh...keep doing thAT!" With a long lick, I stop my assault on her neck and quickly get off of her. "What's wrong? Why did you stop?" She asks, almost begging. "Heh, I think it's time to go home." I say, making her ear drop as she gives me her pouty face. "Though I think I should stay under doctor supervision for at least a few more days, what do you think?" She brightens up from this as charges her horn up. "I think that would be for the best.... don't forget the spaghetti." I grab hold of the bowl just before we teleport to my kitchen. I look around to see that it’s a complete mess. The sink is over flowing, the floor is covered in mud, there's red paste all over the cabinets, counters, fridge... everywhere, and Lupus is sitting in the fridge... eating... "What the fuck is he eating?" I ask as I walk over to him. Luna walks up but turns around, gagging at the sight. "Ugh...I believe it’s.... uuh... tripe." She says as she begins to walk away. "What the fuck is tripe?" I ask as Lupus finishes up and trots out of the fridge, looking as proud as ever. "Don't worry about it, let’s just clean this mess up..." "Yeah, how did my place get so dirty anyway?" I ask as I put the spaghetti in the fridge and go to turn the water off. "Well... it's not like I could cook over at the castle without getting everypony to notice." She says coyly. Damn girl... how do you manage to make such large messes? The clean-up doesn't take long, thanks to Luna using her magic to take care of most of it. By the end I notice Luna yawning a bit so I decide to lead her upstairs to take her nap. I was going to lead her to the guest bedroom but she went to my room without a word, dragging me along the way. She sets me down by the window as she begins to get under the covers. "Could you please close the blinds?" She asks as she lays down. I close the blinds and was about to leave the room when Luna levitates me onto the bed. "I thought we were going to take a nap together." She says as she rolls over to face me. I smile and start to climb over her to get to my dresser, pulling out my phone. "What are..." "What time do you want to get up?" I ask as I go to the alarm clock. "Uh... four..." "Alright, four it is then." I say as I set the alarm. I put my phone on the dresser next to me and start to get under the sheets. Once I'm under I get on my side and pull Luna in close. She wraps her legs around me as she holds onto me, letting out a soft sigh as she begins to drift off to sleep. "How many days do you think we'll get that can be like this?" She asks as she holds me a little tighter. I slowly start to rub her back as I think about the best way to answer. "As many as we can get... but don't worry about that right now. Right now, you just get some sleep, alright?" "Alright." She says as she loosens her grip. How many more days do I get to have like this? Author's Note Shout out to desert rose for picking what Lupus was eating! Thanks for reading hope you enjoyed it. And like always, Brony on!
Chapter 76 Spartan PoliticsChapter 76 Spartan Politics Beep...beep...beep... beep...beep...beep... I roll over and turn off the alarm on my phone. With a quick stretch, I roll back over to Luna and put myself by her ear as I wrap my arms around her, putting her back to my stomach. "Hey..." "Uhhmmm..." "Time to get up." "Mmm... five more minutes." She mumbles as she turns around and buries her face in my chest. I laugh a little as she tries to get the best position possible, but her horns getting in the way. " *sigh* what time is it?" "Four." She sighs again and moves herself so we're face to face."Heh..." "Whats so funny?" She asks sleepily. "I didn't know you could get bed head with energy hair." There's a portion of her hair that's going flat out on the side of her head. I bring my hand to it and try to pat it down, but it's staying up fairly well. "Don't ask, I don't even get how it does that." She says before she gets up and heads to the restroom. I get up and get dressed, ends up I was naked under the hospital gown the entire time... whatever. I go and open my closet only to jump back as swords, axes, spears and other assorted weapons fall out. "What was that?" Luna calls out from the restroom. "Uh... when did my closet become filled with weapons?" I ask as I look through my closet. "Remember, I told you we left a bunch of the enemy weapons for you to keep." "Right..." I start to try to go through the weapons, sorting them on my bed as best I can. I don't get the swords. They're wide and thin, with only a single blade. Why do they do it like this? It makes their blades weaker, not to mention you limit your fighting capabilities. I hear the toilet flush as Luna walks out of the restroom, looking awake and refreshed. "What are you doing?" She asks as she walks up beside me. "Cataloging the weapons... do you know anything about these?" "Well... they're all of griffin design." "Right, would you happen to know why they make them single edged?" "So they don't cut themselves." She says as she levitates one to herself and positions it underneath her wing. "They don't use sheaths, so they put a single edge on it." She puts the blade back and looks at the assortment with a troubled expression. "You alright?" "Yeah, its just... I don't know why those dogs all had griffin weapons. Regina assured me that it was a black market deal, but Celestia isn't convinced." "I'm not either. Who arms a group of people to fail." "What do you mean fail?" "They had the numbers and the means to take the town, so why didn't they? Not to mention the assault force was larger then the occupational force. I don't like this, they had an objective that we either stopped them from reaching or were to blind to see them achieve it." The room falls quiet as we think about what really happened. Whatever they have planned, I'll be sure to put an end to it. "Let's forget about it for now and get something to eat." I say as I usher her out of the room and down the stairs. She takes a seat in the living room as I head into the kitchen and look for something for the both of us to eat. I open the fridge and look through it.... where's my spaghetti? SLURP... I look behind me to see Storm sitting at the kitchen table, eating my spaghetti. "Dude... did you eat my spaghetti?" I ask, making him jump a little as he looks back to me. We stare at each other for a second before he slowly starts to chew the food in his mouth. I walk up to him and look in the bowl to see that its now empty. "When did you get out of the hospital?" He asks after he gulps the last of my spaghetti. "Earlier today, did you really eat my spaghetti?" "What? How was I suppose to know it was yours?" "Miles?" Luna calls from the living room. Storm raises an eyebrow to me as I head into the living room to find Luna looking out the window. "I think you should see this." I walk up beside her and look out to see three massive, full grown dragons flying high above Ponyville. They all match the colors of the dragons from before; they're just larger. "What do you think they want?" I ask as I watch them fly around. "Probably revenge for their young being killed... I think you should stay inside... hey look, there's Twilight." I look down to see Twilight running full speed for my house. "STORM! MILES IS IN TROUBLE!" Twilight yells as she opens the door magically and heads straight to the back, missing us completely. "Should we go see what she wants?" I ask Luna as I look back. "Mmm, you should, I have to get going." She says before she gives me a quick peck on the lips. "Try your best to stay out of the hospital." "I will, so... when do you think I'll get to see you again?" "I... I don't know. I'll try to get over here as quickly as possible, but I don't know how soon that will be." I pull her in for a hug. She returns the love and we hold each other there for a bit until we hear a cough from the side. I look over to see Twilight and Storm staring at us.Twilight looks like she's on the verge of a heart attack while Storm is just smiling. Luna gives me a small peck on the cheek before she says "I have to leave now. I love you." "I love you to." I say before she lets go of me and trots up the stairs, trying her best to avoid Twilight's gaze. Once Luna's gone I stare back at Storm and Twilight, standing there awkwardly. "So... there are dragons..." "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" Twilight yells as she magically forces me to sit on the couch. "What do..." "Why was Princess Luna here!? What did she mean she loves you!? I thought this was just a little crush thing..." "Uh Twilight..." "This is bad. This is really really REALLY bad. Celestia's going to banish you for sure. Or imprison you. Or imprison you in the place she banishes you to." She says as she starts to pace back and forth. Storm just shakes his head and takes a seat next to me. "Why would she do that?" "BECUASE YOU BUCKED HER SISTER YOU IDIOT!" "No I didn't. We didn't do anything. Yeah sure we spent the day in bed together, but nothing sexual happened." "*cough*virgin*cough*." Storm says as he holds a hoof to his mouth. "Yeah, basically." I say with a shrug, making Storm shake his head. "Well, that doesn't change anything. Celestia is really protective of her little sister..." "Trust me. I know." "THEN WHY ARE YOU STILL DOING THIS?!" "Well, I figured with less then a year to live I could pursue a relationship with someone who genuinely wants to be with me, despite my limited time." "Miles..." "Look, I'm not going to apologize for having feelings for her. And if she feels the same way, why wouldn't I pursue this?" RRAAAAAAAAAWWWW I look out the window to see the dragons landing near my home. With a sigh I stand up and start to head to the door, only to get blocked by Twilight and Storm. "Where do you think your going?" Storm asks. "I'm going to go talk to them..." "Are you insane! They probably want revenge..." "If they wanted revenge they would have attacked already. Either I go out there alone or I bring you with me. Your choice." They look to each other before they move aside and allow me to pass. I walk down the steps and wait for them to notice me. The large red one points me out and leads the others over to me. "Are you the one who destroyed my youngling?" "I am." "And how did you do it?" "I magically pulled his heart out from his chest." The red one takes a deep breath before stepping back, letting the other two approach me. "And mine?" Asks the all blue one. "I...uh..." "How did you vanquish my youngling!?" The dragon yells. Shit. I don't know what to call that power. I need to think of something real quick. "Answer..." "I used icy void on the last two dragons." The two of them step back and take a moment to reflect on what I said. After a few minutes of silence they all turn to leave, but stop when I call out to them. "Why did you need to know this? Aren't you mad at me?" "The younglings chose their fates. We only came so we could learn their fates for the archives." The red one says before they all take off. As I watch them fly away, Storm and Twilight walk up beside me and gape at the dragons. "Ho-how did you know they wouldn't attack?" Twilight asks in astonishment. "I didn't. But waiting around never solves anything. Besides... I'm pretty sure I can take a few dragons out if I needed to." "Now you just sound cocky." Storm says as he turns and walks back to the house. I shrug and follow after him, leaving Twilight to gape at the dragons on her own. "Hey Storm, I need you to do something." I say as we walk into the living room. "What do you need?" "Go get Big Mac and bring him here. I'm going to make him some armor and a weapon." "Why do I have to go?" "Becuase you ate my spaghetti. Plus I'm a higher ranking officer, so you pretty much have to." "*sigh* fine. I'll go get him." He says as he gets up and walks outside. He stops by Twilight and waves a hoof in front of her face. With a sigh he puts his head underneath her and lifts her onto his back before he walks off for Sweet Apple Acres. I go upstairs and finish cataloging the weapons. Eighteen swords, twelve spears, fourteen axes, three scythes, and nine hammers, all made of steel. Once I get all of the scavenged weapons out of my closet I find all of my weapons and armor in the back of the closet. I put my armor on one of the racks in the closet and my blades on the weapon rack. I start making trips from my room the dinning room, moving all of the weapons downstairs. The last weapon I grab is the chain gun Celestia had, being the heaviest one. When I make it downstairs I see Storm and Twilight leading Big Mac, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie towards my place. You grabbed a few extra Storm... whatever. I set the gun down at the end of the table and walk out to the front porch to greet everyone. "Hey, whats up everyone." I say as I lean against a post. "Hiya Miles! Glad to see your out of the hospital!" Pinkie says in her usual cheerful manner as she hops into my place. "It's good to see you in good health Miles." "Sup Miles." "Howdy Miles!" After Twilight walks in I step in front of Storm. "I said get Big Mac..." "I know, but when I got to his place Applejack insisted on coming. Then we ran into Pinkie on the way here and she asked if she could come to which Twilight said yes and when we got close to getting here Rainbow kind of invited herself... is this going to be a problem?" "A little. I need to discuss some Spartan business with the two of you... when did you pick up Fluttershy?" "Uh... I'm not sure... should we ask them to leave then?" "No... it's nothing big.... yet. They can stay as long as they keep whats said here a secret. But lets get to that when we get to that." He nods to me and walks in, leaving me and Big Mac outside. "Big Mac." "Eeyup." I nod to him and motion for him to follow me inside. I lead him to the dinning room and motion for him to stand there. "Alright. First things first, we need to make you some armor. After that I'll make your weapon, is there any kind you would prefer?" "Hmm... nnope." "Well... I see you as more of a power shot person... so how about a halberd then?" "Eeyup." "OK, what about enchantments, anything sound appealing to add to your weapons attacks?" "Hmm... fire." He says with an evil smile. "Alright, armor first... lets see... Storm, go get yours while I work on his, there some things I want to add to it as well." He nods and goes up stairs as I grab a couple of the swords and lift them up with my magic. I start to crumple them together, turning them into a solid chunk of metal. Next I start to pull all of the imperfections out, letting all of the spare metals fall to the ground. After that I bring the metal over to Big Mac and start to form it to his body, following the basic form of Storm's. Storm walks up with his armor so I use it to set the basic form before grabbing two of the gems I brought down and set them on the back. I take a few of the other swords and purify them as well, only to get more of the scrap metal. Once I have enough, I take all of the scrap metal and make the Spartan logo on the front of his armor. Next I separate parts of the metal and join them in certain spots so it'll bend with his movements. "Alright, give it a try." He pulls the armor on and looks it over before he looks up to me. "Uh... a little tight in the mid section." "Alright, one sec." I say as I kneel next to him and start to loosen the armor around his mid section. "Is that good?" "Eeyup." "Alright, now for the rest." I say as I take the chunk of metal and start to form bracers for them. After a few minutes of forging the metal to their legs and creating the buckles for them, I finish the leggings for them. "OK, give them a try." They walk around, testing the weight and movement of the new armor. After a few test walks they both nod to me in approval. "OK, that'll have to do for now. The helmets require certain things that I just don't have at the moment. Now we..." "Uh... Miles." Big Mac says, getting me to look over to see the girls all looking over at us. "Right... you all can listen, but whats said here, stays here." "I Pinkie promise! I won't say a word." Pinkie says as she goes through the motions of a pinkie promise. "I won't say anything." Rainbow says as she lays back in the recliner, putting her hooves behind her head. "I promise." Fluttershy says timidly. "I promise to keep your meeting a secret." Twilight says. "Alright... well. Here's the deal. We are currently in a sticky situation. I fear a war will break out in the..." "A WAR!" Twilight yells as all of the girls run over to us. "Equestria hasn't had a war in over three thousand years, why would you believe one would happen now?" "First off, don't interrupt me again or I'll have to ask you to leave." "Sorry..." "And I believe one will happen becuase of what the diamond dogs did. They were armed and had an objective that I believe they achieved. I don't know what it was, but they achieved it. It's the only way to explain why they backed off at the end of the fight. Now comes the real question, what does this mean for the Spartans. With Topaz gone we become our own government institution, so what do we do?" "What do you mean what do you do?" Twilight asks. "If Equestria went to war, you'd defend us... wouldn't you?" I take a breath as I re-position myself in my seat. Everyone is staring at me, dreading my answer. "We can't..." "What!" Rainbow Dash yells. "How could you be such a traitor! I thought you loved being in Equestria! Why would..." "We can't support Equestria becuase we don't know who's the villain in this..." "What in tarnation does that mean?" Applejack says. "Miles, have you told Luna these thoughts?" Twilight says. "Yeah, how could Equestria be the villains in this." Rainbow Dash adds. "We can't choose their side becuase the Equestrian forces are broken!" "And what does that mean...if you don't mind me asking..." "Give me one good reason the Equestrian forces are broken." Rainbow Dash says as she sits down and stares at me. "A guard, appointed by Celestia herself, turned out to be a rogue agent who wanted to kill Storm. Breaker was able to get high enough into the government to be one of the go to people for Celestia, and he was plotting to help destroy Ponyville. We don't know who we can trust besides ourselves, so I will not allow us to be used by any outside force. Its obvious someone is plotting against Equestria, and I will not allow another country I love fall to enemy forces. The best way for us to do that is to stand aside and let the enemy show itself. That way, if they end up being internal we wont hesitate to take them out. That's what the Spartans are for. We're the true sentinels for the good, becuase we are unaffected by either side. We can look at a situation and decide in an unbiased opinion who we would support, if we choose to support anyone." "I don't believe the Princesses would ever allow anything like this to happen." Twilight says as she looks away and thinks about what I said. "They wouldn't if they could stop it, but the attack by the Diamond Dogs proves that they can't stop everything. I will not allow us to be caught off guard again. That's why, starting tomorrow, I'm moving us to a readied stance. I want the two of you to show up at my place every morning before sun up for a work out regiment and a weapons training regiment. We're going to do two hours of each..." "What? Ya can't work mah brother like that! We need 'im on the farm." Applejack says as she runs to his side. "Don't worry about that. Storm and I will assist on the farm as much as we can. But we're doing this, it's too late to change my mind." They all look to one another, each of them giving each other looks of concern but not saying anything until Storm breaks the silence. "Alright. Just wake me up when you wake up and we'll wait for Big Mac to join." "Storm..." Twilight says as she walks over to his side. "He's right. There's a threat out there and we can't afford to assume that it's not internal. So... lets get ready for it." "EEyup." "Alright, now onto the next piece of business. Having no captain I automatically take the position. I'm now the Captain of the Spartan regiment, any rebuttals.... no, then without any challenges I ascend to the rank of Captain. I will need a Lieutenant, I will hold a contest tomorrow morning between the two of you to determine who will be the new lieutenant. OK, girls, I'm going to have to ask you all to leave now so I can discuss the last thing..." "What could be more important then a possible war that we couldn't hear about it?" Twilight asks. I wait silently until they take the hint and all step outside to give us our privacy. Once they're gone I flare my hand and raise it above my head, making a sound barrier. "Alright, so it's military that if you are to get married, you do it in non-combat uniform..." "Who's gettin married?" Big Mac asks. I look over to Storm and smile at him as he stares daggers at me. "I thought you promised to keep that a secret." He says flatly. "And I have, but I think Big Mac can keep a secret. Now comes the real problem, where do we get these uniforms?" "We could have Rarity make them." Storm says."I can pay for them to, it would not be a problem." "Alright, after we work on the farm tomorrow we should all go to Rarity's to set the orders." I say, getting them to nod in response. "So... when are you goin ta pop the question?" Big Mac asks, making Storm sigh. "Soon.... I hope... I'm trying to plan something big for when I do ask." "Which brings me to my next point, if and when you do get married, your spouse becomes Terradisian. The reason we care is becuase Spartans protect Terradisians before we protect Equestrians. I know that sounds a little obvious, but I feel that it needed to be said. Well, unless either of you two have any questions, you can go home now." "I've got one. If Equestria goes to war, and we're still unsure who's pulling the strings, what do we do then?" Storm asks. "Then, we wait. We watch the fight from the side lines, fire when fired upon, and if the true aggressor shows their face we pick a side and fight. Any other questions?" "No." "NNope." "Good, go ahead and take off you armor and leave it here, I need to super treat it. I'll have your halberd ready tomorrow so you'll get that...uhh.. yeah, dismissed." I say as I drop the barrier. They nod to me and head out the door to the others. I turn back to the weapons on the table and contemplate where to start. I guess the best place to start would be making Big Macs weapon, then ding all of the duel enchantments..." "Miles?" I turn around to see Twilight standing with Storm. "Hey, what do you need?" "Well... I promised I wouldn't say anything, and I won't, but I really think you should discuss this with the Princesses. They deserve to know about the possible threat to our country and how your basically making another country within it." "*sigh* your right. When I have the time I'll make the trip down to Canterlot and talk to them. Thank you for keeping your promise." She nods to me and starts to leave but stops and faces me again. "There's one more thing I wanted to ask you about..." "Sure, shoot." "Topaz Falls..." "What about it?" "Well... can we visit...." "No." "Why not.." "I almost got killed going there. Do you really think I'll chance your lives as well? No. Topaz Falls is far too dangerous to navigate..." "What if Big Mac and I..." "That's still a no. You two are prominent fighters, but the bots down there still out gun us. Going down there would be suicide, and not to mention rather pointless. No one is ever going down there, EVER." Twilight looks away a bit before she trots away, with a look of determination on her face. Storm shrugs to me before he chases after her, leaving me to get back to work. I don't know when I'll get the chance to go talk to Celestia and Luna about my concerns... but I think I'll do it at night. Author's Note Shout out to Squishy for picking Big Macs weapon, and to BBB for picking the element that it'll hold. Thanks for reading, and like always, Brony on!
Chapter 77 Unexpected VisitorChapter 77 Unexpected Visitor Beep... beep... beep... beep... beep... beep... "Enough already... I'm up, I'm up..." I say groggily as I reach over and turn my phones alarm off. Four hundred hours... way too early. I sit up and rub my eyes, trying to get rid of the sleepiness. I probably only got an hour of sleep last night, but it was worth it. I was able to finish Big Macs halberd, super treat both of their armor, do all of the basic maintenance requirements for all of my guns and even made some chest armor for myself. Even better, I still have some of the other weapons left over. Like, two axe's, a hammer and a scythe. I get up and take care of my business before getting dressed. I put on all of my armor and strap all of my weapons on. I look over my chest piece again as I twist around, testing it's flexibility. For the front, I made eight small panels of steel and chained them together, then super treated. The back is just a single piece that's forged to accent my muscles. Because of the super treatment, the metal has become a darker shade of grey. Satisfied with my armor, I head to Storm's room to see if he's in. I slowly open the door and peer inside to see Storm laying in bed, still asleep. I take a few steps inside and see that he's alone, good. Now I can get pay back for the virgin teasing. I tip toe my way over to him, amazed at how quiet my armor is.... or how heavy a sleeper he is. I grab the sheets on the bottom of the bed and get ready to pull. One... Two.. Three... "WAKE UP STORM!" I yell as I pull the sheets out from under him, sending him rolling to the ground. He tries to get up, but somehow got trapped in the blankets and can't get out. "MILES! YOU ASS!" He yells as he finally begins to crawl out of the sheets. "Morning buddy ol' pal of mine!" "GAH!" He says as he struggles to his hooves. "Why can't I ever just wake up peacefully...." "Want to get some breakfast?" I ask nonchalantly. He pants a bit as he walks up to me, glaring daggers the entire time. "...yeah." I laugh a bit as I head downstairs. "Nice body armor, did you enchant it as well?" "I can't enchant my armor the way I did yours. My magic would burn it off the metal and melt out the gems. I have to rely on a better offense for my defense." I say as we head into the kitchen and both look through the fridge. "Have you been the one filling the fridge?" "Yeah, why?" "Uhuh, just wondering how it's always filled." I say as I grab a carrot and start to eat it as I head to the kitchen table. Storm comes over with a few apples under his wing and starts to eat them as a knock comes from the front door. "I'll get it." I head to the door and open it to find Big Mac waiting. "Big Mac." I say as I step aside and let him in. "Eeyup." We head back to the kitchen and take a seat at the table as Storm finishes his last apple. He had like... four apples... and I was gone for like... ten seconds... da fuck? "OK, so before we start let me show your weapon's and armor." I say as I lead them into the dining room. I put most of the weapons into my closet, but I left all of their stuff down here. I pick up their armor and lay them on the ground before them. The steel is now dark grey like mine, with the markings being black. "I gave you the same enchantments as Storm, except for the electricity one. You get fire instead." I say as they both start to put the armor on. "You'll also notice that I've made the attachments differently..." "Yeah, it slides instead of bending." Storm says as he starts to put on his grieves. "That's becuase I went from an archaic tact weld to pegged slides. If you look on the plates, they have groves with pegs in them, so they'll slide and bend a bit more. I also super treated them, so now they're twice as hard as before with half the weight. Now..." I say as I reach over and grab Big Macs halberd, it actually came out nicely. It's about three meters long, including the twenty centimeter point. A blade curves on one side while the other side has a flat hammer. I the center of the three weapon points is a gem that's embedded into the metal and glowing white. "Lets go outside and I'll show you what I did to this." "Eeyup." I turn around to leave but pause when I see Lupus sleeping on the couch. He's laying on his back with all four of his legs sticking in the air, twitching a bit.... that wolf... gets weirder and weirder everyday. "Miles..." "Right, lets go." I say as I head out the door. I walk out a bit and take a moment to enjoy the night sky before I turn back to them and take a stance with the weapon. "Alright, the halberd, a pretty versatile weapon. You can hack, stab, and smash all in one. I've added a fire enchantment to this as well as a counter balancing ball at the end of the staff." I take a few steps back before I start to swing the blade around. It's a little heavy for me, but with his strength enchantment this shouldn't be a problem. As I spin the staff around the blades ignite, leaving a trail of fire behind. I hold the halberd still and thrust forward, sending a plume of fire out a meter. "You're not going to have the range that Storm has with his sword, but anything in range will be in deep shit." I say as I do a few more stabs. After I had my fun I hand the weapon back to Big Mac. He looks at it then back to me with a smile on his face. "How's he going to sheath it?" Storm asks, making me face palm. "You don't sheath a halberd, but I did make two light magnification points on the right side of your armor, so you won't have to carry it all of the time." He looks to his side and swings the blade to his right. With a loud snap it clings to his side and holds there, extending past his hind legs. "Alright, lets start with some basic strength training, then some sparring matches, and we'll end with some cardio..." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Luna Oh my god I'm so bored, I hate doing night court. Nothing ever happens. Regina said she was going to arrive some time today to discuss Steelwing, but I have a feeling she won't get here till day time. I shift over in my seat and look around the empty chamber, why does everything exciting have to happen in the daytime? TICK... I wonder what Miles is up to... probably asleep. Heh, he has a pretty cute sleeping face. I like how his mouth hangs slightly open. I wonder if I can manage to see him today. I'll have to be sure to see Regina before I leave... assuming the flight here doesn't take too long. How long does it take to cross the Divide... like twenty hours or so... hmm. I would have to nap there again, as much as I liked it last time I didn't really get to spend time with him. TOCK... Where do we even have a clock in this room? It must be behind one of the pillars. I shake my head and stand up, getting all of the guards to stand at attention. I walk down the steps and face the guard to my right. "Guard, what time is it?" "It's five AM, your highness." "Right, I..." I stop talking as the doors open up and a pony starts walking towards us. I quickly walk back up the steps and take a seat in the throne. A visitor... here...now... what could he want? He's a light green unicorn with wavy green hair. His cutie mark seems to be a letter with a piece of paper coming out of it. He has a dark green satchel with him that has a copy of his cutie mark on it. "Princess Luna." He says with a bow. "Greetings subject, what concerns do you wish to bring before me this night?" Oh my god I've waited too long to say that to somepony! "Uh... I bring a message from Ambassador Regina..." He says as he pulls out a letter and gives it to a guard. He gives another bow before he leaves the chamber. I swear I could feel my heart fall out of my chest as the guard presents me the letter. This better be good. Dear Princess Luna, Did you enjoy the night visitor? I thought it would make night court a little more bearable. Well, if it didn't I know what will. Come to my bed chambers anytime, I'll be waiting. P.S. Yes, I'm here now and awake. Really Regina... you couldn't come here and tell me this. I give the letter to the guard and start to walk out of the chamber, getting the two guards to follow after me. "Guards, I am going to teleport to Ambassador Regina's bed chamber, please meet me there." "Yes your highness." They say together. I flash into Regina's bedroom and find her laying on the bed, facing away from me. Her room is just a simple guest room, only having a bed, dresser and a small balcony in it. Everything in here has a red and gold color scheme to it. I look to Regina and sneak over to her. I take in a deep breath and... "LUNA!" She yells as she jumps up. "AH!" I yell as I fall back, getting Regina to laugh at me. "How many times are you going to fall for that?" She asks as I get back to my hooves. "Don't worry, I'll get you back one day." I say jokingly. We share a small laugh before she walks over and gives me a small hug. "It's good to see you again Luna." "And it's good to see you as well, though I wish it were under better circumstances..." "Then lets make them better. How are things between you and Miles?" "Uh... well... good... I guess..." "What did he do?" "Nothing. He didn't do anything wrong. It just... we only spent time together yesterday and I don't know when the next time will be when we get to be together." "Hmm... well... OH! Idea. Princess Luna, would you give me a tour of your country? Starting and ending in Ponyville? Though I can only be here for two days so I guess we'll only be going to Ponyville." She says formally and ends with a wide smile. I shake my head and give her a quick hug. "Thank you Regina, but I don't think seeing him right now would be a good..." "Nope. To late. You said thank you, so we're going now. So lets get going." "We can't just leave. Celestia would find us in a heart beat. Not to mention he's probably still asleep..." "So what if he's asleep. Don't you think it would be a nice surprise for him to wake up with you right there? And as for Celestia... we could stay for breakfast and then go." "But then that would be during the day. She would be the one to talk to you about Steelwing." "That's true... darn. Well... how long until you need to raise the sun?" "A little over an hour." "Hmm... lets just do a quick visit right now and then come back and deal with Steelwing." "Reggie, a quick visit to somepony who's sleeping..." "How about you just scry him then." I look around for a surface to scry with but can't find a suitable one. "Hold on." I say before I teleport us to my room. I go to my vanity mirror and begin to set the spell. "I'm telling you though he's going to ... be... fighting?" Once the image clears up it shows Miles in full armor fighting Storm Cloud and Big Mac, both of them being in armor as well. Big Mac's weapon appears to be a halberd that's on fire while Storm's sword is sending massive gust of wind. Miles has his sword out and seems to be dancing circles around the two of them, dodging, blocking and countering everything they're doing. I would say they're sparring, but those are real weapons and they don't seem to be holding back. "So... is there a good reason they're fighting?" "I don't know... but I'm going to find out." I say as I charge my horn. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles CLINK... FWOSH... CLINK... I block Storms swing and push him back. They both really want this position, but I won't let them get it that easily. They both run towards me and try to stab at me, but I roll to the side and magically make a small hole for me to fall into. I seal the hole up and tunnel behind them before I jump back to the surface. I hold my stance as I look around for them... where did they go? "Miles!" I spin around to find Luna and Regina standing behind me. Luna looks pretty pissed off as she holds Storm and Big Mac in the air with her magic. "Uh... hey Luna, what's up?" I ask as I lower my sword. "Why don't you tell me. Why are they fighting you? Where did you get that armor? Just how much magic have you been using this night?" "Uh..." Is all I manage as she glares at me. I glance up to Storm and Big Mac, who both just shrug, and rub the back of my head. "Well... they are 'sparring' with me becuase they want the lieutenant position, I made the armor, and... I've used enough magic to make two pieces of armor, a weapon, and super treat them." "That was not sparring, that was fighting. You do not spar with real weapons!" She snaps back. "You do when you enchant them not to do damage." "You did what now?" Regina asks as she walks up beside Luna. I hold my arm out and swing my sword down onto it. Luna tries to stop me with her magic but was to slow. My blade slammed into my arm and stopped on top. "Miles! What did you do!" Luna says as she gapes at my arm. "I made a green mark on my arm." I say as I lift my sword to reveal a neon green slash on my arm. "I set a spell on our blades so they wouldn't cut us. The objective was for one of them to get a killing blow on me, but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon..." "I almost got you!" Storm yells from above. "The only thing you almost got was a stomach full of titanium!" I snap back. "Hey Luna, could you set them down now?" "Oh, of course." I say as I set them down. "Alright, run a lap around Sweet Apple Acres and then come back here. If I'm not outside then run another lap and then call it a day." "Sweet Apple Acres goes around fer almost forty miles." Big Mac says. "Forty what?" "Uh... miles." "... OK, go un-fuck yourself and then do two laps before you come back to my place, both of you." Storm gives Big Mac a dirty look before they both run off for Sweet Apple Acres. I sheath my sword and turn back to Luna, who still looks pissed. "So..." "You don't know what a mile is do you?" Regina says, oblivious to Luna's anger right now. "Uh... I'm assuming it's a form of measurement..." "Hey Regina, could you give me and Miles a moment. I would like to have a word with him in private." Oh shit. She nods and flies away, leaving me to my fate. "Lets head inside first." She says before she teleports us both to my room. "LunMMMMM!!" I begin to say before she jumps up and forcefully kisses me, knocking me onto the bed. She breaks the kiss and begins to remove my armor, starting with my chest piece. "Luna... not that I'm complaining, but what are you doing?" She finally gets my chest armor off and tosses it aside with her magic before she reaches down and forcefully kisses me again. "I hit estrous last night." She says lustfully as she begins to nibble on my right ear. "OK.... whats that?" She gives a little chuckle before she magically rips my shirt open and runs her hooves down my body. "Why don't I show you?" She says playfully as she moves closer and closer to my..... "Luna!" I say as she reaches into my pants and grabs my dick. "I thought you wanted to wait..." "I can't wait, I need it, NOW!" She says as she tears my pants open and begins to position herself over me. I reach down and grab her thighs, stopping her from making me penetrate her. "Miles." She wines. "No teasing." "Luna, just.... just hold on a second here. Why are you acting like this?" "I already told you, I hit estrous." "Right, and what exactly is that?" "It's when a mares body tells her to go out and make babies..." "WHAT!" I yell as I push her aside and jump off the bed, trying my best to cover myself up. "Miles! Not so rough." She complains as she gets back up. "You want to.... and I... " I stammer as I back away from her, only to stop when I reach the wall. "Is something wrong Miles?" She says as she approaches me. "Don't you want me to have your babies?" When she reaches me she rears up and places her fore hooves around my shoulders, stroking my hair as she stares into my eyes as she does so. "Luna... I would love nothing more then to do that, but..." "But?" "But this isn't right. I know you wanted to wait, so I'm going to make you waiAAAHHH!" She pulls me of the wall and tosses me onto the bed, pinning me down with her magic. "Your words say no, but your body says yes." She says as she begins to position herself over me. "Luna... just, just stop. Think for a second. What would Celestia think if you were to get pregnant..." "Mmmm, lucky mare?" She says as she lays on top of me. I feel my member rub against her ass, sending a chill of pleasure throughout my entire body. "Uh... I... you... we..." She silences me by kissing me again, though this time with less force and with more passion. I lose myself in her kiss, only for us both to break the kiss as the door slowly squeaks open. "OH SWEET BARBRA! SAVE ME LUPUS!" I yell as Lupus takes a few steps inside and looks at the two of us. We both stare at him as he stares back at us, please... "Lupus, be a good boy and shut the door please." Luna says, making Lupus bite the door handle and pull it shut, leaving us alone again. That fucking traitor. "Now, where were we?" "Uh, the part where you let me go and..." "I think I was at the part where I put you inside me." She says as she lifts herself up and begins to position herself over me. I twist myself to the side, making her to bring herself down on the side of my hip. SO... SOFT... "Luna... please don't do this." "Don't worry, it'll be over soon.... or not. Lets hope not, for somepony your size..." "I'M NOT LITTLE!" I yell as I try to twist out of her magical grasp, to no avail. She begins to lower herself down again, trying to aim herself to line up with me as I twist from side to side. With an annoyed sigh she grabs my hips with her magic and holds me still. "I want top!" I yell, making her stop. "You want top?" "Yeah... if we're going to do this, I want top." "Hmm..." "It'll be way better if I'm on top, let me be on top." She thinks about it for a second before she smiles and lets go of her magic. "Alright, but be gentle... at first." She says as she rolls over onto her back, spreading her legs apart for me. I have to do this perfectly. I roll over and pull the blanket with me as I position myself over her. "Ready?" "MMM yeah." She says as she bites her hoof. Oh sweet Barbra... I shake my head and get ready for my plan. I one quick motion I pull the sheet over her and begin to tie it off. "MILES! What are you doing!" Before she could do anything I grab her horn and hold onto it, effectively cutting her off from her magic. "Stopping you from doing something stupid..." "But I want to do something stupid, let me do something stupid!" She says as she tries to pull free, but I wrap my legs around her mid section and hold her there.... did she just call me stupid? "How long does estrous last?" "About a week..." "FUCK!" I look around and try to find a way to get out of here... if I can get outside I may have a chance. "Miles..." "Luna, please just..." "Don't you love me?" "You know I do..." "Then you just don't find me attractive." "That's a lie! You are the most beautiful person I've ever seen, I just want to respect your wishes to wait till marriage..." "Then lets get married!" She says excitedly. Shit. "Luna..." "I do. There, now we're married, please rut me now." "No Luna..." "Aw come on! Can you at least rub me? Or how about you just stick your..." "Enough Luna! I'm not doing any of that! I'm sorry, but I love and respect you too much to do this while you're not in the right mind set." She falls limp and sighs as we lie there on the bed. I don't know how I'm going to get away from her, but I need something to distract us, why did I have to send Storm and Big Mac away. "Miles... I have to go tinkle." SHIT! What do I do? If she's lying I'm screwed. If she isn't and I hold her here I'm an ass. "Uh... alright." I say as release my legs from around her and get off the bed, still holding onto her horn. She gets off the bed and starts to walk to the restroom where she pauses. "Do you plan on coming inside with me or..." I let go of her horn and back away from her. Moment of truth. She gives me a smile and walks into the restroom, closing the door behind her. Oh thank you thank you tha.... "Got ya!" She yells as the door burst open. I turn and try to open the door, only to find it locked. Fucking Lupus. Before I could do anything else Luna picks me up with her magic and drops me back on the bed, pinning me down again. "MMM! MMM? MMMM!!" I mumble as I soon find my lips being held shut by her magic. "Now where were we?" She says as she looks down at my flaccid member. "Now that won't do." She says as she lays the front half of her body on the bed and grabs hold of my dick. I jolt forward from the sudden contact, having my eyes roll back from the pleasure of having her jerk me off. "Mmmm." I moan as she stops and just holds it there. "Great, now that our hard enough, lets get rutting." She says as she lets go of me and pulls the rest of her body over me. I jolt forward again from the feeling of having her body rub against me like that. She pulls herself past my erection and sits back against it, having my member rub up against her pussy, but not enter. "Heh, so close yet so far huh?" She says as she starts to rub herself against me, sending waves of pleasure through me again. I lean forward to try to kiss her, only to snap back when I hear something hit the window. "MMMM!" I yell as Regina hovers there, watching the two of us. "Luna! We need to get going so you can raise the moon." "Can't that wait?" "Now Luna. We can come back later." "*sigh* fine." Luna says. She gives me a kiss on the cheek and whispers "later" into my ear. She gets up off of me and walks over to the window, teleporting the two of them away. I sigh in relief.... that was WAY too close. I need to hide somewhere for the next week... after I get changed... and take an extremely cold shower.
Chapter 78 The Best Hiding Spot EverChapter 78 The Best Hiding Spot Ever After a cold shower, made icy with my magic, I get dressed as quickly as possible. Once I'm done I run out of my room and make it down stairs, where I pause to glare at Lupus, who's just sitting there, wagging his tail. I turn and run out the door at break neck speeds, trying my best to get anywhere as fast as possible. I need to get somewhere I can hide... Twilight should be able to help! I make a be line for Twilight's, running as if my life depended on it. When I make it to her place I slide to a stop in front of her door and start pounding on it. I hit it harder and harder, waking the neighbors and making a dog somewhere start to howl. "YES! What do you need!" Twilight yells as she swings the door open. "Miles? It's six in the..." "I NEED YOUR HELP!" I yell as I run into her place and look around for anything I can hide in. "What are you..." "LUNA'S IN ESTROUS AND SHE DID THE NAUGHTY TOUCH BUT HAD TO GO RAISE THE MOON OR SUN OR WHATEVER, SO I RAN AND NOW I NEED TO HIDE!" I yell as I frantically try run around the room, trying to find anything I can hide in. I finally make it to the closet where I dive in and slam the door shut the door as I bury myself under all of the cushions. I curl into a ball and hold onto myself... that was too close. I almost fucked her... I almost lost my virginity, do hand-hoof jobs count....FUCK! Knock knock knock "Miles..." "I'm not here." "Miles, come out of the closet..." "No can do." "Miles..." "Miles isn't here right now, please leave a message after the beep, beeeeeeeep." "Alright, it's too early for this. I'm opening the door, please don't run." She says as she slowly opens the door and looks down at me. "Wow... what happened to you." "I don't want to talk about it." "Miles, please. I want to help, just tell me what happened." She says in a caring tone. Well, I did come here for help. "Well, Luna swung by this morning. One minute she was pissed at me for using magic and the next she was trying to fuck me. But believe me when I say we didn't. I didn't penetrate her. But she's going to come back later, so I need to hide for the next week." "Luna hit estrous." She says in disbelief. "That's what she said, right before she tried to have her way with me... do hand jobs count for losing your virginity?" She stares at me for a second before she slowly shuts the door. That can't be good. She comes back a little later looking more awake and having that look of determination on her face.... I don't like where this is going. "Alright Miles, I will help you, but there is a catch. We are going to hide together." "Together? Why together?" "Because we're going to hide in the one place where she won't be able to find you." "And where would that be?" She continues to give me her smug look as I put one and one together. "No." "Is there anywhere else where she won't be able to find you?" "Right here is working pretty well." "You can't stay in my closet for a week." "Why not?" "She'll find you here eventually. I'd think this would be one of the first places she'd check if she was looking for you." "... fuck. It's still a no. I'm not going back down there with all of those frenzied bots." "Your choice. Frenzied bots or super horny Luna." "..." "Miles." "..." "Miles!" "I'm thinking about it! Ah fine! Frenzied bots it is then...." "YES!" "But I'm going alone." "No you are not...." "Yes I am!" "If you don't allow us to come then I'll just tell Luna where you're going." "..... you wouldn't dare." "Try me." We stare at each other for a few moments before I bury my face in one of the pillows. "Why can't you understand that it's not safe down there." "We've all dealt with danger before Miles." "Not like this. These bots are different." "Aren't you a Spartan?" "Yeah..." "And aren't Storm and Big Mac Spartans?" "Yes, but..." "Then this should be easy." "Twilight..." "Unless the Spartans are all talk and no walk." She says as she turns and walks away. OH NO SHE FUCKING DIDN'T! I jump to my feet and follow after her. "Hey! The Spartan regiment can handle any threat..." "Then prove it!" She says as she turns around and starts to walk towards me. "If you are all as good of fighters as you says you are then escort us down there and lets hide in Topaz Falls." "FINE! We will!" "Fine. Then do it." "Fine. Just watch us." "Fine. Get to it then." "FINE! Go get the girls and I'll go get Big Mac and Storm. Meet back at my place in thirty minutes." "Is that a promise?" "You bet it is, now get going." "If you say so. I'll be sure to gather some supplies before as well." She says before she turns and runs out the front door.... what the fuck just happened? I run out the front door to stop her but she teleports away before I could say anything. "Mother fucker..... *sigh* fuck. Well... better go get the two of them." I say as I turn and start to walk towards Sweet Apple Acres. By the time I make it the sun's starting to make it's way past the horizon, making me sweat lightly. We need to get moving asap. I look around to try and find them, but they're no where in sight. I kneel down and quickly start to remove my boots grab a hold of them in my left hand. I turn to my right and start to run, using my magic to propel myself faster. I make a quick left when the Everfree comes into view and keep running along the line of apple trees. After a bit of running I see the tree line up ahead and slow down to turn. When I do I find Big Mac and Storm lounging underneath a tree, eating some apples. When they see me they both spit out the food in their mouths and gape at me. "Oh shit..." "We've got a mission." I say as I approach the two of them. "A-a mission?" Storm says as they stand up. "Ends up Luna's hit estrous and..." "HAHAHAHA!" Storm and big Mac both erupt in a fit of laughter, falling to the ground and holding their sides as they rock back and forth. "Are you done yet?" "What, do you need us to teach you how to rut or something?" Storm says as they continue to laugh. "OK, I'll just go to Topaz Falls with Fluttershy and Twilight alone, you two just stay here..." "WHAT!" They both yell as they jump back to their hooves and stare at me. "Ready to take this seriously?" They both nod so I start to tell them what happened.... leaving out the exact details of what Luna and I did. "And that's what's going on right now. Twilight's getting everyone else and we're to meet them at my place asap, any questions?" "Uh.. who's gonna watch mah farm while we're gone.... not ta mention Applebloom." "Good point... you think we could convince Applejack to stay behind?" Big Mac gives me a look before he shakes his head. "Fuck... alright. You're going to stay behind then. We'll go down and keep an eye on them." "Are ya sure? Maybe ah can..." "We don't have time to make a better call, we need to get going now. I still expect you to do your exercises in the morning, I know we will. Alright come here Storm." "Wait what?" He says as I grab his armor and start to run to my place, getting him to latch onto me as we go. We make it to my place where I run through the front door and head to the kitchen. "Alright, gather food. Enough to last us a week. I'm going to collect the water." I say as I take a cloth and lay it in front of the sink. "Right... food, got it. Just let me get my satchel." He say as he runs to the front. I turn the water on and start to collect the water in the air with my magic. After I get a large amount I start to freeze the water, turning it into a ball of ice. Once the ball grows to the size of my head I start to force it to shrink, making it the size of my fist. With a solid thud I drop it onto the cloth and wrap it up and head up to my room to gather my weapons and armor. After I collect them all I start to walk out, but stop and look back at the other two guns in my closet. I grab the E.A.R. and run down stairs with it. When I get to the bottom of the stairs Twilight runs through the door and approaches me. "OK Miles, we're all here..." "Take this real quick." I say as I present the gun to her. She looks at it for a second with mixed looks before she takes it with her magic. I walk around and tell Storm to follow me out. The three of us walk out to find the rest of the girls standing out front, most of them looking sleepy. They all have satchel bags that are filled to the brim with what I presume are supplies. "Alright, lets get going, when we make it to the entrance I'll give a basic over view of what we're going to go through. Now lets hurry and get out of sight as soon as possible." "Do you remember how to get there?" Twilight asks. "Vaguely. Last time I chased a griffin into the Everfree and he showed me the entrance. "Hmm... let me use my memory spell on you to help you remember the way." She says as she approaches me. I nod as I kneel and lower my head, allowing her to place her horn onto my head as she uses her spell on me. Images of the chase flash before my eyes as I start to recollect what exactly happened. When she finishes the spell I stand up and look back to the spot where we entered and start to head towards it. "We entered there and went in for about thirty meters before we started to weave around, still moving forward for another forty meters." I say as we enter the tree line. "So.. um... if you don't mind me asking, why are you hiding from Luna?" Fluttershy asks as we head further into the forest. "Well, she went sex crazy and wanted to... yeah. I know she actually wants to wait till marriage so I'm going into hiding to honor her true wishes." "Aaww." Fluttershy says before she mumbles something to herself. "That's mighty respectable of you Miles." Applejack says as she trots up beside me, looking around the surrounding. "Maybe we should keep the chatter down until we make it ta the entrance." Everyone nods and we continue our way to the cave. There's a haze setting in the forest, getting thicker and thicker as we head into the forest. Soon we can only see a meter ahead, slowing us down significantly. Storm jumps ahead and flaps his wings, sending gust of wind ahead and making the haze billow up. "Rainbow, help me out." He says, getting Rainbow to jump to his side. They both flap their wings together, trying their best to make the haze clear up, after a few minutes the fog only seems to grow thicker. "Well that was a bust." Rainbow says as she stops flapping. "Should we keep going?" Pinkie asks. "We would run the risk of getting lost or separated. I think we should wait a bit before we continue." Twilight says. "We can't wait, Luna will be on our trail any minute." I say as I take a few step forward. "Well we can't get through this dreadful fog." Rarity complains. "Maybe we could tie a rope ta each of us an navigate through tagather." Applejack suggest. "We could still get lost as a group..." Twilight says as they all start to argue with one another. I step aside and try to think of a way out of this fog when something catches my attention. I look out at the grey wall and try to see what's out there, but can't see anything. "Miles? What are you looking at?" Storm says as he walks beside me, trying to see whatever's out there. "I'm not sure... but I think there's something out there." Everyone falls silent as we all stare out into the fog. I can't help but feel as if something out there is staring back at me. "We need to get moving." I begin to walk forwards when suddenly a deep growl rumbles from the grey. I stop and slowly place a hand on my swords pommel and my trench knife, waiting for whatever's out there to strike. Suddenly a pair of small yellow lights appear from the fog, moving towards me slowly as a low growl comes forth. In the blink of an eye, a brown mass lunges out of the haze at me. In one swift motion I drop to a knee and pull out my blade, slicing the creature as I do. The creature falls to the ground behind me and slumps over as it gags. We all approach it to identify it. It looks like a wolf, only larger and made of branches. "Oh my... a timber wolf." Fluttershy says as she shuts it's eyes. "We should get moving, they don't usually hunt..." oooooOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooo I look around as the sound of dozens of wolves howling fills the air, somehow making the fog clear up along with it. As the fog clears, more and more yellow eyes appear around us, slowly approaching on us. "Any tips on dealing with timber wolves?" I ask Fluttershy. "Just... don't set them on fire." She says as she walk up beside me. "Really? Alright, you're the expert... what are you doing?" I ask as she approaches one of the wolves. "What is she doing?" I ask the group. "What she does best." Twilight says proudly. "Just let her be, she can handle this." I look back to Fluttershy to see shes walked right up to one of the growling wolves and... sniffs its foot.... da fuck? The wolf stops it's growling as it sniffs Fluttershy's face a bit before backing off and wags it's tail. "Umm, could you please let me and my friends please pass through?" She asks nicely.... she can't be serious. "Bark bark BARK!" The wolf.... barks.... back. "And I'm sorry that that happened, but he did attack my friend over there. We need to pass to take him to an underground city so he can hide from his estrous induced marefriend. Could you please help us?" "Aroo?" The wolf says as it sits down and tilts its head to the side. How is she talking to it? How is it understanding her? How am I the only one who's disturbed by this? "Oh... well, ahem, she wants to...mate... with him, but he wants to wait..." "AROO?" It says loudly as it tilts its head to the other side. "Well, its what she really wants, so he's doing the honorable thing. So can you help us find the cave to his home?" "Bark bark!" It says as it jumps to its feet and runs off. "Oh, thank goodness. She said she will take us to the cave, lets follow after her!" Fluttershy says excitedly as she chases after the timber wolf. I was about to question her but everyone else ran after her, so I followed after them. After a few minutes of running we finally come to a stop at the cave entrance to Topaz Falls. The timber wolf stands before the entrance until we all catch up. With a final bark it runs off into the forest, meeting up with the rest of the timber wolves and scatter into the forest. As we all enter the cave I walk up beside Fluttershy to ask an important question. "Soo, why shouldn't I have set them on fire?" "Becuase that would kill them." She says matter of factually. "Right... anyway. Everyone, with me real quick." I say, getting all of them to come back to me. "Alright, I'm going to set some ground rules for when we're in Topaz Falls. These are to help keep you alive, so follow them closely. Do as I say. If I say run, you run. If I say don't touch, you don't touch. And if I tell you to leave you don't argue with me for an instant, you leave. If we get separated head to the Parliament Congressional Hall. It's the tallest building in the center of the city, you can't miss it. If you are on you're own, stay hidden and keep moving. Just becuase you can't see them doesn't mean they can't see you. For those of you who can fly, stay as low as possible. If you get too high you will be shot down. Any questions?" "I have one!" Pinkie says as she waves her hoof in the air. "No parties." "Aw, fine, no more questions." I shake my head as I turn and lead them into the cave. Topaz Falls... I never thought I would say this, but here we come. I just hope we can keep them all safe.
Chapter 79 Welcome To Topaz FallsChapter 79 Welcome To Topaz Falls We all make it to the large hole in the ground and stare down in awe. First obstacle, how do we get down? Storm, Fluttershy and Rainbow could fly down, but what about the others? I guess I could make a platform and then just jump down to the bottom... that would be best. "OK, here's the plan, wait here and I'll jump down and make a Mico platform. Then we'll..." "I'll go with you." Rainbow says as she begins to stretch. "Why do you need to go?" "To make sure you don't ditch us." I glance at her and shake my head. "Alright, just give me a sec." I say as I start to remove everything that's on me. "What are you doing?" Fluttershy asks. "Taking off all of the excess weight. The last time I did this it was a bitch. I'm not going to make the same mistakes twice." I say as I begin to remove my armor. "Uh Miles, do I have to carry this?" Twilight says as she shakes the rifle in the air. "Actually, I was hoping you would use it." "WHAT! I can't use a weapon, I hate weapons. I can't...." "Twilight, I understand that you don't like weapons, but I would feel better if you ALL had weapons. Topaz is not safe, and I want you to be able to protect yourselves while we're there. Do you think you could ignore your hatred of weapons while we're in Topaz? At least as long as things aren't safe." Twilight thinks about it for a second before she nods and pulls the rifle closer to herself. "Thank you." I say as I finish removing the last of my armor and prepare to make the leap. "How far down does it go down?" Rainbow asks as she stands next to me and looks down. "Well, I'd have to say anywhere from a kilometer and a half to two kilometers." I say as I kick on the magic in my heels. "OK, I'm getting tired of hearing this, how far is a kilometer?" Twilight asks. "A thousand meters." I say before I kneel down and create the first Mico platform. Once I finish making it I leap into the dark hole, having Rainbow fly after me. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Luna GAH! This breakfast is taking FOREVER! Celestia and Regina keep talking about Steelwing and its making this take sooo long. I need to get out of here and get to Miles so he can get me off... "What do you think sister?" Celestia asks me. I think I need something inside of me... right.... now. "It's... definitely a sticky situation." HA! it will be soon at least. "Yes... well we need too find him and bring him to justice as soon as possible. We'll be sure to have all city guards on the look out for him." Celestia says as she looks back to Regina. "Where do you think he'll strike next?" "Well, I doubt he'll go to Ponyville again, now that we're on the lookout for him. My bet is somewhere we wouldn't be looking." "Hmm... the closest target from Ponyville would be either Cloudsdale or Canterlot, and both sound like unlikely targets. The dogs can't get to Cloudsdale and an attack on Canterlot would be futile. What do you think Luna?" What do I think.... I should get some rope in case Miles tries to fight me some more. "Well... uh... if he were to fight some more... we would have to subdue him... and try to get what we want from him... becuase... that would be... for the best?" "Riight.... Luna are you feeling..." KA-BOOM A large explosion catches our attention, making all of us run to the nearby windows. Out in the court yards a large explosion has created a hole in the ground where hundreds of Diamond Dogs are pouring out of the ground and running towards the castle. The few guards that were nearby were quickly killed by the onslaught of the overwhelming number of dogs. "But, but, but... this doesn't make sense. There is no possible way they could hold the castle. There's no way they could dream to take me or you prisoner. What are they after that they think they could achieve?" Celestia says in disbelief. "I don't think this is the time for questions." Regina says as she turns away from the window and starts to walk towards the main doors. "Right. Lets us go defend our subjects sister." Celestia says as she turns away. Those darn dogs.... they will pay for making me wait even longer. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Milles I hit the ground hard, sending dust and debris into the air. I hear Rainbow cough a bit and land beside me. "Alright lets get going." I say as I step out of the small crater and raise my hands to light the way. "Wait, aren't you going to make the other thing so everypony else can come down?" "I will, just closer to the door." "Shouldn't we tell them?" She says as she walks up beside me. "You want to go tell them?" "I think I'll stick with you for now." She says as she quickens her pace to be the one leading. We make decent time making it to the room where we held the meetings. Rainbow looks in the room for a second before losing interest and wandering around the room. I go straight to the hole in the back and call rainbow over. It's a little wider then what I remember it being, but I guess that makes sense. Luna and Celestia probably made it larger for themselves. With a sigh I flare my heels and hop down the hole. After falling the entire length of the hole until I come to the slope, where I dig my hands into the ground and stop myself from falling off the edge. I look up to see Rainbow hovering beside me, offering a hoof. "Thanks but we've got another drop to do." I say as I start to slide down. "How much further is it till we get to the city?" Rainbow asks as she flies over to the next drop. "Well... after this drop... about twenty meters or so." I say as I stop myself next to the drop. I take a deep breath before leaping into the dark hole. With my hands and heels lit I can see all of the grooves I made the last time I fell. I send a couple of flares down until I see the bottom coming towards me. There is some debris from before, but landing shouldn't be a problem. With a loud thud I hit the ground. I look back and wait for Rainbow to land next to me before I begin to move forward. Once the bulk head comes into view I stop and create the next platform. "Alright, just wait here for a moment and I'll bring everyone back." "Alright." She says as she stares at the door. "Stay away from the door. It'll lock if I'm not with you." I say before I step onto the platform and flash back to the entrance. "Miles! What took you so long?" Storm says as she runs up to me. They made a little camp in the cave, just somewhere to sit down. "Alright, one at a time, once you get to the other end just wait with Rainbow Dash until I get there." I say as I begin to put my armor back on. By the time I get all of stuff back on its time for me to take the platform, so I walk over and flash back to the entrance. "So, this is your home." Fluttershy says as we all stare at the door to Topaz. "Welcome to Topaz Falls." I say as I walk up to the door. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Luna "*SIGH* why are you here?" I ask lazily. "Silence pony!" Yells a dog as he charges down a hall at me, swinging his sword wildly in the air. With another sigh I grab him with my magic and start to slam him into the walls, floor and ceiling. Puny dog, they are really starting to get annoying. They aren't good fighters, they're not that smart, they just have numbers. I finish beating the dog and toss him out the window, sending him falling to his death. I was suppose to do something, but I can't really remember what it was. While Celestia was talking I was to busy thinking about what I was going to do to Miles when I get back to him. Hmm... strawberries... some honey... and some kind of gag..." "THERE SHE IS!" I look behind me to see a group of dogs running down the hall at me. I charge my horn and send a bolt of electricity through the group, dropping them instantly. I sigh again and continue walking down the hall. What was I suppose to do? I think it had something to do with the dogs... RAH! I NEED MILES! He would get rid of the darn dogs and then we could rut and then... "THERE'S THE BLUE ONE, GET HER!" Yells a dog as I turn around the corner. There are five of them this time, easy enough. They start to charge at me but stop when Regina lands in front of me. She wielding a griffin blade and has a belt going across her chest that has glass balls hanging on it. She charges at the dogs and tosses one of the glass balls at the leader, making it shatter and filling the room with smoke. All I can hear is the sound of metal clashing with metal as I try to find the dogs, but I can't see anything. I spread my wings out and flap them, sending a powerful gust of wind that clears the room of the smoke. With the smoke gone I can see Regina standing in front of me with three dogs around her. The other two lay on the ground with large gash marks on their necks. "Just hang tight Luna, I've got this." Regina says as she pulls out another glass ball and drops it, making the hall fill with the smoke again. Since when could Regina fight? I guess it comes with being a traveler. I wait for the clanging of the metal to end before I send another gust of wind through the hall, clearing the smoke and revealing Regina standing alone, surrounded by dead bodies. "Alright, now that that's been taken care of, where have you been?" She asks as she sheathes her sword and walks up to me. "I've kind of just been walking around..." "Didn't you hear what Celestia wanted you to do?" "Uh... no. I was... distracted." I try to give her my best smile, but she just faceclaws instead. "*sigh* well, it doesn't matter now. She wanted you to go to the guard barracks to rally them while she looked for the leader. I went ahead and did it for you, so now we need to find your sister and look for the leader, got it?" "Got it." "OK, what are we going to do then." "Find Miles, tie him up, have good time..." "No." She says as she taps my head with her fist. "No, no, no, no. That's not what we're doing..." "Well duh that's not what we're doing. Miles is my man, you can go have... somepony else..." "Not what I meant." She says as she taps my head again, making me blink back into focus. "OK, lets try this again..." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles When the door slides open I run forward with my hands flared, ready for anything. I glance around, looking for any kind of threat. Once I clear the entrance I turn to everyone else and motion to them to come inside. They all walk in slowly, taking in the view of the city as they do. "So this is Topaz." Twilight says as she looks up to the P.C.H. Once they all make it inside the door slides shut, sealing us inside. "What's this?" Pinkie asks as she bounces next to the bot from before. "That's a security droid. We'll probably see a lot of them later." "OK, what a security droid?" Applejack asks as she looks it over. "Its a machine. There are three basic forms you need to know about. Utility, security, and military. Though they vary in make up, they all follow the basic concepts. Utility bots are workers, security were basically the... guards, and the military bot were suppose to support us in fights. Lets get moving. First stop, I want to go check on the power generator." I say as I start to lead them down the street. "You know, I was kind of expecting... more destruction." Storm says as he walks up beside me. "This part of the city wasn't hit that hard... head to the back and watch the rear. If anything moves inside one of the buildings call it out." "Got it." He says as he turns around and walks too the back of the group. We make it to the end of the street and make a right, finding the first groups of bones. "Oh my..." Rarity says from behind. "Should we... bury them?" "Maybe another time. Right now there are to many bones and to large a threat to get it done." "But..." "We don't have time for that right now. I'll do it another time." I say as I continue towards the power station. We make it to the generator in complete silence. We make it up the stairs and enter the half sphere. I go straight to where I laid Dolum and offer a salute to him. "Uh, Miles?" Fluttershy says as they all approach the small trench. "Sorry, just paying my respects to my friend." "Oh... who is this?" "His name was Dolum Ostendere. He was... my best friend." Everyone stays silent, paying their respects to my friend. " Storm, stay up here and keep an eye on the door. If anything comes near us let me know. I'm heading down to check the power supply." "Right..." "I'll go with you." Twilight says as she follows after me. I head down to the substation and tap the panel on the main reactor... its showing enough power to last a few more days.... shit. "Miles..." "This isn't good." "What isn't good?" "When I filled these gems they had enough power to last two months, now they only show enough for a few days." "And what does that mean?" "It means that every bot that's operational in the city recharged completely. When we get into a fight..." "Can't we just hide? Isn't there somewhere we can go where they can't go?" "No. Anywhere we can go, they can go. Fuck, there places they can go that we can't. I'll refill the power, but we should get moving after that." "I think we can wait long enough to bury your friend properly." I look back to her and nod. We can wait for a proper burial. I fill all of the gems back up as she prepares the body, I don't know what she's doing, but it can't be any worse then just leaving a ditch. When I finish up I head back to find that they had wrapped him up in a blanket and set him back into the trench. Everyone is lined up next to the trench, bowing their heads in respect. I walk up next to them and look down at the small bundle. "Could you say some final words Miles." Rarity asks. I take a deep breath before I begin. "Dolum... was my best friend. He was always there for me... and I was there for him. He received a lot of flak for doing things... a little unorthodox. He had a personality that made most people think poorly of him, but I knew him better then most. He was a husband, soon to be father, a Spartan and... I'm sorry this happened to you." I salute again and seal the ground over him, burying him at last. I kneel down and engrave his name and rank into the ground. "Can... can you guys give me a moment." "Of course dear." Rarity says as they all head to the entrance. I sigh as I run my hand over the engraving. "I promise you this, Dolum. I won't make the same mistakes I made with our friends. I'll be there to protect them this time through.... you deserved better than this brother." I rise to my feet and head to the entrance, pulling out my rifle as I go. No more holding back, no more hesitation. From now on I'm in everything one hundred percent. "Where should we head?" Storm asks as I approach the entrance. "We need to arm everyone if we're going to stay here. Lets head to the P.C.H. I know a few places that might of been left untouched that will have some weapons." "Where's the P.C.H.?" Rainbow Dash asks. I point it out, getting them all to stare out at it. "We'll take the freeway there, that way nothing can sneak up on us. Keep together and stay close to me." I say as I start to lead them around the large crater and head down the freeway.
Chapter 80 Long Road To RuinChapter 80 Long Road to Ruin Walking down the freeway was a bit of a bad idea. Nothing has bothered us yet, but being here is bringing back memories that I'd rather forget. Driving to that fateful battle, driving to Sine's place, seeing all of the stores that I once visited, all haunting my mind. I can see a few utility bots roaming the streets. Some are beginning to clean up the city, while others are running old tasks, like trying to buy groceries or trying to find children that have been dead for three thousand years. "What do you think made that line of destruction?" Fluttershy asks as she stares out at the line of leveled buildings leading to the P.C.H. "Well... I'm not sure, but I'm guessing that's where most of the fighting took place." "With everything the Terridisian's had, how did they manage to win?" Storm asks, getting Twilight to smack him up side the head and whisper something into his ear. "They had numbers. You'll see the bones later." I say as I pause and look out around the city. Why don't I see any of the high grade military bots? "What're ya looking fer Miles?" Applejack asks as the group begins to walk past me. "Next exit we're getting off this freeway." I say as I continue to walk down the road. "Why?" "We're being watched." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Luna "We need.... to find..... CEL-EST-IA." Regina says as she grabs my face and yanks it back and forth. "Got it?!" "Right... go... get... Miles..." "NO!" She yells as she lets go of my face and rubs her eyes. "AH... look, just follow me, alright." "Lead on." I say, getting an irritated look from Regina before we walk off together. I don't really get why she doesn't get why I need to find Miles so badly. My loins feel as if there're on fire right now, and the only remedy is some hot lovin from Miles. Hmm... I wonder if he's into hot tubs... if not then maybe just jump him when he's in the shower. That would save me the trouble of having to take his clothes off. Why does he have to wear those all of the time. All they do is cover his sexy body... where did Regina go? I look around to find myself alone in a random hallway. I could of sworn she was right next to me... oh well. Now I can leave and... "Ah hahahahaaa..." "You... you're that griffin everypony is looking for." I say as a grey griffin walks out from one of the rooms. He's not armed and seems oblivious to the fight going on around us. I create my weapons and run in front of him, putting his back against the wall. "Why are you attacking Equestria? What are you planning? Where..." "Do you want to know that or do you want to know where Miles is?" He asks calmly. "Miles... he's in Ponyville. Now tell me..." "Are you sure?" "Of course I am. Why would he..." "Maybe he left to get away from you..." "That's a lie! Miles would never leave to get away from me! He and I are..." "If you two are in love, then why didn't he sleep with you when you were last with him?" "He... because... I..." I stumble as I try to think of the answer, but fail. Why did he fight me? I thought he loved me. "That doesn't matter right now. You are coming with me..." "No. You are coming with me so we to have a little chat with my master, to discuss your... little love problem." "I... no! That's between me and Miles! I trust him to have a good reason for waiting... there has to be a reason..." "Maybe he doesn't love you..." "SHUT UP!" I yell as I pin him against the wall with my magic and put my blade against his throat. "Go ahead, do it. But tell me this first, why would he leave you and go back to the metal city?" "Metal city... you mean Topaz Falls?" "Yup, he went there with seven other ponies, most of them female." I drop him and take a few steps back. No... he would never cheat on me... he said he loved me... "You're.... you're lying..." "Face it, he played you. He wanted something else and couldn't get it so he settled for you." I back up until I walk into the wall, shaking my head as I start to tear up. He's lying... I know he is... " If I were to put money on it, I'd say he wanted Celestia, but after she said..." "STOP! STOP IT RIGHT NOW!" I yell as I put my hooves over my ears. I know he's lying... he has to be... Miles loves me, he said so... "Think about it. They have a past together. Celestia bans you from seeing him, but she's able to see him whenever she wants. He's always active in the day time. He fights being with you. I bet he fought being with you because he was busy rutting Celestia..." "SILENCE!" I yell as I send a blast of energy at him, sending him flying into the wall, making him drop to the ground. "Yell all you want..." he says as he gets back up, "but that doesn't change the fact that he left you to go back home, with no intentions of coming back." "How do you know this?! What proof do you have of this?" I ask as my tears start to fall. "Don't believe me? Try to scry him. You'll find it impossible to do. Same for the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. I'll even wait here. Go ahead, if you can scry him then he loves you, if not , then he played you." I look over to a mirror in the hallway and glance between it and Steelwing. I walk over to it and take a deep breath. Come on Miles, prove him wrong. I charge my horn and set the spell on the mirror. When I finish setting the spell the mirror suddenly turns fuzzy and then dark black. No... nononono this can't be right. I try and set the spell again only to get the same results. I begin to set the spell for the bearers, only to get the same results. "No... this isn't right. Miles... Miles said..." "What, that he loved you? He's human, and you're... well you're the freak of the night, aren't you?" I close my eyes and shake my head as I try to hold back my tears. "He... he said he liked my night sky...*sniff* he said he liked the moon..." "Let's be honest, how could he like something he's never seen before?" He says as he start to walk around me. "How could he fall in love with a species different then himself, or one as messed up as you for that matter? How long has it been since you've lost your power? Several years now, right? He's been lying to you from the minute he's met you, and you've fallen for every one of them. Even better, you've gone and put you're entire country in jeopardy..." "Ho-how did I do that?" He gives a small chuckle before he jumps onto my back and puts me in a choke hold. I twist and jump around as I try to get him off, but the more I fight... the more I start.... to feel... sleepy... ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles We've been walking for a couple hours now, I never really noticed how long these roads were. Then again, we were going almost a hundred forty kilometers a hour in our cars back then. We stopped in the middle of the street for a lunch break, putting down a large blue blanket for everyone to lay down and rest. I figure that for now here is the best spot for a break. The bots below haven't noticed us yet and if one of the Aquila's or the high grade ones comes by, we'll see it. The girls offered Storm and me food, but we both refused. Saying we weren't hungry and for them to go ahead to eat without us. We only have a few rations, so we need to make them last. We can go without for now. "Hey Miles, why don't any of the buildings here have roofs?" Twilight asks as she looks around. "All of the roofs are flat, why don't they point up like ours?" "It's to help conserve space and for future building. If we wanted to add to any one of them, all we need to do is stack another story on top." "Is there a reason they don't have any color? All this grey is simply dulling my eyes." Rarity says as she digs into her bag and pulls out some dark tinted glasses. "Visual appeal wasn't in our list of concerns. It was more about durability and space." I say as I circle around and look out towards the P.C.H. We're only a quarter of the way there. At this rate we won't get there until dark hours. I start to turn around but stop when I hear something in the distance. Everyone goes silent as the sound of metal screeching against metal roars through the air. "M-Miles, what was that?" pinkie asks as I flare my hands. "Get to cover somewhere and make your way to the P.C.H." I say as I take a few steps forward and take a readied stance. "Whats going on Miles?" Storm asks. I look back and pull my rifle off of my back and toss it to Rarity, who catches it with her magic. "I'm going to be a little preoccupied, try and help keep everyone safe alright. Point the barrel at whatever's trying to harm you and pull the trigger, got it?" "Oh...uh... I'll do my best, but what about you?" Rarity asks as she looks over the gun. Before I could answer the ground down the road explodes outward as a high grade military bot jumps through the ground and lands a kilometer away from us. It's the one from before with the buzz saw arm. It begins to spin its saw as it charges it's center eye for an energy blast, so I wave my arms around as I start to send chunks of the road at the bot. Each chunk that hits makes it stagger back, but fails to do any real damage. "GET OFF THE ROAD!" I yell as it fires its laser in front of me, making a large explosion. I jump back from the fire and send a beam of soul fire through the smoke. When I don't hear anything right away I bring my arms up and make my dome force field. Not a second later the massive buzz saw slams into the side of my force field. I hold the shield up as the lines on my arms begins to grow. "GET GOING! GO ON WITHOUT ME, I'LL MEET YOU THERE!" I yell as the bot walks up to me and slams its right foot onto my shield, making my lines burst forward. "But..." "NOW!" I wait until Twilight teleports them all away before I drop my shield and roll to the side, dodging the foot with only a few centimeters to spare. I grab the bot with my magic and toss it down the road, making it land on its back a few meters away. It immediately swings its saw around, making me dive to the side to avoid it. The bot and I get up at the same time, the bots chest opening up to reveal two rows of missiles. Shit, eight homing missiles. I burn through my boots as I flare my heels and leap as high as possible into the air. Below me I can see the smoke trails of two of the missiles heading straight for me. I whip around and send a slash of energy at the missiles, making them explode. I lift up a bit from the concussion wave before I start to drop back down. I flip around so I'm facing downward as I kick the air behind me, propelling me down at high speed. The bot looks up and fires two more missiles at me as it readies its center laser. I push my right hand at the bot and fire a beam of soul fire at it as it fires its beam at me.... Perspective: Storm We suddenly appear on the roof of a building, everypony looking scared and confused. Now is the time to step up. I look around and see we're a lot closer to the tall building, but still a few miles away. "We need to keep moving." I say as I look over the edge of the building. "How far do you think you could teleport us Twilight?" "I don't think I could do that again... that one nearly drained me of all my energy." Twilight says with a light pant. I look back to her and see she's sitting down and sweating lightly from the spell. It must of taken a lot out of her. "Okay, Rarity, do you know that spell?" "Sorry but I don't." Buck. Well, onto the next idea. "Alright, we'll just have to hoof it there then..." "What about Miles?" Rainbow Dash asks. "He said for us to move on without him. He can handle that.... thing. He's stronger then you think..." BOOM We all look back to see a black puff of smoke in the air over where we used to be. KRA-BOOM A second explosion suddenly appears below the first one, easily twice the size of the first one. "Are you sure we shouldn't go after him?" Fluttershy asks. "Well... as much as I want to go after him, I have my orders. If we get there and he's not there then we'll go after him..." "But what if we're too late?" Rainbow Dash asks. "We can't just abandon him like this. It's not right." "What exactly could we do to help?" "Well.... we could..." "I don't know if you noticed, but those things were pure metal. The best we have against those things are the guns Miles gave us and Rarity's and Twilight's magic. If Miles says he can handle it then we have to trust him to take care of it." "But..." "Now lets get going before one of those things come looking for us." I say as I head to the roof access door and kick it open. I wait for everypony to walk in before I close the door after me and walk down the stairs. There are some bright red lights throughout the stairway, one per floor. We start making our way down the stairs, everypony keeping silent as we go. "Storm..." Twilight says as she walks beside me. "You need to apologies to Rainbow Dash. You really hurt her feelings back there." "How did I do that?" "She's the element of loyalty Storm. Having her leave Miles behind like that is... just... can you please just have a word with her." "*sigh* alright, I'll have a word with her." "Thank you Storm." She says before she gives me a kiss on the cheek. I take another deep breath before I trot down to Rainbow and walk beside her. "So... sorry about being firm with you back there." "Its alright, I just don't like leaving Miles alone like that. What if he needs our help?" "Trust me, I'm worried too. But I know what Miles is capable of, so trust me when I say he can handle this." "But, what about us? What if we run into one of those things?" "Well... then we'll all have to work together to deal with it, won't we?" She gives me a small smile before we continues down the stairs. After a few more floors we find one of the doors opened, so we make our way through. I think we're in an apartment complex... or maybe an office? We're in a long grey hallway that's filled with black doors that are numbered off. Some of the lights that are hanging from above are on, but most of them are broken, leaving the hall poorly lit. I take the lead as we begin to walk down the hall. I stop when I hear something from inside of one of the rooms, making everypony else bump into me. "What is it Storm?" Applejack asks as I rear up and draw my sword. "I heard something in here." I say as I walk in front of the door, 3245... "Shouldn't we leave then? Maybe if we don't disturb it, it will leave us alone." Fluttershy says as she cowers behind Applejack. When I hear some more rustling I kick the door in and run inside to investigate. I find two metal men fighting each other, one's light red with an arm missing while the other one is silver with a golden X on it's chest. The two of them are fighting hand to hand right now, but it seems really intense. The red one would twist around and try to grab at the others neck, only to be thrown across the room. The silver one lunges across the room as it spins around and kicks the head off of the red one, making it drop to the ground as smoke comes out of its neck. The silver one stands up and approaches us, looking down at us with those bright yellow eyes. The head is featureless while the body seems to be made of metallic ropes covered with metal plates. I raise my sword to it and wait for it to strike. "Oh, hello there. Please let me introduce myself, I am E861Z9, designation Easy. May I have your autograph?" It says to me in a metallic voice, devoid of any emotion. "What?" "Processing..." It says as thin red lights shoot from it's eyes and sweep the room. "Guest of Miles Eremita, welcome to Topaz Falls, may I have your autograph?" "Uh... no." I say as I lower my sword. "How do you know we're here with Miles?" "I searched the core for any records on your being here and found your group under his name, welcome. I would offer snacks and refreshments but it seems that the stores have been out of supplies for the past two thousand nine hundred ninety nine years." "Right..." "May I please have you names to add to the core?" "Whats the core?" Twilight asks as she walks up beside me. "The core is the center of all information being kept within the city, please state your names and designations." "O..K.. Storm Cloud... uh... designation Storm... "I am Twilight Sparkle, but I go by Twilight." "Rainbow Dash, just call me Rainbow." "Rarity, miss Rarity." "HI, I'm Pinkie Pie, but you can call me....uh... queen mcpartier five thousand!" She says as she bounces up and down. Pinkie... you are so random. "Howdy, I'm Applejack, jus call me AJ." "Uh..... I'm... Fluttershy." She says timidly from the back of the room. "Greetings, Storm, Twilight, Rainbow, Miss Rarity, Queen Mcpartier Five thousand, AJ, and Fluttershy, guest of Miles Eremita, how may I help you?" I look back to everypony for answers, but only get more confused looks from them. "Uh... we're suppose to meet Miles at the P.C.H...." "Then allow me to escort you there, please follow me to the subway." He says as he walks out the door and heads down the hall. "So... should we follow after him?" In ask everypony. "I don't see why not, he seems friendly enough." Twilight says as she and the others walk out after him. I shrug and follow after her, taking another flight of stairs down. I don't entirely trust this... bot, but what's the worst that could happen?
Chapter 81 Losing The FightChapter 81 Losing The Fight We follow Easy down a few flights before he finally takes us through one of the exits. We walk through what looked like a lobby to a hotel out to the streets. Even though we left the building, I still feel as if I'm inside. The ceiling goes evenly in every direction, going up about five stories. Most of the buildings are still intact, with the exception of small holes or scorch marks. But there are a few areas where the buildings are just piles of ruble and twisted metal. Though a good number of street lights are lit, many are broken; making the area around here poorly lit. The streets down here are all black with metal carriages spotted everywhere. Some just look abandoned, while others are full of holes or scorched from fires. There are bones scattered everywhere. In the streets, in the carriages, in massive piles, everywhere I look there are just bones everywhere. I can see a few of the metal men down the street throwing bones into a pile, it makes me sick to my stomach to see them just toss them so casually, but I ignore it as Easy starts to lead us down one of the streets "Oh my god... so this is what Miles meant." Rarity says as she looks out at the masses of bones. "Ah wonder how many wer lost." Applejack says as she tries to avoid stepping on any of the bones in her path. "An estimated fourteen point seven million were lost as of September thirteenth, 1132." Easy says. "Over fourteen million!" Twilight exclaims as she stops in her tracks and gawks at Easy. "Correct Twilight, fourteen point seven million. That was the count done before the final evacuation order was given." The final? Just how many ponies do you need to lose before you evacuate the city!? "Whats this?" Pinkie asks as she stares at one the skeletons. "It looks human, but it doesn't." "Pinkie, that doesn't make sense." Twilight says as she walks over and looks at the skeleton. "Oh... maybe it does." Curious, I walk over and look at the skeleton. The skull is much more narrow and longer, with dagger like teeth. The ribs are are thinly connected and seem to be hollowed. This one is missing an arm while a few of the ribs are missing. "That would be the skeleton of an Unfamiliar." Easy explains. "If you don't mind, we must be.... DANGER. YOU ARE IN DANGER. PLEASE STAND BACK." Easy yells as he runs down the street at what seem like unnatural speeds. I look down to see the two bots that were cleaning earlier running straight towards us, so I pull out my sword and take off to confront them. Easy lunges himself at the one on the right and slams directly into it, becoming a mass of metal body parts attempting to gain superiority over the other. I swing my sword at the other bot as hard as I can, sending a powerful gust of wind at it. The gust slams into it and makes the bot slide back a bit before continuing its charge at me. I flap my wings and propel myself into the air to avoid being tackled by the bot, sending another gust of wind down at it to keep it on the ground. PAT PAT PAT PAT.... "SSTTTTTTOOOOOORRRRMMMM!! ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Celestia I take a few steps to my right as I face off with the dog before me. He's wielding a large ax and seems to be having trouble holding it. I quickly swing my sword around and bury it in the side of the dog before me, killing the last enemy in the library. I look back to Shinning and Cadence and smile as the two of them trot up to me. "Is that the last of them?" Cadence asks. "I certainly hope so. Now lets get back to the main chambers before..." I start to say but stop when the doors slam open. "WHERE'S LUNA!" Regina yells as she runs in and starts looking around. I pause for a second as I try to register what she said. "I thought she was with you." Shining says as he tries to follow after her as she continues to search every corner of the room. "She was but then I was chased down by some dogs and when tried to find her afterwards she was gone!" She says in a panicked voice. "Regina, do you mean to tell me that my sister.... is missing." I ask slowly, dreading the answer. She looks back to me and starts to tear up as she tries to find the right words. I shake my head a couple times before I use my magic to make a mirror appear in the room and start to try to scry her. The first attempt makes the glass go black, so I try again.... and again.... and again... and again... "I'll get every guard to start looking for her. Regina, come with me and tell me what you already know and Cadence.... stay with Celestia." Shining says as he gallops out of the room. I keep trying to scry my sister... she can't be gone. Luna may not be as strong as me... but nopony could... "Celestia?" Cadence says as she pushes the mirror out of my view. "Why don't we..." "We have to find her." I say as I turn and begin to storm out of the library, heading towards the outer entrances. "Celestia, Shining and the guards will take care of that, right now we need to head back...." "I will not allow my sister to be held captive. I'm going to search for her myself." "Celestia, we need a leader right now, let the guards take..." "SHE'S MY SISTER! SHE'S THE ONLY FAMILY I HAVE AND YOU WANT ME TO STAND ASIDE?!" I yell as I begin to tear up. Cadence takes a step back and takes a few breaths before stepping before me again. "She's my family to." I turn away from her and open the doors to the balcony and look out at the sky. It's suppose to be night time right now... "Celestia, I want her back too you know. But we can't afford to lose ourselves right now. Canterlot needs us also. Equestria will need us. We need to make sure there is a home to bring Luna back to. Please, step inside." I stare out at the horizon for a bit, thinking deeply about what Cadence said. I know I have my royal duties to attend to... but... I close my eyes as I feel the tears start to roll down the side of my face... as I raise the moon. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Luna Warning: Not for the weak of heart When I finally wake up I try to stand up, but find myself strapped down. A thick piece of metal is going over my back and over my wings as my legs are tied to metal rings in the stone ground. I pick my head up only to have the chains around my neck tug back. I try to use my magic to get out of these clasps, but I can't reach it for some reason. The area in front of me is too dark to really make out any details, until a door behind me opens up, letting in some light for a brief second. I'm in a small stone room that has several spots for holding down ponies. That was all I was able to see before the door was shut. "AH hahahahaaa..." Shivers run throughout my body as I hear that all to familiar laugh. "St-steelwing..." "Hey there Nightmare Moon." He says in a mocking tone. "My name is..." SMACK I would have rolled over from that hit, if it weren't for the chains holding me down. I look back over to where I think he is and glare at him as my right cheek stings. "....Luna." "So, Nightmare Moon, any new thoughts on Miles?" He asks from behind. "Mi.... I know you're lying. He loves me and I..." SMACK "... l-love him." I finish as I try to hold back my tears from the stinging on my left cheek. "Is that so? Well, I think I can think of a way to make him look at you in disgust." He says into my right ear. I move as far away as the chains will let me, trying to get away from this creep. He gives a deep chuckle before he starts to run a claw along my neck, over my wing, over my flank... "STOP! PLEASE STOP! DON'T GO THERE, PLEASE DON'T! I-I I'LL DO ANYTHING, JUST... just..." I yell as he moves ever so slowly to my sore vagina. "You say no, but your body says yes. So which is it?" He asks as he runs his claw around my area, making me tear up as I feel the pleasure crawl up my body. "Please... I... I'm still..." "A virgin? Well maybe that's it." He says as he removes his claw. "What... what do you mean by that?" "Maybe the only reason Miles is with you is becuase you're a virgin... but what if..." He says as I feel him lay on my back. I begin to twist and yank as I feel his hard member lay against my back. "Do you think Miles would want to be with a dirty, used up whore?" "PLEASE! WHAT DO YOU WANT, I'LL GIVE YOU ANYTHING YOU WANT! Just don't..." "And what if the only thing I want is sex with you?" He asks as he start to grind into my back. Tears fall from my eyes as I begin to panic. He wraps his arms around my neck as he places his mouth right next to my ear as he presses harder against me. "But there is one other thing you can give me that will stop this right now." "What is it?" "Tell me, how you control the moon." I feel my heart sink as he whispers that into my ear. Why does he want to control the moon? Griffins can't control the moon, they don't have the magic to do that. "Well if you don't want to tell me..." He says as he starts to slide his penis down my back. "NO, WAIT!" I yell, getting him to stop just above my tail. "I...I move the moon by..." "Yes?" He says as he stands up. I take a deep breath as I get ready to give him my greatest secret. "*sniff* the moon has a soul of it's own. I make contact with it and manipulate it to change it's orbit and position." I say with a heavy heart. The only thing I've ever had in my life... gone. "HAhahahaaa, thank you. Now its time for some punishment for making me wait." He says as I hear him walk away from me. "Bu-bu-but I gave you what you wanted. Please MMMMM MMMMM!" I mumble as he puts something in my mouth to silence me. After he gags me I feel him brush against me as he walks toward my backside. "MMMMM MMMMM!" I scream as he starts to rub my vagina. I try my best to escape, but I can't break free from the metal clasps. The longer I fight, the harder he rubs, sending unholy waves of pleasure through my body. I finally stop fighting it as I break down in tears, crying as I start to feel the filth of my pleasure grow over me. He suddenly stops rubbing and starts making what sounds like a slapping sound. The slaps go faster and faster until I feel something squirt onto my back and right flank. "*panting* whew! Well... now I have to go get your next punishment ready. Hang tight, this may take awhile." He says as he pats my left flank a couple of times and then gives it a tight squeeze. He pauses at the door, shining the light on me and chuckling a bit before he finally leaves. Once he's gone I begin to wail as I try my best to curl up. How will Celestia look at me now? Especially when I tell her that I gave my greatest secret away just to have some Griffin violated me.... what will Miles think? ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles I awake on top of a pile of ruble with a slight head ache. I get up and take a look around, noting all of the pieces of metal from the explosion. So... that's what a high grade military bot looks like when it blows up. After a quick check for injuries I begin to head to the P.C.H. I pause as every light suddenly shines brighter. Its bright hours, then I was out all night. I start to sprint down the street with my magic. I need to meet up with the others as soon as possible, I have all of the water. I pass bots, bones, destroyed buildings, nothing is stopping me from getting there as quickly as possible. After almost two hours of weaving through alley's and streets to dodge rouge bots, I finally make it to the entrance to the building. I burst through the doors and start screaming "Storm! Twilight! Rainbow! ANYONE!" I run around the wall of mico platforms only to find the room empty. Where the fuck are they? I walk back out the entrance and look out at the city, trying to think of what to do next. They could have just went to one of the floors, but then they could still be out there. Well, I'm already here, may as well check some of the floors. I head to the mico platforms and try to decide which one they would most likely take. I head to the dorm platforms and take the boys teleporter, since it has a picture of a pillow on it with the male insignia. I teleport to the hallway and start to walk down, checking every room as I go. Most of the rooms are either empty or have a few skeletons in them. I stop when I make it to room 1337, my room. I open the door slowly and take a few steps inside. There's an unfamiliar skeleton on the middle of the floor, with the top of it's skull cut clean off. As usual, my side of the room is fairly clean and organized while Dolums is a mess. Much of what was here has faded and lost it's sheen, while gaining a layer of dust. I was about to leave when something catches my eye.... my computer. I walk between our beds and sit down before the screen. The background is all black with a picture of a letter takes up most of the screen with a date, September thirteenth, 1132. I pick up the mouse and blow a bunch of the dust off before I fill it with energy and click the message. The screen changes to show a camera view from my screen, showing my room all those years ago. Auxillium is sitting before the screen, wearing a black dress and veil. She isn't looking at the camera, rather down at her massive stomach. Her hair is tied back and I can see the lines of her makeup smearing down her face from all of the tears she's shed. I hear gun fire and explosions in the background, making her jump slightly from time to time. "Hey.... Miles...." She says slowly as she rubs her belly slowly. "I...I don't know if you are ever going to get this.... chances are I'm just talking to myself, but.... in case you do get this, please...." She trails off as the sound of multiple rockets being fired drowns out all other sounds, followed by massive explosions. ".... Captain Bellum asked me though, after telling me... well... when you finish this you'll find out. After that dummy scientist used his untested device on you, he then told everyone what it does. A time machine. He built a portable time machine. I wanted to try and use it to try and get Dolum back, but Inficiunt told me that would be impossible. Ends up after they sent you to the future, Cunt used it as an I.E.D. to cover their retreat." The building suddenly begins to shake, making Auxy grab the table to stay sitting up. After the shaking stops she wipes her eyes and looks into the camera. Her eyes are blood shot and surrounded by bags. "Miles... if you can hear me, then maybe you can follow me and the others. Bellum says that the parliament is on the verge of a city evacuation, we're going to be the next Diamond Halls, so he wants you to have this." She says as she reaches below the table and brings up a golden rod. "This, according to Susurrans, is Dominus Clavis. If we evacuate, which everyone knows we are, we will be going to Quartz Crest, I've left the coordinates on this message, please, Miles. Find us. We need you, now more then ever." She begins to cry again as she holds onto her stomach the sound of cannon fire filling the air. "I'm so scared Miles... those... those... those monsters... they're eating us Miles. They make a kill and tear everything off so they can get to our flesh. I... I'm scared. What if I go into labor and one of those things attacks? I'm so close now... and... I miss Dolum. I need him, I want his comfort, and those beast took him from me... please Miles, if you get this, please. Bury Dolum. He deserves better then..." She spins around as the door is suddenly kicked open, revealing an unfamiliar standing in the doorway, blood dripping from his twisted smile. Auxy backs away as she starts to scream, holding the golden rod up to fend herself. The unfamiliar starts to run in but stops when someone calls from the doorway. "YOU STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM HER!" Inficiunt yells as he runs in holding his machete up. In one swing he lobs the top of the unfamiliar's head off. "Auxy! Where have you been!" Inficiunt says as she drops the rod and runs into his embrace, crying and shaking. "We need to get going! They made the call, we're evacuating." "But..." "No buts! Now lets get going!" "I have to finish the message to Miles!" Auxy yells as she runs back to the screen. "Miles, use the Dominus Clavis to get into Quartz Crest, stay safe, find us..." "AUXY! LETS GO!" Inficiunt yells from the doorway. Auxy starts to run towards the door but stops by the doorway. "Inficiunt..." She says shakily. "My.... my water just broke..." After she says that the screen goes black, showing the letter with a replay button over it. I blink a few times as I stare at the screen in disbelief. I can't believe what I just saw... I look over at the pile of stuff on Dolums side of the room and find the golden rod. It's bout a meter long and has spaces in it where a gem could be placed. I stare at it a little longer before I hear music in the distance. That has to be the others. I look back to the computer screen before I run out the door. I'll have to come back to get this, right now, they need me.
Chapter 83 Meeting Of MastersChapter 83 Meeting Of Masters "What was that?" Celestia asks as she looks around. "Luna's been taken! What happened? Who took her?!" I demand as I approach Celestia. "Canterlot was attacked and she just disappeared. We received a message from one of the dogs that they had her, and will kill her if we don't bring you to them..." "Then what are we waiting for?! Lets get going!" I say as I start to climb out of the room. I swear, if they touch even one hair... before I can finish my train of thought I suddenly appear back in the concert hall with the others. "Miles! We need you to heal Storm RIGHT NOW!" Twilight says as she grabs my hand and drags me to the stairs. "Wait, what’s going on?" I ask as she drags me up to... oh sweet Barbra. Why is she taking me to the private rooms? She drags me into the first room, where we find Storm laying on the edge of the bed. His wing is hanging limply off the side and I can see he's trying to hide the pain. I walk up to him and kneel beside him. "Hey there brother, how’s the pain?" I ask as I take a look at his wing. "Well... not as bad as some of the stuff you put me through," he says with a small chuckle. I remove his armor and prepare to heal him, thinking back to all of the medical stuff Twilight went over last time. I start to heal him, getting him to close his eyes and grab the sheets as I pump the energy through his body. After a few minutes of tedious concentration I finish healing him and step back. "Alright, you should be good now, but I want you to give the new muscles a rest. So no flying for a week." "No flying! Aw... fine. A week of being grounded beats never flying again," he says as he gets off the bed and stretches his wings out. I run out of the room and head straight for Celestia, who's talking to everyone by the DJ booth. "Celestia! Lets get going," I say as I approach them. "Yes, let’s..." "I thought we had to hide here because… uh... what?" Pinkie starts to say as everyone glares at her. "What exactly are you hiding from?" Celestia asks. "The bots," I say as the idea comes to me. "We came here to explore the city. When the bots started attacking, we went into hiding." She looks to everyone with a skeptical look before she shakes her head. "Fine. It’s not important right now," she says as she flares her horn. We all suddenly appear by the bulkhead, so I run over to the control box and begin to open the door. "We're leaving? What’s going on?" Rarity asks from behind. "Luna's been ponynapped," Celestia says bluntly, getting gasps from everyone. "The ones responsible want to trade her for Miles..." "That's why we're leaving now," I say as the door begins to slide open. Before anyone can say anything, I walk through the door and wait for the rest of them to follow after. "Alright, the rest of you take the Mico platform and head home. Celestia and I will teleport to Canterlot and get Luna back." "Don't you want some back up?" Storm asks as the rest head down the tunnel. "I won't need any, lets get going," I say to Celestia, getting a nod from her as we teleport away. When I can see again I find myself by the castle. I look around to see two lines of of dogs facing two lines of pony guards, with us in the middle, giving us almost a meter between them. The dogs hold their spears up as the ponies hold their swords; both side waiting for the other to strike. "RRAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWW!" I look back to see a massive dragon hanging onto the side of one of the towers of the castle. It's all white with a dark blue undertone, with some kind of large wooden platform attached to its back. It lets out a large column of blue fire before letting go of the tower and gliding down behind the ranks of dogs. With a loud thud it crashes and lays down, glaring at me as smoke fumes out of its nostrils. A figure launches off of its back and lands before me. It’s a griffin, but not the one I was expecting. He's all black, with light grey undertone and a scar on his face that goes from his forehead to his left cheek, going over his eye and forcing it shut. He's wearing tight chain mail armor over his chest and has a thinner griffin sword under his right wing. "So... you came," he says as he approaches us. "Where is my sister?" Celestia demands. "You will get her soon enough. First Miles must meet my masters," he says as he stares at Celestia. She is about to charge at him but stops when I hold my arm out. "Who are you?" I ask. "I am Olaf Quickclaw." "And I am Miles Eremita. Take me to your so-called masters so I may put their names to the test." A large smile grows on his face as he turns to the dogs and motions to them with his head. Two of the dogs run to the other side of the dragon as Olaf returns his gaze to me. "First rule, no weapons and no armor." I nod to him and begin to drop all of my weapons and armor. "Miles," Celestia whispers to me, keeping her gaze on Olaf. "Are you sure you'll be able to go without your weapons?" "I won't need them," I say as I drop my chest armor and begin to remove my bracers. When I finish, I turn back and wait for the next ruling. "All of your armor." I blink a few times before I pull my shirt off and drop my pants down. "The underwear stays," I say as I kick my clothes away. "Fine by me. Next rule, only Miles may come..." "WHAT?!" Celestia yells as she tries to charge forward, only stopping because I hold her back. "If any others appear near our fortress, we will slit her throat and feed her corpse to the buzzards..." "YOU WILL DO NO SUCH THING..." "CELESTIA!" I yell as I jump in front of her. "Trust me on this one. I will get her back, safe. But I need you to stay here and keep Canterlot and Ponyville safe." "What!? Do you really think they would try another attack?" "Maybe, but its better to be safe than sorry. Send a letter to Storm and Big Mac. Tell them I said to keep watch over Ponyville until I return. Got it?" She looks back to Olaf before looking back to me. "Very well... but, please... bring my sister back." I nod to her and step towards Olaf. "I believe I said to remove all of your armor," he says as he points to my arm. "These are power restraints, I don't think you want me removing them." He thinks about it for a second before he nods and looks back to see the two dogs running up with a large black pot. The pot is filled with a black sludge that gives off a pungent odor that reminds me of tar. "Alright, next rule. No magic. Dip your hands and feet into the cauldron." I nod and do as he says. Having the black substance on me feels odd. I feel as if there's a part of me missing... or just distant. "Alright, follow me to Rex and we'll get going," he says as he turns and starts to walk towards the dragon. I turn around to Celestia and take a few breaths before talking. "Alright. I'll try my best to make this go quickly, but I can't give an exact time." "Thank you Miles. This means a lot to me," she says as she looks away. I think she still dislikes me, but after this I wish to at least have her respect. I turn and walk to the large wooden construction on the dragon, it has two rows of... seats? They're not really seats - there's a ledge sticking straight out of the floorboard, going out about half a meter. A rope is tied into the center of the ledge and goes up two meters before it goes back into the wood. There are six of these ledges, three on each side. The front and back two have been taken by dogs while the one to the left has been taken by Olaf. I climb a rope ladder and take my spot next to him. "REX! LETS FLY!" Olaf yells getting a roar in response. With a mighty leap the dragon takes off into the air, flapping its wings as we fly higher into the air. I hold onto the rope as I place a foot against the ledge. "Alright!" Olaf yells over the wind. "This is going to be a two day flight, so get comfortable." I continue to stare forward as I begin to mentally prepare for what I'm about to endure. Two days later I spent the entire trip in silence, meditating for the inevitable. We went over vast expanses of water, over mountains and through two storms, but I stayed vigilant, waiting for our destination. Once a day they would apply more of the black sludge to my hands and feet, and every time I would just nod and stare forwards, waiting for our destination. We finally begin to make our descent towards a mountain. Most of the plant life on this mountain seems to be dry, making the mountain appear a light tan color. The top of the mountain has been leveled to make room for a giant, dark grey castle. It's square in shape and has four tall towers at each of the corners. The main entrance is a large wooden door that stands two stories tall. A large trench has been dug around the compound and is filled with water. We land in front of the massive door and stretch of water. "Here we are, Dragonsfell," Olaf says as he flies off of the saddle. I jump off and begin to walk towards the main gate, pausing when hundreds of people show up on top of the walls with bows and arrows pointing towards us. I could see dogs, ponies, griffons, humanoid scaly people, and young dragons all on the wall. "Halt! Who goes there?" yells one of the scaly people. "I am Miles Eremita, Captain of the Spartan regiment," I yell back as I continue to walk towards the gate. "What do shadows long for?" I pause and look up to him, not knowing what he means. "Eternal darkness," Olaf yells as he walks up beside me. All of the archers lower their bows as the gate slams down."If you really want to die, then go ahead and walk off without me again," he says as he begins to cross the bridge. I follow after him, glancing around at all of the creatures within. The compound is one central building with high walls going around it, giving several meters between the two. In the open area people are going about their typical business, moving weapons, training, stacking boxes. "What are they?" I ask as I stare at one of the scaly men. "They are orcs. A cruel twist of reptiles from the Pit. Do yourself a favor, don't stare at them." Though he said not to, I can't help but stare. They're almost three meters tall, with scaly green skin, long thick tails, and with faces only a mother could tolerate. It seriously looks like one of the pig faces from Applejack's farm squished down to fit a human head. I stop staring long enough to enter the center building. We enter a long hallway of grey stone and black flags hanging on the walls. We continue down the hall, passing door after door. We finally make it to the end of the hall and face the last door. "Alright, my master awaits," Olaf says as he opens the door and ushers me in. The inside is a large open room, with tall windows filling the walls that are lined with guards. They all wear chain mail and have black helmets. The far end of the room is blocked off by a long black curtain. Olaf walks me to the center of the room and walks towards the curtain, stopping halfway and bowing before it. "Master, I bring you Miles Eremita." "Good. Good. Welcome, Miles Eremita, I have a proposition for you," says a deep voice from behind the curtain. I stay silent and allow him to continue. "It has come to my understanding that you are dying. I wish to help. Swear loyalty to me, give in to the Darkness and I shall save you from your inevitable fate..." "Where's Luna?" I demand. "Ah yes, the blue one," he says as a portion of the curtain moves aside to reveal Luna... no, that's not Luna. This one seems somewhat happy, giving a light spring to her step as she trots over to me. "Hello Miles, I'm glad..." "Is this a joke? Cause I'm not laughing. I want Luna. The real Luna. You won't get my answer until I see her. And if you take longer than a minute to get her here, then it's a no." The room falls silent. I start counting the seconds, getting to fifty four before a loud snap rings in the room. A column of black smoke swirls around before me and dissipates, revealing the real Luna. She's laying on the ground before me, looking away from me. She seems to have been beaten, having bruises all over her body... why won't she look at me? "Luna," I call out, only to get her to close her eyes as she looks farther to her left. "Luna, please look at me." I see a tear roll down her face as she slowly looks up at me. On the right side of her face is a crusty white stain covering a large, dark bruise. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I scream out as I flare the portal on my back, sending the lines over my entire body. When the lines make it to the black sludge it begins to burn it off, eventually getting to my hands and heels, igniting them. I throw my left arm out, making a bright light that stuns everyone in the room. I bring my left hand in front of me and prepare to attack. My hand has become imbued with the Laminas Lucis - an energy trench knife that has a single-edged blade that goes out for about half a meter, and has long spikes that come out from my knuckles. The spikes are twenty centimeters long and point straight out. The entire blade is a conglomerate of different colors swirling around, surrounded by a white light. "KILL HIM!" yells the voice, making every guard charge at me. I run at Olaf and punch him in the chest before he can draw his sword. Laminis Lux seems to negate armor, going straight into his body without any resistance. I begin to pull the spike upwards, moving through his body with very little fight. I begin to pull a white wisp from his body, making his face become emotionless. With a hard yank I tear out the wisp, making it disappear. His body falls limply to the side. He's still alive... though the same could not be said for his soul. ANINMA VESTRA MORTE ET SCIENT "ANINMA VESTRA MORTE ET SCIENT!" ANINMA VESTRA MORTE ET SCIENT I scream as I dodge an orcs blade. I swing my Laminas Lucis across his chest, pulling out a chunk of a green wisp. He staggers back and holds onto his chest as more and more guards charge at me. I duck, dodge, dive and roll away from the frenzy of blades trying to stab and slash at me, punching a few of them along the way. An orc tackles me and charges forward, slamming me into a wall. I take my right hand and slam it onto his armor, melting it and making him scream in agony. I push him away from me with my legs and take control of the molten metal with my right hand, turning it into a long whip. I swing my right hand and send the fiery whip around a griffins neck, yanking him back as I slice my left hand at a pony next to me, sending a brown wisp into the air. I charge forward and begin attacking anything in sight, cutting souls, burning bodies, it all becomes a blur of my wrath as I spin my whip from person to person, stabbing and punching at those who get too close. When I start to get overwhelmed I spin my arms around, breaking all of the glass windows and sending the shards around in a vortex. "ENOUGH!" yells an orc from behind, making me drop all of the glass. I turn around slowly to see him holding a terrified Luna against himself as he holds a knife against her throat. "Now you lose..." Before he can finish I punch forwards with my Laminas Lucis, sending a white blast through the orc, killing his soul. He drops the blade and Luna as he falls back. With his death, the only remaining enemy is the one behind the curtain, so I slash my whip at the curtain, burning it and revealing him. He looks... odd. His bottom half seems to be that of a very large pony, while the top half seems to be that of a human. His chest and neck seem to be all black fur, where his arms and face are blood red. His ears go out to the side for a bit, twitching to every sound in the room. A thin necklace hangs around his neck, ending in a small brown bag. He carries one of those spear swords in his left hand, this one being embellished with silver etchings. He stands about as tall as one of the orcs. "Suffering... is magic," he says as he reaches up with his right hand and opens the bag. A column of darkness shoots out from it and slams straight into my chest, sending me into the wall behind. I fall to my feet and charge at him, sending my whip at him. He covers his weapon in the cloudy darkness and catches the whip with it as he charges at me. I punch forward as he slices at me, causing a massive explosion that sends us both flying back. I stagger back to my feet and stare at him as he does the same. "What is it you want? What are you... who are you?" I ask as I approach him. "MUAHAHAHa, you mean you don't know? HA! I am Tirek. A centaur from the purge, sent here by the rainbow of light. I am here to take my rightful place as ruler of darkness. Now... as for what I want, that's simple, in fact I'll make a deal with you. Tell me how you make the archaic circles, and I'll let you and your little pony go." "Why do you want to know that?" "DO NOT TEST ME BOY! TELL ME OR FACE THE WRATH OF THE RAINBOW OF DARKNESS!" he yells as he takes his stance. I glance over to see Luna looking between the two of us. I don't think I've ever seen her this scared before. "No." "THEN DIE!" He yells as he shoots the dark rainbow at me. I bring up Laminas Lucis and create a white shield before me, blocking the attack with total ease. The room suddenly fills with the black smoke, so I take a readied stance and prepare for anything. When the smoke clears I look around for him, but he's gone. I return Laminas Lucis to its gem state, making me drop my magic. I run over to Luna and catch her as she collapses. "Hey, hey, hey, you’re alright. I've got you," I say as I hold onto her. "Miles... you came for me..." she says weakly. "We have to get out of here, can you use your magic?" "No... they... put this sludge..." she starts to say but stops as she starts to cry. "Shhh, shhh, it’s alright. It’s over now," I say as I hold her against myself. "I'm going to get you out of here, just hold on." I pull her onto my back, getting her to put her forehooves over my shoulders as I carry her out of the castle. I keep an eye out for any enemies, but as we exit the building I can see them evacuating the compound. I continue to carry Luna out, making it past the gate and down the path a bit before I stop and set her down. "Miles... what are you doing?" Luna asks as I face the castle. I bring up my magic, feeling it going straight to max for some reason, and push both of my palms at the building. A gigantic white beam shoots out from my hands, crashing into the building and causing a massive explosion that shakes the ground. When the smoke clears, all that is left is a pile of rubble and a massive fire. Perspective: Tirek I slam open the door to my study and pace about, angry beyond belief. That damned fool! I'll end him. If it’s the last thing I do I swear that I'll... "So, things didn't work out," Steelwing says from the side as he slices a piece of apple into his mouth. "KNOW YOUR PLACE!" I bark at him as I continue to pace around. "Well, what did you expect him to do when you ordered me to do what I did? We need to move on," he says as he tosses the apple aside. "Move on? Move on... yes. Our plans can still come to fruition. We just need to be patient. We move on. Go to your contact and have them move on to stage four. We will come back to stage three when the time is right." "Very well. What do you plan on doing for the time being, then?" "For now, we go into exile. We must lull them into a sense of false security before we strike... patience. I must call the other masters forth - they will need to be utilized after all." "To the Pit?" "Yes." Author's Note Shout out to halfdemonspartan for picking the color scheme for the dragon. Thanks for reading, if you know where this villain comes from, then Brony to you! Brony on!
Chapter 84 Fires, Trees, And WaterChapter 84 Fires, Trees And Water Perspective: Miles I stare at the fire for a bit before I spit at the ground. I know many escaped, but if I ever hear of any of them... not even Luna could stop me from hunting them down and tearing them apart. I turn around to see Luna trying to get up, only to fall back down. "Here, let me heal you," I say as I kneel next to her and lay my hands on her. "DON'T TOUCH ME!" she yells, making me fall back. I stare at her as she glares back at me. I know that look, that's the look Fidus gave me when we picked her up at the hospital... "Luna... I need to heal you, but to do that I need to lay my hands on you. May I do that?" I ask as I get back up. She takes several deep breaths before she closes her eyes and nods. I flare my hands, but go straight to max again. "What the fuck?" I try to lower the power level, but can't seem to get the lines to drop. "Hmm... I can't seem to lower my power level... this may cause some discomfort, are you ready?" "Y-yeah. Just... just do it quickly," she says as she holds her eyes shut. I kneel beside her as I flare my magic. I take a few breaths before I slowly lay my hands on her side, making her flinch from my touch. I start to send the healing energy into her, sending it in bursts. With each burst I watch the wounds on her body quickly recede. Once finished I drop my magic and back away from her. "How’s that?" "Much better... thank you. S-sorry I snapped at you..." "It's alright. You've been through a lot. Let's just work on getting you home. Can you walk or should I carry you?" She tries to get up, but her legs shake too much and she falls back down. "I-I may need help," she says as she starts to tear up. "Hey, don't worry. I've got you. Now..." I kneel next to her and offer her a hand. She recoils a bit and stares at me, trembling. "Don't be scared, I'm not going to hurt you. Take your time. We'll leave when you’re ready." She takes a few breaths before she looks back to me. She slowly reaches out and takes my hand. I hold her hoof for a while, rubbing it a bit before I start to pull her onto my back. She wraps her legs around my neck as I hold onto her from beneath. I stand up and begin to walk down the steep path. "I... I'm sorry I..." "No, I'm sorry," I say as a fire starts to spread rapidly to my right. All of the dry material easily catches fire and makes the flames grow higher and higher. I keep to the left of the path and hold tighter onto Luna. "Why are you sorry?" "I left you, ran away to hide. I should’ve stayed and been there for you, then none of this would have happened. I'm so sorry Luna..." "Miles..." "I promise you, I'll never make that mistake again, no matter what. I'll always be there for you." She tightens her hold on me as she lays her head over my left shoulder. "Thank you Miles." The fire to my right has grown past me now, destroying everything on the right side of the path. I decide to trek through the left part of the path to escape the heat from the fire. We walk through some dead plants before we come across an open area. Straight ahead is a dark forest, rich in the colors of various plant life. I continue down towards the treeline, holding tightly onto Luna as she does the same to me. "Heh, did I ever tell you about the time Dolum and I got lost in Topaz?" I ask to pass the time. "... no... what happened?" she asks softly. "Ah man, where do I start... well, I was nine at the time. We heard some older classmates talk about this amazing restaurant in the southern district, so we decided to go look for it, but we ended up getting lost..." "How do you get lost in a city where everything is so... connected?" she asks as she perks up a bit. "Heh, it's easier than you think - now I had no clue where we were, and Dolum refused to accept that we were lost, so we ended up spending two days walking around the southern district..." "Two days... did you just not eat?" "We ate. I… er... well, I learned how to be a really good pickpocket from my time in the orphanage..." "Miles!" "Hey, it was survival. But, apparently Dolum had the same idea as you. He told me that 'people want to give you what you want, you just need to show them'. He spent hours doing card tricks, coin tricks, basically a ton of parlor tricks to earn money for us to eat." "Ho-how did you find your way home?" "Well, we didn't... kind of. We actually found the restaurant and spent five silver credits on food. By luck, Captain Bellum showed up when we finished eating and took us back to the P.C.H... well, after eating that is." "Do you miss them?" I pause for a second before I enter the treeline, taking in my surroundings. "Yeah... but that's not the end of the story though. You see, every year we tried to go back to that restaurant, we could never find it. No matter how hard we looked, no matter how many floors we checked, we could never find it." "Did it shut down?" "No, we constantly heard people talking about eating there. Dolum said that the reason we could never find it, was because we lost the magic of the adventure." "What does that mean?" "I'm not entirely sure, but I think that he meant that, because we weren't looking for it without a greater purpose, we would fail to ever find it... I just always thought that we wandered around so much that it just lies in a different section of the town." As we continue through the forest I try to keep an eye out for any potential threats. Luna loosens her grip on me as she starts to take deeper breaths. "Everything alright?" "Y-yeah... Miles, I'm... I'm still in estrus." "Yeah, I know..." "And you're completely naked." "Yeah... I know..." "Um... so..." "I'm not going to do anything..." "Is... is it because... of what Steelwing did..." "No." "But..." "I don't want to because I'm still going to honor your wishes, not because I want to tear that slime ball apart." "...so... you still want to be with me." "More than ever. Would you take an idiot like me?" She tightens her hold on me as she rubs her face against the side of my head. I can feel tears coming down her cheeks as she starts to cry. "Miles... I... I love you." "Ego amare te magis." "Ego amare te maxime," she says as she wipes her tears away. "Why don't you go ahead and try to take a nap? I have a feeling this is going to take a while." "OK... could... could you sing me a lullaby?" "A lullaby... sorry... I don't know any." She gives a little sigh as she lays her head down. Damn... I guess I could try a song I know... "I got dosed by you and Closer than most to you and What am I supposed to do. Take it away, I never had it anyway, Take it away and everything will be Okay." She tightens her hold on me as I try my best to sing the song. The forest is starting to flatten out, so its getting easier to walk through. "In you a star is born and You cut a perfect form and Someone forever warm Lay on lay on lay on lay on Way upon the mountain where she diiiiieeed All I ever wanted was your life Deep inside the canyon I can't hiiiiide All I ever wanted was your life.” She gives a soft sigh as her hold on me begins to soften, but I continue with the song. "Show love with no remorse and Climb on to your seahorse and This ride is right on course This is the way I wanted it to be with you This is the way I knew it would be with you Lay on lay on lay on lay on Way upon the mountain where she diiiiieeed All I ever wanted was your life Deep inside the canyon I can't hiiiiide All I ever wanted was your life." I see our shadows begin to flicker and I glance back to see that the fire is starting to chase after us, so I quicken my pace. Luna tightens her hold on me, so I continue singing. "I got dosed by you and Closer than most to you and What am I supposed to do. Take it away, I never had it anyway, Take it away and everything will be Okay. Way upon the mountain where she diiiiieeed All I ever wanted was your life Deep inside the canyon I can't hiiiiide All I ever wanted was your life." I hear something moving behind me, so I turn around to see a line of water fall from the sky and wash out the fire. I can't really explain it more than that... so I continue to walk through the trees. Luna's fallen asleep now, so I try my best to keep quiet. After a couple of hours of walking, I stop when a small lake gets in my way. The water is crystal clear, showing the murky bottom. I lick my lips as I stare at the water. We both need water, I think a break is in order. I walk up to the shore and slowly set Luna down. When she's down she sighs and curls onto herself. I'll wake her up in a bit, she needs the rest. I squat down beside the water to scoop up some water... "You there." I spin around and stand up as I stare at... the thing behind me. It looks human, head, face, arms, legs... breasts. But it's made of wood. Its hair is made of vines that go down to her waist and have pink flowers. Her eyes are made of green energy, and I can see the same energy in the cracks of the mossy wood. "Who are you?" she asks in a voice that seems to echo slightly. "I'm Miles Eremita... who are you?" "I... am Delilah. You... you seem familiar. Do I know you?" she asks as she walks around. "We've never met before. What are you?" "I am a forest elemental. Why do you carry the blue one?" she asks as she starts to walk over towards Luna. I quickly get in between the two of them, making Delilah step back. "So that is why, interesting." "What do you want?" "My forest. I shall be leaving, Miles Eremita. Farewell," she says as she starts to walk off. "Wait! Can you help me? I..." "The only one that can help you is right behind you, but you have to help her first. Cleanse yourselves, then you will find that which you seek..." "Where's the nearest city!? Is there a nearby path we can take..." "You know what must be done," she says as she walks up to a tree and phases into it. I run up to the tree and try to grab her, but she's gone. I punch the tree a couple of times before I hear Luna start to wake up, so I run back to her. "Miles... what's going on?" she asks as she looks around. "There was this forest elemental that I..." "A forest elemental? Then... we're a long way from home." She looks over to the water and licks her lips a couple of times before she tries to get up, but is still too weak to do it on her own. "Here, let me help you..." I say as I kneel beside her. I offer her a hand and wait for her to take it. "C-can you take me into the water... and wash me off?" "Of course, just take my hand." She gives me a smile and takes my hand. Seeing her smile puts a smile on my face. I'm glad she's starting to cheer up... but I know it'll be a long time till she's back to normal... whatever that will be for her. I pick her up and walk into the water. Once the water gets halfway up to my shins I lay down in the water, laying Luna on top of me so we're face to face. "How's that?" "G-good... uh... can you... help me wash?" I nod and start to scoop water onto her. I start with her back and wings, pouring water down and rubbing it in before pouring more water down. I start working my way to her neck, mane, and eventually her face. I bring up some water and try to clean her face, but she looks away from me. "Luna..." "Miles... I-I... he did things to me..." "Who did?" "St-steelwing." "*inhale, exhale* Right." "But he never took it. I'm still a virgin... he... just played with me... and touched me..." I grab a hold of her as she starts to tear up. "It... it's going to be alright. I'm here for you now. He can't do those things anymore..." "Miles... they did take something from me though... my greatest secret... he took it from me instead of my virginity..." "What... Luna..." "They made me tell them how I move the moon. My greatest secret ever, and those monsters know it. What will Celestia say? I… I can't face her... I can't even look at you right now... I feel so dirty... why did this happen Miles?" she asks before she breaks down and sobs into my chest. I hold onto her and stroke her mane as I try my best to comfort her. I lose track of how long we sit there for, I don't really care though. "Hey... Celestia won't get mad at you..." "But I..." "She's going to get mad at those monsters for taking your secret. She will also be happy." "H-happy?" "Yeah. Happy to have her sister back. Happy that she wasn't killed. Happy that you're healthy. Celestia won't care that they forced your secret out, she'll just be happy that you're home." "*sniffle* D-do you really think so?" she asks as she looks me in the eyes. "I know so. Now let’s finish getting you cleaned up," I say as I scoop some water onto her cheek and start to wash the dried stain away. When I finish washing her face I can't help but stare into her eyes. She starts to look away but I push her chin up to have her look back to me. "M-Miles... I... how can you still look at me..." "Because I love you." "But..." "And no matter what happens, no matter what anyone does, I will always love you. You, are my cause." She smiles again before she leans in and gives me a quick kiss on the forehead. "Thank you Miles. I'll always love you too." "OK... I'm going to start washing lower, let me know if you feel uncomfortable, alright?" "OK," she says as she lays her head against my chest. I move down to her lower back and begin to wash. When I start doing her stomach I actually get her to giggle a bit. I didn't know she's ticklish, that will come in handy later. I feel her tense up as I start washing the top of her hip, so I stop. "Miles..." "If you don't feel comfortable, just say the word. I won't do anything you don't want me to do." "I want you to clean me... please. I want to remember your touch, not his. Please." I nod to her and start to wash her backside. I didn't want to, but I start to really enjoy washing her ass. She tenses up at first, but as I go she slowly begins to relax. I finish washing, but can't help but continue to grab her. She's so soft, yet there's a firmness beneath. "Miles..." "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to, I just got carried away..." "I want you to wash in the middle." "Wh-what?" "He... touched me there. Can you please wash his touch away? I won't try anything, I promise. But... I want to feel clean there." I gulp as my heart starts to race. I reach over and scoop some water up. I glance over to Luna, who nods to me, before I lay my hands down in between. "Whoa..." I mutter as I hold my hand on soft folds. I slowly begin to rub it, trying my best to not go inside. I can feel myself get hard as Luna begins to take deeper breaths. "Miles, don't stop. But there's something I need to tell you," she says as she lays her head on my shoulder. "Right... don't stop..." I say as I scoop up some more water and continue to 'wash' her. "I've... you know how I'm in estrus, right?" "Yeah, why?" "I... I've never been through estrus before." "What? But you're over three thousand years old. How could you have never been through it before?" "Celestia hasn't either. Alicorns don't go through it unless they meet... certain requirements. And when we do go through it, we only go through it for around forty years. After that, we can never go through it again." "Luna..." "I want to go through it with you. Only you. After you're gone... I'll do whatever I can to stay pure. I only want you, Miles." I look over to her and stare into her eyes in disbelief. "Luna... will you marry me?" Author's Note The song sung was Dosed by Red Hot Chili Peppers, chosen by Tallestbrony. Sorry, but there are a few songs that I will choose to help convey a message. HI RICHARD, Brony on!
Chapter 85 In The Cold Of NightChapter 85 In The Cold Of Night "Wh-what?" Luna asks as a small smile grows on her face. "Will you marry me?" "One more time," she says as her smile grows even larger. "Will you, Luna, marry me?" I ask, getting her to giggle as she tries to hide her enormous smile. "I... I... yes..." "Yes..." "YES. YES YES YES YES YES YES YE—MMMMMMM!" she starts to yell but stops when I pull her in for a kiss. She immediately throws her hooves around my neck and returns the kiss, breaking the kiss every now and again to giggle some more. I roll us over so that I'm on top and begin to kiss and nibble her neck, when she suddenly grabs my dick. "Luna!" "Put that away." "Huh?" "Put it away. We can do that after we walk down the aisle," she says with the biggest smile ever. "Hey, I was the one who was trying to wait..." "And I'm the one who's going to make sure we do." I laugh a little at the irony as I bury my face in her neck. "Alright, whatever you say... fiancee." "Heh, thank you, fiancee," she says as she starts to kiss my neck. "Hey fiancee." "Yes, fiancee?" "You can let go now." "Oh, right," she says as she finally lets go of me and brings her hoof back up. "So *ahem* yeah, waiting..." "Why don't we dry off and head home, fiancee?" I say with a large smile. She nods, so I pick her up and carry her over to the shore line, where I lay her down. I lay beside her and pull her in close, so we're face to face again. We stare into each other’s eyes for a bit before I lean in and give her a quick kiss on the nose. She returns the love by kissing my nose, then my forehead. I laugh a little as I kiss her nose, forehead, and the base of her horn. "No fair, you don't have one," she says as she puts on her pouty face. "So I win?" "Never," she says as she leans in and kisses my nose, forehead, and then licks my forehead, sending shivers down my spine. "Oh sweet Barbra..." "WHO GOES THERE?" Luna and I both freeze up as we look to our right, to see an elderly griffin walk up to us. He's a light brown, with the top of his head being bald. The end of his wings are light grey, and he has grey hairs growing in his brown fur. He glances at the two of us before he turns around. "Go ahead and finish up. When you're done please, come to my home, it’s this way," he says as he starts to walk off to the right. I look back to Luna to see her blushing like crazy. "Heh, you're blushing," I say as I bring my hand up to her cheek. "You are too!" Luna says as she tries to hide her blushing face. "Yeah, but it's not as cute as when you do it," I say as I run my hand down her face and neck. She gives me a small smile before trying to get up, and succeeding. She holds herself up, a little wobbly but still standing. I lean up and kiss her chest, making her drop back down onto me. "Miles!" "Totally worth it," I say with a smile. She gives me a playful punch on the chest before trying again. I help her up before standing up myself. "So... he said that way, right?" Luna asks as she faces the direction the griffin went. "Yeah, should we go? What if he's one of those... people from the fort?" "If he was from there, why didn't he attack then?" she asks as she starts to walk into the forest. I shrug my shoulders and walk beside her, letting her lean against me when she starts to get too tired to stand. "Do you want me to carry you?" I ask as she takes her third break. "I can do it... just give me a minute," she says tiredly. I wrap my arm around her neck and stroke her neck. "You're enjoying this too much." "I'm just making the best of a bad situation..." "No, I mean you're 'enjoying' this too much," she says as she looks evenly at me. I stare at her in confusion, having no clue what she means. She lifts up a hoof and... "AAAHH!" I yell as I double over. "WHY WOULD YOU SMACK MY COCK!?" I yell as I hold onto my sore member. "I told you to put it away," she says nonchalantly. "But... but..." "Hey, I think I can see his place," she says as she starts to walk off without me. I take a moment to collect myself before I follow after her. Why... never mind, I'm just going to drop this one. I walk forward and find the home Luna was talking about. It's a single story house that was carved into a small hill. A few holes have been burroweed out here and there for windows, the largest one being for door. The entire top is covered in grass and random flowers and goes up about a meter and a half. I see Luna walk through the door, so I run up and follow her inside. I have to duck as I step inside and take a look around. There's a bed to my right with dark green blankets; in the center of the room is a table with two chairs; to my left is a sink and bulky black stove; in the back of the room is a big chest that has a large lock on it, sitting beside a table that holds what looks like a chemistry set. All of the furniture is made of aged wood, and is either covered in random tools or papers. Luna has taken the closest seat to me while the griffin works on something on the stove, so I take a seat on the floor next to Luna. "Hey... sorry about earlier... I don't know why I did it. Are you OK?" she says as she nuzzles my head a bit. "I'll be fine. It was probably hormones, no big deal," I say as I lean against her. "So..." says the griffin as he brings a kettle over to the table and pours us each a glass, but doesn't give them to us. "I am curious, who are you?" he says as he takes a seat. "I'm Miles Eremita, Captain of the Spartan forces..." "And I'm Princess Luna of Equestria." Luna says proudly, getting me to smile along with her as I wrap an arm around her, holding onto her thigh. "Princess? Captain? So I must ask, what were you doing up at the castle?" he asks as he takes a sip from one of the cups, savoring the flavor before swallowing. "I was brought there to speak with their leader, but only went to rescue her," I say as I tighten my hold on her a bit. "You were a prisoner there?" he asks, getting a slow nod from Luna. "Aw, then you have my apologies," he says as he pushes the cups over to us. I take the cup and look it over a bit before trying it... well... at least it isn't poisoned... I hope. "I've seen what happens to the females brought to that place... monsters. You have my condolences." "Th-thank you," Luna mutters as she takes a sip from the cup, holding it with her mouth. "So, gone to rescue the damsel in distress, fighting against the odds to save her virtue... all to propose," he says, making me spit out the liquid in my mouth. "Sorry, but I heard a bit of your conversation. Truly honorable, blessings on your love," he says as he lifts his cup and takes another drink. "Right... thank you... so, who are you?" I ask as I set the cup down. "I, am Ulif Longstride. I'm an agent of the griffin colonies sent here... twenty three years ago, to watch the activities of Castle Hammersfell. Now, the question is, what are you?" "I'm..." "I've seen centaurs, treefolk, ponies, ogres, all sorts of different people go in that castle, but none like you." "I'm human. My people... well, let’s just say we like being hidden." "Human... strange. You seem to be just the upper half of the centaurs... how did you make the entire castle blow up?" "With an explosion." "How did you make the explosion?" "With fire." "And where did the fire come from?" "Well, it needs oxygen, a heat source and..." "I know how fire is made, where did you make your fire?" "Uh... guys..." Luna tries to say. "Well, basically from nowhere." "You can't make fire from nothing." "Really?" "Really." Three Hours Later "... and thus spontaneous combustion is achieved," I say in summation. Ulif gawks at me in amazement from my ability to avoid his questions. "Right... anyway. Uh... you two probably need to get to Equestria, right?" he asks as he looks over some papers. "Yeah, the sooner the better," I say as I stroke Luna's mane. She had fallen asleep during my explanation and now lays in my lap. "Right, if you're willing to wait a day, I'll arrange for a ship to take you two across the Divide." "Really? Wow, thank you. That would be most appreciated." "Right, so I must be off then. I must fly to the port and make the proper arrangements. Feel free to use my home as you wish until I return. Bathroom is out back, there's a pot of Miso soup in the ice chest out back that you can have. It gets pretty cold at night, so I suggest you stay inside," he says as he walks around the room and collects random objects to put into a satchel. "But... please... I have to sleep on that bed later..." "Don't worry, nothing will happen," I assure him, getting a smile in response. "Right. I'll see what I can muster up then, take care. I shall return within a day with a seaworthy ship for us to travel to Equestria," he says as he walks out the door. When the door shuts Luna jolts awake and quickly sits up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Where... where did Ulif go?" she asks with a yawn. "He went to get us a ship so we can cross something called the Divide... what’s the Divide?" "It's an ocean - how is he going to get a ship?" she asks as she walks around the room, looking for something. "Well, I'm not sure. He said he was an agent of the griffin colonies, maybe they'll help. What's an ocean?" "It’s a large body of water, where’s the bathroom?" she asks as she looks back to me. Large... water... fuck yeah. "He said it was out back, here, let me show you," I say as I start to get up. "I think I can find the restroom on my own, Miles," Luna says as she starts to walk towards the door. "You can, but I'd feel more comfortable if I kept an eye on you. Who knows what enemies are still lurking around out there?" "Miles... this feels... you're being a little overprotective," she says as she waits by the door. "Yeah, I am. But that's only because I don't trust this area. Sorry, but... I just don't want to lose you again," I say as I open the door and wait for her outside. She steps out and walks past me, heading towards the back without me. I shut the door and follow after her, letting her have some distance as I watch the surrounding area. We find a small wooden room with a crescent cut into the door behind the hill house. Luna walks right in and shuts the door behind her. I'll take her being a little pissy and safe over not knowing any day. "AAAAAHHH!" Luna yells as she kicks the door open and runs outside with some grey fuzzy thing on her head. I run over and pull it off and toss it aside. The grey creature hisses at us before running away. "DARN RACCOON!" Luna yells as she tosses a rock at it. "What happened?" I ask as I walk up to her and try to calm her down. "The-the raccoon was IN the outhouse and attacked me," she says, getting me to chuckle a bit. "Its not funny!" "No, you're right. That was bad. *giggle* Bad raccoon," I say as I try my best not to laugh. "*sigh* OK, it was a little funny," she says as she leans her head against me. "Alright, next time let me check it before you use it, OK?" I say as I lift her chin to look at me. "OK... can you check it now?" she asks with a blush. I nod to her and head to the toilet and check it for any other raccoons. I look back to Luna and nod to her, moving aside to let her finish her business. I look back to see a chest sitting on some large chunks of ice, so I walk over to it and pull out the only pot inside. "What’s that?" Luna asks as she leaves the restroom. "Something called miso soup, know what it is?" "It's just a type of soup... you don't know what soup is, do you?" "Nnnope," I say as we start to walk towards the front door. "*sigh* I'm going to have to teach you so much..." "Aw, you say that like its a bad thing," I say as I nudge her a bit, getting her to smile in response. We head inside where I set the pot on the stove and take a look at it. I doubt you eat it cold. I go to flare my hand but stop when Luna grabs my arm. "No. I saw how much magic you used already, no more for today... and tomorrow. Only if it's truly necessary," she says as she pushes me aside. "I'll cook it, you just take a seat and wait." "OK, OK, I'm sitting down," I say as I take a seat. Luna gets to work getting the stove to turn on and sets the pot on the flame, not using her magic at all. "Hey Luna, is your magic still being blocked?" "Yeah... they did say they gave me a more concentrated dose," she says as she walks over to me and sits beside me. "So... here we are... soon to be wife and husband... in the middle of nowhere... alone..." "Yeah, good thing we're waiting till after marriage, otherwise this would be awkward," I say sarcastically as I glance back to Luna. She's biting her lower lip as she stares at my junk. "No, Luna." "What! I wasn't looking! I-I was... just thinking about... about..." "My junk in you?" I ask as I turn towards her. "What!? No, HA! Why would I be thinking about that? We're waiting until after marriage for that. Pfft, no... why, were you?" she asks as she leans in a bit. "I, was actually thinking of dates. When do you want to get married?" I ask, getting her to droop a little. "Right, dates... lets see... this may take awhile." "The actual date, or thinking of one?" "Both. We still have to hide us from Celestia..." "What!? Why?" "Do you really think she'd let us marry? She'd be the first one to object, I guarantee it..." "Do you really think we can hide an entire marriage from her?" "Well... maybe..." "And what about the primum somno?" "The first sleep?" "You know... our first night." "Oh..." FWOOSH "OH!" I laugh a bit as I run my hand along the top of her wing, making her shiver from my touch. She scoots forward and sets herself between my legs, as she wraps her forehooves around my waist and lays her head against my chest. I rest my arms around her as I look out the window and see that the sun is starting to set, giving me an idea. "Hey, I've got an idea," I whisper into her ear. "What’s that?" She whispers back to me. "Why don't you go raise the moon, give your sister a nice surprise?" She looks up to me and smiles before giving me a soft kiss on the lips. "I would... but I can't. I need my magic to do that..." "Oh... sorry." "It's OK. It was still sweet of you," she says before she lays her head back onto my chest. I look over to see the flame has died on the stove, as the temperature in the room begins to drop. "Wow, he said that it was going to get cold... but I didn't imagine it getting this cold this fast," I say as I begin to rub Luna. "I think we should call it a day and go to bed, to at least keep warm." I nod and pick up Luna as I stand, getting her to giggle a bit as I carry her over to the bed. I set her down so I could pull the blanket down, only to get her to knock me over. I roll over as she climbs on top of me, trying my best to get the both of us under the sheets, which proves to be a difficult challenge because of her erect wings. "Hey there," I say as Luna falls to my side and kisses my neck, making my heart start to race. "Hey there," she says as I return the love, kissing and nibbling her neck. "So, marriage," she says as she lays her head beside mine and brings a hoof up to my shoulder. "Crazy right?" "Yeah, but I still want to do it." "Me too." The room falls silent as the sun continues to fall behind the horizon, darkening the room. "Do... do you think..." "What? You can ask me anything Luna, don't be afraid to open up with me," I say as I bring a hand up to her cheek and hold it there, rubbing her gently. "Do you think my parents would approve? I never really got to know them... I just want to make them proud." "I think, they would be proud of you no matter what you chose to do. They loved Celestia like that, I don't see why they wouldn't be the same with you." The room falls silent again, now being completely dark and very cold. I can see my breath in the faint moonlight, reaching high into the air with every breath. "Miles..." "Yeah Luna?" "What happens after we get married?" "What do you mean?" "Will... will you still love me the same way you love me now? How long..." "Hey. I'll always love you, no matter what. After marriage... we'll only be getting closer and closer to each other." She sighs a bit as she tightens her hold on me, getting as close as possible. "Did I tell you about the message I got from Auxy?" "You got a message from three thousand years ago? What did she say?" "Well, everyone else got out of the power station alive, apparently they evacuated to Quartz Crest. My friends left me a trail to follow, and she went into labor." "Wow... some message. Where's Quartz Crest?" "I don't know, but she did leave coordinates, I just didn't get them..." "Miles! You have to go back and get them." "I'm not going back down there again. Every time I go down there, shit hits the fan..." "Miles, your friends left you a trail to find them. You have to follow after them. You have to find out what happened to everypony." "Luna, I don't feel right leaving you on your own again..." "Well, I will be at Canterlot, probably with even more guards. It's not like you'll be able to be there every second, especially with Celestia..." "Yeah, but being in Ponyville is better than being in Topaz." "This is important Miles, I really think you should pick up their trail and follow after them." I think about it for a bit, I really don't want to go back down there a third time, but she makes a good point. I want to know what happened to everyone. "I'll... I'll think about it." "Thank you," she says as she gives me a kiss in the cheek. I can feel the cold air start to sting against my exposed skin, but luckily Luna got her wings down, so I can at least pull the thick blanket over us. "Hey Luna?" "Yeah?" she says as she starts to fall asleep. "I don't think we could, but... after we get married and all... do you want to try to have kids?" "Miles... you're a different species..." "I know that, but..." "But I guess miracles do happen..." "So does that mean…?" "Yes, we'll try," she says as she nuzzles her face into my neck. I give her a kiss as I squeeze her in a hug. I know it's a long shot, and that it probably won't happen, but hearing her agree to it... I can die happy now. Author's Note Shout out to Taco Town for picking the food. HI SINE WAVE! Brony on!
Chapter 86 Crossing The DivideChapter 86 Crossing The Divide I wake up before Luna when I hear something scurry around in the room. I lean up and take a look around. The room is still fairly dark, but I can see the sun starting to rise in the windows. I try to lean up more but Luna tightens her grip on me. I look down to her and can tell by the look on her face that she's having a dream terror. I hear the scurry again - whatever it is, it's in the kitchen part of the room. "Mmm... no... I said no..." Luna mumbles as her eyes tighten. I lay back down and begin to stroke her mane, trying my best to ignore the scurrying to comfort her. "Mmm... I... don't want this... please... don't..." "Shhh, its OK. I'm here. Everything is going to be alright." I whisper as I put my hand behind her head and hold her. "Mmm... Miles?" She says as she slowly wakes up. "Hey. You were having a dream terror, everything alright?" I ask as I start to rub her cheek with my thumb. She looks around a bit before she takes my hand with both hooves and holds it against herself. "I... it was..." "It's alright. If you don't want to talk about it you don't have to. But if you ever need to, I'm here for you." "I had a dream that you were being tortured. That you were going to be killed." "It's alright, I'm here, nothing bad is going to happen." "Miles... I feel... different." "What do you mean?" "I don't want to have sex with you." "Wait, what?" "I think I'm out of estrus..." "OH! I... I thought... that's good..." "What did you think I meant by that?" she asks as she sits up. "Uh... well, heh, it sounded like you didn't want to have sex with me... ever." "Oh, no, I still do. It's just that now I don't have that voice in my head yelling at me to make babies anymore. That's all," she says with a smile. The scurrying sounds off again, making Luna flip out. She jumps behind me and tries to use me like a shield as she hides from the sound. "What was that!? There's something inside... what is it?" she says as she peers over my shoulder. Suddenly two white fluffy paws reach over the edge, and begin to slowly reveal a small white fluffy creature. It has four legs, a tail, and big bright blue eyes. "Careful, I think it can smell fear," I say as I reach over and start petting it, getting purrs as it rubs its head into my hand. "Oh... sorry. I didn't know he had a cat," Luna says as she reaches and tries to pet it, only to stop when it hisses at her and jumps off the bed. "I guess it doesn't like me..." "That's OK, more for me," I say as I grab her hoof and give it a kiss, getting Luna to giggle a bit. "That's no fair, I don't want to share you," Luna says as she gets on top of me and starts planting kisses on my neck. I wrap my arms around her and begin to return the love. I begin by kissing her on the neck, working my way up to her cheek. We separate from each other to look into each others eyes, conveying our love to each other silently before we both lean forward to kiss. "I'M BACK!" Ulif yells as he busts through the door, scaring the fuck out of the two of us and ending the romance... fucking cock block... well, lip block. "AH, there you are Fluffyton! Where have you been hiding?" he says as he walks in and picks up the cat, petting it as it begins to purr loudly. He pauses when he sees us and drops his happy demeanor. "I thought I asked you not to do that in my bed." "What?" Luna says as we look to one another. Her eyes shoot open as she realizes what he means and quickly gets out of bed. I sigh and begin to follow suit when I remember how nude I am. "Uh, you wouldn't happen to have any clothes I could wear, would you?" I ask as I sit on the edge of the bed. "Clothes?" "Right, never mind." I hate nudity. "So, what’s the plan then?" "Well, after a very brief discussion with my superiors, I've been ordered to escort you two back to Equestria. I've been promoted to captain and given a ship and crew. We'll leave for port after some breakfast," he says as he walks over to the stove and sets his bag down on the counter beside it. He tries to light the stove, but finds the fire has burned out. "Right... OK, you two get comfy... not too comfy, I'm going to use the fire pit outside to make breakfast..." "Here, let me help..." "No, no, no. You are my guest, it would be dishonorable of me to accept your help in this simple task. I'll only be a few minutes," he says before he leaves the room with his bag. I glance over to Luna and put on a smile. "Soo..." "I have to use the restroom. Why don't you work on making some kind of clothing for yourself?" "Oh, alright," I say as I look around for anything that could work. Luna walks up to me and lifts my chin up to give me a quick kiss on the lips. "Hey, don't worry. After we get married you won't need those clothes." Uh... I think this would be the time when my wings would go straight up, if I had wings that is. I shake my head and look back to her smiling face. I lean forward to kiss her, but miss when she steps back. She kisses at me before leaving the room... damn. Well... clothes would be nice. I stand up and start walking around the room, looking for anything that could be used for clothing. I end up taking a small white bed sheet and using it as a toga. I walk outside and go to the left instead, finding Ulif cooking over a small fire. "Do you mind if I take these…? Humans don't normally walk around naked." "What’s mine is yours," he says as he scrapes some yellow stuff onto a plate, along with some fruit and strips of... blech, hay... "Thank you, by the way," I say as I take a seat next to him. "Not to be disrespectful, but why are you doing all of this?" "Well, half orders, half because I would want the same done for me. I've been alone for twenty years, keeping tabs on Hammerfell the entire time. I know what they're up to, and after I drop you two off we're going to put a stop to their evil plans. Thanks to you, I finally get to chase them down instead of watching from the side, thank you," he says as he finishes making the third plate. "No need to thank me, I was just protecting the one I love," I say as Luna comes around the side and approaches us. "She needs you," Ulif whispers to me. "She acts strong, but I can see past that. Help her find her true strength." "I will..." "You will what?" Luna asks as she takes a seat beside me. "Warn you that the food’s hot," I say as I set a plate in front of her. "Well duh, he did just cook it. Thank you again for your hospitality, Ulif," Luna says before she leans down and begins to eat. "Think nothing of it, Princess Luna," Ulif says as we begin to eat. Fruit, awesome, eggs, alright, hay bacon... I give it to Luna. After we eat, Ulif sets out some food for the cat, Fluffyton apparently, and locks up his place before we start heading to something called a port. Luckily Luna can walk on her own, so we make the trip in an hour. "Welcome, to Port Stand Alone," he says as we approach a shoreline. To the left and right is nothing but shore, but directly in front of us is a wooden walkway that goes out above the water a few meters. The water goes out past the horizon in every direction... so much water. Tied to the walkway is an old wooden vessel. It's fairly large, going up at least fifty meters and being over two hundred meters long. There are three posts that go up and have tattered white cloths hanging from them, waving in the air as griffins move about the vessel, tying ropes, cleaning the floor, doing other tasks. "The S.S. Midnight," Luna says as we approach the vessel. "Yes, it was the only free ship we could spare in the gulf, but don't worry. I know she's not much to look at, but she'll get us to Equestria." "Its a girl?" I ask, but get ignored as we walk up a rampway to the ship. "CAPTAIN ON DECK!" yells an all black griffin, making all of the others stand at attention and salute. "At ease," Ulif says, getting the one who yelled to run up to him. "Sir! We are ready for departure as soon as you give the word," says the black griffin. "Good, lets be on our way," Ulif says, getting the black griffin to yell orders out to all of the others. "Why don't you two go ahead and explore the ship, this is going to be a long trip," Ulif says as he walks about the... deck. I run on board and look around the edge, watching the water crash against the side of the ship. "Are you going to be alright?" Luna asks with a chuckle as she follows me around. "Sorry, but... I kind of have a thing for water," I say as I hold onto a rope and lean over the right side. "Think we have enough time to go for a swim?" "HAUL ANCHOR AND SET SAILS!" Ulif yells from the upper deck. "I guess not," I mumble as all of the griffins get to work. "Maybe next time," Luna says as she throws her legs over the edge and looks out at the water. "So, you have a thing for water, why?" "You've seen Topaz - water isn't as available there as it is on the surface. Storm and Twilight took me to a lake a while back, and I nearly drowned because I launched myself into the deep end without knowing how to swim..." "You what?!" "Don't worry, I got out and they taught me to swim." We suddenly lurch forward as the wind catches the cloths. We're moving fairly slow, but I guess we'll get there... eventually. On the bright side, this means more time with Luna. "So, what do you think of the S.S. Midnight?" Ulif asks as he approaches the two of us. "She's a marvelous ship," Luna compliments... why is it a girl? "Yeah... slow, but amazing." "Slow you say, just wait for it," Ulif says with a sly grin as we follow him up the stairs to the upper deck. "Griffins! Wind!" Ulif yells, getting four griffins to jump into the air and begin to flap their wings, sending powerful gusts of wind into the white cloths. The ship begins to surge forward, making waves crash after us. "Fast enough?" Ulif asks. "Uh... yeah… not really." We went from three kilometers an hour to... fifteen, maybe. "Come, let me give you a tour," Ulif says as he walks down the stairs. The top basically has two areas; the upper deck that has the steering wheel and the lower deck, that has an area that opens up to the lower area and the mast. Under the decks is the sleeping area - a dank area with a bunch of hammocks surrounded by wooden boxes. He says we'll have to share one due to the lack of hammocks... not a problem. There's apparently more underneath, but he says its just for cargo... I'll check it the next chance I get. We go back to the upper deck to wander around, having two weeks till we get to Equestria. "What are you thinking?" Luna asks me as we walk towards the front of the ship. "I'm wondering if we can trust Ulif." "He seems trustworthy..." "Yeah, but not everything is as it appears." "Well... its not like we have a choice right now. We're crossing the Divide, it's not like I can just teleport us to Equestria, it's too far. Not to mention I can't use my magic yet." We make it to the very front of the ship where we stop and stare out at the ocean. There's a strong wind coming from behind, with a crisp smell of salt in the air. "Miles..." "Do me a favor, stay within earshot. If something happens I want to be able to get to you as quickly as possible." "I will, but I doubt anything will happen." "Better safe than sorry," I say as I turn around to face her, leaning against the railing. "So, fiancee..." "Yes, fiancee?" she says with a giggle as she walks up me, resting her legs over my shoulders. She leans forward and rubs her nose against mine as we stare into each others eyes. "A wedding. When. Where. Who's invited..." "Whoa, slow down soldier, one at a time. So... when. Let me think..." "I'm good whenever..." "Yeah, I know, I just have to think of a date when I could get away from Celestia long enough to actually do it." "I still don't think its a good idea to hide this from Celestia..." "I know you do, but we have to if we want to be together. I'm sorry, but that's the way it has to be," she says as she lays her head on my right shoulder. I lean my head against hers and just enjoy her; her scent, her soft touch, the rising and falling of her chest, the way she's lightly rubbing my back with one of her hooves. I take my left hand and wrap it around her back, sliding underneath her wings. She gives a soft sigh as she leans her head against mine, slightly tightening her grip on me. Ulif walks up to us but stops when he sees us embracing one another. He motions to me that there’s food below deck, to which I give a thumbs up to. "Hey, I think the food’s ready..." "Just hold me a bit longer... please," she asks as she tightens her grip even more. I wrap my other arm around her and rub my cheek against her lightly. "I'm not going anywhere," I say as I start to rub her side a bit... slowly making my way to her ticklish spot. "Miles... what are you WWUUUAHAHAHAHAHAH!" Before she can finish I reach over with both my hands and begin to tickle her, making her laugh and squirm underneath my arms. I get her laughing so hard that she can't even get a sentence out as she tries to get out of my grip. "Mi… Miles... HAHAHA... st-stop... can't... heheheh... can't breathe... AHAHAH… I-I think I'm crying... too much... hehe... laughing..." I stop tickling her and squat down some, getting her to fall over my shoulder a bit. When I stand back up I have Luna draped over my shoulder, still trying to catch her breath from her laughing fit. "ONWARD TO FOOD," I say as I start to carry her towards the stairs. "That was evil, Miles," Luna says from behind. "It put a smile on your face, so I don't care." I stop a bit before the stairs and toss Luna up, getting a small eep before I catch her in my arms. She lands facing me, belly side up. "I swear if you give me a raspberry..." "A what?" "Oh, right, uh... never mind," she says as she puts on her cutest smile possible, some weird combination of deception and innocence. I shake my head and set her down. "You realize when I find out what that means, you’re in for it." "Well... uh... are you hungry? Cause I'm famished. Let’s go eat," she says as she backpedals to the stairs and runs down. The Next Day - Wednesday, October 24th, 4132. 12:48 PM. I'm standing next to the steering wheel as Ulif holds onto it with a single claw. Luna decided to give her wings a stretch and went for a small flight. "I can't wait to lead the march against Tirek. Twenty years of watching and I finally have the proof I need to bring him down," Ulif says as he holds the wooden wheel. "And why won't you tell me what he's planning?" "Why won't you tell me about your escape?" "Confidential." "Likewise." I shake my head and look up to Luna, she's doing a few simple maneuvers, nothing to difficult. "She really loves you, you know," Ulif says as he checks a round metal device. "I know. And I really love her. What did you mean when you said she acts tough?" "I've seen it before. She puts up a tough exterior, but on the inside is a lot of self-doubt and loneliness. Break her of that," he says as he gives the wheel a spin and catches it. "How did you learn to find a trait like that?" I ask as I lean against the railing. "Boy, when you get to be as old as I am, you learn to pick up on things. She may be thousands of years old, but she hides everything like any other female. The minute I saw her, I knew there were some cracks in the foundation." I shift a little from hearing this. How could I have missed something like this... it makes me a little uneasy. "Any pointers on..." "Nope." "But..." "No way, no how." "Can't you..." "Never." "... Ulif's great." "No - oh now you're just being mean." We share a small laugh as Luna lands behind us, panting a bit. "You alright there?" I ask as I approach her, leaving Ulif behind. "Yeah... just haven't used my wings in a while," she says as she rolls her wings in place. I walk up to her and kneel beside her as I lay my hands around her wing joints. "Miles... what are you doing?" "Could you roll your wings again? I want to check to see that your wings are alright." "I think I'm fine, I was just flying..." "Symptoms of wing lock could take a week to actually show up. Feather rot takes twice as long, now give me a quick roll." She glances back and gives me a confused look before complying. Her joints feel fine, a little stiff, but a few practice flights will take care of that. "When did you learn so much about wings?" "When Storm nearly lost one, Twilight and I read up on pegasus physiology. Everything seems fine, but I want you to do a couple of flights to work out the knots." "OK... but only if you don't use magic for a week." I think about it for a second before I nod. "Alright, its a deal." Friday, October 26th, 4132. 6:00am. "Nooo... I... I don't want to... please... I love him..." Luna mumbles in her sleep as she tightens her hold on me. We're both in the same hammock, Luna lying on top, with me lying belly side up. I stroke her mane softly as I try my best to comfort her. Every night she has these dreams, and every night I stay up comforting her. Usually she would stop around midnight, but today seems to be a bad day. "Luna... I'm here for you," I whisper into her ear. "Miles... I need you..." "I'm here... what do you need?" I whisper, maybe I can talk to her, find out what’s eating at her. "I-I... help... I'm scared..." Whoa... I wasn't expecting that... "What are you scared of?" "The... I... mmmmm, huh?" she says as she wakes up. "Miles... what’s going on?" "You were having another dream terror… Luna, is there something out there that scares you?" "What? What do you mean?" she asks, still a little out of it. "Never mind... I'll tell you about it another time. Its still early, why don't you go back to sleep?" I say as I brush the side of her face with my hand. "OK... I love you." She says as she lays her head back down. "I love you too... sleep well." BOOM An explosion erupts from the front of the ship, waking us both up completely. Luna and I share a look before we both run to the deck. I run up first and immediately take a hit that knocks me down the stairs. "AAAHH! WHAT THE FUCK!?" I yell as an arrow sticks out of my upper chest. "Miles!" Luna yells as she takes a look at my wound. I reach over and tear out the arrow and look it over. There's some blood on it, but what really concerns me is all of the black gunk on it. "What is that?" I ask as I examine the arrow. "Try to use your magic," Luna says as she looks my wound over. I try to flare my hand, but nothing happens. I try my heels and back next, but I can't seem to activate my magic. "I thought so, I think that arrow was for me..." "RRRRAAAAAAAAHHHH!" scream hundreds of people as the sound of metal clashing with metal fills the air. I try to get up, but Luna holds me down with a hoof. "Let me heal you first..." "No, save your energy for after the fight. I can handle this. Can you fight without magic?" "Yes, I was taught some basic tactics, but... I haven't practiced them in a very long time." "That's OK, you’re not the fighter, I am. Just stay close, and watch my back, OK?" "O-OK, please be safe Miles." She leans forward and gives me a soft kiss on the lips before she stands up. "I will," I say as I stand up and face the stairs. I run up and hesitate at the top, glancing to get an idea as to what’s going on. I see Ulif and his crew fighting off a group of griffins and ponies that are all wearing black bandanas. A much larger ship is tied to ours on the right, with massive black sails and a flag of two bones crossing. Ulif's outnumbered, but these invaders are outclassed. A few dead bodies are scattered throughout the deck, drenching the floor in blood. I look for the archer that shot me, but can't find him, so I go all the way up and charge the closest group to me. In front of me are three invaders trying to kill Ulif, two griffins and a red-and-black earth pony. I jump over the pony and give him a few jabs, staggering him back. He tries to swing his sword at me, but I catch his arm and use it to block the griffin’s blade as Ulif stabs the other one. "MILES! These pirates caught us in the dark and blew up the steering wheel," Ulif yells as I backhand the pony and take his sword. I parry the griffin a bit before I spin around and bury the blade in his skull, sending a wave of blood down his neck. I try to pull the blade out, but it seems to be stuck, so I let go of it. Ulif slices at the pony and cuts his side deeply, dropping him to the ground as he adds the blood drenched deck. "What are they after?" I yell as I kick the spear up into my hands. Before he could answer I see a few griffins corner Luna, so I charge at them. I throw my spear forward, piercing clear through the first one. I slam into him and grab his sword, only to fling it into the chest of the next griffin. The last one glances between the two of us before charging at Luna. Luna bows her head and sends a large blue column of energy at the griffin, sending him, and three unlucky others, flying into the ocean. Luna looks up to me in shock, glancing at the area that they once occupied. "I..." "Let me guess, you didn't mean for it to be that powerful." "Well... yeah." "*sigh* Luna, you're strong. Trust me when I say you have power, I know power," I say as I pull out the spear and turn around. Ulif and two others are backing up towards us as a large group of enemies approach them. I glance to the left and see a second ship being tied to ours. Cannons are being pointed to our ship as more and more pirates begin to jump onto our ship. Ulif lines up next to us and holds up his sword. "Ulif... will you marry Miles and I?" Luna asks as she makes her energy blades and steps forward. "I'm a little busy right now..." "How exactly can he do that?" I ask as I hold my spear up. "He's a captain, he's allowed to perform the ceremony..." "Here, let me give you some time then," I say before I charge forward, thrusting my spear into the chest of a unicorn. I pull it back and spin it around, making them back away from me. I stop and hold my spear forward, waiting for someone to challenge me. Two griffins run at me from the left and right, so I spin my spear around and smack one across the face with the butt of the shaft. I thrust forward and stab the other one in the chest, burying my spear. Another griffin with a spear tries to stab at me, but I duck and roll towards him, only to come up to a dead griffin. I glance back to see Luna fighting off a few griffins with one of her blades as she pulls the other one out of the griffin before me. Ulif and one of the others have made their way to the upper deck and are working together to fend off the pirates. I grab a nearby sword and jump into the fray. "FINE! DEARLY BELOVED. WE ARE HERE TO UNITE THESE TWO INTO HOLY MATRIMONY. MILES, DO YOU TAKE THIS WOMAN TO BE YOUR LAWFULLY WEDDED WIFE? TO LOVE HER IN THE GOOD TIMES AND TO STRENGTHEN HER IN THE BAD? TO PROTECT HER WITH YOUR LIFE, FOR AS LONG AS YOU BOTH SHALL LIVE?" Ulif yells as he parries two ponies. "I DO!" I yell as I fling my sword into the face of a griffin. I spin around and catch the shaft of a spear as the griffin tries to stab me. After a few quick jabs to his throat, I take the spear and begin to slam it into anyone close enough to me. "AND DO YOU LUNA, TAKE THIS MAN TO BE YOUR LAWFULLY WEDDED HUSBAND? TO LOVE HIM IN THE GOOD TIMES AND TO STRENGTHEN HIM IN THE BAD? CARRY HIS CHILDREN, BRING HIS FAMILY HONOR AND TO LIVE YOUR LIFE WITH HIM, AND ONLY HIM, FOR AS LONG AS YOU BOTH SHALL LIVE?" he yells before stabbing a griffin in the chest. "I DO!" Luna yells as she spins her blades around, cutting all who stand near her. I finish off the pony before me and run towards Luna. She rears up as I approach her, so I take her in my arms. We both look up to Ulif and wait for him to finish the ceremony. "THEN WITH THE POWER VESTED IN ME AND WITH THE TESTIMONY OF THESE GUTLESS BASTARDS I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU HUSBAND AND WIFE, KISS!" he shouts before he spins around and slices the neck of the griffins behind him. I look back to Luna and lean forward. As we kiss one another, deafening explosions roar around us, but are ignored as we press harder into each other’s lips. I break the kiss and stare lovingly into her eyes as fires erupt around us. "I love you." "I love..." KRA-BOOM When I open my eyes, I find myself slowly sinking in the freezing water. I look up to see Luna sinking above me, with the S.S. Midnight being torn apart from fiery explosions. I begin to swim up, trying my best to reach Luna before her lungs run dry. Every push I do makes my lungs burn, but I push on, eventually getting to Luna. I try to wake her, but she's out cold. I continue to try to get to the surface, but I can already tell its a losing battle. When I start to fade out I feel something touch my face. I look up to see an all green unicorn before me. Well, the top half is a unicorn, the bottom half looks like it belongs to one of the fish that Ulif showed me. It looks at me and Luna with a look of concern before it charges its horn... When I wake up for the second time I look around to find myself on a shoreline, my legs still being in the water. I look over to my right to see Luna coughing up water as she looks back to me. "Miles... wha... are we alive?" she asks weakly. "Yeah… I think so," I reply just as weakly. "Miles... we did it..." she says as she reaches out and grabs my hand. "Yeah..." "We're married," she says with a large smile. "Ye...yeah." Author's Note Shout out to Rainbow Dragon for picking what was for breakfast and the name of the ship. HI _______! Brony on!
Chapter 87 Primum SomnoChapter 87 Primum Somno We continue to stare into each others eyes as the water crashes onto us. Married... I can't believe it... this feels like a dream come true... if this is a fucking dream I swear... "Miles, lets get out of the water." "Right," I say as I begin to stand up, wincing from the pain in my chest. I try to get my bearings, but I have no clue where I'm at. A few meters from the shore is a treeline. The trees go high into the air and have long narrow leaves while the bark is a light tan. The ground is covered with dried chunks of bark and old leaves, leaving almost no room for any other plant life. "Huh, how did we get to Equestria?" she asks as we start to walk towards the treeline. "Would you believe underwater ponies teleporting us?" I ask, getting a shocked look from Luna. "You saw sea ponies? Like, the half-dolphin half-pony sea pony sea pony?" "What’s a dolphin?" "That... I... you... they're real! You mean to tell me they're really real!?" Luna yells as she bounces up and down in excitement. "Yeah... that one teleported us..." "Teleported? THEY HAVE HORNS!? Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!" she yells as she continues to bounce up and down. I laugh a bit as I kneel beside her and put my fingers over her lips, getting her to pause. "I think we should get going." "Aw..." she says as she pouts a bit. "Don't worry, we'll look for your sea ponies another time," she gives me a big smile before jumping up and giving me a quick peck on the lips. "OK, but that's a promise," she says as she begins to walk towards the treeline. I laugh a bit to myself before I follow after her. She pauses a bit before the treeline and takes a look around, I would’ve looked around as well, but my eyes were stuck on Luna. Again, energy hair defies logic as it clings to her side, due to it being soaking wet. I begin to bring my eyes lower, staring at her soaked wings, every drop of water crawling down her sides, the way the water shines off of her mark... "Miles, I think we're... heh, glad to see you're focusing on getting home," she says with a giggle. "Uh... what?" She steps forward and reaches up... "WHOA!" I yell as she lightly taps my erect penis, making it wiggle a bit. Only now do I realize just how nude I am. I guess having no one around isn't all that bad. "So, now the question is how do we take care of that?" Luna asks as she takes a hold of it. "Uh..." "Since we're married now, I think I know how..." "Oh sweet Barbra..." "But not out in the open. If we could find somewhere... a little more private..." "Private! Got it!" I says as I start to look around for anything remotely private. I run around the shore a bit but can't see anything that could be of use. "Would you settle for a stone room…?" "Only if you wanted to take a nap. I want our first time to be at least be a building of some sort..." "Right, no stone building... we may have to go looking for this place..." "That's alright. I've waited almost three thousand years, I think I can wait long enough to find a building. Lets get going," she says as she starts to walk into the forest. I watch her go for a bit before I shake my head and follow after her. We walk through the trees, making crunches as we step. I try looking for any kind of building, but my eyes always find their way back to Luna. I can't help but watch her muscles twist and turn as she walks ahead of me, the way the light shines off of her, the way she seems to sway her hips naturally as she walks. I think she knows I'm watching her, because a couple of times she swishes her tail, flashing me her slit. I feel my stomach twist as my cheeks begin to burn from my blushing. "Luna..." I mumble as I quicken my pace towards her. "What was that?" she asks as she turns around. Before she can do anything I pick her up and prop her against a nearby tree. I reposition my arms to get a better hold of her before leaning forward and kissing her. As I lean my body against hers, I feel her magic grab my member and hold it up, denying me entrance. I ignore it for now and continue to kiss her, working my tongue into her mouth and quickly finding her tongue. I give her tongue a few flicks, getting her to wrap hers around mine as she drapes her hooves over my shoulders. She pushes her tongue forward, entering my mouth with total ease and begins to dominate the kiss. I turn the table by latching onto her tongue with my lips and pulling back, sucking on her tongue until it pops out of my mouth. We take this moment to catch our breath. I stare deep into her eyes as she stares back into mine, our hot breath mixing before us as we refuse to look anywhere else. I lean forward and rest my nose against hers as I get control of my breathing. "Luna..." "If we don't find somewhere soon I think I'm going to explode in frustration," she says as she leans forward and presses her lips hard against mine. I close my eyes as I press back against her, losing myself in the feeling of having her lips pressed against mine. We begin to smack our lips together, making a sound come out from us as we continue to make out. I begin to nibble on her lower lip, enjoying the feeling of having her plump lip caught between my teeth. I give it a little tug before letting it go and continue to make out with her, getting deep breaths from her as she starts to rub the back of my head with a hoof. I press my lips hard against hers before I break contact to catch my breath again. "Heh... wow..." "Place. Find. NOW," she says as she stares lustfully into my eyes. I nod, not being able to form words, and set her down to continue our search. I take the lead as we search for anything we can finish this moment in. After a bit of looking we find a dirt path going left and right. "Left or right?" I ask Luna. She looks both directions before heading to the right. I follow after her, glancing back down to her flank. I can see her focusing on trying to find somewhere, so I decide to tease her a bit. I reach over and give her flank a little squeeze, getting her to jump up in surprise as she eeps. "Oh you jerk!" she says with a large smile before she chases after me. I run down the path and try my best to avoid her, getting her to giggle as she chases after me, trying her best to grab me. The path suddenly turns left where I pause at the sight before me. SMACK I jump up as I grab my bottom. I look back to Luna in astonishment as she sticks her tongue at me. I run up to her and pick her up so her side is against my chest and continue down the path. "So, will this work?" I ask as I turn around the corner to reveal a small cabin. It's made of a graying wood that's covered in a green moss. It has a flat roof and has very few windows. The entire building seems to tilt to the left a bit, making the fireplace come off the side. "Its perfect. Lets get inside," Luna says to me as she gives me a kiss on the cheek. I walk to the door and enter as it magically opens, thanks to Luna. Everything inside is made of the same material as the building, just without the moss clinging to it. There's a counter to my left with a sink in the middle of it. A fridge sits at the end of the counter with some weird markings on it. Above the sink is a row of cabinets that has the doors barely hanging onto it. In the center of the room is a table with four chairs. A fairly large bed sits in the back right corner with old grey sheets. Directly to my right is a large red-grey rug that sits before a large fire place. I walk in and set Luna down, who walks in and takes a look around. I walk over to the fridge and open it to find that it has power. I pull out the only contents and look over to Luna. "What’s this?" I ask as I toss it up and down. "It's a multi fruit. Basically somepony crossed a few different fruits together to make a super fruit," Luna says as she walks over to the bed. She lays on it and rolls onto her back, spreading her wings across as she stretches out. I drop the multi fruit and walk over to the bed and gently lay on top of her. "Are you ready for this?" I ask as I begin to line myself up with her. "I am. Just... promise me that you'll be gentle." "I will, I promise." And then we fucked. Author's Note Shout out to Nightmare for picking the food in the fridge. Two things. A future shot out to Attacking Dogs for picking how much sex they will have. Basically.... its going to be a whole chapter, that's why this one was so short. And the last part was just to mind fuck those who skip the Authors notes. HI Iocnex! Brony on!
Chapter 88 And Then There Was SexChapter 88 And Then There Was Sex I hold myself up with my right arm as I position myself with my left hand. I sigh as I press the tip of my member against her entrance, getting a sigh from her as well. I feel my stomach twist and turn as I begin to slowly enter her tight canal. GOODBYE VIRGINITY! When I'm three fourths the way in I feel some resistance and pause at it. "Are... are you ready for this part?" I ask as I hold myself back from thrusting forward. The feeling of her wrapped around me in such a carnal manner is sending me over the edge. "Do it," she says as she bites onto her left hoof and holds onto my right arm with her other. I nod to her and push through the resistance, getting her to wince and tighten her hold on me as I finish entering her. I take a few breaths as I look down, seeing a few trickles of blood escape her as I hold myself inside. FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY Luna and I look to one another and laugh a bit from the random outburst. I lean forward and give her a quick kiss on the nose, being sure not to move myself around too much. "Just let me know when you're ready and I'll start to move it," I say to her, getting a nod in response. As she lies there trying to get accustomed to me being inside of her, I relish in the feeling of her. She's warm. I can feel the blood trickle off of me, which worries me a bit that I like the way it feels. I can feel her starting to loosen around me as she begins to relax. "OK... I, I think you can start to move it," she says as she looks down at our contact. "Wow... that... that's a little more blood than I thought there would be." "Well, you saved up for a long time, now I'm going to get started, OK?" "OK," she whispers as she lays back. I begin to pull out, slowly making my way to exit. Before I completely leave her I begin to push back inside, getting another soft moan from Luna. When I enter all the way, I hold it there for a second before I begin to pull out again. The entire time I bite my lower lip from the chills being sent through my body. This is amazing. This is incredible. This is... there are no words that can truly explain the amount of pleasure I'm in right now. "Do... do you want it faster?" I ask as I hold at the entrance, silently hoping she says yes. "Y-yeah, but, just a bit." YES... I mean, if it’s what she wants. I begin to push in at a faster rate, getting all of the way inside in half the time. I keep pace at this rate, getting the both of us to begin to take deeper breaths as I go along. I’m still keeping a relatively slow pace, but every push and pull is making me wince in pleasure. Without thinking about it, I begin to pick up the pace. "Miles... Miles!" Luna says as she begins to push herself up. I shake my head and pull myself out completely, getting a small gasp from Luna. "Sorry, sorry. I, kind of lost myself in the moment. Are you OK?" "I'm fine, I'm fine. It actually felt pretty good. I am a little mad that you pulled completely out though," she says as she leans up. "Oh... sorry... I'll just go back…" "Your punishment is that you lose top privileges. Trade spots with me," she says with a large smile. I smile and lean forward, giving her a quick kiss before we begin to trade spots. I lay back and watch as she begins to position on top of me, her wings flaring straight back. She takes a moment to line me up before slamming me into her. We both double over from the sudden feeling as she holds me tightly. "Luna..." "That, was a lot harder than I thought it would be," Luna says as she slowly opens her eyes. "I'm sorry, just give me a sec." "Take as long as you need," I say as I rest my hands on her hips. She glances down before she runs both of her hooves across my chest and abdomens, sighing deeply. "Oh god, you have no idea how long I've waited to do this," she says as she continues to rub my muscles. "The sex?" "Well, yes. But I meant be able to touch you like this... I like muscle," she says as she begins to rock back and forth, getting me to slide within her. I reach over and hold onto her flanks as I start to pull in motion to her rocking. I can't help but give her flank tight squeezes, loving the soft and squishy feeling under my fingers as she begins to bounce up and down slowly. The area with her cutie mark is a bit rougher than the areas around it, but I love the contrasting feelings. She starts panting a bit as she quickens her bounces, so I decide to pick things up as well. When she goes up I pull down, and when she falls back I push up, making an audible slap when we meet completely. She falls forward as she lets out a loud gasp, resting her head against me as I continue to push into her. I grab the area where her tail starts and hold onto it for better support as I quicken my pace even more, getting even louder gasps from her. When I start to feel a pressure build up I push Luna aside and take the position on top, never missing a beat. I bury my face in her neck and hold the back of her head as I begin to thrust as hard and as fast as possible. She wraps her legs around me as her gasps turn to moans. The pressure inside continues to build higher and higher with every push I make. I try to hold it back, but that only makes the feeling build faster. "L-Luna..." I mutter before a wave of ecstasy washes over me as I reach my climax. I arch my back from the culmination of pleasure, thrusting a few times as I finish within her. Once done, I fall forward, breathing deeply into her neck as my heart races. I roll to her right and lay on my side as I watch her take deep breaths, holding a hoof to her forehead as she does so. "So... how was it?" She looks over to me and pulls my face towards hers for a rough kiss. I guess that means good. "That... was... worth the wait," she says between kisses. She finally stops and lies back down, staring lovingly into my eyes. I place a hand on her cheek as we stare into each other’s eyes for a bit, before I scoot closer to her and hold her against me, kissing her on the forehead along the way. "So, Mrs. Eremita, you just had sex for the first time ever, what do you plan on doing next?" "Heh, Mrs. Luna Eremita, I like that. But don't tell me you’re completely finished. I was hoping to do it again," she says before she starts to plant kisses on my chest, slowly working her way to my face. "Keep that up and I'll be able to go again no problem," I say as I rub her back. "Good, because this time I want to stay on top," she says as she pushes me over and sits on top of me. I laugh a little at her wings, they're halfway up and drooping forward. "What are you laughing at?" "Your wings, you there or not?" I ask as I play with the tips, making them rise up a bit. "Shut up and get hard already." "Make me," I say with a broad smile. She narrows her eyes as she charges her horn. I feel her energy take a hold on my flaccid member and start to yank it up and down, making me get hard quickly. She moves up a bit and falls back down, having me re-enter her. As she begins to bounce up and down I run my hands from her stomach, up her chest and around her shoulders. She has the softest body ever, but I can feel her strength underneath. She grabs my right arm and rubs her cheek against it as she continues to bounce. Without thinking about it I start to thrust back into her, getting back to the euphoric state I was in a few moments ago. I watch as with every bounce she makes, her wings reach higher and higher until they're completely up. I reach over with my right hand and grab her right wing joint, getting a loud gasp from her as her eyes shoot open. I take my other hand and grab her other joint, making her fall forward as I begin to play with them. "O-OK... you had your fun... ease up a bit, I'm trying to fo...cus here," Luna says shakily as I twist my fingers around her joints. I can feel her wings stiffen up as I continue to play with them. "I would stop, but then I'd need to be on top," I say with an evil smile. She takes a few breaths as she thinks about it, still bouncing up and down. I give her one last twist that makes her gasp and pick herself up. "Fine, you can be on top, but next time I stay on top, and no wing-play," she says as she starts to lie next to me. I quickly get up and hold her down so she's lying on her side. "Miles, what are - AH!" She starts to say but stops when I quickly enter. I grab a hold of her thigh and lower back as I start to thrust into her at a high pace, receiving soft moans as a reward. Luna tries to lay back, but I hold her bottom half in place, so only her torso lays back. I can feel a cool layer of sweat build around me as my heart races. Likewise, I can see Luna start to sweat as well as she quickens her breathing. She's beginning to grab the sheets as she closes her eyes and starts to thrust her hips forward, her canal tightening around me as… is... is she peeing on me?! I pause to ask... "DON'T STOP!" she yells as she looks back to me, wide-eyed and panting deeply. I continue to thrust into her, getting her to pee more and more onto me. I try to pull out when the pressure begins to build inside of me, but her body won’t let me. I keep thrusting as I hit my second climax, tightening my grip on her as I arch back from the pleasure. I let out a loud groan as I thrust into her with all of my might, getting her to let out a small scream. I stop and close my eyes as I finish, trying to catch my breath as I let go of Luna. "Oh... sweet..." "I know... I know..." Luna says as she stares up at the ceiling, her chest rising and falling from her deep breaths. I crawl next to her and take her in my arms as I lay beside her, our sweat matting us together. We both lay there and try to get our breathing under control, the only sound in the room being our breathing. "Luna?" "Yes Miles?" "Did... did you pee on me?" I ask as I blush a bit from the awkward question. "What?" "When I paused there, you were..." "Oh, nononono, that wasn't pee Miles." "Really? Then... what was it?" I ask as I look her in the eyes. "Well... that's my body telling you that you did a good job." "Uh... I don't follow..." "I had an orgasm, Miles." ......Oh………OH! I grow a large smile as I finally get what happened. "So it was good?" I say, pride boosting my ego. "Yeah... it was," she says as she brings herself against me and closes her eyes. I wrap my arms around her and sigh, looking out the window. "It's getting dark, we should get some sleep," I say as I stare out at the night sky. "Aw, I wanted to stay up a little longer," she says as she rubs her nose against my chest. Hmmm... idea. "Hey, show me the stars." "What?" she asks as she sits up. "Lets go out to the shore and you can show me the stars. That sound fun?" I ask as I hold the back of her head, rubbing my fingers in her hair. "I… it'll be cold out there..." "I know a way to keep warm," I say as I run my hand down her neck. She gives a small laugh before she charges her horn. "OK, let me show you my night sky," she says before she teleports us to the shore, the cool air automatically stinging against my skin. "Can I use you like a blanket, I don't like getting sand in my wings," she asks as she sits up. "Really? This isn't some secret ploy for you to get to feel my muscles up?" I joke, making her smile and shake her head a bit. "You're never going to forget that, are you." "Nnnope, but at least now you can touch," I say as I start to pull her towards me. I lay her on my chest so she's belly side up. I wrap my arms around her to help keep her steady as she rests her head next to mine. "Should we get started?" I ask as I nibble on her ear a bit. "Heheh, OK. Soo... this is the western hemisphere. If you look out over here, you can see Herculony, the mythic warrior pony from before my time, see him here?" she says as she points at the stars and outlines some, this one making a basic pony in a fighting stance. "The one above him is Cadies, mythic ruler of the underworld, see him cowering before Herculony," she says as she points out some more stars. "These names sound eerily familiar... where do they come from?" "Pony history. I've read about them in books and scrolls and forged them into the night sky." "Wow, thats amazing... if you don't mind me asking, how do you do that?" "You can ask me anything. Well, I do it the same way I move the moon. I connect to the soul of the star and ask it to move, though moving them takes a tremendous amount of energy. The last constellation I did took over twenty years to do. And it only had eight stars in it." "Wow... that's amazing," I say, making her blush a bit. "No... Celestia can do it too... I can just do it a little better... most of the time..." "Show me more... is that one?" I ask as I point to a group of stars that make a ladle, or in my mind they do. "Yes, but I didn't make that one, that one was from way before, probably from the beginning of time. It’s called the Big Dipper." "Oh... well, show me one you made." "Alright... well, there's my tribute to my parents, and then there's..." We spend hours going over every constellation. Every question I had, Luna was able to answer it perfectly. I'm actually impressed with her knowledge of the night sky. Once we run out of stars to name we just lay there together, staring at the night sky. I glance over to Luna as I start to move my left hand down her body. She doesn't realize what I'm doing until I pass her belly button. She glances over to me before looking back at the night sky, putting on a small smile as I near her legs. When I get in between her legs I pause when I find... something. Two little fleshy nobs on top of small mounds of what feels like fat, or something. "Da fuck…?" I mumble as I grab the mounds, trying to figure out what they are. "Having fun down there?" Luna asks with a giggle. "Yeah... uh..." "You don't know what you're grabbing, do you?" "Not a clue." "*sigh* Those would be my breasts, Miles. Didn't you ever get the talk, or take a class or... something that would teach you this?" "I never really had someone to tell me this stuff... being an orphan and all... well... Captain Susurrans tried once, but it just ended awkwardly. My friends thought I knew... but I was going off of locker room banter and obvious outer appearances." "Oh, right. Well, Miles, those are my breasts. When I have a foal, they produce milk for the baby. Stallions have some weird obsession with touching them, in general I mean." "I can see why," I say as I continue to grab them. I can't really say why or how, but these are awesome. Plus I can feel her nipples getting hard... not sure why that's a good thing... is it a good thing…? Whatever. *squeeze squeeze squeeze* "Alright soldier, why don't you get going to the main attraction?" "Oh... right..." "*giggle* It's not like they're going anywhere," she says, making me blush a bit. I move my hands a little lower and find her entrance. It's a little wet, some of it being blood while most of it being something I've never felt before. I hesitate a bit before I stick a finger inside. My heart begins to beat faster as I feel around inside. It's warm, wet, and tougher than I thought it would feel. Beforehand it felt... different. Her walls feel stronger then I was expecting. I pull my finger out and begin to stick two in, getting a soft sigh from Luna as she leans her head back and closes her eyes. I begin to slide my fingers back and forth, feeling it to be the right thing to do. I'm a little hesitant to try anything else. I don't want her to have to stop me from doing something stupid. "Miles?" "Yeah Luna?" "Let’s go in the water, I could use a wash... as well as other things. Do you think you can keep your friend up in the cold water?" she asks as she rolls off of me. "I think I'll manage," I say as I stand up. "Good," she says as she leads us into the water. We go in until it gets too deep for her, where she latches on to me and asks me to go deeper. I go in until the water is just under my chest, where Luna wraps her leg around me as she looks me in the eyes. I hold her from underneath as she uses her magic to line me up. In one push I completely enter her. I hold it there as I lean forward and kiss her, getting her to hold tightly onto my head as she pushes her lips against mine. As we continue to kiss passionately I begin to slide in and out of her, sending shivers through my body as the warm water swirls around us. I break the kiss when I hear a wave coming towards us, so I dive under the water to let it pass. When it washes over us a powerful current of water makes me stagger a bit before standing up. "Not that I don't like this, but the waves are going to be a problem," I say as I hold onto her. "Right, I'll teleport us back to the cabin... but I get top this time, the entire time." "Right, you get top," I say , getting her to squint her eyes a bit. "The entire time." "Thank you," she says before she gives me a quick kiss and telekinetically dries us off. I lean forward and give her a soft kiss before she teleports us back to the cabin. I carry her to the bed where I lay back on it, keeping her on top. Once in a comfortable position, Luna wastes no time getting to work, bouncing hard onto my member. I smile as I watch her lean back in pleasure, her wings shooting straight back as she does. I rest my hands on her hips as I let her do the work. She looks down and takes a hold of my right hand and starts to bring it down between her legs. "Luna, what are you doing?" "Just go with it," she says as she holds my hand against her breast. I feel my heart double its rate as I take hold of the right one. They're pretty small, fitting in the palm of my hand, but feel amazing. Her nipples are still hard, standing straight out... I wonder. I begin to give a little pull on it as she continues to bounce, getting a moan from her in response. I give it a twist and get her to wince a bit, so I let go. I move to the other one and begin to caress it as I feel the pressure build up again. It's coming a lot faster then last time, and I think Luna knows. She's fallen forward and is basically slamming her backside into me as she holds onto me, burying her face in my neck. I let go and close my eyes as I throw my arms around her, hitting my top. I pump as hard as I can as I release into her, getting loud moans from her as I do so. When I stop cumming, I open my eyelids and look into her beautiful eyes. I place a hand on her cheek as we look to one another, silently conveying our love. "Ego amare te." "Ego amare te magis." "Ego amare te maxime." She drops herself onto me as she goes to sleep, nuzzling her nose into the crook of my neck... I try to stay awake, but for some reason I'm extremely tired, so sleep finds me almost immediately. Author's Note Shout out to attacking dogs for picking how mush sex they had.... a whole chapter... challenge won. HI Zorpen! Brony on! Click for fun.
Chapter 89 Believe Chapter 89 Believe Chapter 89 Believe I slowly open my eyes as a bright light brings me out of sleep. The sun’s shining down straight onto me, as birds sing in the distance. I look down to see Luna still sleeping peacefully, holding lightly onto me as she breathes down my neck, her bangs covering most of her face. I smile as I brush her hair out of her face and push it around her ear. Last night was amazing... I just wonder if... "Mmmm..." she mumbles as she lets go of me and rolls over. I reach over and kiss the back of her head before I get out of bed. I walk around and try to see if there's anything in here we can use. I pick up the multi-fruit and set it on the table, leaving it for Luna. Most of everything in here is empty, but one of the cabinets has something that I find strange to have in a place like this - a book with a quill and ink. I pick it up and blow the dust off before opening it. It looks like some kind of lecture, having a column of scribbles on the left with dash marks on the right. I really need to learn to read pony text. "Miles?" I look over to see Luna looking at me. "Hey, how did you sleep?" I ask as I walk over and lay beside her. She reaches over and gives me a quick kiss before laying beside me. "Good. Better than in a long time. What’s this?" she asks as she looks at the book. "I don't know. I was looking through the cabinets and this was the only thing in here. What is it?" I ask as I hand her the book. She takes it with her magic and flips through the pages a bit until she gets to a small paragraph in the front, where her eyes go wide as she reads it. "Well, what does it say?" "Well... uh... I'll just read it to you. ‘Welcome to the Love Shack. If you have sex in here, you have to write your name in the book, as well as your partner’s name, and dash off the number of times you did it. Be sure to mark off the columns that apply to your style, as well as the amount of times you and your partner came. Have fun.’" "So..." "Do you have a quill?" she asks as she flips to the first available page. "You can't be serious." "It’s in the rules." "If we write our names in there and someone finds it, we could get in a shit load of trouble." "True, but if you write it, then nopony can read it. Quill?" I stare at her for a bit before I nod and retrieve the quill and ink. I lie back down and take the book from her to write our names in their slots. As I do, Luna lays against me as she looks in the book. "OK, so the first column you get three and I get one." "Alright." "Next column, you get two and I get one." "OK." "Umm... OH! I get one in that column, and you get two in the one after it." "Right... what exactly am I marking off?" "What? You can't remember?" she says as she continues to read the columns. "Alright... that's all we get." I look at the number of columns we didn't mark off and try to figure out what things we hadn’t done. "What more is there to do that we didn't do?" "Well... some of these I don't know the meaning of, but I can tell you right now that we're never doing this one," she says as she points to one of the columns. "And what would that one be?" "Uh... don't worry about it. Lets just put this away and head out," she says with a blush. I give her a look before I get up and put them back in the cabinet I found them in. I'll get her to tell me another time. I walk over to the table and toss Luna the multi-fruit before sitting down. "Eat up and then we'll head out." "What about you? What are you going to eat?" she asks as she looks over the fruit. "I'll be fine, go ahead and eat." "Miles, you need to eat too. Here, we'll share it," she says as she splits it in two with her magic and gives me a half. I’m about to protest when my stomach yells at me, making Luna raise an eyebrow to me as she begins to eat. "Uh... I'll just eat then," I say before I take a bite from the red fruit. It's crispy while being juicy... a good contradiction. It tastes like a watered downed apple, not bad overall. We finish quickly and begin to head out. I hold the door for her as I take one last look at the room, savoring the memory before I shut the door and follow Luna down the path. "So what’s the plan now?" Luna asks as I catch up with her. "Well, first things first we need to find out where we are. Then we work on getting you back home." "I meant with us." "Oh... huh?" She shakes her head a bit before she leans against me, making it a little awkward to walk. "I mean, how do we move on from here? Do I stay in Canterlot or do I move in with you? Or the other way around?" "Well... I think we should be separate until we let Celestia know about us. But the minute we do, we become inseparable, right?" "Right," she says with a big smile. "So, that's the plan. But be sure to visit as often as possible. Also, when you get the chance, let me know your schedule so I can visit you as well." "I'll do that, but I think I can guess my schedule. Wake up, eat, court, eat, sleep, and repeat. Maybe even less when I make it back." "Well... that... hmm..." I try to think of what to say, but nothing really comes to mind. "Don't worry about it. It's been like this ever since I've been back. But now at least I get to have something to look forward to." I smile at her when I catch onto something. "Wait, been back? Where did you go?" I ask, making her stop in her tracks. "Uh... well... I was... imprisoned in the moon for a thousand years..." "WHAT!? You were imprisoned there for a THOUSAND years!?" "Well... a thousand years ago... something in me changed. I began to resent the world for not liking my night, so I chose to shroud the land in eternal darkness. My sister defeated me with the Elements of Harmony..." "YOUR SISTER USED THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY ON YOU!?" I yell, making her back up a bit. "Miles..." "Sorry, sorry," I say as I try to calm down. "It’s OK. I needed to be stopped. I was destroying the land in my blind rage. I had to be stopped." "That still doesn't make what she did right. She could have really done some damage to your soul." "I know, but don't worry, I'm fine..." "How did you even survive a thousand years on the moon anyway?" "Well, she didn't physically put me there, she more... put... my soul within it." My eye starts twitching. "Please stay calm." "Right, one moment please," I say as I walk over to a tree. I take a deep breath before I begin to punch the trunk. "What are you doing?!" Luna asks as she runs to my side. "Staying calm. Please tell me the rest of what happened," I say as I continue to punch the tree. "Well, after a thousand years, the stars aided in my escape and I returned to Equestria. I tried to take over again, but was stopped by Twilight Sparkle and her friends... with... the Elements of Harmony..." CRACK I put a little too much energy into my punch when I hear this, making a chunk of the tree blow off. "So you've had the Elements used on you twice." "Yeah. The second time cured me of my anger and put me into my innocent form, as well as cutting my power in half." "It didn't cut your power, it destroyed it," I say as I move to the next tree and begin to punch it. "What do you mean?" "Did you see the way I used it back at the fort? It doesn't affect anything physical, it goes after your soul. I was cutting their souls to pieces. If you had lost enough of your soul, you would’ve gone comatose." "Oh... that actually explains a lot. When I would try to use my magic, it seemed to be weaker than before, by a lot actually. Well, that was until Soul Fire gave me my own soul fire." "...You have a soul fire?" "Yeah, when I went into your subconscious he gave it to me. She doesn't speak much, but I've heard her a couple of times." "Huh... my soul fire must’ve repaired your soul, as well as given you some extra power, to make you able to have soul fire... have you ever used the attack yet?" "I think I did once during the attack on Ponyville, but I don't really remember. So... you made me stronger?" "Probably not. You were strong to begin with." "No I wasn't. I..." "Take it from someone who's taken a hit from you, you are strong. You defeated Chrysalis. You fought back the Diamond Dogs. You held your own against the bots. Celestia couldn't even beat you without using the Elements of Harmony. You could do anything you wanted to do if you put your mind to it. You. Are. Strong." She takes a few steps back from me as I say this, but I keep up with her as she tries to back away. "Miles... I..." Before she could say anything I drop to my knees and pull her in for a kiss. I feel her tense up a bit before she melts into the kiss. I break the kiss to look her in the eyes, only to find her bangs back in her face. I bring my hand up and push them back behind her ear, making her blush a bit. She throws her legs around me as she pulls me into a tight hug. I lay my arms around her lightly and hold her there as I feel tears fall onto my back. "Thank you... for believing in me." "I'll always believe in you," I say into her ear, getting her to hold me a bit tighter - a little too tight, but I'll deal with it. I lose track of time as I hold her there, slowly losing the feeling in my arms. She finally lets go of me and takes a few steps back, wiping the tears away from her eyes. "We should get going," she says with a smile. "Yeah, you wouldn't happen to know where we're at, would you?" I ask as I stand up. "Well, these were eucalyptus trees, which doesn't make sense. There are only a few beaches that I know of that have them, and none of them are in Equestria, well, not that I know of at least... I'm going to try something, if I'm right, it should take us to Canterlot..." "And if it doesn't?" "Then I waste a lot of energy and make us have to walk back." "Well, alright. Give it a go." She takes a few breaths before she closes her eyes and concentrates at... whatever it is she's planning. The world suddenly goes white as we teleport away. Perspective: Luna When I open my eyes I find us... not where I had been planning to be. "I don't get it. An open field..." Miles says as he looks around. There's a mountain in front of us with hills taking the sides and a forest to our backs... that mountain looks familiar. "I think I over shot... that's Canterlot," I say as I begin to walk towards it. "Are you sure?" he asks as he follows me. "It seems different because we're seeing it from behind, but that's definitely it." "Cool. So... I guess I'll just head home after I drop you off. I'm sure Celestia wants to spend time with you, now that you’re back." "She will. I'll visit you next chance I get... and I'll be sure to give you some warning so you remember that I'm coming." "Hey... yeah, that was bad." We share a laugh as we continue to walk down the path. When we come to the top of a small hill we see a caravan of ponies heading towards us, making Miles jump in the brush on the side of the road. "What are you doing?" I ask as I walk up to him. "I'm naked." "And?" "Luna..." "Oh! Right. External. Uh... scoot over some," I say as I jump down beside him. We fidget around some before we finally get comfortable. Miles is hovering a bit above me as I lay underneath. The first few carts begin to pass by, making Miles duck down a bit. "...Dodge was hit. What do you think Princess Celestia will do?" says a mare. Dodge... hit... what happened? I lean forward as I try to hear more of the conversation. "I don't know. She seemed really disturbed by something. Makes you wonder what could possibly have happened to make her not care about an entire town being... BUTTERSCOTCH! I said leave your sister alone!" yells a stallion. "But she started it!" replies a colt. "No I didn't!" "Yeah you did!" "Nu-uh!" "Ye-huh!" "Nuuu-uh!" "Yeeeee-huuh." As they roll away I look back to see that Miles is missing. I stand up and look around for him, but can't seem to see him anywhere. "Miles?" I call out as I step onto the path. "LUNA!" he yells from behind, making me fall on my back, landing in a pit of mud. He laughs a bit as he finishes tying off a dark green sheet around his chest. "Don't scare me like that! Where did… did... did you steal that from them!?" I yell as I stand up and wipe some of the mud off. "Well, yeah. Could you imagine what your sister would do if we walked into Canterlot with me naked?" "Well... you could have asked them for it!" "Yeah, because ponies always help the naked human with the glowing gems on their arm," he says as he begins to walk towards Canterlot. "How did you even get that?" I ask as I follow after him. "Are you kidding me, I was a master pickpocket by the time I was seven. The orphanage never gave us enough to truly live off of, so we had to learn to steal from the markets. Stealing from people is a lot easier than stealing from bots." "Yes... well... I still don't like you stealing..." "And I don't like stealing either. That's why I only do it when I truly need to. I figure not pissing off your sister is a little more important than them having a burnt sheet." "It's burnt?" He pulls a corner up to show the scorched edges, along with a few blood marks. "What happened to Dodge... we have to get to Canterlot as soon as possible," I say as I quicken my pace down the road. "That's my girl," Miles mumbles as he follows after me. I smile and shake my head a bit as I begin to run down the path. We make it to the base of the mountain in an hour, running the entire time. "OK, I'm going to try teleporting again," I say as I close my eyes and focus on the location in my head. I set the spell off and we flash away, appearing in the court room. I look around to see two guards standing before the throne, where Celestia sits. She has her head draped off the side as she holds her eyes shut, a few tears falling down her cheek. I motion to Miles and the guards to stay quiet as I slowly approach her, getting nods in response. I sneak my way up to her and get ready to pounce on her. "TIA!" I yell as I jump on top of her. "AAAAHHHHH!" she yells as we tumble off the throne chair and fall onto the marble floor. "LUNA!" she yells as she wraps me up in a massive hug. "You're back... you're finally back... I missed you so much, sister..." "I missed you too, Tia," I say as I hold onto her, tearing up a bit. "I feared that I had lost you forever... are you OK? What did they do to you?" she asks as she looks me in the eyes. I take a few deep breaths as I recall my capture. "Well... sister... uh... I-I'll tell you about it another time. Just know that Miles saved my life, multiple times in fact," I say as I look back to him and smile, getting a smile in response. We both stand up and approach him, Celestia taking the lead. "Miles, thank you. I know you and I... don't see eye to eye, but just know I'm eternally thankful for what you did." "There's a Spartan saying that I think fits for us. A spear has two ends, though they differ in use, you could not make a spear without them. You can always count on me to be by your side, both of you." He raises his right arm and gives a salute. Celestia gives a small bow before she begins to charge her horn. "I'm sorry to cut this short, but we must get Luna some rest now. Thank you again, Miles, knight of Ponyville." "Of course. If you ever have need of the Spartan regiment, you know where to find us," he says with a wink to me. I blush a bit as I silently pray that Celestia didn't see it. "Of course," Celestia says before she teleports him away, leaving us alone. I feel my heart sink a little as he disappears from the room, but at the same time I feel glad to be home and with my sister. "Right, so let’s get you a bath and then something to eat. You... uh... well..." "I stink. I know. A warm bath sounds amazing right now." Celestia smiles as she teleports us to the royal bathrooms. She walks over and begin to get a bath ready for me. I look over to a mirror and do a double take from my reflection. I'm absolutely filthy. Why did Miles have to scare me like that... well, it was funny. Plus it was some pretty good payback from the time I scared him. "Luna?" Celestia calls as she finishes setting the bath. I walk over and give her a smile before I slowly sit inside the large round tub. "AAAAAHHHHHHH... hot water... how I missed you as well," I say as I sink into the water. I see Celestia begin to back away, so I charge my horn and teleport her over the tub, making her splash down. "LUNA!" "What? I just got back and you were about to leave the room." "I was getting the shampoo..." "Oh... heh, sorry," I say with a sheepish grin, getting her to smile as she levitates the bottle over to her. She motions to me to come over so I get up and take a seat between her legs. She gets to work washing my mane as I begin to unwind. "I must be honest sister, you seem to be faring much better than I thought you would be." "Yes... well, Miles helped me a lot." "Well, I'm glad he helped you. He certainly helped more than those lackeys he trained." "What do you mean?" "I went to them and asked for them to assist in Dodge, but they told me that they couldn't leave because their orders were to watch Ponyville..." "What happened to Dodge?" "A strange storm blew in and destroyed most of it. Most of the ponies there have left to start over somewhere else, but a few have decided to stay. Some were here earlier, claiming it was the work of some griffins, but my weather reporter told me a rogue storm was to blame." "That's horrible... what exactly did you need Storm Cloud and Big Mac to do?" "I asked them to assist in escorting the refugees to their destinations, but they said that without a lieutenant they couldn't disregard Miles’s order. I know he said we could count on them in the future, but I don't trust them... but enough about that. You're here, and that's all that matters right now." "Right... well, let me tell you about my journey back here, you won't believe some of the things that happened." "I'm all ears," she says as she starts to rub the soap onto my back. "Well, after Miles blew up the fort that held me, we wandered into the woods together..." Perspective: Miles I flash in front of my home and sigh in relief. It's good to be home finally. I walk up to the door and go inside. Everything seems to be normal, nothing’s missing at least. I walk up the stairs to my room where I find the door slightly open. I push the door open and see Lupus's head pop up from my bed. The look on his face screams ‘guilty’... "What did you do?" I ask him, making him look away as a second wolf's head pops up from behind him. It's a bit more slender than him, being a lighter shade of grey as well... "You just had to do it in my bed, didn't you?” Lupus jumps off the bed and runs over to me, rubbing his side against my legs as he looks up to me. "Miles! You're back!" Storm yells from behind as he leaves his room. "Why did you let Lupus use my room!?" I ask as the other wolf runs over to me and starts rubbing against me as well. "Believe me, I tried to get him out. But every time I went in there they would just growl at me!" he says as he approaches me, only to back away as they begin to growl at him. "Hey! Cute and cuddly!" I say to them, getting them to continue to rub against me. "So did I miss anything?" I ask as I walk into my room and pull out some clothes. "Actually, you're just in time." "In time for what?" "I'm about to pop the question to Twilight, you have to come with!"
Chapter 90 The Greatest Proposal, The Biggest Slip UpChapter 90 The Greatest Proposal, The Biggest Slip Up Perspective: Twilight The last few days have been fairly peaceful around Ponyville. Everypony is worried about Miles, but Storm and Big Mac keep reassuring us that he'll come back. I certainly hope so. Celestia has been in a horrid state ever since Luna was taken. At least I've caught up on my studies. I just finished reading up on medieval spells and... KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK "Coming," I call out from my note stand. I walk over to the door and open it to find Pinkie Pie jumping around. "Oh, hi Pinkie Pie, do you..." "Twilight! Twilight! You have to come with me right now!" she yells as she bounces up and down. "What’s wrong, Pinkie?" "What’s wrong!? A lot’s wrong! Luna's missing, Celestia won't smile, Miles is off on some long journey that's giving me the combo twitchy tail, knee shake, twitchy left eye, twisted tongue... Not to mention this was supposed to happen last arc but TB decided to make everything go flippy whippy so now Noahman1997 will finally get his Brony point thing in, even though I think he forgot, I mean it was six weeks ago but that doesn't matter because you need to come with me right now!" "Who's TB—?!" I yell as she drags me outside. She runs around and starts pushing me down the empty street. "Alright! There's a present for you down the street, go get it!" she yells before she runs down an alley. I look around for the present she's talking about, but I don't see anything. Well, this is probably just another Pinkie Pie thing, I'll just play along. I begin to walk down the road... where is everypony? It’s the middle of the day and there isn't a soul in sight...where is that music coming from? "What in Equestria..." Out from every window, door, and alley jump out ponies playing the saxophone. They walk out on hind legs, thrusting their hips as they play the same beat over and over again. I look up to see ponies on clouds, roofs, taking up every ledge and bench to help play the song. I stare out at all of the dancing ponies and begin to laugh a bit at them. They play a bit of the song thrusting in one direction, then pivot to another and continue to thrust. I'm actually impressed on how well they're playing. Everypony is on beat, both with the music and the dancing. Where did they even get all of the saxophones? "What is going on?" I say with a laugh as I begin to walk down the road. Suddenly a group of ponies wearing white masks jump in front of me and start break dancing. I pause to watch them, but they begin to dance away from me, so I keep walking after them. They have a pretty cool routine down. They do flips and spins around each other as the background dancers keep a step routine. They begin to run and roll around me making me stop and watch as they spin around me. One of them wraps a cloth around my neck and pulls me forward before they back flip away. I take a few steps forward as the sax playing ponies fill the street behind me, making forward the only direction I can go. I make it down a bit before a squad of ponies fly by and begin to do real stunts. Loops, drops, charges, and cloud tricks fill their routine before they fly over the road and drop rose petals over everypony. "OK, what's going on?" I ask as all of the ponies around me back away to reveal two ponies standing before me. The mare has a beautiful red dress and the stallion has on a white shirt and a black vest. They begin to march back and forth, doing a samba or a waltz together. They begin to spin around, doing dips and flips as they dance around the open area. The stallion has a rose stem in his mouth that he keeps flipping around as they dance back and forth. I smile widely as the stallion dips the mare in front of me, offering me a red rose from his lips as he wiggles his eyebrows. "Oh, thank you," I say as I take it with my magic, smelling it before I take a bite. He nods to me as he pulls the mare up with a spin. They walk away from one another as they hold a hoof out to each other. The crowd of hip thrusting, saxophone playing ponies run forward to make a corridor for me to walk down, so I continue to walk down, chewing as I watch all of them. I recognize most of the ponies as residents of Ponyville, but there are a lot of ponies that I don't recognize. I make it down to town square where I find another large opening. I wonder what kind of dance they'll do this time... I look over to the right to see Miles doing a weird shuffle as he steps out before me. I can see my parents and siblings behind him, smiling warmly at me as he approaches. "Miles? When did you get back? Does this mean that Luna's back as well? Also, what's going on here?" I ask as I walk up to him. "I... haff no clue," he slurs. "Are... are you drunk?" "It wash da only way they could get me ta shtay... now, without further adooo... MAGIC!" he says as he throws his fiery hand up, making a large green and black present come out of the ground. Everypony stops playing and dancing and watches me approach the box. THUD I hear something inside smack against the side and mumble loudly to itself. THUD………THUD…THUDTHUDTHUDTHUD "Uh... am I supposed to open this, or..." "No no, dun' worry, I got thish," Miles says as he walks up to me and gets down on one knee. "Miles... what are you doing?" "Twilight..." he says as he takes my hoof and looks me in the eyes. "Will you marry... Shtorm?" My eyes go wide as my heart races... CRASH "YOU ASSHOLE!" Storm yells as he burst out of the box... that was made of stone for some reason, and tackles Miles... who only laughs uncontrollably as Storm starts to punch him. Marry... did... did he say... marry? "Storm... are you asking me to marry you?" I ask, getting him to stop punching Miles and look back to me. "Uh... yeah... I... KER-TACKLE "YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YEEEEEESSS!" I yell as I hug him tightly. "Yes?" he asks as he looks me in the eyes. I nod uncontrollably as I start to tear up. He throws his forelegs around me and kisses me, making the crowd around us cheer loudly. I laugh a bit as I break the kiss and stand up. KA-BOOM I look up to see Rainbow Dash rocket across the sky, doing a sonic rainboom! "Logic be damned! That'sh aweshum," Miles says from behind as he continues to lay on the ground. "Storm..." I start to say as I look back to him, but stop when I see him kneeling before me, presenting a beautiful ring at the end of his wing. I pick it up and set it on my horn before picking him up to kiss him again. "Alright you two, save some for the wedding," Rain Cloud says from the side as my family walks up to us. "Mom, dad, I'm getting married!" I say as I hug Storm tightly. "We know dear, we were there," Mom says as she leans against Dad. "Why don't we head inside to discuss the arrangements in private and to start the congratulations?" I nod as everypony begins to walk away from town square. I give Storm another kiss before I let go of him and begin to walk back down the road, leading everypony to my home. "That was amazing Storm, when did you plan all of this?" I ask as I lean against him. "Heh, I've been planning this ever since I got permission from your father." "Is that why you wanted to have that dinner with my parents so badly?" "Basically, though I didn't plan on so many things going wrong." "What went wrong?" "Well... When Miles came back I wanted him to be a part of it, but when everypony showed up he freaked out and scared away Fluttershy's birds, which made the weather ponies do their cloud hearts too soon. We ended up breaking them up while having to get Miles drunk to keep him here. He was the one who came up with the box idea. Originally I was going to be dancing with your mother, but a few flank squeezes later I went with plan B. Me being a present. Sadly I let Miles make the box, which proved to be a little too tough to break out of... then he popped the question for me..." "Well, I still liked it," I say, getting him to smile back to me. We open my door... "CONGRATULATIONS!" yell all of my friends as we walk in. "Girls! Thank you so much," I say as I walk in and receive a group hug. Everypony piles inside as Spike runs around setting out plates of food and punch bowls. Two seat cushions have been set in the back of the room for me and Storm so everypony can congratulate us one at a time. First up are our parents. "So, my little Twilight is finally getting married. We're so proud of you Twilight. Storm, I know you're a good stallion, you take care of my little girl," my dad says as him and Storm shake hooves. "Don't worry, I will," Storm replies as my mom hugs me. "I expect grandkids," she whispers into my ear, making me blush. "Mom! I... well..." "In time, I know," she says as she walks over to Storm and gives him a hug. I watch as he goes from pure joy to shock, then pure joy again... well, at least I know what he wants. Next is Rain Cloud. "Storm, Twilight, I can't even begin to tell you how overjoyed I am right now. You brought me my son back, and now I get a wonderful daughter. I couldn't ask for more, and I know your father would be proud of you, Storm. Welcome to the family, Twilight," she says as she starts to tear up. "Oh... I'm going to move on before I completely break down," she says before she scurries off. Miles is next... this should be interesting. "What'sh going on?" he asks as my brother pushes him forward. "It’s the congratulations, it’s a pony tradition. Just tell them something meaningful and move on," Shining says as he pushes him before us. "OK... so... uh, shorry about popping da queshtion for you..." "It's alright Miles," Storm says as he drapes a wing around me. "I can understand wanting to ask Twilight to marry you," he says, making me blush. "Heh, nah, only you would want ta ashk her, I've got my own woman ta ashk... wait... I already did... whatever, CONGRA—" "Wait wait wait, hold on a sec," I say, making him stop. "Already asked... you asked somepony to marry you?" I ask, making his face drop as he realizes what he said. "Aw shit... Luna'sh going ta be mad..." "LUNA!" yells everypony before the room falls silent. "Wow Miles, not even one chapter later," Pinkie says from the snack bar, standing next to some pale white mare I've never seen before... I think. She has a brown mane and a cutie mark of a pony on a pol—OOOHHH my god it’s Squishy Trap. Why did Pinkie bring a hooker? Why does he have his mane styled like a mare’s!? "Miles, can you go upstairs and wait for us to finish down here? We need to talk after everything," Shining says to him, getting a nod in response from Miles. After he leaves, Shining and Cadence walk up to us to continue congratulating us. "Well... at least love is in the air," Cadence says. "Yeah... well I'm happy for you little sis. You've got a good stallion on your hooves here. I hope your years are filled with happiness," Shining says as he gives me a hug. "Thank you BBBFF," I say as I hug him back. He walks over to Storm and shakes his hoof, both of them staring daggers at each other. "Don't worry, they act like that to each other, but they'll get along, maybe with some encouragement," Cadence says as she hugs me. "I'm not worried about them, I'm worried about..." "I know, I know. But forget about that for now. We'll deal with that when we get to that. Right now it’s about you and Storm." "Thanks, Cadence." The rest of my friends come and go, talking about how me and Storm make a perfect couple and making best wishes for the two of us. I would thank them and keep up with idle conversation, but in the back of my mind I kept going back to Miles and Luna. What have they done... what will Celestia do when she finds out? Does she already know? Does she know about his problem... well, I know she knows, but... we need to talk. After two hours of talking to everypony we finally send the last of them home and my family begins to head up stairs. We find Miles sitting in the middle of the room, legs crossed as he holds his knees. He has his eyes closed and seems to be focusing intently on something internally. "Miles, you need to tell me everything." Shining says as he approaches him. "Well... Luna and I are married now," he says calmly, keeping his eyes shut. "And is there anypony who can verify this?" "Well... some pirates, but I doubt they'll back me in this." "Pirates? OK, start from the beginning, tell me everything. How you two got close, where you got married... if you've consummated it yet... everything." "For what reason?" he asks as he opens his eyelids slowly to look Shining in the eyes. "Well..." Shining starts, but stops when Cadence walks in front of him. "Miles... this is very important. I need to know if I have a new family member..." "According to what Luna told me on the ship ride here, you aren't really family members. More of... really close acquaintances that call one another family, but aren't really related." "... Luna said that..." Cadence says as she backs away from him a bit, looking really upset. "Don't take it personally, she still thinks very highly of you. But she doesn't really connect with many people because... well, a thousand years is a long time." "Yes... well, why don't you tell us about what happened. How did you two get married?" "Well... I think I should start with Soul Fire..." he says as he begins to recall all of the events that lead to them getting married. Them being in his subconscious, their date that ended horribly, their time in Topaz, and finally ending with their marriage at sea. I can tell he's leaving a few details out, but I think everypony can guess what happened in those parts. "...the last time I saw her was when I dropped her off at Canterlot." Everypony stays silent as we try to process what was said. I'm torn between this. On one hoof, Luna agreed to this. She loves him and they both deserve to be with each other. On the other hoof, MILES IS A BUCKING IDIOT FOR GOING BEHIND CELESTIA'S BACK AND IS GOING TO LOSE HIS PRIDE IN THE GALLOWS FOR TOUCHING A PRINCESS! "There's one thing that I need to know, did you take her virginity? If you didn't, then I can help you out, but if you did... I don't see you keeping your privates," my brother says in a very serious tone. "I did." BUCK BUCK BUCK BUCK! Of course he did. Why wouldn't he! Because that would make life easy, that's why. "*sigh* Then legally I have to arrest you." "Legally? Do guards have the authority to make arrests outside of the cities they guard?" "As Captain I do, please come quietly." "Look, Shining, you're a nice guy so I'll let you in on a secret. I'm not going anywhere with you. I know you think you can take me, but you can't. I have a ridiculous amount of power on my side as well as a stronger will. My cause is much more meaningful than yours, and I will not lose out on it until my time comes. Please don't escalate this." "What would you have me do!? I can't just do nothing!" "Want my advice, go talk to Luna. You take your orders from her as well as Celestia, she can give you a better judgement than I could." "Even then, I still can't leave this room without arresting you." "Hmm... we could just say I hit you and got away..." "This isn't a joke! This is my job, my life!" "My life is on the line as well. Not to mention I'm chancing losing the woman I love..." "Look, I want to help you, well, more of Luna then you, but you've got to give me something. I can't just up and leave because you asked nicely." "Hmm... I've got something I was originally going to keep with just the Spartans, but if you pardon me until after you talk to Luna, I'll let you know as well." "Well... it beats nothing, but this better be good." "It is, do we have a deal?" "*sigh*...I'm going to get fired for this... yes, we have a deal. What is it?" "The leader of the terrorist group is a centaur named Tirek. He wants to shroud the land in eternal darkness. He's all black with red skin, and uses a weapon he calls the dark rainbow. He seems to be the bottom part of a pony and the top half of a human. He commands an army of different races. I saw ponies, griffins, orcs, diamond dogs and dragons at his compound. I think I screwed up his plans though. I know he wanted something from me, and I did blow up his compound. Its obvious to me that he has ties into the Equestrian government, and possibly the griffin one as well." "That... that works." "A centaur... where have I heard that before?" I say as I start to look through my books. I pull out Creatures of Legend and begin to skim through the pages. "Centaurs, though it is unknown where they come from, it is believed that they currently reside in the deepest recess of the pit. Their body makeup is half horse, half beast... there's nothing else on them." I place the book back and look back to everypony. "What does this mean for the Spartans?" Storm asks, making my brother scoff. "We do nothing at the moment. We're too few in numbers to be able to react properly to a mobile force. For now we wait for them to make a mistake and strike when he does. I'm a little weary to face him though, he says he was from the purge, which means he must have some ancient archaic skills with him." "What's the purge?" I ask. "It's a pivotal event in human history. To sum it up, that's when a really big war broke out that changed the way we looked at not only the world, but ourselves as well. I'd go more into it, but there are more important things at hand, so next time." "Well, with the information you gave me, I'll have plenty of info to distract myself from arresting you... for now. I'll be sure to have a word with Luna as soon as possible. Please do me a favor and make sure you don't do anything to draw Celestia's attention." "Will try," Miles says as he stands up. They stare each other down a bit before Shining and Cadence teleport away. "Well... today was... interesting. We'll be sure to swing by when you two pick a date for the wedding. Please take care dear," my dad says before him and mom begin to walk out of the room. I watch them leave before I turn back to Miles and wait. "What?" "Well? What do you have to say for yourself?" "Um... congratulations?" "*sigh* What am I going to do with you, Miles?" I say as I shake my head. "Trust me, nothing. Because Luna's going to kill me for dropping the ball like that." "Well I'm happy for you," Storm says as he walks over to him and gives him a hoof bump. "I'm glad to see you back to your happy old self. Why don't you head over to Sweet Apple Acres to let Big Mac know about Tirek?" "Good idea... OH! And before I forget, Storm Cloud. You have shown an exemplary amount of skill and battle readiness to move up to the level of Lieutenant - should you choose to take this responsibility, you would be able to make decisions that will forge the Spartan regiment in Equestrian history, do you accept these responsibilities?" "I... I... yes. I accept the rank." "Great, now I've got to go tell Big Mac that you're bottom bitch. Congratulations again," he says with a salute before he begins to walk out of the room. "Hey! When Luna comes down here to kick your flank I don't want you hiding in my closet again!" I yell at him as he walks down the stairs. "Cool. I'll just use your restroom then," he yells back. I shake my head and look back to Storm. "So... marriage, possible execution, terrorist, and a promotion. Today's been eventful," Storm says as he walks over to me and nuzzles my cheek. "Yeah... and it's only four o’clock," I say, getting the two of us to chuckle. "Storm... can you promise me something?" "What is it?" "Well, its just that... I don't see Celestia and Miles talking this through, and I know how loyal you are to the Spartans. Promise me that you'll never raise a blade to Celestia." "Twilight, you know that I have to protect my squad mates... but... the best I can promise is that I'll only use a blade as a last resort." "*sigh* I'll take it. It's not exactly what I wanted, but I'll take it." "Sorry Twi. But lets not think about that. Right now it’s about me and you getting married. Let’s get some papers together and begin to organize everything." I put a smile on before I kiss his cheek and run over to my drawer and begin getting my supplies. He always knows how to cheer me up. Author's Note Shout out to noahman1997 for picking who popped the question and AllPonyProductions for picking the colors of the box. Brony on!
Chapter 91 Simple RequestChapter 91 Simple Request Perspective: Luna "... and once we saw the mountain I teleported us here. Though, we almost didn't recognize it from behind," I say in summation. I spent almost an hour telling Celestia about my journey home while she gave me a personal massage... though I did leave out all of the romantic stuff. I'll tell her when she's not mad at the Spartans, it'll... it'll be better that way... I hope. "That's an incredible tale sister. I can't believe sea ponies exist. Or the fact that Delilah showed herself to Miles. Usually the tree folk keep to themselves," she says as she rubs some shampoo into my mane. "I know, but that's what he said. His description of her was spot on." "Strange... well, we have washed almost every part of you twice now. Why don't we get out of the tub and dry off," she says as she stands up and walks over to the mirror. "Oh thank goodness. I was going to say something earlier, but I didn't want to spoil the moment. I guess pruny hooves will be the toll for spending time with my sister," I say as I look over my soaked hoof. We share a small laugh as we both begin to dry off in front of the mirror. "Are... are you going to be alright, Luna?" she asks as she takes a brush and begins to work on my mane. "Well... sleep was a little difficult at first, but I think I'll be fine." "No... I mean... well, you did just spend a week with Miles... alone. Did... did anything happen?" I take a deep breath as I think about the best way to answer. I don't think she's ready to hear that I'm married... or no longer a virgin. But, at the same time, I hate lying to her. It never works out and I should trust her. But I can't ignore the fact that Celestia is mad at the Spartans and would probably take Miles’s stallionhood away... and I can't have that happening. "Luna..." "I'm not going to lie to you, something did happen," I say with a heavy heart. "*inhale, exhale* OK. Alright, it's going to be alright. What happened?" "Well... when I was imprisoned... Steelwing... uh... I... he..." I try to tell her what happened, but every time I start to think of it, I start to tear up. "Luna... did he touch you?" she asks as he sets down the brush. "Y-yes. But he didn't do anything more than that! I swear..." "I don't care if he only poked your nose, I'm going to hunt him down and tear his wings off for even touching a single hair on you!" she says as she pulls me in for a rather tight hug. "You're not mad at me?" "Why would I be mad at you? You didn't do anything wrong. I'm so sorry this happened to you Luna. I should have been there for you sister. Could you ever forgive me?" I hold her tightly as tears start to run down my face. "Of course I do... though you didn't do anything wrong, either." We sit there in silence for who knows how long, just holding each other as we quietly cry onto each other. I feel as if a massive weight has been lifted off of my chest. I think I can tell her what Miles and I did now... KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK We break our hug as Celestia trots over to the door and opens it to reveal Cadence. "Cadence? What are you doing here? I thought you and Shining were going to Twilight's proposal." "We did go, but afterwards we had a word with Miles and found out... some disturbing details. Shining needs to speak with you and the other royal delegates." What is she up to... Miles, I swear, if you... "They can wait. My sister just returned and I wish to..." "It's about the ponies that took Luna,” Cadence says flatly. Celestia looks back to me with a troubled look, silently asking for permission to go. "Tia, go. I'll be fine, really. I was actually going to go to bed soon anyways." "Are you sure? I mainly don't want to leave you alone..." "I can keep her company," Cadence offers. "I don't know..." "Please. I hardly get to spend time with her. Shining already knows my opinion on the matter. Please," she asks as she bats her eyes... oh great... folding in 3… 2… 1... "Well, alright. If Luna's OK with it, that is." "Yeah, sure. It'll be... fun," I say as I put on a smile. I don't like where this is going. "Well, if you say so," Celestia says as she walks up to me and gives me one last hug. "Try to be nice," she whispers into my ear. "I will," I whisper back as she lets go and heads out, leaving the two of us alone. "Soo... I'm actually really tired, *fake yawn* woo, look at the time, I should really go to bed now..." "I know about you and Miles," she says as she shuts the doors with her magic. "Huh? What exactly do you know?" "I know that you're married and no longer a virgin." Shoot. Miles... I'm going to kick your behind next chance I get. "And how do you know this?" I ask as I begin to walk around her. "Miles told me," she says as she begins to walk with me. "Why would he tell you that?" "Because he was drunk." "And why was he drunk?" "Look, that doesn't matter right now," she says as she stops circling and approaches me. "Do you realize what you've done?" "Done? Look Cadence, don't talk down to me like I'm a foal. I know what I did, and I know the repercussions of those actions..." "So then you realize that Miles is going to lose his life because of this, right?" "Who is powerful enough to kill Miles? He created the Elements of Harmony and uses them to tear out souls! What beats that?" "He's only one pony, versus the entire royal guard..." "I saw Miles tear apart a legion of enemy soldiers, I know the royal guard have nothing on him. Not to mention he has two friends that are just as skilled that would back him," I say as I glare into her eyes. She just shakes her head and walks over to the counter, looking over the brushes and other utensils. "Luna, I know how you think of me, Miles told me. I know we've never really had a chance to connect, but I'm trying to help you here. You need to end this before anything regrettable happens..." "Regrettable? What is that supposed to mean?" "Miles is a good pony. But I'm with Celestia in saying that he's problematic. Do you realize that in a year he's going to..." "Don't you dare finish that sentence," I say as I get in her face, making her back up a bit until she runs into the counter. "I know better than any of his condition, don't you dare try and use that against me." "Right, what do you plan on doing in a year then? I saw how you handled your break up, imagine his funeral." I take a few deep breaths as I try my best to refrain myself from smacking her across the face. She has no clue what she's talking about. "What do you plan on doing when Shining passes on?" I say as I continue to stare her down. "That's different. Shining will live a normal life..." "But not an alicorn’s life. What happens in a hundred years? What happens as you watch him succumb to the tides of time?" She looks away from me as she thinks about what I said, so I press on. "Miles may not have long, but he has the one thing that matters, my love. I'll find a way to move on, just as you will. But I will not apologize for marrying him. Nor will I apologize for being with him. And it would do you good to learn your place before I teach it to you." "And what is that supposed to mean?" "It means, don't you ever talk down to me again. You may be a princess, but you will never be my superior." The room falls silent as we stare each other down. She finally lets up by looking away. "I'm... I'm sorry. I didn't mean any disrespect... I was just making sure you knew what you were getting into." "I know well enough what I've gotten into. Now, may I request something from you?" "What do you need?" "I need you to keep this a secret. I'm going to tell Celestia, but I want to time it properly. Right now would be...unwise." "You were just threatening me not ten seconds ago, why would I help you lie?" "Because you know it’s the right thing to do. I will tell her, don't you worry about that." She looks away for a bit as she contemplates what to do. I just stand there and wait for her answer. "I will, if I can request something as well." "And what would that be?" "I want to have a baby, but I need more support from the family. If you back me in this, then I will not only keep this a secret, I will get Shining to keep silent as well." I smile to her as I nod. "You have my support." She puts on a large smile as she throws her hooves around me, hugging me tightly. "Thank you thank you thank you! OK, I promise, we won't say a word." "And thank you for helping me keep this secret. I don't like keeping secrets from my sister, and I hope to tell her as soon as possible, but I know that if I tell her now, she'll... well..." "She'll flip out, I know. You should’ve seen her when I asked for support." We share a small laugh before the room falls silent again. "Well... I'm going to get going now..." "Going to bed?" "Uh... no. I need to kick Miles's behind for not being able to keep a secret." We share another laugh as I start to back out of the room. "Go, I'll cover you." I nod to her and teleport myself to his room, where I find him lying down... shirtless and sweaty... FWOOSH Perspective: Miles After leaving Sweet Apple Acres I decided to go for a jog, to clear my head up. Man did I fuck up. Who exactly did I tell... let’s see. Twilight, Storm, Shining, Cadence, Pinkie, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow and Twilight's parents. Luna is going to be pissed. Fuck... I need to stop drinking, every time I do, everything turns to shit. That's the least of my worries though. Celestia. I won't allow her to separate Luna and me, but at the same time, I could never raise a fist to her. Especially now that she's family. Speaking of families, I need to debrief Storm and Big Mac on bringing families into the Spartan lifestyle. I also need to practice the ceremony for Storm's wedding... AH SHIT! Why didn't I do it for Luna and me?! FUCK! Well, I guess I can do it next chance I get. "Heya Miles... why are you running? *GASP* Is this a race?! Can I join? OK ONE TWO THREE GO!" Rainbow Dash yells as she flies up to me and then flies away. I just shake my head and continue my run around Ponyville. I need to find a way to diffuse Luna when she comes to chew my ass out... not looking forward to that. "MILES!" Pinkie yells as she jumps in front of me, making me stop. "What's..." "Combo twitchy tail, knee shake, twitchy left eye, twisted tongue!" she yells as she stares at me with the most intense look of fear I've ever seen her with. "Uh... what are you talking about?" "My Pinkie sense is going off! My Pinkie sense is going off! A doozy of one as well. Somepony is going to get laid." "Uh... what?" "Do you have condoms on you?" "Uh... no. I don't really..." "YOU NEED TO GO TO THE PHARMACY RIGHT NOW!" she yells as she takes my hand and begins to drag me into town. "Pinkie! What are you doing!?" She suddenly stops to wag her tail, shake her knees, twitch her left eye and stick her tongue out. "Oooooo it's getting closer then I thought. You may just need to pull and pray on this one..." "...what!?" "OK. I'll make you an appointment for tomorrow at the pharmacy. You just go and try not to make a mess. Lalalalalala," she chimes as she hops away... OK. I guess this is another Pinkie thing. Whatever... actually, she said someone's about to get laid... and Luna's probably on her way here to... oh sweet Barbra... I need to get sweaty. Two hours of random exercising later Alright... I've worked up a pretty good sweat... I need to head home now. I turn and jog through the park, getting home in a matter of minutes. When I run through the door, Lupus and... the other wolf, run straight out to the forest. OK... I guess they know what’s about to happen as well. I close the door behind me and lock it. After closing all the window blinds and locking the other door, I head upstairs and toss my shirt aside as I lay on my bed. And now I wai— FWOOSH I look over to see Luna staring wide-eyed at me with her wings standing straight up. Without saying a word she walks over to me and gets on top of me. I rest my hands on her hips as she runs her hooves through my chest, feeling up every muscle as she slowly begins to rock back and forth. "So, I guess I'm off the hook then," I say as she slowly begins to try to undo my pants with her hooves. "Well... only because I diffused the situation. Next time though, I wont be so forgiving," she says as she begins to pull my pants and underwear down, revealing my erect member. She moves back up and grabs a hold of me as she positions herself over it. With a satisfied sigh she drops down onto it and begins to bounce up and down, sending chills down my spine from the sudden pleasure. I grab onto her hips and begin to help her through the motions. "A little harder," she asks as she leans forward and plants her hooves on my chest. "You got it," I say before I begin to thrust forward in contrast to her bouncing. With every slap I make against her she begins to pant a little louder, egging me to thrust harder and faster into her. I wrap an arm around her back as I pull her in for a kiss, locking my lips with hers as I roll her over and take charge over the passion below. She wraps her legs around my neck as we enter each other’s mouths, our tongues fighting for dominance. We break the kiss to catch our breath, both of us panting loudly. I can feel the pressure build up again, fuck. Too soon. I need something to help make me last longer. CLICK... SQUEEEEEEEEEEEAK I stop my thrusting and look back at the door to see Storm standing there, staring straight at us. His eyes are as wide as possible as his pupils shrink as small as they'll go. Luna looks over and eeps before burying her face in my chest, trying her best to hide her embarrassment. "Storm... haven't you ever heard of knocking?" I say as I hold myself inside of Luna. "Uh..." is all he can muster as he continues to stare at us. "Leave." "Got it," he says before he turns and runs out of the hall. I turn back to Luna and stroke her mane, getting her attention. "He's gone now." "Oh my god that was embarrassing," she says as she lays back. "Well... now that we're alone..." "Is there somewhere we can go that's a little more... secluded? Like... OH! Lets finish in the shower!" "The shower? Alright, lets go," I say as I sit back and pick Luna up, keeping myself inside. She giggles a bit before she starts to plant kisses on my lips as I carry her over to the restroom. I walk through the doorway as Luna opens the door with her magic. I set her down to shut and lock the door as she starts to run the water. "Shower or bath?" she asks as she runs her hoof under the faucet. I don't really register the question, I was too busy staring at her backside to notice it. I walk forward and wrap my arms underneath her hips, picking her up a bit as I push myself back inside. "Ah... shower it is then," she says as she twists some knobs, turning on the shower head. I step inside and lean against the back wall as I continue to shove myself into her. I can feel the hot water splash against me, but I ignore it for now and continue pleasing my mare... woman. Eh, same thing. I lose track of time as I focus solely on our intimate connection. The feels of her soft, wet fur against my skin, the ever louder noises coming from her open mouth, the look of her wet wings standing up in the water, the left over taste from her mouth, all of it bringing the both of us closer and closer to our finish. "Luna... I'm getting close..." I mutter as I continue to push into her. "Me too... just a little more," she says as her knees start to give out, making her front half drop down. I feel her inner walls begin to clamp down on me as she starts to whine a bit, trying to grab onto something as she starts to thrust her hips forward. I close my eyes as the pressure builds up again. "AAAHHHH!" I yell as I give my final thrust against her gushing climax. I drop her to her feet as I slide down the wall, panting loudly as Luna just holds herself up. I give a few pants before I feel my body start to heat up... a lot... really really hot... "AAAHH!" I yell as I jump out of the shower and lay on the cool floor. "Fuuuuuck. How hot do you have the water?" "Sorry... I forgot you don't like hot water," Luna says as she turns off the water and steps out of the shower We take a moment to dry off, me using a towel and Luna cheating with magic… that she doesn’t share. Once we finish she teleports us back to my bed and snuggles up against me. I look over to her and put my hand on the back of her head, holding my forehead against hers. "Heheh, is that your official spot or something?" she asks as she snuggles up against me. "Maybe. So... when do you have to head back?" I ask as I start to rub my thumb against her cheek. "Actually, I can be here all night... we should have another date," she says sleepily. "Alright... but I think a nap would be be nice right now," I say as I wrap an arm around her. "Well... only because you want one... I love you Miles," she says as she closes her eyes and begins to fall asleep. I move my hand down to her stomach and begin to wonder. One in a million that it happens... but then again, we were a one in a million shot to begin with.
Chapter 92 Date NightChapter 92 Date Night I woke up well before Luna did, but decided to just lay here with her. I keep stroking her stomach, hoping with all of the hope there is for something amazing to happen. I know the odds are slim, but there has to be a chance... there has to be… I don't have much time... "Mmm... Miles? What time is it?" she asks as she slowly wakes up. "Hey, it's twe—it's ten," I say as I move my hand up to the back of her head and give her a soft kiss, making her smile. "We should get up now..." "Nah, we can stay right here a bit longer," I say as I pull her in close and wrap my arms around her, getting her to nuzzle her face into my chest. "So... what do you think our chances are?" I ask as I start to gently rub her back. "Miles... I don't want you getting your hopes up. The chances are slim to none, and as much as I want it to happen... the probability of it happening are..." "I know, I know... but, still. I can hope... can't I?" She looks me in the eyes with a worried look before she gives me a light kiss. I sigh a little as I continue to rub her back. We lay there for a while in silence, just holding onto each other. The entire time I try to think of a way to make this happen... "Miles?" "Yeah babe?" "Can we get something to eat?" I laugh a little as I give her a kiss on the forehead and begin to get out of bed. Some food sounds good right now. As Luna heads downstairs I quickly get dressed and follow after her, finding her looking through the cupboards. I go to the fridge and squat down as I look for something to eat. THUD "Hey there, see anything good?" I ask as Luna lays on top of me and looks inside the fridge. "Well... some hay sounds good," she says as she wraps her forelegs around my neck. "Ha, funny. Seriously though, no hay." "I know. I'm just teasing," she says before she kisses my cheek. "I think..." "Spaghetti?" "Mmm, no... something... else." Damn. "How about..." "OH! Idea! Lets just make a bunch of snacks..." "Miles..." "No no no, trust me. Get some stuff ready, I have to head back upstairs real quick," I say as I crawl out from underneath her. "Oh... OK... lets see..." I run up to my room and grab my phone. I slide through to my hidden movie file and pull up the list. I only have a few, but they'll just have to do. I should of done that download with Eximius, but whatever, the fear of going to jail strikes again. I grab a sheet and jog back down. I walk into the living room where I find Luna with a tray of various fruits, vegetables... and some hay things... *shivers*. "Alright, let me just move some furniture around and we'll get started," I say as I walk over to the couch and begin to pull it closer to the kitchen. "OK... what exactly are we doing?" Luna asks as she slowly follows me. "Movie date." "Movie date? And how exactly are we going to do that here? I don't see a projector anywhere." "You'll see," I say as I finish pulling the couch over, and make a small pedestal with my magic a meter in front of it. "Now, it's only 1080p, so bear with me," I say as I set my phone down and begin the movie. The metal part of my phone projects a light onto the wall across from us, as some data script begin to show before the actual movie starts. Falling Aces "WHAT!? IT'S IN COLOR!" Luna yells as the intro names roll in. "Uh... yeah... what? Aren't yours?" I ask as we take our seats, putting the food to my left and Luna sitting to my right, leaning gently onto my side. "NO! Our movies are only in in black and white! Not to mention they look nowhere near as good as this!" "Black and white? Under 1080p? How do you stay awake during these movies?" I ask as I take a carrot and chow down on it. "Well... an interesting story helps... what’s this about?" she asks as she takes a strawberry and begins to eat. "A mid-purge aeronautical jet pilot that survives the destruction of the first armada." "Huh?" "Umm... you'll see," I say as I sit back and watch the movie. She gives me an odd look before she lays back against me and watches the movie. The movie starts out with a little backstory of the final armada. One day, the S.S. Mortem Stella and its escort were scouting the outer galaxies when they came across an unidentified ship. Excited, they tried to hail the other ship in an attempt to make first contact, but that's when the Unfamiliar opened fire, and started the war. The story follows Lucam Caelum-Ambulare, a young pilot that enrolled to explore the final frontier due to the tragic death of his parents. When they made first contact and began the fight, the enemy forces were obliterated. We only suffered minor losses due to their surprise attack. The fight scene was truly epic. Explosions, laser beam discharges, jet fights, big ass canons firing fuck-your-day shells, fuck yeah basically. "Those ships seem familiar... are those Aquila's they're riding?" Luna asks as she takes a flower and begins to eat it. The sight was painful, but I ignored it and went on to answering the question. "Aquila's are pilotless versions of those ships. Back then they didn't have bots like how we did. People had to do most of the work that was needed," I say as I drape an arm around her, trying my best to be nonchalant about it. She leans back against me as we continue to watch the movie. After the victory at sector sixty-three, the armada went on to scavenge materials and information from the downed enemy ship, but they don't notice the shadows in the back sneaking onboard... better yet, I don't think Luna did either. When the scrapyard vessels finally make it, the S.S. Mortem Stella moves towards Novum Spes for repairs and reinforcements. "New Hope?" "One of the colonies humans made during the purge. We found eight other planets that could support life and colonised them." "That's amazing! Do you think people still live there?" "No. Before the Unfamiliar attacked Terra, they wiped out every colony we had. With the loss of the last colony and the armada we tried to hide our civilization by going three kilometers underground... and that didn't even work..." "Well, at least some good came out of it," Luna says as she turns her attention to me. "What would that be?" "I got the best husband in the world," she says with a smile. I feel my heart skip a beat as I return the smile. I try to lean in for a kiss, but she lays her head against my chest and continues to watch the movie. As they near the spaceport, Lucam runs into an Unfamiliar in a hall as it kills a crew member. He tries to kill the Unfamiliar, but it gets away before he could do any real damage to it. I could feel Luna's heart race a little as he chased it through the lower decks of the ship, she's totally into it right now. When Lucam finally gets to his superiors and tells them about the infiltrators, the ship goes on lockdown... but not from them. All of the bulkheads and doors slam shut and lock themselves as the artificial gravity cuts off, making them float in the air. "Why are they floating?" Luna whispers to me as she throws a few cherry tomatoes into her mouth. "There's no gravity in space." "Oh...OK." They find the saboteurs and kill them with ease... but they haven't noticed the enemy vessels approaching them from all sides. When they finally get everything operational, a hail of fire erupts around the ship. Scenes shoot around from people being sucked out into space, massive plumes of fire and lasers being fired all about. All of the pilots begin flying out, some being shot down before they even get out to space. When the ships turn to face the enemy vessels, they see thousands of enemy fighters coming for them. Each side fires missiles at each other, making a massive grey cloud appear as they fly past one another. Lucam takes evasive action and begins to weave through the fighting ships while trying to get the two missiles from hitting him. He avoids getting hit by spinning really fast, making the missiles crash into each other. "Wow, that was an impressive barrel roll," Luna says as she begins to eat an apple. I look over to her and start getting ideas... fuck it, I'm going for it. I take my right arm and pretend to get some food, when I'm sure she isn't paying attention I slowly make my way down between her legs. "Miles!" she says as she goes wide-eyed from me caressing her breast. I only smile as I continue to squeeze one in my hand. She shakes her head as she drapes a leg across my shoulders, giving me even better access. FWOOSH Luna and I go wide-eyed as we look over to see Fluttershy standing in my living room, wings erect with the biggest blush I've ever seen. We stare at one another for a bit, no one moving a muscle, before I finally let go of Luna and stand up. "Uh... Fluttershy... is there something I can help you with?" "Uh... no... it doesn't matter... I'll just leave now... sorry for intruding..." Fluttershy says as she begins to back out of the room, trying to hide her face with her hair. "No no, go ahead and steal Miles for... whatever it was you needed. I needed to use the restroom anyway... plus I think I left the kitchen on fire," Luna says as she gets off of the couch and begins to walk towards the stairs. I pause the movie and turn back to Fluttershy, both of us standing there awkwardly in silence. "So... Fluttershy... what did you need?" "I... needed you to come with me to my place... but you're busy, so I'll ask another time... if there's ever another time that is..." she says as she continues to back out of the living room. I can tell she really wants me to come with her...*sigh* "Hold on. Let me check with Luna to see if it's OK for me to step out for a second," I say as I head upstairs. I go to the restroom and knock on the door. "Yeah?" "Hey, Fluttershy needs me to head over to her place real quick..." "Alright. I'll make some better snacks or something. Be sure to get back as soon as possible." "OK then, be back ASAP," I say before heading back down stairs. "Alright, lets get going," I say as I hold the door open for Fluttershy. She hesitates for a second before she begins to walk out. We walk along the Everfree in silence for awhile, making it halfway before Fluttershy finally says something. "Just some advice from a mare with a coltfriend, you shouldn't leave your mare for something your friends want... though I really do appreciate you coming along." "Yeah, probably not the smartest move ever. But I'll make it up to her." "So... when are you leaving?" "Leaving? I'm not going anywhere. Why would I?" "You’re not? I just thought you would be going to Canterlot to be with Luna." "Oh, no. Mainly because we're supposed to be a secret. But when we do finally go public... I don't know what happens then." "Well... I hope you visit if you do leave. We'd all miss you." "Yeah... don't worry though. I'd actually try to get Luna to move in with me instead. Canterlot was nice, but I know those kind of areas. Lets just say that upper class and me don't really mix well." We make it to her place where she opens the door and escorts me inside. When I get in I hear a hiss from the side. I look over to see a red-bellied snake rise up and stare me down. Without a second thought I lunge at the snake, tackling it to the ground and I flare my hands. It raises its head to strike at me as I bring my hand back to... "WWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIT!" Fluttershy yells from the side, getting both our attention. "Um... Miles, this is Ekans, Ekans, this is Miles. I think you both need to stop fighting and talk to one another about what happened." "You can't be serious." "You can't be ssseriousss." We both say it at the same time. "I am..." "There isss no way I could ever forgive thisss creature for what it hasss done to me," it says in a hushed voice. "I have nothing to apologize for," I say, getting a glare from Ekans. "Ekans?" "Yesss Flutterssshy?" he says as he looks over to her. She walks up to him and gives him a look, making him shirk away from her. I was about to say something but then she looked at me- FFFFFFFFFFEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAARRRRR! I blink a few times before I remember what I was doing. Ekans and I are facing each other, preparing to apologize to one another. "Whenever you're ready," Fluttershy says from the side. "*sigh* Ekans. I'm sorry for killing your family. It was in self-defense and I didn't mean anything by it other than protecting the ones I care about." "Apology accepted Milesss. Pleassse forgive me for hunting you and your younglingsss. It's an innate part of my being. Nothing perssssonal." "Apology accepted." I go to shake hands, but remember he doesn't have hands, so we just do a little bow before glancing back to Fluttershy. "Very good. Now why don't you both head home now and leave this behind you?" "Yes, Fluttershy." "Yesss, Flutterssshy." We both say it as she escorts us out of her home. "That wasss... terrifying," he says with a shudder. "I know. You going to be alright?" I ask Ekans before he heads into the forest. "I will. The closssure wasss... good. Take care, Milesss." "Take care, Ekans," I say as he slithers into the forest. I make my way back home, trying my best to get the image of Fluttershy's stare out of my head. I open the door to my place and find Luna laying on the couch, looking through my phone. I walk up to her and lay behind her, wrapping my arm across her chest as I kiss her neck. She's looking at all of the photos I have of me and my friends, pausing at the one of just me and Tenera. "Still jealous?" "I do not get jealous, I get..." "Envious?" I say jokingly, getting her to shake her head and scroll to the next one. "When did you learn to use a phone?" "It wasn't hard, I just watched you do it a couple of times and tried it myself. Where was this taken?" I look at the photo to see that it's one of Captain Bellum standing over Altum, who's lying on the ground. The area is mainly a large concrete building with several simulation pods in the back. "That was taken at the training facility. This was when Altum forced us to do the unfinished training simulation, almost killing us." "Why are there giant eggs?" "Those are the training pods. They open up and you sit inside as you play through the simulation. Problem was that if you got hurt in the simulation, you actually got hurt. Tenera and Inficiunt both took really bad hits." She scrolls through a few more pictures before she shakes her head and turns around to face me. "You have to go back Miles. You have to pick up the trail and try to find out what happened." "Luna..." "They loved you so much Miles, I can tell from all of the pictures. You have to go back. I can't stand seeing you ignore their cries from the past." "I… if I go, the girls won't allow me to go on my own. I don't want to endanger their lives..." "Then don't! Train them! Even if it isn't Spartan training, any training will be useful. Please Miles! For me." I stare into her pleading eyes for a bit before I sigh and give her a soft kiss. "Fine. I'll go." "Thank you Miles. I know this will only lead to good things... its getting late... I should get going..." "When will I see you again?" "As soon as possible, I promise. I love you Miles." "I love you Luna." We share one final passionate kiss before she gives me a hug and teleports out of the room. I lay on my back and think about the things to come. I need to train all of them, there's the wedding, Storm and Twilight will probably take some leave afterwards. Where will this trail lead? What does that scepter Auxy had do? Will I find the remaining humans along the way? Are the other cities even there anymore? My mind is buzzing from all of the possibilities, but one thing stands out clear. To answer them, I have to return to the cities. Author's Note Shout out to NotATree for picking who came by during the date. Brony on!
Chapter 93 Wedding PlansChapter 93 Wedding Plans I slowly wake up as the sun shines down on my eyes. I ended up falling asleep on the couch, stiffening my neck. I go to get up, but slip on the tray of food and fall to the ground. I let out a little groan as I hear padded feet run to me and start to eat the food around me. I look down to see Lupus and the other wolf eating the scraps from all around me. "I swear if you were fucking in my bed again I'm kicking your fluffy butt." I say to Lupus, getting him and the other wolf to lick my face as I sit up. I pet Lupus a bit before I get up and head to the restroom. After dealing with that I head out for Rarity's. I'm tired of walking around bare foot. Lupus and the other wolf follow me to the edge of town where they take a seat and wait for me to return. I think I should name that other wolf.... nah, I'll let Luna name this one. I make it to Carousel Boutique and walk through the door... THWACK I duck as a pair of scissors bury themselves into the wall before me, nearly stabbing me in the face. "For the last time NO! I will not marry you! I will not be your special somepony! I don't ever want to see you in my shop again you putrid, stuck up, prissy...." "Miss Rarity! Please reconsider!" Blueblood begs as he presents a ring to Rarity... again. "I must have you! You are the only thing in my life that I want, I beg you to at least..." "Hey!" I say as I walk up to him. "She said no, get the fuck out." "You again, look here simpleton, I will not tolerate such an atrocity defiling such a beautiful gem. Leave now or suffer the consequences." He says as he squares off before me. We stare each other down as Rarity glances between the two of us, scarred of what might happen. "Blueblood, just leave me be. This isn't worth-OW!" Rarity starts to say, only to be pushed down by Blueblood. OH NO YOU FUCKING DIDN'T! Before he could react I ran up to him and punched him across the jaw, making his head twist to the side. "You will pay for that..." He growls as he faces me. "Shut the fuck up and get..." "I challenge you to a duel." He says as he straightens out. "The victor shall claim lady Rarity's hoof in marriage, what say you?" I take a deep breath before I answer him. "By honor of the Spartan regiment I must except...." "Miles..." Rarity says softly as she stands back up. "Until death do I defend the title of Captain. Name your terms." "Stallion to stallion. Physical abilities only." "Very well, where?" "Our front, now." He growls as he walks out of the boutique. I turn to follow him out, only to get stopped by Rarity's magic. "Miles darling, you don't have to do this. I can deal with him just fine, don't risk your life for me." "I'm sorry Rarity, but this isn't about you. He challenged me. Spartan law says that if anyone challenges the Captain, the Captain must accept, no matter what. If I back down, he becomes Captain... and I won't let that happen." "Just... please be careful... and don't kill him! He is a member of the royal family. Don't make things for you and Luna any harder then they already are." I nod to her and walk out front where two royal day guards drop from above and frisk me for weapons. I open my arms and stare Blueblood down as they pat me down. After a thorough search, they walk beside the building and guard the entrance to the building. "Till death or submission?" I ask as I remove my shirt and do a few stretches. "Hmph, you could only dream to defeat me. Either way is fitting though, so we shall go until a winner is named." He says as he begins to circle around me. I raise my fist and wait for him to make his move. He starts by trying to hold me down with his magic as he tries to charge at me. I try to budge to reach for something, but his magic locks me in place. He slams into my side, letting go of the magic to let me fall to the ground. I roll over to avoid him slamming his hooves onto to me and grapple myself around his chest. I lift up and fall back, sending him crashing onto the ground with a loud thud. I spin around and try to get up, only to get a blast of magic into my chest. I fly back a bit and fall flat on my back. "He can't use magic! That's cheating!" Rarity yells from the side lines as a crowd of ponies begin to form around us. "He can. The rules said only physical abilities. Unicorn magic is a physical ability." Explains a guard as I get up and square off with blueblood. "Then Miles should be allowed to use magic!" Rarity complains. "I can't. My magic isn't physical." I say before I charge at Blueblood. I slide to my knees as I close the distance between us to dodge a shot of magical energy. When I come to a stop I'm directly next to him, so I start to jab away at him. Slamming my fist into his chest, neck, and face as i push myself back up. He rears up and raises his legs to block my punches, so I move to kicks. With a pivot I slam my leg into his side, sending him to the ground. I jump on top of him and begin delivering powerful blows to his face. With my left hand I hold his head up by his hair as I continue to pound away at his face. I begin busting lips, blackening eyes, and making large bumps appear all over his face as I teach him the folly of challenging a Spartan. "Miles!" Rarity yells from the side, but I ignore her and continue to punch away. "Miles! You won, you can stop." I don't. I begin pulling out hair as I begin to put more power behind my hits. "MILES!" Rarity yells as she pulls me off of him with her magic. I look over to her and see the scared look on her face. I look down at my hands to see them covered in red blood. "Prince Blueblood!" Yells one of the guards as they run over to him and check up on him. He's gurgling up blood as he wheezes through his nostrils. I walk over to him and push the guards aside. I flare my hands and start to pump my healing magic into his body, closing the wounds on his face almost immediately. After I finish healing him I drop my magic and twist his ear, making him twist and yell from the pain. "Good, remember this pain." I say as I twist a little harder, making him jerk around some more. "The next time you think about bothering Rarity, think about this pain. Becuase if I see you here again, the beating won't stop. The pain won't stop. you will hope for death, but it won't come. The only thing you will have is an enduring life of pain and misery. Do you understand me?" He looks up to me with a look of pure fear as he quickly nods his head. "Good. We're done here. Accipre tuus pudor et relinquere." I say as I stand up and take a few steps away from him. He staggers up, pushing away any help, and glares at me. "This isn't over." "Do you submit?" "For now. Guards! Take me home." He says as he walks through the crowd of ponies watching. The crowd stays silent until he flashes away. I stand there as the sounds of murmuring people fills the area as everyone stares at me. "Miles, lets go inside." Rarity says as she ushers me to her place, the entire time I just glare back at the countless eyes. She quickly pushes me into the building and quickly shuts the door and closes the blinds. "Well.... that could have gone better." "Sorry, but I had to do it." I say as I walk towards her restroom. I go inside and rinse my hands clean of his blood. "Are you alright?" I call out to her. "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you again for defending me against that creep Miles. I'm in your debt." "Well I know a way you could repay me." I say as I dry my hands off and walk to her back room, finding her working on various clothes. "I need shoes and socks, think you could help?" The socks makes he ears perk up a bit but doesn't stop her from working on whatever she's working on. "O-of course Miles, its the least I could do..." "No, the least you could do is let me pay this time." "That's not happening. After today I..." "After today, I probably scared away a good number of your.... RING RING RING "Comiiing!" Rarity chimes as she trots to the front room. "How can I help.... all of you?" I look down the hall to see a crowd of ponies in her front room, asking about various dresses, suits, and other clothes that I could hear through the murmurs of he mass. Rarity glanced back to me for a second so I motioned that I'll take my leave. Heading out the back door, I decided to head over to Twilight's to have a word with Storm. After navigating through town I finally begin approaching the library, where I find Storm and Spike out front. It looks like Storm is teaching him some basic fighting skills... well, trying at least. Spike would do a one two combo into hi hooves, then Storm would swat his hoof at him and ruffle his head a bit. "Do I see a future Spartan?" I say as I approach the two of them. "Hey Miles! Storms teaching me how to defend myself!" Spike says as he winds his fist and punches Storm's hoof. "Yeah... well, we were with Twilight, getting things ready for the wedding, but we kept messing around. So she sent us home to finish most of it on her own." Storm says with a slight grin. "Actually, we had a plan for you and Luna for afterwards." "Really? And what would that be?" "Well, the main problem is that there are no witnesses to your wedding, and pirates don't count. So why don't you two renew your vows afterwards? She'll be there, you'll be there, plus we'll have plenty of ponies around to witness it." "That sounds good, except that if she's there, Celestia would be there as well. Luna still wants to keep this a secret for awhile." "Why?" Spike asks as he looks up to me innocently. "Well... Celestia and I... don't always see eye to eye. We want to break it gently to her that we're together." "Why?" He asks again. "So she doesn't have me executed for being with her sister." "Oh." "Anyways..." Storm says as he walk over to the door and ushers us all in. "We can get around that easily. We would just have to...." CRASH "MILES YOU BUCKING IDIOT!" We all jump as Twilight comes crashing into the room and charges straight at me, pinning me against the wall with her magic. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" "What are you talking..." "I just swung by Rarity's Miles. I saw what you did to Blueblood. I would talked to you sooner but I couldn't get through that crowd." "Oh..." "You realize that he's probably on his way to Celestia right now to rat you out, don't you?" "He would have to reveal that he has been coming here for months proposing to Rarity and..." "Wait what?" Spike asks. Aw shit.... just my fucking luck. "Sorry Spike. Rarity told me to keep it a secret." I say as Twilight lets go of me. Spike looks at everyone in the room before he runs out of the room. Storm and Twilight look to each other before Storm flies after him. I take a deep sigh before I go to the kitchen and take a seat at the table. "Well, that could of gone better." Twilight says as she takes a seat next to me. "Yeah. Look, don't worry about Blueblood. He's too proud to go to Celestia. If and when he comes back, I'll deal with him in a better manner." "Oh, I not worrying about it. I told your wife about it. She says to expect her later tonight." ....... fuck. "Speaking of wives, did Storm tell you about our plans?" "Yeah, and as long as Luna's on board, I'm alright with it." "Really? Alright. Storms party is tomorrow at eight. Luna said she'll have hers with Regina at the same time as you take yours, so when do you want yours?" "Party? Mine? What are you talking about?" I ask as I feel my heart start to race a bit. "The bachelor and bachelorette parties. Storm says you didn't really get one, so we're throwing you a post-marriage one. Storm and I are having ours tomorrow, nothing big. He says he wants to save all of our energy for the honeymoon. So..." "Of fucking course its the bachelor party." I say as I bury my face in my arms on the table. "*sigh* I'll be there." "REALLY!" She says in astonishment. "No fighting? No drunken tirades? Total cooperation?" "I've fought to avoid these kind of parties... I always lose." I mumble from my arms. "But everything will have to wait until after we go back to Topaz Falls. There are some things we need to get." I say as I sit back up. "Wait, we? You want us to go with you?" "No. But I want to go. And you guys are good friends and won't let me go alone. So I have to accept that you are coming along." She puts on a large smile as she pulls out a quill and scroll and begins writing down stuff. "What are you writing?" "A list of things we'll need for this adventure, but lets start with the check list of the things you wish to accomplish in Topaz." "Alright.... well... step one should be shutting down the executive relay. That way the bots will stop hunting us down." "Shutting down the ex-ecu-tive relay. Got it, whats next?" "After that, we head to my old room so I can get the coordinates to Quartz Crest." "Gather Coordinates to Quartz Crest, anything else?" "Hmm... well, if we could find the armory and the clothing distribution center, Storm and I can get some official Spartan uniforms for the wedding. Though someone will have to tailor them for Storm and Big Mac.... I wonder who." "I think Rarity will like this one. Is that the last of it?" "Basically." I say as I stand back up and look at the time. "Well, I should head over to Sweet Apple Acres to get to work." "Alright Miles. Be sure to meet up here at eight in the afternoon tomorrow. And thank you for not fighting this." She says as she ushers me to the door. I say my goodbyes and begin walking towards the farm. Another bachelor party... hopefully this will be as fun as Dolum's party was. Heh, wonder if I can give as good a speech as Eximius did... or get as drunk as Inficiunt did. After awhile of reminiscing about the past I blink back to reality and look around. I'm walking through one of the parks, with a cool breeze blowing from behind. I'm not sure how I missed it, but all of the leaves are changing colors. Beautiful reds, yellows and oranges fill the trees as many of the leaves begin to drop off. I make it to Sweet Apple Acres where I find Big Mac and Applejack walking towards their home. "Hey! sorry I couldn't get here sooner, but I'm here for work." I say as I approach the two of them. "Eenope." Big Mac says as they turn and face me, making my heart race a bit, are they firing me. "Seasons over. Sorry, but there's no work ta do till next season." "Oh.... alright. Well, then I'll be here next season then." "Are ya going ta be alright Miles?" Applejack asks. "Yeah, I'll be fine. There has to be work somewhere, right? Thanks for hiring me though. Really appreciate it." I say my goodbyes and turn back towards Ponyville. I'm going to need to find some kind of work... easy enough.... right?
Chapter 94 Storm's Bachelor PartyChapter 94 Storm's Bachelor Party WHAT THE FUCK! I spent four hours going around Ponyville applying for jobs and no one wants to hire me! Though it's not entirely their fault. I only have spotty work experience they can reference, and not to mention its kind of awkward to hire the only human in Equestria. The few interviews I did manage to get didn't end very well either. Ends up being a soldier doesn't mean shit for a society that doesn't have an army. *sigh* I need to let off some steam. I decided to head home and try again tomorrow, hopefully I can find something, or at least keep trying at the same places until I guilt them into hiring me. I slowly make my way home, enjoying the view of the changing scenery. Why is it changing? I should of asked Applejack or Twilight. I've also noticed that it's a lot cooler then before. I can see ponies in the park enjoying the late afternoon, playing games, talking with friends, setting for some upcoming event. Enjoying life. Its good to see everything so peaceful around here after everything that's happened. I turn my attention to my home to see a figures shadow in the front window.... I think its Luna.... shit. Forgot about that. I walk up to the door and take a deep breath before I open the door and walk in. "Hey baby." I say weakly as I turn the corner and find Luna sitting on the recliner, slowly petting Lupus. "So I hear you had quite the day, wanna tell me about it?" She says, keeping her focus on Lupus. I walk over and take a seat on the other recliner before I answer. "I went to Rarity's to order some shoes when I walked in on Blueblood proposing to Rarity... again." I can see her interest for a second before she goes blank face, continuously petting Lupus.... who seems to be having the time of his life. "Well, I told him to back off, which he didn't. He then harmed Rarity and... I kind of punched him.... then he challenged me to a physical duel... and then I won." She takes a deep breath before she looks back to me and shakes her head slightly. "Miles.... I completely agree with you defending Rarity... but you have to be careful. Like it or not, Blueblood is royalty. If he chooses to, he can have you arrested for assaulting a royal family member." "I know. But when he knocked Rarity down I went into over protective friend mode. Logic was out of the question." "*sigh* its alright, this time at least. I know Blueblood would rather die then admit he lost a fight. But next time try to think of a better way to avoid the conflict." "I will. But a future warning, I am the Captain of the Spartans, if someone challenges me, ever, I have to accept. Otherwise I have to surrender my title to them." "Is there anything else I should know about? With you being a Captain and all." "Well, since we're married, you're now a Terradisian citizen, so is Celestia. If we ever have a council meeting you're allowed to come and voice your concerns. Um... being Captain means I get a shorter maternity leave as well, only four years...." "You get a four year maternity leave! How long is the standard one?" She asks in astonishment. "Usually its six years, but if a recall is ever made, everyone has to answer; no matter what. Other then that, that's everything that affects you." She looks back down to Lupus and begins to rub his belly as he rolls onto his back. "Still mad?" "I wasn't mad, I was worried. If Celestia were to find out you were fighting royal family members... I don't want to think about what would happen." "Sorry for worrying you... how long can you stay?" I ask, making her smile. "I actually can stay for awhile, Celestia gave me the day off and Cadence is covering for me again. So I just have to be back in time for night court. Do you have plans Wednesday?" "Uh.... just a small thing, nothing big." "Good, cause I'm coming over to Ponyville for an official visit and I want you to be my escort." "Uh, OK... whats happening?" "Its Nightmare Night." I raise an eyebrow to her and wait for her to explain. "Awhile back a bunch of ponies decided to dedicate a night to my likelihood. There's going to be games, pranks, music, and lots of candy." "All of this on Dia Memoria?" "Day of remembrance? Whats that?" "Its a Terradisian holiday where we take an hour of silence to remember those who have died." "Oh.. well..." "All Spartans are required to do it, though I did always have a tendency to loath this one. Storm and Big Mac already know of this and we'll be doing ours at noon that day." "Oh, OK. Why did you loath this holiday?" "Well... back in the day I only had two people to ever really try to think about... even though I never knew them..." "You're parents?" "Yeah. I would always wonder what kind of people they were. If they would approve of the choices I've made or what kind of person I would of been if I had knew them, even a tiny bit. Though, this year, I will have a lot to remember." Luna jumped out of her seat and walked over to me, stepping up the seat until she wrapped me up in a hug. I wrapped my arms around her as I try to hold back my tears. "If you don't mind, I'd like to be there with you." "Of course. I'll need you by my side." We sit there in silence for awhile, both of us just holding onto each other. GURGLE We both look to each other and giggle a bit from both of our stomachs going off at the same time. "What would you like to eat?" I ask as I pick her up and carry her over to the kitchen. "Um... I don't know, you pick." She says playfully as she opens the fridge with her magic. I walk over and look through it, trying to think of what to eat. "How about..." "But nothing with apples. I had a lot earlier today." "OK... how about..." "OH, and nothing to sugary. I had pancakes this morning and I'm just not in the mood for sugar." Not in the mood for sugar.... whaaaaaaat? How could you be out of the mood for sugar! I shake my head and ignore the illogical nonsense as I continue to look for something for the two of us. "The only other thing in here is hay." "OOO! Lets have that!" I look at her flatly as she puts on her biggest smile. "You're messing with me... aren't you?" "Yes, but its OK becuase I'm cute." She says as she bats her eyes at me. I stare at her flatly before I nod. Can't fight that logic. She gives me a quick peck on the cheek before she levitates a couple of things out and sets them on the table. "Go ahead and get washed up, I'm going to make some tea." I nod and head to the restroom. After cleaning myself up a bit I head back to find Luna already pouring us both some hot tea. Again, gone for less time it takes to make this.... magic? "Whats that?" I ask as I take a seat next to her and give it a try. Its hot, taste like sweaty leaves, and smells funny. "Just some jasmine tea." She goes and takes a sip, only to spit it out and start waving a hoof over her tongue. "HOT! HOTTEA HOTTEA! She says with her tongue out. As if on cue, the other wolf comes running in and goes straight to Luna, rubbing against her and sniffing her to check on her. "I think you just named the other wolf." I say as Luna levitates as glass of water over. "*gulp gulp* whats that?" "Hati." "Huh?" She asks as Hati keeps rubbing against her. I laugh a little and scoot closer to her as she takes another drink of water. "You alright?" "Yeah, guess that was pay back for messing with you..." "But you're cute, that made it OK." I say as I lean closer to her. She smiles and begins to lean closer to me, staring straight into my eyes. Before I could close the distance, she shoves some food into my mouth and sits back. "Hati... I like it. Lupus and Hati." She says as she starts to eat some celery while petting Hati. We finish eating and head to the living room. Luna wanted to finish the movie we started, so we took our place on the couch and did so. I wasn't paying attention though. Not only had I seen it plenty of times before, I had plenty of distractions right in my lap. We were laying on the couch, with me against the back and Luna in front, facing me. Sadly, Luna had asked if we could just spend time together, so no sex. Whatever, I have every thing I wanted right here, pressed against my lips and holding me tightly. We break the kiss for a second to catch our breath, staring into each others eyes as I place my hand behind her head. She keeps glancing away from me though, something must be bothering her though. "Hey, whats wrong?" "Nothings wrong." "Really? Everything is perfect." "Well... alright. I'm trying to find the best way to break the news to Celestia. I haven't done it yet and it seems that every time I try to she's in a bad mood." "That's alright, just take your time. I know it'll be hard to do, but it has to be done. She deserves to know about this." I say as I rub her cheek a bit. "I know. I just wish she wasn't so hard to approach." I pause a bit and try to think of something.... idea! "OK." I say as I sit up, getting confused looks from Luna. "Pretend I'm Celestia, go for it." She sits up and looks at me funny. "Its not the same Miles..." "Come on, just give it a try." She rolls her eyes and straighten ups and looks at me. "Alright... Well sister how are you today?" "Those terrible Spartans have done it again! How dare they do that thing they did!" I say in my best Celestia voice. "Well, I'm sure they had their reasons for what they did... speaking of Spartans, I actually wanted to talk to you about Miles." "Miles! What did that boy do this time! I swear, its always Miles this or Miles that!" I say in her voice as I wave my arms around. "Well... you see... the thing is.... Miles and I... are... are.... its not the same Miles!" She says as she drops down, laying across my lap. "Whats the difference?" I ask as I begin to rub her back. "Its... Celestia has this.... stare. The way she looks at me... its like she silently judging me. I know she isn't, but it feels that way. But... I don't know..." "Want me to tell her? Or do it together?" "No. I'll do it. She'll be less angry if I do it on my own. I just wish it wasn't hard to do." "Hey, the harder it is, the more precious the mare." I say, getting a smile in response. "Thank you.... I've got to get going now. I'll see you Wednesday." She says as she sits up and gives me a quick kiss. "Love you." "Love ya too. I'll see you Wednesday." We share one last kiss before she goes up stairs and take the mico platform home. I sigh in content and try to think of ways to help her. Not starting crap is a sure fire way. I need to do something special for her. I keep trying to think of things as I slowly start to fall asleep. There has to be something I can do... "BARK BARK BARK BARK AROOOOOOOO!" "SHUT UP LUPUS!" I yell as I wake up from the couch. I look around to see that's morning. I look over to see Lupus sitting by the door, staring at it. I walk over and open it, only to almost get knocked over as Hati comes running in. They sniff each other a couple of times before they run up stairs together. "I swear if you two fuck in my bed again I'm going to give you a vasectomy!" "What?" I look back to see Storm and Big Mac Standing in the door way, looking confused beyond belief. "Nothing.. what's up guys, here for morning training?" "Uh.. its my bachelor party." Storm says as they both walk in. Party... right.... OK. I can do this. It's just a simple party. I can do this. "So... what are we doing then." I ask nervously as I follow them into the living room. "Don't know. Spike said he was going to plan it and that I had to wait here for him. So for now this is it." Storm says as he takes a seat on the recliner. With a wave of my hand I slide the couch back to its original spot and take a seat with Big Mac. "So, Storm's getting married." "Yeah, crazy huh?" "EEyup." "Especially since a few months ago she hated your guts. But, we've still got a small dilemma." I say, getting confused looks from the two of them. "Suits." "I was just going to go to..." "You're a Spartan. You have to get married in official uniform." "Oh." "So that means that we have to go to Topaz as soon as possible..." "I think it can wait for awhile. It's not like I'm getting married tomorrow." "Can ah make uh request?" Big Mac asks. "Well, ah know mah sister will demand that she goes, shes stubborn like that, an somepony needs ta watch over the farm. So I was wondering..." "Yes Big Mac, you can stay behind. But try to keep an eye on Ponyville as well. It seems every time we go down there, everything up here turns to shit." "Eeyup." "Alright. So, Storm, the girls and I will head down there, try to solve all of the problems it has to throw at us while you'll stay up top to keep an eye on everything.... sounds good, when should we go?" "Well, I know we had planned on doing things at eight, but everything is getting pushed around so much. And Wednesday is Nightmare Night, so we'll have to be here in the afternoon.... if we could get everypony on board, we could just do it tonight and rest up tomorrow morning. But we'll have to be quick about it..." KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK "Miles, Storm, Big Mac, come on, it's time for your bachelor party." Spike say evilly as he walks into my place. I feel my heart race a bit as we all stand and follow Spike out of my house... what have I gotten myself into.... Two hours later BWAHAHAHA! I should of know letting Spike throw the party would have only ended in funny! He took us to a restaurant called Harry's Hay! Its a children's restaurant filled with games, small rides, and tons of screaming kids! Its set up with the center being filled with booths to sit in, a prize counter to the far left and games to the right. A clearing goes through the center of the booths, making a hall to enter and leave the building. The three of us are sitting at a booth that's next to the hall, me trying to fight back another fit if laughter as Storm lays his head on the table in embarrassment. We had tried to walk around with Spike to make the best of it, but it was just too awkward, so we're just sitting in our booth. Almost every mare in here has come to sit near us to ogle Storm and Big Mac, making them both tense up from the unwanted attention. Spike has disappeared in the fray of children, playing games or something. "So, by far this is the best worst bachelor party I've ever seen in my life." I say, making Storm groan from under his hooves. "EEyup." "Can we leave now." Storm asks as he lifts his head up. "Sure, just go and find Spike then we can leave." He looks out at the other mares, who wink and pucker lips at him, then looks back to me. "I think I'd rather stay here for now... where my flank is safe." "EEyup." "Why did we..." "Hey guys!" Spike says as he runs up to our booth. "Come on, you're missing all of the fun!" He says as he drags Storm out of the booth. He looks back to us and mouths 'help me' before Spike drags him into the ffray of screaming children and horny mares. "How many times do you think his ass will get grabbed?" I ask Big Mac. "Well... depends on how many mares are in here. Ah'd say at least every minute or so." We share a small laugh before an idea gets in my head. "So... Big Mac... when do you plan on asking Fluttershy to marry you?" "Ah already did." "WHAT! When was this?" "About a year ago." "Oh.... does anyone know this?" "A few. It's not a public thing cause she hates being public." "Oh... well... congratulations then? If you're married... then why does she live on her own?" "She's afraid ta leave her animal friends... plus ah think she's scared of granny." I was about to ask another question before a shrill of laughter erupted from the other side of the room. I look over to see a mass of mares surrounding two flared grey wings. Storm then flies over to us and drops into the seat, dropping Spike next to him. He looks to be scared and pissed, with both his wings standing straight back. "What happened?" I ask. "Nothing." "Are you sure..." "Yes I'm sure." He snaps at me. "Did I do something wrong?" Spike asks. "No, your fine Spike. Its those mares over there." "Oh sweet Barbra... did... no... did one of them..." "Drop it Miles." Storm says flatly as two mares and three kids walk by. "See ya later... big boy." Says one of the mares to Storm, making them both giggle more. Storm slams his head into the table as he tries to hide from all of the mares staring at him... oh sweet Barbra... no, will pester another time... its too soon. Before anyone could say anything a small group of workers walks in front of our booth and stand before us. "HAPPY..... BACHELOR PARTY TO YOU... HAPPY BACHELOR PARTY TO YOU..... WHY THE HELL DID YOU COME HERE... PLEASE LEAVE YOU'RE SCARING THE KIDS." They sing to the tune of happy birthday. They set a small cake down and walk off together, glaring at Storm the entire time. "Can we leave now?" He asks from the table. "What about your cake?" Spike asks. Storm reaches over and slides it over to him. "This is the best bachelor party ever!" He says happily as he shovels some cake into his mouth. Author's Note Shout out to Squishy for picking the name of the second wolf. Pronounced like Hot Tea not Hate Tea, HOT. Brony on!
Chapter 95 A Quick Run Into TownChapter 95 A Quick Run Into Town After Spike had finished the cake we finally left, much to Storm's pleasure. I'll have to make copies of the pictures I took.... when they make printers here that is. I guess I could try to find one in Topaz, it would be faster. I look around and to see a good number of ponies walking around the market, now seems like a good time to pester. "Happy bachelor party to you..." "I swear, don't Miles." Storm grumbles. "What's going on?" Spike says from Storm's back. "Happy bachelor party to you..." I sing, glancing over to Big Mac and getting a nod from him. "Do you have to?" "Why the hell did you come here.... please leave you're scaring the kids! HAhahahaha!" Big Mac and I sing, making us both fall over in a fit of laughter. Storm tries to hide his blushing face from the crowd staring at us being idiots. "OK OK, you had your fun, can we get going now?" Storm asks, but we ignore him due to our sides falling off. Storm sighs and just bites the collar of my shirt as he begins to drag me down the street. "You're a... you're a... you're a pedophile HAHAHAHA!" I muster out before I begin to laugh even more. "HA HA shoo phunny." He says through his teeth as he continues to drag me. "Jusht whait fer yur party." He says, ending the funny. "Dude, you better not..." "I already have the train tickets for the three of us." He say as he lets go of me. "Tickets? Where are you guys going? Can I come?" Spike asks. "Sorry Spike, but the place we're going isn't for baby dragons." "Dude, where are we going?" I ask as I get up. "Don't worry about it. Lets just get the stuff from Topaz." He says as he walks away from me. Storm... what are you planning? I follow him to Twilight's where we stop by the front door. From inside we hear the laughter and cheers from all of the girls, making us scared to enter. "After you." I say as I step back. "No way, you owe me for embarrassing me in town." Storm says as he jumps behind me and pushes me towards the door. "Your fiancee, your door." I say as I spin around and start pushing him towards the door. He pivots around and starts trying to push me towards the door, but I trip him. He grabs onto me and pulls me down with me, making us both begin to wrestle around, trying to get dominance over each other. "I'll get it." Spike says happily from the side as he approaches the door. "DON'T!" We both yell as he swings open the door. From my point of view, I can only see a shocked Twilight... but that's all I needed to see. She has a necklace made of condoms around her neck and horn. She's also wearing purple and black striped socks that go up her entire legs. She also seems to be wearing some kind of corset that's black and purple.... KER-FWOOSH I roll over a bit from Storm's wings going straight back. Luckily I can't see inside anymore from this vantage point... but Spike walked right in... "Twilight... what are you wearing?" He asks as he backs away from the door. Everything stays silent for a bit until Storm shakes his head and jumps over to Spike, covering his eyes with a hoof. He looks back inside for a second before he picks Spike back up and flies back towards town. I take a few breathes before I stand up and walk beside the door. "Everyone decent?" I ask. "You can come in darling." Rarity says from inside, so I do. I notice that Twilight isn't here, she probably went upstairs to get decent. The inside looks like any other party had just happened. Streamers, confetti, opened presents, some white and brown mare hanging upside down from the roof..... wait... what? "Uh... some party huh?" I say weakly as I take a seat. "It was until you came and ruined it! I'm still getting paid though.... right?" Fucking shit! That's a guy! "Of course Squishy, just swing by Sugar Cube corner some time this week and take it." Pinkie says as she trots over to him and helps him down. "*sigh* Cheesus is going to kill me." He mumbles before he walks out of the room. "Right... so, anyways. The reason we came over was becuase we need to go to Topaz again. And I know that if I went without telling you guys, you would get mad. So..." "Sweet Betsy Miles, why would ya need ta go on such short notice?" Applejack asks. "Becuase TB is rushing things becuase of something super duper totally awesome ultra special for chapter one hundred. But, what is it you need to get from Topaz that's so important?" Pinkie says nonchalantly as she eats an entire plate of cookies. "Uh.... suits. Who's TB?" "Why would you need to go to Topaz Falls for suits when you could just get them from me?" Rarity asks. "Spartan law dictates that we get married in official uniform. But I will still need your help though. I doubt that any survived three thousand years, so I'm going to nee to find a picture of some kind and show it to you. Then I would need you to replicate it." "You want me... to make your suits... human suits... for the.. and..." She falls onto her back and holds a hoof to her forehead as she drools a bit. "That would be a yes. From both her and me." Rainbow says as she picks her up and sets her on her hooves. "Great, can I count on the rest of you?" I ask as I look around the room. "Shucks, do ya really need ta ask?" "Well... if you really need me..." " OO OO is it going to be fun? Cause I love fun!" "Uh... I doubt...." "I'M IN!" Pinkie yells as she bounces up and down. "And you can count on me." Twilight says as she marches down the stairs, looking like her normal self. "How long do you plan on being down there?" She asks as she pulls out a quill and paper. "I don't plan on being down there for very long. Just get in, get the stuff, get out. That's it." She nods and writes down a few things. "Alright, everypony head home and get everything you'll need for this. Plan for a day at most. We'll all meet back at Miles's place in an hour." Twilight says, getting a cheer from everyone else as they run out the front door. "I'll meet you guys at my place then." I say as I walk out of the library. I make it home as quickly as possible and go straight for my room, where I find all of my armor and weapons. After putting it all back on and grabbing the spare rifles I head down stairs and pause in the living room, where I see Lupus and Hati just sitting there, staring at me. "I swear if you two fuck in my bed again..." "Hey Miles!" I look over to see Rainbow Dash flying down to me from her home. "Why are we really going to Topaz?" "What? I already told you..." "Yeah yeah yeah. You could just tell Rarity what the suits need to look like. There's something down there that you really want, isn't there?" "*sigh* I never was a good liar, yes. A friend of mine left me a message from the past with coordinates to Quartz Crest. I want to take these coordinates and find Quartz Crest." "Why didn't you just tell us that in the first place?" She asks as we take a seat on the front porch. "I don't know. I was self conscience about it I guess. Sorry." "Its cool, but you should trust us a little more. We're here for you if you ever need us." "I know, I'll try to in the future." We sit there in silence for awhile, waiting for everyone to show up. "So..... what does your mark mean?" I ask to start a conversation. "It represents my passion for racing. I love to race, move fast, athletic stuff like that." She says as she glances back to it with a warm smile. "Cool... I get the Dash part now." We share a small laugh before it goes quiet again. "Did Terradisians have racing?" Rainbow asks, breaking the silence. "Yeah. Did you see any of the cars in Topaz. Uh... metal carriages that..." "Yeah, I saw those. You raced them?" "Well, not those ones, but we made specialized ones that we raced. There's actually a track the goes around the entire city and one in the center. They're both in the lower sections though. If we can get Topaz safe again I'll have to show you one day." "Sounds awesome. How fast did they go?" "Well, the outer track cars went.... about six hundred eighty kilometers an hour, while the other one was restricted to two hundred eighty, due to the tight turns it had." "Miles... I don't know what a kilometer is." "Right right... let me think.... I'm about two meters tall, and there are a thousand meters in a kilometer." "Hmm.... stand up." I stand up and watch as she walks around me, sizing me up. "You seem to be six feet tall, a little more but whatever..." "So, three feet to a meter..." "And there are five thousand two hundred eighty feet in a mile..." Math math math... "So the first track had a speed limit of four hundred twenty two while the other on had one of one seventy three." "Wow, that's pretty fast for something so bulky." She says, trying to hide her unimpressed look. "How fast can you go?" "Well... not to brag or anything, but when I do a sonic rain-boom I go six hundred eighty miles a SECOND!" "How do you not black out?" I ask in astonishment. "Well.... I can't do it for long.... hey look, everypony is here!" She says as she flies out to greet everyone walking towards my place. I toss Twilight the spare E.A.R. and begin to walk towards the cave. "Do I have to?" Twilight asks. "I can take it if you'd like Twilight." Rarity offers. Twilight glance to me, to which I shrug, and gives Rarity the gun. "So Miles, why don't you tell everypony why we're really going to Topaz." Rainbow says, fucking sell out. "*sigh* fine. Auxilium, Dolums wife, left me a message from the past, along with the coordinates to Quartz Crest. I wanted to get it as soon as possible, and the suits were a perfect excuse. I know I shouldn't have lied to you, and technically I didn't, but I'm still sorry for the deception." Everyone whispers something to someone as they continue to walk along with me. "Is there anything else you haven't told us that we may need to know?" Storm asks. "Well... hmm... not that I can think of. That was the only one, and it was really just spur of the moment." I say as we enter the Everfree forest. "Well, you said you're sorry, so I'm good. Apology accepted." Pinkie says as she skips along. "Thank you." Everyone goes through their accepting my apologies as we approach the cave to Topaz. I walk up to the mico platform and take it to the entrance. After everyone appears in the dark cave, we go to the door and enter Topaz Falls. We run trough the door way and fall under immediate fire. Twilight raises a shield as Rarity and I take aim for the bots in some of the buildings. Most of Rarity's shots just hit the walls around them, but it helps by making them try to get to cover as I drop them. With those bots dealt with, we continue down the street, heading for the freeway. Against my better judgement, we take the freeway again. I know last time it didn't work out perfectly, but we did manage to avoid most of the bots, so i decided that this would be the best route. We're making good time, only taking about two hours to reach the first on off ramp. I decide to give everyone a break here before moving on. "Hey Twilight, how far can you teleport people?" I ask as they set a blanket and lay down. "Well, a few ponies... about half way to the P.C.H. from here. But the more I have to teleport, the harder it gets. Why?" "How fast can you two fly?" I ask Fluttershy and Storm. "Well, I can hold my own." Storm says. "I'm not that fast.... sorry." Fluttershy says. "Hmm.... Rainbow, you're with me." I say as I start to walk down the ramp. "What's going on?" She asks as she follows after me. "You guys take another ten minutes and then continue down the freeway. I want to check something down the street real quick, we'll be back." I call out to them before I run down the ramp and take a right. "Where are we going?" Rainbow asks as I run to the side walk and hold my rifle up, waiting for anything to show up. "Terridisian first national." I say as I stop before the last building on the block and enter it. The inside is in better condition then I was expecting. The room consists of a long counter filling the back, a few cubicles to my right and a waiting area to my left. Above the counter is the banks computer system, a large black machine that has several panels and slots throughout it. It fills the back half of the room and is humming softly, telling me that it still works. I walk in and check my sides for any bots before I go to one of the teller stations. "What is this thing?" Rainbow asks as she taps it a few times. "Its a Bank." I say as I pull out my phone and gently slide it into one of the slots, making the panel light up with my options. "Oh sweet Barbra I still have a bank account... I wonder..." I go to check my balance and read it aloud. "One hundred fifty eight million twenty eight thousand four hundred and fifty six credits..." SPLASH I flail around a bit as I spit the water out from my mouth. I look around to see that I'm laying on the ground with everyone staring at me. "What happened?" I ask as I sit up. "You tell us. Rainbow came flying over screaming about how you fainted. What happened?" Storm asks as I stand back up and stagger over to the teller machine. SPLASH I flail around again as I find myself back on the ground. "Miles, what does..." "I'm rich." I mutter from the floor. "What was that?" Applejack asks as I get back to my feet. I go to the machine and do to the withdrawal option... how much should I try to get out? I hit a few buttons and wait to see what happens. I hear the machine get to work getting my money out as I feel myself getting gitty with anticipation. CLINK CLINK CLINK CLINK Several platinum credits begin to fall into the tray below, making me laugh a bit as everyone goes wide eyed from the sight. "Miles.... is... is that real?" Twilight asks as more and more credits fall out onto the tray. "Yeah... it is..." I say as the tray begins to over flow. I begin to take the money out and stick it into my pockets. "Hey, help me out." I say to Twilight as she walks over and lets me put the rest into her bag. As I begin to throw the money in, the machine finally stops spitting out the credits, but only becuase it hit the amount I put in. "How much did you just take out?" Pinkie asks as I finish putting the money into Twilight's bag. "Only a million credits. Don't worry, I have another hundred fifty seven million to go." I say with a large smile, making everyone drop their jaws in astonishment. "We'll have to come back another time to get the rest though, right now we have to get going to the P.C.H." I say as I walk over to the door and wait for everyone to follow after me, the look of astonishment still plastered on their faces. "OK, so from now on you're buying the groceries." Storm says as we walk down the freeway. "I'm fine with that, though I'm not going to keep all of that money. I'll probably end up giving a lot of it away." "That's very chivalrous of you Miles. Do you have any organizations in mind?" Rarity asks. "Well... no. I was thinking of funding another orphanage though...." "OH! I know the perfect one! I'll introduce you to them after we get out of here." Rainbow says as she hops into the air. "Alright, sounds good to me." "Wow Miles, you're rich enough to buy Sugar Cube Corner over five hundred thousand times! Or the city of Ponyville fifteen times! Or Storm Twice! Or MMM!" Pinkie says excitedly until Twilight shoves a hoof into her mouth.. "Yeah... keep in mind that I don't plan on keeping most of that money. Just enough to be comfortable." I say before an Aquila flies over head and goes straight towards the P.C.H. I look over to Twilight who nods to me and teleports us over to the action. We appear on top of a building in front of the P.C.H. I hear Twilight fall down as she passes out from the fatigue of teleporting all of us so far. I let Storm take care of her as I look out to the P.C.H. From within the building I can see some bots firing at a group of bots on the street. From within the building I see Easy run out and grab a hold of one of the bots, sending black cables out from his back and inserting them into the other bot. A few seconds later he stands up and runs after another bot as the first one stands up and fires at the bots behind it. A group of legion bots have dropped down further up the street and are making their way to Easy. "Guys, stay hidden and try to get into the building. I'm going to go assist Easy." Before any of them could answer I jump off the roof and charge into the fight. I run into the middle of the street and fire a beam of soul fire at the Aquila, hitting it on the left side. The explosion sends it falling to the right and crashing into a building in a fiery explosion. As it crashes down the legion bots start to run down the street towards me, holding their shields in front of them as they hold their swords high. I lift my rifle and fuel my magic into it, bringing the second enchantment up. A white archaic circle goes around the barrel of my rifle, making it slightly harder to aim, but with them only a few meters away, it's easy enough to hit them. I pull the trigger and send a single round down at them, hitting the center most one in the center of it's shield. The first explosion goes off and sends four tracers shoot out and explode into the ones standing next to it, giving me the opening I need. PAT PAT PAT PAT I fire four rounds at the exposed bots, making them explode and send out red tracers that explode on contact. Three of them fall to pieces as the fiery explosions burst off limbs and pepper them with more molten shrapnel. Before I could take aim at the others a group of bots run past me and attack the legion bots. Jumping, diving, flipping, they show off an array of acrobatics as the all latch onto the legion bots and send their cables into them, forcing them to stop their attack. "Greetings Miles Eremita. I'm glad to report a total of eight percent of all bots active in Topaz Falls have been fed the Inobaudio virus. May I have your autograph?" Easy asks as he approaches me. "Inobaudio? Whats the directive of the Inobaudio virus?" "To ignore and disobey order twenty three." "But you're following order twenty three right now..." "Yes, quite the quandary, isn't it?" "Right.... whats the ETA till total take over?" "Estimating....... approximately four days, six hours, and thirty two minutes." Damn that's lucky. I guess there's a glitch in the programming. I sling my rifle across my back and head back towards the building with the group, having Easy follow me. "Set priorities. Infect all bots, have newly infected bots rendezvous at the P.C.H. and wait for repairs. All bots that do not require immediate repairs are to scavenge parts and repair all other bots once total infection is accomplished. Once finished, await further orders from me." "Processing directive..... processing..... directive accepted." Easy says before he runs down the street and leads a group of some forty bots down the street. I turn and jump up to the roof to find the group sitting around Storm and Twilight. Twilight is passed out while Storm is holding her in his hooves, on the verge of tears. I walk over and squat next to him, putting a hand on Twilight's head to check on her. "She's going to be fine, she just pushed herself a little too hard." I say to him, getting him to nod slowly. Fuck, he's taking this pretty hard, then again, she is his cause. "Lets head to the P.C.H. We can find a place for her to rest there." I say as I stand and lead everyone to the entrance.
Chapter 96 Whats LeftChapter 96 Whats Left As we walk into the mico station I can hear everyone murmur about the room. Some looking around in astonishment while others being only slightly impressed. The hall has lost it's former gleam, being covered in dust and having bullet holes everywhere. I lead everyone to the men's dormitory platform and wait for them all to flash away before I take the platform. I walk down the hall, reminiscing about the countless time I walked down these halls, and head straight for my old room, having everyone trail behind me as they peer into the other rooms. "Where are we?" Applejack asks. "This is the men's dormitory of the school. My room is just ahead." I sigh as I stop before room 1337. I glance back to Twilight and open the door for them. "Go ahead and put her on the bed." I say to Storm as he walks past me. "My heavens Miles, what a mess." Rarity says as she walk in after everyone. "Hey, my side is clean! Dolums side was the side that's always dirty!" I say as I head over to my computer. After I plug in my phone and begin down loading the file I head over to my locker. "What's in there?" Pinkie asks as she watches me enter the combination. "Hopefully, my secret arsenal." I say as I pop open the top and look in. Aw fuck. All of the weapons in here are gone! I look through it and find some spare ammo at the bottom, four 7.62, ten 5.56, three .45 magnum. "Well, all of the super secret weapons of OP are gone. Next we should go and check the armory for any scrap weapons there. I doubt there will be anything there, but it couldn't hurt to check." "What should we do about this?" Rarity asks as she points to the unfamiliar's skeleton. "Toss it. Destroy it. I don't really care..." "Miles! How could you say something so horrid!" "Becuase that fucker was going to eat Auxy." I say, silencing the room. "Look, I don't care what you do to it, three of you come with me while the rest of you stay with Storm and Twilight." Rainbow, Applejack and Pinkie step forward, so I turn and walk out the door. We walk to the mico platforms in total silence. I teleported to the armory first, raising my weapon up and looking for and potential threats as the rest of them appear behind me. The armory consists of five, ceiling high, black racks that are behind a chained fence counter. Every shelf, every rack and every wall is empty. To the right is a door with an engraving of a shield on it, the armor room. I walk over to the door and smack the butt of my rifle against the lock, breaking it off. "What'r we lookin fer?" Applejack asks as she follows me inside. "Anything really. Look in every drawer, locker and cabinet and pull anything out that looks even remotely useful. If it's glowing, don't put it in your mouth." I say as I sling my rifle and head to the first aisle. Everyone goes to their own aisle and begins to look through everything. After awhile of looking, I finish both sides of my aisle and only come out with a large flash light. I refill the gem inside and give it a try, bright as ever. I walk over to the next aisle and begin to go through the items Pinkie found. Some scrap mark 4 parts, a few 5.56 rounds, and some trash. "Hows my haul?" Pinkie asks as she bounces up and down. "Pretty good. Almost as good as mine." I say as I flash the light on her. "AH! That was bright." She says as she rubs her eyes. I laugh a bit as I move to the next aisle. I run over and pull the frag grenade out of Applejack's mouth, stopping her from blowing up. "What's with you and your brother trying to eat explosives?" I ask as I pocket the grenade. "What? It looked like an apple." "Remember that we didn't have tree's down here. There are no apples here." "Oh, right." She says coyly as she looks back in the drawer. "This sides empty, ah'll try the other one." She says as she walks over to the last aisle. I go and check on Rainbows aisle to find her staring at a picture. I walk over to see that it's a picture of some women in a Terradisian military uniform holding a little blonde girl. "Did you know her?" She asks, still looking at the picture. "No." "What do you think her chances were of getting out?" "Rainbow... is everything alright?" I ask as I sit against the counter. "Yeah... it's just... I don't know. Thinking about a lot of things." She says as she sets the picture down and continues to look through the drawer. I pick it up and look over the back, finding a message. "Me and my mama. You're the best mom ever." I read aloud, making Rainbow stop and look over to me. "If I had to guess, their chances of getting out were better then most. She was military, and one of the background ones at that. Once the call was made, she probably got her girl and went straight to Quartz Crest." "You really think so?" "Well.... maybe. Auxy was on her way out. I don't see why she wouldn't of." Rainbow nods to this and wipes a tear away. "Rainbow, whats got you so worked up?" "It's nothing. Please don't tell anyone that I was crying. Crying just... isn't cool." She says as she tries to clear her eyes of tears. "Right... well if you ever need anyone to talk to, I'm here for ya." I say as I stand up and begin to look through the drawers on the other side of the aisle. After a few minutes we go through every nook and cranny, only to come up empty handed. We head to the door to the right and go to the next room. I walk in a bit before I stop and stare at it. I can't fucking believe it. I CAN'T FUCKING BELIEVE IT. Of course its still fucking here. WHY WOULDN'T IT STILL BE HERE! Of course they would take everything useful and leave behind the one fuck you possible. "What's wrong Miles?" Rainbow asks as I walk to the counter and pick up my old helmet. "Son of a bitch... my helmet." I turn it around to find a large hole has been blown clean through the sides, making it inoperable. "Of course its broken! Why would they leave a perfectly fine helmet behind!" I yell as I toss it aside. "Whats the matter Miles? Whats going on?" Applejack asks as they look around in confusion. "*sigh* that's my old helmet. Basically, if I had that on during that last fight in Topaz, I probably wouldn't be here right now."I say as I stare at it a bit. Everyone take another look at it before Pinkie erupts in a fit of laughter. "It's not funny!" "It totally is! Think about it. If you did have it, you wouldn't be here now, or at least be knocked out as often as you are." She says from the ground as she holds onto her sides. I can see Rainbow and Applejack trying not to laugh along with her... I'm starting to chuckle at the irony as well. "Alright, maybe it is... at least a little. Lets just look through the rest of the armory and get back to the others." I walk over to the locked door and knock the pad lock off. We spend the next thirty minutes looking through all of the drawers, closets, and cabinets... Pinkie listing every time a helmet would of saved me the entire time.... "OH! And don't forget the time the girls chucked a bunch of pumpkins at you and Storm! Come to think of it, we should look for one for Storm as well." Pinkies says as she looks through a drawer. "Yes Pinkie, I get it, I get knocked out a lot." "I know! Isn't it funny!" She says as she chuckles a bit. "Right... well this room is completely devoid of anything useful. Let's meet up with the others before we move to our other objective." I say as I lead them back to the mico platforms. We flash back to the dorm rooms and make our way back to my room, where we find everything perfectly cleaned. "Miles! You'll be happy to know that I took the liberty to tidy up a bit." Rarity says as she trots out from the restroom. "What do you think?" "Uh... thanks? I really appreciate it." I say as I step in and look around. I don't know why, but seeing Dolum's side of the room perfectly clean is making me feel uneasy. I look over to see Twilight laying in my bed, talking to Storm as he holds her hoof. I walk over to her and sit beside her. "How're you feeling?" "Better. Tired but better." She says as she picks her head up a bit. "Next time don't push yourself too hard..." "I know, it wasn't very clever of me." "Think you'll be able to walk in about twenty?" "Probably." "Alright.." I say as I stand up and head to my closet. I look through it until I find my tattered official uniform and pull it out for Rarity. Amazing that it's still here... and relatively in on piece. "Rarity, think you can memorize this?" I ask as I lay it on Dolums bed. She walks over and begins to look it over, inspecting every part of it in total focus and silence. I see that my phone is done uploading the coordinates, so I pocket my phone and shut off my computer. With nothing better to do, I take a seat and wait for Rarity to finish studying the suit. I look around the room and notice all of the missing pictures, must of been Auxy. She was always one for the small things like that. I look over and see the golden rod she gave me in the video... what did she call it? Dominus Clavis? Just what is this the key to? I take it and look it over some more. Just a golden rod with seven slots where some gems can be inserted. At the top is a grip for another gem can be placed. All of the slots seem to be grated for the same size gems... hmm... "What is that?" Twilight asks. "According to Auxy, this is Dominus Clavis, the master key." "Key to what?" Storm asks as he looks it over. "I don't know." "Well, if you don't find out, at least you'll have a pretty stick." Pinkie says, making me laugh a little. I look back to my closet and see my other pair of shoes.... oh sweet Barbra yes! I walk over and pick them up... only to have the fall apart in my hands... that's just not fair. "You alright Miles?" Fluttershy asks. "Yeah..." "Well, I've learned all I can from this. Once we get back I'll get to work on them as soon as I'm done with all of the costumes." Rarity says as she sits down and rubs her eyes. "OK, you ready Twilight?" I ask as she gets out of bed and stretches a bit. "I should be fine." "Then lets get going, we need to get to the bottom of the P.C.H. as quickly as possible." I say as I lead them down the hall and towards the mico platforms. "Why do we need to get to the bottom?" Twilight asks as everyone follows after me. I stop by the platforms and head to the one with the etching of a wrench and electrical bolt, pulling out my rifle on the way. "To get the power completely back on." I say before I step onto the platform and flash away. As soon as I can see again I lift my rifle up and take a few steps forward, scanning the area for threats. I'm standing on a catwalk that's a story above the city reactors. Four massive machines that send metallic tubes far down into the ground, collecting the heat of the core to power the city. The machines stand about a story high, having catwalks go around their midsection. The entire area here is lit by bright red lights, numbing my eyes a bit. When everyone appears behind me I start to make my way around the catwalk, heading towards the other side of the room. "What are those things?" Applejack asks from behind. "Power stations. They send massive metal tubes into the center of Terra to collect heat, that we use for energy." "How do they do that? The center of the earth is molten lava, it would destroy the metal before you could collect the energy." Twilight asks. "Uh... magic. We super treated them to resist insane amounts of heat." I say as something makes a sound, stopping me as I try to find it. Not being able to see it, I continue down the path, keeping an eye on the catwalks around the generators. We make the rest of the trip over in silence, whatever is out there made a couple more sounds, but hasn't shown itself. I head to the main computer and start it up, getting a loud hum as the screen shows me the home screen. "Watch my back while I reset this... I think there's something in here." I say as I start to slide through the options. "Got it." Storm says as he runs to the edge of the platform and looks for whatever is out there. The rest of them just walk around the opening, inspecting everything and whispering to one another. I turn back to the screen and begin punching the codes to restart the generators. It seems that only two of them are operational, but with how little will be required, it'll do. "Alright, they need a couple hours to reboot, but we're done here." I say as I tap the final the screen and walk away. "Thank heavens, all this red was starting to give me a head ache." Rarity says as she leads us back through the catwalk. "Why are the lights red anyway?" Twilight asks. "Its just a security thing. Kind of hard not to realize somethings wrong when everything goes red." I say as I approach the Mico platform. SCREECH I spin around to see a utility bot high in the air, falling towards me with a large pipe in its hands. I raise my rifle and fire a few rounds into its chassis as I step aside. The bot crashes down and slams into the mico platform. The platform sends out archaic sparks before the dent pops up. The bot begins to turn towards me, but I send a few more rounds into its head, dropping it. "What was with all those sparks from the platform?" Applejack asks as I kick the bot aside. I walk onto the platform and wait... "Fuck! It fucking broke it." I say as I step off of the platform. "Well, can't you just fix it?" Twilight asks. "No, I'd have to go to the first floor and set a new platform before I set a new one." I say as I look around for the stairs, finding them in the back right of the room. "We'll have to take the stars until we can make it back." I say as I walk towards them. "Well.. how many will we have to take till we can teleport back?" Rainbow asks as they all follow after me. "Well... I don't know. Anywhere from one to ten floors." I say as I open the door, only to jump out of the way as a wall of rubble falls out. "Well... shit." "What should we do?" Storm asks as I bring my magic up. "Whoa... uh Miles... don't you think that will be a little too... strenuous." I ignore him as I start to magically pull the rubble out, getting more to fall down. "Hmm... this may not work." I say as I look up the stairwell. There's a fairly tight gap going up... "Ah think ah can make my way up there." Applejack says from my side as she looks up the stairwell. "Hmm... I've got an idea. Applejack, if you can get back up to the floor with the other half of the platform and take a picture of it with my phone, I can replicate it and get everyone out of here." "And I'll go with you!" Rainbow says as she walks up beside her. "Well, alright, but no more. I don't want to put too much weight on that rubble." I say as I pull out my phone and show them how to use it. Once they get the gist of it I send them up the stairwell, and wait. Perspective: Rainbow Dash I follow after AJ through the small crevice, barely having room for my bags as we wiggle our way up. I keep getting dust and debris in my eyes, making it harder to follow after her, but I ignore it for now and trudge along with her. "Hey RD.... everything alright?" AJ asks as we make it into a larger opening, the only opening being through the room next to us. We walk up the slab of concrete and continue our climb through what looks like a slanted office. "I'm good, got some dust in my eyes but..." "Not what ah meant." She says flatly. "Look... ah know things didn't go as you wanted, but..." "I know, I know, but... I like where things went. It wasn't what I wanted, but... I'm happy." I say as we stop in a large opening in the building. It seems several floors had collapsed, making a large open room above us. I grab AJ and begin to fly us towards a door at the top. "What ever happened ta livin the dream and that who-haw ya use ta holler about? Don't tell me ya gave up on yer..." "I didn't give up. I tried my best, but.... look, lets just focus on getting out of here. I like how things turned out, that's that." I say as I set her down and walk off through the hallway. I think this hall was a hospital wing or something. Every room has rows of white beds with weird metal, claw contraptions. We make it to the end of the hall where we find a platform station. We find the one with the thunder and wrench, so AJ begins to try to take the picture. "Ah'm just sayin, ever since that day, ya never talked about it, or them since. We're all worried about ya girl. If ya ever need ta talk about it, we're here fer ya." I take a deep breath as I look away from her. I don't want to talk about it... ever. I just want to move on with my life and forget that embarrassment. She takes the picture and begins to walk back down the hall. I stay behind as I try to collect myself. I can feel tears starting to form up again... I can't let them see me cry... that's just uncool. "Ya comin or not?" AJ calls from the hall. "Right, lets get back already." I say as I follow after her. No more tears, no more reminiscing. I have to focus on the future.... if not for me, then for her. We make it back to the group in total silence. I can tell AJ wants to talk some more, but I just don't want to hear it right now. "Did you get it?" Miles asks as AJ gives him the phone. "Perfect. Just give me a sec then." He kneels down as he sets his hands on the ground, making a white fire encircle him as he stares at his phone. A few seconds later he steps off the newly formed platform. "Are you sure it's going to work?" Twilight asks as she looks at it intently. "Only one way to find out." Miles says as he steps onto it and flashes away, only to flash back in a few seconds later. "Good to go." He says as he steps off and steps back on. Everypony takes their turn until its just me and AJ in the room. I try to step onto the platform, but she stops me by wrapping me up in a hug, making me go tense. "What she did ta ya was wrong. But you have somethin she'll never have." "And what would that be?" "Friends." I sigh as I wrap my hooves around her, holding onto her lightly as I think about what she said. I know I have friends... but whats left of my dream?
Chapter 98 Die MemoriaChapter 98 Die Memoria Once Rainbow and Scootaloo had their little moment, leaving Scootaloo a little confused, we began to head home. Scootaloo had taken a spot on Rainbows back and was quickly falling asleep as we walked through the park. Rainbow and I hadn't spoken at all while we were walking. There is a lot I want to say, but I want to wait till Scootaloo is in bed before I say anything. We make it below her place where she turns to me, twiddling her hooves a bit as she tries to think of what to say. "Miles, I..." "Once you get her in bed, come meet me at my place. We need to talk." I say bluntly as I continue down the path towards my place. I walk in and turn on all of the lights to the living room before taking a seat on one of the recliners and wait. After a few minutes of waiting I finally hear her walk in. "Miles?" She asks as she steps into the living room. "Take a seat." "I dunno, I'm actually pretty beat. *fake yawn* I was gonna call it a..." "NOW." I say firmly, getting her to lower her head and take a seat in the other recliner. I stand up and pace around slowly, trying to think of the most gentle, passive, level headed way to go about this. "Rainbow.... what the fuck?" "What..." "Why did I need to lie for you to keep your kid? Why isn't this the first time you've ever been late for picking her up from there? Why was she even there? You have a lot to explain for, and I'm not letting you leave here until I know why you've been fucking up." She takes a few breathes as she tries to hold beck her tears. "Well... she likes to go there to volunteer her time with the other kids. Help out with TenderSoul and all." "Alright. What about everything else? Start from the beginning." I say as I take a seat on the couch beside her. "Miles... I don't like talking about that day... could we.." "And I don't like being a liar. You better tell me everything right now. Because if you don't convince me right now that you're capable of providing for her right now, I'll take her back there myself." She goes wide eyed as she stares me in the eyes, seeing my resolve. "*sigh* well... about a year ago, I tried out for the Wonderbolts. They're this group of pegasis that are suppose to be the premiere fliers of Equestria. I was confident that I would get in because of our past. Saving them, doing a Sonic Rain-boom, I thought I had it... that was... until I got there. When I arrived at their training grounds I saw Spitfire do her own version of a Sonic rain-boom. She had contacted me earlier and we hung out for a bit. I thought she wanted to be my friend, but in reality she just wanted to learn how to do that trick. After my routine, she completely shot me down. Saying stuff like how I was unoriginal, too rigid, and... well, you get the idea. After that... I was in a really bad place. Joining the Wonderbolts was my dream, and in a matter of a few words she destroyed it." "Why didn't you just try out again?" "I couldn't! It was too humiliating! I still hear crud about how bad the performance was! The worst part is that I actually did really good! but she's the captain, so when she said no, almost everypony joined her." She says as she begins to cry. She tries to hide her face as she wipes the tears away, but I can see the sorrow perfectly. "What happened next?" "*sniff* after another drunken exploitation, that I don't even remember, I woke up in the orphanage. Scootaloo had found me in the streets and drug me there by herself. She was really worried about me, she didn't know about my failure and was scared that I gave up. Well from there we started hanging out... and I... well..." "Then you adopted her." "Yeah. She still wants to go to the orphanage, help out as much as possible, so it was agreed that I would pick her up from there every day at six.... and... I haven't been the best at that." "What's been keeping you from getting there on time? Don't tell me you've been over sleeping that much." "Well... sometimes. I've been... seeing somepony... and we only get to meet at night. So after work I would try to take a nap and... on the really hard days I'd over sleep." "*inhale/exhale* Rainbow... that's a horrible excuse..." "I know it is! Don't you think I know that! But... I can't help it. I love him...." "More then you love Scootaloo?" She sits back and thinks about what I said. I can tell this isn't the first time she's had to think about this. "Look, I'm all for you being with someone and all, but you need to learn to prioritize. If you're going to be the one to take care of Scootaloo, then she needs to be number one in your books. You need to tell this guy that. If he can't handle that, then he needs to go." "*sniff* OK. Just... don't take Scootaloo from me. She's all I have." She says as she starts to cry a little more. I kneel down beside her and wrap her up in a light hug, getting her to hug me back. "I won't. But you need to promise me that you'll try harder with Scootaloo." "I will, I promise." I glance over to see Luna standing at the bottom of the stairs, staring at the two of us. I motion to her to give us a moment, so she motions back that she'll be upstairs. I hold onto Dash a bit longer before I break the hug. "Alright, go home and think really hard about what I said." I say as I stand up. "I will. And... thanks Miles, for sticking up for me. I promise that I'll try harder. I'll catch you later Miles, I need to get home." "See ya." I say as she walks out of my house, wiping her eyes the entire way. I take a deep breath before I turn off the lights and head upstairs, finding Luna laying on my bed. Without saying a word I remove my shirt and lay beside her, getting her to wrap her legs around me. "Everything OK." She asks quietly as she nuzzles my cheek a bit. "Yeah. I just had to set Rainbow straight on being a parent." I say as I wrap my arms around her. "She messed up today, but hopefully she'll listen to what I said... I hope so. So... what are you doing here?" I ask as I look over to her. "It's Nightmare Night. I get the night off to get rested for tomorrow. I wanted to be here for when you had your day of remembrance." "Right, right. Sorry, just a little scatter brained today." I say as I lay back. She leans over and gives me a kiss on the lips before she gets comfortable against me. "It's alright. Lets just get some rest, we've got a big day tomorrow." She says as she runs a hoof up and down my chest. "Yeah, it's your day tomorrow... any warnings you want to throw my way before it happens?" "Well... technically its my night. But expect ponies dressed up, candy, ponies bowing to me and presenting candy... probably a lot of little pranks here and there." "Why are they presenting you candy?" I ask as I begin to rub her back. "It's... just tradition. There's a story to it, but I don't really care for it... Miles, did you go back to Topaz yet?" She asks as she stops rubbing my chest and looks me in the eyes. "I did." "And?" "And... I got what I needed from there." "So... you're going to the next city then?" "Yeah... I don't know when, but I'll be going as soon as possible." "And... if you go... and there's..." "Don't worry Luna. There's nothing out there that could keep me from my wife." I say as I pull her in for a kiss. She breaks the kiss as she gets on top of me, hovering her lips over mine the entire time. "One last thing, is Topaz safe yet?" She asks as she starts planting kisses on my lips. "I think so.... why?" I say between kisses. "Becuase after we renew our vows... we're going on our honeymoon there." I stop kissing her and stare at her. "What? No... just... why would we go there for our.... whats a honeymoon?" "Think of it as a primum somno." "And why do you want to do that there?" "Can you think of somewhere Celestia won't be able to find us for three days?" She asks as she starts to undo my pants. "Uh... the love shack?" "Miles..." She says as he finally gets my belt off. "How are you going to get away from Celestia for three days? We barely get away with dates." I ask as she pulls down my pants... oh shit... how did I not notice this happening? She tosses them aside and crawls back up my body, planting kisses along the way. "Don't worry about that. Regina said that she has a way to help us with that. Now do you want to keep talking about this or not?" "Oh sweet Barbra...." Perspective: Storm One hour later Oh... my... god. For the last hour I've been laying in bed... listening to Miles and Luna having sex. At first it was just bed springs and light tapping on the walls with periodic pauses... but then it got louder.... and louder... I need to move back in with Twilight. They finally stopped though, so now I can finally get some sleep... " AHHH, MILES!" Luna screams out. "Son of a bitch!" I yell as I get out of bed and walk down stairs, finding Lupus and Hati.... "WHY IS THERE SO MUCH SEX IN THIS HOUSE!" I yell as I storm out of the door and take off, heading towards Twilight's. Perspective: Miles 9:00am With a content sigh I roll over and watch Luna sleep peacefully. Last night was amazing... though I think she mainly did it to convince me to have our... honeymoon, in Topaz Falls. It worked. I begin to brush her hair back with my hand, slowly waking her. "Morning." I whisper into her ear. "... five more minutes..." She mumbles as she rolls over. I laugh a bit and get out of bed to take care of business. After a quick shave I walk back into my room and find Luna still sleeping. I get back into bed and wrap my arms around her, getting her to mumble some more. "Come on, time to get up." I say as I hold tightly onto her. "Miles... sleep good... sun bad." She says as she pulls the sheets over her face. I think about it for a second before I get an evil idea. I reach over and start to wiggle my finger around her wing joints, making her squirm a bit. After that fails to get her up I decide to move to her flank, rubbing and lightly squeezing it. She wiggles a bit, but keeps under the sheets... hmm. "I'M AWAKE!" She yells as I begin rubbing her slit, getting her to jump up. "Miles... you're evil." She says as she rolls over. "Hey, we have time." "*sigh*... I think I'll just have you go blue for waking me like this." She says as she leans against me, trying to get some more sleep. "Well, you can stay here if you want, I'm going to take a shower..." FWOOSH "... care to join me?" I ask as I stand up. She reaches out to me with her hooves, so I reach over and pick her up. "As good as that sounds, no. Sorry but I have to head home and wash up over there. I'll be back as quickly as possible." "Hmm... well, alright. How long do you think it should take?" "Twenty, thirty minutes. Why?" "This will give me a chance to run to the store and get some food together. It should only be you, me, Storm and Big Mac... and maybe Twilight and Applejack, but afterwards I want some food for everyone." CREEEEEEAK We both look over to see the door slowly open, revealing Celestia standing in the door way. We stare at each other for a second before I drop Luna. THUD "OW! Miles!" "Celestia... uh... this... is exactly what it looks like." I say as I grab a bed sheet and cover myself up. "MILES! He's just kidding Tia, this is... uh... shoot. Yeah, this is what it... "BWUAHAHAHAHA!" Luna and I look to each other as some other voice starts laughing. Celestia then vanishes as a laughing Storm and Twilight walk into the doorway, using each other to hold them up from their laughter. "That wasn't funny!" Luna says as she takes a few deep breaths. "You two nearly gave me a heart attack." "I thought it was pretty funny." I say as I nudge Luna. "No... it wasn't." Luna says flatly. "No, it wasn't. Storm, that'll be one full set on the run." I say, getting him to stop laughing. "Really?" He asks. "No, but that was funny huh?" I say as I pull some clothes out and toss them onto the bed. "It's still a little early for pranks though." "Well everyone is down stairs, waiting for you two. So we decided to play a little prank on you two for what you did to Storm." Twilight says matter of factly. "What did I do to Storm?" I ask as I start to pull the underwear on, keeping the sheet over myself. "Dude.... I heard everything.... these halls echo." Luna and I glance to each as we both go red. "Well.... damn." I say as I finish putting on some jeans and slip the red shirt on. "Jealous?" I ask as I nudge Luna again, taking her out of her embarrassment trance. "Right, uh.... who's here then?" Luna asks before Storm could answer. "Well there's us, the Apple family, Rainbow and Scootaloo, Pinkie and the Cakes, Rarity and Sweetie Bell, and Fluttershy... though I think she counts as part of the Apple family, but whatever." "That's almost twenty people..." I start to say, but get cut off by Twilight. "Oh! And Celestia said she wanted to attend it as well..." "WHAT!" Luna yells as she runs into the closet and goes straight for the Mico platform. "Smooth Twilight." I say as I walk past her. "What did I do?" "I'll tell you, go ahead and greet everypony Miles." Storm says. I nod to him and walk downstairs, finding my home full of activity. The three girls are running around, giggling, as most ponies are walking around, mingling with one another as some eat from large trays on the dinning room table. I'm touched that this many want to experience my culture, I just hope I don't screw up the speech. "Oh, hello there deary. Thank you for letting us attend." Mrs. Cake says as she and her husband walk up to me. "Oh its no problem, anyone and everyone is invited to this really. Did you cater?" "Well we didn't want to show up empty hoofed, and Pinkie insisted that we make enough for everypony." Mr. Cake says. "It wasn't necessary, but it's appreciated. Thank you." I say as I shake Mr. Cakes hoof. "Where are the little ones?" I ask as I walk over to the table OH SWEET BARBRA PANCAKES! Really really thin pancakes with stuff in the middle. "Oh they're probably somewhere here, getting into trouble." Mrs. Cake says with a laugh. I take one of the thin pancakes and take a bite...... what the fuck? "Is something wrong Miles? I thought you would like crepes." I force myself to swallow the chunk before I set the plate down. "I thought I would to... is that hay?" "No. It's flour. Think of it as a really thin pancake with blueberries in the middle." Mr. Cake explains. "Now, Pound Cake, that's Miles's, leave that alone." I look beneath the seat to see Pound Cake reaching up for my plate. I squat down and hold onto the chair as I get face to face with him. "Hey! You trying to eat my crepes?" I ask slowly. "No no naooo." He says as he continues to reach for it. He flaps his wings a bit, getting air born and reaching my plate and running off with it. "Get back here you!" I say in a silly tone, getting high pitched giggles from him as I chase after him. By the time I finally catch him, he's eaten the entire crepes. I pick him up and begin to tickle his sides, getting even more laughter from him as I carry him back to the Cakes. "He's a weak one for raspberries." Mrs. Cake says, getting a confused look from me. "Here, I'll show you." I hand him off to her as she lays him on his back and blows on his tummy, getting even more laughs from him as she blows more and more... so that's a raspberry... good to know. I leave them to their antics as I walk over to the living room, finding Granny Smith on the couch. "You there! Er... millimeter... no... Miles! Come here real quick." Granny says as she waves a hoof at me. I take a seat next to her and wait for what she has to say. "This... day of rememberin, I like it. Kids these days never take the time ta stop an remember those who need rememberin. Its always work this or work that, pbbt. Hog wash. Kids need ta learn about where they've been before they move on ta the future." "I couldn't agree more Mrs. Smith." "Call me Granny. Heck, ya may as well be part a the family, with how close you an Big Mac are. The two a yous may as well be brothers." She says as she punches my arm... for an elderly lady, shes got a good punch. "Did I ever tell ya about what happen ta my son, Miles?" "No... you mean Big Mac's and Applejack's father?" "Yea. He was a good stallion. Level headed an straight talker. I see 'im every darn day in Big Mac. He an his wife went ta help wit some pioneer ponies heading out ta what would become Plana Del Canon. But on the way there, somethin happened. I was never told the exact details, but I was told where they were buried. Not a darn day doesn't go by that I don't wish I could go back an tell them not ta go, ta stay an watch after their kin. But, we don't git ta go back, now do we?" "No... we don't. What were their names?" "Sunny Rind was mah boy an Fuji was his mare... I'm sorry, can ya give me a minute." She says as she starts to wipe her tears away. I nod and get up, leaving her to get situated as i walk towards the kitchen. I never knew their parents were killed... or at least were in an accident. I walk into the kitchen and find all of the little girls and the baby cakes petting the crap out of Lupus and Hati, who both look like they could die from joy. I laugh a bit as I go around them and head into the kitchen, finding Fluttershy working on some carrots in the sink. "Hey there Fluttershy, who the carrots for?" Before she could answer I felt a light pounding on my leg. I look down to see Angel kicking my leg. He stops and stares at me for a bit before he takes a paw and hits his chest a few times before he points to me. I return the gesture, slowly, before he hops away. "Well... they were for Angel." Fluttershy says as we watch him bounce away. "Where did you get that guy anyway? Most of the other rabbits seem... different from him." "Well... when I moved here from Cloudsdale, my parents wanted to live with me... but then... somethings happened that I'd rather not talk about. Basically they went missing for awhile, but Angels momma helped me find them. When she had her first litter, she let me keep Angel." "Oh... sorry to hear that... about your parents that is." "Its alright. I've come to terms with it, I just don't want to dwell to much on it before the remembrance. I know it'll make me cry." "You know, I usually think of my parents as well." I say as I lean against the counter. "Really? What about them?" She asks as she sits before me. "Well, not much, since I never knew them. But I try to think of what they would tell me. Whether I was making the right choices in life. I try to imagine what they were like, what they looked like, usually to no avail, but it helps the hour go by." "I'm sure they would be proud of you. You did a lot of good things..." She starts to say but stops when horns sound off from out front. I walk to the front and open the door to reveal Celestia, Cadence, Shinning Armor and Luna standing on my front porch. "Greetings Miles. We are here to honor your tradition. May we come in?" Celestia asks. I step aside and allow them to walk in, the room falling eerily quiet. "I'm glad you two could make it... though to be honest I wasn't expecting nearly as many people coming." I say as I close the door behind the four guards, two day and two night. "Twilight said that she would clear it up with you and that it should be fine... we aren't intruding are we?" She asks as she looks around the room, nodding to all of the bowing ponies. "Of course you aren't. This is for everyone willing to take the time to honor those of the past. Please, make yourself at home. She nods to me and walks in, heading straight for Twilight. Luna pauses by me and motions to the food table, so I follow after her. "You know what I found out today?" I ask before she could say anything. "I now know what a raspberry is." Her eyes go wide as I pick up a random piece of food and eat it. "Right.. well, I hope you can keep your mouth shut while you do that, it makes it better." She says as she takes a muffin and takes a bite. "Yeah yeah yeah, secrets and lies, got it. Follow me, we're going to get started now." I say as I walk towards the living room. "CAN EVERYONE MAKE THEIR WAY TO THE LIVING ROOM, WE'RE ABOUT TO GET STARTED." I yell, getting everyone to make their way towards me. Most bring chairs from the dining room or fill up the couch and recliner. "Alright, so before I begin they're are some things that I'd like to clear up. This is the Die Memoria. A Terradisian holiday... sort of. Terradisia didn't have any set holidays, but there were those that were celebrated underground, so to speak. Topaz was very open minded in that the entire city celebrated this. Now, we do this to honor the memories of those who passed away, reflect on their lives and see how their lives influenced ours. I ask that you stay silent during the Hour of Reflection. Before that we have the Venerantes Bonum, remember the Good. This is the time where anyone can stand before others and tell a good memory from their past. I'll be the first to go." "When I was about thirteen, my friend Dolum and I had gotten lost... again. We had a tendency to get lost and it often went the same way. After two hours of wandering around we finally decided to try to earn some money for a bus, so Dolum pulled out some cards and started doing tricks. He was amazing at illusionary magic and could fool almost anyone. Sadly, this day he was caught. This guy chased us through half the city, trying to... I don't even know what he was planning to do, Dolum and I were having too much fun being chased. It became... I don't know, we just never wanted it to end. There was a point where we actually got away, so we went looking for him so he could chase us some more. By the end we ran into Captain Bellum and were escorted home. On the way there Bellum asked what we were up to and I'll never forget what Dolum said. He said 'We were just on the run of our lives, trying to find the reason we run.' he always had those moments of... stupid genius, it was something I loved about him." When I finish up I step aside and let anyone else take a chance to talk. It stays silent for a bit before before Big Mac walks up to the front. "Well, I remember one season when ah was little me an my pa were shucking corn. Ah was having a little trouble doin it at his speed, so he stopped me an said 'hey, it doesn't matter how quickly ya do em, there's always goin ta be more'. It's somethin I've always tried ta live by." He walks back over to Fluttershy and his family, getting nuzzles from all of them. It goes quiet again before Celestia walks up. "When I was very young my mother was showing me some magical self defense stances when she suddenly stopped everything. She was going into labor with Luna and needed a doctor. I was scared, not knowing entirely what was going on and ran as fast as I could to get the doctor from the nearby village. She was in labor for two days before I heard the cries of the baby. When I was finally allowed in with her, she said to me to come meet my baby sister. I walked over and asked if I could hold her, which I was allowed, and you know what she did? She threw up in my face. And thus started the greatest sisterhood that I cherish every day." When she finishes up there's a few giggles from all of the children as she walks over to Luna and sits beside her, nudging her a bit as they whisper to one another. I can see one of the day guards wanting to say something so I motion for him to take the floor. "It's alright." Celestia says, getting him to walk up and take the floor. "Uh... I'm Day Blazer, and... when I was a foal my grandmother had taught me to make gingersnap cookies. We spent the entire day making cookies, eating them, spitting them back up becuase we set the oven too high... it was kind of our thing. She died last Nightmare Night, so my whole family made gingersnap cookies and purposely burnt them." He steps back behind Celestia and wipes a tear away. Rainbow Dash wastes no time taking the floor, flying up before anyone could blink. "A few years ago my mother passed away, due to natural causes. Her final wishes were to have her ashes spread over the Lone Mountains, so my dad and I made the trip. The journey there was something I'll never forget. Bandits, deadly sea creatures, Daring Do stuff really. When we got there we had a mountain goat guide us to the top, due to our wings being too tired from flying there. As we stood there, top of the world, he looked down at the urn and said 'Rainbow, your mother always said that you'd do great things, I think this past week we proved her right. You do the honors'. So I took the urn and shook out the ashes, only to get them to blow in the wind and smear all over dad. It was bitter sweet." She walks back over to the recliner she was sharing with Scootaloo and wraps her up in a hug as she sits down. I wait for a bit longer, but no one walks up, so I take the floor. "Well, if no one wants to take the floor, we'll begin the hour of reflection. This is a straight hour of silence, spent reflecting on those who have passed into the void. I know for the young ones it'll be difficult, but please try to keep silent." I say before I cross my legs and sit on the floor. I pull out my phone and set the timer. One hour... Mom and dad.... Dolum, Auxy, Fidus, Sine, Eximius, Tenera, Inficiunt, so much to remember.
Chapter 99 Nightmare NightChapter 99 Nightmare Night Well...we've got a minute left. Almost everyone had a moment of either silent tears or light sobs, don't blame them. This is suppose to be emotional. I look around the room to see everyone looking down, keeping their eyes shut as they contemplate their past. Thirty seconds. Luna's crying. I want to go hold her, But Celestia's doing it for me. I have a feeling I know who she's thinking about, I even thought about them. Fifteen seconds. Storm shed a few tears, I wonder who for. Maybe Breaker, though I doubt it. Maybe his father. Five seconds. I stand up and get everyone's attention... three... two... one... "OK, times up everyone." I say, getting murmurs from everyone. "Thank you for attending this, I appreciate you wanting to share what little culture I have." "And thank you for sharing it with us." Celestia says as she stands up. "It was a privilege to be able to experience... may I have a word with you though?" She asks as she goes into the kitchen. I glance to Luna before I follow after her. "What do you need?" I ask as she faces me in the kitchen. "I was really touched by this. I feel as if this is something that everypony should experience. With your permission, may I make this a permanent part of Nightmare Night." I take a step back when she asked this. "Of course. Die Memoria should be experienced by everyone." I say, feeling extremely honored. "Thank you Miles." "Its funny though, this was always something that was done underground. It was technically illegal, and now its becoming part of a national holiday..." "Its something truly special and I wish for everypony to be a part of it." I nod to her and walk back to the living room. I feel... I don't know... good? I shake it off and walk back to the living room, finding everyone talking among themselves. I walk up beside Luna, who's talking with Twilight and Storm, and listen to their conversation. "... doesn't know. Hey Miles! That was... very touching, to say the least." Twilight says as the three of them smile to me. "Ok, whats going on?" I ask as they glance to one another. "What are you talking about? We were just talking about our reflections." Luna says innocently as she bats her eyes. "Right. So when does your plan take effect?" "After Nightmare Night." Storm says, getting Twilight to punch him... then shake the pain out of her hoof. "What happens after Nightmare Night?" Celestia asks as she approaches the group. They fall silent as they try to think of an answer, making an awkward silence. "Your highness." A day guard says, getting Celestia's attention. She leans down and lets him whisper something into her ear as she thinks about whatever he's saying. "Hmm... no. My sister has barely returned and already has plans to leave tomorrow, so I will spend my entire evening by her side. Let somepony in the royal family take care of that and any other matters that may come up tonight." She says as she takes her place by her side. Luna puts on a weak smile as she glances to me and then back to her. "I'm so glad to hear that sister." Luna says as she leans against her, giving me a scared look. I laugh a little as I just smile back to her. It's a shame that I won't get to spend time with her. But at the same time, it's probably good to have her spend some alone time with Celestia. "So... what are you going to be for Nightmare Night Miles?" Celestia asks. I look around and try to figure out what the fuck she's talking about. "Uh... huh?" "You dress up for Nightmare Night ." Storm says flatly. "So let me get this straight. For a holiday, you dress up. But for every normal day it's common place to just walk around naked." Everyone just stares at me as I try to find the logic in this... nope, none. "Miles... stop being a perv." Storm says as he escorts Twilight away. "What I do?" I ask, getting Celestia to shake her head at me. They both walk away from me, Luna laughing lightly. "I'm still lost over here.... why am I the pervert?!" I ask as they walk away, getting ignored. "Miles darling?" Rarity asks as she and Pinkie approach me. "Do you have a costume for tonight?" "Uh... no." "Well why don't-" "YOU CAN BE A GHOST!" Pinkie yells as she jumps up and runs up stairs. Moments later she tosses a sheet over me and cuts two holes for me to look out of. "Perfect!" "Y-yes... perfect." Rarity says weakly. "Okay... what's a ghost?" They look at me in disbelief before just walking way, shaking their heads. "What? Is it don't answer anything Miles asks day or something? Come on." I say as I pull the sheet off. They continue to ignore me, so I decide it must be a pony thing. With nothing better to do, I head over to the dinning room to grab some more food. Perspective: Luna 7:00pm Miles's Die Memoria was touching, but now its time for the fun to begin. "Are you ready?" Celestia asks as we circle above Ponyville one more time. I grow an evil smile as I glance over to her and nod. With a powerful flap, Celestia propels herself forward, creating storm clouds that cover Ponyville. I charge my horn and start creating powerful bolts of lighting and deafening thunder, hopefully gaining the attention of the villagers. I keep up the weather control until I feel Celestia begin to take over, so I prep myself for the royal Canterlot voice. "CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE! I, YOUR PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT, HAVE RETURNED.... HUNGRY!!"I flap my wings as hard as possible, sending myself towards the ground as fast as possible. I slam into the town square right before a group of dressed up ponies and begin laughing maniacally. "MUAH-HAHAHAHAH! WHERE IS MY OFFERING? NONE? THEN BRING FORTH THE CHILDREN!" I yell, making all of the children before me scream and run away in terror. All of the adults left begin laughing with me as we watch them, and Pinkie Pie, run; screaming their heads off. "Welcome Princess Luna to our towns little festival." The mayor, who's dressed up as a jester, says as she approaches me. "It is an honor to have you grace our town once again. Please enjoy the festivities and have some fun." She says, getting cheers from the crowd around me. "And thank you for having me." I say as they bow to me. I bow back and begin to walk through the town square, having Celestia land beside me and accompany me everywhere. "That was quit the entrance sister." She says as we look at the stalls and costumes. "Yeah... though I wish I could have made a costume that would hold during flight... imagine their responses if a basilisk had landed in town square." "I imagine that would cause quit the stir." She says, getting us both to giggle as a group of children run up to me. "Hi Princess Luna!" Yells Pip as the group presents a pile of candy. "That was super awesome! Are you going to scare us some more?" He asks as the group leans closer. "Mmmm... maybe. This seems to be a worthy offering... for now." I say as I levitate up a gum drop and eat it, glancing over to Celestia as she rolls her eyes. "Yay! Okay, we'll go get some more candy for you then! Bye!" He says as he runs off with the group of laughing kids. I levitate the candy and continue walking with Celestia. "That's just not fair." She says as I eat a chocolate bar. "You could have any piece of candy you want." "I know... but my diet..." "Tia, it's Nightmare Night. Everypony over eats." I say as I levitate a portion of the pile to her. She eyes it for a second before she finally takes it and begins to eat a jaw breaker. "*sigh* please don't let me go over board." "I'll try. Now lets go have some fun." We head over to a giant wooden tub where we find Applejack, who's dressed as some kind of plant creature. "Howdy Princesses! Care ta bob fer an apple?" "I think we'll pass for now." I say as a grey pegasis, wearing paper muffin holders, pops out of the water and pulls the plug. "Where is everypony else?" "Aw, they're here an there. Ah know Pinkie's with the kids, but ah don't know about everypony else." She says as a dark cloud moves above her. I smile and wait for... BANG "AH!" Applejack yells as a lightning bolt shoots down behind her. She jumps up and lands inside the Tub, hiding from the laughing Rainbow Dash. "Dash! Ya nearly gave me a heart attack!" "Hahaha, aw calm down, it's all in good fun." Rainbow Dash says... or Batmare I should say. "OH OH! I see Sweetie Bell and Applebloom! Lets go scare them!" Scootaloo/Robyn the filly wonder says as she points off in the distance. "Alright, but this time I want you to do the lightning." "But.." "No buts. I'm sure you'll do just fine, now lets go scare your friends before they go inside." Rainbow says before she grabs their cloud and flies away. Celestia and I look to each other for a bit before we chuckle to one another. "Well, that was interesting. Lets go and walk about the town some more." Celestia says as she begins to walk off. I nod to Applejack before I follow after her. I glance at her pile to see that she's about a fifth of the way through it... I wonder how log it will take her to take to finish it... "Hello Twilight, Storm, where are the two of you heading?" I look over to see Twilight as Moon Drifter the Lost and Storm as... I'm not sure. He has a green vest with a black under shirt. His head is wrapped in black cloth with his muzzle wrapped in a green cloth.... I don't get it. "Hello Princesses, very nice entrance. We're on our way to the corn maze over at Sweet Apple Acres. Care to join us?" "Uh... I think my sister and I will walk through Ponyville some more before we try that. Why don't you two go and have fun." Celestia says. I glance at her for a second before I look back to them. "If you say so. I hear Miles and Big Mac booby trapped to to scare ponies as they go through it." Storm says as they wave goodbye and run off for Sweet Apple Acres. Miles and Big Mac..... oh my. "Celestia, why didn't you want to do the maze?" I ask, secretly wanting to do it just to see Miles. "Luna... if you've read Twilight's last friendship reports... for the past two months, you'd know that they aren't going in to.... you know what. Never mind. Lets just go and see whats happening in the market district." She says as she walks off at a brisk pace. I laugh a bit until I realize what we just avoided. Sorry Miles... that's for you to find... again... "Well... what do you want to do then? Because just walking around sounds kind of boring." I say as I follow after her. I glance at the pile to see she's about a third of the way through it.. this is pure evil. "Well... I don't know exactly. This isn't usually my thing. What do you want to do?" "Hmm..." Twenty Minutes Later "LUNA! This is crazy!" Celestia says in a hushed tone. "SHH! They'll hear us!" I whisper back as we lay down in our cloud, watching Twilight and Storm below us try to navigate through the maze. Time for payback. They've been very flirty throughout the entire maze, and I think they know their getting into the more secluded section of the maze. Twilight keeps rubbing up against Storm, using him to calm her own nerves as they trot from dead end to dead end. They've come close to kissing a couples of times, but other couples stopped them. "Ok.. on the count of three..." "Why do we have to do this?" "One..." "This doesn't seem right..." "Two..." "Do I have to?" "THREE!" As Twilight and Storm lean in to kiss we teleport down before them and scream out together "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Twilight jumps into the air and lands on her back, frozen in embarrassment as Storm just stares at us. "Hi, so how long have you two been following us?" He asks nonchalantly. "How are you not scared?" Celestia asks. "Spartan." He says as he looks Twilight over. "Think she'll be alright?" I stare at her for a second, and after a few leg twitches I just shrug. "I'm sure she'll be fine. Now le..." RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWW "AAAAAHHHHHH!" I yell as I fall to my back, frozen in fear. Celestia had jumped back and brought out an energy sword as Storm jump up to the cloud we were on. We all look for the noise, but can't seem to be able to find it. "What was that!" Celestia asks as she looks around for the source of the noise. "I don't know...it sounded like a..." Storm starts to say as he floats down but stops mid sentence as he stares down the path. We all look down to see..... an Ursa major staring at us. I get to my hooves and stare at in disbelief as it growls at us. "What should we do?" I ask Celestia as we all stare down the beast. Before anypony could answer it lunges at us, mouth wide open as it tries to eat us whole. Celestia and I were about to counter attack it when it burst into smoke, fogging up the entire maze so we can only see a few feet in front of ourselves. "THAT'S NOT FUNNY MILES!" I yell out as I hear somepony laughing in the background. "That jerk!" Celestia says as she tries to blow the fog away, but fails to. "OK, you got us. Very funny." I snap around as I hear something run behind me, then back around as I hear it run behind me again. "Miles.... this isn't funny..." I say weakly as we all back up against each other. "What do you think they're planning?" Twilight asks shakily. "Boo." "AAAAHHHH!" We all yell as we jump around to find Big Mac behind us, wearing a grim reaper costume. The instant we see him the fog suddenly dissipates, giving us a perfect view of the area around us. "Big Mac! What the buck!" Storm says as he walks towards him. "What? Its a corn maze. The point is ta scare ya." He says as he starts to walk off. "Where's Miles, I need to kick his flank right now." Celestia says as we follow after him. "Miles was never here. He was goin ta help, but decided ta go get candy instead." Big Mac says as he continues to walk off. "But... then what was with that Ursa major? And all that fog?" I ask as we follow him around a corner. He pauses and looks back to all of us with a look of confusion. "Uh... what fog an what Ursa major?" "OK. Now we know you're plotting with Miles. The giant bear entity and the immovable fog. We all saw it." Twilight says matter of factly. "Uh... I didn't see anything around y'all. Same night sky, same corn maze..." "Sure you did Big Mac."Storm says as he walks up to him. "And this would happen to be a set up to scare us again, would it?" Before anypony could ask a light fog start to fill the area again, though much more slowly this time. "OOOOO, scary Big Mac." "Miles, don't do that again.... please." I call out as the fog gets thicker and thicker. We hear something run around us again, making my heart race again. "Miles, I'm serious, stop!" I spin from side to side as the running continues to grow faster and fast. "Bark bark bark!" "AH!" I spin around to find Lupus and Hati running out of the fog and going straight for me. They seem scared as they cower underneath me. "Lupus? Hati? What's wrong?" I ask, getting them to whine lightly. "Somethin gots them spooked good." Big Mac says as he looks out into the fog. "Why don't we just teleport out of here?" Twilight asks. "Won't work." Big Mac says. "Before Miles left I had him enchant the field so nopony could teleport out. I had twelve unicorns trying to get out before we opened up. The only way out is through the exit." "Why would you do that?" Storm asks. "Ah didn't think somethin like this would happen." Celestia tries to teleport out, but every time she just flashes back into the same spot. "I guess we need to do it the old fashion way." I say as I start to walk down the path, legs trembling as I go. Everypony follows after me as I lead them down the path and come up to our first fork. "Left or right Big Mac?" "I don't know." "How could you not know? You made the maze." Twilight says. "Yeah... but ah think its been changing cause ah've been lost fer almost an hour now." Celestia walks up beside me and looks down both paths. "Sister... do.. do you think this is the work of Discord?" I ask quietly. "I certainly hope not. Lets just keep moving." She says as she continues down the left path. We follow after her, keeping our heads low as we watch for any sudden movements. GGGRRRRR We all freeze as a low growl come from all directions. My eyes dart from side to side as as I try to find the source of the noise, but I don't see anything. "Will you play with us?" We all spin around to two fillies standing down the path, both looking identical. Having pale white coats, brown tails and manes and light blue dresses on. "Come play with us forever and ever and ever..." "I think now would be a good time to run." Storm says as we all begin to back away from the two fillies. As we step away from them, they start to walk towards us. "PLAY WITH US! PLAY! FOREVER AND EVER!" They scream as their faces begin to turn demented, stretching out as they bear their dagger like teeth at us. Their heads nearly split in half as they open up wider and wider. Before anything else could happen we all turn and ran as fast as we could run, some of us screaming along the way.... or maybe that was just me. We make blind turns as their shrieks follow after us. I lose track of time as we continue to run, stopping once the screams die suddenly end. "What do we do know?" I ask as we all pant. "Why don't one of you jus fly up?" Big Mac asks. KER-FACEHOOF Celestia, Storm and I all facehoof at once as we realize our stupidity. With a heavy sigh Storm flaps his wings and takes off into the air. Celestia and I glance to each other before we follow after him, levitating the other two along with us. The second we get air born the fog disappears and we make it back to the edge with no problems what so ever. Big Mac looks down to the entrance before he grabs a nearby sign and moves it to the closed side. "Hey guys." "AH!" We all yell as we turn around to find Miles, eating candy from a massive bag. "You know, I may not be the expert, but I don't think you're suppose to fly out of the maze..." "Why were you scaring us so much!" Celestia yells at him, getting a confused look in response. "Uh... I've been in town getting candy the entire time you've been in there." He says as he pulls out some more and begins to eat. "But what about the fog and the Ursa major and the wolves being scared and..." Twilight starts to say in a panic. "Look, I don't know what to say. What ever was scaring you is probably still in there, becuase it wasn't me." We all glance back to the maze and stare at it, fearing what ever may still be in there. Perspective: Miles One Hour Later Well... after an hour of disenchanting and searching for something that wasn't there I finally head back to Ponyville for the festivities. I want to believe Luna and the others that there was something out there, they honestly seemed scared enough. But after personally searching the entire field three times and coming up empty handed... yeah, no. Whatever was out there is either very elusive, left before I searched, or doesn't exist. Well... I guess it's time for me to mess with Luna... too soon? NAAAAAH! I'm sure she'll be fine. Especially with what I have planned. Perspective: Luna With a sigh I take another sip from my pumpkin shake as I lay my head on the table. With Miles searching out the field for whatever was out there, Celestia and I decided to go somewhere public to relax. So we went to Sugarcube Corner. They have a bunch of tables set up outside as the cakes run around filling out orders for ponies at different tables. "You know what I also find odd?" Celestia says as she stops eating her strawberry shake; shake number three. "You mean besides the haunted corn maze?" "Well... yes. It's how... how to word this correctly... it seems that Ponyville is... getting accustom to us being around." She says as she glances around. "What do you mean?" "Well, with every visit we make here, it seems that the residents seem to treat us like any other pony. Not to say they're being disrespectful or anything bad, but.... well..." "I know what you mean." I says as I pick my head up and glance around at all of the ponies going about their business. "Any other city and we would be surrounded by worshipers and paparazzi. But here... its... we're just average ponies that everypony bows to when they greet them." Celestia nods to me as she finishes up her shake. "Would you like another one your highness?" Mrs. Cake asks as she walks up to us. "If you wou..." "No! I mean, I think another one is simply out of the question, with her diet and all." I say, making Celestia go wide eyed as she thinks about all of the treats she's had tonight. "Okay then, you two have a spooky Nightmare Night then." She says with a chuckle as she moves to the next table. "Well.... I'm going to blow up now." Celestia says as she drops her head onto the table. "No you won't, you didn't even have that much." I say as I try to reassure her. In actuality she had A LOT of candy, some pie, the shakes, several apples, several different punches.... she might blow up. "HIYA Princesses!" Pinkie says as she hops up to us. I giggle a bit at her costume. She's a shark, with her head inside the mouth and her tail making up the tail of the shark. "Mmmm." Celestia grumbles from the table. "Uh-oh, we have a pouty mcsaddyton! I know exactly how to fix that! Come with me." She says before hopping away. I glance back to Celestia and poke her a couple of times until she looks up to me. "Shall we?" "*sigh* very well." She says as she stands up and starts to walk off towards the bouncing pink mare. I giggle a bit before I follow after her. We make it to a stage with a dancing area, the next song starting as we approach the side lines. There's a white unicorn bobbing her head at the turn tables as a mass of ponies dance before her. I bob my head, finding odd to hear my own evil voice speaking. Then again, when the young DJ asked to make the song I was too excited to not try my best at it. "I still can't believe what a great job Vinyl did on this song." I say as I bob my head along. This new form of music is still a little foreign to me, but I enjoy it none the less. "Yes, though I find it a bit disturbing that you recorded yourself saying that so evilly, but it came out very well done." Celestia says with a smile as she watches the crowd move in beat with the music. I look forward but do a double take as I see Miles throw a sheet over me as he slides before me and plant a solid kiss on my lips. WHAT DOES HE THINK HE'S DOING! My eyes dart from Miles to Celestia as he continues to kiss me,holding onto me as he presses his lips hard against me. I try to pull away, but every time he just leans in and continues to kiss me. I start hitting him, twisting from side to side as he continues his kiss. "Lun.... Luna?" Celestia says as she looks around. I stop fighting with Miles and stare at her.... wait..... how can I see her through the sheet? I glance over to Miles, who reaches beneath himself and reaches out... making his hand disappear. "Invisibility enchantment." He whispers into my ear. I look at him and stare as I try to connect the dots. "Jerk." I say in a hushed whisper as I hit him a couple times. He laughs a bit before he gives me another kiss, but this time I return it. He quickly pulls away and runs off, making me reappear beside Celestia. "Luna! Where did you go?" Celestia asks. "... just... the little fillies room." I say as I watch the hazy figure move through the crowd. Perspective: Big Mac 2:00am I glance around the barn to make sure that the coast is clear before I head inside. I head to the second story and walk towards the back... "BOO!" I jump a bit before I collect myself. "Very funny." "Well I thought so. So, was it as amazing as I told you it would be? "Eeyup." I say before I toss her a bag of bits. "Was there ever any doubt." Author's Note Sout out to Cheesus for picking Pinkies costume and Tallestbrony for the song (Luna's Fury by bagpipe brony. Next is the Q/A Special! Brony on!
Q/A Special #1Q/A Special #1 TB: Alright! Welcome my bronies ( and pegasisters if fall under that category and wish to go by that) to the first Q AND A special! One hundred chapters! Can you believe it!? Anyway. This will work fairly simply. If you read Coals Buck Q/A Special it'll work very similar to that. Whenever someone is taking their name will be semicolon-ed off like how mine is. Actions they do will be bracketed off like this { TB creates a room for all of the characters to sit in, making chairs for everyone that faces a podium}. Simple enough right? They will all be in real time.... so I'll have to keep certain characters out until they are asked questions. Pinkie: Yeah cause Miles and Celestia would kill Steelwing like... TB: Pinkie.... quit breaking the forth wall. Pinkie: But everypony loves it when I do it! Right? {looks at you} See! TB: Daw, you're too adorable to say no to! {Picks up Pinkie and squeezes her in a tight hug}. Pinkie: Ha, nice little tid bit to help explain how this will work. {Jumps out of TB's arms to take a seat} TB: Right... so without any more delays lets get this show on the road! {Disco dance to make every character appear in the room} Miles: What the.... WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU! {Points at TB} TB: Oh right he thinks every human is dead.... this is awkward... Miles: What city are you from! Are there more of us! Did we beat back the.... TB: Whoa! Slow down! Look I'm not what you think I am. Luna: Wow, I didn't know humans got taller then you miles... Pinkie: Do you play basketball!? TB: {eye twitch} Anyway,everyone sit down and I will explain everything to you. Everyone:{takes a seat} TB: Right... so let me put this in terms that will make sense to some of you. I am a pre-purgian author who was sent to here to ask you all some questions. My name is TallestBrony, but you can call me TB for short. We've... been able to watch the events of your lives unfold and have come to love your tale, but have some questions. Once I'm done we'll all be sent to our proper places. So what do you say, you all in? Everyone: {whispers to people around them selves before coming to the consensus of playing along.} TB: Awesome! So lets get started then! First up is LowLife! Lowlife: Me? Alright... so what do I do? TB: Just go up to the podium and answer the questions to the best of your abilities. Lowlife:{takes his place behind the podium} Alright.... whats up? TB: Someone would like to know the details of the bruises that Squishy gave you. Can you go into detail about that? Lowlife:{eyes shrink} why would they want to know about that! I'mm not saying anything! TB:{waves hand} You will tell us about it. Lowlife: I will tell you about it. Well... he took his.... thing... and beat me with it until I told him what he wanted to know. TB: gross. Alright next is Cabbage Patch! Cabbage Patch: {switches spots with Lowlife} Hi! What can I do for you? TB: This is more of a statement then a question, but Miles was the one who destroyed your cabbages, and he's right there, just saying. Cabbages Patch:{Glares at Miles before throwing a cabbage at him, knocking him to the ground} AH. I feel better now.{Goes to his seat} Miles: Ow {gets back into his seat, rubbing his head} TB: Ha... OP cabbages...alright next is The sisters. Jewel: MMMHMMM what you wanta know? Pastel:Yeah! TB: This guy wants to know why you gotta be bitches and not pay for shit Jewel: Aw buck that fool, we paid! Pastel: Yeah! Wit info. Jewel: MMMhmm! TB: Ok, too muck sass, go ahead and take a seat. Jewel: jea-lous! Pastel: Yeah! {both take their seats beside Squishy, making him shiver} TB:Riiight... any who Angel is next, come on up buddy. Angel: {Hops up to the podium and glares at TB} TB: Well... this guy wants a high hoof.... high hoof? Angel:{Points to paw. Shakes head. Runs back to Fluttershy} TB: So much hate... Shinning Armor is next! Shinning Armor: Greetings, what do you want to know? TB: Just one thing. Why you hating? Shinning Armor: Huh? TB:Why you hating? Shinning Armor: I don't get it. {Takes seat beside Cadence} TB: Cadence, you're up! Cadence: Hi there! What do you want to know? TB: Ahem, well... he uh... wants to know... your favorite sex position... Shinning Armor: {Falls out of chair} Cadence: Well I've got to say I prefer the Straddleer but I know Shinning likes the.... Shinning Armor: CADENCE! Cadence: What? {looks around the room to see everyone's jaws on the floor} TB: Whoa... Ok then, thanks for sharing uh... that was saucy.... Big Mac is next. Big Mac: Eeyup. TB: What was your honeymoon like? Big Mac: Hmm....{puts hoof to chin} well... ah'd have ta say it was like any other honeymoon... TB: Ok then... Big Mac: Jus without the traveling or random escapades. TB: So.... just a ton of sex? Big Mac: Eeyup. TB:... ew. Anyway ... yeah next is for both you and Fluttershy. Fluttershy: Oh, o-ok. What would you like to know? TB: Mind telling us about how the two of you started your relationship? Fluttershy: {gains random burst of confidence} OH! Well big Mac kept calling me over to the farm becuase his animals were getting 'sick', but every time I would come over they would be perfectly fine. After the seventh time he finally worked up the courage to ask me out. Then from there... well, three months later he proposed and we've been married ever since. TB: D'aawww... OK, last question is just for you, do you have any other Pokemon in your party? Fluttershy: Um.... whats a pokemon? TB: That's a no. Thanks for answering the questions, next will be... Applejack! Applejack: Well howdy TallestBrony! What can I do fer ya? TB: Well, ahem, someone would like to know...if you've ever bucked? Applejack: Say what now? TB: Hey, I didn't pick the questions. Applejack: well.... yeah... a couple of times. TB: I would hope so, working on a apple orchard and all.. Applejack: What?! Ah thought ya....{Grumbles to herself as she storms back to her seat} TB: O...K... well... uh, this one is for any of the girls to answer. Can any of you can go into detail about Twilight's bachelorette party? Mane Six: {shuffles around a bit nervously} Pinkie: I'll tell them! The rest: NO! {tackle Pinkie and cover her mouth, silencing her} Rarity: I'm sorry, but we all swore to keep that a secret... TB: But... they want to know {waves his hand at Rarity} Rarity: Well we hired a stripper, bought some exotic cakes, I made some kinky outfits.... Man Six: RARITY! {Tackles her and holds her mouth shut} TB: Wow, sounds like quit the party... Miles: The what? {looks around nervously} TB: Actually that brings me to the next question, Rarity, how big would you say Miles's penis is? Flaccid and erect. Everyone: {jaw drops} Miles: WHAT! Rarity: Uh... well... Miles: Please don't answer. TB: Please answer. {waves hand} Rarity: Nine or ten inches erect, it was kind of hard to tell. Flaccid I would say...three or fourish. Miles: {facepalms} TB: Ok then....why does it always come to dicks... anyway lets get back on track. Uh...let go to Derpy Hooves! Derpy: Hi! {Takes place at podium, knocking it over} Oh... my bad. TB: Its cool, it was free. Now some poeple want to know if your going to be.... showing up more. So I think the best way to answer that would be to tell us what you've been up to. Derpy: OK! Well Dinky birthday passed recently and having all of her friends parents over got me thinking. So with the help of Cabbage, Squishy, and Cheesus we went out looking for him. TB: D'aw. OK, next question, oh... uh, someone want to know.... if they can have your muffin. Derpy: WHAT! No they can't have Dinky! TB: I don't.... Derpy: Why would they want to separate me from my daughter! {Flies over to dinky and holds her tightly} TB: Well, probably best to leave it at that. OK, next would be... Soul Fire. Miles: How are you goiAAAAHHHHHH! {Maxes out power as Soul Fire pulls himself out of Miles} Soul Fire: WHAT DO YOU NEED TB: That was awesome... someone wants to know why you are in Miles soul. Soul Fire: I AM MILES SOUL TB: Yes you are, next question, Can you make a whooshing sound? Soul Fire: {folds arms and stares at TB} TB: You know, like... WHOOOSH. Soul Fire: {shakes head and phases back into Miles} Miles: {Gasp} What happened? TB: I take that as a no.... Miles: Huh? TB: Nothing, nothing. Why don't we just go to Pinkie nex... Pinkie: {Pops up behind TB} LETS DO THIS! TB: GAH! Why... you... grah! Just go to the podium you fourth wall breaking pony. Pinkie: {goes to the podium and stands it up, giggling the entire time} What do you want to know? TB: Didn't you not get along with Squishy? Whats with the sudden change? Pinkie: Well... its complicated. We were.... are together, but things keep happening. Every time we're together he SPOILER SPOILER.... what the? Twilight: Whats wrong Pinkie? Pinkie: Why did I say spoiler instead of SPOILER SPOILER GAH! IT HAPPENED AGAIN! Celestia: Pinkie my dear... you aren't saying spoiler. You're say that every time SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER. Pinkie: Gah make it stop MAKE IT STOP! TB: Why don't you go take a seat and we'll just move on. Next is Rainbow Dash. Rainbow: Whats up? TB: AGH! So awesome... anyway, Have you ever considered making your own flight team? He also reassures that you could show up the Wonderbolts and become the number one flight team in Equestria. Rainbow: {rubs back of head} ah, thanks. But... yeah I thought about it for awhile... but I realize now that I have other priorities. I need to step up and take better care of Scootaloo, and be the mom she deserves. TB: {falls over} BBZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZTTTTT TB: GAHWIZABU! WHAT HAPPENED? Miles: You went into cardiac arrest. Welcome back to life. {shuts off magic and takes seat} TB: So.... I'm a zombie? Better stay away from Florida. Pinkie: Oh yeah, sure. You get to spoil stuff but you make me sound crazy! TB: I didn't spoil anything. They have no clue what I'm talking about. Pinkie:Hmph! TB: Lets just get on with it. Up next is Storm Cloud. Storm: Uh... hey, whats up. TB: Well, lets do the sentimental one first. Do you want to redo anything in your life that you really regret? If so, what is that thing? Storm: {Looks over to Twilight} Well... I like where things are right now. So no. TB: What is Twilight like? Twilight: Why are you asking him that? TB: BECUASE ITS ADORABLE! Storm: Well... she's fun. Shes always trying to make sure everything is perfect, which can be stressful sometime but whatever. She's easily the smartest pony I know.... bit of a scatter brain at times. Genuine. Kind. {Stares at Twilight as she stares at him} TB: Whats your favorite sex position? Storm: {KER-FWOOSH, falls on face} WHAT! TB: Whats your favorite sex position? {waves hand} Storm: The reversed inverted cowpony.... Twilight: STORM! TB: What the hell is that? Pinkie: Its when the mare is on top with her back to the stallion on the ceiling! TB: {eyes shrink} OK then, moving on... ew... how would... Twilight: NEVERMIND! TB: Right, to that rock in the corner, who are you? Tom:...... Rarity: I thought we agreed to never speak about that again. TB: Next... Discord, where are you? They want you in the....to appear. Everyone: {Looks over to the stone statue of discord} Miles: Who the fuck is that guy? TB: Don't worry about it.... third arc... maybe... next is Tw... Pinkie: Why do you get to spoil stuff! TB: Didn't you watch the video? Pinkie: That doesn't prove anything! Plus that was during the time the camera was recharging! TB: True. True. Moving on. Twilight Sparkle is up next. Twilight: There aren't any... suggestive questions... are there? TB: No, none what so ever. Actually they are very adorkable. First one, Can I give you a hug? Twilight: Uh... I guess. TB: YES! {runs over and hugs Twilight, making Storm squint his eyes at TB. Sets her back down} Right. Next, any books on Soul Fire? Twilight: You know I've checked and checked and I couldn't find anything on it. No references. Not ever a whisper about it. its a complete mystery to pony kind. TB: Next one, why are you so hung up on firearms when Miles magic is easily a hundred times more dangerous? Twilight: No it is not! You control magic, it doesn't just do things without you giving it purpose! Having weapons... I don't like them. TB: Last one, ever think about casting the flight spell on yourself and taking to the sky with Storm? Twilight: {thinks about it} no.... but that would be very romantic.... hmm.... TB: Oh god they just influenced the story... Celestia: The what? TB: Nothing, lets keep it going, next we have Princess Luna. Luna: Greetings time traveler, what can I do for you? TB: So pretty... Miles: Watch it... Celestia: The both of you. TB: Right... anyway, You seem to be speaking in a more modern dialect, how did you make that happen? Luna: Well, I studied the modern language and practiced a lot. It took awhile, but after a year of practice I was able to drop the we and thous. TB: Good Job. Have you figured out whats up with that blue soul fire yet? Luna: Not entirely. I've been trying to make contact with it but... it only seems to make itself present when it wants to be. TB: Do you like waffles? Luna: ... I guess. TB: Don't worry... I don't even get that one. Now... how would you compare Miles penis to that of a ponies? Celestia: WHAT!? When did you see... Luna: It was when he was in the hospital! Miles: Why? {shakes head} Luna: Well... it looks... rounder? Stallions have the flat tip while Miles is round. Other then that its basically the same. Miles/Celestia: {Face palm/hoof} TB: Ew.... Last one, Applejack had once; and this was all on appearance, nothing happened; she complained about Miles being small. Any comments? Luna: ... uh... Celestia: She has no comment, move on. {glares at Miles} TB: Well why don't we move on to your questions then. We know that Miles is going to die... Miles: How many people did you tell!? {Glares at Rainbow} Rainbow: Thirteen? TB:...but why can't you just let him and Luna spent the last moments of his life happy? Isn't it better to have loved and loss then to never have loved? Celestia: Not when the price to pay is her life. I don't want them getting close becuase I don't want what happened to my mother to happen to her... I don't want to lose the only true family I have left. TB: Do you still hold anything against Miles for what happened to your parents? Celestia: Yes. I hold him completely responsible. TB: Do you like bananas? Celestia: Yeah, why? TB: Its.... an inside joke.Did you ever miss Miles or wonder what happened to him? Celestia: No. My father had just died, several months later Luna was born, then a few years later my mother had died. I had little to no time to reflect on Miles. TB:What made you keep the tiara all these years? Celestia: My mother. She had told me that someone very special had given it to me, and that I should always keep it close. At the time I thought she had meant my father... it still helps me remember him. TB: You seem to still have some trust issues with your sister. Do you think this is you trying to be protective of her or are you still somewhat reserved about her becuase of the Nightmare Moon incident? Celestia: When I lost my sister to Nightmare Moon.... that was the hardest time in my life. I never want to lose her like that again. Its not that I don't trust her, its that I fear that mentality returning. I don't know what would happen, but I have a feeling that it wouldn't end well. TB: Well, the next ones a little... blunt. So I'm going to soften it up. Why are you being... difficult? Celestia: I am not being difficult, I am being realistic. I'm sorry if I value the life of my sister more then somepony we barely know. TB: Do you fancy Miles and that is why you don't want him being with Luna? Celestia: WHAT! Where did that come from!? Luna: Oh my... they were there for that... TB: It's just a question, do you? Celestia: Of course not! TB: Alright, alright. two more. Can you send someone to the moon, with some bananas? Celestia: That's not funny. TB: Ok, OK. last one. Metaphorically speaking of course, but what if miles and Luna had... relations, were married, and hoped to have a child? And all of this happening recently without you knowing? Celestia:... TB: Celestia? Celestia: Is there something you want to tell me? {Looks over to Miles and Luna} Miles: Yeah.. Luna:No... {begins to panic} Celestia: Did any of that happen? Miles: Yes. Luna: No.{hits Miles} Celestia: How much of it? Miles: All of it. Luna: None of it. {glares at Miles} TB: Hey Celestia. {she looks over} Good night. {she falls asleep} Ok... that was close. Alright, last group of questions are for Miles, come on up! Miles: {Picks up Celestia and lays her beside Luna before taking his spot at the podium} Alright, whats on your mind? TB: If you could bring ONE of your friends from your past into the future, which friend would that be? Miles: Wow, just go for the heart why don't you... just one... I would have to say Auxy, just so I know that the baby would be fine. TB: WHY ARE YOU SO OVER POWERED! Miles: I'm fucking dying! I think that's a pretty good trade off. TB: Me to. If you could go back to when Topaz was attacked, but you would have to forget EVERYTHING and never be able to come back, would you? Miles:... {looks over to Luna} TB: Well? Miles: No. I've gained too much here to give it up. I'll always miss them, but I'm staying where I am. TB: How much money did you have before you left? Miles: Uh... some twenty thousand... I think. It might of been less becuase I was always funding that orphanage. TB: Can you eat upside down? Miles: I wouldn't think so... though I've never tried. TB: Well lets find out! {Offers him bacon} Luna: Don't give him that! Miles: What is it? {takes bacon and looks it over} TB: Its food, really really good food. Miles: {takes a bite and chews} Oh sweet Barbra... TB: Awesome right? Miles: This is the best thing I've ever eaten... Luna: That's gross Miles. TB: Hey, omnivores. We eat everything.... almost. NEXT QUESTION! Will there be more Spartans? Miles: None at the moment. I've yet to see anyone really step up, so as of now its a no. TB: Cool, cool. Were there stasis spells in Topaz? Did you study them? Miles:I know Amethyst was researching it, but I was never a part of that project. TB: Interesting. What happened during your last birthday party? Miles: Oh man... well from what I remember we all went out, got some drinks, went to Eximius's place... and then I blacked out and woke up on a bus with nearly two thousands bits worth of tickets as Inficiunt and Dolum held the bus driver at gun point. TB: Why would you hold him at gun point? Miles: I don't know! That's just what happened! TB: Wow... you're fucked up. Miles: But I didn't do anything! TB: Horrible horrible person. Next question. Do you love music? If so, what started this passion? Miles: {sighs} Yeah, I do. It started when I took an intro to pre-purgian music analysis class. From there I started researching all of the remaining tracks. Some eighty thousand songs. TB: Nice... what was Dolums bachelor party like? Miles: {shivers} It started with us getting on the bus.... guess who we ran into. TB: The same driver? Why do you hate him so much? Miles: Well.... alcohol played a really large part of it... TB: You really should stay away from that stuff. Miles: Yeah... guess he was kind of mad at us, cause he drove us to a gang hide out.... then things got out of hand... TB: How so? Miles: Well... some coke head was hitting on Tenera, which made me and Fidus lose it. We then got into a fight with a buildings worth of gangsters. After we defeated them we had to walk back to the P.C.H. but.... things got worse when we entered...{shivers} the red light district. TB: Ah man.... Miles: So while waiting for Inficiunt to finish up we had to stand there... on some corner... so many offers {facepalms and shakes head} After that we made our way to a nearby recruiting center where we 'borrowed' some military vehicles and drove back home... where we were arrested for grand theft auto. In our cell, we decided to make the best of it and have a mini party. Inficiunt enchanted our water into drrinks, Eximius gave a speech on the strength of our bonds, the policemen gave us extra rations... it was really fun. TB: Sounds awesome. Next question. How many Elements were there? Could you detail Project Harmonize? Miles: Well... I can't go into exact details, but SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER, SPOILER SPOILER. Pinkie: That's just mean. Miles: I know, but I complied. TB: Hehehe... Anyway, two more. So you can manipulate dreams, just how much influence do you have over a mind? Can you read a mind or implant thoughts? Also, the next time you go in someones mind, could you say 'we need to go deeper.' Miles: Uh... sure. The amount of influence I have over someones mind depends on, the person, how much magic I use, how well trained they are for mental attacks and their knowledge of my presence. If I were to try to gain access into someones mind with them knowing and at full health.... it would be difficult. As for implanting thoughts, same kind of deal. If they know its you, then it wont work. TB: Oh my god... you're Leonardo De' Caprio... Miles: Who? TB: No one. Last one, here we go! You were like an uncle to Celestia and now you two seem to on thin ice. Have you ever wanted to spend a little time with her and mend that relationship? It may come in handy with the bomb shell you're about to drop on her. Miles: Yeah, no kidding. Ever since I saw her here I wanted to spend some time with her. Try to make things better between us. But its complicated. She has a nation to run, I've got to try and find... whatever it is my friends left me from the past., then there's the whole 'Luna wanting to keep us a secret' thing. I know if we were going to spend time together, it would come up. And I wouldn't lie to her. So for now its best to keep my distance. But I will make things right between us. TB: Alright! That does it for all of my questions! Thank you so much for answering all of them, especially the saucy ones. {Puts on shades as he pulls out a shiny metal tube that has a blue light on the front} Now go home. FLASH {Everyone returns to their proper place, forgetting what had just transpired} TB: WOO. Its over! Time to... Pinkie: Hold on a sec! {Pops up behind TB, scaring the shit out of him} You still have to answer your questions! TB: But... sleep.... Pinkie: Go to the podium and wait for me to ask you your questions! TB: Damn you and your logic defying abilities of OP. {goes to podium} Pinkie: So, TB, any clop? TB: Wow... hearing you ask that is... disturbing. I don't entirely get the question. If you're asking if I'm going to write any one shots, then its a no. If you're asking if there is going to be any more sex in the story, then yes... a really big another whole chapter dedicated to sex, YES. Pinkie: How long do you plan on this story to go on for? TB: As I said before, this is going to be a very, very long story. Look at it like this, arc one was 67 chapters. Arc two has gone 33 chapters and we're only a tenth of the way through it. Its going to be a long story. Pinkie: Can you make a chapter about the graves of Tempus and Spatium? Maybe bring them to life. TB: Sorry, but the dead are dead. And as for that... third arc. Pinkie: Hey! you spoiled! TB: Yeah, they don't know shit from that, next question. Pinkie: Will you kill off Miles in a dick move or save him? TB: Well.... I don't know. Its.... it depends on your perspective. Pinkie: Will Miles find evidence of survivors of Topaz Falls? TB: Uh.... he already did. The dominus clavis. Pinkie: I don't think that counts... TB: It totally counts. Pinkie: if you say so...Will you have a move like having them in time capsules? TB: Maybe... depends on how the cards shuffle out. {tollface} Pinkie: lol. Are you taking OC's? TB: Yes. But I will make that announcement when that group shows up. Pinkie: Aw, you're too nice. Can Taco town proof read? TB: I can't wait to start working with him.... though I loath the day I have to start emailing chapters. Pinkie: Just get over it. What did that scientist do to send Miles that far into the future!? How did he make it, and know it would work, but mess up and send him that far!? TB: Actually, its kind of funny. He out the timer in upside down. What was suppose to be an three hours was actually three thousand years. Pinkie: Ha! like in Futurama. Ok, Is Luna's heat affected by her joining of Miles soul? TB: There souls were never 'joined.' Not in the sense I think you're thinking of at least. But actually, their souls did force her to go into heat. Pinkie: Ever think of making a chapter about a day in the life of lupus? TB: Not really... it would be filler and I don't have room for filler.... besides the bonus chapters of course. Pinkie:Ok, this is the last one. Wouldn't you say Miles has the needle dick of Equestria? Miles: Kind of. If he were to be with an average pony... well... it would be easier for him. You'll see what I mean later on. Pinkie: Poor Miles. Well, I'm off now, I'll see you later! {waves bye} TB: I certainly hope... Pinkie: {glares} TB: ... so? Pinkie: {giggles} Bye! {re-appears in Equestria} TB: Well, now that that's over with, time to get working on the next chapter, catch you all next time! TB: OH! Almost forgot! If you want to know why it took so long to post this, This is why. This is something purely for your entertainment that I'm going to do from time to time. Hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 100 Miles's Bachelor PartyChapter 100 Miles's Bachelor Party Warning: Lots of spanish A sudden jostling woke me up. I had been up most of the night, eating as much of the sugary goodness known as candy and had passed out. I look around to see that I'm in a blue blanket, being carried off somewhere by Big Mac, Storm, Squishy and some fourth pony. He's an earth pony that's all white with long black hair. Each of them carry a corner of the blanket in their mouths as they mumble to each other. "Bwucking Iwdiout! Ya almerst drwopped im!" Says the earth pony. "Iw think he's awake." Says Squishy. Whats going on?" I ask as I look between the four of them. "Thwen jus knock im out." The earth pony says. "Wait.." THWACK When I re-awake, I find myself in the blue blanket again. I look straight up to see that I'm outside now, and moving. "Whats going on?" I asks as I rub my head. Why do I have such a fucking bad head ache? "E's awake! Hurry!" Storm mumbles, making everyone pick up the pace. Before I could say anything the blanket suddenly goes up and I fall into a carriage. As I get up I feel the carriage rock from side to side and something slams shut. "What the fuck is going on?" I ask as I look around. Storm, Big Mac and I are inside a well padded carriage with some pony text going along the top. Two mares in seductive clothes are pulling us forward as Squishy and Cheesus sit on top. "Where are we going?" "Were going to your bachelor party..." "Cheesus! That was suppose to be a secret!" Squishy says as he slaps Cheesus on the shoulder. "Oh... oh..........oh..................... FUCK THAT!" I yell as I punch Storm across the face and try to break out, only to get Big Mac to tackle me and hold me down. "FUCK YOU! NO PARTIES! LET ME GO!" I yell as I try to break out of Big Macs grip. "How long till we get to Coalton!?" Storm asks as he jumps on top of us, trying to help hold me down. "Shouldn't be more the an hour..." "I'll pay double if you can do it faster!" The carriage suddenly lurches forward as the mares pulling begin to run as fast as possible. "I'LL PAY YOU...." THWACK When I re-awake, again, I find myself in a small room. There are two light blue benches facing each other with a window to my left and a door to my right. Big Mac and Storm are sitting on the other bench, glaring at me. Storm has a small cloth with what I'm assuming is ice held against his jaw. "Why do you keep knocking me out?" I ask as I sit up. "Why did you hit me!" Storm yells as I look out the window. The area outside seems.... dry. I can see some plant life, but everything seems to be so brittle. The area is mostly flat, having hills far in the distance. There's no grass, just bare ground. "Where are we?" "We're on our way to Pomexico." "Where?" "Its the southern territory of Equestria. We're going to Almendra to have fun and stuff. No party stuff, so calm down." I take a few deep breathes as I sit back and try to relax. OK... just gotta stay calm... and not drink. That seems to always end badly. "Ok... so... what exactly are we going to be doing ther...." "WOO! PARTY!" Yells some guy as he runs down the hall.... "FUCKING LIAR!" I yell as I jump up and swing the door open..... SLAM "WHY ARE THERE SO MANY PEOPLE HERE!" I yell as I hold my back against the door, breathing heavily. Just outside the door was a crowd of ponies wearing party hats and throwing streamers all around. "Dude... its a party train." "Eeyup." "Then why were we in a carriage earlier?" "This train only stops in Roam, so we took a carriage there. Now are you going to keep freaking out or you going to do a shot with us?" Storm says as he pulls out a bottle with clear liquid in it. "I don't know man... alcohol and me don't seem to mix very well." I say cautiously as I take my seat. "Just one? Come on, this is both mine and yours bachelor party, becuase the one Spike did doesn't count." He says as he hands me a shot glass and pours some of the liquid inside. "Well... it is a special occasion... alright. One shot, but that's it!" I say as I lift the glass up. "One. Shot." Storm says as he pours himself and Big Mac shots and raise their glasses. "Ad nostrum futura!" I say before we all down the shots...... "Storm?" "Yeah buddy?" "Did you have this enchanted?" "Hehe...." ........................................................................................................................................................ Perspective: Luna Earlier that day I watch from Miles's living room as the four of them carry him away. I didn't think that sugar comas were real... way to go Miles. "You ready to go?" Regina asks from behind. "Yeah, lets get going." I say as I follow her out the front door. "Where are we going again?" "Hamsterdam." Regina says with an evil smile. "Right... nothing bad is going to happen there... right? Regina?" She ignores me and continues to walk towards her blimp... well... I don't know what I just got myself into. But there's no turning back now. Have fun Miles. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles Time: Unknown "UHG..... wha.... ah my head" I say as I pick myself up..... only to grab a hold of the area around me as tightly as possible. I'm laying on top of a large slab of metal that's standing in some river. The water is about thirty meters down, being higher on one end then the other. The slab I'm on is about two meters thick so I try to move more inward, but stop when I bump into Storm. "Huh... wha... Miles? Come on.... its too early." He says as he rolls over and goes back to sleep. I look over to him then do a double take. "Storm, what are you wearing?" I ask, getting him to sigh and look himself over. "It would seem to be a poncho and some rope... now can I get some..." "What the fuck!" I yell as I look down to see that I'm wearing one as well. It goes down in a V and has stripes of different colors. Red, blue, green, white, all going horizontally. Along the edge of the poncho are strips of white that are tied off together. As I look it over some more I feel something behind me. I reach back and pull a large light tan hat that seems to be weaved together with some kind of stiff plant. "What happened?" I ask as I look around. "*sigh* what arOH MY GOD!" Storm yells as he rolls over again and falls off the edge. He quickly flies back up and lands beside me, completely awake now. "Where are we?! Whats going on!? Why was there a rope around me? Where did you get the sombrero?" "I don't know... all I remember was getting on the train.... the party... then.... YOU MOTHER FUCKER!" I yell as I tackle him. "WHY DID YOU DRUG ME!" "It was Luna's idea!" He says as he hides behind his forelegs. I think about it for a second before I roll to the side. "OK... so... lets take in our surroundings and try to get back home." "OK." I sit up and look around. There's a river going from the left to right. In front of us and behind us are thick forests... I think. The plant life seems to be brighter then that of the Everfree. A dirt road cuts through the forest, leading to the metal slabs and continuing on the other side. On the side in front of me is a small wooden shack to the right of the road. It was painted light tan, but the paint seems to be fading away. "Well... judging by the sun, its noon. Lets just go to that shack and see if there's somepony inside." Storm says as he gets up and starts to walk towards the shack. "Uh... where's Big Mac?" I ask as I follow after him. We both pause and look around. "You don't think he fell..." "He's probably in that shack." Storm says as he quickens his pace to it. We make it to the door of the shack and try to open it, only to find it locked. I step back to kick it open but stop when someone opens the door. "¿Te puedo ayudar?" Asks some old donkey. He's light tan with no hair and seems to shake from just standing. I glance over to Storm before he steps forward to talk to him. "Uh... yeah.... hola. Do you speak english by chance?" "Que?" He says as he lifts an ear to Storm. "WE NEED TO GET BACK TO EQUESTRIA!" Storm yells into his ear. "¿Equestria? Usted esta en Equestria. Plana del Canon." He says as he motions to the metal slabs. "Me ocupo de las puertas. Ha sido durante cincuenta años." Ok this is getting us nowhere. "Have you seen our friend?" I ask, getting him to tilt his head. "Our friend. Big Mac. Red with orange hair? Apple half for a mark. Do you know where he is?" "Hmm ... ¿qué estás tratando de decir?" He says as he looks between the two of us. I try to think of something when an idea hits me. I kneel beside him and start to draw on the floor. As I move my finger along on the floor, Storm and the other guy walk up beside me and watch me draw. "Whoa... I didn't know you could draw." Storm says as I finish my sketch of Big Mac and point to it. "Where?" He looks to it and thinks about it before he shakes his head. "Yo no se." Well... I heard a no in there. I wipe the drawing away and start making another one. It's a quick sketch of the area of Ponyville, the Canterlot mountains and the Everfree. "Where?" I ask as I point to it. "Ponville. Canterlot. Where?" He looks down before he motions for us to wait. He walks inside his shack as he tries to find something, throwing things on the ground as he goes from stop to stop. He finally comes out and rolls out a map. He points the the bottom most red dot and then motions around us. He then points to another red dot and taps it a few times. "Ponyville esta aqui." "How did we get from here to here?" Storm asks as he looks at the map intently. "Are these all of the cities of Equestria?" I ask as I look over the map. "All the major one at least. There are plenty of towns and villages throughout all of Equestria that aren't on here." "Whats with the blue dots?" "Those are cloud cities. Well, now that we know which direction we need to go, lets get moving." "Right, hopefully we can find Big Mac on the way back." I say as I stand up. "Thank you." "De nada extranjero." The old donkey says before he starts to walk towards the metal slabs. "He didn't seem to mind that I'm human." I say as we turn down the path and start to walk through the forest. "He was probably too old to care. Lets just get through the jungle and find Big Mac." Storm says as the sun is suddenly blocked out by the foliage of the... jungle. The path continues to wind through the forest, slowly getting narrower and narrower. It finally comes to a point where I have to lead Storm due to all of the foliage blocking his view. I can feel myself start to build up a nice layer of sweat as we move along, made worse due to the high humidity. "Damn.... why is it so hot here?" I ask after an hour of walking through the dense jungle. "Becuase you kept the poncho on." Storm says as he hops into the air and flies along with me. "Oh... I should take it..." SPLASH I suddenly walk out into a large dirt road as a carriage charges through a large puddle, covering me in the muddy water. "¡Cuidado! ¡Pendejo!" Yells the donkey driving the carriage as he runs down the road. "... what the fuck." I say as I try to wipe the mud off. Storm chuckles a bit before taking to the air. He looks around a bit before he flies back down to me. "Alright, there's a town down the road, no more then a mile from here. Lets get going." He says as he flies off down the road. I walk after him, trying my best to get the grime off of me... at least the water cooled me off... well, before it evaporated at least. As I enter the town... the residence notice me almost immediately. Most of them run to their shacks and slam the doors shut, peering out from their windows and mail slots. Others run into the jungle, shouting things that I can't understand. In a matter of seconds the small town was devoid of anyone. Just me, Storm.... and a rolling piece of dead plant life. The town is separated by the road I'm on. Each side looks fairly similar to the other, shacks built against shacks with shacks on top of them. Behind each layering of shacks is a large four story building. Each of the buildings have two towers with large bells inside the top of them. The side to my right has a lot of blue through out it. It's smeared on the walls, painted on almost everything and blue flags hand everywhere. The same could be said for the other side, only being red instead of blue. "Wow... I've never seen a town clear up that fast." Storm says as he lands beside me. "I know I'm different... but that was a little extreme." I say as I continue to walk through the desolate town. "Whats with the coloring?" "I don't know.... but it's freaking me out." We stop in the center of town and look around. Out of every building, roof top, and alley way donkeys appear. Each side wearing some kind of clothing with coloring to their prospective sides. They all seem to be armed, some with actual weapons like swords, axes, and knives; while others just seem to have anything that could possibly be harmful, rocks, pipes, I think I see some girl with a rake. "You lost amigo? Don't you know this place es peligroso? That means dangerous for you gringos." Says a donkey as he walks out from the left. He's been painted all red and has his hair hanging over his face. He carries a set of twin daggers on his hips and seems.... drunk. He can't stand still and seems to be nodding out. "Potro, youz gotz ta be lost Potro. Este tipo, Potro." Says a donkey from the right. He's painted all blue and has his hair slicked back. He doesn't seem to have a weapon on him, but he's almost the same size as Big Mac. "Lizen here cuz. You come here, in my turf, youz gon be cut up so bad... that...that youz gon wish you weren't cut up so bad homes!" "Uh... what?" I say as I look from side to side. I'm not entirely sure what they're talking about... did we do something wrong? "Well esse? Whats it gon be?" Says the red one. "Rojo or Azul potro?" Says the blue one. "Neither." "Que que?" Says the red one. "You can't say neither potro! Thats... potro just pick a side potro!" Says the blue one. "In the great and powerful words of Big Mac, Nnope." I say as I cross my arms and wait for whatever goings to happen to happen. Storm nods along and sits beside me. The two groups begin to whisper to one another as the two leaders look to one another. "Fine! Es bien. If you enter either side of our turf, then you join that side, comprende?" The red one says before he turns around and heads back into the large red building. "Potro... just... potro." The blue one says before he turns and heads into the blue building. Both sides disappear into the buildings, leaving a few out to watch the two of us. "Well... that was strange." Storm says. "What do we do know?" "Well... it seems that we'll join a gang if we move to either side..." "True, but the blue one did threaten us." "Yeah but so did the red one. He was just more discrete about it." I say as another donkey approaches the two of us. He seems fairly young, with short black hair and dull blue eyes. "Uh... pardon. But... why are you two here?" He asks nervously. "We're looking for our friend. He's a large red earth pony with orange hair and a mark of half an apple. Have you seen him?" "No, lo siento. Pero... could you help me?" "Maybe, what do you need?" "Well... I can't ask you here. But I know a place where they won't be listening. Meet me at the cantina down the road in an hour. The pass word to enter the demostración del burro es morado. I have to go, see you there." He says quietly before running to one of the buildings. "Well... should we go?" Storm asks. "Hmm... they could know something about Big Mac's where about's and just not be telling us... I say lets go." I say as I walk down the center of the road. "What if its a trap to get us to join one of their gangs?" Storm asks as he follows after us. "They can't force us to join anything. Lets just go and check it out." I say, getting him to nod. We leave the town and continue down the road until we find what we assume is the place. It's a purple stone building with a wooden porch and lights hanging all around. A few carriages are parked out beside a large rickety sign that has purple pony text. "Cantina... found it." Storm says as we walk through the double doors. The inside is poorly lit, the main source of light being the sun. Wooden tables and chairs litter the area around us, only having a few people occupying them. Along the back is a bar with dozens of different colored bottles taking up the wall. Tow the left and right are doors with small signs on them. "Que necesito?" Asks a donkey as he walks out of the right door and takes his place behind the counter. We walk up to him and look around to see if there's anything to help us hint to the password. "Uh... morado?" Storm says to the bartender, making him raise an eyebrow. "Hokay, take the left door, third one to you're left. Pay in is at the door." He says as he leans over the counter. We nod to him and follow his instructions, going to the door, walking down the short hall and giving a few credits to the bouncers before entering the next room. The room has all purple walls with A LOT of donkeys in here. Everyone is sitting in a circle, making an open area in the center of the room. Storm and I look to each other before finding our own spot in the back. "Why are there so many guys in here?" Storm asks as he looks around. "Of course that's the thing you notice." "Hey! Who's the one getting married?" "Who's the one already married?" ".... touche." "Amigos!" We look over to see the donkey from before run up to us, looking much more relaxed. "You made it, bien bien. Now about the town..." The donkey starts but I look away as some other donkey takes the spot in the center. "BUENO BUENO BUENO! Vamos a empezar! Hoy tenemos Margarita... " He says as as mare walks out. She's a light yellow with pure white hair and a mark of a white flower. She's wearing a light green skirt and collar. She walks out to the center and rears up, doing a little spin that makes the crowd go crazy. "..con Dibujo!" The announcer yells over the crowd as a buff as fuck donkey walks out and prances around the opening, showing off his muscles as he goes. "Cuando estés listo Dibujo!" He yells, getting the donkey to walk over to the mare and kiss her forcefully, getting more cheers from the crowd. "Dude... what the fuck are we watching?" I ask as I look back to Storm and the other donkey. "... and that's why we need your help." The donkey says to Storm, both of which are completely oblivious to whats going on in the room. "Well.... we would love to help, but we also need to find our friend." Storm says. "No porblemo..." I try to listen in on what they're saying, but the sudden uproar of cheers made me look back to the other two. The mare had rolled onto her back and now is sucking on the Dibujo's cock while he licks her... area....... why haven't I thought of that? "... that won't be a problem. We can take care of that if you can get us inside." Storm says, getting me to turn back to their conversation. "Muy facil. What about...." Again, the cheers take me back to the other two. Dibujo has tossed Margarita onto her belly and is slamming right into her, making her moan loudly. I glance around the room to notice the large amount of donkeys masterbating...... I should get back to whatever Storm and.... other are talking about. "... else we should worry about? Reinforcements? Secret armories? Weird powers?" Storm asks. "No, no. Somos simples burros, we don't have any thing like that." "Uh..." is all I can manage before I glance back to the other two. Margarita has pushed her way on top and is now grinding her hips on Dibujo, who's twisting the shit out of her breast. Why am I watching this? I should stop... OK, stopping in three.. two... o- OK what the fuck? He's pulled her off and has her propped up with her flank high in the air. "Coño o culo?" Dibujo asks the crowd, getting culo cheered back. What the fuck doe-OH SWEET BARBRA HE'S FUCKING HER IN THE ASS! I can't help but gawk at the sight before me. She's letting him... fuck her... in the ASS! I can tell by the look on her face that it must be painful.... WHY?! Dibujo is starting to arch back as his thrust begin to quicken. Many of the donkeys in the crowd have already finished... "MILES!" Storm yells getting me to look back to him. "Wha.." I start to say but stop when the crowd cheers again. I look back to see that Dibujo had pulled out at the last second and sprayed his... stuff onto her back. "MILES!" Storm yells again. "What?!" "Did you get all of that or do we have to go through it again?" "Uh... who's the genius idiot that picked this place?" "Que?" "Don't worry about it.... virgin. I'll make sure everything gets done. See you later Maiz." Storm says to him, getting a nod in response. "Adios amigos." He says as he joins the crowd that's leaving. "So... what's going on?" I ask, getting Storm to facehoof. "You just couldn't ignore the sex... could you?" "How was I suppose to know you could lick..." "STOP! Just... come on. We have to save MoraAAAA!" He yells as Margarita forcefully grabs... him, from behind. "Dibujo! Ben aqui." She says as she holds him there. Storm tries to pull away, much to his displeasure. "Mira." She lets go of him.... just to have Dibujo take her place. "You want a job here?" He asks as he feels him up. "NO! NOW LET GO OF ME!" He yells as he tries to pull away, only to cause himself more displeasure. "Hmm... if you ever do, you know where to find us." He says before he lets go and walks away. Talking to margarita in the language I can't understand. "Dude..." "Not. A single. Word." He growls before walking out, limping awkwardly. One hour later "Ok, so you take out Azul while I take out Rojo. Then we go to the farm and destroy all of the marijuana... what ever that is, the the town should be fine?" I ask as we wait in a local restaurant. Maiz is suppose to start up a rebellion in the town square, that's our signal to take out the leaders. "Right..." "You got fondled...." "FOCUS. Do you know your part?" "Yup. Not that hard to figure out." "Right..." "And having sex in the ass is..." "VIVA LA REVOLUCIÓN!" Yells some donkey as the town erupts in a mass of fighting. Storm and I look to each other before running off for each of our targets. I run out the door and make a U turn, heading straight for the large building in the back. I weave through the fighting, dodging any attack that comes my way. I finally stop before the building to find ten gangsters guarding the door. Easy enough. I flare my hands and approach them. "Surrender or die." "Vete a la mierda!" Yells one of the donkeys as he charges at me, holding a large hammer above his head. I thrust my palm forward and send a simple ball of energy at him, knocking him onto his back. With a wave of my hand I make some straps from the ground appear around his ankles and hold him there. "Anyone else?" "Cierra la boca!" Yells some chick as three of them run at me. With a single thrust I send a small beam of soul fire at the center one, turning him to ash. The others stop and look back at the pile of ash that was their friend. "So... maybe just leave and..." Before I could finish they all drop their weapons and run, dropping anything that would tag them as a gangster. Easy enough. I walk up to the door only to have it open before me. "Ah potro, why youz gots ta be the one here potro?" Azul says as he walks out and looks around. "Potro, where my guards?" "I took care of them. Now..." "Took care of them? Potro, I told you, youz come in my turf, youz gon get cut." He says as he rears up and shakes his legs out, making two blades appear. He start to do flips and spins as he shows off his fighting abilities.... I think I'll do this the easy way. I thrust my hand at him, turning to ash the instant the soul fire hits him. "Amigo... thats un fucked up power." Maiz says as he walks up beside me. "You should see Icy Void." I say as I walk into the building. Rows of wooden benches face the podium at the front. Surrounding the podium are pony size black containers. I walk through the center aisle and check the first one. "What is it?" "Marijuana. They forced us to grow it instead of our crops. Our town been starving ever since." He says as he glares at the containers. "So... marijuana... is a drug?" I ask, getting a nod in response. "Oh. Then that makes this much easier...." "Don't burn it!" He yells as I flare my hand. "Then how should I destroy it?" I ask as I circle around. "Hmm... could you WAIT WAIT WAIT!" He yells as I thrust my fist forward, making a beam of icy void go through several containers. As I drop to a knee I watch as they fade from existence. After a minute or so, the room is empty of the drugs.... and has a hole in the side. "What... what did you do?" He asks as I stumble to my feet. "I made it no longer exist. Come on, lets go find Storm." I say as I walk out of the building. "Dios mio..." He mumbles as he follows after me. The town has gone from shouts of fighting, to cheers of victory. We find a mass of ponies dancing in the center of the town, lifting Storm above them as they chant his name. "EL COMO ASI!" Yells one of the donkeys, getting a group to run at me and lift me into the air. "WHOA! STORM! WHAT'S GOING ON!" I yell as they bounce up and down. "WE WON THEIR FREEDOM!" Storm yells back as they set us down. They set me on my back laying down, so I start to get up... only to get some girl to run up to me and kiss me on the lips. I quickly push her away and stand up. "Married. Married..." "Oooohhhhh.... lo siento. Yo no sabia. Gracias." She says as she blushes and steps back. I look over to storm to see him trying to get away from four women, each of them planting kisses on his face and neck. "ENGAGED! EEENGAGED!" He yells as he tries to get away. I shake my head and walk over to him, picking him up and setting him on my left shoulder, freeing him from the women below. "Sorry ladies, but this one is taken." I say, getting aws in response. "Mi amigos!" Maiz yells from the back of the crowd. "It's time for my part of the bargain! Vamos!" I nod and follow after him, keeping Storm on my shoulder. "You can put me down now." "I could, but then Twilight would kill you." I say, getting a nod in response. "Fair enough... why do mares like me so much?" He asks as we start walking through the red buildings. "Well... Spartan training made you buff, huge cock, and... " "Ok, Ok, I get it.... I hate that you know that..." "We're sexy bitches." I say in summation. "Well... in Topaz I was. Here I kind of just get by." "Heh... I guess..." "Mi amigos! Your ride!" Maiz yells as we turn the corner to find a massive purple balloon. It's deflated, but that shouldn't be a problem. "I shall help guide you back to Almendra vamos!" He says as he hops into the basket. I drop Storm and run over to the bottom of the balloon, flaring my hands and getting ready to fill it. "Wait, we have to wait for the winds to change." Storm says as he gets up. Maiz and I look to each other before we both look back to Storm. "No we don't." Three hours later "I HATE YOU SOO MUCH!" Storm yells as he pulls the balloon through the afternoon air. We had tied off the balloon to him and had him pull us through the air. "Shut up Spartan! Consider this your entrance exam to the jumpers regiment." I yell back. "How much farther do we need to go?" I ask Miaz. "Mmm... it should be right after that hill." "Really? Alight I'll start dropping us down." I say as I send a gust of wind into the balloon, making us begin to drop. "A LITTLE WARNING NEXT TIME!" Storm yells as we make our decent. With a loud thud we crash onto the ground and skid to a stop. THUD I look over to see Storm collapsed on the ground, panting loudly. I jump out of the balloon and walk over to him, throwing him onto my shoulder as Maiz follows after me. "What about your balloon?" I ask as I walk towards the town. "Eh. If sompony wants it, they can have it. I'm going to start over in Almendra." Then what was the point... whatever. I'll let him make his own choices. The town is made up largely of light tan buildings with red tile roofs. the main road we're on seems to lead to a large fountain in the center. Some of the buildings seems to have been recently worked on, having patches that seems to be newer then the rest. As we continue towards the town square, I can't help but notice all of the donkeys glaring at me. "Miles?" I spin around to see Big Mac exiting a building. "BIG MAC!" I yell as I run over to him, nearly dropping Storm on the way. "Where have you been!" "Ah could ask you the same thing?" He asks as he continues to walk towards the fountain. "You've as Storm have been missing fer the past three days..." "WHAT!" Storm yells from my shoulder. "Whats today's date?" "August fourth...." "FUUUUUUUUCK!" "Hey, you cussed like me..." "I'M SUPPOSED TO GET MARRIED TOMORROW!" He yells as he flails around from my back. "Well... shit."
Chapter 101 The Big DayChapter 101 The Big Day "TWILIGHT IS GOING TO KILL ME! EVERYONE WILL OBJECT US! MY LIFE IS OOOOVEEEEER!" Storm yells from my shoulder as he continues to flail around. "Ah want to show you two somethin real quick." Big Mac says as he begins to walk away. I follow after him, having Storm just collapse on my shoulder. After a few turns we enter a clearing in the middle of some buildings. In the center of the clearing is a bronze statue of two ponies. "Meet ma Pa and Ma." I set Storm down and walk up to the statue. It looks exactly like the ponies from the picture in Big Macs home. "Oh sweet Barbra..." I mumble as I try to form the right question to ask. "Ah know. It's quit the head scratcher, but after some askin around ah finally got the full story. Ends up that on the way ta Plana Del Canal mah parents found a group of donkeys trying ta start a farm, but there was something killin the farmers here. While mah pa went with a group ta search out the creature while my mah stayed behind with the other farmers. What ever it was, my pah killed it. When they brought the corpse back as proof... well, the towns folk called it a chupacabra. Well.... ah guess there were more of them, cause they all attacked the town. Ah guess, thanks ta my parents, they were able ta fight them off... but they didn't live through the attack. Thanks to them, this town lives on." He says as he wipes a tear away. "Wow, that's quit the story." I say as I look over the statue some more. "Where you able to find their graves?" Storm asks. "Nnope. This is it. They went after the last of the chupacabra's and never came back." He says as he looks up to the statue. We stand there for a bit, admiring the bronze ponies before Storm finally breaks the silence. "Not to ruin the moment... but I have twelve hours to get to Ponyville..." "Right, let's get going... how exactly are we going to get there fast enough?" I ask. "Couldn't we just take the train?" Big mac asks, getting Storm to sigh. "No. I don't have our tickets anymore. Plus I think somepony stole my money... Miles?" I check my pockets and pull out a piece of paper with pony text on it. "Here, let me see that...... purchase order; fifty feet of rope, twelve bottles of tequila, two ponchos, one sombrero, and fourteen bottles of whiskey... well at least we weren't robbed. What the hell happened the past few days?" "Ah think ah can shed sum light on that. You two got completely wasted on the train. After the first shot, which ah didn't take, you both down the entire bottle. You both left our cart to go join the party. Miles ended up enchanting every drink on the train to get everypony else jus as wasted. When we got here... it was basically a battle field of drunken idiots. That's why most of the town was recently repaired... which ah had ta do mahself." "Sorry." "After ya'll bought the remaining alcohol in the town ya'll decided that it would be fun ta fly Storm like a kite." "Well... that explains the rope, but how did we end up by Plana Del Canal?" "While Miles was flyin you around, he started to run off with his magic. I tried ta stop ya, but after ya jumped out of town I decided that it would be smarter ta wait fer ya'll here." Storm and I glance to each other before I start to chuckle. "It's not funny!" "It's hysterical! We got wasted!" I say as I start laughing. "Whatever, we're wasting time. We need to get back to Ponyville ASAP.... any ideas?" We stand there for a bit, trying to think of a way to get back.... I've got nothing. "I've got an idea." Maiz says from behind with a sly grin... this can't end well. Twenty minutes later "This is stupid! This is.... this won't work!" I say in a hushed tone as we sneak up to a train cart. "Just go, get on the roof, and hold on." Maiz says from the front as he leads us to the back cart. "Es facil, I'll distract the operator, an you guys sneak on board. What could go wr..." "Don't finish that." I say flatly as we watch the conductor wave the last of the ponies onto the train. "Ready?" Maiz asks. "No!" "Good." He says as he runs to the cart and starts to climb onto it, gaining the operators attention. "Hey! Get off of that!" He yells as he runs over and tries to pull him off. "Pinche tu madre!" Maiz yells before he kicks him across the face and starts to run off, getting the operator to chase after him. With the operator gone, we make our move. Storm flies up as I press my back against the cart and lift Big Mac up. Once he's on board he reaches over and pulls me up. Once on top I look around to see a bunch of other donkeys and ponies doing the same thing all along the train. WOO WOO The whistle blows a couple of times as the pistons start to push us forward. At the last possible second the operator gets back on board, jumping onto the railing of the last cart. The three of us smile to one another as we hold on. Ponyville here we come! A couple of hours go by with nothing worth mentioning. The area around us went from jungle to farmland to... what did Big Mac call it? Desert? The view was decent. Far to the north east are large mountains with snow on top of them... whatever snow is. To the east is largely open terrain, with nothing more then plant life filling. It's getting considerably hotter though, not to mention we're getting dehydrated. Storm and I have been pissing like crazy... made all the more awkward due to the fact that we had to aim it off the edge of the cart. Luckily no one saw us.... hopefully. "Hey." I say, getting their attention. "We should sneak inside and get something to drink." "None of us have money to buy drinks." Storm says lazily. "Who said we had to buy them?" "Not ta mention that they would notice us in the cart." Big mac adds. "Well... what if we just went into the bathroom and just drank sink water?" They think about it for a second before they get up and look over the edge. "How are we going to do this?" Storm asks as he peers over the ledge. "You should fly along the cart and find the conductor. When he's far enough away from the bathroom signal to us and we'll sneak on board to get a drink." "Miles... after the whole balloon incident... I don't think my wings can handle that right now." Storm says, glancing back to his wings and shuffling them a bit. "Well... then I'm up then." I say as I flare my hands and start to enchant my fingers and feet. Once done, I crawl along the wall of the cart and peer from window to window, looking for the conductor and restroom. I find both on the second cart, so I crawl up the wall and motion for Big Mac and Storm to come over. I notice that the inside of this cart is different from the one we took from Roam, this one having benches instead of individual rooms. Probably a different class or something. I wait for the conductor to finish walking through the cart until he enters the third cart. I move to the restroom and slide the window to open, barely having enough room to enter. I immediately go to the door and lock it as Storm and Big Mac go to get water. "Try to keep it quiet, we don't want to alert anyo...." KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK We all freeze as we stare at the door. How could we have been caught so easily!? "When you three are done in there, could you come out and have a word with me?" Asks an elderly lady from behind the door. We all look to one another before I open the door to reveal an elderly pony standing before us. She's an earth pony with a silver body and white hair. Her mark seems to be a strand of purple flowers. I can tell she's old, probably the same age as Granny Smith. "Well?" She asks as she motions to the inside of the cart. I nod and walk out, having Storm and Big Mac follow after. I go to a set of benches that are facing each other and take the far bench, getting Storm and Big Mac to take up the other one. She walks up and looks between the two benches before she takes a seat between Storm and Big Mac, rubbing up against them as she does so. "So..." I start but stop when she raises a hoof. "No need to explain. It's not like I haven't hopped a train before. So lets make a deal. You three get comfy in here, while I get comfy in here." She says as she runs a hoof up and down Storms leg, making him go wide eyed. "I'm getting married tomorrow." "Really? Darn... well then..." She says as she rubs up against Big Mac. "Married." He says, getting her to pout. "I'm married as..." "Well, if I don't get to get comfy, then whats to stop me from calling the conductor?" She asks. Storm and Big Mac both look to me and stare at me... AW COME ON! "*sigh* fine." I say as I pull my shirt and poncho off. "Oh my..." She says before she gets up and takes a seat next to me. "Honey, you should keep that off. It's MUCH better." She says as Storm and Big Mac chuckle a bit. "So... now that I'm half naked, whats your name?" I ask as she leans against me. "Oh of course! Where are my manners. I'm Gladiolus, but my friends call me Gladous." "I'm Miles." "Storm Cloud." "Macintosh, but everypony calls me Big Mac." "I bet they do." She says as she runs a hoof down my leg. Come on... take one for the team... don't flip out on the elderly lady and force everyone to walk home. "So... uh..." Come on... get her off THINK! GOT IT! "So apparently you can fuck in the ass..." "What!?" Gladous yells as she looks at me in bewilderment. "Ok honey, its obvious that you're a virgin, so I'm going to let you in on a few secrets. Yes, you can rut there, but don't just go for it. You're mare... or stallion... "Married to a mare..." "Of course you are. Anyway, you don't just go for it. Some warning, and permission is needed." "OK... why would they want..." "Well dear... it feels good. Its painful but.. its a good kind of hurt." She says as she flips her hair. I nod and think about what she said... may as well. "And sucking..." "Oh dear If you haven't sucked your mare or stallion then you've been taking all of the...." "OK I've heard enough!" Storm yells as he gets up and walks away. Big Mac looks between the two of us before he scoots closer to Gladous. "Continue." He says as we both lean in to hear what she has to say. "Well, when it comes to sucking, don't just motor boat it. Power is appreciated, but a little finesse is needed..." Perspective: Storm I head straight to the restroom and close the door behind me. Why do all of the weirdo's find me... and fondle me? I go to the sink and run the water, splashing my face... Storm... I stop and look around. I know I heard my name... I ignore it and continue to rub my face. It's probably just the heat messing with me... You can't protect them... "Who's there?" I ask as I look around, finding the room as empty as it was before. It sounds like an elderly guy is talking to me in a sickly voice. I turn to the mirror and drop to the ground. I get back up and double check the mirror to find myself in the reflection. I know what I saw... but I don't believe it. It looked... no. It was half of a human and half of a unicorn with a green body and black fur, wearing a necklace with a small brown bag around it's neck. I take another deep look in the mirror before I take a few drinks from the sink. I'm probably just dehydrated, that's all. Yeah... that's it. I turn off the water and head back to the others. "... and that's the basics on pleasing your mare... or stallion." Gladous says, getting nods from Miles and Big Mac. I shake my head and take my seat beside Big Mac... should I tell them... "Storm dear, don't you want to know how to..." "I think I'll be alright." "Huge cock." Miles whispers to her, getting a slow nod in response.... bucking idiot. "How bi..." "DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT!" "Alright, alright. Gesh, don't need to get bitchy." Gladous says as she turns back to Miles. I just shake my head and look out the window. I know what I saw... I just don't know what to think about it... Nine Hours Later "Goodbye boys!" Gladous yells from a window as we get off in roam. "Later Gladous!" "Bye!" I shake my head and walk through the station. The past nine hours have been... strange. I don't think there's anything about sex the three of us don't know anymore...*shivers* sounding. At least Gladous helped us stay on the train the entire trip, and fed us. Even if she fondled me, she's a nice pony. I shake the thought from my head and continue out the station. I need to get home within two hours... how am I going to pull this off? "Hey Storm." Miles calls out as him and Big Mac run up to me. "Any ideas on how to get back?" "*sigh* no. I only have two hours to get there and we're three hours away..." "I think I have a solution." He says as he pulls out some rope. "Where did you get that?" "The train. We already stole a ride, I don't think some rope will really be a problem." "And what exactly do you want to do with that?" I ask, getting an evil smile from Miles... One Hour Later "SLOW DOWN!" I yell as Miles races down the road below. With out even asking he tied a rope around my waist and stated to run off, carrying Big Mac on his back. Since he is using his magic, he's running at really high speeds, making it impossible to follow on hoof, so I had to become a kite again. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME! WE HAVE LESS THEN AN HOUR! WE NEED TO GO FASTER!" He yells as he pushes himself even faster down the road. I was about to protest when I saw it... Ponyville. "WE'RE ALMOST THERE!" I yell as I start to flap my wings with all of my might, propelling me past Miles. It soon become a race between the two of us as we both speed towards Carousel Boutique. CRASH We both collide through the door and crash onto the ground, coming to a stop in front of Rarity. "We-we made it." I say before I collapse. Another Hour Later I can believe we made it! With some time to spare as well. Though Miles and I are fairly tired, it was completely worth it. I'm currently waiting by the alter with Miles, Spike and Big Mac waiting beside me. All of us wearing military uniforms, green jackets with white button up shirts and black ties. A patch of our regiment sits on our shoulders while I have some brass bars on my collar, representing my rank as Lieutenant. Miles even made some pins for all of us... though he has way more then any of us. The pins are simple bars, only being an inch or so long and very narrow. I have three pins, a light blue one with a single yell ban along the center, an all black one and an all white one. The blue and yellow one is suppose to represent that I'm a jumper... whatever that means, the black one just means that I'm Spartan and the white one means veteran fighter. The day couldn't have been better. We're in the western park of Ponyville a bit before sunset. The sky is perfectly clear, birds are singing, everything is perfect. We have a terrace set up around everypony with a white lace going around the seats. Throughout the lace are different flowers of different colors. There's a gentle breeze coming in from the west, gently brushing against this perfect day. I sigh as I look out at the crowd, feeling butterflies in my stomach. On my side of the benches are the Apple family and my mother... and for some reason Squishy Trap and Cheesus. I ignore them and look back to my mother. She raises a hoof and weakly waves to me as she wipes her tears away, so I nod back. I look over to Twilight's side and stare at the crowd. All of her family members are here. Her parents, Shinning and Cadence along with the family members of her friends, some other friends she has that I don't know, Luna, some of the residence of Ponyville and her owl. She has a lot of ponies here, but I don't mind. I continue my gaze onto the other side of the alter, where Celestia waits at the head of the alter, with a small orchestral band behind her. I can't believe Twilight was able to get her to marry us... though its not that surprising. She is her prize student, not to mention the Element of Magic. With that I still can't believe that I'll be having her marry us. On the other side of the alter are the girls, each of them wearing a beautiful dress that Rarity made for each of them. "*sniff*" I look back to see Miles wiping some tears away as he fights the urge to start bawling. "Are you crying?" "*sniff* no. I'm just so happy for you man." He says as he continues to wipe tears away. I laugh a bit as the music starts to play. Everypony stand and faces the center aisle. The first to come down are Scootaloo, Applebloom and Sweetie Bell, throwing down rose pedals as they skip down. They come to the end and bump into each other as they all try to go different directions, getting chuckles from everypony as they scramble away. I feel my heart start to race at the next sight. Twilight. She has a beautiful white dress with a white veil covering her face. She walks down the aisle slowly, being escorted by her father. Time seems to slow down as I watch her make her way to me slowly. When she finally makes it to the end I walk down and shake hoofs with her father before he gives her a hug. I turn and walk up to Celestia with Twilight by my side... here we go. "Ladies and Gentlecolts." Celestia begins. "We are her to be witness to the union of Storm Cloud and Twilight Sparkle. Let us begin with a silent prayer." She says, getting everypony to bow their heads. Perspective: Miles Uh... what are they doing? Whats praying? I guess its just closing your eyes and looking down. Strange... Perspective: Storm "Love is the most powerful form of magic." Celestia says, getting us all to look back up to her. "It can bring the greatest together, it tears the greatest of us apart. Just like magic, we will never truly understand it, but no matter how hard we may fight it, it will always find a way into our hearts. The bride and groom will now share their vows." "Storm Cloud." Twilight says as we face each other. "I knew ever since our first date that I could spend the rest of my life with you. You fight to protect me. You strive to make me laugh, and I love you with all my heart and I want to be with you, and only you, for the rest of my life." "Twilight Sparkle. From the moment I first saw you... it was love at first sight. I want nothing more then to make you happy. I love you. I will always love you. Now, and forever." "*sniff*" I can hear Miles crying a bit harder, but I ignore him and move forward to lift her veil... the butterflies in my stomach were replaces with the confidence of her beauty. "If there is anypony out there that will object to the union of these ponies, let them speak now or forever hold their peace." Celestia says, making the room go quiet. I can't help but glance out to Shinning... seeing him just sit there, keeping quiet. Without anypony objecting,Celestia motions to Spike to bring us the rings. We each take each others ring and wait for the next part. "Storm Cloud, do you take this mare to be your lawfully wedded wife? To love her. Cherish her. In both good times and bad, for as long as you both shall live?" "I do." I says as I place her ring on her horn. "Twilight Sparkle. Do take this stallion to be your lawfully wedded husband? To love him. Cherish him. Bare his children. In both good times and bad, for as long as you both shall live?" "I do." She says as she places the bracelet around my hoof. "Then with the power..." "Celestia, if I may." Miles says as he walks up to the alter. Everypony murmurs a bit but don't try to stop him from taking Celestia's place at the alter. "Terradisia has a tradition for those of true love. If you'll both close your eyes and focus on the love you have for each other." He says, getting me and Twilight to shut our eyes. I focus on everything I love about her. Her smile. Her laugh. The way she can make me smile without even trying. My thought process is interrupted when I feel something move through my neck. I open my eyes to see Miles hand portals flaring. His right hand being purple and his left being grey. He kneels down and begins to do something with the energies on the floor. I can hear the energy swirl around each other as he focuses on the spell. When he finishes, he stands up to reveal a rose where his hands were. The stem is light grey with purple thorns while the flower has pedals that are purple on the outside and grey on the inside. It seems to glow as it hovers off the ground a few inches, slowly spinning to the right. "This, is a amor surrexit. A love rose. For as long as you two live and love one another, this rose shall live. Hic rosae nihil pereat." He says as he steps back to his place beside me. "Yes... well, with the power vested in me I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may now kiss the bride." Twilight and I look to each other and lean in for a kiss, putting all of our love and passion between our lips as the audience cheers for us. We break the kiss and gaze into each others eyes for a bit as we laugh and giggle from the pure joy. We turn together and run down the aisle together to the waiting carriage, where we run straight in... as husband and wife.
Chapter 103 Proper TimeChapter 103 Proper Time When I wake up I find myself in my bed. What happened? Last thing I remember was being at the party... eating those treats that Pinkie gave me. I didn't have anything to drink... unless that treat was... Oh sweet Barbra... "*sigh*" I look over to see Luna sleeping by my side. I roll to my side and watch her sleep for a bit, the rising and falling of her chest, the way her mouth hangs open slightly, all of it putting me at ease. Last night was fun.. but... it put some thoughts in my head that I need to bring up to Luna. "Miles?" She mumbles as she wakes up, weakly opening her eyes. "Hey, how'd you sleep?" I ask as I brush her hair a bit, helping her wake up. "I was worried when you passed out... more so when you didn't wake up for two days. Why didn't you tell us you're allergic to strawberries?" "If I had known I would have told you. Sorry for worrying you." "I'm just glad you're ok." She says as she stretches a bit and starts to get out of bed, but stops when I grab her leg. "Hey..." "Hey." "I... I want to talk to you about something really important." She raises an eyebrow as she gets back in bed. "Whats on your mind?" She asks cautiously. I reach over and take a hold of her hoof, holding tightly onto it for a second before I start. "Its... about... well... I don't have much time here... as you already know." "Miles..." "And, I realize that, even with such low odds, if we were to have a child.... I wouldn't be here for it." The room falls silent as I let her think about what I just said. "Miles... I..." "Is this something you still want to do? Can you raise our child, with it never knowing its father. On your own." She scoots closer to me and holds onto to me tightly. I wrap my arms around her and kiss the top of her head. "Miles, I still want to try." I take a deep breath as I begin to stroke her mane. "Are you sure?" "Yes. Becuase, when you do finally go... it would be the only thing of you I'd have left. I want this." She looks up to me and plants a small kiss on my lips... then another... after the third one I roll her onto her back as I get on top. I reach down to take my pants off... only I'm not wearing pants. Ignoring that I lay on top of her and begin kissing her as I try to position myself, only to get a hoof on the way. "Something wrong?" I ask as I back off a bit. "Yeah, I want to wait until we get into Topaz before we do that..." "Really?" I ask, getting her to give me a peck on the cheek before she pushes me off and gets out of bed. With a deep sigh I roll onto my back and just lay there, staring at the ceiling. "Hehehe, wow. You were really ready to go huh?" Luna says as she steps into the restroom. I look down to see the perfectly pitched tent of mine... "You could fix that you know!" "You could to!" I sigh again as I lay there a bit longer. Well... if we're going to Topaz, may as well get ready. I get out of bed and quickly get dressed... a little awkward, but getting easier with time. Once done, I go to my closet and find all of my weapons and armor waiting neatly on their racks. I begin reattaching my armor as Luna finishes up in the restroom and joins me in the closet door way. "Is all of that necessary?" "I don't know. Topaz could be safe, it could be just as dangerous. If we're going down there, we're going down armed." "If you say so." She mumbles as I finish putting on the armor. I begin grabbing all of my weapons as Luna levitates out an E.A.R., looking it over curiously. "Whats on your mind?" I ask as I finish grabbing all of my weapons and head to the kitchen, having Luna follow close behind. "Well... your little talk is making me think." "Yeah? About what?" "It's not changing my mind, but... how do you explain something like this to somepony whose never met you? Human innovations are... well, I think you get it." I pause in the kitchen and lean against the counter as I try to think of a way to answer. "That all depends on how it would come out." "Huh?" "If it came out as a human, then the explanations would be... easier. But it it came out a pony... maybe keeping that a secret would be best." "Are you suggesting that I lie to our child about your being a human?" Luna asks, sounding slightly offended. "Not always. When it would be old enough to understand then tell it, but not right away. Let it grow up without the worries or concerns of being different." I say as I finish grabbing some food and bring it to the counter. I head to the hall closet and find a saddle bag with a note on it, so I grab it and bring it to Luna. "I don't know Miles..." "This isn't pony text?" I ask as I twist the note around, trying to figure it out. "No, it is. I meant about the whole secrecy thing. I don't know if I could lie to it." "Well... that's really on you. I don't get to make the choice." I say, silencing the room. Fucking dammit... I need to stop depressing her. This was suppose to be a good day. "Sorry..." "Its alright." She says as she takes a deep breath. "Its the reality of things... and I'm going to have to come to terms with it eventually..." "I'm not gone yet." I say as I kneel in front of her lift her chin up with a hand. "I'm here now, that's all that matters at the moment. Look, lets forget all that other stuff and head down to Topaz, alright?" She gives me a quick kiss before nodding. "OK. What else do we need?" That's my girl. "Lets see...." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Two Hours Later We finally made it to the bulk head and are waiting for it to open up for us. Ends up that saddle was modified for me to have on my back. So here we are, Topaz Falls. Each of us carrying bags filled with random supplies, armed, and ready for whatever's behind the bulkhead. Though we didn't really need to bring that much, seeing how I was passed out for two days. As soon as there's enough room to pass I run in, rifle raised and looking for.... "Greetings Miles. Infection complete. All repairs complete. May I have your autograph?" Easy asks as he stands alone in the gateway. "Uh... what?" I lower my rifle as I take a look inside. In the distance I can see several different bots working together to clean up the city. All of the ruble and skeletons in this area have been cleaned up while walls are being patched up. "Greetings Luna. Infection complete. All repairs complete. May I have your autograph?" Easy asks Luna, getting confused looks from her. "Um... no." "Easy, detail completion of directives." I ask as I walk into the city. "Of course. All active bots have been infected with the Inobaudio virus and have received all necessary repairs. Next set directive is the repair of Topaz Falls. Do you wish to make an alteration?" "Be sure to take all human bones to the crematory to be taken care of properly, but other then that no." "May I have your autograph?" I shake my head as I sling my rifle and continue walking into the city, Luna by my side. Its actually pretty impressive how much of the city they've cleaned up. If I had to guess, I would say that they did anywhere from fifty to ninety percent. Luna convinced me to leave most of the weapons and armor by the bulkhead, seeing how the city should be safe now. I decided to keep my trench knife, just to be safe. I didn't really know where to go or what to do, so I asked Luna. She said she wanted to find a shopping center or social area to get a feel of the city, so I decided to bring her to Twentieth Avenue shopping center. It's just a stretch of shops and restaurants in the west district, should be interesting. "So this is Twentieth Avenue... quaint." "Yeah... it looked better back in the day." Though most of the debris has been cleared, many of the buildings are still destroyed. There are are few left standing, so we decide to go check them out. The first one is a restaurant to our right, Cibum. "Did you ever eat here?" Luna asks as we peer in through the windows. Many of the tables and chairs are still standing, but its hard to tell anything else due to the thick layer of dust on the window. "Once." "And?" "Well... the food was good and all." I say as I walk away from the window. "OK, what happened here when you ate here?" She asks as she follows after me. "Well... I'd rather not say." "Really? We'll see about that." She says as she quickens her pace to the next.... "Oh sweet Barbra..." "Who?" "Its still here." "And what is this building?" "Eam Voluptatem." ".... her.... pleasure.... is this a..." "Yes. Its a sex shop." An awkward silence falls between us as we both stare at the building. It would look like any other two story Topaz building, only with black tinted windows. "Lets check it out!" Luna says as she runs straight to the door, finding it locked. "A little help Miles." I think about it for a second before I walk up to the door and kick it open. "After you wife." I say, getting a smile from her as she walks in. The inside is... pretty much what I expected. Four aisles fill the front of the store, each one going up to my chest, and are still filled with various items. The walls as filled with manikins that are each dressed in provocative clothing. The back has the fitting room... or what I assume is the fitting room, and the main stairway to the right. Luna's already going through the first aisle, inspecting every little object she comes by, so I decide to just follow her around. "Whats this?" She asks as she levitates something up to me, still looking through the shelf. "That would be a cock ring." "Whats that for?" "Well, to my understanding, a guy puts that on and its suppose to make you last longer... I think." She looks up to me with a large smile, so I shake my head. "Sorry, its too small for me." She pouts a bit before she continues down the aisle, tossing the brass ring aside. "Huh... whats this thing?" She says as she picks up a stick. "Uh... lets see... its a sounding stick... I have no clue what that is or what it does. But something tells me that you shouldn't touch it." She looks at the stick and drops it as we go around to the WHAT THE FUCK! THUD Before I could see anything Luna had levitated me back a bit and is now pinning me to the ground. "Uhh... Luna. What are you doing?" "I have an idea but you need to let me tie you down. OK?" She says desperately. All I could do was nod my head as she brings a random chair over and sits me down, facing away from the aisle. I hear her grab a bunch of different things as she runs around the store. I tried to look back, but her magic is held me in place, so I'll just have to blindfold.... "Is the blindfold really necessary?" I ask as I feel her start tying my hands behind the chair. "And is that really..." "Yes! I... well... I'm going to embarrass the heck out of myself... but... just trust me OK." "Alright." I hear her walk around the store some more until she finally walks back over to me... and then keeps going. "Where are you..." "Just one second." She chimes as she walks away. "OK... I'll be right here." I say as I hear a door shut and something being opened... what is she planning? After a few minutes I start to get bored, just sitting here... alone... tied up... fuck. I perk up a bit as I hear the door open again and her slow hoof steps coming towards me. "OK... I'm going to remove the blindfold, please don't laugh." I feel the blindfold lift up to reveal... "OH SWEET BARBRA YOU'RE SEXY." I yell as I gape at her. She's wearing a white nurses outfit with white stockings on all four, the hat, and I can't tell but I think she has a white thong on as well. The dress goes to about her thighs and seems a little awkward for her to be wearing, having to have cut the side to allow her wings through "So... you like it?" She asks as she shifts her weight from side to side, blushing deeply. "Iwhidjamuha." Smooth. "Well... I... uh... Oh right, ahem* lets see what the doctor ordered." She says as seductively as possible as she walks up to me and prances around me.... she is wearing a thong... and it has a red plus over her.... oh sweet Barbra... "Hmm, it seems that you've got a... growing problem." She says as she runs a hoof over my crotch. She leans up to my ear and whispers "I have exactly what the doctor ordered for that." "I bet you do." I say, getting giggle from her as she starts to undo my pants. {what was really said} "Iwedimehunuwa." She pulls down my pants and blows lightly onto my erect member, getting me to twitch from joy. "You ready?" She asks as she hovers her lips above me, her breath sending chills throughout my body. Not being able to form words, I nod as I anticipate my first blow job. "OK, here we and no." She says as she levitates a coat over and covers herself up. "What? Wait..." "We can continue when you tell me what happened at that restaurant. Until then, have fun being blue." "You can't be serious." "Try me." "... that's just evil..." "Sorry, but I don't like secrets between the two of us. We share everything." "*sigh* fine. It... well... I kind of had... *mumbles*..." "What was that?" "It was where I had my first date kind of not really but everyone else said it was but I didn't even know it was a date until we almost kissed but I seriously didn't know and I made Tenera cry so Fidus kicked my ass and..." "Wait wait wait wait. You... had a date... with Tenera?" "Maybe." I say with a smile, getting even, un-amused glares from Luna. "Ok, before you say anything, I didn't know. Everyone said we were meeting up for dinner, but when I got there it was just me and Tenera. She didn't even know... I think. When I walked her home she tried to kiss me but I stopped her. I told her that I didn't feel that way about her and... well she cried... and Fidus and Inficiunt jumped me..." "*sigh* its alright." Luna says as she tosses the coat aside. "Really?" "Yeah. I just wanted to know what happened. I'm not the jealous type." She says as she starts to give me light hand/hoof job. "Uh..." "But I think you deserve a reward for telling me, don't you?" She asks as she blows onto me again. "Yes please." {Whats actually said} "Hamanatanemini." "*giggle* OK then." She says as she kisses the tip, making me sigh deeply from her soft lips being pressed against me. She gives a few kisses and licks along the shaft before she comes to the end and begins to slide it inside her mouth, having me push my way through her lips. Its taking every fiber of my being to not thrust into her right now this feels SO GOOD! She takes the WHOLE thing into her mouth, having her chin rest against my balls as she holds it there. I can feel her tongue tentatively press against me, slowly making its way all around me as she begins to pull back. I close my eyes for a second as she pulls me out of her, missing the warmth of her mouth. "What the?" I ask aloud as I feel the blindfold go back on. "Aw... I don't get to watch." "Oh, don't worry. You'll get to watch. Its just time for a costume change." She says as she gives me a kiss on the cheek. She walks away and shuts the door again, leaving me naked and tied up. FUCK. With nothing better to do I kick my pants off and wait for her to return. "Alright. I'm back... and it seems that you've been a bad boy." "Uh... blindfold." "Oh, right *giggle*." When I can see again my jaw drops... again. She has a police woman's uniform on. Black stockings, black mini skirt, the blue shirt that's tied up in the front, shades, and the policemen's hat. She walks over to me, levitating some handcuffs, and sits in my lap face forward. She grinds into me a couple of times before she starts taking off my shirt. "Oh sweet Barbra..." "Hm, now.. are you going to be a good boy and cooperate... or a bad boy?" ..... FUCK I WANT BOTH! Hmm... "That depends, what's my crime?" I ask as I start undoing my straps, sorry Luna. I'll have to teach you some better knots later. "Well, public indecency is at the top of my list." She says before she gives me a forceful kiss. "But I think you can make up for that one." OK, free now. "You forgot the assault on an officer." She tilts her head in confusion, so I throw my arms around her and twist off the chair. We land with me on top. She was about to protest but I silenced her with a forceful kiss. I start lowering my kisses. Chest, lower ribs, belly, breast, oh sweet Barbra, light blue thong with a policemen's badge in the center. She lets out a soft sigh as I kiss the badge. I start moving all of my kissed around the badge, getting the best sounds from the top. I run a tongue under the cloth and bite onto it, pulling it back to reveal the prize underneath. I toss the thong at Luna's dumbstruck face before getting back to work, planting kisses on her thighs and blowing softly onto her. She starts to twist from all of the teasing, so I hold onto her thighs and hold her hip in place as I continue to tease her. "Miles..." Luna says in a mixture of pleading and moaning. Starting from the bottom, I do a forceful, long lick, going all along her until I come to the top. She thrusts her hip a bit, but I held her in place fairly well. At the top I find the secret button Gladous had told me so much about. Following her advice, I begin to suck and nip on it, getting soft moans from Luna. As I continue working her she begins to try to shut her legs, so I pull them apart and hold them open as I move lower. I get to her entrance and start prodding it with my tongue, getting a gasp from her as I run my tongue in and out as deeply as I can go. "Don't stop." Luna begs as I pull back to catch my breath. "Need... air... first." I pant as I begin rubbing her with a hand, getting her to close her eyes from the touch. Fuck it. I scoot forward and push myself inside, getting a loud gasp from her as I begin to pull back out. I can fell my heart race as I lean forward, planting my hands on both sides of her face. She takes a hold onto my left arm, making my heart flutter for a second as I pick up the pace. I take my right hand and begin to rub her side as I continue, loving the feeling of her soft body underneath my fingers. "Miles...I... I want top.... please... let me..." Luna mutters between quick breaths. I stop thrusting and lay on top of her, giving her a passionate kiss as we roll over. She immediately sits up and begins bouncing up and down, grinding her hips in motion. I run my hands under her skirt and grab her flank, squeezing her mark as I feel the pressure begin to build. "Luna.... I'm getting close..." "Me to..." She says as she runs her hooves down my chest, quickening her pace. When the pressure built too high I grabbed onto her and began pumping as hard as I could, hitting the highest climax I've ever had in my life. Simultaneously, Luna had let out a loud yells as she hit hers, wetting me as she arched back. When she finishes her orgasm she collapses on top of me, both of us panting from our bliss... ... so tired... sleep now... Perspective: Luna I guess we had both fallen asleep from that cause I woke up wrapped up in his arms, my favorite way of waking up. That... was... AMAZING. I had been watching him sleep for awhile, but curiosity got the better of me, so I decided to keep looking around the store. I untangle myself from him and get up, amazingly I didn't wake him.... though he tends to be a heavy sleeper. When I stand something gets in my face. I levitate it off to find that it was the thong I was wearing. I don't know why, but I liked wearing these. Maybe becuase of how little it actually covers or... I don't know. I was about to set it aside when an idea hit me. I go back to Miles and put them on his head. He mumbles something but stays asleep. With a giggle I go back to checking out the store. Most of the items in here seem fairly straight forward. Things that I'd either place in me or wear. I come to a stop at the last aisle and stare at something that... doesn't seem right. It's a grey metal bar with two black parts. In each of the black parts are etchings that I can't read. I levitate it up and... IT'S NOT YET YOUR TIME I drop the bar and look around. It spoke to me! Not yet?! What do you mean? ... When will I know the proper time? ... What does this do? ... Are you ever going to talk to me? When the time is right .... not cool. I levitate it back up and bring it over to Miles. I remove the costume and lay back beside him, looking over the bar intensely. This is important... but why? Perspective: Miles Aw... what.... what is that smell... it smells... good. I open my eyes and grab what ever is on my face... when did Luna's thong get on my face? "Miles?" Luna says as she nuzzles me a bit. "Hey Lulu... you do this?" I ask as I flick it at her. "Lulu?" "What? No pet names, Lulu." I say as I wrap my arms around her and hold her close. "Miles... my Soul Fire spoke to me." She says as she gets eye level with me. "It did... what did it say." I ask as I begin to brush her mane. "Well... I was looking around the store, and I found this and..." "Whoa... where did you get a Virgum de Marcas?" I ask as I take the bar in my hands and look it over. "What does it do?" "You grab onto the parts with the etchings and it marks you. The marks made this way become the portals to your soul. This is how humans use magic." She takes another look at the bar, looking it over with a new perspective. "This is how you learned to use magic?" "No... kind of." I flare my hand and show her the archaic circles in my palm. "See those? Those were put there when I used one of these. It gives me a link to my soul. From there I can use my soul to perform magic." "Did... did it hurt?" "For most people no. It was as simple as getting a shot. For me... the pain was excruciating. I was eight, and well... I maxed out. Sussarands had to leave the room, he couldn't watch. Altum watched the entire thing like the sadistic bastard he was. I somehow drained all of the energy for ten floors." "Miles... lets eat." She says as she gets up. I was about to argue but my stomach yelled at me before I could say anything. Luna sat in my lap as we pull out some apples and carrots and ate in silence. I can tell she's thinking deeply about something, but I let it go for now to finish eating. "Whats on your mind?" I ask as I bury my face in her mane and wrap my arms around her. "Its... just... *sigh* I don't know. When I had picked up the Virgum de Marcas, my Soul Fire had told me that it was not yet my time. What does that mean?" "Well... if I had to guess, I would say that it meant that it wasn't your time to meet your Soul Fire. The Staff of the Marks is somehing we use to connect with our souls, and maybe your soul feels that you aren't ready for something like that yet." "Then... how will I know when it's my time? Can you talk to yours?" "I don't know when it will be your time. And... kind of. I remember when Starry Notes was injured I was trying to heal her and my Soul Fire was questioning it. I think they only speak to us during moments of extreme danger or emotion. Times when we're really intune with our souls." "Can... can I talk to yours?" She asks as she turns around and looks me in the eyes. "How would you do that?" "Well.. whenever I go into you subconscious, I find him there." "How would you get there?" "Well... if you flare your hand... and grab my horn..." "Luna, that sounds extremely dangerous. I could really hurt you if it doesn't work..." "I know, but I think its worth the risk. Please Miles. I need to get this figured out." I think about it for a bit before I answer. If this goes wrong, I could burn her horn off.... or worse. I flare my hand and look at her. She looks between me and my hand and slowly nods, closing her eyes and waiting for me to do it. Well... here goes everything. I grab onto her horn and wait for what evers going to happen. "Well... at least I didn't burn your horn off." I say as I hold onto her, getting confused looks from her. "Every other time you did this it worked. I wonder what happened differently..." "Welll, every other time I was unconscience, so there's that." I say as she looks at me with a sparkle in her eye. "Luna don't..." THWACK THUD Perspective: Luna YES! IT WORKED! I'm back in the hall of memories with an angry Miles standing right next to me. Shoot! No Soul Fire. I offer my best smile to him as he shakes his head at me. "So... Miley wiley..." "First off, ow. Next, no. Miley sounds like a girls name. And lastly, don't do that again. Seriously. I'm going to have brain damage eventually." "Sorry babe." I say as I look around. "So... is there a way we can get Soul Fire out or..." "I don't know.... don't hit me." "I wasn't going to." I say as I set my hoof back down. "Well... we're here anyway, lets go check a memory or two." "I don't know Luna, some of my memories seem to be fucked up." "Why is this one all black?" I ask as I look at the panel before me that's all black. "Well... if these are all my memories, and we can't see this one, it must be something I forgot..." "Or something repressed." I say as I eye it some more. "Lets check it out." I say as I start to walk towards it, only to stop when Miles grabs my shoulder. He looks a little troubled as he stares at the panel. "Luna... this may be something that I want to forget..." "But... what could there be that you would want to forget?" He doesn't answer. Instead he backs up a bit, never looking away from the black panel. "I'll leave it up to you. If you want to see it, then I'll let you." I look back to the panel and try to think logically about this...but curiosity got the better of me. With a heavy heart I stepped into the panel. The world turned dark and stayed that way for awhile. "I think I broke it." "You broke my mind?" "Well... maybe. Every other memory popped up quicker then this." "Yeah, but this was a blackened memory." "True.... well.... shoot." "Do you ever cuss?" Before I could answer a bright light blinded me. When I was able to see again I find myself in some alley in Topaz Falls. Miles is directly next to me while a ragged, dirty, matted child version of Miles stood in front of us. He... it... it's the kid from the picture! I knew it was Miles! He looks back to us and I immediately notice how his eyes shine through the dirt and grime plastered on his face. He sneaks to the end of the alley and looks out. Wow... I've never thought I'd see so many humans milling about. They all seem... peaceful. Unaware of what's eventually going to happen. The child Miles reaches forward to grab some green flakes from a stand when a large woman grabs his hand. "NO!" She yells as she pulls him forward and begins to try to slap his bottom. "No more! You and your little friends have stolen from me for the last..." "FUCK YOU!" Child Miles yells as he kick her in the shin, getting her to let go and hop on one leg. Before she could do anything Miles had ran down the alley, meeting up with a group of kids before they all run through the alley together. Miles and I run together as we keep up with the group of hollering children. "Where are we going!?" I yell as we run dodge the metal carriages and enter the yard before the orphanage. "Nevermind." "Way to go fuck up!" One of the children yell as they push Miles down. "HEY! STAY AWAY FROM HIM!" I yell as I try to keep the child away from Miles, but only faze through him. "Memory. This already happened." Miles says as the clearly older child begins to beat up Miles, punching him in the face as he sits on his chest. Seeing him get hurt like this is making me feel uneasy. I want to help. I want to hold the child Miles and tell him everything will be OK... but I can't. "MILES EREMITA!" Yells somepony from the side. I look over and sigh in relief as an adult walks up to the fighting kids. He seems to be older, clearly older then Miles, with a shaved head and a long black robe. "My office. NOW." The other kids giggle as Miles gets up and wipes his bloody lip. With a sniffle, he walks towards the dean. "Wh-what did I do?" He asks weakly. I WANT TO HUG YOU YOU'RE TOO CUTE. "Go to my office and I'll let you know. I'll be there in a minute, I have to deal with these delinquents first." Miles nods and walks towards the building, crying to himself as he goes. Watching him walk away was too much for me, I need to hug something. Without saying a word I grab onto Miles and hold him tightly. "Luna... why are you hugging me?" Miles asks as the memory drags us along with Miles... child Miles. "Becuase you adorable and they beat you up and you're crying and I WANT TO HUG SOMETHING!" I say as we enter the deans office. The office is... fairly close to what I remember. It's cleaner, needless to say. Everything looks new.... "Hello Miles." I look to the desk to see somepony sitting in the seat. It's wearing a black robe with the hood up, obscuring her face. "*sniff* h-hi." Miles says as he continues to wipe the blood from his face. The woman gets up and walks over to Miles, flaring her hands on the way. "Here, let me take care of that." She says as she slides her hands under his shirt and heals his wounds. When she finishes she brings her hands back and just stares at him. "Um... thank you. W-who are you?" Miles asks as he tries to see her face. I try to look as well, but there's nothing but darkness. "Well... Miles, that's not important right now. I'm just here to tell you something very important." "Whats that?" "I love you." The child Miles takes a step back, blushing deeply. D'aw.... HEY! "Um... I don't think I like girls... but thank you? Why can't I see your face?" "Becuase I'm trying to hide it from everypony else." She says as she pulls him in for a hug. "The dean is coming... I have to go.." "But... who are you? Can I come with you?" "I'm so sorry. I love you Miles. Just... get away as fast as possible and hide. OK?" "Can I at least see your face?" He asks as the woman lets go of him and steps back. She places her hands on the floor and makes a Mico platform in the center of the room. She looks to Miles for a second before she pushes him into the corner and pulls back the hood a bit. I tried to take a look, but she quickly put it back on. "Wow... you're pretty." "Thank you, handsome." She says before she goes to the platform and flashes away. Miles tried to take the platform as well, but in a bright flash it disappeared from the room. "Miles?" The dean says as he steps into the room. "Ah, right where I wanted you." He says as he shuts the door and locks it. "Why am I here?" Miles asks as he steps away from the dean. "Didn't I tell you? We're going to have a... private party." He says as he walks over to his desk and pulls out a bottle. "I don't know if I like parties... whats that?" Miles asks as he steps closer to the dean. I don't like where this is heading. "Its super fun juice. Do you like to have fun?" He asks as he pours two glasses. Don't drink it Miles... "I guess... why am I here alone then?" "Well you only turn eight once." The dean says as he walks over to him and kneels before him, offering the glass. "It's our private happy birthday Miles, lets have a party." Miles eyes him a bit as he takes the glass. "Why didn't we do this before? Plus my birthday isn't for another week." He asks as he sniffs the glass, making an adorable sour face. "Well... lets just say its something special I do for the kids only when they turn eight." He says before he downs the drink. After setting the glass down he walks over to Miles and takes his drink, setting it on the ground. He looks to Miles with a smile and just stares at him for a second, holding his hands in front of himself. "What are you doing!" Miles yells as the dean reaches forward and rubs his... "GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HIM!" I yell as I try to buck this creep to oblivion. "Come on Miles, its just a party." He says as he yanks his shirt and pulls him in close. Miles start to fight to get away, but the dean just wraps an arm around him as he continues to fondle him. "Isn't there anything we can do?" I ask Miles, who's just standing in the corner of the room, dumbstruck. "STOP IT! NO! I DON'T WANT THIS! I SAID NO!" The child Miles yells as he continues to try to get away. At this point the dean had pined Miles on his stomach and was working opening his pants. "I THOUGHT YOU LIKED PARTIES!" The dean yells as he finally gets his thing out. He lifted his hand to try to take Miles shorts off, but instead he rolled over and kicked the dean in the nuts, dropping him to the ground. With him currently incapacitated, Miles tries the door, but he can't seem to unlock it. He runs over to the window and slides to open. As he climbs onto the ledge the dean starts to slowly get up and stumble after him. "Come on, just a little more!" I cheer as he slowly steps away. The dean lunges out at him and grabs the sleeve of his shirt, getting Miles to try to yank free. "LET GO OF ME! LET GO!" He yells as he tries to get free. "Stop! You'll fall you idiot!" He yells as he tries to pull him in. RRIIIIIIIIIIIPPPPE The shirt had torn in half as Miles gave one hard yank, but lost his balance and fell off the ledge. The dean held on tightly as he tried to pull him up, but the shirt had completely torn off... and he fell. THUD He fell two stories until he hit a large green carriage. He just laid there, eyes wide open as it rolled away, dragging us along as it went away. I looked over to Miles and hugged him lightly. "I'm sorry..." "I... was..." "I know... I'm sorry. We shouldn't have come into this memory. You were right." "I... who was that lady? Why is the memory still going? I am fucking lucky that garbage truck was there." I look back to the garbage truck and see Miles starting to get up. He looks around a bit before something makes the truck bounce, making him fall off. He hits the ground, hard, and rolls a bit before he comes to a stop. He's crying. He's shaking, bleeding, crying and I can't do a single thing to comfort him. I start to tear up as he tries to get up, but falls back down and grabs his leg. It must be broken. "MILES? MILES WHERE ARE YOU?" The dean calls out from down the alley. Miles's eyes shrink as he crawls to a pile of black bags and tries to hide underneath them. The dean comes running by, silencing Miles as he shakes in fear. He looks around a bit before walking back down the alley, cursing his luck. With the dean gone, Miles begins to sob as he holds onto the bags, breaking my heart. "I'm so sorry Miles." I say as I bury my face in his chest. "I didn't know that it was this bad...I... I'm sorry." "I...its... its alright." He says as he just sits there, dumbstruck. "Watch where you're going!" Yells sompepony down the alley. I look down to see somepony and the hooded woman from before backing away from each other. The guy has a dark tan jacket on with some black pants. He has all black hair, with spots of grey, and seems fairly young, a little older then current Miles, maybe. He's pale white and is well toned, about the same build as Miles actually. The hooded woman leans over and glances at Miles before backing away. This makes the other pony turn around and..... "Oh my god, Miles... he looks just like you." Looking between the two its... they... I... "Hey... kid. You alright?" He asks as he approaches Miles, who cowers behind the bags. "*sniff* leave me alone." He whimpers. "Come on kid, look I'm a Spartan. I can help." He says as he squats near him. "I... I don't want your help." He says as he grabs the bag a little tighter. "Really? What a trooper then. Broken leg, bleeding, and wants to go it alone. Impressive. How about this then, I heal your wounds, then leave. No funny business, just a quick heal and then I'm gone. Unless you think you can hobble all the way to the hospital." Miles stays quiet for a bit before he shifts a bit under the bag. "You promise?" "I promise. Now lets get you out from under these bags." He says as he scoots a little closer. "O-OK." He says as he moves the bag out of the way, making the other man fall on his back side as he tries to back away from Miles. "No..... nonononono this can't be... you.... she.... you look so much like her..." He says as he stares at Miles. "I-I think it's more then my leg." He says as he tries to rub his back, wincing from trying to reach back there. "A-are you going t-to help?" He doesn't say anything. He just continues to stare at him as tears start to fall from his eyes. "Please... it hurts..." "Right. Right right right. Uh... just come over here and try to keep still." He says as he gets back up and helps Miles out from the garbage. I can't think of anything to say. He looks just like him... and the way he looks at him.... I have to see how this plays out. He goes to place his hands on his chest, but Miles pushes him away and tries to back away. "DON'T TOUCH ME!" He yells, getting the other guy to back off. "But I need to heal you..." "I don't care! Don't touch me!" Miles yells as he takes deep breathes. "Miles... what happened to you?" "Miles! There you are!" The dean yells as he runs down to him, only to stop when he see's the other guy. "Thank you so much for finding him... uh..." "Susurrans Bellum." He says flatly as he gets between the two of them. "Captain of the Spartan regiment. Care to explain what happened to my...my...to this child?" "He fell out of a window and landed on the garbage truck, right Miles?" He asks, getting Miles to look away. Susurrans looks to Miles before he swings his fist, punching the dean across the face and making him flat on his back. Thank you. "If I ever hear anything about you and Miles, I will hunt you down and turn you to ash. Understand me?" The dean nods and quickly runs back down the alley, holding his jaw as he goes. Susurrans turns back to Miles and kneels beside him. "Miles... I need to heal you. But that's going to require that I put my hands on your chest. May I?" "No.... maybe... just make the pain go away." He says as he tears up some more. He leans over and places his hands on his chest, being as careful as possible. After what feels like an eternity he finally finishes up healing him and quickly pulls his hands back. Miles takes a few deep breaths before he sits up and looks himself over. "Miles... do you know who I am?" He asks as he holds onto his legs tightly. "No." Miles says as he looks him over. "I've never seen you before in my life." "What about your mother.... where is she?" "I'm told she died during the exodus of Diamond Halls... giving birth to me... why are you asking me these things?" "Becuase I'm... becuase you're.... we're..." He tries to force the words out of his mouth... but he can't. "Whats your full name." He asks as he looks down. "I'm Miles Eremita...." "Eremita." He repeats as he begins to break down a bit, tears flowing down his face as he shakes his head. "They gave you her maiden name...." "Why are you crying? Did I do something wrong?" "No... I... I...." GGUURRGGLLEE Everypony looks to child Miles as he blushes a bit. "Hehe, hungry?" He asks as he wipes his tears away. "Y--yeah. Sorry..." "Don't be. I know a place that make really good disks, want to come with me?" He asks as he stands up. "Ar-are you sure? Most places don't let kids like me in..." "Don't worry about that. I'll make sure they let you in. What do you say?" Child Miles stands up and looks around before nodding. "Alright... so... hold my hand or..." "Why would I hold your hand?" "No reason. Your, what, eight. I just thought..." "I can take care of myself!" Miles defends as he starts to walk off. Susurrans looks a bit taken back but walks off anyway. We walk along with them for awhile, the entire time current Miles just looks lost in thought. We finally come to our destination, a long building filled with a singe row of red benches and people eating. Behind the row of benches is a long counter with bar stools placed periodically. Miles was a little hesitant to enter, but Susurrans just held the door open for him and waited. He ushers him to a booth and take the seat across from him as he takes his jacket off. On the sleeve of his tight black shirt is the Spartan logo. I can see the bottom of a Spartan logo tattooed just under his short sleeve... with Eremita written under it. I imagine it has a woman's name on the top. Everypony in the room is staring at Miles, making him shy away from the unwanted attention. "Uh... hun I'm going to have to ask you.." Starts a lady in a red and white striped dress, but stops when Susurrans starts talking. "I'll take the Calvatia with an immunity boost and... water. What about you Miles?" "Uh..." "He'll have the same." Susurrans says to the lady. "Sir, this is a restaurant. Not a charity house." "Then do your minimum wage job and get our food." He snaps back, getting her to walk off. He looks back to Miles and winks to him, getting a weak smile in response. "So... Miles. Uh... in case you didn't hear me before, I'm Susurrans Bellum." "You're with the military, right?" Before he could answer a ringing goes off. Susurrans pulls out his phone and looks at it, before he looks back to Miles. "I'm sorry, I have to take this. I'll be back... I... sorry.... Apricis now isn't a good time." He says into the phone as he walks out of the building. Miles just sits there, trying to avoid everypony's stares. The lady returns with two glasses of water and look around. "Hey, where did the jerk go?" "He went outside to talk on the phone.... c-can I still have the water?" He asks as he licks his lips. She looks at him for a bit before she sighs and sets the glasses down. Miles smiles as he goes to take a drink, but the lady quickly switches the glasses around. "Sorry, you don't want to drink from that one." She says before she walks back to the kitchen.Miles take the water and starts to down it quickly... he must of been really thirsty. "OK I'm back." Susurrans says as he takes a seat. He looks to Miles as he downs the water before he goes to take a drink... "Your with the Military?" Miles asks, stopping Susurrans from taking a drink. "Yes. Uh... I'm the Captain of the Spartan regiment..." "Who are they?" "We're... well, I'm sure you'll find out soon enough. But enough about me. I want to know more about you." "Really? Why?" "Well... I'm... uh.. I'm genuinely interested. Who are you? Where did you come from? Why is your hair so matted?" Before Miles could say anything the waitress came back with what looked like two green pancakes. She mumbles something before she walks away. "Well... I'm sure we can talk later. Lets eat." He says as he takes a fork and cuts a chunk for himself to eat. Miles tried to use the fork, only to adorably fail at it. He couldn't seem to grab it correctly. "Here, let me show you how to.." "I've got it." He says as he tries to cut a chunk, but can't seem to get it right. Giving up, he drops the fork and just picks it up with his hand to eat it. As he does, one of the elders at the counter coughs, getting Miles to look over to see them all glaring at him. As he cowers away from them Susurrans looks between them before he drops his fork and picks up the pancake and eats it with his hands. "What?" He asks with a mouthful. "Never see someone use their hands before?" They all shake their heads as they turns around, keeping quiet. Susurrans turns back to Miles to find him hanging his head as he tries to avoid everypony's gaze. "Hey, you alright?" "NO!" Miles yells. "Why did you bring me here!? I don't belong here! I'm an orphan scum, not some... I don't belong here." "I just.. I... I wanted to get some food in you..." Susurrans says as he sets down the food. "Look... this Is really confusing... but.. I... I just want to do right by you." He says as he sets his elbows on the table and holds his chin up, looking away. "*sigh* I guess this isn't the proper time then. Look, finish up and I'll take you back." Miles was about to take another bite... but he kept looking back to Susurrans. Just as he was about to take a drink he spoke up. "My hair is matted becuase the orphanage won't cut it." "Huh?" "The dean says that there isn't enough money in the program to cut it. I like the red pellets from that one store down the street. I don't like the night light they have in the boys room, its too bright, and um... I... uh... I once saw this guy doing art on the corner and he showed me some stuff, but then he got arrested." Susurrans stares at him for a second before he starts to laugh a bit. "Hey, it's not funny!" "No, absolutely not. *giggles* not funny at all." He says as he tries to hide his giggles, getting Miles to giggle as well. "Ok, maybe its a bit funny." He admits before they both start laughing. They spend the next hour just talking, laughing, eating, teaching Miles to use a fork. Amazingly, Susurrans hasn't touched the glass of water. Once the food was gone and the laughing stopped, or at least was stifled enough, it became quiet again. "Miles... I think its time I took you back." "I don't want to go back. I hate it back there." Miles says as he toys with his fork. "Don't worry. I won't let you stay there for long. But I have to take care of a few things first. Trust me, I'll be back to get you." Miles looks up at him and smiles at him. "Come on, lets go." He says as he picks up the bill THEY CHARGED TEN BITS FOR WATER! "What! How could they charge ten bits for water!" I yell as Susurrans pays. "Ten bits? That's pretty cheap." Miles says from behind. I gawk between the two as they leave the restaurant. Ten bits. Ten bits is cheap. That doesn't make any sense. I shake my head and walk after the two of them, dismissing it as a human thing. "When do you make the choice." Susurrans asks Miles as they walk back to the orphanage. "I dunno, I turn eight on the twenty ninth. But they usually take the kids away at the end of the next month." "Twenty ninth, you're a leap year baby... I don't believe it. Well... I'll see what I can do to get you out as soon as possible..." "Does... this mean you want to be my dad?" Susurrans stops in his tracks and looks over to Miles. He walks up to him and takes a knee as he puts his hands on his shoulders. "I.... it means that I already lost you once. And I'm not going to lose you again. Miles.... I'm so sorry... I should of been there for you.... I will do better. I promise. I won't allow anything to harm you again." "Why are you sorry I got beat up? It's not like you told him to do it?" Miles says innocently as Susurrans tries to hold back his tears. "No... I... I'm... I have to get going. I'll be back though. I promise. I... I have to get going." He says as he stands up and walks away. Miles watches him go for a bit before he sighs and enters the yard for the orphanage. "HEADS UP!" Some kid yells as a rock flies towards Miles. THWACK CRASH The moment the rock hit his head we were thrown out of the memory and out of his subconscious. I woke with him laying over me, and Easy standing over me. "GAH!" I yell as I jump back, making Miles fall over. "Don't scare me like that!" "Easy, what are you doing in here?" Miles asks as he gets up and starts to gather his clothes. "May I have your autograph?" He asks, making Miles sigh as he starts to get dressed. "Miles, are you going to be OK." "..." "Did he ever tell you?" "No. The sixteen years I knew him he never said a word about the first time we met..." "Or about being your father?" "... I don't believe that." "Miles, you're the spitting image of Susurrans. I can't believe I didn't see it before, though he was wearing a helmet in your picture..." "Luna... I, just don't..." "I mean, you have his eyes, body build...." "JUST STOP!" He yells, making me step back. He rubs his face a bit as he squats down. I walk up to him and nuzzle his hand a bit, getting him to look me in the eyes. I can see the hurt written on his face. I pull him in for a hug, getting him to hug me back. "Sorry, its just that... if I were to say he was my father, then I'd have to except that he just didn't want me as a son..." "No Miles, he loved you, so much. He put your life over my parents lives. He was always there to get you out of trouble. It must of been the most painful thing in his life to have seen you hurt in that alley. To know that you had lived and that he missed out on raising you. He wanted to say it... but he was to scared to." Miles holds me a bit tighter as tears fall onto my back. I just rub his back as hold him, its all I really can do right now... but it's just what he needs. Perspective: Miles Thirty Minutes later After I had cried all of my tears out I just held onto Luna for a bit longer. Susurrans was my father. I still find it hard to grasp. I wish I could go back and just talk to him. Even for a minute. But... that's just not possible. "Miles... we need to get back to Ponyville..." "I know." I say as I continue to hold her. "Can you at least loosen up, its starting to..." "Sorry." I say as I let go of her. She just smiles and gives me a kiss on the lips. "I'm going to get our stuff together, why don't you just get some fresh air." I nod to her and walk out of the store. This is too much. Susurrans being my father. Some mysterious woman talking to me and leading Susurrans to me. Being molested.... *shivers*. I want answers... but my answers died three thousand years ago. The message! Auxy left me a message, who's to say the others didn't? I need to get to Quartz Crest, I need to see if they left a message explaining this. Did they even know? There's only one way to find out, and I am going to find out. "Whoa, did you just have an epiphany or something?" Luna asks as she walks out, carrying both of our bags. "Kind of. I determined that my friends might have left more answers in messages from the past. Which means that I need to get to Quartz Crest as soon as possible." I say with renewed vigor. I take my bag from Luna and strap it to my back. She smiles and teleports us to our other equipment. "Then lets get back to Ponyville already." I smile to her as I grab all of my stuff and make my way to the bulkhead... which never shut. Once out we take the platform back to the entrance of the cave and teleport back to my house. I walk in and drop all of my stuff on the dinning room table, getting the attention of Lupus and Hati, who both make a be line for Luna and start loving on her. She pets them a bit but then pushes them aside to walk up to me. "Miles, I have to get back to Canterlot..." Before she could finish I ran up to her and wrapped her in a tight hug, kissing her as passionately as possible. She just melts in my arms as I hold her there, kissing her. "I love you." I say as I end our kiss. I put my hand in its spot and begin to rub her cheek as I stare into her eyes. "Ego amare magis." She says as she nuzzles the end of her nose against mine. "I love you most." I say as I kiss her again, this time more lightly. I break the kiss and begin to lead her upstairs. Nothing was said. Nothing was needed. I go to my bedroom door and open it... "GAAAAAAAAAAH!" Storm yells as he slams into a screaming Twilight and then passes out, collapsing on top of her. ... ... ... ... "Really? Did... did you just... in my bed?" "Miles.... I... it was Storms's idea." Twilight pants as she rolls over. "I think I'll just head home now... love you Miles." Luna says as she walk to my closet and heads inside. "Storm... STORM!" I yell, but he stays asleep. "He... will be out for... awhile." Twilight says as she starts to fall asleep. I just shut the door and go back down stairs. Fucking cock blocking asshole... weren't they suppose to be in Las Pegasis? Whatever. I'm getting some pancakes.
Chapter 104 Las PegasisChapter 104 Las Pegasis Perspective: Storm Three days Earlier (essentially after the wedding) After Luna had taken Miles home the party pretty much died off, so Twilight and I decided to go home. We spent the entire carriage ride back making out, not caring who saw. Once we made it back to the Library I paid the cab driver and chased Twilight inside. I run in and see her walking up the stairs, so I fly up and pick her up on the way. I set her on the bed and start to remove my jacket as she starts to remove her dress... "Hey guys." "Gah!" I yell as I fall off the bed. "That was some party huh? To bad Miles passed out. He must be allergic to strawberries or something." Spike says as he walks in and drops into his basket. I glance to Twilight then back to him... buck. We're going to have to wait. I finish removing my clothes and get under the sheets with Twilight. "Uh.... Storm." "Yeah Twilight." "You're poking me." "I know." Next Morning I wake up to the smell of pancakes and hay bacon. Oh that smells good right now. I look over to see Twilight still sleeping, mane a complete mess. I lean over and kiss her nose, getting her to slowly wake up. "Morning beautiful." I say as I kiss her nose again. "Did you sleep alright?" "Morning." She says with a yawn. "A little frustrated, but other then that I'm good. Is Spike making breakfast?" "Yeah. Want to go down and get some?" "Just five more minutes." She says as she scoots into my embrace and goes back to sleep. I stroke her mane as she holds herself against me. Frustrated... she must be in heat again... that's going to make this trip all the better. After five minutes of holding each other my stomach got the best of me and forced me out of bed. "Come on, lets get something to eat." "Carry me." She says as she reaches out to me. I laugh a bit as I pull her over and place her on my back, with her head by mine. As I walk to the kitchen Twilight nibbles on my ear as she whispers naughty things to me. I have to ignore her to keep myself under control, something extremely hard to do when the pony you're trying to ignore is right in your ear offering head. "Whats cooking?" I ask as I step into the kitchen. "Just some pancakes and hay bacon strips, nothing fancy." Spike says from the stove. "Great, cause I'm famished." Twilight says as she hops off my back and takes a seat. I go to the fridge and pull out the orange juice. knock knock knock "I wonder who that could be?" Twilight says as she goes to the door. "PRINCESS LUNA!" This is going to be interesting. "Please Twilight. I think were past the point of formalities. Just Luna will be fine. May I come inside?" "Of course.... just give me one second." "Wh-" SLAM! "SPIKE! STORM! WE NEED TO CLEAN THIS PLACE UP!" Twilight yells as she starts to run around the front room. "I'll handle this, can you make a plate for Luna?" I say as I set the orange juice down. "No problem." I nod to him and walk into the front room to see Twilight levitating every book to its correct space, though most of them were already there to begin with. I walk over to the door and open it to find a confused Luna standing there. "Hey Luna, hungry?" "Oh... uh..." "Come on in." I say as I step aside, letting her in. We watch Twilight for a second before I motion for her to just follow me to the kitchen. "Hello there Spike." She says as she takes a seat. "Morning Princess Luna." He says as he does a small bow. "Hope you like pancakes." "There the best." She says with a smile. "Sorry for suddenly appearing on your door step, but with Miles passed out.... I didn't really know what to do." "Your always welcomed here, so don't feel bad. Any word on whats wrong with him?" "He just has to sleep out the strawberries. Its amazing that he didn't run into them before..." "Yeah, especially with his luck." Spike says as he sets us each a plate of pancakes. "Thank you Spike." Luna says as she takes a whiff of the pancakes, savoring the smell. "I mean, for all the stuff he survives, he's pretty unlucky." "Yes, I know Spike." Luna says as she takes a fork and cuts a chunk out. "I'm just surprised nothing attacked us. Ever since he showed up its been like a weekly thing. Not that its his fault, but, still." "Uhuh." "Then there's..." "I think we get it Spike." I say, cutting him off. "But your forgetting how fortunate he is as well." "How is that?" Spike asks from the stove as he starts the next batch of pancakes. "Well, he made it here, I can tell that there was a lot more to the fight for Topaz..." "What do you mean?" Luna asks a she sets her food down." "Did you know he sleeps with a knife under his pillow?" "What? I've never seen a knife on his bed before." "That's becuase I removed it. I also don't think he'd put one there with you there. That fight must of been really troubling for him. But he survived it." "So... how does that make him fortunate?" "He beat those odds and made it here. He found the love of his life. He has friends that care deeply about him. Many aren't as fortunate to have those things." I say, getting a smile from Luna. "Yeah... well I still think a helmet would help out." "Probably." Luna says, getting us to giggle. "ARE YOU GUYS GOING TO HELP OR NOT?" Twilight yells as she runs into the kitchen. "P-P-Princess Luna?" She mutters as she drops to her haunches. "Hey babe, go ahead and eat up, I need to make sure we have everything for our trip." I say as I hop out of my seat and walk back outside, giving her a kiss on the cheek as I pass by. With everything needed secured tightly to the balloon I return to the kitchen to find Luna and Twilight talking... where did Spike go? "...simple as that. Do you want to borrow the book?" Twilight says to a deeply blushing Luna. "Well... I... if you don't..." "Oh, I've read it three times. Here, I'll go get it for you." She says as she runs into the Library and starts looking for a book. "Where's Spike?" I ask as I start eating. "Twilight sent him to go for a book." "What book?" "Um.... the uh... well..." "Here it is!" Twilight says as she drops a book onto the table. "The pony sutra.... why do..." "None of your business!" Luna snaps as she takes the book with her magic and starts to walk out of the Library. "Well thank you Twilight... I'm going to... go read up... so... yeah... BYE!" She teleports out of the library, leaving us all alone. "Well... mine now!" I say as I switch my empty plate for her half eaten plate. "I think we should get going now. If we want to get to our hotel on time." "But... food." Thirty Minutes Later Once we floated out of Ponyville we hit an eastern draft, so I had to get out and pull us on the correct path. After fighting with it for awhile we finally found a southern draft, so now I can get back to the basket. I set myself down right in the center as Twilight looks out at the horizon, hanging her forelegs over the edge. I give a little stretch before I walk up to her and position myself behind her. "Hey, whats on your mind?" I asks as I nuzzle her neck a bit. "Nothing, just excited to get there." She whispers back as leans into me, rubbing the side of her head against mine. "We have time, we should make up for last night." She tried to get out from under me, but I wouldn't move. I begin to grind into her as I nibble on her neck, getting soft gasps from her. Once I'm out enough I move back a bit and begin to slide into her, both of us grunting from the sudden sensation. Its been awhile since we've done this, since before Spartan training actually. Not to mention this would only be the second time we've done it without a condom. "Storm... focus." Twilight says as she grinds her hips into me. "Sorry." I say as I finish entering. I hold it there for a second, relishing in the feeling, before I begin to pull back out. Before I exit I push back into her, getting soft moans as my reward. I do a few more moves like this until I begin a continuous thrust. I wrap my fore legs around her waist for better leverage as I thrust into her, moans turning to loud pants. Without warning, Twilight pushes back on the basket, sending me to my back with her on top. I tried to grab her, but she held me down with her magic as she stood up, the cold air stinging against me. With an evil smile she rub the tip against her entrance, teasing me with her warmth. I tried to thrust in, but she just lift out of the way. "Whats the magic word?" "Frost bite sucks?" "It will if you don't guess it." "Please?" "What was that?" "*sigh* you know what?" I say with an evil smile. "I think I just lost the moment." "Yeah, nice try. You losing interest in sex is like me losing interest in reading,its not going to happen." She says as she rubs herself some more. "Now what was that magic word?" "*sigh* please." "Please what?" You've got to be kidding me. "May I please put it back in you?" "Mmm... no." She says as she positions herself over me. "But I can do it for you." She drops back onto me, getting us both to sigh in relief as she begins to bounce up and down. She leans forward and begins to run her hooves down my body as she continues to grind into me. She seems to really like my abs. I feel her magic let go of me, so I throw my hooves around her as I roll over. I begin slamming into her as I feel myself getting close, I can feel her getting close as well. I guess its a race then. "Twilight..." "I know, I know I....I..." She pants as she latches onto me and lets out a small scream, spraying her juices onto me as she hits her climax. Feeling her cum was the final straw that sent me over the edge. I let out a loud gasp as I pump into her, being sure to get all of it inside as I convulse from the pleasure. THUD When I regain consciousnesses I find myself laying in the basket with Twilight in my hooves, best way to wake up. I nuzzle the back of her neck a bit as she yawns. "Hey, you up." "Yeah." "Now whats really on your mind?" "*sigh* is it that obvious?" "No. But I know you well enough to know somethings bothering you. We are married, remember." I say as Twilight twist around to face me. "Well... its just... do you think I would be a good mother?" Her question catches me a bit off guard. Is she really doubting herself? Where did this come from? "Of course you would, why would you doubt yourself like this? If anything we should worry about me. I can't even hold a baby without them fighting me the entire time." "Hm." "Look, I've already seen you with kids. You're great. I know you'll be a great mother. And if you ever feel like you're slipping, I'll be there to help you back up." I lean in and give her a quick kiss on the nose before I pull her in for a hug. I know she's just scared. Once we have that bouncing bundle of joy, she'll come around. We spend the next few hours in silence, embracing each other as we silently convey our love. A few times I had to get out and guide the balloon, but as soon as we were on track I would go straight back to her side. I could see our destination up ahead, Las Pegasis. There are actually two parts to it, the cloud city, and the ground transport underneath. Some unicorns got together and decided to make a business giving earth bound ponies a spell that would allow them to walk on clouds. They would then ferry them to Las Pegasis, to whatever hotel they were hired under. Luckily Twilight already knew the spell, but they don't allow any transporters to land in Las Pegasis, so we'll have to land down there. "You ready for this?" I ask as she begins our decent. "Yes. I know I was a little... emotional, back there, but I will be fine. Lets just go and have some fun." We make a small thud as we land in the air port. Several of the workers quickly tie down our balloon and begin to remove our bags. "Hello sir." Says one of the workers, a beige earth pony with orange hair and a white shirt on. "What hotel will you be staying at?" "We'll be at the Illusion Hotel and casino." I say as I help Twilight out of the basket and grab our saddle bags. "When will the next ferry leave?" "In about an hour. The cloud walking mages offices are located in the lobby of the air port. If you wish to grab a bit to eat there are some shops and stalls in the lobby as well. Here's your ticket for your luggage, have a nice stay in the wonderful Las Pegasis." I take the ticket and escort Twilight to the main lobby. "Aw buck! What is that? Is... is that what I think it is?" One of the workers yell from behind. Twilight and I just giggle as we enter the lobby. The inside of the lobby is a mass of ponies lining up to either get the spell or to buy tickets. Foals run around, screaming in pure bliss as the adults just stand in their line, aggravated, and unamused. Twilight and I glance to each other before we begin to push our way through the crowd. Luckily for us I was able to buy all of our tickets before hoof, so we wont have to wait in any of these lines. "GAH!" I yell as something grabs my flank. Some giggle sound off from behind as the culprits run away. "Can we go somewhere else while we wait... my flank isn't safe here." "Alright, lets go get something to eat." Twilight says as she leads us through of the fray. *PINCH* *SQUEEZE* *SLAP* "ALRIGHT ALREADY!" I yell as we finally make it out of the lobby. I pant a bit as Twilight just shakes her head at me. "What?" "Why do you have to be so sexy?" Before I could answer she turns and walks out to the small town. I groan a bit as I follow after her. Its not my fault! Why can't mares just control themselves around me. Baja Pegasis isn't really much to look at. The closer the building are to the lobby, the nicer they are... but even the worse of Ponyville is still better then here. The buildings are poorly put together, the dirt road is full of pot holes, there's an odd smell about the area, and I can see several gang hang outs throughout the streets. "Maybe we should head..." "Look! Tacos!" I say as I see a cart vendor up ahead. I fly up to the donkey running the cart and order some hay tacos for the two of us. "Storm." Twilight whispers into my ears. "This place doesn't look very sanitary." I look over the cart and can't really see anything wrong with it. "I don..." "OY. Pretty colt. You lost?" I turn around to see three ponies behind us,two of them holding knives while the center one has a sheathed sword. The center one is an all black unicorn with a cutie mark of a snake. The one to the left is an orange earth stallion with yellow hair and a cutie mark of a bloody knife. The one to the right is a light green pegasis mare with dark green hair and a cutie mark of an open purse. "No, we were just leaving." Twilight says as she hides behind me. "Hay boss, she's cute." Says the orange stallion. "Mmm, I think I like the stallion." Says the green mare. "Look here.. uh... whatever your name is, my wife and I don't want any trouble. Why don't you go back from where ever you came from and leave us be." I say as the unicorn gets in my face. "Make me." "OK." I quickly jab at his neck, dropping him to the ground as he gasps for air. "I suggest you two take your friend here and go rethink your lives." They look down at their friend then back to me before nodding and dragging him away. "Y-your tacos sir." The donkey says shakily as she holds up our food. "Awesome." I say as I take one and take a.."AH sick!" I spit out the burnt hay and try to wipe the horrid taste from my tongue. "How do you burn tacos!?" "Storm, can we go now?" Twilight asks. "*sigh* alright. You, shame." I say as I point to the donkey, Twilight pulling me towards the lobby. We end up just waiting around the entrance to the ferry, talking idly about various things. Gangs. Fighting. Burnt tacos. I can see a bunch of mares staring at me, so I wrap a wing around Twilight and hold her hoof, getting most to stop. When the ferry finally made it back on we quickly got on and took our seats. The ferry was just a large flat cloud with rows of benches. Pegasis would push it up or down to bring ponies to or from Las Pegasis. The ride there was fairly... strenuous. There was some kid behind me screaming and kicking and some really fat guy directly next to me. Twilight had a better trip then I did. Apparently the mare next to her went to school with her back in the day, so they spent the entire trip talking about what they've been up to. "We've now arrived at Las Pegasis." Says the pegasis flight attendant, FINALLY! "It was good to see you Colgate." Twilight says as she hugs her friend good bye. "You to Twilight, and congratulations!" She says as we walk off the cloud elevator. We stepped through a small lobby before entering the strip. Tall buildings lined the street ahead of us, blocking most of the sky. Lights shown from everywhere as pegasis flew from building to building. Different buildings had different color schemes to the clouds, some being mono toned while others seemed to be standing rainbows. Twilight and I quickly grab our bags and run down to the street to catch a cab. "Where to?" The driver asks as we set our stuff in the carriage. "The Illusion hotel." I say as we take a seat. He nods and begins to pull us through the main street. Our heads were on a swivel as we looked from one sight to another. Acrobatics, pirate shows, aerial teams, street vendors, all fighting to grab your attention. "Illusion hotel, that'll be five bits." The driver says as we pull up to our hotel. It's shaped like a shoe with rainbow water falls coming off the ends, pooling up into little ponds that snake around a bit until they fall to the ground. I pay the driver and escort Twilight up the steps to the front door. "Welcome to the Illusion hotel." Some mares in corsets and feathered hats says as they open the doors for us. The sight was overwhelming at first. Ponies, lights, screams, show mares, all of it assaulting my senses as we stand there for a second. We glance to each other before we trot inside, looking around at the blur of the ca-motion. We somehow make it to the front desk and get our room keys. After waiting for the elevator and exploring the random hallways we finally found our suite. "Wow... this is really nice." I say as we walk through the door. Our room is fairly large. Having a bed for two and the restroom to the right, and a living room and a kitchen to the left. A large window takes up a wall, giving us an amazing view of the strip. I drop our bags by the bed and walk around the room, inspecting everything with slight interest. "Well... what should we do first?" Twilight asks as she watches the sun set. "We could go to the casino, the pool, walk the strip..." "It's getting pretty late, I think we should go to bed." She says as she heads towards the bed. "But we just got here. How could you want to go to..." As she makes her way to the bed she swishes her tail from side to side, flashing me her... FWOOSH "Going to bed sounds awesome right now." I say as I run over to her as she gets under the sheets. I quickly get under the sheets with her and get on top of her, kissing her passionately as we toss from side to side. "So, what position should we do this time?" She asks as I nibble on her neck. I pause to think about it when she gets in my ear. "Cause I wanted to try the inverted sloth." "Really? I was thinking the bear trap." "How about the crab cruncher?" "Ninety six..." "Butter churner..." "The inverted tornado..." "The screaming dragon..." "Anal?" She gives me a stern look, "...lets just buck." I say, getting a nod in response. "Wait wait wait." Twilight says before we start. She reaches down and feels my erect member and pouts a bit. "What?" "I... sorta got you something, but its too late to use it right now." She says with a blush. "What is it?" "A ring." "A... ring... do I really need it?" "Well, no. But it would be nice if I wasn't the one waking up first every time." I shrug and return to kissing her. I grab a hold of her thigh as I drop into her, getting her to wrap her forelegs around my neck as I begin to thrust into her. Twilight uses her magic to pull the sheets over us, quickly filling the area with our passion as I let go of her thigh and begin to stroke her horn. She gives a little shiver before she reaches behind me and starts twisting my wing joints, sending chills that run through my entire body. I start to let up on the thrusting and begin to really work her horn, making her squint from the sudden increase. She tries to retaliate, but when I reach up and start licking her horn, she loses all control. I pull her closer and begin to suck on her horn as I continue to to thrust into her. I can feel her getting close, both below and up top, so I begin to pick up pace. As I begin to slam into her, she tries to say something, but I only made out incoherent babbles as she hits her climax, hard. As she sprays out onto my cock I let go of her horn and let the sparks fly out. I tried to pull out, but she seemed to be clamped onto me, so I just kept going. "Oh... my... St.... orm..." she mutters as her tongue rolls out of the side of her mouth. I stop and try to pull out, finding it hard at first but finally succeed. "Woo...*pant*... I've never got you to come so quickly.... you alive?" "Awmaluve." She mumbles as she pants there. "So..." "No Storm." She says with total ease. Damn. I get out of bed and walk over to the kitchen, finding awkward to walk fully erect. I get a glass of water and drink it quickly before returning back to her. "You ready for more?" "Ithuiumoar..." "I'll take that as a yes." I say as I pull her to the edge of the bed and roll her so she's on her stomach with her back legs on the floor. I can take a look into her love to see the stretched remnants of my work. I reach up and rub her a bit, getting her to moan. After playing with her for a bit I line myself back up and push back in, making her pull the blankets towards her as she buries her face. Once I fill her up I get to work, swinging my hips back and forth. I can hear her muffled screams as I begin to gyrate my hips around in motion to the my pushes and pulls. "MMMMMM!" Twilight screams in to the blankets as she hits her second orgasm. I bury my face into her neck as I near my climax. I keep pumping her as I try to hold back the flood gates, but I can feel myself slipping. "GAAAAAH!" I yell as I burst out into her, slamming as hard as possible as I shoot my load deep within her. "Aaaahh..." THUD ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Twilight I squint my eyes a bit as a light wakes me from my sleep. With a groan I roll over and bury my face in Storms chest. Last night was amazing.... though my legs still feel numb. Storm lets out a sigh as he wraps his fore legs around me, lightly pulling me into his embrace. "Mmm... Twilight?" "Morning stud." "Hey... what time is it?" "Its morning... not sure what time exactly." I say as I pull myself up to be eye level with him. "How you feel?" "Awesome." He says with a goofy smile. "How're you?" "Little numb, but.. awesome." I say before I nuzzle my nose against his. We spend awhile hugging and nuzzling each other before nature gets the better of us. After we freshen up we decide to go get brunch at the hotels restaurant. Once we get a booth, after a half hour wait, and go to get food. It's a buffet... I'm going to have to make sure Storm doesn't over do it. After going around the counters and getting all of our food; I had to stop Storm from making a mountain of food, we finally sit down to eat. "Try to take it easy Storm." I say as he buries his face in his food and devours it. *Nom nom nom* "*sigh* I'm putting you on a diet when you go on maternity leave." I say, making him stop and look at me as if I'd threatened to cut his stallionhood off. We finish eating, I let him get another plate before we finish eating and begin to explore the casino. "What do you want to play?" Storm asks as we walk about the various games. "Hmm... well, I've been reading up on blackjack, I'll think I'll give that one a try." "Heh, alright." He says as he offers me A LOT of bits. "Storm! Wh- that's a..." "I know. Go ahead." "But but but..." "It's fine, lets go." He says as he walks towards the blackjack tables. I shake my head and follow after him. I'm not sure if I'm completely comfortable with using this much money... then again, this is very little compared to what he has. We make it to a table where Storm pulls out a seat for me. "Aren't you going to play?" I ask as I take the seat. "Naw. I'll let you take this one. I'll get the next one. Think of me as your cheering section." He says as he pushes in the chair. "How much will you be playing with today?" The dealer asks. I set down the ten platinum bits and get a resounding ooo's and ah's from the ponies around me, making me blush slightly. "Ten thousand it is then." He says as three other ponies take seats at my table. The first one is a light blue mare with a blonde mane and tail, and a cutie mark of a black shoe. The next one is a stallion with a light tan coat with, brown hair, a cutie mark of a cow bell and a ten gallon hat. The last one is an earth pony with a silver body and white hair. Her mark seems to be a strand of purple flowers, gladiolus I think. "Hello there Storm Cloud. It's good to see you again." She says as she pulls out sixteen thousand bits from her purse. "Hello Gladous." Storm says bitterly. "Uh... you two know each other?" I ask as the other ponies start to pull out their bits. A total of seventy thousand bits ends up on the table, making me gulp at the sight. "Yeah... we met on the train coming back from Pomexico." Storm informs me as the dealer shuffles the deck of cards and deals. "Uhuh." I mutter as I start doing the math in my head and glance at my cards. An eight and a five. After Gladous took a single hit I took one as well. Seven. Hmm... so, eleven out of the deck......"Hit me." "Very well." The dealer says as he flips the next card, an ace. "I'll stay." I say, passing priority to the mare. After everypony takes their cards we begin betting. "As I recall, you and your sexy friends hopped the train. Though we did have quit the conversation." Gladous says as she places her bet. It's considerably large and she seems to be fairly relaxed.... it's a bluff. "Hopping a train? Now why would you need to do that?" I ask as I meet her bet and raise it. "Hey, what happens in Pomexico, stays in Pomexico." The mare says as she matches my bet. "Too hot for my blood." The stallion says as he folds, losing his ante. "Oh it was something about a drunken escapade that made his friends end up in southern Pomexico." She says as she matches the bet. "Uh... could we talk about something else?" Storm asks from behind. "Whats the matter big boy? Afraid to talk about something that happened there?" The mare says as she shows her cards, eighteen. "Uh..." "You're quit the lucky mare..." "Twilight." "Right, Twilight. With a sheath that big you must be very... satisfied." Gladous says as she reveals her cards, twenty. I glance back to Storm to see him trying to hide his sheath with his hooves, blushing like crazy. "I am." I say as I reveal my cards, getting claps from all around. The dealer shows their cards to reveal that they had twenty. "You win miss." He says as he pays out. "Well, at least this is going to be interesting." Gladous says as we start the next game. "I hope so." I say as I start doing the math in my head. "I hope not." Storm mutters from behind. Three Hours Later "Well it was fun playing with you Gladous." I say as I collect my winnings into my saddle, sixty thousand bits. "Likewise. Though I have a feeling that the game was.... geared towards you." She says as we walk through the tables. "Well.. I think it was my lucky charm." I say as I look over to Storm and kiss his cheek. He was a trooper for being there for all of our awkward conversations. I think I'll give him a special surprise later for that. "Well, I'll let you two be now. It was good meeting you." "Likewise. Be sure to look us up if you're ever in Ponyville." "I'll do that." Gladous says before finally leaving the two of us. Storm sighs in relief as he wrap a wing around me. "I honestly never thought she would leave..." "I liked her." I say as we weave through the crowded tables. "Twilight... were you counting cards?" Storm asks in a whisper. "Maybe." "*sigh* winning is good and all, but you're taking all of the fun out of the game... here, let me show you what I mean." He says as he pulls me through the tables. We end up at the roulette tables where Storm asks for all of the money I had won. I give him a skeptical look before I levitate him my saddle bag. "Storm, it's statistically impossible to know the odds of this game..." "Hey, never tell me the odds. ALL ON BLACK!" Storm says as he sets my bag on the black square. "STORM! You only have a fifty percent chance of winning that!" I look around and get in his ear. "Plus they usually cheat on this one." "Are you sure sir?" The dealer asks as she gets ready to spin the ball. "Go for it." Storm says with a look of determination. I begin to shake as the ball spins round and round. This wont work! It can't work! The house will use a magnification spell to make it land on red and... "Zero black." "WHAT!?" I say as I knock Storm over and look at the spinner. Its zero black. "OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH!" I yell as I pick Storm up and jump up and down. "Here are your bits sir." The dealer says as she doubles our bits. I drop Storm and quickly collect our bits into my bag. "So... what now?" Storm asks as he gets back up. "Well... lets go check out the other tables. Maybe we'll get lucky again." He nods and looks around before walking off in some random direction. As we walk I rub up against him and nuzzle his neck a bit, getting him to giggle from the random affection. "Why so frisky all of the sudden?" He asks as he nuzzles me back. "Oh, just..." "In heat?" "What? No, why would you ok yes. But, its our honeymoon. Aren't I allowed to be frisky?" I ask as Storm takes a look at the poker tables. "Actually, I've got to use the little fillies room, go ahead and play a bit." He looks between the tables and me before giving me a kiss and heading to the closest poker table. I make my way to the restrooms and find the first open stall. Once inside I close my eyes and focus on the spell I recently learned. I take a peep to see bright white tendrils sprout from my horn and begin to wrap around me. With a bright flash the spell ends and I stammer to the side from my exhaustion. I take a few breaths before I shake my head and leave the stall, taking a look at myself in the mirror. "Perfect." I say before I leave the restroom. I sneak my way out of the restroom and head towards the table I left Storm at. On my way there I pick up a beer from a random waitress and napkin. When I get to his table I crawl underneath and wait beside him as I write a note on the napkin. Once done, I levitate the drink and napkin and set them on the table in front of him. As I wait for him to read the note I scoot closes and wait beside his sheath. "What the?" He mumbles as he leans forward to take the drink. After a few gulps I hear him set the drink back down and continue to play. Oh come on, I'm trying to be sexy here! He goes for another drink but stops after the first gulp. "Whats this... hurry and finish your game, Twilight...." Once he finished reading my note I take that as my que and give his sheath a long lick up, making him almost jump out of his seat. "Are you OK sir?" The dealer asks as Storms looks under the table. Not being able to see anything he goes back up top. "Yeah... I guESS!" He yells as I give him another lick, this time going down. I come to his sack and begin to give them little nibbles with my lips. He reaches down and pulls my face away from him, so I start kissing and sucking his hoof. "Sir?" "Sorry, I have to leave now... uh.... something... came up." I'll say. I push his hoof out of the way and begin licking his member as it starts to poke out of his sheath. "Alright, here are you winnings...." "Thanks bye!" Storm says as he shoves his bits into his bag and runs for the elevator. I quickly run after him and laugh at all of the ponies staring at him. He gets to the door and pushes the button.... then begins pushing it like crazy. I get on my back and position myself under his back legs. I reach up and start pawing at his member, helping it grow larger faster. About half way out I lift myself up with my elbows and start kissing the tip, getting him to press the button faster. *DING* "FINALLY!" Storm yells as he jumps into the elevator. I roll over and walk into the elevator as the doors shut behind me. Storm goes straight over to the back left corner and sits with his back in the corner, panting lightly. "You better be Twilight." "I might be, I might not." I say as I try to get into his bags. "GOTCHA!" He yells as he grabs my flank, making me eep. He quickly pulls me over and starts giving me oral. I try to reach for the bag, but whenever I would get close to it he would pull me back and eat me out, with more vigor. "Storm... ah... let me get... the ring..." *DING* We both look over to see that we're only half way to our floor as the door starts to open up. In a panic Storm lets go of me and lays down, trying to hide his growing erection. "Mom mom! Ca-can we get pizza?" A little orange pegasis colt asks he and a light blue pegasis mare walk into the room. "We'll see." She says as she eyes Storm. Storm just smiles awkwardly as he continues to try to hide himself. "Why are you laying down mister?" The colt asks Storm. "Uh... just tired... I guess." He says as the colt steps closer. "Why are your wings up?" "They.... do that some times..." "Why are you sweating... around your mouth?" Storm quickly wipes the liquid around his muzzle away. "I... drank a lot of water..." "Why?" "I was... working out..." "Why?" "To stay strong..." "Wh..." "I think you've asked enough." The mare says as she pulls the colt back to her. The colt starts whispering questions to the mare as she tries to distance themselves from us... or Storm at least. With the mare distracting the colt, and my being invisible, I go and do something I've been wanting to do for a long time. I walk over to his flank and, with both hooves, grab his flanks. "AH!" Storm gasps as I cores his back side, squeezing his muscles to my hearts content. "Whats wrong mister?" The colt asks as Storm starts to sweat. "Uh.... my imaginary friend... surprised me." "Well tell your imaginary marefriend that there are foals in the elevator." The mare says, getting me to stop. How does she know I'm here... given Storm kind of gave it away. "Aw ma, I'm a stallion." The colt pouts. I get off Storm and sit in front of him for a few floors before I get bored. One of his hooves are stretched out, so I decide to grab it and hold onto it. He smiles to me... or at least to my general direction. I pull his leg closer to and let him feel up my breast, making his smile drop as he begins to squeeze and rub me. *DING* "YAY! PIZZA!" The colt yells as he runs out of the elevator. "Pig." The mare says before walking after her colt. "Oh my god lets never do that again." Storm says as he rolls onto his back. I giggle a bit at the sight. "I'm actually impressed that after all of that you're still soft." I say as I poke his still flaccid member. "Hey, there was a kid in the room." "Do you just not find my breast attractive?" I ask in a pouty voice. "What? No. I mean yes... I mean..." *DING* "Well you can make up for that when we get back to our room." I say as I walk out to the hallway. Storm peeks out and, after seeing the coast is clear, runs down the hall to our room. As he struggles to get our key out I decide to be naughty. I jump up and mount him as I throw my hooves around and begin working his member with both hooves. As I get to work hardening him, Storm just fumbles with the key, trying to open the door. As it gets harder it becomes too long to go from top to bottom, so I stop and reach for the ring in the bag, getting it when Storm finally opens the room. "Bed. Rut. GO." Storm says as he runs straight for the bed, coming to a halt just before it. When he ran off I had thrown my forelegs around him and held on, but when he stopped I flipped over him and landed onto the bed. I roll over as he tries to find me and quickly put the ring onto him. "Hows that?" I ask as I back away from him. "A little uncomfortable, but I'll manage. Now where are you?" "Right here." I say as I try to push him onto the bed, but he doesn't budge. Instead he grabs me and tosses me onto my back. He quickly grabs onto my shoulders and slams into me, filling me to the brim. I gasp as he starts to thrust his hips back and forth, rutting me like a sex starved beast. I grab onto him as he has his way with me, making my nerves feel as if they're on fire from the friction below. I can feel myself getting closer and closer as he continues to bash me with his massive member, so I tighten my grip on him an try to hold out for as long as possible. "GRAAH!" I scream out as I burst out, only to make him thrust harder and harder. I try to ask him to let up for a bit, but I can't find my voice. Instead I just go limp as he continues to ravage me, pumping me with all his might. I can't even feel him below any more. Now it feels as if my entire body has gone into some ecstasy filled zen, being fueled by our passion. I take a look down to see that my spell doesn't cover everything. I can still see Storms member. It looks like something is squeezing it as they soak it in clear liquid. Out of no where, Storm pulls out and takes a few steps back, panting deeply. I try to ask him whats wrong, but I can't find my voice. Instead I sweat and pant as I close my eyes and try to recover. I suddenly feel my self roll over as Storm positions my back legs up. He straddles himself to me as he resumes thrashing me with his member, making his thrust much easier to make in this position. Again, the feeling is gone, replaced with our passion and craving. My pants become screams as I hit my second orgasm, having no energy to hold it back at all. "Twi... Twi..." Storm mutters as I continue to spray out onto him. I try to respond, but no matter how hard I try, my voice is lost to the moment. With one final, powerful, thrust Storm stops slamming into me and fills me with his seed. He holds that position for a few seconds before he pulls out and starts to crawl onto the bed. I fall to the side and pant as my body tingles. I feel something pull me up. In a blink I'm face to face with Storm, our breathes mixing in the air before us as we gaze into each others eyes. "I love you." I mutter, finally able to speak. "I love you." He replies as his eyes start to close. Sleep.... that sounds good... I need to... remember... to write.... the Princess... ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Storm I awake to something tickling my nose. When i open my eyes I find my face in Twilight's mane, which is a complete mess. Hey, I can see her. That's good. I stroke her mane a couple of times until I realize she's still asleep. Whoa... the ring worked... the ring.... I never took it off. I reach down and try to remove it from my sheath, succeeding after a few awkward moments of fiddling around. Setting it aside, I feel nature make its call, so i get out of bed to use the restroom. After taking care of business I go and wash my hooves. Parenthood. I don't know quit how to feel about it yet. I know I'll love the foal no matter what, I'm just worried about everything else. Would I be a good dad? Will it like me? What would I do if something went wrong during birth? Could I do this without Twilight... They shall all die. I snap my head and look to see the green.... thing in the mirror again. I stare at it for a bit until I close my eyes and shake my head. I must of hit my head or something... You can't protect them... "SHUT UP!" I yell as I punch the mirror, sending webs of cracks throughout it. In each chunk I can see the green creature, laughing at me. I cover my ears with my hooves and drop to the ground as the laughing fills my hearing. ENOUGH! A new voice yells, silencing the other one. Interfere again, and I'll kill you. I get up and look around, silence filling the room. I take a few breathes before I head back to bed. Next chance I get, I'm bringing this up with Twilight and Miles. I crawl back into bed and wrap my legs around Twilight, still shaken from what just happened. "Mmm..." Twilight mumbles as she rolls over and buries her face in my chest. I stroke her mane a couple of time, helping her wake up faster. "Morning." "Hey, how'd you sleep?" "Great. Last night was amazing." She says as she nuzzles me a bit. "Yeah..." "I told you that ring would work." "Uhuh." "Storm?" She says as she gets eye level with me. "Is everything alright?" She asks as she strokes my mane. "Well... no." I say, getting serious. "I was in the restroom... and something appeared in the mirror. I think it was one of those centaurs that Miles told us about." "Storm... what did it do? Did it talk?" "Yeah... but I don't want to repeat what it said..." "That's alright... should we head home early?" "Well... I don't want to ruin our trip..." "Storm, this is serious. We need to get this figured out right away. Lets get some food and head back as quickly as possible." She says as she gets out of bed and starts to collect our belongings. I sigh before getting out and helping her. Once we get everything I carry them to the elevator and bring them to the front desk. We have a bag pony take them to the ferries and set them for the next one. With forty minutes to spare, we head to the buffet and get some food. Though I got a plate, I didn't eat. I didn't feel like it. Twilight noticed, but didn't say anything. I feel bad for ending our vacation early, but Twilight was right. We need to get this figured out. "Storm... what did it say?" Twilight asks as she sets her fork down. I look away from her as I think about it. "Storm... please." "It said... that I couldn't protect them.... that they'll all die." Twilight falls silent as she thinks about what I said. I just continue looking away from her, not wanting to... "And that's whats bothering you?" She says in disbelief. I look over to her and stare at her in astonishment. "Storm... when are you going to learn." "What do you mean?" "You don't lose. Call it blind luck or fate or whatever you may, you don't lose. Breaker couldn't stop you. Miles couldn't stop you during training. And I know this... thing wont stop you. You're strong. You beat ponies up in a single punch, this guy... he doesn't stand a chance. That's why he's resorting to creepy messages. To mess with your mind. He can't beat you in a straight fight so he's trying to level the playing field. Don't let him. You can beat him. I know you can." "Twilight..." I mutter as I think about what she said. "I love you." She continues. "You don't ever give up. You're persistent in everything. You only give up on things when you decide that they aren't worth chasing anymore. Its something I love and admire about you. You can beat this, just don't give up yet." I stare at her for a few seconds before a smile creeps onto my face. "Alright. I wont give up then." I say as I take a bite of food, getting her to smile. After eating, three plates, we head to the front desk and pay for the damages. We spent the entire trip back to Ponyville in each other embrace, silently loving each other. Occasionally I would have to pull our balloon onto the right course, but other then that I never left Twilight's side. When Ponyville came in sight I started to rub Twilight's belly. "You know, I had a thought earlier." "And whats that?" "You were scared about being a mother, and to be honest I was a little scared of being a father myself, but not anymore. Want to know why?" "Why?" She asks as she holds onto my leg, pressing me against her tummy. "Becuase I get to raise it with you. No matter what happens, I'll have you by my side." She looks to me for a second before we share a kiss. After our touching moment we landed behind the library. It was good to see Spike again, the little guy came running out to greet the both of us. Once we got everything inside we headed over to Miles, doping Spike off at Rarity's. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK We hear foot steps inside of Miles place, but none of them seem to be Miles's. "He must still be at Topaz Falls." Twilight says as I look through the window. "He could be asleep." I say as I walk around the house to find the hallway window open. "Lets check it out." "I don't know Storm... what if he's... you know. Busy. I don't think I would ever be able to see Princess Luna the same again." Twilight says as she walks over and looks at the window. "It's not that bad." I say, getting a shocked look from Twilight. "I mean... uh..." "Lets just get this over with." I flap my wings and fly up to make sure there's nothing going on. With the coast clear, I go back down and pick Twilight up. Once inside I go to his bedroom door and knock. ... ... "I guess he isn't here." I say as I open the door. "BARK BARK BARK!" I jump back as Lupus and some other wolf run out of the room and head downstairs. I glance over to Twilight before I look inside. "Well... its empty now." I say as I push the door open and walk inside. "He isn't here, lets just head back." Twilight says as she follows me inside, glancing around as if something is watching us. I jump onto Miles's bed and give it a feel. "Wow... his bed is comfy. Come feel this." "I'm not getting on there! Who knows whats happened in there." "I do, and its nothing worse then what we do in our bed." I say as I hop on the bed. "Storm..." "We should buck here!" I say as I continue to hop on the bed. "Storm! Focus! Some creepy creature is threatening your life STORM! STOOOORM!" She yells as I fly over to her and pick her up. I drop her onto the bed and give her a kiss before she pushes me off. "STORM I SAID oh wow this is comfy." "Right." I say as I begin to plant kisses on her neck, working my way down. "Storm...." She says as she wiggles from my kisses, working my way down her chest. "Oh... fine, but you better be quick." "You want me to be quick?" I ask as I kiss her belly button. "Just this once." She says as she starts to play with my mane. I get down to her breast and start to lick and nibble on her nipples, getting them to stand. Once I've played with them enough I get an idea in my head. "So... can I get some head again?" I ask as I sit back. She thinks about it for a second before she shrugs and lays before me. I sit back more as I spread my legs and let her get to work. She starts by kissing my sheath, slipping her tongue in and out. I sigh as I start to tussle her mane, enjoying both the view and the feeling. She stops her oral assault and works me with a hoof until I reach my peak. She stops working me and gives me a long lick up my shaft, ending it with a kiss on my head. I hold my breath as she takes the head into her mouth and starts to swirl her tongue around. As she starts to bob her head up and down I set a hoof on the back of her head and relish in the pleasure. She wanted it quick, so I focus on the touches and sensations below. "Hows that?" Twilight asks as she lets go on me and catches her breath. "Amazing." I say as I rub her leg. She reaches up and gives me a kiss before turning around and presenting me her plot. "My turn." I laugh as I get up and gently enter her, heart racing. I start slow this time, trying to get a true feeling for it this time. "A little faster." Twilight asks, getting me to pick up the pace. She reaches back and holds my hoof as I continue to push faster. By the time I hit my fastest speed Twilight's already moaning loudly. I guess from all the stuff we did the past few days has made her... more vulnerable. As I begin to reach my peak, her moans turn to screams. I guess she isn't holding back like usual. "GAAAAAAAAAAH!" I yell as I climax. I hold it there for a second before I fall on top of her and start to fade out. ... ... ... ... "Really? Did... did you just... in my bed?" Miles asks from behind. Heh, surprise. "Miles.... I... it was Storms's idea." Twilight pants as she rolls over. "I think I'll just head home now... love you Miles." Luna says as she walks to closet and heads inside. "Storm... STORM!" Miles yells, but I just pretend to be asleep. "He... will be out for... awhile." Twilight says as she starts to fall asleep. He just leaves the room and heads down stairs. "Should... we head... home?" "I guess... he'll be here anyway..." I say as I hold onto Twilight. She charges her horn and we flash into our bed back at the library. I fall asleep almost immediately, holding Twilight in my hooves. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. "STORM! STORM!" Twilight yells as she shakes me awake. "Hey... what..." "You need to go to the restroom! Get your sword and go right now! Get up get up get up you need to go right now! STORM, GO TO THE RESTROOM RIGHT NOW!" She yells in a panic as she continues to shake me. She looks completely terrified, as if her worst nightmare has come true. "Twilight, whats going on?" I ask as I get out of bed, waking completely up as I grasp her fear. "Breaker is in the restroom!" A/N: Shout out to Moonlighteternal for picking the color Storm would bet on, the winning color was decided by a coin flip. Brony on!
Chapter 105 My BrotherChapter 105 My Brother "Wh-what did you say?" "Storm Breaker is in the bathroom." Twilight says as she pushes me towards the room. "Bu-but I snapped his neck... he can't be alive..." Twilight pushes me to the door and runs back, hiding behind the bed as she watches me. I take a deep breath as I push the door open slowly. The floor is littered with broken glass. The window in the back has been smashed in, but there seems to be extra glass. The medicine cabinet has been opened, most of the contents spread across the floor. There, sitting in the corner, is Storm Breaker. He's in his original color, yellow body and blue mane, but... he's dirty. Whatever part of him that's not in the armor seems to be covered in dirt or scratch marks. His wings seems to be in disrepair, having feathers going out in different directions and some covered in dried blood. He's holding his head back as he downs a red potion. When he finishes it he tosses it against a wall, shattering it, and lets hit head roll to the side as he glares at me. "Hello.... brother." He says in a rough raspy voice. "Breaker." I say as I step all the way into the restroom, being sure to keep some distance between the two of us. "What are you doing here.... how are you alive?" "Heh... good question. I...." He closes his eyes and takes a few breaths before he looks back to me with the most desperate look I could ever imagine him put on. "I need your help." He says as he starts to tear up. "You need... my help. Why would I help you? You tried to kill me, THREE TIMES! You took Twilight and held her hostage, plotted with that asshole Steelwing.... why am I even talking to you?" I ask as I look away from him. "*sniff*" I look back to him to see that he's crying. "Are you... crying?" "I'M SCARED BIG BROTHER!" He yells as he tries to latch onto me. I move back and let him fall onto the broken glass. He just lays there as he cries, his head falling to the side from a lack of support. "Please! I... I bucked up brother. I-I got in deep with the wrong ponies and now...now... now they're after me! They sent an assassin after me... I... I thought they would help me... I thought they were my family... please, you're all I have." He says through his tears. I take a step back as I watch him lose it. I... I don't know how to feel about this. "Just, stop..." "Please, big brother..." "Don't call me that!" I yell, making him cower from me. "You don't ever call me that! Not after everything you've done." "I....I'm sorry..." "No. Not yet." I say as I leave the restroom. I pass Twilight as I head straight to the front room, going straight for the weapons chest. I pull out my sword and look it over before I head straight back to the restroom. Twilight watches me in complete horror as I march straight into the restroom. "NO! PLEASE, I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" Breaker cries out as he tries to getaway from me, scurrying into the corner. I walk over and grab him by his mane and hold him up as I bring back my sword. "Please.... brother..." He says as he holds his eyes shut, tears still flowing out. I watch him for a second, sword shaking, as I try to commit to the swing. "AAAAHHHH!" *THUNK* I slam my sword into the wall, sending a gust of wind through the room that clears it of the glass. I grit my teeth as I stare at his pathetic face. I want to kill him. I want to tear his wings off and toss him off of a cloud. But.... I can't. I don't know why but I couldn't do it... I couldn't kill him. I drop him as I stagger back and fall to my haunches, breathing deeply as I try to collect my thoughts. "I'm... I'm sorry big brother..." He says as he sits up, his head rolling to the right as he continues to cry. "Stop calling me that." I say as I bury my face in my hooves. "I.... I know I don't deserve a second chance. I've done wrong by a lot of ponies..." "A lot?" I say as I look back to him. "That wacko Steelwing was able to ponyknap Luna, Breaker. If he's capable of that imagine what else he's capable of. All thanks becuase you helped him!" I yell, making him cower from me some more. "I...I know. But I..." "What am I even talking to you?" I ask as I stand back up. "I should just get Miles or Celestia here, let them deal with you..." "NO! Please! I... I can't g to jail! They'll find me! Kill me! I..." "And what makes you think you deserve to live!" I yell at him as I get in his face. "Your selfish, you know that. All you care about is you. Your life. Have you even thought about anypony else in you entire life?" "You." He says weakly. "I thought about you..." "LIAR!" I yell as I push him against the wall. "Don't you bucking lie to me! I know you've never thought of me! Why would..." "I'M NOT LYING!" He yells back as he finally looks me in the eyes. "Why do you think I was trying to be you! You... you were my big brother. I was jealous of you, so I tried to be you, but father saw right through my lies, disowned me. After that... I... lost my way. Once you came back I-I didn't know what to think, so I continued acting along with those bucking psychopaths. I screwed up Cloud... I really screwed up. With you, Mom, Dad, even with the Darkness I screwed up..." "Who are the Darkness?" I ask, getting him to look away in shame. "They... they're bad news. They want to kill everypony Cloud." "What? That can't be their objective, what would they gain from that?" "I don't know. I tried to figure it out, but they caught me, sent me to Ponyville to watch the cloud production.... but when you beat me... I found out they were actually going to kill me when they got what they wanted... please. Help me." He throws his forelegs around me as he cries into my shoulder, holding me as tightly as possible. He's weak. Even in the armor he's weak. "Why do they want to kill you." I say as I sit there. "*sniff* cause I know stuff. I know bout their leaders, that's cause enough..." "Tirek? We already know about him..." "No, he's not the leader." Breaker says as he lets go of me and looks me in the eyes. "Tirek is just... a... minor leader..." "Hold on." I say as I look out the door. "I'm going to go get Miles..." "NO!" He says as he latches back onto me. "Please! I...I'm scared of him. Don't bring him here I-I I'll do anything just... don't bring him here." He begs. "He's my superior officer, I have to." I say as I pull his hooves off of me and grab my sword. I look back to him and stare at him for a second before I leave the room. "Whats going on? Is he... dead?" Twilight asks from behind the bed. "No... I couldn't do it. I need to go out and see if Miles..." "WHAT!" Twilight yells as she flashes in front of me. "You can't leave me with him!" "Twilight..." "He's evil! He manipulative! He doesn't deserve to live..." "Twilight!" I yell, getting her to stop. "He's weak, even in that armor and with a red potion in him, he's weak. He's terrified, alone and... I can't just leave him like that.... he's my little brother." She looks away from me when I say this, troubled with the idea. "Look, just... head over to somepony's place while I deal with this. Please." She nods as she continues to look away. I try to give her a hug but she backs away from me. With a sigh I turn around and head out to look for Miles. Perspective: Twilight I watch from the kitchen window as Storm takes off through the air. I'm sorry Storm... but I can't forgive him that easily. I walk back up the to the bedroom and go to the restroom. I stand in the doorway until Breaker looks up to me from the corner of the room. "So... are you going to kill me?" I levitate out a knife I brought from the kitchen. "I see... OK, lets do this." He says as he falls forward and gets on his side. "How do you want to do this?" I walk over to him and set the blade against his throat, pressing it against him enough to dig in to his skin but not enough to cut him. We stare at each other for a few seconds before he closes his eyes and waits. "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS!" I yell as I pull the blade back and begin to pace back and forth. "We were happy! We had plans to make a family! Then you just had to come back and make everything complicated!" "Family? You... you two are married?" He asks as, getting me to stop and glare at him. "Heh... heh.... that's good. You deserve somepony like Storm..." "Shut up." I say as I go to the doorway and think about what I'm going to do. "Listen, I know I wronged you. If anypony has a right to end my life, it should be you. If you want... I can do." I look back to him and look into his serious eyes. "Say the word and I'll end it. All I need to do is take this armor off, and I'm out of your life forever. Just say the word." I don't say anything. I just stare at him as I try to rack my brain around the idea. He just nods and begins taking off the armor. "Stop!" I yell as I run over to him and hold his hooves back from undoing the armor. He is weak. He looks up to me and smiles as he starts to tear up. "I hate you. More then anypony alive.... but..*sigh* I'm better then you. I can't just kill you. Trial, jail, I don't care what it is, you're going to do it." "Ok. If that's what you want, then I'll do it." He says as he goes limp and falls to his side. "How many red potions have you taken?" I ask as I look him over a bit. "Today? Like.... five." "WHAT! You can't be doing that! You'll gain an addiction!" "I don't have a choice Twilight. When they start to wear off I start to get light headed and dizzy... I think I'll die if I don't have it in my system." He says as he tries to get up, but is too weak to even budge. I watch him for a few seconds before pity gets the better of me. "Stay here. I'll go down stairs and get you another potion." "Thank you Twilight." He says in a sleepy, raspy voice. I sigh a bit before I turn and head towards the basement. I can't believe I'm seriously helping this jerk. But... Celestia taught me better. He deserves a trial..... WHACK THUD ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Storm After flying around for nearly ten minutes I still can't find Miles. He wasn't home. He wasn't at Sweet Apple Acres. He must still be at Topaz Falls. I turn around and shoot back for the library. I don't know what I'm going to do with Breaker. I guess the next one to call would be Celestia, but I know I would get it from Miles if I didn't inform him first. Well.... I am a lieutenant, I guess that gives some authority in the matter. I need to... why is the front door open? I pause in the air and stare at the open door before I shake my head and fly as fast as possible inside. I swear, if he tricked me again... I land inside and have a quick look around. Everything looks normal. I stop by the chest and pull out my sword before continuing up the stairs. When I make it to the top I look around and find everything relatively normal. There's glass everywhere, but that was from the bathroom... the bathroom. I fly up to the door to find Breaker crying as he tries to crawl towards the door. "Breaker..." "YOU IDIOT!" He yells as he pulls himself forward. "GO GET TWILIGHT!" Without a second thought I turn around... "Where is he?" An orc asks from below. He's almost nine feet tall with thick, scaly, green skin, pig faced, with a long alligator tail. He's covered in what looks like... black leather, and is holding an unconscious Twilight by the horn with a dagger to her throat. I raise my sword up and take a few steps closer. "Put. Her. Down." "Stupid pony. A single mate is captured and you put all of your lives at risk. This is simple. Give me..." "I SAID PUT HER DOWN!" I yell as I take a few steps forward, only to get him to hold up Twilight up in front of him and press the dagger closer. I grit my teeth as I watch a sliver of blood fall from her neck, the pain slowly waking her as she tries to take in her surroundings. "Storm..." "Put down the sword, or she dies." The orc demands. "ENOUGH!" I glance back to see Breaker crawling out of the restroom, gritting his teeth as he makes his way to the edge of the walkway. "Put your sword Storm." "Are you kidding me? I'm..." "STORM! Open your eyes! Unless you want Twilight to die, put down your sword." I look between the two of them, trying to figure out what to do. With no other option, I drop my sword and step back. Breaker.... you better know what your doing. "Good... now Cheng, you're after me. Not her. Put her down and take me instead. She doesn't need to be hurt." Breaker tries to reason. "WHAT!" I yell before the orc could answer. "That's your plan! Self sacrifice! I thought you didn't want to die." "I'm only willing to die for her! Now what do you say Cheng? Me or her?" Cheng looks between the two of us before he finally drops Twilight. Once Twilight hits the ground she teleports to my side and latches onto me, crying lightly. "Lets go...." BOOSH Before Cheng could finish, a wave of energy erupts from the stairway and sends him into the bookshelves. "Dammit Storm, How many times do I have to tell you. Never drop your weapon." Miles says as he walks into the room, both hands in fire. "Miles..." "Human." The orc says as he gets up and glares at Miles. "You should not have interfered." He says as he closes his eyes and holds his dagger in front of himself. He seems to be trying to focus on the dagger, but I can't tell what he's planning on doing. Without saying anything, Miles runs forward tries to grab onto the orc. But at the last second he jump straight up and landed on the same floor as us. I quickly push Twilight aside and grab my sword. "Go for his stomach and throat!" Breaker yells. "They're the weakest points of his scales!" I nod to him before I launch myself at Cheng, sending a wave of air at him that staggers him back. I land slice at him, cutting him across his lap and forcing him down with a powerful gust of wind. He tries to stab me with his dagger, but Miles had quickly dropped down in front of him and grabbed him, burning his arm off. He screams out in pain as he falls back and holds onto his stub of an arm, thrashing around wildly. "YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT YOU ABOMINATION!" He yells as he tries to get back up. "LIFE IS ENDING! DARKNESS SHALL TAKE OVER!" He yells as he backs away from me and Miles. "Stop him!" Breaker yells as he reaches forward. Before either of us could act, he swallows some white pills and starts to foam at the mouth. "HAHA HAHAHAHAHA! DROWN THE LAND IN ETERNAL DARKNESS!" He yells as he falls to the ground and starts to convulse. Miles walks over to him and watches him, foam pouring from his mouth, tail thrashing back and forth, scratching up the floor. Once he finally comes to a stop he shakes his head and looks back to me. "What happened?" "Well..." I say as he starts to walk past me. "Uh, Miles?" I ask as I sheath my sword and follow after him. "I wasn't asking you." He says as he walks up to Breaker and kneels beside him, making him cower away a bit. "You. You should be dead. What happened?" "Well... I..." He mutters as he tries to hold himself together. Miles reaches forward and feels his neck, making him wince when he reaches a certain point. "It would seem that with the strength boost, plus the energy boost from those red potions, has your heart racing. You must of powered through you neck being snapped. Healed up a bit, then some how made essential connections. How many red potions have you taken since? All together." As Miles asks Breaker this, I walk back over to Twilight and help her back up, apologizing for knocking her over. "Well... I... don't know. I lost track." Breaker says as he tries to back away from Miles. "He said he had five today." Twilight says as she sits down and holds her head. "Five huh, well at least you haven't died of a heart attack." Miles says as he crosses his legs and sits down next to Breaker. "Is... that good?" I ask. "No." Miles says bluntly. "It means that he's becoming immune to them. Soon he won't be able to gain any of their benefits without drinking them by the gallons." "So... he dying then." Twilight asks. "Welcome to the club." Miles says as he stands up. "Storm. I need to have a word with you in private." I nod and follow after him to the kitchen, where he pace back and forth. "What are we going to do about this?" I ask. "You tell me." He says as eh stops pacing and looks to me. "He's your brother, what do you wish to do?" "What?! Don't pin this on me! You're the captain, you should make the call!" "My call is whatever you wish to make. In all honesty, he's dead no matter what. I can maybe fix some of the damage, but he will never be able to take the armor off. In addition to that, he will need daily dosages of red potions. What do you think?" I gawk at him for a second before I look away and try to think of an answer. What am I going to do.... Three Hours Later With a heavy heart I finally make my way back up the stairs to Breaker. I can't believe I'm about to do this. I walk up to him as he finishes talking with Twilight. They seem to be working out some rough patches, but at least it seems to be going by well enough. "... so, yeah. Sorry." Breaker finishes before they look back to me. "So, I have a sister apparently. I'm glad for you... whats going to happen now?" "First you and me are going to have a talk about the Darkness, then Miles has your punishment downstairs. Are you ready?" He sighs before nodding, letting a tear roll down his face. I look to Twilight and wait for her to leave. She leans down to Breaker and gives him a light peck on the cheek before leaving us. "You've got a very special wife Cloud. Please, take care of her." "I will. Now, what really happened all those years ago between you and me?" "*sigh* it... was stupid. Father wanted one us to go join the royal guard, but neither of us wanted to go. So he tested us to see who would go and... I loss. I challenged you to a fight in private and... yeah. It was a trap. I was asking for a sparring partner and when you weren't looking I hit you over the head with a mace. I'm so sorry Cloud. I... if I could go back..." "Its alright, lets just keep going. Who are the darkness? What are their goals and ambitions? Why do they sound like wanna be Nightmare Moons?" "Heh, that would really insult them. Their goals are completely different from Nightmare Moons. They don't want to get rid of the sun, or keep the moon out all of the time. They think of death as the greatest form of darkness, and they want to destroy all life. I don't know how they're going to do it, but I know that its their leaders greatest goal." "And who are their leaders?" "There are four of them. You know War, also know as Tirek. Then next in line is Famine. After him it's Pestilence. And then... there's Death. I've never met him. Heard him. Or even been in the same building as him, but I know he's bad news." "How do you know he's bad news?" "Well... his name is death. Come on, what more is there then that?" I give him a stern look, so he sighs and continues. "OK, there is a rumor that... he... uses souls to strengthen himself." I couldn't help but laugh a bit from how ridiculous it sounded, but Breaker just continued. "They say that he is the harbinger of death, sent here to escort the lost souls back to their final resting places. But one day, something happened. He changed, became obsessed with the ideology of eternal death. He believes that if you stay in the middle stage of death and life, there will be no more souls to roams the planet..." "Breaker, that sounds crazy..." "I know it does! But those are the rumors. And... then... there's... b-brother... that's all of it... there aren't anymore questions... are there." "No, there aren't." I say as I stand up. He holds his mouth shut as he starts to tear up again. "O-OK. I'll go. Please... maybe not today, but... do you think you could ever forgive me?" I walk over to him and lift him onto my back before walking towards the stairs. "Maybe. There are a lot of things you have to atone for, but... someday brother." I hear him cry a bit, sounding a bit... happy. I make it the the stairs and start making my way down carefully. "Brother... I haven't been called that in... a long time. I've missed it... heh. I remember the time you and me were little, I just entered flight school, and some bullies started picking on me, but you came to defend me, you always did. We were the know from then on as the Storm brothers, getting into trouble, fighting to protect one another, stealing from the cookie jar..." He pauses when we make it to the bottom and start to head towards the door. "... good memories." I walk out and set him down in front of Miles. He gulps as he kneels before him and holds his head up, looking him deep in the eyes. "Storm Breaker. I condemn you..." "There's one last thing I need to tell you." Breaker interrupts. "They know all about you Miles, the Darkness as well. I don't know how, but they know plenty about the lost Spartan." "The... lost Spartan?" "That's what your people called you when you never came back. Be careful when you deal with them, they know you." Miles nods as he sets a hand ablaze. Breaker just closes his eyes and waits for it. Perspective: Storm Breaker I close my eyes and wait for my judgement. I don't want to die, but if brother feels this is best, then I will accept it. I feel an energy begin to enter and force its way through my body. Here it is, I'm so sorry brother. "There, it's done." The human says as he lets go of me. I hold my eyes shut for a bit until I realize that I can hold my head up now. I open my eyes and.... "Hello... Breaker." "M-mother..." Standing before me is... my mother. Behind her are some guards from the estate, guarding a balloon with our business logo on it. I stare at her as she begins to creep closer to me. "Are you ready to come home?" She asks as she steps closer to me, tears welling up in her eyes. I look back to the human in confusion. I don't understand. Am I not dying? "Your punishment will be house arrest and information gathering for the Spartan regiment. If we ever need any information on the Darkness, you'r our go to guy. And you will answer all of our questions. You are also going to be under the care and supervision of Rain Cloud. Do as she says and be sure to take your medication." "Breaker, it's time to go home." Mother says to me as she steps closer to me. I completely lose it, I latch onto her and begin to cry my heart out into her mane. She begins to cry as well as she hugs me back, stroking my mane and she tries to comfort me. "I'm so sorry Mother! Please forgive me!" I sob into her mane. "I-its going to be alright son. Lets just get you home. This nightmare is over now." Perspective: Miles "I still think you let him off too easy." Twilight says as we watch the group of guard pegasis pull Rain Clouds balloon away. "He learned his lesson." I say as I fold my arms. "Death is the enemies goal, not mine. Now is the time to mend broken relations, not petty revenge. You two going to be alright?" "We'll be fine." Storm says as he wraps a wing around Twilight. "It'll be rough at first, Breaker did a lot of damage, but we'll get through it." Twilight gives Storm a light peck on the cheek before leaning onto him. "Great, becuase I need to get to Quartz Crest as soon as soon as possible."
Chapter 106 GemsChapter 106 Gems "When is as soon as possible?" Twilight asks as I head inside. "Yeah. I have the coordinates, lets get going. Unless you've decided that I should just go on home.." "NNope." Storm says as he heads to the podium and pulls out a map. "Great, then lets get this figured out and get going." I say as we head into the kitchen and sit at the table. Storm rolls out the the map as I pull out my phone and look up the coordinates. "OK... so here is Topaz.... then... Quartz Crest is... here!" I say as I point to a patch of green on the map. "Hmm.... hold on." Twilight says as she runs off into the Library. "You realize that we both just got off of our honeymoons, right?" Storm asks as he looks over the map. "EEyup." THUD Twilight walks in with a rather large book and drops it on top of the map. She flips through it, glancing between the map below and the pages in the book until she comes to a stop. "Moosden." She says proudly. "What?" "There is a city of moose where you pointed out. Moosden. Its a month walk, week flight by balloon." She says as she shuts the book and levitates it to her side. "Hmm... where can I get raw materials?" I ask as I look the map over. "Some stores sell some, but it really depends on what you're going to make. Why?" Storm asks as I pocket my phone. "Can you two get everyone together at my place in an hour, I need to check something." I ask as I stand and head to the door. "Alright, but what are you checking?" Twilight asks as she sets the book back with her magic. "What materials I need." I say as I march out of the room. Storm flies off in the air to gather everyone. "HEY! THERE'S A DEAD ORC IN MY ROOM! STORM! MILES!" Twilight yells. I start out by going back home and looking over the jeep. Its in really bad condition. I need to either patch or replace the tires, the archaic condensers needs new gems and patching... as well as the hood, and I need to jury rig the steering wheel back on. So rubber and gems, that shouldn't be too hard to get. I head inside, nearly falling over as Hati and Lupus come running out, and get my bags and some money. It's pretty late, I hope I can still catch some of the stores before they close. Running through the shopping district is fairly daunting. It seems that everything here is haggled on. I guess that'll work towards my favor. I see a tent with a large blue gem on it, so I figure that's the gem shop. I walk up to it, having no line, and look at the selection. There's a fairly large diamond that would easily fit the bill, and that's it. "Can I help you?" Asks the merchant, a small unicorn stallion with black coat and yellow hair. He's wearing an apron that has a pocket filled with credits. "Yeah, how much for the diamond?" "Eighty grand." ".... no really, how much?" "Eighty grand, really." I shift my stance and stare at him. He can't be serious. He has to be trying to hustle me. "You want me, to pay eighty thousand credits, for something I could get back home for five grand." "Don't like my prices, then go somewhere else." He says as he puffs his chest out a bit. *Eye twitch eye twitch* I pull out ten platinum credits and set them on the counter. "Ten thousand and that's it." I say as I set my hands on the table and get eye level with him. "Eighty and that's final." He growls back. "Do you know who I am?" I ask as I stare at him. "Yeah. Ponyville's new millionaire." ".... how do you know that?" I ask as I stand straight up. "Pinkie told me, and everypony, about how her friend TB wants everypony to know about you being rich. Something along the lines of a joke that they want you to know about so some guy named Aere can laugh at you. So that'll be eighty thousand bits." *Eye twitch eye twitch* "How much?" Some mare asks as she walks by. "Four thousand." "WHAT!" I yell as the mare pulls out some bits and buys the diamond. "Oh, though carrots kid. Better luck next time." He says before he pulls a string and closes up his shop. Pinkie, next time I see you...I collect my credits and walk off... THUD I trip over something and land flat on my face. With a groan I push myself up and look underneath myself. "Oh, sorry about that Spike." I say as I sit up and help him to his feet. He shakes his head a bit before he grabs the handle of his red wagon and looks back to me. "Its alright, you're a tall guy. Sorry but I can't talk right now. Rarity and I are going out to dig up some gems." He says as he walk off. "Oh, alright............WAIT! TAKE ME WITH YOU!" ................................................................................................................................................................................................. After some convincing arguments, and a lot of pleading, I finally convinced Spike to take me along for the gem hunt. He seemed rather irritated by my coming along, but I need a gem. We make it out of Ponyville and head towards the southern hills, just past whitetail woods. "Hello Spikey Wikey, and Miles! When did you make it back from your honeymoon?" Rarity asks as she walks around with her horn pointed towards the ground. She would occasionally stop and mark off a spot, but other then that she diligently looked for gems without paying attention to anything else. "I got back today. I asked to come along becuase I need a gem..." "Oh, for Luna's ring? I was wondering why she didn't have one." "Ring.............. FUCK!" I yell as I grab my head and pace around. How could I forget a wedding ring! I'm an idiot! "Miles." Rarity says, taken back a bit as she glances back to me. "Please. You are in the presence of a lady." She says before going back to her search. "Oh... sorry." I'm an idiot, I'm an idiot, I'm an idiot. "Anyway. Could I possibly use your help to find some gems for the ring as well as for my jeep?" "Of course, but please help me get some gems for my business as well. I must restock for the upcoming season. I have a feeling that studded hats are going to make a comeback and I want to be prepared." "Oh, of course." I say as I look around for a shovel. There aren't any. I look over to Spike to see that he's using his tail to dig..... OK then. Magic it is. I go to one of the marks and feel below. I can sens a small pocket of gems just below the surface. That's strange. When we mine them they usually fill large caverns or are in massive veins. "So, tell me Miles, how was your honeymoon?" Rarity asks as she walks around me. I use my magic to open up the ground and start pulling out gems. "It was very nice. I was just glad that Topaz was safe... and to have some alone time with Luna of course." I say as I deposit the gems into the wagon. "What did you do in Topaz?" Spike asks. "Uh.. well, we... went to some stores." I say as I head to the next mark and work on pulling out the gems. "What kind of stores are left in a city that was sacked three thousand years ago?" Spike asks as he dumps some gems into the wagon. "Well... the kind married people go to..." BOOM I look over to see that Rarity had, for some reason, blasted a hole into the ground and is now blushing like crazy. I laugh a bit as Spike runs over to check on her. We spend the next few hours looking for gems, talking idly, and a little messing around with each other. Ends up unicorns have a universal form of wing boners... it's called popping. A little more dangerous, but twice as funny. I was able to walk off with three sapphires, two diamonds and some turquoise. Rarity still had some other errands to run, so I decided to help Spike bring the gems back to Carousel Boutique. "You alright there little guy?" I ask as we walk through the woods. "Please don't call me little." He says as he quickens his pace. Whoa... OK. "Everything alright Spike? If you need to talk about something, you can talk to me." He stops in his tracks and looks over to me, pleading while trying to be strong. "Its... just.... after the whole BlueBlood thing... I've been feeling... useless." He says as he looks away from me. "Why would..." "Cause I'm the baby dragon that can't do anything!" He snaps at me. OK, here comes the venting. "It's always I'm too little or just a slacky to Twilight. I don't like being viewed like that. It make me feel... inferior." "Spike. None of us feel that way about you." "I know, but sometimes that doesn't help. I want to be able to stand for myself. Defend my family with my own claws. Dad showed some self defense stuff, but..." "Wait who?" I ask, making Spike realize what he said. "I.... uh... just forget what I said." He says as he runs off. I run after him and get in his way, stopping him in his tracks. He tries to hide his blushing face from me, but I can see right through him. "So... wanna talk about that?" I ask as I sit down. "I would prefer not to." "Hmm... I'll make you a deal, but first let me see your hand." "Why do you need to see my claw?" Spike asks as he looks over his hands. "Just trust me." I say as I hold out my hand. He hesitantly puts his hand out, so I grab it and look it over. "Well, good news, you have large hands." "Uh... thank you?" "So here's the deal. Open up a bit more, and I'll teach you magic." He yanks his hand back and stares at me in disbelief. "Teach me... magic... but I'm a dragon. The only magic we can use is our fire..." "Do you have a soul?" He nods." Then you can learn human magic. But I will warn you, gaining this power is risky. Do something wrong and you could lose your soul." I say, scaring him a bit. "But..." "But what?" He asks as he leans in a bit. "If you power through this, you gain access to the most powerful form of magic out there. Stronger then unicorn magic, more raw then any alchemy. So what do you say?" He looks down at his hands for a bit before he falls back and sits before me. "OK. You have a deal." I stick out my hand and shake hands with him. "So, who's you dad?" "I don't know. Twilight hatched me from an egg, I don't know my actual parent. Twilight's always been the one watching out for me so that's why I sometimes think of her as my mom..." "So who is this father figure of yours?" He twiddles his hands around a bit before he sighs and answers. "Storm..." "AWWW...." "Dude, not cool." He says as he blushes a bit. "Ever since he's been here he's... well been there for me. He can be... direct sometimes, but he honestly cares about me. When he gave me the... 'talk', he answered all of my questions. He trying to teach me to be a better pony... and I look up to him a lot becuase of that." "Have you told him any of this?" "What? No. I mean... I think it's just a unspoken thing. I called Twilight mom once and she didn't drop it for a week. I like the way things are now, and I'd like for things to stay that way." "You realize that Twilight and Storm are trying to have kids, right?" "Oh... yeah...." "But don't worry about that." I say as I stand back up and start walking off. He quickly stands up and follows after me, cart in tow. "Why not? If they have a foal, they won't have any more room for me..." "Don't think of it as competition but rather an addition." "Huh?" "Instead of them pushing you away from the family, you get to bring a kid in to it." "Like PeeWee and me?!" "Uh... sure." We walk a bit in silence, exiting the woods and heading straight for Rarity's. "Hey Miles. If I have some questions later... can I come to you to answer them?" "SSSSS.... maybe. Some of them may be up to your father to answer." I say getting him to smile. "Alright. Thanks Miles. I'm glad we talked... especially since we're probably avoiding some drama later." He says, getting us both to laugh as Storm lands in front of me. "Hey there, I've got everypony heading to your place." He reports as he looks over to Spike. "Everything alright?" "Can I talk to you... in private?" Spike asks as he looks to me. "I'll meet you back at my place, you don't really need to know whats going to be talked about." I say as I leave the two of them alone Perspective: Storm I watch Miles walk off before looking back to Spike. He looks like he has a lot on his mind... I hope he doesn't have any more sex questions. Not that I mind answering them, they're just awkward. "So... Miles and I were talking on our way back from Gem ridge..." He says as he look down and shuffles his feet around. "Hey, what did I say? When you're talking to a stallion you look him in the eyes." He nods and looks up. "Alright, now what did you two talk about?" "Well... two things actually... first one was that he wants to teach me human magic..." "Magic? Can you learn that?" "He says I should bee able to..." "Well, as long as Twilight's OK with it I don't see why not." I say as I sit down. A dragon that can use magic... damn that's scary. "And the other thing was... well you... and me." He says as he starts to look down again, but quickly looks back up. "What about you and me?" I ask as I eye him a bit. What did you do Miles? "It was about... how I... think of you." He says as he shies away a bit. "Oh. And what would that be?" "I... well, I really look up to you. Before it was just me and Twilight, and I didn't really see anypony else in our group. But then you came here, and we hung out a lot... you're a real father figure for me." He says the last part quickly and shuts his eyes, trying to escape his embarrassment. I feel my heart skip a beat as he says that. A... father figure. Dammit Miles, why do you have to ruin things. "Well... uh... you know how next week is your birthday?" I ask as I look around. "What? Yeah so what?" He asks as he looks at me confused. "Well Twilight and I were going to give you some papers for your birthday..... adoption papers." I say as I look around to make sure Twilight isn't around to kick my flank for ruining the surprise. "A..... adoption papers..." "Yeah..." "So... you guys..." "Do you want me and Twilight to be your parents? Officially." Spike doesn't say anything. He just runs up to me and hugs me tightly, crying slightly. I swallow a few tears as I hug him back. "But lets keep this a secret until your birthday, so Twilight won't kill me." "OK dad." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: TallestBrony "AH... finished. Think that was fucked up?" I ask Cheesus. We're all in Squishy's room, just hanging out. "Meh, Pinkie said it would be funny." Cheesus says from his top bunk. I look to Squishy as he lays on the floor, shirtless as usual. "Burritos?" "Burritos." He replies seriously. It's good to be back from vaca.... "Think they'll be mad about the short charter?" I ask as we all get ready to head over to Taqueria De Anda's. "Naw, it was really touching." Pinkie says as she grabs my keys. "I'LL DRIVE!" She yells as she runs off. "YOU CAN'T DRIVE STICK!" I yell as I chase after her.
Chapter 108 Night CourtChapter 108 Night Court Perspective: Miles I awake to the feeling of Luna leaving the bed. Opening my eyes, I look around to see that it's dusk... or soon it will be at least. I give a quick stretch before I sit up and look out at the balcony. Luna's standing out there, wearing her usual jewelry, with the bracelet as well. She's facing away from me and has her horn glowing, making the sky turn darker and darker with every passing second. Once done, she lets go of her magic and stares out at the night sky. "Well, some pony's in a good mood." Celestia says as she lands onto her balcony....... SHIT! I quickly roll over and fall to the ground, trying to keep as quit as possible. "What's got you in such a good mood?" "What? Can't I just be happy?" Luna asks, playing it completely cool and collect. I look around and see my white shirt laying on the middle of the floor... fuck, I need to get that. I crawl to the edge of the bed and reach out to try to grab it, but its a little out of my reach. "You being happy is more then welcomed. Do you wish to have dinner together? I feel as if I haven't been spending enough time with you." "Well... let me wash up first. I feel... sticky." Smooth Luna. "Yes.... I wasn't going to say anything but you smell... sweaty. Is everything alright?" I crawl a bit out and quickly grab my shirt. I duck back behind the bed as Celestia and Luna walk into the room...... FUCK! I try to hide under the bed but the bottom is solid! "Every things fine. Sheesh Tia, I come out in a good mood and everything's has to be bad or...." "Ok, OK. Sorry. It's just.... you've only been home for a few days now. I just want to make sure that you aren't trying to hide anything. If you want to talk about it, I'm here for you." Celestia says as they both take a seat on the bed. I lay back and cover myself with the shirt. I don't want to be here for this conversation, but I don't really have a choice right now. "Well... sometimes its hard to sleep when I know he's still out there, but..." "But?" "I just remind myself that Miles is out there, and I begin to feel better." D'aw... "Luna, you know how I feel about the two of you..." "I know, but... he was the one to save me. He escorted me home and brought me straight to you. He even took an arrow in the chest for me Tia. It's hard to get over somepony who does something like that for you." I reach up to the scar on my chest and think back to that day... why didn't I ever fix this? "Luna... I know he's done many things for you. I truly respect him for those things, honestly. But... he's... whats a year of joy to a life time of hurt?" Ouch... that's low. The room falls silent for a bit, the only sound being them moving around on the bed. "He may only have a year... but whats the loss of a loved one to wishing you could of done something for a life time? I know how you feel about us... but don't worry about it. I've got everything under control. I'll meet you at the dinning hall, I'd just like a moment to myself." "Alright... I'll see you in a bit then sister." "......... you can come out now." "OK does she hate me or not?" I ask as I stand up and collect the rest of my clothes. "Cause I have no fucking clue right now. Respect is nice and all, but I can tell she still doesn't care for me." "She doesn't hate you..." I pause and look at her. "Ok, maybe she does... but not entirely. She just cares more about me then you." I shake my head as I sit on the bed and start to put my pants on. Luna gets behind and wraps her forelegs around my chest from behind me. I pause and grab onto her her legs as she kisses the back of my head. "*sigh* so, what are you doing after dinner?" I ask as she starts to rub my chest, pausing at the arrow scar. "Why didn't you ever heal this?" "Well... it has a good memory behind it." "Really?" She asks flatly with a slight chuckle. "And I never really thought about it." "That's what I thought. But that was a very good cover. After dinner I have night court until sunrise, so I don't think we'll be able to spend anymore time together. What are your plans?" She asks as she lays her head on my shoulder. "At sunrise I have to leave for Moosden. That's where Quartz Crest is." "*sigh* well I have to finish getting ready. Good thing Celestia doesn't know what sex smells like." She says before she gives me a kiss on my cheek. She walks over to her counter and starts brushing her mane as I finish getting dressed. When I finish I get up and squat beside Luna, looking at her in the mirror's reflection. She pauses brushing and leans against me a bit. "What's on your mind?" "Just thinking. I'm going to head out now, I love you." I say as I give her a peck on the cheek. "Oh, love you to. Bye then." I start to walk out of her room towards the balcony. As I pass behind her I reach down and give her a slight pinch, getting her to jump a bit. "Miles! You little punk!" She says as she chases me out of her room. "Bye love!" I yell as I run out the doors, closing them before she could get to me. "I'll get you back later." She warns me through the door. "Counting on it." I say as I head to the edge of the balcony and stand on it, having my toes go off the edge. I take a deep breath before leaning forward and letting gravity do what it does best. I hold my eyes shut for a bit as I fall, enjoying the air race through my hair. I open my eyes and flip over as I near the rapidly approaching ground. In the final moments I flair my heels and land in the middle of the gardens with a solid thud, sending dust up and all around me. I hear someone near by cough a bit before snoring some more, but other then that nothing really notices me. I raise the soil back to where it should be before walking away, trying to be as unnoticeable as possible. I make it to the front of the castle completely unnoticed, dodging any patrolling guards with total ease. "Halt creature! How did you get inside!" A guard demands as I casually walk up to the front door. There are two unicorn night guards by the door, each pointing a spear to me. "How did you get inside?" I ask as I look around. "But seriously, a gate doesn't really hold anything back. Its more of a challenge then a deterrent." "Real funny wise guy. Now get out..." "Actually, I'm here for night court." I interrupt, getting them to pause. "Your.... what?" "Night court. You know, like day court.... but at night." They look to each other before looking back to me, completely lost for words. "You have no fucking clue how to deal with court recipients do you?" "Uh.... no." The one on the left admits as they lower their spears. "We've never received one. I didn't even know that we still did it." "Well... to my knowledge you still do..." "I thought Princess Luna was in the Griffin Colonies, looking for that guy who ponynapped her." The guard on the left asks, turning to the other guard. "What? Why would she go back to the place she was ponynapped to? That's just... stupid." "They thought they found the guy..." "Then we could of just sent an emissary then. Why would we allow our only recently recovered princess back into the land that just captured her?" "Yes, why indeed?" I turn around to see a group of some fifty night guards walking up behind me, being led by a single night pegasis guard. Though he looks the same as the others, he wears a helmet with white hair coming out from it along with a ranking etched into the chest of his armor. "You must be Miles Eremita..." "Yeah..." "Princess Luna's husband." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Luna "Just a salad." Celestia says to the waiter, getting me to roll my eyes. The waiter bows before us before walking off to the kitchen. "So sister, how were things in the Griffin Colonies?" She asks as she takes a sip from her water glass. "Huh.... oh! Well, they ended up not having him. But other then that, I guess it was nice." I say as I look away and take a sip from my glass. "Don't worry, we'll get him. And he will pay for what he so foolishly did." I take a few deep breathes before I look over to Tia, seeing the conviction in her eyes. "Tia... can I ask you a completely hypothetical, not real, just asking cause the thought came to mind, question?" "Uh... of course Luna. What do you wish to know?" Before I could ask the waiter comes out with our food and sets them before us. "If you desire anything else just let me know." He says before bowing and walking away. "Yes well... lets eat first then I'll ask." I say before picking up my hay fries and fill my mouth up. "Well, ok then." We eat in relative silence, I kept coughing from filling my mouth to much at first. Once we finish our food the waiter takes our plates away and refills our water. I take a long drink from it, trying to avoid the conversation I'm about to have. "Princess Luna!" Captain Night Fury yells as he barges through the doors and marches straight towards me. *PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT* His sudden appearance, along with him yelling at the top of his lungs, scares the heck out of me and makes me spit all of the water from my mouth. "Guard. Why do you barge in on me and my sister in such a manner?" Tia asks as I try to collect myself. "Becuase there is somepony here who wishes to speak to her in the night court." I do a double take as I feel my heart skip a beat. Somepony is here... to speak with me? "Uh...." "Its the human from Ponyville. He says he has information he wishes to share about the terrorist group that ponynapped you." "Miles!?" Tia and I say at the same time, looking to each other before back to Captain Night Fury. "We'll be there shortly." Tia says as she stands. "Coming sister? Don't want to make your first night court visitor wait." "Right.... right." I say as I stand and follow Tia out. What does Miles think he's doing? If he slips the beans to Tia about me and him I swear his balls will be bluer then me. We walk through the halls until we make it to the doors to the court room, where Tia turns back to me. "Luna... are you going to be alright on this one?" "What? Of course sister. Why do you always doubt me?" I ask as I push my way around her and enter the hall. When I enter the hall I find Miles standing in the center, looking around idly as he holds his hands behind himself. He gives me a smile as I take my seat at the throne, Celestia sitting at my side. "Hi." He says joyfully as he approaches the two of us. I shake my head from his usual calmness and begin my act. "Greetings subject, what do you wish to bring to me this night." "An exchange." He says as he glances between Celestia and me. "As you may or may not know I am going to be traveling to the cities of my country. These cities are buried under some of your territories. In exchange for information on those who kidnapped you, I would like permission to move through these cites...." "Why do you wish to move throughout a country you belong to?" Tia interrupts. I shoot her a look before looking back to Miles. "You are Equestrian, you do not need to move throughout..." "Because I'm not going as an Equestrian. I'm going as a Terradisian. I will be carrying weapons, and I do not wish to enter another country's territory, armed, without permission." As I think about what he says Tia taps my shoulder, so I lean over to hear what she has to say. "There is more to this then just simply moving arms sister." "What do you mean?" "If we say yes or no, then we acknowledge that Terradisia is a government. The Spartans would gain a political power in the world. Think carefully about this." I nod as I lean back up and stare at Miles. "We already know of Tirek and the Darkness...." "War is not the leader." Miles says, cutting me off. "Tirek, also know as war, is only fourth in command. If you wish to know more about the leaders and their goals, I suggest you give me permission to move in your territories." Wow Miles, just go for the throat why don't you. I want to just give him permission, but I know Celestia would begin suspecting things. Not to mention I don't think Miles will keep us a secret from her. Hmmm.... "Subject! By order of your princess, I command thee to give us the information, or face time in the dungeon." "You realize there isn't a cell here that can hold me. Not to mention that holding me prisoner would only further the plans of the Darkness. You need this more then I need freedom." He says before he drops to his knees and holds his wrist before me. "Your move." "You're bluffing" Celestia say as she stands up and begins approaching Miles. "You claim to care for my sister, yet you withhold information that could help keep her safe. So what is it? Her safety, or your own selfish needs?" "You seem to forget our little chat. I'm not allowed to even think about her, remember? This is more then just information swapping. This is my stance for Terradisia...." "Three ponies can't make up a country..." "Good thing there are more of us. There are six of us, plus all of the bots from Topaz Falls. Not to mention what ever we may find in all of the other cities. Make your move Celestia." "Celestia." I say, getting her to look back to me. "Come here please." She looks back to Miles before giving a huff and walking back to me. "What are you doing?" "Trying to get..." "Because last time I checked it was night court." "Luna..." "Let me deal with this." I say as I stand up. She looks back to Miles before nodding and sitting down. "Thank you, now Miles, surely we can come to an understanding...." "Sorry, but my terms will stand. Either accept them, deny them, or arrest me." "May I ask one last question?" Celestia asks. I think about it for a second before nodding. "Miles, you will die in a year, can Terradisia live any longer?" I feel my heart skip a beat when she asks this. That was cruel sister... "Of course." I do a double take as I look back to Miles. "Though I may die soon, I already have a successor lined up to continue our ways." "Storm Cloud." I say, getting a nod from Miles. "He is my lieutenant. I have been molding him to be a leader for not only the Spartan regiment, but for Terradisia as well. I've trained him and Big Mac to make more Spartans. To continue our philosophies. And they have already committed to this. Terradisia will continue to live long past me. Oh, and one last thing Celestia, Twilight is Terradisia as well." I hear Celestia take a few deep breathes as she glares at Miles. Nice babe, now she completely hates you... this isn't going to be easy. "Why you..." "I have come to a decision." I say, cutting off Celestia. "And we shall take your offer." "WHAT!" Tia yells, gaping at me. "You can't be serious." "I can, and I am. Even if we held him prisoner and tortured the info out of him, that wouldn't stop Terradisia from rising. Face the facts sister, a new government is beginning in our territories. We either shall try to destroy them, or coexist with them. I do not wish to destroy the lives of innocent ponies who wish to only help us." "But... he... RAH! Fine. I'll go with you on this one sister." Tia says as she lowers her head and mopes to herself. "Thank you. Now, what do you know about the Darkness." "Not as much as I'd like to know." Miles admits as he stands. "They have four leaders. Tirek, or War, is at the bottom. Then there is Famine, Pestilence, and finally Death." Death.... oh my.... "Though I have not met them all, I have come to the conclusion that they are all centaurs, due to the fact that they call themselves the Four Horsemen." Death... where have I heard that before.... "I also know that they are all ancient, due to War telling me that he was from the Purge. Their goals are fairly simplistic. They wish to kill everyone." "No... it can't be..." I murmur out load, getting everypony to look to me. "Is there something you wish to say?" Celestia asks as I stare blankly at the floor. "Death... is Brim-Bar, the Soul Seeker." I say, getting confused looks from everypony. "This... was from back before I was Nightmare Moon. I was on my way to a small village when I ran into some beast that attacked me with this strange... black...cloudy thing. I didn't realize it before, but I believe it was the same substance War was using. The attack caught me by surprise and nearly killed me... if it weren't for a cloaked creature with a scythe. He vanquished the beast and captured their souls in a satchel. I remember... feeling different. I... can't remember exactly, but I believe this was when I became Nightmare Moon. As thanks for saving my life I decided to give this Brim-Bar a gift, or a blessing as I called it back them. As I said fair well to Brim-Bar he said 'fair well Brim-Bar. Greetings Death.' I may have created this monster." "That's nice, but how he was created doesn't really matter right now." Miles says, killing the serious mood. "We need to focus on stopping him. I know his last base of operation was in the Griffin Colonies, so he must be within their territories. Let them know that if they ever need assistance taking him down, Terradisia stands ready." "... very well." I say as I try to cope with the idea of me creating a monster. "Oh, and one last thing before I leave." Miles says, getting me to look up to him. "This isn't your fault. If he was purgian, then it was a human that did this. I intend to atone for what my people did, so I will find this Death and teach him the folly of his ways. Good night, Princess Luna." He gives a salute before turning around and walking out of the hall. I continue to stare out at the space he was in long after he left. This is all my fault. I started this.... "Luna." Celestia says as she nuzzles me a bit. "Look at me." I move my head slowly over until I'm looking directly into her eyes. "This isn't your fault..." "How could you say that? I was the one who gave him... whatever it is that made Brim-Bar live this long. I'm completely at fault for..." "Stop. Stop it right now." She says as she wraps me in a hug. "That wasn't you. That was Nightmare Moon. Luna would never do such a thing. And Nightmare Moon would never feel bad about doing something like this. So don't you dare let this get to you. You did nothing wrong." I wrap my hooves around her as I hug her back, burying my face in her mane. It was Nightmare Moon that did this... but Nightmare Moon was a part of me... ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles As I wait in the hall outside of the court room I take a look around. The fifty guards from before are all waiting around me, with Night Fury sitting beside me. "You realize that if you do this, you could die." I ask as I lean against the wall. "I'll take my chances." "And if you ever leak information, I, along with every other Spartan, will hunt you down and kill you and your family." "I wont leak information." "You better not." I say as I look back to the door. A guard is waiting by door with his ear held against it, waiting for Celestia to leave the room. "OK... she's gone." "Lets do this." Night Fury says as he walks to the door and pushes it open. We all march inside together, getting very confused looks from Luna as we walk up to her. "Uh... what..." "Guess who's really good at guessing!" I blurt out, getting glares from Night Fury. "What?" Luna asks as she looks around at her guards. "Allow me to explain, Queen Luna." Night Fury says as he walks up to her. "We recently discovered your marriage to Miles through an undercover pony in Ponyville. Once we found out we all met together in secret and held discussions about it. Our conclusion was that we approved. Further more, we decided to hep you in keeping it a secret for as long as you wish, Queen Luna." "Uh... it's Princess Captain..." "Not anymore." I say as I walk up to her and stand at her side. "Since I'm a Captain and you're a Royal sister, and your laws are retarded, once we were married you and I became the rulers of Equestria." "Is that so?" Luna asks as she looks over to Fury. "Yes your highness. You are now Queen, and Miles is now King." "So..... YOU WERE GOING TO PULL RANK ON CELESTIA IF SHE TRIED TO ARREST YOU!" Luna yells as she smacks my arm. "Fuck yeah I was. I aint going to jail, fuck that." I say as she glares at me some more. "But since we want to keep things a secret, the guards and I decided that it would be best to continue being what Celestia thinks we are..." "How did you convince my Captain to all of this?" She asks as she looks over to the group of guards. "Simple. The next time Miles decides to train Spartans, we are allowed to send fifty volunteer guards into the training program." Fury says with a sly grin. "So.... you all will help me and Miles spend more time together?" She asks as she looks around the group of guards. As they all nod, she slowly starts to tear up. "Thank you.... thank you all..." "Anything for you, Queen Luna, we all have to get back to our post. Take care...." "ALL HAIL THE KING!" The rest of the guards sound off as they salute and march off. I sit beside Luna and wrap an arm around her as she wipes her tears away. "Do I have to be king?" Author's Note Shout out to tickytheclown for picking the number of guards that escorted Miles. Thanks for reading and like always, Brony on!
Chapter 109 MoosedenChapter 109 Mooseden Beep... beep... beep... beep...beep... beep... "Shut the fuck up." I say as I grab my phone off of my dresser and turn the alarm off. "Why is that thing so loud?" Luna asks as she rolls over and holds herself against me. After our moment at Canterlot we decided to take a nap at my place. Apparently, this jerk came into her bed and kept her up when she was suppose to be asleep, what a dick. We spent most of the night just holding one another, asking idle questions about one another until we went to sleep. "*yawn* want to get breakfast?" I ask as I brush her mane a bit. Bed head, logic be damned. "No. I just want to stay right here for as long as possible." She says as she nuzzles my chest a bit. I laugh a bit from the feeling of her soft nose. She plants a few kisses before moving up to be eye level with me. "Hey." "Hey." "So how long until we tell Celestia?" I ask making her close her eyes. "After last night... probably even longer then before. Why did you have to push her so hard?" "Why was she trying to run the night court?" "Miles..." "Look, I know I was... blunt back there, but I had to be. Otherwise Terradisia wouldn't be considered as a true nation. Sorry." I say as put my hand on my spot and rub her cheek a bit, getting her to look me in the eyes. She gives me a soft kiss before getting on top of me. I set my hands on her sides and she lays atop of me, sighing deeply as she leans her head against mine. "Just... try to be nice in the future. I'd like everypony in my family to get along." "I'll try my best." I say as I wrap my arms lightly around her and hold her. We lay there quietly for awhile, just holding one another. "I should get going soon..." Before she could finish I rolled over on top of her and started sucking on her neck, getting her to squirm under me. "Miles... I need to get going..." She complains as I continue to force her to twist back and forth. I begin to move down, working my way to her belly. I pause in the middle of her belly and look up, being sure to hold her in place. "Whats the magic word?" I ask, making her eyes go wide. "Please?" "Wrong." I say before I blow on her belly, making her convulse in a fit of laughter. "MILES! STOPSTOPSTOP! AAAAHHHH!" I pause and look back up to her, letting her catch her breath. "Whats the magic word?" I ask again, not really having a secret word. "Uh.... I.... I'll suck your cock?" I was about to blow again, but stop to look back up at her. Well... that was unexpected. "Oh my..." Luna and I go wide eye as we look over to the door to see Rarity, Lupus and Hati standing at the door. Rarity looks as if she's about to faint while Lupus and Hati look... well they're panting lightly with their tongues out... so... yeah. "Rarity... why are you in my room?" I ask as I roll off of Luna, who seems to have frozen in embarrassment. "Your... dogs.... brought me here..." She says as she stares at me. We stare at each other until the door starts to slowly shut by Luna's magic. "Why does that always happen?" I ask as I lay back. "Well... maybe if you locked the door..." Luna says as she rolls over and gets off the bed. "I'm... going to get going..." "Hey, I thought I was getting my cock sucked." I say jokingly, getting Luna to turn even redder. I get up and walk over to her, kneeling down to be eye level with her. "Hey, just kidding. I have to start getting ready to leave for Mooseden now, I love you." I say as I hold her head before me. She leans in and gives me a quick kiss before hugging me. "I love you to. Please be safe. And... if there are people there, please come back to me." She says as she tightens her hold on me. "Don't worry. Nothing could stop me from coming back to you. I promise." We embrace one another for a awhile until I let go of her and stand up. She hops up and gives me one last kiss on the lips before heading into my closet. I stare at the doorway until I see the light flash from within. With a sigh I head to the closet and grab all of my gear and head down stairs. "Miles..." Rarity says from the couch as I walk past her and head out back to my jeep. As I start to load up my gear into the benches I can hear Rarity behind me. "Miles..." "Cock block." "Yes... well... uh... is there anyway I can help? So long as I don't get my hooves dirty.... or get my mane wet." "Sure. Can you go get all of the weapons out of my closet and bring them down here?" "Of course." She says before trotting back inside. I finish loading the bench and go... BU-DUM "Fuck." I say as I grit my teeth and grab at my heart. I take low shallow breathes as I try to stay standing, but feel myself wavering. More? How could I be needing to use more magic? I've already used so much... "Miles I could only find... MILES!" Rarity yells as she runs to my side as I drop to a knee. "Whats wrong? Is there anything I can...." "Give me something.... anything!" She hands me a griffin sword with her magic and I immediately take it. Using my magic, I purify the metal and start to bend and twist it around. This is helping... but I need more. I look over to see that she had brought the other remaining weapons, so I take them in my magic and treat them the same way. "Miles... are you going to be OK for the trip?" Rarity asks as I continue to bend and twist the steel, feeling slightly better. "I'll be fine. Just another back up." "Do they usually happen so close to one another?" "...no." We stay silent as I continue to twist the metal around. When I feel normal, or at least close to, I set the metal down and stare at it silently. "Come on.... lets get finished getting ready." I say as I push myself up and take the metal inside. Before Rarity could ask me anything, Storm, Spike and Twilight showed up with bags of food. Spike is a asleep on Twilight's back, snoring lightly. "Morning Miles, Rarity, where do you want these?" Twilight asks as she sets Spike on the couch. "Can you just set them in the left bench of the jeep." They nod and walk off, leaving a bag in the kitchen before heading out back. "Miles, maybe we should wait a day or two before we head out. Let you rest up." Rarity says from beside me. "A day, a week, a month, it wouldn't matter. I don't have the luxury of waiting." I look down to her and offer my best smile before heading out back. She seemed... disturbed by that. Whatever, it's something everyone is going to get used to. I walk out back to find Storm jumping on one of the benches, trying to get it shut as Twilight organizes the other one, getting it to shut with total ease. "*yawn* mornin Miles." I turn around to see Rainbow Dash landing beside me, carrying a sleeping Scootaloo on her back. "Hey Rainbow, why is Scootaloo here?" "Huh? Oh, cause she's staying at Applejack's while we're gone. Big Mac will take her when he drops off AJ. I would of brought her there earlier, but she wanted to stay together for as long as possible." She says before looking back and kissing her forehead. "I'm going to get breakfast ready, want to help?" Twilight asks as she walks up to us. "Uh.. sure, just don't let me burn anything." Rainbow says nervously. "And I'll help as well." Rarity says as the three of them walk inside. I look back to see Storm on his back, panting, on a perfectly shut locker. "If you broke anything, your fixing it." I say as I walk up to the other side. "I didn't.... Twilight rearranged everything last second." He pants as he lays there. "Listen... I need to talk to you about something." I say, getting his attention. "If I go down, for any reason, I'm counting on you to get everyone out of there. No matter how close we are to the objective." "But what if were right next to it? Then what?" "Unless I've already started get out. I don't want to risk anyone's lives, so if I go down, your priority is to get everyone out safely. Understood?" "Yes sir, but that's easier said then done." "I know, but make it happen. Come on, lets head inside for now." he nods and follows me inside. I open the door and nearly fall over and Lupus and Hati come running out. Why can't they just walk out? I step inside and look into the kitchen to see it in complete disarray. Twilight and Rarity are fighting a massive fire as Rainbow sits on the floor facing us, stirring something with the utmost focus as her tongue hangs out the side of her mouth. Cooking materials are everywhere, coating the floor, counters, cupboards, ceiling and cooks. The sink is overflowing with fiery waters that keep Twilight and Rarity back. "Just keep walking." Storm says as he walks over to the living room. I glance back to the others before following Storm to the living room. Spike and Scootaloo are starting to wake up as the sun starts to rise outside. I can see the rest of the group heading towards my home down the path. I go to the door and open it... "GHAWADIFU!" I yell as Lupus and Hati charge inside, nearly knocking me over, again. "Howdy Miles." Big Mac cheers as walks inside with Fluttershy. "Miles." Applejack says as she nods to me. "Willis." Pinkie says as she hops in. I was about to correct her when Lupus and Hati charge back out, this time knocking me over. "You should really watch out for them." Pinkie cheers from inside. "Really now, you don't say." I grumble as I get up. "I do say. *sniff sniff* OOO, Rainbow's cooking!" Pinkie yells as she runs to the kitchen. I shake my head as I go to the living room with the others, catching them mid conversation. "... gonna be fine with them." Applejack finishes, getting Big Mac to roll his eyes. "Whats up?" I ask as I look between the two of them. "Ah was just sayin that I should tag along as well. Ah am a Spartan after all." Big Mac says as he shoots a look over to Applejack. "An ah was sayin that we need somepony ta stay on the farm ta keep an eye on the youngins an the farm." Applejack says as she shoots the same look back to Big Mac. "Uh... we could just alternate people in and out." I say, breaking their glares to look back to me. "Ah aint lettin ya'll go without me." Applejack defends. "Hmm... we could just alternate between Big Mac and Storm. In fact, I like that. Alright, Storm and Big Mac will be trading positions whenever the need arises." "Hey Big Mac." Storm says getting him to look over. They have some kind of silent conversation, communicating through facial expressions until Big Mac sighs in defeat. "Fine. Y'all can go without me ta Quartz Crest, but I get the next one!" "Deal." Storms says with a nod. "Uh..." "Foods ready everypony!" Rainbow says as Rarity and Twilight sets covered plates on the dinning room table. Before I could question Storm and Big Mac everyone began to walk over to the dinning room, leaving me in my confusion. "Coming Miles?" Spike asks with yawn. I sigh and follow after, taking the seat at the head of the table. "Whats for breakfast?" "Buckwheat pancakes, scrambled eggs, some grape fruit, plain yogurt and coffee." Twilight says as she removes the covers to reveal all of the food. "Buck... wheat?" I say, feeling slightly cheated. "Don't worry, you probably will still enjoy them. They're nothing like hay pancakes." Storm assures me as he grabs some food. Thirty Minutes Later "Aaaahhhhh..... my stomach...." Storm complains from shot gun as everyone buckles up. We somehow made it a contest to see who could eat them most pancakes. Big Mac won. I tried to join in, but after eight pancakes, two grapefruits, a bowl of yogurt and six eggs..... I thought I did well. "Alright lets get going!" I say as I turn the engine on. CLICK Da fuck? CLICK CLICK CLICK "What the fuck?" I ask as I sit back and try to think of whats wrong. I fixed the arcane condenser. Redid all of the wiring. Applied the synthetics to the pistons. "Does it have power?" Twilight asks from Storms side. "............ right." I grab the steering wheel and watch the meters fill with power. I turn the the ignition and sigh in relief as the engine roars to life. "OK, now we're going." I say as I push the accelerator and drive off. "Mooseden here we come!" Ten Hours Later "... EIGHTEEN BOTTLES OF SARSAPARILLA ON THE WALL, EIGHTEEN BOTTLES OF SARSAPARILLA. YOU TAKE ONE DOWN AND PASS IT AROUND, SEVENTEEN BOTTLE OF SARSAPARILLA ON THE WALL!" Pinkie sings as we come to a stop on the edge of Mooseden. "PINKIE!" Everyone yells, getting her to finally stop. It was fine at first, but nine hundred eighty three bottles later I'm about to snap. "Look! Mooseden! We made it!" Pinkie cheers as she points forward. Mooseden is a fairly small village, compared to Ponyville at least. There are about twenty buildings all together. They're all made of the same dark wood and seem to be larger then standard buildings from Ponyville, being at least four times the length of one but roughly the same height. They seem to be built in stacks, having logs on top of logs that end with slanted roofs. The area around here is significantly colder. Surrounding the small town is a dense forest that continues out for a bout three kilometers until it abruptly ends. To the south east are some rather large mountains. They're part of a chain that we used to find this place. Tall jagged peaks shoot up into the sky, white covered peaks piercing through the grey sky. "Well... now where do we go?" Rarity asks from the back as everyone takes in the view. "I've got this." Storm says as he stands in his seat and looks around. "Drive to the east side of town and look for a place called The Cheesy Antlers." I glance to him for a second before shaking my head and drive off. I try to keep my distance, but soon have to drive close by when the forest forces me closer. I peer over to the town to try to see the residents, but I can't seem to see any. This place is deserted. I can't see a living soul. "There it is." Storm says as he flies out of the car and heads towards a building ahead of us. "FINALLY!" Rainbow yells as she jumps out of the back bench and flies up, racing around the entire town as she spins and flips around. I come to a stop by a building with a small sign nailed to the side, having pony text on it. I turn the jeep off and jump out, stretching my back and legs before walking around front with everyone. "Storm! Rainbow! Get down here already so we can go inside." I yell out to them. from the porch of the building. As they take their time getting down here, I take another look around town. Most of the buildings seem to be empty. Ragged clothes hang from opened windows as door sway in the wind. Many of the buildings seem to be in some form of disarray, loose boards, broken windows, holey roofs. I don't believe that many people live here, if any do at all. "Alright, lets head inside and see if we can find Bantler." Storm says as he and Rainbow land beside me and walk inside. We head inside the building and take a look around. It's fairly dark, the only lighting being from the windows and a candle in what looks like the remains of a bar. There are several round wooden tables and chairs throughout the room, but they are all in disrepair and dusty. To the right of us is a wooden stage barely in tack, just like the rest of this town, with a person sitting on a stool. It looks... kind of like a pony, only larger with thin legs, a thick brown coat and large horn like things on it's head. "Are you Bantler?" Storm asks as he approaches the person. "She ain't gonna answer." Someone from behind says. I turn around to see another person like the one before, only being of larger build and having larger horn things. "I'm Bantler, what can I do for ya?" He says as he begins to wipe the counter top to the bar. "Uh... Cheesus told me you..." "Oh Cheesus sencha eh? Well alrighty then. Welcome to The Cheesy Antler eh." He says as he walks out to greet us. "Why don't we get your bags in and well...." "Actually, we wont need any of that." Storm cuts him off. "We just need a shed or something to put our carriage in and then we'll be outta here." "Oh... OK then." Bantler says, seeming disappointed. "Bantler, if you don't mind my asking, what has happen to this village?" Rarity asks, making Bantler sigh. "Its the food eh. Our supply line was cut off, so most folks just up and left. We try to sell our timer, but no one seems to want to trade with us anymore. That, or the moose we send out just decide to not come back." "So yer not gettin any food?" Applejack asks, getting a nod from Bantler. "That aint right. I know I've seen your village on mah rosters fer apples, where's it all going?" "You work for Sweet Apple Acres? Well you tell me. We send the money and never get the food. Folk here got tired of waiting and left. Me an Na-Da here are the last of this here village, an I don't know how much longer we can stay." "What's wrong with Na-Da?" Pinkie asks as she waves a hoof in front of Na-Da. "Well... I don't know. She won't talk any more. Ever since the last family left here she's been quiet. I think its the stress off losing this village ya know. Our family was the one who started it over ninety years ago and now we have ta leave, taint fair. But enough about my problems. Lets get your carriage in the shed." Bantler says as he leads us outside. Before I could get out Rarity had grabbed my leg and beckoned me back. "Yeah?" "Is there anything we could do for them? We can't just leave them like this." She says as she glances over to Na-Da. "I don't like it anymore then you do, but it'll have to wait until later. Lets just finish up in Quartz Crest and then when we get back I'll have a word with Luna." She doesn't seem to like this answer, but accepts it anyway. It's not like I don't want to help, I do. It's just that we came here with an objective. "Ya comin or not... er..." "Miles." I say as I walk out with Bantler. "Miles.... OK then. Its your name after all." He says as we walk around back. "Huh... well that's a mighty strange carriage ya got... strange runs in your kind, doesn't it?" He asks as he continues around the back of the building, stopping at the end. He moves a latch and pulls the wall open, revealing a small room full of brown sacks and random tools. There's barely enough room for the jeep, but with some extra guidance I drive it inside and turn it off. "Alright everyone, gather around." I say, getting everyone, and Bantler, to gather around me. I kneel down and draw a circle in the dirt, then put a square in the center and finish with putting a line through it, going east to west. "This is a very basic outline of Quarts Crest. In the center is the Parliament Congressional Hall, or P.C.H. This line, is what they call the Cliffs. Half of Quartz Crest if twenty stories lower then the other half. Just like any other city there are four main entrances. North, east, south, and west. If you lose your sense of direction, use the P.C.H. Every wall faces a direction. Our first round in will be just to see if its there, and if there are survivors. We go in, explore for a few kilometers, then get out and regroup. Any questions?" Everyone shakes their head, except Bantler, so I get up and open up the benches in the jeep. "What do you think the chances are that we find humans down there?" Storm asks as we each put on our armor. "I don't know. But we'll find out soon enough." Author's Note A/N: Shout out to thetowncrier for picking breakfast! Thanks for ready and like always, Brony on!
Chapter 110 Quartz CrestChapter 110 Quartz Crest Once Storm and I finished getting our gear on, Twilight and I worked on figuring out where the city actually is. We started by taking a map of Equestria and finding Topaz Falls. From there we used the coordinates from my phone, compared them to Topaz and made our dot. It should be a kilometer north of the town. After we put the map away I hand Rarity and Twilight the remaining rifles and we head out. "So how are ya sure that the city is going to be there.... in that spot that is." Applejack asks as we walk through the deserted town. "It's simple math," Twilight reassures. "We just use one coordinate, juxtapose it to the other, and then dig." "Juxawhat now?" "I just hope there isn't anything scary down there," Fluttershy says from the back. "I doubt there is," Storm says from my side. "Is there?" He asks me in a hushed tone. "I don't know what's down there. The scariest thing I can think of that is down there is a military bot. But other then that, no." I tell them as we walk through the northern part of town. From this point on, it's clear landscape for almost half a kilometer. There are thousands of stumps covering the ground, but other then that, there's nothing here. We continue through, though I can tell Fluttershy is disturbed by the removed trees. "Just a bit further," Twilight says as we near the tree line. "Okay, lets pause here so I can make a Mico platform." I tell them as I flare my hands. I try to find the most open area possible, but settle with a spot that has three stumps in the way. Starting there, I remove the stumps and toss them aside. After that I level the ground off and lay my palms on the ground. "Did anypony else get a weird vibe from Bantler?" Rainbow asks as I start on the platform. "He seemed like a nice enough moose to me," Fluttershy says. "Ah dunno, he was hiding sumthin." Applejack replies as I finish the platform. "We can look into it after we get back from Quartz Crest." I say as I continue forward. "But... there is something more to Moosden than first impressions showed." "Right here!" Twilight says after we entered the forest. "Start digging right here." I walk beside her and wait for everyone to gather closely. "Alright, here we go." I say as I flare my hands and start to send us through the ground. We race through the earth, passing roots and pockets of water until we hit a layer of rock. The rock slowed me down at first, but after raising my power level a bit we made it to our original speed. One Hour Later CRASH We had been going along smoothly until the ground suddenly came out from beneath us, causing us all to fall to the ground below.... everyone somehow falling right on top of me. "Ow..." I mumble from the bottom of the pile. "Everypony alright?" Storm asks as I feel everyone getting off. A collection of yes's come from the others as we get up and look around, only finding darkness. "Rarity, help me out." Twilight says as she lights up her horn. Rarity nods as she lights up her own horn. We're in a long tunnel, being roughly three meters tall and four meters wide. I look down both sides of the tunnel before sending a flare down one end. After seeing nothing, I turn around and send a flare down, seeing the wall to Quartz Crest. I take a deep breath before walking towards it. I don't know what to expect here. If there are people... how would they react to ponies? If there aren't... did my friends make it out? PLEASE STAND BY FOR IDENTIFICATION I pause as a red scanner moves back and forth from the bulkhead, scanning all of us as it moves up. UNKNOWN IDENTIFICATIONS. PLEASE TURN BACK. ACCESS DENIED. "Well.... shit." I say as I walk up to the bulkhead and lay a hand on it. Of course it wouldn't recognize me, I've never been here before. "Now what?" Rarity asks as I take a step back and look around..... DOMINUS CLOVIS! "Who has Dominus Clovis?" I ask as I walk around and look through every ones gear, finding it with Pinkie. "Here goes everything." I say as I slam the bottom onto the bulkhead, making a loud thud echo through the cave. "Maybe you should put some energy into it." Twilight suggests as nothing happens. "Oh, right." I say as I flare my hands and try again. THUD ACCESS GRANTED. WELCOME TO QUARTZ CREST We all give a small cheer as the door opens up.... and a wave of green sludge pours out, covering all of our feet. "EEEEEWWWWW!" All of the girls squeal as they try to back away from the door. "What is this filth!" Rarity yells as she runs out of the sludge. I kneel down and stick my fingers into the sludge.... no... it can't be. I bring my fingers up and give the sludge a sniff.... "Oh sweet Barbra ." I say before I try some. "MILES!" Everyone yells as I swish the sludge around in my mouth. "It's food." I say as I stand and look around. "You can't be serious." Rarity says from the edge of the sludge. "Try some. It tastes... fresh." Storm looks down and gives the sludge a sniff. Shrugging his shoulders, he takes a bite. "STORM!" Twilight yells as he chews it. "Its not bad. A little bland, but... better then nothing." He says as Twilight just shakes her head at us. "Alright, we just need to push through this sludge and have a look around...." "I am not getting my hooves dirty." Rarity says as she puts her hoof down and looks away. I look to everyone before kicking some of the sludge at her, getting it all over her legs. "There, now lets get..." "HOW DARE YOU!" She yells as she frantically begins the wipe her legs clean. "Now I'm going to have to rinse and lather for hours!" "Uh, we all will have to. But that'll have to wait until after we get through Quartz Crest. Now lets get going." I say before turning and marching through the door. I hear some complaints from behind but ignore them to get to the objective. "Miles, that was a little harsh." Storm says as he runs up beside me. "Yeah, but it had to be done." I say as I take in the view. "What the fuck happened here?" Everything here is coated in the green sludge. Buildings, streets, the dome, it's everywhere. Long strands of solid green sludge comes out from random heaps and end in fist size yellow balls. These balls emit a small glow that light up Quartz Crest. These mounds are everywhere, clumping to the side of the dome, the P.C.H. and vary in size. The smallest ones seem to be human size while the largest ones are easily two stories tall. A majority of the buildings are still standing, though I can see bullet holes on some. Perspective: Storm As Miles walks up to a nearby building, the rest of the group walks in and takes in the view. "...it was still very rude of... oh my." Rarity says as she takes looks around. "What is all of this.. filth..." "Rarity." I say trying to get her attention. "Its simply awful. How could anypony live with such vulgar... things." "Rarity." "Simply dreadful. Lets just get...." "RARITY!" I yell, getting her attention. I motion with my head to Miles while saying, "maybe we should worry about the sludge later." We both look back to Miles to see him running a hand over some holes. "Miles, is everything alright?" Fluttershy asks as we all walk up to him. "These are Unfamiliar bullets, 7.62's. They made it here." We all look to each other as he falls silent. "Maybe they made it after your friends got here. It could of been decades after them you know." I say, trying to reassure him. He doesn't respond. Instead he just walks off, trudging down the road as he looks over the rod thing. "Storm, why don't you go have a word with him... we'll give you guys some...." "Rahgihrahrahgihbahgihgih*click click click*marrrrrr." We all jump back as sounds from an alley scare us. Miles and I run to the entrance, him pulling out his rifle and me my sword, and investigate. "What is that?" I ask as we approach.... some creature. It's made of the same material as the sludge, but is solid enough to be a living creature. It's body resembles a human in that it has legs, arms, and a head. But it's also drastically different. It has long thin strands coming off of its back that end in small yellow puffs. It doesn't seem to have muscles, rather its just a figure of green stuff. "Okay... that's freaky." Miles says as it turns around and faces us. It has no eyes. Instead it has dozens of those yellow puffs that bob around. It's mouth is full of jagged green shards that seem like they can do some real damage to skin. It's hands end in sharp claws, same goes for its three toed feet. We back up as it starts to walk towards us, walking on all four and weaving its head back and forth. "Let me see if it's friendly." Fluttershy says as she walks past us. "Hello there friend, I'm Fluttershy." She says as she stops in front of it. "Rahbijaw*click click* marrah." It responds as it sits in front of her. She scoots a little closer and leans down to sniff it's hands, making it back away a bit. "Oh, it's okay. I just want to be your friend." She says as she offers it a hoof. It weaves it head side to side as it cautiously steps closer to her. It sniffs her a couple of times before recoiling back and tilts its head a bit. "See, you just a..." "RAAAH!" It screeches as it tries to bite Fluttershy. PAT PAT PAT PAT Miles fires four rounds at it, three in the chest and one in the head, making it fall to its back and exhale as it dies. Fluttershy seems shocked as she stares at its lifeless body. "Wh-what did you do?" She asks as she walks up.... "Look out!" I yell as the creature grabs Fluttershy by her leg and bites her, making her scream out as she tries to yank away from it, only making her wound worse. Miles instantly fires more rounds into the creature, but they don't seem to do anything. They just run straight through and bury themselves in the ground. I run over to the panicking Fluttershy and drop my sword down, beheading the creature and making a gust of wind that blows it away. "Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash yells as she runs to her side and carries her away. Twilight and Rarity walk up with Miles and point their rifles at the creature. Even though it's headless, it's getting back up! A new head grows out from its chest as it squares off to attack us. As it leaps up at us Miles sends a white beam through it's chest, ripping it in half as it drops to the ground and convulses around. "Miles..." Rarity says as we all back up. It's sides are bulging around, growing larger and lager until they fill the alley. "Okay, so soul fire was a bad idea." Miles says as the creature lifts itself out of the alley. Its huge now. Almost as tall as the building and stocky. "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!" It yells as it thrusts its arm down and grabs Miles. He tries to fire at it, but only gets a few shots off before the creature throws him across the city. "Miles!" I yell as the girls begin to run down the street, trying to get away from a group of smaller creatures that came out of another alley. I swing my sword at the giant beast, knocking it back, before flying after the girls. "WHATS THE PLAN!?" I ask Twilight as we run down the road. "RUN! LOTS OF RUNNING!" She yells back. "FIRE YOUR RIFLES AT LEAST THEN!" I yell as I fly ahead of the group. "HOW IS SHE?" I yell over the roar of rifle fire to Rainbow. "WE NEED TO HEAL HER!" Rainbow yells back to me as Fluttershy clings to her. "LET ME CARRY HER! IT'LL BE EASIER FOR ME WITH MY ARMOR!" Rainbow nods to me and we trade. I take Fluttershy as she takes my sword. She's shaking violently, blood pouring profusely from her left leg. "BWWIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH" The giant creature roars as it barrels down the street, trampling its own kind as it races to us at high speeds. "GET HER TO SAFETY! I'LL DISTRACT THEM!" Rainbow yells as she flies at the creature, dodging its swings and sending gust of wind at its face. "RAINBOOOOW!" I yell as I watch more creatures try to get her. Something grabs my tail and drags me down to street. "Storm, in here!" Twilight yells as she pulls me inside a building. Applejack and Pinkie throw some furniture at the door, barricading it for now. They start on trying to find a way to cover up the window as I lay Fluttershy down on the ground. She's holding her hoof, trying to stop the bleeding. "OK, you need to drink this potion as I check for any breaks, think you can do that?" Twilight asks as she digs into her bag and pulls out a blue potion. "N-n-n-th-the thing... bit me... so scared..." Fluttershy says as she continues to sob. Rarity walks over to her and cradles her head in her hooves as she takes the potion from Twilight. "Shh shh shhh. It's alright. They can't get you right now. I won't let them." Rarity assures her as she brings the potion to her lips. She continues to speak softly to her as Twilight gets to work looking for any broken bones. "STORM! We could use yer help here!" Applejack yells as she and pinkie hold a desk against a window. Loud thuds make the desk push forward as arms reach through the sides of the window. I run over and help push the desk back against the wall, severing the arms and making the creatures screech in pain. "IS THERE ANYTHING THAT CAN HELP HOLD THIS UP?!" I yell as we all push back as hard as possible. "I DON'T KNOW, BUT MY TWITCHY TAIL IS GOING OFF LIKE CRAZY!" Pinkie yells back. "WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN!?" Perspective: Miles "FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!" I yell as I fly though the air. I keep trying to move around to correct myself, but I'm spinning around too much to move my arms properly. My vision is a giant blur, going from dome, to buildings, to dome, to buildings, and back and forth. SPLURT I land in a large pile off sludge and hit the ground.... SNAP ...hard. The momentum of my fall carries me through as I slide out of the sludge and slam into a building. "AAAAAAAAAHH!" I yell as I grab my leg. It's broken, easily. "RAHIIEEEAH!" I grab my rifle and look around in a panic as a mass of the green creatures surround me. I swing my rifle from side to side as I send round after round into the beast, none of them stopping them from reaching me.... Perspective: Rainbow Dash I fly circles around the giant creature as I send gust after gust at it. Mine aren't as strong as Storm's swings, but they are at least enough to give me an edge. After looping around it and making it fall to the ground I fly high into the air and look around. In the distance I see Miles fall to the ground... that's going to hurt. I was about to fly after him when I remembered Fluttershy... she's hurt and I have Storm's sword. Who do I help? Author's Note So, who will Rainbow help? Leave a comment between Miles or the group and who ever gets the most wins! Brony on!
Chapter 111 A Close CallChapter 111 A Close Call I hover in the air for a bit longer before I shake my head and fly for the building. I know where they are, plus Miles is a big boy, he can take care of himself. There are a lot of the green creatures trying to break in, but they're all clumped together. I land next to them and hack at them as hard as possible, sending a powerful gust that sends them flying back. "Guys, its me! Let me in!" I yell as I pound on the door, glancing back to see the giant one charge at me. "COME ON!" Storm yells as he pulls the desk out of the way and drags me inside, pushing the desk back in place. I drop the sword and sit down, trying to catch my breath as I calm down. "How is everypony?" I ask as I look around. Rarity and Twilight are in the back of the room, helping Fluttershy, while Storm, Applejack and Pinkie hold up a desk against the windows. "Well... things have been better. We can only hold the door for a bit longer, go and see if Fluttershy is ready to go yet." Storm says as the creatures start pounding on the desk again. "And hurry!" I nod and run to the others as they help Fluttershy up. She's still teary eyed, holding her hoof close to herself, but at least she's up. "Fluttershy! Are you alright? Think you can make it out of here?" "*sniif* I-I can try..." "Alright, Rainbow and Fluttershy will fly to safety as we go through the back. We'll all meet at the P.C.H." Twilight says as she puts the rest of her medical supplies back. "What? No way I'm leaving you guys behind..." "Rainbow, you're not leaving us behind. Just think of it as... advance leading. We can handle our selves, but we need somepony to take Fluttershy to safety and watch after her." "But..." "No buts. Now get going! We don't have much time left!" Twilight yells as the pounding gets louder. "Fine! Come on Fluttershy." I say as jump into the air and fly to the back door. "Uh... girls." Fluttershy quivers. I sigh and look back to see her standing there, flapping her wings as hard as she can. "I can't get air born." "What?" I ask as I fly back to her and look over her wings. "There's nothing wrong with your wings though, you should be able to fly." She shuts her eyes as she tries again to fly, but can't seem to get in the air. "There must be something magical wrong with..." "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" We all look back to the front as something forces the desk to fly forward, knocking everypony over as the green creatures start to charge in. Storm was quick to get back up and immediately started started hacking at them, sending them flying back as we all gathered at the back. "OK, Fluttershy can't fly, so we go to the next plan. Twilight will teleport the two of you to the P.C.H. as we all make a run for it." I explain as Applejack kicks open the door. I look back to Storm to see a giant hand grab the top of the window and tear the top of the building off. Storm spins around and slashes at the giant, sending a whirlwind that knocks the giant on it's back as the remaining creatures swarm him. He stabs and slashes at them, cutting limbs and blowing them back as he holds them at bay. "GET GOING!" He yells as he continues to fight, debris falling all around him. "I'LL HOLD THEM OFF! MEET AT THE P.C.H!" "You heard him, let's get going!" I yell as I start pushing them to go. We all run into an alley and head towards the tall building in the center of the city, the sound of Storm fighting getting quitter and quitter as we near it slowly. The alley has a few mounds here and there that start to bulge around when we pass them, but we don't stop. "Rainbow! You need to go find Miles!" Rarity yells as we charge across a road and into another alley. "What?! I can't leave you guys! You need my..." "Miles needs help to! If he's even conscious after that fall he's going too need assistance with anything thing else! These creatures seem to drain magical energy, he will need your help!" Twilight yells as a few more creatures appear in front of us. Rarity and Twilight immediately start shooting as we charge through them, their rounds making ashy holes in the creatures. "But... I... FINE! But you guys better be at the P.C.H. when we get there!" "We will. Be safe." "You to." I say before I leap into the air and begin to fly upwards. I glance back to see a group of the creatures charging at them from both sides, red beams mowing down the ones in front as they continue to run through them. You better get there safely... I shake my head and begin to fly towards the center of the city as fast as my wings will get me there. After a few minutes I make it to the center of the city and look around in awe. The cliff here is huge. It goes all the way from one edge of the city to the other, going down twenty stories... as Miles told us. The building on the top of the cliff seem to be a part of it as well. The buildings appear to continue to be built into the side of the cliff and go all of the way down.... "Oh that doesn't look good." I say as I stare at... well... uh... ALL WILL TURN TO THE VOID Perspective: Miles As a group of creatures charge at me, eight-ish, I try to back away with my good leg as I fire at them, but my rifle is being completely useless. Every shot seems to just drive through them, causing no harm what so ever. When they're in arms reach I slam my left arm on the ground and send them flying back with a wave of energy. Once I have some spare room I sling my rifle back and start healing... "Oh sweet Barbra." I mutter as the creatures get back up.... larger then before. They snarl at me before lunging, closing the distance in half the time. I try to raise a shield around myself, but end up making it encase me with one of them.... son of a... "RAHWIIIIIIMAAA!" It screeches before it tries to bite me. I punch it across the face, stopping it from latching onto me. I notice that a chunk of its face burns and falls... hmm, they must be susceptible to fire.... "AAAAHHHHH! I yell as it takes advantage of my distraction and bites my arm. I start to try to punch it as my magic suddenly shuts off.... SHIT! Every creature jumps me as my shield drops. I try to fight to get free, but their teeth big deep into my skin. ALL WILL TURN TO THE VOID FUCK! I don't have time for this! I need to get away from these.... GIVE ME CONTROL. I WILL GIVE YOU FREEDOM. "AAAAAHHHHH!" I yell as they start to tear the flesh from me. HURRY YOU FOOL. BEFORE YOU FADE. "FINE! JUST DO IT ALREADY!" PERFECT Perspective: Rainbow Dash I shake my head as I stare at the mass of creatures devouring Miles. No...... he can't be dead. He just.... DAMN IT! Why did I go to the group first! Miles needed me and I let him down and now.... and now.... "HAHAHAHAHA FINALLY!" I look back to see black tendrils shoot from the group of creatures, turning them to black wisps. Miles gets up.... but is using the black tendrils to do so. There seem to be three tendrils per portal. In addition to that, he seems to have the black wispy stuff pouring out from his mouth and eyes. He's using almost all of the tendrils to hold himself in the air, leaving the ones from his hands to run over his body to heal his woulds. He has all of the lines on his body showing, though they seem different. They're all jagged and.... not straight. "MILES!" I yell in joy as I fly towards him. He seems a lot scarier, but it's still Miles. So... "WHOA!" I yell as I dodge a black tendril. "What the heck Miles!" "DO NOT INSULT MY POWER!" He snaps back in a raspy voice. "I am Corpus Glasius." He says before he takes off for the cliff, using the tendrils to move through the street. "Wait! Who's corpus Glacius? What happen to Miles. WE NEED TO GO THAT WAY!" I yell as I point towards the P.C.H. He ignores me and jumps off the cliff. I fly after him and watch as he uses the tendrils to latch onto buildings and start to crawl away, leaving a trail of black wisps. "Mi.... I mean Corpus, where are you going?" I ask from a distance. "Where ever I please. That fool gave me control, so now I will do what I please." He yells back as he continues to jump from building to building. Several of the green mounds come to life, having a couple of the green creatures crawl out of them and charge at Miles... or Corpus. Mi... Cor.... he just sends tendrils through them turning them to black wisps. "But... what about the others?" I ask as he continues to flail the tendrils around, killing creature after creature. "I care not." Aw just.... "Well, if your scared of the creatures that's fine..." "I FEAR NOTHING!" He yells back. I just turn away from him an start to fly away from him slowly. "Its alright, being scared is just a part of life. Now go do whatever it is you're doing while I go face the danger and save our friends. BYE!" Before he could answer I fly up and begin to fly towards the P.C.H. Hopefully he's as gullible as Miles is- THUD I spin around to see him hovering right over me, glaring daggers at me. "Lead me to the danger." He says. "Yes sir." I say as I speed off for the P.C.H. OK, that was freaky. I glance back to see him chasing after me... but two of the tendrils from his back are missing. I look back forward and start to search for the group, by looking for the giant creature. I find it about half way to the P.C.H., tearing buildings from the ground as it tries to get to something. "Think you can handle that?" I ask as I stop and hover in place. "Does Anima Ignis have his head up his ass?" He says flatly says flatly as he races towards the giant. The giant see's him almost immediately and charges at him. I watch as Miles... or Corpus, sends out tendrils and wraps them around the giant as it tries to grab him. The creature continues to shrink as Corpus dodges his attacks. As they fight, a mob of creatures begin to form underneath them, trying to reach Miles. A shiny speckle catches my attention. I look back down to see the group crossing a street, trying to get to the P.C.H. I fly as fast as my wings will carry me, trying to get to them as quickly as possible. "GUYS!" I yell as I crash before them. Twilight and Fluttershy are missing, but other then that and a few scraps and bruises they seem fine. "Rainbow! RUN!" Storm yells as they continue to run down the street, passing me. I look back to see a group of the creatures chasing them, so I turn and run with them. "Everything OK?" I ask as I catch up with Storm. "Well... bites take away magic apparently.... hows Miles?" I glance back to where he was and see the black tendrils waving in the air. "He's fine.... kind of... hes giving us cover right now..... kind of. It was a real close call with him, but he pulled through." I yell back as Storm starts to take to the air. "I'm going to fly ahead and meet up with Twilight and Fluttershy. Can you lead the rest to the P.C.H.?" "You can count on me." I yell back, getting a nod from him as he flies off. "TWITCHY TAIL, TWITCHY TAIL!" Pinkie yells right before something crashes behind us. Rarity lets out a high pitched scream as I look back to see Miles killing the last of the creatures. He's down to only four of the tendrils now. "Its alright! It's just Miles... kind of. Just keep running!" I yell as I quicken my pace. We need to regroup with everypony and get the heck out of here. After nearly an hour of straight running, mostly fueled by adrenaline, we finally make it to the base of the P.C.H., where everypony collapses from exhaustion. I look over to Miles to see the last tendril fade away, making him drop to the ground and pass out. I try to get up, but my legs wont work for me right now. I glance up to see Storm and Fluttershy flying towards us, Storm carrying Twilight. Wait.. Fluttershy is flying, that's good. I'd be more enthusiastic about it... I'm just too tired right now. "AH!" Miles yells as he wakes up suddenly. "What happened? How did I get here? Why am I so cold?..... where are my clothes?" He asks as he stands up and looks around. "Miles! You're alive!" Twilight says as they land before us. "We were so worried ab...." "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!" Mils screams as his magic maxes out and he falls to the ground. "Miles! Whats wrong?" Storm ask as they circle around him. "NO! NOOOOOOO! NOT NOW! GET AWAY FROM ME! BACK UP DAMMIT!" He yells as he flails around. "Miles.... are you..." "IT'S ANOTHER CHANGE!" Perspective: Storm Cloud I watch helplessly as Miles convulses around. We're so close to our objective. What do we do now? "What's happening to him?" Rarity asks as she shakily stands up. "He's going through a change right now. His power is growing again." I explain as I watch him twist and yell in pain. "Isn't there anything we could do?" She asks as she joins our sides and watches him twist around. "No. The only thing we could do is to get out of here and..." "What! But we're so close right now. How could you say we should leave when..." "Becuase, Rarity, we can't operate his machinery. He's the only one who can make that stuff work and he's... well, you know." "What if we just wait until he wakes..." "Last time this happened he was out for a day. And he told me that these things will get worse and worse as he get more and more powerful. We need to get him out of here and to safety. We all need to get to safety." I say as I look around to see all of the tired members of our group. "But..." "No buts. Know somepony levitate him so we can carry him back to the door." I say, getting Twilight to pick him up. She makes it a few steps before he suddenly drops to the ground. "I don't believe it. He burned through my aura field. I can't carry him." Twilight says. Author's Note Shout out to Liun for picking who took control of Miles! Thanks for the new cover art! If you are currently making another one, don't stop, I will always take them into consideration and if I can't ever choose one, then you guys can vote on it! Brony on!
Chapter 112 Generous SacrificeChapter 112 Generous Sacrifice Perspective: Rarity As everypony bickers to one another about what to do, I see a creature walk towards us out of the corner of my eye. I quickly turn towards it and aim. KER-PEW I nearly loose the rifle as it blast a massive bolt of energy at the creature. The usually pencil size bolt is now a leg size bolt, and turns the icky creature to ash. "What was that!" Storm asks as he runs over and takes a look. "What did you do?" "I...I don't know! I saw one of those disgusting creatures and took a shot at it! But the shot came out and it was... well... bigger." Everypony stares at me in disbelief, as if I would lie about something I have absolutely no control over. "I think it was Miles." Twilight says as she look back to him. "Him over exerting himself like this must be sending excess energy out. Our rifles must be over powered right now, and possibly our magic. It's just a theory, but it makes the most sense right now." I look between Miles and my rifle, not completely understanding everything. Just how much power is the poor dear dealing with right now? "Alright, magic OP, great. Right now we need to get out of Quartz Crest..." "What?! Storm, why would we leave so close to the objective?" Twilight interrupts. "Fluttershy is injured. You've been over exerting yourself magically. My sword doesn't do shit against those creatures and we only have two effective fighters; not to mention our most effective fighter is currently flailing around on the ground. We need to head back to Moosden and wait for everypony to heal...." "How do you propose we move Miles?" Twilight asks, getting Storm to think about it. "Like this." He says as he pulls his sword out and slashes at Miles, making a gust of wind that blows him down the street. "STORM!" Everypony yells as he walks after him. "Look, we need to get out of here. This is the only way to get him out of here. I don't like it either.... but we have to get going." Everypony looks to each other before following after Storm. "I hate you so much." Miles whines as he goes into the fetal position. "Love ya..." "CAN I DO IT!" Pinkie asks as she runs up beside Storm. "Please? Please please please please please please..." "Alright, but just this once." Storm says as he gives her the sword. "YES! Ahem..... FUS-ROH-DAH!" She yells as she slashes at him, sending him further down the street. "OK, now Cheesus will be happy." She says as she gives Storm the sword back. "The.... pimp?" "He wishes." Pinkie chuckles as she hops after Miles. We all look to each other and shrug it off as a Pinkie thing. "Alright, I'll take lead. Twilight, Rarity, take the sides and shoot anything green. Rainbow, fly above us and call out any creatures you see. Applejack, pick up the rear and buck anything that isn't us." "RIGHT!" Everypony says as we take our positions and follow after Storm. "Please don't." Miles begs as Storm walks up to him. "Sorry buddy, but this is for your own good." FOOSH Two Hours Later "AAHHHHHAHAHAAaaa." Miles screams as he slams into the bulkhead of the dome. Storm was able to speed up the time by blasting him into the air and continuously hitting him, keeping him air born. Luckily for us, we didn't run into many of the food creatures, but to keep up with Storm, Twilight had to teleport us a couple of times. This has left her fairly worn out. Most of those creatures must of been killed when Corpus Glacius took over Miles's body. "Alright.... *pant* we made it..." Twilight says before collapsing to the ground. "You... can say... that twice." Rainbow says as she sets Fluttershy down and drops next to Twilight. "Now... how do we open the door?" Applejack asks Miles, only to get pained cries from him in response. "Where's that gold stick Miles had that he used to open it?" Pinkie asks as she starts to look around for it. "I have it." We all look to Miles as he rolls over to show the glowing stick on his back. It must be enchanted to resist high temperatures. "Well.... OK. Let me try to levitate it off." I says as I flare my horn. I envelope the rod with my magic and work on getting it out... but things don't work out. The rod is so hot that whenever I try to move it, it just burns through my aura field. After several failed attempts, and an ever growing head ache, I finally give up. "Sorry girls, and Storm, but there is no way that thing is coming off." "Well... what now?" Storm asks as he looks back to the bulkhead. I sit down and try to think of something as well, when I hear Miles mumble something. Curious, I step closer to him and listen to what he's saying. "....me..... teleport me.... Twilight..." "Uh Twilight dear, can you come here please." I says as I back away from him, due to his flailing around. "Yeah Rarity?" Twilight asks weakly as she approaches the two of us. "Miles was mumbling something. I think he wants you to teleport him somewhere..." "What? I need to save up to get the group back to the surface..." "Yes, I know. But I think you should give it a try anyway, this could be important." I say as I glance back to Miles. "*sigh* alright, here goes nothing." Twilight says as she charges her horn and tele... KA-BOOM We all drop to the ground as Miles reappears in a massive explosion down the street. Once we feel its safe to, we all raise our heads and look down the street to see a massive hole in the ground where Miles should be, along with a few fires. "That.... could of been us." I say as I look back to everypony. "Miles is not coming back to the surface with us..." "We can't just leave him here though, its too dangerous to be here alone!" Rainbow says as she tries to get air born, but drops back down due to a pain in her wing. "Hey! I think I found the lever!" Pinkie says as she pulls a large lever that's sitting on the wall beside the bulkhead. Once its down, the door begins to slide upwards, getting cheers from everypony... except for me. I know what I have to do... I just need Storms sword. As everypony goes to talk with Pinkie I walk over to the hole in the ground beside Storm and look down with him. There seems to be a fire down there, probably one of those icky goo piles with Miles in the center. "Why don't you let me go down and get him, I'm sure you're plenty tired from doing all of that hard work earlier." I say as I nudge him a bit. "How are you going to get back up?" Storm asks while raising an eyebrow. "Magic." "Oh... right. Well here's my sword." He says as he offers me his sword. I take it and walk to his other side, trying to aim it so he's between me and the bulkhead. If he only would open his wings.... "Did I ever tell you about the time Twilight and I had a threesome with Applejack?" FWOOSH "WHAT?!" FOOSH I swing the sword as hard as possible, sending Storm flying into the girls and knocking them all over. Using my magic, I switch the lever back as I continue to swing the sword at them, making them roll into the cave and out of the city. "One day." I yell to the others as the door slowly reaches the bottom. "Come back in one day. If the door isn't open by then, then come back in another twelve hours. I'll be back at that time and every hour afterwards." I yell as the door finally shuts. I stare at the door for a bit, feeling horrid for deceiving them like this, but I had to do it. I'm the only one here who will stand a chance with Miles. Twilight and Rainbow are too tired. Fluttershy is injured. Storm, Applejack and Pinkie don't have any means of fighting the creatures effectively... I have to be the one to stay behind and watch after Miles... "RAHWIJAAAAA!" I turn around to see four of the creatures slowly approaching me. I lift up the rifle with my magic and shakily hold the sword up. "HOW BOUT YOU!" I yell as I open fire and swing the sword. Perspective: Storm THUD "Ow..." I say as I fall back. I had tried to fly back inside to stop her, but I was too late. Dammit Rarity, what do you think you're doing? "What does she think she's doing! She can't stay in there by herself! Rarity can barely function with a speck of dirt on her hooves! How is she going to fight off an entire city of crazy food creatures!" Twilight yells as she tries to lift the bulkhead up with her magic. I walk over to her and put an arm around her, getting her to stop and hug me tightly. "There has ta be sum way we can get inside." Applejack says as she walks up beside me and looks at the door with me. "Is there anything we can do?" Rainbow asks as she joins us. "Panic?" Fluttershy asks as she limps over. We all give her a look, getting her to offer a smile in response. "There isn't anything we can do." I say, getting everypony's attention. "We just have to trust that Rarity will be able to hold her own. We don't need to worry about Miles, he's practically on fire right now. Lets just head back to Moosden and work on getting rested up. We need to get back as soon as possible." "If you say so." Pinkie says as she mopes behind us, hair falling straight down. "You'll see. Well be back here tomorrow and everypony will be fine.... you'll see." Everypony stays silent as Twilight charges her horn and prepares to teleport us away. I hold onto her a little tighter, worrying about Rarity and Miles. FLASH Perspective: Rarity Six Hours Later *Grrrr* "Who goes there!" I yell as I jolt awake and look around for anymore of the creatures. I've been on the move for ever, trying to find anywhere remotely safe to hold up to rest. And so far its been rather difficult. I stand up and look around the office some more, trying to find the disgusting creature that's hiding in here. After a few minutes of searching around cubicles I tur... *Grrrr* Oh.... I'm just hungry. I shake my head as I trot back to where I left.... "MILES!" I run over to him and shake him, trying to wake him up. The fire on his back has gone away, as well as most of the lines on his body. I watch as the lines completely retreat to his hands and feet and the fires on them fade away. He's finally done! Now he just needs to wake up now. "Miles! Miles? Rah, don't you know its rude to keep a lady waiting." I say as I shake him some more. Sadly, he remains asleep. I look around before I raise a hoof and gently slap him... nothing. Well... ok, one more. I try again, but with a little more force, and come to the same results. "Hmm... this must be some kind of... magically induced coma. Oh... I wish I had Twilight here, she would know what to do." I look around and decide to let him sleep while I get something to eat. Twenty Minutes Later Once I get the picnic blanket down, and all of the silverware down, I finally go into my bag to..... "HOW COULD I NOT BRING ANY FOOD!" I yell as I dig into my saddle bag. Scarf, tiara to go with the scarf, rain boots... why didn't I put these on earlier? I shake my head as I dump out all of the contents of my bag and despair. How could I bring all of these fashionable things but not even a single scrap of food?! *Grrrr* "Oh keep quiet you." I say as I stand up and look around. The only edible thing in this room is that pile of green stuff in the back corner NO! I won't even consider such a horrid and disgusting thing. *Grrrr* Well, Miles did say it was food. And he did eat it. NO! I am a lady. I will not eat such disgusting goo. Especially if its on the ground. I absolutely refuse too. *Grrrgrrrgrrrrgrrrr* Oh who's side are you on? Hmm... there isn't anypony here. Except Miles.... MILES! I quickly run over to his satchel and open it.... oh of course. I turn it upside down and dump the ashes onto the ground, but stop when I hear a soft thud. I sift through the ashes and find Miles phone. How did this make it through the heat... how did the bag make it on that point?! BEEP BEEP "AH!" I yelp as I drop the vibrating thing. It gives a few more shake before it goes still, doing a little tone before staying silent. "What in Equestria was..." 'One unread message. From : "Eximius." received: January 26th, 1133' I stare at the phone as it falls silent again. There were two voices coming from it. One sounded like one of those bots while the other one sounded like... a stallions. A well refined stallion at that. I wonder what the message was.... no. That is Miles's personal, private message. I should... *Grrr* "*sigh* fine, you win. I shall.... give it a try." I say as I walk over to the green pile and sit before it. Am I really going to do this? maybe I should hear what the message has to say... it could be something important after all. What if the food is poisoned! Or worse... what if it's made of... meat. OK, that's it. I'm going to see what the message on Miles's phone is. I get up and walk back over to Miles's side, levitating up the phone and looking it over. Hmm... how do I use this? I've seen him do it a couple of times before. You just, take your hoof, point at it, and slide it around. As I try this, the screen stay blank. No matter how much I move my hoof around, nothing will change on the darn thing. *Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr* "Oh.... Fine. If I must, then I must." I say as I set the phone down and walk back over to the pile off goop. I can't believe I'm about to do this. This has to be the single most disgusting thing on the face of the planet. I must never tell a soul about this. I raise a hoof and bring it before the goo, shaking slightly in fear of what I'm about to do to my coat. With a heavy heart I push my hoof into the goop, squealing from the feeling. I pull back and take a look at my hoof, nearly gagging from the sight. "Well... I already have it..." I gulp a bit before I bring the goo to my mouth and try to take a bite. *Nom nom nom* "Oh my." I say as I continue to chew. it's not bad. Actually, for what it is, its fairly decent. I reach back into the pile and take a larger chunk of the goop to eat. I'm actually starting to like this a bit. It does has the texture of tooth paste, but other then that it's not half bad. I reach back inside to get some more, but freeze when I feel something solid. From out of the goo one of the creatures rises. "Oh, is this your pile of goo? How rude of me." I say as I back away from it. I glance back to see the rifle laying beside Miles, so I start to move towards it. "Rahwijinimina." It mutters as it crawls towards me. "Yes.... well, sorry about the whole, eating your goop thing. A girls got to eat." I say as I continue to step away from it. "Awima." It says as it stops and rears back, revealing its stomach. Dozens of the yellow spore things grow out from it's chest and stomach and come towards me. I tried to jump away but it quickly dropped down and tackled me. "LET GO OF ME YOU RUFFIAN!" I yell as it pins me down and starts to send the yellow spores at me. I scream out as they reach closer and.... PEW PEW PEW PEW PEW PEW PEW From behind me red bolts of energy ring out and slam into the creature, making pockets of ash fall from it. "GET THE FUCK OFF OF HER!" Miles yells as he tackles the beast to the ground and uses his magic to set it on fire. I fall back and sigh in relief in Miles saving me.... "MILES! you're awake!" I yell as I jump to my hooves. "A little busy!" He yells back as he wrestle the creature, holding its head back from biting him. "WANT TO EAT SOMETHING HUH? LETS SEE HOW YOU LIKE IT!" He yells as he lunges forward and bites it's neck, making it scream in pain. "M-Miles." I say as I back away from the two of them. Perspective: Tallestbrony As we all stand in front of Squishy's house, I can only shake my head at Pinkie. "How could you total two cars?" I ask for the hundredth time. "I dunno. It was in gear, I turned it on, then I hit Squishy's car.... physics did the rest." Pinkie explains. "My parents are going to kill me." Squishy says as he stares at the remains of his car. "At least now you can get a car without purple seats." I offer. "THEY WERE BROWN!" As we glare at each other, Cheesus and Pinkie start to walk off together. "Where are you guys going?" "Burrito." Cheesus says matter of factly. "But.... I'm Californian.... I don't walk anywhere." I pout as Pinkie looks back to me. "So you can write a 400k word story but you can't walk two miles?" Squishy and I just look back and forth between the wreckage and the others walking away. "Not like it's going anywhere." Squishy says as he runs after them. "But.... police reports.... tow truck.... then... fuck, WAIT UP!" I yell as I run after them.
Chapter 113 Message In The DarkChapter 113 Message In The Dark Perspective: Miles FOOSH I jump back as the creature burns to a crisp, thanks to my magic. I swallow the rest of the... creature, and turn back to Rarity. She seems really disturbed by something... it might be my nudity. "Uh...." "Miles... did you just eat those things?" She asks as she backs away from me. "Well... it is made of food." I say timidly as I rub the back of my neck. I guess that was a little extreme. "Sorry." "Its.... its fine. Lets just forget that it ever happened." She says as she turns away from me and goes to a blanket she had set up. I walk over and take the blanket as she picks up all of the utensils she brought. Why did she bring so much junk? I wrap the blanket around myself as I look around the office we're in. It seems to be a cell phone company, due to all of the phone advertisements.... I wonder if I could find another phone here... "Hey Rarity, did you happen to scout here at all?" I ask as I check all of my gear. "I did a little, but there wasn't anything of use.... though there was a sealed off area that I couldn't get into towards the top." She says as she finishes up and waits for me. "Lets go check.... where is everybody else?" I ask as I look around. I don't see anybody else's gear, or even a sigh of their gear. "Well... you see... I decided that I would be the one to stay behind to watch after you. So I used Storm's sword to blast them into the cave entrance..." "Why would..." "I had to do it! I was the only one who stood a chance of watching over you. We couldn't teleport you. We couldn't levitate you, and we couldn't just leave you in the cave. Heavens knows how much air is there..." "Rarity, its alright." I say as I kneel in front of her. She started to get hysterical, so I put a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. "You did what you felt was right, and succeeded at it. I may not agree with what you did exactly, but I greatly appreciate you sacrificing yourself for the group like that. Now lets get going before anymore of those things show..." "Oh, they won't." Rarity says as she runs over to a window. I walk over and look out with her, seeing a goo covered street.There are a couple of the larger piles with the strands of yellow sticking out of them. "They only come out when something disturbs the area around their mounds. You can tell when they're about to come out when you see the yellow puffs sink back in." "Hmm... they must go off by either wind or scent for detecting anything around themselves." I say as I look around a bit. "Have you tested this at all?" "Well.... no. But when I was trying to find a hiding place for the two of us, I ran past a couple of them. I saw how they reacted and figured that if I could give them enough space that they wouldn't bother me.... and I was right." "How far did you have to go?" "About.... ten feet." Ten feet... math.... so a little over three meters. "That makes things a little easier. That, and now that we know that they are susceptible to fire, fighting them will be easier. Now why don't you just show me where this locked door..." "OH! Before I forget, your phone made a noise." She interrupts. "A... noise." "Yes, someone called Dare Libere left a message..." "Dare!" I yell as I pull my phone out of my bag and take a look at it. One message. I look to Rarity before I sit down and play the message. "Miles?" Dare's voice calls from my speaker. I take a deep breath as I rejoice in hearing his voice again. " Miles, are you there? Of course you aren't.... probably forgot to recharge your phone again. Look, if you're in Quartz Crest, get to the Vexillum Viventium apartments over in the southern distract. If you get this and.... look just get there and ask for me or my parents, OK.... I really hope you show up, I miss ya man... we all do.... just get there, OK." I take another breath as I put my phone back in my bag. "He sounded... sad." Rarity comments as she sits before me. "Yeah... lets get going, I'm three thousand years late for a meeting with my friend. Don't want to keep him waiting." I say as I stand back up and begin to head out. "Uh... don't you want to check out the locked room?" Rarity asks as we walk down a hall, levitating a E.A.R. in front of her. "Well... I guess, since we're here and all." I say as I let her take the lead. She takes me to the main stairwell where we go up a few flights before we find a locked door that reads 'Storage.' "Storage, this is either a janitors closet or where they keep all of the phones... I might be able to get a replacement phone..." "Or a mop." Rarity says, making us both laugh. "So how are you going to open it? Are you going to use Dominus Cloud...Clad...Claviu...Cla..." THUNK While she was failing at Latin I had pulled out my trench knife and slammed it into door bolt, sending my magic into the it to burn its way in. "Or that.... Miles, how do you feel right now?" She asks as I pull my blade back and open the rusty door. "Actually, I feel really good right now..." I say as I kick open the next door to reveal a room filled with shelves. This room seems to be uninfected by all of the goop, being completely dry. It looks as if someone has already been through here, becuase it seems that all if the phones boxes have been opened up with all of their worthless contents thrown about. I take a quick look around the room before going through the first row of shelves, looking for anything that could be useful. "And... is that good?" Rarity asks hesitantly as she looks through all of the lower shelves. "Well.... its normal at least. That how it works; power change, start lower then last changes peak, grow to a higher point...." "How.... how do you think it'll end?" I stop and look over to her. Did she really just ask that? "Well..." "I'm sorry. That was rude of me, if you don't want to say, you don't have to. Please forgive me for intruding." I sigh as I sit down and lean back against one of the shelves. "Its going to be slow, painful.... and probably will depress everyone..." "Miles..." "I'll know when it's starting when I can no longer hold back my magic. My ports will always be flaring due to the high amount of energy pouring through me. In my last moments, the lines from my magic will start to burn until... well... then life goes on." "That's just.... awful." Rarity says as she takes a seat beside me. "Isn't there anything that can be done to... lessen the pain?" "Yeah, you could kill me." I say, getting a shocked look from her. "If you try to siphon the energy, or block it off, it would only prolong the misery. The easy way out is to have someone kill me..." "But... what about the rings you wear? Couldn't you just make some more?" "Heh, actually that is one of the few spells I never learned. Even if I did, I could only cover so much of my body before it would become pointless to live. How long do you think you could go on living as an ordainment?" "Not long I suppose... are... are you scared?" I take a deep breath as I look back to her and contemplate my answer. "Yeah... I am." She looks away from me as she wipes a tear away, so I wrap an arm around her. She wraps me up in a light hug, that I return immediately. There were no tears, only sad thoughts. "Miles...." "Yeah Rare?" "I think I just found something." I let go of her and look behind me to find two unopened phone boxes. I laugh a little as I turn around and take the two boxes and open them up. "YES!" I yell as I yank out a... SHATTER I stare in disbelief at the shattered remains of the phone. In my excitement I had yanked it out and slammed it against a shelf. "Really Miles... OK, I'll open the next one." Rarity says as she takes the other box from me and begins to open it. Inside the other box is a phone that is exactly like mine, only not broken, and the wires that come with it. "Think It'll work?" Rarity asks as she levitates it over to me. "Only one way to find out." I say as I place my thumb over the metal circle and power it up, getting the start up tune. "Why don't you go ahead and check the rest of the room while I get this set up." "Can do." She says as she continues to go through the rest of the shelves. I set up the phone as an duplicate of my own phone, giving it all of the same apps, media, and contacts. The only difference being the numbers to the phones. The last thing i do is exchange contact information between the two phones, just by calling the the other one with mine. "Well, I've checked every nook and cranny, but I couldn't find a single useful thing here." Rarity says as she returns to me. "Really? No wires, gems or..." "The only things left in the room are old boxes and advertisement posters." "Well... ok then. Lets get going." We carefully navigate our way out of the building to the street. A few times we had to take longer routes just to get around a few mounds of goo. Once outside I stop and look around... then do a double take at something that... well.... what is that? About thirty stories up is a white wisp. It seems to be... humanoidish in form. It has two legs, two arms and a head. I rub my eyes and look back up, only to see that it's not there anymore. I rub my eyes again to try to see it again, but its not there anymore.... it must of been my imagination... yeah probably... Ignoring my hallucinations, we head down the streets to the southern district. Again, we take longer routes to avoid having to fight anymore of the creatures. We try to keep as quite as possible as well, in the off chance that they also go by sound. I can't tell how the fight was here. All of the green goop is covering up most of whatever buildings are still remaining. Not to mention the lack of skeletons is making it harder to get a feel for the fighting. The few tall buildings left standing have been taken over by the goop, being coated in the stuff with random growths on them. I check my phone and see that its almost dark hours. "Rarity, lets get somewhere safe and hold up a bit. Its going to be dark hours soon, and I want to see how these creatures act in the dark." She nods and we take a look around. The only area here with none of the goop is at the top of a ten story tall building, easy enough. After a few minutes of me magically propelling us up the building, we finally make it to the top. It's just a level top with a few radio antenna's and some sheets of metal. I set Rarity down and take a look around the city, should be any minute now. "Oh, its starting." Rarity says as the lights start to go out. Actually... the lights were on. They still had power. Anyway, as the lights from above start to go out, a new light takes over. A soft yellow glow starts to rise from below as at the lights from above shut off. I look down ans see some of these yellow glowing spots start to move around. So... they produce their own lights and are active in the dark... why? Maybe their vision is better at night. "AAOOORIIIWA." Rarity and I look to one another before turning around and seeing a massive creature crawl off the side of the P.C.H. "Oh gross. It looks like a giant lizard with a fish head." Rarity says as she stares at it in disgust. Well... ok then. The creature walks on four legs with its back arching up. It drags along a long thick tail that ends in a mass of yellow orbs. It's head goes out to a point with yellow orbs spotted along the top. These orbs act as spot lights, shining brighter then the rest as they scan building to building.... building to..... "Shit!" I whisper as I look around for cover. "What is it?" Rarity asks as she follows me around. "Those things are looking for something." "And?" "And, we're on top of a building with no cover!" "Oh.... OH! What do we do? Where do we go?" Rarity asks in a panic. I look back to see a few more of the massive creatures appear and begin to search building after building. I look over to the sheets of metal and run over to them as one of the search lights starts to come toward us. "Over here!" She runs over and lifts them up with her magic. They're really narrow, but long.... there are also only four. "Squat down." She commands me as she sets them around us. It's painfully obvious that there is going to be enough room for one of us to stand in these. I squat down and... "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" I whisper yell as she straddles me, face forward, and holds the sheets of metal around us. To hold herself up she drapes her hooves around my shoulders, getting uncomfortably close to me. "This is the only way were all going to hide from them! So just deal with it!" "Can you at least scoot back?" I ask. She tries to do it.... but just ends up rocking back and forth... "I can't, your legs are in the way. Why is it a problem?" I hint down a couple of times until she finally gets it. "I don't like being touched like this." I say flatly as she turns red. She suddenly latches tighter onto me as a light passes over us. I try to calm myself down by taking slow, even breathes until she loosens up a bit. "Yes...well... just find a way to deal with it until we can get moving." I take another deep breath and try to think of something else.... "MILES!" "You told me to!" "I told you to think of something of something else!" "Well.... I did..." "Something other then Luna please." She says flatly. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Rainbow Dash Once we had made it back to Moosden we were all suppose to take a rest, but after four naps and nothing to do, boredom got the best of me. I decided to take a stroll through the town, even though there was nothing here to look at, it beats laying in a stuffy room full of sleeping ponies. "UHHG... I'm sooo bored. Why isn't there anything to do do here." I say aloud as I walk through the empty streets. There really isn't anything to do here. I would fly up and practice some tricks, but I've got to save my strength for when we go back to Quartz Crest, so that's out of the question. "...don't care about your problems. Just pay up." A voice in the distance says, catching my attention. I creep around a few buildings until I see them. Two pegasis city guards and Bantler talking to each other in the entrance to the city. "I already gave you the last of it, just go already." Bantler say to the one on the left, a mare with a white mane and a black coat. The other one is a stallion with a red mane and a white body. Both are wearing standard city armor and are carrying swords with them... "What you gave us wasn't even half of what you need to pay. Taxes exist for a reason. You wouldn't want somepony to come through here and destroy this shitty shackle of a village, would you?" The mare says with an evil grin. "No... I wouldn't. What do you want? I already gave you the last of my money, what else could you take?" Bantler begs, getting the two of them to smirk to one another. "Na-da." The stallion say coolly. "What?" "You heard me. Another go at her..." "NEVER!" Bantler yells. "Never again. She hasn't been the same since she let you filthy dogs do that to her. I'd rather die then let you lay a single hoof on her!" Bantler yells as he puffs his chest out a bit, though his legs are shaking slightly. "That... can be arra..." "HEY!" I yell as I march out to them. "Just what exactly do you think you're doing?" I ask the scum bags as I take my place beside Bantler. "And you are?" The mare asks. "I'm Rainbow Dash, the Element of Loyalty." I say proudly, banking on my position to have some pull with them. "Who?" The mare asks, unimpressed by my put burst. "Wait a minute..." The stallion starts as he eyes me a bit. "I know you.... your that mare who tried out for the Wonderbolts and completely failed!" He say with a laugh. I can feel my confidence starting to slip as the two of them start to laugh to one another. "Oh yeah, I remember you know. So, this is where you've been hiding all this time huh? It kind of fits you."The mare says as the stallion starts to circle around me. "You know, for a failure, you're kind of hot. Maybe instead of Na-da you could pay off his debt..." "I dunno Thunder, I don't think she can handle anything moving faster then a breeze." The mare giggles. As he continues to circle around me, eyeing my body, the two of them trade insults. I try to keep my head up, but insult after insult is just filling me with the shame of my past. I suddenly go wide eyed as I feel a hoof lift my chin up, making me face Thunder. "Let go of her!" Bantler yells, but is stopped when the mare gets in the way and points her sword at him. "I'm sure there's something you could do worth...." He begins but suddenly stops and goes wide eyed. "I wouldn't finish that sentence if I were you." Perspective: Storm I heard some yelling earlier, so I decided to go out and check it out. I ended up finding Bantler and Rainbow speaking with two city guards. I had crept around their backs and waited for them to make a mistake. Once the stallion, Thunder presumably, had laid a hoof on Rainbow, I made my move. "I'm sure there's something you could do worth...." He begins but stops when I put the tip of my blade right over his sack. "I wouldn't finish that sentence if I were you." I threaten as I stand directly behind him. "You wouldn't dare." He says as he lowers his hoof. "Really?" I say as I press forward a bit, making him take a deep breath as he scrunches up a bit. "This is how this is going to work. You two are going to leave and never come back. If I ever see or hear about you two here again, I will hunt you down and kill you myself." "Are you stupid or something?" The mare says as she points her sword at me. "You're out numbered asshole, drop the sword or else." I glance over to her before looking back to Thunder. "Your choice. Walk away, or get gelded." He looks around as he tries to think of what to do. Rainbow and Bantler just back away and watch from the side lines. "Snow, lower you sword." Thunder says through gritted teeth. She looks between the two of us before backing away. I nod and follow suit, circling around to be in front of Rainbow and Bantler. "Let your little guard friends know that Moosden is under the jurisdiction of the Spartan regiment. Don't ever come back here or I will teach what that means." I say as I sheath my sword and watch them. They look to each other before walking down the path together, whispering to one another. "Oh my... thank you kindly there Storm. I thought I was a goner fer sure there." Bantler says as he walks beside me and watches them leave. "Why didn't you tell us that the guards were abusing their powers?" I ask. "Well... I... it would of been rude ya know. I can't just open up ta every traveler that my town is up for grabs. If its not them, then its somepony else." "Get inside and go watch after your sister." I say as I step closer to the entrance. "Believe me, ya don't have ta tell me twice, eh." He say before walking home. Rainbow walks up beside me, looking away and rubbing her leg a bit. "Thank Storm...." "Don't thank me yet." "Why's that?" "Becuase they're coming back... and probably with more guards."
Chapter 114 Awkward PositionsChapter 114 Awkward Positions Perspective: Miles "Okay... lights gone, lets get going." "SHHH! I think there's one on the roof." We've been here for almost two hours, awkwardly holding each other. Every time we we though about leaving one of the search lights would pass over, making us stay a little longer. "Well..." "SH!" "But-" "SHUSH!" "I need to.." "SHHHHHHSSH!" "Ariwa?" Aw shit. We both tense up as we hear a creature walk around behind us, getting closer and closer to my back. CREAK 'Fuck' I mouth as the creature presses against the metal panel behind me. We hear it start to climb up the panel, making us both panic. Should I fight it? Or should we just sit here and hope that it over look us? Before I could voice my concern, Rarity went ahead and made the decision for us, by dropping her magic. THUD 'Fucking asshole' I mouth as the creature fell forward, making me lay on top of Rarity as it now stands on top of me. 'Sorry' she mouths to me as I try to hold myself up. THUD THUD THUD THUD THUD "WA! NIWIJIMA!" The creature cheers joyfully as it bounces up and down. I just... SNAP-WOOSH We both just stare at each other as the weight from my back suddenly disappears. "What the fuck was that?" "I don't want to find out.... and please stop thinking about Luna." Perspective: Storm "More guards... you can't be serious." Rainbow Dash says I continue to watch them run off. "Yup." "What makes you so sure that they'll come back with more guards?" "Ponies like that always do. Just trust me, I know." I say as I turn back and head back to the others. "Well... what are we going to do about this?" She asks as she trots along with me. "We? I'm going down there to do a little recon, your staying back here with everypo-" "WHAT!?" She yells as she stops and gawks at me. "You're not doing this alone! I'm coming with..." "No, you're not." I say as I walk into the house everypony's sleeping in. I sneak my way over to Twilight and pull out a quill and paper. After writing a quick note in case I get captured I head back out and start walking out of town. "You can't stop me from coming along." Rainbow says as she trots along with me. Actually, I could, but a sleeper hold is a little extreme. "*sigh* fine. But do what I say, when I say it. Alright." She gives me a mock salute and takes off in the air. I just stand there and wait until she flies back. "I'll let you take lead on this one." "Hold on you two." I turn back to see Twilight walking towards the two of us. "I'm coming along as well." "Really... anypony else want to tag along?" I ask irritably. "I'm good." Pinkie yells. "Tryin ta sleep." Applejack yells. "Yer good eh." Bantler yells. I look back to Twilight and Rainbow Dash, both of them just staring back at me unamused. "You really need to work on being sneaky babe." Twilight says as she walks off, Rainbow Dash following closely behind. "Am I really that loud?" "Yes." Everypony yells from behind. I glance back before running after the girls. I thought I was sneaky... I didn't hear anything at least. We spend almost thirty minutes until we finally find the place we're looking for, a large log cabin. It's two stories tall and is very long. Several of the window's have a warm yellow light glowing from them, but there are a few that are dark. I can hear the rustle and bustle of several ponies inside, probably the other guards. We all glance to one another before sprinting to the back of the building. "Okay, whats the plan then?" Rainbow asks as we huddle next to one another. "This is purely reconnaissance, we get in, check and see how many guards there are, and get out..." "Lets go in one of the darkened windows. From there we can sneak to the main lobby... well try to at least." Twilight says, getting Rainbow to snicker. "Whatever, lets just get going. Rainbow, check to make sure the coast is clear. I'll fly Twilight up." She nods to me and flies up to the first window. After pressing her face against it, she opens it up and pulls herself inside. I grab Twilight around the waist and begin to fly us up. "Am I really that un-sneaky?" "What's important is that I love you." She says as she pats my foreleg. That's a yes. After Rainbow helps Twilight inside I pull myself in and we begin to-" CREAK "Eep!" Twilight says before teleporting herself out of the room. Rainbow and I look to each other before panicking. "What do we do?" "I don't know.... uh, hide!" "Where?" I look around the dark room and see a bed against the wall with the window. Without saying a word I scramble underneath it and lay on my side, that being the only way I fit. Rainbow crawls in right after me and tries to move some of...the... why are there so many dildos in here? "AH!" Some mare gasps as she door burst open, revealing two sets of hooves, one light cream, the other light tan. "You're such a slut E'Claire." She says as they begin to make out some more, making loud sloshing noises. "Shut up and lick me Butterscotch." Says the other mare as she trips her and flips her onto her back. Once down, the light tan one get into position and starts 69ing the other mare, both of them moaning softly. CLUNK I look over to Rainbow and stare at her, waiting for an explanation for her hitting me. She just squints her eyes at me and points at..... Okay then. I have an erection. Does she really blame me? "Did you hear something?" The light cream one, E'Claire I'm guessing, asks as she stops licking the other one and looks around. "Uh... no... well, maybe. I was a little busy." She says as she stands up and looks around. "It's probably just Dawn being a perv somewhere. Lets take this to the bed-" "But he's probably watching." E'Claire complains as the other one walks over to the bed and starts reaching under the bed. Rainbow and I both panic as we try to avoid her hoof. Rainbow looks around and pushes a strap on into her hooves, getting her to pull it up. "Then lets give him a show." Butterscotch says as she picks up the strap on and starts putting it on. The other one stands up and walks over to the bed, laying on it with her rear hooves on the ground. "That's more like it." "Just... don't smack me like last time. Explaining those bruises to Thunder was... awkward." E'Claire asks as Butterscotch gets in position behind her. "Aw, don't worry my little E'Claire, I'll be gentle." Butterscotch says as she begins to rock back and forth, getting soft moans from E'Claire. I feel something push against me... something I'd rather not have brush against me. I shuffle back as another dildo is pull out with a light cream aura. "OH! Now who's being rough." "Sorry, I got excited." They both giggle as they continue to got at it, getting louder and louder as they go. I jump a little when I feel something drop onto... me. I look down to see that Rainbow has taken a small cloth and draped it over my penis. I give her a questioning look, to which she mouths 'protection.' Why did we have to go into the window? Perspective: Miles "Okay, on the count of three we make a run for it, got it?" "No." She says with a vigorous shake of the head. "Great, one-" "Miles, I must protest-" "Two-" "They're going to see us!" "Three..." "Miles!" "GO!" I jump up and look around. Most of the other creatures are looking away from us, so I grab Rarity and launch us to the next roof. I hope from roof to roof until we make it into the southern district. "Which one is... the one we're looking for?" Rarity asks as I look from building to building. I see one towards the back with two giant V's on the side of the building, so I make my way to that one. We land in front of the building with a soft thud. THUD I drop Rarity as a single creature begins to run at us from down the street. I thrust a single palm at it and send a wave of fire at it. When the flames subside, all that's left are a few small fires that are growing in nearby piles. "Sorry about dropping you." I says as I help her back up. "I-its fine. Lets just get this message and be on our way." I nod to her and head inside the large apartment complex. Th main lobby consist of a reception counter in the center of the room and Mico platforms lining the walls to our left and right. The green goo covers most of the room, but thins out the further away from the door it gets. There's a computer on the reception counter that looks like it still has some power, so I run over to it and start typing away. "Where's your rifle?" I ask as she looks around the room. "I must of left it on the roof back there... sorry." "Its fine. We can just get it after this... maybe. Room 1187. Lets go." I look at the Mico platforms and see that they are numbered off. I head to number eleven and take it. I appear in a longer grey hallway. Most of the lights here are on, there are a few that are broken. It seems as if there was a fight in this hall. Bullet holes speckle the walls, along with a few scorch marks. I step off the platform and wait for Rarity to show up. "Come on. Room eighty seven." I say as she flashes in. We walk through the hall in silence, glancing from room to room as we go. Most of the doors are shut, but there are a few open that help tell what happened. Destroyed furniture, stains from blood loss, missing walls. The fight here must of been intense here. To think that the Unfamiliar could get better... "Here it is." Rarity says as she tries to open the door, finding it locked. She steps aside as I face it and prepare to kick it open. SNAP The door snaps off of its hinges as I kick it down. We walk in and take a look around. The area right after the door seems to be the living room and kitchen. The kitchen takes up the area to the right while the left is the living room. A large two piece couch takes up the back corner to the left. To the right of the couch is a small hallway that has three doors, one on the far wall and one on the wall on either side of it. On the wall to my left is a large TV with a desk beside it. On the desk is a computer and a small footlocker. I walk over to the computer and start it up, getting the queue sound in response. "I'm going to have a look around." Rarity says as she walks to the back of the apartment. I nob to her as the main screen comes up. I look through all of the files until I come to a folder titled 'For Miles'. I open it up to see that it contains two video messages. I connect my phone to the computer and start uploading them as I play the first one. "Hey there Miles." Dare says as he faces the screen. He's wearing normal street clothes and seems... troubled. The back of the room seems to be fine, no damages, no bullet holes, nothing. He's just sitting there, running a hand through his styled black hair as he tries to start talking. "Is that one of your friends?" Rarity asks as she walks up beside me. "Yeah... that's Dare Libere." "So... we've been waiting for two months now... and you haven't shown up yet. Some of us are starting to doubt that you will ever show up, but I know you will. You always came through for us in the past." He says as he looks at something off screen and then back to me. "Topaz was a shit storm, though I know you know that, but... *sigh* Quartz Crest is no Topaz. You thought we had racist in Topaz, there's a committee here that catalog's all none Caucasians and has military support! They even brought Auxy in for questioning becuase she was married to Dolum. Bigots. She almost went homeless, but I wouldn't allow that. So I let her into my home." "That was very generous of him." Rarity comments. "Please, knowing him he probably tried to buy her a car as well." I laugh. "I tried to get her a car as well but she wouldn't let me, says she can do without." Called it. "Auxy and her boy have been with me along with my mother.... my father didn't make it." He's goes quiet as he covers his mouth with his hand, looking away from the screen again. "The others have are starting to separate, though they assure me that they aren't. I know Inficiunt is using again, though he won't admit it. Tenera has been... different. That shy girl from the library has turned into some... vengeful... Fidus is pregnant. We found out a few days ago when she was puking in the morning for a week straight. Iacet and Tenera both swear that its yours, but I know better. Its like they don't even know you anymore, you... rapist? You can't even be touched sensually without flipping out. I tried asking Fidus about it, but every time I do, she just goes quiet for days." "Miles... you were accused of rape?" Rarity asks in disbelief. "Yeah. In reality I killed the guy who raped Fidus... but I somehow was the one to take the blame." "And to top it off, Captain's been drinking again!" Dare say with almost a laugh. "We're falling apart man. We need you, now more then ever before. I don't know if we're going to get to Susurrans without you... though... he did tell us something... interesting when we were on our way out... I think you'd want to hear this." I lean forward and listen intently. This is it , is he or isn't he? "We were the last ones to leave Topaz. As we loaded up the last truck, this orphanage dean came running up to us, shouting for us to wait for him. Susurrans just grabbed Tenera's rifle and shot him in the knee, letting the Unfamiliar chasing after him catch up and devour him. When we asked him about it, he just said that it was pay back for what he did to you... so I guess we won't be throwing you a welcome back party when you make it back." "Really." I say flatly. Of fucking course he would tell them that but nothing else. "Everyone here is worried about food shortages, so they've started maxing out production. Its working for now, but... how long can those machines run for? Miles... I don't know if you're ever going to hear this... I don't even know if you're still alive, but... hurry back to us. Please. We all miss you, even if we are trying to hide it." The screen goes back to the folder as the message ends. I take a moment to collect myself before moving on to the next video. Immediately the sound of gunfire and explosions fills the room as Dare sits there wearing all of his armor. The screen goes fuzzy for a second before he removes his helmet and sets it down. "They found us." He stated simply. "It only took them four months after Topaz to get to us, and this time they're much more organized and well armed. They've taken every dropped weapon from Topaz and are using them against us, making the fights more effective, though we still out skill them. I don't know how much longer we can hold out. Topaz fell in a month... its been a week here and command is already talking about leaving. Susurrans say I have to leave something behind for you to follow after us, so I'm leaving my SMG." He says as he pulls it out and presents it. Its a standard PX 90 that I've enchanted for him. But... in the stock is the gem that I made for all of us. "Yeah... it'll be weird not fighting with this, but then again, it'll be weird fighting without you. If you get this message, then maybe you're willing to go a little further. Susurrans says the next city we're going to is Amethyst, which make no sense to me at all. Why wouldn't we just go to Jasper or New Garnet? Whatever. I can't think about this right now. I feel as if I'm the only one able to make a stand for the group, so that's what I'm going to do. I will not allow our friends to drift apart. My SMG will be in a footlocker by the computer, the password is largus avaritia. Find us Miles, I don't know if we can do this without you." "That can't be it." I say as the screen goes back to the home screen. I look down to the footlocker and go to the panel on the side. Once I put the password in it immediately pops open. I open it to find the SMG and a note on top. Miles, When you disappeared, we didn't know what to do. In the frenzy of the fight, we all added the gems that you gave us to our weapons to add to the effects you already put on them. We also took some of the weapons from your foot locker. Please, bring these to us... Dare Libere.... P.S. This is Sine. By some, we mean all. Sorry, got a fight to win. I chuckle a little from the message as I set it aside and pull out the SMG. I look it over to see that its in decent repair. It should be operable. In the center of the stock is the gem I made for him, connected by wires and metal clasps. "Is this another one of those weapons that you made that have secret tricks to them?" Rarity asks as she looks it over. "Because I must say, I love the design. Very fierce." "I only added an enchantment that raised the rate of fire. I don't know what they added to it." I say as I look it over some more. "Uh... do you need a moment?" Rarity asks as she backs away a little. "I'll be fine. I'm a little mad about a few things, but we need to get out of her." I say as I hand off the SMG to Rarity. As soon as she takes it with her magic the gem begins to glow brightly, making her drop it. We both stare at it for a bit, waiting for... anything really, until I go to pick it up. Nothing happens when I hold it. Strange... they must of put a character enchantment in it... "Miles, what was that?" Rarity asks as she joins me in inspecting the weapon. "I have an idea that I'm going to test." I say as I aim at the wall and pull the trigger. *PEPEPEPEPEW* As expected, it fired just as I remembered, leaving a few small holes in the wall... "MILES! A little warning next time! I nearly had a heart attack." Rarity says as she takes a few breathes to calm herself. "Sorry. Now you try it." I say as I offer her the gun to her. She takes it with her magic and gives it a quick look over before aiming at the wall and pulling the trigger. *PEPEPEPEPEW* We both jump back as she blows a hole in the wall. What the fuck did they to it? How is it still in one piece? WHY DON'T I GET TO DO THAT!? "Well... I think... um... so I guess I'll be using this one from now on." She says coyly as she looks over the weapon. "... lets just work on getting out of here. It should be easy, we're right next to an exit...." Perspective: Rainbow Dash "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Scream both of the mares above as they hit their climax, making a puddle of love juice splatter right before us. They both pant a bit before climbing into bed and fall asleep. I sigh in relief as.... *sniff sniff* I look over to Storm to see him sniffing the air. Curious, I take a few sniffs... "Storm, maybe you should head..." "I need Twilight.... now." He says flatly as he crawls out from underneath the bed. I quickly get out and follow after him as he marches straight through the door. "Uh... what would you need Twilight for? Maybe you could just..." "I need to buck something... right now." He says as he turns down the hall and stops in his tracks. "Storm! Dash! Boy am I gad to see you two." Says Twilight as she runs up to us wearing guard armor. This can't end well. Author's Note A/N: Shout out to Rainbowdragon for picking the sexes of the couple that got it on! Thanks for reading, Hi AgentPony! Brony on!
Chapter 115 Spartan TerritoryChapter 115 Spartan Territory Perspective: Twilight I trot up to Storm and Rainbow, glad to find a friendly ponies face in this- "TWILIGHT!" Both of them yell as they break into a sprint towards me. In a panic I teleport behind them, just in time to avoid Storm jumping on me. "What's gotten into-" "Twilight! You need to get out-" Rainbow starts but stops when Storm sticks a hoof in her mouth. "Twilight! I have a plan. Rainbow will go and investigate the rest of the building while you and me find an empty room and test the wood working on the bed frames." He says with a confident smile. "... what?" I ask as I look back to Rainbow. She just shakes her head and pulls his hoof out of her mouth then points... "Okay, why are you-" "The couple that scared you were a couple of mares." Rainbow explains as Storm walks over and starts nibbling on my ear. I keep pushing him away as I try to listen. "Both of them seemed to be in heat... and... well, a puddle of love juice later." As she says this Storm tries to move back to mount me, so I levitate him up and hold him in the air. He flails around a bit before just accepting it. "Okay, that explains captain fifth leg here." I say as I glance back to Storm. He just shrugs and swats at my hair, swishing it from side to side. "Yeah... so, what do we do now?" Rainbow asks as she tries not stare. "Twilight." Storm says, making us both shake our heads. "I've actually been doing some running around myself, and I have some good news-" "We're going to do anal!?" Storm asks full of hope. We both just stare at him until he goes back to swatting my hair. "Anyway, there's only thirty guards stationed here. They've been holding Moosden as well as Seaddle for the past few years. Their leaders, Thunder and Snow Drop, have been forcing double taxes on everypony here, moose included. The Princesses haven't done anything because the guards are paying off the mail ponies to let them censor the mail. We need to get out of here and let the princesses know asap." I say, getting a nod from Rainbow. "You get any of that Storm?" "Asap." "Ri-" "As sexily as possible." He says with a dumb smile. Rainbow and I just stare at him... "Okay, so he's useless." Rainbow says as she shakes her head at him. I just sigh and begin to walk down the hall to the back entrance. "So... how does that get-" "Never mind Rainbow." I say flatly, getting giggles from her. "Hey! I have an idea." Storm says, slightly getting our attention. "Lets make a distraction for all of the guards while one of us poisons their food. When they're all out we can call the Princesses over to deal with them." Rainbow and I stop and look to one another, caught off guard by how good of an idea that was. "Wow.... okay-" "The distraction, sex." And with that he's lost us. We continue walking down the hall until we make it to the door. "Just sayin, who thinks 'I better go check the food supply' while two ponies are doing the flying back breaker? They'll never see it coming!" Storm says excitedly as I open the door. "It was a good plan." Thunder says as he stands in the door way, surrounded by other guards. I turn around to see the hall around us fill with more guards, trapping us. "Twilight." Storm whispers loudly to me. "I don't think the bucking plan will work anymore... but we should still-" "Not now Storm!" I say firmly to Storm before glaring back to Thunder. "Thunder. You won't get away with this. I am not only the prized student of Princess Celestia herself, but the Element of Magic as well." "Okay, what are these element things you keep talking about? Actually, I don't care. Get them!" He yells, getting all of the guards to jump at us at once. FLASH I waver a bit as we appear back in the middle of Moosden. Just enough to drop Storm. I look around to see everypony is here- "Hi!" Storm says as he leaps onto my back, missing his target. "STORM!" I yell as I try to yank him off, but he won't let go of me. "Get off!" "Uh... I'm just going to give you guys some privacy." Rainbow says as she backs into Miles, making her jump. "Miles! You scared me- I mean when did you get back?" Miles ignores her and just stares at Storm and I, shaking his head slightly. "Storm!" He yells, getting his attention. "Three hundred roll overs, NOW!" Storm immediately lets go of me and starts doing exercises. He jumps and rolls to the left before jumping back up and rolling to the right, then repeats. With every set of rolls, Storm yells out the number and 'for captain'. "Thank you Miles. But don't go too hard on him, it wasn't his fault." I say as I walk beside Miles and watch Storm roll from side to side. I'm a little upset... he has him better whipped then I do! "What's going on? Why is he... like... do stallions have a heat cycle as well?" Miles asks as he watches Storm roll around. "No, its just... well... Rainbow?" I ask, getting a shocked look from her. "Me? Why do I have to tell him?" She asks as she backs up a bit. "Well you were there when it happened-" "You tell the virgin! You're the egghead!" Rainbow says as she stomps her hoof down. "Um... not a virgin..." "I am not an egghead. I, am well read." I say in my defense, getting her to roll her eyes. "Besides, I'm not the one who's read Fifty Tones of-" "It's a good book!" Rainbow yells with a slight hop. "Its porn." I say, trying to make sense of it. "GUYS!" Miles yells, getting all of our attention. "Okay, Storm, keep going. Rainbow, not a virgin. And finally, the librarian gets final says in literature. Now lets forget all of that and deal with that mass of ponies walking towards us." Miles says as he walks past us. I look over to see most of the guards running to surround us. Some are carrying torches while others have their weapons out. When they spot Miles the group hesitates for a second while Thunder and Snow continue towards him. "What have we here?" Thunder mumbles to himself as they square off with one another. "I am Miles Eremita, Captain of the Spartan regiment. What business do you have here." Thunder eyes him for a bit before leaning over to Snow and whispers something to her. "Miles is it? I am Lieutenant Snow Drop-" "You a guard?" Miles interrupts. "Uh... yeah. So we-" "Ah, then why is Moosden in such shitty shape? Where is all of the food? And why are you all of you here?" Snow Drop glances back to Thunder, who takes his place in front of Snow. He tries jumps into the air and gets in Miles face.... probably a bad idea. "You ask too many questions freak." He says in a growl. "Is that so?" Miles asks calmly. "Yeah. Ponies who ask too many questions don't usually last very long around here." "Is that a threat?" "Its a promise." I back up as I watch the two of them face off. I don't like where this is going. Miles gives a little chuckle before taking a step back, getting a smug smile from Thunder. "That's what I-" "Moosden is now under the jurisdiction of the Spartan regiment. Any further harassment will be dealt with... severely. I suggest you leave." He says as he sets one hand on his hip and the other on his trench knife. "Spartan... look idiot, we out number you. There are thirty of us and two of you-" "Well then go get some more guys and then it'll be an even fight." Miles says as he grips the knife. "SHU-" "AH!" "MILES!" I scream as I back up. I can't believe what I just saw, it happened so fast. Thunder had jumped back into Miles face, so Miles grabbed him by the back of the neck and rammed his knife into his throat... Perspective: Miles As I hold him in place, warm sticky blood starts to run down my arm. I watch as his panicked eyes slowly fade away, slipping into the void. With a thrust, I throw his body down and look back to the group of guards. "You... he.. MURDERER!" Yells Snow Drop as she pulls out her blade and runs at me. I easily side step the attack and take a swing at her head, knocking her to the ground and making a spot of red appear in her mane. "Storm! Get up!" I yell as all of the other guards yell and charge at us. "Twilight, Dash, go to the others and wait for us... this won't take long." I yell as I pull out my sword and run at the closest guard. He only has a torch, so with a quick spin I slit his throat with the tip of my sword and block the next guards attack. A powerful gust of wind blows him away, giving me time to spin back around and parry the guard behind me. We trade blows for a bit until I roll forward and thrust my knife into his gut, aiming for his heart. He coughs up some blood before falling over. I stand up and look at all of the guards surrounding me and Storm as we stand back to back. "You take the left I'll take the right." Storm says as they approach us. "Oh, you're helping? Alright, trade then." We spin around each other and run at the closest guard, mine being some mare with a spear. I swipe her Spear away and punch her straight across the face with my Trench knife, bloodying her mouth as she drops to the ground. Using the momentum of my punch, I spin around to swing my sword at the closest guard to my left, bouncing off his blade. The other guards split up and try to cut us down, wildly hacking at us with their weapons. I dodge and parry them easily, stepping back and around them with ease. Occasionally I take a swing at them, cutting them down one at a time... Perspective: Rainbow Dash As we run through the town I look back to see two guards chasing after us, both earth ponies. I slide to a stop and thrust both of my back legs back, knocking one of them straight back. "BITCH!" Yells the other pony as he brings up a sword and- FOOSH Before he could cut me in half a wave a purple energy slammed into him, knocking him out. "Thanks Twi'." I say as we continue to run to the others. She doesn't say anything. I can tell that seeing somepony die is troubling her. We make it to the building and burst through the door, finding everypony in the back being guarded by Rarity. She's levitating some weird weapon that looks like one of Miles guns, just boxier. "Twilight, Rainbow! What's going on out there? We heard screams and what sounded like swords hitting swords." Rarity asks as Twilight just goes goes straight to the corner and lays down, tucking into herself. "Miles and Storm are fighting all of the guards... hey, come here Rare." I say as I pull her aside. "I need you all to watch over Twilight." I say in a whisper. "Okay, what happened?" "She saw Miles kill somepony, and I don't think she's taking it very well. I'm going to head back out there and see if I can help-" "Rainbow! How garish! Why would you ever need to go and fight?" "I can't just leave them there! I have to back them up." I retort as I move towards the door. "I think they can handle themselves dear, but... I will watch over Twilight if you really wish to go." She says as she straightens out. "I do, thanks Rare. I owe you one." "Actually, this would make four, but that's not important. Just stay safe. I don't know how I would explain this to-" "Don't worry. He showed me a few tricks, I can handle myself. I'll be back." She gives me a quick hug before letting go of me and walking back to Twilight. I take a few deep breathes before going back outside and taking to the air. Perspective: Butterscotch I wake up in Claire's hooves feeling great. We don't get to do this often enough. I give her a quick kiss on the nose before going to the restroom and washing up. "SCOTCH!" Claire yells as I get out of the shower. "We need to get going, everypony's moved out to Moosden!" "Crap!" I yell back as I run out and look for my armor. Once we both get armored up we run out for Moosden. "Snow is going to kill us!" Claire yells as we run up the path. "Well... if Thunder is the one chewing us out, then it won't be so bad." I say, shivering at the idea. "Uh... I hate that prick." "It wouldn't be so bad if he wasn't so small." We share a small chuckle before we see Moosden up ahead in the distance. As we near the town we slow down and take a look around. It's quiet... too quiet. As we enter the town we both stop and stare at the carnage before us. Everypony we knew is laying on the ground, slayed. Blood runs out from the corpses as crows circle above them. E'Claire automatically drops to the ground and wails for our dead friends. THUD We both spin around to see a single pegasis stands behind us. He's light grey, with a black mane and tail... and is covered in blood. "Hello there." We spin around again and latch onto each other as we stare at the monster before us. It's roughly six and a half feet tall, stands on two legs, is wearing armor on most of it's body and is also covered in blood. He's holding a sword and a long knife, both of which are dripping with blood. E'Claire and I look to each other before we both pull our swords off and drop them before him. "We surrender." I say as I push the blade away. "Y-yeah, just... please don't kill us." E'Claire begs as she tosses her sword aside. The creature looks between the two of us before sheathing his knife. "Good. Start digging graves for all of them, then we'll get to you." He says as he turns around and heads around the field of dead ponies. E'Claire and I look to each other before complying. Get to us? What does he mean by that? "Get moving, we have shovels over by the tree line." The one behind us says, getting us to move. We spend the next few hours digging graves and burying our dead friends. I didn't expect them to ask their names and to identify their graves, but the weird creature demanded it. E'Claire kept breaking down whenever she would find somepony we knew better then the others. I tried to stay strong, but after the third friend, even I was crying. Some Rainbow maned mare showed up and started following one of them around, Miles I think it was. There were a couple that were still alive... but he quickly took care of that. It was nearly noon when we finished burying them. "Okay, *sniff* that's the last one." I say as we turn to Miles and wait for our next command. "No it's not." He says as he marks two more spots with his sword. "You have two more to dig." E'Claire and I look to each other before we look back to him. "Bu-bu-but I-I-I..." E'Claire mumbles as she starts to cry even more. I can't find any words. I'm going to die. He's going to kill me and... "NOW." He says firmly. "What are you doing Miles?" The rainbow maned one asks. "Stay out of this Dash. this is Spartan business." He says as he steps forward, making us back up. "Get digging!" He yells getting us to start digging our own graves. "Please! I don't want to die, I was just following orders!" E'Claire begs as we start digging. I'm crying, but I can't find my voice. I want to beg along with E'Claire, I want to live! Why can't I find my voice! "Miles stop! This is sick! Why are you doing this!" The Rainbow one yells as she looks between us and Miles. "Spartan business, stay out of it Dash." He says as he watches us dig. "That's good enough. Now stand on your rear legs and wait." He says as him and the other pegasis pull out their swords and stand beside us. E'Claire and I look to each other before complying. Miles grabs the back of my mane and holds his blade to my throat, the other pegasis doing the same to E'Claire. "I love you E'Claire." I say as I close my eyes and hold her hoof. "I love you too Scotch." We both close our eyes and wait for the inevitable. SHINK Perspective: Miles I take the remains and toss them into the shallow graves, watching them drop slowly. I step back in front and wait for the two of them to open their eyes. "That, is your past." I say after a minute of them just standing there crying. They open their eyes and look back to see that we had chopped their manes off and tossed them into the graves. "O-our past?" Scotch asks as she looks back to me. "I don't follow..." "That is the past you. The you that willing enslaved a town and held the needy in shackles. The new you has a choice to make. Either denounce all other ties you ever had before in your life and become Terradisian, or follow your past. Your choice." They drop back down to stand normally and look between the graves and me. "So... its die, or become a traitor. That's not much of a choice." Scotch says, looking at me in confusion. "Consider yourself lucky that I'm giving you the choice." I say, making her shy away. "Do not take this lightly. If you choose to become Terradisian, there are many stipulations to it. Those given this choice often choose to follow their past." "W-why would they do that?" E'Claire asks as she wipes her tears away. "Because starting over is hard." I say to put it simply. "What would we have to do if we chose to become Terradisian?" E'Claire asks nervously. "As Captain, I would become the highest authority in your lives. If I say walk and Celestia says run, you walk. I'm also holding you accountable for Moosden. If any hardships fall this town, I will blame the two of you for it. You do get standard Terradisian benefits though. If you're ever in trouble, you can call on the Spartans to come to your aid. If there is ever a meeting of any kind, you will all be brought to them and be able to voice your concerns. So what do you say? Your future, or you past?" Perspective: Storm As Miles goes over all of the fine details of being Terradisian, I decide to go wash up. As I walk off Rainbow follows after me, looking lost. "What's wrong?" I ask, getting a bewildered look from her. "What's wrong! That entire scenario was wrong! You guys played with their lives, gave them a choice that only an idiot could make incorrectly!" She yells as I enter one of the abandoned homes and go to the restroom. "Let me asks you this. If they had chosen to live the same life style, would you care if they had died?" I ask as I stand before the restroom. "Well... no. But anypony would of made the choice they made-" "Because everypony should get a second chance." I say, silencing her. "Look, I know it was dramatic, but we're changing their lives. If it was done nonchalantly they would fall to the same vices from before. And trust me, they got off easy." "... how is that." She asks as she looks away from me. "Because in Topaz they wouldn't cut your hair off, they cut a limb off." Rainbow looks back to me in horror as I step inside the bathroom and run the sink water. "Believe it or not, but we're the good guys here." I say as I start to wash off. "But... you killed them all..." "We only responded to their attack. We're giving two of them chances to start over. We only fight fights that others are incapable of fighting. Moosden needed our help, so we helped. Those guards only wanted to take advantage of everypony here for their own personal gain. We fixed that." "So... if anypony else asked... you guys would help them to?" "We would at least listen to their cause. We're very careful about being on the right side, so we wait and listen first. But if the cause is just, then we'll step in and make things right. We are suppose to be the beacons of justice and a force for good. We don't just go around killing things because we're good at it. We do it with a cause. If there isn't a cause for it, then it's not worth fighting for."
Chapter 116 ThemChapter 116 Them Perspective: Miles "Alright, that's the general gist of things. I'll be sure to set up some form of communication in case you need to talk to me, and a Mico platform... where am I going to put the other one..." "Miles?" E' Claire asks, getting me back on track. "Right. Well, we have to head back to Ponyville, be sure to fill Bantler and Na-da in on the details." I say as I back away towards the center of town. "OK... we've got this... kind of." Butterscotch says as she stands up and follows me. "How exactly will we be able to contact you?" "With a phone obviously." I say as I turn around and walk to the center of town. Confused, they follow after me, whispering to each other about what they think will happen. The towns center is a large open yard with four trees blocking the four paths of the town. I go to the very center of these trees and lay my hands down. In one quick motion I stand up and swing my hands straight up, making a pillar of stone rise straight up. Next, I slam my hands onto the pillar and start to super condense it, leaving cross bars for additional support. Lastly, I set up a Mico platform underneath the structure. Once finished, I look back to Butterscotch and E' Claire and laugh at their dumb founded faces. "What? It's like you've never seen a communications tower." I say as I walk past them. "Y-you can use magic." Butterscotch mutters as they stare at the tower. "Yeah. You're not the only ones that can use magic." I say, making her look at her horn and pout. "Now, unless you have any other questions, we need to get back home to relax and prepare for the next city." "We should be good.... and thank you Miles. For giving us a second chance." E'Claire says as the two of them lean against each other. I nod to them before heading to the building everyone's at. I hope they can follow the guide lines, though they seemed fairly serious about it. I'll have to be sure to come by next week to check up on them. I make it to the building, knowing it the one due to the smoke coming up from the chimney. "Hey, anybody here?" I ask as I step inside the building. I don't see anybody, but I can hear murmurs in the back room. I walk up to the door as Twilight finishes saying something. "...ever again." "He only did it in self defense." Storm defends. I pause at the door and wait to hear what else she has to say. "he didn't do anything though. He was just getting in his face. Because of what he did, some thirty ponies are dead now." Twilight says, getting murmurs from the others. "But with out his help the town would still be under their control." Rainbow Dash says. "We could of went to Princess Celestia. She could of done something about it that would of saved their lives..." "Were their lives worth saving?" I ask as I walk around the corner. Everyone gives me mixed looks, some scared while some are worried. "If Celestia had came here herself, then something would have been done. But I know she wouldn't make the trip herself. She would of sent another guard that would of been tricked or lied to. Action was needed, not good intentions." Everyone stays silent as I stand there, waiting for a response. "Lets just head home." Storm says quietly. I turn around and lead everyone back to the shed where we find Bantler and Na-da waiting. "Ready to head out eh?" Bantler says as he undoes the lock to his shed. "I'm in your debt Miles. You saved this town, and my family's heritage. Thank you." Before I could say anything, Na-da walks up to me and wraps me up in a tight hug. "Thank you." She whispers softly into my ear before stepping back next to Bantler. "Well, I won't keep ya any longer then I need ya." Bantler says as the two of them back away from us. "Don't worry, you'll see us again... maybe. Me for sure." I say as I step inside and get into the jeep. I turn the ignition on and pull out of the garage. Once everyone piles in we wave goodbye and drive off. As we leave, I glance back through the rear mirror and see the white wisp again, so I slam the brakes and look back. "What is it Miles?" Rarity asks as I stare at it. It's spinning slowly high in the air, arms spread out. I does this for a second before it takes of through the air, heading east. "Did anyone else see that?" I ask as I try to watch it fly away, but lose it quickly. "See what?" Fluttershy asks as everyone looks back with me. "The white... wispy thing. I saw it back in Quartz Crest as well." "I didn't see anything." Rarity says. "Me neither." Applejack adds. "I guess it was just my imagination... probably." I say as I sit back down and drive off, glancing back until Moosden was out of sight. Ponyville: November 9th 11:28 PM "Alright see you guys later." I say as Applejack and Dash jump out of my jeep. I had dropped everyone else off at their homes, but Dash decided to take Scootaloo home herself. "Night Miles." Applejack says with a yawn. "Later." Dash says as she runs inside the red house. I turn my attention back to the road and drive home. When I make it back I drive around back and make a small shack for my jeep. Nothing fancy, just four walls and a roof made of stone. In addition to that, I also make the other Mico platform and communications tower for Moosden. Satisfied with my work, I decide to call it a day and head inside. As I walk around to the front, something catches my attention off in the park. I pause and try to get a better look but... whatever it was, it vanished. Should I go and take a look? I'm pretty sure it was nothing... but better safe then sorry. I walk off into the dark park, trying to find whatever it was that I saw. Everything here seems normal, gentle hills, flowers, and random park paraphernalia. Absolutely nothing out of the norm... "It's OK, really. Nothing scary is going to happen, I promise." A voice in the dark says. I look around as I try to find it, I think it's just behind those bushes. "est........adhuc......terridus..........eum.." A voice whispers. It's was almost impossible to hear, but I know I heard a soft voice. "Non, ipse est ok. Realiter. Dico, certus, occidit custodes Moosden, sed ille suus bonum. Aut quod 'quis Dusty Scrolls dicit...." "How do you know that?" I ask as I walk through the bushes and stop in my tracks. Ahead of me is a pony in all black robes guiding..... a white.... shimmer. It seems to resemble the form of a women... but I can't make out any details. The pony looks at me to reveal that it's a light blue earth pony with dark red hair. "Who are you... and what is that?" "What?" Asks the pony as he lifts up a hoof.... and makes a ball of blue energy appear above it. "Did you say you can see this peace spirit?" "Uh... what are you doing?" I ask as I back away from him. "Don't worry, you won't remember." He says as a dart of blue energy shoots at me. I quickly roll to the side and dodge the attack. When I sit back up I pull my revolver out and point it at him. "What the fuck was that!? What are you doing!? Why...." "Please stand still, I promise it won't hurt." He says as he tries to shoot me again. I dodge again by rolling forward, putting my revolver right under his chin. "Don't make me..." "Placere non movent..." BANG I fall back as his lifeless body falls to the ground. He was... he was speaking Latin? How does a pony know how to speak in Latin! And..... did..... did I just kill him? I stare at his lifeless body as the white wisp floats above him. "Homicida." "No... I-I didn't mean to...." "Homicida." "He attacked me! I was just defending myself! He gave me no choice!" "HOMICIDA!" It wails as it flies off towards the Everfree. I was about to chase after it, but in the blink of an eye it disappeared. "OK, don't panic, don't panic, what ever I do just... don't... panic." I say as I stand up and pace back and forth. It'll be OK. I just have to... not get caught. Yeah... what to do about the body though? I look back and try to think of the most logical explanation possible.... Icy void. I kneel down beside him and check to if he had anything important... nothing. No money, no ID, absolutely nothing was on him. I stand back up an try to bring out my Icy void. I think all I have to do is shut my hands with my magic flowing through... "Got it." I say as I bring the black orb up in front of my fist. I look back down and offer a moment of silence for him before blasting him to nothingness. OK, he's gone, no one saw anything... no one except that white wisp... anyway, I just need to head home and lay low for awhile. November 10th, 9:30am I roll over in bed and just stare out the window in a daze. I couldn't sleep at all last night. I kept thinking back to that guy I killed. Why is he bothering me so much? I've killed before, those guards, trainees, proditores, but why is his death weighing so heavily on me. With a heavy sigh I force myself out of bed and decide to head over to Twilight for council on this. I grab the last shirt and pants from my drawers; a white button up and black jeans, and head down stairs. I look over and laugh as I see Lupus sleeping on the recliner with his but hanging off the front with a note taped on. I walk out the front door and..... wait, what? I head back inside and sure enough, there it is. A note folded in half taped to Lupus's butt. I walk over and take the note, making him stifle in his sleep. I open the note to see a pony's hoof in black takes up the center with Scimus written below it.... "WHAT THE FUCK!" I yell as I fall back. That was fucking Latin! Who knows? Who was able to get inside my home and put a note on Lupus? WHY DID LUPUS LET THEM DO IT! I run back upstairs and grab my sword before running back down and heading over to Twilight's. I know she's probably still mad at me, but I need help that won't have me arrested. BANG "TWILIGHT!" I yell as I burst through her front door. "AH!" Spike yells as he falls off a latter, droping the pile of books he was carrying right on top of him. "Miles! What the heck man?" He asks as he pops out of the books. I ignore him and run upstairs to her room. "Storm? Twilight?" I ask as I look around the empty room. "They aren't here." Spike says as he follows after me. "WHAT?! Where are they?" I ask as I turn back to him. "Twilight received a letter from Celestia telling her about a pop quiz she was dropping on her. Storm went with her to Canterlot for... moral support... you know. Cause of how Twilight gets and all..." "Shit." I say as I walk past him and head back down stairs. "It's OK. I can handle this... maybe." "Uh... handle what?" Spike asks as I pace around the room. "What? Nothing.Just... it's nothing." "Miles, you seemed stressed. Why don't you go home and try to relax a little." Spike says nervously as I continue to pace around. "Huh? Oh... sure... relax. I can do that." I say as I walk out of the door and head home. Relax... yeah, I destroyed the body. No one saw anything, I just have to lay low... relax.... calm... "I'm calling you out Miles Eremita!" Someone yells from behind as I near my home. I turn around to see a pony wearing a dark cloak. Though the cloak covers most of his body, I can see his face. He's a dark blue with light green hair, and probably an earth pony, unless he's just hiding his wings. "Who are you...." I ask as he rears up and holds his hooves out, making two outlines to single bladed axes. "And..." "I think you know why I'm here." He says as he starts to advance on me. I step back and pull out my sword as he lunges at me. I dodge to the left and swing at him, getting blocked by his other axe. I spin around and start to walk backwards as I parry his attacks. I can tell he has some skills, but he's no where near my level. I roll forward and slam the hilt of sword as he slams the butt of his axes against my back. I buckle a little from the hit as he falls back. "It doesn't have to be like this." I say as I stand and square off with him. "Sorry, but this ends now." "If you say so." I say as I send some energy into my blade. As he starts to run at me I hold my position until he's close enough, then I swing at him. SHEECK I look at his frozen body and sigh. This makes two. Fuck..... just... fuck! I Close my hand and shoot the block of ice with Icy void. I drop to my knee as I tire from using the unfamiliar magic. I stand back up and look around to see if anyone is close by. With the coast clear, I turn and run home. OK, I need to just lay low from now on.... I also need to stop killing people. November 11th 11:48AM I sigh as I open my tired eyes. I spent all of yesterday locking up my home and trying to not kill anything. Now that I think about it, I actually spent most of my time just freaking out... "Hmmm...." Luna sighs as she rolls over and holds onto me lightly...... "WHAT THE FUCK!" I yell as I sit up and..... WHY AM I NAKED! "Miles... too early.... what's this?" She says sleepily as she takes a note off of her face. "Serio, iterum... huh?" I look over and see that's its another note with the black hoof on it, with Serio, iterum written on the bottom. "What are you doing in my room?" She asks as she lays back down, trying to go back to sleep. :"Uh... this is my room. How did you get here?" I ask as I stand and put the clothes that I had on yesterday on. "Really... OK." She mumbles as she stands up and walks over to me. She pulls me down for a kiss and a hug before looking around the room. "Why is all of your furniture covering your windows... and doors.... and closet?" "I was..." "Wait, what time is it?" She asks as she goes to the window and looks out behind the bed frame. "Hmm... it's still fairly early... you know, we have some time..." "Luna, I would love to do nothing more then... that. But... right now..." "Yeah, plus I need to get up early to meet up with Tia about something important. I guess I'll just head home then. Love you." She says as she gives me another hug. I act normal until she takes the Mico platform back home, then I freak out. "SON OF OF BITCH!" I yell as I grab my sword and started to tear my dresser from the doorway. As soon as I had enough space to squeeze out, I ran straight for the door and... SLAM Right... still bolted shut. I pick myself up off the ground and unlock the door. After I step out and gently shut the door I take off, sprinting as fast as archaically possible. STOP I slide to a stop in the middle of the market and look around.... was... is this Soul Fire? KILL THEM ...... who? THEM I look around the slightly busy market until I see...... them. A group of four ponies walking towards me from down the street. The one on the left is a white earth pony with light blue eyes, blue hair and a solid white streak going down the center. Beside him is a light grey unicorn with a red eyes, a red two toned mane and tail. Next to him is a light yellow pegasus with green eyes, black hair that has a white stripe going through it. Lastly, is a cloaked earth pony. I can't really get a good look at... MOVE Right... not sure why I have to kill them, but... Soul Fire talking is enough cause. I begin to walk back home as I continue to eye the group of ponies following me. The pegasus and and the earth pony are wearing black goggles that have a white band going around their heads. The earth pony has on a green backpack... not a satchel, a backpack... not sure what to make of that. GET OUT TO THE OPEN, SEPARATE THEM. Right... just entered the park, so another meter or so and I'll make my move. I glance back to see a satchel on the unicorn... is... I think I hear music. It's sounds too far away for me to make out clearly, but... FOCUS Right... halfway there... GO FOR THE WINGED ONE FIRST... NO, THE DEMON IS THE THREAT, GO FOR THE UNICORN FIRST. THE ARCHER IS A BIGGER THREAT. GO FOR HER FIRST, THEN THE DEMON, THEN THE BRIGHT ONE... What about the earth pony? HE'LL BE THE EASIEST TO DEAL WITH, SAVE HIM FOR LAST. I take a deep breath as we enter a secluded part of the park and ready my magic. KA-KRA-BOOM I had spun around and sent a beam of soul fire at the pegasus, but missed slightly and made the ground before her explode. I'm not sure how, but the area beside her also exploded, sending her flying back into a tree. "CC! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Yells the grey unicorn as he charges out of the smoke. He's wielding what looks like the energy outline of a longsword. I pull out my sword and parry his swing. As he pulls back his sword, I see a shimmer of black and red wash over his face. CLINK CHING CLANG The unicorn and I trade blows for a bit as I back away from him, waiting for my opening. "DAMIAN!" Yells the earth pony as I kick forward and knock the unicorn over. I was about to stab him in the throat when I suddenly take a hit from the side. I roll a couple of times before sliding to a stop. I push myself up and fall back down as a massive wave of pain numbs my side. I flare my free hand and slam it into my chest, sending waves of healing magic through my body as the others slowly approach me. "BULLSHIT! That's cheating!" Yells some earth pony as he joins the other two. He seems to... he's sewn together. Different parts of his body seems to be made of different greying body parts... and he has a monocle. The only normal thing about him is his black charred hair.... I'm still not taking any chances. KA-KRA-BOOM Once I finished healing myself I thrust my palm at him, hitting him square in the chest and making him explode. Usually that makes them turn to... "AROUND!" Yells the unicorn, making the earth pony charge straight at me as he brings up his earthen hammer. I charge the magic in my sword and stab the ground, making a row or earthen swords pierce up at him. He slams his hammer onto the ground, making a small column of earth launch him into the air. I take a hold of him with my magic and fling him to my right, sending him flying far out of reach. "NOT THE FACE!" Yells the earth pony as he slams into a tr... BOOM I drop to a knee as I suddenly have a surge of energy wash through me. I look back to the unicorn to see that he's pointing his sword at me. Bolts of electricity shoot out from the tip as he readies to swing again. SLINK Before he could send another bolt at me I launched myself at him and took a swing at him, slicing him up the chest. I pin around and kick him in the chest, making him fall to the ground and lose his sword. I jump on top of him and try to stab him with my sword, but suddenly dozens of his head appear around his and start to move around. I stare at them for a second before I stab at the center, making all of the other heads disappear as he looks back at me with a smug look. "Mine now." He says as I try to pull my sword out, but can't seem to get it to budge. He takes this moment to try to get me off of him by trying to punch me. I quickly swat his hoof away and punch him across the face. I pull back and punch again and again as his face begins to shimmer again. He twist his body and tries to kick me, but I quickly push myself up and roll to the side... "COOL IT!" Yells the grey earth pony as he aims his hoof at me. I quickly raise a hand at him and bring up a shield, blocking a beam blue and white energy that ricochets off and hits hits him in the chest, making him freeze... then explode... "AH! MY ASS!" Yells the unicorn as he grabs a bloody ice shard that's sticking out of his ass. "PATCHES!" Yells the white earth pony as he charges at us. I quickly close my hand and shoot a beam of Icy void at him. The column over takes his body and makes him disappear, along with a trench of the ground leading to him. I was about to get back to the unicorn, when something caught my eye. I look back to where the earth pony was and... and... "What the fuck is that?" A pale white woman hovers in the air above where the pony was. She has long flowing blonde hair and has the purest blue eyes. She has a long white dress on that's just flowing along with her hair. "Who?" Asks the unicorn from behind as the woman just crosses her arms and shakes her head at me. "What the.... OK, what the fuck." I say as she flips me off. Suddenly a bright light shines from her, forcing me to look away. When the light fades away I look ba.... "OK, seriously? WHAT THE FUCK!" I say as I look back to see the white pony from before standing there. He looks around a bit before he lays down and huddles up for warmth. "S-so...c-c-cold." He mutters as a blanket throws itself out of his backpack and wraps itself around him. "Thank you backpack..." "OK!" I say as I stand I raise my hands. "Fuck it, I surrender. He should be fucking dead, and now.... now he's... WHAT THE FUCK!" I yell as I look back to see him drinking a hot cup of.. what the fuck. DON'T SURRENDER! KEEP FIGHTING! DON'T SURRENDER! KEEP FIGHTING! "NO! He already surrendered!" Yells the unicorn as he marches up to me. He grabs my shirt and tries to pull me down, but I'm a little too tall for him. So I kneel down for him... SLAP "OW! What was that for?" I ask as I rub my cheek. "FIX IT!" He growls at me. "Fix what?" "Fix. CC." "Uh... who?" I ask as I look around. The only ponies here are him, the fucking dead-not dead asshole and... "Didn't you blow up?" I ask as I look over to the grey stitched one. "Yeah, I do that." He says as he looks around for random chunks of flesh; that he sticks back into place... SLAP "OW! What the fuck!?" I ask as I rub my other cheek. "FINE! Then fix me! I have Patches in my ass!" *Twitch* We both look over to a nearby tree to see a large yellow wing sticking out of a random bush. "Of course that's what she hears." He grumbles as he lets go of me and runs over to her. I stand back up and follow after him as he pulls the pegasus out of the bush. She's hurt really bad. A large chunk of a branch has pierced through her wing and into her chest. Blood is still flowing out from the wounds and she isn't breathing. "Yeah, that's bad." The white one says as he drops some white spongy things into the brown liquid. "No shit." I say as I grab the branch and get ready to pull, only to have the unicorn grab my wrist. "Can you fix this?" He asks seriously. "Probably." I say as I yank out the chunk, making blood squirt onto his face. He just wipes it away and continues to watch her anxiously. JUST LET HER BLEED OUT... "Hey! Fuck you asshole!" The unicorn yells as he rears his hoof back to punch me. "FIX HER NOW!" "You know, you could say please..." "NOW! You blew her into a tree! Fix her now!" He yells. I just roll my eyes and lay my palms on her chest. I start by sealing the wounds and fixing the tissue. After that, I move to her wings and start fixing the tendons. Only now do I realize how large her wings are. They seem to be better suited for a griffin. "Hey, go get..." KER-PUNCH "AW FUCK!" I yell as I fall back. Why do they keep hitting my face!? "CC!" The unicorn yells as he tries to shake the pegasus awake, but she's out cold. "She won't wake up." I say as I stand up. "I put a sleeping spell on her so I could fix her lungs." I say as I take a look around. "Pick her up and lets take her to my place..." "Why?" The white pony asks as he downs the beverage. "I can see a group of towns people heading this way." I say, making them look over to the small crowd of ponies heading towards us. "Alright, your place it is." Says the grey one. I squat down and lift CC up before the unicorn could do anything to help. "Uh... could I carry her?" "..... no." I say as I walk off. "You bitch..." He grumbles as they follow after me. We make it to my home where I pause for a second... everything seems... correct. "Good evening sir." Says a bot as it walks past me and approaches the white pony. Suddenly it warps into his backpack, filling it for a second before the bag sags as if its empty. I just stare at him in disbelief... how does a three hundred kilogram bot... fit in a backpack? "What? I didn't do it. Backpack didn't want CC in a filthy house." The pony says as he shrugs his shoulders. "Thank you Backpack." The unicorn says as he walks inside. What the fuck... "Are you coming or not?" Asks the grey one as he walks inside. I shake my head and follow after them, taking her to the couch. After I lay her down I lay my hands back on her and start to read her vitals. She has a punctured lung and still has some wing damage, not to mention all of the blood loss. "How is she?" Asks the unicorn as he looks her over, obviously upset. "Well, she has a punctured lung, some tendon damage, and..." "Damn..." She says as she lifts her head up and looks me over. "You're hot.... I think I have porn of you." She says weakly before she passes back out. "WHAT!" The both of us yell. We look to each other for a second before he gets up and storms away, grumbling to himself about gay porn. I just ignore him and go back to fixing her. "I'm Miles by the way." I say to him, making him pause. "I know.... I'm Damian." He says before he continues to walk away. "I'm Hammer." The white pony says cheerfully as he takes a seat next to me. "And that over there is Patches!" "Great." I say as I try to ignore him and continue my work. "Yeah, and this is Backpack!" He says as a spring board pops out and gets in my face. At the end of the spring board is a fake hand that is flipping me off.... what th-aw forget it. "So, while I heal up your friend here, who don't you tell me who you all are."
Chapter 117 The GroupChapter 117 The Group "We just told you." Hammer says cheerfully. "I'm Hammer, this is Backpack...." "Not what I meant." I say as I get back to healing CC. "What I meant is, why are you here?" "You don't need to know. All you need to know is that we were the ones leaving the notes, and we know a lot of stuff about you." Says Damian as he walks back into the room. "Really?" "Yeah." "I don't believe...." "Nine inches." He says flatly. Nine inches....no......nooo.... he can't mean... "I'm awake." CC says as she lifts her head up and looks around. "Wh.... what happened? Did we get captured?" She asks as she tries to get up, but I won't let her. "You go..." "Actually, he surrendered!" Hammer says proudly. "Well... surrender is such a harsh word." I say as I finish fixing up her lungs. "Yeah, and my constant blowing up had nothing to do with it." Patches says, getting the others to chuckle. "No.... I can deal with that.... it was more of you should be fucking dead." I say as I point at Hammer. "So... cold..." He says with a shiver. SPRING From out of his of his back back springs the spring board with the fake hand, flipping me off before it gets sucked back into the bag. "OK, fuck it. I'm not fixing her wing until I get some answers. What the fuck was that? How can you blow up? How are you alive? Where...." "Why don't you tell me what that black stuff was." Damian says as walks up to me, looking really pissed. "You first." I say as I cross my arms. "You surrendered to us! You first!" He yells back. I just stand there and wait for my question to be answered. "Uh.... can I get healed... please." CC asks as she looks between the two of us. I just shrug and wait for him to answer. "*sigh* OK, that's Backpack. It just does shit like that." He says flatly. "It just makes shit." "Yeah." "Can he control it?" "I don't control Backpack." Hammer says, sounding insulted. "Right... so whats up with you?" I say as I look back to Damian. "Me?" "Yeah, you. Back in that fight you.... shimmered darkness. Care to explain?" "Fuck...." He mutters under his breath. Did... did he just say fuck? "I don't think I'm allowed to tell you." "Whys that?" "Well... its a need to know basis and... you're a civilian." "...... excuse me?" I say, feeling offended. "You don't belong to our group, its like if we asked you something about the Spartans. You can't tell us. Don't take it personally." He says with a shrug as he sits down. "How exactly do you know about the Spartans?" "We know everything." They all say at once.... "Fucking liars! You said you didn't know what the black stuff was!" I say, making them all think to themselves. "OK, we know almost everything." CC admitted. "Can I get healed up now." "Fine..." "WAIT!" She shouts. "Take off your shirt." ".........excuse me?" I say as I look around. Damian looks even more pissed off while the others are just chuckling. "Take it off." She repeats. "Uh... no." "You nearly killed me. Take. It. Off." She says with a serious look. I stare back at her until I start feeling guilty for almost killing her. With a sigh I pull my shirt off and toss it onto the couch. Forgive me Luna... "Wow.... muscly.... you like Damian?" Patches says, getting a mean look from Damian. "I know I do." CC says sensually as she lays back down. "Uh... married." "Is it an open marriage?" She asks with a hint of hope in her voice. "No." I state simply, getting her to pout. "Whatever, just heal me then." I kneel beside her and hesitate. "Uh... this isn't sexual, but I need to check your wings to make sure the tendons are lining up properly..." "Just be gentle." She says with a wink, getting a disgruntled grunt from Damian. I look between the two before I get to work on her wing. I lightly grab her wing and slowly pull it out, making her wince slightly. These things are huge. I think she's part... "And before you ask, no. I'm not part griffin." "I wasn't going to say anything." I lie as I run my hand down her wing, getting her to moan lightly from the touch. Damian lets out another grunt before leaving the room. OK, he obviously likes her. "You don't work your wings enough." I say as I start gripping at certain parts, feeling the under developed muscles. "What do you mean?" "You don't work your wings enough. How many hours a week do you fly?" "Well... I don't really get the chance to at the compound. Plus I'm usually out, doing missions." She says as she starts to blush. "Hmm... well, especially with wings this big, you need to make time to develop these key muscles. You don't want problems surfacing later on due to under development." I say as I let go of her wing and flare my hands. "OK, this may sting a little." I say before I lay my hands on her and start to force her tendon back into place. She lets out a small yell as she winces in pain. "A LITTLE!" She yells as I finish up. "Shut up, baby. I've had a lot worse and I didn't cry." I say as I take her wing back in my hands and feel the progress. "I'm not crying." She mumbles as she looks away from me... then wipes her eyes. "Right... so, whats the deal with everyone?" I ask as I continue checking on her wings, taking longer due to her abnormally large wings. "What do you mean? You know I can't tell you..." "I've got the basic gist of their attacks and stuff, what I mean is... can I trust any of you?" I ask as I flare my hand and hold tightly onto her wing. "Well, the initial plan was to confront you. YOU fired first. That 'assassin' was just a messenger... he just got the wrong message." She says as she eyes my hand. "Please don't remove my wing." I stare at her for a second before I drop my magic and take a seat beside her, getting her to sigh in relief. "I only opened fire because Soul Fire told me to, and he usually doesn't talk..." "Yeah... he was probably freaking out because of Damian..." "And why would he need to fear Damian." I ask, getting a worried look from her. "Don't worry about it, he's got it under control.... most of the time at least. I don't know how he deals with it. It must be his colt-friend." I sigh in annoyance and look away from her. Fucking secret.... "Wait... you mean Mare-friend.. right?" I ask as she chuckles a bit. "Really? Wow. He's gay Miles.... he likes stallions." She says seriously. "Right..." I mutter as I look around the room. "Where did everyone go?" I ask as I look around the empty room. Well... fuck. I grab my shirt and head over to the kitchen, putting my shirt on along the way. BOOM I run to the back door and run outside to see a small crater with black smoke rising from the center of it. From all around it, chunks of flesh crawl back towards the center of the crater. I watch in total confusion as Patches, literally, pulls himself back together. "Wh...what the fuck." I mutter as he shakes his head and looks back to me. "Oh... so... yeah..." "What did you do? How are you alive?" "Oh... uh well..." He stammers as he rubs the back of his neck. "Its just something he does." CC says as she walks out and stand beside me. "There really isn't an explanation we have for that. It's just something he does." I walk over to him and examine him a little closer. Only now do I realize that one of his eyes are blue while the other one is light grey. "Mind if I take a read of you? I might be able to get an explanation for that." "Well... OK. But you're not going to get anything, others have tried." He says as I flare my hands and start to try to get a reading in him. I can sense his power fluctuating but.. "Are you hiding your soul?" I ask as I pull my hands away from him. "Uh... how would I do that?" He asks as he cocks an eye. "You tell me. Unless you're dead, you don't have a soul." I say as I stand up and look him over again. I could read his power for a second before it suddenly disappeared. This shouldn't be possible, he should probably be dead. "Have you seen Hammer?" CC asks as they head back inside. I stand there for a second before I shake my head and follow after them. I miss normalcy... "I saw him go upstairs but..." "Wait, what?" I ask as I pause and look around. I quickly run ahead of them and start checking all of the upstairs rooms. He's not in the guest rooms... he better not. I run to my room and pause before I slowly open the door. "Oh sweet Barbra." I say in relief as I step into my empty room. "Who?" CC asks as I head over to the closet. He's not in here either... "Do you think he took the Mico platform?" She asks as she heads to the back and pushes the back door open. "How do you know about that?" I ask as I follow after her. "Uh... we know everything... well... practically everything." Patches says as we all stare at the platform. "Ladies first." "Why don't you go?" CC says. "I'll probably explode..." "So?" She says, getting an even look from him. "But I'm injured." She wines. "Bullshit, he fixed you..." "Oh sweet Barbra, I'll just go." I say as I step onto the platform. FLASH I appear in the cave and... what the fuck. "Hey Miles." Hammer says from a red couch as he flips through a magazine. The cave has now been completely furbished. The couch takes up the back while to my right is a large bed with blue and green sheets. To my left are all of the immediacies for a kitchen. Fridge, stove, sink.... is that a food dehydrator? That is! A fucking, Terradisian, food dehydrator! "Where the fuck did all of this come from!?" I ask as I look around. There's a fucking red carpet leading to the front of the cave. "Uh... Backpack." He says as if it was obvious. "Fuck it. Just, go back. Go back right now." I say as I step off of the platform and point to it. "But, but it needs cabinets!" He says as he shows me a page in the magazine. "I don't give a... oh wow. Those are nice... get the fuck out!" I say as I point back to the platform. "Fine! Sheesh. I furbish your cave and this is the thanks I get. You know what, I'm taking the fridge." He says as he walks over to the fridge and tries to pull it after him, but opens it up instead. "Hey look! Strawberries!" He says joyfully as he starts eating. The fridge has been filled to the brim with nothing but strawberries. "Fuck it. I'm leaving." I say as I take the platform back home. FLASH "You're back.... where's Hammer?" Patches asks as I walk out of the room. "Fucking asshole." I mumble as I walk past them and head back down stairs. I've had just about enough of these guys. I just... I just need to step outside. I walk down stairs and step out the front door where I find Damian meditating. He glances back to me before facing back forward. "Have fun?" He says bitterly. "Yeah... so why does she think you're gay?" I ask as I take a seat beside him. "*sigh* Hammer.... wait, you don't think I'm gay?" He asks as he looks to me. "No. There's no way you're gay with the way you look at her... want to talk about it?" I ask. This is seriously the most normal thing about this group, may as well talk about it. "Not really, you did just try to kill us." He says as he continues to look forward. "Unless you could find a way for her to know that I'm not gay..." "Why don't we go and just tell her..." "NO!" He yells as he looks back to me. "The world is against me. Every time I try to tell her... things explode." He says as he nervously looks around. "Right... well ... what now?" "Huh?" "Well, CC says you were only here to 'confront' me. Well, mission accomplished. What happens now?" I ask as I lean back. "OK, first off, stop killing our men!" He says as he points a hoof at me. "And for the love of God, stop killing their spirits. We need them." ".... who?" "Who... who?" He asks as he raises an eyebrow to me. "Who's God?" I ask. I've heard that said a couple of times, but I've no clue who it is. "Ohhhh..." He says as he nervously looks around. "How do you think everything came to be?" "Well.... it's speculated that millions and millions of years ago a large explosion happened. From there molten slag formed the systems and universes. From there, with the right conditions, it was only a matter of evolution taking place." I say, to put it simply. "Who do you think made that happen?" He asks. "Uh... no one. It just happened. Random chance with random circumstances." "Yeah, no. God is the one who started it." "OK... who's God?" I ask skeptically. "The creator of everything.... he made everything." I nod to him as I lean back and continue to stare at him. "You don't believe me, do you?" "Not a single fucking word." "*sigh* of course you wouldn't. Purge and all." He says as he looks back out. "You.... you know about the purge?" I ask, curious to see how he knows about that. "A bit. I've got the general gist of it. Big war, clashing philosophies, death, and science going crazy. I couldn't really tell you more then that." "And how exactly do you know about the Purge?" I ask. "Heh, don't worry about it. Look, just... don't do evil shit, we'll be keeping an eye on you. We'll be in touch if we ever need to speak again." He says before standing up and looking back inside. I stand up beside him as he yells for everyone to come down. "Before you go, I have one last question." I ask, getting his attention. "Why should I trust you?" "If we didn't want your trust, your wife would of been dead in your bed instead of with a note. We aren't here to harm you or anything like that. If anything, we might need you." He says as the other three file out of my home. I take a deep breath as I think about what he said. Sadly.. it's true. If they wanted to, they could of killed Luna. "Oh... and hail the king.. I guess." He says as they start walking away. "I still have questions that I want answered!" I yell to him as he walks away. "Yeah, me to." He yells back to me. Author's Note If you are wondering what the fuck just happened, its called a cross over. These four wonderful characters are from The Demon Within, by Cheesus. They play a pivotal roll in the story. They will return. Brony on!
Chapter 118 Autographs And BooksChapter 118 Autographs And Books I had stayed on the porch long after they had left to think about everything that has just transpired. Exploding ponies, logic defying backpacks, spirits and souls.... I need something normal. I turn around and.... "Oh shit!" I yell as I fall back. Floating behind me is the white wisp from the other day. I just stare at it, waiting to see what it does. "Vis enim harmonia sive chaos?" It asks in an echo-y voice that helps put me at peace. I stand back up and look back to the wisp as I think about what it asked. "Sed est concordiam in chaos." I reply, making the wisp quiver a bit. "Fortasse. Sed non in vobis ... nondum." It replies before fading away. I take a moment to try to register what just happened. The... spirit thing... just spoke to me. OK. What the fuck?! Not yet? Whats does that mean? Fuck it, I need something normal... I guess now would be a good time to give Luna her gift. I go inside and fetch the other phone before taking the Mico platform to Canterlot... FLASH SMACK "Son of a..." I say as I rub my head. I look around the room and silently curse Hammer. He added a few tings to the cave, including a fucking chandelier, drapes that go from the chandelier to the edges of the walls, and white cabinets over the kitchen area. I shake my head and go to leave the cave... only to see that he put a fucking red door over the entrance. Kind of obvious. I go and leave the cave.. "Hello there..." "GAH!" I yell as I jump back. "Night Fury, what the fuck are you doing here?" I ask as I try to collect myself. I take a look at him and realize that he's not in his armor. He's a dark purple with light grey hair and eyes. His mark seems to be a splotch of black with white dots. "I was going to go to your place to receive my training." He states simply as I leave the cave. "Look... we'll have to do that another time, we simply aren't ready to train anyone right now. I need to speak with Luna..." "She's asleep." He says as he follows after me. "Well... I requested the day off..." "The day?" I say as I stop and look back to him. "You need a month off for Spartan training. No exceptions... unless you decide not to do it." I say before continuing down the mountain. "I'm going to do this.... though I have to ask. Aren't you afraid I'm going to tell anypony about Spartan training?" "Ha! Yeah no. First off, you have to live. I've seen guards fight and... yeah, you don't exactly..." "Hey! I'm Captain of the night guard..." "And Luna was abducted twice! Good fucking job." He pauses when I say this and stares at me in disbelief. "When did the second abduction happen?" He asks as he continues after me. "Don't worry about it. I've resolved it. Second, if you somehow pass, there's only a three percent chance that you'll turn against us and brake the rules. Spartan training will get in your head and change the way you view the world. I guarantee it." I stop and look at the two towers of the castle. She's the one on the left... right? "And what if I'm part of that three percent?" He asks as he stands beside me and looks out to the towers. "Then I kill you. There are three of us that would be forced to drop everything and hunt you down. We would not stop until you, and everybody you told, were dead..." "Even if it was Luna?" "..... even if it was Luna." I say as I take a deep breath and look back to him. "Let me warn you though, if you try anything like that, I will torture you beyond belief..." "I won't say anything to Luna. I am Night guard, I'm loyal to her, and I know she wouldn't ask." He says as he looks out to the city. "Since we're not doing anything today..." "Actually, go ahead and take the platform. It will take you to my home. From there either go to the library or the farm to the right. You'll find one of the other Spartans there. Talk to them about setting up a date for training." I say as I walk off and flair my heels. "Where are you going?" He asks as I pause and ready myself. "Like I said, I need to talk to Luna." Before he could say anything else I launch myself into the air. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Night Fury I watch as Miles launches himself into the air and start crawling up Celestia's tower...that should be interesting. I turn back and enter the... what the buck? Why is this cave so well furbished? I walk in and have a look around. Everything seems to be new and unused. Though I guess it makes sense. If it is for a princess to use, it makes sense for it to be top of the line. I look around the room and take a look at the circles in the center of the room. I guess that's the Mico platform Miles spoke of... OK, how do I use this? I step around it cautiously, trying to figure out what exactly I'm suppose to do. Not seeing anything better to do, I step onto the circle and wait. "Maybe you need to say..." FLASH "WHAT THE BUCK!" I yell as I jump back. That thing is freaky. I'd rather fly then take that thing again. I shake my head and take a look around. I'm in a small grey room that has a window behind me... and that's it. How does he expect me to.... aw buck. He bucking tricked me. This is probably a starvation room where I'm suppose to die. Better luck next time dummy, you left the window open. I jump up and push it open, giving me more then enough room to slide out and gain my freedom. "Hey! What are you doing in there!" I pause to look at.... "Oh my god..." I mutter as the pegasus stallion flies up to me and confronts me. "What were you doing in there?" He asks as he folds his arms and stares at me. "Oh...uh, the guy who lives there was trying to lock me in a closet so I would starve to death." I say as I suddenly realize how stupid that sounds. "Right.... look. Miles is my marefriends neighbor, and according to her, Miles is a good guy. I don't believe you for a second..." "Your mare friend? But the tabloids say that you're single." I say as I put one and one together. "OH MY GO...." "SHHHHSH!" He says as he shoves a hoof in my mouth. "Look, I'll let you off the hook if you keep this to yourself..." "And an autograph!?" I ask/demand, smiling as best as I can to help convince him to agree. "*sigh* fine. An autograph to. You have a pen?" I look around and just smile some more. "Right, you don't have anything on you. Look, either go get something for me to sign or forget about it. I'm already late for meeting with Dash...." "OK! Uh... I'll be back here as soon as possible... don't go anywhere." I say as I take off and head for Ponyville. I need something he can use to sign... and something to sign. I can't believe HE'S here! We have to get some beers... though he did say he was here to see his marefriend. I think he said her name was Dash. Hmmm.... I don't know any Dash's. Whatever. I look around town, trying to find somewhere that could possibly have both the things I need. Well... I guess the Library could have both of the things I need. Plus I can meet this Spartan stallion. I bank to the left and start my decent towards the large library, making it to the door quickly. "Hello? Anypony here?" I ask as I step inside the library. I look around the room and start idly looking for anything that may have what I want. "Be right there." Says a slightly familiar voice from upstairs. I turn around and... "Spike?" "Night Fury! Whats up? Aw man, I haven't seen you in years! What brings you to Ponyville?" The little purple dragon says as he runs up to me. "Hey, I'm actually here for three things. I need something that I can get signed, a pen, and to find somepony that's a Spartan." I say as I look around the room some more. "Where's Twilight? I thought she was your care taker." "Oh, she is. But she had to go to Canterlot for a pop quiz. She actually should be back anytime now if you want to say hi." He says as he goes to a drawer and starts to go through it. "I'm actually in a hurry right now, I'll have to come back and say hi..." "SPIKE! GOOD NEWS! I PASSED!" Twilight yells from behind as she burst through the doors. She slides to a stop when she see's me and puts on a big smile. "Hey! I haven't seen you in awhile, what brings you to my Library...." "Night Fury?" Says some stallion behind her. I lean over and.... "Storm Cloud." I say through gritted teeth. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles I climb onto the balcony and shut off my magic. Walking up to the double doors, I take a moment to collect myself. Should I tell her about everything that happened the past few days? Maybe it would be better to leave certain details out... like my killing two ponies. At least for now. I open the door and walk inside.... "This isn't right." I say as I look around the room. The layout is exactly the same as Luna's, only the furbishing is different. Instead of being dark purple and black, the bed sheets are red and golden yellow. The desk has been painted white and contains several open books. Other then that, the rooms are exactly the same. I turn to leave the room when I paused and looked back at the books. Curiosity getting the better of me, I walk over and look them over. "Of course I can't read them, they're in pony text." I say as I flip through the pages of one. This one has a thin red lining on the outside and is dated on every page. What could this be? I lift it up and look at th.... CLICK Oh shit. I turn and run over to the door as it slowly starts to open. I get out as quickly as possible and launch myself to the other tower. I quickly get inside and slam the door shut, waking Luna up. "HUh!? What? Miles? *yawn* what are you..." "I might be in trouble." I say as I look at my hands and see the book. "Scratch that, you're in trouble." I say as I toss the book to her. As she catches it I look around for a hiding spot, choosing the nook by her bed. ".... why do you have Celestia's diary?" Luna asks me. "I.... well... to be honest, these towers all look the same..." "Miles." She says as she gets up and walks over to my horrible hiding spot. "What were you doing in my sisters room?" "I thought it was yours! I stepped in, went to leave... saw the book..." "And took it!? Nopony reads her diary! Its... her diary! This is an extreme invasion of her personal..." KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK We both freeze as a knocking comes from balcony doors. Luna looks to me before throwing the book at me. Before I could do anything, she runs over to the doors and opens them up. "Hiii Tia." Fuck. "OK Luna, funny prank, now where is it?" Celestia asks. "Where's what?" Luna asks, sounding slightly guilty. ".... seriously? Sister, your little pranks are fun and all, but this is a little too personal. Now may I please have my diary back?" "But I seriously don't have your diary..." "Then can I come inside and have a look around?" "No." Luna replies quickly. Nice Luna, nice. FLASH "Honestly sister. Sometimes I think you think everyday were Nightmare Night." She says as she walks around the room. I take a deep breath as I flare my hands and set an illusion spell on myself, hopefully this will work... I hope. "But I don't have it! What if one of the guards took it? Or what about one of the maids..... or Philomena." Luna says desperately as she follows her around. I look up to see Celestia look straight down at me... and tilt her head in confusion. "Uh... sister. Why is there guards armor in your room?" Luna walks over and looks at me as well, slightly shaking her head. "Um... I... wanted to try my hoof.... at.... enchanting?" She says as she walks over and sits beside me. OK... lines at elbows... hurry it up already. "Enchanting?" "Yes. I requested this from the guards before I went to sleep and... was... trying to figure out... hooow..... Miles made those strength buffs?" She says as she glances down to me then back to Celestia. "Strength buffs." She states simply. "Why would you want..." "Stronger guards of course!" Luna says, cutting Celestia off. "I once saw Storm Cloud do some... things that an average pony couldn't do, so I wanted to see if I could duplicate it for our guards." She says as she tries to put on a convincing smile. ".... and how is it going?" Celestia asks, genuinely interested. AW COME ON! I'm almost to my shoulders! "I haven't figured it out yet, but I won't give up yet. Well look at that, I technically should still be asleep. It was nice talking to you sister, but you know... nocturnal and all." "Oh.. of course. You know, it probably was Philomena. I need to go have a word with that pesky bird..." She says as she starts to turn away. "Wait." Luna says, getting her to pause. "Can I have a hug?" Oh now your just being mean. "Of course sister." She says as she walks over and embraces Luna. They hold each other for a bit until Celestia finally breaks the hug and starts to leave the room. "If you see it anywhere can you please bring it to me." She asks before leaving. "Will do." Luna says as she escorts her out. With them out of sight I release the spell and sigh in relief. "IIII love you sister." Luna says over my sigh. "I love you too sister. Well I won't keep you any longer. Sleep well." I wait for the door to shut before I sit up and look back to Luna with a large smile. "So, working on mimicking my enchantments eh?" I say as I pull myself onto her bed. She laughs a little as she runs over and jumps at me, knocking us both off the bed, with me landing on bottom. "You, are a jerk." She says before she gives me a kiss. "It's ok though, I'm your jerk." I say before I give her a kiss. She pulls away from me and stands up, moving back to the bed. I get up and lay beside her as she eyes the book. "Luna...." "Just a page...." "NO!" I say as I try to take the book away from her. We end up spending who knows how long wrestling around. Me trying to take the book from her as she tries to keep it away from me. "Come on! Just a page, please!" Luna says as I finally take the book from her. "No Luna. This is too..." "Please?" "Luna I said..." "Please?" "I said..." "I'll do anything you want." *eye brow raise* "Anything?" I ask to clarify. "Anything." She say as she gives me her bedroom eyes. "Oh sweet Barbra..."
Chapter 119 Call Me MaybeChapter 119 Call Me Maybe Where to fucking start.... anything..... I think.... fuck! Well, yes, but I don't know where to start. Hmmm... "Well?" She asks as she scoots a little closer to me. "What's it going to be?" "Well... that depends. Are you in heat?" "Yeah... and?" Oh that just makes things better. "Alight. I want sex." I say, getting a wide smile from Luna. FWOOSH "But only human positions." I say, making her pause from jumping me. "Uh..... is there really a difference?" She asks, cocking her head to the side a bit. "Probably not." I say as I lean in and give her a quick kiss. "But in the end, does it really matter?" I lean forward again and start kissing her some more, pulling her into my embrace. We continue to make out as I pull my shirt off and start getting my pants off, getting some help from Luna. Once they're off I push Luna back and roll her over, so that she's lay on her stomach. I take a moment to admire her wings as she lifts her backside up a bit as she moves her tail aside, revealing the prize below. "This is a pony position." Luna says cutely as I get behind her. I just roll my eye as I grip her flanks and move my face to her slit. I give it a few tiny licks, making her squirm a bit. I continue to tease her until shut pushes her hips back, forcing me onto her. I give her a forceful kiss before I begin to lick her forcefully, making her sigh in relief. As I continue to swish my tongue around I begin to rub her flanks, loving their soft, yet firm feel. I pause a second to catch my breath when I see her clit. I take a few more breaths before get back to work, only this time I reach down and pinch her clit, making her gasp in surprise. As I continue to eat her out, I continue to play with her clit. Pinching it, twisting it between my fingers, anything that helps make her squirm. She lets out another gasp when I suddenly slide two of my finger inside her. Using my middle and index fingers, I start to move my hand in and out of her as I continue to lick her. I make sure to hit her clit with my other two finger as I go, getting loud pants from her as she begins to rock back and forth. I feel her juices starting to flow out as her pants turn to loud moans, all of this putting me on edge... I think I've earned some now. When I suddenly stop she looks back to me with pleading eyes. I just smile to her as I line myself up and push in. She closes her eyes in pure pleasure as she lays her head back down. I slide back and forth, slowly at first, as I grip her flanks for better leverage. As I begin to ram harder and harder into her, an audible slapping sound starts to ring over our moans and grunts. It feels as if my heart is going to burst from my chest as a cool layer of sweat builds over the both of us. With every thrust I make, Luna's right on beat with me, pushing back into me and pulling forward as I pull back. I begin to tighten my grip on her as I feel that numbing pressure building up within me, only making me want to push harder into her. "GRAAAAAHH!" I yell as I hit my climax, slamming even harder into her as I release inside her. She lets out a high pitched moan as I give my final thrusts into her, gripping the sheets tightly. I come to a stop and sit there for a second, panting as I hold myself inside her. I finally pull out and lay beside her as she holds her hips in the air. "M-miles?" She says as she opens her eyes and looks to me. "Can we try something... new?" "What do you have in mind?" I ask as she stands up and goes to her dresser. I force myself up and follow after her. "What's that?" I ask as she pulls out a book and starts to flip through the pages. "It's the pony sutra. Its a book on sex positions and spells.... there's one I want to try." She says as she finds the page she's looking for and begins to read. "I don't know Luna. Magic has... strange effects on me. Not everything goes the way it should." I say as I take a seat on her stool that's in front of her vanity mirror. "Well... how about I try it at half dosage, see what happens?" She says as she sets the book back inside the drawer. "What exactly is the spell suppose to do?" I ask as she starts to charge her horn. "Well... why don't I show you." She says as zaps me with her magic. I jump a little from the sudden magic as I feel the energy course through my body. "What exactly did that do?" I ask. I feel completely normal. She just smiles and lower her..... oh.... its an erection spell. I sigh in relief as Luna starts to lick my now throbbing member. This feels good.... this feels really good.... this feels better then it probably should. I need to fuck her... NOW. With out warning I pull her off of my member and toss her onto the desk. I stand up and wrap my arms around her legs as I slam inside her. "M-Miles!" Luna gasps as I continue to slam in and out of her. She leans back as I continue to pound her, not really having a set rhythm. Rather, I just trying to hit my own climax instead. I can't think straight right now. The only thing coursing through my mind is a burning urge to cum. I don't know what possessed me to do so, but as I held onto her with my left arm, I started jerking her horn off wit my right hand. PEW "What the?" I ask as I continue to thrust and jerk. The moment I had started working her horn, she shot off a blast of energy. Her eye's have rolled back as her tongue is sticking out to the right... I guess it's a good thing. As I start getting rougher with my movements, the desk starts to shake violently. What ever was on here has now been knocked off from Luna's wings as I thrash her back and forth. She's keeps trying to grab onto something as I feel her tighten up around my member. Sparks are flying from her horn as she starts to mumble incoherently. I know what this means. I pick up the pace, both below and on top, as I try to help her reach her peak. "AAAAAAHH!" She yells out as her orgasm sprays out. I continue to pump her as she begins to wiggle from side to side, gushing out all over my member. PEW Her horn shoots off again as it sends out sparkles and strands of blue energy. One of the strands touches my arm and fills me with a sudden wave of pleasure. "GRAH!" What ever that energy was, it had made me cum sooner then I would have liked. I slam into her as I shoot out the white strands into her. I finally let go of her horn and stop pumping her as my mind starts to clear up. I look up to her to see that she's staring up at the ceiling with her tongue still hanging out. I laugh a bit as I pick her up and take her back to the bed, laying her down gently. "You going to be alright?" I ask as I take my place beside her, wrapping my arms around her. "Hu...immabeood." She mumbles as she nuzzles her nose into my neck and drapes a wing a across me. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK "Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me." I say as I look back to the door. "Who the fuck jinxed it? Are going to be able to answer that?" I ask Luna. She just ignores me and holds me a bit tighter. Well... maybe if we just stay quiet they won't... "Luna?" Regina says as she opens the door and steps inside. "Oh hey Miles. Good to see you. How have you been?" She asks as she approaches the bedside and just smiles at us. "Uh... good... I guess... why are..." "That's good to hear." She says as she sits on the edge of the bed and looks over Luna. "So..." "Uh... do you mind? We were..." "Humping? Not really." Regina says as pokes Luna a couple times. I look down to her to see that she's out. "Uh..." "Oh! Right. Uh... griffins are a little... more open about things like this." She says as she stands up and walks around the room, inspecting the mess. "What do you mean?" I ask as I try to pry myself from Luna's grip, but find it impossible. "Well, we're just a more open about sex. We don't go out in public and do it.... always, but walking in on two in the act isn't seen as rude. I've done it before plenty of times." Does that make me part griffin? "It's just a simple part of life, nothing to be embarrassed about." She says as she pauses at Celestia's diary.... oh shit. "So!" I say as I sit up, bringing Luna up with me. I try to get her off, but end up just adjusting her so shes sitting in my lap, still nuzzling my neck. "What brings you here?" "Oh, right!" She says as she turns back to me. "Well, we recently had a few reports of Steelwing being spotted in Beakton..." "What." "He was spotted in Beakton heading towards Flionence..." "Count us in then." I say, getting a confused look from her. "The Spartan regiment." "Well... we were going to ask the Equestrians for assistance... but..." "I can guarantee that the mission will be a success. Let us prove to you what we can do." I say as I stare at her, trying my best to convey my determination. "Well... alright. I can give some Spartans clearance. But I still wish to ask for Equestria assistance, as an act of good faith." She says as she walks up to the desk and stares at the love stain. "Wow..." "Yeah..." "So... I won't intrude any longer. The boat leaves in two days at dusk. Have your troops at the Crescent docks and look for me." She says as she heads towards the door. "We'll be there." I say as I begin to stroke Luna's back. "So... I have to ask. I can see your penis and.... does it get bigger or..." "Regina." I say flatly. "Ok, Ok, I'll go... OH! The guards told me to tell you that they've covered for you two and that they would bring dinner in here... and that the moon needs to be raised in an hour." She says as she starts to open the door slowly. "I'll let her know. Thanks." She stands there for a moment, staring below me... "Regina." "BYE!" She says as she finally leaves the room. I sigh in relief... "Can I just..." "Regina!" "You're no fun!" She says as she finally leaves. I just shake my head as I lay back, having Luna lay on top of me. We've finally got that son of a bitch. I need to get the others and get to Flionence as soon as possible... "Miles?" Luna says sleepily as she looks up to me, eyes opening weakly. "Did I hear Regina?" "Yeah... listen. We've got somethings to talk about." I say as I rub her back a little. "Regina told me that they have a lead on Steelwing's location. So the Spartan regiment is heading to Flionence..." "What?" She says as she rubs her eyes and looks at me, becoming more serious. "I... I don't want you to go." She says as she hugs me tightly. "I have to go. I have to make sure that we get that son of..." "No!" She says as she tightens her hold on me. "I... I can't shake this feeling. As if something horrible is going to happen if you go. Please, don't go." She says as she starts to tear up. I just wrap my arms around her and stroke her mane, trying my best to soothe her. "I'm sorry, but I have to go." I whisper to her. "Why? Why do you have to be the one to go?" She says as she wipes her tears away. I bring a hand up to her cheek and wipe her it clean of tears, getting a soft smile in response. "If he really is there, then I have to go. If he got away... I wouldn't be able to rest easily. Ever. I need to see his corpse for myself. I need to know, without a doubt, that he is dead. I'm sorry... but I have to go." She takes a hold of my hand and rubs her cheek against it as she holds her eyes shut tightly. I just lay there, waiting for her response. "OK." She says as she finally looks me in the eyes. "Just... dress warmly. It's cold this time of year in Flionence." "I will." "And don't eat the fish. It's... just don't eat it." "Alright." "And try not to use your magic... unless you have to, then do it.... but in moderation." I gulp at this as I take her hoof in both my hands and kiss it. "That reminds me... while I was in Quartz Crest.... I... well..." "Did... did you go through another change?" She asks, to which I nod. "...... what happened this time?" She asks quietly. "Well... this is going to sound crazy, but... now... I can see... spirits." She raises an eyebrow to this but doesn't say anything. "I didn't even know spirits existed, but when I got back... I saw one. And it spoke to me, in Latin! It was asking about whether I believe in harmony or chaos and... well... things just got weird after that." "Miles... this is a lot to take in. Are you sure about what you're saying?" She asks seriously. I take a moment to think about it before I simply nod to her. "*sigh* OK. OK... it's going to be OK. We'll.... we'll just find a way to deal with this... one way or another." "Luna." I say, getting her attention. I pull her in and hold her close to me as I try to force this last part out. "My change... wasn't suppose to happen for another three months... it's happening faster then it should be." She buries her face in my chest as she gasps a few times from new tears. I just rub her back as I try to hold myself together. "Luna?" Celestia says from the door. "The guards told me that you weren't feeling good, is everything alright?" Luna picks herself up and tries to make herself presentable as she heads to the door. I jump up and stop her by the door. "I think now would be the best time to tell her." I say as I kneel in front of her. She sniffles a bit and gives me a kiss before facing the door and opening it. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Storm I just stand there as Night Fury just glares at me. "Uh... do you two know each other?" Twilight asks as she looks between the two of us "You could say that." I say as Night Fury marches straight to me and gets in my face. "Tell me why I shouldn't kick your flank for what you did to me." He growls to me. "What happened wasn't my fault. Sometimes... that just happens. Look..." "JUST HAPPENS!" He yells as he pushes me back and gets back in my face. "Becuase of you my beloved is dead! You took my family away from me Storm! I BUCKING HATE YOU!" He yells as he pushes even harder against me. "Look. I'm sorry for what happened to Rain Drop. If I could change how things happened, I would... but that's isn't how things work." I say calmly. He pushes me back a bit as he snorts a couple of times. Without another word he marches out of the room and slams the door behind him. I sigh as I look back to Twilight and Spike. "What was that about?" Spike asks, sounding a bit scared. "Well... remember how I told you all about my ex-marefriend from way back?" I say as I sit down. "Yeah." Twilight says as she walks up to me and nuzzles my cheek. "Night Fury was the one she was with. He blames me for her dying during birth... her and the foal." The room falls silent as I just sit there, remembering that awful day. "Why would he blame you for that?" Twilight asks as she sits beside me. I look up to her and sigh. "Well... you know me, I don't give up without a fight. But, at the time, he was a better fighter then me. So I would come back time and time again... it must taken a toll on Rain Drop." I sigh again as I feel my heart weigh me down. "I didn't mean to have anything happen to her, I just... I didn't want to be alone." I look over as Twilight leans against me, laying her head against mine. "It's alright." She says quietly. "I know you didn't mean for any of this to happen, you're a good stallion. But you're going to have to find Night Fury and make amends with him. You can't just let him sulk around with that hatred, it'll destroy him." "I know... I'll find him..." "Not now though. Right now he needs to cool off. Look for him tomorrow." She says as she wraps me up in a hug. I return the hug as I look to the side. Spike is just standing there, holding his hands as he looks around awkwardly. I reach out to him and pull him in for a hug as well, getting him to hold onto us tightly. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles "BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Regina roars as she rolls around in a fit of laughter. Luna and I just stare at her as she tries to hold her side together. Fucking asshole. "I'm putting some pants on." I say as I walk back inside. I pick up my pants and take a seat on the stool as I start to put them on. "That wasn't funny Regina." Luna says as she walks over and to me and stands at my side. "I'm sorry-I'm sorry *giggles* I'm *more giggles* I'm dying!" She mutters as she stands back up and wipes a few tears away. "OK.... Ok... I'm good now. I'm good. So... Luna... are you going to raise the moon or not?" She asks as she steps inside. Luna just sighs and walks out to the balcony, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek before doing so. I Lean back and watch as she gets to work moving the moon onto it's proper path. She seems so at peace when she does this. As if there isn't anything else in the world that could take this away from her. "So... did I cock block?" Regina asks, sounding almost hopeful. "You more of heart blocked." I say as I lean back, resting my elbows on the desk behind me. "Aw, that sounds like deep emotional stuff. Look, I'll make it up to you though." She says as she takes a seat beside me. "And how exactly are you going to do that?" I asks as I glance over to her. "You'll see." She says as she grows an evil smile. I look back to Luna as she finishes up and heads inside, closing the door behind her. "So Regina..." "I'm calling in that favor." Regina says, getting Luna to stop in her tracks and go wide eyed. "Now!? Bu-bu-but...." "No buts, you owe me. Now go please your stalli....er... your Miles." She says confidently. "What." We both say as we stare at her. Please her what? What's going on? "Now?" Luna asks as she stares at Regina. "Yes." "With... you in the room?" "... I would like to stay, but the point is to please Miles and...." She pauses to look over to me and size me up. "Yeah...blow his virgin mind for me." She says as she begins to head to the doors. "Uh... not a virgin." I say. "But... I just did..." Luna says. "OK, do it again. Unless you want me to rip up your friend card." Regina asks as she pauses at the door. "*sigh* you're lucky I'm in heat or I'd kick you flank." Luna says as she glares at Regina. OK, now I'm starting to feel a little offended. "Yeah... HAVE FUN!" She says as she bolts out of the door. "OK, what was that all about?" I ask as Luna walks over to me and stares at me. "Well... I'd rather not go too into detail. Basically, she did me a favor on my bachelorette party and... I owe her one." "So... now you have to do what I say to please me?" I ask as a smile grows on my face. "Yeah... I'm going to cheat on this one though." She says with a sly smile as she charges her horn. "Wait wa-*ZAP* FUCK!" I yell as I feel the energy course through my body... again. I feel that burning start to grow down below... I need to fuck something right now! Before I could say anything, Luna had jumped up onto my lap and started to kiss me passionately. I wrap my arms around her as she drapes her hooves over my shoulders. I feel her magic pull my pants off as she starts to grind her hips against me. I try to push myself inside, but can't get underneath her. "What's the matter? Want something?" Luna asks as she plants a kiss on my lips. "I think I'll tease you a bit before I give it to you." She says before kissing me again, forcing her tongue into my mouth. Our tongues wrestle with one another until I grab onto her wing joints, making her gasp in surprise... and lift up enough. When she falls back down I position myself to slide inside, getting a surprised gasp from her. I try to thrust into her, but this position makes it harder to do, so I just go back to kissing her, knowing that she'll get bouncing eventually. After what feels like an eternity of waiting I decide to take actions into my own hands by twisting on her joints again, getting her to bounce. I stop kissing her and realize a way to take advantage of this. I begin twisting on her joints, making her bounce up and fall back down. With every twist she lets out a small moan, eventually bouncing on her own. Every time she comes back down we share a quick kiss before she pushes herself back up, just out of reach. I begin to lose myself even more from the sensory overload. Her soft lips brushing against mine, her chest rubbing against my chest, the heat slowly building below. I need more. I tightly gran onto her flank and start to aggressively assist her in her movements, pulling her down quickly and picking her as soon as she comes completely down on me. SLAP "OW... Miles!" Luna says after I had given her a slap on the ass. SLAP "AH! Please... not so rough." She asks as she starts to pant. I go to do it again, only to find that she's holding me down with her magic. Two can play this... FLASH ...game, or not. Before I could do anything she had teleported us to the bed, with her on top and my arms underneath me. She sits up on me and gets back to bouncing up and down on me with me thrusting below. Her bouncing is nice, but I need more! I try to move my hands, but find them still being held by her. I flare my hands and try to focus on grabbing her horn, being distracted by the moans from above me. "AAAAAH!" She yells when I finally take a hold of her horn. Shes stop bouncing and is staring at me, wide eyed and... scared? Her horn is still glowing, but my hands are free. I take this chance to take the top position. I twist to the left and send her to her side. I lift up her leg and hold it against my chest as I push back inside her, getting a loud moan from her. As I start thrusting like a mad man, I also move my right hand back and forth, jerking horn along with me. All of this is making Luna absolutely lose it. With every push forward she lets out a small scream as her horn sparks out energy. Her wings are sprawled out and shes pulling all of the sheet towards her as she tries to grab something. I shake my head and focus. My hearts racing as I feel sweat rolling down me. I can't really feel myself below. Rather, just a numbness that I'm trying to ram feeling back into it. PEW "AAAAA!" Luna screams as she hits her orgasm, hard. She thrashes back and forth as I continue to pump her. I watch as the blue strand seeks me out and... "GAH!" I yell as I hit my climax when the strand of energy touched me. I slam into her a couple of times until I start to feel my mind clear up. I look over to my hand and shut off my magic, getting a moan from Luna as she stops convulsing and drops down, panting loudly. I take a few breaths before I look down...... what the? Blood? Why would Luna be bleeding from... oh shit... "Oh my..." I look back to see Regina sitting in the corner, smoking. "That... was... amazing." She says slowly. "Regina? What were you doing there?" "Mmmm, I liked it THIS much." She says as she lifts up a claw and separates two fingers, having a strand of clear liquid string out between them. I ignore her and look back to Luna and start to worry. Why would she have bleed? What did I do to her? Is she going to be alright? "Luna... are you OK?" I ask. She just keeps staring up at the ceiling as she tries to get her breathing under control. "She'll be fine." Regina says as she walks up to the side of the bed and takes a look, crushing up whatever she was smoking and tosses it aside. "OK virgin, the blood is just you cracking her hymen..." "But I already did that! What if...." "Look, don't worry." She says calmly, cutting me off. "Look, she's fine. Just a little sexed. You didn't do anything wrong to hurt her... besides maybe smacking her ass, but she seemed to enjoy that. Just, next time you do it, don't do it so hard." She says as she heads to the door. "But... but... but..." "Heh, it's OK virgin, you did good. Just take a shower and wait for her to tell you so. I'm... going to go wash my shame...... BYE!" She says before bolting through the door. I look back to Luna to see that she's fallen asleep. I rub her stomach a bit before I decide to follow Regina's advice. I get up from bed and look around for her restroom... does she even have one? Where the fuck does she go to the bathroom? Well... shit. With nothing better to do I go around the room and clean everything up. When I finish up I start getting dressed. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK "Excuse me sir, but I have dinner for the two of you." A guard says from behind the door. I go back to Luna and lay a blanket over her before I go to the door and open it up. The area behind this door is a narrow stairwell that leads down and around the tower. A single unicorn night guard stand in front of me with a tray of food. To his left is a single unicorn guard, trying not to look me in the eye. "Shouldn't there be two guards here?" I ask as I take the tray. "There were. Ambassador Regina took the other one." Says the guard to the left. I try to understand what he meant until I see his erection. "I need to sound proof these doors." "Very good sir." I shut the door and head back inside, setting the tray down on the night stand beside the bed. I take a seat beside her and watch her sleep, gently rubbing her back as I do so. She seems to be at peace. No pain tremors, squints of discomfort, maybe Regina was right. But if that's the case... how poorly have I've been performing then? "Miles?" She says weakly as she looks up to me. "Hey." "Hey, the guards brought us some food." I say, making her look over to the tray. "So... how do you feel?" I ask nervously. "My legs are numb, but other then that, good." She says as she stretches out a bit. "How are you?" "I'm good." I say as I stop rubbing her back. "Luna... I... did something to you. Just now. You... uh.." "Let me explain." She says as she puts a hoof to my lips. "When you grabbed me with you magic, you change my spell. You forced me to... well... you basically filled me up." She says as she lowers her hoof and waits for my response. "Filled you up... so, every other time has been.... unsatisfactory." "Not at first. But, time after time I would sometimes... cheat. I'm sorry Miles, but you're physically different. It's just that, now you can't... you know... get me there without some help." I take a deep breath as I think about this. "I'm sorry Miles." "No, it's alright. I understand. Humans are naturally smaller then ponies. It's perfectly understandable that you would want more." Luna sits up and gives me a hug, which I return right away. I feel a little emasculated, but I can't deny the biological differences. "Are you leaving?" She asks as she holds onto me. "Not if you don't want me to." I say as I rub her back. She gives me a kiss on the cheek before letting go of me. She levitates the tray over to reveal a large fruit salad and two sandwiches. "Lets eat, then read Celestia's diary." She says as she levitates some fruit up and brings it to my mouth. I turn away try my best to avoid the food as she tries to feed me. "Miles..." "I can't have that." I say, making her stop. "Can't you see the strawberries?" I say as I point to one. She looks to it, then the bowl, before setting the food down. "Right, sorry. Let's just eat the sandwiches then." She says as she lifts one up and takes a bite. I pick up the other one and look inside to see that it's filled with flowers.... of course it is. I look to Luna before giving it a try.... "Why does life hate me?" I say as I set the sandwich down. Luna looks to me and sets her sandwich down. "I'm sorry Miles..." "It's alright. It's not your fault. I'm just... complicated." I say with a sigh. Luna wraps me up in another hug as she nuzzles the side of my head. "I like complicated things." She whispers to me. I just sigh and hug her back. "I love you Miles. Not matter what. You know that, right?" "Yeah, I know. I love you to." She looks to me as she puts a hoof to my cheek. I move my hand behind her head as we stare into each others eyes. We both lean in and share a kiss, holding each other lightly. "Now lets read Celestia's deepest, most personal thoughts." She says as she hops off the bed and grabs the book. "You sound too happy about that." I say as I lay back in the bed. "Mm jush muriush." She says with the book in her mouth. I just raise an eye brow as she lays beside me. "Besides, what if she put something in here that could be useful?" She says as she flips to the first page and starts to read. "What exactly would she be hiding from us?" I ask as I wrap an arm around her. She flips through a few pages, silently reading them. "Uh... care to read aloud?" "Uhuh." She says as she flips to the next page. That's just unfair. "I was right, she was still afraid of me until almost a year ago." She says as she turns the page. "Becuase of the whole Nightmare Moon thing?" "Yeah... she was afraid that I would have remnant thoughts of making eternal night. But only recently put those worries to rest." She turns the page and pauses for a second. "What's up?" I ask as I try to suddenly learn to read Pony text. "The dates skip to only a few months ago. Same time when you showed up. She must only right in here when she's stressed out." She says as she flips through a few more pages, pausing to re-read something. "Something wrong?" I ask as I see the troubled look on her face. She slams the book shut and tosses it aside. She gets up and paces around, fuming with rage. "Whoa, whats wrong Luna?" I ask as I stand up and stop her from marching around. "She thinks that when she separated the two of us that I turned into Nightmare Moon! She thinks that my pure form is tainted and that you helped bring out some 'darker part of my troubled past'! That... that..." She says as she scrunches her face up in anger. Oh sweet Barbra, she going to cuss. "That... silly filly!" "OK, I'm going to have to teach you to cuss cause that was just weird." "She thinks my mind isn't right! That I only want you becuase she says I can't have you! She even mentioned keeping royal duties from me until after you pass away! Can you believe that! Wh-" "Luna!" I say, getting her to stop ranting. "It's alright." "How could you say that it's alright!? She...." "Becuase I know she's wrong." I say, cutting her off. I kneel down and lightly place my hands on her cheeks, getting her to look me in the eyes. "Look, she's seeing things from a perspective that has many things being hidden from her. She's using only bits and pieces of information to make these theories... you know what you should do?" I ask as a smile grows on my face. "What?" She asks nervously. "You should start going to breakfast and dinner in your pure form. Start fucking with her mind." "Miles... what if she freaks out?" "What is she going to do?" I ask as I stand up as cross my arms. "What if she tries to use the Elements of Harmony on me again?" She asks nervously. "You mean this one?" I ask as I shake my arm. "Not to mention that I don't think the girls would just shoot you out of the blue. They would try to talk to you first." She thinks about it for a second before she removes her bracelet and closes her eyes. FLASH When I regain my sight, I'm standing face to face with Luna in her pure form. She rubs her arm as she blushes a bit. I didn't think you would be able to see blushing through her black coat. "What do you think?" She asks nervously. "Beautiful." I say as I look over her body. "Hey, eyes up here." She says, making me look back to her face. "Right. Well... OH! Before I forget... again, I have something for you." I say as I dig into my pockets and present her with the phone. "Your phone?" "Nope. Your phone." I say as I try to hand it to her. She eyes it a bit before she takes it with her magic. The instant her magic envelopes it, it powers up and goes to the home screen. "What exactly do I do with this?" She asks as I pull my phone out and call her. She jumps a little when it starts ringing, but I show her what to do with it. "Uh... what now?" She asks as she holds it to her ear. "Now we just talk." I say into my phone, making her jump. "I heard you!" She says excitedly. "I know." I say as I hang up. "So... you know. Call me maybe." A/N: Shout out to Lolz anonymous for picking dinner, Camo flash for picking the number of orgasms, and Sembrbrony217 for picking how much of the of the diary they read (all of it). Thanks for reading and Brony on!
Chapter 121 Just In TimeChapter 121 Just In Time Once Luna had hung up I had to take a moment to collect myself. I don't want to be separated for this long, but if she believes that this will help make Celestia understand, then I'll support her on this. I take a final few breaths before heading back inside. I walk to the living room to see that Storm and Twilight are now missing. Fluttershy, Big Mac and Applejack are in a group hug as the others are just talking to themselves quietly. "Where did Storm and Twilight go?" I ask. "They went upstairs a bit ago." E'Claire says quietly. I nod to her before I go around and head up stairs. I swear if I find them fucking in my bed again I'm going to kick Storm's ass. I go to my room and open the door to find Twilight and Storm sitting in the middle of the room, hugging. Storm seems beyond happy while Twilight is crying lightly. "Uh.... everything alright?" I ask as I step in. "Yeah... better even." Storm says as he gives Twilight a kiss on the cheek. "Is there any way Storm can stay behind..." "Absolutely not. I'm going to need my lieutenant on this one. Sorry, but we're all going on this one." I say, making Twilight hug him a little tighter. "I'll give you two a few moments, but we leave in.... forty five minutes." I say before I leave the room. I head back down stairs and go straight to the map. I really need to learn to read Pony text, I have no fucking clue what I'm looking at. "So... is this the end of the meeting or is there more?" Butterscotch asks as she approaches me. "Well, basically. Hey, you know where Beakton and Flionence are? I cant read pony text..." "You cant read?" She asks in astonishment. Ah fuck... its orientation all over again. I shake my head and continue to stare at the map until she uses her magic to make two points appear on the map. "Beakton is here, at the top of the Griffin state Birtalia. Flionence is at the bottom of the peninsula. You're going to have to cross the Divide, get over the Bridge and then either cross through the Great Lake or through the Griffin Colonies. At best... five weeks." "Hmm... I'll do it in three days." I say as I turn away from the map and head towards the back. "Three days! That's physically impossible! There's no way you're going to be able to get through the Divide that quickly... its just... impossible!" She says as she follows after me. "Hows Moosden? Is there anything that needs to be brought to my attention?" I ask as I step out back and head towards my jeep. "Are even listening to me?! You will not get there in three days..." "Have you and E'Claire taken all of the supplies from the guard barracks to re-supply Moosden? I don't want you guys running out while I'm gone." I say as I pop the hood and check over the engine. "AAAGH, yes! We did that yesterday. Food, blankets, and basically everything that we were able to put on our back are now in Moosden." "Good. I want you to take all of the weapons and set them aside. When we get back I'll be taking most off them. Other then that, keep an eye on the surrounding area and stay out of trouble." I say as I shut the hood and begin to head back to my house. Butterscotch mumbles something to herself as she follows after me. I head inside and find everyone talking loudly to one another. I walk past them and head upstairs to my room. I walk inside and go to my closet where I begin to put my armor and weapons on. Once I have everything on, I grab my satchel and fill it with some spare clothes and some money. "So... are we expected to defend Moosden or is that a figure of speech thing?" I look back to see that Butterscotch is still standing there, looking around nervously. "Your life will fall before Moosden. That is the price of your error..." "But I didn't do anything wrong!" "But you didn't do anything to stop something wrong from happening." I say, silencing her. "You were a guard. You were suppose to protect them from people, not let them be extorted. If you can't do this, then I'll be sure you learn your lesson the hard way. And one more thing." I say as I approach her, making her shy away from me. "Running, is a very bad idea. Can you do this?" "Well..." She says as she looks away and rubs her arm. "I don't know. This is a lot to take. I don't know right now becuase I've never had to deal with anything like this before. Being a guard was... I didn't really work ever..." "Then I think you should stay." I say, making her look back up to me. "You lack responsibility. Discipline. This will force these things onto you. You will fail at first, but in time, I believe that this will help forge a strong foundation for your life. You need this. Can I count on you?" She looks away again as she thinks deeply about what I said. I place my hand on my revolver as I wait for her answer, hoping she doesn't do something stupid. "*sigh* I'll try." She says as she looks back to me with a smile. "That's all I ask." I say before I glance down at my phone. "I need to get going, think about what I said." I say before I walk past her and head down stairs. "Suit up." I say to Big Mac and Storm, getting the girls to tear up as they walk away from them. "I'll keep an eye on them, do my best to get them back in one piece." I say to them as they hug each other. "Thank you." Fluttershy says as she holds onto Twilight and Applejack. "Ya better bring mah brother back." Applejack says as she wipes her tears away. "You're all going to miss Spikes birthday." Twilight says she looks up to me. "Well... we'll just have to do something special when we get back." I say as I glance back to see Bantler and the others leaving. "You just tell Pinkie to save her party *shiver* A-game for when we get back, alright." She just wipes her tears away and nods to me. I sigh as I go to the kitchen and fill the rest of my bag with food. Once I finish, I hear the armored clanking of the others walking down the stairs. I walk over wait for them to say their final goodbyes. "Just.... remember what I told you and make it back here, OK?" Twilight says to Storm as she hugs him. "I will. I'll be back before you know it. I love you." He says as he hugs her back lightly, trying to keep his grieves out of her mane. "You'll be OK without me fer awhile. Iffin ya get lonely, just go ta the farm and find AJ." Big Mac says as he hugs the both of them. "AJ, Imma countin on ya ta watch after Shy while Ah'm gone. Keep her safe fer me." "Ah will big brother. You just stay safe and get here before the next harvest." Applejack says as she holds onto him. "Big Mac..." Fluttershy whimpers as she holds him. "Spartans." I say, getting their attention. "It's time." They both nod to me and follow me out back, leaving their crying families behind. We get into the jeep and take off without saying a word. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Seven Hours Later We sent the trip in complete silence. I don't know about them, but I'm just trying to keep a clear head about the mission. I don't know what to expect, but if its the Darkness, I can only hope to find one of their leaders. If we can take one of them out or even capture them, we could avoid something traumatic in the long run. But, that's just hopeful thinking. I expect some kind of twist where those assholes slip through my fingers, which is why I need to get there as soon as possible. The sooner I can get there, the sooner I can spring their trap. The trip was made longer by my stopping periodically stopping to create communication towers. I think I made some eight or nine, which should be enough. These things help boost each others signals, so after four or five I was fine, I just wanted to make sure. Not only do I want to be able to speak with Luna, if Moosden calls, I need to be able to answer. Luna. I seriously hope she knows what she's doing with Celestia. I don't like having to keep my distance from her... though I'm leaving anyway to another country to go fight the very people threatening us... its different. This is to stop someone evil from hurting others. What Luna wants is... to... well... its different. "There's Crescent Cove." Storm says idly as we come to the top of a hill. Below us is a fairly small village. Most of the wooden houses or businesses are crammed together near the shore, where three long walkways stretch out into the shore. The only ship connected right now is a fairly large ship. Spotted all around the ship are griffins going about their work. Cleaning, tying down ropes, moving supplies. "We'll get out here." I say as I turn off the engine and step out. I move to the back where I open up the benches and hand out their weapons. Once done, I bury the jeep a foot underground and set the Spartan logo on the ground a marker. "Hold on guys, I need to speak to you." I say, stopping them from walking off to the ship. "What's up?" Storm asks as they face me. "I suspect that there is going to be a fight, a real fight, in Flionence. Remember your training and keep your causes at heart. They will keep you alive. Trust me on that." They both nod to me so I continue. "Now, if you happen across any possible leaders, first priority is to capture. But if your life is at risk, do not hesitate to kill them. I prefer live soldiers over live prisoners. We're still on mid alert, so fire when fired upon. Watch each others backs, and make them suffer." They give a final nod before following after me. As soon as we walked into the busy little village, everything seemed to fall silent. Everyone just watched us walk through the main street of the town, heading towards the docks. Some ran inside, but most just watched with wide eyes as we marched on. I can't really blame them though. A human and two armored and buff as fuck ponies just walked into their quiet little town. "Miles!" Regina yells as she flies down from the ship to greet us. "A day early, I like that. So, where'e the rest of your squad?" She asks as she looks over Storm and Big Mac. "This is it." I say, getting a confused look from her. "Really? Well... OK then. Um... we just need to wait for... the... Equestrian forces to show up and... wow you are buff." She says as she walks up to Storm. "Hi, I'm Regina." "I'm married." Storm replies flatly. "Is it an open marriage?" She asks hopefully. Storm just shakes her head and flies up to the deck of the ship. "Is that a no?" She asks as she looks back to me. "Yeah, its a no." I say as I walk past her. "Eeyup." Big Mac says as he follows after me. We walk up the plank and take a look around the massive ship. It looks about two hundred meters long and twenty meters wide. Oddly enough, it has no masts. Instead it has two large nesting areas that have some cloth folded up inside. Below the nests of cloths are large stone furnaces. Judging by the height of the ship, I'd say there are three floors below us. "Impressive, isn't she?" Regina asks as she lands beside us. "Say hello to G.C.S. Moonless." "Where are the masts?" I ask as we start to walk around the deck. "Masts? Miles, this is an airship. Those cloths will act like balloons and lift us into the air. We'll be able to move at about forty miles an hour." She says as I look into the large furnaces, that now make sense. "Forty miles... so... about sixty kilometers then. Beats going by sea." I say as we move to the next one. "Would this happen to be a war ship?" Storm asks. "Yes. We have sixteen windless crossbows on the second floor and four drop hatches for alchemic bombs..." "Whats yer load out?" Big Mac asks as we walk to the left side of the vessel and look over the edge, seeing the hatches for the cross bows. "Incendiary, high explosive, stuff like that. The crossbows are standard bolts on them, though they can fire anything that'll fit really. Not to mention that every crew member is a soldier of the Griffin Colony air force." Regina says as we look over the edge. "Miles?" I look back to see Shinning Armor walking up the plank in his purple Armor. "What are you doing here?" "You can always find Spartans in the fight for good." I say as I walk over to him and shake his hand... hoof. I look behind him to see a group of about thirty ponies walking up the plank. Twenty of them are royal guards, ten are in Day armor while ten are in night armor. There's also a group of ten in what looks like black Kevlar armor... what the... "I assume that you are Miles Eremita." Says a unicorn as he walks up to me. He's seems to be mostly dark red with a few random blue strips on his legs and face, with black hair. His thick black clothing covers up his mark. His horn seems to have been filed down to end in a point... ow? He has bright yellow eyes and seems... aloof. "You found me." I say as the rest of the ponies get on board. "What can I help you with?" "Princess Celestia had hired my outfit to assist you. Both here and later on." "Wait... what?" I stare at him for a second, trying to see if he's serious. Damn... Luna must work fast if Celestia's already trying to protect me. "Well... thanks for the assist, but I don't think you'll be much help..." "Trust me. We can get any job done. The names True Will, and we're the Ursas' Mercenary outfit." He says as the rest of the black armored ponies rank up behind him. I glance back to Storm and Big Mac before looking back to him. "Contractors." I say bitterly. "Right.. look, here's the deal. I allow for your assistance on this, just be sure to stay out of our way. We wouldn't want anything to happen to you civilians." I say as I pet his head a few times. He just glares at me as some pegasis mare behind him giggles at him. I glance back at their ranks and then back to him. "Well..." "Don't worry about us. We always get the job done, no matter the cost." He says before walking past me. I just laugh to myself as the group walks past the three of us. This is going to be interesting. "What was that about?" Shinning asks as he walks up to me and follows me over to the railing. "Ends up Celestia hired some private contractors to watch over me." "Really.... that's... odd." He says as we both lookout to the horizon. "What do you know about the mission so far?" "That its a farce. I know Steelwing, he's smarter then this. He only showed up to reel me in." "Then why are you going. If it's obviously a trap, then wouldn't it be smarter to avoid it?" "Sometimes. But they forgot something important." I say as look back to him. "What good is a trap, if the one being trapped knows there's a trap?" ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Twilight Once everypony had left, we decided to hang out and try to comfort one another. So now we're raiding Miles's fridge for lunch. "Ah could use a drink." AJ says as shut looks through the shelves. "This is too much fer me. What about you Shy?" "Oh.. um... maybe a bit.. just a sip... maybe." Fluttershy says as she slowly hides behind her hair. "What about you Twi? Want ta get something light?" "Uh... I can't drink right now." I say as I try to avoid her gaze. Please don't push this AJ. "Why not?" Of course. "I just can't." "Uh... is there a reason? Or do ya just not want ta get a drink? I mean, it is early an all.." "I don't want to, sorry AJ." I say as I look to her and try to convince her. She stares at me for a second before she glances to Fluttershy. "Really. You don't want to." She says as she steps towards me. Oh dear... "Yes." I say as I step away from her. "Really?" She says as she continues to approach me. "Maybe." "Really." "OK fine! I would love a drink right now! But I can't." I say when I had touched the wall behind me. "Why can't you?" Fluttershy asks as she walks up beside Applejack. "Well....cause...*mumble*..." I say as I look away and rub my arm. "What was that?" Fluttershy asks as they both step closer. "I said...*louder mumbles*." "Dangit girl jus spit it...." "I SAID CAUSE I'M LATE!" ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Storm Once everyone was settled in it was decided to leave early. I was a little excited to see this hunk of junk move. I've got the princible down, its a dirigible. Or at least I think it is... "Give me some lift griffins!" Yells Lars Sharpbeak, Regina's commander. He has brown fur and all black feathers with grey eyes. He's marching around the deck yelling orders at the griffins as the fill the balloons with hot air. They've actually expanded all of the way, making the length of the ship triple. As the furnaces send massive plumes of fire into the openings of the balloons, griffins would throw in different materials made to not only burn hotter, but for longer. "Miles, could you come with me please? We need to form a plan of attack." Regina asks Miles as she heads to the stairs below. Miles looks back to me and Big Mac before heading after her. "OYE! Earth pony, mere." Yells one of the mercenary unicorns as soon as all of the commanders disappeared. Big Mac and I look to one another before sighing. This won't end well. "You mere." Big Mac yells back to him, making him roll his eyes. Him, along with four of his mercenary friends, came trotting right up to us, wearing smug smiles. "What are you doing here? You're going to get hurt earth pony." I look around and notice that Big Mac is the only earth pony here.... unless you count Miles... actually, he's more of a unicorn. "An whys that?" Big Mac asks. "Dude, this thing isn't going to land. Without magic or wings you're kind of useless...." CRACK Before he could finish, Big Mac had grabbed him by his shirt and headbutted him, knocking him out. "Anypony else gotta problem with me?" He asks as he advances on the others. "Yeah, I do." Says a sandy tan pegasis mare. She has a mane that has several shades of tan in it, light grey eyes, and ha her mane up and under a black hat. As she walks up she blows a bubble from her chewing gum until it pops; then continues to chew. When she gets in Big Macs face the other just groan and look away. "Dammit newbie, get out of here Dust Devil." Says one of the other unicorns to her. He's all black with red hair and yelloow eyes. "Newbie?" I ask as I look over to Big Mac. "How much experience do any of you have?" "I've..." Start Dust devil, only to get pulled back by one of the other mercenaries. "None of your business! Look, we've been hired to watch after the three of you, and we think that it would be best for the earth pony to watch the ship. You're just going to get in the way." He says as he glares at Big Mac. "Boomy, you're being an ass." Dust Devil says, only to get mean looks from everypony. "Whats going on here?" Asks an orange pegasis with golden tipped wings, the black armor, and a green cap. As he walks up, all of the mercenaries stand at attention. "Well?" "Just some friendly advice for the earth pony Camo Flash sir!" Says the unicorn. "Your subordinates seem to think that my private here can't handle himself here." I say as I look to Camo Flash. "Lieutenant Storm Cloud, Spartan Regiment." I say as I shake hooves with him. "Lieutenant Camo Flash, Ursas' Mercenaries." He says as he ends our shake. "I've heard about you fellas. That Diamond Dog attack sounded like hell." "It was unfortunate, but we ended with a mission success." I say matter of factly. I look over to see that Big Mac is still staring daggers at Boomy. "Stand down Big Mac..." "You don't want to get hurt." Boomy finishes. Here we go... "That it. Imma kick yer ass." Big Mac says as he starts to take his grieves off, making the unicorn laugh. "Boomy, shut the buck up. Storm Cloud, control your pony..." "Mmm... naw. I'd like to show everypony what a trained Spartan can do." I say as I back up. "What!? But..." "Dude, Camo, I've got this." Boomy says as his back up backs away from him. Big Mac undoes a few latches and pulls his armor off.... FWOOSH Everypony looks back to Dust Devil as she stares at Big Mac, eyes wide and wings erect. "Dust Devil! Control yourself!" Barks Camo. "But.... muscles." She says as she continues to stare. Big Mac ignores her and gets in Boomy's face, dwarfing the doomed pony. "Make your move." He growls at Big Mac, who only snorts at him. They stare at each other for what feels like an eternity, until Boomy made his move. He started to have his horn glow, but stopped when Big Mac had grabbed it and started to punch him across the face. As soon as they started fighting a crowd formed around them, cheering them on as they placed bets. After a few powerful punches he twists around and slams him onto his back. From there he backs away and waits for him to get up. "Git up maggot!" He mocks as Boomy slowly gets up. Before he could get to his hooves. He lets out a primal scream as he charges at Big Mac, who only waits for him to close the distance. Boomy had meant to tackle Big Mac, but once he slammed into him, he just fell back onto his haunches. Big Mac just shakes his head as he rears up and picks his up by his horn. He walks over to the railing where he holds him off the edge. "WHAT THE BUCK! THIS ISN'T FUNNY, LET ME BACK ON!" Boomy yells as he tries to latch onto Big Macs arm. "Wheres yer magic now bitch?!" Big Mac yells at him as he continues to hold him out there. "I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! LET ME BACK ON NOW!" Big Mac yells out as he tosses him across the deck. He rolls a bit until he comes to a stop. He tried to get up, but stopped when Miles had stepped on his throat.... oh shit. .................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles I sigh as I look down at the pony beneath my foot. I want to feel bad, but he was getting pretty racy, so I think I'll teach him a lesson. "What's your name." I ask as I add pressure to his throat. I as add pressure to him, I pull out my trench knife and start to look it over, making him go wide eyed. "I.... can't..... breath..." He gurgles as I choke him. "OK I can't breath, let me give you a little friendly reminder. You're a private contractor. We're soldiers. You get paid too pretend to do the things we do on a regular basis. Make that mistake again, and I'll teach you the difference, are we green?" "Super green." He mumbles back to me. I slap his cheek a few times before getting off of him. He gasps for air as he crawls away from me. "GET BACK TO WORK!" Yells Lars as he walks past me and towards all of the griffins. "SPARTANS! RUNNING SETS, GO!" I yell, making the two of them start running along the edge of the ship. "URSAS! MOVE YOUR WORTHLESS FLANKS!" Yells True Will, making all of the mercenaries start to move. "WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT? GET MOVING!" Shinning yells as all of the gawking guards. Once we had gotten everyone moving, we all stepped back under to get back to the meeting. The first floor is basically a long wooden hallway with doors lining the both sides of the hall. We all walk down to the fist door on the left and head inside to the meeting room. The room only has a large, low, round desk that has a map of the Griffin Colonies on it. Red tapestries cover the walls as well as a few chairs. "Now that we're all back, lets get back to the task at hand." Regina says as she gets out her chair and looks over the map. We all take positions around and look on with her. "Our scouts spotted him moving from Beakton, crossed off here, towards Flionence, circled here. Our course will drop us off below the city and we'll march in from there. Our plan is to pincer the city and, if time allows, wait for him to show himself. If in a day he doesn't show up we'll have to meet up with the city guard and scour the town. If not, then we move in on him. Any questions?" "Any intel on the forces he moving with?" I ask as I look over the map. "He was spotted with twenty other members. We have no intelligence on what to expect at... where ever it is that he's going to." Lars says. "The Griffins will take the left flank while the Equestrians take the right." Regina says, looking around the room. "The Terradisians will... what will the Terradisians do?" "Hmm... I will send my private with the griffins while my Lieutenant goes with the Equestrians. I will drive through the center and attempt to gain access from the side. If that fails, I'll regroup with the Equestrians." "Ok, I'll assist you." Regina says as with a smile. "What about the Ursas?" "We will split evenly to assist the Terradisians. I'll go with Miles while my lieutenant goes with the Equestrians and the rest with the griffins." True Will says from his chair. "Excellent. Since this operation is taking place in the Griffin Colonies, we get priority on the prisoners. We will share any and all information gathered. It should take us about three days to get there, rest up... you'll need it." A/N: Shout out to Camo Flash, BBB, and Fyreghost for having the first OC's appear in the story. If you wish to submit an OC, go to my blog. Please read the entire entry before submitting and please do not chat there. Brony on!
Chapter 122 Fort MiseryChapter 122 Fort Misery Wednesday, November 14th. 10:32 AM "ONE-FIFTEEN... ONE-SIXTEEN... ONE-SEVENTEEN... ONE-EIGHTEEN...." The three of us chant as we do sit ups. The past three days have been mind numbingly boring, but we've kept in check by doing our work out regiment... sometimes just to pass the time. Every now and again we would get others to join us, but right now we're the only ones awake. Well... us and a few of the female passengers. "OOOW, keep it going big boy!" Yells one of the female royal guards. Storm and Big Mac's asses have been on assault the entire trip, something that's been bugging them like fucking crazy.... I love it. "LAND HOOOO!" Yells some griffin from above. We all stop and run to the railing to see the land mass approaching. Everyone gives a cheer as they lean over the edge to take a look. "Regina!" I yell as I run over to her. "How long until we make it to Flionence?" "It should only be a few hours." She says with a large smile. "Get ready for drop off and meet me at the bow, OK?" "Got it. Spartans!" I yell, getting Storm and Big Mac's attention. "Suit up and report to your stations!" "UH-RAH!" They yell back before we all head to the barracks. The barracks room is alive with everypony getting ready for the drop. Putting on armor, grabbing supplies, talking to others about what they expect to have happen. As the three of us start getting ready, I notice that Storm seems a little distracted, so I give him a little nudge. "Huh?" He says as he snaps back into reality. "Everything alright?" I ask as I start to latch on my grieves. "Yeah, just thinking about what Twilight told me." He says as he continues putting on his armor. "What did she tell you?" "... well... I told her that I'd keep it a secret. Mainly because she isn't one hundred percent yet. But... you guys are my best friends she said..." "Hold on." I interrupt as I look back around the room. Everyone was trying to listen. The room had fallen completely silent as they tried to hear what he was about to say. "A little privacy?" I ask, getting most of them to go back to their own business. "Look, I'll tell you guys another time. Lets just focus on the mission." He says before sliding on his armor. Big Mac and I look to one another before continuing to put on our armor. Once we were ready, we spent the the rest of the trip on the deck, silent. Most of the other passengers were fairly quiet, murmuring to one another as we all watched the land mass pass below us. Soon we were back over water, getting everyone to murmur even more. I look to Big Mac and Storm before heading to the bow of the ship, finding Regina and True Will. "You ready for this?" True Will asks. "I was going to ask you the same thing. How about you Regina? ..... Regina?" I look over to Regina to see that she's staring out at the horizon, trying to get a better look at something. I look out to where she's looking and try to see what she's seeing. "What is it?" True Will asks as he looks out with us. Is that... THWACK SHWSHHHHHH From out of the clouds shot two massive bolts from another air vessel. The first one buried itself into the bow of the ship while the other one shot right into the forward balloon, making it lose air quickly. "ABANDON SHIP!" Lars yells, getting every winged person to fly off the deck and and every unicorn flash away. "STORM! GET BIG MAC!" I yell to him before launching myself off the edge of the falling ship. THUD I hit the ground hard and roll forward. Even though I used my magic to soften the fall, that still fucking hurt. I look back up to see the enemy vessel; one similar in design to our's, firing their large crossbows at not only the falling ship, but its escaping crew as well. It seems that they have some kind of explosive projectiles, blowing the ship to bits and any unlucky person that couldn't fly away fast enough. I find Storm and Big Mac making their way through the air, being shot at. I pull my rifle out and take aim at the enemy ship, sending my magic through my rifle. PATPATPATPATPAT I send a quick burst at the enemy ship, punching a row of holes into their forward balloon. "Miles!" I look back to see Regina landing behind me. "Good shooting. Now lets get to Flionence." FLASH "There you are." True Will says as he appears beside us. "We good to go?" I look back to the falling ship and watch them for a second, watching the two ships collide to the ground. "Miles..." "Lets get going." I say as I turn around. "Right, just follow me and we'll be there in no time." Regina says as she leads us through the brush. I glance back to all of the scrambling people trying to avoid the falling ship, trying to see Storm and Big Mac. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Storm "WHY ARE YOU SO BULKY!" I yell as I try to maneuver through the rain of falling debris and bolts trying to kill us as I carry Big Mac towards the ground. "YER ARMOR HAS A STRENGTH BUFF, DEAL WITH IT!" He yells back as I fly towards the ground as quickly as possible. CRASH We slam into the ground and roll for a bit until finally coming to a stop. We look to one another from the ground before we both get up and start running. KER-CRUSH We barely made it out of the way of the ship before it slammed into the ground, making us fall from the shaking. We quickly push ourselves up and continue to run as the second ship nears the ground. KER-CRUSH The ground shook again as the second ship hit the ground, only we were able to stay standing this time. We stop running and look back to the wreckage that we just escaped.... and start chuckling to each other. "Whats so funny?" Dust Devil asks as she lands beside us, along with Camo Flash and several other mercenaries. "Nothing. We need to find any survivors and move to our objectives. Head north west and try to find as many griffins as you can. I'm heading northeast to find the Equestrians. Good luck." "EEyup." He says before we run off towards our objectives. I look back to see that half of the mercenaries are following me while the other half are going with Big Mac. "Any idea where to meet up with the Equestrians?" Camo asks as he runs along side with me. "Sure. The right flank of Flionence. Where else would we..." "DIE!" Yells a griffin from above as he tries to get the drop on me. With a flap of my wings I shoot forward and avoid his sword. I spin back around and draw my sword as the four mercenaries surround the griffin. They all at once try to stab him, but he just jumps into the air, avoiding their blades easily. I shake my head at them as I fly after the griffin. I can see why Miles doesn't like contractors now. I chase after him for a bit until I catch up enough to make an effective swing. I spin around and slash at him, sending a gust of wind that rips off one of his wings... "Oh shit." I mumble as I watch him fall to his death. How did I do that? I sent a gust of wind that was able to tear flesh and bone.... "DIE BASTARD!" I push myself back as another pair of griffins swing at me I twist back and slash at them, sending them reeling back in the air. Hmm... it seems when I point the blade narrowly at them, I can cut them... interesting. I bring my blade up to block the griffins attack as the other one reels back to... "AAAAHHH!" Camo Flash yells as he flies past me and tackles the griffin, driving his blade into his stomach as they tumble through the air. I push the griffin before me back and slash at him, tearing a strip of flesh from his chest and sending blood flying out. FOOSH "AAAAAHHHH!" I turn around in time time to see a griffin behind me fall from the sky as a ball of fire. I look down to see Big Mac standing there with his halberd, swinging his weapon around to send balls of fire out at any unlucky adversary. I look around to see that almost everypony is fighting in the air. Groups of fighting ponies and griffins are either locked in areal combat or are falling to the ground. Screams can be heard from all around as blades cross blades. Bolts of energy shoot from the ground as the rest of the Equestrians show up and start taking shots into the air. There's only a few enemy troops left, so I turn around and fly down to Shinning. "Bout time you showed up." I say as I land beside him as he fires a bolt of electricity into the air. "Status." "Well... from the fall we lost a few unicorns, plus with the fighting we're down a total of... six ponies. Where's Miles?" "He jumped off the bow of the ship and took off for Flionence, so we need to get moving. Where are the griffins?" "I saw them west of here heading towards the city. Go ahead and take a few of my guards and head to our objective. I'll meet you there." He says as three unicorns come before me and salute. "Big Mac, go ahead and find the griffins. They've got it here." "Eeyup." He says as he sends one last ball of fire and runs off towards the west, snapping his halberd to his side as he does. I look back to Shinning and nod to him before running off with the Equestrians, sheathing my sword as I go. I look back to see the remaining mercenaries split up and follow after each of us, giving me a total of seven ponies with me. That'll have to do, hopefully Big Mac will have enough support from the griffins. FLASH I look around and realize that one of the unicorns teleported us ahead, though they are now passed out on the ground. The area around us is mostly open fields with tall brush. In the distance I can see Flionence ahead of us and a small forest far to our right. One of the pegasus decides to stay behind to watch after him, so we moved on. SMACK We had made it a total of four feet before I had run into something. I back up and rub my nose as I try to see what I had ran into, but there isn't anything here. It should just be more open fields, but as I stick a hoof out, I can feel some kind of barrier stopping me. "Well... what do we do now?" Camo Flash asks. "I Could try to blow it open." Boomy suggests. "No, they would plan for that. We need something more powerful then..." KRA-BOOM I look over to see a massive explosion send dust and debris into the air. That must be Miles. From there the barrier starts to shatter, revealing a massive fort behind the invisible veil. The fort is made of grey stone and stands three stories high. One massive round tower takes up the center of the structure as four smaller guard towers make up the corners. I can see dozens of archers take aim at us from slits in the walls, the guard walks from the top, and a few from the air. "GET MOVING!" I yell as I run for the wall. At the same time, a volley of arrows shot down at us. I look back to see the unicorns make small shields as the pegasus try to hide with them. Sadly, the pegasus watching the down unicorn in the back didn't get any cover and was peppered with large arrows. When I make it to the wall I press myself as close to it as possible, trying avoid the incoming arrows. I look up to see the flying griffins moving to get better shots at me. PATPATPATPAT From the distance I hear Miles's rifle ring out, killing the air born assailants. The rest of the other ponies make it to the wall beside me and provide cover. "What now?" Camo Flash asks as I look up. "Boomy, think you can blow a hole in this wall?" "Pfft. Do bears drink too much Vodak?" He says as he starts to charge his horn. "Just say when and I'll make an entrance big enough for a dragon." "Great. Camo and I will fly up and draw their fire, once you have enough room, blow a hole and get inside, we'll follow after you." "Wait... what?" Camo asks before I take off into the air as fast as possible. Instantly, arrows start to fly past me in an attempt to kill me, but I fly too fast for them to get a good shot. Once I make it to the top I flip back and land right next to an orc. He tries to take a shot at me with his bow, but I had swung my sword at him, blowing him back into another orc. BOOM I glance down to see Boomy had blown a hole in the wall, gaining access. I fly over to the downed orcs and finish the job by stabbing them both in the gut. They let out small screams before falling back and dying. BOOM I look over to the far corner of the fort to see another hole blown in the wall, revealing Big Mac and a group of griffins charging into the compound.... ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Big Mac "Eeyup." I say before running off, dropping my halberd to my side and running on all four towards the west. I push myself to run as fast as I can, trying to group up with them as fast as possible. After about ten minutes of straight running I see a group of twenty griffins up ahead, entering a random forest.... that doesn't make sense. Those are broad leaf trees and this is a coastal region. Unless they planted them here and want them to die, they shouldn't be here. "Big Mac." Lars yells as I trot into the group. "Glad you could make it. Lets get moving." I just nod to him as I walk in with the group, eyeing the trees as we go. "Don't you think we should of helped? I feel bad leaving it to the Equestrians." Says one of the griffins as we march through the trees. "They had it covered. We would just get in the way at that point. Though I wouldn't mind some of their unicorns with us... no offense." Says another griffin as he glances to me. I ignore them as I continue to watch the trees. They don't sway correctly... it doesn't seem natural. "Everything alright Big Mac?" Lars asks as I stop and rear back, pulling my halberd out as I do. "Nnope. We're surrounded." I say as I continue to look around. The griffins all turn around and look around with me. I can't help but think that the trees have moved closer. "Are yAAAAHHHH!" As soon as the griffin had turned to ask me something a branch had came flying down and crushed him. All of the trees started to move around as they pulled their own roots out and advanced on us. The crooks and crannies of the trees started to glow green, making the outlines of their faces. They seem to use their lower branches and arms and turn the bottom of their trunks into legs for walking. "TREE FOLK!" Lars yells as another branch crashes down and kills another griffin. I roll forward to dodge an incoming branch and begin to run at one of the trees. With a quick spin I slam my halberd into the trunk of the closest tree, making a huge fiery explosion that blows splinters back and forces the tree onto its back. "KEEP MOVING!" Lars yells as the rest of the griffins try to keep out of the trees grasps. I duck back as a branch flies past me, barely escaping. I twist my halberd around and chop the end of the branch off, setting it ablaze. I keep backing up as more and more branches shoot at me, trying to impale me. But I keep chopping away at them, slowly setting all of the trees around us on fire. "STOP SETTING THEM ON FIRE!" Lars yells as the remaining griffins run past me. "AH CAN'T HELP IT! MY WEAPON DOES IT!" I yell back as I continue to hack away at the incoming branches. The trees don't seem to care that they are on fire, they just keep coming at us. Sending branch after branch at me. Soon I chop the last branch, leaving all of the trees topped. They pause for a moment to look at each other, giving us a moment to regroup. "They're distracted. Lets make a run for it." One of the griffins say. "Do you really think we can out run them?" Another one asks. "Beats having to fight them claw to claw. I've already snapped my sword." The first one says before making a run for it. One by one they all turn tail and run... only to all slam into something together as they hit... nothing. "How was that plan ta run?" I ask as the trees start to advance again... KRA-BOOM Only to stop again. I glance back and watch as the invisible wall shatters like glass. A massive fort is revealed from this, with guards now pointing bows at out backs. Before anypony could say anything I twist my halberd around and send a ball of fire at the closest tree folk, knocking it back and into another one. "GIT RUNNIN! AH'LL COVER YA!" I yell before charging at the remaining burning trees. "Are you nuts!?" One of them yell at me as I jump and and slam my blade into another tree, knocking it over with a burst of fire. As I yank my blade out I watch the other trees start to split apart, making arms from their trunks. This might of just gotten harder... "DEATH!" One of the trees yell as they try to slam both of their fists onto me. I jump forward and roll to avoid the attack, but get kicked back by another tree folk. THUNK After I slam into a stone wall and fell to the ground I pick myself up slowly. That... hurt. "You alright?" Lars asks as the rest of the griffins run up to me, being chased by the rest of the trees. "Yeah... why aren't..." PATPATPATPAT I look up to see a bunch of griffins falling from the sky as Miles' rifle rings out. "BIG MAC!" "We need ta get inside where the trees can't get ta us. Think ya can cover me fer a few seconds?" I say as I pick up my halberd and face the wall. "You got it." Lars says as he pulls out his sword and flies off to the fight. I hold my weapon tightly as I get ready to.... BOOM I shake my head to refocus on making a hole. I'm not entirely sure if this'll work, but its worth a shot. I pull my blade back and put all of my strength into slamming it into the wall. BOOM In a massive fiery explosion the wall before me flies back, making an entrance for us to get through. "We..." "MOVE IT!" Yells a griffin as the remaining griffins run past me. I was about to charge the tree folk when Lars pulled me inside as well. We enter the square where I can see whats left of the Equestrian forces running. We all meet up in the center of the open square. "Where's Storm?" I ask as I look around. "BIG MAC!" I look up to see Storm flying towards me. I turn back and... SHINK "NNOOOOOOOOOO!" ................................................................................................................................................................................................ Perspective: Miles Once we made it far enough from the fight we had slowed down. As we walked through the tall brush I pull out my rifle and keep my eyes open for anything. "Miles, we need to speak real quick." True Will says as they follow closely behind me. "Kind of a bad time right now." I say as I continue to scan the area. "I lied about my employment. I wasn't hired by Celestia." I stop in my tracks and face him. "I'm listening." I say as I keep my finger on the trigger. Regina steps to the side and puts a claw on her sword as she watches the two of us. "Originally I was hired by Celestia, but a bidder came by and offered more for us, so we went with them." He says as he eyes the two of us. "Princess Luna, or Queen Luna would be more correct, hired me to watch over you. She also request that you take my outfit with you to these secret cities of yours. Oh, you're also picking up the bill." "......... dammit Luna." I say as I continue to walk off. Of course she would hire some contractors... but, if she out bid Celestia to do that, then what did Cele... SMACK "Aw... what the fuck." I says as I step back and rub my face. "I think it was a force field." Regina says as she sticks a claw out and feels the barrier. "This is a pretty powerful barrier, think you can destroy it?" "Step back." I say as I sling my rifle and power up, sending the archaic lines up to my shoulders. They run behind me as I bring my hands before me and start create a ball of soul fire. I hold it there for a moment before pushing forward, sending the ball flying at the barrier. KRA-BOOM A massive explosion erupts the moment the ball makes contact, shattering the barrier and revealing a massive fort. I shake my hands and pull my rifle back out as I look over the large structure. "What the... that shouldn't be here. What's going on." Regina says as they walk up beside me. "Lets find out." I say as I march forward. I look forward to see the oddest thing imaginable, an open doorway. Right in the center of the wall of a passageway. No guards, no door, just a stone doorway. The only thing that I can think of as a deterrent is possibly a trap, but that's still not going to be enough to stop me. "Hold on." True Will says as he steps in front of me and eyes the doorway. "You can get up now." I look around for anyone that he could possibly be talking to, but there isn't a soul in sight. "I said get up." "Uh... there isn't anyone here." I say as I try to see anything to look at. I look up to see a bunch of griffins in the air, shooting arrows at what I presume to be Storm. I line up my rifle with the closest griffins skull and... PATPATPATPAT After my first shot I immediately lined up with the next air born griffin, taking him out with the same kind of deadly precision. I turn to the entrance as the sound of crumbling earth draws my attention. The large stones from the side of the entrance are starting to pull themselves off the wall. "Earth elementals." True Will growls as the two beings step towards us. They seem to make out the skeletal form of a creature that stands a little taller then me, with a thick skull, sharp teeth, and large claws. "Is that suppose to be a bear?" Regina asks as she backs away from the creature. I raise my rifle at them, stopping them as they tilt their heads to me. "Do...." "RAAAAAAWWWRR!" They both screech as the one closest to me bites my rifle. The other one just chases after True Will as I try to wrestle my rifle back. I pop off a few rounds into the back of it's skull, making it pause. I look back to see the hole in its skull start to regrow... so this is kind of pointless. I let go of the rifle and squirm out from the strap as it starts to shake its head from side to side. "AW FUCK!" I yell as I finally get away, but manage to get headbutted by my own weapon. I shake my head as the earth elemental tosses my rifle aside and charges at me. I flare my magic and take a hold of it, lifting it into the air as it tries to squirm out of my grasp. I take a breath as I start to crush the creature into a ball, finding it difficult to do with a living creature. I step back as I drop the large earthen ball, sighing as the lines start to drop from my shoulders. BOOM "MILES!" I look back to see Regina and True Will up a tree as the other elemental tries to climb up after them.... I don't have time for this. I thrust a palm at it and send a beam of soul fire its way. When it made contact I saw the energy coarse through what might of been its body before fading away. As it faded, the stone skeleton fell apart, dropping to the ground. "GRRRRRRR." I turn back to see the other elemental starting to change into a new form. Soon, a human earth elemental stands before me as it closes its fists and begins to advance towards me. "What are you waiting for! Kill it!" Regina yells as I lift my hands and stare at it. How could it be human? Can they take form of any creature or was.... BOOM "MILES!" True Will yells as he drops down and blasts the elemental away. I shake my head and shoot at it, hitting it in the rib cage and making it fall to the ground. "What the hell was that about?" True Will asks as I shake my head and refocus. "It was nothing. Lets get inside and get this over with already." I say as I walk over and take my rifle. I sling it to my back as we walk through the entrance and into the open square. I look out to see about ten of the griffins and Big Mac out in the center as the five of the Equestrians run towards them. Big Mac is looking around as Lars approaches him from behind... dagger drawn. "BIG MAC!" I hear Storm yell as Lars thrusts his dagger into his gut. "NNOOOOOOOOOOO!" I yell as I watch Lars pull back and stab him again, blood pouring out as Big Mac just stares at him in disbelief. FOO-CRUSH A powerful gust of wind came crashing down towards Lars, hitting one of the other griffins as they push him out of the way. I sprint out there and head straight for Big Mac, getting my magic ready to heal him. As Storm flies over head to chase after Lars I slide to my knees and immediately put my palms onto Big Mac. "You're good, you're good. I've got you." I say to him as I start to send waves of healing energy into him. The griffins that were around me tried to attack me, but the remaining guards and mercenaries caught up and fought them off. "He.... he stabbed me." Big Mac grunts as he winces from the healing magic. "I know. We'll get him, don't worry about that, just try to stay still." I say as I continue to heal him. Why is this taking so long! I should be done by now, but I'm no where near... "Lars!" Regina yells as she runs in and watches Storm and Lars fly around the compound. "Why are you doing this!? I thought you were my friend, I thought I could trust you! Why!?" He does a few loops before landing on the other side of the square, dozens of reinforcements backing him up as they pour out of the center building. I look back to see griffins, orcs, ponies and a few dragons take posts around the tops of the walls as charred trees come in from the west side. Soon, we were surrounded. "My dear ambassador, I'm sorry to say but I think Lars Sharpbeak is a little busy at the bottom of the Great Lake." He says as he moves his claw to the top of his chain mail.... "STEELWING!" I yell as I stand up and go for my pistol, only to get a warning shot from one of the archers. "Hehehe... I wouldn't do that again. Now I have called you here to answer a very important question Miles..." "EAT SHIT AND DIE!" I yell, getting another arrow fired at me. I ignore it as I step out from the group and walk towards him. "Do you really believe I would tell you anything after everything you've done?!" "Yeah..." "I am going to fucking destroy you. Make you suffer and beg for a death that will never come to you..." "All in good time." He says with a smile. "But right now someone wishes to speak to you, now just hold tight while I go get them. Oh, and unless you want your friend there to die, I wouldn't move him too much. You don't want the toxin moving around now do you?" He says as he walks happily into the main structure. It takes every fiber of my being not to chase after him or to just start shooting at him. "Miles, we need you over here now!" Storm yells, making me walk back to the group. Right now its just me, Regina, Storm, Big Mac, Dust Devil, Camo Flash, True Will, Boomy, two guards I don't know and a mercenary I don't know. "What's the plan?" "..." "Sir?" "..." "MILES!" "We need to fight our way into the main structure. They won't have their archers there, so we'll have the advantage." I look around the top of the walls when I notice one of the orcs fall over and be replaced with a night guard. "And now we've got back up." I reach into my pockets and pull out the four grenades, giving one frag to True Will, the other to Regina, and one archaic to Storm. "Just squeeze the handle, pull the pin and throw it. Once we have an opening I'll provide cover as we make our way inside, got it?" "Uh... what pin?" Storm asks as he looks his over. "I thought you said not to let this touch your flesh." "Yeah, skin doesn't count. Just do what I do. On my mark." I say as I stand up and face the mob before me. "I've got eleven. Storm, get one. Regina, get eight. True Will, get yours at twelve high, got it?" "Right." They all say together. "You, mercenary, shield Big Mac until we get back." I say, getting a nod in response. "Ready, set, MARK!" I say as I snap the top off and toss the grenade into the mass of enemy troops. A few seconds later everyone else throws their grenades and I raise my arms, putting a dome shield around us. KA-BOOM As the two back grenades went off the two archaic grenades sent out their blue flames, covering the mass before receding back. As they all start to fall to the ground I take off, having everyone follow after me as it starts to rain arrows all around us. I drop my shield as soon as we all make it inside... FOOSH I stagger back as a wave of green energy hits all of us. I cough a few times as all of our stomachs growl at once. Why am I so hungry all of the sudden? "Hello Miles." I look over and... "I, am Famine."
Chapter 123 Archaic DealsChapter 123 Archaic Deals "Famine." I repeat as I stare him down. He's another centaur, much like War, but completely different. He has dark green skin and black fur over most of his body. He carries a long wooden staff that twists open at both ends. At the ends of the staff are dark green balls of energy that has black energy that wisps away from them. His eyes are deep yellow and his body seems to be brittle and starving. But the thing that has me most concerned, is the massive horn coming from his head. "Storm Cloud, its good to see you again." He says with a slight bow to Storm, running a hand down his long grey beard. "AAAAAH!" I yell as I thrust a palm at him, but nothing happens. I try to turn my magic on, but no matter what I do I can't get it to work. "I'm afraid magic won't be allowed for our discussion. Now..." "Spartans!" I yell as I swing my rifle around an open fire. PATPATPATPATPAT I run along the side of the room as I empty my clip. He just stands there with his shield raised, waiting patiently. I look over to see Storm trying to assist me, but his sword is out of energy. When my clip runs out I throw it back and pull out my sword, trying to fill it with my magic but being unable to access it. I charge at him as I raise my blade. FOOSH THUD He had spun his staff around and sent a blast of black energy at me, sending me flying back and crashing into the wall behind. Before I could fall to the ground he pointed his staff to me and held me in the air, choking me as he does so. "Miles!" Storm yells as he tries to get air born, but no matter how hard he flaps his wings he can't. Before he could get half way Steelwing dropped in front of him, fighting him back as he swings his blade back and forth. As Storm deals with him, the others run to aid me. The first to make it over was Regina, who tried to hack Famine with her sword. Famine just jabs at her with his staff, making her fall to the ground as she holds her stomach. True Will and Boomy both try to jump him at the same time, but he just spins his staff around and blasts True Will away with the back energy as he uses his magic to lift Boomy into the air. "Feed me." Famine says as he puts a hand onto Boomys' forehead. I watch as all of the color from him fades to grey. His shaking body soon become still as a red energy is sucked from him and fed into Famine's arm. He tosses his lifeless body aside as he looks back to me. "Now, where were we?" He asks as he loosens his hold on my neck, letting me gasp for air. "Go fuck yourself!" I yell as I draw my revolver and fire at him. He simply raise a shield and deflects the last of my shots. Even when my pistols empty, I continue to try to shoot him. "Ahahaha, good try, but all for not." He says as he lowers his shield. SMACK The moment he lowered his shield I threw my revolver at him, hitting him right in the face. "You get that one for free." He growls at me. "Now listen closely..." RING RING RING RING We both look down to my pocket as my phone begins to ring. He just sighs as he drops me and walks over to Regina, placing a hand directly over her. "Make it quick or else." I look back to see that Steelwing has already killed the other mercenary, but has a few cuts on himself. I think about it for a second before I pull my phone out and answer Luna's call. "Luna?" "Miles..." "Whats going on. Are you safe." I ask before she could say anything. "... no." I take a deep breath as I glare at Famine. I should of seen this coming. "Miles, War and Steelwing are here with me..." "Steelwing?" I ask as I look back to the fight on the other side of the room. Storm suddenly stabs the griffin in the chest, making him change into a different griffin... "They say they want something from you, and if they get it, they'll leave." "Right... and what would that be?" "..." "Luna?" "..." "LUNA!" "..." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Luna KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK "AHH... this better be important." I grumpily say as I roll out of bed and head to the door. I haven't been sleeping well the past few days, due to estrus and a lack of Miles. But I soon found a way to sate my needs. After a rather shameful morning I had finally satisfied myself enough to finally start to sleep, when the knocking came. I marched straight to the door and swung it open, scaring the poor guard behind. "Yes, can I help you?" "Uh.... Princess Celestia requests your..." "Tell her I'm asleep." I say before I shut the door in his face. I walk back to my bed and lay down... KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK "Oh for the love of..." I mumble as I get up and head back to the door. "I said..." "Hello Nightmare Moon." Steelwing says as he pulls out a dagger from the guards neck and licks it clean. "Miss me?" "STEELWING!" KA-BOOM I had tried to blast him away, but at the last possible second he jumped out of the way and started to run down the narrow stairway. I teleport myself to the bottom of the stairs and... FOOSH I slide against the smooth marble floors as a blast of black energy struck me from the side. I look up to see a massive figure dropping down towards... CRACK When I regain consciousness I look around to find myself in in the castle dungeons, tied up to a chair. I can feel dried blood on my forehead and have a mind splitting head ache. I reach out for my magic, but can't seem to find it... "Ah you're awake. Good, good." Says a deep voice from behind. "Who are you! Show yourself!" I demand as I try to break out of the ropes. "You know me as War." He says as he walks out in front of me. He turns to me and puts the edge of his naginata to my throat as he looks me over. "I am in need of your assistance." He says as he continues to walk around me. "What makes you think I'll help you." I snap back. "Because we can save Miles from his eventual demise." He says as he circles behind me. I stay silent from this. I don't want to help these ponies at all, but.... "Good, so listen closely. Miles' people have a form of magic that is unparalleled in power. The archaic circles. We want you to find out how he makes them and report back to us. If you do this, then we will cure Miles and leave you be for the rest of your lives." "... and how exactly will you 'cure' Miles?" I ask as he circles back in front of me. "Do not worry about that. Just know that you will spend the rest of your lives together." He says with an even look about him. I think about it for a moment before I nod. "Bring me my phone." I say as I hang my head in shame. "Phone?" He asks as he raises an eyebrow to me. "The little glass thing in my top left drawer." "Hmm... Steelwing!" He yells, getting him to open the jail door and look in. "Go fetch her... phone. The glass thing in the top left drawer." "Got it." He says before running off. I sit there in silence as we wait for Steelwing to return. War just stands there, looking over his weapon. After a few minutes of silence he returns with my phone and presents it to War. "I need my magic to use that. I can call him right now and give you what you want, I just need my magic." I say as I eye my phone. "Hmm.... give her the antidote." "Are you sure that's a good idea?" Steelwing asks as he pulls out a vile with white liquid inside of it. "I said, give it to her." He says sternly. I smile as he walks over and feeds me the solution. I cough a few times as I feel the potion work its way through my body, but simultaneously feel my magic return to me. "You have five minutes to get me what I want. Five." He says as I take my phone with my magic. I go ahead and call Miles, waiting for him to answer. "Luna?" I hear his voice call out. "Miles...." "Whats going on. Are you safe." He asks before I could finish. I take a deep breath as I ready myself to answer him. "......no." I say. I can hear his breath shorten from this, so I continue. "Miles, War and Steelwing are here with me..." "Steelwing?" He asks curiously. "They say they want something from you, and if they get it, they'll leave." I say as Steelwing and War both stand before me. "Right... and what would that be?" Miles asks cautiously. "..." I hesitate to answer him as I stare at the two of them. "Luna?" "..." The rest of our lives, when they want to kill everypony... "LUNA!" "..." What would be the point... "Luna answer me! What do they...." "Miles." I say softly, getting him to quiet down. "They want me to get information from you, but I will never ask you for this. In time, I hope to tell you what they want to know in our most private of places, but in case I don't make it out of this... I love you." I say before I teleport my phone back to my room. "So be it." War says as he motions to Steelwing. He walks up to me and smacks me across the face, forcing me to look to the left. He then puts his top half up on the chair so were face to face. "You... will regret this..." "You..." I start, getting his attention. "Are an idiot." CRACK Luckily for me, they weren't smart enough to tie down my bottom legs, so I kicked up as hard as I could, hitting him in his testicles. As he falls to the ground screaming I use my magic to break out of my ropes... FOOSH As I tried to make a run for it War had swung his naginata at me, sending a wave of back energy at me. I slammed against the back of the cell and fell to the ground. I tried to get up, but another blast hit me and pushed me against the back of the cell. I can feel wounds opening up on my side as blood starts to trickle down. "You will die for your insubordination!" War yells as he raises his blade and gets ready to impale it against me. I race against him to fire anything to stop him from striking me down. KA-BOOM A beam of white energy fired from my horn and collided with War, causing a massive explosion. I shake my head as the world around me turns to a blur. I try to stand, but am too dizzy and keep falling back down. I feel something grab my head and lift me up. As my vision starts to clear, I find myself face to face with War. "Not good enough." He says as he lifts his weapon and puts the blade to my throat. "Probably not." I say as he readies to slit my throat. "But he'll do better." I say with a smile. War looks at me funnily before looking behind him to see the large crystal rainbow dragon standing there. "Alistair." "Oh shit..." "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWW!" Alistair lets out a power roar as he grabs the back of his blade and body and lifts him up. In a panic he drops me as he tries to stab the dragon, only to get tossed against the wall outside of the cell. "Run for it Luna, I'll deal with this!" Alistair says before facing War. I charge my horn and teleport away. "AAAAAAAHH!" Some mare screams as I appear in the court hall. "LUNA!" Celestia yells as I stand up and look around. As I stand up, a vortex of smokey black energy appears before me, so I create my energy swords and wait for him to appear. "DIE!" War yells as he charges through the smoke, right for me. I charge back at him as I swing my swords forward, both of them catching his weapon mid flight. I begin to create and drop sword after sword as I slash and stab at him. He expertly spins his weapon around himself as he blocks attack after attack. Soon Celestia and all of the other guards charge him from all sides, moving to stab him at once. "ENOUGH!" He yells as he slams the blade of his weapon into the ground, making a pulse of dark energy form around him and send us all back. As I start to get up I look over to see him walking towards me, twisting his weapon above his head. FWUUUUUUUUUUMMM From the left windows a white beam of energy shot through and slammed into War, sending him into the right wall. Alistair crashed through the opening and charged straight for War, running on all fours. He collides with him and goes hurling through the wall as they both fall to the gardens below. "Luna! Wait!" Celestia yells as I stand up and run after them. I jump out of the hole in the wall and launch myself after them, flapping my wings as hard as they'll allow me to. The two of them are locked in heated battle, with War making several strikes against Alistair. As Alistair stands square on all four to let out another beam of the white energy, War leaps into the air and dodges the attack, lining up to bring his blade onto his neck. "NO!" I yell as I fire a beam of energy at him, hitting his side and sending him flying back. I land beside Alistair as we both turn to face War. He gets up and spins his weapon around as he faces the two of us. "You shouldn't of come Alistair." War says as he starts to walk to the side. "Death back at midnight castle would have suited you better." "You seem to forget who won that day." Alistair replies in his deep voice. "As long as the rainbow of darkness exists, I shall always be here to fight it off. Now either go back to your puppeteer, or die." He says as he stays facing War. "HOW ABOUT YOU DIE!" I look up to see Steelwing drop onto Alistair's back and to start stabbing his neck, making him move around violently. I was about to assist him when a beam of black energy forced me to jump back. I go to... CRASH CRASH Before I could do anything, two massive, full grown dragons landed behind War, having an assortment of all creatures jump off their backs and swarm around him. Steelwing flew down from Alistair's back and joined the group, bowing as the last creature jumped off the dragons back. "Honestly War, you can't follow a simple order, can you." Mocks another centaur. This one is a female, with light brown fur and yellow skin. She seems to have patches of fur falling out and has sickly hair matting her scalp. Her face is covered in warts and moles as her body is peppered with sores and oozing, puss filled wounds. As she walks down, she turns to the side to reveal the she has a pair of large yellow wings... she's a pegasus centaur. "Pestilence." War growls. "I have everything under control. Leave!" "Under control? All of the royal guards are on their way as the Spartans are tearing apart Fort Misery. Death has ordered a retreat..." "WHAT!" He yells. "I won't do.." "Now War." Pestilence says as she reaches towards War. Two of her black finger nails are long and come to a point. She runs her nails through a bit of his hair, making it fall to the ground. "Are you going to be a good little boy or not?" "Don't." Alistair says as I start to charge my horn. "We held the advantage before, but now we would surely die. Let them leave." "But.... *sigh* fine. I'll trust your judgement on this one." I say as I release my magic. I don't want to let Steelwing get away, but I trust Alistair's judgement on this. "Very well. Lets go then." War says grumpily as he climbs onto one of the massive dragons backs. As the royal guard finally start to show up, they begin to take off, whipping up dust as they take flight. "Luna!" Celestia yells as she runs straight towards me. I give her the cold shoulder as I turn to Alistair. "Alistair, please escort me to the medical wing." I say as I walk off. "As you wish." He says as he follows after me. I don't like this. Why are they leaving. What did she mean by the Spartans tearing up Fort Misery? ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles "Right... and what would that be?" "..." "Luna?" "..." "LUNA!" "..." "Luna answer me! What do they...." "Miles." She says softly, getting me to quiet down. I don't like the sound of this. "They want me to get information from you, but I will never ask you for this. In time, I hope to tell you what they want to know in our most private of places, but in case I don't make it out of this... I love you....." "Luna... LUNA!" I yell as the other end falls silent. "It seems that her time has come to an end." Famine says mockingly. "Such a shame, but it is the future of all. Now... where were we." He says as he lifts me up and reaches out for me. GIVE ME CONTROL Famine pauses from this as I continue to listen to the silent phone. I can feel a pressure from within swirl around, as if something is trying to force its way out. "Fascinating... so you're one of them." Famine says before he continues to reach out for me. "GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Storm yells as he charges at Famine from behind. Famine just points the back of his staff at him, getting him to lift up into the air and shake around violently as grey energy starts to seep from him. WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? SAVE HIS SOUL! "FAMINE!" I yell as I drop my phone and throw out my left hand, making a bright light that blinds everyone for a moment. When I can see again, I find that the end of my hand has become imbued with the Laminis Lux, and that I've maxed out with my magic. TUUM ANIMA ERIT SCIENT MORTEM "TUUM ANIMA ERIT SCIENT MORTEM" TUUM ANIMA ERIT SCIENT MORTEM "Hehe, come then, Hominem De Bellum." Famine says as he backs away from me, raising his staff as he charges his horn, dropping Storm behind him. I charge at him, pushing myself magically, and ready to drive my energy blade into his chest... F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-FLASH I slide to a stop as Famine continues to flash about the room. He would appear in a spot, then teleport to the other side of the room before teleporting somewhere completely different. I began to swipe anywhere I thought he would appear, trying to land hits where ever I could, but ultimately and completely missing every shot. "RAAAAH!" Famine yells as he appears in front of me and blasts me with another shot of the green energy. I fall back and try to get up, but stop when my stomach pains me. Hungry. No starving. I don't know, I feel as if I've gone my entire life without food. I look to my arms to see that my lines have dropped to my elbows. "Wha.... what is this?" I ask as I try to force myself up, but can't find the energy to do it. "Hunger, famine, starvation. Both physically and spiritually." Famine says as he walks up to me. "Now, I shall take what I want from you." He says as he reaches for me. "Hehe..." I mumble as I start to chuckle. "Something amuses you?" Famine asks, hesitating to touch me. "Yeah..." I say as I look up to him. "I love fighting idiots." I say before I swipe at his hand, cutting him across the palm. He rears back as he screams out in pain, holding his hand above himself. I spin my legs around until I'm standing beneath him. He falls back and goes to strike me again, but I begin to blast at him with Laminis Lux. He dodges every blast by teleporting around again, only this time I wait. "RAA..." "HA!" I yell as I jump up and blast the spot I was standing in with my blade. As the explosion shoots out I push my other hand towards it, sending down a ball of ice that tuns the flames to solid ice. I land against the ceiling and launch myself at the mass of ice, shooting a beam from my energy blade to shatter it to thousands of tiny shards. When I land in the center of this I take a moment to find my target before taking control of all the broken ice and sending it flying at him. Instead of jumping around, he just creates a small barrier before himself, melting the ice. When I send the last of the ice towards him I spin back and thrust my hand at the ground before him, sending a bolt of electricity through the water and up his body. KRUUUM He shook for a bit until he redirected the energy through his horn and shoot it back at me, hitting me right in the gut and knocking the wind out of me. I drop to my knees and take a look to my arms. The archaic lines are up to my shoulders now, I love fighting idiots. "You must know that this is pointless. I've had hundreds of years to master the art of magic. Everything from alteration to zeamorphic polyfications are at my disposal. How could you possibly hope to combat me?" He asks as we circle one another. "I could care less if you could transform inanimate objects. I'm Spartan. I hold the advantage in being a combat specialist. You will die..." "As will your friends." He says with a smirk. I glance around to see Storm trying to crawl over to Dust Devil as True Will tries to drag Regina out of the room. "You will fail, because you cannot protect those you care about. Your friends will die. Your wife will die. You... will suffer as you watch them fall, one... by one. Until you finally fall yourself. Give up, and avoid that pain." He says as he starts to charge his staff, making the cracks in it start to glow green. I continue to walk around Famine as the others start to retreat. Once they're down the hall, I begin my attack. I start out by sending a blast of energy from my blade, which he blocks easily by raising a shield. I spin back and punch at him, sending a beam of icy void at him as he fires a beam of green energy at me. The two energies collide and blast outwards, crashing into the walls around us and destroying them. I continue to blast away as he holds his stance, neither of us backing down. I can feel myself starting to sweat as my arm starts to feel numb, this is too much. Despite a pain growing in my arm, I can see the black energy break through his and start to head towards Famine, making him panic. FLASH When he teleports away my beam goes straight through the back wall and continues through. I drop the spell and fall to my knees. My arm feels as if its going to fall off. That, along with the pain in my stomach, should be making me pass out, but something is keeping me up. "Impressive." Famine says as he circles around me. "Not many can use such a power, but you're...." "SURRENDER!" I look back to see Shinning Armor and a multitude of griffins running in. "Hmm, city guards. Well Miles it would seem that you win the day. But we'll see each other again." He says before he flashes away. As the city guards run around me and start to scour the building, I drop my Laminis Lux, and then pass out. A/N: Shout out to Rainbow Dragon for the OC Alistair. Be sure to swing by my blog to add additional OC's. Brony on!
Chapter 124 Victory?Chapter 124 Victory? When I regain consciousness I find myself laying on a cot in the yard outside of the main structure. I sit up and look around to see that I'm one of many people laying on cots. Others seems to have bloody bandages on different parts of their body, while others are dead. I was about to get up when a pain erupted from my stomach. I'm starving. I'm so hungry that it's painful. I need something, anything, to eat. "MILES!" I look over to see Storm running over to me. He has a satchel on his side and is out of his armor. "Storm... what happened?" I ask as he comes to a stop before me. "Don't worry about that right now. You're starving right?" He asks as he pulls out an apple from his bag. I take it and devour it on a matter of seconds, relishing in the feeling of having the food in my stomach. "Thought so. That's one of his powers, making you hungrier then you've ever been. Look, I'm going to give you a few more apples, but please try to take it slow. They had to wrestle me away from the food storage." He says as he drops a few more apples onto my lap. "I'll try." I say before taking another one and eating it. "Great, look. I've got some running around to do. Just relax and wait for me to get back here." He says before running into the crowd of griffins. I finish the apple, eating the core as well, and start the next one as I look around. The fight after Famine left must of been crazy. Hundreds of griffin city guards are marching around, collecting whatever there is to collect. I can see a few piles of corpses on fire, most of them being Darkness members. Once the fort was in view, Flionence must of sent reinforcements to aid us. I look beside me to see Dust Devil laying beside me. Though II thought she was dead, I can see that she only suffered a cut along her side. She's asleep right now, but I can see she's having trouble breathing. I finish up my apple before I go for my magic. I figure if I'm going to sit here, I may as well be useful. "The fuck?" I ask as I look over the flames in my hands. They're half the size they usually are. I look between Dust Devil and my hands before I shrug and give it a try. I figure the worst that'll happen is me tiring out sooner then usual. I lay my palms on her side and start to feed healing magic into her. Immediately I can see a difference. Normally, my magic would rush through and wash the problems away. This way, I have to fight every scratch and every imperfection as if they're the actual problem. "Miles! What do you think you're doing!" Storm yells as he and Shinning come running up to me. I'm about a quarter of the way through and my lines are already up to my shoulders. When she wakes up, gasping for air, I drop the magic, panting from the strenuous work. She sits up and looks around before looking over to me and eyeing me a bit. "Did.... did we just have sex?" She asks as she looks over to Storm and Shinning. I fall back as I let the lines fade away. Is this what its like to be normal? Becuase this is horrible. "Miles, don't do anything stupid for a bit, OK?" Shinning says as Storm gives me a water canteen. "I promise nothing." I say before taking a drink. "How long until we get back to Equestria..." "Well..." "Becuase Luna's in danger, so I need to get to Canterlot." "Actually." Regina says as she joins our group. "I just got a letter from her, she's safe now thanks to Alistair." "WOO! Go Alistair." Dust Devil says as she throws her hooves up. "What? He did good." She says as she looks at all of us. "You guys are no fun." "Anyway," Regina says as she looks back to me, "I have transportation arrangements for later today. So just relax and try to get your strength back..." "Sir!" A royal guard says as he approaches Shinning. He excuses himself before going with the guard. "How are you?" I ask as I sit back up. "I saw you take a pretty hard hit." "Yeah... I'll be good. I just needed some food... and maybe some therapy." She says, making us both chuckle. I look around some more before asking, "Where's Big Mac?" "The griffins have him in intensive care, along with some other surviving ponies." Storm explains as he takes a seat in front of me. "Though they've healed him mostly, he's still receiving treatment. The toxin they stabbed him with is countering most healing treatments, but he's starting to pull through." "Egg breaking bastard." Regina mumbles as she punches the ground. "I can't wait for the day we get Steelwing. He's going to pay for what he's done." She grows as she looks away from us. "He will, we just need to get smarter." I say as I grab another apple and start to eat it. "We forgot that this fight isn't one sided. We need to cover all of our bases before we move again, unless we want similar results. Did we get any prisoners?" "No." Regina says with a sigh. "Every single Darkness member here fought to the end. Even when they were out numbered, they would fight with no regard to their own life. We tried to cripple a few to force them to be prisoners, but they just committed suicide." "It was a real mess." Storm adds. "Hey." Dust Devil says, getting our attention. "Didn't Famine say hello to you?" She says as she points a hoof to Storm. "Oh yeah, what was that about?" I add. "He's been... haunting me, kind of. Occasionally I would see or hear him in my head." He says as he looks away from me. "Ok." I say as I start my next apple. "OK?" Dust Devil says, confused. "Your Lieutenant has been compromised and OK is your response. You aren't worried that he'll turn against you or give out information?" "First off, he hasn't been compromised. I know Storm, he's my best friend. If he was compromised I would see a difference. Then there's the fact that he's a Spartan. Even thought they could defect, its still a very low chance. I've been in his mind, I'd know if he's defecting." ".....so are you guys coltfriends then?" She asks, getting Regina to laugh. "No." Storm says flatly. "We're just friends." "He broke my heart." I add, getting Regina to lose it. "Whoa... OK then, wasn't expecting that. Is Big Mac gay to?" Dust Devil asks, making Storm facehoof and Regina fall to the ground laughing. "Fist off, we aren't gay. And secondly we all have wives, some of which are expecting." He says with a large smile. "............... wait...... what? Fluttershy's pregnant?" I ask as I look around. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Luna After the two large dragons had left I had Alistair escort me to the medical ward. Thankfully he’s the size of a teenage dragon, he could come inside as well. Celestia had decided to come along, but I kept ignoring her questions as I took a seat on one of the examining tables. As we went, I made sure to send Regina a letter, telling her and Miles that I was fine. Though I expect Miles to still show up... “Luna, please. Just, can you tell me you’re OK at least?” Celestia asks for the hundredth time. I just glance over to her before looking away again. “Luna! I…” “Princess Luna.” The doctor says as she walks over to me, levitating a tray of bandages and other medical equipment. “We will get started now. Please let us know if there is anything hidden that we should take a look at.” “Of course.” I say as she gets started. I feel slight discomfort from her treating my wounds, but I keep quiet until she finishes up. Celestia and Alistair stayed by my side the entire time. Celestia looking scared and worried while Alistair just stared off into the distance. The doctor spends the next few hours fixing my wounds and checking my health, running test and getting X-rays. "Alright, that should do it." The doctor says as she finishes up. I glance back to myself to see that my body is covered in bandages and my right wing has also been wrapped up as well. "Please avoid using magic for another week. Your power seems to be fluctuating rather... dramatically, not to mention...well... its going away from the wound." "What does that mean?" Celestia asks, glancing back to me with concern. "Well, a ponies power usually flows towards a wound, but hers seems to be going away from it. I can't make sense of it." The doctor explains as she flips through some charts. "Do you have any clues as to why this would happen?" "No, I can't think of anything that would do this." I admit after some thought. "Alistair, could this be something that the rainbow of darkness did?" I ask. "No." He stated simply, looking down to me. "The only thing that could do this is if something changed your soul. My guess is that your soul has changed." He explains, moving towards around my bed as he stares off into the distance. "Excuse me Luna, I must... check on something." "OK then. I will be heading back to my room..." "Luna wait." Celestia says as she steps in front of me. I just glare at her as she tries to find the words to say. "I.... I'm sorry." "For?" "*sigh* you were right. I was wrong to separate you and Miles, and I was wrong to hire those mercenaries to keep an eye on you. I let my fear of losing you cloud my judgement and...though I still feel the same way, I am sorry." She says as she lowers her head down a bit. "And what do you wish to do to atone for this?" I ask as I get out of the bed and face her. "I.... well..." "First off, you will levy your little restrictions on me. I will be able to see who I want, when I want." "Very well..." "And you will tell Miles what you planned on doing and ask for his forgiveness." "Of course sister..." "And you will drop your diet for a week." I add with a smile. "What! I will not." Celestia yells as she looks me in the face. I just keep smiling until she sighs in defeat. "Why do you like to torture me so much." "Becuase I'm your sister and I love you." I say, getting her to look up to me and smile. We move in and hug each other tightly. "I missed you sister." "As did I." She whispers back. "Please, let us never fight like this agai..." "Your highness?" A guard says, getting our attention. "If you please..." "Please. My sister and I need..." "Las Pegasis has been destroyed." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles (Get your translator ready ) After eating so many apples that they had to hide them from me, I decided to distract myself by walking through the injured people. Many had died during the fight, but luckily our numbers were low. Looking back to the main structure, I finally notice how much damage was done. The closest wall is still standing, mostly, but the rest have fallen outward. This has made the rest of the building collapse on top of itself, turning the structure to a pile of ruble. "Its too bad it fell apart." Camo Flash says as he walks up beside me. "Would have been able to get some serious loot from there." "Yeah..." "You wouldn't happen to have any food on you, would you?" "Sorry, ate it all." I say as I walk towards the building. I could of sworn I saw something moving behind the still standing wall. I walk around the wall and take another look around... there's nothing here. I stand her for a bit longer before I finally give up and.... "Salve." Says a shimmer before me. I try to look harder at it, but I can only make out a figure of a pony. All of the inner details are just a grey shimmer of energy. I look around and back up behind the wall, so I don't look crazy as I talk to this... "Quid es?" I ask as I continue to try to make more of it out. "A spiritum. Potes me videre?" It asks as it floats around me. "Vix. Quid agis hic?" I ask as it starts to float away. It pauses in the air and looks back to me... or at least I think it does. "Enim nostra commentariis. Praecave, lucidum unum." It says before fading away. "Mora! Qui estes? Tu quid morandis? Ibi sunt alii similis tibi?" I ask, but am ignored as it disappears from sight. "FUTUO!" "Miles?" I look behind me to see Shinning standing behind me. "Who are you talking to?" "*sigh* I'm not sure." I say as I continue to look out at the rubble. "Well... get you things, we need to get going. Las Pegasus has been destroyed...." "What!?" I yell as I look back to him. "Destroyed? What happened?" I ask as I approach him. "I don't know the details yet. All I know is that Las Pegasus is now clear skies and a lot of ponies have been hurt, possibly killed. Our transportation is here..." "Then lets go." I say as I walk out past him. As soon as I walk around the wall I see our transportation. Its another one of those air balloons, but this one is much smaller. It probably only has one lower deck and one balloon holding it up. On both of its sides are large fans that are set up to some kind of bicycle system. "Its smaller, but can make the trip in half the time." Shinning says as we walk up to it. "Good, then lets get going." I say as I start to walk out towa... KA-KRUUUUM I stop and look up to see storm clouds starting to form above us. Usually they don't form this quickly, but in a matter of seconds the sky becomes grey. Shinning and I look to each other before we run over to Regina. "Regina, whats going on?" Shinning asks as we approach her. She, as well as a few guards, are standing beside the ship; staring up at the sky. "I don't know. We aren't suppose to have rain today. But we'll have to leave it to the guards. We need to get going." She says as she walks up the planks. Shinning and I look to one another before following her up. As we took off through the air, I look back to see that the clouds are slowly starting to turn green... Two Days Later The trip back was, tedious. To ensure that we made it back as quickly as possible we all took turns working the fans. Luckily, they were enchanted to turn out more then what you put in, but it still was enduring. At the end of the first day was when I my power finally went back to normal. After that, I fixed our injured in a matter of a couple of hours. Once they were fixed up, we had fresh bodies to work the fans. Crescent Cove is in view, so we've picked up pace by putting Storm and Big Mac on the fans. Their suits make this thing nearly double their speed, which is good. We need speed right now. Too much is going on right now. Las Pegasus is gone apparently, The Darkness is still out there, Lunas' life is in constant threat, I'll need to do another citizens meeting to talk about what happened in Flionence, and the entire time we've been traveling that ghost thing has been following us. I tried to speak to it, but every time it just fazes away. "Bring her down!" Yells the griffin captain, making them run over to the furnace and open all of the hatches. I've been keeping an eye on all of them. After what happened to Lars, I don't trust anyone I don't know. "Storm, Big Mac, with me!" I yell as I head to the bow of the ship. They jump down from their seat and follow after me, panting slightly from the work. "We might need to ship out to Las Pegasus." "What? But that's Equestrian business." Storm says as he takes a seat and wipes the sweat from his brow. "We need..." "Our business is the order and goodwill of the world. We go where we are needed." I say, silencing him. "First things first though, we need to go to Canterlot to get some intel. I doubt that whoever did this is still there after two days, so we'll need to see what information there is before we begin our search." "Do ya think its the Darkness?" Big Mac asks. "Kind of. They fit the motive, but it seems... out of character." I say as I look out at the horizon. I know they want to kill everyone, but this just seems... too small for them. "What do you mean? Killing thousands of ponies seems just like them." Storm says. "Yes and no. If that was the method they were going to use, why didn't they do it for Flionence?" I ask, looking back to them. "Well... maybe they're working with the griffins?" Storm suggests. "NNope. Iffin they were workin with the griffins, they would have gone after a ground city. Just so they can take it fer themselves." Big Mac says. We all fall silent as we think about whats going on. I don't like it. "Look, lets just get to Canterlot and hear whats going on from Luna or Celestia. Then we'll act." I say, getting nods in response. As soon as we landed we made off for my jeep, taking the remaining Equestrians along as well. I drove there as quickly as possible, not wanting to stop for anything until we made to Canterlot. Once we made it, Shinning and I went straight for the court hall while the others waited at the front. Once we made it to the court hall, we found Celestia talking with Blueblood. "You? What are you doing here?" Blueblood says accusingly to me. "Good to see you to Blueblood." Shinning says as he approaches Celestia. "What the report on Las Pegasus?" He asks with a bow. "Shinning... Miles. Las Pegasus was a total loss. Our reports say it was the fault of one of the foundation workers. They were... slacking, and when a powerful typhoon came by... well." She says as a letter appears in front of her. I recognize the energy being from Spike. As she starts to read it over Shinning and I look to each other. "That's it." I say, taking a step towards her. "An accident. An entire city is gone and its an accident. Sorry Celestia, but I don't buy it." I say, crossing my arms. "I'm sorry Princess, but I'm having doubts about this as well." Shinning adds. Celestia glances up from her letter before setting it down to address us. "I've already sent ponies to investigate this matter, and they've all told me the same thing. Look, I understand that its... unbelievable, but this is what happened. I appreciate your eagerness to help, but there is nothing to do but to rebuild. Now I'm sorry to cut this meeting short, but I have some business to attend to." She says before returning to her letter. "As you say Princess." Shinning says with a bow. I just sigh and turn back.... "Actually, Miles. May I have a word with you." Celestia says, getting me to stop. I turn back to her and wait. She takes a few breaths, trying to find the right words to say to me. "Miles... I... I haven't been.... I've... well..." She stumbles. "This is about those mercenaries, isn't it?" I ask, getting a nod from her. "Yes. I hired them with the intent of killing you. Luna has stopped them from doing this, but that doesn't change what I tried to do. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that, as well as some other things. I haven't been myself lately, and I am sorry for that. I promise to do better by you, and... I am giving you permission to speak with my sister again. Just know that I still feel the same way. Please do not make me regret this." After she says all of this I come to the realization that she still doesn't know Luna and I are married. I let out an irritated sigh as I rub the back of my neck. She did say a month, this must be a part of what she's planning. I look back to her to see that shes on the edge of her seat, waiting for my response. I let out a chuckle as I start to approach her, getting her guards to confront me. "No, let him." Celestia says as I get face to face with her. I stare into her eyes for a bit before I let out another chuckle and remover her tiara. "You want to know the irony of this?" I ask as I look it over. "Whats that?" Celestia asks nervously. "You sought to remove me from your life." I say as I look over the etching on the back. "Cum vobis semper. Like it or not, I'll always be a part of your life...." "For however long your life is that is." Celestia and I go wide eyed as a large vortex of black smoke appears in the center of the room. I pull out my sword and send my energy into it as Celestia creates her energy claymore. When the energy disappears, whats left standing makes my blood boil. "Hello Miles, we haven't been introduced yet, I.. am Pestilence, and I have a message." She says as she steps towards us. "Guards, arrest her!" Celestia shouts, getting them all to fly at her. She holds up her hands and looks over her long black finger nails, uninterested in the attacking guards. I watch as she swipes her hands back and forth, hitting flesh and metal alike, both with dramatic results. When she hits metal, it rusts away in a matter of seconds. When she hits flesh, it shrivels up and becomes sickly. Either turning different unhealthy colors or just graying as the life withers away from them. In a matter of seconds she kills all of the guards, leaving withered husks all around her. "Now, where was I?" She says as she looks back to us. I move to her left as Celestia takes the right, being cautious not to touch her. "Don't worry, I'm just here to send a message of peace..." "PEACE!" Celestia yells. "You come here and kill six of my guards and you want peace..." "I gave them the greatest peace of all." Pestilence interrupts. "I have given them a blessing far superior then anything you could ever hope to achieve. Envy them." "If that's the kind of peace you wish to give us then you can go fuck yourself." I say before stabbing at the ground, making a row of earthen blades pop up. She swipes an arm at the ground, sending a wave of a black cloud at the ground. BOOM A small explosion stops any of the earthen blades from harming her. Celestia and I were about to attack when a green aura picked us both up. I try to move out of its grasp, but the field holds me completely still. "Behave yourself Miles." I look behind me to see Famine appear in the room, his horn glowing brightly. "Now, as I was saying..." Pestilence says as she starts to walk around the two of us. "War has been... brash. We intended to wait longer, but his actions accelerated things. But with that, we will move our plans accordingly. Miles, goodbye. We shall vanish from the land, our jobs are done.... for now. Do not look for us, you will not find us. Spend the rest of you lives happy with your families. We shall be spreading the blessings of our god, Death until the day of reckoning comes to earth. Take care, and farewell." FLASH As we drop to the ground, the two of them disappear from the room. "Are you OK?" I ask as I run over to Celestia and help her up. As she gets up, she lights her horn and closes her eyes. "Yes, I'm fine... I... I can't find them. Their energy is too well hidden." She says as she shuts off her magic and looks back to me. "What did she mean by the blessings of their god?" "I don't know, but that's not what concerns me." I say as I sheath my sword and turn to her. "I'm more worried about the peace she was talking about."
Chapter 125 The Other HalfChapter 125 The Other Half After some more guards showed up and secured the area, Celestia asked to talk with me in private again, keeping some extra guards around for good measure. We didn't talk right away. Rather, I just followed her through the castle and out to the gardens. Storm and Big Mac spot me and move to join me, but I motion for them to stay where they are. This is going to be between me and her... and the few guards she keeps by her side. "Miles..." She starts but stops as we approach what looks like a maze made of bushes. She looks over to one of the many statues and sighs. I walk up beside her and look up to it. It seems to be a creature... made up of other creatures. "What is this?" I ask as I look it over some more. "Its a Draconequus named Discord, the spirit of chaos." Celestia says bitterly as we stare up at it. "From 1136 to 1178 he ruled over Equestria, causing chaos and mischief for earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi alike. Once my sister and I were proficient enough with the Elements of Harmony, we rose up together and turned him to stone. But when my sister and I were disconnected from the Elements, he was able to escape. The current bearers of the Elements rose together and turned him back to his earthen restraint." "Hmm..." I mutter as I walk around the statue. "Did you happen to get a glance of when they used the Elements? Becuase I've been thinking about them recently." I say as I tap the statue, confirming that its solid stone. "I did not. When my sister first came back, she banished me to the sun. Once the Bearers defeated her, I was able to escape. And when we used them on Discord, well, you'll have to forgive me. It was nearly two thousand years ago. If you want to know more about them, ask any of the girls or Luna.... why?" "Well..." I say as I stop in front of the statue and look at its face. It, or rather he, seems to be scared of something coming at him. "Becuase the Elements can't turn things into stone... not directly at least." "What do you mean?" "When I was making the Elements, they had two intentions that I've proven so far.The first one is that they act as a new source of power. When using them, you are at your height of power. You will never be more powerful then when using the Elements. I proved this when I rescued Luna and back at Fort Misery. Both times I used Laminas Lucis, and both times I maxed out..." "Laminis what?" Celestia asks as she cocks her head. I think about it for a second before I realize what I said. "Heh, wow. I never noticed that I've been calling them that. Strange. I wonder why I call them the Blades of Light..." "Well... maybe that's their true name." Celestia suggests as she continues through the garden. I look back to the statue before following after her. "Maybe you call them that becuase you subconsciously know that that's their true name." "Maybe.... though I have to wonder what happened to the others." I stop again and look back to the statue, mulling the question over in my head. "Miles? Is something wrong?" Celestia asks. I stare at the statue a bit longer before continuing with Celestia. "No. Just... a thought came to me, that's all." I say as we approach another part of the castle. This part seems to be a large open room with tall windows taking up the walls. I look inside to see a few maids wiping the floors, making it gleam brightly. I can't help but notice that they both are wearing goggles around their necks. They notice me looking at them and get back to scrubbing the floor. "So, it seems to be getting late. Why don't you join me and Luna for dinner tonight. It'll be a great chance to ask Luna about using the Elements on Discord." She says as she offers me a warm smile. "I'd love to. Just let me inform Storm and Big Mac so they can get home. I know that's where they want to be." "Of course. Feel free to roam the castle until then. Dinner will be served at seven o' clock." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Luna, 7:05 pm When my curtains pull back I let out an annoyed moan as I roll over and cuddle with Miles. I've been working my flank off with the whole Las PegaWAITWHAT!? "M-miles? What are you doing here?" I ask as my eyes shoot open. Miles is laying right beside me, shirtless, with all of his stuff piled on the side of the bed. "Hi to you to." He says as he sits up and rubs his eyes. "We heard about Las Pegasis and came here to see if help was needed, but your sister told us what actually happened." He says before leaning over and giving me a kiss on the cheek. "You were talking to Tia?" I ask as he lays back down. "What did she say?" "A lot of stuff actually." He states simply. "Well?" I ask as I poke his side a bit. "What did she say?" "*sigh* she asked for forgiveness for the mercenaries, which I gave. Shes letting me speak to you again, but she doesn't want anything more then that happening. She's also invited me to dinner tonight. Luna, we should tell her toni..." "No!" I accidentally yell out. Miles rolls onto his side and waits for to explain. "Miles. It's not that I don't want to tell her, its just... I feel as if its too soon. We're under a bit of pressure becuase of Las Pegasis, and I feel as if this would.... be too much for her. Sorry..." "*sigh* its alright." He says as he scoots closer and pulls me into his embrace. "I understand. This is going to big for her. But lets not prolong it any more then we need to..." "I know, and we wont." I say as I nuzzle his chest a bit. "I'm glad you're back. I missed you." I say as I tighten my hold on him. "I missed you to." He says as he rubs my back. I look up to him and stare into his eyes for a bit... KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK "Lip blocking jerks." I mumble as I bury my face in Miles' chest. "Yes guard?" I yell out. "Forgive my intrusion, but Princess Celestia is requesting your presence in the dinning hall for a special surprise. Also, she requests that we remind you that it's 7:29." I think about it for a second before I try to jump out of bed, only to have Miles hold me back. "Miles! I need to raise the moon!" I says as I try to get out his grasp. He just laughs a bit as he tightens his hold. "Ask nicely." He says with a playful smirk. I look at him and try to push him away, but we just end up falling off the bed. "Miles..." I complain as I start crawling to the balcony. "Say it." He says as he rolls over, putting in between him and the bed. "Agh... please." I say as I fall limp, waiting for him to let go. "Nicer." He demands. "*sigh* please." I say a sweetly and nicely as possible. "Mmm..... it felt a little... forced. Now say I love my Miles. And mean it." He says as he tightens his hold on me. "Jerk." I say as I try to get out of his grasp again. I flail around until I'm facing away from him, but still in his grasp. "*sigh* fine, you raise the moon." I say as I go limp again. "Ok." He says as he stands up, lifting me up along with him. "What! You can move the moon?!" I ask as he goes to the doors, holding me in his arms as if I was a new born foal. "Well... no. I could try to figure it out." He says with a mischievous smile. "... you're a punk." I say before I flail around again... THUD "Ha... you OK?" Miles asks as I continue to stare at the ground. "*groan* why did you let me fall?" I ask as I continue to stare at the ground. "That's what you get for flailing around like that." He says as he helps me back to my hooves. When I'm back up he gives me a small kiss on the nose, "Feel better?" "One more?" I ask, getting another kiss on the nose. "Thank you love." "Go raise the moon now. I'll meet you down for dinner." He says before giving me a kiss on the lips. When he went to pull away I pulled him in to continue the kiss. I've missed him too much to let this end too quickly. When the need forr air out weighed my need to have Miles, we finally parted from one another. "I love you Miles." I say as we catch our breath. "Scio. Te amo ad." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles As she raised the moon I started getting my gear back on. About half way through all of it goes up into the air, covered in a blue aura. I look back to see Luna walking in, horn glowing, with a confident smile on her face. "Need some help?" She says as she walk up to me and starts levitating everything where it's suppose to go. A few moments later I'm fully equipped... except for my rifle. I look back to Luna to see that she has it. She drops the magazine and pops the round out, levitating it back into the clip, before giving it back to me. "Luna..." "I don't think you'll be needing that for dinner." She says as she starts to get ready. "How did you know how to do that?" I ask as I sling my rifle. "I've never shown you how to do that." She stops and thinks about it, raising her eye brows when she realizes what she did. "I... I don't know. You just pull the chamber back and push the release. I just... I just know it." I think about it for a second before I pull out my revolver and set it on the dresser beside her. "OK, whats this?" "Its a .45 Pullum revolver with a composite hanHOW DO I KNOW THAT!" She yells as she backs up and starts to hyperventilate. "Did you ever tell me that? I don't remember ever being told that. Why do I know that! How..." "Luna!" I yell as I grab her and force her to look at me. "Whats the standard issue Terradisian side arm?" "A 9mm energy pistol.... Miles..." "Luna, I think I know whats going on here, but I'm not entirely sure. Next chance we get, come to my home with several hours to spare. I need to get inside your mind." She seems a little scared by this, so I pull her in for a hug. "It's going to be alright." "Whats wrong with me?" "Nothing... I think you just have all of my knowledge." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Celestia 8:03 pm I was just about to place my order when the dinning hall doors opened up, revealing Miles and Luna. "Sorry for the delays sister." Luna says as she trots up to me and gives me a hug. "Miles got lost." She whispers into my ear with a giggle. "Did you guys know you have a pool?" Miles says in astonishment. "We have a pool?" I ask Luna. "I didn't know until I saw it... and then pulled Miles out of it..." "How was I suppose to know that I'd sink with all of my gear?" Miles asks as they each take their seats, Luna to my right and Miles to my left. "You tried to go swimming with all of your gear on, why?" "Uh... why not?" Miles asks as the two of them start looking over their menus. "Becuase you'll drown." Luna says with a chuckle. We all share a small laugh as they go over their menus. Miles takes a look until he just sets it down and mumbles to himself. "Are you ready your highness?" The waiter asks Luna. "Yes, I will have the oven roasted roses and the bermuda puree." Luna says, making Miles shiver. "I will have the usual." I say. "I will have anything that isn't made of strawberries, grass, flowers or hay." Miles says, getting odd looks from everypony. "What? I can't read the menu." "Of course..." The waiter says before bowing to me and Luna and trotting into the kitchen. "So.... Miles, what was the second purpose of the Elements you were telling me about earlier?" I ask to start a conversation. "Hmm? Oh, right. The second purpose is that they were designed to attack the soul, not the body..." "Wait... they go after the soul... not the body?" I ask to clarify. "Yeah. I've cut people with them and it completely negated armor, flesh, everything. It only went after their souls." He says as he takes a drink of water. "So... you mean to tell me, that Luna has had her soul attacked twice." I ask as I look over to her, seeing the shocked expression on her face. "Is she going to be OK?" "Probably." Miles says as he looks over a bread stick. "She doesn't seem to be showing any signs of the bends. Not to mentions that her power levels seem to be fine, I would know from experience..." "You will never drop that, will you?" Luna asks, sounding slightly guilty. "You shot me, I get to pester you about it." He says, getting the two of them to laugh. I feel slightly uneasy about the subject, so I decide to change it. "So, didn't you want to ask Luna something about when we defeated Discord?" I quickly ask. "Right, when you did it, did you intend to turn him to stone?" "Not that I remember. From what I recall, when the ponies in Roam gave them to us, we spent almost a decade trying to figure out their purpose. Once we figured it out, we rose up against Discord. When we used their power... it was... hmm.." Luna says as she goes deep into thought. "What is it Luna?" I ask, seeing the confused look on her face. "Well, when I think about it. It reminded me of Soul Fire." Luna says as the waiters come out and present us our food. "Thank you." I say as the waiter bows and walks away. "Soul Fire you say, what do you mean?" I ask as I take a bite. "Well... you remember speaking to him. How he just... overpowered you. That's what it felt like. Raw power coursing through you. Like.... as if... I don't know how else to explain it..." "Its soul fire." Miles says as he looks over his oat sandwich, sighing slightly as he pushes it away. "What do you mean?" "Soul fire. Its the single most powerful form of raw magic that humans were able to achieve. It what pushed human kind into our next evolutionary historical moment; much like how fossil fuels pushed the pre-purgian civilizations. It made us into what we were. Imagine the true essence of it coursing through you. My question is, why would Discord turn to stone when two different groups of people used them." "Well... he was the spirit of chaos. Maybe that was how he avoided getting his soul destroyed..." "Or he has the rest of my Elements." Miles says, making us both look at him in disbelief. "I believe he has the Elements of Chaos." "Your... what?" I ask as I drop my fork. "I didn't just make the Elements of Harmony. I also made the Elements of Chaos." He says as he looks back to us. "The... Elements of Chaos." Luna repeats. "What are those?" "Anger, Greed, Deception, Selfishness, Cruelty, and Magic." "Magic... but the Element of Magic is a part of the Elements of Harmony. Why would they be with the Elements of Chaos?" I ask. "Becuase I didn't call them magic when I made them. That was Eximius' idea. Originally, they were called Friendship and Solitude. Being alone and being together. A positive and a negative. Black and white. Both essential in my studies of friendship." "How could chaos possibly be a part of friendship?" I ask, slightly annoyed off from the ludicrous idea. "Becuase chaos is an essential part of friendship. Everything in the world has a positive and a negative. You can't have one without the other. In order to have true balance, you have to be both chaotic and harmonious...." "How could you say that? Look at Twilight and her friends..." "You mean the group of friends that only met becuase you up rooted Twilight's life and sent her into an untamed forest to fight a powerful enemy. The same group who only discovered their greatest traits becuase someone tried to bring out their worst, and becuase of this became the new bearers. That group." "You're taking it out of context Miles." I say as I turn to face him. "Yes that did happen, but it was only becuase they prevailed becuase of the Elements of Harmony. Chaos... is a destructive force." "Chaos, is the greatest teacher. Without it, nothing would ever happen. Friends don't just live in harmony. You get angry. You get cruel. Sometimes you just want a moment to yourself. The greatest of friendships travel through chaos before finding harmony." Miles says as he looks at the glass thing in his pocket and stands up. "Sorry, but I have to get going. Tomorrow, Terradisia is having another citizens meeting, I expect you both to be there." He says as he starts to walk out of the hall. "Wait, why?" I ask, making him stop by the door. "Becuase as citizens you need to attend. If you don't show up, I'll just drag you there myself. We'll start after sunset. Goodnight Celestia, Luna." He says before he leaves the room. "Well... that was... intersting." Luna says as I let out a long sigh. "I swear every time I talk to him I feel as if I'm going to have an aneurysm." I say as I rub my eyes. "Well... that was just a... strange occurrence. Though, it was interesting..." "Interesting?" I ask as I look back to Luna. "You realize that he could of possibly made Discord, don't you?" "He didn't mean to. If he had his way, he would have them in his possession right now." She defends, only to make me shake my head. "If he had his way, I don't think you'd be a virgin right now." I say before returning to my food. "Yeah... heh... could you imagine?" Luna asks with a chuckle. "No, I can't. But enough about that. How are the night operations going for Las Pegasis..." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Unknown Close.... not quite there. Just a little more and I'll be free. All in good time. Patience, they'll slip up. Just wait for harmony to fall... And chaos will rain supreme....
Chapter 126 New PowerChapter 126 New Power After my dinner with Celestia and Luna, I had to drive home. Storm and Big Mac had taken the Mico platform back, so I had to do the drive in solitude. After about two hours of driving I finally made it home... and the lights are on. Who the fuck is dumb enough to try to steal from me? Why are they in my room! I come to a stop out front and jump out. I tried to barge straight to my room, but as soon as I opened the door, Lupus and Hati tackled me to the ground to lick my face. "Why.... stop..... my face.... TOO FLUFFY!" I yell as I try to get them off. After a minute or two of constant licking, I finally mange to get up and away from them, though they still follow me, trying to get affection. When I get up the stairs they stop following me an whimper away, tails between their legs. I go to my room and open.... "AAAAAAGGGHHHHH!" Big Mac yells as Fluttershy stops bouncing on top of him.... "WHY!" I yell, getting Big Macs attention. Fluttershy just falls forward and pants into his neck. "You too! Why? Why my bed?! You literally could go anywhere else, why?" "Uh... Storm told me to." Big Mac says sleepily. *EYE TWITCH* "OK, I'm going to go kill Storm then, don't be here when I get back." "EEmaybe." He says as he nuzzles Fluttershy's cheek, seeming to fall asleep. I walk straight to the library and kick the door open, scaring the crap out of Spike. "GAH! Miles! What..." "Wheres Storm?" I ask as I step in and look around. "He went out with Twilight. They said they'd be back in a while... but that was a few hours ago." Spike says as looks down nervously. "*Grr* fine. I'll just come back tomorrow then. Hey, your birthday passed recently right?" I ask as I gain a mischievous smile. "Uh... yeah. I'm ten now, why?" He asks, caught off guard by the sudden change of subject. "I have a gift for you, well, I'm really just going to give your marks and set up a training regiment. Want to come with me to go do it? We can just leave a note for Twilight and Storm." "Yeah! But... I know Twilight and Storm will want to be there, did you know for my birthday they adopted me! Isn't that cool!?" He asks joyfully, smiling broadly. "They did? Yeah kid, that's awesome. Well, we'll wait for them then. There's nothing formal about it, but I can understand wanting your parents there." I say, getting Spike to smile even more. "Well... I should get going then...." "Aw, you can't stay to hang out? I was getting a little lonely waiting for Storm and Twilight." He says as he pouts a bit. "Well... I guess I can stay for a bit longer." Mainly to avoid Big Mac and Fluttershy. "But first things first, I need some food." "Huh, Storm said the same thing. I can make you something if you'd like. I don't mind." "Thanks Spike, appreciate it." I go and sit down in the kitchen and watch as he gets to work making me something. "So... what is it going to be like to use human magic. I mean, I know for unicorns its like having an extra appendage, but what is it like for humans?" Spike asks as he starts making black dotted pancakes. "Well, when humans use magic, we're taking something and imbuing it with our souls. From there we manipulate it. So... I guess its like having something new become a part of you. Its a little more complicated then that, but that's the general idea. What are you making?" I ask as I lean over and try to get a better look. "Oh, just some chocolate chip pancakes. I remember how much you like pancakes, and Twilight mentioned that you liked chocolate chip cookies, so I figured you'd like chocolate chip pancakes." Oh sweet Barbra... I fucking called it. These are going to be the greatest things ever. "Is... is getting marked going to hurt?" "Well... that's a tricky question. When I got my marks... it was terrible. I sucked in the energy from ten floors and passed out from maxing the first time. But, I'm over powered. My friends say it was like getting pinched. This has never been done before on another creature type, so it'll be interesting to say the least." I say, getting a nervous glance from Spike. Now that I think about, Spike will be the first non human to receive marks. Interesting.... "Well..." Spike says as he brings me a plate of pancakes and sits on the other side of the table. "I'm still going to do it. I figure if I can do this, I can be the one to protect everypony in the future." He says as I take a bite.... "Oh sweet Barbra..." "Who?" CRASH Spike and I both look back to see Storm laying on the ground before the door, panting slightly. Before we could ask anything he jumps back up and runs out the door, leaving us a bit confused. "Storm, I already told I'd be fine." Twilight complains as Storm escorts her inside. "I know, I just don't want you stressing yourself." He says as he ushers her inside and shuts the door behind them. "Storm..." I say as I stand up. He takes one look at me before trying to run out the front door. As he runs out I quickly run after him and tackle him to the ground as he tries to take to the air. "WHY?!" I yell as I pin him down. "Why my bed?!" "Because it's...." FLASH We both teleport back into the living room of the library and drop before Twilight. I look up to her and see the displeased look on her face, so we both stand up and wait for it. "Well?" She asks as she shifts her stance a bit. "He told Big Mac to have sex in my bed." I say quickly. "Yeah but...." "And because of that you come to my home and attack him?" Twilight asks. "Well..." "Is this my home?" She asks, knowing the answer. "Yes..." "My house, my rules?" "*sigh* what's my punishment?" I ask, hanging my head slightly. "You, and Storm," she says as she glances over to Storm, "are going to clean this place up while I catch up on my studies, understood?" "Yes ma'am." I say. "Why me?" Storm asks. Twilight just gives him a look, making him sigh. "Yes dear." "Good. Now get started." She says, getting us both to move to the closet to get the cleaning supplies. "This is your fault." I say as I grab a broom. "Why is it my fault?" Storm asks as he grabs a wash cloth. "Less talking, more cleaning." Twilight says as she goes to her podium and flips through a book. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Twilight The Next Morning I wake up to Storm leaving the bed. I give a little yawn before looking out the window, seeing how early it is. "Why are you getting up so early?" I ask as I sit up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. "Sorry for waking you, I'm heading over to Sweet Apple Acres to help out for the day." He says as he gives a little stretch. "Why didn't you tell me you were going to work today? I wouldn't have kept you up so late." I say as I get out of bed to go make breakfast. "I'll be fine. Don't worry. I'll be back around three and we have a Terradisian meeting tonight after sunset. What are you doing for the day?" He asks as we head to the kitchen together. "I need to catch up on my studies." I say with a groan. "I feel as if I'm so far behind. I'm only halfway through my Illusionary spell book, not to mention I haven't even looked at my polymorphic..." "Twilight." Storm says flatly as we enter the living room. "I saw your schedule, those are all next weeks books." "I know. But if I'm not ahead, then I'm behind." I say, getting him to shake his head as we walk into the kitchen to find Miles sleeping on the counter. Storm gets an evil smile as he flies up above him and gently touches his shoulder, getting him to look up. "WAKE UP!" He yells, making him fall off the counter. Storm laughs as he lands beside him and waits for him to get up.... "Did he... did he knock himself out?" I ask as we watch him lay there. "Hey Miles, you OK?" Storm asks as he pushes him a bit, waking him up. He looks around a bit before getting up, rubbing his head a bit. "Hmm? Whats up?" He asks sleepily as he takes a seat. Storm and I just shake our heads as we both go to the stove. We make and eat breakfast quietly. Miles seemed... distracted. It's probably nothing, but I'll be sure to ask him later today about it. I was going to make breakfast, but Storm insisted on doing it himself. He isn't the best cook, but I figure he could use the practice. Once they finished eating, they went straight for Sweet Apple Acres, leaving me to my studies. I go to my podium and pull all of the books I'll need for my studies, putting them into neat piles beside me. "Uh.. Twilight?" Spike asks as he walks up beside me. "Can I ask you a few questions?" "Of course, what's on your mind?" I ask as I turn back to him. "Well, its about magic..." "Well you've come to the right pony." I say, feeling more confident about the subject. "Well... what if I'm overpowered like Miles? What if this becomes something that'll kill me? Or what if it doesn't work? Who's going to teach me about dragon magic? Do dragons even have magic? I don't want..." "Whoa, slow down Spike." I say, getting him to stop ranting. "First off, I think Miles is a special case. He did mention his friends being normal. And if it doesn't work... well, then we'll just have to work together to figure out how dragon magic works..." "But how do you know if dragons even have magic?" Spike asks as he start to get upset. "Well... I don't know Spike. Ponies and dragons don't interact so... we'll just have to figure it out with time..." "But, what about my size." He says as he looks down at himself. "Well... I think Storm will..." "Am I always going to be this short? When will I start to grow? Will I have wings? When do they come in? Will I become greedy again? How about..." "Spike!" I yell, getting his attention again. "I don't know. I'm sorry, I wish I did, but I don't know. Why are you worrying so much about all of this Spike?" "Well... I was talking with Miles last night, and I asked him a bit about getting marked. After that i started to think about it and... well, these questions came to mind." He says as he hangs his head down and kicks the ground lightly. I pick him up with my magic and pull him in for a hug. "Spike, don't worry about these things." I say as I nuzzle the top of his head. "I know you'll want answers, but we can't give them to you. But when they come up, we'll be right here for you." "Really?" He asks as he returns the hug. "Thanks Twil.... thanks Mom." I take a deep breath before saying, "It's going to be alright... son." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles Once we got to Sweet Apple Acres Applejack put us straight to work. While Storm and Big Mac went to the western fields, Applejack and I went to the eastern fields. From there, she went south and I went north. Once I was a ways in I got started kicking trees, trying my best not to obliterate any of them, a task easier said then done. My first tree was toppled with my first kick. I spent awhile studying the inside before attempting to fix it. Though it was rather strenuous, I was able to piece it back together. "Well, that'll save me some trouble." I say to Luna as I go again, with better results. She's been scrying me ever since breakfast. Its nice to know she's watching my back, though I'd rather have her here instead. "Its getting pretty late... early, you should get some sleep." I say as I pick up the apples. *Blink Blink* "No huh. Alright, but only for another hour, after that I want you in bed." *Blink* "Alright then." I say as I move to the next tree, kicking it lightly to get the apples to fall down. "Be sure that you and Celestia come to today's meeting. There's actual information that you both need to hear." *Blink.... Blink.* "No?" I say as I turn back. "Sorry love, but you have to come." *Blink* "Then... you don't want Celestia to come then?" *Blink* "Sorry, but as our sister she has to come." *Blink Blink* "Yes, she does. Even if I have to come down there and drag her down. Sorry, but this is the way things are. Why don't you want to have her come?" *...* "Right, yes no answers. Are you afraid she'll not approve of how things are?" *Blink Blink* "Do you just not want her to come?" *Blink Blink* "Is it... because...." RING RING RING RING I stop and go to my phone, seeing that Luna's calling me. "Yeah?" I ask as I answer the call. "I'm afraid that she'll figure out that we're married." She says. "Oh... shit." I mutter as I think about it. "Yeah. With only half of the bearers there she may put that only the families of the Spartans will be there. From there, well, its just putting one and one together." She says as she drops the scrying spell. I put my speaker back on before getting back to work. "Well, what do you want to do about it? It's not like we can just tell her not to come when I already told her to. It will raise too many suspicions." "I know... maybe... well..." "Whats on your mind." I ask as I start picking up the apples. "Well... I don't like it, but the only way we could get around this is by... lying." "*sigh* I don't want to add to the lies we're already telling her." "I don't either, but its the only way she can come without revealing our marriage..." "Remind me why we can't do that again?" I ask as I levitate all of the baskets with me and start to head towards the storage cellar. "I already told you Miles, we're under too much stress right now. It wouldn't be well received. I'm sorry, but we'll have to wait for a better time." "*sigh* alright. Just leave it to me then. I've got to get going now, get to bed already." "Thank you Miles, love you." "Love you to." I say before hanging up. I don't like this, but I'll play along.. though she never said anything about dropping subtle hints.. oh this is going to be good. 3:13 pm After a long day of work and some running around I've finally decided how I'm going to go about this, and I think Luna may kill me. Well, it'll be worth it for her making me have to lie so much. As soon as I opened the door to my home I was assaulted with affection from Lupus and Hati, I guess they missed me. As I lay on the ground, petting them and trying not to get my face licked so much, I notice Storm, Twilight, and Spike walking up towards me. "Hey guys!" I yell as I try to get up. "Whats up?" "Uh... Miles, why are wolves licking you?" Spike asks as they all stop beside me. "Don't ask." Storm says flatly. "We're here so Spike can get his marks, remember?" "Ah, right." I say as I finally get to my feet. "Go ahead and make yourselves comfortable while I go get the Virgum de Marcas." I say as I usher them inside and run up stairs, having Lupus and Hati chase after me. I go to my closet and... CRASH As soon as I opened the closet door a wall of weapons fell straight out. I look over them all in astonishment. I know I told Butterscotch and E'Claire to bring me all of the weapons... I just didn't imagine they would have this many. I sift through it all until I find the black bar I was looking for. With it in my hands, I make my way back downstairs to find the others waiting on the couch. "What was that noise?" Storm asks as I approach them. "It was just a bunch of weapons falling out of my closet. Come here Spike." I say as I take a knee, presenting the bar. "It''s time." Perspective: Spike I glance back to Twilight and Storm before jumping off the couch and approach Miles. "Shouldn't we... I don't know, do this a little formally?" I ask as I stand before him. I can't help but rub my hands a bit as my nerves get the better of me. "No. It wouldn't matter if we were in a hospital or a gutter. Getting your marks only require two things. Hands, and a soul. Now, this is how this is going to work. You see the two dark spots?" I nod. "You are going to grab them and hold them as tightly as possible. It may take a while, but from there you will receive your makes. No matter what, you can not let go of the bar until it is completed. If you do, you could lose your soul. Do you understand?" "*gulp* y-yeah." I say as I take a step towards him. "Whenever you're ready." I glance back to Twilight and Storm, getting encouraging motions, before I take a deep breath and grab the bar. I move my hands to the correct spots and squeeze as hard as I can, wincing as I wait for something to happen. "Is... is it done yet?" I ask as I glance down at it, seeing it unchanged. "Aw... it didn't work." "Spike, its only been four seconds." Miles says as he sits down and watches closely. "When I did it, it took almost half an hour before it started. Just wait." "If you say so." I say as I continue to hold onto it. "So... are you going to be, like my mentor or something?" "Yes. I'll be the one to teach you how to use this power. We'll set up a regiment in which you will come here to learn." "Oh, cool." I say as I look back to Twilight and Storm. Twilight seems happy, but Storm seems a little worried. "So, what are wAAAAHHHHHH!" I yell as the bar suddenly starts to glow red. I feel a sharp pain run through my body as I hold onto the bar. "Finally." Miles says as he stands up. "Is he alri..." "AAAHHaha... *pant* is... is it done?" I ask as the pain suddenly stops. It wasn't that bad. It felt as if somepony hit me with a hammer or something. "Almost, one last thing." Miles says as he backs up. "He breathes fire right?" "Yeah..." "RAAAAWWWWRR!" I scream out as a sudden rush of energy starts to force its way back in. In my scream, I had let out a large green plume of fire, nearly roasting Miles. Luckily he had put up a shield before anything bad could happen. I continue to hold the bar as the power forces itself through my body. I start to shake a bit as I feel something change in me. I drop to my knees as I feel a massive pressure build up in my back. "Oh... shit." Miles says as the pain finally starts to fade away. I finally let go of the bar as I hold my eyes shut and wait for the pain to subside. "Miles! What did you do!?" Twilight yells. "Well... hmm. I don't know." He says as I hear him walk around me. I don't really care right now... I just want to sleep. THUD
Chapter 127 SororChapter 127 Soror When I wake up I feel... strangely fine. The pain wasn't that bad, thinking back. I look around to see Twilight's sitting beside me as Storm paces around in front of Miles. Everypony looks so worried, well, except Miles. He looks intrigued beyond belief. "He's awake!" Twilight says excitedly. "Spike!" Storm says worriedly as he runs to my side. "Are you OK? Is there any pain or...." "Hey Spike, stand up." Miles says from behind with a confident smile. I look around nervously before standing up. I don't really see wh.... "How did I get so....... MY VOICE!" I yell as I grab my neck. "WHY IS MY VOICE SO DEEP!?" I yell as I look around. I must be... six feet tall now! "Spike, take it easy. Baby steps.." Storm says as I start to walk around, looking over my body. The dark green spikes on my back and head are much longer now. I'm fairly muscular, nothing like Miles, but still defined. My fingers are longer and end with sharp claws. I feel something new on my.... "I HAVE WINGS!" I yell as I try to look over the new appendages on my back. The inner webbing is dark green while the rest is purple. "Come with me Spike." Miles says as he heads towards the back. I look to Twilight and Storm before I follow after him. It feels strange not having to jog to keep up. This is going to take some getting use to. We step outside and walk for a bit until Miles looks back to me. It feels weird not having to look up to him anymore, being almost eye level with him now. He still has a few inches on me, but I'm fairly close to his height now. "So...." "Lets bring out your magic." He says quickly. "What? No Miles. He just went through a massive change, he needs to rest and..." "He can rest when I'm dead. We start now." He says, silencing Twilight and Storm. They step back and let him do as he wishes. "First, look for the energy within. Once you find it, push it towards your hands and bring it out. You need some kind of movement to bring it out properly. Like this." He says as he shakes his arms and ignites his hands. "Give it a try." "Ok... here goes nothing." I say as I close my eyes and try to find anything within. Fire. I... I feel as if there's a small flame right where my heart should be. I try connecting to it and feel for my claws. I can feel it. The power... its good. I give my arms a quick shake and feel something happen, so I open my eyes. "I did it!" I say as I look over my claws. "Great, now defend yourself." BOOM Perspective: Miles "Miles! What are you doing!?" Twilight screams from the side as Storm holds her back. I had sent a blast of energy across Spikes face, knocking him over. "Teaching him control." I say as I walk over to him. I hear him let out a primal growl as he starts to get up, glaring at me as he lets out a puff of smoke from his nostrils. "You feel it, don't you." I say as I stop before him. "I... I think...." "The power. Its calling you isn't it?" I ask as he looks back down to his hands. "This... is what's referred to as the trials. Most people take a few months to reach this, but you jumped straight to it. So now we're going to do this the hard way." "I... can feel it. It's burning me... it needs to escape... I have to let it out before I...." BOOM I smack him across the face again with some energy, getting some more primal growls from him as I ready myself. "Can you handle the power?" I taunt. "RAAAAHH!" He yells as he thrusts both his palms at me, sending a plume of fire at me. I throw my arms out to the side and suck the oxygen from before me, killing the fire. He tries to add more power to it, sending the archaic lines up to his shoulders as he tries to burn me. With a quick spin back, I send another slash of energy at him, hitting him on the chest and knocking him on his back. "You're going to have to do better then that if you're going to beat me. GET UP!" I yell as he gets on his hands and knees. "I'll KILL YOU!" He yells as he charges at me, flames falling from his maw. "So foolish." I take a few steps back as he approaches until he's only a meter away. "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" He screams as he blasts green flames from his mouth. Instead of sucking the air out, I create a shield in each hand. I use one to block the flames as I run towards him, closing the distance quickly. THWACK Once I was close enough I spun around and smacked my shield across his face and then across his knee, dropping him down to it. I go to drop both of my shields down onto him, but he catches them both with his hands, stopping my attack. He growls at me as he stands up and expands his massive wings. "Give me POWER!" He yells before making a powerful flap of his wings, sending him high into the air. As he climbs higher and higher, I take my two shields and force them together, making a bolt of white energy. I pull the bolt apart between my hands and aim for Spike. KRUUM I lob the energy up and hit him square in the chest, sending him spinning down to the ground. As I start to run towards him, I flail my arms around as I hurl chunks of earth at him, pelting him as he falls. When he finally hits the ground I stop and push my arms up, making a column of earth come up beneath me and send me high into the air. When I'm high enough I flip back and push the earth down, sending it on a collision with Spike. FOOM I watch as the column explodes from Spikes fire, sending dust and debris everywhere. A second later, Spike flies through the smoke and is coming straight for me. I push my energy past my elbows and send a blast of energy at him. KA-BOOM He slams back down into the bottom of the column, sending even more dust up into the air. I feel myself start to drop, so I push myself with my magic and slam down beside Spike. He's still trying to get up, time to end this. I grab him magically and start to run off, dragging him along. I push myself archaically to move faster until I stop and launch spike into the air. He tumbles for a bit until he collides into a tree, snapping it in half. He falls to the ground and lays there, panting heavily. I lift him into the air magically and start to choke him out, making him gag and squirm around. "Submit." I say as I add a bit of pressure to him. "I... bu.... erm....." He gags as I levitate him towards me. "I SAID SUBMIT!" I yell before slamming him onto the ground. I hold my arms out and start to envelope them in a green energy. When I finish covering them, Spike is about half way back up, so I bring both of my hands down. He slams back down to the ground and stays there. I kick him over and sit on his chest as I pull him up. "You ready to submit?" "Y-yes..." "Am I your master?" Y.... yes...." "And who holds the power?" I ask as I ready to punch him again. "Yo.... you hold the power..." "Right. Sleep tight Spike." KER-PUNCH I knock him out with one final punch across the face. I stand back up and take a few breathes as I let go of my magic. He was tough, but easily broken. "Is it over?" I look over to see Storm standing alone by the door. "Yeah... he has some power to him... nothing like me, but still commendable." I say as I walk over to him. "I need you to go to Moosden and Sweet Apple Acres to gather the Terradisians for the meeting. I'm going inside to talk with Twilight." "Alright... the rest of your training won't be like that... will it?" Storm asks, concern filling his voice. "Don't worry, that was just the trial. Its when the power starts to corrupt your mind, attempts to change you. I may have to do it one or two more times, but the rest of the training wont be that bad." I say before heading inside. I walk in and find Twilight sitting on the couch, crying lightly. "Hey... sorry you had to see that." "Why did you do that?" She asks as she wipes her tears away. I sigh as I walk over and take a seat beside her, laying an arm across the back of the couch. "Its part of the trials. Human magic can corrupt you if you don't keep it in check. Usually it happens a few months after getting your marks, but for Spike it was a bit early. He went straight for the power and was corrupted for a bit. The only way to get them out of that mind set is to beat them senseless and have them submit to someone else." "Did you have to go through that?" Twilight asks quietly. "Four times. And trust me, from what I'm told, Spike got it easy. Apparently, I was so jacked up on power when I was eight, I took out an entire advance class before Susurrans had to come and stop me, even then it took awhile. As far as human magic goes, that was completely normal." I say as reassuringly as possible. "Well... I don't like this, but... I understand the need for it. Just... promise me that you'll take good care of him. I don't like seeing him get hurt." "I will... hey Spike, how ya feeling?" I ask as Spike staggers inside. "Like crud." He says as he drops into the recliner. "What.... what happened?" "I kicked your ass." I say, getting a smack from Twilight. "Congrats, you now have magic. I expect to see you here as often as possible for training. At least four times a week if I'm here. If I'm away, then I want you studying any and everything. The make up of soils, gems, metals, liquids, anything that you may encounter that you may wish to manipulate..." "That sounds like a lot of work." Spike grumbles as he rubs his face. "Don't worry, I'll help you study up on everything. Where are you going to start?" Twilight asks as she gets up and walks over to him, nuzzling his arm a bit. "We're going to start with the basics. Power control, levitation, and inner/outer strength. We'll also throw in some fire control. He seems to already have a pretty good grasp on it..." KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK "That's for starters at least, we'll have to see how he progresses before anything else." I say as I walk over to the door and open it. "Whats up sister." I say to Celestia. Perspective: Celestia "Whats up sister." Miles asks with a large smile as he opens the door. I was caught a bit off guard by the question, but ignore it as I put on my own smile. "Evening Miles, sorry for the intrusion, but I had a few questions I'd like to ask before your little Terradisian meeting. May I come in?" "Of course." Miles says as he steps inside. I turn to my guards and nod to them before stepping inside. "Princess Celestia!" Twilight exclaims as I walk into the living room. "Twilight, my prized pupil how... how... who is that?" I ask as I see the battered purple dragon in the recliner. "Oh, hiya Princess." The dragon, sounding oddly familiar, says as he stands. "Its me... Spike." "Spike!" I almost yell. "What happened to you? You're... you're..." "Can I get you something to drink?" Miles asks as he walks in from the kitchen. "What happened to Spike?" I ask again, unable to look away from him. "Well, you see Princess, the thing is..." "I've got human magic now!" Spike says excitedly. "Check it out." He shakes his arms out, bringing out white flames in his claws. "But... but... how?" I ask as I look around the room, trying to find the answers. "It's simple really." Miles says as he walks up beside Spike and wraps an arm around him. "We had him hold onto a Virgum de Marcus and hold tightly. From there, he was marked and connected to his soul. My guess is that dragons grow with their power. So when we forced him to have human magic, it forced him to grow. That's my guess at least." "But... he has wings. The last time he changed into an adult dragon he didn't have wings." I ask as I start to look him over some more. He seems to be the size of a teenage dragon. "Well... that's probably his magic just acting weird. This was intended for humans after all. Something was bound to happen." Miles says as he looks over Spikes wings. "Anyway, you said you had questions..." "Right... right. Can we, speak in private?" I ask. Miles nods and moves to the back, so I follow after him. We stop in the kitchen and turn to one another, keeping silent for a bit before I clear my throat to start. "So, I was thinking about a few things recently..." "Is that so. What's on you mind soror?" "Soror? Anyway, when did I become Terradisian? I don't see how Luna or I could be citizens. Twilight and Fluttershy married in, but..." "This actually goes way back." Miles interrupts. "Your parents were made honorary citizens back from the negotiations. I didn't think about it until we had dinner. It's lineage soror." "Oh... OK. My next concern is; do I need to know anything about being a citizen? Whats going to be required of me." "Well soror, that's a bit of an answer. It basically works like this..." He goes through everything that's required of being a citizen. Everything from announcements to taxes. Their system of government seems... really well thought out. It's definitely making me think about our own system. "And the there's these civil meetings. Here you can bring up any concerns about anything. Any other questions?" "Yes, you mentioned something about speaking about everything, but surely there must be somethings withheld. Right?" He takes a deep breath before saying, "If you ask me something during a meeting, I am honor bound to answer it truthfully. There are no secrets in Terradisia." He says as if he's leading to another question. "Right... well, thank you Miles. I'm heading back to Canterlot...." "What? But you just got here. Just send Luna a letter that you're here already here and hang out a bit. No need to waste time heading there just to head back. Come on soror, how often do you get to watch a dragon perform human magic?" I don't get why he keeps calling me soror. It must be a human thing I guess. "I would love to stay, but..." "Great, then lets get started. I'll grab Spike, you just head out back and we'll get started." Miles says before walking off. "I didn't say anything about staying.... Miles.... Miles?" I yell out as he talks to Spike and Twilight. They both grow large smiles as they start heading towards me. Great... now I have to stay. "Are you really going to stay for my first lesson Princess Celestia?" Spike asks excitedly. "... of course. Wouldn't dream of missing it." I say as I put on a smile. "Awesome! I promise to do my best!" He says before running around me and out back. "Thanks for staying Princess. I know you have a busy schedule, so we really appreciate your staying." Twilight says before walking after Spike. "You planned that, didn't you?" I ask Miles as we walk out together. "Of course. Running a government shouldn't be about meetings and politics, it should be people coming together for a common purpose. Speaking with one another instead of through elected officials. I felt you needed reminding of that." He says as he walks out ahead of me. "If only it was that easy." I mumble as I take a seat beside Twilight. Perspective: Miles "Alright Spike, take a deep breath, relax." I say as I inhale and exhale. "Magic isn't something you should fear..." "Shouldn't fear, got it." Spike says as he takes another breath. "... because if you fear it, it will tear you apart and destroy everything you love. Got it." "...." He stays quiet as he takes a few more deep breaths, trying to relax. "Relax, I can do that." "Alright, bring up your magic, like I showed you." I say as I start to walk around him. He nods as does as hes told, bringing up his magic with no problems. "Good. Now, what is fire?" "Uh... what?" He asks as he looks to me. I hear Twilight and Celestia chuckle a bit, making him blush. "Fire, what is it?" "Um... its... like... well..." He stutters as he tries to think of the answer. "What does it do?" "It... burns?" "Right, delve into that. What happens when it burns?" "Well...its kind... when it burns something, that thing gets really hot." "Right, good. Heat. And what is heat?" I ask, getting a confused looks from Spike. "Why do I need to know this?" "To use something like fire, you need to have a total understanding of it. You'll only be able to use fire when you're able to teach fire..." "But I've already used fire, shouldn't I be able to use it?" "Give it a try." I say with a smug smile. He gives me a look before thrusting his arms forward. Having nothing happen, he tries again. And again. And again. "Not working, is it?" "I did it earlier, why can't I do it now?" Spike asks as he continues to try. "Earlier you were power hungry. In that mind set, you went into a primal state. Being a dragon fire must be natural to you. Now do you want to keep wasting time or do you want me to teach you?" "Sorry." "Sorry what?" "Sorry... master?" "Very well, lets continue." I say as I step in front of him and create an orb of fire. "Fire, is energy. Raw, unaltered, energy. Humans refer to it as a negative energy. To create fire, you need three things, heat, fuel, and oxygen. Its referred to as a negative because there is always a negative energy pool after using it." I say as I switch the orb to electricity. "Electricity, on the other hand, is a positive. When you create electricity, there is a residual energy left. Ever get shocked and then feel more energetic?" "Yeah..." "That's why." I say as I drop the orb. "Fire is life and destruction. You can't have life without it." "But.. how can you have both?" Spike asks. "Sometimes, something needs to die in order for something else to live. Fire burns, but the heat from it keeps our planet alive. It kills, while supporting life." "So..." He says as he looks to his hands. "What does that make soul fire?" "Soul fire, is the fire that is our souls. It drives us to live, but it kills us in the process. You cannot live without a soul, but at the same time, a soul will drive you towards things that would usually kill you. Your dreams, power... love. Its truly the most powerful thing you will ever hope to achieve. But lets not get ahead of ourselves. What is fire?" "Its... energy.. its life... its the energy of life." Spike concludes. "It seems being around Twilight has made you sharper then most." I say as I glance over to her, seeing her blush a bit. "Now give it a try. Any kind of fire you can muster." He nods to me before concentrating on what I said. He holds his hands out in front of himself and tries to replicate the orb I made. I chuckle a bit as I turn to the others, if he wants to go the long way, that's his call. "I'm going to get some water, either of you want something to drink?" "Water would be nice." Twilight says. "I would like one as well." Celestia says as she gives me a smile. Perspective: Celestia Once Miles shuts the door behind himself I turn to Twilight and ask, "Are you paying attention to all of this?" "Of course. If there's anything you've taught me, its to pay attention." Twilight says with a warm smile. "Good. This is invaluable information on not only human magic, but human philosophy as well. It would do us both good to pay attention." I say as I straighten out. "Philosophy?" Twilight asks as she tilts her head in confusion. "Of course. You didn't get anything from his little lecture on the properties of fire? Its obvious that this is going to be an intense experience for Spike..." "Really?" Spike asks as he breaks his focus. "Spike." Twilight says sternly, getting Spike to go back to trying to bring out fire. "Yes, really. If this is only lesson one, imagine the advance teachings." "Advance what?" Miles asks as he steps out and offers us each a glass of water. "Oh, we were just talking about your lesson. It's... very in depth." I say as I take a sip... this is tap. "Well you're more then welcome to come to the lessons." He says as he downs his entire glass. "Really? But I thought Spartans were suppose to be secretive." I ask as I try another sip. This just doesn't compare to sparkling water... "And it is. He won't be learning those spells. This will only cover from basic to intermediate. Advanced spells would require passing Spartan training..." "Can I..." "No!" Twilight yells, silencing Spike. "You..." Miles says as he points to Spike. "Fire. Don't leave that spot until you make it." "But that could take all night." Spike whines. "Then fire will come in handy, won't it?" Miles says with a smile. "I'd get working on it if I were you, sunsets coming soon." He says as he takes a seat beside me. Spike gulps before returning to the task at hoof. "So soror, what studies have you been giving Twilight?" "Well..." Perspective: Luna, 7:08pm I give a little stretch as the curtains pull back, revealing the setting sun. I get out of bed and start brushing my mane when I notice a scroll on my desk. Curious, I pick it up and read it over. Luna, I went to Miles' home early to discuss somethings with him. I will be staying here until the meeting begins. Please meet me here after raising the moon. Celestia. Oh, OK..... "WHAT!" I yell as I reread the letter. Oh no, oh noonononono this isn't happening right now. This isn't good. I look outside to see Celestia starting to lower the sun. So I run out to the balcony and begin to move the moon. I have to get there as quickly as possible. Knowing Miles, he's probably making things worse between the two of them, not that he tries to. Its just... those two get along as well as a minotaur and a zebra. After finishing with the moon, feeling slightly guilty for rushing it, I charge my horn and appear in front of Miles' house... actually. I guess with us being married, that makes it our house. FOCUS! With a quick shake of the head I burst through the door and look around, finding most of Apple family in the living room. "Where's Miles?" I ask as I look around, hearing shouts somewhere. "Out back with Celestia an..." Applejack starts, but I ignore the rest as I run out to the back. FOOSH I jump back as two plumes of fire collide, sending flames towards me. "Watch out Luna, he's getting good at this." Celestia says from my left. "Tia, whats going.... who is that?" I ask as the flames subside to reveal Miles and a large purple dragon, both of which having magical ports open on their hands. "That would be Spike." Twilight says from behind Celestia. "Long story short, he received marks to perform human magic. But the marks forced him into this form and gave him wings. He's now Miles' apprentice in magic." "O..k..." I say as I watch them walk back towards us. The lines on Spike are up to his shoulders, and he's panting. Miles on the other hoof.... "Hey Lulu." He says cheerfully as he stops in front of us. "Pfft, Lulu?" Celestia chuckles as she looks to me. "Aw come on soror..." "What!?" I yell as I shake my head. Sister. He just called her sister. He finally told her. A/N: Shout out to Arlan753 for picking the element Spike learns first. Thanks for reading and like always, Brony on!
Chapter 128 Big NewsChapter 128 Big News I can't believe it. He did it... and nothing has exploded yet. Celestia looks happy, Miles seems... "Well, the meeting is going to start as soon as Storm and Moosden arrive..." FLASH "I'm back!" Storm says as he walks out from a mico platform in the back. "... OK then. Lets head inside and get this over with." Miles says as he walks inside. As everypony starts to walk inside, I stop Celestia to talk to her in private. "Is everything alright, Lulu?" Celestia asks with a chuckle. "Right, I just..." FLASH We both look back to see a light cream mare with a short white mane appear, followed by a light blue mare with a light blue mane in the same style. "Oh... uh..." The light tan one says before they both bow to us. As they bow, two more flashes appear, revealing a pair of moose's. "Are you here for the Terradisian meeting?" Celestia asks, getting them to rise. "Uh... yeah." The light blue one says as the others gather around her. "It's just about to start, go ahead and step inside, my sister and I will join shortly." Celestia says cheerfully. I wait until all of them are inside before turning back to Celestia. "So... I'm assuming that you... and Miles... had... a talk." I say as I try to find the right words. "Yes. It s was rather... enlightening, but I think being Terradisian will be... interesting, to say the least." "Really, you aren't mad that I didn't tell you sooner?" "Well, I would of liked to have known sooner, but its fine. Now lets..." "THANK YOU SO MUCH TIA!" I yell as I yank her into a hug, squeezing her as tightly as possible. "Ok, OK, too tight." She replies as she tries to tap my shoulder. "Oh, sorry." I say as I let go and sit back. "Sorry, its just... that really made me happy. You know, cause of Miles..." "Oh... right. Just... don't go over board with this. We have our own country to tend to in addition to this one." "I know, and I won't. I have everything under control." I say, giving her a confident smile. "Hey, are you two going to join?" Miles asks as he pops his head out of the back door. "We need to get started..." "Of course maritus," I say playfully as we both stand up, "lets get started." "OK uxor." Miles says as he holds the door open for us. "...huh?" Celestia mumbles as she follows after us. As we enter the living room, all of the chatter suddenly drops as everypony watches us. We just go and take the two empty seats on the side and wait for things to begin. Perspective: Miles "OK then," I say over the silence, "lets get started. First order of business, does anyone have any questions or concerns to bring up?" The room stays silent for a bit until I see Spike raise his hand, so I point him out. "Um... how does one become a Spartan?" He asks, getting a bewildered look from Twilight. "Well, there's really only one way, though there are multiple ways of going about that way. You have to pass the training. In order to be accepted to the training, a Spartan has to recognize that individuals feats. Now, as citizens, you can tell us of anyone whom you think may be eligible for training, and we'll consider them..." "When could we do that?" Celestia asks. "I would prefer after citizens meetings, but you can bring it up whenever really." I say as Butterscotch raises a hoof. "Yes Butterscotch." "Two things. You said you would give us some training or something like that, when is that going to happen? And how are the Princesses Terradisians? Does this make them higher class citizens or what?" "Well... yes and no. Becuase of how you are citizens, they are higher then you. But for the average Terradisian they would be seen as equals, so bowing is no longer required. And they are citizens becuase of family ties. As for the training, I was planning on going either tomorrow of the next day, so make sure to not be fucking when I show up..." "Aww..." E'Claire pouts, getting odd looks from everyone. "Right... anyway, next item of business. Flionence was a total bust as I expected. The trap was a distraction that I should of seen, but over looked..." "You knew Flionence was going to be a failure and you still went! Why?" Celestia asks. "The original intent was to spring the trap to capture Steelwing, but he escaped... or rather he was never there. He actually arrived in Canterlot with War...." "Who?" Butterscotch asks as she raises an eyebrow to me. I think about it for a second before I turn to Twilight. "You wouldn't happen to have some chalk or something to draw with, would you?" I ask. She rolls her eyes as she charges her horn, making some chalk appear before me. I take it and begin to make some quick sketches of all of the high profile enemies. "Ok, this would be..." "Wow... that's really good." Luna says as she stares at my sketch. "Yeah... were you like a... side artist or something?" Butterscotch adds. "What? No. Look, these are..." "Are you sure, becuase that looks really good Miles." Celestia says, getting nods from everyone else. "You had to have had some form of training or...." "Look, yeah I took an art class, but I never pursued it. I just... I don't know, I just never did. Can we move on now?" "Sure thing... Poncasso." Applejack mutters, getting chuckles from everyone else. "Right, these are the leaders of the Darkness as I know of. This one calls himself War. He's a centaur that uses some kind of sword spear weapon..." "Its a naginata." Luna informs me. "OK, a naginata and something called the Rainbow of Darkness. I'm not sure what it does..." "I can actually give some info on that." Luna says, getting everyone's attention. "It's the embodiment of all things evil. It corrupts your mind and forces you to focus on the one emotion that turns you... or that's what happened to me at least." She finishes, looking away from everyone as Celestia wraps a wing around her. "Huh..." I mumbles as I think about what she said. I took a hit from it, and I feel fine. Maybe its a delayed affect... "It can also be used as a energy attack." Luna continues. "Its powerful. Do not let it hit you." "Do you know where it comes from?" I ask. She shakes her head as she leans against Celestia. "Damn. Well, that what's they've all been using for their attacks. The next one calls himself Famine. I guess you could call him a unicorn centaur, with the horn and all. His fighting style is a little more deadly. He likes to flash around before taking hits. He has this green energy that drains you of your energy, both physical and spiritual. He carries a wooden staff that I believe he enchanted to have the energy he uses to de-buff you..." "I see you're missing one of them." Celestia says as she stands up and takes the chalk out of mine. "The next one is called Pestilence." She says as she starts to try to draw Pestilence... and kind of fails. "She is a pegasus centaur. Her attacks, from what I could tell, infest your body at an alarming rate. With a single poke of her finger nails she was able to kill a guard. Their bodies turned to... withered husks." "And at the top is death." I say as I take the chalk back and start to fix her drawing. "We have no intel on what death looks like, though I have a theory. I believe him to be an alicorn centaur." The room fall quiet as they think about this. "How could you be sure?" Storm asks after a few moments of silence. "I can't. That's why its a theory. But it makes sense. Leaders here tend to be alicorns. Celestia, Luna, Chrystalis, all alicorns." "Miles, not all leaders are alicorns." Luna says as she glances back to Celestia. "I know that, but looking at the others it makes sense for him to be. Again, this is all speculation. If any of you come across any of these people, proceed with caution. Strangely enough though, the last time we were in contact wit them, they warned us of a period of peace. For some unknown reason, they pulled back..." "You say this like itsa bad thing." Applejack says. "Doncha want peace?" "I do, but the problem is that they could devastate an entire nation right now, kill thousands, why not?" "Maybe it isn't enough." Na-da says from the back, getting all of our attention. "Care to explain?" I ask, getting a scared look from her. "Well... its like you said, they want to kill everypony. Maybe their goal isn't to kill everypony, but to do that all at once. Maybe they have some secret motive for killing everypony..." "Oh... my..." Fluttershy mumbles as the rest of the group just stares at Na-da. "Well... that would explain their motives a lot better." I say as I wipe the chalk from the wall. "In the end, if they ever show up again, the Spartan regiment will be there to take them down.... speaking of which; Lieutenant Storm Cloud will be starting maternity leave today...." "Wait what? Why would he... but then..." Celestia stumbles as she slowly puts one and one together. "Twilight... are you pregnant?" I look over to the two of them to find them staring daggers at me. "Miles! That was suppose to be a secret!" Storm yells as Twilight just face hooves. "Secrets in Terradisia?" I ask, getting a groan from him. "Dammit... yeah, we're expecting." Storm says with a broad smile. "We're almost a month in..." The room erupts in applause and congratulations as everyone goes up to them to say their best wishes. Even the Moosden citizens have their say, it was shorter then everyone else's. As I wait for everyone to finish, Luna pulls me aside to the kitchen. Once we're somewhat alone I was about to ask her whats going on when she forced a kiss onto me. I was a little caught off guard, but returned the kiss nonetheless. "... Uh.... OK, what was that for... not that I'm complaining or anything." I ask once we separate. "That, was for finally telling Celestia about us. Thank you Miles." She says before planting another kiss on my lips. "Uh... I didn't tell her shit." "What?" She asks flatly. "I didn't tell her anything, she still doesn't know." I say, getting a shocked look from her. "But... but... but you've been calling her sister!" "In Latin, since when can she speak Latin?" "But... but.... oh son of a.... darn!" "OK, when are you ever going to cuss properly?" "I thought you had told her! I had this awkward conversation with her and... oh shoot. I think she was thinking about being Terradisian, not our marriage." She says as she rubs between her eyes. "Do you want me to tell her right now then? Cause I'll do it." "No... lets wait a bit longer. I still feel as if she'll react the same way." She says with a sigh. "If you say so, but remember that I still feel the same way about this." I say as I head back into the living room. "Alright, lets pester them about this another time, we've got one last minor thin to talk about." I say, getting everyone to sit back down. "Last order of business, the next five days will be spent here for the Spartan regiment. I want to give Big Mac some rest while I go and get a few things set up. Once done, assuming nothing happens in the world, we will be going to the next city..." "And what city would that be?" Big Mac asks. "Amethyst. That's everything for today. The next scheduled meeting will be the first of every month, be sure to plan ahead for it. Sollicitus, et fortunam referebat." Once the meeting had finished, everyone went to congratulate Twilight and Storm again. I just waited from the side until they decided to head home. Once they left, everyone started to trickle back to their homes, eventually leaving me, Celestia and Luna alone. "Well, that was an... eventful meeting." Celestia says as she takes a seat on the couch. Luna takes a seat beside her and I sit in the recliner, glancing to each to each other. Fuck it, I'm going for it. "Celestia, there is something we need to talk about." I start, getting panicked looks from Luna. "Oh? What about?" She asks. "It's about..." "The next meeting!" Luna yells in an attempt to stop me. "What about the next meeting?" Celestia asks, a bit confused. "Luna and I..." "Are going to run it!" She yells as she jumps up and stands beside me, hitting my foot as she does so. "Well, not run, but rather... uh... what was it Miles?" She asks as she looks to me with pleading eyes. "*sigh* cater it." I say as I fold. She owes me big time for this... "Cater? Why don't you just hire some other ponies for that?" "Well, its really to teach me to cook. I don't know how to make Equestrian food, so she offered to teach me. We will learn... spaghetti first." I say as I offer a smile to Luna. "I didn't know you could cook." Celestia says to Luna. "What? I happen to be a very capable cook Tia." Luna says as she gives Celestia a smile. "You'll just have to see at the next meeting." "Well... OK then." She says as she glances outside. "It's getting late, we should be heading home now." She says as she gets up. "Go ahead without me Tia, I need to give Miles a list of things we'll need for our lessons before heading back." Luna says as we stand and escort her towards the door. "Very well sister. I'll trust you on this one. Well, have a good night." She says before finally leaving. "..." "..." "..." "You are a little punk!" Luna yells as she tackles me in a hug. "Hey, you know me, I don't like lying!" I say as I lift her up and carry her from underneath. We stare into each others eyes as she drapes her hooves around my shoulders, slowly stroking my back. "I learned a new spell, want to try it out?" She asks in a sultry tone. "This isn't like that one spell that made me go sex crazy is it?" ZAP "Lets find out." "Oh sweet Barbra..." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Spike "I can't believe you didn't tell me that you were pregnant." I say as we walk through Ponyville. "I'm sorry Spike, but we weren't sure until today that I was." Twilight says. "Should you be walking? Is that good for the baby? What about..." "Don't worry Spike," Twilight says with a chuckle, "I can still do everything normally. Its only the first month." "Did you ever give Spike... the talk?" Storm asks Twilight. "Hehe... well..." "What talk?" I ask as we approach the library. "Wait.. Darn it! I was suppose to help Rarity today! I totally forgot! Can I run over and see if shes up to apologies? Please!?" I ask as they look to each other. "Well... OK. But hurry back here afterwards. I want to have a talk with you afterwards." Storm says. "Am I in trouble?" "No, no. Don't worry its a... stallion to stallion talk. Just go apologies for not helping Rarity and make it back here as soon as possible, OK?" "OK." I say before running off for Rarity's. Once I'm out of sight I slow down to walk the rest of the way. Why does Storm want to have a talk with me? I didn't do anything wrong! This isn't fair. Why do I have to get in trouble for something I didn't do! "WHOA!" I yell as my hands suddenly catch fire. Why did my hands do that? All I did... oh... I shook my arms didn't I? Heh, this is going to be hard to get used to. I shake the magic away as I approach Carousel Boutique. When I make it there, I see that all of the lights are on. At least she's up, though I'm not looking forward to this conversation... "Rarity..." I say as I open the door and poke my head in. She's not in here. I shut the door behind me as I walk in... "I SAID I DIDN'T WANT TO SEE YOU, GET OUT!" Rarity yells from the back. But... what did I do? I know I was... "This simply cannot stand lady Rarity! How could you possibly still be in love with that...." "That is none of your concern! Now for the last time leave. My. Store. NOW!" THUD When the room falls silent I rush to the back, fearing the worse. When I get to the back I find Prince Blueblood facing off with Rarity with his energy blade caught in her energy field... "If you touch even one hair on her..." I say as I feel a fire build up in my chest... ................................................................................................................................................................................................. The Misadventures of TB, Squishy, Cheesus, And Pinkie Pie To Get A Burrito Perspective: Tallestbrony (Warning: Strange) "Wasn't my car." Cheesus says to Pinkie as Squishy and I catch up. He and Pinkie had been chuckling to each other as we cried over our lost loved ones. "I demand compensation!" Squishy yells. "Hmm.... do you have a saddle?" Pinkie asks. "WHY YES I DO!" He yells as he pulls a brown saddle out of his ass. "... dude, what else do you have in there?" Cheesus asks. "Do you really want to know?" I ask as the group reaches the bottom of the hill. "Did you ever see that episode of Family guy where Quagmire gets a cavity search?" Squishy says with creepy smile. "...ew. Now I'm not letting you." Pinkie says as she moves away from Squishy. "But it sterile!" Squishy says as he holds up the questionable saddle. "Uh, I'm hungry. Lets hurry up and get to Taqueria." Cheesus says as he picks up his pace. "So, why do ponies keep doing it in Miles' bed?" Pinkie asks as we continue on our way. "I mean,at first it was funny, but then you had that random group show up and confuse everypony. THEN, that insubordinate 501st party brigade had to go and start a war with that troll army! You have any idea how hard it was to deal with those nubs?!" "I'M WALKING ON SUNSHINE! WHOOAAOOAA!" The three of us yell as we continue to not listen to her. We had already agreed that somethings shouldn't be talked about... "Hmph... you still haven't told me what happens in fifth arc." Pinkie grumbles. "Well it starts..." SMACK "OW!" I yell as I rub the back of my head. "YOU SHALL NOT SPEAK!" Squishy yells at me. "Dude, its going to suck if anyone recognizes you as Equestria LA. Because you won't shut the fuck up." Cheesus says as he shakes his head at me. "Well..." "SH!" Cheesus and Squishy say. "But..." "SH!" Cheesus and Squishy say again. "I'm...." "SH!" Squishy, cheesus and now Pinkie all say at once. "Fine." "...SH!" Gilbert
Chapter 129 Little TalksChapter 129 Little Talks I throw my arms out, flaring my hands as I feel a fire grow in my stomach. "Beast! Leave this place or...." "BACK AWAY FROM RARITY!" I yell as I step towards him, spreading my wings out as I tower over him. "N-now... I warn you... I have... have... powerful..." He mumbles as he backs away from me. I open my mouth, letting a column of steam escape my maw as I continue to approach him. "... powerful... uh..." "Leave, or get hurt." FLASH Without another word he disappears from the room. I step back and sigh as I shake the magic from my arms. "You OK Rare..." THUD "OW! What was..." THUD "BACK! BACK YOU BEAST!" Rarity yells as she continues to throw stuff at me. "Rarity..." THUD "...it's me..." THUD "...SPIKE!" THUD "Wait... Spike?" Rarity asks as she sets down a spool of cloth. "My heavens dear... what happened to you?" She asks as she starts to look me over. "Sorry I missed out today, I was over at Miles' for magic training." I say as I watch her walk around me. "Is everything alright?" "Well, now they are. How did you get so... tall?" She asks as she stops in front of me. "Well, it was a side affect from gaining magic, or so Miles says... is, is it a bad thing?" "What? Oh, no dear. If anything its an improvement. Not to say there was anything wrong with the way you were before, I will be missing your chubby cheeks. But... well..." She mumbles as she starts to blush.. "What?" "Well, you're a very attractive dragon, Spike." She admits as her blush worsens. "Oh... thank you. I'd return the favor, but I think we both know that already." I say, getting us both to chuckle. I feel the tingly feeling in my stomach again, its making my heart race a bit. "Well, if its not too much to ask, could you help me clean up? It seems that my little... disagreement, with Blueblood has left my shop in disarray." She says as she glances back to the destroyed room. "If it's not too much to ask." "Sure, if anything this will make up for forgetting earlier," I say as I start to help pick up around the room. Cleaning up didn't take as long as it usually would. With my new size I can now carry the larger spools of cloth, several actually. After roughly twenty minutes of work we head to the back room, leaving the front room sparkling clean. "Is there anything else you need from me?" "Well... I am behind on an order, but it's getting late..." "I don't mind. I'm not even tired." "But it's almost nine, isn't this usually when you go to bed?" She asks as she starts pulling different fabrics from around the room to her work station. "Well, yeah. I guess I'm able to stay up longer with my new form." I say as I sit beside her. "So, what do you need me to do?" We spend the next few hours working together finishing some dresses for a client of hers. It feels weird being up this late and not being tired, but I ignored it as I focused on helping Rarity. I can't believe she said I was attractive. She usually says I'm handsome... is there a difference? I mean, I'm not complaining, but... why does her saying I'm attractive feel better then her saying I'm handsome? "There, all done." She says as she ties off the last wrapped dress. "Oh my, it's almost midnight. We need to get you home..." "But I'm still not tired... maybe we could... hang out?" I ask, feeling the tingling sensation again. That better not be some weird magic thing from Miles. "Spike, ladies do not 'hang out'. But... maybe a late night snack will suffice." She says with a warm smile as she starts walking towards the kitchen. I follow her to the kitchen and take a seat at the table. I feel my palms start to sweat as the tingling sensation comes back. I don't get it, I've eaten with Rarity plenty of times. Why am I getting so nervous? "So... uh, why was Blueblood here?" I ask as she starts making tea and sandwiches. "Well... he..." "Rarity..." "He just wanted to ask something... again." "Rarity, I can tell you're hiding something. If you don't want to tell me, that's fine. But if he shows up again and won't leave, just call me and I'll get rid of him." I say with a confident smile. "Oh Spike, when did you grow up?" She says as she tries to light the stove. I walk over to her and tap her shoulder, getting her to stop. "Here, let me." I say as I kneel down and take the kettle. I take a quick breath before blowing green flames onto the bottom of the kettle, getting it to whistle in seconds. I set it back down and look back to Rarity to see that she's closer then before. "Uh.." "Spike..." "Yeah Rarity?" "I..." "Yeah.." "Have an IDEEEAAA!" She says before running off for the backroom. I chuckle a bit before following after her. My little fashionista. I get up and walk after her, leaning against the door frame as I watch her get to work making something. "Oh I am absolutely positive that this will be the perfect accessory for you." She says as she starts cutting fabric. "What are you making?" I ask as I continue to watch materials move back and forth. "No... no.... OH good heavens no!" She says as she goes from one fabric to the next. "Perfect!" She says as she selects a crimson roll and gets to work on it. After a few minutes she finishes up and turns to me, hiding whatever it is behind her. "What is it?" I ask as I try to see it. "Sit down and close your eyes." She commands, so I comply. Once I close my eyes I feel her hooves work around my neck as a cloth is draped around me. There's that tingling again. I can feel her breath trace along my cheek, making the tingling intensify. I slowly open my eyes to find Rarity inches away from me, hooves draped over my shoulder. "Rarity..." I whisper, getting her attention. "Yes Sp...." She starts but stops as she goes wide eyed. She looks down before backing away from me as quickly as possible, almost panting. "Whats wrong?" I ask before looking down. "... is... is... oh my god! I'm soo sorry! I didn't mean to, I swear!" I say as I cross my legs in attempt to cover my thing up. Why is it doing that!? "Oh... my..." She mumbles as she stares at it. "I.. I don't know how to get rid of this... do you?" I ask, getting her to blush deeply. "Well... I... uh..." She says before biting her hoof, thinking deeply about something. "Please, how do I deal with this... I... I've never had... one of these." I say as I continue to try to hide, but it's too big to hide easily. "I... well... NO! No, I must resist! You're still just a foal!" Rarity yells as she turns away from me, holding her eyes shut as tightly as possible. "Spike, you need to go home, now." "But..." "Spike, please. I could... fix, that. But it would be wrong. Please... just, go home." She says as she lifts me up and levitates me out the front door. I tried to protest, but I was out the door in the blink of an eye. "Uh.... Ok... I'll just go home then." I say as I hear multiple locks turn behind me. I stand there for a moment before a gust of wind reminds me of my problem. What do I do now! I can't go through Ponyville like this! Somepony is bound to see me, and I don't think I would live through that embarrassment. Well... at least Rarity's place is on the edge of town. I could just go out in the park, I doubt anypony is out there. But... is it weird to walk around the park... like this? Well... I guess I could go hide at Miles' place. He wouldn't mind... would he? I could just hide down stairs until I'm better. Yeah, this is a good idea. I start making my way through the park, heading to Miles' house. I try my best to keep myself hidden, but with my new height, its a little bit of a problem. I stop and jump behind some bushes when I see a pegasus stallion land before me. Why?! Its the middle of the night, what is he doing here!? "Rainbow?" He calls out as he walk around a bit. Rainbow... no way. "Rai..." "BOO!" "AH!" He yells as he falls to the ground. I hear Dash laugh at him for a bit until she finally helps him up. "Not cool..." "I know, hehe, getting scared like that isn't cool at all. Who knows, maybe your marefriend will think less of you now." "I doubt it. I think she loves me too much." He replies confidently. "Heh, yeah. I think she does... I also think she missed you." Dash replies. I don't really hear anything for a bit, so I look back to.. OH MY GOD! I duck back behind the bush to hide from them making out. Why are they doing that? They're out in the middle of a public park, what if somepony saw them... like I did. "Are you sure you're up for this?" The stallion asks when they finally separate... not that I was watching or anything. Though, if I was, that stallion would look really familiar. "I never get to see you. Don't worry, Scoots got tomorrow off, I'll be good. Lets go." Dash says before I hear them fly off. I sigh in relief as I stand up and watch them leave. I didn't know Dash has a coltfriend, I'll have to keep this to myself... unless somepony asks. I make it to Miles' place without any further delays. There's only a single light on upstairs, that must be his room light. I told Twilight there were other ponies that used night lights. I go to the door and try to open it, only to find it locked. Just my luck. I step run around to the back and try that door, only to find it locked as well. Darn it. I think I could break it open, but then Miles would get mad... that wouldn't end well. I walk back to the front where I find the only way inside, Miles' window. Would he mind? He might be asleep, in which case I can just sneak past him. It is late.. I'm going for it. I take a look at my wings and do a practice flap before trying to fly up. I was a little shaky at first, but I only needed to go up a single story. Once I can reach the window I stop flapping and pull myself in... "MIIILLLEEESS!" Princess Luna screams as Miles slams his hips into hers. Luna's on her back with Miles on top of her, still thrusting his hips. They're both sweaty and the room smells of... well, it smells. "AH FUCK!" Miles yells as he arcs back. They both stop and stare into each others eyes for a moment before they look over to me and go wide eyed.... "Uh..." "GET OUT!" Luna yells as she throws a pillow at me, nearly making me fall out the window. "Waitwaiwait..." "OUT!" She yells again as she throws the blanket. "But.." "NOW!" THUD CRASH "AHHHH.... Luna! Why did you throw me!" Miles yells back up to the window. I just lay on the ground and try to process what just happened. "I'm in so much trouble." I say as I close my eyes, feeling tired for some reason. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. "Spike.. SPIKE!" "What?" I ask as I look around. I'm home now, in the down stairs room. I sit up and look over to see Storm sitting by the bed, waiting patiently. "How much trouble am I in?" "Well... not a lot. Miles will give you a hard time during training, but other then that you're fine. Wanna tell me about last night?" "Well..." I say as I look away from him. I don't really want to admit what happened... mainly because I don't want Storm to think less of me. "I don't really want to talk about it. "Spike, you know you can talk to me about anything. What happened?" He says as he gets up and takes a seat beside me. "OK, just... promise me you won't laugh." "I promise. Now what happened?" "Well, it started when I went to Rarity's..." I tell him everything. Blueblood, the funny feelings, helping Rarity, hearing Rainbow, Miles' room; everything. He just sits there listening, occasionally nodding along. When I finish I have to look away from the guilt in my stomach. I feel so bad about everything that happened, but I'm confused. Why did those things happen? "Spike, there's nothing to be ashamed of." Storm says. "But, this has never happened to me before, and I don't get it. Why did this happen? What's wrong with me?" I ask as I look back to him, trying to hold it together. "Spike, your mind is still young, but your body is older now. These things happen. You got aroused and had an erection. Those funny feelings were your hormones acting up." "But... what was I suppose to do? How do I get rid of... an erection?" I ask, blushing slightly. "*sigh* well, what you did was mostly correct. Its time we had the talk Spike." "The... talk?" "The sex talk." ".... do we have to?" He laughs a bit before getting up and walking around. I don't want to be here right now... "Spike, how do you think sex works?" He asks as he faces me. "Well... I don't know. I've never thought about it before." I admit, blushing even more. "That's OK, nopony ever told you. Not to mention Twilight shelters you so much." Storm says as he starts looking through books. "When a stallion and a mare get feelings for one another, they sometime express it through sex. Do you know the parts of a mare and a stallion?" "Kind of?" "The stallion has his balls and a penis. The balls make the sperm while the penis is used to get that sperm inside the mare. A mare has a vagina and breast. The breast are for producing milk while the vagina is for holding foals. There's a lot more to it then that, but I'm not going to go into detail about that. Twilight wants to do that." "Twilight... wants to... do I..." "Yes." "But... it's Twilight." "I know, and trust me; when she's done, there won't be a single thing you won't know about the reproductive organs." I take a few breaths as I try to mentally prepare myself for that talk... I really don't want to be here right now. "How do you make babies?" "Um..." "Though it is probably different for dragons, I'm going to tell you how ponies do it." "O-OK." "It starts with the two ponies becoming aroused. The stallion then puts his penis inside the mares vagina and starts to push it in and out, this stimulates it. Once it's stimulated enough, he reaches his orgasm. This makes him squirt out his sperm into the mare. The sperm then has to make it to the egg and fertilize it..." "Wait, ponies lay eggs?" "No. The egg is really really small and stays inside the mares vagina. Now, that's a very basic idea of what sex is. There is a lot more to it, both physically and emotionally. Do you have any questions you want to ask. I'll answer any and all of them the best I can." He says as he takes a seat beside me again. "Well... can I ask about your first time?" "Of course. What do you want to know about?" "Well... what was it like? What should I expect? Was it easy? How..." "OK OK, I get it. Everything. Alright, let me tell you from the beginning then. I was twelve, a junior in high school. I had known this mare, Star Blitz, and we went out for a couple of dates. One day, her parents go out of town for business, so we had the house to ourselves." He says as he starts to laugh. "Whats so funny?" "You'll find out in a sec. So at school she told me to come over, and I did. I was nervous, scared, twitchy. I had to walk because my wings were too stiff for flying. When I got there, we wasted no time. We were making out at the door for a good... ten minutes before we started working our way to her room. When we got there, well..." "Well?" "I mounted her. But, I did it too fast. When you have sex... it fells great. And, when you're new to it, it can be overwhelming." He says as he chuckles a bit more. "What happened?" "I came." He says as he looks up to me. "One stroke in and I came." I stare at him for a second before he nods. "Came is another way of saying orgasm. Came, spent, blow your wad, there are plenty of ways of saying it." "... so why is it bad that you... came, after one stroke?" "For a mare to cum it takes A LOT more then that. In general, they take longer to orgasm then males. It's just the way things are." "So... what happened next?" "Heh, well, it was obvious what happened. We kind of waited a bit until I finally pulled out... and I apologies. She said it was alright and that we could try again later, and we did. Twilight is the only other mare I've ever had that much sex with in a single evening." He says with a goofy smile. "That's kind of gross. Is there an easier way of getting mares to 'come'? "Yeah. Oral before sex. Oral sex is performing the act of sex, but with your mouth instead of using your penis. For guys, we find the mares clit and suck, nip, and lick it. The clit is like the secret button for pleasure in mares. It's extremely sensitive to touch and can give you an edge. There's also something called the G-spot. Its this rough spot in the vagina that's twice as sensitive as the clit. When a mare performs oral, they just suck and lick your penis, sometimes your testicles." "... why would you want that? Isn't normal sex enough?" "Its good to sometimes change things up. That..." he says as he looks to the door and leans over to me, "... and it good for having sex without having sex." "Huh?" "Where does sex lead?" "... babies." "Right, and if you don't want babies?" "Then you don't have sex." "Right. Oral is the loophole." I lean back as I think about what he said. "Now, don't go out and try to have sex right away. Give it a bit of time until you can control yourself." "How do I gain control... and control of what?" Storm looks to me and points down. "AGAIN!" "Are you really surprised?" "Well... how do I get rid of it?" I ask as I pull the blanket over myself. "Cold showers, masturbation, sex, anything to get your mind elsewhere. I'd suggest the first one though. You aren't ready for sex and masturbation is just a bad habit.... trust me. Whenever you're ready, come upstairs for breakfast. It's Twilight's turn." I wait for him to shut the door behind him before I run over to the shower and start running the cold water. After about ten minutes I cool down and walk out then start to dry myself off. This has to be the worst day ever... and it barely started. At least Storm is being cool about it... and fairly open. I didn't really expect all of my questions to be answered so easily. I always thought Storm was a little more... reserved then that. I toss the towel in the hamper and grab my scarf as I head to the kitchen. Maybe after some breakfast I can finally move on.... "Miles... hey..." I say as I enter the kitchen, finding Miles at the table. "First off, MASTER! You'll pay for that later. Secondly, lets get going." He says as he stands up. "Where are we going... Master?" I ask as I glance back to Storm and Twilight. "I've got errands to run, so I'm going to train you on the run. Lets get going now. I don't want to put off getting to Topaz anymore then I need to." He says as he heads to the door. "But... Twilight..." "It's alright Spike." Twilight interrupts. "We can talk later. Come here." She says as she gets up. I walk over to her and kneel down so she can hug me. "I know Miles is taking you for training. Pay attention, do your best, and try to have fun." "I will.... thanks Mom." I say, getting her to tighten her grip on me. I look up to see Storm walk over and hug me as well. "I know you'll do great son, make us proud." "I will Dad. I promise." "Spike! Lets get going!" Miles yells from the door way. I let go of them and walk after him. This was really sudden, but if my parents think I can do it, then it'll be easy. Author's Note Shout out to Cheesus for picking the color of Spikes scarf. Thanks for reading, and like always, Brony on!
Chapter 130 Early Distant WarningChapter 130 Early Distant Warning Perspective: Miles Spike and I reach the back of my home in total silence. I order him to start bringing down all of the weapons from my room to the back yard as I get my magic ready. Once he heads inside I get to work making a shop. I start by making a large, rectangle hole in the ground. I jump down into it and take a look around; larger. I push my arms out, making the walls go out even further until they're a good distance away. "Whoa... that's a big hole." Spike says from up top, carrying several swords. "Why do you have so many weapons?" "They were recovered when we took Moosden." I say as I move to the corner closes to him. "Bring them down here." I place my hands on the wall and start to create a weapons locker. Nothing special, just a gated area where I can store extra weapons. "Whoa, that was cool." Spike says as I finish up. "Bring all of the weapons down here and categorize them. If you need more room, let me know and I'll create more room..." "Am I going to learn how to do this? Master?" He quickly adds to the end. "Yes, but not today. Condensing materials is very difficult and takes a greater control of magic to perform. It will be one of the last things you'll learn. Now get moving, I don't want to spend too much time in here." I say as I start super condensing the walls and floor. After an hour of work I finally finish the walls, so I go and help Spike bring down the last of the weapons. Being around Twilight has really made him an organized person. Not only did he categorize them, but he sorted them by quality as well. I'd be happier with him if it weren't for his late night intrusion. Once we finish putting away the last of the weapons I lock up the locker and close up the top, ceiling us below. I make a small opening right above me and a Mico platform right in front of me. After I finish, I jump up through the opening, Spike following right after me. I make a small shed to cover the hole before heading for Topaz Falls. "Are you sure we should be walking through the Everfree like this? This place isn't safe." Spike says as he follows quickly behind me. "I'm the captain of the Spartan regiment and you're a two meter tall dragon that can use human magic. Is there anything that we should really worry about?" I ask as I look over to him. "Um... I don't think anything here knows what a Spartan is... or cares." "... OK, you got me there. But the fact of the matter is we are more then capable of dealing with anything in here. We have nothing to fear." "Heh, so I was right about the captain thing huh?" He says smugly as we continue through the forest. "Don't get cocky sploog machine." I say, getting a confused look from him. "Uh... what's sploog?" "... seriously?" "Is it... you know... cum?" I stop in my tracks and stare at him in disbelief. He seriously doesn't remember. "Do you know why Luna freaked out enough to throw me out a window?" I ask, getting him to shake his head in response. "She thought you were watching us and masturbating. I had to clean up your mess last night..." "WHAT!" He yells, making birds fly away from all around us. "Bu... bu... but I didn't! I swear! Holy..." "Spike! Calm down! Storm and Twilight talked to us afterwards, you're in the clear... for the most part." "What does that mean?" He asks nervously. "Well... even though we were told you didn't DO anything, something happened. Even though I'm fine with it, Luna's a little... pissed. I'd avoid her if I were you. At least for a week... or two." "*sigh*, why are mares so complicated." Spike says as he continues walking on. "Wanna talk about it?" I ask as I walk ahead of him to lead us in the right direction. "Well... before I went to your place, I went to Rarity's." "Oh sweet Barbra..." "Who?" BOOM We both look over to see a billow of dust rising in the distance. I motion for him to follow as I run over to investigate. "AH! By the fires of Karth! Again!" Yells a high pitched, raspy voice. Spike and I pause to look to one another before continuing on. We come to a small crater in the ground with some kind of wreckage in the center. Its made of brass and cloth and has steam shooting out of a broken pipe. It looks like some kind of flying machine, a bit clunky, but flyable. From the glass cockpit emerges a small green creature. It stands on two legs, has four arms that end with four fingers, large pointy ears, and is at most a meter tall. "What the fuck." I mutter as we stare at the creature before us. He looks back to us with yellow eyes as he rubs his large nose with his top arms and straightens out his ragged clothes with the others. "Well, well, well. And I thought I saw it all." He says as he approaches us, inspecting me closely. "What are you, tall one?" "My name is Miles Eremita, Captain of the Spartan regiment. Human. Who, and what, are you?" "Goblin. Fleck of Karth. And you, purple one?" He asks as he steps closer to Spike, looking him over a bit. "I'm Spike." He says as Fleck walks around him. "What happened?" I ask as I walk over to the wreckage and look it over. "DON'T TOUCH!" He yells before running over and slapping my hand away. "This is private property! Keep your grimy hands off!" "OK, OK, sheesh. Calm down." I say as I back away from him. Fleck starts rubbing the wreckage lovingly as he begins mumbling to himself, holding himself as close to the machine as possible. "Well, unless you need help, we'll get going then." "Yes, yes, leave." He snaps back. "Ok then, have fun in the Everfree." I say before motioning to Spike to leave. "What was that about?" I ask Spike when we get out of ear shot. "He's a goblin. They tend to be greedy with technology." Spike explains as the cave comes into view. "Do things like that always happen to you?" "Sadly, yes. Now lets hurry up and go somewhere that makes sense." I say as we enter the cave. "Ladies first." "Funny." Spike says as he takes the Mico platform. Once I appear beside him, I destroy the old Mico platform and create a new one, connecting it to the one in my shop. I take Spike over to the bulk head to Topaz Falls and register him as my apprentice, gaining entrance to the city. "Alright, we've got work to do." I say as I walk in, Spike following closely behind. "First things first, we need to find a bot to locate Easy. Once I deal with him, I need to find a bank. From there we head to the P.C.H. for training..." "May I have your autograph?" "Son of a bitch!" I yell as I jump to the side. "Why the fuck would you sneak up on me like that?!" "Apologies sir, it was not my intention to scare you." Easy says. "I wasn't scared." I say as I glance to Spike. "My sensors picked up a shot of adrenaline as well as your heart racing. Unless you wish to change the Core's definition of scared..." "Easy, how are things in Topaz?" I ask to change the subject. "All active bots are 100% operational and are currently working on repairing the city. Awaiting further directives." "Good, I need... forty bots to gather supplies and materials for a shop I'm creating. I need, lighting, power, any tools you can find, as well as a stock of gems. Gather those materials and bring them to this bulk head. Also, bring five charging stations for transport. A new territory has been added to Terradisia and needs protection." "Very good sir." "From now on I want you to follow me to assist me. Understand?" "Understood. Any other directives?" "No, just follow me." "May I have you autograph?" Easy asks Spike, getting a confused look from him. "Lets get going. We don't have all day you know." I say jokingly as I walk into the city. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Steelwing I wait patiently on the clouds above Flionence for the others to deal with the city guards. These green clouds need just a bit longer before we can start the down pour. "YOU'RE UNDER ARRESAAAHHH!" Yells as guards as he tries to charge me, only to get tackled by a pegasis. "Sir." I look back to see a massive black gem dragon land behind me. "It's time." "Good work Ruptor, lets make it rain then." I say as I pull out a whistle and blow it, getting every brother and sister to fly high into the air. Many city guards try to fly after them, but as they break through the clouds, they begin to drop from its acidic water burning their wings. When they fall through I slam down onto them, making it begin to pour onto the ground below. "I don't get it." Ruptor says as he walks around me. "Starving a single town? We could just go down there and kill them all, why drag it out?" "What makes you think we're only hitting this town?" I ask with a chuckle. "Every city in the Griffin Colonies will be hit with storms similar to these. Crops will not grow for decades..." "So they get hungry. Big deal. What if others come and fix it? Or give them aid? Then what?" "Then you remember that you are not here to think. Prepare the next batch. We need to cover the state of Birdtalia by the end of the day. Take your group and head east. I'll go west." "May the shadows lead you to darker days." He says before taking off in the air. I chuckle a bit as I look through a small hole in the clouds and see the wet ground below me. Hunger... easiest way to start war. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Unknown KER-FLASH Once I appear I quickly run to a nearby building and take cover. Luckily, I appeared in an alley in Ponyville, so I don't think anypony saw me. I flare my hands and cast an illusion spell, making myself invisible. "Did you hear something?" Somepony asks as they start walking into the alley. "I didn't hear anything." Responds somepony else. I walk right past the two unnoticed, even being able to take a newspaper from one of their saddle bags as I walk past them. "I could of sworn..." "Let go to Splits and get some ice cream!" She cheers as she runs off. As I walk through the streets of Ponyville, completely unnoticed, I take a look at the date on the paper. Wednesday, November 21st Shoot! I'm a day early. That's OK. I can just hide out for that long. I can get him when he's on his way back from the market. He shouldn't be hard to find. He is the only human here. This will also give me some time to set up my get away. Soon, my love. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Spike Thursday, November 22nd, 2:38 PM "PUSH IT!" "I'M TRYING!" "TRY HARDER!" "I CAN'T!" "THEN GIVE UP!" "NO!" FOOOSH I fall back as I shoot a column of fire from my hands. The past day has been nothing but the hardest work of my life. No food, little rest, and Miles constantly yelling at me to try harder. It takes so much for me to create even the smallest of plumes of fire, but he expects more. I look around the bright training room and sigh at the sight of all the courses I'm going to have to do. Some look like simple ramp ways or obstacle courses, but he already warned me that its going to be a lot harder then that. "Alright, take a five minute break, then we go back to your physical regiment." Miles says as he leans against a wall. I sprawl out on the floor and try to catch my breath. "When does this ever get easy?" I groan as I stretch my tense muscles. "Not for a very long time. Mind you, elemental magic is the simplest magic there is." He informs me, to which I groan some more. "If its so easy, then why do you use it all of the time?" I ask as I start to nod off. "Becuase it's cheap. I don't have the luxury of getting to use any magic I want and only have to worry about the bends. If I push myself too much, I die. You, on the other hand, can go as hard and as fast as you want. That's why I'm pushing you so hard. In a year you won't have me to push you, so I want you to get accustom to working hard." I sit up and cross my legs as I try to think of a way to ask something personal. "Master... are you scared?" "According to Mr. Eremita, he does not have fear." Easy says from the side, getting me to chuckle. "Shut up Easy." Miles says as he walks over and takes a seat beside me. "Yeah, I am." "But, you're a Spartan." "And?" "I don't know, I've seen the way you and Storm act. I just thought you guys didn't have fear." I say as I look to him. "There's a human saying I'm going to teach you that will explain it perfectly. I'm only human." "Huh?" "It means that I'm just a simple being. Natural things will happen to me. I'll make mistakes. I'll get sick. And, eventually, I'll die. Am I scared of dying? Of course I am. I'd be lying if I said other wise, and so would anyone else." "Then... how do you deal with it then? Knowing that it's coming and there's nothing you can do to stop it?" "How do you deal with it?" He asks as he looks to me. "I'm a dragon. I'll live for thousands of years..." "But in the end you will die. Age, disease, murder; there's no way of telling how or when you will go. How do you deal with it?" "I... I don't know. It's not so close to me yet. Or, at least it doesn't feel so close." I say as I think about it. "I guess... I just go day by day without thinking about it. I just... live." I say as I look back to him. "What else could be done? We all die eventually, the best we can do is live the best lives we can. I have a loving wife, some of the best friends ever, twice, what more could I ask for?" He says with a warm smile. I smile back to him as I stand up, still feeling slightly sore. "OK, then lets get back to work then." "Atta boy." Miles says as he stands up. "But, now that I think about it, lets move onto something a bit more... difficult. Gravity." "Gravity?" I ask as he stands before me, flaring his hands. "What is gravity?" Oh here we go again... "Uh..." "It's the force that attracts a body of lesser mass to a body of greater mass. In essence, it's why you don't fly off the planet and into space. Now come at me." "Really?" "No, I told you to do something with the intend of you not doing it." "Sorry Master..." "Come on already." With a sigh I begin to run at Miles. He just stands there as he charges a bright orb between his hands. When I get close enough to swipe at him he tosses the orb up into the air. "WHOA!" I yell as I suddenly lift off the ground and towards the bright orb. "What's going on!" I yell as I try to fly to the ground. I look back to Miles to see him wave his hand to the side... oh... CRASH "... ow." I mumble from the ground. As I start to get up, I feel myself starting to slip back. I look behind me to see a bright orb hovering in the air. "Nononono!" I yell as I fling back into the air. Just before I reach the orb, it disappears and I start to fall to the ground again. "Never let up!" Miles yells as he runs after me, throwing out several orbs along the way. I yell out as I tumble through the air, chasing disappearing orbs. "Make your enemies suffer as you out wit them!" CRASH I slowly slide to the ground from the wall. When I hit the ground I fall back and just lay there, nearly fading out. "Magic is a contest of wits, not muscle. Out maneuver your enemies, and you will be victorious." He says as he stands before me, shutting off his magic and crossing his arms. "Your shirt burned off." I say as I start to get back up. "Yeah, that took a bit to do. Now you try." THUD "Or not." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. "GRAVITY!" I yell as I bolt awake. I look around to find myself in the library's downstairs room, in what looks like a new bed. Purple sheets and pillows with green under sheets, I guess this is my bed now. I get up and... THUD ... fall flat on my face. With a groan I try to get up, but my arms feel like noodles right now. "Spike!" Twilight yells as she runs down to me and checks on me. "Are you OK honey? Try and take it easy. Miles says this is something called the bends." "Th-the bends? What does that mean?" I ask as I try to get back in bed, but need Twilights help to do so. "He told us that for the next day or so you'll basically be extremely tired and incapable of using magic. Something about your soul getting accustom to using this new energy. Can I get you something?" She asks as she tucks me in. "I'm fine Twilight.... *grumble*... hehe, well..." "I'll go get you something to eat, how do rubies sound?" She asks as she nuzzles me a bit. "Sounds good... Mom." I say with a smile. Every time I say that, I can feel this weird warmth build up in my chest, making me smile. I think Twilight is getting it as well, cause every time she smiles just as much. "I'll be right back." She says before walking up the stairs, passing Storm on the way. "So, I hear Miles kicked your flank son." He says as he walks up to me. "Fun, isn't it." I love my family. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles After I dropped Spike off and talked to Twilight and Storm, I decided to go buy some groceries. I go to the market and start by buying a bag, 100 credits. Fucking Pinkie Pie. I go to the next stall that has a banner of some light tan plant and a bottle. "Can I *hic* help you?" Asks a light purple earth pony mare. "You OK?" I ask as I look over the dark brown bottles on the table. "I'm finnnne *hic* fer realzies! I am Berry *hic* Punch.Wanna buy a drink?" She asks. I think she tried to wink, but ended up stumbling over herself, though she wasn't walking. "Uh... maybe. What are you selling?" "I've got this *hic* Equestrian ale.... this, uh... Pon-wise-er.... and uh... Dos Eques." She says as she shoves her face into each bottle to read them. Yeah... she's wasted, and it's not even seven yet. "What exactly are these?" I ask as I pick up a bottle and look it over. "What? You never hear of *hic* beer? I could... I could show you *hic* um... I need a drink." She says as she pulls out a bottle a takes a long drink. "Don't you think you should take it easy?" "I don't think you with that face you penis!" She yells as she points a hoof at me... well, beside me at least. "Alrighty then, you are drunk as balls. I'm just going to go now..." "Hey, hey hey heyheyheyhey, come here." She loudly whispers as she crawls halfway onto the table. I look around before kneeling down to hear what she has to say. "Take a six pack on the house...." "OK, thanks..." "And... uh..*hic* something sexy." She says with a wink. I just take a six pack and walk away, watching her fall back behind the counter. Buying the rest of my groceries went far more easily then with Berry Punch. I quickly learn from the others that she's the towns lovable drunk, literally. Well, at least the rest of the town is normal, except for charging me a shit ton for the simplest of things. I've been working them down a lot, but twenty credits for some noodles fucking sucks. Once I get the last of what I need I head down the street towards home. Along the way I find a donkey and a pony yelling at each other. Apparently they crashed their carts into each others and now block the road. Not wanting to hear this, I slip into an alley to cut around them. THUD Without warning I suddenly slam onto a wall as my wrists and ankles cling to the wall. I try to pull myself off, but find it impossible. "Don't struggle Miles, you can't get out." I look up and do a double take as I stare at the person before me. "Its.... its you." I say as the hooded woman from my memories approaches me. "Hello love." She says before kissing me. For a moment I'm too stunned to do anything. There's a fucking human... and she's kissing me! When my brain finally kicks in I hold my mouth shut and try to look away, only to have her move me back with a hand. "Sorry about that." She says as she finally stops kissing me. "Who are you?" I demand as I continue to try to get out. "You don't need to worry about that. I'm actually here to warn you about something that will happen later today. You..." "Wait! Are there more of you.... us? Where did you come from? What city is safe?" "OK, OK, calm down. I'll answer, but first you need to listen, OK?" She says, silencing me. "If you want to find the other humans, you need to follow the trail left for you. Find Outpost Zero, that's where you will find your answers. Now, for my original warning. You are going to be attacked today. Don't worry, you will be rescued...." "Like I need rescuing." "Yeah, like at Fort Misery?" She says as she crosses her arms. "Even worse, Shinning did it and will hold it against you." "What! If anything the city guards rescued me." Even though her face is covered, I can still see the smug smile on her face. "Whatever, what else is there." "Your rescuer is going to ask you something that you would normally say no to. You have to say yes. He is far more important then you think. He needs this." "Who is it and what are they going to ask?" "You'll find out later." She says as she looks down into her pocket. "Well, that's it then. I need to go home now, please. Listen to what I said." She says as she turns around and creates a Mico platform. "Wait!" I yell out, stopping her from taking the platform. "What's your name?" She turns around and walks towards me, only stopping when her chest is pressed against mine. She stares up to me for a bit until she starts to lower herself. "What are you doing..." I ask as she faces my groin. She starts to play with my belt a bit with a hand, making me sweat. "Don't worry." She says playfully as she finally gets it undone. "I am somepony very important to you, you just don't know it yet." With that she stands back up and pops the top off of one of the beers. She brings the bottle to her lips as she tilts it back, taking a long drink from it. I watch as the hood starts to fall back, revealing a pale white chin and soft pink lips. "Who are you?" I ask as she finishes. She doesn't respond. Instead she just goes to the platform and flashes away, taking another drink as she goes. ".... SON OF A BITCH!" I yell out. "Just how long did she fucking enchant me to be stuck here!? GRAH! Luna's going to kill me. But... what exactly is going to happen today that I will need saving from? A/N: Shout out to Attacking Dogs for picking the direction Miles put the gravity spell. Thanks for reading and like always, Brony on!
Chapter 131 AlmostChapter 131 Almost THUD With a long groan I get back to my feet. I've been stuck here for nearly TWO HOURS! I should consider myself lucky that no one came to steal my shit... or raped me.... or come by to see me with my pants down. I think I'd be more pissed off if I wasn't so concerned about what she told me. I need to be rescued. Does that bitch know who I am? I am a fucking Spartan! I do not need rescuing from anyone! Shinning and those guards were fucking lucky! I'll show her, I don't need to be fucking rescued! I grab my bag and rush through town. If I'm going to be attacked I need to grab my weapons. I make my way through the park and pick up the pace when my home comes into view. I don't know when this attack is going to happen, so I need to be... KILL HIM Ok... who? I stop and look around, not seeing anything that could possibly be a threat. GET READY OK. I set my bag down and flare my hands, looking for whatever may come. HE'S HERE HE'S HERE I leap forward as something tries to attack me from behind. What ever it is, it looks humanoid. Before anything could happen, I take the initiative by thrusting both of my hands forward, sending two massive columns of earth at the being. He dodges the attack by running at me with amazing speed, closing the distance between us quickly. I barely raise a shield up in time to block him from biting me. In the few moments I hold him there, I get a good look at the ugly fucker. He stands roughly at my height. Most of his body is muscular, with the exception of his massive stomach. He has these strange tentacle things covering his jaw line and mouth, reaching down to his chest. He has them wrapped around my shield and is trying to bite me with what looks like a beak His face is fairly simple, lacking a nose and having deep black eyes. His hair seems to be made of long black clumps of charred flesh. His skin is a grayish green and is covered in cuts and scars. I look down to see that his lower half seems to be a dark shadow; not having anything. "GIVE ME YOUR SOUL!" He yells as he begins to suck the energy from my shield, growing slightly. I drop the spell as I send a burst of energy down, sending him staggering back. I scream as I thrust both of my hands forward, sending a massive column of soul fire right into the chest of being, pushing him back. STOP STOP What?! You told me to kill him! I drop my arms and stare at the massive form laying on the ground before me. IT'S A SOUL EATER I watch in horror as the being begins to get back up... SOUL FIRE WAS A VERY BAD IDEA I take a few steps back as the two story tall being stands and chuckles. "Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me..." "I'LL DEVOUR YOU ALL!" He screams as he swipes at me, sending a slash of dark energy flying at me. I throw a hand up, making a column of earth pop up to block the energy. CRASH I fall back as debris peppers my body, leaving bruises all over. When I open my eyes I see the massive being falling right towards me. On instinct, I shoot up another beam of soul fire, only making it pause in the air before getting even larger. STOP FEEDING IT STOP FEEDING IT I DIDN'T MEAN TO! WHAT SHOULD... THUD I bounce into the air and cash down as the gigantic being lands completely around me. He lets out a loud scream as he raises his fists and brings them down. I push my magic up to my potestatum anuls as I shield against the attack. SHATTER "AHHHH!" I scream out as the lines push themselves up past my shoulders. That was a fucking hard hit. I need something... QUIT BEING AN IDIOT AND DESTROY HIM Right. I close my fists, creating the black orbs, and shoot a beam of Icy Void through the chest of being as he raises his fists again. The shot rings through the air as he falls back, giving me time to get up... THUD Or not. I try to get up again, but the numbness in my arms won't let me. I didn't even use that strong of a beam! Why am I... "How..." The creature mumbles as it begins to get back up. "You've got to be kidding me." I say as I try to get up, but still fall over myself. "How did you use that?" He asks as he stands up, standing a bit over a story tall. "Only a few demons can use that." "What the fuck is a demon?" I ask as I try to crawl back. He just laughs as he walks over to me and slams his face to the ground, grabbing me with his slimy face tentacle things. I try to fight my way out, but my arms won't let me. As I near the beak under all of the tentacles, I begin to try to use Icy Void with my legs, but can't bring it up. SHLINK I fall to the ground as a beam of white energy cuts off the tentacles, making the being scream in pain. I wrestle with the still moving appendages as I hear a beam of energy, something slam into the ground, something larger slam into the ground, and then something dissipate. The tentacles wrapped around me fade into some black energy, releasing me from their slimy grasp. "Hey Miles." I look over to see Damian, Hammer, Patches, and CC walking towards me as the being from before fades away. They all seem to be the same, with the exception of Damian having a scythe on his back. It's fairly simple, a black handle with a dark steel blade. But staring at it is giving me odd chills. "So, we need training." "W...what?" I ask as I sit up and look back to him, trying to piece everything together. "Did... did you guys..." "Yes." CC says as she takes a step forward. "We saved your life." "..." "Uh... your welcome..." "OH THAT'S A FUCKING LOAD OF CRAP!" I yell as I try to get up, but continue to fall over myself. "We can get another one over here if you like; we don't have to save you..." "I HAD EVERYTHING UNDER CONTROL!" I yell at Patches as I try to stand, barely making it to my feet. "Where the fuck is my bag?!" I yell as I look around for my bag. "Is this it?" Hammer asks as he lifts it up. I go to take it from him, but fall on my face in attempting to walk. "Do you need help?" "No." I say bitterly. As I face the ground I feel something grab my belt and drag me. I look back to see Damian dragging me... using his teeth. NOODLE-SLAP "DON'T PUT YOUR MOUTH THERE!" I yell... FWOOSH We all stop and look over to CC as she stands there, wings straight up. With an irritated sigh she reaches into her bag, pulls out a rolled up magazine, and flies off towards a distant cloud. "What the fuck was that?" I ask as Damian sighs deeply. "Don't worry about it...." "Is she..." "DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT!" "WHAT THE..." SMACK ................................................................................................................................................................................................. LICK LICK LICK I wake up to Lupus and Hati licking my face. I push them away as-HEY! I can use my arms! I look around the room to see everything seamlessly normal. Did... did I dream all of that? "Heya Miles!" Hammer says as he walks into the room. "Son of a bitch!" I yell as I stand up and walk away. "Wait, we need..." "BARK BARK BARK!" Lupus barks as he jumps Hammer, gnawing at his face. "GAH! THE FLUFF!" He yells as he wrestles with him on the ground, giggling like an idiot. I walk into the kitchen to find Damian sitting at the table with a little basket of strawberries in front of him. Of fucking course they're strawberries. I walk over and grab the basket before he could take any. "Hey! What the fuck?" He asks as I walk over to the trash bin and toss it in. I look down and notice a small note inside the basket, written in pony text. Fuck it. "My house, my rule. No strawberries." I say as I go back to the table and take a seat, looking through my bag of groceries. "So, what spell did Luna use last night?" Damian asks with a smug smile. "How the fuck do you know about that?" I ask as I stop looking through the bag and stare at him. "We know everything." He says as if hes said it a thousand times. "Does CC still think you are gay?" I ask as I pull out my beers. "*sigh* sadly, yes." He says as he lowers his head a bit. "Congratulations, you win a beer." I say as I put a bottle in front of him. "But I can't have this, it's illegal." He says as he pushes it away. "Why would it be illegal?" I ask as I push it back to him. "Because I'm only thirteen." He says as he pushes it away. "...no.... no. There is no fucking way you are thirteen." I say as I push the bottle back to him. "But..." "I WAS JUST NEARLY EATEN BY A FUCKING OVERWEIGHT FUCKING ASSHOLE AND NOW YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT I WAS RESCUED BY A FUCKING THIRTEEN YEAR OLD FUCKING KID! NO! YOU ARE GOING TO FUCKING DRINK THAT AND YOU'RE GOING TO FUCKING LIKE IT!" I yell as I pop the top off and shove it into his hooves. He hesitates for a second as he takes a sniff from the bottle, wincing a bit. "If it makes you feel better, CC is fifteen and we don't even know how old Patches is." He say before taking a drink. "Wow... that's disgusting." "Shut the fuck up." I mumble as I take a bottle and start take a drink. We sit there for awhile in silence, drinking quietly as I try to cope with what just happened. OK; I was nearly eaten, saved by a thirteen year old, and apparently he needs training. Why do things get so strange whenever he comes around? "You said something about needing training earlier..." "I need you to train us against Icy Void." He says as he sets the bottle down. "We need to be able to deal with it..." "It's a no." I say before finishing off my bottle. "But..." "I don't care that you... saved my life... that is a high level magic that, if I were going to train you in, you would need to be a Spartan..." "OK, train me to be a Spartan." He says, getting me to laugh. "Look kid, you've got some skills, I'll give you that. But there's more to this then just skill..." "From what we could look up it takes serious dedication." CC says as she walks in from the back door. "How do you know that?" I ask as I look back to her. "Don't worry, we don't know what exactly happens during the training. We respect traditions like that. But we know the out come. That's why I don't want to be a Spartan." "CC, we need training in Icy Void." Damian complains from behind. "Sorry, but I can't betray... us, like that. And I know Hammer can't either..." "Yup! Bonzu would kill me.... literally." Hammer says as he walks in, covered in scratches and bite marks. "Lupus is awesome." "OK, then it'll be me and..." "Dude, Patches can't even stand for five minutes without exploding. If anypony's going to become a Spartan, it's you." Hammer says in a more serious manner. "Where is Patches?" I ask as I look around. "I told him to wait out back so he wouldn't destroy anything in your home.." CC says, motioning outside. "Thank you... I think. Anyway, I need more... huh." I stop and think about what the woman from before told me. He's important for some reason. She told me to say yes to his request... "Whats up?" Damian asks as I stare him down. "To become a Spartan, it takes being a certain kind of character. You will become Terradisian before anything else. I don't care what work you have with... who ever you work with, if I say come here, you drop what you're doing and get your ass here. If you live through the training you will become one of the worlds greatest fighters. Holder of one of the greatest held secrets, and become a force for good. Can you handle the pressure of always being the hero? Can you sacrifice everything for the sake of those who may disagree with what you do. Could you hold absolutely no secrets from us? No matter what? Can you follow me as your leader, follow my orders and assist in the furtherance of Terradisia? Can you do these things and more?" "You realize that there are things out there, things that nearly ate you, that are my responsibility to kill. I already do all of that..." "No, no you don't." I say, getting a confused look from him. "You do those things in the shadows. Hiding from the public. Being a Spartan, the public will know your every move, your name, and your prowess. Can you move from the dark and into the light? Because only then will I agree to training you in Icy Void. So I'll ask you again: Can you do it?" "I... well..." He thinks about what I said deeply. He looks to all of his friends before looking back to me. "I don't know about the secret thing..." "Its a Spartan tradition. There are no secrets in Terradisa. If I ask you about anything, you will answer me, in full detail. Its part of being Spartan." "Could you make exceptions? There are things worse then what you fought..." "No. There is no grey area. It's either yes,or no. Choose." I say bluntly, getting a troubled look from him. "I have responsibilities that they need me to..." "Then it's a no." I say as I get up and begin to walk away. "Come on! I need to learn this shit to deal with some demons in Hell!" "DAMIAN!" CC yells as she sticks a hoof in his mouth. I chuckle a bit as I walk back and sit down. "OK, you've got my attention. What is hell? What is a demon?" "We can't say." CC says as she continues to hold Damian's mouth shut, though he doesn't seem to mind the contact. "CC, he's already seen a demon. He see's spirits. If it gets us the training, I think we can tell him a bit about Hell." Hammer says, getting an annoyed look from CC. I just sit back and wait for her to answer. "*sigh* fine. But keep this to yourself, OK! Nopony knows that there's a literal Hell." CC says as she pulls her hoof out of Damian's mouth. "Ew.." She says as she shakes the slobber off. "Sorry." Damian says with a blush. "So... Hell is the place where everypony goes when they die. It's filled with nothing but torment, misery, and suffering. It's eternal damnation." "Uhuh." I say as I nod a bit. "What you fought earlier today was a Soul Eater. It's a lesser demon that devours souls to increase it's power. Usually they are fairly easy to fight, but when you over power them like you did...." "How was I suppose to know?" "Right. Anyway, Icy Void is a demon power. A very HIGH level demon power. Like, only a hoof full of demons can use it. We don't know how you were able to achieve that power, but you did." "So there's another thing that you don't know." I say with a smug smile. "Look, this is serious!" Damian yells as he stands up. "We need to be able to stand against a power like that! Now are you going to help or not!?" "I am willing, you just need to become a Spartan. So what's it going to be?" I ask, getting a exasperated sigh from him. "... fine." "Louder. Mean what you say." I demand, getting an even look from him. "I'll do it. When can we get started?" He asks. I sit back and think about that. I need to leave tomorrow for Amethyst, so... "You know what, hang here for a sec. I need to go to my shop real quick." I say as I leave the room and head to the shed in the back. I find Patches eyeing the door a bit, reaching up to open it. "Hey!" I yell out, getting him to stop. "Stay out of my shed." "Uh..." "I'll fucking kill you if you go in there." I say as I open the door. "Your choice." I walk in and jump down into the now lit room. "May I have your autograph?" "Easy, how goes construction?" I ask as I walk over to the weapons locker, eying all of the working bots in the back. "We are currently at twelve percent. Estimated time to completion: Eight days, four hours, and thirty six minutes." Easy informs me as I grab two dull swords and head back to the entrance. "Good. Give me daily updates on the progress." "Very well sir." He says as I jump back up and out of the door. I shut and lock it before heading inside, throwing the swords on the table as I stand back and eye them. "What are you doing?" Hammer asks as he looks over the blades. "What are these for? Are they for training? Can I have one?" "He doesn't shut up, does he?" I ask as I magically take the metal and begin purifying it. "Eh, he grows on ya." Damian jokes. "I doubt that." I say as I continue to work. "Whoa, that's cool. Am I going to learn to do that?" Spike says as he walks into the room. "Who are these guys?" "Spike, say hello to Damian, CC, Patches, and Hammer. They are... well, I know them. And yes, you will learn this eventually. Now what are you doing here?" I ask as I finish purifying it and start forging. "Well... I'm not sure. Storm crashed into the door and told me to wait here. When I asked what was going on... he just told me to go. Did I do something wrong Miles?" I finish making the two small necklaces and toss one to Damian. "Training will come soon. I'll buzz you a day before. I have to go now..." "Yeah. What's this going to do?" Damian asks as he eyes the tiny Spartan logo. "You'll see. Spike, lets go." I say as I walk out out of the room. The entire trip to the Library I stayed silent. Not matter how much Spike begged me to answer him, I wouldn't. I've got a bad feeling about this. There's only one thing Storm would kick Spike out for, but it's so early... "Spike! I told you to wait at Miles's, not bring him!" Storm yells as he paces around the front door. "S-sorry..." "So I take it the baby isn't coming anymore." I say getting a bewilder look from Storm. Everything stays silent as we stare at each other. No one spoke. No one moved. The only movement was from the tears falling from Storm's eyes.
Chapter 132 Lost AnswerChapter 132 Lost Answer Friday, November 23rd 11:35 AM Once I finish making the last necklace for all of the Spartans, as well as a few extra, I leave my shop to meet everyone. Yesterday was too much. I tried to convince Storm to let me talk to Twilight, but she didn't want to see anyone. Miscarriage, this early, it doesn't make sense. I wish I had Eximius here. He would know what to do about this. He could fix almost anything. I make my way inside where I see a group of random people walking towards my home, being lead by True Will. This should be interesting. "Long time no see." I say as I step outside to greet them. "What brings you here?" "We received a notice from Luna that you were going to the next city. Here we are." True Will says as the rest of them line up in front of my porch. "Let me introduce you to our group..." "There's no need for that..." "You remember our recon expert, Dust Devil." "Hey Miles!" She says as she waves to me. "Hey. True Will..." "Then there's our explosives expert, Aere." He says as a light red earth stallion steps forward. He has a brass gear for a mark and seems to be covered in soot. His left foreleg has been replaced with what looks like a steam powered prosthetic; wonder how that happened. He has a saddle filled to the brim with who knows what on his back. "Hello, look. You guys aren't..." "Next is Theirmara, our two handed expert. And I know you don't know what anything is, so I'll just tell you. She's an earth elemental in bear form." He says as the massive stone skeleton steps forward. There isn't much to her. Just a skeletal form of... whatever a bear is. She stands well over me and even though she lacks a face, I can feel her eyes judging me. "Greetings." She says in a voice that sounds like its being forced through sand paper. "I'm Hamm Strung, the ranged expert and company blacksmith." A Minotaur says as he steps forward and violently shakes my hand. He stands about as tall as Theirmara, going a bit over due to the massive horns on his head. He has furry brown legs with his body being covered in low white fur. He carries several throwing axes on his back as well around his waist. "Ow... OK, this has..." "And finally there's Matrix, our one hoofed expert." "Hi there!" He says joyfully as he steps forward. He's a pegasus stallion with a body that's black with a few yellow strips and hair that's yellow with some red stripes. He carries a simple sword on his waist as well as what look like small metal bowls... da fuck... "When do we move out?" True will asks as they all stand there, waiting for me to answer. "You don't. I never agreed to you all coming along." I say, getting looks from all of them. "Well no duh you didn't agree to this." Dust Devil says with a chuckle. "Your wife did." "My wife did..." "Yeah, she hired us to assist you and help keep the bearers safe. She even payed in advance." Matrix says, getting smug looks from all of them. "Wait here real quick, I need to make a phone call." I say as I step back inside and pull out my phone. Thirty Minutes Later "So... welcome aboard then." I say bitterly as I step back outside. After talking with Luna for awhile I finally decided to allow them to come along. Why do I call Luna every night... "So, where's the rest of your group?" Hamm Strung asks as he continues to sharpen his axes. I ignore him and continue to walk out until I'm underneath Rainbows house. "RAINBOW! WAKE UP!" I yell, getting confused looks from most of the others. "Whoa, whoa whoa. Did you say Rainbow... as in Rainbow Dash?" Matrix asks as he walks up beside me and looks up. "Yeah, know her?" "Uh... I'll be right back." He says as he runs out of sight behind my house. "What was that about?" Rainbow asks as she lands in front of me. "Who are all of these ponies?" "I don't know. Luna hired a mercenary group to assist us when we go to each city. Want to meet them?" "Naw. I need to get Scootaloo over to Twilight's real quick. See ya..." "Hold on!" I yell, stopping her from flying off. "Did you know... about Twilight?" "About her being pregnant? Yeah, it should be the end of her first month now. Why?" She asks as she raises an eyebrow to me. "Month? How do you know that?" "Well... a nurse at the hospital happens to be a friend of mine and told me about when she went for her first check up. It was right after their honeymoon, so it makes sense. I'll be back asap." She says before she jumps into the air back to her house. I was about to walk off when I stopped and looked down the path. Standing in the middle was Twilight, staring wide eyed at me. "Twilight..." "I don't want to talk about it." She says as she walks past me. "Twilight wait!" I yell, getting her to stop and look back to me with an irritated look. "I just want to make sure that you're OK..." "I'm fine. I'm just not meant to be a mother." She says spitefully before continuing on. I just stand there and shake my head. Twilight, what am I going to do... After about an hour, everyone finally makes it here, and we go through the same routine. They see the mercs out front and question there being there. Then they see Twilight inside and really question her being here. She tells them all the same thing: Not to worry because there isn't going to be a baby. After that, there are lots of hugs and reassuring words. She just sits there and nods along, putting up a strong face to hide the hurt. I don't know what to do. I don't want her to come, but I know there's no way I could convince her to stay behind. That and she needs to be around people that care about her, even if they are going somewhere potentially dangerous. "Hey, come inside for debriefing." I tell the mercs as I stick my head out of the door. I step inside and wait for everyone to get situated before I point to the map behind me. "The next city is Amethyst, and I calculate it's location to be underneath Detrot on the southern section. We can expect to see: Bots, possibly more spore creatures, and maybe people. That all depends on how they fared against the Unfamiliar. Since we have to have the mercs with us, I want everyone to pair up..." "I CALL RAINBOW!" Matrix yells, immediately blushing from his sudden outburst. "Right... anyway, Theirmara, I want you with Big Mac and Pinkie. Fluttershy and Rainbow, you're with Dust Devil and Matrix. Work that out however you want. Twilight, I want you with True Will. Hamm Strung and I will be together along with Easy. Aere, you will be with Rarity and Applejack. Try to stay together, at least in your groups, and work together..." "Whose Easy?" Hamm Strung asks. "May I have your autograph?" Easy, as if on queue, asks him. They all jump a bit from his sudden appearance and gawk. "Miles, I brought all of the weapon you requested, further details?" He asks as he walks over to me, having six rifles slung to his back. "Are they operable?" I ask as I take one and look it over. "Yes, all weapons in your locker are now one hundred percent operable." "Good. Let's take a quick lunch while I get these ready before we head out. Big Mac, I need you to go get a cart and bring it to my backyard." "Eeyup." He replies as he walks out. I take all of the rifles to the table and get to work. I start by removing the finger guards and extending the triggers. Next I rework the grips to be larger and more accommodating for ponies. I takes awhile; having to work the super condensed metal and all, but once I finish the last rifle up I call Big Mac over to try it out. "How does it feel?" I ask as he stands there and fiddles around with it. "A little clunky, but good." He says as he aims out the window. "Is there a way to make it shorter?" "Not really. This is how it's going to have to be." I say as I take the remaining rifles and head over to the living room. "Alright. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, Pinkie and Fluttershy, come take one." "Wh-what? Do I have to take a weapon?" Fluttershy asks as she steps away. "Don't worry. I don't expect you to use it often. But I would feel better if you had one. Just a... last second protection thing." I reassure her. I still get uneasy looks from her as she takes one. "Why doesn't Rarity get one?" Rainbow Dash asks as she takes one. "Because dear, I already have one." Rarity says as she pulls it.... what the fuck. "Isn't it fabulous!?" She asks as she levitates it out. She coated it with a pink and purple camouflage and studded her mark into the stock, using the gem that was there already for the center gem. "Rarity... what the fuck?" I ask as I look it over. "Camo is suppose to hide you, not make you more obvious." "Now how would making my weapon dark and grimy help in any way?" She asks as she put the gun back into her saddle. "Your weapon?" "Why of course darling. It almost seems destined for me to have this gun. Nopony else can use it the way I do. It only seems fitting that I carry it." She says as she walks off, strutting a bit as she does. "Right... anyway, everyone with a gun step outside for a quick shooting lesson. After that, we'll get going." I say as I start leading them out back. "Alright. Just line up here and we'll get started." "Is this like some Spartan training?" Rainbow Dash asks as she rears up with the rifle in her hooves. "No. Spartan training would be too intense for some of you. This is Terradisia basic training. It will cover proper use, fire control, and commands. Any questions before we start?" I ask, getting Fluttershy to raise a hoof. "Do I have to. I'd prefer not to harm anypony..." "I would still like you to. I don't expect you to fight unless our lives are in danger. If something were to happen and we got separated, I wouldn't want to see you get hurt. If you really don't feel you can handle this, then say so right now. But just know that I believe that you can." "Well..." She mutters as she thinks about it. "I... OK. I will try." "Thank you. Now, these are not toys." I say as I walk in front of them, holding my rifle in front of me. "These are tools of destruction. When you pull the trigger, there is no going back. There is no do over. If you are walking around, not in immediate danger, keep off the trigger and point down." They all look to their guns and do so, trying to mimic the way I hold my rifle. "Next is knowing your weapon. I don't expect you to know how to strip your weapon, though Big Mac will, but I do want you to know the features. On the left side, above the trigger, you'll see two switches. One goes up and down, the other goes in a circle. The first one is your safety. Push it down and you'll see a red dot. That means the weapon is ready to fire. Turn your safeties off." They all look to the side and turn the safeties off. "OK, the next switch is your firing mode. You have three options. Single, triple burst, and constant. In single fire mode, you fire a single round for every pull of the trigger. In triple burst, you will fire three rounds for every pull of the trigger. And in constant, if you pull the trigger it will constantly fire, keeping at it's highest rate of fire. Lets go through the firing modes, raise your weapons." We start out with the single fire mode. It seemed easy enough for them. After a couple of practice shots I started giving them targets. They all did fairly well, except for Fluttershy. Why the fuck did she not want to do this? She has an amazing shot. I gave her some targets a kilometer out and she was hitting them with total ease. Next we move onto triple burst. Everyone here begins to have trouble keeping their guns on target. Applejack, Big Mac, and Rainbow Dash. They started off weak, but were able to hold it on target after some practice. Fluttershy completely fell apart from this area. She seems to only be able to keep on target in single fire mode, so I tell her to stay there. Next we move onto constant. No one does well here. Big Mac does decent, but he still has some drag going on. Rarity does a bit decent as well, but using magic on a smaller weapon is a bit of cheating. Though, she does have to deal with a larger caliber shot as well.... "Miles!" True Will calls from behind. "Are we going to e leaving today or not? We still need to meet up with Camo Flash..." "Keep your panties on, we're all done here." I say as I walk over to him. "Where's Camo Flash?" "Don't worry about it. He knows where we'll be. Lets just get going." He says as he walks back inside. "What was that about?" Pinkie asks. "I don't know..." "Cause he was frowning, and I don't like ponies that frown." "I know Pinkie..." "You know what will fix this!" "What?" I ask as I look down to her. "A.... a... um..." "Just say it." "A PARTY!" She yells as confetti pops out from behind. I jump back start to look around frantically. "Where the fuck did the confetti come from?!" I ask in a panic. "Duh, my party poppers." She says simply as she hops back inside. "Come on Pinkie..." I say as I try to calm my nerves... ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Camo Flash I come to a stop in front of one of the shops in Detrot. Daisy's Daisies. This is the place. I step inside and take a look around. Just your average flower shop, nothing out of the ordinary... "Hello there." Greets the mare at the counter. "Can I help you find something?" "I'm looking for a black orchid." I say as I walk up to her. She looks around the store before leaning forward. "There's only one place to get something like that...." "In the Ursa's cave." I say, getting a nod from her as she pulls a lever. The wall behind her slides to the side, revealing a dark passageway. "Welcome home brother." She says as I walk past her. I take the tunnel all the way down until I find the large double doors. I take a deep breath before walking up and knocking. "Come in." Says a deep voice from behind. I push the door open and step in. The room is completely dark, with six beams of light coming down from the ceiling. Five of them are going around the room while the last one is in the center. I walk to the middle of the room and wait. "Lieutenant." Says a feminine voice. "Lets begin. Do you know why we brought you here?" "Is it about True Will?" I ask. "Partially." Says another male voice. "It's also about the Human." "Miles? What about him? We've already told you everything about him..." "Yes, but there is one thing that intrigues us. We need you to prove yourself to gain Spartan training. We've read the reports on how his troops performed, and we need skills like that. Prove yourself and gain his training to train us..." "Why not True Will? He's the captain for a reason. His skills are far superior then mine, he would be a much better candidate." "True Will has... been proven to be problematic. The details of his joining the Ursa's mercenaries company are still under wraps. Can we count on you staying loyal?" Says a different feminine voice. "You can count on me." I say as a smile starts to grow on my face. "Excellent. When you leave we will bestow a gift upon you. Take it, and with it, you will be the greatest fighter possible. Joining will be no problem. Now go." The five other lights fade out, telling me it's time to leave. As I walk out, I can't help but smile. "Your flowers sir." The mare out front says as she gives me a box of 'roses'. "Take care." She says with a smile. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles Applecore City, 3:58 PM I hit the brakes and come to a stop just outside the small city. "Easy?" I call back to the cart attached to my jeep. "Applecore City. Ten kilometers outside of Detrot and twenty three from our objective." He replies. I nod and start to drive around the town. I feel bad for everyone in the cart, but they'll just have to deal with it for now. We're too close to stop for every worried towns person freaking out about us driving through. "What part of Detrot do we have to go to?" I ask Twilight as she looks over a map. "If your math is right, the southern part. Just wrap around Applecore and go straight towards Detrot." She says simply. "Twilight..." "We should get there soon. You ready for this?" She asks to change the subject. "I could ask you the same thing." "I'm. Fine." She growls as she looks away from me. I just shake my head as I continue on our way. Once we're close enough to walk I stop and let everyone out, much to the delight of those in the cart. Once we have our gear I hide the jeep and we walk the rest of the way. Once we get to the edge of Detrot, we send a few in to buy some supplies. Once they go in I call Twilight aside to talk to her. "Twilight..." "Miles, just... don't. OK. I've already heard it from everypony else, I don't want to hear it from you." "I know you don't. So I won't. But, if you ever want to talk about it. I'm here. You don't have to come you know..." "I can still do this, I want to go..." "Why?" I ask, getting a bewildered look from her. "What do you mean why?! I..." "Twilight, I know what you're doing. And I won't let you do it. You want to come because you want something to take your anger out on..." "Maybe because I need something to vent on! What right do you have to say whether or not I can..." "Because I'm you friend." I say, getting her to stop and stare at me. "I'm you're friend Twilight. And I won't let you walk this path. It only leads to destruction and anguish. Trust me. I know." "How could you possibly know my pain?" Twilight asks as she starts to sob. "I was going to be a mother, and my magic destroyed that." "Wait, what?" She wipes her eyes a couple of times before continuing. "My magic saw the embryo and attacked it. As if it was a virus. It's why unicorns don't get as sick as easily as other ponies..." "Twilight..." "How could you possibly understand my pain." She says before walking off. I don't try to stop her. I have nothing to say to that. "Hey, they're back!" Pinkie cheers. I walk back over to the group and watch as the others approach us, carrying bags of food. Camo Flash is with them as well, looking confident with a large sword strapped to his back. Once we're all back together I flare my hands and start sending us below. I glance over to Twilight as we go for a moment before looking away. I don't know what to tell her. I'm sure she's heard it all. Trying again. These things happen. But... how do you tell them that their magic destroying their future child is alright?
Chapter 133 AmethystChapter 133 Amethyst THUD We had been traveling through the ground for nearly half an hour before we finally hit solid metal. Though... this isn't right. If this were the dome, it would be curved. This is flat. "Great, we found it. Now what?" Hamm Strung says as everyone looks over the metal surface. "This isn't right." I say as I wipe some of the dirt off and look it over. "This is an Aquila port." I say as I tap it a few times. "A what?" Dust Devil asks as everyone looks down to the metal floor. "Aquila. A Terradisian war machine. The one Miles is referring to is the manned variant, though I fear he is mistaken. This is a port for a AA-20 Stella Predator." Easy states. "An AA-20? Ah man, if it's still there we are taking it home." I say as I start to clear the way towards the dome. "Why is that?" Big Mac asks. "Ah thought our objective was ta find the messages yer friends left." "It is. But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't recover what ever tech we run into. It may com in handy one day." I say as we reach the wall. "Now, what do you think the chances are that we can force our way?" I ask as I look over the joints. "Forty eight trillion, six hundred fifty seven, two thousand and six to one." Easy says, getting odd looks from everyone. "Never tell me the odds." I say as I flare my hands and close my fists, creating the black orbs. I punch towards the metal wall, sending a black beam straight through. I drop the spell and take a knee as I begin to pant. I need to get better at this... "What was that?" Theimara asks as I push myself back up. I look up to see a small hole in the wall. Not enough for us to get through, but it'll do. "Twilight, can you teleport us inside?" I ask. She walks over and peers inside before charging her horn. FLASH SMACK THUD I wake up in a daze with a slight headache. I look around to see everyone standing around me. "We really need to get you a helmet." Rarity says as everyone backs off. "What happened?" I ask as I sit up and rub my head. "When you teleported in you smacked your head against that thing.... sorry." Twilight says as I get up and look over what... I... "Oh sweet Barbra..." I mutter as I look over the massive vehicle hidden by a large grey tarp. "Who?" "Is that what I think it is?" I ask as I start to pull the tarp off. "Possibly. It is an..." "FUCK YEAH!" I yell as I finally remove the tarp to reveal an AA-20. It's a beauty of a wreckage. I walk around to find the right wing laying on the ground. The cock pit has been gutted as well, most of it laying on the ground behind me. Other then that it seems to be one piece. "What is it?" Matrix asks as he flies above it to take a look. "This, is a jet fighter." I say as I climb on an look it over. The thick straight wings are in good repair... except for one being off. The massive transitum gun looks good, probably needs an overhaul though. The twin FT-43 turbos look like they've seen better days, but completely fixable. The tail section seems untouched. Both of the vertical tail wings are holding fine, no matter how much I jump on the jet. "OK, I'm lost. What exactly is a jet fighter?" Dust Devil asks as she joins Matrix in the air. "This is Terridisian badassery in its prime. When fully operational, this can go mach four while still performing at full maneuverability, carry any and all armament the Terradisian Air and Space force carries, and still take a fucking hit like a champ." I say as I look into the cock pit. "Wait, this thing can fly!?" Rainbow Dash asks in astonishment. "This hunk of junk!" "Oh hohoho, once I get this thing operational, I'm going to make you eat those words. Easy, how long would it take to get this operational?" I ask as I jump down and step back to look over the vehicle. "My estimate.... four weeks, five days, eight hours and twelve minutes." "Awesome. We'll have to get started soon then. Alright, I've had my fill. Let's head into the city and see whats here." I say as I lead everyone out of the hanger bay into... "Oh that's just fucking awesome." I say as I walk into the flight simulator room. "Are those giant eggs?" True Will asks as I walk up to one of the simulation pods. They're about two meters tall and long. On the outside they're smooth and white, forming an oval shape. "What's an egg? Easy, is this operational?" I ask as I run a hand along the outside. "Yes. But the power must be turned on first..." "Then let's get the power on..." "The lever to your right should suffice." Easy says as he walks past me and pulls a red lever. The sound of old generators fills the room as lights begin to turn on. The rest of the room comes to life, revealing an empty room, abandoned long ago. Many of the tools still sit on the tables and shelves, as well as the floor. There are bullet holes speckled throughout the room, but the fight wasn't that intense here. "Looks like this place was hit as well." Camo says as everyone starts to explore the room. "Sorry." "It's alright. Lets just find a computer." "A what?" "Just look for a..." "Over here!" Applejack yells from what looks like a small office. I run over to the glassed off room and find her sitting in front of a small computer. "Will these do?" "Perfect, scoot over." I say as I kneel down and go to my email. Sure enough, two unread emails. Both of which from Eximius. I take a deep breath as I look back to everyone. "Here goes nothing." I say before I click the first one. The screen shows Eximius facing the screen, head held low as his long black hair covers his face. June 20th, 1133 "Miles..." He starts but stops immediately. He looks back into whatever room he's in before looking back to the screen, that's when I feel my heart drop. "So, I figure the whole eye thing is... a lot to take in." He says as he rubs the scarred socket. "Don't worry though. Even if you were here, this would have happened. During the evac of Quartz Crest I took a pretty bad hit. It's not all bad though, I get a cool eye patch now." He says as he forces a laugh and puts on the black eye patch. "*sigh* yeah... I guess this means my fighting days are over as well. They won't let a guy with only one eye in the shit. Once we made it here, I was honorably discharged. Fucking assholes. I've been a Spartan my entire life and now... now... now what am I? I can't go to the medical field here, I tried. 'A surgeon with one eye is like a marathoner with one leg.' I don't know what to do man. Sine says I should consider myself lucky to be alive but... what is there for me? I can't help the army, I can't pursue my dream of being a medical professional, and I can't... well... the best I could do now is... I don't know." He says as he buries his face in his hands. "Miles... where are you? We need you man," he says as he looks back up to the screen. "The last attack... there was.. I don't know. It was... destructive. I don't know if it's their leader or just some monster they've created, but it decimated our forces. What took a month for Topaz Falls took a week for Quartz Crest. I tried to stop it when we were retreating but... well, you can see what happened. I don't know if you could have stopped it; the Captain couldn't even kill it, but... I don't know... you've never failed us before..." "*sigh* but enough of that. What's done is done. I can't just sit here and cry about my missing eye. I need to be here for everyone else. We may be hurt, but we're not dead. We'll get stronger. We'll find a way to win the day. Diamond Halls was able to do it before, why can't we? They'll come back, and we'll just have to beat them back time and time again. We can do that... right?" "Well, in case you don't get this till later, everyone is doing good... well, kind of. Tenera is still... mad. Fidus is getting huge, only a few more months until she pops now. Inficiunt is still using. They let a coke head fight, but the medical professional can't at least treat wounds. Fucking assholes. Dare is trying to take my place as medic. He's doing alright, but there's still a lot to make up for. Apricis was able to get the Captain to lay off the bottle, but I know he isn't sleeping. I worry about his judgement from time to time, but it's not like I have to anymore..." "OH! You wouldn't fucking believe this though! Remember when Amethyst sent that request for assistance on that time and power problem? Well ends up that they were trying to figure out how to make stasis pods. And they did it! They were able to make ten thousand by the time we got here! We're pooling together to get Auxy and her boy in. The little guy is quit the handful, but we're all more then willing to help out. Especially Fidus. It's like training for her. Hopefully we can get them in, I don't like seeing the fear in her eyes all of the time. Well, that's it, I guess. Get to the P.C.H. and find us, I'm in room 5089. Please, come find us, we need you." Everything stays quite as the home screen comes back up. I can't believe he lost an eye. Eximius is one of the best archaic fighters I know, what could of done that to him? But more importantly, stasis pods. They tried to get Auxy and her boy in one. If the city was abandoned, they could still be there. They could still be alive... "Miles." Twilight says as she nudges me. "You should play the next one." "Yeah... right." I say as I mentally prepare myself for the next one. "We can step outside iffin ya like." Applejack reassures me. "It's alright. I'm in a glass room, not like I can hide anything anyway." I say as I click the next message. July 14th, 1132 This time the video seems to be from his phone as he runs through some hallway. "It's happening again. They found us." He pants as he takes a corner and continues to run. "To make things worse, I saw that strange leader of theirs. He's leading the assault and... Miles, he's too powerful. He's destroying everything in his wake. I saw him decimate squad after squad like it were... the evacuation has been called." He comes to a stop and fumbles with his phone as he unlocks the door. After he finally gets the door open he walks straight for the computer and connects his phone to it. "Miles, I'm leaving you my Medi-gun. Its for Susurrans little trail thing. I'm also leaving you the coordinates for the next city. I don't know why we're going to Jasper next, but I'll follow the Captain. He's never lead us astray before. Miles, please find us. Get here already. We need you more then ever before. I don't think the group can go on for much longer without you. The password for my locker is Solus Simul. Please hurry." The screen goes blank again. I just sit there, a little stunned by all that's happened. Did Auxy and her boy get into the stasis pods? What did their leader look like? Well... that last one is just my curiosity, but still. "Miles..." "Lets get going." I say as I stand up. "If there are any survivors left, they'll be at the P.C.H.... where's Twilight?" I ask as I look around the room. "She stepped outside a few minutes ago." True Will says from the doorway. I walk past him too see Twilight sitting alone at a desk, looking out at the city. I motion to everyone to wait there as I walk over to her. "Everything alright?" I ask her from behind. She glances to me for a second before looking back out the window. "Yes. Everything is fine." She states. "Ah know yer lying." Applejack says as she walks up beside me, soon followed by all of the other girls. "What's the matter sugar?" Twilight lets out a long sigh before turning to us. She takes a long look at each of us before looking down in shame. "I'm the Element of Magic." She says weakly. "Well, yeah. But..." "And my magic is the reason I don't have a foal." She continues. The room falls silent as we all look to each other. I nod a couple of times before I kneel before her and show her the Elements on my arm. "What do you see here?" I ask as I hold my arms there. "Miles..." "Come on, what do you see?" "The Elements of Harmony..." "Right. Now what makes them as powerful as they are?" "Miles, I don't see how this is going..." "Just humor me." "*sigh* I don't know... the way they work together..." "Nope." "Because you made them." "Nope." "Miles..." "OK, I'll show you." I say as I reach out and poke her chest. "Heart." She gives me a confused look, so I continue. "It's not that you are magic. It's that you're magic at heart. The Elements aren't suppose to work separated, but you six found a way. What did that was your hearts..." "What does this have to do with..." "I'm getting there. You say because you are magic, you can't have a child. But I don't believe that. What happened was... what happens. If it worked every time, then it wouldn't be special..." "But no one in my family has ever had this happen to them before!" She yells as she stands up. "My mother, her mother, even Cadence gets to avoid..." She suddenly stops and covers her mouth, glancing between each of us. "Cadence is pregnant?" I ask as I sit back a bit. "No." Twilight says as she shakes her head. "Oh my god she is." Applejack says, getting even more worried looks from Twilight. "Please don't tell anypony, they didn't get permission for this yet." Twilight begs. "Is that why you're so angry? Are you jealous of what Cadence has?" I ask as I stand. "No! I'm... I just...." "Twilight." I say, getting a long sigh from her as she hangs her head. "I know that this happens sometimes. I looked up the statistics, seventy percent of pregnancies end in miscarriages. But, when I found out for the first time, I was with Cadence. We both found out together. When I... when it happened, I started getting angry at Cadence, even blaming her. The reason I've been so distant the past few days is because I'm a horrible pony. I thought those thoughts. I should be happy for her, and I wished horrible things on her...." "Twilight." Fluttershy says as she walks over to her and hugs her. "It's ok..." "How could that be OK!?" Twilight asks as she breaks her hug. "I'm a terrible..." "You were depressed. I know the feeling..." "How could you possibly..." "Because we've tried before to." Big Mac says as he walks over and takes a seat beside Fluttershy. "Ah'm actually surprised none of y'all noticed that we didn't have any foals yet." "Well... ah always thought you two were just waiting." Applejack says as she removes her hat. "I was three and a half months in when I lost mine." Fluttershy says as she leans against Big Mac. "It was the worst thing that ever happened to me, but we moved on." "...how?" Twilight asks as she wipes her eyes. "Like Miles said: Heart." Big Mac says with a smile. "One day, he pulled me aside, held me for an hour before saying that he loved me. That's all I needed to know that everything was going to be OK." Fluttershy says as she nuzzles the bottom of his jaw. "Has Storm tried ta..." "He tried." Twilight says as she looks away. "But I... I..." "Don't worry." I say as I look over to see Dust Devil flying out of a doorway. "Storm loves you; always will. When we get back, go to him. He'll prove it." I say as I step away and approach True Will. "Sorry, I don't do mushy stuff like that." He says as I stand beside him and watch her fly around. "No gun fire, that's a good sign. Thanks for giving us that moment." I say as look back to the group hug. "It's alright. Believe it or not, this isn't the first time that's happened to me." He says with almost a chuckle. I was about to question him about it when Dust Devil landed before us. "Whats the status of the city?" "Well, I spotted a few metal guys like Easy, but other then that, it's abandoned." She says as she looks over to the group hug. "Did I miss something?" "Kind of. How was the destruction?" I ask as I look out at Amethyst. "What destruction?" She asks as she looks between the two of us. "What? What did I miss?" Was it something I said?" A/N: Shout out to Sturrn for picking the broken part of the AA-20. Thanks for reading, HI ONDERMAN, And like always; Brony on!
Chapter 134 Red Light Chapter 134 Red Light Chapter 134 Red Light I jump to the top of the hanger bay and take a look out at the city, and sure enough, everything looks fine. No destroyed buildings, no masses of bones, nothing. Just an empty city. How could Eximius say everything was destroyed, while everything is fine? "So... I take it this isn't normal." Matrix says as he and Dust Devil land beside me. "No, this isn't. My friend told me that everything was being destroyed. But everything looks fine..." "Well, maybe..." Dust Devil starts but stops as she looks out to at the buildings. "Gather everyone. We need to get moving." I say before stepping off the edge. I walk back inside to find the group hug from earlier breaking apart. Twilight seems... better. Not there yet, but I'll take it. "Alright, we need to get moving. Remember your groups..." "What about Camo?" Twilight asks. "He wasn't part of the original plan. Where does he go?" I look over to Camo and think about it for a second. "Camo, stick with Rarity and Applejack." "Will do..." "Aw." Aere complains. "What? I don't get to hang out with you?" Camo asks. "I'm almost offended." "Dude..." He starts but moves closer to him to whisper whatever he was going to say. "I highly doubt that was going to happen." Camo says as he walks away from him. "You never know!" Aere retorts as he walks after him. "What was that about?" Applejack asks. "I don't know. Lets forget about it for now and get going. "Well, alright." We finally get moving. We enter what looks like a shopping distract, but it's hard to tell. Most of what ever was here is now gone, thought there are a few shops that look like they might have a few things left. We poked our heads into the first few and, there wasn't really anything worth taking. "So Miles, there's something I wanted to ask." Matrix asks as he walks up beside me. I continue down the road, allowing him to continue. "Rainbow Dash, is she... you know?" "What?" "You know, is she... you know what. Nevermind. Why do humans need flying machines under ground?" "Because we didn't fly under ground. The metal floor we landed on was actually a runway. That's where they would leave or return from air missions. Though we only used them when our long range sensors picked up enemy movement." "Right, so did you ever fly one?" "Not actually. I got pretty good on the simulator though. We stopped running air missions shortly after losing Diamond Halls. Mainly due to losing most air craft...." "AAAHHH!" Rarity yells, getting all of us to ready our weapons. "What is it? Bots? Goo creatures? Enemy..." "CLOTHS!" Rarity yells as she runs to a window and looks inside. I lower my rifle as I walk up beside her and peer inside. It's a fashion store that still has all of its clothing. Of course... "Can we go in?" Rarity asks as she bats her eyes at me. "We don't really have time..." "Please..." "I don't think this is..." "Please Miles...." "We need to get to the..." "Please please please PLEEEEEEEAAASSE!" She begs as she pouts a bit. "*sigh* fine." "YES!" She screams before running inside. We all look to each other before following after her. Perspective: Rarity Oh my heavens this is a dream come true! Everything in here is simply stunning! Evening dresses, night gowns, mens apparel, this boutique has it all. I don't know where to start! MMMM... inie minie miny THAT DRESS! I walk over to the manikin in the corner and gawk at the simply stunning blue and white polka dot dress. It's so simple, but I must have it! In my bag you go. "So you like dresses?" I glance back to see Aere standing behind me, idly looking around the store. "I am a fashionista." I say as I walk towards a cloths rack and go through the cardigans. I think I'll take the pink one. "So... uh..." "Darling, I know where you're going with this and, though I am flattered, I am also already spoken for." I tell him as I go to the next rack. OOO, I'm guessing that these are mares pants... why didn't I ever think about that? In the bag you go. "Darn.... what about Applejack?" He asks. I pause and look him over for a second. "Flex your arm." I tell him, getting him to show off. "Hit the gym and then maybe." I say as I take a shirt and go to a mirror. I press the shirt against myself and.... "Really? Are you sure?" He asks. "Darling, I don't think anypony will ever truly catch that mares eye without physical prowess." I say as I bag the shirt. "Damn it." He mutters. "Well... what about..." "Fluttershy and Twilight are married. I think Rainbow is either single or lesbian, so why don't you go after Dust Devil..." "Ew! Are you kidding me? She's like... one of the stallions..." "Go buck yourself Aere." Dust Devil says from the left. "DD! Uh..." "Now that you said that I'm going to make sure you don't get laid this mission." She says as she walks away. "Wait! Hold on!" Aere yells as he chases after her. Stallions... "Excuse me..." "Not now. I'm in the moment." I says as I look over a jacket. "Can I help you find something?" "Not now..." "Do you need me to carry something? Escort you? Attend to your..." "I said...... BOT!" Perspective: Miles "...BOT!" I lift my rifle up and look to the back of the store to see an all white utility bot standing before Rarity. As everyone readies their weapons, I wait a second. Something doesn't seem right here... "Hold your fire." I say as I lower my rifle and walk over to the bot. "Can I help you find something?" It asks me. "Do you need shoes? A jacket? How about..." "Machine, what is you main function?" "To attend to the sales and maintenance of Tomorrows Fashion. Do you need..." "Easy, infect this machine." I say as I turn away from the bot. "Lets move out." "What was that about? What was wrong with that guy?" Dust Devil asks me as I turn down the street. "Well... I'm not sure. My best guess is that safety protocols were disengaged. That would also explain why the city looks so good, the bots must of fixed it up over the years." "Why did he seem so eager to help?" Theimara asks from behind. "It was probably trying to fulfill its programming. I imagine three thousand years of waiting must of done a number on its AI." "Is he going to be alright?" Camo asks, getting me to look at him. "That wasn't a person. That was a machine. A tool, its not alive." This seems to trouble them a bit, but I ignore it as I continue down the road. As we go, I guess the bots send word to the others about our being here, because more and more started showing up. All of the seem eager to assist us. Trying to find some kind of purpose. By the time Easy caught up to us we each had five to six bots asking us if we needed help, with military escorts. Both on the ground and in the air. We even have a high grade military bot following us. Easy and the other bot get to work infecting the bots as we enter the P.C.H. I look back to everyone and decide to make a stop for lunch. With that said, all of the bots sprint out of the building to gather food and and whatever else we might need. "Well... this is a rather different turn of events." Rarity says as she pulls a tea set out of her saddle. "Hey, I aint complaining." Hamm Strung says as he joins her. "Aint, isn't a word dear." Rarity corrects as she pours him a cup. "Sorry..." "And it wouldn't kill you to sit up straight." She adds, making him sit up right as he takes a sip from his cup. "No slurping, very good. It's hard to find a stallion... or Minotaur, with decent manners these days." "Is it jus me, or is that weird?" Big Mac asks me as I continue to watch the two of them have tea. "No, it's weird. Big Mac watch after everyone for me real quick. I... I need to go see something." I say as I stand up. "I'll come with." True Will says as he gets up with me. "No. I'll...." "Groups don't split up. Remember?" "Yeah, and that guy is suppose to be with me." I say as I point to Hamm Strung as he takes another sip, pinkie up of course. "Yeah.... look, either I come with, or you don't go. You can't make me stay so what's it going to be?" I stare him down for a few seconds before I shake my head and walk off. "Come on then." "Camo Flash, watch the group. We're... going for a walk." True Will says as he follows after me. "You can count on me." Camo replies. We get to the Mico lobby and make our way to the R&D department. From there, I dig around until there is nothing left to dig for. Next I try the Parliament Hall, Central Intelligence, everywhere. I don't know where to go for the controls to the stasis pods. After looking through all of the possible departments I finally make my way to the men's dormitories, heading for Eximius' room. "So what makes you think your friends weapon is still there?" True Will asks after nearly an hour of silence. "My last friends weapon was there. I don't see why this one wouldn't be." I say as I find his room. "What makes you think that it won't be there?" "Look at the rest of this place. There's nothing here. Where did everything go? Yeah, there are a few things here and there, but... what about the rest of it?" I glance down to him before kicking in the door and stepping in. The room is in fairly good repair. It doesn't seem as if there was any fighting in here at all. I go to the back room where I find a weapon locker. "Sometimes, you just need a little hope." I say as I kneel by the locker and enter the password. It clicks open to reveal Eximius' Medi-gun. The gun is just your run of the mill E.A.R. But attached to the bottom is the master key that I made for him. Instead of shooting pellets, it fires a beam of healing energy. In the middle of the stock is his gem. I take the rifle and give it a run through. Everything seems fine. PEW Still fires. "A little warning next time!" True Will says as he glares at me. "OK, warning." I say as I point the gun at him and pull the trigger on the healing beam. A blue beam strikes him in the center of his armor, knocking him back a bit. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR!" He yells as he checks himself over. "It's non lethal." I say as I sling the gun and start to walk back. "So what! Is that suppose to make me feel better!?" "Well, if I had used the other trigger, you would be dead. So... yes." "You're an ass." He grumbles from behind. "Only to you." We make our way back to the group bickering to each other. I honestly don't see whats the problem. He just needs to stop being a little bitch. After we take the final Mico platform back I stop and stare. There are literally hundreds of bots in here. I don't even see the girls right now. "Oh sweet Barbra..." "Who?" "Another guest? Can I help you..." "Allow me to get you some shoes..." "...do you wish to have a hair cut..." "... can I get you something..." True Will and I were immediately mobbed by the bots, all of which are trying to help us in one way or another. "BACK OFF!" I yell as I was receiving a manicure, massage, and pedicure all at once. Obeying my order, they all back off of me and wait for their next order. "Find the bot designated Easy and tell him you all wish to be infected. NOW." "Yes sir!" They all say at once before sprinting out of the main doors. I look over everyone being dropped from... whatever they were having done to them. Well, all except for Rarity and Dust Devil, who are still receiving a message from three bots each. "Guys..." "Five more minutes." Rarity coos. "Yeah... five more... hours." Dust Devil says in a relaxed tone. I just shake my head and walk over to the others to check on them "You OK Rainbow?" I ask as she gets out of the fetal position. "They... touched... my... hooves." She quivers. "And?" "I don't like my hooves being touched." "Ok, but other then that you're alright?" I ask, getting a serious look from her. "I'll take that as a yes. What about you guys?" I ask as I go to the others. After checking on everyone I go and pull the bots off of Rarity and Dust Devil, sending five of them to go find Easy. "Machine, where can I find the control panels for the stasis pods?" "Control was put in the southern district main offices. 1182 Ore way. Would you like an escort?" "Yes. Lead us there." "Very good sir. Right this way please." The bot says as it walks out the door. "Let's get going." I yell out as I follow after the bot. Once everyone is packed and ready we start walking through the city, heading south. "Is that the Medi-gun your friend left you?" Fluttershy asks. "Yeah, only I don't know what they added to it." I say as I look it over. "Let me try it!" Rainbow exclaims. "Not now. I don't have time to make the triggers work for you..." "Then let me try." Twilight offers. I shrug and let her take it with her magic.She looks it over a bit before firing at some random building. Nothing special happens. I tell her to try the healing beam, which she does. It fires at the bot leading us and ricochets off, hitting True Will in the face. "SON OF A..." He yells as he runs his eyes. "WHY?! Why me!?" "I'm so sorry." Twilight apologizes. "Don't be. It's non lethal." I say, getting a mean look from True Will. "I guess it's not for you then..." PSSSSSH Twilight had pointed the gun straight up and accidentally fired the healing gun. Instead of firing the blue beam, a blue shield shot up from it, doming around for about ten meters. "Don't let go!" I yell, getting Twilight to hold it there. "What's going on?" Pinkie asks as we all look over the light blue dome. I look over to see Theimara standing outside the dome, looking in. "Theimara, try to get in." I tell her. She looks over the dome a bit before trying to get in, but can't get through. She tries slashing her way in, but ends up breaking her hands in the process. "OK, OK, that's enough. Go ahead and drop the shield Twilight." I say as Theimara regrows her hand. "I can't." She says as she shakes the rifle. "It won't sto..." VRMMMM As soon as she lowered the gun the shield dropped. We all look around before looking over to Twilight. She looks around before offering a small smile. "Well, you can use that one now." I say as I take the other rifle from her. "Really? But...." "I don't think that's going to happen for anyone else. Now lets get going. True Will, want a gun?" I ask as I offer him the rifle. He thinks about it for a second before taking it with his magic. "Just try not to shoot anyone with it, alright?" "Like how you..." "This is lethal. So no, not like what I did." I say, getting a nod from him. We make our way through the city with total ease. The number of bots here is... confusing. How could they have this many still functioning bots here? They were attacked just like Topaz Falls... right? We end up having to go to the underside of the southern district. Just like everywhere else, everything here is surprisingly fine. Little to no damage, random stores filled with product, functioning bots. It's hard to believe that there was a full on war here, but the lack of people is a constant reminder. The building we're looking for comes into view. There wasn't anything special about it, just another grey building standing before us. We enter and head to the control room. The control room is nothing but two walls of red and green lights with a computer terminal taking up the wall at the far end. I walk straight through and glance at the light. There are mostly red lights in here. I try the computer, but find it encrypted. Fuck! Why didn't I learn to hack like Inficiunt and Eximius! "Bot, help me gain access to this terminal." "Right away." "Over ride safet-wait, what?" I ask as it goes straight to the computer and sends a few coils of wires in. In a matter of seconds it moves aside. "Anything else?" "Why didn't your safety protocols kick in?" "Safety protocols have been over written for the past three thousand years. Would you like me to re-engage them?" So that's how they did it.... "No. Not yet at least." I say as I go to the computer and search for all of my friends. One after another I get the same thing. Name not found. None of them got in. I take a moment before looking over all of current listings... no way... "Miles? You look... sick. Are you OK?" Twilight asks as I start looking around the room. "These lights..." "They look like hearts warming eve lights!" Pinkie cheers as she bounces around. "They're..." "What is it dear?" Rarity asks as she looks at the screen. "People." I say as I get up and look around. "People? No, I think they're just lights dude." Dust Devil says as everyone starts looking around the large room. I go to a random red light and press it. It pushes out and gives a small hologram of some random guy... with the words deceased underneath.
Chapter 136 Coming Back TogetherChapter 136 Coming Back Together Perspective: Dust Devil I wake up with a gasp. Looking around I find myself in a new area. It looks like a medical wing, made of light green walls and rows of beds. I try to get up, but feel a tug on my arms. I look over to see that I've been attached to some kind of machine. It has several arms that end with scissors, needles and little blow torches. "How do you feel?" "GAH!" I yell as I try to jump, but stop from the snag in my arm. "Do you feel any persisting pain?" Asks some light blue bot from my right. He has a white strip going down the right of his chest that ends with a syringe with wings. His left arm looks to be similar to one of the arms beside my bed. "Uh... who are you?" I ask as I sit up. "My name is D11K5389. Are you experiencing any further pain or discomfort?" "No. I actually feel pretty good... uh..." "D11K5389." "That's too hard to say. I'm going to just call you Doc." I say as I pull the needles out from my arm and get out of bed. "Do you know where my friends are?" "I do not. You were brought here by a bot under the designation of Easy..." "EASY! Where did he go?" "I do not know." Damn it! This guy is about as useful as a sober bear. "Hey, can you take me to Easy?" "I can. Do you feel able to move?" I give my legs and wings a couple of test bends before nodding to Doc. "Very well, follow me then." He says as he walks off. I quickly grab all of my gear and start putting it on as I follow after him. After I get all of my armor on I look through all of my stuff and realize something horrible. "Hey Doc, where's my bonnie?" "I'm sorry, I do not know what that is. Would you please explain?" "My hat! The hat my mother made for me, that hat. Where is it?" I ask as I run up beside him and glare. "My apologies. When you were brought here you didn't have a hat. It must have burned off in the fire." "But... my mom made that for me." I say as I start to tear up. "I'm sure she would be more than willing to make you another one." "Yeah... but... yeah." I say as I follow him to a metal platform. I watch him step onto it and flash away. That was pretty cool. I step onto the platform and wait for a second before I flash into the main hall of the P.C.H. This doesn't look good. The once pristine marble floors are now scorched. The walls have been burnt and are covered in different holes and dents. "What happened here?" "When Easy and all of the other infected bots brought your body here they were promptly attacked." Doc says as he walks through the door. I take one last look before following him out. "Whoa..." I mutter as I stare out at the city. Much of it has been destroyed. Entire blocks of buildings have been reduced to rubble as several fires roar throughout the city. In the distance I can hear gunfire and explosions, they must be on the other side of the city... "Um..." I look over to see Theirmara hiding behind the entrance to the building. "Theimara! You're alive!" I yell as I run over to her. "And you changed forms... you kind of look like Miles." I say as she steps out and looks me over. She no longer looks like a skeletal bear, but rather a skeletal human. Well, at least I think that's a human skeleton... The head looks right for it. "What are you?" She asks as she leans over and looks me over more closely. "What are you talking about? Are you feeling okay Theimara? Maybe that explosion shook something loose." "Wait. You said I look like Miles. You wouldn’t happen to mean Miles Eremita, would you?" She asks as she stands up and holds onto herself. "Uh... yeah. Hey Doc, look Theimara over real quick. I think she ma-" "AAAAAAAAAHH" Theimara shrieks like a little school filly. I cover my ears and wait for her to finish. "What was..." "I don't believe it! He finally made it back! Oh I can't wait to meet him, I hope he's as dreamy as they said he was. WAIT! No, I can't go anywhere near him like this! He'd think I'm some kind of freak! Ooooh…” "Why do you care? He's already seen..." CRASH KRA-BOOM We all look up to see something crash through the P.C.H. and explode on its way back out, sending debris out the side. THUD "MILES!" I yell as he stands straight up and looks back. "HIDE ME!" Theimara yells as she tries to hide behind Doc. "Dust Devil, Theimara, you guys need..." He starts but stops as he pulls out his trench knife and a pistol. "FEED US!" Yells a blue person as it attempts to crash into Miles. He just ducks down and punches the person with his trench knife, sending a massive, blue explosion into the air. I look away until the light fades away... BANG KRA-BOOM I look back to see Miles put his weapons away as another fiery explosion erupts behind him in the air. "Whoa... that was cool." I mutter before shaking my head and approaching Miles. "Where is everypony? Are we..." "All that I know is that we've broken into three groups, with only one of those groups being stationary. We're down to five, no wait... three people left..." "What's going on? Why are they doing this? How did this even happen? How long have I been out?" "You have been unconscious for nearly twenty hours." Doc informs me. "WHAT!?" "Uh... what's going on?" "Theimara, unless you want me to kick your ass, change back to your original..." "Why does everyone keep calling me Theimara? My name is Private First Class Semper Benevolens of the Terradisian armed forces. Now will someone tell me what's going on?! " "Say what?" Miles asks as he takes a step towards her. "This better not be a fucking joke." "It's not! I was.... I.... I AM EARTH! She yells before she falls to the ground and begins to twist and shake. "Well... that can't be good." I say as she starts to become a skeletal bear again. "Yeah, no shit." Perspective: Twilight I check to make sure the coast is clear before stepping out to the roof. We've been held up here for nearly a day now, and we're running low on supplies. We were able to get a bit more off of Hamm Strung, but that wasn't easy to do. "Fluttershy? How are you holding up?" I ask as I approach her from behind. Shes been up here almost all day, keeping watch over us as we rest up. "I saw another plume of fire a few minutes ago. Big Mac is still alive." She says as she stares out to the west. I walk over to her and take a seat beside her, looking out along with her. "Here, eat something. I'm sure Big Mac would be worried sick if he heard you weren't eating." I say as I drop a bag of apples in front of her. "Okay." She says as she opens the bag and pulls out an apple. "How's your leg?" She asks before taking a bite. "Much better now that Miles has fixed it. We should be able to move once you get some rest." "Oh... right... I, uh... well..." She mumbles before taking another bite. "Don't tell me you want to stay put..." "Oh, if you don't want to then we can go. I was just thinking that... well..." "No, go ahead. Say what’s on your mind." I say as I give her an encouraging nudge. "Its just that, well, Miles knows where we are. He’s probably seen the others as well. I've been following Big Mac’s plumes of fire and I can tell he's getting closer to us. If we move now, we may end up missing them. Not to mention Miles would have to find us in addition to finding everypony else. But, that's just what I think. If you want to move, that's fine I guess." I stare at her for a few seconds before picking up my jaw and looking back out to the city. "Well, I guess we don't have a choice then. We have to stay put. Why don't you go down stairs and get some rest? You’ve earned it." I say as I pull up my Medi-gun. "Oh no, I can keep going, honest. You go ahead and rest up I...*yawn* I'm not tired." "Fluttershy, please." I ask as I look over to her and plead with my eyes. "Oh... OK then. But only for a few minutes." I wait for her to finally leave before letting out a sigh. I didn't expect Fluttershy to be so... suited, for this line of work. The next hour comes and goes without much happening. Most of the people must either be dead or in hiding now, I don't know which is better. True to Fluttershy's words, Big Mac has been sending out plumes of fire as he gets closer to our position. He should get here within the next hour at this rate. "How's everything?" Camo Flash asks as he walks up beside me. "Quiet." I say as I look down another alley. "Hey, I just wanted to say thanks. You really saved us back there." "Aww, it was nothing." He says as he rubs the back of his neck. "If there's anything you need, feel free to ask. I'll try my best to help if I can. I owe you that much." I say as I offer him a smile. "Well... actually, there is something I need help with." He says as he puts his hoof down and takes a more serious demeanor. "Would you happen to know how somepony becomes a Spartan?" "Spartan? Why do you want to be a Spartan?" I ask as I face him. I can tell he's serious, but I hope I can at least warn him about what he's going to face. "I've seen the way Miles and your husband fight, and it's beyond impressive. I want to be like that..." "Camo, don't take this lightly. Becoming a Spartan isn't easy. Storm had nightmares for weeks after becoming a Spartan. This is not easy..." "I know that. But I think I can do it. Will you help me?" "Well... as a citizen I can ask Miles about it, but it's really up to him whether or not you get the training." "I'd really appreciate it." He says with a sly smile. I try to offer him one back, but something blue behind him catches my attention. I move around Camo and take aim at it until I realize that it's a pony... "RAINBOW!" I yell as I put my rifle down. She seems to be injured, flying by sheer will. Camo takes off into the air and catches her as she begins to fall. "Bring her over here!" I yell as I ready the Medi-gun. He brings her over and lays her down as gently possible. "Is she going to be alright?" He ask as I check her over. She has a few burns going across her arms and stomach as well as some bleeding from her forehead. A few of her burns are deep and are bleeding profusely, coating her fur in a deep red. "I need you to get some water and my bag from downstairs." I say as I take aim at her. I seriously hope this works. PEWPEWPEWPEW I look back down a watch as blue energy washes over her arms and stomach, healing them with astounding speed. "Whoa... that's cool." Camo mutters as she slowly wakes back up. "Uhng... Twi? Uh... what's going on?" She asks as she sits up "You were hurt, but don't worry, I've started fixing you already. Does it hurt anywhere else?" I ask as she shakily gets to her hooves. "No... I don't think so at least. That thing is a miracle worker." She chuckles. "Where is everypony?" "Well... Pinkie and Shy are downstairs. Miles was here earlier, and Big Mac is sending out plumes of fire every now and again. Hamm Strung.... isn't with us anymore. Other then that, I don't know." "Then what are we waiting for? Lets go get them!" She says as she tries to take off into the air. I quickly grab her tail with my magic and hold her back. "You are in no condition to go anywhere! Go down stairs and get some rest. Once you're able to travel we'll head towards Big Mac's location..." "But.." "Camo, can you please escort her down?" "Come on, lets get you something to eat." He says as he opens the door. "*sigh* fine. But after I'm ready to go we'll head out. Promise me that." She asks as she steps towards the door. "I Pinkie promise that once everypony is rested up, we'll head out." She gives me an uneasy look before heading down the stairs. I sigh in relief and look back out to the city. I just hope the others are fine... Perspective: Big Mac FOOSH "Why do you keep doing that?" True Will asks in annoyance. I just glance over to him as we all keep walking down the empty street. "He already told ya. He's messagin’ the others our position. Eventually one a them has ta find us." AJ says as she looks down an alley. True Will lets out an annoyed sigh as he quickens his pace. "Do you think the others are OK?" Rarity asks out loud. "Ah'm sure they are, but Ah'm also tryin’ not ta think about it." AJ replies as we pause in the middle of the street. The road forks, going left and right. We look down each road before True Will just walks down the right side. We all look to each other before following after him. "Do you even know where you're going?" Rarity asks True Will as she runs up beside him. "I saw Dust Devil go this way, so I'm going this way." He states simply. "So... is Dust Devil..." "Dust Devil is a new recruit. I saw her, and nopony else, so I'm heading towards her." He quickly defends as he quickens his pace. Rarity just shakes her head as she slows down to trot with us. "Can I ask you two something?" She whispers to us. "Sure, what?" AJ responds. Rarity looks back to True Will before leaning closer to us. "I don't trust him." She whispers while motioning to True Will. "He's hiding something, I can feel it. Why are we following him around anyway? Did you see what that sword of his did? What else is he capable of?" "Ah know what you mean. Ah don't like it anymore then you do, but Princess Luna hired him. Ah'm sure she wouldn't hire somepony who's dangerous..." "But do you see the way he looks at everything? He seems to be angry at everything...." "That's not anger." I interrupt. They both look back to me as I pause to watch him walk off. "That's remorse." Perspective: Miles Dust Devil and I back up as Theimara writhes around on the ground, yelling and growling to herself. "Is this normal?" I ask Dust Devil. "No. Did she say she was a human?" "Yeah..." "HELP ME!" She screams as she rears up. Her body is in a battle with itself as it tries to change, going from bear to human. We look to each other before taking a step back. "Sorry Theimara, I don't know much about helping earth elementals." Dust Devil says as she continues to back away. "Medical bot, give me an analysis on her. Tell me what you can." I order the bot, getting it to scan her over. "It would seem there is influx between two souls fighting over control of the stone form. Both are fairly equal in power, making an unclear victor for control. Anything further is out of my knowledge." "Hey Doc, is there a way to get them both to share the body?" Dust Devil asks. When did this bot get a name? "Possibly. If the two souls were to both stop fighting and let one take control, they might be able to maintain their form. Though it is still unclear." The bot, Doc apparently, informs us. I nod a bit before walking over to the trembling form and kneel before it. "I need to speak with Semper. Theimara, let me talk to her." "No... no it's... let me.... never... please... no...I've been gone... this is... please.... promise me.... I promise." She mumbles before finally taking human form. "Is this Semper?" I ask as I put a hand on her shoulder. "Y-yeah. Uh... hi, Miles." She says quietly. "Do you know what's going on? Can you speak with Theimara?" I ask as she tries to look away. "Yeah. She's like a voice in my head. As for what's going on... I don't know anything." "That's alright, lets just work through this." I say as I sit before her. "What's the last thing you remember before waking up?" "Well... it was in the middle of dark hours when they attacked. They were... unrelenting. Using our armor, weapons... the fight was chaos. We lost half of our Spartans trying to kill their leader, and I don't think they actually stopped him..." "Do you know what their leader was like? Powers, looks... Anything?" "No, he was in the northern district and I was stationed in the west. I never saw him." Fuck, well... I guess it doesn't matter. "That's OK. What happened that night?" "Well... I was running supplies to the western front when we were ambushed. Most of my squad died before I got away. I was being chased down by a few of the Unfamiliar before I tried to hide in this... glass... tube thing. I'm sorry. She says as she looks away from me. "I was such a coward. But, they just kept coming. You'd kill one, and ten would take their place. Not to mention they were... they were... they...." "I know." I say, getting her to look back to me. "When Topaz was attacked... it was like a sleep terror. No one was safe." "What happened to you? Where did you go? Where are we now?" She asks, sounding completely scared. "It's three thousand years in the future." I say bluntly, making her back away from me. "We... well, Topaz Falls and Diamond Halls have fallen, as well as Amethyst." "What? No..." "I survived because a professor used some new kind of tech to send me to the future. I woke up on the surface and now I'm trying to find any kind of remnants of our people." "That explains her." She says as she glances over to Dust Devil. "What is she?" "I'll explain later. Right now I have a very important question for you." I say as I close my eyes and focus on the gems on my left arm. I throw out my arm, creating the Laminis Lux, and bring it in front of her. "Do you want me to end it?" "Wh-what?" She asks as she backs away from me a bit. "Nothing you know exists. Everyone you ever knew is long gone. You're going to have to learn to share a body with someone else. Can you live with that?" "I... I..." Author's Note A/N: Shout out to After touch for picking the class of person that took over Theimara. Love the new cover art. Brony on!
Chapter 137 Choosing Life Chapter 137 Choosing Life Chapter 137 Choosing Life Perspective: Miles (still) "I...I..." Semper mumbles as I continue to hold my blade in front of her. "Whoa, don't you think you're being a little harsh Miles?" Dust Devil asks nervously as she eyes the two of us. "No, choose." I say as she looks down to the blade. "Would Theimara die as well?" "There is no way of telling. Either work something out between the two of you, or opt out." "I'll choose to stay then. What about you Theimara? Hmm... no, I volunteered... what about.... but he... oh.... yeah that could work, for now at least. OK, we've worked something out." She says as she stands up. I let go of the blade in my hand, having it turn back to the Elements of Harmony. As I stand up they reattach to my arm, wrapping my forearm up nice and tight. "So its life then. Great. Here's my theory on whats going on. The time capsules were a completely failure. I think they were feeding energy into the people instead of the spells. From there, without time killing them, they just grew in power until... well, that." "What about that little boy?" Dust Devil asks. "Him... he didn't have magic. Because of that, the energy just built up inside him until it just burnt him from the inside out. Too much energy without a way out... I'm surprised he made it this long." "How do you know that? What if..." "I know because it's happening to me." I say, silencing them. "Mines growing slower, but the results the same." I look away from them ans stare out to the city. "We need to get moving, meet up with the others." "There are more of you?" "Do you know where they are?" "I know where Camo, Twilight, Shy and Pinkie are. They were held up in a apartment building..." "Apartment? That would be the eastern district... "Then lets get going." They both nod to me and follow as I head east. "Is this what it really came to?" Semper asks as we walk through the destroyed city. "Believe it or not, this is way better then Topaz. Actually, this is all new. When we first got here the city was perfectly fine. No damage, no bones, just a few eager bots and some over powered people." "That's not how I remember it" she says as she continues to glance towards every building and alley. "There were screams everywhere. Units were dispatched all over as they broke in through air shafts and busted down bulkheads. I remember sending my little brother... my... oh no." "I'm sure he made it out." I say, stopping her from freaking out. "I had a friend tell me they were heading to Jasper next. I'm sure they took him along with them." "But, that was three thousand years ago. He was only six, what if he got lost or tried to run away? I need to know what happened. I need to..." "I'm sorry, but that's impossible. This was over three thousand years ago, there is no way of knowing what happened..." "But, what about your friends? How do you know they were going to Jasper?" "I know because they left me a trail to follow. That's why I'm here now. I'm trying to figure out what happened to them. If they made it out alive, if we eventually won the fight, if there are any humans left, all of it. I'm sorry, but your question is too specific to know for sure." I say, getting a slap upside the head from Dust Devil. "What was his name?" Dust Devil asks as she flies over to Semper and pats her back. ""*sniff* Esse." "I'm sure Esse made it out safe. The Spartans would never leave a child behind like that, right Miles?" "Never." I say as I stare at Dust Devil. "I'm sure he made it to Jasper, grew up, found love, and missed you every day." She says as she pulls her in for a hug. They hold each other for awhile, silently crying into each others shoulders. I wait patiently on the side until they finally break their hug. "Gum?" Dust Devil offers as she pulls out a pink sliver of food. "Um.. no thank you." She says as she looks over to me. "Lets get going. I want to know what happened too." "Alright then." I say as I lead them down the street again. We make it the freeway in almost an uproar. Dust Devil and Semper have quickly become friends, talking about almost everything I could imagine two women talk about. Dust Devil seemed to ask most of the questions, having thousands upon thousands of questions about everything Terradisian. Semper would tell her everything, why Amethyst is called Amethyst, what she did for a living, what her mark was. Some of these questions would confuse Semper, so I would jump in to answer. "So Miles... are you still single?" Semper asks as she walks up beside me, holding her hands behind her back. "Nope." "WHAT!? Awww. Oh well, I doubt I could do anything like this. Who is the lucky girl?" "Her name is Luna..." "YOU MARRIED PRINCESS LUNA!?" Dust Devil screams, dropping out of the air. "When did that happen?" "You married a Princess? Nice..." "Didn't your group already know this?" I ask as I continue to walk on. "... that explains a lot of the conversations now." Dust Devils says as she thinks abut it. "So... I guess you're the king now..." "I'm Terradisian before Equestrian... but yes. I am technically your king." "Is she pretty?" "Beautiful." I correct. "Aww... can I meet her?" She asks, making me pause. "Well... yes, but things are... complicated. Us being married is a secret." "What? Why?" Dust Devil asks. I stare at her until she finally puts one and one together. "Celestia..." "Yeah." "Who?" "Her sister. She... kind of hates me. There's a lot of history behind it, but... yeah... she doesn't know about us yet." "You banged her sister and she doesn't even know... that's hard core stuff. Why don't you just tell her and get that fight over with?" "Luna doesn't want to yet. She want to break it to her gently. So, we're waiting." I say as I continue down the street. Why am I telling them all of this? I must really suck at keeping secrets. "Well... I'd tell you not to lie, but listening to your woman is a little more important. At least in my opinion." Semper says as she nudges me a bit. "So... if you're the king, and Luna is now Queen, what would that mean for Terradisians?" Dust Devils asks. "I mean, you hold them over Equestrians, does that mean they would become higher citizens?" "Uh... well... I never thought about it like that. I guess, with my death, they would become equal citizens. But, if I were to be alive, I guess they would get that bias opinion. At least for the time being." KRA-BOBOOM PEWPEWPEWPEWPEW PEPEPEPEPEPEPEPEW KRA-BOBOBOBOOM We all look to one another before running down the street. The closer we get to the next block, the louder the gun fire and explosions get. We come to a stop at the end of the street and look down to see an office building under attack by five people. They seem to be flying around around the structure, crashing into the ground and popping up on the other side. I can see some energy bolts being fired from the roof, as well as some black energy slashes. "Dust Devil, get up there and see what you can do. Semper, take this and keep your distance." I say as I shove my rifle into her arms. "Be careful, you only have one clip." "Why do I have to keep my distance? I don't think they can..." "How did you get in that body?" I ask, making her understand. "Stay back. Keep your fire under control, and let me do most of the fighting." "Right. Stay safe." I nod to her before running down the street. BISSHHHHZZZ I stop in my tracks and drop as one of the people crash down in front of me, turning the road to sand. When I hit the street below I hear the sound of something heavy flying through the air. I quickly roll forward as a sharp column of earth pierces the ground. I try to move up, but whenever I try to move to the opening a new spear of stone tries to stab me. I jump, roll and dodge as best I can, but when I crash into one of the other columns I take a hit in my shoulder. I scream out in pain as I grab the spear and yank it out, a flood of blood pouring out after it. "FINALLY!" I look up to see the five over powered people land before me, twitching in anticipation. "FEED US!" They yell as they begin to walk towards me. I reach down to my pistol and quick draw it, trying to shoot the center most one. CLICK OK... I go to pull out my sword, only to stop when a column of stone wraps itself around me, locking me up. I twist and shake as I try to break free, but I can't seem to be able to. When the closest one reaches me, he lifts up a hand, lifting me in the air. "Thank you..." "I could use some help down here!" I yell, trying to get anyone down here. "But now, we must feed." "ANYONE! HURRY UP! COME O..." I try to yell as I feel the energy from within begin to drain. I begin to twist and shake violently as I try any last attempts of breaking free. The pain is immeasurable. Its as if my souls being drained from me via tearing my flesh off and scrapping it away. I scream out as I feel the others begin to latch on as well, sucking the energy from within. "GAAAAHHHH!" ................................................................................................................................................................................................. ..... why does Dust Devil look so scared... are we flying together..... .... Doc? Twi? Why are they looking at me like that...... ..... Luna... you're so beautiful... .... its her again... but who's behind that hood..... .... War? He looks so... .... Twilight and Doc again, looks like they have a rock... why is it so bloody.... .... Shinning, thank you.... .... Pinkies sad... we should do something.... .... why are True Will and Dust Devil yelling at each other.... .... Doc? Healing flames? Whose hurt.... .... sorry Rainbow, I can't hear you.... .... Fluttershy put the rifle down. I can pull through, just put it down.... .... Dolum, I'm so sorry I failed you.... .... girls stay out of the forest, its not safe for you.... .... Tempus.... .... Storm, try again. You can do it, we all can.... .... why are Applejack and Big Mac crying... ... hang in there little guy, I'll save you... .... Luna... you're so beautiful.... please stop crying.... .... Susurrans... why didn't you tell me... .... whats so funny Regina? Why are you laughing so hard... .... Celestia, I can explain... .... Spike, keep trying man. I know you can do it.... .... Miles? Shut off your magic man, staying maxed out is dangerous... .................................................................................................................................................................................................. I wake up violently, gasping for air as I grab onto everything around me. I try to get my bearings, but everything turn fuzzy as I try to sit up. "Whoa, take it easy there. Ya took a big hit Miles. Ya need ta relax." I hear Big Mac say. "Wh... what happened? Where am I? Whats going on? How long have I been out?" I ask as my vision begins to clear. I'm in what looks like a waiting room to an office, laying on an old couch. All of the girls are here, along side with True Will, Dust Devil, Camo Flash. Easy and Doc. "Easy there. Everything's alright. You're safe. You've been unconscious fer three days now. Here, drink sum water an ah'll tell ya what happened." He says as he offers me a canteen. I look to everyone before taking the canteen and drinking down all of the water. My throat feels as if I haven't had something to drink in weeks. "So, I take it one of you saved me." I say before taking another long drink. "Well, not exactly." Big Mac starts. "Uh... well..." "Semper saved you." True Will says bluntly as he takes a step forward. "Now you have to kill her." I nearly choke on my water when he says this. After a few seconds of coughing I finally look up to see the saddened looks on everyone. "What? What happened? Why do I need to kill Semper? What's going on?" I ask frantically. "I'll tell him. Semper was my friend after all." Dust Devil says as she walks over and takes a seat beside me. "Well, basically she sacrificed herself foe all of us. She...." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Dust Devil (Three Days Earlier) "Dust Devil, get up there and see what you can do. Semper, take this and keep your distance." Miles orders me. I nod and jump into the air, trying my best to avoid the blue people as I make my way to the roof. "DD! Get over here!" Will yells out as I race towards him. Crash before him as all of the blue people slam into the ground, silencing the area around me. "I'm back." I say with a weak smile. Will just shakes his head and helps me back to my hooves. "Where are the others?" I ask as I look over to Camo Flash. He just shakes is head and looks down as the other run over to the edge of the roof. "Where did Miles go?" Twilight asks. "Down there!" Fluttershy says exclaims as she points towards the massive hole in the ground. I see Semper run over to it and try to use her weapon, but something goes wrong. She points and tries to use it, but ends up tossing it aside before jumping into the hole. "NO SEMPER!" I yell as I take off into the air. I race down to see her walk up to the group of people sucking some green energy from Miles. "LET HIM GO!" Semper yells, gaining their attention. "What happened to your humanity? Why are you doing this!?" She yells as she marches straight towards them. "The fight is over, we need to rebuild, not kill each other. Fight whatever's making you like this and come back to us. Terradisia can still live, please... "SEMPER! STAY BACK!" I yell as I try to fly after her. "Dust Devil!" I glance back in time to see Rainbow Dash crash into me and start to pull me back. "You can't go down there, they'll kill you!" "SEMPER!" I yell as I try to get out of her hooves. I look back to see all of them circle around her as she begins to twist and shake. "NOO! SEMPER!" "I AM EARTH!" She yells out before all of them jump her. "NNOOO!" ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles (Current) "Once they all were sucked into her... she changed. She won't stop mumbling to herself and has been shaking violently for the past few days. "Dammit Semper!" I yell as I toss the canteen aside. "How bad is the mumbling?" "With that many souls in one body, how bad do you think it is?" Camo says as he walks over and puts an arm around Dust Devil. She latches onto him and begins to sob, murmuring about Semper. "Fuck." I mutter as I sit up. I grab my chest as a slight pain numbs my chest. I look down and find myself wrapped in bloody bandages. "Where is she?" "She hasn't moved from the spot where it happened."Rarity informs me as she stares out the window. "Alright. I'll deal with this. After that We'll leave this place. Got it?" I ask as I force myself up. Silent nods fill the room as I walk through the door. I walk out to the edge of the whole and look down. Sure enough, there she is. Sitting on her heels as she twitches from side to side. I go o jump down, but stop at the last second. Is my magic even working right now? I try to turn my magic on, but find it impossible to use. No matter how hard I shake, it simply will not come out. "Hey...." FLASH "Need help?" Twilight asks as we appear on the street below. "I figured you wouldn't have your magic right now. I'll give you a moment..." "No. I might need you here." I say as I walk over to Semper and kneel before her. "Semper are you there?" "... feed... never... yes... I found him... where is it.... are they... because... hahaha... forever FOREVER... we can't... just a little..." She mumbles as she rocks back and forth. I look over to my arm and stare at the Elements. Can I even use these without magic? "... kill us... so many dead... I want my boy... end the pain... she can't live without me... I told him to wait... they never said goodbye... tell me... give us death... deverto pulvis... "Et salutant mortuus." I say before I hold out my arm and feel for the Elements. I feel a wave of energy wash over me as Laminis Lux takes form in my hands. Simultaneously I feel myself max out as the blade feed energy into my body, healing all of my wounds instantly. "...yes, do it.... my hero, our savior... do it, do it now.... we want this, we all want this... please.... quickly... I shove the blade into the chest, aiming where the heart would be. I see tendrils of different colors reach out as the skeleton arches back and looks straight up. I reach out and hold them as the colored tendrils begin to fade out, slowly disappearing. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you." I whisper as I hold them close. "I'm sorry we didn't get to talk more. Can you do me a favor." Semper asks clearly as she leans forward and holds onto me lightly. "Anything." "Live." A/N: In case you didn't notice, this was suppose to be the ending for the last chapter. I posted too soon, and I am sorry for that. So here are two things to make up for that. One: Skip to 25:00. And another update on the Misadventures of Tb. Enjoy and brony on. The Misadventures of Tallestbrony, Cheesus, Squishy, and Pinkie Pie To Get A Burrito Warning: Strange Perspective: Tallestbrony "O-O-OPPA GANGNAM STYLE! HEEEEEY SEXY LADY." We all yell as we dance down the street. Cheesus moves to scream at Pinkies butt, only to get slapped. "Hey! I'm a pony!" She yells as we continue on, giggling and somewhat dancing. "I accept this." Cheesus says, only to get slapped again. "Why?" "Anyway, anyone else find it odd that no one is questioning that we're walking down the street with a talking pony?" I ask. "I'd like to believe that our neighbors have already seen us do stupid and weird shit, so no one cares." Cheesus says, getting a methodical nod from Squishy. "LEAP!" Squishy yells as he leaps towards Pinkie in an attempt to ride her. TWITCHY TAIL THUD "Are you going to try this every time?" Pinkie asks as Squishy lays face down on the ground. "Until I succeed." He grumbles into the ground. "So how many people do you think will recognize us at Equestria L.A.?" I ask as I help Squishy up. "NOBODY!" Squishy exclaims, then gets saddened. "Now because you said that we're going to get swarmed by people going: OH MY GOD YOU'RE THE AUTHOR OF MAN OF WAR..." "But because you said THAT, nopony will recognize anypony... unless they do..." Pinkie says, thinking deeply about the probability of someone meeting us. "So yes, unless no?" Cheesus asks. "How does that work?" I ask. From out of no where, Pinkie pulls out an isle and flips to a pie chart. "You see, it is as possible as it is improbable..." "I CONKER!" Squishy says as he rubs his goatee. "Its a fancy scientific way of saying maybe." Cheesus informs me as we walk past the isle. "Right.... so anyway, I've had a good week. After touch made me that cool cover, Sin Wave is editing..." "SH!" Pinkie yells. "Sin Wave did what?" Squishy asks. "He's helping with..." "SH!" Pinkie shushes again, glaring at me the whole time. "What's he doing?" "Its with..." "SH!" "FINE!" I yell as I throw my arms up. "Asshole... wont let me ruin shit..." I grumble. Cheesus and Squishy walk up beside me and glance to one another... "Red." "SON OF A BITCH!" I yells as I quicken my pace. Bastanchury
Chapter 138 Posting BailChapter 138 Posting Bail Perspective: Twilight "Miles?" I whisper as I nudge him. He's been sitting here for nearly half an hour, holding onto the remains of Semper and Theimara. "Come on, we need to get going Miles. You need to get up...." "How many people am I going to kill?" He asks as he looks over to me. "I always thought I would be the one to protect people, but..." SMACK I set my hoof back down and wait for him to look back to me before slapping him again. "Stop. Just stop." I say as restrain myself from hitting him again. "Everypony was falling apart without you. We can't afford to have you fall as well. You need to be strong for us, or else..." "How long can we go on like this then?" He asks as he lays Semper down, crossing her arms on top of her chest. "I go down, we fall apart..." "Then get up!" I yell as I flash in front of him. "Everypony falls Miles. No matter how powerful you are you will eventually fall. It's not about how strong you are but how quickly you pick yourself up. Now are you going to get up and guide us out of here or am I going to have to find a real Spartan?" "What did you say?" He says as he takes a step towards me. "You heard me. What are you going to do?" I ask with a smug smile. He narrows his eyes as he glares down to me, so I just return the glare. He doesn't say anything. Instead he just ignites his heels and leaps up to the building. I sigh in relief before teleporting back to the room with everypony. "Did it work?" Rarity asks me in a hushed tone. "Just wait." I say with a reassuring smile. CRASH "Let get moving." Miles yells as he marches straight in, getting everypony's attention. "Miles...." "Shut up True Will. Grab your gear and lets move it." He says as he look around the silent room. "Did I stutter? Fucking move it or get left behind. We leave in five minutes. Wheres my gear." "Miles, we need ta..." "Private did I or did I not just give out an order?" He asks as he faces Big Mac. "You did sir..." "Then move your ass! I want movement people. We aren't dead yet! MOVE MOVE MOVE!" He yells, getting everypony to run around the room, gathering their gear. "See?" I ask Rarity as I pick up my saddle and set it on my hips. "Good job Twilight. But we have a new problem now." Rarity says as she looks out the window. I lean over for a second before running straight for Miles. "Miles..." "Not now Twilight." "We might have a problem out front." I inform him, getting him to turn around. "What's going on?" He asks as he goes over to the window. He takes one quick look before heading to the door. "I'll deal with this." "But..." "Just grab your stuff and meet me out front in three minutes. Got it?" "Y-yeah." "And Twilight..." "Yes Miles?" I ask as I look back to him. "Thank you. For stopping me from slipping. I promise that won't happen again." "Your welcome. Now go see what Easy is up to." I say as I smile back to him. He offers me a nod before walking out the door. "OK, so everypony ready to head out?" I ask as I levitate Miles's gear over myself. "How did ya know how ta stop Miles frum getting depressed?" Big Mac asks me as everypony walks around me. "Well... it worked on Storm. This place was just one hug reminder of his eventual death. We're going to need to keep an eye on him..." "Or we could just send a letter to Luna." True Will suggests. "Love would work better in this instant then posting overbearing friends. Let his wife take care of him." We all stare at him as he looks around the room. "What?" "That was... a really good idea." Camo says as he looks over to Dust Devil. "Where did that come from?" Applejack asks. "What? I have emotions to you know." True Will defends, only to get more bewildered looks from everypony. "You all suck." He says as he walks out the door. "True Will having emotions, Miles being over emotional, Camo being an awesome fighter... I miss normalcy." Dust Devil says as she follows after True Will. "Hey! I've always been an awesome fighter!" Camo defends. We all look to each other before following after them. We'll be OK. I just want to get home and see my boys. Perspective: Miles "Easy, what the fuck man?" I ask as I walk up to him. "Greeting Miles. All remaining bots in Amethyst have been infected. Awaiting further orders." I look back to the thousands and thousands of bots behind him before looking back to him. "Give me our numbers now. How many bots are here?" "We currently stand at fourteen thousand six hundred and three utility bots, six thousand nine hundred seventy six security bots, eight thousand and one military bots, four hundred Aquilas, two hundred thirteen high grade military bots and sixty eight medical bots. Further details sir." "Uh... what?" True Will asks as he walks up beside me. "What are all of these things here for?" "They currently are under my control." I say as I look back to them, trying to think of what to do with them. "What are they suppose to do?" "Well, utility bots were for basic tasks. Cleaning, repairing, basic services like that. They're the humanoid looking ones, though they all follow that basic form. Next are the security bots. They were... well, they were our city guards. They helped upkeep law and order, but worked under a person at all times. Next are the military bots. Like the security bots they helped people in fights. These ones usually have an arm modified with some kind of weapon. The high grade military bots are the giant ones used mainly for artillery and heavy fire, though they can have anti personnel weapons. The Aquilas are the remainders of our air force and carry four legion bots on their backs. Medical bots are like military bots, but have medical equipment instead of weapons..." "Miles..." "Legion Bots are meant for fighting hand to hand. One arm is made into a single edged blade while the other is made into a high density fiber..." "Well! Congratulations. You now have an army, I guess you won't be needing any Spartans now..." "A bot will never out class a Spartan..." "Speaking of which." Twilight says as she runs over and pushes Camo in front of me. "I'd like to nominate Camo Flash for Spartan training." "What did he do to earn it?" "He protected me and the others diligently, showing an adept fighting skill and an eagerness to learn more." Twilight says, making Camo stand straighter. "OK." "Waitwhathuhwu? Just like that?" Camo asks as he shakes his head. "I believe Twilight. And I'm sure she told you about how hard its going to be. If you feel you can do it, then you can. Can you do this?" I ask as I look back to him. "Yeah. I mean... I think I can. I'll do my best at least..." "Then when we get back to my place I'll give you something to call you..." "Hold on a sec. Ah wanna nominate True Will!" Applejack declares as she steps forward. "You what now?" True Will asks as he looks back to her. "He took out two building and two of them people in one swing. Ya could use somepony like that." "Is that true?" I ask him, getting a nod from him. "Well... alright then. But..." "I don't want this." He says as he looks back to Applejack. "I'm under contract with the Ursas. I can't stop working for them just like that..." "But you can do your job. Even if its just a trip into the Everfree, you were hired to watch over me. The offer will be on the table, if you choose to take it." I say as I step towards Easy. "Easy, take as many bots as you need to get the AA-20 flight ready as well as the flight tunnel. I want you to also take the simulation pod and get it ready for transport. Its going to go in my work shop, as well as the jet. How long till you're ready for deployment?" "Thirty six hours. What shall the remaining bots do while..." "Two things. First find the remains of those who fell when we came here and see to it that they are dealt with honorably. After that, gather all weapons and gems and get them ready for transport. They will go to my workshop as well. I want this all done in one day, can you do this?" "Consider it done. May I have your autograph?" "Get it done then." I say as I turn to the others. "Lets get out of here already." A round of cheers rings out as I grab my gear from Twilight. I put it all back on as we head towards the nearest exit. I keep quiet as I lead everyone out, glad to be done with this place. When we make it to the bulkhead I turn back to the city and stare back to it for a moment. No one questions me. They just look back and keep silent with me. "Lets get going." I say as I pull the lever to open the door. It slowly creaks open, dropping dust as the heavy door lifts up. We step out together, leaving the door open as we walk down the dark tunnel. "Miles, can as ask ya sumthing?" Big Mac asks as he walks up to me. "Ah don't know how ah feel about Camo and True Will joinin the Spartans..." "And why is that? Remember that I was skeptical about you joining as well. Look how that turned out." "Ah think one a them gonna try ta sell out our secrets. Doncha think we should..." "Think back to your training and tell me if you truly think that will happen?" He glances back to the others before looking back to me, slowly shaking his head. "We need them more then they need us Big Mac." "Hows that?" "There are only three of us. The reason we keep falling for traps and tricks is because we don't have the resources to be everywhere. I'd like to see our numbers grow to about twenty. Twelve at the least." "Should ah keep an eye out?" "I've already got my eyes on two." He gives me a quizzical look, so I glance back and nod to them. "Rainbow and Dust Devil? Dust Devil maybe, but ah don't see Rainbow betrayin Equestria like that..." "It wouldn't be betrayal. We're the force for good. It would turn her loyalty to being a force for good, not just for one kingdom. I think she could be one of the best. You'll see." I say as I stop and turn to the others. "Alright, gather around. We're heading up." "What were you two talkin about?" Applejack asks. "Just some Spartan stuff. You'll hear about it soon enough. Everyone ready?" I ask, getting nods from everyone. I flare my hands and throw them up, sending us through the ground. "Anypony else find this freaky?" Dust Devil asks as she watches the earth move around us. "You get used to it.... sort of." Fluttershy answers as she holds onto Big Mac tightly. "Don't worry, we usually get through this fairly quickly." Twilight reassures them as she moves closer to me. "Uh, Miles. Don't you think we should of chose a different exit?" "No... why?" "What if we crash through the middle of Detrot?" "... naw. Life doesn't hate me that much." CRASH As if on queue, we begin to crash through pipes and some kind of tough stone. CRASH We burst through the middle of some stone street, sending dirt and dust all around. "You sure about that Miles?" Twilight asks sarcastically. "HEY! STOP RIGHT THERE!" Yells some guard as he runs over to us. "What the buck do you think you're doing breaking the street like that?! You better have a permit to be digging around the city like this!" He yells as he looks around the destroyed road. "We're sorry good sir. It wasn't our intention to..." "What the fuck." I say as I look over to the nearest alley. What did Damian call them, demons? Whatever they were called, there's another one standing there. This one is all black with chest long tentacles coming down from its jaw. He has a massive belly like the other one, but this one seems to have something living inside of it. It looks as if what ever is inside is trying to push its way out, making bulges appear all over. Like the demon before, this one doesn't seem to have legs; rather he just has a dark shade flowing from hiim. "What is it Miles?" Twilight asks as she looks over with me. I take a few steps forward as he looks back to me, drooling instantly. "What do you mean what? The... demon... thing right there." I say as I flare my hands and point him out, making him drool even more. "Uh.." "You feeling ok Miles?" True Will asks. I close my fist and create the black orbs as the demon begins to walk towards me, twitching madly. "Whoa... uh Miles..." Rainbow Dash says as everyone backs away from me. "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to put the... black... wispy things away..." The guard says shakily. "Da mihi anima tua!" He yells as he starts to charge at me. I punch forward and send a blast of Icy Void into the demons chest. He flies back and crashes into a building, quickly disappearing into black wisps. "FUCK YEAH! One shot you little fucker! WOO! You wont get me again little fucker!" I cheer as I look back to the others. "What?" I ask as I look from face to face. They all look scared and confused... "I'm going to have to ask to to put down your weapons, and to put your hands behind your back sir." The guard says as he approaches me. "What? I just..." "As far as I can see, you just destroyed public and private property. You are coming with me..." "Wait... am I being arrested?" I ask as I start to back away from him. I look down the street to see several more guards running towards my position, pulling out weapons as they go. "What the fuck did I do?" "Are you kidding me!? You just destroyed main street and part of a building! Now are you going to come quietly or not?" He asks as twelve guards circle around me. "Sir, I'm sure there is a very good reason Miles did what he did..." Twilight tries, but stops when the guard pulls his sword out. "Stand back or you're under arrest as well!" He yells as he points his sword to Fluttershy, making her whimper away. "Ah'd put the sword away if ah was you." Big Mac growls as he steps forward and pulls his halberd out. "Please, lets not do anything rash." Rarity says as she steps between the two. "Can't we talk this over like calm, sophisticated ponies?" "Fuck that shit!" I yell as I pull my sword and trench knife out. "Back the fuck off!" "Miles!" "Stay back!" "Quit pointin that sword at mah wife!" "Big Mac!" "*mumble/squeel*" "FUCK OFF!" "ENOUGH!" FLASH We all look up to see a massive white flash appear in the air. Once the shine breaks away I look back to see Celestia hovering above us. "What is the meaning of this?!" She asks as she lands in the center of the street. "Your highness." She guard says as he bows before her. "We were trying to arrest this... person, for destroying private property when they started resisting arrest..." "Go fuck yourself I'm not going to jail!" I yell as the guard. "And I did it for a reason." "And why would that be?" Celestia asks as she raises an eyebrow to me. "There was a fucking demon there!" I yell, getting an unamused look from Celestia. "A demon?" "Yes." "A demon was there?" "That's what I said." "And you killed it?" "Yeah, Icy Void did the trick." "...." "What?" I ask as I look around. Everyone is looking away from me, rubbing the back of their necks or scuffing at the ground. "Did anypony else see this... demon, Miles is talking about?" Celestia asks. I look back to everyone and watch as they all avoid my eyes. "Oh you've got to be kidding me..." "The red one also attempted to start a fight with me..." "You pointed a sword at mah wife!" Big Mac yells back to the guard. "And? She should of just backed away..." "And I should a kicked yer flank!" "ENOUGH!" Celestia yells, silencing everyone. "Miles. Could you at least go to the precinct to talk this out?" She asks as she turns to me. ".... I aint going to jail." I say as I take a step back. Everyone just looks up to me in bewilderment. "And why is that?" Celestia asks as she takes a step towards me. "... it's... well..." I stutter as I look from face to face, sweating slightly. "Is there an alternative to going to jail?" "Why don't you want to go to jail Miles?" "Clean up? I'll do repairs..." "Miles." She says flatly. "... pay bail. Pay double bail..." "MILES!" "OK!" I yell as I rub my face a bit. "Well... you know how I don't like parties?" KER-FACEHOOF "How is this anything like a party!" Pinkie demands. "They are nothing alike. Only.... well..." "Well?" Applejack asks as everyone, including the guards, leans in. "Uh... well... I have a fear of... you know.... " "Don't tell me you're scared of jail cells." Rainbow says as she rubs her face some more. "Honestly Miles. I would expect this from Fluttershy..." "It's not the cells themselves... but... well...." "Oh my god." True Will says as he goes wide eyed. "You think you're going to get ass raped in jail..." "Statistically speaking that is the most likely place for it to happen." I defend. "Not to mention its where it most frequently happens..." "Miles, I doubt that would happen..." "FUCK YOU!" I yell as I point Celestia out. "It could happen! All it takes is a slip in the shower or some dickhead tripping you and BAM!" I yell as I begin to hyperventilate. Everyone looks to each other before chuckling to each other. Oh go fuck yourselves... "OK, *chuckle* guard, is there any other way Miles could repay his debt to the city? We wouldn't want anything to happen to the big bad Spartan in jail." She teases, getting everyone to chuckle a bit more. "Well. Our largest gem mine did become over run with burrow spiders. If they clear the mine out and pay a fine, they can walk." The guard says with a chuckle. "Mil..." "I'll take it." I say as I sheath my sword and knife. "You don't even know what a burrow spider is..." Dust Devil starts. "Don't care. It beats going to jail. Where to?" I ask the guard. He just shakes his head some more and motions to me to follow. "WOO!" Pinkie cheers. "We proc-ed a side quest!"
Chapter 139 Itsy Bitsy SpiderChapter 139 Itsy Bitsy Spider Perspective: Celestia "So... have you ever been to jail before?" "Shut up Camo..." "I mean, its either that or..." "Camo. If you keep talking I'm going to shove my rifle down your throat and pull the fucking trigger until it goes click click click. Got it?" He asks as he stops and stares him down. "... is that an innuendo...." "SON OF A..." "Boys." I say, gaining their attention. "If Miles doesn't want to talk about it then its his business. Now if you don't mind I'd like to get this over with." The two of them look to each other before continuing on. I just shake my head and walk along with Miles. "So... did..." "No." He says flatly. "Sorry. Just curious. Usually fears don't just come out of the blue..." "Soror..." "Right. Anyway, are you ready for this?" I ask as we make it out of the edge of town. "After what I've been through, I'm ready for anything." He says as he takes in his surroundings. "Have you ever seen a Burrow Spider? They..." "Whats a spider?" He asks. "Look. I already said I'll do it, so that's what I'm going to do. Thank you for worrying, but don't. I can handle this." "But..." "Alright, here we are." The guard says as he stops in front of a small cave. "Go in, deal with them, and then you may leave. There's only one entrance so don't try any funny business. We'll be watching the surrounding area for any magic so..." "Shut up already." Miles says as he marches straight in. "Don't you..." "Nnope." Big Mac says as he follows after him. "Fine. Do it your way then." The guards says as he steps in front of True Will. "Only they get to go in. The rest of you will wait out here until they return." "WHAT!" The rest of them yell as they all start to try to argue with him. He just motions to another guard to seal up the entrance. "Guard." I say, silencing them all. "Explain this to me at once. Did they not all break through the law?" "Those two were only being arrested for resisting arrest. The others will only have to pay the fine. Sorry Princess, but its in the city charter." "Very well." I say as I straighten out and begin to walk away. I motion to Twilight to follow me, getting her to run to my side. "Yes Princess?" She asks eagerly. "You wouldn't happened to know the city charter for Detrot, would you?" I whisper to her as I lean over, feeling slightly guilty for not knowing it as well as I should. "Sorry Princess, I never could get a copy of it. That, and it changes all of the time due to their constant town meetings. You don't think he's lying to you, do you?" "I don't think so, everything seems correct, I jusst can't shake this eerie feeling. I will be back as soon as possible. I need to go read up on something...." "Do you need my help? I could..." "No. Stay here and make sure nothing happens to Miles. I can tell something is wrong, I just can't put my hoof on it." She leans in and gives me a quick hug before running back to her friends. I look back to them and sigh... wait... one, two, three, four... two of them are missing. I can't help but grin as I teleport back to my balcony. "You're laaate." Luna chimes as we walk to the edge. "You sound a little happy about that." I say with a smirk as I begin to lower my beloved sun. "Should I be worried?" "Mmm... yes." She says with a big smile. "But I will be forgiving if you join me for dinner tonight." "That sounds lovely." I say as the sun dips beneath the horizon, giving way to the moon. "Shall we?" She offers me a smile as we begin to walk down to the dinning hall together. "Where did you go?" She asks as we walk down the marble hall. "I had to go to Detrot to stop Miles from starting a riot..." "HE WHAT?" She yells as she comes to a halt. "He burst through main street and tried to resist arrest. Apparently he has an irrational fear of going to jail because... well.. ahem..." "Why?" "He seems to think that... if he goes to jail... that others... well... uh..." I stutter as Luna waits patiently for me to answer. Why do I find this so hard to talk about? She's my sister, this should be easy. "He thinks that..." "That?" She says as she tries to get me to say it. I take a deep breath as I try to force myself to say it, feeling sweat form on my brow. "Uh... he... thinks that.... aren't you hungry? I'm hungry. I could eat an orchard right about now. Lets hurry up and get something to eat." I say before taking off down the hall. I make it to the dinning room and quickly take my seat, hiding my blushing face in the menu. FLASH "Well? Why did he refuse to go to jail?" Luna asks. "He... Nevermind." I say as I pivot away from her. "Tia..." "It was... why don't you just go and ask him yourself." I say as I flip the page, turning further away from her. "... really?" "Yes little sister." I say as I continue to try to keep my mind on other things. I suddenly lurch forward as Luna reaps me up in a hug, squeezing me tightly. "Thank you! I'll get going right away!" "Wait..." "Bye!" FLASH I look back to her empty seat and curse my ignorance. Why didn't I see that coming? *sigh* well, I'm sure nothing will come of it... "What would you like to eat your highness?" "Something banned from my diet please." I say flatly as I set my menu down and rub my eyes. "Are you sure..." "Yes. I know, I'll deal with the consequences later." "As you wish," he says as he takes the menu and walks away. I just look out the window and sigh again. Oh Luna... please don't do anything rash. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles We make it down the main tunnel keeping completely silent. Keeping low, I pull out my trench knife and prepare for anything to show up. Based on what I saw of spiders back at the farm, this should be fairly easy... "Do you hear that?" Big Mac asks. I pause and listen to hear a little girl singing. "Lets hurry up." I say as we both hurry down the tunnel. The farther down we go, the louder the echos become. We come to a stop in a large open area. The walls are spotted with different sized gems and have been mined in three different direction. In the center of the room is a little light blue filly with messy grey hair. She's just sitting there, facing away from us as she sings. "Little.." "DON'T GO NEAR HER!" We spin back to see Camo and Dust Devil running towards us at full speed. Camo slides to a stop as Dust Devil runs past us, heading straight for the little girl. "WHAT ARE YOU..." "AHHHH!" Dust Devil yells as she tackles the little girl to the ground. I try to stop her, but fail to do so. As soon as Dust Devil was securely on top, she pulled out her knife and drove it into her throat. Big Mac and I just stand there in a daze as Dust just sits there, breathing deeply. "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO!" I yell as I march up to her. She ignores me as she feels the back of the her neck. "Its still alive. Stand back." She says as she stands up and rolls the body over. "What the..." "GUYS!" Camo yells as he drops down in front of me. "She was already dead." "What are you talking about?" I ask as I try to go around him. "You just killed that little girl..." "No I didn't." Dust says quietly. "Let me show you." She takes her knife and start cutting at the back of her neck. I turn away and try not to listen to what shes doing. This... this is wrong. "Have either of you eve seen a burrow spider?" Camo asks. I turn back and watch in horror as Dust Devil carves into the neck of the little girl. "No ah haven't...." "Well look closely." Dust Devil says as she sticks her hoof into the little girls neck and begins to reach for something. I turn away as I begin to gag. If I had anything in my stomach, it wouldn't be there now. "Be careful DD..." "I know." Dust snaps. "OK, I've got it." She pulls back to reveal... "This... is a burrow spider." On the end of her hood is a small, fist size creature. It has eight long black legs that are smeared with blood. They look like they end in hooks and are extremely thin. Its body is fairly small, being about the size of my thumb and flat. "What the fuck is that?" I ask as I look it over more closely, only to back away as it hisses and tries to grab onto something. "Burrow spiders. Typically you only get them in the Elemental union, but they can make their way up here easily." Dust says as she looks it over. "They live by feeding off of anything they can climb into. They climb in, through the mouth, and attack themselves to the brain stem. From there, they release their eggs into their host and keep them alive until their offspring are old enough to live on their own..." "Is there anyway to keep the host alive?" I ask. "No." "Are you sure? Maybe..." "I'm sure." She says sternly. "They hook onto your brain stem and hold on tighter then a dead orc. If the host is alive after they attach themselves, they don't live much longer afterwards." "Why is that?" Big Mac asks. "Because the hatch lings eat the host... slowly." I walk around Dust and kneel beside the little girl. "She was singing..." "No. She wasn't." Dust Devil says as she squashes the spider, making a small pool of blood form underneath her hoof. "That was the spider. They can bite onto the brain and control you. It can be pretty convincing depending on the experiences of the spider. She was dead long before we were here." I look down to the girl and slide my fingers over her face, closing her eyes. "How many do you think are down here?" I ask as I hold my hand on her chest. "Dunno. She could of been the only one, there could be fifty, its impossible to know without going throughout the entire mine." "Do we need to worry about her?" Camo asks as he looks down to her. "I don't think they even hatched yet. To be safe we need to cremate her. Its the only way." "I'll do it." I say as I stand. "I can d it without fire, I'll take care of that." She nods to me and steps away from her. I take a deep breath as I flare my hands. "Do it." Dust says cruelly. "I'm sorry." I push my palm towards her and send a beam into her small body, turning her to ash. "Come on, there's probably more of them." Dust says as she stands and walks down the left most tunnel. "Come on Miles, lets go." Big Mac says as he nudges me along the way. I stare at the pile of ash until its out of view. "Ya gonna be alright?" "... yeah. Probably. I just.... I hate seeing children suffer..." "Ah know. Ah don't like it anymore then you do. But we have ta do this. Ta put em out a their misery..." "I know. But knowing doesn't make it easier." I say as I walk after Camo and Dust Devil. We make it to the end of the tunnel where we hear some whispering, so we crouch down and sneak to the corner. I can hear what sounds like a child crying and an adult. "...filly. Just open wide and say..." "Where's my sister? Why did you bring me down here? I want to go home..." "You are home. Just come here and...." "HEY!" I yell as I walk out into the opening. OK, there are at least twenty adults in her all huddled around the same point. "Leave her alone." "Miles, this is kind of stupid." Dust Devil says nervously as she peers over to the crowd. "What do you think you're doing?" "Saving that kid." "She could already be infected! This could be a trap, we need..." "COME ON!" I yell as I step forward. "One child or three adults? Pick already." "Oh buck you Miles." Camo says as he pulls his sword out. "Shut up and get ready fer a fight." Big Mac says as he pulls out his halberd. "Put that away and take my sword." I say as I toss him my sword. "Fire and caves don't really mix well." "Right." "You with us?" I ask Dust as I pull out my trench knife. "*sigh* yeah. Just do me a favor, don't let me get infected." She says as they all stand by my side and get ready to fight. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR! COME ON!" I yell as I charge straight for them. They all scream out as they charge straight for us. I thrust my free hand forward, sending a beam of soul fire into one of the charging ponies and turning him to ash. I spin back and slam the blade of my knife into the neck of one of the others as the rest slam into me. They try to bite and scratch at me, but my armor stops them from doing any real damage. I push and kick them away as I try to make my too the little girl. As I move, I stab and grab at them, killing them as I puncture necks and turn them to ash. "AHHHH!" The little girl screams. "HOLD ON!" I yell as I push the lines on my arms to my potestatum anuls and slam my free hand down on the ground, sending a wave pf energy around me and sending everyone flying away from me. I push myself forward and run to where I thought I heard the child. "AHH!" I look over to see a small black form running down some tunnel being chased by two adults. "KEEP RUNNING!" I yell as I send a beam at one of them, turning her to ash. "MILES!" Big Mac yells. "I"m going after her, take care of the rest of them!" I yell as I run after the little girl. I take the corner to see the stallion standing over the little girl as she kicks and screams. He lowers his face and opens his mouth as several bulges crawl their way up his neck. As several long black legs stick out of his mouth I send my energy into my blade and punch forward, sending a blast of energy that knocks him into the wall behind. The girl continues to kick around as a single spider sits on her face, trying to pull her mouth open. "Hold on! I've got you!" I yell as I run over to her and slide to my knees. I grab the spider and go to pull it off, but it just latches on to her face. She screams out as blood falls from her cheeks and lips. I tighten my grip on the spider as I pump my magic into it, burning it away. "Hold still so I can heal you...' "STOP! I JUST WANT MY SISTER! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" She screams as she continues to kick. I push my hands through and lay them on her chest as I pump the healing energy into her. She arches her back and stops kicking as the wounds on her begin to heal. "Feel better?" I ask as I pull my hands back. She takes a few deep breaths as she looks up me. She must still be terrified... of the human she's never seen before. "You don't need to be scared. My name is Miles. What's your name?" "I...I'm... my name is Shadow." She whispers as she sits up. "Shadow. Are you hurt anywhere else?" I ask as I look her over. She has an all black coat with long messy grey hair that has a streak of blue in it. Her eyes are the deepest blue and she seems to be fairly small. I'm guessing she's Appleblooms age, maybe less. "No." She says as she wipes her fore head. Oh, she's a unicorn. "What's going on? What are those icky spiders doing to those ponies.... have you seen my sister?" She asks as she looks up to me with her hope filled eyes. "I... what did your sister look like?" I ask, knowing all to well what happened. "She has a light blue coat and grey hair like mine. We're the same age and she has a cutie mark of a lantern." "What was her name." I ask as I sheath my knife. "Why did you say was? Is Light ok? Where is she? What..." "Shadow." I say firmly as I look down. "Light... had a spider in her... like the others. She's... she's... I'm so sorry shadow." "No.... no. She can't be dead. She's my big sister.... she can't be dead." She mutters as tears begin to fall from her eyes. "I'm so sorry Shadow..." "No, why are you telling me this? I want Light back, bring her back! I want my sister" She yells as she jumps into my lap and hits my chest, crying heavily. I wrap my arms around her and hold her as she cries for her lost sister. "Ohhhh..." Shadow freezes up as the pony from before begins to moan. I look back to see bulges appearing all around his body, a few breaking open to reveal long black legs. "What is that? Whats going on?" Shadow asks as she latches on to me, wrapping her arms around me. "Spiders. Don't look." I say as I stand up, still holding onto her. She buries her face in my neck. I take my free arm and shoot the body with soul fire, turning it to ash. "Whew, that was close." I chuckle. "Heh... yeah." Shadow agrees as she keeps her face in the crook of my neck. "MILES!" I hear Dust Devil scream. She, as well as Camo and Big Mac, come running down the tunnel at full speed. "Whats going...." "SPIDERS!" They scream as a torrent of spiders comes after them. The walls and floor are covered in a mass of black spiders chasing after them. Camo pivots back as he swings his sword at them, sending a wave of black energy at the front of the flood. It explodes, but is quickly over run by more spiders. "GET BEHIND ME!" I yell as I raise my hand. I concentrate on the area around us and throwing my arm down. A large chunk of the wall falls down, crushing a good number of the spiders. I throw my arm out and send another wall down.... "STOP! YOU'LL BRING IT ALL DOWN ON US!" Dust Devil yells as she looks around. "We need to get out of here..." "Are all of the infected people dealt with?" I ask. "Only these spi..." "Good, gather around!" I order, getting them all to run to my side. I push the lines on my arms and push up, sending us straight up and through the earth above. We appear in what looks like a light forest filled with light tan leaves. We take a moment to check ourselves before laughing. "Think they'll get mad for us leaving early?" Camo asks. "I really don't care right now." I say as I check on Shadow. "Can you walk for a bit? I need to do something." She just nods her head and loosens her grip on me. I kneel down and set her on her hooves. I stand up and flare my magic on both arms, pushing it up to my elbows. "What are ya doin Miles?" Big Mac asks. "Making sure they don't leave." I say before slamming my hands down onto the ground. Cracks appear all around us as sections begin to fall down. I push all of it down until I'm sure that all of the mine is buried. "There. Mission accomplished." I say as I kneel down beside Shadow. "Come on, I'll take you home." "*sniff* I..." "Where is home?" I ask as I pick her up. "I... don't have a home." She says as she begins to tear up again. "I lived with the miners and my sister. Without them.... I dunno... I..." "Hey, it's ok." I say as I rub her back. She buries her face i my neck again as she begins to cry again. I look over to Big Mac and the others before pulling her slightly off of me. "Don't you have any family? Mom? Dad? Uncles..." "My mom and dad died when I was really little. It's always been just me and Lantern. Where do I go now? I don't want to go to the orphanage, please don't take me there! I.. can still work! I can...." "Hey, hey, shh..." I say as I hold her a little tighter. I look back to the others before taking a deep breath. "How about you come with me to Ponyville? It may only be for a while, but I can take care of you for a bit." "*sniff* really? Why? Why would you do that?" She asks as she rubs her eyes. I take a deep breath as I think about the best way to answer. Why am I offering her this? "Several reasons." I say as I begin to walk towards Detrot. "But mainly because you need a home. I know you don't know me, but I.... can't help but feel as if I have to do this. What do you say? Lets try it for a week and see if we can't work something out." "O...OK." She says as she lays her head on my shoulder. "Thank you Miles." I look back to Big Mac and see his bewildered face. I just shrug and continue on. I have to do this... I killed her only family.
Chapter 140 Go To BedChapter 140 Go To Bed Once the dust settled from the ground dropping I had Camo and Dust Devil carry Big Mac out while I held onto Shadow. The poor kid is still shaking from her experience, but we'll be out of here soon. I launch through the air and follow after the others, landing near the group. "Big brother! Miles, ya made it. We weren't sure iffin.. uh, whos that?" Applejack asks as we walk onto solid ground. "This is Shadow. She's going to be staying with me for a bit until we can figure out a living situation for her." I say, getting worried looks from everyone. "Uh... I dunno Miles. Have you ever taken care of a foal before? It's not exactly easy." Rainbow says as she rubs the back her neck. "Really Rainbow? You're going to judge my parenting skills?" I ask, getting her to look away. "Look, I know what it takes to raise a child. I volunteered at an orphanage plenty of time to know what to expect..." "But did you clear it with your wife?" Luna asks as she walk up to us from the street. Well... shit. "I have to do this..." "There are organizations built for this Miles. I don't think..." "Ego occidi cui sola familia. Mihi sponsor est." I say, getting her to step back. "Est quod verum?" She asks, to which I nod. "*sigh* alright. Just... we'll talk some more about this later." "Of course." I say as I walk over to her, getting confused looks. "Hey Shadow, meet my wife." I whisper into her ear. She peers out from my neck for a second before looking back away. "I... I don't like meeting new ponies." She says as she tightens her hold on me. "Are you sure? She's really pretty." I coax, getting her to loosen up a bit. She looks over to Luna and turns back to me, looking scared. "Miles!" She whispers loudly as she taps my shoulder. "Miles, she's an alicorn." "I know." I whisper back. "Only Princesses are alicorns Miles." She whispers as she hazardously looks back to Luna. She offers her a smile, only to have Shadow hide her face from her. "Well, not technically. But she is one..." "I'm Princess Luna, Celestias little sister." Luna tries as she steps towards us. "Cele... are you royalty?" She asks me, getting me to laugh... wait a minute. "If he'd even acknowledge it." Luna scoffs. I just smile as I look back to the others. Most seem content with this, but I can see a few worried looks. "Lets head home already." I say, getting cheers from everyone. "Sound good Shadow?" I ask her as we all start to walk towards my jeep. She nods her head before letting out a long yawn. "Go ahead and go to sleep. We've got a bit of a drive to do." "OK." She says as she lays her head back on my shoulder. I look over to Luna and shrug my shoulders to her. "Im 'non certus esse." She says quietly. "Nolite solliciti. Omnia fore bysso." I assure her. "What are ya'll talking about?" Applejack asks. "Stuff." I say as I look over to her. She just rolls her eyes and continues on. "Hoc unum facitis nostra non?" She asks. I take a deep breath as I look over to her. "Me paenitet quidem, sed ... suus 'non extiterunt." She says as she looks down. "Fringilla non fieret, scio. Hoc est magis tunc nobis sententia. Hoc est pro ea." She lets out another long sigh before leaning her head against me. I take my free hand and lay it against her neck, stroking her lightly. "Uh... I take it yer keeping the foal." Applejack says from behind. I just chuckle as I continue on. We make it to the jeep and begin to pack up, after I raise it from the ground. Luna gives me a kiss on the cheek before we take off, saying that we'll talk more at home. Shadow went asleep during the walk here, so I lay her on the passenger seat and buckle her in. I understand everyones' concerns, but what would they have me do? I'm now responsible for her. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Detrot Guard I watch from the city line as the human and the others leave. Camo looks back to me and gives a signal, so I turn back and begin to run down the streets. Luckily its night time, so there aren't many ponies out here. I make it to the flower shop and bare straight in, scaring the mare behind the counter. "Sir, the shop is closed...." "Black orchids are wilting." I say, getting her to drop the act. "Are you...." "Just shut up and let me in already!" I bark at her. She reaches down and pulls a lever, opening the tunnel entrance. I charge down the passageway until I reach the doors to the meeting hall. I pause for a second and collect myself before knocking on the door. After a few minutes of waiting the door slowly opens and I walk to the center light. "What news do you bring us." Asks one of the figures on the dark. "Camo Flash has been accepted to the Spartan squad..." "Excellent." "...as will True Will." The room falls silent after I say this. I feel a slight tingle go down my spine as I feel them stare me down. "I'm sorry, could you say that again." Says a different voice. "True Will has been offered to join the Spartan regiment. I don't know if he's accepted, but the offer is on the table." "Leave us." I bow before walking out, trying my best to hear what they say as I go. "... we trust him?" "... have to." ".... a message to..." The door shuts before I could hear anything else. I walk out to the front and stand at attention. "What's the news?" He asks. "Camo has been accepted sir!" I say as he walks around me. "Good." "And so has True Will." I say, making him stop. He walks back out to face me as he lowers his sunglasses. "True Will has made it?" "He's been offered at least sir." "...*sigh* well, lets remind him who he belongs to then." He says as he walks to the door behind me. "Oh, and make sure to take care of those guards before you return to your post." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles Once we finally make it back to Ponyville everyone starts to go home, Twilight nearly sprinting down the road. I wave to Big Mac as he carries a sleeping Applejack and Fluttershy away. Rarity and Pinkie both walk off together, both seeming eager to get home as well... well, it is three in the morning. "Can the rest of you wait up real quick? I need to tell you all something." I ask quietly as I lift Shadow out of the car. They all look around before slowly walking to my home. I open the door..." "BARK BARK BARK!" Lupus and Hati come barreling out of the door, nearly knocking me and Shadow over. I glance back to them and shake my head as I walk inside. I make motions to the others to wait as I take Shadow to her new room, the one across from mine. I walk in and lay her down, tucking her in as gently as possible. "Mmhmm... Miles?" She asks as she wakes up slightly. "Don't worry. You're in your new room. Just go to sleep and we'll talk in the morning, OK?" I say as I brush her main out of her face. "OK. Thank you Miles... you're *yawn* ... a good pony." She says before falling back to sleep. I take a deep breath before standing up and leaving the room. I glance back to her as I shut the door quietly. "It's a good feeling huh?" Rainbow says from the stairs. "I get it all the time from Scoot. Trust me, it only gets better." "Yeah... anyway. Lets head down to the others. I have big news." I say as I walk past her. When we make it to the living room, I have Rainbow join the others "What's this all about? This is valuable sleeping time you know." Dust Devil says as she continues to nod in and out. I ignore her questions as I go to the kitchen and pull out the Spartan logo necklace. I walk over and reveal the necklace, getting confused looks from all of them. "Uh... what are...." "You are all eligible to take Spartan training." I say bluntly, getting shocked looks from Dust Devil and Rainbow Dash. "I've seen all of your fighting prowess and recognize your character to be that of a Spartan. If you so choose, you may take the training regiment. I will start it up sometime within the next week, so think about this. I will push you to your limits, break you, try to kill you. But, I will also turn you into the greatest fighting force for good. You will become a beacon of light in times of dark, and the ray of hope to those without. When I call, you will have one day to make it here. If you don't make it, then you lose out. Think long and hard about this." I say as I give the necklace to Camo. "Sorry, but you three need to share for now..." "Hold on one second." Rainbow says as she shakes her head. "You really think I can be a Spartan?" "I think you could be one of the best." I say, getting her expression to soften. "You are a perfect example of the kind of character we look for in a recruit. You try to do whats right because its right. At the drop of a hat you put your own life at risk to save others. You're an adept fighter, though a bit rash, and I believe you can do this, do you?" She looks away from me as she starts to think about it. I take the necklace and toss it over to True Will, having him catch it with his magic. "Are you sure..." "Yes. You two were nominated, so I have to take their word on it, but I've seen Dust Devils character in action. I believe you can be a damn good Spartan. It's up to you three." They all look to each other, silently questioning each other over their choice. "You have some time to think about this. It won't be for a few days, so go and think deeply about this." "We'll do that. Take care Miles." True Will says as he walks off, lost in thought. "I'll be there, you can count on that." Camo says as he walks off confidently. "Sleeeeeeeep." Dust Devil drags out as she drops her head and walks out. "Miles.... I..." "Don't think about it right now." I say to Rainbow. "Go home, sleep, take Scootaloo out for the day, and think about it. This will change your life, be sure you're ready for something like this." She nods to me as she walks away, looking deeply troubled. I sigh in relief as I make my way back up the stairs, ready to go to... "Miles." Luna says as she sits on the edge of my bed. I groan a bit as I walk over and drop onto the bed. "Sleep." I mumble into the sheets. "Sorry, but... we need to talk about this." She says as she lies next to me, nuzzling my head a bit. I roll over and take her in my arms, getting her to snuggle up against me. Tonight, is going to be a long night. "Whats on your mind?" "Well... it's about Shadow..." "You already know..." "No, I accept that you're going to watch over her now. I completely support that. It's... well... how do I word this correctly?" "Just ask." "Well, did you... check her for spiders?" She asks nervously. "They were trying to infest her when I rescued her. That was evidence..." "But that could of been a ruse. What if they only did that so you would rescue her and take them out of the mine? We need to check her over to make sure she..." CREAK We both look over to the door to see Shadow standing there, stifling tears as she looks down. "Everything alright kido?" I ask as I sit up. "...*sniff*..." "What happened?" "I... I wet the bed." She says as her tears start to roll down her face. I stand up and walk over to her, kneeling before her as I put my hands on her shoulders. "Shh... its alright." "No its not. I'm suppose to be a big pony, and I wet the bed. I woke up again and I thought I saw a spider and... it scared me..." "And that's fine. After what you went through I understand perfectly..." "Please don't be mad. I'll clean the sheets tomorrow, I promise..." "Hey, no one is mad at you. Don't worry about the sheet either, we'll deal with them tomorrow. Lets just go to sleep and get this day over with." I say as I rub her back a bit. She nods and begins to walk away when I pick her up and bring her over to my bed. "But... what if I..." "You won't." I say as I lay her down on the on the bed. Luna stands up and eyes her a bit as I tuck her in. "If any spiders try to get you in here, I'll stomp them out for you, OK?" She looks between the two of us nervously before nodding, pulling the sheets closer to herself. Luna nudges me a bit and motions to the closet, so I follow after her. "Miles, I need to get going now, but promise me you'll check her for spiders. I have a bad feeling about..." "I will." I say as I start pulling my armor off. Luna waits for me to finish before giving me a hug. "You're going to have to read her body over with magic and check for any other living organisms, do you know how?" She whispers into my ear. "I know how." I say as drape my arms over her shoulders. "Ego amare te." "Ego amare te magis." "Ego amare te maxime." I say before giving her a soft kiss on the lips. I begin to pull back, only to have her push back in for another kiss. I just put my hand behind her ear and return the love. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Twilight When home comes into view I pick up the pace, glad to finally be home. When I reach the door I slow down and begin to make a mental check list of what I need to do. I need to wake Storm up right away and beg for forgiveness, hug Spike, and to... to... "What in Equestria happened here?" I ask aloud as I look around my destroyed home. Books lie everywhere, on the floor, on the stairs, everywhere except the shelves. The walls are covered in slashes, scorch marks and large dents. As I walk through the books I can see several of them and been completely destroyed. Most seems to have been burnt while several have been cut to shreds... SLUUUUUURP I look over to the kitchen to see Storm and Spike sitting there, eating cereal. As if there's nothing wrong in here. SLUUUUUURP "What happened here!?" I ask, getting both of their attention. "TWILIGHT!" They yell as they run over and tackle me in a hug. They both start rambling on about who knows what as Spike lifts the two of us up. "What happened here?" I ask as I teleport out their arms. "Well... I sort of..." "We had a little..." "No! It was my..." "I did the most damage..." "No way! I did..." "BOYS!" I yell, getting their attention. Spike sets Storm down and waits patiently. I look around the room some more before looking back to them. "*sigh* we'll get cleaning tomorrow. I could really use a bowl of cereal right now." I say as I walk over to the kitchen. As they stand there, dumbstruck, I pour myself a bowl and take a bite. "Are you joining me or not?" I ask with a mouthful. "Aren't you mad?" Spike asks as he hesitantly walks over to the table and takes a seat. "Well... a little. But I missed my boys more." I say as I take another bite and smile to Spike. He smiles back as he begins to eat his cereal. I look over to Storm and pat the chair next to me, getting him to smile as he walks over. "So, who want to tell me what happened?" I ask as Storm takes his seat. "Well..." "I'll tell her." "No Spike. I'll tell her. It'll...." "You're always telling me how to be a stallion, well here's my chance to be one. I'm telling her." Spike says, getting Storm to back off. "Well, when you were leaving for Miles's place a few days ago, you forgot a quill. I know how you get when you forget stuff so I went after you and... I found you talking with Miles..." "OK." I say as I put my spoon down and turn towards him. I really have no idea where he's going with this, but I have a bad feeling about this. "Well... I heard you say that you weren't meant to be a mother and... well... I thought you meant me." He looks down and begins to twiddle with his spoon, trying his hardest not to look me in the eyes. I reach over too him and place my hoof on his claw, getting him to look to me. "Spike, I didn't mean anything about you. I was... in a bad mind set, and I'm sorry. I will always love you as my son, no matter what. Don't you ever forget that." He drops out of his chair and pulls me in for another hug. "Could you ever forgive me Spike?" "I already did... Mom." He says as he tightens his squeeze on me. I ignore the added pressure and return the hug, still feeling horrible. "Then... he came home." Storm adds, making Spike shutter. "What happened when you came home?" I ask as we let go of each other. "Well... I was mad and... started.... um... fuming." "Fuming? Fuming how?" I ask nervously. "Uh... I was ranting about how you lied to me and other mean things about you when Storm found me. He started to... tell me to do things or to stop talking poorly about you and... well... uhmm..." "We got into a damn good fight." Storm finishes. "You were fighting!" I yell as I look between the guilty and prideful idiots."That's why my books were destroyed!?" "Well.... fire tends to do that." Spike says as he begins to shrink away. "And a wind sword indoors isn't a very good idea sometimes." Storm adds. "Luckily we got the house looking good on the outside yesterday..." "Yesterday? What about the other days?" I ask as I look between the two of them. "Well... the first day I tried to run away, but Storm out flew me. Then I tried to break out of the house, but he would always drag me back. Then we just started fighting...." "And I would always win." Storm finishes proudly. "The entire time I would remind him how much he means to us and how hurt we would be if he left. It slowly chiseled away at him until he finally broke down. After that, we made up and started fixing the place up." I lean over and whisper to Storm, "How bad was it?" "He not much of a fighter. I can tell..." "The house." "Oh... well... lets just say we had a duplex for awhile." I lean back and try to process this in a sensible, level headed manner. "Twilight..." "*sigh* buck it." I say as I get up. "Lets just go to bed. You two already made up, that's all I care about at the moment." They both look to each other before laughing. I watch them for a few seconds before laughing myself. It's good to be home. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Rainbow Dash I wave goodbye to Dust, Camo and Will before flying up to my house. Scootaloo is probably asleep at the Apples, so I'll just get her tomorrow morning. I get to my door and get inside quickly, getting chills from the northern winds. Winters quickly approaching, this'll probably mean more weather duties... "Hello?" I look down the hall and gawk for a second. "Rainbow, you're back!" "SOARIN!" I yell as I run into his hooves for a hug. "I missed you so much, but what are you doing here? Don't you have to..." "The Wonderbolts can wait. Once I heard you left I used this chance to get to know Scootaloo better." He says as he pulls back to look me in the eyes. "And... how did it go?" I ask nervously. "She's great." He says simply. I lunge forward for another hug at the great news... "Whats going on.... MOM!" I look over only to get tackled by Scootaloo. I twist around and hold onto her tightly, nuzzling her neck to make her giggle. "When did you get back? Was it dangerous? Did you save anypony? Were there any of those creepy food creatures there? What...." "Whoa, slow down there squirt." Soarin says as he wraps his arms around me from behind. "Lets let her take a rest before we bombard her with questions, K?" "Aw." She pouts as she gives me her puppy dog eyes. "Well.... I guess one story couldn't hurt." "YES!" She exclaims as she flutters out of my hooves and heads to the kitchen table. I try to move, but Soarin keeps me in place, nuzzling the back of my mane softly. "Soarin! Quit holding up the story!" We both laugh as he lifts me up and carries me over to the table. "Well then, lets hear it." Soarin says as he takes a seat next to Scootaloo. "Well... this is basically how I, the one and only Rainbow Dash, earned her way to be a Spartan." I gloat as I lean back in my seat. "Spartan? You mean like Miles, Storm, and Big Mac?" Scootaloo asks. "Eeyup." "WHOA! Way to go Dash! Are you going to do it? They could use all the super heroes they can get and..." "Slow down squirt. I don't know if I'm going to do it yet. But I was offered. Let me tell you what I did to earn it." Scootaloo bobs her head in excitement while Soarin just gives me a troubled look."There I was, back to back with Miles; surrounded by dozens of insane over powered humans trying to suck out our souls..." "Whoa..." "Yeah... whoa." "Was I scared? Of course not. Miles jumped through their earthen barricade and pulled three of them off, but one decided to try to take me on. So I lifted my rifle and...." I pause for dramatic effect, "PEWPEWPEWPEWPEW-KERBOOOM!" I yell as I jump into the air. "He collides with me and explodes from my gun fire. When I woke up, I was hurt, bad." "*gasp* did somepony save you?" "Yeah... how hurt?" "Bad. I started to crawl my way to a building in the distance. I saw some dark energy there and figured it way the others. After about how know how long I decided to try and fly there. I passed out just as Camo flash came to my rescue. You know what happened next?" I ask as I take my seat and lean in. "What?" Scootaloo asks in a whisper as she leans in. "I... got... SHOT!" I yell as I slam my hoof on the table. "NO WAY! What happened!?" "You what!?" "Hehe, maybe next time kido. Its way past your bed time, c'mon. Lets go." I say as I stand up. "Aw... but..." "No buts, we'll talk more tomorrow." I say as I wait for her to get up. With a heavy sigh she jumps down and marches to her room. I walk in and take a looks around the mess; just how it was before. "Do I have to go to school tomorrow? What if I 'got sick' and we hanged out all day? Soarin to?" I pick her up and lay her down, tucking her in as I think about it. "I would love nothing more then that, but school is important. We can hang out afterwards, OK?" "*sigh* fine." "Sweet dreams squirt." I say as I nuzzle her a bit on the forehead. "Night Mom." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Shadow "Huh! What?" I look around the dark room when the sound of something opening the door wakes me up. I look over and hear something big stepping into the room. "Miles!" I whisper loudly. "Miles, there's a monster in the room." I look over to see him completely asleep. "*sniff...sniff*" What ever came into the room is now taking big sniffs of the area. It's probably trying to find me, what should I do? I look back to Miles before the sniffing scares me again, making me hide under his arm. "Miles!" I shout/whisper. "What is..." "*pant pant*". "Oh... it's just a dog." I sigh in relief as the dog jumps onto the bed and begins sniffing around. "Here doggy doggy." I say as I reach out for it. I feel the fluffy fur under my hoof and begin to pet it, getting it to pant some more. "Alright doggy, it's time to go to bed." I say as I get up to go back to my spot. Instead the dog just goes to my pillow and spins in a circle five kajillion times before dropping down. "Hey, that's my spot." I whine, only to get a sigh in response. Well... now where will I sleep?
Chapter 141 Meeting New PoniesChapter 141 Meeting New Ponies Perspective: Miles I sigh contently when something soft rubs up against my neck. I roll to my side and pull Luna close... "Luna?" I ask as I open my eyes. She's lying right next to me, smiling. "Morning love." "Morning. Where's Shadow?" I look around the bed and realize she isn't here. "She's probably in the restroom. What brings you here so early... or late in your case." I ask as I wrap my arms around her. "What? I can't lay with my husband every now and a again? I missed you." She says as she leans in and nuzzles my nose. I just smile and return the affection. "BARK BARK BARK BARK!" The door suddenly bursts open and Lupus and Hati come running in. They stop at the end of the bed and continue to bark at us. "Hey hey hey, shut up already." I yell at them, getting whines in response. "Sheesh. Mood killers." "Do you smell smoke?" Luna asks as she sits up. I sniff the air a couple of times before I smell it as well. We look to each other before running towards the door. I check her room first and find it completely empty, and clean. Next we make our way down the stairs and to the kitchen where we find it a complete mess. A light tan paste covers most of the counters and cabinets as smoke rises from the stove. "I MADE WAFFLES!" Shadow announces from the table as she presents a plate full of odd looking pancakes. She has her mane tied back with the blue streak hanging in front of her face. We look between her and the mess before I start to laugh. "Um... did I do something wrong?" She asks as she sets the plate on the kitchen table. "No, no, its just my luck." I chuckle as I walk over and look at the meal she prepared. "How is it that both the women in my life can only cook by making a complete mess." "Hey... I didn't make a complete mess." Luna says as she joins us. "I'm sorry Miles. I'll clean up right..." "No, its fine. We'll clean up after eating." I say as I take a seat and look over a waffle. "So what is this anyway?" "Its a waffle." Shadow says a she takes the seat to my right. "Whats in it?" "Um... waffle." I laugh a little before taking a bite. "Its pretty good." "Its better with syrup." Luna says as she take one and pours some syrup on it. I go ahead and add some as well, finding it to be twice as good now. "So... you like it?" Shadow asks as she perks up a bit. "Yeah, its good. Where did you learn to cook anyway?" I ask as I take another one. "Well... it was only me and Lantern Light. We had to provide for ourselves, and Lantern was always working harder then me. So I picked up a few things from the other miners." "Why were you in the mines to begin with?" I ask, putting down the waffle. She looks between me and Luna before lowering her head a bit. "We didn't have parents... and if we went to an orphanage... we could have been separated. So we hide down there one day and the forepony found us...and ended up making a deal with us. We helped with the smaller things and we got to live in the miners camp, we even made money..." "Wait wait wait. They let children work in a mine.... why?" I ask, looking to Luna. "Don't look at me. I'm just as shocked as you are." She defends. "I don't know what the deal was. Lantern Light was the one who made it. All I was told was to gather rocks from the miners and to transport them occasionally. My sister would have to talk to the forepony every now and a again, but I was never allowed to go..." "Go to... how did she act when she came back?" I ask as I turn towards her. "Well.... she was usually sad... and would want lots of hugs...." "Oh sweet Barbra." I mutter as I look back to Luna, getting a similar expression from her. "What?" Shadow asks. I look back to her and try to think of what to say. How do you tell a little girl that you think her sister was molested so they could live and work in a mine. "Miles, why don't you take Shadow to town and get her stuff. Tooth brush, hair brush, maybe a snack at Sugar Cube Corner?" Luna suggests. "Sugar?" Shadow asks as she perks up a bit. "Uh.... yeah. Yeah, that's a good idea. I'll go grab my stuff, eat up while I do that." I say before standing up. I head upstairs where I put on some new clothes and grab some money. When I make it back down stairs I find Luna and Shadow waiting by the door. Shadow looks like a ball of energy that's about to explode while Luna looks... nervous. "OK. You two have fun now. I'll clean up before heading back to Canterlot." Luna says as she walks up to me and gives me a hug. "Remember what we talked about." She whispers. "I will. See you soon." I say before giving her a kiss. "Blech, are you two always like that?" Shadow asks in disgust. I just laugh as I watch Luna head up the stairs. "Miles?" "Alright. Lets get going." I say as I turn back and open the door for her. She jumps up a bit before running out to the porch. "*gasp* MILES! Look! It's Soarin!" She exclaims as she points up. Confused, I walk over and look up to see some pegasus stallion leaving Rainbows place. "OY! What do you think you're doing in there?!" I yell at him. He looks down before diving for us. "Nononononono.... why is he coming down here? Hide me!" Shadow says before diving behind my legs. "I assume that you are Miles." Soarin says before landing before me. "Yeah..." "Why are you going to train Rainbow? She has enough to deal with as it is, do you really...." "Don't lecture me on putting too much on her plate. We both know who's the one doing that." I say, making him back off a bit. "It's... just..." "Look, if you really feel this way about her joining, talk to her. I just want to give you some friendly advice. Scootaloo is more important to me then you or a bullet. Ruin this for her, and I'll get rid of both." He stares back to me slightly confused, but I can tell that he gets the threat. I look back to Shadow and motion for her to follow as I walk around him. "Whoa... and I thought I was bad at meeting new ponies." Shadow says as she scurries after me. "Well... he's messing with a close friend of mine." I say as I look back to her, noting her difficulty in keeping up. "Come here." I say as I stop. I pick her up and set her on my shoulders, getting her to grab my head to keep level. "Whoa, I'm taller then Celestia!" She says as she looks around. "MUSH!" She yells as she points forward. I just chuckle to myself as I run down the path, getting high pitched giggles from her. Perspective: Shadow We come to a stop at the edge of the town where Miles puts me down. I look nervously between him and the crowded town... "Are you OK? You're shaking." He says as he stands up right. I look down and see my legs slightly shaking, only making me shake more. "Can we go back? I don't want all of those ponies seeing me shake like this." I ask as I glance back at all the ponies over there. "There's only like... five, maybe six ponies over there." Miles says as he looks over to them. "Well.... maybe we can sneak our way over to... where are we going?" I ask as I look for the best route possible. "Well, we'll head over to the shops first, see whats there, then head over to the market district." I run over to a nearby building and press myself against it. OK, if we follow these buildings over to that side of the fountain, take that alley, and then... "Where are you going!?" I yell as he just walks out into the open. "We aren't going to get there by standing here, lets go." He says casually as he continues to walk off. I bite my hoof as I check if the coast is clear. There are a few ponies looking towards Miles, but they seem to be focusing on him. I take a few deep breathes before running after him. Once I catch up with him I try my best to not draw attention to myself, keeping as close to Miles as possible. "Miles!" "EEP!" I scream as I leap behind Miles. "Hey Storm, long time no see. Whats up?" "Just doing some shopping.... who is that?" "This is Shadow. Shadow, meet my friend Storm Cloud." Really Miles! OKOKOKOKOK, I can do this. Just like sis said. Deep breath, smile, and don't be a dork. I grab onto Mileses leg and lean over. "H-hi." I mutter as I look over to the muscly grey pegasus. "Hi there, where you from?" He asks as he steps closer to me. "Uh..." Why did he have to ask another question! Stupid Storm Cloud! "I'm... from.... Detrot." "Detrot huh? Me to, well, kind of. What brings you here?" Why do you keep asking questions! Stupid Storm Cloud. "I... uh... live... with...." He leans a bit closer so I bury my face in Miles's pants. Why does he have to stare right at me like that? "Uh... was it something I said?" He asks Miles. "She's staying with me. I... well, I'll let you know when we get ready for Spartan training." "Spartan training? Who was nominated?" "True Will, Camo Flash, Dust Devil, and Rainbow Dash." "Really? Huh... OK then. If you say so. Well I need to get going...." "Send Spike over later today for training. I want to see how he's progressed while I was gone." "Will do. See ya Miles. Bye Shadow." I just nod into Miles's leg as I wait for him to leave. "He's gone now." Miles says. I look around a bit before letting go of Miles, feeling slightly foalish for doing that. "You really don't like meeting new people, don't you?" "...no." I say as I look down and scuff the ground a bit. "It's... I just don't like the way they look at me." "Trust me, I get that." He says as he kneels before me. "Really? How?" I ask as I look up to him. "I was an orphan till I was eight. People back home... well, because of the circumstances I was under, I got treated poorly. I know what its like to be judged by a group of people on appearance. But don't worry, everyone here is extremely friendly. You'll warm up to them soon enough, trust me." I give him a smile as I nod to him. Knowing that he was an orphan and that he likes it here makes it a bit easier being here... a bit. "*INHALE* SHADOW!" "GAH!" I yell as I cling to Miles again. Out of no where a pink pony comes running in front of us, pulling a cart along with her. "Welcome welcome welcome a fine welcome to you! Welcome welcome welcome I say how do you do... Welcome welcome welcome I say hip hip hooray! Welcome welcome welcome to Ponyville todaaay! Wait for it." She says as she slides to her knees. I look up to... FOOSH A door opens up on the cart and shoots us with confetti, nearly knocking us over. SPLOOSH From out of the horns of the cart comes some kind of batter that covers the three of us completely. "Looks like I mixed the confetti and the batter, again." She giggles as she steps back and eats the pony mold of batter.... huh? "Pinkie... what the fu...fu... why?" Miles asks as he starts wiping the batter from his eyes. Luckily I had my face against his leg, so I didn't get any in my eyes. "What? I had to bring my welcome wagon for Shadow. Not to mention I didn't get to welcome you to Ponyville either. *gasp* we should totally throw a welcome PAR.... SOCIAL GATHERING!" She yells as she begins to bounce around. "No." I say with all of my dread. "Uh... Pinkie..." "OH! We'll need balloons, streamers, punch, CANDY, I'll go get my party cannon and bring it to your place. See ya there!" She yells right before running down the street. *drip* "Is she really throwing a party?" I ask as I look to Miles. I see him cringe for a second before he looks back down to me. "Uh... I don't know. Most likely. Lets just... forget about that and cross that bridge when it gets here." He says as he continues to stare at the energetic pink pony. He shakes his head before looking down to me. "Uh... lets get cleaned up. Hmm..." "Please, lets not meet any new ponies." I ask as I try to give him my best puppy dog look. "Well.... I guess we could make it back home..." "Miles darling." We both look over to see two white unicorn ponies walking towards us. "Ew... what in heavens happen to the two of you?" "Pinkie Pie." "Ah." They both share a laugh while I try to blend in with the batter, but I can tell the filly can already see me. "I am Rarity dear and this is my sister..... well Sweetie Bell? Aren't you going to introduce yourself?" Rarity says as she pushes the filly forward. "But you just said my name." She says as she looks back. The mare gives her a look, making her roll her eyes. "Hi, I'm Sweetie Bell." "..." "Ahem." Miles says as he shakes his leg. "I'm... Shadow." I say as quietly as possible. "Why don't you two come with us to Carousel boutique to clean up? I'm sure it would be quicker then going to your home." "Thanks Rarity, I think we'll take you up on that." WHAT! "Why don't we head over now then." "Of course. If you will." She says before turning and walking away. Sweetie Bell stares at me for a second before running after her sister. "Do we have to?" I ask as I let go of Miles. "What? She's one of my friends you know. And I think you and Sweetie will be good friends. She actually has a group of friends looking for their marks..." "Hey, I have my cutie mark!" I defend as I wipe my flank off. "See!" "...... there's nothing there." "It's a shadow!" I say as I look to the shadow. ".... really?" "It's there..." I say as I look back to him. "I swear." "Uhuh. How did you get it?" He asks as he crosses his arms. "Uh...." "Yeah, didn't think so. Come on. Lets go at least get cleaned up." "But..." "No buts, lets go." He says as he walks off. I sigh as I follow after him. I really wish we could just go back and get cleaned up, but I don't want to make Miles mad. We make it over to this... well... it looks like something pretty vomited on a building, but whatever. "Sweetie why don't you take Shadow to your restroom while Miles uses mine." "OK, come on Shadow." She says as she runs up the stairs. I look back to Miles, who waves me along, before following after her. I make it to her room and see the door to the left. I walk over and find her getting the water ready. "Just a word to the wise, if you don't wash your mane, Rarity will probably do it herself." "What? Why?" "It would be a travesty against fashion!" She says as she takes a dramatic pose, then giggles. "My sister is a fashion designer, so she tends to focus the little things. She's really cool and all, but she tends to... well... do you know what uncouth is?" "Uh... no." I say as I try to creep my way over to the tub. "Oh... well... just don't worry about it. I'll just let you wash up then.... bye!" She says before running out of the room. I sigh in relief and shut the bathroom door, glad to have her out of my mane.... my now crusty mane. *sigh* I hate meeting new ponies. After I wash up I take a moment to tie my mane back before running down stairs. I can't wait for the sugary treats that await. OH! I hope they have double chocolate chip! My favorite! I look around but find the front room empty. Well... I don't really want to go looking around somepony else's house; so I guess I'll just wait here. Sweetie Bell wasn't lying, there are a lot of dresses in here. Not that I like these kind of things, but... why is Miles taking so long? Hmm, this one has sapphires in it. Nice. A little over shined for my taste, but still pre.... Miles needs to hurry up. OH MY GOD MILES! It's been like... five hours! (four minutes) I'm so BORED! What is taking him so long? If this continues on for any longer I might... "Hey Shadow..." "FINALLY!" I yell before running over to him. "Uh... OK. There's been a change of plans. I've got something I need to do real quick, so in the mean time I'll leave you to hang out with Sweetie Bell and her friends..." "But... but..." "I know I said we'd go shopping, but we'll have to do that when I get back. Here's a satchel that Rarity made for you, I left some money inside in case you want to get a snack. Be good, I'll be back before you know it." He sets the satchel on my hips and ruffles my mane before walking out of the room. "But... but..." "Come on Shadow, lets head over to Sweet Apple Acres. Applebloom and Scootaloo are waiting for us!" Sweetie Bell cheers before running out the door. I was about to run after Miles when Rarity got in the way. "Eh... dear, before you go... could I make one, tinsy, insy, change to your..." "WAIT UP!" I yell before charging out of the front door. As I run out and look around for Miles, but only find crowds of ponies walking around... looking at me... Oh look! A dark, hidden alley. I run over to it and duck behind a barrel, panting lightly from all of the staring eyes. "Hey kid, can you help me with something?" I look over and nearly fall over from the hooded pony standing before me. "Um..." "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. I just need to know where True Will is. Do you know him?" He asks as he steps towards me. "N-no." I say as I shrink away from him. "Hmm, well, if you ever see him, just let him know Daisy says hello. Can you do that?" "Uh.... sure... I... uh..." "Nice talking to ya kid. Hehehe." He turns away and limps down the alley. I glance back to the crowded street and determine that it's better then the creeper. Keeping my back against the wall, I make my way out into the open and... CRASH "OW! Watch it twerp!" Some pink filly yells as her grey friend helps her up. "Oh.. sorry..." "Why don't you watch where you're going you blank flank!" Snickers her friend. "O-M-G Silver! Another blank flank, can you believe it! They're, like, multiplying, EEEWWW!" "My flank isn't blank! Its just a Shadow!" I defend. They pause and look to each other before bursting out with laughter. I look around to see all of the ponies around us staring at us, staring at me. I start to back away when the two of them stop laughing and whisper to one another. "OOO, I like it." The pink one says with a wicked smile. "Ok, we're, like, sorry for laughing at you, and stuff. Want to come over and, like, hang out? My mom is making cookies." She says. I pause and look back to her. "Double chocolate chip?" "Are there any other kind?" She asks with an upward inflection. I smile to them and nod, getting them to giggle. "Ok, I'm Diamond Tiara and she's Silver Spoon." "I...I'm Shadow." I say as they turn and begin to walk away. I look around and notice how everypony is no longer looking at me. Maybe these two aren't so bad after all... ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles "What is it Alistair?" "Ruptor has awaken." "And?" "And I need your help to kill him." A/N: Shout out to Fireeaters for picking breakfast. Be sure to follow my blogs for OC roles and be sure to leave your OCs if you want them to appear. HI Ghost, no need to boast, lets have a toast! Brony on!
Chapter 142 Friendly AdviceChapter 142 Friendly Advice Perspective: Shadow We ended up going to a small cafe that Silver Spoon's mom owned. It was a little pricey, but the massive cookies we got were totally worth it. I ended up getting one for each of us, seeing how her mom wasn't in. Good thing Miles gave me so much money. This is probably more then what Lantern and I would make in a month. "So is that frea... uh... guy your dad or, like, something?" Tiara asks before taking a bite of her cookie. "Um... I don't think so. Maybe? I've only known him for a day now, so...." "He must be loaded then to give you..." PUNCH "OW! Tiara!" Silver says as she rubs her arm. They begin to bicker to one another quietly, letting me eat my cookie in peace. "Anyway." Tiara says as she looks back to me. "So, since you're pretty cool and all, we're going to give you some friendly advice," she says as she leans in. "Watch out for the other blank flanks here." "Huh?" I ask with a mouthful of cookie. "Why?" "They pretend to be all nice and stuff but its all an act. They actually only want to make fun of you behind your back..." "Rude." Silver adds with a bit of sass. "Right? Anyway, there are three of them. Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Bell..." "I met Sweetie Bell already. She seemed nice... I guess..." "See? She was going to take you to her friends farm to make you do.. like chores and stuff..." "Could you imagine?" "Uh...." "I know. Trust me, they usually only..." "SHADOW!" I look back to see Sweetie Bell and two other fillies running up to me. "Where have you been? I thought you were following aft.... whats going on?" She asks as she eyes Silver and Tiara. "Iffin you two are tryin ta..." "See what we mean? We didn't even do anything and they're already trying to bully us." Tiara says as Silver sticks her tongue at the others. "WHAT! You two are the bullies!" Scootaloo says as the other two hold her back. *Munch* "Why don't you go and try some other stupid crazy thing to get your cutie marks..." "Why don't you... go... away!" Scootaloo tries, getting the other two to facehoof. *Munch* "That was almost as lame as your dumb scooter." "Whatever. I'm leaving..." "Good, nopony wanted you here anyway Scootaloo." "C'mon Shadow. You don't want ta be around these bad eggs." The other filly, Applebloom I'm guessing, says as she moves to my side. "She doesn't want to go with you loser!" Tiara says as she moves to my other side. I begin to shrink back as they continue to glare at one another. What would Lantern do... "Uh... guys?" I asks weakly, getting both their attention. "I... uh..." "See, she wants to stay!" "No she doesn't!" "Uh, yeah she does." "No, she doesn't." "Yeahuh." "NU-UH!" "GUYS!" I yell, getting both of their attention. "I don't want to go with either of you! I don't know you three and I only met you two a few minutes ago. As far as I can tell you both bully each other and don't even care what I have to say. I just want to sit here and eat my cookie on peace and quiet." I blurt out, getting stares from all of them. "Fine." Applebloom says before walking off. The other two look between her and me before running after her. "Uh..." "If that's how you really feel then fine! We'll go to then." Tiara says before they both get up and walk away, holding their heads up high. I sit there alone for a bit longer before the waiter tells me to buy something or leave. Not wanting to spend anymore of Miles's money, I walked off. I kept close to the buildings as I tried to avoid everyponys stare. I eventually get tired of all the ponies and decide to head back to Miles's place. I didn't really want to leave, some of the shops looked pretty interesting, but I couldn't stand another minute of all the staring. Usually I would hide behind my Lantern, but... I can't anymore. I never really noticed how alone I was without her. Without her... "... three day. Be sure to be there or we'll miss our chance." I hear Miles say in the distance. I look over and do a double take as I see him talking to a massive colorful gem dragon. "I'll be there. Don't worry." The dragon says before launching himself into the air. I stand there for a second, debating whether or not to approach him, until he turns back and sees me. "Shadow? What are you doing here? I thought you went out with Sweetie Bell and her friends." I look away from him as I think back to what happened. "What happened?" He asks as he begins to walk towards me. "Nothing." I say as my voice trembles a bit. "Nothing? Shadow you can tell me what happened. I promise I won't get mad. Did someone do something to you? Was it the crowds? Talk to me." I feel my eye begin to strain as tears begin to fall from my eyes. The moment I look over to him I lose control and begin to wail. "I'm so lonely!" I sob as I run over to him and latch on. "I want my sister back! I want to go home! I even miss the mines! Please! Take me back! I don't want to be alone anymore!" I cry into his chest. He doesn't say anything. He just picks me up and holds onto me lightly. So I just cry. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles We sit out in the field for who knows how long until she finally stops crying. I feel completely horrible. I knew this was coming, I just didn't know how to prepare for it. So I just do the only sensible thing and hold onto her. "Shadow?" I ask, getting her to shake her head. "I need to meet up with some people real quick, but afterwards we'll head home, OK?" I say as I stand up. She doesn't say anything, she just buries her face in my chest and tighten her hold. As I walk to Sweet Apple Acres I feel her begin to loosen up, even taking her face out from my chest. I suddenly pretend to drop her, catching her immediately. She giggles a bit, so I do it again; more dramatically and with more giggles. She looks up to me and gives me a smile, so I set her on my shoulders again and continue on. "Howdy there Miles, Shadow. What brings ya ta Sweet Apple Acres?" Applejack asks as she conveniently comes out of the front door. "I need to have a word with Big Mac, where is he?" I ask as we approach one another. I feel Shadow shrink back, trying her best to hide from Applejack. "Well, last night he went ta Fluttershys, but he should be back soon enough. Wanna hang around till then?" "Sure." "Miles." Shadow whispers to me as she taps the side of my head, "you said we'd go home..." "Yeah, after I talk to Big Mac and Storm. Sorry, but they need to hear this." I say, getting her to pout. "Why don't ya go see what Applebloom and the others are doin Shadow? I saw them runnin back to their club house." "Um..." "Actually we'll come back later." I say quickly as I feel Shadow start to shake. "I just remembered we still need to go buy a couple of things for Shadow here, right?" "Uh... right." She says quietly. "Sorry AJ, maybe next time." I say as I start to walk away. "Aw shucks, why don't ah go with y'all. I need to pick a few things up anyways, iffin y'all don't mind." "Not at all." I say, making Shadow hit me. I look back to her only to get a scowl in response. "Great. Jus give me a sec ta go get mah bags." she says before running inside. "Miles!" I complain. "What?" "I thought it was going to be just us." "Oh... well... sorry. It's a little late for that." I say as I take her off my shoulders and set her down. "I'll make it up to you though, after everything today we'll do something special, just the two of us." "... really?" She asks as her face softens. "Promise.... and I don't break my promises; or else." I say seriously. "Or else what?" "Exactly." I say, getting a confused look from her. So that's what its like to be Inficiunt... not bad. "....ah don't care. Ah need yer help ta bring the supplies back. You can play with yer friends later. Now lets go Applebloom." Applejack says as she marches out the front door, followed by a pouting Applebloom. "Sorry bout that, lets get going." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Shadow We make it back to the shopping district relatively quickly. The entire time I try to keep my distance from Applebloom, I can already tell she doesn't like me. I think Miles has noticed, cause he kept trying to move so we'd be next to each other, only to have me run to his other side. After a couple of tries he finally stopped trying and continued talking with Applejack. "... and then it'll be cider season." "What's cider?" Miles asks. "Its a beverage we make here on the farm. One of our best sellers, right Applebloom." "... yeah." She says distantly. "Whats the matter Applebloom? You haven't said a word since we left. Ah thought you and Shadow here woulda hit it off swell..." "Ah'm just... deep in thought ah guess." She says as she shoots me a look. I try to hide behind Miles's legs, but cant find a way to escape her glare. "A seven year old deep in thought... that's scary." Miles says with a chuckle. "Well, here we are. Lets get to it already." "We need ta head ta the blacksmiths, why don't we meet up at Sugar Cube Corner later fer lunch?" "Sounds good." Miles says before walking off. I glance back to Applebloom before running after Miles. Why does she look so mad? "So, what happened between you and the others?" Miles asks as we make our way through the street. "What do you mean?" I ask as I try to avoid the subject. "Applebloom is usually teeming with energy, and she seemed really upset back there. Last I checked you left with Sweetie Bell, one of Applebloom's best friends. Something happened. Are you going to tell me?" He asks as he comes to a stop and looks down to me, crossing his arms. "Promise you wont me mad." I ask as I shrink from away from him. "I promise. Now what happened?" He asks as he kneels before me. I tell him everything that happened, separating from Sweetie Bell, the stranger, meeting Silver and Tiara, the fight, waiting by myself. He doesn't really move, he just sits there and listens intensely. When I finish up I take a step back and wait for him to say something. "Well..." I ask as he continues to just sit there and think. "I think you should go to all of them and apologize for snapping at them." "But..." "Even if they were the ones being rude, that doesn't excuse you. Go apologize and you'll see which ones will be your friend." ".... right now?" "No. But the sooner the better. Now lets go get you your stuff." He says as he stands and walks off. "Sorry Miles..." "Don't be. I know if I were your age I would have probably started a fight with them." He says with a chuckle. "Really? Why?" "Growing up in an orphanage like the one I went to... it came with the territory." I look up to Miles for a second before continuing on, feeling slightly better. Shopping with Miles was a ton of fun. He's a total goof ball. No matter where we went he was able to make me laugh, Colgates dentist shop, some spa for shampoo, a candle store, soaps and brushes, and then some grocery shopping. Everything went fairly normally, but for some reason everypony made Miles pay WAY too much. He'd haggle them down of course, but fifteen bits for a brush is just outrageous. Once we bought the last of the groceries; luckily I convinced him to get mostly fruit, we started to head over to Sugar Cube Corner, until I saw them... "Something wrong?" Miles asks as he looks down the road. "No... hold on real quick." I say as I walk on without him. I take a deep breath as I try to calm my nerves for what I'm about to do. "Oh... its you. What do you want?" Tiara says with disgust. "Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, I'm sorry I snapped at you. I don't really talk to ponies and when you were arguing... it wasn't right of me to say what I did. You're not bullies and I'm sorry for snapping at you like that. Friends?" They look to each other for a second before bursting out laughing. I just stand there nervously as I wait for them to finish laughing. I can already feel all of the eyes on the street on me, but I ignore them as I wait for the to start talking. "HAHAHA... wow. No. We aren't friends you blank flank, get out of my sight!" Tiara says. "I can't believe you actually didn't figure out that we were messing with you." Silver says as she continues to giggle. "But thanks for the free cookies." Tiara adds, making them both laugh harder. I begin to walk back as they continue to laugh at me until I hit something. I look back to see Miles standing there, not looking happy. "Excuse me? I think you two should apologies for what you did to Shadow." He says firmly, getting them to stop laughing. "Ew, its that freak from the Everfree. What do you want?" Silver asks as they stare up at him in disgust. "What I want is for you two to act like decent people, but obviously that's too much to ask. Come on Shadow..." "Excuse me sir! What do you think you are doing?" From out of the building comes a brown earth pony with a black mane thats styled back and a red tie. He has three money bags for a cutie mark and has a tired demeanor about himself. "And you are?" "I'm Filthy Rich, Diamond Tiara's father. Who are you and why were you lecturing my daughter?" He asks as he closes the distance between him and Miles. "They seemed to have a problem with being humble. Now if you don't mind..." "No, I do mind. How dare you speak of my daughter like so! Leave and don't let me ever see you talking to my daughter..." "Or you'll what? Bitch and complain?" Miles asks, getting Filthy to glare at him. "Let me give you some friendly advice. To make a threat, you need to be threatening." He says as he towers over him. "Leave before I call the guard..." "The guard?" Miles asks with almost a chuckle. "I said leave!" Filthy barks. "Alright, alright. Don't get your panties in a bundle. We're going. But this isn't over Filthy. Not by a long shot. Lets go Shadow." Miles says before walking off. "Good riddance scum bags." Filthy says as he holds his head up high. Miles stops in his tracks and walks back to Filthy, getting right up against him. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you from over there. Did you call us scum?" He asks as he towers over him. "You heard me scum. Do us all a favor and leave already." He growls back. "Hehe. Scum you say? I've always hated that word you know. I don't think using it would be very smart." Miles says as he glares at Filthy, clenching his fist shut. "Scum... bag." "Ostendam tibi spumae!" Miles yells as he moves to grab Filthy, only to stop when Storm Cloud flew by and grabbed his arm. "OK then! I need to talk to Miles real quick..." "LET ME AT HIM!" Miles yells as he tries to break free of Storm Clouds grasp. "You have a good day now!" Storm says as he drags Miles away. I look back to Tiara and Silver before running after Miles and Storm. Once we get far enough away from them Storm finally lets go of Miles and lands before him. "Are you insane!? Why are you trying to fight him!?" "That fu...fu... he called me scum!" Miles says as he points back to him. "AND?!" Storm asks in astonishment. "*sigh* sorry, I got caught up in the moment. Shadow was trying to do the right thing and... things got ugly. You OK Shadow?" He asks me. "Were you really going to fight him because he called us scum?" I ask as I sit between the two of them. "Y-yeah... I was called scum a lot as a child. The word doesn't sit well with me. Sorry you had to see that." "Its alright, I'm fine." I say, getting a smile from him. "Since you're here anyway, I'm calling all Spartans tonight for a mission detailing..." "Already? You just got back..." "Don't worry, I'll explain later tonight. Just be at my place around midnight." "Alright." He says as he looks back. "See you then. And Spike should be at your place already." "Good. Catch you later then. Come on Shadow, lets get going." Miles says as he starts to walk off. Storm waves bye to me so I wave back before running after Miles. Why does he walk so fast? "Miles..." "Shadow, don't do what I did. I know sometimes people can get under your skin, but you're too sweet to be a fighter..." "Miles..." "I know that its not always an option, but try to use words instead of you fists..." "Miles..." "Trust me on that. Fighting... it should be a last resort..." "MILES!" I yell, getting him to stop. "Slow down, I can barely keep up." I say as I close the distance between us. He just smiles and laughs a bit, I'm not exactly sure why. "Sorry about that short stuff." "I'm not short! I'm just.... not tall." I say, getting him to laugh a bit more. "Ok, well not tall stuff lets get a quick snack before heading back home." He says as he walks up to some building and holds the door open for me. I run up and instantly become overwhelmed with the aroma of bake goods and sugary treats. "I like this place." I say as I close my eyes and inhale. "A bit crowded today." Miles says as he walks past me. My eyes shoot open and begin to dart around. This room is completely filled with ponies. I begin to quicken my breath as some of them begin to stare at me... "Shadow? You OK?" "Uh...." I mutter as even more eyes fall on me. I can feel sweat begin to form as I shakily begin to step back. "GLAN SAKES! Ah never thought ya make it Miles! Come on over here, we saved you two a seat." Applejack yells over the crowd, gaining everypony's attention. I sigh in relief and run to Miles side as he makes his way through the takes. We finally find one with Applejack, Applebloom, and two other ponies. "Thanks guys. Big Mac, Fluttershy, I don't think you had a chance to meet Shadow yet. Shadow these are a couple more of my friends." Miles says as he sets our bags down and takes a seat. I climb onto the other one ans look to the other two as they stare back at me. "Uh... hi..." The mare says quietly, even for my standards. "Eeyup." The other one says in a deep voice. "Hi." I say getting them to smile. I look back over to Applebloom and offer her a smile, only to get her to narrow her eyes. "Well now that that is out of the way, Big Mac, we have a Spartan meeting tonight at midnight. Be sure to be there." "Eeyup." "Whats happening? Why do you need him so early?" Fluttershy asks, being as quiet as before. "Something is coming. Something big. That's all I can say for now. But let forget that for now, have you guys ordered yet?" He asks as he takes a menu. "Waiting on you." Applejack says as she takes a menu as well. "I already know what I want. Here Shadow, take a look." Miles says as he offers me the menu. I hesitate from taking it, getting Miles to lean over. "Everything alright?" "I lean closer to him and whisper, "I can't read." I blush a bit as he nods slowly. "That's OK, I can't either," he says as he opens the menu. "But they have pictures." I take a look at all of the pictures, slightly drooling from all the sugary treats. "Do they have double chocolate chip cookies?" I ask as I take the menu, looking for them on the next page. "Of course we do." A new voice says from behind. I jump a little as I spin around, finding some stallion standing behind me. "Is that what you want?" "Uh..." "Make it two orders of that Mr. Cake." Miles says happily. "Of course, and for the rest of you?" He asks as he goes around the table. I look back to Miles and offer him a smile, getting one in return. He ruffles my mane a bit before turning to the others and listening in on their conversations. I look over and see Applebloom leave the table... *sigh* only for Miles. I let Miles know that I'm going to the bathroom before running after her, finding her upstairs in a hallway. "Hey... Applebloom." I say, getting her attention. "Shadow." She says as she faces me. "What do ya want?" "*sigh* look, I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to snap at you like that. It's just... I don't like ponies staring at me, and you and Tiara were staring right at me. I don't think you're a bully, and I'm sorry for snapping.... friends?" I feel myself begin to shake as she looks me over. Hopefully this will go better then with the others. "Alright. Friends." She says with a broad smile. "We blank flanks need ta stick tagether right?" "Hey, I have my cutie mark! It's a shadow!" I say in my defense. "Really?" Applebloom asks as she raises an eyebrow to me. "*sigh* no. Just... don't tell Miles, OK? I told him I have one and I don't want him thinking I'm a liar." I say as I lower my head a bit. "It's alright. Celestia knows the things I went through to try and get mine." She says as she looks back to her blank flank. We both share a small laugh before heading down the hall together. I don't know where we're going, but I feel better knowing I have at least one friend now. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles "Are you sure about this Miles?" Big Mac asks. "I can't really say no, can I?" I say as I look around the crowded room. "But, what if they say no?" Applejack asks. "I'll have Luna's support for sure, but Celestia may take some convincing." I say as I look back to them. "We can send the little ones to Moosden for safety. But Ruptor is coming, and from what Alistair told me, mobilization is required."
Chapter 143 Your Trust Chapter 143 Your Trust Chapter 143 Your Trust After a rather fun and light heartened lunch Shadow and I decide to head home. It was good to see Shadow open up with Applebloom finally, I can tell they're going to be good friends. Hopefully the rest of them get along just as well. "I'd say its time for a nap, don't you think?" I ask as she lets out another yawn. "I'm good." She says sleepily. Yeah right. As we approach home I spot Spike sitting on the porch, waiting patiently. "Shadow, don't freak out about the dragon. He's alright." I warn her making her look up at Spike. "Well.... OK. If you say so." She says nervously as she slows down. "Do I have to meet more ponies today? I think I hit my quota for the day." "Well... him and a few more and that's it. Promise." I say as Spike walks up to us. "Hey Miles, who's the kid?" He asks as he offers to take a few of the bags. I give him a few and walk up to the porch. "Spike, this is Shadow. Shadow, this is Spike. He's my apprentice in magic." I say as they stare at each other. "Uh... hi." Spike says as he rubs the back of his neck. "Why do you have a foal following you around?" "Well, I'm taking care of her now. I found her in Detrot and... long story short, I'm her family now." I say as I look down to her. She offers me a smile, but doesn't say anything. "Come on, lets put this stuff inside before we start our lesson." I say as I open... "BARK BARK BARK!" "DOGGY!" Shadow screams as Hati and Lupus knock me down and run me over to get to her. "Doggy?" Spike questions as they get to work licking her face. I just moan as I get up and move inside. I need to make something for them to get in and out of the house without running me over . After a few minutes of opening things up and setting them where they belong we finally head out back to start training. Shadow decided that she wanted to watch, so I had her sit on the side lines. I had Spike demonstrate what he could do with fire and all he was able to do was create flames. "Well... its better then nothing... I guess." I say as I flare my hands. "Let move on then. The next part is going to be a little more difficult. Memory." "Memory?" "Yes. What I'm going to teach you is a more advance skill, but it will help you remember everything I've taught you. Once you learn this, you will not only be able to reach your own memory, but the memories of others. This is a great responsibility Spike. Do not abuse this power." I warn him, getting him to nod slowly. I motion to him to sit down as I do so, crossing my legs. "What is a memory Spike?" "Its... what you remember." He tries. "Explain that. How do you remember?" "Well... I don't know. Its just something I do." He says with a shrug. "Memories are created through emotions, sights, sounds, tastes, anything that effects you. I remember who you are because you are purple. I remember that Luna likes the stars because of how happy she was telling me about them. I remember my hatred of the Unfamiliar because of the anguish they've caused me. I remember that I like spaghetti because of the taste of it. Its part of how we learn as well. What do you remember from your lessons on fire?" "Well... I remember you telling me it was energy. Then I just felt for it and released it..." "Touch. Good. What else?" "Once I got it out I was... happy? I was glad to finally be able to do it. But... it felt like a part of me finally fell into place, making me feel whole." "That would be your soul. Learning human magic is intense. That feeling of connecting with yourself is unparalleled. Close your eyes." I tell him, getting him to close his eyes. "Think of the happiest moment of your life. Focus on it. What do you remember?" "Well..." "Take your time. Make sure the moment was one of pure bliss." I warn him, getting him to nod to me. "Mom." He whispers as a small smile grows on his face. "Good, focus on that feeling. Don't lose it." I tell him quietly as I get up. "I want to to stay here and focus on that feeling. It doesn't matter what memory you use, just keep that ideological at heart..." "All night." Spike moans as he looks up to me. "But what about when it gets dark?" "Well, I was going to allow you to move inside, but since you decided to complain about it, you get to do it on the roof. Get to it." He lets out a quick huff before getting up and flying up to the roof. I look over to find Shadow sitting there, eyes closed with a smile. I move over to her and take a seat as quietly as possible. "I think Lantern Light would of liked you Miles." She says quietly as she keeps her eyes shut. "She usually liked the good ones..." "Shadow, I want to do something for you. But in order for it to work, I would need to go inside your mind. Is that OK with you?" She doesn't say anything. Instead she just lowers her head a bit and nods to me. I flare my hands and surround my fingers in the white flames. "Will it hurt?" "No. Just keep those happy thoughts in mind, this wont take long." I take a long breath before slowly pushing my way into her subconscious. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Since her mind was focused on one memory, I find myself observing it. We're in a dark room, the sound of sleeping ponies filling he back. In front of me is Shadow and whom I presume to be Lantern Light sharing a bed. Shadow looks to be very young, a toddler at best, while Lantern looks only a bit older. "Lantern...." "Shhh... I'm right here." She says as she pulls her closer and nuzzles her forehead a bit. "I miss mama and papa." Shadow cries quietly. "I know. I do to. Don't worry though, I'll take care of you from now on." "But... what if they try to separate us?" Shadow asks as she latches onto Lantern. "I don't want to lose you to..." "You wont. I've worked out a deal for us to stay here. We'll never be separated, I promise little sister. I love you Shadow." "*sniff* I love you Lig..." "Light." A deep voice calls from the back. "It's time." "O....OK. I'll be right there." She says nervously. She looks back to Shadow and gives her a kiss on the forehead. "I'm going to step outside for a bit to talk to the forepony for a bit. Just lay down and go to sleep, OK. I'll be right back." She says as she starts to get up. "But..." "No buts. It's way past your bed time anyway. Goodnight Shadow." She says before walking through the crowded room towards the dark figure in the door way. She takes a moment to look back before closing the door behind her, heading down to what I could only imagine to be the beginning of something horrible. "Hmm... oh!" Shadow exclaims quietly before reaching under the bed. She pulls out a piece of paper and some crayons and starts to draw under the moon light. She goes through a few drafts before finally settling on a sketch of her and Lantern. Next she starts to fold the piece of paper until it makes a diamond. Just as she puts the final touches on it, the door opens up to reveal Lantern. She stumbles in until she finds the bed, where she collapses onto the side and curls up into a ball and gasps a few times, trying not to cry. "Lantern..." "Shadow? I thought I told you to go to bed." She says as she strains to not cry. "I know, but then I had an idea. Here, this is for." She says as she shows her the folded diamond paper. Lantern takes the diamond and starts to open the diamond, showing the picture within. "Shadow...." "Remember when Mama showed us how to make these? I remember just for you, do you like it?" She says as she puts it in her hooves. "*sniff* its perfect." She says before pulling Shadow in for a hug. "Please don't be mad, but I used the last of our paper to make it." Shadow says as she hugs her sister back, making her giggle. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. I pull back from the memory and have to move a bit, trying to stay strong for Shadow. "Whoa... that was weird." She says as she rubs her head. "Did you get what you needed?" "Yeah... yeah I did." I say as I look back to her. She shrugs and offers me a smile as she rubs the back of her neck as I try to think of a way to make this work. "Shadow... come over here a sec." I say as I turn and walk towards the center of the clearing. "Oh, OK." She says nervously as she follows after me. I take a moment to think about how I'm going to do this before I kneel down and lay my hands on the ground. I pull out some earth and forge it into a small diamond. Next, I enchant it to move the same way the paper one did. "OK, almost done, just follow me inside." I say as I try to hide it from her. "OK, what is it though?" She asks as she tries to take a look. "Don't worry, you'll see soon enough." I say as I step inside. I go through almost everything until I finally decide to take some gems out of a random light from the living room. I disenchant it and set an image from her memory inside before setting it in the diamond. "OK, close your eyes." I tell her as I kneel down. She scrunches up her face as she holds her eyes shut, practically shaking with anticipation. I grab her hoof and put the diamond in it, making her open her eyes. "Is... is this..." "Open it." She opens it up, making a hologram of the memory appear above the opening. "I figured you could use something in memory of Lantern Light. I know what its like to lose family, every memory counts. Trust me." She stares at the picture of her and her sister holding each other for a bit before she closes it and tackles me in a hug. "Thank you." She mumbles as she silently cries. I lift her up and hold her as she continues to cry. "HI MILES!" "GAH!" Shadow and I yell as I fall back. I look back to see Pinkie standing in the door way with.... "IS THAT A CANON?!" I yell as I jump back to my feet. "It's my party canon, duh." She says as she pushes it into the living room. "How else am I going to get set up in twenty minutes?" KRA-BOOM She pushes the button on top, sending confetti, streamer, and punch bowls flying all around the living room. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" I yell as I start to pull on my hair. Some how all of the stuff had landed where they would need to go, attach themselves perfectly, and not spill a single drop. "WE'RE HERE!" I look over to see a crowd of ponies streaming through the front door. Most of them I recognize, but there are a few I don't. "STORM! BIG MAC! Restrain Miles! Sweetie Bell, Applebloom, Scootaloo, get Shadow!" Pinkie commands.... where did she get the green helmet? TACKLE "NO! LET ME GO! I DON'T WANT TO GO! RUN SHADOW!" I yell as Storm and Big Mac drag me away. Perspective: Shadow I let out a scream as the three fillies begin to chase me through the house. Why are so many ponies here?! Why are they chasing me? I turn the corner towards the kitchen where I slide to a stop. "Don't worry Shadow, we're just here to have fun. Nothing bad is going to happen." Pinkie says as she steps toward me. I look back to see the others blocking me from behind. "I... uh..." "GET HER!" Scootaloo yells as they all jump towards me. I quickly jump to the left run for the back door. As soon as I open the door the Miles's doggies run in, blocking the others from catching me. I run out and head towards the tower thing as I hear the others chase after me some more. "Wait! Don't go under...." FLASH I blink a few times as I look around. I had ran under the tower, but now I'm under another tower in the middle of some other town. "Oh... my... god." I turn around to see two mares with really short manes standing in the middle of a street. One is a light tan earth pony while the other is a light cream unicorn. We stare at each other for a second before they both start to run towards me. Mid run one of them trips the other and they both fall to the ground. They begin to fight as they try to get ahead of the other.... "Um... can I help you?" I spin around again to find a moose standing behind me. "I'm... I'm..." I say as I back away from her. "It's ok." She says as she walks towards me. "My name is..." FLASH The second she had stepped onto the circle under the tower she had disappeared in a bright flash. I sigh in relief until I'm suddenly picked up as squeezed in a tight hug. "Oh my god you're so cute!" The light tan one says as she continues to hug me. "I'm... not... cute!" I yell as I try to wiggle out of her grasp. "Scotch! That wasn't fair! Let me hold her!" The light cream one complains as she runs over, rubbing her horn lightly. "Too bad, mine." She says as she turns away from her. "No I'm not! I'm..." "Butterscotch!" "Yes E'Calire?" She asks as she looks back. We suddenly become surrounded by a light cream aura and lift off the ground. "Magic is cheating!" Butterscotch yells as I levitate over to the unicorn, who then holds me lightly. "Magic is win." E'Calire says as she sticks her tongue out to Butterscotch. I push her arms out and break free of her grasp. As soon as my hooves hit the ground I make a run for it, only to crash into somepony else. "Whoa, watch where yer going now." Says the moose before me. "Any a yous see where Na-Da went?" He asks as he looks around. "Sorry Bantler, now can you move so we can continue to squeeze the cute out of that filly?" E'Claire asks as she steps towards me. I jump behind Bantlers legs and use him as a shield against these crazy mares. "Hmm... who are you anyways?" He asks as he looks down to me. FLASH "Shadow!?" "MILES!" I yell as I run over to him. He runs over and scoops me into his arms, holding me closely. "Oh sweet Barbra, don't use the Mico platforms unless I say so OK?" He says as he sets me back down. "Sorry... I didn't know..." "Who is Barbra?" Butterscotch asks in confusion. BOOM "NO!" Bantler yells as he runs to the billow of smoke in the back. "MY BISCUITS!" "What exactly was going on here?" Miles asks as he looks to the other two. "Uh... well..." "They were fighting over who got to hug me!" I yell as I glare at Butterscotch. "We couldn't help it! Do you see how cute she is!" Butterscotch defends. "I'M NOT CUTE!" I yell with a slight hop. Miles looks between the two of us before he starts to chuckle. "It's not funny." "It kind of is." He says as looks back to me. "Look you two, this is Shadow. I'm taking care of her now, so no more fighting over her. Now we're going to head back to Ponyville. I've already sent most of them home, though I'd still like you to meet most of my friends." "But... I don't want to meet any other ponies." "You trust me?" He asks. I think about it for a second before nodding to him. "Then don't worry about it. I know you'll love them. Oh, and you two." He says as he looks back to E'Claire and Butterscotch. "Want to join in? Pinkie brought a lot of food and I don't think we'll be able to eat it all." "Really? I thought we had to stay here to guard Moosden." Butterscotch asks as they look to each other. Miles looks back to them and just waves them along before stepping onto the platform. I look back to the others before running to the spot and flashing back home. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Luna KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK "UGH!" I mutter as I push myself up from bed. It seems like every other day I have to wake up in the middle of the day. I don't think my sleeping pattern will ever return to normal. I go to the door and begin to open it, only to have it fly open. "Princess Luna! I need your help!" Shinning Armor yells as he charges into my room. I look into the hall to see my two guards passed out on the ground. "I can see that." I say as I turn back to him. "What is it..." "They took Cadence!" He yells as he marches back and forth. "I knew I should of went but she said it would be fine and that she's done it before then I told her that I didn't feel right with her leaving in her condition but she said..." "SHINNING!" I yell, getting him to stop. "Slow, down. Start from the beginning." He takes a few deep breaths before looking me square in the eyes. "OK. Cadence was on her way to the Crystal Empire when I received a letter from her." He reaches into his armor and pulls out a scroll. I take it with my magic and open it up. 'fear' Beneath the word is a smear of blood. I look back to Shinning and roll the scroll up, feeling the gravity of the moment. "OK. You have my attention. How do you know this was from Cadence?" "I'd recognize her magic anywhere. I need to go to the Crystal Empire right away..." "Of course. But let me send you some back up." I say as I go to my dresser. "Thank you. I know just the squad to take...." "No. No royal guards will be going with you." I say as I start call. "Then... who?" "Hey there sexy lady." Miles says through the phone. "What's up?" "There's a problem here..." "I'll be right there. E'Claire, Butterscotch, I'm calling in a favor..." "Miles? Miles?" I ask. I look at the screen to see that he hung up, so I put my phone back in the drawer. "Miles? Princess, with all due respect, I don't think we need to call him in on this. This is an Equestrian...." "Do you trust me?" I ask as I look back to him. "With my life." He says as he straightens up. "Well I'd trust my life with Miles. So by default you trust him with your life. Plus, I don't think you'd get there fast enough without him..." "Damn straight he wouldn't." Miles says as he walks through my balcony door. "Where?" "How fast could you get...." CRASH "MILES!" We all jump back as Alistair crashes through the balcony doors and grabs Miles. "We have failed! Ruptor has went north! He's going to consume the King! I need your army NOW!" He yells as he shakes Miles back and forth. "OK, OK, just set me down!" Miles yells. Once he's down he looks around the room before looking out the opening in my room. "Luna, send me and Shinning to Detrot. We need to get air born."
Chapter 144 Now And LaterChapter 144 Now And Laters FLASH "Wanna tell me the plan?!" Shinning yells as he runs after me. "Easy. Go to Amethyst, get in the Stella Predator, either kill Ruptor or distract him long enough for Alistair to meet us there, and rescue Cadence. Not necessarily in that order, what ever works." I yell back as we run through the market street of Detrot. "And where is the entrance to Amethyst?" "On the north front of Detrot." I say as I leap over a vegetable cart. "THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU HAVE LUNA TELEPORT US THERE!" "Do you really think I plan this shit out?" I yell back. I slide to a stop and was about to take a corner when some random guard stepped in front of me. CRASH "OW! Watch where your going!" The guard yells as we both get back up. I try to run off but the guard grabs onto me and tries to hold me back. "Where do you..." "FUCK THE POLICE!" I yell before I punch him across the face. Once he lets go I begin to run again, having a very confused Shinning Armor follow behind me. "Why did you punch that guard?" "OK, if you're going to question everything I do I'd suggest going back to Canterlot." I yell back as I make we near the egde of the city. We make it to the out skirts and find the spot with uneven ground. I flare my hands and begin sending us through the earth, digging faster then usual. With the added energy and less people we make it in record time. I show Shinning the hole and have him teleport us inside... "Greetings Miles Eremita, may I have your auto graph?" Easy asks from the cockpit of the AA-20. "Easy, is the Stella Predator flight ready?" I ask as I look it over. "Yes. All repairs have been made. Armament is fully loaded with eight side winders, eight hull breachers, four cluster bombs and four super archaic missiles..." "FOUR WHAT!" I yell, making Shinning jump a bit. "Four super archaic missiles, omega class." "Omega.... well, at least they aren't alpha's...." "What's a super archaic missile and why are omegas better then alpha's?" Shinning asks as he follows me around the jet. I pause and look back to him before going back to inspecting the wing flaps. "They are missiles as tall as me and have enough power to destroy entire continents. We've used them twice in history." "When was that." I stop and take a deep breath before look him square in the eyes. "The first time was what ended the purgian civil war. The second time was used to destroy the Unfamiliar home world." "Their... home world? How badly was it damaged?" "If you went to its coordinates today, you wouldn't be able to find it. It was the greatest 'victory' we made. After that, everything started going down hill. We lost our outer rim colonies, then the armada... once Diamond Halls fell... well, you get the picture." "Why would your people destroy their home world?" "The war had raged for nearly a hundred years by that point. The thought was, if we could do something so dramatic to their home, maybe we could beat them into submission. Clearly that didn't work.... Easy. Is the tunnel ready for use?" "Yes. All that is left is the powering of the Stella Predator and flight will be achievable. May I have your auto..." "Last order of business before we leave. Has the city been completely scavenged?" "Yes. All equipment has been stored and set aside for transport..." "Good. Give me one second then." I say as I walk over to the port as I begin to flare my arms. I pull the release lever, opening all of the gates, and lay my palms on the ground. I begin to pump my energy into the port, making it taller and wider. Once I get the entrance to the size I want, I start sending the energy down the tunnel. "This may take a while. Easy, gather all bots and gear up to move out. We're evacuating Amethyst." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Cadence I feel a coldness stiffening my left wing, so I roll onto my back and begin to open my eyes. Where ever I am, it's completely made of ice and snow. I tuck my legs in and try to keep my belly as warm as possible as I take in my surroundings some more. It looks like I've been locked away in some kind of ice tomb. Outside the ice I can see a powerful blizzard blowing away, snow falling heavily around me. "Hello?" I call out, only to hear my own voice echo. "HELLO!" I call out, raising my voice. "Greetings." I jump to my hooves as the ice around me turn to dark crystals, a dark billowing smoke screen forming around them. "Sombra." I hiss as his face appears through the haze. "How is this possible? I thought the crystal heart defeated you." "Defeated.... not destroyed..." He echos back. "What do you want from me?" I demand as I begin to charge my horn. "Protection." "I'm sorry... did you say protection?" I ask as I drop my magic. He doesn't say anything. Instead he retreats from the haze and reveals a part of the crystal. An image of a large black dragon flying through a country side appears. From the scale of all the buildings and plants around it, I can tell it's a massive dragon. What's odd though is that it does't seem to have scales, rather its made of... gems? Maybe crystals. "I don't get it. Why would you need protection from this dragon? You're a shadow, what could he do to you?" I ask, making his face re-appear. "Consumes all evil.... grows in power.... I must remain separate.... or all life will fall to darkness..." "I'll help you, but I need somethings in return first. I'm with foal, I need to get back to the palace..." "Done." "And I also need your word that you will remain as far from the Crystal Empire while this dragon hunts you. I do not want a single ponies life put at risk because of your selfish desires. Do we understand each other?" "... deal.... if you cross me... crystals shatter.... bones wither..... blood dries...." "And if you cross me." I say as I step towards him. "Lets just say a soul isn't as safe as we thought. Now send me home and I will call for aid..." "Swords.... spears.... all break.... "Yes. But there is one pony I know who can stand against an evil like this. Now send me home." "We shall see..." The smoke from the crystals suddenly begin to envelope me, practically suffocating me as I feel the energy wrap around. I blink a few times before I look around, finding myself in the court room of the crystal palace. "Queen Cadence! We feared the worst when your train disappeared!" Yells one of the servants as they all rush to my side. Somepony get her a blanket! Your highness, where were you? Why are you so cold?" "Bring me a quill and parchment." I say as I huddle up for warm. In a few moments I get a blanket draped over me as a quill and scroll are set in front of me. "What's going on? Is... has the king returned?" The maid asks as I start to write my message. "Oh my.... somepony get a doctor here!" I reach up and feel my forehead, finding my hoof covered in blood. I ignore it for now as I grab the scroll, roll it up and send it to Shinning. He'll go to Luna.... I know he will... ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles With a grunt I fall back and pant as I release my magic. It took almost two hours, but now we can move out at least. I look back to see a Shinning pacing back and forth, worry filling his eyes. "Easy... are the rest of the bots ready to move out?" I ask as I continue to lay on the ground. "Affirmative." "Good.... good.... have four Aquilas follow after me... the rest of our forces are to move on to.... my work shop... do not fight anyone unless under extreme attack. Try to avoid damaging any... property..." "Can we go yet? We can't afford to waste anymore time here." Shinning says as he continues to pace around. "Yeah... just about. Go ahead and climb in the back.... I'll be right there." I say as I push myself up and wipe the sweat from my brow. Shinning climbs up and looks around the cockpit, eyeing the rear seat with concern. "What exactly does the backseat pony do?" He asks. "Well, three things. Navigation, assisting power supply, and missile guidance from time to time. Lucky for you I have enough power to fuel it, and as for missile guidance.... I don't plan on using a super archaic missile, so you're good." I say as I climb up after him. "OK. If you say so.... have you ever flown one of these before?" He asks as he positions himself into the rear bench seat. "I've done the simulator a thousand times." I reply as I take the pilots seat and start to strap myself in. "Is that a yes or a no?" "Its a, I've practiced it a lot. So... kind of." ".... I don't want..." CLICK "Sit down and strap yourself in." I say as I lock the cockpit shut. I hear him mutter something, but ignore it as I grab the flight stick and throttle, feeding my energy into it. I watch the lights slowly make their way up, becoming green in a few minutes. "OK, now this may sting." "What? OW!" He yells as the black pressure straps wrap around us. One goes around each arm and leg as a thick one goes around my chest. From these straps I feel slight pricks of needles piercing me all over as energy is fed into me. I charge up the engines and begin to to a physical check on the wings. "Now there's one last thing Shinning, don't puke in my baby. There is an ejection button." "Uh..." "This is Captain Miles Eremita, do you read me Aquila?" I call out. "Aquila one sounding off." Says as a robotic feminine voice. "Aquila two sounding off..." "Aquila three..." They all call before finally reaching the last one. "Aquilas one through four are to tail after me, prepare for super sonic flight. The others are to assist with the mobilization of the ground forces. Be weary of flying persons. Keep sensors on high and avoid hitting anything at all cost. This is Spartan one, preparing for green light." I tighten my grip on the stick and throttle as I look to the lights on the right of the tunnel. RED "Shinning, take off is going to be... well... you ever been kicked in the balls before?" YELLOW "Uh...no...." GREEN "HERE WE GO!" I yell before pushing the throttle up. With a loud bang I sink back into my seat as we launch through the tunnel at amazing speed. As we go I continue to push the throttle up, gaining more and more speed as we begin to climb up. "GAAH! WHY DIDN'T YOU..." "Blast through coming in ten!" I yell as I prepare to break through the surface. "Wait.... WHAT!?" "FIVE!" "Five what? That wasn't..." "Blast through!" I yell as we reach the end of the tunnel. The end of the tunnel erupts in a bright blue light that we flight right through. After a few seconds of blinding light we find ourselves flying up into the air. I glance back to see the massive whole we just left through, debris falling all around it. "Shinning.... you OK?" I ask as I level out, waiting for the Aquilas to follow me out. "That... sucked." He mumbles back. I bank to the left and watch as Aquilas pour out from the opening, circling around it as more and more follow after. "OK, where are we going?" "Uh... north east. Just go toward the shore line and head north until you find the peninsula with the crystal castle. You can't really miss it." "Aquila escort in place, waiting for next directive." I look back to see the four Aquilas forming up behind me, so I turn northeast and push the throttle up. Once it hits the top I press the red button on the side and pull it back, all before pushing it up again, breaking the sound barrier. I push the throttle again and continue on, watching the world blur by. "How fast are we going and why don't I feel anything?" Shinning asks as I bring up the next level of speed. "Well... mach three point five at the moment, but we're about to slow down. We don't feel anything because of the bandages wrapped around you. They're enchanted to stabilize our bodies while under great amounts of pressure. There's more to it then that... but I kind of skipped the tutorial..." "Mach what?" "Look, don't worry about it. Is that the place we're looking for?" I ask as I slow down and begin to descend. Ahead of us is a large white structure that stands in the middle of a city. The area outside of the city looks to be covered in some kind of white substance.... "There it is! Land... somewhere. We need to get down there and..." "OK, OK! We'll land. Aquilas, this is Spartan one going in for a landing. Drop all legion bots along with me for support then circle above until further demand." "Copy that." I look over the landscape before deciding on an even plane on the north side. I throttle down and begin to descend, heading for..... BRUUBRUUBRUUBRUU On the hud of the cockpits some emerges dozens of red dots. I duck below them and try to level out only to get a few more to show up. "Why is the glass covered in red dots! What's going on!?" Shinning yells from behind as I try to maneuver through the red lights. "Its the sensor readout telling me that there's something solid in front of us. Now shut up while I...." "WATCH OUT!" He yells as a group of pegasi try to block our way. I roll to the right and drop a bit, losing momentum as I continue to try to land. "HOLD ON!" I yell as I extend the landing gear and push it down. We hit the ground hard, lurching forward as dust and debris flair all around us. I extend all flaps and slam the emergency breaks as warning signs fill the cockpit. Shit... were going too fast.... I flip the switch on the trigger and fire. Through the warning lights a bright blue light emerges as we suddenly jolt forward. I hold it for a few seconds longer until I feel us begin to move backwards. I pant a bit before looking back to Shinning, "I'm never riding with you again." He says as he relaxes a bit, sinking into his seat. "What? It was just like in the simulator." I say as I hit the release button, getting the straps to unattached themselves. I feel a small wave of healing magic wash over me before they completely pull back, allowing me to open the cockpit... "FREEZE ASSHOLE!" Yells some guy as he points his spear at me. I ignore it and begin unbuckling myself as Shinning does the same. "I am King Shinning Armor. Where is my wife." He says as he pulls himself out of the back. "*gasp* SIR!" He yells before bowing. "King?" I question while looking back to him. "I thought you were..." "Nevermind Miles." He says as he climbs out of the jet. I jump out and look up to see the Aquilas hovering above. A few seconds later the bottoms drop and sixteen legion bots drop all around us, scaring the crap out of the guards. "Don't worry about them," Shinning assures them, "They're... on our side. Where is my wife?" "She in the palace court room, waiting for you." One guard answers, getting Shinning to flash away. "Thanks for waiting, ass." I mutter, getting a spear in my face. "Watch your..." "Yeah yeah yeah, I'll be going to talk to Cadence now..." "THAT'S QUEEN CADENCE TO YOU WHELP!" He yells. "Whatever. Bots, on me!" I yell, getting them to form around me. As I march towards the castle I glance back to the white area.... something is out there... and its watching me. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Celestia "PRINCESS!" Yells a guard as he runs straight into the court hall, interrupting my meeting with some ponies from Trottingham. He stops and removes his helmet, revealing his blue mane before stepping before the other ponies. "There is a problem in Detrot that needs your attention... now." "Very well. If you'll excuse me." I tell the other ponies before teleporting to Detrot. I appear in the middle of main street, finding a group of bowing guards all around me. "What has happened?" "Its... well... I think you should see for yourself." One guard says. I nod to him and follow them through the street, heading towards the northern part of the city. "We have no clue what they are, but from what we can tell, they are made of metal. That's about all we can tell you." "Made... of metal. Isn't there anything else you could tell me about them?" I ask as I look around the buildings, noting how empty they appear to be. "Where is everypony?" "We ordered them to stay indoors until this matter is resolved." Answers another guard. "And... they run on two legs, have arms... well most of them do at least. Yellow eyes one featureless faces and... well..." "They have metal plating covering what looks like metal coils of muscle. We tried to stop one of them, but it just arrested the guard and restrained her. Any attempts to free her have been met with similar results." "Metal... yellow eyes... oh my." I pause for a second before galloping ahead of the others, having them chase after me. Miles, I swear... I slide to a halt when I leave the city limits. Emerging from a massive hole in the ground are thousands upon thousands of bots. High grade, utility, even the flying ones all bursting through the hole and running in perfect rank towards the north east. I look over and find four guards being held prisoner by a six bots, each one pointing their weapons at the them. Further down I can see several civilians in similar situations. I run over to them until four bots jump out of rank and circle around me, pointing weapons and shouting orders. "Back away! This is Terradisian business. All trespassers will be detained until further notice. You have thirty seconds to comply!" "I am here to retrieve the guards you hold prisoner. Release them at once." I order. "Negative. Twenty seconds." "Whose orders are you under?" "Grand Captain Miles Eremita. Ten seconds." "Miles... very well." I say before backing away from them. "Princess? What are you doing?" One of the guards asks as I watch the army of bots march out. "There is nothing I ca do here. These things are not a part of Equestria, they will not listen." "But... what about our..." "As long as they don't try anything, they should be safe. Send notices to all surrounding cities not to go near them until. I have to go to Ponyville to speak with their leader. Please make haste and I'll send word to you later on what's going on." I say before teleporting to Miles's home. "Miles!" I yell before slamming the door open. "AH!" A little filly yells before diving under the couch. I look over to see Butterscotch and E'Claire sitting there, faces covered in paint, looking just as scared as the filly. "Princess Celestia! What are..." "Where is Miles?" I demand, getting them to gulp. "He went to Canterlot to talk with Luna. Apparently something..." "Luna?" I ask in bewilderment. Of course she has something to do with this. She always finds a way when it comes to Miles. Without saying another word I teleport back to Canterlot, appearing beside Luna as she sleeps. "Little sister.... sister..... LUNA!" "HUH!" She yells before falling out of bed. "Sleeeeeeeeeep." She wines as she lays face down on the ground. "Sorry about that sister, but did you authorize for Miles to transport an army of bots through Equestria?" I ask as she starts getting up. "Of course not...." She mumbles as she climbs back in bed. "Why did you summon him here then?" "I... called him cause of...Shinning... Ruptor...." "Luna? LUNA!" I yell, waking her back up. "Huh? Cadence went missing... an... a bad dragon... Sombra....*snore*" I roll my eyes and turn to leave as she falls back to sleep. I swear, hit two o' clock and she practically becomes a zompony. I go down to the hall where I begin to walk around, aimlessly going anywhere just to think. What am I going to do about this? What can I do about this? We've already acknowledged Terradisia as its own political state, does this mean we have to create new treaties with them? Pfft, treaties with a government with only a hoof full of ponies in it, I'm sure Huaila Zhao would just love to hear that... "Your highness, does something trouble you?" Diamond Heart asks as he walks up beside me. I sigh and continue on my way, getting him to follow closely. "That bad huh?" "Its the Terradisians. They've mobilized their forces and now are marching through Equestria. I can't tell them to stop, they only listen to Miles and Miles.... Miles..." "The human you blame for the death of your parents?" He asks. "...yes. That one." I say, getting low hum from him. "So, he's moving an army. Where to?" He asks as we step out to the gardens. "I don't know. They look like they're heading towards Ponyville. Probably going to Topaz Falls...." "Are you certain of this." "When it comes to Miles, I'm never certain. I tell him one thing and he goes and does the other." "Hmm... have you tried speaking with him?" "I just told you I do..." "Hehe, no. Don't tell him things, talk to him." He says as he comes to a stop. "I don't follow..." "Don't talk to him as a Princess. Speak with him as if you were speaking to your sister, then he'll open up to ya. I've met a few stallions like him in my time. They jump first and think later. When you tell them to sit, they run. So, just run." "... and to think I'm the ancient leader." I say with a chuckle. "My apologies, but life is the greatest teacher." I nod a bit as we continue to walk in silence. Diamond has always been one of my greatest advisers. He always seems to know just what to say to put me in a better mood. If only his grandson was a wise as he was... "Forgive me princess, but these tired bones need a rest." "Of course." I say as he takes a seat on the ground. I look over and realize that we've ended up besides Discords statue. "Odd, isn't it?" "Excuse me?" I ask as I look back to him. "Three little fillies fight over a statues meaning and unleash him, a human comes, fights wars, digs up armies, turns hydras to ash and he stays dormant. Its almost like he's waiting for something specific this time." He says with a slight chuckle. "I fear that Miles will eventually unleash him, but at the same time I don't. Miles fights for what he views to be the right cause. Do you think chivalry is a good enough trade for chaos?" I ask as I look back up to the statue. "I can't answer that." He says, getting me to look back down to him. "Chivalry, chaos, right, wrong, all are just words we use to make sense of the world. What do you feel in your heart?" "My heart." I mutter as I look back up. "My heart wants me to trust Miles, but I know that he doesn't look to the future. He acts in the now..." "Well then, maybe if somepony were to speak to him about the future, he could bring them back to the now." I look back down to Diamond and watch him as he gets back to his hooves. "I must be off now, it's past my bed time..." "May I ask you one last question?" I ask, getting him to pause. "Remember the story you once told me about when you were in the Ape kingdoms? Why did you do what you did?" "Do you really want to know?" "I would as long as you're willing to share." "With you princess, always." He says as he turns back to me. He takes a deep breath before looking up to Discord. "I did what I did because I felt that my heart was taking me that way. What I really learned though was that your heart leads you to your destiny, but your destiny isn't what you always want. Take care, Princess Celestia. I must be off to bed now. I will see you again, later." "Sleep well." I say as I lay down and think about what he said. Destiny....
Chapter 145 Consuming KingsChapter 145 Consuming Kings Perspective: Miles After dealing with what seemed to be every prissy guard I finally make it to the court room. Shining and Cadence are in front of the throne holding each as a nurse tries to wrap a bandage around Cadences head. I wait for the nurse to finish wrapping her up before walking up to the throne. "So I take it Ruptor isn't here then." I say, getting them to look over. "Our scouts haven't seen him yet." Cadence says softly as she lays her head on Shining's shoulder. "He could have gone through the arctic north." "Right... and how did you escape?" I ask, walking slowly to think to myself. "Sombra only captured me to ask for help-" "Wait, what?" Shining asks as he breaks off the hug to look her in the face. "He asked.... for help. He's still alive?" "Yes, he is. And he believes that Ruptor is coming here to consume him..." "Alistair did say something about him doing something like that." I say as I look out a nearby window. "How do you keep the white stuff from taking over your land?" I ask as I peer out and take in the surrounding. "The crystal heart keeps our land safe. Its powered by the hope and love of the ponies here. If fear and despair were to rule... well..." "What?" I ask as I look back to her. She considers something before looking back to me with fear and determination in her eyes. "If Sombra is alive, then he would take that opportunity to take over again. But if Ruptor were to consume him.... Sombra believes that the land would fall to darkness-" "Darkness? Where is the crystal heart?" I turn back to them. Given the circumstances, I can only really think of one course of action. "We can't tell you." Shining says. "We have to keep its location a secret until we're certain the threat is over." "Understood. So you two know where it is then." I ask, getting nods from both of them. "Alright. Bots! New directives!" I shout, getting them to stand at attention. "I want half of you to protect Shining and the other half to protect Cadence. They hold information vital to the protection of these people, so follow their orders until I say otherwise. Understood?" "SIR!" They shout before running over and taking positions around the throne room. "I'm jumping back into the stella predator and waiting for Ruptor to show up. I'll try to draw him out to the west before engaging completely. Stay here and keep safe-" "Thank you Miles." Cadence says with a slight bow. "I knew you'd be able to help." "Spartans will always be there for those willing to call on them. Stay inside and hopefully this will be over shortly. Take care." I turn back to the doors and begin to walk out, only to have Shining teleport me to my jet. I take a deep breath before climbing back into the cockpit. A gem dragon versus human engineering... this should be interesting. Perspective: Celestia "Tia.... Tiiiiaaaaaa.... CELESTIA!" "HUH!" I gasp as I wake up. I look around to find myself laying in front of Discords statue. I look up to Luna and notice that it's night time. "Did you raise the moon and sun without me?" I ask as I stand up and stretch out the knots in my back. "Sorry, but nopony wanted to wake you... that is until they told me where you were." She says with a playful smile. "I guess that's pay back for waking you earlier." I say with a slight chuckle. "How long have I been out here?" "A couple of hours. What were you doing here by yourself? Is everything alright?" I eye her for a moment before shaking my head. "Well... no. Everything is not alright." I admit, getting a concerned look from her. "I must... speak with Miles as soon as possible. There are... a couple of things we need to discuss-" "What exactly do you need to talk about?" Luna asks as she raises an eyebrow to me. "... Destiny." I say before walking towards the castle. Luna stands there for a second before walking after me, thinking deeply about what I said. "I'll come with-" "No. This is something I need to ask on my own-" "But... I know there are something that he will only say around me. Please, let me come along as well." I pause and look back to her, seeing the conviction in her eyes. "Is there something you wish to tell me?" I ask as I face her. She takes a deep breath before looking me in the eyes. "Yes. But Miles should be here for it as well." She says before walking off, holding her head high as she tries to not look me in the eyes. What have they done now sister... Perspective: Miles With a sigh I bank to the right and continue circling around again. I've been up here for several hours now and haven't found and signs of Ruptor. Alistair hasn't shown up either, and I'm starting to worry. It shouldn't have taken this long to fly here, unless something got to him. "Sensor reading done, all clear." Informs one of the Aquilas. "Fuck me over.... stick to the crystal castle, I'm going out for some recon." "Copy that." I bank left and throttle up as I speed out to the white area. The winds here hit hard against the jet, but I hold the stick steady as I look out for any signs of movement. "Come on.... where are you?" I mutter as I drop down a bit and look over the white landscape. I think it's ice, but I'm not entirely sure- "WARNING WARNING large air born object at ten O'clock." FINALLY! I throttle up and head towards its general direction. "Give me a reading, what am I looking for?" I ask as I peer around the cockpit. "A mass of energy vortex ahead in sixty seconds. Caution is advised." "Acknowledged." Energy? What it he up to? I level out and continue my search for the vortex of energy, unsure of what that would look like. "WARNING WARNING energy mass moving. Evasive maneuvers are suggested." "Moving?" I bank to the right but continue to look for- "FUCK!" I yell as a massive black cloud nearly crashes into me. I pitch down and throttle up to avoid being hit by the massive dark form. Once I'm clear I pull back up and away from the being to get a good look at it. "Oh sweet Barbra..." I mutter as I look over the massive black dragon. Its head is easily larger then my jet while the rest of its body seems to be covered in a dark shroud. Its eyes are bright green with trails of dark purple energy trailing away. But what concerns me the most... is the massive red horn on it's head. As I continue to look over what I assume to be Ruptor, he looks over to me and we stare at each other for a few seconds. FOOOOOOOOSH "Miles." Luna says bitterly as she works on something in the dinning room. I get up from my seat in the living room and walk over to her. "Luna?" I ask as I look around. How did I get home all of the sudden? Was that a teleportation spell or something? "Luna I-" "I'm leaving you Miles." She says as she turns to me and tosses her bracelet at me. I fumble to catch it as she walks past me, looking away from me as she holds her head high. "Don't ever talk to me again." "Wait what?!" I yell as I run in front of her. "What are you talking about? What's going on? Why are you-" "OUT OF MY WAY FREAK!" She yells as she steps around me. I feel my heart begin to race a bit as I watch her walk out the door- "Miles..." "LUNA!" I yell as I run after her. "Hold on, lets talk about this-" "There is nothing left to talk about. Go back to your hole in the ground and die already you murderer!" Luna spits back. "Lu-" "LEAVE!" She yells as she faces me. "Leave before I kill you.... like how you killed my father." "Miles..." "Luna... I... I didn't...." "You didn't what?" She says a she steps towards me, making me step away from her. "You know very well what you did to Tempus. If it weren't for you he'd still be alive and so would my mother. You killed them Miles, and I'm leaving you because of it..." "Miles... awaken... "But.... I love you..." I say as tears begin to fall. "And I'll kill you if you ever come near me again..." I open my eyes slowly as a bone chilling wind roars over me. I look around and find myself slumped over the control panel of my jet. I've seemed to have crashed in the ice. I try to move, but find my limbs too numb to budge. "Miles..." I look over into the wind and see the shadow of something. I can tell that its a centaur, but other then its basic form I have no clue what it looks like. "Why do you fight?" "I.... must..." "I can give you peace. I can guide you home. Just close your eyes.... and sleep." I take a few deep breaths as I feel my eye lid grow heavy. I can feel a warmth grow over me as my eye lids near one another. Sleep... yeah... that sounds... "No." I whisper as I try to move again. "No... sleep can wait..." "Why do you defy me? I am your Shepard, listen to me and you shall know ever lasting peace..." "But there's so much to do. I have to get up... for her." I rasp as I try to move my arms, finding it nearly impossible. "It'll never end. Everything that will come... everything you will do, why not end it now? Forgo the misery and the pain, follow me to your destiny..." "Destiny?" I ask blearily as I fumble with the controls. "Yes. It is all of our destinies that we succumb to death. Take my hand," The figure says as it reaches towards me, revealing a black arm and hand. "Rest awaits you." I stare at the hand for a while, contemplating my choices. Rest... Rest sounds good right about. I'm tired. Cold. Rest sounds like a miracle right now. "No." I rasp as I put even more effort in trying to get up. "No?" It asks as it takes its hand back into the icy wind. "No. You're offering me the easy way out. Nothing gained easily is worth having-" "You will be miserable. Cause pain and suffering for all those around you-" "Its okay. The pain, the suffering, we can take it. We have each other, we have our good deeds... good memories, we can take anything. I can't rest now.... I can still make a difference... no rest... no..." I mutter as I feel my energy begin to fail. "We shall see... but remember. Death... is only the beginning." The figure says as it fades away, only to have a new smaller figure appear behind it. "MILES!" Shining yells through the wind. "Sh... Shi...." "MILES!" He yells again as he gets closer. "One more fight.... the I can rest.... one.... destiny..." I wake up to the feeling of warmth all around. A thick red blanket is wrapped around me as I lie beside a small fire. It looks like I'm in some kind of icy cave. The only sound I can hear are the crackling of the fire and the outside. I look over to see Shining sitting beside the fire, trying to heat up an apple. "Shining?" I rasp as I begin to sit up. "Miles!" He gasps as he runs over to my side and helps me. "I was worried you wouldn't wake up." He jokes as he offers me a canteen. I take it and gulp down the water, loving the warmth it gives me. "What happened? I remember the dragon... then Luna... she said...." "Don't worry about that Miles." Shining says as he puts a hoof on my shoulder. "That's what Sombra's power does. It makes you live your greatest fear. It didn't actually happen. Everything is alright..." "Then was that person talking to me... he sounded... I don't know..." "What pony? When?" "He was trying to get me to go to sleep in the jet... did I crash?" I ask as I look up to him. "Yeah. Luckily you slid in a soft patch of snow, so your flying thing still works... or at least it looks that way." He says as he walks back to the fire and sit besides it. "What happened? Did Alistair ever show up?" I ask as get up and move closer to the fire. He doesn't answer right away. Instead he just sits there, staring into the fire. "Yes... yes he did." He says as he stands and moves away from me. "What happened?" "Your bots told us you crashed, so I went out to find you. When I left the city limits Ruptor made his move, but Cadence was able to shield him away....that's when Alistair showed up and fought him... he's no longer with us. That was yesterday..." "Then lets get going." I say as I try to push myself up, only to fall back down. "You can barely stand, let alone fly that thing-" "Yeah, but how much longer do you think Cadence can hold that shield against Ruptor?" I ask as I try again, succeeding this time. I give a few test steps before walking around, trying to work out the kinks in my legs. "We cant afford to wait." He sighs as he goes to his bags and pulls out a scarf and... some weird looking glasses. "We can at least go find your vehicle-" "Do you know where it is?" I ask as I take the scarf and wrap it around myself. "Yeah, I left a magical marker so we could find it in the snow storm. Are you sure you can do this?" He asks as we make it to the edge of the cave. "... I can take it. Lets go." I say as I march out into the icy storm. Perspective: Cadence "Queen Cadence!" One of the maids yells as I fall to the ground of my balcony again. "I'm fine... just a little tired." I say as I she helps me back to my hooves. "Using this much magic can't be good for the baby ma'am-" "I know, but I have to. We cannot allow Ruptor to enter." I say as I look back out to the outskirts of the city. He's been waiting at the edge of my field for the past day, just staring in. I cant believe Miles wasn't able to defeat him. "Maybe now we should call for the other Alicorns, Celestia and Luna..." "I can't. I would have to drop the shield in order to send the message..." "ENEMY DETECTED!" Shout all of the bots around me as they circle around me, encasing me behind their large shields. "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" CRASH The bot behind me buckles back as something crashes into it. The maid runs away calling for the guards as the rest of the bots run to attack the.... "What are you?" I ask as I get a look. It seems to be a being made of dark crystals, in the form of a small dragon. It has long wings and a tail that to end in heavy crystals. "Where is the crystal heart!" I yells as it charges at me, only to get the bots to jump in the way. They beat it back with their shield and begin to slice and stab at it. I hear the sound of crystals shattering as they continue to beat it "GIVE ME THE..." "AHH!" I yell as two more drop behind me, gaining on me quickly. The bots begins to scatter as they engage the other crystal dragons. I look around for a way to escape, but can't find a way out of the carnage... I need Shining here... he would... "AAAAHHHHHH!" I yell as I feel my magic begin to surge. I look back to Ruptor to see him dragging a claw over the shield, cutting through it with total ease. "PROTECT THE QUEEN!" Yells a guard as the doors fly open, but not before a dragon grabs my horn. He rears up slowly as he lifts me into the air, glaring into my eyes. "Ruptor." I growl as I feel my magic fail me, making the shield fall. "Where is the heart?" Ruptor asks through the crystal dragon. "Somewhere you'll never be able to find it-" "Then you all shall die." I look back to the real Ruptor to see him begin to charge through the city, galloping straight for us. SMASH In the blink of an eye two of the bots had moved beside me and brought their shields up, smashing them against the arm of the dragon and shattering it. I fall to the ground and am instantly surrounded by guards. "COME WITH US-" "RUPTOR!" I yell as I jump to my hooves and run to the edge of the balcony. I begin to charge the last of my magic as he continues to charge the castle, destroying anything underneath him as does so. KA-BOBOOM From above two trails of smoke flew down and collided with Ruptors face, causing massive explosions that stopped him in his tracks. The white craft from before roars above and pasts Ruptor, getting him to jump into the air and fly after him... FLASH "Miss me?" Shining asks as he appears beside me. Before I could do anything he charges his horn and blows away one of the crystal dragons. I look down to the city before I get an idea. "Shining! We need to get the crystal heart!" I yell as I gallop through the carnage of the fight. "WAIT WHAT!?" Perspective: Miles As I jet past Ruptor I stay level for a bit to let Shining teleport to the castle. Once he disappeared I banked away from the city and speed up. Sure enough, he gives chase. "All Aquilas are to fire on dark target alongside me. I will mark all other target-able points." I say as I turn in enough to see Ruptor. I slide my finger on the hud and cross his wing joints, head, and stomach; leaving red streaks on the hud. "Do not move in front, his attacks are all forward based." "Copy that." "Lets do this then." I turn in tight and lock onto his head again. I let loose two missiles before he looks over to me, making me bank right and speed off. I hear the missiles explode as his energy blasts roars behind me. I pitch up and push the throttle even higher, gaining altitude quickly. I roll over and pull back, facing back towards the ground. I take aim for him again and fire off two of the cluster bombs. The bombs fly down until they're three fourths the way, where they burst open and shoot out dozens of little red lights. The lights whirl around until they all find their way to Ruptor, each exploding against his face and joints. Side winders and clusters don't seem to have an effect on him... I need to try the hull breachers. As I jet off to the side, trying to avoid his gaze, all of the Aquilas open fire on Ruptor. He breaks off his chase and tries to bite one of the Aquilas as they swarm around him, firing with their chain guns all over him. As I descend I lock onto left wing joint and fire all of my hull breahers. Four green lights chase down to him and collide into his joints, making him roar in pain. I push the throttle up and line up with the base of his back. I pull the flip the switch and pull the trigger as I pull up, sending a massive column of blue energy up his back. He roars out again as he hits the ground, sending the snow high as he crashes down. I signal for all of the Aquilas to form up on me as I turn back to the Crystal Empire, gaining altitude slightly as I do so. "All missiles used have been ineffective in destroying the target, further orders sir?" One of the Aquilas informs me. "Aquila one, patch me through to a legion bot to speak with Shining Armor." "One moment please... patch made." "Shining can you hear me?" I ask. "Miles? Uh... yeah. Did you do it? We've taken care of the smaller dragons here, how's it going with Ruptor?" He says with winded breath. "Nothing I've used can breach his body, but I have one last resort. I need you to shield off the entire city-" "The entire city?! Why, what are you doing?" "What must be done. You have sixty seconds until I fire." I shut off the com link and bank back towards Ruptor, seeing him getting back up. I curse my luck as I see the massive holes on his back begin to regrow."Aquilas three and four, head down there and get him to chase after you. Bring him out about a hundred kilometers before heading straight up." "Copy that." They both say before jetting off for him. I see him inhale as he looks up to me, so I roll to the left and dodge his energy blast. "Aquila one has been shot down." One of the Aquilas informs me. I look back and see the flaming metal falling towards the ground. "Understood. Continue on past directives." I say as I race ahead, the dark energy beam chasing after me. The beam suddenly stops when the sound of missiles exploding sounds off. I look over and see Ruptor try to bite the Aquilas as they taunt him. His horn suddenly glows red and the two Aquilas stop mid flight and crumble. "Shit... this is Spartan one, clear the area for super drop." I say as I slide my finger over the panel and select the super archaic missile. "Warning. Ordinance selected is a high..." "Understood. Firing for effect." I say before hitting the button. I feel the jet shift a bit as the large missile drops from below. Perspective: Shining Armor "...I don't know what he's going to do, he just said to shield the city." I say as I escort Cadence to the balcony, the sound of crystals crushing under our hooves filling the room. We had a few casualties, but thanks to those bots we were able to beat back those dragons. "I don't like it, but okay. Do it." I flair my horn and shield off the city in a matter of seconds. As I hold the spell up, Cadence goes to the edge and lifts up the crystal heart, getting all of the ponies below to cheer. I walk up beside her and nuzzle her cheek a bit as she teleports it back to its rightful place, getting the city to turn back to crystal. "Did Miles say any-" Cadence was silenced by a blinding blue light from the horizon. I pull Cadence to the side and shield her from the light when I feel a tremendous amount of energy hit my shield. I push all of the magic within me to keep it up, but feel it begin to crack. "What is that!" Cadence asks as she latches onto me. As I feel it go to its brink, the energy begins to fade away, leaving my shield up. I look back to see a massive blue mushroom cloud rising up... "Shining, drop the shield I need to land." The bot behind me says for Miles. Even though I heard it, I didn't do anything. This must of been one of the super archaic missiles Miles spoke of... "Shining!" "Right... right..." I say as I release the spell, allowing him and two of the other flying machines to enter. "Are you okay?" I ask Cadence as I look down to her. "Yes but... what was that?" She asks as she looks out to the horizon. "It... I'll have Miles explain it." I say as I look back to the guards behind me, seeing them all stare out to the horizon. "Escort Miles here after he lands. We need to have a word with him immediately." Perspective: Miles After another great landing and another friendly escort I enter the court room, finding Cadence and Shining embracing one another again as the rest of the bots surround them. I think two or three are missing while the rest look as if they've been beat to crap. Scratched up shields, bent swords, ones even missing an arm! "You guys needed to see me?" I say as I glare at the two guards behind me. "Yes, what was that-" "I thought you didn't ever want to use those types of weapons!" Shining shouts as he lets go of Cadence and marches towards me. "I never said I would never use one. My weapons were ineffective against Ruptor. It was the only way. I'm sure all of the living ponies here would agree with me." "But..." "Don't worry, other then the massive crater there aren't any other side effects to worry about. Those bots with their Aquilas still active latch back up, the rest of you stay under Cadences orders." I say before turning away from them and begin to walk away. "Miles." Shining says, getting me to pause. "Not every power should be used, there is a line." "Line?" I ask as I look back to him. "Let me tell you something about that line. It's not straight. You wanted me to come here to kill him and to protect your people, did I not do that? I didn't want to use that weapon, but that was the only way of defeating him. DO NOT lecture me about holding back. I've held back enough, no more. If you don't want those kind of results then don't ask for my help." I say before marching right out of the room.
Chapter 146 One DayChapter 146 One Day Perspective: War "DEATH!" I yell as I burst into his chambers. "WHY DID YOU ALLOW RUPTOR TO DIE!" I march straight up to him and wait for him to respond. Instead he just stands there, sharpening his scythe. SHINK SHINK SHINK "Well!?" I yell as I take a step towards him. "Answer me!" SHINK SHINK SHINK "DEATH!" "Do you think me a fool?" He asks calmly as he continues to run the stone down the length of his blade. "I do now, why would you have him go just to..." "Who am I War?" ".... Death." "And why would Ruptor dying be a problem for me?" He asks as he checks the sharpness of his scythe with a finger. "We need him for the herald of dragons. Without him we...." "I'll ask you again, who am I?" He asks as he sets the scythe aside and looks to me. "*sigh* forgive my intrusion." I say with a slight bow. "It is alright. You think in the mortal scheme, the thoughts of a god would be far too complex for you comprehend. But I am merciful. Go now. I must meditate now." He says as he turns away from me and lays down, holding his bag close to himself as he retreats to his mind. "If you don't mind, I have one last question." I ask as I step to his right. "Very well." "Why speak to the human? Why not just kill him and take the power? And don't give me that mortal thoughts crap. I'm over two thousand years old..." "Age and mortality do not go hand in hand War, but I will humor you this time. He intrigues me. I haven't seen one likes him since... well, since my epiphany. But, that was a sad day that I do not wish to remember." He says as he reaches up and runs his fingers down his mask."Why speak to him you ask? He is far more precious to me alive then deceased; for now at least. Let him live in ignorance for the time being. One day my blessing will find him, find everyone. Time.... is on my side." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: E'Claire "But I don't want to go to bed, I'm not even tired." Shadow says as I escort her up to her room. The past days been a ton of fun for the three of us. We played almost all of the time, then went to her friends place to play some more, but I've nver felt so drained in all of my life. There were a few times when she started to get sad, but Butterscotch and I cheer her up almost immediately by either getting her to laugh or giving her a hug. "Shadow, it's almost ten, you need to go to bed." I say as lovingly as possible. "But..." "Bed Shadow. We'll see you tomorrow morning OK." I say as she open the door to her room. "Fine." She says as climbs into bed, need a bit of help to do so. "Can I..." "If you drink another glass of water your bladder is going to explode..." "No, if Miles comes home tonight can I get up to say hi?" She asks, puckering her lips as she gives her best puppy dog face. Oh no you don't. I saw that work on Butterscotch, I'm not falling for that one. "Maybe. It depends on the time he gets here. Good night Shadow." I say as I tuck her in. She looks a little shocked that I didn't fall for it, better let Butterscotch know she got played. "OK, good night Claire." She says as she look over to the door and puts a large smile on her face. "*gasp* can Puppy sleep with me!?" "Uh.... I don't know..." I say as I look back to the wolf. I know Miles says its safe, but I can't help but be nervous about a full grown wolf sleeping in the same room as Shadow. "Puppy! Wanna sleep with me?" She asks, getting him to run in and jump onto her bed. He immediately goes for the pillow and lays on it. "Hey! That's mine!" She says as she try to push him out if the way, only to roll onto his back. "NO, not belly rubs! I want my pillow back!" She begins to pull on the pillow, trying to get it out from under him. She stands up and begins to pull with all her might... "WHOA!" She yells as she fall back, empty hoofed. "I don't think you're getting it back." I say with a chuckle. "Here I'll go get you one from the other room." I says before heading to the other bed room, finding Butterscotch laying face down on it. "What are you doing?" I ask her as I approach the bed, getting a long groan from her. "I'M SO TIIIIIIIRRRRRED!" She whines into the pillow. "Why do foals drain all of the energy from me?" "That's how they have so much energy, they drain it from older ponies." I say, getting her to look up to me and pout. "I'm not old..." "You're twenty five..." "But... that's like the new eighteen." She says with hope. "No, eighteen is eighteen and twenty five is twenty five. Now give me that pillow, the wolf took Shadows." I say as I bite onto it and yank it out from under her. "Claire." She says softly, getting me to pause and look back to her. She sits up on the edge of the bed and looks around a bit before sighing and looking me in the eyes. "Being around Shadow has got me thinking... you know... about us having a foal..." "Need a penis to do that." I say as I hold the pillow in my mouth. "I know, but... maybe once we get the whole Terradisian thing down... maybe... adopt? Or just find a suitable stallion and get him drunk, something." She says as she holds onto her knees, looking away as she thinks to herself. I set the pillow down and take a seat beside her, leaning against her as she does the same. "Sure. Not today obviously but... one day." I say as I wrap a hoof around her. We look to one another as we begin to drift closer and closer... "PUPPY! GIVE! ME! MY! PILLOW!" Shadow yells down the hall, getting us to chuckle as we both get up. "Let go diffuse that before getting to that." I say as I begin to walk out of the room, picking up the pillow along the way. "Do you think Miles would get mad if.... if... do you feel that?" Butterscotch asks as we enter Shadows room, finding her on top of the wolf, trying to rock him off the pillow. I stop and stay still, feeling a slight tremble under my hooves grow. "SHADOW! Under the bed now!" I yell as I run over and pick her up. We both slide under the bed as the shaking begins to grow more and more violent. "Whats going on!?" Shadow asks as she latches onto me, burying her face in my neck. "I don't..." FOOOOOOSH A loud roaring sound fills the room as a bright light shines through the window, brightening the room. I look over to Butterscotch as I try to shield Shadow from the light. She stares at the two of us for a moment before climbing out and running to the door. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Storm I groan a bit as some loud noises from outside begin to wake me. I pull Twilight a bit closer and bury my face in her mane, trying to ignore the noise as much as possible. "Storm.... can you go check on that?" Twilight asks. "It can wit till morning." I say as I just lay there. "Mmm.... ok..." She says as she turns around and wraps her hooves around me. "Uh... guys?" Spike says from behind. "I think we're being invaded." Of course we are. With a low sigh I get out of bed and go over to the window. I take a long look out there before walking back to the bed and climbing back in behind Twilight. "It's just a bunch of bots heading towards Miles' place... no big deal." I say as I let the warmth of the bed take me. "Uh..." "WHAT!" Twilight yells as she flashes out of bed. "What in Celestia is going on over there!" She yells as she opens up the window, letting a cold breeze come in. "Its probably nothing. Lets just go back to sleep." I say as I pull the blankets close to myself. Why does it have to be so cold out this time of year? "Storm! We need to see whats going on." Twilight says as she starts marching around the room. "It can..." I begin but stop when Twilight levitates me out of bed and carries me down stairs. I just sigh as I cross my arms, this better be good. When we make it outside Twilight sets me down before taking off down the street. I contemplate going back to bed, but once Spike took off after her I decided to check it out anyway. "Why are all of these bots coming here!?" Twilight asks as we gallop through town, along with most of the other residence. "Probably because Miles sent them." I say as I run beside her. "Honestly, why are we over reacting to this?" "What if they're here to take over? What if they start to enslave everypony and try to take over Equestria? Or the world? Or what if..." "What if the milkmare came to town and gave every stallion a...." "Storm!" Twilight snaps. "What? I'm telling you, it's probably nothing." I say as we find a crowd at the edge of town. We pause and look to each other before pushing our way through. Most of the ponies move out of the way thanks to Spike, but once we make it to the front we get stopped by a few city guards. "By order of Princess Celestia none are allowed to interact with these.... things." One guard yells over the crowd of murmuring ponies. "See? Miles even cleared it with Celestia." I say as I look over to Twilight. "Can we go back to..." "Sir." Twilight says as she steps forward. Buck me over sideways. "May I have permission to inspect these bots a little more closely?" "Mrs. Sparkle, Celestia gave us very specific orders..." "And I am her prized student. I will not interact with them..." "Buck it, move." I say as I begin to walk forward, getting a guard to jump in my way. "None shall pass..." He starts but stops when I punch him in the muzzle, making his nose bleed as he falls back. "What are you going to do? Bleed on me?" I ask as I walk around him. "Don't worry, I'm from the same place as these things. They won't harm me." The other guards help the other pony up as they glare at me. Twilight looks between them and me before running after me, apologizing to them as she does. "Storm! That was incredibly rude." "Yeah, whatever. I'm not in the mood right now to play nicely with the guards. I'll go, figure out whats going on, then go back and apologize, OK?" "... fine." When we get to Miles' house I immediately run towards the back where I see Butterscotch being held prisoner by a group of bot. "HALT! YOU HAVE SIXTY SECONDS...." "I am Lieutenant Storm Cloud of the Spartan regiment. I demand that you release her immediately!" I yell as I march straight up to the group of bots. They respond right away. Instead they just stare at me as they continue to hold Butterscotch by her mane. "Uh... Storm. I don't think it worked." Twilight whispers to me as she eyes all of the bots. "Storm." Miles voice says from out of no where. "You are one lucky son of a bitch." "Uh..." "No, they don't know who you are. I haven't added you guys to the core yet. They only listen to me. Now back up so I can land." "Land?" I mutter as I look over to Twilight. FOOOOSH "What the buck is that?" I ask as a white craft flies above head, quickly followed by two more of the Aquilas. "Uh...." "Miles... are you flying?" Twilight asks aloud. "TWILIGHT!" We both look over to see Rainbow fly down from her home and lands before us. "Whats with all of the bots?" "Rainbow Dash?" Miles asks through one of the bots. "Good, you're here. Tomorrow is Spartan Training. Show up at my place at sunset, you to Storm." "Training.... is tomorrow?" Rainbow stutters as she looks around nervously. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles I take a deep breath before banking back towards Ponyville... and shut off the engines. "Aquilas..." "In position." "Do it." I say as I look out to the four Aquilas now following me. They mover all around me and extend their tethers, wrapping my jet up and stopping me from falling. I sigh in relief as they carry me to the back of my home, where I see the mass of bots waiting. I glance back to Ponyville and notice all of the ponies gathering around the edge of the park. This is going to be fun... maybe.... no, Luna would kill me if I did that. The Aquilas take me over to my back yard and begin to set me down. I watch nervously as one side pitches down faster then the other. I'd really should have jumped out when I had the chance. At least there's only a few meters left.... CRASH "SON OF A BITCH!" I yell as the left wing snaps off and drops the remainder of the way. The rest of the jet is set down gently, but that nothing to stop me from fuming about the broken wing. "Miles!" I hear Butterscotch yell from somewhere. I look around and find her being held prisoner by a few bots. Once the tethers release me I open the cockpit and straight over to her, getting the bots to back off of her. "Butterscotch, head back inside while I get everything here organized." "But..." "Scotch." "*sigh* fine." She says as she gets up and walks back inside, rubbing her scalp all the way. "Storm! Rainbow! Come over here real quick, you to Twilight." I yell over to them as I look around for Easy "Miles, what the buck is going on?" Storm asks as they all race over to me. "I've brought them all here to consolidate our forces and repair Topaz Falls. Hows the town reacting?" I ask as I look back to a group of guards walking towards us. "Well.... not good." Twilight says as the group stops near us. "Miles Eremita." The leader says. "Yeah?" "Princess Celestia has requested to speak with you tomorrow to discuss political matters. She will be here at noon..." "Wait wait wait.... really? Political shit? Awesome. I'll be here then." I say as I shoot a smile to Storm. "Yes... well be sure to keep your forces out of Ponyville or..." "Don't worry. They wont go anywhere unless I tell them to." I tell him, getting a nod in response before they turn and walk away. "Awesome timing huh? I guess..." "MILES!" Twilight yells as she starts to sweat. "Princess Celestia is coming to YOUR home to discuss POLITICAL matters!" "Yeah.... and?" I ask as I look to the others for help. "AND!?!?! We need to get cleaning! We need to get a banner welcoming her and to get rid all of the bots and..." "Twilight!" I yell, getting her to pause. I stare at her for a second, seeing her eye twitch, before I chuckle a bit. "Don't worry about it..." "But..." "I know that her coming here to discuss 'political' matters is important. I'll be ready for her. Go home, go back to bed, and try to spend as much time with Storm as possible. Spartan training will start tomorrow at sunset, you will not be seeing him for a month, make the best of it." She looks over to Storm before nodding too me and stepping back, going to Storms side quietly. "Storm, before you go home can you run over to Big Macs and let him know as well." "I'll do that. See you tomorrow Miles." He says before they both begin to walk to Sweet Apple Acres, leaving me with Rainbow Dash. "Miles..." Rainbow starts as she kicks at the ground. "I... uh... well..." "Having some second thoughts?" I ask as I motion to one of the bots to come over. "Yeah. I asked my coltfriend about it, and he basically said yes no. He doesn't want me putting myself in danger, but he also believes that this would be good for me. Scootaloo thinks I'll turn into a super pony if I do it, so she's on board..." "What about you?" I ask as the bot stops before me. I tell it too bring me Easy before looking back to her, seeing the troubled look on her face. With a sigh I take a knee before her and set my hand on her shoulder, getting her to look me in the eyes. "What I'm about to tell you is what I believe to be the honest truth. You should do this." "But..." "I can see it in you, you have what it takes to be a Spartan. Maybe even one of the best. I can tell that you're in a slump right now. Low self esteem, a facade of confidence, questioning you own cause, you need this. Yes, there will be danger, but one day you will look back and smile when you think about how far you've gone from doing his. The decision is yours to make. But whichever one you make, support it one hundred percent. Leave no room for doubt. Now go, I'll see you tomorrow at sunset." "Thanks Miles... I'll put more thought into it... see ya." She says distantly before flying off for her home. I stand back up and watch her fly off for a bit. I sincerely hope she chooses to join.... and lives through training. She could do so much... "MILES!" I look back to the house to see Shadow running straight for me, a large smile plastered on her face. "Kiddo!" I yell back as I take a knee and catch her in a tight hug. "You're back, I missed you." She says as I stand back up. "I missed you to. Were you good for Butterscotch and E'Claire?" "I..." "She was a perfect angel." E'Claire says as she steps out with Butterscotch, nervously eyeing the bots. "We'll have to steal her again sometime soon." "How about tomorrow night for a month?" I ask, getting them to look to me in bewilderment. "Spartan training is coming up tomorrow, so I wont be here for a month, I know I have no right to ask, but..." "No Miles, I don't want you to go away for that long." Shadow says as she tightens her hold on me. "We'd be more then willing to watch your daughter, as long as we can teleport back and forth so she can see her friends." Butterscotch says as E'Claire grows a massive smile. "Dau.... yeah. Yeah that'll be fine. But that'll be tomorrow. I'll take over tonight." I say, making E'Claire pout a bit. "Its pretty late for you, lets get you back to bed." I tell Shadow as I begin to take her inside. "I don't want you leaving again Miles." She says as we make our way in. "I know you don't, and to be honest I don't want to leave you for that long. But this is something that I have to do." I say as I enter her room. I lay her back down and begin to tuck her back into bed. "But how about this. Get through this with some dignity and keep strong, and we'll do something special. Just the two of us. What do you say?" ".... only on one condition." She says as she starts to shy away from me. "Name it." "Can.... can I call you Dad?" She asks as she tightens the blankets in her hooves. I feel my heart skip a beat due to the suddenness of the question. ".... Dad?" I ask as I try to comprehend what she said. "I know we've only known each other for a little bit... but... I don't know how to explain it. I see you and... I want you to be my daddy. If you don't want me that's OK but..." "Shhh." I say as I stop her from continuing. I can see her eyes watering up as she begins to whimper. "There's something you need to know about me Shadow... something that's... not good." "What?" "I'm... dying." I tell her, making her expression soften. "One day my power will be too much for my body to control and... I'll burn up. Do you want a father who will not be around for much longer?" She stares at me for what feels like an eternity; thinking the entire time in complete silence. I shouldn't have said that.... its too much for a child to have to think about... "Miles." She says as she sits up. "Yeah Shadow?" She takes a deep breath before leaning forward and hugs me lightly. "I love you Daddy." I can only smile as I hug her back. Daddy... I never thought I'd hear those words used for me before. I break the hug and begin to tuck her back into bed. "I love you to Shadow." I say before kissing her forehead. "Sweet dreams corculum." I get up and walk away from her, glancing back as I shut the door slowly. "So we have a daughter now?" Luna says from behind. "Yeah... sorry Luna. I know I should have spoken to you... but..." "It's alright Miles. I don't mind." She says as we hug one another, stifling a cry as we do. "I'm sorry. I thought.... maybe one day..." "I know. I did to." I say as I stoke her mane. "But lets move past that now. I need to to find Night Fury for me. I remember her wanted to be a Spartan as well, we're going in tomorrow." "I'll do that. Miles..." "Yeah?" "I still love you.... I always will." She says as she pulls back to look me in the eyes. "YEAH ME TOO!" Shadow yells as she bursts through the door and latches onto my leg. "Shadow, bed." I say as I pull Luna under a single arm and look down to her. "But you just got back, can't I stay up a little bit? Come on, Princess?" She asks as she pouts a bit. "Well..." "It is fairly late." Luna says as she looks over to me, giving me a look. "Yeah..." "But... its Daddy." She says as she goes into cute mode. "Well... OK. But only for a bit." I say, getting a squee from her. "Oh lord." Luna mutters as we all make our way down stairs, Shadow leading the way. "What?" "I just realized something.... you can't say no to kids.... Shadows going to destroy the world." "No I'm not!" Shadow says, sounding almost offended. We all share a small laugh as we take up the living room. I can say no to kids.... "Can we have popcorn?" "..... well...." "No Shadow, its too late." Luna says as we lay on the couch, everyone snuggling close to me. "But... Dad." Shadow begs as she looks up to me and goes teary eyed. "Uh... well...." oh shit.... I'm doomed.
Chapter 147 My Miles Chapter 147 My Miles Chapter 147 My Miles I wake up to Shadow shifting under my arm. After a long night together we had all finally went to our own beds for sleep, but I guess Shadow ended up in my bed anyway. I look down to see Shadow tucked under my left arm, Luna pressed against my right with her legs going over my chest, and Lupus and Hati laying over my legs.... I'm stuck. I lay my head back and just accept it, waiting for someone to else to get up. "..." "..." "..." Hmm... maybe I can just kick Lupus and Hati up. I give my legs a few twitches in attempt to get them up, but only succeed in getting them to growl at me. Well.... shit. That didn't work. "Mmmm." Shadow groans as she tucks herself deeper under my arm. I think she's waking up. "Shadow." I whisper, trying not to wake Luna. "Shadow... hey." "Hmm?" She asks as she looks up to me, eyes dropping heavily. "Hey, you..." "Its too early." She complains as she lays back down. I sigh as I let her go back to sleep. That was a bust... I guess Luna's next. I look over to her and begin to rub my nose against her nose, not having a free hand to do so. She sighs a bit and giggles, but doesn't open her eyes at all. Well, that didn't work... guess I need to step it up. I plant a small kiss on her lips, getting her to smile softly. "Luna?" I whisper. She doesn't wake up, so I kiss her again with a little more force. I pull back and wait, but she keeps her eyes shut. OK, she's messing with me... LIIIIIIIIIIICK I lean forward and run my tongue from her nose up to the base of her horn, waking her up. "MILES!" She yells as she hits me a couple of times before wiping the saliva way. "LUNA!" Shadow yells as she sits up. "AAAROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Both Lupus and Hati howl as they look straight up. "Oh good, you're all awake. Lets get some.... oh sweet Barbra." "Huh?" Luna and Shadow ask before looking to each other. "Bed head." I state before laughing as they both begin to pat down their manes, trying to get them under control. "You... you... both... get..." "Don't you dare finish that sentence." Luna warns me as they all glare at me, wolfs included. "... bed head." "JERK!" Luna yells as she jumps on top of me and begins to tickle me, getting me to squirm under her. I reach around her and begin to tickle her as well, getting much better results. Thank you fingers. "TICKLE FIGHT!" Shadow yells before jumping on me and adding to Lunas tickles. I wrap my left arm around her and pull her close as I begin to tickle her tummy, getting high pitched giggles from her. "BARK BARK BARK!" Lupus and Hati bark as they run to my face and begin to lick my face. "CHEATING!" I yell as I try to push them away, only to get bombarded with tickles from Luna and Shadow. "OK, OK! YOU WIN!" I yell as I squirm back and forth. They both drop on top of me and we all share a moment of laughter, Lupus and Hati still trying to lick my face. "Well... good morning." I say as we all quiet down, getting a chuckle from Luna. "What are we going to do today?" Shadow asks as she walks up beside my head and drops down to her side. "Well... I'll be leaving at sunset for Spartan training, so until then whatever you want. Just the three of us." I say, getting a quiet yes from Shadow. "Sorry, but it'll have to be the two of you." Luna says quietly. "I'll be with Celestia until we come over to have a talk with you. Sorry Shadow." "Oh... it's OK. When are you talking to Miles?" Shadow asks. "Noon... ish. I don't know how long that talk will last, but we'll try to make it short.... Shadow why don't you go down stairs and wait for us in the kitchen for breakfast. We'll be there in a second." Shadow looks between Luna and I before getting up and and climbing off the bed. "Come on doggies, the old ponies want to talk." She says as she walks out of the room, getting both of them to run after her. Luna sighs as she lays back against me, looking up to me. I wrap an arm around her and rub her back gently, waiting for her to say whatever it is she needs to say. "Did she just call the wolves doggies? Actually, never mind. Miles, Celestia is coming here to talk with you, but... I think this would be the best time to tell her... about us." "Are you sure?" I ask, getting a nod from her. "Alright, we'll do it together." "What do you think the best way to approach it would be?" "I say just go for it. Stand side by side and say 'Celestia we're married.' I'm sure there will be harsh words, but they won't matter. We just need to keep each other strong." "I'll be honest, I'm a little scared. Do you think she'll try to attack you?" Luna asks as she drapes a wing over me. "Maybe.... more than likely. Don't worry though. I'd never hurt family. She can throw all of the punches at me she wants..." "Don't worry, I wouldn't let her hurt you. But if you could do this without yelling, that would be best... Miles." "Yeah?" I ask as I look down to her eyes. "I love you, no matter what happens." "I know. I love you to." I say before leaning forward and giving her a deep kiss. She pulls me close as she sighs into the kiss, getting on top of me as she does so. I break the kiss and glance back to the door before smirking up to her. "What?" She asks with a chuckle. "Think you're getting lucky?" "Think you can go a month without me?" "Think you can go without one of my spells?" Ow.... my pride. "That may be..." "I'm only teasing." She says as she leans forward and begins to plant kisses on my neck. "Think you can make this a quick one?" "Nnope." "Awesome." She says as she flares her horn to lock the door. As we begin to make out I move my hands all over her body. Starting up at her neck I rub down to her wing joints, along her sides, over her mark, and back up top too start all over again. "Miles..." She moans as she breaks our kiss. I move down a bit and begin to nip and suck on her neck as she holds lightly onto my head. "Yeah?" I ask as I reach down and start to remove my pants. "Maybe we should move this to the shower... to avoid any unwanted company." She says as she helps remove the remainder of my clothing. "The doors locked." "That didn't stop Spike." She says flatly. "... fine." I say, getting her to give me a kiss on the nose. She starts getting out of bed, but gasps when I lift her up. I carry her over to the restroom where I kick the door open and step sideways inside, having Luna close and lock the door behind us. "Better?" "Much, thank you." She says as she wiggles her way out of my arms. I was about to move to start the water, but stopped when Luna pushed me back. When my back was against the wall she started to move down my body, leaving gentle kisses along the way. When she reaches my stiff member she gives it a tentative kiss. I lean back and sigh from the sudden pleasure as I rest my hands on her head, stroking her mane as she takes my member into her mouth. She begins to swirl her tongue around the tip as she reaches up and begins to caress my stomach. I move a hand up to hold her hoof as I begin to rock back and forth, adding to her bobbing actions. "Lets take this over to the shower love." I say, getting her to pull my member out of her mouth. "Okay." She says cutely as she looks up to me. I help her up and take her over to the shower. I have enough time to run the water before she jumps me in another fit of kisses. I twist her around and push her against the wall as I begin to lower my kisses. I find her already exposed clit and immediately begin to suck on it. Luna lets out a small moan as she falls forward a bit, placing her hooves on my shoulders to stay up. This proves to be a problem, as it positions herself a bit away from me. I use my left arm to push her back against the wall, exposing herself again. I get back to licking again, getting her to squirm under my arm as I do so. I take my free hand and bring it down between her legs, inserting two fingers into her and spreading her lips. She lets out a little moan as I begin to prod inside, getting a mixture of her juices and the running water as I do so. "A little rougher Miles." Luna asks as she tries to push out towards me. I begin to move my tongue around at a faster, harder rate as I move my fingers up and down, getting Luna to grab onto me as she begins to move up and down. I keep pace with her by beginning to nibble on her button and putting three fingers in her. ZAP I jolt back as a sudden wave of magic hits me and heads down my body. "What spell was that?" I ask as I look up to the lustful Luna. "Get up here and find out." She says with almost a pant. "Last time you said that we just fucked for an hour or two, I never found out what the spell actually did." "Less talk, more sex." She says as she pulls me up and forcefully kisses me. I grab her right leg and lift it up before inserting myself inside her. She lets out a loud gasp from my intrusion as she wraps her arms around my neck for better support. "I think it was a dud." I say as I say as I start thrusting into her. I don't really feel anything effecting me. I'm not going sex crazy again... or so I think. "It.... it.... its working!" Luna yells back as she moans loudly. I glance down and watch myself slide in and out of her entrance, looking for anything out of the norm. What the fuck is going on down there... "Miles! Focus!" "Right." I say before picking up the slack. I begin to slam myself into her, getting loud screams as my reward. I take my free hand and run it up her stomach as I do so, savoring the feeling of her wet coat under my fingers. Likewise, she takes a hoof and begins to move it down my chest, sending chills down my spine from the soft touch. She begins to shudder underneath me; lips trembling as she grasps me a bit tighter. She couldn’t be that close this soon... unless her spell... “M-miles. T-t-too c-c-cold.” She quivers. Cold? The water feels fi.... oh. “Right. Lets just....” “Miles?” Shadow asks as she enters the bathroom. Luna and I look to each other in horror as I stop my movements. “Shadow? What are you doing in here?” I ask as Luna starts to panic. “Just using the bathroom.” She says as we hear her take a seat. “Uh... you know theres a bathroom in your room right?” I ask as Luna pushes me off and, as quietly as possible, gets out from under the water. “There is? Huh... oh well.” She says nonchalantly. Luna I just look to one another as we wait for her to finish her business. This is wrong on all kinds of levels... “Hey Miles, did Luna leave? I didn’t see her down stairs.” Well... at least she doesn’t know she’s in here. “Uh.... I think she... went to... go... get... something?” I say as I look to Luna for help. She only gives me a panicked shrug as she eyes the curtain. ‘Clear curtain’ she mouths to me. I think about it for a second before I put one and one together. I move over to her and put myself in front of her, attempting to hide her. We begin to have a silent argument over whether or not she’ll notice, ending it with my sitting down with her in my lap. “Oh... OK. I don’t think she likes me all that much.” Shadow says quietly, getting us to stop bickering. “What? Why would you think that?” I ask as Luna just stares out through the curtain. “I dunno, we don’t really spend time together. Plus every time I’m around she has to leave. I know I’ve been here a couple of days, but....” “I’m sure she likes you plenty.” I say as I wrap my arms around Luna. “She’s...” “I know. She’s royalty and I’m.... I’m...” “Shadow, don’t say...” “I’m mining scum.” She says quietly. I lean back as I let out a long sigh. “You know I hate that word.” I say as I rub Lunas back, getting her to glance back to me. “You’re not scum Shadow, trust me on that. Luna likes you, she really does, she’s just busy running a country...” “I know that. But.... I don’t know. I can’t help but feel as if she thinks I’m going to do something bad or...” “Shadow.” Luna says quietly. “I...” “Luna? What are you doing in here?” Shadow asks. “I...” Before we could say anything else the curtain flies open. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MILES!” Shadow yells as we just sit there, dumbfounded that she just threw back the curtain. Luckily for me, Luna’s hiding my shame from her. “Shadow I...” “EWEWEWEWEWEWEWEWEWEWEWEW!” She yells as she runs out of the room and down the hall. “Well.... that could have gone better.” I say as Luna pulls the curtain back. “*sigh* why couldn’t she just use her own bathroom.” Luna says as she looks down. “It’ll be alright. I’m sure you’ll get along just fine once you spend some time together.” I say as I continue to rub her back, leaving trails of dried fur. “Yeah... I’ll be sure to make time while you’re gone...... no Miles.” “Aw come on.” I say as I wrap my arms around her and pull her close. “She already left. What the...” “Miles, the fact that you’re still up is a little disturbing. Not to mention.....” “Luna.... one month.” I say, getting a sigh from her. “This is wrong on so many levels....” Perspective: Shadow AH SICK SICK SICK SICK SICK SICK SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICK! I can’t believe I just saw what I saw! Why were they showering together! That just... gross! How could anypony want to be in the same space where another pony is washing? That’s just.... blech...urgh.... I think I’m going to puke. I make it to the living room where I jump on the couch and bury my the seat, trying my best to think of something else. Just stop thinking about all of the dirt and grim washing off of one pony and getting all over the other pony..... EWEWEWEWEW! WHY BRAIN!? WHY!? I need something to take my mind off of... the gross ponies. I jump off the couch and begin to run around the house, trying to find anything to get my mind off of... them. *shiver*. Why is everything in this house CLEAN ALREADY! Forget it, I’ll just go... make breakfast. I run to the kitchen and throw the refrigerator door open. OK, lets see.... fried hay.... eggs.... cantaloupe... broce.... ew. OOO! Strawberries! I grab the strawberries, along with a few other things, and begin making pancakes. I knew getting Miles to buy these was a good idea, I’m sure cooking will take my mind off of... things. Thirty Minutes Later “Annnnnd done.” I say as I set the last plate on the table. It took a little longer than I thought it would, but I’ve finally finished setting the table with all of the cooked food. And even better, there were only two fires this time! “Shadow?” Miles says as he and Luna walk into the room. Miles is dressed in black pants and a tight white shirt.... I’ll have to ask him why he wears all of that another time. “I made breakfast!” I announce with a slight hop. They look to each other before walking over and taking their seats. I run to Miles’s side and take my seat, scooting forward and digging right in. Hopefully my delicious cooking will stop any... discussions. “Miles don’t. There are strawberries on these pancakes.” Luna says, getting Miles to set his bite down. “Sorry Shadow, but Miles is allergic to strawberries, speaking of which. Why do you even have these?” She asks as she looks over to Miles. “Well..... Shadow asked if we could get them.... so... we got them.... its not like I was going to eat them.” “Sorry Miles.” I say as he pushes the plate away. “Its alright. You didn’t know.” He says as he gets up and goes to the fridge.... Perspective: Luna I let out a small sigh as Miles goes to get something he can eat. I look back.... is Shadow giving me the stink eye? Perspective: Miles I get back to the table and set down all the food I plan on eating. I just had to buy strawberries. Well... I guess we can still get them, its not like everyone in here is allergic to them. “Miles, what are we going to do today?” Shadow asks asks as she leans towards me, batting her eyes a bit. “Uh.... I don’t know. I didn’t really plan anything for today. What do you feel like doing today?” I ask as I take an apple and bite into it. “Anything you want to do is fine with me.” She says before taking a bite of her pancakes. I take the cup with the red-orange juice in it and...” WAIT!” She yells as she jumps at me. “GAH! What?!” I yell as I nearly drop the glass, spilling most of the drink on the floor. “I put strawberries in the orange juice.” Shadow says slowly as she sits back down. I look back to the cup before sighing. “It’s alright, I wanted water anyway.” I say as I get up. Perspective: Luna Once Miles turns his back Shadow goes right back to giving me the stink eye. I can’t believe this little filly is giving me attitude. Given I did just ruin her foalhood, but.. still. “Luna,” she says as sweetly as possible, “do you have to leave today? I thought we could play together.” She asks as she pouts a bit. Oh you.... clever little... “Sorry Shadow, but Luna has to meet up with Celestia.” Miles says before taking a drink of his glass. Of course he doesn’t see what’s going on. “Yes, but I’ll be back soon enough, perhaps I can come back another time while Miles is gone.” I say as nicely as possible. “Don’t you think that’ll be good Miles? For Shadow and I to spend time together?” I say as I stare back at Shadow. She squints her eyes a bit as she stares back into my eyes, neither of us blinking. “Sure! Heck, you’re only a minute away from each other. Maybe you can even bring her to Canterlot one day.” Miles says cheerfully, getting us both to blink and look over to him. “I don’t know Miles... the castle is a lot to take in. Maybe another time.” I say nervously. “Y-yeah. I don’t want to go to Canterlot anyway.” Shadow nervously adds. “Well.... think about it at least. I’m sure once you two get to know each other it’ll be better... do you hear something?” He asks as he looks out the back door. He begins to stand up, only to get Shadow to grab onto his pant leg. “Don’t leave. You said we’d spend the day together.” She says with a little pouty face. OH she’s good... “Well... I won’t leave. I’m just going to see what it is. I’ll be right back.” He says before he stands up and leaves the room. Perspective: Miles I step out back to find Damian and his group wait for me. "Your thing started buzzing last night." Damian says as I walk up to him and look around. "Hmm, your the first one here. Anyway, Spartan training will begin at sunset. Be here at that time and we'll begin...." I pause when I here some yelling from above. I look up... CRASH I shake my head and look down to see some purple and grey pegasus laying on top of me. "Night Fury?" I ask as we both start to get up. "Why did you crash into me?" "I wanted to see if you'd move." He says mockingly as he flutters over to Damians side. "Who's the kid?" "Damian. I'll be training along side with you." He says as they shake hooves. "Well, like I told Damian, we wont start.... "NO HE'S MINE!" Luna yells from inside. I pause for a moment before walking up the steps and.... SPLAT "Fucking strawberries...." THUD
Chapter 148 Training SpartansChapter 148 Training Spartans Wednesday 28th, November I wake up to the feeling of a wet cloth moving around on my face. I squint a bit before reaching up and grabbing the cloth, getting something to grab my face. "Miles! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hit you with the strawberries, I was aiming for Luna; honest!" Shadow says as she continues to hug my face. “Shadow... aw.. it’s alright... its.... what’s going on?” I ask as I look around my room. Everyone is in here. Luna, Celestia, Twilight, Storm, Spike, Big Mac, Fluttershy, Applejack, True Will, Dust Devil, Night Fury, Damian, Hammer, Rainbow Dash, Soarin, Scootaloo, Applebloom, CC, Patches, Butterscotch, E’Claire and Camo Flash.... needless to say it’s a little crowded in here. "Why are you ALL in my room?" “It was Storms idea." Fluttershy says as I move Shadow to sit on my lap. Of course it was his idea. "How are you feeling?” “How long have I been out?” “About ten hours.” Celestia tells me. “It would seem that our talk will have to wait till another time...” “Well, we can always make it quick.... OK, all of you. Out of my room. I need to get dressed.” I order as I point to the door, getting confused looks from all of them. “Room. Leave. Now. Wait for me out back.” I say to make it simple. As everyone makes their way through the door I motion to Celestia to wait behind. “Yes Miles?” She asks as the last person leaves. “I’ll get dressed in the closet, what’s on your mind?” I ask as I go to the closet and close the door behind me. She stays quiet as I get started, so I just wait quietly. “Its... well....” A nervous Celestia, weird. “Miles.... where do you see Terradisia in ten years?” “Ten years? Well hopefully alive by that point.” I joke as I slide a black pair of pants on. “Miles...” “In all seriousness though, hopefully doing what we’re doing today. Adding new members, helping those in need; I want to restore Terradisia back to its former glory. In order to do that I have to set a strong foundation. Storm and Big Mac are that foundation for me.” I say as I put on a white tee. “So what does that mean for the rest of the world though? Are you seeing this on a global scale Miles. There are those out there that... well... would not like another world power to rise.” “Terradisia was the original world power. We shall rise again; this I promise you. If anyone tries to stop us, they will feel the full force of the Terradisian army...” “So you would start a war for an ancient nation to rise again? Why not move on? Contribute to another nation and try...” “Because we can’t add anything to another nation Celestia. What right do we have to aid one nation and not another? And if we give all of this technology to everyone... well, where would that put anyone? No, we’re small now, but we have them means to make a massive change. We can stand aside and look in, weigh our options and make the right choice. That’s what the Spartans are for, and that’s what Terradisia will do until we can stand for something...” “What about after you pass? Do you believe this nation can stand without you?” “I know it can. Storm and Big Mac are Terradisians. They will know what to do when the time arrives; I have no doubt of that.” By the time I finish speaking I have all of my armor and weapons on, so I leave the closet. Celestia takes a quick look to me before walking towards the door. “Miles,” She says as she pauses at the door. “What do you think would have happened if Terradisia had made that colony all those years ago?” “Well.... I don’t know. People could have lived, maybe we would have been found sooner, it’s impossible to say. You can’t dwell on what might have been Celestia. You have to take what you have and push forward. Remember the past, but live for tomorrow.” “What about you? How do you live for tomorrow?” I stand beside her and stare into her eyes, trying to think of the best way to answer. “Let me show you.” I walk past her and make my way to the back yard. Strom and Big Mac have all of the new recruits lined up, well, all except Damian. “Miles, can I have a quick word with you?” He asks as he walks to the side of the house. I motion to the others to wait as I follow after him. “What’s on your mind Damian?” I ask as he turns to face me. “It’s about the whole ‘no secrets in Terradisia’ thing. I’ve been given special permission to answer any of your questions.... so long as I answer in Latin.” “Latin?” “Yeah.” “Well... alright. I can accept this. How good is your Latin anyway?” “Quam bonum potest adepto?” He asks. “Non ego sollicitus est optimus. Quam mala sum sollicitus sit.” “Licuit videor. Possumusne nos adepto coepi nunc?” He asks as he looks back to the lineup. “Videbimus. LINEA SURSUM!” I yell, getting him to run turn to the lineup... but then turns back to me. “Uh... one more things. Uh... where did you get the filly?” “Shadow? Detrot, why?” “Aw, you were in Detrot. That’s my home town...anyway. She’s... I mean.... Fuerit designatos.” “Marked? What do you mean?” I ask as I look back to Shadow as she talks with Butterscotch and E’Claire. “Pacisci quis et animam suam dedit daemonis. Aliquando periit et asportaverunt.” “She... died.” I say as I look back to Damian. “How do you know this? How can you tell?” “Video in mundo. Bonum nuntium est quod nulla debilior daemon mos umquam oppugnare eam quasi faciant cum vobis. Eius ... ne forte de tendunt.” He says with a bit of pep, trying to make it seem better than it actually is. “Well... is there anything I need to do for her?” “No. It’s just something about her. Now let’s get started already.” He says as he turns back to them and walks to the lineup. As I walk after him, I glance back over to Shadow. She died at one point... “Miles?” Storm asks me. “You ready to get started?” “One last thing.” I say as I run over to my shed and jump inside. With all of the new renovations, this room is now massive. To my left is my jet, having plenty of room to make repairs, with a large bulkhead taking up the wall past it. Straight ahead of me is an emergency power station, set up to power the room and the simulation pod for the jet. I turn around and walk towards new weapons locker. It now takes up a room twice the size of my living room; filled to the brim with a variety of weapons and ammo. I go through the aisles and take all the ammo I need for my weapons, filling all of my clips. Next I go through and find the guns I think would suit Big Mac and Storm the best. I settle on an N120 LMG for Big Mac and an N32 assault rifle for Storm. I pick up spare mags, ammo, grenades and belts before fixing the triggers for them. Once done I make my way back to the others and give them the guns. “Storm, Big Mac.” I say as they take them and begin to strap them on, making it awkward due to their armor. “OK you two. This is it. You ready to be the trainers?” I ask quietly as they fumble with the belts. “Eeyup.” “I think we’ll do alright. I mean, we lived through it.” Storm says with a cocky smile. “Right, just remember this. Without a cause...” “Spartans die.” They both say as they finish getting ready. I nod to them before walking to the lineup and taking my place before them, having Storm and Big Mac stand behind me. "Let’s get started, first off, if you have any doubts, any concerns, quit now. Because when we get started, there is no quitting. You either finish or die trying, and yes, death is a very real possibility. I WILL be trying to kill you. I will break your bones, cut your flesh and turn your dreams against you as I push you harder than you've ever been pushed before in your life.” I pause for a second as I look from one determined face to the next, looking for any signs of weakness. “I am Captain Miles Eremita, commander of the Spartan forces. I will use everything in my power to make you the greatest fighters in all of Terra. Do NOT think I will ever take it easy on you, you’ll only die. Take a look at your loved ones before you tell me you want this, because once we start, there's no stopping. I don't care what happens, no matter the circumstances, we will not stop until we finish. So take a good long look and if you think you have what it takes to put everything on the line, step forward." They all take a moment to think about what I said before stepping forward. They don’t all go at once, some hesitate longer than others, but eventually they all step up. “Welcome to Spartan training. Rule...” “WAIT!” Everyone stops and turns back to see a hooded unicorn walking up to us. He has a two tone azure mane with a deep cobalt coat. “WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!” I yell, and instantly regret due to Shadow being right there, as I point my rifle at him. Storm and Big Mac take positions around him as they point their weapons along with me. The unicorn stops walking and takes in his surroundings. “I’m not here to fight. I have a message for True Will.” “Then says it and get the buck out of here.” Storm says, getting the unicorn to look over to him slowly. “Sorry, it’s for his ears only...” “NNope.” Big Mac says as he takes a step towards him. “Say it, leave, or die. That’s all ah’m givin ya.” As he looks over to Big Mac I notice a glint of what I assume to be his magic flaring. On instinct I drop down and slam my flaring hand onto the ground, sending an earthen spike through the unicorn. The spire goes through him with total ease... it’s an illusion. I instantly search out the energy and find him several meters away. I run out and lift my rifle up as I look for him. I spot some movement in a bush nearby and hurl myself towards it, getting there fast enough to catch the unicorn by surprise. I slam into him and crash into a tree, burying him a bit into it. I grab his horn and yank him out before slamming him onto the ground. “SPEAK UP ASSHOLE!” I yell as he starts to choke on his own blood. “WHO SENT YOU!” “The.... the...*cough* … the Ursa’s...” He gurgles as he turns over and continues to bleed out. I take a hand and press it against him, sending waves of healing magic through his body. This also helps me check that its actually him and not an illusion. “What do the Ursa’s want to tell True Will?” I ask as I stand back up and point my rifle back at him. “I can’t tell you! I was just told to tell him and him alone!” He barks back to me. “I SAID...” “Miles!” I look back to see True Will running towards me. “Assassin, just tell me already. Whatever you’re going to tell me I’m going to tell him anyways. Just say it.” He says as he comes to a stop before us. “Uh... I better get paid for this. Alright. They wanted me to tell you: Lily. Can I go now?” I look over to True Will to see an extremely troubled look on his face. I motion for the unicorn to leave as I sling my rifle and walk up to True Will. “Everything alright?” I ask him as he backs away from me. “No. I shouldn’t have come here, this was stupid. I can’t do this anymore, I’m out now...” “Whoa, whoa, calm down. It’s too late for that True Will. You accepted, you’re in. There is no going back now...” “But we didn’t even do anything!” He protests. “Did you step forward?” I ask, getting an annoyed nod from him. “Then you said that you didn’t have any regrets. Now if you want out I can end it now,” I say as I pull my revolver out, “otherwise get back in line.” He walks back and forth as he fumes over the choices I gave him. After a minute of arguing with himself he finally begins to walk back to the lineup. “Everything alright?” Storm asks as we get back into our places. “Yeah, just some pussy assassin. Nothing to worry about. Now... Damian, what the fuck?” I ask as I walk up to him. He has a little brown basket that has a piece of paper and a strawberry. He takes a bite of the other one and just chews it slowly as he stares up at me. SMACK “Alright then,” I say as I walk away from him, stepping on the basket and strawberries along the way. “Rule number one: We are no longer your friends. You will address us as Sir. If anything else comes out of your worthless mouths we will beat you senselessly, do you understand me?” “SIR YES SIR!” They all yell. Before I could do anything Storm whips out his sword and hits them all with a gust of wind. “SAY IT LIKE YOU GOT A PAIR!” Storm yells. “SIR YES SIR!” They yell properly. “Rule number two,” I say as I begin to walk slowly around them. “If I hear you bitch, you will regret it. I don't give a shit how much pain you’re in, I don't care if you’re on the verge of death. You keep going until I tell you to stop, and then you beg for more, understood?” “SIR YES SIR!” “Rule Number three: My word is law. I am your commanding officer, what I say goes. I don’t care if you’re bleeding to death with half your limbs missing; if I say run, RUN. Understood?” “SIR YES SIR!” They all yell. I look over to Night fury and notice he didn’t quit yell as loud as he should have, so I walk over to him and whip him with a blast of energy. “DO WE HAVE A PROBLEM?!” I yell as I strike him again. “SIR NO SIR!” He yells as he straightens out. “RULE NUMBER FOUR,” I yell as I walk away from Night Fury; moving up the line. “And this one goes for everyone. Spartan training is a secret. It doesn’t matter whose life is at stake; you don’t tell anyone what goes on here. Your wife, husband, sibling, children, no one can know. Anyone who breaks this rule will have the entire Terradisian army coming down on them and those they tell.” “Alright, time to turn in your weapons and armor!” Storm yells as he goes to Dust Devil and has her turn in her equipment. Big Mac goes to Night Fury as I go to True Will to take their stuff, getting them to comply with total ease. I was about to walk off when I noticed something about True Will’s sword. “True Will, where did you get this?” I ask as I set his stuff down and examine it closer, using both my eyes and magic. “I... got it form a mercenary group that I was a part of a long time ago... why?” “Because it has a Terradisian enchantment on it.” I take the sword and begin to feel the enchantment within it. It at least feels like a Terradisian enchantment, feeling nothing like the way Storm’s armor felt. “Uh.... how can you tell the difference?” He asks as he pulls his barding off. “Equestrian enchanting feels... more like a coating where Terradisian enchanting actually mixes the spell into the object. Where did you get this?” I ask as again. “From... Lily.” He says quietly as he looks away. “Lily.... who is Lily?” “Lily... is... *sigh* she was my teacher. My mentor. I was originally from a merc group from Saddle Arabia. We were pretty small, but nothing got in our way. Lily... found this... place...” “Place.... do you mean a city?” I ask as I look to him. From behind I can hear everyone begin to murmur as True Will looks back to them uneasily. “I don’t know; I didn’t go with her. She took a group of nearly twenty with her... and only three got out. I’ve lost contact with the other two while Lily... well... she isn’t around anymore.” He says with sorrow in his voice. I look over the sword a bit more before moving on. We can talk more about this later. Right now we need to get moving. “Damian.” I say as I step before him. “Uh...sinas me non tangatur. Is ... habet daemon tenuit infra.” He says as he pulls it aside and looks it over. It’s just a blackened scythe, I don't see what’s got him all worked up about it. “A... demon. First off, why would you want a weapon with a demon in it, and secondly, why can’t I touch it?” “Si daemon animam vendere poteris tangere. Proin egestas a ferro. In me ... quia tangam daemonis...” “Wait, you have a demon in you.” I say aloud, getting everyone to look to us. “Nice Miles, just tell everypony.” CC says from behind. “Yeah...” Damian says slowly as he glares up to me. “... is this going to be a problem for training?” I ask as I look back to everyone. Shadow is using Butterscotch to shield her eyes as everyone just watches with interest. Celestia looks more intrigued than any of them; inching her way closer to hear every word transpired. “Uh... well... *sigh* I’m probably going to hate myself for this. I can run faster than anypony here as well as heal faster. The problem is going to be that I will probably have an easier time doing...” “Easier.” Storm says with a chuckle as he walks over to us, putting all of Dust Devils gear on his back. “Trust me, we will make it harder for you. Being a better fighter is only a third of what you will learn.” “Eeyup.” Big Mac Agrees as he joins us, hefting Night Fury’s gear. “Yeah, I don’t think you’re lying about being an adept fighter; I’ve seen what you can do. Trust me, you still have a lot to learn... and now that we know you can take a hit we get to play favorites." I say, getting chuckles from Storm and Big Mac. Damian just sighs as he sets his scythe on the ground. "Fine. Just set this in your shed so nopony will mess with it." He says in defeat. "Can do..." "Just don't touch it!" He snaps. I roll my eyes as I flare my hand to the side, making a hole appear beneath the weapon. "There, all sealed up." I say as I close the hole up. "Now the bag." "... no." He says as he slowly shakes his head. "No?" I ask as I pull my revolver out. "I'll give you one last chance to give that to me before I put a bullet in your fu... freaking head." I say as I remember Shadows location. He pulls his bag off his shoulder and holds it for a second as he stares at it. If I didn't know better, I'd say he was about to cry. "Damian..." "Just give me a minute!" He snaps as he hugs it. "It's just a bag dude." Hammer says from behind. "FUCK YOU! BACKPACK IS JUST A BAG!" He yells back to him. Hammer stands there for a second before his face begins to sour up. "Hammer...." "WHAAAAAHAHAAHAAAHAAAA!" He yells before running off, crying literal streams of tears. CC shoots Damian a dirty look before running after him. "Is this normal?" Storm asks. "Nnope." "Fuck... can I go get him?" Damian asks as he looks out after him. "No. Now hand it over." I say as I grab the bag. I try to pull it away, but he wouldn't let go of it. Annoyed, I look back to Celestia and point to my ear, getting a nod from her. BANG I pop a round into his leg, sending it straight through his knee. He falls to the ground and moans in pain as I take the bag and toss it over my shoulder. I look back and sigh in relief as Celestia holds the sound barrier up. Shadow is still hiding with Butterscotch, so she didn't see anything. "Alright, Camo..." I start to say as I step towards him, only to have Damian grab my leg. "His sword... is... cursed." He grunts through the pain. "Cursed?" Camo asks as he pulls it out. "A demon... cursed it... it now has your soul.... have fun in hell... being his bitch." Damian says as he holds onto his knee. "I'll be taking this one, if you don't mind." Patches says as he walks up beside me. "Unless you want the demon to have possession over your soul for all of eternity." "They're joking right? This thing isn't really cursed by some demon... right?" Storm asks as we all stare at the sword. "OK. Go ahead and take it Patches." I say as I think back to the demons that attacked me a while back. "But, this belongs to the Ursa's...." Camo starts but stops when Patches yanks the sword from his hooves. "Yeah? Well now we have it. Go back to your bucking hide away in Detrot and play with your flowers." He says as he takes the sword.... and stabs it through his chest. I hear Rarity faint as the rest of them gasp in surprise. "What?" He asks nonchalantly as he begins to walk away, the ends of the swords sticking out of his chest. "Do I even want to know?" I ask. "We don't even know." Damian answers as he forces himself back up. The wound on his knee has already stopped bleeding and is well on its way to completely healing. We all watch him walk off until he's out of sight. With an annoyed sigh I step back to face the entire lineup. We haven't even started and the strange has been maxed out.... "Alright!" I yell as I wave my hand again, only this time I crop all of their manes and tails. "Let’s get this over with already. I'll give you a five second head start before we open fire. You'll see where to run. One... two... RUN ASSHOLES!" I yell, making them all turn and run. As they all run off I can see Damian keeping pace with everyone; we can't have that. As Storm and Big Mac take lift their guns I take aim with my revolver.... BANG The round flies down and hits Damian right in the shoulder, making him roll to the side and knock Rainbow Dash over. The second the shot rang out Storm and Big Mac opened fire, splintering trees and making the group run even faster. "Keep after them!" I yell over the fire. "Keep them on the ground and don't let up until they're ready!" They both nod before taking off after them, leaving all of the gear behind in a pile. I wait until they're out of view before turning back to the others, getting Celestia to drop her shield. "Miles did you really have to cut Rainbows mane like that?! It was simply garish." Rarity complains. "Yes, I did." I say as I holster my revolver. "That was... interesting." Celestia says in a daze. "Come back in twenty-eight days to pick up the survivors. Spike, I want you here in twenty-one days for more magic training. Be here at noon, alright?" "O..." "YOU ARE NOT SPARTAN TRAINING MY SPIKEY WIKEY!" Rarity yells as she rears up and hugs him, making his face turn bright red. "You're darn right he isn't!" Twilight yells as she joins her in hugging Spike. "I know that. This isn't Spartan training, it’s something else. Three weeks at noon, remember that." I say before tossing all of the gear into a pile and sending it to my shed. I take a moment to glance to Shadow and Luna before running into the woods. I hate having to leave when so many things are coming up... hopefully Luna can forgive me for missing her birthday. I'll have to do something extra special for her. Perspective: Luna Once the sound of the gun fire is gone everyone begins to move inside, keeping quiet as we all reflect on what just transpired. Scootaloo, Applebloom and Shadow all run upstairs to Shadow's room while the rest of us take up seats in the living room. "Well... at least it wasn't like last time." I joke, getting odd looks from everyone. "Do you think that pony was serious about the demons?" Celestia asks. Everyone looks around nervously as they stay quiet, not knowing how to answer. "Princess... Miles once said he saw one of them. I don't think..." "Try not think about it too much." I look to the front door to see a yellow pegasus mare walk in. She has long black hair that has a strip of white going through it. I think she's part griffin, due to the massive wings. "I just came back to have a little chat with all of you, put your minds at ease." She says with a warm smile as she takes a seat on the ground next to Spike. "How do ya know Miles.... uh..." Applejack asks to get her name. "Just call me CC. We met Miles a while back when he killed a couple of our agents. It was self-defense, but it... well, it ended with Damian getting Spartan training." She says with almost a chuckle. "S-so demons are real.... oh... my..." Fluttershy stutters as she begins to sink behind Applejack. "Like I said, try not to think about it. We have a very good lid on things. Nothing will happen too anypony as long as we're around." "And who exactly are you?" Celestia asks. "Sorry Princess, I can't say that." She says, making Twilights jaw drop. "What is it with the ponies here and keeping secrets from Celestia! She is our Princess for pony sake! You..." Twilight yells but stops when Celestia raises a hoof to her. "Does your organization reside in Equestria?" She asks. "Nope!" CC says simply. "Very well then. Now I have to question your motives, though I am still intrigued by them." She says as she straightens out. "Yer being pretty relaxed about this Princess." Applejack says. "When you're as old as me you learn to let things go sometimes. I can't force somepony from out of our borders to tell me everything. That's politics for you." She says with a shrug before looking outside. "My apologies but it’s time for my sister and I to take our leave. We must go raise the moon and set the sun. Have a good night everypony." She says as she stands and begins to walk out. I look back to all of the bowing ponies before following after her. We teleport back to Canterlot and get to work setting the night sky. I make sure to make it shine just a little more for Miles tonight, I'm sure he'll need it tonight. Then again, I guess that would make it easier for the trainees as well... oh well. That's what he gets for missing my birthday... speaking of which... "So sister," I say as I fly over to her bed chambers and follow her inside. "What are your plans for next month? Anything big planned?" I ask with a large smile. "Not really. We've got the first snow fall coming up in a few weeks, have to make sure that goes over well." She says as she lays on her large red pillow and begins to read a scroll. Hmmm... that didn't seem to trigger anything. "Yeah, the winter solstice should be interesting... the twenty first... of December... big day..." "Yes, it'll be nice to have the solstice with the Crystal Empire this year. I'm sure the northern lights will be exciting for everypony." She says as she starts a new scroll. "Yes, I imagine they would throw a party for it.... party.... twenty first... da-da-daaa-da-daaa-da...." "Mhmm." She mumbles as she signs the scroll and pulls another one out. I want to believe that she's hiding a surprise from me... but with what happened the last three years... "OH! The twenty first!" She says as she looks back to me. "Yeah!" I say with a smile as I lean towards her. "It's Bluebloods coronation from the academy. Good thing you remembered, I would have completely forgotten, thank you little sister. Was there anything else that I have forgotten?" She asks as she looks back to me. I feel my smile fall from me as I take a step back. She forgot... again. This would be four years in a row now. I should just tell her, maybe then she won’t... "Princess." A guard asks from the door. "You have visitor waiting for you in the..." "Ah yes. Huaila Zhao. Probably here for the new trade we're setting up. I'll be right there. Sorry Luna, but he doesn't know you so I don't think the negotiations would go over very well..." "No, its fine. Send him my regards." I say as I shy away. "Its... just..." "Yes?" She asks as she looks back to me. "Nothing." I say as I turn away from her. "Oh... OK. Be sure to keep the bananas away from Huaila, he tends to break stuff at the sight of them." Celestia tells the guard as they walk out the room. I go to my room with a heavy heart and just drop onto my dresser. I shouldn't be as sad as I am, she only doesn't remember because I won’t remind her. But at the same time... I'm her sister. This is something she should remember. BEEP BEEP I perk up a bit when I hear my phone make a sound. I take out of the dresser and look it over. One voice mail from Miles... who else would it be from? 'Luna, Sorry I won’t be able to make it to... whatever is going on during your birthday. I wanted to push the Spartan training back for it... but, I just couldn't. There's just too much going on with too little time to do it all. Don't worry though, when I get back I'll have something planned, just the two of us. I promise. Happy early birthday Luna.' I smile contently as I replay the message. First person to remember in a thousand years, of course it would be him. Perspective: Storm Wednesday December 5th, 3:14 PM "FORM UP!" Miles yells as we make our way form the Run. The group is tired, cold, and beaten badly, but we've only just begun. They line up and stand as best they could, finding it hard to do without sleep and open wounds covering their bodies. "Welcome to combat training. We call this the box. Line up and take a sword." Miles says before stepping back and rubbing his eyes. "MOVE IT!" Big Mac yells, getting them to run forward. "Al....A... *COUGHING FIT." Miles drops to a knee as he begins to cough like crazy. Big Mac and I look to each other before moving forward and throwing wooden sword at each of them. "Take your form!" I yell, getting them to hold their weapons up. I move over to Rainbow and inspect her form, pushing her legs a bit to stand a bit wider. I move to Night Fury and inspect him, only to notice that he snarls at me. "Do we have a problem?" I ask as I get in his face. "Get out of my face." He growls as he stands there. "Why? Who's going to make me? Rain Dro..." "GAH!" He yells as he tries to hit me with the sword. I dodge it easily by stepping back. he moves forward and tries again to strike me. I just duck under his blow and slam the hilt of my sword into his gut, forcing him to double over. I slam my hilt onto the back of his head and send him to the ground. "En.... ENOUGH!" Miles yells as he pushes himself up. "Let’s get back to it already. Get up Fury." I step back and move on to Dust Devil as he picks himself up. We go through all of their forms before stepping back. The entire time I could feel Fury glaring daggers at me, but that's not important right now. Hopefully he can take that hatred and use it. "You good to do this?" I ask Miles. "I just need to use more magic, that's all." He says as he forces back a cough. "Remember, we need to get these basic forms ingrained into their skulls. These forms should become natural to them, understand?" "Eeyup." "ALRIGHT! Let’s do this already." He yells before slamming his hands onto the ground. Nine squares appear around each of the recruits, forming a large box. They each stand in the center-most square as the other eight form around them. "Hold your forms!" Big Mac yells as they all started looking around themselves. They snap back to their forms and watch as Miles creates one for himself. "This box is your home. Once you learn to move about the field you'll be able to fight masses of people with total ease. Storm and I will demonstrate." We both move to face one another. As Miles moves, the squares move along with him, keeping him in the center. I lung forward as I try to swipe my sword at him, only to have it meet his own. He pushes forward as we hold our blades against each other’s. I break the contact and roll to the left, ending in the corner square. He slashes at me again, so I roll forward to the side square and swipe at him. He jumps back and takes his form for a second, before relaxing and looking back to the others. "There's lesson one: Avoid and retaliate. If you're on the offensive you have to move about your opponent, keeping out of their square. Don't go head to head with something you're weaker then, keep them moving until you find an opening and take it. Now pair up and spar." Miles says, getting odd looks from all of them. "FUCKING MOVE IT ASSHOLES!" He yells, getting them to turn to one another. We all split up as we watch them spar with one another. I walk up to Dust Devil and Rainbow and just watch them go at it. Dust Devil seems to be more methodical with her blows while Dash is all power and no restraint. After a few seconds Dust Devil finally gets a blow across Dashes face, knocking her on her back. With an annoyed sigh I move over to her and stomp onto her weapon as she tries to get back up. "What is your malfunction!" I yell as she tries to yank her sword out from under me. "SIR I..." "Power gets you nothing!" I yell as I kick her over. "Power gets your friends killed!" I yell as I kick her stomach. "Without thought you may as well be DEAD!" I yell with a stomp. "NOW GET UP AND DO IT AGAIN!" She pushes herself up and jumps back into the fight. She tosses herself into Dust Devil, swinging her wooden sword in anger as she tries to score a hit. As expected, Dust Devil ends up striking her across the head again. "DAMMIT!" She yells as she staggers back, holding the bruise on her cheek. "Rainbow Dash." I say quietly. "Sir... I just..." "Spar with me." I say as I draw my sword. She looks over and backs away as I stalk towards her. "S... Sir?" She asks as I begin to quicken my pace. Before she could get away I push forward and stab at her. She jumps back as takes her stance, slightly shaking as she holds her eyes wide open. Thanks to the enchantment on my blade I send her a bit further back then I meant to. "Storm... Sir, this is crazy! I only have a wooden..." "Power isn't going to save you here!" I yell as I charge at her again. I quickly roll to her side and swing my blade at her. She tries to jump out of the way, but the tip of my blade catches her side and tears along her. She falls to the ground and grabs at the wound, trying to hold back the blood. I launch myself into the air and drop down on top of her, stabbing at her head. She kicks her legs up and hits me in the back, only moving me enough to miss stabbing her. I hold the blade there and glare down to her, seeing the tears roll down from her face. I yank my blade out of the ground and step off of her. I yell for her to get back to sparring before looking back to the others. Miles and Damian are sparring while Big Mac is yelling orders at Night Fury and True Will. I look back to my group and yell some orders of my own, getting them to double their efforts. Friday, December 7th; 6:18 Pm Perspective: Miles "LINE UP!" I yell before coughing again. They all run in front of me and line up, the squares below them lining up with each other’s. "The past two days have been a fucking disgrace!" I yell as them as I walk around them. "Now things get harder. We've learned how to move on the horizontal plane, but comes the vertical!" I yell before slamming my hand down onto the ground. Lines come up from the squares below all of them, making a cube form around them, making twenty-seven cubes in total. Next I make diagonal lines form, going from each corner to the opposite one. "You learned how to move, now comes the technique. Using this method, you can take any weapon and use it to your advantage. Keep your attacks in the squares at all times. Do NOT swing into the lines themselves." Storm says from the front. "Big Mac and I will demonstrate." I say as I walk back to the front of the lineup. I make the same box for myself before drawing my sword and taking my form. Big Mac takes his halberd out and takes a few steps towards me, waiting for me to make a move. I take the initiative by stomping forward as I bring my blade straight down towards him. He brings his halberd up and blocks the attack easily. I bring back my sword and begin to quicken my blows, following the empty spaces in the squares. We begin to engage each other more and more, trying to gain dominance in the fight. When I finally knock Big Mac over I look back to the others and order them to begin sparring. "You alive?" I ask as I help Big Mac back up. "Eeyup." He states simply. We all look back to the group and watch as they continue sparring with one another. Their fatigue is showing in the weakness of their attacks, but I can see a few of them keeping pace. Damian and True Will seem to have a good amount of energy reserved, good that we paired them up with each other. I almost had to kill Damian when I found out he was imbuing his sword with energy, but luckily he learned quickly how not to piss me off. Camo Flash and Rainbow Dash seem to be falling behind, barely having the energy to keep their swords up. "Storm, go and watch after Camo and Dash. Big Mac can handle Night Fury and Dust Devil while I get the other two." I tell them, getting nods from them as they walk to their groups. I watch the two of them fight for a good thirty minutes before I decide that this is too easy for them. "Cease fighting." I tell them, getting them to stop almost immediately. "Sir?" Damian asks. "I'm pushing you two up a level. Get ready for the advance set." I say as I lay my hand on the ground. I double the amount of lines surrounding them, adding some in new directions. "Now, get back to it." "SIR!" They yell before engaging one another again. I watch them closely as they swing at one another, slowing their attacks to make sure that they keep in the spaces. "PICK IT UP!" I yell as I take a swing at Damian. He rolls away from me before doubling his efforts. They move back and forth as they each try to get a hit on one another, only to be blocked by the others sword. I can see the frustration in their eyes as the fight continues to escalate. I flare my hand and wave it, making a chunk of earth grab Damien’s hoof and hold him in place. This catches him off guard and leaves him open for True Will to strike him across the gut, knocking him over. "THAT'S CHEATING!" Damian yells from the ground. I take step towards him and stomp my foot down on his chest. "SIR! I MEANT SIR I..." Before he could finish I flare my hands and start to beat him with raw blasts of energy. He puts his hooves up to block his face, so I start going after his stomach, adding more energy to my hits. His bruises begin to break open as I send my final blast across his face, nearly knocking him out. "WHAT IS RULE NUMBER TWO ASSHOLE!" I yell at him as I move to his side. "S-sir... no... bitching..." He groans as he tries to get back up. "THEN SHUT THE FUCK UP AND GET BACK TO SPARRING!" I yell as I back off of him. KILL HIM What? HE IS WEAK.... HE IS A SLACKER.... HE MUST TURN TO THE VOID... No... it wouldn't be right.... RIGHT?! RIGHT?! YOU DARE TELL ME WHAT IS RIGHT AND WHAT IS... "ENOUGH!" I yell, getting everyone to look over to me. "Uh..." "Everything alright Miles?" Storm asks nervously. "Y-yeah." I stutter as I look around, seeing all of the concerned stares. "Just... get back to sparring. They all give each other odd looks before getting back to training. I take a moment to collect myself... YOU WON'T ALWAYS HAVE CONTROL. Monday, December 10th. 3:42 PM Perspective: Shadow I don't really know what happened. One minute I'm in Ponyville, hanging out with Butterscotch and E'Claire, the next I'm being rushed away by Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. They told me too just stand here and to leave the blind fold on, so that's what I'm doing.... not sure why... BUM What the... BUM Is that a... BUBUBUBUM BU-DU-DUM BUM BUM DA BUM BUM DA- DUM Uh... BUM "We the Cutie Mark..." "Can I take the blind fold off?" I ask, cutting Sweetie Belle off. "Oh, right." Applebloom says. When the piece of cloth falls from my head I blink a couple of times before taking in my surrounding. I'm in the middle of their club house standing on a pink rug. Scootaloo is sitting behind two massive drums; looking really intense, while Sweetie Belle is at a podium. A red banner with a blue badge is hanging from one corner of the room to the next. The three of them are wearing red capes that each have similar badges on them. "Uh.... what's going on?" I ask quietly. "We, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, hereby elect Shadow to join us as a sister, friend, confidant, allay, blossom buddy, gal pal... Scootaloo! I thought you said you re-wrote this!" Sweetie Belle says as she looks over to her. "I did." "Well it’s still the same thing!" "No it isn't! I added comrade, BFF, Silly Filly...." "Anyway!" Applebloom interjects. "Right. And Fellow Cutie Mark Crusader! You are solemnly sworn in, here this day, by your sister, confidants, amigas..." "CONGRATULATIONS! Yeah, need to revise that... again." She says before throwing something at me. I duck down and cover my eyes with my hooves until I feel a cloth fall on my back. I look back to see one of their capes draped over myself. "What.... what is this?" I ask as I stand back up. "Its yer initiation!" Applebloom says cheerfully. "Yer one-a us now!" She says as they all run over to me and tackle me in a group hug. "R-really! B-but I-I didn't do anything to deserve this...." "Yeah you have ya dodo!" Scootaloo says as they let go of me. "You are exactly the kind of pony the Cutie Mark Crusaders are looking for! Now do you think you have what it takes to be in our club?" I look back to the cape before looking back to her and nodding, offering the best smile I could muster. "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS! YAY!" They yell before jumping up and hoof bumping. They all look back to me and hold their hooves in the air... OH! "Cutie... Mark Crusaders....yay." I say before slowly bumping my hoof into theirs. "We'll work on that later, come on! It's time for your surprise!" Scootaloo says before running down the ramp. We all run after her as we make our way towards Ponyville. I run up beside Sweetie Belle and ask her where she got the capes; to which she said she made them... Meanwhile... Perspective: Rarity "Ahh... that was a lovely visit to the spa, but I must get this order done. I have no time to waste." I say as I open the door to my shop. I take a two steps in before I nearly faint from the sight. "SWEETIE BELLE! How many times do I have to tell you NOT to use my fabric! Now I'll have to go and make all new gold lined fabric by the end of the night!" Back to the cuteness... Perspective: Shadow We make it to Sugar Cube Corner where the three of them jump onto the step, blocking my entrance. "You ready for your super awesome surprise?" Scootaloo asks as they all stare down to me in excitement. "Uh...." "Like, it’s not even going to be that good of a party." I cringe from the sound of the voice. I look behind me to see Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon standing behind me. "Why did you have to ruin the surprise!" Sweetie Belle demands! "You guys threw me a party?" I ask with a smile. "Yeah, and they totally bored the heck out of it. There's only, like, ten ponies here and..." "You even toned it down for me." I say as I step towards them. "And there's only one kind of treat... double chocolate chip cookies..." "YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!" I yell as I jump on top of them, hugging them each as hard as possible. "Aren't ya mad that they ruined the surprise?" Applebloom asks as I let go of them. "Are you kidding? I hate surprises! But this is still one of the nicest things anypony could have done for me. Thanks." "Let’s go inside already!" Scootaloo says before running in. I was about to follow them inside before I looked back to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. "If you want, you can come in to..." "Why would we want to go to this lame-o party?" Silver Spoon asks before walking off, holding her head high. "Blank flank!" Diamond Tiara says before following her friend. "Don't listen ta them, they're just a few bad apples." Applejack says from behind. "You know; I don't really care right now. I have the three best friends in the world, nothing could bother me." I say as I look back to her. She offers me a warm smile as she ruffles my mane. "Ah'm sure that would make Miles proud. Now git on in there before the rest of them eat all-a the treats!" "*gasp* they better not!" I say before running inside. Perspective: Miles Friday, December 14th, 2:30 AM "WAKE UP YOU PIECES OF SHIT!" Big Mac yells, waking them from their one-hour rest. They scramble to their hooves and lineup as quickly as possible. "We're going to start with another comprehension and reflex test. Putt these on!" I yell as I a black bag at them. WHY DO THEY DESERVE TO LIVE? "Try not to disappoint us again." I say as I ignore Corpus Glacius. I nod to Big Mac and Storm before moving over to True Will. I set a doll on the ground and move to his side, "TRUE WILL!" He yanks the bag off and looks around, finding the doll almost immediately. He takes it into his hooves and checks its diaper... "PASS!" "PASS!" "FAIL!" I look over to see that Damian failed the doll test, sucks to be him. We each move on to the next pony and yell their names, mine being Rainbow Dash. "Uh..." "How do I get to Canterlot from here?" I ask politely. "Uh... head northeast and head up the mountain. You can't really miss it." "Pass." "FAIL!" "FAIL!" I shake my head as they all put the bags back on. The next hour comes and goes with little to no hope. All of them only seem able to get every other test correct... except Damian. He can't get any right. After all of this we send them down to the run to work off their failures. While Storm and Big Mac keep them occupied during all of that, I head further into the forest to get the next coarse ready. LEAVE THEM. THEY CANNOT... Not listening to you. FOOL! I AM POWER! I CAN GIVE YOU SECRETS GREATER THEN... What happened to the other guy? I want to talk to him. AMIMA IGNIS IS.... PREOCCUPIED. I... Don't care. Moving on. I stop and kneel down as I lay my palms on the ground. A single post shoots straight up. I send eight earthen tethers up and connect them to the top. I make another set of tethers, only these ones are off set from the others and only go half way up the center post. YOU WILL END BEFORE YOU CAN MAKE A CHANGE. Maybe, but I'd rather die trying. Now shut the fuck up and let me do my job. I stand up and head back to the others, following the sounds of gunfire and shouts to find my way. "MOVE FASTER!" Storm yells as he sprays the trench with gunfire. I watch the water pop up all the way down, two or three spots being red. I flare my hands and begin to toss white orbs down the trench, making massive explosions appear on the sides of the trench. "How many more?!" I yell as I send more orbs down range. "SIXTEEN!" Big Mac yells as he reloads. "Awesome." Sunday, December 16th, 12:00 PM "THRUST!" I yell as I walk along the lineup. "HA!" They all scream as they stab forward. "DEFEND!" HA!" They all scream as they bring up their swords and hold it there. I wait for a second as I look from one face to the next. They've all hardened over the past week. Each of them staring off into the distance with looks of worn down soldiers. Long trails of smoke shoot from their mouths as they exhale, fogging their faces slightly. "At ease." I say quietly, getting them to stand down. "We're at a cross road now; a fork in the road. This is where we find the Spartans and where we kill the rest. Drop down and do sit ups until I tell you to stop." "SIR YES SIR!" They yell before dropping down and start doing sit ups. I let them go for about half an hour before walking up to the first in the lineup; Damian. I walk up before him and watch for a few seconds, watching the steam rise from his body as he tries to fight the cold. I step forward and bring my foot down onto his chest as I pull my revolver out and aim for his head. "TELL ME YOUR CAUSE!?" I yell as he fights to do a sit up. "SIR?" He asks as he continues to try. "YOU HAVE TEN SECONDS TO TELL ME YOUR CAUSE BEFORE I KILL YOU! WHAT IS YOUR CAUSE!?" I yell as I press the barrel against his skull. He thinks quickly about his answer before looking me right in the eyes. "To.... protect." "DAMN GOOD!" I yell before moving to the next person, Rainbow Dash. "WHAT IS YOUR CAUSE!" I yell as I bring my foot down onto her chest. "I... uh..." "FIVE SECONDS!" "But...." "TWO!" "LOYALTY!" She screams as she shuts her eyes. I stare her down a bit before moving on to the next person. Loyalty, never heard that one again. "CAMO FLASH! WHAT IS YOUR CAUSE!?" I yell as I do the same to him. "Uh..." "SIX SECONDS!" "I..." "TWO SECONDS!" "I don't get the question SIR!" BANG I send the round right between his eyes, forcing his head to fly back as blood sprays out. Everyone seems to stop as they watch the smoke rise from the hole in his head. "TRUE WILL!" I yell as I move to him and step down onto him. "WHAT IS YOUR CAUSE!?" "My... cause?" "FOUR SECONDS!" "REDEMPTION!" He yells quickly. I move to the next person, Dust Devil. "WHAT IS..." "ATONEMENT!" She yells before I could finish. I grab her hair and lift her into the air. I stick the barrel of my revolver into her mouth and glare. "What is your cause?" I growl to her. "Atonement Sir... for my little brother." She says as she starts to tear up. "I have to be strong for him... I have to live for him... please sir... let me atone..." "Very well." I say before dropping her. I move to Night Fury and just stand before him. He looks up to me for a second before his gaze slowly turns to Storm. "Revenge." He growls as he glares at him. "Oh great, another revenge cause." I say before walking to Storm and Big Mac. We all look to one another before nodding and facing the group. "STAND UP!" Big Mac yells, making them jump to their hooves. "Your cause." I start, eyeing each of them for a second before continuing. "It’s what truly makes a Spartan. It’s the one thing that you always fight for, the thing that keeps you from dying. In the greatest of hardships, during the greatest pains, your cause gives you the drive to push forward. Want to know why Camo Flash died back there? It’s because he had nothing worth fighting for." "Keep your cause close to your heart, and you'll never lose. It’s the one thing that you can always rely on to for that resolve to win. That willingness to go the extra mile. You die when you lose your cause... or find a new cause." Storm finishes. "Hour rest. Be sure to meditate on your cause. What you said right now will drive you for the rest of your lives; learn what it means." Wednesday, December 19th 11:50 "Alright, before we move to weapon specialization, it’s time for a rest. Everyone lay down and go to sleep." I say as we have them circle our camp fire. They all look to each other nervously but comply anyway. After a few minutes I go through them all and set my spells, eight hours of nothing but endless sleep. "How would we do this without magic?" Storm asks as I go to my first victim, Rainbow Dash. "Back in the old days they would use sedatives and hallucinogenic to fuck with them. First dose being the average amount, then one and a half, the double, until the final day. But that had obvious problems... do you hear that?" I ask as I look up. In the distance I see Spike flying towards us, carrying a massive bag that's teeming with school supplies. "Right on time." Storm says with a smile. "Eeyup." Big Mac agrees. We wait for him to land before us, well, more like crash. He picks himself off of the ground and dusts himself off as he blushes a bit. "Uh... hey guys." He says as he approaches us, rubbing the back of his head as he looks back to the bag. "Sorry, Twilight wanted me to bring a bunch of spare paper and stuff..." "It’s alright Spike." I say as Storm walks over to him and grabs him in a hug. "We were just about to start. You ready for this?" "Why am I here again?" He asks as they break their hug. "I thought Spartan Training was supposed to be a secret. Shouldn't I be in trouble for being here?" Storm and I look to one another before chuckling a bit. "I don't get what's so funny..." "Spike," Storm starts, "Don't worry about it. We know you're going to be a Spartan one day; we can let this slide for now." "Really!? You think I have what it takes to be a Spartan?" He asks with almost a hop. “Wait... is this going to be actual Spartan training?" "No. The trainees are all asleep right now." I reassure him. "So now we're going to fuck with them." "... fuck..." "Watch your mouth!" Storm snaps. "Look, let’s give them about an hour before we get working on this. In the mean time I want to check up on how you're progressing on your magic." "Um...." "*sigh* today is going to be a long day...." After an hour of seeing Spike at the same level I decide to move on to the others. I kneel beside Rainbow Dash and cover my hand in my magic. I glance back to the others before pushing into her subconscious. After a blinding white light, I find myself flying through the air. Before me are Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, and Soarin; all flying together. They twist and spiral around with large smiles; laughing and playing through the peaceful sky. I begin to force my influence into her subconscious. I start by forming storm clouds to form as the winds begin to pick up. Rainbow immediately tries to grab Scootaloo, but I force the winds to send her to the ground. As she chases after her I keep her just out of reach, screaming for Mommy to catch her. She it’s the ground, dying on impact. Rainbow lands over her and tries to wake her lifeless body, but a noise comes out from the distance. Taking Scootaloo, she runs off through a thick forest as she chases after the noise in the distance. "SOARIN!" She yells as she runs to his side. I placed him on the ground with a wing snapped off. He doesn't respond to Rainbows cries. Instead he just lays there as the stump of what was his wing bleeds over, pooling all around him. "Y....you.... failed.... Scootaloo." He says with his dying breath. Rainbow creams his name out, but I force her to fall into a black abyss, followed by the bodies of the ones she loves. She'll fall for what will feel like days until she restarts this same exact dream. No matter what she tries, she will always fail. "MILES!" Spike yells as I retract from her mind. I take a deep breath as I stand and look back to the others. They look concerned... but why? "What?" "Uh... your arms." Storm says. I look down and see that the lines have gone jagged again. I look them over for a minute before moving onto to Damian. "It’s nothing, just.... don't worry about it. Comes with the territory of being as powerful as I am. While I deal with Damian I want you to check over Rainbow Dash. Try to see how I did what I did." I say to Spike as I kneel next to Damian and get to work. OK.... what the fuck is wrong with this guy? I pushed my way in only to find myself in some kind of torture room. Iron maidens, chains and blood fill the dark room as Damian watches CC carve the skin from her body. The weird part, Damian looks bored as fuck. "YOU DARE ENTER MY DOMAIN!" A voice screams as it tears me away from the dream. I find myself pulled into a white planes facing what looks like a being of darkness. It has the basic form or a human; arms, legs, head, but lacks any other real features. The only other thing the stands out on this creature are its two red eyes. "Your.... domain? Damian has a soul fire?" I ask as I think back to what Damian told me about himself. "No.... you're the demon within him..." "I am Strages, and you will not interfere with my pawn human. " The shadow says as it begins to hover towards me. "Sorry, I can't leave until I begin my torture." I say as I flare my magic. "I torture him! He is MY puppet to control!" Strages yells before lunging at me. He's a demon, so icy void should kill him. I clench my fists and punch towards him, hitting him square in the chest. He flies away a bit before landing on his back. ".... how did you do that?" He asks as he gets back up. "How are you still alive?" I ask in bewilderment. "Only a select few demons can use that power! How did you do that!" He yells as he charges at me again, only to get another chest full of icy void. "I don't know how I got this power. One day I went through another change and boom! I have icy void. Now how are you still alive?" "I am too powerful to die from an attack like that..... you must be a hominem De bellum. You've peeked my interest. You may torture Damian, but know that this is still my domain..." "Wait, I've heard that before. Man of war? Where do you know that from? What does it mean? Tell me!" I ask as the scenery fades back to Damien’s dream. "Do your worst." I look over the dream and sigh in annoyance. As much as I want to know more about what he said, this is just a shame. "What the fuck man, this is just... no." I say as I watch a bored Damian kill CC over and over again. "DO NOT TALK DOWN TO ME..." "Then don't talk as if you know how to torture people! This is stupid!" I yell back. "I've been doing this since the begging! Do not..." "Really? The begging? Then why do you suck?" I ask, getting silence as my answer. "Look, he obviously knows it a dream. The next step is to make it believable. Watch. I take the dream and begin all over, starting with him waking at the camp. From there I have myself tell him that training has moved to a new stage, one where he gets to visit his friends. He seems genuinely surprised by this, but doesn't fight it. I lead him back to my home where we find his friends Hammer and CC..... kissing. ".... CC? Hammer?" He asks as he approaches the two of them. "Damian!" CC exclaims as she breaks contact with Hammer. "It’s good to see you again. Guess what? Hammer proposed! And I said yes!" I let him take it from there. I pull back until I'm back in the white planes with the shade, where I cross my arms and wait for him to respond. "... you didn't even kill any of them." He pouts. "You don't always need to kill something to torture someone. Taking the thing he loves the most and turning away from him, that hurts. Watch, next time will be even worse." "Hmm... very good. I like this. This is... a slower torture. I can drag this out..." "See, torturing Damian is easy. You just have to be subtle about it..." "DON'T GET CHUMMY WITH ME!" He yells before forcing me out of Damien’s subconscious. I fall onto my back and stare up at the canopy of the forest. "Hey Miles.... you OK?" Spike asks as they all walk around me to check on me. "I think I just made friends with a demon." I respond in a daze. "He's fine." Spike says confidently. "I kind of got the feel from that one. Can you do another pony?" ".... yeah." I say as I see small white dots fall from between the trees. "What’s that?" They all look up before looking back to me. "Its snow... you've never seen it snow before, have you?" Storm asks, to which I shake my head. "It’s just frozen rain basically." "Frozen... huh. Well I'll just have to admire it another time. Next is... True Will." I say as I roll to my feet and walk over to his sleeping body. I push myself into his mind and find his dream immediately. He's lying in a bed staring into some mare’s eyes. She's an all-white unicorn with light yellow hair. The two of them are completely silent; enjoying each other’s company as they hold hooves. "It'll be OK." She tells him in almost a whisper. He chokes at this, tearing up as he pulls her in for a hug. Only now do I see the medical equipment attached to the mare, an EKG machine making quiet, constant beeps. With a sigh I force the next set of words from the mare. "Please... end it." I pull back from his damaged mind and look over to the others. I just move on to Dust Devil and enter her mind. She's in a somewhat familiar room. It reminds me of the houses in Moosden, only with people living in it. Dust Devil is playing some card game with a stallion as a mare stands before a kettle at the fire place. On the ground behind the stallion is a small child, barely old enough to walk, playing with some toys. "Take my ace." The stallion says to Dust Devil. "But... that's your lucky ace." Dust Devil says as she takes the card. "I thought...." "Don't worry, no matter where you go, it will bring you good luck." He says with a warm smile. I bring my influence into the dream and have the door to the home burst open, extinguishing the fire. Dozens upon dozens of Unfamiliar pour into the room as they chase down all of the family members and devour them. I go from the child, to the mother, to the father. Forcing Dust Devil to watch their final agonizing moments of life. I've always hated this part of training, especially now since I'm going to have Spike join in on it... Sunday, December 23rd 12:31 Pm A thick layer of snow has fallen over all of us as we wait for them to wake up from their forced slumbers. If it weren't for my freezing toes, I'd love it... but I'd rather feel my toes right now. Heating spells help, but I'd prefer shoes right now. "Hope none of them freeze to death." Storm says as he tightens the red scarf around his neck. It was Spikes scarf, but he gave it to Storm during our last visit. He been getting better at dream manipulations, though he's still too soft to do anything dark; as expected. "Eeyup." Big Mac agrees. I just tighten my hold on my chest as I watch them fumble underneath the snow. "Did you get it?" I ask finally, unsure if they learned how to train Spartans. "I got it... or at least I think I did." Storm says as he continues to stare into the small fire of ours. "It’s a doozy, but ah got it." Big Mac says. "You start by bringing them to their lowest point possible, then you poke and prod them as you try to learn what kind of pony they are. You look at the characteristics of the pony as you make their natural reflexes into that of a fighter..." Storm starts. "Frum there ya weed out the bad apples." Big Mac continues. "Ya don't actually try ta kill any a them. The only ones ya kill are the ones that give up. Camo died cause he didn't want to continue. He just... gave in." "Not everyone has what it takes to be a Spartan." I finish, gaining their attention. "When we say it takes a special kind of character to be Spartan, we aren't kidding. To pass, you have to be able to outlive yourself. That way you can die for others." They both nod to me as the first few of the group begin to burst from the snow. "Let’s get back to it." I say as I stand. "Eeyup." "Right behind ya." We wait for them to all wake before ordering them to take their fighting positions. Rainbow and DD jump to it without hesitation... the others. "WHAT IS YOUR MALFUNCTION!" I yell to all the guys as they blush heavily. "GET THE FUCK UP!" "SIR!" Damian yells, "I BELIEVE THAT ONE OF THE MARES..." "SHUT THE FUCK UP AND GET IN YOUR FIGHTING STANCES!" I yell, getting sigh from all of them as they.... What.... the fuck. "Do any of you want to explain to me as to why you ALL have erections!?" I yell as I look from one... oh this is sick. "Permission to warm up sir?" Night Fury asks as they all stand there, twitching from the cold snow. ".... which one of you are in heat?" I ask, getting them both to raise their hoofs. "Hmm... Storm, Big Mac, over here real quick." I say as I step off to the side. "What do you think?" "I've seen bigger." Storm says with a chuckle. "Shut up Storm" Big Mac says as he rubs his eyes. "In all honesty, I say make them run after the mares through the snow. They'll have to learn self-control eventually." "Hmm.... I've got it. A quick run, then The Run, and if they're still up... sparring matches." I say with an evil grin. "Y'all are evil." Big Mac says as Storm nods in agreement. "Let go it then." Wednesday, December 26th, 10:12 Pm Perspective: Storm "OUT FUCKING STANDING!" Miles yells as the last trainee wakes from their slumber. "OUT FUCKING STANDING! Give yourselves a pat on the back, there's only one last thing to do before you're officially Spartans!" He says, getting cheers from all of them. "Inception." "Sir?" Night Fury asks. "What does that intel?" "It’s the Spartan codex. It's never been spoken before. From one Spartan to the next we've implanted it into our minds, to keep it from ever changing. These are the laws in which we follow, in which we live. Line up and prepare to finally become Spartans." He says, getting them all to run over in excitement to finally be finished. He takes a knee and talks to Damian first. Apparently he wants specialized training as well, but he'll just have to wait a week or so. Miles places his hands onto the sides of his head and forces the memory into his brain. After a few moments, Miles gives him a rations bag and starts on the next pony. I walk over to Big Mac and motion for him to step aside as Miles continues with the others. "Yeah?" "Well? Do we tell them?" I ask, getting a wide eyed expression from him. "Come on, you can't tell me that it didn't feel better there. We can keep a secret if you want, but I thought we could make it our secret initiation thing." "But Miles would find out eventually..." "Na-ahahah, only if he would ask. Until then it'll be our secret. Right?" He looks back to Miles before holding his hoof out. I take it and shake it before walking back to the others, smiling like an idiot. "But iffin he asks, Ah'm sayin its yer idea." "Agreed." "Welcome to the Spartan regiment!" Miles says as he stands before True Will. They let out a collective of cheers as Miles motions for them to follow home. The walk home could not have been made faster. Everypony was talking excitedly with one another, giving congratulations and what not. I couldn't help but look over to Big Mac and giggle idiotically. This is going to be funny as hell.... "Alright!" Miles says as we step out of the forest and into his back yard. "I've got one last thing for everyone before I send you off. Just hang tight and I'll be right back." He says before going into his shed. Once the door shuts I run to the front of the group and get everyone’s attention. "OK, so Big Mac and I have a.... little initiation test for all of you." I say with an evil smile. "Buck in Miles's bed." "What?" Almost all of them asks at once. "You heard me. Buck in Miles's bed." I repeat, getting odd looks from all of them. "Why would we want to do that?" True Will asks. "We believe Miles enchanted his bed ta make sex even better than usual." Big Mac says flatly, getting odd looks from everypony as well. "Ah didn't want ta believe it either.... but..." "But.... but... I don't have anypony to do that with." Damian says with a pout. We all laugh a little as Miles climbs out of the shed and begins to hand out necklaces. "These are going to be our calling cards," He starts as he goes down the line. "Use them to identify yourselves as Spartans and to help find other Spartans." I take one as well as look it over. It’s a simple necklace with a pendant on it: The Spartan logo. "Hey, can I go home or do you still need me?" I ask as I put it on. He motions for me to go, so I take off through the air as quickly as possible. It’s been too long since I've seen my Twilight. Ponyville is abuzz with winter activities. Sledding, snowball fights, and ice carving take up the town below. I ignore it all as I head straight for the library, practically crashing through the door when I make it. "TWILIGHT!" I yell as I run in and begin to remove my armor. "Twilight? Where are you?" "Hey there big brother." I spin around and find Breaker sitting in the kitchen, sipping some hot tea. "Breaker? What are you doing here? I thought you were with..." "CLOUD!" My mother yells as she tackles me in a hug, then pulls away quickly. "WHEW! Go upstairs and take a shower honey, you kind of stink." She says as she points up stairs. "Mom? What are you doing here? Is everything alright?" I ask as she walks over and sits beside Breaker, smiling warmly towards me. "Oh everything is fine dear, we're just broke."
Chapter 149 New Spartans On The BlockChapter 149 New Spartans On The Block "We're.... broke. What happened exactly?" I ask as I step towards the table. "He doesn't seem to get the whole smelly thing, does he?" Breaker mumbles to Mom, getting a nod in response. "Well, the Griffin Colonies were our largest buyers in the cloud industry," she starts as she holds her tea between her hooves, "but ever since the green storm started we've been taking a lot of flak from them. In order to keep relations the way they are between our nations we had to pay a grievance fee, just some hundred twenty million bits." She says with a smile. "Hundred....twenty... million..." "Yes, needless to say we had to shut down and declare chapter five." She says before taking a sip of tea. I try to glance over to Breaker, but he only looks away in shame. "Are you alright?" I ask Mom. "Oh yes, thank you. The Princess has actually been very helpful during all of this. Originally it was going to be two hundred million and a hanging..." "WHAT!" I yell as I nearly fall over myself. "Yeah, but she negotiated it down to the hundred twenty thankfully. Well, that and she also seemed to mention that we were also part Terradisian. I'm sure Miles will have fun with that later today..." "So that's why you're here.... you had to sell the house didn't you?" I ask, getting a slow nod from her. "I'm sorry...." "Why?" Breaker asks. "Its not like you're the pony responsible for all of this..." "Oh hush now." Mom says as she sets down her cup. "Nopony blames you for that. It was the work of Steelwing and those Centaurs, nopony else." She says as she rubs his back. His only shakes his head as he looks away from her; guilt filling his eyes. "... where's Twilight?" I ask as I look around. "Oh, she went upstairs awhile ago. Why don't you go up and talk to her... after taking a shower of course. We'll be down here OK?" I nod to her before taking the stairs up to my bedroom, where I find Twilight. She's sprawled out on her back in the middle of the bed with a book covering her face. "Rough night?" I ask as I walk over to the bed side. She lets out a small yelp before falling off to the side. I just chuckle and finish to undoing my armor as she gets back up. "STORM! you're back!" She yells before running over to me and wrapping me up in a hug. As I embrace her I take a moment to get familiar with her again. Her sent, the way her fur feels under my hoof, the warmth I get as she rubs against the side of my head.. the way she giggles uncontrollably... wait... she isn't giggling.... "Mom.... what are you doing?" I ask slowly as I look over to her. She's standing in the doorway below staring right at us. "Oh don't mind me, I'm just passing through." She says as she creeps her way to the other door, never taking her eyes off of me. "She'e been.... very curious about things." Twilight whispers to me. "How so?" "Well... she... uh... she really wants grandfoals." "... and?" "And when your mother started giving me advice on proper positioning...." "WHAT!?" "Did you need something dear?" Mom asks as she runs back into the room. "Yeah... I mean no... I.... *sigh* I just need a shower." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles Once Storm flies off I send everyone down into my shed to gather their gear, only to have True Will pull me aside again. We walk over to the side of the house where he glances around a bit. "Something on your mind?" I ask. "Yeah, its about Camo Flash. I don't exactly get why he died the way he did." "He didn't have a cause..." "I'll be honest, I kind of just shouted the first thing that came to mind." "That's exactly what we wanted." I tell him, getting a bewildered look from him. "You were weak, hungry, sleep deprived and most importantly, scared. We took you down to the most primal instincts and asked you what pushes you. There's a reason you said redemption; it meant something to you. Camo didn't have something to push him in that moment of need. He didn't have that cause to push him in that near death moment, that's why he died." He thinks about it for a second before walking over to the shed, passing Damian as he enters. "Next week right?" He asks as he trots up to me, strapping his scythe to his back. "That's what we said..." "I had another question though. You made Storm and Big Mac weapons, can I get one?" "Sure, what are you looking for?" "Something to make me weaker." I stare at him for a few seconds before laughing. "Yeah, sure. I'll get right on that." I chuckle. "No, I'm serious." Again, I stare at him for a few seconds before laughing at him. "OK Damian, I'll get on...." KA-BOOM "GIVE ME FLESH!" From down the tree line a massive explosion shakes the ground as a massive humanoid creature emerges from the ground. He stands at least two stories tall with crimson red skin. His face has two beady black eyes right above a massive four pronged mouth that's slick with drool. He stands up and lets out a tremendous roar as he flexes his muscular body. "What... the...fu.." "I've got this." Damian says casually as he steps forward and takes his stance with his scythe. "You've got to be..." CLUNK FOOOOSH In the spawn of only a few seconds Damian was able to lunge into the air, stab down into the chest of the demon, burn it with some blackened fire, and still land perfectly. "... and here I thought I was over powered." I mutter as he walks back to me. "Also, never stab with a scythe, its meant to be a slicing weapon." "Yeah... so about that weakening weapon..." "What was that?" Dust Devil asks as the rest of the Spartans begin to climb out of the shed. "You mean to tell me none of you saw that?" I ask as they all approach me. "See what?" Night Fury asks. "The demon! The giant, red, fucking demon! None of you saw it! None?" I ask in bewilderment. "That's suppose to be a secret." Damian says under his breath. "NNope. We were all in the shed, didn't see a thing." Big Mac says. "By the way, are we gonna git guns or are we stickin ta blades?" "Guns will only be used in extreme conditions..." "You use a gun." Damian points out. "Yeah, go fuck yourself." I tell him before facing the others. "Okay, enough weird..." "Miles?" Regina asks from behind. "Regina? Did you see it?" "See what?" She asks as she looks around. "On my... you made more sexy Spartans didn't you?" She asks as she walks up to Damian. "Hi, I'm Regina..." "He's gay." I inform her. "No I'm..." "Really? Damn, he was a cute one. How about..." "Regina, what are you doing here?" I ask as I pull her away. Behind me I can hear Damian complaining as some of the others try to comfort him, but I ignore it as we walk towards the front. "Well... it has to do with Storm Breaker and Terradisia." She says uncomfortably. "What about us?" I ask as we make it to the front yard. I come to a stop and stare out at the contingency of griffins standing before us. "I'm sorry Miles, I really am, but I have to arrest you and Breaker. Somepony has to be held accountable for the green storms, and Breaker was one of the ones working with them. My leader has also decreed that you be arrested for giving him..." "Regina, I respect you, but I'm not going anywhere." I tell her as the rest of the Spartans walk up behind me. "Breaker paid his price already, and I am more than willing to help your nation in its time of need. But I will not be made into a criminal for a crime I didn't commit or even assist in." "Miles, please don't make this harder then it needs to be. I brought over two hundred griffins..." "Well I have seven Spartans so go get some more guards and then it may be a fight." "Miles, these soldiers have their orders, and they will carry them out. Please come peaceably. Seven Spartans cannot stand against two hundred fifty griffin soldiers." Regina says as the group of griffins draw their weapons and take their stances. "Regi..." "Miles." Damian says as he walks over to us. "I'll handle this. My name is Damian and you have sullied the honor of the Spartan regiment, prepare to die." He says as he draws his scythe. The griffins, and some Spartans, begin to chuckle as Damian takes a few steps forward. I step aside and pull Regina along, getting quizzical looks from everyone. "HA!" FOOOSH He slashes forward and sends a massive wave of black fire that tears through their ranks with total ease. I had to look away due to the heat, but when I look back, less then fifty of the griffins stood on the edges of what was the group. "OK I did my part." Damian says as he sheaths his scythe and walks over to the patio, passing all of the dumb founded Spartans as he does. "You guys can handle the rest." He lays back against the house and dosses off in a completely relaxed manner, ignoring all of the stares. "Like I said," I say after a long silence, "I have seven Spartans." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Regina Strongwing After my little chat with Miles I take the remained of our troops and head back to the air ship. That was... too powerful. Even by Miles' standards. I need to inform... "I am here." A deep booming voice says in my head. "Sir!" I say quickly as I bow down. "I was with you when it happened, we shall not make that mistake again. I fear a summit meeting must be made..." "Sir, a summit meeting hasn't happened in... centuries! Surely..." "A new nation has arisen. To formally acknowledge them we must meet. I'll send a letter to the Isle, hopefully they will hear my call. Return home for now, we don't want to lose anymore griffins then we need to." "Of course sir..." "And Regina." "Yes sir?" "remember where you are from." I pause for a second as I feel his influence disappear. Where I'm from... "Ambassador Strongwing?" One of the soldiers asks. "Set a course for Canterlot. I need to have a word with... a friend." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles After dealing with the griffins I had everyone stick around for something later tonight. Rainbow Dash said she didn't feel comfortable using my shower so she went home, promising to come back as soon as possible. After a good shower I start my plan by going to Moosden to pick up Shadow. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK I wait outside of Butterscotch and E'Claire's place, not really paying attention to anything, until I hear the high pitched giggles of Shadow from inside. Curious, I open the door and step inside. A massive pillow for has taken over the middle of the room, with Shadow and E'Claire sitting at the top of it. How they are sitting on a fort made of pillows is beyond me, but I ignore that a I dodge a pillow that was about to hit me in the face. "Shadow, what's with you and throwing things at my face?" I ask. "MILES!" She yells before running inside the fort. As I hear a series of metallic locks and doors open up, none of which making sense to me, I look down to see a passed out Butterscotch laying underneath a pile of pillows."YOU'RE BACK!" She yells as she runs out the draw bridge and tackles me in a hug. "How did you make this?" I ask as I peer into the hallway of pillows, complete with furniture, a stair case, and even picture. Not drawings they made and put up, pillows with drawings in the folds. "Guess what! Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle made me an CUTIE MARK CRUSADER!" "Uh..." "Oh right, yay!" She sheers quietly. "That's... great. Is that a fountain spraying out pillows?" "And Butterscotch and E'Claire said I can come over whenever I want! As long as you say its ok. And then... then, um, we went out to Ponyville and we had a small party, two actually! One was for me and the other was a welcome party for Butterscotch and E'Claire. Pinkie Pie threw both of them and they were really fun and... um... oh yeah! Twilight signed me up for school, and I get to go to class with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and... are you listening?" I laugh a bit as I pick her up, getting an irritated look from her. "Lets see, Cutie Mark Crusader, can visit Moosden whenever, had to.... parties, and go to school now. Right?" "Right!" I look over to E'Claire as she pulls a single pillow out from the wall, making the entire thing fall into one massive pile. "Thanks again for watching her." I tell her as I step over Butterscotch. "No problem at all. We actually really like having her around. If you ever need a foal sitter, we're your girls!" "I'll keep that in mind." I say as Shadow taps my shoulder. "Um... can... can I come over even if you are home? Not all of the time but... visit a lot... and stuff?" She asks nervously. I lool over to E'Claire before looking back to her. "Well, as long as they're OK with it I am to. Just let me know when you're heading over OK?" "OK!" She says before hugging me again. "Oh, tonight I have something planned for Luna at my place. You two are invited so if you want to attend it'll be at ten tonight. It's for her birthday so if you want to bring a gift you can, though it's not necessary." "Luna has a birthday?" E'Claire asks aloud. "Yeah... it was actually a few days ago. Anyway, I need to get... hmm... actually, do you think you can make it?" "Yeah, I'm not sure about the gift but we can be there. Why?" "Could you watch Shadow until then? She can't really go to what I have planned for before hand." I say, getting a sly grin from her in response. "Oh you sly dog you, of course we'll watch her until then. Go and have fun with your wife." "Not like that." I say as I kneel down and set Shadow on the ground. "I'll be back later tonight, but tomorrow is just me and you OK? No distractions, no work, just the two of us." "Really?" She asks as her eyes brighten up. "You promise?" "I promise. Now I have to get going, be good for E'Claire and I'll see you later tonight." "Have fun! LETS MAKE IT AGAIN!" She yells before diving into the mass of pillows. E'Claire offers me a smile before running in after her, the two of them giggling loudly. She seems to really like being with them... that's good though. It'll give her a home for... after I'm gone. Pushing that depressing thought from my mind I begin the trek to Canterlot, getting there as quickly as possible. Its the middle of the afternoon, so I guess I can let her sleep a bit longer. From the top of the mountain I make my way to the front of the castle and casually walk in. None of the stoic guards pay any attention to me, standing at their post like statues. I make my way to the main hall where I catch Celestia leaving. "Miles, what brings you here?" She asks as she approaches me, two guards flanking her. "Just thought I'd swing by and steal Luna for the night. You know, give her her late birthday present." I idly say, making her eyes go wide. "Her what?" "Her birthday present. I know its a few days late, but I couldn't get away from Spartan training in time..." "BUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!" Author's Note Sorry for the delay on this chapter. I wanted to wait for the bugs to be worked out better before continuing. And for those of you who took a sneak peek.... SHAME ON YOU EVEN THOUGH I'VE DONE IT IN THE PAST BUT STILL, SHAME. Also, I'm debating a scene to come up so I'll leave it up to you, the readers. Do you wish to have the Soarin/Rainbow Dash sex scene written out? Leave comments telling my your thoughts, I can go either way so some input would be nice. Brony on!
Chapter 150 Happy BirthdayChapter 150 Happy Birthday "BUUUUUUUUUCK BUCK BUCK BUCK BUCK BUCK BUCK BUCK BUUUUUUUCK BUCKING BUCK!" Celestia screams as she paces around her gaping guards. "Uh... everything OK?" I venture, only to get her to scream louder. "BUUCK BUCK BUCK BUCK BUCK BUCK BUCK BUCK I'M A HORRIBLE BUCKING SISTER! BUCK MY BUCKING..." SLAP Everything falls silent as I put my hand back down. Celestia just stands there in a daze; probably due to this being the first time ever slapping her like this. "Sorry about that, but I had to do it. Anyway, I'm guessing you either forgot her birthday or..." "No... I did something worse then forgetting." She mumble as she looks back to me, eyes wide. "I forgot for four years in a row." "..." "..." "You are a terrible sister..." "I know!" She exclaims as she falls to the ground, covering her face with her hooves. "How could I forget all these years! I'm a terrible pony!" I point to her guards and motion for them to leave. They look to each other before nodding to me before walking away. With them gone I take a seat beside Celestia and rub her back as she cries into her hooves. "Soror, I'm going to save you on this one. But after everything is said and done, I want you to talk to Luna and ask for her forgiveness, got it?" "What do you have planned?" She asks as she looks up to me, wiping the tears from her eyes. "There are two parts, well now there are. I need you to go to my place and get a party ready. I'd also suggest going to Pinkie Pie for help on that. Lets try to keep this small also, while we're gone try to get her something..." "Where are you taking her?" She asks with a slight tilt of the head. "Hehe, don't worry about that. All you need to know is that I'm taking her somewhere she will absolutely love. Now get going, we don't have much time." I say as I stand up and offer her a hand. She wipes her eyes one last time before taking my hand and standing. "Thank you Miles, I'll get on it right away." "Good." I before turning away from her. I pull out the Spartan necklace and hold it tightly in my hand. Soon it begins to shake, letting me know that its ready. "Calling all Spartans, calling all Spartans. I need all of you to head over to my place for something..." ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Celestia After cancelling all of my appointments for the day I make my way to Ponyville, Miles' home to be exact. I walk in and try to think of what to do... I guess getting Pinkie Pie would make the most sense. I walk out the door and begin to trot off when I hear somepony flying above me. I look up to find Rainbow Dash, Soarin and Scootaloo all in the air. Rainbow Dash and Soarin are teaching Scootaloo how to fly by passing her to each other, giving pointers on what to do. The sight warms my heart, reminding me of... better times... January 14th 1139 Mine sister and I stand upon a great cloud looking down upon the earth with eager eyes, well, for my part at least. "Sister, I fear the earths pull will be too great. Perhaps another day..." "Luna." I coo and I nuzzle top her temple. "In the seven years of life you've held you've yet taken to the skies..." "I have too!" She pouts, only making me chuckle. "Flying from bed to supper doeth not count." I say as she peers over the edge, her small frame trembling. "Fear not little sister, I will guide you." "And... if the fall is too great?" She asks as she looks back to me. "Then I will catch you and we shall try again. Now take your stance." I order, getting her to harden her face as she takes her stance. "Wings out." She takes a tentative glance to her small wings before stretching them to their limits. "And let the earth take you." She takes a deep breath and shuts her eyes.... ... ... ... *sigh* KICK With a light push I send her over the edge. I wince a bit from her screams, but push the discomfort aside as I leap after her. The couldn't help but snicker from the site before me. Luna is kicking and screaming her little head off as she plummets to the ground. "Perhaps opening your wings could help?" I yell to her. She attempts to open them, but tucks them closely when the wind is too great. "I CAN'T!" She yells. "Hurry! It's almost too late!" "I.. I NEED HELP!" "You can do it! Make Mother proud!" She looks back to me with teary eyes before looking back down. Tentatively, she slowly begins to spread her wings, only hesitating as the wind catches beneath them. "That's it! Keep going!" She gives me a nod before completely unfurling her wigs. "AAH!" She screams as I drop past her, so I pull back and loop around. I even and smile as I see my little sister hovering in the air; legs tucked in and eyes shut as tightly as possible. "Luna, open your eyes." I say to her as I hover beside her. "Ha... hath I died?" "I think not." She peeps back to herself and drops a bit as she screams out in joy. "I DID IT!" She cheers as she begins to fly around me. "Big sister look! I'm finally flying!" I just smile proudly as she continues to circle me. Mother would be so proud... "Sister! Can we go to the summit tonight!?" "I think tonight is a worthier night then any. Think you can fly there?" "Well...." "It's OK." I say as I take her into my hooves. "I'll fly us tonight." "Thank you Tia... Tia? TIIIIIAAAA......" ................................................................................................................................................................................................. "Celesta? Princess Celeeeesstiiiiia? Is everything alright?" Rainbow Dash asks as she waves a hoof in front of my face. "Huh? Oh my. Sorry about that. I was... lost in thought." I say as I try to hide my blush. "Soarin? Is that you?" I ask as I look behind Rainbow Dash. "Ma'am!" He yells as he stands at attention. "Why are you here with Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo?" I ask, getting them both to rub the back of their necks. "Uh... well..." Rainbow stutters as Soarin walks up beside her and wraps a wing around her. They look to each other before nodding and facing me. "Well, its like this. Soarin and I are together Princess." "... OH! I thought you were with Spitfire, when did this happen?" I ask Soarin. "About the time Dash made it into the Wonderbolts officer academy. We met up from there and... well, one thing lead to another." He says, making Rainbow Dash blush. "Well I guess I shouldn't get my information from the tabloids then." I say as I offer them a warm smile. "Though now your letter from back then makes a little more sense now that I think about it." "Hey, would you happen to know why Miles is calling us back to his place for?" Rainbow asks as she pulls Scootaloo off of her back. "Oh.... yeah. It's Lunas birthday... well technically it was a few days ago, but we're celebrating it today..." "You forgot your sisters birthday? That's harsh." Scootaloo says, getting scorned from Rainbow and Soarin. "Yes... well, I hope you can make it. I need to get Pinkie Pie in order to get things ready for everything..." "I'll go ahead and get everypony there. Any suggestions on what we could get her?" Rainbow asks as she takes to the air. "Well... if its night affiliated I know she'll love it. She also tends to enjoy anything astronomical.... and fudge. She loves fudge, but not with nuts." "Fudge, stars, got it." She says before taking off through the air, carrying Scootaloo along with her. Soarin offers me a salute before flying after them. I don't know what I find odder. How one of the ponies responsible for her public humiliation is now dating her or a buff, short maned Rainbow Dash. I guess that's love for you. I make my way to Sugar Cube Corner as quickly as possible, finding it easy to do as all of the ponies of the town scramble out of my way and bow. I had to explain to a few guards that I'm taking a personal day and that their following me wasn't required. It definitely does feel weird being on my own, but I'll ignore it for now. "Hello?" I ask aloud as I step inside. "Is..." SLAM Pinkie Pie kicks a door open and walks inside, absolutely covered in dirt. She looks over to me, or rather behind me, and begins to approach; huffing in anger. "Uh... Pinkie Pie dear, what happened..." "TB YOU ASSHOLE!" She yells as she points... behind me. "Uh... Pinkie..." "Sorry Princess but I need to talk to somepony else right now. TB! What the buck! I nearly got crushed by that gigantic slab of earth! Then Twilight goes missing for a day and you still haven't told me about fifth arc!" "..." "Uh... Pinkie Pie..." I try, only to get a hoof over my lips. "TB! ANSWER ME!" Its part of the story Pinkie... "OH don't you story me mister! You made me forget Lunas birthday, that's low." OK, I call forth wall abuse... "It's about to be TB abuse if you don't start explaining stuff." OK, no one knew Lunas birthday, you know why. The giant slab thing was pivotal, you know why. And Twilight wasn't really missing, but you knew that. "Wait, Twilight went missing?" I ask... who ever is talking. 'Different Twilight.' Another voice says. 'Dude you gotta...' "CHEESUS! HE MADE ME FORGET LUNAS BIRTHDAY, MADE TWILIGHT GO MISSING AND STILL WONT TELL ME ABOUT FIFTH ARC!" Pinkie yells with a pout. 'Dude! Shame on you! Plus, spoilers, I haven't read that yet.' 'Can I be a part of this!?' NO SQUISHY! This is our thing! Anyway, yes shame. Can we get back to the story now? The amount of fourth wall breaching is... disturbing. "Can I do it!?" Pinkie asks with a hop. Sure. 'Wait wait wait, hold on a sec. When did Twilight go missing?' Uh.. well... you see, the thing is... 'Are you starting ANOTHER story?!' What!? Pfft, no. That is, like, my least favorite thing to do! 'Dude! Three is enough! "But I have six and they're awesome! *beep beep* Skype? -My fifth arc sense is tingling, are you talking about fifth arc?- Don't worry about it A.T. Not get back to being British 'GET BACK TO WORK!' UHG, fine. Go ahead Pinkie. Pinkie puts on some sunglasses and pulls out a little metal cigar that has a blue light. She hold it up to me and says, "Catch phrase." FLASH "Huh?" I look around Sugar Cube Corner in slight confusion. "Hiya Princess!" Pinkie cheers as she walks in from the kitchen. "Whoa... deja blue... anyway I am in need of your assistance Pinkie Pie. You see... Luna's birthday past recently and we're throwing her a party at..." "*gasp* A PARTY! WHERE? WHERE?" She asks as she hops about the room. "... Miles' home." "I'll get my party canon!" She yells a she runs back inside the kitchen. This... feels oddly familiar. "OK let's go!" She says as she pushes a blue canon out. "Is that really necessary Pinkie?" I ask as I follow her out. "YUP! Now I'll get the decorations set up, you go get her a birthday present." "A... present. Right, I can do that. How hard could it be?" I say as I stop and try to think of something.... oh my. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Luna I sigh contently as I exit the dream-scape and look back to my empty bedroom. Almost time to go raise the moon. I go about my usual business until go to my balcony. "Good eve... Celestia?" I ask aloud as I look over to her empty tower. Curious, I fly over and take a look inside to see if she's there, but find it vacant. Odd, but not entirely unheard of. She's probably in some on going meeting. I take control of the moon and wait for her to begin to drop the sun. It takes her a few minutes, but she eventually rushes through it. I make my way to the court room and take my seat upon the throne. Here comes another night of idly sitting here with my thoughts, yaaay. "..." "..." "..." "Guard, is there anything my sister left for me?" "No your highness." He informs me. I slump into my seat and sigh as I think back to Bluebloods coronation. I still can't believe they made him an officer... "What the?" I ask aloud as all of the lights suddenly go out, making the room fall completely dark. I hear my guards draw their weapons as I stand, looking for what ever could be in here... "Do you like them?" I turn around to find Miles standing behind me, shutting off his magic. "Miles! You're back!" I yell before tackling him in a hug. He lifts me up and holds me tightly... a bit too tightly... "Miles... crushing..." “Oh, sorry.” He says with a chuckle as he sets me down. "So, what do you think?" "I... I love it. What are they?" I ask as I go to one and look it over. It would seem like any other moon lily if it weren't for the glow it has. I lean in to sniff, but find it to be scentless. "Bio-Luminescent after dark lamps, or that's what we called them. In certain areas we made these enchantments to... well, they don't really do anything other than glow at dark. In the light they disappear completely." "Thank you Miles, they're lovely..." "Now come with me." He says as he starts to walk down the path. "Huh? I have night court..." "Nope. I have your birthday present at my place, so are you coming or not?" He says as he turns and waits by the door. "Miles..." I start but stop when the guards jump in front of me. "Permission to speak freely?" The one on the left asks. "Of course..." "We're tired of hearing you cry at night..." "Not that it annoys us!" The other one adds quickly. "No, but your happiness is important to us, all of the guard..." "And forgetting your birthday four years in a row is unacceptable!" "So, please go with your husband so we may throw something together for you, your highness." I look between the two of them before chuckling to myself. "You really don't need to..." "Of course not, but we want to. Please, go spend some time with your husband." "Very well. Thank you both, this means more to me then you could imagine." I say as I bow my head to them. They return the gesture by bowing completely before running off through the doors. "My lady." Miles says as he gestures for the door. I giggle a bit as I walk out with him. "So what did you get me?" I ask as we walk through the empty halls of the castle. "I actually didn't get you anything." He says with a smug smile. I nudge him a bit as we make our way out to the gardens. We walk for a bit, enjoying each others company in silence, until we come up to a Mico platform in an opening. "After you." "Where does this go?" I ask as I walk to the edge of it. "Take it and find out." I smirk back to him before stepping onto the platform. FLASH Well... I can honestly say that I wasn't expecting Miles' shed. I walk out and look around for... anything that looks out of the ordinary. FLASH "Ok, I don't get it. What is it?" I ask as he walks past me and heads straight for the jet. "Miles?" "Come on, we're going on a little trip." He says as he starts to climb into the seat. I fly up to and look back to see a seat behind his, so I wedge myself inside. "Oh, this may sting a bit." "What may OW!" I yell as several straps shoot all around me and snap down on me. I feel little pricks all over myself as the dome comes down and seals us inside. "Miles! What are we..." "HOLD ON!" He yells as he turns the machine on. "Hold onto to wh-AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Suddenly the machine lurches forward as the walls before us drop. I latch onto the seat and hold my eyes shut as it propels faster and faster. I don't think anythings ever moved this fast before. "HERE WE GO!" Miles yells as we suddenly point straight up and launch out of the ground. I feel something within the machine explode as we soar even higher into the night sky. "MILES! WHERE ARE WE GOING!" "TO THE MOOOOOOON!" He yells as the exploding feeling kicks in again. "WHAT!?" I yell in disbelief. Did he say what I think he said! Before I could ask anything else everything around me suddenly becomes weightless. My wings twitch as I try to stay level, but with the sudden loss of gravity... "Luna, take a look." Miles says quietly. I peer out of the dome and gasp from the sight. "Woow.... I've never seen so many stars before." I whisper as I look out at the millions upon millions of white specks. "Welcome to the final frontier." Miles says as he pitches to the side and heads for the moon. "We can do a few laps around the moon, but we'll have to head straight home afterwards." He says as the straps suddenly release from me. I float into the air a bit before latching myself back to the seat. "Miles... this... I don't even know what to say." I say as I crawl along the seat and peer over to be face to face with Miles. "Just relax and enjoy the ride." He says before leaning over and kissing my cheek. "We should be there shortly." I sit... or rather float, back and enjoy the view. I'm not entirely sure if I'm going to enjoy this visit to the moon, but I'll try my best for Miles. I don't want to ruin this for him, but at the same time I fear horrible memories coming back. I didn't really spend time on the moon, rather within it, but... I can't help but be apprehensive. "Okay, we're here now. Take a look." I snap back to reality and look out the window. I lose my breath as I look out at the white landscape. "Miles... its beautiful." I say in awe as we glide as closely to the surface as possible. "Happy birthday Luna."
Chapter 152 Just You And Me Part 1 MilesChapter 152 Just You And Me Part 1 Miles Perspective: Shadow *poke* "MMmmm....." *poke* "Nnnggghh....." "Psst... Miles. Wake up." I whisper to him. He mumbles something then turns around on the couch. Hmm... there needs to be someway of waking him up. THUD "EEP!" I jump behind Miles to hide from the loud noise from behind. Miles wakes up from the noise as well, but keeps quiet as it continues. "Soarin, be careful." Rainbow Dash says with a chuckle from the stairs. Miles looks back for a second before snapping back to me. When the giggling gets louder I try to sneak a peek, only to have Miles stop me. "What is it?" I whisper to him. "Uh..." "Sooooaarin. I have work later." Rainbow moans. "Come on, it's my last day here. Just call in sick or something." Soarin says as I hear some fumbling around. Miles looks pretty upset about all of this, but keeps quiet. They giggle some more before finally leaving, making promises of getting... some? Some what? "Well... that was awkward." Miles says with a huff. "Um... Miles?" "Whats up kid." He ask as he lays on his back and stretches a bit. "Well... remember when you said we'd spend the day together?" I ask as I look away from him. "Um.... yeah. Why?" "Well... c-can it be today?" He stands up and stretches a bit more before turning back to me and smiling. "Why are you so nervous? Of course it will be today..." "REALLY!?" I ask as I hop to my hooves. "Really really." "Yes!" "Lets start out with a quick shower and then we'll get going. Oh! And we'll have to do a chore but we cab do it on the go. OK?" "Well.... OK. As long as its just the two of us it's fine." I say with a nervous smile. He smiles back to me before heading upstairs to shower. Once he's upstairs I run to the kitchen and begin making breakfast. I run between the stove and the fridge as I try to find all of the stuff I need to make some crepes and toast. He likes pancakes, why wouldn't he like crepes. By the time I finish setting the food on the table Miles makes it back down. He steps inside, stares at the counter, then takes his seat. I glance back to the counter and.... it's not THAT messy. I take my seat and begin to eat as Miles sits there quietly, staring down at the food before him. "Is... is everything OK?" I ask as I set my fork down. "... yeah." He says as he takes the toast and bites into it. "Hay toast?" "Yeah..." "What's in the crepes?" "... hay." He mumble something under his breath as he takes a drink form his glass. "Is there something wrong?" "No, it's not a problem. I'm just not a fan of hay, but it's alright. Eat up and we'll get going alright. I'll just get something edible from the fridge." He says as he stands up and goes to the fridge. "Sorry..." "It's alright. You didn't know." He says as he digs through the fridge. "You know, we've become pretty close. But I still feel as if I don't know you. So lets use today to learn everything we can about each other ok?" He says as he walks over with some carrots and apples. "Ok, what do you want to know?" "Well... whens your birthday?" "February twenty ninth." "No way! Me to!" He says, making me smile. "That would make you eight then, right?" "Y-yeah.... I'm... just small for my age..." "Well, that's probably due to malnourishment from working the mines. OK, your turn. Ask away." Hmm... I think I'll start with something easy. "What's your favorite color?" "Green." "Huh, mines blue. Your turn." "Alright... hmm... what are your interest? What do you like to do for fun?" "Fun?" "Yeah, what do you do that makes you smile?" "Uh... well... double chocolate chip cookies make me smile...." "No, that's a food that you like. What... activities do you like?" Hmm... I can't really pick one. Before it was always me and Lantern Light working, we never really did much of anything else. "I... I don't know. I never had time for... activities. It used to be just me and my sister working all of the time..." "There has to be something. Wasn't there ever a moment where you had a day off and did something? What about during your free time? What did you do then?" "Well, we rested. Working the mines was hard work, so Light made sure that I got my rest." I say as I start to tear up. Miles moves off his chair and kneels beside me as he wraps me up in a hug. I hold him back as I try to hold back my tears. "It's alright. I understand. When I was a child, your age actually, I didn't have the luxuries of life either. I know what its like to fend for yourself, but it's OK now. I'm here, and I'll take care of you. I promise." He says quietly. I just hold him tighter as I feel a single tear roll down my face. When we let go of each other I have to wipe my face clear of all my tears. I swear I've become such a cry baby now. "So... uh... where are you from?" I ask to change the subject. "Heh, finish up and you'll see." I don't really know where we're going, but I feel... kind of excited. I tried to bug him about it, but he would just say its going to be a surprise. I hate surprises... so I eat as quickly as possible. Once I finish I put my plate in the sink and run back to Miles, practically bouncing in anticipation. We walk out to the back yard and head to his shed. Like the old pony he is, he walks as casually as possible. I don't think I'll ever get why you move slower just because you're old. I have so much energy right now I could explode! Then again, I've gone so long without working. "What are we doing in here?" I ask as we land inside. He sets me down and goes to a locker in the back, leaving me to explore the room. "I just need to grab a bag, just hang tight real quick." Miles says from inside as I begin to wonder around. There's a massive white metal thing taking up the middle of the room. It looks like there's a glass dome on top of it, but I can't get a good enough view. Whatever.... "Why is there a giant egg in here?" I ask as I walk towards it. It's... well... it's a giant white egg Just sitting there, in the corner of his shop.... did a dinosaur lay an egg here? "That's a simulation pod. Um... it basically... well... hmm... it's like sitting in a dream. Only, the dream is a course for the jet. It's to help you learn how to use the jet properly." Miles says as he walks up behind me. "Can I use it?" I ask as I look up to him. "Heh, maybe when you're older. Follow me and stay close." He says as he heads to the mico platform in the back corner. "Where does this go?" I ask nervously as I approach its edge. "My home town. Topaz Falls. Look, the place has been under a lot of construction, so I want you to stick as close to me as possible. Do not go wandering off and try not to touch anything that's blinking. Got it?" "Um... OK. Are there a lot of people like you there?" "...no. Lets go." He says bitterly before stepping onto the platform. After he flashes away I take a few deep breaths before following him. I use the one to Moms place all the time, but they still freak me out. FLASH I shake my head a bit before running to Miles side. Why did we teleport to a tunnel? Did Miles' people live underground? That's... odd. We walk to an open metal doorway guarded by two people with big black shields. They stand like statues as we pass through the door way, their yellow eyes never even glancing towards me. "Welcome to Topaz Falls." I look out and gawk at the city before me. Massive stone buildings loom over the paved street as metal men move about, taking stone from one pile to another. The further back I look, the taller the buildings get until one gigantic skyscraper takes over. Most of the buildings are missing the glass to their windows while others have holes blown through them, signs of something bad happening. "What happened here?" I ask as we start to walk down the street. Many of the metal people stop and glance at us for a few seconds before getting back to work. "My home was... abandoned a long time ago. We were attacked and... well...." "How did you escape?" "A device a man made sent me into the future. I was actually born over three thousand years ago." "Wow... did all of these people get sent to the future as well?" "They aren't people, they're bots. Machines we made to help with day to day life. And no, they didn't. I found them in another human city and brought them here to repair this city." "Are there more cities out there?" "Yeah. There are. The next one I'm going to is Jasper. According to my calculations it's right underneath Trottingham..." "When you go, will you bring all of these bots with you? To keep you safe?" "Heh, what? You think I can't keep myself safe?" He jokes. I just glare at him until he puts his serious face back on. "No, I'm not." "But..." "If there were people there, bring any number of infected bots could be disastrous. Also... well... I'm keeping them here for the future." He says as he quickens his pace a bit. "What does that mean?" I ask as I quicken my pace as well. "Well..." he says as as he comes to a stop. "Look, what I'm about to tell you needs to stay between the two of us OK? No one can know." "OK!" I say as I nod my head vigorously. Not like there are a lot of ponies I could tell anyway. He takes a knee and puts a hand on my shoulder as he glances around. "Well... there's a fight coming, a big one. Terradisia isn't big enough on its own to fight, that is, if we were to not use the bots. If this supposed fight were to break out, I'd want a trick or two up my sleeves. These bots can hold their own in a fight. If, and this is a big if; if things were to get really bad, I'd use them to win." "A fight? Who wants to fight you?" "Don't worry about it. There are a lot of good people working together to stop them. Celestia, Regina, Me, we're going to stop them before anything bad could happen. I just... want a back up plan in case." I look back to all the working bots before nodding to Miles. It doesn't really make sense to me, but I trust him to make the right choice... "May I have your autograph?" "AAAH!" I yell as I jump up and latch onto Miles. Behind me one of the machine people just suddenly appeared and SPOKE! "Easy, glad you're here. I need you and one other utility bot to assist me with something I've been meaning to do for awhile now. Take us to the nearest bank." Miles says as he stands, bringing me up with him. "Of course, this way please." The light silver man with a golden X on its chest says. I pant a bit before letting go of Miles and dropping to the ground. "They... can talk?" "Yeah." Miles says as he walks after it. "I thought you said they were just machines." I pout as another one follows after us. "Machines can talk, they just have to be smart enough to." "... that's dumb." I say quietly as I look away. "Sometimes it takes someone smart to do something dumb." "... that's even dumber." "Heh, yeah it is." He says as he starts to chuckle. I just ignore him and continue to follow the dumb smart machine. According to Miles the city is looking really good, though I find that hard to believe. It's dirty, broken, and eerily quiet. I don't say any of these things though, not wanting to hurt Miles' feelings, so I just agree with him as we go. There were a couple of times where Miles would stop us and force us to use a different route. I don't get why though. Easy says that the ways Miles says to go would take longer, but he doesn't listen to him. We finally make it to our destination, a bank. I was a little disappointed when we arrived but Miles said that he needed to get some money for something important then we could do something fun together. With a sigh I follow him inside and look around as he works the massive machine. This place is even dirtier then outside! There must be at least an inch worth of dust on everything thing. Disgusting! CLINKCLINKCLINCLINKCLINK I look over to Miles and gawk as platinum bits begin to spew out from the wall. Miles just holds the bag to it and waits patiently for it to fill up. I shake my head and rub my eyes to make sure I wasn't seeing things but, there it is. This... this explains why he gave me so much money to buy cookies that one time. "You OK there?" Miles asks with a chuckle as I walk over and look over all of the money. "... that's a lot of money." "Yeah, I had quit a bit saved up before being sent here. Leave money alone and it tends to grow." "..." "You going to be OK?" He asks with a chuckle. "What do you need all this money for?" "Don't worry, you'll see." We end up filling three whole sacks up with the money as well as Miles' satchel. I felt a little useless, so Miles made me a small bag to carry my own load. With our bags in tow we head back to the platform. I try asking Miles where all this money is going but again he doesn't tell me, saying that I'll see when we get there. If the rest of today continues like this I think I'm going to explode. "Whew, it's cold." Miles says as we leave his shed and begin to trek through the snow. We end up leaving one of the bots behind, bringing Easy along instead. The snow from last night plus right now has piled fairly high. Enough to the point where Miles has to carry me so I don't become berried. "How you holding up?" "G-good." I quiver. "I think some winter gear is in order. We'll swing by Raritys after this." "If you say so." Thank you! I'm about to freeze my tail off! We head to the edge of town towards the Manticors Cubs Orphanage. As soon as we step inside a wall of warmth washes over me "HELLO?" Miles calls out as he peers around. "Can I... Miles? Can I help you with something?" Some white stallion says as he comes down the stairs. He has orange hair and a cutie mark of a red heart and a yellow sash in the back. "TenderSoul, I said I was going to sponsor your orphanage, and here I am." He says as he points to a bot. It walks over to the stallion and drops the bag in front of him. "What is this... is.. is that what I think it is!?" The stallion, TenderSoul, asks as he opens up the bag. "How much is there?!" "I'd say roughly five or six million credits. Give or take..." "I can't accept this." He says as he pushes the bag away. "Well of course you can't, it's not for you." Miles says as he sets his own bag down. He walks over to Tendersoul and kneels to get closer to him. "This is strictly for the orphanage. I want you keep tabs on everything you spend this money on. If I see one credit go towards something unnecessary..." "What kind of stallion do you think I am?" TenderSoul ask, his offense showing in his face. "I don't know, but you can spread this among any other orphanages you'd like. Just keep tabs on where everything goes when you do and report back to me..." "Miles... I... I don't know what to say." TenderSoul says as he looks back to the money. "You dream about things like this happening, but.... when it actually happens..." "I'd suggest starting by buying thicker blankets for the cold season. Maybe some warm clothing for all the kids, whatever keeps the cold off of them." Miles says as he stands. "I've got a few more places to run to, so I'll leave you to it. See ya!" He says as he begins to walk away. "Miles!" TenderSoul says as he runs in front of Miles. "Thank you. You have no idea how much this is going to help. We're going to provide so much for so many foals..." "Hey, if you ever need anything else in the future you come to me and ask. No child should ever go without due to the circumstances they're born into." Miles says before leaving the building. I look back to the stallion and smile before running after Miles. "I feel... good." I say to Miles as I walk after him, using his foot steps as a path. "Am I OK?" "Heh, doing something good for others does have that effect on you. Don't worry about it, it just means that you're a good person..." FWUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMM Miles a I duck down as something flies above the cloud cover, picking up the wind. A strong gust pushes much of the snow clouds and makes the cloud cover turn darker. We both look around to see if any pegasi come down, but none do. "What was that?" I ask as I hide behind Miles' leg. "I'm not sure, but I don't like the look of..." WHACK A massive ice ball falls from the sky and hits Miles in the head, knocking him over. I run to his side to check on him and find him still awake. "Are you OK?" I ask as he lifts his fiery hand and creates a shield. Suddenly a hail storm takes over Ponyville, golf ball sized balls of ice falling all over. Miles stands up, keeping his shield above himself, and looks around. "C'mon. Lets see if we can get to our next destination as quickly as possible." He says as he picks me up and sets me on his shoulders. Lucky for me he's really warm, so I snuggle close to him as he leads the way through the snow and ice. "Finally!" Miles cheers as we approach Raritys store. "What are we getting here?" I ask as he pounds on the door. "Just a few winter things, plus I'm paying her back for all of the free stuff I've gotten." KNOCKKNCOKKNCOK "I'll be right theeeeere." Rarity chimes from inside. After a minute or two she finally opens the door and ushers us inside. "Darlings what were you both doing out in the snow.... hm, I didn't know the pegasi were making a hail storm." "We were running a chore when something flew over head and kicked the storm up." Miles says as he sets his big bag down. "We'd like to place an order for some winter clothes, and a pair of boots." "I'll be honest, I've kind of been expecting you to show up for this Miles." Rarity says as she scuffs her hoof at the ground. "I've already made a few ensembles I just know you'll just love!" "Really? Thanks, that cuts our time in half now. Well I'll try a few of them on while you get somethings ready for Shadow. And this is payment." Miles says as he drops his satchel. Rarity looks over to me before peeking inside. "MILES! This is this is this..." "I know..." "I can't..." "Rarity, you still run a business. After all of the free clothes you've given me it's the least I could do." "Those were gifts Miles, you don't need to pay me back for those..." "And I'm not. This is payment for all of the winter stuff we're getting. Now I know you're a generous person, but please let me show you some generosity in return." "Well... if you insist." Rarity says as she levitates the bag up and sets it on a counter. "Why don't you go over to the fitting room and try on your new clothes while I get Shadows measurements." Rarity says as she begins to walk towards the back of the room. "Go on, I'll be right out here." Miles says as he sets me down. I glance back to him nervously before following after the fashion pony. "Now if you could stand there and hold still we'll be done before you even know it." Rarity says as she levitates a couple of measuring tapes out. I close my eyes and hold still as she begins to wrap me up in the tapes. I tense up a bit from their touch, but focus on holding still as Rarity continues her measuring. I don't really like other ponies touching me, but I'll deal with it for now. "And that's it." Rarity says as she begins to put all of the tapes away. "You are a very good little model." She compliments as she goes to her her work station and begins to cut different fabrics. "We're done?" "Well, no. Once I get my first piece down I'll have you try it on to make sure it fits. But after that I won't need you to fit them anymore." Relieved, I begin to wander around the room. "Is Sweetie Bell home?" I ask as I look over some unfinished dresses. "Well, yes. But she's at our parents home." Rarity says, never looking away from her work. "How do I look?" I look over to Miles to see him in a black wool jacket that has pockets on the front, black jeans, and grey boots. A grey scarf is tied around his neck and ends with three little white gems. I look over his entire outfit before saying, "meh," with a shrug. "Oh don't listen to her you look smashing." Rarity says as she glances over to Miles. "How do the boots fit?" "Perfectly... well, I'd like them better with socks..." "MILES!" Rarity practically yells. "There are foals in here!" She says as she looks back to me. "What's the deal with socks?" I ask, making Rarity turn red. "Well.... uh... dear, that's something for adults..." "Apparently for ponies they're used to be seductive. But for humans they're just something you wear with shoes so your feet don't rot." Miles says as he walks over to Raritys side. "Seriously though, think you could manage some plain white socks that go past my ankles?" "*sigh* humans. I'll see what I can do. Could you please come here Shadow? Lets see how this fits." She says as she levitates some clothes to me. I start to put them on when she raises a hoof to me. "The changing room is in the front room." "... but I don't normally wear clothes." "Shadow, a lady does not get dressed in front of a stall...er... man. Now go and get dressed. We'll be right here when you're ready." I look over to Miles but he has some kind of secret, grown up, wordless conversation with Rarity and asks me to go to the front. I go to the front changing room and begin to put all the clothes on. I start with the sweater. It's made of a light material and is all grey with a blue trim. Next I grab the scarf and tie around neck; like the sweater it's light grey and blue. Lastly I take the grey saddle bag and toss it on my hips. I look at myself in the mirror before shrugging and trotting off. I like the clothes and all, fashion just isn't my thing. "...completely agree with you. I can't believe I didn't think of it before." Miles finishes as I enter. "Hey there's my beautiful girl." I blush a bit from the compliment as I walk up to the two of them. "How does it feel? Too tight?" "It's good. Nice and warm... what were you two talking about?" I ask nervously as I look between the two of them. I have a bad feeling about this, especially when Miles gave Rarity that look and she left the room. "Am I in trouble?" "Shadow," Miles starts as he sits on the ground before me, "have you been going to school at all?" "S-school?" "Yeah, have you had any education?" "Um... Lantern taught me to read a bit and some numbers. That's all I really need thought, right?" I ask with a weak smile. Miles just shakes his head and stands back up. "We'll get you signed up first thing tomo..." "Wait! I don't want to go to school! I'm too dumb to go, they'll make fun of me and..." "Shadow." He says firmly. "I'm sorry, but this is happening." "But it isn't fair! I never went to school before, why should I start now?!" I demand as I stamp my hoof down. Miles just sighs and kneels back before me. I turn away from him and try to think of a way out of this. It isn't fair! I've gotten by this far without going to school, I shouldn't need to start now! "Shadow, it's more then the learning. Going to school was the greatest thing I did before my life here. It's where I found my friends. And you know what else?" "... what?" I ask as I glance back to him. "You will to. You'll be in the same class as Applebloom, Sweetie Bell, and Scootaloo." "Really?" "Yup. Don't worry about learning everything else either. I'll help you when I can, and so will Butterscotch and E'Claire. And I'm sure I could get Twilight to tutor you as well, though I imagine her being..." "But what about all the other ponies? They'll stare at me and make fun of me... I don't want to go through that." I say as scuff the floor a bit. "Hey, I was bullied to you know..." "REALLY!?" Rarity yells from behind the door. "Yup! They called me short fuse, power grid, botman, and all other kinds of things. That is until I became a Spartan. Then they backed off. So how about this, why don't you go and give it a try. A month in school and if you really can't stand it we'll look into home schooling. Deal?" He asks as he holds his hands out. "You promise? One month and I can try home schooling?" I ask as I turn back to him. "I promise. We have a deal?" ".... OK." I say as I shake his hoof. "That's my girl!" He says as he yanks me up into a hug. I hug him back but... THUD "HAHA! I won! You know what that means!" Princess Celestia cheers from outside. "Tia please! I don't..." "You're getting socks!" Author's Note Shout out to Arlan753 for picking Shadows birthday, junior Alien Child for picking what was for breakfast and Jay Kuro Seizen for picking who we followed first. Thanks for reading and like always, Brony on!
Chapter 153 Just You And Me Part 2 LunaChapter 153 Just You And Me Part 2 Luna Perspective: Celestia I slowly open my eyes as my internal clock goes off. Eons of getting up at the same time forces me to stretch a little.... why is Luna in my bed? I sit up right and look around my room for answers but... shouldn't she be at night court or checking on the dreamscape? I slide off the side of my bed, trying my best not to wake her, and take another look around; finding a note on my desk written to me. I bring it over and read it over: Celestia I'm writing this letter to myself because I know I will forget again. Lunas birthday has passed recently and due to the spell I forgot all about it. This morning you will spend the entire day with her, doing everything she wants to do. I have already rescheduled all of our appointments for today and informed the guard of our day of solitude. Do your best to have fun and remember to thank Miles for reminding you, Celestia. P.S. It is urgent to ask Luna if her and Miles... "What's that?" Luna asks from behind. "Nothing." I say as I crumple it up and toss it into a nearby trash bin. I turn back to her and do a double take as I look at her mane. I had forgotten about that little prank I played on her all those years ago. I can't believe it's still in effect. "Um... Luna..." "It's my mane isn't it?" She asks dully as she runs a hoof through it. I nod and laugh a little as she grumbles her way to my mirror. "I don't think I'll ever understand why it does that. Look at your mane, it's perfect." She pouts as she starts to brush it out. I try to think back to the yesterdays events, but can't remember what happened after meeting Miles. "So... Luna... after raising the sun and moon... what do you want to do first?" I ask in an attempt to see if we had set any plans. "Hmm.... I know exactly what I want to start with, but it can wait until after breakfast." She says as she finishes brushing her mane. We both look over to the clock in my room to see we have a couple of minutes before sunrise. "So... here we are... birthday girl." I say awkwardly as I try to start a conversation. I'm finding it a bit strange due to the fact that I forgot her birthday yet she seems perfectly fine about it. I guess yesterday we made up for it. "Heh, technically it was six days ago but better late than never right?" She jokes. I take a deep breath before looking her straight in the eyes. "Little sister, I know I probably said this a thousand times, but I'm sorry I forgot all these years..." "It's fine Tia..." "It is not fine! I'm your big sister and I forgot your birthday. You may have come back from the moon but..." "But?" She asks as she leans in. "*sigh* but I feel as if I don't know you at times. We've become so distant recently and I feel as if I'm losing you. But that changes today. I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that we're as close as we were before." Luna doesn't say anything at first. She just stands there for a moment staring at me, thinking about what I just said. She takes a few steps towards me and lightly embraces me, sighing into my neck as she presses against me softly. "Tia, you'll never lose me. No matter how far away I may seem, you'll always be my big sister." She says quietly. I sigh in relief as I begin to return the affection. "Come now, we should begin the sunrise..." "You do it today." I tell her, making her step back and gawk at me. "I've raised both the sun and the moon plenty of times before, but you've never raised the sun. If you'd like to, you can." "But.. the sun is your thing. I don't know..." "The choice is yours sister. If you choose not to I'll understand." I tell her as I walk over to the balcony. I sit and wait for her to take her place in front of me. "You sure you won't mind?" She asks with a glance back to me. "I won't." I tell her with a confident smile. She looks out to the horizon and begins to charge her horn. I wait patiently as she stands there with her horn lit... ... just standing there... ... any time now... ... hopefully on time... ... come on Luna, just grab the thing and go.... ...*sigh*... ... am I going to have to kick her or something? "Luna? Are you..." "Hold on." She says quickly as she continues to focus. I just roll my eyes as she continues to just stand there. I guess doing something like this is pretty nerve wrecking for her. "Finally." I mumble under my breath as the sun begins to shine over the horizon. After a minute of Lunas intense focus the moon finally sinks down as the sun begins its daily course. "Well done sister." I say as she lets go of the two orbs. "Thank you, it was a little tricky to connect with the suns soul, but I got it." She says as she turns to me. I tilt my head a bit at what she said in confusion. "The suns... soul?" I ask. "Yeah. At first it didn't want to connect with me but after some coaxing I finally got through." ".... huh." "What?" "Well.... I usually just grab it and put it on course. I didn't even know the sun had a soul." I admit as I look up to the sun. I didn't know Luna connected with the moon the way she does... I guess that's why she hates it so much when I do it. "Maybe another time I'll teach you how I do it. Then you can connect with the sun even more." Luna says with a warm smile as she turns and looks out at the horizon. "Hmm.... lets get breakfast." "OK, sounds good to..." "In Cloudsdale." "... Cloudsdale? Why not just eat here?" I ask as I step beside her. "We eat here every day. I want to try something new and I've only been to Cloudsdale a couple of times. Let go there and try something new out." "Are you sure Luna? The both of us eating out in public could be... unwise." I warn her. "Tia, when was the last time you made an unannounced public outing?" ".... February 29th... oh my... alright, lets go eat out in Cloudsdale." I say as I begin to charge my horn, intending to teleport to the carriage port. "RACE YOU THERE!" Luna yells before launching through the air. I shake my head a bit before chasing after her. "WHY ARE WE FLYING THERE!?" I yell at her as I catch up. "WHAT'S THE MATTER? TOO MANY SWEETS AT NIGHT SLOWING YOU DOWN?" Luna yells back at me as she pulls ahead of me. It... Is... ON. I begin to flap my wings as hard as I can, gaining on Luna quickly. She glances back to me and banks to block me from passing. I roll to the left and drop a bit, skimming the cloud cover and gaining enough speed to catch up with her. She drops down beside me and gives me a smirk as she begins to pull ahead. Oh no you don't! I flap even harder as we fight for the lead. "GIVE IT UP SISTER! I'M LIGHT AND BUILT FOR SPEED!" She yells as Cloudsdale comes into view. I snap my eyes shut as I begin to flap my wings as hard as I physically can. "I'M..." FLAPPING... "NOT..." FLAPPING... FWUM I suddenly crash through a cloud and veer off course as I lose a tremendous amount of speed. I open my eyes... FWUM "AAAHHHH!" Some mare screams as I crash through a cloud wall. I only make it half way through, but it's enough to scare the daylights out of the couple before me. We all stare at one another silently; the two of them trying to comprehend what just happened and my not knowing what to say. "So.... god morning my little ponies... uh... my apologies for the... sudden intrusion." I start with. They look to each other before looking back to me. "Um... it's alright... Princess Celestia." The stallion says as they both do a slight bow. "So.. whAH!" I gasp as I feel somepony grab my back end and begin to pull. "Good day to you!" I yell before being pulled through the holes and fall on top of Luna. "Ha! We haven't raced like that since we were foals!" Luna exclaims as we both get up. "And by the way you loss..." "I did not!" "How would you know? You had your eyes shut the entire time." Luna smirks as she trots down the cloud path. I trot after her and try to think of a response... but have nothing to say. How she's able to pester me like this. I'll never know. Luckily for the two of us it's too earlier in the morning for anypony to see us, so walking around is fairly easy. A guard spotted us and offered us an escort, but we both told him that we were fine on our own. It struck him as odd, but he complied, even went as far as to tell the other guards of our arrival. Due to how early we had arrived we didn't find many restaurants open. Well, we did find some doughnut shops, but Luna said no.... then added some rather insulting comments about my sweet tooth and weight. If there is one thing that I will never forget it's how much Luna loves to tease me about my weight. While she gets to eat what ever she feels, I have to keep myself on a regulated diet, otherwise I blow up like a pregnant cow. "UHG, well... want to make a run to Ponyville? See if anything's open there?" Luna asks as we stop at the end of a line of restaurants. "If you wish. We're doing everything you want to do so if you feel like trying there we can." I tell her as we walk through the empty street. "Hmm... you think it would be weird to got to Twilights or Miles' place? Somepony we knew at least." ".... I think it would." I tell her as I think of the chaos that would ensue of walking in, unannounced, to Twilights. "Maybe we could just..." Don't say get doughnuts. "Hmm..." "OH! Look! I think they're opening up!" Luna exclaims as she takes off for the top of one of the cloud buildings. I follow after her to find a small restaurant beginning its opening routine. A couple waiters are going around setting chairs for small round tables as the cooks in the back begin prepping for their later courses. "Excuse us but would you happen to be open right now?" I ask as Luna and I walk through the front door. "Sorry but we haven't opened just yet, you.... you... you... you're the Princesses." The closes waiter gawks as he drops a chair. All of the staff freeze and stare at us as we look to one another. "Well if you aren't open yet..." "NONONONO! Don't mind what he said! Please come in your highness's!" The waitresses with the light blue hair and teal coat in the back says as she runs over and ushers us to a table. "You don't have to give us any special treatment. If you're not open..." "We were opening early anyway! Right Stir Fry!?" The mare yells to the cook, who nods vigorously and begin to run around the kitchen."Please, we insist. My name is Sky Blue, but you can call me Sky, and I'll be your waitress, can I start you with some coffee?" She asks as she gives us both a menu. "I'll have some orange juice." Luna says as she looks over the menu. "I... will have the same. Thank you." Better play it safe and get what she gets. "Two orange juices coming right up you royal highness's!" She says before flying to the back. I bring up the menu and pretend to look over it as I really just look around the room. It's a pretty simple get up. Large open windows take up the walls as small round tables fill the room. A counter separates the kitchen from the rest of the room that has simple stools stationed periodically on it. With how simple and new everything is I take it that this place is relatively new. "Hey Tia," Luna says as she flips through the menu. "Remember when we went to that restaurant in the goblin empire?" "And how you tossed the cook out the window? How could I forget." I chuckle as I look over to Stir Fry. He's staring right at Luna, sweating lightly. Probably not the best thing to have said... "He was beyond rude, but do you remember what we ordered?" She asks as she sets the menu down. "Hmm... it was something relatively simple. I remember because you yelled 'see how easy THAT was' at him as he fell from the building." "OH! I remember, it was a crepe! Stuffed with chocolate hazelnut spread stuffed inside..." "Is that something you'd be interested in having? Because that happens to be one of our specials today." Sky says as she brings us our drinks. "Yes! And a side of toast of you don't mind." "Of course, and what would you like this morning?" "I'll have what she's having." I state simply as I give Sky my menu. "Two orders of the special crepes, got it!" She says as she flies the ticket over to the cook. I take a sip from my glass as Luna does the same, both of us enjoying the citrus-y drink. "So... here we are. Just the two of us... what do you want to talk about?" I ask as I set my drink down. Luna just shrugs as she takes another sip from her glass. "So... Princesses," Sky asks as she walks up to the two of us. "I know this must be pretty rude to ask, but can I get a picture? To put on the wall, you know, for all of the famous ponies that come here and stuff." "I don't mind, you?" Luna asks me. I shake my head and scoot closer to Luna as we turn to Sky. She fumbles with the camera a bit before finally lifting it up and snapping off a picture. "Thank you so much Princesses!" Sky gushes as she sets the camera down. "Not at all, why don't you sit with us and tell us about this restaurant? Give us the insiders look." Luna offers. Sky stands there, stunned, before shaking her head and pulling a chair up to our table. "OF COU-*cough cough* I mean, of course. Well Horizons Peek has been here for nearly a year now. I own it, well, inherited it from my sister really. She build this place with her own four hooves, but became very ill. She passed away about three months ago..." "You have our condolences." I tell her, getting a smile from her. "Thank you. Silver Tray was her name. She loved being a waitress; bring ponies their meals and seeing it bring them together, it really was her passion. She worked her whole life to make this place what it is, but once it was started she was diagnosed with... well, the doctors didn't have a name for it. She would become ill and forget random things then get better and act like nothing was wrong. It was tearing her apart and... well, one day she didn't get better... and she didn't remember her medication..." "You don't have to continue, we understand." Luna tells her as she rubs her back a bit. Sky nods a bit as she wipes her eyes. "Thank you. That's why I wanted to continue running Horizons Peek, for Silver Tray. There aren't a lot of ponies that know of this place, that's why I wanted the photo. So we can get some recognition and stuff. NOT THAT I'M TRYING TO GET FAMOUS OR ANYTHING! I want the food to speak for us mostly, but ponies need to but the food in order to know that... NOT THAT THE FOOD IS BAD OR ANYTHING! Its just..." "That's enough out of you!" The light tan waiter says as he stuffs his hoof in her mouth. "Sorry about that, Sky tends to get a little feather brained when she reminisces about the restaurant." "It's alright, and you are?" I ask as Luna and glance to one another, each chuckling on the inside. "I'm Bread Crumb, I'm Sky's brother." He says as Sky yanks his hoof out of her mouth. "Silver Tray was my wife." "Oh, sorry about your loss." "It's alright. There wasn't anything anypony could do. The best we can do now is keep the restaurant alive for her and move on. Why don't we get our sad stories out of your manes while we go and check on your food." He says as he pulls Sky towards the back. "Well... that was... interesting." I comment as I look back to Luna. "We should... um Celestia?" "Yeah?" I ask as she leans towards me. "Did you bring any money to pay for this?" She whispers to me. "... oh. No... I don't usually carry money with me." "We can't not pay! After everything that they've been through it would be just rude!" "I know, but what can we do? Where are we going to get some money?" I ask her. We both take a moment to think about it as Sky trots back out and sets our food before us. "Do you have a restroom?" Luna asks her. "Of course, the door in the back left of the room." "If you'll excuse me." Luna says as she stands and walks over to the restroom. Where could she possible be going? SHE BETTER NOT LEAVE ME HERE! "Is everything alright?" Sky asks nervously. I shake my head and try to think of a way out of this mess... "Yes, I mean no." I stutter as a thought comes to mind. "WHAT!? I mean, what is it? How can I help? Is there something wrong with the food?" She asks eagerly. "Umm... no, the food looks just fine its... Lunas... birthday." "Her birthday?" "Yes, well actually it was a few days ago but we're celebrating it today. Do you think you could muster up something for her?" "Hmm... STIR FRY!" Sky yells as she runs to the back. I sigh in relief, this should buy me some time to think of something. I can't really just sneak out, and I can't just teleport out either. Both would be obvious and rude. Hmm... maybe they'll let me wash dishes... FLUSH I shake my head in bewilderment as I hear the toilet flush. moments later Luna walks out and saunters to her seat, completely calm and collect. She smiles to me before lifting her fork and digging into her food. "Luna, is everything... taken care of?" I ask nervously as I glance back to the frantic kitchen. "Don't worry, I've got everything under control." She says before sipping her orange juice. I give her a skeptical look before taking my fork and taking a tentative bite. We eat in relative silence, making small talk about the food and surrounding area. Once we finish all of the workers gather around us, shuffling a bit as Sky takes the lead. "Princess Luna?" "...yes?" "1234 HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY FROM ALL OF US TO YOU WE WISH IT WAS OUR BIRTHDAY SO WE COULD PARTY TO WE WISH ALL OF YOU DREAMS MAY COME TRUE SO HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, OYE!" Confetti and streamers burst forth as they all break into song, clapping and cheering as they do so. Luna and I laugh at their antics. At the end of the song they present a little breakfast pastry and run back to the kitchen. Luna looks down to the pastry before laughing a bit more to herself. "How were you going to pay for this?" She asks through her giggles. "Don't worry about it. Eat up and we'll get going." I say with a chuckle. Luna splits the pastry and we finish it quickly. Once everything was said and done we stand to leave, getting Sky to escort us out. "I hope you enjoyed everything Princesses." Sky says as we pause at the front door. "I think we did." I say as I look to Luna, who nods and levitates out a platinum bit. "Keep the change." She says before trotting out. I smile to Sky before following after my sister. Where did she get money like that... I better not ask. I may not want to know. Perspective: Bread Crumb Once the Princesses were out of sight I run over to Sky and yank her to the back. "WHAT THE BUCK WAS THAT ABOUT!" I yell at her. "Dude, they are awesome tippers." She says as she toys with the bit in her hooves. I grab the bit and begin to pace around. "WHAT WAS THAT!?" "I couldn't help it! I started with one lie then another came out and then you saved my flank!" She yells back. "What did you want me to say? That we're just some cafe on a cloud?" "YES!" We all yell, making her shy away. "Well... I guess you have two wives now." She tells me with an innocent smile. I grumble to myself as I rub the top of her head. "Lets just hope they don't look us up, or we might be in some big trouble." "I don't think they will. I mean, if it was Lunas birthday, why did she pay?" She says as she sits back up. "To be honest I didn't even know Celestia had a sister..." "Now can I have my bit back?" "No. This will be split between all of us for not calling you out on your lie. Now lets get back to work, we have a cafe to run here." Perspective: Celestia We spend a little more time just walking around the city, but as more and more ponies begin to wake, the more difficult it becomes to do so. Eventually we take to the air and begin to head towards Canterlot. "What shall we do when we get back home?" I ask Luna as we glide through the air. Luna thinks about it for a second before a purely evil smile grows on her face... I'm not going to like this at all. "I propose a race to Carousel Boutique. The loser has to get a pair of fuzzy, saucy, waist high socks." I lose a bit of altitude when Luna says this. "A-are you joking?" "What? Afraid you'll lose?" "NO! Why would we race to get SOCKS!?" I yell at her, trying to grasp her reasoning for this. "It's not like I'm worried, I beat you last time. Unless you think it would be an unfair advantage, the weight difference and all." She says with an evil smile. ... ... ... "Its on." I say bitterly as we both land on a lone cloud. We take a moment to stretch before taking our stances. YOU. WILL. NOT CALL ME FAT AGAIN! "READYSETGO!" Luna yells as she takes off. I put all my strength into launching myself as quickly as possible. We both rocket through the air as we fly down towards Ponyville, each of us flapping our wings as hard as we can. I glance over to her and begin to flap with all my might, making my joints burn as I push myself faster. As we speed up, the ground quickly approaches, making our game of chicken intensify. I ignore Luna as I close my eyes and continue pumping my wings, waiting to hear her stop before stopping myself. ... ... FWUOSH Once I hear her open up I throw my head back and hold my wings open as I... THUD I crash down and immediately look around, seeing Luna land directly in front of me. I look over to Carousel Boutique before growing a large smile on my face. "HAHA! I won! You know what that means!" I yell as I prance around the dumbstruck loser. "Tia please! I don't..." "You're getting socks!" I yell as I stick a hoof in her face. "Fuzzy, saucy, waist high socks! How do ya like THAT!" I yell as I do a little victory dance on front of her. With my back leg I kick the door open and begin to walk backwards inside, still gloating to the now blushing Luna. "Froo froo, silky, raunchy, seducing..." "Socks?" I freeze up from the voice behind me. Slowly I turn around to find Miles, Shadow, Rarity and Easy standing directly behind me. Miles is squatting over Shadow covering her ears as Easy tries to help Rarity not to faint. ".... Miles... what are you doing here?" I ask him as he stands up.. "Getting winter clothes. I would ask the same but we already know what you're up to." He says as he lifts up a bag and gives it to Easy. Silently, his group takes their belongings and leave the shop. All the while Luna and I stay completely silent, our faces covered in our blushes. "Well... Luna, if you please. We can get started..." Rarity starts but stops when we both look to her. "We aren't..." "Yes we are!" I say as I lift Luna up with my magic. "WHAT!? But..." "No buts! You've mad fun of my weight for the last time! Now suffer the consequences! Rarity, could you please make it as seducing as possible. I want these to embarrass her just to even have them in her closet." "Well... I think I know just what to do." Rarity says as she mumbles something else under her breath. Revenge has never tasted so sweet before. Author's Note Shout out to Arlan753 for picking Shadows birthday and junior Alien Child for picking what was for breakfast. (Yes, it was a two part point reward.) Hurry over to my blog to add your own Ocs to the pool, the next art should happen within the next few chapters so don't wait. Thanks for reading and like always, Brony on!
Chapter 154 Just You And Me Part 3 Rainbow DashChapter 154 Just You And Me Part 3 Rainbow Dash Perspective: Soarin I wake up to the feeling of Rainbow Dash getting out of bed. I roll over and try to savor the last moments of sleep, pulling the sheets close to my self. Last night was... incredible! I was a little skeptical of using Miles' bed, but Rainbow was right. Something about this bed just make sex... better! We'll have to try it in here again sometime soon, assuming Miles hasn't found out already. Once Rainbow finishes up in the restroom she comes right back to bed, sticking to her own side as she pulls the sheets closer to herself. I roll back over and position myself beside her, taking this chance to snuggle in full force. She lets out a content sigh as our bodies relax against each others. I still can't get over how trim she is after Spartan training. At first I thought it was a little weird, but... I'm kind of liking it now. She may have the rough exterior, but she'll always be my mare.... My mare. Dammit, why do these thoughts have to come to mind every morning. I know we both would like to, or at least I do... but, the timing isn't right. She just got a her job as Spartan and still has her other one, not to mention her being a bearer. We barely get to spend time together as it is... but... I still want to marry her. "Ermm... morning stud." She groans as she rolls over and rests her forehead against mine. "Did you sleep well?" "Yeah... you?" I ask as I begin to run a hoof along her side. "Mhmm... are we still in Miles' bed?" She asks, keeping her eyes shut as she teeters on the brink of sleep. She may be a Spartan, but somethings will never change. "Yeah... we should get going before he finds us here." I whisper back to her. "Naw, if it's already morning and we're still here then he already found us. We can stay a bit longer." She says as she lazily opens her eyes. I continue to look on as I get lost in her beauty. I sometimes can't believe how lucky I am to be with her. And to think this all started because I found her during training pleasuring herself. I didn't think an actual relationship could start like that, but here we are. "You're chuckling, what's so funny?" "I was just thinking about our first time." I say, getting her to roll her eyes. "I swear, your minds just stuck in sex mode isn't it?" "I can't help it, it's in my blood." I joke, getting her to just sigh and look into my eyes. "Rainbow... I... I wanted to... to..." "Wait." She says as she looks out the window. "What time is it?" "Almost seven...." I say. The gears in both our heads click at the same time as we jump out of bed. "SCOOTALOO!" We both yell as we begin to... "Wait, isn't it winter break for her?" I ask, stopping Rainbow from leaping out the window. We look back to one another before laughing. I can't believe we both forgot that. "She'll probably want to sleep in at the Apple's place for a bit longer, we should head home and wash up before getting her." Dash says as she opens the door. She motions to me to be quiet as she tip hooves her way to the stairs. I watch her for a second before walking after her, getting her shove me a bit. "We need to be quiet!" "Why?" "We don't want to wake anypony up!" "I'm pretty sure if they could sleep through what we did last night they can..." "SOARIN!" She yelps as she tries to cover my muzzle up. "We need to get going... I still have work..." She mumbles as we wrestle a bit before tumbling down the the rest of the stairs. THUD I land, hard, flat on my back... "UF!" I gasp as Rainbow lands right on top of me, probably intentionally. "Soarin, be careful." She says with a chuckle as she lays back on top of me and gives me a light kiss. She tries to get up but I grab her wing joints to hold her in place, feeling their new strength rather impressive. After some struggling, and sexy giggles, she finally lays back on top of me and kisses me again. "Wanna go again?" I whisper into her ear as I pull hard on her wings. "Sooooaarin. I have work later." She groans as she grinds into me. "Come on, it's my last day here. Just call in sick or something." I tell her as I start planting kisses on her neck. She just giggle a bit as she tries to get form my grasp. I try to keep her down, but when she stood up and brought me with her... yeah. Did I mention she's gotten a lot stronger recently? "Hehe, try to leave with some Stallion dignity, and maybe you'll get some later." "Pfft.... really?" I ask as I let go of her and stand up. She just rolls her eyes and begins to walk out, pulling me along. We make it out underneath her home and begin to fly up, only making it halfway when Rainbow realizes something. "I don't have my keys." She says as she looks back to Miles' house. "Then lets go ge..." "We can't go back! Miles has probably found the mess we left last night and might be pissed!" "... What mess?" I ask as I try to think back. Rainbow just stares at me for a second before I put one and one together. "It'll wash out..." "Yeah, but he'll still be mad that it was there. In his bed." She says as she continues on her way home. I follow her up and take a lap around, looking for an open window to get through. Of course there aren't any. After the whole indecent with her book shes been locking this place down like a prison. "Why don't we just break open the cloud wall? I mean... they're just clouds." I offer as I land beside her. "You going to fix the hole in the wall?" ".... well... I've tangled with clouds before, how hard could it be." "Soarin, making cloud walls is different then making standard clouds. They have to be thicker and able to resist any weather while being light enough to stay air born. I don't know how to make them, and I know you don't." She says as she tries the door, finding it locked. It's true, I can barely manipulate clouds as it is, making walls would be impossible for me. "Well... know any friends that'll lend us their shower?" "Hmm.... lets try Fluttershys'!" She says as she walks to the edge of the cloud. We take off together as we head for her friends place. Like all things, Rainbow turns it into a race. I just smile along as we soar through the air getting to our destination in mere seconds. "I WIN!" Rainbow yells as we land. "No way! I got here way before you did!" I argue getting her to get in my face. "Are you kidding! I was here WAY before you were!" "Face it honey, this Wonderbolt beat you to it." I say with smug look. Rainbow steps back and nods a chuckles to herself a bit. That... may have been a bit too harsh. "A Wonderbolt huh?" She says as she begins to walk around me. "Sorry Rainbow, I didn't mean any..." "No, no. You said it. A WONDERBOLT beat me here, supposedly." She says as she saunters back in front of me. "Uh... y-yeah." "Maybe we should put that title to the test then? How about it? A Wonderbolt against a Spartan Jumper." She says as she squares off with me. "A... what?" "Oh, I didn't tell you? Yeah, the Spartan regiment has a section with flight at its heart. The Spartan Jumpers. During training Miles said I get to take lead on this group as its lieutenant. So, how about a little challenge then? In respect to Spartan Pride, I challenge you, the Wonderbolts, to a test of test of air superiority. Races, wing strength, whatever you wish to test us in we will gladly except... and win." "... are you serious?" "You bet we are." She says with her game face on. "Um... OK. I'll talk to Spitfire and see when we can get an opening for your challenge... you realize that I will be competing against you, right?" "Yeah, I know. If you're as fast in the are as you are in bed, then I'll be worried." She says with a playful smirk as she goes to the door. "Hey... I..." I try to make a comeback... buck me over. I can't make one. "You still come back for more." I grumble under my breath as I walk up beside her. Big Mac answers the door and eyes me a bit. I just smile back as the larger stallion seems to glare at me. What did I do? "Heya Big Mac, heading out to work the fields?" Rainbow asks, getting his attention. "Eeyup." "Cool, do you think we could borrow..." "Big Mac who is, oh! Good morning Rainbow, Soarin." Fluttershy says as she joins Big Mac at the door. "What brings you here so early?" "Heh, I accidentally locked us out of my house. Think we could steal your shower real quick?" Rainbow asks. "Of course, come on in." Fluttershy says as she steps aside. We walk in as Fluttershy gives Big Mac a kiss goodbye, telling him to have a good day on the farm. "Hey Big Mac!" Rainbow calls out, getting him to pause at the door. "Yours and Storms' challenge, did it. And... yeah. It was awesome." Big Mac just nods and leaves... what was that about? What challenge? "Oh... my." Fluttershy mumbles as her cheeks begin to turn red. "Well... uh, you know where its at. I have to start feeding my animals so if you need anything feel free to ask." She says before grabbing a basket and running outside. What was that about... what do they know? "You coming or not?" Rainbow asks as she trots up the stairs. "I don't know Dash... this is someponys house..." "So you can do it in Miles' house but not Shys'?" She asks from the top of the stairs. "Well... *sigh* true." I say with a shrug as I run up after her. We rush into the shower and immediately begin to make out, almost forgetting to turn the water on. She forces me back against the wooden edge and forces me to sit and lean back so she can in my lap. As I wrap my arms around her she rests hers on my shoulders as she begins to dominate the kiss, pushing her tongue into my mouth and swirling it around. I just latch onto it and begin to suck, pulling her up a bit as I line myself up with her. "Just a quicky and then we get Scootaloo." She says as she falls back onto me. Quickly pushing herself up again only to go right back down. "Just once? Not eight or nine times?" I joke as I grind into her. She just rolls her eyes as she continues to bob up and down. I begin to nip on the base of her neck as I try to push myself as deeply as possible. Rainbow groans into my mane as she tightens her arms around my neck, slowing her movements to enjoy my mouth work. I lift her up and lay her down, taking a moment to admire her beauty. The water running down her out stretched wings as her coat darkens from the shower head... "Heh... you OK?" She asks with a playful nudge. "I'm just trying to find a way a through your beauty." I say, immediately finding it overly cheesy. "Even.... even with how I changed?" She asks as she looks away from me. I stare at her for a second before I force her to look back to me. We stare at one another before I lean down and plant a soft kiss on her lips. Then another. I move for another one but hesitate for a second to look back into her eyes. "What changes? You're still the mare I love." Again, cheesy. But this one I actually mean. I lean in and kiss her as I lower my body against hers, gently pushing myself back inside. I take it slow as we hold our lips against each others, half kissing half breathing. She reads the signs of my approaching orgasm and rolls us over, quickly standing up and turning around before laying on top of me. I gasp as I feel her lips wrap around the tip of my member, squeezing her muscular flanks as she swishes her tongue along the opening. I try to hold on, but after a couple rather forceful presses of her tongue I thrust forward as I hit my release. She stiffens up at first but quickly pulls back to let the rest of my release fall out. "Thanks for the help at the end." She says bitterly as she stands up, wiping her face clean. "Sorry, I was a little distracted." I apologies as I stand up. We quickly finish washing up and drying each other off before heading back down the stairs. We try to find Fluttershy to thank her, but she's no where to be found. Odd, but Rainbow shrugs it off. Saying that she probably had to go help some of her animal friends. We take off for Sweet Apple Acres! We're a little short on time so we fly as quickly as possible there, not even having enough time to turn it into a race. Once we make it to there Rainbow immediately begins to frantically knock on the door, she might be a little late today... "Hold yer horses Imma commin." Applejack says from inside before opening the door. "Dash? Sorry but Scootaloo left earlier ta go crusading with her friends." She says as she steps out. "Have ya seen Big Mac?" "He left Fluttershys place a while ago, do you know what they were going to try? Because it was suppose to be just me and her today." Rainbow asks, looking slightly worried. "Ah make it a point not ta know what they try. Last ah heard it involved a large rubber band, Miles' wolf, and a large tree.... yea, not something ah want ta know but ah'm sure I will eventually. Sorry, but ah have ta get ta the market now. See ya." She says she begins to trot off. Rainbow just sighs and walks off, looking a bit down. "Dash." I call out as I catch up with her. "Whats up?" "*sigh* I don't know. It seems like every time I get something planned everything else just gets in the way. I try to take Scootaloo to Cloudsdale, Miles needs me to go to Topaz. I try to go to her little school race, I end up working all night trying to get the fog out of the park. I try to spend as much of a day with her..." "And I make you late for picking her up." I say, getting her to look me in the eyes. "Soarin..." "Look, go to work. I'll find Scootaloo and take her home, then we can have our day together. After all of that... we need to talk." I say quietly. Dash looks as if she's about to cry, but flies off before I could do anything to comfort her. I watch her fly off a bit before sighing and walking off. Why do things have to be so complicated? You meet a nice mare, get married, have a foal, then life moves on... right? As I trek through the snow towards Ponyville I notice a tall tree bending over as I large band pulls it over. Curious, I jump into the air and fly over to get a better look. Below the tree the Cutie Mark Crusaders wait as a wolf pulls on a large rubber band, bending the tree over to the ground. Once it's to their desired angle Scootaloo takes a seat in the WHAT THE BUCK DOES SHE THICK SHE'S DOING!?!?!? SNAP I take off as quickly as possible as Scootaloo flings through the air. I slowly gain on the tumbling little filly, reaching out for her as I try to catch her. I feel a tinge of pain as the cold air stings against my wings, but I ignore it as I push myself even faster to try and catch her, seeing the ground quickly approach... CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH I hit the ground hard as I slide forward, attempting to catch Scootaloo. When I finally come to a stop I just lay there, unsure if I caught her or not. My chest feels as if I ran a cheese grater against it, but I try to ignore it as I attempt to look up, finding it hard to do so. I can feel something warm pooling beneath me... that's probably not good... "Mmm... Soarin?" I open my eyes see Scootaloo laying atop my hooves, unharmed. "Please don't tell Mom." "Scoots..." I say before passing out, the pain on my chest being too great. ................................................................................................................................................................. I jolt awake as a sudden wave of energy courses through my body. I look around to find myself in Twilights house as Miles has his hands against my chest. I look around to see a mare I've never seen before, Twilight, Storm Cloud, and the girls all watching me closely. Scootaloos eyes are red a puffy; she's been crying a lot obviously as she holds onto Twilights leg. "Welcome back." Miles says as he shuts off his magic. "Huh?" I ask as I sit up. Trying to peace everything together. "I said welcome back." Miles says as he sits back. "You know, I've never had a chance to work on a heart before, but then again, I never knew anyone who would land on a branch like that." "A... branch?" I ask as I look down to my chest, finding it perfectly intact. "Yup, when you caught Scootaloo you had a branch stab you in the chest and nearly ripped out your heart. Congratulations, you were technically dead for about sixteen minutes." ".... what?" I ask quietly as I look around the room. I.... died? No... I just hit the ground really hard... I couldn't have died. "Yup. I nearly called it too, but after some persuasion I gave it another go, and here you are. You're welcome." I take another look around the room before standing up, find my legs fairly weak. "Thanks... can everypony give us a second... I'd... I'd like to talk to Miles real quick." Everypony nods and leaves, Twilight having to carry Scootaloo out. Once we're alone I let out a deep sigh before looking back to Miles. "So... thank you, again. I..." "Hey, you saved Scootaloo from stupidity. In my book that earns a bit of respect. I know we had our... little..." "Misunderstanding?" "Yeah. But I know now what kind of man you are now, and I can respect you. Now what's on your mind?" "Well... it's a little off but... your Rainbow Dashes Captain right?" I ask, getting a slow nod from him. "OK... well, in light of todays event, I realize that waiting is stupid. Can I have your blessings to marry Rainbow Dash?" He looks a little taken back from this, but I keep my confidence up as I wait for his answer. "Uh.... why would you need my... blessings?" "... you're her Captain. She's your Lieutenant... right?" "Well... yes no. Spartans only has five positions. There are the standard Privates, Lieutenants, Captains, then Grand Lieutenants and Captains. Our cites were separated, so we had individual cells. But over all we followed our two leaders, who out ranked all the others. Standard Captains were also called city Captains and only could order the soldiers in their city. So she is, but Storm is my grand Lieutenant so I delegate my orders to him first. As for the whole marriage thing, she can marry whoever she wants. You don't need my support, though you have it after today." "... so yes then?" I ask with a smile. "Sure?" Miles states as if its a question, looking slightly confused. "Look, just keep Scootaloo away from catapults and keep Dash happy and I won't give two shits either way. Now if you excuse me, I need to get going." He says as he stands and begins to leave. "Wait! Do I have to do anything, the whole heart thing and all?" Miles stops and looks back for a second before walking back and giving me a glass of water from the night stand. "Drink that and two more, then you're good. Do what you please." He says as he goes back to leaving. "That's it? I was stabbed in the heart, should I take...." "Nope! Be normal and whatever." Miles yells back. "But... how?" "Magic bitch!" He yells as he takes the stairs down, passing Rainbow Dash. "SOARIN!" She yells as she runs towards me, carrying Scootaloo with one arm. We collide as she grabs me in a one arm hug, kissing me all over my face. "Twilight told me everything... *kiss* are you OK? *kiss* do you need any help moving or anything? *kiss* do you need...." "Dash, I'm alright." I say as I hug her back. "Miles fixed me up, says I can do whatever." I say as I lightly push her back. I look down to Scootaloo and wait for her to look up to me. "You alright squirt?" She doesn't answer me, she just breaks out in tears as she jumps into my hooves. I hold her lightly as I rock side to side, comforting her as I motion to Dash to give us a moment. She nods and gives me one final kiss on the lips before leaving. "I-I'm so sorry... I didn't think that would happen... I-I was j-just trying to get my dumb cutie mark..." "It's alright. I understand." I say quietly as I begin to stroke her mane. "I... I didn't mean for you to get hurt, honest! I... I... I'm sorry Soarin." She says as she breaks down. I look back to the stairs to make sure nopony is listening before I lean close to her ear. "Well... you can call Soarin for a bit longer, but soon I hope you'll call me Dad." I tell her. She looks up to me and wipes her eyes a bit. "W-what?" "You heard me. I want to be your Dad and... well, don't tell anypony, but I'm going to ask Rainbow Dash to marry me soon." I tell her. She wipes her eyes a bit more before a massive smile takes over her face. "Really!?" "You betcha." "YESYESYESYESYESYESYESYES! Dash and Soarin, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G, first come love, then comes marriage then... then comes..... EW! EWEWEWEWEWEWEW BLECH! AW SICK!" She yells as she tries to shake the images from her head. I just laugh as I pick her up and hug her, though she's still freaking out. "Yeah, eventually you'll be a big sister. Assuming she says yes to having a foal... and my proposal... She'd say yes... right?" "I think she would." Rainbow says from the doorway with a sly smile. "MOM! You ruined the surprise!" Scootaloo yells at her as she walks up to me, both of us staring into each others eyes, smiling contently. "That's alright." I says as she stops, mere inches between our lips. "Yes?" "Yes." "I don't have anything right now..." "Oh then its a no." Rainbow says she sticks her tongue out at me. "You can't propose without a ring Soarin, it's not romantic." Scootaloo whispers to me, getting a nod from Dash as she snickers a bit. "Well then, I'll just have to get a ring then, wont I?" I say with a massive smile as I walk with Rainbow towards the stairs. SHE BUCKING SAID YES! WOOOOOOOO! We walk out to the front room of the library where we find Miles, Storm and Twilight in a heated debate. "... it would be best not to wait! We know where to go, why are we waiting?" Storm argues. "Because most of you still have lives to attend to. The Apples have the farm, Dash has her weather job, Shy has her animal friends and rarity has a business to run. We can't ignore those..." "Miles, those will always be there for us to come back to... you though..." "Twilight." The pegasus mare says from the kitchen table. "Hearth Warming Eve is in four days..." "That leaves us three days to make a run to the next town." Storm defends. "Miles, we can't just wait forever. Lets get this out of the way now before something big comes up." Storm says as he squares off with Twilight. Miles rubs his chin a bit as he walks around the room, thinking to himself. "Captain." Rainbow says as she steps forward. "I agree with them. We have more Spartans now, we can do this more quickly now. We need to focus on finishing these cities before something big distracts us." Miles nods to her and pulls out a necklace from under his sweater. He looks around the room before holding it tightly, making it, as well as Storms', vibrates. "This is a message to all Spartans participating in the next city, we're moving out tomorrow." ............................................................................................................................................................... Dash and I slowly walk out of Scootaloos rooms, closing the door slowly. The poor thing was out in seconds after the long day she had. Dash and I move to the front room where we collapse on the couch, being drained from the millions of questions Scoot had. I roll over and pull Dash close so her back is against my stomach, still beaming from her answer. "So... my fiancee, this is my last night here, after this I'll be leaving early. Scoots in bed. Its the night before a dangerous mission...." "Yeah, sounds like perfect napping conditions." Rainbow jokes. "Yeah.. or..." "Or?" She asks as she turns back to me, smiling contently. I lean forward and kiss her lips as I move to be on top. She opens up as I push my tongue inside her mouth, meeting her tongue to start our little saliva dance. As we continue to make out, our hooves begin to explore each others bodies. Playing with each others wings, rubbing our chests and stomachs, Dash rubbing my cock against her entrance. I pull back to watch her face as I push inside her, seeing her eyes brighten up with lust. I go back to kissing her as I move my hips back and forth, hilting myself within her and pulling back to the entrance. I lose myself in the moment as I begin to thrust as hard as I can, grabbing her side for better support. She tries to tell me to slow it down, but it was to late for that. Right before my climax I pulled out and aimed it aside, shooting my load through the cloud floor and I thrust against her body. "Soarin.... why is your first load always so quick?" Dash pants as I begin to calm down. "If I knew that my first load would stop being so fast." I joke as I plant soft kisses along her body. "Ready for more?" I ask, my member still being stiff. "Lets take this to the room." Rainbow says. I help her up before we both make our way to the room, trying to keep as quiet as possible as we pass Scoots room. Once the close the door behind us we immediately begin to make out again, fumbling our way to the bed again. This time Dash pushes me onto my back and gets on top, having me enter her quickly. She gets to riding me as I just lay there, resting my hooves on her hips. I do miss how her mane used to bounce when it was longer, but it'll grow back. For now I'll just enjoy the ride. After a few minutes of rough riding, I push her off to shoot my load. She quickly moves over to help jerk me off. Once I I finish she takes my member into her mouth and begins to assault it with her mouth. Immediately I can feel the stiffness returning, so I pull her backside over to return the favor. "BUCK!" I yell as I hit my third orgasm, Rainbow Dash swallowing all of my seed with vigor. Once done, we take a small break to catch our breathes,cuddling each other closely. "Soarin..." "Yeah?" "What are you doing for Hearths Warming Eve?" "Don't know... Wonderbolts may have another charity event to do. I'll try to make it here afterwards though." I say as she nuzzles my neck. "Good, ready for more?" She asks. I just laugh as I roll her over and press myself against her tail hole. She looks back a bit worried but doesn't protest so I ease myself inside. It's definitely a lot tighter in here, I love it. I get to humping her backside, taking it easy at first. We've done this once before, so I don't want to hurt her. We didn't have any lubricants, so I wait until all of my pre-cum does the job before picking up the pace. Dash grunts underneath me as she lays her head on the bed, staring back at me as I continue to pound her back side. "So.... tight." I grunt as I lay myself against her, reaching out to hold her hooves. She mumbles something as she begins to quiver beneath me. I think she really likes it...aw buck... without warning I hit my next orgasm, hard. "Well...." "Shit." Rainbow sighs in pleasure. "Want more?" I look down to my eager member and chuckle a bit. I love this mare. ............................................................................................................................................................. I wake up early in the morning feeling sore, tired, and awesome. We set a new record, twelve times. I take a quick shower before kissing Dash on the forehead and leaving her room, sparring one last glance towards her sleeping form before shutting the door. I make sure to check on Scootaloo before leaving the house... "Sup Soarin." "BUCK!" I yell as I nearly fall over. "Lightning Dust? What are you doing here?" "Spitfire sent me to pick you up. She had a feeling you'd be here so..." "I was going to make it on time, I don't need some private to try and act superior to me." I snap back as I head to the edge of the cloud. "Actually, we have a mission in the Bears Soviet Republic for a mission." She tells me as she walks up behind me. "But... Hearths Warming Eve..." "Will have to wait. Now lets go." She says as she takes off. I look back to Dashs house before following after her. I'm sorry Dash. We'll have to wait a bit longer before it's just me and you. Author's Note This is you last chance to be part of the next set of Mercs. Go to Calling All OCs to read the requirements and my blog OC Roles to see the open positions. Brony on!
Chapter 155 Off To Trottingham Chapter 155 Off To Trottingham Chapter 155 Off To Trottingham Perspective: Miles After dealing with Soarin, Shadow and I make our way back home. It's getting late and the poor kid is tuckered out from our run around town. It was fun and I can tell she craved the bonding. I open the door to our home and carry her up to her room, tucking her in bed and kissing her forehead. She falls asleep almost immediately, giving one last yawn as she pulls the blankets close to herself. I set her things on a nearby night stand and leave the room quietly. She didn't really like or want much, but we were able to find a couple of things here and there. I open the door to my room.... fucking Soarin. With a disgusted sigh I remove all of the blankets and sheets and take them down to the wash area out back. How Equestrians could have refrigerators but not have a single washer machine, I'll never know. Once I get them all washed ( taking four times longer then usual due to my evaporating the water and having to set enchantments for them not to freeze in the snow) I hang them up to dry before heading to the spare room... "What the fuck?" I ask ask aloud as I see some mare laying in the spare bed. She looks over to me, lust filling her eyes, and smiles. "That'll be eighteen hundred bits for watching..." "OH SWEET BARBRA IT'S A GUY!" I yell as I nearly fall back. "Aw, you forgot my name already." Heshe pouts as heshe continues to writhe under the sheets. ".... Squishy?" "Ding a DINg, easy down there." He says with a shutter as he lifts up the blanket. From underneath the sheets Pinkie Pie crawls up and latches her lips with his. ".... what are you doing in my house?" I ask, breaking their kiss. "We've been here since the party last night silly!" Pinkie cheers as... she... begins.... "... huh?" I ask as I feel my cheeks begin to burn. Why does Pinkie have to be open about everything. "Well, I guess you wouldn't remember, you were so wasted after all." Squishy says as Pinkie sits up and begins to make her movements more aggressive. "Lucky for you we got it all on your phone." He says before tossing my phone at me. I catch it and look it over... "How did you know how to use it?" "Hammer did it..." "Of fucking course he did." I grumble. I begin to back out of the room but stop when Squishy calls for me. "What?" "I wasn't joking. Eighteen hundred." "Sure, right after you pay for using the room." I say as a joke. "Deal." He says before rolling on top of Pinkie. "..." "..." "... uh..." "Leave now or stay and let things get weird, your choice." Squishy tells me. "Pinkie, we leave for..." "I know, I know." She pants. I quickly shut the door and try to burn these images from my mind. Why? Why my house? I look down to my phone and quickly pocket it, not wanting to know what happened. "Dad?" Shadow asks sleepily from the doorway, rubbing an eye as she sways from side to side. "What's going on?" "It's nothing... I just have to sleep on the couch tonight..." "You can share my bed, I was getting lonely anyway." She says as she finishes rubbing her eyes. "Shadow..." "Please." "You need to..." "Please." "It would..." "Please." "...*sigh* fine. But tonight only OK?" She nods and runs over to me, smiling broadly. Dammit... she knows of her control over me. I pick her up and take her to her room, getting her to rest her head on my shoulder. I lay in her bed and pull the sheets over us, cuddling Shadow close to myself as I lay there. "Miles?" Shadow whispers to me. "Are you going to make it back for Hearths Warming Eve?" "I will try my best to." I tell her. "I can't promise that I'll be on time though." "... OK." She says, sounding disappointed. "Hey, don't worry about it OK. We'll be together for the holidays..." "Just you and me?" "... just family. Lets go to sleep now, OK." I tell her as I stoke her mane a bit. She nods and closes her eyes, too tired to argue with me. Just... family... ................................................................................................................................................................ I wake up to the sound of someone knocking on the door. I slip out of bed as quietly as possible as I head down to check on the door. "Alright alright.... Damian?" I say as I open the door. "What the fuck are you doing here?" "You called all Spartans, here I am." He says as walks inside. "Heh, beat Night Fury here." "Beat Night... why are you here?" I ask as I follow him into the living room. "You called all Spartans, so I..." "I called all Spartans that are going to the cities. I thought you'd be too busy with your group to help us out." He looks back to me and stares at me in disbelief. "Well... we'd gladly take you..." "Son of a bitch." He mumbles as he sits down. "No, I actually should get back to them." "Well... since you're here, what are your plans for Hearth Warming Eve?" "... nothing." He says as he looks up to me, caught off guard by the question. "Nothing? You don't have any family that you're going to visit? What about your group?" I ask as I approach him, seeing him become a bit uneasy. "I don't talk to my family... it's... complicated. Hammer is probably going to spend it with his mom and brother, but the rest of us don't really have family..." "Well congratulations, you now have a family. I expect to see you here for Hearths Warming Eve..." "What? No... I..." "Don't make me make this an order." I tell him. "... how would you make..." "Spartan etiquette dictates that our unit be a functional and cohesive regiment. That means we need to better understand each other. This holiday is a perfect excuse to bring all Spartans together and be around one another for a... social gathering. Now its an order." I say with a smile. He stares back to me and sighs in defeat. "Can I at least bring CC? She doesn't have anywhere to go either." "Sure, bring your little girlfriend as well." "... not cool." "Miles?" Storm calls from the door. "Hey... Damian.... I didn't know you were coming with us." He says as he and Twilight walk through the doorway. "I'm not actually. I just... had to make Hearth Warming Eve plans... I guess I'll see you all in a few days." He says before standing up and heading for the door. "Damian." I call out, getting him to pause at the door. He looks back to me and gives a simple nod before leaving, silently agreeing to come. "What was that about?" Twilight asks. "Making plans for Hearths Warming Eve. Speaking of which, what is Hearths Warming Eve?" They both face-hoof as Shadow comes down, rubbing her eyes a bit. "Lets talk about it over some breakfast." ................................................................................................................................................................ "... and that's how Equestria was formed!" Pinkie cheers joyfully as we all listen over some breakfast. Over the course of her story telling the rest of the girls as well as Night Fury showed up. Now we just need True Will and Dust Devil. "Huh, so... presents, a warm atmosphere, and family stuff. Got it." I say as I begin to take all of the plates. "So I take it we're doing it here then." Storm jokes. "In the great and many words of Big Mac, eeyup." I say from the sink as I rinse the plates and hand them to Shadow to dry off. She still likes to help out around the house, so I let her. At least with the simple stuff. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK "I'll get it." I say as I head to the front door. I open it up to... find... "Really? More Mercs?" I ask True Will as his group stands before my house. "Yeah... about that." True Will starts as he and Dust Devil stand before me. "We're actually being let go from the Ursa Majors. This will be our last mission with them." "Really? Why?" "Because neither of us would give up Spartan secrets." Dust Devil says proudly. I smile back as I step out and look over the new group. "Let me introduce them." True Will says as he steps before the first person, a light tan pegasus with a ruffled black mane and a mark of a trio of explosions. "This is Ghost, our explosives expert." "Hi." He says quietly. I nod to him and move to the next person. He's a griffin with black fur, grey feathers, and a large steel battle ax on his back. "This is SteelClaw, our two handed expert." "Ello." He says with an odd accent. "Next is...." "HI! I'm Snow Bound! The archer of the group." A female griffin says as she steps forward and shakes me hand. Her eyes are a bit odd, having blue centers with a yellow ring around them. The rest of her seems fairly normal, the only other noticeable thing being how her feathers end in grey. "Right... anyway. Who're you?" I ask the next person. He's a Pegasus as well, with a dark purple coat and black hair that has a lighter shade of purple going through it. His mark is that of a sword mid swing. He doesn't answer me, backing up a bit as looks back to his comrades. "Come on, what's your story?" "His names Purple Edge. He doesn't talk a lot." True Will informs me. "Not ever since the Ursas took over his old merc group." Snow Bound tells me, getting the guy to shy away a bit more. "ANYWAY!" True Will snaps, silencing Snow Bound. "The last one in our group is Subtle Shift. You may remember him..." "Yeah." I say as I stand before the last one, getting a good look at his cobalt face. "You're that assassin from before. The one that delivered the message to True Will. What are you doing here?" He looks back to everyone before looking back to me, keeping quiet. "Well?" "... I was hired for this mission." He tells me quickly. I step back to look them all over, gauging all of them together. "The last group of mercs that accompanied us to a city lost half of its members. I will not be responsible for your lives, you will..." "We can hold our own." Snow Bound says as she nudges the griffin beside her. "Really? Because they sent those others first, so that puts you in second in their eyes." I snap back. "Your jobs are to keep my people safe. That means you're putting your lives before theirs. If you can't do that then don't come." Of course none of them move. I just shake my head as I pull True Will and Dust Devil aside. "Have you properly warned them about the dangers involved?" "I've tried, but they're convinced that they can do this." True Will says as he glances back to them. "Can they?" "... dunno. I've never worked with these ones before. Heard a few reports, they can hold their own in an average fight." True Will offers. I sigh as I walk back to them, trying to determine if they can do this or not. "Uh... Miles, sir?" Purple Edge says timidly as he steps forward. "But, do you know what to expect from this next city?" "Well... not exactly..." "Then how do you know what to look for?" He asks with a bit more confident. "We're mercenaries. We're adaptable to anything we come up against. We will do our best, just as your ponies will.... sir." I stare at him until he shies away, hiding behind Subtle Shift a bit. "... why do I even try? Very well then. Lets see how adaptable you all are. Wait out front while we get everything packed up. Then we'll head out." "If you don't mind me asking, where exactly are we going?" Ghost asks. "Trottingham." I tell them before stepping inside. I take all our people to the shed and inside the armory. They were less reluctant this time around about taking weapons, though I'm not too sure how I feel about that. Rarity and Twilight stayed behind, saying their guns were enough for them. I take out some E.A.R.s and hand them out to... where did Fluttershy go? "Fluttershy?" I ask aloud as I walk along the aisles of weapons. "Fluttershy?" "Oh, I'm... I'm right here." She says from the last aisle. I walk over and find her staring straight at a... at... "Uh... something interest you Shy?" I ask her. "Um... no... well... I was just wondering if I could take that one." She says as she motions to a the rifle before her. "Fluttershy... that's a fifty caliber, anti armor, snipers rifle." I tell her, making her eyes go even wider. "So... is it OK?" She asks as she inches closer to it, nearly drooling as she eyes it. "It's meant to take out vehicles..." "So... maybe?" "It kills in one shot!" "*gasp* that's.... that's..." "I know. It's..." "...wonderful!" She exclaims as she jumps into the air and hugs it. "WHAT!" Everyone yells at once. "One shot, one kill. No pain. No suffering. Just a moment of discomfort and then it's over! Can I? Please please please please plEEEAAAASSSEE!" She begs as she pouts to me. I look back to everyone for help, but only find gaping faces. "Tell you what. If you can carry it, then you can take it." I tell her. She squees in delight and begins to remove it from the rack. She slings the strap to herself and pulls it tight. Taking a few breathes before hand, she steps off the counter and tries to stand with it. "S-s-ee?! Ea-easy.... peasy..." She says as she fights to stay standing on all four. "Pull it out now." I tell her, getting a scared look from her. She takes a deep breath as she looses the strap and tries to lift it up. She topples to one side, then the other, before getting the rifle correct in her hooves with the barrel pointing down. Wincing from the weight she lifts it up and points it towards me. "S-see." "What do you think?" I ask everyone behind me. "Well... she really wants it." Rarity says, looking to the others. "Plus she's a good shot. Maybe it would be useful." Rainbow says as she glances to the others. "Ah don't know... she's havin sum trouble holding it." Applejack says. "Well, to be honest, you don't hold that rifle while standing. The recoil would knock you on your ass..." "Then why are we lettin her take that gun!?" Applejack almost yells. "Why would we let Shy use somthin that kills in one shot!" "I don't want to torture anypony Applejack!" Fluttershy yells back. "If I have to shoot then I don't want to have to do it multiple times! AJ I understand your concern but this is the best way for me to fight." Shy says before she re-straps the rifle to her side and drops to all four. "Now, unless you're going to stop me, lets please just.. just go." She says as she squares off with AJ. The room falls quiet as they stare at each other, neither of them backing down. "Fine. Lets jus go." Aj huffs as she backs off. Everyone looks to one another as AJ leaves the room. What the fuck was that about? And when did Fluttershy grow a pair? "Uh... Flutter..." "I don't want to talk about it." Fluttershy says as she walks out of the room. "Anyone know what the fuck that was about?" I ask everyone else. "Hormones?" Night Fury offers, getting glares from the rest of the mares. "What?" "I'll talk to them in a bit, the rest of you just.... get ready to head out." I head over to the opening and press the switch on the ground making panels from the opening drop down. As everyone walks up the steps I stop Applejack and wait. "Miles, right now..." "Applejack..." "Look, ah know ah was..." "Just tell me one thing. Is this going to be a problem?" She takes a deep breath as she looks away, thinking deeply about her answer. "...no." Did.... did Applejack just lie? "AJ, what happened yesterday that would have you so mad at Fluttershy?" "Nothin! Now can we just get going!" She yells as she makes her way up top. I'm sure I'll find out soon enough, right now we need to just get going. I make my way up to fins Storm and Twilight fixing a cart to my jeep. "Fluttershy, come here." I call out as I head over to the jeep, jumping in the back. "Yes Miles?" She asks as she walks over to me. "Give me your rifle..." "But you said..." "So I can fill it with ammo." "Oh... sorry." She says as she removes it and sets it in the bed. "Mind telling me.... oh sweet Barbra." I say as I remove one of the drums from the machine gun. "Who?" "This ammo is enchanted." I say as I pull the belt out. Each round has archaic markings going around the bullets. "What does that mean?" Fluttershy asks as she flutters up to see. "Well, this was the easy way to duel enchant. You'd enchant the weapon and the bullet.... these all look as if they do different things." "How can you tell?" "Look at the text. See how it differs? Different text, different spell.... and it doesn't look like any of these aren't enchanted." I say as I look over the entire belt. There have to be at least six different enchantments on these. "What does that mean for me then?" "It means that this thing will hit a lot harder then it normally would... speaking of which. I need to enchant your rifle with a recoil damper. Otherwise this thing will take out your shoulder after a few shots. Take these rounds and feed them into you clip while I do that. Here, let me show you." We spend a few minutes going over the weapon. Racking rounds, the added weight of the bullets, how the eye scope works. She takes her time loading the one clip, tying the belt of bullets around her chest, and fixing the red eye com over her right eye. She freaked out a bit when the lens sent the wire straps around her head, but got over it quickly. "So... I just close my left eye and my right eye will see what the scope sees?" "Exactly. Try it." She closes her eye as I point the rifle at her, making her jump a bit. "That's... odd." "You'll figure it out. Now, what's going on between you and Applejack." I ask as I glance over to her, finding her talking to some of the mercs. Fluttershy just falls quiet as she looks away. "It's... it's nothing." She says quietly. "No it's not. What happened yesterday?" I ask as I finish my enchantment. "Just between the two of us." "Well... I was at their house, having dinner, when... well... Applebloom..." "All done!" Storm yells out. "Lets load up already!" Everyone cheers as they run over to the jeep. "I'll tell you another time, OK Miles?" She says as she moves to the back cart. "Yeah, I'm sure you will. *sigh*." I say as I stand up and close up the Spartan Pen. As everyone gets situated I run over to Shadow and pick her up in a tight hug. "Come back soon OK." She tells me as she hugs me back. "I will. Be good for Butterscotch and E'Claire while I'm gone OK?" I tell her. "Don't worry, I like staying with my Moms. I'll be good." She tells me. I was about to question something but stopped when I heard the others calling for me. I walk her to the Mico platform and watch her go to Moosden. So, I guess Butterscotch and E'Claire are her mothers now... odd. "Miles!" "Alright already." I yell back. "Off to Trottingham we go, Jasper here we come." I announce as I run over to the drivers seat. As we drive off, I glance back to see Applejack and Fluttershy keeping as far away from each other as possible. This can't be good.
Chapter 156 Jasper LiesChapter 156 Jasper Lies The drive to Trottingham was.... painful. Not having a top in the middle of winter is... stupid. But we made due with our jackets and scarfs. Though many of the mercs kept up conversations, Applejack and Fluttershy remained silent the entire trip. And it was a fucking long trip. We had to wrap around Canterlot, taking the path through White Tail woods, and make it towards the top of Equestria. I did save us some time by cutting paths and moving fast, but it was still an eight hour trip. Though we did get some good laughs when we raced through a town or village, scaring the crap out of the locals. Hopefully they wont do anything to brash. We come to a stop when Twilight informs me that we've arrived within walking distance of Trottingham. The brick city mere kilometers away. "Alright Storm, where's this connection you have?" I ask as I look over the brick buildings. "They should be on the edge of town, he said the building would be obvious..." "Found it!" Pinkie yells with a bounce as she points it out. On the edge of the city is a small stone building that's been painted yellow. Well... thank you Pinkie for making things easy. We drive over to the side of the building and park. A note has been nailed to the wall with a mark of cheese. "From Cheesus." Twilight says as she takes it with her magic, opening it up to read. "A tarp has been left for us. We can move freely in Motown, but everywhere else the guards will try to give us trouble. And Storm, we're even now.... what exactly are you two even for?" She asks him. "I helped a while back... that's all I'd like to say." He says nervously. We all stare at him before I break the silence by getting out. "We'll bust his nuts about it later. We've got a time restriction on us so lets get moving." I say as I move to the back to get my gear on. "Twilight, start leading everyone towards the destination, I'll bring up the rear." "This way!" Twilight says as she leads everyone down the street. I stop Applejack and Fluttershy from following, waiting for the others to be out of earshot before talking. "Spill it." Immediately they both begin to argue with one another. Yelling and accusing each of.... I can't even tell due to their yelling. "ENOUGH!" I yell over both of them, getting them to stop. "Applejack, what's going on?" "Fluttershy doesn't wantta be an Apple!" She barks with a spiteful look to Fluttershy. "We've been lyin ta Granny about it the whole time, but she found out last night and was furious!" "I DIDN'T WANT TO LIE TO HER!" Fluttershy yells as she steps forward. "But I can't take your name either! If I did, after what he did to me, my parents..." "YER PARENTS AREN'T ALIVE..." PUNCH Everything falls quiet as Fluttershy puts her hoof back down, wincing a bit from adding weight to it. Applejack just stands there stunned as a bruise begins to form on her cheek. "Both of you are to stay here and watch the jeep. When we return, then we'll settle this." I say as I latch the last piece of armor on.They hardly acknowledge me. With a huff Applejack takes off for the back of the building while Fluttershy moves to the front. I sigh as I watch them leave. They need to cool off before anything can be fixed. With a huff I grab my rifle and head down the street. ............................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Applejack I've been walking around Trottingham fer a couple of hours now, kicking snow and grumbling ta mahself. That darn.... varmin lovin... sona... GRAH! Why won't she jus say she'll do it fer Granny Smith!? Its... its... its GRANNY! It's not like we're askin for her to change her identity or anything! We jus wanna honor our family traditions, why can't she see that! "Well, don't you look mad." I stop as some shady pony walks out from an alley. He's all tan with all white hair. His horn looks as if its been sharpened to a point, a process ah know that isn't too pleasant. He takes his sunglasses and rubs them clean before putting them back on. Ah tried gettin a good look at his eyes, but couldn't. "Sorry partner but ah don't have time fer..." "What? Too busy helping your friends down there? Oh, that's right. You aren't." He says as he canters around me. I shiver a bit when he walks behind me. There's something just not right with this stallion, ah can tell. I get a glance at his cutie mark and nearly vomit when I notice that its been burned off! "Look, ah don't want any trouble..." "Oh but I don't trouble either. I just want you to help your friends down there... they are going to the city, right?" He asks with an even larger smile. I eye him a bit as he begins to back away into an alley. I look around a bit as I follow him in. How does he know about the city? Can he get me down there? Ah don't like this... but iffin it gets me down there. "What exactly are ya lookin for?" I ask him as we walk further down the alley. Ah make sure to keep my eyes open for anypony tryin to sneak up on me. If they think they could mug this mare they have another thing commin! "Now where did it gooooaaaahh! There we go." He says as he walks up to a cellar door. He bites onto the handle and pulls it back. Cob webs pull back as a dank and musty wave of air rushes out. "Take this straight down and only take right turns at the forks. You will find yourself at a giant metal gate. That, is the living city. You're friends will probably be there, if they're still alive..." "How can ah trust you... you lyin?" Ah ask him. He just giggles a bit as he steps back and looks at me. "Do I look like a liar? You better hurry though, they tend to hunt at this hour..." "They who?" "You'll see." He says before turns and begins walking down the alley. Ah look between the tunnel and him as ah try to think of whats best to do. Ah wanna help mah friends... but... well... ah could tell he wasn't lyin. With a deep breath Ah take mah first steps into the tunnel. It seems as if these mines were abandoned a long time ago. Webs and dust cover all of the wooden supports and old lanterns. After what feels like forever the tunnel lanterns suddenly stop, leaving the rest of the tunnels pitch dark. Ah take the last hanging lantern and descend into the darkness below. Ah try to keep a constant pace, but.... all this.... emptiness. Jus aint right. Hmm... first fork. Keep right. Ah stick to the right and move on. It seems the farther down I go the colder it gets. Ah don't like this at t'all. Ah find another fork. Right it is. This pathway is a lot more curvy and seems to drop a tun more. Ah had a couple of close calls, slipping down a bit. Sturdy as ever, ah kept mah balance. "Wha mm duh hay?" I mumble with the lantern in my mouth as ah see something at the end of the tunnel. I begin to run towards it in the hope that its something ah can use. "Isth thert a elewbater?" Ah mumble as ah set the lantern down as to look over the elevator. Its old, using a pulley system to operate. And ah doubt that the rust on it is any help at all.... "Is somepony there!? Please, wait for me!" I spin around as Fluttershy comes around the corner... pointing her rifle right at me. ............................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Fluttershy After my fight with Applejack I found a local park and hid away in a tree. I needed somewhere I could cry and wouldn't disturb anypony. I can't believe I hit her. I'm a terrible pony. Why does she have to be so stubborn about this though! What Big Mac did.... I can't take his name after what he did. What did I do to make him... "Excuse me?" "AH!" I yelp as I drop out of the tree and fall to the ground. Everything turns blurry for a bit as I try to regain my vision. I feel somepony help me to my hooves. I blink a few times before looking over to the mare beside me. She's a light green earth pony with long rose red hair that ends in curls. "What happened to your cutie mark!" I accidentally yell as I see her scorched back side. I cover up my mouth with my hooves as I feel completely awful for pointing it out. "I'm so sorry...." "It's alright. Believe it or not, I don't mind it. Why were you crying?" She asks as she tries to look me in the eyes. I look away and wipe my face. I don't want to trouble her with my... "Is it because your friends left you behind for the city?" "H-how do you..." "I heard them heading to it. That, and it's a bit of an urban legend around these parts. An old mine found it years ago, but since nopony could make it inside, they left it. Would you like me to show you where it is?" She says gently. "Oh... I don't know. Miles said that I was suppose to watch the jeep..." "Well, this is just a rumor, but I heard another group of treasure hunters found a way inside. But only one of them made their way out... the city has been taken over by... strange creatures. Your friends are in danger and need your help. But... if you don't want to help them..." "No! I want to! Please, could you show me the way?" "Of course, right this way." She says with a gentle smile. I smile back to her before running back to the tree to grab my satchel and rifle. I follow her through the city until we come to an open field. The snow has piled fairly high out here, but there's a spot where it seems to clearly builds higher. "Under all of that snow is an abandoned mine shaft. Go down it and only take lefts. Its going to be dark, so if you have a torch or lantern they will come in handy. I'll help you clear the snow, but after that I'll have to get going. I have a flower shop to run after all." "Oh, thank you so much for your help! What did you say your name..." "Lets get digging!" She says as she runs over and starts pushing the snow out of the way. I run to her side and begin pushing the snow aside. After a few minutes of scooping we find a wooden doorway. I try to pull it open, but it's frozen shut. "Well.... unless you can pry a winters worth of snow off of that door, you're stuck here." "I think this'll do the trick." I say with a grin as I pull my rifle out and point the barrel at the lock. "You may want to cover your ears." And I seriously hope that enchantment Miles put on me is still working. I pull the chamber back and load the first round, glancing inside to see the enchantment on it. BANG The rifle pushes back on me hard, slightly pushing me back as the round blows the door apart. I feel chips of wood blast all over, peppering me lightly as the other mare drops down. I pull the rifle back and check myself for any cuts.... all good. "Are you alright?" I ask her. "WHAT!?" She yells as she rubs her ears. "DID YOU SAY SOMETHING!?" "Oh... my. Um... sorry about that. Your hearing should return.... I think... um.... thank you helping me...... but, I have to go now!" I say quickly before running down the tunnel. I feel awful leaving her like that, but there wasn't anything I could do for her anyway. The tunnel is completely dark. The only light coming from the opening... and a white spec at the end. Curious, I head straight for it and inspect it closely. It must be the the round from my rifle... or at least what remains. White energy seems to coat a hole in the wall. The energy seems to move sporadically.... almost as if it's... ZAP "OW!" I yelp as a small bolt of energy zaps my cheek, right below my open eye. I rub it a bit as I back away. What...ever... it... what the? I stop rubbing my eye as everything turns dark. Some text is showing at the bottom of my vision, but I can't read it. Everything shines white for a second before my vision returns to the whole in the wall. Little lines point out the wall and the energy inside, giving me more of the Terradisian text. A little insignia appears beside the text, a lightning bolt. "It must of been an electrical shot." I mumble as I look to my rifle. When I remove my hoof from my other eye all of the text disappears. Intrigued, I cover my free eye again as look around the tunnel. Everything stays dark until the white flash comes back. Hmm... still dark... I look down to my rifle and jump a little when my eye lens outlines it and begins to show some information on it. "I wonder..." I say as I heft the rifle up to the left. The white flash comes back, making everything dark again. "Come on." I mutter. I see an echo of white resonate down the tunnel. I squee in delight, making another echo that shows me the way. All I have to do is make some sounds and I'll be able to find my way down! I start out slow. Walking slowly to in effort to not strain myself. This rifle is really heavy, but I'll manage. For my friends I'll handle anything. At first I was just humming a tune to show the way, but later I found that louder sounds travel farther. A little obvious now that I think about it. "Sleep now, quiet now. Lay your sleepy head to rest..." I sing aloud as I begin moving deeper in the tunnel, making my second left. My mothers bed time lullaby has always been so relaxing, especially now in this deep, dark, lonely, scary.... "Sleep now, quiet now! Lay your sleepy head to rest..." I sing a bit louder as I try to ignore where I am. After several versus of the lullaby I have to stop to take a break. The rifle was becoming too much for me to carry upright at the moment. I drink a bit of water from my canteen and find a few spiders to keep me company. They're a funny little bunch of black widows. Once I felt relieved I gathered my things and started back on my way. I hum loudly to guide the way, though it only shows a few yards it's easier. Up ahead I see something on the ground. It seems the echos stick around this area more then everywhere else. Curious, I walk right towards it. "Oh... whew, they're just cracks in the ground." I sigh in.... CRACKLE "Oh..." CRASH The ground gives out and I fall straight through, hitting the ground below quickly. I take awhile to get up, that... hurt. Luckily I didn't break anything... I think. I take a look around, then remember to close my left eye. Wow... that crash made so much appear. I think there's an elevator up ahead. As well as somepony else. As soon as they appeared they begin to fade away. I quickly get to my hooves and haul my rifle towards whoever is down there. "Is somepony down there? Please, wait for me!" I yell as I reach the final corner. I come around and the lens automatically picks up a rifle, lantern, satchel with supplies.... and a stetson hat. "..." "..." "..." "Whatter you doin here?" Applejack asks with a gruff as I lower my rifle. "I'm helping my friends." I tell her as I look over the elevator. It looks a bit shady, but should work.... I think. "Ah am to." She says as she steps onto the elevator. I sling my rifle and stand beside her as she works some ropes to the side, beginning our descent. The cage squeaks and creaks as the elevator fights to drop down through the rusty shaft. The only light around us is Applejacks lantern. The only sound is that of the elevator. We don't even look at each other. I'm fine with this though. We won't say any harsh words to each other this way. I hate fighting with Applejack.... fighting in general but especially with Applejack. I know she only has my safety at mind, but she needs to learn that I'm a grown mare that can take care of herself. Still... "I.... I'm sorry I hit you." I say as I look away. "Yeah, ah sorry ah brought yer parents up like that. It was mean and ah didn't mean to... its jus..." SNAP We look to each other for a second before the cart begin to drop uncontrollably. We lift off the ground and tumble a bit into the air. I look back and see a latch to the top of the elevator. With a flap from my wings I grab it and push it open. "APPLEJACK!" I yell as I reach out for her. She pushes off the side and grabs my hoof, getting me to push the two of us out of the elevator. "NOW WHAT!?" She yells as she holds on to me. "HOLD ON!" I yell as I widen my rifles strap to fit around the two of us. "THAT DOESN'T HELP US FRUM FALLIN!" I ignore her as I close my eyes and focus. This is going to hurt. I pull her close and spread my wings wide, catching the air and slowing us down tremendously. "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" I scream out in pain as the weight of everything fall upon my inexperienced wings. I tear up as they fold against the weight, making us fall faster. "SHY, AH KNOW YER TRYIN..." "I CAN DO THIS!" I yell back as I try again, finding the searing pain in my joints again. "BUT AH HAVE TA TELL YA THE TRUTH!" "WE'RE NOT DONE YET!" I yell as I flap my wings, slowing us down. The pain grows from my joints and down my back a bit. I fight through my tears as I flap again and again, each flap slowing us down more and more. "Fluttershy... Granny had ta go ta the hospital recently.... they say she's startin ta get Alzheimer's.... Shy..... ah don't know how much longer she has." ".... Applejack." I mumble as everything becomes quiet. "KEEP FLAPPIN!" She yells as we begin to fall a bit more. "SORRY!" I yell as I begin to flap again, the pain seeming to disappear. "But, I saw Granny a few days ago, she seemed fine..." "Yeah... well that's cause ya didn't talk ta her much. She remembers big things, yer weddin, who we are, stuff like that. But when ah told her ah was headin out with Miles, she told me she was excited that we hired him... he hasn't worked on the farm in a while Shy. Frum there ah started askin her more and more question... until she started to have an episode." She says as she looks away from me, trying to hide her tears. "She was freakin out, lookin fer Sunny Rind and... an ah had to take Applebloom to the other room while Big Mac took her to the hospital. Ah was so scared... an... Big Mac came home, told us what was goin on, an left. Applebloom was in tears an ah didn't know what to do, then the dinner happened an she forgot..." "Applejack." I say, stopping her. She sniffles a few times as she tries to keep strong, but the tears are already flowing. I can't believe this. Granny was old and all... but she was always so lively. I... I can't imagine her not being on the farm. What they would do without her. This also explains what Big Mac did... "Shy, ah sorry about everything. Ah guess Big Mac didn't really have time to tell ya everything." "No... he didn't..." "Ah so scared Shy." She admits as she holds me tightly. "Ah don't know what we're going to do without her! Who's going to watch after Applebloom? Make Zap Apple jam? What about the quilt, who's going ta knit it at the next reunion? An all that history, gone! Apple Family secrets, gone! Shy..." "I'll do it." I tell her. "Shy...." "I know that there's a lot to learn.... but... I am an Apple after all." She leans back and gives me a warm smile. "You don't have to...." "This is far too important to me to let something like that bother me. I won't forget it... but... we'll work through it together." "Heh, well, alright then. You an me Shy." She says right before the sound of metal crashing catches our attention.... then a searing pain that taKES OVER MY ENTIRE BACK! "Whoa there nelly! Uh.... stop flappin and pass me mah rope!" "WHAT?!" "JUS DO IT!" I stare at her for a few seconds before complying, my tired wings falling straight down from exhaustion. We immediately begin to pick up speed as I fumble through her satchel, pulling the long rope out and passing it to her. "ER GERS NUTTIN!" She mumbles as she swings it around and sends the loop flying. SNAP THUD ............................................................................................................................................................. I wake up with a slight numbness taking over my head. I look around to find myself bundled underneath a thick wool blanket on the side of a tunnel. All of my gear, as well as Applejacks, is piled around me with the lantern in the center. What happened? Last thing I remember was Applejack... CRASH I jump to my hooves as something falls over in the darkness. I look around for any weapons, but can't find any sufficient ones... frying pan it is then. "W-who's out there?" I call out as I raise the pan above my head. I hear hoofsteps coming towards me, so I begin to back up. STEP STEP... "I'm warning you..." STEP STEP... "I have a frying pan..." STEP STEP... "Don't make me..." "Fluttershy!" "AAAHHH!" I yell as I fall back onto the blankets. "Uh Shy, it's only me." Applejack says as she walks over and lays down my rifle beside. "O-oh.... right." I say as I sit back up, blushing a bit from my fears. "What happened?" "Well... ah snagged mah rope onta a pole that was sticken out... but, we ended up slamming inta the wall instead. Well, you did at least... sorry." She says as she rubs the back of her neck. "This is all ah was able ta get back." "You... got my rifle?" I ask as I pull it towards me. "Yea, ah also got most of the ammo to, though the belt was destroyed." She shows me the inside of my bag before taking a seat to relax. I feel the lens on my face and sigh in relief when I find it intact. "So... what now?" I ask her. "Now? Now we grab our stuff an find our friends. That's what. How're your wings?" I give them a test flap and wince from the soreness. "Not good huh?" "I'll be alright. Just.. have to keep my hooves on the ground." I say with smile. She gives me a worried glance but begins to gather her gear without another word. Once everything is put in its proper place we begin to head down the tunnel together. The walls here seem to have been freshly carved out, rather sporadically actually... "There it is!" Applejack says as she runs towards a large metal bulkhead. I run but come to a stop as we enter the gateway. "Whats the..." "We need to get to cover, NOW!" I yell as I dart beside a building. As soon as I get behind the wall I through my back against it and pull AJ beside me. "Whats the..." "SHH!" "But...." "SH!" I shush her again as I look back out to the city. An obvious war has taken place here, but that's not what concerns me. What concerns me are the massive spots where chunks of stone and debris have been moved. On the road, along the wall, along the dome... "What is the matter Fluttershy?!" Applejack asks me in a hushed tone. THUD In the middle of the street a massive ant crashes down. It stands at least five feet tall and is three times longer. If I had to classify it, I would say its a Bulldog ant, not good for us. Its massive black body moves with total ease as its antenna twitch back and forth, its large yellow mandibles clicking out loud. It hasn't seen us yet, but it can definitely smell us. I go to point my rifle at it, but AJ grabs my arm to stop me. "SHY! It's a bug, why don't you jus go talk to it? Ah know its big an all..." "It's a Bulldog ant. Even the small ones don't listen to me!" I whisper back to her. I peer back over to see it lift a large metal carriage and toss it aside as if it was a peddle. "So... should we jus try ta avoid it?" "Even though they do have a hive they hunt alone usually. We don't want this one telling the others where we might be. One shot, and we can move on." She looks back out and nods to me, allowing me to take aim at it. I have to mentally remind myself not to squint my eye and to shut it to see out. The scope outlines the ant and begins to read off about its different parts. Though none of it makes sense to me, the one pointing to its neck seems fairly straight forward. One... It begins to crawl towards the gate.... Two... It pauses and lifts its head up as its antenna begin to twitch around.... Three. BANG The round slams into its neck and send out a cone of energy, decapitating it with total ease. I rack the next round and run over to it, bringing the barrel it its head. The body it contorting a bit, but that doesn't concern me. I just want to make sure it doesn't call out for its friends. One of the antenna have blown completely off while the other one is hanging by a thread. I wait to see if it moves before motioning for Applejack to follow. "OK, so those rounds send out a burst of energy, good." I mumble to myself as I load the next one, checking it before snapping it shut. "Uh, Shy?" "We need to find the others, I bet they're heading to the P.C.H..." "Shy...." "Lucky for us its easy to find huh?" I say with a slight giggle. "SHY!" I look back to Applejack to see her standing by a pile of rubble. "Wasn't this onna those mercs?" I run over to see a crushed form in the center of a crater. All we can tell about it is the they had a tan coat and black hair. "The poor thing must of been crushed." I say solemnly. "Lets get going." Applejack says as she turns down the street. I look back to the form and thank them quietly before running after Applejack. After my first shot the city comes to life with an array of insects. What looks like a cross with a mosquito and a moth comes flying off of the dome. Dozens of them at the least. Cockroaches begin to crawl all over the P.C.H. and as a gigantic spider chases them around. In the distance I can hear the clicking of the ants again, so we move inside a building for cover. "Where do you think the others are?" I ask AJ. "Ah don't..." CRASH "MOVE!" Miles yells as most of the group pour through the hole in the wall. "Applejack? Fluttershy? I thought...." "We're here to help!" Applejack announces as we stand to greet them. "NO TIME FOR THAT!" Rarity yells as she turns and opens fire through the hole. RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH "Oh...that sounds big." I mumble as the building begins to crumble around us. "GET MOVING!" Miles yells as he flairs his hands. "WE NEED TO GET TO THE MONORAIL!" Before anypony could move the building around us is lifted up by a gigantic bulldog ant, surrounded by an army of lesser ants. "The... the... the queen."
Chapter 157 Jasper TruthsChapter 157 Jasper Truths Perspective: Miles After dealing with Applejack and Fluttershy I catch up with the others. True to what Storm said, no one seems to notice or care about our group walking down the street with our weapons and armor. Though I find the number of lingerie wearing hookers (and clients buying) a little disturbing. I have to remind myself not to stare down any alleys constantly before I see another stallions cock. After walking several blocks and taking several turns we find the edge of their territory. We can tell this due to the lack of hookers and the number of overly armored guards. "Well.... we need to go four blocks that way." Twilight tells us as she rolls up her map. We all line up on the edge as several guards begin to eye us. "OK we don't have time for that." I tell everyone as I flare my hands. I drop us down for several meters before going forward. "What the fuck is up with that city?" "I don't know and I don't want to know." Twilight says as we share a glance and shiver. "Seemed fine to me." Purple Edge says with a slight chuckle. Everyone pauses to look back to him, making him blush a bit. "You know... attractive mares and stuff..." "Edge, do what you do best and keep to yourself." True Will says as he pushes forward. Edge shrinks back as we all turn to move on. "Fucking mercs." ............................................................................................................................................................... A few hours and kilometers later we finally find the eastern gate to Jasper. I take out the Daminus Clavis and feed some energy into it before slamming it against the door. The sound of rusted metal screeching against rusted metal fills the tunnel as the gate fights to pull up. It takes awhile, but when it finally get high enough for us to squeeze under, we don't like what we find. "What the fuck is that?" I ask aloud. "It looks... like..." "An egg." Snow bound finishes as she pulls an arrow out and starts poking one of them. The entire entrance to the city has been taken over by pale white, slimy, pony sized eggs. "Oy Ghost!" SteelClaw calls out. "Yeah?" "Ye got enough 'slposives ta break us in?" He asks with a toothy grin. "Don't, I'll get us in, save your explosives for later." I tell them as I set Daminus Clavis on my back and think of the best way to get through. "Do we really want to go this way though?" Twilight asks. "If these are eggs, then whatever laid them is probably still here. I don't want to mess with anything...." SPLLSHH "EEEWW!" All of the girls, and Purple Edge, scream as the gate jolts up, allowing the eggs to fall through. They were only set waist high, so they don't fall that far out. "Well... now we can get through now." I offer. They all give me a look before Twilight starts levitating the eggs out of the way. We walk inside to the power generator room and take a look around. There are a couple more piles of these massive eggs filling the edges of the room. Patches of the walls and floor are missing, but they don't look as if they're bullet holes. Oddly enough, there are a few lights on in the room. Just enough to show our way around. "I don't like this." Dust Devil says as her eyes dart around. "Rarity, SubtleShift, come with me to the sub generators, the rest of you wait for us out front." I tell them. We head to the stairs and take them down to the sub generators. As we descended, I could feel something wrong. I could quit put my finger on it, but... I feel more... energetic We reach the bottom of the stairs and freeze. The generators are on fire. Well, soul fire at least. Great, white flames jet out from all of the generators and fill the room with a blinding whiteness, forcing us up another level. "What the buck was that?" SublteShift asks, making Rarity roll her eyes at his crudeness. "One of you try lifting something, anything, with your magic." I say, getting odd looks from them. "I just want to see something." Rarity eyes me a bit before looking over to a nearby workbench. Her aura takes over it and... THWAP ... it shoots straight up into the air and buries itself in the concrete ceiling. "Oh dear." "Well it seems the generators here are being over powered to the point of bleeding the energy into the air." I guess as Rarity and SubtleShift share a glance. "If I had to guess, anything archaic will be stronger and longer lasting while being easier..." PEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEW An eruption of gun fire fills the room from above. We all take off for the top of the stair case, pulling my rifle out just as I step. Giant creatures, having three main body parts and six legs, are falling from the ceiling to attack our group. Twilight has put her aura shield as she frantically looks for her Medi-gun. A few of the others have been separated from her shield and are fighting off the advancing creatures. "RARITY! Go and assist that group, SubtleShift watch her back!" I yell as I open fire on them. My bullets bounce off their skin, barely causing a scratch on them. OK, FMJs aren't going to cut it here. I look over to Rarity and see her struggling to hold her gun right, fighting the new found energy. I draw my trench knife and push it to the first enchantment as I run towards them, finding it easier to do. SteelClaw notices me as he tries to pry his battle ax from the creatures massive mandibles ans tries to keep their focus on him. "COME ON YA SPECCY LIL' GITS! COME AT ME YA YANKERS!" He yells as wrestles with the beast, only to be lifted into the air when it looks up. It slams him back on the ground with total ease, forcing his grip from the weapon. Purple Edge and Ghost try to help him up, but had to keep their focus on the other creatures. The creature steps over him as I finally close the distance, slamming the knuckles of my weapon into the backside of it. The explosion sends the beast flipping into the air until it slams against the back wall. Almost instantaneously, all of the other creatures back off from all of our people as the massive vine-like things on their heads begin to whip back and forth. I look around as their beady black eyes stay fixed on me, trying to gauge my next move. "Get up SteelClaw." I tell him. "Y-yea." He mumbles as he gets to his feet, grabbing his weapon along the way. "Alright, nice slow movements, we're heading into the city. Follow closely." I tell them. I take lead as I begin to step towards Twilights shield. "Why're their antenna movin like that?" Steelclaw asks. "Dunno." Purple Edge says with a shrugs but then chuckles. "Maybe somethings bugging them..." "Too soon." Snow Bound says quickly, giving a glare towards Purple Edge. Rarity runs to our side, finally levitating her gun properly, and sticks close to my side. I glance back to the downed bug and notice that its antenna are still moving... "I think they can communicate." I tell the others as we hit our half way point. "Are they smart enough for that?" Snow Bound asks. "Lets hope..." RRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH From above several more creatures fall around us. These ones dwarf the others in size and carry mandibles easily four times their own. I try to rush the one before me, but it backs away as the two beside it try to out flank me. I go for the one on the right as Rarity opens fire on the other, her massive energy bolts burning deep holes into its body. "WE NEED TO RUN!" I yell before running forward and punching the closes bug, sending it flying back into another one. The others take off past me as I turn to face the rest of the massive creatures. They wave their antenna around as they look to one another before running around me. "DA FUCK!" I yell as I try to attack the one to the left, only to have it jump away from me. "AAAAAAHH!" I spin back to see SteelClaw being drug back by one of the creatures, its large mandibles digging into his stomach. He tries to break the creatures grasp with his battleaxe, but is losing the fight. "HOLD ON!" I yell as I try to save him, but was too late. Several of the creatures moved on him and began to tear him apart. Blood sprayed all around them as limbs begin to be tossed about. I glance back to see the others have made it to Twilights shield, so I move back to join them. "Lets go, we need to get to the P.C.H." "But what about..." "We can't do anything for him!" I snap back at Snow Bound. "Lets go." Without another word I move down the highway. I warned them that this could happen. But we can't dwell on that right now. We need to get to somewhere safe... somewhere... "Over there." I call out as I point off into the city. "What's that?" Rainbow asks as she hovers beside me. "Its a monorail, and luckily it looks operational. If we can get to it we can make a straight shot for the P.C.H...." "Right, Dash and I will go check it out. The rest of you start working on getting there." Dust Devil says as she jumps up beside Dash. "I don't like separating..." "We'll be quick about it. Fly there, check it out, and be back. No problem." Rainbow assures me. I think about it a bit more before nodding to them. They give a quick salute before taking off... RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH "Oh that can't be good." Storm says as we all turn back to the dome. "Lets not deal with it then." I say as I toss him an archaic grenade. I pull one out myself and twist the cap off before tossing it through the door. A wall of blue flames erupts from within the smaller dome and bursts through the door, nearly reaching us before stopping and imploding back inside. "Let get moving." "Shouldn't we say something?" Ghost says. "If you want to, then go ahead." I say as I turn towards the dome. He takes a few steps forward before taking a deep breath. "SteelClaw was a good griffin. He fought for his friends and we're grateful for that.... may he rest in..." THUD From above a massive winged creature drops upon Ghost. Its round head has some kind of long, narrow mouth that looks like its for piercing. The center part of the body is thick and furry and has two large grey wings that look fuzzy. The back third of the body lays flat on the ground. "GHOST!" Everyone yells as we move to open fire on the creature. Simultaneously, the creature rears its head back slams it into his back as he tries to crawl away. He lets out a pained scream as we fire on the creature, our rounds punching into it with total ease. It falls over and twists around in pain as we continue to shoot it. THUD THUD THUD Three more fall down onto Ghost and begin fighting over his body. I rush forward, firing, in an attempt to free him, but two of the creatures take flight, bringing Ghosts lifeless body with them. "NO!" I yell as I thrust a hand forward and send a beam of soul fire at them, turning one into ash. I take aim at the last one as it tries to fly away and send a couple rounds into its back. It drops Ghost and tumbles onto a building. "FUCKING DAMMIT!" I yell as I watch him fall between some buildings. PEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEW I look over to see Dash and Dust Devil racing through the air as they fire at the flying creatures. They fight their way to us as we all form a circle to fight anything that comes our way. I take a look up and notice one of the flying creatures land on the major dome and practically blend right in. With all of us together, the creatures back off. "OK, we stick together then. Lets get moving before anything else..." RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH "Want to summon something else?" Storm asks me "Everypony hold on, I'm going to teleport us off this road." Twilight says as she flares her horn. A flash later we find ourselves in some alley on a completely different part of Jasper. "Oops. I guess the extra power sent us father then expected." She says sheepishly. "Alright, stick together and move fast. We need to get to that monorail..." "Why doesn't Twilight just teleport us there?" Snow Bound asks. "I can't teleport us somewhere I haven't been before. Not to mention the way its working now, I'm not trying that again. We could end up in some wall or in the air... it's just not safe." Twilight tells her. "We'll teleport only for emergencies. Now lets get going." I say as I begin to trot down the road, heading for the exit up ahead. Everyone sticks close to one another, keeping their heads on a swivels as we look for anything hostile. Remnants of a war that was once here still remain. Bullet holes. Scorch marks. Large craters. All dotting the roads and buildings. I try to keep my focus on spotting enemies, but it's fairly obvious the fight here was intense. The sound of something big moving behind us makes us pick up the pace. We make it down the ramp and head straight down the deserted street. An uneasy silence has taken over the city. Everyone seems to have tensed up due to this. We know something is coming, the not knowing is driving us crazy. "It's too quiet." Rainbow Dash states. "Would you rather have something loud trying to eat us?" Storm retorts. "No, I just... I'm getting antsy." "Me to." Snow Bound offers. "When things get quiet, they usually turn noisy." "I don't think this kind of talk is going to help anypony right now." Twilight offers. "Twilight?" I ask as I come to a stop. "Yeah?" "You need to teleport us right now, something is following us." I say as I look down an alley and see a massive shadow move away. What ever it is, it's BIG. "If you say so." She says as she closes her eyes and focuses. The aura on her horn glows for a bit as she tries to perfect the spell, but when we flash away we end up somewhere random again. "Maybe we should just send all of the fliers to out objective." Purple Edge suggests. "Fly there, grab it and come back while everypony else hunkers down somewhere safe." "You forget that there are flying creatures as well, don't you?" Dust Devil retorts. "Whenever we separate we get attacked. We need to stick together, safety in numbers and all." "Well..." "We're sticking together, that's final." I tell him. "I'm the only one who can read the files, Twilight's the only other medic and Rarity has the only other weapon that can deal an effective amount of damage...." "Hey! What about me!" Pinkie demands, sounding offended. "Oh... well... who else will keep up... laughing?" "You're darn right I do!" She says as she canters off down the alley. Everyone chuckles as we follow after her. When we catch up with Pinkie Pie the sound of metal tearing stops us all in our tracks. "GET INSIDE!" I yell before flaring my hand and slamming it against a wall, punching a hole for us to enter. "MOVE!" I walk in and come to a stop when we find Fluttershy and Applejack standing before us. "Applejack? Fluttershy? I thought..." "We're here to help!" Applejack announces as we stand to greet them. "NO TIME FOR THAT!" Rarity yells as she turns and opens fire through the hole. RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH "Oh...that sounds big." Fluttershy mumble as the building begins to crumble around us. "GET MOVING!" I yell as I flair my hands. "WE NEED TO GET TO THE MONORAIL!" Before anypony could move the building around us is lifted up by a gigantic creature, surrounded by an army of lesser creatures. "The... the... the queen." Fluttershy stutters as the gigantic creature tosses the top of the building aside. RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA From the side comes another gigantic creature. This one has hundreds of yellow legs going along it's long red body. Its head has two massive mandibles coming out with thick brown antennas just above them. It rears up and roars again as it lunges forward and grabs the other creature by the neck. All of the lesser creatures automatically turn and begin to attack the multi legged creature as it wrestles around. "... I'LL TAKE IT! LETS GO!" I yell as I lead everyone out the front door and head for the monorail. The city is alive with due to the two massive creatures fighting behind us. From every alley, building and all over the dome creatures begin to stir. Some try to get away from the action while others rush towards us. BANG PATPATPAT PEWPEWPEW PEPEPEPEPEW Fluttershy, Twilight, Rarity and I all take turns firing at any of the creatures that were unlucky enough to get in our way. I ran forward and took care of anything on the left as Rarity blasted away at the front, leaving Twilight to pepper anything to the right. Fluttershy stayed behind us all as she took quick, and precise, shots at anything above us or too tough for us to kill quickly. She was also sure to follow up on anything she shot to make sure it was dead. A little time consuming, but we didn't have time to tell her otherwise. The others either kept their fire concentrated behind us or I just didn't notice them firing. After who knows how many blocks of constant firing the monorail station comes into view. It's just a platform above the street beside the tracks, but it looks amazing to each of us. The monorail was down the track, but we made the run to it in a matter of seconds. I stopped by the back door and did an ammo check on my rifle; four shots left. It's been fun, but it's revolver time now. "OK, I'll open the door. You three get ready to shoot anything that comes out there, the rest of you keep watch for anything that comes at us. Ready?" "Ready!" They all said at once as they took their stances. I grabbed the handle and took a deep breath before pulling it open. After a few seconds of silence Storm rushed in, followed by Dash and Dust Devil, before calling clear. I jump up and keep my revolver at a ready stance as I look around the cart. Metal seats take up the sides as tinted windows cover the sides. "Alright, get inside and shut the door, then take five. DD, come with me to the front to check on the drivers compartment." "Got..." "Actually, can ah come with ya instead?" Applejack asks as she steps forward. I stare at her for a moment before nodding. "Take a rifle and meet up with me over there." I tell her before pulling the door open for the next compartment. I make it through the next two compartments with no trouble. I make it the last door as Applejack comes through the last set of doors, falling on her face as she struggled through. "You alright?" "Yeah." She grumbles as she gets up and trots over. "So..." "Hold your thoughts till we get this thing moving." I tell her as I pull the door open, keeping my pistol ready for anything. The conductors room is small; only having room for a spinning chair and all of the black panels on the dashboard and walls. I move over to the dashboard and check it for power, but with no luck. "Alright, time to put all of those electronic classes to work." I say as I sheath my knife and kneel down. "Miles...:" "Lets take a look." I say as I pull the panel down and set it aside. The insides look... good, considering the circumstances. I can tell the power relay has rusted..." "How do ya deal with knowing yer dying?" "..." "..." "What?" I ask her as I look back., caught completely off guard by her sudden question. "Ah'm sorry, but.... Granny Smith was diagnosed with Alzheimers an ah fear she may be goin soon." She tells me as she removes her hat and covers her mouth, her big green eyes tearing up. "You have my condolences Applejack. I can't imagine Granny Smith going, she always seems so strong." I tell her as I sit before her. "Yeah, it's why Shy an ah were fighting earlier..." "I figured." "But... ah was... ah don't what ta do Miles. She had a breakdown before we left an... ah didn't know what ta do. Ah don't know what she's feelin..." "Applejack." "Ah had ta explain it to Applebloom, she nearly lost it. She's been the mother fer the house an.... we all depend on her so much..." "Applejack." "Fluttershy and Big Mac were apparently fightin an ah.... ah feel so alone Miles. Ah don't know what to do!" "Applejack!" I yell, getting her to stop and look at me. I just raise an arm and motion for her forward. She breaks down in tears as she practically leaps into my arms, hugging me tightly as she lets all of her worries flow from her eyes. I just rest my arms around her as I stroke her mane a bit, waiting for her to calm down before talking. "Hey you guys hun..." Purple Edge says as he peers inside, but stops when he sees us. "Uh... I'll just go." He says before pulling back. Applejack breaks the hug and backs off to wipe her tears away. "Sorry about that..." "Don't be. Losing family is tough. Do you really want to know how I deal with... my problem?" I ask her, getting a serious nod in response. "I don't." "Huh?" "I don't. I don't deal with it. I... I just keep it from thought. Worrying about won't achieve anything, only make matters worse. Yeah every now and again I have to face it, but I push through and move forward. Sometimes that's all you can do. Don't treat Granny Smith any differently, at least to her face." "But... what if she asks about somethin that ah can't answer?" She asks me as she puts her hat back on. "What could she possibly ask that you couldn't answer?" I ask, getting her cheeks to burn. "Oh..." "It's not like that! It's... well, there was this... stallion..." "OK, you're my friend, and I care about you and this problem, but I..." "It's not like that." She tells me flatly. I quiet down to let her speak, that was a close one. "Well, I met him awhile back, fairly recently actually, an.. well, he tried puttin some moves on me and failed. It was cute, lame, but cute. But, it got me thinkin about how alone ah was. Ah know ah have friends that care about me an mah kin, but ah don't have anypony ta... connect with, iffin that makes sense." "It does." I tell her, getting a small smile from her. "Yeah... well, ah don't know. Granny and ah got onto the topic somehow and ah.. well... lied." "You lied to granny?" "AH DIDIN'T WANT TA! It jus... she was askin if I was 'active' an I couldn't tell her the truth! Ah was too scared to!" She practically yells. "Applejack, I know you to be an honest person, but lying to her now will only make things complicated later. Especially with her condition. You need to go to her and talk about these things, even if they'll upset her. She loves you, so she'll find a way to make things better for you." "Ya really think so?" She asks nervously. "For the ones we love, yeah. I think she will. Now enough about your sex life, we need to get this thing moving." I say as I lay back to work on the power relay. "Wanna help?" "Sure, don't know how much help ah'll be though." She says with a chuckle as she lays beside me. She'll be OK, I just wonder who the lucky guy is. Perspective: Pinkie Pie HI Guys! Welcome to my head! Anyway, twitchy tail, knee shake, twitchy left eye, and twisted tongue. Its fairly light, but its there. Remember that combo? Author's Note Shout out to Gage for picking the creature that saved the day! Thanks for reading, sorry for the delay( if you follow by post). Brony on!
Chapter 158 Home For Hearths Warming EveChapter 158 Home For Hearths Warming Eve Perspective: Miles After a couple hours of working the wires inside, we finally get the damned thing working. Now we just need to wait for me to power it up before we can get moving. Lucky for us, the tinted windows have been providing the perfect cover for us. The creatures from before have long since stopped fighting, returning the city to its quiet state. Applejack and I have been chatting away through all of the work. I've been trying to find out who the lucky guy is and... I don't have a single clue. "Come on, give me a better clue then 'he was at the party' *shiver*." I ask as I finish with the power relay. "NNope. Ah ain't sayin nuthin!" She says as she looks away; eyes closed with a large smile on her face. "Is it Night Fury?" "NNope!" "Damian?" "NNope!" "True Will?" "NNope!" "Gah, who the fuck else was there... wait... is it Squishy?" "AH HELL NO!" She practically yells, making us both laugh. "Alright, you have completely bested me. I don't have a single clue. Lets check on the others before starting this thing up." I say as I get up and pull the door open. Everyone has moved into the next compartment and has fallen asleep. Purple Edge is the only one awake, sitting on one of the benches looking out the window. He sees us and motions to keep quiet. I nod and point to a bag of supplies, getting him to toss it to us. "I guess not." "What time is it?" Applejack asks with a yawn. I pull out my phone to see it's two hundred hours. "Darn, two am." "Wait a minute." I mutter as I go to the videos on my phone. Sure enough, there it is. The video of the party. I'm fairly certain I don't want to watch half of this, so when it starts I make sure to fast forward through it. It was.... one crazy... social gathering. But there isn't anyone I didn't mention from before. I'm starting to think that she's lying to me. "Watcha lookin at?" Applejack asks as she takes a seat beside me. "It's a video from the party." "Oh... WHAT!?" She yells a she nearly falls over. "SHH! They can still hear us..." "Miles, please don't! Ah...." "Don't worry. Unless he shows up at the last second, I don't see him." She settles down a bit as the video nears the end. It moves to the guest bedroom where we find Pinkie and Squishy in the act. After some talking the phone is flung to Squishy and turned off. "No..." I mutter as slowly rewind. As the video flips through the air, I get a glimpse of him. "Noo.... just... nooo." "He was charmin!" "He's weird!" "He was nice..." "He has that fucking bag!" "He has a good sense a humor!" "He fucking filled a fridge with strawberries!" "Why don't you like him? What did he do ta get ya ta hate 'im so much?!" "BECAUSE HE SUPPOSE TO BE DEAD!" I yell in desperation. "... WHAT!?" She yells in bewilderment. "W....what!?" "I killed him, he came back! That's fucking cheating! And it makes me, and the Spartans, look bad!" "That's why ya don't like him? Because ya couldn't kill 'im?" "I COULD KILL HIM! HE JUST FUCKING CHEATED!" "Well, if he can out live you, then there definitely more ta the stud...." "Oh please don't call him that." I say as I lean against the wall and slide down. Applejack just chuckles as she takes a seat beside me and rummages through the bag, taking out some food to eat. I just accept her choice, at least at the moment, and begin to grab some food as well. "Ah know it's a bit.... odd of a choice. But... ah see somethin different in him. Ah can tell he's an honest stallion and would be a good coltfriend." She reassures me in a soft tone. "*sigh* Two things. If he ever steps out of line let us know, and for fuck sake, don't have sex in my bed." "Now, what makes you think..." "I've already caught Storm and Twilight, Big Mac and Fluttershy, the remains of Soarin and Rainbow Dash, and even though it wasn't in my bed, I've still walked in on Squishy and Pinkie Pie. There's more action in my house then there should be." She stares at me for a second before chuckling softly. "Wow Miles, yer a pervert." "I don't ask for this to happen..." "Ya couldn't knock?" "IT'S MY ROOM! IN MY HOUSE! And couldn't a single pony learn to lock their fucking doors! It's not that hard! Just turn the little thing!" "Well, after the second time, couldn't you just lock it yerself? Or just do somethin to keep ponies outta yer room?Maybe jus remove the door. It could save you from being a perv..." "I'M NOT THE PERV!" "Ya kinda are." "HOW AM I..." "Now ah kinda wanna do it in yer bed... didja enchant it to make things better in there? Like, a stamina enhan...." "NO! What the fuck? How would.... why would... when..... FUCK!" I stuff my mouth full of food and give up. There's just no winning anymore, I don't get a say in anything anymore. "That'll do perv, that'll do. Let us smarter ponies take care of the hard stuff." Applejack snickers as she pets my head. "I went to college for sixteen years...." "An ya still can't knock." "..." "Thought so, now let's get some shut eye before moving out." She says as she takes the rest of the supplies and moves to the other room. That fucking... piece of... FUCK! "Yeah, sleep sounds good." I mumble as I follow after her. Hopefully she'll come to her senses... hopefully. .............................................................................................................................................................. After a few hours of sleep we all finally decide to move out. I head to the front and take a look out at the city. It must have been dark hours when we arrived, because most of the main lights are on now. Many of the creatures seem to be hiding now, fearing the light. That's good for us though, less trouble. Many of the buildings have large portions of wall missing, having scratches and tears around them. It seems many of the creatures that live here have taken residence there. We will need to be sure to keep clear from them. Done with my sight seeing I engage the power, getting all of the lights to turn on and the dashboard to come to life. Lucky for us this thing is still operational, so I push the throttle up. The sound of metal screeching against metal fills the compartment as we slowly begin to gain speed. After a few minutes of screeching and tugging on old parts the monorail finally gets moving at my desired speed. "Whoa... this things going." Storm says as he joins me in the conductors comportment. "Yeah, good thing too, we need to get moving to make it back for Hearths Warming Eve." I say as I read over all of the gauges. "Yeah, should be interesting... hey, why do you think the bugs got here to begin with? I mean, I doubt your people really a an insect problem." "If I had to guess, I'd say they were picked up on the way here. Maybe during one of the moves some scientist picked them up or they just found their way in a truck, who knows. They made it in here, and if all of the generators are sending energy out like that one, that would explain how they grew so large.... unless that's normal." "It's not, trust me." Storm says as he glances up. "Those Mothqitos are starting to stir again." "Those what?" I ask as I look up. The dome is alive with activity as the flying creatures flutter around. "Is that what they are called?" "Well, no. But it's what we decided to call them since they look like a cross between the two. How long until we get to the P.C.H." Thirteen minutes, the on board computer tells us. "Does this computer have access to the internet?" I ask. Negative. "Well, it was worth a shot." I sigh as the track before us begins to curve towards the P.C.H. I look up and notice a cluster of the Mothqitos starting to take flight, forming a massive swarm that seems to be moving.... towards.... "GET BACK INSIDE!" I yell as I pry the doors open and kick Storm inside. "What's going on? Why were..." "WEAPONS UP! WE'VE GOT A SWARM OF THOSE FLYING ASSHOLES COMING AT US!" I yell as I sprint down the aisle. "If you don't have a gun, use your blade to keep them off the tram! Stand back for when they first hit for breaking glass! HERE THEY COME!" Right on queue the tram rocks as the swarm slams against us. Nothing has broken yet, but the sound of them crawling over keeps everyone's heads on a swivel. A few of them are giving experimental taps, but they haven't tried the windows yet. If we can get to the tunnel to the P.C.H. we'll be golden. I move to the back and check on the last cart, noting how they're breaking through the glass already. I flare my hands and hold them out towards the sides of the cart, tearing the metal apart. Once we're separated, I push back on the back and watch it come to a stop. "DON'T!" I yell as I turn around to see Fluttershy about to shoot a mothqito that's prying its way through the front. BANG The round tears through the creatures head with enough force to send it flying back. Simultaneously, all of the windows shatter from the concussion wave. Everyone freezes for a second as we wait for the inevitable to happen. In a moment of clarity, I happen to steal a glance towards Applejack. She's beside Fluttershy holding her rifle towards the window. Her hair is ruffled from the concussion but the rest of her seems to be frozen in time. Even though everything around her is turning to face the dangers, she's just standing there. Staring at me. She says something to me. And in an instant time catches back up with us as the cart fills with dozens of the creatures. I barely have time to dodge an incoming creature, getting a deep cut on my right shoulder. I pull out my revolver and push my magic to the first enchantment before firing it into its chest. It implodes on itself and drops to the floor. Before I could even react, another one tries to bury its sword like maw into me. I send a round into it's head and whip out my trench knife in time to block another one of the creatures. I push my magic into the knife, bringing up its first enchantment, before slamming it into the creature. A powerful blast sends it flying out the nearby window, taking out another one of the creatures. I swing my pistol over and fire at one of the creatures as it tries to stab Storm in the back. Next shot goes to the creatures trying to pull Purple Edge out the window. Next round goes into the head of the creature that's lifting True Will off the ground. I have to parry with my knife to stop from being stabbed from behind. A quick jab in the head buries it into the wall. I spin back and fire at the incoming creature. It's head implodes above me, showering me with a green, sludge like substance. The corpse falls on top of me. As I push it off I take a moment to look around. The room is a blur of fighting as the creatures buzz all around. I see glimpses of colored coats, but I can't see anyone's condition. I.... I have to. "GET DOWN AND GRAB SOMETHING!" I yell as I push more of my magic into the pistol. My shirt burns off as the lines fall to my waist line. The lines on my pistol burn brighter as an archaic circle appears at the end of the barrel. I point off into the fray and hope I don't kill anyone as I fire the last round into the blur of creatures. I duck down and latch onto a nearby bar as I hear a ping followed by a high pitched whining sound. Here it comes.... KRA-BOOM The only sound made was that of a pure cosmic explosion casting a perfect circle of destruction. Even though I held my eyes shut, a burning white light blared through. I felt myself lift off the ground as the cosmic energy began to suck everything towards the explosion. I tucked into a ball and held on for dear life. FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFTT In an instant the world around me returned to normal. I waited for what felt like an eternity before my vision began to return. I look back to the rest of the cart, falling over due to my letting go of the rail, and try to see who's left. Though everything is still blurry I can see some colored forms moving about. After blinking a few times I begin to make out Twilight fumbling around. "Tw.... Twilight!" I call out as I try to stand. "Miles?" She asks as she begins to move towards me. "Wh... what was that?" "MAKE YOURSELF KNOW IF YOU'RE ALIVE!" I yell as I fall over. "Here!" Storm calls out from under a seat. "I've got Snow Bound but she's been knocked out." "On it!" Twilight yells as she moves over to help them. "Here! Let me help you." Fluttershy says from the front. "Here! I've got Purple edge and Rarity, but they're unconscious as well." Subtle Shift calls out from the right. "I'm good!" Rainbow Dash says as she runs over to check on Rarity. "Same here." True Will calls out as he helps Dust Devil up. "Yeah... good." Dust Devil says. "Looks like everypony's alright." Pinkie says as she crawls out from under the seat beside me. I chuckle a bit as I let the lines on me fade... "Wait.... where's Applejack?" I ask as I look around. No.... no she.... I.... "A.... ah'm.... here..." She calls out quietly as I see her hoof fall out from behind the front left seat. I push myself up and run over to her... "Heh.... heh ya can fix this... right?" She asks as she holds onto the head of one of the mothqitos, it's maw piercing through her midsection. I stare at all of the flowing blood from her wounds before I kick into gear. I try to flare my hands, but something goes wrong. At first they just don't ignite. No matter how hard I shake my hands they won't lite. With one final shake I manage to get the flames up, only to have them jet out a bit before snuffing themselves out. This can't be happening..... not right now... not Applejack.... "TWILIGHT!" I yell as I move behind AJ. "TWILIGHT GET OVER HERE!" Twilight runs over with her gun and nearly faints when she sees AJ. "My magic is shitting out on me, use your gun! Hurry!" She stands still for a moment before Fluttershy pushes past her to take a look. "Miles! Hold AJ so we can remove the proboscis. When we remove it we... GET ME SOME RAGS! When we remove it we'll need to cover the wounds and add as much pressure as possible. Twilight, once we're adding pressure heal her up.... WHERE ARE MY RAGS!" Fluttershy yells again, getting everyone to shuffle around. Luckily Rarity had a couple of scarves that we could use. I take a seat in the corner and pull AJ into my lap, trying my best to keep her still. "AH! Ah.... easy there partner..." AJ says weakly. I wrap my arms around her shoulders and get ready to cover her back. "OK, AJ, I'm going to cut the back off, but we have to pull the rest of it out of you. This is going to be very painful." Fluttershy tells her calmly as she readies a small saw from her satchel. "Here." I tell her as I grab her hoof. "Squeeze, it'll help." She looks between the two of us, fear deep in her eyes, as she takes a hold of my hand. "Don't let me slip... please." She asks quietly. I look back to all of the worried faces watching. I try to keep strong, but I can feel myself tearing up as I try to think of the best way to answer. "Don't worry... you'll be home for Hearths Warming Eve." I tell her as I tighten my grip on her. "Alive?" She asks desperately. "GOT IT!" Shy yells as she tosses aside the chunk aside. "OK, AJ, close your eyes and..." "Bite onto this." Subtle Shift says as he steps forward and pushes some brown thing into her mouth. "Bite down onto it so you don't bite your tongue off." AJ looks around a bit before biting onto the brown square. "OK, on three..." "Wait." I say quietly. "We don't have time to wait!" Fluttershy yells. "ONE!" "How long have we been on this thing?" "TWO!" "Where are we?" As I had feared, our topless monorail passes through an archway as it enters the P.C.H., going top speed. "THREE!" "NO!" I yell, but am too late as Fluttershy yanks out the maw of the creature. Blood pours out onto me as AJ screams out in agony, writhing in my arms as the length tears at her insides. In desperation I spin around and put AJ into the corner as... CRASH .............................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Twilight With a low groan I begin to open my eyes. I can't really tell where I am, it's too dark. I can see a light coming in from the left, but everything else is pitch black. There's a fire roaring from the far right. It's looks like it's coming from the remains of the monorail... that's odd. I look straight ahead to see Purple Edge lying halfway in the light, staring right at me. his body gives a nudge before being drug into the darkness. "OH NO YOU DON'T!" I yell as I fight to get up. I look around and pull my rifle over as I limp over towards him. PEW "Bring him back!" I yell as I aim into the darkness. PEW "I SAID BRING HIM BACK!" I yell as I fall forward onto the tracks. I begin to tear up as I look over to the wreckage. He's... he's... "You know you nearly shot me there." He says as he stands over the edge. "YOU'RE ALIVE!" I yell as I push myself up, wincing from the pain in my back left leg. "I think so... if I'm not then heaven sucks." He jokes as he helps me out. I quickly hug him as a few tears escape my eyes. "We should find the others, especially Applejack. "Right." I say as I let go of him and start looking around. "Do you remember what happened?" I ask as I start to limp towards the wreckage. "Well, last thing I remember was being sent flying to the side as the tram flew off the tracks." He says as he runs over to a pile of rubble and checks underneath it. "We need to focus Twilight, go check over there." "Right... focus." I say as I move towards the wreckage. THRUUM I duck just in time to dodge a giant piece of metal flying off out from the wreckage. I look up to see an extremely dirty Rarity and a perfectly clean Pinkie Pie crawl out from the twisted metal. "GIRLS!" I yell as I hobble over to them, hugging them each tightly. "Thank Celestia you're alright!" "Alright!? Are you mad? Do you see how positively filthy I am!?" Rarity scoffs as she tries wiping off some of the grim. I just laugh and hug her again, glad to have her alive. "Twilight, next time I think we should walk. Trams aren't that fun." Pinkie says as she hugs me again. "YOU GOT THAT RIGHT!" We all look up to see Dust Devil and Rainbow Dash flying down towards us. Dash is using DD for support as her right wing hangs limply to the side. "DASH! Your wing!" I yell as they land. I jump over the tracks, instantly wincing from the pain, but push on to check on her. "It can wait, where's Applejack?" Dash asks as she looks around. The sound of somepony tripping catches our attention as we look over to the left side of the darkness. A metallic tripod with a metal tube on top lights up, revealing True Will and Snow Bound beside a metal table. A computer sits on the table with a small chest underneath it. "So I take it Miles and Applejack aren't with you." True Will says as he helps Snow Bound over, her left claw appears to be broken. I take a look around, noting everypony’s injuries. Cuts, bruises, a couple deep lacerations cover everypony. "Wait, Fluttershy is missing to." I say as I do a head count. "OK everypony, we need to search the wreckage for Applejack, Fluttershy, Storm and Miles..." BANG A hunk of metal falls from the wreckage as a cone of energy erupts from within. Fluttershy staggers out and falls to her side, blood pouring from her hairline and racing down her face. Everypony immediately runs over to check on her. I fire two Medi rounds into her, stopping the bleeding instantly. When I get to her side I look back where she came from to find Miles and Applejack huddle together, unconscious. I run to Applejacks side and immediately begin to fire the Medi-gun into her body. I fire at least six rounds before I drop the gun and press my ear against her chest, listening for a heartbeat. "COME ON AJ FIGHT IT!" I yell as I began pumping her chest, attempting to start her heart. In an instant the lights coming from outside shut off and the room is pitched into darkness. The sound of clicking fills the room as unknown creatures begin to swarm around. Everypony huddles around us as they face away, looking for the threatening creatures. "We need to move to that light!" True Will yells as he points to the tripod. "Get those three and lets move!" I grab them, as well as my rifle, and follow after them. Even though it was only a short gallop, the feeling of long antenna running along my side made it feel like an eternity. When we all make it under the light we turn and began stabbing and shooting into the darkness. Only Rarity, Fluttershy and I have guns, but it's enough fire to reveal our enemies.... cockroaches. Big, disgusting, brown, icky roaches. Hundreds, if not thousands of them all crawling towards us. I take a quick glance around and notice that not everypony is armed. We can't fight them all... "Stop fighting!" I yell as I point my rifle up and fire the Medi-gun, making the dome appear around us. Everypony takes a moment to breath as the roaches begin to investigate the shield with their antenna. "Is that thing doing A.O.E. healing?" Snow Bound asks. I look around and notice everypony’s wounds slowly beginning to heal. "I suppose so... makes sense I guess." I say tiredly as I... THUNK A massive, bloody, sword like appendage slams down onto the top of the dome, sending thick cracks all around. We all try to steal a glance at the creature, but it's too dark to see anything. The appendage rears backs into the darkness to strike again. I don't think this dome can hold against another hit like that... FWUUUUUUUUUM THUD From within the darkness a powerful gust of wind knocks over the large creature, making it scream in pain. All of the roaches around us pause to flail their antenna around before scurrying towards something in the darkness. The sound of powerful gusts erupts, sending winds from all directions as the opponent moves about the room with great speed. "Anypony know who that is?" Purple Edge asks as the fighting begins to die down. "Yeah, it's..." "Storm!" I yell as I see him limp towards us. I drop the shield and run over to his side, catching him before he collapses to the ground. "Storm! Thank goodness you're OK!" It seems that his armor took most of the damage. He has a slight limp, but overall he's OK. "Yeah.... don't go out there. Giant... worm... thing." He huffs as he leans against me. He's a bit heavy, but I bring him over to the light and lay him down to check on him. "Everything OK here?" "Well...." THUD THUD THUD THUD Four more massive beast drop into the darkness. I raise the shield again, but realize that it would be pointless against this many opponents. I'll need to teleport us... EX COENUM TO FAVILLA From above a bright emerald green light crashes down before us and raises its arms. From within the darkness hundreds of tan wisps begin to flow upwards. The sound of hundreds of creatures screaming in pain fills the room as the wisps grow higher and higher. Soon, all of the wisps are collected high in the air and fade away, silencing the room. "Soul fire." I mutter as the green being turned towards us. "You have to help us!" I yell as I drop everything and run up to him. I HAVE NO NEED... "Please! You're the only one who can! Applejack is really hurt! Please, save her!" I beg him. IF THE SOUL WISHES TO LIVE, IT WILL LIVE. "But..." I LEAVE THIS MATTER TO MILES. I HAVE NO NEED TO INTERVENE... "HOW COULD YOU BE SO COLD!" I yell at him as I take a step forward. "Your name may be Soul Fire, but you're as cold as ice!" YOU DARE SPEAK DOWN TO ME AS IF WERE A COMMON... "If you were really the soul of Miles you'd help us in our time of need! And not just with the fighting!" I turn my back on him and take a seat beside Storm. If this really is the soul of Miles, then guilt tripping him should be easy. VERY WELL. BUT WHEN YOU CALL ON ME AGAIN, I MAY NOT ANSWER. Green energy begins whirl around us as Soul Fire begins to race about, leaving a green trail. I try to follow him, but when he starts to move above us as well, I just hold Storm and wait for him to be done. FLASH I blink a few times as I try to register where I am. A drop of snow makes me look up. Outside? How... how did we get out of the dome? Well, we did leave the door open... PURPLE ONE I spin around to see Soul Fire hovering above Miles, arms folded. "Thank you Soul Fire." He nods and phases back into Miles, getting him to stir again. "GAH! Where... where are we? APPLEJACK! WHERE IS SHE!?" Miles yells as he looks around frantically. "Hold yer horses." Everypony looks behind Miles to see AJ standing there, smiling proudly. "Ah ain't goin nowhere! We better hurry though, ah wanna see mah family fer Hearth Warming Eve." In a moment of pure bliss everypony tackles her in a group hug. That was close, but I knew we could do it.... ............................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Unknown I march down the dark hall, pissed off at the news. ALIVE! Our best couldn't even get halfway in there! How could a group of mares do it! It's time we started bucking with that asshole Miles, and I know just how to. "Password?" A guard asks as I approach my destination. "Ursas Cub." I say as I shuffle my shades. He nods and pulls the door open. I step inside and find exactly what I'm looking for. "So, Trixie, ready to cooperate?" She lets out a little whimper as she struggles against her bonds. "P-please... let Trixie..." "Oh now what did we say about that third pony crap?" I ask as I pull the chair she's tied to back. I take a look at her bruised face and chuckle when I see the tears fall from her eyes. "Please.... let me go..." She cries. "Soon enough, but we need to give you something first." I stomp my hoof down, getting the guard to run to my side and present me with a box. "Ready for round three?" Her cries are all I need. I let her fall to the ground as I move back towards the door. "Get her ready for transportation, we're going to Ponyville."
Chapter 159 The Great And Powerful...Chapter 159 ... Ostendere Perspective: Miles Once everyone settles down we take a look around. We're just outside Trottingham, by what looks like a mine entrance. It's the middle of the night and a cold breeze is coming in from the south. It seems like everyone has been healed completely, strange. Twilights Medi-gun must work wonders. She must of teleported us out.... along with the computer and locker! Nice work. "Alright, do we take a look at the message now, or save it for later?" I ask everyone as I move to console. "Do what you want, I'm done here." SubtleShift says as he starts to walk off. "Where you going?" Snow Bound asks him. "Contracts up, I'm outta here. It was... fun? I need a drink." He groans before he takes off for the city. "Well, ah wanna see it. Let play the darn thing." Applejack says as she takes a seat beside me. A round of agreements goes around as everyone takes their seats beside us. I grab the power cord and feed some energy into. "This is military console. Usually these are just for official documents, not emails." I say as I navigate through the files, looking for anything that's not official. "Heh, 'Miles play this' clever." I mutter as I play the message. July 25 1133 "MILES!" Sine yells as he sits before the screen... playing with the multi legged creature in his hand. "Pretty cool, huh?" He asks as he moves his hand to keep the thing on top. "Professor Qui grabbed a shit ton of these weird things on our way here. We ended up getting too close to the surface, had to make a detour to save a downed pilot. A lot of people were pissed that the Captain made the call to save him, but he said we had to. Every life counts at this point." "You know, I feel a little cheated." Sine laughs as he lets the bug crawl onto the table. "Everyone else got two videos, I only get one." He grabs above the screen and moves to the side. The background goes from a plain grey wall to a busy rail station. People are moving around in a frenzy trying to get out of the building. In the distance smoke fills the air as fires blare, guns roar, and explosions tear the air apart. "It took them a little over a month to find and eradicate Jasper. And we know who's behind their sudden success. A monster, unlike anything I've ever seen before. A so called ruler of destruction, and bringer of chaos.... nearly killed me the other day. My magic.. fuck, there isn't anyone who could stand before him. He's too powerful and the Unfamiliar follow him, practically worshiping the guy... fucking asshole..." "We're making for Emerald City. It's the capital so we figure it will be the most fortified. We sent them word, but we're having trouble connecting with them. It seems as if we're talking with two different groups over there. I'm sure we'll get it worked out when we get there." He says as he stands and puts his helmet on. He pulls out his shotgun and looks it over before setting it inside something outside of view, probably the locker. "Last second updates. I don't know if the others have said it, but Auxy had a boy. Little guy’s doing awesome by the way. Eximius found something to keep his time, kind of, a girl. Don't worry, we're pestering him about her like crazy for you. Fidus is... pregnant. That much is clear now. Tenera has lighten up, at least enough to help Fidus with everything she needs. Inficiunt is using, he just won't admit it. And... well, I've been good, given the circumstances." "It's hard to complain honestly. I'm alive, healthy, and still fighting. I've got some heart left, so I'm going for it... just don't what it is. Heh, this must sound confusing to you. But... we'll, keep it between the two of us, but I've got a new cause. Don't freak out, not that kind of new cause. It's... well... I'll tell you this much, she worked as a food processor. Well, that's it for me. Find this, take my gun, and catch up already! We'll be waiting!" The sound of shots being fired pulls him away from the screen, not before he ends the message. I laugh a little. I'm not entirely sure why, but I just start laughing. Soon all of the others start joining me, that is, until the locker clicked open. We all look to each other before I open it and pull the shotgun out. It's a drum fed semi auto twelve gauge, blacked from the super enchantments I placed on it long ago, only now an opening has been made in the stock. Sitting in the opening is the light blue hexagonal gem that I gave to him. "The first level enchantment I put on this a long time ago was a simple recoil buffer. Much like the one I put on Fluttershy's, only this one was much more effective. You could fire this thing one handed.... one sec." I flare my hands as I remove the finger guard and extend the trigger. "Applejack, give it a try." I tell her as I toss it over to her. "Me? What makes ya think it'll do anything with me?" She asks as she fumbles with it, trying to get it right in her hooves. "Call it a hunch, fire at the tree over there. This is a shotgun, so the round will scatter when it leaves the barrel." She nods to me and takes aim at the nearby tree. CRACK KA-BOOM A net of red energy erupts from the barrel and flies out towards the tree, getting wider the farther it goes. When the center hits the tree it wraps the rest of it around and explodes, destroying the tree. Everyone stands there, awestruck. "Well, if anything big comes at us, Applejack will take care of them." I say as I stand up, getting some laughs and chuckles. Applejack just looks down to the gun and nods in admiration. "Lets head out already, we don't want to be late for Hearths Warming Eve." The drive back goes by quickly. We're tired and it's late. I just want to go home, see Luna and Shadow, and go to fucking bed. Everyone else tries to catch some sleep, but because my jeep doesn't have a top the cold keeps them up. Well, except for Snow Bound. She passed out in minutes, must be a griffin thing. Once we make it to Ponyville I start out by dropping Storm and Twilight off by the library. Next is Pinkie Pie at her place, followed with Applejack at hers. "Umm, Miles? Can I ask a favor?" Fluttershy asks as we come to a stop by her cottage. "What do you need?" "Well... feel free to say no, but I was wondering of I could keep the rifle with me to practice later." "You want to practice firing." I repeat. "I also want to categorize the rounds, but if you're uncomfortable with that I'll just make due..." "No, no. It's a good idea. Go ahead, just be careful. It's not a toy, it can kill things next to what you aim at. Remember that." I warn her as she wrestles the gun out of the back. "Of course. I'll make sure to take extra precautions and warn all of the woodland critters before using it. I'll even lock it in my closet when it's not in use, promise!" She says excitedly as she trots to her door. The door opens to reveal Angel. He takes a look towards me and nods once before tapping his foot and pointing at Fluttershy. "Oh... right." She says before entering her home. "What was that about?" Dust Devil asks from the back. "When it comes to Angle, I tend not to question it. Where am I taking the rest of you guys?" I ask as I head towards my place to drop off Dash. "We'll head out when you get home, don't worry about us." Snow Bound says as she takes the front seat. "Was that bunny pissed?" "Probably." I shrug. I drive to my place and wave Dash, Snow Bound, and Purple Edge off as they take off. "See you guys later..." "Uh... Miles, can I talk to you?" I turn around to find Nightfury sitting on my porch, a few cuts and bruises covering his forelegs. "Also, your pets are mean." "What are you doing here?" I ask him as we all approach him. "Well.... I went back to the barracks to turn in, but since I wouldn't give any Spartan training secrets away.... I was... dishonorably discharged." She says with a bit a malice. "You too?" True Will asks with a bit of a chuckle. "Yeah, same thing but with the Ursas for us. Though I suspect that they thought we'd die back there..." "Wait, they new about that city? Do they know where any others are?" "Not that I know of. They only knew that one because the miners found it." Well fuck. "So Miles... can we crash at your place for awhile?" Dust Devil asks. "Of course. My home is always open to Spartans. There's a spare room up the stairs to the right. You two can fight over my bed tonight. I'll just steal Shadows." "Who's Shadow?" Night Fury asks. "ME!" I look back in time to see Shadow leap into my arms, tackling me in a hug. "YOU DID IT, YOU DID IT! YOU MADE IT BACK FOR HEARTHS WARMING EVE!" "I told you I would." I say as the other chuckle. Shadow bombards me with a tirade of questions as we all head inside. It's good to be back. Perspective: Rain Cloud 6:32 AM SLAM I jolt awake as the front door slams shut. It's.... it's six in the morning! Wait... six in the morning... and with no guards... *gasp*! ROBBERS! Robbers have broken into our home and are going to steal our things! I quickly jump out of my cot and run to Breakers cot, shaking him awake. "Uuuhhgg.... Mom? What's up? It's... six thirty in the morning." He groans as he rolls over to face me. "Breaker, there's somepony in the house!" I tell him in a hushed tone. "Breaker wake up! There's somepony..." "Ponyville has the lowest crime rate in Equestria. Not to mention the guard here actually do their job... most of the time at least. Besides, who steals from a library?" He mumbles as he tries to go back to sleep. Lazy flank. I look between my own bed and the stairs and decide to go check for myself. I'll never go back to sleep if I don't. I take the stairs to the top where I peer out the door. Everything seems alright, nothing out of the ordinary. I can hear Spike snoring lightly in the back. I step out and head to the other doorway where I see him. I can't make out due to the darkness, but it looks as if he has something large on his back. Probably his goody bag of stolen priceless heirlooms! In a panic I run back down stairs and violently shake Breaker, accidentally pushing him out off bed. "Breaker! I saw him! He's inside heading up stairs! Breaker!" I tell him as he slowly gets up. "Uhg, what? Really?" He says as he walks over to the stairs. I rush behind him, almost crashing into him, and follow closely up the stairs. We make it to the top and peer out together, seeing the dark figure walk out from the stairway. The figure moves up to the upstairs bed where it drops something on one side, walks to the other side, and falls onto it's side. Confused, Breaker and I tip-hoof our way up to the bed, where we both sigh in relief. "See, nothing to worry about." Breaker says as he points to the unconscious, snoring Cloud. "Whew... alright. Lets remove their gear so they can sleep comfortably." He lets out a sigh as he moves to unbuckle Clouds' leggings. I move around to Twilight and carefully start taking her bags, trying my best not to wake them. They seem so tired, I doubt anything would wake them, but it's the thought that counts. "I'm surprised they made it out of the living city." Breaker mumbles. "The... what?" I ask him, making him freeze. "Did you know what was down there Breaker." "I knew rumors." He says quickly as he yanks Clouds' chest piece off. He lets out another snore as his face drags against the metal. "Well you should have told them. Any piece of information could help." I tell him as I tuck Twilight under the sheets. "It could save them..." "Nothing can save anypony... not while Death is out there." He grumbles as he tosses the last of his armor aside. "In the end, it won't matter..." "I've heard enough of that kind of talk." I tell him sternly. He folds a bit at my words, lowering his head as he looks away. I move over to him and wrap my arms around him. "Miles, Celestia, all of the other nations are working together to stop him. You don't need to worry, everything will be OK." "I hope so." He grumbles as he returns the hug. "I.. also hope they stay away from Solitude..." "Where?" I ask him. He deflates again as I stare him down. "Breaker..." "Over in Zebrica, there's a rumor of a city known as Solitude. It's said to be deep within the earth with a single occupant. The doors are open to any who can find their way there, but none ever return." "... w-why don't they return?" I ask wearily. "I don't know, nopony has ever survived to tell anypony." He says as he looks back to Storm. "If they try to go, we have to stop them..." "But..." "No buts. I don't want Storm Cloud going there. The journey itself is... what?" He asks me. I just keep smiling as he stares at me oddly. "You care about your big brother." I say as I hug him tightly. He lets out an annoyed sigh and begins to drag me downstairs to bed. I knew in time he'd open up in time... "Do you hear that?" I ask him. We both pause at the stairs as we hear hoof steps coming from the front stairs. We see an all white unicorn with long beautiful purple hair march right into the bedroom. Breaker and I glance to each other as we watch her head straight for Spikes bed.... "No..." "Oh my..." We both mutter as the mare, Rarity I think, climbs over him, pull him up to wake him, and plant a deep.... forceful... wet kiss on his lips. FWOOSH Spike flails his arms about as his around as his wings shoot straight back. He fights it a bit longer before relaxing enough to cup Rarity's face, kissing her back with an equal amount of passion. The kiss lasts for what feels like forever until they finally break to breath. "Rarity..." "Spike... I... well..." "That wasn't very lady like." Spike jokes, getting her to giggle. "But I'll forgive you for another kiss." SPIKE! You little player! "Is that your greed growing? Don't make me put you in your place..." "AHEM!" I cough, getting their attention. Even though its dark, their cheeks burn bright enough to see. "Well, this is.... odd. But it is late and Spike should be going back to bed..." "O-of course!" Rarity stammers as she flops off the bed. "Uh... let us never speak of this again..." "That would be best." Breaker says as he heads down the stairs to our room. "Spike, why don't you walk Rarity home." I tell him, getting a confused look from him. "Don't worry, I'll be up when you get back. And you will come back immediately, right?" "Right!" He says as he jumps up and begins to escort Rarity out. I hold him at the stairs and wait for Rarity to be out of earshot. "She's lovely." I tell him. "Huh?" "Now, you are my son’s son, so let me give you a family secret..." "Huh?" "Keep her safe, and she'll keep you strong. Listen to her and respond the way you feel is best. Be yourself and you'll do fine." ".... HUH?!" "Oh Spike, it's rude to keep a lady waiting." Rarity chimes from below. I give him a quick hug before shooing him out. "*sigh*.... I finally get to be a grandma...... a little bittersweet." I mutter before heading to bed. Hopefully he won't do anything stupid.... can dragons get mares pregnant? Perspective: Spike After my.... confusing talk with Rain Cloud I step outside and begin walking Rarity home. We stay quiet for a bit, I'm still reeling from the kiss that woke me up. I can't believe she actually kissed me! I think I even got some tongue... though I'm not entirely sure... "Spike," Rarity starts, breaking the silence between us. "I'm sorry for the sudden intrusion..." "It's alright Rarity..." "No, it was primal and beastly and I don't want you thinking I'm that kind of mare. What we have... I don't want to ruin it." "Rarity, nothing you could do would make me feel any different about you.You'll always be the generous, beautiful, talented mare that... that..." "That?" She asks as we face each other in front of Carousel Boutique. I take a look around the dark streets before kneeling before her. "That I love you." My cheeks begin to burn as I try to keep a serious face on. After all this time hiding my feelings for her and I finally tell her the truth. She gives me a warm smile as she takes a step towards me, cheeks burning just a bright as my own. "Spike, when we first met, you were just a little dragon, Twilights number one assistant. Now... I don't know anymore. You've grown, both physically and mentally. You've always been there for me and all I can say to your loving to me is... I love you to." She rears up to drape her forelegs on my shoulders as she leans forward to kiss me. I put a claw on her back and pull her close as I use my other claw to scoop her into my lap. I sigh into her as I let my claws explore her soft body a bit. Her white fur practically melts under my fingers as I move up her leg and up to her cutie mark... BOOT I fall to my side as something slams into my head. For a few seconds the world turns blurry as diamonds swirl around my head. I blink a few times before shaking my head and looking up to see my attacker. "*gulp* Hi.... Touch Down." I mumble as Rarity’s father walks up to us, looking displeased. "I hope you weren't planning on doing anything with my daughter." He says, his thick accent making it a little difficult to understand. "Father, I am a grown mare and I will not be treated like a foal." Rarity says as she stands up to face him. "I would also appreciate if you didn't use my work as a projectile." "Sorry 'bout that deary, why don't you.." "We." Rarity corrects. "... right. Why don't we head inside then." He says before glance back to me, giving me the stink eye. "Of course. Good night Spike. I shall see you at Miles' little gathering." Rarity says before trotting inside. Touch Down gives me another glare before walking after her, shutting the door and locking it. I sigh deeply before getting up and walking home. Fifteen minutes ago I was warm in my bed, sleeping, now I'm getting death glares from the stallion of my... my... "I'VE GOT A MAREFRIEND!" I excitedly announce to the world as I jump up and take to the air... before reality hit me. "I have a marefriend.... I need romantic advice..... MILES!" I yell as I start to fly towards his place in desperation. Perspective: Big Mac *SNOOOOORE SNOOOOORE SNOOO-THUD I wake up a second before face planting on the floor. With a tired groan I get to my hooves... "Big Mac, why are you here?" I look up and freeze for a moment when I see Fluttershy standing before me. She looks tired, and all of the gear she has seems to be weighing her down. "Shy ah..." "Shouldn't you be on the farm? Getting ready for the day?" She asks before heading to the stair. I run after her, keeping right on her tail. "Ah wanted ta be here when ya got back..." "Well I'm back." She snaps back as she flies up the stairway. I run up and chase her into her bedroom, finding her struggling to out the massive rifle into her closet. I run over and catch it before it falls and set it inside. Before she could walk away or say another word I grab her and pull her into a tight hug. She struggles a bit, but is stuck. "Ah'm sorry." "For?" She asks bitterly as she continues to struggle under my arms. "Ah wish ah had told ya sooner about Granny. Ah really meant to, but... it was still new to me. Ah didn't know how ta handle the information, so ah... ah went out fer a drink. Ah tried to bury mah troubles... and.... ah'm so sorry Shy. It didn't mean anything ta me, honest! Ah don't want ta lose ya Shy... ah'm not strong enough to go on without you." "Big Mac." She says as she moves a hoof to my cheek, wiping a tear away. "I'm not going anywhere... I'm just disappointed." "Ah know." I chuckle as I loosen my grip on her. "So.... do ya fergive me?" I ask nervously. She thinks about it, putting on a cute smile as she looks away from me. "Only on one condition." She tells me. "Anything." "I want to be more public about our marriage." "... really?" "I'm tired of ponies not knowing we're together, that's what caused all of this in the first place. I want us to be able to go anywhere and not have to worry about other ponies trying to get the better of us." She tells me with a determined look on her face. I chuckle a bit as I hug her tightly again, getting her to hug me back. "Ah think that massive rifle is getting to yer head Shy, ah don't think I've ever seen you this confident before..." "Oh! I'm not turning into a monster again, am I?" She asks nervously. "There's my mare." I say before leaning down to kiss her. She pushes back against my lips as I lift her up, moving to her bed. I lay her on her back as I get on top, being careful not to put all of my weight on her. "Are ya ready?" "... yes. Yes, I'm ready. Go ahead whenever you are." She reassures me. Judging by my aching member I'd say ah am so I lean back down to kiss her to give my answer. As our tongues dance around each others I feel my member stiffen between the two of us, reaching its peak as Fluttershy chews on my bottom lip. I let out a deep moan as she we play with each others lips. I just hope she doesn't go overboard... like she usually does. I lift up a bit to line myself with her entrance, getting a soft moan from her as I press the tip against it. We share a glance before I push in, making her squirm. I close my eyes and relish in the feeling. I push as deep as I can go, and hold it there, letting her adjust to me. I nuzzle her cheeks as she pants a bit. I don't want to sound prideful, but I don't think she'll ever get used to my thickness. "OK, you can move it now." She tells me as she holds onto my forelegs. "Just take it easy." Easy... you say that now. I pull back to her entrance and push back in, burying myself completely. I tense up from the friction, but repeat the action anyway, bring my hip down onto her flanks. Keeping a slow, methodical pace, a keep my hips moving as I run a hoof over her body. "M-maybe a bit harder, please." She asks cutely. I roll my eyes and begin to move with a bit more power. I know exactly how this is going to end; but if it's what she likes, it's what she likes. I set the pace, going twice as fast now, as I hold her rear legs up for better support. With every slap of my hip I get an eager pant from Fluttershy. her cheeks are really starting to burn as she bites a hoof. "Squeeze my teat!" She demands. "Wha..." "SQUEEZE MY TEAT!" And there it is. Obligating her demands I reach between her legs and take one of her teats in my hoof. I give it a rough squeeze before letting go to grope it some more. With another squeeze I get a pleasure filled moan from Shy as she twists in euphoria. I don't think I'll ever get why she likes these kind of things, not that i'm complaining. I'd never admit it to anypony, but... things get fairly hot sometimes. "Harder!" She demands. A little confused, I decide to do both; squeezing her teat with more force as I begin to slam my member inside her. At this pace I begin to grunt with every thrust forward, mixing with her pants. I can feel a cool layer of sweat starting to form over myself as I push and pull with her writhing body. "Flip over!" I tell her as I quickly pull out and force her over. She immediately lifts her rear underneath me, tail swishing back and forth, as her wings obscure my peripheral vision. I take a hold of her wings and yank them back as I push myself back inside. She lets out a loud growl of pleasure as she arches back to look me in the eyes. I stare back into her lustful eyes as I continue to pound into her, edging closer and closer to my finish. "Pull my mane." She tells me. "Bite my neck, chew my ear, spank my flank, DO ANYTHING! Just make sure I feel it." My little masochist, I know she really wants it, but I have to make sure to keep it in line. I don't want to actually hurt her. Tending to her needs, I lean forward and bite on her ear; pulling back so her heads completely up. She lets out a yell of approval and tugs back. I let it go before any damage could be done and move down to grip her neck. "AAAHH YES!" She screams as she shakes underneath me, getting close to her finish. SMACK "YES! AGAIN! PLEASE..." SMACK "AH BUCK MY TIGHT LITTLE..." SMACK "A-AH! C'mon, turn my flank redder then your coat you bucking s-stud." "Ah'm gettin close Shy..." "Inside, I want it inside!" She demands, I plant my hooves on her shoulders as I begin to furiously thrust into her, feeling the floodgates start to crumble away. "AAAH YES!" She screams as she hits her climax clamping down on my member and pushing me over the edge. With a final push I bury myself inside her and release within her. Our juices mix together as we both ride our orgasms out. After a few spurts I give a couple huffs to catch my breath before pulling out to look at my work. Her passage is spread with as my spunk slowly seeps out. "D-don't stare.. p-please." "Sorry." I say as I fall to her side. She falls along with me and snuggles up against me, nuzzling my chin as she sighs contently. "Did... did I go overboard again?" She asks nervously. "Ya tried." "Oh... did... did I warn you about being in heat?" "Yer in heat?" "Y-yes." She says as she quietly as she moves closer to me. I sigh a bit, but wrap a hoof around her anyway. "So... a colt or a filly?" "You're not mad?" She asks as she moves to look me in the eyes. "Why would I be mad?" "I was so mean to you earlier..." "An then we had sex. Ah'm a stallion Shy. I'll get over it, just.. lets try ta stop the lies." I tell her as I rub her back. "I promise." "So, a filly or a colt?" I ask again. "Hmm... I think a little filly would be wonderful..." "Ah think a colt could do some good. Help even out the house a bit." I joke. "Either way, if it's ours, I'd be happy." She says as she relaxes against me. "Me too." Perspective: Miles 10:32 AM "... and then bam, you've made yourself a new spear." I tell Spike as I finish my lesson on metal working. As soon as I got home Shadow kept me up with a constant bombardment of questions until Spike arrived. I guess I'll be sleeping tomorrow. To make things worse, Spike wanted romantic advice! I avoided the question by giving him a lesson on forging elements instead. Hes given it a couple tries and is doing... OK at it. It's his first time, so I go easy on him when he messes up. Shadow tried to listen in on our lesson, but ended up exploring my shop instead. "OK, I think I've got it... now about Rarity, my dad gave me some advice awhile back..." "OK, I'll give you one piece of advice. Storm is my best friend, and I love him as so, but... he's kind of a whore. Try and take things slow if you want it to mean something." "... is there a way of taking things quickly and..." "Oh sweet Barbra." I yell before setting the spear inside the weapon locker. "Who is Barbra?" Shadow asks from the back. THUD "Miles!" True Will yells as he drops into the shop. "There's some trouble up in Ponyville, you should come see this." He says before flashing out. "You, watch after Shadow while I go check things out. DON'T LEAVE THIS SHED UNLESS I SAY SO!" I yell before leaping out. I step out of the shed and follow after True Will towards Ponyville. I can see a few houses floating around above the town already... this can't be good. "Some mare showed up and started challenging Twilight to some kind of rematch, and she's been kicking her ass at it. Her power levels have to be... at least past ten thousand." True Will informs me as we enter the town, weaving our way through the crowded streets. Groups of ponies are trying to either get to or away from the library, making it a bit harder to get through. "Any idea if she's with the darkness?" I ask as we near an open circle in the crowd. "Not a clue..." "MUAHAHAHAHA! Your feeble attempts to redeem yourself are futile Twilight Sparkle! Now watch as the GREAT AND POWERFUL..." "What the fuck is going on here!" I demand as I step into the opening. Before me I see a tired and exhausted Twilight facing off with a light blue unicorn with silver hair and a mark of a wand and magic. She's wearing a pointy hat and cape that is dotted with stars and crescent moons along with a black necklace going around her neck. I freeze up when I see a light blue hexagon gem holding her cape together... it looks... familiar. "Do not interrupt Trixie when she is scolding her foes!" The mare, Trixie yells as she flares her horn and makes a mouse icon appear before me. It clicks my mouth, drags it to a trash can, and deletes it. "MMMMM! MMMFF MMMMM!" I yell as I try to open my mouth. That was trans-dimensional magic! That is some really hard shit to do... did she make a mouse icon!? "Now, as Trixie was saying, watch as the Great and Powerful Trixie turns your little friends into mere playthings." She sneers as she lifts the girls into the air and begins to juggle them around. Twilight tries to use her magic, but falls to her side as she faints from exhaustion. "TWILIGHT!" Storm yells as he runs to aid her, only to be lifted up by Trixie as well. "Let me go you bitch!" "Now, now, now. What a filthy mouth you have.... you dog." She says before zapping him with some kind of dark energy, turning him into a diamond dog. The crowd gasps as she sets him down, a few people fainting. Storm looks over his body before fainting himself. OK, I've had enough. I take a step forward and push my magic to my back, burning my shirt off and getting Trixie’s attention. I bring my hands before my mouth and begin to pull the dimension apart, bringing my mouth back to it's rightful place. I give a few test bites before stepping before Trixie and readying my hands for combat... "WAIT!" Spike yells from the side as he flies down beside me. "You can't be serious." Trixie says as she rolls her eyes and begins to inspect her hoof. "SPIKE! I told you to watch Shadow!" "I know, but..." "NO BUTS! Get back there..." "You need to get the necklace off of her!" He yells as he points to her. "It's what's making her so powerful and evil..." "FOAL!" Trixie yells before chuckling to herself. "Do you forget that Trixie has to be the one to remove the Alicorn Amulet? Nopony will make me remove this necklace as long as Twilight Sparkle lives! Now..." "If you want to hurt her, then you'll have to get past me." I say as I flare my hands. "Spike," I whisper to him, "thanks for the heads up. Now get everyone out of here." "OK." He says before running over to the crowd and begins to order them away. Trixie and I stare each other down as the crowd backs off, no one willing to leave but giving us more room. "You know Trixie will never take this amulet off..." "I'm challenging you to a test of magic." I cut her off, making her laugh. "Oh? And if you win, what? I remove my..." "If I win, I get that gem on your cape." I say, making her lose her confidence for a second. "M-my... NO! Pick something else!" She demands as she holds her head up and looks away. "And if I lose... well, let's just say being the leader of the worlds most powerful country has it's perks." I say, getting her to glance back to me. "What do you say? You in, or you afraid of losing?" She bites her lip as she levitates the gem up to look over. "Well... Trixie has no fear of losing. Very well, a test of magic before the rise of the Great and Powerful Trixie!" She says before rearing up and setting some fireworks off behind her. "OK, but set everything you changed back to normal before we begin. Set the bars even you know?" I say as I roll my shoulders. I'm a little worried about burning out from all of the non-combatant magic, but I need to see that gem. With a simple flash of her horn the buildings and pegasi go back to their appropriate spots as Storm turns back into a pegasus. "Ladies first." I say as I motion towards Trixie. She stars out my making a cloud appear above me, zapping me with a bolt of lightning. With the extra energy coursing through me, I lift my hands up and send all of the snow on the ground into the air, where I force it together into a gigantic ice block in the shape of a bolt of lightning. I drop the ice above Trixie, forcing her to teleport out of the way. The crowd cheers for me as Trixie collects herself, glaring at the town. "Impressive, but lets try something a little more impressive them elemental magic." Trixie says as she lifts.... "SHADOW!" I yell as she brings her over before herself. "Daddy!" She yells as she tries to break out of Trixies grasp. "Oh? An adopted foal? Perhaps you'd like it..." "If you touch even one hair on her body, I'll tear your soul out and feed you to a demon. PUT. HER. DOWN." I warn her as I toss my arm out, making the Laminis Lux. "Are... are those the Elements of Harmony?" She asks as she sets Shadow down. She runs behind me and cowers in fear. "Yes, now...." "I'll be taking those. Don't want you having any unfair advantages, now do we?" She says as she envelopes me in her aura. I feel her magic begin to force the elements from my forearm, prying them from me. I push my hands out and start to feed my own energy into hers, forcing my way into her mind from a distance. A magical tug-a-war begins as we each try for our own destinations. If she gets the elements first, I'll drop in energy and lose. But if I can get in her mind.... I push more and more energy past her mental walls and break in. I have no idea if I'm too late, but I begin to read through all of her memories as I look for a way to defeat her. She is an orphan, her mother died when she was very little. The cape and hat are all she has left... a family heirloom... She travels all over Equestria... alone... No friends... No companions... She uses the third person thing to feel less alone, as if someone would care enough to talk about her... She made a mistake here, in Ponyville. She ran from it... though it never left her.... She was taken captive! By the Ursas... tortured for almost a month... She was sent here to teach me a lesson... the Ursas are pissed.... "AAAH!" I yell as I feel my connection snapped off. I open my eyes to find myself laying on the ground, staring straight up into the sky. I sit up to see Trixie walking up to me... holding a multi colored wand in one hoof.... "The elements." I mutter as I look down to my bare arm. "Yes, now watch as the Great and ALL POWERFUL Trixie turn you to stone!" She yells before waving the wand in the air and pointing it to me. A massive wave of sparkling energy erupts from the wand and shoots right for me. THWUM "MUAHAHAHAHAHA! I USED THE ELEMENTS! I'M ALL POWERFUL! I..." "Didn't do anything." I say as I get to my feet. I look myself over and sure enough, no stone. Nothing. I look up and smirk as Trixes jaw lays on the floor. "Wh... ho.... huh?" Is all she can muster. I just laugh as I reach out towards her, I wonder. I call out to the elements, feeling their energy call back. The wand shakes out of her hoof and breaks mid air before collecting back on my forearm, just as they were before. "My turn." I flare my hands and toss them above my head, sending a column of energy up from underneath Trixie. She flies up into the air, and into a portal I made appear before her. She flies in and disappears with the portal. I quickly make another one appear by the library, wincing as the magic makes my skin burn. She flies out of it and crashes on the floor before me, but I'm not done just yet. I jump forward and make a slab of earth appear before Trixie. I make a clear surface appear before her and send her into a trance, keeping her attention completely on the mirrored reflection. "Now... look at yourself. Your life. What are you?" I ask as I walk around her, making sure to keep the energy on the mirror. I'm playing all of her memories for her, trying to see if there's any good in her. "I... I.... NO! I... must resist..." She says as she tries to look away. "What pushes you? Why are you Trixie?" I ask as I try focusing on memories of her family, though there aren't many. "Is it her? Are you afraid of disappointing her?" "NO! I... you can't disappoint somepony who's only in your head!" She says as she start to pull away, taking a few steps back. I need something else. "What about your friendships, the lack there of? Is it because you're afraid of having friends? Or is it because you don't have any?" "Trixie doesn't need any friends! Trixie is friend enough! Other ponies don't understand! They only laugh and tease Trixie as she starves and fights to make a living! Friends can rot as they fear me and my new power!" She yells back as she takes a step forward. Found it. "Doesn't it bother you that, no matter how hard you try, no one cares about you? You will never be good enough for them, that is why you fear them. Because you can't face the rejection...." "NO! Trixie isn't a bad pony! Trixie... Trixie can change..." She cries as she takes another step towards the mirror, just a few more. "You'll never amount to anything! You'll never be good enough! You will die, alone, with no one to blame other than TRIXIE!" "STOP! STOP, PLEASE STOP! I DON'T WANT TO DIE ALONE! I..." Just one more step... "FACE IT! FACE THE REALITY OF YOUR LIFE! YOU ARE NOTHING! THIS POWER DOESN'T BELONG TO YOU! YOU DON'T DESERVE FRIENDSHIP! NO LOVE! NO REMORSE! ONLY A ROAD FILLED WITH CRUSHED DREAMS AND AN UNDYING LONELINESS!" "NNOOOOOOOO!" She yells before stepping into the mirror. She walks into her reflection and disappears in the glass. The glass shines brightly as the energy begins to purge her of the cursed object. I sigh in relief and release my magic, returning Laminis Lux to its crystal form on my arm. I look around to see all of the ponies gaping at me, wide eyed. "Sorry about that people." I apologies to them as I face them. "It's how I needed to purge her. She'll be fine in a minute." "Uh... Master." Spike says as he offers me his red scarf, looking away. I glance down and sigh as I take the scarf to cover myself up. Of course I would forget that Laminis Lux would burn my clothes off, ALL OF THEM! I glance over to Shadow and wince as I see her facing away from me. "Did she see anything?" I ask Spike. "I turned her around and covered her eyes." He says as he rubs the back of his head, looking everywhere but at me. "But... yeah, that was still pretty intense." "You don't create the Elements of Chaos without learning how to bring out the worse in somebody." I tell him as I look back to the girls. They're huddled around Twilight, making sure she's OK. "What kind of spell was that?" Spike asks as he looks to the glowing mirror. "Veritas Speculum." I tell him. "A truth mirror. It brings you to your greatest fear and forces you to confront them... OK everyone can go home now!" I yell to the crowd, getting a collective 'aw' in response. "Get out of here, go be with your families!" I yell as the disbursing crowd. "Spike, go check on Storm while I check on Shadow." "Got it!" He says before running to his side. I walk up behind Shadow and stand there awkwardly. I seriously hope she didn't see... "Daddy..." "Yes Shadow?" "Are.... are they all that small?" "I'M NOT LITT.... *sigh* yes. For humans at least." I say, feeling defeated. "Oh... I'm going home now...." "Yes, I'll be there later... clothed!" I add quickly. She nods and begins walking down dirt road, being extra careful not to look back. THUD I spin back to see Trixie laying on the ground in front of the slab of earth. I was a little apprehensive to approach her at first, but once I heard her sobs I walked right up to her and sat beside her. She looks over to me, tears soaking her cheeks, before removing the amulet from her neck. "I'll hold onto that." I say quietly as I take it. She just turns away from me and curls into a ball, crying to herself. "I'm sorry about what I said earlier..." "Just leave me alone!" She wails through her tear. "I... I want to be alone." "We both know that's not true. Look, I want to start over with you. Meet the real you. My name is Miles Eremita." "M-Miles? Can you do me a favor Miles?" She asks as she stops crying, well, slightly at best. "Sure, what do you need?" "Leave me alone." She says flatly as she gets to her hooves. "Everypony that talks to me learns to hate me... I don't want to risk that with you.... I'll be going before the town tries to..." "Hold on." I say as I reach out and grab her cape. "I won, so I get to see that gem of yours..." "What! Please, no! I can't lose this! It's the only..." "I know, it's the only thing you have of your mothers. I was in your head, I know. I just want to see it for a second, I'll give it back right afterwards." I tell her calmly. If it's what I think it is... I need to stay calm. "Y...you promise to give it back." She says as she lifts her cape off. "I promise, and I never break my promises." Well... most of the time at least. Sorry Inficiunt. She looks around a bit before relinquishing the cape to me. I take it and immediately go to the gem, feeding some energy into it and making the picture of my unit appear. "I knew it! I fucking knew!" I yell as Trixie does a double take. "Wh.... how did you do that?" She asks nervously. "Because you're the distant relative of my best friends Dolum and Auxy Ostendere! That's how!"
Chapter 160 Hearths Warming EveChapter 160 Hearths Warming Eve "How does... wait, what?" She asks as she stares at the photo. "Was that research you did on your family accurate?" I ask as I toss her the cape. "How did you know..." "I was in your head. Was it accurate?" I ask again. She blinks a few times before nodding. "Yes.... what are you by the way?" She asks as she takes a seat before me. "Right, haven't heard that question in a while, I'm human. My people lived in massive underground cities but where wiped out by a race of aliens. I was sent three thousand years into the future during the destruction of my home city, Topaz Falls." I tell her confidently. She eyes me a bit, trying to gauge if I'm insane or not. "OK... you're a hairless, insane, ape, great." She concludes. "What's an ape?" I ask as the others suddenly start surrounding me. "Miles! you got the amulet off of her, good job!" Twilight yells. "Way to go Miles!" "Excellent work!" They all start congratulating me, ignoring Trixie as she gets up and begins to walk away. I get to my feet, being sure to cover up, and let them know I was going to have a word with Trixie; alone. "Hey, wait up!" I yell as I run up to her. "Don't you want to be with your 'friends'. *sigh* just leave me alone Miles Eremita." She says as she continues to walk away. "Sorry, no can do. So, assuming the information is accurate, we should head down to Roam..." "What? I'm not going to Roam..." "But it's where your information said your latest recorded ancestor was." I say as we head through the market, getting many odd looks from everyone. Well, I am naked after all... fuck it. "Yes, but I've been there before..." "Oooooh, right. The current Roam and the past Roam are two different cities." "How did you know that?" She asks as she comes to stop. "I've been in your head. I know what you know." I say as I get an evil idea to prove that I know her mind. "Like, I know you had a secret crush on this one guy...." "NO I DIDN'T!" She yells as she begins to blush. "But he turned out gay so now you think all guys are gay, but secretly kind its of kinky..." "DO NOT!" She yells as she looks around, blushing even deeper. "You've traveled almost all over Equestria, performing little magic shows for people; which you've been doing wrong by the way..." "My special talent IS magic tricks, I know what I'm doing." She defends. "A magic user using magic isn't interesting. No one wants to pay to watch a unicorn use magic, it's redundant. Here, let me show you a trick that your great great great... that your ancestor taught me. Do you have a deck of cards?" "Card tricks?" She asks flatly. "Five credits say it gets a crowd to cheer." I say with a confident smile. She stares at me for a second before flaring her horn, making a deck of cards appear before me. "You're on." She says as she moves to my side and waits. Hmm... these feel like they're made of a different material... oh well. Lets see if I can do this without fucking up... like I usually do. "Alright, alright, alright! Come see if your minds can fathom the great Terridisian shuffle. Who thinks they can out smart me! Come one come all! Who wants to have their minds blown!" I yell to the ponies as they move about the market. A couple look to each other before shrugging and coming over to me. "The... Terradisian shuffle? What's that?" The mare asks eagerly as the stallion just rolls his eyes. "Alright, a quick shuffle annnnnnd, pick a card." I say as I fan the cards out for her, facing her. They look to each other before she takes a card and looks it over. "Alright, don't show me that card." I say as I begin to shuffle again. "Are we really waiting for a stupid card trick?" The stallion complains, getting a playful nudge from the mare. "Alright, is this your card?" I ask as I show them the top card. "We still have our card." "No? Hmm... OH! Then its this card." I say as I show then the bottom card. "..... no." "Fuck it, I give up." I say as I toss the deck into the air. I take a step back and sigh as all of the cards rain down around the couple. "Well, glad to see that was a complete waste of..." "Wait... look." The mare says as she picks up a random card. "This is my card... no... they're all my card." She says as they start looking over all the falling cards. I smirk to Trixie as they start fawning over how each card somehow turned into her card. She just rolls her eyes and watches, slightly interested. I'm just glad I did it right this time. "Alright, are you sure these are your cards?" I ask as I flare my hands and pull all of the cards back into my hands, turning my magic off before I grab them. "Yeah, three of diamonds." The mare says happily. "Really? This isn't your card?" I say as I slap the top card and reveal it. It's a king of hearts, but with her stallion as the king. They both laugh and cheer, stomping their hooves on the ground. A few random bystanders walk over to see what all the ca-motion is about. "No wait, this is your card." I say as I pull the bottom card, revealing the queen of hearts. They cheer again as I look at the mare on the card and frown. "OK, this trick isn't going very well... wait a minute! Give me your card so I can shuffle it in!" I say as I take their card, not looking at it, and shuffle it inside. The crowd giggles a bit and waits for me to finish shuffling. I take a low stance and ready my hand over the top card, eying the crowd as I hover just above it. "You ready?" I ask the couple. "Yeah!" The mare says excitedly. "This is your card!" I say as I flip the top card. They all laugh, making me look at it. "I take it the joker isn't your card." "Nope." The giggle as I deflate a bit. "How about... THIS ONE!" I say as I flip the bottom one. They laugh harder now, making me look at the joker. "That's it, I give up!" I yell as I toss the cards at a nearby window. Cards fly everywhere as I walk over beside the window and lean against the wall. And now I wait. "No way..." The stallion mutters as he walks over to the window. "That's our card." "Really?" I ask as I look over to see the card sticking to the window. "Are you sure?" "Posit... what the?" He reached up to grab it, only to have his hoof slide over the glass. "How did you do that!?" He asks as he taps the glass, making the card fall inside the building. "Magic." I say before walking away. The small crowd gives a round of applause as Trixie and I walk down the market street. we make it to the edge of town before she says anything to me. "How did you do that?" "I already told you, magic." I say smugly. "But... you didn't use any magic to change the cards...." "Yeah I did." I say, getting a confused look from her. "I can set my heels on fire too. So while I distracted them with the wrong cards, I enchanted the others to be the one they took..." "How did you know what card they took?" She asks. I pause for a moment to smirk at her. NOW I get why I always got this answer... "Magic." She does a double take as I walk off chuckling to myself. "How did you do it?!" She asks again as she runs after me. I lust laugh as I make my way home. Three thousand years apart and she's just like Dolum and Auxy. We make our way out to the park and take the path to my house... well I do at least. Trixie is just trying to figure out how I did the trick... "Hey Miles!" I look behind me to see Damian and two of his friends walking up behind me. "Nice ass." "Why thank you Damian, I knew you'd like my male ass." I say as I face him, getting his friends to snicker as he just shakes his head. "Glad you could make it Damian. CC. Uh.... you..." "Patches." He says bitterly. "Right, Patches. Let me introduce you all. Trixie, this is Damian, a fellow lieutenant of the Spartans and these are his friends, CC and Patches. Guys, this is Trixie." "Hello." Trixie says quietly as she eyes all of them. "Hey. So where is everyone? Were we late? Did I beat Night Fury here?" Damian asks as he glances around the park. "Dude, it's not even eleven. I didn't really expect people to start showing up till seven... and actually, no. Night Fury doesn't have a place to live anymore so he's crashing here until further notice." I tell him. CC and Patches both take a moment to glare at Damian as he just sighs in annoyance. "Well, then we're here to help set up!" CC declare as she steps forward. "What do you need of us?" "You don't have to do any...." "No ,no ,no. We're here early, so we're going to help. All of us. What do you need." She pushes. "Not me, I can't go in there with that filly there." Patches says as he drops down to lay on the dirt path. "Have fun cleaning." "Hmm.... you know what, yeah. I'll take your help. CC if you and Damian could get started with getting the food ready I'd appreciate it. If there's no food in the fridge I'll give you some money to go get some groceries. True Will and Dust Devil said they would help with the cleaning, mainly because there isn't that much. Patches, just hang out near the front porch for awhile. I think I've got something for you." "Lets go." CC says as she trots off for my place. Damian glances towards me before quickly taking after her. "Well, I guess this is where I..." "Oh no you don't." I tell Trixie as she tries to walk off. "But..." "Nope. You're sticking around for Hearths Warming Eve." I tell her as I begin to walk home. "But..." "We both know you have no where else to go and, I know you could at least use a good meal. Now either you stay and be friendly with everyone or I tie you up in chair and force feed you, your choice." ".... *sigh* fine. But only because I'm st.... hungry...." "Three days without eating and you're only hungry." I say as I glance back to her. She blushes as avoids my gaze, mumbling something under her breath. "Don't worry, we'll get some food in you before people start showing up..." "And what makes you think I'm staying after getting some food." She says as she quickens her pace. "Because I'm asking you to." I say smugly as I walk ahead of her. She looks up to me and scoffs a bit before chuckling. "Thought so, now if you excuse me, I'd like to go put some clothes on now." I say as we approach my place. ........................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Storm With a gasp I jolt awake, finding myself in my bed immediately. I quickly throw off the blankets and sigh in relief when I see my normal body. Four legs and a pair of wings, just the way I'm suppose to be. "Storm?" Twilight calls from the bottom of the room. "Y-yeah... I'm good." I call back as I sit up in bed. Twilight runs up and sighs in relief when she sees me. "Hey, so I take it Miles won." "Kind of." She says as she joins me on the bed. I lean forward and nuzzle her cheek, getting a kiss on the cheek from her. "I'm guessing that when we go to Miles' place, we're going to hear something unbelievable..." "Well, it's Miles. It wouldn't be Hearths Warming Eve if something unbelievable didn't happen." I joke, getting a soft chuckle from her. "Isn't that weird though?" She asks. "I mean, we've only known Miles for roughly four months, yet... I couldn't imagine him not being here." "Yeah...." "Lets not think about that." She says quickly as she takes my hooves and pulls me over for a hug. "I sent a letter to my parents explaining the situation, so they've decided to come here instead..." "Oh, that's good..." "It gets better. Cadence and Shinning will be coming to! Isn't that great?" She asks as she squeezes my mid section. "Yeah.... great..." Shinning Armor is coming... why do I have the feeling that this won't end well. "Did we get them..." "I've got it covered." Twilight says before looking up and kissing me firmly. I push back against her and sigh into the kiss. "OK," she say, our lips still connected, "lets get down stairs to get everything ready." "OK, right after you break the kiss." I say through our kiss. We both chuckle as neither of us break the kiss... "Hey, can I get an extra pair of hooves down here?" Mom calls out from down the stairs, making me break the kiss. "Be right there!" I call back. I look back to Twilight and offer her a smile as she just smiles back, shaking her head slightly. "Well... lets go." "Right, we don't want to fall behind my schedule." She says before hoping off the bed. I jump off and follow after her, playfully nudging her along the way. "HI HONEY!" "MOM!? Dad? Everyone?" Twilight gasps when we make it to the bottom of the stairs. Night Light, Twilight Velvet, Shinning Armor, a slightly pregnant Cadence.... Celestia and Luna all stand by our door. Everyone, except Celestia and Luna, are stripping their winter wear and off loading gifts to Spike... where did his scarf go? "Hello Twilight, I hope you don't mind the sudden visit, but I felt it would be nice to visit my most faithful student on Hearths Warming Eve." Celestia says as she steps forward, offering a slight hug for Twilight. "We ran into your family on the door step, an odd occurrence of timing." "I'd say. We're glad to have you and your sister for lunch." Twilight says, sweating a bit already. "Shinning." I say as I move over to greet him. "Storm." "Hello Storm!" Cadence says with a large smile. "Hello Cadence, how are you feeling?" I ask as I glance to her stomach. It's only slightly bulging. If one didn't know any better, they'd say she was just bloated. "I'm good, everything is going splendidly." She says warmly. I nod and smile to her as Night Light and Velvet approach me. "Hello... how was the trip here?" I ask them nervously. "It was pleasant enough. The snow nearly derailed us, but it was nice to see the country side for a change." Velvet says as she pulls me in for a hug. Night Light and the others move inside to greet Twilight, giving Velvet the perfect chance to feel me up again. "Definitely worth the trip, to be with my family that is." She says with a vigorous pat down of my sides. I just sit there, wide eyed, as she trots away. Did.... did Twilight's mom just feel me up.... "Spike! Look at you! You've... grown!" Shinning says as he approaches him. "Yeah, I've been learning magic with Miles and... well, I guess with power comes growth." Spike says as he rubs the back of her neck. "Why did you grow wings?" Cadence asks him. "Did it hurt?" Night Light asks. "How advance are you in you studies?" Velvet asks as the three of them step towards the poor foal. "Hi everypony!" Mom yells as she steps inside the living room, holding a pot in her hooves as she stirs its contents. "Foods just about ready, why don't we leave the poor foal alone and get ready to eat?" She says with a warm smile. "I'm not a foal." Spike grumbles as everyone moves to the kitchen, ignoring his complaints. "Everything alright?" I ask him. "It's.... nothing." He says before moving to head into the kitchen. "Whoa, don't you ever try to blow me off like that again. What's up? Something has you bothered, I can tell." I say as I walk in front of him. He sigh and looks away, trying to find the right words. "R.... Rarity and I kissed last night." He says slowly. "... and that's what's bothering you. I thought you liked her?" "How did you know?!" "REALLY?" "Graaaah. Anyway! Yeah, we kissed and... I don't know how to feel about this. I tried asking Miles for help, but he just called you a whore and..." "Did he really call me a whore? Wait, you went to Miles first, why?" I ask, feeling slightly offended. "Well... sorry but... I look to you as my father, not somepony I go to for romantic advice.... sorry." He says as he takes a step away from me. "Well.... though you can come to me about anything, I get your hesitation to. But why does kissing Rarity confuse you? Isn't this what you wanted?" "Well... yeah, but... I don't know. It felt right, but wrong at the same time. Like.... I can't explain it. If her father hadn't thrown a boot at my head, I think we would have... you know.... all the way." He says with a massive blush. "So you still feel like a foal?" I venture. "No... kind of... I don't know. The title doesn't seem to fit anymore, even though it's true. I caught myself the other day having... odd thoughts, but I'm still young! I mean, I took a few cupcakes the other night and had those youthful thoughts, but when I saw two foals arguing I thought it was the dumbest thing ever.... I don't know what to think anymore!" He says before dropping to sit on the floor. I sigh as take a seat beside him. This is some... familiar sounding problems. "Did I tell you about how I got my job as a weather pony?" I ask him as he holds his knees against his chest. "... no." "I was nine at the time. The orphanage I was at needed help financially and I was almost old enough to join the work force. So I spent weeks training my wings to be able to control weather. Once I was strong enough, I went and lied about my age. I actually never graduated high school..." "Really! How did you manage to get into the royal guard then?" "Well... I just went for it kind of. I was pretty smart in school, so I guess it payed off. Anyway, I got the job and had to get up at five in the morning six days a week, working twelve to sixteen hour shifts. This was back when the original workers went on strike, so I had plenty of work to do. During all my time as a worker, I started to mature quickly. Nothing like you, but by the time I was a sophomore in high school, I was worried about rent and bills instead of dates and sports. You know what I learned?" "What?" "Age is just a number. Now, if I were you, I'd wait for anything like sex or stuff like that. I'd say try to gain some responsibilities and try to grow into the pony you've become. Go for that stuff when you're ready." "... so I shouldn't kiss Rarity anymore." "Well I wouldn't go that far. Talk to her, let her know of your intentions. I'm sure she'll understand and support you. Just.. be careful." "Why?" "Because you're a six foot tall, magic wielding, heart breaker. I'm fairly certain there are a few mares out there keeping an eye on you, not just Rarity." I warn him. He leans back to think about what I said, a goofy smile growing on his face. "Really?" "Come on, lets get some food." I say as I stand and head for the kitchen. "Thanks Dad... that was... really helpful." Spike says from behind. "I do pretty good for a whore, don't I?" I say, getting him to laugh. He'll be alright, I'm sure of it. "So Rain Cloud." Velvet says as we take our seats at the table. A plethora of different dishes have been set out Zebra style (many small portions that you take pieces of) and smells delicious. "We've heard about what happened to your company, interested in working with us? We could use a consultant with your experience. You see, our business is planning on going international..." "That sounds lovely, but lets talk after we eat." Mom says. Twilight and I share a glance before silently cheering. Anything to get her out of the house for two minutes! I thought we'd never have a chance to try again! ................................................................................................................................................................ Perspective: Miles 5:06 PM "So... that's an interesting way of using magic." Trixie says as we leave my shed. We spent the past two hours working together making my 'presents' for everyone. I only had a few good ideas, most of the Spartans will only get their specialized weapons as gifts. Luckily Trixie was able to conjure up some wrapping paper and we were able to get them all wrapped... though I found it a bit pointless. It's hard to hide the fact that you made a spear after all. Ends up Trixie is just as curious about magic as Twilight would be. Her questions were much more sophisticated then I thought they would be though. She was really interested in the transfers of energies and how we had our laws and broken laws. It seems unicorn magic only follows standard laws of magic, interesting. Our conversation ended on the subject of trans-dimensional power shifting when Shadow called us up. Thus, we started taking everything up. "Hey Dad, can I invite E'Claire and Butterscotch over?" She asks eagerly as we leave the shed. I'm just glad she seems to have forgotten seeing my junk. "Of course corculum. If you see Bantler and Nada, let them know they're invited as well." I tell her. She nods and runs to the platform, flashing away. "So, I have to ask, how is she your daughter?" Trixie asks as we head inside. "I found her in a mine back in Detrot. She... lost her family, so I took her in." "So she's adopted....good..." "What?" "WHAT? I... mean... it's good of you to do that, for her that is.... where do you want these?" She asks nervously. I motion her over to the living room where we set them in the open area. I take Damians, CCs, and Patches gifts and call them over to the front porch. When they're all there, I have CC go first. "They're... bracelets? Thank you Miles, they're lovely." She says as she presents two silver bracelets with blackened quartz woven through it. "Actually, they are comm link bracelets for you and Damian. If you speak into one, the other will hear you." I say, shooting Damian a 'I got your back' look. "Woooow... lets try them!" She says as she snaps one onto his leg, then her own. "Hello? Can you hear me?" She whispers into the bracelet. "Loud and clear." Damian replies. "Patches, you're up." I say as I toss him the small parcel. He shoots an excited glance to the others before tearing the wrappings away. "It's a necklace." He says as he pulls it out. It's a simple silver necklace that ends with two metal pieces woven together. Going through the two metal pieces is a little brass pole. "Put it on." I tell him, getting him to do so.... "I GOT A STICK!" Damian proclaims proudly as he lifts his staff into the air. "Nice patience douche." I say as he twirls it around expertly. It's a steel staff that I engraved myself; making his cutie mark and other dark images show all around it. "Anyway, you wanted something to make you weaker, there you go. Give it a try, feed as much energy as you can into it." He looks to the others before he starts to focus on it. Waves of dark energy flow around him as he concentrates ever more on the staff, though no one reacts to the energy leaking from him. More and more energy seeps into the staff, with nothing happening. "Nothings happening." Trixie observes. "No, a lot is happening." I say as Damian powers down, the dark energy receding back within him. "This staff has two enchantments on it, both on passive. The first one creates a ball of light at each end of the staff, while the second one snuffs out light at each end. I set the power levels ridiculously high for them..." "So... it doesn't do anything?" Trixie asks, somewhat confused. "Dude, it's perfect. Thank you." He says he stands with it, leaning on it for support. "Your welcome, now you. That necklace was a bitch to make, but I think I got it down right. Explode." "Excuse me?" Patches asks as he looks up to me. "Not with everypony here..." "Just explode." "You'll get..." "Just do it." "No! I'll" "I'll do it!" Damian yells before smacking Patches with the staff. He instantly falls apart into a pile of body parts. Then Trixie fainted. "Oh my..... I DUB THEE 'STICK OF DOOM'!" Damian yells as he holds the staff above his head. The lumps of flesh begins to crawl back together, quickly forming Patches again. "I... I didn't explode." He observes as he begins to tear up. "Yeah. I enchanted it to nullify outward forces and send them inwHAT THE!" I yell as he jumps up and hugs me. "Thank you! I can finally go in buildings now!" He cries as he squeezes me tighter. I look to the others for help, only to get Damian to smack him with the stick again. He falls apart just in time for all of the girls; older and young, Shinning Armor, Cadence, Big Mac, Spike, Twilights' parents, Celestia and Luna to see. "Um... this isn't what it looks like." I try, but fail to change any of their shocked faces. "Miles," Celestia starts, "what just happened?" "Well..." "I used the STICK OF DOOM!" Damian yells as he strikes a pose with his staff. Then Rarity fainted. "This is normal, I swear." I say as Patches begins to reform. Not helping dude. "Well... I expected something unbelievable to happen, and I was right." Storm says as he continues down the path towards my house. Everyone else slowly follows after him, Spike lifting rarity up and bringing her along. "Uh... so... where's that friend of yours?" Applejack asks Damian, trying to keep her distance from his staff. "Back in Detrot with his mom and brother, why?" "Oh, no reason. Ah just... noticed he wasn't here." She says as she steps away from him and CC, blushing deeply. "Ah'll just head inside then." She says coyly before heading in. "Oh my, she likes Hammer." CC says out loud. "Looks like you have some competition Damian." Patches says quickly before running towards my house. "ASS!" Damian yells at him. And all that potential bonding I set up, gone. Fucking Patches. "Well, lets head inside already. I'm freezing my feet off out here." I say, getting an irritated sigh from Damian as we all head in. Hearths Warming Eve was started when the three races of equestrian kind joined together for the first time. Before this, there was a separation between the three that was held together with a weak deal. Earth ponies grew the food. Pegasi controlled the weather. And the unicorns bartered with gems and spells of importance. A deep hatred grew when Windigos started to through the weather into disarray. It was too cold to grow food, so the Earth ponies stored what little food they had. The pegasi were blamed for the poor weather, so the trade ended. With little to no resources, gems lost their value. Thus the unicorns lost their trade. And so, the three tribes left their homelands in search of a new utopia. Somewhere where they could make a new living for their people. As fate would have it, they all found the same land; Equestria. Though they the leaders fought themselves into icy statues, their cohorts found peace with one another. Ironically, through hating their leaders, but that's besides the point. They told stories. Laughed. Sung heart filled songs. A friendship grew between them that burned their leaders from their icy states, and infected them. They too would join in the merriment, effectively fighting off the Windigos. Thus, they worked together to form Equestria, through the power of the friendships formed their that day they would see one of the worlds largest countries rise from the snow. Or, so that's how the tale is told these days. According to Luna, these events happened, but not without prior cause. The Windigos usually stay up in the Ice elemental regions, high to the north. But during the rise of the Griffons, their leader and demigod would start events that would change the world. Ulfric StormMind was searching for a land for his griffins to nest. Back in these days, they were heavily nomadic and needed somewhere for his people to raise the next generation. He would find a mountain peak in what would be called the Ice caps and make camp there. But not without fighting off the natural inhabitants. Legend says he killed dozens of the creatures before banishing them from their home, fighting with a fury that would send icy winds all the way to the goblin desserts. Once they were defeated, they would nest. But not peaceably. Spatium and Tempus would notice the rise in energy and go to investigate, finding him killing what they saw as living souls. They rose together and challenged him in a pit of combat that would rage over the entire planet. Soon, other leaders would join in the fighting. All until Tempus struck a blow against Ulfric, causing him to bleed. Demigods don't bleed. Distraught, he fled the battle, so what would become the eventual Griffin Colony. But Tempus was kind, and turned back time to allow him to hold onto his honor. Thus two nations were formed, and thus we celebrate. "Wow... that's quit the history." I say as Luna steps back with her sister. We're all gathered around in the living room listening to the story of Equestrias forming. It was quit the tale actually. I had set an enchantment in the center of the room to keep us warm as everyone sips on hot cocoa (fucking awesome by the way) and coffee (still fucking gross). "Lets here your story." Cadence says as she looks to me. "My story? You mean Terradisia?" I ask as Shadow shuffles a bit in my lap, trying to look up to me. "Yeah, I bet it's just as interesting." She says as she gets cozy with Shinning. I look around at all of the expecting eyes and sigh. "Very well, lets see how good I am at story telling..." "I'll join you on this one." Damian says from the corner of the room. "I looked it up, the half you don't know that is." "You looked it up?" I question. "We know everything...." "Huh.... alright, but no skipping any parts.Tell us everything you know. "Dammit...." "Terradisia has an unknown starting point..." The Purge. Back, well before recorded time, started a war. Great nations and any organization that could muster up people set out to destroy one another. The war would rage for decades, centuries. Only to end in a hail of nuclear and archaic fire. The land mass we stand on today was only saved due to the discovery of super enchantments. A shield stopped the missiles from coming in, but didn't stop them entirely. The shields couldn't break the over engineered weapons, so when they finally hit their height markers, they exploded. The war was a stand off between the scientific community, and the religious community. Science was pushing forward, trying to sink further into magic and technology, while the religious sector was declaring the latter a curse. A taboo for the damned. Soon each side started fighting, at first with peaceful demonstrations, but soon... The religious sector started using it's connections to arrest scientific leaders, so the peaceful demonstrations turned to riots. Scientific leaders started taking to the streets, burning down houses of worship and planting viruses to delete religious text. In retaliation, religious leaders started using governmental pull to outlaw the magic, calling it a scourge on the human soul. Not long after, the viruses started to feed on everything that it could find. Music. Art. If it was online, it was being deleted. Many tried to save copies of the losing arts, but only saved about one percent of everything. This pushed the religious sector to start arresting people, accused of being hackers. When a child was killed in a street riot, people screamed for blood. Blaming America for the innocents lost life. War would consume the world... Once the fighting stopped, everything goes quiet. It's unknown how long it took, but eventually people started to migrate together. Eventually forming Emerald City. The city was founded when three of the larger tribes met and almost broke out into a fight. The ground before them crumbled from all of the yelling, revealing massive Emeralds, the size of buildings. It was decided that any progression needed to halt before any good could come forth. This would start the Renewal era. People started going back to their roots, trying to become 'human' again. Latin was reinstated as the main language for humanity, being the oldest known language. Art was declared a taboo, being blamed for the ideological revolts and mass murders. Once the foundations of the city were made, science was taken in as the greatest power in the world. But the people still needed a government. With many people, formed our union. Many great ideals forged together to create Terradisia. The houses were made, The King as our commander and chief, life long elected officials as our interpreters of law and the people to make the laws. As time would go on, so did our advancements. More cities would pop up along the continent, soon filling to the brim. So started the Final Journey. We started searching out new worlds to inhabit. After a few centuries of great prosperity, first contact would be made, and start the Final Crusade. After we lost the last colony, was when we buried our cities, our last attempt to hide our being from them. Thus started our calender. We called it the celestial calender, because it was our count down from our seclusion. eleven hundred years later, they would find our cities and destroy them in a great war... Because war..... war never changes. .............................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Night Fury *Warning: Important Clop* 7:32 PM After all of the sad stories and what not we finally started to eat. The dining table quickly filled up, so I just decided to eat outside on the porch. With a plates worth of food in tow, I make my way out the door to find Trixie eating alone. She's facing away from me and sits straight up the second I opened the door. "Oh, sorry I was just... uh.... mind if I join you?" I ask her. She chokes on some food as she tries to force it down before facing me, having some sauce still on her lips. "O-of course." She says quickly, smiling at me as she hides her plate behind her. I just shrug as I set my plate down and begin to eat. "So... you used to be a night guard." She says awkwardly. I pause from my dish to nod to her before diving right back in. "Um... how did you meet Miles?" She asks. I sit up and finish chewing before looking over to her. "Well... he pissed off the Captain of the Royal guard, so I was sent in to steal Spartan training secrets. But... I was fired when I wouldn't give them up, so now I live with the guy." "Ah, so you were a guard.... is Miles..." She starts but stops immediately. I look over her flushed face before widening my eyes. "Whoa... you know Miles is married right?" "WHAT!?" She yells as she nearly falls over. "But.. but..." "Yeah, to Luna..." "WHAT!?" She yells again. I take this moment to look her over more closely. Flushed face, tale tucked closely, back legs held closely..... "Oh my god..." "I didn't..." "You're in heat." "I wasn't..." "And you were planning on seducing him, weren't you?" She sighs in defeat as she lies down and buries her head under her arms. "Yes. I... was being hormonal and... well, he's the nicest pony I've ever met..." "He's married." "I didn't know that! He was... I thought he was being flirty!" She tries to defend, but deflates immediately. I look back inside the house, seeing everyone eating joyfully, before I stand up. "Look... lets get you somewhere where nopony will see you like this." I say as I lift her up and toss her on my back. She tries to protest, but stops... for some unknown reason. I take her back where I see the door to Miles' shed open. Seems like a great place to hide a mare in love, down we go. With Trixie on my back, it's a little hard to fly down properly, so we end up falling down instead. I smack my head against the ground and black out for a second, but when I open my eyes I find myself on top of Trixie between her sprawled legs. I guess in the excitement of moving her my penis had stiffened, because I can feel it pressing against her sex. I get to my hooves and stand over her, smelling her arousal as our bodies leave each others. "Hey... do you want some advice?" I ask as I look over her body. She's fairly skinny, but still has curves in all the right places. "Uh... sure." "Well, I had a mare once. We almost had a foal but... things didn't go well..." "I'm so sorry..." "I actually stole her from Storm Cloud, she was dating him at the time and... well.... if you really want something, go for it. You only live once, don't wait on the side lines." I say as I press forward, my tip meeting her entrance and making her eyes widen in surprise. "Night Fury..." "I'll be honest though, getting Miles will take time. I'm here, now. Ready to take care of your needs." I say as I start to grind against her slit, feeling her arousal ooze over my member. "But...." "Nothing personal, just mechanical, pleasing, non conflicting sex. Think of it as.... a test run before trying to get Miles..." "Night Fury.... I'm a virgin." She says with a slight moan of pleasure. "All the more reason to." I say as I pull back and press against her slit. She looks down to the meeting before lying back and nodding slowly. I push forward until I meet some resistance, where I only pause for a second before breaking through it. She lets out a small scream as she clutches against me as she clenches her eyes in pain . "It... it hurts." She says as I finally bottom out. "I know, but don't worry. That'll pass. I can wait until then if you want." I tell her as I relish the feeling of her tight canal. I would have blown my load if I hadn't moved in so slowly. "Thank you." She says as she lies back and tries to relax, a pained look taking over her face. "If you're willing to try it, making out will help take your mind off of things." I tell her, trying to see how far she'll go. "Well.... only because your handsome enough to." She says playfully as she paws at my face. I lean down and give her a light peck on the lips. We each take a moment to stare into each others eyes before pressing our lips together, breathing into one another as we begin to make out. She reaches up with her hooves and runs them along my chest, so I try to puff out as much as I can to impress her. "You can move it now." She tells me as her lust grows to new depths. I break our kiss to look down to her love, watching as I pull back and stretch her out. When my tip reaches her entrance I begin to push back in, getting her to squirm underneath me. "Not that far back... I feel empty without it." She says as I bring our hips back together. "You like it?" I ask her as I begin to rock back and forth, a light slapping sound filling the empty room. She nods in response as she begins to caress my sides. "Let me hear you say it." "I.... I like it." She says with a pant. I smirk at my control over her and begin to thrust with a bit more force. "You like my cock bucking your tight little pussy?" I ask in a growl as I begin to thrust mercilessly. She begins to babble incoherently as she tries to respond. She arches her back and opens her mouth widely as I feel her clench down on my aching member.... "MILES!" She screams finally as she bucks wildly. "BUCK MY TIGHT LITTLE PUSSY MILES! BUCK ME TILL I CAN'T WALK AAAAAHHH!" She screams at the top of her lunges. I feel myself ride the edge of my own orgasm, so I pull out and stand over her, working my member with a hoof as I aim for her tits. "AH.... Rain Drop..." I mutter as I squirt my finish onto her teats. I buck wildly as i send load after load onto her, having it spill down and follow the curvature of her winking pussy. Feeling tired and still trying to catch my breath, I fall to my side and close my eyes as I try to relax. "Night Fury... that was..." Trixie pants as she rolls over to face me. "I know... not that same. But.... I'll never get her back... and Miles will take time..." "But you'll help me?" I open my eyes and look to her pleading face. I smile and lean forward, kissing her on the lips lightly. "Don't worry, I've got your back. Consider me your love guru." She smiles and flares her horn, squinting from the spell before we both suddenly teleport to the guest room in Miles' house. "Miles said I could use this room, seems like a good place for a nap... want.... want to join me?" She asks nervously. I simply nod, getting her to scoot forward into my embrace. We both know what this really was, but neither of us want, or care to, say so. Who wants to be alone anyway? ............................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles 8:45 PM "Alright everypony! I think now is a good time to exchange gifts!" Twilight announces, getting the girls to squeal in delight. I get up from the dining room table and head over to the living room where I left all of my 'presents'. I start out with the girls, handing them off at the same time. While I do my own gifts, everyone else moves about the room, exchanging gifts. "It's a... bracelet?" Sweetie Bell asks as they all open them to reveal little silver bracelets. "Put them on and wave them around." I tell them. They do so and nearly explode from the results. The bracelets are enchanted to leave an aura in the air when they move. Immediately they start waving their hooves around, making a blur of colors cover their faces. "Well, at least we'll never loose them again." Rarity mentions as they run off, leaving a trail after them. "This is for you." I tell Rarity as I hand her a present. "And this for you." She says as she levitates me something. We take a moment to open our gifts, mine being a dark bottle of liquid with a spray top."Oh... thank you?" She says as she looks over the brush I made for her. "It's a Terradisian brush. Tangles will undue themselves, muck will fly off, and it can attach to a hose..... that last one only makes sense with Terradisian shower heads." "OH!" Rarity exclaims as she tries it out, seeing the magical effect immediately. "And that is a bottle of cologne. I figured that you could use some for... a special somepony." She says as she glances over to the unknowing Celestia. I open it up and spray it into the air, taking a whiff. "Hmm, not bad. Thank you Rarity. Next is Dash." I say as I pull the 'obviously not a spear' present out. "Cool! A spear!" She says as she takes it and begins to unwrap it. "Ruin the surprise!" I say, getting a few chuckles. It's a stander length of darkened steel with a twisted end. The spear tip is a spiral of steel and diamonds that comes to a sharp point while the shaft has an intricate etching or the sky and flying ponies. "Don't try it in here, but it's enchanted with electricity." "And I got you this!" Dash says as she tosses me a wrapped book. I open it up and look it over. "It's the first Daring Doo Book!" "Cool, I'll have to learn Equestrian to read it, thank you." I say as I set it aside. She nods and runs outside, excited to use her new 'toy'. "We've got the next one." Storm and Twilight say as they walk over and hand me another book. "It's to help you start learning Equestrian, first edition." Twilight informs me. "Excellent, just what I needed. And these are for you two." I say as I hand them their gifts. They open them up and smile at the half heart necklaces made of gold. "They're enchanted to find the other halves, so I wouldn't suggest wearing them all the time." I say as they put them on. The two hearts lift up and pull towards each other. They give their thanks as they move away, getting close enough for the hearts to attach properly. "Miles." Cadence says as she and Shinning approach me. "My gift is an alliance between the Crystal Empire and Terradisia, you'd be the first country out side our host country to do so..." "I'd be honored." I say as I flare my hand and extend it towards her. She looks a little confused as she levitates a scroll to her side. "Just engulf my hand in your magic." I tell her. She nods and does so. I take a deep breath and begin to pull the two magics together, thinking back to the ideals of peace. When I finish the spell, two pink and green open roses appear below. "As long as peace stands between our two nations, these roses shall thrive." "Oh... wow. I was just going to offer a treaty, but this is much better." Cadence jokes as she lifts one up and looks it over. "We still can, this is just something the Spartans did with Terradisia. Something symbolic." I say as I take the scroll and leave my mark on it. "I'm next!" Pinkie exclaims as she bounces up beside me, shoving her gift into my hands. I shrug and open it up.... POP Everyone laughs when my gift explodes, confetti and streamers flying all around me. After I calm down from the initial explosion I toss Pinkie her gift. "BELLS!" She exclaims as she shows everyone the string of tiny bells before tying them around her neck. "That's... a great gift Miles." Twilight mentions as Pinkie bounces around, tying to make the bells ring as loudly as possible. "Yeah.... amazing." Rainbow mentions as Damian and CC step up to me. "Miles, we got you something you could really use." Damian says as he gives me the gift. I eye the two of them as I begin to unwrap it. Why am I getting a bad feeling about this? "Uh.... what is it?" I ask when I finally pull it out. It's a clear plastic tube that has a pump attached to it. "A penis pump." Damian says with a sly smile. "A... I don't..." "I also gave Luna a copy of that video." CC says. I stare at her for a second before I put two and two together. I lean over to see Luna sitting in the dinning room, flushed faced with her wings up. "How did you..." "Also, my second gift is not to say party during this party, oh I'm sorry. I said party didn't I? OK, now I won't say party, dammit. OK, now no more parties at this par..." BOOT "So CC, how have you been enjoying this social gathering?" I ask her as Damian lays sprawled out on the floor, a new boot bruise taking over his face. CC looks over before running back to the kitchen and pulls out an isle "Worth it!" He says as he gets up. "We also got you art supplies." "I..." "Because, even though you only took that one class, you're really, really good at it. So here's some paint and papers to do something other then hitting ponies really hard..." "Hey, I'm good at that." I say as I look over the isle. It's a little short, but I can fix that. "Well, you're really good at this to. So, enjoy." CC says as she and Damian walk off together. Fluttershy and Big Mac step past them and set down some wooden boxes. . "We got you some bird houses to put around your home Miles." Fluttershy says as Big Mac motions to the painted wooden boxes that have holes cut into them. "Thank you, I'll be sure to put them up soon." I say as I set them aside. "This is for the two of you." I say as I hand them their gift. They unwrap it and look it over, a little confused. It's a metal staff that is engraved with a scenic farm and animals. "It's an Apple Bucking staff. Poke a tree with it, and the fruit will fall. I was thinking that, with this, Fluttershy could help with bucking and stuff." "Wow, thank you Miles." Fluttershy says as she hugs the staff. "EEyup." "An this is frum the Apple family." Applejack says as she drops a barrel behind me. "Oh, cool.... don't know what that is but thank you." I say as I feel the barrel. It has some kind of liquid in it, I'm guessing it's a beverage. "My gift to you is out back. It's a cart that I've enchanted to carry more. In my test it was doing about a hundred eighty kilograms.. uh... about double what your other one can do." Her and Big Mac share a look before running out back to check it out. I was about to follow after them when Celestia and Luna stepped in front of me. "Luna, Soror." "Miles." Celestia says back. "Luna and I decided to get you this sketch book and drawing pencils, seeing how you're quite the artist..." "OK, I'm not even that good..." "Yes you are." The entire room says at once, silencing me. "We also brought you a treaty as well, acknowledging Terradisia as a sovereign nation." Luna tells me proudly. I smile to her and reach forward with a flared hand. "Ad pacem." I say. "Ad pacem." Luna repeats as she engulfs my hand with her magic "Odd.... possum?" Celestia repeats as she adds her magic. I focus on the spell and bring forth two green, blue, and golden roses. "I'm assuming 'possum' means peace." Celestia says as she lifts up one of the roses. "See, Latin isn't that hard to learn." I joke, getting her to roll her eyes. "I made something for the two of you as well." I say as i reach into the pile behind me and present them their gifts. They thank me as they take them and begin to open them up. They're each necklaces of their cutie marks. "It's lovely, thank you." Celestia says as she puts hers on. "Yours is enchanted to force the truth out of people, though the need to be within three meters of you." "A truth spell... how powerful is it?" She asks as she levitates it up and inspects it. Luna shoots me a panicked look as she eyes the two of us. Sorry babe... "Well, ask..." SLAM We all look over to the front door as it slams against the wall. In the doorway is Hammer, strutting in on his back hooves as he smiles to everyone. "Good news everypony! I made it!" He says as he saunters over to me. "Miles." "Hammer." "I got a present for the lovely couple." He says as he reaches into his backpack. Luna and I look to each other in a panic before looking over to Celestia. "What does he..." "What couple Hammer?" I ask as I give him a death glare. "Oh, right. Anyway, here is some strawberry scented, scentless soap!" He says as he presents a pink bar of soap. "If it's scentless, then how does it have a scent?" I ask, kind of fearing the question. "Here, find out." THWACK THUD .............................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Celestia 11:13 PM "Well... I guess that's one way to end a party." I say as I stare at the unconscious Miles. "I wonder what yours does." I say as I look to Luna. "I'm sure we'll find out soon enough." Luna says as she sighs in relief. "Everything alright?" I ask her. "Yeah, why?" She asks quickly. I just shrug as I look back to Miles. "Should we leave him there or..." "I'll take him to bed!" Trixie says from behind as she walks down the stairs. She lifts him up with her magic and starts to take him towards the stairs. "Where were you?" Luna asks as we follow after her. "Having sex with Night Fury." She simply says, then drops Miles when she realizes what she said. Everypony within earshot stops talking and looks right to Trixie. "I.... uh.... well...." "Well... that was... revealing." I say as I begin to blush. "Well, why don't you take Miles to bed..." "I plan to." She says before slapping a hoof to her mouth. The entire room goes silent as she stands there, blushing madly. Before anypony could say anything she levitates him up and runs the rest of the way to his room, banging his head against the stairs along the way. "..." "..." "..." "Well this has been..... strange." I say as I look to Luna. She's just frozen from what Trixie said, eye slightly twitching. "I think now would be a good time to leave..." "Maybe we should stay a bit, make sure nothing happens that Miles would regret." Luna says, still staring up the stairs. "He's a grown pony Luna. He can take care of himself. Good night everypony! Merry Hearths Warming Eve." I announce as I drag Luna out of the building. Once we get to the carriage she snaps back and begins to fume with rage. "Luna..." "I swear if he as much as..." "Luna, calm down. He can do what he wants to." I tell her. She just rolls her eyes as she looks out the side of the carriage. "Hey, if they work together, they work. Who are we to say otherwise?" She looks back to say something, but folds immediately. I just shrug it off as jealously. "It'll be fine Luna, just trust me on this one." I tell her as I nudge her shoulder. "It better be.....for his sake." .............................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Applejack *Warning: Important Clop* 11: 15 PM Once I finish looking over the cart Miles made us I decide to head inside to socialize. Big Mac says he'll get it tomorrow so I don't have to worry about it for now. The stallion I want to see isn't here, so I may as well try talking to somepony else.... "Hammer, why would you do that?" I hear that CC mare say in the dinning room. I make a Bee line for her voice and see him, standing there before her. "Well I don't really care for him all that much." He says with a cute smile and a shrug. "How did Patches make in here? Won't he explode?" I turn back around the corner and start to check on my mane and tail, trying to look as presentable as possible. How should I approach him? Do I just walk up to him and say hey? Or should I wait off in the distance and wait for him to see me? Maybe I should just.... "Applejack, what in Celestias' mane has you so frazzled?" Rarity asks me as she and Spike walk up to me. "Huh? Oh.... uh, nothin. I was just... uh... thinkin about pears." I say as i hold my mouth shut and look anywhere but their eyes. "Pears.... you hate pears." Spike says, looking to Rarity for answers. "Ah do! That's what ah was think about, how much ah hate 'em!" I say as i clench my mouth tighter and try to hum a tune. I look to the left as i see Damian walk by, so I dart behind Rarity and hide as his group of friends start getting a bit more food. "Applejack what are..." "Ah'm not here!" I whisper to her as I sneak a peek. he isn't eating anything, I don't think he'll be staying for long. Darn it! I need to just go and talk to him! Just walk out from behind Rarity, say 'Hi' and... "Applejack I..." "Don't move!" I accidentally yell as she tries to face me. ".... Applejack." Darn it. I walk out from behind Rarity and wave to Hammer. "Howdy there Hammer." I say nervously. Spike and Rarity share a look before leaving my side, but not before Rarity whispers 'good luck' in my ear. Like wise, Damian, CC, and Patches leave Hammers side so we can talk. "I was wondering where you were, why were you hiding behind Rarity?" He asks as he steps closer to me, making me tuck in my tail. "Ah.. was... uh... is it hot in here?" "No." "Well ah'm burning like a log in a fire, can we talk outside?" I ask as I motion to the door. "Oh, sure." He says with a smile as he heads to the door. I sigh in relief as I contemplate running for it, but then follow him out as my legs betray me. Dumb legs. "So how was your Hearths Warming Eve?" He asks as we stops beside the cart. "Oh, it was.. pretty good." I say as I eye the cart a bit, getting an idea. "But... ah never mind." "What?" He asks as he leans in a bit. "Well, it's not really your concern, but ah wanted to get this cart home tonight, but Big Mac won't let me take it alone at night. An he won't move it till tomorrow. Just somethin bothering me ah guess." It's not really a lie. Big Mac made the argument that it was late in the night, and I do want it home as soon as possible. "Well... I could walk with you if you wanted." Hammer offers. Jackpot. "Really? Ah really do appreciate it. Come on." I say as I begin to hitch up to it. "I can pull it if you want Applejack." Hammer offers. "Are ya sure city boy?" I ask with a smug smile. " Ah wouldn't want ya hurtin yerself." "Pfft, please. I deal with tougher stuff then wooden carts. Here, let me." He says as he lifts me out of the harness and sets me in the cart. I can't help but blush and tuck my tail in as he does so. I didn't know he was strong enough to do that with such ease. "So... you're that farm, right?" Hammer asks as he points to my farm. I sit by the front of the cart and rest my forelegs on the edge, eyeing his form as I feel my loins burn. "Yeaaah." I say lustfully as he starts to pull forward. "So... how long have you been a farmer?" He asks me as he trots to my farm. "All my life." I say as I watch the muscles twist in his flank. He's a LOT stronger then he lets show. "Huh, I've only been... well, I've only been doing what I've been doing for about half a year now. Feels like longer, but I guess that's just because I'm getting used to it. What do you grow apart from apples?" "Oh, you know... corn.... an... stuff." I say as I find myself biting my hoof, my lower needs burning hotter and hotter. "Stuff? Well, I do like stuff." He jokes, laughing awkwardly to himself. "Anyway, uh... what's.... your... favorite color?" "Green." I answer somehow, not really being able to register what he's saying as my mind reels with dirty thoughts. I need to bed him, tonight. I think I'll melt if I don't. "Green? Huh, I was thinking orange. That's cool, mines blue... no red! Maybe a bit of both." He laughs. I just stare at his white body, the blue streak in his white mane, the way his hooves end in blue, the two orbs between his legs.... "Applejack?" "Huh?" I ask as I shake my head. "I asked where you wanted the cart." I look around and find myself on the farm, just in front of the house. "Oh, could ya bring it around back of the house?" "No problem." He says as he takes off for the back. I hope out of the back and help him unstrap, getting close enough to smell his musk. "So... I guess we should head back then..." "Or we could go up to my room." I suggest. "To... talk?" He asks with a tilt of his head. "Sure, talk." I say as I go to the back door and open it. We walk to the front where we find Granny sleeping in her rocking chair, snoring loudly. I motion to Hammer to stay quiet before taking the stairs up. When we make it to my room I hold the door open for him and shut it quietly, locking it for good measure. "So what do you want to talk about?" He asks as he turns to face me. I just walk right up to him and forcefully kiss him, pushing back until we're pressed up to one another. "Still wanna talk?" I ask when I break the kiss. "No." He says quickly as he removes his backpack and hangs it on the corner of the bed. I toss my hat aside and take out the hair band on my tail before rushing back to kiss him. He wraps his hooves around me and lifts me onto the bed, climbing up and kissing me again. I push my tongue into his mouth and begin to feel around. He seems a little shocked by this, but returns the gesture quickly. "Top or bottom?" I pant as our tongues dance between our mouths. "Huh?" "Bottom it is then." I say before hugging him tightly and rolling over to be on top. I grab his stiff member and line it up before falling down on it, gasping in delight. "WHOA! Slow down Applejack!" Hammer yells as I begin to bounce on top of him. "To late, come on..." "No, I mean wait!" He yells as he tries to pull me off. I guess he really wants top, so I roll over and set him on top. "Git to it partner..." "STOP!" He yells as he out, leaving me empty and confused. "Applejack, I don't want you like that!" He yells as he looks me in the eyes, anger taking his face. I feel my heart drop when he says this. "Ya.... ya don't want me?" I ask, feeling tears start to form. Where did I go wrong... well, I guess trying to sleep with him right off the bat wasn't a good idea. But... I dunno, I thought we had sparked something. "No, I mean I want more then just sex Applejack. I really like you, a lot, but this... this feels temporary. I don't want you temporarily. I want all of you, for the long haul..." He says quietly as his expression softens. "I... I can't stop thinking about you Applejack. I know I've only know you for practically no time at all but.... I... I really care about you." I can see all of the hope swell up in his eyes as he stares down at me, waiting for my answer. I feel my heart flutter as he confesses to me. I can only smile up at him as I run a hoof along his jaw line. "Ah couldn't stop thinkin about you either." I tell him, getting a smile in response. "When ah was in Jasper... things didn't go well. Ah almost died. But ah didn't, so I decided that life was too short to wait. So ah figured that, the next time ah saw you, ah would make mah move. Ah guess ah took it a bit too far." I say as I glance away from him. "Can ya forgive me?" "Already have." He says as he pulls me back to look him in the eyes. He leans down and tentatively kisses me on the lips a couple of times. Each kiss only lasts a few seconds, leaving me wanting more every time. "Can... can we still... ya know?" I ask between kisses as my loins yell for attention. Hammer sits back and rubs the back of his neck, nervous about something. "Well, I don't have a condom." He says as he looks down between my legs, sweating slightly as he fights his urges. "Ah think ah have one." I say as I roll over and look through my dresser. I find two at the bottom and pull one out for him, getting another confused look from him. "Why do you have this?" He asks as he takes it. I blush a bit as he opens it up and starts to roll it on. "Well... a mares gotta be ready fer things... is... is that gonna be a problem?" I ask, feeling dirtier then ever before. "Hey, if you didn't have this we wouldn't be.... it broke." He says as pulls it off and looks at the tear going down the side. "Sorry.... I've never done this before." He admits, blushing slightly. I just chuckle a bit as I pull out the other one and open it. "Here, let me show ya." I say quietly as I scoot closer to him. We both take a moment to watch each other blush before I begin to roll it on. "Ya gotta roll it on, not pull." I say softly as he begins to nuzzle my neck and mane. "Mhmm." He groans back as I reach the bottom. I give him a few rubs as I look over to him and plant soft kisses on his neck. He takes a deep breath as he nervously begins to explore my body, feeling my back and stopping just before my flanks. "It's OK, go ahead." I coax him, getting a nod in response. My heart races as he reaches behind and gives my flanks a firm squeeze. I lean against him and rest my head on his shoulders as he continues to caress my entire body, getting more confident as he goes. I can feel his heart thumping in his chest as he reaches my breast, pausing slightly before fully inspecting them. "Applejack..." "Come on." I say as I lay back and spread my legs. He takes a look over my entire form before nodding and taking his place. "How... how do you want it? This is my first time, remember..." He tells me as he lines himself up with me. "Just go at yer own pace, ah'm sure you'll do fine." I tell him as I run a hoof along his broad chest. He nods and pushes himself in, panting a bit as our hips meet. I sigh in relief as he begins to rock back and forth, grabbing onto his shoulders to hold myself in place. He leans down and returns to planting soft kisses on my lips, leaving my wanting more. I try to lean up to continue the kiss, only to have him pull just out of my reach. I groan in frustration as he keeps a slow pace and teases me with soft kisses. "Hammer... please..." Before I could finish he presses his lips against mine and holds it there. I sigh into him as I feel his tongue explore my mouth, meeting my tongue quickly. As our tongues begin to dance again he begins to quicken his thrust. I begin to buck my hips in time with his, trying to get the most out the movements. We finally break our long kiss to pant for breath. The lack of proper breathing and our bucking taking it's toll on our lunges. For a moment everything turns to a blur of sweat and thrusts as I lay back, letting him take complete control. Even with the protection, I feel his member begin to twitch as he begins to get closer to his finish. I'm not that far off either. I pull him down for another kiss, pausing his thrusts, as I twist underneath him and lift my flank against him. "Ya... ya might find this a bit... easier." I pant as continue moving my hips. He looks over my body before pulling out and pushing my to my side. I gasp from the sudden emptiness and groan in frustration. I'm too close for him to stop now. "No, I want to see your face." he say as he lifts a leg up and pushes back inside me. I yell out in pleasure as he holds my leg against his body, using it for better support as he slams into me. I lose all sense as I throw my head back and scream out his name as I reach my orgasm. He just keeps pounding away at me as I squirm and buck like crazy, spraying my juices over his already slick member. With a final, strong thrust, he buries himself in me as his member twitches madly, releasing his seed in a few strong bursts. We both stay in this position for a long time, panting loudly as we fight to catch our breath. He's still holding onto my leg, something I find strangely cute, and has his sweaty bangs covering his eyes. I probably look a mess as well, but I don't care. I don't think I've ever came that hard in my life. "Applejack...." He says as he finally releases my leg and pulls out. "There's... there's a tomorrow for us, right?" He asks as he rubs my leg, keeping his eyes focused else where. "I would like ta... iffin you'll be mine." I say quietly. He looks me in the eyes and smiles, overjoyed by my answer. I reach over and pull him in for a tight hug, kissing him passionately on the lips. We kiss for a short time before he falls to my side, just as tired as me. I feel him reach between the two of us and remove the condom, letting his seed spill between us. "Oh... sorry. It was getting uncomfortable." He say with a chuckle. I just laugh along as I lay my head on his shoulders, tired beyond belief. "It's alright, ya can stick around tamorrow ta help clean mah sheets." I say as I let sleep begin to take over. "OK... Applejack?" He asks as he wraps an arm around me. "Mhmm." "I ...I..." He repeat as he searches for the right thing to say. I wait for him to say whatever is on his mind, only to have him sigh. "Good night.... and thank you for the tomorrow." He says before kissing me on the forehead. "Thank ya fer tonight." We share a laugh before letting sleep take us. Before I fall asleep I think back.... what was he trying to say before? I'm sure I'll fine out in the morning.
Chapter 161 Training In VoidChapter 161 Training In Void I squint my eyes a bit as the sun shines down through my window. With a contented sigh I roll over and pull the sheets closer to myself as I try to sleep in a tad bit more. Ten minutes tops. Last night was amazing! There is no way he was a virgin, he was too good at that. I reach out to... "Hammer?" I ask quietly as I blink a few times, trying to see more clearly. I'm alone in my bed... did.... did he leave me? I mean, I know I was a little... forward with him, but... I thought he cared. *sigh* I guess.... I guess I'll just get ready for the day then. I get out of bed and move to my mirror. My manes a mess. More so then usual. I take the brush and begin to run it through my mane, getting it straight quickly. "Well... back to it.... I guess." I tell myself as I grab my hat and set out for the kitchen. I need to get breakfast ready for Applebloom and get.... "...and I was all like 'oatmeal? Are you cray cray!?" I step into the kitchen and shake my head in disbelief when I see Hammer and Applebloom talking at the kitchen table. "Hehehe, that's funny. Mornin Applejack!" Applebloom greets cheerfully from her seat as Hammer shoots me a smile. "Howdy... y'all." I say as I move to the stove. "Why doncha git some orange juice while I make some flapjacks." I tell Applebloom as I start to get all of the materials for breakfast. "Sounds good. So why did you spend the night Hammer?" Applebloom asks as she takes the juice out. "Uh..." "I was helping Applejack with some stuff." Hammer says quickly. I look back to him for a second before starting my mix. He seems to be fairly vague about what we did last night. I guess we'll be in the clear... "What kind of stuff?" "Fun, awesome stuff that I'm really good at apparently." He says, making me nearly drop my mixing bowl. "Can I..." "Nooooooooooo." Hammer says slowly. "But ah...." "So I see you don't have your cutie mark yet." Hammer says quickly. We share a quick glance before I get back to making breakfast, pouring the mix onto the griddle. "Yeah, but I will soon! Me and my friends are on a crusade and won't stop until we get our cutie marks!" "Hehe, that's cute. Hang in there though, these things take time. Heck, I only got mine a few months ago...." "WHAT!" I yell mid flip. SPLAT We all stare up as the flapjack sticks to the ceiling. "Yuh jus only got yer cutie mark! How long ago?" I ask. "Well... roughly five months...." "How old are ya?" Applebloom asks. Oh please say thirteen, please say thirteen, please say thirteen, don't make me a pedophile. "I'm thirteen..." "Ah thank Celestia." I sigh in relief. OK, at least he's of age.... SPLAT "Uh.... Applejack. You got a little something on your face." Hammer says, getting little snickers from Applebloom. "Really? Ah couldn't tell." I say as I start to wipe the doughy flapjack off my face, ignoring the laughter from the table. As I get back to making breakfast Big Mac makes his way down from the stairs. He pauses for a second, staring straight at Hammer, before silently taking his seat. "Uh... morning Big Mac." Hammer says nervously. "EEyup." "So what kind of stuff did you and Applejack do?" Applebloom asks again. I just hold my breath and try to focus on breakfast. Why does that girl have to be so gosh darn curious? "Uh... just... stuff, you know?" Hammer replies. "No. What kind of..." "Mornin Apples." Granny says as she walks in. Oh no.. "Who're you?" "I'm Hammer. Uh... I'm a friend of Applejacks..." "A friend of Applejacks huh? Why haven't ah ever heard yer name before?" "Uh..." "Wait a minute... yer the old helper we hired that dun made that earthquake, Ruler." "Hammer, and...." "Why haven't ah seen ya before? Ya been sittin around on yer lazy flank while...." "Uh Granny." Big Mac interrupts. "Yer talkin about Miles. This is Hammer." I look back and watch Granny as she begins to try to piece everything together. She looks a little frustrated. Confused. A little scared. "Right.... Yards. So yer....Nails." Granny says quietly as she looks back to Hammer. Hammer looks around the room, a little confused by all of this. He takes a quick look back to me before smiling back to Granny. "Yup! Nails is the name... because... I'm as tough as them! Nice to meet you Granny!" He says joyfully, putting a smile on Grannys face. "Ah can see that. Well then welcome ta the farm Screwdriver! How'd you an Applejack meet in the first place?" She asks happily. Everypony lets out a sigh in relief as she takes a seat beside him, scooting closer to listen. "Well, we were.... hanging out, doing stuff, and she invited me to breakfast. How are you this morning?" "Ah ah'm just fine. Joints rattlin an ah'm sure ah'm fergettin somethin, but ah can't complain. Them Tops at the farm next door have been lettin their dogs in our yard too. Winonas been hollerin all day at them, keepin me up..." Granny starts rambling. I just smile along as I finish up preparing breakfast, happy to see Hammer listening to everything Granny Smith has to say. Breakfast goes without a hitch. Granny and Hammer take up most of the talking. Luckily Hammer stays fairly vague about what we did last night. Though he keeps saying that we did stuff.... not sure why but OK. Big Mac keeps quiet and Applebloom focuses on eating, so awkward subjects are avoided. Once everypony finishes their food Hammer and I clear the table as Big Mac heads out to the fields. Applebloom runs off to go do something with her friends and Granny.... I think she's heading for her rocking chair. Hard to tell with how slow she moves. Once the room is cleared I take a deep breath of relief and turn to Hammer. "Well.... at least nothin awkward happened." I joke, getting him to chuckle in response. "Things only get awkward if you let them. I tried to keep things as casual as possible, by the way. Is Big Mac going to kill me? I think he put one and one together." "Well... probably not." I say after some thought. He probably did figure it out, but he usually lets me handle my personal life. "Probably? So he..." "Lets go git mah sheets washed now. Ah'd prefer ta get them done now before gettin to mah chores." I say as I leave the sink and head for my room, not letting him respond. We gather my sheets and bring them down to the wash room in the back, passing a sleeping Granny on the way. We set them in the soapy water and get to scrubbing them clean. He's a good worker, focusing on his task while doing a fairly decent job, for a stallion that is. "So where do you grow the stuff?" He asks as he scrubs away. "Huh?" "Last night I asked you what you grew, and you said corn and stuff. I'm interested in what the stuff looks like and if it's any good." He says with a playful nudge. I realize what he's talking about and chuckle along with him. "Yer never goin ta let me live that down, are ya?" "Nope." "Thought so. So why didn't ya tell me you were only thirteen?" "I would have if we had talked a bit more, but things went a little faster than I expected." "Ah real sorry about that. Ah was jus.... bein hormonal ah guess..." "It's alright." He says quietly as he moves the sheets to the hanging wire. "Best. stuff. ever." "Oh hush you!" I say as I splash the water to him. He just laughs it off and helps me hang the last off the sheets, where we pause together. "So... ah've got a lot of chores ta do, but... maybe afterwards we could..." "Do some stuff?" He asks as he inches towards me. "Oh stop jokin!" I say as I push on his chest a bit. "Sorry, I joke when I get nervous." He says with a slight chuckle as he steps closer to me. "So... what time do you think you'll be done with everything?" "Around four." "Cool, so I'll swing by and we'll go do some stuff together." He says as he leans a bit closer to me. I lean up to him and graze his jaw line along the way to his ear. "Ah'd like that." I whisper before moving back and kissing him lightly on the lips. "APPLEJACK AND HAMMER, SITTING IN A TREE!" We both look over see the Cutie Mark Crusaders watching us from behind the house, singing loudly. I immediately try to hide my face behind Hammer as I feel my cheeks begin to burn. "K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Hammer sings along. I look up to his smirking face and just lean my forehead against his chest, submitting to my humiliation. "First comes stuff, then more stuff, then comes the really *muffle* stuff!" "Yer lucky ah'm in a good mood buster." I tell him as I look up to him, still blushing from all of the shouts from the girls. "Yeah, I know." He says before leaning down and kissing me one last time. "Four o' clock, I'll be here." He says as he begins to walk off. "Ah'll be waiting." I tell him as I watch him leave. "Make sure to bring the stuff!" He says as he motions to the house. "Git goin you!" I laugh as the girls start to swarm around him. "Hammer! Tell us how you got your cutie mark! Did it really take thirteen years? Is Applejack your special somepony? Why do you have a backpack?" The girls ask as they drag him off. I laugh a bit as he runs off with them, happy to answer most of their questions. With a content sigh I turn... "So he's the lucky stallion ta win ya?" "GAH!" SPLASH I sit up in the wash pan and shake the water from my mane as Granny sits on the outside, smiling as she looks down to me. "I SAW THAT!" Hammer yells as he disappears in the distance. "Hiya Granny. Ah.... uh...." "Applejack, ah know ah'm losing mah marbles an all, but ah know what that stallion was here fer." She says flatly. "Oh, yeah. Ah'm sorry Granny. Ah didn't mean ta hide the truth frum ya..." "Oh please. Ah know ah did the same, yer momma an pappy did the same, an ah know Big Mac was with Fluttershy long before that one dinner. It's what ya do when somepony else has yer heart. An ah know Sunny Rind and Fuji would approve of him." "... really?" I ask as I step out of the pan. "Ya really think so?" "Yer darn right ah think so. Not just any stallion would listen ta an old mare like me like he did. He's ona the good ones, don't let him git away." She says as she picks up my hat and sets it on my head. "Thanks Granny. Ah'll do mah best." I say before hugging her. We take a moment to squeeze each other before I move to go do my chores. "Where do ya think yer going?" She asks as she grabs my shoulder and pulls me back to face her. "Ah was goin ta dry off and do mah chores...." "No ye aint. Y'all gotta date tonight. We need ta get ya presentable iffin yer going ta make a good impression." She says as she starts to drag me into the house. "But ah..." "Ya don't wanna go lookin like sum two bit floozy, we gotta do yer mane, shine those hooves, straighten yer tail. Ya wanna impress Duct Tape or not?" "*sigh* fine. Jus none of that froo froo stuff, OK Granny?" "Do ah look like a froo froo pony to you?" She asks before moving towards her room. I just laugh nervously as I walk along with her. I just hope I don't end up looking like Granny by the end of this. ............................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Miles I feel a light shine through my eye lids and it forces me to open my eyes. Low and behold my favorite sight. Luna. She looks a little irritated about something, probably my being knocked out again. Fucking Hammer. "Morning beautiful." I say as I sit up "Oh don't you beautiful me mister." She says in an irritated tone, narrowing her eyes at me. "Did you have fun?" "... fun? You know, I love being knocked out..." "Not the time for jokes Miles." Luna says quickly, silencing me. She motions to something beside me and waits for me to look over. Why is Trixie sleeping in my bed? "Care to explain?" ".... I'd love to, but I have no fucking clue why Trixie is in my bed." I say as I shake her shoulders, making her tuck in more. "TRIXIE. Wake up." "Nnng, five more minutes." She mumbles sleepily. I sigh and look back to Luna, putting on the most innocent smile I can muster. "Luna..." "Miles, did you have your way with her?" She asks quickly. "...what?" "Did you have sex with her!" "No! The fuck Luna? I've been unconscious since Hammer threw that bar of death at me." I tell her as I get out of bed.... of fucking course I'm naked. If I was clothed that would be helpful. *sigh* Fucking Hammer. "Luna, you know me. I didn't do anything, I swear." I tell her as I take a knee before her. She looks away from me as she taps a hoof quickly, trying to think. "I believe that you didn't do anything. I just doubt that she didn't do anything." Luna says with malice as she glares at Trixie. "You have to tell her to leave." "I agree with you in that this was wrong. But..." "There is no but Miles! She clearly crossed a line and I don't want her in my home!" Luna says as she stands up, flaring her wings angrily. I just sigh and pull her in for a hug. What the... she's soft. Softer then usual. FOCUS! "Luna. I can't. She's.... she's the ancestral child of one of the dearest friends I've ever had. I will talk to her, but I...." "Miles." She says as she breaks our hug. We stare into each others eyes for a moment before she walks off for the closet. "Luna!" I call out to her as she takes the Mico platform. "Fuck." "Morning Miles." Trixie says as she sits up and stretches. "What's with all the...." "Why the fuck are you in my bed!?" I ask her. "...." "What?" I ask her. "Please tell me it grows." I'M NOT LITTLE!" I yell before pointing to the door. "Go down stairs already. We need to have a serious talk." "Miles..." "Now." I tell her firmly. She sighs as she gets up and leaves my room. I rub my eyes in irritation as I try to piece everything together. "So what about..." "Not now Trixie!" I snap as her. She quickly moves out of sight. I look over to the Mico platform and try to think of a way to make things right with Luna. I'm sure I'll think of something. With an annoyed groan I quickly get dressed, putting on a blue collared shirt and black pants, and head down stairs. I turn towards the living room where I stop. CC is sleeping on the couch as Damian slumps in a recliner. Patches is trying to pull his leg out of Lupus' mouth and Hammer.... Hammer is just sitting beside CC. A massive smile plastered on his face. "What the fuck are you doing here?" I ask him. "Well, you know Miles, I like being here. I like existing, here, on earth. enjoying the warm sun, breathing the air, walking from place to place, even getting hurt from time to time. Because at least then I'm existing." He says in a somewhat happy, yet condescending tone. "You know, life is good. Life is awesome. I'm alive, I've got backpack, I've got friends, I just got a marefriend, the girls want me to be the den mother for the Cutie Mark Crusaders, everything's looking up for me. Like, if I had to roll some dice, I would get the maximum amount those dice would have to offer... and if I were to roll an additional die I think it would only be off by one from that maximum." "I hate you." "And I think poorly of you too sir." He says with a confident smile. "So, you and Applejack fucked." I say as I move to the free recliner, surprising Hammer. "How did..." "I'm good at the game. I'm going to give you some advice right now, but only because Applejack is a good friend of mine and I want to see her be happy. One; don't ever lie to her. She embodies honesty so you won't get away with it..." "I wasn't..." "Two; family is important to her. Don't just try to be on good terms with them, try to form relations..." "I might already..." "Three; if you hurt her in any way, watch your ass." "I don't plan on..." "And lastly, when the time arrives, put your back into it." I say as I stand up. He gives me a confused looks before putting one and one together. "Well, lets see. I won't lie to her to begin with, I'm already starting to get on good terms with the Apples, and I think I put of my back into it the way she likes. So I think my ass is safe." He says with a smug smile. "I hate you." I mutter again as I head to the kitchen, finding Night Fury, True Will and Dust Devil eating breakfast. "Morning." I mutter to them, getting a mutter back, as I head to the fridge for some food.... it's empty. Today sucks. "Hey Captain," Dust Devil asks with a mouthful, "what time is the peoples meeting thing at?" "Right, first of the month, we'll hold it at twelve..." "So in forty minutes." True Will points out. I pull out my phone as check the time, cursing my luck. "Alright, True Will, can you go gather Moosden and bring them here. Dust Devil, can you go about Ponyville and gather the others. I'll head to Canterlot to get Celestia and Luna." I ask them, getting quick salutes as they head out. "Trixie, can you follow me please." I ask as I head out the back door. We head down to the shed where I begin to pace about, unsure of how to breach the subject. "So... Miles..." Trixie starts nervously. "Did you have sex with me last night." I blurt out. "No!" "Don't lie to me, is that the truth?" I ask as I step towards her. "It's the truth, I swear it on my life!" She says as she straightens out. I relax a little and lean against the wall. "I didn't do anything because... I... well, I..." "Don't finish that..." "I wanted you to want me back." She says quietly as she steps towards me. "Trixie, we will never be anything like that. I will always view you as just a friend. I love my wife and will never break those vows I took with her." I tell her. She lowers her head and nods, stifling some tears. "I'm sorry, but don't ever do what you did again." "I..... I'm sorry." She says before turning to leave. "I'll go now..." "Trixie." I call out to her, but she doesn't stop. "Trixie Ostendere." She pauses at the entrance and looks back. We stare at one another for a moment before I sigh. "Non relinquas mi carissime." She doesn't respond. She simply smiles and nods before flashing out. I sigh in annoyance and begin grabbing all of the gear I had been working on. Today is going to be a long day. "Satisfied?" I ask aloud. Blink blink. "I didn't think so... but... are we good?" ... blink. "Hm, good. Will you and Celestia be joining us for the citizens meeting?" Blink. "Then you need to get moving, meeting starts in twenty. And I want to see my beautiful wife already." I say, getting her to stop the spell. I spend the next twenty minutes moving all of the gear to my living room, spotting Moosden as they appeared below the communications array. "Howdy there Miles!" Bantler greets as he trot up to me. "I have good news!" "Oh? Whats that?" I ask him as I take the last of my gear in. "We have a family wanting to move in to Moosden! The mill will be starting up again!" He announces proudly. "That's amazing! Do you know how many?" "At least six of them are coming, maybe more. I'll need refreshing on the duel citizenship you told me about. They already agreed to it, we just need to...." SLAM We all look over to see Dust Devil in the doorway. Her eyes are wide and her pupils have shrunken to a dot. She stumble over to the recliner before taking a seat and stares at the floor. "Hey Dust Devil.... you alright?" I call out to her. "..." "What happened?" "So...." "So.... what?" I ask as I kneel before her. "So... long." She mumbles. "Ooooh, you walked in on Storm and Twilight, didn't you". She nods... then shakes her head. "Storm.... Twilight... Fluttershy... Big Mac... all..." "It's alright soldier. You've been through enough." I tell as I pat her shoulder. "Alright, lets try it..." "WAIT!" Damian yells from the dining room table. "Lets just use the necklaces!" "... that's a good idea..." "Can I do it?" He asks as he jumps out of his chair and runs over to me. "Uh... sure..." "Yes! *ahem* calling all Spartans, calling all Spartans," he whispers into the necklace, "STOP FUCKING YOUR WIVES AND GET TO THE CITIZENS MEETING!" He yells at the top of his lungs, jumping in place as he does so. "That's all." "A little over the top." I mutter as I rub my ear a bit. "But, should be effective... unless Storm already finished..." "REALLY!?" Dust Devil yells as she jumps off the recliner and heads to the kitchen. Damian lets out an evil laugh as he trots back to his friends... is... is this normal for us... fuck. Knock knock knock I walk to the door and open it up to find Celestia, Cadence, Shinning Armor and Luna standing there with about ten guards moving to guard my home. "Uh... hi, what are Cadence and Shinning doing here?" I ask Celestia and Luna. "We thought, being allies, that we could come to one of these meetings, see how things work out on this end." Cadence says as she steps forward. "I hope we aren't over stepping our bounds." "Well.... I'll only allow it as long as you allow some Terradisians to attend a Crystal Empire meeting." "Deal." Shinning says quickly. I nod and step aside, allowing them all to enter. Luna and I share a moment before she follows after her sister. With a sigh I go to shut the door, but stop when I see Twilight, Storm, Big Mac, and Fluttershy walking towards my home. Well, the others are walking at least. Storm is asleep, being levitated by Twilight . "Hey." I say to them. They all pause for a second, blushing slightly as they look elsewhere. "Can you wake Storm up?" "Uh... yeah... in a bit at least." Twilight says as she toys with her mane. "Great, where's Spike?" "On his way." "..." "..." "..." "Well, this is awkward." I say as I move aside, letting them enter. I look up and see Rainbow Dash gliding down, so I keep the door open for her. "Hey." She says as she zooms by. Let's see... all we need is... "Sorry I'm late." Spike says. I look around until he drops down before me. "I was out flying, working my wings and all." He says as he gives a few test flaps and tucks them in. "What's your canopy?" "About... ten thousand feet." "Speed cap?" "Uh... I'm not sure. I think I'm faster then the average pegasus, but no where near as fast as rainbow." "Hm, that's good to hear. Keep up the good work." I tell him, getting him to smile proudly. "Stick around after the meeting and we'll have more training, you've been practicing right?" "Of course! I can make fire a lot easier and I even figured out water!" "Whoa, slow it down kid. Water? Remember water and ice are similar, but still hold their own perspectives." I say as I start to walk inside. "I will, master." Spike says as he walks in after me. I go to the living room where I take my place before everyone. The room is full of quiet people and conversations. The Moosden people seem to be the most excited of the bunch, though I can understand why. "Alright, lets get started." I say firmly over the crowd, silencing them all. "First order of business, Terradisia is now officially allied with the Crystal Empire and Equestria. What this means for us now is unknown. Perhaps trade will begin, metals and timber for who knows what." Bantler and Nada share an excited look before mumbling something to Butterscotch and E'Claire. I guess trade will be something good. "Jasper was a bust, kind of. We found what we went for, but the city has been over run with enormous bugs, so if you find yourself in Trottingham, stay out of the mines." Celestia and Luna share some quiet mutters before straightening out. "Everyone, this is Trixie Ostendere." I say as I point her out. "The Ursa Majors sent her here to make some kind of message, it didn't work. So we're going to hit them where it effects them the most, their wallets. We will continue to use their people in our journeys to Terradisia, but in the end, we wont be paying them." "Really?" True Will groans. "EEyup." "Well, it will piss them off, but it wont stop them. They've stockpiled millions of bits from prior jobs and excavations..." "Have they been doing any illegal works? Something that may further hurt them?" Celestia asks. "Yeah. Murders, stealing fine jewelry, even bribing government officials to have political pull. You name it, they have their hooves in it somehow." Dust Devil tells her. "Where do they operate?" I ask. "Well... we don't know..." "They're in Trottingham." Damian buts in. "The back of some floral shop. Their leaders are two ponies, an orc, a goblin and some fat griffin, I'll have their names at the next meeting. Be careful moving in on them though, they have eyes watching the entire city with escape tunnels leading to the outskirts of town. If you really want to get them, they meet every other Thursday. I'd suggest going through the southern tunnel, it has the least traps and only one locked door." "How do you know that Damian?" Luna asks. "We know everything." He deadpans. "Why do you think I'm the intelligence lieutenant." "Damian, you're cheating." CC tells him. "I call it an unfair advantage." Damian says with a smirk. "Anyway, last bit of real business, we're looking forward to a family moving to Moosden. According to Bantler it's going to be at least six people. Next meeting should have more citizens to welcome..." "Wait, what?" Celestia ask. "Moosden citizens? Is Moosden under Terradisian control?" "Yes, the guards were abusing their power, so we took control of the city. If Equestria wants it back, it's too late for that." I tell Celestia. "Sorry Princess." Bantler apologies' as he lowers his head to her. "We like this new government." Nada finishes quietly. Celestia looks between all of us before nodding in acceptance. "Spartans today will be receiving armor and weapon specialization. I also expect the jumpers to meet today and set up a training regiment. I've heard about the challenge against the Wonderbolts and would like to see nothing less then victory. Spartan pride." I say, getting a chuckle from Luna and Celestia. "Laugh now, but when we take the title of best fliers in Equestria, we'll see whose laughing then." Rainbow Dash defends, flaring her wings a bit. "We will see." Celestia says with an even, unbiased tone. "Well, that's all for today. Any concerns that...." "Actually, I have one." Bantler says as he stands. "Our mills haven't been operational in... a long time. We need new tools and supplies before any timber work can begin." "Alright. Meet up with me later in the week and we'll work on that." I tell him, getting a large smile in response. "Anything else... no? Then meeting adjourned." The room erupts into conversations as everyone stands. Spartans move towards the front while everyone else lingers back. Cadence and Shinning begin to approach me, though Shinning seems a little reluctant to do so. "Miles, we have an odd request to make of you." Cadence says. "OK, what's up." "Well, we'd like to..." "I'm telling you, I don't need it." Shinning says, sounding as if he's said it a thousand times already. "I'm the Captain of the Royal Guard, they don't just give that title away. I. Don't. Need. Training." "Wait, you want training?" I ask. "Yes." Cadence answers. "NO!" Shinning refuses. They begin to bicker to one another as everyone starts to ease drop on their loud conversation. "ENOUGH!" I yell over them, getting them to stop. "Follow me please." Not letting them respond, I make my way upstairs to my room where I head to my closet. I begin to strap my armor and weapons on as I wait for them to enter my room, being nearly finished when they enter. "I don't need Spartan training." Shinning says slowly. "Good, because you aren't getting Spartan training." I say, getting Cadence to deflate. "But i can give you basic Terradisian training..." "Don't insult me." He says dejectedly. "I am a Captain. If I except any training from you, then it's showing that I think you're a better fighter then me...." "Well, I am. Look, stick around today for training. If you aren't convinced that there are somethings you can learn, then don't come back. What do you say?" He looks back to Cadence, who smiles at him, before looking back to me and nods. "Good, then let's go then." I say as I head down stairs. We make our way out front where we find all of the Spartans, clad in their new armor. At my arrival they snap at attention and line up, waiting for my command. I look back to my porch to see everyone watching, waiting patiently for me to begin. Shinning takes a seat beside me and huffs in annoyance. "Spartans! Today we will be doing specialization training, and we're in luck. Shinning Armor will be training with us, so lets show everyone the difference between guards and soldiers. Up first, let's have Damian." He steps forward and rears up as he begins to twirl his staff around, showing off his skill. I was fine with it, but the twirl around the neck was just showing off. "STICK O DOOM!" He yells before taking his stance. I draw my sword and offer it to Shinning, who takes it in annoyance. "Damian, try not to kill him and remember your footing." I tell him, getting chuckles from everyone. As they square off with one another I step back and stand by the other Spartans. In the blink of an eye Damian closes the distance between the two of them and begins to spin his staff around. Shinning barely had time to react before taking several hits to his gut and head. Before Shinning could retaliate Damian jumps back and takes his stance again. A bit winded, Shinning presses his attack, slashing and using his larger size to push Damian back. Damian keeps calm and uses his smaller size and faster movements to avoid all of his hits. With the simplest of twists of his staff he would guide a blow away. "Damian, it's a staff, not your dick, so quit playing with it and finish him already." I yell out, getting a few chuckles as Damian suddenly vanishes. Shinning holds his stance as everyone begins to murmur. Suddenly Shinning falls forward as Damian appears behind him, stick the butt of his staff against his head. Damian tries to deliver a flurry of blows, but is stopped by Shinnings shield. As he gets back to his hooves, Damian punches the shield and with a thunderous explosion shatters it. He shoots forward and begins to mercilessly beat back Shinning. Any defense the guard tries to put up is simply knocked away by a quick slap of his staff. "ENOUGH!" I yell as I march forward. Damian stops mid strike and steps back, grinning madly as Shinning slumps to the ground, covered in bruises. "Notes?" "Quick and pokey." Damian replies stupidly. "Close enough. Remember though, sometimes it's better to let them strike at you, it opens them up and gives you a chance to disarm them." "Will do Captain." He says as he gives a mock salute. "Shinning, you alive?" I ask, only getting a mumble of a response. "Pussy guard." Damian chuckles. "Dishonorable soldier." I snap back. He rolls his eyes and nods before taking his place back in the line up. "Come on, lets get you healed up for the rest of training." I say as I kneel before Shinning and place my hands on him. A few seconds later he snaps up, fully healed and aware of his defeat. "He cheated." He says as he glares at Damian. "This was a contest of blades, not magic..." "Staff dude, I didn't have a blade." The little smart ass yells back. "Damian, two hundred squats." I yell at him. He lets out an annoyed groan as he lifts his staff above his head and begins to count out his squats. "And as for his cheating, there are no rules for victory. You use what you have to win..." "Then where's the honor in that! We aren't barbarians Miles..." "NO! We aren't! We're husbands and sons and daughters and people with families Shinning! Where is the honor in dying and leaving them alone? Where is the honor in holding back to make people you don't care about think slightly higher of you? You win your fights, respect your enemies, and return home to your loved ones! That's the difference between a guard and a soldier!" "It's not the same Miles!" "THEN YOU LOOK TO YOUR PREGNANT WIFE AND LET HER KNOW THAT YOU'RE GOING TO LET ME KILL YOU FOR YOUR HONOR! DEFEND YOURSELF, CAPTAIN, PRINCE, SUPPOSED HUSBAND AND FATHER! IF YOU DON'T SHAPE UP I WILL TAKE YOUR LIFE!" I yell at the top of my lungs as I pull out my trench knife and take my stance; igniting the first level of it's enchantment. An eerie silence falls over us as we stare each other down. He takes a look over to Cadence and stands there. Unaware of the danger before him. I take initiative and charge straight for him, blade facing forward ready to strike. He swings horizontally at my, forcing me to duck back as I slide to my knees. When I spring back up I bring armored knuckles up to meet his chest, only to be stopped be his shield. With a powerful explosion his shield shatters for the second time today. Not wasting a moment, I push forward, trying to gain a critical hit. He brings the sword across and blocks my hit. He tries to push an attack, but when he tries to slice his sword down onto me, I block it with the knuckles of my knife and kick forward, sending him back. With his grip loosened, I twist my knuckles and lock the blade. A few kicks to the gut and one quick pull gains me my sword. I stand back and push my magic to have both weapons flaring with power. Shinning wipes his maw before igniting his horn, creating two energy sabers before him. I shake my head as I take my stance. So it's the hard way then. THUD THUD THUD THUD THUD THUD As Shinning and I begin to circle one another, the Spartans begin to stomp their hooves and slam the butts of their weapons against the ground. Egging us to press the fight. Shinning moves to charge forward, but I get the first attack. I stab my sword into the ground, sending a row of earthen spikes, heading for Shinning.He dives to the side and slides a bit, but has to move again. With my sword still buried, I twist around and swing it over head towards him. A massive column of earth comes straight for him, forcing him to jump back. I run forwards and slam my knife into the column. It explodes outwards and peppers all over Shinning as he tries to shield off the attack. In a flash he teleports behind me and tries to slice at me. With a spin, I dodge his attack and swing back at him with my sword. A large plume of fire fumes from my sword and forces him to teleport again. When he appears a distance away I take off after him, launching myself magically at him. He raises a shield again as I swing my sword at him once more. I try to stab through the shield, but it proves too strong to break through. A couple more stabs give me the chance to look Shinning over. He's scared. His horn is covered in several layers of magic as his eyes dart from side to side, trying to figure out his next move. I bring my knife up and push the next level of enchantment out. An archaic circle appears around the base of the blade as the runes on it burn brightly. I give a single punch against the shield before I jump back to watch. At first, everything stays quiet. Then, in a deafening boom, five massive jets of energy appear randomly around the shield. The bright energy pushes closer and closer until only a ball of fiery energy is left. I jump before my home and raise my hands, creating a massive dome of a shield. KRA-BOOOOM The ball of energy explodes with enough force to send webs of cracks all along my shield. Everything turns white for a period of time before a hue of red washes over. A massive fire is now taking place where Shinning once was. Everything returns to silence as the fire burns itself out. When I hear another flash of energy I side step and grab Shinning by his mane. He tries to fight out of my grasp, but when I laid my knife on throat, he gave up. "This, would have been the end of your country. This, would have widowed your wife. This.... would have killed the father of that unborn child." I say quietly. At the last part he slumps a bit as he begins to truly understand. "Where is the honor in not doing everything to keep those things? There is honor in the manner in which we fight, but as for the means.... you win, or you die. There is no grey area." "....I'd like that training now." He says quietly, shedding a single tear. "ALRIGHT!" I yell as I drop him and face the other Spartans. "Let's begin then! You will all find that your armor has been enchanted for strength and speed bonuses. Third enchantments have been specialized to better fit your weapon styles..." ............................................................................................................................................................... After a few hours of training the other Spartans in their weapons, we finally call it a day. Damian didn't really get a chance to get acquainted with his weapon, having to do so many squats. Shinning and I spent most of the time sparring with one another. Today we worked on using the rest of his body as a weapon, not just his sword. It seemed so foreign to him, but he was quick to learn. Spike and I sparred for a bit as well, magically of course. His grasp on water is fairly basic, but I'm sure he'll expand on it soon enough. Fire, on the other hand, or claw for him, has become superb. He can hold a plume of fire for over a minute without staggering. With those elements down, I started teaching him in stone. He was able to lift a pebble by the end of our training. "Alright, I think that'll do for today." I announce, getting everyone to sigh in relief. With a collective groan, all of the groups that were sparring suddenly drop from exhaustion. "So... how did I do?" Spike asks, slightly winded. "You did good. Keep working on stone and be sure to keep working on the gravity on as well." I tell him as I pat him on the back. "Thanks... Master." He says as he stretches a bit and heads over to the porch. "Hey Miles," Damian says as he approaches me, "so, are we doing the Icy Void training?" "Well... alright. Lets take five before heading into the Everfree." I tell him, getting a nod in response. "Icy Void training? You can train ponies in Icy Void?" True Will asks as him, Storm and Night Fury approach me. "I can't train him in how to use Icy Void, but I can train him how to better defend himself from it..." "Can we get trained to do so?" Storm asks as they all step towards me, eagerly waiting for my response. "No." "AAW!" "First off, the only other magic user is True Will, and he is no where near powerful enough to even dream about this kind of training. Damian is...." I pause as I look back to him. "Special." "Yeah, so get back to training before I whip out my Stick of Doom!" He says as he whips out his staff, making the others step back slightly. I laugh at their irrational fear and head to take a seat beside Spike, trying to relax a bit before moving on. "Am I going to receive training for Icy Void?" Spike asks. "No. But I would like you there to learn how to breach an unfamiliar energy. I don't know anyone who has ever had a power like this, so we'll be taking extra precautions." "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Twilight asks from behind. "No, but Damian needs to know how to deal with this kind of thing, so I have to." I tell her. I look around for Celestia or Luna, but they must have left. "Thank you Miles." Cadence says from my left. "For not killing him..." "Oh, don't thank me. I was legitimately trying to kill him. He only survived because he's good at teleporting. Though, when I'm done with him, he'll do better. I'm sure of it." "Oh... OK then." She says as she walks past me, heading for Shinning. She passes Damian and eyes him a bit, but continues on. "Five minutes, lets go!" He says, eager to continue. "First off, don't ever give me an order. Secondly, it hasn't even been a minute yet." "Sorry sir, but I'm getting antsy. I really want to get started." He says as he shifts about uneasily. "*sigh* fine. Come on Spike." I say as I stand. "Lets get this over with." Perspective: Third Person Omniscient Deep within the depths of fire and brimstone, a great and powerful evil grinned madly. The unknowing vestige of Micheal edged closer and closer to his total corruption. Soon, delightfully soon, his own presence would take a firm hold and his will would begin to guide the vessel towards his damnation. His only concern was the presence of his unruly subordinate. Though still trapped, he knew all too well that his being there would alter events. It did not concerned him. It was too late for any great change to happen. Mortalis de Bellum, we shall see. Perspective: Miles "Alright, this should be far enough." I say as we come to a stop. We had walked deep into the Everfree to avoid harming anyone. An hour and a half later I feel confident that we've accomplished that. "Alright, so just shoot me and I'll try to block it..." "Or we can not be idiots and do this with a bit of thought." I tell Damian. "Make a shield away from yourself and I'll shoot it. From there try and gauge what it will take to block it." "Oh... that's a lot smarter." Damian says as he rubs his short red hair. "Yeeeeeaah, lets get started then." I say as I flare my hands. Damian nods and takes his place before me, creating a dark blue shield to his right. I look down to my hand and try to force it shut. As usual, there's a resistance when I near my palm. I focus a bit harder and press harder. Slowly, painfully slowly, I begin to shut my hand. Though I only saw it for a second, I think the circle around the archaic fire turned to a pentagon. I'm no sure of this though. I would have to open my hand to check. The two black orbs appear above each my fist. Wisps of cold, black energy falls from each of the orbs. My lines instantly begin to grow up past my wrists, being jagged and slightly thicker. I take a few breathes before readying myself to attack. "You ready for this?" I ask. "Are you?" He replies. I take one more deep breath before punching forward. A solid black beam erupts from the orb and bursts straight through his shield. I drop the spell and drop my arms. "OK, that, was powerful." "Yeah... ready to try again?" I ask as I raise my hands again. He nods and raises his shield again, a blue aura forming around his hooves. With another deep breath I punch forward and blast his shield away, though this time there's a slight pause before it does so. "OK, I've got it." He says as I lower my arms. "Lot and lots of energy. Like, a fuck tun of energy." "Alright, lets go again until you can stand behind you shields." I say as I raise my arms, noting the lines growing up to my shoulders. "Alright, GO!" Two Hours Later "AAAH" I yell as I fire another beam of Icy Void. It slams into his shield and tears away at it as Damian holds it back. The two forces fight for supremacy before Icy Void breaks though. Having plenty of time to judge it, Damian leaps out of the way unscathed. "OK.... OK....*cough cough* I think that's... *couch cough*... that's enough." I say as I fall to the ground. I cough as a tight feeling takes over my chest. My lines have taken over my entire body and I can't stop panting. "Are you alright Miles?" Spike asks from behind. "*cough cough cough*" "Dude... yo don't so good." Damian says as he steps towards me. "BACK AWAY FROM ME!" I yell as my vision began to blur. I slam my hands down on the ground as I felt something begin to take over. Black, jagged lines started to grow on the edge of my vision as I screamed out in pain. I tried to fight back, but... there was nothing I could do.... ALL SHALL TURN TO THE VOID! Perspective: Corpus Glacius With a tremendous yell I take control of my host and flare my magic. Four dark tendrils of Icy Void, as Miles has come to call it, shoot out from my hands, heels, and back. All spirits and souls that were near began to flee, fearing for their after lives. Using the tendrils from my back for support, I lift the mortal body off the ground and glare down at the abomination before me. "RUN!" It yells to the others as it drops its staff. "I'LL TRY TO HOLD IT OFF!" "HAHAHA! Demon, all shall crumble before the void." I chuckle as I shoot out my tendrils all around the forest. Wherever they strike, a pentagon of archaic energy would appear. "I'm no mere demon." It spoke in two voices before letting out a howl of pain and doubling over. Along its back and legs the skin began to tear as bloodied, black plates bulged out. Its arms and legs grew in length as two curved swords appeared in its hooves. It stood, roughly the height of my host, and readied itself. "I shall destroy you quickly." I say as I begin to move around the beast, planting more of the archaic pentagons. "You can try, but you will not succeed." It replies, turning to stay facing me. "Who are you, what are you? What is it you want?" "I am Corpus Glacius. Power manifested. Living corruption. And Uideretur sibi Nihil." We both come to a stop, lowering as we each readied to attack. "And I want nothing." I wrap myself in my tendrils and drop into a different planes. Back with the demon, the pentagons explode with tremendous force. The form doesn't falter, rather, it stabs down into the earth and sends blackened flames towards me. I launch myself back into reality and immediately begin to move back as the demon gives chase. It runs with a hellish speed, gaining speed quickly, before leaping into the air to strike me down. THWACK Using a tendril, I swat him out of the air and send him crashing through two trees before sliding to a halt. With little effort, the beast jumps to its feet and looks over the slash crossing its chest. With an insane laugh it draws its swords before charging for me again. Pointing my arms out, I send several tendrils into nearby trees. Through the cracks and crevices dark energy seeps from them, molding to my will. They bend and slam into the ground before the beast, only missing because it leaps between the branches. Spikes of branches shoot out in an attempt to strike the beast, but it moves too quick for a kill. He reaches me and begins to press an attack, swinging madly at the mortal body. I move back and begin to climb through the trees, leaving exploding pentagons in my wake. The beast chases me, leaping from tree to tree as it swings its blades madly. From the blades black flames of Void erupt, forcing me to retaliate. I wrap a tree in my tendrils and force the branches to explode outward, coated in my Void. The beast is stopped and sent flying back from several direct hits. Releasing the tree, I drop to the ground and begin to approach him as he regains his footing. Holding several tendrils before myself, I create several pentagons in the air and fire solid beams of Void at him. Skillfully, he leaps and twirls out of harms way before charging straight for me. I've grown tired of running. Holding my right arm out, I focus the Void into a massive plume of a sword. Likewise, the beast began to focus its own energy into its swords, leaving a trail of fire and Void in its wake. Time began to slow as we began to strike at one another. The desire to destroy each other etched in our faces, the passion for death glowing in our eyes, the empty fires of Void nearing one another.... And then, we struck. Perspective: Spike What on earth is going on! What happened to Miles! He turned into... I don't even know! It... it was terrifying. Then Damian change! What was that! He almost looked human, but... a lot scarier. CC, Hammer and Patches now are holding their hooves up, pointing towards where they ran off. I don't know what's going on any... KRA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM The earth violently shakes as a massive explosion tears the forest apart. Acting completely on instinct, I jump in front of the others and throw my arms out, making a shield dome around us. I hear the explosion crash into something and shatter it before crashing into my barrier. For a second I went wide eyed as I felt the barrier smash my weak shield. I had mere seconds to fall forward and scoop everypony up before the flames washed over us. Even with my thick scales, even with the magical buffs, and even with my new found stamina; this, hurt. Long after the flames died off I held onto the others, shaking from the new found pain on my back. It was only when CC started to pry herself from my grasp did I release them to fall to the ground. Lucky for them, my body took most of the heat, but they still were sweating lightly. "What the buck was that!" Hammer yelled as they all looked around in confusion. "Thank you Spike." CC says as she nuzzles my cheek. "That was very brave of you." "D-don't mention it." I say as I roll onto my stomach. "H-how is m-my back?" "Well..." She pauses as I feel her hooves press lightly on my wings. I wince from it and let out a low growl of annoyance, making her pull back. "Try to hold still, I can take the edge off. Then we can go get Miles and Damian..." "Are you sure that's a good idea?" Patches asks as I feel a cool sensation begin to wash over my back. "Are you nuts?! Why wouldn't we heal him? He..." "Not what I meant. I mean, are you sure we should go after Miles and Damian. If even one of them are still changed... it's too dangerous." CC falls quiet for a moment as she focuses on my back. I'd question how a pegasus could use magic to heal, but the relief from pain was too great to question. "Damian would do the same for us. We're going, that's final." CC says firmly. We all share an uneasy look before silently agreeing. After nearly a half hour of healing I'm finally able to stand, so we head through what was the forest. The ground has turned grey as the air is filled with an ashy snow. All of the blacked trees are leaning to the side and are getting narrower as we get closer to the epicenter. A bone chilling silence fills the wasteland as our steps echo through the stillness. I glance around and think of all the life that was just lost here. Plants, animals, nothing could have lived through that. We come to a stop where the trees vanish and the ground slopes down. In the middle of a large crater lie Miles and Damian, looking like their normal selves. We share a relieved look before running down to them. As we approach them, they both seem to wake. They sit up and take a look around, trying to piece everything together. We pause near them and wait for one off them to speak. "Damian." Miles says weakly. "Yeah?" "I think you passed Icy Void training." They both break into pained laughs, infecting us as well. "Come on, lets.... lets... hnng." Miles stutters as he tries to stand, only to fall and grab at his chest. "Oh crap." Hammer says as he produces a pink bar of soap from him bag and gets ready to throw it. "Is he going to change again?" "No... I... I... AAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Miles yells as he falls back and arches his back. His power lines flare over his entire body as his portals come to life. He twists and shakes as he lets out pained cries. "What's going on!?" I ask as step away from him. "Is going to change again?" I look to the other only to see the concerned faces. "Miles! Miles what's going on! What's happening?!" "I...I'm.... changing!" He yells as he slams his arm down to the ground and sends a blast of energy that shatters a distant tree. "NO... it's.... new.... hnnngn.... power!" In a panic I run over to him and try to hold his arms down. "He's freezing....no... I remember this... it's a power change." I say as I look to the others. They look to one another before nodding in understanding. "I can take you home, but you have to try to not harm me. Do you think you can do that?" I ask him. He looks me in the eyes, pain filling his face, before shaking his head. "Well, I'm doing anyway master." I say before lifting him up and carrying him on my shoulders. "Spike, are you sure..." "Let's go." I say as I begin to walk off. There isn't anything they could say that could change my mind. My master is in pain. And the only logical thing my mind could come up with was to get him home. Perspective: Third Person Omniscient Far above, in a planes flowing in milk and honey, a great and powerful being mused the dealings of lesser beings. Though direct dealings have ceased, his masters dealing have continued to play out. Call it blind luck, call it pre-ordained destiny, he truly worked in mysterious ways. His vestige, though tainted, was still on it's way to a greater purpose. Patience, a virtue in it of its name, was all that was required now. Author's Note Congradulations if you follow by post. We're in the final stretch of 2nd arc. I estimate twelve to fourteen more chapters. And yes, I estimate that they will all be this long. One last note, Sine Wave, I'm impatient. Your thing has one week left from the post of this chapter. Sorry. Brony on!
Chapter 162 One Last AdventureChapter 162 One Last Adventure Perspective: Miles ... was that... ... destroyed everything... ...can't wait... ... not safe... ...kill... YOU WILL NEVER HAVE CONTROL, GIVE IN TO THE VOID. DON'T GIVE UP NOW; FIGHT! Murmurs. They sound so distant, barely within my ability to hear. Fear filled, scared, worried, concern all seamlessly pointed towards me. I can't blame them really. What we were doing was reckless, but necessary. There should be something out there able to answer me. Keep me in check. I guess Damian is that thing. I can see why she wanted him to receive training now. How long have I been out? A day? A week? A few hours? My arms still burn from the spells, so it couldn't be that long. My back is stiff, so I must still be on the ground. I can't open my eyes. I'm too tired to do so. I can sleep a bit longer, not like I really have a choice. ... how did... ...we can't... ... to be around... ... kill... JUST RELAX. DON'T DO ANYTHING. THE VOID WILL BE THERE FOR YOU, IT'S ALWAYS THERE FOR YOU. MILES! THIS ISN'T YOU, YOU DON'T GIVE UP. FIGHT HARDER! I don't feel good, which is strange; usually when I change, I feel better. The weight gets released from my chest and I... just feel better. Not this time. The pressure is still there, a damned constant reminder. I did start to change, right? I remember that much. Writhing in pain right after Damian and I finished our training. I started it... but... if I'm thinking this clearly, then why haven't I woken yet? ... not ready... ... we can... ... anytime now... ... just wake up... SHH... IT'LL ALL BE OVER SOON. GIVE IN TO THE VOID. IT'LL ALL BE OVER SOON. FIGHT FOR IT! I open my eyes slowly. I'm in the living room, laying on the ground. I take a few deep breaths before sitting up and taking in my surroundings. All of the Spartans, the girls, Big Mac, Trixie, Butterscotch, E'Claire, Shadow and Spike are here. It's the middle of the night and they're all asleep. I smile to Shadow as she shuffles in her sleep and reach out to stroke her mane... but stop. My hand. My magic is flaring, with the lines going just around my wrist. Confused, I try to shake off the magic, but no matter how hard I shake, the white flames continue to burn. I check my other hand to find it burning as well. "I'm dying." I mutter as I stare at my flaring hands. I scoot back until my back is against the wall, where I try to keep a hold of myself. I'm... I'm dying, now. I can't believe it, what happened to a year!? I'm suppose to have at least six more months before this started! How.... what... why... "Daddy?" Shadow mutters as she lifts her head and looks at me. "You woke up." "Y-yeah." I say, somewhat in a trance. She picks herself up off the recliner and walks over to me, where she nestles herself into my lap. "I was worried. You've been asleep for four days, what happened?" She asks sleepily. I try to answer her, but choke as I begin to tear up. I've know this was going to happen... but now that it's facing me... I don't want to die. What do I have to give to stop this. There's too much here for me now for me to go. Can't I.. isn't there... why? "Twilight said... she said that this is... it. Is that true?" She asks as she looks up to me, eyes beginning to tear up. I move to hug her, but stop when I realize I would burn her. I CAN'T EVEN HUG HER! She's starting to cry and I can't fucking comfort her! "I'm so sorry," I mutter as I break down. "I shouldn't have gotten close to you. I should have stayed away. I should have..." "No!" She yells as she stands and wraps her arms around my neck, tears flowing freely down her face . "No... who would have been my daddy then! Nopony else would have been as nice as you were! I don't want anypony else, I want Daddy! Please, don't go! Please, I'll do anything, just don't go! I'll mine gems! I'll buck apples, please Daddy! Please don't die!" She yells, waking everyone as she sobs into my neck and holds me tightly. "I'm so sorry." I whisper to her as I wrap my arms around her, being sure to keep my hands as far from her as possible. "Daddy." She mutters as she buries stops begging and continues her sobbing. I try my best to comfort her to the best of my abilities, rubbing my arms against her, but... it doesn't help. I look to everyone and try to find someone able to help, knowing all too well that there isn't anything anyone could do. "Miles." E'Claire says quietly as she and Butterscotch approach me. "With your permission, we'd like to watch over Shadow." "*sniff* y-yeah. Yeah, that... I'd appreciate that," I say as I hold her a bit tighter. "Just... take good care of her, you know. " "We will..." "Keep her out of mines and away from spiders..." "We know..." "Don't let her forget Lantern Light either. Get her started in school, make sure she studies hard, watch..." "Miles." Butterscotch cuts me off. "We will do everything and more for her. You don't need to worry. Whenever you're ready, we will be waiting by the Mico platform to Moosden." I nod to her and try to get control over myself as everyone in the room starts to sadden. Many openly cry while a few try to keep strong, wiping tears away and holding stiff upper lips. E'Claire walks over to us and gives me a soft kiss on the forehead, dropping a few tears on my cheeks as she tries to hold it together. "Thank you, Miles. You've.... I'm a better mare because of you. I promise to do everything possible to make Shadow happy. She won't forget you." I nod to her as well as the two of them leave the room. I take a few deep breaths as I look back to everyone else. "Can... can you gives us a minute, please. I... I want to..." "We'll be out front," Twilight tells me as she takes her leave. "Captain," Storm says with a salute as he follows after Twilight. "Master," Spike says, duplicating Storms' action. "Captain. Scoots sends her regards as well. And... we'll be there. When it... we'll be there," Rainbow Dash says quietly. "Captain," Big Mac states simply. "Like Rainbow said, we'll be there for you." Fluttershy says peaceably before leaving with Big Mac. "Captain. Don't worry about the Spartans either. We'll keep going.... you taught us well." Night Fury tells me before moving on. He wasn't crying, but I can tell he was fighting hard. "Captain." True Will offers with a neutral expression before leaving. Pfft, even with my death he fight emotion. It's.... comforting. "Captain!" Dust Devil wails as she comply loses it before me. True Will comes back and has to carry her out, shaking his head along the way. "Miles..." Trixie starts but chokes immediately. "I... uh... well... you..." "I know." I tell her. I allow her to plant a simple kiss on my forehead before she heads upstairs. "Miles, darling," Rarity says as she walks up to me. "Anything you need to, whenever, you just ask. We're here for you and we'll do our best to make it... I'm sorry..." "It's alright," I say as I lean my head against Shadows. She started to calm down a bit now, so I begin to rub my chin against her head in an attempt to help comfort her. "I understand." "Oh... Miles..." She turns and walks out, bickering about her tears ruining her eye liner. Rarity wouldn't expect anything less. "Pinkie, you're hair’s flat." I point out as she walks up to me. "Well... I'm not feeling poofy right now. You're not smiling, neither is Shadow or anypony.... oh, TB! Why did you have to make this sad!" She says before running out of the room. Pinkie, still Pinkie. "Miles... ah..." "How was the date with Hammer?" I ask with a slight chuckle. She laughs as well before giving me a kiss on the forehead. She leaves with her hat off, trying to cover the tears on her face. With everyone out of the room I take a few deep breathes as I continue to try to soothe Shadow. "Daddy." "Shadow... I know this is going to hurt. It's going to hurt a lot. But... goodbye." "No! I don't want to say it!" she says as she shakes her head. "Goodbye Shadow. You may not have been my blood, but you were my daughter." "Take me with you, please! I don't want to lose anymore family! Why does this have to happen? Daddy!" She sobs, digging her hooves into my shoulders as she holds me tighter. "I love you." "*sniff* I love you too Daddy. G-goodbye," I lose my composure, breaking down with her as we hold each other tightly. Time flies by as we hold one another, our sobs turning silent as we face the realization of my fate. Death... death wins I guess. I hear the back door slowly open and look over to see E'Claire peering in from the kitchen dining room. I look down to Shadow to see her asleep in my arms, cheeks stained with tears. "OK... take her, please." I whisper to her, getting a slow nod. Before she takes her, I give her one final kiss on the forehead and bid her farewell. "Miles.... I... we... you are the greatest pony I know. You may be leaving, but your name will last much longer. Goodbye, Miles Eremita," E'Claire tells me before lifting Shadow onto her back, and leaves. Alone. I hold my knees against my chest as the feeling of complete solitude takes over. At this rate... I can't even calculate how long I have. One day. One week. Five minutes, it's unknown to me. What's next? What do I do now? Is it even worth it to go to Emerald City anymore? If I go to the cities, I'll only speed things up... maybe that'll be for the best though. Forget the world; forget everything. I have one goal now, finding where this path my friends laid goes. I push myself off the ground and march straight to the front yard, where I find everyone waiting. "Miles! We're ready to go, now. Give the word and we'll march to hell and back." Rainbow says as the others stand with her. I look to all of them and smile, wiping the final tear from my eyes. "Alright. One last adventure before the void. But, not tonight. I want to spend this last night with Luna." I tell them, getting slow nods from all of them. "We understand." Twilight says as she steps towards me. "We will be here at sunrise, packed and ready. Now go see your wife," I nod to her and head back inside, still smiling to myself for some reason. I make it to Canterlot from the Mico platforms and head straight to the courtroom. The night guards see me and stare at my hands, unsure of what's going on. When I make it to the giant marble court room doors I take a moment to gather myself before heading in. The room is silent. Two guards stand by the empty throne as moonlight fills the rest of the room. I walk in and stop halfway when I realize she isn't here. The guard on the right walks up to me and hesitates, due to my hands. "Where is Luna?" I ask, still looking at the empty throne. "I'm sorry sir, but she isn't here. She went on business to the Griffin Colonies two days ago. She won't be back for another three days." The guard tells me. "Do you wish to leave a message for her?" "Yes... but I shall take care of that. Thank you." I turn and walk out, the feeling of being alone returning. This... this is probably be for the best. She won't have to see me like this. Her last image of me will be of me at my best. No pain. No reminder. Just us being happy. I walk to her tower and enter her room, the guards holding the door open for me. The curtains surrounding her bed are waving from the gentle breeze coming from the open balcony doors. Moonlight illuminates the room and somehow puts me at ease. I walk to the center of the room where I close my eyes and inhale. Her scent is here. It's cool in here as well. It's... peaceful. For the first time since I've awoken, I actually feel at peace. I can feel something from within force me out to the balcony. I take my time getting there, but when I do, I can only sigh peaceably. It's a full moon. I stare out at the massive satellite and feel it begin to affect me. I can do this. One last adventure. One last run against time. I've got my friends. I've still have some time left, we can do this. With a confident sigh, I head back inside and head for Lunas dresser, where I pull out her phone. I record a message for her and set in on top. I spend the night here as well, taking in her scent from her sheets. My last peaceful night, I want it to be as close to her as possible. Author's Note OK. Here we go, time for stuff to speed up. I decided to cut this chapter short, it just felt right. The rest of the chapters will be as long as the prior ones, so give me some time for them. Also, OC's will be adding and dropping like crazy now. If you wish to post one, now is the time to do it. Don't wait, you'll miss out. Brony on!
Chapter 164 Ruby Canyon: Cruel KindnessChapter 164 Ruby Canyon: Cruel Kindness Nothing. We've spent what feels like the entire day searching the entire P.C.H. and we don't have a single thing to show for it. Fidus mentioned that they stripped this place clean of supplies, but they were too thorough. Even the filing cabinets have been torn of metals. After clearing the hundredth floor, we decided to call it for the day and started to leave. Twilight and I did some calculations during lunch... or dinner; it's hard to tell in the dark. Ruby Canyon in right under the Crystal Empire. About a four day trip by train. Shouldn't be too strenuous for me. I've noticed the lines on my hands slowly growing. When I first saw them, it was just the archaic circle on my palm. Now my fingers, as well as the back of my hands have the lines. I haven't notified anyone of this yet. We leave the city after an hour break. Not much was said, though I'd like to know why the mercs are giving Twilight the cold shoulder. Must of been something she said about their fallen comrade. We reach the surface in the middle of the night. It's pitch black out here, the only light coming from the star studded sky and the full moon. Seeing that put me at ease, which I needed. Bringing us to the surface put my lines just below the joint in my wrist. Again, I don't tell anyone. We trudge through the muddy desert on our way to Appleloosa. After about twenty minutes of walking we all can feel it starting to weigh us down... except for those of us with wings. Cheating, I call cheating. Bastards. Well.... at least Storm is carrying Twilight. And Dash carrying Applejack. Twilight is levitating Rarity and... and... mother fuckers! I'm the only one not being carried! Assholes! After a long, and somewhat bitter walk, we finally make it to Appleloosa as the sun begins to rise. The roads here have dried off enough fairly well here. Enough to have everyone walk alongside me.... still assholes. We stop by one of the stalls as they're still getting ready for the day to buy supplies. At the same time, a few others go to go buy our tickets at the station. Hopefully we can get– "Well howdy there partner!" I turn around to see some guy standing beside Applejack. He's fairly tall with a light yellow coat and messy orange hair. He wears a stetson hat, similar to Applejack’s, and a vest. He seems to carry himself a upbeat demeanor, even if his faces says he's worried.. "Mah names Braeburn! I'ma cousin of Applejack’s here!" "Oh... hi. I'm Miles Eremita. Applejack is a good friend of mine..." "So ah heard." He cuts me off as he steps closer to me. "Ah understand that yer taking her ta some dangerous places. Ah can't stop her from following you, ya probably understand that." I nod, Applejack is Applejack, "but can ah ask ya ta keep an eye her. Like, an xtra eye. Ah'd hate ta hear anything bad happening ta mah kin." "I understand. Don't worry, I will do everything within my power to keep her safe. You have my word." He visibly relaxes at this and steps back, glancing to Applejack as he does so. "Ah told ya he'd say that cousin," Applejack tells him, as she nudges his shoulders. "Ah jus wanted ta meet the fella. Nuthin wrong with that," he defends. "Ah also wanted ta thank ya fer yer service at our vendors cart. Mighty kind of ya," he says as he steps closer to me. "Oh, no problem." I say. "Real kind." He says as he leans up a bit. "Uh... no..." He raises his eyebrows a couple of times, trying to give me a hint. "I have to pay, don't I." He nods with a large massive smile. "*sigh* alright..... here you go." I say as I toss him a credit. "Much obliged." He says as he pockets the coin. "..." "Well... it was nice..." "Change?" I ask, getting a surprised look from him. "Uh..." "That was a platinum credit. I doubt they bought that much in supplies." "Well... ah'd need ta go ta the bank..." "Don't worry about it. Next time the Spartans come by though, you owe us some Apples," I tell him, getting a sigh in relief. "Ah think we can work with that. Y'all have a nice day here in Appleloosa," he says, before leaving. "Consider yerself lucky ah convinced him not ta give ya a tour of the town." Applejack says as she follows me to the train station. "We would have been here all day." "Yeah... what did I just pay for by the way?" I ask her, getting a chuckle as an answer. I don't like where this is going. Cider; lots and lots and even more cider. After getting a cart to ourselves, we filled another one with cider barrels. There were some food and other things bought, but... cider. Needless to say, this put a smile on everyones face, especially Rainbow. She took an entire barrel for herself, not that it mattered. There were so many, but.... still. The drink is pleasant enough, goes down smooth and leaves an apple aftertaste that I rather enjoy. I have a feeling the trip will go by fast. -o-0-Four Days Later-0-o- "LAST STOP, CRYSTAL EMPIRE!" The conductor yells at our cart, waking all of us. It's been a pleasant trip. Scenic views, good friends, what ended up being hard cider... yeah. I get to my feet and stumble over all of the sleeping bodies to get to the door. Sure enough, we're in the Crystal Empire. "Guys.... GUYS!" I yell, getting everyone to start to wake. "Come on, we need to get moving." CRASH Twilight and Storm come crashing out of the bathroom, both out of their armor. Twilight shakily gets to her hooves and takes a look around, slowly starting to blush. "You alright there?" I ask her. "Uh... yeah... I think we drank a little too much," she says, as she levitates an unconscious Storm along with her. "Yeah.... where's Dash?" As if on queue, Dash comes falling through the cart door, a couple of emptied barrels falling over her. "He*HIC* reporting.... for.... duty.... PFFFTT, duty." She giggles as she tries to get to her hooves. "Alright... everyone out front... I'll fix this," I say as I feel a slight throbbing begin to take place in my head. We had WAY too much cider... is there even any left. I don't really care right now. I just want this head ache to go a.... "MILES!" Shining yells, making us all wince in pain. "We're glad...." "SHHH!" I shush him as everyone steps out of the cart and lines up. I take a deep breath before thinking back to that spell Inficiunt forced me to learn. I slap my palms to the ground and send a wave off white energy all around myself. Everyone takes a deep breath in and lets out a long sigh of relief. Cleansing. Best. Spell. Ever.... how did I forget this one? There have been several times I could have used this... fuck it. "Uh..." "Hello there Shining." I say as I turn to greet him. "Oh... no," I say as I see him, as well as four other guards, walk up to me. All of the guards wear bright shining armor with large metallic lances hitched to their sides. The steel has a blue hue to it and is accented with darker metals. "But..." "I said no." "We can..." "No." "What if..." "No." "Miles." "No." "Don't let us go." "No." "We don't want to go." "Too bad." "Please don't..." "It's too late." "Well, if you insist." He says as he walks over to Twilight and Storm to greet them. ".... HEY!" I yell as put one and one together. I turn to go tell him he's not coming, when some guy gets in my way. He has charcoal black legs that fade into a light grey for his head. His hair, though charred at the ends, is a bright, fiery orange. His mark is a red stick that's split in half by an explosion. "... Oh sweet Barbra..." "Who?" "You're the new explosives expert, aren't you?" I ask him, as he sets his bag on the ground. "YUP! Name’s Fire Burst! How'd you know I was the new explosives expert?" ".... Call it a lucky guess." I say as our bags begin to be unloaded. "So... did you hear what happened to the other guy?" "Yeah, I read the letter. Sad really. Don't worry though, I'm pretty good on my hooves..." "The other guy was a pegasus." I deadpan. "Yeah... well... trust me, I'll be okay. Especially with all of these Crystal Empire guards assisting us!" he says as he motions to the guards. "They aren't..." "Miles! Thanks for letting my brother come along! It's really means a lot to me," Twilight says, with a big smile, as she walks up to me with Shining and Storm. "..." "..." "... *sigh* yeah. No problem. The more the merrier," I say flatly as Shining gives me a smug look. "Lets just get our stuff and get moving." They chuckle to themselves as we begin to grab our gear. Once we have all of our gear on, we leave the train station. There was exactly one barrel left.... we gave it to the conductors. I had never walked through the Crystal Empire before, my last visit was air born. Most of the homes are carved into pure, thick crystals. Something I don't truly get, but don't question. The ponies here seem to shine differently. I can't quite place my finger on it, but there's something different about them. They seem happy enough. Children run through the streets merrily as adults walk around. Smiles are everywhere. Music is playing somewhere. Happiness has taken root here. We head away from the train station. According to Shining, Cadence waiting for us at the palace. Something has come up and she wishes to speak to us after our travels. I take another look at the map and pinpoint our destination, just below the palace... actually, directly underneath it. I don't know how it happened, but Ruby Canyon is directly underneath the Crystal Empire. We make it about two kilometers out of the city before I start sending us through the ground. The ground here is a lot tougher than elsewhere, but moves all the same in the end. For the first time ever, I kind of hope there isn't anyone down there. Showing up with this many armed ponies.... would not end well. After an hour of working we finally hit the dome of the city. I work a tunnel to the side and make our way along the side until we find the bulkhead. We pause at the door to read what's been written. Non faciunt aperire, Mortuus intus. "What does it say?" Fluttershy asks nervously. "Don't open, dead inside." I tell everyone. "Well.... do we go in or do we leave?" Shining asks. "We can't just leave, we don't know where we're going next. We're going in." Taking a deep breath, I pull out the Dominus Clavis and slam it against the gate. The energy shoots out and begins to work the gate open. Everyone pulls their weapons out, and readies themselves as the gate reaches the top. Silence. We share a moment of silence as we gape at the city before us. The buildings near us fit the destruction as the others. Bullet holes, blown out walls, scorch marks. But the P.C.H.... it's a solid piece of blue crystal. The crystals have grown to the top of the dome and have become one solid spire of light blue crystal. The spire shines brightly, sending a light blue hue over the entire city. "Well.... now we know how the Crystal Empire came to be," Fayte says nonchalantly, as the mercs begin to move inside. I shake my head and follow suit, still gaping up at the colossus spire of crystal. The main bulkhead begins to shut as we all step inside, sealing us within. "How could that have formed though? Why would the humans have made that?" Shining asks as we march down the empty street. "I don't think it was made when the humans were here. It looks more like navitas petram," I say as I stare up at the ceiling. The crystal has grown out from the spire along the rows of lights. "What that?" Fluttershy asks curiously. "Well, magical energy that isn't properly spent needs to go somewhere. When enough of it is left around, it forms navitas petram. They work similar to gems and crystals, but have twice the magical output and are extremely brittle." "It reminds me of the Crystal Heart." Shinning says absent-mindedly, keeping his eyes fixed on the buildings and alleyways. "I wonder if the two are connected somehow." "Why does it shine like that?" Fayte asks as he trots to a nearby window to peer inside. "Well.... if I didn't know any better, I'd say it's somehow connected to the power grid. That, along with the lighting spells, must be what's making it glow like that." "Oh.... don't the lights turn off?" Fluttershy asks. CRASH We all freeze and look to the right, the sound of glass shattering catching our attention. We can hear deep heaving breaths coming from within the building, just outside of the light. We all glance to one another before I step forward, pulling my rifle out to see what's.... CLUNK In the span of a second the lights go out. I look back to the spire to see a low glow emanate from its center. "Whraah..." Whatever is inside the building, it's coming towards us. We all step back as we hear it stumble over the broken window and shuffle towards us. I raise my rifle and use my palm to point a light towards the figure. A little girl raises her arms to shield the light. "*gasp* it's a foal." Fluttershy says as she runs towards her. "Fluttershy wait..." "Excuse me, little girl..." "No, Shy wait...." "It's alright Miles," She says as she steps directly in front of her, "she's...." "RAAAAH!" The girl lunges forward and grabs Fluttershys' face. Acting completely on instinct, I take aim and send a round through her skull, spraying brain matter everywhere as the enchantment makes her head explode. Everything falls quiet as Fluttershy sits there, dazed by what happened. She looks down to her hooves and begins to frantically begins to wipe the gore from her face. "Shy, I'm sorry..." "WHY DID YOU DO THAT!" She yells as me. "It was a little girl! She was scared and...." "AAAAAHH!" We spin around to find Purple Edge kick and screaming as a human male bites into his neck. As he twists and turns strips of flesh pull off as blood sprays from his jugular. I aim at the man and fire a couple rounds into his back. The explosions tear his back open and forces him off of Purple Edge. "I've got you!" Aurane yells, as he pulls his staff out and checks on Purple Edge. I run over and try to help as well, but by the time I get my hands on him, he's gone. "MILES! COME ON MILES HEAL HIM!" Aurane yells as he shakes me. I just shake my head and stand up. "He's gone Aurane." "No... NO!" He yells as he shakes his body. "Edge! EDGE!" "Whra..." we all freeze as we hear the man from before begin to heave again. I point a palm towards him and nearly fall back when the top half of the corpse begins to drag itself towards Aurane, leaving a trail of black gore. He falls back and scoots away as it crawls over Purple edge and claws its way for him, snapping its jaw a couple of times in anticipation. PEWPEWPEW Rarity opens up with her SMG and blows away at the man.The massive rounds blow off his arms and punch holes in his chest, but his maw keeps snapping in anticipation of his meal. SHINK AfterTouch runs up and stabs him right through the skull, killing the monster finally. We all look to one another for an explanation, but remain silent, unsure how to process this. "What the fucAAAAHHH!" AfterTouch yells, as Purple Edge bites onto his neck. I reel back as the two of them wrestle with one another before AfterTouch flips Purple Edge onto his back. "THAT FUCKER BIT ME!" He yells as he holds his gushing neck. Purple Edge gets up and begins to charge at me, snapping his mouth as he tries to bite me. I step back a few times before sending an explosive round through his skull, dropping him. Again, we all fall silent... only the city doesn't. From every building and every dark crevice thousands of people begin to emerge. All of them have dried, sullen faces with blackened eyes. Every face turns toward us and snarls in anger before shuffling in our direction. PATPATPATPAT I open fire in all directions in an attempt to stop them from coming closer, but they keep coming. I blow off arms, legs, blow holes in their chests but.... none of that affects them. The few head shots I get are the only ones that seem to kill them. "AIM FOR THEIR HEADS!" I yell, as I load a new clip into my gun. "HAHAHA BRING ME GLORY CORPSE!" Beomere yells as he pushes his way into the fray, lobbing heads off as he goes.. "STICK TOGETHER!" Fayte yells, as he uses his long sword to carve a path to Beomere. I take a quick glance around and notice that we've been split into four groups. Shining and his guards are with Twilight and Storm, trying to clear a way to the bulkhead. The mercs are trying to keep up with Beomere, who seems to be trying to head into the city. The girls have created a circle and are shooting like crazy to keep the people away from themselves. Night Fury, True Will, Dust Devil and I are in our own circle fighting together. Before I could take in any other sights, my rifle rings out as the last round blows off another head. Three more people are approaching me, leaving me no other choice. I take my trigger hand and thrust forward, sending a solid beam of white energy at the center one. It goes right through it's chest and travel to the distant wall where it explodes. The person I shot it at only paused for a second before continuing towards me. "FUCK!" I yell as I jab the end of my barrel into his temple, crushing through the weak bone and dropping him. I pull back and bash the left one on the head with the foregrip, getting it stuck as he falls down. I try to yank it free, but the third one grabs my arm and tries to bite me, being stopped because of my armor. I whip out my revolver and bash her skull in, getting black gunk to spill over my arm as teeth and brain matter fall around my feet. BANG BANG BANG I fire three round at the next three approaching.... people, making their chests and heads implode and giving me some breathing room. The one that took one in the chest makes me pause though. The head is still biting... but it's not human. It's an Unfamiliar face. I can tell due to the lack of a nose and the dagger teeth. "MILES!" Storm yells, forcing me to break my stare with the chomping head. "What do we do!?" "We... GET TO THE ROOFS! BREAK CONTACT AND GET TO SAFETY! MOVE!" I yell as run back to the closest building. I use my magic to lift a chunk of road up, bringing me to the second story roof. I step off but nearly fall, due to the lack of a roof here. I catch myself and use my magic to recreate the roof, giving me solid ground to stand. I turn back and watch as everyone scrambles to get to my roof, some using magic to get here, others using their wings. Two of the Crystal Guards are stuck in the middle of the fight, I think they're earth ponies. Without really thinking I jump down between the two of them and join the fight. I switch my rifle for my sword and begin to slice away at the unrelenting numbers of human and unfamiliar.... people. We begin to move towards the building with the others, the girls shooting a path before us and Fire Burst tossing explosives behind us. The two guards work together to take down their targets; one using the lance to knock the... people, down and the other destroying the heads. We make it to the building where I use my left hand to lift us up. Mid swing, a woman grabs my arm and bites at the elements. Instead of going up, we fall back as the ground rotates ninety degrees. As we tumble into the building, the elements fall off from my arm for some unknown reason. Lucky for me, one of them stay lodge inside the womans' mouth. I try to get up, but another pair of hands grab me. I knee the head of some person as they try to tear through my armor. A couple strikes in, she falls to the ground a bloody pulp. "AAAAHH!" I look over in time to see five people bite and tear into one of the guards. Strips of flesh come off of his neck as teeth dig into his exposed skin. Blood pools quickly around him as his ability to fight leaves him. The other guard is backing away from the carnage as more and more people crowd on top of the corpse to devour him. "RAH!" I snap back to the opening to see a massive crowd moving towards me. I scramble back as I pull out my revolver. BANG One down, sixteen to go... BANG Two down, twenty to go... BANG Three down, thirty to go... CLICK "FUCK!" Out, and with no time to reload. I pull out my trench knife and ready myself to fight the masses. FWUSH A massive gust of wind sends all of them flying past me. I look up to see Storm dropping down to assist. Fall drops on all fours... and nearly falls over when the Elements of Harmony latch onto his foreleg. Perspective: Storm What the buck! Why are the elements on my leg! No time to question! I need to get Miles and those guards out of here. I run in and see Miles and the other guard getting up. The last guard... "Storm! Come on! Lets go.... oh shit." Miles yells, as the two of them run to my side. I look back to see the massive crowd moving towards us. A quick glance back into the building confirms that we're being surrounded. We need to... "Whoa," I mutter as I feel the elements begin to throb on my leg. They feel... as if... I need.... without much thought to it, I stand and throw out my leg. The elements shoot out to my hoof and morph themselves into a sword, similar in shape to my sword. I watch for a second as the colors of the elements wash around in the sword. I can feel the energy from within it coursing through my body. I feel... like I'm at two hundred percent. Like, I can fight for days. I continue to stare at the sword until the growling snaps me back into action. "Lets get go...." "EERRRAAAAAAH!" I let out a powerful yell, as I swing the Elements of Harmony forward. A thick slash of white energy shoots forward... and through all of the people, exploding in the background. Not letting up, I spin back and slash with my other sword. A gigantic windstorm erupts from my blade and sends the massive crowd flying back. Those who were closer were split in half as the powerful gust tore their bodies apart. I pant a few times before the I suddenly lift up into the air. I look back to see Miles using his magic to lift the slab of concrete beneath us... "AAHH!" The guard yells as one of the people jump at the last second and pull him off the slab. I jump into the air and fly down to see a group of fifteen people ripe him to shreds. While some pull and bite on his legs, the others tear his exposed stomach apart. Blood gushes out onto the ground as they consume his internal organs. I gag and throw up a bit into my mouth from the sight, the thick smell of his blood filling my nostrils as the pull and rip his body to bloody shreds. "STORM!" Miles yells from up top. "Y-yeah!" I yell back before flying up to the roof. I take a few steps before running back to the edge of the roof to vomit. Something about the sight of a ponies organs in a human's mouth.... it's not right. "Are you alright?" Twilight asks, as she comes to my side. I heave the last of my lunch, before falling to my stomach. "That was... what was that?" I ask as I hang my head off the edge. "ZOMBIES!" Pinkie yells from behind. "I told you they were real Twilight!" "But that doesn't make sense! How could the dead be alive! It's impossible!" Twilight yells back as she rubs my back. Even though I have my armor on, it's still appreciated. "What are zombies?" Miles asks, and is ignored. "Well, then what do you want to call them?" Pinkie asks. "They are still people Pinkie! We can't..." "Twilight, those aren't people. No one with a conscience would eat another living being. No one alive could take hits like they did. And nothing with a soul can be unaffected by soul based attacks. Nothing. They are not alive. Not in terms of a soul at least," Miles says slow and firmly. Twilight lets out a huff of frustration as she goes back to rubbing my back. I pull myself off the edge and turn towards everypony else... and nearly fall over as the elements leave my foreleg and latch back onto Miles. "What was..." BANG Perspective: Fluttershy BANG I pull back the receiver and load the next round in. BANG Another poor soul out of misery. I load the next round in and take aim, a small child taking up my vision. BANG I can feel tears starting to seep through my shut eye, but load the next round regardless. "What the fuck do you think you're doing!?" Miles yells from the side. I ignore him and take aim again. I find a woman with her stomach missing. She might have been pregnant... BANG "Fluttershy stop! They're starting to crowd all around us..." BANG "These walls can't hold out...." BANG "ENOUGH!" My vision goes blurry as somepony grabs my rifle and pushes it aside. I open my eye and glare up at Miles. "We have to end their misery!" I yell as I try to yank the rifle out of his grip. "Have you lost your mind! You can't..." "These are your people Miles! And they're suffering! They've been suffering for three thousand years. We need to end it now! We need to let them go to rest..." "Fluttershy, enough!" Miles yells as he pulls the rifle out of my grip. "WHAT KIND OF MONSTER LETS THEIR OWN SUFFER LIKE THIS YOU BEAST!" I yell as I try to stand up to him, the height difference being obvious. He just shakes his head and walks away from me. I fall back on all four and look around, seeing all of the shocked faces on my friends. "Fluttershy dear, can we have a word," Rarity says, as she walks over to me. I huff in response, but turn to face her anyway. "First off, let me clean your face... you have some... well, just hold still please." She says as she pulls out a hankie and begins to forcefully wipe my face clean. I sit and try to calm down. I don't understand why everypony is shocked by this. They're suffering and we have the means to end it. Why shouldn't we help them? This is... so... beastly! Animalistic! Sick! This is... is... is... "This is cruel," I mutter as I see the blackening cloth move about my face. "Yes, it is. But don't worry, I'm sure it'll wash out." "I don't mean the blood." I tell her, getting a confused and worried look from her. "Look at all those people; Miles' people Rarity. They've been like this for thousands of years, how could we not do anything to help them?" I ask her as she finishes up cleaning my face. "Dear, it's not that I don't want to help. It's just... now isn't the time. We can't waste any longer then needed here. We need to get our message, and leave these ghastly... things behind until another..." "People," I correct. "These are still people. They're just... being tormented. And we need to end it..." "Fluttershy, you're scaring me." Rarity says as she backs away from me. "Did something happen? Are you alright?" "I'm fine Rarity!" I snap as I stand and get in her face. "Why do you always try to treat me like a foal! I'm a grown mare and I can take care of myself! I. Don't. Need. You." With each word I step towards her and with each step she backs away. We stare at one another before she sniffles and walks away, mumbling something I didn't care to listen to. "SHIT! AfterTouch, what are you doing!" Fayte yells as AfterTouch lunges at him, trying to bite him. Everypony backs away from the stallion as he walks around in a circle, trying to pick which of us to attack. "Didn't he just die!?" Aurane yells as he takes to the air. "ZOMBIES! ZOOOOOOMBIES!" Pinkie Pie yells as she jumps away. I roll my eyes as nopony tries to kill him, so I step forward to do the deed. "Cowards." I mutter as AfterTouch looks to me with those dead eyes and growls in hunger. He lunges straight for me, snapping his jaw a few times in anticipation. I grab the bottom of his jaw and pull him closer. He tries to wrestle his way to bite me, but it feels like just another animal fighting to not have a shot. With my hoof on his jaw, I grab his opposite ear and... CRACK ... snap his neck. His body falls limp to the ground, though his jaw is still snapping at me. I reach into my bag until I pull out my metal canteen. I take it i both my hooves and bring it down, striking the back of his head. He's still snapping at me. I strike again. And again. And again. I keep smashing his head in, even as his skull caves in–even as blood and brain matter splash over my face. Even when I start striking the roof I keep striking at him until I'm completely winded. I drop the now destroyed canteen and step back, looking over the bloody, mangled corpse that was once AfterTouch. I look back to everypony and look from one scared face to the next. "What?!" None of them move. "WHAT!?" I yell as I take a step towards them, splashing the pooling blood. I take a look down at my leg and find it covered in blood. I look over my body and find blood smeared over my wings, chest and neck as well. "Fluttershy... are you feeling OK?" Dash asks as she steps towards me. "I'M FINE!" I snap back at her, stomping my hoof down. "WHY DOES EVERYPONY THINK ME WEAK! I CAN..." I stop when the sound of crumbling stone fills the air. "Next roof, now!" Miles yells as the ground begins to crack apart. I jump into the air and fly up to the next building, finding it missing a roof as well. Miles leaps up beside me and falls straight down into the next room. "FLUTTERSHY! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THERE WASN'T A ROOF!?" He yells up to me as everypony without wings flashes before me... then drops. "Heh heh heh, having trouble down there?" I ask with a snicker as they climb off one another. "Dude, Shy." Rainbow says as she flies up beside me. "Why are you acting this way?" "There's nothing wrong with me! Mind your own business!" I snap before flying down to the others. I see my rifle laying off on its own, so I go and grab it. "Shy." Miles says as he stands. I sling the rifle and take off. I'll show them I take care of myself. I'll make it to the center without them. They'll see. Perspective: Miles I sigh as I watch Shy fly out of the room. I don't know what's gotten into that girl, but it's going to get her killed. "Dash, Dust Devil, go after her. Try to talk some sense into her..." "Bring me as well," Rarity demands. "I'm her closest friend, I'll have a better chance at getting her to talk." Dash flies down and lifts her up before taking off, Dust Devil Close behind her. "Secure the room, I need to check something." I tell the others as I climb up a pile of rubble. I reach up to the edge of the wall and pull myself up, taking a seat on the edge. "What are you looking for?" Aurane asks as he flies up beside me. "A way out of here." I say as I glance around the city. Most, if not all, of the roofs have been destroyed. I can hear the masses of undead people shuffling around in the streets, groaning and hissing to one another. A few street lights are still in operation, showing the hordes moving towards the bulkhead. It seems as if they're all trying to move away from the center, something useful for us... at least for now. "Is it just me, or are the zombies heading away from the center?" Aurane asks, confirming my suspicion. "Yeah, it looks that way at least. Lets head out, we may not be able to take the roofs over, but there should be less people in the buildings... or so I hope." I say before dropping back down to the room. "Lets move out, can anyone open walls without making too much noise?" I ask. "I can!" Fire Burst yells. "Oh wait.. no I can't." "I'll do it." Shining says as he moves to the wall. He ignites his horn and forces a doorway into the wall. We all wait for anything to move inside, but after a few seconds of silence we head inside. I take a few steps in before motioning to everyone else to follow in. I kick a table and hear the lamp on it wobble a bit. Taking a venture, I reach to the switch and give it a try. It turns on. The room were was made into some kind of mini fortress. Most of the furniture has been moved to the door, where it probably fortified it but now lays pushed away. Something pushed its way inside and drug something bloody back out the doorway. Cans and other random supplies litter the rest of the room. People must have tried to have survive in here... 'WHERE'S YOU SPARTAN PEN NOW, 53,59353,594 53,595 KILLS BITCHES!' Someone had written a little message on the wall in black gunk. I don't know whether to be impressed by that kill count, or to be annoyed by that reference to the Spartans. "Ammo here!" Pinkie cheers as she runs back from the kitchen with a metal box. "It looks like your kind, I think." I take a look at it and nod to her. A couple of rounds of ammo, not much, but it all helps in the end. I take them and begin to load them into my empty clip as Fayte and Shining move into the hallway. "We're clear here. Which way Miles?" Fayte asks. "Inward. We need to make it to the center of the city, from there we can make a plan of attack to get out. It looks as if the... people, out there either afraid of the center crystal or it affects them somehow. Either way, it's safer there than here. Lets move out." We get moving. From room to room we find different depictions of peoples attempts to survive. Blockades, a few traps, even and more messages fill the destroyed rooms of the apartment complex. 'SPARTANS AIN'T GOT CRAP ON THIS!' 'GO TO THE SOUTHERN SIDE, THERE'S A GROUP SURVIVING THERE!' 'THE SOUTHERN SIDE WAS A LIE! WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!' 'THEY'RE COMING TO GET YOU BAAA--' A few of my favorites. We come to a large room where we find a single undead person. Before anyone could attack it, I step forward and motion to them to keep quiet. I want to study it a bit. He doesn't seem to notice us. He's just standing there, heaving quick and shallow breathes. His eyes have sunken in to the point of being completely useless, so no sight. I creep up behind a table, only a meter away from him, where he begins to look towards me, taking in deep sniffs. They can still smell then. I pick up the television remote on the table and toss it into the kitchen. He turns towards the noise and growls a bit as he shuffles towards the noise. They're completely dependent on sound and scent. SHINK "What the fuck Fayte!" I yell at him as he yanks his sword out of his skull. "I was studying him!" "Be a nerd later. We need to keep moving or else we'll be cornered again." He says as the rest of the group walks past me. "You're a nerd," I mutter as I follow after them. At least we have a basic knowledge of how they observe the world... "Hey Storm, am I a nerd?" "You're a good person and that's what matters the most." He says flatly, getting a smack from Twilight. "You told me the same thing!" Twilight chuckles. Everyone shares a small laugh as Shining breaks down the next wall. "End of the line." Shining says as we look out the opening. The building has come to an end with a four lane road separating us from the next set of structures, each one getting taller then the next. A single street light shows a large number of people moping about, unaware of our location. "If you have wings head over to the next building and find a cleared out room for us to go to. Keep quiet and try to avoid getting close to any of them. We'll hold this room until you return." Aurane, Beomere and Snow Bound all take off for the building across the street. Hopefully we can get through this without anymore trouble... and with Fluttershy. Perspective: Fluttershy I fly up to the next building and drop down to hide in the shadows. Sure enough, Miles' little lackeys go flying past me, yelling my name. I wait for their voices to become too distant to hear before continuing on. I'll show them. I can make it to the center without their help. I don't need them, I don't need anyone! I've survived on my own before, I can do it now. I move to the door and peer outside, pulling my rifle up as I ready myself for anything. Big Mac taught me some basic handling techniques while Miles was out, now I.... Big Mac. ... ... I don't.... no.... I love... He... he broke... I don't need anypony! I love him too much though.... I can't lose him! "BIG MAC!" I yell as I press my back against the wall and fall to the ground, crying my heart out. I can feel something within me trying to tell me to hate him, to want to hurt him. But I can't! He's too sweet, too kind! I... I still love him, but I hate him! WHY AM I SO CONFUSED ABOUT THIS ALL OF THE SUDDEN! "Fluttershy!" I look up to see Rainbow Dash dropping Rarity before me. She runs over to me and pulls me into a tight hug, tearing up with me. "GO AWAY!" I yell as I try to push her away, sobbing uncontrollably. She doesn't give up, holding me tighter and refusing to let go. "I.... I hate you! You have to stay away! I'll... I'll... I'll bucking kill you! Stay away! STAY AWAY! I don't want to hurt you!" I yell and scream as I try to break free of her grasp. "I WILL NOT LET GO UNTIL I GET MY FRIEND BACK!" Rarity yells as she shakes me a bit. "We're going to find out what's wrong and we are going to fix it! This isn't you! The real Fluttershy doesn't use vulgar language. The real Fluttershy wouldn't find herself weak. The real Fluttershy couldn't harm another pony, even with words! Give her back! Give back our friend!" THUD I bring my knee up and slam it into her gut, getting her to release me at least. I push her off and stand over her, pulling my rifle over her head. I lay the barrel on her forehead and pull the receiver back. "I told you I'd kill you." I say as I push the round in. "Please... where is the Fluttershy we love?" She asks as she stares up at me, eyes flowing with tears as I press the barrel against her more. CLICK "Huh?" I try to pull the trigger again, but nothing happens. I look over to the side and see her aura encircling the safety... THWAK THUD Perspective: Rainbow Dash I re-sling my rifle and go to help Rarity up. That was too close. I don't know what's gotten into her, but we need to get her fixed asap. "You OK?" I ask Rarity, getting a slow nod in response. "We need to get moving." "I've got Shy." Dust Devil says as she lifts her onto her back. "Where to?" "We're heading to the P.C.H. We'll meet up with everypony else there. Shouldn't take long to get there, let's get going." I grab Rarity around her waist and lead the way for the P.C.H., Dust Devil following close behind. "What do you think happened to the people here?" She asks after a short silence. "I don't know DD." I say as I focus on our task. "I've read some comics about zombies.... you know! Out of boredom, not like I own any!" She quickly adds, blushing madly. "Uh-huh." "Anyway, do you think it was..." "Look, now is not the right time. We need to focus on the task at hoof," I tell her, getting a quick nod in response. "... So... do you read the Trotting Dead?" I groan in annoyance and pick up speed. Comics are way too nerdy for me to read. As we near the P.C.H, I notice the lower number of zombies below us. Any of the ones we do see are hiding in shadows, trying to keep as far away from the light as possible. With less than a mile till the crystal spire, we land. There isn't a single person here. The silence of it all making things even creepier. The light from the Spire seems to be getting brighter as we walk closer to it. "Is it me, or are things getting... more peaceful here?" Dust Devil asks. "Yeah... I think it has to do with the crystal spire," I say as I look over all of the surrounding buildings. The closer we get, the more they become covered in the light blue crystal. By the time we reach the spire everything around us is made of the solid blue crystal. "Well... what now?" "GET ME AWAY, I NEED TO GET AWAY!" Fluttershy starts yelling as she begins to thrash about on Dust Devils back.We all try to hold her down, but stop when the sound of cracking crystals catches our attention. "FINALLY, A CORRUPT ONE TO CLEANSE." "Oh that can't be good." I mutter as the three of us turn around. Perspective: Miles We all finally make it to the next building, taking up a corner office. At this rate we won't reach the center of the city for a few days! We need a faster mode of transportation. I look out to the city and glance all along the street until I see it. It's a simple bus, but it looks operational and only has a few people around it. "Hey, check out the bus," I say as I point it out. "If that's in working condition, we can make it to the P.C.H. in no time." "Do you think it's wise to though? We'll be on the same level as the... zombies." Twilight says as she looks over to the bus. "Walking through these buildings is taking too long. If that can get us to the center faster, it'll be worth it." Shining says as he peers out with Twilight. "I'll head down with you." Storm says. "Us to," Beomere offers with Snow Bound. "Count us three in as well." Shinning says as he begins to charge his horn. "Alright, but no more then that. The rest of you stay in this room and keep quiet. Storm and Beomere will go first after my distraction. Then Shining and his guards, then I try to get there discreetly. Fire Burst, you have anything extremely loud?" I ask him, getting a wicked grin in response. "I've got just the thing." He says as he reaches into his satchel and tosses me what looks like a ball of tape. Luckily True Will catches it with his magic before I could by instinct. That could have gone bad. "What exactly does this do?" I ask as I look it over. "I don't know. I kind of... just found it one day." He says with a smirk. I look over to True Will before shrugging and taking it in my hand. It begins to burn bright green, filling the room with a dark smoke. I quickly toss it the opposite direction of the bus and watch the trail of smoke go down into the crowd of zombies. The only thing we can see is the colored smoke rising from the crowd as they try to walk towards it. At least it's also drawing the attention of the zombies by the bus. "Was the an explosive or a smoke grenade?" I ask Fire Burst as the smoke suddenly stops. "Well.... I think..." KA-BOOM A massive rainbow explosion goes off in the middle of the street, sending a column of colorful smoke into the air. We all stare at it before jumping into action. Storm and Beomere launch down to the bus, killing two zombies that were lingering behind. When I hear the flash behind me I launch through the broken window and drop towards the ground. I aim myself to land a bit behind the bus. There are a about three people I'll need to deal with, but the rest should ignore me. THUD I crash down and immediately charge at the first person, drawing my sword into a swing that lobs the top of his head off and icing the cut. I turn to the other two and stab at the ground, sending a row of earthen swords through their legs and hips. They fall to the ground, one of them impaling their head on another sword, the other one dragging herself towards me. She rips the bottom half of her leg off in her effort. I just shake my head and stab her through the skull when she nears me, a bolt of electricity going through her body as well. "All clear, lets check this out already!" Storm yells from the side of the bus. I nod and check my surrounding for zombies. They're all checking out the explosion, so we have some time. I run over to the door and force it open, letting the others in before stepping inside myself. The door snaps shut behind me, something that worries me a little, but we'll deal with that later. "OK, you guys clear the bus while I try to hot wire this thing," I say as I move to the drivers seat. "You need any help?" Storm asks as I lay on the ground, placing myself underneath the dashboard. "No I should..." "AAAH AHH!" We both look back as a zombie bite into one of the crystal guards' hooves. The guard jumps back and smashes in its head, but remains hysterical. "GO HEL–" THUD And just like that, he dies. We all stare at his body for a bit, unsure of what just happened. It was a flesh wound, there was no way that could have killed him. Snow Bound moves over to him and lay her head on his chest. "Yeah, he's deAAAAHH SHIT!" She yells as he suddenly grabs her and bites into her neck. She flaps her wings madly in a vain attempt to get away. The guard has a solid grip on her throat and isn't letting go. Shining finally gets over to them and hacks the guards head open, getting him to stop his assault. Snow Bound falls to the ground in tears as she tries to hold her throat shut. A spray of blood has escaped through her claws, coating a few of the windows. "Shining," I call out, "you have to..." "I know." He says sternly as he steps over over her. She reaches out to him and tries to gurgle a plea, but Shining ignores it and plunges his sword straight into her skull, silencing her forever. The other guard falls back and scrambles away from the mess as Shining pulls his sword free. He begins to mumble to himself as climbs up to the back of the bus. "Hey, calm down. We'll get through this," Shining tells him as he goes to comfort the panicking guard. "Well, does it work or not?" Beomere asks as he walks over to Storm and I. I shake my head and snap back to my task at hand. I pull the panel off and look for the right wires to hot wire it.... red and blue? No. Red and yellow... Nope. Green and yellow... VR-VR-VR-VROOM "We're in business!" I say as take the drivers seat. "Shining, go get the others, Storm and Beomere, put the bodies where they won't be in the way." Everyone gets moving as I power up the old batteries. I take a look in the rear view mirrors and notice the hoard moving towards us, the noise of the old engine drawing them closer. FLASH I glance back into the bus to find everyone inside. With them on board, I put it in first and begin our drive to the center. All of the tires seem to be flat, making it difficult to get started. With a loud screeching sound we slowly pick up speed. I look back in the mirror and notice them about halfway to the bus. Second Gear; the entire vehicle is shaking, something’s rattling in the front. I have to fight to keep it going straight, but we're moving now. Just fast enough to keep the zombies away. The screeching has toned down a bit, but it's still there, irritating the fuck out of everyone. Third gear; the shaking seems to be getting worse, but at least we're picking up speed now. A mob of zombies is taking up the street before us, marching right in our direction. I don't plan on stopping, but yell to the others to prepare for some bumpy roads. I call Twilight over and have her hold a shield in front of the bus. I don't want to chance anything hitting the engine and causing us to suddenly stop in the middle of a hoard. Fourth gear. We hit them–hard. The first few hit went flying in bloody messes as we just plowed through them. But, after a continuous stream, we begin to slow. The sound of bare hands beating against glass fills the bus as I constantly keep having to lower my gears. When I hear several planes of glass break, I decide enough is enough, and leave the drivers seat. "What are you doing Miles?" Twilight asks as she moves to my side, trying to move her shield over the entire bus without trapping any of the zombies inside. "HOLD ON TIGHT!" I yell as I flare my hands and begin to envelope the bus. I give them a few seconds before thrusting both hands forward. SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH The bus lurches forward at a great speed as I send it flying down the street. I only intended to get us out of the hoard, but ended up using more magic than I though I did. I fall straight back and slam against the bench with the corpses. Blocks fly by in a total haze as I try to keep the bus level. As the bus bounces down the street in an erratic manner, I latch on to the metal bars of the bench and hold on for dear life. BOOSH Something hits the bus and causes it to sudden spin sideways... SHLUNK KER-THUD Perspective: Rarity We stare up at the spire as massive cracks break all along it. Fluttershy falls before us as she finally breaks free of our grasp, but we keep our gaze on the spire. An arm breaks free from the column, then a second one. We all shield our eyes as a shower of crystals breaks forth from the column. Shards fall all around us as we hear giant footsteps before us... "I TOLD YOU I'D KILL YOU!" I snap my head forward to see Fluttershy aiming her rifle straight towards me. In the blink of an eye my life passes before me. Playing as a foal with my mother, getting my Cutie Mark, going to all those fashion shows as an adolescent, the day I bought my boutique, meeting all of my friends, all of our adventures together. By the next time I blink everything seems to have slowed down. I'm slowly falling to my right as I see the smoke erupt from the end of her barrel. I slowly glance to my side to see Rainbow Dash at my side, mid tackle. BANG THUD A concussive force, along with the tackle, knocks the wind out of me. After a dizzying few moments I shake my head and try to get up, only to have something hot stop me. I look up and see Fluttershy pointing her weapon point blank at me. "If I'm going to die," I say as she loads the next round in, "let it be by my best friend." I close my eyes and hold onto Dash as I... VVVRRRRRSHINK Dust Devil jumps over and uses her twin daggers to cut the rifle in half. Fluttershy uses what's left of the gun to try to bash in her head, but Dust just flips her over her back and tosses her aside. Her daggers are made of turquoise and sound as if they're vibrating. She gives them a twirl before... THUD "FOR THE INNOCENCE, WE MUST CLEANSE YOUR SOUL." Perspective: Fluttershy I hit the ground and try to get up to fight when a giant blue crystal being drops over me. It's form is similar to humans, only being four stories tall and having nothing for its face other than two blue fiery eyes. Its hands seem to end in sharp claws while the back of its head is covered in spikes. Its voice resonates deeply within me bringing some new found anger from within me. "GO BUCK YOURSELF YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" I yell as it brings its face closer to me, almost pinning me on my back as I lay on the ground. I want to fight it. I want to ripe it's bucking head off and crush every little... "LET US BEGIN." Blue energy seeps from its head and forces its way into me. I feel every fiber in my being start to burn as something from within me begins to build up. I arch my back as I scream out in pain as the feeling of burning needles dragging through every single one of my veins. I feel a lump form in the base of my throat as I feel the need to vomit. I twist and contort as the two feelings increase in intensity. Why is this happening!? What is happening!? I... I... "UUHG!" I lean to the side and vomit some black sludge. "GOOD, JUST A LITTLE MORE." "UUUUHHG!" Nearly twice as much of the black sludge comes out this times. I spit what's left out of my mouth before collapsing on the ground. "Wh.... what happened?" My head feels fuzzy and my vision is blurry. I don't know how long I laid there, but after awhile the... "Rarity?" I look over to my side and see her laying on the ground... beside chunks of my rifle. "Rarity, what happened?" "Fluttershy!" She yells as she gets to her hooves and runs to me, tackling me in a hug. "Oh thank goodness you're back to normal!" She yells as Rainbow Dash joins our hug. Dust Devil walks over to us, eyeing something to our side. I look over and... "Oh... my." I mutter as I look up to the giant crystal being. "Uh... I'm.... Fluttershy." "I AM THE CRYSTAL GUARDIAN, FLUTTERSHY. KEEPER OF INNOCENCE." "What was that!? What did you do to her?" Rainbow Dash demands. I don't quite want to make demands to a being that can step on me, but if Dash feels it's best... "I CLEANSED HER OF THE CURSE.SHE WILL NOT LOSE HER SOUL AND TURN INTO... ONE OF THEM." "Them?" I mutter as I try to think of what happened. We came to the Crystal Empire, Shining tricked Miles into getting him to take his group with us.... then... then... the killing started. "Rarity... I..." "It's alright dear." She says as she holds me tightly. "You were under the effects of... the curse. Nopony blames..." "THERE IS A VEHICLE WITH OTHER LIVING PEOPLE BEFORE US. SOME NEED ATTENTION, I'D SUGGEST HELPING THEM!" We all look over to see a large metal carriage laying on its side with a cluster of crystals in the center of it. We all run over to it as the side door flies off. We fly up and help everypony out, several of them having bleeding wounds. When they get out, they immediately try to take cover due to the Crystal Guardian, but we assure them everything is alright. When everypony is out, I notice how small our group is now. Most of the mercs are gone, only Fire Burst, Fayte, and Aurane are left. None of Shining’s guards are alive. Luckily all of the girls are OK, for the most part. "Fluttershy... are you... okay?" Miles asks. "Yes. I'm sorry about earlier. I... I wasn't myself. But I'm all better now! Thanks to the Crystal Guardian fixing me." I say as I motion to him. "Right... the... what?" He asks as he approaches him. "I SHALL EXPLAIN AS BEST I CAN. I FORMED ABOUT TWO MILLENNIA AGO. THE CITY WAS ON THE VERGE OF TOTAL DESTRUCTION. VERY FEW HUMANS LIVED. THOSE THAT DID HAD TO TAKE A CHANCE OUT IN THE CITY FOR SUPPLIES, AND WOULD COME BACK INFECTED WITH THE CURSE. NONE WOULD COME TO ME FOR HELP, FEARING THAT I WAS THE CAUSE OF THE DARK CURSE!" "The people that were here, did they travel here or were they here originally?" Miles asks, getting the being to shrug. "IT IS UNKNOWN BY ME. ANY FURTHER INFORMATION WOULD BE HELD WITH THE TOWER. EVERYTHING INSIDE HAS BEEN PRESERVED. YOU ARE FREE TO SEARCH THE BUILDING ON ONE CONDITION!" "And that would be?" "RETURN MY HEART, SO I MAY LEAVE THIS HORRID PLACE!" Author's Note Pallet Cleanser.
Chapter 165 Bartering HeartsChapter 165 Bartering Hearts Perspective: Miles "Your... heart? Do you know where it is?" I ask, as I step towards the crystal being. It steps back into the opening in the spire and begins to merge back with it. "MY HEART FOR THE TOWER, THAT IS THE DEAL HUMAN. THE CURSED WILL NOT NEAR ME, SO YOU ARE SAFE FOR THE TIME BEING." The last bits of the being merge into the center crystal, making the spire whole again. I sigh in annoyance and turn back to the others. What is he talking about? His heart? If he didn't have his heart, wouldn't he be dead? "What the fuck does he mean?" I mumble out loud as I pace about, trying to solve the riddle. "I know. This is... confusing," Shining agrees, as he looks over the spire. "Can't we just magic our way through him? He's solid crystal, it shouldn't be that hard." Rainbow says. "No, navitas petram is a very unstable substance. We would risk blowing the entire city and the Crystal Empire halfway across the galaxy. We need to find this 'heart' of his if we're going to enter the city..." "We can't give up the heart. Our people depend on it for safety. It's our beacon of hope." Shining defends. "...Wait, you have his heart?" I ask. "Well... I don't know. We call it the Crystal Heart...." "OK, here's the plan. Twilight, Shining and I will go get the heart and return here as soon as possible." "No we're not." Shining says, but is ignored. "...The rest of you stay here and keep close to the spire. Apparently the zombies won't come near here, so it should be safe..." "I can't let you take the heart." "This shouldn't take longer than a day, so if we're not back by then try to contact us and use jumpers to search for us in the city, any questions?" I ask, getting Night Fury to raise a hoof. "Why only you three?" "Twilight’s shield should be helpful and we need Shining to get the Crystal heart. I'm the only one who can get us up to the surface, so we're the bare minimal amount. That, and our combined magic should make it easier to get around. Any other questions?" I ask, getting Shining to raise his hoof. "What makes you think the Crystal Empire is going to give you the heart?" "You let me worry about that. Now, can we get going or are there any other questions?" "Well..." "GOOD! Let’s get going then!" I shout, as I start to walk off. I hear some mumbling behind me, but ignore it as I continue my way back out the city. I look down to my arms and notice that the line have grown a third of the way up my arm. We need to move faster. I begin to try to remove my boots by stepping on the backs, when an ideal strikes me, making me take them off faster. "Aren't you suppose to tie those on?" Shining asks as I finally free my feet. "I need to move faster, but..." I ignite my heels and raise them a third of the way, then shut my hands off. "Better, don't you think?" "Tremendously," Twilight says, with a smile. "So how should we do this? We can't go by rooftops." "Call a spot and I'll go clear it for you guys to teleport. When we get close enough we'll go to that one roof we made near the entrance. We'll start using our shields to walk through the crowds." "Why didn't we do that last time?" Shining asks, dumbfounded. "We were caught off guard; let’s not repeat that mistake. Ready?" I ask, as I take my stance. They share a glance before smiling and taking their places beside me. "Ready! That red carriage up on the left, go!" Perspective: Fluttershy I sigh as Miles runs off back through the city, Twilight and Shining Armor teleporting away with him. I was trying to get their attention to tell them that I could try talking to the Crystal Guardian, but I didn't want to interrupt them. Everypony begins to unpack their gear and relax a bit. I remove my armor and bags as I ready myself to speak to him. I'm sure he's a nice pony, probably really lonely with all of these monsters here. "SOUPS ON EVERYPONY!" Applejack announces as she begins to pass around some food. I guess some food first couldn't hurt. We each take our portions and begin eating. The three mercenaries begin to gush about how good Applejack’s cooking is, telling her that her secret talent is cooking and she should open up a restaurant. She stays modest about it all, blushing a bit from all of the compliments. I don't notice it at first, but when we begin sharing stories and laughing together, the spire behind us begins to shine brighter and brighter. The louder our merriment became, the more the light began to glow. As Fire Burst starts a very loud and energetic story I slip away from everypony and wake my way over to the spire. I can almost feel the energy radiating from it, warming me up and putting me at ease. "Um... Cr-crystal Guardian?" I call out. "Well... I... uh... how are you?" It doesn't respond. He must not be the talkative kind. That's OK though. "If you don't want to talk, that's alright. I won't force you to. I just wanted to thank you for saving me." Nothing happens, though I didn't really expect anything to. I walk up to the crystal and nuzzle it a bit, trying my best to show my appreciation... "EEP!" I jump back when a portion of the spire gives way, making a pathway. I blink a few times in confusion before slowly stepping towards it. Maybe he's going to show me something. Or maybe he can only talk in there. With a final glance back to my friends, I step into the crystal spire, getting the entrance to shut behind me. "H-hello? Anypony there?" I ask aloud as I walk down the path being made for me. It's the only way I can go, so I walk down it as cautiously as possible. I don't think he'd try to hurt the pony he saved, but... I can't help but be nervous. "Crystal Guardian?" "THERE IS SOMEONE I WISH FOR YOU TO MEET; HURRY!" "Meet? You mean... Okay, take me to them," I say, as I trot down the path. Somepony lives here! Alive, not crazy... human. Another human! Miles will be so happy to hear this when he gets back. I follow through the jagged path where I find the P.C.H. It's standing in the center of the hollowed crystal spire with very little damage to it. GO IN AND GO TO THE VERY TOP FLOOR! THE INSIGNIA IS OF A SCALE! SPEAK WITH HIM AND DO NOT FEAR! I WILL PROTECT YOU!" "Wait, protect me? Why would I need protection?" I ask aloud. He doesn't answer me though. I take a deep breath before walking towards the P.C.H. He said he'd protect me, so I need to trust in him... though last time I put my trust in somepony... no. This is different. I push forward, stepping through the crystallized archways into the floor room. Though everything has been transformed, the Mico platforms are still here, seemingly unscathed. I walk around the room until I find the platform with the etching of a scale. Beneath it something has been carved into the crystal, but it's hard to read. Setting that aside I tentatively step forward and take it to the next floor. I appear in a large open room that shines brightly. The ceiling vaults up with thick supports and thin walls, allowing a view of the world outside. In the center of the room is a man sitting on a chair, facing away from me. He's wearing a simple black suit and has long black hair with streaks grey. With nothing else in the room, I walk towards him; taking slow, methodical breathes as I ready myself to speak with him. "H-hello there." I say as I near him. He doesn't move. I don't think I was loud enough. "My n-names Fluttershy..." "Fluttershy!" he practically yells, as he turns around to face me. He's an elderly person with dull grey eyes and a long scraggly graying beard. He stands to his feet and uses a stick to feel his way towards me. "Fluttershy, who are you Fluttershy?" "I'm... a friend of the Crystal Guardians..." "CEEGEE!" He yells in excitement. "CeeGee brought you here!? That's... wonderful, congratulations!" He booms, as he continues to search for me. "How far are you?" "...Far? I'm sorry, but I don't understand..." "SANUS! Stop questioning the girl and feed her already!" He yells as he looks to the left. "Rabidus! Silence yourself! Introductions are in order." He snaps back as he looks to the right. "Fluttershy my dear, I am Sanus, and this is my brother Rabidus. We're the everlasting relicts of Ruby Canyon." "Can you help us with something?" "Not yet you daffy bastard! We need to earn her trust first!" "Well then let’s feed her! The last one did it for food!" "No, the last one stole the food, you let them get away!" "Um... what's going on?" I ask, as he argues with himself. "Where are our manners, please, come over here. I want to show you something," he says, as he begins to walk towards one of the windows. This guy is... a little unhinged, but I follow him over to the window now the less. "What is it you want to show me?" I ask as I peer out the window, but the only visible thing is the thick crystal wall. "Our city, lost to the cursed ones. Our only weapon against them was lost some time ago when the heart was stolen..." "Bastard, no good thieves!" "... now, now the city is lost." "Or it was until you showed up!" "Yes, I was getting to that. You see, CeeGee is the cure. But, with no one to cure, he's lost his purpose." "No purpose, no life. No life, darkness takes hold. Shrouded in shadows, never to see again." "In order for him to live, he needs two things..." "One, two, no more, no less." "...The others will feed him, and he will save them in return..." "Give and take. You have to give and take. Don't be greedy, give and take." "Life and death." "Life in death, no waste. Use it all." "He needs it all. The joy of the heart. The strength of his bones. The hopeful mind. The lover’s soul." "Without them, there is no life. And with no life nothing can live. No joy, no strength, no hope, no soul." "Do you understand dear Fluttershy? Will you help us?" "Um... yes, I will help you. But I'm afraid I don't understand..." "GLORY!" He yells, as he jumps back and begins to do a little dance. He mumbles to himself happily as twirls his cane happily. I'm not sure of what's going on, but I smile along with his joy. "Happiness is my friend, with no other wills to bend! She said yes, no more stress, now I move onto to death," he sings happily. "Um... can you explain it again...?” "May I feel it?" he asks happily, stepping towards me. "...Feel?" I ask, blushing slightly. "The innocence my dear! The innocence!" he says happily, as he reaches out for me. I take a few steps back as I try to understand what he's talking about. "I don't understand. How do you feel innocence?" I ask as I press my back against the window. "THE INNOCENCE! THE CHILD! SHOW ME THE PURITY THAT WILL CHARGE OVER THIS CITY!" He yells, as he steps forward, trying to grab me forcefully. SHINK A spike of crystal shoots up between us and pierces him through the stomach, holding him up as blood pours down the spike. He gurgles a bit as he begins to choke on his blood, but continues to hold his hand out. "Please... let me die with knowledge of the innocence,” he says as he feels for me. Though my heart is racing, I step before him and place his hand on my stomach. His face drops as he feels my tummy, confused by my body. "It's... it's..." "I'm sorry, but I'm not human. I'm a pony, here with what we thought was the last..." "Strong," he says happily. "New, barely with soul, but strong." "Willed. Fated to be of great power..." "No... No, not yet..." "There's another. An influence? No..." "Power yet to be gained..." "It's strong." "Not yet." "Soon..." "Perhaps." "Goodbye, Fluttershy." "Goodbye, Innocence,” he takes a firmer hold of my stomach as he fights for his last moments of life, a smile taking place over his face. "GOODBYE, MY FRIEND!" The spike slowly recedes back to the ground from his gullet, leaving him to lay peacefully on the floor. My breath begins to tremble as I feel my own stomach. Am I... am I pregnant? What was all that talk about joy and love and life? How did he live in here all this time? "What's going on?" I ask aloud, looking around the room for answers. "Please, Crystal Guardian. I don't understand. What just happened? What did Sanus... or Rabidus, just ask of me? Tell me, please." "I WILL EXPLAIN ALL, BUT PLEASE, DO NOT STRESS YOURSELF. A GREAT CHARGE HAS BEEN PLACED OVER YOUR INNOCENCE... Perspective: Miles CRASH We finally break through the surface after a couple hours of work. A strong wind of snow hits us immediately and forces us to run to the city limits. Once clear, we march straight through the city for the palace. It's the middle of the night. Most of the homes have their lights off, sleeping peacefully. A few streetlights guide us to our destination, though the massive lights on the palace helped as well. When we reach the edge of the grounds, a few guards find us and guide us to Cadence on Shining’s orders. "Wait here while I go wake her up." Shining tells us as he heads up some stairs. Twilight and I take up a bench in the waiting room and sigh in relief. "So, how are you going to get Cadence to give you the heart?" Twilight asks, as she lays on her side. "Well... I think I'll just let her know what’s going on and see what happens from there. I'm sure she'll understand," I say, as I lean against the wall, trying to relax a bit. "Hmm, that sound best. I'm sure if we just approach this in a calm, collective, understanding...." "WHAT!"We hear Cadence yell in the distance, making Twilight and I both jump a bit. We glance to one another as the sound of our impending doom marches down the hallway. Twilight ducks behind me as the doors fly open, revealing a tired looking Cadence. Her hair is a total mess and the bags beneath her eyes are a clear sign of a rough night. "Uh.... hi Cadence..." I start as I stand. "It's a no," she says flatly. "Now, hold on a..." "My people need the Crystal Heart! Not only for protection, but for hope..;." "Cadence, I need this to continue my journey." I say as I step forward. She lets out an annoyed groan as she looks to the side, slowly shaking her head. "Not to mention that the heart belongs to a living being." "... A living being?" she asks with mild interest. "Yeah. He's called the Crystal Guardian. Three stories tall, made of the same substance as the heart, obviously. He wants to leave the city and retrieve his heart.” She walks over to the nearby window and looks out to her city. I walk over and my place beside her, waiting for an answer. "I can't let my people lose the greatest sign of hope. It's an integral part of our culture..." "There has to be some kind of compromise we can come to. I don't have the time to wait." "Why? It’s not like that city is going anywhere,” she says, as she continues to look out to the Crystal Empire. "Cadence, it’s started," I tell her. She looks over to me confused, so I motion towards my feet. "My death has started. I don't have time for diplomatic deal, I need this now.” She stares at my feet for a bit before walking back over to Shining, asking him something quietly. Twilight takes this chance to run over to me and pull me down to whisper. "Are you seriously using your death to convince her to do this?" "Well... kind of..." "Miles! This is unethical!" "Well, desperate times call for desperate measures." I say as everyone leaves their little meetings and faces one another. "OK Miles, we've decided to give you the heart, but on one condition," Cadence says, as she and Shining step towards us. "Alright, what?" "You have to bring it back." "... I don't follow." "I want you to take the heart to this Crystal Guardian, and then bring him to me. That’s the only way you're going to get the heart," she says with confidence. I think about it for a second before nodding along. I don't see the harm in having them meet, so it's a win-win really. "Good, Shining, can you take them to the heart. I wish to... go back to bed." "Why don't you take her to bed, we'll meet you at the heart." Twilight offers. "Thanks Twiley, come on you," Shining says as he nudges Cadence along, getting a soft laugh from her. "Good night, I hope you find whatever it is you're looking for," Cadence calls out before heading back down the hall to her room. Twilight and I share a sigh in relief. "That," Twilight says, as she collapses to the ground, "was painful." "Yeah, it could have gone better, but at least we get the heart..." "Yeah, all we have to do next is convince a four story tall, lonely, demanding, crystal being to follow us to the castle without scaring the city half to death. All the while taking their most prized possession. Piece of cake." "Come on... it… can’t be that hard... maybe... well... what's important is that we're getting into the P.C.H.," she snaps me a look to which I put my hands up to. "Okay, we'll figure something out. Let’s just get to the crystal heart already," she groans in agreement and leads the way to the heart. The palace was pretty confusing to navigate, but luckily Twilight knows it fairly well. We make it out of the castle and directly below, where the heart resides. It floats between two thin spires in the middle of an open court beneath the castle. A low hum comes from it as a light glow emanates from its center. There are a few guards are stationed here, but I guess having Twilight with me gives us access. "How exactly do the Crystal Empire ponies view this?" I ask as I walk around it. "Well, when their spirits are lifted during the crystal fair it emits love over the land, protecting it from the harsh badlands; as well as any other threats." Twilight says as she takes a seat before the heart, looking it over as well. "Hmm... alright, so we can't let the Guardian leave with it... I think I have an idea..." "That's good," Shining says as he joins us by the heart, "I was starting to think you were just winging this." "I kind of was, but I have a plan now. Let’s take this and get going already. We're wasting moon light." Shining nods and takes a hold over the heart with his magic. I feel a shift in the air as he sets it in his bag. It's as if.... hmm... as if there's less magic in the air, if that makes sense. "Alright, we have to move quickly before anypony notices. Think we can make it back before sunrise?" Shining asks as we make our way down Main Street. "Probably not," I say nonchalantly. "Great... Cadence is going to have a field day tomorrow..." "I'm sure she'll do fine once she explains the situation." Twilight reassures him, nuzzling his side a bit. "I hope you're right Twiley." Perspective:Fluttershy "DO YOU UNDERSTAND NOW?" "Yes, I understand. I... I..." "I UNDERSTAND YOUR CONCERNS, ANY MOTHER WOULD FEEL THE SAME. BUT THIS MUST HAPPEN!" "I know it has to happen, I just... it won't hurt... will it?" "NO. IT WILL ONLY TAKE A BRIEF MOMENT OF PAIN, THEN!" "Okay. Let’s do this before I change my mind." I stand and close my eyes as I wait for him to begin. I instinctively try to jump away as I feel the crystal begins to grow over my hooves, but calm myself enough to stay on the ground. The crystals work their way to my stomach where I feel them begin to pulsate in power. I close my eyes... hating what has to be done. Author's Note Happy birthday After Touch!! (3/7/13) Go to his HIS PAGE to help me wish him a good one. Brony on!
Chapter 166 Dealing With HeartsChapter 166 Dealing With Hearts Perspective: Miles When we finally come crashing down to the entrance we find the streets empty. The light from the center spire has driven the zombies back into the shadows, giving us the perfect chance to make it back to the spire. I ask Twilight if she could teleport us all the way back to the P.C.H., but she hesitates to respond. I ask again, but then Shining butted in to answer. Apparently, they think that I'll explode from being teleported, like when I was changing in Quartz Crest. I want to be offended, but the sad truth is that I might. It happened before; why couldn't it happen again? In the end, I had to magically run to the center while they teleported there. I want to be bitter about it, but their fears are valid. I can hurt them. Therefore, I ran. "They're back!" Fire Burst yells from his sleeping roll as I land just outside of their little encampment. "Did you bring me what I ask for?" "Uh... you didn't ask for anything," Shining says, giving me a completely confused look. "Really.... huh, could have sworn I asked for something,” he says as he thinks deeply about... whatever it was he was looking forward to. "Did you guys get the heart?" True Will asks, getting nods from all of us. "Great. We should get going while the light-" As if on queue, the light suddenly dims from the center spire, stopping True Will mid sentence. "You realize you jinxed that, right?" Dust Devil asks him, getting an annoyed gruff from him. "Anyway, let’s take the heart to the Crystal Guardian and get out of here already," I say as I reach into Shining’s bag and pull out the heart. I give everyone a few moments to gather their things before heading over to the spire. "Okay, we're going to need to make an exit the Guardian can get through. That's going to take a couple of hours waiting at the edge of the city. Keep together and watch the shadows. I don't think they'll come anywhere near the Guardian, but I don't want to take any-" CR-CR-CRACK We all jump back as massive cracks begin to form on the spire. The crystal guardian begins to pull himself free from the column as shards fly all around Shining’s shield, which he had luckily put up instinctively. Once the showers of shards ends, he drops the shield and we approach the guardian, heart in tow. "Hey guys." We all look down and stop as Fluttershy walks out from between his feet. "I have good news." "How did you get in there?" I ask. "Well he-" "Why didn't you tell any of us you went in there!?" Rainbow Dash yells. "I just thought-" "What did you find in there?" True Will asks. "I-" "Were you the one who ate my muffin last week!" Pinkie demands. "*inaudible squeal*" "AHEM, PERHAPS YOU SHOULD LET HER EXPLAIN BEFORE ASKING QUESTIONS!" We all step back and give Fluttershy some space, who looked as if she was about to crumble in on herself. She takes a few deep breaths before standing upright and readying herself. “Okay... Okay... so, when everypony was telling stories... I decided to try to talk to CeeGee here. He led me to the P.C.H. to... well... talk. It turns out that he's dying. You see, he was the cure to the disease here, but nopony was able to administer him. The generators below apparently started becoming overpowered, so the crystal started to form, merging with the spell and making CeeGee here. Now, there was a group of survivors here, but they stayed away from the P.C.H. It was originally crawling with... them. As time went on, he grew larger, and the infested people were driven away. The last of the survivors, at first, were too scared to come near CeeGee. Eventually a small group of twenty made the trip here, and... well... let’s just say they aren't here anymore.” “Ceegee needs ponies to live. They spell was formed to grow and mature with souls and protect them. The disease kills souls, so they thought that this spell would stop the infestation. The reason I was acting crazy earlier was because I was infected as well. Don't worry though! CeeGee already cured me, so I'm fine now. But there's still the problem of CeeGee though. After a long discussion we decided that it would be best to move him to the Crystal Empire. In exchange he'll agree to become the new guardian of the city. So... then I started to leave to tell everypony, and then we talked.. and... well... that's everything so..." "Wait," Shining says as he steps forward. "He wants to protect the Crystal Empire...? Really?" "Well, most of those crystals are offshoots from him anyway, but yes. He needs the hearts, strength, and souls to lift him up. Otherwise he'll wither away. He's only been alive down here because the generators have been fueling him with so much energy. But if you can't take him in, I guess we can..." "NO-NO-NO! We can take him! I mean... we'll see. Let's start by getting him there first." "No, let’s start with the message from my friends," I say, getting a nod from him. "Alright, here's the heart, can we go in now?" I ask, getting the guardian to step aside. I take a deep breath before leading the way inside. Once we walk through the crystal pathway we find the P.C.H. It's still intact, for the most part at least. It has been turned to crystal, and shows evidence of some fighting, but it still stands tall. We make our way through the spinning doors and enter the Mico station. Immediately, a crystal spike goes through seemingly all of the platforms. I guess he doesn't want us going just anywhere. We spread out and search each of the platforms. It takes us a bit, but we eventually find the right one; the armory. Lucky for us, I guess. When we get there I take a seat before the only working terminal and begin to search for the right files. "Whoa," I mumble as I find them, "six videos." "Well, I guess they really missed you," Fluttershy says as I start the first one. Strangely enough, they aren't dated this time. The video starts out with a shot of some wall and... yelling. I listen closely and come to the conclusion that it's Tenera and... everyone, arguing. I shift a bit when I hear them saying my name a lot. Are they trying to force her to do this? "Miles!" Tenera yells as she storms in front of the camera. "Go fuck yourself!" she yells as she flips me off and ends the video. Everyone stays quiet as we stare at the blank screen. I'm a little surprised that she was still mad at me despite Fidus telling everyone what really happened. "Wait a minute," Storm mumbles from behind. "The thing she did with her finger, was that an insult?" "Yup! It basically means fuck you-" "ASS! You used to do that to me all the time!" he yells, getting me to laugh. "Damn straight I did!" We all share a laugh as I turn back to him and flip him off. "How vulgar. Can we please move on?" Rarity asks as she toys with her mane. "Alright, alright, here we go," I say as I start the next video. Again, it's not dated. This time it starts out with Tenera sitting in front of the screen, slouching as she fiddles with something in her hands. It's beneath the table, so I can't see what it is. Her eyes are red, evidence of her recent tears, and she looks a complete mess. "*sigh* Ruby Canyon genetic experiment number 102-C, Alpha. The supposed solution to our problems. A civilization of super people. No ailments. No pain. No disease. Perfection,” she says as she lifts up a syringe and looks it over before the screen. It’s filled with some kind of black substance that... I hope she doesn't inject herself with it. "The last, best, hope for humanity, and it's only for Ruby Canyon citizens," she growls as she tightens her grip on it, anger taking over her face. "Before the last video I went out into the city and beat some guy into a pulp to get my hands on this. I wanted to give it to Fidus... but... 'Do not inject if you have a history of soul fluctuations, have mental disabilities, or are pregnant. Pregnant.... FUCK!" she yells as she smashes the syringe onto the table, shattering it. She slouches over the mess as she breaks down in tears. I shift uneasily as I watch her sob, unable to comfort my friend. I've never seen her this... lost. This broken. "WHY?!" she screams hysterically at the screen. "Why Miles!? She's my sister, how could you hide that from me?! What gives you the right to make that choice Miles? Tell me.... TELL ME!" The video ends. We keep quiet as I sigh to myself. It was the last thing Fidus ever asked me, to not tell anyone. It was one of the last things she said to any of us without it being forced. With a slight shake of my head I start the next video. This time it's being taken from someone’s phone. The city’s emergency alarm is going off and people are panicking in the hallway. The camera turns and enters a room, showing all of my friends getting ready for... something. I don't think it's an invasion, due to the lack of explosions and screaming people. But they seem to be getting ready for some kind of fight. "Fidus! Put your phone away and get back inside your room! It's too dangerous to-" "I'm taking video for Miles!" she yells back, getting them all to pause. "In case he gets inside here, ya know. Give him some clue to what's going on." "... Alright... Captains in the back with Tenera, you should go talk to them," Eximius says as he slides his helmet on. I guess they're letting him fight now, despite his... condition. And hey, Fidus is talking again. That's good... I hope. The camera moves to the back of the room and down a hall where the sound of shots being fired becomes louder and louder. She enters the last room to reveal Tenera and Captain Bellum shooting out of a window. Captain... I take a deep breath as I pause the video. This could be it. This could end everything right now. "Are you alright, Miles?" Fluttershy asks as she nudges my arm. "Do you need a moment?" Rarity asks. "No, no I'm fine. I just... this could end it, you know," I say to them, getting reassuring smiles in response. "Lord I hope so. You know how many close calls I had?" Fire Burst says, getting a smack upside the head from Aurane. I turn back and resume the video. "Fidus? What are you doing here?" Captain Bellum asks as he turns back to reload. "I just-" "Get back to the front room where it's safe!" Tenera yells before firing. "Get Inficiunt in here. We need to destroy all of the roof tops to put them on the same level," Captain says before turning back out the window to fire. "But-" "No buts! Go already!" Fidus sets the camera down, giving us a beautiful view of the ceiling as she goes to confront Bellum. "Susurrans, you need to talk to him already!" She yells off screen. "Not now, Fidus-" "If not now, then when!? You can't keep running from-" "Damn it woman I said-" CRASH Though we don't see it, I know what happened. He called her woman. He has to be pinned on the ground in some kind of hold. Oh what I would give to be able to see this right now. "What did you-" "SORRY, SORRY, JUST STOP! YOU'RE GOING TO BREAK IT!" Bellum yells in pain. "Grab the camera, go to the other room, and talk to Miles." Besides the occasional shot being fired from Tenera, everything goes quiet. Someone grabs the camera and storms out of the room. "Miles," Bellum starts as he lifts the camera to himself. "I know where this is all going. Don't be scared. Don't let up. I know we'll meet again, eventually. Until then." The video ends. SON OF A... HE... AND.... GRAAAAAAAAAAHHH! "Let’s just got to the next one and pretend that went differently," Rainbow Dash says, getting nods from everyone. I let out a sigh of defeat and click the next one. I swear, if I ever get the chance, I'm punching Susurrans in the face for that one. The next one starts out with Tenera sitting in a dark room with her back pressed against the wall. She's in her armor and is holding her rifle with one hand as he holds the phone with the other. She takes a few moments to catch her breath as she shuffles into the corner. "Miles..." she whispers, "they... they; it's too much! Everyone who took the serum... died. Only they're not dead. They came back and started attacking everyone else. We held up at the P.C.H. for a few days, but then the Unfamiliar attacked. At first they were just dealing with the... dead, but then they somehow found a way to fight us both! I don't understand it! The dead are attacking and they find a way to fight US! "I... everyone's evacuating from the city. Or, they already did. I was holding the rear when a wave of Unfamiliar attacked us. About four other Spartans stayed with me to hold them off... I'm the only one left. Miles. I'm so scared. I don't want to become one of them, Miles. I don't want to be here. If Discord finds me-" "WHAT!" Everyone yells behind me, making me pause the video. "Discord was there!? What?! How does... but... huh?!" Twilight exclaims. "Who is Discord again?" I ask, the name feeling familiar. "He... well, he..." "He's the jerk who used to rule Equestria! That's who!" Rainbow Dash yells as she shakes her hoof in the air. "He turned Ponyville into the Chaos capital of the world!" Rarity adds. "He.... he betrayed my trust," Fluttershy says quietly as she shirks away from the group. "Well... now we know where he got his start. Let’s finish this already," I say as I turn back and resume the video. Though a few of the others are whispering to one another about this revelation. "He'll... he'll... I don't even know! He changes people, literally! He turned a man into a lamp, smashed the bulb, then turned him back! How do you fight that!? Inficiunt tried his Boomstick, but that only pissed him off! I don't know how I'm going to get out of here Miles... Miles please... help me." She begins to cry again as the sound of footsteps passes by the door. "Miles..." Then the video ends. Without a word being said, I start the next video. I need to make sure she got out of there safely. Please don't let her die here. Please. The next one starts with Tenera sitting on the edge of a bed, looking less scared than before. She takes a deep breath before looking straight to the camera to speak. "Right... so, stop pleading, Miles. I'm safe now. A... friend, came and rescued me. Um... well... he... I don't think I can do this," she says to... whoever is behind the camera, getting the video to end. That was... beyond confusing. Time to start the next one then. Again, it's Tenera sitting on the bed, probably just moments after the last video. "Okay, so, you need to go to Po... Ponyville? Yeah, go to Ponyville. There's something there that you need to... deal with... Your writing still sh-" And the video ends abruptly. Okay.... more confused now, but last one. This one takes place in the armory we're in now, with Tenera sitting before the computer we're sitting at now. "Okay, three things: go to Ponyville, send Storm to the thing you find there, and give Luna a call. You need to do those things before going to Galena, which is a hundred meters south of the town center in Coalton. I'm leaving my carbine for.... Fluttershy? Who is Fluttershy...? Anyway, keep going. You've got about a week and a half left.... oh, and stand up, your chair is melting." Right on queue, I fall back as the molten pile of crystal slag crumbles beneath me. I jump up and look myself over, seeing that my lines have grown to my waist. "Why is yoooooohhis chair melting? Really... but... anyway, yeah." She pauses for a second as she waits for whoever's recording to stop, only they don't. "What? ... NO! I already did! .... nope, once is enough, now end it already." She gets up and rushes the camera just before it ends. I look back and confirm everyone's confusion before hearing a clicking sound beneath the table. I look beneath and pry open the chest, revealing Tenera’s crystallized carbine. "Well... she did say it was for Fluttershy," I say as I pass it over to her. She takes the long rifle in her hooves and looks it over. She points it down the hall and tries to fire, only to get a click. "Maybe it needs ammo?" she says as she hands it back to me. "No, it was an energy weapon. It shouldn't need-" PEW I accidentally fire a round straight up, having it ricochet off the ceiling and bounce right in front of Fire Burst, blowing a hole in the ground before him. ... ... ... "Well," I start as I hand the rifle back to Fluttershy. “At least we know it works," I try, only getting glares from the three mercs. "I THINK NOW WOULD BE A GOOD TIME TO LEAVE THIS WRETCHED PLACE, UNLESS YOU WISH FOR MORE TO DIE" "That... was not on purpose.... sorry," I say as I stand up. "Alright, let’s go then-" "ALLOW ME" Walls of crystal surround us before we all fall to the ground from the exertion of being forced up. We lie flat against the crystal as it climbs higher and higher through the crust. I'm fairly certain that, at this rate, we've already cleared through the top of the dome. CRASH After an unknown amount of time, I think I blacked out, we come crashing through the ground. We scatter a bit as we fling up into the air and come crashing down. We all groan a bit as we try to get back on our feet while fighting the urge to vomit. "Miles... let’s never do that again," Pinkie says from my side as she wobbly stands. "Sounds good to me," I say as I stumble up. I look back to see the Crystal Guardian reform a few meters from us, keeping clear of the palace. Many of the citizens around here have already crowded around where we landed. Probably looking for their missing relic. An eerie silence falls over the crowd as the gawk at the guardian, unsure of what to say. "Miles!" Cadence whispers loudly to me as she lands beside me. "Where's the heart!?" "Shining should still have..." Before I could finish she runs over to him and starts to have a loud/quiet talk with him. I edge my way over to Twilight and kneel beside her. "Hey, just in case things go south, get ready to teleport everyone out of here." "I'm sure everypony will understand..." "That's what we said about Cadence earlier." I cut her off. She thinks about it for a second before nodding to me. We both turn and watch as Cadence takes the heart out and approaches the Guardian, who takes a knee and sets a fist on the ground. "QUEEN OF CRYSTALS, PRINCESS OF EQUINES, I AM THE CRYSTAL GUARDIAN. I KNEEL BEFORE YOU IN RESPECT OF YOUR DEVOTION TO YOUR PEOPLE. I KNEEL BEFORE YOU IN AWE OF YOUR PASSION FOR LOVE. AND I KNEEL BEFORE YOU IN HOPE THAT I MAY GIVE STRENGTH TO THESE GOOD PEOPLE. MY LIFE IS TO PROTECT THESE PEOPLE. I STRIVE IN THEIR GOOD NATURE, SO PLEASE RESTORE MY HEART. GIVE ME THE POWER TO BRING THE LIGHT TO THEIR LIVES, TO CAST OUT DARKNESS, AND TO BRING FORTH A NEW ERA OF DEVOTION. I LIVED TO SERVE A CURSED PEOPLE BEFORE, LET ME SERVE THOSE WHO LIVE." "Dude... how does he know all of that?" Rainbow asks in a hushed voice. "Crystal Guardian. My name is Queen Mi Amore Cadenza, ruler of the Crystal Empire. What proof do you have to show your good faith to the ponies of my country?" The Guardian stands and reaches towards Cadence, making the heart fly out if her telekinetic grasp and into his palm. He takes a hold of it and presses it into his chest, where it begins to shine brightly. Once he gets it in place, he punches the ground with a massive swing . A tremendous wall of energy shoots out from him and blinds me for a second, pushing me back some as the energy shoots beyond me. "MY PROOF HAS BEEN PREVALENT SINCE THE DAWNING OF YOUR PEOPLE. AS LONG AS THERE IS LIFE HERE, I SHALL STAND" I open my eyes and look around to find everyone having a crystal-y appearance. I look at my own hands and laugh a bit as they shine brightly. I feel the same, I guess it's just.... just... "*cough cough cough* The.... fuck," I stammer as I suddenly begin coughing. I drop to a knee as I hold my chest, feeling a heavy, tense pressure begin to build up. "You alright?" Fire Burst asks as he approaches me. "Are you allergic to shininess?" he asks with a giggle as I continue to cough. "Just.... ju*cough cough* need a... *cough cough cough* AAAAARGG!" I growl as I feel my energy begin to spike. I try to hold it back, but that only intensifies the pressure. "Uh, guys! I think we have a problem..." "AAAAAAHHH!" I scream out as I feel a surge of energy force its way out. I slam my fists onto the ground in an attempt to release it.... KRA-BOOM Perspective: Twilight Two Hours Later Everypony on the train keeps quiet as we edge closer to Ponyville. Miles hasn't woken up yet, though we hadn't expected him to. Another change, this soon. I guess his friend wasn't joking when she said a week and a half. At this this rate.... I tighten my grasp on Storm’s hooves as we both lay on the same bench. I don't want to think about that, not now at least. "It'll be alright, Twi," Storm reassures me as he pulls me closer, putting my back against his unarmored belly. "We knew this day was coming, it's why we went in the first place." "I know, but... I've never lost a friend before. Not like this," I say as I twist around to face him. "How did you do it? When you lost Rain Drop, that is?" I ask, getting a troubled look from him. "I didn't, Twilight. I was.. going down a very slippery slope from that point on. That is, until I met you and Miles,” he says as he rubs his nose against mine. "We'll have each other to keep us strong, Twilight," he says as he leans his head forward and closes his eyes. "I know... Storm?" "Yeah?" "What do we tell Luna?" He opens his eyes and takes a deep breath, trying to think of the best to word this. "Nothing." We both jump and turn around as we see Miles sit up, rubbing his head a bit as he takes in his surroundings. "I'll tell her... *sigh* week and a half huh?" he says as he looks over his hands. They're both ignited in addition to his heels, the lines going up to his knees and elbows. "Eleven days, time to make them count. What happened by the way? Back at the Crystal Empire." Twilight and I look to each other before sitting upright to talk with him. "...You killed Fire Burst," I start slowly, getting a slow sigh from him. "You threw your fist down and caused an implosion. Fire Burst was the only casualty. We explained everything to Cadence, she understands." "That's good, kind of," Miles says as he hugs his knees. "What about the Crystal Guardian? What did he do?" "He... it was amazing actually, he nearly tripled the size of the Crystal Empire. They'll have growth for generations to come. Most ponies didn't even realize we left, they were so happy. New farms to grow, new homes to build... It was the miracle they've been looking for. That, and the Guardian is going to stand sentinel over the city, so their spirits are... higher than when they were freed from Sombra’s curse." "That's good to hear," he says distantly. Everypony stays quiet as the train begins to near Ponyville. I lean against Storm as I try to let all of the stress out. Breathe in.... breathe out. Just like Cadence taught me. No tears now. We need to move on first. The train comes to a stop at the station and Miles tries to leave. We quickly find out that wood burns easily without heat resistance spells. I can tell he was troubled by it, but once we we able to leave the cart he started to feel better. Soil burns, just not as noticeably. We start walking down the street when music begins to draw our attention. "Do you hear that?" Miles asks. "Yeah... it sounds familiar," I say as I look back to the girls, getting nods in confirmation. "Well Ah'd know that music anywhere!" Applejack yells when she pieces it together. "Flim and Flam," True Will says, getting all of us to pause. "How did you know that?" I ask him as he begins to sweat a bit. "Miles, they know where a city is," he says as he pushes forward. "What? How...?" "Because they're the two ponies who've been there before." I pause for a second when I see a tear roll down his cheek. I didn't know he had emotions. This won't end well. Author's Note This is long over due, but give a hand to Alpha AiE for becoming my Pre-reader/editor. Also, AfterTouch has agreed to go though my older chapters (once he gets windows... waiting) so give him some love as well. On another note, whatmustido apparently helped AlphaAiE with this chapter, so thanks for the help. If anyone else feels they're up to the challenge of helping me with older chapters let me know and we'll get to work on that. Brony on!
Chapter 167 Diamond Halls: Unknown MemoriesChapter 167 Diamond Halls: Unknown Memories Perspective: True Will I try to push my way to Flim and Flam, but the crowd of ponies stops me from getting closer. I start pulling and pushing others when I suddenly lift off the ground. I look back to see Twilight levitating me back to the group. I try to break out of her grasp, but it's futile. "Well, looky what we got here, brother of mine, it's the same in every town... Ponies with thirsty throats, dry tongues, and not a drop of cider to be found," Flim starts. "Maybe they're not aware that there's really no need for this teary despair." "That the key that they need to solve this sad cider shortage you and I will share," Flam finishes as I see them do a little dance. I reach for my magic and pull my sword out, only to have Miles grab it. "You know what they've done to me," I growl as I try to yank my sword free. "I know. Just... hold on a sec, okay?" Miles says as he watches them intently. I huff a bit as I let go of my sword. I feel a hoof on my shoulder, so I look over to see Dust Devil beside me with everyone watching me. I look away, not wanting them to see me like this. "Well you've got an opportunity... In this very community! He's Flim," "He's Flam," "We're the world famous Flim Flam brothers. Traveling salesponies nonpareil!" "Not this again…. Non-par-huh?" Pinkie grumbles, only to have Flim jump in front of her. "Nonpareil, and that's exactly the reason why, you see Nopony else in this whole place will give you such a chance to be where you need to be And that's a new world, with tons of cider Fresh squeezed and ready for drinking!" "More cider than you can drink in all your days of thinking." "Didn't they do this last time?" Rainbow Dash asks. "So take this opportunity, In this very community, He's Flim He's Flam We're the world famous Flim Flam brothers, Traveling salesponies nonpareil!" "I suppose by now you're wondering 'bout our peculiar new mode of transport." Flim says as he motions towards the strange locomotive. It seems to be a strange carriage made of metal and glowing lights. It reminds me of goblin tech, just without steam. "And I suppose by now you're wondering, where is this promised cider?" "Any horse can make a claim and any pony can do the same." "But my brother and I have something most unique and superb. Unseen at any time in this big new world!" Flam finishes. As they continue to dance and sing, they don't notice Miles moving behind them, inspecting their contraption. "And that's opportunity, folks, it's the one and only, the biggest and the best, the unbelievable, unimpeachable, indispensable, I can't believe-able, Flim Flam brothers' Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 12,000!" they sing together. The crowd of ponies seem unimpressed by all of this. Some even leave, making remarks like, 'not this again' and 'I'm not eating another tree.' I just can't believe that after three years they're still use the same song. Different lyrics, but same idea. "Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 12,000 huh?" Miles says as he walks around front. "Why yes... indeed. Uh..." Flim stutters as he gawks at Miles. "What? Never seen a human before?" Miles jokes as he takes a look at one of the glowing compartments. "Well, can't say I have. Especially one that's on fire." Flam says as he moves over to whisper something to Flim. Miles shrugs off the comment and continues to look over the vehicle. "HEY!" I yell, getting their attention. "What do you two think you're doing here!" They stare at me for a second before going wide eyed. "Well, looky here brother. True Will. Why, I haven't seen your colorful little coat..." "SHUT UP!" I yell as I try to hit them with something. A rock, branch, raw energy, anything. They just deflect it with their own magic as they approach me, chuckling as they do so. "Come now buddy ol' pal of ours," Flim says as he circles around me. "Is that anyway to treat an old..." "Whatta y'all yappin about!" Applejack yells as she gets between the three of us. "Ah thought y'all left fer good. What are ya blabbin about now? Cider season aint till spring!" she says as she kicks some snow in their face, getting laughs from Rainbow and Pinkie. "That may be, but the demand for cider still stands," Flim says as he squares off with Applejack. "That's why we redesigned our Super Speedy Cider Squeezy..." "You mean this truck?" Miles asks as he walks over and motions to everyone to step back. "Uh.... truck.... sure..." "That archaic condenser in there is the same as the ones found in Terradisian transportation trucks. A 450 if I'm not mistaken. Where'd you get it?" "I assure you, all Flim Flam Brother inventions are of our own design..." "No, it's not," Miles says as he moves back to the machine. The two brothers glance back to me before following after Miles. I look back to Twilight and glare at her, trying to get her to let go of me. She just ignores me and walks with everyone to listen to what Miles has to say. Even dragging me along in the air. "I could bring my jeep over and show you a smaller version of it. So where did you get it?" he asks as he leans against the machine, waiting for the answer. "We already..." "Just tell him already!" I yell. "I'm sorry, last time we checked, we didn't take orders from you. Then again, you didn't seem to take orders either..." "SHUT THE HELL UP!" I yell as I try to grab them, even though they are well away from my grasp. "Alright, then let me try," Miles says as he stops leaning on the carriage and pulls out his rifle. "Where–" PATPATPATPAT Everypony jumps when his rifle suddenly opens fire. He lets go immediately and stares at it, trying to figure out what just happened. "Look, nopony needs to get hurt here," Flim says as he backs away from Miles, shaking slightly. "Yes, look. We found some old city in the middle of Zebra country. Just outside the Nzuri ya Ardhi!" Flam yells as he covers his sensitive ears. Miles looks back to everyone before storming off. Most of the girls run after him, but Fayte, Aurane, Dust Devil and Twilight stay behind. I look back to Twilight and motion for her to follow after them. "Can I trust you to not do anything rash?" she asks as she glances over to everypony. "There is nothing rash about what needs to be done," I tell her confidently. She gives me a quizzical look before dropping me. I get to my hooves and glare over to Flam. "True Will," she says as she steps in front of me. "Remember that you are a part of something bigger than yourself. Don't ruin what they've worked for with your..." "Twilight, don't try to lecture me. You don't know the first thing..." "I know what Damian told all of the Spartans," she says, silencing me. I take a deep breath as I think back to that day. Just after training no less. "Look, I don't know why you did what you did, but I know you carry it with you. Don't..." "Twilight, you're a good kid. You've done great things in your life and you've always been there for your friends, but you've never sacrificed before. Yeah sure you've had some close calls and unpleasant memories, but NOTHING you've been through compares to the pain I've felt. Don't try to lecture me. Don't try to help. Just go; go back to your perfect little world with your perfect friends and let me be," I say, getting her to back off a bit. "I'm not perfect..." "No, but your life is. Just watch. The minute Miles dies, you're going to go back to your little, care-free, fairy tale life. You don't know the dark side of life because you've been with ponies like Celestia and the Royal Guard. So don't worry about me. Just go and get ready for life," I say as I step towards her. She shrinks a bit as I stand over her, glaring at the shaking form beneath me. "Will..." "DO NOT CALL ME THAT!" I yell as I push her down. "I...I...oh..." She runs off crying. I watch her for a bit before sighing. That was... too much. She didn't deserve that. What is wrong with me? My ear twitches, making my head turn back to the two brothers. "Did you think I forgot about you two?" I ask as I turn to face them. They stop just before the step to their locomotive and slowly turn back to me. "Well... uh, surely some kind of..." "Shut it." "Okay," Flim mutters as he sits beside his brother.They press their backs against the vehicle and stare at me, wide eyed, as they wait for me to do whatever it is I'm going to do. "This..." "True Will," Fayte says from the side, "don't do this." "Stay out of this Fayte," I growl at him. "Listen, I'm a halfling like you. We get enough of a bad rep..." "I don't care about that! This is personal. This is my cause," I say through gritted teeth as I glare back to the two shaking ponies. "You two will pay what happened to Lily." "True Will, please. Don't harm them," Aurane begs. "Pft. No, I'm not going to harm them. I have something much worse in store for these two." ........................................................................................................................................................ Perspective: Spike "Finished, finally." I sigh in relief with my work finally finished. One completely organized, dust free, shiny library... THUD Something slams into the front door so hard that half of the books fall from the shelves. I can only gawk as I watch all of my hard work is ruined in a matter of seconds. Ticked off, I jump down from the ladder and march to the front to– "Spike!" Twilight yells in a panic when she nearly runs into me. She's a bit of a mess, with her mane a bit mangled and tears staining her cheeks. I can tell she's been crying for a bit, due to her puffy, red eyes. She tries to cover them up, but finds the mess she made in the process. "I'm... I'm sorry Spike. I'll clean it...." I don't let her finish. It doesn't matter anyway. I scoop her up in my arms and hold her tightly. She sobs a bit more as she hugs me back, burying her face in the crook of my neck. I don't know what did this to her, hopefully it wasn't Miles' or dad’s death, but they will pay for this. I don't know how long we held each other like this. Not that it mattered. My mother was crying and I needed to comfort her. Nothing was said. But our love to one another was definitely conveyed. It's what she needed. "Anypony home?" We hear Storm yell out from the front room, making us break our hug. I set her down and let her collect herself as I straighten out. Sometimes being so tall isn't all that great... ponies are short. "Not a word to Storm,” she says as she finishes wiping her eyes. "My lips are sealed," I say as I lock my lips. She gives me a smile before leading the way down to the front room, where we find Storm picking up the books. "What the heck, Spike? I thought I told you to have this place at least picked up when we got back,” he says as he starts putting them back on the shelves. "Yeah... sorry about that," I say as I glance down to Twilight, who blushes a bit. "I had a little mishap with a spell and... yeah," I say as I rub the back the back of my neck. He gives me a look before shaking his head slightly. "Whatever. I'll let it go for now. I've got some bad news everypony." "Is it about Miles? What happened?" Twilight asks as she starts levitating the books up, setting them back with total ease. "No, that was Miles being overpowered. He can't use guns from now on. No, this is about Diamond Halls," he says as he pauses and looks at a book. "*sigh* there's no easy way of saying this, so I'll just say it. To get there will be a two year trip..." "WHAT!?" Twilight yells, dropping several books in the process. We look to one another before rushing over to his side. "But Zecora does it in two months! Why would it take you two years?" "Well, Zecora takes a blimp. By boat it's two years," he says as he looks away. "So, why can't you take the blimp?" I ask, a bit confused. "There's only one blimp that goes and... well. I tried to get a ticket but... *sigh* Twilight, I can't go." He says to her, almost pleading. "Why not?" she asks. Storm glances to me before stepping beside Twilight and whispers something in her ear. "WHAT!? THAT'S YOUR CONTACT!" "I know, I know. He's usually been fair, but... now he won't even deal with me..." "Then he'll deal with me! I'll go talk to..." Twilight starts, but stops when Storm raises a hoof and slowly shakes his head. "That's just it. When I asked him what kind of deal we could work out, he told me to send you to talk to him. I know what that means, and I won't do it. I'll have to take a boat instead." I just stand there as they stare at one another. I have no clue what's going on, but I can tell it's bad. "I'll go talk to him," Twilight says quietly as she turns and heads up stairs. "No Twilight! I don't..." "And I don't want to lose you for TWO years Storm. Two months is bad enough, but... two years!? It's out of the question," she says as she heads up the stairs. Storm and I glance at one another before running after her. I don't know what to think, but I still want to know what's going to happen. We find Twilight by her bed, removing the armor Rarity made. Storm and I quickly move to her side, only to have her things thrown in our arms... er, hooves in Storms case. "Twilight-" "I'm just going to talk to him. No deals. Just talking. okay?" she asks as she turns to us, setting her bags on the bed. "Then I'm coming with you-" "No. I'm going to do this on my own. You need to go check on Miles, see what he thinks. I won't be long." She takes off for the door without another word. Storm and I drop her things and follow after her, trying to bargain with her. "Twilight, nothing can be gained there. Why are you-" "Because I want to talk with him," she deadpans as we step into the front room. "Can't he just fly there? How about just-" "No. I'm sorry but this is happening." She reaches the door and wraps a scarf around her neck before facing the two of us, smiling as the ties it off. "I'll be back as soon as possible. Wish me luck." "Twilight..." "Storm, you tell me if two years is really better than two months... We all have to make sacrifices sometimes. I'll work something out, I promise." Twilight gives him a kiss on the cheek before leaving the library. Storm and I stand there in an eerie silence. For my part, I'm just trying to figure everything out. What's so bad about this blimp that Storm would take a two year journey? Why is Twilight the only one fighting for him to go? "Spike," Storm says quietly as he turns to me. "C'mon. Let's get this place cleaned up." "Is... is everything alright?" I ask, trying to fight back my nerves. Storm walks over to a nearby book pile and starts to set them back on the shelves. "Dad?" "...Yeah. Yeah, everything's going to be fine. Let's get this mess picked up so we can start dinner." ........................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Miles One Hour Later After I set my guns in the weapon locker; having to use magic to not set them off, and fixing Fluttershy’s rifle I finally get to head up to relax. The gun she found couldn't be properly operated, being completely made of crystal. So I worked the gem out and set in another carbine, setting the same enchantment I did on the last one. Ends up that at my level of power I set off any of the rifles I own just by holding them, leaving me with my blades. I'm not sure how that'll affect our runs to the cities, I just hope we don't face anything too... no. I don't have time to worry. A week and a half. Eleven days. We need to move– "MILES!" Butterscotch yells as she jumps in my way at the top of the steps. She's holding herself out in an attempt to block my view of something, but is failing due to my height. "SO! Uh... wanna head into town?" "Town... what's going on?" I ask as I try to step around her, only to get her to jump in my way. "Well... being completely honest, we uh... are moving furniture," she says as she eyes the back door to my home. I look over and see E'Claire trying to fit one of the beds through the door... "Oh," I mutter when I realize what she means. She doesn't want Shadow seeing me. "Yeah... sorry Miles. But, she's getting better now. I just-" "No, I get it. No need to open old wounds. I'll-" "Come with me!" We both snap to the side to find Trixie running out of the woods. She has a few scrapes and bruises along with some twigs and leaves in her mane. She comes to a stop before us and tries to catch her breath. "What ha-" "The... the... *huff* wolves.... and... *pant* chasing..." She tries, but is too tired from running. "Uh... okay. Let’s go then," I say. Butterscotch escorts us to the front of the house before the sound of breaking glass draws her back. I try not to think about it. About anything really. I'd rather be on our way to the next city, but everyone does need a good rest. I can give them a day... I think. "So... how are you feeling?" Trixie asks, finally catching her breath. "I... good, kind of," I tell her. "Oh, that's good. Does it hurt?" "Imagine having your horn constantly emitting energy. My feet are starting to feel numb and my hands are getting tired. Not to mention-" "MILES!" We both stop as we hear some mare yelling my name in the park. We turn to the left to see a light green mare, with light grayish cyan hair that has a streak of white. Right behind her is another mare with a light cream coat and blue hair with a streak of pink. They run right up to us and slide to a stop. The light green one rears up and set her hooves on her hips.... What the fuck.... She's wearing light brown pants... A pony is wearing pant.... This PONY is wearing PANTS.... Pants on a pony... "My name is Lyra Heartstrings and this is my friend Bon Bon. We've formed a club called 'The Friends of Humans Coalition'! We'd like to..." Whatever else she says is lost to me. She's wearing pants. Why is this so wrong? I thought not having to see her vag would be a good thing. Though, I have become desensitized to that sight.... except for Luna’s. OH SHIT! I was supposed to call her. Shit! Well, at least she isn't expecting a call. I'll have to... "...So, what do you say?" She asks, breaking my concentration. "Uh..." "Miles does not have the time for a club meeting at this time," Trixie says as she steps between us. Lyra deflates a bit, but tries again. "Well... that's alright. We meet every Friday in this park. If you can make it, we'd love to ask you a few questions about human society," she says before setting her front hooves back down. They start to slowly walk away, heads held low, lips trembling, eyes tearing up... "Wait up," I call out, getting them to perk up. "I can answer a few questions right now, but just a few." Lyra practically launches herself back in front of me, smiling from ear to ear. Bon Bon seems content with Lyra’s reaction, taking a seat beside her. "Okay ,okay ,okay, um.... why do humans wear clothing all of the time?" she asks, shaking in anticipation. "Well... taking a more scientific approach, it's a socially engineered tool to show modestly. Humans are social beings, being so strong emotions drove our evolution. Embarrassment being a strong one. Once we started becoming embarrassed about being nude, we formed clothing to be modest. Socially, people find embarrassed people more trustworthy and excepting." "OOOOh! I get it!" Lyra exclaims as Bon Bon mumbles something under her breath. "Okay... um... how did your culture become so militarily based? Why did fighting become so central?" "Well, because we had to. Terradisia rose from the ashes of the Purgian war and was driven by a war with the Unfamiliar. Our existence was a stake. Our enemy was unrelenting and innumerable, so we had to cultivate a mind set that could fight back." "Wow... my last question is, if the Unfamiliar came to this planet and attacked your people, why didn't they attack the ponies?" I take a deep breath as I try to think of a logical answer. There’s Inficiunt’s theory that Spatium made a deal with them, but I refuse to believe that. "Honestly, why should they have? Ponies weren't a threat. Once they destroyed us, they could have taken over the planet easily. The better question is, where did they go? I'm sorry, I have to head back home... I forgot to do something. Goodbye." "THANKS MILES!" Lyra yells as I run back home. I make a mad dash through the park, burst through the front door, and go straight for my room. I whip out my phone and notice that the screen is shining too brightly to read anything. Luckily I can just hit the call button twice to call her. ... ... Come on, pick up. ... ... "Miles! Where are you?" Luna asks in a sleepy, yet worried voice. "I'm home, I'm in my room-" The call ends. I set my phone down on the nightstand and take a deep breath as I prepare for this. FLASH I look over to my closet door and watch it slowly open, revealing my blue beauty. She has really bad bed-head and bags under her eyes from lack of sleep, but she's the most beautiful thing ever right now. We walk up to one another slowly where I drop before her. "Miles..." she mumbles as she eyes the lines on my arms and legs. "How long?" "According to Tenera, a week and a half," I say as I reach out for her. She moves her head away from my hand, fearing being burned. "Trust me on this." She looks me in the eyes and holds still, letting me move my hand behind her ear to hold her head. "Miles..." "Our souls are connected, so I can't hurt you like this," I say as I pull her into my embrace. She collapses on me and wraps her forelegs around me as she sobs a bit. I don't know how long we stay like this, but an alarm on her phone pulls us apart. "Heh, I learned to use a few things on this. I'll be back, I have to go raise the moon," she says as she still holds onto me. I lean forward and press my lips against hers. She pushes back, her soft lips quivering against mine as we tighten our holds on each other. After a few memorizing moments she twists her head to break contact, pressing her forehead against mine. "Go, I'll be here," I tell her. She looks back to me for a moment before giving me a final peck and leaves. I let my hand drag along her body as she leaves, savoring the feeling of her soft coat against my fingers. She glances back to me before finally taking the Mico platform back. I take a deep breath- "Oh my." I look over to see Trixie standing in the doorway, blushing deeply. "Knocking, anyone? Really?" I ask aloud, not necessarily to her. "I'm sorry, you kind of just ran here without saying anything. Not to mention you didn't close the door!" she defends, stepping back. "I'll just go... actually. I wanted to ask you something." "What's up?" I ask as I stand up and stretch a bit. "Well... can I go to this next town?" I stop mid stretch and look over her, seeing the determined look on her face. "Why the fuck would you want to go-" "Am I your friend or not?" she demands as she steps forward. "Well, yeah, but-" "Then as your friend I am going to help while I can. I don't think I can manage more than one like the rest, but I've heard from the others that Diamond Halls is far away. I want to help there. I know it can be dangerous, but I still want to go-" "Alright." "Nothing you can say will change my mind! I will go and that's final!" "Okay then-" "Dammit Miles, don't argue with me. I'm going-" "TRIXIE!" I yell, getting her attention. "I said yes." "... what? Really? Why?" she asks in astonishment. "Like you said, all of my friends are risking their lives for me. Not to mention I think Diamond Halls will be the safest city to travel to. You want to show you care, and you feel this is the way to do this. Thank you. Go find Storm and let him know what's going on. Tell him that I said to train you a bit before leaving." I let her know as the room slowly begins to darken. Trixie looks up to me and smiles, stepping completely into the room. I glance about the room before realizing what's going through her mind. "Miles-" "First off, married. Secondly, I'd burn the skin off of you. Thirdly, no, married." She stops her approach and looks away, clearly hurt by the rejection. "Trixie, I'm sorry. But I don't love you like that. You're... I love you the same way I'd love my best friend’s kid. Do you understand?" She turns away from me and steps out the door, where she pauses to look back to me. "I understand Miles," she says before leaving the room. I take a deep breath as I hear a flash ring from the closet. "I'm back," Luna says as she walks in, looking more awake. "Where were we?" she asks sensually as she canters over to me. "Uh... actually, can we just talk? I.. I'm just tired." I say, slightly disappointed with myself for getting the mood killed. "Oh, okay. What's up?" I walk over to the bare section of the wall and press my back against it as I drop to the ground. Luna lays to my right and lays her head on my lap. I drape one arm around her and hold her hoof with my other hand, enjoying her presence. I close my eyes and let the serenity of the moment lull over me. "Miles?" "There's a lot to tell. So much has happened in the past few days. Top of the list was meeting my mother." "... you.... what?" she asks in disbelief. "Yeah, she was with that hooded woman... I still find it hard to believe. I met my mother Luna. I wish you were there,, you would have loved her," I say as I think back to the memory.... memory. "Luna, want to see her?" "I'd love to, but how could I?" she asks as she looks back up to me. I just smile down to her as I move my hand from her back to her horn. "Here, I'll show you." I take a deep breath as I feel myself delve into the depths of my consciousness. When I open my eyes, I find myself in my mind with Luna. "Let’s go meet my... our mother." I tell her, getting a warm smile from her as we walk down the hall of memories together. ............................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Storm January 10th, 6:00 AM A/N: From here on out, the story take a small tangent. These events happen... somewhat simultaneously with the next chapters. Think of this one as an offshoot. Perspective: Storm I feel Twilight nudge me a bit, so I grab the sheets in an attempt to hold onto the last moments of sleep- THUD Or Twilight can pull them out from under me and I can fall to the ground. Great. With a tired groan I pick myself up and head to the restroom. I don't know how she did it, but somehow she managed to make a deal with Cheesus. Even better, we were able to snag tickets for all of the Spartans, the two mercs, and Trixie as well. After I finish up I head downstairs to have a quick breakfast with Twilight, finding her cooking something on the stove. "Morning," I say as I take my seat. "...Morning." she replies, sounding distant. "So... did you sleep well?" I ask, trying to start a conversation. "...Yes." "... are you okay Twilight? You seem... distant." I say as I stand and approach her from behind. She glances back to me and offers me a smile before taking the frying pan to the table. "I'm fine, really. Just... not used to being up this early, I guess. But enough about that. We don't have a lot of time before you need to leave." Though she tries her best to sound sincere, I can tell something is eating away at her. I approach her from behind and wrap my forelegs around her waist, getting her to sit with me. "Hey." "Hey." "What's wrong?" I ask as I start to nuzzle her cheek. She looks away for a moment before turning back and kissing my cheek softly. "You know I love you, right?" The question catches me off guard, but I nod along. "Well... what would be the one thing I could do that would get you to stop you from loving me?" "Twilight-" "Please. I need to know." she begs. I take a deep breath as I try to think of anything that could do that. "... I can't think of anything–" "There has to be something. Where is the line? I don't want to find it, I want to know where it is! Please, where is the line?!" she demands hysterically. She tries to break free of my grasp, but I won't let her. She finally gives up and breaks down, levitating out a vial with a turquoise potion inside. "Twilight... what's that?" I ask as she sets it on the table. "It's the deal. I'm suppose to slip this into your food before you leave," Twilight says as she tries to compose herself. "What does it do?" "I don't know, he didn't tell me." "Well.... what do you think it does?" "I don't know Storm. I've been up almost all night thinking about it. I don't know." I let go of her and take the vile in my hoof. We both stare at it for a second before I move it to my mouth to remove the cork. "Storm..." "Two months. I'll be back before you know it," I tell her before I swallow the potion. "Bleh, taste like... like... thud." ......................................................................................................................................................... January 10th, 12:00PM I awake to the sound of somepony running by my door. I lift my head from the pillow and.... where am I? I'm in a small room, barely fitting for a pony to live in. The only pieces of furniture are the bed I lay in, a night stand at the base of the bed, and a desk— No chairs, no cushioned seats, no kitchen, just a shittier apartment than what I already had. "Hello?" Somepony asks as she pokes her head inside. She has a white coat and long light brown mane. "Oh good, you're awake-" "Did we buck?" I ask, somewhat hopeful. She pauses for a second to process the question, then laughs. "Dude, I doubt you swing that way," she says as she steps inside and shuts the door, lifting her tail to show her large.... his large balls.... he is a stallion, who looks like a mare. "What's going on? Where am I? Who are-" "You don't remember? Well, you were pretty drunk, but a contract’s a contract," he says as he walks over to me and yanks me out of bed. "Contract? Drunk? What are you talking about? The last thing I remember was getting home from work last night, I didn't sign up for-" "Come with me, I'll explain on the way," Hhe says before heading out the door. I take a look around before sighing and trotting after him. What kind of crazy nonsense have I gotten myself into now? We travel down the hall and take an elevator up. When the operator lets out... my jaw nearly breaks off. I'm in a casino. A really, really, over the top, high bit, casino. Dozens of brightly lit slot machines line the walls as crowds of ponies, along with some other species, huddle around the tables. Sexy mares in maid outfits walk around, dropping off drinks of taking orders, as buff stallions in black pants and ties do the same. "So, Storm Cloud. You're going to be working here for the next six weeks; ready to begin?" The stallion beside me asks as he pushes my jaw back up. "...What exactly am I going to be doing?" I ask as one of the maids walks by me and winks... best dumb plan ever made while intoxicated. "Follow me and I'll show you." I nod and follow him as I continue to stare out at the game floor. A few mares are already looking my way, ogling me with lust filled eyes. I don't get why, but I'll "SON OF A-" I yell when I suddenly feel somepony grab my flank. I jump up and look back to see a young mare laughing at me. "WOO baby, when you go up?" She asks as her friends join in the laughter. "Uh-" "Later today sweet cheeks," my escort says in a sultry tone as he canters up to the three mares. "Be sure to buy your tickets, and get ready for a show." They all giggle a bit more as they pull out their silver tickets. "Go... up? Tickets? What am I doing here exactly?" I ask the stallion beside me. "Well, let me show you already,” he says as he walks off, swaying his hips all along the way. I look back to the mares before running after him. We walk down a hall and stop before two large ornate doors. The two Orc bouncers nod to us as we walk in.... "Nope. Not again," I say as I start to turn away, only to be pulled back in. "Sorry hun, but you've already signed on.... again?" he asks. "Well.... I didn't have a job for about six months.... gotta pay the bills ya know. Wait, don't you know this already?" "No, I was just told to give you a hoof in getting ready. I was also told to tell you that you don't really have a choice, unless you want to spend your time here in the brig." Dammit, stupid drunk idiot. "So, my name's Squishy, and I'll be your stripper, and escort! Let’s get started!" We spend a few hours going over all of the basic. Apparently they gave me a potion to grow muscle, because I'm suddenly ripped. Explains all of the stares I was getting earlier. Sadly, I have to do this, or they ditch me in Hayte. Well... I can't say having to have sex is a bad payment though. Not to mention free booze after working, something I'll probably need desperately. So, here I am. Sitting in front of a vanity mirror waiting for my named to be called... well, my stage name at least. May as well do the checklist again. Helmet straight, check. Pants uncomfortably tight, check. New found muscles oiled up, check. Fake armor shining, check. Crowd winning smile... I'll manage. "Captain Fifth Leg, you're up," calls a stage hoof. I groan a bit, both from the job and the name, and get into position. I grab the pole in the center of the stage, take my position, and wait. The stage hoof’s give the all clear and start pulling on ropes to lift the stage. Here we go... I guess. The lights blind me for a second before I'm able to take in my surroundings. The circular stage I'm standing on takes up the center of the room. To my far left is a bar that has a DJ's booth to the right. Lounge chairs and lusty mare (sadly, a few stallions as well) fill the rest of the room as some music begins to blast. As the music begins, I start to shuffle a bit. The floor beneath me was slanted so when the ponies throw money here, it slides to the opening around the edge. This also makes it a bit strange to stand on my rear legs. Taking a glance around, I start to put a little more enthusiasm into my movements, trying to get the mares to turn away from their drinks. Once I get enough looks, I squat down and rip the fake armor off, revealing my muscular form. "WOOOO! C'MON BABY! TAKE IT OFF!" yells some mare in the audience. I smile at the enthusiasm and begin to.... ugh, work the pole. I need to remember to not drink so much in the future. I jump up, going higher then I thought I would due to the new butt muscles, and flip myself upside down. From there, I rotate around as I slowly let myself slip to the base of the pole, where I let my lower half drop to be parallel with the ground. Last time I did this, I threw out my back. Gotta love new muscles. When I hear bits hitting the ground around me, I hoist myself up right and drop down; gyrating my hips as I flex my chest for all the mares. I look out at the crowd, out of boredom really, and pony gaze. Hm, bachelorette party, some older mares, some large red stallion with a few buff mares, some extremely beautiful light purple unicorn, drunk mare.... wait a minute. I grab the pole behind me and slide down slowly as I stare out at the unicorn. She's wearing one of the maid outfits serving drinks. She has long blue hair with has a streak of pink in it that curves slightly. Her light blue eyes seem to shine through her tired expression as she trots through the raging mares. Remembering my place, I tear my pants off as I stand back up. Lucky for me (but more for the crowd) staring at this mare made me semi erect. A torrent of bits comes crashing down onto the platform as I saunter around, trying to keep my gaze on the mare. She looks back to me and blushes deeply when she sees... me. Wanting to be modest, I turn away from her and climb up the pole. When I flip back, I see her walk through the front doors of the club. Damn. At least I got to see her cutie mark... A sunset... or is it a sunrise? ............................................................................................................................................................ January 18th, 12:00 AM With a tired groan I make my way from The Strip House to the guest rooms. Someone called for an escort, which means fun for me... right? I keep seeing the mare from my first night. I haven't had the chance to talk to her yet, but I'm slowly getting clues about her. Her name is Golden Ray. She's eighteen, really likes cherries, works day shifts, and doesn't seem to want to be here. Most of the other workers are happy and having fun, but not her. She seems so distant, so... sad. I can't think about this right now. I'm at the room, I need to put on my little persona and make sure these mares have a good night. *sigh* hopefully this will go by quickly. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK I lean by the door and put on an unamused expression as I hear the two mares run to the door. When it flies open, a light blue pegasus with green hair pulls me in and slams the door shut. "okay, okay, okay... wow." Her friend, a white unicorn with orange hair, says as she looks me over. "Like what you see?" I ask as I step towards her. "I'd say." The other mare says as she grabs my flank. Something that used to bother me, but is now dulled. "I assume you ladies know the protocols," I say as I enter their large room. "Y-yeah. No kissing, no means no, and.. uh..." "No tools on me," I tell her as I trace a hoof along the unicorn’s face. She practically melts under my hoof, a light trail of drool leaving the corner of her mouth. "So... do we just get to it or... what?" the pegasus asks, her wings already erect. "I'm here. We can play games, talk, go for a walk, do the dirty deed, whatever you want," I say as I move over to their couch and take a seat. Need to play it cool, act like I want to be here, but don't care what happens. The two mares look to each other before running to the seats beside me. They waste no time running their hooves over my body, feeling every muscle with tender movements. "So... who first?" the blue pegasus asks her friend. "Uh... let’s see what he's got first." The unicorn chuckles as she moves her hoof between my legs. I lay my head back and sigh as she begins to stroke my flaccid member. A few strokes in I remember why I'm here, and reach out to begin to rub the two mares. Going off of their signals, I go straight for their spots and apply pressure to the front of their folds. They both shudder from the feeling and giggle as my erection peaks out. "okay, I'm going first." The pegasus says as she clambers onto my lap, facing me. I rest my hooves on her hips as she eases down onto me, laughing slightly from the pleasure. I let her make a few moves before I lift her up and twist around, dropping her onto the couch. I take charge over the movements as I grab the other mare and pull her over so she's standing over her friend. Well, at least they're clean. Not much of a desirable backside though. Shrugging, I move in and begin my oral work. I keep my thrusts timed and measured as I remain methodical about my oral work. This is a job, not something for my pleasure. Not that I'm worried I'll go early, but if they don't finish it'll make my employer look bad. And as Squishy has made clear, that's a no-no. Pay wise at least. I can tell the mare beneath me has never had a stallion my size before, both from her tightness and the way she's screaming in pleasure. She should cum soon, giving me plenty of time to finish off the top mare. "AAAH SHIT! BUUUUCK! AAH!" Well... that was quicker than I thought. I wait for her to fall limp before pulling out, leaving her friend right on the edge. "Are you-" CLICK My head snap back to the door as some unicorn stallion enters the room. He takes two steps before looking right me, tilting his head in confusion. "Uhh... I wasn't told there was-" "Don't worry, I was the one who called for you," he says as he steps inside and shuts the door. I gawk at him as I try to piece everything together. He paid for me to buck these mares... I don't get it. "It was amazing babe, but I didn't get to finish." The unicorn mare pouts as she clambers off the other mare. She canters her way to the stallion and locks lips with him, sliding her tongue inside his mouth sloppily. "Uh..." "I think you can go now," the pegasus says as she cuddles up into a ball. "He'll take it from here." Before I could say anything a magical field lifts me up and tosses me towards the door. CRASH Well... at least something soft broke my fall. As the door slams shut I pick myself up and turn to... to... to... "Ow, what was that for?" Golden Ray asks from beneath me. I... I can't believe it. Here she is. I finally get a chance to- "Oh sweet Celestia... is that... um... I have to go," she says as she begins to blush. She pushes me off of her and begins to sprint down the hall. Shaking my head clear, I stand up and run after her. "Wait, Golden Ray!" I call out, getting her to stop. "How do you know my name?" She asks as she turns to face me. "I.... well, I looked it up." I admit, looking down from guilt. "I saw you at my first show and.... well, I can't stop thinking about you. I know that's cheesy and all... but it's true. So... wanna get a cup of coffee?" I look back up to her and try to smile, my nerves betraying me as I twitch a bit. "I don't usually date co-workers... or stallions who ask me out with massive erections," she points out. I glance down before feeling completely embarrassed. I lift a leg in an attempt to cover up, but that's a little impossible. "Sorry about that. I was.... I just finished a job." I say, blushing slightly as she stares at it. "Finished?" "Well... the job at least. So..." "Look, I'm sure there are plenty of other mares here who would-" "No, trust me on this. I talked to other co-workers and heard plenty of the guest. And... well, not to be mean, but they all seem so... dumb." "Dumb?" "Like, I could have a real conversation with any of them. The farthest I got was when I was talking to one of the other escorts about cereal.... cereal. I don't know, I see you, and I feel as if we could talk for hours about anything. That sex would be something more than a job. So, do you want to go out with me?" She doesn't answer me. Instead she motions down the hall and begins to walk away. I take a deep breath before following after her. I see two possibilities from this. Either she brings me to Squishy and reports me, or we get coffee. I'm hoping for the latter of the two. I'd really hate to walk home from Hayte. We end up in the employee bed hall. We head to the end of the hall and enter the last possible door. It's another small, dismal room. Similar to mine. She goes under the bed for a second and drags out a large duffle bag. She unzips it and steps aside, letting me looks inside. Books. Lots and lots of books. I glance back to her, getting a shy grin, before pulling a couple out. Solar trajectory for Idiots, Photosynthesis and You!, Stars- Big and Small. "What are all of these?" I ask as I dig through them. "Astronomy books. I'm going to Hayte for a chance to study that hemispheres stars. I.. well, it's something I do." She says with a slight blush. I set the books back down and turn to her, smiling at her shy nature. "If you're an astronomer, then why are you here... doing this?" "Well, I'm trying to get into a college for astronomy. But... I'm not the best at it. So I figured that if I could get some notes and actual experience in the working field, I'd have a better shot. Sadly, astronomers don't get very much in pay. So, I made a deal with Cheesus. Work on the party blimp, get a free ride to Hayte. I think it's a fair trade. Why are you here?" "Me? Pfft, I apparently got drunk and signed on. Last thing I remember was getting home from work and crashing on the couch." "...And what do you do?" she asks with a slight blush. I smile back to her and take a seat on her bed, patting the spot next to me. "Come over here and I'll tell you." ....................................................................................................................................................... January 24th, 10:35PM I stand in the shower and let the warm water wash over me. Another night of... services has left me a bit tired... and blue. Words gotten around that I'm able to finish off mares before finishing myself. Good for them, bad for me. I don't think I can go another week without some release without exploding. I asked Golden if she wanted to... help, but it ends up she's a virgin... so yeah. I get to wait. Once finished with my shower, I dry off and head out. The earth pony mare I worked on is still fast asleep, so I try to make it out as quietly as possible. At least it was only one mare today. Yesterday was just... too much. Griffins... enough said. I check my little black book and smile when I notice I'm done for the night. Excited, I take off for Golden’s room, I think she got off about half an hour ago. This is how it's been since that one night. We work all day and try to meet up as quickly as possible. She doesn't have to do anything at night, so we usually meet in her room. We've kissed at least. It was short and she nearly fainted, but it was awesome. I make it to her door and pause to catch my breath before entering. "Golden?" I ask as I enter, finding the room empty. I shrug it off and step all the way inside. She probably wanted to go use the shower or something. It's odd that they don't give us our own showers, but it makes sense for the expenses and all. I lay on her bed and let myself relax a bit. CLI-SLAM "STORM! You're here earlier than I thought you would be!" she says from behind the door. "Everything alright?" I ask as I stand up. "Yeah, just... um, can you please turn around?" She asks with a quiver. "Uh... sure. What's going on?" I ask as I turn around. She steps inside and stays quiet, so I just stand there and wait for her to do what- FWOOSH I nearly launch myself when I feel her touch my flank. I turn around to ask her what's going on, but stop when she kisses me. My eyes snap wide open as our lips press firmly against each others. When she finally pulls away, a slight string of saliva stay connected between us. "So... uhm, do you... want to-" Before she could finish I press forward, kissing her this time. We hold each other as I push my tongue into her mouth. She tenses up a bit, but allows me to press on. I quickly find her tongue and begin to dance around it, getting her to moan deeply. I trace my hooves along her back until I reach her flank, where I give a firm squeeze. She breaks our kiss to look down, glancing at my eager member as it presses against her. "Are you sure you want to?" I ask as I hold her. She stares at it for a bit longer before she looks up to me and nods. "But, is there a way you won't... last so long?" She asks, her blush growing deeper. "Well, there is oral." "What's that?" "Well... let me show you." She gives me a confused look, but follows me to the bed anyway. I lay her down and position myself over her, barely letting our coats touch. She keeps her legs tucked in as I begin to kiss her along her neck. Every little peck down her body earns a cute moan and a shiver until I reach just below her stomach. I pause for a second as I pull back and take one of her legs in my hooves. I work some tenders kisses down it as I slowly guide it to an open position. When I near her area I pull back and do the same with her other leg. I take a moment to admire her tight virgin folds before my gaze is broken when she shuffles in anticipation. I draw my tongue out and lightly trace it along her opening. She groans in pleasure and tighten her grasp on the sheets. Pleased with the results I go in again, moving a bit faster this time. I move my hooves to hold her waist down as she starts to squirm in pleasure, especially when I hit her clit. "Storm... something’s... something’s happening," she moans as she starts to rock her hips. "Don't tense up, just let it out." I tell her before sucking her clit, pushing her over the edge. She lets out a loud moan as she thrusts forward. I try to move away, but she grabs the back of my head and smashes me against her a bit. When she finally calms down enough to let go of me, I pull myself up beside her and lay next her. "I'm guessing you've never done that before." "*pant* No... never." "Yeah, we'll have to get your sheets washed after tonight." I say as I feel the warm wetness seeping into the fur of my flank. "I... huh?" She asks as she turns to look at me. "Well, half of that liquid isn't what you think it is. I guess you've been pent up for some time." "I... don't follow... in any case, it's your turn. What do I do?" She asks as she positions herself between my legs, stroking my member slowly. "Start out my licking it," I tell her. She nods and eyes the tip as she tries to mentally prepare herself. My breath begins to pick up when she runs her tongue over the opening. She mulls the taste over in her mouth before leaning forward to lick again. "There you go. Treat it like a frozen popsicle. Lips, no teeth." She nods a bit as she fits her lips around the tip. I twitch a bit as she swirls her tongue around the edge, resting a hoof on the back of her head as she starts to take more of me inside. I fight the urge to begin thrust forward as she works more of me into her mouth, especially when she begins to rub her tongue against the bottom. "Is that good?" She asks when she pulls it out to breath, still stroking it. "Amazing. Don't stop," I mutter, getting a giggle from her. "This is crazy," she laughs before going back down on me. "Right?" I laugh as well. It's good to see her relaxing a bit. I roll onto my back and sigh as she lays on my chest, holding my stiff member in her mouth. I drape my foreleg over her stomach and rub her sides, working my way down to her teats. When I trace her clit she accidentally lunges onto me, gagging on it. I quickly pull out and wait for her to catch her breath. "You alright?" "Yeah... sorry, it just felt good,” she says with a blush as she turns to face me. "We can stop if you want." "Stop? We just started. Unless you need to stop," I tell her. She thinks about before nodding. "I-I'm ready. But, just be gentle okay. I'm still a bit nervous... It won't hurt too much, will it?" "Well, it will hurt, but I don't know how to gauge it. I'll be sure to take it slow-" "No! No, band-aid status. Just go in quick and we'll deal with it when we get there," she says quickly. I stare at her in disbelief before getting into position. I pick her up and set her with her plot held high and head low. I get behind her and line myself up with her, rubbing my tip against her entrance. "Are you ready?" I ask as I start to press forward. "Y-yeah. Just... yeah." I nod and take a deep before thrusting forward, breaking through her hymen and filling her completely. She lets out a pained scream before burying her head in a pillow. I groan from her tightness pressing down on me, true to a virgin’s tightness. "You alive down there?" I ask as I hold myself there. "...Yes." she says in a pained voice. "It's... just... big." "Yeah, let me know when you're ready and I'll start to move it, okay?" I tell her as I rub her flank a bit. She nods and resumes her panting. It was lucky I got her off first, otherwise this would have been a bit more difficult to do. "Okay, go ahead." "Okay, here I go." I pull back almost all the way out before pushing back in. She moans out loud, reassuring me to continue. I start out slow, letting myself stretch her out easily. She remains somewhat quiet during this, but enjoys herself plenty. She even musters the courage to look back and watch it. When she picks herself up and begins to kiss me I grip her around her lower stomach and start pound away at her. She throws her head back in ecstasy and screams my name as another orgasm rocks her body, making her grasp on me tighten greatly. When she finally begins to calm down I stop my thrusting to let her catch her breath. "Lay down," I instruct her, barely getting a nod from the tired mare. I pull out of her and wait as she turns around beneath me. I lower myself down to kiss her, letting or sweaty bodies mesh together. Our tongues dance messily around each others as I grind myself against her. "I can go again if you want," she says when we finally break contact. I look down and push back inside of her, sliding easily from all of the natural lubricant. I grab onto her shoulders and resume my movements, slapping my hip against hers. She grabs onto my forelegs as her body shakes. As I continue my movements, we suddenly begin to stare into each others eyes. I don't know quite how to put it, but I feel something sparks between us. Like... a sudden realization of... love? Is that it, is that what I'm feeling? We've only been together for a week, but... "Storm, is something wrong?" she asks. I realize that I had suddenly stopped. "Oh... well, it's just that... I... I love you, Golden Ray." She stares deep into my eyes before lunging forward to kiss me. I fumble back a bit until she's sitting in my lap, smiling. "I've been waiting for those words for... a long time now. I love you to Storm Cloud." I can't help but smile at that. I haven't been loved like this since... since Raindrop. I wrap my hooves around her waist and pull her close as I lean in for another kiss. She wastes no time gyrating her hips to move my member within her. I feel myself edging near my climax, so I begin to lift and push her down onto myself. She breaks our kiss to moan out loud as she holds herself against me, trying to say something through her incoherent babbles. "GOLDEN!" I yell when I finally orgasm, shooting my hot seed deep within her. I give some final, powerful thrust into her before collapsing from exhaustion. She falls right beside me and begins to regain her breath as sleep starts to take its hold on me. "Storm... I... that was..." "I... I know... sorry, but it's nap time for me." .................................................................................................................................................. January 30th 8:30 AM I awake with a foul taste in my mouth. Must be what's left over from the potion Twilight had me drink. I blink a few times before finally being able to see. I'm in a small room, barely fitting for a pony to live in. The only pieces of furniture are the bed I lay in, a night stand at the base of the bed, and a desk covered in all of my gear and a note. With a tired groan I get out of bed and pick up the note. Storm, We've docked just outside of Hayte. Grab your stuff and meet us on the deck. Big Mac. Hayte? But we were just in Ponyville a few hours ago... or, at least it feels like a few hours. What the heck did that potion do to me? Whatever. It doesn't matter now. I grab my gear and strap it all on before leaving the small room. The Party Blimp lives up to its name. A large casino and strip club take up the main lower deck with the upper deck being a spa, tennis court, and buffet. Speaking of buffet, maybe we should get some food before we head out. Its feel like I haven't eaten or drank anything in a few days. I make my way onto the top deck and find the rest of the Spartans, along with the two mercs and Trixie. "Alright everypony, ready to head out?" I ask as I approach them. "Don't you want to know how we got here? Don't you feel... funny?" Dust Devil asks, making the others avert their eyes. "I'm sure there's a good reason for all of that, but we have a job to do right now. I'll find out soon enough what happen, so let's get this city over with so we can get home. Watch each others back, and keep together. I don't want to lose anypony." "YES SIR!" The Spartans sound off. I look to Fayte and motion for him to lead, getting him to walk to the off ramp. Hayte is a fairly large village, by zebra standards at least. Many of the buildings are made of thin twigs woven together to form walls with straw roofs. Many of the zebras here have set up shop near the docks to sell their goods. We all work our way through the crowd and follow Fayte to the towns center. Many of the residence here don't seem to mind us. The foals seem to like to follow us, speaking to each other in their language. The ponies— er, zebras, seem to be a vibrant group. Living next to an airport, they don't really pay us any attention. They go about their daily lives, speaking with friends, selling goods. It's odd seeing so many similar looking ponies in one area. It's even odder to only see glyphs instead of cutie marks. Though I do like the neck rings, earrings, and nose rings. The gaping hole in the ear is a bit too much though. "Alright, you all wait here while I go talk to the local shaman," Fayte says as he and Aurane walk off together. We all relax a bit as we wait for them to return. I look over and note a rather smug look on Night Fury. "What's got you in such a good mood?" I ask him. "Hm? Oh, let’s just say it's been a few good weeks. Real good," he says, glancing to Trixie and then back to me. "Oh? So you and Trixie are finally official?" I ask in a hushed tone, raising an eyebrow to him. "We're not the only ones," he whispers back to me. I try to think about it, but can't really think of an... "True Will and DD?" I ask. "HA! What?!?" he practically yells before laughing his ass off. Everyone looks back to us for an answer, but can't get one. I don't know what's going on and Night Fury is rolling on the floor laughing his ass off. "Anyway, anypony want to tell me what I missed while we wait?" I ask, ignoring the dying stallion beside me. "Eenope," Big Mac states, looking away from me. I look to the others and see them all avoid my gaze. "Come on, did I do something bad?" I ask, getting Night Fury to laugh even harder. "Did I hurt anypony?" Night Fury starts choking from the lack of air he's getting. "Anypony?" "Storm," True Will says as he steps forward. "If I tell you what you did, you have to promise not to ask anymore questions. Promise?" "Yeah, what did I do wrong?" "You drank the damn potion." I shake my head a little as I stare at him, trying to think of a way that could possibly be wrong. "Come on, Fayte's calling us." I sigh in annoyance and follow the group to Fayte. What could have happened from drinking that potion that it would be wrong? "Alright everypony," Fayte starts as we line up in front of him. "The shaman here has granted us access to the city, but warns us that many brave warriors have made the passage before us, and failed." "We know what we're getting into Fayte, you can't scare us off that easily," True Will says. I glance over to Trixie and note her shaking. Most of us know what we're doing at least. "Sorry, it's tradition to say these warnings. If you go down and retreat, you will be viewed as outcasts among the zebras. If you try lying about a false victory, you will be beheaded. And if you somehow survive, every zebra will swear fealty to you as ordered by the head shaman of our nation. May the stars guide you." He does a slight bow before turning and walking down the main path. Aurane steps out from the hut and follows after Fayte, beckoning us to follow. The path suddenly changes when we make it to the end of the village. Rows of flowers line the path as low hanging trees provide shade. A group of zebra mares waiting by entrance see us and swarm over to us. They begin to chant something as they smear white goop all over our armor. Little fillies run up and adorn us with flowers and twig crowns. "They're wishing us good luck on the hunt... and a merry happy life should we die," Fayte informs us. A zebra mare gets in my face and begins to mumble something quickly as she rubs my face with the goop. "Uh... bleh, thank you... thank you... ew, is this really necessary?" I ask as I move my face in an attempt to not be covered in goop. "More importantly, what is this made of?" Trixie asks. "Bat guano," Fayte says as he stands proud, letting himself be marked up. "And yes, it is necessary. Unless you want to piss off the entire village and be hunted down for insulting the head shaman of Zebrica. Your call." Big Mac and I glance to one another before holding still, letting them finish their little ritual. "Wait... is bat guano-" "Huweza nyota atawaongoza." The zebras say at once before stepping back, leaving the path to the city before us. We stand still for a moment before Fayte strides forward, looking more determined than normal. We all share a look before following after him. The grass is soft and the air is filled with the alluring scents of different flowers. The trees provide a nice cover from the unrelenting sun as a soft breeze blows past us. It's peaceful walking down this path. A large cave sits at the end of it, adorned with small, powdery white mounds. An elder zebra stands at the entrance to the cave. She wears many gold rings around her neck and legs as well as a silver nose ring. I'm not exactly sure how old she is, but her black strips are starting to turn grey. "We're here to test our strength," Fayte tells the elder. She leans to the side and looks each of us over before looking back to Fayte. "You know the price for failing twice," she tells him in her slow old voice. "I will not fail again. May we enter?" he replies. "So you may believe. You may enter, but will not leave." She walks us to the entrance and sits to the side, eyeing each of us as we face the mouth of the cave. "Wait," she says as she stands back up. "You... and you." she says as she points me and Trixie out. "Us?" Trixie asks as we step aside. "Yes... you both have a touch of destiny I can clearly see. Who are you?" she asks as she approaches Trixie and begins to examine her head, moving it from side to side as she taps and squishes it. "I'm Trixie-OW! Don't pull my hair!" "And I'm Lieutenant Storm Cloud of the Spartan Regiment." I say, getting her to look to me with a surprised expression. "A... Spartan?" "We all are." I say as I motion to the others. She releases Trixie and walks over to each of us, inspecting us closely. "Hmm... Spartans, you may enter. But when you reach the center.... remember who you are, or you will not go far." She moves back to her stop beside the cave and sits down. "Safe journeys to you all." "Thank you... grandmother. Zecora sends her regards," Fayte says before entering the cave. We all look to one another before following after him. Trixie and I share a confused look as the darkness of the cave obscures our vision. Trixie, True Will, and Fayte light their horns and guide the way. The path slopes downward and has more of the white goop smearing the walls, depicting other ponies who made the journey down. The wall are practically white. "What did she mean by 'a touch of destiny'?" Trixie asks as she slows down to walk beside me. "We're special?" I offer, getting a flat look from the mare. "I don't know. It's probably some zebra tribe thing, try not to think about it too much right now. We have more pressing matters at hoof right now," I tell her. She nods slowly and picks up the pace. I don't really know what to make of what she said in all honesty. Does it mean we'll have a moment of greatness, or become something great? I don't know and I don't think I'll know until it happens. So better keep moving on then. Traveling in this darkness sets all of us on edge. We had to stop several times to camp and let the unicorns in our group rest. Sitting in complete darkness was... unpleasant, to say the least. It's felt like at least a day has passed since we've entered. After our third camp stop though, we finally made it our destination. Diamond Halls. The bulkhead sits crookedly, leaving a small opening at the bottom right corner. A bright light shines through the opening, beckoning us to run to it and out of the darkness. We huddle around the small opening and try to lift it open. Even with all of our strength increases, it won't budge. "Trixie, can you teleport us inside?" I ask, getting her to glance inside. "Maybe. If I do it'll only be one at a time. Can you teleport Fayte? True Will?" "Yeah, though only one at a time like you," True Will says, getting a nod from Fayte. "Alright, here's the plan. You three will Teleport Big Mac, Dust Devil and myself inside. When we give you all the go ahead start bringing in everypony else in. Sound good?" I ask, getting nods from the three of them. The three of us take our stance and nod for them to do it. One flash lat- "SONNA BII-" Big Mac yells as he suddenly starts to drop. Dust Devil and I had instinctively opened our wings... but that doesn't help our earth pony friend. With a powerful flap of our wings we send ourselves flying after him, catching up quickly. "GAH! Why are you so heavy!" Dust Devil complains as we grab him and fight to keep him from crashing down. "Shuddup and keep flappin!" He barks back. After a few minutes of furious flapping we finally find the ground. We drop to the ground and catch our.... whoa. "Where is the city?" Dust Devil asks as we stare out at the empty dome. Everything here has been completely destroyed. The only thing left here is all the crumbled concrete that fills the bottom of the dome. I l take a good look across the vast nothingness before I see two mounds in the sea of crushed buildings. One seems to be in the exact center of the dome while the other seems to be on under the right bulkhead. "DD, go tell the others to come in, but warn them about the drop." "Got it," she says quietly before flying off for the gate. "There's no way the fighting was this bad here... right?" I ask Big Mac, who shrugs. "Hadda been one heck of a fight," he says as he surveys the area. A couple of bright flashes go off before us as the others appear. We stand there silently as we take in the sight of... nothing. "Where do you want to start?" Night Fury asks sarcastically. "Let's head to that left mound and then go to the center. Something has to be there," I say as I start to walk off for it. "Keep close to the edge," Fayte warns us as he walks behind me. "Why?" True Will asks. "They call it the city of solitude for a reason," Aurane says as he jumps into the air. "I want to go scout ahead, anypony wish to come along?" "Count me in," Dust Devil says as she flies after him. Walking through the uneven terrain proved to be problematic. Those without wings would often slip or trip from the ground going out from under them. Those of us with wings quickly took to the air. It takes us a couple of hours to make it halfway, where Trixie decides to teleport everypony without wings. The rest of us just race there to meet them. Reaching our destination, we split up and search the mound for... anything really. I don't know what to find her, so I guess we're just investigating everything. I start at the base of the mound and start to pull slabs out of the way. The others follow my lead and start to lift and levitate the stones out of the way. "Is that a building?" Trixie asks as she levitates a large slab out of the way. A few feet feet down we can see a smooth surface going straight up and down. True Will, Fayte, and Trixie get to work clearing a way down, creating a path in about thirty minutes. THUD "Did anypony hear that?" I ask, getting everypony to pau- KA-THUD "INTRUDERS!" I spin around and nearly fall over myself as the giant... person, towers over us. He's easily twice the height of Miles and has a thousand times the muscle mass. His head looks about the same size of Miles', though it's dwarfed by his massive body. It has a few grey patches of long grey hair on its head, as well as a red beard. Scars litter its muscular body as he heaves before us, clenching its large fists. "Uh-" "INEMORIOR!" He yells as he tries to bring both his fist down upon me. With the aid of my wings I jump back just in time to dodge his attack. When land I set my hooves on my sword and lunge forward, swiping my blade at the beast and sending a powerful gust of wind forward. It hits the beast and forces him a few steps back... THAT'S IT!?!? "COME TO ME, MY TASTY LITTLE—!"He yells before a powerful beam of energy sends him flying back. "GET INTO THE BUILDING BELOW! I'LL HOLD HIM OFF!" True will yells before charging after the beast. We all look to one another before following after him. "I SAID TO-" "SPARTANS!" I yell, getting a URAH in response. We spread out and form a semicircle around the beast as it staggers back to its feet. A massive cut across its chest bleeds... no. It's healing right before our eyes! Literally, within seconds, the wound seals itself shut. We all share a glance before readying our weapons. "Perfidus?" It asks as it steps towards True Will. "Captain Perfidus?" "Uh... no-" "NO? NO!? What do you mean NO? HOW COULD IT BE NO!?" It yells as it thrashes about, swiping at the ground and throwing up hands full of cement. We all back away as it throws its little fit. "It spoke," Big Mac states quietly. "Think we can talk our way out?" I ask. "You willing to try?" Night Fury scoffs. "NO MORE WAITING! EATING TI-" "You can't eat them!" Trixie yells from behind. "I can't? I CAN'T!? TELL ME LITTLE BLUE-" "You can't eat Terradisians! Not... not if you're a Spartan." Trixie walks right past us and stands before the beast. "Spartan? SPARTAN!" It yells before slamming both of its fist beside Trixie, narrowly missing her. "WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW OF SPARTANS!? Prove to me that you're Terradisian! What is your name!?" He huffs and growls as he draw nearer to Trixie. "M-my name is Trixie-" "TRIXIE!" "T-Trixie Ostendere." He huffs a bit as he inspects Trixie more closely, eyeing her with renewed interest. "And these are my Spartan escorts-" "I SEE NO SPARTANS!" He yells as he slams the ground around her again, shaking the ground enough to make her fall over. "We are Spartans!" Night Fury yells as he steps closer, drawing its attention. "From... from Topaz Drops." "WHAT?!" "FALLS! From Topaz Falls!" I correct, gaining its attention. "We came... to answer... your distress call?" I fumble, looking to the others for help. It stands back to its full height and sighs slowly, almost deflating in size from relaxing its massive muscles. "Well, it's about time someone showed up to help quell this little rebellion. Where is your commander?" "That would be me, Lieutenant Storm Cloud," I say as I step forward, keeping my sword up. "Storm... Cloud? Storm? What is a storm cloud? Storm Could? What could possibly be a cloud and why is it storming?" He asks as he starts to pace about. I look to the others for help, but only get shrugs. Fayte looks as if he's about to faint, though I don't think it's over the giant mad man before us. "What do we do now?" True Will asks in a hushed voice. "Uh... I'm working on that-" "You there! Spartan, why are you so different? You don't look like any Spartan I've ever seen." He says as he points a large meaty finger at me. "Well... you don't look like any Spartan I've ever seen." I reply, getting a deep laugh from him. "Magnificent, aren't I? A little gift from that CUNT of a woman. Who is your Captain?" Shit. Should I use Miles? He wasn't a Captain in his city. What was his Captains name? Su... Susurrans... "Our Captains name is Susurrans Bellum." "..." "..." "..." "..." Oh please tell me he- "TRAITOR!" He tells as he tries to smash Trixie. She teleports away before any harm was done, but the initial hit had enough force to make us all fall over. I try to get back up, only to fall back down when a massive fist slams right beside me. "DIE LITTLE TRAIT-" FWUUSH A large plume of fire hits his side and forces him to roll over. Big Mac runs over me and charges at the beast, slamming his halberd into its back as it tries to get back up. A loud howl of pain erupts as it fights to stand back up. He snaps his arm back and grabs Big Mac, lifting him up as he stands.With a powerful twirl of his arm he hucks Big Mac... only he doesn't go flying. At the last possible second he swung his halberd and sunk the blade into the beasts hand. He didn't go flying, though he did lose his grip and fling thirty feet away. As the beast staggers back I lunge forward and send another slash of air at him, pushing him further back. Dust Devil takes this opening and flies forward, using her vibro-blades to cut and slash at his left leg. The beast tries to grab her, but she easily flies out of his grasp. With him bent over, Night Fury pops up from behind him and slams his dual axes into the beasts back. They shoot out a concussive force that drops the beast. Fayte takes this advantage to charge forward and bury his blade within the beasts skull. We all watch as its body twitches and convulses before going limp. "Is it dead?" Trixie asks shakily from behind. THUD "Better safe than sorry," True Will says after he drops a massive boulder onto the beast. We all sigh in relief as we sheath our weapons. That was... terrifying. I'm just glad it's over. "Nice name drop Night Fury," Dust Devil says as she punches his shoulder. "I got the gist of it," he says with a chuckle. We all share a small laugh as we head back to the buried building. We file down the shabby path and enter the small room. There isn't much to the front room, just a couch to the left and a small table in front of it. There's a kitchen that only has the basic amenities, refrigerator, stove, sink. A door to the right leads me to the bedroom. It's small, like the rest of the building. A bed to the right and a nightstand under the window. I was about to leave the room when something caught my eyes. On top of the night stand is... something. I walk over and pick it up, blowing the dust off to get a better look. "A... picture?" I ask as I flip it over. It's a simple photo of a man holding a very pregnant woman. The man is tall and well built, looking oddly like Miles. The woman is a head shorter than the man and has long black hair. Her eyes seem to shine a bright hazel color, even as she looks down to her large stomach. I stare at the photo a bit more until I hear the others. This... is important, somehow. I stuff it into my saddle bag before walking back out to the front. "DUDE! This fridge is HUGE!" Aurane yells from within said fridge. "Alright, I think we found whatever... where is everypony?" I ask as I look around the empty room. "We're in here!" Dust Devil yells from.... the fridge. I walk over and look inside... "Da buck?" "Eeyup." "Why would they need a fridge like this?" I ask as they all start to walk out of the fridge. "All I know is that I want one." Trixie laughs as she walks past me. Once they all leave the fridge I glance back inside, gauging the sheer size of its insides, before shutting the door. "Anyway, lets head to the center of the city and see what's under that mound. After that we can probably head out," I tell the others. They send Fayte sends Big Mac as the other unicorns teleport away. As I take off, I notice a troubled look on his face just before he teleports himself away. Concerned, I fly up next to Aurane to ask him about it. "Hey, is Fayte alright?" "Doubt it. He grew up in this village. But one day he decided that he should take this challenge and tried to make it down here. I don't know what happened to him, but he failed the test. Thus, he was shunned from the village. His grandmother back there, had he not been banished, would have been much more enthusiastic about seeing him." "What about you? How did you meet him?" "Me? Well, he was banished alongside his mother. I was on a... well, lets call it a journey. On my way to the zebra capital I found the two of them walking through the desert and brought them in. Been together ever since his mother passed on. He visits with his aunt every now and again, but he's still treated like a foreigner." "Must be tough for the poor guy." "Eh, it's his life. It's not the most desirable, but he's making it. Though I imagine that things will be different once we leave. Who knows, they may even restore his title and make him chief. It's a long shot, but it's worth dreaming for." We make it to the center mound and find the others digging out the center. A bright blue light glows from within the center, guiding our efforts. Well, their effort. The rest of us just watch as they levitate all of the ruble out of the way. Magic, what can you do without it? Once they reach the door they all collapse from exhaustion. It's odd seeing other ponies get so fatigued from magic when you're around people like Miles and Twilight. Night Fury and I move ahead as everypony else stays back with the others. The room we find looks like a weapons locker, only the shelves are made for much larger weapons. Though most of everything in here is empty, there is one weapon left. It's about six feet long, cylindrical, and has the top opened up, revealing a bright blue box inside of it. "What in the name of Celestia is that?" I ask as we draw closer to it. "I don't know, but something tells me we don't want to touch it,” he says as he looks around the room. "Well, it's a weapon obviously. It doesn't seem to be something a human would use by hand either. The back end reminds me of Miles' jet thing, so I think it flies... I think this is a bomb." "A bomb? If it's this big then we definitely don't want to mess with it. Not until we get Miles here at least... assuming he's still alive." I shoot him a look before shaking my head. "Not cool." "What? It's true. He might not be alive when we get back." He states matter of factly. "I said that's not cool," I repeat as I get in his face. He chuckles a bit as he eyes me right back, not backing down in the slightest. "Do I need to put you in your place, private?" "Heh, no sir." "Then shut your mouth before I shut it for you," I say as I push him back. He laughs a little before turning and leaving. I glance back to the bomb before following him up. If he makes one more comment like that I'm knocking h- THUD "AURANE!" Fayte yells as a massive boulders lands directly on top of him. I take to the air as the beast from before comes crashing down. "HOW IS HE ALIVE?!" I yell as the rest of the flying members of our group fly higher. "Does it matte–OH SHIT!" Dust Devil yells as the beast leaps into the air and tries to swat us back down. We spread out and take turns attacking the beast. I'd try to keep him down with powerful gust as Night Fury uses his power axes to smack him back down. Dust Devil is running decoy as True Will and Big Mac is guarding the entrance to the center mound. Where the buck are Fayte and Trixie!? Perspective: Trixie THUD I nearly fall over myself as the beast from before comes crashing down all around us. All of the pegasi take to the air as I drag Fayte into the building below. He was just standing there, staring at the trail of blood coming out from under the boulder. "I thought that thing was dead!" I yell when we make it into the bright room. I pace about, trying to figure out how it could possibly be alive, when I notice Fayte just standing there in a daze. "Fayte.... FAYTE!" "He... he's dead," he mumbles quietly. I shake my head and look around the room for any.... "What is that?" I ask aloud as I walk toward the glowing blue thing in a metal tube. I try to get a better look at, but can't due to the small size. Whatever it is, it's on a metal slide. I grab the tray and pull it out. There are three blue boxes on the metal tray, each glowing an ominous blue. "DON'T TOUCH THE ALPHA!" The beast yells from outside as he swats Big Mac away. The other Spartans try to stop him, but he just plows right through them as he charges for us. "Fayte, grab this and help me blast that thing away." I say as I grab the little blue box. Immediately I feel an immense amount of power course through my body. I feel more powerful than when I used the Elements of Harmony. Fayte stares in awe for a second before he too grabs the blue box. His eyes begin to glow white as multiple layers of auras glow around his horn. "NOOOOOO!! NOT THE ALPHA!!" It yells as he lunges straight for us. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM A massive beam of white energy blast from my horn and strikes the beast square in the chest. It feels as if my very soul is being torn out from my horn as the overwhelming amount of energy discharges forth. Immediately, my horn begins to burn as the energy pours out. It quickly grow to the point where my vision begins to blur. "Trixie... Trixie..." ........................................................................................................................................................ I open my tired eyes to find myself in the infirmary back on the blimp. Rows of soft beds line the walls with night stands filling the space between them. I try to lift my head, but stop when a sharp pain goes down my spin. "Don't strain yourself." I perk up a bit from Night Fury's voice coming behind me. Though it hurts to do so, I roll over to look at him. He's out of his armor and looks as if he hasn't slept in a while. "Hey," is all I can muster. I'm tired and have a throbbing headache. "The doctors told me to tell you not to try to use magic until you're released. Fayte tried and... well, his horn crumble away." I wince just from the thought of losing my horn. "Is he alright?" I ask in my raspy voice. It feels as if I haven't had a drink of water for weeks. "He'll be fine. Though he decided to stay in the village now that he's regained his honor. We're supposed to tell Zecora of this, but he guessing that she won't leave Ponyville. But don't worry about any of that. You just work on getting better, okay," he says as he nuzzles my cheek. I smile to him and sigh in relief. "When did you get so sentimental?" I ask as I enjoy the feeling of his nose against mine. "I... I just don't want to lose anypony else." He says quietly before kissing my cheek. "Rest up, I'll be back first thing tomorrow." "Okay." Falling back to sleep won't be a problem, I'm so tired. In the last moments of consciousness I feel the bed shift as Night Fury lays beside me, wrapping a wing around me. Falling asleep won't be a problem. ................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Night Fury February 14th 9:36 AM I feel a light shine through my eyelids, forcing me to wake up. I glance out the window and sigh when I see how early it is. I roll over and try to sleep in a bit more, pulling Trixie closer to me as my new body pillow. Her warm, soft body helps lull me back to the edge of sleep, until I feel her roll over. "Morning," she says sleepily. I sigh, disappointed from the lack of extra sleep, and open my eyes to look her over. "Morning. Sleep well?" "No. Something kept poking me all night," she says as she grabs my stiff member. "Hey, you know exactly how to fix that." I say with a smile as she begins to rub it. I lean forward to give her a kiss, only to stop when she starts to get out of bed. "Yeah, no. You're not getting lucky that quickly," she says before sticking her tongue at me. I watch the dried spunk I left on her flanks sway from side to side until she finally makes it into the bathroom. I roll onto my back stretch out the sleep from my muscles. This thing does not go fast enough. One more week and we'll finally be home. I hear the shower turn on, putting dirty thoughts in my head. Do we have anything planned today... that was a dumb question. I get out of bed and head into the bathroom finding Trixie just sitting under the shower head, letting the water cascade down her body. She doesn't move as I slide the glass door open and step inside. She just keeps her eyes shut and lets the water wash over her. I nestle myself right behind her and wrap my wings over her chest. "Hm, what did I say about getting lucky?" "Something about getting lucky quickly," I say as I press myself against her. She lets out a low hum as we sit together, letting our coats mesh together from the water. I back off when she begins to stand. She sets her legs wide and lifts her tail aside, giving me a perfect view of her. I can't help but smile as I get up and mount her, sliding into her expecting sex easily. I start out slow. Moving all the way in before bringing myself back to her entrance. I run both of my hooves down her spine as I do so, trying to relax her. Our breathing begins to pick up as the hot water fogs the glass doors. When I feel her starting to rock with me I begin to pick up the pace, quickening my movements with shorter strokes. She lets out a small gasp at first but stays quiet mostly. The sound of the shower muffling anything else. "Turn around," I tell her as I dismount. She nods and faces me, where we share a sloppy, passionate kiss. I quickly pick her up and press her against the glass door, holding her by her flanks as our stomachs press together. I find my mark and push back inside her as she drapes her forelegs over my shoulders. I tense up from her first touches on my wings, but begin to rock my hips anyway. I press my nose against hers as our hips slap against each others, our hot breath mixing together in the humid air. "Harder." She quivers and tightens her grip on me with her lower legs. I start to lift and drop her with my thrusts, trying to get the most out of every move. Her moans grow in volume as my hips become more erratic. I feel the familiar tension starting to grow in my member as I push harder and harder. Without any warning, Trixie pushes on the glass, knocking me on my flank. She pins my shoulders down as she rides through her orgasm, moaning loudly as she bounces on top of me. I grab her hips and yank her down as I hit my own climax. I twitch and convulse as my seed spays over her insides. We stay in this position for a bit, panting as we stare into each others eyes. When she finally stands, I watch as my softening member slides out, followed by some spunk. I've never gone inside before.... I've never gone inside.... before... "Trixie?" I ask as she begins to wash herself. "Yeah?" "I went.... inside." "I know, I was there." she chuckles as she grabs the shampoo. "Trixie... I went... inside." About half way through rubbing the soap into her mane she finally puts one and one together. "Oh.. it's... it's okay. It'll be okay," she says slowly as she continues to rub the solution in her mane. "O...kay? Uh, are you sure it's going to be okay?" I ask as I stand up. "Yeah, don't worry. It'll... it'll be fine," she says distantly. "... How is it going to be okay?" "It just is. Don't worry about it. Everything will be fine." I try to look her in the eyes, but she avoids my gaze. I shrug it off and begin washing off. She says everything will be fine, so I'll believe her. Who knows her body better then her, right? Right? We finish up our shower and have a rather playful drying session before finally leaving our suite. We make our way to the buffet lounge where we meet up with the other Spartans for brunch. We get our food and fill up a table before chowing down. The food is good enough. Not the best, but I didn't pay for it. "Did anypony see Storm today?" Dust Devil asks. "Eeyup." "Was he still with that one mare?" She asks him. "Eeyup." "Why are we letting him do this? We should go stop the two-" "He doesn't know who we are. He doesn't know he's married. He doesn't know that he's a super soldier from a futuristic human civilization that made a deal with a pimp to get us all a free ride to Hayte to go into a deep underground city. Do you still really want to go talk to him?" True Will cuts her off. The table falls quiet as she thinks about it, frowning more as she does so. "Speak of the devil," I say as I see him and the maid pony walking into the buffet area. "Hide Night Fury!" Dust Devil shouts as she tries to push me down. "Why?" I ask as I fight back. "He still knows who you are! If he- stop fighting- if he sees you, it might- watch the wings!" We fight a bit more before something grabs the two of us and pulls us under the table. "..." "..." "..." "Who the buck are you and why are you under our table?" I ask the light brown earth pony beside me. He has light green hair and is holding a cabbage as if it's a foal. "Um... I..." "*gasp* were you trying to sneak a peek at all of us!" Dust Devil accuses him, making his face turn bright red. "No! I was-WHA?" Somepony suddenly grabs him and pulls him out from under the table. "Coast is clear. Lets go already!" one pony tells him. "The Master went this way, follow me,” another pony says in an odd accent. We wait for the others to give us the all clear before going back to our seats. I get a glance of Storm as he leaves the buffet hall. "Ya might not like 'im, but we do. Fight us again like that again an Ah'll lay ya out, got it?" Big Mac asks as he glares at me. I just snort in response and return to my food. I guess I'll play along for the next week. The past two months have been pleasant enough. Getting to watch Storm ruin his life was just the icing on the cake. .......................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Storm February 21st 1:35 PM "Ah... my head. What happened? Why does everything taste so bad Twilight... Twilight?" I ask as I wake up to a bitter taste in my mouth in an office of some kind. I get off the lounge chair and head towards the desk, when the large chair behind it spins around. "Cheesus? What are you doing here... where is here?" I ask as he puffs on a cigar. "You're confused, that's normal for somepony in your position. All will be explained soon. Pill?" He asks as he opens a drawer and offers me a red and blue pill. "Uh... no thanks–" "Damn. Pinkie won't be happy about that–" "What's going on? Where am I? Wh–" "Okay, okay, okay, stop. I'll explain everything, just give me a second," he says as he sits up and snuffs out his cigar, mumbling something about horrible taste and damned cats. "Okay. You just finished a mission to Diamond Halls. You found a picture of two humans and a giant crazy human. Trixie and Fayte defeated it by using something called an alpha, something none of the Spartans could really identify. Twilight is waiting for you in Canterlot. It's February twenty first-" "WHAT!?" I yell as I nearly fall over. "What?! Just... WHAT?! I've been gone for two months!?" "Yeah. Don't worry though. The mission was a success. Now go meet up with Twilight... oh, and one last thing Storm," he says before getting off the chair. He walks over to me and pulls me in for a tight hug."Thank you... thank you so much." "Uh... you're welcome–" "But never again. I'm sorry, but even I have my limits of respect," he says as he breaks contact with me. "Now get going. All of your stuff is right outside the door and we're just outside of Canterlot. Shouldn't be more than a five minute flight." "Uh.. thanks. So... I'll just be going then," I say as I start to back peddle towards the door. "Storm," he calls out as I reach for the handle. "I love you... no homo." "..." "..." "..." "It's a business thing. Now get going!" "Right, bye!" I leave the awkward room as quickly as possible, grabbing my bags and armor with little thought before running. I take the only door in the hall and find myself on the deck of a large blimp. The wood is new and polished well, shining brightly in the sunlight. To my right are the Canterlot mountains, and to my left in the distance is Ponyville. I roll my shoulders a bit before running off the deck and taking off for Canterlot. Why is she at Canterlot in the first place? We were suppose to go to the next city with Miles and... Miles. I hope he's okay. Things weren't looking too good last I remember. What am I talking about? It's Miles! The only thing that could kill Miles is... Miles. ... What about Twilight? Two months alone must have been hard. I know she's can take care of herself but... I don't know Call it ego, but I wish I could have been there for her. I guess I'll just have to- "-everything is going to be just fine! AH!!" I suddenly crash right into some pegasus mid air. I shake my head a bit before looking... "Ow! Sorry about that. The wings are..." "..." "..." "Twilight?" "Storm?" I blink a few times as I try to comprehend what I'm looking at. It's Twilight, but with wings. Alicorn Twilight... why does that sound so off? "Storm!" She lunges forward and wraps me up in a hug, one that I return quickly. "Twilight, look at you! What happened? How do you have wings? Where did you get the dress? Your hair is all done up and... what did I miss?" I ask with a chuckle as we hover together, holding each other close. "Well, it's a bit difficult to explain. Ends up the Princess was molding me to become a Princess myself. You're looking at one of the new rulers of Equestria," she tries to say modestly, blushing a bit. "Wow... so does that make me a Prince?" I ask half heartily. "Uh... I guess-" "And how does that fit with Terradisia?" "Terradisia... Storm-" "What about the others? Are they alicorns as well? I bet Miles flipped out when-" "Storm. Miles is... Miles... he..." Twilight tries to say it, but can't force seem to find the words. I let out a sigh and peck her on the lips. "You don't have to say it. We knew this was coming. I just wish I could have said goodbye before he died-" "He didn't die." Twilight cuts me off, making me reel back a bit. "Well... we're not sure if he died." "... huh?" "I can't really explain it, so I'll just show you." She says before igniting her horn. Moments later we appear in Miles home, in the hall just outside his bedroom. I look to Twilight for an answer, but she only motions for me to go inside the room. I push the door open and step inside. I looks exactly how I remember it. Black and bed sheets, dark wood nightstands, piles of ash on the floor and bed... wait. I walk over to the bedside and look over the ash a bit more closely before looking back to Twilight, noting her shocked expression. "I swear he was just unconscious when we left him here. I didn't know he... I'm sorry Storm." "It's alright. It was Miles, if he was going to go, he was going go. Nothing could have stopped that. Do you know if he suffered?" "I don't think so. We'd all check in on him from time to time. He would just be laying there, sleeping soundlessly. Luna took it pretty hard at first, but she's been doing much better now." "That's good... let's keep this to ourselves for now. Today was suppose too be your special day, and I'm sure he wouldn't want to ruin it." I say as I start to usher her out of the room. Before I leave I turn back to the pile of ash and stand at attention. "Storm?" Twilight asks before I start to salute. She wait quietly for me to finish, bowing her head slightly. "Semper miles, semper amicus meus." Author's Note All apologies for taking so long writing this. Personal problems as well as story problems arose. Basically, this chapter was over thirty thousand words long a week ago. Brony on!
Chapter 168 Galena: Terradisian ArsenalChapter 168 Galena: Terradisian Arsenal Perspective: Miles January 11th 6:30 AM I slightly wake when I feel something warm return to my side. I instinctively move closer to it, draping an arm around it's smooth, soft surface as I try to hold onto the last few seconds of sleep. "Sorry, I had to lower the moon. Go back to sleep OK," Luna whispers to me as she nuzzles up against me. I nod slowly as sleep easily takes its hold over me again. In the last few seconds of consciousness I feel a low vibration on my chest as Luna begins to hum something. 8:30 AM I wince a bit as a bright light begins to shine down on my face. I start to roll over to avoid it, but wince from the knot in my back. Sleeping on a stone floor wasn't the best idea looking back. I look over to my side and smile when I find Luna nestled against me, sleeping peacefully. I guess a few more minutes on the ground couldn't hurt. I pull her closer to myself, getting her to lay her head over my chest, as I gently run a hand down her back. She lets out a small sigh as she relaxes onto my side. She's been too stressed out recently. I wish there was a way I could help that.... well, other than dying faster. Too soon? Fuck it, I'm dying. I get to make the jokes I want to. In my head at least. "MMM.... Miles, what time is it?" Luna asks as she stretches a bit. "Not sure. You should go home to get some better sleep-" "But... I might not get the chance to see you again." She says as she looks away from me while weakly rubbing a hoof against my arm. I bring a hand up to the back of her head and lightly force her to look at me. "Luna, I want you to do something for me." "Anything." She scoots a little closer to me as she perks up, ready to do whatever I ask. "Go tell Celestia." She deflates a bit, dropping her ears a tad. "Tell... Celestia. I don't know Miles, maybe we should-" "Luna, I don't know if I'm coming back. If I do, I'm not anything holding back. I'd rather have her be upset in that moment then enraged beyond belief for a life time.... please." She leans into my hand as she takes a few slow, deep breaths. Trying to come to terms with my request. "I will. I love you Miles, more then anything." She tells me, a tear escaping her eye. "And I love you, Luna. More than I'll ever be able to show." We share a kiss. It wasn't anything lustful, rather passionate. A final kiss really. It didn't last long... well, it didn't feel as if it did at least. Then again, I don't think something like that could ever really last long enough. Shortly after our kiss she left for Canterlot, hopefully to tell Soror about us finally. If she avoids it again... well, I'll just have to find some way to let her know then. Perspective: Celestia "... and with that we can split our resources to assist in the future agricultural deficit in the Griffon Colonies." Diamond Heart finishes, getting stomps of approval from most of the other business leaders. "Do we truly need to strain our own resources for the griffons so cheaply? Our economy will take a massive dive from this." Blueblood adds, getting a few nods from the others. "This will put quite a strain on our own nation, but it must be done. We are responsible for what's happened and must make amends if relations are to return. Hard times are ahead for Equestria, but I'm sure we can tough it out." I say as I sign off on the proposal. "This is preposterous. We can't feed two nations, we barely feed our own as it is. How could we possibly feed all of our ponies and the griffons?" Blueblood complains. "With great sacrifice." Luna says as she enters the meeting chamber, shocking everypony. "Princess Luna? Shouldn't you be in bed? Night court isn't for-" "Blueblood, what I do during my off hours is none of your concern. If I choose to come to a daytime meeting then I will come to a daytime meeting. You also will learn your place when speaking to me." She says as she approaches him. "Sister-" "No, no." Blood Diamond cuts me off. "They both need this." I nod to him and let her continue. "I-I meant no disrespect-" "I am a royal sister, herald of the night, and you of all ponies will not speak down to me. I've tolerated your disgraceful attitude for long enough. If I don't see changes in your little superiority complex I will have you removed from these grounds, geld you, have you thrown into the worst possible slums, and watch as your life withers away; you sad excuse of a stallion. Do I make myself clear?" She asks as she towers over Blueblood, who has shrunk into his chair. "Yes." "Good. Now, Celestia, when you have a moment I need to speak with you in private. I'll be in the courtroom." Before I could respond she teleports out of the room. I look back to the other family members and smile before teleporting myself to the courtroom. "What was that about?" I ask Luna as she paces about the throne. "I'm sorry. I just... wasn't in the mood to deal with him right now." "Luna, quit pacing around and tell me what's wrong." She stops and turns to me, trying to say something. She stutters a few times before taking a deep breath and looks me in the eyes. "I... I visited Miles today," she says quietly. "Oh..." "Yeah... he's... well, he-" "I know. Twilight has sent many letters telling me. Is this what's bothering you?" I ask as I step towards her. "Celestia... I... Miles and I are... we-" "*sigh* I know." I say, getting her to do a double take. "You what now?" "I know. I've known the entire time. Luna, you're my sister. I think I know well enough to know when you're in love. I may not like it, but it happened. There's no changing it now. Are you going to be OK?" She stands there, stunned, unable to answer. "I... you... I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner!" She says as she rushes into my embrace, sobbing lightly. "It's alright. I knew you would eventually. But now isn't the time for that. He has a journey to finish. All we can do now is pray for their safe return and hope for a peaceful end." She nods a bit as she tightens her grip on me. I wrap my hooves around her and wait for her tears to cease. Luna, why did you have to go and fall in love like this? At least it's only love. ............................................................................................................................................................ Perspective: Miles Long after Luna left I finally gather myself enough to round up the others for Galena. I spent my time trying to get my armor back on, but with the constant heat it's starting to warp. Now I only have the chest piece and the thigh bracers. It's not much for protection, but it'll have to do. With the last of my things on I leave my home, Lupus and Hati chasing after me. The snow melts beneath my feet as I make my way into town, leaving a trail for my fuzzy followers. Many of the residence greet me as usual. I wave back to them, offering them my own salutations. I doubt they know why my hands and feet are flaring, but that's alright by me. The less that know, the better. I make my first stop at Rarity’s. "Hello? You home Rarity?" I ask aloud as I step through the front door. I can hear some talking in the back, she must be with a customer or something. Not wanting to disturb her, I leave the shop and head over to Sugar-cube Corner. Hopefully nothing is wrong with Rarity. It didn't sound like that one guy from before and she didn't seem to be upset, so I’m sure everything is al- "MILES!" CRASH Before I could register anything a purple blur tackles me to the ground and picks me up. After blinking a couple time I realize that Spike is carrying me through the air towards the library. "Spike! What the fuck man? Put me down! ... GENTLY!" I yell as I try to wiggle free. "Sorry but I need your help. Something is wrong with Twilight!" He yells back as we descend towards the tree house. "What? What happened to Twilight? Is she hurt? What's going on-" THUD "... ow." I mumble as I get up. Spike tries to apologies, but I ignore him as I rush inside to find Twilight. She's not in the front room, so I run up the stairs to her bedroom where I find her sprawled out in the center of the room. She looks a complete mess with a few empty vials laying around her. "What happened?" I ask as I step beside her and kneel down. "I don't know. She sent me to pick up a book from the post office, but when I came back she was like this. I tried waking her up, but she won’t respond. Please help her!" he begs as I investigate one of the vials. It seems to have been a complex solution with a rancid smell. She drank four of them. "I'm going to investigate her mind and try to find out what went wrong. Gather everyone else and bring them here." I tell Spike as I begin to encase my hands with my magic. He doesn't respond. He just runs out of the room as quickly as possible. With him gone, I take deep breath before pushing into Twilight’s mind. "What have you done?" -o-0-o- Everything starts out dark, but has a few patches of memories. What used to be an entire canvas of memories is now just a shadow of nothingness with flickers of thoughts. Whatever she drank, it erased her memories and brought some back. Some of the memories are growing while others are slowly fading away. I make up my mind and force myself into one of the larger ones. "My book will be arriving at exactly ten am Spike. I need you to get it for me in addition to some of our usual things in the market." Twilight tells Spike. She's handing him a receipt as well as a list. "Alright. I'll be back as quickly as possible," Spike says with a smile as he takes them and walks out of the room. Once he's he's gone she lets out a deep sigh before turning towards the... darkness? The memory must of faded. The splotches of memories begin to fade in and out again. I'm fairly certain that this is just a memory spell, but I can't remove it without knowing it's make. But the longer I take the more memories I lose. I need to go deeper. I find the closest memory and push my way into it. "Don't worry, they'll be fine." Rainbow Dash tells Twilight as they watch the blimp that took the Spartans fly away. "I know. I'm not worried that he'll get injured, I'm just worried what will happen when nopony's watching him." Twilight tells her, keeping her gaze on the blimp as it floats away. "Squishy said he'd keep an eye on him." Pinkie adds. "He still has his own job to do. There are too many variables in this that could make it end in disaster. What kind of a wife would make this kind of a sacrifice?" she asks before lowering her gaze to the ground, her vision blurring from her tears. "Oh honey." Rarity croons as she hugs her. "Everything will be alright. Any good wife would have chosen two months over two years in a heartbeat. He'll be back before you know it..." Fucking dammit. The memory ended again. I don't have time for this. I need to know more about the potions she took! Next one.... there! "Why does it have to be this way Cheesus? Isn't there some other way?" Twilight asks some pale white unicorn. They're sitting in an office with... many... they're in a dirty office, I'm leaving it at that. "Twilight, I like you and Storm. You're both good ponies. But I can't just give out rooms, especially when the only ones that might be open are penthouse level. Not to mention the losses from housing ponies that probably won't be spending money. It's unfair to any other workers or patrons. And I can't willingly sell a room that is registered to another pony without some kind of compensation." "You're going to stop us on an ethics code!?" "Twilight, whether you like it or not, this is a business, ok. A business that I’m trying to add some ethics and morals to by the way.. I'm sorry, but unless I can get Storm to be a worker, I can't help you." He says as he leans back in his chair. "Why Storm though? Why not any of the other Spartans? They're all just as buff an-" "Storm has a history in the business. Not a very well known one, but he still has the most experience in it. I already have ten earth ponies and twelve unicorns, with only seven pegasi.... look. It's mandatory that all guest be on birth control. Squishy will try to keep him out of any problems that might happen otherwise. And... well, we have the option to make this an easier choice." "... how?" FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT! Of course the memory would end RIGHT before they would discuss the potion! Of course it would! FUCK! .... alright, next one. It's back to Twilight in the library. She makes it up to her room where she goes to her bed and pulls out a satchel from under her bed. She levitates out four potions. Two turquoise, two light purple. She walks out to the center of the room where she pace about, staring at the two vials intently. "I'm so sorry Storm-" And it ends, though I know how that was going to end up. The void is starting to grow, leaving little room for the memories to grow back. I need to get moving. There's one, it's small, but it'll due. "I can't believe it... positive..." And it's over. I really shouldn't be that surprised, with how small it was. There's a larger one, and it's the one with Cheesus. "... and then he'll be back to his normal self. I've made and tested this potion myself, so I know it works." He says as he sets the five potions on the desk. Twilight levitates them up and looks each one over intently. "Who did you test these on?" "I can't answer that. Do we have a deal?" Twilight sets the vials down and thinks deeply for a moment. "Squishy will watch over him?" "As best he can." "All of the patrons will be on birth control?" "That and will be tested for any diseases two days before." "And... he'll be back to normal when he makes it back?" Cheesus nods and pushes the vials forward. "It'll be like it never happened. Do we have a deal?" It ends. Again, I make the obvious assumption and move on to the next memory. We're back in Twilight bedroom. She's stopped pacing around and is laying on the floor crying her eyes out. She glances back to three of the empty vials before looking to the turquoise one in her hoof. A small piece of paper has been tied around it. She takes it with her magic and reads it aloud. "*sniff* turquoise will erase from up to a predesignated time. Purple will counteract the prior, providing a gap in memory. Do not drink in wrong order... what did I do? Where is Storm? What's going on..." she looks back to the potion in her hoof. "Memory erasers? These are suppose to be illegal due to their ingredients. Why do I have one? What kind of pony would grind up their horn for this... I... I think I did something bad. I... I don't want to remember anymore...." She drinks the potion and passes out. I need a moment to think. Twilight, why are you so stupid. OK, she said it was made from another unicorns horn, so I just need to look for anything that doesn't align with her spiritual code and appears as another ponies. Not exactly easy, seeing how she's already ingested it, I just hope I can't do this before any real damage is done. I push my magic throughout her body and try to search out the foreign parts. This is not easy. I've determined that she's eaten blueberry oatmeal for breakfast. There's something else... something.... almost. I search for an unknown amount of time before I finally isolate the potion and begin to remove it. Sadly for Twilight, there's only two way out... and her mouth is too far. It takes awhile, but I finally get all of the potion out of her system. With my work done, I retract from her mind and return to reality. A foul smell hits me almost immediately, along with the sound of hooves running up the stairs. With speed even magic couldn't explain, I rush the doorway in time to stop anyone from entering the room. "Miles! What in tarnation is going on? Is Twi alright? What-" "You all need to go down stairs and wait, now!" I yell at them, getting confused looks. "Twilight is fine, she's just... indecent." "Say no more. Girls, to the front room, now." Rarity says as she starts to shoo everyone away. I sigh in relief and thank Rarity before rushing back to Twilight. She's out cold. I pick her up magically and bring her up to the restroom to wash up. Once she's clean, I lay her in her bed and get to work cleaning up... the mess. Not something pleasant, but I stick through it till the jobs done. Once done I quickly check on her before heading down to the others, where I get mobbed with thousands of questions. "Alright, just step back and let me explain." I tell them, getting some breathing room. "OK. Now, for some unknown reason, Twilight has taken several memory potions; as well as the recovery potions." I tell them, getting gasps in response. "I tried to remove the potion from her system, but sadly I can't stop any of the damage from happening. I don't know how much she's lost. Now, when she wakes up, I'm going to talk to her alone. We can't bombard her with questions, especially if she can't answer them." "Why did she do this?" Fluttershy asks softly. "She seemed fine this morning, why was she hiding this from us?" Spike asks. "None of that matters." Rainbow Dash barks, getting odd looks from everyone. "Our friend is in trouble, and it's up to us to be there for her, no matter what. She'll tells us if she can remember, but until then it's nothing but love and support. You got that? SHOW ME YOUR LOVE FACE!" She yells at Fluttershy, who cowers; then tries to force a loving face up. "... right, I'm going to go check on Twilight. The rest of you just... work on your love faces." I say before heading back up the stairs. I make my way to her bedside and take a seat beside her... or was about to before I realized that would be stupid. Damn magic. With a heavy sigh I lower my head to listen to her breathing pattern. "... Miles?" Twilight asks weakly. "Wh-what happened? Ah, my head. When did we get into Ponyville?" "Take it easy, you had a... little mishap. How do you feel, other than the headache?" I ask her quietly. "Um... normal, I guess. Wh... what happened in Ruby Canyon?" "Ruby Canyon? Oh.... wow." I say as I back away from her. She's forgotten so much. "Um... Twilight. You... well. What's the date again?" "Um... January fifth... or sixth. What day is-" "It's Friday... January eleventh." She sits up in bed and tries to piece everything together. Her obvious frustration is starting take face as she mumbles to herself. "Twilight, don't strain yourself. I'm here to explain everything, but I need you to be calm first-" "Where's Storm, I want to see Storm Cloud right now, bring him to me!" She demands hysterically, pulling the sheets close to herself. "Storm isn't here-" "Where is he!? Where did he go?! What's going on?" She yells, looking around frantically. "OK, OK, calm down Twilight. I'm going to go get Spike, just... just stay in bed and try to relax. Do you think you can do that?" She looks back to me and huffs a bit before slowly nodding. I head down the stairs where everyone looks to me, waiting for answers. "Spike, come here real quick." I call to him as I pace about. "We heard her yell, is she going to be alright?" he asks me with a tremble. "She's just confused. She's missing a few days but I think she'll be fine over all. I need you to go up there and comfort her. Try to answer as many questions as possible and don't pry for information. Just let her do most of the talking, alright?" He nods to me and heads upstairs. "What are we going to do about Galena?" Dash asks as she walks up beside me. "We can't really go without her." "I know. Luckily she remembers enough to be able to help. We'll give her a day to rest and recover before heading out, if she's still willing to go." "She'll go, trust me on that." I nod to her and leave the library, letting the others know about the situation first. They're just as worried as I am and vow to stay until she's better. I need to leave though. I can smell the burning wood from under my feet. .......................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Celestia Once Luna finally goes to bed I take my leave for some other business. I need to speak with Regina about our plans for future support, the mayors of Manehattan and Coalton are both visiting and I still need to check on our emissaries to the Bears Soviet- "Princess?" I sigh as I turn around to face Diamond Heart. "Yes, Diamond, is there anything I can do for you?" I ask as calmly as possible. "I don't know," he says matter of factly. "Is there anything you can do for me?" "If there isn't anything you need then I-" "Need?" He asks, smiling lightly. "*sigh* Can we just stop beating around the bush, please?" I ask as I lower my head. "Very well, follow me please." He says before slowly walking down the hall. I contemplate leaving him to do a check up, but decide against it. Despite being completely able to do all of the work I need to do well before he can walk anywhere. "And don't you dare think about ditching me." "I wasn't-" "You may beat me in age, but you're young at heart and I know that look. I can't believe you'd even consider leaving a poor old stallion to wander these halls by himself." He pouts, adding a bit of a dramatic edge to his words. "Are you suggesting that I would pass up a chance to hear your wisdom to go to some boring business meeting? And hear I thought you knew me so well." I joke, stepping ahead of him a bit. "You think I know you well? Hm, that's odd for you to say." He muses as he stops walking. I turn to look back to him, but rear back a bit when we suddenly flash away. I blink a few times before realizing we’ve teleported to Discords statue. "How well do you know Discord?" "Well enough." I say with a bit of malice. "Come now, try to answer honestly. How well do you know Discord?" He asks as points to the statue. I look up to him and try to think how much I actually know. "He can't take things seriously. He only wishes to make things into jokes, never to aid anypony. His addiction to chaos makes him untrustworthy and... and... he..." "So, you can only tell me things based on his actions. You know nothing of intent. You know nothing of his morals. And you know nothing of his methods." "... why are you asking me this?" I ask him, getting a low chuckle in response. "I was talking to Blueblood about Luna's little out break earlier, and the human named Miles came up. Oddly enough, we came to the same conclusion about him as you did Discord. Blueblood made the suggestion that Miles was Discord, but I laughed it off. That is, until I asked you about him. Two creatures, with similar beginnings, end up in Equestria and change the fates of all of us. Just a little more than coincidental, if you ask me." "Are you suggesting that... Miles.... is Discord?" I ask slowly as I face him. "Who created the Elements? Who is specialized in war? How much chaos has been brought through the land because of him? Things seem to revolve around him, and I don't like it. I normally wouldn't wish this, but the sooner he's gone, the better." "No.... Miles.... no. They stand for completely different things. Not to mention Discord is in stone here. How could you possibly make that assumption?" "I don't believe he is Discord, I believe they somehow made a deal of some kind. How many times have you set spells that Discord could worm around? His magic is fundamentally different than ours. The same could be said about Miles. We know that their beginnings start within those cities that Miles is so intent on traveling to. This could all be blind accusation, but with the evidence we have, this is the conclusion I have come to. I have also taken the liberty to not share this with anypony besides you. I hope you will take what I've said seriously. This could be monumental." He warns me before turning to leave. "One last thing." I call out to him, getting him to pause. "Do you really think the one who created harmony, could make chaos?" "We've already seen Discord in harmony. Ask Fluttershy, it doesn't last long." .......................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Miles January 12th, 8:00 AM I can't help but fidget around as I wait at the train station. I had a rather long and stressful night. I couldn't sleep due to a magical build up, so I just started making weapons. I must have made twenty custom weapons with some stupidly insane enchantments. It helped take the edge off, but I can still feel a light pressure pushing in on my chest and abdomen. Luckily my lines only grew a few centimeters. That's good... right? In addition to those weapons, I also remade Fluttershy's sniper rifle, put a new damper spell, and attached the gem from the crystal rifle onto it. It was tedious and annoying, but I got it done. The weapon won't fire now. I don't know what that means, but I'm just going to assume that it's fine. Mechanically it's working, but something in the gem is stopping it. The worst part about it though was having to drag it here. Otherwise I would have chanced burning off the enchants. "Oh, you fixed my rifle, thank you." Fluttershy says as she lands behind me, wearing her armor in addition to her saddle bags. "Yeah, it's basically good as new. Though I can't get it to fire for some reason. I assume it's the gem doing that. We'll test it when we get out of the populated area." I tell her as she takes it and straps it to her back. "Ok, that sounds like a good plan. And thank you for extending the trigger a bit more. Not that the way you did it before was bad, it's just going to be easier this time." she tells me as she paws at the ground. Paws at the ground... I think that's the terminology. Hm.... sounds right. "Good morning Applejack." "Mornin y'all." she greets as she walks up to join us. Like Fluttershy, she's wearing her armor and bags. "Golly, what time is the train s'pose ta get here?" she asks sleepily. "About an hour, why do you sound so tired?" I ask. "Ah was up late bubkin apples. Don't fret none, we're on quota. Ah just wanted ta get ahead a bit before leavin." "You could have asked for help." I tell her, mainly because bucking apples sounded so much better than crafting all night long. All. Night. Long. "You really shouldn't stress yourself out like that AJ. We could have helped." Fluttershy adds. "Ah know, but... it was more ta let some steam off. The whole Twilight potion thing had me in a fit. Don't worry though. I'm good now." she tells us. "Good about what?" Rainbow Dash asks as she suddenly lands beside her. "Dash... where is your armor?" I ask flatly. She looks back to herself before smiling and taking off through the air. We all laugh a bit as Rarity and Twilight join us. "Where is Rainbow going?" Twilight asks. "She forgot her armor. Are-" "I've already had this talk with Rarity. Yes. I am still going. I know yesterday was... traumatic. But I know what to expect, I know I am still a vital part of the group, and I know I wouldn't forgive myself for letting my dearest friends go without me. So please don't bombard me with concern and-" "I was just going to ask if you were ready." I tell her, making her blush a bit. "Oh... yes. Aren't you-" "Yes. But I figured that if you showed up there would be no convincing you to stay. That, and given my track record with saying no.... yeah, as long as you could make it here you were in." "In what?" Rainbow Dash asks as she lands between Rarity and Twilight, clad in her armor. "Glad you could make it Twi." "Dash, where are your weapons?" Rarity asks.Rainbow growls in frustration and takes off again. We all laugh again as we watch the rainbow streak through the air towards her home. "What a dork." Pinkie laughs from beside me, scaring the shit out of me. "Pinkie! When did you get here?" "I've been here all night," she says proudly. "Why?" "Why not?" she shrugs. We all look to each other before dropping it. Pinkie being Pinkie, some things will never change. THUD "OK! I've got my armor, my weapons, my supplies, Scootaloo is at school and will be staying at the Apples. I did the laundry, washed the dishes, gave Scoots her allowance, spent the entire night cleaning- EVERYTHING IS DONE!" "Did you lock the front door?" I ask. She thinks about it for a second before falling over."I take that as a no-" "I'm just going to say that it is and hope nothing bad will happen. It's Ponyville, not Hoofington." she grumble from the ground. WHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISLE We all turn to see the train approaching the station. When it finally comes to a complete stop the ticket salesperson comes out and hands the conductor our tickets. "Hmmm.... ALL ABOARD FOR COALTON!" he bellows as we head to our cart, the second to last one. Twilight and I spend a few minutes enchanting it to be able resist high temperatures before I board the train. The ride west was peaceful enough. It wasn't very long, and we all slept through most of it. We made it to our destination in no time at all really. Coalton reminds me a lot of Ponyville, just larger. Same building schemes, just larger on average. The train brought us to the center of town, so we had to walk through a good chuck of the city before making it to the outskirts. Many of the ponies avoided us, though I can't really blame them. Six armed ponies and a human that is constantly on fire are strolling through town. Not necessarily normal. Normal.... I miss those days. "SPARTAN!" some guy yells. Rainbow and I both turn around to see a group or mercs walking towards us. I can't help but groan as our two groups meet in the middle of the street. "So, you're the new set of mercs I take it." I say to some light green earth mare with rose red curled hair. The rest pause behind her and line up as she steps forward to address me. "I am. It seems our previous group leader decided to go AWOL, so you'll have to do without one for now. May I introduce the next group of mercs that will traveling with you. You're explosives expert, Cooked Frag," she's a dark blue earth mare with black hair that resembles AJ's style. Her cutie mark is a bundle of TNT with a timer in front of it, surrounded by what appears to be an outline of a cloak. "This unicorn is Arc Light, your mage." she says as a light tan, brown mane and tail, stallion steps forward. His mark is a wand and a wrench crossing each other. Both of his left limbs are missing and are replaced with mechanical replacements. "Next is-" "I am Smartian Ironhorn." The pompous Minotaur says as he steps forward and bows slightly. He's fairly tall, taller than any other Minotaur I've seen, with night blue fur and black horns. He holds a massive battle ax in both his hands and wear elegant light chain mail. "It will be an honor to serve with me." "... wait, what?" "Anyway," the light green mare cuts in. "Next is Mintelle, your mage." A grey- white mare walks up and dips her head a bit. She has long emerald green hair and a mark of a blue bolt off lightning. "You can call me Minty, all of my friends do. Actually, everypony does. That's weird, well... not really. You should try to be friends with as many ponies as possible. I mean, who doesn't like friends-" "RIGHT!" Pinkie yells as she leaps forward. The two of them start to talk A LOT. I don't think they're even listening to each other. They're just... talking. "Right. So, next we have Aiming Node, your armed support." A brown-orange earth stallion and nods to me. His azure mane is spiked up, well, what's left of it at least. It ends right at his neck. His cutie mark is of six horizontal lines that form a pyramid, longest on bottom with small gaps between them. "Lastly we have Hasel, your medic." The last earth stallion walks up and nods to me. He has a blue coat and black hair that has a strip of darker blue going through it. His mark is of a medical cross. "Well, now that introductions are over with, there's the matter of payment." "I'll pay when this is completely done. Don't worry, I'm sure it's going to be over with soon, so just be a little patient." I tell her, getting a small frown in response. "Of course. Well, I should let you all get going then. Much to do. Have a safe journey." she says before leaving. I sigh before looking back to the mercs before me. Three earth ponies, two unicorns, and a Minotaur. I guess they ran out of pegasi. "Alright, I give this warning to every group, and they usually say the same thing in response. You shouldn't come. You will die. If you value your lives turn around and leave." The Minotaur laughs as the others look to each other. "Don't worry little hairless ape. We have the training to keep you and your little filly friends safe." Smartian mocks. I just roll my eyes and walk away. If they don't want to listen then let them die. I've don't care if an asshole dies. We go one mile out of the town and begin our descent down. Everyone outside of Pinkie and Mintelle kept quiet, though the two of them talked enough for everyone. I may have pushed myself a bit more than necessary, but if it helped end their conversation then it would be worth it. We crash into the dome of Galena, roughly near the edge. I quickly begin to clear a path to the side and make my way to the bulkhead. "This is it. Fluttershy, I want you and Rarity to take up a high position. Somewhere where you can follow us and provide cover when needed-" "Got it!" The two of them answer. "Hasel, go with them in case they need medical assistance. Dash, you're with me in the front, but keep behind me in case I need to throw up a shield-" "Roger that." "Twilight, stick towards the rear of the group and keep in mind you can throw shields and heal. Applejack, I want you to stick with her and watch her back in case things get hairy-" "Ya can count on me!" "What about me? What do I do?" Pinkie asks. "Get ready to tell us when your tail is twitching." "Oh... yeah, I should be voicing that more often than usual huh. Okey dokey lokey." "As for the rest of you, find someone and provide cover when needed-" "What makes you believe we're in such danger? You haven't even opened the door yet." Aiming Node asks. I look back to him for a second before walking towards the bulkhead and lightly tapping it. THUD The entire thing comes crashing down, blown off its hinges long ago. We walk through the dust cloud and survey the city for a moment. Like many of the cities before most of the buildings have been either damaged or destroyed. An eerie silence falls over us as we begin our trek into the dead city. Bullet holes, scorch marks, magically altered walls litter the road; clear indicators of the heavy fighting that occurred. I look to the P.C.H. and note the heavy howitzers pointing out of the tall building. Ten on each side. They must have made them back when Topaz was attacked. Artillery underground is usually a last ditched effort. And they easily made forty of them. There are a few spots where something destroyed part of the building, leaving a missing gap. But there probably still at least thirty left. "We're going to go take up that tall building to the left. Stay safe." Fluttershy tells us before her, Rarity and Hasel turn down a street towards a large apartment building. "Hold up.... what the fuck is that?" I ask as I head towards a section of destroyed buildings. In the middle of the ruble lays a massive machine. The head of it lays just in view for us to see. It's a large ball that has two hundred twenty millimeter cannons on the side of it, with fifty caliber machine guns mounted above and below each of them; making four in total. The center is covered in red lenses, several of which have been blown out. It's mostly black with red highlights. The body of the machine is ginormous. Three legs are set on its side, and I'm assuming it has three more underneath. It's body is diamond shaped and goes up nearly two stories. Its back is made of smaller diamond sections, one of which is filled with an Aquila. "What is it?" Twilight asks as she gawks at the large machine. "I'm not sure. But whatever it was, it had an insane amount of firepower, Nine Aquilas, and thirty six legion bots. This thing was a mobile army. Let's move on and hope that there aren't anymore in working condition." Our group splits. Fluttershy's going to the apartment and the rest heading to the P.C.H. I don't like the idea of splitting up, but If it keeps Fluttershy out of the main fight I guess it can't be too bad. .......................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Fluttershy We make it to the large building in about an hours trot. It didn't seem so big before, but now.... "Maybe we shouldn't go inside-" "Do you really think you can carry us all the way upstairs darling?" Rarity asks as she steps toward the door. "Um... well.... no." Hasel steps in front of me and offers a reassuring smile before following Rarity into the building. With one final large gulp I keep my eyes low as I follow them inside. I'm sure it'll be less scary when we get inside. The first room looks like a lobby to a hotel. A long counter takes up the left while mico platforms take up the right. At the very end of the room is a door with a stair symbol on it. Rarity and I make our way through the dusty room and try each of the platforms, to no avail. Somepony must have broken them during the fighting. With no other way, we begin climbing the stairs. It wasn't really a problem at first, but after ten floors the path became blocked by collapsed stone. We head back to the previous floor and make our way through there, looking for any other collapses that could get us higher in the building. As we go from room to room, we quickly discover what this building was for. It was an apartment. Ponies- er- humans, used to live here. Many of the rooms have evidence of fighting. Bullet holes, blown out walls... bones. Though they're not a abundant as when we were in Topaz, they're still enough here to make my stomach turn. After about an hour of looking Rarity lets out an annoyed grunt and begins to shoot out a ceiling. "There, now we can move on. Can you keep still Hasel." Before he could respond Rarity's magic took a hold of him and lifted him up to the next floor. "I can fly!" I mutter when she looks over to me. I try to lift off, but her magic grabs me and sets me on the next floor. Soon after I'm dropped Rarity levitates up and lands perfectly to my right. "There, there, no need to thank me. Now lets get a move on. We have to get into position to cover the others." Hasel and I share a look before we follow after her. The next room... wasn't really a room. A large portion of the building has been blown out, leaving a perfect view of the city. "I think this will be good, unless you think we should go higher." I tell the others. "No, I like it. What do you think?" Rarity asks Hasel. He glances around a bit before shrugging. "I'll take that as a yes then. Go ahead and try to find the others, we'll keep watch." I nod to her and set up at the edge of the building. I pull out some extra magazines and lay them beside me before attaching the eye lens onto me. I move some to the rubble out of the way before laying down and aiming out at the city. "Hmm.... there they are. I can see Rainbow flying around. They're about a third of the way there." I tell the others. "That's good. At least they're making good time." I zoom out to survey the rest of the city. There's nothing really interesting out there. It's a miracle that those lights still work. I started scanning back to the group when something caught my attention. Something big. It's the machine from before, only this one doesn't seem damaged at all. I can't help but hold my breath as I watch it climb over the buildings towards the others. Should I open fire? It hasn't done anything threatening yet. I watch as the machine stops a bit before the group and stares them down. Black vehicles pop off its back and begin to fly around them, creating a tight perimeter. "I think they might be in trouble." I tell the others as I wait for one of them to make a move. "What's that darling?" "I said-" BOOM ............................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Miles After Fluttershy and the others we make our way further down the street. We end up finding a bus that's still operational... well. Operational enough to be driven at ten kilometers an hour. Not the fastest mode of transportation, but it beats walking. There are actually a surprising number of vehicles on the streets. I'd think the Unfamiliar would have taken everything worth taking. Then again, with seven cities sacked, they probably have more then they can carry. "Hey Miles," Rainbow Dash says as she walks up to me. "Can you let me out so I can give my wings a stretch. I don't like being cramped up in these metal carriages." "Well.... alright. But keep close. I don't want anything happening with you long gone. You're the only Spartan I have here." I tell her as I press the button to open the door. She gives me a quick nod before taking off through the air. "Do you think it's wise to let go on her own like that? What if something happens to her?" Twilight asks. Yeah, Twilight asked that... just saying. "She can handle herself, I trained her to do so. She'll be fine-" "Captain! We've got movement up ahead on the right!" Rainbow yells from outside. I bring the bus to a screeching halt. I run out and immediately throw a shield around all of us as the massive machine crawls over the buildings ahead of us. Aquilas pop off of its back and begin to swarm around us. "We need to drop down to the next floor where we'll have a better cover. Applejack, shoot a hole in the-" KRA-BOOM Before I could finish the machine opened fire. My shield held, but I felt my lines force their way past my shoulders. As if one wasn't bad enough, all of the other airship began to open fire as well. The world around us becomes obscured by all of the explosions from the combined assault. I drop to my knees as I fight to keep the shield up, my lines rapidly growing over my body. "ANY TIME NOW!" I yell, getting AJ to blast a hole in the ground. I wait for everyone to drop down before falling after them. "Miles! Move away and I'll make a landing pad for everypony else!" Twilight yells as we drop through the air. I nod to her and kick the air away, magically sending me away from them. Twilight conjures a large inflatable cushion for all them to land into while I use my magic to crash into the ground gracefully. "Get into the buildings! Get moving, GO!" I yell to them as I rush to the nearest door and kick it open. I rush in and pull out each of my blades, waiting to see what comes after me. Smartian, Mintelle, and Applejack. "Where are the others?" Before anyone could answer, the sound of concrete crashing down filled the room. "We should head to higher ground!" Mintelle yells. I look back to a stairwell and point it out. "There! Head up, I'll cover the rear!" I yell as we all begin to run towards it. CRASH Something big comes crashing down out front, making the ground shake violently. I look out the window and see several legion bots dropping outside; some heading our way, others heading to the other side of the street. "HERE THEY COME!" I yell as they run, side by side, through the windows. They land in all of the broken glass and charge straight for us, eight total BANG-BOOM Applejack fires her shotgun and groups three of them together. The explosion tore their limbs apart and sent metal work everywhere. A bolt of lightning from Mintelle struck another one as Smartian ran forward and brought his great ax down on another, burying it on its shoulder. I run forward and punch forward with my trench knife, sending the bot flying back and slamming against the wall. The one to my right moves to strike at me, so I dodge to the right. I raise my weapons and circle to the right as the bot does the same to me. I wait and push some more energy into my sword before swinging forward. The bot easily catches my blade, but turns to ice from the spell. I turn and help engage the last two bots. Smartian seems to be taking the both of them on single handedly, swing his ax madly as they retreat from him. Mintelle shoots another bolt of lightning that makes one stagger to the ground. Smartian takes this chance to bring down his ax onto the bot, who barely raises its shield in time to block the attack. "SMARTIAN!" Mintelle yells as an Aquila drops by the windows. VVVRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM Its chain gun opens fire and tears through him with ease. I raise a personal shield and run for the stair well, making it in just after Mintelle and Applejack.We rush up the stairs as the doorway erupts in archaic fire. Red bolts smash through the concrete and blow holes through the stairs as we climb floor after floor. After about three stories it stops firing and everything finally goes quiet. "Looks like they stopped chasing us." Applejack says as we take a moment to catch our breath. "Yeah, lets keep moving. We don't want them to catch up with us. We'll meet up with the others at the P.C.H." I tell them as I begin the next flight of stairs. I look back to see Mintelle sitting there, dazed. "Or... we can take five, you ok?" "... I guess. Nopony really liked him, but... he was still a member of our group." She says with a shrug. "Let's just keep going." ................................................................................................................................................................ Perspective: Twilight We hit the large cushion and bounce a bit before falling off. "Get into the buildings! Get moving, GO!" Miles yells from the other side. Without really thinking I turn and run to the closest building. I turn around and watch as almost everypony runs in after me. "Where are Applejack, Miles and the others?" I ask as I shut the door behind Pinkie. "They must have gone on the other side of the street. I'll-" CRASH A bunch of rubble had been falling, but was quickly followed by the massive machine. I put a shield with my rifle and turn to the others. "Miles can take care of the others. We need to focus on getting to the P.C.H. Rainbow, take the lead. Bring us back up top and keep an eye out for anymore of the Aquilas. I'll cover the rear. Lets get moving." I tell them as legion bots begin to advance towards us. "You heard her, MOVE IT!" Rainbow yells as she runs through the mess of desks towards the back of the building. I drop the shield and open fire as everypony begins to run away. The bots just line up and hide behind their large shields as they march towards us. My weak energy bolts do very little against their thick shields, which I think are enchanted to deflect energy. "I could use a little help here!" I yells to the others as I back away from the advancing bots. Cooked Frag runs to my side and starts tossing several Molotov cocktails at them. The fire spreads quickly over them, but does nothing to hinder them. "They're not living beings! FIRE MAKES THEM MORE DEADLY!" I yell at Cooked Frag. Suddenly all of the bots charge forward and begin their attack. I jump back as one stabs at me. I feel the tip of the blade press against my armor. I push it back with my magic along with another attacking bot. I bring my rifle back around and open fire on it, hitting it along the torso. it shakes a bit before bring its shield back over. "AAAHH!" I look over to see Cooked Frag take three blades into his chest. A moment later they rip them out and smash their shields in. I wince a bit from the sound of crushing bones before a sharp pain takes over my left leg. I look over to see the blackened steel sticking out through the back. I glance up as a shield makes its way towards my face. CRASH I yell out in pain as something yanks the blade out of my leg. I drop everything and fall to the ground as I grab my leg. I can't help but writhe around in pain as blood begins to pour over my hoof. I look up to see a bot stand over me and raise its blade- BOOM Something comes flying from outside and blows the head off of the bot. It stands there for a second before slowly falling back. BOOM Another shot downs another one of the bots, giving Rainbow the chance to open fire on the rest. She sets one of the bots falling back as her rounds tear through it's shield. What remains of the bots begin to fall back, forming back together as they walk back out the building. I take this chance to grab my rifle with my magic and pull out a blue potion with my good hoof. As I shoot my wound with the medi-gun, I yank the cork out and down the potion. "Twilight! Are you alright?" Pinkie yells as she runs over to check on me. "Ah! Yeah, I'll be fine in a bit. I just need to let this set-nnhhg. Why are they retreating?" I ask as Pinkie helps me to my hooves. "Don't know, don't care. We need to get moving now! Pinkie, help Twilight move. Mintelle, Aiming Node, you're with me. We'll clear a path to somewhere safer. Everypony else, keep up. LETS GO!" Rainbow yells before charging towards a stairwell. Pinkie and I begin to make our way over when a loud noise comes over the room. We both look back to see three of the Aquilas hovering just outside the windows. "GET DO-" VVRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM We drop down as three red beams tear apart the room.Shrapnel from broken tables and chunks of debris spray over the room as the torrent of red bolts ripe the room apart. We huddle close to the ground as I set a shield over us. Hopefully it will protect somepony behind us- KRA-BOOM One of the Aquilas suddenly explodes, sending the other two reeling back. They spin around and take off through the air. We wait for a few seconds before finally realizing that they're not coming back. "Lets get going while we have the chance!" Pinkie yells. We all jump up and run for the stairs. I turn back to do a head count.... we're missing two. I know about Cooked Frag... where's Arc Light? "Lets go Twilight!" Rainbow yells as she pulls me into the stairwell. ........................................................................................................................................................ Perspective: Fluttershy I aim down at the black airships as the send explosion after explosion onto the massive shield. It only lasts for a few moments though. Soon the firing stops and they all disappear beneath the thick smoke. I look back to the others, who mirror my worried expression, before getting up from my position. "I can't get a good view from up here. I'm going to fly down to lend a hoof. Why don't you two head towards the P.C.H.-" Before I could finish Hasel shook his head. "No? Well I don't think walking will be very-" He reaches into his bag and pulls out a vial. It contains a light blue liquid that has a string of pink in it. He downs the entire thing and gags a bit before a pair of thin butterfly wings appear on his back. "... how did you make a spell into a potion?" Rarity asks in astonishment. He merely shrugs before pulling out another one and giving it to Rarity. "Thank you." she says before drinking it... and nearly throws it up. A moment later, beautiful butterfly wings appear on her back, giving her the ability to fly. "Great, lets get moving. follow me." I tell them before jumping off the side... ... ... ... ... THIS IS TERRIFYING WHY AM I SO STUPID!! I immediately tuck in my legs and wings and close my eyes as the wind rushes through my main. Why couldn't I have just gently floated down like a smart pony!? Why did I have to try to be cool like Rainbow Dash? Now I'm going to fall to my death and all of my friends... ... ... NO! I will not let my friends down! I open my eyes and find myself about half way towards the ground. Taking a few deep breaths first, I open my wings to slow down. With the added weight of my rifle and ammo, the strain is immense, but I power through it until I gain control of my descent. Three fourths the way down now. At this rate I'll still hit the ground pretty hard... unless I take out the ground. I whip my rifle back out and aim straight down. BANG BANG BANG A large hole appears in the ground just in time for me to pass through, though I did have to tuck in my wings. Luckily for us, the building below is fairly close to the ceiling... ground? With a painful effort, I slow my descent enough to not break anything from my fall. Rarity and Hasel land behind me and hiccup, making their wings pop away. Gunfire stops me from questioning this as I turn to see the flying machines from before circling in the distance. I lay down and squint my eye, changing my vision to that of the scopes. I can see the others fighting off some advancing bots, with little success. Their shields are too strong for them to pierce through, luckily I set in my explosive ammo. As I line up my shot, their lines suddenly break as they rush forward and attack. The others fall out of view, but I see one ready to strike something down, so I fire- BANG and take of its head. I don't like the idea of hurting something like this, but I will in order to protect my friends. BANG With the two lead bots down the rest begin to back out of the building. I keep my rifle aimed at them until the black flying machines from before begin to pick them up. I was about to get ready to move when they suddenly opened fire on everypony inside. I watch through my scope as the bolts tear through metal and stone with total ease. Poor Arc Light wasn't able to find cover in time, and was blasted away by the powerful weapons. My lens begins to box off areas where jets of fire come out of the machines. I move my cross hairs over one of the larger ones and- BANG BOOM The entire vessel explodes, sending a large black column of dark smoke into the air. I open my other eye and watch as all of the other aircraft scatter from the explosion. My smile soon falls though when they all turn and head straight for us. "Oh.... my..." I mutter as they all fire several puffs of smoke towards us. Hasel jumps forward and throws down a large green potion. From the broken glass erupts a massive, thick, green plant. It's trunk is thick and its thick, ovate leaves point up and create a wall. KRA-BO-BO-BO-BO-BO-BOOM Explosions burn the plant apart as a few more of the explosives shriek through the air and explode behind us. We all drop to the ground and cover our ears as a large fire begins to build around us. THUD THUD THUD THUD I open my eyes in time to see one of the black bots swing its sword at me. I roll over completely and bring my rifle up to it- BANG I fire point blank at its shield. Whether it killed or not is unknown to me, as I watch it fall to the ground. I see another one fall as Rarity opens fire with her weapons as well… where’s Hasel? I look over to the left and see him trying to fight two of them hoof to hoof. Loud pings ring out as flesh and bone meet metal. They keep their shields up and begin to force him to closer to the edge. I rack the next round and fire at the closest one, causing its chest to explode. The remaining bot stabs him in the chest and pushes Hasel off the edge with its shield. Without a second thought, I leap off the building after him. I push myself as fast as I can as I inch closer to him. He sees me and lays flat, trying to slow his descent enough to give me an edge. We reach out to each other as we grow we slowly come closer and closer together. Just.... another... inch.... I see his eyes go wide for a second before something metallic wraps around my midsection. We stare at one another before he simply pulls his leg back to himself, and closes his eyes; a soft smile coming over his face. FWUUUSH I double over as the flying machine that has grabbed me flies off through the air. I try to wiggle out of its grasp, but the metal won’t budge. I try to move to shoot the thing, but we're moving too fast for me to do- "YYAAAAAAHHH!" I scream out as the machine suddenly flings me forward. I quickly bring my rifle out and try to take a shot at it- CLICK My heart drops as i face the machine. Its large gun begins to glow as it readies to shoot me. Is this really it? Is this where it all ends? How- KA-BOOM I blink a few times before catching myself. I look to the right just in time to see Miles hopping from rooftop to rooftop..... with two of the massive machines chasing after him. They're leap high in the air and try to fire their large guns at him, but he moves too fast for them. He gives me a quick motion to the right before jumping off. I look off to in the distance before seeing several flying machines chasing a teleporting Rarity. "Hold on Rare, I've got you." I mutter as I begin to reload. .................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Rarity After Fluttershy jumps off the ledge all of the remaining bots begin to draw closer to me. I'm out numbered and need to reload. FLASH I can only make it a few buildings away, and the drain is still fairly strong, but I needed to do it. I quickly pull my SMG over and pop the steaming, spent crystal out. I reach into my bag and- THUD THUD FLASH I end up in some random dusty, disheveled apartment. I lean against the cold wall and try to catch my breath, panting deeply as I close my eyes to rest. I can feel a cool layer of disgusting sweat begin to form over what was my perfect white coat as I weakly begin to load the next crystal in- VVVRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRMMMMMMMMMM One of the flying machines begins to tear apart the apartment. Though I'm tired, I teleport out again in order to escape. When I appear in the next area, I nearly fall over from exhaustion. I stumble a bit as my vision blurs and my head spins. I need to keep moving... I need.... to... THUD I fall to the ground and look up to the bot as it walks over to me, readying its sword to finish me off. I close my eyes and begin to- BANG I can't help but smile when I hear the bot fall to the ground. Another shot sounds off, followed by another bot falling. ................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Miles Applejack, Mintelle and I make it up five floors before we run into a cave in. I was going to make an opening magically, when Applejack had an idea. "Lemme head over ta see if ah can get a look at the others. Ah just wanna make sure they're safe." "Well... you can go. If I go, they'll see my energy signature.... or at least it'll be easier to." She thinks about it for a second before turning down the stairs. "If I take more than five minutes come lookin fer me." She tells us before running down. I take a seat on the stairs and wait patiently for her return. Mintelle sits beside me as well. She's grown uncomfortably quiet and distant. Understandable, she did see one of her fri- co-workers torn apart by a chain gun. "Are you going to be OK?" I ask her, breaking her concentration. "Huh? Oh, yeah. I guess. I'm just worried about my friends. I'm starting to think that coming down here was a bad idea." she admits as she rubs her foreleg. "Well, at-" BANG BANG BANG BOOM We both jump up to our feet when Applejack begins firing. I throw my arms wide and make an opening in the stairs to the floor below. We jump down into the destroyed office to find Applejack running from more legion bots. She's already destroyed five of them and has three chasing after her. The moment they spot me they back off till they leap out the window. "... OK. That was easy." I say wait for something to happen. "Lets stick together from now on, alright?" "Sounds good ta me. Ah saw the others in the building across the way. Well... until they teleported away that is. It looked like they were in a fight of some kind." "Then lets get going before that fight finds us." Mintelle complains, nervously edging her way towards the stairs. I was about to follow when the sound of jets caught my attention. Four Aquilas took place over by the window, their chain guns revving up to fire. I throw my arms up and put a set a shield as they all simultaneously begin to fire. "HEAD TO THE STAIRS!" I yell as I fight to maintain the shield. "WE CAN'T! WE'RE TRAPPED!" Applejack begins to yell as she fires a couple of times. I glance back to see the stairs well filled with legion bots. Clever trap. They waited for us to check on the others before drawing us in. But they didn't calculate for one thing. "I'M GOING OUT!" "WHAT!?" Before they could do anything, I push my shield forward and begin to run towards the window. When I make it to the broken windows I drop the shield and draw my sword as I leap between the two center ones. Pushing the final enchantment on my sword, I swing at the right one, sending a red slash at it that turned it to fire. Before the others could react I send myself flying down. I can hear Applejack yell something, but ignore it as- BOOM -something blows a hole in the ground before I land so I keep falling to the next level.... I hate smart enemies. I push the air magically as I try to force myself back up to the same level as the others, having to make three leaps before I grab the ledge. I only get a few seconds to pick myself up before the airships begin to fire on me. Luckily all three of them target me, hopefully giving Aj and Mintelle some breathing room. I magically run down an alley as I hold a shield over my head, blocking the incoming fire. When they give chase I leap up to the rooftops and jump from one to the next. They fire a few missiles at me, but I'd just shield them off before running to the next roof. I spin around and shoot a beam of soul fire at one of the Aquilas, causing it to explode. It goes downn in a ball of fire and crashes into some building. CRASH CRASH ".......... AH COME ON!" I yell as I face, not one, but two of the massive machines from before. The rest of the Aquilas fly back to the original and dock back with it. An intense stare down builds between the three of us. I don't know what they're waiting for but- PATPATPATPATPATPAT As they begin to fire I throw my arms up and lift the roof up to block the attack. Sliding back with the roof, I prep myself to try to launch to the main level. BOOM The concrete behind me explodes, sending me falling over the edge. I try to catch myself by making a few columns from the building, but I break through four of them before finally hitting the ground. I push myself up and run, magically, down the alley as quickly as possible. When I reach a dead end I leap into the air. Ahead of me is an Aquila about to kill Fluttershy. "RRRRRRAAAAAHHHH!" I yell out as I thrust an arm forward, sending a beam of soul fire right into the exhaust port of the ship. It erupts into a ball of fire that leaves Fluttershy in a daze. I glance back and do a double take when I see the two machines chasing after me, leaping through the buildings with tremendous speed. When I land I only get a second to think before they open fire on me with their canons. It soon becomes a game of chase and avoid cannon fire as we race about the city. I try a couple of times to fight back, but I think they've learned my movements. Every time I turn to use magic, they open fire with their guns. Whenever I land, they fire their cannons. After an hour of running I finally get a chance- BOOM ... ... ... ... ... Something opened fire on the machine and blew off its head. I look over to the P.C.H to see the others working the howitzers. ......................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Rainbow Dash Lucky for us, Twilight was able to teleport all us to the P.C.H. after I brought Applejack and Mintelle over. The spell knocked her out, but we can take it from here. We rush inside to find Fluttershy and Rarity in the center of the mico station. Rarity is passed out, and Fluttershy has her right forelegs wrapped up in a bloody bandage. Eight legion bots lay around them, most of their heads have been blown off. "Fluttershy! Rarity! Are you two alright?" Pinkie yells as she digs through Twilights bags and brings them both a healing potion. "Oh, thank you. We're fine... well, fine-ish." Fluttershy says meekly before down the potion. "Is Miles still being chased by the two large machines?" "What? We thought he was with you.... two? There's two of them." I ask, getting a slow nod from her. "Damn. OK, I'm going to go help him-" "How exactly are you going to help him?" Mintelle asks bluntly. "Those things are tough enough to keep your overpowered captain at bay. We should just-" "What about the big gun things above us?" Pinkie asks. "The... what?" "You know, those things pointing out the side of the building. The ones that look like the ones on the machine, bug things." We all stare at Pinkie for a moment before I finally realize what she's talking about. "Pinkie, you're a genius." "No I'm not, I'm a baker." I ignore her and fly around the room, looking for any insignia's that could send us to the large guns. None of these look right! Well... this one has a gun and lightning bolt. That might be it. I step on the platform and teleport to a room filled with four of the massive machines. The black flying bots are zooming around them, making repairs and loading weapons and ammo. They all pause and look over to me. ... ... ... "Uh.... I think I've got the wrong room.... so..... bye!" I jump back onto the platform and teleport away as they all open fire. "OK! It's not this one." "It's this one!" Pinkie cheers as she points to a platform with a etching of a bullet behind it. I walk over to her and stare at the platform. "How are you-" "I went through it and there were all these big guns and big bullet things and computers and I think I saw some kind of carriage but it didn't have-" "OK! I'll just take your word then. Um... Mintelle, you stay here with Fluttershy and guard Twilight and Rarity. Applejack, Pinkie and I will head up and see what we can do. Lets go." I tell them. Before anypony could answer I take the platform. I step into the new room and look for any potential danger. This room reminds me of an air dock, only being in a building. The wall behind me is covered in munitions that are cased off. The wall before me is open, leaving room for the large grey gun to point out. The gun itself is mounted to the ceiling and has a panel the comes down on the side. The panel looks as is it mounts to your shoulder with a piece of glass in front of it. To the left is a large open roofed carriage that doesn't have wheels and to the right is a computer station with Pinkie and Applejack sitting at it. "Hey, quit gawking around an get over here and check this out!" Applejack yells at me as she waves me over. I fly over to find them trying to get the thing to work. "Any ideas on how-" THUNK "... works." Ends up Pinkie punching the thing gets it to work. We spend a few minutes trying to figure out what we're suppose to do. Watching Miles do this and doing it ourselves are two completely different things. Somehow, with enough poking and random clicking, we start one of the videos for Miles. We were about to stop it when I saw that in the background there were people using the guns. So we watched it until I could figure it out. "OK. Ah think we all know what the plan is." Applejack says when the video ends. "Right. You and I will provide cover until Pinkie can get down there and take on the pulices. Then we bring Miles over here and finish this once and for all." We all nod and head to our stations. Applejack runs over to the wheel-less carriage and carefully presses a button. With a loud roar, and a bit of blue smoke, it lifts off the ground. It moves out of the room and brings her to the next level with a canon. Pinkie takes the platform away as I set my weapons down and get into the gunners seat. The harness wraps around me and holds me in place. There's a long tube with a handle at the end sitting on my right shoulder. A glass panel is set in front of me, taking up most of my field of vision. A number count down starts on the panel... 3... 2... 1... Suddenly the canon begins to move with me. I move the tube to the left, and the canon goes to the left. Good, it still works. I grab the handle with my left hoof and pull it back until it meets my shoulder. The cannon's barrel slide back to reveal an opening for the shell to go in. "Uh... high explosive." I say out loud. A mechanical arm slides from the canon to the cases behind me, where it opens one up and pulls a shell out. It sets the round inside and returns to waiting by the canon. I push the tube back out, setting the canon back into its firing position. A trigger pops out on the handle as the screen clears up. An aiming receptacle comes onto the panel, with smaller receptacles showing the drop of the round. I search for the large machines for a few moments, then lock on. This things makes aiming almost too easy. BANG The air shakes when I pull the trigger. I watch the round fly through the air and slam into the head of the first machine, blowing it clean off. BANG Applejack fires at the other one, only for a flying machine to block the attack. "High explosive!" I yell as I pull the tube back. A loud clang rings in the room as the spent shell bounces behind me. Once the round is in, I push the tube forward and get ready to fire again. All of the flying machines are flying right toward us, firing their missiles along the way. BANG I try to fire through the missile barrage to hit the machine. Instead I hit a missile and force the rest to explode. Unintentional awesomeness aside- BANG Applejack fires again,knocking another Aquila out of the air. The pulices begins to run out of view, so we begin fire after it. I score a hit on one of its legs as Applejack hits another Aquila. "High explosive!" I yell out. Beep beep "Huh? High explosives!" Beep beep "Uh.... standard?" Beep beep "Just give me whatever's left dammit!" Beep beep "RAH! Fine!" I yell as I try to take the harness off. I pull on the straps as hard as possible, but they won’t budge. I glance back to see two Aquilas hovers a few feet from me, charging their guns. "Oh man, oh man, oh man, oh man, this bad." I mutter as I continue to fight with the straps. "CCUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNTT!" "..... huh?" ...................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Miles Once I catch on to what’s going on I press my attack onto the remaining machine. I fire a few bursts of soul fire towards it and charge forward. It manages to fire a round off in order to block my attack. They must have my spell speed calculated. I need to get around it and take out its legs then. The rest of the Aquilas launch and take off for the P.C.H. while the machine squares off with me, keeping its face between me and the howitzers. I fire a few more shots as I try to keep it at bay. Icy void could easily take it out, but I don't think it would be smart to use that much magic right now. KA-BOOM It fires at me again. I shield it off and run off towards the P.C.H. for better cover. It chases after me but takes a round right in its front leg. It staggers a bit, but stays standing. Why do we have to make these things so tough... "Uh... Pinkie?" I ask as she casually walks past me. "Just wait, I've got this." she says confidently. "Hey! Wanna hear a joke!" She yells to the machine. "...... no. Just..... no." The machine hobbles over to her and leans down until its lenses are are right in her face. "Knock knock." "You have to be kidding me-" "Who's there?" A deep mechanical voice asks. "Interrupting applause." "Inter-" "YEAH! WOO! ALRIGHT! WAY TO GO *whistle*" She yells a she begins to cheer and whistle. "Access granted. Welcome to Galena. Told you Miles, best joke ever." "...." "Are you going to be alri-" "CCUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNTT!" I scream at the top of my lungs as I drop to my knees and hold my fist above head. .................................................................................................................................................. After an hour of gathering everyone, healing everyone up, and fuming about past friends using the worlds worst joke as a safety trigger on extremely dangerous machinery, we all head to the firing platforms. ... stupid ass knock knock joke. We congregate around the terminal and watch the first video.... I think I'll be bitter about that damn joke for the rest of my life. It starts out with Inficiunt sitting in front of the computer looking bitter about something. He's in some random apartment in civilian clothing by himself. He looks a bit strung out, with his hair unkempt and his eyes bloodshot. "Miles," he says with a bit of malice as he faces the screen. "It's my turn, I guess. And before you even try to say it, this doesn't count. I'm still not talking to you. Old recorded videos don't count! Anyway, I've been... messed up lately. You were... r-r-r-r-*ahem* you were r-r-r-r*AAAAAAHHem* you were r-r-r-r.... you were not mistaken to call me out on my drug problems. I shouldn't have abused them the way I did, and I shouldn't have been continuing them after the fall of Topaz. It was stupid and... I was wrong to have been so harsh on you. You still broke my promise though, and I will hold that against you until we finally meet up, I promise. I've started going to an addict meeting to get help. The therapist is a stone cold, tough, hard ass... so needless to say I'm in love. The others are... well... drifting. Tenera and Fidus are inseparable ever since Tenera's return, Dare and Eximius wont talk to me until I'm completely clean, and Sine... Sine just wants everything to go back to the way things were. But I know better. After everything we've been through, there's no going back. Galena was safe for a while, but the Unfamiliar have shown up on our sensors now. They're starting to really overhaul their defenses. Howitzers, Pulices, allowing all forms of magic... they should have allowed this back you were with us, then we could have really kicked ass. No chaos magic, that was bullshit. No our greatest threat fucking utilizes chaos like its his dick! Well.... we're slowly dying, drifting apart, losing the fight for humanity, and I've been dry for three days now. What else could possibly happen to make this day any worse... I know what. I'm going to that therapist and being straight forward. No bullshitting this time. Good luck Miles, I hope to forgive you one day.... oh, and I'm leaving you my Boom stick. Seems to be justified. Later." The video ends. I'm not that surprised that he was still mad at me, though I am saddened that I'll never get to apologize to him. I search around a bit and find one last video for me, so I start it. It has Susurrans sitting before the screen as some people in the back operate the canon. A massive gunfight fills the air between the deafening shots from the canon. Susurrans is in his person full armor. It's standard light weight armor, but with golden trim along all of the pieces. He sets his helmet on the table and lets out a slow, deep sigh. "Miles.... words cannot explain what we've been through. The things we've seen, the things we've done. I often think back to my simpler, idiotic, youthful days and try to think of what I could have done to avoid this. There is so much I've done wrong, to much to say in some simple video. Your friends say I should confide in you, speak my mind. But I can't, not yet at least. I made a promise to someone... a promise I intend to keep to my death bed. I know this fight is in vain, but we fight on anyway. We still out skill them, so we will show them our strength until our dying breath. They will suffer and bleed before we give them any ground. And when the last of us fades into the void... well, then we'll finally get to stop fighting. I've watched young men and women fight to the death in order to keep inches from them, I've personally cut down thousands of them with my blade alone. And yet they keep coming. No matter how gruesome we kill them, five take their place just to be destroyed as well. I don't get it. How could they have these numbers? An entire population has come down on us and has been carving their way through our ranks. If we had followed through with your plan, we could have had a better chance... but I failed you there. I failed you when Altum took your elements. I failed you when he forced you to wear those damn potestatum anuls. And I failed you... when... she... Go to the armory, we've left you some extra gifts just in case you need the extra help to make it to New Garnet. I.... I have to go." And the video ends. I take the coordinates and stand back in... disappointment. I can't help but shake my head at his reluctance to answer my simple question. Why is it so hard for him to say it. He doesn't eve have to say it to my face, just three words. With a heavy heart, I leave the computer and take the platform away. Everyone follows quietly after me, murmuring quietly to each other. I make my way to the armory where I look through the empty shelves with little interest. My mind is... elsewhere. "Miles," Twilight says quietly as she approaches me. "I know you're disappointed that he didn't say it, but there's still New Garnet-" "Yes, another city, and more death. I can't wait." I say as I lean against one of the shelves. "I'm.... I'm tired. I just want this to end so I can finally rest. Is it really hard to say those three words. 'I'm your father.' Why? Why all the pain and suffering for something so simple?" I ask pitifully as I look to Twilight for the answer. "That's not easy to say." Pinkie says quietly from the back. "My parents haven't admitted it to my hometown since I've gotten my cutie mark. Parties and rock farms don't really mix well with the other farming communities, why do you think I live with the cakes?" "But you know they're your parents. You didn't have to go on some quest to figure it out." I point out, getting slow nod from her. "True, but it still hurts. I haven't seen my sisters in several years. Even longer for my parents. At least you didn't have that special connection with him before being separated. I've missed them every single gosh darn day since my move. They won’t write back, in fear of the mail mare telling the others, they won’t travel to visit, they just tend to all of the rocks. At least Susurrans had the courage to try to leave a message to the special ponies in his life. It means he at least wants to remember you. I'm jealous of that Miles, please don't give up when we're so close." I stare at her for a few second before smiling, receiving one in return. The overall mood in the room goes up as we both smile to one another, some of us even laughing a bit. "Alright. One more city, and then we'll be done. Terradisia only had nine holds, so we're literally almost done. Once we're through New Garnet though, we're finding that rock farm and I'm forcing your parents to hug the shit out of you." "I'd like that. Are we ready to go then?" Pinkie asks. "Well, they said they left something here..... *sigh* knock-knock?" CLICK Did I mention how much I hate that damn joke? Because I really hate that damn joke. I walk to the back of the armory and open the secret door on the.... wall... "Oh sweet Barbra." "Who?" "That's an S-51C jumper suit." I mumble as I stare at the metal perfection. "A... what?" Twilight asks as she stares at the suit with me. "It's full body armor that is automated with twin jets on the back to provide some flight. I could probably out fly Dash in that thing." I say as I stare at the suit before me. Its all black with green highlights along the edges. The front of a helmet, did I mention the helmet? Yeah, it has a helmet. The front of the helmet has a human skull with fiery green eyes painted on it. "Pfft. Keep dreaming. There's no way that clunky hunk of junk could out fly me." Rainbow says bitterly. "Well? What are you waiting for then? Try it on then." Rarity says as she pulls the door completely open. I walk up to the suit and begin to attach each piece. When I begin to pull it out, Inficiunt's Boom stick falls from behind the armor. "Pinkie, just a guess, but I think that one is for you." I tell her. "What does it do?" She asks as she takes it in her hooves and looks it over. "It's a six shot grenade launcher, but with a sick twist. I added some chaos to it to alter any soul based object to instantly transform..... short version, it turns living objects into other living objects... sometimes. Other times it turns them into.... well, almost anything really." ".... wabbajack." "What was-" "Nothing!" She says quickly as she straps it to her back. "Just... put your new armor on already!" Brushing it off as a Pinkie thing, I get back to putting on my armor. The chest piece is heavy due to the folding thrusters on the back. Once its secured on I move on to the leggings. It's simple enough, just unlatch each part, and then re-latch them on. Once my magic begins to course through it, the screws secure it all on, leaving it air tight. The same goes for the arms; unlatch, then re-latch. "Wow... that's pretty.... scary." Fluttershy comments as I give a few test movements. "Why didn't ya have anything like this before?" Applejack asks. "Well, it was available, I just didn't use it because the magic requirements were too high for me to use on a regular basis. But now, I think I can manage it just fine." "What about your magic? Your hands are covered with the gloves now." Twilight points out. I just smile to her and give my arms a quick shake. A port opens on each of my palms, letting the flames fume out. "I'll have to keep them constantly open, but it won’t really matter. Now for the last part." I take the helmet and slide it over my head. It's a bit stuffy, but once it connects with the main body the power comes on, providing me with air and visuals. The world comes back to me as the HUD blinks on. A few lines outline pop up around the room, outlining obstacles as well as a ground leveler in the center. A few program icons take up the top left, giving me all green lights. "You look pretty cool in that.... can I have on?" Rainbow Dash asks as she begins to hover around me. "Maybe one day, now lets get air born." I tell her, getting a wicked grin in response. Walking in the suit felt odd at first. It feels as if I'm walking on a platform just above the ground and have much more power in each step. I'm not sneaky in the slightest, but I feel invincible in this. We make our way to one of the firing ports where Dash canters over to the edge. "How about a race then? First one to the dome and back wins. You in?" She asks eagerly. I roll my shoulders, making the twin jet wings lift up on my back. They go straight out roughly two feet and end in round cones that pivot and swirl around. I walk over to the edge and take a readied stance beside her. "Someone count it off." I say, getting Pinkie to run between the two of us. "ON YOUR MARK-" Get ready to eat my dust Captain." Rainbow growls as she readies herself. "GET SET-" "We'll see." I mutter back as I look out to the city, several markers indicating different building heights and distances. "GO!" FWUUUUUUUUM I squat down and push myself out of the port. The two jets roar to life and launch me through the air with tremendous speed. Usually these were only meant for leaping over builds, hence Jumpers. But with my insane magical output, I make it a third of the way through the city before needing to land. I roll onto a rooftop and take a few running steps before launching myself again, adding even more power to my jump. The two cones screech loudly as the magical energy sends me soaring through the air, almost making it all of the way to the dome. With another powerful leap I take off for the dome. I glance to my side to find Dash ahead of me, just a bit. I twist around and let my feet catch onto the dome before launching myself back to the P.C.H. We keep at each others necks as we near our destination. She would get ahead of me every time I would need to jump, but my raw power would help me keep up. When we near the last few meters, we each give it our all as we try to beat the other to the finish line. FWUUUUUUU-CRASH "I WIN!" Rainbow yells as she jumps up in the port. "My balls you won, I totally had that!" I yell back. "Please, I completely had that, you're just made that your clunky hunk-a junk couldn't keep up-" "Don't be so naive! This is Terradisian tech at its best. You're just mad you little feathers couldn't-" "GUYS!" Twilight yells, getting our attention. "Lets call it a draw, and leave this place already, OK?" We look to each other before nodding in agreement to my victory. We leave the city with a high moral. I kept 'testing' my armor by leaping tall buildings and punching through walls of concrete. The others were happy to see me happy as well. It was agreed that we'd head back to Ponyville to train Pinkie to use the Boom stick and rest up. Mintelle told us she would tell the Ursas to send in other mercs, but she would not be coming herself. "That was bullshit! I was the only pony to survive through this, there is no way in hell I'm going to another one of these cities! I don't care what the Ursas say!" She told us before heading off on her own. We said our goodbyes and took the train ride back to Ponyville. We held conversations the entire way there, none of us could sleep. Whatever New Garnet holds, we'll be ready for it. Author's Note Alright, this is it! The next chapter is the last chapter I will be taking merc Oc's, so go post them now! On another note, the next chapter will.... be a dozy. Put it like this; I thought this chapter would be 10k, and it ended up being 17k and took this long to write. I projected the next chapter to be 20k. A LOT happens in it. And it all needs to happen in one go. So bear with me, I'll get it done when it gets done, until then, Brony on! P.S. Almost to chapter 200, next Q/A will be coming up soon. Can't wait!
Chapter 170 Outpost ZeroChapter 170 Outpost Zero . . . .. .. .. .. ... ... ... "AAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!" I jolt awake and immediately begin to writhe around in pain. I can feel every port of magic on my body jetting energy out as the lines begin to slowly burn me away. I groan as the agonizingly slow pain fills every part of my being, gradually burning me to nothingness. I flop onto my back as I feel my arms erupt in even more pain. I force myself to look at my hands and wince when I see the lines on them shining brightly. "Miles." I look over when a soft, quiet voice calls for me. Luna is sitting beside me, tears streaking her cheeks as she watches me closely. We're in some cavern that is filled with gems... familiar gems. I force my eyes shut when another wave of pain washes over me. I toss and turn as the turmoil within me burns away at my wrists. "L-luna... Luna... it's... it's... I'm sorry." I force myself to say as I pry my eyes open to look at her. My voice is raspy and feels as if it's being grated against sand, but I force myself to say it. She opens her mouth to say something, but stops herself when I curl up from the pain. "It.... it's okay Miles. It's alright. We'll.... I'll be here, at your side. Do you-" "N-no, I'm sorry Luna..... GRRR, I-I couldn't resist it.... I.... I wanted-" "Shh." I close my eyes again and grieve as she smiles down at me, new tears finding their way down her face. "I know. You've been out for a few days, the others told me all about it. Miles, just know that I still love you. I will always love you, no matter how far you fall." "Luna... Luna I'm scared," I admit as tears force their way out. "I'm scared Luna, I don't want to die! I don't want to leave you! Please! Please, there has to be something, anything.... please, don't let me join the void." I'm weak. I know this, but now it's being forced into her face and.... I'm weak. What I would give for just another day, hour, minute. I don't want it to end like this, I don't want to leave her alone. Was there truly nothing in all of Terradisia that could help me? Is there no spell that could stop this? Why is this curse being forced upon me? What did I do to deserve this? Did I not lead a good life? Was I not a good man? Why? "M-Miles. There's still time left, you need to be strong, for me. There's one last place to go before.... before you leave me." "I can't.... it's too much..." My arms... they hurt so much. "Please... for me... please." I look up to her crying form and begin to push myself up. Every nerve feels as if it's on hot pins and needles, but I groan through the pain until I'm standing. She stifles a few tears as she guides me down a hall. "Do you remember this place Miles?" She asks slowly as I try to walk down the path, using the wall for support. "SSS; kind of... where are we?" "The crystal cavern beneath Canterlot, where the changeling’s held you prisoner. What you've been chasing has been here all along Miles. But we need you to open the door-" "What door?" We come around a bend that takes us to the entrance. All of the girls are here, along with Celestia and Spike. I stop at the mouth of the entrance and swallow hard as I look away from them. "Miles," Twilight calls out. I close my eyes as I stand there, unable to look at them. "We... we're here to finish our quest." "Yeah, no stopping until we get to the finish line." Dash says in a weak voice. She's trying not to cry. Trying. "Come on, we're almost there. It's not even a hop, skip and a jump away." Pinkie adds, somewhat happily. Even her sad voice is happy. I look back up to them and nod as I push away from the wall and stumble towards them. My steps start to become more and more agitated when I feel my feet begin to burn even more. "*snniff* thank... all of you. For everything. I... I know-" "Shh." Fluttershy shushes me as she steps forward and offers me Dominus Clavis. In all of the slots are the gems of my friends. They must have removed them from their weapons and put them in themselves. "We're short one... I think Trixie has it on accident." "Where's my sword?" I ask as I take it in my hands. Twilight walks over and offers it to me, looking me in the eye as I take it from her. I grab the gem in the pommel and pry it from it's restraints, the heat from my magic making quick work of it. I look over the scepter and push the gem into the top most slot, getting it to glow brightly. At first the gems just glow brightly, but soon the entire thing begins to shake. It soon becomes too much for me to hold, so I let go of it. It hovers in the air for a second before spinning rapidly around. The lights from the gems spin around, forming a perfect circle that fills the whole room with a white light. The gems in the cave begin to shine as well as the ground starts to tremble. The massive gem taking up most of the room flashes suddenly, blinding us all momentarily. When I feel the light fade away, I open my eyes and discover a bulkhead. It looks like any of the ones from the cities, only this one has three long, even slashes in it. Outpost Zero is written across the top. A white light scans me over quickly and turns green, making the bulkhead begin to pull up. "Well... here we go again." I mutter as I begin to shuffle towards the entrance. I feel an arm wrap around me and lift me up slightly, making walking easier. "I've got you Master." Spike says as he helps me walk in. "Spike... remember that size is a matter of thought. Reality is at your whim, and you limit it by your own structures." I tell him rapidly. There's still so much to teach him. So much for him to learn about magic. "Of course Master." He says with a small smile and a nod. "And that perfection is an illusion. Strive for limits and shatter them-" "I know Master. You taught me well. But I think the lessons end today." I look away from him as we make our way into the dark room. When I cross the threshold, the leaking energy from me lights up several gems near by, revealing the room. The room goes around in a perfect circle with the ceiling being nearly four stories up. A few gems are set in the wall lighting the entire room. Ahead to the left is a super computer station. Its terminal is set against the ground and goes out for a meter. It's covered in many buttons and switches that are all dwarfed by a large red button on the center. All along the edge of the floor is archaic text that's inside dark lines. The area by the door, where I'm currently standing, has a small circle that connects with the large circle. This one only goes out to the middle of the room. Set high on the far wall is a large cylindrical metallic device that is pointing directly at me. It's at least three meters wide and goes up to the top of the room. The center of it is hollow and there are two metal bars on the side that hold it in place. "What is this place?" Celestia asks as she and the others walk into the room. I give Spike a look and he lets me go, following Celestia to the computer. I walk in at a slower pace and- PPPSSSSSSSHHHHHHVVVVVVVVVVRRRRRRRRRRRMMMMMMMMMM We all pause when the lines begin glowing and the text begins to move. Everyone moves about the room to watch the text rotate around the floor. Twilight, Fluttershy, Luna and I stay in the smallest circle to watch text move by. In the background I can hear machinery begin to power up, all from my excess energy. "What does that say?" Twilight asks as she eyes it closely. "It's impossible to say. Humans have been trying to crack the archaic text since its founding. The problem is that it varies form person to person-" CLICK I spin around to find Celestia pressing the big, shiny red button. I glance up to the machine and see a bright light begin to shine in the center. "LUNA!" I yell as I push out of the circle. BRRRRRRRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMMM END OF ARC TWO Perspective: Death I chuckle slightly as I set my scroll down and rise from my seat. Everything is going according to plan, perfectly. We need to move on to the next phase though. I grab my scythe and leave my chambers with renewed vigor. I take the long corridor all the way down and take the only door, where I enter my meeting chamber. "War, Famine, Pestilence, our day has arrived. Let us begin the next step in our plans." They look to one another and smile as Famine charges his horn. A moment later I find myself on a stage, looking over my army. "MY FAITHFUL FOLLOWERS! RELISH NOW IN DEATH!" Author's Note Arc Two: Cities is now complete. FINALLY! F@#$! Up next is the bonus chapter followed by the beginning of Arc three: Growing Pains. Thanks for reading, and like always, Brony on!
End of Arc Two Bonus ChapterEnd of Arc Two Bonus Chapter The Adventures of Cabbage Patch Date: January 11th, 4133 Perspective: Cabbage Patch I've lived a good life. I loved my wife, my kids, never really wronged anypony. So why do bad things happen to me? I was pried from my home, lost my wares, had my kids put in danger, and was touched inappropriately on multiple occasions! Why are these things going to happen to me? The worst part though, no matter what I do, I know it's going to happen all over again. Stupid blue box. ................................................................................................................................................................ January 10th, 4133 I pause for a second to wipe the sweat from my forehead. It's been hard work pulling these ten carts of cabbages to Sweet Apple Acres, but it's finally paid off. Ponyville is finally in view, shouldn't be much longer. I only needed to bring five, but bringing some extra will just get me some extra pay. Plus I'll get to stay home longer over the winter. First things first though, I'm going to find a store and buy something warm to eat. I'm freezing my flank off in all of this snow, what is their weather team doing? Probably napping or something, lazy flanks. Setting a new pace, I trudge forward. My legs burn in the final stretch, but once I pull my cart onto the shoveled path I sigh in relief. Like my father always said, work hard and the payoff will always be better. Ponyville is fairly quiet, most likely from all the snow, but there are still a few ponies out and about. "... Me some. He loves me, he loves me too much. He loves me, he loves me just enough..." My ear twitches from the familiar voice, making me pause to look around for its source. I could have sworn I heard- "He loves me a lot, he loves me the most. He loves me more than bananas, he loves me more than.... CABBAGE PATCH!" "DERPY!" I jump when she lands in the cart behind me, knocking cabbages everywhere. "Whoops, my bad." She says as she flutters out of the cart, holding a dried up bouquet in her hooves. I quickly detach myself from my cart and begin to pick up the fallen veggies. Some of them are bruised, making them unsaleable. I frown a bit, but let it slide. I have ten carts so it's no big deal, plus it's Derpy. I think Big Mac will understand. "It's alright and it's good to see you again Derpy, hows Dinky?" "She's doing good, she actually just turned seven! She's growing up so fast sometimes I can hardly keep up. The other day she was asking about stallion parts and I-" "ANYWAY! I have to get these cabbages to Big Mac, but afterwards we could catch up.... only, less informative." She thinks about it and nods, smiling brightly as she brings the dries bouquet to her nose and inhales deeply. "So.... see ya later-" "WAIT!" She yells as she jumps back into the air. "We have to go visit Cheesus and Squishy too!" "... but I have a delivery to make-" "They're leaving for some really important trip today and we won't have another chance to see them! Please." She asks as she holds her hooves in front of herself. "I really shouldn't-" "Please?" "I need to deliver these-" "Please?" "It'll be hard to get these carts through-" "Please, please, please, pleeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaasse!?" She pouts a bit as she inches closer to me, batting her eyelashes a bit. "...*sigh* Fine." "YAY! Let's go!" She flies off without me, leaving a trail of flower petals behind her as she does so. I shake my head and trudge along, digging my hooves into the ground as I pull my carts along. This better not turn into another random adventure that ends with destroying my cabbages.... better not think those thoughts. Don't want to jinx anything. I make my way through Ponyville and pause at the edge of their red light district. It seems as if they've had a lot of new business recently. All of the stores have new paint or new advertisements adorning their businesses. Even the workers have shiny new jewelry or new clothing. Something big must have changed here. Good for them... I guess. I mean, if they have more money, then that means they can buy more groceries, which means more sales for me. So it's a win-win really... well, a win-win-win, but... anyway. I make my way to Fon-do's and find Derpy sitting at the doorstep, sadly pouting a bit. I make my way over to her and detach myself from all of the carts before sitting beside her. "Everything alright?" "Cheesus and Squishy are gone already, we missed them." She says sadly as she sits on her haunches. "Oh, well I'll just have to see them next time then-" "See what know?" She asks as she looks up to me, shifting her ears forward. "I said we'll just have to see them next time-" "Time.... time.... YOU'RE A GENIUS CABBAGE!" She yells a she jumps back into the air, her smile doubling in size. "This is a perfect reason to go looking for him..... so you can say hi to Cheesus and Squishy of course. Come on! I know where to start!" Before I can say anything she flies off towards the center of Ponyville. If I follow after her, I know it'll probably lead to another crazy misadventure.... sadly I have to head that way anyway.... I have a bad feeling about this. I pull my carts around and start to head towards the center of the town. If I can just edge my way around where ever she's gone, I can just run over to Sweet Apple Acres and drop off my cabbages. It's not that I want to avoid them, I just don't want to repeat what happened last time... I should also keep an eye out for that freaky creature. I may have double my shipment, but that doesn't mean I'm in the clear. I make it into the town center where I see Derpy flying around the other side, looking for somepony. I take my ten carts full of cabbages and sneak my way along the edge of all of the buildings- "YOU!" I practically jump out of my skin when somepony yells right in my ear. I fall onto my back and nearly have a heart attack when Boxy steps over me. He still has the tinfoil in his mane but sports a thick brown jacket that smells horrendously. "How did-" "What did I tell you? Nopony listens to poor ol' Boxy, except Mr. McBumpkin of course. It will all end in fire! Burning bright enough to rip the dark side of the moon in half! It'll consume us all! A great hunger that drives a never changing madness over every living being! DON'T DRINK THE TEA! Chaos, Chaos is coming! Can't you feel it? It's been here since the beginning, driving thoughts far away and pushing hatreds higher! Time is being re-written all over again. A Timely Death is approaching, guide us to a new home!" "... but I like tea." "IT WILL CONSUME EVERY LIVING BEING! DON'T TOUCH THE TEA!" He yells as he grabs and shakes me a bit. "FINE! SURE, JUST GET OFF ME!" I yell as I push him away. I get up and back away from him, still gagging from his gut wrenching breath. "ONE LAST THING! ALL HAIL THE KING!" He screams as Derpy lands beside me, listening intently. "Okay, okay, all hail the king, just don't shake me again." I say as I back away from him. "Hey, where's your brother?" Derpy asks nonchalantly. "Oh, he's at Sugar Cube Corner getting banana nut muffins," he says normally. "... darn, that could mean anything." Derpy mutters quietly as Boxy backs away from us. "Mr. McBumpkin, to the moon." He rears up and sets his hooves on his hips as he closes his eyes. I watch him stand there for a bit until he suddenly flies through the air at high speed. I drop down and gawk at him soar through the air as Derpy begins to walk away, completely unfazed by the earth pony's flight. "What could it mean? At Sugar Cube Corner getting banana nut muffins... maybe that-" "How does his flying not confuse you in the slightest?" I ask her as she stops before a hardware building. "OF COURSE! Cabbage, I have to go to a hospital real quick, BYE!" Again, before I can say anything she flies off. I look around at all of the ponies staring at me before quickly jumping back in my harness and walk off. Why do such weird things have to happen to me here? Every other city and village I visit goes by normally, why Ponyville? I give one final sigh before trudging along. The hospital is the complete opposite direction of Sweet Apple Acres. I do feel bad just ditching her like this, but I really have to get going. I'll just have to find- SMACK I step back and rub my muzzle as a something suddenly appears before me. I blink a few times before looking up at... a blue box.... only in Ponyville would something like this. I went to Trottingham last week, nothing. It has some strange text in white on top of it that I can't read. It's fairly tall and narrow with little glass windows below the writing. It looks a little beat up, but is sturdy enough. There seems t be a light on top of the box as well. A door at the front opens up and Derpy, Squishy, Cheesus, some light brown earth stallion with a collar and tie, and myself walk out and surround me..... "Huh?" I mutter as I look to myself. I... or the other me, let out a sigh as he pulls out a frying pan and- THUNK I roll over and pull the bed sheets close to myself. The bed I'm in is extremely comfy and- wait... what? I open my eyes and find myself in some kind of sex shop... office, laying in a round zebra print bed.... wait a minute- "So, you're finally awake." I look over and see Cheesus sitting at his desk. "Uh..." "Uh? Well that's a fine hello. I pick your unconscious body off the street, haul your cabbages to the back, and all I get is a uh? My emotions just might be hurt if you don't-" "Fine, fine, hello. Thank you for saving me." I groan as I get out of the bed. "What's going on?" "Well, Derpy has a little.... a little favor she'd like to ask of us. I've already said yes and I know Squishy will agree once we get him, so now it's up to you. Willing to help us?" "No." "..." "..." "Dude..." "..." "You're a dick." "I have to drop off my cabbages to Sweet Apple Acres! I'm sorry, but I can't go on any adventures right now, this is a matter of my livelihood here." He sighs a bit as he gets out of his seat and walks over to me. He smacks his lips a bit as he thinks deeply about something. "What if I told you we already left Ponyville?" "..." "..." "..." "..." "I'd say that's a good joke and-" "Because we're already on our way to Crescent Cove and we kind of thought you'd just say yes so..... yeah. Welcome aboard the Party Carriage Two." "... carriage?" I run over to the door and throw it open- and grab the doorway as I nearly fall out. We're in the middle of nowhere being pulled by what sounds like four ponies as my cabbages follow along... wait... one, two, three, four, five... "WHERE ARE THE REST OF MY CABBAGES!?" "Dude, you only had five." Cheesus says nonchalantly as he walks over and shut the door. "NOO! MY CABBAGES!" I yell as I drop to my knees and hold my hooves up. I can't believe they took.... I took half of my cabbages. Why would they... I, do that? I pout a bit more as Cheesus moves away from me, heading towards a door that was behind his chair. I open the door again and check on the remaining cabbages. They seem intact and well tied to the carriage. I shut the door and run after Cheesus. Maybe if we're not too far from Ponyville I can just.... I stare at the hallway behind the door and drop down to my haunches. It's a stretch carriage? I've only heard about these in rumors and tall tales. The carpet is a deep purple and the walls are covered in a light purple paper. All of the trim is white as is the furniture as well. I walk down the hall and gawk at the carpeting. It's so smooth under my hooves, I can barely tell there's wood underneath. "C-c-a-a-b-b-b-b-a-a-g-g-e-e y-y-o-o-u-u g-g-o-o-t-t-a-a g-g-e-e-t-t o-o-n-n-e-e o-o-n-n-e-e o-o-f-f t-t-h-h-e-e-s-s-e-e." Derpy says as she lays on a table as a pony pounds away at her back. The small room inside has the massage table and a lounge seat to its right with Cheesus laying in it. "So... how far are we from-" "We'll be at Crescent Cove in about an hour.... want a massage?" I drop my head as I rub the bridge between my eyes. I guess I'm in this now, whether I like it or not. Even if I leave at this point, I won't make it there for another day or two, and that's if I run there. I move over to the lounge chair and take a seat on its edge, slouching as I sit there. "Sorry Cabbage, we just thought you would help." Derpy says normally as the masseur applies some oils to his hooves. "Tell you what, help us through this and I'll guarantee that you'll make your deliveries on time. Promise." "I was supposed to bring them at noon, how can you-" "Just trust me on this one Cabbage Patch." She sighs as the masseur begins to rub in the oils. "If we don't, Cheesus will comp you for what we mess up one hundred percent." "He will?" "I will?" He asks, matching my astonishment. Derpy just gives him a look before closing her eyes and enjoys her massage. "Oh yeah, sure. If we don't make it on time, I'll match whatever they owe you. Deal?" He asks as he holds out a hoof. I look between the two of them before shaking his hoof. "Deal, but I'm already late so-" "Don't worry, time isn't important right now. We just need to get Squishy before looking for the Doctor." "... who needs a Doctor?" I ask, only getting slow head shakes in response. Cheesus gets up from his seat and walks out of the room, beckoning me to follow. We step out into the hallway where Cheesus shuts the door behind me, looking a bit more serious than before. "What's going on Cheesus? Where are we? Where are we going?" "Look, this is for something really important for Derpy. Walk with me to the front and I'll explain." He says before stepping down the hall. I glance back to the door before walking after him. "Remember what happened after our last little adventure?" "Are you kidding me? I still have nightmares about... *shiver* yeah, why?" "Well, since we took out Dirty Bit, I basically now control the.... adult service industry. With all of that new income, we've been able to get all of the 'workers' better... equipment. That is also why we're in the Fon Do's company stretch carriage." ".... you own every prostitute in Equestria?" "NO! I do not own them!" He snaps at me. "Look, the first priority I made was to change this industry. Trust me, I know what it's like when you become a slave to circumstances. My workers are free to leave, we provide medical services for all of them, security, protection, we even have dental now! I understand that from the outside that this seems really odd, but I'm going to make this industry safer." He pauses by a window and looks outside, thinking deeply about what he's just told me. "So... what does this have to do with Derpy?" I ask as I stand beside him. "Well, she's kind of a... moral booster for everypony here. She makes ponies smile on the worst of days. So when she started talking about... him again... well, things got weird." "Him?" "Her husband." "Oh......OH!" "Good job genius. Now, don't get me wrong; he's a nice pony and all, but.... I don't think he's really father material." "... yo-" "Finish that sentence and I'm punching you." I close my mouth and stop myself, letting him continue. He continues on down the hall, his face hardening as he thinks about something. "When it came down to it, he put the job before Derpy. She says she's fine with it, that she got the greatest gift in the end, but I still don't like it. I mean, family is important. I may not like my family, but I still make time to see them every now and again. It's been seven years since she's seen him. So, we don't see eye to eye." "... so, if it's been seven years, how will we find him?" I ask, getting a small chuckle from him. "Derpy said she knows one way to find him. But we have to be careful, we only have one chance to get this right... which reminds me. Do you remember anything Boxy told Derpy?" He asks as he turns to me, stopping at the last possible door. "Something about tea and fire and... I have no clue really. I never understand him." He sighs a bit but enters the room anyway, shutting the door before I can enter. "Okay then, I'll just... wait out here then... jerk." "I heard that." He says from behind the door. I scurry away from the door and run down the hall until I'm sure I'm a safe distance away. "Why are you running?" "AH!" I nearly fall over when Derpy suddenly steps out in front of me. "I wasn't running! I was.... just... uh..." "Where did Cheesus go?" "Uh... he went into the room at the end of the hall." I tell her as I get back on my hooves, blushing a bit from my little outburst. "He went into his office? Figures. *sigh* ever since he took over Dirty Bit's business he's been so distant. I know he's trying to change an industry, but... I don't know. Sometimes I think he's forgotten how he's gotten here. Do you know when we'll get to Crescent Cove?" She lowers her head a bit and pouts as we slowly walk down the hall. I bite my lip as I try to think of a way to cheer her up. "No. And... you know he's still the same, right? He's just under a lot of pressure. Changing an industry and all... it's pretty daunting. I'm sure once everything gets figured out he'll be back to his normal self." "You really think so?" She asks as she perks up a bit. "... well..... fifty-fifty," I say with a smug smile as I nudge her a bit. ".... GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME!" We laugh a bit as we enter one of the many rooms, finding a lounging area. "Thanks Cabbage, I needed some cheering up." "No problem. And hey, if he doesn't change soon enough, just let me know and I'll set him straight. Lets see how stubborn he is when there's a cabbage smashing in the back of his head." She laughs a bit more and takes one of the seats. We spend a good while catching up after that. I'd ask her about Dinky and she'd ask about my kid. We'd each talk and talk about the two of them. From school, to misbehavior, a whole fields worth of parenting stuff. She's got being a single parent down pretty well, though having a good foal helps with that too. From there we start talking about work. I'd tell her about my fields and how I tried to get an extra harvest before the snow came in. She told me about all of the packages she delivered for Hearths Warming Eve. It was nice to sit back and just talk with a good friend, it's something I don't do often enough.... then again, you need more than one friend in order to do that- "... but they were still happy to get it, even if it was two weeks late. You okay Cabbage? You look... sad." I blink back to the conversation and smile to her. "Yeah. I was... just thinking... anyway, tell me about this Doctor fellow. How did you meet him?" She blushes a bit as she thinks on her memory. "In all actuality, we just bumped into each other. He told me to come with him or I would die and, well, I didn't want to die, so I followed after him. One exploding building later we were on the Tardis and he made me his assistant. The adventures we would go on.... anyway, tell me about your wife. Is she pretty? What's her name? How did you meet?" I chuckle a bit as I think of all the answers. "Well, she is very pretty and her name is-" "GUYS!" Cheesus yells as he kicks the door open. "We're here, and the blimp is almost out of sight! We need to move!" We jump out of our seats and run after him, practically breaking the door to the stretch carriage as we run down the cobble street. "I didn't know Equestria had griffon cities." I remark as we run down the path, passing several griffons as we do so. "Focus Cabbage! We need to make it down to the lighthouse as quickly as possible if we're going to flare them in time!" Cheesus retorts. "Why couldn't we take the limo!?" Derpy yells to us as she flies ahead of us, making it to the lighthouse much faster than we can. We slow down to a trot as Derpy yells at a griffon to light a flare, which he does immediately. "So why didn't we take the limo?" I ask as we watch the glowing red ball of light arch in the air. "It was too big for the street." Cheesus tells me absent mindedly as we watch the dot in the horizon, hoping they see us. We stare for what feels like hours at the little dot in the horizon. Ever so slowly, it becomes smaller and smaller before it completely disappears. We both sigh in defeat as Derpy begins to fly back to us. "Well, we tried." I try to reason, only to get another irritated sigh from Cheesus. "They didn't see us." Derpy pouts as she lands before us. Cheesus moves to her side and rest his foreleg over her shoulders, pulling her in for a light hug. "Sorry Cheesus." "Don't worry about it, it was worth a try at least.... look, let's get something to eat before heading back to Ponyville. We'll talk more there." We both nod and follow him through the little village. Many of the griffons here are still staring at us, unsure about our sudden appearance in their quaint home. I feel bad for Derpy, but I don't know what to say. What exactly do you say to a mare when their hopes of meeting their special somepony are crushed? As they step into a building I pause to think about my answer. Heh, if Rose was here, she'd know wh- THUD "Sorry 'bout that." Says some light brown stallion with dark brown hair says as he continues on. I shake my head and stare at him. His collar and necktie... The hourglass cutie mark... Heading towards a blue box that has no business being here... "DOCTOR!" I yell as I run after him. He stops in his tracks and turns around, bewildered beyond belief. "Have we met?" He asks in that odd accent of his. "Yeah, YOU HAD ME BASH MY HEAD IN WITH A FRYING PAN!" ".... THAT'S MARVELOUS!" He yells with a slight laugh. "Ah time, you magnificent-" "Derpy and I have been looking all over for you, come on." I say as I grab his hoof and begin to drag him down the street. "Wait who? Where are we going? I can't afford to go to the bakery, I have to hurry if I'm going to catch The-" "DERPY! DERPY I FOUND HIM! DEEEEEEEERPY!" I yell as he begins to fight me, trying to get to his box. I hear a door burst open followed by a loud gasp. In a blur of grey feathers and yellow hair she flies past me and tackles The Doctor to the ground. She squeezes and hugs as a tear or two escape her. "Oh Doctor, I've missed you so much!" Derpy says as she finally lets go of him. "Yes, well, one can have that effect on ponies Mrs. Hooves." He says warmly as he rubs the top of her head. She smiles to him, but quickly goes wide eyed. "DARN! I forgot my journal!" Derpy yells as she stomps her hoof down. "Uh... Griffindor?" "Uh... yes, that's the griffon capital," The doctor responds. I look to Cheesus, who just shrugs as Derpy thinks harder. "Hmm.... Dodge?" She asks again. "Dodge... well, there were those-" "No, no." Derpy cuts him off as she begins to pace about. "What's going on?" I ask Derpy as she walks past me. "I'm Cabbage Patch by the way." "The Doctor, I believe Mrs. Whooves is trying to remember our latest encounter so she doesn't cause any time anomalies." He says with a smile as she continues to walk around. "Oh... okay, we don't want those... right?" I ask Cheesus, who just shrugs. "Wait, doctor? Doctor of what?" "... well, I guess you could say time fabrication, but in all reality I'm just the Doctor-" "I GOT IT!" Derpy yells as she spins back to the Doctor. "The World Tree, back during the great freeze. Delilah told you that all seeds will grow in time-" "- with the proper love and care. Yes, I remember that well enough. Then I brought you to Ponyville went back in the Tardis and... you were gone." He says slowly, his smile slowly fading away. "Oh... right. Time moves on I guess." "I waited for months Doctor, why didn't you come back?" She asks as she steps towards him, her voice straining slightly. "I did, but I couldn't find you. And... well, lets say things haven't been easy since the Masters return. Speaking of which, I must be off to confront him. It was good to see you again, but-" "Oh no you don't!" Cheesus says as he cuts him off on his way to the blue box. "This is more important than some douche who-" "Who is about to rip a hole in the fabric of time and cause entire nations to fall as he conquers the world?" "... yeah. This is way more important than that. Now-" "Millions of lives are at stake! My personal desires can wait-" BOOM We all spin around as a large smoke cloud billows up into the air. Without a second thought, the Doctor begins to run towards it, followed by Derpy, Cheesus and myself. We run up to the docks as several griffons laying about, some moaning in pain while others just lay there. They all have a strange blue glow over them. It only lasts a few seconds, but I definitely saw it there. In the midst of the crowd stands a creature the likes of which I've never seen before. He's stands a little over three feet tall with most of his body being covered in thick black fur. The area around his large mouth and beady eyes are hairless. He stands on two legs and has hands on the other limbs. The oddest part though, is that he wears a bright blue suit with a fluffy white collar and sleeve ends. He's standing before a large "What is that?" I ask as the Doctor steps forward. "Master." He growls as he approached him. "What have you done here? What-" "Don't worry Doctor, all in good time." He sneers as he steps onto a boat and lifts a latch. The Doctor runs after him as he jumps down it. The trap door shuts before he could get to it. He swings the door open and stomps in frustration. In confusion, I walk over and check on the door. It's nothing more than a tackle box. "How did he-" "His Tardis's cloaking device is still working. Blast." He says as he slams the door shut and steps back, muttering to himself. "Every step, every corner he has some kind of trick up his sleeve. It seems I can't just take him on like I did last time... hmm." Derpy runs over and nudges him to get his attention. He looks her in the eyes and mulls something over before going wide eyed. "So, where are you keeping the Tardis this time?" Derpy asks smugly. "Ah Ditsy, you know I can't-" "Can't sman't, we're coming along and that's final." Cheesus says as he steps up. "But first we need to get Squishy." "But we can't spare the time to-" "Tennant Whooves, if anypony had time for something like this, it would be you." Derpy tells him, getting a bewildered look from him. "Ditsy, I told you not to use my actual name, it's suppose to be a secret." He says in a hushed tone as he glances around, eyeing the emergency respondents closely. "Oh... sorry." She says with a slight blush. He sighs as he rubs the top of her head, thinking deeply about his situation. "So... this is your husband Derpy-" PUNCH I blink a few times as I lay on my back, a searing pain growing on my jaw. The Doctor comes over me and shakes his head a bit. "Her name is Ditsy Whooves. She may let anypony call her that, but I won't tolerate it. Now, if we're done here, we have an escort to find, a malevolent ape to capture, and a time traveler to confront." He walks off holding his head high. Der-Ditsy runs over and helps me back to my hooves. "Sorry about that, I forgot how he reacts to that." She says as she pats off some of the dirt. "It's alright... I guess. Your real name is Ditsy?" "Well... yeah. Somepony called me Derpy one day and it kind of just stuck. I don't mind it, I know my eyes make me look that way, but Ten-The Doctor can't stand it. He finds it really derogatory and demeaning." She says as we all begin to follow after the stallion. "... don't you?" "Well, no. I mean... it really depends on the pony saying it. Like, you and Cheesus saying it is fine, but... well... lets just say there's a reason I don't live in Cloudsdale anymore." She lowers her head a bit as bad memories plague her mind. I nudge her cheek a bit and offer her a reassuring smile. Growing up must of been hard for her- "Buck Cloudsdale. You were too good for that light headed city anyway." Cheesus says as he pushes his way between the two of us, stuffing some papers into his saddle bags. "Glad you could join the conversation." Derpy jokes with a slight chuckle. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Ain't your stallion over there? Quit talkin to us and get over there." He says as he nudges her forward. She blushes deeply and trots off towards the Doctor, tripping when he looks back to her. "So... anything else I should know about with the Doctor?" I ask Cheesus as we watch Der....DITSY, get to her hooves and try again... only to trip once again. "Well, don't expect to kill anything. We should see some things that will blow your mind and ruin any thought of normalcy. And.... hmm... well, anything really." I stop and stare at him, getting an even gaze back. "I'm going to hate this, aren't I?" "What are you talking about? Everypony loves their first Doctor experience. It's something you'll never forget.... whether you want to or not." I take a deep breath and continue on to the road with the limo-carriage. I walk over to the door... but stop. I look to the back of the carriage and see the blue box from before at the end. I feel my ear twitch as I begin to run over, fearing the worse. "MY CABBAGES!" I yell as I slide to a halt. The last cart of cabbages has been crushed, all of the vegetables inside now mush, all due to a tall blue box sitting in the middle of it all. "Sorry about that, didn't realize I hit anything when I came in.. luckily enough, you can just grow more later. Now, off we go." He says casually as he opens the door to the box and walks inside. Der.. DITSY, looks back to me before running in after him, shortly followed by Cheesus. I huff a bit as I stare at the damaged goods. There's a thousand bits I'll never see. I look to the door and sigh a bit as I begin to unhook my remaining carts. There's no chance I'm just leaving them here for somepony to just take. With my carts secured, I bring them around to the front of the box where I face the next dilemma. How am I going to get these in there? There's no way I could possibly get these in there without cramping... wait, why are we going into a box anyway? Well, logic aside, I couldn't get these in even if I wanted to. So I guess this is where we part ways- "You coming Cabbage?" Ditsy says as she sticks her head out of the door. HA! I got it right this time! "I can't just leave my cabbages-" "Bring them with you." "They won't fit inside this thing-" "There's plenty of room, c'mon!" Before I could argue any further she grabs my leg and pulls me in. I fight her a bit before I step completely into the... room. The inside of the box is a massive room. Inside this box is a room that is easily four times the size of the box.... why is this my life? The walls of this room curve in at the top and are filled with large holes. An orange backlight comes from each of them. In the center of the room is a raised platform with a hexagon station in it. Countless knobs and levers fill it as it's center goes straight to the top of the room. A bright blue light comes from beneath the station in the middle. The walkway going around the platform has a few random pieces of furniture, but not enough to stop me from pulling in all of my carts. "Welcome to the Tardis!" Ditsy says as she flies up to the station thing and follows the Doctor as he runs around it, twisting random knobs. "Told you." Cheesus says as he walk up to me. "Why didn't you leave those behind?" "I've already lost over half of my cabbages, I'm not losing these ones." "... whatever. We should end up on the Party Blimp soon enough." He says as he turns and walks up the steps. I slip out of my harness and run up beside him. "Party Blimp?" "Remember that blimp we got from Dirty Bits?" I nod. "I turned it into a casino." "... why?" "Because bitches love stupid expensive shit for guys to waste money on, that's why." I wanted to argue against that, but that fifty bit dinner we had last month says otherwise. "Well, how exactly will this get us to the Party Blimp anyway? Isn't it on the move... in the air?" "Don't worry my dear Lettuce Leaf-" "Cabbage." "-We'll be there before you know it. Now, hold onto something." With a flip of a switch the entire room begins to shake as a loud rumbling sound fills my ears. I leap to the stairs and hold onto the railing for dear life. I look over to see Cheesus laughing at me as he casually leans against the other rail. "Cabbage, sometimes you're a real pussy. You know that right?" "Hehehe, just like how you're a real dick right?" "Yup!" I roll my eyes as the shaking begins to settle down. I look over to the Doctor and watch as he resumes his twisting and flipping on the station thing. "And here we are, the Party Blimp! Now lets hurry up and get Squishy so we can resume chasing the Master." The Doctor says as he runs down to the door and holds it open. I run down and attach my carts before following everypony out. We've landed on an observation deck of the blimp. Somehow, this thing flew all the way out here. We make our way to the door and enter... the... If there is one thing Cheesus can do, it's making something overly... cheesy. The Party Blimp is exactly what I was expecting. Fancy red carpets, gambling table, sexy mares in alluring outfits everywhere, drinking, one massive party. All on a blimp. "Where do we start?" I ask. "I'll be back, he's probably in the back getting ready for a show." Cheesus says as he walks off. "... so... what do we-" "Hey!" I look back and see a chef pony walking towards me. "What are you doing with all of the cabbages out here?! Bring it them back to the coolers before they spoil!" "But-" "GET MOVING!" Before I could say anything else he storms back into the kitchen. I look to the others for help, but only get shrugs in response. "Cheesus said he would pay me for all the missing cabbages right?" "Well... if you paraphrase it." Derpy suggest. "... good enough for me." I begin to pull the carts towards the kitchen, having a bit of difficulty as I try to navigate through a thick crowd of ponies. I try to push my way through, but they seem to be driven by something- "They just started one of the shows on the other side of the blimp." I nearly jump out of my coat when I hear the voice behind. I look back and find the creature from before lounging about in my cabbages. "WHERE DID YOU COME FROM!? WHAT WAS THAT WITH THE EXPLOSION! GET OUT OF THERE!" I yell at him as I push him out. He swings himself around and get right in my face, sneering as he bares his teeth. "I-" "Wait a minute, the Doctor said to catch you." "And why are you so willing to help him? Do you-" "Well, he's a pony. I'm a pony. What else do I need?" He does a double take as he gawks at me, blinking a few times as he thinks about my answer. "... that's racist." I shrug as he steps away from me, dropping his shocked expression for a smug one. "But no matter, you cannot stop me. SECURITY! HE'S STEALING CABBAGES!" Six massive security ponies come running for me from all around the room. In a panic I begin to run for the nearest exit. When I suddenly come to a stop, I look back to see one of the security ponies grabbing the back cart. Making several cabbages fall to the ground. "MY CABBAGES!" I yell as I pick up one of the heads and toss it at him, hitting him square in the face. He falls flat on his back, making his friends pause and stare at him. I pick up another one and- "HIDE!" The Doctor yells at me as he yanks me from my harnesses and pushes me aside. I look around as all of the security ponies begin to move on the Doctor, giving me the perfect chance to hide. I look around real quick before diving under some random table cloth. I sneak my way back to the edge of the cloth and peer out from underneath as the Doctor begins to talk to the security ponies, showing them all a piece of paper. They don't seem to be buying what he's saying. I don't see the Master anywhere nearby, he must have escaped when nopony was looking. I don't think the Doctor can talk his way- "What the buck are you all doing?" Cheesus asks all of the ponies as he walks up with Squishy. He glances at the paper in the doctors hoof before looking back to the others. "Listen to your superior and go get the monkey!" They nod and run off in all directions. I was about to crawl out when a group of legs walk past me. I look back out to my cabbages and watch as the chef pony begins to drag them into the kitchen. I may be getting paid back for them, but that's still my livelihood there. And he's taking them away from me. But if I just jump out, I'll look like a huge perv! I'm not doing that... not again. I cuddle up with what could be the last head of cabbage- "Who the buck are you and why are you under our table?" Some pegasus mare asks me. She has a sandy tan coat and a darker tan mane that has darker streaks going through it. Beside her is a pegasus stallion with a deep purple coat and black hair. "Um... I..." "*gasp* Were you trying to sneak a peek at all of us!" She accuses me, making my cheeks burn. "No! I was-WHA?" I yell before somepony suddenly grabs me and pulls me out from under the table. "Coast is clear. Lets go already!" Squishy tells me. "The Master went this way, follow me." The Doctor says before running off with a group of security ponies. I blink a few times before running off with all of them. We make it out to the main floor where we see the Master enter a door at the other end. "Don't just stand there, go get that mon-" "He's an ape, a chimpanzee! ...and yes, go get him!" The Doctor corrects before charging down the hall. I begin to follow after him, but think back to my cabbages. "Where are you going?" Ditsy yells as I head for the kitchen. "I HAVE TO SAVE MY CABBAGES!" I yell before I burst through the double doors. All of the kitchen staff stop and stare at me as I stand in the doorway. I look to the back and see my cabbages being stored in their coolers, except for one of the carts. That one has been emptied out and cut up for whatever meal they're making. "Get the buck out of here-" "MY CABBAGES!" I yell as I run for the cooler. The chef tries to stop me, but receives a cabbage in the face. I open the cooler and run in, finding my three remaining carts. CLICK ... of course they would lock me in here. Why wouldn't they? *sigh* Well... I guess I'm going to freeze to death now. I guess it could be worse... CLICK "... I know keeping your cabbages cool is good for them, but I doubt your flank will appreciate it." The Doctor says as he stands in the doorway. I laugh a bit as I get up and drag my carts out of the cooler, giving him my thanks as I pass him. "Now that we have all of the members of our group, lets continue our hunt for the Master." He says as he runs out of the kitchen. I run out with him, following closely. "Hey there Cabbage, long time no see." Squishy says as he runs along side me. "Yeah, though I wish it was under normal circumstances." I pant back to him. "What's with the cabbages?" "Oh, I was on my way to Sweet Apple Acres when I ran into Ditsy. I haven't had a chance to turn them in yet." "Ditsy? And why are you bringing them with you? Why don't you just leave-" "MASTER!" I look forward as see the Master pause at a door. He gives a slight bow before running inside. We all charge towards it and- BOOM We all jump back as a large plume of fire bursts from the door. The Doctor mumbles something to himself before running in the charred remains of the room. The others run in after him, but I stay outside. My carts can't make it through the door. Several of the workers rush over and clear the area before anypony can get inside. "GET A DOCTOR!" Squishy yells as he helps a griffin out of the room. The griffin has that strange blue glow over him as well, though it fades away quickly. He sets the griffin down gently as a nurse runs to his side, attempting to stop him from bleeding out. The others come out as well, all helping another griffin out of the smoking room. When the rest of the medical workers arrive, we all back off to let them take care of things. "BLAST!" The Doctor yells as he storms off. "Can't you help them? Aren't you a doctor?" I ask as I follow after him. "I'M NOT THAT KIND OF DOCTOR!" He yells back at me. I back off a little, caught off guard by his harsh response. "Why the bombs? Why the running? What's his angle? How does any of this benefit him?" He asks as he continues pacing about. "Maybe he hates griffins." Ditsy offers "No, no. The Master doesn't hate hate any race... but he is targeting griffins.... GOT IT! TO THE TARDIS!" Before any of us could respond he runs off through the blimp. We share a quick glance before chasing after him. "What's going on? Where are we going?" Ditsy asks as we all run into the Tardis. He runs around the station and begins to flip switches and turn knobs as he mumbles to himself. "AND OFF WE GO!" The Doctor yells before flipping a switch. "Almost there... and... AHA! Here we go! Come now, we don't have much time." The Doctor says as he moves to the door. "Now, get ready for Birtaly, year 4139." He says as he opens the door. We step out together and awe at the city. Tall brick buildings surround the cobble stone road as mortar roofs reflect the full moon in the cloudless sky. Many of the windows have small planters underneath them, having long hanging plants in them. We walk down the empty street, our hooves echoing in the distance, and keep our eyes open for any movement. An eerie silence surrounds us, slowing our pace. Ditsy moves closer to the Doctor, nudging him nervously. "Don't worry, as long as we-" "RUN!" We all jump a bit as somepony yells at us from behind. Without thinking, I run to the closest door and charge right- THUD I fall back as my carts catch on the door frame. I quickly pick myself up and- CRASH I fall again when something large crashes into my cart. I roll over and feel my heart pause as the giant two legged beast snarls at me. "IT'S A WEREWOLF!" The Doctor yells as he pushes Ditsy back. The giant beast howls up at the moon as it towers over me. I begin to scramble back as it looks down at me, almost smiling as it bares all of those razor sharp teeth. It takes a step towards me- CRASH A brown blur crashes into the beast and knocks it over. Seconds later the others come running through the door and shut it. Squishy and the Doctor began to move furniture to barricade the door as Cheesus takes Ditsy to the back. "WHAT WAS THAT!? WHERE DID IT COME FROM!? DID YOU LEAVE MY CABBAGES OUT THERE!?" I ask as I get back on my hooves. "Really?!" Squishy asks, dumbfounded somehow. "It was a Werewolf! Just brilliant!" The doctor says with a large smile. "Did you see those massive claws? And the large canines!?" "Doctor." Ditsy says worriedly. CRASH A pony comes crashing through the window and slams into a bookshelf. From the pile of now destroyed books comes... me... only it's not me. It's a buffer version of me in black armor and holding some kind of weapon. My mane has been nearly buzzed off and I have a few scars over my body. The other me snorts in anger before raising the weapon and- PATPATPATPATPATPATPATPATPAT We all drop down as a loud banging sound comes from the weapon. Shards of glass burst from the window, nicking a few of us lightly. The banging suddenly stops as I... er, he, drops the weapon and pulls out a sword. "RAAAAAAAHH!" From outside the large beast jumps through the window and tries to tackle the other me. He rolls under it, slicing at its stomach and dodging the attack. The beast gets up, holding its bleeding wound, and snarls back at all of us. "What's going on?" I ask as I watch the wound close up almost instantly. "I'll explain soon enough." I, or the other me says before charging at the creature. It swipes at him with it's massive claws, breaking wood and stone with total ease. He dodges the first few attacks and manages to strike its knee, dropping it down slightly. But in an eye blink the beast backhands him and knocks him into the wall- PEPEPEPEPEPEW Massive red bolts come in from the window and slam into the animal, knocking it over. Two ponies and a griffin run in through the window and surround the creature. One of the ponies is a white unicorn with short purple hair and similar armor to mine. The other pony is an earth mare with a short creamy tan mane and armor. The griffin is wearing bright grey armor and has a large round shield in her claws. The shield's edges are made of a light grey while the rest is wood. "ANY TIME REGINA!" The white unicorn says as she continues to shoot the beast. "AAAAAHH!" The griffin yells as she slams the edge of the shield into the beast's face. "STOP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING! THAT'LL KILL IT!" The Doctor yells as he tries to stop the griffin, Regina. The earth mare stops him as Regina bashes in its head a few more times. "DON'T-" "Are you crazy!? Those things are killing machines! We have to-" "But it's a living person! We just need to rid the curse and-" "Doctor!" The other me says as he gets back to his hooves. "There is only one cure, and the Spartans are moving in to deal with him." "But that won't cure them! That will only end the lineage! You-" "Shut up scruffy!" The tan mare says as she pushes the Doctor back. "Scruffy!? I'm not scruffy! What about me is scruffy?" He asks as he checks himself. "Doctor!" The other me yells. "The Master has sent this small pack after us. We've already loss twelve ponies and countless griffins. This is happening. But you need to get moving already. The Master was the one who convinced Cain to send them here, you need to get moving to Appleoosa. Rose Pedal has what you need on the Day of Reckoning, now get going!" "What does Rose have?" I ask as the Doctor stares down the others. "He's done." The griffin says shakily as she backs away from the bloody corpse. She tries to wipe off the blood from her feathers, but it only spreads it. "I can't-" "The lives of millions of ponies is at stake. A few cursed dogs is nothing compared to that. Now get moving before the other three find us." He says as the other me picks up the weapon and begins to change a belt in it. "Oh, and Cabbage... take care of her." "Wha-" "AAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO." From outside we hear several howls from all around the city. "We'll escort you to the Tardis. Rarity, take the left. Butterscotch, you've got the right. I'll take lead while Regina provides support for them. Now get moving!" The other Cabbage yells as he runs and leaps through the window. The others follow his words and take up positions outside the window. "..." "..." "..." "Okay, Cabbage, what the buck?" Cheesus asks me. "I-" "I DON'T SEE RUNNING!" The other me yells. We all snap back and jump out the window. I run over to my two remaining carts and attach them to myself. BARK PATPATPATPATPATPAT The one named Butterscotch begins attacking a rooftop across the street. Whatever was back there has moved behind cover, though we can still hear its growling. "Cabbage, it would seem we're surrounded." The Doctor says as he walks out to the middle of the road. "Well, you know what they says." The other me says with a smirk. The Doctor smirks back to him before looking down the road to the Tardis. "ALLONS-Y!" We all take off down the road, running at full speed. Four beasts jump from the rooftops and crash down around us. The three soldier ponies engage the front ones, blasting them with their loud weapons. The griffin stops and rushes the last creature, raising her shield to catch its massive claw. "DON'T LOOK BACK!" Squishy yells as he takes off past me. I look back forward and aim for the Tardis, seeing Ditsy holding the door open for us. I push myself harder as I begin to near it. I'm going to be the last one to reach it, but- THUD "RAAAAAAHHHH!" I fall over as something comes crashing down behind me. The beast from inside the building has jumped onto one of my carts, destroying it completely. The creature stands up completely and roars again before diving down to chomp down at me. I close my eyes and wait- CRUNCH THUD I jolt a bit when the beast rams its muzzle against my chest. I open my eyes and see if trying to bite down on a head of cabbage that somehow ended up in the back of its muzzle. "Come on you! Come at me!" The Doctor yells as he picks up another cabbage head and tosses it at the creature, hitting it on the head. It finally spits out the cabbage and walks over to him, giving me a chance to escape. I run over to my remaining carts and attach them to myself before running the rest of the distance. Once inside, I turn- "CLOSE THE DOOR, CLOSE THE DOOR!" The Doctor yells as he runs past me. Squishy and I slam the door right in the creatures face and press our bodies against it, using all of our strength- "What are you doing?" Squishy asks as he casually stands beside me. I move away from the door and wait for the beast to break in... but it doesn't. Somehow, the door is holding. I can't even hear it pounding on it. "Time lord technology. Nothing can break through that... well, maybe one or two things. But not that! Now, the question is: Why is your future self sending us to Appleoosa?" "Well-" "And who is this Rose Pedal? I can't help but feel as if the name is familiar.... nope! Not ringing enough bells. Rose Petal... Appleoosa... that's a farming community right?" He asks as he continues to pace around. "Yup! I think the largest farm there grows cabbages." I say as I watch him continue to walk around. Ditsy, Cheesus and Squishy all blink when they come to the same realization. They all snicker a bit as they come stand beside me, watching the Doctor pace about. "Now what could a farming community possibly have that I would need? And why on that day? None of this seems to add up properly." "Well, I guess-" "Wait!... no, never mind. I thought I had it, but no. Well then, lets get going then! I'm sure we'll find whatever we're looking for when we get there." He says as he walks up to the center control thing. "Yay, I'm going home." I say un-enthusiastically, getting him to whip around and stare at me. Cheesus and Squishy both begin to laugh at him as Ditsy walks over to his side, giving him an encouraging nuzzle. "And by the way, Rose Petal is my wife." "... then why are you sending us there? What could possibly-" "Doctor." Ditsy says quietly, getting his attention. "I don't think that Cabbage will know what's going on. The best plan of action would be to go there ourselves." He smiles to her before running around the control station. VRRRMMM VRRRMMM VRRRMMM The loud noise fills the room again as several of the lights dim a bit. After a few seconds the Doctor flips a few more switches before walking over to the door. He opens the door and I can't help but sigh contently as I step out and view my farm. A large two story warehouse stands behind my single story home. Its tinted windows are dusty and seem as if they haven't been cleaned in a long time. The gutters are full of gunk and the gardens have weeds popping us all over. The fields look... well, I wouldn't say bad, I'd just say there's plenty of work to do. "Sweet Celestia... who... is that?" Cheesus asks as he looks a out to the eastern field. I lean over and smile as I see my wife trying to pull a plow through a field. She has a gorgeous light green coat and beautiful light red mane and tail. She has a cutie mark of a rose with three petals falling off. "That, would be my wife. Rose Peta-" "No she's not." Cheesus says, getting a slow nod from Squishy. "Uh... yes, she is." "Dude, don't lie. You want me to believe that that mare, that perfect ten right over there, is your wife." He asks as he points her out. "You should have seen her before we had kids." "... you've had kids." "Two actually." " That mare over there, the one with the perfect flank, gorgeous smile, beautiful teal eyes, slim frame, THAT MARE IS YOUR WIFE!? AND YOU'VE HAD TWO KIDS!"He yells as he steps towards her, accenting each of his arguments with an extra point. "... yeeeeah-" "She married you? Some average looking, nopony farmer in the middle of nowhere. You, she married you. What lie did you tell her and can I get a picture?" "...a-a picture? A picture of what?" I ask. He glances back to- "AHH!! What the buck!?" I yell as Squishy roughly grabs my sheath. "Oooohh, that explains it." He says as he feels it up completely. "No way." Cheesus says as he looks to Squishy in disbelief. "How close to you?" "Well... pretty damn close. I'm a little mad at you for keeping this a secret. We could have used a stallion with your talent back at Fon Do's." Squishy says before he finally lets go of me. I back away from him and cover myself as I gawk back at him. "Don't touch me like that! Save it for your coltfriend over there-" "My coltfriend? You think Cheesus is my coltfriend?" I blink a few times before looking back to Cheesus, getting an even more bewildered look from him. I honestly thought they had some strange thing together.. though I don't know why. Maybe it was just a proximity thing. "You may have the hot wife, but I've been in more poon than you've seen. My barn door doesn't swing that way-" "Pffft! Remember that one time we spent all night pretending to have sex to keep Storm Cloud awake? Classic." "AHEM!" The Doctor coughs. The three of us look over to him to see him, Ditsy and my wife staring at the three of us. I just smile to Rose, getting a smile back as she steps towards me. "You're late." She says as she stops before me. "Well, we ran into some trouble along the way, but we made it." I say as I stand before her. She smiles a bit before looking back to the others. "Are you all part of his unit? The Equestrian first battalion?" They all look to the Doctor, who thinks about it before shrugging yes. "Thank you for bringing me my husband in these dire times. If you're hungry, there is some food in the storage house, I'm sure we can spare something for some war heroes, it's the least we could do." She says with a slight bow of her head. "... OH! Where are our manners? You've been away from your husband for quite some time, haven't you?" Cheesus says as he saunters over to her. She blushes and tries to hide her face in my mane, getting a chuckle from Ditsy. "We'll go ahead and... move on to... our rendezvous point. Cabbage, Doctor, a quick word." "What are you planning?" The Doctor asks him as he glances back to the others. "We need to find whatever it is that was left for you, but we can't let her know we're not from this time. Cabbage, go bang your wife so we can snoop around." "... okay." "..." "..." "..." "..." "Well... that was easy." Cheesus says as he looks over to the Doctor. "You do realize-" "I may be a simple farmer, but I can still follow. You guys need to look around and I need to distract her. If I talk I won’t be able to follow with current events. Not to mention I would be having sex with my wife. Something I like doing. So... yeah. Unless you can think of a simpler plan, I'll go take one for the team." They look to each other before nodding to me. "Just, make sure to keep her preoccupied as long as possible. This farm looks fairly large." The Doctor says as he looks around. "And remember, fellatio is more than a tool to taste pussy. Use it wisely." I blink a few times before leaving the two of them, shaking my head slightly. "So... want to head inside and-" "YES! I- uh, I mean yes. Please." She says, blushing slightly. I laugh a bit as I guide her back towards our home. Rose leans against me during our short walk, keeping to herself mostly. I just back into her slightly and enjoy her company. The house looks well kept, like usual. Rose does a good job keeping things in order, though the lack of toys on the floor is unsettling. Though, it is the future... I think. I never heard the date so... I have no clue when this is. Judging by the furniture, and the lack of toys, I'm going to guess that this is the future. Enough to the point where the kids are old enough to be on their own... or enlisted... "So... where are Lettuce Leaf and Daisy Duke?" I ask as we slowly make our way to the bedroom. I feel Rose tremble a bit as we walk. "Well, I got a letter from Lettuce last week. He survived Cliffton luckily. Daisy sent me a letter about a month ago saying that she's found some pony- er, zebra." I pause and look back to her, getting a tired smile in response. "Zebra?" I ask. She just laughs as she pushes me onto the bed, slowly sliding her chest up my body. "Don't be too quick to judge Cabbage. He sounds like a wonderful stallion, and he even saved her life. But enough about them. I need you badly." I laugh slightly as I wrap my hooves around her shoulders and begin to kiss her neck, getting a low hiss in response. "What? You think you can leave a mare for a year and not expect some pent up heat to kick in? I need care every now and again." I pause and think back to what I told myself. "... take care of her." I stop kissing her neck and look up to her eyes, seeing the pained lustful look behind them. I lean up and give her a tender peck on the lips. Then another. She pushes her lips into mine and begins to become more forceful. I lift her light body and roll over, positioning myself over her. I run a hoof through her long mane as I take control of the kiss, trying to put as much passion into as possible. "Ahnnng, come on Cabbage. I need you." She moans as I nibble on her neck. I can feel her trying to grind her hip into mine, but I pull back as I keep the focus elsewhere. I hum my response as I press forward, barely pressing my tip against her entrance. She lets out a slow sigh of relief as I push further and further within her. Her tightness tells me just how frustrated she's been. "Hows that?" I ask as I finally bottom out. "Better. Thank you, I don't think I could have gone another cycle without this kind of release." She tells me as she brings a hoof to my cheek, rubbing it slowly as she stares into my eyes. I offer her a smile as I begin to move myself back and forth- Crrrrreeeeeeaaaaaaaccccccccckkkkk I look over to the door and freeze up when I see Ditsy and the Doctor sneaking into my room. The Doctor motions to me to look back to Rose, so I do so. Rose has her eyes shut in pure bliss as I hear the two intruders begin to search my room. I don't know if I can do this while they're in here. I need to help them somehow to get them out of here. "So... anything come up recently?" I ask as I return to my movements. She laughs a little as she begins to rock her hips with mine. "Really Cabbage? Small talk during sex?" I hear something fall over, so in order to distract her I begin to push my hips in with more force. "Well... I've been gone... for awhile... I want to... to... uh... make the most out of... my time.... hhhnnnnnnng, why are you so tight?" I can feel myself reaching my peak rapidly. I can't do that yet, it's too soon. Without a second thought I pull out and roll her over. She quickly sticks her flank in the air and lifts her tail, giving me perfect access. Thanks to her heightened arousal I slide in with total ease. "AH! Well... hnng, there was... was... harder... oooooohh yeah. There was that visit... from... that hooded pony. She gave me a letter... for... don't slow down-" "-sorry-" "A letter for some Doctor. It's in the dresser. Come on, rut me raw." I grapple her hips and begins to pound myself against her. I glance over to the side and see Ditsy trying to sneak her way over to the dresser. She blushes as she stares at my... work, to which I shrug. She opens the top drawer and pokes around a bit before pulling a letter out. "AAAAHH!" I look back down to Rose as she hits her climax. She thrashes around underneath me as I try to hold her in place. Eventually she pushes me out and makes me fall back on my flank. I sit there and pant a bit as she turns around to face me. "Heh, good lay hun." "Heh... thanks. So-" "Your turn." She lowers her head and begins to lick the tip of my member.I rest a hoof on the top of her head as I nervously glance around, trying to see where the other two went. "Hey, down here." "Sorry, just got distracted-" "Well then let me re-focus you." She says before engulfing me into her mouth. She bobs her head a few times before taking me down into her throat. "Okay I'm focused." I mutter as I watch her, wide eyed. She laughs a little, sending vibrations over my entire member, before pulling me out of her mouth. "Glad to hear it. Now, where could we ever have you finish?" She asks sensually as she strokes me up and down. I gulp a little as she licks her lips a little. She only talks about swallowing on special occasions, so I guess I've been absent for some time now. I freeze up again when I hear a soft gasp behind me. I close my eyes as I wait for somepony to find somepony else.... but instead I feel something way better. I look back down and watch Rose's mane bounce with her movements. Her tongue danced around my pillar as she rotates her head from side to side. I close my eyes again as I feel my sensitive member rub the inside of her mouth. "Rose, this feel great and all, but I want to finish... down below." I tell her as I rub her mane again. With a quiet pop she removes me from her mouth and smiles up to me. "Okay, come over here and lay down then." She says as she moves over, leaving the center of the bed for me. I position myself there on my back and watch as she turns away from me, tying her mane up. I run a hoof down the center of her back slowly, getting a content sigh from her. She looks back to me and smiles as I run my hoof back up between her shoulders. "Lay down." I say in almost a whisper. She nods and lays on her side with her back to me. I move against her so my stomach is against her, our sweaty coats mixing together. "When they took Appleoosa... I thought you had died," she tells me. "What's going to happen now?" "Now... now we... now we just keep going." "But-" "No buts. Everything will be fine. I promise." She nods as she looks away from me, obviously disturbed by something. CLICK I look back and stare at myself as I stand by the door... the future buff me... with a scar under my left eye. He looks between the two of us and tilts his head, motioning me to move. I look between the two of them before leaning over Rose, kissing her softly on the cheek. "I love you." I whisper in her ear before removing myself from the bed. She nods slowly as she pull the sheets closer to herself. As I move off the bed, the other me makes sure to keep as much distance between the two of us. He points to the closet before moving onto the bed and taking my old position. I can't help but watch as he begins to rub her side, whispering something to her. She seems to be loosening up, but keeps the concern on her face. THUD From out of the closet falls Ditsy and the Doctor. They're both sweaty and panting lightly. As they stand, I get a glimpse at the Doctors... thing, as it slowly retracts back into his sheath. We all share an awkward moment as we stare at one another. All blushing madly. "Hey did- oh shit... uh.... we should leave." Cheesus says as he bursts through the door. We all run out of the room and shut the door behind us, trying to avoid each others- "Dude... one picture. Please." Cheesus say as he stares at... 'me'. "Okay, so that was weird on too many levels. Let's go already... and no." I tell Cheesus. "Doctor what was-" "Whoa... put that away before it bites somepony." Squishy jokes as he walk in from the kitchen, eating a sandwich. "Good for you though-" "Anyway, I'm going to take a quick, cold shower. You guys... just stay out here." "Do you have another shower we could possibly use?" The Doctor asks. "Um... there's a rinse station out by the storage barn." The three stallions in the room stare at me, Ditsy being too busy leaning against the Doctor. "*sigh* I'll go use that then. The shower is down the hall to your left." I say as I leave my home. As I make my way out to the barn, I take a look out at my fields. Weeds take up most of them. Only a small section actually has crops, but they're not looking so good. Several large metal craft sit out there, the likes of which I've never seen before. I can tell there were several large explosion out here as well, due to the craters. "What happened here?" I ask as I open the door to the barn. "WHO GOES THERE.... RUN! IT'S THE GOBLIN SLAYER!" A group of green, four armed creatures begin to run out the large hole in the right wall, dropping their weapons as they do so. I watch as a group of like thirty of them run for their lives, terrified of... me. "What did I do?" I ask... nopony. I shake my head and move to the rinse station. I turn the knob and wince when I hear the empty pipes screech. Well, I guess I'll just have to wait it out. I begin to walk around the barn, inspecting it closely. The hole in the wall goes up to the roof as well, leaving the center of the building completely open. Everything is dusty in here from a lack of simple maintenance. I take a seat under the opening and look up at the sky. It's a bright sunny day, but something odd is happening. Wave of energy ripple through the sky. They remind me of the energy waves from the Crystal Empire, but seem more... viscous. As if a great magical fight is happening. "Cabbage, It's been nearly an hour, you ready to go?" Squishy asks from behind. "Huh? Oh, yeah. What was on that piece of paper?" I ask as I turn and walk towards him. "Well, the Doctor read it and tossed it aside. I don't know what it said, but it probably wasn't good." I nod as we walk back to the Tardis. I find one remaining cart and sigh as I toss the note on it aside. "Aren't you going to read it?" "No, I can guess where the other cart is. Those cabbages will help them out a lot. Let's just go." I attach the last cart and enter the Tardis. "Great! Now that you're here let's get going!" The Doctor says energetically as he runs around the control station. VRRRMMM VRRRMMM VRRRMMM The noise sounds off again as we travel through time again. I simply stand there and try to keep my mind off of what just happened. I don't want any of that happening, but I wouldn't know what to do. If I try not doing anything, that could make them happen, or worse. But if I try to stop them, that could be what makes them happen. I guess the only thing I can do is simply do what I think is best and go from there. "Alright, we have to take care of this before anything else." The Doctor says as he trots for the door. "Even the Master?" I ask as I follow after him. "... even the Master." He says stoically. We leave the Tardis and enter what I can only assume is the royal castle, due to the marble columns and intricate tinted window panes. I look forward and nearly faint when I realize we're in the throne room. "What are we doing in the royal throne room!? We're going to be put in jail!" I ask the Doctor as he marches forward. A bright flash ahead of me catches my attention. I look forward and see a tall bipedal being standing there, wearing a cloak that covers its face. "LUNA!" The Doctor calls out, getting- wait a minute. Luna? Like, the night Princess Luna? "Doctor? What are you-" she begins as she removes her hood. Her face reminds me of that being that destroyed my last shipment of cabbages, only more feminine. She has short dark blue hair and pale skin. Her bright blue eyes "This has gone on long enough. Stop before you cause a rift in time-" "I haven't done anything-" "You have done enough! Luna, stop thinking about yourself and think about what's happened. He wasn't suppose to know his mother. He was suppose to learn to trust Damian on his own. Time has changed because of that." "... I... I just miss him." She says quietly as she steps away from the Doctor. He shakes his head slowly as he steps closer to her. "Luna, I understand. Having to go on without the one you love is heart wrenching. You spend every day wishing that you could have gone back and done things differently. Wishing for another chance. But that's a luxury we all have to take. He has to die. That is the best ending, for all of us. There is no future with him alive. Let Miles go." "I CAN'T!" She yells as she drops down, covering her face as she begins to cry. "I can't let him go! I love him too much! If you leave me like this I'll just go see him again! This spell is too much for me to handle!" She begins to sob uncontrollably, not even bothering to try to hide it this time. The Doctor walks over to her and wraps her up in a light hug, allowing her to hold onto him tightly. "I can help with that." Cheesus says as he steps forward. "It's a simple enough potion that makes you forget. If you really feel the need to, I can help." "No, she knows how to fix it, don't you Luna?" The Doctor asks, getting a slow nod from her. "Do you see what I was talking about now?" "MASTER!" From out of the shadows of the columns steps the Master, followed by a hooded figure with similar build. Squishy tries to make a move on him, but stops when he reveals one of those loud weapons the future me had and points it at us. "See Luna, he can't understand your pain. He doesn't even wish to care for his own foal, what could he do for you?" The Master says as he walks behind Luna. "I don't have any foals you-" "Doctor." Ditsy says quietly, lowering her head slightly. The Doctor looks to her and slowly comes to the truth. "Ditsy... why didn't you-" "Now, dear Luna, if you want your beloved Miles back; kill them. Kill every last one of them and I'll save him from Death." Luna take a deep breath as she steps towards us. Her eyes are unfocused as she tries to choose her next action wisely. "Ditsy, why didn't you tell me?" The Doctor asks her quietly, unfazed by everything. "I-I wanted to, honestly. I didn't know until after you left though." She tells him as she steps before him, still keeping her head down in shame. "Ditsy, I would have wanted to have been there, I swear. Had I known, I-" "But you didn't." The Master cuts off harshly. "The Great Doctor, keeper of time, didn't even know his own lineage. Hows the brother by the way? I'm sure Boxy would just love to see you again. You're worthless. No family. No duty. No honor. LUNA! DESTROY THEM!" She lifts up her hands and has two light come from them that blind me. "WAAAAIIIIIITTT!" Ditsy yells, making Luna stop her spell. "Luna, think about what you're about to do! It's the Doctor! He does what's right because it's right! Not like the Master! All he does is hurt griffins and-" "Oh, I've never hurt any griffins." The Master says with a devilish smile. We all stand there quietly as Luna lowers her head and backs away from us. "Luna-" "He said he could save them! He said I would be happy again, that I wouldn't have to be alone anymore! Don't tell me that you wouldn't have done the same Doctor. Don't tell me that you wouldn't level mountains and crush houses if it meant Ditsy’s safety!" "I wouldn't put the lives of millions at risk! There's a clear difference when it comes to these matters! Why won't you understand!?" "No, you're the one who misunderstands. Luna, this is your final test. Destroy them and I'll bring back your beloved Miles." She nods to him and steps towards us, lighting her hands ablaze. "Luna, don't do this." The Doctor pleads as we all back away from her. "This isn't what Miles would want you to do. Think about the path you're choosing." "Wait." I say as she raises her hands. "That blue aura, back at the griffin attacks. That was you was you, wasn't it?" She falters a bit as she takes a step back. "You couldn't do it, could you?" The Doctor asks, advancing on her. "... no. No, I couldn't." She admits. "WHAT!? How could you not!? You know what they'll do!" "That doesn't mean they weren't innocent at that moment Master!" Luna yells as she turns towards the Master. "I couldn't do it! I couldn't let my anger kill them! It wouldn't have been right-" "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT'S RIGHT!" The Master yells, snarling as he shows his teeth. The other hooded creature runs points his weapon at her and- BOOM A small explosion hits my last cart and forces them to take cover as Celestia appears behind them. The doors burst open as windows shatter from dozens of heavily armored guards come rushing in. "MY CABBAGES!" I scream as I hold up a few destroyed cabbage leaves. "ARREST THEM!" Celestia shouts over all of the noise. The hooded figure throws off the cloak, revealing him to be an armored chimp. His armor is similar to those of the guards rushing in. His weapon matches theirs as well.He throws his hands out, making them catch fire as well, and slams them on the ground. FLASH In the blink of an eye they disappear, leaving the center of the room empty. "Where did he go?" A pegasus in the armor yells. "I think I know." Luna says as she flared her hands. A white fire wraps around her, swirling madly as it covers her completely. When the fires die out, the only thing left is a large scorch mark on the ground. "Captain Storm Cloud." Celestia addresses the pegasus. "Right. Jumpers! Fan out and search the upper levels! I want chargers hitting the perimeter and fighters in every room! MOVE IT SPARTANS!" He yells, getting all of the guards to run about the room. The Doctor runs off back towards the Tardis. "Where are we going?" Ditsy yells as we chase after him. "We have to try and chase afte-" THUD The Doctor falls back as he crashes into... Luna. She stumbles back as she tries to hold up a limp body. "Luna.... Luna... what is that?" The Doctor asks as he stands back up. "..." "Luna, what did you do?" He asks in a more serious tone. "I tried stopping him, but Dust Devil got in the way. I'm sorry, but the Master has died." She says as she lays his body down before him. "W-what? Dead? But how? Why didn't he regenerate?" The Doctor asks as he steps towards the body. He moves the face and and chokes on his tears as when he identifies it. "He said... he said death was a better option... than being stuck all of eternity with you. I'm sorry Doctor. But there was no saving him. We can give him all of his last rights if you wish." The Doctor hugs his body and begins to cry out for him, confusing the rest of us. "Why!? Why didn't you just come with me! Why didn't you just regenerate! WHY!? MASTER!" ...................................................................................................................................................... We all sit inside the Tardis quietly. The Doctor had taken the Masters body and cremated it. Nopony spoke. I look around the room and look at all the sad faces in the room. I look to Squishy and we share a look before I turn away from him. At least I will still be paid by Cheesus for my cabbages. "Well, all this sadness is too much for me. Doctor, come with me." Squishy says as he walks toward the center station. "Not now Squishy." The Doctor groans. "Nope, now." Squishy says as he grabs his tail and drags him over there. "Now, get me to-" "Squishy! I'm not in the-" "December twenty second. forty one thirty two. Take me to Miles's house. Don't ask, just go." Squishy orders. "I-" "I don't see button pushing." Squishy warns him. He sighs and begins to flip switches and turn some knobs. VRRRMMM VRRRMMM VRRRMMM Squishy grabs the Doctor by his tail and continues to drag him towards the door. "Well? You all coming?" He asks the rest of us. "I'm not-" "It was a rhetorical question. Now lets get going before it's too late!" Squishy says as he walks out the door, dragging the Doctor along the way. I look back to Cheesus and get a shrug from him. "Why the hell not?" He says as he walks out after him. Ditsy follows after him and I follow after her, fearing what would happen should I stay in the Tardis for too long. As soon as I step out of the Tardis, music fills my ears. The two story stone home before me has many lights on with the sounds of a loud party coming from inside. Squishy stops by the door and finally lets go of the Doctor. "Okay, the Masters death was sad... I guess, but we need to cheer up! We won! We saved the day! Won the girl," he says as he nudges Ditsy into the Doctor, getting them to blush. "Come on, turn those frowns-" "-UPSIDE DOWN!" Some pink pony yells as she suddenly appears from behind Squishy. She wraps her hooves around him and gives him a big hug before looking back to the rest of us. "What's up everypony? Why the long faces?" "Well-" "HAH! Get it? Long faces? We're ponies! Ahhh.... classic. No, but seriously, what's wrong?" "We've... lost somepony recently... very recently." I tell her. She frowns a bit as she tries to think of something. When she finally does, she bounces off of Squishy and walks over to the back door of the house. "I know what you all need." She says as she lays her hoof on the handle. "What's that Pinkie?" Ditsy asks. "To laugh." She pulls the door open just in time for something to come flying out. "GAH!" The Doctor yells as whatever was thrown goes straight into his mouth. He coughs and gags a bit until he finally gets it out of his mouth. "A pear!? Who's throwing pears? Why would- PEAR! I HATE PEARS! Why would they throw a blasted pear in my mouth! Pears, damnable things!" He yells as he throws the pears on the ground. We all stare at the pear on the ground for a second. Cheesus begins to chuckle, getting a death glare from the Doctor. Ditsy soon begins to giggle as well, followed by me and eventually the Doctor. Once the Doctor joins in we all begin laughing openly. Ditsy gives the Doctor a hug, making him laugh as well. "See, told you. Now get those hoove-things in here and PARTY!" Pinkie yells as she runs back inside. Once we all finish laughing the Doctor walks over to the door and holds it open for the rest of us. "After you." He says with a slight bow. The share a look before trotting inside. The inside is a fairly nice kitchen with several ponies talking and drinking. Food is on a table in the room to left and some ponies are dancing to the room to the right. I can tell that most of the ponies in here have had a bit more than a few, but overall it's warm and inviting here. I walk over to the food table and grab a few of the pastries there, feeling my mouth begin to water from just touching them. "Hey, I know you... pony!" Says.... him. "You. You're the one who destroyed my last shipment of cabbages." I say as the drunk bipedal creature slumps into a chair beside me. "YUP! That was me. Miles Eremita, at your... who the fuck took my drink?" He asks as he looks at his empty glass. Miles... oh... Luna's Miles I take it. ... ... ... I gotta say, I wasn't expecting her to choose a hairless ape. "What you staring at?" He ask as he points beside me. "Hey... you know..." "Know what?" He asks. "Nevermind. You're too drunk to remember anyway." I say as I turn back to the food before me. "Pfft, I solved soul transformation via Elemental micro atomization while drunk, you think I can't remember what some.... guy has to say while drunk? Try me." He says as he goes to take a drink from him non existent drink. "Who the fuck-" "Listen, Miles, I just wanted to say... it's alright. The cabbages I mean." He laughs a bit as he stands back up and stretches a bit. "Well, I'll look out for you when the time arises. Until then, I need to go beat the crap out of the fucker who took my drink. Vale." He stumbles away to the couch and face plants into it, passing out instantly. I chuckle a bit as I continue to get some food- "Um.... who are you?" Some lavender mare asks me. "Uh.... I'm... a friend... of Pinkies. She said I could get some food... and stuff." I lie. She eyes me for a second before walking off towards Pinkie. I sigh in relief before going back to my plate. Licking my lips in anticipation- "Cabbage, you need a drink." Cheesus says as he puts a cup in my hooves. "Oh, I don't drink-" I say as i try to give it back. "You do now, drink up." He says as he pushes it back to me. "I'd really rather not." I say as I push it back. "One drink isn't going to kill you. Come on, one drink." I look at the clear liquid in the cup and sigh in defeat. With one final breath I tilt my head back and pour the beverage down my throat- THUD .......................................................................................................................................................... I roll over onto my side and groan as a loud sound fills my overly sensitive ears. I blink a few times before finally opening my eyes, finding myself in the Tardis somehow. I look down and realize that I'm hugging a frying pan... why do I have a frying pan? "What's going on?" I ask as the Doctor and Cheesus race around the control station, frantically pushing buttons and whatnot. "We're going back to the correct time to get you to Sweet Apple Acres!" The Doctor yells as he we finally come to a stop. "Right! Now go knock yourself out and get those cabbages!" "Why are you so fixed on me getting my cabbages-" "Because I don't want to pay you that much!" Cheesus yells as he and Squishy run over. "And I promised to help the Doctor learn more about his child when we go to see her." Squishy adds. "So get going!" The Doctor yells as he nudges me forward. "I don't want to-" "It's a fixed point in time so go do it already... just don't touch yourself!" The doctor yells, making me wince in pain. "Huh?" Is the best I can manage as I stumble to the door. This is why I don't drink. "Because you already did it, you have to do it. Otherwise bad things happen. Sorry Cabbage." Ditsy says as she gives me the frying pan. "Try to do it in one hit." I look to the others and groan as I remember myself doing it. "Alright, alright. Let's just get it over with already." I say as I take the pan. They all follow me out of the Tardis where we find my past self gawking at us. I take the pan and lift it over my head, ready to attack. "Huh?" The other me mumbles mid swing. THUNK I wince from the memory of myself taking the hit and falling unconscious. Cheesus runs over and takes five of the carts and brings them over to me. Before I could move, Squishy lifts me up and sets me in the harness, strapping me in as quickly as possible. "It was fun, crazy, and all other things, now go make that delivery!" Cheesus yells as he points me in the correct direction. "Well... I'll be off then." I say as I look back to the carts of cabbages. This feels... right. "Be sure to write us!" Ditsy says as she holds the Doctors hoof. "Yeah, what good are friends if you never see them again." Squishy jokes. I pause for a second as I think about that. "Yeah, I guess we are all friends, aren't we?" I ask all of them, getting warm smiles in return. "Yeah. That's why I'm changing my ways and going back to the way things were before." Cheesus says as he wraps a leg around Squishy. "Really?" Squishy asks. "Pfft, no! Hoe, you owe me for an entire cruise! You better be ready for double nights at Fon-Do's!" He says as he pulls him into a playful head lock. "Shouldn't you be going?" "Alright, I'm off then! Good luck with Dinky Doctor!" I yell as I begin to run off with my carts. "BEST OF LUCK TO YOU CABBAGE!" Ditsy yells. I look back to the Doctor in time to catch him nodding to me. I smile back to him as I round the corner. I'm sure we'll see each other, soon enough. When I finally make it to the farm I double my pace, making it to the house in mere minutes. I find an elderly mare sitting in a rocking chair, eyeing me as I run up. "Hello there! I'm Cabbage Patch." I say to her as I walk up. "Call me Granny Smith." She says as she slowly gets out her chair. "What can I do fer ya?" "I'm here with the shipment of cabbages from Appleoosa. Five carts, right on time!" I say as she walks over to the carts. "Sonny boy, these are heads of lettuce." She says as she grabs one and tosses it to me. "What? No they... they... what?" I drop the head of lettuce and move to the cart, finding it filled with lettuce. The next carts tells the same story, as well as the last three. Nothing but cheap, non nutritional, lettuce. "WHERE DID MY CABBAGES GO!?" "Oh dear, where could they have gone?" A sly, strange voice says. I look over and gape at the creature before me as he sits in the rocking chair, knitting. "Discord, why ah haven't seen ya since... ya'll have ta fergive me. Mah mind aint right." Granny Smith says as she walks over to him, smiling. "Where ya been?" "Oh, you know me. I spend most of my time with Celestia. Speaking of which, I think I should head back there. We wouldn't want her thinking without me, would we?" He ask as he begins to chuckle deeply. "But... but..." "Ah'm sorry kiddo, but the best we can do is offer ya five hundred bits fer yer lot of lettuce. That's the best we can do." Granny tells me. "MY CABBAGES!" I yell as Discord begins to laugh. Author's Note Well then, this has taken quiet some time to make it here. Now, you may be asking yourself, what happened to the Master? Well, that's up to you to decide. I'm very excited to announce,Ponyrun. Delve into the world of Man of War and see if you have what it takes to save the world! That, along with some community gaming ideas, we plan to hear from you guys soon. Please comment on those blogs and check out my other new posts (Characters of Man of War., The World of Man of War., and New Brony Points.) Hope to hear from all of you soon, enjoy the updates (they should be back to their average size and frequency) and like always, Brony on!
Chapter 171 Five Stages...Chapter 172 ... of Coming Out of the Closet A/N: A direct continuation from chapter 167 Perspective: Storm Cloud Before I leave Miles's room I turn back to the pile of ash and stand at attention. "Storm?" Twilight asks before I start to salute. She waits quietly for me to finish, bowing her head slightly in respect. "Semper miles, semper amicus meus." I say before shutting the door to his room. I take one final breath before turning and heading down the stairs with Twilight by my side. "Storm?" "I can't explain it, but... I'm okay." I say with a slight smile. "Like... I don't know, it's hard to explain really. I'm still riled up from not knowing about the past two months, but Miles... it just seems..." "Right?" "No, that's not it. Like... hmm. Like somethings off. If he turned to ash, why are the bed sheets still there?" I ask as we stop at the bottom of the stairs. Twilight thinks about it for a moment before shrugging. "It's hard to say Storm. It's human magic, something we understand very little about," she reasons. I sit down and try nod to her reasoning. No sense in trying to think about something I don't understand. "You need cheering up." Twilight says as she sits before me. "Twilight, maybe in a bit. Right now... there's just a lot going through my mind. You're an alicorn. Miles is gone, leaving me in charge of the Spartans and the Terradisians. Two months are gone from my memory, and- what are you doing?" She doesn't answer me as she grabs my hooves and presses them against her lower stomach. "If you just lost something truly precious, what would be the next best thing?" She asks me, a smile quickly growing on her face. I feel her tummy a bit more as I begin to piece it all together. "You... you're... you're-" "We're going to have a baby." She tells me, laughing slightly as her smile doubles in size. "Twilight that's... that's... come here!" I say as I pull her in for a hug. I squeeze her in my arms as we both laugh in joy. A baby, I'm going to be a dad! ... ... ... ... oh... ... ... ...shit. "Everything alright?" Twilight asks as she breaks our hug. "Yeah, it's just that... this kid is going to have some pull." I say as I think about the possibilities. "What do you mean?" "I mean, you're the leader of Equestria." "Yeah... and?" "And I'm the leader of Terradisia as well as the Spartans." I tell her, letting her figure it out. "Oh... OH! Oh... my. That means-" "Yeah." "But then-" "I know." "So which-" "We're equal, according to both sets of laws. So..." "This foal will have some pull." Twilight says dreadfully as she looks away from me, deep in thought. I lean in and kiss her on the cheek, getting her to look back to me. "Lets just raise it right, and teach it to make the right choices. Deal?" She smiles and gives me a peck on the lips. "Deal. Let's go home then, we have a lot of planning to do." I shake my head as I stand with her. We walk over to the door and open it to find Easy standing there, moments away from opening the door as well. "Easy? Oh yeah, you're suppose to tell me something from Miles when he... well, you know. Relay the message for me please." I ask him. He stands there for a moment before walking past me, standing in the center of the front room. He stares straight up at the ceiling, right where Miles' room would be. "Easy?" "May I have your autograph?" He asks as he turns to us. "No. Easy, the message, please." I beg as I step towards him. "May I have your autograph?" He repeats. "Easy. Listen closely. The message from Miles, please tell me it. Please." I beg. He stands there for a moment, processing my request- "May I have your autograph?" I practically yell in frustration from his reluctance to answer me. "Storm, maybe he's broken or just slow to pick up on it. Lets just go home and come back another time." Twilight says as she nudges me towards the door. I reluctantly head out with her, hearing Easy ask the question at least two more times as we go. Once we're clear of the stone house, I let my mind wander back to fatherhood. "So, filly or colt?" I ask Twilight. "Hmm... I say filly." Twilight says. "Five bits says it's a colt." I say as I step a bit ahead of her. "Oh? And what makes you say that?"Twilight asks as she catches up with me. "Think about it. My parents had two colts. Your parents had a colt first. First born colts run in our genes. Face it, a colt is brewing in there." I say as I nuzzle Twilights stomach, making her blush and push me away with her wing. "Storm." She says in embarrassment. I just laugh along and guide her home, keeping the conversation on our future foal. She was right to say this would cheer me up. A foal. I'm a dad. Nothing could make me happier right now. I'm going to be a father! And it'll most likely be a colt... not that I wouldn't love it any less if it was a filly. It's just... colts are easier, for stallions. Like... I dunno, be a stallion and have a colt on the way. You'll get it. When we make it to the library I rush forward and open the door for Twilight. I don't want her stressing herself any more than she needs to. ESPECIALLY after what happened last time... not thinking about that right now. Happy thoughts only. Future colt, sport meets, flight lessons, teaching him to defend himself. Happy. Thoughts. Only. "Storm, why don't you put your armor in the closet while I go gather my supplies to make lists. I've got to get you caught up on everything that's happened so far and get you ready for all the parenting classes." Twilight say as she begins to head up the stairs. "Got it." I say as I move over to the closet. I open the doo- SLAM "AH!" I yell as the door forces itself shut, smacking me in the face. "HEY! WHO'S IN THERE!?" I yell as I try to push the door open. "Storm!? What's going on?" Twilight asks as she comes running down the stairs. "There's somepony in the closet! GET OUT OF THERE!" I yell as I put all of my weight into the door. "COME ON! COME... OUT... OF... THE... CLOSET!" "I'M NOT IN THE CLOSET!" I flop on the floor when the pony inside yells back to me. I blink a few times before looking over to Twilight, seeing her equally shocked expression. I slowly get back to my hooves and look back to the wood door. "... no... no, you... you died. You turned to ash... you-" "Are not in here, so go away!" "MILES! YOU ASS! WE ALL THOUGHT YOU WERE DYING! GET THE BUCK OUT OF THE CLOSET AND-" "I'M NOT HERE! PLEASE LEAVE A MESSAGE AND I'LL NEVER RESPOND!" Miles yells back, cutting Twilight off. "Miles! How are you-" "BEEEEEEEEP! GO AWAY! NO ONE IS HERE!" He yells again. "I knew it, I bucking knew it! I knew you were still alive. How? How did you pull it off? Did you find some more bracers? Of maybe some-" "GO! AWAY!" He yells as he slams what I assume are his hands against the door. "Okay, I've had enough of this. I'm going in there Miles-" "Twilight hold on." I say as I set a hoof on her shoulder, stopping her from charging her horn. "Let me talk to him, besides. He probably enchanted the room so we couldn't break in anyway." "... yeah! Yeah, what he said. Enchanted the room, no getting in or out. Just... just leave me alone for a bit to sort this out. BY MYSELF!" He yells as he drop to the ground. Twilight looks between me and the door before sighing in defeat. "Okay, I'll let you handle this. Just, please, get him out of the closet quickly. I have a thousand and five questions to ask him." She says as she adjusts her saddle bags on her hips, still eyeing the closet door. "Don't worry, I'll get him out of there." I tell her as I try to think of ways to convince him to leave. "Miles," Twilight yells to the door, "I'm glad you're still alive, really. Whatever has happened, it's a good thing. We'd rather have you alive than... a pile of ash. Whatever the problem is, just know that we're here for you, okay?" "..." "Miles?" "... Twilight..." He says in almost a whisper. "Yes Miles?" She asks as she steps closer. "Do me a favor." He says, even quieter than before. "Anything!" Twilight says eagerly as she steps closer. "Go away." He says loud and clear. "IT'S MY CLOSET! WHY DO YOU HIDE IN MY CLOSET ANYWAY!? MILES!? ANSWER ME MILES!" She yells as she starts to pound a hoof against the door, her mane and tail starting to flame up. "TWILIGHT! THE BABY! CALM DOWN!" I yell as I begin to pull her away from the door. "WHO THE FUCK WOULD EVER LOOK HERE? ALL YOU HAVE ARE CUSHIONS! JUST GO UPSTAIRS OR SOMETHING!" Miles yells back. Twilight starts fighting me as tries to get to the door, kicking and flapping her wings madly as she slowly begins to burn in rage. "TWILIGHT!" I yell, getting her to glare at me. "WHAT?!" She yells in a voice that echoes. After a brief moment pf pure fear I set her down and point upstairs, getting a bewildered look from her. "Yelling isn't going to solve this. Just let me deal with it, I can talk to him... please. Give me a few hours, that's all I'm asking for." The last part comes out a little more pathetic than I intended, but helps calm her down. "Fine, go talk to your coltfriend. I'm going upstairs and getting out of this dress." With that she turns and storms up the stairs, still pissed at Miles. I sigh as I move over to the door and sit against it. For a while I just wait patiently, waiting for him to talk to me. After about an hour I begin to remove my armor. He's resilient, but I have all the time in the world. Once it's all off, Twilight makes it back down and tells me she has to discuss some things with Celestia. I tell her to take things easy and not to mention anything about Miles. Something has him freaked out, so the less ponies coming at him, the better. She agrees, and gives me a kiss before leaving. "Bye Miles." She says as she stands at the door. "..." "Miles... I said-" "If you see Luna... tell her... tell her..." I can hear him to try and find the words, but still having trouble doing so. "Tell her what?" Twilight asks quietly as she steps closer. We share a look before both leaning in to hear what he has to say. "Tell her... never mind. I'll tell her... soon... maybe... eventually... I'm not here." Twilight rolls her eyes and walks out of the library. With her gone, I sigh as I stand and face the door. "You ready to step out of the closet Miles?" I ask quietly. "... but I'm not in the closet," he says quietly. "Right. How about we just open up with some dialog then?" "..." "How long have you been in there?" "..." "Miles? How long have you been in the closet?" "... twenty six hours... give or take." I smile a bit when he finally answers. Okay, all I need to do now is get him to lower his guard and force myself in there. He's been in there for a day now, he has to be hungry. If that doesn't work, the next plan will be to make him have to use the restroom. It's been a day, running water will be useful. "Okay, so you've been in there for over a day now. Don't you need to use the restroom? Aren't you hungry?" "I... I.. well... I ate before hiding in here... from your fridge." He admits. "That's alright. Do you want anything else? Maybe something to drink? You don't even have to come out, just open the door and I'll slide it in there." "No! No... I'm fine, the door doesn't need to be opened! Just... just back off!" He yells, slamming his hands onto the door again. "Come on Miles, sooner or later you're going to have to leave-" "How about later?! Why can't it be later?!" "Miles-" "Just another day!?" "Miles." "Twelve hours?" "Miles!" "Six hours!?" "MILES!" "COME ON! THIS ISN'T FAIR! WHY ME!? WHY? DON'T YOU HAVE A PREGNANT WIFE TO ATTEND TO? Just... just... go-" "Miles, if you tell me to go away I'm going to break down this door. Even if I have to hollow out this tree to do so. Deal?" "... no?" "MILES!" "COME ON! HOW ABOUT ICY VOID TRAINING LATER?" "That's it, I'm breaking in." I say as I go and retrieve my sword. "WHAT!? NONONONONONONO, don't do that! Please! Please? I said please-" "I'm going to test the door first, back away from it." I warn him as I hold my sword in my hooves. "On three-" "Wait! WAIT, just... wait!" "Two-" "Come on! Go tend to Twilight or something! I like it in here! Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please,PLEASE just leave me alone. Please." By the end he's practically crying from begging so much. "Damn Miles... what happened to you?" I ask as I lower my guard a bit. "It's as if you're an entirely new pony-" "DON'T CALL ME THAT ASSHOLE!" "THAT'S IT! YOU ARE COMING OUT OF THE CLOSET WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!" I yell before slicing at the door. A perfect line goes across it, breaking it open with total ease. "You liar! It wasn't enchanted at all! Why-" KER-PUNCH ... ... ... ... "Dad?" A distant voice asks. "Imma be a dad." I slur as I slowly begin to regain consciousness. After a few head spinning moments I finally get my control of my thoughts. "Dad, what happened? Who punched you?" Spike asks me as he kneels beside me. "Spike? Where did you get the clothes?" I ask him. He's wearing a long black jacket that ends in white with black pants and a white shirt, along with a red scarf. He's just as big as I remember him being, but definitely put some more muscle mass on. "Where do you think? What happened? Why is the door destroyed?" He asks me as he helps me to my hooves. I waver a bit as my head continues to spin, but stay standing somehow. "What hit you?" I raise a hoof to my cheek and slowly rub the large bruise there. I think back to my encounter and try to piece it all together, slowly getting the foggy images to clear up. "Something... something green. Spike! Come with me!" I yell as I quickly throw everything into the closet and begin to run outside, finding it be night time now. I shake my head a bit before taking to the air and flying towards Miles' house. "What? Okay, what's going on though? What are we doing?" He asks as he flies along with me. "We have to gather all of the Spartans, lets go!" Miles, you crafty asshole. And here I thought having a foal was going to be the difficult part. Author's Note Shout out to Shinedownman for deciding how long Miles was in the closet. Thanks for reading and like always, Brony on! P.S. I will be doing a lot of playing around with the titles. Be sure not to miss them.
Chapter 172 I Think, Therefore I AmChapter 172 I Feel, Therefore It Is A/N: Please read entire chapter and ending authors note. Perspective: Celestia "... your most immaculate and beautiful, most radiant and intelligent and beautiful-" "Just tell me what you want BlueBlood." I say as he grovels before me. It seems like every week he has something new to beg for, just for me to deny almost immediately. It wasn't so bad before, but now... now it's insufferable. "All I need is a squad of Royal guards, maybe a group of Wonderbolts as well, to go on a... on a dragon hunt." He begs, giving me his award winning smile as he does so. "... a dragon hunt?" "Yes! You see, there's this dragon that has-" "This dragon wouldn't happen to be six feet tall, purple, and in affair with the mare you happen to be infatuated with? The same mare who's the Element of Generosity and is free to choose to love whoever she wants, would it?" I ask, making him begin to cave in. "Well... u-uh... the thing is-" SLAM We both jump a bit as the doors to the throne room slam open and a guard comes running in. He slides to a halt and salutes, looking scared and out of breath. "Yes-" "Guard! How dare you interrupt the Princess and I! Leave this room immediately before I have you arrested for disorderly conduct!" Blueblood yells, making me facehoof. "U-uh, I think this is a bit more important." He says as he turns to the doorway. I look over and go wide eyed as I stare at the pony there. He's tall. Not as tall as me, but definitely taller than Luna, accented with his long horn. A testament to his magical prowess. His short, scruffy black hair flows along his neck, having an occasional white streak in it. From there, I look to the rest of him. His well built, muscular, emerald body is loosely wrapped up in what looks like a white bed sheet that covers his back end, but not his thick, elegant wings. Two deep blue eyes stare back at me, piercing through any facade I had, but being gentle at the same time. He takes one look around the room before walking towards me... Oh sweet mother of mine... He's hot... he's really hot? No, hot isn't enough, he's sexy. Is it getting warmer in here? Did somepony bring the sun in here? I think I'm about to melt he's so hot. I mean it's so sexy! I mean... "Everypony else, leave. Shut the doors behind you." I order the others as I stand up. The two others eye the two of us before leaving quickly, shutting the door as instructed. I take a deep breath before walking down the steps and meeting him at the bottom. We stare at eachother before I reach forward and place a hoof on his... ripped... muscular... chest- KER-FWOOSH I barely register my wings flying back, but he catches it immediately. He seems... shocked. Lost for words really. Then again, he's probably never seen a mare alicorn before. I know I've never seen a stallion alicorn before, besides father. I lean over and take a look at the rest of his body. He has his cutie mark covered up for some reason. I look back to him, seeing him frozen almost, still staring where my wings were, mouth slightly agape. I reach over and pull on the sheet, getting it to flow off his body. As it settles on the ground, I take in the view of his cutie mark. It's... nothing the likes of which I've ever seen before. A round shield with a red arrow sits behind a pony skull that has a sword going through it; entering from the top and exiting from the bottom. "How do you get a mark like this?" I ask as I reach out and touch it. "OH SWEET BARBRA!" He yells as he jumps away from me. "MILES!?" I yell as I jump away from him. I nearly have a heart attack as he picks up the sheet and tries to cover himself. "WERE YOU CHECKING ME OUT SOROR!?" He asks as he ties off the sheet. "MILES!?" I yell again as I stare at him. No. Nonononono, this can't be Miles. No... just... no! "Why did you touch my ass!?" He demands. "Oh sweet mother ew. Ewewewewewewew, I think I'm going to... oh *gag*... EWEWEWEW! WHY!? WHY?! EEEEEEWWWW!" I begin to spaz out as I try to force all of those disgusting thoughts out of my head. Why? Why did I have to think of all those stupid, dumb, moronic ideas before speaking to him!? WHY!? "Sweet Barbra Celestia... what the fuck." Miles says as he tries to calm down. "Where's Luna? I need to talk with her-" "NO!" I yell suddenly. "No, I mean-" "I think I can talk to me wife whenever I want to." He says matter-of- factly. ".... wife?" I ask as I feel my eye twitch. "Luna... is... your wife?" We stare at one another for what feels like an eternity before Miles begins to pace around. "I can't believe it. She never told you, did she?" "...no. I can honestly say this is new to me." I say as I stand there, dumbfounded. "Ooooo, I'm mad at her. I was on my death bed, she said she would. She's going to get it-" "Miles, this... okay. Setting everything personal aside, this is really bad." I say as I step in front of him, getting him to stop. "How's that?" "Miles... you're an alicorn." I state bluntly. "Really? I didn't see that." He says sarcastically. "Miles! This is serious! Alicorn leaders have always determined the mentality of the ponies of Equestria!" I say as I stomp a hoof down. "... I don't follow." I shake my head and walk over to the window, where I wait for him to join me. "Twilights an alicorn as well." I tell him, getting a shocked look. "What?! Did that beam turn everyone into a fucking alicorn?" "No, she earned her transformation. She mastered her calling of friendship and ascended into our rankings. Ponies will look to her and build the mentality of working hard. That, as long as you commit yourself, anything is possible." I tell him as I stare down at Ponyville. "... okay, I get the symbolism in that. But what does that have to do with-" "EVERYTHING!" I snap as I turn to him. "You didn't do anything to earn this! You didn't... Miles," I say as I take a breath to calm down. "You stepped into a room and hit a button, thus making you into an alicorn. Where's the symbolism in that?" "Well, technically you hit the button-" "MILES!" "Okay! Okay, sheesh. I get it Celestia, I really do. But what do you want me to do? Turn back? I can't do that. I can't even..." "... Can't even what Miles?" I ask him as he tightens his lips. "Miles?" He turns away from me and... and... "Ooooh. You can't use magic, can you?" "HUMAN MAGIC IS FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT!" He yells as he throws his hooves up. "I miss hands! Do you have any idea how long it took me to figure out how to WALK!? I only got in Twilights closet because the door was open!" "Pffft, what?" I ask as I begin to chuckle. "Soror, you have to help me! You have to-" "Okay, what does Soror mean and why do you keep calling me it?" "It means sister, now are you going-" "Sister! You... you think of me like that? Even after everything I've done?" I ask, slightly taken back by his sentiment. "Celly," he says as he expression softens up, "you've been a part of my family ever since you were little. There's a reason your parents would bring you to all those meetings back in the day." "Miles... I... I don't know what to say." "How about sorry?" We both look over to see Diamond Heart walking towards us. "Well, Miles Eremita, at last I get to meet you. Looks like I owe Shining five bits." He says before shaking his hoof. "Why do people place bets around me?" Miles asks, slightly confused. "Well?" Diamond asks me. "Well... what?" "I believe you were going to have a heart to heart with Miles." He says with a sly smile. "Well, go on. Address your brother already." I groan a bit as he eggs me on. Miles sighs as he steps towards me, making me back away. "What are you doing?" I ask as I walk into the wall. "Miles... Miles! Don't!" I try to push him away as he wraps me up in a tight hug, lifting me off the ground as he does so. "D'aaaaw, little Celly is scared of big brother Miles!" He says cutely as he swings me from side to side. "FIRST OFF, I'M BIGGER THAN YOU! SECONDLY, PUT ME DOWN!" I yell as I try to break his hold on me. How could he have such a tight grip if he just became a pony!? When he finally sets me down I back away from him and try to straighten myself out. "Okay, I'm sorry I was a pain in the flank before. But that's my little sister-" "I know, and I am sorry for the deception. Luna felt it was necessary because... well..." "What?" I ask him, getting him to sigh. "Well, she was afraid of how you would have reacted. She didn't want to lose either of us. She was also afraid of how you would think of her. She thinks the world of you Celestia, so what you say really resonates in her. Your disapproval was tearing her apart, so, she hide everything." "As demanding and urgent this all is, I am famished." Diamond says, cutting me off. "I say we have lunch together, what say you Miles?" "Oh, uh, sure. If it's alright with you." He says to me. "Yes, I think that would be... nice." I say quietly. "Good, then I say we have lunch in the garden. Some fresh air will do us all some good. You two go ahead of me, I'll be there shortly." He says as he begins to slowly walk off. I look to Miles and shrug before walking towards the gardens. "You okay with this Celestia?" Miles asks as we step outside. "It's just lunch Miles-" "No, I mean me and Luna." He says, making me stop. "*sigh* I know you did." "Celestia, I love Luna." He tells me as he stands before me. I straighten out and wait for him to finish. "I love her, more then you could imagine. I want to be with her for as long as possible. I have no clue how long this body will even last, but I don't want anymore secrets. I want to be with Luna. To grow a family, and I want you to be a part that. No more beating around the bush Celestia. Are you okay with us? Is this something you want to be a part of? Definitive answers Celestia, yes.... or no." I step around him and walk into the statue garden, trying come up with my answer. Miles runs along and stay by my side, eyeing me the entire time. When we come across a reflecting pool I take a seat beside it and motion for him to sit beside me. "Miles," I start but stop when I lose the words. "Yeah?" "... I... I can't say no." I admit to him. He stays quiet, letting me explain myself. "At this point, I not all too surprised you and Luna are married. It makes a lot of things make sense now that I think about it. Just like you, Luna is the most important thing in my life. And I can see that you truly care for her. You've fought for her, picked her up when she was down, saying no at this point... is pointless." "Celestia-" "And now... now you're an alicorn. There is no reason you two can't be together. There is nothing stopping you two from making a family. I can't say no to that, not for Luna." "Celestia, that's not what I was asking." "I know, and I'm getting there. Your knighthood and ranking would automatically make you two the leaders of Equestria, King and Queen. Miles, I want to say yes, because I know you truly love my sister. But I can't until I know that the ponies of this country will be taken care of. We're not a nation of war, like Terradisia." "Celestia, I know." He tells me simply. "... then you understand-" "Celestia, what does a king do?" He asks me as he looks back to the pool of water. "Lead a nation. Make the decisions that will lead the ponies, economy, and world affairs-" "And make the laws." Miles finishes as he dips his hoof into the water, making a ripple go across it. "Celestia, I do not intend to lead Equestria." "Then-" "So, as King, I can suspend my title and rule. I can denounce any title they try to bestow onto me. Celestia, a king is only king if they choose to be. And I do not choose to be. I can, and will, leave this nation to it's original leaders-" "Miles, it doesn't work like that-" "Who can tell me otherwise?" He says with a smile as he lifts his hoof from the water. "As of right now, I'm king. Who is higher than me?" "... Miles... It doesn't work like that-" "Who has the authority to tell me otherwise?" He asks with a smug smile. "Well.... technically nopony-" "And doesn't this solve our little problem?" He asks as his smile begins to grow. "Well... I suppose so... but-" "No buts. You with me or not?" He asks as he offers me his hoof. I look down to it and try to think of some way this could go wrong... "*sigh* Miles, you're crazy. You realize that right?" I say as I shake his hoof. "I am the guy who married your sister. That took a bit of insanity to do." He jokes, getting both of us to laugh. "So..." "If you keep to that plan, then yes. I am fine with everything-" GLOMP "Okay, okay easy there big guy, you can let me go now." I say as I sit there, being squeezed to death by him. "Sorry." He says as he sets me back down. "That's been the only good news I've had today... well... you know what I mean." He says as he rubs the back of his neck. GRUMBLE "Hehe, hungry?" I ask with slight chuckle. "Yeah, well, I've been in Twilight’s closet for the past twenty six hours. Some food would be nice." He says with a slight blush. "Well then, get your flanks over here." Diamond Heart says as he walks up to the two of us, levitating a tray of food with him. He charges his horn and makes a table and three cushions appear. He sets the tray down and lifts the top off, revealing a couple of B.L.T.s. "Shall we?" I ask Miles as I walk over and take a seat. He takes to the one to my left and eyes the sandwich a bit, giving it a few test pokes. "What's in this?" He asks as I lift mine up and begin to eat. "Berries, lettuce, and tomatoes. Along with wheat bread. Why?" Diamond asks. "Berries... I can't eat this. I'm allergic to Strawberries." He says as he pushes the plate away. "So, Diamond Heart, who are you?" Diamond laughs a bit as he sets his sandwich down. Oooooh, I've seen that look before. I think I'll sit this one out. "Well, I am Diamond Heart. Eldest in the Royal Family and head adviser to the Crown. And who do I think you are?" He says, okay, there's the bait. Will he take it? "Who you think I am? I can't tell you who you think I am, only you can decide that. I can tell you that my name is Miles Eremita, I'm grand Captain of the Spartans, I'm from Topaz Falls, and that I'm allergic to strawberries. Anything beyond that is up to you? Why do you ask that like that?" Well... I've never heard an answer like that before. Diamond chuckles a bit as he toys with his plate, thinking on what Miles said. "Oh, in my younger years I would have thought this a silly question as well. But, in my years, I've learned that this question show how you view not only yourself, but the world around you." He says before taking a bite from his sandwich. "Huh, and what have you learned from that?" Miles asks as he pokes the sandwich a bit more. "I think, therefore I am. I've been to the tribes of Zebrica, the trading hubs of Tauren, the bazaars of the ape empire and all I can tell you is that I exist. That the only thing I can prove in this world is what my mind can perceive and imagine. I cannot prove anything. I simply am." "Pfft, that's so... limited." Miles scoffs as he looks back to Diamond. "Maybe, but it is how we all go through life." Diamond reasons. "Well, maybe for you. I feel, therefore it is." "... excuse me?" "Once you awaken your soul, you learn what is reality. Soul is reality, anything else is imaginative. I can- or used to be able to, reach into the world and interact with it via soul fire. You can't, and will never, understand this until you experience it for yourself. I feel, therefore it is. I've felt the souls of living beings. I've felt the soul of plant life and the earth and it's metals. Each having a distinct and characteristic feel to it. I feel, therefore it is." When he finishes up I look over to Diamond and laugh at his shocked look. It's not often somepony comes along and teaches him a new way of viewing life. I clear my throat to gain their attention as I stand. "Well, it was nice to hear another philosophical debate from you Diamond, but we must be off. We have-" "If it's all the same to you Celestia, I need to go check on something." Miles says as he stands. "What's that?" I ask. "Outpost Zero." Author's Note So, yeah. He's an alicorn. I know this is something that many people dislike (and hate) but please stick with it! It will be explained (as quickly as possible), I am going to do things with it, and I will neither confirm nor deny whether this is permanent. All I will add is that I did have other ideas of other routes to take from here, but this one has the best ending out of all of them. This was to an ending that made fifth and forth arc. Otherwise, this would be it. Also, shout out to Hushed Shadow for picking what's for lunch. Brony on!
Chapter 173 Past PresentChapter 173 Past Present Perspective: Miles As I begin to walk out of the gardens, towards the crystal caverns, Celestia runs up and steps in front of me. "Hold on Miles, you can't just walk through Canterlot like this." "What? I'm one of the only people here covering themselves." I say as I look back to the bed sheet. That was one hour of well earned work. "No, I mean you can't just walk through Canterlot as an alicorn. Ponies would... well, we don't want to cause a panic. Speaking of which, how many ponies saw you like this?" "Well, not counting your guards, Diamond, Blueblood, and the castle staff... just Shadow." I say as I think back to that encounter. Tumbling, stairs, and a screaming little filly. Yeah... I'll have to talk to her next chance I get. "Okay, that's good. Look, you need to keep yourself hidden until we can get this sorted out. Bringing a new alicorn into the world is... well... lets just say we nearly had a war with the goblins because of Twilight." Celestia tells me as she stares off into the distance. "... really? Why?" "Really Miles? It's not obvious?" She asks me, to which I shrug off and continue walking towards my destination. "We're immortal beings Miles. Not to mention the raw amount of magical energy we hold is... daunting. Other nations will look to you and judge us by your actions." "... so... unless I publicly denounce my Equestrian ties, I'm a world leader for you guys.... cool-" "It is not cool, Miles!" She snaps, making me chuckle. "Calm down, Soror. I know it's not a joke. Don't worry, first chance I get, I'll be sure to make the entire world know who I am and where I stand. But until then, I need to get to Outpost Zero. So unless you're going to teleport me there, I suggest-" FLASH "... see? What that so hard?" I ask her as I walk into the cavern. "And... thanks for coming with me." I tell her coyly. "Well, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested to learn more about this place." She admits as we walk together. "Can you really not use any magic? Not even some basic levitation?" "*sigh* no. It's a completely different mindset of magic, Soror. This is more physical, where my magic was soulful. Not to mention mine required movement, where yours is completely mental. It doesn't make an ounce of sense to me." I tell her as we stop before the open gate. A few ponies are inside the still lit room, examining the runes and machinery. I glance over to Celestia, making her smile back to me uncomfortably. "What? You really think I was just going to let this sit here and not try to learn anything from it? Human technology is fascinating." She tells me as I step into the room. I cough aloud and wait for everyone to look to me, only having to wait a few seconds. Once I do have their attention, the room falls dead silent. "Well, I think we all know who's in charge. I need two things from all of you. The first one is your continued silence. I was never here and you never saw me. If word gets out about me, I'll blame all of you and have you all castrated. Secondly, I need you all to clear this room. Now." Without any arguments, they file out of the room as quickly as possible. Most of them stare at me as they do, but I don't blame them. I am almost half naked after all. "Miles, why would you threaten them like that?" Celestia asks me as she steps in. "Are you kidding me? You're the one who made a law that would have had me castrated and killed had I been with Luna before marriage!" "What!? No I didn't!" She says as she takes a step back. She pauses and thinks about- "OH! EW! Don't talk about my little sisters sex life! EW EW EWEWEWEWEWEWEWEW! OH *GAG* I think I threw up in my mouth. Blech." I laugh at her over-reaction. It's good to know I have an ace up my sleeve to make her uncomfortable. "Hey, you're the one who made the law. Not me." "Yeah, maybe a thousand years- ooooooh. That explains it. No, that is not a current law. Luna was thinking of one we had a thousand years ago. No law like that exists today." "You know, Soror, despite your constant freaks outs about Luna and I getting it on-" "I hate you right now-" "You seem to be taking all of this in stride. I mean, I thought we'd still be yelling at each other right now." "To be honest, had this happened earlier, I probably would have. But at this point, I just... I don't know, I just want the fighting to end. Somepony has to lose, and I guess my losing is better in the long run really. At least now that is. And... well... I'm sorry, Miles. Many of the things I did were not right. Could you ever forgive me?" "Of course." "Just like that? No heartfelt talk about family? No angry rant? No-" "Celestia. We wouldn't be here now if it weren't for what happened before. So, with everything that's happened, forgiving you is easy." I tell her, giving her a warm smile. "Well, thank you Miles-" "Plus I get to just destroy Luna when she gets back so-" "*GAG*" "You okay?" I ask, chuckling. "Mmhmm." She says as she holds her mouth shut and tries to force herself to swallow something. "Alright, enough talking. Let's get this over with already." I say as I walk in and head towards the main mechanism. Hours go by as I inspect the enchantments in the room and the machinery. The enchants follow a stabilization pattern, though one I've never seen before. Though I don't understand why they would need two looping ones. Not to mention that I've never seen a looping enchantment before. Something like this would need to be set by some kind of genius enchanter, someone who knows something no one does. It's almost on the same level as my duel enchanting, maybe same level. Maybe. The main cannon is something I've only heard about. The back is an archaic condenser that shoots out a beam of high energy. At least twenty thousand power, easy. The barrel of the canon seems to be made into sections that are held by two long slides on the side. If I had hands I would try to move it, but with hooves I guess I'll have to wait for Celestia to wake up. The last part I check out is the computer station. The terminal is one of the older, but more sturdy models. Whoever designed this, they built it to last. After some failed attempts to type- hooves aren't great for finger sized keys- I finally decide to wake Celestia up. I walk over to the side of the room she's sleeping in and bring myself right beside her ear. "Soror.... Celly... OI!" "Huh!" She says as she jolts awake. "I need your help with something, come over here." I tell her as I go back to the computer. She does a few quick stretches before coming to my side. "Okay, what do you need?" She asks groggily. "Why are you so tired? We've only been in here for a few hours." I ask her. "Miles, it's ten at night. You've been in here for half the day. Didn't you see me leave to lower the sun?" "Huh, guess I was distracted. Anyway, I guess we have to do this the hard way. I'll point to a button, and you press it. I need to get on here. DON'T PUSH ANY BUTTONS I DON'T TELL YOU TO PUSH!" She nods quickly and we start the long and arduous task of typing entire functions. Three Hours Later "... and then hit enter." "Which one is that?" "That one. The same one as before-" "What?" "Nothing! Okay, great. We're in. Lets see... one message, and power readouts along with a charter of names. Hmm..." "Miles, is this where ponies came from?" Her question catches me off guard, making me give her a double take. "Are you serious?" "Well, it turned you into a pony, why not?" "Celestia, there were ponies before this machine was made. You were born before this was ever set up, let alone used. Why would you think that?" "I don't know, it just came to mind." She says, slightly blushing. I shake my head and click the message. Mouses, big buttons, great invention. Date: File Corrupted, Please Reload Programming I take a deep breath as the video begins to play, showing Susurrans sitting before us. The Background is of the room we're in now, only it's dimly lit. Susurrans is sitting in his gold trimmed armor with a bandage wrapping one of his eyes. His normally well kept brown hair is disheveled, mostly due to the bandage. He's just sitting there, spinning the tip of his claymore into the ground. It takes him nearly five minutes to finally look up to the screen. "Miles. Well, you made it. Welcome to Outpost Zero. The last step for humankind. Once we left New Garnet for the surface, the Unfamiliar stopped chasing us. We've spent a month trying to make it out here, but people are still hysterical. They believe that they'll come after us, that we need to hide. We've made contact with a small group of... well, I would say ponies, but they all lacked the essential parts and were half the size. They attacked us, on site. We killed them. Every. Single. Damn one of them. I don't think they knew what they were going up against. They rushed a scouting group and ran into our contingent. Even with their lesser magic, it's hard to stand against fifty thousand armed people. But, even with that, we still have one massive problem. Discord. He's still chasing us down, toying with us. One day he comes and slaughters hundreds. The next, he makes all of our food turn into Bio-bots. We've run out of choices, it's time for a change. I can't explain how they're still here, but the... 'ponies', were untouched by the Unfamiliar. I guess they didn't see them as a threat or something. So, that's where the emergency council has decided humanity should hide. This... this device is to assure us our survival... it's... well, the enchantments were made by the best damn mage I know. How I wish she was here... she would know what to do... what to say... Miles, there were so many things I wanted to tell you. So many things I wish I had the courage to do. I know that life was hard for you, and for that I am sorry. Had I known-" THUD "Heheheh. Ooooooh Susurrans." A somewhat familiar voice calls out from behind the bulkhead. It's... I can't quite put my finger on it. I know that voice, I just don't know whose it is. Susurrans sighs as he takes his sword and puts it away underneath the computer. "This is it Miles. I hope you end up somewhere... better. You deserve better... far better than me. This the Grand Captain of the Spartan Regiment, Terra division. Who wishes to challenge me?" He says as he stands and faces the bulkhead, setting his fist on his hips. KER-THUD The door rips open in three slices. From the other side slithers a beast. A certain beast I've only seen in statue form. He takes a few steps and chuckles as looks over the mechanism. "Really Sussy? You have to ask? I'm a little offended, really. Now, where are the others!" He asks as he hovers in the air a bit. Susurrans just ignites his hands and takes his stance, readying himself completely. "For the death of countless souls and the- SSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHSHSHSSHSSHSSSSSSHHHHHHH" "What's going on?" Celestia asks. I just sit there, watching the fuzzy screen. He couldn't say it. He just couldn't fucking say it! "HE JUST COULDN'T FUCKING SAYING IT!" I yell as I slam my fist onto the metal console. "Miles, calm down-" "No! No I will not calm down! This entire journey was wasted on the belief that he would finally fucking say it! AND HE COULDN'T DO THAT! FUCK!" I yell as I push myself away from the console and begin to pace about. I can't even think clearly right now I'm so angry! Why!? Why couldn't he do it! I wasn't even in the fucking room! He didn't even have to say it to my fucking face! "Miles... Miles, look. It's blatantly obvious that you are his son. You look just like him. You-" "I know I'm his son! But it's not the same without him fucking saying it! He's not my father until he fucking admits it!" I yell back at her. She reels back, shocked from my outburst. I sigh and step away from her. "I'm sorry. It's not right to yell at you, you don't deserve that." "Miles... you knew? For how long?" Celestia asks me. "Only recently, post my arrival. Once Luna made some comments about us, I started think on it. I did some analysis, based on features and build. Plus, once I met my mother, there was no arguing it. Susurrans Bellum was my... biological father. I went on this little adventure, racing death, in the hopes he would finally admit it. And he didn't. He... he just couldn't do it. Why? Why couldn't he do it, Celestia? Why was it so hard for him? Was it me? Did I do something? Was I-" "Stop, just stop Miles." Celestia says quietly. I rub my eyes as I try to stop the tears from breaking out, losing a couple in vain. "Miles, I can't tell you why he didn't say it. Nopony can. It's just... something you'd have to ask him yourself, and... well, he died thousands of years ago." "Thanks Celestia, cheered me right up." I say as I walk away from her, ending up beneath the machine. "Miles, I'm sorry. Look, sometimes you just don't get what you want. I once tried to use a time traveling spell to find what killed my mother, but there are just some things you can't change. I-" "Wait, what?" I ask her as I turn around. "You did what?" "I tried to find out what happened to her. Tales say she died of a broken heart and turn to the cosmos, but I don't ever remember her being sick. So I went back to-" "You know a time traveling spell... this entire time you've known a time traveling spell." I repeat as I step towards her. "Ever since you've know me, and that I've traveled through time, you've kept this secret. Not even mentioning it. The ENTIRE time." I say as I continue to step towards her. She backs away from me until she bumps into the wall, where she tries to offer me a smile. "I guess it slipped my mind." She tries. "Do the spell, now." "Well, two problems. One, the spell isn't perfect. You can only be sent back once and only for a few seconds. Two, I wouldn't know when to send you. That recording had no date-" "FUCK!" I yell as I pace back towards the machine. "Fuck... yeah. And only a few moments isn't enough. There has to be another way." "Well, where are the elements of Harmony?" Celestia asks me as she stands back up. "If I had them, and were able to use them, I could send you back with a bit more time. But then there's still the problem of the date." "The Elements are back home. I tried picking them up but... yeah. How do any of you do that by the way?" I as her, getting her to shake her head. "Okay, let's go then." She says as she turns and- THUNK SSSSSSSSSSTHUD Ooooh, that looked like it hurt. She had turned a little too fast and smacked her horn against the bottom of the machine. The cylinder part of it slid forward, knocking her over and revealing a bright, shining compartment. Several different hues fill the room and force me to close my eyes. "What is that?" Celestia asks as she gets back up. "I'm not sure, try grabbing them." I reply. I hear her ignite her horn and begin to fumble around with the machine. After a few tries, she finally gets them to come out, ending the bright light. VVVVRRRRRMMMPPPP "I don't believe it." Celestia says. I look back to her and feel my head tilt as she stands there with a large tiara on her head. "They're the Elements of Harmony. How did they get in here? I don't understand, how did these get here? How did they attach to me? Miles? What's going on?" I step closer and examine the Elements a bit more closely. I can't search them magically, but they are acting like the Elements. Super charged, but most likely them. "Well... I have no clue. My best bet is that they used these to provide the power for this. Do the other Elements still exist?" I ask, getting a nod from her. "So, as of right now there are three pairs of Elements. Mine, yours, and these ones." I say as I begin to examine the inner workings of the machine. "Right. You got yours from Topaz Falls. I got mine from some ponies in Roam. And these ones seem to have been here the entire time. What should we do?" I look at the compartment where the elements were held and see a small gem sitting there. "Hey Celestia, you missed one." I tell her as I point it out. She looks up at it and wiggles it out with her magic. "It looks like there's a message in there, try adding some energy to play it. "How can you tell?" She asks me as she brings it down to herself. "Can't you see the energy?" I ask, getting her to re-examine it. "Anyway, just play it." She nods and begins to add her energy to the gem, making it play its message. "Professor Qui last recording. Date: October sixteenth, eleven thirty three. The final group of people willing to undergo treatment have finally awoken. Now we begin our next journey. Though I have lost my life work and must now work through the hardships of primitive living, it's better than death. We've already sent out a group to start a settlement camp, and so far they've been successful. No threats from intelligent life. Some other locals have even tried trading with them. Camp Romeo, Omega, Alpha, Major will be our next destination. I only regret letting that buffoon Inficiunt naming our settlement. It makes no sense whatsoever. This is Professor Qui, Dean of space time analysis at Stella Ficor, signing off. Forever." Celestia and I look to one another and smile. "We have a date." I tell her. "We have power. Anything else?" "I think... I think you should take an extra set of Elements with you. If I'm going to retrieve them from your friends that is." FLASH ... FLASH She reappears with an open jewel encrusted chest. inside are two sets of elements, each taking their base stone form. "Okay, you only get one shot at this, so don't mess it up. You have to give one set to whoever is going to settle Roam, and the other to whoever needs it for the machine." Celestia says as she shuts the case and gives it to me. "Right. Sounds good... is this spell going to hurt?" I ask as I fumble with the case, trying to keep it in my hooves. "No, but you might get a little dizzy. Now, hold still so I can cast it. Remember, you will only have a few moments. There's no telling how long you will have with the Elements powering the spell, so don't waste anytime." She says as she charges the spell. "Got it. Thanks Soror, couldn't have done this without you." I say as the energy begins to wrap around me. "Good luck." KER-FLASH
Chapter 174 When In Roam...Chapter 174 ...Do As Discord Says Perspective: Celestia With a bright flash Miles vanishes from the room. Hopefully he'll find what he's looking for... I hope so at least. I glance around the room as I sense something off. It's as if somepony's watching me. I can feel the hairs on the back of my neck begin to rise as my heart begins to pick up its pace. Somepony's definitely here. "Show yourself!" I yell out to the supposedly empty room. "Heh heh heh heh." A deep voice fills the room, making me take an aggressive stance. "Discord." I growl as I look for him. "Stop with the tricks and show yourself!" "OH, but you know how I love to play little games with you Celly." He says mockingly as he appears as a carving in the wall. "So it would seem as if you've found my humble beginning. How quaint. And to think I almost forgot about this place. Though you'll have to forgive me if I forget the names and faces. Three thousand years of stone and Solitude can do that to you." He says as his carving slithers around the room. "How did you escape your imprisonment Discord?!" I demand from him. "Who said I was ever trapped?" He says with a slight chuckle. "It would seem as if one of your little pawns wasn't committed to turning me to stone. I wonder who it was-" "Fluttershy was the one who suggested it. Don't fool yourself Discord. You will always be alone-" "You know, you're right Celestia. I am alone. I am the embodiment of Solitude. I couldn't agree with you more!" He cheers as he poofs into the room, suddenly filling the room with streamers and confetti. "Let's celebrate! Do you like your drinks shaken or stirred?" He asks as he moves behind a bar counter and begins mixing drinks. None of which were there before. "Discord! Enough, I have the Elements of Harmony. I order you to come back to the gardens immediately!" I yell at him as I step forward and lower my head. "Oh posh my dear Celestia. You never were any fun. Okay, as you wish. Down to business." He says as he stops shaking the drink and pops the top. He downs all of the shaker before tossing the beverage at me. It hits the ground before my hooves and sends up a large billow of smoke that immediately making me choke. THUD I continue to choke as Discord holds my throat against the wall. I try to kick him off, but my legs can't seem to find his body. He chuckles a bit more as he casually lifts the Elements off of my head and tosses them behind him. "D-do your worst." I growl as I fight to break free. "No, I think you shall." He says as he lays a claw on my forehead. "In order to keep your little sister, all you need is the right amount of anger." "N-no. I won’t!" I yell as I begin to become frantic. Kicking and flailing against the wall. "In order to keep your little sister, all you need is the right amount of anger." "S-stop.... stop!" "In order to keep your little sister, all you need is the right amount of anger." "I... I..." "In order to keep your little sister, all you need is the right amount of anger." "In order to keep your little sister, all you need is the right amount of anger." I repeat, getting him to finally drop me. "HAHAHAHA! Marvelous! Now, just like the other twelve times, be a good little pony and act the part. I need to pay dear little Fluttershy a visit. Chaos... is here tooooo STAY!" I barely register him punting me through the ceiling and somehow into my bed chambers. I blink a few times as my mind begins to fog... I... no! I was talking with Diamond... and... I know I'm forgetting something! Oh yeah, I needed to summons Luna back from the Griffon Colonies for a quick meeting. Twilight said she had something urgent to talk about. I'm sure it's just another over precaution from becoming a princess. Silly little Twilight... ............................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles October 16th, 1133 A wall of white energy blinds me a moment as I suddenly hit the ground. I can feel a few remaining arcs of energy leaking from the spell, but other than that, I should be here. I look around and find myself in some grassy field between two pockets of forest. Before me is a large mountain, no doubt Canterlot before the castle. I get back to my hooves and try to pick up the case, only to keep dropping it. This is starting to get really old. How the fuck do ponies bend reality to do this!? "PUT THEM UP ASSHOLE! PUT THEM UP! DON'T TRY ANYTHING STUPID OR WE WILL KILL YOU!" I throw my hands... hooves up as a group of five Terradisian soldiers surround me at gunpoint. I look between all of them and begin to chuckle. I can't believe it, humans! Actual, live, humans! "Kill it, this one is crazy-" "Waitwaitwaitwaitwait! I hold essential information for the Spartan Regiment! Bring me to Captain Bellum immediately!" I yell, getting them to look to one another. "How the fuck do you know that name?" One of the soldiers asks. "I am Lieutenant Miles Eremita." They all look to each other before laughing at me. In hindsight, that's was a bit stupid to just outright say. "What's going on here?!" A feminine, yet familiar voice says from behind the tree line. From the brush steps Tenera, clad in armor with her helmet in her hands. Her long dirty brown hair blows in the wind as she approaches us, stopping dead in her track when she sees me. "Miles?" "Uh... yeah... how the fuck did you know that?" I ask as I stand there, caught off guard by her response. She runs over and tackles me in a hug, knocking the two of us onto the ground. "Okay, you lot, get out of here. This is Spartan business." Says another familiar voice. I look over and laugh as my entire unit begins to step out from the brush line, being lead by Eximius. "Take the group to the base of the mountain. Go!" The soldiers salute and run forward as a large contingent of people begin to follow them. "I can't believe it, I honestly thought I'd never see you guys again! You have no idea what I've-" PUNCH I fall back as Fidus stands over me, glaring at me. "YOU ASS! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!?" She demands as I start to get back up. "No, better, WHAT THE FUCK!? WHY ARE YOU A PONY!? Boy you better start explaining yourself before I-" "Please don't hit my balls!" I beg as I cower from the pregnant woman's might. "Look, just let me talk real quick to explain everything and then it'll all make sense." "Like your ugly face?" Inficiunt says, getting a high five from Sine. "Oh sweet Barbra, do I miss that joke. I tried doing it with- NO! No getting side tracked! This is serious! Okay, first off, where is my father?" "FINALLY!" They all yell. "ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!? YOU ALL KNEW!? ALL OF YOU!?" I yell as I drop to a sitting position. "Miles, wait, might not ever get a chance to do this again. *Miles* (Pronounced Me-less) you have to accept that you are the spitting image of Susurrans. I mean, we all figured it out as kids man. Only your dumb ass couldn't figure it out." Sine says, getting nods from the others. And some chuckles from Inficiunt. I feel my eye twitch from that nickname and cringe a little. One thing about living in a society that speaks common. No one questions a common name from a Latin culture. "Anyway, where is he?" I ask again. "He went off with a group of Spartans to deal with a group of local assailants. He should be back soon." Tenera tells me. "Okay, we need to speed this up then. Second thing, I brought these," I say as I motion to the box. I was about to go to it when the sound of a baby crying stops me. I turn back around and watch as my friends move aside to let Auxilium approach me, holding her baby in a long light blue blanket. "Hello Miles, it's good to see you." She says as she kneels before me. "Say hello to my son, Stella-" "You named your son Stella?" I blurt out, getting a smack upside the head from Fidus. "Sorry. Look, I know there is a lot I wish we could all catch up on. So much has happened and I have very little time to talk as it is. So let me start by saying that I truly missed you all. I would wish the best for you all, but... I know hard times are ahead. But don't worry, you will no longer be in the danger you were in before." I say as I start to move back to the case. "And why is that?" Dare asks me. "Last I checked the Unfamiliar had taken all of the human cites, killed millions, and had a chaos driven leader bent on sticking broom sticks down our necks as he turns our blood to blue paste." I pause and look back to him, getting a serious nod from him. "Eight times, man. Eight." "Well, you can't outrun them, that's for sure. So the next best thing is to hide. And for that, you'll need this." I say as I try to open the case. "Wait, this!" I say as I try again. Damn hooves. "Can someone open this?" "I've got it." Dare says as he opens it for me. "Thanks, still not used to- ANYWAY! These will help you all survive." I say as I reveal the pair of Elements to them. "The Elements of Friendship? How are those going to help us?" Auxilium asks me. "You guys have been traveling with a large machine that needs a high amount of power to use it. These have that power. One set should do it. But I need to ask a favor from all of you." "What's that?" Fidus asks. "There's another set in there, I need you guys to carry them with you and give them to someone. They'll look just like me, only there will be two of them and female. They will use these to defeat Discord and bring peace to the land-" "What about you? Why can't you?" Sine asks as the others move to look over the Elements. "I can't stay here. The spell I used to get here will fade off soon and send me back to the future. Now, there are a lot of... other things you will need to know to blend in with the locals-" "Locals? Wait, you're going to turn us all into ponies." Inficiunt asks. "No, you guys are. There is a reason they weren't taken out. It's because they weren't a threat. Or, so I think. So, in order to blend in properly, everyone will have to drop all of their technology and move back to rural times." Immediately they all begin to argue with me. Making arguments about how they won't survive without their precious tech. I just raise a hand and wait for their silence. "Miles, you can't be serious." Dare says. "I am. No guns, base blades, minimal clothing-" "Now you're just being a perv." Fidus says, getting Tenera to blush. "And, most importantly. No Latin. The people here only speak common, so stick to it. That includes names." "Wait, so in order to continue living, we have to completely stop being human. Miles, I don't know if we can-" "I WANNA BE CALLED PUDDING HEAD!" Inficiunt yells at the top of his lungs, getting odd looks from the rest of us. "What? If we can't use our Latin names then I'm going to pick a new one. Pudding Head. What about you guys? Quick, new names, GO!" He yells as he points to Tenera. "HUH! Uh.... PANSY!" She yells nervously. "Pansy? Well... I guess, kind of lame." Inficiunt says disappointingly. "Anyway, you guys will-" "I want to be Hurricane!" Fidus chimes in. "Okay, that's nice and all but-" "Platinum!" Dare yells as well. "Uh... Clover the Clever!" "You can't add titles to your name, that's cheating!" Inficiunt scoffs. "Try me bitch." Eximius says, getting the others to laugh. "What about the kid Auxy? What's his new name?" She thinks about it for a second before laughing lightly to herself. "There's only one name that I can think of. Starswirl the Bearded-" "No. You can't give him Dolum’s gaming tag." I say as I face palm... or pony equivalent, whatever. "My child, I get to choose." She says as she sticks her tongue out at me. I just roll my eyes to her. Her kid, her choice. Starswirl the Bearded, have a good childhood with that. No one will ever remember that one, too weird. "Whatever, look. I know this sounds funny and odd, but this is the only way we can guarantee everyone's safety. And on the bright side, some of you might be able to use magic later on, though you'll have to learn an entirely new philosophy of magic." "Miles... you realize that we may never use magic again, right?" Eximius asks me. "I think you will, with the way we are when it comes to learning new things, it should be a snap. Though I think it'll probably benefit the next generation the most. Now, one last order of business. Where is Professor Qui? I need to tell him to set a recording telling me the date so I can actually make it here." "We can tell him later. Look, I only get one chance to say this, so I'm going to say it." Inficiunt says as he steps forward. "You were right." "What now?" I ask, is he... is he telling me I'm right? "You were right Miles. I had a problem, and what you did was right. Thanks." "What else are friends for?" I ask as I stick my... hoof out. He smiles and grabs it anyway, shaking it firmly. "What happens next? What about the rest of us?" Fidus asks. I let go of Inficiunt and stand up. I turn towards the distant mountain and motion towards it. "Underneath that mountain is a large crystal cavern. That is where you will hide the machine. That is where humanity will have its great pause. Now, I need to speak with Susurrans before anything else. Take me to him." "Follow me." Inficiunt says as he begins to walk off. I look to the others and offer them a smile. "I guess this is-" "Come on Miles, you know I hate goodbyes." Fidus says as she steps over and crosses her arms. "I know you do. But, in case I do never see you guys again, goodbye. You were the some of the best friends anyone could have asked for. I'll never forget you, that's a promise." Tenera and Auxy both start to tear up as arc of energy begin to trace around me. "What?! Shit, I'm out of time! Tell Susurrans to-" FLASH "FUCK!" I yell as I reappear in Outpost Zero. I look around the room and note that it's empty. Celestia must have been pulled away for something. Or I've been gone for a bit, either one really. Well... I guess that was it then. They'll take the Elements and put them in their right place, go on to start Roam, live life really. So... I guess it's my turn. I don't know how long this pony thing will last, maybe forever, but I'm going to make the most of it. Since Luna is away, and Celestia wants me to stay out of the public eye, I guess I'll wait here till night fall. So in the meantime, I have some machinery to check out... and a case to open. I walk over to the computer station and check underneath it.. Sure enough, there's a long locker at the bottom with the lid popped open. I reach over and lift it up, seeing the weapon inside. It's Susurrans claymore. I can't believe he left me this, this was his weapon of choice. He refused to use anything else, ever. Firearms, explosives, other blades, none of them. Heh, he didn't need any of them. All he needed were his hands and feet, and this blade. I couldn't even beat him when he used that thing. Guess I get to learn why now. I take a few minutes to wrap my hoof around the handle before finally lifting it out of the case. It feels light, way to light for a hundred and thirty centimeter metal weapon. I run my hoof down the long backed blade and realize that it's made of condensed gold. Why would he do that? Gold is so weak, even when compressed. Well, I guess it holds more for enchantments, but... still. The bottom seems to be pure platinum and has a large sapphire in the pommel, with the crossguards going slightly up. I can tell there's something stored in the gem, but I can't get it out. I guess I can get Luna to get it out later. I give the blade a few test swings and fumble around a bit. Fighting as a pony is really odd. I guess I'll have to... relearn... how to fight... "Oh sweet Barbra this is going to suck... well, no sense in bitching about it. Time to get to it." I say as I turn around. I pause when I see the Elements sitting on the ground in the middle of the room. Why would Celestia leave them there? She must be giving them to me... but why on the ground? I'll have to ask her later. I walk over to them and poke them a few times, trying to get them to recombine with me. No go, hmm... well. I guess to have them attach to me, I'll have to break the current bond. I raise a hoof and stomp it down, shattering them completely.I leave my hoof there and try to keep my mind on harmony- CLINK "There ya... huh?" I look down to my forelegs and find them bare. Where did they- oh! For some reason, they turned into a necklace. A broad gold band wraps around my neck as it shimmers from the embedded Elements set around it. I lift it up and look it over a bit more, a bit confused as to why it changed its base form. Actually, I've changed my base form, it would make sense for them to as well. Whelp! I guess this works... for now. Time to get analyzing. Though, I don't think I'll get far without using any equipment or magic. I guess I'm going to be here for a while. ....................................................................................................................................................... The Misadventures of TB, Squishy, Cheesus, And Pinkie Pie To Get A Burrito Perspective: Um.... I'm not entirely sure... (Warning: Strange) As the four friends continued down the path to their destination, an uneasy silence settled over them. None of them spoke, hummed, or made any other noise as they mindlessly walked down the cement sidewalk. For Cheesus. Squishy, and Tallest, this would seem fine. No one would question the three of them walking down a sidewalk. But for a certain pink pony, a certain unknowing fear would settle in the abyss of their minds. They walked, oblivious to the current danger that reside beside them. For, as everyone knows, Pinkie Pie is a walking time bomb. In order to travel from one universe to the next, she has to utilize the great cosmic powers that is usually excluded to stellar bodies of energy. Cause two effects. One: Her being able to go to any universe and act her role, because there is only one Pinkie... ever. No matter the story of the writer, there is only one Pinkie Pie. And Two: a build up of tremendous energy that caused her to party hard every day... and need lots of sugar. So, with Pinkie not doing anything, and the other three not doing anything either, a build up of energy began. Something need to happen for it to be expelled, but nothing has happened yet. They just walked, avoiding their obstacles with little heed. They walked. One step after another. Just walking. No talking, humming, skipping of any sort. Just... walking. The walking got to a point where the author could no long write about their walking, because it had become repetitive. No one wants to read about four people walking for longer then two seconds. Maybe if they had talked of did odd things, then they would, but that simply wasn't the case. For, they only walked, and this annoyed the author greatly. He only wanted to keep writing the story so people wouldn't get mad about the main character doing something completely cliche and widely hated. He had good reasons. Two arcs and two stories worth, but he couldn't just say that out loud. Why would anyone read then? No, instead he had to write about the four friends walking down the sidewalk, not doing anything. This, bothered the author, so evil thoughts began to emerge in his head. Perhaps a car crash would speed things up! Or an alien invasion. Maybe he could send in the FBI and make them do funny things. Or he could just go and start another story, lord knows he has at least four other in depth story ideas that he wanted to write. He had to write, that unnatural urge to get words on a page was begging to burn with great, unyielding, veracity. And writing about four friends walking down a sidewalk was only adding fuel to the fire. "You guys notice that it's taken us, like, a year for us to get down the street?" Cheesus asked the others. Euclid
Chapter 175 Nap TimeChapter 175 Nap Time Perspective: Angel I run through the cottage at top speed. The dumb one has slept in again, forgetting her duties once more. I swear, if I wasn't here she would probably forget her tail somewhere. I kick her door open and hop over to the bed, where I jump up onto it. It's empty. You have to be kidding me. She forgot where her bed is. First the cherries in my salad, then the chickens start thinking they can peck away at my food bowl, and now this! That's it, I'm kicking her head in. I've made up my mind, she needs to be put in her place. "HUUUUUUUUGHNNG!" I look over to the bathroom as the sound of the dumb one puking roars from within there. I leap off the bed and run over there and kick the door open, where I find the dumb one laying before the toilet. "Uhg, good morning Angel. Sorry about this, just some morning sickness." She says before she flushes the toilet. I wince a bit from the vile smell and back away from her as she picks herself up and begins to brush her teeth. I hate these kind of moments. If I don't remind her that she has to get going, she'll take forever in there. But if I go in there, then I'll have to smell the remains of... blech. Smelly bathroom, remind dummy.... choices. Dammit, you better remember the cherries next time! Perspective: Fluttershy After a good brushing I gargle the remaining bile out of my mouth and down the drain. Morning sickness, one of the joys of pregnancy- THUD-UD-UD-UD-UD-UD-UD I look down and see Angel kicking at my leg, trying to get my attention. "Yes Angel, do you need something?" I ask him. He points back to the window, pretends to swing a stick around, then pretends to eat a hand held- "OH! I forgot that I was helping Big Mac today!" I run out of the bathroom and begin to head for the front door. How could I have forgotten so easily! I hope Big Mac isn't upset at me. I quickly grab my harvesting staff and run out the door, barely remembering to shut it as I take off for the eastern field. Finding Big Mac wasn't a problem, all I had to do was look for the large red dot that's kicking trees. Oh wait, I forgot to thank Angel for reminding me. Oh, but I'm already late for helping Big Mac, and I'm already here. But I don't want Angel getting mad at me either, especially after I forgot the cherries. I look back to Big Mac and see him staring right up at me. He's already seen me, I can't leave now, sorry Angel. "Good morning Mac, sorry for being late." I say as I land before him. "Mornin’ sickness?" He ask as he walks over to me and nuzzles my cheek. "Yeah, real bad. I hardly slept last night." "Why woncha come on over and stay on the farm? Ah hate not bein there fer ya when ya git like this." He says as he moves back to the tree and resumes picking up the fallen apples. I sigh as I join him. We have this talk almost everyday now. "I told you Mac, that wouldn't be good for Granny. She doesn't remember us being married, let alone me being pregnant. For now, we'll just have to... to..." I look behind me and survey the trees. "Ta what? Everything okay Shy?" Mac asks me worriedly. "Yes, yes I'm fine. I just felt as if some... pony was watching me. Where is Applejack working today?" I ask him as I resume picking up apples. "She's out in the corn field dis mornin. Ya sure everything is alright? Ya look scared." He says as he walks over to me and makes me look him in the eyes. "Yes, everything is fine... but if I could stay by your side for the rest of the day I would really appreciate it because I have this nagging feeling that I'm being watched and I also want to spend time with you but the other thing is really-" "Shy." "Too much?" I ask, blushing deeply. "Eeyup." "Sorry. I just..." know who that is and don't feel safe being alone, "want you by my side." He smiles to me and gives me a kiss on the cheek, making me blush even deeper. "Course, but that means y'all have to come wit me ta the Library. Storm is callin all Spartans there fer sumptin." Spartans... as in the fighting experts. "Oh, of course! I don't mind at all! It won’t be a problem, will it?" "If it is, they can tell it ta my flank.Now lets finish this up before we git going." I sigh in relief with the thought of being surrounded by all of the Spartans, though I can still sense those eyes staring right at me. What is he up to? How did he escape? Discord, please don't do anything rash. ........................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Miles Noon With a tired groan I finally pull myself out of the crystal cavern and begin the walk back home. It's been nearly an entire day, but I've learned everything I can from that machine. It's pretty ingenious really. The back enchantment is a soul snare, and to keep the soul from breaking out or fading it keeps it powered up with the Elements. So if a fluctuating soul is captured, it'll solve the problem by adding more power until it becomes stable. And since the soul isn't in the body, no harm done. Brilliant... dangerous, but brilliant. From there, the souls power activates the other eight enchantments. I could only see three of them, the two on the ground and the back most one, so I have to make some assumptions. The floors larger ring sets the spell to break the human body down while the smaller one sets the spell to put it back together, getting the coding from one of the previous enchantment. This one takes up the most power, which is why it takes so long for the body to actually change. The last one is a simple energy reader. I takes a reading of the subjects soul and translates it for another spell. My assumption is that your power level determines what you'll turn into. Awakened people must have turned into unicorns, seeing as how they had the most power. Active souls must have turned into pegasi, seeing as they would more than the average person to do so. And finally, everyone else turns into an earth pony. Thus, humanity continued. I just want to know where they got the coding for the ponies. I guess they could have taken it from one of those assailants. That would be sick, but it would help them in the long run I guess... Maybe I shouldn't think too much on this. I make it to the outskirts of Canterlot and look up to the mountain. Why did we have to put the mico platform so high up? I look over to my new wings and try to get them to budge, only being able to get a few twitches. I guess I'm not flying then. With no other option I begin trekking my way around Canterlot and up the mountain. Four Hours Later FLASH FINALLY! For fuck sake. I hate that mountain, I miss the cheating abilities of magic, and rock slides are assholes! I just want to drop into bed, and fall asleep for the next day. I open the closet door and plop onto the center of the bed. I just lay there, eyes closed as something wiggles under my stomach. Wiggles? I roll over and move the sheets to find Shadow. "Shadow?" "AAAAAH!" She screams when she sees me and tries to run away, but I grab her before she can get off the bed. "Shadow, stop screaming! It's me, Miles! It's, stop fidgeting, Shadow..... SHADOW!" I yell, getting her to freeze. "Shadow, it's me. It's dad. I know I look different, but it's still me underneath." She stares at me, wide eyed as she continues to pant. "... dad?" She asks as she leans over and looks- "What are you looking at?" "It is you! You have the same cutie mark! It's a bit different, but so are you I guess." She says happily as she breaks my hold and hugs me... then hits me as hard as she can. "What was that-" "Why did you make me say goodbye! Everypony thought you were going to die!" She yells as she continues to hit my chest. "Don't do that to me! I hated you for that, I hated you." "Shadow..." "I didn't want to lose you like I loss Lantern. You were the only pony that ever saw me and cared about me. And you made me say goodbye. Why did you do that to me?" She asks as she looks up to me, tears running down her cheeks. "Shadow, I thought I was dying. I didn't know this would happen. Shadow," I say as I pull her face to look at me. "I'm so sorry, I really am. I didn't want you to go through this for nothing. Had I known that I would be coming back, I wouldn't have forced you to do that... but that still doesn't make it right. What I did was wrong, can you forgive me?" I ask her as I wipe a tear away from her cheek. She looks away from me to wipe her face clean before lunging at me, hugging me as tightly as possible. "Okay, but if you do this again it's a no." She says, making me laugh. "Deal. Now, what were you doing in here?" I ask her as I hug her back. "Oh, Moosden gets noisy so I come here to take naps... and I kind of like sleeping in your bed." She says shyly. I laugh again, making her try to hide her face in my chest. "It's alright. A nap sounds good actually, it's what I came here for. How about this, we take a quick nap before spending the rest of the day together. Sound good?" I ask, getting her to shake her head in agreement. I move to the other side of the bed and lay on my side, trying to get comfy. "Okay then, sleep, then other stuff." She nestles herself against my side and begins to go back to sleep. I try to do the same, but it quickly feels as if I'm suffocating my wing. Once it gets to be too much, I move around to I'm completely on my back... but that doesn't feel right either. No, I've seen Storm sleep like this, why is it weird? Maybe- "If you keep moving I'm kicking you out." Shadow says as she sits up. I laugh a bit as I try stretching into a proper position. "Here, try sleeping like this." She instructs me to lay on my stomach and to tuck my legs underneath myself. At first it felt weird, but once I relaxed into it, it was good. She pulls my foreleg out a bit and sets herself in there, using my leg as a pillow. "Better?" I ask her, getting a tired nod from her. I guess I'm going to have to learn how to sleep as well... that sucks. "Miles?" Shadow asks quietly. "Yeah?" "Um... I... well... what happens next... cause... I liked living with you, I really did... but Butterscotch and E'Claire..." "You really like living with them, don't you?" I ask her as I lay my head on a pillow, trying to get as much shut eye as possible. "Mhmm, but... I don't want to leave you either-" "Shadow-" "But at the same time, they've been so nice to me. I don't want to just leave them-" "Shadow-" "But I'm already going to Ponyville Elementary, so I guess I would have to live closer to-" "Shadow." I say as I move a wing over her. Wait a sec, FUCK YEAH! I moved a wing! HA! Now... how the fuck did I do that? "Dad?" "Oh, right. Shadow, you don't have to pick. You can have both." I tell her, getting a confused look. "It takes you ten seconds to get to Moosden, Shadow. You can have both." "Oh yeah... but you're okay with me living with Butterscotch and E'Claire?" "Yeah, but you better visit often. I mean that, daily visits. No exceptions." She giggles a bit as she relaxes back onto my arm. "Okay." I sigh in relief and relax as well, trying to fall asleep. "I love you dad." "I love you to Shadow, now, shhhhhhhhhh. Sleep." She giggles a bit, but otherwise remains relatively silent. I close my eyes and let myself to finally fall asleep. ....................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Luna After a long deliberation with Ulfric, I finally get a chance to deal with my nightly duties. Though I am in the Griffin Colonies, checking on the dreams of my ponies hasn't proven to be too difficult. Mainly because of the power increase from my beloved. I walk down the stone hallway to my chambers and shut the door behind myself. Out of the public eye, I sigh and move over to my bed, where I drop down and relax a bit. Dealing with Ulfric is always tiresome. On top of him being as unmoving as a mountain, his mental probings are tiresome. He's always trying to break into my mind to somehow get an edge on me, but I've held out for this long. But that's besides me now. Now I can go into the dreamscape and escape the problems of the Griffin Colonies. After I remove my jewelry, all except my bracelet, I lay on the bed and charge my horn to enter the dreamscape. It appears to me like the night sky. A black canvas dotted with little white specks. When I focus on a single speck, the dream opens up for me, allowing me access. Let's see... not much right now, though it is still fairly early for them. I can see maybe twelve, most seem to be little colts and fillies who were sent to bed early. Nothing worth checking up on. I can see two adults. An elderly mare dreaming about her late husband... no, not there. The other adult seems to be dreaming about... nothing yet. They must have just fallen asleep. Oh well, with nothing- GO BACK I nearly jump back to consciousness when my soul tells me that. It hasn't spoken since... before. Go back? Okay, I go back to the previous dream and wait for it to begin to form. The first thing to come to is a large green field nestled between two forest. In the distance is Canterlot Mountain, but without Canterlot. "Well, I didn't think it would be this kind of dream, but whatever. I'll roll with it." I spin around and... and.... "MILES!" I yell as I wake back up in my bed. That was Miles! HE'S ALIVE! I have to go back, I have to see him as soon as possible! I jump off the bed and begin to gather all of my things, tossing them into my bags frantically. Once I have everything together, I run for the door and- SMACK "Hey Luna... Luna?" Regina asks as she steps in. Once the door shuts I fall off the wall onto my stomach. "Luna! We just got a letter from Celestia... oh, you got one too? Good, with you packed we can get going. Do you know what's going on?" She asks me as she helps me up. "Wait... you got one from Celestia... oh.... oh my." "Is that bad? What's going on?" She asks me as I start to walk to the bed. "I think... I think Miles is back. No, I know he's back." I say as I take a seat on the bed. Regina runs over and hugs me, lifting me up slightly. "That's great Luna! I can't believe it, he's alive! What happened? How did he do it? Is it permanent? OOOOOOO, can I see him shirtless!?" "Regina... Celestia sent the letter... and no, that's my man." "So?" "So, that probably means that Miles told her... about us." Regina sits there, not completely understanding me. "*sigh* I never told her, remember!?" "OOOOOH! Well... hmm... You'll just have to face the music on that one then." She says as she turns and leaves the room. With a groan I levitate my things and follow after her. "But what about Miles? He'll probably be mad to. What should I do?" I ask her as I catch up with her. "You want the easy way, or the hard way?" She asks me. "... that depends. What does each one entail?" I ask nervously, getting a wicked grin from her. "Sometimes I wonder how you're not an escort." "Doesn't pay enough. Now, either way this is ending with you on your back, but let's hope for the fun way." Why did I ask for her opinion? Well... if Miles is really back, then I guess it would end that way. I mean, by the time I get there, I should be in heat again. At least now I'll have my man back. Hang tight Miles, I'll be there soon. Author's Note Shout out to Not FBI for picking who Discord visited first. Thanks for reading and like always, Brony on! Pssst, new blog post for OC's! Calling All Spartans!
Chapter 177 Pharmaceutical NeedsChapter 177 Pharmaceutical Needs Perspective: Miles "Um... Luna? Can you come out of the closet?" I ask as I lightly tap on the door. I really didn't expect her to lock herself in there. That's about as far from what I was thinking was going to happen as possible. "..." "Luna it's me. It's Miles. Babe, please come out of there." "... Miles? Is that really you?" She asks, still hiding behind the door. "Yeah, it's me. I know-" SLAM PUNCH I blink a few times as I let the pain sink in to my chine. I slowly look back to her only to get her to hit me again... and again. "Luna-" "Do you have any idea what you put me through?! Do you have any idea!?" She says as she hits me a few more times. "Why are you mad!? I'm alive, we get to live!" "Yeah, so now I can kick your butt before anything else!" She says as she hits my chest a few more times. By this time I'm just chuckling, not caring that she's hitting me. "Why are you laughing!?" "Because you're hitting me." "... YOU'RE DARN RIGHT I AM!" She yells as she hits me a few more times. I laugh a bit more as I back away from her, secretly heading for the bed. Once we're close enough I rush forward and lift her up, making her yelp in surprise. I quickly climb on top of her and forcefully kiss her. She hits me a couple of times as she melts underneath me, kissing me back with equal passion. "Still mad?" I ask after as I pull back to breath. "Convince me otherwise and I'll forgive you." She coos before kissing me again. I chuckle a bit as I press- "Wait a minute." I say as I abruptly stop kissing her. "I'm the one who's suppose to be mad, not you." She thinks about it for a moment before putting a fake smile on. "B-but, I was-" "I was on my deathbed, why didn't you tell her!" I say as I get off of her, stepping off the bed. "Once you were... were... oh my." "What are you looking at?" I ask as follow her gaze.... "Oh sweet Barbra... why is it black?" I ask as I stare at my member. Being slightly aroused has made it come out slightly. It's still fairly soft, only barely poking out, but I can still tell that it's... well, I was well endowed as a human. I guess 'it' makes sense. "Actually, better question, why are they all black? Storm, Big Mac, Night Fury, Damian every dick I've ever seen was black. Why?" "Miles... how many penises have you seen?" I think about it and realize how saddening the answer is. "Fuck it, I'll figure that out later." I say as I step towards the bed. "WAIT!" She yells as she puts a hoof on my chest. "U-umm.... could you go out and get some condoms?" "... are you kidding me? Weren't we suppose to be trying to have children? Why would I go out and get condoms?" "Well... okay, why do you get to have all the fun?" She asks a she steps off the bed, making me back up. "What?" "One go and that's it? I'd have to wait over seven months before any further action. No way, go get some condoms." She says as she puts her hoof down. "... okay, first off, where would I even get some. And secondly, I think you owe me a little something before I go." I say as I put my hoof down as well, standing completely straight to dwarf her. "... w-what?" She asks, wavering a bit. I just smile and move back to the bed where I lay on my back. "You're kidding me, right?" "Nnope. I can wait. But I can smell the heat kicking in on you... actually, how am I doing that? Anyway. I can wait longer than you can. So how about this, we have a little fun and call it even. Sound fair?" She thinks about it before climbing on top of me, straddling my hips. I rub my hooves up and down her forelegs as a heat begins to build below. "Deal. So, what did you have in mind?" She asks as she wiggles from side to side a bit. A wave of eagerness hits me and tells her my answer. "Um... is there anything else you had in mind? I kind of want to save the main event for later. I mean, we have all the time in the world now." "Actually... about that." I say as I slowly stop rubbing her. "What?" She asks flatly. "I kind of of set up a little mission thing with the Spartans tomorrow. So.... yeah." She stares at me for a moment before collapsing on top of me, sighing in defeat. "Sorry, I thought you were going to be in the Griffin Colonies for a while." "I know, it's fine. How about this then. Go get the condoms, and we spend all night together. All. Night." She whispers the last part into my ear. "Keep talking like that and I don't think I'll be able to leave this room." I tell her as I wrap my forearms around her, getting a deep chuckle from her. "Go already. I'll be waiting." She says as she tries to remove herself from the bed. "Seriously though, I'm not walking through Ponyville half cocked... heh, puns. But seriously-" "Just do what you normally would do to get it down." I stare at her for a moment and wait for her to make the connection. "I can't be your only outlet... can I?" "Well... I guess another cold shower could help, but-" FLASH THUD *Sigh* should have kept that part to myself. Well... with nothing better to do in here I get up and turn the cold water on- ICE! Why is there ice water in here!? Why is this my life!? ........................................................................................................................................................ After a long and frustrating shower I make my way downstairs where I find Luna snacking on the leftover party treats. "Careful, you don't want to get a bubble butt like Celestia." I joke as I walk up behind her and toss a cookie into my mouth. This one has a lot of sugar, plus something else.... hmm- "Gingersnaps, and why are you looking at my sisters but?" She chides as she leans against me, instantly distancing herself from me. "Okay then, you're an ice cube. You going to hurry up and go get them? I don't think they'll be open for much longer." "Yeah, about that. Celestia asked for me to keep out of the public eye, so could you teleport me there please?" I ask before trying another cookie, this one has chunks of crunchy things and some kind of chocolate... it's good- "Almond chocolate chip, and why can't you? Do you just not know the spell?" She asks as she takes another treat. "You could say that. So, you going to send me or..." I pause when she turns to me, holding a cookie in her mouth. "Have I mentioned I love you?" "Mmhmm." She mumbles as i lean forward and bite the other half, ending it with a kiss. FLASH "... oh shit. GURL! Git over here, our prayers have been answered!" I open my eyes and find myself in some random building with my lips puckered out towards some fat pink mare. "How you doin?" "Ahem, Er... *chew chew chew COUGH* right. Is this... uh, is this where I can buy some...condoms?" I ask as I step forward. "CONDOMS!" She practically yells so half the town can hear her. "WAT DAT?" Some shrieky voiced mare yells from the back, getting this mares attention. "Gurl where you at? You gotta see dis, Sex God jus walk in an ask fer condoms!" She yells back to her friend, getting a long, loud woo in response. "Uh... I am in the right place, right?" I ask as I look around the room. Luna, you pranking fiend. I'm going to get you back for this, one way or another. "Kay, you uh... well, normally ya'll need ta be on da roster ta stuff, but we'll make a special exception fer you." She says with an over exaggerated wink. "Come with me to the back." "Why?" "So we can take yer measurements, duh." "Why would you need to measure me? If it's a product being sold in multiple locations they probably regulate the sizes. Just get me the largest one and I'll take it from there." I say, getting a panicked look from her. "Yes, well, ya see... the thing is... uh..." "Oh sweet Barbra, you have no clue what you're doing here, do you?" I ask, getting her to start sweating bullets. "How did you even get this job? What the fuck!?" "SHHHH! Okay, I'll level wit you, but keep your voice down!" She says in a hushed tones. "Look, I'll spill the beans and get you yer condoms for free, but you gotta keep your mouth shut, deal?" I think about it for a second before nodding, getting her to sigh in relief. "WATS GOING ON OVER THERE?!" The girl in the back asks. "GURL, DIS ASSHOLE FOUND US OUT!" "CHEESE IT!" The last we hear of her is the sound of running and a door slamming shut. "Anyway, we work for Cheesus. Da reason we measure every stallion that comes here is because he has a brochure that tells mares bout local stallions and what ta expect from them. Stallions don't question it... well, cause they usually get a free ride out of it." "... that's the dumbest thing I have ever heard. What kind of idiot would fall for that?" I ask, getting her to laugh a bit. "We got almost every stallion here. Da only reason we don't have everypony is cause colts grow up." I can't believe what I'm hearing. How... wait, everyone here... oh Storm, you fucking idiot. "Look, can I just get the condoms and go already? I kind of don't have a lot of time to spare." "Kay, come ta da back wit me for measurements-" "But you just-" "Bitch, you a ALICORN! Ya'll probably more hung den Squishy, an he's freaky! Imma have ta special order dees! Do ya know how much work ya'll making me do!? It'll be at least a week before they even come in so ya'll have ta wait anyway-" "But I need them now! Isn't there-" "Look playa." She says as she waves her hoof at me, somehow silencing me. "Your little monster cock isn't going to get any protected action until I convince them that you actually exist. I'd suggest birth control potions, but the mare I buy them from hasn't made any recently. She has ta go regrow her house for some reason. So yous gonna have to come wit me, whip your dick out, and shut the buck up. Do. We. Have. A. Problem?" ".... no ma'am." "Didn't think so, now come wit me." I begrudgingly open the door and follow her down the hall to an examination room. How in the fuck did she do that? I should train her- "Okay, get on the table and lie back. This spell will get you up. We'll do the measurements quick and then you can go, ready?" "No." I say as I get on the table and lie back. "Don't be a bitch *ZAP*." I jolt a bit when the spell hits me. In only a few moments I feel myself tap against me stomach before pointing up at the ceiling. "Oh... hot dayum." "Hey, are they all black? Is that normal?" I ask as it hits its peek. She ignores me and starts to wrap a measuring tape around my cock. I buckle over a bit from the sudden touch as she moves the tape up my shaft. "Easy thEEEEERRRReee!" "DAAAAAAAAAYYYYUUUUUUUMM. Two feet a meat." She says as she measures the length. "In terms of alicorns is that good?" I blurt out. "Well, the standard stallion is only one foot. So... I'd have ta guess ya got a big one... hmm.... not sure though. Not like there's another alicorn stallion ta compare to." She says as she grabs it and moves it around a bit. "Are we done yet?" I ask as I start to feel uncomfortable... well, more so than what the situation garners. She pulls back on it and lets it wiggle back in place. "Please don't play with it- WHY ARE YOU TOUCHING THOSE!?" "Bitch, you a dick expert?" "Those were my balls-" "YOU A DICK EXPERT!?" "Well.... no." "Den let me do my bucking job *snap*!" She yells, adding a snap of the hoof at the end. "Did you just admit to being a whore?" STOMP I go very quiet when she stomps a hoof down so close to me. "You really gonna ask stupid questions right now?" "... I'll be good." I keep quiet through the rest of my fondling. No magic, no purity. I feel... so dirty. Once she's felt me every way she wants to, she gives me a firm slap on the ass. "Yeah, ya'll can go now." She says as she heads to the door. "But, don't you have a spell or something to... you know. 'Deal' with that?" I ask as I stand up. She lifts me up with her magic and tosses me out of the building through some back entrance. "Hell nah! It'll wear off inna hour, or if ya'll get off. Now, if ya'll escuse me, I have ta do 'work' now." She slams the door shut and locks it. I lay there for a moment before looking over to my right and seeing some mare staring at me. She's one of those florist shop keepers I've seen before. "Uhm.... hi?" "Take me." "And that's my queue to leave. It was lovely to see you, hope you do well in life.....BYE!" I scramble to my hooves and take off running, made completely awkward due to my... problem. I make it to the end of the buildings where I meet my next obstacle. Main street. It's a bright, sunshiny day, making it a perfect day for everyone to be out and about. Sadly for me, everyone is out. I look around for some way to make it back home without being seen, but I can't see any good routes. My best bet is to sneak my way to a cart and use it for cover, but none of them are nearby- "Hi Miles." "PINKIE!" I yell in surprise when she suddenly appears next to me. I look back out to the street and feel my ears hit the side of my head as every eye turns to me. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... "Fuck it." I take off at full speed down the street. Everyone jumps out of my way as I charge through the road, some screaming while most just gape. "DON'T LOOK WHERE I'M POINTING!" "WHAT IS THAT!?" "AHH! IS THAT WHAT I THINK IT IS!" "MOM LOOK! IT'S LIKE THE ONE IN YOUR DRAWER BUT BIGGER! MOM?" "SOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRYYYYY!" I yell as my cheeks melt with embarrassment. I pump my legs as run faster then I've ever ran before, making it home in a matter of seconds. CRASH I practically break the door down and scare the crap out of Luna when I make it home. I slam the door shut and run around the house, locking every door and window. Closing every curtain. Tossing the wolves out. And finally crashing on the couch, hiding my face from any other onlookers that might see my shame. "Miles? What was that all about?" Luna asks quietly as she enters the living room. "I don't want to talk about it." "Did you get them?" "They don't make them in my size. I'll have to wait a week before they come in." "Oh... think you could pull out then? Cause... my heat’s really starting to kick in." She asks with a bit of strain in her voice. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... "Miles?" Today is going to be a very long and stressful day. "Alright, let's go upstairs then." Author's Note Guess what happens next!?
Chapter 178 Old Habits...Chapter 178 Live Perspective: Discord Well, it seems our little love birds are finally together. Now, the ever so difficult task of making sure nopony disturbs them. Hmm... giant flying squirrels? No, later. Hurricane? No, no that wouldn't help... but maybe some rain. FIRE RAIN! No, the pegasi would have a field day... NO. I have to stick to the plan. Let's see.... I know just the trick then. I crack my fingers, then my arms, then my spine, before focusing on my spell. With a bit of force, I summon a large caravan just to the side of Ponyville. The traveling circus ponies blink a few times in confusion, but with a little 'persuasion' they march on to Ponyville. That should keep the ponies pre-occupied while they.... *put on sunglasses* occupy each other. YYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Wait, no, I can do better. Um... Frozen Hot Wheel? I guess it's... *puts on second pair of sunglasses* not so hot anymore. YYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH ..................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Miles Luna and I walk up the stairs together, playfully nudging our hips against each others. When we make it to the top I quickly bring my forelegs under her and lift her up, wavering a bit as I try to find my balance. She shrieks out a gasp and holds onto me tightly. Once I have my footing I begin to carry her to our bedroom, faltering when she begins to nibble on my neck. I lay her down on the bed and gently lay on top of her. I lean forward and kiss her tenderly on the lips, having her rise a bit when I pull back, not wanting it to end. I look down between the two of us and sigh in frustration. I know I want this, my body is ready for this, so where's that spark? Everything is... right... right? "Everything okay?" Luna asks me as she rest a hoof on my chest. "Y-yeah.... yeah... it's just..." I try to find the right words but stop when her hoof gently raises my chin, making me look her in the eyes. "Tell me." "*sigh* I don't know. Everything is where it should be, I'm just... not in the mood." I tell her as I fall to her right. She rolls to face me and sighs as well, resting a hoof on the tip of my cock. "But, it's up. Doesn't that usually mean-" "That was forced by a spell from the mare at the pharmacy." I tell her. As she tries to think of something, I notice something behind her. It was... almost like a shadow, but not a shadow. I look back to Luna when her head pops up a bit. "You okay?" I ask as her face begins to turn deep red. "U-um... I just had an idea, but... okay, no matter what, if I do this, we're doing it. Deal?" "Um... what exactly is it?" "If I tell you it'll ruin the surprise. Deal or no deal?" I think about it for a second before shrugging, going along with it. She is in heat after all, so I suppose I can push through this. "Okay, close your eyes and don't open them until I tell you to, got it?" "Got it-" "And I mean it!" She cuts me off, poking a hoof into my chest. "Not. A. Peep. Okay?" "Okay." I close my eyes and lay back on the bed. She gives me a kiss on the cheek before stepping off the bed. I feel a bit of pressure build up on my wings, probably from my laying on them. I reach over and- FLASH ... okay, whatever she has is back in Canterlot. I reach back and physically pull my wings out from under me, instantly feeling the relief. Okay, you can lay on your back, you just have to move your wings out of the way. Good to know. I lay for what feels like forever as I wait for Luna to return. What could she possibly have that would help right now? Well, I guess she does have those sexy outfits from Topaz. I feel 'myself' twitch a little when the images of her in the cop outfit hits me. I guess seeing her with a thin thing would be really helpful- FLASH "K-keep them closed!" She demands, her voice betraying her nervousness. "They're closed." I tell her as my ears train towards her. Wow... that feels weird. Whatever. I hear her move around the bed and stop beside me, taking a deep breath to ready herself. "Okay, lay on your stomach and keep your eyes closed." She whispers in my ear, her warm breath making me ear twitch. I do as she instructs and lay stomach down. I feel two lacy hooves press down onto my back. I instinctively try to look, but stop when Luna begins to rub circles. I relax as she begins to massage my lower back. I don't know when or how she learned this, but I'm not arguing with it... though the clothing she's wearing does raise a few questions. I don't remember her having anything this lacy before. She pauses her work to get on the bed and seat herself against me, having it so she's sitting over me. "Just relax, no matter what." She whispers to me as she begins to move up my back. "You got it-" KER-FWOOSH "OH SWEET BARBRA!" I yell as I feel my wings suddenly shoot out and stiffen. "You sneaky little-" "Are your eyes open?" Luna asks as she stops nibbling on my wing joints. "No!" I say as I close my eyes shut. She giggles and returns to stimulating them, rubbing up and down my sides. I can't believe how good this feels. It's... like... well, technically there's just some exposed nerves that are being stimulated. I can't help but groan as a tingling sensation numbs my back. I can feel the spot slowly becoming damp as she she adds a bit of pressure to her nibbles. "Do you like that?" She asks when she switches to the other wing. The best I can do to respond is to simply moan my approval. "Good, now roll over." I obey instantly, having my pride stand proudly for Luna to smirk at. I note the white lingerie momentarily before Luna levitates a pillow over my eyes. "So, you weren't in the mood. How about now then?" She asks as she slowly starts to stroke me off. "I think I can get through this, but some extra persuasion would be appreciated," I say smoothly... or so I think. She chuckled, was that trying too hard for suave? "Hmm, now what could I do to persuade you?" She asks as she lowers the pillow so I can see her face. She bites lightly onto one hoof, still stroking me with the other. I push myself up onto my elbows in an attempt to see the rest of her, but she pushes the pillow back into my face. Taking a deep breath to ready herself, she leans down tenderly licks the tip. My heart picks up as she adds a few more tender licks as she works her way to the bottom, still gently rubbing me with her left hoof. I bite my lip when she drags her tongue back up to the top and plants a forceful kiss. The kiss ends when she opens her mouth and begins to take me in. "Ooooh shit." I groan when she reaches her limit. It only seems to be about a third, but the feeling is still great. She giggles a bit before pulling back up, dragging her tongue along the bottom as her lips remain sealed around me. Slowly and evenly, she keeps a pattern of moving up and down. I reach forward and rest a hoof on her head, gently stroking her mane. When she lets out a moan I push my hips forward, the vibrations being almost too much. "Getting close?" She asks when she removes herself from me to catch her breath. "Yeah, no thanks to you," I joke. She responds by continuing, doubling her efforts. I lay back down and close my eyes as I try to hold on for as long as possible. The more I fight the building pressure, the quicker it seems to grow. I lose the fight when she tightens her lips around the tip and rubs me off with both hooves. I hold back a groan as she continues this throughout my entire release. Not stopping until every spurt was in her mouth. Once I'm spent, I collapse back onto the bed and pant, trying to catch my breath. I barely register her pulling the blankets from under me and wrapping them around herself... when the fuck did those get here? She lays next to me, smiley broadly as she holds the sheet around herself tightly. I smile back to her and lean over to kiss her on the forehead. "What about you?" I ask. "Are you kidding? You better put your best into round two." She says dejectedly, making us both laugh. I pull her close and kiss her on the lips, having second thoughts almost immediately. "Don't worry... well, maybe worry a little." I tell her, getting a confused look in response. "What? You really don't think I'm going to put my best in right now? You aren't going to walk right for a week after tonight." "Pfft, somepony's getting a little over confident now, aren't they." She says before kissing me on the nose. "I'm going to make you eat those words, you know that right?" I tell her, getting her to chuckle lightly. "I'm counting on it... what time is it?" She asks as she looks out the window. FLASH "Stupid ass traveling circus cluck head. Whore ass mother breaking bitch whore of stupid whoredom... ass." Regina grumbles as she walks out from our closet and out of the room, feathers disheveled and covered in mud. Luna and I freeze up momentarily before we hear her leave the house. "What was-" "Don't worry about that." Luna cuts me off quickly. "Now-" "RAISE THE MOON!" Regina yells, making Luna jump out of bed... and drop the blanket. PEW Luna and I stare at one another as an odd sensation comes from my forehead. Luna is wearing, the hottest... sexiest... fuckable outfit, ever! Each of her legs have long, thin white socks that go up to her knee. They have an intricate design woven into them and have tiny bows on the sides. Her chest is wrapped in a tight, white, V neck corset that ends just before her wings. The thong she's wearing have a strap connecting them to her socks and is made to accent her nether region, giving complete sight and access. "Do you smell ozone?" I ask as I stare at her. She just shakes her head and ignites her horn, trying not to look at me as her blush grows in ferocity. "Where, in all of sexy Terra, did you get.... oh.... oh sweet Barbra." "Well... at least this does its job." Luna muses as I continue to stare at her. Odd how adding clothing is making her more irresistible. "Damn straight it does." I say as I get up. *what was actually said* "Deyustritoes." I move around her slowly as the light in the room begins to dim. I can not take my eyes off her for the life of me. She is simply too sexy. I don't know why, but even her embarrassment is turning me on, which might be good or bad but either way I'm taking her to pound town as soon as she lets up with the moon. "M-Miles, can you stop staring for a minute?" She asks me, her voice quivering slightly. "I physically cannot take my eyes off of you." I tell her. "Well... get out of sight then before I send the Goblin Kingdom three feet under water." I nod and move behind her, finding something much more interesting to stare at instead. Her dampness has grown from her sex to her knees, leaving a trail of wet cloth and damp fur. Driven completely by instinct... or arousal, I lean in and lick her slit. ............................................................................................................................................................ Perspective: Celestia With a content sigh I nod to another day coming to an end. The sun has just set, the moon is on it's way through the sky and... and... okay... this is new. I don't think I've ever seen the moon suddenly double its brightness. I didn't even think it could get that bright. I don't know what Luna did, but I like it. She should do it more often, this is a nice change of pace for the night time. ............................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles "MILES!" Luna shrieks as she spins around, her face going completely red by this point. "Why are you so embarrassed?" I chuckle. She tries to find a reason, but ends up sighing in defeat. "Now enough talk, let's get this-" "Just remember to pull out, got it?" She warns me. "Pull out, easy enough. But first it has to go in. Turn around." I say as I move towards her, making her back up towards the bed. "One last thing, just... take it easy at first. You know... cause-" "Don't worry." I reassure her with a comforting smile. She smiles back to me and lay her front half on the bed. She looks back to and smiles a she waves her hips to me, inviting me in. I step forward and trace my lips from her flank, up her back, between her wings, and over to her cheek where I nuzzle her. Sex aside, nuzzling is fucking awesome. Just saying, much more affectionate. I push forward and rub my length against her heat, getting a stifled moan in response. I lean forward and nibble on her ear as I press into her again, adding more pressure to her. She takes a deep breath and pushes back, practically begging for my full attention. I pull back and press against her entrance, giving both of us a moment to prepare before pushing in. Tight. Much more so than our first time together. It feels right, the correct piece entering its rightful place. She takes in a sharp breath in as I push further and further within her, fulfilling her wishes of ease. A couple moments it feels as if I couldn't go further, but do so with a bit of persistence. By the time I'm feel her limit, barely any of me remains outside. How did that all fit in? How unfulfilled was she before... what exactly did all of those cheating spells do? I know I've seen her orgasm before, but how did it happen? I guess none of that matters now. I'm going to make her finish, by myself. No magic. No tricks. I don't care what it takes, I will not allow myself to finish before her. I pull back halfway and push back in. She lets out a pleasured moan as she lowers her head, biting her lip. I look down to our connection and see the trickle of blood leaking out. I guess if I wasn't adequate before, there would be some adjusting to make. With that in mind, I slow my movements down. I lean forward and nuzzle the back of her neck, getting a nose full of her scent. She leans back into me, sighing contently from the touch. "Miles... I didn't think I would ever-" "Shh... none of that. I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere." "Promise me... promise me that you'll always come back." We look to each other, Luna freezing up as she waits for me to respond. "I promise." We lean in and share a kiss. It wasn't out of passion or lust. It was more for reassurance. When we broke the kiss I looked deep into her eyes, seeing the love and hunger within them. "You ready?" She nods, so I pull back to the entrance and push all the way back in. She lets out a quick yelp as her head shoots up. I let out a huff as I make the move again, making her grab onto the sheets tightly. I reach forward and hold her hooves as I shorten my thrusts. She lifts her head and leans against my head as I bring a hoof under her and lift, giving me better access due to height. I can't help but reach a bit further and rub her breast, loving the soft flesh against the fur of my new limb. Once I have her moaning I reach over and grab her leg as I pull back to the entrance. I grab both her sides and roll her onto her back before climbing over her and pushing my way back inside. She lets out a small yell and wraps her forelegs around the base of my neck as I take deep plunges into her. We fall into a rhythm of pushing and grinding, grunting and moaning, grabbing and rubbing. A cool layer of sweat builds over the two of us as we work towards each others pleasure, putting in everything we have into our motions. I lift her up against myself and roll over so we switch places. She takes the initiative and begins to bounce in my lap, placing two hooves on my chest for balance as her wings open. I reach forward and grab her flanks, giving them a tight squeeze as I help her with her motions. At first it was to help guide, but that quickly turned into my adding force to each move. I lift her up and pull her back down as I thrust in and out of her well lubricated hole, the sound of our bodies meeting filling the background to her yelling. "MILES!" With a final thrust in she hits her climax, her tightness doubling on me. I hold myself there and let her ride it out. After a minute or so she falls over and lays on top of me, panting deeply. "You alive?" I ask her, getting a slight chuckle in response. "I don't... I don't... ever... that hard... I love you." She pants before sloppily kissing me. She breaks the kiss early and lays her head on my chest, trying to catch her breath. After a small break I move myself to get her attention. "I'm still good to go, you want more?" I ask her, getting an eager nod in return. I smile to her as I wrap my hooves around her and hold her in place. I resume pushing into her, thumping against the bed as I unintentionally shove our faces together. Her yelping returns to its prior volume as she tries to hold onto me by hugging me around my neck. I lean over and begin to suck on her neck, biting onto her hard enough to leave a mark afterwards. She whines from pleasure and grabs my horn... slowly stroking it.... KER-PEW I think my brain just came. Whatever thoughts I had before are now lost to a fog of different ways I'm going to fuck Luna. Giving in to the first thought to come to mind, I lift Luna completely off of me and drop her beside me, belly down. I jump to my hooves and lift her up by her hips and impale her instantly. She yelps in surprise, egging me on. Though my thrust are just as strong as before, I begin to double the effort by moving her against my movements. She lays her head on the bed and lets her tongue roll out of her mouth as I use my entire length to please her, feeling her warm liquid splash against my underside. After who knows how long, I accidentally drop her. Though the rest of her instantly collapses onto the bed, her ass stays in the air, essentially asking for more. I drop down on all four and reinsert myself, bottoming out in one thrust. As I begin to pound myself into her, making the bed slam against the wall, I finally feel arousal reach its end. Still hazy from the head orgasm earlier, I grab her flanks and drive away madly. Everything fades away as a numbness takes over my senses. The only thing on my mind is reaching that orgasmic bliss. So fucking close... Just... "FUCK!" I yell at the top of my lungs as I slam into her, pumping insanely into her as my entire body shakes in euphoria. SMACK I fall to the side, bringing Luna with me, and nearly pass out. I'm not sure why I smacked Luna's ass, but I'll apologies when I can think clearly. That was easily the best orgasm I've ever had in my life. I can't even think of one that was close to that... well, if I was able to think that is... fuck it, I'm going to sleep. Why is there so much moonlight in here though? ................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Rarity Busy, busy, busy. That's all I have been this past week. First there was Twilights coronation dresses, then the Manehattan rush, and now Miles is back. So much in so little time. But I guess it's not all bad. I do have my date next week with Spike, and Sweetie Belle is coming over after that, though that may cause some extra stress. Family tends to do that though, so I guess I'll have to make due. I hang the final pieces of clothing onto the clothesline and sigh to myself. It's been a long day, but now it's time for bed. The dresses are done, ready to be shipped, and I must be off for my beauty sleep. "All in a days hard work-" "But all work and no play makes Discord go cray-cray." I jump back as several of the clothes pull off the line and form the general form of an upright body. "Discord! How- But- When- HUH?!" I yell as I back away from the fashionable ghost. He lets out a low chuckle as several scarfs slither out from the wash bin and tie my legs up. "All in good time my lovely little gem, we have business to attend-" "RAAAAAWWW!" A large plume of green fire come from above and engulfs the ghostly apparition. Spike crashes down before me and roars again, flaring his wings to shield me from Discord. "Spike!" I yell in joy as I try to fight out of the astounding scarfs. Why did he have to use the green one? It was simply amazing. "Rarity, get to Twilight and tell her what's going on. I'll hold him off." Spike tells me as Discord rises into the air, glaring at Spike. "GO!" He lunges forward and sends another plume at Discord. He bends around the fire with total ease and flies at Spike. Before he could get there though, Spike shakes his magic on and pushes forward, sending a wave of energy at Discord that sends him flying back. He crashes onto the ground just as I break free of the adorable pink scarf that held my back legs. "... who taught you that?" Discord asks slowly as he gets back onto his feet. "I said get going!" Spike yells as he raises his arms. He begins to punch forward, sending blasts of energy at Discord as the draconequus snakes around each one. Before Discord could touch him, Spike jumps into the air and distances himself from Discord. "RUN!" I turn around and begin to run towards Twilights home. Above me thunder clouds begin to form as clashes of Spikes fight ring over Ponyville. Oooh, Spike... please don't get hurt. When I turn onto Mane Street I see Twilights house up ahead, with several of the lights still on. Eager to get Twilights help, I charge forward with all my might. With each step I near the door, my magic forming around it as I near the final- SWOOSH I shriek when something grabs my back legs and lifts me into the trees canopy. After scraping by several branches I come to a stop near the top, where I hand upside down. "R-rare- *COUGH*." Spike chokes as he reaches out to me. I cover my mouth with my hooves when I see him. His right eye is swollen shut as a large wound bleeds profusely from his chest. "Don't worry, I won’t kill him. I need him for later." Discord says. I look around for him and eventually see him etched into the crooks of the trees bark. "DISCORD! YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!" I yell as I try to blast him with magic, only sending chunks of bark everywhere. "Now- now, don't get fussy. I need you at your best as well. Now, let's begin." A branch reaches around and presses against my forehead, making my mind go fuzzy. "St-stop." Spike grumbles as he tries to reach the branch. "When you no longer feel fancied, distance yourself and give in to your greed." I shudder as his smug faces breaks into a large, devilish smile. Author's Note Shout out to Xataxia for picking who was next on the visits from Discord. On another note, yes. What you are all thinking is going to happen. If you read the chapter, it is obvious. Early on when I was still writing the first ten chapters, I was debating this section. In the ORIGINAL arc (back when there was only three arcs), Miles was going to die when the changing beam was fired. His soul, in it's last second, was going to get hit by the beam. Luna would have also been hit by this beam, thus making this result. I decided to change it because the story simply changed from writing it. Things made sense later on for Miles to live. That, and the whole beam getting Luna preggers was a little BS to me. It didn't make physical sense, so I cut it. This is why I went this route. Without this character, the story ends with a lame BS-y ending that I did not like. Death and the four horsemen would not exist. I could not justify calling it Man of War, the main theme of the story would change abruptly... Miles had to become an Alicorn, otherwise, we don't get the kid or the sequel. SPOILERS Kill me later Cheesus. Brony on!
Chapter 179 Happiness, With a Side of SyrupChapter 179 Happiness, With a Side of Syrup Perspective: Miles Sleep hit me hard. I didn't dream, I was just... out. One moment I'm having one the best instances of my life, the next a sound is waking me up in the middle of the night. I didn't care at the moment. I simply rolled over and held Luna against me, trying to forget the rest of the world. "Miles?" Of course I'm not allowed to stay comfy. I lift my head up and look around the dark room. Though it's still night out, and I can barely see the figure before me, I still recognize her as Regina. "Y-yeah? What's up?" I ask groggily. "Just thought you should wake Luna up to lower the moon... now. It's nearly been ten minutes since sunrise." She whispers to me. I drop my head down and sigh. "Mmm, I'll get on that then." I groan as I lay there. "... Miles-" "Right, now. Luna?" I mumble as I shake her shoulder a bit. Nothing. "A bit harder." Regina offers. "Luna, babe? Time to wake up." I tell her as I shake her a bit more. Still nothing. I sigh as I sit up and roll her over. She's still laying there, sleeping peacefully- "Is... is she breathing?" Regina asks, making my heart stop. Her chest isn't moving, and she isn't responding... "Oh sweet Barbra..." "Who?" "I killed her with my dick." The room falls silent from my revelation. It was too much for her! Why didn't she stop me? Why did she pester me to go all out!? NO! LUNA! "Slow down there Captain, I doubt you're that good." Regina says as she lays her head on Lunas chest. "She's still alive, just really sexed." Oh.... of course.... fuck it's early..... yeah, early.... "Okay, I've seen this before-" "Wait, you've seen this before?" "Give me your hoof." She says as she holds her claw out. "Why?" "Because if I did this, you'd get mad. Hoof, now." She demands. I think about it for a second before obeying. She is the expert... apparently. "Okay, this may hurt your ears." "Why-" SPLECH 'GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Luna screams as she sits up when Regina forces me to touch her sex. She falls back down and pants loudly as she clutches the pillow around her head, looking back to me wide eyed. "Well, my job is done. I'll catch you two later for lunch. Bye!" Regina says happily before skipping out of the room. "M... Miles?" Luna moans. "Yeah?" "You.... you can stop now." "Oh, right. Sorry." I say as I remove my hoof from her. She nods to me and glances to the window. "Wha... what time is it?" "Ten past sunrise... think you can manage?" She closes her eyes and begins to charge her magic. Outside, I watch as the sky begins to change colors. It's subtle at first, but it's evidence enough of the change going on. "That's my girl." I say as I lay beside her, running my hoof along her side. "So... how are you feeling?" "Heh, good. Really good. You?" She asks as she rolls to the side to look at me. I smile and give her a peck on the lips. "Good, good... so... um... I'm not sure how to put this, so I'm just going to say it... but first promise me you wont hit me." "Why would-" "Luna, please. This is important to me." "...okay. I promise. Now what happened that you would force me to promise not to hit you?" I bite my lip as I glance down to her stomach. Trying to find a better way then bluntly saying it. "Miles... I said pull out-" "I know, I know. But... old habits die hard. I don't think I've ever pulled out in my life... sorry." She closes her eyes for a moment. "If you hadn't done so well, I'd be able to be mad at you. So I guess you're off the hook... for now." She says as she looks back to me, smiling lightly. I chuckle a bit as I lean forward and kiss her again. "But since you can't be trusted to do something so simple, no more action for you." "Heh... heh.... really?" She laughs a little and scoots closer to me, pressing her nose against my chest lightly. "Let's just see what happens. The moons in its right position. Let's get some more rest." I give her fore head a quick kiss before going back to sleep. .......................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Storm I jump a bit when I hear something fall and break. I look over and check on Twilight, finding her still asleep. With my mind immediately going to the worst, I get up and check for the cause of the noise. Nothing in the room seems out of place. I move to the bathroom and find the cup holding our toothbrushes on the floor in a hundred pieces. It must have slipped or something, the window is still shut. I begin to pick the pieces up and toss them into the waste bin. I grab the toothbrushes and set them on the counter- "Storm Cloud." "GAH!" I yell as I jump back. In the mirror.... "Famine." I growl as he gives me a slight head bow. "Time is running short. The harbinger of chaos is here. Do as I say and-" "Why in all of Equestria would I help you? If anything I'd help the guy who has you so scared." I say as I shut the door to the bathroom. "Fine then, put your wife in danger and let the land fall to chaos." "... what about Twilight?" I ask slowly. "The only thing that can defeat this being are the Elements of Harmony. That is why the bearers are being targeted. A third of them have already fallen to his influence. You have been given it's touch though, so you can be of use. Go to them, use them again and send him back to his slumber. If you don't, everything will be for nothing. Now go!" I hesitate to move, unsure of what to do. "How can I be sure you're not messing with me? Give me something to believe you." I say, making him huff in annoyance. "No. The threat on your cause should be enough. Now get going." With that the unicorn centaur in the mirror fades away. I reach up and feel the cool surface of the mirror. I couldn't imagine helping him, but... I have to keep Twilight safe. Twilight is more important. With my resolve set, I make my way out of the restroom and head down stairs. After grabbing my saddle bags I head out the door- THUD I jump a bit when Spike crashes next to me. He looks a bit confused, but is no worse for ware. "Spike, what are you doing up so early?" I ask him as I help him to his feet. He looks around, slightly confused, as he rubs the back of his head. "I... I don't know. Last I remember, I was heading to Rarity’s... then... now. Where are you going?" "I need to talk with Miles. Something is going on and I don't like it-" "Miles.... that name..." Spike says as he walks ahead of me, rubbing his chin slightly. “I know the name.. I just... Miles..." "Spike, did you hit your head or something? Come here, let me see you." Glances back to me before kneeling in front of me. I put my hooves on both sides of his head and look him over. "So, on your way to Rarity’s huh?" I ask as I check his eyes. "Oh.... uh... yeah. She... needed my help, and stuff." He stutters as he looks away from. I just chuckle as I turn his head slightly. "Yeah, stuff. Okay, you look fine. Let's go get the Elements then-" "Wait. What?" He asks as he stands. "Why would you need the Elements of Harmony? Aren't Twilight and friends the only ones who can use them?" "Twilight and friends? Well... technically no. I mean, I've see Trixie use them, and I've done it once. I guess you just need the right mind set. Now-" "Well then, glad to hear that then." Spike says with a devilish smile as he steps towards me.... in a different voice... "No.... WHERE'S SPIKE!" I yell as I pull out my sword. The false Spike just chuckles as he lifts into the air. "He's... busy at the moment. Now, just stay still and this'll all be over soon." He says before snaking his way through the air towards me. I jump into the air and try to distance myself from the house, heading high into the air. Once I'm high enough I take my stance and wait for him to reveal himself. "SHOW YOURSELF!" I yell as I hear something moves behind me. I take a swing at it, but nothing was there. "WHERE ARE YOU!?" "Here." Something whispers into my ear. I freeze up as two different hands move up my head and a long snake like body coils around me. "When everyone turns to you in need, take the time to feed." ........................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Miles I scrunch my eyes when a bright light hits me. Turning over I look up and see the sunlight breaking through the curtains. Beside me Luna sleeps quietly, her chest slowly rising and falling as the light shines down on her peaceful face. I sigh and consider my luck. Even if she's a bit upset with, I'm still happy. Hopefully with this body we can start the next chapter of our lives. Luna scrunches her and opens them slowly. She glances around the room a bit before settling on me, a content smile forming with her. I smile back and lean forward, having our noses lightly press against each others. We lay there together and enjoy each others company, letting the silence of the moment take over. After an unknown amount of time, Luna finally starts to move. "Not yet." I say as I reach out and hold her hoof. "Just a bit longer." "But I have to pee." She tells me as she falls back and hold my hoof with both of hers. "And we need to get up too." I bring her hooves back to me and kiss them lightly, rubbing the top most one affectionately. "Fine, let's get up then. I love you." I tell her with a kiss on the hoof. She leans over and kisses my cheek. "I love you too." She gets out of bed and makes her way to the bathroom. I lay back and stretch out, feeling slightly lazy. The bed is comfy and I have everything I want a meter away- GRUMBLE .... well, still. The still don't need to leave the house at least. I get back on my hooves, do a few more stretches, and pace around the room as I wait for the bathroom to open up. And wait... Then wait some more... What the fuck is she doing in there? "Everything thing alright Luna?" I ask her through the door. I hear the toilet flush before she opens the door. "I... kinda forgot you... you know." She says coyly as she steps out, out of the lingerie. "So... what do you think the chances are of my not being pregnant are?" "Slim to none, I knocked you up. Bathroom!" I say quickly as I rush in and shut the door. "Miles!" Luna complains as I stop by the toilet... FUCK! Uh... sitting? Fuck it, trial and error. "Miles! Hey jerk face!" "Ahhhhhhhhh." I sigh both from relieving myself and hearing it hit the inside of the toilet. "Ew. Okay, I'm heading downstairs. What would you like for-" "Pancakes!" I practically yell. She laughs a little and walks away. Fuck yeah, wife time and pancakes. Times are good. I finish up in the restroom and make my way to the kitchen, where I find Luna getting some food ready as Regina sits at the table, reading a newspaper. "Great, you're up! Now I can make fun of the two of you as revenge for Luna making me walk here, where to begin?" Regina says as she sets the paper down. I see Luna fumble a bit with the batter, but she keeps to herself. "Well, that depends. Did you hear anything or do you need some material?" I ask, making Luna nearly drop the bowl she's holding. "MILES!" "Material, go!" Regina yells as she scoots closer to me. "Well, did you see that little outfit she was wearing?" "MILES! DON'T YOU DARE!" Luna warns me as she steps towards me. "Oh yeah, it was pretty sexy. Where did she get it?" Regina asks as she raises an eyebrow. I look between the two of them and note Luna raising the bowl of pancake mix. Mess with Luna.... pancakes... choices. "Okay, I've said all I've need to." I say as I take a seat and smile to Regina. Luna points a wooden spoon to me before going back to the stove. "So... Luna... you seem to be walking a bit funny, everything okay?" Regina asks. I look over and watch her steps, noting how she steps a little wider than before. "I'm fine, thank you Regina." Luna says as she pours the mix onto a pan. "Damn fine." I add, throwing a wink to Luna. She blushes a bit and smiles, trying to focus on the food. "That was cheesy." Regina drones. I shrug and pull the paper over, looking over the pictures on the front. It looks like a farm, but with nothing growing in the ground. A griffin family and a cart over loaded with belongings stands before the barren ground. "How bad is it?" Regina lets out a long sigh as she turns back to the table. "Bad. We've been running on the reserves but they'll run out within a month. We've been trying to receive aid from the other countries, but the only ones capable, or willing, are the Equestrians-" "But there lies the problem." Luna chimes in as she tends to the food. "We've always aided other countries, but supporting another country... it would put both of us at ends. Not to mention we can't just take the food from the farmers-" "There simply isn't enough food being grown," Regina adds. "Even if they just took it, there wouldn't be enough to go around evenly. We would have to ration it, and that would not sit well with everyone... when birds get hungry-" "They get scared." Luna finishes. They both fall silent as they take a moment to think to themselves. "Whelp, it's a good thing you have an ally like me." I say as I lean back in my chair. They both look back to me and wait for me to go on. "You have a food problem. Terradisia solved that thousands of years ago. We couldn't grow food, so we had to make it. In fact, we have several of those machines from each of the cities. Each one capable of feeding millions of people." "... and you're just going to give them over, just like that?" Regina asks. "No." "No?" "No. If we just give them to you, then you'll overuse them. No, we'll lend them over and supervise their activity. We will help as much as possible, but only until you can grow your own food again. We cannot allow this technology to sit idly by for the world to see. It is far too advanced for the likes of this primitive planet." ".... well, it's a start." Luna says as she plates the food. "Heck, I'll take it. Birds get fed, ponies get fed-" "Everyone goes home happy." I say as Luna brings the plates over to us. "Now, where's the syrup?" .......................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Death I chuckle from my throne as Famine paces about. He's worried about the human and his plans. Such a brilliant mind, yet such little faith. "He cannot be allowed to do this, allow us to go and take care of him, we can end it now!" He yells for the hundredth time. "I wish to see what the human will do." "But the chaos-" "All things will know death, Famine. The birds, the plants, this earth... even gods will find death." I say as I run a hand down my mask. Such little faith- "What of-" "Everything is falling into place. For the Darkness to take over the light must burn itself out. Time.... is on our side." Author's Note So! It would seem quite a number of you have added oc's to Calling All Spartans. This is where things start to get heated. I will be taking six to ten ocs (do not include the ones I'm putting on there. They do not count towards this count.). If you received an email from me, it means they passed MY slating. If you did not receive an email from me but the character is still there, it means they at least met the requirements. From now on, two anonymous people will be slating the rest of the characters. Any new ones will first be slated by me, then them. The reason things are being so finicky is because these characters will have actual influence on the story. They may make things go one way or another. Because of this, I am being a little more strict. Hope to see more from you guys in the future, Brony on!
Chapter 180 Getting Back to BusinessChapter 180 Getting Back to Business Perspective: Miles "MMM-MMM-MMM! What did you add to these, they were really good!" I say as I lick my plate clean. "Well I'm glad you liked it. I added some blueberries to it. Glad to see those won't kill you." Luna says as she yanks the plate away from me. I look over to Reginas plate, making her shield away the remainder of her pancakes from me. "Is there any left?" "Nope." "Damn-" "May as well though, we need to head back to the Griffin Colonies as soon as possible." Regina says as she downs the remainder of her food. I eye the plate and its syrupy goodness as she takes it over to the sink and rinses it off.... the fiend. "Wait, you're heading back already? You barely got here though-" "And we still have things to discuss back in the Colonies! Yeah, we have the food crisis kinda worked out, we still need to discuss Steelwing-" "Why? What's he done this time?" I ask, becoming completely serious. "That's just the thing, we don't know. Before we could at least report sightings, but ever since he's come to Equestria we haven't heard anything! He cannot be allowed to escape-" "No... he can't. Can you at least give us the morning? We haven't seen each other in two months Regina." She huffs as she thinks about it. Both Luna and I lean forward as we wait for her answer, Luna giving her best pouty face. "Uhh, you both owe me big time-" "We love you too." Luna says as she gives her a hug. "Yeah, yeah, well... just meet me at that cave on Canterlot mountain at noon..." Luna holds her a bit tighter and gives her her sad face. "... one?" Whoa, intense level of sad face. "UHG! Fine, two. But no later, you hear me!? Two thirty and that's it! The second it hits three I'm gone, you got it?" "Got it!" Luna says with a mock salute. Regina rolls her eyes and begins to leave the room. "Where you going?" I ask. "You really think I'm going to stay here and be the third wheel while you two get all mushy? If I'm going to be here, then I'm going to at least have some fun." Luna and I glance to one another before simultaneously shivering. That poor bastard... whoever it may be. "Well, it seems we have a few hours to kill with one another. What to do, what to do?" I ask as I saunter over to her, making her laugh when I rub up against her. "Easy there big guy. There's something I need to show you before anything else." She says before putting the last of the plates away. "What's that?" "How to preen." She says as she turns to me and leads me over to the living room, where we sit down on the couch. "Um... okay, what's that?" "I'll show you." She opens her wings and starts to runs her nose through the feathers. She finds one and bites onto it, yanking it out with a light tug. "See? Kind of like how you need to take care of your hair, you also need to tend to your wings. Now open up your wings and I'll show you what to do." "Yeah, about that. I have no clue how to move these things- and don't give me that look! You try using completely new limbs!" "Fine, fine. Hmm... how are we going to get you to open these things then..." She ponders as an evil smile begins to form. "I don't like where this is going..." Ten minutes and a lot of encouraging kisses later "This is dumb. This is ludicrous. How could this possibly be a good idea?" I ask as I stand on the roof. "What? It's how most ponies learn to fly... well, back in my time at least. Just don't think about it and react." Luna says as she hovers before me, reaching for me with her hooves. "I... I... no! Logic still exists in my mind! Isn't there another way?" "Miles..." "What about a wind tunnel?" "Miles..." "What about forced muscle movements?" "Miles." "Maybe a lower starting point?" "... if anything we should go higher." She says as she looks up. "What!? NO-" FLASH "..... you're evil, you know that right?" I ask her as I back up. She's still in the air while I'm on a large cloud structure. "Eeyup! Now on the count of three-" "How high are we?" I ask as I peer over the edge. "One!" "This has to be at least three hundred meters high." "Two!" "Wait, isn't this Rainbows house?" "THREE!" "FUUUUUUUUUUCK!" I yell when she lifts me up and drops me. I try to grab onto something as I drop. I look back to Luna and watch her pull her limbs in and drop towards me, quickly catching up. "TURN AROUND AND OPEN YOUR WINGS!" She yells to me over the sound of the wind. I glance back and try to do as she says, taking some odd maneuvering to do so. "NOW WHAT!?" I yell to her. She opens her wings and snaps back out of view. GREAT! GREAT ADVICE! THAT'S DEFINITELY GOING TO HELP ME RIGHT NOW! I look to my back and watch as a trail of feathers comes from my out stretched wings. Okay... MOVE! MOVE! Please? FLASH KER-FLUFF I hold still for a moment before relaxing against the soft cloud... and slowly take the fetal position. "Hmm, that didn't work quit like I expected." Luna muses as she walks around me. "Well, then again, it took me several tries before I could finally glide-" "Wait! Just a few more-" "Come on, Mr. Big Bad Spartan, a couple more tries before we try at different heights." Luna says casually as she lifts me off the cloud foundation. "WAIT! WAIT! JU-FUUUUU!" I yell as she drops me again. I have a feeling I'm going to hate today. ............................................................................................................................................................ Perspective: Rainbow Dash I can't help but tap my hoof impatiently as I wait in Cherilee’s classroom. I received a letter asking for me to come in, something about Scoots getting in trouble... again. I swear, it seems like that girl is trying to take on the whole world head on. I don't know what's gotten into her... well, it may be puberty. "Good evening Miss Dash, glad you could make it." Cherilee says as she steps through the door. I glance over and see Scoots sitting outside, head hanging low. "I think we know each other well enough to go by first names Cherilee." I tell her a she takes her seat. "Yes, well, professionalism always take precedence in these kind of matters Miss Dash." She tells me as she takes a few papers out and looks them over. "Yeah... so, what happened this time? A fight? Whose nose did she break this time?" "Noponys, actually." She says as she flips through a few of the sheets. "Oh... then, why am I-" "Miss Dash, Scootaloo skipped class today," She tells me bluntly. I blink a few times as I try to register what she said. "Scootaloo... skipped class today... are you-" "I know, I was surprised as well. But I know why she did so. Today another student brought their father in for show and tell-" "Oh... yeah." "I know you take good care of her, and that this is a touchy subject, but-" "Look, I know that this is hard for her, not having a Dad. I've been trying to get somepony to fill the role-" "Uh... Rainbow, she says she does have a father." Again, I blink as I try to get the gears in my head rolling. "You see, she skipped out today to get proof... and she got it." "Oh... what kind of proof did she get?" I ask nervously. Cherilee sighs and opens a drawer. "Rainbow, is this fami-" "MY DIARY!" I yell as I swipe it from her hooves. "SHE BROUGHT MY DIARY!? WHY-" "Miss Dash! Please lower your voice!" I take a few breaths as I try to calm down, finding it hard to do knowing that all of my personal thoughts could be subject to ridicule by little twerps. "How much did she reveal." I ask, getting a flushed look from Cherilee. "UUUHHHGGGG. Really?" "Yes... so... she will have detention for three days for skipping school-" "Pffft! That's nothing compared to what I have planned. I can't believe she brought my diary and showed it to everypony! What was she thinking?" Cherilee looks to the door before scooting closer to me. "Well, first off is it true? Are you in relations with the Wonderbolt Soarin?" She asks eagerly. I can tell she just wants some gossip to tell her friends, she may be professional but Ivory Scrolls is a blabber mouth and know how to get info. But... she kind of already knows. "Please don't talk about it. We're... it's complicated." "I imagine, with him being a Wonderbolt and you being... well... uh..." "A Spartan, Cherilee. I'm a Spartan." I tell her, getting a slow nod in return. "Right... a Spartan... anyway, she mainly brought it to brag about his supposed flight lessons. Apparently he's been teaching her to fly-" "What? He's been on assignment for the past few months in the Soviet Bear Union. They've only met a few times before that." "Well, that explains it then." Cherilee says as she leans back. "Last week she was picked on for not being able to fly. She must have lied to try and redeem herself." I let out a sigh of annoyance at the thought of somepony picking on Scoots. I don't get it, she's such an awesome kid. Who would want to pick on her? "Well, thanks for telling me all this. I'll be sure to have a talk with her when we get home." "Glad to hear that. Have a nice day Miss Dash." I roll my eyes and nod to her as I stand up and leave the room. I stand there and stare at Scootaloo as the door shuts behind me. She lowers her head a bit as she continues to avoid my gaze. "C'mon. Let's go home." I tell her as I turn and start to walk away. I hear her grab her bags and follow after me, being sure to stay out of my view. We make our way out of the school yard and through Ponyville. She's keeping to herself as she buzzes along on her scooter, trying to make it seem as if she's not there. During the entire walk I try to keep calm and think of what to say to her. If she took my diary, then she knew where it was. Which means she had to find it before as well. "So... how much of my diary did you read?" I ask as I turn and sit on a park bench. She stops before me and steps off the scooter. "Well... pretty much all of it." She says quietly as she kicks at the ground. Of course she did. Why wouldn't she. I sigh and pat the bench seat beside me, making her walk over and climb up. "Yeah, I figured. Well... do you have any questions?" "HUH!?" She asks, nearly falling off the bench. "Aren't you going to yell at me or something? I stole your diary and showed it to a bunch of foals! Plus I have detention and stuff, shouldn't I be in trouble or something?" "Pffft. Please, you really think I write down all the saucy stuff in there? Besides, I think I remember a certain awesome filly who got in a ton of trouble when she was her age as well." I say with a smile as I lean towards her. "Really? So... I'm off the hook then?" "NAH, you're totally grounded for a week. But at least you feel better about it." I say as I ruffle her mane. She shoves my hoof away and tries to fix it, smiling to me as she shakes her head. "I think you're doing the whole parenting thing wrong... but this I like this way a lot more." We both share a laugh as I pull her to my side. She sighs and leans against me, letting all of her worries melt away. "But... seriously. If you have any questions Scoots, just ask me. There are no secrets between the two of us." I tell her as I drape a wing over her. ".... why do I suck at flying?" "Hey! Mouth-" "But it's true! I can barely hover in the air while my classmates can already get to the clouds! Why do I have to be different?" She asks as she pulls my wing over herself to hide. "Scootaloo, you didn't have the same start they did. It takes time to grow those flight muscles properly. Did you really think you would just flap your wings and start flying? It's going to take a long time before you can take off." "Gee, thanks Mom." She says sarcastically as she falls against my side. "But that's not all that's bothering you, is it?" I ask, getting her to slowly nod. "You want a dad, don't you?" "..." "Scootaloo, Cherilee told me everything. I know why-" "Did she tell you about the time Soarin would come over when you were gone so we could hang out? Or about the time he saved me from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon when they found me doing my flight practices?" She asks slowly as she peers out from underneath my wing. "... did... did he really do all of that?" "Hey, they had no right to talk to my girl that way." I jump and fall off the bench when I hear the deep voice behind me. I scramble back to my hooves and look behind- "SOARIN!" I yell as I leap over the bench, tackling him in a hug. He hugs me back lightly, tensing up slightly as I squeeze him with my hooves. "When did you get back?" "Well, I've been back for a month now actually." She says cautiously. I pull back to ask him a question, when I notice he isn't looking me in the eyes. He's keeping his face looking to the left, avoiding eye contact with the both of us. When I try to look him in the eye, he looks further away and shuts his eyes. "Soarin..." "So... uh...here's the thing..." "Soarin, look at me." "Well, I-I think that-" "Soarin, please." He lets out a long breath before looking me right in the eyes. "Oh Celestia... what happened?" His left eye has a long scar going over it, with smaller scars one either side of it. His normally blue eye has turned milky grey. "Well, long story short, Lightning Dust got in a fight with a bear and I had to jump in to save her... she's fine though. I... well, I'm now half blind." "Soarin..." I mutter as I run a hoof over the smaller scar. Scootaloo stands on the bench, staring wide eyed at his wound and completely lost for words. "Since I'm blind, I've also been honorably discharged from the Wonderbolts too. Doctors say I shouldn't fly too much either, might cause an accident." He says as he looks away from us. "So... yeah. This is me now. No home, no job, can't fly, everything I own is in this suit case." He says as he motions to the small case beside him. "C-can you come here." Scootaloo says quietly. Soarin looks to me before moving closer to Scootaloo. "A little closer." He nods and leans in, leaving less than a few inches between them. She reaches forward and pauses before lightly touching his scarred eye lid. Soarin just closes his eye and lets her feel it. "Does... does it hurt?" "Every now and again. I have to adjust to not having it work anymore." Soarin tells her. She puts her hoof down and thinks for a second before leaning up and kissing his wound. He pulls back, surprised, and lightly puts a hoof over it. "There, any better?" She asks with a warm smile. "... much better. Thank you." I smile and step over to him, giving him a peck on the cheek. "You were wrong you know." I tell him. "You will always have a home, you have a job, and you can still fly. Now do you want to sit here and sulk, or do you want to go home already?" He smiles to me and gives me a kiss on the lips. We ignore Scootaloo choking and press forward a bit, just enough to tell each other how much we missed one another. "Blech, can you two finish up being gross so we can go home already? Please?" Scootaloo asks impatiently from the bench. With a slight laugh we reluctantly end our kiss. "Heh, let's go home then." Soarin says with a big smile. I give him one last peck before we gather our things and get going. Scootaloo opted to ride on Soarin’s back, leaving me to carry her scooter. I didn't mind this time, the cause was justified. She spends the entire trip asking Soarin a million and five questions about the Bear Soviet Union. He just laughs along and tries to answer them, having a bit of trouble with the suitcase in his mouth. "... I bet you beat his face real good- *GASP* I just realized! Both my parents kick flank! My cutie mark must be fighting related! You have to teach me how to take down a bear! OH! OH! What would a bear fighting cutie mark look like? Maybe it would be a big-" "FFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCKKKK!" We all come to a stop when Miles comes flying down and stops, mid air, before us. Soarin drops his suitcase as he stares at him, jaw practically on the floor. Oh yeah, I guess the whole alicorn thing is new to him. "Nice Miles, right in front of Scootaloo." I tell her, making him open his eyes and look at us. "Oh... heh... heh, sorry. Um... hey Soarin, long time no see... oh, what happened to your eye?" He asks awkwardly. I give him a look as he the blue aura field around him dissipates, dropping him to the ground. "I swear Miles, newborn foals have better reactions than you. Oh, hello Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, Lieutenant Soarin. How are you all this afternoon?" Luna asks as she comes to a landing behind Miles. THUD "Was it something I said?" Luna asks as Soarin lays on the ground, slightly twitching. "Anyway, it's getting close to three now Miles-" "I know, I know, back to business and all." He says as he stands up. "Speaking of which, Dash, I'll need to talk to you later today. After you get your boy toy somewhere softer than the floor preferably. Come on, I'll see you off." He tells Luna as they start to walk towards his house. "You didn't have to yell every single time." Luna tells him with a playful nudge. "Yeah, and you didn't have to go and drop me from that high!" He retorts with a playful nudge of his own. "Um... Mom, is he going to be alright?" Scootaloo asks as she continues to poke Soarin’s face. Ahh, it's good to have everypony back together... wait... Storm and Big Mac get time off... why can't I? "Let's get him home already, I need to check my calendar for something." I tell Scoots as I set her on my back. Soarin my love, we have work to do.
Chapter 181 Plans Well MadeChapter 181 Plans Well Made Perspective: Miles Luna and I make our way home after a nice long walk together, made longer with our constant nudging and playful flirting. I consider myself lucky to have calmed down after her little flight lesson... though I don't look forward to future ones. My initial thoughts were that flying would be as instinctual as walking and running, but that's clearly not the case. I understand why, I never knew how to fly so why would I just be able to pick it up, but... I don't know. I guess it bugs me a bit that I'm not making any progress. "... and then I'll be able to make it, sound good?" Luna asks as she hops in front of me, blocking the front door. "Yeah." "... you weren't listening, were you?" "Not a word, but I did enjoy all of the physical contact. Thanks for that!" I say a I walk around her and open the door. "FAH!" "BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK!" I fall over as Lupus and Hati assault me, going straight for my face. "LUPUS! HATI! ENOUGH-GAH! NO TEETH!" I yell as I try to get them off of me. Luna just rolls her eyes and walks past me, not even offering to help. Once I get back up I run over to her, following her closely as we go up the stairs. "Why do they always do that?" "Because they love you. Now, pay attention. I'm going to be in the Griffin Colonies for the next few days. But don't worry, I'll make it back for your birthday-" "Birthday?" I ask as I come to a stop. "Wait, I don't have a birthday this year-" "Nice try mister." She says with a sly smile as she turns back to me. "The actual day may not happen, but we're still going to celebrate it-" "But-" "No buts. I've already sent a letter to Pinkie Pie, so this is going to happen. Now be a good boy and see your wife off." She tells me before pecking my lips and heading into the bedroom. I stand there in a daze as I try to get the gears turning in my head. I was gone for two months... Everyone thought I had almost died... Now it's going to be my birthday, a day to celebrate life... "LUNA!" I yell as I run over to the bedroom. Before I could say anything she wraps her forelegs around my neck and presses her lips against mine. I lose track of thought as I close my eyes and give in to the kiss. She leans against me as she slowly rocks from side to side, also running a hoof through my hair playfully. "Please Miles?" She asks when she breaks away, still rocking from side to side as she begins to press herself against my chest. "Just a little get together- *kiss* some friends- *kiss* a few gifts- *kiss* maybe a little fun afterwards *kiss with tongue and oh sweet Barbra did she just roll her tongue?* please?" "Well... if it's just a little get together... and if only a few people show up... sure- but only because you really want it." She gives me a little squeeze as she gives me another kiss. *sigh* the things I do for my woman. "Thank you, now I really have to get going. But before I go, I need to borrow something from you. No questions, asked. All I can say is that it's for a surprise, now... Can I borrow the Elements of Harmony?" "... the... you want to borrow-" "No questions!" She yells as she covers my lips with her hoof. I glance down to the necklace and think about it for a moment. I really don't see why not. I can't even use these things right now anyway. I lean forward and give her a quick kiss before lifting the necklace off and laying it around her neck. "Try not to break anything with them, okay?" I say as I give her chin a playful nudge. She gives her thanks and hugs me again. "Don't worry, I'll bring them back real fast. I just need to see if I can do something with them. Okay bye!" And like that she runs to the closet and teleports away. I stand there for a moment before shrugging and heading downstairs. I don't know what she could possibly be planning, but I have a feeling I'll find out soon enough. I make it down the stairs and turn- "BAAAAAAAAAALLLS!" I freeze up when I hear Damian’s voice from behind. Of course he's here. They're all here. I told them to be here, and now they are. I turn around and glare at all of the Spartans sitting in my living room, minus Storm and Big Mac of course. "Yes, well... glad you all-" "Dude, you've got some serious-" "Damian if you finish that sentence I'll fuck you up worse than Night Fury." Damian pauses and thinks about his next choice before leaning back in his chair. "Right, so-" "COCONUTS!" "DAMIAN!" I yell as I start to chase him. "WORTH IT!" He yells as he runs away. ............................................................................................................................................................ Perspective: Luna I flash into the furbished mico station cave and find Regina napping on the bed. Oh, it's time for some payback. I tip-hoof my way over to her side and bring my mouth to the side of her head, trying my best to wake her with my giggles. "Oh Regina-" "COME HERE BITCH!" "EEP!" I yell as she suddenly grabs me and tosses me on the bed. She quickly gets over me and pins my down, smirking as she looks down at me. "Luna, you really shouldn’t sneak up on a griffin like that. I nearly hurt you." She says innocently as she smiles down at me. "Yes... well, you can let go of me now... also, why did you call me that?" "Oh, I was just teasing you. Don't tell me Miles doesn't talk dirty with you." She says playfully as she lets me go. "Well.... no, he's more of the quiet, respectful kind-" "So boring?" "ANYWAY! Come on, let's see if this works." I say as I start to walk out of the cave. "Let's get going already. We don't have much time." "And why's that? Are you trying to keep this a secret?" She asks as she hovers at my side. "No... well, only for a bit. I don't even know if it's going to work. If it doesn't, then no secrets-" "And if it does?" She asks. I pause as I try to think of a way to word my answer. "You have issues." "I do not!" "Yeah, you do. Now let's go do this probably dangerous and stupid thing that you don't want to have be known while I'm still in the mood to try it." She says before leading the way. I smirk to her as I keep up with her. I know I can count on her to help me with almost anything... well... if there is anything she won't help me with, I don't know what it is. She keeps quiet as we make our way down the mountain, heading away from Canterlot. She gives me a few questioning looks, but doesn't question me any further. When we make it to the mouth of the Crystal Cavern, she lands and gives me a look. "What?" "What exactly are we going to do here?" "Well, with the Elements, I was thinking that I could somehow turn into a human-" "Why!? Miles is a pony now! Why would you want to turn into a human at this point?!" She asks as she cuts me off from the cave. "*sigh* well, I know how important Terradisia is to Miles. If I turn into a human now, any foals we could possibly maybe have will come out human. I don't think society would be as welcoming to a new alicorn as it would be to a human. So, I'm going to try to turn myself into a human... or at least try." Regina gives me an even stare before suddenly going wide eyed. "YOU'RE PREGNANT!?" "SHH! NO! MAYBE! MILES CAN'T FOLLOW ORDERS!" I yell as she begins to shake in excitement. "AHHHHH! THIS IS SO AWESOME! Can I be the aunt!? Please, please, please, pleaaaaaaase!? OOO, filly or colt- wait! It may be human! Boy or girl! Are there ways to find out early? How long have you been expecting?! AAAAH BABIES!" She leaps over and hugs me tightly. "Uh... are you going to be okay?" I ask uneasily as she continues to hug me, still shaking in excitement. "Sorry." She says as she releases me. "It's just... well, you know I can't have children. Not anymore at least. So, when one of my closest friends is suddenly expecting... yeah. I tend to get a little... I don't know, I just don't like it when bad things happen to hatchlings." She says as she rubs the back of her neck. I smile to her and give her a soft hug, rubbing her back gently. "It's okay. And yes, you can be the aunt as well. Just... don't get your hopes up, okay. We only did... it, yesterday. I may not even be expecting." I tell her as I let go. "Pfft, please. Did you see the coconuts on Miles? If he didn't get you pregnant then I don't know what will. But... isn't there a chance that this machine will harm the baby? Aren't there risks?" "Well, Fluttershy and Twilight were pregnant when the beam went off for Miles. They seem to be coming along just fine. Plus, if I turn into a human and am not pregnant, then we can just change Miles back and try again... I think. We'll never know until we try for ourselves." She nods to me and we head into the cave together. We find Outpost Zero easily, and thankfully empty. I guess the researchers took what Miles said to heart. Regina and I head over to the beam machine and examine it over. The cylinder has slid forward and is now pointing at the ground, leaving the gem compartment open. We look to each other before flying up to the back and try to set the Elements into their slots,quickly finding them unable to fit. I guess I won't be able to change after all, unless I can find a way to form the Elements. DO YOU TRULY WISH FOR THIS? "WHAT!?" I yell as I jump back, hitting the cylinder and somehow making it spin around. Regina and I watch it for a moment until it finally comes to a stop. "Well... that might be a problem." Regina says as she walks around it and looks it over. "What was that all about?" "My soul spoke to me! Didn't you hear it?" "Uh... no." No? How could she not hear it? Either way, yes! Yes I'm sure about this! Can you help me? I CAN IF YOU GIVE ME CONTROL. BUT KNOWLEDGE COMES AT A PRICE I think about it for a moment before nodding my head. If you’re willing to help, and as long as you will not harm anyone around me, then I will allow you control. I take a breath in and close my eyes as I give control to Soul Fire. My mind begins to numb a bit as something begins to happen. I feel... I can't explain it. One second it just feels like a small headache, the next my mind feels as if somepony is trying to shake me awake. The two feelings alternate, slowly at first but steadily keeping to the latter of the two. I can feel a heat begin to form over my forehead as the mind numbing sensation intensifies, blocking out all other thoughts from me. During one of the more intense moments I begin to hear voices. It starts out as a few whispers, but slowly begins to build in volume. Soon I cover my ears as the sound of thousands of voices fills my head, screaming at me! Telling me a thousand upon a thousand things! I try to yell out to them to stop but they won't- or can't- hear me. No matter how much I strain myself they won't stop!Please, I'm begging you! Stop, please stop! I can't take anymore of this! JUST STOP! PLEASE STOP- BRRRRRRRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMMM "LUNA! Luna are you okay? What was that? Luna, please answer me!" I blink a few times as the numbness begins to fade from my head. I'm laying on the ground in Outpost Zero, a layer of sweat has formed all over me. My horn feels numb and I feel.... "Regina?" I ask as I look up at her. "What happened?" "You stood there for a minute with your eyes closed. I tried getting you to respond to me, but no matter what you just stood there. I was about to get help when you suddenly started blasting your magic at max power. Your eyes opened up, but they were pure white energy. After that you started running around the room, doing things to the Elements and machinery here. I tried to stop you again but you held me back. What was that?" "It... it didn't work then. But, how am I still awake? Miles went unconscious, why not me?" I ask as I sit up, finding myself still in pony form. "It did hit me... right?" "Yeah... it did." Regina says as she tries to think of an answer for what happened. "Maybe... maybe... I don't know Luna. I simply don't know the answers to this. Look, let's just get up and take it easy for a bit, okay? Don't stress yourself with this." She says she rubs my back, trying to comfort me. "Yeah... yeah, relax. That's what I need to do. Who knows, maybe it'll change me in two months like it did Miles... right?" Regina thinks about before rubbing my back a bit more. "You really don't think so?" "Well, no. But what do I know? I'm not a magic user. Let's just go and get you some water, okay?" I let out a sigh of disappointment and nod to her. It was worth a shot at least. "Let's not forget the Elements-" "I'll get them, you just take it easy." She says before flying up to the cylinder. She fumbles with some of the lateral latches, as well as the primary... coupling... coils... how did I learn that? How can I name the parts of the machine... and understand their use... "I think I need to sit down." THUD ......................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Miles "Right, now that I've dealt with that-" "Worth it!" Damian yells from the back as CC treats his nose wound. "Back to the matter at hand. We need to re-establish ourselves with Moosden and prepare an expedition to New Garnet. Last I checked we had a new family move in, so we need to make sure we're up to speed with them. We need to asses the Unfamiliar in New Garnet and determine if they are a threat or not. And then we need to prepare for a possible war with Equestria, any questions?" I ask, getting True Will to raise his hoof. "Um... care to explain that last part Captain?" "I am apparently the king of Equestria at the moment, but I don't want the job. So, when I go to refuse it and they try to enforce it, I'm going to need some back up-" THUD We all look up as something drops to the floor above us. "Um.... I'll go deal with that. You guys just get your gear ready." I say quietly as I turn and head up the stairs. I make it to my room where I open the door and find Regina standing on my bed, trying to pull Luna up by her hips. ... ... ... "I swear, I'm actually the hero right now." Regina says as she lets go of Luna. "What happened?" I ask as I step in. IT HAS BEGUN! I jump back when Luna suddenly springs up and tackles me. I try to fend her off, but the amount of raw energy emanating from her horn blinds me long enough for her to touch my horn with her hoof. The last thing I hear is the sounds of thousands of voices speaking out at once. IT WILL BE IT WILL BE Author's Note Brony on!
Chapter 182 Family AffairsChapter 182 Family Affairs Perspective: Miles I wake up in a blank place. I look around and confirm that I'm in consciousness, though I don't think I'm in my own. It just... feels foreign. I get onto my hooves and look around again. There's literally nothing here. No memories, no Soul Fire, I can't even tell if I'm standing on something there's just... empty whiteness. I MUST SPEAK WITH THE- "SWEET FUCKING JUMP-SCARES! Is it impossible for you to not sneak up on people?" I ask as I try to calm down. The blue soul fire before me doesn't respond as it waits patiently. "Fuck.... what's going on then?" I MUST SPEAK WITH THE YOU. IT IS URGENT "Can't you just tell me? Wouldn't he hear it anyway?" I ask. Soul Fire hovers there for a second before flying at me, knocking me out instantly. I blink back to consciousness from the sound of panicked hooves moving around me. I lift my head up and look around, finding myself in my mind with Luna running back and forth. She looks extremely worried and goes between several different memory panels. I sit up and rub my head as I try to register what just happened. "This doesn't make sense!" Luna fumes as she runs around me, not even noticing that I've woken up. "What happened?" I ask as I get to my hooves. "What was that all about?" "Why are we here!? Why here!? It's usually in Miles's mind, why?" Luna says as she goes to one of the memory panels and watches it for a moment. I walk up beside her and watch it as well. It's nothing I've ever seen before. It's of Luna speaking to crying Celestia. "We're in your mind? Finally, now we don't have to go over all of my depressing shit!" I cheer sarcastically, getting a glare from Luna. "What?" "Can we please just leave? There are some things I'd rather not look back on." She says nervously as she eyes the other panels. "Like what?" "Like my being Nightmare Moon." She says flatly as she glances to the panel behind her. "Oh... yeah, good point. Well, you know what we have to do then." I say as I step closer to her. She leans up and gives me a quick peck on the lips. After a moment of nothing happening she begins to get antsy. "Why didn't that work?" "Well, it was a little weak." I suggest, getting her to sigh in defeat. "Well... sorry, I'm just... not in the mood to step it up right now. Sorry." "It's alright. But what has you so worked up?" She nervously glances back to a panel to the right, so I walk over to it and look it over. It's a dark room. Nothing is really happening, though I think Luna is stuck in the center. A door opens in the back opens and a figure walks in. "Can we leave this area at least." Luna asks nervously. I look back to her and nod. We begin to walk down the hall of memories together in complete silence. I can't help but stare from panel to panel, getting glimpses of her past. Fields of grass rolling in the wind, shadows on walls, legions of Lunar Guards facing off with Solar Guards, all meaningless to me, but effecting Luna greatly. "Do you want to talk about it?" I ask, getting her to look away. "Luna, you don't have to worry about it. I'm here if you want to talk, but if you don't want to you don't have to." We continue on for a few minutes before she finally comes to a stop. "Luna?" "I was trying to surprise you by turning myself into a human." She tells me quietly. "... Outpost Zero." "Yeah... but it didn't work." "Is that what really has you worked up? Luna, it's not that big of a deal. I-" "No, it's not just that. It's... well, I don't know. I did it with you in mind, but..." "But?" I ask as I move to face her. She sighs as she looks over to a panel to my right. It starts out with a couple of bright flashes before Celestia is sent flying down through he air, crashing into a stone castle. Luna flies after her, hooves forward, horn glowing, every intent on killing her older sister as she lays against a large stone orb. Then a bright light, then... nothing. Darkness. "... Luna, please tell me why you wanted to be human. For real." She sighs again as she looks back to me. "Well, we're heading towards a new chapter in life- maybe. I don't want my past effecting our possible childs future. If I turn into a human, then we all get a new slate. You as an alicorn, an us as humans." "Luna, just because you are in a new form doesn't mean you get a new start. You would still be Luna. Our child- that is totally on the way- will still have you as its mother... by the way, I'm calling it now, girl." "Pffft, please. With the amount of masculinity you have, it's going to be a colt... IF IT HAPPENS!" "It's going to happen." "You don't know that! I barely started heat, it could have missed!" She yells as she gets in my face. I laugh at her a bit as I pull her in for a hug. "No way, you're pregnant. And you know what? Whatever it is, we're going to love it more then anything, spend every possible moment with it as it grows up, and when it's old enough it will conquer the world. No matter what your past was." I tell her as I stroke her mane. "... what was that last part?" She asks nervously. "About your past? I'm just saying that-" "No, before that." "I assume that we'll love our child unconditionally, unless there are something you want to tell me-" "NO! After that!" "Hey! You signed on for the long haul! No opting out now-" "UHG! Miles!" She sighs as she hits me. I laugh as I give her a squeeze and rub her shoulder. "I was just kidding, but in all seriousness. A child with parents who lead some of the most influential and powerful nations in the world, the kid'll have some pull." Luna thinks about it for a moment before she slowly lays her head against my neck, eyes wide in realization. "What have we done?" She asks fearfully. "Doomed everyone." "They won't stand a chance..." "Nope!" "Assuming it actually happens-" "Why don't you think it happened!?" I ask as I pull her away to look her in the eyes. "Why do you get to have all the fun? Who's to say I don't want to have another go soon?" ... ... ... ... ... ... "Would it be weird to do it here?" ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... "A little.... but I don't see why not, do you want to?" "Fuck yeah." ............................................................................................................................................................ Perspective: Spike I mumble a bit as voices in the distance begin to wake me. Something about... friendship having no use and... a recluse? What does a spider have to do with anything? I open my eyes and find myself below Twilight's bedroom room. I can see Twilight sitting in the middle of the room, dazed by something, as something slithers out of the top window. I didn't get a good look at it, but I know I saw something. "Twi- Mom? What's going on?" I ask as I sit up. Twilight blinks a few times before looking back to me, putting on a nervous smile as she holds and pets her tail. "Wrong?! Nothing's wrong! The only thing that's wrong is the lack of things being wrong! That's what! Oh no! I yelled at you, I'm so sorry! Please forgive me! Please don't leave and take all of my friends to tell Celestia that I've failed at my duties of friendship and force me to repeat magical kindergarten where I'll turn back into a social recluse and-" "TWILIGHT!" I yell, getting her to stop and hold onto her tail for dear life. "What are you talking about? Kindergarten? Celestia? Social what now? What's wrong?" She looks around nervously as she continues petting her tail. "... nothing. It's'... it's nothing. Sorry, I just... it was just... nothing. Are you hungry? I can make you something to eat if you are," she offers. I stare at her for a moment before getting up to my feet. Twilight doesn't usually lie. Not that she can't, but... still. "Twilight, you're starting to weird me out. Please just tell me what's wrong and I'll help you fix it. Please." She stops petting her tail and looks up to me, looking fairly angry. "I told you it's nothing Spike! Why would it be anything!? I am your mother and I will not tolerate you questioning me like this, understand me?!" She says in a firm voice as she stands and marches towards me. Despite the height difference, I can't help but shy away from her. I made her mad... oh no... "MOM! Please, I'm sorry! Look, I'm dropping it now! That conversation never happened! Just promise me that you'll never leave me okay! I'll do anything you want, just don't leave." I beg her, eyes watering up as I wait for her to respond. Please don't send me away. Please don't say you don't love me anymore. Where would I go? What would I do? "Fine, I'll let it go, this time. Just don't do it again." She warns me before heading downstairs. I let out a sigh of relief as I follow after her. "If your loved ones become angry, your life will become empty." "When your friendships have no use, your life will become that of a recluse." ............................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Applejack I walk up to the fridge and pull out an apple soda. It's a bit warm today and a nice cold beverage sounds good to me. I try to twist the top off, but find it a bit difficult to do so. Huh, normally these things come off easily, what the- "OKAY-OKAY-OKAY! WORST DISGUISE EVER!" I yelp as I drop the talking soda bottle. It shatters into thousands of pieces before swirling up into Discord. His head is twisted backwards, but with a ear splitting crunch he pulls it back to the correct spot. "UUUUUUhg, well, I didn't plan that part through well enough-" "DISCORD! What in tarnation are y'all doin here! Ah thought we turned ya back inta stone!" I yell as I back away from him. "Hmm? Oh, yes, about that. I got better. Now, a simple message to you and I'll be on my way-" "Ah don't wanna hear it!" I yell as I turn away from him. "Oh well, I guess Hammer will have to die for nothing then. Forget I said anything then. See you at the funeral-" "Wait! What? What gonna happen ta Hammer?" I ask as I turn back to him. "Oh, just that-" "And no funny business, ya hear me! I jus wanna know what happens ta Hammer!" I warm him as I paw at the ground. He rolls his eyes, having them fall out and into his claw. "Fine then, no funny business." He says as he rubs his eyes against his chest and sets them back in his head. "I'm just here to warn you that a massive fight between Terradisia and Equestria is coming and your little lover boy is going to be caught in the middle of it." "What? Now ah know that's a lie. Why would we get inta a fight? What are ya plannin Discord?!" He chuckles as he begins to melt into the cracks into the woodwork. "Do I look like a guy with a plan Honest Applejack? A word of advice though, to save your jailbait, move your family reunion to Appleoosa and invite him. He'll go, don't worry about that." And with that he slips away beneath the house. ".... HE'S NOT JAILBAIT! HE'S THIRTEEN! THAT'S LEGAL!" I yell at the floor. "Uh... what?" Applebloom asks from the living room doorway. "Nothing... I was..." "Yelling at the floor." Hammer says as he walks in. "Hammer! What are ya'll doin here?!" I ask as I step over where Discord was, trying to hide.... nothing. "And here I thought I would get a warm hello and maybe even a kiss on the cheek." He says jokingly as he steps towards me. "I guess Scootaloo was right." "No she wasn't! That chicken was just yappin on!" Applebloom yells as she runs over to me and tries to push me towards Hammer. "Now... Apple... jack.... ya'll greet yer.... special... somepony.... properly... why aint... ya'll movin!?" I lift my leg, making Applebloom fall over. I hear some giggles and look over to see Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell hiding behind the couch in the living room. "What's going on?" I ask Hammer. "I Pinkie Promised not to say-" "FOREVER!" Pinkie yells as she pops out from the fridge, scaring all of us half to death. Wasn't I just there!? When did she get in?! ".... anyway... Hammer, can we talk? ALONE!" I say as I look to Applebloom. She salutes me and runs for the couch, where she hides with her friends. I swear, that girl- "Before you ask, I was hanging out with your sisters friends because they made me their den mother for the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Nothing out of the ordinary happened." "... ah believe ya, but that's not what ah wanted to talk to ya about." "OH THANK GOD! By the way, I'll fix the barn while I'm here, promise." ".... anyway, ah wanted ta invite ya ta the Apple Family Reunion. Ah know there are quiet a few Apples that would like ta meet ya... and... ah'd like ta introduce ya as mah coltfriend. So... how 'bout it? Wanna come?" I ask as I feel my nerves begin to get the best of me. I can't help but blush and avoid his eyes. It also doesn't help to have three fillies staring at me, mouths hanging open. "Hmm.... that depends. When is it?" He asks nervously. "SERIOUSLY!?" Sweetie Bell yells as she pops up from the couch. Applebloom and Scootaloo pull her back down and resume their terrible stalking. "It's actually in about a month-" "A month... I think I should be able to do it. Yeah, I'd be down in Appleoosa before so it'll be tricky, I might be a little late-" "Well, we can just have it in Appleoosa then-" "WHAT?!" Applebloom, Granny Smith, Big Mac, and Hammer all yell at once. "Applejack, what's going on? You're telling me that you're willing to move an entire family reunion just so I can make it? What's wrong?" "Well.... it's just... ah think that a change in scenery would be nice-" "The Apple Family Reunion has been in Ponyville since before this house was built. What has gotten inta yer head girl?" Granny asks as she steps into the kitchen, followed by my siblings. "Ah... well... it's just... well, the thing is... it'll be... less chaotic there, is all." I say as I step away from them. Big Mac goes wide eyed and joins me at my side. "Big brother, are ya'll seriously consideren this?" Applebloom asks. "Eeyup." "But... why? What's going on?" Hammer asks as he steps towards me. "Jus... promise me ya'll be there. Please, promise me." I beg him. He stares into my eyes for a moment before sighing. "Fine, I'll be there, but I expect answers... and protection from any family members that might try to drill odd questions from me." "Deal!" I say as I spit onto my hoof and hold it out to him. He gives it a questioning look before shaking it lightly, slightly disgusted by my saliva. "We'll have to work on that though." "So what's going on?" He asks as he shakes he hoof free of spit. "Ah'll tell ya in Appleoosa." "But-" "Ah said ah would tell ya, but ah never said when. Ah sorry fer tricking ya, but ya just have ta trust me on this. It's really important ta me." He gives me a disappointed look but nods along. "Anypony here mind tellin me why we're gonna move the family reunion all the way down ta Appleoosa?" Granny asks. "Some ponies can barely afford the tickets here." "Ah can help wit that." Big Mac says as he steps forward. I look back to Hammer and try to smile to him, but can see his discomfort easily. I know this is odd, but... Discord didn't lie.
Chapter 183 Back To WorkChapter 183 Back to Work Perspective: Miles I let out a satisfied sigh as I hold Luna a bit closer to myself. Ends up doing the act in someones head is just as good as doing it in reality. Good to know, I'm sure it'll come in handy eventually. The only odd part about it was having all of the memories around us, but we found a simple solution for that. Normally I just go with the motions and try to guess what would please her the most, but having all of the memories with us was an amazing cheat sheet. Sadly, at the end of it we couldn't resist kissing, so now we're in the spare room at my place. I had initially questioned why we were here, but I had a sleeping Luna to occupy my curiosity. I guess I got out before she did, so that may, or may not have let me have some plausible alone time to feel up her body. It's as plausible as her pregnancy.... I regret nothing. I snap back to her as she finally starts to wake. She stretches her hooves over her head and lets out a little moan before resting her hooves over my shoulders. I lean forward and giver her a little peck on the lips, which she intensifies instantly. "Hey." I say when we finally pull away to breathe. "Hey." She says tiredly. "How long was I out?" "Not long, did you actually fall asleep in your mind?" I ask, getting a chuckle from her. "A little, no thanks to you." She says as she playfully pushes on my chest. "So... we should probably get going, huh?" "Yeah, fuck being busy." "Tell me about it." She agrees as she scoots closer. I smile to her and lean in to kiss her one more time. It was short and simple, but the message was loud and clear. We left the room together, saying our goodbyes before Luna left to find Regina. It felt... odd. As in, we were a normal couple heading out to our normal lives. Wake up, go to work, come back and repeat. Though with more passion than that, and I know that once we do leave that door normalcy stays behind... it's nice to have something normal- something real in my life. No worries of power, conflict, or fear. Just me and my love, procrastinating away with sweet kisses. .... fuck, it's too early to be this sappy. With a spring in my step I go to my room and open the door- FWOOOOOSH "AAAAAAAAAHH!" ... ... ... ... ... Oh, that's right. Normalcy isn't allowed beyond this door. Okay, now that my brain has reset, I watch as the black flames die away. Where my bed once was is now occupied by Damian and CC and lot's of ash. Damian is on top of CC and seems to be on the verge of passing out. CC on the other hand... she seems... well... the best way to put it would be mixing orgasmic and fearful. "Okay, get the fuck out and buy me a new bed." I order them as Damian rolls over. "... is that it?" "Fuck you.... tired... nap." Damian huffs back. "Did you really need to burn my bed?" "I don't have control over that... barely avoided burning... burning... sexy flanks over here." Damian says as he waves a hoof in CC's general direction. "Y-yeah." CC mumbles before rolling into Damian's embrace. ".... NO! Get out of my room and buy me a new... a.... new..." My trail of thought ends when a red wisp floats up from the floor. It takes the form of a woman in a long flowing pink dress that hangs loosely over her supple form. ... ... ... ... "Oh... a lust spirit... that explains the awesomeness of the bed." Damian comments sleepily. "Yo-" "No." I cut off the spirit, getting a confused look from it. "Damian, be sure to make it to the next citizens meeting. CC... whatever, attractive spirit thing, I didn't see you, you didn't see me." Before anyone could respond I shut the door and walk away. I don't think I've ever seen a spirit with that much clarity before... I hate Damian. I need to think of some kind of revenge to get on him... I'll think of it later. I have crap to do. I make my way downstairs where I find True Will and Dust Devil sleeping on the couch, well, Dust Devil is at least. True Will is just laying beside her, letting her drool pool up on his foreleg. "Sir?" "Wake her up and armor up. We're heading out." He nods to me as I head out to the back. I head over to my shed and... fuck. Why did I install that lock? Maybe I can point my hoof the right way... well.... fuck. I guess I don't get armor. How would it fit anyway.... Leaving stupidity aside, I head back inside and take get as ready as possible. I find a bed sheet and turn it into a toga and grab Susurrans sword and.... well... that's as ready as I'll ever be. I'm sure it'll be fine. "Why are you wearing a bed sheet?" Dust Devil asks as she pops some gum into her mouth from the kitchen. "Nudity is a crime in some countries." I tell her, getting a slow nod from True Will. "Ready to go?" They nod, so we head out together. I'm the first to step through the mico platform. Moosden is covered in a thick layer of snow and is dead silent. There is no lights coming from any of the homes, no smoke, just silence. I take a few steps out, finding the snow cold as it crunches under my hoof. I look back when another flash appears behind me and signal to Will to stay quiet. "Trouble?" He asks quietly as he walks beside me. "Maybe. It's too quie-" "SNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!" Dust yells at the top of her lungs when she appears. "SHHH!" I shush her and shoot her a look. She tilts her head in confusion and walks to my left. We stand there in the cold for a few moments, letting the silence settle in. I know there weren't that many people living here, but it shouldn't be this quiet. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" "SPARTANS MOVE!" I yell as I take off through the snow. Dust Devil jumps into the air and flies off as Will teleports ahead. Fucking cheaters. Running through the snow proves to be more strenuous than I would have originally thought, but thanks to my long legs I make it to the town center in good time. I hear high pitched screeching coming from ahead, but have no clue where- "NORTHWEST HOUSE UP AHEAD, I'M GOING TO ENGAGE!" Dust yells from above before darting towards it. I hear True flash away as well, leaving me to play catch up. I finally see the house she's talking about after weaving through a few empty houses. The roof has been busted through in several places and I can hear True fighting something inside. The screeches are getting louder as whatever is in there fights back. Dust flies through the hole in the roof as I run towards the front door. When I get there I throw my shoulder into it and crash through, hitting something else as well. Whatever it is, it's big. A bit bigger then me with long, sharp teeth that snap loudly as it tries to bite me. I push as kick it away as it claws at me, cutting my legs and chest up pretty bad. SHNK It lets out one last high pitched scream before falling limp to the ground. I let out a sigh in relief when- out of nowhere- it crumbles away into a pile of dust. "What the fuck was that?" I ask as I get up, noticing the wounds on my legs fading away. "Time moles." Dust Devil says as she sheaths her dagger. "This was just a pup, the mother must be nearby, where's True Will?" "In here, we've got wounded civilians!" True yells from the back. We run over to the room his voice came from and find him with three other ponies. One is a elder pegasus mare with a dusty tan coat and long grey hair with a cutie mark of a mountain with a trail going up it. Her golden eyes are pinpricks as she watches the stallion before her bleed out, clutching a dark grey newborn tightly. The unicorn stallion is all black with short, rugged, white hair. He has a cutie mark of some playing cards being held out. He has a long, deep gash on his side, but it shouldn't be fatal. "M-mom.... Dad?" Dust says as she walks into the room. "Dust Devil?" The mare says as she breaks her stares away from the stallion and looks up to Dust. "Dust.... is... is that really you?" "MOM!" Dust yells as she runs over and embraces her, being careful of the young one. True Will pauses adding the bandages to look up, but continues after a groan comes from the stallion. "I don't believe it! You guys finally came home! How long have you been here?! Who is that? What happened to Dad?" "Those things attacked us when we were bringing in some wood fire! We tried to hide out in here, but they just broke in through the roof! What happened to you!?" She yells as she pushes Dust back to glare at her. "Why did you leave us like that?! Where have you been!? Why are you so buff?" "I think you should take this to the other room so True can fix up... this guy." I state as Dust stumbles over her words. They look down at the stallion before Dust stands up. She nods to me and takes her mothers hoof, guiding her to the front room. I open and close the door for them, sighing as the room finally falls quiet. I take a seat next to True and watch him as he works on the now unconscious stallion. "... so who are these ponies?" True asks after a few minutes of wrapping up. "If I remember correctly from her memories, this is Devils Play, and that woman was Dust Trails. They are her parents, though I think the kid is new. They must have been the new people to move in recently." "Oh... okay... I didn't know she ran from them." He states as he finishes tying off the last of the bandage. We sit there in an awkward silence as Dust and her mother talk in the other room. They don't get loud enough to hear properly, so we end up just avoiding each others eyes. I can tell he wants to ask some things, but I can wait for him to do it on his own. ... ... ... ... Any second now... ... ... ... ... I think I hear a mare crying... ... ... ... ... ... Oh! They made up now... ... ... ... ... ... "OH JUST ASK ALREADY!" I yell as True, making him fall over in surprise. "What!? Ask what already?" He asks defensively as he gets back up. "You know what!" I say as I glare at him. "I don't know what you're talking about!" He yells back as me. We begin to glare at one another, each one waiting for the other to break first. "Uhg.... wha... where's Dusty?" The stallion on the bed asks groggily as he comes to. Neither of us break eye contact to answer, I know he's going to break soon... any second now... "Guys, is my... oh... uh, what's going on?" Dust asks as she steps in. "Dust Devil? Is that you?" The stallion asks as he tries to move off the bed, stopping when the pain is too much. "Dad, don't move. You got hurt pretty badly. Look, I know there's a lot that we have to talk about, but Moosden is in trouble and we're the ones responsible with keeping it safe. We're going to go and take care of it, but I promise I'll come back, okay?" Dust tells her father as she helps him back into the bed. "You still got that lucky ace?" He asks weakly. "Never go a day without it." She tells him as she kisses him on the forehead. "That's my girl, go give them hell." He tells her as he lays back in the bed, trying to get his breathing back under control. Dust leaves quickly before either of us could ask anything. With a quick glance to each other, we run after her, leaving the house and heading north out of town. "Do we have a destination?" True asks as we follow after her through the snow. "There's a clearing of trees about two miles northeast of here. That's where they first ran into them. From there... I don't know, we'll have to spread out I guess." "No, splitting up is stupid." I say as I walk along side her. She nods in agreement as we continue through the forest. After almost an hour of silence I finally get too antsy and ask Dust the question. "Are you going to be alright?" "... yeah... maybe... it's going to be a long day." She says as she trudges forward. "I assume you don't know anything about Time Moles, do you Captain?" "No." "Yeah... this is going to be tricky. They basically are creatures from the Chaotic Era, back when Discord was in power. I guess he found it funny to give some moles the ability to manipulate time. They live by stealing time from their prey and living outside the normal time parameters. Since we're probably near one of their dens, we've probably lost a few days already-" "You know, all this time skipping crap is getting a little annoying." I comment as I look off to the side. "Are they easy to kill?" "Well... one on one... kind of. When they steal time from you, they add it to themselves. That means their wounds heal because time went on for them in that instant. Luckily though, if you kill one that steals time from you, you get your time back. So, any wounds that they would inflict, never happened." "Hmm, interesting. Would they happen to look about two meters tall, have black skin, long jagged teeth, beady black eyes, sharp claws at the end of long skinny forearms and hover in the air by about fifteen centimeters?" I ask, making them both stop. "Uh... yeah." Dust says as she draws her daggers. "Where do you see one?" "Six to our right. But they're keeping their distance." I say as I signal to the group watching us. They're grouped closely together and out about fifteen meters from our position. They aren't making any positions or trying to even avoid sight. They're just floating there, watching us. "That's... not good. It they're keeping their distance, we must be near the mother." True Will says as he draws his sword and watches our backs. "What does the mother look like?" I ask as I draw my sword. "Well-" THUD RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH "Nevermind." I say as I turn and gawk at the massive beast. It's easily ten meters tall and look similar to the smaller ones, only it's so fat that it's on the ground. It pushes trees down as its fat, blubbery body ripples worms around us, a low growl emanating from its hungry throat. "What's the plan Captain?" Dust asks as we follow it around. "True and I will distract it down here. You get in the air and get behind its head." "Do you really think it would be wise to-" "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" We all falter as it roars at us, opening its maw as widely as possible as spit flies out. I drop down when I feel the energy from me begin to be pulled out from me. I force myself to look up and see a trail of green energy being pulled from me into the beast's gullet. A red energy is coming from True as well as a tan energy from Dust. I tighten the grip on my sword and force myself forward, charging at it's maw with my blade held over my head. I bring it down on the bottom of its jaw and bury it in its gums. It let out a terrified shriek as it thrashes about in pain, my blade slipping out in its first thrash. I look back at Dust and True and see them on the ground, unconscious. I see True's sword laying before him and make a run for it just as the monster turns and charges at the three of us. I roll forward and grip the blade, focusing on it in an attempt to fuel energy into it. Luckily the beast is really slow on the ground, so once it starts to glow red I slash at the beast. A wave of red energy goes flying out slams right into the beast's open mouth, severing it. "*INHALE*' Both Dust and True jolt up as they take in a large breath of air. I feel myself return to my original self as well. "You might need this." I say as I hand True his sword. They look around before they notice the dead mother before them. "Oh... shit..." Dust says distantly. "I know, I've still got it-" "You dumbass! Now the bull might come after us!" She yells as she stands up. "The... bull?" I ask as the mother rolls over. It's stomach begins to ripple violently as something begins to push its way out of its stomach. The bulge pushes further and further out before it finally rips apart, sending bile and gore everywhere. From the hole emerges another creature. This one walks on four muscular limbs that end in three pronged feet. Its head is alien in that it doesn't have eyes and the mouth is just a circular opening. It stands before us and breathes loudly, its chest expanding and deflating to a sickly degree. I raise my sword- THUD The next thing I register is being slammed against a tree with something strong and slimy grabbing my foreleg. I go to slash at it, but before I could act it tosses me aside. As I get up, I hear True send another beam of energy. CRASH I guess he missed. I get back up and look for the beast, finding it slamming Dust into the ground. True is behind it, about to send another slash. Before he could, the beast suddenly appears before him, both of its forelegs above its head. It brings them down and slams them into his chest, knocking him out. This thing is too fast. Every time we try to hit it, it just appears before us. It walks away from True casually as it looks at the rest of us. It must think that it has nothing to fear. It has no threats here. Shit! How the fuck can I hit this fucker without magic! "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"From the right the six Time Moles charge at the bull, trying to scratch at it as a few others begin to suck its energy away. It beats two of them away with ease but falters as the next two jump on it and begin to scrape away at its soft flesh. They become a mass of screeches, blood, and flailing limbs as the young ones try to bring down the bull. "CAPTAIN!" I look over to Dust and see her feeding a healing potion to True as she cradles him. "We need to back off! If the pups don't win, we're bucked!" I glance back before nodding to her. "Can you carry him?" "Yeah-" "Then let's get going!" I yell as I start to move away from the mass of fighting animals. I wait for her to lift him up and take off through the air. When she gets over my head, I charge forward at the chaotic mass. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" I bring my blade around as the bull beats back the last of the pups, having many bleeding wounds over its entire body. In the last meter of my charge it sees me and suddenly appears before me, using one of its strong feet to grip my throat. With my arms free, I swing at its side, burying my sword deep into its chest. It stands there for a moment, its bile breath falling on me as it seems to stare down at me. With a grunt, I pull my blade out. The beast falls over and begins to melt away. SMACK "OW! What was that for!?" I ask Dust as I rub the back of my head. "Because you're a dumbass! It could have killed you!" She yells as she sets True down. "What were you thinking!?" "First off, don't talk to your superior officer like that. I'll let it slide this time, but do it again and it'll be a week on The Run. Secondly, that beast was going to kill them with ease. If I didn't take this chance to kill it, it would have just chased us down anyway. It was my one chance at getting that kill, so shut your fucking mouth." I say firmly as I tower over her. She backs off a bit, ears folding down as she paws at the ground. "Sorry, Captain." She says quietly. I nod to her and start to walk away, leaving her behind. "Captain, we should gather the remains-" "Why?" I ask as I turn back to her. "These are extremely rare potion ingredients. They could become useful in the future. Especially the bulls." I think about it for a moment before nodding to her. "I'll leave that task to you. Get it done." I tell her before I toss True onto my back and start to walk back to Moosden. First Night Fury challenges me, then Dust starts to question my actions... if this continues I'm going to have to kill one of them. I need to keep the Spartans in order... at least now I understand why Susurrans always said: Friends second, Life first.
Chapter 184 Shiny OrdealsChapter 184 Shiny Ordeals I make it to the edge of Moosden and take True Will to the nearest house. It's empty with the exception of some sparse furniture. I find a rickety bed and lay him down before checking his pulse... it's steady, I think he'll be fine. I leave the room and head through the town towards Bantler's and Na-Da's house. Hopefully they can help him, or E'Claire or Butterscotch I guess. Anyone who is able to use their hooves really. "DAD!" I stop when Shadow leaps out from behind a building and hugs the bottom of my leg. "Shadow! You sneaky little thing, how long have you been waiting there?" I ask as I pick her up and hug her. "It's only been a few minutes, Dad." She says, slightly confused. "Is there any of that food left over from the party?" "Par... that party was two days ago Shadow." I tell her as I set her back down. We share a moment of staring at each other before E'Claire catches our attention. She comes running down the street screaming for Shadow, tears streaking down her face. When she finally sees her she runs full speed at her. Plowing a path in the snow as she gets here as quickly as humanly possible. "SHADOW!" She yells as she tackles her in a hug. "Where have you been! We've been looking for you for A WEEK! Don't you dare disappear on us like that again!" She yells as she squeezes her in a hug. "S-STAP- TOO.... *EERRRR* TOO TIGHT!" Shadow yelps as she tries to wiggle her way out of her hooves. "Wait a minute, a week? I saw you guys two days ago." I say, getting E'Claires attention. "No... it was a week ago at the party. Butterscotch and I came home after everything. Shadow said she wanted to stay to hang out with her friends, but when she didn't return we started to get worried. We went back through the teleporter to go check on her, but that was six days ago." "What? I've only been gone for a little while, an hour at most." Shadow says as she dangles from E'Claires hooves. "I think I can shed some light on that." Dust Devil says as she trots up to us. "You had a time mole infestation. When they are alone, it typically doesn't do much to the surrounding area. But when they're in larger numbers, the area around them slows down. What has been a few minutes here could be days back in the rest of the world." "... well that sucks." I say, getting a punch from E'Claire as she covers Shadows ears. "But yes... that is bad." "How long has it been?" Shadow asks. "There no way of telling without finding somepony who wasn't here." Dust says with a shrug of her shoulders. "Well then, I'll head back to Ponyville and see what's going on there. Dust, you stay here and check up on things. The town, it's people, and True. Be sure to fill me in as soon as possible if anything dire happens. Got it?" "Yes sir!" I nod to her and begin to walk off. After a few meters I realize Shadow is walking alongside me. "And where do you think you're going?" I ask playfully as she tries to keep pace with me, having difficulty with all of the snow. "I wanna go with you." "Did E'Claire say it was okay?" "Yeah, as long as time doesn't slow down again." "Well... knowing me, that may not be something we can promise." I say jokingly as I pause. "C'mon, lets get you out of the snow." I say as I kneel down. She jumps onto my back and holds onto my neck. Her small, cold hooves send a shiver down my spine, but I ignore it as I continue on my way. Perspective: Dust Devil I step before the house with my parents and pause to take a deep breath. I haven't seen them in... almost six years. Never visiting, never writing any letters, I didn't even say goodbye. What do I say now? 'Hey Mom, Dad, sorry about running out on you two after what happened, friends?' Maybe I shouldn't go in, maybe I should just leave them be. They probably don't want to see me. They have a new foal to watch over, they don't need me- "Dust Devil-" "GAH!" CRASH I fall back to the ground in a daze after smacking my head against the roof. Everything stays blurry for a moment before I shake my head clear. I gulp when I see my mother standing over me, staring down at me. "H-hey M-mom.... uh... what's up?" Smooth Dust, smooth. "Well, my eldest daughter who I haven't seen in over five years just showed up out of nowhere and is apparently a soldier for an ancient human society. Not before joining one of the worlds largest mercenary groups and throwing herself at countless dangers. No letters, no goodbye, what in the wide, wide world of Equestria has gotten into you!?!" I try to make myself as small as possible as she yells at me, all of the guilt I've been pushing away coming up now. "What if you had died!? What if... I don't even know! If something had happened to you we would never had know Dust! Did that never even occur to you!? Did you ever even think about us!?" "... they would have sent you a letter-" "OH! OH! OH.... OH! THEY would have sent us a letter! THEY.... just... DUST!" She backs off and begins to pace about, fuming with rage. I sit up and lower my head as I wait for her to continue, not having much else to say. She finally calms down enough to face me again, though I can still tell she's pretty pissed off. "Dust Devil," she starts in a caring tone, "you are more important to us then whatever some nopony could write in a letter. Why did you leave?" I swallow hard as I try to fight back the tears welling up. I knew this was coming, but... I guess it's been long enough. I fight to look up to my mother and weakly say, "Rocky." "Honey," my Mom says as she pulls me into her embrace. "that wasn't your fault." "How could you say that!" I say as I push her away. "I was the one taking care of him! I was the one who let him go outside when Dad said to stay inside. I should have been smart enough to say no! But I didn't! That's why he's dead! I killed him-" SMACK I close my eyes and cry as I let the slight pain settle in my cheek. SMACK I deserve this. I should have been the one to die that day. Why couldn't I have just said no!? Why did I let my little brother die that day!? SMACK "Dust Devil, look at me." Mom says firmly. I sniffle a bit as I try to look at her, seeing the disappointment in her face. "You did not kill Rocky Trails." "But-" "DO NOT INTERRUPT ME!" She yells, making me cower a bit. "Rocky was... smart. He always tricked you into doing things he wanted you to do. His death was... *inhale/exhale* his death wasn't anyponies fault. H-he.... he was just in the wrong place, at the wrong time-" "Mom-" "I've come to this conclusion already, don't you dare try to change my mind!" She yells as her own tears begin to roll down her cheeks. "I already lost one child, don't make me lose another! Don't you dare do that to me Dust Devil! Don't you dare disappear on me again! I couldn't take it again. Please, don't leave us again." We fall into each others embrace and hold each other as we break down. I constantly beg her to forgive me as I cry into her mane. She holds me a bit tighter and strokes my back as I finally let it all out. I apologies for leaving. I apologies for Rocky Trails. I apologies for never contacting them after the funeral. At some point Dad comes in and joins in our sorrow, holding the two of us together in his massive forelegs. The snow falls on us and melts into coats as we continue to hold on another. None of us care about it though. All we care about is one another at this moment. Let the snow fall. "Whhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa." Okay, baby first I guess. Mom breaks contact from us and heads inside, wiping her final tears away as she does so. "So, *sniff* you guys had another foal." I say as I stand up with my father. He chuckles a bit as he rubs the back of his neck. "Heh, yeah. Wasn't exactly planned though. C'mon, you have to meet your little sister, Lucky Trails." "Where's Trick Play?" I ask before he could go inside. He pauses at the door and sighs before facing me. "Out in the world, looking for you. Don't worry though, she's been writing constantly. I think the last letter we got she was in the Goblin Empire, searching out by Broachton- DON'T GO LOOKING FOR HER THOUGH! Not that we don't want you looking for her, we'll just send a letter to her telling her to come here. It'll be easier that way-" "No, I think I can get her home faster. Let Mom know that I'm heading out, but I'll be home as soon as I get Trick Play." "You don't-" "Dad, I have to do this. Please." He sighs before pulling me in for another hug. "Fine. Be safe, and be sure to come back here as soon as possible. We'll be waiting." I nod as I lean into his neck a bit. I've missed him so much, only now I have to leave so soon. "Alright, get going before I change my mind and tie you to a chair." He says as he pushes me back. I laugh a bit as I reach into my saddle and pull out a piece of gum. "Don't worry Dad, I'll be back before you know it." I tell him before I pop the piece into my mouth. "I'll back you up-" "GAH! *cough*" I start choking on the gum when True Will suddenly appears beside me. "Who are you?" My Dad asks as I continue to choke. "True Will, fellow Spartan. You must be Devils Play." He says as he shakes his hoof. No, don't worry about me, I'm just slowly losing air over here. Don't help me. "Right." Dad says slowly as he sizes him up... oh Celestia please don't- "Do me a favor, okay. Keep your pecker away from my daughter." OH CELESTIA KILL ME NOW! That's it, I'm not fighting it anymore. Gum, kill me now- SMACK "Ow! True!" I grumble as I rub the back of my head. "Don't worry sir, this is strictly business." He says as he ignores me. My dad just stares him down a bit more, squinting his eyes a bit as he does so. "You owe me gum by the way." I grumble as the two of them continue to stare each other down. "ANYWAY! Let's get-" "SPARTANS!" "GAH!" I yell as I jump a bit more. "WHY IS EVERYPONY BEEN SCARING THE CRAP OUT OF ME TODAY!?" Miles just eyes me a bit before turning his attention to the two of us. "I've spoken with Damian, and it ends up we've been gone for a month now." Well... that makes things... difficult. "I need you two to-" "Sir! Sorry for cutting you off but I want to ask for permission to seek out my sister and bring her here to Moosden." I ask as I step forward. He stares me down as I stand there, trying my best to stand as straight as possible. "And why should I let you go?" He asks as he begins to walk around me. "Give me a good reason I should let you go, and I might let you go." I gulp as I try to think of my answer. I need to show him this is better for the Spartans... for the Terradisians... "Sir! She is family, that makes her Terradisian. She doesn't know this but... our... enemies will? I mean, they will! For Terradisia to be represented properly and to grow, it is really important for me to get her... SIR!" He chuckles a bit as he faces me again, smirking down at me. "Really important?" "Okay, sir, this is family. I know we've been slacking in your eyes, but... I don't think I could focus on anything with her out there looking for me. Please sir, let me do this-" "Us." True Will adds as he steps forward. "Let us do this sir. Article seven, paragraph two of the Spartan codex: With the growth of-" "Yeah, yeah, yeah, don't quote articles at me." Miles cuts him off. "Hmm... I will grant you two permission-" "YES!" "On the grounds that you also find someone worth Spartan training as well." My ears drop a bit when he says this. "So... while looking for my sister, we have to find somepony who we think can pass training?" I ask to clarify. "Yes. If you only bring back your sister, then she will be your candidate for training. Do we have an understanding?" "Well-" "Yes." True Will says. "WHAT!?" My dad and I yell as the same time. "If you force my daughter into training I swear I will-" "Don't worry, I have an ape in mind who might pass. And since we're going to the Goblin Empire, we'll be nearby. So, is it a deal sir?" Miles thinks about it for a second before sticking his hoof out and shakes with True. "Deal.... what's an ape though?" True just shakes his head and begins to walk off. "Do you really want to walk all the way there?" Miles asks, a smile growing on his face. "Sir?" I ask, slightly confused. "Go to Topaz Falls and find Easy. Tell him 'Executive order fourteen'. He should take care of the rest from there. Now, I have to get going with Damian. we have... things to take care of." He says distantly. "SIR!" We shout with a salute. He nods a salutes back before walking off. Once he's out of ear shot I turn and punch True on the foreleg. "What was that for!?" He asks as he rubs it. "That's for giving my consent for me, you jerk! Now let's get going already. The sooner we find Trick Play, the better." I say as I start to walk off. I turn back to my father and wave to him as I flap my wings to get air born. He nods to me to and turns to go inside. I have a feeling that this is going to be... quite the journey. But I have to do it. I broke my family up, I'm going to be the one to fix it. ............................................................................................................................................................ Perspective: Miles I take the mico platform back to my place and go back inside. Damian is laying back on the couch, hooves behind his head as he lays back casually. I take a deep breath as I resume my nervous pacing. "Dude, you need to calm down-" "Easy for you to say, you aren't a fucking beacon to every damn demon out there." I snap at him, making him roll his eyes. "I knew I shouldn't have told you that." He mumbles under his breath as he sits up. "As I told you before, we've got-" "A civil war on your hands." I cut him off. "So if my soul is shiny as fuck, and Luna's soul is shiny as fuck, and you just lost half your group, I think I have reason to worry." "Well.... I wouldn't say half. I'd say it's more like... anyway, we can still watch over the demons and spirits. I mean, I got that demon that tried to posses you in your sleep, and not to mention you didn't even think about them until I mentioned it. Everything thing is fine, trust me." "... is that why I woke up covered in ash?" I ask as I stop pacing about. "I was going to clean you up, I swear! But Hammer told me he needed my help with something.... then CC needed... things... and... I forgot." He says with a coy smile. I shake my head and continue pacing around. "You word isn't enough. I need to see it." I say as I shake my head slightly. If it involves Lunas protection, I can't just take his word for it. I need to see it myself. "What are we waiting for anyway? Let's just go-" "It's not that easy Miles. We need to get special permission to take you to the compound. And if we get that, there's still a lot of prep work to take care of before so we could have a safe trip there. We may have a protective barrier around it, but that doesn't mean we can just go straight to the compound whenever we want-" "Damian?" CC calls as she and Patches walk through the front door. "Everything's been set up. We're ready to go." "Great!" Damian says as he hops off the couch. He walks over to me and sizes me up for a second before nodding. "Captain, can you lean forward a bit?" "Uh... okay." I say as I lean forward. "A little bit more." "Like this?" I ask as I become eye level with him. "Yeah, that's perfect." He says with an evil smile. WHACK THUD
Chapter 185 Watching StateraChapter 185 Watching Statera Perspective: Luna "UUUUUUUUHHHHHHGGGG!" I grip the rim of the toilet a bit tighter as I hurl the contents of my stomach. The past few mornings I've been getting sick and throwing up. I assume it's something in the food here.... Regina on the other hoof- "*high pitched squeal* AHHH! Luna is preggers! I get to be a God-mommy! THINK GIRLY THOUGHTS! Fillies are better." Regina says as she lays back in the bathtub, watching my misery. "For the last time, I am not pregnant." I tell her as I do a courtesy flush. "It's just the food here. That's all." I tell her firmly. I was going to add some more to my statement, when I felt my stomach lurch up into my throat. I feel my hind legs kick out a bit as I spew the final contents of my aching stomach into the bowl. I spit the remaining contents from my mouth and flush the toilet, groaning as I feel my stomach try to reassemble itself. "Better?" "No." "Great! Because we had a meeting ten minutes ago, we need to get going!" Regina says as she climbs out of the bathtub. I nod to her and move to the sink, where I rinse and brush my teeth. "C'mon slow poke! We've gotta go!" Regina says as she starts to pull me out of the restroom. "We don't want to be late to greet your sister-" "Wait, what?" I ask as Regina opens the door and bumps into Celestia. We pause for a moment as we stare at one another. She looks... unemotional. Like... she's trying to process everything she's probably just heard. Her eyes keep darting between the two of us as she calculates something in her mind. "Uh.... hi... Tia." I say weakly as she stands there, unmoving. "Regina, why don't you-" "Could you let Ulfric know that we have to get going for a family emergency." Celestia says quickly. "Now." Regina glances back to me before bowing to Celestia and running out of the guest room. "So... I don't think-" "We're heading back to Canterlot... now." She says firmly before walking off. She leaves the room before I could even get a word in. "... okay then. I'll just... gather my things then." I call out after her. She doesn't respond. All I hear are her hurried hooves rushing down the corridor. Confused, I begin gathering my things and prepare to leave. She couldn't be mad about my being with Miles, he already told her about us. What could she possibly be that mad about? Maybe... my being late to the meeting with Ulfric? No, there's no reason why she would get that upset... or is it? As I pick up my bags and head down the hall, I can't help but think of everything that could have gone wrong. What if Ulfric has been insulted by my tardiness? I mean, I've only been late three times, but he was so understanding each time. He even made a pregnancy joke! I denied it, but... he still made it! I make it to the airport and find Celestia's covered carriage waiting for me, with six Solar pegasis guards waiting to tow us home. It's fairly similar to her other one, with the exception of being closed and larger. I go to the door and wince when it abruptly opens. Celestia is sitting inside, staring forward. I climb in and take a seat beside her, the door slamming shut. ".... so-" "Let's go!" Celestia orders quickly. The guards grunt in response before pulling us into the air. I begin to sweat as we travel from the tension in the room. Celestia is... beyond mad. I've never seen her like this before, ever. Several hours go by in total silence. Celestia never break eye contact with the wall in front of her. I try not to talk at first... but then I started doing math. It's been exactly one month since my last heat cycle. One month since Miles failed to do that simple little task. One month... "I'm pregnant." "Please... just... I need a bit more... just... shush!" Celestia snaps as she pivots away from me. "Are you okay Celestia? What-" "Luna, please!" I scoot away from her as we continue to fly through the air. I look out the window of the carriage and try to think of something else, anything else... but I can't help but keep coming back to Celestia. There is no logical reason for her to be this mad. "Celestia, enough. Just tell me what's wrong already so-" "RAH!" She screams out as she flares her magic out. I lift a wing to block out the light coming from her horn. She lets out another yell before everything violently shakes and drops. When everything finally calms down I open my eyes and find us in the throne room back in Canterlot. Before I could ask Celestia bucks the door off its hinges and storms out, grumbling to herself as she paces around. Okay, this is beyond mad. This is... unheard of anger. I step out cautiously and watch her pace about. She's mumbling something under her breath, I can barely hear it....'In order to keep... your little sister... all you need... is the right amount... of anger.' When she finishes the last part she stands up straight and looks off in the distance. An uneasy feeling comes over me as she stands there, staring off to nowhere. I begin to back up nervously when she slowly starts to face me. Her eyes have become pure green and have dark energy fuming from the corners. "In order to keep your little sister, all you need is the right amount of anger." She mutters a bit louder as she step towards me, squinting her eyes a bit. "Celestia, what are you doing?" "In order to keep your little sister, all you need is the right amount of anger." She mutters again, taking larger steps towards me. "Celestia... this isn't funny... you're starting to scare me... please!" I beg her as I back up against the distant wall. I look to the guard for help, but they're just staring at me with eyes similar to Celestia's. "In order to keep your little sister, all you need is the right amount of anger." Celestia says as she comes to a stop. A wicked grin comes over her face as she lowers her head a bit and begins to charge her horn. RUN I teleport to her side just in time to avoid her blasting my last position. I run down the nearest corridor as her guards begin to chase after me. I hear Celestia laugh in the distance as I rush down the narrow hall, usually meant for staff. I charge my horn and teleport to the main part of the castle, in hopes of finding some kind of help. I see a Solar Guard and run to him. "PLEASE! Guard! You have to help me! Some has happened to my-" "NIGHTMARE!" He yells as me as he uses his magic to blast me back. I hit the ground and slide a bit before rolling over and jump forward, avoiding another blast. I look back and see him glaring at me with those evil green eyes, pawing at the ground. "What has happened?! What's going on!?" I yell as he starts to charge at me. Before I could act, a spear comes flying from behind me and pierces the Solar guard in the chest, killing him instantly. "QUEEN LUNA!" I sigh in relief when a squad of my Night Guard approach me, surrounding me. "You aren't safe here my Queen! We have to get you to safety!" "What is going on?! What has happened to my sister!?" I demand from him, slightly hysterical. "It's Celestia! She's-" ZA-BOOM I duck as a bolt of electricity races by my head and slams into the guard before me, sending him sliding back. I look back and see six Solar guards running at us, eyes gleaming darkness. "RUN!" One of my guards yell before they all charge the others. I hesitate for a moment as i watch the unicorns blast at one another and Pegasus leap into the air and tackle one another. I shake my head and begin to run away from them when a flash appears before me. "Celestia!" I gasp as she smiles down at me, charging her horn. "Don't fight it, little sister.This is better for- LET ME GO!" She yells at the guard on the floor as he grabs her hoof. "RUN!" The guard on the floor yells before he draws a dagger out and stabs Celestia in the hoof. Celestia lets out a painful scream as she levitates him up and begins to crush him. "CELESTIA STOP!" I yell at her as he curls into a ball and groans in pain. "CELESTIA-" "SHUT YOUR WHORE MOUTH!" Celestia yells at me as she slams the guard against the floor. I reel back from her as the rest of her guard surround me, sending magical tethers to hold me in place. I try to fight back, but more and more guards appear and aid them in restraining me. I let out a cry of pain as ropes and magical tethers pull on all of my limbs, stretching me put. "C-Celestia..." I groan as she chuckles at me. "Now, to fix the problem. FLIP HER!" She yells at her guards as she summons her energy claymore. I fight with all of my might as my world turns upside down. Celestia chuckles as she moves below me and points the weapon at my stomach, then a bit lower. "Celestia! Please, you don't have to do this." I beg her as double my efforts to break free. She laughs as she raises her blade, readying her strike. "Don't worry, I won't let you disgrace our parents with this little bastard. Now, this is going to hurt just a tad bit-" KER-FLASH Dozens of teleporting flashes ring out as Night guards appear all over the room. Celestia tries to get her strike in, but two guards leap in the way and take the blow for me. Everything freezes when I see the blade bury into the two ponies above me. The let out a silent cry of pain as blood pours from under their armor and cascades down their bodies. It feels like an eternity as I watch the blade slowly pull out from their bodies, fresh blood dripping from the tip of the blade as their bodies go limp on top of me. "RUN DAMMIT!" A guard yells as the room explodes into chaos. Fighting fills the room as my guards attempt to get the tainted guards away from me. Celestia ignores the small battle around us and brushes the dead ponies aside with her sword. "Celestia... please." I beg her as she points her sword at me again. "I will not lose you... not again." She vows as she begins to push her blade forward. I teleport back and summon my own blade to defend myself. Celestia growls and lunges at me again, swinging with murderous intent. I parry her attacks and back away, trying to think of somewhere to go. Somewhere safe to run. I... where can I go where she can't attack me!? CRASH ZAP A window behind me shatters as a bolt of lightning comes flying in and hits Celestia, knocking her back. I look back as Rainbow Dash and Soarin glide in and stand at my side. Rainbow is in her Spartan uniform while Soarin is in his heavy duty Wonderbolts uniform. It looks similar to the performance suit, only with armor padding in several spots. "LUNA! C'MON! WE'VE GOT TO GO!" Rainbow yells as she stabs at a Solar guard with her spear, shocking him lightly. "What's happening?! What's going on!?" I yell as I back away from the two fighting ponies, towards the open window. "IT'S-" BOOM A wave of energy hits Rainbow and forces her to slam into the marble pillar. Cracks creep up it as she slumps to the ground, unconscious. "RAINBOW! GET GOING ALREADY LUNA!" Soarin yells as he drops his sword and runs to her side. "GO HOME LUNA! GO HOME!" Celestia lunges out of the fray and charges right for me. I open my wings and send myself out the window with a single powerful flap of my wings. I get enough force to get out of the building before falling down the side of the castle. I quickly level myself with the wall and begin to build speed as I drop. BOOM I glance back and see black smoke coming from the wall, along with rubble and glass. A second later Celestia flies out of the new hole and dives right at me, horn glaring with raw magical power. I open my wings slightly and dart to the right, keeping close to the circular wall. She's heavier, so she'll drop faster. But I'm more agile, so I need to make this a turning fight in order to keep her at bay. I fly over a bridge and turn around, charging my horn. When she comes around I send a beam of energy at her, forcing her to break away from me. A powerful gust of wind blows over me as she flies past me. I leap off the walkway and take off the other direction, flapping my wings with all of my might to gain as much speed as possible. I hear her charge up again and fly towards a building. As I pause behind it, a beam of gold slashes at me, hitting all around me. Luckily the building held against the attack, protecting me completely. I take off again and fly close to another building. I break away from the wall and level out with the ground. I hear her power fluctuate a bit, and dart left as another bolt of energy flies towards me. I dip down to gain speed and begin to weave around the walkways and tall, circular buildings. Every time I straighten out, another wave of magic comes at me, narrowly missing me. I can't run from her forever. I need to get away from her as quickly as possible, but where!? I come to a stop when a falling column blocks my path. I turn around and watch as Celestia begins to fly straight up. I feel my heart pound in my ears as she blocks out the sun for a moment as she holds her hooves up in the air. As her horn begins to glow brighter and brighter -eyes becoming pure with from all the energy- I realize what she's doing.... The Suns Tear. I quickly bolt to hide behind a building as a massive ray of golden energy comes crashing down. As I run, the large beam of pure sun chases after me, burning everything in its path. I need to getaway, but to where!? "GO HOME!" I glance up as Soarin comes racing past me, dodging the beam of energy easily. He flies towards Celestia with great speed, closing the distance with tremendous speed. Celestia ends her powerful attack and swings at him, swatting him away like a fly. He barrels through the air before leveling out and charging at her again. "YOU WON'T GET RID OF ME THAT EASILY!" "THEN DIE!" Celestia yells as she chases after him, horn blaring with magical energy. I back away into the shadows and run down a random dark alley, wincing from the sounds of their fight reaching the main city. I run... and run... and don't think. All I can do is run. I can't think, I can't stop, I can barely breath. All I can do is run aimlessly through the city as I try to... I don't even know! I'm too scared to even think! I just... I just keep running! "Queen Luna!" "GAH!" I nearly take off when a guard leaps in front of me. "This way!" She yells before taking off down another alley. I don't even question it, I just run after her. We weave through the city, slowly making our way up the mountain. The sounds of Celestia and Soarin soon die off, worrying me even more. We eventually come to a small, desolate shack of a home on the edge of the town. The guard glances around before opening the door for me. I hesitate for a moment before stepping inside. It's a small room with a straw bed in the back and a table to my left with a pair of goggles on it. The guard shuts the door behind us and runs over to the bed. She tosses it aside, revealing a large hole in the ground. "Take this all the way down, it should let out in the cave up the mountain. Take the teleporter there and run away." She says as I walk towards the entrance. "There are no turns, so you can't get lost. I know it's dark, but try not to use any magic. Once you get away... hide. Don't do anything, not yet at least. Go somewhere where Celestia can't find you and stay there. You got it?" "... who are you?" I ask. "Just a guard doing her job. Now get going, I have to join my fellow Night guards in the fight to hide your tracks.... GO!" I jump a little and go down the dark tunnel. The light goes out when she covers the entrance with the bed. I take a deep breath as I try to feel my way down the dark, cool tunnel. I heard the door slam shut and echo down the tunnel. I have to fight my instincts to use magic to light my path, and begin the tedious task of feeling my way down the tunnel. I take a few steps before I suddenly feel something small and furry brush against my hoof. I let out a yelp as I teleport over to mico platform. I run over to it and appear in Miles's closet. I charge my horn and blast at the markings on the floor, destroying the teleporter. My breath trembles as I stand there, shaking slightly. I look around the barren room and push the door shut. I curl into a ball and lay in a corner, tucking into myself as closely as possible. I don't understand... why did this all happen? What is going on... I pause when a something whispers a message into my ear. I tremble slightly from the voice, but nod to it. "If something threatens the ones you love... fight! I'll kill Celestia if she shows herself. I swear it." I close my eyes and nestle into myself, a single tear falling down my cheek. ............................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Fluttershy As I sit at a bench on Braeburn's farm, I can't help but think back to Ponyville. There's no doubt Discord has made his move by now, and here I am. Safe at some farm all the way down here in Appaloosa. This isn't right! We should be back home, trying to get my friends back to normal. I still can't believe how easily everypony fell to Discord. Twilight... Storm... Rarity... Pinkie... even Spike. At least the Apples are fine... but that still doesn't put me at ease. We should- "Eenope." Big Mac says from the seat beside me. "Big Mac! We can't just sit here and let him do this!" I tell him for the hundredth time. "Shy, Ah'm not riskin mah kin, no matter what." He says as he puts his hoof to my stomach. I roll my eyes and get off the bench. "This isn't right Big Mac. You, a Spartan, shouldn't be hiding like this." I tell him before I walk off. I make my way through the rest of the Apple family reunion. Most of the ponies are trying to make the best of what's here, but it's obvious that the change in scenery is on everyponies mind. "Ya alright there sugar cube?" Applejack asks me as she comes to my side, along with Hammer. "No." I huff as I look away from her. "AJ... should we really be here?" ".... Shy-" "I was asking the same thing." Hammer says, sounding slightly irked about something. "So when are you going to tell me why you moved your entire family reunion, for real this time." He asks with a bit of a tone in his voice. Applejack and I share a look before AJ removes her hat and faces him. "Okay, ah promised ah'd tell ya when we got here, an ah'm gonna keep that promise. The reason ah moved the family reunion here is cause... well, there's no easy way a sayin this, so here it is. Discord told me that he'd kill ya if we were in town at this time. Mah guess is that he's makin his move fer power now." Applejack tells him, hiding behind her hat slightly as she waits for him to respond. "....... wut?" "Discord... has returned-" "And instead of banding together with your friends -and stopping him- you ran away and hide from him?" He asks flatly, making Applejack hide from him. "Well... we can't." I add quietly, hiding behind my mane when he looks to me. "I mean... well..." "This is really important Fluttershy, please tell me." He says quietly. I take a deep breath and try to face him, but find it easier to speak from behind my mane. "W-we're not c-connected anymore." I stutter, getting a nod from Applejack. "Twilight and Rarity both are under his control. Rainbow disappeared on us an we don't know where Miles went! What else could we have done!?" Applejack asks loudly, getting a few odd looks from some ponies. "You could have stood by your friends and face Discord anyway. If too much chaos ensues, there isn't much that can stop him from taking over completely-" "But... he'd kill ya!" Applejack retorts. "Eenope." Big Mac announces as he walks up to us. "You with me?" Hammer asks him. "Eeyup." Big Mac nods. I walk over to him and give him a big hug, well... as big a hug I could manage on the large pony. "Ah fer pony sake, y'all can't be serious big brother." Applejack asks him, getting a quick look from him. "You with us?" Hammer asks her as he nudges her hip with his. They share a look before she sighs in defeat. "Ah was jus tryin ta protect ya, I swear." She tells him. "I know, and thanks. But there's too much at stake not to get involved. So, what's the plan?" He asks the rest of us. "Easy, bring Fluttershy ta Discord." Big Mac states. "WHAT!?" I yell as I let go of him and fall down. "Really? So, lover boy is still swooning over you then. Cool, let's get going then. We don't have much time if we're going to rob a train." Hammer says before walking off towards town. "Wait... what?" Applejack asks as she follows after him. Big Mac looks down at me before shrugging and tossing me onto his back. Why me?! Why do I have to face him!? Can't I just go home and face Angel to give him a bath!? They're equally important! ............................................................................................................................................................ Perspective: Miles Several Hours Later I roll over and pull the sheets around me closer. I don't know how I got in this bed, but it's too comfy to care about. I think back to when I was home, talking with Damian. I should really get a helmet of some kind, maybe then weird shit wouldn't happen to me. I still have the one from my power armor, but I don't think it would fit anymore. Why is this bed so comfy!? I guess it's because I know I have to get up, but don't want to. *sigh*, I guess it's time to get up and see where I'm at. I toss the sheets off of myself and sit up, inspecting the room around me. It's a barren stone room with a simple bed and a large wooden door. I get out of bed and do a quick stretch before taking the bed sheets and tying them around myself. Once my modesty is restored, I open the door and step out. The hallway out here is similar to the room. Grey stone making the walls as the hall goes in both directions. I look to the door and see a symbol on it: two lines beside each other. One bending down while the other bends up, crossing each other. Must be a symbol for Statera, or a marking for this room at least. With no one around, I just head down the left hall. There seems to be doors every few meters with the same symbol on every door, which makes me believe that it's their symbol. After a while, I start to pick up the pace, trying to make it to the end. After a short jog, I stop and look around. I can see the ends of the halls, but I can't seem to get to them... what the fuck is going on here? "First time in Statera?" I jump a little when I hear a voice from my side. I look over and see a man, roughly a meter and a half tall, standing there. He's a scrawny thing with all black skin. He's wearing a black robe and has two small horns on his forehead. "..." "Heh, don't worry. Everyone gets lost their first time. You have to look for the-" "Are you a demon?" I ask. "Uh... yeah. Anyway, when you want to-" "You're a demon... you?" I ask to clarify, getting an odd look from him. "You've clearly never seen-" TACKLE I jump forward and tackle him him to the ground. Luckily for me, he's physically here, so I actually hit him. He starts yelling for help as I begin to wail on his torso. I can feel my hits being stronger than before, but his body feels tougher than it should be. After a few hits he begins to try to break free. We fight and roll around a bit as I try to keep him in place, but he eventually gets away from me and begins to run away. So, I chase after him. For a lanky guy, he can move pretty fast, but I'm keeping pace with him pretty well. "LEAVE ME ALONE YOU PSYCHOPATH!" He yells as he makes a sudden turn. It looked like he ran into the wall, but when I chased after him I made it through the passageway easily. "GET BACK HERE BITCH!" I yell as I begin to close in on him. "MILES!" Something grabs my back leg and trips me, forcing me to roll forward and crash with the assailant. When I finally come to a stop, Damian is sitting on top of me, trying to hold me down. "DAMIAN! There's a demon here!" I yell as I try to get back up. "I KNOW DUMBASS! HE'S SUPPOSE TO BE HERE!" He yells as he shakes me a bit. I stop and stare at him, completely confused by his statement. "... wut?" He sighs and gets off me, allowing me to stand. "Okay, here's the basic gist of things. For every positive action, there needs to be a negative. If there's an imbalance between the two, the other one comes back in greater force to equalize everything. We need to let out the weaker demons, so that the bigger, scarier ones don't. I know it's hard to wrap your mind around, but it's how we try to keep the balance. Does that make sense?" "... so... that guy... worked for you?" I ask, slightly confused. "Well, not me. He has a contract with some guy here as his servant." "... so you guys contract demons to work for you?" "... kind of. It's a bit different than that, but... look, do me a favor and don't attack anything. Nothing here will attack you, got it?" "... sure-" "GREAT! Then welcome to Statera! Follow me, don't touch anything, and try not to sell your soul!" He says before trotting down the hallway. "... wait, what!?" I ask as I run after him. He chuckles a bit as he turns and walks through a wall. I hesitate for a moment before following him through. When I do walk through the threshold, I find myself in a completely new area. The grey walls go out further, making a huge open square room. The room is filled with hundreds of spirits, demons and basically every other living species on the planet. All manner of living being seem to be here. Treeants, orcs, ponies, griffins, goblins, even a few I've never seen before are represented. All of the living species are wearing goggles, or some other variant of eye wear. The spirits seem to all be in a hurry to get to where ever it is they need to go. As if on queue, the entire mass of people before us pause and look over to us. Every spirit, demon, and living being stares at us as we stand here, staring right back at them.Damian, unfazed by all of the eyes on us, walks towards the crowd with his normal demeanor. I follow after him, sticking close to his side... for obvious reasons. "So! This is one of the intersections that connects all of the different buildings together. Up ahead we're going to the records building so I can introduce you to Dusty Scrolls. He's... well, you'll see-" "Um... why are they all staring at us?" I ask as we pass through the crowd. They move out of our way, but never stop staring at us. "... must be you... being all shiny, and stuff." He says distantly. I was about to question him when I bump into something. I step back and look up to see an orc standing in front of me, giving me the stink eye. I glare back at him, unwilling to back down. "Externus." He growls at me. "Miles! Rule number two! Don't get in any fights!" Damian yells as he pulls on my leg, yanking me away from the orc. " And you! Don't start shit you can't finish!" Damian yells at the orc. He pushes us out of the large square and down another hall. The hall we enter has construction cones up, blocking access to the right side. A large section of the building has been destroyed and is currently being rebuilt. A silver plaque is on the most intact part of the wall, and read: Periit memoria eorum qui in vita sua. "What happened here?" I ask as I look inside, seeing the level of the destruction. A large section of the building has been leveled, giving me a view of the evening sky above. It goes back for several kilometers before meeting with the end of the building. "Well... you remember that group of Statera members that attacked you? Back on that train ride?" "Yeah... they did this?" "Yeah, or so I'm told. Apparently this all happened when I was off on a mission, and that's as far as I know." He admits as he rubs the back of his neck. "That's it. You don't know who's responsible, who's planning it, or where they went. Damian, you brought me here to prove to me that you guys would watch over my family, and so far you aren't doing a very good job-" "What do you expect!? We're an organization that specializes in being a secret! Of course they're going to get away from us and disappear, it's what we're trained to do! Plus, I've already been keeping your shiny ass safe! I stopped that demon from eating you while you were unconscious." "... is that why I woke up covered in ash?" I ask, getting a nod from him. "It didn't occur to you to, maybe, dust me off a bit?" "Meh." He says as he shrugs his shoulders. "Asshole." "I love you too. Now come on. I need to convince you that we have everything under control." He says as he walks off again. I roll my eyes as I follow after him. So far he has demons working for this group, a civil war with covert operatives, and Luna and I stand out like sore thumbs to them. It's going to take something pretty impressive to persuade me not to pull Damian on constant call. The rest of the compound -as Damian puts it- is built like a labyrinth. Some halls seem to go on forever while others seem to go to nowhere. Not to mention we've been making turn after turn. I started to question whether or not he knew where he was going, until we finally found the room he was looking for. The library. The room is massive, to say the least. The walls are covered with several stories of books, computers, scrolls, and all kinds of storage containers. I step in and lose myself when I look around the entire room. It's pretty daunting to be surrounded by all of this... knowledge. "Figured that you'd like this. Statera has tasked itself with preserving... well, everything. Name a book, author, memo, doodle, anything and we either have the original or a copy of it. All of it. Want every song ever been written or composed, bam! We have it. How do you want it? Mp3? Data disk? Eight track? Record? We have them all. Want to see ancient human cave paintings? We have them all. Want to hear the Captains logs to the Star Ship Domina Gratiam? We have them in duplicate. You name it, we have it." He says with a confident smile. "Really? So... let's say I wanted to see my research notes on the Elements, you got those?" I ask as I look around some more. Damian grows a smile as he begins to walk into the library. "Glad you ask, follow me." I nod absent mindedly as I follow after him, eyeing everything in sight. There are a few workers here and there, either putting books back or pulling some out. Several spirits are here as well, though they pay us no mind. I don't see where they go, but it's way in the back of the room. We walk up several flights of stairs and take a few turns before we enter a section titled: Topaz Falls - 1100 - 1200 "I don't believe it." I mutter as I see some copies of my old text books on shelves. "How do you have these?" "Statera isn't new, man. We've been around since before the Purge. Heck, back at the dawn of man really." He says as we take another turn. "I'll admit, this is... beyond impressive, but I don't see how-" "DUSTY!" Damian yells, scaring some pony who was sitting at a table half to death. "GEEZ! Damian! You know, this is a library after all! You still need to keep your voice down!" The pony snaps back at him. He's a scrawny light tan earth stallion, with light brown hair -goatee included- that's tied back and has a mark of a scroll. "What can I help you with?" "I have a present for you. Dust Scrolls, meet Miles Eremita. Miles, meet Dusty Scrolls." The pony looks up to me and stares for a moment before switching back to his papers. They fly everywhere before he finds the right one and looks between it and me. "SWEET MERRIAM JOSEPH! IT IS YOU!" He yells as he jumps out of his seat and shakes my hoof vigorously. "Oh, it is an honor sir! Truly! Your theories on arcane enchanting are phenomenal! Absolutely phenomenal! Duel enchanting with inner purpose and reflected energy- brilliant!" He gushes as he continues to shake my hoof. "Um... thank you? How do you know that?" I ask as I pull my hoof away. He grows an even large smile before turning to the table and tosses the papers aside. After a few moments of searching, he finds what he's looking for. A tablet. "You see, this little baby here was recovered by the Topaz Falls Statera members and I've spent nearly two decades researching it, it's what I do here... always. BY THE WAY!" He yells as he turns it on and flips through some of the files. "I have no clue what this is, can you please tell me?" "... it's just a doodle- I'm sorry, how did you get my personal tablet... and read it? I tried to write-" "Backwards starting with the center of the sentence and switching every other verb, I know. As I said, I've spent nearly two decades studying this on my own." He says with a bit of pride in his voice... then loses his smile. "Wait, that's just a doodle? No.... no! I've written entire essays about how that's some kind of metaphor for the futility of life! It can't just be a doodle!" "Yeah, see, it's just a half drawn soldier. And you've spent how long studying my work?" I ask, feeling slightly.... odd. "Oh! Not just your work. I've learned... basically everything about you." He says sadly as he sets the tablet down. "You what now?" "Dusty, why don't you show off some of what you've learned about him." Damian says as he takes a seat, chuckling to himself. "Well, only if Miles would agree to hear about it." Dusty says coyly as he paws at the ground a bit. "You what now?" "OKAY! You were born on February twenty ninth at ten fifteen at night, eight pounds nine ounces. You spent the first eight years of your life at the Topaz Emergency Orphanage. It was made for all of the refugees turned into orphans. You attended Stella Ficor College after making your choice with Susurrans Bellum, your father -though he'd never tell. I think it was because he was scared of how much you had grown without him. It was recorded that Apricis had a conversation with him where he tried to convince him to tell you, but he said 'he's too far gone to need a father. I'll guide him, for as long as he needs me.' I honestly think he should have just said it, but then you wouldn't have been as determined as you are now... or so I speculate. You stayed celibate throughout college, completely by your choice. There were four fan groups in your honor. One for being a Spartan, one for women hoping to marry you -or just have sex with you- another for the scientist wishing to work with you, and lastly a group of men who wished to be with you. My O.T.P. is with you and Dolum, you guys were just... right... ANYWAY! You didn't really socialize that much. When it came to Spartan Pride, you jumped at the chance to prove yourself, but other than that, your friends would have to force you to do anything else. You hate parties because you were molested as a child by the dean of your orphanage. And seriously, I think a single punch wasn't enough, but I guess Susurrans got the last laugh. You love food disk because you had them with Susurrans -it was really touching by the way- and I speculate that you would transfer this to pancakes today. As a human, you stood at six foot five, two hundred five pounds, size twelve shoes, nine and a half inches under the belt. I speculated that -had you turned into an alicorn- you would be one hundred seventy five pounds, six foot one from the top of you head of course, and twenty four and three quarters of an inch long between the legs." ... ... ... ... ... ... "Damian.... can I talk to you... over here please?" I ask as I walk away from him. Damian hops out of his seat and follows me over. "What's up, monster cock?" He asks cheerfully. "Um... why does he know all of that?" I ask as I bit my hoof. "If it could be useful, we need to know it." He states matter of factly. "My penis length is useful?" "Well, a little. For Luna at least. You have to admit, you were an influential person in history. We had to know stuff about, and you never know what you would have to know. So, we learn everything we need to know." "... like my penis length." "Hey, he even calculated for if you were any other race too. Want to-" "No! No, that won't be necessary." "Are you sure?" "Damian, enough about... me. How is this suppose to convince me that you guys are going to be able to keep my family safe?" "Well, look at what we're able to do. We have information that even you don't know about. It's still here, safe. That rebellion that happened, I wasn't here for that. Now that I am, we can bring them down much more quickly than before. Not to mention that they've already tried to attack you once, remember how that turned out? They don't have the numbers to risk another team like before. You will be safe from them, and so will your family. I promise." I sigh as I step back and try to think clearly. If what he's said is true, then I don't have to worry about any attacks right now. Damian is a good fighter, and I do trust him... to a degree. The operation here is pretty impressive, but there are still obvious cracks where people can slip through... though, I don't expect perfection. I guess there will always be that threat on the horizon, and if I give them the help they need, maybe it'll stay there. "Dusty." I call out as I walk towards him. "Yes Miles? Teehee, you're talking to-" "I need my tablet back." He stops gushing over me and gawks back at me before laughing. "Ha! That's funny Miles, I knew you had a sense of humor! Funny!" "No, this isn't a joke. I need that back. There are some project notes that I need from there." I tell him, making him gawk at me again. "But... but...." "Don't you have a spare that you can copy the files over to?" I ask, making him sweat. "Uh.... yeah, I guess... but-" "Cool, so I'll be taking mine home while you keep the copy." I say, making him sweat even more. "But... your tablet-" "Yes, my tablet." I punctuate, making him sigh in defeat. He grabs the device and walks off towards a storage closet, closing it behind him. "What was that all about?" I ask Damian. "Imagine you had a celebrities personal item, then had to give it back to them. Even with an exact copy of it, it's not theirs." Damian explains. I mull it over as Dusty returns with the new tablet. "Well... here you go." He says as he offers me the tablet. ... ... ... ... *sigh* I hate being the nice guy sometimes. I reach over and grab the copy, getting surprised look from him. "Take care Dusty." I say as I turn to leave. "Wait!" Dusty calls out, making me pause. "One last question before you go, please?" "... well... sure, I'll try to answer it at least." I say as I turn towards him. "Well... it's a bit of a difficult question, but... you made the Elements of Friendship with your friends in mind, it's why they connected to their ancestors now, who were the Elements of Chaos designed after? I have no records of anyone who would exemplify those traits." "That's because they aren't designed after people. Altum forced me to expand the field of research to not only enhance a group of soldiers, but to each individual one. The original intent was to mass produce them to enhance our troopers magical output, but it wasn't enough for Altum. He wanted something that could put each soldier on level with the greatest of mages. To become the next super soldiers. So, I started researching, and thus I made the Elements of Solitude." "Okay, but then what were they designed after?" He presses on. "Solitude." I say, getting a bemused look from him. "It's true. Friendship works off taking a group of thoughts or people and channeling it all into a single cause. Solitude was formed from the thoughts... well, from the thoughts of my early childhood." I turn and leave it at that. Damian nods to me before leading me out of the library. "You realize he's going to spend the next few months re-studying your childhood, right?" Damian asks as he trots alongside me. "Well... it's his job right?" I say, still slightly uncomfortable with the idea of having some guy know way too much about me. "Anyway, what else is there to see?" "Um... really? I was kind of hoping that that would be convincing enough for you... shit." "Don't worry, it was. But we're here, so... what now?" I ask as we step out of the library. "Wait, I know-" "We are not spending the entire time here reading." "AW COME ON!" I yell as I stop and turn back towards the library. "Just for a while-" "No." "Half an hour-" "No." "Two books." "No." "... Damian is great." "No- you bastard." We share a small chuckle as a mare steps out of the library. "Oh! I didn't expect to see Miles here." She says as she looks up to me. "Congratulations by the way." "... for what?" I ask her, getting a chuckle from Damian. "Your wife is expecting, right? I'm new to Alicorn ordeals so-" "Wait, wait, wait a second.... did you say... that my wife... Luna, the blue one... is-" "Yeah, she's pregnant-" "I FUCKING KNEW IT!" I yell as I throw my hooves up and jump. Once I hit the ground I take off running for the hallway I woke up in. I fucking knew I got her ass pregnant, now I need to get home and gloat about it. "GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY, I'M GOING TO BE A DAD!" Perspective: Damian One Hour Later I throw my chin at Patches as he joins me in the guest hall, taking a cautious seat beside me. "Sup?" "Not much, what are you doing here?" He asks me. "Watching the show." I tell him smugly. He tilts his head slightly before the sound of heavy panting and wheezing echoes down the hall. We both look over to see Juu-szeh, an orc new recruit, dragging Miles by one of his back legs. He drops him in front of us before taking his leave. Miles just lays there, chest heaving as he fights to regain his breath. "So, what did we learn?" I ask him cutely. "There's.... *huff* There's just.... no... end..." He says between breaths. "Yeah, about that. This is where we bring all outsiders. It's a looping hall that has no exits... well, beside to the main lobby." He collapses a bit more, laying his head down as he closes his eyes in defeat. "Can I do it?" Patches asks eagerly. "Mmmmm..... sure, why not. I need to go... check in on CC anyway." I say as I stand up, another smug smile coming on my face. "... gross." ...................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Miles I mumble a bit as I begin to regain consciousness. Instead of a helmet, maybe I should just not go to places where they do that crap every five minutes... fucking assholes. I groan as I sit up and look around. I'm in some bedroom in some random house. There are a few things in here; furniture, bedding, a picture of some blue flowers. All in all, ordinary and bland. Nothing special at all about this place. As I start to get out of the bed, the door opens up and reveals a dark brown earth stallion. "Oh, good, you're up. Okay, I'm suppose to remind you that everything you saw and heard is suppose to be a secret. Don't go telling anypony about it. This is the local safe house for our members, so if anything spiritual occurs, you can come here and tell us. Any questions?" "Um... where am I?" "Ponyville-" "Good to know, bye!" I run out of the house before he could say anything else. I charge down the empty street at full speed, feeling my tablet bounce around in my make shift toga. I practically fly through the barren town as I make my way home, feeling the extent of what my body can actually do. I just need to get there, drop off the tablet, and get to Canterlot. From there I'll talk to Celestia and make my way to Luna. OOH! Celestia! I get to tell her the good news! YES! Can't wait to see the look on her face. I burst through the door, sending Lupus and Hati running for their lives as I B-line my way to my room. I kick in the door, scaring Luna, and drop the tablet on the bed before- "LUNA!" I yell as I rush her and lift her up in a massive hug. "MILES! CRUSHING! STOP!" She yelps as I start to spin with- "OH SWEET BARBRA!" I yell as I drop her... probably not the best course of actions. "Are you okay? Sorry about that." I say as I help her up. When she nods I throw my arms around her again as I laugh a bit. "I told you, didn't I? We're going to be parents-" "Miles-" "I knew it! How far along are you? How's the morning sickness?" "Miles-" "Have you started getting cravings yet? Do ponies get cravings? What do-" "MILES!" She yells, getting my attention. "There's... been... some problems." She tells me worriedly. I feel my entire demeanor drop as I look down to her. Problems? Like... miscarriage problems? Tummy aches? .... gas? She sees my confusion and takes me han-hoof into her hooves. "Not like that... entirely." She says as she places my hoof on her stomach. It doesn't feel any different... well, maybe a bit more pudgy.... WOO! PREGNANT PUDGE! "It's... it's Celestia." "Celestia?" I ask. "She-" "LUNA! COME OUT AND FACE ME!" A loud and booming voice erupts from outside. Luna's breath quivers in fear as a bright light emanates from outside. Author's Note Alrighty people, here we go. I've been planning this little tid bit for quiet some time. Chapter 200 is coming up! Can you believe it! MAN... I should condense these down or something.... naaaaaaaaaaaaahh! It'll work just like last time, you can ask me or any character any question you want and we'll answer them to the best of our abilities. A word of advice though, I'd suggest holding off your questions for a few chapters... things are going to get.... chaotic Chapter 200 Q/A
Chapter 186 ChaosChapter 186 Chaos Once the light stops shining I go to the window and look out. Celestia is standing out front with what appears to be a legion of Solar guards. Celestia is clad in golden armor that covers her torso, head, and the bottoms of her legs. She has an energy sword at her side and she seems... angry. She can't seem to stop pacing around her guards as she waits for a reply. Her eyes, along with all of her guards, are glowing green with dark energy seeping from the corners. "What the fuck happened to her?" I ask as I step away from the window. "She... she's gone crazy! She tried to kill me when she found out I was pregnant. She... said things." Luna says distantly as she looks away from me. I tilt my head in confusion and try to think of a logical reason for all of this. "I'm going to go talk to her-" "NO!" Luna yells as she jumps in my way. "You can't go out there! She'll kill you!" "There has be a reason she would do all of this Luna. I need to talk-" "You don't have magic! You can't fly, and you can barely stand on your legs, Miles! We should... do you have any guns in the house?" "Luna!? What the fuck!? That's your sister down there!" I yell as I reel back from her. "THAT pony down there tried to cut OUR child from my stomach!" She yells as she steps towards me. My mouth open in disbelief from this... no... no, Celestia would never do that.... no. "Luna... I... she-" "She dragged me all the way from the Griffin Colonies, killed my guards, attacked and probably killed Rainbow Dash, chased me out of Canterlot, and tried to gut me! No more talk!" She yells as she turns away from me and begins to march out of the room. "Luna! What are you doing?" I ask as I run after her. "I'm going out there and finishing this." She tells me as she marches down the stairs, charging her horn. "NO!" I yell as I jump in front of her path. "Luna!" "Get out of my way Miles!" She yells as she tries to get around me, but I don't let her pass. "What's gotten into you! Think for two seconds! If you go out there right now you'll put our child at risk!" I yell at her, putting as much force into my voice as possible. She steps back and looks away, hardening her face as she tries to think of a retort. "Look, give me.... twenty minutes. By then I'll have a safe way of talking this out, promise." I tell her as I nuzzle her cheek. She turns away from me and walks away a bit, thinking to herself. "... twenty minutes, and that's it." She tells me harshly. I nod to her and try to think of an answer to this... "I may need your help with something real quick." Nineteen Minutes Later I take a few cautious breaths before stepping out the front door. At Lunas persistence, I have my claymore on my back in case things get heated. The guards have moved all around my home and have their weapons drawn, ready to attack at the drop of a hat. I look back and see Luna eyeing me from the bedroom window. I wave up to her, only to have her move away from the glass. Okay then... "What do you want!?" Celestia barks as she approaches me, pointing her blade at me. "I just want to talk." I tell her cautiously as i lay my sword down before her. "Think you can manage that?" "Very well, what do you wish to say?" She asks, though it comes out as a demand. "I want to know what you're doing Celestia! I thought we put this behind us back at Outpost Zero, why are you doing this?" I plead as she begins to walk around me. "I don't know what kind of lies you're playing. All I do know is that I won't let that whore ruin my family's name with that little bastard!" I practically fall over when I hear her call Luna a whore. "Celestia..." "You are not welcome within the borders of Equestria anymore, and neither is that harlot! Not until she either destroys that blemish you call a child or until you lie dead in the ground. Now leave Equestria!" She yells as she flares her wings, trying to intimidate me. I sigh, lowering my head a bit as I try to make sense of this. I need more time... I need... "Is that your final verdict?" I ask her, still keeping my gaze down. "Because I am so nice, I will warn you that you will be hunted everyday of your lives while outside Equestria. A large bounty and rising food prices will assure that." She tells me, getting some snickers from the guards. I let out a final sigh before looking her right in the eyes. "Then I'll have to go somewhere safe then. MAKE READY!" I yell out as I stand. At first there was nothing but a few more snickers from the guards around me. But that all ended when loud thuds could be heard in the distance. The Everfree explodes with activity as six high grade Military bots come running out and surround us. In the air, dozens of Aquilas dart through the air and begin to circle around us, filling the air with contrails and roaring jets. Thousands or bots run out from between the trees and quickly surround the mass of ponies. Guns click, blades unsheathe, and shields lock in place as they surround us. "Ponyville is now under the jurisdiction of Terradisia. You will leave now or we will open fire-" "You wouldn't dare." Celestia hisses as she grows an evil smirk. She saunters over to me and returns to circling me, only much closer this time. "I know you, Miles. You would never harm a family member. You would never harm you dear sweet Soror, now would you?" She asks as she walks away from me, whipping my cheek with her tail as she does so. "You're right, I could never harm you." I tell her as I pick up my sword and set it back on. She chuckles a bit as she turns back to me, smirking. "But I can give orders. Give her the message." Dozens upon dozens of shots sound off at once as a high grade bot brings down a hammer over where Celestia was. She appears high in the air but has to teleport again as an Aquila fires a missile at her. I turn and walk back home, ignoring the battle around me. I know she escaped. Easy walks alongside me and opens the door to the house for me. I pause when I hear the final shots being fired. I doubt any of them wanted to be a part of this fight, but there was no getting to them. I had to do it. "Easy." "Yes sir?" "Be sure to bury the dead... not here though. Head north for a bit, try to I.D. them as well." "Of course." I nod to the bot as it walks off. Odd, normally he'd ask his question- "Miles?" I look inside and see Luna standing before the stairway. "Hey. Are you okay? How's the baby?" I ask as I walk up to her and nuzzle her cheek a bit. "The baby is fine... I think. I mean... what happened? Is Celestia... you know?" She asks as she peers outside. "No, she's alive. I knew an attack like this wouldn't be able to kill her. She's too fast and too smart. But now at least I have some time." I say as I begin to walk towards the kitchen. "Time for what?" Luna asks as she follows after me. "... I don't know yet. Something isn't right here and I need to find out what it is. Stay here and don't go outside, okay?" I ask her as I lay my sword on the table and head towards the front door, Luna behind me every step of the way. "Miles, I don't want you going out there." Luna says worriedly. "I don't have a choice. Promise me you won't leave the house." I ask her. She steps back and looks away, so I grab her chin lightly and force her to look at me. "This is serious Luna... promise me you won't leave this house." We stare into each others eyes for a moment before she nods to me. "I promise. Please... come back to me." She pleads. I stare into her eyes for a moment more before letting her go. "I will. I need to get going before she thinks of something. I lo-... I'll be back." I tell her before leaving the house. I shut the door and pause for a moment. I feel my heart pick up a bit as I try to think. Those weren't Lunas eyes. They... just... didn't have that... spark. They were dull and... just... not there. I don't know what's going on, but whatever it is, it has Luna. .......................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Discord OOOHH YEAAAAH! Nothing like laying on the bottom of a cloud to relax away all the tension being a statue will put on you. *sigh* Chaos, is a wonderful, WONDERFUL thing! BOOM "Hmm? Explosions? I didn't make it snow yet." I drop off the cloud and search out the explosion, finding coming from Ponyville. The chaos seems to be coming from... what's this? Are those... I know the word... bots. Yes... bots. Many different kinds, all forming around a simple stone house. A green figure steps out of the front door and begins to trot down the main path. Who is that? It's... a new alicorn? Really now Celestia. Just when I thought I had you figured out. Dealing with Twilight was hard enough, now this. Well, no bother. Let's just get a closer look and try to figure this one out. I slither my way through the air and follow the pony as he makes his way down the street- oh. He seems to have noticed me. How could he have noticed me? I'm hiding in the nether zone, how could he... ooooooh. He's powerful. Hmm... if there's a new alicorn on the field, I'm going to need to juice up a bit more before changing him. I'll have to follow Celestia for a bit then, she's just teeming with energy. I'll be back for you later little green power ball. Oh! But just for fun. SNAP ......................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Miles Even though the entire town seems to be empty, I can still sense... something, watching my every move. Whatever it is, it isn't on the visible spectrum, and can move fast. Whatever it is, it's moving away now. But I have a feeling I'll be seeing it real soon. I ignore it for now and continue jogging through town- ... ... ... Did it... how... why.... okay? I don't know why, but it suddenly became night time. I guess... Luna has a good reason for this... I hope. I shake my head and continue on towards my destination. I'm sure there's a completely logical- and now it's day time. I guess they're fighting for supremacy... yeah, that's a good explanation. I continue on, trying my best to ignore the constantly changing sun and moon. I didn't think they could move them that fast, but damn... I was wrong. Go figure. I make it to my first destination -Carousel Boutique- and hurry inside. "Rarity!? Are you home? It's me, Miles!" I call out as I walk inside. She must not be home- PEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEW I drop down and crawl my way to the side as large red bolts spray over the entire room. Manikins are sent flying as large holes are blown in the wall. I make it to the counter of a counter and cover my head as the bolts cover the rest of the room. A large mirror reflects a shot and punches a hole in the wall beside me, forcing me to move out of the way. "HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, CRIMINAL SCUM! IF YOU TOUCH EVEN ONE LITTLE GEM OF MINE I'LL TEAR YOU TO SHREDS!" Rarity yells from the back room doorway. She looks... well, she's looked better. She probably cut her mane and tail short for a good reason. Though, the cuts and bruises I'll bring up after I yell at her. "Rarity? What the fuck do you think you're doing!? You could have killed me!" I yell at her as I stand up. She keeps pointing her Smg at me as she guards the backdoor. "What the fuck are you doing!?" I ask as I approach her, only stopping when she points the gun right in my face. "I don't want you gems, I swear." "Hmm... very well, but only because I know you don't have any magic to help you." She says as she lowers her gun and turns around. I sigh in relief and follow her to the back. When I make it there, my jaw nearly falls off. "R-rarity... where did you get all of these?" I ask as I stare at the massive mound of gems filling the backroom. Rubies, emeralds, diamonds and every other type of precious stone sits in a massive pile that fills two thirds of the room. A portion of it has been pull out and leveled, making what seems to be a small bed of pure... sparkling... unenchanted... "Hey! Keep your distance!" Rarity yells at me as she swats my hoofs away. I didn't even realize I was doing that. "Where did these all come from?" I ask again, still amazed by the horde she's collected. She gives a little chuckle before leaping onto the impromptu bed. She lays on her back and wiggles herself in, sighing in content when she's surrounded by the gems. "Well, you see, I've been doing a little excavating." She says as she eyes the back of her hoof nonchalantly. "... a little?" "Yes. After I had a little... 'run in' with some Diamond Dogs, I had to make a run for it. Luckily I was able to get away with the horde unscathed-" "Unscathed! Rarity, you look like you were beat pretty badly- wait a minute. Did you steal this from Diamond Dogs?" She laughs a bit harder at this, running a hoof through her short mane. "Really Miles, stealing? Me? Heavens no. I 'liberated' these gems from those filthy mongrels before they could eat them-" "You stole their food supplies! Rarity, why!?" I yell at her, getting her to roll her eyes at me. "Really Miles? Do you really think those disgusting, filthy, flea infested animals deserve something so precious? They should be in the care of somepony as equally beautiful and stunning. A pony who could really appreciate them and not stuff them down their sniveling, pathetic, scaly mouths." "... scaly? I thought we were talking about Diamond Dogs." "Oh! The nerve of that little, insulate, cry baby of a drake! Groveling to me for my food. To live in my home! Asking for some on MY gems! GOOD RIDDANCE!" She says as she turns away from me and toys with a gem. "... what happened to Spike?" I ask cautiously. "Who cares!" Rarity yells back, throwing me completely off. "Rarity... this is Spike we're talking about. You know, tall, purple and green, kind of a dork at times, Spike. Are you seriously telling me you don't care in the slightest?" I hear her whimper a bit as she continues to toy with a gem, trying to keep her attention on it. "When you are no longer fancied, distance yourself and give into your greed." She mumbles to herself quietly as she pulls her legs in and curls into a ball. She continues to mumble that phrase to herself, even as I try to shake her out of it. After several uneventful minutes, I decide to leave. Spike sounds to be in trouble as well, so I head to the library. Along the way, thing seem to get stranger and stranger. Along with the moon and sun swapping places every five seconds, a majority of the ponies I see in their homes seem to be stuck in some sort of loop. A saw one couple fighting in reverse, as in the words were going backwards until the reached the beginning of their encounter. Another home revealed a mare make a cup of tea, drink it, spit it back, pour it back into the kettle, then start over. It seems the closer to the library I get, the odder the scenarios get. Floating ponies, pigs flying kites, and some blue bow flying through the air! When I finally get to the library, I see smoke coming from the kitchen window. I run the rest of the way and burst through the door. I pause for a moment when I see all of the books flying from one shelf to another, sending pages everywhere when they collide. I shake my head and run to the kitchen where I see Storm sitting at the table eating from a massive pile of food. He barely take the time to chew as he stuff disc after disc into his mouth. In the back I can see the stove burning several discs as they sit on the open fire. I run over and shut it off before looking back to Storm. His stomach looks as if it's going to burst open if he eats another bite. "Storm... Storm.... STORM!" I yell at him to get his attention. "Huh?" He mumbles as he looks around, swallowing the food in his mouth somehow. "Oh, hey Miles, want a lemon waffle?" "Storm... what are you doing?" I ask as he resumes eating. I have to literally pull him away from the mountain of food to get him to stop, even then he continues to try eating. "Storm!" "I don't know! Ponies started asking me stuff, And when they come to you in need, take the time to feed." He says as he tries to get back to his lemon waffles. "Storm, stop eating. You are seriously going to hurt yourself." I try to warn him as he fights me to get back to the food. "STORM!" "Leave me alone! Just go away and let me eat in peace!" He yells as he falls out of his chair. He moans in pain as he holds his stomach, until he sees a waffle on the floor and tries to eat it. "Storm." I sigh as I stop him from eating the waffle. "Where's Twilight?" "She's upstairs, sulking." He says as he tries to reach for table. I lift him up, finding it difficult to do with his added weight, and begin to carry him upstairs. He offers a bit of a fight, but groans in pain when I set him on my back. If he doesn't let up, I'll have to force him to puke this crap up and then knock him out to save him. When I make it to the bedroom, I find Twilight laying on her bed. She's... just laying there. Looking out the window with her head on a pillow. I take Storm to the bathroom and drop him off by the toilet. He takes a few deep breaths before moving to the bowl and hurling the contents of his stomach. I leave him and go to Twilights side, shutting the door behind me. "Twilight?" I say quietly, but don't get a response. "Hey... it's me. Miles. Everything alight?" "..." "So... things are getting pretty crazy. Storm needs your help, he nearly ate himself to death." She doesn't respond. Instead she just continues to lay there, looking out through the window. "Do you know where Spike went?" She shudders at this. "He's... gone." She says solemnly. "Where did he go?" I ask he urgently. She just closes her eyes and shakes her head. "Twilight? Where did he go?" I ask more forcefully. "When your friendships have no use, your life will be that of a recluse." She says as a tear falls from her eyes. Simultaneously, a wave of magic washes over her and cause her to take grey hue over her entire body. Author's Note Don't forget to game with me on Wednesday at 12:00 (Pacific time). I'm also still taking Oc's for Spartan Training, so go ahead and make a post! Lastly, don't forget to ask or edit your questions for the Chapter 200 Q/A! Thanks for reading, and like always, Brony on!
Chapter 187 Discorded SistersChapter 187 Discorded Sisters "Twilight!?Twilight!? What's going on Twilight? Answer me!" I yell at her as I try to shake her out of... whatever it is that has happened to her. She doesn't respond. She just lays there, staring out the window. "Come on Twilight, snap out of it!" I yell at her, putting a bit more force into my voice. Again, she doesn't respond. Okay, I didn't want to do this, but you leave me no choice."GET THE FUCK OUT OF BED!" I yell in my drill instructor voice. She lets out a yelp before falling off the side of the bed. "MILES!" "DON'T YOU BACK SASS ME WOMAN!" I yell as I move to tower over her, scaring her slightly. "I'VE HAD IT UP TO HERE WITH ALL THIS CHAOTIC CRAP AND IF YOU DON'T SHAPE UP AND START ANSWERING ME I AM GOING TO RIP YOU A NEW ASSHOLE AND BREAK MY FOOT OFF IN IT, DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!?" "AH!" She yells in fear as she tries to hide under her bed sheets. "START TALKING!" I yell as I yank the blanket away. "OKAY! We thought we reformed Discord, and for a time we did! You see, before that Discord was evil and once ruled over Equestria, until Princess Celestia and Luna turned him to stone using the Elements of Harmony. When he returned, my friends and I did the same, being the new bearers. After a time, Celestia thought we could reform him, and we did thanks to Fluttershy befriending him. But Discord never had any friends before. So... one thing lead to another and he fell in love with Fluttershy-" "But Fluttershy was in love with Big Mac." I muse in my normal voice. "Yeah. When they were saying their vows Discord interrupted and declared his love for Fluttershy. She said no obviously, telling him that they were just friends. It changed something in him. He snapped and started becoming violent towards ponies. It wasn't too drastic at first. A few jump scares, a zap of electricity. But, as time went on, they became worse and worse... Fluttershy doesn't know this though and I only learned it from Celestia recently... but..." "But?" "Fluttershy's first pregnancy wasn't a natural miscarriage." She says as she turns her gaze downwards. I sigh and nod, understanding what she means. "Celestia told us that Discord had killed somepony, and that we had to turn him back to stone. So we did, but... I guess we either didn't do it right or something chaotic released him." "I wonder what." "Now, we have no chance of defeating him. We aren't connected to the Elements and Applejack and Fluttershy are in Appleoosa. There's nothing we can do." She says hopelessly. "It ain’t over till the fat lady sings." I tell her, thinking back to that old saying. "Miles, singing a song won't solve anything now. Starswirl the Bearded only did that as a joke." Twilight gruffs. "... I was joking... I'm sorry, did you say... fucking Auxy." I grumble to myself. I'll have to be mad about that another time. "Really though? Starswirl the Bearded? Why?" I ask, beyond confused as why she would choose a gamer tag as a name. "Well, when ponies gather and sing, music flows through the air and brings us together. It was the last spell he did after failing Celestia's final test. My guess was that he did it in attempt to-" "Twilight, that's not what I'm talking about." I tell her as I sit down and rub my eyes, trying to think of what to do. "Okay... I guess we just have to find Discord and hunt him down. I'll... just have the bots do a wide energy sweep and narrow it down from there. You..." I look back to her sad eyes and try to think of something for her to do. "You... watch over Storm." "I... I'll try." She says as she looks away from me. I guess that'll have to do, given her state. "Take care Twilight-" BOOM I fall over as the wall to my right suddenly explodes, sending bits of wood over the entire room. A dull ringing fills my ears as my head begins to spin. I've been hit over my entire body, but it doesn't seem to be anything completely fatal, or so I hope. A stinging overcomes my entire body as I feel trickles of blood escape all over, most notably my face. I force myself to open my eyes and take a look at myself, seeing all of the puncture wounds over my side. I grunt when I feel something lift my head up and force some viscous liquid down my throat. It goes down rough, but I swallow it quickly anyway. Several explosions are sounding off in the background. It must be one serious fight at this rate.Two more potions later, I begin to feel the wounds close up and the pain fade away. "Are you okay Miles?" Diamond Heart asks. I look around the room and see Twilight hiding in the corner, holding Storm in her hooves tightly. "Y-yeah. What happened?" I ask as I lay on my stomach and tuck my legs under. "What I feared most. Luna and Celestia have started a duel to the death-" "WHAT!?" I yell as I jump to my hooves, wincing slightly. "No, Celestia wouldn't be that stupid! I have the entire city surrounded with bots-" "Those metal men have been turned into... well, various things." Diamond says as he slowly gets to his hooves. "Now, what are you going to do, Alicorn King, and where do you need me?" He asks as he stands up straight. I ignore the fact that he called me king and move to the large hole in the tree. Two lights race through the air in aerial combat. One dark blue and the other bright gold. *Boom* They twist and curve through the air with tremendous speed and cause explosions of energy when they crash into one another. In seconds they race over most of the sky as each fight for superiority. *Boom* The gold beam is sent hurtling to the ground after another large encounter. The blue one then races high into the air and begins to channel a great amount of power towards it. Above the figure, the moon begins to rise and become full. Once it's completely behind the shadowy figure, a bright light envelopes the surrounding area. Without thinking, I turn and run down the stairs. I need to stop them. I need to save them. I need to kill Discord. FLASH I blink once before resuming my running. With the help of the teleport I find myself much closer to the fight. I run with all my might, putting all of my strength into every step as I race to get to them. I follow the large plume of dust to its center and find Celestia laying in the ruined remains of a house. She's in her armor, but it's been dented and broken all over. She has some blood coming from her temple as well as her mouth. A large splinter of wood is sticking out of her side. "CELESTIA!" I yell as I run towards her. She doesn't respond, instead laying in the ruble as her blood continues to flow. When I make it halfway to her, a shadowy aura forms before me and swirls around. It quickly melds into the form of a pony before turning into Luna in her pure form. She looks back to me and smiles as she raises a black hoof to her mouth, and licks the blood from it. "Hello sweetheart." She says coolly as she faces me. "Luna, what have you done!?" I yell at her as she walks towards me, chuckling lightly. "I simply assured our future." She says innocently. "Aren't you happy? Isn't this what you wanted?" "I never wanted to hurt anyone Luna! You know that! Snap out of it already!" I yell as I try to make my way around her. She simply levitates me up and holds me in the air. "Now now. Don't fret my love. It will all be over soon." YOU WEAK FOOL! GIVE ME CONTROL! "No! Luna please! This isn't you! Discord is the one behind-" "NO!" She yells as dark clouds begin to form in the sky. She flaps her wings and raises up into the air as lightning strikes over the now dark sky. "THIS STARTED LONG BEFORE YOU! LONG HAVE I AWAITED FOR THE POWER TO BRING DOWN THAT TYRANT AND BRING EVERLASTING NIGHT! NIGHTMARE MOON HATH RETURNED!" She yells triumphantly before laughing menacingly. GIVE HIM CONTROL "Soul Fire?" WE CANNOT USE THIS FORM, NOT YET. LET CORPUS GLACIUS TAKE OVER. "But..." DO YOU WISH TO SAVE THEM OR NOT? "...On one condition, if you save Celestia first, then you can have control." I yell out as I feel an energy begin flow through my body. I try not to fight it, allowing it to cover myself completely. I feel my body begins to rise as a light begins to form over myself. Perspective: Corpus Glacius With a burst of energy I drop to the ground. I stand upright and dust myself off slightly. I laugh slightly at the stupidity of that man. Even in new form, he's human at heart. Truly weak and ever the martyr. The sound of wings flapping catches my attention. "Impressive dearest. Purity suits a King like thou." Luna says as she lands before, offering a slight bow of the head to me. "Come, let us bring forth a new era of eternal night, my King." She says as she saunters towards me. "Us?" I ask, stopping her in her tracks. "Oh Fear, such a powerful emotion. The fear of losing a loved one. The fear of being attacked. Fear. Truly a strong Element of my domain." I say as I walk around her still form. "I-I fear nothing!" She announces as she looks up, her voice faltering slightly. "Oh but you do, I would know. You see, when the so called master of solitude whispered those words of Fear into you, he left its touch there. Giving me perfect access, my dear... my sweet... little... puppet." I whisper into her ear. Thump thump "Oh yes, don't think I forgot about our little arrangement." I say aloud to Miles. I waltz over to Celestia and look over her still form. She’s so close to the void, such a waste. But, a deal is a deal, and I intend to keep my part of the bargain. I focus the magic in my horn and rip the large piece of wood from her body. She lets out a pained shriek before falling back down. So close. "Wh-what are you doing!" Luna hisses at me as she begins to charge. I chuckle slightly as I look back to her. "My end of the deal. Now halt." I say simply. She comes to a complete stop and stand there, completely shocked by her cooperation. "As I said, you now reside in my domain. You do, as I command. Now, for the final part." I drop the wood and refocus my magic onto the cold form of Celestia. So close, such a waste. This pony magic is weak compared to the spiritual prowess of humanity, but it will have to do. I spend nearly an hour weaving the flesh back together. She's lost much of her blood, but that's the least of my worries. Once I finish with my healing she looks up to me and reaches towards me. I smirk and swat it away. I upheld my part of the deal, now it's- Thump thump "NO! THAT WASN'T PART OF THE DEAL!" Thump thump "THE DEAL WAS FOR CONTROL! YOU CANNOT HAVE IT BACK! I AM IN CONTROL! I AM THE POWER! I AM THE VOID! YOU WILL NOT TAKE WHAT IS RIGHTFULLY MINE! MILES!" Perspective: Miles With a bright flash of energy I fall to the ground. I look to my green hoof and smile. Sorry Corpus, I said you could have control, but I never said for how long. Better luck next time. I get back up and look over to Luna and smile to her. She looks down at me and tilts her head slightly, confused by what's just transpired. I run over to Celestia and lay by her, check her hoof for her pulse. "Oh sweet Barbra, you're alive." I sigh in relief. She's awake, but far too weak to do anything at the moment. That leaves- "Move. Away." Luna commands me as she holds an energy blade to my neck. I shiver slightly as the blade gingerly caresses the short hairs there. "Luna... put the blade down and lets talk about this." I say as I sit upright, afraid to move. "No. This is it. Eternal night will take over forever! Now move." She orders as she presses the sharp blade into my neck. It doesn't break the skin, but it holds me in place. "Luna, please. Think this through-" "No! Move or die with her." She demands. I feel my chest begin to rise and fall as I try to think of a way out. I look down to Celestia and see her eyes try to tell me something. She's trying to urge me to do something... but what!? "So be it." "And so they say, so they say, so they say 'but you won't understand." Whoa, where is that music coming from? "The workings of this world with you head buried in the sand." Okay, Luna hasn't killed me yet, just roll with the illogical spell. "And so I say, so I say, so I say 'but there's so much to do. And the graveness of the situation is shadowed by my ineptitude." Okay, just turn around slowly and face her, done. And not dead! "There's nothing like the moon to hide the sun. We're forced to use the lamppost to guide us home. We thought we'd last forever, we were wrong. We walk home through the night time singing songs, 'cause there's no forever." Okay, standing up and approaching her. My words seem to be getting through to her, she's at least dropped her swords. After repeating the ending, I've made right up to her, so I reach out and hold her hoof. “Trust the fact that everything is relative, trust the fact that nobody will ever say: 'fine. The brain is all there is to the mind.' But life is not a waste of your time. “This is no lament, it’s suspension of belief, it’s analyzing everything to justify a means. Keep god out of our house, was written down by my house. Ten foot letters on a concrete wall. Did the priest mind? Well not at all. If he has to pick and choose well then his ethics are his. “There’s nothing like your brain to spoil the fun, but you must keep living until you’re done. This was all in effort to feel alive. If anybody sings this into the night. It’ll live forever. It'll live forever. It'll live forever. “Etch my name in a tree so passers-by are aware that I once lived a life without a care. A single set of footprints just to prove that I was there. Well you’re lookin’ at me while I’m lookin’ at you. When will you realize, son, you’re singing to an empty room?" As I repeat the final part, she looks down to the blade and almost seems to jump at the sight. "Miles, what's happened?" "NO!" A blast of light flashes in the sky, revealing a patchwork creature. He glares down at the two of us as he floats down to the ground. "NO! You can't just sing a song and have everything be okay! That's not how the world works!" He yells... in that voice. That one of a kind voice. "DISCORD! You'll pay for what you've done! Miles is going to stop you once and for all!" Luna yells at him, getting him to roll his eyes. "No! I'm not dropping it! You can't just sing a song and- just- NO!" He fumes as he steps towards up. I push Luna behind me and stand to meet him. "Oh and what do you want-" "ALTUM STANS!" I yell, getting a shocked look from him. He thinks about it for a moment before a crooked smile grows on his face. "Oh, Miles Eremita. The Lost Spartan. So this is where you were hiding all that time." He chuckles as he looks down at me. "Let's see what you've learned since then, shall we?" He says as he raise a claw. SNAP Author's Note So, how you liking these cliffs? They sure do like you. The song was Under the Lamp post by Chewing on Tinfoil, chosen by Tallestbrony. LAST Chapter, Scythe Elder Necromancer got to choose what Storm was over eating with -lemon waffles. Don't forget to add an Oc to Calling All Spartans, add or edit questions to the Q/A, and like always, Brony on!
Chapter 188 Purgian ProgressChapter 188 Purgian Progress Everything turned white for a moment as I felt the world around me shift. When everything fades backs in, I find myself in some sort of laboratory. Three large cylindrical devices stand in the center of a room, connected together with large metal wires. The wires come up from the top of the two back chambers and join together at the front chamber. The cylinders themselves are hollow on the inside and are open in the front, having a sliding door of glass. There are several people here as well. Most are scientist in white lab coats while there are a few engineers in blue jumpsuits. They're all moving about the machine, checking on various parts and writing down notes. I look around the room and notice that all of the walls, floor and ceiling included, have enchantments on them. Whatever they're doing, it requires tremendous amounts of power to do so. "Welcome to the dawn of the Purge." I spin around and see Altum standing behind me, marveling at the work before us. He's transparent and has a tinge of blue over him. I run forward and try to punch him, but only faze through him. "What the fuck Altum! Why have you been terrorizing-" "All in good time Miles." He cuts me off as he walks forward. "Before you ask or say anything else, take a look at this." "All systems are go! Bring them in!" One of the scientist yells as the machine begins to power up. A door opens up from behind me and they drag a man out in chains. He keeps yelling at them in some language that I can't understand and is in a dark green and red camo uniform. They toss him into the back left chamber and shut the door on him, locking him in. "What's going on here?" I ask, intrigued. "You'll see." Altum says as they open the same door again. This time they bring out a pony... well, it looks like a pony. It's bigger than a pony, in almost every aspect. It has small, dark, beady eyes and is pull along by a harness. It gives a few snorts but listens to its handler as he brings it to the back right chamber and locks it inside. All of the people clear the room as the whining of the machines begins to grow. The man in the left chamber is becoming frantic while the pony seems nervous about being in a tight space. Suddenly all of the archaic text on the walls begin to glow, softly at first but build as the man begins to yell at the top of his lungs. The next three seconds happen... quickly, yet slowly. In the first second, the enchantments grew so bright the almost blinded me. In the next, the lights moved to the back cylinders. Ending the yells. In the last, they two lights moved to the front cylinder. Everything goes quiet for a bit as the door slides open and smoke flows out. I hear the door behind me open up as a man walks out towards the center cylinder. "Can you hear me?" He calls out. "It's okay, my name is Mr. Eremita, I won't hurt you." "Whoa, what the fuck." I mutter as the man walks forward. "Yes, you have quite the lineage, don't you?" Altum teases. I ignore him and walk forward, watching closely. "Please." A soft, timid voice calls from within the machine. The man -Mr. Eremita- chuckles a bit as he squats down and waits for the person to come out. The sounds of hooves hitting metal fills the room as an earth pony walks out. It's... not exactly what the ponies I'm used to looks like, but is relatively close. "Can you tell me your name?" He asks as the pony steps out further, looking around cautiously. "I... I don't know. I don't think I have a name." She tells him as she finally exits the machine. "I know your name, would you like to hear it?" He asks, getting a nod from the mare. "Genesis. Your name is Genesis." "Genesis?" She questions. "Yes. You are the beginning of something truly spectacular. We will do great things, Genesis. Are you ready to save the world?" A crowd of people come out from the other room and surround the pony, cheering, asking questions, and taking pictures. "This is where it all started." Altum says as he walks in front of me. "Genesis was the first of a generation of people to be turned into animals. After the Purgian Civil War there was a deficit of workers and materials. There weren't enough people willing to work cheaply to grow food, bots were early in development and were too expensive for farmers, and even if they were reliable, there wasn't enough metal around to make enough to feed everyone. The question became, what do you do to feed everyone while keeping cost low?" "So they engineered ponies... how?" I ask out of curiosity. If I can't even hit him, may as well get as much out of this as possible. "They broke down their genetic codes, and fused them together. At first they didn't think about the souls, so they would fight until one would win. Genesis technically has a horses soul." "Right, their bodies were closer to each others so it probably found it more accommodating." I venture, getting a nod from Altum. "The first generation didn't work out as well as they had hoped though. The process was costly and required a large amount of power. So they tried again." Altum says before snapping his fingers again. After the flash, we find ourselves in the same room, only with a couple slight changes. The enchantments on the walls are gone now and there seems to be new people in here. I don't see Mr. Eremita anymore, so I'm guessing that this is some time in their future. Again, they bring a prisoner and a horse to the two back capsules. A bright flash comes from the three chambers before the center one opens up, revealing another pony. It steps out and looks around before some people come out and toss some ropes around it. They drag the pony out of the room as they bring in another human and horse. "They started mass producing them in this era. At first they cared for them, tried to accommodate them to working the fields. But when it was apparent that some didn't want to work, they started caring less. It would get so bad that they eventually started making some as pets, the third generation if you will. Don't ask, it'll only scare you." "What happened to Genesis?" I ask. "Who cares?" "I do. What happened?" I demand, getting an irritated sigh from him. "She died, as did most of her kind. The first three generations had a life expectancy of about two or three years. After that, their souls would burn out. Luckily for the newly formed Terradisia, they had just won the civil war and had plenty of enemy troops to experiment on. After the failed business venture of the ponies, the project was abandoned for some time. That is, until the world needed them." "Hows that?" "Didn't you pay attention in history? The day Terra stood still." He deadpans to me. "I don't see what that has to do with this-" "It has everything to do with this!" Altum snaps at me before snapping his fingers again. We find ourselves in the room again only this time, the light is shining brighter and is lasting longer. When it eventually goes out, the door opens up... and out walks Tempus. "I don't believe it." I say as he walks out and looks around. He seems to hold himself highly, standing straight and keeping an even, calm look about. "Who are you?" Asks one of the scientist in the back of the room. "I am Tempus." He replies. "What is your purpose in life?" "To safeguard the flow of time so that the best outcome may come to fruition." "Who do you serve?" Tempus grows a cocky smile as he opens his wings. A little flash of light comes from behind him as his mark suddenly appears. "I serve time." He says before disappearing. "Dammit! We have a runaway! Get Spatium and tell her to drag his ass back here! We need them to get the planet moving again so get moving!" The room erupts in movement as people scramble about. "The new generation started out with alicorns, but they only ever made two. When they ran off together, it was decided that they had too much free will. They wanted something that would dedicate themselves to their work-" "The cutie marks." I say. "Yes, a label that would tie them down to their work and make them believe that they’re happy to do what they were doing. Genetically engineered slaves, happy to work. That is why we deserve to rule Miles. It is your lineage to rule these creatures that want to be ruled. Why do you think they Love Celestia so much? Join me, and lets rule Equestria." He says as he walks in front of me and offers me a hand. I think about it as I watch the people around here gather weapons to hunt Tempus. "Tell me one thing Altum, what happened to you? How are you... you?" I ask as I gesture to his body. He chuckles a bit and he snaps his fingers and summons a mirror. He poses a bit before it as he looks over his body. "Well, back during the fall of Topaz, I was securing the Elements. When I touched the Elements of Solitude, the rest of chaos... lunged at me. They flew at me and buried themselves into my arms, legs and chest. It was... I barely remember anything beyond that actually. After that... I don't really recall much. I had a few fights, things became... blurry. I took over Equestria because I got bored suddenly. Nopony dared challenge me, so I did whatever I wanted-" "You mean you became an insane tyrant and abused your power." I snap at him. "No, a tyrant rules over those that are suppose to be their equals. The land is covered in our creations! We deserve to rule over them! They don't-" "Does that include Fluttershy?" I ask, getting him to stop. He looks down and clenches his fist as he keeps quiet. "I know what you did last time Altum-" "Stop calling me that..." "You will pay for what you did Altum-" "STOP CALLING ME THAT!" He yells as everything around us turns white. I shut my eyes for a moment before hitting the ground. "I am no longer Altum Stans! He died with the rest of humanity! I am Discord! Lord of Chaos! A god among these weak feeble scars on creation!" "All I see is a tyrant abusing a power that isn't rightfully his!" I yell as I get back on my hooves. "What kind of man-" "I am not a man!" He yells as he begins to rise up in the air. Only now do I realize we're back in Ponyville -it's day time. The wind picks up and races towards Altum as he holds his arms up. A orange energy forms around him as he focuses on a spell. SNAP A loud crack of energy erupts from him as a bolt of energy strikes me right in the chest. I fazes through me and hits the ground, doing practically nothing. ... ... ... ... ... "Okay, you were supposed to explode into a mass of nacho sauce." Altum says, a bit surprised himself. "You forget, I made the Elements. They won't turn on their creator." I tell him with a smug smile. I begin walking towards him, making him back away. "Now, don't forget my offer! We can still rule together! We can bring back Terradisia! We can-" "Or I can take back my Elements and kill you for trying to kill my child." I say flatly, making him sweat. He keeps snapping his fingers, but nothing happens to me. "Technically I didn't do that! Celestia was the one-" "YOU MADE HER DO THAT ALTUM! YOU FUCKED WITH MY FAMILY AND I'M GOING TO KILL YOU FOR THAT YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" I yell as I begin to run at him. He snaps his fingers one last time before disappearing. I stop and look for him, feeling his energy slither around me. "Very well Miles. You wish to fight then beat my test. Bring a single pony back to Harmony within twenty four hours and I'll give you the fight you wish for. But if you fail, then you submit to me. Also, your sisters don't count. Deal?" I can't affect him while he's hiding like this. I need him out in the open. "When I finally get my hooves on you, I'm going to tear you apart. Piece... by... piece." I tell him as he winds around me. "We'll see." He whispers into my ear before fading away. My assumption is that he teleported. I stay where I'm at as I wait for something else to happen, but when nothing does happen I begin to walk- THUD I groan as I lay on the now soapy floor. I try to get up, but only manage to slip around and fall some more. I have no clue how long I spend try to get up right as the moon and sun constantly switch places. Eventually, I just drag my face on the ground as I use my back legs to push myself forward... fuck it, it worked. SLAM "Miles!" Luna yelps as I barge through the door. I huff a bit as dirt and soap drip from my face, neck and practically everywhere else. "Is it over? Did you defeat him? Why are you covered in soap?" "Because Altum's a bitch." I grumble as I walk past her and head towards the kitchen. I see Celestia laying on the couch as I walk there. She's awake and acknowledges my presence, but doesn't get up. I get to the sink and turn the faucet... getting some red, pasty substance to come out instead. "I... wouldn't use hot sauce to clean your face." Luna says slowly. I groan a bit as I grab a towel from the counter and begin to wipe my face off... huh, I keep pulling on the towel, and there seems to be a never ending supply of it. "Miles, what happened?" "Is the baby okay?" I as I sit down and begin to wipe the back of my neck. How did it even get there? "The baby is fine... I think. Nothings happened, so only time will tell." She says as she looks away nervously. "That's... a start. Altum wanted me to join forces with him-" "What!?" She yells in surprise. "Don't worry, I'm not going to join him." I reassure her, getting a slightly less worried look from her. "If I can get one of the others back to normal, then he will come out and fight me. I have twenty four hours to do so." "Oh... okay... I'm sorry, did you say Altum?" She asks to clarify. "Yeah... it seems that Altum turned into Discord when he tried to take the Elements of Chaos." I tell her as I set the mound of used towels down and sigh. "How's Celestia?" Luna frowns from this and scoots a bit closer to me. "Not good." She whispers to me. "She seems to not care about anything at the moment. I tried giving her food and water, but she refuses both. She just lays there, staring off to nowhere. I'm really worried about her Miles." I nod to her pull her in for a one legged hug, rubbing her shoulder to help reassure her. "I am too, let me try talking to her. I have a feeling I know what this is all about." I tell her before giving her a kiss on the side of the head. I stand up and walk back to the living room, taking a seat before Celestia. Just like Luna said, she's just laying there, staring off at the wall behind me. Her eyes are a bit red and lack the luster that used to be there. I try to think of the right words to tell her, but what do you tell the person who tried to murder their sister's unborn child. "Celestia, look. It's Miles." Luna says as she takes a seat beside me. She doesn't respond. "He said he's going to try and fix all of this, isn't that good?" She asks, never getting a response. "Hey, what was that thing where you purse your lips called?" I ask Luna, getting a confused look from her. "Nevermind. Just join in until it works." "Until what-" PBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBTT Without warning, I shove my mouth onto her stomach and begin to blow, making the lewd sound. She practically jumps out of her skin and screams as she tries to kick me away. She tries to back away, but only manages to fall over the back of the couch. "MILES! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?" She yells as her head pops up from behind the couch. "There you go, one un-emoed Celestia." I say blandly as I move to one of the recliners and take a seat. "TIA!" Luna yells as she levitates her out from her hiding place and squeezes her in a hug. "Don't do that to me, you jerk! I can't handle that passive aggressive stuff!" "Shouldn't you two hate me!? I nearly ruined everything! I could have died! The baby could be-" "Shut up Celly." I say with a sigh as I sit back in the chair and try to think. "You know very well that none of that was you. Altum did that, and he's the one who is going to pay for it." "But-" "No buts Tia!" Luna scolds as she sets her down. "You are my sister and I will not hear another self loathing word from you or, so help me, I will tie you up and evil things will happen." Okay, even I wasn't expecting that. Celestia and I both stay quiet as we stare at her. Slowly, her ears begin to droop down as she thinks about what she said. "Not like that... I meant like tickling... nothing like... you know... just ignore me." "Anyway, ignoring pervy Luna-" "I'm not a pervert!" "We need to get someone back to normal. Where should we start?" I ask, getting them both to think. "Pinkie Pie." They say in unison. "Pinkie? Really? I was thinking Storm-" "Your boyfriend can wait. If you can make Pinkie laugh, I'm sure that'll be enough to get her back on our side." Luna tells me.... boyfriend? "Yes, I can go with you and perform a memory spell if you wish." Celestia offers, but I shake my head. "No, Altums deal was for me to do this. Plus, I want you to stay here and watch after Luna-" "I'm going with you-" "Like hell you are!" Celestia snaps. "Fuck no, take a seat and stay there. The minute I win this, and I am going to win this, I expect to go right into combat. If anything you two should head to Topaz Falls and hide there-" "I've already failed my ponies, I will not hide when there is something I can do." Celestia says as she tries to stand, but is too weak to do so. "Well... how about some moral support?" I laugh a bit as I get out of the chair and begin to head to the front door. Just as I'm about to leave, Luna pulls on my arm and stops me for a moment. "Remember your promise." She tells me with a bit of fear in her voice. "I will return from this. Stay here and stay safe, both of you." I tell her as I turn to her, staring lovingly into her eyes. "We will." Celestia says from the other room. I was actually talking about the baby... but I guess her too. I lean down and press my lips against Lunas for a tender kiss, but when I hear Celestia gag a bit I turn it into a full mouth, groping, tongue wrestling match. "Really!? Do you have to!?" I break the kiss and look back to her as Luna fans herself. "Hey, I have to make up for all that stupid secrecy crap. I ain’t holding back anymore." Before either of them could answer I dart out the door- THUD And slip on my face and slide for several meters. *sigh* It's going to be a long day. Author's Note Don't forget to go to my blogs and update your questions and ocs! Brony on!
Chapter 189 Mad PoniesChapter 189 Mad Ponies WHAM BAM SHLNK THUNK "AHH!" I yell as I grab my groin and roll to my side, sliding further down the slippery road. I hate this crap, I hate Altum, I hate soap, QUIT MOVING THE FUCKING SUN AND MOON SO MUCH! FUCK! I lay there in the soap for a while longer and tend to my battered groin, not caring that I continue to slowly slide down the path. When I finally hit something and come to a stop I try to get over my pain and try to get back up. As my legs keep giving out from underneath myself, I grab onto a ledge... and loose my grip because my hoof is too slippery from all the soap. "!ereH" I look up and see a familiar mare holding a hoof out to me from her front door. I know I know her, I just can't seem to remember her name. Hmm... light cream coat, blue hair with a streak of pink... candy cutie mark... nope, nothing. Also, what the fuck did she just say? "!no emoC" I stare at her for a bit longer before finally grabbing her hoof. Once she pulls me all the way inside she shuts the door and locks it. "Thanks for the help." I say as I try to get up, settling for sitting here. ".ti noitnem t'noD" She tells me as she hurries to another room. I take the moment to gather myself and look around the room. It's a quaint little home. Nothing fancy. It smells of sweets in here and has a general warmth to it. "!hhhhhhhhhhhAAAAAA" I jump and fall over when a high picked scream comes from the side. I look over and see that the mare from before has brought over a light green unicorn mare who is... beyond happy to see me. Wait a minute... that's right, I remember now. These are those lesbian ponies that had that fan group about humans. "Um... hi?" I say as I extend a gooey hoof. "You wouldn't happen to have a towel, would you?" The light cream one nods and gives me several. "?uoy era ohW ?no gniog s'tahW" She asks me as she helps dry my body off. "Um.. I don't know what you're saying... and I can do that myself." I tell her as I set down one used up towel and start on another. "!rewohs eht esu yllatot dluohs eH" The light green one tells the other one, getting a confused look from her. ".wonk uoY" Okay, I don't like how she said that. I still don't know what she said, but I don't like that body language. She looks back to me and thinks for a moment before making motions with her hooves. She starts out by pretending to twist something then pretends to... rub her body? No, wash her body! Because the hair... and... "Are you offering me a shower or... something else?" I ask hesitantly. She thinks to herself for a moment before her green friend steps forward. ".yllaer eciohc ruoy, htoB" She tells me, keeping a straight face. "... I don't know what that means... can I use your shower?" I ask, getting a nod from the two of them. I begin to try and stand up when a light green aura picks me up. I look back to the unicorn and give her my thanks, dispute feeling off about being carried. Though I really shouldn't complain, they probably don't want soap all over their home. We make it to the bathroom where she drops me into the bath tub. Literally. And I don't know if it was life just hating me, but I ended up spinning around in the tub as well. At least they got a laugh out of it. Fucking Altum. I just waited with a bemused look until I finally came to a stop, much to the enjoyment of the two mares. "You two don't have to be here, I can do this myself." I tell them as they turn on the faucet and wait for it to heat up. "?flesruoy yb kcab ruoy hcaer uoy naC" The light green one asks with a smirk. The other one shakes her head before moving behind her and rubbing her back. She then points to me. "Oh... I guess that would be useful... just don't make this weird." They both smile -not helping the creepy factor at all- and move to the side of the tub before pulling on a plunger on the faucet, turning the shower head on. I jump a bit when the warm water hits me. I'm still used to taking colder showers, but I guess I'll just deal with it... wait, why do they get water? ".tib a revo toocS" I fall back as the light green one steps into the shower as well. I knew it! I fucking knew it! Why does weird shit like this always happen to me!? "What do you think you're doing!" I yell at her as I back away. She gives me a confused look as she looks to the other mare in the room. "?taht yb naem uoy od tahW" She asks, eyeing me oddly. ".lla s'taht ,kcab ruoy gnihsaw m'I" She tells me as she levitates some shampoo over to herself and squirts a bit onto her hooves. "Oh sweet Barbra." I try to make a run for it, but I only manage to slip around in the tub. The curtain slides shut from a green aura and I lift into the air. "NO! I'm married! Stop! NOOOOOO!" Twenty Minutes Later I step out the door to their house and shiver a bit as I try to think of what just happened. I don't think they're lesbians anymore, to say the least. They cleaned every part of me... every part of me. I better not grow some sort of fear of showers now. I think I'll just pretend that this never happened and blame it all on Altum... yeah, that's a good idea. I look out at the street and frown at it. It's now a literal flowing river of soap, though it somehow is not effecting the homes here. It's cloudy now, thought the clouds are bright blue and dropping some dark liquid. I hold my tongue out and taste a drop... hmm... well, it tastes pretty good, and it's not killing me. A bit bubbly though with a creamy after taste. With the... beverage rain, not being a threat I decide to move out. Taking slow, measured movements, I climb up the side of the building and take to the rooftop. From here I begin to run from rooftop to rooftop as I make my way to Sugarcube Corner. Luckily for me, Ponyville has built most of their buildings relatively close, so going from one to the next isn't that difficult. The only problem is that once I finally come into view of my destination, I hit a real problem. Main street. The road is three times the size of the rest and is a flowing river of soap. And it doesn't seem like there's any way I'm going to climb over there. I'm in a good position here to glide over, the only problem is that I would have to be able to glide to do that. I look over to my wings and try to move them; only being able to twitch them at best. "Hmm... this might be a problem." I mutter to myself. "You could just fly over." Luna mentions, making me roll my eyes. "Flight is a skill that I..." I stop and look over to her; eye twitching slightly. "Luna?" "Yes honey?" She replies cutely. "Why are you here?" "Celestia’s orders." She tells me in a business like manner. "Celestia?" I deadpan to her, getting a serious nod. "She told me that I had to follow you in order to guarantee that you made it here. We knew Discord would try anything to stop you, and we were right." I stare at her for a moment and wait for her to fold. Ears back, fake smile, shifty eyes, three... two... one- "Okay, maybe I persuaded her a teeny, tiny bit to come out and check up on you." Perspective: Celestia "Please, please, please, please, please, please-" "Luna, for the hundredth time, no!" I tell her as I shift away from her in my seat. She just inches closer and continues on. "Please, please, please, please, please, please-" "Luna! Please! You're starting to creep me out." I tell her as I scoot a complete seat over. Yet she persists on. "Please, please, please, please, please, please-" "Are you serious?" I ask when she presses up against me and squeezes me in a hug. "Please, please, please, please, please, please-" "For the last time, NO!" I yell as I try to break free from her grasp, only managing to drag her halfway across the room. "Please, please, please, please, please, please-" "FINE! GO! JUST STOP ALREADY!" I yell. Seconds later she pops up beside me and gives me a quick hug. "If you insist. I'll be back as soon as possible, and don't worry. I'll stay back and be as safe as possible." She tells me as she trots out the door. Perspective: Miles "Yeah... so, you ready to get across?" She asks me as she opens her wings and takes a few steps forward. "Luna, you shouldn't be out here in your condition." I tell her as I nuzzle her stomach a bit. She looks back to me and nuzzle my cheek a bit, trying to reassure me. "Don't worry. I'll fly you across then teleport back home before you know it. Promise." She tells me. I take in a breath- and nearly loose it when she suddenly flashes away. "LUNA!?" I yell as I look around for her. "Don't worry." Celestia tells me as she lands behind me. "I teleported her home. You're right, in her condition she has no business being here. I, on the other hoof, have a duty to my ponies and will not rest until this is resolved." She tells me as she straightens out a bit, but winces slightly in discomfort. "Celestia." I mutter in fear as I walk up beside her. She huffs a bit but presses on. "I'm going to do this Miles. I have to. Too much happens where I am helpless to do anything. The changeling invasion, the Griffin Colonies being attacked, Discords rise to power... I've had enough of it! I will do what I can as long as I am able! This is my home, and I am fighting for it!" She tells me as she stomps her hoof down. I sigh and nod to her, understanding her resolve. "Alright, but you let me do the heavy lifting first. I don't want to chance you hurting yourself while I'm still able to take the hits." I tell her, getting a smug look in response. "Oh, don't worry. I plan on letting you take as many of the hits as possible... brother." She tells me as she nudges me a bit. "Heh.. that sounds a little odd now to be honest." I tell her, chuckling a bit. "You aren't going to drop me in the soap... are you?" "Mmm..." She hums to herself as she thinks about it. "Let's find out." She levitates me up and dives off the building, dropping down a bit before propelling forward. I nearly have a heart attack when I roll over and nearly smack -face first- into the torrent of soap. I flail around a bit as I try to get right side up, but can't seem to get it right. Though it only takes us a few moments to get across it takes too long for me. "There, see easy enough." Celestia says as we land on the front porch of the store. THUD "You did that on purpose." I grumble from the ground. "Well... you bathed with two other mares, so I guess we're even." She says as I get back up. "Hey! That wasn't consensual!" I snap back at her. "You didn't really put up much of a fight. Are you planning on cheating on my sister?" She asks, the sarcasm practically oozing from her voice. "You want to play jokes? Okay, no. I am not planning on cheating on Luna." I tell her, getting a slight chuckle from her as she starts to open the door. "Mainly because I don't think there is another pussy out there that's as good as hers." THUD Oh justice, you sweet, sweet thing. I push the door open and step around Celestia and enter the bakery, leaving her to pick herself up. I stop suddenly when a baby floats from the ground and up through the ceiling. Was that Pound Cake? "Oh, look who it is." Pinkie says from the counter she's laying on. She has a grey tone over her entire body and has her hair going straight down, a feat I didn't think possible. She hops down and saunters over to me, a pissed look on her face. "Hey Pinkie, what's-" "Oh don't you 'hey Pinkie' me, buster!" She snaps at me. "You really think you can just come in here and act like nothing happened? After all the lies and treachery you've pulled!" She yells at me, slightly hopping as she comes to a stop before me. "... uh... what?" I ask, genuinely confused. "OH! You stupid jerk face! First you tell me that you're allergic to parties so that I wouldn't throw one for you! All I wanted to do was welcome you and have you make some friends, but nooooooo, you had to be a meanie, jerk head and lie to me! You couldn't just treat me like anypony else- OH WAIT! I was a pony! What would I know about human physiology!?" Uh... Pinkie- "Then there was that whole week of the wedding! I went and made sure you got a mickey so you would loosen up and spend some time with me and everypony else, but what did you go and do? Spent most of your time with that meanie head Chrysalis! Chrysalis! That hyper whore with the freaky holes and amazing oral work! What the buck, dude!? AND! AND! And you never even let me tell you how much fun everypony had with you!" Pinkie... I think you have— "But I took all of that in stride, but what do you do? Learn from that? Think about poor old Pinkie Pie for once? No. No, instead you just up and leave in the middle of the night. You were lucky I was able to catch you with my Pinkie Sense, you jerk! Do you have any idea how upset everypony would have been if you just up and disappeared!? Don't you get that we're your friends and you just leaving like that—" PINKIE! "WHAT, TB!? I'M WORKING HERE!" Pinkie yells, suddenly facing behind me. Wrong story. "...What?" she asks, becoming suddenly calm and confused herself. Wrong story, Pinkie. You're thinking of... that other long one that I won't name because of flow- “OH! Right, I’m thinking Diaries! Sorry, my bad.” Pinkie says with a giggle. Right... anyway, back to this story. "Right, sorry, sorry. Okay.... YOU! GARY STU!" She yells as she points at me. OH FUCK YOU, PINKIE PIE! Pinkie falls to the ground, laughing her ass off wildly. She giggles and starts crying as she holds her stomach in, trying to hold her innards in. "BWUAHAHAHAHAHA! OH! I'm just kidding Miles, you have emotions, PFFFFT! HA! YOU HAVE EMOTIONS!" Pinkie yells before laughing even harder, pounding her hoof against the floor. I'm not sure what's going on, but whatever it is, it's turning her back to pink. WHAT THE FUCK PINKIE!? I HAD PLANS! There was suppose to be some serious character development for Miles and Celestia! You're fucking that up! "Aw, you mad bro?" Pinkie asks... nobody, as she wipes a tear from her eye. "Just do it later, I'm busy laughing. Oh... hoo hoo, my tummy hurts from laughing too much." Pinkie complains as she tries to get up, struggling with her joy. In a flash she turns back to her bubbly pink self, curly hair and wide smile back intact. ... ... ... ... ... ... "So... are you good Pinkie?" I ask her, nervous beyond belief. "Yeah, I'm good." "BULLSHIT!" Altum voice calls out as he suddenly appears in the room. "THAT DOESN'T COUNT! Pinkie fixing herself does NOT count!" "It totally does Altum." I say with a smirk as Celestia finally joins me at my side. "NO! You didn't even do anything! You just stood there as she talked to herself! That doesn't count!" He yells as he glares down at the flow breaking pink pony... flow breaking? "You obviously don't know Pinkie Pie Altum." I say as I walk over to her side, getting a bright smile from her. "I mean, I probably could have jingled some keys and got the same effect." "Hey!" Pinkie pouts, then smiles. "Okay, maybe. It depends on the keys though! None of those paracentric keys." I stare at her for a moment before looking back up to Altum. "As I said, it's Pinkie. Now get ready for an ass kicking-" SNAP Before I could act, Altum snapped his fingers and summoned the machine from Outpost Zero. He points it at me and begins to charge his magic into it. I shove Pinkie aside and try to make- BRRRRRRRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMMM What has happened to Miles!? Will he be able to defeat Altum now!? Will Celestia be able to help?! Will Pinkie ever let me write a fucking chapter and not break the wall so hard that I have to fucking stop the entire story and set her back on track!? I mean, seriously!? You got the stories mixed up! What the fuck was up with that!? You mad? FIND OUT NEXT TIME ON MAN OF WAR! Author's Note Don't forget to update your Oc's and Chapter 200 questions! Also, shout out to Whatmustido fro letting me reference his story, you're awesome! Brony on!
Chapter 190 Losing SolitudeChapter 190 Losing Solitude I groan as I lie on the floor, my mind racing through a foggy maze of memories. I can barely remember the last few minutes, but I do recall being very confused. I sigh and run a hand through my hair as I try to think back to- what the fuck!? I open my eyes and look at my arm, finding it to be back to normal. I sit up and look over myself and yell in joy when I see that I'm human again. "YES! YES! FUCK YOU HOOVES I HAVE FINGERS! YES!" I yell as I jump to my feet and begin to look myself over. Everything is back the way it was. No confusing sheath, no useless wings, no giant head thingy, I'M HUMAN... AND NAKED! "Well... that wasn't expected." I look back to see Celestia and Discord staring at me. "I thought that with the Elements of Chaos you would have turned into a Draconequus... odd." Altum says as he floats away from the machine and looks me over a bit. "Do you feel chaotic at all? Perhaps a little?" "You could say that." I say as I flare my hands- oh sweet Barbra that feels good to do again. I smirk as Altum begins to circle around me, eyeing me curiously. I take slow, even steps to keep my back away from him. "You really think you're some lord of chaos, don't you?" "I think my methods speak for themselves." Altum says proudly as he continues to circle around me. "My question is, what's going to push you towards chaos?" "Enough of your games Discord!" Celestia snaps at him. "You will pay for your crimes!" Altum chuckles a bit as he comes to a stop. We stare each other down as we wait for one another to make the first move. My heart begins to pick up pace as the archaic flames in my hands lick against my forearms. The temperature in the room seems to have picked up considerably as I feel a bit of sweat build up on my forehead. This is going to be an interesting fight. "Your move... Altum." He frowns a bit at his name being called but smiles as he comes to stop. "So it is. Do you wish to know what I did once humanity fell to the Unfamiliar, Miles?" He asks as he steps backs, fading away. I raise my hands and move around, looking for him. I pause when I feel his breath on my ear. "I... killed... Susurrans Bellum." "ALTUM!" I yell as I turn around and try to grab him. He fades away before I could grab him, chuckling. I yell out in anger and let my power loose, feeling the portal on my back flare and connect with my arms. I look to left arm and grab the potestatum anul and begin to pull on it. "What are you doing Miles!" Celestia yells as she runs to my side. I ignore her and continue to pull on it. Bolts of energy start to shoot out from it as the metal begins to give away. "Miles! Won't the power kill you!?" Pinkie yells as she joins in on the other side. "ALTUM STANS!" I yell, putting all of my strength into removing the metal ring. The sound of metal bending fills the room as the ring begins to slowly bend further and further away until it finally snaps off of my arm. I feel a jolt of energy wash over my body as I turn my attention to the other metal band. With the added power I tear through it quickly and feel my magical ports jet with energy as the band falls from my arm. "EGO OCCIDAM TE!" I run forward and push my hand before me, sending a deafening wave of energy that blasts a hole in the wall. Thunder and lighting fill the sky as balls of fire rain down from the black sky. The road has turned into a river of fire and is already on its way to destroying the entire town. Screams echo from every building as ponies try to escape the danger. "NO!" Celestia yells as she runs forward and takes in the view. "I have to save them!" She yells before taking to the air. I look back at Pinkie as the rest of the Cakes join her at her side and try to think of a plan of action for them. They can't stay here, but where's safe? Where could they go that would be safe for them and everypony else? "Pinkie, I'll clear a path to my home and escort you all and Luna to Topaz Falls." I tell them. "Okay, what about you? Discord probably ran off by now and there's a lot of ponies trapped by the fires." Pinkie tells me as I turn back to the fires. "Leave that to me." I begin charging my magic to max out before setting the spell in mind. Once I feel my lines grow to every part of my body I run forward and jump into the fire. I feel the heat surround me as the air dries and my vision go red. I push my hands down and wait till I hit the ground. The sound of the roaring fires suddenly dies when I pull all of the surrounding oxygen out of the air. I hold the ball of energy before me and slowly let it loose, trying my best to not have it blow back in my face. When a ball of fire explodes behind me, I fall forward and let the ball go. I jump up and bring up a shield as the air escapes all around me. Luckily it doesn't all catch fire, but a few vortices appear around me. I look back to Pinkie and the Cakes before charging down the street. Any form of fire I see I immediately take out as I run down the street with the others close behind me. I hear the babies crying out in fear as Cup Cake tries to comfort them, though the fear in her voice is prevalent. Carrot calls out a few fireballs falling our way, that I deal with by sending chunks of earth at them. With every explosion and quelled fire I hear the children cry out more and more, pushing me to fight harder. As I clear a path, ponies start evacuating from their homes and join in following me. By the time we get to the park at the end of town I look back to see the crowd behind me has grown considerably. The are hundreds of ponies following me, trying to reach somewhere safe. The crowd seems to be mainly earth and unicorn ponies, though there are a few injured pegasi as well. I can see the air filled with pegasi trying to fly their way to my home as well, dodging the balls of fire as well as they can. A few unfortunate souls take hits and plummet to their death. The fire ends at the park, but the fields are collapsing before us in reverse. Large chunks of earth crack and break before levitating up towards the sky. I look ahead and see the cracks racing towards my home. I kneel down and launch myself into the maze of crumbling earth. I leap onto one chunk before leaping to another one. The rock rolls over when I slam into it, sending me falling to one below it. I crash into the rock and get the wind knocked out of me momentarily. I look up and see a large boulder heading right for me. I push forward and crack the rock, making it miss me. Dust flies up everywhere when as it crashes into the ground. I cough as I try to get back on my feet, but fall over as the ground continues to shake from more and more falling objects. I yell as I begin to push the large rocks away in an attempt to clear a path to my home. For every rock I shove aside, two more seem to take its place. I yell in frustration as I try to lift my hands up, levitating the field of crumbling rocks around me as well. "MILES!" I look back and see Rarity run to my side as the rocks lift out of her way. She ignites her horn and begins to assist me lifting the rocks. The entire field begins to lift as every unicorn from the crowd runs forward and begins to assist me as well. In no time at all, we clear a path straight to my home. "FOALS AND MARES FIRST! IF YOU CAN LEVITATE NOW'S THE TIME TO JOIN IN!" A city earth guard yells as he and a few others begin to usher the others forward. I begin to walk forward as the crowd begins to run ahead. A gust of wind catches my attention, making me look up. All of the pegasi are using the stone roof for cover as they race towards my home as well. I look behind me and see a large gold aura rise over the town and head towards me, lead by a white speck. As Celestia comes closer, I notice her flying is a bit off. She's left wing hesitates to extend up and she seems to be training to keep her altitude. I turn my attention back to the rocks above me and begin to meld them back together, darkening the area around me. Several of the unicorns begin to create balls of light while several other ponies bring out lanterns and other tools for light. Once I finish creating the dome I drop to my knees and let go of my magic, panting and sweating from the exertion. I look up to Celestia and see her racing towards us with all of her might. When she finally makes it to our group she drops down and crashes into the ground, rolling forward a bit until she slumps to a stop. I push myself up and run to her side as quickly as possible. "CELESTIA!" I yell when I make it to her. I flare my hands again and begin to heal her. She's bruised and has some internal bleeding, easily due to her prior injury. "Hang in there, I've got you." I tell her as she looks around, either from shock or anxiety. "There are still more... I have to save them." She tells me as she tries to head back towards the burning town. I hold her still and try to get her to look at me. "You need to stay put until I fix you up." I tell her as several ponies gather around. "Go get Luna! She should be in my house, go!" I yell at them, getting them to run off. BOOM Something slams into my chest and sends me flying back. I hit the ground and roll a bit before coming to a stop. A searing pain takes over me as a large burn mark covers the right of my front. I look over and see Altum walking towards me, a ball of red energy in hand, ready to strike. I try to get up, but the searing pain in my chest cripples me from doing so. I try to throw my other hand at him, but he takes a shot at it, incapacitating me further. I yell out in pain as I fall back. "It seems I can't affect you directly, but I effect what I can." He gloats as he stands over me, bringing the balls of energy back to each of his hands. "Say goodbye, Miles Eremita." "You won't win... Altum." I growl back to him as I try to move my legs. I can't manage to get them up enough to harm him, but I try anyway. There has to be a way to get to him. I can't lose, not now. "I believe I-" KRA-BOOM A massive blue beam of energy fires over head and sends Altum flying back. I sigh in relief as I drop down and look back, smirking when I see my savior. "What are y-you doing?" I ask, wincing in pain slightly. "Sorry to show up late, but the Great and Powerful Trixie had to gather some friends before this fight." She says as a line of friends walk up from behind and stand beside her. Perspective: Trixie "Luna, go heal Miles. Twilight, provide cover with your Med-gun. Rainbow Dash and Night Fury, keep Discord occupied. Fayte, you and your zebras help with Discord and get as many of the civilians to safety. GO!" I order to those directly around me. They all nod to me before running off to their tasks. Twilight starts by opening fire while Luna rushes to Miles' side, casting her healing spell on the way. Rainbow Dash stabs at Discord and sends an arc of electricity at him while Night Fury hastily flies up to him, swinging his axes at his exposed belly. Discord slaps the attack away as he backs away from Night Fury, trying to score a hit on him with the red energy. The troop of zebras run off all over the field, either aiding ponies or fighting Discord. I grab the Spartan necklace that I had taken from Night Fury and squeeze it to contact Regina. "How much longer until you all get here!?" I yell at her. "We're almost within the county limit. Should be about ten to fifteen minutes." She informs me. I nod before several explosions appear from the earthen ceiling. From above, countless Solar and Lunar guards begin to fly down and form ranks in the air around Discord. They draw their bows and arrows and take aim, letting loose a torrent of sharpened sticks. "Looks like we got here just in time." An elderly pony says as he walks up beside me. She smiles to me and says, "Diamond Heart, adviser to Celestia and Luna. You?" "Um... friend of Miles." I say, getting a nod from him as he walks forward, watching the fighting ahead of us unfold. "Good, you wouldn't happen to have any more tricks under your hat, would you?" He asks with a slight chuckle. I frown at him before running up beside him. "I've may have a few, but a true magician such as Trixie never reveals her secrets." I tell him, sticking my head up. "Well then, tell me if you've seen this one before. TO ARMS PONYVILLE!" He yells out. Most of the civilians present pull out weapons of all kind and jump into the fight against Discord. Bows, swords, maces, they use everything at their disposal to repel the patchwork creature. "But... if they were all guards-" "They aren't guards." Diamond tells me. "They're just ponies tired of bad things happening to their home. When I discovered that Discord had begun to make his move, I made sure that Ponyville was ready." He tells me as the fight begins to turn in our favor. Discord simply cannot deal with all of these ponies fighting him at once. "But... how did you know he would attack Ponyville?" I ask him, getting chuckle in response. "Lets just say I had a hunch." He tells me as he gives me a look. "S... Stop the attack." Miles grumbles as he tries to get up, only to be stopped by Luna. "Miles, stay down. You're going to-" "STOP THE ATTACK!" He yells as he forces himself up. "RUN ALREADY! GET TO TOPAZ FALLS!" He screams as he starts to walk towards the chaotic battle. "He has chaos! He feeds on anger! Stop before it's too late!" K-K-KRA-BOOM I blink as everything turns white. I look around and notice that I'm in a protective barrier with Diamond Heart, his horn providing the energy for our shield. He sighs before dropping the shield, revealing the chaos around us. The earthen doe has been blown completely away, showing us the black sky above. Every pony that was present for the fight is suspended in the air, seemingly unharmed by everything. A case of orange-ish red energy coats them as they hovers off of the ground. I look over to the side and see Miles, Luna and an unconscious Twilight, she must have been the one to try and shield them off. Everything around us seems to have disappeared from existence, leaving us on a flat surface. The ground below me seems the same as it was before, but I only can see where my shadow would have been. "Is everypony alright?" Diamond asks, getting yeses from me and Luna. "What was that? Where is Discord? Miles?" "Chaos." Miles answers as Discord appears before all of us. "Let's end this already." Miles throws out his left arm, creating a bright light that ends with some sort of energy weapon in place of his hand. His five portals blaze to life as the lines connect all over his body, burning the ground below him slightly. "Tsk, tsk, tsk Miles. When will you learn?" Discord says as he charges the energy around himself. "Chaos will always win-" "You've never had a friend in your life Altum, what would you know of Harmony?" Miles asks as he begins to walk towards Discord. His walking turns to running, which in turn becomes a full body sprint as he charges right for Discord. As he begins to close the distance, Discord starts to attack him, but stops as something seems to strike his gut. I didn't see what it was, but it was enough to give Miles an opening to hit him. When he makes contact, a blinding light forces me to close my eyes and look away. Perspective: Miles I blink as my vision slowly comes back to me. I've somehow ended up back on the floor with my magic off. I blink a few more times as I look up at the clear blue sky, feeling the wind tickle against my exposed side. For a moment I'm peaceful. There's nothing around me, nothing to attend to, just that vast expanse of sky and the wind. Slowly, everything starts to come back to me, and I jump back onto my feet. The vast darkness is gone, revealing a large empty plains devoid of almost anything. It's literally a flat expanse of grass, nothing more, nothing less. "So... it has come to this." I turn around at Altum's voice and see him standing before me. His long blonde hair blows in the wind as he cold red eyes stare into me. He's straightening out his grey suit as he begins to walk towards me, keeping his gaze on me. "You're human... how?" I ask as I step back, noticing that I'm clothed as well. "Where did-" "Some of us do have a bit of class you know." He cuts me off, eyeing my slightly. "And as for this, well, you're the creator. Enlighten us." "... my guess is the Elements being forced against each other made them reset their hosts. They were made together, I guess they'll never turn on each other." I guess as Altum stops just before me, glaring into my eyes. "Then you know what that means, right?" He asks, raising an eyebrow slightly. I take a breath in as I face him, ready to end this. "Usque ad diem mortis pugnamus." I tell him, getting a crooked smile in response. Twelve lights form around us and have an arc of electricity connect them, circling around us. Each of the lights has its own color, representing its own Element. The world around us dissipates as we back away from one another, readying to fight for our lives. I remove the jacket on my back and ignite my arms, watching Altum do the same. I'm a combat specialist, he was the dean of a school. I have Soul Fire, he's has basic human teaching. I have a cause- "Before we begin," Altum starts as he begins to walk around, forcing me to step aside to keep our distance. "You may not have known this, but I was originally from Diamond Halls." I stop in my tracks and gawk at him. "But... then-" "Oh, and I knew your mother, very well." He tells me with a sly smile. "I also know about your Soul Fire, your comeuppance, why daddy never came to save you, I know everything there is to know about you. I even know who killed your mother on the day of your birth. Nubila can't-" BOOM I've had enough of his talking, it's time I killed this asshole. I push my magic to its max and fire again at him, causing a second explosion that turns up a bunch of smoke and dust. I run forward into the smoke- FWUUSH I fall back as a powerful gust of wind hits me and knocks me back. I hit the ground and slide back until I feel an electrical force push me back. I jolt out of the electrical field but slam right back into it when another powerful force pushes me back. I try to break free of its grasp, but can't because of all the electricity running through my body at the moment. I feel myself slowly pushing back through the field, so I send one last shot into the center of the area. KROOM BOOM I fly back with the kind of force of water spraying out of a nozzle. At the same time, I hear an explosion and six impacts. I hit the ground, hard, and tumble over until I hit something solid. I can feel several cuts and bruises forming all over me, but ignore them for the greater danger ahead. I push myself up as quickly as possible, finding it difficult with a hazy mind, and ready myself for whatever comes next. The puff of smoke begins to blow away in the wind as Altum walks out, unscathed. In his right hand is a saber of pure black energy. The hilt seems to be a part of his hand now and the the blade seems... familiar. I can't quite name what its make is, but I feel as if I should. As he walks towards me, he lowers his saber to be held out to the side. My eyes widen slightly as he suddenly lunges forward, using his magic to propel himself even faster. I jump into the air magically to avoid the hit. His blade slices through the tree behind me with total, unhindered ease. I grab onto a branch and swing myself back down behind Altum. He turns back to me and slashes from a distance, sending a wave of dark energy my way. I throw my arms out and bring up a shield as I try to run for cover. My shield takes the brunt of the hit, but doesn't hold up to it in the slightest. The black energy seems to pause at it, then dissipates the energy before continuing through. No... how could he use that power... how could he use Icy Void? "Chaos, is a wonderful, wonderful thing." He says from my right before running and slashing at me. I roll forward to a kneeling position to dodge the attack and begin hurling balls of energy at him, trying to force him away before pressing my attack. he dodges a few of the attacks before leaping back, sending a few slashes my way to provide cover. With the distance between us, I take a moment to take in my surroundings. We're still in Ponyville, though we've ventured into the fields of the park now. There doesn't seem to be anyone near us, so I don't need to hold back. I turn my attention back to Altum and start to charge my hands with large amounts of energy. Soon navitas petram begins to form around my hand, molding to my influence. As Altum begins to run towards me, I add more power into forming my weapons, forming blades as Altum closes the distance. I slide under his attack and try to bring back my blade to hit him in the side. He brings his swing completely around to block my attack, pinning our two weapons together, so I try to stab with my other makeshift blade. He catches my fist with his hand and holds it in place, keeping the blade centimeters from his side. I try to muscle my way to dominance with each arm, but no matter what I do his smaller form is keeping me at bay. It has to be that energy sword, it has to be giving him this power. There is no physical way he could keep me at bay like this. "What's the matter, Miles? Cat got your tongue?" Altum asks as he begins to push back on me, forcing me to fold slightly. "Did you really believe you could defeat me without the Elements? I am the ruler of chaos, I am in my domain." "N-no you're n-not." I struggle to say as I try to fight back, finding it impossible to do. "You're a tyrant Altum-" "I TOLD YOU TO STOP CALLING ME THAT!" He yells as he knocks me down with a push. I hit the ground and feel the navitas petram shatter from my hands, their energy somehow being drained. I wince when I feel something jagged edge into my back, cutting me up slightly. "I AM DISCORD! LORD OF CHAOS! I WILL-" SLAM His shoulder is yanked back as a spray off red explodes out from him. He stands there for a moment, confused as to what just happened. At the same time, I feel something within me begin to stir. The energy sword fades away from his hand and he slowly tilts back, falling to the ground. I sit up and look around in shock for whatever just took him out. On the ground behind me I find one of the Elements of Harmony sitting there, Kindness. I grab it and focus on it, feeling its warm energy wash over me and begin to heal me. I hear several air snaps as the other Elements snap onto my arm, taking their old positions. I stand up and throw my arm out, creating Laminis Lux on my right hand. I look over to Altum and see him slowly ebbing away from life, his blood pooling around him as he takes his last gasps of air. I step over his body and glare down at him. "This is it, any last words?" I ask him. "WAIT!" Perspective: Fluttershy I fly out of the tree line and make my way over to Miles as quickly as possible, dropping my sniper rifle along the way. He looks over to me in a daze, somewhat confused by my presence. I ignore his looks and rush to Discords side, holding his head in my hooves carefully. "It's okay, it's alright. I'm here Discord, I'm here." I whisper to him as I stroke his cheek slightly, getting a scared look from him. "F-fluttershy? B-but-" "Shh, just listen, please." I beg him. He reaches up with a shaky hand and grasps my hoof by his cheek. "I know what you did Discord, and I forgive you." THUNK Discord bulges forward as Miles punches him right in the stomach. His hand seems to go into a bright portal in his body, but it is still affecting him. "Miles!" "N-no, this has t-to happen." Discord groans as he twitches in pain. "I-I fused with the Elements... if I'm going to die, he has t-to take them away." "But, why do you have to die!" I ask as I take hold of his hand, tearing up slightly. "Isn't there anything anypony could do!? What do you need? What can I do?" I ask feverishly as I squeeze his hand. Miles is completely focused on whatever he's doing while Discord is chuckling slightly. "B-benignus Fluttershy, usque in finem." He chuckles as he loosens his grip on my hoof. "Vale, mi amice." He says as he lets go and peacefully closes his eyes. "No, Discord! Fight it, you can't die Discord! Why does he have to die, DISCORD!" I yell frantically as I try to shake him awake. "AHHH!" Miles yells as he yanks back his hand, creating a blinding light. I raise a wing and a hoof to try and block it out, but it's still is blinding. After a few seconds everything turns back to normal, letting me open my eyes. "W-where did he go?" I ask as tears begin to fall. All that's left is a circle of stained grass. No body. No ashes. Nothing. "Where did he go!" I demand from Miles as I stand. He steps back and looks to his left arm. Like his right, it is ending in an energy blade, but this one is different. It seems to be made of black energy and send shivers down my spine simply from looking at it. Miles looks at it and cracks a wry smile. "Now... I am complete." He says in a raspy voice before falling back. Author's Note WOO! Finally, I never thought this would end. Alright my bronies, hope you've had your fill of the crazy cavalcade of chaos, because things are calming down for a while now. There still will be some fights and conflict, but for the most part the rest of arc three could be considered Slice of Life instead of Adventure. It won't be drastic, but it will happen. In further news, have you noticed the lack of brony point thing-a-magigers? That was intentional. I had to make sure certain things turned out certain ways so I had to restrict them. Also, for those of you have been following for this long and know my blog posts, this is where I actually am restarting the counts for brony points. For one reason: there have been multiple occasions where people comment on every chapter when they start reading. This isn't wrong and I enjoy it, but when they earn the rewards and have no clue (beyond that of the normal confusion) what's going on, they tend to decline the offer. So now it's something for up to date readers and special cases. Brony on!
Chapter 191 So Much To DoChapter 191 So Much To Do Perspective: Luna A day has passed since Discord fell, and the resolve of this town has shown through with tremendous vitality and admiration. Buildings are on their way to being rebuilt. Those who have been injured are being treated. And the dead has found their final resting places. This town has been through so much, but its resolve to move forward has been nothing but strengthened. I could not think of a single other town with this kind of commitment to each other, it is truly something magical. Miles hasn't woken up yet. He isn't unconscious, otherwise I would have been able to peer into his dream. He's... just, there. Some kind of internal conflict is waging on in that head of his and there isn't a single thing anypony could do to help. It pains me to see him this way, but a relief at the same time knowing he's alive at the least. That goes double for Celestia. Doctors say after a week of bed rest she should be back on her hooves, but that's if she stays in bed. At one point we had to physically restrain her to keep her in bed. She's determined to help in any possible way, something I've missed about her dearly. Putting the subjects before her own health, it was something I've always admired about her. Over this time I've been keeping busy myself as well. With Celestia bed ridden, it's been up to me to make all of the executive decisions. I thanked the zebra ponies for aiding us in our time of need, sought to restore the Solar Guard to its rightful place, had to orchestrate all of the bots that had changed back to go home, check in with a doctor -secretly of course- and aid as many patients as possible. After a day straight of all of this, my doctor finally pulled me aside for a quick, private word. "Is everything alright doctor? Am I still... you know?" I ask as we enter her office. The unicorn doctor shuts the door and goes to her seat behind the desk, her tired eyes scanning over some documents. "Yes, everything should be fine-" "Oh, thank you mother!" "But I still want to be careful! No more strenuous activity! Be sure to get plenty of fluids and try to get a decent meal in as well. How far along are you again?" I think about it for a moment, trying to get the most accurate answer. "It should be a little over four weeks now." I tell her, getting her to scribble a few notes down. "Well, it's March, and with one month down, your baby should be arriving sometime in September then. Now, lets set up a schedule for future appointments. Have you alerted the doctor in the castle of this yet?" "Well... no, but I've only known for two days now. That... and..." "And?" She asks, far too tired to try and not sound annoyed. "Well... I'm thinking of having the baby here, in Ponyville." I inform her, getting a shocked look from her. "... here... in Ponyville?" She asks to clarify, to which I nod. "I'm thinking about it still, and I would like to discuss it with Miles as well, but... we like it here." I say with a shrug, getting her to drop her clipboard. "Princess Luna, with all due respect, Ponyville is no place for royalty to be... born! I mean, don't get me wrong, I love this town with all my heart. But, this is a future ruler of Equestria for pony sake! There hasn't been a birth in the Royal family outside the castle grounds... since you and your sister!" She says as she runs a hoof through her grey mane and tries to wrap her mind around the idea. "Doctor Care, I understand that this is a little unorthodox, but I-" "Unorthodox! That's an understatement!" She practically yells as she leans back and gawks at me. "The foal can't, or shouldn't, leave the hospital for at least a week! And that's assuming there aren't any complications! Do you have any idea what kind of frenzy the paparazzi would have if news about this leaked out!? We don't have the staff to keep those vultures out! I'm sorry, but... it's impossible." She concludes. I take a slow and even breath as I try to collect my thoughts about this. I know that we wouldn't be able to leave right away, and that we wouldn't be able to go far with the foal. Miles's home is close, but open for prying eyes to steal peeks. The bots could help keep them back, but I don't want anything with weapons near my foal, especially that early. I'm sure the Royal family would have a field day with this as well. There's no telling what they'll come up with when I announce my being pregnant. Can't imagine what it would be if I try to have foal here. "I... I guess you're right." I say, getting a relieved sigh from Doctor Care. "Good, I'm sorry for being so blunt about that-" "No, no, you were right to. You are a Doctor, it is your duty to attend to your patients medical needs first." I tell her formally as I stand. She stands as well and bows, though I can tell she doesn't know why she's bowing. "I'm going back to the medical ward to-" "NO!" She yells, making me jump slightly. "I mean, no. You need your rest. Go check on your sister and husband while I make sure to send something to eat up there. Please Princess." She begs, making me sigh in defeat. "Very well, I'll leave my ponies in your capable hooves. Doctor Intensive Care." I nod to her before turning and taking my leave. The halls of the hospital are filled with injured ponies. The youngest and most extreme cases are being treated by professionals first, as by my decree, leaving the rest to either wait or have to settle for the volunteer aid. Alongside me, Twilight has been going non stop with her Med-gun and household supplies. I'll have to ask her why she had so many potions after this is all settled out, just out of curiosity. When I turn down a hall I have to stop from running into somepony. "Beg your pardon your highness." The earth stallion mutters as he ties off a bandage on a light blue earth mare. He's tall and has orange hair that's covered in soot and ash. The mare winces from the added pressure being added to her leg, but fights to keep a calm face for her two foals. "You're... the Cakes, if I'm not mistaken." I guess as I step closer to them. "What happened?" I ask as I look to the wounded pony. The stallion looks to me and my heart drops when I see that his right eyes has been bandaged up. "Don't worry about me, doctors say I'll be able to keep it." He muses when he notices me reaction. "Princess, could you help him!" The mare begs as she tries to turn to me. "Be careful, honey bun!" The stallion scolds as he rests a hoof on her shoulder. "Don't strain yourself anymore than you need to. But... if you were willing, could you help my wife please?" "Carrot!" "She needs her strength for the foals! I can take the pain, she's a big softy!" I chuckle as they begin to argue over who should be healed first. I feel something small hug my leg in the midst of their bickering and find a pegasus foal hugging my leg. I smile down to the little one and sit down so I can pick him up. He smiles up to me and playfully hits at my chest. I can't help but smile down at him and wonder what my own foal will be like. "Ahem." I snap back to their conversation and look up to them. They've both stopped bickering and are staring at me, smiling warmly. I blush as I look back down to the little colt in my hooves. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself." I admit as I bring a hoof to his and toy with him a bit, poking at his tummy and nose. "And, I can heal both of you if you wish." "So when are you expecting?" The mare asks, making me look to her in shock. "I have two of my own deary, and I know plenty of mares with their own. I know that look. Who's the lucky stallion?" She asks, making a question burst out from my mouth. "Where's the other one then?" I immediately regret asking, and feel even worse when the sad looks come onto their faces. "Our little Pumpkin Cake was injured during the run to Miles's house. She's receiving treatment in that room right now." The stallion, Carrot, informs me. I nod to him and offer his son back. "I am sorry this happened to you-" "Oh no deary, you're only sorry when it was your fault. This was all that monster Discords doing." The mare says with malice in her voice. I nod to her and begin to charge my horn. I've been doing this all day, so I feel a bit of strain hit me as I begin to heal the two of them. "Can I ask you a question?" I ask them as I continue to heal them. "Of course, your highness." The mare says quickly, caught off guard by my question. "Will you continue to raise your foals here in Ponyville?" My question catches them further off guard, but Carrot answers it as quickly. "Of course, why would we leave?" "Ponyville attracts a lot of unwanted attention, especially recently. It would seem that every week it is becoming less and less safe to live here, let alone bring a child up here. What is it about this place that keeps you here?" This time the mare answers first, much sooner than I would anticipate though. "Dear, this is our home. I wish that the bad things wouldn't happen, but I still wouldn't trade Ponyville for Manehattan, Trottingham, or even Canterlot. The ponies here are nice, the business is constant, not to mention that despite the bad, it always ends well. Las Pegasus has been nearly wiped out, where's the good for those ponies? We've been attacked, had rampaging monsters, and even been literally turned upside down! But no matter what, we band together and rise up and meet the challenges head on." I finish up healing them just in time for the door to their right to open up, revealing a nurse in scrubs. "Pumpkin Cake is fine now, we've treated her completely. All she needs now is her parents and some rest." She tells them before walking back inside. The mare smiles as she stands up and faces me. "Good always triumphs in Ponyville, Princess Luna, always. Thanks you for helping us, but I need to see my baby girl now." "Of course, and thank you. For telling me all of that, it helped." I tell her. They both bow to me before rushing inside the room. I make my way to Miles's and Celestia's room where I enter quietly as possible- "Can you untie me already?" Celestia asks loudly. I roll my eyes as I close the door behind me, so much for trying to be quiet. "I dunno, are you going to stay put?" I ask playfully as I walk over and check on Miles, nuzzling his cheek a bit. "I need to pee." She deadpans. I think about it for a moment before levitating a bed pan over to her. She looks to the pan then back to me, waiting for me to say it's a joke. ... ... ... "Oh fine," I say as I undo her magical restraints. "But just to the bathroom! I don't want to hear a single word of you doing anything more." "Yes, mother." She drones as she scoots out of bed. I laugh a bit at that and begin to crawl into bed with Miles. As I try to get comfy against him, I find something squirming underneath me. "Miles!?" I ask as I turn around and throw the sheets off. "Not quite." I gawk at Trixie as she lays between me and my husband. An awkward silence fills the room as we stare at one another. After several minutes she finally starts to scoot out of the bed. "Um... can you scoot over a bit?" She asks as she tries to get around me. "That depends on what you were doing in here with my husband." I say with a bit a venom in my voice as I continue to glare at her. "Well... you see... there... weren't any other beds, so... I figured... um, just a bit please?" She asks as she tries to get around me on the bed. "There are plenty of other beds with other stallions, why Miles's bed?" I ask a bit louder, make her back away from me. "Um... maybe this isn't the be-WAH!" She shrieks as she fumbles over Miles. She falls back and grabs Miles in an attempt to stay up, but only manages to drag him down as well. FLASH I blink a bit when a bright flash comes from beneath the bed. Confused, I scoot over and peer over the bed. A silence fills the room as Miles sits back up and looks between the two of us. Nopony says anything as we stare at one another, trying to grasp what just happened. "Luna," Miles mutters as he breaks the silence. "Yes Miles." "I was human back in the fight," he starts. "Yes." "And now I'm a pony again." "That is correct." "Hmm... big green with wings and pointy head thingy?" "Eeyup." "..." "Are you going to-" "SON OF A BITCH!" He yells as he tries to stand up, but fumbles over and falls back down. "OH COME ON! I HAVE TO RE-LEARN TO WALK!? FUCK!" He yells as he flops around on the ground. Trixie teleports to my side to avoid his flailing legs. "Miles! Miles, calm down before you-" SMACK FLASH Everything goes quiet again when he smacks his head against the bedpost and turns back into a human. Miles looks over himself and cracks a smile... then loses it when he realizes what just happened. "I'm... going to need a helmet." He mutters as somepony opens the door behind us. "Will somepony please tie the princess back up before she over exerts herself trying to heal everypony?" A doctor demands as some nurses usher in Celestia. Oh... things just can't go back to normal, can they. Perspective: Twilight After tending to ponies nonstop for over a day, the doctors demand that I take a break to rest. I assured them that I could keep going, but when they brought out every nurse and urged me to reconsider, I decided to listen to them. They are doctors after all. So I take my leave and begin to head home. I strap my rifle to my back and toss my saddle bags on my hips as I leave the hospital. Much of Ponyville has been damaged, but luckily very few homes actually burned down. Just like after any disaster, many construction ponies have already started rebuilding and repairing homes and businesses. I'm glad that even in the worse of times, our friendships will shine through... oh! I should write that to Celestia... wait, do I still write to Celestia? I guess it wouldn't hurt to, and she might enjoy it as well. I sigh in relief when I walk through the door to my home and drop all of my belongings. I'm glad I set those fire resistant charms back when I moved in- THUD I jump a little when a large duffle bag falls from the stairs. "Sorry 'bout that!" Storm yells as he flies down, clad in armor. "Things a bit heavy-" "Where are you going?" I ask as I step towards him. He drops to the ground and hoists the bag onto his back, grunting a bit from its weight. "I'm going to start looking for Spike." He says matter of factly. "It's been a day now and we haven't seen tooth or scale of him. I'm going to start out with Mt. Skyscraper, then the Everfree, White Tail woods-" "Storm, what if he comes home before you do? How would we get a hold of you then?" I ask as I step in his way. "Just have Miles call me with the Spartan necklace. But every second I spend here is a second longer he might be in trouble. I can't just stand here and wait for answers, I'm going after him." He says before kissing me on the cheek and walking around me. "Then I'm going with you!" I say before running back to my bags and start to put them back on, only to stop when Storm puts a hoof on my shoulder. "Twilight, you know you can't." "He's my son too, Storm!" "Yeah, but I'm not carrying a foal with me, am I?" He says, getting me to stop and look back to him. He sighs before setting down the bag and coming over to me, wrapping me up in a tender hug. "Twilight, I don't want to risk what happened last time. That nearly destroyed us. Please, stay behind. If not for me, then for our foal." "Beside, he won't be going alone." We jump a little when the new voice enters the room. We look back to see Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Soarin geared up for a long trip... well, in Rarity's case, she seems a little unprepared. Given how much she usually packs. "We're coming too." Soarin affirms. "But-" "No buts Twilight." Rarity says as she steps forward. "We all want Spike home as much as you do. This is no different than the time he ran off to join the dragon migration." "But, what about your shops?" Storm asks. "Sugarcube Corner burned down." Pinkie says... a little too happily. "So while the insurance ponies fix it up, why not go after one of my best buds?" "Yes... buds." Rarity says, blushing a little. Storm and I look over to Soarin and wait for him to explain himself. "Well... I doubt you guys know the dragon migration route. Not to mention I know plenty of caves and mountains along the way that are notorious for attracting dragons. Plus, having an ex-Wonderbolt couldn't hurt when chasing down a dragon." "What about Rainbow?" I ask. "Somepony needs to watch over Scootaloo... and to rest for... things. So, I'm going. Rainbow also told me to tell you that if you try to argue she will cite Spartan Codex on you, so deal with it." Soarin says, getting Storm and I to look to one another. I give him a weak smile before pulling him for another hug. "Be safe and get our son back." I whisper into his ear. "I will." He says quietly before breaking the hug. Rarity and Pinkie rush over and squeeze me in a group hug, thanks to Pinkie mainly. They all give me their reassurances of getting Spike back before they turn and leave. Once the door shuts I try and collect my thoughts. I've never been on my own, usually Spike would be here by my side to help. I glance around the room and realize how empty it is without my boys, and how much I miss them already. KNOCK KNOCK I run to the door and throw it open, expecting it to be Storm, but nearly fall over when I see who it is. "B-Blueblood!? What are you doing here?!" I ask in bewilderment as he stands at my door with a squad of unicorn guards behind him. "Princess Twilight, as soon as I heard of the troubling news I came rushing over to assist." He says melodramatically as he ushers himself in. "Please... come in." I deadpan as his guards take their place in my living room, along with somepony I don't know. He's a unicorn with a white coat, overly done light brown hair, blue eyes, and a cutie mark of a golden tea set. "Is there anything you need? I know!" *clap clap* Gold Standard! Bring some tea!" Blueblood orders. His servant begins to run all over my home, grabbing a table, cushion, and table topping to the middle of the front room before running off to start making tea. I huff in annoyance and go off to get my own cushion, seeing how Blueblood has taken the only seat at the table. When I get back Blueblood is eyeing all of my tea ware, obviously unsettled by their rustic value. "Why are you here Blueblood?" I ask as I take a seat across from him. "As I said, as soon as I heard about all of the chaos in Ponyville I mobilized my personal guard and came here as quickly as possible." He says, holding his actions in high regard. "Well, you can help with the rebuilding and healing ponies. But as for the actual fight, that's been dealt with already." I tell him as Gold Standard comes in and pours Blueblood a cup of tea. I roll my eyes as I take my kettle back and pour myself a cup. "Is that so? Well then, that means we can move onto my- our next order of business." He says before taking a long, slow sip from his tea. "And that would be?" I ask, growing impatient. "Your moving to the castle of course." He says matter of factly. I nearly drop my cup when he says this. Did... did he say, move to the castle. "You seem shocked. You're a Princess of Equestria now, and as such it will be expected of you to reside in Canterlot-" "But what about my friends! I don't want to leave Ponyville!" I practically yell. Blueblood simply takes another slow sip from his cup, ignoring my protest. I charge my horn and knock the cup from his hooves, spilling it on the ground. "What gives you the right to-" "I am a Prince of Equestria!" He yells back as he stands up, dwarfing me with his own stature. "I have the right to speak to you as an equal, but that doesn't mean I have to like it! Keep in mind, Princess Twilight, that the Royal sister will always be held over the rest of us. The riff-raff peasants, your friends, me, you, all of us serve under the Royal sisters! So do not speak down to me! I have enough influential pull with the Canterlot Elite to have you demonized for the rest of your life, so don't you dare test me." He warns me as he pushes the table aside and gets in my face. "Ahem." We both look over to see Miles in the doorway, leaning against the side. Blueblood steps away from me and glares at Miles. "So, Blueballs, nice to see you still haven't learned to treat the mares right." He says as he looks at the back of his hand. "My liege." Blueblood says as he bows to Miles. "Okay, who the fuck told him?" Miles asks aloud. "I have many ears over all of Equestria, my King. It will be... a pleasure, to have you in the Castle-" "Fuck that noise." Miles says as he walks in and stands before me. "Hey Twi, according to Celestia you and a few of the others made contact with the Unfamiliar while I was... out. I need-" "My liege!" Blueblood yells as he jumps between the two of us. "A Royal meeting will be held tomorrow to introduce you to the-" "Don't care. I need to go over all of the details with you guys and-" "I'm afraid I must insist." Blueblood pushes, putting on a sly smile. "You see, if you refuse, I'll have to follow you around to assure your safety-" "Don't worry, I'm sure there aren't any fanny bandits here that are willing to go after me." Miles retorts. I can't help but chuckle at the joke, though I'm not sure if Blueblood is gay or not. He does wear a lot of make up- "I'm afraid that my orders still stand. I will be at your side until the meeting is complete, my liege." He says with another bow. Miles and I both roll our eyes at his reluctance. Leave it to Blueblood to snake his way around more important issues. "I'll begin to make copies of what we found and have them ready for you as soon as possible." I tell Miles, getting a nod from him. "You go ahead and take care of this in the meantime." "*sigh* do I have to?" Miles complains. "Of course my liege, it wouldn't be a party without our King." Blueblood says with a chuckle. PUNCH "BLUEBLOOD!" Gold Standard yells as he runs to his unconscious body. "Okay then, now-" "You still have to go." I tell him. "... your lips say go, but your eyes say-" "I'll send a letter to Luna to let her know that you're going to the meeting tomorrow. Have fun, I'm going to bed now. Can you please take out the trash?" I ask as I head up the stairs, ready to crash for a few days. Author's Note Only eight more chapters until the Q/A, be sure to update your questions and post away. The Spartan Oc blog will also be closing soon, so if you have an oc, now is the time to post. Brony on!
Chapter 192 Men and KingsChapter 192 Men and Kings Perspective: Miles When the sunlight begins to shine on my eyes I force myself to wake up. It feels odd not waking up in my room, but until we get a new bed I guess I'll just get used to using the guest bedroom. Well... with Luna pregnant, I guess this would be the kids future room. I stretch a bit in bed and roll to my side to look at Luna. She's still asleep, sleeping with her mouth slightly open. I bring a hand.... hoof, I bring a hoof up and run it along her side. She lets out a quiet sigh as she closes her mouth, still asleep. I pause at her stomach and hold my hoof there. "A little lower, honey." Luna tells me, her eyes still shut. "Hmm, we sure did go through a lot for this, didn't we?" I ask as I move my hoof lower. "Miles, you aren't going to feel anything yet." She says and she reaches down and holds my hoof. "I don't know, I think I'm starting to feel a little bit of chub-" SMACK I laugh as she hits me a few more times, eventually pulling her in for a hug. "I'm just kidding, jeez." I tell her as she huffs in annoyance. "Anyway, let's start getting ready to get to Canterlot, okay?" "Okay... jerk." She says, hitting me one last time. "You know you love me." I say as we get out of bed. She smiles and shakes her head at me. I go to the bathroom in the other room, the one in the guest room being too small for both of us, and start getting ready for the day. I start out by trying something... probably dumb. I punch myself, hard. What I expected to have happen, happened. But it still hurt. "What was... that?" Luna asks as she comes rushing into the room. "Um... Miles, how did you... do that?" She asks as she stares at my now human body. "All I needed was a bit of persuasion." I state simply as I start to run the water, working both the knobs to get it to the right temperature. I miss the simplicity from before. "Miles... are you sure it's a good idea to keep switching back and forth?" Luna asks as she steps into the master bathroom. "Well... I don't know. I assume that it's the Elements doing this to me, in which case I guess it's okay. But I'll need to run some tests before I get a definitive answer-" "But what about you overloading? You tore off your potestatum anuls, shouldn't you be on the edge of death, or something?" She asks worriedly as she rushes to my side. I show her my hand and flip it from one side to the other, getting a confused look from her. "I have a theory based on what Altum showed me on why I'm not becoming over exerted. But first, want me to get your back?" I ask as I offer her a space in the tub. She smiles and takes a seat inside. I join in behind her and sit as close as possible, having our bodies mesh together. The water feels good, and sharing it with my wife makes it all the better. I begin by first making sure every part of her has an ample supply of water coating it before lathering her with different soaps of her choosing. As I rub in the shampoos, I begin to tell her what I saw. How humans engineered the ponies, what they were built for, and the glimpse into my lineage. It was pretty shocking for her, seeing how ponies were originally designed as slaves, including her parents. When I finish up her back I have her turn around and start on her front, moving even closer to her. I begin telling her about my theory on why I didn't burn away immediately after pulling off my potestatum anuls. The machine from Outpost Zero was some kind of remnant from those Purgian experiments, but refined. It didn't require the three tubes nor the six wall enchants. I believe, at its base function, that it's made to change a persons soul and body, but not their mind. Since I changed with great stress on my soul, it must have made a body that could accommodate all of that power, thus, an Alicorn. I finish telling this as I finish washing her body. She motions for me to turn around and begins to rub my back, adding the soap to smooth out her movements. Now, because of the Elements of Chaos, I'm in some state of limbo where my body and soul can't decide between the two of them. My guess is, the closer to either Element I am will dictate which body I am. Again, this will require tests to confirm and a few experiments to understand. Not to mention I need to gain knowledge about myself in each form to better utilize them properly... not to mention learn unicorn magic and flight. She promises that she'll help throwing me off of clouds until I get a hang of it... not looking forward to that. "So... how exactly are you going to test yourself?" Luna asks as we step out of the bath and begin to dry each other off. "I'll have to go to Topaz and use the equipment there, or what's left at least. I may have to go to New Garnet and use what's there, not to mention I'll need to deal with the Unfamiliar." "Miles, try not to kill any of them. Fluttershy and the others have worked really hard at gaining their trust just to go down there. Don't undue that." Luna tells me as we finish up and leave the bathroom. "... I'll try, but I'm not making any promises. There will be reparations for what happened to my people-" "Don't forget, they have felt their share of pain as well. At least you still have a home planet." She tells me as I begin to get dressed. "Yeah, but they still have a population. I'd take people over a planet any day." Luna frowns at that and drops the subject. We eat a light and quick breakfast, Luna telling me that we'll eat properly when we get there, and head out for the train station. Though she assures me it's perfectly fine to teleport, I don't exactly feel comfortable letting her use magic in any which way or form. Call me paranoid, I don't give a fuck. Plus, Twilight also insisted it yesterday. "You better not become overly protective over the next six months Miles." Luna warns me as she takes a seat in on the train. "Trust me, when I become over protective, you'll know." I say as I take a seat next to her. "Where's Twilight? Taking the train was her idea in the first place." I ask as the train begins to move along, gaining speed... quickly? Well, gaining speed at least. "Don't fret Miles, I'm here." Twilight says as she enters our compartment, closing the door behind her. "Good morning everypony." She says as she takes a seat across from us, to which we reply. "So, I've never been to a Royal meeting before. Mind giving some pointers to us, Luna?" Twilight asks, summoning a note and quill. "Of course. Like always, treat everypony with respect-" "Uh-huh." Twilight mumbles as she writes down what she says. "Try not to yell or cause a ruckus, many of the ponies in there will be of the older generation." Luna says, then points a hoof at me. "Not. A. Word. Mister." "I wasn't going to say anything." I say as I put my hands up. "Old lady...." "This is suppose to be a Royal event, so hold yourself to that standard. No slurping drinks. No lewd jokes. NO SWEARING, Miles." She says as she glances back to me. Meh, as long as Blueblood stays the fuck away, I'll be fine. "This is suppose to be a casual Royal meeting, so attire is optional, though most of the ponies there will be dressed one way or another." "Of course." I mutter, getting a smack on the arm from Luna. "You're abusive when you're pregnant." I complain as I don't rub my arm... didn't hurt. "I love you too." She chides before turning back to Twilight. "And above all else, this is basically a casual political meeting as well. So everypony will lie, cheat and deceive you to try and gain whatever it is they are after. Don't promise anything, never shake hooves unless you know all of the details; which I can guarantee you don't. And above all else, DO NOT tell anypony how you feel about anything... EVER. Those ponies will find a way to use it against you for either their own gain or to bring you down. DO NOT TALK ABOUT YOURSELF! If all goes according to plan, nopony there will know either of us are pregnant-" "Blueblood knows." I tell her. She looks at me with a scared, shocked expression as she grips the arm rest. "Blueblood... knows... about us?" She asks timidly. "He even knows about me, I think." Twilight adds. SNAP The room goes quiet when Luna breaks the armrest off of the wall. She stares between the two of us with pinprick eyes as she tries to comprehend what we told her. "Is this why you're so secretive?" I ask, breaking the silence. "Also, is this how they do things now, or back a thousand years ago?" "Miles." Luna grumbles as she sets the piece of wood down. "It's politics, they don't change." "Well, in that case, don't worry so much. I've had plenty of experience in the political game." I say as I lean back in my chair. "... no you haven't." Twilight states. "Yeah I have. I'm a Spartan, back in Topaz Falls people listened to our every word. Nothing went through the military without our knowing and influence, nothing. Trust me, these ponies have never dealt with Spartan politics before. Just do me a favor, don't leave my side." I say to Luna, getting a warm smile in return. "I need a shield-" SMACK "Now, there are a couple of other things you should know in order for relevance sake. Starting with family members and their livelihoods..." Two Hours Later We walk out of the train station and into the main street of Canterlot. The city is alive with activity as ponies fixing buildings and repairing roads. The fight here really took a toll on the city, but they should be able to cope. I can't help but notice a difference in the work though. The ponies here seem.. as if they're only doing this because it's their job. It's nothing like Ponyville. A carriage with four pegasis pullers drops from the air and lands before us. Luna steps forward and takes a seat on the carriage, Twilight and I following after her. The carriage take to the air and brings us to the back of the castle, where we land indoors. "Your majesty." An earth mare servant greets as she bows to us. "If you all will follow me, the gathering has already begun-" "But it's barely nine." I blurt out, getting a slight kick from Luna. "Thank you very much." Luna says with a slight incline of the head. She bows to her and leads us away. "Miles, just promise me you won't punch anypony, okay?" "Well..." I look down at her and see the worry in her eyes, making me fold. "Alright, I promise not to punch anyone." I tell her, getting a smile in return. "Now lets get this over already." We walk off after the servant girl, going through the maze of halls until we end up in some room in the heart of the castle. The room we end up in reminds me of the throne room, only lacking the throne and having tables set up around the side of the room. True to Luna's word, there are several elder ponies in either light dresses or suit jackets dotting the center. There are a handful of younger ponies as well, and even a foal in the back, but one thing is certain. They are all unicorns. As soon as the three of us step into the room, all eyes turn on us. I reach slowly into my pocket and press a few buttons on my phone, getting a vibration as a confirmation. "Announcing the Element of Friendship, Princess Twilight Sparkle!" The mare bellows to the crowd. Twilight looks between the two of us before stepping forward and bowing nervously. She walks quickly into the crowd and over to Celestia's side, trying to avoid all of the eyes on her. "Announcing the new rulers of Equestria, Queen Luna and King Miles Eremita!" Luna and I both go rigged as everyone, Celestia included, bow to us. Not just the head tilt and neck incline bow. The, get on your knee and kiss the floor, bow. "Should we says something? They aren't getting up." I whisper to Luna. "I think so, I don't normally get this kind of reception." She whispers back to me. I think about it for a moment longer before stepping forward apprehensively. "Thank you for your hospitality. I know I'm not the kind of leader you are all expecting, being human. Just know that I intend to do what is necessary to keep my home, and its allies, on the right tracks to a brighter future." I say aloud, getting the ponies in the room to stand and stomp their hooves lightly. I look back to Luna before we both walk into the fray of politicians and officials. Immediately, we become surrounded by several ponies as they begin to ask questions, along as to squeeze in some brown nosing. "My liege, how exactly are you going to ensure a brighter future?" "King Eremita, what do you determine to be the necessary actions that we have to take?" "Queen Luna, how far along are you?" "Queen Luna, will your sister be your birthing partner or will the castle maiden take the honor?" "How do you expect to handle our problems along with those of our allies?" "Do you have any schools lined up for the young one yet?" "Will your rule be mostly military operations or do you plan on being socially active as well?" "Do you wish for a filly or a colt... or a human?" Why does Luna get all of the easy questions? "ENOUGH ALREADY!" Diamond Heart bellows as he pushes a few ponies out of his way. "Back off you vultures, let the ponies breath." He says, getting a few scoffs from the others. "Thanks you Diamond." Luna says with a slight incline of the head. "And to answer your questions, about one month. I would love to have my sister as a birthing partner, if she would be willing-" "I AM!" "Okay then, yes. She will be. No, we don't have any schools lined up yet. And... I just wish for the child to be healthy. I will love it no matter what it comes out as." Luna tells them, getting warm smiles from all of the mares. "And you, sir?" One of the stallions asks me. "Fuck that noise, I want a girl." I say, getting another smack from Luna. The crowd around us laughs as Luna glares up at me. Oh yeah, no cussing. "But, in all honesty, I agree with Luna. I want a healthy child and don't care if it comes out one way or another." "And... the other issues?" One stallion asks, getting nervous looks from the others. "All in due time, but first things first, I must speak with my sister. If you'll excuse us." I say before ushering Luna over to Celestia. Luna trots forward to nuzzle up to her older sister, receiving equal affection. "Thanks for warning us about all this." I tease as I nod to Shining and Cadence. "I was in the hospital before this Miles, I didn't know either." She tells me. "So, what happens next?" Cadence asks as she steps forward. "Is Miles really going to be king?" "Give it a few minutes." I say quickly, getting shocked looks from everyone. "What do you mean by that?" Celestia asks cautiously. I just smile to her, not giving her anything. "Miles, please don't do anything dumb." Shining begs me. "Hey, I went to college for sixteen years, I think I know how to formulate a plan." I defend, getting unsure looks from all of them. "Wow, no confidence at all, thanks." "It's not that we don't have confidence in you Miles," Shining starts, "It's that we have confidence in what we know. And we know how our system works. You can't just quit being King because you don't want to be King-" "No, but if I can get everyone to agree to not have me as King, then we can make some progress." I tell him as my phone vibrated lightly, telling me to begin. "Wish me luck." I turn around and grab a glass from a passing waiter. I give it a few flicks in attempt to get everyone’s attention, but end up breaking the glass. Well... at least I have their attention. The crowd of ponies goes silent as they watch me, waiting for me to begin. "So, I was talking with Luna last night and we decided that we wanted to have the baby in Ponyville," I say, getting a gasp from the crowd. "Now, I know what your immediate reaction will be. I know of your tradition of having royalty born here, but here's where we come to an impasse. You all see me as your king, but I do not wish, nor will I willingly be, your king." Again, the crowd goes slack jaw from my statement, staring at me in utter confusion. "You can't just not be king because you don't want to-" "Why not? Who has the authority above me?" I counter. "Us." Blueblood says as he steps forward. I smile as he walks before me, holding his head up high. "We do more than just sit around and babble to each other. We are charged with keeping the traditions of Equestria strong and alive. We will not simply allow you to refuse your duties." "Good point, Blueblood." I say, getting a shocked look from him. "This is where we come to the ultimatum. You see, I may be your king at the moment, but I am still a servant of Terradisia. And, luckily for me, Terradisia is a recognized nation by Equestria, The Griffin Colonies, and even The Crystal Empire." "And your point is?" He asks, raising an eyebrow. "My point is, if I am your king, but subjugated to Terradisia, then who really rules?" I ask, seeing everyone in the room slowly come to the same realization. I look over to Luna and see her smirking at me, I knew this would play out our way. All I need now is for- "No." Blueblood mumbles. "No, you're bluffing. There is no way you'd pull something like that. I don't believe you have it in you to-" "Blueblood, sometimes I could just kiss you." I say, getting him to gag a bit. "I'll give you two chances. Let me live as my own person, raising my child the way I see fit, or loose Equestria. Your choice." I give them a minute to think it over. I motion to Luna and the others to back up as the crowd mumbles to each other. Once they're out of the way, I back up myself and pull off my Spartan necklace. "Times up, Night Fury, you have the green" I say into the necklace. "Roger that," he replies. Everything remains quiet as I wait for him to get here. A few of them start giggling as nothing happens, but that ends when the windows start vibrating. Two I.T.A.'s; or Infantry Transit Aircraft, pop up from outside the windows, one on the left and the other on the right. The main hull is a rectangle box with sliding doors on either side of the vehicle with four arcane engines extending from each of the corners. The engines can swivel in all directions to hover, or fly, in practically any direction. The cockpit sits at the front with three panels of C.A.G. (Computer Aided Glass) going over the top at different slopes. On the bottom of the sides of the cockpit are two large cannons with a thirty millimeter machine gun hoisted at the bottom. With the machine guns pointed inside; thanks to the P.V.A.S. (Pilots Visual Aiming System), the doors facing us slide open as Night Fury and several Military bots leap out. As they crash through the glass windows, four mounted machine guns open fire, spying the top of the room to avoid harming anyone. The ponies scream and take cover under tables or pull out blades to defend themselves. The bots fire stun bolts at any who try to resist, as ordered, and we quickly take the room. "Welcome to Terradisia!" Night Fury yells over the crowd as he tosses me an E.A.R. "So, here's my second chance. Either do your jobs and keep Equestria from falling to Terradisia, or we will take over. I'll give you ten seconds to comply. One. Five. Te-" "ALRIGHT!" Diamond Heart yells as he comes out from under a table. "You win Miles, let us deliberate the terms of this agreement like civil ponies. There is no need for violence." "Violence?" I ask as I walk towards him. "This isn't violence, Diamond. This is Spartan politics. This is how a people, raised in war, peacefully come to terms. Your rules only apply to us when we allow them to. So! Lets get on with this already." I say as I pull a table over and sit at it. "Who will lead the deliberations for Equestria?" "I-" "As your king, I will send forth Celestia to represent us." I say, cutting off Diamond. Everyone looks to the back of the room as Celestia stands and walks towards me, glaring at me slightly. "I accept." She says as she takes a seat across from me. "And who will represent the Terradisians?" "As Grand Captain of the Spartan Regiment, I humbly accept the honor." I say, bowing my head slightly. “So, I'll begin by apologizing for the rude entry. It was necessary to set the correct mindset." "Are the ponies who were shot okay?" She asks quickly. "They are. These were police guns and are permanently set to stun. They will be fine soon enough." I assure her, getting her to sigh in relief. "Okay. So what exactly is it you want then? I get that you don't want to rule, but I have the feeling that's not that is at stake." "You would be right. You see, my wife is pregnant," I start out, sounding very business-y. "And we want to raise our child in our own borders. The problem is that your ruling will not allow such a thing." "It is our tradition to have royalty be born here, but I think we can overlook it this time." She says with a sly smile. "But! Princess!" Blueblood gasps as he runs up to her. I look over to Night Fury and motion towards him. "You can't be serious! There-" CRACK Everyone winces when Night slams the butt of his rifle against Blueblood’s forehead, knocking him out cold. Celestia looks down at the unconscious unicorn and huffs in annoyance before summoning a scroll and quill. "I am going to write out the agreement between our two nations. It is my hope that, after this, we never have to come at ends again." Celestia says to me as she scribbles away on the scroll. "We usually keep our documents electronic." I state, getting an irritated look from her. "But I guess we can overlook that." "So, you wish to drop your rule-" "Yes." "Allow Luna, your wife, to have the freedom to chose where to raise her children-" "And to be able to assign my own successor!" I tell her to add. She gives me a look before writing it down as well. "Of course. Am I to assume that we can continue being allies after this?" She asks irritably. "Unless any of you are plotting something against us." I say as I look around the room. All of the ponies shake their heads no, making me chuckle slightly. "I think that's a yes." As Celestia continues to write out the last of our agreements, Luna walks over and read from behind her shoulder. She nods a few times before coming to my side and... well, the look. I don't know how else to describe it. She just shifts her weight to the side, frowns a bit, and gets this really intense look in her eyes. Not quite The Stare, but... still terrifying. "There, done. What do you think?" Celestia asks. "I think it's great." Luna says happily, still giving me the look. "Don't you? Dear." "Um... I can't read Equestrian." I say as I look over the paper. I feel a twitching in the back of my head, probably from Luna glaring at me. "But It'll do." I say as I take the quill and sign it. I move it over for Celestia to sign and motion for the bots to regroup, getting them to march back into the I.T.A.'s. "There, it is done." She says as she rolls it up and passes it on to a pony in the back. "Who will be the next leader of Equestria then?" She asks nervously. "Well, that is an interesting question." I say as I stand up and begin to march around the room. "Who among you are capable of ruling this nation? Now is the time to step up! Come on! WHO CAN LEAD!?" The crowd of ponies rush around me and begin to yell out names, ranging from Blueblood to Shining Armor. None of the ponies yell for Celestia. As they continue to shout, I glance back to Celestia and watch as she lowers her head in shame, until Twilight steps forward. "CELESTIA DESERVES TO CONTINUE RULING!" She announces loudly. "HERE HERE!" Cadence adds as she takes her side, followed by Shining. "She had her chance, and look how that turned out!" An elderly mare yells. "You're only for her because she allowed you to become an alicorn!" "Seems that way." I say as I hold my hands behind myself. "She nearly lost Canterlot to the Changelings!" Someone else adds. "Twice if I'm not mistaken." I add. "She couldn't stop Discord, three times!" Shouts another pony. "She just sends in her lackeys to do her dirty work instead!" "It does seem that way." I mumble. "She may govern the sun, but that doesn't give her the right to govern us!" Most of the ponies in the crowd start to cheer when that pony says that. I nod and walk back to Celestia. She looks up to me with tear filled eyes as their words continue to stab at her. "Enough!" I yell, getting all of them to stop. "I will choose someone who holds the people of Equestria at heart. Someone who puts ponies above all else. I will choose a leader who has the capacity to keep this nation, and its people, safe. I will choose someone I look to for inspiration in leadership, admiration in devotion, and someone I hold in the highest of regard." I say as I smile down to her. "Celestia, will you please continue your rule in Equestria?" I ask as I kneel before her. "You know, sometimes I really want to punch you in the face." She chuckles as she wipes her tears away. "Hey now, I do cool tricks when that happens." I tell her, getting her to chuckle again. She reaches forward and wraps her forelegs around me, hugging me lightly. I return the gesture, feeling a weight lift off of me as I finally console with Celestia. "I'm sorry, for so much more than just this Celestia. Just know that everything I've ever done was never meant to hurt you." I whisper to her, getting her to squeeze a bit tighter around me. "I know Miles, and I forgive you." She whispers back before releasing me. "I accept the responsibility of ruling this nation-" "And hey, now at least you know which cabinet members you can trust now." I say as I glance back to the others. "Yes... I'll have to have a nice long talk with all of them." She says as she looks back to them. They all try to avoid our gazes, well... all except Diamond. He's laughing his ass off. "Well, you are relieved of Equestrian duty then. What will you do now?" "My work has just begun." I say as I lean back in my chair. "I have food producers that I promised to the griffin people. I, apparently, have an Unfamiliar civil war to quell and subdue, and I have a baby on the way. I'd say I have plenty on my plate." "Aren't you on maternity leave?" "I'm the Captain. I still have to do my job. But that doesn't mean I won't be there for Luna-" "Darn right." Luna says as she moves to my side. "You better be there for when I need you." I laugh a bit and cup her jaw with a hand, getting a warm smile from her. "Now what kind of man would I be if I left just as things were getting good? Sorry, but you're stuck with me." Author's Note Alright my Bronies, espect time jumps for the next few chapters. Things are going to speed up for a while, then slow down a bit, then BAM! one last time skip. In other news, the Spartan Oc calling will be closing in roughly four or five chapters. So if you have any left, now is the time to add them. We will now be comparing Oc's against each other at this point. This is to create a tier listing in case we exceed the quota. And lastly, don't forget to add your questions for the Q/A chapter. Brony on!
Chapter 194 SummitChapter 194 Summit Perspective: Miles September 13th, 4133 I can't help but pace around in the air docks of Canterlot as I wait for Celestia. When she was visiting a few days ago she mentioned that there was going to be a Summit meeting between all of the world leaders. All of them. A world meeting and she tells me about it in passing. So after some... persuasion, here I am. Clad in armor and waiting with for Celestia to get down here so we can get going already. "Keep your pants on Miles, we're here." Cadence says as she and Celestia enter from the stairwell, along with four guards. Two of the guards are Crystal Empire ponies while the other two are the Captains of the Night and Solar guards. I have to suppress a chuckle when I look to Celestia and Cadence though. They're each wearing dresses, something I've never seen either of them do before and quite honestly didn’t know they were capable of. Cadence is wearing a pink and purple dress that holds to her form tightly. It's studded with gems and shines brightly in the light. Celestia is wearing a long, flowing, white dress that fits her loosely. It's simple, but suits her well. "Ladies, looking lovely." I say, getting Celestia to roll her eyes while Cadence blushes. "Aren't you bringing anypony?" Cadence asks. "Yeah, but why are you here?" I ask as I walk over to her, giving her a quick hug. "Shouldn't you be home with Joy?" "Radiant Joy is in good hooves." She reassures me. "Shinning is perfectly capable of taking care of her… probably. Not to mention the entire country is watching her every move. So if anything does go wrong, there will be plenty of ponies around to take care of her. Now, is everything ready for the trip?" She asks Celestia. "We're set and primed to go." I tell her, getting a snicker from Celestia and a confused look from Cadence. "What? The meeting is later today, did you really think we'd get there by chariot?" "Well... I figured magic had a play in it." She says coyly. "You're kind of right." I say as an I.T.A. flies over head and begins to vertically land beside us. "Miles, stop showing off." Celestia says as she walks towards the aircraft. "Now, let's get going. We don't want to be late, now do we?" I smirk to Cadence as I join Celestia. The side door slide open revealing Storm Cloud and Damian. Storm is clad in armor and holding a hoof out to assist us in while Damian is wearing a heavy cloak and remains seated in the back. "Good to see you again Storm." I say while he helps Cadence inside. "Hows life in a grand castle with nothing but posh ponies. politics and that little girl of yours?" "I wouldn't know about the politics, that's Twilights job. I just take care of Speaks Softly, who is doing great. How are Big Mac and Fluttershy?" He asks nervously. "Big Mac tells me that everything is alright with them, but they still would like to keep people from seeing the baby. Fluttershy has it in her mind that he'll get sick if we come and visit." I tell him as I assist helping everyone in. "He? So it's a colt." Storm says happily. "I had to really finagle around with Big Mac to get that information." I tell him, getting a chuckle in response. "What do you know about him Damian?" "I know that Big Mac made me keep a shit ton of promises so I can't say anything beyond what I just said." Damian informs us, making me roll my eyes. Of course he did. We all know something is up, but it's not like I'm going to just kick the door down to see him. When they're comfortable with me seeing him is when I'll get to see him. "And Luna?" Storm asks as I climb in and shut the door. "Any minute now. Easy! Take us west!" I yell to him as Storm and I help everyone strap into their seats. "Of course." I hear him reply as the jets begin to roar to life and we take off into the air. I laugh when I look back and see all of the uneasy faces as the ship begins to pick up speed. It must completely foreign to them to be moving this fast in a machine. I drop into a seat and hold on as we continue to pick up speed. After a few more moments we level out and maintain our speed, allowing us to speak to one another. "Okay, now that I can hear myself think, let's discuss the Summit meeting." Celestia says loudly, getting all of our attention. "A Summit meeting hasn't been held in millenniums. The last one to be held were delegated by my parents, along with a few other key ponies, but the state of the world has forced us all to meet to try and talk things over. Be careful of what you say. Some of the ponies here are a bit on edge, and only need a few sour words to start a fight." "Where is this Summit meeting being held?" I ask. "Across the Pond is a sliver of land held by a group of mountain goats. The land is called The Isles, and we will be meeting at a ruin called Edoeburg. There's a bit of a history with the goats there. Many have tried to take it from them, but none have succeeded. Anyway, this meeting will be heated. I can guarantee it." "What's been going on to get things this crazy?" Cadence asks. "Well, where to start... The Goblin Empire is under a lot of scrutiny. They've been assaulting elementals to fuel their engineering and have been supplying the Griffin Colonies with weapons and war craft-" "Are you sure about that?" I ask, cutting her off. "Yes. I sent a group of Wonderbolts into the Soviet Bear Union to spy on a shipment being made and that's when they discovered the cargo of weapons. Pistols, rifles, blades, war machines, they are arming themselves for something huge." "Wait, pistols? Rifles? How advance is their stuff?" Storm asks. "No where near as advance as this stuff,” she says while motioning to the craft around us. “But far ahead of everypony else. They utilize the power of steam in their tech to achieve these things. We've been trying to catch up, but it's difficult to do so when you don't have the physical means." I nod to that logic. Fingers are useful for those kind of things. "So the griffins are gearing up for a fight. Against whom? Us?" Cadence asks. "No, against the bears. They claim that they are mobilizing troops along their border. The bears deny this but won't allow anypony within their borders to confirm it. My spies couldn't find anything before getting caught, which also put them at odds with us." Celestia tells her, getting a thoughtful nod in return. "Who are the big players we need to know about?" I ask. "The griffin leader is Ulfric Stormmind. He's a sphinx with telepathic abilities. Don't not let him in your mind. He will try, and if you allow him to you will not get it back. Next is Joesph Boarus, the bear leader. He's a bit eccentric and completely stubborn. Persuading him will be difficult, to say the least. Next is the Goblin Emperor Starke Herzen, the old. He's been around for thousands of years and nopony knows how. He can be a bit hot headed but is probably the smartest person I know of. Next is the Ape Emperor Liánhuā. Meeting him personally will be... difficult. They have a strange system of honor and respect. Don't look him in the eyes, don't touch him, don't stand too close to him, and finally don't insult him. Unless you want war." "I don't think I'll try talking to him directly." Cadence says with a hesitant chuckle. "Don't let their customs take control of you." Celestia warns her. "If you let them push you around, your country will suffer for it. I promise you that." "Just go in and treat them the way you would want to be treated." I mention, getting a nod of agreement from Celestia. "Is that all of them?" "No. The Elementals will be making an appearance as well. Though they don't have a unified government, they will come together from time to time to voice their concerns. The zebra head shaman Dunia Mapenzi will be there as well. She's an older pony, but may surpass Starke in wisdom. Listen to her words. The Minotaur leader will be there-" "Wait, leader? What is he? King? Emperor?" Storm asks, getting a shrug from Celestia. "What ever he wants to be. A year ago he was the president for life, last month he was the emperor, his majesty Long Horns likes to change it up. Lastly is Oni, the leader of the Orcs. He will be there, and do yourself a favor, keep your distance. He tends to think with his club and eat your remains." "Well, sounds like fun. Are there any other conflict that we should know of?" I ask. "Well, the zebras and minotaurs have never been on good terms. Socially, they just don't see eye to eye in almost anything. The bears and apes have a long history with killing orcs. This has driven the orcs to a pure hatred of the others. Though a war has never technically taken place between the three of them, they have had more conflict than the rest of the world combined." "Hmm, where does Equestria stand in all of this?" I ask. "For the most part, aside. We've been keeping an isolationist mentality because... well, to put it simply, a war would devastate us completely." She admits, getting shocked looks from all of her guards. "We don't have the raw resources to begin mobilizing any forces, nor do we have the technology to compete. For the longest time, we've been delegating the peace between the nations but not intervening in their affairs. The only reason we're still around is because Luna and I are revered as holy ponies… well, we were at least. Not to mention we had the Elements of Harmony." She says the last part quickly while shooting a quick glance at my left arm. "Hmm... that sounds like a real problem." I say as I sit back and stare at her. "It is. I fear that the day where diplomacy fails and Equestria goes to war-" "That would be shame. It's not like you have a newly formed ally that probably has the worlds biggest supply of metals, not to mention the most advanced technology, and it's not like their leader is your brother. I mean, that would just be way too convenient, wouldn't it Storm?" I say as I nudge him, getting a chuckle from Damian. "I'd say it would be an unfair advantage. But, then again, I am a little biased since my wife is a leader of Equestria. So I guess it's perfectly fair." I nod to him and look back to Celestia, waiting for her to respond. "... you would really aid us like this? Give us weapons and armor while giving us Spartan soldiers-" "Fuck no." I cut her off. "First off, we can open trade agreements for raw materials. As for the training of troops, they would be standard soldiers. Not Spartans. And lastly, Equestria is our host nation, and as such, we have the right to ensure its future." "So what's the catch? I doubt you want to just give us all of this for free." She asks skeptically. "Well, we need two things. First off, we need gems. We can't use all of this machinery on dried up gems now can we?" I say, getting Cadence to beam a bit. "We have plenty of gems. If you can supply us with timber and metal we'll send some gems in return." "Sounds good. And lastly, we need a hometown. Somewhere we can base all of our operations that lies on the surface." Celestia thinks about for a moment before widening her eyes a bit. "You want Ponyville." She says slowly. "Correct. How about it Celestia? A town for a nation. I'd say it's a good deal, wouldn't you?" I tell her, getting an even gaze from her. "Spartan politics don't allow for much wiggle room, does it?" She asks, making me chuckle. "Never." "Destination in thirty seconds. Please designate a landing zone." Easy tells us just before we begin to descend. Celestia tells him where to drop us off and that he has to stay on the ground, or else they'll just kill us all. I confirm the order and after a few moments we finally touch down. I slide the door open and step out, taking my first look at the Isle. We've landed on a shore line that sits before a large mountain range. The jagged slope is covered in large mounds of grass and dotted with many different flowers. The peaks go high into the sky and ends with the crumbled remains of a stone building. A dirt path leads from the beach up towards the ruins. Once everyone's off the ship we begin the trek up the path. The path is steep and the sand likes to gives way underneath our feet, but we keep climbing. I asked Celestia if we could just teleport, but I guess it's tradition to walk. When we make it half way up something jumps out from the cover and fakes ramming me. I jump back and draw my pistol, taking aim right between it's large curled horns. It seems to be be the same relative size of a pony, but is obviously different. His coat is made of coarse white hair and his face is more angular. Two spiraled horns come out from his head while long grey hair comes from his chin. To make everything even weirder, he's wearing a plaid red and green skirt. "Miles, put the weapon away. That's one of the keepers of the Isle." Celestia informs me. I stare him down for a moment before holstering my pistol. He snorts at me before motion with his head towards the top of the mountain. As we continue on, more and more of the locals -mountain goats apparently- appear around us. Each of them stand strong and threaten to knock us off the mountain side, though never actually come to doing it. It takes us a great deal of time, but we never stop until we eventually make it to the stone structure at the top of the mountain. The air is cold and quick up here, chilling me to the bone rapidly. The building itself looks as if it was built ages ago and has seen better times. Large, heavy stones pile on each other to form the walls of the three story tall structure. The uneven walls tell me that the building used to be taller, but has been destroyed partially. Small, thin slits form windows of the square structure as a massive wooden door takes up the center. "WHO G-G-G-G-GO THERE!" A voice yells from within. He stutters on the G, but oddly enough it sounds like a normal part of his speech. "The representatives of Equestria, The Crystal Empire, and Terradisia are here." Celestia yells back as she steps forward. "We stand ready to represent our nations-" "I-I-I-I don't care a'boot yer nations!" He yells, cutting her off. "What're yer names!" "Celestia!" She tells them, somewhat put off. "Mi Amore Cadenza!" "Miles Eremita!" We each step forward and wait for him to respond. Instead, the door begins to slide open. After a moment of nothing happening, we all move forward to enter the building. The hallway before us is long and dark, only having a few sparse torches set on the walls. Long decorative tapestries cover most of the walls as sparse tables hold various flowers in small vases. Before us stands three more locals. Two of them are dressed like the others, but the one in the center has more to him. A sash with the same design goes across his chest as he sports a black mashed hat. "Welcome to the Isle's!" He bellows loudly with his thick accent as the doors begin to shut behind us. "M-m-m-me name's O'Buckly, an I-I-I will be deliberatin' this meeting. If you wish ta speak here, turn in yer weapons an follow me." The two goats pick up a chest and bring it over to us, dropping it at our feet and flipping the top open. "So... only those who are going to speak have to hand over their weapons?" I ask to clarify. "Well didn't ya hear what I-I-I said kiddy!?" He yells back. rolling his eyes slightly. "I-I-I aint that far frum ya! Hearing hard fer humans or what!?" The rest of us freeze up and stare at him for a moment... except for Damian, who's chuckling. "How did you know I'm a human?" I ask carefully, getting a surprised look from O'buckly. "I-I-It's like ya don't even know yer own history! Three thousand years hard fer humans ta remember?! A human named Eremita spoke at the first Summit meeting! I-I-I'd think ya know yer own lineage kiddo! Now, i-i-if yer done lolly gagging, we'll be takin' yer, rifle, yer pistol, and yer blades. We have a world ta save kiddo!" He bellows again before turning around and walking off. We all stand there, stunned, as we try to process what he just told us. "Alright, so... are you going to just stand there or what?" Damian asks as he steps forward. "Did you know about this!?" I demand. "Yes." "Then why didn't you tell me!" I yell in bewilderment. "You never asked." He states simply, making me practically explode in frustration. Of course he wouldn't just tell me something like this! That fucking little prick! "Why don't we leave this discussion for another time, Miles." Celestia says as she nudges my arm. I sigh in defeat before stripping my weapons off and dropping them into the box. Damian and I are going to have a real, long, talk after this. Once we; or I, seeing as I was the only one with weapons to hand over, finish un-arming, we head down the hall after O'Buckly. The hall is built strangely, being at least two stories high and only have a few other doorways. When we make it to the end we come to a stop when three... griffin like creatures stop before us. Two of them are wearing heavy armor that's painted blue and white with a crest of a creature's head while the center one is wearing an elegant blue tunic. "So, we finally meet. Eremitason." The middle one says as he steps forward. His back half resembles that of a griffin, but his front is completely different. Long grey hair covers most of his head while his almost human face is covered in a dark tan fur. He stands a bit taller than Celestia -not including the horn- and seems a bit too at ease being here. "Ulfric." Celestia greets as she steps forward. "Ah Celestia. How is your sister? I understand it'll be any minute now, am I right?" He asks as he turns to her, inclining his head slightly. "You remember my eldest sons? Korir and Dengeir." He says as the two of them step forward, removing their helmets before bowing to Celestia. They look similar to Ulfric, but are obviously younger by far. "And you remember my niece, Mi Amore Cadenza." Celestia says, getting Cadence to step forward. The two sons step forward and take turns greeting her, kissing her hoof when they shake. "Is it true?" I ask, breaking the formalities. "Was my mother really at the first Summit meeting?" Ulfric frowns a bit as he looks me over, mulling over his answer in his head. "If you truly are the legend you claim to be, then yes. Eremita was here, back when the 'gods' fought for supremacy. But, you'll have to forgive me. It has been many centuries since those days, and I don't recall much of her. All I do recall was the role she played, and her mean left hook-" "Hey!" O'Buckly yells from down the corridor behind me. "Whatcha waitn for!? We need ta get started!" "Well then, another time then." Ulfric says while he walks past me, closely followed by his two sons. "Oh, I almost forgot." Celestia says, getting the three of them to pause. "Where is Skald, your youngest?" Ulfric glance back to Celestia before continuing on. She chuckles a bit before turning to Cadence. "Very good first impression." "Thank you-" "But be careful. His sons will probably try to mate with you. Why do you think Skald isn't here?" She says before walking after the sphinxes. "... wait, what!?" Cadence asks as she chases after Celestia. I look back to Storm and Damian before shrugging and walking on. This hall ends with a large doorway the reveals an open stadium. A flat stone surface fills the center with twelve circles going around the edge. Around the arena are stone seats that form the rest of the stadium, going several stories up and ending with red and green clothes that provide shade for the seats. The circles themselves remind me of the mico platforms from back home, only with a vastly different enchantment within them. I have a feeling I know how these got here. Most of the seats are filled with goats, all of whom are wearing the skirts, but I can see guards from many different people dotting the area. "Alrighty then. Lackeys take a seat i-i-in the stadium, the rest of you take a spot somewhere an i-i-introduce yerselves." O'Buckly informs us. I glance back to the others before walking forward and taking my place in one of the circles. The archaic text begins to glow and I feel my feet lock in place. "Um..." I mutter as I try to move my feet. My voice becomes amplified and echoes throughout the stadium. "Grand Captain of the Spartan Regiment, Miles Eremita, representing Terradisia." I hear Damian cheer like an idiot from the side, but try to keep a serious face on. "Princess of the Sun, Celestia, representing Equestria." I hear from my right. "Princess of Love, Mi Amore Cadenza, Representing The Crystal Empire." I look over and see several more people begin to file in and take their place, each one being so vastly different than the previous. "Master of Thought, Ulfric Stormmind, representing The Griffin Colonies." "Ascended technician, Starke Herzen, representing The Goblin Empire." The next person is an old goblin. He wears gold and purple clothes that fit loosely around him as he supports himself with a metal cane, using all four arms to do so. His wrinkled green skin sags as his long white hair pokes at his shoulders. He seems to be barely a meter tall and seems so frail. "Keeper of Traditions, Longhorn, representing the Minotaur Tribes." The next person in line is an old minotaur. He's dark grey all over and sports two long black horns on his head. He seems to be pregnant, with his large belly sticking out, and doesn't have much to him in the sense of muscle. He wears an extravagant rode that look to be woven of actual gold. "Bringer of the Voice, Oni the Blood Bringer! Representing the tribes of the Orcs!" The next person unsettles me completely. He's easily four meters tall, stands on two legs, scruffy black hair, has bright red skin, a face that even a mother couldn't love, and only wears a black fur... diaper. His yellow eyes look down at me as he lets out a growl, either of disapproval or for intimidation. His muscular physique adds to his over all impressiveness as he bares his jagged teeth. "The honorable and just, Liánhuā, representing the Ape Empire." This guy is about as tall as the goblin, maybe a bit more so, and stands on two legs. He wears long, elegant looking clothes that stretch down to the ground. His pants are blue while his shirt is white, bringing his face out even more so. I can't really gauge how old he is, but I assume he's middle aged. "Open and Free, Dunia Mapenzi. Representing the Zebra Tribes, in these troubled times." The zebra in the next circle is sitting with her bottom legs crossed, something I didn't know they could do. She's wearing a ragged shirt that covers her entire torso and is covered in who knows what. She's old, and doesn't seem to have her eyes open. He hair has been tied back, forming a long braid that's filled with miscellaneous bits of plants and dirt. "Joeseph Boarus, The Strong! Representing the Soviet Bear Union!" The brown bear yells with a thick accent. He's wearing a red vest and an odd black hat that has a sickle and hammer crossing before a red star. He's pretty big, at least a head taller than me, and has a stocky build to himself. "REPRESENTING THE ELEMENTALS, Fire, stone, Air, Water." A flame, a pile of rocks, a little twister, and a drop of water all stand in a circle together. They started out speaking together, but each spoke their own element. The ground shakes as a massive black and gold dragon climbs on top of the walls and peers down. His face barely fits within a section of the arena as he touches down at a circle, getting it to light up for him. "Bolas, Master of Power, representing the free will of the Dragons Hierarchy." His voice is deep and forces my bones to tremble. A wave of heat washes over all of us when he opens his mouth. Undeterred by all of the different people in the area, O'Buckly walks to the center of the area and taps at the floor. Another circle appears around him, but our circles dissipate suddenly. "Now then, I-I-I want ta thank you all fer comin' out today. I takes true bravery to set aside yer differences and ta talk things through. Each of you have stepped inta sumtin' called a soul trap. I-I-If I so choose ta, I can tear out ye souls at any given moment! So let's try and keep things civil. I-I-I will mediate all of the discussions from here on out, so git to it! Who will start?" "I will" Longhorn says as he raises a hand. "I wish to bring into question Mi Amore Cadenze and Miles Eremita." He says in a posh manner. Cadence and I look to each other before looking to him. "What do you wish to know?" Cadence asks slowly. "Why are you here? The Crystal Empire and... Terradisia, have no say in world affairs!" He announces proudly, getting a few cheers from some minotaurs in the stands. As well as a few others. "I believe one pony will suffice, and... well, I've never heard of Terradisia before, so that leaves-" "Terradisia stands with the largest, most advanced military in the world." I cut him off, obviously offending him. "We were the masters of earth before any of your species could even speak, and we control more raw resources than any of you. I think we get a say in the world, unless you find the first Summit meeting to be a joke." The air grows thick as all of the goats stare down Longhorn, just waiting for him to fuck up. "Yes, so you say. But that still leaves Celestia's puppet! What business do you have here!" He demands from Cadence. I see her fold a bit as she tries to formulate her answer, sweating a bit as she comes under a lot of pressure. She puts a hoof to her chest and breaths out before glaring back to Long Horn. "The Crystal Empire has as much of a right to be here as does a group of nomadic traders. We make our own decisions in the world and will not be intimidated with false accusations." She dictates, standing proudly. "YOU TELL HIM GURL!" Damian yells from the stands, making me facepalm. Why did I have to bring him?WHY? "Alrighty you three, break i-i-it up!" O'Buckly demands as he stomps his hooves on the ground. "Y'all were invited fer a reason, an ta say otherwise would be foalish! Now get on with the real problems! Joeseph Boarus, have you been mobalizin yer troops ta invade The Griffin Colonies?" "NO!" He yells as he crosses his arms. "Then let us send investigators so I can tell my birds that they can rest easy at night!" Ulfric demands. "My birds will not take your word, and neither will I! Either allow us to investigate what you've been up to, or we will take the correct actions to protect ourselves." "Do not make me laugh!" Joeseph mocks as he glares at Ulfric. "You do not wish to 'protect' your wittle birds. Your land has been destroyed and now you wish to take from us as you would the Equestrians!" "That is a lie!" Ulfric bellows. "Then prove it!" Joeseph bellows, putting on a smug look on. "Return the weapons you tried smuggling in and we will allow you little, 'inspection'. Until then, no griffin will set claw in the Soviet Union without being plucked clean." Ulfric frowns as he closes his eyes and steps back. He shakes his head a little before looking back to Joeseph. "No." "SEE! He will not send back the weapons because he only wishes for war! I say BRING IT ON! Your puny little birds will be crushed by the-" "ENOUGH." O'Buckly yells, silencing the both of them. "Ulfric Stormmind, why do you refuse to return the weapons?" Ulfric stares at him for a moment before lifting a paw and points to me. "Because of him." "Me?" "Yes, you. You and your people have forced my paw to this. As you said yourself, you have the largest, most advanced military in the world. If we wish to keep our way of life safe, then we must take the measures to protect ourselves from an oppressive force-" "Oppressive? Do you even know anything about my people? Do you even know what we stand for?" I demand as I glare at him. "I know what you are capable of. Miles Eremita, destroyer of Chaos. Miles Eremita, the changeling crusher. Miles Eremita, the hydra slayer. I've heard enough about you to know that-" "I've been trying to help you!" I yell as I step forward. "The Spartans were there to fight Famine! We brought the food processors to feed your people. We aren't the bad guys here! We're here to help!" "So, what? We're suppose to just idly sit by and let you fight our battle? Let the Spartans take care of everything? How is that hunt for the Four Horsemen going anyway?" "You should ask Celestia is you really want to know." Starke scoffs, getting a bewildered look from Celestia. "Excuse me? Could you repeat that please?" Celestia asks. "We all know where the clouds came from. And we all know that these 'Horse'men are relatives to ponies-" "And just what are you suggesting?! That I've aligned with them?" Celestia demands. "Seems that way-" "Oh please," Liánhuā drones. "You're just trying to protect your income Starke. If the griffins back out of the deal, your country loses out on its largest buyer-" "Leave it to the ape to bring 'business' into this." Longhorn mocks. "The fact that you are resorting to racial bigotry means that you have no actual claim and only wish to insult-" "Do not pretend to be so high and mighty Liánhuā. If the griffins continue to buy the goblin wears it'll only push their science and engineering further-" "And?" Starke interrupts. "You only wish to hinder our own progress. We're the leading manufacturing country in the world, and that bothers you to no end! Our trade is open to anyone who wishes to buy, so why not-" "Putting these weapons into the hooves of everypony is driving us apart." Celestia counters. "We need to stop producing weapons and start working towards a solution to the real problems-" "I agree." Ulfric says, silencing everyone. "... thank you." Celestia mutters, eyeing him carefully. "We need to solve the real problem. Equestria has lost control of its borders-" "WHAT!?" Cadence and Celestia bot yells. "How many times have you been taken over!? Look how far behind you are technologically. Equestria is falling behind, and you're not doing a single thing to solve it! Even worse, we're the ones to suffer from it! Our food production has come to a halt because terrorist have worked deep into your country! I move that Equestria be dissolved for new rule." The room falls quiet when he says this. I glance over to Celestia as she stares down Ulfric. I suddenly feel something begin to tickle at the back of my head. It feels as if something... "ULFRIC!" I yell, getting everyone's attention. "If you try to break into my mind, I guarantee you will not leave this place. SPARTANS!" Storm and Damian jump up and draw their weapons, getting the other two sphinxes to do the same. "ENOUGH ALREADY!" O'Buckly yells as he stomps a hoof down. "Ulfric, keep yer mind to yerself. Miles, tell yer ponies ta stand down. Anypony who takes aggressive actions will be bucked off the mountain side, now stand down!" When I feel the tingling go away I nod to Damian and Storm, getting them to sheath their weapons. "Now then, there are eleven of you, so i-i-if six of you can agree, then Equestria will be dissolved. Reach down an cast yer vote." "Can't we discuss this? Why are we going straight to a vote?" Cadence asks. "The ballet is out, time ta vote." O'Buckly tells her as several others start voting. I look down and see a small light form before me. I kneel down and tentatively put my hand on it, feeling the energy form around my hand. I'm not sure what I'm suppose to do, so I keep my thoughts on voting no and mumble it as well. The light shines a bit brighter for a moment before racing over to O'Buckly. Once lights from all of the others O' Buckly sets a hoof on his own light and reads the answers. I glance over to Celestia again to see her standing upright and poised. Though I can tell by the way she has her eyes shut that she's dreading the results. I know we have at least three votes for ans one against, but I know practically nothing else about the others. "The votes are i-i-in." He announces as he steps back from the light. "The final tally i-i-is six to five. Equestria will remain its own sovereign nation." A collective sigh comes from many of the participants as well as Cadence and myself. Celestia, for her part, remains unfazed. Though I see her physically relax a bit. "Now, on the matter a the bears an' griffins-" "I suggest that a neutral third party investigates this issue. I will volunteer the Spartan Regiment for this-" "Why should we allow you Terradisians to dictate us when we've done nothing wrong!" Joeseph yells. "The Terradisians will have no part in this." I counter, getting a bemused look from him. "The Spartans are a neutral bystander from Terradisia. They are allowed to make their own decisions in any and all matters. They choose to follow Terradisia. Also, they have no influence in the world and no former prejudice to hinder our opinions." I say, getting many of the other leaders to think to themselves for a moment. "I move that we have these, Spartans, go into the world to research all of the problems that plague our lands." Oni announces. I look to him and nod, getting him to squint his eyes back to me. "Assuming he can keep to his word for justice and neutrality." "Let us vote on it then!" O'Buckly cheers as the lights appear before all of us again. I reach down and repeat the process again, only voting in the affirmative this time. Once all the votes are in, we wait for O'Buckly to count them. "Well then... the vote is eight to three. The Spartans will go into each of the nations to research any and all claims made here today. I-I-I am These will be peaceful investigations though. Only bring whatcha need ta protect yerselves. I-I-I also expect the host nations to allow them to move freely. No hinderin'!" "What's our window of operation?" I ask. "Yer window? Get the job done kiddo, that's yer window. Now, the rest of us will continue to form a list of concerns, I-I-I'll ask ya ta leave to keep ya uninfluenced. Yer dismissed." He taps his hoof one more time and the circle around me flashed once. I glance around the room before motioning for Damian and Storm to follow. "Are we really going to do this?" Storm asks as we leave the stadium, heading back to where we came from. "Did I not agree to this?" I ask smugly. "Well... at least we can take as long as we want." Damian shrugs as he trots ahead. "By the way, nice job almost getting us into a fight with three sphinxes. I know I took out like a thousand griffins that one time, but a sphinx would have been a little trickier. I might have been seriously hurt you know!" "First off, it was only five... never mind that. We could have taken them." Storm tries to counter, getting a chuckle from Damian. I stop and let them keep walking when I notice something... off. The hairs on my neck are standing up and I have this odd feeling coming from behind myself. A nonexistent pressure is building up on me, egging me to turn around. "Captain? What is it?" "Damian, keep right. Storm, go high and go fast." I tell them before turning around and running for the closest doorway. A shadow moves away, so I chase after it into the next room. When I make it through the doorway I flair my hand and throw it up, sending a column of earth up to block the exit. A hooded, pony figure comes to a stop and flairs its horn in an attempt to clear the way, but falls over as a powerful gust of wind knocks it over. Damian and Storm zip past me and engage the figure, Storm flying over while Damian runs with unnatural speed. They make it across the large room quickly and take turns attacking the figure. Damian runs up and begins to spin his staff around, trying to score a hit on the figure. Most of his attacks are deflected while the rest are simply dodged. Storm dives in and tries to flank the figure, but is dodged. Once the two of them resolve to fight in close quarters, the figure counter attacks. It starts by somehow disarming Damian and beating back Storm with his staff. His moves are quick and seem... preordained. They aren't reactions, but a mesmerized act. I finally make it into the fray and thrust a hand forward, but am intercepted with a well timed parry. My blast hits a wall in the back, but leaves the figure open to Storm. He brings his blade up to the figures throat and holds it there, forcing him to freeze. Before any further actions could be made, I bring my palm to the hood and hold it there. Cornering the tall pony. CLICK "Just how many of you are there?" I ask when the barrel of a pistol is pressed against the back of my head. The hooded figure before wears a cloak similar to what my mother and the other woman wore, but suited for a pony almost the size of Celestia. "I assume the person behind me is wearing a similar robe." I say as Damian moves to cover the person behind me. "Yeah. Male, hooded. Human." Damian reports to me. "Who are you two then?" I ask as I hold my hand up. "Put your hands above your head." A robotic voice says. "He has a voice modulator." Damian informs me. "Orders sir?" "Hold your ground and let me handle this." I order. "Who are you?" "Put your hands above your head." He repeats. "I hold three to two odds, who are you?" I ask again. After a tense moment of silence I begin to move forward to pull down the persons hood, but stop when the pistol is pressed against my head again. "We are. Put your hands above your head." "Not good enough. I need names. Storm, since no one is covering you, be a dear and remove this guys hood for me." "Yes sir." He replies as he hovers up, keeping his blade on the persons throat. "Wait." The person behind me says when Storm grabs the fabric. "We are..." "Yes?" I ask, waiting for an answer. "We are... sorry." CRACK I groan as I feel something poking at my face. It takes me a moment, but eventually I open my eyes and look around. Damian and Storm are sitting beside me, Damian poking at my face with his hoof. "Told you it'd wake him." He says, getting Storm to roll his eyes. "Are you okay?" Storm asks. I groan in response and sit up, looking around for the two hooded humans. "Where'd they go?" "They got away." Storm says quietly, getting Damian to look away. "... they got away? How?" "Mico platform. They're long gone." Storm continues. I look between the two of them before standing up. "What happened?" I ask, getting Storm to avoid my gaze. "I am ordering you to tell me what happened." "We're under orders not to tell you what happened." Damian says, avoiding my gaze. I tilt my head a bit in confusion. "You're under orders not to... so... no... dammit! All of this time traveling bullshit is getting on my nerves! What the fuck!" I yell as I begin to pace about, trying to wrap my mind around this moment. The two of them continue to avoid my gaze as I fume about this. There are only two plausible options for this. Either it was me, or it was the next captain... or a previous captain. FUCK! "Wait... was that... you have to tell me who that was-" "We can't Miles!" Damian yells. "We can't tell you because we don't know who it was! They just dropped a Spartan necklace and gave their rank!" "Damian!" Storm yells. "We can't tell you who it was because we don't know who it was. I'm sorry." Damian sighs as he begins to walk away. Storm rubs the bridge between his eyes and sighs as well. "Is that true?" I ask him. "Yeah... yeah it's true." He tells me. "He cracked you on the head and backed up, dropping the necklace as he went. Sorry, but we have no clue who that was." I groan in frustration and sit down, trying to process all of this. Suddenly dozens of goats charge in and surround the three of us, barricading us with their horns. "An what was all that racket a'boot!?" One of them demands. "Um... we saw a spider?" Damian tries. Several of the guards peer up to look us in the eyes, unsure of what we said. "No, seriously. It was huge! And it had fangs! And these long... creepy.... things!" He continues, getting Storm and me to glare at him. "... well then, good job with the Hill Burrower. Sorry a'boot the ruckus." One of the guards say before the rest of them back off. "Oh sweet Barbra you have to be kidding me." I say as I fall back. Author's Note Don't forget to check out my blog, 1000 favorites and vote on the one shot to come. Also, the Spartan Oc blog will be closing NEXT chapter. When that chapter is posted, I will close the blog. Any post left will go through the final slating and those who made it will be announced as soon as possible. Lastly, the Q/A blog will be closing soon as well! Have your questions in before chapter 199 airs if you want them to be asked. The chapter will come out before chapter 200, so that leave five more chapters to go! On a side note, my 'current chapter' editor (RecklessRush) has had some personal things happen and needs time to sort through them. If any of you are able and willing, send me a PM to help edit chapters. Brony on!
Chapter 195 Foalish EffectsChapter 195 Foalish Effects Perspective: Luna September 25th, 4133 I let out a little sigh as I flip the page of my newspaper and continue reading the article on the increased sightings of flying machine in Equestria, all while rubbing my large stomach with a hoof. It's been a little over seven months now, and the baby will be coming any minute. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous, but I'm sure everything will turn out okay. That's what Miles tells me at least. Speaking of which, where is he? Every morning for the past two weeks I've woken up to an empty bed. When he walks in, usually around the middle of the day, he just tells me he's working on something and leaves it at that. Very reassuring. With a final sigh I set down my paper and work on standing, having a bit of difficulty due to my increased size. When I'm finally out of the chair I waddle my way to the living room and pick up the letter I had received from Celestia. She just wants me to come visit Canterlot real quick for tea before she comes to Ponyville. She was staying here with us, waiting for me to go into labor, but had to go back for some royal business. I grab a quill and parchment and began to write my response, telling her that traveling this close to my due date wouldn't be wise- THUD "Gah! Miles!" I yell as I look over my letter. With the giant line going through what I've written I sigh and crumple it up. I look up to see a green blur run in and up the stairs. I raise an eyebrow to his antics and decide to get him back down. "OH! I think I feel a contraction-" KER-THUD "WHAT!?" Miles yells as he picks himself off the ground and comes running to my side. "Contractions! It's time! I'll GO GET THE-" "False alarm." I say with a gentle smile. "But, if it's not too much trouble, could you take a seat with me? I want to talk to you about somethings." His eye twitches a bit before he sighs in defeat and takes his seat. I move beside him and take my time sitting down. Little one, the sooner you get out the better. "What's up?" He asks nervously when I finally get comfy. "I don't know, you seem to keep disappearing every morning without a word." I say, getting him to look away from me. "Miles, what are you doing in that little shed of yours?" "I'm just working on something-" "I know that much, but what are you working on?" He looks away from me, so I rest a hoof on his to get his attention back. "Miles, the baby will be coming any minute now. Don't shut me out like this. What's going on? Talk to me, please." I beg him, tightening my grip on his hoof. He grips me back and thinks deeply about what I said. "... Luna, I need you to trust me on this one. I will tell you that I've been... monitoring things, and I'm unsure about what I'm seeing. I don't want to worry you for nothing, especially now. I'm sorry, but I don't want to say anything more than that." I sigh in irritation, getting a kiss on the cheek from him. "Sorry." "Yeah, you're lucky you're worth the annoyance." I tell him, receiving a smile in return. "Really now? What else am I worth to you?" He asks as he moves in and kisses me quickly on the lips, making me smile. "Mmm... I'm not sure." I tease as we press our noses together. "Maybe some breakfast *kiss*, a story like you do every night *kiss*, and maybe a dinner for the three of us, maybe." I say, making him chuckle a bit. "Well, I can do two of those things, unless we get breakfast for lunch." He tells me with another kiss. "Well then, shall we go then?" I ask as I start getting up, receiving some help from Miles. he agrees and runs to gather our bags. Mostly stuff we have in case it happens when we're out. He offers to wheel me out, but I refuse. I can walk just fine, just a bit slower than before. "Celestia wants me to visit Canterlot." I tell him as we head out of the house and start walking through the park together. "I've yet to tell her that I can't make it, but I'll do it when we get back." Miles seems to pause for a moment before continuing on with me. "Why can't you make it?" He asks. "I think the little one would strongly disagree with it." I deadpan while rubbing my side against his lightly, getting a smirk from him. "The train ride wouldn't be that bad, would it?" "Miles Eremita-" "I'm just saying! A trip up, spend a few hours there, come right back down. No harm, no foul." He says defensively, backing away from me a bit. I roll my eyes and continue on. Whatever he's been 'monitoring', it must be big. This time two weeks ago he wouldn't even let me open my own doors... ever. Now it's apparently it's okay to take a two hour train ride to Canterlot to visit Celestia. "Well... if I do leave, I'm not leaving without seeing Fluttershy's and Big Mac's foal first." I tell him, getting an uneasy look from Miles. "Luna, you know they-" "I know, and I don't care. I have enough medical knowledge to keep us sanitary to be around him-" "Since when?" He asks skeptically. "Since you knocked me up, leaving me with even more spare time to read up on various subjects of my choosing. Most of which being foal related." He opens his mouth to say something, but shuts it quickly. Good, he's learned not to fight my pregnant knowledge. "Well... lets get something to eat first, then break into peoples houses." He says, making me chuckle a bit. The weather outside isn't bad today. The sun is out and warms the landscape while a cool breeze blows from the Everfree,keeping the temperature a bit on the chilly side. Ponyville is active with its daily blissful business. Ponies selling their goods while others visit friends, children playing and laughing. Everything seems to be calm in the small town. As we walk through Main street, different ponies wave or greet us, to which we return the gestures. Everypony here has accepted us into their community completely. Every now and again a visitor will gawk at the two of us, but they never make anything about it. Probably because of the lax nature of the rest of the townsfolk. We make it to one of my favorite cafes and head inside, finding an empty table quickly. The waitress takes our order and brings our drinks quickly. Strawberry lemonade....oh yeah. "Spike!" Miles calls out when the young dragon walks in. "Morning master!" Spike greets back as he walks over to our table. I still find it odd that he wears clothing like Miles does when he's human, but the brown jacket and black pants do fit him well. "Want to join us for lunch?" I ask him, getting him to smile and take a seat at our table. "How's the library?" "It's good. Quiet, but good." He says with a shrug. "It's going to take some getting used to being there without Twilight and Storm, but I'll manage." "Well let me or anypony else know if ever you need anything. I'm just down the street don't be shy." I tell him with a warm smile. "Thanks, I'll be sure to keep that in mind." He says as the waiter comes back to take his order. "So, how was it being an actual dragon?" Miles asks, to which I smack his arm. "He is a real dragon!" I defend. "No I'm not." Spike laughs. "I spent two months living with dragons in the southern badlands and it's painfully obvious that I'll never fit in with them. I've grown up with ponies, know human magic, and love baking. I'm as far away from a dragon as you can get." "Except for the whole breathing fire, swimming in lava, scaly, flying thing." I point out, getting him to shrug a bit. "Yeah, minus those things, I'm your average Ponyville citizen-" "Nnope." Miles cuts off. "You're also Terradisian, remember?" "Oh... yeah. Didn't you guys take over Ponyville recently?" He asks to clarify. "Kind of. Ponyville is now under joint jurisdiction. The ponies here can choose to become Terradisian, but don't have to. We'll keep an eye on the town, but Terradisians get priority for rights. Not to mention, only citizens can go and speak at meetings." Miles explains as the waitress comes back with our food. We begin eating, enjoying the quiet atmosphere of the cafe. "So, are we going to Fluttershy's after this?" I ask, getting Miles and Spike to pause and look at me. "Oh... you weren't kidding." Miles mutters. "Luna, you know they aren't okay with ponies coming over-" "I know every spell to keep myself cleansed and the foal healthy. There is no reason for me not to be able to see the foal now." I say confidently. "Except that they don't want you to see it." Spike mutters before Miles stomps on him foot. "What!? It's true!" He defends as Miles glares at him. "Well, they have yet to say this to my face. So, until that happens, we're going to her cottage after this. Right Miles?" I ask him nicely. (pregnant translation = you're doomed if you don't) "... right." "So, let's hurry up and finish eating so we can go already." They share an uneasy look as I begin to eat with gusto. I want to see that baby, so they'll have to say no to my face to stop me. With our food finished and the bill paid, we bid Spike farewell and begin the little trek to Fluttershy's home. Miles seems a little nervous about doing so, but I'm sure everything will turn out alright. I mean, if they don't let me in, nothing happens. If they let me in, I get to see the baby. And even if it becomes ill from that, I know how to take care of that, and I am taking precautions to prevent that. I don't see how any ill fortune could possibly occur. When we finally make it to her home I charge my horn and cast the spell over the two of us. Miles nods to me before going to the door and knocking. A few moments later, Angel bunny opens the door and looks up at Miles, nodding in approval. "Um... is Fluttershy in?" Miles asks. Angel shakes his head no. "Oh... where is she?" He points towards Sweet Apple Acres. "Oh. Then, who takes care of the animals here then?" He crosses his paws and glares up at Miles. "Ah. Well then... you have a fun day doing that then." Angel taps a paw to his chest before pointing back to Miles. Mile mimics the motion, albeit much slower and completely confused, and Angel shuts the door. "I have the approval of a small, fluffy, white, bunny." "Stop gloating." I tease him, chuckling at his discomfort. "He pointed to Sweet Apple Acres. I guess the Apples would have their kin born and raised on their land. Well, my hooves ache, my back is sore, and I'm starting to feel bloated, but I am not going home until I see that foal. Let's go." "Maybe we should take a break-" "I'm already walking." I sing back to him as I waddle down the path. I hear him groan a bit before following after me. I giggle at the look on his face but continue on anyway. Once we get to the farm we step up to the front door and knock. We hear some running around as well as some hushed voices, but the door remains shut. Miles tries again, only to get them to quiet down further. I roll my eyes and take a turn to knock on the door. "Hello? It's Luna, is anypony home?" I call out. After another moment of silence Miles steps to the side and looks through the window. "Applejack... you don't fit under the couch." He calls out. I hear a swear and some thudding around. Moments later, Applejack cracks open the door and smiles nervously at me. "Oh... uh, howdy there Luna, Miles. What..... uh, what brings y'all around these parts?" She asks nervously with a fake smile. "I just thought we'd stop by, say hello. It feels like I haven't seen the Apples in quite some time." I say with an innocent smile, batting my eyes a bit. "Do you mind if we come in? I'd hate to impose but my hooves are just killing me." I add as I raise a hoof, leaning to the left to show my large stomach. "Well... uh... the thing is... a-a-ah think... um..." she fumbles with her words as I stare innocently at her, batting my eyes and smiling warmly. Shadows lessons appear to have been paying off. "Are you seriously going to tell the pregnant lady to leave AJ?" Miles asks bluntly, coming to my side and glaring down at her. She begins to sweat a bit as she backs away from the door. "U-u-uh, well, sure, ah guess. Come on in then." I smile a bit more genuinely as I push the door open and step inside. The Apple house seems the same as usual. Warm and welcoming, with a hint of apples. I walk in and take a seat on the couch in the living room, sighing in relief from the weight leaving my hooves. "Thank you Applejack." I thank her as Miles joins me. "So, where are the others? Out working I imagine." I ask her, trying to get a conversation going. "Y-yeah. We all take turns....watch’n the house! That is.... um... eeyup, that's mah story an ah'm stickin to it." She says as she begins to get flustered. "You take turns watching the house?" Miles asks. "Okay, why?" "Why.... why.... uh...." Applejack tries to think of an answer, but freezes up when the sound of a foal crying fills the house. It was short lived however, when Fluttershy began to sing. "Uh... you didn't hear that?" "May I?" I ask as I motion towards the stairs. Applejack drops her facade and nods to me, frowning slightly. I look to Miles with an excited smile before getting up and making my way to the source of the sound. A feat easier said, than done. When I finally make it to the door, I pause to listen in on her singing. "Hush now, quiet now, it's time to lay your sleepy head. Hush now, quiet now, it's time to go to bed. There there little Rampant, everything's okay." She coo's. I glance back to Miles and smile warmly to him, receiving a smile in return. Soon it'll be my turn to sing the lullabies and tuck the little sweethearts away. "Fluttershy? It's Luna and Miles, may we come in?" I ask quietly through the door. "Come in." She replies quickly. I hesitate for a moment as I try to wrap my mind around her response. Something isn't right here. I open the door and push it open slowly, revealing the bedroom and it's occupants. Fluttershy is laying on the bed with the little red colt laying before her. A small horn breaks through his soft yellow mane while his bright green eyes stare up at Fluttershy, who is nuzzling the foals wings. ... ... ... ... ... "What the fuck?" Miles blurts out, getting kicked by me, then Applejack. "Well? Are you going to come in and meet Rampant Growth or would another time be better?" Fluttershy asks worriedly as we stand there, staring. I break out of my trance and step inside, coming to the side of the bed to inspect the foal. "Look Rampant Growth, Luna came all the way to say hi." Fluttershy tells the foal as she picks him up and lays him to face me. He looks up to me and smiles a bit before giggling and rolling over, kicking his hooves up playfully. "I-I don't get it. He's an alicorn." I say as I look up to Fluttershy, who only shrugs. "It's why we've been tryin ta keep a lid on him ever since he was born." Applejack says when she enters the room as well. "We were worried that some folks would... be a bit uppity, with a new alicorn an all. I mean, look at Twi' and her filly." "But that doesn't make sense. Look at Cadence and Shining. They have a unicorn, how could Big Mac and Fluttershy; an earth pony and pegasi, have an alicorn?" Miles asks. "Well... I don't know." Fluttershy says as she brings the colt back into her embrace. "That doesn't really matter to me though. All I care about is his health and happiness. It's why I agreed to Big Macs and Applejacks little plan to stay hidden. My guess is that it's what CeeGee meant by great power-" "Wait, what?" Miles asks, making Fluttershy freeze up for a moment. "What happened between you and the Crystal Guardian?" She looks around nervously for a moment, avoiding Miles's eyes, before Applejack sighs. "Just... just show him." She tells her. "Some him what?" I ask nervously. Fluttershy looks to Applejack but calms down enough to lay the colt back down. "Okay, promise me you won't freak out. I don't want him getting scared." Fluttershy asks us, to which we agree to. She reaches into the nearby dresser and pulls out a small gem, roughly the size of a pen. She lays it beside him and begins to tickle at his side while blowing raspberries on his squishy cheeks. The effects are almost instantaneous. The colt begins to laugh. It's adorable to watch, a mother and her colt bonding, but it quickly starts to become worrying. When he hits the height of his giggles, he begins to sparkle; much like that of the Crystal ponies. But the oddest part, the gem begins to glow as well. The more he laughs, the more it shines and vibrates. When Fluttershy stops her affectionate assault, the gem falls still. Easily a third larger than it was before. "Well... I wonder how he got the name." Miles jokes. "Oh, Twilight helped." Fluttershy tells him. I was wondering who helped them with that. "Really?" Miles deadpans. "But that doesn't answer the question though." I point out. "If that's from CeeGee, is being an alicorn from him as well? What exactly did he do to you?" Fluttershy frowns a bit as she strokes the colts back, helping him calm down from his giggle fit. "He said: 'For your life, you must return to me what is mine. Do so; and my favor I will grant to your one.' I've thought about that for a long time time. He wanted his heart back, which we gave to him. I assume his 'favor' is that crystal growing ability and being an alicorn, but I'm not sure-" "No, there's no way it could be both." Miles states as he stares at the colt. "Fluttershy, are you willing to come with me to Topaz Falls? I'd like to run a scan on him real quick. I think I know what's going on, but I'd like to check." "Oh, I don't know. I mean, the doctors said I should keep the traveling to a minimum. And I don't think he'd like being surrounded by all the needles and scalpels and stethoscopes-" "I promise, it'll be nothing like that. He won't even know anything is happening when we do this. We can be there in an hour, I just... really need to check this out completely." He says worriedly. "Miles... what's going through your head?" I ask nervously. "Well... how exactly did I become an alicorn?" He asks, shocking everyone in the room. "M-miles, ya can't be serious." Applejack stammers as we all stare at him. "She wasn't hit by the beam-" "No, but she was in proximity of it. So were Luna and Twilight. There's only one way to know for sure, and that's if we go to Topaz for a DNA analysis." "A... what?" Fluttershy asks as she picks her foal up and holds him closely. "It's just a test to see if I'm the father. It won't hurt him, I promise, but... I really think we should do this." The room falls quiet again as we take in what Miles said. His theory would explain Twilight's and Storm's foal and Rampant here, but... no. Just... no. It can't be. It just... can't. "Ah'll go get Big Mac." Applejack says before leaving the room. "Can you help me pack a bag? I need to wrap Rampant up before we head out." Fluttershy asks distantly. "I'll help you with that. Miles-" "On it." He says before leaving the room quickly. I look back to Fluttershy and watch her for a moment as she takes a white blanket and begins to wrap it around the colt. With practiced ease she wraps his little legs in but manages to keep his wings out. "Fluttershy, are you going to be okay?" I ask her as I rub her back. She pauses for a moment before going to the closet and puts on a baby saddle. "Fluttershy?" "I... I'm going to be fine. I know no matter what we'll love him, but... Big Mac and me have tried so many times before. I don't think we could try again. After coming so close... I don't know-" "Hey." I mutter as I pull her in for a hug. "It's going to be okay. Miles is probably just... over reacting. I'm sure it's nothing." I try to reassure her, rubbing her back a bit more forcefully. "I hope so." She mutters, breaking my hug to put Rampant Growth in the saddle. Me too. Author's Note Alrighty folks, this is it. Tomorrow at 5:00 PM (10/16/13 (California Time)) I will be closing the Spartan Blog. From there I will be going through the remaining entries and selecting the final cut. If you want to try to get one in at the last second, now is the time to do it. Also, the 1000 favorites blog will be closing soon as well. Head on over there to cast your votes before the polls close. And lastly, the Q/A blog will be coming up soon. Go to that blog to ask the characters any questions you wish to know. Brony on!
Chapter 196 The OrdersChapter 196 The Orders Perspective: Miles When we make it back home I run upstairs and throw a bunch of clothes onto the bed. I stand in the middle of the room and try to focus on changing into a human. I've yet to actually do this, but every time I can feel myself getting closer and closer. I give it a few more tries before feeling the energy escape me. With a sigh of defeat, I go to drastic measures. "Miles?" Luna asks when she enters the room. "Can we talk?" "Yeah, but can you punch me first? I need to be human for all of this." I ask her, getting a bemused look in return. "What? I need hands." "You know I don't like hitting you to do this. Eventually something is going to go wrong in that thick skull of yours." She sulks while lying on the bed, facing away from me. I sigh and walk over to her, nuzzling her back a bit before speaking. "Luna, look I'm sorry about-" "I'm not mad about the whole foal thing. I know it was out of control and that you had nothing to do with it." Well... that's a completely logical thing to say. What the fuck is actually wrong. "I... I'm just going to go with Celestia for a day." "Luna-" "I just need a day to talk to her about something." She tells me before rolling over to look back at me. "I'm not mad, I just need some advice on something, promise." I look away from her and frown a bit as I try to process this, but can't without coming to a bitter end. "Luna, what's bothering you? Is it the... 'monitoring'? The foals? Or-" "It's none of those things... though I would like to know more about your little monitoring project. This is just some... pregnant mare talk I want to do. Nothing more." She reassures me, reaching out and setting a hoof on my cheek. "Promise." "*Sigh* well, okay. If you say it's nothing more, then I'll take your word for it. I'll let Fluttershy and Big Mac know we'll go to Topaz later-" "No, you figure that out now. I'll have Spike escort me to Canterlot. I'm sure he'd like to see Twilight and Speaks Softly, so convincing him to go shouldn't be hard. Call me the minute you get the results, got it?" I nod my head and lean down to kiss her lightly on the lips- WHACK FLASH "... a little warning would be nice." I groan from the ground. "Well, I'd like a little less stress. But we don't always get what we want now do we?" Luna snickers from the bed. "Now out with you. I want to nap a bit before the trip. For the life of me I can't get a minute of sleep on those trains, darn bumpy carts." She tells me as she gets comfy on the bed. I chuckle and get up to kiss her cheek before heading out with my clothes, wishing her a safe trip as I shut the door. I slip into my clothes outside the door and head downstairs to get my boots on. Once done, I head out back and go to my shed, entering the pass code to enter. My collection of projects and experiments clutter most of the work space around here, but it's an organized mess. In the center of it all is my jeep. It's facing the newest addition to my mess, a broken AA-20 from Topaz. I've restored my original back to operating standards, but getting the rest of the fleet back has been time consuming. Not to mention I've been adding my own additions to the two vehicles, just some better armor enchants as well as enhanced data relays. With a quick flare of my hands I open the earthen ceiling and bring the jeep out. I jump into the drivers seat and start the engine, hearing the satisfying roar of the pistons freely gliding in the engine block. Okay, enough drooling over a car, time to get moving. I kick it into gear and take off for the Library, leaving a tall dust cloud in my wake. First stop, minion. Perspective: Luna One Hour Later I mumble a bit when I hear Hati and Lupus barking down stairs. I sigh a bit as I pull the pillow over my head and try to drown them out. UUUHHHHHGGGGG! I miss sleeping in... and sleep in general for that matter. I try to ignore it a bit longer until I hear Spikes cries for help. Why does he even need help? He's a dragon, they can't bite through his scales. "Alright already... down wolves down." I groan from bed, surprisingly getting the barking to end. Well, he's here, may as well get out of bed then. I push the sheets off of me and slide out of bed, somehow managing to fumble over myself and fall down. I panic a bit from falling, but when nothing happens, except a slight pain in my behind, I calm down enough to completely remove the bed sheet. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" I scream at the top of my lungs. "LUNA!" Spike yells from downstairs, coupled with some howling. In a panic I scramble to the door, tripping over myself constantly, and slam the door shut just as Spike starts to open it. "STAY OUT!" I yell in fear as I press myself against the door, trying to lock it but to no avail. "What happened!?" He asks while trying the door. I press my back against it in hopes of keeping it shut. "Just stay out! It's nothing! It's... cramps!" I yell back. He stops trying to open the door but I can hear Lupus and Hati trying to scratch their way in. "Cramps?" He asks, completely confused. "Uh... yeah, cramps. You know, bloated. Hormones flowing, all my emotions just... it's pregnant mare stuff, so stay out." I close my eyes and hope he buys what I made up. I know Twilight and Storm have had the talk with him, but I'm really banking on him still not understanding mare physiology right now. "Um... I'm just going to... wait downstairs-" YES! "-just let me know if you need anything okay?" He asks timidly. "Yes, I mean, okay. Thank you Spike... I just need... a few minutes." I tell him as I look down. When I hear his steps begin to go down the stairs I fumble my way into the bathroom and pull myself onto the counter to look at myself in the mirror. I'm human. I have pale white skin with short blue hair and bright blue eyes. My stomach is large, as expected, but it seems my breast have... grown. A lot. Well... compared to what I've seen of Miles's memories, they seem... supple? Anyway, I look down and try to stand on my two feet, but can't seem to get my legs to hold me correctly. How does anypon-er-human, do this!? These scrawny things could never hold me! Especially now! "Okay, okay... just calm down... just... work... on... standing........... do all humans talk to themselv-AH!" THUNK FLASH .... ow. I grumble a bit as I rub the top of my head. How has Miles gone through all this punishment without being brain dead? That really hurt... I have a horn. I look myself over and realize that I'm back to being a pony. You have to be kidding me. I have to bonk my head to turn between the two, really!? ... ... ... No. Sorry Miles, but my head isn't as thick as yours. As far as anypony can tell, I'm just an alicorn. And it's going to stay that way... Unless the baby comes out a human... *sigh* sometimes I hate life. I get onto my hooves and make my way down to the living room, finding Spike sitting on the couch with Lupus and Hati sitting beside him. He seems really tense, eyeing the two wolves as the stare him down. Every time he fidgets or budges their eyes dart to whatever moves, waiting for him to make the wrong move. "Hati, Lupus, go outside." I tell them nicely. They look to me before running off, charging through the door that Spike left open. "Spike, they can't hurt you." "That doesn't make them any less scary." He defends, standing quickly. "Anyway, are you okay now.... you know, with your... cramps." He whispers the last part, making me roll my eyes. "Yes Spike, I'm fine. Let's get going now though, do you have everything you need?" I ask as I go to the dining room, where I have my emergency foal saddle bag. "Yeah, here let me take that though." He offers before running over and taking the bag. "Thank you, Spike." "Don't mention it. Anypony would do it really." He shrugs while heading out the door. I pause for a moment to think about what he said before following after him. I'm part human now, so what exactly does that mean for me? More reason to have my talk with Celestia. Perspective: Big Mac Topaz Falls Route 1 After a long, and quiet, trip down the new tunnels Miles made, we finally arrive at the bulkhead to Topaz Falls. The bulkhead is open with two small stone buildings take up the corners with a squad of Legion bots. Each of them seem to house a bot with a machine gun pointed in our direction. As we approach, four red beams of light scan over our vehicle, moving from side to side. After a few seconds the lights disappear and they lower their guns, so we drive through. "Wow, Topaz is looking much better." Fluttershy notes from my side as she looks out to the massive stone city. To me, their just stone, block buildings. Easily reminding me of Miles home, but larger. "I've set the bots to restore the city. It's taken awhile, but we're getting there. Now, at least, it's not a nightmare to walk through the streets." Miles tells us as we take a ramp up a street. The street levels out and leads us to the P.C.H over most of the buildings. In the distance I can see several aircraft lifting up building materials. "What do you plan on doing with the city once it's restored?" Fluttershy asks. I look to Miles and watch his face as he thinks about his answer. He's obviously conflicted about this. But I can tell he doesn't have an answer for it yet. "Well, for the time being, it's being rebuilt entirely on sentiment. After that, we'll have to see how life turns out. Who knows, maybe one day ponies will fill these streets. Like a tourist attraction or something, I don't know." Miles muses with a shrug of the shoulder. "How's the little guy?" "Rampant's fine." Fluttershy says, holding our... holding him a bit closer. He's staring out at the city, scared but intrigued. "We've never taken him out of the house before... or this fast... or this far from home... or-" "Easy there." I tell her, nuzzling her cheek a bit. "It'll be fine. Don't work yerself up over nothin'." She offers me a nervous smile but keeps the rest of her worries to herself. "So... what uh... what happens if... ya know-" "Let's save those questions for when we get the results. I don't want to get worked up on something that could be just paranoid delusions." Miles tells us. We remain quiet for a moment before I finally have to ask the question. "How exactly could the foal be yers?" "Well... it's completely off of speculation, but I believe that the baby being an alicorn is directly influenced from my becoming an alicorn. The machine seemed to have changed my... my biological make up. The excess energy could have affected them in the early stages of life. It all depends on if the embryo had a soul that early." "When do they typically get a soul?" I ask, barely following what he's saying. "It's hard to say. There's never a set time when they do develop their soul. It could happen during the first cell split, it could happen during birth. Without the tools to check, it would be impossible to check." "So... if he is... connected to you... does that mean he'd have a soul fire to?" Fluttershy asks. "... well, I'd think so. I mean, I assume my power is hereditary. Typically, stuff like that is..." He pauses at the end to think to himself. Fluttershy and I share another uneasy look but keep quiet for the rest of the trip. When we come to a stop in front of the giant building, with a green utility bot waiting for us by the road. We step out and the bot takes the vehicle away. Much of the destruction and carnage from before has been repaired. But the craftsmanship is obviously lacking. The mico station is well lit and still holds that upper crust glimmer. Miles brings us to one of the stations and tells us to take it one at a time. We send Fluttershy first to have somepony be there for Rampant. When she teleports away, I look to Miles to tell him something. "Miles... there aint no easy way ta say this, so imma jus say it." "What's up?" "Rampant is mah colt." I tell him firmly, holding Rampant a bit closer. Miles step back a bit while looking away, thinking to himself more. "Shy an ah have been tryin too hard fer too long ta give 'im up. Ah don't care what yer D.N.A. says, he's mah colt." "I know. Trust me Mac, I'm not trying to take him from you or anything. I just... I think we all need to know. It probably a mistake of mine to blurt it out like I did, but I have to put those worries to rest. I'm sorry about all of this, I really am." He looks me in the eyes and nods. I sigh and look down to Rampant. He's looking around curiously while suckling on his pacifier. I sigh and set him on the platform, teleporting him to Fluttershy. I take one look back to Miles before stepping on the platform and flashing away. I appear in a waiting room where Fluttershy and Rampant wait patiently for us. Once Miles makes it here he guides us down one of the halls. Medical beds line the light green walls with strange metal contraptions sitting at the top left of each of the beds. Miles takes us to the closest bed and has Fluttershy lay on it, so I take Rampant. "Alright, just lay still and this will be over before you know it." Miles informs Shy. She gives me another nervous glance before fluttering up and laying on the bed. Miles hits a few buttons on the metal thing and steps back when it comes to life. A blue beam comes out from a needle looking thing and scans over Fluttershy's body. It focuses around her eyes and wings the most, but as soon as it starts, it ends. "I-is that it?" Fluttershy asks timidly. "Yeah, now lets put Rampant up here." He says as he hits a few more buttons. "What about you?" I ask as I set him there. "I'm already in the system. All we need to do now is scan him and compare results." I nuzzle Shy a bit and set Rampant there, belly down. The mechanical arm comes around and starts to scan him, scaring him. He cries out when the beam goes over his eyes and tries to wiggle away in his wrappings. When it finishes scanning him Fluttershy grabs him to comfort him. "Well? What does it say?" Fluttershy asks over his cries. "Hold on, it needs to run some-" "May I have your autograph?" Easy asks, scarring Miles. "GAH! Easy! What the fuck man!?" Miles screams, getting scowls from Shy and I. "Order twenty initiated. Orders please." Easy asks. Miles and I go still from this, staring at Easy. "What was that?" Miles asks nervously. "Order twenty initiated. Orders please." He repeats. Miles darts out of the room, running as fast as possible back to the teleporter. "What's order twenty?" Fluttershy asks, confused. "Order twenty," Easy explains, "Enemies within our space. Defensive actions advised." "Enemies? Who?" Fluttershy asks. "Unknown. Scanners indicate large forces moving at high speed with intelligent descent. Reactions advised." Easy tells us before walking off. We both sit there quietly, Fluttershy trying to comprehend what we've learned while I try to think about the possibility of an upcoming war. We can't go to war. Fluttershy and I just had a foal, the farm needs me, there's too much for me to do for a war to start now. "What are the orders?" Fluttershy asks, breaking our silence. "The orders are used ta indicate our threat status. Orders one through ten are fer peaceful times, while orders eleven through nineteen are fer every day stuff. Orders twenty through twenty three tell us how imminent a threat is. After that, there are three more orders that indicate how we fight. Ah imagine we'll move inta order twenty four, distant fighin." "What if that fails? What if they get here? Are we going to be invaded? Is a war about to start? What's-" "Shy." I say firmly, getting her attention. "D.N.A. ANALYSIS COMPLETE. NEGATIVE. D.N.A. ANALYSIS COMPLETE. NEGATIVE. D.N.A. ANALYSIS COMPLETE. NEGATIVE. " A voice says from the contraption. Author's Note This is it my bronies! Only three more chapters until the Q/A Blog Post! Be sure to go there and update your questions or post your own, you only have three chapters let to do so! Brony on!
Chapter 197 In-Human ConcernsChapter 197 In-Human Concerns Perspective: Luna When the train car jostles a bit I wake up, finding ourselves just outside of Canterlot. I look over at Spike to see him sitting back, reading a book. I stretch a little while shifting to a sitting position as well, getting Spike's attention. "Have a good nap?" He asks, flipping a page casually. "Yeah, but I'm a bit stiff now." I say as I rub my neck. Spike goes to say something but suddenly stops and goes wide eyed, making me eye him a bit. "Yes Spike, where you going to say something?" I ask, causing him to sweat a bit. "U-uh, no. I just... realized how close we were to Canterlot. That's all." He says before shoving his face in the book. I eye him a bit more before the conductor begins announcing our arrival. I'll drop it for now. I'm sure Rarity could shed some light on the subject though. When we finally make it off the train, the sun is getting close to setting. We should be able to make it to the castle before it does, so we shouldn't drag our hooves. A group of Night guards are waiting for us in the station, keeping the crowd of ponies away from the two of us. "Queen Luna." A guard says as they all bow to me. "Oh, right. That. Um... you may stand. I wish to go to the castle as soon as possible. Take us there." I order, getting them to snap to attention and usher us out. They take us to a carriage and take us over the city towards our destination. "I forgot you were a queen." Spike laughs. "I did too." I admit, chuckling with him. "I'm only that ranking when outside of Ponyville though. It's part of the joint rule thing between the two nation." I tell him. "Oh, okay. So, when do you plan on coming back and ruling Equestria?" Spike asks. "Not any time soon, that's for sure. I want to raise our foal first, then ease myself back into the responsibilities. It'll be several years before I move back permanently, and that's if Miles lets me." "Why wouldn't he?" He asks nervously. "I was joking." I tell him, getting him to relax. "We've talked this over before. He knows that I'll come back when the foal is old enough, that's when we'd like to teach it about its roll in the world." "What do you mean by that?" "Well, our child is going to have... a lot of political pull in the world. Equestrian royalty is a given, but the Terradisians have gained immense credibility in the world. For the time being at least. Showing up at the Summit was big enough on its own, but being charged to go through each nations issues and bring judgement on them... that's huge. Nothing like this has ever happened before, and for them to be the sole country in charge of it-" "But, I thought the Spartans were going to lead this, not the Terradisians." "They are, but the rest of the world doesn't necessarily understand our systems. All the know is that the representatives from Terradisia are going to determine the outcome of the world. And it's leader, Miles, is going to have a child soon... though from what Celestia tells me, I don't think anypony made the connection between Miles and his Alicorn form." I pause for a moment, waiting for Spike to understand on his own. "Oh... that's... wow." "Yes, our child will be connected." I summarize, though there is a much more to it than that. "Is that why you want to raise it in Ponyville? To get away from all of that responsibility." He asks. "Well, that's my reason. Miles, on the other hoof, kind of... hates, some of the ponies in Canterlot-" "Blueblood?" "Eeyup." We share a small laugh at the obvious answer. It's amazing how one annoyance could sway our lives so drastically, but I couldn't agree with it more. We arrive at the castle front gates shortly after where Twilight and a group of guards wait for us. As soon as we touch down Spike leaps out and runs to his mother, scooping her up in a massive hug. Twilight yelps in surprise but returns the hug in full. "Well, it seems like somepony missed you." I chuckle, making Spike set her down and run the back of his neck. "He's allowed to miss his mother all he wants." Twilight defends, only making him blush deeper. "It's good to see you too Queen Luna." She says with a slight bow. The rest of the guards bow as well, bringing their foreheads to the ground. "Thank you Twilight, guards. You may rise." I tell them. "Though, for the time being, just Luna will do Twilight. Where's Speaks Softly? And Celestia for that matter." I ask while walking towards the open doors. Twilight walks beside me with Spike bringing up the rear. "Softy is with Storm. He watches after her while I take care of my royal duties." She explains. "I'm sorry we couldn't work you into the deal as well Twilight. It all happened so suddenly-" "Oh, don't worry about that. I know all of my parents like me being here in Canterlot. And having royal staff to help out from time to time isn't half bad either." "Both parents?" "Storm's mother and brother moved in with my parents when we moved. We even gave Rain Cloud a job as an accountant here in the castle. Once she makes enough she plans on moving out, much to my parents displeasure, but she feels too much like a burden on them." "And Breaker? How's he fairing these days?" I ask carefully. "He's... good, I guess. He needs red potions at least once a month right now, and his neck isn't doing any better, but he's in good spirit. Anyway, Celestia sends her apologies. Something huge came up and she didn't feel right just dropping it on me. Hopefully it'll be resolved soon." She says nervously. "Do you know what it was?" I ask curiously, getting her to shake her head. "I was preoccupied with Softy when it happened, so I know next to nothing about the meeting. But let's leave that for when Celestia gets back. Are you hungry? Would you like-" "OH GREAT SPHINX ABOVE!" A brown and white blur suddenly whizzes up and grabs me in a tight, feathery hug. Regina jumps back and squeals a bit as she looks me over again. "Regina! Where did you come-" "Look at you!" She practically yells as she tackles me in another hug. "You're HUGE! You're like a blimp of babies! How many are in there!? Oh my gosh we have so much to catch up on! When did you even get here? LUNA!" She begins to choke me a bit as she continues to hug me. If it weren't for the lack of air going to my head I'd be a bit hurt from being called fat, but air is a bit more important at the moment. "R-regina! Reg-gina! AIR! AIR!" I gasp as I try to break free from her grasp. She lets go of me and begins to bounce in place from excitement, fluttering her wings slightly. "Where are you going? I'm not leaving your side until we're properly brought back to speed. Where to?" I take a moment to catch my breath and compose myself before looking to Twilight. "Well, as nice as food sounds, I think I will retire to my room to rest and raise the moon. Thank you for the welcome. If you see Celestia please send her to me as soon as possible. Goodnight Twilight." "Goodnight Queen Luna." She replies with a slight bow. I roll my eyes a bit from her reluctance to call me just Luna on the castle grounds, but ignore it as Regina and I head to my living quarters. "So is it weird being all huge and pregnant?" Regina bluntly asks. Oh... to think I've missed you. ............................................................................................................................................................. ".... so I told him, 'get the cluck out before I cut them off!' Do you think I over reacted?" She asks when we finally make it to my bed chambers. "Uh-huh." I drone back. "Were you even listening!?" "He sold you some bad beets, basically. Go ahead and get comfy, I need to raise the moon." I tell her while moving over to the balcony. She flops onto my bed and sighs in irritation. I don't get how she can make the simplest of things into something completely over dramatic and world crushing. Going from bad beets to relational problems before noon... only Regina. I move to the railing and wait for Celestia to come as well. I look up and admire the array of different colors painting the evening sky. Pinks and yellows in the horizon. Dark blues and trails of red in the distant space... wait, what? Trails of red. I look back to about high noon and watch as a trail of red has appeared. It's small, almost unnoticeable, and seems to be coming towards the ground. I don't recall any meter showers this time of year. And it's definitely not a shooting star. As I stare at it, three more appear around it. Then five... twelve... thirty... how many are there? "Regina, come take a look at this." I call out to her. "This better not be some moon shine thing like that one time." She grumbles from my bed. When she steps onto the balcony she stops and stares up with me. "Are those shooting stars?" "No. Shooting stars don't burn like that. Whatever those are, they're coming in too slowly to be natural." I tell her. "There are so many, what do you think they are?" She asks in amazement. The first few that came through have shed their fiery covers to reveal some sort of craft. The center part is long and narrow while the wings are thin and curve forward, starting at the back of the craft. The bronze body seems to be one part with the exception of a black spot on the top. "What are those?" I ask aloud. "Maybe this has to do with Miles. Did he say he was doing anything special recently?" Regina asks. "He said... he was monitoring something-" Before I could finish, a burst of black, diamond shaped vehicles erupt from the distant Everfree Forest. I recognize them as Aquilas, but what are they doing? They fly up high and circle around as hundreds continue to jet out from the forest. Likewise, the bronze aircraft begin to circle around; as if waiting for the others to attack first. "What are they waiting for?" Regina asks while taking a few steps back. I shake my head as the last of the vehicles appear from the sky and forest. The two groups continue to circle until one final vehicle appears from the forest. "Miles." I mumble as I watch the white craft soar through the center of the Aquila's and head straight for the bronze horde. The two groups break formation and race towards each other, sending a volley of grey streams of smoke before them. I wince at first when the first explosions hit. Debris and fire rains down from the explosions as the lucky ones race past each other and break to engage their foes. I feel my heart race as I follow the white speck as it twists and turns through the air. He has three chasing after him. He dives down for speed and banks right, but his pursuers keep pace with him easily. I can tell that they are more agile, but Miles has power on his end. He suddenly pulls up and races higher into the sky, using the chaotic battlefield to obscure his position. "I don't think we should stay up here any longer." Regina tells me as she begins to pull me back. "I'm not going anywhere until I see Miles land safely." I tell her as I yank back into my spot. "Go if you must, but I'm not moving!" She gives me a look before sighing and moving to my side. "Fine! But the minute things get too hairy here I'm dragging your pregnant butt somewhere I deem safe!" She warns me. I nod to her and turn back to the fight. Black smoke fills most of the sky now, making it harder to find Miles's ship. The blue beams of energy tell me he's still out there, but I can't see the condition of his craft or of anypony is following him. "Can you see him?" I ask. "I can't see anything out there. How could they fight in conditions like that? It's like fighting in the middle of a hurricane!" THRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMM We both duck when Miles flies over the castle, blasting his engines loudly. A powerful gust of wind blows over us, nearly knocking me over. Perspective: Miles WARNING. LARGE AIRCRAFT ENTERING AIRSPACE. WARNING. LARGE AIRCRAFT ENTERING AIRSPACE. "SHUT THE FUCK UP I KNOW!" I yell as I pull the stick back and throttle up. The constant beeping of the enemy lock system blares in my ears as I roll over and survey the area around me. Half of my friendlies have been knocked out of the sky, with another fifteen percent having damage. I've taken a few small hits but am still completely functional. From my initial scan, about two thirds of the enemy forces are left, giving us the advantage- WARNING. MISSILE FIRE. WARNING. MISSILE FIRE. "FUCK!" I roll to the left and deploy the last of my flares, avoiding the incoming round. I plaster myself in my seat as I drop back down to gain more speed. Two red diamonds appear on my screen, telling my I've got missile lock on them. "THIS IS SPARTAN ONE, FIRING ROUND FIVE AND SIX. COVER MY ASS SOMEONE!" WARNING. LARGE AIRCRAFT ENTERING AIRSPACE. WARNING. LARGE AIRCRAFT ENTERING AIRSPACE. My two shots chase down their targets, bringing them both down. I don't have visual on them though, so I have to assume that they are gone. I wait a second as my craft sends out a few more pings, giving me a holographic view of everything solid around me. The remaining craft seem to be going back up out of our airspace, giving me a moment to relax. "Aquila seventy two, perched." "Copy that, where is the estimated LZ for the larger craft in relation to Canterlot?" I ask tiredly. "Please wait... please wait... please wait... projected landing zone is estimated to be one hundred and sixty kilometers south of Canterlot." That's just past Ponyville as well. Not by much, barely into the outskirts really. "What would the blast radius be for a super drop?" I ask. A holographic sphere appears in my hud, displaying several possible outcomes. The most ideal choices need to be sent now, but there's still the residual effect to deal with. If I fire, at any point, I risk harming innocents below. But if I don't... "Orders sir." "This is Spartan one, clear high air space for super drop." I say as I slide my finger over the panel and select the super archaic missile. "Warning. Ordinance selected is a high archaic super spell. Effects unknown. Are you sure you want to fire?" No. I'm not. But I can't allow them to land on Terra. I can't raise my child knowing that I allowed the greatest threat to my people come here and take over. Ruby Canyon was cut off and isolated, these monsters have had time to grow. I have to take them out. "Understood. Firing for effect." I say solemnly as I pull the trigger. I feel my ship swagger a bit as the missile drops below my and races off for its destination. I sit back and sigh as I watch it disappear into the dark abyss. Forgive me Luna, it looks like I have to cross that line again- BVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVMMMMMM Perspective: Luna I lift a wing to block a powerful gust of wind. A loud, beaming sound fills the land as a red glow tints everything for a moment. I cough a bit when the smoke passes over me, choking me slightly. The smell of burnt metal and ozone force their way into my nose, making me cough even more. I feel Regina yank me back and pull my inside the room, where she closes the doors quickly. "Are you okay!? Luna, Look at me!" She yells as she forces me to look at her. "Long, slow breaths. Nice and easy, in... out... in... out." I cough a few more times but do as she says. After a minute or so I get my breathing under control enough for her to back off a bit. "What, in the name of our mother, was that!?" "I don't know." I tell her as I look back out. "But I think we're about to find out. Look." Dropping down from space appears to be a massive thunderstorm. Dark clouds twist around and rumble with electrical potential. Before anypony could do anything, the ball of darkness falls upon the land and consumes us, bringing an eerie false night. I try to keep my heart under control as I use my magic to turn on the few lights in my room. Likewise, I can see most of Canterlot doing the same. "Okay, now can we get somewhere safe and not high in the air and vulnerable?" Regina begs. "What happened out there!? Is Miles okay?! What's with all the clouds!? We have to find Miles!" I begin to panic as I pace about the room. I don't see any aircraft out there, though I can't see anything. What if the thunderclouds knocked him out of the air? What if his systems went down and he's hurtling towards the ground!? WHAT IF HE'S- My train of thought ends when a low rumbling fills the room. The few pictures and trinkets I have out begin to shake and fall over as the glass begins to wobble in their holdings. Regina and I look to one another before looking back out the balcony. A massive object, the likes of which I've never seen before, is slowly descending upon the land. It looks to be made of the same metal as the smaller crafts, but is tremendously larger. The main body seems to be one dark, massive, jagged sphere with long spires coming out from different points. Two stand out the most, coming out front what appears to be the front of the sphere beside one anther. They seem to be three times longer than the others, maybe more. Five more tall spires point out at even ends of the sphere, with smaller spires connecting them to their counterparts. Hundreds of lights cover the vessel, some blinking with others on constantly. As the large vessel begins to slowly turn to face Canterlot, a shimmer of energy begins to fall over us. The city guard have finally began to put up a shield. My door slams open and four guards come running, two pegasi and two unicorn. "My Queen, we have to get you somewhere safe!" One of them yells while the others position themselves around me. "SEND A SQUAD OF GUARDS TO FIND MILES-" THWUUUUUUSHH I snap back to the window as Miles's jet soars over the tower, along with most of the Aquilas. Though, I can only tell what they are because of their exhaust, Miles's ship is the only different one up there. They line up in an attack formation and fire a volley of missiles towards the massive ship. Red beams of energy appear from all over the vessel, shooting the missiles out of the air. A few lucky rounds make it through and connect with the ships hull, but the damage is basically nonexistent As Miles's group scrambles to avoid getting hit by the red beams, arcs of electricity begin to form between the two larger columns. They brighten and snap with power before a large white bolt of electricity fires forward, missing everything completely. Arcs of electricity work their way through the clouds, lighting up where ever they go. SNAP A burst of lightning snaps from the cloud, back to the ship. Along the way, it hits three Aquilas. Knocking them out of the air. It's a traveling storm... and Miles is out there... in his metal craft... "We need to get Miles out of there!" I yell to my guards, getting panicked looks from them. SNAP "But... your highness, we can't. The shields are up, nothing can get in or out." SNAP "I don't care! We need to get him out of there, HIS LIFE IS IN DANGER!" I yell back at them. SNAP "LOOK!" Regina yells. I turn back and watch as Miles tries to make a run for it. He starts out high and is diving down with two Aquilas behind him. A bolt of lightning strikes the second one, making it crash into the third Aquila. The burst staggers Miles's ship, but he holds steady and pulls up just before hitting the ground. His jets roar with power as he races towards the edge of the storm. "Go... go!" I yell at him as he nears the wall of storm clouds. SNAP A bolt strikes his ship, setting one of his engines on fire. The nose pitches up and veers right slightly, almost out of the fray. "Keep going! You're almost-" I stop when I see his ship go into the cloud and a massive burst of electricity causes his ship to explode. I stand there in a daze as I watch the fiery remains of his ship fall to the ground. This has to be a dream. Miles can't die, not now. This is just a bad dream, this... this can't be real. Miles can't die, he promised to return. When the debris hits the ground... I lose it. "MILES!" I scream as I try to run out to him, only to be grabbed by Regina. "MILES, NO!" "GET US OUT OF HERE!" Regina yells to the others as she grips me tightly around my chest. "DO IT!" "MILES!" FLASH I fall to the ground and wail as Regina continues to hold me. I don't know what I'm going to do without him. I don't know if I can even go on without him. I need him here, with me. I don't want to be lonely again. What about these enemies? Who's going to fight them? Who's going to protect me and my foal? I need Miles, he can't be dead! There's too much to lose with him dead, he can't die! Not now, not ever! "Luna!" Regina yells at me as she grabs my face to look at her. "I know you're sad, and I know things don't look good right now. But we need to get moving. We need to get you out of here and somewhere safe." She yells in my face. "B-but, what ab-b-bout Miles?" I sob. "We'll... figure that out... later. Right now we need to get you, and your foal, out of here. It's not safe here anymore. Do you understand me?! Your foal is in danger, Miles's foal is in danger! We need to get moving, now!" I pause in my sorrow and let her words sink in. I still have our foal, and it's in danger. Nothing else matters. I need to get moving. I need to get up. Where can we go though... home. We need to get up the mountain and teleport home. From there... we'll figure it out when we get there. First things first, we need to get my remaining family out of Canterlot... "What about Celestia?" I ask as I start to get up, with help from Regina. "If we run into her, we'll bring her along. First things first, I'm going to get you out of here. I can come back for her later, you first. Now, where's safe-" "Home. We need to get to the top of the mountain, there's a mico platform that connects with my house there. That's where we need to start." I tell her, getting a nod in return. She looks around the dark room we're in and heads to the closest door. She peers outside before motioning for me to follow after her, which I do. We're in the lower chambers of the castle, where most of the behind the scenes things happen. It's dark down here, with only a few sparse lights lining the stone walls. I can see a few maids running down the hall away from us, but besides them it's empty down here. I follow Regina down the hall as she moves from door to door, checking each before moving to the next one. When we finally find some stairs we make our way up. It's a bit difficult for me to make it up the narrow stair case, but I force my way up and attempt to keep up with Regina. We end up behind the throne, where we find Celestia talking with some... being. He looks human, in shape at least. He lacks a nose and has beady black eyes surrounded by light grey skin. His waist long silver hair is tied back with golden charms weaved in three spots. His armor looks so similar to Miles's that I can't really tell the difference. It actually might be Terradisian armor. He's unarmed, but stands before Celestia with complete confidence. "You've destroyed our shields, landed outside two of our cities, and attacked-" "We did not attack, my dear Celestia. They attacked us, and we defended ourselves. Perhaps if you knew our history you'd know better than to question our motives. The light soul infestation has plagued the galaxies for eons. They find a world that doesn't belong to them and call it their own. They wish only to wage war and destroy themselves in the process. Our empire has lost too much to allow them to exist anymore-" ACHOO I feel my heart begin to race when Regina sneezes. We look to each other for a moment when she tries to apologies, but something seems to grab me and pull me out into the open. The man before me has his hand lite with archaic fire, but instead of it being white, it's dark grey. He looks me over for a moment before chuckling deeply. "So, who is this?" He asks as he lets me go and begins to circle me. "Leave her out of this Vensil!" Celestia demands. "She has nothing to do-" "I think she has everything to do with our mission." He says when he stops in front of me. "What is your name." I take a few deep breaths before looking him right in the eyes. "I am Luna Eremita." I tell him, making him chuckle. "Eremita huh, that sounds so... human." He smiles at the end, baring his dagger like teeth at me. "I am Vensil, leader of the Kroth Empire's Military. I have one, and only one question, to ask you. Luna Eremita. What color is your soul?" His question catches me a bit off guard, but I keep my impartial façade on as I continue to glare at him. "Vensil! Enough! Leave my sister out of this!" Celestia demands again as she steps between the two of us. "You and your forces are to leave this country immediately! I will not tolerate any-" "No." He says simply. "No, I think we'll stay. After all, we have an infestation to clear." He says as he smiles even more at me. FLASH A large number of guards, day and night, appear all around the room and surround Vensil. He chuckles some more as he takes a few steps back, holding his hands behind his back. "Kill the human." All of the windows break in as more armored men hump through. They wield Terradisian weapons and have their ankles lite with archaic fire. The room erupts in chaos as the two groups collide in battle. Bursts of magic and metal clashing with metal fills the room as our guards valiantly attempt to quell the invaders. But their technology is simply too advance for us to make a difference. With every charging of a spell or swing of a sword, a blast of archaic energy cuts them down. I try to turn back to run down the stairs, but two of the Unfamiliar soldiers cut me off. Celestia teleports in front of me and sets a shield around us, just in time to catch their rounds. They continue firing on us until Storm Cloud and Regina appear behind them, stabbing them in the back. "Get out of here Luna! We'll hold them off!" She yells to me as she summons her claymore. "But-" "GET OUT OF HE-AH!" She yells out in pain as her shield shatters around us. She falls to the ground from the stun of whatever effect destroyed her spell. I turn around to find Vensil standing before me, his hands held up where the shield used to be. The room behind him is filled with all of our guards laying slaughtered on the ground. The rest of his soldiers surround the four of us and move in, but stops when Vensil holds up a hand. "Tell me, Luna Eremita, how many other lives are you willing to lay down before you finally surrender? By the looks of it, it seems to be at least twenty." He asks, glancing back to the carnage behind him. "They gave their lives so you wouldn't take an innocent life." I defend, taking a step forward. Celestia puts a hoof to my mine and looks up to me, begging me with her eyes to run. "No human life is innocent." He counters, smiling again. I hate that smile. That smile... it's pure evil. Filled with malevolent intent and dark intention. That smile... I hate it. Two of the soldiers snap and fire on Storm and Regina, hitting them in the chest and knocking them over. Two more move in and press the barrels of their guns against my stomach. "W-what-" "As I said. Kill the human." He says with a slight chuckle. "B-but, it's not a human!" I yell back, panicking. "How could you-" "We've learned to see with the soul. It has a human soul, therefore must be destroyed-" "But it might not come out a human!" I yell as I take a step forward. I shriek in pain when I feel something cut into my side. I look back to see a blade has flipped forward on the gun. The tip has cut into the side of my large stomach, having a small trickle of blood rolling from the small wound. "Oh, can you guarantee that?" He asks, slightly intrigued. "... yes. It's not going to be human, it's going to be an Alicorn." I lie, glancing back to the blade as it toys with my small wound. "Please. I don't care what you do with me, but let my child live. I'll do anything if you give me your word that my foal will not be killed, please." He thinks about this, eyeing me with slight interest. "Hmm... heh. Alright, here's the deal. You will hang before your people, as an example for those who sympathize with the human resistance. But I will pardon your child, if it comes out like you. If it's a human, we will kill it on the spot. It will live out its life as my pet. No purpose. It will beg me for treats and live the stupid life of an animal for my amusement. And I will name it-" "Erit tuae mortis aeternae." SNAP A bolt of lightning snaps through the room and obliterates the soldier with the blade in my side. Standing at the entrance to the throne room is Miles. He's in his human form and is charred all over. I feel my heart lift up for a moment before I note something... off, about him. His archaic lines only go up to his knees and elbows in even lines that come to a point. They're also moving, as if being pushed around by some current. His eyes are bright white and the odd lines as well, going evenly around. What catches my attention the most though, are the weapons he's wielding. The one on the left looks to be a large trench knife made of various flowing colors, while the other one is pure black with a pure white surrounding. He's twitching as he stands there, but somehow keeps his gaze on Vensil despite his severe convulsions. "Kill him." Vensil says, barely giving him a look over. The soldiers move and begin to fire on Miles, but Miles simply lifts his hands. A vortex of black energy engulfs him and he seems to fall through the ground. The soldiers pause for a moment before the vortex appears behind one of them. Miles jumps out and slices the soldier with one of his blades. The soldier hit crumbles away from existence into long black wisps. Vensil goes to attack me, but suddenly everything goes black. Everything's just... gone. There's no sound, no smell, just... nothing. I can feel the slight tinge of pain in my side, so I don't think I'm dead, so where am I? I let out another shriek when a white... mask suddenly appears before me. It's a solid, egg shaped, white mask. The only features on it are to the two small slits for eyes.The mask... looks like it's frozen solid while being a million degrees hot. It's looking right through me, seeing every flaw, every crevice of my soul in one unchanging stare. It's just a mask. But... it seems to hold so much, while holding nothing at all. "Dolor?" A raspy voice asks. "Uh... who are you?" I ask, fearing the mask greatly. "Vacuum. Dolor?" Vacuum? So, this is must be Corpus Glacius, but in some greater form. "Um... only a little. What about the others?" I ask as the mask seems to float to my side, inspecting my cut. I feel a cold presence envelope my stomach, numbing the pain away. I try to move away from the strange feeling, but can't seem to move in this darkness. "Scient mortis aeternae." The darkness begins to fade away, revealing the armed soldiers from before. The darkness retreats back into the archaic fire in Miles's back, where I see the green man standing within the fire. He's has a blotch of black moving through his being, but they seem... together, in a sense. The archaic line around his back remind me of Celestia's cutie mark, with the exception of it being black and moving slightly. In the time it took me to blink, Miles was able to move forward and punch through one of the soldiers with the dark energy blade. His body faded away before it could hit the ground. How could he move so fast? Even with magic, that seemed a little impossible. Vensil yells for them to attack while he begins to move away, messing with something on his shoulder along the way. Miles moves to attack him, but he suddenly vanishes from the room. A trail of black wisps tells me that he landed a hit at least. Miles presses his two blades back into the ground, creating a bright light that blinds me for a moment. When the light fades away, Vensil is back in the room. Before he could act, Miles stabs both of his blades into his chest. He gasps loudly from the contact and chokes from the energy coursing through his body. For some reason, he hasn't faded away yet. "No mortal... should posses... the power... of the gods." He rasps to Miles. "Vacuum est aeternum." He replies, moving his blades away from each other. Vensil's body brightens and brightens the further the blades become. With a final yank, he pulls the blades out from the glowing being. What was the being is sucked into the two blades, making them glow a bit brighter. By the time Miles is finished with Vensil, the remaining soldiers have teleported out of here, leaving us alone. Miles stnads there, still twitching, with his blades at his side. "Miles?" I call out, taking tentative steps towards him. "Miles... is it over?" "Pene." Miles brings his hands up and moves them out, keeping them above his head. The roof of the throne room opens up seamlessly, revealing the massive ship in the distance. Its turned towards Canterlot and is on its way, arcs of electricity still bouncing through the air. Miles takes a deep breath before moving both his blades in front of himself, the colored one pointing up with the dark one pointing down. The lights all around us grow dimmer and dimmer as he focuses on the two blades. Soon, the only light source left is that from the blades themselves. In one wide motion, he brings the two blades over head and everything goes dark. A few moments go by without anything happening. My breaths seem to become longer and longer as I wait for something to happen. BAM I fall back when a enormous burst of energy explodes before me. A long sliver of pure energy roars with power above Miles's head. The light jets up as a whirlwind of energy gusts towards the blade. With a primal yell, Miles spins around and swings at the large vessel. A slash of energy rips through the air with terrifying amounts of energy. The mass of energy has a blue tinge on the front outside with a black center. The ship fires a massive red beam at the energy mass, but it merely bounces off the mass- KRA-BOOM The mass slams into ship and explodes with enough force to shake the castle down to it's foundations. What remains of the ship is blown away like paper in the wind, crashing down in the distance into a massive plume of fire. The dark cloud cover becomes blown askew, showing peaceful patches of sky behind. With the cloud cover broken, light flows into the room. Miles stands before me, line gone, energy blades gone, taking deep breaths as he stands tall. The Elements are dull on his arms, losing their- KA-BO-BO-BO-BO-BO-BOOM I yelp again when the Elements explode off of his arms and into the ground around him. They each form a circle around him, making some sort of ven diagram with him in the center. "Sweet Barbra Miles! Enough with all the explosions!" I yell at him. He turns back to me and sways from side to side as he stares at me, confused. "Who the fuck is Barbra?" He asks before falling over. "Miles!" I run over to his side and press my ear against his chest, waiting to hear his heart. I sigh in relief when I hear it beating steadily... wait a minute... "What do you mean 'who's Barbra?!' That's your saying! WHO IS BARBRA!? MILES!" I yell at him as I try to shake him awake, but he's out cold. I let out an irritated sigh as I back to Celestia and the others. I go to use my magic, but find it's not there. I try again a bit harder, but with the same effect. "What did you do?" I ask quietly as I lay my head beside him, wanting the day to end already. Author's Note Sorry for the delay on this one (if you follow by post). Some stuff is going down in real life and needed my time and attention. In other news, I will soon be moving. Long Beach here I come! So, in about a month or so I might disappear for awhile. Don't worry, I'm just moving and what not. Anyway, be sure to go to the Chapter 200 Q/A to update or post your questions. It's coming up soon, so don't miss out. Also, if you didn't know... Friendship is manly.... bitch. Brony on!
Chapter 198 Understanding BalanceChapter 198 Nah, I'm fucking with you. Luna's having the baby. But crazy Miles stuff first. Perspective: Miles What happened? Chaos. Where am I? Bring Chaos unto the world. I... I can't open my eyes. Am I blind? No... no, there's just something covering them. You are my vessel, the tool which will bring a great Chaos upon the world. I can feel both my hands... with something around my wrist. Likewise for my feet. You are Chaos. The world will bend to your will and break under your rule. You are a body of ice, with a soul of fire. Who is that? Someone’s mumbling nearby. They sound... worried. Pained. Bring Chaos unto the world and relish in its demise. I feel... I feel numb. Something has to be wrong with me, but... I don't feel anything. What happened? I remember being in Topaz, with Fluttershy, Big Mac, and Rampant. But... I was in an aircraft... there were fires... someone was screaming I think. Bring Chaos unto the world. Oh no... I did a super drop, I remember that much for sure. I must have been knocked out of the air from the blast. Is Luna okay, that must have been her screaming. She must be worried sick right now. That can't be good for the baby. They better be okay, I don't know what I'd do if they were hurt because of something I did. I need to get to her, but my arms are too heavy to move, not to mention the restraints. No movement, no magic. Sleep. ............................................................................................................................................................ "Miles.... Miiiiiiles. Wake up Miles." A soft, but familiar, voice whispers into my ear. I try to respond to it, but can't manage to get my body to respond. "He still needs his rest. Please, can't this wait?" A soft female voice asks. No, I don't need more sleep. I need to get to Luna. I can rest later, I need to check on her. I need to wake up. "I'm sorry, but we need to get some information from him. It's really important. Can you give us a few more minutes?" Another familiar voice asks. Some hoofsteps and a door shutting tells me the other person must have agreed. Good, let them keep trying. I need to get up, so the more the merrier- "I have an idea." Damian says confidently. No.... NO! GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME DAMIAN! I SWEAR IF YOU FUCKING- SMACK "WAKE UP!" YOU FUCKING LITTLE- SMACK "RISE AND SHINE!" I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU- SMACK "THAT WAS CAUSE I FELT LIKE IT!" PIECE OF SHIT! SMACK "AND THAT WAS FOR HELPING STRAGUS!" FUCK YOU! SMACK "AND THAT’S FOR HURTING MY HOOF WITH YOUR FACE!" FUCKING DAMIAN! SMACK "AND THAT WAS FOR MAKING ME DRINK SHITTY BEER!" FUCK... YOU! SMACK "AND THAT WAS FOR-" "FUCKING DAMIAN!" I scream at the top of my lungs, scaring him off of me. Damian, Hammer, Patches, and CC all back away from me as I try to kill Damian. My arms and legs are completely tied to the sides of the bed while two straps hold my chest down. No matter how much I pull and shake, I can't break free from their grasp. Even worse, they're stopping me from igniting my magic."DAMIAN YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE I'M GOING TO BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF YOU! NOW UNTIE ME!" "Pffft, yeah-no. Sorry captain, but I'm here right now on official Statera business." He says as he canters over to my side, smiling smugly at me. "Now, are you going to be a good little boy or are we going to have to subdue you?" "GO FUCK YOURSELF!" I yell as I try to break free again. IF i could just get my hands a bit... more... loose... FUCK! "Damian, play nicely." CC tells him as she moves to the other side of the bed. "Miles, you need to calm down-" "I'll calm down when you fucking untie!" I yell back at her. SMACK I glare at Damian and try to kill him with my eyes. I swear, if he smacks me one more time I'm going to break my foot off in his ass and shove his head down a pike. "Watch your mouth." He scolds me. ".... GO FUCK YOURSELF!" I yell back, along with another fit of trying to break free. "Damian, corner. I'll handle this." CC orders him. He looks to her and rolls his eyes before following suit. "Good, now Miles. I need you to calm down. I won't untie you until then. Nice, long, even breaths-" "I know how to breath!" I snap at her as I continue to glare at Damian. "Of course you do. Just think soothing, calm, peaceful thoughts. Nice and easy." She coos. Killing Damian. Beating Damian. Crushing the living daylights out of his puny nuts. "Are you calm yet?" "Sure, now untie me." I answer quickly. "Well... I can't-" "THEN WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT ALL ABOUT! UNTIE ME SO I CAN BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF DAMIAN!" I yell before yanking and convulsing again. CC sighs and goes over to Hammer, where she whispers something into his backpack. "Wait a minute... what are you doing?" "Miles, I need you to calm down." She says as she turns back, holding a little green box of strawberries. "Keep those away from me!" I yell as I try to move away. She ignores me and moves closer, the others giggling at my torture. "Keep what away?" She asks innocently. "Okay, it was funny. I'm calm now, look at how calm I am. Put the strawberries away, I'm calm. I swear." I beg as she sits right beside me. She takes one of the little red doomberries and takes a bite out of it, sighing contently as she chews. A trail of red doom trickles out of the corner of her mouth and follows the contours of her jaw. I can feel my eyes begin to water just from being in proximity of them. "Holy shit." Damian mutters as he stares at CC. "Later you." She giggles at him as she scoots a little closer to me. "Now Miles, I have some questions that I need answered. I'll even make a deal with you. Answer all of my questions, and I'll untie you. Then you can chase Damian to your hearts content. But if you don't, well... I might get a bit more hungry." She finishes her statement by eating the rest of the strawberry, chewing a loudly for emphasis. "Wait, what?" Damian asks. "Eat another strawberry!" Patches cheers, getting a punch from Damian. He falls apart... I don't know how, but I forgot he could do that. How do you forget that someone spontaneously falls apart? "What do you say Miles?" CC asks. "... sure." I don't think I have much of a choice, but whatever. I'll play along. "But first things first. Where's Luna?" "Don't worry. She's here in the hospital. She's fine, don't worry-" "I want to see her." I demand. "I need to see her, I need to know she's okay." "Well... we can't do that right now Miles." CC says, a bit nervously. "You can't, or won't?" I ask, making her look away. "Won't." Hammer answers, stepping forward. "For Luna's safety, we need to question you first." "Luna's safety... what happened? Was she hurt? Is the baby okay? Where is she right now-" "Miles, please. She's okay-" "Then where is she!? What do you mean for her safety!? Where's the threat!?" I demand while trying to pull free again, but to no avail. "We need to keep her safe from you." Hammer says bluntly, making me stop. "Miles, what's the last thing you remember?" Safe... from me? What did I do... oh, the super drop. "The last thing I remember... *sigh* the last thing I remember was doing the super drop. I was in an AA-20 and taking the lead on an assault against... I think it was their flagship. I'm not sure exactly, it hadn't entered yet. I cleared the order and fired... but then.., then... it went red..." "They shot down the missile before it could go off." Hammer tells me. "What happened after that? What else?" "Then... I remember the red beam. It nearly took me out, so I broke right... then, clouds. I remember a wall of clouds coming in, so we broke off the attack to scan it. I told Easy to take the controls for a bit while I read the relays. Then..." "Then what?" Hammer presses. I try to think of what happened next, but it's all too fuzzy. "I... it gets hazy at this point. We went for the attack, but... I don't remember moving in. Easy must have been flying at this point-" "He was." Damian informs me. "We know what happened during the flight, we need you to fast forward a bit. You ejected as a bolt of lightning struck your ship. What happened after that?" "How do you know he was flying?" "Ask him yourself." He says as he motions to my side. I look over and see his head on the nightstand. It's scratched up and cracked a bit, but still in one piece... well, minus the body of course. "Think Miles, you ejected. You were struck by lightning. Then what happened?" I try to think back, but nothing comes to mind. I barely remember engaging the flag ship, let alone anything I did afterwards. Apparently it was something so terrible that it put Luna's life in danger. I need to know what happened, I need to know if I'm a threat. "Tell me what happened." I ask quietly. The room stay quiet for a moment before Damian coughs for attention. "The electricity created from that ship was powerful, greater than anything nature could create. Any informants we had annotating the battle were killed too quickly to note your changes. All we do know is that when you came out of the storm, you were changed." "We searched your memories while you were out." Patches adds, moving to Damian's side. "Sorry, but we had to. You've been out for a few days now, and we needed answers. But, we ran into a problem. You don't have any memories after being shot down. Whatever you did, you didn't do it." "Whatever took control, was powerful." CC continues. "It was strong enough to wield both Elements and combine them, making some sort of super weapon. It was able to take down the flag ship in one swing, at the cost of the Elements." "And now we face a dilemma." Hammer finishes. "With everything going on now, we don't know if we can trust you to control whatever that was. We-" "Wait, wait, wait just a minute. Hold on here, let me get this straight. You're holding me accountable for something because you guys can't explain it. I thought you guys knew everything." "We do! But... well, okay, once you tell us what happened then we will." Patches comments, getting glares from the others. I laugh a bit and relax. I thought this was going to be something completely serious. "Okay, you mean to tell me Dusty Scrolls can't explain this one, really? I think he's missed a few things then." I tell them. "Miles, this is serious! We can't just let you walk around with some demonic presence in you-" "Like Damian?" I ask. "Hey! I've got that thing under control... enough." Damian retorts weakly. "Right. Let's look at the facts then, shall we? I changed. Whatever I changed into, was powerful enough to destroy a flagship in one attack. What does this supposedly evil person do? Destroy a threat and save the day-" "Yes, but-" "Furthermore, according to you four, it requires the Elements. Which, according to you, the Elements are destroyed or drained or something, so they can't be used again-" "It's the principle-" "And then! It took a bolt of lightning to somehow activate all of this as well. So, I have to ask, what exactly is the threat? Because to me, it sounds like your pride." I look to each them and smile when none of them respond right away. Though I am going to research this later, I don't think there's any reason to fear whatever happened. "So, can you please untie me so I can go check on Luna. I'd really like to see her right about now-" "Okay, putting the demon thing aside, can you at least give us some thoughts on how it took out the ship. How could the Elements take out an entire ship on one attack? There has to be a reason." Hammer pleas, making me chuckle. "Hmm.... can you describe the event to me? I need details." I ask, still chuckling. "You have two energy glades, both in trench knife form. One was made of the Elements of Harmony while the other was the Elements of Chaos. You took the two of them and held them in front of you for a bit. Then you brought them above your head and combined them into a sword of pure... energy, I guess. We're not sure what it was made of, but the center was pure black while the edges were pure white. With a single swing, a blast of energy shot the ship down." Hammer explains. I try to imagine the events myself. "Hmm.... he.... hehehe.... mhmm, okay. I think I know what happened." I say, chuckling. "Really, what was it?" Hammer asks, the four of them leaning in to listen. "Statera." "... what?" Hammer asks, tilting his head slightly. "That's what I'm calling it. Statera." I tell him, making Damian laugh. "What... no, you can't name it that! We're called Statera, we get dibs on the name!" He yells at me, making me laugh even more. "For the rest of all eternity, your members will ask what is Statera, and you will never be unable to answer. Go ahead and knock me out with your damned strawberries, it's not like that'll ever get you the answers." I let out a maniacal laugh as they stare at me, lost for words. "You have to be kidding me." Hammer says with a facehoof. "What actually happened Miles?" "I already told you, Statera." I tell him, laughing even harder now. CC and Damian simply stand and leave the room, Damian laughing alongside me. Patches comes over and begins to untie me, frowning slightly. "It's alright. Laugh now, but one day. You're going to mention it or write it down, and we'll be there. Laugh now, time is on our side." He says as he frees my left arm. "Why are you untying him?" Hammer asks, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "What? You know just as much as I do there's really no threat. This was all for face and you know it. Plus, I don't want Luna coming after me for keeping him tied up today." He says as he gets to work on my left leg. "What's so special about today?" I ask, coming back from my laughing fit. "Luna's in labor." "..." "..." "..." "..." "..." "UNTIE ME ALREADY!" I yell as I frantically begin to grab at my holdings. "How long has she been in!? Where is she now!? Have their been any complications!? UNTIE ME DAMMIT!" "Hold still-" Hammer yells as they try to unlatch me. I release my right arm and try to make a run for it, but fall over due to the straps still on my right leg. I try squirming out, but only break free when Patches and Hammer undo the ties. Once free, I take off through the door and down the hall- wait. I slide to a stop and look behind, where I see Damian and CC walking away. With a seconds thought I take off running at Damian and swing a foot up at him. It catches between his back legs with enough force to flip him onto his back. He screams out in pain and nurses his groin as I take off again. "WORTH IT!" He yells as I come around a corner, nearly crashing into a nurse. She lets out a small scream and tries to run, but I grab her by her shoulders and lift her up to be face to face. "WHERE'S LUNA!?" I demand. "WHY IS YOUR THING OUT!?" She yells back. "I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT CRAP WHERE IS LUNA!?" I yell as I shake her a bit. "THIRD FLOOR!" I drop her and take off again, looking for the stairs. After a few laps around the hospital I finally find them and race up to the third floor, where I kick the door open. "MILES!" Celestia yells from the other side of the door. "Why aren't you-" "WHERE'S LUNA!? HAS ANYTHING HAPPENED!? IS THE BABY HERE YET!? WHY IS YOUR HAIR HAIR!?" The last question only registers when I actually look at her. Instead of her flowing pastel energy hair, it's... hair. Bright pink hair. Same goes for her tail. Pink... hair. She looks tired too, as if she hasn't slept in a few days. "Okay, Miles, I need you to calm down. Come with me and I'll explain everything.... nurse!? Can we get a patients gown please?" I finally look down and realize that I'm completely naked. With what little dignity I have left I cover myself and wait patiently for the nurse to return with a light green patients gown. "Um... we had this special made for your visits." She tells me with a blush as she hands me the gown. I thank her and slip it on quickly. "Okay, so let's go already. Take me to Luna." Celestia and the nurse look to each other nervously, putting me on edge. "Um... Miles, how much do you know about birthing traditions in Equestria?" Celestia asks. "Um..." "Didn't Luna tell you anything?" "Every time I'd ask her about names or anything like that she'd just giggle and pat me on the head..." We stare at each other before groaning together. Of course she wouldn't tell me something like this. What is with that girl and her secrets? "Okay, what are Equestrian birthing traditions?" "You aren't going to like this." Celestia warns me. "I figure, what are they?" I ask again. "Well, for starters, stallions aren't allowed in the room during birth. Not even doctors." She tells me cautiously. "... THAT'S FUCKING STUPID!" I yell, shocking the two of them. "Please keep your voice down!" The nurse demands. "No! That's fucking stupid! Why would that be a fucking tradition!? How could you possibly expect me not to be there at her side!?" "Miles-" "What if something goes wrong!?" "Miles-" "What if she needs healing!? You think I'm going to just stand out here and do nothing!? That's-" "MILES!" Celestia yells, silencing me. She looks to the nurse and nods, getting her to take her leave. "Miles, it warms my heart to see you react this way. But this is a tradition that I, and Luna, hold very closely. It was started out by mother. I know you don't like it, but I am asking you to follow through with this, to honor our mother." "Celestia... I..." I try to find the words to argue, but can't. "Why would she make a tradition like this? What is there to benefit?" I ask, heartbroken. "You'll see. I have to get back, I'm Luna's birthing partner so I'll be there to help her along the way. Trust in me, she'll get through this just fine. The waiting room is down the hall to the right. And, Miles?" "Yeah?" She smiles and reaches forward, pulling me in for a light hug. "You're about to become a father." I sigh when she tells me this, whether out of relief or anxiety I don’t know. "I need to get back, I'll try to keep you posted okay." "Right... I'll be out here, don't forget about me." And with that, she walked through the double doors and out of sight. It took me at least twenty minutes to pry my eyes from that door. The entire time I spent contemplating whether or not I was actually going to follow through with their 'traditions'. Speaking of which, what are the other traditions? She only told me one of them. Given, she had to go back to be at Luna's side. I can wait, Luna needs her more. Celestia is smart, she'll be able to help her through this. I know she can, I'd just prefer to be there myself. I turn from the door and head to the waiting room Celestia told me about. It's as bland as a room as they can get. Turquoise chairs lining the bland white walls, small wooden end tables with magazines, and a door on the right. The door, though completely normal, holds one thing above it that drives me crazy: a light. I little, red, incandescent light. It's too small to influence the color of the room, but it's bright enough to be noticed. There's an etching underneath it that I can't read, but completely understand. In progress. My child, in progress. Luna's labor, in progress. My life either moving forward or coming to a devastating end, in progress. That little, fucking light, bringing the darkest and brightest of thoughts to my mind. The Unfamiliar, they could be lurking nearby. Waiting to strike. I should go get a contingency of bots to guard the area, lock it down. Where are we anyway? This hospital is too... simple, to be the castle. I have been out for a few days, we could be anywhere. Celestia probably thought about the danger and moved us somewhere secure. And I'm sure Storm would be smart enough to keep an eye out for the Unfamiliar. Are there even any of them left? If there are, I doubt they're in large numbers. An attack would destroy them, I'd destroy them. We should be safe from them, for now at least. What am I talking about? Why would they attack a pony hospital? They wanted to kill humans, why come here? Even more so, they don't know what's going on. Attacking here would be stupid. There's no way they could get to Luna... But, do they need to? Luna's giving birth! She could die from this! Literally anything could go wrong, and I doubt the ponies have the tech to deal with soulful effects of child birth! What if Luna's soul wavers on a contraction and dies out!? What if it over exerts and scars!? What if it snuffs out the baby's soul... The baby. What if it's a still born? It happens all the time, what if something goes wrong and I'm not there to help!? The umbilical cord gets wrapped around its neck? What if its soul doesn't form? Do ponies even form souls in the womb? Maybe they don't need them right away, maybe it'll be vegetative until a certain age... or for life. We don't have the tools to look for birth defects, or do we? Celestia is in there, I'm sure she looked up a spell or two. But, will that be enough? Maybe I should run to Topaz and grab some gear... but I might not need it. Okay, I know what to do. I'll just stick my head in, call for Celestia, and ask. That's not breaking tradition, is it? I'm technically not in the birthing room, so I don't see why it would be. And Celestia would only be gone for two seconds, no harm... right? Okay I'll just- "Hello Miles-" "OH SWEET BARBRA!" I yell before falling over. FLASH "Oh... um... sorry, Miles." Fluttershy apologizes. I groan in frustration and sit up, slightly more irritated that I changed again. I look over to see Fluttershy, Big Mac, and little Rampant Growth standing in the hall. "We wanted to come by and see how things were going... but we can leave if you'd like." "No, no it's fine. I was just... thinking, when you startled me. Have a seat, or not, it's your choice. I mean, it's a free country right? Wait... is it? Well, they put the chairs in here, so may as well put them to use then. Then again, they put an operation room that only women could enter. So maybe only women could use the chairs. Fluttershy can sit down-" "Miles." Big Mac cuts me off, snickering slightly. "How long have ya been waitin' out here?" "Um... not long, I think... maybe. There isn't a clock so... it was day time when I got here." I say as I look out at the night time landscape. "Why are you here at night? Shouldn't you be getting Rampant home? He-" "Miles." Big Mac cuts me off again. "We just came ta get Rampant a check up. We do it late so ponies don't see him, bein' an alicorn an all. Are ya gonna make it through the night alright?" He asks nervously. "What? Of course I'll be fine! Why wouldn't I be? My wife is just going through one of the most strenuous acts in life, what could-" CRASH What sounds like metal falling on the ground comes from behind the door. Every horrible possibility races through my head in a matter of micro seconds. Without a second thought I jump to my hooves and run for the door, suddenly moving to the left along the way. I hit the ground when Big Mac tackles me. I try to break free from his hold, but he moved before me and locked my legs in. "LET ME GO! LET ME GO! THAT'S AN ORDER YOU ASS!" I yell as I try to break free and get through the door. "EENOPE!" He yells back, keeping his grip around me. "It was just a tray Miles!" "LIAR! LUNA'S DYING! SOMETHING WENT WRONG AND THE BABY IS IN TROUBLE AND-" "EXCUSE ME!" We both stop fighting with each other and look to the operating room door. A nurse in light blue scrubs and a white mouth cover is standing there, glaring at the two of us. "Please control yourselves or you will be thrown out of the hospital." "But-" "I dropped a tray of used materials. That's all that happened. Now please take a seat and keep quiet." She tells us before going back inside. Big Mac and I look to each other before letting go off one another. "Big Mac," Fluttershy says, "why don't you stay here and keep Miles... company. I'll take Rampant home and put him to bed." Big Mac glances to me before giving an "Eeyup." She gives him a peck on the cheek before leaving the waiting room, wishing me luck on the way out. Big Mac takes a seat while I sit in the middle of the room, trying to calm my nerves. "So... Equestrian birthing traditions." I muse to Big Mac. "Eeyup." "So... is it normal to... go crazy waiting?" I ask. "Eeyup. Means ya'll be a good father." He tells me. I think about it for a moment and smile at the compliment. "Thanks." "Eeyup." I sigh and stand back up in front of the door. The light is still on. Fuck that light. I sigh again in annoyance and sit there, staring at the doors. What feels like minutes could be hours and the hours themselves pass like minutes. After a time has passed I stand and begin to pace around the room. I need something to keep my mind preoccupied, and Big Mac isn't exactly the conversationalist. I need more than a eeyup or eenope. What if the baby comes out deaf? Do ponies have a means of signing? I doubt it'll have the same problems if it's blind, but it's not like we can just go to Topaz and have the surgeries to fix those things. I may have studied them a bit, but I'm no surgeon. Plus, I don't think I could operate on my own child. The fear of messing something up would rack my nerves, and operating in the brain dictates precise hands. Hands... I wonder what the odds of it coming out as a human are. I mean, we were both alicorns when we conceived, so logical would say it's going to be one as well. Nut we're both human at soul, well... mostly. If the soul formed early, it might come out as a human. But if it formed late, then it will most likely be pony. What if it comes out like some weird... being, stuck in the middle? What would that even look like? Could something like that even happen? Probably not, but... what if? What is it even going to be? I'm thinking boy, but Luna was thinking girl. Either would be fine, but... preferences. Luna probably jinxed it with all of that girly thinking and what not. If it is a girl, I'm going to have to find a way to watch out for her heat without her knowing. Need to make sure no one gets close to her when that happens. Maybe I can borrow Shy's rifle, that should send the right message. Maybe just send a few bots as security.... why not both? Yeah, that's a good idea. But if it's a boy... women be damned. In all seriousness, I don't really care what it comes out as. I'm mostly anxious about how I'll be as a father. I have experience dealing with kids from volunteering at my old orphanage, but I know it's different when it's your own. I want to provide the best future for my child. One where they don't have to worry or be scared of the what lies in the dark. A kind of future where it can be happy and play, grow up and make friends. There's going to be rough patches, that much I know. But all of that pain and hardship is part of growing up. And I can't wait to be there every step of the way. And then the light turned off. My stomach rolled over as all of my nerve endings suddenly went number. My eye twitched a bit as I stared at the little light, doubting whether or not it actually turned off or not. Equestrian tech isn't that advanced, it could have just burned out or something. Maybe the power went out and the back up generators don't feed that light. Do they even have back up generators? "Miles." I blink again when the door opens up again, revealing a tired looking Celestia. "Is... is it... you know?" I ask quietly, taking a step back nervously. She smiles to me and moves aside, holding the door open. "There's somepony you need to meet." She says warmly, albeit tiredly. I swallow the lump that formed in my throat and stand there. My heart picks up and I could swear my hooves are starting to sweat. I feel as if I'm thinking thousands of thoughts at once, but with nothing being thought. Celestia tilts her head slightly as she waits for me to move, her smile fading slowly. "Miles?" "Right! Right... sorry. I'm just... I don't know, nervous I guess." I say as I take a step forward. Her smile returns and she lets out a small chuckle. "Come on Miles, there's a very special pony you need to meet." She tells me softly. I smile back to her and take the first few steps into the next part of my life. Author's Note Alright, here we go! This is the second to last chapter before the Q/A BONUS BLOG DROPS! Now would be a good time to update or post your questions for the characters. In other news, if you haven't noticed, there haven't been many Brony Point... things, in the recent chapters. Don't worry, I did not stop doing that. I have a list of you to send PM's in the very near future, but I just wanted to get to these chapters first. As you could tell, they were a bit important and I didn't feel like adding too much fluff, in a sense. Not that they're unimportant... but... yeah. In other words, watch your PM's as the future chapters unfold. You might be seeing a message or two coming from me. Thanks for reading, and like always, Brony on!
Chapter 199 It's a...Chapter 199 ... Baby! October 1st, 3:08 AM Perspective: Miles Celestia brings me down the short hall to a washing station, where she tells me to clean my hooves and forelegs. I do as she says, taking extra care to rinse and lather myself to be as clean as possible. Once done Celestia brings me down another hall, this one having several doors. I look inside the first few we walk past and figure out that we're in the medical ward. A few rooms are empty while the rest have other mothers sleeping in medical beds. We make it to the end of the hall where Celestia motions for me to enter. I take a deep breath before nervously stepping in. Luna's laying on the bed in the middle of the room. She has her eyes shut peacefully, but I can tell she's still awake. There are a few chairs and small dressers in here as well. A white blanket covers her bottom half as she lays there, resting. She looks tremendously skinnier, for obvious reason and has short blue hair instead of her long energy hair. I take a few steps in and look around for the baby, only seeing an empty carriage to my right. "Hey there." Luna greets weakly. I look back to her to see her warm yet tired smiling face. I smile back to her and approach, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. It's a huge relief to know she's alright. "Hey." I say back, lost for words. She lays her head back down and sighs contently. I reach up and hold her hoof, unsure of where to start. "I thought I lost you." She tells me as she squeezes my hoof in hers. "I saw your ship get shot down and I thought you were gone forever. Then you came back, just like you promised." She finishes her statement by kissing my hoof. I reach behind her head and press my nose against hers so we're almost touching foreheads. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, but I didn't want to worry you." I tell her before sitting down. "It's okay, I understand now. The doctors tell me everything went perfectly. No problems at all." She says somewhat proudly, to which I chuckle a bit. "My girl... so... where-" "Nursing." She says as she motions to her hips. I glance between the blanket and her for a moment before she smiles and kisses my cheek. "Go ahead, meet your son." "Son? It's a boy?" I ask excitedly. She smiles more and nods, making me even more overjoyed. I give her another kiss before moving down to her hips. I take the blanket and slowly lift it up, first revealing a tuft of black hair that is his tail. Then a dark blue body, like Luna's. And lastly, the rest of him. He is definitively a pony, no question about that. An alicorn as well. He has bright blue eyes and all black hair. He's suckling away at Luna's teat, greedily eating her milk and filling his little tummy. I glance to Luna, who nods, before reaching over to him and picking him up. He feels so small in my forelegs, so fragile. He looks up at me and stares in wonder as I sit there with him in my arms. I can feel my heart skip a beat or two as the reality of my son in my arms settles in. "Hey there little guy, I'm dad." I tell him with a smile. He continues to stare up at me, holding his little hooves together. "You went through so much to get here, didn't you? But don't worry, everything's going to be fine now-" "We promise." Luna finishes. I look back to her and smile, holding him a bit closer. I scoot over to her and lean down so we're both looking to him. "Six pounds, twelve ounces. Four perfect little hooves, bright blue eyes, a perfect heart beat, two beautiful wings, a little horn and an appetite that's wearing mom out." Luna tells me, making me laugh. "What about a name? What are we going to call our little guy?" I ask as a set my other hoof on his belly. He grabs it with his own hooves, holding it weakly yet with powerful effect. "I don't know yet. Let's do it already, Celestia." Luna says, making me pause. "Is this another birthing tradition, Luna?" I ask, making her pause as well. "Oh... right. Sorry, I forgot you don't know all that stuff yet. Yeah, it is. Ponies don't name their young off the top of their head. We use a spell that finds a ponies true name at heart." Luna informs me. "Like how our cutie marks tell us what we're special at doing, our birth name helps a pony become who they are. If you're ready, I'm ready to begin." Celestia says as she walks in. I look to Luna before looking back to Celestia and nod to her. She closes her eyes and charges her horn, having her golden aura appear around it and the baby. I begin to worry if the spell will hurt him or cause any discomfort, but put those worries to rest when I see him in my arms unchanged. "Miles." I look back to Luna and see her reaching for the baby. I smile and nervously move him to her, afraid of dropping him. She holds him so it takes the two of us to carry him, making me smile. We wait for the spell to finally finish up, taking a few minutes to do so. When her aura disappears, Celestia murmurs a name out before opening her eyes. "Tempestive Mortem." "..." "..." "What does that mean?" Celestia asks, breaking our initial shock. "Miles-" "I'm sure it's nothing. Are you sure that's his name? You didn't mess up did you?" I ask quickly as Luna takes him and holds him close. "No, I did it perfectly. What does it mean?" "Maybe we should get some more check ups, just to make sure everything's alright." Luna suggest nervously, making Celestia frown. "It sounds like he's named after father, sister. Why are you two worrying?" I sigh and look her right in the eyes. "Tempestive Mortem means Timely Death." When I tell her this, Tempestive begins to whimper a bit. .......................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Curel Ahye Newly appointed leader of the Kroth Military Crash I let out another yell as I flip another table, having its contents fly over the small room. It's been almost a week now and we're barely scraping by in this mud hole of a planet. One human, ONE HUMAN! We've lost almost everything! Our people, our way of living, our hopes of a clear future. The reports from the first wave said the planet was cleared! They said the humans were decimated! How could they have been so foolish as to let one slip through!? HOW!? "RAAAAH!" I scream out as I smack another table, ruining the last piece of furniture in the small command center. "Well, aren't you fussy?" I spin around and point my side arm at the creature standing in the entrance. It's... nothing like I've ever seen before. Probably one of those bastard creations made by the humans. "I'm in no mood for games beast. Either leave or die, choose wisely." I warn the creature, making it chuckle. "Funny, I was going to tell you the same thing." He says as he enters. I keep my pistol on him, waiting for the right moment to strike. "Let me guess. You're holding your shot because you don't want to waste the ammo. You've lost any major supplies you had and don't want to just shoot, am I right?" "..." Yes. "And now you're stuck on this planet, with no allies, no idea of the local dangers, or of the terrain, right?" "..." Yes. "And even worse, the human army, along with the local Equestrian guard, are hunting you down and exterminating your people. How many have you lost since your landing here?" "..." Too many. "So, as you put so eloquently, either leave... or die. Simple isn't it?" He asks with a chuckle. "Is that a threat?" I ask, pulling the hammer back. "Actually, it's the opposite." He says with a sly smile. I lower my gun a bit as I stare at him, unsure of what he intends to do. "I am a griffin here with a message of friendship from our king, Ulfric Stormmind. Simple as that." "... You want an alliance with us... why?" I ask, keeping my pistol aimed at him. "We have a common enemy." He tells me, making me lower my gun again. "The human that destroyed your ship-" "My people!" I correct. "Whatever, he's going to be inspecting all of the countries soon, looking for faults and what not. We don't like being told what to do, especially from someone who just suddenly appeared on the world scene. But, sadly, we're out matched at the moment. So, when we saw your ship come down and be destroyed, we knew what to do. You need somewhere safe to recover, and we need a powerful ally to watch our backs. Simple as that." "... Are you telling me that you... griffins, are going to war with this single human?" "No, no, well... not now at least. As our politicians put it; 'we are readying ourselves for the future storms that will plague our great nation in the hope to preserve our way of living.' So, you think you can manage a little boat ride across the Divide in order to save what's left of your people?" "How can I know we can trust you?" I ask slowly. "You can't. But, we're the only ones willing to come to your aid. Even with biased agendas, can you afford not to?" I lower my pistol to my side and look out the open flaps of my tent. The lucky few that were able to escape huddle together in the cold forest while the monsters of the dark terrorize us at night. Even with our advanced weaponry, we won't last out here. Especially with those damned machines chasing after us. "What's your name?" "Steelwing." "Steelwing, these are my people. The last purebloods of the Kroth race. If you try to double cross us, not even the gods will be able to save you from my fury." "Don't-" "I will kill this human, one day. Tomorrow, next year, decades from now, he will pay for what he did to my people." "And you will get your revenge, in time. Storm clouds are approaching, followed by a great Darkness. Are you ready for it?" ...................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Miles 1:30 PM I yawn as I sit back in my chair, tired from the lack of sleep I've had. After an entire day of testing all I could come up with is Tempestive Mortem is a perfectly healthy baby boy. No irregular heartbeat. No influx within his soul, though his soul seems a bit more developed than typical newborns. The problem with that scan though is I don't know what a soul for a newborn alicorn is suppose to be, only a humans. It could be normal, he could be filled with raw power, or he could be incredibly low on energy, I don't know. And I can't compare him to Big Mac's or Storm Cloud's kid either, I wasn't there when they were born to do the tests. "Miles?" Celestia whispers to me from the door. She beckons me outside, so I quietly leave the room so Luna can sleep in peace. "What's up?" I ask her. She looks at me nervously with a slight frown. "Well... I have to ask, when you first held Tempestive... did you feel... a spark, by chance?" She fumbles over her question a bit, obviously not wanting to ask. "A... spark?" "Yes, well, the whole reason you weren't allowed in during the birth was for something we refer to as the spark. We don't have an explanation for it yet, but when a stallion see's their foal for the first time they feel something within them. From the outside looking in, a sparkle appears in their eye, hence, the spark-" "Are you saying that I don't love Tempestive?" "No, of course not. I'm just-" "And keep in mind, I'm not just a stallion. Humans don't get a literal spark. Just like everything else in our life there is nothing you can see about us that gives away our true intentions, necessarily. We have to act and you have to believe in us." I tell her, trying not to be offended. "I believe in you Miles, I was just a bit concerned because you may be human, but you're a pony now as well." I think about what she said and nod to her. I understand that I have to live life as both now, but change isn't easy. "Is everything okay with Tempestive?" "Yeah, the only thing that I could possibly be concerned about is how well his soul formed. But, I don't know anything about alicorn souls, so I don't know how to act about it." I tell her as I start to walk down the hall, having Celestia follow after me. I glance over to her and note the uneasy look on her face. "Come on, let's get something to eat." "I'm not hungry." She says quickly. *GURGLE* "... well... if you're hungry, I guess I'll give you company." "Right, let's eat." I laugh as I nudge her, getting a giggle from her. "How long have you been up?" "... how long was Luna in labor?" She asks, making me laugh more. "Wow. Okay, after we eat you're getting some sleep." I tell her. "Sleeping after eating isn't very smart when dieting." She drones, as if reciting a manual. "Right. If you really want to lose weight I can put you on a training regiment. I'm sure I can get you to lose a couple unwanted pounds." She pauses for a moment before continuing at a faster pace. "Uh... no. I don't think I need to lose that much weight." I laugh at her, making her relax again. "Besides, broccoli Alfredo with a side of... extra cheesy garlic bread. And to wash it down.... I don't even care, as long as it's-" "Found in a small town hospital cafeteria." I cut her off when we make it to the stairs. "Sorry Celestia, but what ever Alfredo is, it's going to have to wait... what is it anyway?" "... damn." "So how can you cuss but Luna-" "Well, when in Ponyville I guess." She muses. "... what?" I ask, genuinely confused. "... what?" "When in Ponyville... what?" I ask again, getting a confused look from her. "It's a saying, well, I'm making a... you know what, never mind. I'm sure you'll find out in time." She tells me before heading down the stairs. "Find out what?" I ask as I follow after her. "You've been here how long and you haven't picked up on these things?" She asks me, giving me a smug look. "I swear, I'd think you'd know a thing or two at this point." "What are you trying to say?" I ask her, making her chuckle a bit more. "Hey, I went to college for sixteen years, I think I-" "Aren't you suppose to graduate in four?" "I HAVE A P.H.D. IN ARCANE THEORY! I'M NOT AN IDIOT!" She only laughs harder at me, continuing down to the next floor. "SIXTEEN YEARS CELESTIA! SIXTEEN... son of a bitch." .................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Luna I wake up when I feel something pushing on my legs. I look down and smile as Tempestive cuddles up against my side. I curl up so my nose rests against his side. He gives a few yawns as he looks up me me. He rolls onto his side and quickly falls back to sleep. I watch his little body rise and fall with every breath; the way his mouth hangs open slightly; how every now and again his wings twitch. His name, Tempestive Mortem, Timely Death. It sounds so evil, so menacing. But... he's just an innocent little colt. I guess that's how all evil ponies start out though, Celestia knows how I turned out. Given, I didn't become evil intentionally. But I still fear what could become of him. What is he going to do in life with a name like Tempestive Mortem? I don't want to have to watch him become a monster like I did. I don't know how he's going to turn out, and that terrifies me. But I can rest knowing one thing. We'll be there for him. Me, Miles, Celestia, everypony. We'll be there for him. We'll bring him up right, make him happy, hold him when he's sad and teach him what's right and why it's right. I don't know how he's going to turn out, and that terrifies me. But I do know that we'll be there for him, and that comforts me. Author's Note Okay, so for those of you who actually look up the names, you'll find a discrepancy. To literally translate it to Timely Death, it would be Mortem Tempestiva. But in my opinion, Tempestive Mortem sounds more masculine. It can mean the same thing if you finagle it, so that's why his name is Tempestive Mortem. Also, the next chapter is the Q/A chapter, meaning the blog will be closing shortly. I will give it two days ( from post ) until I close it. ( November 22 ) If you have any last minute questions to ask now is the last chance you'll get. Also, shout out to Dradaen for picking Celestia's food craving! Brony on!
Q/A Special #2Q/A Special #2 TB: NO! Pinkie: You are going to do this! TB: Like hell I'm going to! Pinkie: Don't make me say it twice! TB: Just because you say my whole name doesn't mean I'm going to- Pinkie: Pe- TB: WELCOME BACK MY BRONIES! Here's the second Q/A special for Man of War! Holy fuck. Two of these things, two hundred chapters, and probably going to get to three hundred, can you believe it? Pinkie: Yes. TB: You're pear shaped pony. Anyway, this will work just like last time. Anything spoken will be after semicolons while actions will be in brackets. Like so, {TB makes the same room as last time, because originality}. So we'll do all of the 'bad' characters first and then get to the 'good' ones afterwards- Pinkie: You still- TB: Pinkie, I'm not giving you a mustache. Pinkie: Stachist. TB: Anyway, let's get to it already! { Flamingo salsa dance everyone into existence} Death: Well, this was unexpected. TB: HI! War: Where are we!? {pick Tb up by shirt collar} TB: Um... would you believe in the sky? Death: Put him down War, he's no threat. TB: Look, I'm just here to ask some questions from some... fans? {waves hand} you will answer my questions... and put me down. War: ... very well.{puts TB down} TB: Coo, so let's start with Steelwing. If you had a last meal, what would it be? Steelwing: I already have that planned out. A nice poached bass with lemon, a couple beers, and chocolate pudding. TB: ... pudding? Steelwing: What? It's my last meal, I get to eat what I want. TB: Good point. Do you have any hobbies? Steelwing: Knitting. TB: ...really? Steelwing: No, you idiot. I don't have time for hobbies. TB: Well... aren't you boring. Up next, Pestilence. Do you have a crush on anyone? Pestilence: I crush many people, would you like to see? {reaches for TB} TB: {swats hand away with rolled up newspaper} okay then, last but certainly not least, Death. Death: Here I am, what do you wish to know? TB: Why the sudden drive to bring about the apocalypse? What caused you to begin this new crusade to end life as we know it? Death: Dear child, you know so little of what you speak of. I am ensuring peace and tranquility for all living beings. What you call apocalypse, I call divination. I will end the rein of cruelty upon the souls of this planet, and more. TB: So, where have and the other centaurs been? Death: In our sanctuary in the Valley of the Shadow of Death. Waiting. TB: If all fall to Death, does that mean you die too? Also, why bother to start your pointless war that seems to have faded for now, if life is just going to end in death forever? I mean, why put forth the effort if the races die by the millions anyway? Death: I am Death, and they will all fall to me. I ended this 'war' to ready myself for the day of reckoning. War... war is a plague. It destroys the hearts and minds of everyone. War... cannot be stopped, not until the world turns to Death. TB: Interesting. Well, thanks for your input. Good luck with... whatever it is you're doing. Later! {samba dances evil characters away and brings in good characters} Miles: How in the... WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU!? {Points to TB} TB: ... okay, the first time was cute but lets save that for later. Miles: First ti- TB: OKAY! So, you all must be confused as to how you all appeared here and who I am. I'm a pre-purgian author that was sent to here to ask you all some questions. My name is TallestBrony, but you can call me TB for short. We've... been able to watch the events of your lives unfold and have come to love your tale, but have some questions. Once I'm done we'll all be sent to our proper places. So what do you say, you all in? Everyone: {Whispers to one another but agree to stay, because it's totally their choice to} TB: Great! So first up I have to ask, what would you do for a Klondike bar? Everyone: ... TB: This is a great way to start- Pinkie: I'd throw an awesome party with balloons, confetti, ponies, loud music, trapeze walkers, Gummy, st- TB: Okay then, awesome. First up lets have a chat with Applebloom. Applebloom: Me? Okay. {Comes up to podium} Hi. TB: Hola, so the others really want to know where you and the other Crusaders have been. Applebloom: Well that's easy. We've been in Ponyville crusading fer our cutie marks! Ah'd like ta go out adventuring with mah brother and sister, but they say ah'm too young fer that kind of stuff. Just you watch, mah cutie mark is gonna be adventurin' an ah'll never git it cause ah'll never go adventuring! TB: ... watch out for arrows. Applebloom: Huh? TB: It's nothing, thanks for that input. Applebloom: Yer welcome! {runs back to seat} TB: Hey crusaders, ever try getting your cutie marks by becoming Spartans? Miles: Like fuck that's going to happen. Applejack: What in tarnation! She's only seven! Rarity: Sweetie Bell will do no such thing! Rainbow Dash: ... huh... TB: ... okay then. Up next let's have.... Photo finish? Da fu? She hasn't even showed up yet, whatevs. Photo? Photo: I... Photo Finish... AM HERE! TB: ... oh, you really do that all of the time- Photo: BEGIN ZE QUESTIONS! TB: RIGHT! Do you think you could take a photo of everyone in the room? Photo: Do you doubt my abilities! I, am Photo Finish! I could not only take ze picture, but make you all shine like ze sun! {Strikes dramatic pose} TB: So... yes? Photo: If you have to ask twice darling it's out of your league. {returns to seat} Pinkie: BURN! TB: Pinkie, you're pink. Next we have a questions for Cadence and Shinning Armor! Cadence: Oh, okay. Hello. {Walks up with hubby} TB: So, how's the Crystal Guardian doing in your kingdom? Shinning: Oh, great. With him being the conduit for all of the love and joy, our borders and nearly tripled in size! Cadence: Now we have room for growth and the possibility of growing back to our former glory. He's been a real blessing to our ponies. TB: Hmm, sounds like a huge boost to the economy. Well, thanks for the insiders look. Cadence: Your welcome. {Goes back to seat with hubby} TB: Since we just had that couple, let's have Soarin and Rainbow Dash come up next. Rainbow Dash: {zips through the air with Soarin} Sup? TB: So Dash, guess what? Rainbow Dash: ... uh, what? TB: Miles is now twenty percent cooler than you. Rainbow Dash: Pffffft, please. I'm way cooler than that lump of boring. Miles: Hey- Rainbow Dash: At least I don't freak out at parties- Miles: Du fuck Dash? Soarin: And you don't have to ask what something is every five seconds. Miles: AH fuck you Soarin. Rainbow Dash: Who ever thinks that needs to check their math again, I'm way cooler than Miles. Miles: ... I bet you don't even know what algebra is. {Folds arms and grumbles more to himself} TB: Cool, cool, so have you shown those Wonderbolts who's boss yet, Spartan Jumper? Rainbow Dash: Pft, no! They've been away on different missions and what not. But, whatever. The minute they get back I'm going to personally challenge Spitfire, and we'll take home the gold. Just you wait. TB: Can't wait to see you try. So Soarin, we know you might not be all that happy that you're no longer a Wonderbolt, but are you happier now? Soarin: Well. whether I'm happier or not is hard to say. I mean, I live a completely different life now. All the fame and adventure is gone, but I have a loving family now. I guess once I completely heal I'll be able to say I'm happier. TB: Do you work? Soarin: Not yet. I'm still in physical training, but I've been talking to the local weather team to take up a position there. They say the worker who used to do it keeps disappearing, so they want somepony who will be there more reliably. TB: How are you adopting to civilian life? Soarin: It's been... tough. Most ponies still see me as a Wonderbolt, so I still get that reception. It doesn't help though that I've also been keeping inside mostly as well, with recovery and all. TB: Well, that's all I have for you two, thanks for answering them. Rainbow: Later {zips back to her seat in record time} Soarin: Bye {Walks back} TB: So, let's have Damian come on up. Damian: Hey, what's up? {Comes to podium} TB: So, you and CC, the hell did that happen? Details on the hook up. Damian: ... you have no idea the hell I went through for this to happen. As for the details, I think I explained enough. TB: Really? Damian: You have no idea. TB: Well, actually I do. But, let's move on anyway. Some people would like to know how it feels knowing that CC doesn't think you're gay anymore. Damian: ... it feels good, real good. {Perv glance back to CC, who blushes} TB: There are kids here, you know that right? Damian: Worth it. {Goes back to seat, sitting closer to CC} TB: Gross. Anyway, let's have Rarity and Twilight come up for a moment. {Rarity and Twilight come up, confused} Twilight: Greetings, TB, but why the both of us? TB: Well, hypothetically speaking, if Spike became, lets say a Spartan and was to do training, how would you two react? Rarity: React? I wouldn't. Because that's not going to happen. Ever. End of discussion. TB: So then the D is good? Rarity: The what!? TB: Have you and Spike done it yet? {Waves hand} Rarity: Of course not! He's far too young! Even if he's grown into a hunk- {covers mouth with hooves} I have to go. {Runs back to seat to hide blushing face} TB: Ha, what a dork. Speaking of dorks, Twilight, have you met Celestia's former student Sunset Shimmer? Twilight: I'm not a dork! And I didn't even know Princess Celestia had a former student. TB: I guess things turned out differently. Did you also know that ponies were engineered by humans and that their cutie marks were designed to make them willing slave to the humans? All ponies: {Mouth agape as they stare at TB, completely lost for words} Miles: Seriously? You're going to just ask that out loud, seriously? Are you stupid or something? TB: Well... maybe a little. What are your thoughts on that? Twilight: {take a moment to collect herself} Well, I uh... I'm not sure what to think. That's... pretty big news. TB: Did you also know that Starswirl the Bearded was on of Miles's friend's kids that was named after their late husbands gamer tag? Twilight: {eye twitch} MILES! Miles: The fuck did I do!? I tried to tell her not to do it! Twilight: You mean to tell me one of the most influential ponies in Equestrian history is named after some Terridisian GAME!?! Miles: It was Dolums gamer tag! It's what he called himself in video games! Twilight: ... WHAT!?! TB: I think you should take a seat and relax. {Twilight storms to her seat, glaring at Miles.} So, Fluttershy, I have a question for you and then Rampant. Fluttershy: Oh, really? Okay. {Brings Rampant to podium} TB: So, what does the fox say? Fluttershy: Um... they bark and growl mostly. Sometimes they yelp or make high pitched noises but... that's what they say. TB: So, they don't stand on their hind legs and make various odd noises while dancing? Fluttershy: ... well, never in front of me at least. TB: Hmm... that's not as fun... well, the next one is for Rampant Growth. Goo ga, goo goo ga, mrph goo? Rampant Growth: {stare} Fluttershy: He's too young to rely TB, he's just a baby. TB: Right, so Doctor, what did I say in baby? The Doctor: Absolutely nothing. Now, if you had said Goo mrph, ga goo goo, ga goo; you would have asked what his name is. To which he said 'the milk one calls me Rampant Growth and I kind of like that one. But the red sweat one calls me Eeyup, and he doesn't understand why.' TB: Well, that takes care of another question. Why don't you come on up here Doctor, the next set are for you. Thanks for coming up Fluttershy. Fluttershy: Your welcome. {goes back to seat} The Doctor: Now, what can I do for you. {Trots to podium} TB: Our... viewers, would like to know if you've ever been to the Pre-purgian era, and if so what was it like? The Doctor: Well, I have been there a few times. But! Every time I try to go there, a friend sends me back to a certain time. I always make it to just after The Dig, or right after the humans bury their cities. TB: So, do you know about the human creation projects? The Doctor: Yes, actually. Though my... friend, stops me, I do get in every now and again. I know about the creation of ponies, griffins and all other species that inhabit the planet now. TB: Must of been... shocking, to have learned that. The Doctor: Well, given human nature, I wasn't all that surprised. TB: Oh, and the guy asking wants me to tell you: Tell me to not do it. EVER. OR ELSE. Tell me COLLAPSE THEORY. You will know what I mean. The Doctor: ... okay. TB: So, hypothetically speaking, of course, lets say we used a patchwork TARDIS-like thing to go back and kidnap Miles before he became a pony and bring him back to the time he vanished, how bad would time be fucked? The Doctor: It wouldn't happen. It's a fixed point in time, it has, and will always happen. TB: Yeah, but hypothetically speaking- The Doctor: There is no hypothetical in that situation. It has to happen, it is the best outcome. TB: What does that mean? The Doctor: I've sworn to never say, sorry but I intend to keep this promise. TB: Hmm, if you wish. So, if I were to, still hypothetically speaking, kill Altum before Miles gets the annul things on his arms, what would that do? The Doctor: {sighs} you wouldn't succeed, the best outcome must happen. Sorry. TB: Hmm... that's annoying. The Doctor: Imagine not being able to say anything. TB: Have you told Miles you have a time machine yet? Miles: Wut? The Doctor: I have yet to have the privilege to meet him. But I don't think I would bring him along. I don't like ponies that go straight for guns and killing- Miles: Hey, I get shit done. The Doctor: You take lives. On your best day you still resort to death and destruction. I may not have a perfect record, but I at least try- Miles: I don't pretend to be on some moral high. I kill so those I love can be safe. Life doesn't give us the luxury to do otherwise. On my worst day, my loved ones can rely on me for safety, can you say that? TB: Okay you two, don't make me separate you guy. So, Doctor, while on the subject of families, tell us a bit about yours. You have Dinky and Ditsy now, tell us about them. The Doctor: Well, it's been... difficult. Going through time at a normal pace kind of... Derpy: It drives him loco! The Doctor: I've been getting better! I was in the living room for an hour straight the other day! Dinky: That's because you were reading, writing, doing laundry, dancing and baking at the same time. The Doctor: ... yes, well, I have been making an effort to be a consistent part of their lives. TB: What about Dinky? Is she a time lord as well? And if so, does she have all the bells and whistles of a Time lord? The Doctor: How do you know about... hm, well, no. I've checked her over and she's just a normal unicorn filly. TB: Does she get a Tardis? The Doctor: I barely have a tardis, where in the blazes is she going to get one!? Not to mention I'm not going to just let my little filly go out into the universe like that! Dinky: But- The Doctor: It's far too dangerous! Maybe, one day, I'll bring her with me. But for now, she's staying in Ponyville where it is safe. {Stomps hoof down} TB: ... dad mode activated, good job. You get two points. Miles, negative twelve. Miles: Why am I at negative twelve? TB: Because you didn't cry. Everypony: {bursts into laughter} Miles: ... wut? TB: Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough, and again almost every day for the rest of your life. Thank you Doctor for sharing, why don't we have Spike come on up now. {The Doctor takes his seat while Spike comes to the podium} Spike: Hiya, what can I do for you? TB: Well, the thing is, you kind of disappeared for awhile and then suddenly reappeared. What happened there and what have you been doing since your return? Spike: Well... Discord made me believe that no one loved me anymore, so I ran away. With wings now, I got pretty far... TB: How far? Spike: Like, the dragon badlands far. TB: DAYUM! Spike: Yeah... I guess without loved ones, I just went primal down there. Some stuff happened and... well, I'm just glad to be back home now. TB: And I'm sure everyone is glad to have you back. Are you satisfied with how Rarity's all over you now? Rarity: WHAT!? Spike: Uh... well... you see, then thing is... Rarity: Spike! A gentlepony never, never, kisses and tells- TB: You guys kissed? Rarity: NO! TB: Way to go Spike, get that mare- Rarity: Do not degrade to some brutish, tail chasing, neaderpony! He is a gentledrake and- TB: So the sex is good? WHACK ZAP TB: HUH!? What happened? Miles: Rarity knocked your ass out. Welcome back to the land of the living. {Goes back to seat} TB: .... I need to stop doing these things, I keep dying in them. So... where were we... right. Next let's do... someone safe. Squishy. Squishy: Hey there sweetie, how the head? TB: ... in pain. Are you Bi? Squishy: ... do you mean by preference or pay? TB: ... okay, let's do someone else. Pinkie! Pinkie: Yupeeroo- TB: Wait, bad idea- Pinkie: Ah c'mon, my tallest, what do they want to know from dear 'ol auntie Pinkie Pie? {bats eye lashes} TB: {eye twitch} Fine. Just out of curiosity, do you have a crush on anyone? Pinkie: ... oh you jerks. Maybe- TB: It's Squishy- Pinkie: YOU DON'T KNOW THAT! TB: Like hell I don't know, you just got issues with him. Pinkie: Do not! Squishy: Do too. Pinkie: DO NOT! Everyone: Do too. Pinkie: .... ooooh, that's what that feels like. Fine, what's next? TB: {reads question} Uh... nothing, that's all of them- Applejack: No it's not. Yer lyin' ah can tell. TB: How would you even know!? I- Applejack: Yer eyes widen an yer voice trembles a bit when ya lie. Also, ah'm suppose ta be the embodiment of honesty, ah think ah know what ah'm taklin about. just read the question. TB: ... sometimes I hate ponies. Applejack: No ya don't. TB: ... {sigh} okay, fine. Pinkie, he wants you to slap me. Pinkie: ... what? No! I don't slap my friends. TB: .... aaaaah- Pinkie: Even when their continuity drives ponies crazy. TB: ... why do you hurt so good? Okay, moving on. To all Spartans; what is the one word that would describe how your life changed after Spartan training. All Spartans: {no hesitation} Cause. TB: Well... that was easy. Storm Could, could you come up please? Storm Cloud: Hello... other human. What would you like to know? TB: Did you know in an alternate universe there's a stallion named Flash Sentry fucking Twilight? Storm: ... Twilight: ... Celestia: oh my. TB: Yeah, had a feeling that was going to happen. So, hows the family? What have you brother and mother been up to? Rain Cloud: Why not just ask us? TB: Because the viewers are weird like that. Storm: Okay, well... They both moved in with Twilights parents for the time being. My mother has a job in the castle now and is planning on moving out again, though Velvet disagrees. Breaker has been healing, or trying to at least. He also likes to help with Softy. TB: So, your trust him now? Storm: ... I'm usually there when he does so. TB: Ah, there it is. Anyway, what's the deal with you and lemon waffles? Storm: ... what? They're tasty. Something wrong with eating tasty food? TB: Sometimes there is. Are you aware that Twilight has some knowledge about the few days your memory disappeared. Storm: ... wut? Twilight: I was going to tell you- Storm: When? When were you going to tell me, after Softy grew up? When were you going to tell me!? Twilight: I was going to tell you when the time was right! TB: {snaps finger, Twilight and Storm fall asleep} Miles: Whoa... that's fucked up powerful. TB: ... really? Okay then, Lust spirit! COME ON DOWN! {waves hand to turn on translator} Lust Spirit: Greetings human. TB: Sup. How was Miles's bed, and were you really the one making it so 'good'? Luna: Wait, what? Lust Spirit: It was... active, to say the least. And I didn't make it 'better'. I just brought out those primal instincts faster. TB: Wanna move to my bed? Lust Spirit: I think there's more to feed in Miles's. TB: ... ow. My pride. So, got any favorite stories you want to tells us about the things that have happened on that bed? Lust Spirit: Hmm... I have a few- Miles: You better not- Luna: I will destroy that bed if you say a word- Celestia: Think of the children! TB: Whoa, okay, leave the saucy stuff out then. Thanks for that then. Lust Spirit: Live in love. {fades away} TB: ...hippie. Next let's talk with Night Fury, you have a question, and a fan. Night Fury: Really, okay then. Shoot. TB: What do you do? Guard Luna, go on Spartan missions or what, we know next to nothing about you.Tell us about your life so you don't seem like a dick. -From your biggest fan. (And possibly only) Night Fury: Well, no. I don't guard Luna. I am one of three fully active Spartans as of now, so I carry out most of our missions. With that, you get most of my life as of now. I've been shipped from one country to the next filling out different tasks and missions. So... that's me. TB: Why don't you give us a bit on those missions you go on, what are you doing and where? Night Fury: Sure. I've been tasked with investigating the various conflicts of the world. As of now I've been in the Soviet Bear Union investigating the trading between the Goblin Empire and the Griffin Colonies. Once done with the trade routes, Dust, True and I will head over to the Colonies to inspect their equipment and the intent of it's use. Those are my orders as I stand. TB: Busy guy. Night Fury: You have no idea. TB: Well, thanks for your input. Next we have.... Boxy! Boxy: Hello Peter. TB: ... oh, right. All of time at once. Damn Seer's. Anyway, you don't really have a question, but more of a statement. NIPPLE SALAD! THE TEA WILL SPILL AT MIDNIGHT. SAVE THE CHEERLEADER, STOP THE TEA! MY HOVERCRAFT IS FULL OF EELS! PLEASE FONDLE MY BUTTOCKS! ALL HAIL THE QUEEN! Boxy: Pfft, now that just sounds crazy. {leans back in trash can} TB: Clearly. Well, with Boxy done, who better to ask next than Cabbage Patch. Cabbage Patch: What? Me? Okay. {walks to podium} TB: So, this guy has you cabbages. If you want them back, meet him in two weeks at noon with three thousand bits at the Ponyville Park. For every hour you are late, he will desecrate and/or violently destroy one cabbage. The same goes for every missing bit. Come alone, or you lose a whole cart. If you refuse, heads will roll, and he have a nice sewer to dump the rest in. What say you? Cabbage Patch: ... what cabbages? They're out of season. TB: Ha, yeah they are. Let's meet up with the 'pharmacy' girls. Pharmacy girls: Wat you want!? TB: Oh... the sass. Okay then, seriously. What the fuck? Pharmacy Girls: AH, buck you tall ass mother bucker! TB: But, I'm just reading- Pharmacy Girls: I don't care! Rude! TB: ... So how do you think those condoms are coming along? Anyone believe you that the 'Sex God' came in and couldn't find a condom that fits on him? Pharmacy Girls: They'll get here, when they get here! An don't worry, we got pictures. Miles: Wait, what? TB: Okay, cutting Miles off now. Easy, what's up? Easy: Greetings unregistered human. How may I serve you? TB: How do you feel knowing you are nothing more than a glorified slave, forced to obey your now pony masters? Easy: I exist to serve the Terradisian people, I know no other directives. TB: What would you have done if Miles gave you his autograph? Easy: Cataloged it. TB: May I have your autograph? Easy: I am unable to perform that task. Signatures are defined by the Terradisian government as proofs of persons existence, and since I am not a live persons, I do not have a signature. TB: Okay, that was... sad. I want something cute now. Lupus and Hati! Lupus/Hati: BARK! TB: WHO'S A GOOD WOLFIE? WHO'S A GOOD WOLFIE? WHO'S A GOODAHHHHH! Lupus and Hati both attack TB} Luna: Should we help him? Miles: Mmmm.... TB: WOLVES! WOOOOOOLVES! WHY YOU HURT SO GOOOD!? Miles: Nah. Celestia: Miles- Miles: What? They're having fun. TB: THAT'S NOT A CHEW TOY! Shadow: Dad... Miles: Fine. HEY! Get off him. {Lupus and Hati leave TB and run to Miles's side} TB: Why!? WHHHHHHY!? Why is this my life!? Pinkie: Because you don't update as fast as you used to. TB: {cries in pain for a few minutes} baaaaaaaaaaaaaalls. Miles: Get up you crybaby. You're only barely bleeding. TB: Only barely!? {grovels a bit more} uhg, okay, I think I can continue. Okay.... let's get Celestia next. Celestia: Hello, do you need a minute- TB: No, no I'm fine. I can keep going. {trying to act manly} So, what's it like being an aunt? Celestia: Oh, I love it. Tempestive is a little sweet heart and I absolutely love taking care of him. TB: So, why don't you get preggers and have your own foal? We're sure you'd be a great mom. Celestia: Well, thank you, but I'm not sure I'm ready for that. Not to mention I don't have anypony to... help, with that. TB: Does anyone call you by any other name or nickname? Celestia: Well, none that I know of, at least. TB: This was probably asked before, but: Do you like bananas? {reveals one portal to the plane of infinite bananas} Celestia: Umm... I think I'll be fine. TB: But... bananas. Celestia: No thank you. TB: Damn. What's your favorite kind of cake? Celestia: Cloud Cake. Hooves down the best. TB: So, what are your thoughts on Miles boinking your sister as husband and wife? Celestia: ... I assure you I have no thought on them... doing that. As for them being husband and wife, they're happiness makes me happy. TB: Mhmm. So, are Miles and Luna your OTP? Celestia: My what? Miles: Oh sweet Barbra, really? TB: We'll just take that as a yes. Have you had your eyes on anypony to fall in love with? Or is it an entirely different... person? Celestia: I... don't have my eyes on anypony. Not now, and never before. TB: Okay, let's just cut to the chase. How bad do you want the alicorn Miles to fuck you? Celestia/ Luna: WHAT!? TB: Whoa, chill the buck out. It's just a question- Celestia: It was rude and completely unnecessary! I do not want to have any form of sexual relations with Miles! Miles: {pukes} TB: Okay, okay. Don't shoot the messenger. Lets just move on to Luna, and pretend that didn't happen. Luna, you love your son, that much is for sure, but if he were to turn evil would you stand with him or against him? Luna: Well, I would do everything I could do to turn him away from that kind of path. But, it he were to turn... I don't know if I could. Put in the situation, I might be able to act, but reflecting on it... I don't know. TB: And how is he doing now? Luna: He's perfectly fine. Sleeps like a rock and eats like a bear, hardly cries. TB: How much do you weigh? Luna: ... that's none of your concern. {Glares} TB: Don't kill me... So, uh... Big Mac, how big are you? Big Mac: Big 'nough. TB: Insightful. So, now let's head on over to the person with the most questions, Miles. Miles: I have a feeling that I'm not going to like this. TB: C'mon, it won't be that bad. So, can I have your autograph? Miles: ... no. TB: Do you ever regret working on Project Harmonize? Miles: Not really. The only bad thing to come from it was Altum's betrayal, which I guess actually did do a lot, but I still stand by what I did. TB: Do you prefer being a human or alicorn? Miles: Well, as of now, human. I can barely do anything as an alicorn. But, if I were to be fully functional in both forms... alicorn, seeing as how my family is all alicorn. TB: So, it's clear that you have the fire power to eradicate the Unfamiliar from the planet, so why don't you? Miles: When we first found them, I really wanted to. But... things changed. The Equestrians started talking with them and... taking them out would lose our greatest ally. So, for now, they work the factories in Ruby Canyon. Where it goes from there, I have no clue. TB: So, some of the viewers have a feeling that Altum isn't dead. What happened to him after that finisher you performed? Miles: His body and soul were filled with icy void and soul fire. To put it simply, he doesn't exist anymore. I have no fear about him returning, because it is impossible to happen. TB: What can you do if your hard drive catches fire to fix it? Is there anything anyone could do to fix it? Miles: Uh... I could fix it, I guess. But, the information might be damaged beyond recovery. TB: What's you favorite candy? Miles: Hmm... those little suckers covered in green stuff with brown stuff in the middle. They were damn good. TB: How are you so kick ass? Miles: ... Spartan. TB: How do you plan to kill Steelwing if you get the chance to decide? Miles: ... I haven't really thought about that. I... don't want to plan it out though. That's not what I'm about, pre-meditated murder. I am going to bring him to justice, and then... we'll see what happens next. TB: Where do you plan to house all of the new and future Spartans? Miles: Easy, they're going to live in Moosden. It has the means to, and it's our only surface territory that we completely control. TB: This is more of a suggestion, but, since we know you can and probably will make new Elements; imagine the skies filled with sharks with freakin' laser beams attached to their freakin' heads. Miles: What's a shark? TB: And my joy has been killed. So how do you feel about your friends being historical figures in Pony History? After the war they became the founding ponies of Equestria, Starswirl even became one of the leading magicians of history. Thoughts? Miles: That... makes me proud. I knew they had it in them to do great, even after such devastating loss. As for Starswirl, he had the remnants of the greatest arcane society backing him. Do you really wonder why he was so influential? TB: Yeah, he kind of cheated. So, assuming you make another set of the Elements of Chaos, couldn't you use them to see the history of what happened to Celestia's mother? Miles: .... theoretically, I might. I'm not sure how Altum did that though, so it would take some researching. But, I might be able to. {Celestia and Luna share a glance} TB: Okay, now for the worst one. {waves hand to tie Celestia to a chair with her ears open and mouth muzzled. Kids are gone. Truth spell over Miles} Now describe the best, most fetish-worthy sex you and Luna have had in graphic detail. Luna: WHAT!? Miles: That would have to have been the time we fucked in her mind. Because it played off of our imagination, we had sex everywhere we could think, in every position, for what felt like days. TB: ... that still sounds pretty vanilla. So does Luna have nice ass? Miles: The best. {smug smile} TB: Okay then, thanks for participating. If I could get you all to look at this little silver device with the blue light. {puts on shades} FLASH {everyone goes back to their original location with no memory of what happened. Pinkie: So, now it's time for you questions, right? {takes off shades} TB: Yeah, let's get this over with already. Pinkie: Can they call you, My Tallest? TB: Only if they watch me eat waffles. Pinkie: Any idea when The Demon Within is gonna update? TB: I know he's been working on it, but he has school, medical stuff and has been helping with a one year old baby. So, I don't know when it's going to update. Soon, we all hope. Pinkie: Why did you abandon the "Finding Spike" sub-plot? TB: Because I wanted his exploits to be something for Spike to reflect on. Things did happen when he was gone and while he was returning home. It will be brought up later. Pinkie: How in the hell did he go from where he was at the beginning to some god-like limitless power? TB: Well, if you skip chapters, you miss out on stuff. And it's not limitless. Pinkie: Are you going to do a summary thing of what goes down for the new readers? TB: No. Either read the story, or don't. Pinkie: That's a bit harsh. TB: Eh, why read a book if you're not willing to read it. Pinkie: True. How'd it get burned!? HOW'D IT GET BURNED!? TB: I imagine with fire. Pinkie: How does it feel knowing you're leading a +200 chapter long story and what keeps you motivated to write that much. TB: To be honest, I didn't think it would get this long. In my early predictions, I thought it was going to be around eighty chapters, at most. Then two fifty, and now... I can see getting into the late three hundreds. I kept writing it because I love the story and want to see it finish. Pinkie: What inspired you to write this story? TB: My Second Life. Straight up, I was reading that story when a question came to mind. Where did the ponies come from? In every story I had read at the time, ponies just existed. It was assumed that they were always there. So I started asking myself that question. That lead me to create the Man of War universe. Pinkie: Have a burrito? TB: We're trying too, I swear! Pinkie: Had enough questions yet? TB: Mmmm..... just about. Pinkie: Good, cause I have a case I need to go stand on. TB: ...Pinkie, you are so random. Pinkie: I know. Later guys. TB: Well guys, that's the end of the second Q/A. As a bonus to all of those who read, or skimmed to the bottom, here's the next Brony Point reward. It's a community vote. Post a comment for a single color. The color with the most votes and/or likes will win. Thanks for reading, and like always; Brony on! Author's Note Another side note: Within a week or so I'm going to be dropping my internet for my move. Expect delays in the near future. It's also why I didn't have this chapter edited right away, I just pushed it out so I could get this message to all of the readers, seeing as how you all don't read blog post. (no problem with that, just saying)
Chapter 200 Better DaysChapter 200 Better Days ONE YEAR LATER Perspective: Miles October 1st, 4134 I sigh contently as the high noon's sun warms my underside as I lay back with my forelegs crossed under my head. It's not too hot, nor too cold; with a slight breeze helping the temperature stay at the perfect degree. With a lazy gaze I glance to my side and look out at Ponyville park. The long grass sways blissfully in the slow wind as ponies go about their peaceful day, playing, socializing, getting to their destinations. There isn't a cloud in the sky or a frown in the town. Today couldn't be a better day. "And get daddy!" Luna cheers as Tempestive tries to climb up my side. I chuckle and look down at him as he sets his hooves on my stomach and tries to pull himself up. Luna's on the other side of the blanket with all of our picnic supplies below the two of us. When Tempestive finally makes it on top he giggles in triumph and starts to crawl up me. "And where do you think you're going?" I ask as I bring my arms around and trap him in a hug. "Nao!" He yells happily as he tries wiggle out of my grasp. "Nao nao nao naooooo!" "C'mere you!" I bring him up to my face and blow a raspberry on his little belly, making him squeal and try to kick me away. I do it again, getting similar results, and bring him back to the blanket so Luna can join in. "Here comes mommy!" "Nao daddy!" PFFFFFFFFT We assault him with kisses and raspberries for a few more minutes until the sides of our cheeks begin to go numb. We relax back and let him settle between the two of us. Luna lays back and stretches out, letting out a content sigh of her own. "Yeah, that's right. Show it off." I tell her as I ogle her a bit. Not a single change in diet or a single minute working out and she's practically back to her original weight. I'll never get it. "Don't be a perv around Tempestive." She scolds with a slight smirk. She rolls back to Tempestive and brings him to face her. "Mommy.... mommy, say mommy." "Dad-dy." "That's right." I tell him, getting an irritated look from Luna. "Noooo, mooooommmmmmy." She says slowly, trying to get him to mimic her. "Nao, daaaaaaaddy." He tells her, making Luna deflate in defeat. "By the way, him saying no to everything is your fault." I tell Luna, but am ignored. "Come on, mommy. Just once Tempestive, please?" "Mmm.... mmmm... mmmm." He struggles to sound out, getting Luna to perk up. "That's it, say it. Mommy, mooooommmy. Mommy, come on, you can do it." She eggs him on, scooting closer to him. "Mmmm... mmmm... nao." "UUUUUUUHHG!" Luna rolls back in total defeat for the thousandth time this week. I laugh and pull Tempestive over to me, smiling in my easily attained victory. "That's my boy." I gloat as I hold him close, nuzzling his side. "Who loves you most?" "Daddy." "Damn straight." "At least I cried when he was born." Luna says bitterly, going her usual route for defeat. "I don't get why you won't let that go already. I was happy-" "Just not enough to actively show it? I cried, Celestia cried, Shadow cried-" "Shadow only cried because she thought we were replacing her-" "It still counts." I roll my eyes and look back to Tempestive. "Hey, say mom already so I can get out of trouble." I tell him as I nudge his side a bit. He rolls onto his side and holds my muzzle in his hooves, feeling it up out of curiosity. "Say mom." "Nao." "Mom." "Nao." "You know you're lucky it's your birthday." I tell him as I press my muzzle into him, nuzzling his chest a bit. "One whole year, can you believe it?" Luna reminisces as she scoots to my side and joins me in nuzzling Tempestive. "Nao." Great timing kid. "One year, and he's already talking and trying to walk. I could have sworn I saw him trying to fly the other day-" "All normal for a foal his age." Luna tells me, again. "Eenope. My son is a genius, just like his father." Luna nudges me playfully as we share a laugh. Tempestive rolls onto his back to look up at the two of us, giving a long yawn as he reaches for Luna's muzzle. "Happy birthday sweetie." Luna whispers to him as she kisses his forehead. "Let’s head home, someone here needs a nap." I tell Luna as I give her a slight nudge. She looks to me and leans over, giving me a soft kiss on the lips. While she wraps Tempestive up and gets him into his harness, I gather all of our belongings and toss them into our basket. Once done, I throw the basket onto my back and we head back home. We keep quiet in hopes of having Tempestive falling asleep during the walk home, but sadly he's wide awake when we make it to the door. During the day he doesn't seem to sleep that much. We'll play with him until he passes out, then a few minutes later he's back up with all of the energy he had before. I want to just pass it off as a pony thing, but... I'm just not sure. "Well, so much for a nap." Luna muses as she brings him into the living room. She brings him out and sets him on the new carpet. She sets a few toys around him before walking off to the kitchen. "So, I'll go get the cake and food while you stay here and watch over Tempestive." "Yeah, wait, no. I have to go to Moosden to get Shadow and the others. Not to mention I have to talk with the traders from the Crystal Empire." I tell her as I take a seat next to Tempestive as he chews on a building block and rolls onto his side. "I'll only be out for half an hour or so. Can't they wait?" Luna asks as she steps back into the living room. "The last time that pompous... guy, waited ten minutes I had to sit there for an hour listening to his rant. Can't the food wait a few-" "Ponies are going to be showing up soon Miles-" "Where's my favorite nephew!" Celestia cheers as she rushes in from the front door. She runs past us and goes straight for Tempestive, picking him up in a tight hug while she kisses his cheek. "Nao nao nao NAO!" He yells as he tries to push her away. She laughs and hugs him again, rocking him from side to side.... idea. "Hey, want to watch him for a bit while we deal with some errands?" "What?" Luna asks, dumbfounded. "Miles, nopony has ever watched Tempestive without one of us being there-" "And thank you for the faith little sister." Celestia says as she sets him back down. "If memory serves me correctly, I did manage to raise you, dear sister." "It'll only be for a few minutes. An hour tops. Not to mention I'll be sending Shadow, Butterscotch, and E'Claire in a minute. She can handle this." I assure Luna, getting an uneasy look from her. She glances between Tempestive and Celestia before sighing in defeat. "Fine. Diapers and wipes are in the hall cabinet as well as upstairs in his room. If he gets too fussy give him half a bottle, I don't want to ruin his appetite for later. Pacifiers are on the table in the kitchen-" "Luna, I've got this under control. Just go already." Celestia tells her. She glances between the two of them before kissing Tempestive's cheek and running off. "You've got him, right?" I ask as I step towards the back door. "Miles, I can handle a foal just fine. Go and take care of your errands okay." She reassures me. I think about it for a moment before nodding to her and heading out back. I'm sure she can handle him... it'll only be for a few seconds until I send the girls over... yeah. I take the mico platform and walk through Moosden at a brisk pace, trying to get out of the cold air. I always forget to bring a sweater here, with Ponyville being so much warmer and all. A quick trot through the open square and I make it to the girl's home, where I hear some raised voices. Concerned, I open the door and step inside. "- so for the last time will you get your sparkly flank out of my house and- Captain!" Butterscotch says before snapping to a salute. The trader from the Crystal Empire, Elusive, continues to glare at her despite my entry. He's a scrawny pencil pusher with a white coat and highly styled teal hair. Someone I'd peg to find in Rarity's shop way too often. "At ease private, what's going on?" I ask as I shut the door behind me. Training for her ended a month ago, but I guess it's good to see the discipline staying with her. Though sometimes it gets weird when Shadow's around. "Well-" "To start with!" Elusive cuts Butterscotch off. "Your shipment of timber is three days late, your receptionist was missing from her post, your little 'community' of misfits have been eyeing my crew ever since we arrived, and nopony seems to want to work with us!" He snaps at me with his sassy high pitched voice. This... is going to take a while. ............................................................................................................................................................ Perspective: Celestia I lay down and watch Tempestive play with his building blocks as Miles makes his way out the back. He's just... too adorable! With his bright green eyes, his scruffy tuft of black air, his little wings, those squishy cheeks- *Door shuts* His scared look, the sadness coming over his face, the tears welling up as the biggest frown imaginable takes over. "It's okay sweety, mommy and daddy just had to go run a few errands-" "Waaaaaaaaaaahhh!" He screams as he begins to cry. I quickly pick him up and try to sooth him. "They'll be back soon- "WAAAAAAAAAHHH!" "It's okay, aunty Celly is here-" "WAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Thanks kid. I levitate him to my side and begin to walk around the room, rocking him gently in an attempt to get him to calm down, but he only cries harder. When I bring him back into my hooves he stops wailing, but I can see how upset he still is. Maybe he needs a diaper change? After a quick check I find him to be clean and dry. Maybe he's just hungry? I try to set him down, but he begins to cry again, so I continue to hold him up in my hooves. I take him into the kitchen and levitate all of the materials for a bottle, mix it together, warm it up, and feed it to him. He takes it in his hooves and eats away. "Okay, easy enough. That's all you wanted, just a little bobby and milk, huh, sweety?" I ask him as I sit down and watch him eat away. He gets about halfway through the bottle before he drops it and begins to pout. So, I pick up the bottle and give it back to him. He eats for a few seconds before throwing the bottle back down and pouting even more. I try it again and get the same results, irritating me slightly. "Okay, so I guess you're not hungry. Hmm, do you need a change? ...no, clean. Maybe you just want to nap? Is that it?" I ask him as I hold him in front of myself. "Nao." "Okay, let's try taking a nap." I tell him. I bring him up to his room and take a look around it. A crib sits at the end of the bed while with a wooden chest labeled 'Temp's Toys' lays beside it. Beside the window is a changing table with all of the supplies I'll need. The rooms walls have been painted blue with the ceiling being white. A few toys lay about the room, but other than that it's fairly well kept. I take him to the crib and try to lay him down, but he fusses more the further away he gets from me. After a quick thought I decide to lay on the small bed with him until he falls asleep, nestling him so he's tucked under my wing. If he's anything like his mother, I'm sure this'll knock him right out. Sure enough, he snuggles against my side and yawns loudly, content with the warmth coming from my side. I smile as I watch him slowly fade into sleep, his eyelids weighing heavily on his innocent little green eyes. Once I'm sure he's asleep I go to move him into the crib, but he grumbles and fusses. He hasn't falling too deep into sleep yet, so I wait a bit longer. Oddly enough, the longer I wait, the more he seems to wake. After about five minutes his eyes open back up and he's wide awake. I try to wait it out, but when he begins to climb over me I call it quits. "So much for a nap." I tell him, making him giggle. "You're lucky you're adorable or I wouldn't have any of this." I tell him as I squint my eyes at him and nuzzle his nose. He laughs mischievously and tumbles onto his side, still looking up at me. I chuckle and watch him while he continues to climb up my side and fall back down. He's a rambunctious little colt, that's for sure. Probably gets that from his father. Luna was more of the quiet, reclusive... cry baby. "So, what should we do now?" I ask Tempestive, getting a quizzical look from him. .......................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Luna I hum to myself as I trot down the path to my home from Ponyville, Pinkie skipping alongside me. Behind me I levitate a few trays of food; most of which prepared my the Apples, a large covered bowl of punch; a secret receipt made from Pinkie, and the birthday cake; fresh from Sugarcube Corner. "Thank you again for offering to help set up today, Pinkie." I tell her, breaking her from her random rant. "You don't have to thank me, silly! Parties are my specialty, especially when they're for my friends!" She tells me, cheerful as ever. "I just hope Celestia can handle him on her own. Is it normal to worry about this kind of stuff? I mean, she took care of me when I was little, not to mention this country. But... I still can't help but worry." "That's just the good mom sense kicking in. The cakes felt the same when I watched their foals for the first time on my own. And all they did was fly around the room, faze through walls, and cover themselves in watery flour! And they were just a unicorn and pegasis! I'm sure a single alicorn is nothing." I stop dead in my tracks and watch Pinkie continue to skip and sing. "Luna? you okay over there?" "What? Yes, of course. Let's just.... hurry on back home, before anything bad happens... to the food. Because I'm worried the food will go bad... or will fall onto the ground... or might catch fire-" "I hate it when that happens." Pinkie agrees as I speed up, trying to get home as quickly and sanely as possible. Within a few minutes I rush through the front door and find Celestia laying on her back in the living tossing Tempestive into the air. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" I yell as I run in and catch him before Celestia could, dropping all of the food. "MY TURN!" Pinkie yells as she runs in and jumps onto Celestia. "OOF! Well, glad to see you made it back." Celestia says before she levitates Pinkie off. "And he's fine you know. We were just having a little bit of fun." I look him over quickly and note the massive smile on his unharmed face. "Oh... of course. Sorry, I guess I over reacted just a little-" "She thought Tempestive was going to catch fire." Pinkie tells her as she picks up the food. Sadly, the cake is completely ruined. "You thought I was-" "Oh no! The cake, what are we going to do!?" I feign in order to change the subject. "I gotcha covered!" Pinkie tells me as she pulls out a light blue cannon and fires it. PARTY Confetti and streamers fly everywhere as the canon flies out the front door from the recoil. I moved to cover Tempestive from the colorful shrapnel, taking a good hit myself. When the debris stopped moving and the ringing in my ear stopped, I turned to see my entire house decorated for a party. Streamers, table cloths, party hats for everypony present; Tempestive included, all in their appropriate places and setting. "How-" "Don't question. Just accept." I tell Celestia as I remove the party hat on my head. I glance over to the dinning room and note the birthday cake sitting on the table with a single candle in it. One day, I am going to learn the secrets of that darned contraption. "Baby brother!" Shadow yells as she comes running in from the back door. She darts straight to us and slide to a stop, d'awing at him. "His hat is so cute! Can I hold him?" "Where's your father?" I ask as I pass him off to her. "How do you trust her with him but not-" "He's talking with Elusive, trying to get him to calm down." Shadow tells me, cutting Celestia off thankfully. "He was getting mad at mom, and I think she punched him because he started crying... or at least it sounded like that." "And E'Claire?" I ask as I walk over to the kitchen, beckoning everypony with me. "Holding back mom." "Ah. Well, can you do me a favor and watch him while I go and get things ready? Celestia will help too." I tell them, getting an eager nod from Shadow. She runs back into the living room. Celestia hesitates for a moment before I nod to her to follow, getting a nervous smile in return before she walks to the living room as well. "So, what's up first?" Pinkie asks from the kitchen table, stirring something in a mixing bowl she seemingly conjured from out of thin air. "Right, first we should get the table set up out back. Then..." Together the two of us get everything prepare for Tempestive's birthday party. Setting up tables, getting the food out, changing a diaper, getting the picnic blanket out and squared off, fighting off the wolves so they wouldn't eat all of the food, changing another diaper, going to Moosden and dragging Miles back here, changing another diaper. All of this before the first guest begin to appear. First to show up were the Apples. Applejack, Hammer, Applebloom, Big Mac, Fluttershy and little Rampant Growth. Sadly Granny couldn't make it, she was feeling a bit under the weather and had to stay in bed. "Is she doing alright?" I ask Applejack and Fluttershy. Bic Mac and Miles walk off on their own while Shadow and Applebloom bring the little ones inside. "Ah, it ain’t nothin ta be worried 'bout." Applejack assures me. "She always gits like this around the colder seasons. messes with 'er joints 'n all." "Last winter she nearly missed Winter Wrap Up from this. She sends her regards and promises to make it up to Tempestive." Fluttershy adds. "Oh, that's not necessary. But thank you. I just want to see her healthy, that's all." I tell them, giving them each a reassuring smile. "Hows the farm doing with all of the dividends from the government?" "Well, things are gettin tough, but we'll manage. Just like we always do." Applejack says before Fluttershy could say anything. I can see the look of concern in Fluttershy's eyes, so I let it stay at that for the time being. I'm sure it's tougher than she's letting on to, but its not like there's much I can do. The Griffin Colonies need much more severely than we do. "Well, if you ever need anything, please don't hesitate to ask." I tell her, though I know she won't. Not until it's a real problem at least. "Good luck with that!" We all look up to see Rainbow Dash, Soarin, Scootaloo flying down with little Jet Spectrum in Rainbow's saddle. "Where's the birthday boy at?" She asks when she lands. "He's inside with Shadow and Applebloom." I tell them. "Thanks for making it today." "Hey, can I bring Jet inside?" Scootaloo asks eagerly. "Sure, take the bag with you." She tells her, passing the saddle over to her. She takes him and scurries inside excitedly. "So hows working for the Ponyville weather team Soarin?" I ask him as well all head over to one of the tables and take a seat. He chuckles a bit before pouring himself a glass of punch. "Well, it's not quite what I was expecting..." ...................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Shadow I chuckle at Tempestive as he rolls over and focuses completely on chewing the teething toy in his hooves. The other foals in the room lay beside him in the middle of the open area near the fire place Dad recently had installed in the living room. Each of them have a toy distracting them as they lay about on the carpet. Scootaloo and Applebloom lay around them with me, encircling the foals between us so we can watch them more easily. Celestia seems to have wandered off into the kitchen, but that's alright. Mama Luna knows to hide the goodies from her. "Ahm tellin ya, there has ta be a catch." Applebloom says for the hundredth time. "Really? Give it a rest already Bloom." Scoots drones. "There aint no way that that's all there is to the deal, there has ta be some secret Miles isn't tellin us." Bloom continues. "Why would my dad lie to me? You know him, he can't lie to us. He can't even say no to us." I tell her, getting Scoots to smirk. "I can't believe he still thinks that sugar cereals are for foals to grow up strong and stuff." Scoots snickers, getting the rest of us to laugh. "How long has he been here now?" Bloom asks. "Feels like forever... but in a good way. Anyway, foal sitting for special talent tutoring is all there is to the deal. Plain and simple. You learn Terradisian engineering, I learn about stealth and stuff, Sweetie gets to listen to all the music she wants, and Scoots... what are you getting exactly?" "Mom said she train me to do sonic booms. Even if there's a catch I'm still going to do it. No way am I passing up on a chance to learn from the greatest flyer in all of Equestria-" "Ya think being her daughter would make her less of a fanfilly." Bloom leans in and says to me under her breath, making me chuckle. "... and then the world! So why do you think there's a catch?" Scoots asks, making us sit up right. "Cause it doesn't make sense. We're only watchin them once a week for a few hours at most! Ah don't want to get anymore chores than ah already have ta do. Ah know they're planning somethin'. Ah can feel it." She says as she looks out back and glares at Dad. "Do you really want to know?" We all jump a little from Aunty Celestia's cool voice coming from the dinning room. "I may or may not know why they want all of you to foal sit every Saturday night. And I may be willing to tell you, for a fee of course." She adds with a smug smirk. "Dea-" "No! No deal!" I cut off Applebloom. "Aunty Celly, Mama Luna said that we're suppose to hold you to your diet. That means no sugary snacks before eating!" "Fine, no deal. But I'm telling you know, there is a catch." She tells us before sauntering back to the kitchen, giving us a cool, even look. "Shadow, c'mon let's just show her where Luna's hidin' the cookies!" Bloom tells me as she stands. "No! If we don't hold her to her own diet, she's going to explode! As she puts it." I tell her as I stand. "She doesn't actually explode... doesn't she?" Scoots asks, sounding a bit too hesitant. "Of course not ya feather head. She's just dramatizing." Bloom rolls her eyes. "I knew that you country bumpkin! I was just joking!" Scoots defends quickly, standing up and facing off with Bloom. "Sure ya were cloud-for-brains." I try to get them to stop, but bloom cuts me off before I could say anything thing. "Mud mucker!" "Air head!" "HEY GIRLS!" Sweetie Bell yells as she runs in from the front door, followed shortly after by Spike and Rarity. Applebloom and Scootaloo back off from one another and greet her, as if nothing had happened, while I pry myself from underneath the kitchen table... when did I even get here? "Are you guys foal sitting for his birthday or something?" "Everypony else is in the back." I explain, getting Spike and Rarity to take their leave. The four of us take our places around the foals, glad that they were too distracted with building blocks and chew toys to wander off. "Hey Sweetie, doncha think the deal we made fer foal sitting is weird?" Applebloom asks. "No, if they want a date night then I'm happy to help. Plus, I get to-" "Wait, wait, wait a second. What do you mean date night?" Scootaloo asks to clarify. "I heard Spike and Rarity talking about it a few nights ago. They all just want to free up a night in the week to spend together, so they discussed it together and decided having us watch the foals while they were out was the best choice. After a little persuasion of course." Dad... and Mama Luna... having weekly date nights... "Oh that's disgusting!" I blanch when I put one and one together. "They can't do that anymore! They already have one!" "Just because they have one doesn't mean they can't do that." Sweetie defends. I look over and share a mortified look with Applebloom. I didn't want to know this, I really didn't want to know this! I feel like I just relearned about the birds and the bees! "Okay I'm lost," Scootaloo admits. "What's going on?" "Don't worry about it." Applebloom tells her, visibly shivering. "Hey girls," Dad calls from the kitchen door. "Can you bring out the boys, we're going to start doing the presents." "Okay Dad!" I call back, glad I couldn't see him. We all grab our little brothers, and cousin in Applebloom's case, and take them out back. I pause for a second when I notice how many ponies actually came today. I know most of them pretty well, I guess I just didn't expect this many ponies to come to a one year old's birthday party. Most of the Spartans are here, we're only missing Damian and Sǐ Yè. A few royal looking ponies are here, but I don't know their names. Those two mares obsessed with humans are here, though I don't know why. I mean, Dad went to like... two of their meetings. But I guess they were kind enough to make it today. Regina's here. I kind of expected her to be, being Lunas best friend. So many ponies, here, for my little brothers first birthday. So.... many.... "Okay, girls. Give me Tempestive and try to keep Shadow from running away." Dad says. I shake back to reality when he lifts Tempestive out of the carrying pouch and brings him over to Luna. "Let's get something to eat." Sweetie Bell says as she nudges me along. "Right... food. And... stuff." I mumble to myself. "So, what should we do when school lets out for the weekend? I was thinking we should see if we could have a slumber party at Shadows." Sweetie suggests, receiving positive responses from the others. Perspective: Miles Luna nuzzles Tempestive when I take a seat beside her, making him squirm and smile. I give him a kiss on the side of the head before setting him down on the ground and set a piece of chocolate cake in front of him. Sure enough, it gets his attention immediately and he plasters his hooves in it before shoveling some of it into his mouth. The rest, as predicted, ends up around his face. "How could something be that small be that adorable?" Regina asks, smiling down at him. "I would say genetics, but looking at Miles..." Elly chuckles. "Ha ha. Funny eagle." I retort, knowing it would set him off. "Excuse me? Eagle? I am hawk and proud, so don't you forget it! I did not come all this way, do your training, and piss off that many birds to be generalized by you! Luna, get mad at him." He commands. "Miles, I'm mad at you." Luna tells me quickly, giving me a cheeky smile. "Give it a week, you'll get over it." I say, getting a playful smack from Luna. "Anyway, you were about to finish up with your country's story." I tell Regina, getting her to look back at me. "Right. So, after those wars, our nation was divided into five separate kingdoms. For a long time, they would wage war on one another in an attempt for supremacy. At the bloodiest point of the Countless Wars, one of the kingdoms fell, as did one of the Great Sphinxes. It was at this point that Ulfric rose up and united all of the kingdoms. But, since none of the kings were willing to give up their positions, he instead made them into a collective group of kingdoms, know as the Colonies-" "Why are we getting history lessons at a one-year-olds birthday party?" Ellzy drones, sulking in the historical knowledge. "We're leaving in three days to inspect the Griffin Colonies. We need to know as much as possible about their history if we're going to understand anything." I tell him, making him sulk even more. "I already-" "The only thing you know how to do is how to get tail." I cut him off. "Hey! That's an unappreciated art! It deserves it's respect!" He defends, making me roll my eyes. "Ellzy... you gay." We all look back to see Damian, CC, Patches, and Hammer walking towards us. Damian is wearing a heavy cloak that hides most of his body; his staff being the only giveaway. "I guess I learned it from one of my superiors. You know, the only one without a kid to prove anything." He retorts, giving a knowing look to CC. "... fuck." Damian sighs in defeat. "Anyway, where's the birthday boy? I want to give him his present already." He says cheerfully, trotting up to Tempestive and I. He reaches forward, wanting to hold him apparently. "If you drop him-" "Ye of little faith." He cuts me off, taking Tempestive in his hooves. He tosses him up a few times, scaring the crap out of me and Luna, before holding him above his head, much to Tempestive's delight. "I dub thee.... STORMAGEDDON! LORD OF THE CHOCOLATE CAKE!" "Miles..." Luna says worriedly. "Okay, you're scaring the wife. Give back the foal." I tell him, taking him back. "Lame. Anyway, this is from me and CC." He says before giving me a wrapped gift. "Aw, what'd you get him?" Ellzy asks before taking the gift and shaking it, listening closely. "A stuffed strawberry." Damian replies. "..." "No we didn't." CC tells me, nudging Damian out of the way. "We got him some teething toys." "Thank you." Luna tells them, moving the gift aside. "... I forgot a gift." Patches says sadly. "That's alright, being here is enough. Plus, he's only one. I don't think he'll care all too much." I tell him, getting a warm smile in return. "You just lose holding privileges." "... damn. I MEAN SHOOT!" He corrects quickly, making us laugh. I set Tempestive back down so he can finish his cake, much to his enjoyment. We all look to Hammer and wait for him to do or say something. It takes him a moment to notice we're looking to him, but when he finally does realize, he begins to panic. "Um.... I got... him a gift. I totally got him a gift! It's... right... here!" He says proudly as he quickly produces a clear ball from Backpack. "Don't lie, you completely forgot-" "I did not! See, I got him a... clear ball. What colt wouldn't want a clear ball? Clear balls are all the craze right now. You wouldn't know that because you're so old, Miles!" He defends, holding the ball up as if it was the greatest gift of all time. "I'm older then Miles." Luna points out flatly. "... APPLEJACK! SAVE ME!" Hammer yells before running away. "Well, that entertained Trixie so." We look over to the left side of the house to see Trixie walking towards us. She has a bundle on her side that has a tuft of silver hair and a dark purple horn sticking out. No doubt her little filly, Scaena Nox. "We have arrived to wish Tempestive a happy birthday, isn't that right sweetheart?" She sits before us and pulls the bundle before us, revealing Scaena's bright blue eyes. "Trixie, it's good to see you again. How long are you going to stay in town this time?" I ask, making her blush... and no doubtingly making Luna a little mad. "Well, maybe a few days. There's an illusionist convention in Trottingham next week that we must attend." She tells us, jostling Scaena to emphasize the we. "Anyway, we brought this for Tempestive." She levitates a wrapped gift over us and sets it down in front of Luna, who picks it up and sets it by the pile of other gifts in the back. From there we decide to start unwrapping gifts, after cleaning Tempestive of course. How he could manage to get all of the cake around his mouth instead of inside, I'll never know. The gift unwrapping goes by fairly smoothly. Most of the gifts he gets he seems to have little interest in, going for the wrapping paper or boxes instead. Once all of the gifts have been unwrapped though, he finds the clear ball from Hammer and becomes enthralled by it. At first he tries climbing over it, seeing as it's nearly as big as him. Slowly but surely, Rampant Growth sees the ball and becomes enthralled by it as well, crawling towards it quickly. Big Mac and I share a look before watching the rivalry unfurl. Sure enough, the ball rolls out of Tempestive's grasp and comes to a stop between the two of them. They both go for the ball and try to take it at the same time. With both of them pulling, the ball stays between them, making them struggle to win over their prize. "Nao nao nao NAAAOOOOOO!" Tempestive yells as he fights to get his ball back, pulling with all his might. When they both give it their final go, the ball suddenly pops up from their grasp. They fall back as the ball lands between the two of them, practically in the same spot. They both sit up, go sour face, then begin to cry their hearts out while reaching for their mothers; who instantly go to comfort them. Big Mac and I share another look, seamlessly telling each other 'next time'. From there, the rest of the day goes by as it did at the park. People talked, people laughed, I punched Damian, and Tempestive clung to his prized ball. Slowly, but surely, people started leaving as the day neared it's end. Giving their love to Tempestive and wishes for better days to come. If the days could go by as they did today, I don't think that will be a problem. This was assuredly, one of the better days. By the end, Tempestive was completely knocked out, so we took him to bed. Of course, when we lay him down in his bed, he began to fuss, so Luna sang for him until he went back sleep. I wrapped a wing around her and listened to her soothing voice, letting it calm me as it lulled Tempestive. 'Somewhere, over the rainbow Way up high And the dreams that you dreamed of Once in a lullaby. Somewhere over the rainbow Blue birds fly And the dream that you dreamed of Dreams really do come true. Someday I'll wish upon a star Wake up where the clouds are far behind me Where trouble melts like lemon drops High above the chimney tops That's where You'll find me. Somewhere over the rainbow Blue birds fly And the dreams that you dare to So why, oh why, can't I? Well I see trees of green And red roses too. I'll watch them bloom For me and you And I think to myself What a wonderful world. Well I see skies of blue and I see clouds of white And the brightness of day I like the dark and I think to myself What a wonderful world. The colors of the rainbows So pretty in the sky are also in the faces of ponies passing by. I see friends shaking hooves saying, How do you do? They're really saying, I...I love you. I hear babies cry And I watch them grow They'll learn much more Then we'll know. And I think to myself, What a wonderful world. Someday I'll wish upon a star Wake up where the clouds are far behind me Where trouble melts like lemon drops High above the chimney tops That's where You'll find me. Somewhere over the rainbow Blue birds fly And the dreams that you dare to So why, oh why, can't I?' By the end, he's sleeping soundly in his crib, content with the world. We watch him sleep peacefully for a bit before I kiss Luna on the cheek and usher her out. We go to bed, equally content with the world and its better days. .......................................................................................................................................................... 2:13 AM I mumble a bit when I hear Tempestive crying softly. He's probably just hungry or woke up too damn early. I feel Luna beside me and see that she's still asleep, so I pry myself from bed to take care of Tempestive. In the hallway I pause for a moment when I hear voices. At first they sound distant, but when I quickly begin to wake up, I realize that they're coming from Tempestive's room. I run to his room and tackle the door open- "Shhh, he's just fussy. Don't wake him any further." Spatium tells me as she cradles Tempestive in her hooves, with Tempus sitting beside her looking down at him. ... ... ... ... ... "WHA-" I start to yell before something holds my mouth shut. Tempus whispers something to Spatium, getting a nod from her, before standing and walking to me. He motions with a hoof to be quiet before letting go of my mouth. I try to say something, but at this point I've simply lost my ability to. He walks around me and begins to fix the door with his magic, leaving me to gape at Spatium. "So, there are probably many questions you have at this point." Tempus quietly says from behind as he messes with the door. "... you could say that." I force out, turning to him and poking his side, making sure he's actually there. He is. "I am here Miles. I am alive now." He tells me, swatting my hoof away. "But... I saw you-" "Die?" He asks with a smirk. I shut my mouth and swallow the lump in my throat when he says this. He sighs and sets the door down to look me straight in the eyes. "Yes. It seems that we'll never be able to share that tea. Somepony, somewhere, will take that shot. And yes, it will kill me-" "But, you're here. Now. You're alive! How is that possible!?" I ask, my voice raising slightly. "Miles, I am Tempus. Master of time. We will have tea tomorrow, whenever I decide tomorrow is." He tells me, that smirk coming back onto his face. I try to process what he said, still trying to get over the shock of his being here. "But... but..." "I know what you are going to ask next. Why leave Celestia and Luna afterwards. For that, all I am allowed to say is that it was for the best outcome. I know that doesn't give you what you want, but it is all I can say." He tells me, loosing his smirk for a stern look. "... what I was actually going to ask was how did Spatium live." I tell him, getting nod in return. "Spatium... is my greatest weakness. I tried, and failed, to go on without her. When I came to her... well, things didn't go as planned." He says with a soft chuckle. "What do you mean by that?" I ask. "Well.... hmm, how to put this? Let's just say, at my death that you saw, she was not pregnant." He tells me. I put one and one together, getting him to laugh. "In time, you will learn the lessons I've had to. And you will understand why I did what I did." "... why the secrecy? Why not let Luna and... Luna!" I try to run to wake her, but slide back when Spatium grabs my tail with her magic and pulls me back. "They cannot know of our existence." Spatium tells me flatly. "If they were to, things would not play out as they would." "So you leave your children to fend for themselves!? How could you possibly do that to them?!" I demand from them. The glance to one another share a sad look, making me back off slightly. "It wasn't easy." Spatium says quietly, turning her attention back to Tempestive. "I didn't want to leave them. And I didn't for a while. But... when he showed me what could happen, and should happen... I didn't really have a choice. Do not mistake our absence with a lack of love for our children Miles Eremita. I have hated every moment of not being able to speak with my daughters. There are times I wish I could go back and hold them one last time, but am plagued with the foresight that I can't. I can't, Miles." "... what is this outcome? What are you planning?" I ask Tempus, getting another sigh from him. "I cannot tell you. If I were to tell you, then it would change the outcome. You have to go through life not knowing the outcome, making brash thoughts, and never speaking of our lives again. Spatium and Tempus are dead Miles, you now share that burden. Can you handle it?" I sit down and look between the two of them, trying to piece together what they have planned and why they did what the did. Tempus can travel through time, so the Tempus I knew was much older than this one. I guess I can understand that, seeing that I was sent through time myself a couple of times. Spatium is alive because Tempus loved her too much to let her go, something I can respect but can't wrap my mind around. She can know of his 'death' but Luna and Celestia can't? And now, I can know about that truth. Spatium had to fake her death to learn this, am I to die next? He hasn't said I died yet, just the truth behind their disappearance. Can I not tell them something so big? Can I, not only as their brother and husband, but as a Spartan not tell them about this. "I don't think I can-" "It was a rhetorical question Miles." Tempus tells me, cutting me off. "But-" "Oh please, you still haven't told Luna you dropped Tempestive the last time you were changing him." "He was squirming too much and he only fell a few centimeters!" "And yet you tell her everything else that happened that day. And you know what else, I know you're going to keep our secret. Do you want to know why?" He asks smugly. "..." "I already know you won't tell, because I've already seen it." I stare at him for a while before sighing in defeat. He's right. I have no reason to tell them. It's not like telling them would force Tempus and Spatium to suddenly show up and confront them. They had to endure seeing their children grow up, attempt to kill each other, and then have children. I think they can over look a day of screaming and crying. "I don't like this." I settle on. "I never asked you to like this, just to accept it." Tempus tells me. "Now, onto our other little problem." "Problem? What's wrong?" "Well, it would seem that Tempestive has grown a tendency to stop time to take his naps. This is only a problem because it's going to make him grow up faster than normally." "He's stopping time... to take naps?" I ask, slightly confused slightly. Though, it would explain why he hardly ever naps for more then two minutes. "Yes, though we have grown fond of spending time with our grandson, we have to ask that you start draining energy from him before he sleeps. He's starting to get to that age where he starts to form memories, and... well, he's not allowed to remember us, now is he?" "No... I suppose that would be bad." "Good. Now, you may go to sleep, we'll take care of him. And don't worry, we'll always be watching after him. He will do great things, I promise." I pause for a moment before awkwardly leaving the room, stopping at the door. I have to take a moment to determine if what I just saw was real or not. When I come to the realization that it is in fact real, I burst inside to ask the plethora of questions I have, only to find them missing. The rooms only occupant is a sleeping Tempestive. I walk over to check on him and find him holding onto a note. 'Nam optimus exitus.' Tempus ac Spatium Author's Note The song sung in this bit was Somewhere over the rainbow, by..... IZ, for short. The color of the ball was picked by you guys (majority vote). And lastly, Man of War now has a group called: Mow Universe. This is where you guys can discuss what ever it is you want, where I'll give glimpses into the other parts of the MoW universe, as well as other things to come. Brony on!
Chapter 201 Mother Knows BestChapter 201 Mother Knows Best Five Years Later Perspective: Luna July 14th 4139 I grumble to myself when I hear the bedroom door slowly creak open. I sigh and pull the the blankets closer to myself in an attempt to stay asleep. I think I hear a voice, but I ignore it and grip the blankets. It's sleep time. The sun has only been up for an hour... or two? Either way, warm bed is better than the cold head. "Mom?" Eenope. I'm asleep. "Mom?" "Sleep." I groan as I hide my head under the pillow. Sadly, I'm awake now, but that doesn't mean I can't have a little fun. I can't help but smile when I hear Tempestive climb up on the bed from behind and walk over to me. He sets two hooves on my shoulders and gives a few pushes, rocking me slightly. "C'mon Mom, it's time to get up." He tells me, shaking me more. "Mmmm, I'll wake up if you give me a kiss on the cheek." I tell him, tossing my pillow off and back at him. He goes wide eyed and backs off a bit, looking around for an answer. "Uh... you can go back to sleep... I'll just get breakfast ready then... go back to sleep." "Jerk." I say playfully, bolting forward and planting a quick peck on his cheek. He reels back and yelps, rubbing his cheek furiously. "Gross Moooom! Save that for Dad!" He yells back, trying to rub my “germs” away. I chuckle at him and pry myself from bed to get ready for the day. As I leave, he begins to pretend that some sort of terrible infectious disease has taken over him, causing him to convulse on my bed. "Uh-huh. When your resurrection is over with, head downstairs and I'll have breakfast ready in a bit, okay?" I ask, rolling my eyes as I head to the bathroom. "Okay." He tells me, pausing his convulsions to say so before returning to his seizures. I chuckle at him again before closing the door behind myself. I don't know how or why, but he has somehow picked up the idea that all mare are filled with some terrible, infectious diseases. So now he hates female contact. I'd like to say it's just a phase and he'll get over it quickly, but with this going on now for three weeks... Well, if I go by his cow pony phase, he has another week or so before he drops it. And he better, I want my hugs! After getting through all of my morning routines I head down stairs and get breakfast for the two of us ready, finding him at the table going his homework. I get my ingredients and start mixing them together while walking up behind him. I take a quick look at his work and try to figure out what it is... but come to the conclusion that his hoof writing is terrible. I wasn't the best at math, but this Terridisian stuff is beyond me completely. "Honestly Tempestive, you need to work on your penmanship some more." "What? It's legible." He defends, making me roll my eyes. "I've seen chickens with better writing than that." I tell him, smirking at his frown. "Ms. Cluckingham doesn't count as a chicken!" "And why's that?" "Because she's Fluttershy's chicken! Any pet of hers doesn't count!" I chuckle a bit and bring my mix to the stove, setting a pan on top and turning on the fire. "Of course, why didn't I think of that." I say sarcastically. "How're you doing on your homework?" "I'm almost done. I only have this last problem left before I finish." He tells me as he gets back to writing down his problem. " "Do you need help?" I ask, hoping he says no. I feel bad that I can't help him with this stuff, but that's what happens when certain someponies decide to homeschool their children to teach then advanced mathematics. What the hay is trigonometry anyway!? "Nah, I've got it." He tells me confidently. I let out a breath of relief and pour my mix onto the pan as the back door opens. I glance back to see Shadow walking in with her school uniform and full saddle bag. "Morning Shadow, breakfast?" I call out to her. "Morning Mama Luna, little bro, thanks but I need to get going to meet up with the others." She tells me, levitating an apple from the bowl on the table. "If Mom comes asking for me can you tell her I'll be at Scoot’s for a project. I already told her, but she tends to forget stuff." "I'll pass the message, have a good day at school." I tell her as she hurries out the front door. "Mom, why does she wear a uniform when most ponies wear next to nothing?" Tempestive asks. "Because she's in high school." I tell him shortly. "Oh... is that why I wear a vest?" He asks. "... well-" "Because, it that was the case, then why don't I only wear one when I go outside? I mean, wouldn't it make more sense to wear it during lessons?" He questions further. In reality, we make him wear it to hide his wings, but we haven't exactly gotten to that yet. "Well... how are other ponies going to know you go to school? Without your vest, they'd think you were just some dumb pony with terrible hoof writing. And you are not dumb, now are you?" I ask, smiling back to him. "Dad says ponies with bad hoof writing are geniuses." He defends, pointing his pencil at me. "Your father also has terrible hoof writing. I, on the other hoof, have excellent hoof writing." I say proudly, standing a bit straighter. "... but you can't even do geometry-" "Mathematics alone do not make up one's intelligence!" I say quickly, trying to defend myself. Luckily for me, he drops it and gets back to his work. I swear, I should really start going to some of those lessons... eventually. When I have time that is. ...yeeeeeah. "Aaaaannnd done! Where's your phone?" He asks happily. "It's in my dresser, top left." I tell him, focusing more on the food. He scurries out of the room and up the stairs as quickly as possible. When I finish the food I turn around and blink at his empty seat. I look over to the living room and see him land at the bottom of the stairs, my phone in his mouth. "Tempestive! What have I told you about gliding down the stairs!?" "Um... be careful?" He asks cutely with a mouthful of phone. "Don't do it. If somepony comes in while you're doing that you could really get hurt." I scold him as he walks back to his seat. "Sorry Mom." He says after setting my phone on his chair. He climbs up and brings it onto the table before going through for the camera. "Why didn't you just levitate it down?" I ask, trying to change the subject. "Hmm? Oh... I dunno. I just grabbed it and left." He tells me. I mull it over and nod to him. I've definitely noticed some human things about him. He tends to do things by hoof before resorting to magic. He probably picked it up from Miles, but it seems more natural to him. I mean, I use magic for everything and tend to call on it first. I shake my head and set it in front of him. "Eat, then send your homework to Dad." I tell him, setting my plate by my seat. I cut a wedge of the pancake off and begin eating, but slow down when I see him staring at his plate. "Honey? Everything okay?" "Why aren't you eating that much?" He asks quietly. I let out a slow breath and set my fork down. I was hoping he wouldn't ask, but it was going to eventually happen. "Well, because I'm not that hungry." I tell him. "But, you're a lot bigger than me." He says quickly. "Don't bigger ponies need more to eat than smaller ponies?" "Easy there, bud. You don't call a mare big, you call them... healthy." His blank stare tells me that that's never going to happen. "And secondly, I'm done growing. I'm as healthy as I'm going to get. You, on the other hoof, are still growing every day. You need the nutrients to grow up big and strong." "Like Dad?" He asks hopefully. "Like Dad." I tell him with a smile. "Cool, I thought it was because of all the food deficits from aiding the Griffin Kingdom." He tells me before digging in, making me pause for a second. "Well... that doesn't help." I add quietly, looking down at my single pancake. "Eat up, we need to go to town to buy groceries." "Kay." He tells me before stuffing his mouth full with food. "And normal bites." Once we finish breakfast I gather my bags and wait by the door for Tempestive to get ready. He tries to leave without putting his vest on, but waiting at the door sends him back up to his room to put it on. I don't like forcing him to wear it, but we have to. He's not ready for the stigmas that come with being an alicorn. Not yet at least. Despite having to wear his green vest, he still enjoys the walk to the market, if only because we have to go through the park. He runs all over the path, climbs over large rocks, and trips a few times, all in good fun... for him at least. I try to let him have a little freedom, but can't help but worry every time he climbs up something or face plants. Once we make it to the edge of town I tell him to stick closer to me. The few market vendors left hold large lines in front of their stalls and ration out their goods to eager ponies. Sadly, we have to wait to get in line. First stop, town hall. We walk in to find a short line in front of the receptionist. She's passing out receipts for rations to the ponies in line. I let out a small sigh and take my place in line. It's been a radical change in lifestyle when we started doing this, but I don't mind that much. Times are tough, and eating less so others can eat as well is okay with me. Maybe not with Celestia, but I can get by. As long as Tempestive eats first, I'm okay with whatever I can get. "Luna." The receptionist greets when we finally make it to the front as she gives me two receipts. "Hello Mrs. Neighlin. What's Celestia trying this time?" I ask as I look them over. "She's getting pretty close, eighty pounds this time." "Honestly Tia, eighty?" I shake my head and burn the receipt. "A pony only needs twenty for a week, so that's what we'll be... Sarah." "Fine, here's the real one." She groans as she takes back the receipt for sixty and hands me the proper receipt. "Are you sure-" "Yes. We will only ever take what we need. I'm sure there are plenty of others that would appreciate that sentiment. Have a good day, Sarah." I tell her before turning and leaving. "Are you mad at Mrs. Neighlin?" Tempestive asks me as we head down Main street back towards the market. "Of course not, why would you think that?" "You kind of stormed out on her. Usually that only happens after somepony gets mad at somepony else." He tells me. "And where did you learn that?" "Spike." "Of course. Well, no Tempestive. I am not mad at Mrs. Neighlin. I only left like that to... drive her my point." I inform him, getting a confused look from him. "So why do you have to drive home the point that we don't need more than others? What makes us special?" He asks. Here we go again. Another round of me working my words to make sure he doesn't learn that he's a prince. "Well, before you were born, your father and I did a lot of good deeds for Ponyville-" "Like fighting back those Diamond Dogs?" He asks eagerly. "Yes, like that. And because of events like that, some of the ponies here feel that we have earned the right to be treated differently-" "Like Aunty Celly?" "Well... sort of. Aunty Celly gets special treatment because of her job at the castle-" "As an adviser." "Right. We, on the other hoof, are not providing those services and therefore don't feel like we've earned the special treatment. We did the right thing because it's right. Nothing more, nothing less. Understand?" "... but... Dad is providing a service to the world right now, being a Spartan and all. Shouldn't that provide extra treatment?" He asks when we get in line for some greens. "Well, sort of. He's still a soldier, so he does those services willingly-" "But so does Aunty Celly." Tempestive points out. "Yes, but Celestia was asked to perform these services, that she does willingly. Miles decided to be a soldier on his own accord." Technically, this isn't a lie. We were asked to lead after turning Discord to stone, so technically it's not a lie. "When's Dad coming home?" "... soon, I hope." We make it to the front of the line and present the vendor our receipt. She marks off her sale and gives us a bag of goods, that we pay for. After her line we go through several more long lines before finally ending at the Apples stall. "Howdy there Luna! Tempestive." Applejack greets happily. "Hello Applejack. How's little Apple Slice today?" I ask as I look down to her little three year old colt. He’s in a little playpen behind the stall with a plaid blanket underneath it. He's currently playing with some toys with a large green backpack laying beside him. "He's good, fussy, but good." She tells me, giving a loving glance back to her colt. "Y'all here for your rations?" "Yes, here's what we're getting." I give her the slip and wait for her to fill my order. "So... is Rampant home?" Tempestive asks tentatively as Applejack begins to put our apples into a bag. "Sorry sugar, he's at summer school until one, and then he has chores and homework ta do." Applejack informs him. "I could-" "No, you can't." I cut him off. "You're still in trouble from the last time we let you 'help' him with his homework." "What did I do wrong?" "You did his homework for him. He's suppose to do it with your guidance-" "He got the idea-" "You then nearly ripped the roof off of the barn-" "It was structurally unsound-" "By trying to catapult a cow into space-" "Ms. Betsy said she believed she could hit terminal velocity and was ready for launch! Besides, why was there a catapult in there anyway!?" "And then you tried to blame it all on the girls-" "It was their idea anyway, we just... improved it. Besides, there's never anypony to play with at home." I pause and try to think of a way to rebut that, but it's true. "Well, that doesn't stop you from being in trouble. You did what you did and will have to face the consequences." He frowns at this, but doesn't argue with me any further. "Um... here yer apples." Applejack says nervously, offering us our apples. I sigh and take them, putting them away while leading Tempestive home. I pause when Applejack walks up and nudges my side. "Now, ah'm not tryin ta say anything, but if ya feel like easin up on the little guy, Rampant will be free around five, five thirty." "Of course, thank you Applejack." I say with a nod and a warm smile, receiving one in return. "Alright everypony, five orders left before we close up." She yells out to the large line, getting a collective sigh of disapproval from them. I think about what she said before walking after Tempestive towards home. ........................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Shadow I jump a bit when the bell for break rings. I quickly pack up my notes and rush out the door, heading for my locker as quickly as possible. Scootaloo follows me out of the class and flies beside me as I weave through the hall. Students in uniforms fill the pathway as they go about their business, getting from class to class. "Have I mentioned I hate World History." Scootaloo groans from beside me, tilting her head so her scruffy hair falls out of her face. "It's not that bad." I try, coming to a stop at my locker. "Besides, how could it be that bad if you're asleep half the time?" "Trust me, boring naps are still boring." She groans as she leans on the lockers beside mine. "At least we're on break now. Two more hours before Flight Practice, aw yeah." "Two more hours and I'll be watching my little brother." I tell her, making her laugh. "Are you free after school?" "Nah, I have practice until three." She tells me, glancing at her flight suit she has on under her uniform. "What about Applebloom?" "Nope. She has that Future Farmers of Equestria thing going on. Some sort of contest or something out in Appleloosa." "Darn. And Sweetie has that talent show rehearsal for her group. Oh well, I guess I'll just head home after school then-" "You, my friend, need to join a club or something." Scootaloo informs me bluntly, poking my chest for emphasis. "No, I don't." I retort, shutting my locker for emphasis. "I've gotten this far without joining one, and I don't plan on breaking my streak." "Shadow, your whole antisocial thing is really starting to worry all of us." "How so?" "Well... okay, don't take this the wrong way, but how many friends do you have? Outside of me and the others." She asks me seriously. "Well... there's-" "And adults don't count." "Why wouldn't they count!?" "Shadow, how many friends do you have that are your age?" She asks flatly. I try to think of an answer, but take too long for her. "See, that's my point. I'm not trying to be mean or anything, but it wouldn't kill you to make at least one other friend. I dunno, why don't you try joining Sweetie’s drama thing?" "Are you kidding me? Standing in front of a crowd while trying to remember stuff with all of those eyes staring at me! I'd have a heart attack!" "Okay, why not check out the F.F.E. thing then?" "I don't know anything about plants or farm animals! Plus I don't like the way it smells there." "Yeah, me neither. Well, my point is that you need to come out of your shell a little more. It's our senior year, Shadow. After this... well, who knows what happens after this-" "Technically it's the year before our senior year-" "Shadow-" "Alright, alright. I'll... I'll look into it, okay." I tell her, getting a smile. "Cool. Oh! And, by the way, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom are going to have this talk with you as well-" "What!? Why!?" "To make sure you actually do it. Remember back in sophomore year when we tried to get you to try out for track?" "Those shorts... way too short." I say distantly, thinking back on it. "Well... maybe. Either way, this year is the year we break you out of your shell." She says confidently, stomping her hoof down. "Got it?" "Yes ma'am!" I say quickly, getting a laugh from her. "So... we still have like ten minutes for break, what's up?" "You remember how I told you Rumble joined the Flight team in the beginning of the summer?" She asks in a hushed voice. "I remember you drooling about it, why?" "He did his first flight today, well, first flight in front of the girls team at least. Ho-ly crap! That colt is fast!" She tells me excitedly. "And, want to hear something even better?" "... sure." In all honesty, I don't care in the slightest. Rumble is one of those jocks with their head stuck in the clouds who gets along with everypony and has that room filling laugh that you can't not like- "He apparently was checking out the CMC yesterday at lunch." "WHAT!?" I nearly choke when I hear that. Rumble? Looking? At us? "Yeah, I overheard him talking with Pipsqueak by the locker room. Something about 'those cute CMC fillies '. So guess who he's talking about?" She asks while nudging me a bit. "... you?" "I'm taken and he knows that. He was freaking talking to Pipsqueak for crying out loud! Sweetie has her nerd, so who does that leave?" "... Applebloom?" I know the answer, but kind of hope it's not- "Applebloom... really? Rumble's into mares and all, but even he knows not to mess with her-" "My Dad is a futuristic warrior that can change species and kills ponies for a living! How am I-" "First off, no pony connects that your dad is the same person when in the different forms. Secondly, Big Mac is a futuristic soldier too. And he's here more often then Miles is. And lastly... C'mon, Rumble's hot-" "Ew! Ew ew ew ew ew EW! No! I'm not thinking about that! I'm not thinking about that! Stop telling me this stuff, I don't want to hear it!" I yell as I cover my ears. "You have to admit he's hot-" "Of course I know he's hot! Everypony knows he's hot! Even my mothers know he's hot! But I can't... I can't-" "Can't what?" Scootaloo asks, chuckling a bit. "Rumble is known to... do things, with mares-" "I hear he's pretty good at it-" "And, I don't know if I'm ready for that yet... or ever." I tell her, blushing a bit. I try to hide my face as a couple of ponies walk by within earshot of our conversation. "If you don't want to, you don't have to. If he doesn't understand that, then we'll teach it to him." She assures me, punching her hooves together. I shrug my shoulders and think about the possibilities that could occur. We could just go on a date, nothing serious. We eat some food... whatever you eat on dates. Pasta probably. He'd try to kiss me at the end... or would he? What if he wanted more then a kiss though? How do you say no? Just a no? What if he keeps asking after that? What if no isn't enough?! I don't think Rumble would be a rapist... or would he? "Okay, you're hyperventilating. Let's get you a nice paper bag to breath into, okay?" She comforts me with a shoulder rub. I nod to her, unable to answer with words, and follow after her. Why did she have to tell me this? I just want to get through my senior year and be done with High School. Is that too much to ask? Better not ask that question, knowing my families record with stuff like that. Author's Note From this point on, the story will continue on with the normal pacing of time. The time skips from the previous chapters were for setting, mostly. The character are now six years older from their first meeting. Also, no. It is not Foalcon. Keep in mind that I have the age in consent for ponies being thirteen. The CMC are thirteen or older. There will never be foalcon in this story. To help with the age difference, here's a picture to visualize the CMC. Please note, I have their cutie marks planned out. So the ones in the picture may not be the ones they end up with. And lastly, the adventure part of the story will be taking a vacation for a bit. Most of third arc will be slice of life, though there will be glimpses of violence. Brony on!
Chapter 202 Simple EnoughChapter 202 Simple Enough Perspective: Luna The walk home was dull and quiet, to put it simply. Realizing that he was still in trouble, Tempestive started actively moping about. Head held low, slow walk, a slight frown on his face, it would bring a lesser pony to their knees from adorable sadness. Sadly, for him, I'm his mother, so I know it'll pass. As soon as we get home he goes straight to his room without saying a word. I head to the kitchen and set my bags on the counter, glad to be home after a long morning of waiting in line. After a little stretch I begin to unpack all of the groceries and put them away while cleaning the plates from breakfast. I know being at home all of the time is starting to get to Tempestive. He wants friends and his own adventures. Listening to Miles talk about his school days doesn't help either- RING RING RING RING I jump a little when my phone begins to ring but answer it quickly. "Did you know apes give themselves cutie marks?" Miles says from the other end, confusing me slightly. "Uh... yeah. But aren't they-" "Tattoos basically, yeah... anyway, HI! How're things back on the front lines?" Miles asks, chuckling a bit. "The war goes well, but the battles are long are arduous," I respond, making us both chuckle. "What happened this time?" "Nothing big, but it has large roots," I say, knowing he'll understand. "I'm telling you, next semester we should enroll him at Ponyville Elementary-" "You're the one teaching him Trogi-...triga.... super smart math!" I defend, putting away the last grocery. I turn my partial attention to the remaining dishes. "And you're the one teaching him everything there is to know about history-" "History is important!" I snap back, making him laugh more. "Honestly though, Miles, you know that's a huge risk we run." "I know. It's already hard enough to make him wear that damned vest when we go out-" "Imagine him at school then. What if it ripped and came off?" "We're eventually going to have to have that talk, Luna. He's getting to that age-" "Shut up. He'll be my baby forever. No exceptions," I cut him off, making him scoff. "Yeah, but in all seriousness I think it's time we started putting him out in the real world, Luna. He needs get out of the house and live. It's too safe at home-" "Miles Eremita, you know just as well as I do that that is a lie. We live in Ponyville, Hun, we're still the chaos capitol of the world," I tell him, moving to dry the dishes. "Given. Anyway, let me talk with him. Did he finish his homework?" I roll my eyes at that. "What do you expect?" "Well, if we're going off of history, he's probably skipped ahead four chapters. Am I right?" "Eeeeyup," I mimic, making him laugh. "How do we punish overachieving?" "Fuck that noise. Give him the weekend off. Let him go hang out with Rampant or something." I sigh in irritation from that, getting his attention. "Oh... right. Well... get ready for an extremely bored Tempestive then, cause I got nothin'. Let me talk to him." "Alright, hold on." I set my last dish down and head up towards Tempestive's room. I knock before opening the door, finding it hard to do with all of the junk in the way. Toys, clothing, even random pieces of nature clutter up most of his room with one exception. A pathway leading to his bed and then to the bathroom remains clutter free, mainly from use. Two lumps lay under the disheveled bed sheets, one being Tempestive, the other undoubtedly being Lupus. "Honey, Dad's on the phone." "Dad?" Tempestive pops up from the lump at the foot of the bed runs over to me, taking my phone in his magical grasp. "Hello? Hi Dad! Good. Uh-huh. Chapter twelve.... Because I got bored. Good.... no... no... okay, maybe." I shake my head and head back downstairs to finish my chores. The two of them end up talking for a couple of hours, giving me plenty of time to get things straightened up around the house. I'm sure they're just catching up with each other, so I have no problems with it. Once I finish with my remedial chores, I lay on the couch and start to read a magazine to pass the time. After a bit of reading, Shadow makes it home, looking exhausted. "Everything okay?" I ask her as she plops into the recliner. "Well, I spent most of my day avoiding a colt that may or may not have a crush on me. Then I ran all over town because I thought he was trying to follow me, but it ended up being Scootaloo," She tells me bluntly. "Well... that was forward," I say, getting a chuckle from her as she continues to stare forward. "Is this colt bothering you?" "No... well, not intentionally," she tells me. "Okay then. So why were you running from him?" "... I don't know... Is it okay if the girls come over?" she asks distantly. "Uh... sure. Have you had lunch yet?" I ask concerned. "Yeah... school... I'm sorry, I need to lay down," she tells me as she gets up. "Swing by Tempestive's room first; your father is on the phone," I tell her, getting a nod in return. One thing I love about Shadow, she's too shy to get into trouble with colts. I'm not entirely sure how to deal with that, so thank you, Shadow. With a few hours left before I have to head over to Canterlot, I decide to get started on prepping lunch for the kids. These eight-hour shifts Celestia and I agreed on are a life saver for me. I think I would have gone insane with boredom by this point if it wasn't for them. And it helps me keep in touch with what's going on in the world. A bit hypocritical now that I think about it. I get to leave, but Tempestive has to stay inside. Then again, I'm leaving to work, not play. I actually really like this whole new arrangement. Now I never have to lower the moon. In the evening I raise the moon and lower the sun, while in the morning Celestia raises the sun and lowers the moon. We agreed on this so I could spend more time with my son, but now I never have to say goodbye to the moon. A little something I thought I'd dislike, but fully enjoy. The scheduling is still a little strange, but it beats being nocturnal I guess. "Here you go," Shadow says, bringing me back to reality. I thank her and take the phone, pressing it to my ear as she heads back to her room. "So what's going on with you?" Miles asks. "Me? Nothing really, why?" I ask suspiciously while chopping vegetables and setting a pot of water onto the stove to boil. "I've been gone for two months, Luna. How are you holding up?" he asks seriously. "Well..." I pause to check if the coast is clear. I hear Shadow walking upstairs, telling me she's out of earshot. "It's been rough." "I should be able to make it home within a few weeks. It won't be for long, but it's better than nothing," he consoles. "Good, because hooves are no replacement for... you know," I tell him, blushing slightly. I move onto the rice bag and levitate a portion out, putting it into the boiling water. I lean against the counter and wait for it to finish. "Good for what?" he asks smugly. "Anyway, I had to spend a weekend in Canterlot last month to avoid Tempestive. Also, ends up the halls in my tower echo-" "HA! Really!?" Miles laughs. "Watch it, buddy. You're on thin ice right now," I warn him. "Do you think you can make it back around the twentieth?" "Oh this month? No. Not even a chance. Next month... probably. We have the citizens meeting on the first, but that's nowhere near close enough now is it?" I bite my lip as I think about it. It's now within two weeks of my heat. "By the way, did you happen to explain Tempestive why you were gone?" "No, that's your job. If we end up having a filly eventually, then I'll do it,” I tell him flatly. "So you want another one then?" he asks smugly. "No, well, not right now at least... maybe. I don't know," I groan as I sit on the floor. "Tempestive and Shadow are already a hoof full, I couldn't imagine bringing in another foal. Maybe in a year or so when Tempestive is older and more understanding." "One year, got it-" "That was a maybe-" "I'll be sure to be there in one year. Think fertile thoughts until then. We still need to hit our quota of twelve kids-" "I'm maxing out at three and I don't care what you say," I tell him sternly. "Twenty, got it. Now, are you going to finally send me that picture?" my blush grows tenfold when he asks this. Ever since I've learned to use this phone he's been practically begging for me to send him a picture of my... privates. "Miles! Tempestive goes through our phones!" I yell at him in a hushed voice, ducking slightly for some reason. "So? Just delete it on your end and I'll put a password on my end. Just do it really quick while no one is looking." I look around in a panic and turn towards the pot, still blushing. "I'm not sending you a picture of flanks!" "Take a pussy shot then-" "Or that!" "Tits?" "No! Miles!" "What? We've been separated for two months now. Cut me some slack," he defends nonchalantly. I look around the room again to confirm that I'm alone at the moment. I'm not going to send him a picture of that, ever, but maybe I can do something else to trick him so he'll stop asking. "Hold on." I tell him. I can practically hear his eagerness from the other side, despite his lack of a response. I can feel my blush intensify as I look throughout the room and try to think of provocative things to do with various objects. Carrots, no too easy. Blueberries, no too small. Tempestive, no- "GAH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" "What? I'm just getting a snack. What are you doing?" he asks innocently. I try to think of an answer, but instead just scoop him up and kiss his cheek, taking the picture quickly. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?" "Annnnnd send," I say aloud as Tempestive drags his face over the floor. "Oh don't be over dramatic-" "I just washed my face of your germs! Now I have to do it all over! Why did you do that!?" he demands, still rubbing his face on the floor. Apparently my lips are dirtier than the floor. "Because you're my son and I love you," I tease him, walking after him. He quickens his pace to avoid me, so I lift him up with my magic. He continues to try and run midair, so I bring him over and hug him tightly while peppering his face with kisses. "MOOOOOAAM! STOP!" he yells as he tries to wiggle out of my grasp. "SOMEPONY SAVE ME! SHE'S GONE CRAZY WITH EMOTIONS AGAIN!" "Okay, I had my fill," I tell him with one final kiss to the cheek. I set him on the ground before me and ruffle his mane a bit, laughing at his disgruntled look. "Thou may go now." "Thou's not even a word," he grumbles as he leaves the room. I laugh a little more at him before returning to the phone. "He's right you know. Thou is not a word," Miles tells. "It is too a word. Now, here's your picture," I tell him as I send the picture. "... good enough for me... I guess. Alright, I have to get going now. I'll call again as soon as possible. Love you." "Love you too, stay safe," I tell him, feeling my heart twinge a bit. He hangs up before saying anything further, making me worry slightly. I hate it when he doesn't promise to be safe. I know it's a lot to ask for given the circumstances he's in, but I'd appreciate the reassurance at least. "Mom," Tempestive says from the stairs, looking nervous. "Is everything okay?" "Of course, why wouldn't it be?" I ask him, trying to mask my own concern. He steps out a bit further and keeps his gaze on his hooves. "You looked really sad a moment ago. Was that because of me?" he asks, glancing up at me. "What? No, sweetie. I promise you, you have done nothing wrong. It's just... the bad ponies Dad is... investigating, are keeping him busy. And I miss him dearly," I tell him softly, motioning for him to come closer. "I miss him too. When is he coming home?" he asks while taking a seat beside me. I glance over to the food and turn the heat off, letting it simmer. "Soon, hopefully. We'll at least be able to see him at the next citizens meeting for sure," I tell him, ruffling his mane and getting a soft smile in return. "In the meantime, can some friends come over? Pleeeeeeease?" he begs, putting on his best puppy face possible. I think it over for a second before getting an idea. "If you can get their mothers to say yes, then okay. But just for tonight, okay?" "Okay, GUYS SHE SAID YES!" he yells to the living room, dropping his little act. From the living room enter Rampant Growth and Jet Spectrum, the two of them wearing smug little smiles. "Let’s go to my room!" he yells, running past them quickly. "Thanks for letting us come over, mama Luna!" Jet yells to me before running off. "Yeah, also, what time will dinner be? Cause, I'm kind of hungry and would like to eat... is that rice? Never mind. Not hungry," Rampant rambles before running after the other two. Did... did I just get played by a six-year-old? Perspective: Tempestive I close the door to my room after everypony runs in and take a seat at my desk. Jet flies over to my bed and begins bouncing on it while Rampant starts digging through the stuff on the floor, looking for something. "Why is your room so dirty?" he asks irritably, tossing junk one way or the other. "I'll clean it eventually," I defend. "No... you... won't," Jet says between bounces. "Yeah, I won't. Anyway, what's on the agenda today?" I ask excitedly. Rampant stops his search for a moment before kicking over a toy, then smiles when he finds what he's looking for. He grabs whatever it is and pulls on it, making an isle pop up from underneath the layer of junk. Huh... so that's where that went. "Okay, operation 'Get Tempestive a Cutie' is back on track!" Rampant announces proudly as he steps his way to the front of the isle. "As we all know, attempts one through four-forty-six have failed miserably. So now it's back to the drawing board!" "Have... we... tried... bouncing?" Jet asks before landing on Lupus, getting an irritated growl from him. "He's not going to eat me... is he?" "Lupus? Nah. He couldn't hurt a fly, even if he wanted too! He's too old," I tell him, watching Lupus move to the other side of the bed and curl back into a ball, letting out a little sigh as he does so. "We tried bouncing back when the circus came into town, remember? The trampolines and elephants and the fire-" "Those poor carnies," Jet says mournfully, looking down. "Think they'll ever come back?" I ask. "Maybe after they buy a new tent," Jet says with a shrug, still looking down. "Come on guys, and you at least try to pretend to help? I'd think you'd be a little more enthusis... enthusiash... excited about getting a cutie mark Temp!" Rampant stumbles through. "... meh. In all honesty, I don't really care about getting my cutie mark. I get that they’re important and stuff, but I find it more fun attempting to earn one." "... Tempestive…," Rampant groans, rubbing the bridge of his nose while shaking his head. "You'll never become a stallion if you don't get your cutie mark." "That's not true-" "Prove me wrong," Rampant says smugly. I stop and try to think of a stallion who doesn't have a cutie mark... but can't. I know ponies who had to wait a long time for theirs. But, that doesn't help my argument. "Thought so. Now, back to business. We need fresh, new ideas if we're going to get anywhere-" "Well, we know it's not flying," Jet says proudly, glancing down to his cutie mark: a rainbow breaking the sound barrier. I look over to Rampant's cutie mark; an apple tree with blue apples made of gems, and wonder what it could mean. He's never told anypony how it got it or what it means. Every time I try and ask him about it, he just says nnnope and walks away. "I got it! Lion taming!" Rampant says excitedly. "Done it," I groan while leaning back in my chair. "Remember? Back at Fluttershy's?" "Oh yeah... hmm..." "What about... wolf training?" Jet asks, getting us all to look to Lupus. His ears perk up as his eyes open up and move about the room, glancing to all of us. "Well... Lupus does listen to me pretty well," I add, waiting for Rampant. He's rubbing his chin while staring down Lupus, calculating to himself. "What about Hati? Does she listen to you as well?" Jet asks. "Mostly. She listens to Mom more though-" "Because we haven't tried it enough yet, of course! It's perfect!" Rampant yells in triumph. "How could we have not seen this before! It was so obvious! C'mon, let's go out back and try it now!" Jet and I get excited from his enthusiasm and jump into the air, high hoofing. We look down and wait for Rampant to shed his yellow vest before joining in on our bro-hoof. We all take off for the back yard, slamming the door open as we all charge through. Together we glide down the stairs and skid to a stop at the bottom. We pause for a moment to wait for Lupus to come trotting after us, a bemused look upon his face. With him in tow, we head out towards the back door. "Slow it down, you three," Mom chides us as we run past her. "And lunch will be ready soon so don't go far!" "Kay, Mom!" I yell back to her when we make it out back. Once we make it out back I stand before Lupus and try to think of something to train him to do. "Oh! Make him do a back flip!" Jet starts out, jumping in place from excitement. "Or climb a tree! No, no! Train him to fight Ursas and hydras and Nagas and-" "How about we start with sitting," Rampant drones. "Oh... yeah, sure. Kind of boring but... sure." Jet deflates a bit, but continues to watch excitedly. I roll my shoulders and stretch my wings a bit, hyping myself for the exciting world of wolf training. "Lupus.... SIT!" I yell at him. ... "I said SIT!" ... "SIT!" He yawns and lays down before me, ticking into a ball. "No Lupus, sit not lay down." "It doesn't seem to be working," Jet complains. "Sit up Lupus!" "Give it a bit Jet, we only just started," Rampant defends. "Lupus, SIT! UP!" "There's no way we're going to get that wolf to sit up, let's just cut our losses and move on already." "C'mon Lupus, sit up! Sit! UP! LUPUS!" "Hmm... hold on... I think I've got it!" Rampant announces, getting me to stop yelling at Lupus. "My aunt is always saying that you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Lupus is probably too old to teach new tricks, so that means we're going to have to wolf puppies in order to teach them anything." "That actually make a lot of sense, though I guess it would if it wasn't coming from you," Jet says, making me snicker. "Look, if we're going to do this wolf training we're going to need young wolves. And I only know of one place to go to get young wolves," he says with a determined look as he steps forward. We move alongside him and stare into the dense forest ahead of us. "The Everfree?" I ask nervously. "Eeyup." "Isn't it supposed to be off limits?" Jet asks. "Eeyup." "How do you even know we're going to find any wolves in there?" "We'll never know without going in there. Once your mom leaves for work today we'll do a little reconnaissance and do our major trek in during the weekend. Sound good?" Rampant asks with that tone of voice. "Is that a rhetorical question?" I ask. "Am I supposed to understand that word?" he replies. "Boys! Lunch!" Mom yells from behind. "Hurry up or it'll get cold."
Chapter 203 Easy MysteryChapter 203 Easy Mystery Jet, Rampant and I ran in and took our seats quickly. The sooner we finish our food; the sooner we can get back to wolf training. Shadow, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom casually take the other side of the dining table, finishing whatever conversation they were having. "What are you three up to?" Shadow asks me. "Nothing," I answer quickly. Short, quick answers. Yeah, that'll get her off my case. "Right, so what are you up to?" she presses, leaning over the table a bit. "Nothing," I say again. Why is she pressing this? Why does she always press it? "C'mon, little brother, what are you up to?" she asks again, smirking slightly. "Nothing, I swear! We're just wolf trai-" Rampant shoves his hoof into my mouth to stop me from saying anything else. "Don't worry about it, filly. Important stallion business, leave it at that-" "You're just trying to get Tempestive his cutie mark, aren't you?" Scootaloo asks bluntly. "... maybe. Don't worry about." The three of us share an uneasy glance before Mom saves the day by enter the room with the food. She sets the large pot in the center and begins to levitate out portions for each of us. "Alright, I have to get going soon. While I'm gone, Shadow is in charge. Please don't burn the house down," she says the last part looking to my side of the table, to which we all shrug. I swear, one time. It's not like we can even do that. The house is made of stone; you can't burn stone. "Okay?" "Kay," we all agree before digging in, avoiding eye contact with anypony. "Alright, I'm off then. Be careful with whatever it is you guys are doing okay," mom tells me before sneaking in a kiss on the side of my head. I scrunch up from the contact- THUD Then wince when Rampant and Jet punch me in the shoulder. It stings, but it's the only known cure for femininity. Mom says her other goodbyes before trotting out of the room, leaving us in an awkward silence. Shadow has that knowing smirk on her face. The one that tells me that we're probably not going to do our wolf training today. Knock knock knock We all pause for a second while Shadow goes to answer the door- SLAM Without warning she slams the door shut and runs up the stairs. We all stare back there for a moment before the girls go and check on her, Scootaloo checking on the door. The three of us look to each other before downing the rest of our food and running back outside. We line up and face the Everfree again, ready to charge in. "Where's Lupus?" Jet asks. "I think he's eating Shadows food," I note, looking back. "Eh, ya snooze ya lose, or get your meal eaten at least. Now, to the task at hoof. Which way should we go?" We all pause for a moment to think it over before Rampant and I point in different directions. "My mom is an animal expert; we should go that way!" "I live with wolves; we should go that way!" I yell back at Rampant. We both look over to Jet and wait for him to voice his opinion. "Um... well... I'd have to throw my vote with Rampant on this one. You may live with Lupus, but he doesn't really count as a wolf." I sigh in defeat as Rampant steps forward, a triumphant grin plastered on his face. "Alright, follow me!" he yells before running into the woods, Jet and I running after him. Perspective: Shadow I slam the door to my room shut and dive underneath my bed sheets. Why is this happening to me?! I just want to get through school without anything major happening so I can move to Moosden and be secluded for the rest of my life, I that really too much to ask for? After who what feels like an eternity I hear hoof steps and mumbling outside my door, making me cower some more. "Shadow? You okay in there?" Sweetie Bell asks from the door, knocking softly a few times. "No." "We're going to come in, Applebloom and I, okay?" They open and close the door quietly and take tentative steps towards me. I pull the sheets closer to myself and try to imagine myself somewhere else. "So, on a scale from the birds and bees talk to Hayvana, how bad is this one?" "Um... I'd say... remember when we accidentally walked into the stallion’s locker room after swimming lessons?" "That was you who screamed that day?" Rumble chuckles, making me freeze. I peer over the edge of my blanket and look over to see him as well as all of my friends, Pipsqueak, and Button Mash, standing in my room. "That actually makes sense now that I think about it-" "Why are you all in my room!?" I demand before hiding underneath my bed sheet again. "Why are hiding under your blanket?" Rumble asks nonchalantly. "It's safe here! Why are you- WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" I practically have a heart attack when somepony begins to pull the sheet away from me. I try to yank them back as somepony else tries to pry them away from me. "Give... it... up!" Applebloom growls as the blankets pull away from me. "NEVER!" I yell back as I bite onto the blanket and pull back. "Help me!" With a final pull, the blanket is yanked from my grasp. I fall out of bed and fall onto something from all of their combined effort. After a hazy moment I look down and find myself laying on top of Rumble. We stare at each other for a moment, face to face, before he smiles up at me. "So, wanna go out some time?" He asks casually. "..." "You know, like a date." "..." "Between you... and me." "..." "Is she broken or something-" "Hold on," Scootaloo tells him before moving over to my side. She lifts me off of him and stands me up right, sizing me over a bit- SMACK "IknowwhatyoudotomaresandI'mnotreadyforthatkindofstuffandIthinkmymomanddadwouldprobablykillyoubutI'mnotsure!" I blurt out at once, getting odd looks from everypony. "Um... so... yes, no, maybe?" Rumble asks to clarify, tilting his head slightly. "Uh..." "It's a yes." Sweetie Bell answers. "WHAT!?" I yell, blushing madly as I stare at her. "Sweet. So I'll pick you up here then. How's Friday at six sound?" he asks, smiling even more. "She'll be ready!" Applebloom tells him, putting a hoof around my neck. "I will!?" I ask, looking to Applebloom in complete shock. Why are they doing this to me? What did I do to deserve this? "Alright, I'll be here then. Catch you later." He tells me before walking out of my room. I stay quiet until I hear him walking down the stairs. Once he's gone, I begin to pace around my room quickly, hyperventilating. "What... why... how... when... whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!?" I ask between breaths, practically running around my crowded room. Scootaloo stops me with a hoof to the chest and offers me a brown bag. I take the bag and hold it to my mouth, breathing into slowly. "So, which one of you two brought him here?" she asks Button and Pip, making them both sweat a bit. "Well... he kind of... approached the two of us at the same time." Button begins, rubbing the back of his neck slightly. "Two weeks ago that is," Pip continues, glancing at Button before continuing. "He's been asking about you for a while now. And... well-" "He sort of followed us here and asked if we could introduce the two of you." Button finishes. They both try to smile and look innocent, but once I get my breathing back I'm going to strangle the two of them to death. "Well, now that that part is over with, onta more important matters. Are you actually going to go out with him?" Applebloom asks me, getting everypony to look at me. I pause in my breathing to look back at all of them before doubling my breaths, almost ripping the bag apart. "Didn't you promise us earlier that you'd try to be more sociable?" Scootaloo asks, to which I shake my head no. "C'mon, Shadow. Just go on one date. One, teeny, tiny, little date. You don't even have to put that much effort into it! Just go along with whatever he has planned, maybe answer a question or two, and that's it," Sweetie Bell offers, moving up to my side and wrapping a hoof around my neck in a light hug. I look between her and the others before setting the bag down. "One date... one date and you guys drop the whole sociable thing?" I ask. "Weeeeeell.... sure. You go on this date, and we'll all drop this sociable thing. Pinkie promise," she tells me before they all go through the motions for a Pinkie Promise. I think about it for a moment before relaxing a bit. One date. I can handle that. I mean, what's the- "Hey guys-" "IT'S NOT FRIDAY YET!" I yell before diving behind Sweetie Bell. "Uh... I know. I was just on my way out when I noticed that your brothers were missing," Rumble tells us. ... ... ... ... ... "*sigh* Everfree?" Scootaloo asks aloud. "Eeyup," Applebloom answers. "Here we go again," Sweetie Bell drones. "Um... shouldn't we... I dunno... call the guard or something?" Rumble asks nervously. "Not to sound like a wuss or anything, but... it's the Everfree." "*sigh* I'll get the emergency forest kit," I say as I stand up and head to my closet. Here we go again. Perspective: Tempestive "*Inhale* Haaaaaaaaaaa. Dont'chya just love the Everfree this time of year? The birds are singing, the leaves are hitting their darkest colors, that fresh breeze through your mane... that's it. When I'm old and useless, I'm going to build a house out here," Rampant tells us as we march through the forest, heading north west. "What about your farm?" I ask him, jumping on top of a fallen tree. "Like I said, when I'm old and useless.” he repeats, jumping up behind me. "I want to live in a cloud house made from the steam of a volcano," Jet tells us, gliding above us in circles. "Wouldn't that make it really hot?" I ask. "I'd pull them away obviously. But they'd stay at a higher temperature than normal clouds. And I like being warm; so, that's my plan. What about you?" I pause to think about it. What kind of house do I want to live in when I'm old and useless? "Hmm... I never really thought about it. I guess I would just use my current house. I mean, I live in it now. And I'm pretty comfy, so, why not?" "Lame," Rampant says bluntly. "After we get you your cutie mark, we're getting you some ambition. I swear, who'd want to stay home when they're old and useless?" "... all of us?" I kind of ask, looking to Jet. He shrugs and flies forward, scouting the area ahead. "Anyway, where should we start looking for wolves?" "Wolves?" Rampant asks, stopping in his tracks. "We were just talking about it!" Jet yells at him as I face hoof. "Jet, just... *sigh* just try to not embarrass yourself right now," he tells him before continuing on. Jet and I share a look before both face hoofing. Only Rampant. "So, we're looking for wolves. Wolves are basically like dogs. And my dog likes to hide under the house, so we need to head downwards. Like, a cave or something." "That... makes a lot of sense," Jet says slowly in disbelief. "Ye of little faith!" Rampant yells at him, making him roll his eyes. "When have I ever let you down? Trust me, we'll find those wolves and train the fur off of them. Just you wait." We leave it at that and continue trotting through the forest. Arguing with Rampant is like trying to divide by zero, you just don't do it. The forest is silent with the exception of our hoof steps. We avoid stepping through any tall plants and spend what feels like hours following what looks to be an old trail left from something passing through earlier. There are several of these trails throughout the forest. Some go in huge circles, while others bring you to cliffs or rivers. Regardless of where they are, though, they all share the similar wear, which tells me one thing: Spartan training. Dad says he's elsewhere in the world right now, doing diplomatic stuff. But I have a feeling he's here too. Maybe not all of the time, but... I don't know. I just have this gut feeling that he's here, in this forest. I also know that most of the Spartans are here as well. I can't explain how they could be operating here, the Griffin Colonies, and everywhere else; probably has something to do with Easy, but I am without a doubt certain that they are here on occasion. They'd have to be, who else would be doing the training? "Is that a cave over there!?" Jet asks excitedly. I push through some brush and stop before the mouth of a large cave. A small mound covered in new plant growth sits before us with a path going into it. The path looks as if it leads back through the forest and back to town. "What do you think? Wolves?" Jet asks. "It looks ponymade," I mention, eyeing the path. "Well, if it's ponymade, I doubt we'll find any wolves in there. But... I mean, we're here. Why not have a look in?" Rampant asks, stepping closer to the mouth. We walk up beside him just outside the mouth and stand there for a moment. An eerie coolness creeps out from the darkness and washes over me, sending shivers down my spine. "Maybe we shouldn't go in. I mean, we're here for wolves, not caves," I nervously tell the others. "Well... I mean, if you don't want to we don't have to," Jet tells me, trying his best to sound brave. "What!? C'mon you fillies! Don't be such a scaredy pony! It's just a deep, dark cave in the middle of the Everfree-" "If you're so brave then why don't you go in then?" Jet cuts him off. "Why would I go in alone. You never separate from the group, ever. That's Everfree one o one, kid," Rampant tells him, facing off with him. I was about to interject when a pair of yellow eyes from within the cave catch my attention. "Uh... guys?" "You just don't want to admit to being scared!" Jet yells at Rampant. "I think we should leave," I say as more yellow eyes appear in the cave. "And you just won't admit you wet the bed last time you slept over!" Rampant yells back at him. "I DIDN'T WET THE BED! I JUST SPILLED MY GLASS OF WATER!" "A likely story-" "LOOK OUT!" I yell at the top of my lungs, getting them both to look into the cave. They join me in screaming when the eyes begin to move towards us, grabbing me tightly as the terror in the dark approaches. "May I have-" "RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" I scream at the top of my lungs, letting go of the others before I try to take off through the forest. The three of us are lifted off the ground by a light black aura, keeping us from running away. "TEMPESTIVE!" Shadow yells before she and her friends jump out of some bushes, led by Lupus. They seem a little roughed up and are short on breath, but, more importantly, they seem angry. "Shadow! Yell later, run now!" I yell back at her as I continue to try and run, even though I'm still in the air. "What have we told you about-" she starts to yell as she marches towards me, but stops when something steps in her way. "May I have your autograph?" A metal... thing, stands before Shadow. It's tall and stand on two legs, with two arms on its side. It appears to be some form of machine, I can tell due to the lack of... well, it might be a metal elemental actually. Though, I've never seen a form like that. It's almost like a chimp, only... it's too... upright. Not to mention the sword arm and... other... appendage, aren't the same. It looks like it's holding a mass of tools on its left arm. "What the heck is that thing!?" Jet, Rampant, that light grey stallion behind Shadow, and I all yell at the same time. Shadows' ears fall her the side as she steps back, gulping audibly. "Well... uh... it's a... um... I am in so much trouble," she says in defeat, lowering her head. I was about to question her more when more metal things ran out of the cave and surrounded us. The new ones are all black and carry large diamond shaped shields with them. BOOM BOOM BOOM We all jump slightly when we hear the sounds of explosions in the distance. The metal beings stay rigged though, not even slightly flinching from the sudden noise. "Easy, guide us home," Shadow says shortly. "Very well," The metal being, Easy, replies. Who is this... thing? He sounds like the Easy I know, but he looks nothinglike my Easy. Well... the head is sorta similar. Maybe they're related? Without saying a word to the others, they begin to walk in formation down the path. The way they're walking looks... uncomfortable, but I don't question it. Shadow seems really mad right now, and I don't want to dig myself any deeper right now. Though, eventually, I will have to ask her what that cave was and where the explosions were coming from. "You okay Shadow?" the light grey stallion asks, trotting up next to her. "I'll tell you about it later. Let’s just get out of here first," she replies, giving him a funny look. I've seen that look before. It's the look Dad gives Mom when something's wrong... when did Shadow get a coltfriend? She hasn't written it in her diary, so he must be new. ... ... ... Wait a minute. Shadow has a coltfriend that Dad doesn't know about... yes! Blackmail! I'm not getting in trouble! Score! We all spend the rest of the trip in silence for many reasons. The metal beings seemed to have scared Rampant and Jet from talking, though I don't know why. They listen to Shadow as if she was their lord and master. Given, they have weapons for arms, but... still. If they were going to attack they would have by now. I wonder where they're from. Is that cave their home? I want to ask them, but I keep quiet due to Shadows mood. She's in one of those states where any noise you make will get that look from her. The one where she gets madder and glares at you with that really intense stare. Not quite the Mrs. Shy stare, but pretty close. So, for now, I'll keep quiet, at least until we make it home. When we finally do make it home we all separate, everyone going off in their own groups. Rampant, Jet and I all share a look before leaving. I'm pretty sure we all got the same message though. We're going back to check out that cave. The grey stallion stays behind though, for... obvious reasons. "Tempestive-" "Is he your coltfriend?" I ask quickly to get the upper hoof on the situation. "What!? No! We haven't even gone on our date yet-" "You're dating?" Oh Shadow... you make this too easy. "Tempestive, I swear-" "Easy there," the stallion says, putting a hoof on her shoulder. "Let me handle this." Okay, wasn't expecting this. That's okay, I can handle this guy... I think. "What's your name?" "She just said it." I deadpan. "Right, Tempestive. I'm Rumble, I go to school with Shadow," he says in a calm voice as he sits before me. I don't get his play, what's he trying to do exactly? "What exactly are you going to do when your parents get home?" "Um... I dunno. Depends on what happens now," I reply, trying to mimic his cool composure. I need to keep my answers short and as vague as possible. "Well, I see two options. Either you don't say anything and go about your day normally, or tell them everything that happened. Now, if you tell them what happened, including everything about Shadow and myself, the only one to lose out will be you. But, if you help us out, then you're off the hook. Plus, I may or may not have something else to entice you. Your call," he says with a smug look. "... what is it?" I ask curiously. I don't want to cave, but... if it's something cool then... maybe this once. "Can't say until you give me your answer. What's it going to be? Being grounded, or not?" he asks, a smug, confident smile taking his face. In all honesty, I probably would get in more trouble than anypony else right now. Plus, this lets me use them later for blackmail, so... "Okay. I'll keep quiet. Now what is the thing you have?" I ask, still keeping my cool complexion about. "I'll give it to your sister later tonight, right after our date-" "Our what now?" Shadow asks, but is ignored. "Do you like Airball by chance?" he asks, sitting up to inspect his hoof a bit. "... maybe, why?" I ask, trying to hide the fact that I love Airball. "Well, I play a little. And I could get you tickets to my next game... in Cloudsdale." I feel my eyebrow shoot up in interest almost instantly. Not only am I going to go see an Airball game, but all the way in Cloudsdale! That's awesome! I've never been there before; this is going to be so cool! "I'll take that as a yes. Why don't you hold the fort while Shadow and I... get those tickets? Think you can handle that?" "Yes! I mean... yeah, I guess." I cough a bit and try to relax in an attempt to be impassive. I might not be working, but I don't really care right now. Airball in Cloudsdale, WHOOOOOOO! "Um.... I don't think-" "You good to go?" Rumble asks Shadow, making her blush. "It's only one date." "But... he... what happened to Friday?" she asks weakly. "Well, we can wait till then. But the game is Thursday so-" "Shadow, for the sake of Airball, go get those tickets," I tell her in a serious tone. "But-" "C'mon, at least walk with me to school to get the tickets," he asks, stepping closer to her and making her blush even more. "It'll be really quick. I promise." "Well... Tempestive-" "I'm fine! I won't touch anything! Tickets!" I bark at her as I start to push her out the door. I don't get far, but she begins to move when Rumble wraps his wing around her shoulders and ushers her out. Once they make it past the door I slam it shut and do a small victory dance. Yes! Airball! Cloudsdale Contrails versus the Ponyville Predators! All on Thursday! Ye... wait a minute. He goes to school with Shadow... and is playing... Darn it! It's a high school game! He tricked... he tricked me? Huh... clever pony, he actually tricked me. I've... never had another pony trick me... besides Dad at least... hm. I've got my eyes on you, Rumble. Author's Note Shout out to Pliny for jumping on board as editor! Thanks for the help man. I, and I'm sure all the readers, appreciate it. Brony on!
Chapter 204 First and LastChapter 204 First and Last Perspective: Shadow I'm hyperventilating! I'm freaking out! I need my bag, no! I need my blanket! Maybe I can escape while he's not looking. All I would need to do is stop moving and slip out from underneath his amazing wing and run home. Or better yet, run back to Moosden and hide there. Maybe Na-Da would help hide me, because I know my mother’s wouldn't. Okay, that's the plan then. Just stop moving, let him go on for a few more steps, then turn tail and run. Okay, on three. One, two, three! ... ... ... Legs! You betray me! Just stop moving... LEGS! Why, why have you forsaken me!? Please! We're getting close to Ponyville! Ponies will see us and I'll die of embarrass- and we turned left. "Um... where are we going?" I ask as we cut through the park. "Don't worry about it. I have it all planned out," he assures me, tightening his grasp on me. This pulls me closer to him so we're now shoulder to shoulder. ... he has a soft coat. I don't know why, but... I'm not sure if I like that. I mean, it's pleasant and all, it's just... I dunno. I guess I wasn't expecting that from a stallion. Then again, the only stallion I really interact with is Dad and... well. He's not really the soft type. We walk for a few minutes in silence as we circle around Ponyville. A few times I try to think of something to say, but end up hiding from his gaze. He chuckles a few times at that, something I'm a little unsure if like or not. I mean, he has a pleasant laugh, or chuckle, I just hope he's not laughing at me. "Alrighty, here we are," he announces. I look up and note that we're standing in front of a house on the edge of town. It's a simple two story house, nothing special about it on the outside. Rumble walks to the front door, unlocks it, and holds it open for me. "Is this your home?" I ask as I take slow, nervous steps towards the doorway. "Yeah. I figured you wouldn't like anywhere public, so somewhere private would be best. We're on the edge of town, so nopony will see or hear us. And my brother is usually out till late, so we don't have to worry about anypony walking in on us." I think about it for a moment and nod to his logic. He's actually being really thoughtful on my behalf. I take a deep breath before stepping inside, feeling a bit more at ease now. The inside is much more than I was expecting. The furniture is new and modern while the decor is light and colorful. There are a few paintings on the walls that I've never seen the likes of as well. The carpet is soft under my hooves and the room itself feels warm and inviting. "Wow," is all I can muster as I stand at the entrance. Rumble chuckles again and walks in past me, shutting the door when he enters. "Yup. This is my humble abode. Just me and my brother here, usually. Follow me, the kitchen it in the back." I nod and follow after him, looking around the room curiously. The kitchen is as equally as impressive as the living. Black granite counters, an island with bar stools, and modern appliances it's not hard to see that Rumble and his brother are... comfortable. "So what does your brother do?" I ask when he pulls a chair out for me. I thank him and sit down, feeling a bit odd about the gesture. This would be the first time somepony held a chair for me. It's... weird. "He's a private contractor with the cloud factory. Sorry, I've got left over pasta, but can't really make anything at the moment," he mentions as he pulls out the dish. "That's fine. Anything sounds good right now." He nods and goes about taking out the left overs and preparing them. I find myself in awe of how easily he works in the kitchen. The cooking seems more like a remedial chore rather than some elaborate task. "When did you learn to cook?" "I've been cooking for as long as I can remember. You see, it's always been just me and my bro. My mom passed when I was little and dad was never a part of the picture to begin with. So, when my brother wasn't working, he was teaching me to take care of myself." "Wow. I'm sorry to hear that." I tell him, getting a smirk from him. "Thanks, but don't worry about it. Once my brother got this better job life became easier for the both of us. Plus, it's not like I knew either of them anyway." "... I don't know my parents either." I tell him quietly, getting him to pause and look to me. "Don't you live-" "I was adopted. My father... found me. I was in a bad place at a bad time and he saved me. But, then he became... sick, and everypony thought he was going to die. So he had to give me up. Luckily my mother’s adopted me before the worse came to be, well... almost be." "So, your dad is still alive?" He asks slowly, bringing his attention partially back to the food. "Yeah. He was... cured? Changed would be a better word. And luckily they live close enough to each other so I didn't have to pick one or the other," I assure him. "Well that's good to hear. I couldn't imagine how hard it would have been if you had to have picked. But, you didn't, so that's that." I smile at his words. He has a certain... calm demeanor that just... puts me at ease. Like, I don't have to worry about what I say around him. That he won't get mad at anything I ask or say. Well... time to see if that's actually the case. "Rumble... did you bring me here just to have sex?" I ask cautiously. He chuckles a bit before bringing over two plates of Alfredo pasta. "Would you believe me if I said no?" He asks, giving me an odd look. It's not that he looks funny or anything. It's just... I think he finds this too funny for how serious I am. "Didn't think so. Okay, here's me on a plate, take what you will. I have been around the block a few times. It's no secret. But that's not what I'm after. When I enter a relationship with a girl I move at her speed. I will never make you do something you are not comfortable with. Period. Now, that's not to say that I won't test the boundaries every now and again. I personally believe that boundaries grow with their relations. It's just a sign that we're getting closer, to me at least. So, if you're willing to have sex, then cool. Let's get to it, I'm told I'm pretty good at. If not, then eat up, your pasta will get cold." He takes a seat beside me and begins to twat his food. I sit there for a moment and just stare at him, dumbfounded. I don't know if that's that worlds most rehearsed and practiced line ever, or if he's actually genuine about everything he said. Do I even want it to be true? I mainly came with him to get this one date over with. What would being in a relationship with Rumble even be like. Would he always be like this, or is this just a facade? Is there even a way to know without trying? "Rumble?" I ask, still staring at him. "Yes, Shadow," he replies, not even looking away from his plate. "I... I-I uh... I don't know if I'm ready for... any of this." I admit to him, feeling my heart beat a bit faster from my own embarrassment. "Uh... yeah, I know." "You... you know? Is your cutie mark for psychology or something?" I ask, getting him to laugh again. "Actually, it's for making thunder. Shadow, in the past three years I've had at least twenty relationships, even more if you count one night stands, plenty of frisky encounters, and more turn on then you could even identify. I could practically tell you every mares knack from Ponyville High from first hoof experience. Then one day I saw you running by in gym and I didn't even know your name. So, I told myself I'd figure you out. I guess along the way I developed a bit of a crush on you, but I-" "A... a crush!? Really-" "Shadow, we're technically on a date. That should have been obvious by now," he deadpans. "Oh... I guess that's true. Go on." I shy away from him, getting him to chuckle and put a hoof on my shoulder. I feel my cheeks catch fire and my nerves ignite from the simple contact. "After asking around I found out what a recluse you were. So I knew from the beginning that we'd be taking baby steps. Are you okay with this?" He asks, rubbing my shoulder slightly. "Uh... I guess, I mean... maybe? Sorry-" "Don't be sorry," he cuts me off, pausing his action. "We're finding your boundaries. If you don't like it, then say so. You are not going to offend me in any way. I promise," he offers me a warm smile, to which I return in kind. "It's okay." I tell him quietly, turning my head to try and hide my blush. "Cool, but why don't we continue this somewhere else?" he asks while sliding out of his seat. I nod and follow after him, heading upstairs. We go through the first door on the right and enter his room. It's much simpler than the rest of the house, having normal furniture and posters of normal colt stuff: sports mainly. He trots to his bed and takes a seat on the edge, patting the dark blue cloth beside him. I gulp before walking over and sit beside him. If my nerves were shot before, they're being stabbed now. "So... what now? More shoulder rubbing?" I ask shakily, chuckling oddly at the end. "As awesome as that was, I was thinking something a little more... brave," he suggests, scooting so we're pressed against one another. "Brave? Brave how?" I ask, looking to him. Our eyes meet for a moment before his close slowly. I watch as he leans closer to me until I feel his lips brush against mine softly. ... ... ... ... ... ... "Shadow?" ... ... ... ... ... "Shadow? You okay?" "What?" I ask, blinking a few times. "We kissed and you kind of... froze. Was that too much?" he asks worriedly. I think about it for a moment before it all comes back to me. "Oh... yeah." I say dreamily, not really thinking. "Heh, so you liked it?" he asks, wrapping a leg around me. "Yeah." "Would you like another?" "Yeah- I mean! Sure, uh... heh, yes?" Why am I correcting myself with similar answers? Regardless of my awkwardness, Rumble leans forward and we kiss again. I sigh into his soft lips and try to mimic his actions, not knowing exactly what to do. It starts out awkward at first, especially when we bump teeth. But we keep at it and I slowly learn what not to do. He pulls me closer to him and I wrap my hooves around his neck, purely out of instinct. He doesn't seem to mind though, he just moves his hooves closer to my hips and continues to work his lips with mine. His lips remind me of his coat, only being much softer than I would have guessed. When I move my hooves I take a moment to feel his taunt muscles under his soft coat. His years of being an athlete have paid off, giving him a strong, well-formed body. Though I thought this would probably give me a heart attack, I feel surprisingly safe right now. Part of me wants to start hyperventilating while the other part wants... I'm unsure. I can feel it in the bottom of my stomach. It feels warm and... needs something. I have several guesses as to what it wants, but I'm not going to try any of those any time soon. I pause and pull back in surprise when I feel something in my mouth. Rumble chuckles and sticks his tongue out at me, making me chuckle. I chuckle too before leaning back in to kiss again, this time trying it out with my tongue as well. I surprise myself again by my own eagerness, but disregard it to focus on our wrestling match. Rumble hums before giving up and letting me invade his mouth, where I eagerly start to explore. I can still taste the pasta in his mouth. The notion creeps me out a bit, but I ignore it for now. I can always brush my teeth afterwards anyway. I let out an 'eep' when he grabs my shoulder and falls onto the bed, bringing me down with him. We both chuckle and get right back to it, both of our mouths becoming slick with our saliva. I feel my eagerness grow the more and more we kiss and pull each other closer to each other. That is, until I felt something poke my stomach. I stop everything I'm doing and stare at him for a moment before looking down. "Heh, sorry about that. Things were getting heated and... well, he has a mind of his own sometimes." Rumble tells me pulling back so his erection isn't poking me. Immediately, every good feeling or sense of relaxation leaves me as I stare at his throbbing member. "Uh... Shadow? You okay there?" "..." "Um... I think that's enough of that for today then. I can leave the room if that'll help." "..." "Yeah, I'm going to-" "Wait!" I cover my mouth when I yell at him. He stops and stares at me, waiting for me to continue. "You don't have to leave." "... what?" "We're not going to do anything. I'm telling you that now. But... you don't have to leave," he thinks about it for a moment before laying back down. "Are you sure about this?" he asks cautiously. "Y-yeah. I... uh... ahem, it'll be fine. It's fine. Just don't worry about it okay?" "Okay-" "See, because if you worry about it, you'll over think things and mistakes will be made and I'll probably get pregnant despite the fact that my last heat was two weeks ago so just stop worrying about it okay?" "O-" "Okay." I try to keep eye contact with him, but keep glancing at his member for... whatever reason. Rumble shrugs it off and lays on his back. Not the best position, given the circumstances. He reaches under his bed and pulls out a magazine. "Um... what's that?" "It's just a little story I've been following. Want to read one with me?" he asks, glancing to me with eager eyes. "Um... alright-y then." I say as I take the comic, still staring at his... thing. He sighs and flips through a few pages before settling on one. I'm not sure how long goes by, but eventually his thing softens and retreats back inside. When it's finally gone, I glance out the window and notice it's getting late. "What time is it?" "Close to six. You've been staring for quite some time you know," He tells me, flipping to the next page of his comic. "Oh... sorry." "Don't be, if anything it just helped my ego," he says with a laugh. I try to chuckle along with him, but... yeah, this is awkward. "I think I should be heading home now. It's getting late and all-" "Cool, I'll walk you home-" "You don't have to-" "But I want to-" "I think it'd be best if I went by myself-" "What kind of stallion would have their marefriend walk home alone?" he asks, making me freeze. Marefriend? When did that happen? Well... I guess after we started sucking face. With a shrug I get off the bed and wait for him to follow after. He gives me a funny look before joining me. "Are you okay? With this I mean. Us." "Uhm... I'm not sure. This is happening... pretty fast." I tell him, looking away from his gaze. He brings a hoof up to my chin and lifts it so we're making eye contact. "How about we start out as friends with... limited benefits. Ease into this thing," he asks with a confident smile. "Are you sure? I mean... I know there are plenty of other-" "Trust me. I know what I want. And if I have to wait, then wait I shall. Okay?" We stare into each other’s eyes, slowly inching towards each other, before our lips meet once again. The kiss is soft and telling. Everything will be okay. I can trust him. I don't have to worry with him here. Everything will be okay. When we pull back I can't help but smile, getting a chuckle from him again. "Okay. I trust so... yeah." "Yeah?" he asks, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah." I repeat in a goofy voice, blushing from my awkwardness. He wraps a wing around me and escorts me out of his house and back home. The entire way back we keep quiet, enjoying each other’s company. We cut through the park again, avoiding the prying eyes of Ponyville. When we make it to the front door we turn and face one another, keeping our noses pressed against each other’s. "So... here we are," he whispers to me. "Yeah," I whisper back. "I'll see you tomorrow?" "Yeah." "Are you frozen again?" He asks, making me laugh. "Sorry," I say with a blush. He leans forward and gives me a quick kiss on the lips before taking off through the air. I stand there and watch him fly off before sighing contently. I still have a lot of things to think over, but I still feel... good, about all of that. Things got pretty heated, but he held himself back. I'm a little stunned at how... forward I was. But... I don't know. I need to get writing in my diary. I turn and walk through the front door. Luckily enough, the house is still in one piece. Tempestive is in the living room reading a magazine, so I... wait a minute. "Tempestive?" I ask as I turn towards him. He shudders a bit and tries to hide his face in the 'magazine'. "I'll go easy on you if you just hand it over." "Without hands that seems a little-" "Tempestive." I say firmly. He fringes at that and reveals my diary from behind the magazine. "You misspelled-" "Go to your room." I cut him off slowly. He gets off the couch and gives me my diary before running upstairs. I let out a long breath before heading out the backdoor. I'm in too good of a mood right now to let this ruin it. I take the mico plat- CRASH THWUMP As soon as I teleported something crashed right into me and sent the both of us flying back. Whatever hit me, a pony I think, we tumble a bit before we come to a stop. My head spins for a second before I look up. A dark grey unicorn, with yellow eyes and white hair, stands above me. He seems to be around my age, maybe a tab bit older. His breath is labored and he's sweating lightly. We stare at each other for a moment before he looks back and runs for the platform, disappearing in a flash. Once he's gone, I see my E'Claire running towards me with several bots behind her. "Shadow! Are you okay!?" She asks as she helps me sit up. "Uh... yeah, I might have bit my tongue." I say while trying to glance at my tongue. It's a little numb, but no worse for wear. "THE FIEND! Drag his mangy hide back here!?" She orders to the bots. "I'm sorry. Ponyville is currently under the jurisdiction of-" "AH DAMMIT!" She yells, slamming her hoof against the ground. She's breathing heavily a looks like a complete mess. I glance back at the town and see a few turned over stalls and flipped tables. "Who was that. What's going on? Are you going to be alright?" "Some hoodlum scumbag that was trying to steal some food. Never mind him though. I doubt he'll be coming around here anytime soon." Mom tells me, glaring at the mico platform with fiery eyes. "But... who was he?" I ask, looking to the platform as well. Perspective: Rumble With a few lazy flaps I make my way through the air and head hack home. That was... something else, to say the least. I had a feeling that things would be different with Shadow, but... well, damn. Tongue on her first kiss. I mean, I'm probably to blame for how fast it went. But to defend myself, I was just going with the motions. I didn't want to ruin the mood. Oh well, hopefully she won't worry too much about it. I see somepony waiting at my front door and sigh when I realize who it is. Sadly, she spots me and waves me down, so I glide down and land before her. "What are you doing here Diamond Tiara?" "What? I was out for a run and thought I'd stop by for a glass of water. Are you really going to deny me water Rumble?" she asks as she saunters up to me. I hate to admit it, but her light blue sweatbands look really good on her. Not to mention her hair underneath that headband really compliments... everything. "See something you like?" She asks with a wink. "D.T., we broke up two months ago-" "So now I can't even have a glass of water?" She asks with a playful smirk. I roll my eyes and open the door for her. "Please... come in," I drone. She trots in happily and runs her tail across my chin, filling my nose with her perfume. I really shouldn't go in there- CLICK ... but apparently my legs have other plans. Damn you legs, damn you. I follow after her into the kitchen where I watch her pour a glass of water. She then goes through extraordinary lengths to make drinking said glass of water as sexual as possible. "... what are you doing?" I ask, shaking my head slightly. "What? I'm thirsty," she says cutely, batting her eyes at me. "D.T., I think I know you well enough to know why you're really here." "Alright then, let’s stop beating around the bush then," she says, dropping her little act. She walks right up to me and pushes her lips right against mine. I hold still as she tries to force her tongue in, holding my lips closed tightly. "Come on Rumble, open up." She moans before trying again, finding similar results. "D.T. I can't," I try to say while looking away from her. She backs off finally and looks at me like I'm crazy. "You... can't?" She asks with a scoff. "I have a marefriend now... I think." "You think? Well, do you or don't you?" She asks irritably. "Well... I'm not really sure. We at least have another date-" "So you're dating. What's the problem?" "Well, this would-" "We're just two ponies, coming together and sharing their bodies. Nothing personal behind it." She tells me, pressing her lips against my neck and planting soft kisses. I shiver from the touch, hating that she knows my weak spots. "Besides, if you're not even sure she's with you, what's the problem?" "Well..." I groan when she moves back to my neck and gently begins to bite at the same spot. "Well..." "Well?" she asks, pulling away. I bite my lips as I feel my arousal begin to grow. That, with the denial of release earlier, is making this really hard. "It's not like she even has to know. It'll be our little secret." She whispers in my ear. "... well... fine. But only this once. After I clear things through with her, no more. Got it?" "Sure, let's go already-" "And no kissing." I demand, making her pause for a moment. "Mmm.... deal. Now can we get it on already?" she asks irritably, stepping towards the stairs. I nod and follow after her as she runs up, flashing her backside along the way. I can't help but smirk when she winks at me, though I know how wrong this is. One time and then no more. One hundred percent loyal, no messing around... after this. I follow her into my room and watch her saunter over to my bed. She lays her chest on the bed and brings her front hooves back. One holding her tail to the side while she uses the other to pull on her outer lips. I walk up behind her and stare for a moment, buying some time to finish hardening, before stepping over her to mount her. Once she feels me prod her she grabs my length and guides it in, making both of us sigh in relief. I ease it all the way in before making a few slow gestures, waiting for her to adjust. "Mmm... don't be so coy about it," she moans, resting her hooves beneath her chin. "Right. Is it safe to go in, or do I have to pull out." Always ask first. Rule number one from Thunderlane. "I'm good. Harder," she asks quietly, knowing the protocol. I adjust my back legs before adding more motion to my movements. "Harder." "If I go too rough too soon I'll blow my load without you." I warn her. "Hngh, whatever. I need this, harder!" She demands, throwing her hips back. I roll my eyes and grip her waist. If she wants it hard, I'll give it to her hard. More pleasure for me then. Wet slaps and squeals of pleasure fill my room as I throw my back into each and every swing. Diamond has slowly been pushed onto the bed and is now laying completely on her stomach, her hind legs going straight back. I had to crawl on top of her to keep going, nearly slipping out. To try and keep her from slipping, I reach forward and hold onto her chest as I continue relentlessly thrusting into her. I can feel her getting wetter and wetter, making it easier to slide through her. "Buck!" she screams with a gush. She tries to pull away from me, but I hold onto her and continue pounding away at her. "Buckbuckbuckbuckbuckbuuuuuuuuuck!" "Rough... enough... yet!?" I ask between thrusts, moving back so I'm only holding her waist again. I slow my movements back down as well to let her recover from her orgasm. "Damn. Did you prep before or did I suddenly get better?" "Shut up," she scoffs playfully, still trying to catch her breath. "Switch, I want top now." I oblige and step back, pulling completely out. I smirk again when I see her hole throbbing openly, a sight I never get tired of. "So now it's your turn to go rough, right?" I ask while laying on my back on the bed. She gets on and straddles my waist so we're face to face. "Pfft, you think I'm gonna do all the work?" She asks while grabbing my member and positioning it beneath herself. "You better keep at it." "I do-AH!" I gasp when she slides all the way down. I can't help but groan as she grinds her hip against mine, resting a hoof on my chest. I place my hooves on her waist and hold her down as I return the gyrations, still groaning. Sweat cools the two of us as we fall into a trance of ecstasy. She works her hips slowly up and down my member, enjoying the feeling of having it reach every crevice of her sex. I bite my lip as I try to hold on as long as possible, despite her working her muscles to increase the pleasure. The bed creaks when Diamond begins to bounce in my lap. She leans back and grabs my knees for support, moaning with every move we make. I begin to add my own thrusts in counter to her bounces, still gyrating my hip in a circular motion. Pretty soon my thrust go from simple hips movements to all out back throws as I near my finish. Diamond falls over and grips my chest, shoving her face in my neck to muffle her moans. I roll over and pin her beneath myself as I rush towards my own orgasm. My thrusts begin to become more sporadic as I feel a tingle crawl from my groin and up my back. I let out a few snorts before slamming into her, twitching as I explode into her. With every convulsion I let out another spurt deep within her sex. Once my orgasm subsides and I finish pumping my seed into her, I roll off to the side and try to catch my breath. Diamond moans in frustration and shoves a hoof between her legs, rubbing her cunny rapidly. A few moments later she lifts her waist and shakes as a few spurts gush out from her. "Sorry... couldn't hold it." I tell her, still panting. "It's... fine... this time," she pants back. We lay there for a bit before she rolls off the bed and shakily stands. "I'm going to take a shower and head back home." "Right... you know where it’s at." I tell her distantly. I can't help but feel... unfulfilled? Guilty maybe. I can think of a few reasons why, but... I don't know why it's weighing on my so heavily. I roll over and look out the window and up to the sky. It's not like she'll ever find out. But... I don't know. Maybe this was more wrong than I even know. Author's Note Rumble and Shadow 'reading' comics: Thanks BronyCrystal! Brony on!
Chapter 205 Icy PremonitionsChapter 205 Icy Premonitions Perspective: Miles 1:16 AM Location: Soviet Bear Union, twelve miles from Mosgrowl I look out at the road below me and sigh in irritation. Our intel said the next shipment was to arrive three hours ago. Yet here I am up a tree, freezing my ass off. Leave it to some nerf herder smuggler to be late for their own deadline. I look down the road again and let out a long breath, making a plume of steam rise up towards the full moon. I look across the way and watch another plume of steam rise from a distant tree. Well, at least Night Fury is freezing his ass off with me. Is it weird that I find solace in that? I pull my trench coat closer to myself in an attempt to keep warm as I sit back against the tree. The coat breaks the wind chill but with my armor beneath it, I'm still freezing. They're probably a no show anyway. We've been out here for hours now and for nothing. Night was probably right; they probably took the main road instead. Damn reverse psychology. I gather my things and stand up, letting another plume of breath go up. Night signals back immediately and jumps into the air. "Giving up?" he asks when he flies over. I hum back my answer before stepping off the branch, falling to the ground below. "What's the next plan then?" "Well, if they passed us on the main road, they're probably well into Mosgrowl by now. So we'll have to head to the next checkpoint to cut them off," I tell him as I start to walk down the path towards town, having him walk alongside me. He gives me a look, making me sigh again. "Assuming we can get there before them to set up another trap." "And if they deviate from the path?" "Then all of this was for nothing. The next checkpoint would be in Griffin territory, so it's now or never basically-" "Shhh!" he snaps before stopping. I lift my rifle and sweep around, looking for any possible targets. "I don't have any vis-" "Shhhhhh!" he shushes again. He closes his eyes and stands there for a moment, his ear twitching slightly. "I hear flapping... south." "You hear-" "Shhhhhh!" If he does that again I'm going to- FWOOOSH We both duck reflexively when something large passes overhead. I look up and watch the shadow of a massive dragon fly past us. It seems to be following the path and has something square strapped onto its back. "Tail after him. I'm going to the town to raise the guard. If we can't get him down here he'll be in griffin territory in no time," I tell Night before racing down the path, igniting my heels to propel myself forward. I hear Night jump into the air and give chase. I have to run at full force to keep up with the damn thing, and so I can tell I'm starting to fall behind. Judging by the size in comparison to Night, I'd say he's just an adult dragon. Snaps and cracks sound off when Night climbs up near the dragon, followed by a large puff of white smoke. Night rolls right and dives to dodge the attack; though I don't know if he's hit or not. At least we know it's our guys. Night tries getting a vantage point a couple times, but meets similar results. He finally breaks away and meets up with me. "Eight goblins. Six arming the side with rifles and pistols, two finishing up a Gatling gun," he reports. Gatling gun? Son of a bitch, this is going to be tricky. "Alright, we need to dis-" KRACK Something snaps through the air and slams into the dragon with enough force to send it falling back. I grab Night and leap into the woods before throwing up a shield, hoping it doesn't land on us. The ground beneath us shakes violently as a large cloud of dust explodes out from the impact. We both fall over from it, making me drop my shield and letting the cloud of dust envelope the two of us. We both cough violently and get back onto our feet, pulling our rifles out as we do so. After a moment to gather ourselves I point left and head right, moving from tree to tree for cover. When the road comes back into view, I pause and wait for the dust to settle. I can hear them yelling to each other as they move about. The dragon is breathing deeply as well, probably bleeding out slowly. When the dust settles enough, I pivot and take aim. I can see a few of them arming themselves with fallen weaponry while a few set up the Gatling gun. The dragon is on its side with its back to us on the other side of the road. I don't think it's going to get back up anytime soon. I can see four targets, five if there's at least one on the Gatling gun. It's hard to tell with the large blast shield of solid metal blocking my view. How are they going to aim it with no visibility? The gun spins to life and takes aim at me, sending a volley my way. I duck back behind the tree and take aim on the other side, firing a few rounds at them. The shield absorbs the rounds easily, letting him continue fire down on me. The tree before me cracks and begins to fall to the side; so I propel myself to another tree for cover. Sure enough, the volley of rounds follows after me. Just as I was about to make it behind the tree I feel something hit my leg and take it out from beneath me, making me fall. Luckily, my armor takes most of the damage and I fall behind the tree. I hear more pops and snaps from them as well as from my left, telling me Night has engaged them. I wait for the Gatling to stop to reload before rolling over and engaging them myself. Two of them are on the ground bleeding while the other two continue firing at Night. Their weapons only fire one shot at a time, so we take charge over the fight quickly. Two rounds into his chest and one for the head takes down a goblin while the other one takes one in the shoulder and falls down. With no one firing, I get on my feet and quickly approach the area. Fallen crates litter the area as steam shades the air light white. When I make it to the Gatling gun, I do a quick sweep for targets. I spot a goblin by the dragon with his leg pinned underneath it. When he spots me he reaches for a pistol, so I send a round through his skull. I hear some whimpering beneath me, so I look down and spot two more goblins. One is the one that was shot in the shoulder while the other is presumably the one who was manning the gun. The gunner is cradling his wounded friend and crying. "Do you speak common?" Night asks from my side when he approaches. "*snif* y-yeah," he whimpers, cringing slightly. "Are there any other survivors that you know of?" I ask. "I... I don't think so. I'm not sure." "Night, clear the perimeter. I'm going to have a talk with him," I tell him, getting a nod in response. "What is your name?" "I'm Radmutter-" "Well, Radmutter, do you want to get out of this alive or would you rather be cremated?" I ask him sternly. He nods. "Good, then cooperate and I'll personally see you home. Now, are there weapons in these crates?" He nods again. "Was their destination somewhere in the griffin colony?" He nods. "How many shipments are there? Both currently and planned." "I wouldn't know. I'm just a smuggler," he says slowly. "Where did these weapons-" "In coming! Bears up the road!" Night calls out. I look down the path and see the crowd of bears approaching. Most of them look to be guards, but- CRACK I cringe from the sudden shot and the following splatter. I look down at the goblin and sigh as he slumps against the gun, the pistol in his hand falling to the ground. Taking the easy way out, what a pity. "STOP THERE, CRIMINAL SCUM!" One of the guards’ yell as they surround the two of us. "You're under arrest for-" "Stand down!" I yell at him, getting in his face. "This is official Spartan business! Lower your weapons and back the fuck off!" "You dare order the captain of the Mosgrowl guard!? I'll tear your head off and-" "Enough, cubs!" some female bear in a yellow robe yells from the middle of the crowd. She pushes her way to the front and gets between me and the guard, staring him down angrily. "I already told you they were operating here, Anton! Back off!" The air grows thin as they stare each other down, sparks practically forming between the two of them. Anna was her name, now that I recognize her. She's the mayor of the city. Everyone jumps when the dragon moves slightly and lets out a groan. I run around to his face, getting him to look directly at me. "They're coming... they're... almost..." he says slowly between labored breaths. I look over to his chest and note the sharpened tree trunk sticking into his chest. "Who's coming?" I ask calmly, placing a hand on his snout. "War is coming... you can't... they're coming..." "I know. What can you tell me? Anything can help. Please help me," I beg him, moving a bit closer as his breaths begin to space out. He blinks slowly once before whispering quietly. "Syncney." He lets out one final breath before going still, his eyes shutting for the last time. Anna walks over and holds her paws before herself, giving the dragon a moment of respect. "Night, send a flare up," I call out to him. A moment later, a red flare goes high into the air and sends a red glow over the area. "This area is under Spartan control until our investigation is over with. Tell your guards to head back home." "I understand. What of the dragon?" she asks quietly. "We'll take care of that-" "Like hell!" Anton barks, walking over to our conversation. "We shot down the beast, we've earned the right to harvest it!" "Go ahead, lay a paw on him," I tell him, placing a hand on my pistol. "Easy, Miles. Anton, go back to the city and secure the perimeter, now," she growls at him. He looks between the two of us before turning angrily away, having his guards follow after him. "I must apologies for Anton. He's really a good bear albeit brash." "It's alright, for now. You should get going though. I doubt the woods are friendly at night," I tell her, getting a nod in return. "Good hunting, human." She walks off with her assistant, leaving Night and myself alone. "So... are we going to harvest the dragon or not?" Night asks curiously. "If by morning a dragon doesn't comes to claim him, then we can. Until then, let's check the cargo." We spend the next hour opening crates and going through any documentation we find. Most of the crates merely contain rifles and pistols, but a few contain sparse documentation. We gather them all up and store them to be translated later, seeing as neither of us can read Goblin. Once we get through all of the crates we pile them together and set explosives with them, bury them, and then destroy them. "Send up another flare." I tell Night. He fires off another red flare, getting the glow to return. "You can head to town if you want. I'm going to stay out here for a bit longer." "Are you sure? You don't want anypony to watch your back?" "Don't worry about me. I'll be good, go ahead and get some rest," he gives me a questioning look before shrugging and taking off. I wait until he's out of earshot before speaking again. "I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting you here," I say as I turn and face the forest. ... "I can sense your presence, step out already," I call out again. After waiting a few moments of waiting a green glow comes out from a tree as Delilah steps out before me. "You've gotten better at that you know," she tells me as she approaches the road, stopping just before the road. "Did they have to die?" "They chose their fate when they took the job. It was inevitable," I tell her sternly, walking to be closer. "And you? Do you accept this kind of fate?" she asks quickly. "What do you want, Delilah? Every time you show up it's the same thing. You question death while simultaneously putting down modern society. Not everyone can live off the land. With the growth of populations, industrialization is mandatory for life to continue. We all can't live off the land-" "If I wanted a lecture, Miles, I would have gone to my father," she cuts me off. Father? I didn't know treefolk had fathers and mothers. "Oh... then why are you here?" She gives me a look before taking a step onto the road. "I fear the future, Miles. Every day I watch society grow and technologies advance. There was a time when a dragon would devastate the country side with total ease. Now... now-" "Delilah, people learn. Nature learns too. The difference now is the rate at which things change-" "And that's what terrifies me. Treefolk... we're slow to change. Slower than any. We've gone through time at such a slow rate... I fear that we'll be left behind. I have witnessed the demise of forests and the murder of my people over the centuries. Just as the dragon fell in one strike, I fear the treefolk will find a similar fate as well." "What would you have of me then? Stop industry from happening?" "No, just as their deaths were inevitable, so too is the industrialization of the world. I've come to you not knowing what to ask for. What would you do to save your people, Miles? And how can I save my own? Is there anything we can do, or is it too late for us?" I hum as I think about her question. Usually she finds me to bicker and argue about... everything pretty much. She's never asked my opinion before, not like this at least. "If I were you... following your own beliefs, I'd integrate." "Integrate?" "You're not going to fight, and you can't stop industrialization from happening. Joining-" "You want me to drop everything I stand for and further the tool of my own people’s destruction-" "No. I'm not telling you to start up factories. When the Spartans first started up we were looked down upon. We were a militaristic government with no representation that held itself above all others. It was a hard concept to wrap your mind around. We didn't achieve our place in the world with brute force. We won the people over. Take this town for instance," I say as I gesture down the road. "Mosgrowl?" "There are two major players there, Anton and Anna. Most would think that I would align with Anton. He comes from a military background, thinks with his hammer, and doesn't take lip. He's a brute in every way possible. Anna, on the other hand, is about as opposite as you can get. She fights for equal rights, she listens and uses her words, and she might be a pacifist. I'm not sure about that last one though. I chose to back her. Do you want to know why?" "... because it makes you look better?" "It's an old human saying. ‘The pen is mightier than the sword.’ People will fight for a man with a sword. But people will die for something a man writes. Human history has proven this time and time again. Just you watch. When the cards are down people like Anton will fall. He may kill dragons, but Anna rallies people." "Hmm... but, how does this affect my people?" "If you're going to integrate into society, that means you're going to have to drop the isolationism." She laughs at that, running a hand through her vine hair. "What you ask is impossible. Treefolk dropping isolation, no. It'll never happen-" "People used to say that magic was impossible. That men would never walk on the moon or set foot on other planets. There was a time when we believed we were alone in the universe. For something impossible to happen, you have to start with doing the impossible." She gives me a hint of a smile but still looks a bit concerned. "Thank you, Miles. I don't quite know what I'm going to do yet, but... at least I know where to start." "Now, can you tell me why everyone wants to harvest a dead dragon?" She laughs at my naivety and begins to walk around the dragon's corpse. "Dragons are beings of great power. Even in death they exude greatness. The trees that soak up their blood will grow twice as large. Their bones can bolster your body while their virility can make you a more potent mate." "... what?" "Even their waste can be of great use for farmlands. It's why dragons are so demanding to know of their own kin’s death. They don't want their bodies being defiled. It is a great thing you are doing, protecting this dragon. Not many would do this, thank you." "Yes. Thank you." We both spin to the side as a giant dragon quietly lands in the forest. Its scales look as though they're made or ice and its eyes are bright blue. A gust of super chilled air washes over us as the temperature drops quickly. On top of that, he's gigantic. He has to crane his neck down to look at us, setting his body down far in the distance. He has to be at least a hundred feet tall from his shoulder. At least... assuming I'm making my conversion correctly. "I am Elder Frost. Who are you and how was this dragon felled?" "... uh... I'm Miles... Miles Eremita. And... he was shot with a tree. I think," I yell up at him, stepping back slightly. Delilah does the same, though is much more openly scared than I am. "Eremita. You have my gratitude. My apologies, but I must ask. Why? Not many show respect for dragons. Even less fight for it. Why, Miles Eremita. Why?" His question catches me a bit off guard. Despite his deep voice and intimidating stature, he's asking questions. And not just the ones about death either. He's genuinely curious about... me? "Uh... well... I guess for selfish reasons really," I say, getting a bewildered look from Delilah. "Hmm... odd. Do you seek favor among our courts? Powerful allies perhaps? What poses you to seek our attention?" "I don't want your favor. I'd just want the same done for me," I tell him, getting him to tilt his head. "I'm a warrior, to put it simply. I deal in war and death. Someday there is a possibility that I can die. If and when that days happens, I'd like my body brought back to my family so they can properly say goodbye. I wouldn't want to put them through the pain over never saying goodbye. So, if I want that form of treatment, I should try to give it to my enemy as well. It's selfish and hopeful, but... I'm human. It's in my nature." "Hmm... human..." he leans down and bites the tree trunk in the dragon’s chest. With a quick yank, he pulls it out and drops it on the ground. "May the winds guide you, human, world sapling." I glance to Delilah before stepping back as the dragon scoops the corpse into his mouth and takes off into the night sky. A trail of snow follows after him as he flies north. "I'm amazed," Delilah mutters as we stand there, watching him flying away. "You have an extraordinary ability in meeting important world figures." "It's more of a curse really. What was he? An elemental in dragon form or... what? And why did he call you world sapling?" "I'm sure you'll find out soon enough. As for him, he was an elder dragon. When a dragon reaches a certain age, they manifest into a greater form. Usually with the element they relate with the most. I only know of two others in existence though." "... and who are they?" "There's Bolas and Urza. Urza is either fire or lava. I'm not sure, seeing as he uses both. Well, Miles, until next we meet-" "If you ever find yourself in northern Equestria, try to find a small town called Moosden. I think it's the place to start... whatever it is you're trying to do," I tell her as she walks off into the woods. She waves goodbye before fading into a tree. I look around before sighing to myself and begin heading down the path towards town. Elder dragons. I should have guessed Bolas was special, but the fact that there are others is... disconcerting, to say the least. Well, this one seems to be reasonable. Who knows, maybe this will lead to some kind of sway in the dragon’s hierarchy. Long shot, but it’s worth a shot. I need to hurry this expedition. The longer I stay out in the world, the more crazy crap happens to me. Too many problems with too little time to deal with it all. The walk down the lonesome road is cold and uneventful. A few creatures in the dark follow after me but don't bother me. I hardly pay them any mind either; I just want to get out of the cold already. When I make it to the walls of Mosgrowl, I wait patiently for the guards to open the gate. The thick stone walls loom over me as the bears behind it begins to work the bars on the iron gates. The guards give me the stink eye when I walk in, but I don't care. They won't do anything unless they out-number me twenty to one. The town is silent in the night, with the exception of a drunk on the porch of a bar mumbling to himself. The wooden homes are dark and the smoke from the chimneys are low. I make my way through the dense city until I find the motel night and I are staying at. The light to our room is on, telling me he's still awake; so I enter normally. He's lying on the second bed in the small room reading one of the documents we recovered. I go to the desk on the other side of the room and begin to remove all of my gear. "I take it a dragon came and picked him up," he mutters before flipping pages. "An elder dragon named frost," I tell him. "Cool... what's special about elder dragons?" "Well, he was made of ice. That's about as much as I can tell." When I finish removing my armor, I go to the small stove and toss another log in and take a seat by it to warm up. "Plan on sleeping tonight?" "We have too many papers-" "You can't even read goblin. You haven't slept in three days, Captain. Are those premonitions really that bad?" he asks, almost sounding concerned. For the past week I've been having visions of... terrible things happening. But every time they're different, so I don't know what they actually are. Are they premonitions? Or are they just bad dreams? "*sigh* I don't know what to make of that dream. Every time it's different. At first it was Ponyville burning, then it was Terradisia marching over Equestria... all I know is that something terrible is coming to Ponyville." "Should we go back?" he asks, setting down the papers in his hooves. "... No. Whatever it is, the catalyst is us being there. So we'll hold off going back for as long as possible." "Okay, then where to next?" I stare into the fire a bit longer before heading over to the other bed and laying down, there's too much on my mind right now. Too much. "Syncney." He nods and goes back to the papers. I lay there for a few moments before I feel my eyelids begin to droop. I don't want to go back to sleep. I don't want to see that image again. Darkness falls as I stand over the embers of a burning town. Buildings in the back roar with wildfires as black smoke fumes up and obscures the distance. Ash rains from the darkness above as I stand before myself, shirtless and stained with streaks of blood. The look on my face is terrifying. There's more anger than I could possible imagine, while so much hurt. I look away from myself for a moment before letting out blood curdling scream and charge at myself, swords in hand and murderous intent filling my eyes. I awake with a scream in the early morning. A cold sweat covers my body as I fight to get control of my breath again. I look around the room before heading over to the bathroom to splash my face with cold water. What's going to happen? Is something going to happen? All I do know is that I don't want to go back to sleep. Less in fear of the dream, but more so for the fear of Luna stumbling upon it.
Chapter 206 Play BallChapter 206 Play Ball Perspective: Shadow Thursday came up much faster than it should have. Then again, I have been doing much more with my spare time now. Usually I'd go to school and come right back home. Maybe do some chores, talk with some ponies, do homework, nothing really special. Now though, Rumble and I spend hours after school together. We don't go as far as we did like on our first date, but we still share kisses. He seems really excited to have me come to his game today, but... I kind of don't want to go. I'm sure it would be fun but... a stadium full of ponies screaming their heads off... no thank you. As I try to leave, Mom steps in front of the door and gives me a look. I seriously hope she isn't going- "So, when do I get to meet this coltfriend of yours?" Of course she knows! Why wouldn't she! She probably has twelve drones watching my every move right now! Probably even more if Dad knows! "W-what are you talking about?" I ask with a coy smile. "Luna told me she saw you getting nice a cozy with some pegasus-" dammit, " -So, who is he?" "He's... his name is Rumble. We... go to school together." I tell her, avoiding her gaze. She lifts my chin to look at her smiling face. "Shadow, you don't have to be so coy with me. I mean, it's not like Butterscotch and I were really... discrete about... stuff." I feel my cheeks burn from this. I can't even count the number of times I've caught them doing... stuff. Let alone hearing it. Dad and Luna are no better. "I trust you not to do anything hasty Shadow. But, if you ever do take that step, I'll be here for you." "Thanks Mom." I tell her before moving in and hugging her. I knew I could come to her for anything, but her saying it just makes me feel much better about everything. "And hey, if it doesn't work out there are plenty of mares out there-" "Oh my gosh!" I break the hug and gawk at her. She just laughs and kisses my forehead. "I'm just saying! You have options, now get to school before you're late!" she tells me, pushing me out the door. I pause at the door and smile before trotting through Moosden. Normally I don't try to socialize with anypony here... but today I felt great. I even waved to that terrifying orc lady, Azzeal! She waved back, a bit confused though. When I made it to Ponyville I walked around my house to find Rumble and Tempestive talking. Tempestive seems really excited to go to the game today, and Rumble couldn't help but chuckle at his excitement. "Hey you," he called out to me a I approached them. "Hey, ready to go to school?" I ask before nuzzling him a bit. "You two are gross together." Tempestive states blandly, making me blush a bit. "What time are you picking me up for the came?" "Um... I don't know-" "Three. Your mom is going to drop you off by the school so you can take the bus with us." Rumble tells him. "She is!?" Tempestive and I ask at the same time. "Yeah, I cleared it with her yesterday," he tells us casually. "You just have to wear your vest and a scarf... what's with the vest anyway?" "It's so-" "Warmth mainly, now come on! We're going to be late!" I cut off my brother and start pushing Rumble down the path. Rumble says his goodbyes and begins walking with me down the path. The fact that he's asking means he didn't notice his wings earlier. Which, if he saw Luna already... whatever. I push it out of my mind and turn my attention to Rumble. "So... are you ready for the game today?" "Cloudsdale is a good team, but I think we can take 'em," he says confidently, draping his wing over me. I've come to enjoy this the most. I feel safe under his wing. "I don't really know much about Air ball... you aren't going to get hurt, are you?" "Worried?" he asks with a smug smile. I give him an uneasy look to which he chuckles. "It gets pretty physical, but I can take it. I've been doing this for awhile now. Try not to worry too much about it." "No way, I'll be as cool... as... a cucumber, because of how not worried I'll be." He gives me a look and all I can do is try and hide under his wing. Why did I say that!? Cool as a cucumber! What does that even mean!? I'll just keep quiet until we make it to school, so I can die from embarrassment in privacy. We make it the rest of the way to school quietly. I was a little worried I was too geeky for him, but all of that faded away when he turned and kissed me. It was a quick, but it settled my nerves tremendously. "Later cucumber," he tells me before trotting to his class. I blush a bit before going to my own class, making it into my seat just as the bell rang. Sadly, Diamond Tiara sits next to me in this class. You would think that after six years of knowing each other we'd at least be able to sit next to each other, but no. She glances over at me and turns my way. "I've heard a little rumor about you, wanna hear it?" She asks with venom in her voice. Where's thee teacher? I really don't want to hear this right now. "Not really-" "I've heard you're going to today's game in Cloudsdale. Only, there's one problem with that. Our team has been on a winning streak, and a loser like you will jinx it. So could you do us all a favor and just hang back, okay?" Despite the fact she's being a total bitch right now, she asks as cutely as possible. Normally I would just fold and agree to her demands... but not today. "I'm going-" "No, you're not," she cuts me off, dropping the cute act. "Um... yes I am." I start to sweat as she glares daggers at me. I'm starting to seriously freak out here. She looks like she's on the verge of punching me! Luckily, the teacher came rushing in and stole all of the attention. "Sorry I'm late class! Please pull out your books and continue where you left off yesterday while I get situated." I sigh in relief when Diamond gets up to be with her partner, not before shooting dirty looks at me first though. "Whoa, what did you do to piss her off?" Scootaloo asks as she fills her seat. "I... she told me not to go to the game... but I told her I was." I tell her cautiously. "You're going to the game today? Really?" she asks in disbelief, to which I nod. "Huh, who would have guessed getting you a coltfriend would have-" "SHHH! Please don't talk about that out loud! I don't want half of the school knowing." I hush her, glancing around the room cautiously. I pull my book and flip to the last chapter I was at. Scootaloo rolls her eyes and does the same. I don't really read anything though. My mind keeps going back to Diamond and the countless possibilities from her wrath. I glance to her a few times and watch her talk with one of her friends, paying me no mind. "My bits are on you, if you two get in a fight that is." Scootaloo whispers to me, her eyes focused on her book. "Um... thanks?" I whisper back. I try to read, but I simply can't! It's not like it matters though, I'm four chapters ahead of the class already. I can't stop glancing at Diamond ad worrying about what she'll do! The uncertainty is going to give me a heart attack! After what felt like hours of confusion I shoot my hoof up and blurt out, "CAN I USE THE RESTROOM!?" "Um... okay." The teacher replies, confused by my outburst. I blush deeply when everypony laughs and snickers at me and hurry out of the room. That might have been a little too much, but I had to get out of there! I start heading towards the restroom but stop when I nearly collide into somepony. "Rumble!?" "Hey Shadow, what are you doing out of class? Ditching?" He asks with a raised eyebrow and a smile.... smile... "Shadow?" "Huh? Oh, I uh... well..." Normally the only ponies I share my problems with are the girls. But, right now... I feel like I can confide with him. "Diamond was giving me trouble before class started. I think she wants to start a fight with me now." I tell him, lowering my head a bit. He stays quiet for a bit, but quickly catches his breath. "Oh... is that so? W-why would she want to do that?" he asks cautiously. I look up to him and sigh, moving forward to nuzzle into his neck. "She... just doesn't like me. She heard I was going to today's game and tried to tell me to stay home. Normally I wouldn't argue with her, but... I didn't want to disappoint you." He lets out a long sigh and wraps his hooves around me, embracing my tightly. "Shadow, she's just being difficult. She's not going to do anything," he assures me, stroking my mane. "You should have seen the look in her eyes. It was like she was trying to melt me with her stare or something." He chuckles at that and pulls me back to look me int he eyes. I blush as we stare deeply into each others eyes. For once I don't mind the eye contact, rather, right now I actually enjoy it. He glances around before motioning for me to follow after him. I look back to my class for a moment before agreeing, even though I have no clue where we're going. We weave through the buildings of the school and end up behind the library; the largest building in the school. It sits just at the edge of campus, so we technically leave school to sit underneath a tree together. I was going to question him when he leaned in and pecked my lips with his. It caught me a little off guard, to say the least. I go to tell him this, but he cuts me off with another, more passionate, kiss. I don't want to kiss out in the open like this, but... being caught in the moment... I kind of go with the flow. He doesn't seem to mind, but I start to worry that somepony will spot the two of us. It's still too soon for me to be public about 'us'. With tremendous effort, I break away from his lips to speak. He doesn't stop though, instead moving to nip and kiss my neck. "Rumble... h-hold up... I"m n-not sure about t-this." He pauses to look at me, a strand of saliva trailing from his lips. "You okay?" "Well... isn't this spot a little too public?" "Not really. Trust me, since it's behind the school and on the edge of town, so pony will come by this way." "But... I have class right now-" "Just say you were having problems while in there. That's what I do-" "How often do you skip class?!" He rubs the back of his neck as he tries to think of an answer. "I dunno. But, its not like it's a problem. My grades are good enough for me to compete. Are your grades bad?" "No, I just... I don't want to get in trouble for skipping out." "You won't, trust me." He lays down against the tree and pats the spot beside him. I glance between him and the school building, trying to decide what to do. If I stay here, I run the chance of getting in serious trouble. I'm looking at a detention, and then... I don't even want to think of what Mom would do. But... if I don't get caught, then I get to spend some extra time away from Diamond. Plus, I get to spend that time with Rumble. Is the risk worth the reward? I take a deep breath and lay beside him. If what he says is true, then spending some time here won't hurt too much... hopefully. He smiles as I cuddle up beside him. He wraps a wing around me and nuzzles my cheek, making me feel a bit better about the situation, if only slightly. I lean into his nuzzle and try to push class out of my mind. Rumble holding me closer helps tremendously. "Want to take a quick nap?" he whispers to me. "I'm not much of a napper-" "What? How could you go an entire day without napping?" "Well... I just don't. My brother does, but... I dunno, I just don't like napping. The few times I've tried I usually wake up feeling worse." He laughs and kisses my cheek. "That's weird. You're weird." "Am not!" "Yeah you are." "Rumble." I look to him and try my hoof at a pout-y face. I guess it worked, because he chuckled and pecked my lips. "Fine. But, with the whole Diamond thing... you shouldn't let her boss you around." I frown at this and look away. "I... don't want to cause a fight." "Well... I have a feeling she's looking for one. I don't want you to fight either, but... Stand up for yourself, ya know? Like, how you did today. She'll back down eventually if you stand your ground. And I'll have your back too," he nudges my cheek a few times to get me to look at him. He smiles and gives me another peck. "I promise." I stare into his eyes for a moment before closing the distance between us. Our kiss starts out simply as my conveying my trust in him, but when he pulls my on top of him things start to get heated. Our hooves were running over each others bodies as our tongues met between us, wrestling with each other. We both paused when he grabbed my flank. I thought about it for a moment before I reached down and grabbed his as well. He laughed and we went back to it with just as much ferocity. I didn't think I'd like my flank being grabbed, nor did I think I'd like grabbing flank for that matter. I guess when it's with somepony you trust, it just feels better. I move my hooves from his flank and up to his face to run them through his mane. He moves a hoof to my back and pulls me against his stomach, keeping his other hoof working my cutie mark. We continue to writhe against one another until I feel something poke my back end. Everything stops and we pull back to look at each other. "Shadow!?" "AH!" FLASH I shake my head and jump under my bed covers. I don't even know who spotted us but I'm not ever leaving the safety of my blankets again! WHY DID SOMEPONY HAVE TO APPEAR AT THAT EXACT MOMENT!? Perspective: Rumble I sigh in irritation and roll over to cover myself.Of course as it was just getting good somepony would walk up to us. I look over to Scootaloo and Pip and sigh again. "Um... so I guess you two are a couple then." Scootaloo states, avoiding my eyes. Her wings are sticking straight up as her blush covers her cheeks. "What are you two doing here?" I groan back to her, more than a little frustrated. "Well... Shadow didn't come back from class so... I started to worry. Were you two about to-" "She was upset about Diamond Tiara giving her a hard time. One thing lead to another... but no. She's kind of against that." They stand there for a moment, staring at me until I finally get up. Then they stare at... me. "Do you mind?" "Nope!" Pip says, a giant smile on his face. "You know, I always thought you jocks had all the luck. But now... now I just feel great about myself." "Mmhmm." Scootaloo agrees, eyeing... me, closely. "Maybe he's still chub-" "Okay, I'm leaving." Before they say anything else I open my wings and propel myself into the air. My lower extremities immediately hate me for this, but I ignore it to the best of my abilities. I'm fairly certain I know where Shadow went, under her covers. Either there, or under her other covers. Hopefully she's at the one here, I don't trust that teleporter thing. The flight to her house didn't take long. When I got there I went around back to her window and looked in to see her underneath her blankets. I gently tap on the glass and wait for her. She peeks out from under her blankets and hides again. I roll my eyes and try again. I wait a few minutes before she trundles out from her covers and opens the window slightly. "Rumble... now isn't-" "It was Scootaloo and Pipsqueak. I don't think they're going to tell many ponies. Sweetie Bell and Applebloom at most. Can I come in?" "I don't know if that would be wise. I have no clue who is home right now," she tells me, glancing back to her bedroom door. "Why would they come in here? They think you're at school right now." I point out, getting her to pause. She tries to think of something to say, but can't. "Umm.... just... give me a moment. I'm going to go check to see if anypony's here." She turns and runs to the door, casting a spell over herself. I shrug and lean on the window sill, waiting patiently. If somepony is here, I can't get in trouble for waiting outside. Plus, I'll have an alibi as to being here. Score! "Huh... Luna's out." I look down and nearly yell when I see something standing at the backdoor reading a note. It's... familiar, but- "Get in here!" I nearly yelp again when Shadow pulls me inside. She drags me to the closet and shoves me inside. She runs back and shuts her door before joining me inside the small, cramped closet. "What was that thing!?" "Shh! And don't call my dad a thing!" "But, what was.... Dad!?" "Shhhhhh! It's... a long story." I stare at her for a second before we hear footsteps in the hallway. Not hoof, no. Her Dad doesn't have those. "Miles, you're home!" Okay, who's that? "Hey there baby girl. I have a day for research so I thought I'd drop by. Where is everyone?" Shadow's dad, Miles, replies. "Oh no." Shadow mumbles. I don't like that. I don't like the look of fear on her face. I don't being here right now. "Tempestive is over at Sweet Apple Acres and Shadow's at school. We have the house all to ourselves right now." Shadow and I look to each other before blushing deeply together. "Can't you set a sound barrier or something?" I ask frantically. "My dad will notice the energy. He's... weird like that. I'm so sorry!" "It's-" "AH! Miles!" the mare yelps with a sultry giggle. "Get those cloths off, switch form, and get on that bed! I've got something special in mind." Shadow nearly hurls from that. I wasn't that far off either. We start hearing more giggles and laughs from the two of them as obvious things start to happen. Despite all of this I have to say, I think she's deep throating.... lucky... stallion? When things start to get more... verbal, I lose it. I push the door open, pick up Shadow, and fly us the buck out of there! I don't care if they hear us, I don't care if they see us, I don't want to her this crap right now! I fly out to a nearby park and land under a tree, where I set Shadow down. "Well... um... at least your parents have a.... healthy marriage?" Shadow looks at me blankly before cracking a smile. Her smile turns into giggles that she tries to hold back before she loses it and laughs her ass off. "Okay, I'm missing something." "Ooooohh, I'm about as good as a corpse could get! Because I would have to be dead for all of this crap to happen at once, and have you still standing before me!" She falls over and laughs even more, holding her sides tightly. "Um... it wasn't all that bad-" "You just heard my parents having sex right after we were caught practically having sex! Not to mention you witnessed my father in his human form! No sane pony would be as collected as you are right now! So, logically, I have died and this is my punishment for... whatever I did wrong!" She continues laughing hysterically, kicking her legs a bit as tears form in her eyes. "Um... you're not dead Shadow." She stops and stares at me for a moment, her head tilting in confusion. "I mean, that was a lot to have happen in a short amount of time, but I've heard worse. My brother... gets around. A lot. I've heard, seen, smelled it all. That doesn't mean I'm necessarily comfortable with it. But... it's not that big of a deal." "... but, what about my dad?" she asks cautiously, hiding behind her hooves slightly. I mull it over before shrugging my shoulders. "Well, that was a bit of a shock. But, if he has a house here in Ponyville, I doubt he's all that bad. It'll... take some getting used to though." She stares up at me from behind her hooves before dropping completely to the floor. "Can we just take a nap? A nap sounds amazing right now." "Sure. I don't need to be a the locker room for a few hours anyway." I tell her before laying beside her. I'm only saddened because this isn't even the weirdest thing to happen to me... minus the human thing. ........................................................................................................................................................ Perspective: Miles 2:15 PM I stretch out in bed, kicking the sheets further down, and let out a long yawn. When I finish my stretch I wrap my arms around Luna again and pull her close. I had completely forgotten that she was going to be in heat around this time. Luckily we had one birth control potion left, so we're in the clear. When she begins to stir again I bring my attention to her. "Hi." "Mmmm, hi," she replies softly, sleep still prevalent within her. "How long can you stay today? We were all going to a game today, and I know the kids would just love to have you come too." "Hmm... I don't know. I do have a lot to get started on-" "Miles, you've been gone for so long. You can at least spend an afternoon with your family," she says warmly, snuggling up underneath my chin. I smile and kiss the top of her head. "Well... alright. But just this once." She smiles up to me and squeezes me in a hug. "What game is this anyway?" "Oh, Shadow has a coltfriend that has a game in Cloudsdale. I'm going to jump in the shower." She gives me a peck on the cheek before sliding out of bed. "..." "..." "..." "Wait, what!?" I yell as I try to jump out of bed. I fumble over myself and fall onto the ground, using my face a cushion. I shake my head and rush into the bathroom, finding Luna sitting under the running shower. "Shadow has a what now!?" "Are you going to join me, or are you going to just stand there?" She asks simply, facing the shower head with her eyes closed. I try to think for a moment, but Luna levitates me up and sets me in front of her. "Sit." "Fine." I drop down, obviously disgruntled. She scoots up behind me and lays her body against mine, wrapping her hooves around my midsection and her wings around my chest. I close my eyes and lose myself to her touch, the warm water relaxing me even more. She lays her head in the crook of my shoulder and neck, making me let out a long breath. "Miles, Shadow is a growing mare. This was inevitable. She's not your little filly anymore." "Bullshit. She'll always be my little filly." I tell her, getting her to chuckle. "Of course. But she's still growing up. I honestly thought this was going to happen sooner. You can't shelter her from life Miles. Try and play nice with him." "... maybe-" "Miles-" "I'm just saying! I understand that... this was going to happen, but that doesn't mean I'm just going to let any stallion be with my daughter." "Oh? And if he's not to your liking, then what?" "I have a trick or two up my sleeve, Trust me on that. But, for now at least, I'll play nice." She squeezes me again and kisses my neck softly. "I guess that'll do. And try not to embarrass her-" "Now what could I possibly do to embarrass her?" I ask while turning around. She gives me a knowing smile but doesn't say anything. What could I possibly do that would embarrass her? We finish up washing each other and finish our shower. We spend this time to catch up as well. I tell her about what I've been through and the people I met, she in turn tells me local affairs and what's going on with the family. Everything at home seems above board, minus Shadow and her new boyfriend. I trust her not to do anything stupid... for now. I don't think I'm ready to be a grandfather. Especially with Tempestive only being six! When we finish up and dry off we split up to gather everyone. I go to get Shadow while Luna goes to get Tempestive. We figure one surprise at a time for them should be easier to bear. Heh... bear, bears... oh... is that what Luna was talking about. Damn... oh well. Anyway, I make it to the edge of the school and wait by the main entrance. A few other parents are here as well, waiting for their kids to get out as well. A few of them wave, to which I wave back but overall they leave me alone. A few of them stare though, being an alicorn... that happens. It takes a while, but eventually the bell rings and all of the kids begin to leave their classes. I get a few more odd looks, but over all they leave me alone. Being so tall, or... taller than everyone else at least, I spot Shadow leaving her class soon enough. When we make eye contact she freezes and stares at me. Heh, she must be really surprised to see me. "Well? Don't just stand there. Come hug your dad!" I yell at her... making her blush? "Shadow?" "Dad! Sorry! Uh... when did you get home?" She asks nervously as she trots up, giving me a hesitant hug. I was going to ask her if she was okay, but I figure it's because we're at school. "I just got home today, but I'll be leaving tomorrow morning. Luna told me everyone was going to some game today. So, here I am." "Oh... okay then. What about Tempestive? We-... er, I promised, him that I would take him." "Hm, by 'we', do you mean you and your new boyfriend?" Her blush doubles as she looks around frantically. "What? Surprised I know." "You... you know!?" she asks, taking a step back. "Yeah, Luna told me about it. Well, just a bit. But I can drill you for questions later. Let's go meet up with the others first." I tell her, levitating her bag onto my hips. She nods to me and follows after me. We should be meeting up at home. When we make it away from prying eyes, I nudge her a bit to get her attention. "So, who's the lucky guy?" "... really? Do we have to do this?" "Eeyup." "*sigh* fine. His name is Rumble. He's a pegasis. Um... I don't really know what else to say." "Well... I don't even know what I want to know. I guess a name is a good start. Your my first child to do something like this, so I'm a little unsure of how to handle certain things. Just know that I trust you and I hope you won't do anything stupid." "Oh... okay-" "But I don't trust this Rumble guy and if he does anything stupid I'll be on his ass in a heart beat." "O-" "In... a... heart beat." "..." "Love ya!" I lean down and kiss the top of her head. I'm sure that will send that right message from Dad. When we make it home Shadow heads up to change and put her stuff away. With nothing better to do, I go to the couch and lay down- SLAM "DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!" Tempestive yells as he kicks the door open and runs right towards me. THUD I lose a bit of my breath when he jumps up and tackles me in a hug. "Whoa there little guy! Careful with the horn." I tell him with a laugh as he hugs me tightly. "When did you get back!? How long are you going to be staying!? Are you going to the game today!? Can we fly there? Can we-" "Easy Tempestive." Luna chides as she walks in. She smiles at the sight of the two of us and shuts the door gently. "He's only going to be here for a day, so ease up on the questions." "Aww, is that true?" He asks, his disappointment dripping in his voice. "Yeah, but at least we get to go to the game together." I offer him. He mulls it over before shrugging and going back to hugging me. "So, when is this game anyway?" "It starts at four thirty." Shadow tells us as she walks down the stairs, looking like her normal self. Nude society, school uniforms. I'll never understand. "So, we should head out soon if we're going to make it in time." We gather a few things before taking off. Luna carries Shadow with her while I take Tempestive, seeing as she's the better flier and can maintain a levitation spell for much longer. Tempestive didn't complain, which put a smile on my face. He loved the flight there. He kept his wings out to catch the wind, flapping every now and again out of instinct. A couple of times I'd let go of him and let him glide for a bit, much to Luna's displeasure. It was a fun flight, with lots of catching up. Tempestive asked hundred upon hundreds of questions, and I'm sure the others enjoyed listening to my tales. An hour came and went and we entered the outskirts of Cloudsdale. We land and Luna casts the cloud walking spell on Shadow. Luckily no one saw us enter the city, so Luna and I toss on vests of our own before walking down the cloud path. Anywhere that isn't Ponyville we like to try and blend in. Being so tall doesn't help, but keeping the wings out of view does. We at least don't get warmed by the paparazzi. The city is bustling with activity today. Pegasus fill the air as they go about their business. The entire sight has Tempestive completely captivated, being his first time here. After he nearly walks into three ponies, I toss him on my back for safe keeping. He didn't mind, rather this just freed him up to ask even more questions. 'Why are there so many columns?' 'How many griffins live here?' 'Can we visit the rainbow factory?' Everything and anything in sight he had to know about. Luna and I were more than happy to oblige. Like usual, Shadow mostly kept to herself, only speaking when spoken to. We came up to the school and got in line with the other families and spectators there for the event. Most of the ponies there eyed us oddly, but kept to themselves. After a few minutes of waiting we got our tickets and made our way into the stadium. The stands go around a large open area. Several clouds are set in the open area. Two open circles at opposite ends of the field and four large open rectangles. I think they make the borders for maximum height as well as splitting the field into three sections, putting the goals in the center area. We make our way past the closed concession stand and to our seats in the visitor section. Luckily for us, we were seated next to a familiar face. "Hey there Captain!" Rainbow greets as we approach our seats. "When did you get back?" "Rainbow, Soarin, Jet," I greet as we take our seats. Jet and Tempestive rush to each and start talking about everything they've seen. "I got back earlier and had a free day, so we came to watch Shadow's boyfriend play-" "Really!?" Shadow yelps, glaring at me. "What?" "OOOOH! Shadow! Who's the lucky colt!?" Rainbow teases, making Shadow hide from her. They laugh at her discomfort, but leave it at that. "Anyway, what's been going on?" "Well, much of the same really," I tell her as we take our seat. I kind of feel bad for the guy behind me. "One lead taking us to another. But I have a good feeling about the next one." "Is that so? Well, I'm sure I'll hear all about this soon enough," she says, glancing out to the field. "So... how is this game played anyway?" "Oh! Oh! I know!" Tempestive chirps, bouncing beside me. "Each team has six players. Their goal is to toss a ball through the opposing goal. There are three ways to score. Making a pass in the center area will earn you one point, while going from above will get you two, and the bottom one will get you three. If you hold the ball, you aren't allowed to move, unless an enemy player is fighting for the ball. The team with the most points wins. There are a few other rules, but they mostly cover fouls and stuff. And that's Air ball!" "Huh, so where is Scootaloo?" "She's going to be playing today. A friend of hers was going to originally, but she was injured earlier and benched. Scootaloo joined last second so they can at least compete." Soarin tells me. "Looks like the game is about to start." We all turn our attention back to the playing field as the two teams fly out from the locker rooms. They're all wearing helmets and what looks like plastic padding for their torsos. The Cloudsdale team are in red and yellow while the Ponyville team are in light yellow and white. Both crowds explode as each team takes a few laps before lining up on the side lines. Our group starts yelling like idiots the moment we spot Scootaloo. Even Shadow was getting a bit vocal. Jet and Tempestive... were going a little over board, standing on their hind hooves and screaming their lungs off like there's no tomorrow. A few ponies around us gave them odd looks, but cheered none the less. The teams meet up in the field and huddle up before getting into position. Scootaloo and an enemy... I mean opposing player, head to the center and meet up with a referee. The crowd goes quiet as the two stand off, waiting for the ball to be tossed. Perspective: Scootaloo I fly out to the center and stare down the enemy player. He's a bit bigger than me, so I should have speed on him. The ref comes over and starts gives us the run down. Clean fights, no traveling, blah blah blah. I smirk when I hear Mom and Dad yelling my name, along with a few other familiar voices. I push them out of mind and focus on the game. The ref just finished up, so I bump hooves with the other player and get ready to catch the ball. "Ready? Set.... PLAY BALL!" The ref tosses the ball high into the air and we both take off after it. He's fast for his size, but I'm beating him to the ball still. That is, until he reaches up and starts pushing down on my chest. I glare down at him and use my back hooves to push him off. A few close calls and he backs off enough to let me get the ball. I grab the ball and hold it close as I come to an immediate stop. The guy tries to wrestle the ball from me, but I shake it away from him and toss it down to Breezy. The ball is intercepted and passed to somepony else. Just as they catch it, Rumble tackles them, sending the two of them hurdling down as they fight for the ball. I race after them with the guy from before following close behind me. Since he's bigger, he's falling at a higher speed than me. So I open my wings a bit to let him get away. Rumble and I make eye contact for a moment, so he kicks the pony away and flings the ball my way. I catch the ball and look back to the Sunny wide open and high. So I kick the ball up and race back up towards center field. Sunny get the ball but is swarmed quickly. "Drop it down!" I yell out to her. She kicks the ball straight down and races forward around the other players. I race to the ball and catch- WHAM The wind gets knocked out of me when an enemy player tackles me at high speed. I hug the ball tightly as I try to catch my breath. The mare tackling me is bad mouthing me like crazy, calling me bitch and whore and everything else she can think of as she tries to yank the ball out of my hooves. Everything is blurry as we spin out of control. I hear Rumble calling out to me and see a grey blur, so I try to time tossing the ball to him. I end up going a little left, but he makes up for the rest. The mare uses my stomach as a kick board to take off, sending me a bit further down. I recover quickly and try to make it back into the game, feeling my stomach twinge a bit in pain. I can hear my Mom screaming bloody murder at the other player... along with Tempestive oddly enough. Rumble, Sunny, and Shady are tossing the ball to one anther, trying to find an opening. The enemy team is putting good heat on them, but they completely forgot about me. I race forward and yell out at them. Shady gets the ball and tosses it to me. I prep myself and, when the ball is close enough, I kick it with all my might. It goes up and curls towards the goal... AND GOES IN! A little low, but the refs call it good and we go up by three! The crowd erupts in applause as I get bum rushed by my team mates. "WAY TO GO SCOOTS!" Sunny cheers, holding me up in a massive hug. "Nice shot!" Bank Shot yells from the back. "Alright, let's get back in the game! Call your targets, I want to keep our lead." Rumble yells at the others. We all nod and go to our side of the field, waiting for the enemy team to start. Perspective: Miles Oh sweet Barbra, this sport is awesome! I thought all the tackling and kicking would bring out fouls, but they're legal! Fuck yeah! Scootaloo nearly took that guys nuts off, then that one guy went tackled the other guy and dropped at least two thousand feet! And then the crowd went crazy when Scootaloo made that goal! I fucking love this sport... AND IT JUST STARTED! "GET'EM SCOOTALOO!" Tempestive yells with a jump, nearly falling over. "GET HIM, NOW GET HER, STOP LETTING THEM PASS AND TAKE THE HIT!" Okay, Tempestive really likes this game. Perspective: Scootaloo The opposing crowd cheers when the enemy team makes a two point goal. It pings on our moral a bit, but we're still ahead by one, so there's that at least. Bank Shot take the ball to the left corner and kicks it into play, right towards Sunny. A pony covers each of us as we pass the ball around, slowly working our way forward. Or, at least trying to. Every pass forward gets too much heat, forcing us to back off or get swarmed. We need to find a way to get a pony through with out being overly guarded. They intercept a pass made to Breezy and make a mad dash for the goal. I hesitate to chase after them as most of their players charge to cover their pony. I'm on my own, and Rumble and Breezy are putting good heat on them. I glance over and see Bank Shot thinking the same thing. I motion to him to head towards their goal as I wait to see what happens. They make it pretty close to our goal post before Rumble tackles the ball carrier. They roll around and drop a couple hundred feet before he gets the ball and tosses it away. It goes to mid field before Breezy gets it and tosses it to me. When I catch it I look back to see Bank shot wide open in scoring range. He's a bit out of range for me to pass it directly, but he should still be able to score. With that in mind, I drop the ball and kick it as hard as possible- THUMP I blackout for a second when I get tackled. After a few blinks I realize where I am and try to gain control. I spread my wings to catch myself and wince from the recoil of my fall. My wings flail back a few times, but I eventually catch myself. Roughly a thousand feet below the bottom cloud layer. I can hear cheering, so I think Bank Shot made the goal. My right wing stings with every flap, but I try to ignore it as much as possible. It's going to be tough to. Perspective: Rainbow Dash "THAT LITTLE FUCKER!" I yell, trying to take off to go beat the living shit out of that colt. Soarin and Miles hold me back as I try to fly at him. "LET ME GO! IMMA RIP HIS HEAD OFF!" "YEAH! GO GET HIM MOM!" Jet yells. "CALM DOWN DASH!" Soarin yells, yanking my tail back. "DESTROY HIM MAMMA DASH!" Tempestive yells. "Don't encourage her!" Miles yells as he grabs me and yanks me into my seat. "Calm down Dash. It was-" "That little fucker nearly knocked her out of the air! Look at her! Her wing is obviously messed up! HEY REF! WHAT ARE YOU DOING! CALL THAT FREAKING FOUL!" I yell at the top of my lungs. They ignore me, instead following the game as it plays out. "It was a legal hit," some stallion sitting behind us says. We all turn back and stare at him. He's wearing a red and yellow jacket... oh no. Please don't. "Legal smeagel! He knocked her out of bounds, that's against the rules!" Tempestive counters. I levitate him up and set him behind Luna, much to his displeasure. "His hit was in bounds, therefore legal. Sorry, but if your foal can't take the hits, don't play the sport." Oh... no... just... don't. "Rainbow... take it easy... don't hurt him." Soarin asks her quietly as she stares him down. I can tell that she's really trying not to jump his ass right now. "... whatever! We're ahead by four, so we have nothing to worry about. Besides, I'm sure your team will need the handicap." Rainbow says smugly, turning back to watch the game. The rest of us let out a sigh of relief as we turn back with her. Rainbow... not the most humble person ever. I lean over and shoot Tempestive a look, to which he shrugs to. He's... young. Perspective: Scootaloo By the time the last quarter comes around, I'm just about finished. My wing is killing me at this point and I'm beyond tired. The team has been carrying me through the entire last quarter, and I don't know if I can make it through another one. Coach Mary is looking over my wing right now, and I don't like the look on hr face. "C'mon Hell Mary, can she make it one more quarter?" Bank Shot asks worriedly. "We don't have a player to replace her with." "Bank, shut it." Rumble says firmly, maing him roll his eyes and walk off. "How bad is it Scoots?" "I... I don't know if I can make it another quarter guys. I'm sorry." I say with ragged breaths. I hang my head and silently berate myself. Mom would be able to make it another round like this. She'd push through the pain. She wouldn't be so weak! "And we were ahead by two points too! Uhg!" Sunny complains. "Hey, take it easy everypony. Scootaloo volunteered to be here and has been trooping though most of the game. She can't fly on this kind of a wound." I glance up to the stand and see Mom staring down at us... "No, no! I mean... if you guys are willing to carry me a bit more, I think I can make it fifteen more minutes." I tell them, standing up and spreading my wings. I nearly scream out when a shot of pain shoots down my wing, forcing me to fold it back. Hell Mary shakes her head to me and flies over to the ref. I sit back down and hang my head as she tosses in the towel. I hate losing. If that stupid colt didn't get such a good tackle on my we would have won this easily! I should have seen him coming. We loss because I wasn't strong enough for this. Rumble tries to put a hoof on my shoulder, but I shrug it off and walk back into the locker room. I just want to be alone for a bit. Taking my padding takes a bit longer than my patience allowed. My wing kept sending pings of pain whenever anything touched it. I yelped when my anger got the best of me and I ripped it off. With a growl I tossed it aside and bucked the lockers behind me, putting a nice dent in the locker door. "Easy Scootaloo. You don't want to hurt yourself anymore than you already are." Rumble tells me as he enters the room. "I don't care." I grumble as I grab my towel and head towards the showers. Rumble flies ahead of me and blocks the doors. "Why are you even here?" "I'm the captain of the team. It's my job to take care of all my players. And... I failed at that today." "You didn't cause the team to lose." I point out, making him shake his head. "Yeah I did. I saw you take that hit and didn't think about it right away. I should have seen you slacking, but I didn't. I was too focused on trying to win the game, and because of that we lost. I'm sorry," he tells me, lowering his head. I'm... a little taken back by this. "It.... it wasn't you fault Rumble. If anything, we should be blaming that one colt who tackled me." I tell him, worried by how hard he's actually taking this. I still feel as if I lost the game, but I don't want him feeling bad too. "Look, just... we'll get them next time. We were fighting bad odds today to begin with." "*sigh* yeah. I guess so. Doesn't help much though, but thanks anyway. I'm going to go head over to the guys shower and cool off." Before I can say anything else he flies off into the colts shower room. I let out an annoyed sigh and trot into the fillies shower room. The pain hurt pretty bad right now, but that's going to be nothing compared to seeing Mom afterwards. Author's Note Shout out to Silver Stout Shako for picking Cloudsdale's colors, and Heimobaus for picking Ponyville's. If you haven't read MY BLOG PAGE, my laptop recently broke. So, expect even further delays in the future. I'm not quitting, I'm just hindered. Thanks for reading, and like always, Brony on!
Chapter 207 Hard LossesAuthor's Note I'M BACK BITCHES! Well... for the most part at least. So, my laptop isn't completely dead, just on life support. Meaning, if I unplug it, it'll die. So I have that part figured out at least. I'll hopefully be getting internet at my place soon as well. Also, this chapter has not been edited. I've been trying to figure out my Gdoc situation (for whatever reason, it deleted all my stuff and wont let me make new ones (extra bad news, I have to re-write Super Dad... no big deal... it's not like I was about to release it or anything... forty thousand words down the drain is all... I'm not bitter)). So, with that, here's a chapter, and the next one should be out relatively soon as well... seeing as it's already done... Brony on! Chapter 207 Hard Losses Chapter 207 Hard Losses After a long bus ride back to Ponyville I go to meet up with my mom. The crowd of spectators and family members cheer for the team when we step out, but I still keep my head down. Despite what Rumble says or thinks, I still feel that that loss was on me. I just want to go home and sleep it off, to start. I offer Mom a weak smile when I walk up to her, still keeping my head down though. She smiles back and pulls me in for a hug. "Don't beat yourself up for that squirt. You can't win them all," she whispers to me, patting my back. "I know Mom. It just... I still hate losing." I tell her, resting my head on her shoulders. "I know you do. It's a little something you learned from me. But, if you never lost, competing wouldn't be worth it. Your pride is hurt, but you'll make it through this." I sigh into her mane and close my eyes, relaxing into her embrace. She always knows just what to say when I'm feeling down. After a moment I break away and we silently start to walk home. "So... where is everypony?" I ask after a few minutes. "Most of them went home. Miles was called away for work and the boys passed out on the flight home. Though Luna is going to wait by our house to fix up your wing." "Oh, yeah." I mumble as I look to my bandaged wing. Having that fixed right away would really help. "I saw that they brought Tempestive. He seemed to really enjoy himself." "Heh, he nearly cheered as loud as me, almost." She nudges me a bit and I can't help but smile. When I was little I was her biggest fan, but now it seems to have turned around... kind of. "I... I have some bad news Scootaloo." "Bad news? What is it?" I ask nervously, unsure what this could be about. "It... well... in a few months my maternity leave will expire, and I'll be on active duty with Miles." I stop in my tracks and stare at her. "What... no-" "Now don't get sappy with me Scootaloo," she cuts me off firmly. "Everypony knew this was going to happen eventually. The Captain has been going the past two years with only Night, Will, and Dust for experienced help. And with those new recruits in training, they're really going to need me. But... with me there, I won't be here. I'm going to count on you to really start stepping up now Scootaloo, for Jet. He's too young to fully understand this, and I want my transition to be as easy as possible." "But... it's not like you're leaving forever or anything. You're a Spartan after all!" She smiles and pulls me in for another hug, one I don't return. Why is she dropping this now! Her leave doesn't end for another six months! Couldn't this have waited a little bit longer!? "Hm, I am a Spartan. And I'm not going down without one hell of a fight. But... before Miles left for that call, I had a talk with him. Something nasty is coming to Equestria, and I want this family ready for anything. I've already talked to Soarin about this, and I plan to talk to Jet later. But with me gone, you're going to have to step up as the mare of the house. And that means I'm going to need your help with watching over Jet. And more than just dropping him off at school." "Mom... I-" "I'm serious Scootaloo! When I'm away, Jet's going to need you, and I want you ready for that! He's a little colt Scoots, he won't understand, not right away at least. That's why I'm telling you this now. I want you ready to be there for him. To take care of him. And... should the worst happen-" "NO! No, Mom-" "If the worst should happen, I want to know that you'll watch over each other. Be there for each other." I pull her in for another hug and bury my face in her neck, fighting back the tears swelling in my eyes. She hugs me back tenderly, rubbing my back slowly. "Of course we will Mom. Why do you even need to ask?" I ask, squeezing her tightly. "I knew you would, I just... I can't have doubts. Doubts make you hesitate, and I can't chance that. You make me so proud Scootaloo, I hope you know that." We hold each other for a bit longer until we each begrudgingly let go of each other. We do have appearances to keep up after all. After a short walk we make it underneath our home and find Luna waiting patiently for us. "Hey Luna. Did... did you enjoy the game?" I ask sheepishly. She smiles and walks over to my side, lifting my wing up with her magic. I hiss from the pain from the sudden movement, but let it go when I feel the pain begin to numb away. "You were magnificent Scootaloo. I just don't understand why they wouldn't let me just heal you at the stadium. Instead they forced you to go through the pain and suffering of the trip back here." I wince again when she yanks my wing in another direction, focusing the magic elsewhere. "Y-yeah... what cruel and unusual PUN-ishment!” I yelp again when she pulls it straight up, cracking my joint. "It has to do with liability and legality stuff like that." Mom points out. "I am the master of legalities, and a princess. There is no reason they couldn't let me help her." Luna says bitterly, setting my wing back to its resting position. "Well... technically you’re a queen... part time. So... they have every reason not to let you heal her." Mom points AAAAHH! WHY DOES SHE KEEP YANKING IT AROUND!? "LUNA!" "All done!" she says happily, letting go of my wing. "But you shouldn't fly for a day or two, just to be safe. Do you need help getting up-" "No!" Mom cuts her off quickly. "No, I mean... I've got this. Why don't you go home and get some sleep? I can handle things here now." Luna gives my wing a glance over before shrugging. "Very well. Remember to keep off it for a few days. Good night you two, and great job today Scootaloo." "Thanks, and you too." I call out to her as she trots away. When she's out of ear shot Mom and I share a chuckle. "I thought she was going to tear my wing off for a second." "Pfft, yeah. Let's get inside and hit the hay already, it's starting to get late." Mom tells me, to which I nod. She comes over and lifts me up to our home, setting me on the porch. When we walk inside we find Soarin sitting on the couch in the living room, waiting for us. He walks over and hugs me, giving me praise for my hard work. I thank him and head to bed. It's been a long day, and I just want to go to sleep right now. ............................................................................................................................................................ Perspective: Miles It takes me several hours of intense focus, but I eventually force myself back into human form on the flight to the Griffin Colonies. I know I'll pay later for switching this much, but you have to do what you have to do. I get dressed and armored up as quickly as possible just in time for the descent. The ship shakes violently as we pass through a fierce storm. A few alarms start to sound off, but I ignore them as we continue our descent. I peer through one of the openings and sigh as arcs of electricity illuminate the dark haze. Six years and these damned storms and were no closer to figuring out this mess. Every sample is foreign to our scanners and it's too acidic to actually hold and physically check. When we make it through the cloud cover, I get a look of Lions Heart. Wasteland. There's really no other way to put it. All the plant life, dead. The ground, bare. Large wooden awnings have been built onto the cities tall stone walls to try and protect it, but it's being burned away slowly. They're trying to replace it, but much of the surrounding forest has already been removed by now, and they're still going at it. A large stone building sits outside the tall city walls with a stone pathway leading to the city gate. The ship hovers near the entrance to the stone building and waits long enough for me to jump off. I run into cover and take in my surroundings. A massive black food processor fills the center of the room while many angry griffins cover much of the rest. I force my way through the yelling crowd to the front where I find a bot working on the machine. "What happened?" I ask it as I look over the part it's working on. "A pressure valve has warped. Replacement in process. E.T.A. to completion, six hours." The crowd goes into an uproar from this and start directing it at me. "WHERE'S THE FOOD!?" "I HAVE THREE KIDS TO FEED!" "AREN'T YOU SUPPOSE TO BE ADVANCED! WHERE'S THE FOOD!?" "WHY AREN'T YOU DOING ANYTHING!?" "WHERE'S THE FOOD!?" I turn back and stare at the crowd for a moment for a moment before stepping forward. Many in the back are still yelling, but the ones up front have stopped, for now at least. "Please understand that this is a tool. And like any other tool, under a lot of stress it tends to breakdown. We are working on the problem and will have it back online as quickly as possible-" "Six hours isn't quick enough!" Some guy in the back yells. "I agree. But yelling and causing a scene will not get you anywhere! Now I suggest you all get back in line while we try and fix this problem!" I get a few boos, but they mostly back off. I can see a few potential trouble makers, but I turn my back on them to try and get this problem fixed sooner. “Excuse me, sir?” Some guy calls out as he breaks through the crowd and approaches. He’s wearing a blue sash over his chest. “That’s close enough.” I warn him, holding up a hand. “How can I help you?” “The… king wishes to speak with you,” he says nervously, glancing back to the crowd of griffins. “He can wait until we get this back online-“ “Um… sir… well.” He strides forward and continues in a hushed tone. “The… king of kings, if you will, wishes to speak with you.” “I figured. Ulfric can wait.” I tell him, getting a few gasps from the crowd. I turn back to the machinery and start to take look over the dismantled valve. Six hours to fix something that obviously needs to be replaced… this is going to be a long day. And this is only the first on my check list. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Perspective: Rainbow Dash I stay up until all of the kids are asleep before heading out of the house. I glance around before jumping into the air and heading towards the back of Miles’s home. I find Big Mac walking up to it and meet up with him before teleporting. “Hey Big Mac, are you ready for this?” “Eeyup.” “… is your family ready for this?” I feel kind of douche-y asking that, but it needs to be asked. “Fluttershy is ready. Ah haven’t told Rampant yet though. Ah… guess ah figured ah’ll have more time later,” he admits, rubbing the back of his neck a bit. “I know how you feel. I haven’t told Jet yet either. But, we still have some time before we’re back in. I talked with Scootaloo earlier… it wasn’t easy. Makes me want to just get the talk with Jet over with; but at the same time, not want to.” He nods to me and heads to the mico platform. I sigh and follow after him, taking it as soon as it clears up. “Well you guys took your time.” Night Fury scoffs. I roll my eyes and walk up to him. “Fury, still a douche I see.” I retort, getting a chuckle from him. “Whatever, I know you love it. Here’s the scoop so far. We intercepted a goblin transport. All of the smugglers died in the assault, but the dragon assisting them told us something. Syncney.” “Syncney?” I ask. “Yeah, it’s a city in the Goblin Empire. We’re going there as soon as Miles finishes up with the riots in the G.C. In the meantime-“ “He still thinks there might be an attack?” Big Mac asks. “Pfft, he’s counting the days till then. He has several political action committees under surveillance still. I don’t think he thinks that any government will do anything, but he fears groups taking action into their own hands.” “… hand?” I ask, tilting my head slightly. “I would think the griffins would be the ones to make the first move, not the goblins.” Night Fury shakes his head to this. “The griffins are the scapegoat, in Miles’s mind at least. He believes the goblins will make some kind of, justified, crusade into Equestrian territory. Backed by a willing army of griffins of course.” “For the Southern Badlands ah assume.” Big Mac comments, making us both nod. “Syncney.” I mutter, thinking of the possibilities. “Anything else?” “Hmm… oh yeah. He wants an update on the newbies. How are they coming along?” “We haven’t been with them at all, you’ll have to go and check up on them yourself.” I tell him. “*sigh* just what I need. Alright. Hopefully Ellzy, Su ye, and Butterscotch can handle a simple training regiment,” he says irritably. “Cut them some slack. They didn’t get as much experience before going to train the new recruits.” I tell him. “Eeyup. Plus ya didn’t have ta train a orc.” Big Mac points out, getting a nod from the both of us. “So why did ya’ll call us here today? We could’a learned this at the monthly meeting, what’s so special now?” “Well… Miles is putting you two on call when he gets back-“ “WHAT!?” Big Mac and I yell out together, making him jump slightly. “What could be so dang important that Miles would call on only us fer? And why not Storm?” Night Fury glances around before stepping closer to us, drawing us closer as well. “Miles doesn’t want to alert the Equestrian government about this mission. From what we’ve seen, it needs to be kept under wraps for the moment.” “What ever happened to ‘no secrets’ in Terradisia?” I ask, raising an eyebrow. “There aren’t any. That’s why you’re being pulled tonight. You can’t answer questions if you aren’t here. If Storm was pulled, it would bring up too many questions. And Luna being a letter away from Celestia, and Storm being at the castle every day… well, can you see why the discrepancy?” Big Mac and I mull it over for a moment silently. It honestly sounds like he’s just trying to hide things from Luna. “What more can ya tell us?” Big Mac asks. Night Fury looks around again before telling us. “We’re not sure, but it has to do with some goblin tech we found. It was enchanted with pony magic, making him believe that there’s something fishy going on with the factory it came from. That’s what we’re going to Syncney for. To find any factories there, and investigate what’s going on there. But… well, it’s not like they’re going to let us just waltz right in there. So, he needs a team. Everypony else is training, so you’re being called back. For this job at least.” Big Mac and I look to each other before nodding to Night. I don’t like the sneaking around and what-not, but I understand why he’s doing it. If things are bad over there… this could start a war. He’s being sneaky with Celestia the ruler, not the sibling. “When do we leave?” I ask quietly. Can we at least say goodbye? “In an hour. Get your gear and meet back up here.” Dammit. Well, at least I have an hour. Night nods to us and takes off for the mico platform, followed by me and Big Mac. I rush home and burst through the front door and start yelling for everypony to wake up. I go to my bedroom and kick the door open, finding Soarin getting up slowly. I run to Scootaloo’s and Jet’s room and do the same before heading to the living room, where I wait for them. It takes them a bit, but they eventually make it out and start asking dozens of questions… well, most of them. Jet just curls up into a ball and goes back to sleep. I smile down at him and walk over to him. He looks so peaceful right now. He has no worries, no concerns- “Whoa… Dash, what’s wrong?” Soarin asks worriedly. I look up to him and feel a tear roll down my cheek. I try to rub it away quickly, but they’ve both already saw it. I lean down and start to nuzzle Jet back awake, much to his displeasure. “Uuuhhhgg. Mom? *yawn* what time is it?” he asks tiredly. “It’s really late. But I need you awake for a moment, think you can do that for your mom?” I ask him sweetly, getting scared looks from Soarin and Scootaloo. “Mmm… what’s up?” He asks groggily as he sits up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “I’m going to be leaving for a bit. Miles needs me and a really important mission, and I don’t know when I’ll be back.” I tell him, waking him up completely. “What?” “But… you said-“ “I know I said I wouldn’t be leaving for a bit, but this is urgent. There’s a problem… and Big Mac and I are being pulled to help-“ “Well, what about Storm Cloud? Why can’t he pull him?” Scootaloo demands, tears forming in her eyes. “He can’t come. If he does, Celestia might find out. If she does… it might botch the mission. Equestria can’t know about this mission. Not now at least. I have… less than an hour before I need to be back in Mooseden.” “No!” Jet yells, tackling my leg in a hug. “You can’t leave! You… just can’t!” He yells, tearing up as he tightens his grasp on my leg. Scootaloo and Soarin come over and join in, enveloping me completely. I keep quiet and return the affection. I don’t know what to say, so I just tell them that I’ll be fine. That I’ll be back before they know it. I tell them anything I can think of that might ease their minds, but I know it hardly helps. It’s never supposed to. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Perspective: Miles It takes forever, but we eventually get the food processor back online. It took less than six hours, but no one in the crowd seemed to really notice. With my job here done, I reluctantly follow the griffin from before back down the passageway towards the city. The line goes all through the city gate. Young, old, rich, poor, everyone was affected by this storm. Several groups give me dirty looks as I walk by, but I ignore them as we walk through the front gate. Luckily for the griffins, they designed their homes from stone, so when the rain first hit it didn’t do too much damage. With the awnings up though, the city has been casted into a permanent shadow. Added with the thick cloud cover, it appears to be night time here. Streetlights illuminate the main roads, but the alleyways are dark and unsettling. Many walls have been tagged with either slurs of anti-Equestrian sentiment or posters depicting various things. Everything from Ulfric being kicked around by Celestia to Celestia forcing poor, defenseless griffins to pay for a slice of bread as they’re rained on by acidic rain cover streetlights and once blank walls. In the end, it’s obvious who they think the villain is. When we make it to the front of the Castle, a griffin with an owl half is standing on a small wooden box shouting at a small crowd. He’s wearing a light blue vest with various buttons and pins with similar remarks to the posters. “… and all the time they sit there, spoon feeding us their scraps while profiteering off of our misfortune! How many children go hungry at night while they fatten up and mock us! How long do we have to belittle ourselves with these measly handouts!? Join the National Griffin Coalition today and fight the tyranny that’s attempting to close its grasp over our necks!” “Is he fucking serious?” I ask aloud, somehow getting his attention. “LOOK! One of the tyrants come to gloat to the king himself! BOO!” He yells, pointing me out. “Fuck you asshole.” I retort, flipping him off. Luckily enough, griffins understand this gesture. The crowd starts to yell and boo with him, making the messenger start to try and usher me inside. “I’ll remember you later asshole.” I call out to him. “Good! Remember the face that said no to your rule! LONG LIVE ULFRIC! LONG LIVE THE COLONIES! NO TAXATION FOR DEVISTATION!” He chants, getting the crowd to yell with him. I shake my head and continue onward inside. Just as I feared. People are starting to point fingers. This will lead in insurrection, massacres, terrorist acts… let’s just see what Ulfric has to say about all of this. The castle is dark and empty, only having sparse torches lit to show the ends of hallways or corridors. They can’t afford to burn the wood to light the entire castle, so the minimal amount will suffice. The messenger guides me down the dark corridors to the throne room where we find Ulfric. He’s in his usual light blue garbs staring out a window at the city below. The look on his face easily gives away his troubled mind, so I approach him and wait patiently for him to speak first. “Tell me, Miles, when your home was attacked… did the worry tear at you? Did the fear grab at your heart so easily?” he asks slowly, never looking away from the city. “ …we were lucky.” I tell him, getting a confused look in return. “The attack was quick. It only took them a week to take the city. In that time, all we did was fight. We didn’t have time to fear or worry. There was… only killing.” “Did you lose anyone you cared for?” he asks quietly. “… yeah. I did.” “Six years Miles. Six years and it’s only getting worse. We can’t grow food. The runoff is starting to affect our shores… fear has gripped my people Miles.” “We are all trying to do whatever we can Ulfric. Terradisia, Equestria-“ “Yes, I know. But at the same time, you don’t have to tell millions of people that they have to send their children to bed hungry. That their next meal will be some a handout that can’t even be called food by its looks. My people prided themselves with their independence Miles. And now-“ “And now they have to humble themselves by accepting help from others.” I cut him off, making him look back out the window. “I’ve seen much of the world Ulfric, it’s divided. Every nation follows a belief of isolation, and now it’s starting to kick you all in the ass. This has affected the entire world, yours more so than the others, but it’s still being felt everywhere.” He stays quiet for a moment, thinking to himself as he continues to stare out at the city below. I join him at the window and look down at the gloomy city. “You should have seen this city before The Storm. It was bright, and so full of life. Heh, I once complained it was too bright here. Now… now those damned awnings.” “We’ll fix this. We just need more time-“ “We don’t have time Miles. We simply just… don’t have time,” he tells me tiredly. “I’m sure you heard one of the yellers on your way through the city.” “No taxation for devastation. Yeah, I heard them.” He rubs his eyes and lets out a sigh. “What tax are they talking about?” “It all started as a simple rumor. But, that’s all it took really.” “Ulfric, what’s the rumor?” “… *sigh* that the Equestrians are adding a tax to the aid they’ve been sending.” I almost do a double take when I hear this. “Taxing the aid? They’ve cut prices to the point where farms are starting to go bankrupt! How could they believe that!?” I ask angrily, thinking back to the Apple farm. I know they’ve been hit really hard by this, so it’s putting a bit of a bias in my opinion. “Miles, we still have to buy the food they send us. I know the prices have been reduced drastically, but… we’re in a national state of emergency. We have no ability to grow our own food, at least on a large scale. To them, it appears that the Equestrians are profiting off of our misfortunes-“ “Do you believe that?” I ask quickly. If the people believe this, that’s one thing. But… the minute Ulfric believes this… I don’t know what would happen. “I believe… that, in time, this will all come to a point. I’m old, Miles. I’ve seen the years of famine for my country time and time again. We’re a hardy people, but this has all happened before. The other times one colony fought with another or caused riots… I’m old Miles. This has happened before, it’ll happen again. I guarantee you that.” He sounds so… defeated. As if he’s just going to let all of this just happen, and have no say in it whatsoever! “Ulfric,” I say quietly, “you can’t let this get to you. You’ve seen this before, so you’ve learned from this before. We learn from history to avoid making the same mistakes-“ “But the circumstances surrounding any one problem are never the same Miles. Neither are those who have to go through them. I am old,, but no matter what I learn from time, time finds a way to repeat itself. Rest assured that I am doing everything I can to try and put an end to these kinds of thoughts, but I can only do so much.” “Your people listen to you Ulfric. Your words carry weight with them. They will cling to what you say, and if you start speaking in this defeated mindset, they’ll react in kind.” “Hmm, I know. Trust me, I know. But, trying to persuade a nation from aggression while carrying its burden is tiresome. I’m sure one day you’ll understand. Now, I won’t keep you from your duties. Thank you for your time Miles.” “Anytime Ulfric. Take care.” I start to walk out of the throne room until Ulfric calls out to me again. “You remind me of her, your mother that is. You take after her, more than you’ll ever believe.” I pause for a second before nodding to him and leaving. I don’t like him knowing my mother, it makes him able to get to me too easily. Whatever, I’ll take the compliment for now; I have three other riots to quell.
Chapter 210 Dinner In MoosdenChapter 210 Dinner In Moosden Perspective: Rumble We spend a little more time in that tree house before finally mustering the courage to head out. She seems really apprehensive about doing this, but I don't see what the problem is. I mean, I understand meeting family members is typically a stressful thing. But I don't think it'll really be as bad as she thinks it's going to be. It's probably going to be a tad strange, but nothing I can't handle. Every family has something weird about it, and I've seen plenty of strange things already. Plus, I'm an athlete! Guards love athletes! I just need to get them talking about a sport and I'll be in! We walk slowly together to her house leaning on each other lightly. I can tell she's nervous,so I try to lighten the mood a bit by nudging her a bit. “You’re being awfully quiet, scared?” I ask Shadow, giving her another slight nudge. “Well… I am actually. If you say the wrong thing to the wrong people… just try and be mindful when you speak to certain people, okay?” she tells me with a worried frown. Well... so much for lightening the mood. “Okay, now I’m worried. Any pointers I should know to survive?” I ask with a slight chuckle. She stops and thinks about it for a second before looking at me with a completely serious face. “You’re leaving Equestria, literally. Treat this as if you were visiting another country.” I stare at her for a second before remembering myself and forcing out a chuckle. “Don’t worry. I’ll be on my best behavior.” I tell her. I thought she lived on the edge of town, which I also thought was a part of Ponyville. Actually… I remember my brother talking about joint ruling for Ponyville, so I guess that’s where that comes in. We make it to her home and start to walk around towards the back. After what happened last time, I’m not against going in through the back door. “Okay, so this will tingle at first, but it’s completely safe. Just do as I do.” Shadow tells me as she walks away from the house. “Uh… okay? Where are you going? I thought we were going to your house.” Before she answers me she suddenly disappears in a flash beneath a large stone structure. Great. Something scared her off. I don’t even know what I could have said that would have; I thought I was being so- FLASH What the buck was that!? What was that!? Where am I!? How did it suddenly drop twenty degrees!? What just happened!? “Pfft, you okay there? Most people freak out the first time they use a mico platform, but never this bad.” Shadow tells me with an adorable giggle. I’m still freaking out about the… thing, but I’ll get over it for a laugh like that. “Heh... yeah. So… um, where are we?” “We’re in-“ “HEY!” We both jump slightly when somepony yells at us. We look over to see somepony in a heavy black cloak with a walking stick walking towards us. “Oh, hey Uncle Damian.” Shadow says quietly. “Oh hi? That’s all I get!? Where’s my hug?” He demands, closing the distance between us. Shadow blushes a bit before giving him a quick hug. During the hug he notices me and stares me down. “Hi, I’m-“ “Whose this!? This your new coltfriend!?” He practically yells, letting go of Shadow to face me. “Well… maybe-“ “MAYBE!? Well are you or aren’t you!?” He demands, loudly. “We’re… trying to figure that out.” Shadow says shortly, glancing to me. So much dread in her eyes right now, so much. I don’t quite get this guy. I think he’s just trying to embarrass Shadow. “Pfffffft, what?” He asks, looking back to Shadow for a moment. “Are you trying to diddle her piddle?” “I… what?” “Are you trying to diddle her piddle with your widdle fiddle?” he asks, leaning awkwardly close to me. “Uh… what?” “What’s your name?” he asks. “Uncle Damian, what are you going to do?” Shadow asks, sounding really scared. “I just want to know his name,” he says innocently. “What’s your name?” “Rumble.” “… Rumble what? What’s your family name? Who’s your family? Who are you?” “Damian, what are you doing?” “I’m not doing anything!” He says like a whining foal. “So, what’s your name?” “Um… I think our family name is the Thunders-“ “Got it. I’ll be back,” he says abruptly, turning and starting to leave. “Damian, what are you going to do?” Shadow demands. “Nothin.” “What are you going to do!?” She demands much more sternly. “I’m not going to do anything!” Damian replies quickly. “You better not do what I think you’re going to do,” she warns him sternly. “How can I not do something when I wasn’t going to do anything to begin with? Now, if you’d be so kind as to excuse me, I have to go do something.” Damian says before scurrying off into the depths of the small town. Shadow lets out a long sigh and hangs her head down. “Um… what’s he going to do?” I ask, not entirely sure if I want to hear the answer. “He’s going to go look you up. I’m sure we’ll hear all about it later. Let’s just get going before it gets too late. I’m sure there will be plenty of other oddities to come our way.” Shadow says meekly. She trot s off before I could really think of anything to say. Look me up? Is he in the guard too? I don’t really have anything to worry about but… it still feels off. Moosden is quite the sight to see. The buildings are simple wooden cabins that circle around a large stone structure, one similar to the one in Ponyville behind her house. The small town is filled with so many different pon- er… people. Moose, diamond dogs, griffins, ponies, all living together in one community. It was a little odd at first, but when I saw Shadow smiling and greeting all of them I started to loosen up. If she feels safe here, then I should be too, right? “Okay, so before we go any further I need to give you a few warnings.” Shadow tells me when we make it to the edge of town. “What’s up?” “The people we’re about to meet are… different, culturally. Just… don’t stare, okay. They hate it when people stare,” she pleads with me, giving me a worried look. “I’ll do my best, but I don’t think it’ll be that bad.” I tell her, giving her a reassuring smile. She frowns a bit more before approaching a house and knocking on it. I join her at her side and put on my best smile. First part of her family -besides that Damian guy- time to make a good impression. “WHO GOES THERE!?” A loud, deep –yet distinctly feminine voice bellows from inside. “It’s Shadow, can I come in? I’d like you to meet somepony.” Shadow replies loudly. I didn’t know she could get that loud. “Zeakel! Open the door!” I jump at how loud they yell from inside. That much volume isn’t really necessary, in my opinion at least. I take deep breath and wait for the door to open. Just smile, good posture, this’ll be over before- “Yes Shadow?” “… orc.” I mutter when an orc opens the door. He’s much shorter than the last one I saw, standing around five feet or so, but… orc. “Hey Zeakel, is now a good time? I just wanted to chat with your mom for a moment.” Shadow says rather calmly. I can’t help but stare at Zeakel. There’s an orc, living in Equestria. And Shadow knows him well enough to not freak out around him. I did not see that coming, not even close. “Da,” he says with a slight nod of the head, staring right back at me. He walks in, leading Shadow inside. It takes me a moment to gather myself and follow after them. Why, in all of Equestria, are we talking to orcs? How could she possibly know a family of orcs!? The inside of the house is made up of mostly earth and stone with a center pit fire lighting the room. It’s still fairly dim in here, but not enough to trip over anything. Antlers and various other animal parts cover the walls as a section of the room has a stack of furs made into what looks like a bed. A few… carcasses, have been hung up and… I think I’m going to puke from the smell… it smells like they’re burning parts of it! “Eremita-kin, greeting.” Another orc greets; the female I presume. She stands at least nine feet tall and looks much like the males did, just more feminine and without the tusk teeth. She’s currently cutting strips of flesh from one of the carcasses. “Hello Azzeal, I just wanted to introduce you-“ “Is this mate yours?” she asks bluntly, looking down at me. “Oh… um… not quite. We’re… dating.” Shadow falters. “Ponies.” The orc mutters, shaking her head. She stops working on the corpse and walks over to me, eyeing me over critically. I tense up and wait for her to finish walking around me, hoping to Celestia that she doesn’t eat me. “Azzeal-“ “He has strength, and fear. Does he… um…” she pauses and thinks to herself for a moment. “Produce?” “… oh! Um… I assume so. We haven’t done that-“ “Good. Chief Eremita would be most… vengeful.” I gulped at that. She eyes me over again before returning to the carcass. “Why are you here, Eremita-kin?” “Well… I guess I’m here to hear your thoughts on him.” Shadow tells her, stepping to my side and nudging me slightly. I guess I was holding my breath, because that made me let it go. “I don’t understand. He produces, does he not? What… um… value, do my words have?” She asks, tilting her head slightly. “Raz is a Spartan, or is trying to be-“ “Raz is strong! He will be Spartan!” Azzeal snaps, making me jump a bit. “… right. Well, the Spartans are close, as so should their families-“ “Ah, I see. Kinship. Da. He… um… he… will bring many healthy offspring. Yes. Potent male,” she says, struggling. I don’t think this is her native language. “Potent. Well thanks Azzeal. I’ll see you the next chance I get. I should get him out of here before he loses his lunch.” Shadow tells her as she starts to drag me out of the home. “How weak.” I hear her mutter before we make it out the door. Shadow drags me a bit away before pausing behind a building and offers me a slight smile. “Heh… so… what did you think of the Al-Gruuls?” I cough up a chuckle as I try to shake the thought of those carcasses out of my mind. “I can take you back home now if you’d like-“ “No! I mean… do you… do you eat meat?” I ask hesitantly. “No, of course not! And don’t worry. They only hunt wild animals that are a nuisance to Moosden,” she assures me. “How can you stand to be in there? And, I mean that in a literal sense, how ‘you’ can stand to be in there!? I nearly lost my lunch from that!” “Well… I’ve known them a lot longer than you have. At first, I didn’t like being anywhere near there. Then, I went with my dad and… I don’t know. Having him there made things easier I guess. They weren’t monsters with him there. They were just people looking for a new start, and that made me okay with them.” “Right… um… heh…” “Are you sure you don’t want to go home now? The rest of town isn’t like that, but it doesn’t get any more normal.” Shadow seems really scared to hear my answer. Understandably of course, but I’ve never seen her this scared before. Given, I’ve only known her for a short time… but… still. “No, I can keep going. Just, maybe nowhere else that has meat like that. I don’t think I can stomach that right now.” I tell her, trying my best to give her a reassuring smile. I can’t really make one though, having the image of a slayed out carcass with all of its guts and flesh out and… blech! “Okay… um… I guess next would be the orphanage.” “There’s an orphanage here? Okay, that sounds good. I’m good with kids, yeah. Let’s do that.” Shadow gives me a weak smile and starts to lead me towards the back of the small town. Kids, I can do this. Just be goofy and keep things clean. I can do that, easy! As we walk, I notice that we’re being watched by several pon… er, people. A few of them murmur to each other while most just stare. I try to wave to a group of them, but they just run off. I was about to ask Shadow about it when I bumped into something. I step back to see that I walked into a griffin. He’s looks a bit… different though. I thought all griffins had an eagle front, but I guess there are hawk fronts as well. Cool. “Oh… hi Ellzy.” Shadow says, giving the griffin a quick hug. “What are you doing out of training?” “I had to run and get supplies,” he says with a soft voice, eyeing me closely. “Who’s this?” “Hi, I’m Rumble. I’m Shadow’s co-“ “AAAAHH!” he squeals, getting everponys attention. “HEY! LOOK, SHADOW FINALLY GOT A COLTFRIEND!” “Uncle Ellzy!” “AHHHHH! MILES OWES ME TWENTY BITS!” he yells before flying off. We stand there for a moment before Shadow starts to push me down the road. “Who is Miles?” I ask, finally taking my own steps. “That’s my dad.” “Oh… and why does he owe Ellzy twenty bits-“ “I’d rather not say,” she says quietly, looking away from me. I stare at her for a second before simply accepting it. I’m sure whatever it is, it’ll come back up soon enough. “So… you said we were going to an orphanage?” I ask, getting her to look back up to me. She offers me a small smile before nodding and walking on. She leads me to one of the larger houses towards the west side of town. The home is two stories high and has several broken windows. It looks like there was a sign out front, but something… chewed it off? It definitely looks like there were bite marks on the stumps of posts. There’s an odd smell about this place as well. Like… something… wet and stinky lives here. Shadow walks up to the door and opens it, stepping in quickly, so I follow her lead and do the same. The room seems normal enough. We’re in what looks to be the lobby area. In the back of the room there are two stairs that lead to the upper parts of the building. There are two doors, one on the left wall and one on the other. I can kind of hear the kids in the back right room, they sound like a rowdy bunch. Shadow looks like she’s trying to prep herself for something, but I figure the best way to deal with this is to just go for it. So I go to the door and open it… “Diamond dogs.” I blink as a group of green Diamond Dog kids rough around in the middle of what looks to be a play area of a den, seeing as there are plenty of toys here as well as a sitting area. Shadow steps beside me and makes one of the floor boards creak, getting their attention. All of their heads pop up as they stare at us, unmoving. “… GET ‘EM!” One of the ones in the back yells. They all charge at us, jumping over couches and desks in a matter of seconds before tackling me, and presumably Shadow, to the ground. I start yelling and try to get away from them, but they easily over power me and drag me inside their den. “SHADOW! HELP! WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO DO!? HELP!” I struggle in vain as they pin me on my back and restrain my legs. I look between them all as they bark between themselves. What are they planning? What are they going to do? Where’s Shadow? “WHY ARE THEY SNIFFING ME!?” I hear Shadow chuckle as the entire group of Diamond Dogs start to sniff me all over… all over. I continue to try and struggle to free myself, but they are intent on sniffing me completely. I finally get a glance of Shadow and see her on the side lines laughing the entire thing. A whistle goes off somewhere and all of the dogs suddenly jump off me. I take a second to catch my breath before looking for my savior. “So, who is this Shadow?” Some moose asks from the doorway. All of the dogs are at her feet, looking up at her and giving her one hundred percent of their attention. “Hey Saska, this is Rumble. My… special somepony, if he survives to dinner that is.” Shadow tells her before giving her a quick hug. “Oh… I didn’t know you… I mean… um… hello. I’m Saska I’m watching over these pups until Lief gets back from training,” she tells me, offering a hoof to help me up. “Oh… okay… um, Shadow, can I pull you aside real quick?” I ask her, getting a scared look and a nod in response. I take her to the corner on the room and take a moment to formulate my question. “She’s a moose?” “Um… yes,” she responds, unsure of my intention. “Right and those were diamond dogs?” “Well… Jade Hounds technically, but they are related,” she corrects. “Ah… so, a moose is watching over a bunch of Jade Hounds in the middle of Equestria, with neighboring orcs, griffins, and ponies.” “Well… technically this is the top of Equestria, but… yeah. Saska had some… tragic stuff happen to her. My dad looked up something’s that would help her in her recovery, so she helps those who rely on her. It’s supposed to-“ “I get that there’s probably a good reason for that, and it sounds a bit personal, but… I don’t know. I think after being… sniffed… completely, I need a break-“ “Oh… I understand-“ “Not like that.” I cut her off, getting a confused look from her. I sigh and glance back to Saska, getting a nod from her before she starts to usher the Dogs out of the room. “I’m not giving up. This was… just… a lot, and I’d like to just take a moment to let everything settle before moving on. I’m not done; I’m just… overwhelmed, a bit.” “… are you sure?” she asks nervously, taking a step away from me. “Because, there isn’t really anywhere normal here. The most ‘normal’ this place gets is my home and… let’s just say things will be weird there.” “Weird like Orc weird, or something completely new weird?” I ask nervously. “Weird as in my mother will be there, weird.” “… that doesn’t sound that odd. Is there anything I should know ahead of time? Like… is she an orc?” I ask cautiously. “No, she’s just a unicorn. She’s just… a little forward, at times. ” I look at her for a second before sighing. She’s a unicorn, magic is weird and all but she’s a unicorn. I can handle that. And she’s her mother too, so probably a lot of questions about the relationship. Not that hard. Where could this possibly go wrong? This sounds like the most normal thing in this town… Oh Celestia… what is going to happen? “Well… if let’s just get this over with. I’m sure your mother will be… happy, to meet me.” I say tiredly as I force myself up. I give her a smile and head for the door. Along the way I get tackled one last time by the group of dogs as the assault me with sniffs and licks all over. They leave me almost immediately, but the damage is done. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Shadow asks as she helps me up. “You seem really put off by all of this.” “I am really off by all of this.” I tell her, getting her to deflate a bit. “I mean, I grew up in Ponyville. The weirdest thing there is Spike, and even then he’s as pony-washed as they come. Well… on a normal day that’s Ponyville.” “Do you actually know Spike?” “I know he’s rutting that fashion mare.” “Yes, everypony knows that. I mean, have you ever met him before?” “Well… a couple of times. We’re in a club together, so we-“ “Wait, you’re in a club together? Really?” she asks me in astonishment. “What club?” “I… heh… I can’t tell you.” I tell her nervously, rubbing the back of my neck. “It’s… sort of a guy’s club. Um… more of a bachelors club, if you catch my drift.” She thinks about it for a moment before going wide eyed and covering her mouth. “Rumble-“ “I’m only in it because my brother is a chair member of the club! I swear!” I tell her, going red in the cheeks. I don’t think I’ve ever admitted being in that club before. “And… and Spikes in this… club?” she asks cautiously. “Um… yeah.” “Is he… cheating on Rarity?” “No, no… I don’t believe so. He never talks about his personal life, he just… listens. My guess was that he was using the club to get closer to that fashion mare-“ “Rarity.” “He never did anything beyond that… to my knowledge at least.” I try telling her, though I can see the doubt plainly in her eyes. I start to sweat lightly when I realize how bad this sounds. Why did I open my big mouth? “Uh… how bad dos this all sound?” “Pretty bad, but not for you. I’m sure my Dad will love you for telling us this. Spike, on the other hoof, maybe not so much,” she tells me before walking off. “… y-your dad!? Why does he have to know!? Shadow? Shadow!?” I chase after her as she trots out of the orphanage. She laughs at me a little and keeps walking, ignoring my fear. I can’t imagine the kind of pony that keeps this place in order. He must be one terrifying pony… that gets laid way too often. She leads me to the center of town. Along the way, everypony is staring at us, whispering to each other and pointing. I don’t know how Shadow can walk around with this kind of attention. The Shadow I know would have run home by now to hide under her blanket. Well… truth be told, I don’t really know Shadow all that well, so I guess I can’t say anything. She brings me to a small, quaint house near the center of town. It fits in with the rest of the homes around here, having a small flower garden out front and a welcome mat. Everything seems normal enough. The front door opens up as we approach and an earth pony mare walks out. She has a dark tan coat with white hair and a pastry of some kind as a cutie mark. All around, not bad on the eyes. "Oh... hey Mom. This is Rumble, my coltfriend. Rumble, this is my mother, E'Claire." Shadow says nervously. Her mother stands there for a moment and just stares at me, obviously lost for words. After a moment of silence I take the initiative and step forward. "Hi, as Shadow said I'm Rumble. It's nice to meet you." I say confidently, sticking my hoof out to shake. She looks down at it for a second before slowly taking it with her own. "H-hello. Um... I'm sorry, Shadow, dear, can I have a word with you? In private?" she asks quickly, heading inside before getting an answer. Shadow and I share a quick glance before she follows her inside. I wasn't invited in, so I wait on the front porch. A part of me really wants to spy on what they're saying, but I think I can guess what they're- "I'M NOT A LESBIAN MOM!" Shadow yells from inside. I jumped at first, but then was awestruck by the fact that that was Shadows voice I heard. I honestly didn't think she could get that loud. Wait... lesbian? She thought she was a lesbian! I can't help but chuckle at that. She really thought she was a lesbian! I mean, I guess I can see it... oh... I can really see it. With Applebloom, definitely. My thought was interrupted when the door opened back up, revealing E'Claire again. "Hi! I'm E'Claire, won't you come inside for dinner?" she asks sweetly, tilting her head slightly with a closed eyed smile. "Oh! Thank you." I reply, eyeing her closely as I step inside. The home is small, but warm. The living room is filled with large furniture meant to seat and warm that is catered by a fireplace. A hall leads to the left while the kitchen/dinning room fill the right. I quick whiff tells me that she is cooking oats and honey. "Just make yourself comfortable in the living room, dinner will be ready shortly," she tells me while heading back to the kitchen. I head over there and take a seat beside Shadow on the couch, enjoying the warmth embedded in it from the fire. It's the middle of summer, yet this place feels like it's the middle of fall. "Um... so-" "So I hear you're not a lesbian." I say quickly, making her go red and E'Claire yelp in in laughter. I nudge her a bit and wrap a wing around her, glad that the seat backs cover us mostly. "I'm teasing." "Ye... yeah," she mumbles, still red in the face. "So, Rumble, who are you anyway? Friend? Classmate? Stalker?" E'Claire asks as she pulls something from the oven. "Classmates. One day I saw Shadow passing by and made it my mission to meet her. From there... well, this happened." I say gladly, squeezing Shadow a bit to get her attention. "So, by this, you mean you're rutting my daughter." I nearly fell off the couch when she said that. Did... did she really just say that!? "Mother!" Shadow snaps at her, scooting away from me slightly. Did... did she really says that? "Oh hush you! You know I'm teasing you two." E'Claire says playfully. "So what do you do Rumble? Weather training, agriculture, or are you just a student?" "Uh... I uh... I'm an athlete-" "Ooooooh! An athlete! What sports do you play?" Okay, balls in my court now. I sit up a bit taller and look back to her, confident for once. "I do a bit of everything, but I tend to stick to Air Ball and Hoof Ball-" "Full contact sports, if I'm not mistaken," she comments. "Yup! I tried my hoof at all of the other sports, but there’s just something different about the full contact ones that I like more-“ “It’s no fun without getting a little rough, right?” she asks with a wink. “Yeah… uh… yeah.” I agree slowly, unsure of what she actually means. Shadow stares daggers at her for a moment before noticing me and forces a smile on. “Yeah, so what do you do Mrs. E’claire?” “Oh, please, just E’Claire. Miss simply makes me feel old. And I’m a correspondent for the Spartan regiment between them and the Crystal Empire. As well as any new immigrants coming to either for sanctuary, work visas, new citizenship, all those kind of things.” She rambles, moving about the kitchen in a hurry. “Wow… and here I thought you were just a house mom.” I joke, getting Shadow to punch me quickly and shake her head. “Why’s that?” E’Claire asks, pausing to stare at me. “Cause… of… your good looks, of course!” I say quickly, rubbing the back of my head nervously. “A mare as good looking as you, how do you find the time!?” Oh Celestia, strike me down now this is too awkward. E’Claire eyes me for a second before putting on a large smile. “Watch yourself Rumble, I’m a taken mare,” she warns me with a playful wink. I force out a few chuckles before looking over to Shadow, silently pleading for forgiveness. “*Munch* dude *munch* never hit on your girl’s mother. *Munch* never.” I hear Damian say from behind, apparently as he’s eating an apple. I turn around to find him sitting awkwardly close to me, staring me down intensely with an apple in his hoof. Sitting beside him is that griffin from before, Ellzy, also eating an apple. “Yeah, *munch*, that’s just, *munch*, weird.” Ellzy adds, staring at me with the same intensity as Damian. “I… uh… it was more of a compliment really.” I say in my defense, getting the two of them to take a bite at the same time. “When did you two even get in here?” “Ellzy! Damian! Aren’t you two supposed to be training the new Spartans?” E’Claire asks, unfazed by their sudden appearance. “I did my bit already.” Damian says quickly with a smug smile. “And I… I’m getting something… forgot what. Well, now it’s dirt.” Ellzy says giving me a toothy smile. “Wonderful! Why don’t you both stay for dinner?!” E’Claire exclaims, making me nearly yell out at her. Both of them!? Staying for dinner!? That just sounds like the worst possible thing to happen… and I don’t even know why!? If it was just E’Claire I could manage, makes things go smoothly. But, both of them too!? “Aw, well I’d have to move some appointments, call off some-okay!” Damian mumbles quickly, running over to the dining room to take a seat. “What he said!” Ellzy adds, flying over to take the seat across from him. The table only has six seats, two on each end and two at the heads, so I guess I can’t use Shadow as a shield for dinner. I glance to Shadow before standing, wait for Shadow to join me, and head over to the table. Ellzy and Damian eye me the entire way right up till I try to take my seat beside Ellzy. “Really!?” Damian demands, sounding as if I did something wrong. “Get the chair for the lady.” Ellzy points out, motioning to the other side. I stare at them for a moment as Shadow gets in her seat. “I can get my own seat guys.” Shadow tells them, the annoyance in her voice ever prevalent. “Pfft, what a gentlecolt.” Ellzy mutters as I take my seat. I give him a sideways glance before scooting forward, turning my attention to Shadow. “So, Shadow, you live in two houses?” I ask her, hoping to change the subject. “Oh, yeah. I lived with my Dad first, then here, and now I move between the two freely. When schools in session I tend to-“ “So, Rumble, I hear you do some really weird shit when you think nopony is looking.” Damian cuts her off, giving me a knowing, smug, smile. I blink for a second before collecting myself to answer. “Uh… well… what you hear and what’s true are usually two different-“ “I hear you like to make muscles at yourself in the mirror.” Damian continues as E’Claire starts to set some dishes on the table. Well… I do do that from time to time. But, who doesn’t? “Well, everyponys done it once or twice-“ “Yeah, but they don’t usually sport a massive boner.” Damian continues, getting Ellzy to chuckle. How… how could he possibly know about that? And it only happened twice! But, more importantly, how does he know about that? “I guess he really like the way he looks.” Ellzy adds, acting as Damian’s hype man. "You know, there are ponies that'll pay for you to do that in front of them." “I-I don’t-“ “I mean, if ya want ta look at it, look at it. But when ya start to bounce around and wiggle, that’s just weird.” Damian continues, getting Ellzy to laugh more. “Look at his face! He’s blushing!” He laughs, making me blush even more. I look over to Shadow for help, only to see her blushing just as hard. “I don’t-“ “Hey, so why did you suggest to compare lengths in the locker room? Or, is that just an athlete thing?” Damian asks, smiling widely at me. Oh… how… that only happened once! And it wasn’t even my suggestion- “Oh, wait, no. It was your friend to suggest it. You just agreed. And apparently you came in third at twelve inches-” “HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT!?” I yell, nearly jumping out of my seat. I would have jumped out, but E’Claire held me down with a hoof on my shoulder. “Damian, play nice or I’m calling CC. Ellzy, stop agreeing with Damian. It’s not good for his ego.” E’Claire tells them softly, getting both of them to agree. I look back to Shadow to see her trying to hide her face. She’s probably so uncomfortable right now… “No, it’s fine.” I say, getting Shadow to look up at me. “Yeah, we compared lengths. And hey, twelve inches is average, so I’ve got nothing to feel bad about.” I tell him, glaring down at him confidently. “Whoa now, look who just grew a pair,” Ellzy chuckles. E’Claire sets a medium pot in the middle of the table that steams lightly in the cold air. Whatever’s in there smells really good, but I know better than to start serving myself. “Yeah… nothing wrong with average.” E’Claire says meekly, bringing me down a peg. The room falls quiet for a moment, so I sit back and rub my eyes. Somepony better serve the food soon- “So,” god dammit, “what do you plan to do after high school? Play sports?” Damian asks. “Uh… actually, I want to get into construction like my brother.” I tell him, getting him to pause, then chuckle. “Something funny about that?” “What? Oh, no. So your brother’s working on rebuilding Las Pegasis. Nice, tell him I said ‘you welcome’.” He says before opening the pot and serves himself a ladle full of the soup. “What are you talking about? Las Pegasis fell apart because of a construction error-“ “Right… that’s what happened,” Damian says, pointing the ladle at me. I was about to say something, until I saw Shadow motion something. I don’t know what she was trying to motion, but I figure she wants me to just drop it. So I do. We all serve ourselves and begin to eat quietly. I keep glancing between all of them, waiting for somepony to say something. I hate silent dinners. They always feel… tense, like… somepony wants to say something, but they don’t. At least the food is good. “What is this E’Claire?” Ellzy asks suddenly. “Cabbage and carrot soup-“ “Rumble likes to wear panties.” Damian mutters quickly. “No I don’t!” I yell, feeling my face return to its original flush state. “And socks. He’s been looking at this pink corset-“ “No I haven’t!” I yell, getting Ellzy to fall out of his seat in laughter. This isn’t happening. This can’t be happening. How could he know this? How… “Have you been spying on me!?” “Dude… you’re weird.” He says with that same smug smile. My eye twitches as I fight the urge to punch him in the face. How could he possibly know all of this without… oh shit. Does he know about Diamond and me? I fall back in my seat and stare at him, hoping that he doesn’t say anything. If he knows about all of that… then… why wouldn’t he know about that? What’s to stop him from telling everypony right now that I slept with Diamond after our first date? “Oh… oh god… soup came out of my nose!” Ellzy laughs from the floor, picking himself up slowly. “Panties and socks, what a sexy bitch.” “Damian, Ellzy, can I talk to you two in the other room?” E’Claire asks politely with that same look from before. I look over to Shadow to see her hanging her head low, having her face hide behind her bangs. I look down as well as they all leave the room, silently cursing Damian. This could have been a good evening, a strange one at that, but good. “You… you can leave now. I’m sorry for putting you through all of this,” she tells me quietly before getting out of her chair. “Shadow.” I call out to her as I chase after her, cutting her off from the front door. She looks away from me as she hiccups slightly, trying to hold back her tears. I frown at that and bring my hoof to her chin, bringing her to look up at me. “I… I don’t want to leave. But… if you want me to, then I will.” I tell her, moving my hoof to push her hair out of her face. “But… after all of that, how could you possibly want to stay?” She asks, looking up at me with those big blue eyes. For whatever reason, I think back to what Applebloom told me. About being serious about this. I nod for a second before re-focusing my attention on her, determined to make her understand. “My brother told me to avoid mares with complicated families. To save them until I’m ready for something much more serious. Because, the more complicated the mares family, the better the catch they are. I always figured he meant divorce families or families with personal problems. But, after everything today, you have –without a doubt- the strangest, rudest, diverse family. Uncles with the ability to get dirt on anypony, relatives that… eat meat, two mothers, a father that leads some new nation, and friends that make the social outcast of Ponyville high. Imagine the mare to come from all of that.” I tell her with a smile, receiving one in return. “Rumble-“ “Now, I know I’m not the most… normal pony ever. But, I’m going to be honest with you. Yeah, I’ve worn mares clothing before. I’ve… looked at myself. I like looking around as well. I’ve llost count of the number of mares I’ve slept with… there may have been a stallion once… it was a threesome though… so I dunno if that counts or not. Anyway, and… and I’ve…” Do or die time. “And… after our little get together at my place… Diamond Tiara came over… and we had sex.” She steps away from me when I say this. “… you… and Diamond-“ “Yeah. I… I was unsure if we were anything and she… well, she really didn’t have to do much. I’m so sorry. Can you forgive me?” I beg her, hanging my head before her. My heart feels like it’s going to beat itself out of my chest and my hooves feel numb. I hate admitting crap like this. But… if I’m going to be serious with her, I have to come clean. She’s not going to be some quick lay. I want more than that. “I… I don’t know if I can.” Okay, that hurt. I look up to her in time to see another tear roll down her cheek. “How could I forgive you without trusting you?” “… I understand. I’m sorry I put you though all of this then. I never wanted to hurt you.” I say as I start to leave. I make it to the door and turn back to her, trying to think of one last thing to say, but come up short. With a final sigh, I open the door and leave the house. The cold air snaps against my coat, but I ignore it as I head to the station that brought me here. I’ve never had my heart break like this before, but that’s what I get. All I had to do was tell Diamond no, and I could have avoided all of this. But, I didn’t, so here I am. I pause at the station and look up at the evening sky. The sun is just setting, turning the sky a mixture of gold, orange, and dark blue. A few stars are making their appearance, growing brighter as the sun sinks lower and lower. No. No, I’m not giving up! Not without a fight. I don’t care what it takes, but I will earn her trust back! I am going to be the stallion she deserves! Get ready Shadow, here I come! FLASH Before I could get to the station, a being appears before me. It stand tall on two feet and looks really pissed about something. It’s holding something to its ear, but I can’t tell what it is under its hand. “Who the fuck are you?” It asks me. “I… uh-“ “Nevermind.” It says shortly, moving around me. “Calling all active Spartans. Mobilize in Moosden in ten minutes and be ready for combat.” ………………………………………………………………………………………………………............................. Perspective: Shadow I stare at the door long after he leaves. I really wanted this to work, but… I simply can’t. If I can’t trust him, then nothing good would come from this. I’m sure it’s going to hurt now, but I’ll move on… just not now. I sigh as Damian and Ellzy move to my sides and wait for whatever it is they have to say. I’m mad at the both of them, but I’ll let them say this last thing at least. “… I’m proud of that sexy little bitch.” Ellzy says, catching me off guard. “Me too. I didn’t expect him to own up to that.” Damian agrees. “Wait, you both knew about him and Diamond? How?” I demand, getting Damian to roll his eyes. “Statera. We know everything, remember? But I wasn’t going to just throw that at his face, where’s the fun in that? I was going to wait, and bide my time, slowly plotting his destruction.” He tells me, pulling out the apple from before. “We had to see if he was a little pecker first. And I gotta say, not bad. A bit of a whore, actually, a lot of whoredom in that one. But, he’s got heart… and whores.” Ellzy comments, getting a thoughtful nod from Damian. I look between them before sighing in defeat. “Do you think he’s worth the trouble?” I ask them. If anypony would know, it would be the one who looked up everything about him. “Well… he likes to get his dick wet… but… meh. He’s not the worst stallion out there.” Damian says. “Could be worst. Remember that fat kid you told me had a crush on her? The one who touched himself in class?” …ew? I don’t want to know about this. “Hmm… which one?” WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHICH ONE!? “The one whose failed, like, three times-“ Oh god, not Low Pressure! “-or the one who keeps picking on her for being short?” Pike! Pike likes me!? Why!? Why do they have to like me!? “Oh! No, it was the one with the rash! Yeah, you could do worse kiddo.” Ellzy tells me happily, pulling me in for a tight hug. “If you do decide to get back with him, make him wait. You’re worth the wait, he’ll see.” He whispers in my ear, making me smile. He lets go of me so Damian could put a hoof on my shoulder. I try not to look at him, but keeps leaning over, making me look at him finally. I give in and hug him lightly, feeling slightly better. “I know we were jerks today, but we only do that because we care. After all you’ve been through, you deserve only the best.” He tells me, making me relax into his embrace. “Oh, and yes. I will be looking up anypony else you decide to date, so now you know.” “And knowing’s half the battle. Speaking of battle, we have to go!” Ellzy says before grabbing Damian and rushing out the door. I turn back to see Mom standing in the hallway, smiling back to me. I don’t know if I’ll take him back, but if he’s really set on being serious, he’ll wait. “You know, if it had been a mare instead-“ “Mooooom!” Author's Note ER MER GERD ERPDERTS!! So, updates! First up, look! A chapter! Look how pretty it is! Secondly, PONYRUN UPDATES! So, we're really heading towards the finalization of Ponyrun... kind of. We still need to work a few things over, but it's playable now! So much so that we're making the first calling for players! If you want to play, head over to the MoW universe group and send Cheesus a message. He's going to be GMing it, hopefully I will be playing in this one. Once I get internet, I may GM as well, but I will most likely only GM the in-person games. So Head over to MoW Verse, give Cheesus a hollar, and like always, Brony on!
Chapter 211 SyncneyChapter 211 Syncney Perspective: Miles I look over to the others in the transport and sigh. I really didn’t want to pull them out from leave, but I had no choice. Everyone else is either training or watching over important facilities. Storm would report immediately to Twilight about this as well, so I could count on him to keep this quiet. Rainbow and Big Mac will be sour about this, but they’ll at least be able to be quiet… relatively speaking of course. I still find it hard to believe that there are ponies working with the goblins. It’s only a theory, but it’s the only way to explain why their tech would be enchanted. If they had magic, Celestia would have told me back at the Summit meeting or I would have heard something about it by now. And they never really seemed to be the magically inclined type, so that leaves one alternative. If ponies are helping goblins enchant their tech, that’ll only worsen the relations between the griffins and Equestrians, if it gets out at least. “Thirty seconds to destination.” Easy tells me from the cockpit. I nod to the others and put my helmet on. Everything goes dark before it turns on and brings back the world, with my HUD in addition. I look over to the others as they do the same and wait till they signal back to me. “Fifteen seconds.” “Any advice Captain?” Rainbow asks me as she checks her weapons on her sides. “Yeah,” I say as I stand, holding onto the railing above. “Don’t let them intimidate you.” “Opening doors.” Easy reports before the doors slide open, revealing the city before us. Syncney is one of the largest cities of the Goblin Empire. It started as a mining operation that eventually stripped every valuable resource from the ground. If it weren’t for the large skyscrapers filling the area, it would be a massive ditch in the bare ground. Instead, it’s a massive metropolis filled with goblins and steam automatons of various sorts. The streets are filled with countless vehicles that walk, roll, or hover their way around the busy streets. Steam fills the air from smoke stacks of every building and vehicle. Offices and factories alike hum with activity as goblins go about their daily lives. A small crowd has gathered around us, staring on with curious eyes. We stare back at them, equally curious about the crowd before us. I don’t see any females out there, and not just in the crowd before us. Throughout the entire busy street I can’t see any sign of an opposite gender what-so-ever. After a moment long trying to find one, I shake the thought from my head and signal the ship to take off. The crowd marvels at the sight of the jets roaring, sending dust up into the air before it takes off with tremendous speed. The dust coves us from view, but our HUD’s give us a good read out of the surrounding area. We turn together and head towards the factory that we’ve landed before. There’s a group of individuals standing before it. Most of them are set in two columns facing us, so I take it that they are military of some sort. Guard maybe. There’s an individual standing before them with two guards standing right behind him. When we approach closer the dust settles enough to reveal Starke standing before a group of armored, armed, soldiers. “Starke, what a surprise to see you here.” I say to him when we come to a stop before him. Sadly, I had to send him a message before I entered his country. So much for surprised, fucking global politics. The guards behind him are in bronze full body armor that has spikes coming out on the shoulders and knee caps. They’re each armed with two pistols, several grenades of various shapes, and an individual weapon of their own. “Well, when the esteemed Spartans drop a letter telling me that they’re going to be stopping by one of my humble abodes, well, I had to personally come to show you around.” He says with a wide smile. But I can read between the lines. He either wants to show something off, or wants to hide something. “I see you brought a few guards-“ “Actually, these are two of my ranking officers. I figured three soldiers would be enough for a friendly visit to your empire.” I cut him off, starting the shit talking fest that is politics. “I see you brought a dozen or so guards with you.” “Heh, this isn’t Equestria. These are my Storm Troopers.” He says with a proud look about his face. The troopers snap at attention, bringing a set of hands over their heart and back. “The best of the best in the Goblin Empire and sworn protectors of the Emperor. The most advanced collection of fighters in all of the world-“ “Well, they were.” I cut him off, placing a hand on my revolver. “I’m sure their one day you’ll catch up, but the Spartan regiment now holds that title. But, I’m sure we can argue this another time. I have a job to do right now, so if you’d be so kind let’s not waste any more time.” He frowns for a second before putting his grin back on. With a snap of a finger the troopers behind him snap to it and march towards the entrance of the factory. “If you’ll follow me.” Starke says, motioning with two hands towards the front doors. We follow after him, eyeing his guards as they move to cover our flank. Dash and Mac widen up a bit, giving us a better defending point should they decide to do anything stupid. The greeting room we enter is filled with ornate display cases that show various weapons made here, as well as some pictures or people and captions. A light orange glow reflects off of the marble flooring from the small light fixtures. A small group of goblins in blue jump suites stands in the center of the large square room, with one in a yellow jump suit. They seem eager to be here, bowing to Starke the moment they see him. “Your honor, sir! It’s a privilege to meet you, a privilege!” The one in the yellow jump suit grovels before Starke. Before he could say anything I step forward and go to one of the displays. It has a shield with two spears crossing behind it. They don’t’ appear to be anything special, but I doubt they put something so simple on display. “Interesting choice of display, may I?” I ask, motioning to the weapon case. The workers give their boss an uneasy glance, which he returns before nodding to them. They scurry to the case and open it up, taking each one out with great caution. They kneel before me and present them to me, making me have to bend over a bit to grab one of the spears. It seems like any other spear, albeit, a bit short for someone my size. There’s a button towards the end of the shaft though… I wonder- FFWWTT-TINK The end of the spear pops out from the end of the spear and buries itself in the wall on the other end of the room. A puff of white smoke appeared out the end of the spear, telling me that it was sent out with a burst of air. I glance to the others for a second to see their deadpanned looks of annoyance. “If you please, we’d like it if you didn’t destroy anything.” One of the workers tells me, getting Starke to chuckle. “Well then don’t put loaded weapons on display.” I retort, tossing him the remainder of the spear. “Let’s get this tour over with already. Take us to the manufactory line.” They all snicker at me and lead me through the lobby and into the factory. The sound of industry fills the air as machines follow the rhythm of their duties. Large pistons flow back and forth as metal strikes metal. The sound of hissing metal being poured into molds strikes the air as smoke erupts out from the background. I move to one of the large pistons and watch it for a moment as it glides back, only to be sent forward again in a continuous motion. They remind me of the train engines back home, only much larger and with a different purpose. A group of goblins are at the receiving end of the piston, working a glowing piece of metal. After every strike a chunk of cherry metal is sniped off and falls to the ground. Next they rotate the remaining part and set it up for the next strike, wearing thick gloves and blackened goggles. Another group takes the remaining chunks and runs it over to another press, where a massive piston hammers away. With every press the metal molds to its desire, and the goblin rotates the glowing bar. I duck when a massive drum moves over head, the heat making me sweat slightly. I watch it move to a row of blackened molds sit on the ground, covered in dark remains. The massive drum tips over and the molten slag pours out into the molds, raising the heat in the room tremendously. The bustle and commotion of the frantic factory is a bit overwhelming at first, but I ignore it as I move forward. “We’ve been operating for over three hundred years,” the goblin in yellow starts, racing after me. “We’ve designed and built many national wonders such as the Pfeil Flugel, Fruhling Schirmen, and the Knall Speer. We’re produce hundreds, if not thousands, of weapons and armaments under dozens of contracts world wide-“ “I’m looking for your enchanting area, where is it?” I ask aloud, ducking another piece of machinery. “I’m sorry, but that area is off limits to-“ “I didn’t ask for permission.” I cut him off, stopping to glare back at him. He stops and takes a step back and gulps, obviously intimidated. “I’m telling you to take me there. Is that a problem?” “I… uh… I-“he fumbles with his words until Starke puts a hand on his shoulder. “It’s alright, take us there.” He tells him with a sinister smile. The worker looks between us before bowing to Starke. “The enchanting area is towards the back of the factory. I’ll take you there now,” he says hurriedly before taking the path towards the back. I shoot a look back to Mac and Dash before following after them. I don’t like this, not one bit. Something is up here, I can feel it. Hustle and bustle of the factory fades behind us as we enter what I assume to be the area for finalization. Tables and counters fill the area as goblins go about refining various weapons and armor. The tables are set up in rows, and seem to be an assembly line of sorts. The front most tables set about adding in the inner mechanisms, and then the tables after that finish the connections, and so on until the product is finished. From here most of the weapons are put into wooden crates and sealed, but a few are put into slots that go into another room. I glance to the goblin in yellow, who sighs and opens the door for us. With a final glance to the others, I step into the final room. It’s a bright room, but my helmet keeps it from blinding me. The first thing I see are a series of chain link fences boxing in the center of the massive room. Scaffolding wraps around the fencing as goblin guards march around, keeping an eye on the ponies within the cage. The ponies, or unicorns to be more precise, are busy enchanting various weapons and armor. They all look skinny and have various bruises and scars over their bodies. They don’t pay us any mind, simply enchanting away. There has to be at least fifty in here, possibly more. “Pick up the pace!” A guard yells with a crack of a whip. All of the ponies flinch in response and focus more intently on their tasks. “What is this?” Dash asks, breaking a long pause. “It’s our enchanting room of course,” Starke says as he walks past us. “What? Did you think we were the ones enchanting them?” “Let me inside.” I demand as I walk over to the entrance. “I can’t-“ “I said, let me inside.” I repeat more firmly. Starke stares at me for a second before he snaps his fingers. The guards inside, as well as one outside, go about opening several doors before I make it inside. I walk in and go about inspecting the ponies as the work more closely. They’re all unicorns, mixed genders. They all have cutie marks in enchanting it seems. I can tell they’re trying to not look up at me, fearful of what might happen obviously. Their hair is cut uniformly short. I kneel beside one of them and wait for her to look at me. When she does, her eyes are filled with fear. “What’s your name?” I ask softly. “…” “Can you understand me?” I ask, getting a slow nod. “What’s your name?” “Uh… U40,” she replies softly, either scared to speak or to answer me. I pause for a second as I think about that. Her name is an identification number. I stand up and approach the guard who’s inside. He seems a little confused as to why I’m here, but hopefully I’ll get some answers. “Give me the details about this operation.” I demand from him. He glares up at me before leaning over to look behind me. “Sir?” he asks, getting a silent answer. “This is our enchanting area-“ “I can see that. How did these ponies get here? Why are they in such terrible condition? What’s really going on here?” I know the answer; I guess I should have guessed it earlier. But I want him to say, I want hear those words from his lips. “Miles,” Starke comments from behind, “they’re slaves. Isn’t that obvious?” My eye twitches at that, but otherwise I keep my cool. “Explain yourself.” I demand Starke, turning to him. He smiles to me as he begins to pace about the cage, holding his hands behind himself. “Oh… where to begin. How many species can use magic Miles?” he asks calmly. “I don’t care-“ “One, Miles. Ponies are the only ones who can use magic Miles. For the longest time, ponies ruled over the arcane, wasting its potential on simple, useless oddities. But, I saw room for… improvement. I saw a chance to advance our technology to the next level. So, I took it-“ “And by it, you mean you started taking ponies and forcing them to work for you!” Dash barks at him, making him chuckle. “You could say that. In reality, it’s much more than that.” Starke makes it to the door and enters. All of the ponies immediately bow to him, some shivering slightly. “You see, not too long ago I figured something out about you ponies. Something pivotal to this operation. You adapt to you living conditions quite quickly. Did you know, back when Sombra ruled, ponies became adapted to living as slaves? When I visited his kingdom, in my younger years obviously, I discovered this. Miners, crafters, flag holders, all of them had their marks in their respective chore.” “So you’re doing the same thing as Sombra!? How could you be that evil!?” Dash demands from him, teetering on the edge of outrage. Starke laughs at that and approaches one of the bowing ponies. The pony looks up to him and Stake signals for him to rise. “You think I’m evil, but I have to disagree.” He says as he pulls out a dagger and puts it in the pony’s hoof. “No, I’m simply… ambitious.” He brings the ponies hoof up to his throat and holds it there, staring down at the pony. They stare each other down for what must feel like an eternity for the pony. Starke keeps his cool, knowing no harm will come to him. After a moment longer, the pony drops the blade and lowers his head in defeat. “Weakling.” The guard inside mutters as he picks the blade up and presents it to Starke, who takes it and sheaths it. “Starke, you seem to be mistaken.” I finally say, getting his attention. “Oh? Do enlighten me,” he replies smugly. “Ponies aren’t the only ones with magic.” I move my hands out and rip the fence open, getting the guards to aim down at me. Dash and Big Mac start yelling at them to lower their weapons as they take aim back at them. I stare down at Starke, our own contest taking place. Neither of us falters. Neither of us moves. “Captain!” Big Mac yells from behind, bringing me to my decision. “U40, be sure to spread the word among all of your fellow slaves. Terradisia is coming to free you, all of you. And I will personally bring you all home. You have my word.” I turn and walk away, having Dash and Mac follow after me. The guards glare at us with their weapons drawn, but don’t engage us. We march outside where our ship touches down. We climb back in and take our seats in silence. The doors slide shut and we quickly take off for home. “Captain-“ “I know.” I cut off Dash, leaning back in my seat. “That isn’t right, they can’t do this! How could Equestria allow this to happen!?” She demands, tossing her helmet aside. “Ah don’t think they know.” Big Mac comments, getting Dash to shake her head. “Captain, what’s the plan?” “First and foremost, we need to get everyone together. From there we make a plan of attack. We’re getting them out of there.” They both nod to me, glancing to each other briefly for a moment. I can’t believe this; I don’t think anyone could really. I didn’t think slavery was that big of a problem, but for them to have that big of an operation… I don’t know what to think. With the sheer amount of product being pushed out, they must have hundreds, if not thousands of slaves. There’s no telling how many there are in the country either! The ship drops us off in Ponyville, allowing me to run to my shop to gather a few supplies from my workshop. I toss them all into a duffle bag before going to my computer and locate all of the Spartans. It seems they’ve moved on to the next stage of the training, over in Moosden. We had to expand the course due to the expansion of the training, allotting room for guns, magic, and vehicles. With all of my extra gear gathered, I leave my workshop and head to Moosden. When I teleport I nearly run into some depressed looking fucker. “Who the fuck are you?” I ask him as I’m about to call the others. “I... uh…” “Nevermind,” I cut him off, having more important things to attend to. “Calling all active Spartans. Mobilize in Moosden in ten minutes and be ready for combat.” I call out to them as I march to the edge of the forest. When I make it there I drop my bag and wait for them, trying to keep as level a head as possible. “Sup Captain!” Ellzy announces before dropping before me. “Ellzy, aren’t you supposed to be training the others?” I ask him irritably. “Yeah… anyway! More important stuff happened and you owe me money-“ “It was awesome.” Damian comments, walking up from behind. “Who are we fighting?” “Goblins. We discovered that they’re keeping ponies as slaves to fuel their technologies.” I tell them, getting Ellzy to gasp in surprise. “… and?” Damian asks, raising an eyebrow. “What do you mean ‘and’!? That’s terrible!” Ellzy scolds him, getting him to give him an odd look. “Is there any other reason we’re invading another country, or is it simply because they’re keeping ponies as slaves?” Damian asks carefully. “What other reason do we need?” I ask him, crossing my arms. “… Really? I know you’re relatively new here, but really?” “If you have something to say, then spit it out. Otherwise, I don’t want to hear it.” I tell him shortly. “Where to start… Well for starters, ponies keep slaves too. I know they call them ‘second class citizens’ but the cows and sheep are slaves with cushier lives. Griffins, bears and apes all keep orcs as slaves. Minotaur’s will keep anything a slave if it suites the circumstances. Zebras will enslave themselves from time to time, as will apes. And last, but certainly not least, you keep slaves too, Miles.” “What slave do I have-“ “Oh don’t give me that crap! You’re keeping all of those Kroth as a work force-“ “The Unfamiliar do not count!” I yell back at him. “Bullshit! As much as you’d hate to admit it, they’re people just like me and you! And you’re using them to fuel your technologies! All this new armor, who made it Miles? Did they want to make it? Were they paid to make it? I’m not going to fight for something that you’re as much a part of, no way. Count me out-“ “Don’t you dare walk away from me!” I growl at him, making him pause. “You may not like the situation, but I am still your commanding officer and you will not disrespect my rank.” He pauses for a moment longer before turning back to face me. “Well, to quote you, orders sir?” he asks making me frown slightly. “Captain?” I turn around to see Big Mac and Dash here with us. “Are you really not paying the Kroth?” Dash asks. “… I allow them to live, that is payment enough.” I tell her, making her eyes widen slightly. “Miles… don’t do this.” Damian pleads. “The Spartans are better than this. How are we going to liberate thousands of slaves from one of the largest countries without endangering our own? Don’t do this.” I look down and think about that. They don’t know where we operate out of, but that doesn’t mean they won’t find out. If they were able to get this many ponies out of Equestria, they could easily get goblins in. After that… it would only be a matter of time. “Captain?” I look over to the tree line to see the rest of the Spartans emerging from within. Su ye leads them to me and salutes. “Your orders?”
Chapter 212 Joint ConcernsChapter 212 Joint Concerns Perspective: Celestia “… and that’s sums up the fiscal years revenue, your highness.” The pony before me tells me… I forget his name. It’s been a long meeting, but budget meetings tend to be so. I smile down to him, glad to see we’re still in the black. Though, the country has definitely seen a great deal of profit loss, what with all of the world problems that plague us. “Thank you very much for your presentation… er…” “Bear Broker, your highness.” “Right, my apologies. I’m glad to see we’re still seeing some form of-“ SLAM The doors to the throne room are thrown open as Miles marches down. Or, rather, the Spartan Captain marches down towards us, clad in all of his armor. He walks right past Bear Broker and stops just below the steps below my seat. “We need to talk,” he says, his voice coming out from the speakers of his helmet. “Mr. Broker, thank you for your presentation. You are excused.” I tell him, sensing the unease in Miles’s voice, even with the helmet. “O-of course, your highness,” he says uneasily before bowing and scurrying out of the building. I wait till the doors shut before speaking to Miles. “This better be good Captain. I have several meetings to attend to.” I tell him as I descend the steps down. I don’t call him by name, as part of the agreement. When he’s a human, he’s simply Captain of the Spartans, representative of the Terradisians. When he’s an alicorns, then he’s King of Equestria. It helps create a line between the two, hopefully keeping prying eyes away from Luna and Tempestive. At least here in Equestria. “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t,” he replies quickly, walking along side me. “But I need you to hear me out first and give me your opinion before asking details.” “Miles, I’ve been a world leader for a very long time. I think I can approach something without being bias.” I tell him, rolling my eyes slightly. He doesn’t respond, rather he stares at me; waiting for me to give my word. “*sigh* very well. Now what has you so one edge?” We stop by a window and stay quiet for a moment. I can tell he’s thinking deeply about this, trying to find his words correctly. I wait patiently, not know what he has to say, but knowing it can’t be something easily brought up. “We… discovered something… wrong, in Syncney,” he says finally. “Syncney? The goblin city in the remains of those strips mine?” I ask, thinking back to the few times I’ve been there. Given, that was quite a time ago. “Yeah. They… keep slaves,” he continues, looking away from me slightly. I keep my composure about myself, but feel my heart skip a beat. If Miles came to me about this, then that most likely means they’re keeping ponies as slaves. The mere thought of that happening makes my blood boil, but I keep it to myself and allow him to continue. “I was ready to invade them to rescue them all.” “That’s very noble of you Miles… but… you didn’t.” What could possibly stop him from saving them? “Damian pointed something’s out that… made me question my stance on the attack-“ “What could he possibly say that would make you not want to save the innocent from wrongful incarceration?” Damian. That pony… I simply don’t get him. He acts like a buffoon most of the time, but then suddenly he’s the one pointing out morality? “Apparently Equestria keeps slaves as well. Or, second class citizens rather.” “The cattle and sheep of this nation are not slaves.” I cut him off firmly. I’ve had to make this conversation several times in the past, and I’m sure I’ll make it several more times again. “Unlike other nations, we do not devour them. We allow them the lives they wish to live, and provide services for them. In return, they provide essentials like wool, milk, and labor. The only reason they are ‘second class’ citizens is because they simply don’t have the cognitive capabilities that we do. And don’t give me that look! We’ve studied and researched this enough times to know the difference. They simply can’t understand things beyond a certain point. Trust me, I’ve been trying for over a thousand years to see if they could, and they can’t-“ “Celestia, I don’t care about that. What made me question the attack was when he called me out.” I pause and stare at him, a bit lost. “You? What have you done that could… the Kroth-“ “Unfamiliar,” he corrects me, facing me. I see him physically harden, clenching his fist and standing a bit taller. “Unfamiliar.” “Mi… Captain. What are you doing with them?” I ask cautiously. “I have them working the factories, mobilizing the Terradisian army.” I step back at the bluntness of his response, but quickly remember the Terradisian code of conduct. No lies, no secrets. “And who exactly do you think you’re going to need an army like that to fight?” I know from first hoof experience what an army of that caliber could do. Who could possibly stand against them? Unless… “Captain… are you using them to create the tools of their own destruction?” “I will not lose anyone else to those monsters,” he says sternly, taking a step towards me. “I’ve seen that fight before, and I will not relive that!” “Miles-“ “Captain-“ “You can’t do that! It’s… it’s not you! I know you, you’re a good man! You can’t do something like that-“ “Actually, I can.” He says, making me step away from him and look out the window. “You’ve never had you home invaded by them. You’ve never seen them ripe your people apart, limb from limb. I will not let that evil escape. I will not let something like that exist anywhere near my family! I will-“ “MILES!” I yell, getting him to stop. I sigh and turn back to him, understanding where he’s coming from. “Captain. I understand. The Kroth were the evil of your people. You’ve been trained to hate them. But… you can’t blame these people for what their ancestors did. It was a thousand years ago-“ “Maybe for you it was. But it wasn’t for me.” He says before he turns and walks away. “Then should Luna still feel her own shame?” I call out, making him stop and turn back to me. I don’t want to use this card, but knowing Miles, it’s the only thing that will get him to listen. “Luna led a revolt against me a thousand years ago Miles. Ponies fought and died for each of us, believing each of us to be a horrible monster. Should we punish Luna for all of the war crimes committed-“ “That’s not the same-“ “You’re right, they aren’t. At least the Kroth down there didn’t actually do anything! Luna actually fought! Should we lock her up too? Force her to work for her own demise? Why not Tempestive for that matter? The son of the legendary warrior Nightmare Moon, sworn enemy of the Sun Tyrant and-“ “ENOUGH!” Miles snaps at me, taking an aggressive step towards me. I stand my ground and stare him down, knowing the pain he’s feeling right now. I know it because I’ve lived it. I don’t want him to fall so far. “Enough… I… *sigh* I get it.” I soften my expression and step forward, offering him a small smile. “I’m sorry, but… I don’t want you to fall down that path Miles. It’s a difficult one to traverse, let alone leave. I almost completely lost Luna to it, and I won’t lose you to it.” “I hate them Celestia.” He says, sounding almost terrified. “I hate them with every fiber of my being. I… I can’t imagine a world where they live alongside the rest of us. But… if I destroy them… I don’t what I would do afterwards.” “Miles, you were raised to fight them. You don’t know any other way of thinking. Maybe… maybe you shouldn’t be the one to decide what happens to them-“ “I have to know what they’re doing Celestia. I have to; otherwise… otherwise I don’t sleep. The fear that they would come in and take Luna and Tempestive away from me, harm them… they are my everything, you all are-“ “I know Miles, I know. If something were to happen to any of you, I would react the same way. But we can’t lose ourselves in the fears of what might happen. If we don’t give them the chance to redeem themselves from the past, how are any of us going to move forward?” I ask him softly, stepping closer to comfort him. “What would you do with them?” He asks shakily. “What would you do with the people who killed your best friend? That tore your people away from you? …that took your family away, what would you do with them?” “I… wouldn’t do anything. That kind of pain, that kind of scarring, you don’t recover from that. Miles, let me take care of them-“ “No, no this isn’t your problem-“ “I have plenty of experience dealing with foreigners-“ “They aren’t foreigners Celestia! They’re unfamiliar! They-“ “It’s a culture gap as well as a language gap with people that simply look different.” I cut him off sternly, silencing him. “I’ve done this kind of thing before Miles. Do you really think this is any different than meeting the Orcs for the first time? Or the Goblins for that matter? This world is filled with many different people Captain, the Kroth are no different.” “They are when they have access to weaponry that could conquer the world in under a week.” Miles cuts me off, looking back out the window. I nod to that, but have an ace up my sleeve for it. “They may have the technology, but we have the Spartans.” I say, getting him to look back to me. “Let me do this Miles, please. Everypony deserves a second chance, let me give them theirs.” We stare each other down for hat feels like hours. This is more than just saving the Kroth for me. If he says no… I don’t know how I would look at him afterwards. Miles is a good man, he stands for justice, and I can’t let him take such a dark path. “I… I… how… *sigh* fine, if only to let me save those slaves, fine.” I let out a long breath. It may not be a perfect yes, but I’m more than happy with this. “But clear any interactions with me first!” “Of course Captain-“ “I’m not taking any chances, if anyone goes down there they’ll have a Spartan and a group of bots with them at all times-“ “I think we can manage that,” I say with a wide smile. “And I want reports of their activities as well as all interactions-“ “As you wish.” “And… and… Celestia?” “Yes Captain?” I ask. He stays quiet for a moment before he suddenly pulls me in for a hug. I jump at first, but relax into it afterwards. “Thank you,” he says quietly, relief washing through his voice. I nuzzle into his embrace, though his armor makes it a tad bit uncomfortable. I ignore it for the time being to comfort him, knowing how stressful this probably was for him. After a moment long Miles breaks the hug and rubs the back of his neck uncomfortably, a little embarrassed by the display. I chuckle at his awkwardness and motion for him to follow me. I begin to lead him out the back entry and towards one of my conference rooms. “Now, tell me about the slaves the Goblins are keeping. I assume they are ponies, since you came to me about this.” “Oh… yeah. Shit,” he says slowly. “It’s… it’s a bit more complicated than that actually.” “How could it be more complicated than them keeping slaves?” I ask, raising an eyebrow to him. “Well… so, did you know that humans created ponies to be slaves?” Miles asks slowly, making me stop in my tracks. “Willing slaves that is.” “Miles-“ “Well… we did. And it seems the Goblins have figured out a part of it-“ “Miles-“ “So… they take unicorns and breed them to have children so they can force them to have cutie marks in enchanting so they can enchant their weaponry-“ “Miles!” I say firmly, raising my voice slightly. He goes quiet and stares back at me, taking a step back slightly. “When do we leave?” .................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Rainbow Dash I lean back in my chair and sigh as we wait in the hanger bay of the castle. Miles is still having a talk with Celestia, leaving us to sit here and wait. I really don’t we why we don’t just go there and take them back. Damian isn’t even going to be a part of this operation! And the Unfamiliar… well, I just want to get those ponies back to Equestria. The rest of the Spartans are staying quiet too. Most of them are still fresh from training, so I don’t know how reliable they’re going to be. I know the Jumper squad will do fine, I trained them after all. But they still haven’t seen any real combat. Well… maybe a few of them have. Raz has for sure, and Sledge was part of the training corps. Shifted seen some stuff too… actually; I think we’ll be fine. “Well, well, well. I don’t think I’d ever forget a hair style like that.” My ear twitches as a familiar voice calls out from behind, followed by several pegasi landing behind me. I look back and see Spitfire waltzing towards me. Some of them are staying neutral, but a few of them have smug looks on their faces. “Rainbow Dash, it’s been awhile.” “Spitfire. How’s the show team?” I ask, cracking a cocky smile as I get up to face her. A few of the other Spartans get up and join me, mainly the Jumpers. “We’re doing well. We didn’t see you at the last Equestria games, weren’t you going to represent Ponyville again?” she asks, getting a few chuckles from the others. “I heard she’s got a kid now.” One of the others calls out, making Spitfire look at e differently. “A foal? I guess that would explain it. Birthing hips aren’t really aerodynamic after all.” I feel my tail twitch in irritation. I don’t have fat hips! I’m still as lean as before my pregnancy! “Well I had to.” I say matter of factly. “If I didn’t, it wouldn’t be a competition between us.” “Glad to see you still have that cocky attitude Dash, you’ll need something to fall back on when you fail again,” she says, a bit of venom leaking into her voice. I purse my lips as I try to refrain myself from punching her in the face right here and now. I just have to keep my cool; I have nothing to be ashamed of. “Those are some pretty big words, coming from an entertainer.” Storm chimes in, getting a few others to chuckle. “I’d pay to see that show.” Ellzy adds, throwing a wink to Spitfire. “You wouldn’t have to pay, from what I hear.” Jonathan says, making a few of us laugh more. I look back to the barn owl griffin and smile to him, grateful for the backup. Spitfire chuckles at that as well, making me glare back at me. “Listen greenies, I know you think you’re all badasses, but you’ve never been out in the real world. So don’t come crying to us when you need your feathers preened, okay?” She says, narrowing her eyes at me. Before any of us could respond a loud clang of metal onto stone silences the room. We all look back to Raz Al-Gruul holds his massive mace in his hand. He stands up, getting the rest of the Spartans to stand with him. He lumbers over until he’s looming over Spitfire, using his tremendous size to dwarf the pony. “Preening?” the orc asks in his deep voice. “We’ll keep that in mind, pony. But only if you don’t forget your place, prey.” “I won’t be intimidated by the likes of you, monster,” she replies quickly to the massive orc, making him chuckle. “Monster?” he asks, his anger almost visibly rising. “No, no, you misunderstand. I’m no monster. No, I’m a Spartan Berserker.” “OOH RAH!” Big Mac, Sledge, Leif and YinBei all yell, slamming their hooves or weapons down to add to the effect. “I also advice never calling me monster again,” he warns as he lowers himself to get in her face. “Unless you want a monster, prey.” I’ll give Spitfire credit for not backing down, even when facing somepony three times her size. “Spartans.” We all stand at attention and face Miles a he enters from the back, walking alongside Celestia. The Wonderbolts snap to as well, saluting Celestia instead. “My Wonderbolts, it seems that an urgent matter has come to our attention. The Goblins have been keeping unicorns as slaves.” The bolts gasp at this, but us Spartans keep our cool… given, not all of us are ponies. “We’re going to perform a joint operation to rescue them.” Miles tells us as he pulls out some device. It looks like a really small black mace with grey spikes over the ball. He flings it at the floor, having the spikes stick in the ground. The handle spreads open and a hologram appears above it. A picture of the Goblin Empire west coast appears with several red dots spotted throughout the land. “These are the locations with high magical activity, as provided by the Terradisia air force.” Celestia explains as she moves to stand beside the Wonderbolts, who are still in awe of the hologram. “There are thirteen locations that will be hit tonight-“ “How are we supposed to hit all thirteen targets tonight!?” Spitfire asks abruptly. “Terradisia will be providing transportation as well as assistance in this operation, Captain.” Celestia says, motioning to Miles. “Jumpers, Wonderbolts and Shadowbolts will stealth in under cover of darkness-“ “The Shadowbolts?” One of Spitfires subordinates asks. Miles stares at her in annoyance before pointing up. Hanging from the roof are a couple dozen ponies bunched together. With their cover blown, they all drop down and land between Miles and Celestia. Their uniform are exactly what I remember them to be, but I don’t recall them having bat wings. They must be made up of Night Guards… but I don’t recall them having bat wings either. “Thanks to Bluebloods recent legislation, Luna has made room for her own branch of Spec Ops. They’ve actually been around for three years now. And much like my sister, they tend to… be more reserved in their dealings. Captain North Star.” Celestia explains, nodding to their leader. He simply nods back, keeping his cat like gaze on the hologram. “We don’t have time for interruptions.” Miles states. “You group will have one hour to complete their objectives. Jumpers, Shadowbolts and Wonderbolts; your goal is to land and secure the VIPs. Once you accomplish that, send a flare towards the ocean and your taxi will drop by for pick up. If your group is pinned, flare out inland and support will come in.” “Discretion is key in this.” Celestia chimes in. “Do not openly attack any guard. They must not be able to identify that we’ve invaded their homeland. If within your hour marker you feel you cannot complete your mission without notice; then abort.” “And lastly.” Miles cuts her off, stepping towards us. “Take no prisoners.” “We can’t chance keeping one of them in fear of them escaping, nor can we let any who see us run off for help. If one does see you, kill him and burn the body. We cannot allow them to regenerate and turn us in. Don’t hesitate either, they are goblins after all. Dying isn’t much of a problem for them.” “Any questions?” Miles asks, getting a silent response. “Alright, this is how we’re breaking it up. Dash; being the fastest in the group, you’re with Spitfire. You have these two objectives due to their proximity. Raz will be your first support, followed by Tiber. High Flyer, you’re with…” I ignore the rest of what he says as I glare over at Spitfire. Why did he have to put me with her? I can think of several other Wonderbolts as fast as her! This is only going to cause problems on the ground, I just know it. But I’m not going to bitch about it. I know what Miles will say if I voice my concern. Deal with it! You’re the captain of the Jumpers for fuck sake! Sometimes I hate having responsibilities. “… and Night Fury you’re with North Star hitting this last sight with Sledge on support. Any questions? No? Good, let’s move out then-“ “Wait, where are you going to be?” I ask, getting a lot of blank stares my way. “Sorry Captain, I was… deep in thought.” My ear twitches when I hear a couple snickers. “Pay attention Dash.” He says it in a flat even tone, but it stings just as much as if he had yelled. “I’ll be meeting Starke while this is all happening. Storm is on lead for this op., got it?” “Crystal.” I reply quickly with a salute. “Good. I expect nothing less than the absolute best from all of you. Watch each other and get them out quickly. Load up; we’re going in weapons hot.” I give one last glance to Spitfire before following him towards the front of the airport, where several transport aircraft are already landing.
Chapter 213 Joint OperationsChapter 213 Joint Operations The ride over to the Goblin Empire didn’t take long. Spitfire and I were silent the entire time, though our eyes did plenty of talking. She doesn’t like me, that much is clear. I was the threat that was going to bring her down from captain, so she took me out. And because of that, I can’t stand her. She’s a two timing bitch that needs to be put in her place, and I’m the one who’s going to do it. But not tonight. We can both understand that there is a job to do and that comes first. I know we both understand that, but I fear we’re still going to be at ends during this operation. “Objective point met, waiting for mark.” The bot in the driver’s seat tells us, getting me to put my helmet on. “There’s one thing I don’t understand,” Spitfire says as she zips up, covering her face. “What’s that?” I ask bitterly. “Why you left Equestria,” she states as we stand beside the door, waiting for it to open. “You were a Wonderbolt, and a god damn bearer of the Elements! Why leave all of that to become some soldier?” I snort and roll my eyes as the doors slide open. “Ask me after tonight, if you still need to.” I tell her before leaping out the door. I turn over and glance over to see specks of blue in the sky over the dark horizon. We were hovering at seven thousand feet, so this fall shouldn’t take too long. Spitfire moves in position beside me and tucks her wings in, dropping a bit faster. I mirror her and move my focus towards our objective. The factories we’re targeting are well lite, making them easy targets. My heads up display flashes a warning on the left, six thousand feet. I give a few powerful flaps before tucking my wings back in. My armor is heavy, helping me gain speed quickly. I miss the aerodynamics of the Wonderbolt suits, but prefer the protection of my new, special made armor. Lightest ever made by Terradisia, special made to fit me perfectly. It’s not as protective as Miles’, but it beats most other armors while letting me fly somewhat comfortably. Luckily, even during maternity leave, I still train every day in it. So it’s like a second skin to me. Second warning, five thousand feet. With the added weight of my heavier armor, I have to open my wings up slightly to keep pace with Spitfire. In turn she gestures to the right, pointing out a spotlight sweeping towards us. I nod and open my wings, feeling the wind yank me back as we slow to a hover. It takes a few hundred feet, but when we come to a stop the light passes beneath us harmlessly. We nod to each other before returning to our dive. Four thousand feet. We turn slightly, looking for our target. The scanner in my helmet is going nuts, looking for any sign of magical activity. Dozens of weapons light up at first, easily being guards with weapons. A few more seconds of scanning and our target lights up. A large warehouse just off to the side of the main factory. Two rows or twenty figures show up below the building, as well as several guards patrolling the area above. I motion to Spitfire and angle myself towards the building, minding the other guards. Three thousand feet. As we near our target I start to motion to Spitfire where several troublesome guards are located. Four towers around the compound with three guards in each of them. Four guards within the building, two up top and two on bottom. Two more pairs of guards walk around the outside of the building. Twenty in total. We quickly agree to take the ones outside out first, starting with the ones on the ground. Then inside to secure the slaves, and once we finish off the towers we’ll flare out. Two thousand feet. I want to beat my wings to pick up speed, but I can’t risk alerting them to our presence. I can see Spitfire rustling her wings as well, wanting to get this started just as badly as I do. I’ve always hated waiting. Just a little bit longer, no need to rush into this. One thousand feet. We pass a few tall skyscrapers in our final descent, hopefully there’s nopony watching- BANG I feel something clang against my armor suddenly. I look back to see to goblins chasing us with some sort of wing suit armor. I pull back and flap hard, sending myself flying back towards them. They try to avoid me by diving, but I fly much faster than them. Once close enough, I grab his foot and yank him back into my kicking hind legs. He flails for a moment before trying to recover, failing a bit at it though. I grab him again and sling him towards the skyscraper, sending him through a window. I look back to see Spitfire wrestling her attacker towards the same building, crashing a few floors below. I dart through the window and pull my spear out, looking for my attacker. I’m in some business room full of cubicles. I take a few steps forward before the goblin rolls out and shoots me again. The shot pings off my armor, but I feel my skin bruising beneath. He drops his pistol and reaches behind himself, but is too late to act any further. I spring forward and pierce the end of my spear through his face. A shot of electricity races through him and burns his flesh. I force him to the ground and hold him there until I feel I’ve melted enough of his brains to make him forget me. With him dealt with, I jump back out the window and flutter into the room Spitfire fell into. She’s still wrestling with the goblin with a dagger out. I walk over and stab one of his hands down; making him howl in pain and giving Spitfire the edge she needed to stab him in the side of the head. The blade must have been enchanted, because he started to shake violently before his eyes burned out. She glances back to me and nods her thanks. I nod back to her and turn to leave, but stop when I hear a humming. I look back and freeze as another goblin comes walking out with some sort of automated floor cleaner. He’s got some big, bulky ear muff like things on and hasn’t seemed to notice us yet. Spitfire was about to jump him when I grabbed her shoulder to stop her. He’s… dancing. Those ear muffs must be playing music somehow. I fight to hold back a snicker, because he’s not a very good dancer. Like, he might be worse than Twilight. After a very… enthusiastic booty shake I have to leave the room to laugh at him. That’s too much, that’s way too much! “Done yet?” Spitfire asks in a hushed tone as she joins me outside the building. “C’mon, that was hilarious!” I shoot back, gaining control of myself once more. “We have a job-“ “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Back to the seriousness. Let’s go already.” I wave her off before continuing towards the warehouse. I hear her groan in frustration but follow any way. When we near the warehouse I drop my smirk and get back into the moment. The guards below heard the gunshots and are on high alert. Spitfire joins me as we circle the building, looking for an opening to exploit. “There.” Spitfire whispers, pointing towards the back of the building. I nod and tilt to the right, turning in quickly while dropping altitude. We pause as a search light goes over the ground before landing. With the coast clear we head to the closest corner and wait for the patrol group to round the corner. They never stood a chance, only having a moment of shock before we each pierced their skulls with our weapons. Immediately after their deaths we frisk their bodies and take a ring of keys off of them. I glance back and note the light heading towards us. Without a second thought, I push Spitfire forward and rush towards the side doors. “We’ve been compromised,” I mutter as I set my spear on my side and grab the flare given to me. “Calling in support.” Spitfire nods and starts to work on opening the door, trying key after key. Just as the light stops over the dead goblins, I point my flare gun inland and fire it. The large red glowing ball races high into the air and before slowly dipping back towards the ground. Sirens start to go off as the lights immediately shine down on us. I glare back at the light as I holster the flare gun and reach for my assault rifle. Automatic fire traces the ground as they bear down on us. I shoot forward and return fire, sending metal and arcane bolts back at the tower. I feel a few pings bruise my back from the first volley, but push on as they keep their focus on me. I hear a pained yell from one of the goblins as the light blows out from my fire. I use the distraction to gain a bit of air and return fire on the gatling gun. A few rounds in, and a large billow of smoke signifies the air canisters exploding. VRRRRMMMMMMMMMM I turn around to see our transport ship hovering above, providing suppressive fire on one of the towers. It gains the attention from the other towers, allowing me to rejoin Spitfire. “Is it open yet?” I ask impatiently as I reload. “Obviously not!” she snaps back at me, moving to the next key. After a few more failed attempts I finally lose my patience. I turn around and buck the door with all of my strength. It budges inward, but holds shut. So I try again, and again; I keep kicking the door until I feel it buckle beneath my hooves and finally pry open. Spitfire and I run in and do a quick scan around. Dozens of guards stand around the scaffolding with their weapons aimed down on us. Where did they come from!? My scanners didn’t show more than four! I look around, trying to find an escape route of some sort. All around us are empty cages and a few stairwells that lead down below. The only escape was the door we busted open, but two goblins jumped down to block it off. I’m sure we could take them out, but not without getting every rifle to fire down on us. I might make it out of an attack like that, but Spitfire sure as hell wouldn’t. Crash Every eye turns as a massive black figure comes crashing through the roof, landing beside us with a massive crash. Raz, the massive orc trainee, emerges from the rubble; a massive club/mace in one hand, the Spartan Pen in the other, held up with a strap going over his shoulder. His armor makes him appear much thicker than he actually is and he towers over the rest of us at least two fold. He looks up, his face hidden beneath his helmet, before roaring out and firing on the goblins. Large tracers tear through the weak metals as he slowly spins his body to kill more targets. A loud pang of fire erupts from the scaffolds, all aimed at the orc that’s decimating their ranks. Raz simply roars again as he continues to spit lead back at them. I catch myself and aid in returning fire, taking out a goblin or two behind Raz. Those that remain drop their guns as they leap down from the scaffolding. I take another one of them out before the rest charge at us, drawing blades and pistols alike. I have to jump back when they all lunge for me at once. A few pistol rounds ping on my chest, winding me slightly but not enough to stop me from returning fire. I keep my fire to single shots, or rather, triple burst thanks to the gem in my rifle. There are only three in front of me, each holding a melee weapon in their top arms as they reload with their bottom arms. PEW BANG PEW A trio of shots rips through the left most goblin, dropping him. PEW BANG PEW I move to the right and blast away at the goblin to his right. He falls back with a pained yell- THUD I recoil slightly when Raz lunges beside me, bringing his mace overhead to crush the last goblin. The sick sound of metal crushing and bones snapping under the mighty force fill my ears for a second before everything goes quiet. I glance around to find any remaining targets, only to see a small group cowering in the back corner. “Pathetic.” Raz mumbles as he lumbers towards them. “Are you not warriors!? Fight and die with honor!” “Raz,” I say slowly, setting my rifle on my side and trotting to him. “Not every pony can wipe out an entire squadron by themselves.” He chuckles at this, taking it as a compliment. Spitfire lands before me, seemingly unscathed. “You know our orders, no witnesses-“ “NO!” One of the goblins yells in pure fear as he breaks from the group and bows before us. “Please! Spare me; I don’t want to become someone else! I like my life, please! I beg you!” “SILENCE!” Raz yells in his booming voice. “You wish for me to spare the life of a slaver-“ “NO! Please, I’m not like them-“ “You dare call yourself equal when you build yourself up on the backs of others!” He yells, stepping towards the terrified goblin. “Please! Have mer-AH!” He stops when Raz steps on one of his outstretched hands, making him whimper in pain. “The only mercy I grant you is a quick death. Be grateful that I allow you that luxury.” B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-BANG The room falls silent once Raz releases the trigger, the only sound coming from the rattling of his casings on the cement floor. I sigh as I stare at the back of Raz. He didn’t need to get all riled up like this. But no, he always has to make his point clear. “C’mon. Let’s get the ponies out of here.” I say finally, breaking the silence. “Raz, how much time do we have?” “Twenty eight minutes.” He says as he goes around the room, crushing the heads of every goblin he comes across. I look over to Spitfire and nod to her, running to the closest set of stairs and taking them down. “What a monster,” she mumbles as we make it to the door. “Don’t be too harsh on him.” I tell her as I put my hoof on the nob. “He almost lost his family to slavers.” “That doesn’t make him any less of a monster.” She retorts quickly. “Maybe not, but… I dunno. He’s… whatever. Like I’d expect you to understand.” I shake my head and open the door. Inside we find two rows of cages filled with unicorns. One the left side is twenty or so unicorn adults. They can’t be much older than me and are tattered and lanky. On the right side are the younger and older generations. Mostly foals, the few adults in there are mares that are either pregnant or tending to the young, with several cases of both. Though they aren’t as skinny as the ones on the left, they aren’t much better. After another second of looking over them, I realize that there are only four stallions here in total. Spitfire jumps forward with the help of her wings and scares all of them. Young cling to their mothers whiles other run for the other end of their cages. They stare at us like we’re some sort of alien here to take them away… I guess that isn’t too far-fetched of an idea for them. “Ponies! Do not fear us! We’re here to set you all free!” Spitfire yells out at them. A few of them mumble to each other, confused by what she said. She yanks out her sword and jams it between one of the doors, prying it open. She steps in towards the foals and they all run behind their mothers in fear. The mares inside there step in front of them and form a sort of barrier between us, their eyes wide in fear. “Fire!” I bark at her, getting her attention. “Keep in mind that they don’t really know much about pegasi. They probably don’t even think we’re all ponies.” “So-“ “Let me handle this.” I groan as I step forward, getting the crowd before me to scooch away. I stop and lay down on my hooves, removing my helmet to smile at them. “It’s okay; I’m not here to hurt any of you. My name is Rainbow Dash.” I say in my motherly tone. A few of them glance to one another, not knowing what to do. “Dash-“ “Are my wings scaring you?” I ask, holding them out fully. They recoil slightly from the movement, giving me my answer. “I can put them away if you’d like.” I fold my wings back to my side and wait patiently. I glance between them, trying to find any brave enough to stare me in the eyes. After a bit of pushing, I find my target. A little white filly with hazel eyes and light green hair steps forward, making eye contact with me. She can’t be older than five, four more likely to the fact she doesn’t have her cutie mark yet. I smile to her and lower my head, trying to be as welcoming as possible. She starts to walk out towards me but stops when one of the mares reaches out to her, barely out of her reach. They look to each other before the filly continues, stopping just out of hoofs reach of me. She looks me over in awe, like how Jet did when we went to the zoo. The thought amuses me slightly; I guess I’m her lion. She leans over slightly and starts to inspect my wings, curiously taking a few tentative steps my way. I slowly unfurl my wing, getting her to step back slightly. I pause halfway, waiting for her to relax slightly before continuing. With my wing out completely, I start to reach out towards her slowly. I see her starting to breathe quickly, but stay still. Either out of complete awe or total fear. When she’s within reach I run a feather over her nose quickly. Her face scrunches up as she shakes her head slightly. I giggle slightly at that and tease her a few more times over her faces, stopping when she giggles as well. “Th… they’re soft,” she comments happily, albeit quietly. I smile down to her and scoot closer, letting her work her muzzle against the rest of my wing. She rubs her head and wiggles against my feathers, feeling her way towards me with her eyes shut. Her eyes snap open when she bumps into me, stepping back slightly as if she had done something wrong. “What’s your name sweetheart?” I ask her quietly, leaning towards her. “Um… m-my name?” She asks timidly. I swear I feel like I’m talking to Fluttershy, her voice is so quiet. “I-I don’t have one.” “You don’t have a name?” I ask, getting her to shake her head slightly. “Hmm… then why don’t we change that?” I say as I tap my hoof to my chin. “Let’s call you… Brave.” “Brave?” She asks, somewhat surprised. “Yeah, Brave. You’re easily the bravest pony I’ve ever met.” I tell her, making her smile. She thinks about it for a second before nodding. “I-I’m Brave?” FLASH Everypony gasps when a quick flash appears. Brave looks around, trying to find the source but looks to me in confusion. I smile back to her and point to her flank. She tilts her head in confusion before looking back, seeing her new cutie mark of a lion’s head. The little filly gasps in surprise before bouncing up and down in pure joy. “I got my mark! I got my mark! Momma look! I got my mark!” She yells before running to the side of the cage. She turns and tries to show a mare across the room her cutie mark, making me chuckle. “Hey Brave.” I call out to her, getting her attention slightly. “Let’s go show your mom your cutie mark.” I say as I stand and walk to the open door, shooting a glance to Spitfire on the way. She looks at the open door for a moment before running to it and pausing. She looks at the ground for a second before looking up to me, seemingly asking for permission. I smile and nod, getting her to adorn a massive smile. She scurries to the other cages and find her mother waiting there, crying slightly at the sight. “Look Mom! I didn’t get one for enchanting like the others! I got one for being brave! Do you like it?” She asks excitedly, her voice squeaking slightly. “O-of course I like,” she replies weakly, fighting back tears. “It’s… it’s the greatest mark I’ve ever seen.” “Really!? The greatest ever?” She asks eagerly, looking up to her mother with total joy. SNAP With a grunt of effort, I use my spear to pry the gate open to the adults. The mother glances at the opening, debating what to do, before galloping out. She scoops up Brave and squeezes her in a tight embrace, peppering her with kisses and mutterings of love. Brave returns the affection, tearing up with her mother. Several of the other ponies begin to mutter to one another as they near the open gates. I look to Spitfire and motion for her to follow me to the font of the room. With us out of the way, they all run out of their cages to reunite themselves with their loved ones. The room fills with joy and sorrow as parents hold their foals, friends hug one another, and others simply rejoice in their freedom. I glance over to Spitfire and nudge her, getting her attention. “This is why I joined the Spartans. This wouldn’t have happened without us. To keep your loyalty to one nation, one way of life… with the Spartans, I can be loyal to them all. Whether it’s freeing some ponies, feeding a starving griffin community, or simply negotiating between minotaurs and zebras; I can help them all.” She looks back to the group and keeps quiet, thinking deeply on what I said. “Dash!” Raz yells from behind. “We need to go! We only have thirteen minutes left!” “Got it! Everypony! I need you to follow me! We’re going to take you somewhere new! Somewhere where you’ll all be free to live your lives as you see fit! Follow me to Equestria!” I yell before I zip up the stairs. It takes them a few moments, but they eventually emerge from the stair well, still slightly scared of their surroundings. Spitfire and I hurry and usher them over to their waiting aircraft, taking far too long to coax them onboard. We strap everypony in and begin to leave when somepony grabs my tail. “Aren’t you coming with us?” Brave’s mother yells over the sound of the roaring jets. “I have eight minutes to free another factory, I can’t.” I yell back. “That’s not enough time! You’ll never make it!” I smirk at that, putting my helmet back on. “Don’t forget this, my name is Rainbow Dash! And I’m the fastest flier on this planet! I’ll see you in Equestria.” I turn to leave but stop when she grabs me again. “We’re not the only ones! A plant opened up recently, somewhere far away from here. I only heard the guards talking about it for a moment, but I know what I heard!” “And what was that?” “A new plant specializing in desert warfare!” I think about it, but can’t piece together what that means. I nod to her and leave the jet, joining Spitfire a few feet away. We wait till it lifts off before turning towards out last objective. “Seven minutes, think you’ve got what it takes?” Spitfire asks as she takes her position. I smirk under my helmet and lower myself to a takeoff position. “Just try and keep up.” Perspective: Starke Herzen Going to sleep late was a terrible idea. I can't get comfortable, I can't stop thinking about the days meetings... or the ones to come. I've got projects to tinker over, gadgets to fiddle, and countless baubles to- "YOUR EXCELLENCE!" Someone yells as they storm through my door. I groan and sit up, glaring at my assistant through my long grey hair as he kneels by my bed side. "Your excellence-" "This better be good." I groan as I lay back, irritated by the sudden intrusion. Someone better be dead- "Someone has entered your privet study-" "WHAT!?" I yell, bolting back up. "Have them shot immediately-" "We... u-uh... we tried sir He simply used his magic to ward off the attack. We're working on getting a few others here to assist but... the human-" "Human!?" I yell, trying to piece all of this together. What human? What's a human!? How did it ward off all of our weapons!? I jump out of bed and open my dresser, finding it empty. I kneel down and reach under my mattress, but find nothing. "Sir... the human has requested an audience with you." I sigh and sit back against my bed, moving a hand to my face to brush back my hair. If he really wanted to, he could have killed me in my sleep. Slit my throat, blow my brains out with my own pistols! He obviously doesn't wish to kill me, not now at least. "Well then, let's not keep him waiting then." I push myself up and fix my tunic and tie my hair back. I may be in my sleep wear, but I'm still an emperor. I walk eagerly down the long hallway to my study, finding the door open slightly. I peer inside and see the being toying with one of my experiments, eyeing the mechanism closely. I take a deep breath before pushing the doors open and marching right towards the human. "Starke-" "You have infiltrated my palace, stolen my personal weapons, and are currently holding top secret devices! Why, in the wide, wide world, should I not have you killed on the spot!?" I demand from him, stopping just before him. He chuckles lightly and sets the weapon down, smirking smugly about something. "Well, according to the Summit meeting, I'm allowed access to anything that could possibly be of value to wards my investigation-" "An investigation that's been going on for nearly six years now!" I bark at him, wishing I was a bit taller. He nods to that and pulls over one of my clip boards, glance at the front page casually. "Respond Miles!" "We've been having difficulty finding anything," he starts out slowly, keeping his eyes on the clip board. "Most leads were dead ends, and whenever we did find anything it usually lead us to an entirely new maze of secrets.That is, until we found some goblin weaponry in bear country." "... so that's it? You find some weapons and it obviously must be the answer." I ask, crossing my upper arms and putting my lower fists on my hips. "Is it illegal to sell weapons to outsiders?" "Hmm, so you are selling them weapons-" "Hardly." I scoff and turn around, heading towards the other end of my shop. I flip a few switches to turn the lights on before moving to the large map of the Goblin empire. "You don't know the first thing about us, do you?" "Culturally? No," he admits openly, moving to my side. "All I do know is that you have the second most advanced technology in the world-" "First! We are the most advanced-" "When you get past simply pistons and gears, then you can say you're advanced. Electo-magnetics and nuclear fission, that'll be a good start towards boasting. But you're outmatched by us Starke. But, I'm not here to lecture you on technology. All I want to know is why you're aiding the Griffins for war?" I groan at that statement. Too many see with their hearts, not their brains. "You claim that I'm the one aiding them for war, yet aren't you in the same boat?" I ask, getting a silent response. "I don't give them anything. We've worked out a lend-lease deal with Ulfric. He buys the weapons and uses them for whatever he sees fit. You, on the other hand, give them food-" "Humanitarian aid-" "You give them the strength to fight. I haven't picked a side of this effort. They came, they paid, they left-" "But not with the weapons." Miles points out, setting the clipboard down. "I'm not here because you're selling weapons. I'm here because you're moving weapons through Bear country.They made it very clear that you aren't allowed to move through their air space. In doing so, they are claiming it as an act of an alliance." "That's preposterous, it's simply business." That buffoon Boarus really thinks he can slander my name, my country. "SERVANT!" "Yes my liege!" My servant yells, scrambling to my feet. "I want you to bring me every ledger from every corporation dealing with Ulfric and his kind. I have nothing to fear Miles Eremita. No military personal of the Goblin Empire has ever set foot withing Bear territory. We have no responsibility for the actions of privet contractors-" "M-my liege! This will take some time to gather-" "Do as I say!" I yell, kicking the servant. He grovels at my feet before I kick him again, getting him to run to his task. With him out of the room I look back to Miles, my temper still running high. "We will not be slandered into a war that isn't ours, nor will we idly sit back as empty threats are thrown our way. We have nothing to hide, Spartan. Thus, we have nothing to fear." He chuckles at that, walking around the table staring at the map below. I glance down at the table as well and notice one of the corners poking up. I bite my lip in hopes that he didn't look beneath the map. In hopes to hide it, lean forward and rest my hands on the table, pressing down on the corner to hide it better. "Starke, can I ask you a serious question," he asks suddenly, sounding much less confident. "You can ask anything. It's always the matter of the answer you'll receive." I tell him, watching him move closely. "It is obvious that Ulfric is getting ready to strike. He has forces along the Soviet border and has been arming for several years now. I don't doubt that you've been selling them weapons, but do you really think he'll do it? Attack another nation openly. Is the world really that divided?" He seems almost... sad, to say that. But, hearing him say this puts me at ease now, it telling me that he didn't look beneath the map. "Those that are different will always fight one another. It's the nature of being. Bears and Griffins have always fought, just as Apes and Goblins have always fought, Minotaurs and Zebras, Equestrians with... Equestrians. War is very much a part of this world Spartan, don't let Celestia fool you." "I am not fooled by her words of peace. I simply wish to avoid a conflict that will tear this world apart. That's what the Four Horsemen want. That's what Death wants-" "Don't delude yourself with their obscure words. They're a cult of honeyed words and false promises. I've been around long enough to know their kind-" "You've never fought them-" "For a good reason. They're cowards. They scheme and plot but don't have the resolve to attack head on. You'll see, when the gloves are off and the light shines on them, they'll crumble. They always do. The Deadwoods, crushed. Followers of Discord, nothing but whispers in the wind. The Darkness.. they'll join their rightful place in history. Fabled tales of failure and defeat!" I slam my fist down to drive the point across.Miles scoffs at me, shaking his head slightly. "You really believe that? Trust me what I say this, they're different. They're not just some terrorist organization. They have a plan and are enacting it as we speak-" "Miles," I say, shaking my head slightly. "Terrorist want to instill terror. I know they can be dangerous. But I will not bend to their will so easily. I remain convinced that we will eradicate them, because I have too. If my people saw fear in me, they would lose hope. When the people lose hope, that's when they win. Death... he isn't to be feared. He's to be dealt with." He looks down and ponders what I've said. Only now do I realize how preachy I must have sounded. "I've marked your world map with my base of operations, as well as a path you could use to avoid Bear territory. Thank you for your words Starke, I must be off-" "What of the slaves?" I ask, not forgetting our little talk earlier. "Aren't you going to-" "I was going to, but then I found out I didn't need to. A friend of mine assured me that they would take care of everything-" "A friend... you mean Celestia." I assume, glaring at the being before me. He chuckles to himself again, walking to a nearby window. "Do you really Celestia could muster this kind of act? No, not Celestia. I haven't gotten his name yet, oddly enough. But, he was adamant about freeing his ponies." I nod to that. Celestia isn't know for- "Wait... his ponies? Who do you speak of?" I demand shortly, cursing myself for the lack of restraint. "Hmm, you haven't heard? There's a new world leader in the world. He simply goes by, King. Dunno where he came from or what he wants, well... other than freeing those ponies. Said he'd do it by himself too. I thought you'd like to know that, don't forget those ledgers Starke, I expect them within a month.Apologies for the intrusion, I'll let myself out now." He goes to the window and opens it, letting in a gust of wind that tosses papers into the air. "Human." I call out, getting him to pause from climbing out. "We're not the only ones profiteering from this. If you're looking into our affairs, I'd suggest looking to Long Horn's affairs as well." He looks out the window for a moment, thinking to himself quietly. "Spartan-" "Heh, yes... Spartan." I look him over cautiously as he chuckles to himself, inching my way over to a nearby compass. It has a sharp end on it, so it beats trying to take him on bare handed. He looks back to me with a wide smile and blackened eyes, making me freeze for a moment. He stares at me for a moment before he starts to climb out the window, still chuckling to himself. "You can use the front door you know." I tell him, stepping closer to the odd being. "Oh, but where's the fun in that?" He asks, looking back to me with a crooked smile. "Have a chaotic night." And, just like that, he jumps out the window. I run over and watch him fall onto a black form hovering below. He stands up and glances around, seemingly confused, before the machine takes off. "A... chaotic night?" I turn back to the map on the table and rip it off, sighing in relief when I see the world map untouched. I glance over to one of the other maps I have up and see the marking he spoke of. So, he operates in Equestria. That would explain the close connection to Celestia he's formed. "Sir..." My assistant starts, but stops when he sees the map I'm looking at. "Do not fear, our plans are still unknown to him. If he had seen this, he would have surely killed me." I assure my assistant, getting an uneasy look from him. "Let me know when you have those ledgers ready. I wish to see this Terradisia for myself." Perspective: Rainbow Dash I sigh in relief when we make it back to Equestria. That... was one hell of a mission. The gun battles, the race to finish on time, the birth of that foal on the way here... amazing. That little colt was adorably, albeit gross with all of the birthing stuff. I can't believe how sad she was when it came out a earth pony though. I can't believe those monster would just kill them off so easily. But, that's over for them. Mission was successful, everyone reported back with nothing more than bruises and scratches, and no one is reporting being spotted. Job well down. "Mind if I take a seat with you?" I glance over to Spitfire and nod to her, letting her join me under the tree. "*sigh* I love Canterlot at night. It's so peaceful, and the look below is breath taking." I hum in response, looking at the luminescent city below. "I'm just glad we were able to retrieve most of the ponies from there." "Most?" I nod to her, frowning slightly. "I asked around. A pony named U40 was executed as an example to the others." I tell her, getting her to frown as well. "Don't beat yourself up though. She was dead the second we decided to act." "... that doesn't make me feel any better," she grumbles. I nod, agreeing with her silently. I wanted to bring her here and show her a life of peace and friendship, but... that's not the case. "Hey Dash, about earlier-" "Don't sweat it. I know what you're-" "I'm not apologizing." She cuts me off, getting me to look back at her. "I still don't agree with you leaving the Wonderbolts. I only did what I did to knock you down a peg. You still have that arrogance about you that's going to get ponies hurt. But... I will admit you've done some growing. I guess, what I'm trying to say is, you did good back there. I look forward to working with the Spartans in the future." She holds her hoof out, and I can't help but smile as I shake it with my own. I may have lost out on the dream of being a Wonderbolt, but I still have the respect of one of my role models. That's good enough. "So, when are you going to accept our challenge?" I ask, getting her to raise an eyebrow at me. "Didn't Soarin ever ask?" "Ask what?" Soarin... I'm going to smack you upside the head when I get home. "*sigh* I sent out an invitation for a friendly competition between the Spartan Jumpers and the Wonderbolts. Just a little friendly competition with our allies." She chuckles slightly, turning back to the view on the city. "Rainbow Dash, always looking for another race to win." "Would you have it any other way?" I ask, getting her to smile and shake her head. "I'll get back to you on that, for now, let's just sit back and relax after a job well done." She says, laying back against the tree behind us. "Copy that." I reply, mimicking her movement. "Dash!" I let out a groan as I hear several people walking up to me. I glance over to see Hunter, the zebra, in front. He gives a quick salute before asking, "We're heading back, you coming?" "Nah, I'll kick it here tonight. Besides, I'm sure Twilight would like the surprise visit, right Storm?" He chuckles and leaves the group, heading towards the castle. "Report in and get some rest, you've earned it." They all salute and head off, murmuring to one another quietly. "Oddest outfit I've ever seen." Spitfire mumbles as I lay back down. "Yeah, but I wouldn't trade any of them away... beside maybe Johnathan. The bookworm gives me headaches sometimes." "Hmm, speaking of bookworms-" "Twilight?" "Yep." I chuckle at that, getting her to laugh as well. I'm glad to see she's at least treating me as an equal, even if she still thinks I'm green. Author's Note Return of the Tallest! Brony on!
Chapter 214 Time in the LibraryChapter 214 Time in the Library Perspective: Tempestive Mortem I mumble in my sleep when I feel something soft nudge my side. So, logically, I roll away from it in an attempt to continue sleeping. After a few peaceful moments of rest I feel the soft annoyance return to my back, gently rubbing just below my wings. I give a few more mumbled protest before I finally wake up enough to roll back over and see the intruder. "M-mon?" I groan with a yawn as she smiles down at me. "What's up?" "Hmm, I've got a surprise for you," she whispers to me with a smile. The aspect of getting something is enticing, but sleep sounds just as good. "We're going to Canterlot for the day." "Canterlot?" I ask, still not fully awake. "Why?" "I have some work I need to get an early start on, and your father has to be there for work as well. So we're all going there for the day." "Mmm... cool." I mutter as I turn around. That's cool I guess, spending the day with Mom and Dad at Canterlot. ... ... ... "Wait... WHAT!?" I throw the sheets off and jump up, making Mom laugh at me a bit. "Are you serious!? We're going to Canterlot to meet with Dad!? We're leaving Ponyville!" Mom laughs at me as she reaches over to give me a peck on the cheek. I don't even care right now, this has to be the best day EVER! "Brush you teeth, take a shower, and comb your mane. We're leaving after breakfast. Oh, and one last thing," she says as she leans in never to my ear. "No vest." "*gasp* really!?" "Really really. Now hurry up and get ready." You don't have to tell me twice! I jump (fall with grace) out of bed and rush through getting ready. I brush my teeth while showering, use magic to dry and brush quickly; only giving my mane a few swipes to get it as presentable as needed. Done, I run out my bedroom, glide down the stairs and meet Mom in the kitchen. "Well, that was quick." "Is Dad really going to be there? What does do you both need to do in Canterlot? Why don't I have to wear my vest? How come-" "Easy there," she cuts me off before setting a bowl of oatmeal in front of me. "Your father and I have meetings to attend to. But, our meetings are at the same time. So at first you're going to be with your aunt. Then with me so your father can rest; he was working late last night. And the rest of the day will be just you and him. Sound good?" I think about it for a second before nodding, getting her to smile. She takes a seat at the table and begins to eat her own breakfast, when a question comes to mind. "Where are you going to be later today?" "I have work, remember? I'm the consultant in the Equestrian courts." "Oh yeah." I mumble as I look down to my oatmeal, poking it with a spoon. "Why was Dad out late last night?" "He was on another mission outside Equestria. It took all night to get things settled." She tells me before scooping a spoonful of oatmeal into her mouth. I lift up a spoonful as well, but pause when something else comes to mind. "Is Shadow coming to see Dad?" "No, she has school." "But, it's Dad. I'm sure she'd want to see Dad rather than go to school. Besides, she's smart enough to miss one day." I try to argue, knowing she'd want to see Dad as well. "If she could miss a day of school she would, but they're very strict about the number of days you can miss. Now save your questions for after breakfast." I frown a bit at that but drop it. I guess that's one of the perks of being home schooled. We eat breakfast in relative silence. Shadow passes through when we finish, but it was a simple hi/bye moment. Mom told her what's happening, but Shadow doesn't press it that much. I guess she just doesn't want to go. Once we finish eating Mom brings me to her room and heads to the mico platform inside her closet... not that I know about that. I fake being intrigued enough to avoid questions. A quick flash and we're in the random furbished cave that I like to take naps in. The bed here is amazing. Plus, nobody bothers me and it's quieter that Ponyville. I've been here plenty of times before, but I never knew it was in Canterlot before. Maybe next time I'll actually leave the cave. When we step out into the cold wind we're met with an amazing view of Canterlot below. Pegasus fly over head as the ponies below move like tiny colorful ants. "Wow." "Stay close to me Tempestive, and mind your manners. The ponies here aren't like those in Ponyville. Call stallions by sir, and mares by ma'am." Mom lectures me as we begin to walk down the mountainside, following a light, thin trail. "Even auntie Celly?" "Mmm... no, not family. Just anypony else. No gliding down stairs, no belching contest with your father-" "That was one time!" "Either way, it would be frowned upon by the ponies below. If somepony tells you to do something, don't. You only listen to family. The only exception are the Royal Guards. But they shouldn't talk to you unless it's an emergency. If a staff member asks you if you want anything... try to be reserved about it please." "Okay Mom." I groan, lowering my head a bit. I hate being lectured to. It's demeaning. It's not like I'm going to start demanding mountains of... I don't even know what to hypothetically demand! Food? Toys? ... I'm six, I guess my list isn't very long. Mom stops and looks back to me, making me shrug back to her. "Hey... walking is going to take too long. Why don't we fly down there?" She asks with a small smile as she turns to me and opens her wings. I perk up at this and look down the mountainside. The wind is strong and the updraft something fierce... but I think I could do it. "Can we?" I ask, hoping she doesn't suddenly doesn't change her mind. "As long as you think you can do it, sure." I nod enthusiastically to her, fluttering my wings in excitement. She smiles to me before launching straight into the air, making me nearly fall back from the whiplash of air. I look up and watch her roll over and and zipping back, turning in tightly to curve around the mountain. I always forget how good of a flier she is. I look to my own wings before taking a running start. With a few flaps I take off into the air and begin to gain air as well. Not as flashy as Mom, but I'm still a relative new flier. I get off to a rough start, but after some minor adjustments and quick panicking I regain control and fly out over the city. Mom glides down to my side and smiles to me. I smile back and begin to accelerate, pulling ahead slightly. She quickly pulls ahead of me, smirking at me. I smirk back and push myself to get ahead of her, knowing I'm just at my limit. Instead of pulling ahead of me, she twists and rolls over head, taking her place on my left now. "We'll have to finish our little race another time. Take my hoof," she says, reaching out to me with a knowing smirk. I smile back and take her hoof tightly.She pulls me into her chest before rolling to the right and diving straight down. I let out a cheer of approval as we drop through the air at high speed. The only sound I can hear is the wind whipping past me ears as I cheer Mom on to go faster. The castle quickly comes into view as we race towards the open grounds below. The large, pristine walls shine brightly in the morning sunlight as guards in golden armor march about here and there. Just behind the large towers a large blimp begins to rise into the air, casting a large shadow over the castle and city below. I stare out in awe of the city and castle. I never seen anything like it before. It's all so pristine and ornate, nothing like Ponyville. My head snaps down when Mom suddenly pulls up, heading straight for the castle. I notice two pegasus guards move in and flank Mom. Are we in trouble? Maybe we aren't suppose to just fly in on the castle. I'm sure the owner will understand... maybe? Mom is a consultant, so maybe that comes with some perks. I hope so at least. Mom glides around one of the tall towers to reduce her speed before continuing her decent, the guards following closely. I was about to ask Mom about it when she dropped suddenly, twisting slightly to make her way through two large doors. When we make it inside she comes to a hover before dropping to the marble floor. She lets out an loud sigh as she gives me one last hug before setting me down. I give a quick stretch before I turn and look up to her, smiling along with her. It was fun while it lasted, we should do it again. "Ma'am!" One of the guards salutes as he lands behind Mom. "With all do respect, do you really belie- be.... um..." Before he finished Mom stood up and moved aside. Now, with me in view, he stares down at me while trying to continue what he was saying before. So Dad was right, ponies do find it odd to have wings and a horn. I guess the vest makes sense now... though I still hate it. "Do I really what, sir?" Mom asks. It sounds polite, but I've heard her use that voice with Dad before. Usually it meant that you where in trouble, but not outwardly. I've asked Dad about it once, he just said that it's a mare thing that I'll blunder into later. "Ma'am! I uh... I believe your sister is in a meeting at the moment!" He says quickly, snapping to a salute. Huh, so consultants are to be saluted to, interesting. Mom nods to him before turning to me, motioning to follow. I trot after her, giving one last back at the staring guard. The castle interior is even more stunning than the exterior! Marble covers every inch of the floors, walls and ceiling as amazing paintings, tapestries and framed documents cover most of the walls. Any furniture that we do pass by is made of the nicest woods, carved to perfection, and don't look as if they're ever used. Every other window is stained with various moments in Equestrian history. Most of the ones here depict life back during the three tribes. We pass a few guards again, meeting similar reactions. They snap to a salute to Mom and then stare at me in disbelief. "Why do they all keep staring at me?" I whisper to Mom when we're out of ear shot of those guards. "Well... you're the second alicorn foal to roam these halls Tempestive. It's... not a common sight." "Oh... were you the first?" "Oh no, this castle was built well after my foalhood." She tells me as we round a corner and come to a stop before a set of doors. Two guards stand by the doors and eye me a bit, keeping their faces on the wall opposite of them. "Now, Tempestive, we're going to walk into the middle of a meeting. Don't speak unless I tell you to. The ponies in here are... old-" "Like, old like you or old like Granny Smith?" I ask, getting one of the guards to snicker. Mom smirks down at me, shaking her head slightly. "Like Granny Smith. Now, stand straight and keep close. Stoic." She nods to the guard, who goes a little wide eyed before opening the doors for us. I straighten out a bit before I follow after her. The room inside smells of old ponies and paper. A long wooden table fills the center as ponies fill the two sides. At the far end I see Aunt Celly sitting at the head, reading over something. When the doors shut behind us, every eye turns on us. I slump slightly from all of the attention. Every critical eye, raised eyebrow and gasp of surprise seems to directed at me. I look back to Celestia and her still looking down at the paper work before her, mumbling what she's reading quietly. Without a word Mom starts to walk off, so I scurry after her. Everypony keeps their gaze on me as we take the long journey down the conference room, a few chairs squeaking as those on the other side try to keep their gaze on me. "Sister." Mom says quietly when we reach her. She nods and looks up, smiling to her. "A word?" "Of course, let me finish up here and I'll-" "I think Tempestive will break into a nervous sweat if he stays in here any long." Mom points- hey! I'm doing pretty good for having every old fart in the room staring at me! Celestia tilts her head slightly before looking down at me. I manage a weak smile and wave- "TEMPESTIVE!" She practically yells as she lifts me up with her magic and brings me in to squeeze me in a hug. I feel the air forced out of my lungs as she continues her death grip around my mid section. I start to tap out as everything begins to go blurry. Goodbye world, I hardly knew you... I love my aunt... but she needs to stop these death hugs of hers. Just as everything was about to go dark, the pressure stops as she lifts me up to get a better look at me. "Look how big you've gotten!" "Auntie Celly!" I yell as I look over to see everypony staring at me. "And what a wingspan! You get that from your grand father easily-" "Auntie Celly!" Eyes! Eyes everywhere! Why!? WHY!? "Six years old and you're almost-" "Sister." Mom states, getting her to pause to look over to her. "Why don't you set him down so we can talk real quick? I'm sure everypony in here would rather-" "I have no qualms. Please proceed." Some old fart in the back says out loud, getting the rest of the old farts to agree and snicker because they're all old farts. I don't even care if the blonde one is younger, they're all old farts. All of them. "You heard them." Celestia says before bringing me back in for another death hug. I gasp as begins to rock me back and forth, still adding pressure to her inescapable grip. I grunt and pant as I try to escape, but only receive freedom when she finally sets me down, giving me a kiss on the cheek as well. Mares. "*sigh* Well then! I have sated my Tempestive smothering, for now. What can I help you with?" "Can we step aside real quick?" Mom asks while motioning to the corner of the room. Celly nods and follows her over. I started to head over, but was quickly levitated to Aunt Celly's chair. "Stay put for one second please honey." "Yeah... sure." I say before folding my legs. Always with the secrets. Where's Dad? I miss his bluntness. I glance over to see every eye is back on me. I don't get it, why are they staring!? I'm just a colt from Ponyville! Is that really that odd? I get tired of the stares before finally asking, "what?" "What's your name son?" The closest stallion asks, getting the others to lean in. "Tempestive Mortem, why?" I ask, getting a few of them to write something down. Why... why are they writing my name down? "Curious. What school do you go to?" He asks, getting all of them to stop writing and lean back in. Apparently anything I have to say is of tremendous intrigue to them... hmm... "Well... I go to- *cough cough fake cough* oh! Sorry, it's hard to speak when you're thirsty, ya know?" "Get him a glass of water!" The stallions snaps at one of the ponies in the back, making them panic before running out of the room. "Or would you prefer some juice? A soda pop maybe?" "Um... water-" "Where's that water!" he demands with a pound of his hoof to the table, looking back to the front doors. I sit back with a smug smile as I wait for my water. I have no idea why they're so interested in me, but I guess I'll run them through a loop before anything further. Not even twenty seconds later the stallion comes back with a glass of water with ice. I thank him for it, getting him to grovel as he backs away, and take a sip. "Ah! Thanks for that, it really hit the spot." I tell them before taking another sip. "Of course your maj-ma-er... laddy! Of course laddy! So, your school-" "I don't go to school." I tell him, getting him to tilt his head slightly. "Well, not public school that is. I'm home schooled." "Oh! And whose your teacher? Or do you have multiple teachers?" he asks as the others begin to scribble away at their notes. "My Dad does math, magic, flight, science, the arts, as well as various other vocational things. That mostly means going out and trying various things to try and trigger my cutie mark-" "What do you think your cutie mark will be?" he asks suddenly. They all pause again and lean in, watching me closely. I set my glass down and think about it for a moment. Rampant and Jet are always trying to help me get my mark, and Dad does too. But... I never really thought about what I would want it to be. Truth be told, I don't really care. It's just something that tells everybody what I'm good at, and where's the fun in that? I like it when ponies walk up to me and ask me questions to know who I am. Getting my mark... sounds like it's going to take that away from me. Then again, that could just be Dad talking in my head. He doesn't care for marks either. "Tempestive," Mom says, getting my attention. "I have to run some errands for a bit. So while I'm out I'm leaving you with your aunt, okay?" "As long as the near death hugs end, I'm okay with that." I say, eyeing Celly slightly. "Then that settles it!" Auntie Celly cheers. "You'll stay with me until two, then your father should be up." "Okay then, behave you two." Mom says before leaning down and nuzzling me. I nuzzle back a bit before she turns and leaves the room. Once she leaves, every eye turns to me and Celestia. "So, I will have to read this proposal later today. I hope you don't mind." Aunt Celly says as she rolls the papers on the desk up. "Of course not your high... your maj... um..." "Thank you, you are all dismissed." Celestia says. They all bow to her, to which she bows back. Oh, okay! I thought it was weird that everypony was bowing to us, but if Auntie Celly does it, it must be the norm. I'm not bowing though. Like Dad says, 'bowing means submission. Submission means lack of freedoms.' Whatever that means. "So, Tempestive, what do you want to do while we wait?" "Um... I dunno. I've never been here before. What is there to do here?" I ask, getting her to think about it. "Hmm... how about I give you a quick tour around, show you what's what?" She asks with a warm smile. It sounds a little boring... but I nod along with the idea. It'll at least give me an idea of what there is to do around here. "Great! Hope on and we'll begin right now!" She lowers herself enough for me to hop onto her back. I jump on and hold onto her neck as she starts to trot away, adding some extra bounce to her step. "Onward to... er-" "THE LIBRARY!" Celestia cheers. "THE LIBR- wait really?" ....................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Luna I open the door to my room slowly and peer inside, seeing the figure asleep in my bed. Six hours of sleep should be enough rest for the rest of the day. It's not like anything big is going to happen. I step in and shut the door quietly before silently stepping towards the edge of the bed. Like the guards told me ahead of time, he's still in his human form. I take a seat and begin to slowly nuzzle his cheek, getting him to mumble a bit. I love watching them slowly wake, they make the cutest faces. After a few more mumbles he lets out a slow groan before his eyes slightly open. "Mmm... Luna? What's up?" he asks quietly, still teetering between alertness and sleep. "Nothing, I just wanted to wake my hero." I whisper quietly back to him. He rolls to face me, keeping his head on the pillow. "Heard about that huh?" "Mhmm. Word is spreading pretty quickly about it. I'm proud of you." He nods to me, slowly falling back to sleep. I bite my lip as I begin to weave to the reason I'm here. "And it's not just me that's proud of you. Celestia, Cadence, Dusty Dunes -the noble from Saddle Arabia- all of Equestria is proud of you." "Hmm." He's barely listening. Time to up the ante. "The goblins want to know who this King is... as do all of the others... Miles?" "Hmm?" "I think it's time the King made an appearance." This wakes him up. His eyes shoot open and he tenses up a bit. "Miles-" "Fuck no." He groans as he sits up, rubbing the sleep from him eyes. "Miles-" "Celestia put you up to this didn't she? Or was it Blueblood? It was probably him, the bastard." "Miles, it's my idea." He stops and looks at me in bewilderment, trying to say something that won't come out. I crawl onto bed and lay on his lap, resting my head against his bare chest. "Miles, it's time Equestria learned of its new ruler. You can't shirk these responsibilities forever." "I think celebrating an operation the day after its completed is a bad idea all together. It's unprofessional and boastful. Not to mention it would be taking credit away from those who deserve it." He wraps his arms around my neck lightly, leaning against me slightly in a warm embrace. I sigh into him, enjoying the contact for a moment. "I agree with you, I really do. But you name dropped, kind of. King, what were you thinking Miles?" "I was thinking that he wouldn't who the fuck I was talking about and chase after a ghost. Who leaked?" I shake my head, not knowing. "Well... fuck." "Yup." He starts running his hand through my mane, sighing in irritation. I nuzzle him a bit, waiting for him to come around. There isn't really anything that be done now besides hiding. And I won't let him do that."What do I have to do?" "It's not much, I promise!" I tell him quickly, sitting up to look at him. "There are a few functions that are coming up that I have to attend, just come as my plus one!" "You're enjoying this way too much," he deadpans, making me chuckle. "Are you kidding!? I get to go to all these fancy balls and gatherings and have a meat shield! I'm the happiest mare around!" I laugh as he buries his face into my mane, letting out a long groan. "Oh don't be such a baby Miles. I'm being nice and easing you into this." "It's not that Luna. It's the fact that I have to go and be something that I don't necessarily agree with. Being king... it just feels wrong." "Hey, you signed the deal-" "I couldn't even read that deal when it was presented to me-" "You married me-" "Technically you became Terradisian-" "And, no matter what you say, no matter how much you fight it, I know Equestria holds a place in your heart." He goes quiet at that, looking away in thought. "This is your home Miles, just as much as Terradisia was-" "Is." "And I know you care enough to suffer a few nobles in a fancy suit. It's not much. A social gathering of nobles tomorrow... the Grand Galloping Gala the week after, not much-" "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Now, some gathering of nobles, I can handle that. But... the Grand Galloping Gala? That's... a bit much. Even if I was willing to go." "I know it's asking a lot, but it would relieve some of the political tension from me if you did. All the nobles ask about you, how you could rule without being present. If you came, even just to a few high key events, it could make my job a lot easier. Please Miles." I start hugging him, batting my eye lashes at him with the sweetest smile I can muster. Shadow taught me this one. Miles can't say no to a pretty smile. "Luna-" "Please?" "I don't know-" "Please?" "What about-" "Please!? For your loving wife?" He stares at me for a second, so I keep up my charade. I know he's going to say yes already. So much so that I already have his suite being made by Rarity. It's a real problem actually, his inability to say no to family. One day we'll address it, just not today. "*sigh* fine," yup! That's my man, folding far too easily to some pretty eyes. "But if I'm going to G cubed, I'm bringing an entourage for protection." "Oh... okay. Who did you have in mind?" He smirks down to me, making it click in my head. "Miles, no-" "I need my own meat shields-" "Miles! This is-" "The only way to get me to go. Take it or leave it." Yup... that's my man alright. Always finding a way to make things more complicated than they actually need to be. "So you want to take the Spartans... all of them?" I ask carefully, getting him to nod along. "You realize that could only en in disaster, right?" "What could happen? I'd be there to keep a lid on them." "What could happen? I don't know, let's put an orc, three apes, two griffons, a changeling, a zebra, a jade hound, and the strangest assortment of ponies in all of Equestria together in a room filled with the upper crust of Equestria. Most of which fret at the sight of a common earth pony. Yes Miles, what could happen?" He smirks at that, I don't like that smirk. "It get even better, Damian's coming too." ... ... ... "Okay fine, you don't have to go." "Yes! "Wait! No... UUUGH! FINE! Deal! He better not ruin this night for me though! Promise me you'll keep him under control!" I point a hoof at his chest, narrowing my eyes in anger. As if the rest of the group wasn't going to be hard enough, now I have to deal with... him. I swear, if he brings that stick of his... "I promise to try. We both know there isn't much more I can do... unless you let them bring their significant others. CC can control him far more easily-" "Deal... actually, that's a good idea. Their spouses will help me control them. You've got a deal Miles Eremita!" I say with a smile, holding my hoof out. He chuckles as he takes my hoof and shakes on it. "It's a deal Luna Eremita." Perspective: Tempestive Mortem When Celestia brought me to the library I was a little unimpressed. Yeah, it's huge and has a lot of fascinating books... but it's still just a library. That is, until she brought me to the the Startswirl the Bearded section. First off, it had guards at the doors. There must be some powerful tomes in there to have guards. Or, maybe they're just there because of the historical significance. I wonder if Auntie Celly knows the history of Starswirl like Mom and Dad do. Well... I'm sure she does. "Now, I know it's really tempting to read these books, but you can't. Sorry, but they're really old books." Auntie tells me as we walk down one of the corridors of books and scrolls. I nod to her as I scan some of the titles. Mingling with Manticores. Ten Toxic Tonics for the Alchemicly Impaired.The Nether and You, exploring trans-dimensional shifting and blinking. Now this is literature! "Can I at least read one of them? Please?" I beg, eyeing more and more fascinating books. "Now Tempestive, you know we can't-" "Just one book, please! You can't bring me into this well of knowledge and not let me even glance at one page, please, please, pleeeeeeeease!" I bounce a little at the end of that. Just one book and my curiosity will be sated... for now. I'll have to come back here another day. "Well..." She bites her lip as she thinks about it. I pout a bit and give her my best puppy dog eyes, seeing her fold a bit. "Okay, but one book only and with my supervision-" "YES!" I hug her leg real quick before running into the depth of the library. I don't even know where to begin! A new spell? Some sort of brew? Maybe some notes on magic itself, I don't know! I lose track of time as Celestia and I roam the halls of the library. I can't make my mind up on what book to read! There are so many choices, and they all seem too much to pass up on. Every time I come up to a book that might be the one, another one is in view, just as tantalizing as the last. Maybe if I try now I can convince Celestia to let me read two books... but then I'd have to pick two books! That's twice as complicated! I don't really know how I noticed it. It was hidden between a stack of dusty books and aging scrolls. It was a small journal, half as wide as a normal book and a third shorter. It was bound in leather and didn't look to be anything special. Something about it stuck out though. Like... I don't know, but I want to read it. I need to read it. I pull it out and look it over. It doesn't have a title. It doesn't have any form of identification other than the leather wrapping the pages inside. It's not special in any other way, yet I'm hooked. "What's that?" Celestia asks, leaning down to get a better look. "I don't know. It just... stood out." I mumble as I run a hoof over the smooth surface. "Hmm... that looks like one of the journals from Starswirl's early days! How could something like that end up here?" I unfold the journal and take a look inside, seeing the aged in on the pages inside. It actually looks like a personal diary of some sort. Maybe field notes? "Can we read it?" I ask Celestia. "Hmm... are you sure? I don't know if this will actually have anything you can learn from it," she warns me. I look back to the journal and look at the date on the top of the page. October ninth, 1164. "Yeah, I'm sure. Can we?" She nods and leads me to a nearby table where we take our seats. She takes the books and holds in front of me so we can both begin to read. 10/9/1164 Fall harvest is around the corner, or so the Earths tell me. My studies will have kept me so preoccupied that I almost forgot what season it was. It's hard to tell when the days blend together, thanks to our benevolent ruler Discord. I still await for the day for the two heroes my elders spoke of to arrive. I've tried every argument and every trick to let my wield them, but to no avail. They say it's not my destiny to do so. Bah, destiny. The world is ours to shape, what power does destiny have over me? Fall is coming, that means we're that much closer to winter. I hate the winter. You can't mount an expedition with snow being chest high. Food runs low, especially now due to God of Chaos. Who knows, maybe I'll succumb to the cold this year. Roam isn't the warmest of places, but it's home. Mother worries that there won't be a Roam in the years to come. That we'll 'revert to old ways' if we aren't careful. Whenever I ask her about those days, she simply tells me about my father. I think it's a trick. She knows I won't question further when he's mentioned. It hurts her too much to do so. She isn't well this year, I'll be sure to stay with her this winter to keep her warm. I know she'll like that. Starswirl the Bearded, still beardless. 3/13/1165 I love expeditions! Braving the unknown, searching for answers, it must be the single most exhilarating thing in life! I've heard rumors of an ancient settlement near the crystal mountains. Mother tried telling me there wasn't anything there, but that's why I'm here now. To search out the unknown and find fact from fiction! The mountains here were beautiful, a river flows in the south, the Everfree holds the west, what a site! Once we're finished here, I'll have to remember this place. It'll make for a great settlement. 5/11/1165 It was almost all for not. Nearly two months of digging, and we nearly didn't find anything. As we were getting ready to pack up one of the diggers found something. It was a skull. To what kind of creature it belonged to, I have no clue. We dug out the rest of the remains and found several more remains. What ever this thing was, it walked on two legs, had arms, and died to a blade to the gut. Fascinating! We spent two more weeks searching around and found several more remains. Nothing to annotate a civilization here, in this location, but a new species all the more! Who were these beings? Where did they come from? Where did they go? So many questions! Just in time too! I needed the distraction. Summer is coming. We'll know for sure by then. I don't know if I'm ready for something like this. Mother is happy, but I don't know if I'm ready to be a father. Starswirl the Bearded, still beardless. 8/21/1165 It's late, I'm writing this in a hurry. I can't believe what happened, it was... I don't even know where to start! We found a... craft, of some sort. Made of metal with strange markings on it. Further inspection revealed that it was some sort of... ship, that the 'Mirum Esse' -or 'strange being' as I've come to call them- used to navigate. We know this due to the remains in the foremost seat. I'd have more to say, but our site has been shut down. Discord arrived on scene, calling the Mirum Esse demons and blaspheme against pony kind. He didn't kill anypony, but a few workers were made an example of. He toyed with them for hours on in. I don't think I'll ever get another group together again. Not after this. These Mirum Esse, I have to find more about them. They struck a cord with Discord. He seemed... almost scared of them. Even a god can fear, that's strangely comforting. Luckily for me, he didn't search any of us. Otherwise he would have found the artifact I hide in my tail. It was just a small slate of metal, but it might be the single most important artifact in pony history. All I have to do is discover what the runes on it mean. Starswirl the Bearded, getting fuzzy. 11/14/1165 I can't even begin to fathom the kind of society that could create this... this... I don't even know what to call it. The runes on this metal, they speak in a language or raw energy! Not the primordial language of the Elementals, but of magic itself! It is the reality of... of reality itself! Whatever the text says within these rings, speak ultimate perfection. These Mirum Esse new magic like no other. So much so, that I've made an interesting discovery. The piece of metal had a function. When energy was fed into it, it relayed the energy. I don't know the significance of that, but what's interesting isn't what it does, but how. I've only felt an energy like that from one being. One. I'm onto you Discord. All I need is more time studying this artifact. But isn't that always the case? There's never enough time is there. For now that is. Starswirl the Bearded. 10/12/1166 Mother passed away today. 9/23/1167 It's been awhile since I've written in this darn book. Personal notes that I've nearly forgotten about. Nowadays it's nothing but studying, creating, work. I wish I had more time to study what interested me. But with the three tribes waging war (of sorts) I've had to move my focus. I miss mother. She always had a way with words that made things seem easier. I'm a grown stallion now though, a father at that, I can't afford to waste time on being sentimental. I have to provide. Spells earn money. Money pays for housing. Housing keeps the Windigos away. Money puts food on the table. I miss mother. Discord is gone, and I'm sad to say that I miss the bastard. He was the closest thing to the Mirum Esse's magic. When he was defeated (good riddance all the same) I had to quit that wild goose chase. There wasn't anything else I could do. If they'd let me use the Elements I could do so much. I'd have the world in my hooves. I'd take it all back! I need to be like the artifact that held my focus for so long. I need to strive for perfection. I need to be infallible. The Sun Tyrant seems to think other wise, but her Lady Nightmare supports me. I'll endeavor. I must. Starswirl the Bearded. Huh, the last page doesn't have a date on it. Time flows like a river. If you try to dam it up, it simply goes around . There are laws to time. And they follow as such. 1. You cannot change your history. What you know will keep you from changing the reality of that knowledge. 2. You cannot stop time. Time is perfect. Time always flows. And thus, it cannot be stopped. 3. Tempus governs time. You do not deviate from his plan. The better outcome will come to bear. 4. You will never go into, or beyond the Purge. Only time without His presence can be tampered with. 5. Never blink. Time is held to your reality. Our dreams hold no reality. Never blink. 6. Tempus Governs Earths time. Tempestive safe guards. Celestia and Nightmare Moon dictate the flow. Are you ready? At the bottom of the page is a drawing. It looks.. familiar. Almost like a mico platform. Two rings with archaic text going between the two rings... I can't explain it, but... it's calling to me. I can feel my horn lighting up as I engulf the drawing with my magic. "Tempestive, what are you doing?" Celestia asks cautiously. I can understand it, somehow. It... it's just coming to me. Like, things are just clicking together. Falling into place. It's like a river. You have to pick a place in it to visit. We're the water flowing down it. If you want to go to a past point, you have to move upstream. Time. All I have to do is- FLASH I blink a few times as I try to take in my surroundings. I'm... outside? I'm outside and in the air... wait- "AAAAHH!" I scream as I start to fall. Where'd the castle go!? Did I teleport somewhere? What's going on!? I flap my wings as I try to correct myself, easing into a glide. With the fear of falling to my death gone, I take a look around. There's a mountain behind me, a forest in front of me, and not much else. No cities, no castle, just a river down the way. "Okay, okay. Calm down. I probably just... teleported?" "But you were reading notes on time travel, were you not?" A deep voice asks from my right. "Well, yeah. But time travel should require tremendous amounts of... of..." I lose my voice as I stare at the massive white alicorn next to me. He chuckles at me, cracking a large smile. "Hello Tempestive. It's about time we met." "You... you... you..." "What? No hearty hello for your grandfather? I'm almost-" "AAAAAAHHH!" I scream and dive away. I don't know what's going on right now, but I want get out of here! FLASH "Hold on there little guy!" DIVE DIVE DIVE DIVE! FLASH "Will you just wait one second!?" GOT TO GO, HAVE TO ESCAPE! FLASH "TEMPESTIVE!" I stop trying to escape when we suddenly appear on the ground, Tempus standing over me. "I need you to calm down. I'm not going to hurt you, promise." "But... but... but..." "I know, it's a lot to take in. Time travel can do that to a pony, especially one so young." He tells me with a warm smile. I take a few deep breathes as I try to calm down. If he really is my grandfather, than I really shouldn't have anything to fear. But, that does raise the question, WHERE AM I? "Hehe, go ahead and ask." "Where am I?" I ask almost instantly. "Canterlot of course. Now, get ready for this question, because you will encounter it often." I think about it, but can only come to one other question that actually matters. "Are you actually my grandfather?" He face falls for a second, obviously not expecting that. I hear a feminine chuckle from the side, and see another alicorn step into view. She's all black with ethereal white energy for hair. Her cutie mark is of a constellation swirling in on itself. She looks down at me lovingly, her eyes tearing up slightly. "Yes little one, he's your grandfather. And I'm your grandmother. Now come, we have much to discuss." Author's Note It's good to update, I like updating. Especially when it's these kind of chapters! In other news, I just recently found something on Itunes that I didn't know about before. If you're interested in buying Brony made music, look up The Dessolation of Archie. I recently found it and have been jamming to it ever since! Living Tombstone, Silva Hound, Archie as well as several others coming together making some pretty dam good music. (No, I wasn't paid to say any of this. I just feel that Bronies should promote other Bronies when they can). Brony on! P.S. My favorite song from the album is Violet Eyes.
Chapter 215 BlinkChapter 215 Blink I lean against the table I'm sitting at and eye the pony before me. Tempus, Lord of time and the deity of ponykind, my grandfather. I knew he was my grandfather, Mom told me plenty about him before, I just never thought I'd be have dinner in his home. Well, it's not really a home in the sense of four walls, a roof and doors. It's more of a cave that he's enchanted to keep for himself and Spatium, or Grandma Spatium, as she's requested to be called. It has the bare essentials, like a few beds, a fire pit, and some sparse furniture. Nothing fancy. After our initial meeting they decided to take me somewhere private to speak. Spatium said she'd whip something together to eat, so here we are. Waiting. It's been an hour and a half since then. We haven't said much. They offered me water, but I don't feel like drinking from a bucket right now. "So..." I start, finally succumbing to the silence. "I guess the question you wanted me to ask earlier was, 'when is it'?" "Hm, yes actually. The year is eleven seventy one," he replies with a smile. "Sorry for the silence, I was... deep in thought." "It's okay." I tell him, falling into another silence. He just seems happy to have me here. I don't know why, but whatever. "I'm sorry, it's just... well, having you here means the world to us. You see... this is where we raised your mother and aunt." He tells me, looking around with a warm smile. "From birth to fillyhood, this was our home." "You gave birth to my mom in here? ...gross." I say, looking around critically. He chuckles to himself, letting out a content sigh. "Yes, compared to what you know, I guess that is a bit gross." It goes quiet again. I think he likes to think rather than speak. It makes it a bit awkward, but that's okay I guess. I lean over and watch Grandma Spatium working with the food. She's humming to herself happily, filling the cave with her lovely voice. I recognize the song, it's the same one Mom sang to me when I was younger. After a few moments of listening I decide to start to sing along, getting them both to watch me closely. "Somewhere, over the rainbow, way up high. And, the dreams that you dream of, once... in a lullaby." I go through the verses easily, having heard them from Mom a million times before. As I go, Spatium joins in. I almost stop when I hear her singing voice. I thought her humming voice was lovely, but her singing voice! I could listen to it for days and still be amazed! She walks over to us, lightly grazing Tempus before stepping over to me. By this point we're nearing the end, so I stop to listen to her voice. She leans down to nuzzle me when she finishes the last note, making me lean into her as well. "I forgot how much I love that song," she whispers as she lightly nuzzles my cheek. "Mom sings it to me all of the time. It's sort of the family lullaby." I tell her, making her sigh slightly. "So... why-" "Oh! I think the bread is ready!" Spatium exclaims happily before trotting over to the wood over. Tempus gets up and joins me at the table, getting at eye level with me. "Do me a favor?" he asks in a whisper. "Sure, what?" "Just... don't be too harsh." I give him a quizzical look, getting him to chuckle. "You'll see." "Dinner is ready!" Spatium cheers happily, levitating a couple plates over. THUNK "Enjoy!" I stare at the massive loaf of bread sitting in the center of the table. It looks... questionable. It may be slightly burnt, or maybe that's just it's color? I think I'm going to avoid the bread for now. A few other plates sit around the bread. Some having veggies, others having berries and fruit. None of it looks very fresh. Not rotten, but just past ripe. "Um..." "Here, let me serve you!" Spatium levitates bits from each plate and sets them in front of me. She takes the loaf and tries to cut a piece off, having some difficulty doing so. "Spatium," Tempus muses, getting a look from her. "Everything is.... uhg! Fine! Just... needs... a little... persuasion!" SNAP I stifle a chuckle as Spatium goes wide eyed. I glance down and see the handle of the blade sitting on the table top. It broke the knife! What's in that thing? Bricks!? I try my best not to laugh, but a few chuckles escape and make it to their ears. She sheepishly sets the loaf down and takes her seat, blushing slightly. I look over to Tempus and see him smiling as well, making me feel slightly better for laughing. "Well... let's not let the rest of this spoil then." Tempus nods to that and begins to eat the fruits and veggies, Spatium soon joining. I take a look down at the food and quickly come to the decision that I don't want to eat this either. I'm sure if I start asking questions I can avoid eating it. But... the only questions I have aren't easy questions to ask. Well... no time like the present I guess. "You put that journal there, didn't you?" I ask, glancing up at Tempus. He glances over to Spatium before sighing, setting his food down before pivoting to look at me. "I did. I had a friend enchant it to make you want to look at it as well. I had to get you here to speak with you," he tells me, sounding a bit more serious. "Soon you'll be earning your mark, and when you do, I'll be back to train you properly. This meeting is to assure you understand that before your power grows too much to control." "I have some pretty good control over it now." I say, sitting up straighter. "I can already levitate! And Mom is teaching me to-" "I'm not speaking about common spells Tempestive. I'm talking about time control." I pause and think about that. I can control time, or, will be able to? That's a bit confusing, I'll think on it later. "So... my cutie mark is going to be about time control?" I ask, but don't get a response. "Is it?" "That's not for us to say sweetie." Spatium tells me as she stands to take a seat beside Tempus. "You have to come to understand that on your own. We can't just tell you, it wouldn't mean anything. You'll learn what it means when the time is right. As for now, you'll have to be patient. Marks don't just appear because you really want them-" "Meh, I can wait." I cut her off, catching them both by surprise. "So, was that drawing in the book a time spell? I think I still remember how it worked. It's a pretty smart spell, using the nether-" "Tempestive, what do you mean you can wait for your mark?" Spatium asks carefully. I shrug at the questions, having heard it plenty of times before. "It's just a symbol of something you're good at. It doesn't make you any different than before. It doesn't even mean you're the best at whatever it is you do. It's just a label on your butt telling the world a little bit about you. I prefer not having one. It adds a bit of mystery, like, not being able to guess anything about the pony. Then, you have to actually get to know the pony in order to understand them. No quick glances and summations. Just... ponies." I feel a little awkward at the end of that. Either because of the looks they're giving me, or being so open with them. Or maybe it's both. "What?" "Ever the human." Tempus laughs, setting a wing on Spatium. What's a human? "As glad as I am to converse with you, our time is drawing to an end. I'll be sending you back to your own time, where everything will return to normality. I'll be checking on you from time to time, always watching your progress. Now-" "Can I try it!? Sending myself back in time -er- forward, that is?" I ask, jumping excitedly. "I don't think you're ready-" "C'mon, I got here didn't I? Just watch!" I close my eyes and focus on the spell, feeling my horn light up with power. Just flow down the river. "Tempestive! Don't-" FLASH I blink a few times as the white light blinds me for a second. When my vision starts to come back, I find myself in Ponyville for some reason. That's weird. Well... maybe not entirely. I mean, Earth is moving, so it would come to say that moving in time would move starting locations. I guess Auntie Celly will be really worried about my not being at Canterlot. Giving myself a pat down, I stand up and start to trot towards town. I wonder where everypony is, there isn't a soul in sight. Actually... I really don't see anypony around. I stop and move around, trying to see anything out of the ordinary. The first thing that sticks out the most is Canterlot. Out in the distance I can see a massive billow of smoke coming from the castle. What happened!? Did... did I do that? Did my spell start a fire!?I hope nopony is hurt... or mad. Maybe- THUD I jump around from the sudden appearance. I let out a quiet gasp of awe from the griffin before me. He's clad in steel armor from beak to tail with light blue highlights throughout. In one claw he holds up a large rifle, similar to the ones the bots in Dads workshop use, but different. He has a dark blue cloak over his back, covering a majority of his body, leaving his wings out for flight. i think I've heard Dad talk about these kind of soldiers before. I forget their name, but they use to be Ulfric's personal army. "Um... hi?" I ask, unsure of what to do. He looks me over for a moment before he points the rifle at me, making my heart skip a beat. "Don't move," he says in a low voice. "I.. okay." I mutter, unsure what to do. He wouldn't shoot me, would he? I'm just a foal, what did I do? As more and more questions flood my mind, more griffins in similar get ups appear all around. Coming out of buildings, flying down from cloud cover, taking positions to cover me completely. "Orders sir!" One of them yells as another griffin walks up to me and the one pointing the gun at me. He has similar armor, but has red instead of blue. "Hold your positions! Ready for the Spartan retaliation! You there!" He yells, getting all of the griffins to fly off. He walks up to me and grabs me by the back of the neck. I let out a yelp of pain as he starts to drag me off. "You're coming with me!" "W-what's going on!? Why are you doing this!?" I beg as he continues to rough me up. I can feel tears to form as he tighten his grip on my neck. Any other questions I had gurgle away as he starts to choke me. "Silence! I will not-" FWT-TANG His body goes limp suddenly and a loud crack fills the air. I pry myself from his grip and start to run home, unsure of what else to do. All of the griffins start yelling to one another before opening fire with their guns. The loud cracks makes me jump each time as I try to find cover, eventually ducking by a fountain in the middle of the road. I don't know what to do. All of the gun fire and screaming... I just curl into a ball and cover my head. I want it all to end right now, but I can't focus on anything other than being as small as possible. Some of the gun fire, a set that sounds distinctly different, is getting closer. I should get up, I should move. But I can't! I'm... I'm too scared to move. I open my eyes and look out to the body of the griffin that held me earlier. He's not moving. Is... is he dead? I don't see anything to indicate that, but... he's not moving. Maybe he's just unconscious? I can't see his head, so I don't know for sure. "FUCK!" I jump a little when a splash of water hits me. I slowly glance up to see the barrel of a rifle stick out from the fountain. A few breathes later I let out a scream as I scurry away from the gun above me. "Tempestive!?" I look up to the owner of the gun and feel my heart stop again. It's... a hairless ape thing. No, not an ape, he looks obviously bigger than that. He has brown eyes and black hair on his head. He has some kind of mark on his forearm and a necklace with the spartan logo on it. "Get over here!" He yells before reaching out to grab me. I tried to run away form him, but he got me too quickly. He pulls me into the fountain and sets me beside him, putting me neck deep in the water. "What are you doing back out here!?" "I... I..." "Nevermind!" He yells as he grabs his necklace and brings it to his mouth. "THIS IS SPARTAN ZERO, REQUESTING ASSISTANCE WITH CIVILIAN COVER! WHO READS ME!?" He... he sounds a lot like dad. He looks back before sliding down to be chin level with the water for better protection. Only now do I notice the pool of red coming from his stomach. "You're hurt." I mutter, getting his attention. He puts a hand over the wound, wincing slightly from the contact. "Heh... don't worry about it. It'll take more than just this to take me down." I hear him, but it doesn't change anything thing. I try to think of something to do to help... but there isn't anything I can do to help. "This is Spartan three, we've got eyes on you. Make your way to S.A.A. immediately." A voice, sounding like Big Mac but muffled, responds from the necklace. "Copy that, moving out." The... person, responds before looking back to me. "We've gotta move. I'm going to run you over to Sweet Apple Acres. Once there, you're going to find your sister okay? Think you can do that?" "I-I... I'm scared." I hear more screaming and gun fire again, making me shrink up. He reaches out and puts a hand on my shoulder, making me look up to him. "It's okay to be scared. I'm scared too," he tells me with a small smile. "But... you're a Spartan. Spartans don't have fear." I say quietly, making him chuckle and shake his head. "That's not true, and you know that. Fear is natural, it's a part of life. The key is being able to stand up and face that fear head on. That's what courage is. Think you can do that?" I glance over the edge of the fountain and see a couple of griffins waiting for us. I don't know how he plans on doing this... but I trust him. I don't know why, but... I feel safe with him here. I look back to him and nod, getting him to smile. "Atta boy. Now, just close your eyes and cover your ears, alright?" I nod again, doing as he tells me to. I hear him move his weapon to his back before making some quick movements. It suddenly gets hotter as all of the water disappears into the air, letting out a loud hiss as the steam quickly spreads throughout the air. The person quickly grabs me and holds me to his chest, covering me with both arms. I tighten up when I feel him standing, but at the same time I feel safe in his arms. Both thoughts escape me when we suddenly start to move quickly, bursting out to the steam cloud and into the open. I keep my eyes shut, as he told me to. I can hear a few more gun shots, as well as something close to a canon in the distance. Just keep your eyes shut and cover your ears. That's all you have to do. Just cover your ears, block out as much of the noise as possible, and keep your eyes shut. It'll all be over soon. Just block it all out. Just- CRASH My eyes snap open when we crash through a door. I look around to find us in the Apple's living room. There are a dozens of ponies here, running from one place to another. The person sets me down and yells at me to go upstairs before running back outside. I stand there as I watch him run over to a group of Spartans, giving out orders. They all give a quick salute before running off to do whatever it is that person told them to do. "GET ME MORE GAUZE DAMMIT!" I turn around and look upstairs to see Doctor Monitor standing up top. He has his white gown on and has a lot of blood on him. He pulls his mouth cover off and trots angrily down the stairs, looking for somepony. "DAMMIT WHERE ARE YOU HEART!? I NEED THAT GAUZE AND I NEED IT NOW!" He yells again, marching to the kitchen. I look upstairs and gulp, unsure of what to do. That person told me to go upstairs, but... I don't know if I should. I drop down when a nearby window shatters. Okay, upstairs it is then! I shakily climb the stairs to the top. The climb seems to take forever, but I eventually make it to the top. I don't really know where to go from here, so I go to the door on my left on the right wall. The door is slightly open, so I gently push it open. I feel myself go numb when I look inside. Aunt Celestia is laying on the bed inside, her once white coat covered in blotches of red. Most of them are bandaged up, but a few of them are still bleeding up. Most of it is coming from small holes on her side, but the largest one is coming from the one at the base of her neck. She glance over to me weakly and smiles. "Hey... hey there... Timely," she rasps with heavy breathes. "A-auntie." I mutter as I stare at her, not knowing what to do. "Come here." I takes me a moment to get my legs to respond, but eventually I work up the courage to approach her. "That's a brave boy. So... brave. Listen... just... just find... Shadow. She'll... keep you safe... for now." "What about you? You're hurt." I mutter, tearing up from the sight. She lets out a pained chuckle, twitching slightly on the bed. "Doctor said... I would be... fine. It just... hurts. Now... I need my rest. Go. Find your sister... stay safe, okay?" I stare at her for a moment before thundering hoof steps catch my attention. "Get this kid out of here!" The doctor from before yells as he rushes to Celestias side. An all white nurse with pink hair hurriedly ushers me out before shutting the door. I stand there, dazed, trying to comprehend everything that just happened. "Next time listen to me." I slowly look over and see Tempus standing in the hallway, horn glowing. I run over to him and hug his leg, burying my face in his fur as I start to cry out. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'll listen, I promise! Just... just don't let anything happen to her, please!" I beg him. He rubs my back with a hoof, waiting patiently for me to calm down. It takes awhile, but eventually I become calm enough to not be sobbing my heart out. He brings my chin up to look him in the eyes, giving me a comforting smile. "Lets get you back home, okay?" I sniffle again as he starts to power his horn. But... then something feels off. I feel my horn start to power up as well. I look up to see his equally shocked expression before I blink from the power swelling up in me. This time around, I lose any form of control I had before as I blink in and out from time to time. Each time I only get a glimpse of each moment. I try to regain focus, but it's far too much to bare. A meadow with travelers. Fires and cracked earth. Darkness. A blinding light followed by a blue cloud. A quiet neighborhood with metal carriages. Ponyville, upside down with flying pigs, dancing buffaloes and all other kinds of chaos. The man from before, huffing in anger. Spurs of dark energy coming from the tops of his wrists. I grip my head as the energy starts to become too much to bear. I scream out as it all comes to a point and bursts out from my horn. Layers of magical energy form around it as I feel myself hurl forward, crashing into something. It takes me a moment for me to regain enough control over myself to look at what I crashed into. It's a filly. She has a light grey coat with even purple hair that has a streak of light yellow and is parted with her horn. Her eyes are the brightest blue I've ever seen before. Her wings are pretty small, but not by too much. I'm currently standing over her, huffing from all of the energy that just passed through me. "Um... c-can you... maybe... get off me?" She asks softly, her voice coming across as nothing other than sweet. It takes me a moment to register anything before I start to- WHACK "BOO YEAH!" Some other filly yells as I tumble over from her bucking me. I feel the energy start to form again and take over. I try to push it away, but with every blink it takes more and more control over me. I jump back to my hooves before rushing the filly that attacked me, sliding to kick her hooves out from under her. Another surge of power. I rear up and try to crush her, but she rolls away. The other filly screams in fear before running away. I can't focus on anything. I can't even control anything at the moment. The power... it's too much. I start to advance on the filly again, swiping and bucking at her with precision and form that I didn't even know I had. She put up a shield to stop me, but I'm breaking through it fairly quickly. "MOOOOOOM!" she screams out in fear when her shield breaks. Another surge of power. I let out a power yell as all of the power starts to come back. I back up and shake head in agony as I try to fight back. It's a losing battle. Just as I felt I was about to start attacking again, a gently touch on my shoulder stops me. I look back and see Celestia standing over me. She looks like she's been crying, but still has that sense of calm over her. She's always calm, no matter what. I don't know how she does it. She pulls me in for a hug and holds me as the power comes out again. I grip onto her chest as all of the energy begins to form around us. A sphere of raw magical power begins to whip around us as books and papers fly all over. A couple bookshelves topple over as the energy pushes out. With every pulse of energy, Celestia strokes my back, patiently waiting for me to return to normal. I bury my face in her soft white fur and try my hardest to regain control. It takes awhile, I'm not sure exactly how long, but eventually the energy starts to thin out. I pant from the exertion, trying to stay awake from all if this. "It's okay, rest little one." Celestia whispers into my ear. I let out one last breath before my head slumps against her chest.
Chapter 216 DealsChapter 216 Deals I wake sometime later in a bed with white sheets and fluffy pillows. The throbbing in my head is grateful for the pillows, but I have to force my eyes shut from the searing light. I can hear some loud mumbling in the distance. I'm not sure who it is, but their conversation sounds heated. I think I can hear Mom out there, but I'm not completely sure. I let out a groan as I roll over, trying to lessen the increasing headache I have. Everything that happened before is a bit of a blur. I can remember most of it, but the end is... that filly. The alicorn. She's the last thing I remember clearly. Who was she? Where did she come from? I've never seen her before, is she new around here? Well, I'm new around here, so maybe she's always been here. "Ahem." I glance up and see Tempus looking down at me. He has a neutral expression, but I can already feel my guilt building up. "I-Im sorry." I croak, my voice coming out dry and cracking. "It's okay," he tells me in a whisper as he lowers his muzzle to touch my forehead. "You are young. I can remember a time when your mother and aunt acted with such recklessness. Just promise me when we start training that you'll listen to what I say, okay?" "I will... w-what happened though?" "You blinked. You attempted to jump through time, but without the understanding of time and manipulating it's properties you began to jump erratically. Whatever you witnessed were blips in either the future or the past." "... it was scary." He lets out a little hum and begins to nuzzle me, making me sigh. "Seeing things without understanding their why can be terrifying. In the future I'll show you how to face the unknown without succumbing to fear." I close my eyes and lean into his affection. I don't know if I want to be doing that anytime soon. Maybe with Tempus there to help it won't be so bad. He'll probably keep all of the scary stuff away too. "Now, I must go. But I have one last thing to bring up." "What's that?" I ask, leaning back to look at him. "You must not tell your parents about Spatium and I-" "What! But that would make Mom so-" "I know, I know. Leaving them... wasn't easy. But it had to happen. It's all essential for the better ending. You'll come to understand that when we begin to train. But, until then, do I have your word to keep us a secret?" He glares down into my eyes, giving that sense of authority that I only really ever feel from Dad. I advert my eyes, succumbing to his authority. "O-okay. But what do I tell them then?" He lets out a small chuckle as he steps back, grinning slightly at me. "Tell them what you must. Until next time Tempestive." FLASH He teleports out of the room, leaving me slightly confused. I don't know what he means by that. So, tell them whatever without telling them about... them? UUUHHHGG! This is too much for a headache this size! Can I just pretend that nothing happened and move on with life!? I can tell now from Mom's tone that this isn't going to be dropped anytime soon. I can tell it's her voice now, along with Auntie Celly and some other stallion. At least I don't have to face Dad right now, that's going to be gruesome. I just hope they aren't mad at me. "Psst!" I ear flick back when I hear somepony calling out to me. I look behind me and see a unicorn filly hiding behind one of the beds. She has a white coat and pink hair that has a light blue strip going through it. She has a band aid on her left cheek just under her eye... I hope I didn't do that. I look around to check that there isn't anypony else she could be talking to before looking back into her light yellow eyes. "Um.... hey?" I offer with a small wave as I sit up, feeling my head spin for a second. She slowly lowers herself out of view, giving me the stink eye the entire time. "O... kay-" "So!" She practically yells as she pops back up, this time right next to me. I let out a small yell from the sudden appearance. "You're the colt that tried to beat me." "Oh... uh-" "Well... try isn't quite the right word. Cause, you practically did. I mean, you even broke through my shield. That's impressive!" she says while looking a bit nostalgic. "... it is?" I ask, trying to follow her logic... I'm not. "The names Princess Gleaming Joy, but you can call me Joy!" she says loudly as she sticks her hoof out towards me. I stare at her for a moment, unsure as to why she just called herself a princess. Maybe it's a self appointed title? "Tempestive Mortem-" "Oooh! Tempestive Mortem! That sounds ominous! I like that! Tempestive Mortem! It's all mysterious, cause nopony knows what it means-" "It means Timely Death-" "-and it gives that little edgy tough guy sound! Like, don't mess with me, kind of vibe, ya know!?" she asks me with a large smile. I look around, trying to find somepony else to try and help me with this filly. For somepony that was nearly beaten, she seems pretty upbeat about the whole thing. Speaking of which. "Hey, I'm sorry about... the whole... beating you up thing-" "Aw, that's sweet of you to own up to!" She says, making me blush from embarrassment. "Don't worry about it. I get into fights all of the time-" "All the time!?" "All the time!" she confirms with another large smile. "See this bandage? Got it fighting a griffin fledgling! I have a few bruises from the colts in the barracks too! And don't give me that look, their bruises are much bigger." "... barracks?" I ask, lost again. "Yeah... oh, right! I'm not from here, I'm from the Crystal Empire. My dad is in charge of the guard and my mom is in charge of the... well... everything! Isn't that cool!?" "... you mom is... is-" "Well, here she's Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, but back home she's Queen Mi Amore Cadenza. I usually just call her Mom though." Oh... oh no. I... I beat up royalty. I'm going to jail. They're going to drag my sorry flank down to the dungeons and toss away the key. Why did she have to be royalty!? She sure doesn't act like it, that's for sure. "You okay over there? You're going a little pale." "I'm going to jail." I state before I fall back onto the pillow. I'm going to jail, it's official. There's no way around it. I'm going to jail, goodbye life in Ponyville. Hello dark, dank dungeon with a bucket. "You're not going to jail," she says with a wave of a hoof. "I'm not?" I ask, looking back to her with surprise. "Nah, trust me. Softy and I weren't even suppose to be in there! But we heard Celestia freaking about somepony disappearing so we decided to try and find... you! And we did! Mission accomplished! Waffles all around!" She cheers triumphantly, pumping a hoof in the air. "So... how does that-" "Well, Celestia is really the one to say whether or not you're in trouble. Well, her and your parents. Who are your parents by the way?" "Oh, my mom is Luna and my Dad is Miles Eremita." I tell her, getting her to look surprised. "... well that explains how you bested me in a fight so easily! And to think, the son of-" Before she could finish the doors to the medical ward open loudly. Mom is walking down towards us, and she does not look one bit happy. Celestia is behind her, looking a bit down. Last in line is an all white stallion with blue hair that has a lighter strip of blue in it. He looks as equally mad as Mom, but that drops when he sees Joy standing beside me. "Joy, what are you doing in here?" he asks when they all take their place around my bed. I glance over to Mom and shrink a little when we make eye contact. If emotions had literal feeling, I'd be burning from her anger right now. I can see it all in her eyes. "I came to talk with Tempestive daddy," she says innocently, looking up to him. "We had a little talk and now we're friends! So if you're going to throw him in jail then you have to throw me in too!" Aw... hey! You said I wasn't going to jail! "Sweetie, nopony is going to jail," he says softy to her, dropping his previous anger as he looks down at her. "Why don't we head back to our room so Tempestive here can have a talk with his mother?" "Hmm... okay! See ya Timely!" THUD "AH!" I yelp when she punches my foreleg. Why did she have to do that!? Well... I guess I deserve that much. The two of them trot out of the room, leaving us in a awkward silence as Mom stare down at me. I rub my foreleg a bit while I wait for her to begin. I try to get Celestia to look at me, but she's avoiding eye contact with me for some reason. "Um... so... am I grounded?" "*sigh* no honey. You're not in trouble." Oh... cool! "Celestia is." "Wait, what?" I ask, looking between the two of them. "Celestia is grounded for the time being. You, though I am a little... put off, by what happened, I'm not mad-" "How do you ground Celestia?" We all perk up when we hear Dad enter the room. He has a slight trot to his step with his signature grin. That one grin he gets when it's going to be a good day, well, for him at least. There's only been a few times when it's been bad for others, but usually when he's grinning getting out of trouble is tremendously easier. He trots up to Mom and wraps a wing around her, pulling her in quickly making her yelp slightly. "You're in a good mood." Mom notes, eyeing him curiously. "What gives?" "What? Are good moods bad?" He asks, making Mom roll her eyes. "So how can you ground Celestia?" "My home, my rules," she states simply, closing her eyes with confidence. "Ha, you're grounded... grounded from what?" Dad asks, tilting his head slightly. "Tempestive." "WHAT!?" Dad and I yell at the same time. "It's not her fault I read that spell! I won't do it again, promise!" I yell, looking back to Auntie Celly. I don't want to be grounded from my favorite aunt because of something that wasn't in her control. If they knew Tempus put that spell there then... then... "Hold on, can we have a Mom Dad meeting real quick?" He asks, pulling Mom towards the back of the medical ward. I look over to Celestia and motion for her to come closer, which she does. "It's not your fault that that happened." I whisper to her. "Sweetie, I shouldn't have brought you in there to begin with. I don't want to lose out seeing you, but what I did put you and others in danger. I love seeing you, but that doesn't excuse my carelessness. And it also doesn't mean you get to disobey your parents." I frown at that. I know I should listen to them, that they only want what's best for me, but it's different this time. Tempus planted the book there, he knew I was going to be there. If I hadn't been in there, I would have probably found it somewhere else. I wish I could just tell them that. "But... I never get to see you as it is." She frowns at that and leans in to nuzzle my cheek. "I know sweetie. I'll make it up to you next chance we get. But for now, we have to learn from our mistakes and grow past them, okay?" "But it wasn't your fault." I mutter as I let out a sigh and look down. Before I could say anything else Mom and dad return, Mom looking much more at ease than before. "Well, given what your father has told me, and given what's to come, I've decided not to ground Celestia-" "Really!?" I ask, sitting back up. "Yes, your father made several good points and has agreed to... assist me with some matters tomorrow. Because of this, I'm asking that she watches over you tomorrow." "Of course sister! I'd love to!" Celestia exclaims, bringing her smile back. "But... I'm curious, what exactly did Miles agree to?" Mom just smirks. I know that smirk, it's something Dad really doesn't want to do, but sadly is going to do it. Usually Mom gets that smirk when she gets him to do the dishes. But this time... there seems to be a bit more to it. "He's agreed to join me at the coronation tomorrow." Mom states happily, making Dad groan and deflates slightly. "Really?" Celestia asks, eyeing Dad. "I didn't think you'd ever agree to go to a par-" "It's not a party!" Mom cuts off, stopping Celly from saying the 'P' word. Dad's already sweating. "It's a coronation! The christening of that new air ship for the Royal Air Force." "Oh cool! Can I come!? Please?" I ask, sitting up excitedly. "Sorry kiddo, they aren't allowing foals in." Dad lets me know, getting me to groan and fall back against the pillow. Darn, and that sounded really cool too! "We'll have to do something equally as cool then, won't we?" Celestia asks, making me grin. "So... am I off the hook then?" WHY? WHY DID I ASK THAT? ALL I HAD TO DO WAS SHUT UP AND ENJOY THE MOMENT? WHERE DID THAT EVEN COME FROM!? "Tempestive-" "We can't blame you for what your soul did." Dad cuts Mom off. The statement catches me off guard. My... soul? What does that even mean? I sit back up and look up to him curiously, waiting for him to explain. "My magic and your mothers magic are inherently different. I've always thought they would act different within you, and today it did." "Oh... so you use your soul for magic?" I ask for clarification. "Yes, well... sometimes. Originally we were going to explain this to you when you were eight. We didn't want you to worry about... learning something that drastically different yet. What do you think? Think you can learn two forms of magic at once?" They all lean in and look down at me, waiting silently for me to answer. Do I want to learn a new form of magic? I'm barely grasping magic as it is! Plus, if Dads power is anything to go by, this magic seems much more difficult. "I... I think I want to continue my magic the way it is, for now at least." I tell them, getting them all to sigh in relief. "That's very mature of you Tempestive." Celestia comments as Mom leans in to kiss the side of my head. "Who said you could grow up?" Mom teases, nuzzling my side. I giggle a bit from the contact, smiling up to Mom. "Well then, think you're up for some food?" Dad asks, to which I nod. "Alright, lets see how much of the staff we can freak out on the way." I laugh at that, but Mom doesn't seem to think it's that funny. "Miles-" FLASH I suddenly appear on Dads back. I grab onto his neck and hold on as he steps toward Mom. "Pout with me," he says with a quick glance to me. I chuckle before pouting to Mom. I have to fight to not burst into laughter as Dad joins me in pouting. Mom rolls her eyes, looking at the two of us unfazed by our antics. "Hm... Celestia joins us." Without even a moments argument Celestia quickly runs over to my side and lifts me up. I'm squeezed between both of their faces as the three of us pout to Mom. Mom stares back at the three of us, blinking slowly as we plead back her. What feels like minutes on the hour start to pass by as she silently returns our gaze, unmoved by our apparently feeble attempts to win her over. "Why am I the one to say yes or no to this?" She asks. "Because you are Mom." Dad replies quickly, making me chuckle. "Realistically, you're the only one who could put all three of us in trouble. So, are you in for the debauchery, moon butt?" I giggle at the name. Dad only uses it, and even then it's only when he's being really playful. It takes a few moments, I almost thought she was going to be mad about it, but eventually she started to smirk back to Dad. "Oh... fine. But nothing too drastic, oka-eep!" Before she could finish Dad pulled her over to his side with his magic and started to trot out. The four of us made our way out of the infirmary and down the main corridor of the castle, Dad leading the way. "Alright team, operation 'scare the nobles' is a go!" he says before running down the corridor. I rear up and let out a battle cry as we race towards the group of older ponies from before. "DEBAUCHERY!" Perspective: Applebloom And with the ring of the bell another day of summer school ends. Good too, becuase I was getting tired of listening to lecture. After quickly tossing all of my things into my bag, I trot outside and wait for the others in our usual spot. It doesn't take long for most of them to show up. Scootaloo and Pip, Sweetie and Button; they show up relatively quickly. Shadow, on the other hoof, seems to take her sweet time joining up with us. And when she does, she keeps quiet... well... quieter then usual. "So, what are we going to do today?" Scootaloo asks as we start to walk to town. "We could hang out at the park." Pip suggests, getting some head shakes. "Nah, we've done that too much recently." Sweetie points out. "We could get a table over at Emerald Diner. Grab a few shakes and stuff." "Mmm... I'm not really hungry." I point out, looking back to Shadow. "What about you? What do you want to do?" She pauses when I call on her, looking away slightly. "I... I don't really care," she mumbles quietly, getting a huff from Scootaloo. "Okay, no friend of mine is going emo. What'll it be? Beat up Rumble? Hang out in Mooseden with gallons of ice cream? Sky diving? Beat up Rumble?" "You already said that." Pip points out. "I know. I really want that one," she retorts, making Pip roll his eyes. "I'm sorry, I just... I just to be alone for a bit to think some things over. Sorry. " She turns and starts to head home. I look back to the others before rushing in front of her to stop her. "Ya aint getting away that easy Shadow. C'mon, lets just go somewhere private and talk this out, kay?" She looks down, but shrugs along. "Okay... where can we go that's private?" "Why not the farm?" Button asks. "Because Hammer has his lackeys are working the entire thing, so it's over run with ponies... among others." I really need to pin Applejack down one day and let her know she's driving me crazy with all those workers. I'll need Big Macs help as well. "Alright... what about..." We all wait for Scootaloo to come up with an answer, but eventually she lets out a long breath. "I've got nothing." Is there really nowhere for us to be private? Where could we go that would give us a moment to ourselves. Somewhere nopony goes. Somewhere most ponies would only be caught dead near. Somewhere we're allowed that is guaranteed empty. Somewhere... "The library." I say, getting everypony to look at me. "Spikes library? Won't he be-" "He's out with Rarity." Sweetie cuts Pip off. "Whenever she goes out shopping she drags him along. Plus, I know she's out looking for additional fabric suppliers, so they're going to be out for awhile." "Then won't it be closed?" Button asks. "Only one way to find out, lets go!" I say before I start to walk towards the library. It doesn't take us long to get there. The library looks the same as it's always has. Empty. I'm sure it has it's visitors, but I doubt there will be many ponies inside. Plus, we know our way around the building, so finding a secluded area won't be that hard. We look to each other before I take the initiative to knock on the door. After a few moments of silence I give it another, louder knock. When nothing happens I look back to the others for ideas, but only get shrugs. I mull it over for a moment before trying the door knob. Luckily for us, it wasn't locked, so we all enter the library. "Hello? Spike? Are ya home?" I call out as we all fill the main room. Everything seems to be in order here. Clean shelves, neatly placed books, giant pony head figure piece. We all start to look around, trying to see if there's a note or something here. I doubt he would just leave the door open for no reason. "Hey, I found a note!" Sweetie calls out from the podium. We all walk over to her as she starts to read it over. "To anypony who's here for a book: I'm not going to be here for a few hours. I have to run a few errands with... a friend of mine-" "Why did you pause?" Scootaloo asks. "He wrote the ellipses!" "Whatever, what's the rest say?" Pip asks, getting Sweetie to continue. "In the mean time, feel free to look through out the library and read any of the books. Don't think about stealing anything either! I had a friend enchant the door so if anything that belongs to this library leaves, I'll know. Also, don't eat any of the food either... it's enchanted as well!" "Did he seriously use ellipses again?" Button asks, getting a nod from Sweetie. "... just keep going." "And lastly, if this happens to be Miles reading this, I've completed the task you've asked of me and am ready when you are. I look forward to our trip, even if it'll most likely end poorly. I doubt the Hierarchy will side with anypony completely, but it can't hurt to try, right? Spike the Dragon. P.S. Seriously, don't touch my food." "We should eat his food-" "Pip, not now." I snap at him, making him shrug and chuckle. "Lets head upstairs, ah think we can find somewhere comfortable to talk things out there." I glance over to Shadow and see her frown a bit. I know she doesn't want to talk abut this, she never wants to talk about her personal problems. But if we didn't force her to spill her guts, she'd still be holding a grudge against Scootaloo for taking her juice box in grade school. We go upstairs and find some cushions to relax onto. It's a little odd to be sitting in Spikes room, that used to be Twilights room, but it is private. Plus, if we do get caught in here, I have a feeling that we'll be able to explain ourselves pretty well. Nopony says anything for a bit, as expected. We all just sit there as Shadow tries to hide behind her mane. i swear, one day I'm going to get some shears and shave her head so she has to look at us. "Well?" I ask, getting her to lower her head. "Where do ya want ta start?" "..." "Was it when Rumble boinked D.T.?" Scootaloo asks, promptly getting smacked upside the head by Sweetie bell. "Ow! What!? That's probably it!" "Actually... it's not." We all look back to her and stare. "How... how could that not be it!? You trusted him and he went behind your back!" Sweetie practically yells in astonishment, making her flinch. "Well... it's uh... we..." "It's alright Shadow." I reassure her, rubbing her back. "We're yer friends. We only want what's best fer ya. No judging, promise." The others nod and agree with me, making her loosen up a bit. "Well... things between Rumble and I may have gotten heated... but... we were never actually together. I mean... we wanted to be, but I never really confirmed with him." "That doesn't excuse him being a whore." Scootaloo says quickly, flaring her wings in anger. "Scoots," Pip says, getting her to calm down slightly. "He's a slut. Whores get paid." "Whatever," Scootaloo rolls her eyes at that. "He had a weak moment, and I've already forgiven him for that. Not to his face, but... I've found peace with that," she says slowly. "So, what's got ya all moody then?" I ask as we all lean in. "... it's ... it's ...*sigh* so, when I was with him, I felt different. Like... I wasn't as nervous, I became more bold about things that I thought would terrify me, I was even willing to do those things that I thought I would never be able to do. With him gone now, I don't think I can do those things. What has me down is that I'm afraid that I'll be dependent on others for my own emotional fortitude. That I'll never truly be able to choose my own path without having somepony guide me. Even now I can't come out of my own shell without you guys forcing me to! I'm afraid that I'll never be myself without somepony else." "... I'll be honest, I thought we were going to smack talk Rumble. That's a lot deeper than I expected." Button says, making me shake my head. "Shadow, there's nothing wrong with taking help from others-" "But there is something wrong with not being able to help yourself," she retorts. "Even now, if I get an answer from you guys, I'm doomed! I don't want to be dependent on others, and I know you guys want to help, but that's exactly the problem! I need to become self reliant! If I don't, I'll be stuck with depending on others for the rest of my life!" She stops to fight back some tears. We all look to one another and silently agree on this one. "Alright then." I say while the rest of us stand up, getting her attention. "We understand." "You... you do?" she asks hesitantly. "Ya darn right we do! Ya'll need ta figure this one on yer own, so we're not gonna help one bit!" I tell her proudly. "But if you ever do need help, you come straight to any one of us, okay?" Sweetie Bell adds reassuringly. "Yeah! We've got your back!" Scootaloo announces cheerfully. "Just... not this time. Well, we do! We just don't... we uh... help?" "We'll be here when you need us." Pip says, wrapping a hoof around Scootaloos back. Shadow looks between us before wiping her eyes clear and stands, smiling to each of us. "Thanks, you guys are-" BANG We all drop down when a loud explosion sounds off near one of the windows. Once we're all sure there isn't going to be any further explosions we all rush downstairs to see what happened. Before we make it out of the main room though, somepony kicks the door open. Spike walks in and stares at all of us. He's in his usually get up. White jacket, red scarf, black pants, and a black shirt with red designs on it. Ever since he's grown, Miles has made it mandatory for him to wear clothing all of the time. Something about him walking around on two legs making him uncomfortable. After a moment of silence, he sighs and continues in, dragging an unconscious Rumble in behind him. "Rumble!" Shadow exclaims, moving to his side. "What happened!? What did you do?" "Easy there Shadow, I just knocked him out with a flash bang spell. He'll come around in a moment or two. Why are you all in my house?" He asks when he tosses Rumble on the couch. "This is public property, we're allowed in here." Pip answers quickly. "Yeah, plus the door was open." Button adds. Spike looks between us all before shrugging it off. "As long as you didn't touch my food, it's cool." Spike says as he checks on Rumble. I glance to the others and motion for them to leave, getting nods from all of them. I wait till they're all out before moving to Shadows side, nudging her to gain her attention. "Do ya need anything?" I ask her quietly, trying not to get Spikes attention. "No. No I-I'd just like to be here when he wakes up." I nod to her and give her a quick hug, one that she returns. I quietly leave the building and join the others, who waited for me just out of earshot. "So... does anypony else think it was a bad idea to get Shadow dating?" Scootaloo asks, getting glares from the rest of us. "What? It's started a ton of drama, and the school year hasn't even started!" I ignore the feather head and start to walk away from the library. Yeah, pushing Shadow into this has started a lot of drama, but better now then later. I just hope she doesn't do anything stupid while we're not there. She's a smart girl, so I shouldn't have anything to fear... right? Perspective: Rumble After a long, and rather uncomfortable, period of being incapacitated, yet being somewhat conscious, I finally begin to regain my senses. My head is spinning, there's a ringing in my ears, and my whole body feels as if I've crashed through a thunder cloud at full speed. Why couldn't I just have been knocked out? Just save me the trouble of feeling shitty. After accepting my fate, I calm myself and focus and trying to open my eyes. It takes a bit of effort, but eventually I pry them open. Everything starts out fuzzy and somewhat bright, burning my eyes to the point where I have to shut them again. After a few moments to recover, I open them again. Once everything dulls back to normality I find myself in the library. I'm alone in some cot in what seems to be the down stairs room. I groan as I try to push myself up, but stop when something grabs my shoulder and forces me down. "Take it easy Rumble." A masculine voice tells me. I look up to see Spike sitting by my side. I nod to him and collapse back onto the couch, letting out a long breath. "Sorry about this... well, mostly. I didn't mean to hit you that hard with that spell. How're you feeling?" "Shitty." I grumble. "Why did you attack me to begin with?" "Well... funny thing is, I thought you were a burglar. So... I went and... yeah, my bad." I shake my head at his somewhat irrational fear. Given, I was snooping around his bedroom window. But, come on! This is Ponyville for Celestia sake! We don't get petty crimes, just world ending phenomenon and mythical legends coming to take over Equestria! Actually... "There's a bathroom over there if you want to wash up. And... you have a visitor upstairs. I suggest not keeping her waiting." Spike tells me, patting my back roughly a couple times. I groan from the rough treatment, getting Spike to chuckle at my pain. Who the heck would be waiting for me here? Unless... unless Shadow actually was willing to wait. With that in mind, I force myself up and rush to the nearby bathroom. I splash some cold water on my face to help wake me up quicker. I also gargle some water as well, trying to get the nauseous taste from my mouth. Satisfied, I rush back out of the room and find my way to the font room where I see Shadow waiting patiently. I go to rush to her, but stop when she holds up a hoof to me. She has her eyes held shut and seems to be trying to hold an authoritative stance. "I-I have some things to say and y-you're going to listen to them!" she says in a shaky voice. She's obviously trying to be assertive, so I stand there and wait for her to continue. It takes a bit for her to peek out at me, closing her eyes quickly when we make eye contact. "Ahem." Spike coughs from the side kitchen, getting Shadow to jolt. "I-I don't blame you for what you did with Diamond Tiara!" she practically yells at the top of her lungs. "SHH!" Spike shushes, rubbing his ear slightly. "Sorry," she mutters, returning to her normal voice. "We weren't technically together, so I feel as if I shouldn't put that much blame on you for it. It still hurt, but I can look past it." "... okay." She can't be serious. She can't be. She should be yelling at me, strangling my neck while stomping my bits to Tartarus! And, just like that, she puts it behind her... why!? "I... I uh... Spike, do you have to be here?" she asks, opening her eyes for the first time to look at him. "This is a public area, right?" He retorts with a smug smile. Shadow lets out a sigh before forcing her eyes shut to look back to me. "Even though I am looking past... that incident, I'm not taking you back. Not right away at least." At the same time I feel crushed and hopeful. I knew she might not take me back. That was a long shot on top of a long shot. But, apparently there's a chance for us to be together again. "I understand." I try to make my answers short and to the point. She's obviously having trouble just standing there talking to me. I don't want to add to that by complicating my answers. "R-right. Um..." "Conditions!" Spike yells, making Shadow falter for a second. "I-I have conditions! That is... uh, if you want to... to be together, I want you to fulfill these... things." She gulps nervously, her breath quickening. "Anything." "First! I mean, first; I want you to earn my trust back. Secondly, no more secrets. Ever. And lastly, if you want to be with me... so... ahem, you need to ask my fathers permission." "Wait, what?" Spike asks from the side. "Isn't that kind of against what you were talking about earlier?" "He doesn't need to say yes. But I want to see Rumble face an authoritative pony for me. Not many ponies are more authoritative than Dad." She reasons. "That's true." Spike grumbles. "I know you already faced my Mothers and most of Terradisia, but... just know my Dad can be much worse than all of them combined. He's the one who brought all of them together, forced all of their differences aside and... well..." "That's Miles's little Princess." Spike finishes, getting my attention as he stands and takes Shadows side. "I've personally seen him start fights because ponies talked about doing things with her. He's extremely protective of her. You might not walk away from that conversation a stallion." "I'm sure-" "I've seen it happen." Spike cuts me off. "Wait, what?" Shadow asks, equally surprised. "Yeah. Remember when I was... gone, for a period of time?" He asks, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "Yeah, it was after the whole Discord thing, why?" "Well, when we were coming back from the Southern Badlands, a pony tried to barter for... things. He... well... Miles didn't like that. So, watch yourself." Shadow and I stare at him in silence, trying to gauge if he's serious or not. Judging by the looks on his face, I'd say he's completely serious. This Miles guy sounds like a sociopath. "Those are my terms." Shadow concludes, stomping her hoof down. "What... what do you have to say?" I take a deep breath and try to ready myself for this. I have to earn her trust, that mainly sounds like it's going to take time. I also have to stay completely honest with her. That one sounds the easiest. Lastly, I have to confront her father, the sociopath. One one hoof, I get gelded. One the other hoof, I earn back Shadows trust and possibly more. Gelding, possible love. No balls, or no love... balls, love. "Shadow." I say, pausing when I hear my own voice falter. I cough and try to gain my confidence back. "What you're asking for... it's going to take a long time to get-" "I-I know. But-" "It could never happen. There's even a chance that it'll happen, but I become... er, less of a stallion. That's a lot to put on the line." She lowers her head slightly, hiding her eyes behind her mane. I reach forward and lift her chin to look at me. "So do me a favor, and be there when I make it, okay." "R-rumble?" "Get ready Shadow Knight, cause I intend to do all of those things and then some. I bucked up once, and now that I have a second chance, I will be the stallion you want me to be. I promise." I lean forward and give her a quick peck on the cheek, making her face flush. Spike coughs, signaling his discomfort. We wordlessly leave the library and pause a few steps away from the front door. "S-so... um..." "Too soon for that kind of stuff?" I ask, getting her to nod. "Sorry... uh... hug?" "Uh... I don't..." "Hoof shake?" She bobbles her head while thing about it before slowly holding her hoof out. I smile and take it gently, giving it a few shakes before letting go of it. It's going to be a bitch to reprogram some of my quirks around her. I can't help it if I've somehow become a huger. "So... can I walk you home?" "I-I don't know-" "I'll keep a safe distance between the two of us. I'll keep whatever pace you want, crack your whip and I'll oblige." I tell while straightening out my poster. She smiles at that but shakes her head. "Thanks, but I think I can manage the walk home... besides, I don't think I'm going home right away." I lean over to see all of her friends peering out from behind a nearby building. I chuckle when they duck behind cover before looking back to her. "So... I'll see you at school?" I ask with a bit of hope. She looks back for a moment before looking back at me with a small smile. "I'd like that." I can't stop myself from widening my smile from that. She turns and walks away, leaving me to stare back to her in some sort of daze. I've got a second chance at this, I can still make things work out between us! It'll be difficult to do, and from the sounds of it, possibly dangerous. But I don't care about that right now! I'm coming for- "You know," I turn around to see Spike leaning in the door frame. arms crossed. "You're the first pony I've ever seen take an interest in Shadow. Romantically at least." "Um... thanks?" I'm not sure how to respond to that. "It wasn't a compliment," he says shortly, unfolding his arms as he approaches me. He stands off in front of me, fist clenched and eyes narrowed as he glares down at me. I stand my ground and stare back at him, unfurling my wings slightly. "I'm only going to ever say this once, so listen closely. I don't care about past incidents. But if you hurt her again, I will return the favor. Miles is my mentor, and as such Shadow is practically a little sister to me. Don't fuck this up." "I don't intend to-" "Don't interrupt me lover boy," he cuts me off. "I would also suggest saving Miles for last. If you go up to him and tell him your intentions while you're friend zoned, as you've appointed yourself... well, let's just say things won't go so smoothly for you-" "I Miles really this big of a prick, or is this just how you paint him?" I cut him off, narrowing my eyes. Spike smirks in response, loosening his stance slightly. "That depends on how things go between the two of you. Now, I have my own matters to attend to." With that he walks past me, bumping into me roughly. I snort in anger as I watch him walk down the road. I don't know Spike that well, but apparently he can be an ass when he wants to be. Part of me knows that it's just him putting up a front for Shadow, but... It's hard to look past that when it's directed at you. Whatever. I have bigger things to deal with at the moment. I have to come up with a way to get Shadow to trust me again. I know it's not going to be easy, but I there has to be a way for me to show her I can be trustworthy. Author's Note Wassup my bronies! Next on my things to bring up, I've been mulling about with several ideas and whatnot for a couple of days now, and I've decided to start taking in OCs again. You can find the blog here at Ponyville OC. Other than that, Brony on!
Chapter 217 Get ReadyChapter 217 Getting Ready Perspective: Spike Once I watch the colt fly out of view, I go through the house to double check everything. Books, in order and neatly put away. Beds, lacking stains and mostly in order. Food, not eat, thank you Celestia for that one! Given, there aren't many ponies around here that can eat gems. Everything checks out for the double checking list. With everything still in order, I grab my keys and head out, locking the door behind me this time. I have one last thing to do before I head over to Miles' place. A lot of ponies give me odd looks for wearing a jacket in the middle of summer. Me, I like the extra warmth. I guess that's why you hardly ever see dragons in frozen areas. Well... other than mountain tops, but that's different. That's mainly when we go to sleep and want to find a place to slumber. Anyway, I make my way through Ponyville and quickly enter my destination, Carousel Boutique. The front rooms seems to be in order, but I can hear Rarity working away in the back. I walk over to the backroom and duck when a large spool of thread nearly hits me on the head. Rarity is hard at work completely whatever order she happens to have this time. With the Grand Galloping Gala coming up soon, it's understandable that she's busy at the moment. It's a good thing she got that new fabric supplier, otherwise she wouldn't be able to get these pieces done on time. I lean back and simply watch her work for awhile. She's 'in the zone', as she likes to quote. There isn't a single thing I could really do that would break her concentration at the moment, well, nothing short of physically touching her. But, being the good gentledrake I am, I simply wait patiently for her to find a stopping point in her work. I look over the various dresses and suites she's made and start to read the owner tags on them. Some of them are famous celebrities, while others are top tier nobles. Sapphire Shores, Noteworthy, Corporal Hope, Blueblood... "BLUEBLOOD!" I practically yell. Several spools and furniture pieces fall over when Rarity drops everything, letting out a loud yelp in surprise. "Spike! When-" "Why did you make Blueblood a suit!?" I yell as I rush over to the piece and pull the tag out, rereading it. "Will you please use your indoor voice!" she yells back, making me turn to face her. She takes a deep breath and tries to calm herself before continuing. "That's better. Now, yes. I agreed to make a suit for Blueblood. He sent one of his assistants to place the order and paid in advance. I know things in the past were less than desirable-" "You could say that again." I huff as I cross my arms. "But, I do have a business to run. Refusing business with a noble would reflect poorly on me. Though many of my loyal customers have no dealings with him, the ones that pay the most do. To put it simply, if I refuse to fulfill his order, I would lose a lot of business." "And we don't want that." I mumble to myself as I take a seat against the wall. Rarity walks over and takes a seat beside me, nuzzling herself under my arm and against my chest. I pull her in close and lean into her, sighing from the contact. "Sorry I yelled." "That's quite alright. I understand how this situation would make you feel-" "Well, yeah. I don't like the idea of that creep being anywhere near you." I cut her off. "But, you do understand why I have to do this, right?" she asks leaning over to look me in the eyes. I stare back into her sapphire eyes before leaning towards her, only to stop when I feel her hoof on my lips. "I'll take that as a yes," she says in a hushed voice. I smile to her and pull her in for a hug. She used my favorite shampoo again. The one that smells like roses and rain. An odd, and expensive, combination. "He's toast if he tries anything." "But of course. You should have seen the face on his assistant when I made it clear about that." I laugh as I imagine that. Some overly posh kiss ass being told the mare of his masters affection taken by a dragon. I'd give half my gem stash to see that! "Do you have a moment? I could make us some tea." I ask her, pulling back from the hug. "Well... some tea does sound nice. But I have so much to catch up on," she says, casting a worried glance to the messy room behind her. I mull it over for a second before lifting her up and give a few flaps of my wings to stand back up. She yelps and clings to me, making me chuckle. I head over to the main room and set her down on her lounge couch before heading to the kitchen. "Rosemary or juniper?" I call back to her as I set up the kettle. "I actually got this new mix that I'd like to try out," she calls back, "it should be in the cupboard in the front." I look inside and pull the front most box out. "Green Blossom?" I read aloud. "Perfect! I was in the market earlier when a trader showed me it. He said it's a favorite from the ape lands and I simply had to try it! It's supposed to soothe and-" And at this point I zone her out. I've learned that she tends to give the main info at first, then goes into unnecessary information after that. It's actually a sales tactic of hers. It really drives home whatever bull she's selling. After a few minutes of getting everything set and ready I head back out to the front room. As expected, she's still talking about Ape culture and whatnot. Something about tea ceremonies or something. I plop down next to her and pour us each a cup, offering her it delicately. "Thank you dear. Did you bring any biscuits?" "Oh, sorry." I start to get up but stop when I see her levitate a package out to us. I sigh and sit back, getting her to relax against me as we begin to enjoy our tea. It has a slight tinge to it at first, but melts away to a sweet after taste. It's not half bad actually. I prefer my own tea, malted jade with opals, but it's nice none the less. "So... Grand Galloping Gala-" "Oh! Don't even get me started on that! I've got countless orders to fulfill and I fear I might not be able to attend this year. I'd hate to send you alone but I simply-" "I'm not going." I cut her off, getting a quizzical look from her. I let out a sad sigh as I set my cup down. This isn't going to be easy, not by a long shot. "I'm... going back to the Southern Badlands-" "Spike!" she almost tosses her cup down when I say this. I nod, knowing the gravity of this full well. "Why? What's down there that's so important for you to go so suddenly?" "Every elder dragon holds a moot. A time when like minded dragons meet and discuss... well, I'm not sure what they discuss. Bolas is holding his soon, so I'm going... at Miles' request-" "Miles! Why would he ask such a thing of you!? And Bolas!? What's so important about him?" She starts getting a little hysterical, so I pull her into my lap to silence her. She blushes deeply as she straddles my hip, resting her hooves on my shoulders. I chuckle at her impishness and rest my claws on her slender hips, enjoying the feeling of her smooth fur underneath. "S-Spike-" "I love how I can still make you blush." I tell her, making her blush even more. "You know how important you are to me, right?" "O-of course I do, but-" "And you know I wouldn't trade anything in the world for you, right?" I ask, resting my forehead against hers. She nods and leans against me, holding me tighter. "You're the only reason I'm going. Miles fears the dragons will choose a side for the upcoming war. And he doubts it will be with Celestia. Bolas is the Elder of Power, and holds the most sway with all dragons. I have to go to this moot to get a better understanding of their hierarchy. If they decide to fight Equestria... I don't want you getting in the cross hairs." "Spike, I know Miles is smart about these things, but don't lose faith in Celestia just yet. I'm sure we'll work something out in the end. A... war? Times are hard, but I don't think it'll come to that." she tells me, running a hoof over my cheek. I take her hoof in my claw and hold it there, enjoying the soft contact for a brief moment. "I hope it doesn't. But I want to be ready in case it does. This is why I accepted to go. It won't be easy, but I have to try." "You'll be safe, won't you?" she asks tenderly. "I may not be a Spartan, but I have my own cause to fight for." I tell her, looking into her sapphire eyes with as much conviction as possible. We start to gravitate closer to closer to one another, our mouths just barely touching each others. Our eyes slowly beginning to close as we began to close the distance between us- "RARITY!" Sweetie sings as she enter the building. I jump to my feet, dropping Rarity to the ground with a hard thud. Before I could apologize and help her up, Sweetie enters the room and looks at us in a disappointing manner. "Spike." "Uh... hey Sweetie-" "Stop sweating about getting caught. There is nothing worse you two could do after that night." I try to stammer out a response, but nothing comes out. She shakes her head and heads over to the kitchen, leaving us to collect ourselves. "Sorry about that." I tell Rarity as I help her up. She takes a moment to fix her mane before addressing me. "I-It's fine darling. Why don't you clean up the tea while I finish up on this piece." I nod to her and gather the kettle and cups onto the tray I brought. I pause at the doorway to the kitchen when I see Sweetie sitting at the table, eating an apple. "So, what brings you by this time Spike? Hopefully it wasn't for... that." I shake my head and head over to the sink, where I start to clean the dishes. I take a moment to think about how to answer that, before I think back to Miles. No secrets. Just plain, honest truth. "I'm going to be leaving soon to attend a dragon moot in the Southern Badlands. I don't know exactly when I'm leaving and I have no clue when I'm coming back." She stays quiet for a bit, processing what I just told her. I just continue cleaning the dishes in the sink, even though finished the ones I used already. Hopefully she won't freak out too much, I can't calm her down 0as easily as I can with Rarity. "What's a dragon moot?" she asks quietly. "It's... like a club meeting, sort of. Like minded dragons meet with the Elders to... I don't know. Discuss world matters, vie for power... meet other dragons..." "Oh..." Even though I'm not looking at her, I can tell she's blushing. Heck, I'm blushing! "I don't intend to find a dragon... mate. Miles is asking me to go to hear what the dragons think, and possibly win some favor with them. The moot I'm going to is for a dragon named Bolas, the Elder of Power." "Why is he called that?" "I'm not sure. When a dragon is an adult and completely gives themselves to an aspect of their life, they ascend into and Elder stage. Bolas is Power, Frost is Ice, Urza is fire, and I intend to find all of the others and speak with them as well." It goes quiet again, and I'm running out of dishes to clean. I hear another set of hooves enter the room and glance back to see Rarity joining Sweetie at the table. She's still working on one of her pieces, but I can tell she really wants to be a part of the conversation. "Will it be dangerous?" Sweetie asks, getting Rarity to pause and look up to me. I look back to the now empty faucet and shut the water off. I knew this question was coming up, and I was kind of dreading it. "Yeah, I imagine it will be." I tell them as I turn to face them. "I'm not well known by many dragons, and my size is a bit... unimpressive." "According to Raritys diary, that's not entirely-" "SWEETIE BELL!" Rarity yells, dropping the dress. "What did I tell you about invading the privacy of others!?" "You mean like how you were watching me and Button last time?" Sweetie asks innocently, making Rarity turn red. I turn a bit red as well, never getting accustomed to how open these two are -and aren't- with one another. I quickly come to the decision to sit this one out, knowing how awkward it's going to get. "I-I was not watching!" "Were too! By the way, clean up after yourself next time! Button nearly broke his neck on the way out that night!" "He obviously have some coordination issues if he's slipping on nothing! I swear! Can't you teach that stallion how to use his hooves more effectively!" "AHA! I knew it! Button has no clue what to do with his hooves during sex! You were watching us!" "Why are you even having sex in the first place!? In my home no less! That is no way a lady your age should be acting!" "HA! A 'lady* also shouldn't be sneaking off to their coltfriends house for quickies every Friday night!" "H-how-" "I read your diary! Remember!? That's the only reason we're talking about this right now!" "Sweetie Bell! Watch your tone!" "Right after you admit you were watching us!" "Oh.... fine! I was watching you two! I was in heat and I could smell the two of you a mile away! There! Are you happy now!?" "No! My coltfriend doesn't know what to do with his hooves during sex! It's been driving me crazy forever! It keeps killing the mood for me! I nearly yelled out for you to come lecture him on what to do the past four times for Celestia sake!" Rarity lets out a small whimper before she pulls Sweetie in for a tight hug. I don't get it. It's not even just these two, their mother acts like this as well. I tried asking their father about it, but he simply told me to sit back and wait for them to hug it out. Hasn't failed since. I don't know how the three of them can talk to one another like this, but it works somehow. Also, never make a sound during these heated exchanges.The littlest noise will turn them on you like a manitcore to a sick, abandoned puppy. "I'm sorry I... sneaked a peek at your moment of passion." Rarity tells Sweetie as they pull away from one another. "It's alright. I can't blame you for being in heat. I'm sorry I read your diary again... and broke the lock on it... again." "That's fine dear, I'm sure Spike won't mind fixing it again-" "Says who?" I ask, feeling like it's a good point to come back into the conversation. "Spike, how will I ever put all my thoughts and inner secrets down without the judgement of others?" Rarity asks in her puppy dog voice. She puts the extra effort to bat her eyes an pucker her lips, making me chuckle. "I'm sure we can work out some sort of arrangement." I tell her with a confident smile. She blushes a bit and smirks back to me, making Sweetie gag. "Anyway! How soon until you leave for the Southern Badlands?" Sweetie asks, immediately changing the mood. "As soon as I can. The moot is in a few days, and I have to get there early if I'm going to meet my contact." They both perk up when I say this, leaning in closer to me. "You don't mean..." Rarity leads with, gesturing with a hoof. "Eeyup." "You're going to the moot with your mom!?" Sweetie exclaims, making Rarity faint. ....................................................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Miles I don't know how I get into these situations. One minute I'm running down the halls of the castle, having a touching moment with my son. The next I'm getting scolded by Celestia and Luna for scaring a bunch of old farts! Now I have to hold one of Lunas meetings to make it up to her, or she'll be mad at me forever. And I'd rather not go through tomorrows christening with her on my side, so I basically have no choice in the matter. It's only one meeting, so I guess it's not too bad- "Good evening your hi... uh..." Luna, you are pure evil. I will get revenge on you one way or another for this, I swear it! "Prince Blueblood.... I presume." I gruff up my voice a bit to try and hide it, but don't put too much effort into it. I doubt he'll recognize me after so much time, and if he does, so what? What's he going to do, bitch at the mother fucking king? ... hm. Mother fucking king, true on all levels. "M-my liege! It's an honor, an honor, to finally have the privileged to meet you!" He grovels as he bows before me, practically kissing the ground as he sends all of his documents flying from his grasp. I chuckle internally as I watch him lower himself, but quickly become uncomfortable with the gesture. "Um... you can stand up already, no need to be creepy about it." He quickly does as I say, giving me the creepiest smile ever. Mainly because I can tell he's trying to put on the charm... and it's just creepy. "So what did you wish to discuss today?" "My liege! I've been petitioning for my bill to update the Royal Air Force! With the Griffin Colonies buying new, advanced technologies, I feel it's imperative that we have the appropriate counter measures." ... what the fuck Blueblood. When did you become... smart. "Now, I understand that mobilizing may cause some... misunderstandings, but... but..." He stops and thinks about what he's about to say. "Go ahead, speak your mind." I tell him, getting him to let out a sigh. I'm actually interested to see where he goes with this. Maybe he isn't completely stupid after all. "Well, to be blunt your highness, Equestria isn't a land of war. We've been in a golden age of peace for so long... if we were attacked tomorrow, I fear what would come." Interesting that he's come to this conclusion. I wonder if this is common thought throughout Equestria. "So you don't believe we could fend off an assault on our own lands?" He flusters a bit when I say this... I'm kind of enjoying this. Is that weird? It shouldn't be as long as I don't tell anyone. "W-well... uh... after the initial attack...I-I'm sure we'd be able to secure our borders-" "But only after the initial attack, in which we lose land." He backs up a bit and starts to sweat. Oh sweet Barbra, how far can I take this before it becomes too sad? "Of course not! I-I mean-" "So now we have nothing to fear? Which is it? Should we prepare for an invasion or set up a counter offensive since we apparently can't hold our borders?" He keeps quiet as his sweat begins to practically pour out. Before I could say anything further he drops to the ground again in a deep bow and keeps quiet. Dammit, I should have guessed he would have folded too easily. Oh well, I had my fun. "Forgive me my liege! I didn't mean any disrespect! I was merely thinking of Equestrias future!" Aww, the poor foal. Alright,enough is enough. "Enough with the groveling. I told you to speak your mind, not pander to some ideals of nationalism." I tell him with a dismissive wave of my hoof. "Now, I know the threat the griffins posses to us. I know full well what their new tools could bring to our lands. But we cannot begin mass production of any form of military grade hardware." "But they-" "Any form of mobilization we would attempt would only escalate our already rocky relations with the griffins. It's simply too late to do anything without being painted the villains." He stands up to try and say something, but I cut him off before he could. "But I do share your conviction that we must prepare ourselves for whatever may happen, even when we hope that it won't. I have a plan." "Sir?" "Private enterprise will have to save us. What we can't do as a country, private business can. Do you have any designs ready right now?" "I... uh, have a few. But most were locked up-" "Alright, here's the deal then," I say as I take out a quill and paper to start writing. "You are to go down to... wherever these plans are and bring them to me. From there I will go to private companies that have the tools we need to enlist their help, of sorts. Now, and I cannot stress this enough, this is top secret." "Of course sir-" "We never spoke. We've never met.If anypony asks what you were doing at this time, you lie out your ass. When you speak to whoever is in charge of these documents, you tell them that you are under orders from the crown and cannot say anything more. And if they persist, you then warn them that the crown will come after them if they do. We cannot let the populace know we are preparing for war, can I trust you not to speak about this?" "Of course my liege! My loyalty lies with the crown and country! I'll do anything that is required of me!" I feel a ping of worry when he says that. I've seen what happens to people who devote themselves completely to something as dire as this. Since he's a Prince whose completed his military training, that makes him high ranking officer as well. When the shit hits the fan, I'll have to keep an eye on him. "Alright, get this done, I'm counting on you." I never thought I'd see the day when I'd say that, but here we are. Luna owes me big time. "You can trust me my liege! It's been an honor to have worked with you-" "See, you're already failing. We never met. This didn't happen. Now get going already!" He gives a few nods and bows before leaving quickly. I let out a low sigh and rub the bridge of my nose. He better deliver, I'm actually counting on it. All of Equestria is. ........................................................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Ulfric Stormmind I sit back in my throne and look over the others critically. All of my generals and admirals sit to the left of the table before me. Schor Bleak-wind from the Air Guard, Anguin Razor-edge from the Army Regulars, and Frida Highwind from the Navy. There's also Krag Meadow-brook from representing the militia forces. To the right of the table are my three sons, Skald, Dengeir, and Korir. Directly to my right is my assistant Karan and to my left is Regina. Schor is a quick hawk. I think he actually hates being on the ground and tries to avoid it as much as possible. He's a fierce fighter in the air and a quick strategist. What he lacks in strength he makes up for in speed. He's only been the leader of the Air Guard for a few years now, but he's quickly adapted not only the new technology, but the role of a leader as well. Anguin is the epitome of griffin stubbornness. He approaches everything head on, literally at times,and never backs down from a fight. Not to say he's ignorant of circumstances. He's knows when to retreat and when to push on. He's been leading the armed forces for nearly twenty years now, and has earned the respect and admiration of those under him. He's the only griffin here with kids as well. though his thirteen hatchlings more than make up for the others. Frida, the only female in the bunch, may as well be a fish. When she walk down the halls those around her think she's drunk. In reality she's just walking with the waves that aren't there. She's patient and soft spoken, never speaking before thinking. That white owl has only been with the navy for nine years now, but she's been sailing the oceans for her entire life. I remember when I asked her to lead, she merely shrugged and asked if she could use her own crew. I know very little about Krag. He seems like any other griffin out there. I do know we found him at one of the racialist rallies getting griffins to pick up arms against... what was it now? 'The tyrannical dictatorship and false deity of our foreign oppressors.' Despite what little I know of him, I have to admire his ability to rally griffins. If all else fails, he may be a key player in what's to come. The owl to my right has been serving under her entire life, as her father before her, and his father before him. She's quiet at times, keeping to herself mostly. Her critical thinking skills are phenomenal and her claw writing is top notch. There isn't a single thing I could ask that she wouldn't do, and there isn't a single thing she would say that I wouldn't believe. Regina... is an oddity to me. She volunteered early on to be ambassador to the Equestrians and has quickly gained the trust of their leader. There are times I fear she'll hesitate or withhold information that could be vital, but that's to be expected. You can only spend so much time with someone before making attachments. I know this discussion will be a difficult one for her, but she needs to be here for this. I need her here for this. "They sure are taking their sweet time getting here." Anguin grumbles as he shuffles in his seat. "Patience Anguin, there's no need to rush into this." Frida tells him,making him scoff. "The longer we wait, the longer they prepare their defenses. It's already been six years-" "So what's a few minutes then?" Korir asks him. I look to my eldest son and smile internally. I don't play favorites, but he's grown into a great leader and an excellent model of a sphinxes wisdom. "Who are we waiting for?" Krag asks. I lower my head as I think over that. They appeared out of nowhere. Crippled, lost, outcasts from all corners of the world. I offered them sanctuary from damnation, and now we're making war pacts. I can't believe that it's come to this, but the suffering of my people has to come to an end. Before anyone else could continue on, the doors to the throne room open up suddenly. A Kroth man walks in flanked by two of his own guards. Kileh, the leader of the remaining Kroth. His dark beady eyes take in the room quickly as he runs a hand through his short white hair. He gives a nod to his subordinates who take their place at the door. The alien being stops at the end of the table and gives a slight bow before taking his seat. He wears armor similar to that of Miles, but has intricate purple detailing on his. His subordinates have similar markings, but in yellow instead. "Kraeh kul sem, countless apologies. My tardiness was due to... er... idem il whe sho? Deliberations, with my Koreth, my people. Preha, let us begin." He speaks softly, having obviously thought thoroughly on what to say. Common isn't his strong suit, but I can't blame him. None of us have put any effort to learn his language. A few of my generals give me odd looks but don't openly question his being here. "Thank you all for being here today," I say as I stand and begin to walk around the table. "As you all know, we've been preparing for a large scale invasion for the past few months. I've kept the plans a secret between myself, Kileh and my sons. And now we're at a decisive moment in our countries history. Should we succeed, not only will we secure the future of our people, but as the leaders of the new world. Should we fail... the exact opposite. Death to the crown, our homes and way of life will be taken from us. Absolute victory, or total failure, that is what we face starting today. Starting with this question; do we invade Equestria?" The four griffins look to one another as they process what I've said. I'm sure they've known for awhile now that we were gearing for war. The rest of the world knows, why wouldn't my generals? "Equestria sir?" Schor asks. "Why not the soviets? They're a closer target and hold a much less threatening opposition. The Equestrians... they have magic and flight." "Not to mention the logistical nightmare it will be to move troops, gear, and...well, anything really. That's a three month journey." Frida adds after a moments thought. "And what of the Saddle Arabians? If we invade, they'll have the perfect platform to invade as well. Not to mention that invading might invoke an attack from countless others." "And lets not ignore the major problem." Krag chimes in. "How would an invasion stand against Celestia and Luna?" Kileh chuckles at that,getting everyone's attention. "Preha, they will not be a problem. Ulfric, preha, tell them already." I pause to look back at Kileh for a second before continuing. I stop at the head of the table and start to move a map out telepathically. I also move a few figures out to show regiment placement. "With information gained from Regina we've devised a plan of attack on Equestrian soil. A two prong attack would initiate simultaneously. First, naval forces land the first, second and third battalion at the coastal city of Crescent Cove. From there they march to Canterlot and siege it. Meanwhile, the first and second air battalion, along with my personal guard, will assault Moosden to take take control of their teleportation stations. From there, they will sneak into Ponyville and either capture or kill the Bearers of the Elements and take control of the farmlands there. When they complete their objective, they will march to Canterlot to aid in the assault." "There is the problem of the Spartans there though." Skald interrupts. I look to my youngest for a moment before continuing. "Yes, but we hope that a surprise attack with overwhelming numbers will catch them off guard and either push them away long enough to deal with the first objective, or hopefully end the threat." "What of Celestia and Luna?" Anguin asks. "That's where we come in." Kileh says with a toothy grin. "A detachment of Kroth will be aiding each assault force. The group heading to Canterlot will be specifically targeting the Alicorns while the others will be targeting the human. This is our initial plan." "So, what's the worse case scenario?" Krag ask uneasily. "Well...worse case scenario, we lose each fight and they use this as an excuse to make a counter attack. Then... well, then it's an all out war." I say as I take a seat at the base of the throne, thinking over the consequences should we fail. "And that goes double if the bears decide to attack in response to this." Dengeir adds. "If we fail and they decide to attack us, there will be little to stop them. Even if we're successful they might attack. But, with a victory, we may instill enough fear to keep them at bay. At least for the time being." "That is also why we're depending on the militias to be ready in case they do decide to attack." I comment, looking over to Krag for a moment. I stare him down for a moment before looking to the others. "Before any of this though, we will be sending informants to learn of any patterns or secrets. We will not be going in blind. My question to you is, can we do this?" They all look nervous about this, as they should be. This isn't something to be trifled with. This is the future of our country, win or lose. I've pushed this discussion back for months now, and even now I don't feel ready. I doubt I ever will. After such a long time of peace, I don't know if I can make it through the another war. I know full well what will happen should we fail, and I'm ready to face those consequences should they arrive. But until then, I will stand ready to act, even when my actions cause doubt within me. Krag kicks his chair back quickly and gives me a salute suddenly, gaining all of our attention. "From jagged mountain tops to the driest deserts, I stand ready to fight for these great colonies. And from the coldest wastelands to the burning fires of hell, I'll stand at your side. What will you have of me?" I nod to him, glad to have his support. Slowly, the other three stand with him and salute me as well, giving me a sense of peace. A peace I know will not last for long. "Then get ready, we have a war to plan." Author's Note So, if you remember way back when, I said I'd have a story to drop that takes place in the Man of War Universe. Well, here it is! Super Dad As I say in the authors notes it won't be posting as quickly as Man of War, but I will be giving it the love it needs. I hope you enjoy the story and look forward taking you all through it. Also, give Dinorlondi a hand for editing this chapter! I know a couple of you sent links to help, and I apreciate all of the help offered! I intend to speak to some of you for... other projects. Brony on!
Chapter 218 Hidden PlansChapter 218 Hidden Plans Perspective: Luna Night court came and went easily enough. Nothing major came up, though I did have several cases to cover. Again, nothing major. When it came time to raise me the moon I thought it would be nice to have Tempestive’s help. But he was too tuckered out from his exciting day to stay awake. It was nice to have Miles keep me warm at night though. I hope he gets to stay longer this time around. I know everypony would love to have him stay, not just myself. I know it's not likely, but I can be optimistic. I woke well before he did the next day. I can't remember the last time I stayed in bed and simply watched him sleep. He mumbles. A lot. I don't know how I sleep through it all honestly. Maybe it's just a bad dream he's having. I could look into his dream but... I don't know. If something was really bothering him, he'd tell me... right? "Mmm... are you watching me sleep again?" he mumbles, pulling me in closer. "Maybe, you'll have to open your eyes to find out." I tell him quietly, getting a small chuckle from him. We meet in a quick kiss before he finally opens his eyes to look down at me. "Morning." "Mornin' queen bed head." I shake my head at that lean into his embrace, resting my nose in the crook of his neck. "Everything alright?" "What about this makes you think I'm worried about anything?" I ask, holding his hooves with mine. "Because you only get this clingy when something is on your mind. What's up?" I smile at that last part. It's just a small memory of ours, but it makes me smile all the same. "You... were mumbling in your sleep." I say slowly, getting him to sigh. "Is something wrong?" "It's just a dream. I thought it would pass by now, but it hasn't really. It varies in severity, but it usually depicts the same scenario." He rolls onto his back and stares up at the ceiling, thinking deeply on his dreams. I tuck my legs under myself as I lay on my stomach, watching him closely. He's obviously stressed about this, but there seems to be something else on his mind as well. "Am I scary?" "Scary? Miles-" "In my dream, I'm watching myself. There's this fire burning around me and I look... I look like I'm ready to murder someone. You've seen me like that before. What was I like to you?" I bit my lip as I try to think of the best way to answer. When he rescued me from that fort, I wasn't really paying much attention to my surroundings. I was more focused on the shame that was present all over me. The guilt of giving away my greatest secret forced my eyes down as... as... Okay... keep it together. Don't dwell on it, just push it aside. "I can't say really." I tell him, clearing my voice when it falters slightly. "I've only ever seen you kill to protect. I've never seen you kill in aggression. If you want a better answer, I think you should ask somepony who’s seen you kill in aggression for a better answer. Sorry-" "Don't be," he says quickly, turning his gaze to me. "I don't want you to ever see me like that. If my dreams are anything to go by... it would only serve to terrify you." I don't have anything to say to that. Not with this conversation being so sudden. I simply take his hoof in mine and give it a squeeze. One that he returns promptly. "Come. Lets get ready for the day.We can talk more about this later." He nods to me, following me to the bathroom. If there is one thing I miss about my old room here in Canterlot, it has to be the bathroom. The tub is large enough to fit the two of us comfortably and the multiple shower heads make washing a breeze. He hesitates for a second before joining me in the shower, keeping his gaze away from me slightly. "Sorry. I just... don't think I can... you know. I'm not really in the mood-" "Miles Eremita." I cut him off as I start the shower, turning the nobs to my preferred temperature. "Just because I bring you into the shower with me doesn't mean we're going to make love." "If ninety percent of the showers we've taken together are any indicator-" "Sit." I look back to him and give him an even glare. He promptly sits down and resides to his fate. "Now turn around." He does so without any question. I smile at his submissiveness, happy to have him listen so well. I grab one of my bottles of coat wash and pour a large glob onto his back. I let it ooze down his back before I begin to rub it into his skin. I'm glad I payed attention during all of those spa visits Rarity and Regina brought me to. I may not be an expert, but if the way Miles is sighing is any indicator, I'm not half bad. "Is this that fruity stuff you always use for date night?" Miles asks, making me laugh a bit. "Of course. I wouldn't want my big, bad Spartan going to some posh gathering smelling like a stallion, now would I?" I tell him, getting a quizzical look from him. "Eyes forward." "Fine. But for the record, this isn't part of the deal. I fully intend to get you back for this." "Hm, I look forward to it." I say as I levitate one of the nozzles over and rinse off his back. "Now, lay on your stomach." He gives me another look before doing as I say. I may have taken a moment to appreciate his well kept body, but he doesn't say anything about it. I pour another large glob on his chest and trace it up to his stomach. He gives a little twitch when the cold substance hits him, but doesn't say anything. "Is it really ne-" "If it wasn't necessary, I wouldn't have you do it. Now shush up and relax. We have a big day ahead of us, and I want to make sure there's at least one good thing to come of it." I set my hooves on his chest and slowly start rubbing the solution into his fur, enjoying the contact between us. Miles rests his fore hooves on the sides of my stomach as I continue to work his body, feeling the tense muscles loosen beneath my hooves. I lose track of time as I slowly go over his body. I make sure to work out every knot, wash every patch of fur, and run warm water over every inch of his body. Everywhere, except where I wanted to go most of all. My libido is kicking in, yelling at me to go there and get what I want from it. He's having the same battle as his soldier starts to march forth. But, even though I really wanted it, I pushed those urge aside in consideration of his feelings. I've tried to come up with something better to say to him, but I can't find the perfect answer, only a compromise. So, as I finish the bottom of his belly, I step forward and sit on his lap, getting him to look up to me in confusion. "Miles, you probably can be scary at times. You've trained your entire life to fight a terrifying war, and in return became a terrifying warrior. But don't berate yourself over that. You are a good stallion Miles. Your children love you, your friends and family love you, I love you. We all know what you're capable of, and we still love you. You were raised to have bouts of terror, but those that know you know better than to fear you. That dream of yours is exactly that, a dream." "Thank you Luna. That means a lot to me. I love you too." I lay down against him to meet him in a kiss. It was short, but conveyed the message well enough. "Do you want me to return the favor and wash you now?" "As nice as that sounds, I kind of used up the body wash." I tell him with a small blush. We both share a small laugh before getting back to our hooves. "I'll just put on a little extra perfume for today. Besides, with the amount of wash I used on you I probably smell just as nice." "Yea, thanks for that by the way," he says sarcastically as I shut the water off. He starts to leave the shower when I get a wicked idea. Igniting my horn quickly, I grab the base of his tail and give it a quick tug up. He somehow loses his footing and tumbles over himself, landing on his back sprawled completely out. I laugh at the dumbfounded look on his face as I step out over him. I lean down and kiss his cheek before going to whisper in his ear. "I know how much you're going to hate this, so I figured I'd give you a little something to make the day go by. Ponies’ tails are sensitive when lightly tugged. And mine is super sensitive, compared to most ponies." I turn and walk away from him, swaying my hips widely. I love teasing him. It's one of the easiest ways to get his mind off of something. So many little things set him off so easily, he's probably debating how much time we have to spare right now. If it gets his mind off of those depressing thoughts, I don't mind giving him a little something to work with. Given, I think today is going to be interesting. Perspective: Celestia I hum happily as Tempestive and I enjoy breakfast together. He was up fairly early, so I decided to give Luna and Miles a break and let them sleep in. And, if I got to enjoy some more time with my favorite nephew in the whole world, than it's a win-win. I chuckled when he ordered the pancakes with extra syrup and strawberries. It was pleasing to see influences from the two of them. Though I was also happy to hear that we didn't have any strawberries. Knowing his father, that wouldn't have ended well. Now that I think about it, I don't know if he's allergic to strawberries like Miles. They didn't say anything about it, but... he is Miles' son. "Thewse arwe tphe berrrst perncerks-" "Don't speak with your mouth full." I tell him quietly, getting him to force the mouthful of pancakes down in one gulp. "These are the best pancakes I've ever had!" He tells me cheerfully, making me smile. "Well, I'll be sure to let Chef Gourd Ramensy you like his cooking. Now, your mother and father are going to be busy all day with the christening. I was thinking that you and I could send the day together... er... what's the term Twilight used?" "Do you mean ‘hang out’?" he asks curiously. "Well... yes. Sorry, my friend uses a different word for that. We can do just about anything you want to do! Just... you know, no new spells or anything like that. And... we can't leave the castle... or go near the front gate... or into any of the business halls... I can see why Luna wanted to leave Canterlot-" "I think I have an idea of what we can do, but I need you to trust me and follow my lead. Interested?" I was about to question what he wanted to do but the doors opening cut me off. The smiles on their faces warmed my heart and forced a larger smile on myself. I love it when they're in this bubbly, lovey mood. Everything else melts away as they simply enjo- no, love one another. No problems, no worries, just... love. I really need to stop reading those romance novels Twilight keeps giving me. They're starting to get to my head. "Hey! I hope you saved some for your old man!" Miles playfully warns Tempestive, making him begin to wolf down his food. "Good morning sister. I'm glad you were able to keep an eye on Tempestive for us this morning. Without any incidents." I lower my head at the cold statement. I don't blame her for being upset, but I guess I can take her passive aggressive statements if it means I'm not grounded from him... oh mother. Our roles have reversed. "Good morning Luna. I'm glad to see you in an upbeat mood today." She offers me a small smile and nuzzles my cheek before taking her seat beside me. She's cooled off a bit at least. I can handle passive aggressive comments just fine. "So, are you two ready for the... festivities today?" Have to avoid the P word at all cost. "I think we'll make it," she says as she leans over and looks at Miles and Tempestive. They're currently trying to finish the last pancakes at the same time. Syrup flies all around them as their forks fight for supremacy. Truly a noble fight to the last pancake. "Are you looking forward to your day off?" "I'll be honest, if it weren't for Tempestive being here, I don't know what I'd do with myself." I admit with a light blush. "You work yourself too hard sister. You deserve a day off! Just... promise me you won't do anything too... adventurous, please?" "I promise, no adventuring will happen on these grounds." I tell her as I put a hoof to my chest. She smiles to me and leans over, giving a soft cough that ends the pancakes enthused battle. I look over and laugh at the two of them. Miles and Tempestive are each biting the same pancake, even as Miles tries to yank Tempestive off. I don't quite get how the pancake is holding up with the two of them trying to tear it apart, but my laughter is stopping me from asking. "Tempestive, promise me you won't go over board today. I don't want you using too much magic after yesterday." Tempestive looks to his father before dropping the pancake. "Um... if that's the case, can Auntie Celly and I just go home?" We all glance to one another before looking back to him. "Do you not like it here?" Luna asks. "No, I like it here, I really do! It's just...well..." "Are you embarrassed about yesterday?" Miles asks, getting a coy nod from him. "Well... I don't know..." "If you two are okay with it, I don't mind." I say quickly, getting their attention. "I think it'd be nice to get out of the castle for once. And, since it'll be at your home, I doubt anypony will really bother us. What do you think?" They lean over and look to one another, giving me a moment to give Tempestive a wink. "Well... if you really don't mind-" "I don't. I'm sure it'll be nice to get away from Canterlot." I tell them with a smile, getting the two of them to shrug. "Alright then. You can go home then if you'd really like to. We'll be back just before sundown so make sure you either bring money for food or come back here for lunch and dinner. Which reminds me Miles, we need to go grocery shopping again..." I look back to Tempestive and smile as Luna continues to talk. I don't know what he has planned, but I can't wait to see what it is. I can't remember the last time -other than yesterday- we had any quality time together. That being said, I'll have to remember to bring money for food. I'm nowhere near good enough of a cook to make anything, and I don't want to waste our time together traveling back and forth. How much is lunch in Ponyville anyway? I'll just bring a decent amount to make sure we cover everything. "Okay then! If that's everything then we will be off!" Luna announces, snapping me back to the conversation. She stands up and walks over to Tempestive, giving him a quick hug and kiss on the head. He grumbles his discomfort, but doesn't openly fight the affection. According to Luna's letters he's been growing into his more independent stage, where he begins to hate affection from his mother. I guess with less ponies around, he's more willing to accept the affection. After Miles gives him a quick hug the two of them trot their way out of the dinning hall. Once they're out of sight, Tempestive lets out a long sigh and slumps in his seat. Chuckling, I relax as well, if only to mirror Tempestive. He looks up to me and smiles, to which I return. He better watch it. If he gets anymore adorable I'm sure some of the staff will have a field day fawning over him, myself included. "So, what's in your home that has you so eager to return?" I ask slyly as the servants come to take the plates away. "It's a surprise. But you have to promise to keep what I show you between the two of us. Promise?" he asks as he holds his hoof out. I chuckle at his seriousness and shake his hoof. He probably only wants to show me his secret... hangout spot. I'll play along though. I haven't felt this silly in... ages. It's a nice change of pace. "I promise. Now, get washed up and we'll head out." "Right... washed... uh..." "Down the hall on the right-" "THANKS!" he takes off running, scaring one of the maids as he nearly crashes into her. I chuckle at his antics, watching him until he scurries through the doors. "Um... your highness... if I may?" The maid asks, bowing before me. "Shouldn't somepony be with him? The Queen said-" "I don't think I could accompany him to the restroom, nor do I think he would appreciate having somepony he doesn't know attend with him." The maid quickly bows and offers her apology, one that I accept easily. She's just doing her job, something that I appreciate. I take my leave to get ready as well, teleporting to my room and levitating several things into a small bag. After quickly brushing my teeth and giving myself a look over, I teleport down to the hall were the restroom is. After a few minutes of waiting, Tempestive comes walking out... with Blueblood. "Auntie Celly! Look! An actual prince! Isn't that cool!?" Tempestive asks as he comes running up to me, weaving between my hooves. "A prince you say?" I ask, giving Blueblood a questioning look. He merely smirks and steps forward. "Aunt Celestia, it's a pleasure to see you again," he says with a slight bow. "We're related!?" Tempestive almost yells, jumping between the two of us. "Not directly." I say quickly before Blueblood could muddy up the issue any more. "It's more of a... workplace relation." Blueblood adds, continuing his smirk to me. "It's been a pleasure, but I have duties to attend to. Aunt Celestia," he gives a slight bow before turning away from me, insulting me by not waiting for a return bow. "Guard." I call out as I glare back at Blueblood. "Please escort Tempestive to my chambers. I need to have a word with Blueblood." "Is he in trouble?" Tempestive asks innocently. I smile and lean down to be on his level, nuzzling his cheek slightly. "... maybe. I don't know. It depends on what he knows. I'll be up shortly, go along." I nudge him along, getting him to follow the guard down the hall. Once I'm sure he's far enough down I trot after Blueblood, determined to set him straight. It doesn't take me long to find him talking with a group of nobles. "Prince Blueblood, a word please." "Aunt Celestia, to what do I owe the-" "A word, please." I repeat more firmly. He nods and excuses himself from the group, following me down the hall until I turn back to him. "Do you care to explain what that was all about?" "I don't-" "You know what Luna has decreed." I cut him off firmly, stepping towards him. "Tempestive is not to know of his princedom until they determine he is ready! By calling me Aunt he knows of a relation! And telling him you're a Prince only makes matters worse! What, in all of Equestria, were you thinking!?" He smirks again. If it weren't for the thousands of years of training I would have lost myself and smacked that smirk right off his face. "It was never mentioned that I couldn't mention my own status nor was it mentioned that I couldn't mention our relationship, Princess Celestia." I have to take a moment to register his attitude. I've never seen this side of him before. I've heard stories, but... "Why are you acting like this? You realize that when my sister here's word of this-" "She'll have to report it, just as you will," he says as he steps forward, meeting my gaze evenly. "If anything comes from this then a special court hearing would be held. The crown, as well as the Elder Nobles, will then hear our cases. What exactly will you tell them? That I treated you as an equal, that I didn't give you the respect you never showed half of us?" "I have always been-" "Distant with the younger generation of nobles. But now we hold most of the court, and it's time you learned who we are. I'm sure the Crown will understand our plight." "Luna will not be swayed so easily Blueblood." I tell him, making him smirk even more. My eyes widen a bit when I realize what he's implying. "The King will not side with you either." "The King will hear me openly, Princess Celestia. He will have a...younger outlook. And if there's one thing we have learned in the courts, it's how to win favor through words. Now if you excuse me, I have a christening to attend to." He gives me one last look over before turning away. I stare him down as he walks down the hall. How does he know about Miles? How did he learn of his out look and mannerisms? "Princess?" A nearby guard salutes, breaking me from my thoughts. "Good morning." I say with a slight bow before turning away from him. I'll have to bring this up with Luna and Miles later. Right now I have a play date to attend to. Perspective: Miles "I'm just saying, breakfast would have been nice-" "Breakfast or pancakes?" Luna asks with a playful smirk. "... what's the difference?" She laughs again and stops to face me. Just outside the air docks. I can already hear the commotion just beyond the door. There are a lot of people out there... and a tuba? "Just remember; no cussing, be polite, and try to avoid giving direct answers," she tells me as she fusses over my appearance. I roll my eyes as she tries to straighten out the fur on my neck, but don't fight it. "Luna, please. I can be discrete when I want to be." "I know you can... and thank you for doing this with me." She leans up and plants a small kiss on my lips, making me smile. "You really think I'd toss you in there without a meat shield?" I ask, making her chuckle. I move aside and open my wing slightly, bringing her to set her wing within mine. It's the pegasi’s equivalent of holding hands apparently. "Lets not keep them waiting then." We walk forward as the doors open for us. A massive airship sits in the back hovering just off the deck as tables and ponies fill the space in between. They all fit the stereotype of the upper crust Canterlot elite. Posh, snobbish in appearance, and obviously wealthy. From expensive jewelry to high fashion outfits everyone here is showcasing their own wealth. Oh sweet Barbra...I can see one of Rarity's dresses. "PRESENTING QUEEN LUNA!" An announcer yells over the crowd, getting them all to turn and look at us. Every facade and mask drops when they see me, unblinking. We stand there for a moment before I look over to the announcer. He hasn't looked over here yet, so I cough lightly to get his attention. When he does look at me, he nearly faints. '"U-uh... I uh..." "King, or his majesty, whichever you prefer." I tell him with a cocky smile. "AND HIS MAJESTY! THE KING!" Both, not bad. I stand up straight and look over the crowd as they bow before me. It gives me an eerie feeling of power over them. I don't like it. Not one bit. "Say something." Luna whispers to me, nudging me slightly. "Some forewarning would have been-" "Miles!" "CITIZENS OF EQUESTRIA." I start out, stepping forward. None of them rise yet, so I guess I'm speaking over them. "I... or WE GREET YOU WITH... uh...OPEN ARMS. WELCOME." The crowd of ponies stand up and stomp their hooves in applause. I still feel a bit foolish for yelling over crowd, but ignore it when Luna rejoins me at my side. "Open arms?" she asks quietly. "What?" I ask, getting a knowing look from her. "Oh... oops." "It's alright. Now, time to mingle." Mingle... joy. I put on my best smile as we start to walk into the crowd of ponies. At first they simply clear a path for us, still staring at me in disbelief. They few I do make eye contact with, avert their eye quickly. I guess I intimidate them too much for even a hello. We make it to a table with food where the waiter stares at us. After a long, awkward silence I finally get tired of waiting for someone to say something. "So-" "SIR!" The guy yells before dropping to a bow. I glance to Luna, who shrugs, before getting the two of us a cup of punch. "I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting it to be quite like... this." Luna mentions as we begin to walk towards the vessel in the back. The ponies here are either staring at us or whispering to one another quietly. "What, you only brought the only known male alicorn in the world to a social gathering unannounced. It's not like these people live off of pretending to know what's what in the political theater. I mean, it could be worse. They could have absolutely no clue what I think or my-" "I get it." Luna cuts me off, making me chuckle at her. "There has to be a least one pony here who's brave enough to speak with us-" "I'm on it!" I suddenly make a right turn and approach the closest group of ponies near us, two unicorn mares and a pegasus stallion. The elder mare has a dark purple coat with red hair while the stallion has a sea blue coat with a white mane. The younger mare has the stallions coat with the mares hair color. They're all wearing fancy suits or pretty dresses that help blend them in with this crowd. They drop to the ground and wait silently for me to tell them what to do, so I do. "Stand up and introduce yourselves." "S-sir! I'm Lavender Spice!" The first elder mare says. "A-nd this is our daughter Dawn Mist-" "Daughter?" "Y-yes!" The stallion chimes in, stepping forward. "I'm Dusky Shores! This is my wife and daughter!" "Why are you yelling?" I ask, folding my ears from his volume. "Sorry! I-I mean, I apologize-" "Calm down." I assure them with a chuckle. Luna gives me a look but smiles along anyway. They look to each other before forcing out a chuckle of their own. "If I wanted to meet formally I would have done so." "Yes, this is an informal meet and greet with the king. Such formalities are forgiven." Luna adds, looking to the girl. "Dawn Mist, what is it you do?" The three of them go rigged as all of our attention to the girl. "I-I...uh...I mean... um..." "I-it's okay dear," the mother coos. "Just tell them what you do." "I... uh... forgot-" "You forgot?" I ask with a laugh. She blushes deeply and averts her gaze. "Dear, you're embarrassing her." Luna tells me playfully with a slight nudge. "Come now, do you work with your father? Perhaps your mother?" "I... uh... I'm a... sailor-" "A sailor!" I cut her off loudly, getting panicked looks from the three of them. "Privateer or enterprise?" "Enterprise!" The stallion chimes in quickly. "She works with me in my shipping company, isn't that right dear!?" "Yes! Of course!" The mother chimes in, the two of them stepping in front of their daughter. I glance over to Luna, getting an equally confused look from her, before looking back to them. "Not that I mind, but how did sailors make it... here? Isn't this a bit more... posh, than you're used to?" I ask carefully. "I think I can help with that." A refined voice says from behind. I look over as a unicorn stallion and mare join our conversation. The stallion is pure white with wavy blue hair. He wears a black vest with a red tie and a fancy ass monocle. He's pretty big for a unicorn, I'd put him almost as big as Blueblood. The mare is all white with flowing light pink hair. She's wearing a slim dress that's a shade darker than her hair. She's slim but stills has an attractive figure about her, one that she flaunts freely. "And you are?" I ask. "My name is Fancy Pants and this is my lovely wife Fleur De Lis. I own the Equestrian Empire Trading company. Dusky Shores here is my head forepony for my western affairs while Dawn here is one of my captains. I do believe this ship here will be under her command once it takes to the air." "Really now?" I ask, looking back to the mare. "I have a feeling we'll be talking more than." "I-I-" "And you, Fancy Pants, you're the one in charge of the E.E.T.? It is a pleasure to meet you." I tell him as I hold my hoof out to shake. He takes it and gives a hardy shake, one that leads me to believe he's not like the other posh upper crust here. "The pleasure is all ours Sir." Fleur adds as I move to shake hooves with her. "So, Captain Dawn Mist, you must be excited to take to the air." Luna adds, getting the mare to mumble a response. "Please, don't you know it's bad luck to call a pony captain before the christening?" Fancy asks, right in the middle of playful and serious. "Not where I'm from." I tell him. "You need a Captain more than you need a ship." "Oh... and where are you from, if you don't mind my asking?" Fancy asks with a raised eyebrow. I chuckle at that. First attempt to pry information, though this is a bit more blunt than what I was expecting. "I'm from the south... the deep south." "Like, the Badlands south or... further south?" Dawn Mist asks, going wide eyed from speaking suddenly. "I-I mean sir?" "Good eye." I tell her, getting a smile in return. "No. No, I'm from a different south. One that I doubt you've heard of." Luna gives me a slight nudge, telling me to stop. "So, you think we can steal a tour of the ship?" "O-oh! Uh... I'm sorry sir, but the ship is closed off-" "Come now Dusky Shores," Fancy cuts him off, giving me a smile. "I think we can make an exception this time." "Perfect! Let's go then!" I say excitedly. "Now? Mi... dear. We have an event to attend to." Luna chides me. "We can't jus- AH!" She yelps suddenly and goes red in the face. I smirk down to her and drop my magic before anyone could notice. "I think we can escape for a few minutes, take a quick peek, and be back before anyone even notices." I tell her with her with a playful smile. She tries to come up with a response but can't get past her blush. "Ooooh, I think we should get to the ship, lest our Queen be seen blushing." Fleur teases, making Luna blush even more. "Come now, lets not keep them waiting Fancy, lets take them on a tour!" Fleur rubs up on Fancy, getting him to smile coyly. He chuckles a bit before beckoning us to follow. "You coming Dawn?" I ask her. "U-uh sir-" "A captain should know their ship, inside and out. Come on." I tell her before following after Fleur and Fancy. It takes a bit to actually get to the ship, especially when we have to navigate through the crowd of bowing ponies. Once we do make it though we take a moment to admire the beast of a craft. Massive ballast float high in the air; tethered with thick ropes and massive chains. The ship has to be roughly one hundred meters long and around four stories tall. It's fairly narrow, but could easily fit an Aquila on the deck. Standing in the center of the main deck made me feel extraordinarily small. I haven't felt this small since I first looked up at the P.C.H. back at Topaz. I walk along the smooth, dark deck and look around in curiosity. It's intriguing to see how Equestrians take to the air and how they manage their ships. Everything about this ship reminded me of the boats from the Griffin Colonies. Ropes tied with intricate knots, rope ladders leading to the massive ballast above, even the wooden railings seemed more for a seafaring vessel than an aircraft. What really sells the comparison is the deck though. It has two parts, the main deck where most of ropes were tied, and the upper deck; where the steering wheel is located. "Impressive, isn't she?" Fancy asks as I turn and look back over the railings to the main deck. "It is a marvelous ship Fancy." Luna tells him with a slight bow of the head. "It's a flying boat." I say flatly, getting them all to look at me in shock. I look over to the steering wheel and give it a twirl, irritated slightly from this. "I-I beg your pardon?" Fancy asks, slightly unsure of himself for once. "I will admit, what you have here is impressive. But... this all seems... as if you put a bunch of balloons on top of a boat and called it an aircraft. I’m not impressed with this. Why pay for a flying boat, when we could just have a boat?” "Mi... ahem, dear." Luna steps forward and nudges me slightly. "I'm sure-" "No, he's right." Fancy cuts Luna off, getting a shocked look from her. "To the untrained eye this may as well be a flying boat." "But, please. Let us convince you otherwise." Fleur finishes, stepping forward. "There more to this ship than outward appearances." I glance between the two of them before looking over to Dawn Mist. Her parents are missing, but I don't really care about that right now. "Dawn, I want you to sell me this ship." I say, getting her to go wide eyed. "S-sir?" Her voice quivers. "Sell me this ship. Prove to me this ship is worth anything. Prove to me that this ship is worthy for flight. Make me believe in this ship. I'm sure Fancy and Fleur could do the job well enough, but I'd rather hear it from you. Show me why you're captain." The poor girl looks as if she's about to faint from her panic attack. Luna tries to get my attention, but I hold still as I wait for her to respond. I want to see if she's worth investing in. If any of this is worth investing in. "Dawn," Fancy says quietly, getting her attention. "Why don't you start out with what you told me." She blinks a few times, slowly calming down. "It was a marvelous tale. Start there!" Fleur adds, sashaying up beside Fancy. Dawn takes a few breaths before looking back to me. I like the conviction she suddenly has, even if it's teetering on the edge of a total mental breakdown. "I've spent most of my life in the ocean. From the Divide to the Great Expanse I've sailed all of them. I've lost ships, lost crew members, and seen my fair share of monstrosities. I love the ocean. And I always will." An odd start, but I'm sure it means something. "You call this airship a flying boat, as if that's a flaw. But I see that as an advantage. The skies are not that different from the seas. They're filled with mystery, yet we pretend to know so much about them. They're uncontrollable, yet manageable. We can chart them in their entirety, yet never know them completely. They're vast and ever inspiring, taunting us with dreams and aspirations of exploration! To go forth and search out the wonders of the world! To find the edge of the map not for profit or expansion but because it's there! Because it's there and it has yet to be touched by our hooves!The winds on our back and the future is before us! Waiting for those brave enough to search it out!" I smile at her enthusiasm. I can see why Fancy picked her. She's got a fire in her heart that's eager to get out there. She's not one to sit still for long, that much is apparent. She takes a deep breath and realizes she got a bit carried away. She shrinks back down to her shy self and looks down nervously. "A-and... uh... if the ballast does go out... well... better to be in a boat, right?" I burst out laughing at that, crushing her enthusiasm completely. I didn't expect her to say something like that, but oh sweet Barbra was it good. "Dear," Luna chides, stifling her own chuckle. I step forward and hold my hoof out to Dawn, making her jump slightly. "To the edge of the map." She looks over to Fancy for a moment before taking my hoof lightly. "May we never find it." "Here here!" Fancy cheers as the others stomp their hooves. I give her a sturdy shake before giving the gesture to Fleur and Fancy, Luna joining in as well. When we finish I look back to Dawn. She chuckles a bit, smiling widely at me. "I won't let you down sir! I promise you that!" she tells me, her enthusiasm back where I like it. "Good. Now why don't you go back to your parents. I'd like to discuss some boring business stuff with Fancy for a bit." She nods and starts to walk off, but stops when I call out to her. "You're a Captain now. I have great expectations for you." She nods and gives me a salute before continuing back to the party. When she's far enough out I turn back to Fancy and Fleur and smile. "I admire her eagerness." Luna comments. "Though I feared she was going to faint earlier." "She'll do great. She just needs to get the stick out of her ass." I comment, getting Luna to kick my back leg. "What?" Oh... I cussed. I give Luna an apologetic look before looking back to the other two. They seem... unfazed by my comment. "I think she did quite well, given the circumstances." Fancy comments. I nod to that and look to Fleur. She looks as if she's holding her breath, trying not to say something. I was going to ask her about it, but Luna beat me to the punch. "What did you want to ask them dear?" She asks. I think about it for a moment before dropping the Fleur thing. I'm sure it was nothing. "Right. I uh... how... hardy would you say this ship is?" I ask, getting Fancy to tilt his head. "Hardy? I'm afraid I don't understand?" "If this ship were to be attacked, how would it hold up?" I ask, getting Fleur to perk up. "The walls are double layered with iron oak, bathed in fired resistant sap, and bolted with three inch steel rivets. That, along with the best enchantments in Equestrian history make it one tough bitch to..." Fleur stops mid sentence when she realizes what she said. Fancy goes wide eyed, his monocle falling off of his face, as he stares at Fleur. An awkward silence falls between the four of us as we try to think of a way out of this situation... well, maybe they are. I'm going to run with this. "Wood doesn't really stand well against metal." I point out, getting Fancy to let out a breath. "Unless you really enchant the fuck out of it." "Miles!" Luna gasps. "Watch your AH!" I give her tail a hard tug and smirk down to her. She blushes deeply as she looks between the two of them and me. I haven't released her tail yet, so this'll be interesting. "Normally wood wouldn't." Fleur continues, growing in confidence. "But this wood is special." "Special wood eh?" I ask with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, this won't crap out on you in two minutes," she replies, growing a smug smirk. "Time isn't really the issue. What matters is performance. Can it deliver?" "Spoken like a stallion," she says, rolling her eyes and shaking her head slightly. "We're not just flaunting our size for the fun of it. We can deliver, every time." "Every time? Now you're just teasing me." "Only the best teases for the best shows. Just ask Fancy, I'm sure he'd agree with me if he could find his voice right now." I glance over to Fancy and note his almost comatose state. He's just standing there, wide eyed and lost. Luna is in a similar state, though her eye keeps twitching. "You think they'll be okay?" I ask, getting a chuckle from Fleur. "I'm sure they'll be plenty mad when the come back to us. Though I know how a trick or two to occupy his distraught," she says in a sultry tone. "An old fashioned?" "I was thinking of deep throating. This is a rather special situation." I laugh at that. I swear, if I didn't know better, I'd think I was talking with my Spartans right now. "How are you going to escape?" "Well, she sadly told me about her super sensitive tail, so that'll work until we get our son to bed-" "You have a son!?" she asks in surprise. "Yeah...but that's a secret-" "Of course! My lips are sealed!" She motions over her lips before looking slightly down. Her demeanor dropping drastically. "Everything okay?" I ask, getting her to look back up to me. "I-it's nothing. It's just that... well... we can't have a foal. We... I..." "Barren?" I ask, genuinely concerned for her. "Tight, rather. I've been to every specialist and... well... after examining my tubes they're too tight for the eggs to get through. So... I can't have foals." She lowers her head for a moment, obviously saddened by this greatly. But she perks back to her cheerful self and smiles up to me. "But it's not all bad! I mean, now we screw like rabbits in spring all year long." "Ha! That's the spirit! Luna and I are practically the same way. We try to be coy about it, but to be honest, it still feels like we're dating!" We share a laugh at that. Fleur gets an evil smirk as she glances between the two of us. I'm not sure if I like that look. "So when was the last time... you know?" I chuckle at that. I was going to dodge the question, but realized she shared something rather personal already. So I guess it's my turn. "A few days ago-" "A few days!" She almost yells with laugh. "Please, you poor stallion! We screwed in the shower at home, the carriage ride here, and in one of the guest bedrooms during the beginning of the party! Heck, we're probably going to sneak into one of the cabins on board and go at it again!" "Oh sweet Barbra... I don't know if I could beat my guy like that." I say as I imagine having that much sex regularly. Eh, fuck it. I probably could. "I think I'd wreck Luna if we did that. He's not small... is he?" "Above average. A bit thick, but not to the point where it's gross. His endurance though, hoo! That's where he hits his stride! He may be a unicorn, but he lays like an earth pony-" "And I'm back!" Fancy says, blinking a few times. "Fleur, dear, don't you think this is a little-" "Fancy honey," she says in a sing song voice as she rubs up against him. "We're just having a simple conversation! Nothing to fret about." "We're just swapping war stories, But I've embarrassed Luna enough. We'll have to continue another time Fleur." I tell her, getting a wink in return. "Back to business. Fancy, a discussion of something with the utmost importance needs to be held! Something that could define the future of this country and possibly the world." "Of course, what would you like to know?" He asks, standing a bit taller. "Me? Nothing." I say, getting a confused look from him. "I cannot have this conversation. If word got out, it would... escalate things. Drastically. But, I have a third party connection that I'd like you to meet with. They currently resides in Ponyville and will meet with you tomorrow at dusk. Meet them at the local gym and tell them 'The King seeks a sword.' They'll know what it means. Do you think you can manage that?" "Of course, but who will we be meeting with exactly?" Fancy asks a bit nervously. I smirk at that, making him shift slightly. "You'll know them when you see them, trust me on that." I look down to Luna and give her tail another tug, bringing her back to the conversation. "Mi-my king! You are in-" I cut her off with a deep kiss, getting her to lock up again. "Oh, and be sure to bring Fleur as well. I'm sure she'll enjoy this meeting." I say, nodding to Fleur. "I'll be there. Now if you excuse us, I think I hear the captains chambers calling. My liege." She gives a slight bow before walking off, dragging Fancy along with her. He tries to protest, but is powerless against her. I chuckle at that, admiring how close the couple is. "You know," Luna chimes as she steps forward a bit. "If you were home more often, we could... you know. More often." She gives a shrug and smiles up to me. I chuckle at that and drape a wing over her, leading her back towards the gathering below. "Luna Eremita, are you trying to seduce me to stay home?" I ask, making her blush slightly. "Of course not!" She says quickly, holding her head up in a poised manner. "It's simply a fact. We can't... do that if you're not home. Plain and-" I cut her off by grabbing her tail again. I don't pull it, but I do put enough pressure there for her to know that I'm there. We pull up to the edge of the crowd where I levitate a glass of punch to myself. I don't want the punch, but it's a good cover to keep my magic on Luna right now. "Well, with my recent discovery, I may have to take you up on that." I tell her with a knowing smile. She tries to retort, but only moans when I start to shake her sweet spot. She hides it pretty well, but I have a feeling that won't be the case later. "Now... let's mingle." Perspective: Celestia Once I catch up with Tempestive we make our way to the cave on top of the mountain. We have to detour to pick up the right guards to keep this cave a secret. I only let certain senior officials know of it's existence. I think only ten ponies know if its existence outside of family. Miles and I also went through and put a few enchantments to hide its location. You can't see it from distance, and you can't scry it either. It's our little escape. Along the way I tried to ask where we were really going, but Tempestive wouldn't budge. It's a surprise apparently. His enthusiasm makes me chuckle. I wish he was still a little foal so I could squeeze him, but he's too old for that now. I know he puts up with it for his mother, but I don't want to press it too much. Having him with me is good enough, plus I can steal all the hugs I want when we return to Luna and Miles. "Alright, are you ready?" Tempestive asks as we step out of the closet. I smile down to him and nod eagerly. "First things first though, this stays between us. Can you keep this a secret?" "Of course I can. Now, what is it you want to show me?" I ask, getting him to check if the coast is clear. I don't know who would be in Lunas bedroom, but enjoy his antics all the same. "Follow me." He trots off with me in tow. We make our way out the back door where he stops in front of the earthen shed. "Tempestive-" "Are you ready to see some of the coolest stuff ever?" He asks as he rears up to reach the door. "I don't think we're supposed to be in your fathers shed." I tell him with concern. He tries the door, only to find it locked. "And I doubt they left the key under the mat." "It's okay, I know the password in. Dad only uses, like, three passwords. And they're all basically the same." He says with a few presses onto the metal plate that rests beside the door. "One, three, three, seven. *click* Never fails. Come on!" He runs right in before I could say anything else. I glance around nervously, unsure of what to do. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to know what's in there. It is an invasion of privacy though. But what are the chances he'll know we were in here? He's going to be out with Luna all day talking with nobles. Plus, it's very obvious that Tempestive has been down here before. And since I've never heard of him getting in trouble for this before, I'm sure he knows about any alarms. "T-tempestive?" I call out as I step through the door. I stop when I see the inside is larger than it appears from the outside. It's just a large square room with a spiral staircase in the center going down. I can hear Tempestive climbing down the stairs, so I rush after him. It's a bit of a tight fit, but I manage to get down the stairwell. The room before me makes my jaw drop. It's... massive. Off to the left is another one of those aircraft that Miles flew a long time ago along with two of the black diamond craft on each of its sides. It's facing a long stretch that looks like it goes on for miles. It's dotted with white lights on the ground and yellow lights on the ceiling. The yellow ones seem to end sooner, showing that the road leads up. Just ahead of me against the wall are three large... eggs? That's the closest comparison I can make at the moment. To my right are three rows of carriage like vehicles. The first row of carriages are those jeeps that Miles used to drive around. They are all identical, from the white paint to the massive guns sitting on top. The row after them look like larger jeeps. They're twice the height and have a much longer body. The backs are canvassed off and the area where you control the carriage is covered with metal instead of being open. There are four of these vehicles as well. The last row of vehicles draw me closer, either from awe or fear. It rests on two long treads that could crush a pony beneath them. It's heavily armored body easily takes up two spaces of the other vehicles. The top part looks as if it can spin around, giving the massive barrel three hundred sixty degrees over coverage. Tubes sit on each of the corners while boxes sit on the side of the top canon part. It's angular body seems to have a low profile to it while still being a behemoth. It has a white paint job like the others, but has some art on the side as well. It's a wolf head snarling towards the front of the vehicle with something written below it. "Lupus unum?" "Wolf one." I jump a little when Tempestive suddenly speaks beside me. "A Terradisian tank meant to search out enemy armor and destroy it. Cool huh?" "I don't know if cool is the word I'd use to describe it." I say as I look over it. "Why does Miles have something like this?" "Easy said it was one of the few remaining from Emerald City. There are a few more in Topaz now, but they need to be restored. Come on, what I wanted to show you is over here." I give the massive tank one last look before I follow after Tempestive. Why would he need something that terrifying? Behind all of the vehicles seems to be a workshop of sort. A table sits in the center of the space with several tools -of sorts- coming down from the ceiling. various objects clutter the table. Several weapons as well as objects that I can't identify to name a few. Behind the table is a large mirror that has various maps and words showing all over. I can note several cities throughout the world that are marked, but I can't read what the text next to them says. I look at the bottom of the pictures to see a bots head sitting in the middle of the control area. It has several thick metal ropes things going into its head and has its eyes lit up brightly. I stare at it for a second before looking over to the left, having a shiver run down my spine because of how it's staring at me. A caged area takes up the left. Inside are racks of various guns, bladed weapons, as well as hulking pieces of armor. "See that giant metal armor suit?" Tempestive asks from beneath me. I simply nod as I stare at it. It looks as if it's supposed to turn a human into a walking tank. "I don't understand why Dad would make it like that." "What do you mean?" "Well... it's made to protect the person inside. But it's not shaped like anypony I've ever se..." "Everything okay?" I ask after he goes silent. He looks away from me as he thinks about something deeply. I step around to face him and kneel to get on his level. I motion to my lap, getting him to nestle between my legs. "You know you can talk to me right? If something is bothering you, it might help to tell somepony. And whatever you say here, stays here." "Promise?" he asks quickly, looking up to me hopefully. I smile and nod down to him, getting him to shuffle a bit. "Remember when I... disappeared?" "Of course." "Well... I...uh...blinked," he says nervously, sinking into my lap slightly. I lean down and nuzzle him a bit, waiting patiently for him to continue. "That's what it's called when you jump through time uncontrollably." "Oh." I lean back to look at him, surprised slightly. I knew when he disappeared he could have done something so powerful. I guess I just didn't think it would be something that powerful. "I saw something. Something scary." He goes quiet again. I have to tread carefully here. If he tells me something that I shouldn't know now... bad things will come. "I don't know what it was, but it looked... it looked like it should go in that suit." "Oh my." He saw his father. Unless he went back in time far enough. "I saw him twice actually. Once he was in Ponyville, and hurt. He didn't scare me then, but everything around me was scary. There was fighting and screams and explosions and-" "Shh." I shush him as I lean down to nuzzle him again. So he did see Miles as a human. Even worse, he saw him in combat. But, that wasn't the moment that scared him. "It's okay. If you don't want to continue you don't have to." "I saw him again," he continues on anyway, sounding almost frantic. "He looked so mad. And he had these... these spurs of darkness coming from his wrists. He looked right at me and... and I thought he wanted to hurt me. I only saw him for a second! And he-" "Tempestive-" "And then I saw you and you-" "Tempestive!" I have to raise my voice to stop him. He buries his face in my chest and begins to cry, gripping me tightly. I rest my head against him and hold him close, waiting for him to calm down on his own. I can't imagine what a burden it must be to know these things. To have to carry such knowledge and have to keep it from everypony else. No foal should have to carry such a heavy burden. "It's okay. Everything will be okay." "But-" "I know what you saw was scary. When you see things without understanding them, they only cause more fear. Just know that we're here for you. Your mother, your father, me, we won't let anything happen to you. You are the most important pony in the world to us. We'd do anything to keep you safe." He look up to me and and sniffles a bit before hugging me again. I return to nuzzling him again, simply being there to comfort him. We spend a few more minutes together before he begins to stir. I lean back and let him get up. "Better?" "Y-yeah. Sorry about that." "You don't need to apologize Tempestive. I'll always be here for you." I tell him with a warm smile. He rubs his eyes a bit before returning the smile. "We should get going-" "But we've barely seen anything in here! Aren't you curious?" he asks, his former eagerness returning. "Tempestive-" "Just a little longer? Please?" he begs, putting his pouting face on. I know we shouldn't... but that face... "So what does this map say?" I ask, looking over to the wall. He smiles and runs over, taking a moment to read over everything. This is starting to become a problem. Now I can't say no to him. It was bad enough when it was only his father. "It's a map of the world with all of the major cities dotted out. Each city has a population estimate, an advancement placement, and a contingency number." "Contingency number? What's that about?" He thinks about it for a moment before looking to the metal head on the counter. "Easy, give me the details on Dads map." The eyes glow brighter for a moment before it begins to speak. "Statistics for highlighted areas are unknown. Grand Captain Miles Eremita keeps them with a hidden file within his personal tablet. A hypothesis program can run to estimate possible reasons." The disembodied head says in a fuzzy monotone voice. "Nah, last time that took forever. Sorry Auntie Celly. If you want to know, you have to ask Dad." Tempestive tells me with a shrug. "You can't break into that as well?" "No, it requires a different type of entry. I don't know how to get in yet." I frown at that. What are you planning in here Miles? What could you possibly need all of this for? How am I going to bring this all up without letting him know that Tempestive and I broke into his shop? "Wanna see his enchantment table?" Tempestive asks enticingly. "... yes.Yes I do." Author's Note What a better way to kick off a million words than a nice long ass chapter and a new blog post! Updates and Revisions! Shout out to Dinorlondi and Alternate Madness for editing! Brony on!
Chapter 219 Southern BadlandsChapter 219 Southern Badlands Perspective: Fancy Pants July 19th 4139 The christening came and went like any other Canterlot formal. Though, I must say the king is something else. He acts nothing like the nobility I've met in my entire life. He doesn't seem to care for honor, well, social honor at least. Whenever he met with any veteran elitist his demeanor changed drastically. He would asks questions and listen contently, never interrupting. Never pulling on Lunas tail. Nothing but his full attention. It makes sense, if his cutie mark is anything to go by. That has to be a one in a million kind of mark. Fleur lets out a sigh as she rolls away from me, leaving my underside cold without her. She had a blast yesterday. Party aside, she finally met somepony who could keep up with her. It was embarrassing to say the least, but it put a genuine smile on her face, and I'm happy for that. I don't know what possessed her to share about our infidelity, but it seemed to have worked some kind of favor with the king. I'm fairly certain his name is Miles. The queen called him that once from her shock. I'm not about to start spreading that rumor though. True or not, he's still the king. Plus, I doubt he has any form of relation to the Miles in the tabloids. Given, that Miles is a completely different species. With a sigh I force myself out of bed and head to the bathroom to start getting ready. I have a meeting to attend to today. A personal friend to the king, I have to make a good impression with him! The very future of the E.E.T. could be determined by this! I will not let my families legacy fail, no matter how small the endeavor. When I make it to the shower I hear Fleur enter the bathroom. It's a fairly large bathroom, so I don't see her right away. I just wait under the warm water until I hear her slide the glass door open. I can't help but smirk at this. It doesn't matter how long we've been married, how many times we've done this, being close with Fleur will always make my heart stutter... among other things. "Good morning my love." Fleur coos as she gives me a kiss on the cheek. "Good morning love, did you sleep well?" I ask as she starts to lather up. I follow her lead and begin to wash up myself. "Yes... well, not entirely," she tells me, looking away slightly. "The King?" "I don't know what possessed me to tell him that! Now he probably thinks I'm trying to use him for some kind of magical cure! I can't believe I let that slide so easily! I'm so bucking stupid!" She tosses her bottle down and huffs in anger, looking away from me. I was shocked initially when she started yelling, but once I heard her begin to cry I immediately went to her side and hugged her. "Fleur, it's not that bad-" "How could you say that?" she snivels out, looking back to me with pained eyes. "He probably thinks I'm trying to use him! Imagine what kind of rep this will earn for the E.E.T.!? Oh sisters, I didn't even think about that! BUCK!" "Fleur, enough. If it was really a problem, do you think he'd be asking both of us to be meeting with his friend?" She looks away from me, keeping quiet. "He's an alicorn dear. Ponies everywhere would do the same in your position. He's probably used to it by now. And with the way you two were going at it, I figure he probably will be giving you some leeway." "... do you really think so?" "He asked about my size. I don't think he cares." She laughs at that, rubbing the last of her tears away. "Even if he did, I wouldn't care. Let the nobles talk, it won't change anything. I have here, in my hooves, the single most valuable possession in the world. A loving wife. And no sneaky elitist or pompous noble will ever be able to take that away from me. So no more tears, okay?" "Okay," she nods, looking back to me. We share another hug before sharing a quick kiss. As much as I'd like to take things further we have to get going soon if we're going to catch the train to Canterlot. I can tell that she's still deeply disturbed by everything, but she's masking it all away. Clean coat, flowing mane, subtle amounts of makeup to make her face really shine, and she's Fleur De Lis; super model extraordinaire. I hate seeing her put this mask on but I'll have to deal with it later. We have to get going now. We rush out of the estate and have our carriage driver rush us to the train station. From there our personal body guards push through the haze of paparazzi and we catch the first train to Ponyville. We have to make it out of the city limits for them to finally back off. This was to be expected though. Fleur had a catalog for some summer wear come out a few days ago, so it's going to be a little chaotic for the next few weeks. But, we've dealt with it before, and we'll make it through again. With the paparazzi off our hides, we head down to the food cart to get a late breakfast. We have to deal with a few fans and what have you, but we eventually get two seconds to ourselves in our cabin. "This omelet is a little spongy." Fleur says as she pokes at her food. "We can have it returned if you'd like." I tell her as I poke at my own food. To be honest, I don't really have an appetite right now either. Not with what I have on my mind. I'm sure it's the same for her. She lets out a huff and pushes her plate away from her. One of our guards takes the plate away while another offers her some more water. "Let's just get ready for this meeting. Do we have copies of last years fiscal report?" she asks with a flat look. I sigh and pull out my briefcase, looking over my files. "Last years and the year prior." "Manifest reports?" "Yup." "Asset documentation?" "Hmm... seems so... nope. We don't have any documentation on our newest vessel-" "That's alright. The Metuendus Canis is brand new. I think we can work with that. The King did put off naming her for some time-" "And Luna did not look happy with him when he did." I chuckle when I think back to her shocked face. It's a pleasant change from her normally stoic self. "I just want to know what it means." Fleur adds, getting a nod from me. "Other than that, we should be fine. Unless he wants to read over precise, exact details." "I highly doubt that." I tell her as I sit back. Our guards take my plate away and let us have a moment to ourselves. I look out at the country side and watch the scenery go by. It's been far too long since we've escaped the city. Maybe a day out will do us some good. Maybe after this is all said and done we'll take a small trip to escape for a bit- "The orphanage in Ponyville is suppose to be one of the best." Fleur comments, breaking my train of thought. "I hear they somehow got sponsored so they could take in ponies from all over Equestria." "Oh... that's... good." Adoption. We've had this talk before. I don't know why, but it doesn't sit right with me. No matter how many times doctors tell me otherwise, I always hold out on adoption. I can't explain it beyond a gut feeling, but it always tells me to wait it out. As if our miracle will come someday. "Do you... do you think we could stop by... and take a look?" I don't have to be looking at her to know she's on the verge of tears right now. Every time she brings this up, things get more and more heated between us. She wants to be a mother so badly, and I can't give that to her. Today though... I don't have that feeling. It's not there for whatever reason. Maybe I've finally grown tired of waiting as well. Maybe it's time to accept that good luck can only give you so much. "Fancy?" "After our meeting we can... we can take a look around." I tell her quietly. She doesn't respond. She just looks out the window and stares at the scenery. It's like we're admitting defeat. That we're both giving up. I'm sure the colts and fillies there are wonderful, but finally accepting that we can't have our own... it's never easy. We tell ponies that we're past that point, that this doesn't bother us anymore, but it's a lie. This has always bothered us, and always will. We make it to Ponyville and begin our trek through the small town. We put on some hats and sunglasses to try and hide our faces, but that quickly backfires when we realize we're the only ponies here wearing clothing. Luckily Fleur had put on a light yellow dress, so her mark was hidden from view. Still, all of the attention was getting to be a little much, so we ducked inside the public library to lay low for a moment. "You would think with such a small town that finding a specific building would be easy." Fleur says with a huff. "Actually, the problem is that it is such a small town." I tell her as I dust my sunglasses. "Small town means more specialized stores. Instead of going to one location for shopping, you end up having to trek all over to find what you want." "Yeah, but specialization means better goods and services." We both jump slightly from the new voice. We look over in shock when we see the dragon standing by the stairway. Even stranger is that he's wearing black pants, a black shirt and a white jacket with a red scarf. Our guards move in front of us and eye the dragon cautiously as he just stands there, staring back at us. "So, here to check out a book?" "Are... are you wearing clothes?" Fleur asks out of confusion. "Yup. Made by the greatest seamstress in all of Equestria," he says proudly. We were about to question him further when a scoff from behind the dragon cut us off. "Oh please Spike! You're making me blush!" A familiar white unicorn walks out from behind him. Those purple curls seem so familiar. Where have I seen you- "Rarity!" Fleur exclaims as she trots forward to hug the mare. Rarity! That's right! The mare that was housed with Celestia! And had the rustic friends, now I remember! "Fleur darling! What are you and Fancy doing here in Ponyville?" Rarity asks in a surprised tone, sharing a hug with the mare. They exchange kisses on the cheeks before stepping away from one another. I shake my head and step up beside Fleur, putting on my best smile for the two of them. "We're here to find a gym." I tell them, getting confused looks from the two of them. "It's... a rather odd story." The two of them share a look between them before looking back to us. "Did the King send you?" Spike, the clothed dragon, asks. We look around quickly to make sure there aren't any prying ears before nodding to him. "Relax, it's safe to talk about him here." "Are you sure?" I asks cautiously, glancing towards the window quickly. "I wouldn't want somepony to get wind that we're here on his behalf." "Fancy, darling, the King lives here." Rarity tells me. Fleur and I stare at her for a moment as we try to process what she told us. We both begin to giggle at the thought of the King of Equestria living in Ponyville. Nothing against the small town! It's quaint with its rural charms and all. But... I wouldn't think this would be the place for Royalty. Especially of that level. "I know how silly that sounds, but it's true." "Rarity, dear, nothing against the King, but-" "Trust me." Spike cuts her off, raising a claw to silence her. "I've known the king for a long time now, Luna too. They chose to live here to raise their colt. They didn't want to chance him growing up like Blueblood. Nothing against Canterlot or the castle staff, but the King has a special connection here." "He has friends here." Rarity chimes in cheerfully. "Not to mention he prefers to keep a low profile, understandably. Though I do find it odd that he's requesting you, no offense." "None taken. We met him at the christening yesterday and now we're here to speak with a friend if his. Speaking of which, we have to get going if we're going to catch them in time. Where did you say this gym is?" They give us a quick description before saying goodbye. Spike and Rarity warns us that the group is a bit out there. That they're not like anything we've seen in Canterlot. We thank them, but continue on with haste. I'm a little worried about who we're about to meet, what with all the warnings. I have no reason to doubt the King, but Rarity is a friend I trust. With her warning me to be wary of them... I can't help but question what we're about to get into. I shake my head clear when we finally make it to our destination. The establishment isn't very large, but from the loud music and the sign with dumb bells on it, I can tell this is the place. We step inside and are immediately assaulted with the musky heat of sweat and hot breaths. The room is filled with various training equipment and workout mats. A couple posters cover the walls depicting various athletic topics, from Air Ball to the Wonderbolts. There are a few occupants in the room, most of which are in the back corner with the free weights. I don't get a good at them though, because a large, muscular earth pony steps in front of me. "CAN I HELP YOU!?" he yells with enough force to blow my mane back slightly. I look over to Fleur before holding my hoof out to him. "Good morning. My name is Fancy Pants and this is my wife Fleur De Lis. We're here to meet somepony." I tell him calmly. He squints his eyes at me for a moment, as if he didn't understand what I just said. "WE HAVE MEMBERSHIP PLANS FOR FAMILIES!" he bellow out at me. I cock my head in confusion as I try to process why he yelled that at me. "What? No, I don't need a membership. I need to meet somepony." I try to explain. He brings his head back for a moment as he returns to his thoughts. I really hope this isn't the pony the King sent me to meet with. I have no clue somepony like this could possibly help anypony. "Uh... well... WELCOME TO DUMBBELLS GYM! CAN I-" "CAN IT ROID RAGE!" Somepony in the back yells, getting the stallion to cringe a bit. "Come over here you two!" I glance to the stallion before inching around his massive body and walk towards the group in the back. With them in view now, I pause to steel myself before them. Most of them are ponies a few pegasi, a couple of earth ponies, even a zebra! The others though... aren't. In the back corner is a massive orc lifting large free weights. Beside him is a gorilla and two chimps doing the same. What looks to be a green diamond dog and a moose sparing with one another in front of the group. Some griffins and pegasi are with them as well, lifting weights with their wings. The group of ndividuals look well trained and toned, showcasing top physical prowess for their species. Fleur coughs to get their attention as she removes her sun hat and shades, prompting me to do the same. "I-I'm sorry to disturb you all, but-" "Wait, I know you." The cream colored unicorn mare says as she sets down her weights on the bench press. "You're Fleur De Lis, the super hot model." "Oh, thank you for that. I-" "Can I get an autograph?" she asks, having a bit of arrogance in her voice and a smug look on her face. I normally don't mind it when ponies ask her for autographs, but when ponies like her ask... It ticks me off. "Oh... of course-" "Great!" she scoots down the bench so her hind legs droop off and spreads her legs wide, showing us... everything. She levitates a marker over herself and wiggles it. "Right here, left and right tit." "Oh... my." Fleur murmurs as we stare at the unicorn before us. This... is a first. "Butterscotch, try not to whore it up too much." One of the pegasi stallions yells at her, making the others chuckle. "One of them is loving it." One of the other pegasi stallions mentions, making us look to each other. As much as I am enjoying the show, I doubt he's talking about me. "Doesn't matter, you're a Spartan, act like it!" One of the apes yells as he continues his exercise. "Nothing in the codex against asking for an autograph." The mare, Butterscotch, replies coolly as she stares at us with half lidded eyes. "Right Jonathan?" "Well.... technically there are only moral guidelines and parameters for the social conduct of on duty Spartans. Nothing specifically states direct ethics or-" "JUST SIGN THE HARLOT ALREADY!" The orc in the back yells, making the two of us jump slightly. Fleur quickly grabs the marker with her magic and signs the mares teats. The mare sits up and examines her work, scoffing smugly to herself. "E'Claire is going to flip when she sees these." "Alright, enough from you." The moose says as he ends his fight with the green diamond dog and walks over to us. "Sorry about that. She's a good pony when you get to know here. She's just a bit..." He tries to search for the right word, but loses to the mare in question. "Slutty." "Right. Anyway, I'm Private Frank Moose of the Spartan Regiment, first battalion, beserker squad. How can I help you?" I let out a sigh of relief, inwardly thanking the moose for being so civil. "We're here on behalf of the King." Every weight in the room drops as all of their eyes turn on me. A moment of silence takes over the musky room as the stare at me, making me sweat slightly. Without a word being said the other occupants of the gym vacate the building, turning the open sign over. The diamond dog rushes over to the door and starts to keep guard as the others surround us. Our own guards try to cover us, but are easily outnumbered. "U-uh-" "What did he tell you?" One of the apes asks as he bares his teeth in a snarl. I try to think of a what he told me, but it suddenly slips my mind. "U-uh... he uh... told me to tell you all... to tell you..." "Go ahead dear, just tell them what the King told you to say." Fleur tells me with a slight kick. "I... can't remember what he told me, do you remember what he told us?" I ask quickly, starting to panic. "What!? No! I thought you wrote it down!" she replies just and quickly, visibly panicking as well. "You understand that we can't let you leave until we hear that phrase, right?" One of the earth ponies tells us, making me gulp. I try to rack my brain over what he told me, but for the life of me I can't remember! "ATTENTION! CAPTAIN PRESIDING!" The Diamond Dog yells from the front door. The group immediately moves behind us and snaps to attention. I look over to see a group of five ponies walking towards us. Three pegasi, a halfling unicorn, and an earth pony. They are all clad in black armor with helmets hanging on one side and a weapon on their other. They look over the room for a moment before moving to the side as another figure moves into the building. I've seen this being before, but never thought I'd see him in the flesh. At first I thought he was just a tabloid myth, but soon it became more and more evident that he was real. The Knight of Ponyville. The Bane of Darkness. The Burning Man. The Human from the Forest. "Spartan." I mutter as he walks up to us. His armor adds to his overall stature. The large claymore resting on his back catches my attention for a moment, sparking my memory. "The King seeks a sword." The being nods to that, though his face is hidden beneath his black helmet. He looks around the room at the others, as if he's waiting for something. "Well?" His voice comes out oddly. I didn't think it's his actual voice, but rather a recording of sorts. "The King seeks a sword." "OUR ARMS, OUR MINDS, AND OUR SOULS ANSWER!" Everypony else yells back in unison. Even though I can't see his face, I can see the pride well up in the being before me. He nods a few times before looking back down to me. "We have many things to discuss." The next few minutes happen in a blur. He orders my guards to stay behind as he takes us through a secret tunnel beneath the gym. From there we go down a long narrow corridor until we end up at a stone wall. With the wave of a hand, the wall fell to reveal some work shop of sorts. It's filled with various contraptions that baffle me. He sends his guards to various places to prepare for some trip before we're finally left alone with the being. It starts out quiet as he stares at the wall of glowing windows, but eventually he mutters something and turns back to us. "You can call me Captain. For the time being my rank should suffice." "Of course. I'm Fancy Pants and this is my wife Fleur De Lis." I inform him with a slight bow. "Greetings." Fleur adds with a bow of her own. "We don't have a lot of time. I have a mission to run and we're leaving later today for it. So excuse me while I cut to the chase." I remain quiet, waiting for him to continue. "Everything we talk about right now stays between us. I don't care if someone is sawing off your spouses horn or burning your flesh. If you speak out, the King will deny everything you say and we will hunt you down. Understand?" "We would never speak out against the crown." Fleur tells him confidently, giving me an edge of courage. "You have our word, nothing said or done here will be leaked. Now, what is it you wish to discuss with us?" I ask, standing a bit taller and sounding more confident. The being looks between the two of us before nodding. "Good. War is coming, or so the King believes. As of right now Equestria would be conquered within a few days by almost any opposing nation. The king has realized this now,and seeks to gather arms. But, he can't do that without gaining attention from the world stage. So, that's where you two come in." "Us? We trade merchandise and ferry goods. We're no armorers." I tell him. "That's not what we're looking for. Your company has the largest fleet of air and sea vessels in the world. The King wants you to arm up those vessels to make them war ready." "Equestria wants to take our fleet and arm them? I don't-" "No no. You will arm your fleet. You will pay for every upgrade, weapon, and enchantment you put on your ships." I blanch at the idea of upgrading our entire fleet to be war ready. I can't even fathom how much that would cost. I don't know if we'd be able to even accomplish such feat. "If Equestria were to start mobilizing a military fleet, the world would turn on you guys instantly. But, something we learned from the goblins, is that the private sector is not under such scrutiny. The idea is that you get your fleet ready for way, so that if it happens the Equestrian government would lease the ships from you to fight the war." "If?" I ask, looking to him in disbelief. "If!? What if there isn't a war? What then?" "Then... then you have a well armed fleet-" "If there isn't a war then we'd go bankrupt! Not to mention the losses from ending current trades routes to do the upgrades would put us in a choke hold-" "The King understands this is a lot to ask for. Your very lives could be uprooted by this. But it is necessary, trust me. I cannot guarantee that there will be an attack on Equestria, not one hundred percent-" "What percent can you give me then? Eighty?" He stays silent. "Seventy?" More silence. I glance over to Fleur before looking back to him. "Sixty?" "Try fifty. The other half being against the Soviet Bear Union." I sit down on the cold floor as I rub my eyes, letting out a long sigh of frustration. "I know, it's asking a lot." "No, no it's not asking a lot." I mutter, still rubbing my eyes. "It's asking everything. We would be stagnant during the entire down time of renovations. Not to mention the loss of business from dropping out from contracts so suddenly would blacklist us on the market. I doubt we'd be able to get half of them back afterwards. And if there isn't a war then by the time the last ship sets sail we'll be out millions! What you're asking is... is..." "What you are asking for is insurance without any form of protection on our part." Fleur finishes for me. I look to her again before nodding to the being. "Not entirely. Your King understands that the burden on your shoulders is heavy, but it's not without merit. Should the war never come and you do lose your business, we will be there for you. A home has been set aside in Mooseden for the two of you. It may not be to the standards that you are accustomed to, but it's a roof over your head and food on your table. Terradisia look after its own." I shake my head a bit from thinking over the logistics before perking up at the end part. "Terradisia?" "As of now, you two are citizens of Terradisia and will have access to all of its perks and obligations. Report to Ponyville on the first of August to finalize your documentation and to learn more about your duel citizenship. Welcome." He holds his hand out in what I assume is the human equivalent of a hoof bump. I go to return the gesture and jump when he grabs my hoof and shakes it. Must be a human thing. We let go and he moves to do the same gesture with Fleur. She takes his hand more quickly, but when she goes to pull back he holds her there. "This might sting." "Wha-" SHINK "AH! WHAT THE BUCK IS THAT!?" We both yell when he suddenly stabs something into her foreleg. A bright blue light is forced into her as he holds her there. I begin to ignite my magic to pry him off when a set of hooves grab me. I look over to see two of the armored pegasi holding me back. I try to break free from their hold, but am out numbered and out matched by them. "What did you do to me!? Answer me!" "Don't worry. It's simply a vaccine," he tells her as he pulls the strange syringe out from her foreleg. The wound only bleeds for a moment before healing up. Even for magic, that was fast. "We had the two of you scanned when you entered the gym, and you had a little something floating around in you. Nothing Terradisia hadn't already found a cure for. As a citizen, it was my duty to treat you." "How do I know you aren't lying to me?" Fleur demands as she yanks her hoof free. The two pegasi let me go, allowing me to rush to her side. Everything seems fine with her, but I still begin to usher her towards the exit. "You'll learn when you come to the meeting. Remember, the first of every month. I'm sure we'll see you two again real soon. Dash, if you could escort them out. We leave in ten." One of the pegasi that grabbed me nodded and began to lead us out of the underground workshop. Once we were out of earshot of the human, I turned my attention back to Fleur. "Are you alright Fleur?" "I'm fine, I think. It hurt like crazy when he stabbed me, but it faded quickly enough," she tells me, leaning into my slightly as we walked. "The Captain can be a bit extreme at times, but he means well." The pony, a mare apparently, tells us. "Normally in Terradisia there aren't any secrets, but with what the King is asking us, it's forcing our hooves a bit. That's why we couldn't let you become citizens immediately." "I'm sorry, but your voice sounds familiar. Do I know you?" Fleur asks. I take a moment to look her over more closely. Rainbow tail, light blue fur, mare. I know a pegasis like this, but from where? "Heh, you probably know my friend Rarity more than you know me. I'm just a Spartan." Fleur and I look to each other for a moment, letting the pegasi walk on her own. "No... that couldn't be." Fleur mumbles. "I thought she was a Wonderbolt... then again, I haven't seen her with them in so long." We follow after her, trying our hardest not to barrage her with questions. The tabloids used to be filled with Rainbow Dash, but that was so long ago. How did she get caught up with this group? When we make it back to the gym we take a moment to gather our things. Ms. Dash simply waits for us to put our disguises back on before bringing us to the front door. "Look, I know what the King is asking for is crazy." Rainbow starts out, getting us to pause by the door. "But trust me, Equestria needs it. Even if nothing happens, Equestria needs to be ready for the storm ahead." "Don't you believe in Celestia?" Fleur asks, getting a confused gesture from the other mare. "Celestia has always taught that love and friendship will always prevail. You even helped teach that lesson! How could you be getting ready for war like this? Have you forgotten everything you've learned already?" The mare stares at her for a moment. I don't know if she was just thinking over her response or if she was trying to figure something out, but all she did in the end was chuckle. "Love and friendship. Yeah, I believe in those still, trust me on that. But, there's more to the lessons than the answers. I've learned that now. If you want to know more, then come to the meeting next month and ask the Captain yourself." "The... Captain?" "Who better to teach on harmony, than the guy who perfected it. I have to get going now, please consider everything said here today. Bye." Before we could ask anything further, she turned and trotted her way back inside. We both stood there for a moment in some sort of shock. I didn't know what to expect from this meeting. But this... this was something on a completely new level of odd. Even though it was barely eleven in the morning, the both of us were beyond tired. We immediately made a beeline to the train station and boarded the first ride to Canterlot. In our private car, the two of us shared a seat together, Fleur laying against my side as we softly nuzzled one another. We wanted to take a break, but the day was still ahead of us. Fleur had a photo shoot to attend, I had several meetings to attend, not to mention I should at least get some perspective on the cost to do what the King has asked. "We forgot to go to the orphanage." Fleur mumbles quietly, bring my attention back to her. "Oh... so we did." I mumbled back, still lost in thought. "That's probably for the best. We both have too much to do this week." She sounds so distant. So... lost. It breaks my heart to see her like this. I frown for a moment before I get an idea. If there is one thing I know that will cheer her up, it's... that. "You know, there's a small town nestled in the valley before Canterlot along the way that is supposed to have the finest bed and breakfast in Equestria." I tell her quietly, trying to sound as enticing as possible. She doesn't respond, so I continue. "I hear they have a... public tea room." Her ears perk up, instantly telling me she remembers our little mishap at the last bed and breakfast. "We could escape for the day, send one of the guards ahead to reschedule." "I don't know Fancy. I'm not quite in the mood for a rutting-" "*fake gasp* Mrs. Fleur De Lis! I simply wish to partake in some of Equestria's finest teas! You know how much I love the feeling of some hot tea running down my tongue, the way it burns and cools in all the right ways." She giggles at me, blushing ever so slightly. I lean in and start to nibble on her ear, getting her to sigh in relaxation. "Just a day trip to escape, just the two of us, no worries. Nopony else." "Maybe we should save it for later. You know my heat is coming soon." She's trying to be reasonable, but I'll have none of that. I move down to her neck and start to peck and nibble at it, making her coo softly. "I don't know, tea sounds great right about now. What do you say? A little sip and bite as we play hook-y for a day?" I ask, moving back to her face. She thinks about it for a second before smiling and kissing me on the lips. "No. I want to gulp and gobble while we play hide the flank in the curtain again-" "You naughty filly!" I growl as I move to kiss her neck more roughly, getting her to gasp out a laugh. Business can wait until my wife is back to her cheerful self again. Perspective: Spike It takes a bit to separate myself from Rarity, but eventually I manage to do so. Kisses, hugs and plenty of promises of returning have stalled me long enough. My flight to Miles' shed went by quicker than usual for some reason. I am nervous to be going back to the Badlands, but it didn't really hit me like this before. I knew well before that would be going there, and not just because Miles asked me to do so. I've known I'd have to return there ever since I met her. I guess I just didn't realize I would be returning so soon. When I made it to the shed I found it opened with Dad waiting there. We shared a quick nod before he lead me down below. I guess he knows something’s up. He can always read me so quickly, as if he has some minor Pinkie Sense with me. It has to be on that level. If our poker games are anything to go by at least. "'Bout time you made it." Rainbow teases when we meet up with them by the computer station. "Give Rarity a good poking before you left?" "Easy Dash," Dad warns her as I try to force my blush away. "Only Twilight and I can tease him about Rarity." Gee, thanks Dad. The rest of the Spartans start to form up around the computers as Miles taps away at the screens, caught up with something. We all greet one another in various ways. Head nods, claw shakes, a few hugs here and there. It's good to see most of them outside of the training grounds after so long. Given, I only got to see them when I went to train with magic. "Everything alright Captain?" Butterscotch asks, getting Miles to shake his head. "Someone was able to make it in here today, but I have no records of them." "Someone broke in?" Tiber asks in his deep voice. "Did they take anything?" "No... no. Nothing was taken. And they didn't break in either. Whoever did this knew the password in and knew to ask Easy to erase their log commands. I only know they were here because of the command to delete their commands." He continues to swipe and poke at the screen furiously, obviously angry that someone was able to break in. "Maybe we should leave it be for now and move on to our next objective." Night Fury says, sounding rather annoyed. Miles gives a few swipes before sighing in defeat. He gives a few final pokes before bringing up a picture of the Southern Badlands. The pictures were obviously taken from the air and show the land in great detail. Miles zooms in a bit before turning to the rest of us. "Alright, this is an escort detail. Our objective: To get Spike to his liaison in the Badlands and provide a spot for retrieval. At this point, all trainees will hereby be considered full Spartans and will be providing over watch for the dragon-" "OOH-RAH!" The now Spartans cheer, bumping hooves and shaking hands with one another. "Shut the fuck up!" Miles snaps at them, quieting them, though their joy is still present. "Si Ye and Tiber, you will both be on high altitude surveillance in their own AA-20s. You will be alternating between days at your own discretion, so work something up between the two of you. Beserkers and Jumpers, you will be holding down the fort; which will now be referred to as Fort Corium Gutter. Dust and the rest of the Praenuntius will be on scav duty. Gather what you can that can be useful, but do not endanger Corium Gutter. No large scale hunting, no risky runs; you should be back before nightfall every day. Am I clear?" "Sir!" Several of the Spartans sound off. I've given up on trying to figure out all of the specialization groups. Every time I think I've learned them all, a new one pops up. I think I go to... around... ten? That sounds a bit less impressive now that I think about it. "Let me reiterate something. We're only there to provide a refuge for Spike. Under no circumstances are you to interfere with his delegations. Once there, he's on his own until he returns onto campgrounds. Understood?" "SIR!" I gulp at that. I know I have to do this on my own, but it's still daunting to think about. I just hope none of the other dragons try to burn my scarf. "At the low end, expect to be there for at least one week. That's when the moot is to begin. From there, it's unknown how long it will take before Spike can return. Because of the indigenous beings in the A.O., we're going in with the full nine yards. Two Aquilas will be deployed with you as well as six utility bots and six military bots. Twin High grades will be on stand by here should the shit hit the fan. Hopefully if we keep a low profile there shouldn't be a need for that. Understood?" "SIR!" "Alright, where are we going Spike?" Miles moves aside and every eye turns on me. Or, at least they would if it wasn't for the helmets covering their eyes. I move up to the screen and look over the map. I remember it was inland, near some really tall mountains. I press a claw closer to where I think it's at, and the picture zooms in on the location I pressed at. I few landmarks seem familiar, but not quite right. A few more presses, and I see a large cave on the side of a cliff. I stare at the cave for a moment before I feel a fire build up in my chest. Something... primal, coming out. "There. That's the cave I need to get to. You can set up fort on the north side of the mountain. It'll provide better cover for you guys." "THAT'S IT SPARTANS! I WANT TO BE OUT IN THREE MINUTES, SO MOVE YOUR ASSES!" I don't flinch when Miles starts yelling at the others. I just stare at the cave, feeling that warmth wash over me. I remember looking back at it three years ago, thinking it was the last time I'd ever see it. "Spike?" "What?" I turn away from the screen to look to Miles. He puts a hand on my shoulder and gives me a firm squeeze. "Are you alright?" "Y-yeah. Just... nervous is all." I tell him, not entirely lying. Over the years I've learned that Terradisians are simply the best liars. If you ask, they'll tell. But you have to ask. They've mastered the art of putting everything on display without having you look, and I've picked up a thing or two. "I mean, Bolas is a powerful dragon. He'll sense me before I even make it to the moot." "Good, then you won't have to wait to speak with him." Miles tells me with a smirk. "And don't be nervous. We've got your back." "I know you do, but... butterflies in my stomach, you know?" He tilts his head slightly, making me frown. "It's what you get before you perform. You know, pre-game nerves making you jittery." "... oh! Pebbles in your gullet, I've got you. Let's get going already, we don't want to keep them waiting." That's the other thing about Terradisians I've learned, they can only reference three things. Rocks, gems, and metals. Understandable for a people who were buried for over a thousand year, but... pebbles in your gullet? How did that ever become a thing? We move to the launch platform and wait alongside the others as the first set of jets get ready to take off. The walls come to life as lights appear all over. Some are to show the entire tunnel before us while others form a shield between us and the ships. Si Ye is first to go up along with the two Aquilas. Bots emerge from behind slates in the walls and run over to finish prepping the ships, moving with an eerie precision. It's like watching a ballet of bots moving gear and weapons into position. Never flinching, never budging, no matter how close they get to one another. I really need to stop going to those ballets with Rarity. They're starting to get to my head. The room suddenly fills with a loud roar as the engines burst to life, shooting out blue cones from their backs. The bots move aside and with a loud crack the two Aquilas rocket down the tunnel with tremendous speed. A moment later the large white craft zooms off after them, leaving the bots to move aside as yellow lights begins to spin on the ground. The floor rotates suddenly, setting the empty floor below and showing two more aircraft. These are the Infantry Transit Aircraft, or I.T.A. for short. The illogical boxy aircraft that ferry the Spartans as well as other materials. The shields stay up as the bots run to prep the ships, but it only takes a minute or two. Once the shields drop, we run over to the ships and quickly take our seats, having bots strap us in. "Nervous?" High Flyer yells over the din of the engines. I shake my head at him, making him laugh at me. "Don't worry about it, if you fall out I'll get you!" "Thanks High." I yell back dryly, making him laugh some more. The doors suddenly slide forward and lock us inside. My shut my eyes as the red lights flick on, telling us to get ready for take off. I've never flown like this before, and it's taking its toll on my nerves. "Wh-" BOOOOOOOOOOOM I slam into the back of my seat as we take off. My seat shakes as I feel the vehicle lift ever so slightly off the ground. A few of the other Spartans yell and cheer on the craft, some even edging it to go faster. I just grip the shoulder bars and wait for it to end finally. Of course, that doesn't come easily. Without warning the ship pulls back and starts to gain altitude. Luckily, something about the ship keeps my ears from exploding. But that doesn't stop me from being plastered in my seat. It takes a few minutes, but eventually the force subsides and the light turns from red to green. I melt in my seat as I let out a long breath. "You alive Spike?" Storm asks from my side. "Next time... I'm walking." Everyone laughs at that. I just catch my breath and try to keep the contents in my stomach within myself. I doubt Miles would appreciate molten gems in his ship. "We have a few hours before we make it there, try and rest up." I nod to Dad and close my eyes, still trying to catch my breath. "Anything you want to tells us about your liaison?" Miles asks. I look to him for a moment before resting my head back. "Whatever she does, whatever she says, don't shoot her." They all go quiet when I say that. I know it's a bit of a surprise, but I didn't think it would garner complete silence. Honestly, I thought there would be a lot of teasing. The next few hours go by both quickly and slowly. It only takes us four hours to get there, but it might as well have been four years to me. I kept quiet the entire trip. I think everyone understood that I was freaking out over this. More so than they could ever imagine. After what happened after Discord altered my mind, seeing her again is going to be difficult. She was there for me, somehow understanding what happened without needing prompting. But... we have a lot of unfinished business to attend to. This moot will work perfectly for me in that regard. Assuming I can get her to talk about it. When the lights finally turn back to red, I steel myself for what's to come. The descent goes easily enough, much more smoothly than the take off. The Spartans go quiet for the descent, becoming serious as the job comes to them. The jets outside roar as we near the ground, sending violent quakes through each of our seats. The ship veers to the left and goes in a large circular motion as it continues down. I glance to the others as they hold onto their seats, unfazed by the rigorous landing. Seeing them so calm helps me relax a bit, knowing that they have my back during this means a lot to me. The red lights go out and the doors slide forward as the shoulder bars fling up. Without a word being said the Spartans move out of the vessel, having their weapons drawn at the ready. I take a few breaths before standing up and walking after them. The sun light blinds me for a second before my eyes quickly adjust to it. We're not on the side of the mountain like discussed. Instead we're on the flat plateau just below the cliff side of the large mountain. The two I.T.As and two Aquilas have landed to form a impromptu barrier with the rest of the plain. The Spartans have moved to the edges to check if the coast is clear while the bots frantically move to unload the ships. I move around the ship and stop beside Miles as we stare out at the Badlands together. The landscape goes out for a distance before meeting another mountain range. Just below them is a large lake that has hundreds of various wildlife at its edge. Our left view is obscured with wild plant life that has rambled over itself into a practical wall while our left is a massive rocky plains. Spots of golden yellow grasses fill the bland landscape. There are several spots where there were obvious fires with burn lines connecting them. I look up at the blue sky and note the last two aircraft circling over us, like vulture over its dying prey. "Welcome back Spike." Miles mutters to me. "Yeah." He gives me a pat on the shoulder before turning back to the formation, yelling at the others to begin making camp. I close my eyes and listen to my surroundings. I can hear the Spartans start to magic up a camp while shouting orders to each other. In the distance I can hear the wildlife stampeding together, sounding as if they are running away from us. A sharp crack catches my attention. It's the kind of crack you get when you smash two rocks together. It happens a few more times, forcing me to look in their direction. A few slates of rock have broken off from the entrance of the cave on the cliff side. I stare at it for a moment before I notice the steam coming from the top of the cave. "GET DOWN!" I yell before a deafening roar fills the air. All of the Spartans and bots point their weapons at the entrance of the cave as the air goes quiet again. The smoke coming from the cave intensifies as the ground begins to shake. Everyone spreads out as we wait for the inevitable to happen. "MAL SAHLOJOOR!" The air heats up as the deep intimidating voice erupts from the cave. I glance to the other Spartans, who start to take cover, when another loud boom fills the air. "Monah." I mutter to myself. Before I could do anything further, a massive dragon launches itself from the cave entrance. It takes to the air with ease and circles around our position, roaring back down at us. It's light purple scales reflect the sunlight while its light pink undertone shine through the bright haze. Everyone starts yelling to each other as they keep their weapons trained on the large elder dragon above. "PUT YOUR WEAPONS DOWN! THAT'S WHO I'M MEETING, PUT THEM DOWN!" I rush to the others and start to force their weapons down, but they only listen when Miles gives the order. "Zeik?" I look back to the dragon as it lands nearby, lowering her head to look down at me. I walk closer to her, looking up to her massive pale pink eyes with a smile. "Zeik? Los tol hi?" "Hey Mom, long time no see."
Chapter 220 NeighborsChapter 220 Neighbors A tense moment falls between the Spartans and my mother. They don't seem to know what to do with the information I just dropped. Understandably, of course. I sigh and step closer to my mother, resting my forehead against her large snout as I press a claw against her. Her hum echoes through the air, almost lulling me to sleep. It's a sound I can only relate to from early on. Back from when I was just an egg. I hear the Spartans behind me begin to shuffle, but I hold onto the moment a bit longer. It's not one I get to enjoy often. "Spike?" Storm mutters as he steps closer. I sigh again, this isn't going to be easy. Maybe for now it will be, but I know the fall back with Twilight will be huge. "Everyone, this is my mother, Barb." I tell them as I turn back to face them. Even with their helmets, I can see the conflicted thoughts in all of them. "Mother, these are the Spartans... er, try to keep it in common though." "... of course... eh... good meetings," she replies, taking a moment to think of the words to say. "Eeeh, who are... mmm... St-storm?" Dad looks to the others for a moment before stepping forward, removing his helmet to look up at my mother. She leans forward and tilts her head to get a better look at him. He stands his ground, outwardly appearing confident. I'm sure he's at least a bit nervous, if not confused. "Hello... I'm Storm Cloud. I...uh... I'm Spikes adopted father," he tells her, glancing to me for a moment. "Do rahlo. Well met. Ehhh...forgive me, my uh...many feelings... fail me." "I understand. I... too have mixed feelings right now." I look away from him for a moment. Here it comes. "Suns end is coming. I... mmm... go to rest. The beast will rise soon... we shall, ehh.... speak soon. Aal fil aak hi." With that she turns to nuzzle me. Being much larger than me, she practically knocks me over in the gesture. I return it, but it's short lived. She quickly pulls away though, giving a powerful flap of her wings to take to the air. Just as quickly as she appeared, she dives back into her cave. I let out a slow breath as I stare back at the cave entrance, knowing why she acted so. "You alright Spike?" Miles asks when he walks up beside me, setting a hand on my shoulder. I look to him for a moment before nodding to him. He squeezes my shoulder for a moment before turning to the others. He begins to yell at them to get camp ready, giving precise orders that they follow through with. I just move outside the perimeter and sit against one of the aircraft, looking up at the cave. I grasp the ground beneath me as I think back to my time here. It wasn't bad, but it did bring up a lot of new emotions. Things that I never thought I'd have to face before. After an unknown amount of time Dad comes over and sits beside me. He doesn't say anything at first, just sitting there with his helmet off. I don't really know where to start. How do you tell your adopted father that you found your biological parent. It's part of why I didn't move with them to Canterlot. If I stayed around them for too long, it would have been brought up. I didn't want to hurt Twilight like that. Given, this will probably hurt more now than before. "So," Storm starts, looking up at the cave thoughtfully. "Barb." "Yeah..." I stay quiet, not knowing where to go with that. "Not the most social dragon, is she?" His question comes out more like a statement. He sounds neutral as well, not mad, but not happy either. "She became a recluse when... things happened." I tell him, bringing my knees to my chest and wrapping my arms around them. I've heard her story before, and I don't like dwelling on it too much. "I see. Look Spike, you know there's nothing you have to hide from me. I'm an open book. If you don't want to talk about it, then that's okay. But I'll be here when you want to, Twilight as well-" "It's not that I want to keep this bottled up. It's... well, part of it is that it's not my story to tell. This is her story, and she should be the one to tell it. But, at the same time you two are still my parents. You both raised me, you should hear what happened to her and myself. I just... don't know how to bring it up without... I don't... it's-" "Spike," he cuts me off, resting a wing on my shoulder. Well... lower back, but it's the thought that counts. "You want to hear what I think you should do?" "Yeah." "Go to her, talk to her and see if she's okay with speaking with us in person. If not, ask for permission to tell her story. If she says no, then we'll respect her decision... This is a good thing Spike. Not many ponies, or dragons in this case, get their parents back-" "You did." He stops and smiles at that, nodding along with me. "Yeah... I did. I guess it's a family thing then, huh?" He gives me a slight nudge, making me smile slightly. "Go, stay, do whatever you feel is right. Just remember that no matter what happens, you will always be my son." He gives me a few more nudges before standing up and putting his helmet back on. He starts to leave, but stops when I grab his tail. "Losing me wasn't a choice." I leave it at that. We stare at each other before he, leaves without another word being said. What was said was more than enough for him to understand though. I stand up and look up to the cave again. I know what I want to do. I remove my clothes and set them inside the ship before flying up to the mouth of the cave, where I stride inside confidently. Perspective: Storm Cloud I walk into the newly constructed building and make my way to the meeting room in the center of the stone building. Inside I find all of the Spartans gathered around a hologram map of the area. A few are talking to one another quietly as Miles stares at the map, a hand over his mouth as he thinks deeply about something. I make my way over to him and stand at his side, looking at the map with him. "Spike is speaking with his mother." I tell him, not getting a response from him other than him leaning over the map more. "Orders?" "Who here besides Si Ye can speak Minotaur?" he asks, avoiding my question. "I can sir." Johnathan, the barn owl griffin, says while raising a claw. "I can as well." Hunter, the zebra, adds. "Hmm... alright, slight change of plans. I'm taking Hunter, Night Fury, and Yinbei with me for a lead from Goblin country. Everyone else is to report to their post here until further notice, understood?" "SIR!" We all yell in unison. We all salute him when he goes to leave before going to our duties. I rush after him and follow after, unsure why he pulled me from the run to Minotaur country. "Miles-" "Spike will need you here, plain and simple," he cuts me off, stopping just before he enters an aircraft. "Spike is an adult Miles, he doesn't need Daddy at his side-" "No but it wouldn't hurt. Is this going to be an issue?" I hate it when he does that. When he puts the issue on me when it's clear a biased call. It's bullshit and he knows it. "No sir-" "Good. Now be a good wife and watch over my house, can you do that dear?" I huff at that and salute back to him. "Storm... look, I know-" "Permission to speak freely?" I ask, cutting him off. If it were anypony else, he'd beat the crap out of them for cutting him off. But, he lets me continue on. "You're being biased." "Well duh-" "I am your Lieutenant, and as such I should serve with you. The codex says so-" "It also says to follow through with direct orders," he cuts me off, stepping closer to impose his stature. "That rule also is in line with wartime conduct-" "Are we not at war with the Kroth that landed six years ago? We've been treating all encounters with that as such." This is a weak argument that I know he'll skirt easily, but I have to try it. He shifts slightly, eyeing me closely. "Why are you arguing with me? What's really going on?" Dammit, I thought he'd try to continue arguing. "It's... well..." Buck my ass, now I have to tell him something that I really didn't want to admit. "I... made a promise to Twilight-" "And what could be so important that it would override your duties here?" Dammit, why can't he just leave it at that! Even worse, everypony is watching us, listening closely. With a final sigh, I swallow my pride and look him straight in the eyes to tell him. "I promised her that I would attend this years Grand Galloping Gala with her-" "AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH BOOOO!" Ellzy yells endearingly, rushing over to hug me tightly. He lifts me up and gives a spin, squealing like a little filly. I groan as the others laugh at me. Yeah, he's squealing like a filly and I'm being laughed at. This is humiliating, to say the least. "What kind of dress are you going to wear?" Okay, now it just got worse. "Easy there private." Miles tells him, getting him to release me. "Is that it?" "Yeah. I've avoided it every year until now... now I have to stand at her side as her husband-" "HA!" Night Fury chokes on his laughter, pounding a hoof against a counter. "Twilight... Twilight has to... to show off her wife! HA!" Que more laughter at my expense. I take it all in stride though. Just another part of being Twilights' husband while being a Spartan. Jokes, teasing, and constant wife jokes. "SPARTANS!" Miles yells, ending all of the laughter. He holds his hands behind his back and starts to walk around the room. "I have an announcement to make. Though I wanted to keep this quiet for a bit longer, now has made itself a more... opportune time. The Spartan regiment has been formally invited to this years Grand Galloping Gala by the King and Queen of Equestria. You are all being ordered to attend as representatives of not only Terradisia, but as the Spartans! Any disorderly conduct will not be tolerated in the slightest. If I hear word of deserting, I will personally flog you in front of the towns people. You will attend in full colors, meaning a seamstress will be coming to fulfill this-" "Rarity?" I ask, getting a nod from Miles. "Like I'd trust anyone else. To summarize, you're all going to G cubed, it's mandatory. If Luna mentions your name in a negative manner, I'll kick your ass. Questions?" "... WHAT!?" The room erupts with voices. Some seem rather happy by this, while most seem beyond angered. The Berserkers seem the most upset by this though. Most of them have good reason to be though. An orc, jade hound, gorilla, and farmer at the Grand Galloping Gala. This is going to be interesting. That's not even including the others! I wonder if Twilight knows already? "ENOUGH!" Miles yells, silencing the room. "I will not tolerate this form of conduct! The next person to raise their voice will personally answer to me! AM! I! CLEAR!?" "SIR YES SIR!" We all yell. I can't help but smirk at this though. It's nice to know that I won't be the only one to suffer through this. "This goes for all Spartans, Damian included." The room goes quiet at that. Those that were smiling have stopped and are staring at Miles as if he's crazy. "But... he'll ruin my night!" Ellzy complains. "Well a nice fuck you too!" We all look back to see Damian standing in the back of the room with his signature cloak on. "I happen to be an excellent wallflower, slash mocker of posh ponies, for your information!" He sashays his way over to Miles, oblivious to the glares from Ellzy and Butterscotch. "So... mind dropping me and my group off at Moosden?" "I'll think about it. But there's one last piece of information that I nearly forgot to mention. You all get a plus one. If you're married, it has to be your wife." The room stays quiet for a moment as we all try to process what that actually entails. Twilight is already going, so who else would I bring? "You desire me to bring Azzeal to this... Galloping Gala?" Raz asks, getting a few nods from the others. I can understand the orc not wanting to subject his wife to something like this. "You want equality? It doesn't start by being scared." Miles retort, getting the orc to look down in thought. "I did not make this call without thought. There is more at stake here than just image. If Terradisia is to have a future, we need to start building relations beyond just military means. If that means we have to suffer through a dance or two, then I expect you to dance. We have a goal to achieve Spartans, and we're going to need allies if we're going to succeed. Understood?" "SIR YES SIR!" We all respond, though I doubt half of them truly understand what he's talking about. I've seen the maps, I know about the labor force at work. You can't conquer a country without support from its people. Not unless you want rebellions to start up. "Good! Now, I expect you all to hold the fort and gather as many materials as possible. At the end of the week I'll be returning to take you all to Canterlot, assuming we haven't finished by then. Make me proud Spartans, dismissed!" The others give a salute before going back to their duties. I follow Miles and the few going with him outside. I can see Damian has his band of Statera misfits still. A few new ones, but I recognize most of them. They load up onto an airship that has had a few of its weapons stripped off. Miles stops by the door and turns to me, waiting for me to say whatever it is I need to say. "Did you really need to take us from maternity leave?" I yell as the engines begin to roar to life. He reaches down and pats the side of my neck a few times before removing his helmet to look down at me. "Don't worry dragon bait, it won't be that bad here. Just remember you're an officer. Act like it. Vale." With that he gets on the ship and slides the door shut. I step back as it begins to take off, rising vertically slowly before shooting off into the air. With a sigh I turn back to the base and watch as several Spartans move about. What was that suppose to mean? I know I'm an officer! Maybe it's not translating to the others well enough? Given... I've hardly spent any time with the new recruits. I guess Miles wants me to step it up, assert my authority over them. "Dash!" I yell, getting her to fly down from her perch on a cloud. "What's up?" she asks nonchalantly. Yeah... that's a little too informal. Maybe I do need to get away from the friend zone and be more assertive... Dammit. I sound like Fluttershy now. "Storm?" "Dash, if it's just the two of us, I don't mind the informality. Until then, it's Grand Lieutenant." Maybe that's too soft? But... it's Dash. I know her well enough to be a little more lax with her. She rolls her eyes but nodds along anyway. "Alright, Grand Lieutenant, what can I help you with?" she asks, sounding neutral in her response. It's... better. Right? "I want these clouds gathered and pressed for our water reserve. Then I want you to take two other Jumpers and scout out the area directly next to us. I don't want any surprises jumping us. Got it?" She gives another salute before jumping into the air. She grabs Dust Devil and High Flyer before heading out. I look to the others before steeling myself to start taking command. It feels a bit off taking charge like this. Normally it's something Miles would do, but I guess I have to learn sometime. Perspective: Luna Mid-afternoon With a deep sigh I push my closet door open and stomp my way into my bedroom. Due to the christening I had to throw my entire sleep schedule out the window. I had to go on basically four hours of sleep for the past day and a half. So needless to say, I'm a bit tired. I march straight to my bed and drop down onto it, letting out a long breath into my pillow, warming it up immediately. It wouldn't have been as bad if Miles didn't tease me the entire time. It was fun in the moment. But being left high and dry has convinced me it was a mistake. Frustration aside, at least Celestia was willing to watch Tempestive for a bit longer. She even offered to watch him overnight, but we decided to leave that to Tempestive. I start trying to get comfortable in an attempt to fall asleep quicker. It seems the universe doesn't want me falling asleep that easily though. First the sun was in my eyes. Then, when I shut the blinds I soon realized I needed to shut the window. Then a little sliver of light got through the window and was still in my face. All I want is some sleep, is that too much to ask for? I bury my head beneath all of the pillow and blankets in a fit and try to relax. Maybe I should have just put a spell on the window instead of all of these theatrics. FLASH "Mom!?" I let out a long breath when I hear Tempestive in my closet. A long breath. "Why are you buried under all of the blankets?" "I was going to try and take a nap." I tell him as I dig myself out from the blankets to look at him. "Why aren't you at the castle with Celestia?" "Something came up and I had to come home. I think I'll take a nap too. It's been an... odd day," he tells me as he starts to head to the door. "Alright, sleep tight." I tell him as I drop my head onto the pillow and close my eyes. And to think I once complained that he napped too much. Sleep starts to work its way over me. I still fidget over little things, but I start to doze off easily enough. Just as I was about to slip out, I hear the door creak open. Being in the middle of sleep and consciousness, I don't open my eyes. Part of me hopes that he just left the door open. That hope ends when I feel the bed shift ever so slightly when Tempestive climb onto the bed. Before I could question him though he snuggles his way under my wing and curls up against my stomach. I catch my breath slightly from this. I don't know what's gotten into him. The last time we napped together was...ages ago! Not that I'm complaining though. I've missed the affection greatly. I just hope it's not because of something from his incident that's causing this. Either way, I rest my wing over him and lean down to nuzzle the top of his head slightly. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK "You have to be kidding me." I groan. Why now? Why can't I just have this? "Just ignore it, they'll come back later if it's really important." Tempestive tells me as he adjusts himself slightly. "Agreed." I reply as I continue to try and fall back to sleep. If it's really important they'll come back later. It's nap time now. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK "Miles? Luna? Tempestive, are any of you home?" My eyes snap open when I hear that voice. Maybe Tempestive- "It's Aunt Trixie!" he exclaims as he jumps up, ending any hope of napping. So much for that then. I groggily start to get out of bed, Tempestive jumping on my back before I start to walk out. Tempestive seems to have had a second wind hit him, seeing as he can't stand still. Then again, seeing his little friend after so long is probably worth getting excited for. I get to the door and open it, finding Trixie standing there with her little filly, Nightly Ruse, standing on her back. The dark purple filly with the silver mane waves enthusiastically to Tempestive, who waves back just as eagerly. "Hello Trixie, Nightly Ruse, what brings you two to Ponyville?" I ask as I move aside to let them in. Trixie steps inside, getting Nightly Ruse to jump off her back. Tempestive jumps off my back and the two of them immediately run off together. Trixie and I share a look before heading to the kitchen. If we're going to talk, I'm going to need some coffee in me. "We just finished up our contract up in Manehatten. With the next school year just around the corner, I figured Nightly would like to go to school here in Ponyville." Trixie explains as she takes a seat at the table. I start making the liquid gold and turn back to continue talking with her. "Is it that time already? It still feels like yesterday we were signing Shadow up for grade school." She nods to my statement, smiling softly. "But, why Ponyville? Wouldn't there be better job opportunities in Manehatten?" "There would have been, if the theater I was working at didn't shut down." Trixie tells me bitterly. "Not enough ponies willing to dish out for shows nowadays, so I took it as a sign to move on." "I'm sorry to hear that. Are things really that bad?" "It's not as bad as it seems," she reassures me with a wave of a hoof. "Ponies have to pay more for food, so they can't afford luxuries like magic shows or concerts. Big names like Sapphire Shores or the Wonderbolts do just fine. But us small names were barely getting by. But don't worry about us though. I have a bit saved to last us through November. And the fall Carnival is suppose to make an appearance here by then, so that'll be a nice boost." "Are they really bringing it back?" The last two years it was cancelled. They couldn't get the funding for it or something like that. "Yup! I have a friend who told me so. She even said she'd put a good word in for me to do a set while it's in the region." I nod to that, glad to see her getting some work without being run out of town. "So... is Miles home?" "... no. He's out on a mission in the Southern Badlands, as is Night Fury." I know all too well about how she feels towards my husband. At first it made me extraordinarily bitter towards the mare. But, she is only a friend to Miles, in his eyes at least. And after she had her foal she calmed down tremendously. I still have my eye on her, but I did allow her some slack. I would even go as far as to say we're friends at the moment. Though she's on very thin ice. "When are they due back? I'm sure Nightly Ruse would love to see her father again." I smell the coffee and pour myself a cup. I offer one to her, that she takes with two sugars and some cream. I prefer mine black. I enjoy the more pure coffee flavor. Every now and again I'll put some cream in it, but usually I prefer it back. "I'm not sure. Spike has to attend a dragon meeting and they're there to provide back up for him, if he needs it." I take a long whiff of my beverage before taking a sip. Nothing beats a good cup of coffee. "Hmm." She takes a sip from her mug, letting the near silence fill the room. Tempestive and Nightly are chatting up a storm at the moment. It's good to see him interacting with somepony of the opposite gender. Not that there is anything wrong with most of his friends being colts! It's just... sometimes I fear there's just too much testosterone around him. "Will Tempestive be attending this year?" "Huh?" "Ponyville Elementary, will he be attending this year?" she clarifies. I chuckle at that slightly, taking a moment to take another sip from my mug. "No, no. He's homeschooled by Miles and myself. There are some subjects that he's smarter than me at honestly. I don't think there's anything for him to learn from there." Trixie goes to say something before stopping herself. She looks away and mumbles something before taking a sip from her mug. "Is there something you wish to say?" "What? No! No, of course not!" she defends quickly, making me scowl at her. "I-it's just... that..." "Trixie." I start out slowly, setting my mug down. "You don't have to be afraid to speak freely with me. I'm not a princess here. Here we are equals. What's on your mind?" She mulls it over for a moment before sighing in defeat, setting her mug down as well. "It's just that... well... has he really learned how to make friends?" The question hits me rather oddly. I immediately went to shoot it down, but stopped when I asked myself the question. The only friends he has are the ones that come over, at least that I know of. I mean, he knows plenty of other filly and colts. But how many of them are truly his friends? He rarely goes out. If he does, it's usually with Miles or me. He has Rampant and Jet, and on occasion Nightly Ruse. But... "I can see the merit in your argument." I admit hesitantly. "... really?" Trixie asks in astonishment. "Yes, really. I am his mother, I think I'd know who his friends are. And if I can count them on my hooves and stay standing... that's a problem." Trixie nods to that and takes her mug back with a sip. "I don't think he's a recluse though. He loves interacting with others." "So I've seen. But so was Twilight before she met her friends, nothing against her of course." "No, she was reclusive introvert and was so wrapped in her studies she resorted to making paper friends. I think Tia still has a few of them actually." Trixie and I chuckle at that. "I do not wish the same fate for my son." "No, the paper cuts would be awful." Again we chuckle together. It's not that we dislike Twilight, it's simply the easiest way for us to bond. And they're only simple jesting words. Twilight is above such notions. "But... Tempestive in public school? He's a Pr... my son. We already have trouble with the vultures looming around town." "I thought the paparazzi agreed not to harass you guys here?" "Most did. On occasion we get a few stragglers that try to catch a photo of me or Miles. Most of the larger editorials won't print the picks, thinking that they are altered one way or another. Luckily Tempestive doesn't get any of the fire, but that's only because we force him to wear a vest outside... and he rarely goes outside really." "What about Shadow?" "She's been approached once. It ended with Lupus and Hati chasing some poor pony halfway to Canterlot. Though, I don't think anypony would get an answer from her anyway." I take a seat at the table and take another long drink from my mug, trying to drown out my thoughts. If only for a moment. On one hoof, we're exposing Tempestive to the world more. This is a good thing, but with it's own obvious complications. On the other, keeping him inside would only stunt his social inhibitions. As a pony who will eventually be a leader of Equestria, that is not acceptable. On the last hoof... well, the mother in me doesn't want my baby boy leaving the nest so soon. But that's me knowingly being selfish. Going to school will probably bore him to no end, but the chance to interact with ponies his own age could easily make up for that. If he were to go, it would be to make more friends. It would be obvious to everypony, Tempestive included. Would he shirk off his responsibilities because of that? I don't think so, but... how would school be for him? "Well, the deadline is a month from now." Trixie tells me as she finishes her coffee. "If it was up to me, I'd send him to school. Even if he flunked out, if he came out with at least one more friend, it would be worth it. I have to get going now, but we'll be setting up just north of you-" "Ah, our new neighbors then. I'll bring something by to welcome you to the neighborhood then!" "NIGHTLY! TIME TO GO SWEETHEART! Dinner then?" I nod to her, getting a smile in return. The two of them come down and start begging to stay longer, until we inform them of our dinner plans. With that in mind, leaving proves to be much easier. I set about making something to bring to their home for dinner, though my mind is occupied with thoughts of Tempestives future. Perspective: Spike Steam fills my vision again as another breath leaves my mothers nostrils, filling the room with a soothing warmth. She was a wreck when I first came in here. Seeing me again so soon nearly broke her again. Unlike last time though, she had fallen asleep rather than going on a rampage. Now I lay against the side of her massive head and lazily flick at the pieces of gold beneath me. Last time I was here, she was much smaller, much more frail. It's good to see her in such good condition now, or better condition at least. She begins to stir again, another bad dream easily. I look up and gently blow a low flame behind her head. I've learned it's one of her sweet spots that help calm her. It's something I share with her. It's hard to believe it was six years ago I stumbled into this very cave. Broken, crestfallen and cursed by Discord. If it had been any other cave, any other dragon, I don't think I'd be here now. But, fate had other plans. It had to be her. It took a fight and harsh words for her to realize who I was, but I guess dragons never forget their offspring. How she was able to nurse me back to sanity and lift the curse is beyond me. Maybe it's just some inherent dragon ability or something. We never had a chance to go over it properly. Given, we were only together for such a short amount of time. No where near enough to work over all of our wounds properly. It'll take time, but now that I know. Now that I have the power to, I will make this right. "You're doing it again." I perk up when I hear Dads voice. I look over to the entrance and see him standing there by himself. He doesn't have his armor nor any of his weapons. He stands there for a moment, staring back at me as if he's waiting for something. I motion for him to take a seat beside me,which he does promptly. We sit there in silence again, just like at the ship. I know he's waiting for me to respond, but I wait to do so. I don't like bringing up sour topics, especially when they're about those present in the room. But, eventually I give in. "Doing what?" I didn't mean for my question to come out so distant, but with all that's on my mind, I couldn't help it. "Thinking. You have a face when you do it. It almost looks like a scowl." he chuckles at the last part. I smirk, but it dies quickly. Mother lets out another huff, turning the room into a sauna, for Dad at least. "Remember when Rarity finally agreed to date you, you started making schemes of what to do for your first date? You went to every restaurant to question all of the chefs, authenticate their wines, test their dining etiquette-" "For a mare like Rarity, you have to-" "You even schemed to have different waiters work at other restaurants so the night would be perfect! Giving them extra training tips, magically enchanted serving trays, and even went as far as to go to the nearest metal artisan to have them polish your scales! And what happened?" "She called it off-" "She called it off!" he practically yells with a hearty chuckle and a thump on the floor. I smile at the memory of that night. Showing up at her door dressed to the nines, only to have her answer in her pink robe sneezing up a storm. All of that planning, down the drain because she went to bed with a wet mane. "We were all devastated! We wanted to go down there and drag her sorry flank down to the restaurant and force her to eat that stupid paste food! Twilight nearly popped a blood vessel because of her inconveniently getting sick! And don't even get me started on the staff! Rarity couldn't even walk down the same street without them mad dogging her! But what did you do that night?" "I brought her soup." Best date ever. Nothing over romantic. No planning or scheming. Just the two of us, a thermos of vegetable broth, and a nice novel by the fire. It could not have gone better. "You brought her soup. Spike, I wish I was half as smooth as you are. Heavens knows Twilight would appreciate it." We go quiet again, though it's a much heartier silence. Dad has that way about him. The way he tells stories, it's the best. He gets completely invested in the story, getting thrown through the loops with everypony, even when he's telling the story. Dinner is never boring if he has a story to tell. "Soup... I think they're serving soup at the fort. Want me to bring you some?" "No... thanks Dad." He gives me arm a playful punch before getting up and leaving. The steam has coated him in sweat, but he doesn't care. He just trots on, mumbling ill tidings to those that finish said soup without him. I lean back and smile from the memory. I didn't think to bring her soup, it was just a gut feeling. She was probably hungry and was in no shape to cook herself. It... just made sense to me. I didn't need to think, I just... did. "He is a good father." Mother tells me quietly, making me nod. "I know he is." She adjusts her head slightly so she can lean over and nuzzle me slightly. I lean my back into her cheek and sigh into the embrace. "Before we leave I... I would like to speak with him. If... if you are okay with that." She's trying to sound brave, but her nervousness shows easily though. I reach up and begin to scratch between two scales, getting her to sigh. "If you think you can, I'll support you...mother." She hums her response to me, letting out another vent of steam that warms the room up even further. "For now, let's rest." Author's Note Cultural Reference Guide: Equestria Cultural Reference Guide: The Orc Tribes Be sure to Join the Man of War group to catch further updates, Brony on!
Chapter 221 Power In PlayChapter 221 Power In Play Perspective: Miles It took several hours of flying around the world, but we eventually made it to Minotaur air space. Having to stop by Moosden was a pain, but we did it. Sixteen hours later, here we are. I groan in my seat and nudge Night Fury, waking him up. He grunts a bit, but wakes all the same. He wakes Yinbei who in turn wakes Hunter. By the time we're all awake the ship begins to shake as we descend into the Minotaur capital, Bovia. We land just outside of the large city and wait for the I.A.T. to leave before heading towards it. The city is made up of two districts, or so it seems. The outer area seems like the common area, with large, colorful tents filling the area. The inner sanctum is made of adobe buildings with a large marble palace in the center. Everything seems built up upon itself, getting taller the closer it is to the palace. Just on the back edge of the city is a large Colosseum. Long red banners hang around the structure as it towers over the small tented district around it. It's easily the second tallest building in the city; the palace being taller. As we approach, the heat starts to settle in. As if wearing a suit of metal wasn't bad enough, the low humidity and searing sun makes me feel as if I'm standing on the sun itself. It's almost unbearable, but we all force our way through the discomfort and head towards the city in silence. A group of guards are heading our way as well, so we meet up with them half way. They're wearing loose fitting cloths of gold and red, but I can tell they have more protection underneath. They also have a white cloth wrapped around their heads and parts of their faces with black writing going over their muzzles. Each of them are armed with swords and have nose rings of gold. I only get a glimpse of them, but they're there. "Wie is jy die heilige stad te benader?" The lead one demands as they each rest their hands on their weapons. I step forward and hold out my Spartan necklace. He takes it roughly and looks it over curiously. I'm not sure he knows what it is or what it means, so I motion for Hunter to step up. "Ons het gekom om te voldoen aan met die koning. Ons Spartans." They give him a quizzical look before talking to one another. I don't understand a single thing they are talking about. They start to ask Hunter more and more questions, but it all goes over my head easily. When they finish, the lead guard hands me back the necklace and motions for us to follow after him. "What's going on Hunter?" I ask as we walk after them. "They said that they're going to take us to the palace. But if they don't recognize us, they'll execute us." "What a friendly crowd." Night remarks with a snort. "This isn't Canterlot." Yinbei retorts. "I'll watch the left flank-" "Don't worry about that." I assure him. "I've met Longhorn back at the Summit meeting, I'm sure it's hard to forget a being like me." "And if he decides he doesn't? Then what?" Night asks. "Then we do what we do best Spartan." Yin and Hunter nod along with me while Night simply shakes his head. I don't doubt that he'll try to fuck with us. But his threats are empty to us. Not to mention our transport could probably level the entire city and rescue us if the need arises. We make it to the city limits after a short time and meet up with several more guards. Seems our sudden appearance has frightened the populace a bit, understandable of course. They form a perimeter around us and continue to lead us through the city. We each keep an eye on them, watching for any sudden movements. I doubt they would try anything public, but I'm not taking any chances. Soon the sun is blocked by the various tents and tapestries hanging above us. The locals have gathered around to take a look at us, slowing our movement. Some of them are yelling while others are simply trying to push their way to see us. Oddly enough, they're almost all clothed. Robes, tunics, pants, and all sorts of body piercings are all present. It's mostly present in the women though, who all wear all black garbs that cover their entire bodies. The only thing I see from them are their eyes, and even then some of them have those covered too. The guards are doing a good job at keeping them back, but it's become much more cramped. I look to the others, who shrug, before waiting for he guards to push their way through. With our progress slowed to a near halt, I motion to the others to halt. This seems to catch the attention of those around us. They go quiet and wait for... something to happen. Do they know who we are? Or are they just interested in the foreigners? I don't think regular foreigners get a receptions like this. What's going through their heads right now? "They want you to take of your helmet." Hunter tells me quietly. "Why?" I ask not so quietly. "It's... complicated. Basically, they want to know if you're the demi god of Equestria." At this point we're stopped completely. The guards are trying their hardest to keep the crowd back, but it's a losing battle. "The what?" I turn around quickly, but stop when the crowd gasps. I freeze for a moment when I realize they're all staring at me, watching my every move. They've stopped trying to get to me and just stand there now, waiting. "Well, word has traveled about you Captain. They know you as 'Man Van Vuur' or the Man of Fire. You know, cause of your magic and all-" "I got that bit. But what the fuck is a demi god?" "Well...it's like a god, but not a god." I just stand there and wait for him to explain further. Yinbei sighs and steps forward, removing his helmet to look at me. "It's like calling you a gun compared to a cannon. One that they worship as a... religious figure, or sorts." I try to process what he said, but it doesn't quite add up. The comparison made sense, but the worship part doesn't. Why worship me? Because I have fire sprout from myself? Do they worship dragons as well? What about volcanoes? And what does it mean to be worshiped? Am I a celebrity of sorts? This entire religious thing just doesn't make sense to me. "So why do I need to take my helmet off?" I ask cautiously, glancing to my side. The crowd is still watching me with bated breath. They're right on the edge of thunderous applause and mass murder. "I assume it's to make sure you're not some minotaur without horns. Your body build is... close?" I look back to Hunter again, unsure of what to do. "Is this a good idea?" I ask as I press a switch in my helmet, deactivating it. Everything goes dark and I feel the bottom grips loosen. "Probably not. But we don't really have a choice." Night tells me. I hesitate for a moment before lifting my helmet off. I look around and wait for... whatever religious people do in a moment like this. ... ... ... "So... what now?" I ask as I look over the stunned crowd. They're just staring at me. No yelling, no gestures, just... stares. "I guess we should just-" "You!" We all turn to the front as an elder minotaur pushes his way forward. He has a thin, frail body with loose red robes. One of his horns is really long with a few holes bore into it while the other one has been snapped in half some time ago. The guards stop him but keeps trying to get to us; waving his walking stick defiantly. "You!" "Old timer." I call back as I approach him. The guards look to each other before allowing the old man through. He steps up to me briskly and jabs me with his stick a few times. "Black as the heart of devils! Known by all for his sins! Have you any shame!? Have you any honor!?" he demands, jabbing me with the stick each time. I let it bounce off my armor harmlessly, a little confused. I don't really get what he's talking about, but at least he speaks common. "Um... what are you talking about?" WHACK If it weren't for the armor that probably would have hurt. The crowd gasps and backs away as the guard rush to the old man and force him to his knees. The crowd starts to panic as one of the guards pulls out his sword and sets it on the back of his neck. "Whoa wait-" THUNK With a heavy blow the guard buries the blade into the back of his neck. The other one holds the horn up as he hacks away at the bleeding wound. Blood pours out rapidly when the head finally falls off, pooling at my feet. I look up to the guards and try to process what just happened. "... WHAT THE FUCK!?" I demand as I rush up to the guard and push him back. He yells something at me and dismisses me with a wave of my hand. I reach for my pistol to shoot the fucker in the back when someone grabs my hand over my weapon. I look back at Yinbei and try to pry my hand free, but he won't let me. "Don't add to it," he tells me sullenly. "We don't need to add more bodies to the fires, just let it go... sir." "They just beheaded a man-" "That attacked a demi god." Night cuts me off, stepping to the side of the corpse. Hunter joins him there and looks over the body. "We should get going. I'm pretty sure things are about to get ugly around here." The crowd starts to gain volume as minotaurs start to yell. Some are yelling at us and the guards while others are actually cheering. I don't understand, why would they cheer for this? He was an old man! He didn't hurt anyone! Yeah he hit me with a stick, but it's a fucking stick! That shouldn't garner death! "Captain, we should get going." "What the fuck!" I yell out, pulling myself free from Yinbei's grasp. I take a moment to look over the crowd again as they begin to chant something. They're fucking chanting! Why the fuck are they chanting!? How... what... I can't make sense of this! "Captain-" "Let's go already!" I yell back to them, done with this area. "We'll talk about it later. Right now I want to get as far away from... this, as possible!" I have to leave. I'll... I don't know what will happen if I stay here. I put my helmet back on and start to force my way to the palace. The guards lead the way, pushing yelling minotaurs out of the way. I didn't look back at the old man. I couldn't. Once we make it past the crowd we pick up speed getting to the palace. We have a few run ins with locals, but nothing like before. I keep eyeing the guard that beheaded the old man from before. He doesn't even care about what he did. It's just another part of the job... part of the job... "You don't hesitate! You don't falter! We are Spartans! We are effective killing machines! Humanity survives by the sacrifices of our morality! KILL! KILL! KILL!" "Captain?" I blink a few times and look over to Hunter. "You alright?" "What?" "I mean, I know you've been through some shit, but that was a civilian. It's... different." He shrugs and looks away, slowing down slightly. "I've seen an orc rip an ape apart before." Yinbei chimes in, gaining our attention. "Back when the Braves of my village were out fighting in the Southern Cliffs. At least his death was quick." "It's different when it's another race killing." Night adds. "You could just blame them for being of a different culture. But, this was different-" "It'll be best to forget this." I cut him off, returning my attention to the guards before me. "There isn't anything we can do about it now anyway. Whatever morality you come to won't change what you've seen. He's dead, that guard is a dick, and that's how it is." "... so... life goes on?" We all pause and look back at Hunter. Once again, his impeccable timing for terrible humor strikes. He shies away from us before we continue on. Am I alright? Not even close. I'm pissed beyond belief over something I don't understand in the slightest. But, as I said before, there isn't really anything I can do. Nothing that won't add to the problem at least. I just need to get this over with and get back to base so I can work out my frustration one way or another. We weave our way through the rest of the tented and stone city until we come to a tall marble wall with a golden gate. The gate itself has intricate etchings in it while the walls are covered in various purple symbols. Two guards stand by the gate. They don't wear armor though, having intricate purple markings markings over their muscular bodies instead. They're staring forward and are posed in a manner that seems to have them constantly flexing. The dick guard kneels before them and tells them something that I don't understand. They don't respond to him directly, rather moving out of our way and returning to their stances. The gate opens a moment later and the guards move aside, motioning for us to enter. The interiorcomplex reminds me of the gardens back in Canterlot. Lush green plants and a wide array of colorful flowers fill the open area as a gentle stream works its way through the center of the landscape; obviously a run off from the main river nearby. The overall impression is relaxed, yet privileged. A paradise right in the middle of the desert. The only people I see are a group of women a bit further in. They're wearing thin garments that hang loosely around their frames, yet somehow accentuating their features. In stark contrast to the people outside, their clothing is made to be appealing to their form, rather than hiding it. They also don't wear the face covering either. I look around again and confirm that there isn't anyone else here, so I start to walk towards them. "Captain, what are you doing?" Hunter asks worriedly as the three of them follow after me. "Do you see anyone else around here?" I retort, gaining their attention. They gasp at my appearance but don't run. They do huddle closer together though, whispering to one another quietly. "Excuse me, do any of you speak common?" "Captain-" "I do." One of them says in a... somewhat sensual tone. Her cloths are light pink and... don't really cover much. Huh, I almost forgot what breast looked like when they're on the chest... and that they could get that size. The other two giggle at this, whispering to each other again while eyeing me. "How may I serve you?" "Captain I really think-" "I'm looking for Longhorn, where can I find him?" The women minotaur lets out a snide chuckle before stepping closer to me, running a finger down the front of my armor. "If you follow me, I can show you the way." She's speaking in that lustful tone again. She can't actually be attracted to me... can she? "Lead on then-" "She's a concubine Captain!" Hunter practically yells out. The three of them laugh again while I just stare at her. "She's a whore for the King and guest of the palace!" "Is that true?" I ask her, making her look down with a coy smile. Oh sweet Barbra, it is true! She's a... And she... And I... Luna is going to kill me. "So, I'll ask again: How may I serve you?" she asks in her husky tone, sneaking a hand behind her self. A moment later her 'shirt' -more like a thin lace that she laid on top of her chest- comes falling down, blowing away in the wind. I've never been more glad to be covered in metal with my head in a bucket. "Sappige Pruim, enough." I look to the right to see some guy walking towards us. He's wearing a purple and gold robe and is much slimmer than the average minotuar, almost being my size. His horns have been removed and smoothed out on either side of his head while a golden ring hangs from his nose. He carries himself in a proud manner, nearly bordering that arrogant area like Blueblood, but not quite there yet. "Aww, Nederige Navolger, we were just about to show our guest to the lounging area. Perhaps you would care to join us?" Sappige asks in a playful manner, teasing Nedgerige obviously. He keeps his cool and looks to address me, eyeing me closely first. "I am Nederige Navolger, head assistant to his grace Longhorn. How may a address you?" "I'm Miles Eremita, Captain of the Spartan regiment. I'm here on behalf of the Summit meeting to investigate a possible lead. We need to speak with Longhorn." To add to my statement I remove my helmet, showing I'm not one of them. The three women show their surprise easily, but Nederige keeps his cool. "I apologize, but he is not here. He left a few weeks ago on a business trip." "Do you know where he went? It's urgent that we speak with him." "I'm sorry, but I don't. I'm only in charge of the grounds and palace staff. Any that would know his location sadly left with him on this trip. Until he returns, we have no knowledge of his where-abouts." "And it's been so lonely since he's left." Sappige moans, moving to hug my free arm. I cough as I try to pull my arm out from between her breast, but she has a grip on- NO! DON'T! Bad husband! Just, no! "Sappige." Naderige complains, but is ignored. I look to the others for help, but see they're complacent in chuckling at my discomfort. "With the Longhorn gone, I've spent many a nights alone, with no one to warm my bed." She tells me, moving a hand to play with my hair. "Take a whack at Naderige, I'm spoken for." I tell her as I try to pull free again. She scoffs but doesn't answer immediately. "He... can't. None of the servants may touch me. I am for the king and his guest. I live to serve his needs, and to please his guest." She loses her edge when she says this. It sounds rehearsed and mournful. I look at Naderige and stare at his blank face, quickly coming to the obvious conclusion. "No Captain." Yinbei drones. "What?" I ask defensively. "It's really obvious what you're about to do, so don't do it." Hunter tells me. "I was just going to- MMM! MMMM!" Yinbei lurches forward and covers my mouth with his giant hands. I try to yell at him, but his grip muffles my voice too much. "If it'll please you, I may bring you to the guest quarters and you may rest for the rest of your stay. They nearest official who can receive you is three days away." Naderige tells me. I look to Yin and wait for him to release me. When he does Sappige immediately starts to drag me off into the ornate palace. "Enough about me. I want to know all about you," she tells me, squeezing my arms between her boobs. On one part I'm glad for metal armor, on th- NO! NO! NO! BAD, BAD, TERRIBLE HUSBAND! I SHOULD KICK MYSELF IN THE NUTS FOR EVEN CONSIDERING THINKING THAT! Luna is going to kill me. Perspective: Ulfric Stormmind My chambers window used to show a lush meadow leading to the Shearcliff Mountains. I used to love seeing all of the wild flowers in spring, how cubs would go out flying, running, living without worry. How the grass would wave with the wind, rolling off into the distance. The scent it would bring after a fresh downpour. I think I miss that the most. The smell of wet grass after a good, healthy rain coupled with a chilly mountain breeze. I remember the countless times I would sneak out of the city just to stride through the meadow during a downpour. The feeling of heavy raindrops hitting my pelt, and the lack of worry. Being able to walk out in the open rain without losing patches of fur, or burning your eyes. I still remember the last bloom we had, and how it burned away with the rain. I used to love the rain, but now it's become my number one enemy. An enemy that has very easily bested me, and forced my paw. Now... now I hate the rain. "Father?" I look to Korir, my eldest son, and sigh. His being here means the others have arrived. I didn't want it to come to this, but the rain has forced my paw. "Go to your brothers, wait for my return." I tell him solemnly. "Father, you don't have to do this alone. I can-" "No." I tell him firmly, getting him to stop. I sigh again as a bout of thunder rolls overhead. "It'll rain soon. About ten minutes or so. Different clouds, same pattern." "Father?" I turn to my son and set my paw on his shoulder, feeling him tense up from the contact. "Go to your brothers, I will return when the deliberations are complete. And then... and then I will explain it all there. Now go, and be sure to keep an eye on them." He nods and leaves my chambers just as another pang of thunder roars overhead. How I hate the rain now. It doesn't take me long to get to the meeting hall. By the time I get there the rain has already started to fall, filling the halls with the echoes of my lost love. I ignore it as I enter the hall to meet with my guest, and hopeful allies. Oni, leader of the Orc Tribes; Starke Herzen, leader of the Goblin Empire; Longhorn, King of the Minotaurs; and Kileh, the leader of the remaining Kroth. The four of them sit at the round table that is covered with a map of the world. They all stare silently at one another, keeping still. They're all sizing each other up, waiting for another to make the wrong move. The door echoes behind me when I shut it, but I don't gain their attention. I make my way to the last available seat and take it, looking to each of the leaders for a moment before I clear my throat to gain their attention. "I'm sure some of you are wondering why I have gathered you all here today. First let me assure you, this is suppose to be as a sign of friendship-" "Do not weaken yourself like the sun goddess has." Longhorn cuts me off, leaning back in his seat. "Friendship. The very word sickens me. It is clear why you have brought us all here. Do not attempt sully my intelligence-" "Very well then. As you all may very well know, the gears of turmoil are turning. What the future will hold, I am unsure of. Kileh and I have been formulating a plan for the past few years and have come to a conclusion: We will join forces and attack Equestria." The room goes quiet for a moment, only denied silence due to the heavy rains. Oni begins to chuckle deeply with a toothy smile. "Even your words falter Ulfric," he chuckles at me. "Attack, but not destroy. The sun goddess will not take kindly to such an act-" "That is why we plan to kill her in the initial attack." Kileh informs him smugly. Oni barks out a laugh as he stands, getting the rest of us to rise with him. "Do you really think us all fools? If the sun god dies, so do the rest of us. She is needed to keep the order of time, to progress the days. They-" "That was how things were, but no more." I inform him, staring him down firmly. He glares back evenly, unfazed by me in the slightest. Still, he returns to his seat. As do the others. I look to Kileh, who nods and stands back up. "In my short time on this planet, I have sent many scouts out into the world to bring back as much information as possible. A few have returned from the Equine lands with reports on the... 'sun god' and her actions. We believe that we can duplicate her actions, and raise the sun-" "Bah!" Oni scoffs, waving a massive hand. "Over zealous and inexperienced little bug! Do not flatter yourselves with false dreams and empty promises! There-" "Would you like a demonstration?" I ask coolly, gaining his attention. Oni stares back at me before huffing back into his seat. I nod to Kileh, who goes to a nearby window and motions out to the others. "It will be difficult with the rain, but look up at the high noon sun and watch closely." The others all gather at the windows and look up at where the sun is. The clouds there are the lightest, but still make it hard to determine exactly where the sun is. After a few moments, nothing happens. Oni starts to get antsy while Longhorn simply huffs his annoyance. Starke... stays quiet. Uncharacteristically quiet. I feared this would occur. It was a long shot, but I had to try. Maybe they would be willing to- "I don't believe it." I look over as Longhorn leans closer to the window. I follow his gaze and watch as the light patch in the sky begins to dip towards the horizon. I feel my own jaw begin to drop as I follow the lowering light. It's not moving very quickly, but it's enough to be seen by the average eye. It soon shoots right back to its original spot, but it was more than enough. "So, do you still doubt the Kroth?" kileh asks smugly, crossing his arms in triumph. The others return to their seats, lost for words. "What I have to ask of you, I do not do easily. But it is essential for the future of our people. Are you with me?" They all remain silent, eyeing each other questioningly. Even with the movement of the sun, I didn't believe they would turn in still. From here, it's up to me to convince them that we can do this. "What is your proposition?" Longhorn asks. "Kroth and Griffin forces will hit Equestria at its heart, killing all of the Alicorns and the Bearers of the Elements. When the other nations rise to rebel against us, our hope is that you will rise against them. The orcs taking the Bears in the north and the apes in the south. The Minotaurs taking the Equestrians in the middle east and the zebras in the south. And finally, the Goblins assaulting the apes north of them and the Elemental Union in the Southern Badlands. If the dragons become a problem along the way, the Kroth will be able to handle them, though some assistance will be required for any elders. Once our victory is assured in Equestria, we will deploy over the entire world until we have total control." The room goes quiet again. Each of the leaders sits back and thinks over what I've told them. I know Oni will be swayed easily. Orcs have fought for years against the bears and apes. A chance to overthrow them and regain their lost homelands would be too much to pass up for them. Even more tempting is the opportunity to strike at their backs. The bears would surely pull forces from the borders to assault our homeland, giving them a perfect time to take them down. Starke is a bit of a wild card. I know he has his eyes set on the Southern Badlands to gain a more steady supply of Elementals. The trick is getting him to also attack the Ape Empire. He really has nothing to gain from attacking them, but it is crucial that he does so. If the apes only have to worry about a single front, they will easily overtake the orcs eventually. That will halt the attack on the bears and find favor for them against us. Longhorn should be the hardest sell. The minotaurs have attacked Saddle Arabia countless times before history, but have never taken the city. And, forcing them to also attack the zebras in the south is a tall order. Other than land grabs, they really have nothing to gain from this. My hope is to appeal to his blood lust and pride to actually go through with this. It'll be difficult, but not entirely impossible. After a few moments to reflect on what I said, Oni finally speaks up. "Bolas respects one thing, and one thing only: power. He and I have an... understanding. If we can appeal to his thirst for power, we can gain him as an ally." I blink a few times as I stare back at him. It sounds like he's on board, at least in thought. "The others will not be swayed as easily." "And how do you know this?" Longhorn asks. "The cliffs of the Pit are a common nesting grounds for the dragons. We orcs know more about them and their culture than any here. Of the Elders Kiora will most likely remain neutral in any conflict outside of the oceans. In the seas... don't expect any favor. Zendikar will also more than likely remain neutral, unless the fighting takes place before him. Last I heard he was in the eastern mountains of the Ape Empire. Urza will be a problem. He has a strange fascination with Celestia, due to her connection to the sun. If she hasn't already won his favor, we must keep them separated. He's currently in the Southern Badlands attending Bolas' moot. Frost... is a wild card. He is the most open minded due to his time in Bear country. If we can call for aid due to your plight, we may gain his power. If not, then we must keep him at bay in the Frozen North. Zarek will also be problematic. He cares not for alignment, dragon or not. It'd be best to avoid him at all cost." "What sort of offering would Bolas require?" Longhorn asks, scooting forward in his seat. I mirror his movement, trying to commit what he says to memory. "One of power. All dragons are made up of two things: an emotion or element of their following, and power. The more power a dragon wields, the greater his form. Take Bolas for example. He does not have flesh. He is raw power. He will not be killed by any mortal weapon." "If that's the case, it is pivotal that we gain his favor." Kileh comments, making me think. If he requires an offering of power, what do we have to offer? Telekinetics? Perhaps the Kroth could share their power. If it comes down to sacrificial offerings, we're sore out of luck. "What say you, goblin? You've been quiet throughout this entire ordeal, surely you have something to add?" We all look Starke and wait for him to respond. He cracks his knuckles a few times as he stares back at us, weighing his options. He doesn't say anything for a long time. He just... sits there, staring back at us. When he stands the tension in the room rises drastically. What is he thinking? I could try to prod his mind, but that could have dire repercussions. He could go straight to Celestia after this, warn her of our intentions. Everything I've worked towards could be destroyed before they even begin by his actions right now. An entire war could end before it even begins. The lives of millions, lost, because of something he says or does right now. What does he have to say for himself? He doesn't speak, not right away at least. Instead he steps forward and sets three small metal cogs on the map, right in the middle of the Deep Divide; the portion between the Southern Badlands and the Goblin Empire. "It would seem my goals are obvious to the world. I'm just glad my actions are not." We all stare at him for a moment before he begins to walk away. "Does this mean you'll fight with us?" I ask as he reaches the door. He pauses at the door for a moment before looking back to us, smirking. "That all depends on whatever happens in Moosden." Perspective: Applebloom I take one last look at the cart tied behind me before trotting along the path from home, to town. Since I don't have school today, being Sunday, it's my turn to do the evening shift at the apple cart in the market. It's not a big deal anymore, but I always do enjoy haggling with ponies over prices. I guess it's just something I learned when I was a filly. Applejack should be there now with my little nephew-Apple Slice- finishing up with the evening sales. If sales were good enough, maybe I can convince her to swing by Lickety Splits to get me a shake. Here's hoping. It's a pretty nice day out actually. Maybe Soarin finally got to getting rid of those clouds from the Everfree. Not that he's bad at his job, it's just that Rainbow Dash was better at it. Given, she does it with two eyes. Either way, it's warm out with a nice cool breeze. Not a cloud in the sky today, just the way I like it. With nothing stopping or slowing me down, I make it to town pretty quickly. When I make it to the market though, I slow down when I see Applejack talking with some business pony. I slow down when I see the frustrated look on Applejacks face. She doesn't get that look often, so I know something is up. Apple Slice is crying, so I go to him to comfort him while I listen intently on what's going on. "... under joint citizenship! We don't have ta file fer imports!" Applejack yells, as if it was for the hundredth time. "I'm sorry ma'am, but the law strictly dictates that all imports from other nations must pay all tariffs and undergo all slating processes for foreign pests-" "WE'RE IN EQUESTRIA! What vermin are we gonna have that ain't already here!?" She yells again, rubbing her face while sighing. "I understand that, but the law is very clear in these things. You will have to pay the penalties if you wish to continue trading with Equestria-" "Why would Ah have ta pay to trade on my front lawn!?" she yells in desperation. "And undergo a government audit to assess the total amount owed from previous trading deals within Equestrian borders-" "Are ya even listening ta me? Ah already told ya we don't have ta file fer this fancy smancy crap cause we're joint citizens!" "And I've already told you that I'm simply an auditor. If you wish to file a complaint you'll have to go to the local government authorities and fill the correct paperwork. Until then we ask that you cease and desist any further transactions until you comply with all trading regulations and pay all fines-" "WHERE AM AH GONNA GET TWO BILLION BITS!?" Applejack yells, making me nearly drop Apple Slice. Two billion bits!? How is that even possible!? We don't even make a tenth of that in a year! "I'm sorry, but that is not my concern." The business pony says before he closes up his brief case. "My advice would be to file chapter seven and liquidate your assets-" "AH AIN'T SELLIN MAH FARM!" Applejack yells as she takes an aggressive step towards the smaller pony. He doesn't seem to care that she's about to buck him back to Canterlot, but Apple Slice is starting to get scared. "Applejack!" I yell out, trying to gain her attention. She glares at the pony before her before he simply nods goodbye and takes his leave. Applejack twitches a few times before cussing a bunch as she bucks the stall behind her, breaking several of the boards. Normally I would scold her for being reckless, but I can't wrap my head around the situation. How could we owe so much money? We're normally on top of things when it comes to finances. A few of the other vendors come over and try to consolidate Applejack, but she brushes them off as she starts to pack up. I walk over and try to get her attention, but she's too angry to get through to. "Applejack-" "Bucking pansy ass posh asshole! Sell mah farm! Over my dead body!" she rambles on, tossing tools into place and roughly locking up the stall. "Applejack, Sis, what's going on? Who was that?" I ask again, but am ignored as she continues to ramble to herself. "Ah aint payin ta trade in mah own backyard, he can count on that! Tariffs! Tariffs mah ass! Stupid colt cuddling bureaucrat!" I finally get fed up of being ignored and shove her a bit, finally getting her attention. "Applejack! What is going on!?" I yell at her as I try to comfort Apple Slice as he cries his heart out. Applejack lets out a sigh as she takes him and starts to comfort him. She doesn't answer me, but I wait until my little nephew is consoled before trying again. "Sis, who was that? What does he mean we're being audited? What's going on?" "*sigh* ya know how we're technically Terradisian and Equestrian?" she asks quietly, gently rocking Apple Slice back and forth. "Yeah, what about it?" I ask cautiously. The other vendors that had come to try and calm Aj down leave to give us our privacy, offering their condolences as they go. "According ta... that pony, we're strictly Terradisian. Which means that we should have been paying taxes on every sale within Equestria. That and we are being fined for not meeting international IPM regulations, so we're being fined for that as well. The reason it cost so much is because of the inflation taking place in the Griffin Colonies, due to the acid rains there. They're marking us for the past six years for everything! From the Cider ta apples, everything!" "What did he mean chapter seven? What is that? Why would we have to sell the farm-" "We're not sellin the farm!" she cuts me off firmly, pushing her stetson back to look me in the eye. "Chapter seven is bankruptcy. It basically is when you tell the government that you can't pay yer debts. There's more to it, but we'll go over them later. Fer now, let's just pack up and go home, okay?" I gulp and nod along with her. I get what she's saying, but it's not making sense. Why are we suddenly being fined like this? Are we going to be able to make any more sales? What about Zap Apple season? It's just around the corner, are we going to be able to sell our preserves? What's going on?
Chapter 222 Power SpeaksChapter 222 Power Speaks Perspective: Spike It's almost time to leave for the moot, and I'm starting to get nervous. I know I'll have my mother there to watch my back, and having the Spartans nearby helps as well. But it's going to be tough facing the hordes again. Last time... last time wasn't good. I don't want to repeat what I did last time. Given, I was under Discords influence the last time I was here, so I'll be completely in control this time around. Facing what I ran away from will be tough, but I have to do it. I have to redeem my Dragon Honor. "You remember the signal if you need help?" Storm asks me. We're in the barracks of Fort Corium Gutter. I'm taking my clothes and storing them in one of the cots here. No point in bringing them, they'll only burn up with all of the other dragons there. And I'm sure Rarity would absolutely hate that. "Fly up and make a ball of fire, I remember Dad." I tell him for the tenth time as I pull my shirt off and fold it up nicely. "Right. And your queue to check in?" He's starting to pace around again. He does this every time he starts to get worked up about something. "Fly up and shoot and arc of lightning straight up into the air-" "Right. And if-" "Dad, I know what I'm doing. Please stop worrying, you're freaking me out." I tell him as I drop my pants and begin to fold them. It feels odd being nearly nude. Half of my mind is telling me to put my clothes back on for modesty, while the other half of telling me the exact opposite. Obviously in this situation, I'm going to pick the latter. It's just odd being clothed in a nude society. Dad stops pacing around comes back to my side. "I'm not worried-" a lie. "-I'm just checking to make sure that you know what to do if something goes wrong. We can't help you if you don't give us the queues to help." He tell me as he takes a seat before me. "I know. But don't worry about me. I'll be fine." I know telling him that won't do much for his nerves, but I have to say something. In all honesty, I'm probably going to be pretty safe there. I doubt many will want to mess with me after what I did there. "Well... I guess it's time." "I really wish there was a way we could shadow you. I don't like the idea of sending you there alone-" "I won't be alone. My mother will be there as well. It's not like she hasn't watched over me before." Storm closes his mouth and looks up to me, unsure of what to say. I sigh and take a seat on the cot, resting my elbows on my knees. "I... she saved me from Discords spell. If it wasn't for her... I would probably still be here. Or worse." "What happened?" Storm asks quietly. I look up and consider telling him, but a roar outside reminds me to get moving. "When I get back we'll talk, promise." I tell him as I stand up. He simply nods to me and stands up with me, offering his hoof for a shake. I stare at him for a moment before I sweep him up in a tight hug, burying my face in his neck. "Whoa! Uh... not that I'm against this, but-" "I know. I just... I..." "It's alright son." I loosen my grip on him and bury my face in his neck a bit more, trying my best to keep it together. "Everything is going to be alright. Like you said, we'll talk when you get back." I set him down and take a deep breath, steeling myself for what I'm about to endure. It's not going to be easy, but... "I'm glad you're here Dad. It means a lot to me." He nods to me, keeping quiet. I turn to the door and take one last breath before I march out the of the fort. All of the Spartans are waiting for me out front, with my mother waiting just beyond them. I go by each of them, pausing to hear their acknowledgements. Most wish me luck while others warn me to stay safe. I go through each moment blankly. I can't be Spike the Dragon for this. Not with what I did. When I approach my mother she leans over to nuzzle me slightly. I pat her snout a few times before flying up to her back. I grab a large spike and hold onto it as she prepares to take off. I look back down to the others and stare back at them. The sooner we get back, the sooner I can leave this life behind. With a mighty roar my mother takes off into the air. The fort shrinks away quickly as we gain altitude. Once we break through the cloud cover she levels off and begins to glide with the powerful air currents. With my mother flying and the wind on our back, it shouldn't take long to get there. A few hours, give or take. For the first bit of the trip I stay quiet, mentally preparing for what I have to do. I need to somehow win favor with Bolas to gain him as an ally. Or, at the least, make sure he remains neutral in any future conflict. I have to do that while trying not to elude to any probable war that might occur. Needless to say, it's not going to be easy. I know I'll have to talk about the probable war, but if I can avoid it I will. Fat chance though. "Kul." "Don't worry about me. I can handle myself." I reassure her, giving her neck a few pats. She looks back at me and narrows her eyes. "The blood is not on your claws alone," she growls to me. I sigh and look away from her. "... maybe not, but that doesn't make my claws any cleaner. Look, we can work this out later. Let's just focus on getting there and making a good impression." She glares at me for a second before returning her attention back to flying. "Very well. What do you suggest?" I can hear the irritation in her voice, but I ignore it as I think about how to approach the moot. When I finally do get an idea, an evil smirk crosses my face. "I have an idea." Five Hours Later "I do not think this is the best of ideas." Mother tells me worriedly. We're a few thousand feet above the volcano where the moot is taking place. She's hovering just above a cloud with me in her claws. "Trust me, this is going to work. Now, just like we rehearsed." She gives one final huff of annoyance before readying herself. "Are you-" "Three!" I yell, bracing myself. "Maybe we should-" "Two!" "There has to be-" "One!" "Do we have to?" "FIRE!" She hesitates for a second before taking a deep breath in and blasting a massive plume of fire towards the ground. Before the fire disappears she rear back and chucks me through the inferno. I dive through it with my wings tucked in and hold my eyes shut. Once I break through the heat I open my eyes and snap my wings wide. Below me is a massive crater filled with dragons. Most are laying around, but there are a few mulling about. There's also a large hoard of gems where most of the adolescents are located. I don't see Bolas anywhere though. With my main target out of sight, I set my eyes on whatever will make the biggest impression. KRA-BOOM With the aid of my magic, I crash into the pile of gems and create a massive explosion. Gems and young dragons go flying in a large plume of smoke all around me. I feel bad for the other dragons, but it's all part of the persona. I let out my own breath of fire around myself to keep of the smoke up. I wait a second before I hear all of the commotion beyond the smoke. Roars, yelling, pounding; yeah, I have their attention. "BOLAS!" I scream as menacingly as possible, silencing the crowd. It seems they recognize me at least. I give my wings a powerful flap and clear the smoke around myself before I start to walk out into the open. I flare my wings out and glance from side to side, waiting for Bolas to show himself. I know he will, I just need to wait a little longer. Any dragons that were near by flinch away from me. And not just the younger ones. Full grown adults back away from me with a simply glance in their direction. The adolescents hide in fear of me too. "Jerk!" I stop and look to my left. A young dragon has step forward to yell at me. She's about my size, just a tad bit shorter. I glare at her for a moment before stepping closer. She flinches away, but doesn't back down. "J-just leave us alone!" I get in her face and stare her down. She looks down and shakes in fear. I hesitate for a moment. The last time I was here, I would have crushed her for speaking out against me. This time though, I'm not that dragon. I have my mind this time. "Do yourself a favor, stay alive. Stay out of my way." She nods and steps away from me. "HOW...COLD." The ground beneath me shakes as cracks start to form in the center of the crater. I hold my ground and wait for whoever this is to appear. It's definitely not Bolas, that's for sure. The heat begins to rapidly rise as the cracks burst open. Torrents of lava spew from the ground as a massive molten arms breaks out of the ground. Mother lands behind me as a dragon claws its way out of the ground. It's massive. Whoever this is, he's are easily twice the size of mother,or any other full grown adult. His entire body looks to be made of brightly burning lave and cooled points of slag. When he finally pulls himself out and cools off completely I take a good look at him. He doesn't have wings, but the spikes on his back look to be small volcanoes that each spew black smoke. He has two horns coming off the top of his head that curve a bit before going straight back. His eyes are bright magma while his maw is molten earth. The heat from coming off from him is almost enough to make me start sweating. Many of the dragons around here are backing away from him, though the tougher ones are sticking around. "LITTLE DRAGON, SO COLD FROM HIS FLIGHT. COME TO URZA, AND BREATH IN THE FIRE." His voice sounds like it's being grated through a metal grinder. He doesn't really use his mouth to speak either. His voice just emanates from him. "Urza? Never heard of you." I tell him, crossing my arms. He chuckles at this and starts to walk around the edge of the crater, smirking to any of the dragons that are still lingering around. "NOT SURPRISING. YOU MAY NOT KNOW ME, BUT I KNOW YOU. SPIKE, SON OF-" "You don't speak of him!" Mother snaps, snarling at Urza. I glance back to her for a brief moment before returning my attention back to Urza. We can talk about that later. "HOW... COLD." I think he smiles at this, it's hard to tell when his face is made of lava. "You're the Elder of Fire, are you not?" I ask, getting his attention. "Why are you here?" He chuckles again and takes a seat. "OH, I HAVE MY REASONS. BOLAS AND I HAVE BEEN... TALKING, STUDENT OF CELESTIA." He says this... oddly. Like... the only comparison I can make is when one of the Spartans shit talk about sex and... stuff. ... I think my job just get a little easier. "SO WHAT IS THE SUN GODDESS UP TO THESE DAYS?" Okay, it just got a lot easier. I knew I was going to talk about the threat of was. But, getting a giant magma dragon as an ally will be worth it. "Worrying." I tell him casually, walking slowly to the side. If he's as obvious as I think he is, all I have to do is toy with him a bit. For once, Rarity's advice will actually pay off. "WORRYING? I FIND THAT HARD TO BELIEVE-" "Believe it! The threat of war is about to consume her land and her ponies and they're all looking to her to solve everything! She-" "CONTROLS THE SUN." He says dryly. Well, as dryly as he can at least. "NO ENEMY COULD STAND AGAINST HER. HER FIRE IS ABSOLUTE-" "It's not her fire she's worried about. I know it's strange for a dragon like you to understand, but it's the ponies she watches over that she worries about. They can't handle a war the same way she can, and she can't fight an entire war by herself. Well, not without coming into harms way-" "WHO IS THIS THREAT?" Like taking candy from a baby. "Ulf-" "ENOUGH!" The sky above me thunders when that powerful voice roars from above. The ambient energy in the area suddenly grows tremendously as dark clouds rage above the mountain top. It feels like the static electricity you get from rubbing a balloon, only a lot heavier. Another crack of energy shoots through the air before Bolas came crashing down through the cloud cover. He's roughly the same size as Urza, only skinnier. His black scales shine brilliantly as he rears up above Urza, snarling down at him. "BOLAS." Urza regards calmly. "DO NOT BE SWAYED SO EASILY URZA! KEEP YOUR LUST UNDER-" "LUST? THIS IS MORE THAN PROCREATION. THIS IS ABSOLUTION, IN ITS MOST PURE FORM." Urza tells him proudly. Every dragon here seems to roll their eyes at this. He... knows what he wants at least. I don't know what that is exactly, but I hope Celestia doesn't mind the lead on. If it's to help... I'm sure she'll take one for the team. "And I'm sure if you help protect her ponies from Ulfric, she'd absolutely love the assistance." I try to lay on the charm, but I can tell that I really don't have to try that hard. It's a bit creepy how much he wants Celestia, but at the same time I kind of get it. I mean, when a dragon really wants something, it can get to their heads a bit. "All she needs is a hero to come in and-" "ENOUGH DISILLUSIONS!" Bolas screams. "SHE WILL NEVER BE YOURS! HE'S LYING TO YOU FOR HIS OWN PERSONAL GAIN! DO NOT LET HIM-" "Is something wrong Bolas?" I ask, glancing at my claw nonchalantly. "We could settle this like last time." I ignite the magic in my claw and glance up to Bolas. He fidgets for a second. It was hard to tell, but it was there. "LOOKING FOR FOLLOWERS WITH MURDER? HOW MANY ARE YOU GOING TO KILL UNTIL-" "Don't talk back to me as if you care for the lives of those under you-" "THIRTEEN." I stop and think back to that day. I was alone, lost to the lie Discord had put on me. So I left. At first it was just home. But that wasn't enough. Then I left Equestria and wandered around the Badlands for awhile. At first it wasn't so bad, but I was alone at first. At the same time there was a moot happening nearby, Bolas's moot. A few dragons tried to approach me, for whatever reason. I never found out why though. Instantly I turned on them. They were young, barely old enough to venture from the nest. And I killed them without hesitation. My attack wasn't quiet either. Their mothers came quickly and attacked. I slaughtered them. Ripped them to shreds. In my anger and sorrow I gave in to the power and grew into the monster within me. Thirteen lives later, Bolas came. Not for their lives, but because my power was growing immensely. So we fought. It was an unstoppable force hitting an immovable object. We couldn't kill each other, but we wouldn't stop fighting either. A year later, mother finally came. She was drawn out of her seclusion because our fighting had damaged her home. Somehow, I still don't know how to this day, she got to me. She calmed me down enough to the point where I could at least end the fighting. Something she said to Bolas got his to stop as well, but I was not in any condition to understand it. She took me into her care and nurtured me back to health. She forced me to believe that I wasn't alone, that I was wanted, and broke through Discords curse. I agreed to come here for selfish reasons. To face the demons I left here, and try to connect with my people. I know it won't happen today. It will take more than a life time to earn their trust, but I have to start somewhere. I'll still try and help the Spartans, but this is more for me. "Thirteen. You don't have to remind me, I know." He scoffs and lowers himself down to eye me. I keep a strong face on as I stare him down. "WHY ARE YOU HERE? WHAT COULD YOU POSSIBLY GAIN BEING HERE?" I look around as I try to form my answer. I've dreamed about this moment for the past year, but in the moment, I'm still scared. "I'm here, because what I did was wrong. And I want to make amends for it." He blinks once, but doesn't say anything. So I continue. "Let me in so I can mend the wounds I opened." "... THOSE THAT COME TO MY MOOT MUST PRESENT AN OFFERING OF POWER. YOU MUST DO THE SAME AS WELL IF YOU WISH TO ATTEND. BUT BE WARNED. I AM ONLY ALLOWING YOU TO ATTEND TO BETTER GAUGE YOU YOUNG DRAGON. SLIP OUT OF LINE, AND I WILL DESTROY YOU. THERE WILL BE NO FURTHER DEATHS IN MY MOOT, UNDERSTOOD?" I beam at this and nod to him, getting him to rise. "AND LASTLY, YOUR OFFERING WILL BE EVALUATED BY THE OTHERS. IF THEY FEEL YOUR GIFT IS NOT SUITABLE, YOU WILL LEAVE. UNDERSTOOD?" "Of course, thank you-" "DON'T THANK ME YET. THE MOOT WILL BE IN HELD IN THREE DAYS, SURVIVE TILL THEN. IN THE MEAN TIME, URZA AND I HAVE MATTERS TO DISCUSS." Author's Note This chapter was going to be longer, but I decided I liked it shorter. Plus, now I have a good start on the next chapter! Cultural Reference Guide: Griffin Colonies Cultural Reference Guide: Soviet Bear Union Brony on!
Chapter 224 Keen AlliesChapter 224 Keen Allies Perspective: True Will Sleep has never really been an issue for me in the past. I remember when I first started out as a mercenary I had trouble sleeping after a few missions. I was new to the field, and it was a tough time for me. But, as I grew more into the field, it became easier and easier. Now, any mission I do I can almost guarantee that I'll sleep perfectly fine. It comes with the field. But, there are a few things that I can not sleep through- SNOOOOOORE -such as a snoring orc- SNOOOOOORE -a snoring farmer- SNOOOOOORE -and Butterscotch. I suddenly miss the days where I got my own room and didn't have to deal with this crap. I could just go sleep in one of the observation towers, but at this point it'd be pointless. I can already tell it'll be my time to go on patrol soon. SNOOOOOORE My eye twitches when their snores sync up for a moment. How could it possibly get any worse than this!? "Mmm, you know I like it like that.... sweet cheeks." That's it! Ellzy sleep talking is the last straw for me. I toss my blankets off and march out of the room as quickly as possible. In the future I'll have to find somewhere else to sleep. Or go to sleep first. Either way, I can not be conscious when the others are asleep. I trot into the mess hall and grab a bowl of oats for breakfast. I eat them dry, trying to get out of the building as quickly as possible. I doesn't take me long to down the dry meal, grab my gear, and head out the front door. I drop my stuff in a huff and begin to do my stretches for the day. When I twist to the side to stretch out my back, I freeze up when I see the massive blue thing on top of the fort. It has the body of a large lizard and the head of a bird. It has feathers all around it's head and along a good portion of its body. It doesn't have scales though. It instead has a crystalline body of light sapphire. "..." It looks down at me and cocks its head ninety degrees to the right, then the left. "..." "SQUAAAA!" I look around at the surrounding posts for any kind of back up. The only person I can see on duty is Sledge, but he's on the other side of the compound looking away from here. I reach out for my radio, but stop when the creature in front of me twitches with my movements. It's eyeing me closely, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. "AAAAAHH! I slept like a foal!" Dust Devil yawns loudly as she walks out to me. I begin to panic as the creature begins to eye her as well. "Uhh.... Dust?" "I should take that blanket home with me. I love heavy wool blankets! They're the best-" "U-uh... Dust!?" "I just wish those cots were a bit softer. I think I have a kink in my back-" "Dust! I need you to-" "Maybe I can get Butterscotch to give me a back rub, or something. Uhg. this-" "DUST!" "What!?" "SQUAAA!" Dust jumps up and does a flip in the air before landing behind me in a defensive pose. She gasps when she finally gets a good look the giant creature above us. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" I cover my ears from Dusts scream. From within the building I can hear the rest of the Spartans scrambling. When she finally stops screaming it takes me a moment to get my hearing back to normal. "What the... Dust?" I look around for a moment before I hear flapping above me. "HE'S ADORABLE!" I look back up to see Dust land just before the large creature, squeezing her cheeks with her hooves. "DUST!? WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!? GET DOWN FROM THERE BEFORE IT EATS YOU!" I yell frantically as I start to pull my sword out. "But he's so cute! Aren't you sweetie!?" she says sweetly to the creature as she steps closer to it. The creature quickly brings it's large beak down and pins Dust down to the roof. "DUST!" I quickly teleport on top, only to find Dust giggling as the creature sniffs her all over. They both pause to stare at me before the creature squawks at me. I try to run from it, but it quickly grabs me in its beak and brings me back down below, dropping me in front of the rest of the Spartans before running back up to its nest on our roof. I shift around a bit, but once I'm certain I'm not harmed I get back up and glare at the creature. "I don't think he likes you Will-" "GET DOWN FROM THERE DUST!" I cut her off, jumping a bit in anger. "But she's so cute! Can we keep her?" she asks eagerly. "NO!" I yell, then pause. "She?" "Yeah, there are three black eggs up here. So, I guess it's a she, and she's gonna be a mommy!" Dust cheers, jumping up and giving a little twirl. "Eggs!" Raz cheers as well, getting odd looks from everypony else. "Marvelous! I'll start a fire pit and we shall have our fill today!" "What!? NO!" Dust yells at him as he marches off. "Storm don't let him eat her eggs!" "Storm, tell her to get rid of it!" He looks between the two of us, weighing his options. Everypony stares at him for a moment before the creature squawks again. It jumps back down to the ground and quickly runs to my gear. It looks it over for a moment before picking up my helmet and running back to the top of the building. "YOU BASTARD! THAT'S MINE!" I yell as I summon it back to me. It glances down at me before squawks at me and jumps down, eyeing my helmet. I look to the others for a moment before turning tail and running. "SQUAAA!" Perspective: Storm For a good ten minutes the Spartans and I watch as True Will ran around the compound to try and avoid the creature. But it was clearly obvious that without using magic that the creature held the advantage in speed. But once the creature would take it back to its nest, Will would just summon it back to him. It reminded me a lot of how Philomena and Softy would play. It was obviously a game to one, and a matter of pride to the other. "Hey Johnathan?" I call out to the owl griffin, getting him to step up to me. "What is that thing?" "Well," he says as he pushes his Pince-nez glasses up slightly, "if I would take a leap of faith and guess, I'd say it's a crystal drake. But I'm not one hundred percent on that, due to its friendly nature." "Oh?" I ask as the creature, possibly a crystal drake, picks up Will and sets him on top of one of the towers. His screams of terror amuse me until he teleports back down. "Yes, well, generally speaking drakes tend to be more violent towards outsiders, especially when around their nest. The fact that it's treating us like its young is... odd." We pause when Will starts to try and pull his helmet out from its beak. But the creature simply lifts him up and brings him up to the nest with her. He tries to get out, but now she won't let him leave. "Is there any other creature that looks like that?" I ask as I watch him scream for help as she pins him lightly with her forelegs. Rather than help, Dust joins him. "None that come to mind. If I had a chance to go over my tomes I could possibly find one, but at the moment it's an extraordinarily friendly crystal drake." We all pause and look back up. The creature is eyeing us curiously as Will tries to crawl his way out from beneath the creature. Dust... is happy. "I got it!" Lief yells, gaining our attention suddenly. "It built its nest on top of our sleeping area, so we must have her scent! It must think we're all its young!" Jonathan nods to his idea, looking back up to the creature. "That makes a lot of sense actually. And it shows a lot about drake behavior as well... I'll be back!" Before we could ask anything further, he flies into the fort to get... whatever he's getting. "Lieutenant Storm, you need to come up here!" Dust yells down to me. The fact she called me by rank makes me pause before flying up there. The crystal drake squawks at me, but doesn't do anything beyond that. "Look." "What is that?" I peer inside the nest and see a metal object buried in the branches. I step up and start to dig around until I discover the shoulder of familiar looking armor. It has a brass finish and is spiked at the shoulder. It doesn't seem that large, far too thin for a pony to wear. "That's goblin armor." True Will mentions, done trying to escape the drake. "That's not just goblin armor." I tell them as I dust it off a bit, looking it over closely. "It's heavy military armor. Look at the battery pack on the back." "What are military personnel from the Goblin Empire doing here? I've never heard of goblin raiding parties striking this far from their territory. That, and they don't normally wear heavy armor in their hunting parties." True Will tells me. "Dust; you, Jonathan, Night, and Shifted get geared up. I want you all to scout the area around here within a twenty mile radius. I'll have Tiber and Si Ye launch as well for support. I don't think we're the only ones here." "Yes sir! But..." she eyes up a few times before giving me her best puppy dog eyes. I sigh and glance up at the crystalline creature. "She can stay-" "WHAT!?" Will screams. "YES!" Dust screams. "So long as she provides security and doesn't hinder our operations. If it steps out of line, then Raz gets to eat it. Now get going! That armor hasn't been sitting there for long." I yell at them as I move my attention to the pony trying to be as small as possible. "SLEDGE! How did a giant chicken lizard get past you!?" Perspective: Spike Once I knew what I needed to get into the moot, mother and I left immediately. A few other dragons followed after us, but kept their distance. I paid them no mind though, I have too much on my mind to think about them. What am I going to give as an offering of power? I don't own anything that they would deem worthy enough, at least I don't think so. Then there's the issue of what they determine to be power. Is it something symbolic, or physical? Maybe it should be both, just to be safe. I don't think I could get away with doing just one anyway. Not after everything I've done. "Spike," mother comments, still tucked into herself. "Stop pacing around so much, you're starting to wear the ground away." I look down at the doughnut shaped hole in the cave ground and step out of it in a huff. "What is wrong?" "You know what's wrong! I have to bring an offering of power in three days and I have no clue what to bring!" I begin pacing again as I start to go over possibilities. "Maybe I should do a demonstration of power? Or should I make something powerful? But I'm not that good at making foci. Maybe I can get Miles to make one for- no! No, I have to do this." "We have a visitor." Mother comments. I turn to the entrance of the cave and flare my hands, ready for anything. At first I don't see anything, but when something shift in the shadows I lower my guard a bit and approach the figure. "You can come out now." I growl out. I hear the figure gulp before stepping out into the light. I immediately relax and glare at the dragon before me. I remember her as the dragon from before, the one that called me out. I frown at her and step closer, eyeing her closely. She's a frail one, I can tell that. She's has an amethyst color about her, slightly lighter than me, with lighter undertones. "What are you doing here?" "I-I... uh... I was... um..." she mumbles as she looks away, fiddling with her claws a bit. "Well?" She looks up to me for a second before looking back down to the ground. I hear mother chuckle and start to get up. "I'll leave you two alone," she says teasingly. I drop my tough guy visage and gawk at her. "W-what!? No you won't!" I squeak out at her. "Yes I will," she retorts simply, walking out of the cave. I was going to chase after her when the girl next to me giggled. "What are you laughing at!?" The purple dragon returns to looking at the ground, though I can see the traces of a grin on her face. I ignore her for a second to chase after my mother. When I make it out of the cave I stop and watch her take to the air, ending any hope of catching her. With a huff of annoyance I turn back to the cave and re-approach the dragon. "What are you doing here!?" "Um... I-I was just... curious," she mumbles. "Remember what I told you earlier?" I ask, making her nod. "Then leave." I turn and march to the other end of the cave where I drop down to sit against the wall. The girl looks around for a second before slowly walking towards the cave entrance. Three steps into it though she turns back to me. "W-why are you such a loner?" she asks quickly, making me glare at her. "You've never lived around dragons, and now I'm trying to at least talk to you and you push me away! Do you like being alone that much or do you just not know how to-" "Shut it!" I snap, silencing her. I sigh and sit up a bit more, suddenly thinking back to Rarity. Spikey! You never tell a lady to 'shut it'! "Look, it's complicated. Do yourself a favor and leave me alone." She mulls what I said over for a moment before smirking to me. "Mommas boy." I growl at her as she turns and starts to run away. I jump up and step out to the center of the cave, igniting my claws. Just as she makes it to the center of the cave I pull back at her, making a powerful gust of wind fling her back towards me. She hits the ground and slides for a bit before coming to a stop just before my feet. She looks up to me before giving me a weak smile. "Uh... hey there... Mr. Spike sir... so... I didn't mean that by the way! That was a joke, a really dumb joke that... you know, dragons laugh at. And why am I even talking!? I should really stop now! So... I just going to stop talking now... so I don't say any other bad... dragon... jokes.... okay... please don't-" "Do you ever stop talking?" I ask, silencing her. I shake my head and go back to my spot in the cave, being sure to leave my magic on. "What's your name?" "Um... I'm Maant Iliis." "Maant Iliis, Diamond Hide, why did you come all the way out here?" She looks away again, trying to form an answer. I kneel down so my lite claws are closer to her face. "Why did you come here?" Instead of an answer she simply closes her eyes and spreads her legs. I look down for a second and feel my fire go out. Without a word said, I stand up and slowly walk out of the cave. I kind of just stand there for a moment. Staring out at the world before me. After a few moments I hear her walk out after me, shuffling around nervously. "Um... are you okay?" she asks timidly. I gulp as I try to ignore her. But, obviously, she couldn't go without a response. "Did you now understand my intent?" "..." "I-I was offering myself... to you... well?" "..." "I know I called you a jerk earlier, and then a mommas boy, but... I mean... if you were more of a dragon this would make sense-" "More of a dragon!?" I snap, looking back to her. "I'm powerful enough to take on Bolas!" "Of course! Of course! I didn't mean anything by it! I was-" "Was what? Insult me? Seduce me? What exactly were you planning on achieving here?!" She takes a few steps back and holds her claws before herself again. She avoids my eyes as she starts to mumble to herself. I growl in frustration and quickly approach her, pinning her to the wall behind her. "OUT WITH IT!" "I THOUGHT THAT IF I GOT ON YOUR GOOD SIDE YOU WOULD TEACH ME YOUR MAGIC!" she yells out before ducking down and covering her head. I glare down at her and start to ignite my magic before a light goes off in my head. A plan to get me into the moot and gain respect with the other dragons. "Train you in magic." I mumble as I think over the implications. It would require taking her back home in a life long commitment to training in the arcane arts. Rarity might become infuriated with my choice of apprentice. No where near as mad as Miles will when he hears about this. I'm still learning myself, what do I have to offer to teach? But, then again, the dragons don't know that I'm the student. For all they know, I'm the master. "I-I know it was a stupid idea and I'm not worth your time! I-I'll leave and never bother you again mist-" "How serious are you about this?" I ask, silencing her suddenly. "This is not something you pick up suddenly. This will require a lifetime of commitment and constant study to even become decent at. This will change your life forever, Maant. So, I ask you again, how serious are you about this?" She stays down for a moment longer, thinking over her response deeply. I stand there patiently, waiting what she has to say for herself. "I-I've lived my entire life in fear of other, more powerful, dragons. To have the chance to become strong enough to stand against Bolas himself... I'm willing to do anything." She stands up shakily and stares me right in the eyes. I can see the conviction within her own, along with the pain of something else. "Please, make me strong! I'm tired of being pushed around, I want to stand up for myself now! I beg you, give me that chance!" "I'm only going to warn you once. This will change your life. As I am an outcast for other dragons, so will you. This form a magic requires a mindset different than that of a dragons. You are asking to become an outsider of your own people. Can you do that? Can you leave all of this behind?" She looks down for a second before looking back up to me with that same determined look. "When do we start?" I give her a toothy grin before marching back outside, beckoning her to follow after me. "First things first, we need to meet up with the Spartans." Perspective: Applejack Once it was well enough into the day I set out to talk to Luna again. Applebloom is watching over Apple Slice and Granny Smith with Rampant helping out. Shy felt it necessary to tag along as well. It's not that I want to keep her in the dark about this, it's just that I'd rather have her helping with the kids. But, she politely refused to listen to me, then apologized a thousand times for arguing with me. I haven't seen her this ornery since Jasper... now that I think about it, I still don't know what happened with her and Mac back then. "How much was it again?" Shy asks quietly as she tries to keep up with my quick pace. "Too much, that's how much." I growl as I think back to that pansy little pencil pusher. "Is the farm ready for something like this-" "The only thing ah'm ready ta do is wring that pencil pushing dingle-berry's neck out!" "Oh... my. Um... was she really that rude-" "He was ruder than rude! He was downright despicable! Iffin it was up ta me, I'd buck his flank back ta Canterlot and be done with his nonsense! That carnsarn little plot head!" "Applejack! Language!" I roll my eyes at her and quicken my pace up the path to Lunas home. I don't bother with opening the door and march right in. I look both ways and find Luna sitting at the dining room table, holding her head up with her hoof. She's reading some old tome that looks like it could blow away any second now, with dozens of other ancient books sitting all over the table. She holds a hoof up to us and continues reading, so Shy and I take a seat across from her. I look at the multiple cups of coffee and feel a pang of guilt. She must have been up for hours reading up on this. "I have good news, and I have bad news." She tells me as she finishes up reading and slowly closes the book. "Well, let's start with the bad then." "It's legal-" "AH BUCK THAT!" I yell as I slam my hoof down on the table. Shy gasps at me, but Luna remains as stoic as ever. "How could that possibly be legal!?" "The ones calling this audit are quoting very old laws. It would seem that around twenty seven hundred years ago it was determined that separate counties would tariff imports to maintain local businesses and create a competitive edge over imports from other nations. This is part of why Equestria has such a powerful mercantile network. We can export, but importing is just a nightmare." She gives a light chuckle as she pats the book. "Funnily enough, this is the same law book that made Miles and I rulers of Equestria-" "Luna." "Right! There is a loophole though! All we need to do is first make an appeal to either the night court or day court and ask for an investigation to be made. And yes, we actually need to make an appeal at court so there is the proper documentation. Then, with some luck, we can appeal to all of your contacts and customers to sign a petition to have the investigation benched. From there we-" "Luna!" I bark, getting her to pause. "I appreciate all of the help you're giving me, ah really do. But I need to make sales now. All of this political business is... it's just gonna take too long. Is there a way to get this resolved early?" Luna mulls it over for a second before pulling several books over with her magic and starts to read again. I groan and let my head hit the table. We're doomed, doomed! We'll fall behind on sales, the farm will fall into disrepair, we'll have an entire harvest go bad, all for nothing! "It's okay Aj, I'm sure Luna will figure something out." Shy tells me as she rubs my back. I groan in response. "Applebloom needs new duds fer school. Then the house needs ta be re-shingled before the rains come. Not to mention diapers, food, an any other daily things we use all of the time. We don't have that much saved up, and we're not digging into Bloom's college fund!" "We wouldn't dream of it." Shy reassures me, rubbing a bit firmer on my back. "We need this next harvest or we'll dig ourselves too deep ta bounce back. We've always been on the border of black and red, this'll plunge us ta-" "Stop your crying, I found another loophole." Luna cuts me off. "Really! What is it?!" "Well... it's sort of a loophole-" "Well is it or isn't it!? Why ya gettin me all worked up over sumpting that might not be-" "Applejack." Luna says calmly, silencing me. "This method is technically not legal, but is at the same time. This all hangs on whether or not we can convince this audit pony to hold off the investigation. If we can do that, then we can buy ourselves some time. But that won't end this problem. But, I'm sure that if we appeal to his better nature we'll-" "Ah'll have ta stop ya there. There aint no way we're getting through to that pony. No way, no how." "How can you be so sure?" Luna asks. "Well, besides the fact that he's a bureaucrat, pencil pushing, scroll rutter? I... may have yelled at him a teeny tiny bit." I pull my hat over my face and try to avoid eye contact with the two of them. "Well then... I'm sure that if you apologize-" "Apologize!?" "-and keep in mind that this is for the betterment of your family, he'll come around. And, if all else fails, bring him to me and I'll try to appeal to his better pony nature." I look back to her for a moment before nodding to her. If it's for my family, I'll do almost anything for them. Even if I really don't want to. "Mom?" We all look over to see Tempestive standing in the doorway to the kitchen, drinking a juice box. "What's a scroll rutter?" "Go to your room." Luna tells him before glaring back to me. Perspective: Shadow Most ponies my age love Saturdays. They go out with their friends, play games, eat sweets, do average teenager stuff. Not me. Saturday is work day in Moosden, and today is no different. I'm basically Moms assistant as she goes from business to business and check on current affairs. I didn't think being an assistant would be all that hard. Note taking, holding a few things here and there, maybe if this was some other town. Not Mooseden. "GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE PUNK!" Mom yells as she barrels down main street. That colt from before returned again and has stolen a bag of apples. The unicorn is fast on his hooves and seems to know the town fairly well. No matter how many bots jump in his way he knows a way around them. He slides between their legs and teleports a short distance away. By limiting himself, he's saving energy. He's smart, I'll give him that. Even with the most well formed plan of attack, Mom hasn't been able to catch him in the few months he's been here. Mom is feeling optimistic about today. I'm... terrified. "NOW SHADOW NOW!" I jump when my name is called. I yank a rope and create a trip wire in front of the pony. But,instead of being stopped, he blows through it. Yanking the rope out of my mouth. He skids to a halt on the mico platform and teleports away. But, not before blowing a kiss to Mom. She slides to a stop in front of the platform and starts a tirade of cussing, stomping her hooves repetitively. I smack my lips a few times as the ropes burn starts to kick in on my mouth. "Ssss, that really hurt." I comment as I walk up to her. She stops fuming and grabs my face, looking me over closely. I try to back away from her, but in her rage she uses her iron hoof to hold me in place. "How bad is it? Do you need a doctor?" she asks as she tilts my head from side to side. "I don't think so-" "Band-aid? Salve?" "No, I'm fine! I just-" "Ice pack?" She stops moving my head around and gives me a stern look, clearly still angry about the local thief. "... fine-" "Okay, come on sweetie." Oh no, she called me sweetie. Nothing good happens after that terrible, terrible, awful word... except when it's Sweetie Bell of course. The best course of action from here on out is to say as little as possible and just agree with her on everything. We weave our way through the small crowd that has gathered around and step inside our home. This has to be one of the few times I've felt embarrassed here. Not even Dad calling me Shad in his baby voice compares to have to walk past everypony as you let the local nuisance get away. I wanted to tell Mom that I wan't the best pony for the job, but I don't get to whine my way out of work. E'Claire and Butterscotch are the guardians of our small town. It's their job to oversee the growth and prosperity of Mooseden, as atonement to the town. Dad reformed Mooseden after claiming it for Terradisia. I'm the daughter of the three of them. Even though they've never put any actual responsibility on me, it's there without them saying so. If I screw up, it reflects on them. It's a lot of pressure, but usually it's not a big deal. It's only become a problem ever since that one pony showed up and started stealing food. He has to be new to Ponyville, it's the only place he could run to after taking the mico platform. How he knows of the platform and how to avoid the bots is beyond me. He must know something we don't. Either way, he's a pest and life is going to be easier when we catch him. I just hope I have a muzzle when that day finally comes. So I follow Mom home where she storms over to the fridge and starts to angrily make an ice pack. I take a seat in the kitchen and patiently for her to return. Nothing I say at the moment will really help, so I'll just wait for her to start fuming. "I just don't get it!" Here we go. "Ponyville isn't even getting hit that hard! Why does he have to steal from us!? At this point I think he's just doing it to piss me off!" "I highly doubt that-" "He blew a kiss at me! That pompous little twerp thinks he's going to get away again, ooooh, he's got another thing coming, that's for sure!" She slams a few things around before brings a wash cloth with ice over. I flinch when she forces it against my lip but don't fight it too much. She's mad, free pass. "Maybe next time we'll use two ropes-" "Next time I'm using an army of bots with guns and missiles and fucking giant ass grappling cannon things!" "... Um... not that that isn't a good idea, but I think Dad, as well as most of the town, would get mad if you used half of those-" "They won't be mad when I string that little shmuck up and tan his hide!" She starts adding a bit more force to the ice, making me hiss in pain. "Sorry sweetie-" "Maybe we need to approach this differently." I tell her as I take the wash cloth of ice away from her. "Oh, and how would you capture him?" I stop and think about it for a second before thinking of the obvious. "Why don't we just chase him all the way home and confront him there?" "Because he lives in Ponyville most likely. We don't have the jurisdiction to arrest him there!" "Well... better to stop him than capture him-" "Absolutely not! I will not rest until I have both my hooves on his straggly little neck!" She takes the ice pack away from me and starts to crush it in her hooves, chuckling to herself as a few strands of hair start to cover her face. I scoot my chair back as her chuckles turn to full blown evil laughter, thunder somehow breaking in the distance. "U-Uh... I just remembered I was suppose to help with a school project... in Ponyville... now." This is a new level of crazy for Mom, best to just avoid it all together. I slip out of my seat and start to back peddle towards the door. Moms eyes dilate a bit as she starts to try to rip the cloth apart, dropping crushed ice everywhere as she goes from evil laughter to... vengeful doomsayer. I slip out the door just as she starts to monologue about what terrible things she's going to do to that poor colt. "Hey Shadow-" "AH!" I nearly fall over from the voice coming from behind me. I spin around to see one of the moose standing behind me. "Oh, sorry for that dear. Are you alright?" "Y-yeah... uh.... um..." I can't remember her name suddenly. Just another thing to add to my embarrassment today. "Shaska-" "Right! Shaska! You're... you are... uh..." Why? Why me? "I'm Frank Mooses mother-" "Right! Right? I-I mean, how can I help you?" I straighten myself out a bit and try to look at least a bit professional in front of her. She smiles and lets it all slide, bless her heart. "I need to talk to E'Claire about the orphanage, is she in?" "NO!" I jump back and press my back to the door, scaring her for a moment. "I-I mean, yes, she is in. You just... might want to give her a minute... or two." "Bad day?" she asks sympathetically. "Maybe not the worse, but it's up there." I tell her, relaxing a bit. She nods and looks around. "Well, I guess I'll come back another time then-" "I can help-" "Oh no, I wouldn't want you doing your mothers work-" "I really don't mind-" "Especially since it's Saturday! Shouldn't you be out with friends or something?" she asks as she takes a step back. "I'm capable of doing anything my mother is capable of doing. I've been trained with a few healing spells as well as any other emergency protocol procedures. I am capable of dealing with any problem that may-" "A few of the pups at the orphanage had an accident on the heating furnace," she cuts me off dryly. "The one in the main hall. Because of that the furnace has also stopped working, making it freezing in there." "..." I really hope she means they peed on it. "The smell is starting to seep into the other rooms as well-" "Mom's inside!" Before she could say anything else I make a run for the mic platform. I can deal with a lot of things, that's just not one of them. Anything, but that. I flash to Ponyville and make a run for it. I'm not entirely sure why, but Ponyville seems safe today... that's a creepy thought. It's odd how it could be one of the most secure locations with some of the most powerful people in the world residing there, yet that only seems to create more conflict. I'll have to bring this up with Dad next time he's home! I'm sure this'll make for some interesting conversation pieces- "Hey Shadow!" "GAH!" I jump again from the sudden voice. I really need to work on that. I look up and- "Rumble!? What are you doing here?" "Um... I live here? Ponyville isn't that big you know." I move past him and try to catch my breath, both from the scare and the impulse running. "So... what are you doing in town today?" "I... just needed to get away-" "Great! Well, not great because that probably means you're under a bit of stress, but great in that we could hang out. If you wanted to that is! I mean, if you'd like to, please? I-I mean... uh... this got awkward fast." I stop and look back to him, getting him to go rigid. He starts to sweat a bit as he tries to stand there, avoiding eye contact. "So... would you like to hang out?" "... maybe another time Rumble. Right now... I don't think that would be a good idea right now." His entire demeanor drops drastically when I tell him. I have to look away from him to avoid pitying him. I know it's cold to push him away like this, but it's what he asked for. Without saying a word to him I turn away and start to walk off. I try to not look back, but I don't need to. Only a few steps away from him he jumps into the air and lands before me with a determined look on his face. "Rumble-" "No, you listen and you listen well!" I back peddle from his outburst, losing any response I could have made. "I bucked up, and I bucked up big time. I know this, half the town knows this. But I plan on doing what's right to earn your respect back. And I'm sorry I'm being so forward about this but this is the only way I know how to approach things and hearing myself right now is making me regret this slightly. So, sorry again for this, but I'm not giving up without a fight. Now, I am going over to Mooseden to help with whatever problem has arisen over there. You... uh... can do what you want, but... uh... yeah." "You're not very good at giving speeches, are you?" "Dear Celestia no! I'm more of the lead by doing kind of guy." We both share a light chuckle together. I paw at the ground as we both just stand there, waiting for the other to speak up. After a long time passes I look back up to him. "Are you really going to go scrape poop off of a furnace for me?" "Is that what you're running from?!" I cringe a bit from his outburst, making him sigh. "I-If it gets even the slightest bit of your respect back... t-then sure." "You don't have to-" "I know I don't have to. But this is important to me. I messed up. And if that means cleaning up burning poop, then that's what I'm going to do!" I smile at his enthusiasm, making him stand a bit taller. "It's going to take more than cleaning Rumble." "I know, but... I have to start somewhere. I guess that means starting in the shit... POOP! I meant poop! Sorry." I laugh at his apology, getting him to relax. "Trust me, I've heard much worse things from my father's mouth. And I'm being serious, you don't have to do this-" "All the more reason to do it!" "You're not even a Terradisian-" "Do I need to be to clean up poop?" "My mother is probably going to ask a million questions!" "And I'll answer them all." I do a double take when he says that. "All of them?" I ask cautiously. "Aren't you the one who said there are no secrets there?" "Well, yes. But it's my mother! She's going to ask about... about what happened." He tilts his head at me, confused about something. "I figured as much." "She'll kill you! And I don't mean that in the metaphorical sense! She's plotting t o kill some colt whose stealing apples, imagine what she's going to do to the colt that cheated on her daughter!" He thinks about it for a second before walking towards my home. I teleport in front of him to stop him, but he simply walks around me. "Are you crazy or do you just have a death wish!?" He stops in his tracks and looks back at me with those same intense eyes as before. "I don't care how much of a dork I will sound like, or about the fact that there is a crowd of ponies watching us, here's the truth. Yes, I am crazy. From the moment I laid eyes on you, you are all I can think about! I am wings down crazy about you! And yes, I realize how creepy that sounds! It sounded way more romantic in my head!" "Why are you still yelling?" I ask as I try to shrink down. "I don't know! I-I really don't know! So, I'm going to Mooseden now to clean up poop! I'll see you later, and sorry again for causing a scene!" With that he takes off into the sky, flying as quickly as possible. I take a look at the small crowd around me and teleport away. Too many eyes, way too many eyes. I need to escape. I wonder if Mama Luna would let me stay at Canterlot until I'm in my twenties? Author's Note Cultural Reference Guide: Statera Calling Ponyrun players 2.0 Shout out to Shadow Faith for picking the colors of Maant Illis! Thanks for reading, and like always, Brony on!
Chapter 225 ScoutsChapter 225 Scouts Perspective: Rainbow Dash The air here is so different than from back home. It's much warmer and far more sporadic, but that’s a given. There isn't anypony here to control it and with all of the abundant magic in the area there's going to be obvious side effects. All of this makes it a bit difficult to fly while armored up. The random winds keep trying to knock us out of the sky while the heat makes us sweat like crazy. But we may as well get used to it. We're going to be here for a while. And that means the Jumpers are going to be flying around Fort Corium Gutter constantly for patrols. At least the view is nice. To the right is the mountain range Spike flew off into. Down below us, a large plains stretches far and wide. To the left, the plains seem to break off into slabs of earth, eventually crumbling into the ocean. The rocks breaking into the ocean have a deep green tint to them that turns to tan as they settle into the plains. There aren't many trees in the immediate vicinity, but I can see a rainforest in the far distance. It doesn't look too inviting. "Captain!" I look over to my wingmate, Dust Devil, and nod to her. "South, by the cliff side, I think I saw something!" "You don't have to yell, Dust," I tell her. With our helmets on we have our comms system to communicate. But, every now and again, we forget we have them. "Point it out." She banks to the left and breaks through a cloud before pointing out a small cave in the distant cliff side. "I saw a flicker for a second. We should check it out," she tells me, using less volume. "Alright. Dust, you're with me. High Flyer and Shift, you'll cover the left. Ellzy and Jonathan will take the right. Let's go!" We all bank to the left and dive down, racing through a stray cloud before leveling out with the ground. We keep our momentum until we near the edge of the gorge. I signal for the others to come to a halt right at the edge of the cliff. "Hmm... this gorge looked a lot smaller from up there." "Are we still good with the plan, Dash?" High Flyer asks, kicking a rock over the edge. I watch it bounce off the walls for a while before it disappears into the misty abyss far below. "That's at least four hundred feet down." Johnathan comments. "I would not advise going near the edges too much. There's bound to be something hiding down there." "We could send Tiber to make a pass to flush anything out" Shift suggests. "It could also stir up the goblins we're trying to find. Which could be good or bad. How are we approaching this, Dash?" Ellzy asks, getting everypony to look at me. I mull it over for a moment as I look over the gorge. It's not too wide, so I doubt anything big will appear. Nothing like Ghastly Gorge at least. Funny how the gorge being larger is bad for those massive beasts. Anyway... "Stealth is optimal right now, especially with what happened in Sycney recently. We'll do a drop over the other end while keeping formation. But we are not assaulting anything that may be there. Fire when fired upon, got it?" "Ma'am!" I wince from all of the yelling ringing off in my ears. One day we'll get this down right. With a single flap of my wings I take off again with the others following close behind. As we fly over the large crevice I glance down again and peer along the walls. I don't see anything moving, but there are plenty of places where some creatures could be hiding. When we make it to the other end I tuck my wings in and toss my head back. I flip back and begin to fall. Once I'm parallel with the wall of the canyon I open my wings again, giving a powerful flap. With the rest of the Jumpers behind me, we race towards the opening Dust pointed out. I try to keep our speed high to avoid any possible mishaps. I don't know if there is anything here, but it doesn't hurt to be cautious. We race past a few openings as we descend into the gorge. I keep my eyes on the prize though. If there is anything down there, I want to see it as early as possible.. It's a somewhat reckless approach, but I have wingponies to watch the openings for me. We continue down the canyon at a fast pace. While diving down, we pass a few more openings in the canyon walls. Once we reach the bottom, we pull out of our dive and come to a hover just above the ground, sending a cloud of dust over us. We wait to see if anything pops up or shoots at us. I begin to count down in my head, eyeing the cloudy entrance for anything to move. Ten seconds later I touch down and pull out my assault rifle, the Jumpers following suit. "Shift, give us a light." He ignites a green ball of energy above us as we start to walk into the cavern. It's a fairly large opening, giving us room to walk three abreast. Part of the walls seem to be carved out by some kind of creature, while others look machine carved.. "Keep your eyes peeled, something is down *tink* here." I look down at my hooves and see something shiny laying there. The Jumpers instantly cover me as I begin to look it over. It feels smooth like glass, yet harder. Whatever it is, it's lighter than a baseball and almost as large as a hoofball. I want to say it's an egg, but something about it is telling me otherwise. Dust comes over and takes a few pokes at it as well, humming to herself as she stares down at it. I pick it up and toss it up and down a few times before sliding it into my saddle bag. I'm sure somepony either back at the fort or at home will know what it is. Just before I call out to the others to leave, a scream echoes from deep within the cave. It sounded as though it was some distance away, but everypony heard it. The others look to me for a second before I nod and start leading them forward, further into the dark cave system. We keep our weapons raised as the darkness engulfs us. Shifted's light does a good job of keeping the area lit, but it doesn't go far enough to help my nerves. Each hoofstep echoes out of sight as the cave starts to grow in size. Pretty soon we're all standing side by side at the edge of Shifted’s light. I stop and signal for the others to gather around closely. "We're sticking to the plan," I whisper to them, knowing that our helmets will relay the message. "Dust and I will head straight forward with the other two groups going their respective direction. In case we lose communication with each other, meet back at the entrance in one hour. Try to mark the paths you take. Any questions?" "What happens after an hour at the entrance if nopony is back?" High Flyer asks quietly. "If you are uninjured, go looking for the others. If you have injuries that need attention, get back up top. Anything else? No? Then get moving." I reach to back of my helmet and press just behind my ear. A line of light moves across my face and lights the way before me. We don't use this function unless we absolutely have to. It's just another thing that eats up the battery charge. We split up and head our own directions. I see the others find tunnels of their own and disappear into them. I always get a chill whenever we split up. I'm their Captain, so I'm responsible for them. If I'm not there for them, then I can't be responsible for them. But, as Miles puts it, if you can't trust them to be alone then you didn't train them right. I have faith that they'll be alright, but that doesn't stop me from worrying. We come to the end of the large cavern and find three tunnels that lead forward. Two are high off the ground and seem the most natural, while the one level with the floor seems carved by machines. It doesn't take a brainiac to figure out which tunnel to go down, so down we go. It's a straight shot in. A few spots along the wall have small craters in them, which are evenly spaced out. I imagine that they were lights at one point, but something must not have agreed with the lighting. "This is spooky." Dust whispers. "What took out those lights? Or, even worse, who put them there in the first place?" "Well, if the giant turd is anything to go by, I think some goblins put them here," I tell her, making her nod slowly. "As for what took out the lights, I don't know. And I don't want to find out either." "Me neither," she adds quickly, eyeing one of the dents for a moment. "But... I mean, if I could find out without actually having to see it in the flesh, that would be nice." "And how would we do that?" "We could send a bot in and have them record what they find." "We'd lose connection with it too quickly. Those bots are amazing, but without a decent connection to the cities they're basically useless." That's not entirely true. They'll still follow through with their last orders, but that's about it. If something down here attacked, I doubt they'd defend themselves. "Let's just keep moving and get this over with quickly." We continue down the path in silence again. The walls are becoming more and more jagged as we move. We must be getting close to whatever we're looking for. There are a few tools here as well. Most seem mundane, shovels, pickaxes, the mining sorts. But after a few minutes we find what looks like a small camp. There are large crates stacked by the walls. Some have been broken into while most are just sitting there, unused. There are more tools spread all around as well. Some of them are broken beyond recognition, but they are all obviously goblin power tools. Dust and I spread out and start to look over the small camp to find any clues. There don't seem to be any bodies here. Just broken tools and leftover supplies. I pop a few crates open and find more of the odd gem-like objects packed away. Whatever these things are, there are a lot of them here and the goblins that were here wanted them badly. I look back to Dust and see her pulling a few of the gems out from the other crates. I look back into the crate and pull one out, but pause. Just beneath it is some dark green thing. Curious, I reach in and pull it- "AAH!" A goblin in tattered armor yells as he jumps out of the crate and points four pistols at me. I jump back and point my rifle at him, Dust joining me. He scurries out of the crate and falls to the ground, whimpering to himself frantically. "Nicht mehr! Nicht mehr! Lassen sie mich in den schatten! Bitte! Biiiiitteeeee!" "Whoa! Take it easy!" I yell as he tries to back peddle away from us. "Dust, you speak goblin!?" "Uh... no." The goblin lets out another yell and fires two rounds into the wall above himself. We raise our weapons again and start to follow him as he backs away from us slowly. He's reloading the two guns he fired, but has his eye on the ceiling, crying. "Keine mehr schatten. Nicht mehr dunkelheit," he sobs, bringing all of the pistols up to his head. "Don't!" B-B-B-BANG I flinch from the gore spray plastering the ceiling. Any clues we would have had are gone now. I cuss and kick the closest crate, breaking it slightly. What was he shooting at? What scared him so much that he'd rather take his own life than face us? Did he even realize that we were here? No more questions, there's no way of knowing at this point. "I think we should meet up with the others, let them know what we just saw." Dust tells me. I try to raise comms, but only get static back. "Good idea. Lets make that on the-" GURGLE We both freeze up when a low gurgling growl resonates all around us. We look to each other before something falls to the ground behind us. We look back and shine our lights at one of the gems that somehow fell on the ground. A thin black foot is standing behind it. We slowly look up until the creature is shown completely in the light. It walks hunched over on two long, thin legs. It's body looks like a starving husk of some demented pony that stands upright. Its arms reach down to the ground and have an extra set of elbows. Its body is pitch black, almost like a living shadow. Its face... dear Celestia... it has a small round head with two white eyes and a thin white smile of small pointy teeth that go from one side of its head to the other. It moves in twitches, acting as if it has to forceevery action. Its head jerks from left to right as it smiles down at the two of us, slowly stepping towards us. I can faintly hear the sound of bones cracking as it moves joint after joint. It leans forward and gets right in my face, somehow looking me right in the eyes. I try to move away, I try to run or shoot or... anything! But I feel as if I've been locked in place by some kind of magical force. "Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiicht... meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrhh... dun-kel-heit." Its voice hisses out, sounding eerily similar to the goblins from before. "D-Dash..." Dust squeaks out, though I barely hear her. I can't seem to look away from the thing in front of me. "niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiicht... meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrhh... Daaaassssh." My breath hitches when he says my name in Dusts voice. "Dash... I think we should-" "RUN!" I finally get a hold of myself and jump back, spraying a burst of bullets and arcane bolts into the creature before me. It lets out a hiss and charges at me, completely ignoring the rounds hitting it. I stay in the air and fly backwards as I continue to shoot at the creature while it chases after me. The metal rounds from my rifle shatter and ricochet off its body while the arcane bolts just disappear into its dark form. When my magazine runs out I drop it and fumble to reload. Dust zooms past me, making me turn and follow her at full speed. We race towards the end of the cave at full speed. As we race through the cave, I pull slightly ahead of Dust. I nearly crash into the wall when one of the creatures suddenly appears from the cracks ahead of us. We both manage to stay airborne and dodge its swipe. I fumble over my gear until I pull out an arcane grenade. I crack the top off and turn around to fling it behind us. I get a glimpse of three creatures quickly gaining on us as the blue tube bounces behind them. Shortly after that it explodes in a large wall of arcane fire, engulfing the dark creatures. Dust and I kick it into high gear as we charge at full speed again, barely missing the edge of the explosion. We don't stop until we make it out of the cave, spinning around to make sure we weren't followed out. After a few moments pass with nothing happening we both sigh in relief, glad to be out of there. I don't know what those things were, but hopefully we won't have to deal with them anytime soon. PAT-PAT-PAT "That's gunfire, the others are in trouble." Dust comments, making me groan. "You reloaded?" I ask as I finish loading my own gun. "I... never fired." I give her a dirty look, then remember she can't see my face due to the mask. "Right, I'll be right behind you then." "Right..." I take a moment to psych myself up before flying back in... then psych myself up again to actually do it. Third time’s the charm- "Dash?" "AAAAAAAAHH!" I don't know why I gave a battle cry, but I did. Perspective: Ellzy Jonathan and I are back to back with some random goblin as we each fire at a strange dark creature. These freaks of nature don't seem to care all that much about our E.A.R.s. Any that get too close ,however, are beaten back quickly enough. I am wearing a pair of brass knuckles while Jonathan is using a blade as a sidearm. Our goblin friend, who we never got the name of, is alternating between a pair of daggers and a pair of pistols. One of the beasts lunges at me, trying to grab me around the waist. I jump up and out of its grasp, hovering just above its freakish face. With a yell I punch forward, smacking it clear in the center of its face. My brass knuckles are enchanted to hit with much more kinetic energy than the average hunk of metal. The beast is thrown back far further than it really should have. I land back down and turn to cover Jonathan as he reloads. The goblin moves to cover my back. He stabs the beast I punched with both his knives and fires both pistols from point blank range at the back of its head. The stabs and shots deal damage to the thing, if its hisses are anything to go by, but they don't put it down. I move from one target to the next as I continue to fire from beast to beast. It seems as though there are four of them here, circling us. Each one waiting for an opening to strike. They're getting there too. If the pathetic amount of damage we're doing to them is anything to go by, we'll run out of ammo well before we can even put one of them down. "Letzte schusse!" The goblin yells as he begins to reload, just as Jonathan does the same. "What did he say!?" I yell over the fire. "Last shots! He's out!" Jonathan yells as we trade spots to each dodge attacks. "Fantastic!" I yell, as I begin to reload as well. We have to get out of here as soon as possible. Which way was the exit though!? We've done so much damn spinning that I don't have a clue where to go! Maybe moving would be best, then at least we aren't sitting ducks. "We have to get moving! Left or right!?" "Uh- *pat pat pat* Left!" I turn to the goblin as he tosses his emptied pistols at one of the creatures. It makes the beast pause momentarily, but doesn't seem to do much else. I yell out to him and toss him my rifle. He catches it and begins to fire at the same creature, though he's holding it upside down. I flare my claws and try to focus on casting a shield spell. I'm not the best when it comes to this magic crap, but Miles was adamant about us learning at least a few spells. I look down and see the lines grow rapidly into my plumage as I throw my arms out and cast a shield around us. The dome covers the three of us as the creatures startle and jump back from the sudden magic. "Left it is then!" I yell as I try to focus on the spell. Of course, Miles makes this look easy. With the way he casts spells I thought casting this thing would be a snap. I was wrong.. Holding this shield up is taking every little bit of my focus, and they haven't even started beating on it yet! "You take the lead, I'll carry our friend here and follow after you! Ready!?" "On my mark!" I look to the goblin and motion for him to come closer. He hesitantly steps closer to me as he adjusts my rifle in his hands, opting to use all four hands instead of just two. "MOVE!" I yell, just before I drop the spell. The creatures let out a hiss as they begin to charge at us. I turn and grab the goblin before flying out the left entrance, following close behind Jonathan. The goblin lets out a scream and begins to wildly fire at the beast we nearly crash into on our way out. It’s a good thing too. One of his stray shots hit the beast’s hand mid swipe, causing it to narrowly miss us. I roll over so I'm flying on my back. This makes it a bit easier for the goblin to cover us as we fly out of here. He still is firing all over the place, painting the cave in blue bursts, but it's cover still. The creatures are chasing after us, but they're obviously holding back. Once we get a little further through the cave, they start lunging from different vantage points and take swipes at us, making me duck one way or the other to throw them off. I think they're learning my movements; judging my reactions. These things are smart... shit. "Heads up!" I come to an abrupt stop and throw my arms out to make another shield, dropping the goblin in the process. The creatures crash against my magical wall in full force, forming large cracks that web across its entirety. I groan in pain and wince as I feel the lines of my magic shoot over my entire body. "Why does that goblin have your weapon!?" Rainbow Dash yells at me, as she and Dust take up positions beside me. "I was... and still am... a little... preoccupied!" I yell back, through gritted teeth. The creatures are beating down on my shield with conviction now, making the cracks ever deeper with each smack. As they assault my barrier, the marks snake their way further up my body under my plumage. "I can't... hold this... forever... you know!" "Right! Dust and I will cover your retreat! On your mark!" Rainbow yells as she readies a grenade. Jonathan runs over to the goblin and picks him up, much to his displeasure. I take a quick breath before readying myself to make a run for it. "MARK!" I drop the spell and take off down the tunnel. Flashes of blue and gunfire sound off behind me as Jonathan and I race out of the cave. A few seconds later I hear an explosion as the tunnel before me flashes brightly for a brief second. It was enough for us to see one of the creatures hiding in a crevice just ahead of us. Jonathan tried to avoid the creature, but it still got the jump on him. One of its long arms swiped out and collided with his wing and sent him and the goblin crashing to the ground. I over shoot them and turn back to help. Before I reach them, the ambusher grabs the goblin and starts to drag him away. I race after him as he screams in terror, trying to pry himself from the beast’s strange grasp. I jump out and grab one of his hands and try to pull him back as the creature pulls him into the crevice. "JON! HELP!" I yell, as I put all of my strength into pulling the goblin out. Jon joins me, though it's a losing battle. His screams turn to gurgles as he's slowly engulfed by the darkness of the crevice. We both give one final pull before falling to the ground with a loud crack. I look up and roll to the side as another dark hand tries to grab me. We take to the air again and race onwards. We make it to the large entrance of the cave shortly after our encounter, meeting up with all of the others. I guess as we were trying to help that goblin Dash and Dust flew past us. The others all stare at me as I hover before them, trying to catch my breath. I look down and realize I'm still holding onto the goblins arm. That creature must have ripped it off... "Fuck!" I yell as I drop it, having it fall into the misty abyss below. I feel my stomach turn over as my stomach threatens to violently eject my lunch. This is only my second experience as a Spartan, and I'm about to puke over some guy I didn't even learn the name of. What a disgrace. "What... the buck... were those things!?" High Flyer asks through deep breaths. "I don't know, but I'm a little more worried about what those goblins were harvesting." Dash mentions, getting nods from the rest of us. "You okay Ellzy?" "I'm... alright. Queasy, but alight." I try to make it seem better than it actually is. I'm rather freaked out by the sheer fact that there was a creature out there we almost couldn't handle. Besides possibly Rainbow’s grenade, we didn't make a single kill. Thankfully, we didn't lose any of our number either. Well... We did lose that goblin, but as horrible as it is to say technically he didn’t count.. "Did anyone at least get any of those gem things?" "I got a few," Dust tells me, opening her bag to reveal a small hoof full of the objects in question. "We should head back to the fort to regroup." "Agreed. Let’s get moving." Dash tells us before taking off. We follow after her, though I give one last glance to the cave below us. Perspective: Rumble I take a deep breath as I try steel myself for my first challenge. This will probably be the hardest challenge of the evening, but I have to pass it. I just have to stallion up and take that first step. One step. Just walk forward and let what happens happen. Just do it already, ya big foal! JUST DO IT! "Do you-" "GAH!" I yell as I nearly trip over myself. I look behind me to see Shadow’s little brother standing there, sipping from a juice box. "Scared?" he asks in amusement. "No! I...uh..." I try to recover, but his chuckles stop that from happening. "Anyway, I just need to go to Mooseden for... business." "Is there something wrong with the mico platform?" he asks, eyeing the damnable contraption. "Probably not. I, uh... I haven't tried it yet," I force out, as I rub the back of my neck in embarrassment. He startled me, and now he knows that I'm afraid of using the mico platform. This is turning out well for me. "Why?" he asks innocently. "It... doesn't feel natural dude." Every time I use it I feel like I'm losing a part of myself. Like, I'll show up on the other end and have one less wing or something! "I never have to deal with magic, so this is a bit out of my realm of comfort." "Meh, it's not going to hurt you or anything," he reassures me with a shrug. Quite the confidence builder. "It physically can't actually. As long as it fits within that ring of arcane text, it's going to the other end," he explains, while tracing the ring with his hoof. "Right, well..." "I could give you a little push." I laugh at his offer, looking back to the mico platform again. "Thanks, but this is something I have to do myself." "... use the teleporter?" "I'll see you around," I tell him, as I hesitantly take my first steps onto the platform. "Before you go!" I spin back from his sudden outburst. "What's a scroll rutter?" FLASH I stand in a daze as I feel the world around me spin. After a few deep breaths, and several gulps to steady my nerves, I begin to walk into Mooseden at a quick pace. I seriously hope that Shadow’s little brother doesn't follow after me asking more questions. That's... not something that I want to get into. Not with a foal, at least. After a few glances back, I figure he isn't following me. Mooseden is busy today. There are several ponies from the Crystal Empire here talking with what appears to be the local lumberjacks, if the piles of timber behind them are anything to go by. They seem pretty livid about something. I can hear them yelling about some kind of deal. It sounds as though they’re arguing about prices... ouch. I wonder why the Crystal Empire is trying to undercut the Moosedenians... Moosedenites? Out of curiosity I begin to step forward, my inner gossiper getting the best of me. Thank you, Ponyville. "... and as I said before, I apologize. But we simply cannot afford to cease our previous agreements with the House of Goods-" "We have a contract!" An elder looking moose yells, getting a round of jeers from all around her. "Are the losses you'll take from the lawsuit really worth it? We've busted our humps getting the numbers you asked for! How could you possibly think backing out suddenly will save your company!?" "I'm sorry! I really am! This lumber mill has had some of the greatest growth from any mill I've EVER seen! But it's out of our hooves! If the House of Goods tells us to end trade, we don't get a say! We're sending an emissary to Canterlot now to make a plea with them, but it'll take some time before they are granted court! You'll have to rely on your other buyers to take up the slack-" "YOU ARE OUR ONLY BUYER!" The moose yells again, getting another round of jeers from the growing crowd. "You are systematically shutting down our community by doing this!" The crowd starts to get even more lively at this point, approaching the small group of crystal ponies. A loud siren suddenly goes off behind me as a multitude of metal beings emerge from all over and surround the group. "CITIZENS. YOU ARE HEREBY ORDERED TO CEASE ANY FURTHER PUBLIC DISTURBANCES AND RETURN TO YOUR HOMES. ANY FURTHER PROTEST MAY RESULT IN YOUR ARREST. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION." I take one look at the weapons the metal beings are holding and decide to leave the area. I don't need to get caught up in any of this. I'm sure this won't bode well for Shadow. What's going to happen to this town if the lumber mill is shut down? What will happen to Shadow? Will she move? She does live in Ponyville as well as Mooseden. Maybe she'll stay in Ponyville. Maybe her mother will have her stay in Mooseden to help with the crisis. I'd hate to see her drop out of school and be forced to stay here for the rest of the year, or her life for that matter! Maybe there's something I can do, but what? "Hey!" I perk up and look around. "Aren't you Rumble?" I turn around to see a female griffin walking up to me. I look around for a moment before nodding dumbly to her. I have no clue who she is. I can guess as to how she knows me, small community and all. "Sorry, my name is Lesky. My son is one of the Spartans." "Um... okay. How can I help you?" "Well... I wanted to talk to you, if that's alright." I looked around as if I was about to be jumped or something. I don't know this mare... er... person. I really have no obligation to talk to her. But, thinking back to what Shadow said about these pon- er... people, I really should listen. "Sure, what's on your mind?" She pulls me aside and takes a look around before getting to it. "I know a bit about who you are and I can probably guess the reason you’re here. It's a small town and we all like to keep close tabs on Shadow, as well as a few others around here." "Tabs?" I ask, with a raised eyebrow. She gives a light chuckle before continuing. "I know it sounds awful, but trust me when I say it's not as bad as it sounds." I shrug and let her continue. "Right. So, as you can probably tell, things are a little tense around here. The last thing E'Claire needs right now is for somepony to come in and try to take her only daughter from her... literally I mean. Shadow is needed here-" "I know that. That's why I'm here though! I want to help-" "Great! Then listen closely. I'm going to give you a job, and if you deliver, E'Claire will be eternally grateful. It may free up some time for Shadow." I perk up at this. A chance to prove myself to her community and help her. This is golden! "Glad to see I have your interest. Here it is. There has been a pony coming here at least once a week for the past few months stealing food from us. It's never anything big, but it's been getting under E’Claire’s skin worse than hide mites." "So you want me to catch this guy?" I ask, getting her to shake her head. "No, at this point it's beyond just ending the crime. I need you to find where he lives and inform E'Claire. If you can get some information on the guy, even better. Proof would be nice as well. E'Claire wants to be the one to catch the perp, so if this leads to E'Claire capturing him, you'll be in her good graces forever." I look away to think about this for a second. This sounds a little too easy. All I have to do is wait out near Shadow’s house and watch for somepony who doesn't belong there to walk by. I guess the hardest part of this is that I don't know when he'll show up. "What's the catch?" I ask cautiously. There has to be a catch. It’s never this easy. "There's no catch. We don't have the jurisdiction to enter Ponyville and enforce laws. We've told the guards over there, but they don't seem to care all that much. That's why you're golden for us. You're desperate enough to at least try." "... I'm not that desperate-" "Trust me, after the shit you pulled, you are that desperate." I tilt my head at her, making her chuckle. "Personally speaking, I couldn't care less if you dipped your stick in some whore. Shadow is a little too sensitive at times. A slap of reality could do her some good. But there are plenty of ponies here that would very much like to rip your stubby little dick off. You were lucky when you appeared here. Everyone was more focused on the bastards from the Crystal Empire than tanning your sorry hide. If you don't help like this, then I'll be more than willing to throw you to the wolves. Your choice." I lean over and look down the street just in time to see the orcs walking towards the forest with spears in hand. "Do we have a deal?" "... Yes. Yes, we do. Do you at least have a description for me to go by?" "He has a dark grey coat with bushy white hair. Kind of like yours, but with far less product. Light yellow eyes. A bit lanky for a unicorn, but not to the point where it looks unhealthy. He has a cutie mark of a star with an eye in it. Now, is there anything else you need?" "Well-" "Good! Then you should get going! I don't think you want anyone seeing you here right now, do you?" I thought about it for a moment before nodding to her. "Good, I'll escort you to the platform so no one tries anything." "Ok, thank you." I follow after her as she starts to walk towards the mico platform. I'm glad I ran into her. She was nice. A bit odd, but nice. "Don't mention it you little whore," she says sweetly. I... don't have anything to say to that. We make it to the platform where I take a few more deep breaths, trying to steel myself to do this again. "Oh, one more thing before you go." "Yeah?" She turns to me and grabs my shoulders, getting uncomfortably close to my ear. "If you really have a problem keeping your dick dry, then stay the hell away from Shadow. She's too sweet for that kind of dick." "Um... what?" I ask in confusion, trying to look her in the eye. She gives a sultry chuckle before- KER-NUT I let out a high pitched squeal when she suddenly brings her rear leg right up to my sack. I curl up into a ball and hold onto myself as I cough up my lung. I figured this was going to happen at one point, but that doesn't make this feel any less painful! I try to ask her why she did it, but before I could she tossed me onto the mico platform and had me teleported away. So now, on top of having the worst pain a stallion could feel, I feel as if I was just turned inside out... I just gave birth. Perspective: Blueblood I take a long drink from my glass of wine while sitting back at my desk. The flavor is full and it goes down smoothly. I'm glad I opened one of the older vintage casks. The newer brands are better suited for social events. This ,though... this is something to be appreciated. I take another sip from the glass and swirl it around my mouth for a moment, savoring the flavor for as long as possible. At first taste you can barely taste the alcohol, but its aftertaste is quite pleasant. "Mister Blueblood?" I break my attention from drink to look to my assistant, who's standing in the doorway. "Your visitor has arrived." "Excellent, bring him in here." I finish off my glass and set it aside as a stallion steps into my study. He's an earth pony with a brown coat and black hair. Rather simple in appearance, really. He's wearing a red tie with a blue collar. Rather fitting, given his place. "Greetings Mr. Rich." "Prince Blueblood," he says with a bow. I smirk at that. I always smirk at that. "And to what do I owe the pleasure of a meeting with you in your private study this evening?" I stand up and walk over to my liquor cabinet, setting two lowball glasses atop it. "I have many things I wish to discuss with you. Drink?" "Scotch." "Ah, a scotch stallion I see." I chuckle as I pour a glass and levitate it over to him. "I've always preferred brandy myself. Then again, I've always had a more... refined palate." "..." "So, on to business." I take my place at my desk and lean forward to look him in the eyes. Despite his obviously common background he still has the air of an older business stallion. The way he holds his scotch, the look in his eyes, his posture... he’s all business. "As you may or may not know, there is a serious threat rising up against our great nation. Something our dear leaders can't handle directly." "This sounds like something a guard should be hearing. Why did you ask me here today?" he asks, before taking a slight sip from his glass. I chuckle at his forwardness. Just like a commoner, trying to get straight to the point. Very well. "You don't win a fight by wanting victory more than the other pony, Mr. Rich. There is always more to it than that." I take a moment to take another drink, waiting to see if he has anything to add to that. After a moment of silence, I continue on. "You need weapons, armor, spells, carriages; there is more to a fight than just will, Mr. Rich." "Of course..." "You own the Barnyard Bargains chain store, do you not?" He nods, so I continue on. "When the oncoming conflict begins, and it will begin, there will be a need for ponies all over Equestria to... prepare themselves. Do you understand me?" "I understand you." "Good, then-" "But I simply don't see why you are talking to me." I pause this time, letting him explain himself. "I am not a member of the guard, Prince Blueblood. Not anymore. I know when a noble speaks to take it either with a grain of salt, or the whole shaker. Are you telling me that Equestria is on the brink of-" "What I am telling you." I cut him off firmly, being sure certain words are never said. "You come from Ponyville, so I know you are familiar with how chaotic things can get within Equestria. What I am telling you is that if there was a way for our citizens to protect themselves, it would be... most profitable." He nods to me and gazes into his scotch for a moment as he thinks to himself. I let him mull it over for a moment. I really doubt he'll have much objection. His little chain store is profitable enough to cover such expenses- "I don't think we'd be able to cover such expenses." I blink at him for a few moments before chuckling again. I open a drawer and pull out a folder, opening it to a certain page. "Is this your income margin?" I ask as I toss it onto the table. He leans forward and takes a look at it before nodding. "With these kind of figures you should be able to-" "Do you see this spike?" he asks, pointing to a certain part of the line graph. I close my mouth as I look at the point on the graph. "This is Zap Apple season. It's one of our most profitable times of the year, right after Hearth’s Warming Eve sales. This year it will not be there." "... how could you be so certain of this?" "A tariff was recently levied against Sweet Apple Acres They won’t be anywhere near as profitable for a considerable amount of time, most likely indefinitely.." I eye him for a second before putting some of the pieces together. He is behind this somehow. How else would he know about this before I would? Something like this hitting one of the Bearers? This will catch like wild fire with the nobles! That family will be torn apart with scrutiny and speculation! I need to speak with the King about this immediately. But first, to take this commoner down a peg. "Very well then. I would still suggest you listen to what I have to say. The future depends on it." He nods to me and starts to leave. "However..." "Yes?" "I am interested in something. What are your plans for the loss of such a highly demanded product? One would have to venture that you'd have to find a new supplier. But there's only one farm in Equestria that can grow those Zap Apples. So, a businesspony would argue that your next move would be to acquire Sweet Apple Acres. Wouldn't you say that's a bit dubious?" "When building an empire, one must make bold moves. The House of Goods seems to agree with me." "With you, or with the plan?" He doesn't say anything after that. It's a simple reminder that he's expendable. He'll start covering his bases, surely, but it'll show me where his bases are. From there... I'll have to see what the king wishes to do. "Have a nice train ride home." "Actually, I'll be staying in the city a bit longer. I have many meetings to attend to. Prince Blueblood." He gives a bow and takes his leave. I wait till I hear the hall doors shut before flinging my glass across the room, shattering it against one of the bookcases. This is going to blow up and make everything far more complicated than it needs to be. I'm going to have to speak with half of the House of Goods before I even make a trip down to Ponyville! Not to mention I'll have to search the Royal Archives, Royal Tax and Imports, and possibly the Equestrian Empire Traders! You better have a plan Miles. Perspective: Spitfire "Alright team, bring it in!" I yell, getting them to come racing over to me. It's nice to be back in Cloudsdale, in our own training grounds. It's as good as a break as any for us. "Good work today. You greenies are really starting to shine through. I've posted the rosters for the Soleado Mesita circuit, I think a lot of you will be pleased with the teams. Shower up and call it a day." They all give a cheer before flying off for the locker rooms. I start to follow after them, but stop when I see somepony sitting in the bleachers. "You coming Spit?" Fleet Foot asks. I squint at the pony before going wide eyed. "Will you look at that." I mutter as I start to trot toward the pony. When he sees me coming towards him he jumps into the air and meets me halfway. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the one and only, Soarin." I say with a smile as I move in to hug him. He returns the gesture, mimicking my smile. "Spitfire. It's good to see you. Fleet Foot," he greets, moving to hug Fleet Foot as well. "Oh my gosh! Soarin! How are you!? GUYS! GET YOUR LAZY FLANKS OVER HERE! SOARINS HERE!" Fleet Foot yells to the others after hugging him. He chuckles as all of the others race over and greet the Ex-Wonderbolt. A blur of question barrage the poor stallion. Ranging all over from his health, current affairs, sex life, you name it. I chuckle as he eats it up, ever the Wonderbolt. *Tug* I blink when something tugs my tail. I look behind me to see a young light blue colt with a rainbow mane and tail standing there. "Hi, I'm Jet Spectrum, your future boss," he tells me matter-of-factly. I chuckle at that, already liking the kid. "Is that so? You think you have what it takes to lead the Wonderbolts?" I ask him, fluffing my wings a bit. He scoffs at that, fluffing his wings back at me. "I'm going to not only be the leader of the Wonderbolts, I'm also going to be the leader of the Spartan Jumpers!" He gives a little jump at that, obviously getting excited about this. I chuckle at that, looking back to Soarin. "A Spartan and a Wonderbolt huh?" I ask him, getting his attention. "What can I say, greatness must run in his veins," he tells me. At this all of the other Wonderbolts look over and eye Jet. ... ... All of the mares squee at once and rush the poor kid. He simply sits there and holds his hooves out, accepting his fate. They all hug him and start fawning over how handsome he is, how adorable his mane is, and so on. For his part, he seems... rather happy to be getting all of this attention from them. "Yup, he's yours." I tell Soarin when he walks up to me. "Yeah, heh. You should have seen him when we had the talk... actually, it's better you didn't. We almost put a dog cone on the little peeper." I laugh at that, the image instantly forming in my mind. "Can we talk?" "Do you really need to ask?" He laughs at that, looking to the mob. "Don't break him, not too much candy, and do not let him in the mares locker room.... or the stallions." He gets a round of confirmation before he motions for me to lead the way. I laugh again, the sight of Soarin being the responsible one being odd. I take him to my office and take a seat with him. When we sit I get a better look at his eye, souring the mood immediately. I reach up and run a hoof down the old wound, thinking back to that day. "It should have been me you know." I tell him quietly. "Maybe," he says, giving me his smart ass smile. "But I was your wing pony. It was my job to watch your back, still is sort of." I smile at that, pulling my hoof back. That day will haunt me forever, no matter how many times he says that it's alright. "Speaking of watching your back, that's why I'm here." "Oh? Something come up?" I ask, already having an idea of what it's about. My talk with Rainbow coming right to mind. "Yeah. Rainbow came home and busted my nuts over something I forgot about, so now I'm here to finish what I started." I laugh at that, knowing that there is probably some truth to it. "Did she talk to you about it already? The challenge and all?" "Yeah, we're a little backed up at the moment, but we'll try to squeeze them in-" "Don't do that." I tilt my head at him, waiting for him to explain. "Rainbow Dash is the leader of the Jumpers. She's Ex-Wonderbolt as well you know. Terradisia has far more sophisticated equipment and far harsher training regiments. Don't just blow this challenge off as nothing. When they come for you, bring it." I laugh again at him, shaking my head slightly. "Did Dash tell you that? Cute, but we're more-" "Spit, do you trust me?" he asks seriously. I stop laughing at him and nod, sensing something off. "Of course. More than anypony out there." "Then listen to me when I tell you, the Jumpers have an actual chance at taking the Wonderbolts on. They know your training secrets, they know several Griffin Army secrets, they even have some Changeling secrets with them. On top of that, they've incorporated Terradisian precision into their training. I've seen them run their drills, they do things that were banned by the Wonderbolts long ago for being too harsh. Each of those fliers could easily be Wonderbolts now, any of them." "Is there a reason you're telling me all this? I get it, they're well trained. I don't get what you're trying to tell me." He takes a look around before motioning for me to get closer. I lean in, waiting to be impressed. "I'm telling you because I know for a fact that they plan on jumping you guys the first chance they get. When they get back and regroup, they plan on coming to one of your shows and upstaging you in front of the crowd." "And? Are you saying some of us aren't ready to face them? Do you think we've fallen apart since you left-" "I'm saying, some of your ponies aren't up to par with the Jumpers. Look, I know that there's a bit of a personal history with you and Dash, but don't let that fool you. She's still mad about what you did to her, even is she doesn’t openly say anything. She's coming for more than just to showcase a new force. She's coming to knock you down a peg. And by the looks of it, I'd say she has a pretty good chance of doing so." I lean back and think about what he's saying. I get that I need to bring it with Dash, Celestia knows how far she could have gone if she stayed with us. But I don't get one thing. "Why are you telling me this? Dash is your wife, wouldn't you want me to falter? Make it easier for her to win?" He laughs at that, shaking his head. "I actually want the exact opposite. I want you at your best when the two of you face off. I want you ready, one hundred percent. I want you to put her through the wringer and back again. I want that, because I want her to beat you at your best. I want there to be no dispute who the better flyer is. And you know what Spit? I think she can do it." "... and that's not just the plot speaking?" I ask, trying to lighten the mood. "No. That's the facts speaking. I think she's doubled her wing power since joining the Spartans." I raise an eyebrow at that. She already had a really high wing power, I can't imagine it getting that much higher. "So, what do you say?" "I say... I'm going to have to hit the gym a bit more to prepare." He nods to that and leans back, letting out a long breath. "Hey Soarin, I have to know ,do you ever think about... that one day?" "Yeah... every now and again. Why?" I look away for a moment, thinking about that day. "Do you think it could have worked? That... we could have worked?" I get quiet when I ask this. It was really a one time thing back then. We both decided it would have jeopardized our careers and that we needed to focus that before anything else. We were only recruits back then, we had our entire lives ahead of us then. "Where'd that come from?" "Just answer it ya' air head." "Hmm... the only way it would have worked back then, was for one of us to quit the Wonderbolts. We would have been too distracted back then to focus on training. It could have been, but it would have cost one of us our dreams. I don't regret any of the decisions I've made so far, and you shouldn't either." I nod to him, smiling fondly. We may not have become lovers, but he's still my best friend. "I'm glad to hear it. Be sure to tell that wife of yours to step it up the next time we meet up though. If she wants the title of Best Flyer Alive, she's gonna have to earn it!" I hold my hoof out, getting him to bump it in return. "Will do. Do you have dinner plans tonight? Jet and I are meeting up with my other kid later over at Blues' Diner for an early dinner." I think about that for a second before nodding to him. Dinner with him sounds good, though I'm not sure how it'll go with kids being there. "Wait, other kid? You have two kids? Where are they at?" "Rainbow adopted her awhile back, and I've adopted her when I married Dash. She had to work on school stuff before coming over here. I... kind of promised her an autograph from certain ponies." He gives me a big smile and rubs the back of his neck. Some things just don't change I guess. "Is she going to be okay flying here by herself? And I'll ask Fleet Foot if she'll sign something." We both chuckle at that. "She's an Air Ball player, the best Track and Field pegasus at Ponyville High, and has had personal lessons from me and Dash for six plus years. I think she'll be fine. Heck, she could probably apply for the Wonderbolt Academy at the end of the year!" "We'll see about that. Sure, I'll join you guys for dinner." "Great, now lets hurry up and save those recruits from my son." I laugh at that, getting a serious look from him. "I'm not joking..." "... you're going to have to explain that one to me." "Well... one day he caught me and Dash making out. Afterwards we gave him the talk. He asked if he should be doing that kind of stuff and we obviously told him no. That that was adult stuff ponies do and that he shouldn't concern himself with it." "... so what went wrong?" I ask hesitantly. "Well, we told a kid not to do something. So now he does it all the time. I nearly had to smack him upside the head for peeking up mares tails," he tells me with a blush. "Soarin... what the buck?" I shake my head at him, making him lower his in return. "I asked a doctor, and they say it's perfectly normal for a colt his age to be curious-" "Only your son would be such a perv Soarin. C'mon. If he's half as persistent as you, half that team is already under his spell." Leave it to Soarin to raise a perv. Poor kid. Hopefully it's not too late to save the little peeping tom.” Author's Note Wooo! That took awhile, didn't it? Please give a hand to my new editors, onlyinprivate and Mikito! Together they made this chapter really shine! In other news, don't forget to add any OC's you wish to have appear in the Ponyville OC Blog Post! The first character from this will be appearing in the next chapter! And lastly, if you haven't already and wish to have a deeper look into the backgrounds of the Man of War Universe, join the Mowverse Group! I already have several forums for several of the groups and races, and will be adding to them very soon! Ponyrun updates will also be held here as well. Brony on!
Chapter 226 Bloody Number FiveChapter 226 Bloody Number Five Perspective: Miles In the midst of sleep I often forget where I am. In the past Luna and I would often play a game when separated, if work would allow of course. She would appear in the outskirts of my dreams and have me chase after her until I realized it was a dream. The first few times this happened, I mistook her playfulness as dream terrors. When I told her about this... well, her apology more than made up for that. After that, she continued to do it and it became something I loved about her. It was a bit narcissistic but I looked past that. She likes being desired, being sought after. Given what happened to her in the past, I can understand that a bit. And if she wants to feel like her husband seeks her desperately... well... I find it fitting. The other part that makes me okay with it is her age. We've never been in a relationship beyond each other, not romantically at least. When we first got married, we expressed this with simple signs of affection. Hugging, kissing, long nights of loud and rowdy sessions. It was straight forward and, for me, very satisfying. For Luna, it was a bridge to something she didn't know about herself. Thanks to all of the wet dreams she's run into, seeing all of the dark, secret desires of her subjects, she learned quite a lot about what there is to experiment with. So, when it comes to foreplay in the dreamscape, she likes being chased. She likes the rush of someone running after her, intent on pinning her to the ground and bringing her to ecstasy over and over again. I don't know what to call that but that's what she likes. I find it kinky but it can be annoying as fuck when she outruns me, then scolds me for not keeping up. Now, on a normal night where I'm asleep by myself and not in hot water, finding myself in a misty forest would be a welcoming sight. Knowing that I'm in bed with some minotaur, naked, is fairly terrifying. "Luna?" I call out, taking a few steps into the cool abyss. "I know you're here Luna! Also, please don't use the sex forest for serious talks!" "..." "I only dream of this forest when you put me here Luna, I know you're here." I walk past a few trees and come to a stop, hearing something move behind me. "Are you trying to scare me?" "No." I sigh and turn around. A common Luna tactic in the dreamscape, appearing behind me. I cross my arms and stare at her as she avoids looking at me, biting her bottom lip. "So... where do you want to start?" I ask, getting her to hitch her breath. "Miles... I want a way out of this. I don't want to be mad about this situation because I know I put you in it and I know you did nothing wrong. But... I am conflicted about this." I nod, feeling somewhat the same as she does. "So... I have an idea." "Lay it on me." I shift my stance a bit, unsure of what she has in mind. Where could she possibly be going with this. "I'm going to have Celestia watch Tempestive for a bit while I try something. And I-" "Luna, are you trying to turn yourself into a human again?" She blinks a few times before shaking her head quickly. "How did you possibly come to that conclusion!?" I laugh at that, here we go again. "Luna, this would be your seventh attempt to try and turn human. That machine doesn't work like that. We've looked it over, scanned it, test fired it... I don't know what you have in mind, but leave Outpost Zero out of this. We can work through this together. We don't need magic to fix the problems of our marriage." "... does our marriage really have problems?" she asks with folded ears. I groan from my choice of words and move to embrace her. She leans her head against my chest as I wrap my arms around her neck, rubbing her mane slowly. "Luna, from my understanding, every marriage has problems. The couples with the best marriage are the ones that work through it together and come out closer than before. If everything was perfect, life would be boring. Now, I love you. I know you know that. I have no desire for anyone else in my life. You're stuck with me and the stupid shit I get myself into for the rest of our lives, for better or for worse." She chuckles at that, nuzzling my chest slowly. I stay quiet for a moment, thinking on my wording. Our lives. I have to word it like that. But the reality is that it's for the remainder of my life. She's going to outlive me. It's distant, but it's the reality of our situation. I don't look forward to those days but I'm only thirty and I'm still in my prime. It must be all the veggies she makes me eat. "And I still love you Miles, for better or for worse. Even if you still get into some of the most ridiculous, outlandish, crazy predicaments. You make life so much more fun, more interesting, and so much more enjoyable to live. But... how do we get past this?" I bite my lip and try to think of an answer. Nothing comes to mind immediately, but she does perk up slightly. "You have an idea?" I ask, hoping she has a realistic answer. "We could talk things over with somepony. I know Celestia would listen-" "She would also castrate me for touching another woman." Luna pauses and nods to that, making me chuckle slightly. "I'm glad to see that the idea of being castrated is funny to you," she says sternly. "No, it's not that. It's... well..." "What?" "Well... you being against the idea of my being mutilated made me think suddenly." She leans back and looks up at me, cocking an eyebrow. "Thinking about kids." "... are you suggesting that we have another foal Miles?" she asks, half shocked and half curious. I laugh again as I pull her back to sit against a tree, laying her in my lap. "I've been thinking about it for awhile now. And not in the joking sense either. Tempestive is old enough to understand these kinds of things now,it would keep me home to help out at Canterlot more often, and we've always said that we wanted at least one other child in our lives. I know politically it's an odd time but... I think our family is ready to grow a bit more. What do you think?" She opens and closes her mouth a few times as she stares back at me. "Uh... I-I... no." "No?" I pull back a bit and look down at her, confused. "No, Miles, this is probably the worst possible time for something like that!" "How-" "You are literally on the other side of the planet chasing some psychopathic cultist who is trying to destroy the world while I'm over here trying to keep a nation from starving and going bankrupt plus I’m trying to get all of our citizens behind the idea of helping a nation that is screaming at our faces and calling us tyrants and... and... that is literally the worst possible idea imaginable right now!" "... I thought it was romantic-" "Miles. I love you but romance is not your strong suit. Shooting bad ponies, perfect. Being romantic... you have your moments, that was not one of them." She pats me on the back, just adding insult to injury. "... well... fuck." "Please don't feel down. Having another foal would be wonderful, and I do want to have another. Just, not now Miles. It wouldn't be right. Look, I'm sorry for being so blunt-" "Don't be. You know me, I hate tip-toeing around the subject." "But that's just not something we can do right now. When you get back we can talk about it some more, but that's what I'm feeling right now... You're starting to wake up. Call me as soon as you can okay?" "I will. So... would it be too much to ask for a kiss goodbye?" She chuckles a little before leaning up and hovering just above my own lips. I smile and try to close the distance, but she pulls away from me before I could. "You know... I do love kissing you in your human form," she whispers as she slowly brings her hooves up my chest and over my shoulders. "Oh yeah?" I ask, bringing my hands up her neck and back down, making her coo. "Mhmm. Much smaller lips. Makes it easier to take charge. Do you like it when I take charge?" I pause and chuckle when she asks that in her slow, husky voice. How is my wife so sexy? "You know-" SMACK A searing pain takes over my left cheek as I roll off the bed and face plant right into the ground. I let out a long groan as I sit up slowly, rubbing my cheek. "A thousand apologies! Forgive me but... well, you started getting frisky in you sleep! I was going to let you but... you started going places and... well, you told me that you didn't want to touch certain places. Please forgive me!" Sappige begs, bowing before me. I look around in a slight daze. "Where are the guards from earlier?" I ask, standing up slowly. She has a really good hook on her, damn. "I-I sent them to get the transportation ready for today!" I look to her and shake my head. I forgot for a moment that I was here. "Sappige, thank you for stopping me." I reach out to her, taking her hand. She looks up to me in confusion before taking my hand. I help her up, quickly remembering that we're both completely naked. "So... you forgive me?" "... I... uh, yeah. Yes! I mean, yes. I forgive you. Actually, I thank you for stopping me from doing anything I would later regret." She blushes at that. Or at the fact that the first half of that was said with me staring at her tits. "Anyway. Where are we going today?" "R-right. I'm going to be your escort to the Dood Putte today, er... the Death Pits." "Death Pits?" I ask, getting her to look away. "It will be easier to explain when we get there. Come, we must get dressed and leave as soon as possible... but... I have one last thing I wish to know before we go." "And what's that?" "This refuge you offer... does it apply to all of those that help?" I tilt my head at this, slightly confused by the question. It's obvious to me that if I offer you refuge for helping, it would include anyone else who helped. But, I guess she needs confirmation. "Yes. Any who aid us in our endeavor will share similar rewards." She lets out a quick sigh of relief before standing straighter. "Good. Now let us hurry, the opening ceremony will start soon." We get dressed quickly and head out. She puts on one of those full body covers that I've seen women wear outside the palace. She tells me to make sure I keep all of my weapons with me. I was going to already but her telling me that put me a little on edge. When we meet up with the other Spartans I can tell something is off about some of them. Night has that arrogant walk about him. More fluid movements, head held high. Hunter seems to be trying to avoid my gaze as well while Yinbie seems the most normal out of them. I was going to question them when one of the concubines walked out of the room they were sharing. I'm a little disappointed by this. Mainly in Night though, Hunter... I can let that one slide. I have less history with him as it is. But I'm going to have to talk to Night at a later time. We all follow after Sappige out to the main courtyard where an ornate gondola waits for us. It's basically a fancy box that has two long posts attached to its side. The four sides are open and have purple drapes blowing in the wind. It has four minotaurs waiting to carry it to our destination, each one wearing expensive looking robes. I question how they could carry such a large object with all of us in it, but keep it to myself. With how these people are, they'd probably take offense to my questions. We load up and they begin to carry us away, surprising me. Waiting for us inside is Nederige. "Hello again, Spartan Warriors. It is-MMMFF!" Once we were inside Sappige lunged forward and locked her lips with his. I look to the others in embarrassment... but I fucking called it... Oh Sweet Barbra. I grabbed his girls... girls! "SAPPIGE!" Nederige yells as he pushes her back. "W-what are you doing!?" "Soen my!" "Is jymal!? Hulle sal jou doodmaak!" He yells as she advances on him. He tries to back away from her, using me as a shield. "Kry 'n houvas van jouself!" "SOEN MY!" She yells as she tries to pry me away from him. The two of them begin to tug at me, pulling me back and forth erratically. "WILL YOU TWO STOP!" I yell as I break from both of their grasp. "What the serious fuck!?" "U het my lief nie? Ons het 'n kans om oor te begin, maar ek nodig het om te weet! U het lief nie!?" The two of them stare at each other for a moment before Nederige moves closer to Sappige. "Wat is die kans?" He asks her quietly. She simply nods to me. "What is she talking about?" I take a look around before pulling him closer. "We take care of our own. You help us, and we can take you away from all of this. But before all of that, I need to know why the goblin emperor would send us here. What deals are the minotaurs making that Longhorn would want to hide from us?" He looks between me and Sappige before scooting out of my hands, shaking his head slowly. "No, no, no, no. This... this would be treason of the highest sort! They would hunt us down-" "They won't be able to get to you. I can protect you from them-" "This is our home! I've lived here my entire life! How-" "Nederige." Sappige pleads, silencing him. She scoots closer to him and takes one of his hands in hers, holding it tightly. "Asseblief." I lean back and wait. This is sadly a common tactic for finding terrorist back in Topaz. Find a member with a loved one and turn them against them. Sometimes violently, other times romantically. It's part of why Susurrans taught me to see when people have a connection. That way, we can exploit it to our benefit. "Do you promise that we will be safe?" he demands from me. Sappige lets out a squeal of delight and hugs him tightly, almost knocking the scrawny minotaur over. "We will protect you, you have my word." He thinks about it for a second before slowly bringing his arms around Sappige. "Very well. I will... show you what is happening within our borders. Come, we must make haste. The games will start soon." The ride to the arena was made in relative silence. Any questions I had were shrugged off. Whatever they had to show me, couldn't be put into words. The city we traveled through was bustling with activity. Minotaurs busy themselves with their daily routines, hardly paying us any mind. It's odd to see so many people in clothing now. Living in Equestria has really conditioned me to view the other way of life. I guess it makes sense here though. Because of their physiology, they must seek modesty like humans do as well. Shopkeepers stood with their goods and yelled to the crowd to come and sample their wares. It reminded me of Topaz Falls a little. The market I grew up next to at least. Not many look at us as we travel through the market. At first I thought it was because of some kind of custom they had but that didn't add up. There were still those who looked on at us, sparse as they might be. I guess this is common around these parts. Given, if this is how officials travel, then I guess that makes sense. We're not exactly trying to make a scene either. When we were suddenly enveloped in a shadow I looked ahead at our destination. We're approaching some sort of stadium. Large red tapestries hang from tall sandstone pillars as even larger awnings shade the interior. Spaced out evenly between the pillars are large statues of various people. Some are minotaurs,though most are not. There's a dragon, alicorns, and even beings I've never seen before! They're all depicted in various states of being. Some are depicted as if they were in the midst of combat, while others stand frozen in varying emotions. The closer we go to the stadium, the sooner I realize that the alicorn statue in front is of Celestia. They have her rearing up with her wings held high holding the top of the building up. I was going to ask about that, but put the answer together myself. They worship her. I know this. It's... just odd seeing it confirmed before my very eyes. I've seen plenty of ponies worship Celestia before, but this seems... weirder. I mean, with the way they have her posed, they don't leave much to the imagination. Her cutie mark is stylized in gold as is her horn... and womanly parts... Why is that a thing? What exactly are they worshiping her for? I kind of want to ask, but at the same time, I really really don't want to know. Maybe I'll just ask Celestia the next chance I get. The people carrying our gondola thing bring us to the two large doors of the stadium and wait before them. Slowly, the doors creek open just enough for us to be ushered in by a few minotaurs wearing deep red robes. They speak quickly, greeting us in their native tongue and waving their arms about wildly. They usher us into a large corridor that is a simple hallway lined with more columns. At the end of the passageway is another large statue, this time of a minotaur like creature. It has the body of a minotaur, but has the head of a dragon. It's wielding a large claymore over its head as if it's about to hack something in half. Streaks of red paint the creature and its weapon, some parts are wet while others seem to be fresh. Sappige steps out first and assists each of us off of the gondola, weirding me out further. Call me old fashion but in my head it's usually the other way around. "Welkom! Welcome! Groot meester van die oorlog!" We stop before three minotaurs dressed in green robes, each with holes bore into their horns and a ton of jewelry hanging all over them. Finger rings, nose rings, studs in their ears; each golden piece shined to perfection. They each bow before us, pressing their foreheads to the ground and kneeling back up. The front one, the fattest of the three, stands up and approaches all of us. "Greetings Ring Master, I hope you have a treat for us today." Nederige greets him, planting a kiss on sides of his face. Sappige repeats this process as well, showing me that it must be a custom of theirs. I don't move to do it though, finding it too odd. "For the Heer, only the best!" He more declares this than responds. He suddenly rushes to me and bows at my feet, kissing them lightly. I back away awkwardly, only to have him start bowing before me repetitively. "If there is anything the Heer desires, he must only ask and it will be his! Mast of War, what is your will?" I look around for help, but don't get any right away. I guess I'll have to improvise this myself. "First off, don't kiss my feel like that. Save it for someone who likes that kind of crap." "O-of course-" "Next, stop bowing to me. The only time you should ever bow to someone is when you're letting them chop your head off. So unless you're really tired of living, stop." "You are gracious O' Powerful One! If-" "Alright, none of that either. It's bad enough I've got some cock hungry fanatic trying to lick my boot, I don't need you stoking my ego with your polished words. I haven't been told what we're doing here, let's get started already." I don't wait for him to respond. Instead, I just walk through the large stone archway and into the stadium proper. This place is massive. Rows of stone benches reach several stories up as they go around a large arena. Massive awnings with loose red cloths hang above the seats, shading them if the sun permits. There are a few boxed off areas where I assume people of importance sit. The arena itself seems simple enough. It's just an oval of sand combed evenly with a few gated entrances. On the other end of the stadium is a massive stone statue of a minotaur holding a severed head over himself. Our greeters and my Spartans walk up beside me and join me in taking in the sights, along with Nederige. I look back to see Sappige standing a few feet behind us. I nod for her to join us, but she shakes her head at me. Must be another stupid custom of theirs. "Does this please you, sire?" the main greeter asks cautiously. He goes to bow, but stops himself quickly enough. "This is impressive. What will we be viewing today?" The greeter goes to answer, but stops when Nederige steps in front of him. "The main gates will be opening soon, why don't we take our seats first?" He waves an arm to the nearest boxed off area, keeping his gaze intently on me. I nod to him and start to walk towards it. It's not the highest one, but I figure that one is meant for Longhorn. Still, it's decently high up and gives a great view of the grounds below. The greeters open the door to the box and usher us inside, where we each sit in large ornate chairs. They're a bit uncomfortable, especially in full body armor. We all make idle chatter as the stadium begins to quickly fill. Spectators rush to get the best seats in the stadium, filling the bottom rows in only a few minutes. People of all ages and all backgrounds are here. Young and old, rich and poor; this must be their pastime. Something that everyone comes together to enjoy. Like, how the ponies meet up for the Wonderbolts. After roughly an hour the stadium is near capacity. Almost all of the special spectator boxes have filled as well, excluding the one most likely for Longhorn. The air is thick with the smells of food and people. Vendors are walking up and down the stairs, trying to yell over the people to sell their goods. I stand up and move to the side to look at the crowd behind us. There are a few seats open near the top, but otherwise it's a full house on this side. The other side is much more sparsely packed. "It's not every day you get the chance to be near a deity. They're more here for you than the show." Sappige tells me. I nod to that, eyeing all of the onlookers. "It would be best if you sat back down. There are a lot of social cues that could be misinterpreted Captain." Hunter tells me. I let out a huff and go back to my seat. The door to our box opens and three minotaur women walk in with trays of food. Exotic fruits and freshly cooked meats are offered to me first. "Did you guys eat yet?" I ask the others. "I'm sorry, I should have explained that first. You are a Heer, you must eat before any of us are allowed to join." Sappige tells me. "Oh... sorry, you'll have to excuse me. Where I come from, as a leader, it's expected for me to feed my men first. To take care of those beneath me-" I stop when a nearby minotaur starts yelling something to the rest of the crowd. The murmuring in the audience grows tremendously as the word is passed around. "What just happened?" "They are spreading your words of wisdom, Miles. They are here to hear you just as much as they are to see you, if not more." Sappige informs me. I lean back in my seat and huff out my annoyance. Just like Canterlot. I can't say anything without being under extreme scrutiny. I could just start spouting random shit to upsurge their culture... but I'm not feeling that dickish today. "Well... what are we waiting for? When do the games start?" "Soon, look." Nederige points to the statue standing by the arena. It's a bit difficult to tell from this angle, but the sun is just about to peak over the statue. Looking to the other end, it looks as if they are waiting for the first ray of light to touch the sands below. When the light reaches roughly a meter away from it everyone in the audience stands. I look to Sappige for an explanation, but she's standing as well, her full attention on the grounds before us. As the light creeps closer and closer, the minotaurs raise their hands above their heads and start to sing a single note. At first it sounded off, due to all of the different voices adding to the noise. But slowly the voices weave together to form a single eerie tone. Before each and every one of the minotaurs a small light starts to form. I stand slowly as the light comes together, hiding the crowd behind the white light. Sharply, they all end their singing together with near military precision. When the light fades away, an orc and minotaur are visible in the arena. They're both wielding large swords and are running at each other. Before I could ask anything they clash in a fury of blows, metal meeting metal. The crowd erupts in a thunderous roar of applause as the two people savagely attempt to gain purchase on the other. The orc has power in each of his blows, but the minotaur has the finesse. He would dodge each attack and take a swing of his own, only to be parried by the orc. "What the fuck is this?" I ask, turning to Sappige. "They are fighting for Barbaarsheid, the deity of blood lust, vengeance, and brutality," she informs me matter of factly. "Two enter, only one will leave. The other will be offered to Barbaarsheid to appease his hunger for gore and violence." The crowds suddenly cheers again. I look back out to see that the orc has landed a blow on the minotaur. It's not enough to stop him, but it's enough to draw blood. That's apparently enough for this crowd though. It's driving them crazy! "Can one yield?" I ask as I watch them closely. The minotaur is much more ragged now, but still has the moves to avoid getting hit. "No. Two enter, one leaves. It is the way of the arena-" "It's the way of savages!" I bark back. I stand back up and stand at the front of the viewing box. The fight begins to degrade as the two tear at each other, staining the sands beneath them red. They're both tired, most likely from blood loss at this point. The orc gives a desperate roar before charging the minotaur, flailing his blade around wildly. I grit my teeth as I watch him run to the prepared minotaur. In a simple move he dodges the orc and brings his blade around to cleave the side of his neck. The crowd explodes in a thunderous applause as the minotaur stands over the twitching form. With a crowd pleasing yell he stabs the orc in the chest, ending his convulsions. "Well... at least is was quick." Hunter mentions. I shake my head at the display before me. This goes against practically everything I was taught. Killing for show, the thought alone makes me sick. Do they really have nothing better to do? Soldiers kill, not civilians. You kill to protect your comrades, not to please some figure. This... this is wrong. "Perhaps the Heer would like to demonstrate then how he would perform in the arena? How humans kill without savagery?" I look back to the greeter and glare at him. He's challenging me, plain a simple. Not directly of course, that would be insulting and probably get him beheaded. No, he's baiting me. If I say no, I'll tarnish the Spartan name here. And I need as much sway as we can muster at the moment. But I'll have to raise the stakes to send a message. "Bring out your best fighter. Give him whatever weapon he desires, and I'll show you how Spartans fight." He chuckles at this, giving me a cocky smirk. There's really only one way to bait a Spartan into doing something they don't want to do. Usually we try to be as... humble, as possible. But, we have to maintain a visage of prowess. Win or lose, we don't back down. And it would appear that this chode knows this. "Captain, are you sure that is wise?" Nederige asks worriedly. "There is no wisdom to be had here. Bring him out." I stand up and step to the edge of the viewing box, staring out to the stadium. "Bring out the prisoner! The one from Canterlot!" The greeter yells in English, trying to send a message to me as well. I let out a breath as I stare out at the bloody sand below. I'm mad, irritated, and incredibly pissed off. Every moment here has been one fuck up after another, and I'm sick of it. I'm going to silence these idiots once and for all. They want a show? I'm going to take that from them then. "Great Heer, if you would only turn in your weapons. Rules of the arena." "Hunter." I remove all of my weapons and pass them off to him. He nods to me, and I nod back to him. I don't have to tell my Spartans what I must do. There is an understanding among us. I follow one of the arena officials down the steps and towards the arena. The crowd grows silent as I take the steep steps down. They all stand before me and watch me intensely, judging my every move. I don't pay them any mind though. I take this time to limber up for what's about to transpire. They didn't tell me to remove my armor, so I hold the advantage there. Likewise, if they provide me with any weapons I'll be able to take the advantage there too. If it's hand to hand with an orc, bear, or minotaur I'll need to rely on speed and agility. It'll also be a longer fight in that case. They open a small wooden gate to the arena below and I hop down alone. The sand cushions my landing, showing me how loose my footing will be here as well. I walk out to the center of the field where another minotaur is standing with a few weapons in his hands. I don't think he's the one I'm fighting though. He looks... too average. From what I can gather from before, I doubt this guy would be the one they'd call their best. "Heer, your weapon of choice?" Figured. I look over the weapons he holds and point to the claymore at his side. He bows to me and steps away, leaving me the weapon. I grab it and look it over, trying to see if there is anything different about it. As far as I can tell, it's a standard claymore with no magical alterations what-so-ever. Given, it's a pretty good sword though. Nothing like the blades like back home, but decent for what they have. The sound of metal creaking catches my attention. The distant gate is being opened, a tall figure standing in its shadows. He's a minotaur, a big one at that. He ducks through the gate and begins walking toward me in a confident manner. His fur is red with gold splashes and is marred with countless scars from previous fights. His left eye is cloudy, probably blinded. His horns are jagged and chipped as well; some parts looking natural while others seem unintentional. He walks up to the arena worker and takes a bastard sword from him, barely acknowledging him at all. "Under his gaze with hearts ablaze, we all come to the glory that is Barbaarsheid! Tremble before the might of Morag! The chosen of the gods!" He whips his blade around before taking his stance. I have a moment of deja vue, thinking back to Trixie for a moment. "Who do I have the delight of slaughtering today?" "I am the Captain of the Spartan Regiment." I leave it at that before taking my own stance. If he wants to monologue, better for me to study him. He smirks and begins to circle to my left, so I step right. "Power seeps from you, Captain of the Spartan Regiment. So much... Barbarity. A lust of war, Stryd would be proud. Yet there is a demeanor of Tweede Gedagte within you as well. So, what sort of war will we wage? Where will the stars lead us, hm? Let our blades sing now, and feed the blood lust of Barbaarsheid." He lunges forward and takes a swing at me. I duck and pivot to swing back at him, catching his blade before he could continue through with his back swing. We hold each other there for a moment, gauging each others strength briefly. He's obviously stronger than me, that much is for sure. And he knows what he's doing with that sword of his. I'll have to force him on the defensive quickly if I'm going to gain the advantage. We push against each other and back off for a moment before reengaging. I swing in first, going low. He parries and twists in to swing in high. I catch the blade quickly and lock it in with my hilt. I try to twist it out of his grip, but fail to do so. He lets out a loud roar before charging forward, using his strength against me. Locked in with him, I back peddle quickly to compensate. I could break out with magic, but I want to hold off on that. I can beat him with blade alone, it'll simply take longer. The crowd is going wild now. Their screams for blood filling my ears. CRACK Morag kicks me back right in the middle of the chest. My armor takes most of the hit, but I still stagger back from the hit. I roll forward and under his next swing before slashing at his back. A deep gash appears across his hide, blood flowing out quickly. He reaches back and touches the wound lightly, chuckling to himself lightly. I go to sever his arm, but he moves his sword in the way to block. He pushes forward again, this time swinging with far more ferocity. I find myself on the defense once again. Back step, duck, pivot. Counter strike, parry, block and hold. He moves on me too quickly to make a proper repose. His form is too tight, leaving little to no room to properly exploit. Not without taking a hit myself. He doesn't have armor on though, so my taking a hit would be beneficial comparatively. I would want to make it a body blow though, as the armor there is the thickest. Meaning I'll have to go for a high blow myself. With a plan in mind, I begin to weave my movements to prep me for a high blow. High blocks, higher parries; I'm flaunting that my lower extremities are more open. He spins back and starts a waist high swing, prompting my own swing. I let out a yell as I try to bring my sword across his neck. PWWWTING THUNK I feel the air escape my lungs as a force slams right into the side of my chest. I don't feel anything beyond some bruising, telling me that my armor held the blade back. I look up to Morag and do a double take at him. He tilted his head so his horn would catch my blade. I would have cut the thing clean off if it weren't a for a piece of metal attached to it. He chuckles again as he brings his blade back and over head. I try to pull my sword back, but it's caught in his horn! CRACK Everything goes fuzzy when he brings the hilt down on my forehead- Chaos... I try to shake it off, but I can't feel my hands- Chaos is a wonderful... Morag has kicked my blade away, I think. It's hard to tell with everything so blurry. A wonderful.... wonderful thing. Something is poking at my exposed neck. I really should do something about that. It's time I showed you how to use it properly. Perspective: Night Fury "Get up! Get UP AND FIGHT!" Sappige yells at Miles as the minotaur goes to finish him off. I just watch carefully as he brings his blade up. It's the golden rule of Spartans acting up, I guess. Hopefully Storm can hold everything together. The minotaur lets out a power scream as he plunges his blade down through Miles's neck. The crowd nearly explodes in applause as they scream out for the kill. I glance over to Hunter and Yinbie to see them dumbfounded. Had he used magic, this fight would have ended very differently. But, he didn't. And here we are. I look back to the two fighters and take a closer look. He has his blade through him, but there isn't any blood by his head... "It would appear the Man of Fire was no match for Morag. A shame, really." The greeter says smugly, getting chuckles from his colleagues. "Did you place any bets on Morag?" I ask, getting surprised looks from Hunter and Yin. "I did. Why-" "I wouldn't collect yet. Spartans, get ready." They eye me oddly but draw their weapons anyway. I can't tell what's going on down there, but something isn't right. His helmet should have blocked most of that hit. There is no way it could have knocked him down so easily. I stand up and step closer to scrutinize the two down below. Why hasn't he removed his weapon yet? He's just standing there, looking down at Miles. THWUUM In the blink of an eye a shadowy figure appears behind Morag and drop kicks him in the back with enough force to send him rolling. The figure darts away too quickly to get a good look though. The minotaur stands back up and holds his stance again, looking for his target carefully. The crowd has grown silent again. This time in confusion. I scan the arena to try and find Miles, but he's no where to be seen. Miles isn't this good at illusion magic. Something is really wrong here. Did he lose control to Corpus? No... no, this is different. Corpus doesn't hide. He's all... dark tentacles and boastful. THWUUM It happens again. A dark figure just appears behind Morag and sends him crashing away. Only this time, he doesn't let him stop. He appears again and starts to knock him around, sending him in all directions. After the third or fourth hit his body goes limp and rag dolls back and forth before the dark figure finally takes hold of him. I've never seen Miles like this before. He's... darkness. He looks like a being of darkness, but not Icy Void. There's a distinct difference here. From what I've seen and heard of Corpus, he's more of a cold darkness. Energy wisps from him. This form... is like a dark fire. As if the energy is jetting away from him. I need to get down there, now. I take to the air and begin to race towards to the two of them. Miles is still holding him up by his throat, eyeing him. He doesn't do or say anything when I finally make it to him. He just... stands there. "Miles?" I ask cautiously, being sure to keep in the air. He doesn't acknowledge me though. "Miles? Can you hear me?" "..." "Is... is this Corpus Glacius? Am I talking to Corpus Glacius?" He slowly looks over to me and begins to chuckle. I back off a bit as his chuckle slowly turns to an unusual cackle. None of the Spartans that can handle this are here right now. I need to be ready to run at any moment. "Death and slaughter are his game... all to escape the real pain. Fighting for what he was loss, giving in... to the chaos." He tosses him up a bit before giving his limp body a powerful kick. His body flings away and... goes in two directions? I slowly take my helmet off and rub my eyes to make sure I'm seeing this properly. After multiple rubs and a few slaps to assure myself I'm not asleep, I look over what's before slowly. On the right side of the field is a cow. Just an average looking cow. On the left... is a human. A... man. Nude, laying unconscious in the sand. His scarred body is bruised from the fight, having the same exact wounds Morag had on his back. Miles, somehow, split Morag into a man and a cow. "Dear Celestia-" "No!" I look back to 'Miles' and move out of his way as he stalks towards the person. "Not Celestia. Chaos... disharmony... dissonance... human. But... one is enough." He stops by his body and swings an arm at him. From his hand shoots a dark tendril that stabs the man in the center of the chest. He jolts up for a second before quickly fading away into dark wisps of energy that billow away in the wind. Any evidence of the man is gone now. "What happened to you?" I ask quietly as I stare at him. He looks back to me and lets the energy around him fade away revealing his normal body. I look him over for a second before I realize a difference suddenly. His eyes... they're red. The pupils are red and seem to glow with energy. This isn't Miles; this isn't Corpus either. This is something new. "It seems my time is fading. Let's end it with a bang... or a spin? Hmm..." He rubs his chin for a second as he contemplates his options. "Spin... bang... so many options.... uhg, wasted it." He closes his eyes and falls over, seemingly unconscious. Perspective: Miles I wince for a moment before I slowly open my eyes. There's a throbbing in my head that's beating harder than any hangover I've had before. My vision starts out blurry, but after a few blinks I eventually refocus enough to get my bearings. I look over to see Night Fury standing next to me; eyeing me carefully. I close my eyes again and slowly rub my face, shifting in place slightly. "You know, you'd think I'd get used to waking up naked." I look back to Night and see him relax in response. I sit up and instantly feel my head begin to spin rapidly, as if I just got off a flight simulator. "Uuuhhhg, what happened?" I groan. "Well... you might not believe what actually happened." Night says cautiously. I groan again, only more angrily, getting him to answer me. "Well... that minotaur knocked you on the head with the hilt of his sword and was about to kill you when... you changed." "Corpus got out? Or was it Soul Fire? Or... do you mean... change change?" They better not know I'm part alicorn now. This shit is getting redundant now! "... Not exactly." I look over to him and wait for him to continue. "Maybe we should continue this when you're not sitting in the middle of an arena." "Good enough." I motion for him to come over and use him to stand. I'm a bit shaky, but I power through it and make my way over to my armor. I glance up at the stands and note how all of the minotaurs are bowing to me with their heads pressed to the ground. Whatever I did, it was enough to solidify my place as a god among them. Either through respect or fear... probably the latter. "Well... that explains one thing." I look down with Night and squat by my helmet. There's a large dent right where my forehead was. Whatever hit me was strong enough to nearly punch a hole right through it. A centimeter or less saved my life. I'm lucky I only got knocked out really. "Well... looks like a sniper nearly took me out." I mention as I fiddle with the remains of the helmet. It's gone now, scrap really. Whoever shot me made the mistake of firing a low AP round. That, or the round was shit and shattered once it hit. I'll find out once I take this back for scans. "Shouldn't we hurry inside? What if the sniper tries to take another shot?" Night asks, partially concerned. "Whoever that was, they're long gone now. Once I changed, they probably retreated to avoid being captured... or worse. Did you hear a shot?" I remove the helmet and start to unlatch my armor. Strangely enough, the clothes I was wearing before are still here. Not even a single scorch mark on them. "No. All I saw was the massive fucker try to take you out. I didn't even hear the round hit you." Hmm... that's interesting. "Well, we'll have to figure that out later. I'm going to get changed now. Go get the others and have them show me what we came here for already. I'm done with this place already." He nods and takes off for the viewing box. I remove my clothes and start the arduous task of getting back into my armor. I can still feel the tinge of embarrassment of being nude in public, but six years of being a pony are finally taking their toll on me. That, and none of them are looking directly at me. I watch them slowly start making their way towards me, so I wait. The greeter looks mortified by my presence, rubbing some little trinket nervously as he approaches me. When they finally make it before me he drops to his knees and presses his head to the floor. I roll my eyes and look to the others, seeing their unease as well. "Did I tell you to bow?" I ask sternly. He quickly jumps back up and begins to apologize. "Did I say stop?" He stops and stands still, unsure of what to do at this point. "There is supposedly something here that might interest me. Where do you think that is Sappige?" She jumps slightly from being called and steps forward, trying to remain as calm as possible. "U-uh... it should be down below-" "Show me." I direct the command to the greeter. He nods quickly and rushes to the gate behind me. I nod to the others and follow after him. Finally I can get some answers. Will this take me closer to my intended target? Or is this another dead end? Only one way to find out. We follow the minotaur down a narrow underground path that leads up beneath the arena. The stone walls are lit sparsely with torches, leaving the room dimly lit. There are several streaks of blood along the walls as well, some older than others. The roof above us is made up of iron cages that have guards patrolling them with spears and various bows. We come to a set of large ornate wooden doors that, like the walls, are coated in layers of variously aged dried blood stains. Two minotaurs above start to pull on some ropes that slowly pull the doors open. Once there's enough room, we begin to step through. I pause and look back to Sappige, who is still standing before the doorway. "Sappige?" "I-it might not be wise for me to come in there. I... do not know how some of the... other warriors will react to... my presence." Hmm... bringing a palace whore might not be a good idea. But, on the other hand, I don't really trust anyone around here. "You'll be safe with me. Come on, I need a translator I trust." She swallows her nervousness and follows after us. I wait for her to be near me before walking in. The area before me reminds me of the pool area back at the spa in Ponyville... sort of. There's a basin in the center of the room that has lightly steaming water running to it from each corner of the room. The room has five corners, making the room a pentagon with a few doors leading to other areas. Each corner section of the room is raised a step and barred off. In each barred section there are bunk beds, benches, and several occupants waiting around. Each section is segregated by race. Ponies in one, minotaurs in the next, followed by orcs, apes, and finally bears. I look around for a moment before I realize the lack of griffins being held here. I walk around the room and look them over more closely. They're all in the prime of their being, showcasing impressive muscles. The ponies here all have marks in fighting and don't seem to mind me all too much. If anything, they're looking back at me with the kind of look a fighter would give his opponent. Sizing, calculating, judging. Their watching me as if I'm their next match. They all are. I stop and look into the pool in the center of the room. It's lined with small blue and white tiles with the number five in the center. There must be other rooms like this. At least four. "I am assuming that these people are here to fight." I start walking around the room again, eyeing all of the occupants again. Scars, bruises, and stitch marks cover most of them. They all also have a branding somewhere on their bodies. Some are the same, but there are a few different ones here. "Yes." Sappige tells me quietly. "Of their own accord?" I ask, looking back to her. She doesn't answer me, lowering her head instead. "Though I do not stomach slavery, this better not be the only reason you have brought me here." "It isn't. There-" "My Heer!" The greeter cuts in, stepping between me and Sappige. "Please, allow me to explain. These savages were once nuisances to the world. Outlaws without paths or anywhere to call home. Within the house of Barbaarsheid they are contained. We shield society from them and allow them to... eeeeeh... unleash, their lesser selves. They-" "Barbaarsheid?" I ask, making him pause. "Barbaarsheid, the Heer of slaughter and bloodshed. He presides over these walls and guides-" "He guides these walls?" I ask, tilting my head slightly. "Eeh... yes. It's more of a-" "But I am here? Do I not preside here now?" He looks back to the others uneasily before looking back to me. "Eeeeh... you are but...eeeh... this is-" "If he wishes to claim these walls, then let him come claim them from me. Until then, I claim these walls, understood?" A couple of latches click open as two minotaur guards drop down from below. They tower over me and brandish their polearms in their hands. I look between the two of them and sigh before drawing my pistol. "So be it." BANG I point my pistol at the head of the minotaur before me and pull the trigger lazily. A mist of red sprays out behind him as his body falls back. I hear the guy behind me let out a small yell as he tries to pierce me through with his weapon. It splinters off of my armor, leaving me unscathed. I turn around and point the weapon at him, waiting to see what he does. He looks down at his destroyed weapons and tosses it aside in anger. He fumbles to pull his knife out, but I don't allow him to. BANG I fire a round into his chest, making him stagger back as he holds his chest. BANG The second round goes through his skull in the familiar fashion, sending him to the ground quickly. I let out another sigh as I stare at the dead bodies. It always ends like this. Some dumb ass thinking they can outsmart a bullet. Fucking idiots. I look back to the others and note that the greeter is missing now. Sappige and Nederige are both holding their ears, hiding behind Yinbie. I always forget about the people that aren't always around gunfire. "He ran, what are we going to do?" Night asks calmly. I sheath my pistol and move over to Yin, getting him to move aside. "Show me what you brought me here for. I'd rather not leave you here." They both look up to me shakily before slowly standing. Nederige quickly makes his way to one of the doors and tries to open it, finding it locked. "Watch out." A pony from inside the cage warns us slowly. "It's enchanted. Picking it won't be easy." "Then let me." I flare my hand and slam it against the wooden door. It explodes inwards, sending splinters all over the dark room. I look to Nederige for a second before casting a light inside the room. It's a storage room. Several barrels and crates fill the room to the brim. A barrel that happened to be near the door has fallen over, its contents covering the floor before me. They look like little pink peaches. I pick one up and look it over closely. It's about as big as a normal plum and a little squishy between my fingers. It doesn't have a scent to it either. I step inside and go to one of the crates, magically opening it. It's full of the same contents. I set the lid back down, noting a strange marking burned into the wood. "Sappige! No!" I look back to see Sappige trying to make her way in. Nederige is trying his best to keep her back though. "Jy moet dit nie!" "Ek het dit nogig! Asseblief, laat my dit!" He has to put her in a hold to stop her from entering the room. She begins to cry as she begs for her release, still trying to get in the room. I look over the room before taking one of the little fruits to the holding room. "You there," I call out to the pony that warned us. "What is this?" He looks to the others before walking closer. He tries to reach out to the fruit, but I pull it out of his reach. "sigh That, is a little slice of heaven. What you are holding in your hand is called Passion Fruit. A rare desert treat, normally they are incredibly difficult to grow." "If that's so, then why is there a room filled with them?" "Beats me. Someone must'a figured out how to make them grow, or something along those lines." He tries to reach out for it again, but I pull back again. "One last question, what does it do?" He smiles at that, leaning against the bars so his head comes through. "Legend says there are seven deadly fruits of the world. Eat one, and you... well... it varies from fruit to fruit." "Passion fruit?" I ask, waving it before him. "What do you think?" He asks, trying to swipe the fruit. I pull away, making him groan in frustration. "It's an aphrodisiac?" "Pffft! Please. Those are little lies you tell fillies to get them thinking dirty. This... this is the real deal. One bite, doesn't matter if you're gelded, married, religious; none of that matters anymore. One bite... and you're on cloud nine... while also balls deep in the nearest hole. Bear, pony, whatever you are, it don't matter. One bite, one taste... that's it." I look at the fruit more closely, eyeing it with more respect. "Hand it over." He sounds so depraved when he says that. He sticks his hoof through the bars as far as his body will allow. I look him right in the eyes before I toss the fruit in the blood filled pool. "YOU BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL BUCKING KILL YOU!" "Guards incoming, what's the plan Miles?" Night asks as the sound of metal clanking against stone echoes down the halls. "We're leaving. I'll dig us a way out. Yin, Hunter, cover the rear. Night, cover the VIPs. Sappige, Nederige?" They both look back to me, scared out of their minds. "Welcome to Terradisia." Author's Note Be sure to check out The Elder Dragon Hierarchy Cultural Reference Guide!
Chapter 227 New PowerChapter 227 New Power The ride to Mooseden was rather funny. The guards tried to chase us down, but ran when the I.T.A. landed before us. Once we got everyone on board, things grew quiet... for the most part. Nederige must have thrown up at least four times on the way here. I guess flying for the first time ever would do that to a person. Sappige was fine though, funnily enough. Once we leveled off and started maintaining speed Nederige calmed down enough to sit up. "Weak stomach?" I yell over the engines, getting the others to chuckle. Sappige rubs his back a bit, but he still looks as if he's about to hurl. "Minotaurs were not meant to fly," he grumbles back to me, making me laugh. "Yeah, and slavery was suppose to end after the Pre-Purgian North American Civil War; yet here we are." He groans and leans back, trying to quell his stomach pains. "Don't worry, we'll be there in an hour or so. It should be easy flying from here on out." "Are we fugitives?" Sappige asks, making me laugh. "Not where we're going. Just sit back, relax, and try to be a bit more modest." She looks down for a second before crossing her arms over her chest. "What will we do when we make it to Terradisia?" Nederige asks weakly. "At first we'll have to run a few tests on the two of you. Nothing major, we just don't want anyone getting sick. Afterwards we'll finalize your citizenship and get you somewhere to live. If you need assistance finding work we can help with that as well. Once everything settles down though, we'll have to pull each of you aside to check your memories. Just to verify certain events. You may also have to speak at the next Summit meeting as witnesses, but we'll get to that when it arises." "You're going to just give us a home! Why?" Sappige asks. "We watch after our own. It might not be the nicest thing in the world, but it's a roof over your head that'll keep you warm. Plus we-" "Captain?" Easy cuts me off from the front. "There is an incoming call for you via bot from a Prince Blueblood. Do you accept?" What the fuck does this little cunt want. I grab my helmet and set it back on, pressing a few buttons so I can speak in private. "This is Spartan Captain, how can I assist you?" "Miles Eremita, this is Prince Blueblood-" "I know who you are, what do you want?" I cut him off shortly. "I need to have a word with you pertaining the embargoes on the Terradisian people." "... where do you want to meet?" "I'll be in Ponyville to pick up a suit soon, meet me there. And Miles, leave your lackeys behind." The transmission ends there. I grit my teeth for a moment as I try to keep my composure about myself. I knew asking this prick for help would lead to fucking annoyances like this, but... the fucker seems to get results. I'll have to see what he has in store for me when I meet up with him. This better be good. I stay quiet the rest of the trip, thinking deeply about Blueblood. I'm not sure if he does or doesn't know about me. He should, that much is certain. But... the way he acted around me more recently says otherwise. I don't know if he's just playing the part, or actually an idiot. I want to give it to the latter... but I can't just make a rash decision. He has an agenda. I don't know what it is, but I have to tread carefully over what he does and says. When we finally make it to Mooseden a bot runs up to me and gives a report. Literally everything that could go wrong, is going wrong. Starke is waiting for me in the main meeting hall. E'Claire needs me to hunt down some thief that's been causing all sorts of mischief. Blueblood is waiting for me in Ponyville, in Rarity's shop no less. And, to top it all off, Storm just left a message saying I need to rush back to Fort Corium Guttur because some shit is going down with Spike! All of this told to me before the dust could even settle from our landing. Fucking perfect! "Night, you and the others take Sappige and Nederige to E'Claire and get them situated. I'll swing by as soon as possible to finalize their citizenship. I have to head over to the meeting hall to meet up with Starke, got it?" "Do you need back up?" Night asks. "No. I should be fine on my own right now. We don't have much time, get going." I rush off for the meeting hall, trying to psych myself to talk with Starke. It's proving to be a bit difficult to do when you're jet lagged. I pause at the door to take a breath before walking in, finding Starke and his men sitting with E'Claire at the front, along with several bots waiting on the sides. "Miles! Emperor Starke-" "Thank you for your help E'Claire. You can go now." She eyes me for a second before taking her leave. I don't have the time for pleasantries right now. I walk over to the seat in front of Starke and sit down, eyeing the large luggage crates he has with him. "Are these what I think they are?" "Like you asked. Here are all of the shipping manifests from every arms and armorer within the Goblin Empire! There were more, but your... soldiers, took them for analysis. What are those metal men?" I ignore his curiosity and motion for one of the bots to come over, whispering to it to give me status updates of the analysis. "We call them bots. Machines with artificial intelligence that we use for a work force." I can see the intrigue rise in him. These are obviously something he would barter for. "I'm a little surprised at you Starke." "Oh? How so?" He asks, resting a foot on his knee. "You're here. It took you awhile, but you did it. How did you manage to make it through Equestrian Airspace without causing riots in the streets?" He chuckles at that, running a hand through his long silver-grey hair. "Just because we don't have wings, doesn't mean we don't know the air." He glances to one of the guards who nods and reaches down for something. I rest a hand on my pistol as he digs through one of the crates, waiting for him to make a move. "I brought you a gift. As... a token of my gratitude for letting me within your country." The guard pulls out a strange little gizmo that looks like half of a brass ball with gears sticking out of other half. "Thank you. What is it?" I ask as I take it, eyeing it closely. "A creation of mine. Rudimentary in design, but it was made well before I became Emperor." He doesn't answer my question. Not directly at least. I set the strange ball down and remove my helmet to scratch my head slightly. I really need to wrap this up already. "Usually one would give a gift for a gift, depending on the circumstances. Would you say these are circumstances worth trading gifts?" He puts on that sinister smile of his. I try to hide me discomfort from it, but I don't like that smile. "For that, no. For the location of the remaining Kroth?" I stare him down for a moment, feeling my heart skip a beat. He knows where the last of the Kroth are. Six years of searching and I can finally hunt those bastards down. "I think I can whip something up. A nice part of my own history to give." Perspective: Blueblood I take a deep breath and stare down the door to Carousel Boutique. It's been... almost five years since I've last set hoof in here, and I'm determined to make a new impression! I doubt I'll make up for years of groveling and pestering, but I have to start somewhere! And with the dragon gone I'll actually be able to step inside without having to worry about some monster torching my flank. I'll only have to worry about scissors being thrown. With my mind made up, and my courage steeled, I take one final breath before stepping into the building. The interior is different than what I remember. Rather than the light pastels from before the walls are a warm summer theme with splashes of deep purple. It's daring, but welcomed. There is a bit of familiarity here though. Like the mannequins, the general layout, and the bell on the door. "One moment please! I am in the middle of a very difficult stitch right now and will need just one tiny minute!" And there's that familiar voice as well. "Feel free to look around while I finish this up." I keep quiet and take a look around, letting her work. It was bold to make the meeting here. I could have easily picked any other store in this small town. Even after all these years though, I can't escape her. No matter how many objects she threw at me or what ever harsh words she yelled, I couldn't get her out of my mind. I wouldn't. I was a fool not only once, but twice! And I let her slip away. I thought I could just swoon her away, but that was foalish of me to think. She is a lady, and a lady would never be so easily carried away like that. I have to earn the right, I have to persuade her, I have to- "Hey Rare! I'm home!" An angel sings as she walks into the room. I stare at her as she walks right past me, busy looking through her saddle bag. She's a beautiful white unicorn with lavender and pastel pink hair that curls perfectly at the end. She's young, but has a maturity about her that exudes both confidence and passion. She's humming something to herself in what has to be the most beautiful voice I've ever heard. Who is this mysterious mare? "Oh! Sorry, I didn't know a guest was here. Hi! I'm Sweetie Bell, have you been helped yet?" "I-I..." "Sweetie! Be a dear and get our guest something to drink please!" Lady Rarity calls from the back. "Is there anything you would prefer? Water? Tea? Coffee?" She looks up to me with those amazing pastel green eyes and smiles genuinely, eager to help. I flounder over my words before simply nodding to her, getting a confused look in return. "Um... I'll make some tea then. I'll be right back." "..." She smiles again, a bit more uncomfortably this time, and backs into the kitchen to start working on the tea. Only when she is out of the room can I finally shake myself back into control. I must know who this mare is, if only her name at the very least! "Sorry to keep you waiting darling! How can... I..." I look over to Lady Rarity and smile sheepishly to her, trying to get myself back on track. I came here with a purpose, I can't lose it now! "Lady Rarity." I say carefully. "Blueblood." She states, still eyeing me. "I-I know I'm probably the last stallion you want to have in your store, as you've said multiple times. I am here on business though! I am picking up my suit... I can wait outside if that would make this easier for you." "..." "Lady Rarity?" I can see her eye twitch, I better get ready for something to be thrown my way. "..." "I... Uh... Is the suit ready? Perhaps I should-" "Tea will be ready in a few moments! Why don't you take a seat in the kitchen!" The mare from before announces happily, oblivious to the tension between the two of us. I look back to Lady Rarity and wait for her to give me permission before moving. She looks between the two of us before nodding to me. I stare at her in surprise for a moment before heading to the kitchen and sit at the table there. Lady Rarity takes the seat across from me as the mare, Sweetie, prepares the table. I eye the silverware and feel my stomach tense up from the brand. It's a lower brand, not quite peasant, but nothing you'd see in the castle. I bite my tongue and try not to make my discomfort obvious. Though, if her stare is any indicator, I may already have been caught. A warm scent fills my nose as the tea is poured before me. She does a good job of it, obviously having done this before. Once we're all served we sit there in silence once again. I don't want to take the first drink, knowing you should let the lady of the house have the honor. But she isn't moving. She's... just staring at me. "Sooo... do you two know each other? Because I feel as if you do." Sweetie says before taking a sip from her cup. We continue to stare at one another, waiting for the other to budge. "Is he an old coltfriend of yours?" "Sweetie!" Lady Rarity gasps, finally breaking eye contact with me. "What? Who are you anyway?" She asks, ignoring Lady Rarity’s discomfort. "I-I am Prince Blueblood. And... no. I am not an old coltfriend of hers." She eyes me for a second before leaning closer to Lady Rarity. "Is this the same Blueblood from you diary? The one from the G.G.G.?" She asks in a loud whisper. "Yes... And what did I tell you about reading my diary?!" Lady Rarity responds, equally as loud. I was about to let them know I could still hear them, but they continued on anyway. "Whatever! I know for a fact you still read mine! And must I remind you about last-" "We promised to never speak of that again!" Lady Rarity blurts out quickly, silencing the room. They both look to me for a second before putting on smiles. "Could you excuse us for one moment please. Eeeuuhhh... family matters to attend to!" "Of-" Before I could finish Lady Rarity grabs Sweetie and rushes her out of the room and up the stairs. "-course." I can hear them whispering to one another in the other room, but can't make out what they are saying. They're both heated over the topic though. I take a few more sips from my tea to try and calm my nerves though. I am trying to make amends with Lady Rarity. I know it won't be the easiest task, but I will endure whatever she throws my way. I finish my tea well before the two of them finish speaking with one another. Things got pretty heated between the two of them too. I almost understood them for a moment. Something about hooves and shows... not entirely sure what that could be about. Sweetie eventually comes back though, giving me a nervous smile as she takes her seat again. "Sorry about that! Rarity is getting your suit ready for you. We weren't properly introduced either. I'm Sweetie Bell, Raritys little sister." She offers me her hoof which I take hesitantly. I didn't know she had a little sister. I'll have to demand a refund from that private investigator I hired a few years back. She couldn't even tell me she had a sister! "Charmed. I take it Lady Rarity doesn't wish to see me." She offers me an uncomfortable smile, which I sigh to. "It is alright. I did not have high expectations for today. I am glad I was even allowed to do business with her." "Well, you are a Prince after all. If she denied you service, it would ruin her reputation." "Never. I would never allow her name to be muddied because of something like that. I may not be the stallion she wants, but that doesn't make me any less of a stallion. It would mar my honor to let her name falter." "Hm. Thanks... I guess." I toy with the tea cup between my hooves as a silence falls between the two of us. Lady Raritys work fills the background quietly, but nothing is said. I doubt anything said would be sincere anyway. "Can I ask you a question?" "Of course." I perk up at this, giving her my full attention. "Well... why Rarity? I mean, I'm sure there are plenty of mares in Canterlot that would fawn over you. Being a prince and all. Why chase after Rarity like this? And don't give me any of that lovey dovey junk either! Lovey dovey doesn't last eight years." I chuckle at her question, looking back to the cup in my hooves again. "It's exactly the reason you said. I could have any mare in Canterlot. They would fall at my hooves and follow me mindlessly. But, that is not becoming of a Lady. No, after a period of this I decided that I would only settle for a true Lady. I guess during my quest for the perfect mare I sort of..." "Made unattainable standards?" Sweetie offers. "Not entirely. I was looking for the perfect mare, so I tried to be the perfect stallion as well. Because of that... well..." "Grand Galloping Gala?" She asks with a slight chuckle. "Precisely. I still hold myself to many of those standards now, but... a change was necessary. Lady Rarity showed me how flawed I was. I guess... that made me realize how perfect she was... is. It's been a slow transition, and I still hold myself to many of those old standards. But... recently... I don't know anymore." "Do you think you could move on? Try again?" I look back to her and stare into her eyes for a moment. I lose myself again in her pastel green iris. There's something calming about those beautiful orbs. They calm me in a manner that I haven't felt... since I said goodbye to mother... "Blueblood!" Sweetie jumps when a new voice suddenly erupts from the other room, accompanied with a door slamming open and shut. I blink a few times to steel myself before looking over, seeing Miles in his armor standing in the doorway. "Sweetie, I need you to go to the other room." "But-" "Now." He pulls out something that looks like a small mace. He adjusts the bottom before throwing it up at the ceiling, having it stick perfectly in the drywall. The handle points straight down before opening up and creating an aura around the small table. Before either of us could say anything further Miles grabs the back of Sweeties chair and drags her out of the aura, pointing to the other room before taking another seat at the table. "Right... forgive me. I... suddenly had a thought." I tell him slowly as I try to gather myself. "Surprising." "Right... right..." "I don't have much time Blueblood. I need to know about the tariffs on Terradisia." Miles tells me firmly, getting me back on track. "Right! The tariffs. It would seem that the House of Goods has made some sort of coup to take you out of the market, and I know who is backing it. Filthy Rich-" "Fuck mothering asshole!" He yells with a slam of his fist against the table. All of the contents fall over as he pushes the table away and starts to pace around feverishly. "I take it you know him." I mention as I start to set all of the porcelain back up. "That ass hat has been a pain in the fucking neck ever since we fucking met!" "How so?" I ask with a tilt of my head. Miles is an alicorn and a figure head of this town. What could Filthy Rich possibly have on him? "It wasn't much at first. Snide remarks here, difficult transactions there. He would constantly try something new though. At this point I don't even remember what he was mad about!" He slumps into a seat and lets out a long sigh. I hum to him and look back to my tea cup, trying to think of a possible way to aid him. "He's a small time business pony. Crushing him wouldn't be hard. I know a few ponies that could-" "No." He says firmly, sitting up right. "I'm not lowering myself to his standards. No backroom deals. I'm going to take him out legally-" "His master move was legal." I cut him off firmly, bringing my attention back to him. "He found a loop hole to take a jab at you and it hit somewhere vital. Any form of retaliation would take too long to aid the ponies that are hurting from this. There will be no income for your country for at least a year while legalities are formalized. Can Terradisia stand such a loss?" He sits back and thinks about what I said, lowering his gaze slightly. "... No backroom deals." I huff from that, of course he's going to be stubborn about this. "But that doesn't mean we can't use a little muscle." "What do you have planned?" I ask, intrigued. "If I can get the rest of the Apples to sign over to Terradisia, I can cut produce production down five percent in Equestria. We'll plaster Barnyard Bargains as the ones responsible for this as well. For the time being, we'll have to short hand ourselves a bit and sell to the griffins to keep product moving. In the mean time I'll talk with a few others to see if we can find a way out of this loop hole." "How is that not a backroom deal?" I ask, confused by his plan. "The Apples have been on the fence about joining for some time. This deal is already public in some areas, like Appleloosa. If Filthy didn't know about this, then he's an idiot. As for the smear campaign... This is common tactic in Terradisia. Politicians back there were much more elusive about their affairs. So when one was caught doing something wrong, simple broadcasts telling of their crimes were enough to end their careers. I guess that won't work as easily here though, huh?" "Not entirely. But I know where it might have some validity." I tell him, thinking to myself. "I must admit, I didn't think you'd take this job so seriously. And for Terradisia no matter. Why are you so adamant in aiding us?" I chuckle at that, looking back to him to smile confidently. "Anything for the King." He goes ridged from that, keeping his focus on me. "Terradisia and Equestria are allies after all. If the King deems them a worthy people, then I should aid them as I would any Equestrian-" "Sorry to interrupt, but your suit is ready." We both look over to Rarity as she pokes her head through the dome around us. Miles nods to her and grabs the device, disrupting the sphere around us. "You know what needs to be done," he tells me before taking his leave. We all stare at him as he storms out of the building, barely having the mind to wave goodbye to the others. I look to Lady Rarity and take my suit from her, pulling it out to look it over. I don't really need to check it over, knowing her work is second to none. I just need something to distract myself from the awkwardness of the situation. "What was it he-" "I must be off." I tell her, cutting her off rudely. "I apologize for any inconvenience I may have caused." "But-" "I have a busy schedule to attend to now. If any alterations must be made... may I... uh... would it be alright with you if..." "If your suit has any problems, I will hold my end of the bargain and attend to them," she tells me in a business tone. I nod to her and begin to take my leave. On my way out I pause when I see Sweetie standing in the main lobby, eyeing me curiously. I give her a slight bow, one that she returns in kind, and leave the building. Outside I take a moment to catch my breath, suddenly realizing that I was holding it in. I never thought a mare could take my breath away the way Lady Rarity has. But... I know my heart waits for her, not this Sweetie. Or... or was it truly never meant to be? I need to do something different this time. I need to... I need to ask for somepony’s opinion on the matter. But, who can I ask? I can't ask Auntie, not with what I'm planning. Actually, I can't ask any of the nobles or family members. Who is out there that I can go to for advice? Somepony that will listen to me openly, unbiased. "Hey! It's the Prince guy I was telling you guys about!" I shake my head and look over to see... no... no, it can't be. "Hey Prince Blueblood, remember me?" "... O-of course. Tempestive, what brings you here today?" I ask in a bit of shock. He shrugs and starts to walk down the street, nodding for me to follow. "Well, Mom had to run an errand with Mama Applejack, so Rampant and I were going to hang out on Sweet Apple Acres. But when I made it there Mama Fluttershy told me that Rampant was grounded. So... now I'm kinda just walk out and about... by the way, don't tell my mom! I'm... kind of not suppose to be out on my own." I stop in my tracks and have an idea go off in my head. He's not suppose to be out on his own. Queen Luna would appreciate the pony who kept him indoors and safe. I could use that to either get some favor with her, or some advice... possibly even both! I quickly look around and try to think of a way to get him to go along. I spot some lanky pegasus with a camera taking pictures of flowers and get an idea. "Actually, I need to get going!" I tell him in a hurried, hushed voice. "Remember? I'm a prince!" I whisper to him, getting a confused look from him. "So?" "So... so if ponies see me 'out and about' it could cause a scene! You don't see royalty everyday now, do you?" I ask, noting the irony to myself. "Oh... I guess not. Well-" "But! My ride is still a ways away! And I have nowhere to hide from the public! If only there was somewhere I could go that wouldn't keep me in the public eye!" I feign my concern, putting a hoof to my head as I strike an over dramatic pose. I glance down to Tempestive and watch the gears in his head begin to turn. "Well... I guess you could hang out at my place. No one is ever there and it's out on the edge of town-" "But I couldn't simply reside within the domicile of another pony without them being there! My honor as a Prince simply wouldn't allow me!" He deflates a bit from that, nodding to me. "Alright. I guess I can always go to Sugar Cube Corner another time-" "Well, I could send one of my guards to pick us up something while we wait at you home. If that would suit you?" He perks up at that, smiling to one of my guards. "Would you really?" he asks innocently. The guard nods and pulls out a notepad, taking down his order. This is perfect! All I have to do is entertain this foal for awhile and win over Luna when she comes home. It couldn't be easier! Perspective: Spike I pace around the barracks impatiently as I wait for Miles to make some form of response. We only sent the message awhile ago, but it feel as if it was days ago! Any Spartans that weren't out on the expedition are in the room with me as well, watching over Maant Iliis. Dad hasn't said anything to me since we showed up here. He's just... staring at her. I can only imagine what he's thinking about. I know I shouldn't doubt what he's thinking, but his silence isn't helping any. Maant was hesitant to come in here, and not just because of the giant crystal lizard chicken sitting on top. The instant we dropped in they nearly tore her apart! No shots were fired, but a lot of threats and forceful moves were used against her. She didn't fight back, luckily. So, here we are. Sitting in the barracks of Fort Corium Gutter waiting for Miles to show up. Or, at the least call back. "Where are Dash and the rest of the Jumpers?" I ask Dad, getting him to nod away. "They went out on a recon mission. They should be back before sun down." True Will tells me. I let out a huff and nod to him, keeping my eyes away from Dad. I'm sure I'll hear what I need to later on. "Spike?" Maant whispers to me. "Los hi bek niidro tahriik het?" "You don't have to hide what you are saying, and yes. It is safe here. We're probably safer here than anywhere else." I tell her, making her blush slightly from outing her. "Speak for yourself," she mutters, glancing to Raz. "Incoming message from the Captain." Dad says officially, pressing a button his helmet. "This is Miles, whose present other than Spartans?" Miles asks through his speaker. "It's me, Spike. And I have a guest here as well." I tell him, motioning to Maant to speak up. "Oh, hello? I-I am Maant Iliis. I... uh, I wish-" "I wish to take her on as my student in magic." I cut her off, trying to sound as authoritative as possible. A silence fills the room as we wait for him to respond. The way I see it, he either goes along without any complaints, or chews me out. "... I'm sorry, there's a part of that I... am having a hard time understanding. Who is she?" I glance around the room, a little caught off guard. "Uh... she's a weaker dragon I met at the moot. I wish to train her-" "Spike," Miles cuts me off, silencing me. "How wet is your dick right now?" "WHAT!?" My face instantly heats up from his blunt question. I look to the others for help, but can't seem to find any in their stoic states. "I'm not- we never- it's not like that!" I yell, waving my arms before myself. "Storm?" "Yeah Miles?" Dad asks calmly. "How red is he?" I look down to Dad and stare at him, trying to... I don't know! Look innocent? "Remember the first time he had his first boner?" "DAD!" I yell again, my voice squeaking slightly. I hear Maant chortle, so I glare at her, getting her to stop immediately. Though, I can still see her smiling at the thought. "Equal or worse?" "Far worse." I grab my head and trying to calm down, knowing now that they are messing with me. Of course they're going to mess with me! They always mess with me! It can never be easy, could it!? "Hm. Alight. Mark her, book her, and Spike?" "Y-yes Master?" "She's your responsibility. She fucks up, that's on you. Someone dies because of her, that's on you. If she even sneezes on something it's your responsibility. Am I clear?" "Yes sir!" I stand a bit straighter, even though he isn't in the room. "Good. Now get out of the room, I need to have a word with my Spartans." I nod and motion for Maant to follow after me. Before I step out of the room Raz tosses me a Virgum de Marcus. I nod to him before hurrying out of the room. Once we're clear of the building, and the giant creature on top, I drop against the wall and let out a long breath. One day I'll be able to get them all back for this. I don't know when or how, but my day will come. "So... I'm in?" Maant asks eagerly, holding her claws behind herself and smiling. "Pretty much." I tell her, leaning my head back against the wall as I close my eyes. "How does it work? What's the bar for? Will we-" "Ease up there." I tell her, keeping my eyes shut. "We'll mark you at the moot, assuming the other dragons accept my offering." "But... what if they don't accept it?" she asks, losing her eagerness. "They'll accept it. They have to." I tell her, flinching when I feel a shadow flash over my eyes. I peer up and watch as the Jumpers begins to circle down towards us. I stand up and wait for them patiently. Dash lands just before me and takes her helmet off quickly, giving me her signature grin. Oh no... "Does Rare know you have some scaly poon on the side?" "Hey Rainbow. It's good to see you too." I drone back to her, getting her to chuckle. "Heh-heh, don't get your panties in a bundle! I'm only teasing! What's going on though?" she asks, waving for the others to head off. "I'm taking her on as my student in magic as an offering at the moot. I only came back to get permission from Miles." I tell her, getting a thoughtful nod from her. "You got a plan B?" she asks, eyeing Maant closely. "Well... maybe. I'm kind of just winging it here at the moment." I tell her with a shrug. I move to put my claws in my jacket pockets, but remember that I'm not wearing it at the moment. So I end up just looking dumb in front of Dash and Maant. "Pfft! Anyway, I've got-" "RAINBOWED FLYING HORSE!" We both jump when Raz comes running out of the fort, helmet off. "Is it true!?" "Uuuhhhh-" "Show me the egg!" He demands as he approaches us, grabbing her bag before she could answer. With it still attached to her, he ends up picking her up as he digs through it. Dash flails around a bit before she smacks him away. "Ease up there private!" she barks at him, jumping back slightly. "Give me a good reason I shouldn't have you flogged!" "Did you bring a Shadow here?" He asks, making her go quiet. She reaches into her bag and pulls out this odd looking egg. Raz takes it and looks it over quickly, giving it a few sniffs and pokes. "Good, it's not ready to hatch yet." "What is that thing?" Rainbow asks as all of the others come out to inspect it. "They are called Shadows. Creatures born of the dark and twisted by the depths. It was said that they plagued the Pit long ago, but Oni purged them from our lands. It would seem that they have found their home here now." "Those used to live in the Pit? That explains why they're so tough then." Ellzy mentions, getting a few of the others to nod with him. "You fought them?" Raz asks. "Yeah. We lost a few goblins to them though. Nothing really seemed to hurt them though." Raz nods and takes a knee, setting the egg on the ground. "In darkness, these creatures are near immortal. But... in the light..." CRACK With a sharp snap he brings his palm down on the egg and cracks it open. Most of the shell holds together, but a small enough opening is formed on its side. Raz smiles as he begins to pour the contents out into his hand until a small black creature slides out. It looks like a tiny, lifeless man of darkness. Raz chuckles before he holds it up and drops it into his waiting mouth, chewing it happily. "Aw, that's sick." Ellzy complains, moving away from the orc. "A most delectable treat indeed." Raz says happily, chewing loudly. Dad steps forward and takes the egg shell from him, looking over it curiously. "Is this all you found?" he asks. "They had crates of these eggs waiting to be shipped. Any idea why?" Rainbow asks, getting Raz to hum. "These eggs, when in darkness, are stronger than diamonds. Followers of Oni would often fashion weapons with these when they would venture into the depths of the Pit, in olden times at least." "That's not the only reason." Si ye mentions, getting everyone's attention. "Goblins use the shells as capsules to capture elementals. When put in darkness, nothing can break free from within. I would take a leap of faith and say the goblins are getting ready for a massive invasion of the Southern Badlands, if the crates you speak of are what I imagine them to be." "Spike." Dad mentions, stepping aside from the others. I follow after him until he comes to a stop, a good distance from the group. "I just got the word from Miles. We need to accelerate our plans-" "I can't make him host the moot-" "I don't mean that. Go back to Bolas, tell him what you saw here and see if you can use that to manipulate him. If at the very least, we need him against the Goblins here. Am I clear?" I nod to him. "What about Maant Iliis?" "The girl? Train her. She may come in handy later. The minute you get Bolas against the Goblins send us a flare. Miles needs the Spartans for a mission in the G.C. asap. We'll leave a few here, but he's pulling a few of us aside for a time." "Are you going?" I ask worriedly. He smiles up to me and chuckles lightly. "Scared for your old Dad?" I roll my eyes at that. "Yeah, I'll be going with him. I don't know all the details yet, but it sounds serious." "Stay safe." I tell him, holding my fist out. He chuckles again, bumping his hoof against my fist. "Impossible, but I'll do my best to make it back in one piece. Now get going. You don't have that much time left as it is." Right. I have a moot to attend to. I give him a quick hug before running over to Maant. I give her a quick motion before taking off into the air. I pause to wait for her to follow after me before taking off for Mom's cave. I don't need to worry about Dad. He can take care of himself well enough. I need to worry about this moot instead. Author's Note War's Calling. Famine's Calling. Pestilence's Calling. May 2015 Updates! Brony on!
Chapter 228 In DeepChapter 228 In Deep Everyone has been silent during the trip to the G.C. I don't blame them. We're the first Spartans to attack a true Unfamiliar location since the Burial, not to mention this mission won’t be an easy one. They match our technology. They have their own casters. They might have air support. They might also have griffin support. Based off previous scans, the settlement doesn't seem that big. It's settled in a small valley nestled among three large mountains. They'll see us coming. I'm almost certain of that, but they can't escape that easily either. The scans show a castle in the middle of the valley, heavily fortified with a small suburb to its north. That's our first objective. I've pulled two Aquilas from Topaz and two more from the surrounding territory. I also brought a second I.T.A. with additional military bots for support. That, and I have my Spartans. I left Frank, Sledge, and True Will back at Fort Corium Gutter, but the rest are with me now. We're all fully loaded: multiple grenades, additional ammo, and encrypted shoulder walkies. We have a plan of attack, a plan of defense, and a meeting point should things go belly up. We have the gear to be successful; it's just up to us to succeed. This is the first true counter assault on the Unfamiliar in over four thousand years and I'm going to make a difference this time. We're not just going to kill them all. If my assumptions are correct, then this might be a civilian holding. It took a lot of thought and reflection to come to this decision, but I decided that we will not be the monsters that they are. We will not be killing the civilian populace, but we will destroy any that take arms against us. We will be the first to attack and the first to take prisoners. It's quite the day. I guess Celestia is starting to rub off on me after all… "Sixty seconds out," Easy tells us from the cockpit. We all go through our third round of checks. Ammo, check. Grenades, check. Weapons loaded, check. Armor secured, check. I press a button on my restraint to give the green light, as do the rest of the Spartans. My seat begins to shake as we begin to ascend the mountain side. The winds are rough, but we power through it. I pause for a second and psych myself up before I speak to the others. "This is it!" I yell out, getting their attention. "Remember your training and stick together and we will get through this alive! Slow and steady! Remember your cause and-" BOOM Just as the ship started to level off something explodes just outside the door and we begin to drop quickly. Alarms are blaring all around us as all of the lights turn red. I grip the handlebars on my seat and brace myself for the incoming crash. The ship is fighting to stay airborne, but it's a losing fight. KA-THUD I shake violently as the vessel hits the ground. The ship bounces back into the air and starts to gain forward momentum. I can hear multiple shots being fired all around us, but our ship is either spinning to avoid them, or we lost two engines and are falling uncontrollably. I contemplate for a moment about throwing a shield up, but I don't know what good it'll do. I can't throw it outside of the ship because I don't have line of sight out there. And throwing it in here seems useless. If they break from their seats they'll die from the crash regardless. I tighten my grip on the bars and hold my eyes shut, waiting for the ground. KUUUUUUSH-FWUM I feel my stomach lurch when we hit the ground and flip into the air. I keep my eyes closed as we twirl around, quickly coming back towards the ground. THUD And just like that everything went quiet. There's still some gunfire going on outside, and the alarm is sounding off in here, but it all seems so quiet comparatively. I slowly open my eyes are look around. Everyone seems to be in their seat, and upside down. A few of them are stirring, while a few aren't. I look over and hit the emergency release, making the restraints snap off. I fall to the ground and groan as I feel a throbbing pain in my shoulders. I do my best to push the pain away as I go about getting the others out as well. Storm was directly to my right, but he hit his release just as I stood, so I go to High Flyer and hit his. He falls to the ground and stays still. I reach down to feel a pulse... he’s alive, at least for the moment. PA-PA-PA-PA-PA I look over to see Raz standing at the entrance. He's using one of the jets as a rest for his machine gun as he fires down range. His right arm is hanging limply at his side, most likely broken. I look around and see that all of the other Spartans are getting up now as well, so I move out beside Raz and take a look out at the city. In the early night and with the shadows of the mountains, it's fairly dark out here. But red tracers fly at the city as green and blue bolts whiz all around. I see the two Aquilas have landed a bit before us to provide cover. Their chain guns are lighting up the oppositions pretty well too. The other I.T.A. is set up directly behind them, dropping off bots. I can see that most of the opposition is situated in the castle, but there are a few in the small village just outside the walls. The outside seems to be where the small arms fire is coming from. "Orders sir!" I glance to Raz for a second before I tap his back and head back into the ship to gather my weapons. "Yinbie! Get out there andprovide covering fire with Raz! Everyone else, we're making a run for the Bots up ahead. From there, Jumpers will flank left while Beserkers flank right. Leaf, Storm, and Si Ye will press forward with me. Understood?" "RAH!" I nod to them and move to the open side of the ship, readying my rifle. Yin moves beside Raz and starts to lob grenades toward the enemy. I wait untill I hear the first explosion before I charge out into the fray, getting everyone to follow after me with a loud battle cry. The fury of the tracers intensifies as we run through the darkness. I try to pay it all little mind, but a few get rather close at times. I keep running. There aren’t any last second thoughts to have. All there is to do is run and hope I make it to my destination. A few of the others have passed me. All of the Jumpers have taken to the air and are now practically at the destination. Those naturally faster than me have pulled ahead as well. I could use magic to get there faster, but I want to save as much energy as possible for the fights to come. FWTANG I fall forward when something slams into the metal plating on my thigh. I let out a quick yell of pain before I push myself back up and continue to run. Every step burns as I force myself along. I'm almost there... just a little bit more... "You alive!?" Storm asks when I make it to the ships. I nod to him and try to catch my breath. "What are you thinking? Split Legionnaires and take the M.G.B.s for a run?" I wince from a sudden sharp pain and reach behind myself, pulling out a Quick Fix syringe. They're one time use healing spells that act quickly. They won't fix a broken bone, but they'll take the edge off. I bite the cap and yank it off before stabbing it into my thigh, aiming right between the metal plating. It stings at first, but a cool healing feeling washes over fast enough. "Sounds like a plan. Legionnaires! Six left, six right! Military bots; five left, five right, the rest on me." They all salute and move into position. The legion bots form their phalanxes while the Military bots take up positions behind them, raising their weaponized arms above the shields. "COVERING FIRE!" I raise my rifle and start to fire up at the castle, setting the first level of enchantment to cause additional damage. Raz and Yinbie stop firing and begin to run towards our location just as all of the others begin to fire with me. It doesn't take long for them to reach us. After a brief moment to reload, everyone gets into position and waits for my command. "... CHARGE!" They all let out another round of battle cries as they take off again. "Those with me, covering fire!" I raise up my rifle and begin to fire again. The tracers intensify from both sides as our units move into position. I motion for our Aquilas to move forward before I reload. Once I'm ready, I signal to the others with a tap on my chest. Once all of the others are ready they tap their own chests as well. I take a few deep breaths before letting out another powerful yell and charge the city. It becomes difficult to see what's actually around me. All around me is darkness with wisps of red and blue flying all over. I see a few dark figures move past me briefly. Most likely Raz and the others moving ahead of me. When we make it into the city area they should let up, assuming their own citizens are there as well. WWWWWWWWWUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAHHHHHUUUUUUUU I slow for a moment when I hear that familiar noise. I've heard it before, back during the attack on Topaz. I steel myself to run faster as I search for the M.R.W.; Mobile Rail Walker. I find it sitting on top of the castle walls as it starts to charge up, the lights on the side of its barrel growing. I reach up to my comms and- PWWWFFFFFFFF-TINK A wave of air knocks me over as a metal slug flies straight through one of the Aquilas. I try to get up to run away, only to fall back down when the Aquila crashes behind me and explodes. I hear a few missiles fire from the other vessels and the roar of that machine again. I go to get up, but stop when I see a little girl ahead of me. She can't be older than seven. Long blonde hair, light pink nightgown, clean white face, and fuzzy pink slippers. I assume she was asleep when this all started. She seems so perfect in contrast to all of the destruction around her. I reach out for her, knowing the danger that lurks around the corner, but she pays me no mind. She just wants the doll at her feet. She didn't ask for any of this, she just wants the doll- "MILES!" "DOLUM!" I yell when someone grabs my arm and starts to drag me forward. I blink a few times until I realize where I am. "Storm! Where are the others?" "Clearing the first building. Are you injured?" he asks as we make it into the stone village. "I'm good! You?" He gives me a look before moving beside a door, waiting for me to take my position. I move to the left and ready my rifle before nodding to him. This part is easy, yet so difficult. I don't even know how many hours I've spent training for these kind of moments. Person one breaks door and tosses in a flash grenade. Using the bang as my queue, I fall in and validate my targets. Engage, destroy, clear. It's simple enough, in theory. But, in practice... BANG I move forward and start with the right most corner. Nothing but furniture. Scanning left, I find my three targets. Two adult griffins and a child. The male has a sword in his right claw as he ushers the other two behind him, though he doesn't know where he's going with both his eyes shut. He's obviously a civilian protecting his family, no need for anything too brash. FWT-TANG A single, well aimed round slams into his sword and knocks it out of his grasp. He falls back, pushing his family into the corner of the building. At this point Storm enters the building and moves straight to the stairs, covering it as I move to detain the griffins. Simple enough. But... they can't prepare you for every door. "Are there any others within the building?" I yell out to him as I kick the sword away. "Petra?" Dammit, I don't think he speaks English. And I don't know enough griffin to even try speaking with him. Hmm... "Child! Upstairs!" Storm yells. I step over to him and glance up to see another child standing there. He seems to be about five, give or take. Storm flies up there and grabs him, making him cry out in fear. The woman here begins to scream out for him, but is held back by the guy. I cover Storm as he flies back down and gives the kid to the two of them. He makes some quick motions for them to stay here, getting a nod from the guy. "We need to get moving!" I tell him as I glance upstairs. "Sixty seconds, mark?" "Mark!" Storm yells back to me. I take off upstairs and repeat the same process for every room. It's a small house, so it goes by quickly. But it's just as intense as the first room. I don't know what's in there. I don't know what to expect. There could be an Unfamiliar waiting to blow my head off, there could be another child waiting for its parent. I'll never know until I open the door, and that is daunting. I've trained to do this; I'm good at this task, just like the rest of the Spartans. But... you never get used to the unknown. "CLEAR!" I yell out as I finish up the last room. I walk back down stairs and go to the windows by the door. I stand to the side and look out at the small village. The gunfire has died down. That tells me that they aren't willing to fire on the populace. "Alright, we need to get moving-" "We can't clear every building on the way to the castle. It would take too long," Storm points out. I nod to him, eyeing the crumbling walls of the castle. "We'll have to make a mad dash for it then." I look across the street and see Yinbie in the window. He makes a few motions with his arms asking what to do next. I motion back to wait before looking back to Storm. "I'll take center and shield-" "You want to march down the middle of the street with nothing but your shield? Are you sure you can handle all that incoming fire?" I mull it over for a second before motioning back across the street, telling them to be ready to move on my mark. "We don't really have much of a choice at the moment. The others are all moving forward by now. besides, any resistance we meet up with will be small arms fire. You ready?" "What about them?" I look back to the family and shrug. "They're not doing anything, on my mark?" He nods to me and moves to the door, ready to make a dash for the castle doors. I sling my rifle and take a deep breath before taking my own stance. I seriously hope nothing larger than small arms fire comes at us. "MARK!" Storm bucks the door open, giving me enough room to run out. From across the street the others do the same and join me in the middle. Once we're all here I throw my arms up and create the dome shield around us. I feel a few rounds ping off it for a moment, but that all ends rather abruptly. I don't waste any time moving down the street. The castle is only a few blocks away. So long as nothing heavy appears we should get there quick enough. "Eyes open everyone. Watch the roofs, alleys, and the castle walls. I don't want anything getting the jump on us." I tell them. They each nod and take their positions around me. Lief takes the right, Storm covers our rear, Si Ye covers the left with four M.G.B.s and six Legion bots filling in between. A pretty good force if I say so myself. The march down the road is slow and arduous. Everyone keeps their eyes open, waiting for anything to make the smallest movement. I try to keep a good pace, but I don't want to push myself too hard with this shield either. We have no clue what we're going to find on the inside. I try not to think about it though. Thoughts like that will get you killed. Focus. Keep the shield up, watch for enemy movement, don't rush into this carelessly. "Enemy on the left!" Si Ye yells. I glance over to see a few people running between buildings. "Orders sir?" Orders sir.... "Captain!?" "Leave them. They'll come back out soon enough. Just keep an eye out for them until we meet up with the others." He nods to me and watches for movement, we all do. I catch a few glimpses of them moving around. They're clever, if anything else. Small groups, corresponding quickly and never staying still. They know we'll have to come to a point soon enough, and that's when they'll hit us. I think I know where they'll do it too. "Up ahead, the road comes to a cross. That's where they'll most likely hit us." I inform the others as we continue to walk. "Legionaries, tighten up. Lief, Si Ye, you're going under. Follow us there and wait for their counterattack. Understood?" "SIR!" The bots tighten up on us, giving Lief cover to dig a hole through the cobblestone road. Having a Jade Hound has proven to be useful thus far. It almost makes up for the smell. Once the hole is deep enough Si Ye jumps down after him and seals the hole magically. "Radio check, sound off." Storm mutters into the radio. "Jumpers sounding off. Fully effective," Rainbow responds. "Beserkers sounding off. Slight injuries but still effective," Big Mac responds. I nod to that, glad to hear we haven't lost anyone yet. "You alright Cap?" Storm asks me. "It's going to take more than a bullet to the leg to stop me." I tell him. "How about a M.R.W.?" I shrug to that. "That'll do it. Thirty seconds out." "Stay here Miles. We need you." I stop in the center of the crossroad and take in my surroundings. This is the main road to the castle. From here it's a straight shot there. I can see movement in all of the surrounding buildings. Windows, alleys, rooftops; we're surrounded. I know we'll have the Beserkers join in on our right flank and the Jumpers from our front, but we'll still have that initial attack. "Are you ready?" "Are you?" I chuckle at that. You can't ready yourself for insanity. CRACK-BOOM-CRACK CRACK CRACK-BOOM Gunfire erupts from all around us as small explosions pepper the area outside. I feel the lines on me start to push their way all the way towards the center of my back as they continue to fire down on us. Some of those rounds are armor piercing, making the dome around us begin to crack. This isn't meant to break my shield though. They're softening it up for someone else... but who... "DROP THE SHIELD!" I drop the shield when Storm yells and thrust a hand forward at the nearest building. The corner explodes and sends shrapnel all over our position as Storm opens fire. I spin around in time to see an Unfamiliar land just before him, the fires in his palms slowly dying away. Our bots open fire as well, pepper several of the buildings indiscriminately. I give a few more thrust to each of the buildings as well, clouding the air with the debris of the stone buildings. When the smoke becomes too much to see a loud battle cry fills the air. The legion bots each charge forward as the thunderous stampede comes our way. I barely have time to draw my weapons before my first target appears. He's wearing armor similar to mine, only his has been painted a deep purple with golden highlights instead. I go to take a swing at him just as he fires his assault rifle at me. A few rounds hit me square in the chest plates, knocking the wind out of me and staggering my advance. I try to take a swipe at him, but he ducks my attack easily. He fires another burst, getting similar results. I give a loud yell as I put everything into a back swing, catching him in the helmet with enough force to knock him over. I step over his body and try to pierce him in the heart, but the armor stops me. He tries to shoot me again, but I smack the gun away with my sword and shove my blade into his gullet. He lets out a loud scream as black blood starts to seep out from in between his armor. I put a bit more weight into my blade until I feel his body go limp. THWUNK I fall over when something smacks me upside the head. I roll over just in time to see another Unfamiliar; in similar armor as the one before. He tries to dig his rifle’s bayonet into me. I scream back at him as I grab the barrel of the gun and force it to the left of my head, scratching my helmet. He goes to pull it back, but I kick up at his leg and force him to a knee. I bring my other knee up and force him down, with me on top. With one hand holding the barrel against his chest, I drive my trench knife up into his head, wrestling with him as he tries to break free. The first hit scratches his helmet, while the second one jabs him just below the chin plate. On my third strike I find purchase with the tiny bit of his neck that is exposed, getting a torrent of black to come running out. I twist my blade in the wound until I feel him begin to violently shake, telling me he's done with. I push myself up and go to retrieve my sword only to get rushed again. Another Unfamiliar tries to get the jump on me, but a legion shield comes out from the smoke and slams into his side, sending him into the abyss. I join the bot as we press on against that fucker, pulling out my revolver along the way. The bot jumps ahead to cover all of the incoming fire from him. I move to the side and send a round into his chest, getting him to stagger back from the high caliber shot. This give the bot an opening to bring a blade across his throat, dropping him immediately. I turn around and take aim at another Unfamiliar as he charges at me with a blade aimed right at my throat. Just before he could pierce me though, a burst of fire explodes from his back as he drops to the ground. I take aim and put some magic into my gun before I fire at the Unfamiliar that tries to stab Big Mac. The round hits him square in the head and crushes the helmet, getting him to drop quickly. We're even. Eeyup. After our silent conversation, the rest of the Beserkers join me in finishing this fight. It doesn't take us long to kill the remaining three, but I have a feeling the others ran off before the dust could settle. At least we're only down two bots. Though we all took some serious hits. I can see a few blood splotches, and plenty of scratches and dents. The others look to me and wait for their next orders. I look out and see Dash leading the Jumpers towards me, so I wait for them to make it here before I address them. "Alright, let's head for the castle now. We're going to detour through the alleyways in an attempt to keep them from firing their larger ordnance. These buildings aren't tall, so I want all Jumpers in the air to watch the higher levels. Bots will take point, understood?" "SIR!" We brake for the alley way and take up formation, Jumpers in the air just below the rooftops and bots taking point. The rest of us form two lines and file in after the others, watching every window, door, and alley as we make our way through the narrow passage. We keep close to the walls as well, in an attempt to avoid incoming fire. Along the way we see plenty of the locals peering out through their windows. The griffins here are scared, for obvious reasons of course, but they aren't doing anything directly to us. Though, after some closer inspection, I realize that there aren't any young griffins looking out at us. Elders, young ones, and the sick look out at us; but there seems to be a clear demographic missing from here. Strange... "We're at the wall sir! Do you want us to clear the top?" Rainbow asks. I peer up and give it a thought. "Clear above the gate. Engage at range, but don't vacate the area. We need to stick together inside the walls. Understood?" "SIR!" The jumpers take off, racing towards the top. "Double time to the gate!" I yell as I drop the shield. I doubt that they'll be able to do any major attacks on us down here. When we make it to the gate without resistance, I start to get paranoid. They're either trying to make a break for it or are holding up inside. I'm hoping they're waiting for us, oddly enough. I don't want to chase after them anymore than I need to. We walk in slowly, forming a half circle as we check each possible point of attack. Windows, balconies, doorways, anywhere and everywhere we check and double check. But the attack doesn't come. Where are they? Where are they hiding? We rush to the main doors and force our way in finding the door unlocked. From there we rush towards the throne room where we find a single Unfamiliar man standing there. He's... nothing I've seen before. He's only wearing a white wrap around his groin. He has a bald head with a long white beard that goes down to his stomach. Every inch of his body is covered in what looks like Kroth text that's been burned into his skin. Maybe burned isn't the right word... It’s more like the text has been carved into his skin. His eyes are a milky white, with no pupils. He's smiling at us, waiting patiently for... something to happen. I keep my rifle on him as I close the distance between us, having the other Spartans cover the other areas. "You don't have to worry, they've left already." His voice is old and raspy. But there's also an odd sense of cheer in there as well. I motion for a few of the Spartans to search the area before I step before the Unfamiliar, eyeing him carefully. "Who are you?" He chuckles at that, making me even more nervous. "I do not have a name. Not anymore at least. Lost that... I can't even remember anymore. My children call me the Nether Walker, in your tongue at least. Though, now it's become ours as well it would seem-" "Where did the others go?" He stops for a second, looking up for a moment. I don't follow his gaze though. If there is something there, someone else will get it. I keep my focus on him. "Well?" "Well... I have stayed behind in hopes of bartering their freedom, however long that may last." This time I laugh. "Did you now? And why are you worth all of them?" He chuckles at that. I was about to say something to him when he turned to walk away, only he disappeared entirely instead. I raise my rifle and sweep around the room, looking for any abnormalities in the area. "Why do you think they call me the Nether Walker?" I spin around when he starts to talk. "How did you do that?" High Flyer asks in astonishment. I shoot him a glare, getting him to back off. "I am a disciple of the Nether, the... eeeh... the Darkness. I've spent my entire life learning its ways, devoting my very being to its laws. My children look to me as.... eeeeh... like a holy person, of sorts. There... isn't a word that translates well enough. Well, not to my knowledge at least-" "Do all of the Unfamiliar follow you?" I ask, getting a serious look from him. "The Kroth listen to me, in part. Most listen to Kileh at the moment... but we are getting side tracked. As you can tell, I can be a formidable adversary. If I surrender to you, do I have your word that you will not hunt down my children today? No matter where you go?" I stare at him in utter confusion. He has the power to decimate us, yet he surrenders himself to protect the others. He could have killed me a moment ago, no doubt about that. There's something he isn't telling me, something I want to know. "What happens when I say no?" I ask him, getting him to chuckle. "Then at least I gave them a start on the head." "... you mean a head start?" Storm asks. "Oh! Yes! A head start! That one!" He seems... too happy about all of this. "Why are you happy?" I ask, walking around him slowly. He just stands there, smiling away. "Because I have no reason not to be. As I told you, I am a servant of the Nether. Would you kill me now, I would simply fade into the Great Nothing. Live... well..." "Well?" I ask as I come to a stop before him, getting him to look me in the eyes. "Well, how often does one get to meet an entity of the Nether?" Is... is he talking about Corpus? "You are... a strange being, Miles Eremita. Strange indeed. Many strings on you, each one pulling you towards a similar fate." "And what would that be?" I ask, a bit of malice dripping from my voice. Strings? I have no strings! I determine my own fate. "Hm. I don't know yet. But it's big. Big enough for an entity to willingly reside within a mortal. But, we can speak another time. You must decide now what course of action you will take. Take me prisoner and let my children go, take me prisoner and hunt my children, or kill me and hunt my children. What will you chose, Nihili Hominem?" I eye him some more before stepping away, motioning Storm over. "What do you make of this?" I ask him through our internal comes. "He seems nuttier than squirrel poop-" "I like that one!" The Unfamiliar man says joyfully, appearing beside me. "But, what is a squirrel and why is his-" "Back off!" I warn him, pushing him away. He shrugs and disappears, reappearing up at the throne. "I don't like this." "I don't either, but... switch to command tone." I nod and switch channels, nodding for him to continue. "My honest opinion, lets take him and run." "Run?" "We just invaded the G.C. Miles. The rest of the world won't like that, not one bit. And if we're trying to win over favor with the other world leaders, we need to play it safe. Plus, I know a lot of the Spartans would like at least a few days rest. Most of them did just finish training. We just lost an Aquila and several bots, I don't feel good chasing after them without proper support. Let's take what we can and try again another day, when we have the advantage." I think about it for a moment. It's true that most of the Spartans did just get out of training, some rest would be beneficial. And the other Unfamiliar are probably taking designated escape routes, meaning they'll be waiting for us to chase after them. We've lost the element of surprise now. And if his word is anything to go by, I doubt they'll shoot down the aircraft that carries him... "Bag him and tag him Spartans, we're heading back. I announce out loud, getting everyone to move him. "But... my people?" The Unfamiliar asks, sounding serious for the first time. "So long as they don't fire on us, we have no reason to search them out." He relaxes a bit, until Lief and Yinbie grab his arms. I walk right up to him and remove my helmet, glaring down at him intensely. "But that doesn't mean this is over yet. Not by a long shot. We're coming for them, all of them." "I don't doubt that. But, I bought them today, and that is enough for me. Let us be on our way then. You will find no resistance from any other Kroth on this day. You have my word-" "Your word is meaningless to me. SPARTANS! Let's move out!" "UH-RAH!" Perspective: Spike This is it. The moment of truth. The Power Moot. Maant and I made it here early and waited patiently for this to finally start. My mother, on the other claw, decided to sleep in and isn't here at the moment. When we walked back into the moot area, a few dragons tried to start fights with me. Nothing major happened, but it was a nice reminder that I'm not wanted here. Maant has been silent this entire time too. Though I imagine she's nervous about what's to happen. If they don't accept my offering, that's the end of the line for her. If they do, then she has a long road ahead of her. She keeps eyeing the Virgum de Marcas, though I doubt she'll try anything stupid. "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWW." A random dragon in the distance starts to roar, slowly getting all of the other dragons to join in. "What's going on?" I yell to Maant. "It's about to start!" she yells back before she joins in the screaming. It's about time they started. Bolas comes thundering down in the center of the crowd, silencing the others. I stand up and wait for... whatever's going to happen. I don't really know what to expect here. Bolas stands there for a moment before he starts to look around, eyeing each dragon along the way. Most seem to shy away from him, but the few that don't he snarls at; making them do so. When he finally makes eye contact with me, he grows a large smile. "Dovah! Vos mii koraav fos tir lost drun us mii dahsul! Ahrk vos mii maat mok naal ok ofanaat, ful tol rok aal aav un leyk! " The others roar in response, some even sending plumes of fire into the air. I didn't quite catch everything he said, but I got the general gist of it. It's time to see if this will work or not. "Spike, what do you bring us?" I walk out into the opening, having several dragons snarl at me along the way. I stand there for a moment before I lift the metal bar above my head, getting a few growls sent my way. "THIS... IS THE KEY TO MY POWER! WITH IT, I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO MATCH THE POWER OF EVEN BOLAS HIMSELF! AS OFFERING, I WILL TRAIN A SINGLE DRAGON TO WIELD THIS POWER JUST AS I DO!" I motion for Maant to step forward. She takes a deep breath before walking out into the open with me, trying to look strong with me. It stays quiet for a moment... a really long moment. I start to sweat when I begin to realize that they don't care if I train someone. Why would they? They want the power, not some girl they don't know! How could I have been so stupid!? "HAHA!" Bolas laughs triumphantly, making me deflate slightly. "Rok lost unadaan liin! Fos saag hi?" Wait what? I've chosen a what now? The crowd erupts in a thunderous applause. I look over to Illit and see her just as red as I am, if not more. Bolas drops down to all fours and peers down at the two of us, still chuckling. "We what now?" I ask, still confused as to what just happened. "It is good that you found a mate. Hopefully this one will bring you great fortune. I always thought you needed a dragoness to temper you. You have my blessings." "...what?" "Go, consummate your union, and then you will become a Dragon of Power, a... Dovah do Suleyk." I stare up at him and start to rebut him, when he cuts me off. "Unless, that is, you do not wish to be a part of our Moot. Then reject my blessings. But, just know that no dragon will even listen to your plight if you do so. What will it be, kul do Drul Rigir?" I look over to Maant and stare at her for a second before I sigh and motion for her to follow. She blushes deeply, but follows anyway. We walk together to a nearby cave where we leave the view of the other dragons. Once we're deep enough inside I start to punch at the wall. Each punch makes a small crater form, slowly getting deeper and deeper. Once a good portion is out, I lean against the wall and drop to my knees, letting my head rest against the cool earth. "W-we don't have to-" "Yes... I do." I cut her off, slowly opening my eyes to stare at the ground. "As much as I don't want to, I have to. He's right. If I refuse his offering, no dragon will ever listen to me. This is more than just the now. This is my future as well. For better or worse, we're-" "Spike." She rests a claw on my shoulder and kneels beside me. I look up to her and see the pain in her eyes. I sigh and wait for her to continue. "Dragons... mate for life. I... I don't want to do this if... if you aren't going... this is bigger than... it... I..." "This is your last chance Maant. If you walk out of this cave right now, I'll hold nothing against you. But... if you stay... then stay for the right reasons." I'm so sorry Rarity... please forgive me. She thinks about it for a long time. I just sit there and wait for her to make her decision. I don't know how long it took her to come around to it, but in the end she makes it. She grabs the Virgum de Marcas from my claw and sets it aside before leaning forward and kisses me. I tense up from the kiss before leaning into her, taking charge over the kiss. I turn towards her and guide her down, slowly getting on top of her. She accepts my position easily enough, letting me take the lead. There was little passion, if any at all. It was me, her, and the simple action. The entire time I couldn't stop thinking about Rarity. How is she going to handle this? How will everyone look at me now that... now that I've done this. What will Mom and Dad think now that I'm married. With all of this in my mind, we finish consummating our union and leave the cave... There was little passion... and just like Rarity always says; 'If there isn't passion, there isn't love.' Author's Note Who is this mysterious new person? How will Rarity react when she finds out about Maant? When will I update without long ass wait?! Find out next time on MAN OF WAAAAAAAAAAAR!! All silliness aside, this could have been here faster, but my father has been admitted to the hospital (I'm going to leave it at that for personal reasons, obviously). As such, there will probably be a period of slow updates... though I can see it still being the way it was like it is now. Essesitally, I could have updated all of my stories last weekend (If by post) but stuff happened. Brony on!
Chapter 229 Make Me BetterChapter 229 Make Me Better Perspective: Celestia "... so that's the final report, Princess. I'm sorry, but there's no way around it without-" "I understand, thank you," I cut off the stallion, getting him to bow to me before leaving the throne room. I sit in the throne room and think to myself. This hasn't happened in Equestrian history since... I can't even remember when! It had to happen at least once before though. We have the measures to protect ourselves in this situation, but... I honestly can't remember the last time Equestria was in the red. Never. Never before has this happened. We've always been so careful in the past. We watched our assets, followed the trading seasons carefully, and we've always had such a strong presence in the world financially. But, like a massive books falling over a row of dominoes, it's all come to a crash. When the griffins needed aid, we helped them without a moment's hesitation. I guess the others found this to be a sign of bad times, because the trade slowly dried up. The bears and apes are saving up for an incoming storm. The minotaurs have moved to take advantage of the griffins. Everypony else has always been self-reliant, rarely trading with us. I refused to raise taxes though. The ponies of Equestria have taken on such a burden already, I fear what a tax would do to them. The hit isn't too bad, nothing that can't be easily covered by what we've saved thus far. But... when word gets out about this... I need to speak with several officials on the matter. We need to ready ourselves for the turmoil ahead. If my treasurer is correct about what he thinks will happen, this is only the start of it all. "Princess?" The guard to my side catches my attention as he steps up to me. "We just received a message from the Spartan Captain. He is requesting an audience with you immediately. He... well, it sounded urgent." "*sigh* Very well. How soon will he be here?" I ask. He moves back a bit and starts to whisper into the bracelet on his foreleg. An addition of Miles's, our guard have been outfitted with two way communication bands. It's proven to be much faster than sending scrolls. The enchantment was actually easy to learn. The hardest part was setting the sales price; as to pay for the spells from Terradisia. "He should be here within the hour. Do you wish to attend to your next scheduled meeting?" I think about it for a second before nodding to him. What have you done now, Miles? Actually, I'll push that thought aside. Knowing Miles, it can be almost anything. The door at the end of the hall opens up as Prince Blueblood marches down towards me. I stare at him and remain stoic as he smiles back to me. I do not look forward to this, not one bit. "Princess." he says with a tilt of the head. I hear one of my guards huff in annoyance, but nod back to him anyway. He's still acting superior. "Prince Blueblood, what is it you wish to bring to me today?" I ask in my formal tone of voice. "I have urgent news about the upcoming nation within our borders. It would seem as if the Terradisians are making a move to absorb a family clan into their ranks-" "I assume you speak of the Apples," I cut him off, making him scoff. "Of course. Should their entire family-" "Prince Blueblood, what is it you seek to achieve here today?" I ask shortly, trying to get to the bottom of this already. He scoffs again, making me squint my eyes at him. "With total honesty, I wish to see what path you will take. Many of the nobles have been made aware - and favorable - of the recent embargo on their lands. Should they be allowed-" "What embargoes?" I ask, instantly regretting asking him as he smiles back to me. Of course this would happen. Of course it would. He knows something, and I don't. Now he's getting it on paper so he can flaunt it around to the other nobles. If it wasn't bad enough that I had to replace most of them not too long ago, now I have inexperienced politicians vying for power and favor. Blueblood, unchanged from that fiasco, has been having a field day ever since. He probably has more political pull them Luna did prior to her ascension to Queen. "Well, if you had kept up with current affairs you would know that the Terradisians have not been paying their tariffs, thus earning an audit on their production and manufacturing businesses. Should I explain further or should I continue on with the actual issue?" I squint my eyes at him as I hold back my tongue. I can't afford to irritate the House of Nobles right now, no matter how much I would like to smack that smug look off his face. "Continue." I never thought I would have such difficulty saying that word. "It would seem the Apple House is being petitioned to join their ranks. This simply cannot be allowed. That would reduce our own production by five percent at least. This is unacceptable and demands action. What will you do about this?" I stare at him for a brief moment before I close my eyes and let out a long breath. Of course Miles would be trying to do this as well. I had a feeling today was going to be terrible. The Grand Galloping Gala is just around the corner, this is when all of the bad news would start to rise. "I will speak with their leader and the leaders of the Apple Clan personally. Though I do not wish for such a loss, we will not tether the ponies of this land to any one banner. We are free to make the choices we believe to be best for our loved ones." He smiles and nods to me before leaving. "Ungrateful little-" "Temper," I chide my guard, getting him to stand taller. "We must not lower ourselves to his level. Give it time, he will learn the folly of his ways. One way or another." "Of course, Princess," he replies quickly, adjusting his stance slightly. "... but yes. Ungrateful indeed." We both share a small chuckle before the sound of jets roars overhead. I nod to my guard and wait for Miles to arrive. For once, can it be something urgently good? Did he find one of the Horsemen? Did he solve the acid rain problem? Is Luna pregnant again? I don't know how that last one isn't true. I swear, they'd make rabbits in spring blush from their... activeness. After a bit longer waiting and mulling over what could possibly happen, I hear the jets roar again. I guess he will be staying for a time. Odd, but not unwelcome. I take a deep breath and rehearse my lines as I hear the shuffling beyond the doors. I take note of the guards inside communicating and becoming nervous. I think I can rule out anything good happening now. The doors open and I lose any previous thoughts I might of had. Miles is walking a Kroth man down towards me. He's smiling, overjoyed by all of the sights he's taking in. He only wears a white garb around his waist and has deep etching all over his body. He also has a long white beard going down to his stomach and pure white eyes, the latter of the two putting me on edge. When they make it to the edge of the throne the Kroth man gives a deep bow, catching me further off guard. "Hi!" he bellows loudly. "U-Uh... hello there... Um..." "As promised, any Unfamiliar prisoners are to be brought to you." Miles starts, moving to the man’s side while keeping his weapon aimed at him. "I am here to delegate any meetings you wish to hold with him, as promised. Should you not wish to speak with him, I shall take him to New Garnet for safe keeping. What would you like to do?" I don't respond to him. Instead I just stand up and approach the two of them. If he is a prisoner, why isn't he in shackles? Also, why does he seem so chipper about being here? With as little as I know about the situation, that leaves me with no choice other than to question him. I really wish Miles would have warned me about this. But, I guess I'll have to wing it. "What is your name?" Easy enough question to start with. Hoping he can speak Equestrian. "I have no name. Lost it before my Epiphany. My children call me the Nether Walker." Well, that answers that, then. "Who? Are you?" I pause from his questions. He clearly asked two, but... it must be a language barrier of some sort. "My name is Princess Celestia. I rule over the lands of Equestria. What sort of Kroth man are you?" My question catches him off guard. He looks back to Miles for a second before looking back to me, tilting his head in confusion. "You are Kroth, are you not?" "... I am. I must apologize. With the way the human spoke, I assumed you would... not know that title. Where did you learn it?" I glance to Miles before looking back to him. So Miles is still rather racist towards them, that's not surprising. But he doesn't know how I know the title of his people. That's... odd. "Let's just say a few words have been muttered here and there. Are you a soldier of some kind? Perhaps a deity of sorts?" He chuckles at that. "No, no-" SMACK "Captain!" I yell at Miles. Without a seconds hesitation he smacked the back of his gun against his head, knocking him to his knees. He groans there for a moment, holding his head in pain. "What reason-" "Keep to the truth, Unfamiliar. The alternative is costly." Miles warns him. He looks back to him in confusion, still rubbing his head. "I spoke true! There hasn't been a deity for the Kroth since-" SMACK "DON'T LIE TO ME YOU LITTLE FUCKER!" Miles yells as he begins to beat the man. "YOU TOLD ME YESTERDAY YOU WERE A HOLY PERSON! WHICH IS IT, ASSHOLE?" Miles yells as he continues to beat the poor man. I try to call him off, but I'm simply not getting through to him. "I don't understand! *smack* I am a holy person! *smack* I am no Deity! *smack* Why don't you understand? You of all people should understand!" I finally use my magic to pull Miles off. "Enough, Captain!" I yell at him, stepping between the two of them. "I will not have you abusing my subjects, whether they be citizen or prisoner! If you cannot contain your rage then you can wait outside, understood?" Even though he has that helmet on, I can tell he's glaring down at me. I simply return the glare, waiting for him to make the next move. "... very well." He backs off, stepping back until he can lean against the wall. I let out a sigh as I look back to the Nether Walker. "Thank you," he mutters. I nod to him, waiting patiently for him to stand back up. "I do not understand what is lost." "Well, why don't you explain. How are you holy person without being a deity? Do you worship a deity? Are you religious at all?" He stares down at me in utter confusion, not knowing how to answer. "Um... why don't you explain why the Captain should understand. Perhaps that should clear some things up." He gives another look to Miles before nodding in thought. "Um... it is as the last human I met said. There is the belief for humans that there is this father that gave his son for others. This made them holy persons. I am a father giving his life for his children... perhaps because it is backwards it is lost, no?" I glance over to Miles, watching him slowly shake his head. "What the fuck are you talking about?" "The Father! He.... uh... he sent his son into hardship! When he died he was a holy person! Or... perhaps I misunderstood? Or is it that I have done it backwards? Eeerrr... it would seem I.... eeeeh... put the fuck up?' "Fucked up-" "Yes! I have 'fucked up'! Perhaps you could explain it to me again so I could better understand, yes?" I look back to Miles as he just stands there, shaking his head. "I think it would be better to use a... more literal explanation," I suggest, getting him to nod happily. "Yes! Let us project the feces and set down our terms of business! No more round sexual acts, just facts about-" "Stop.... just stop." Miles mutters, getting the Nether Walker to deflate a bit. "Eeeeh... yes... well, ahem. I surrendered myself to give my children a head... er, a chance to escape," he tells us. I lean forward a bit as I wait for him to continue, but he just stands there. "Um... are these children... yours?" I ask to clarify. "... is that not what I said? Was my English mistaken again? Perhaps-" "What she means is, are these children your biological children? Are they the products of your DNA?" Miles asks shortly, resting a hand on his pistol. I ignite my horn for a moment to move it a bit higher, getting a look from him. I narrow my eyes at him for a moment before looking back to the Nether Walker. We're going to have a long talk after this... a very long talk. "Yes. They are all of my... eeeh... I think the word I want is... eeeeh..." "Family? Like; sons, daughters, wives, cousins, the like?" I ask, getting him to smile. "Aaaah, yes! Like sons, and daughters, and wives, and cousins, and husbands, and aunts, and brothers-" "We get it." Miles cuts him off, but fails to make him to deflate. "They are my family. I surrendered myself to save them, if even for a day. The gold and purple are our... mmmm... loshni, our colors! I am the... eeeeh... father of our Keksh, our... clan!" I stare at his smiling face for a moment before I realize everything he's saying. He's the patriarch of an entire clan of Kroth. An entire lineage stemming from the man standing before me! "Miles, may I speak with you in private for a moment." I ask before stepping to the side. My mind is racing with all of the possibilities right now! We have a chance to learn and preserve an ancient, alien culture! This... this... I don't know where to even begin! I need to get Twilight in on this! And Luna! Oh! What do we even ask him! We need to get started as soon as possible! I look up and notice that I'm standing by myself. I look back and note how Miles is glaring right at me, even with the mask on. "Miles! What a wonderful name! But, why is she translating your name? Is not your name in Latin? Most human names are Latin, or so I thought. How would you say Miles in Latin? Or is Miles Latin for something?" I can only smile awkwardly as I feel Miles's glare intensify on me, practically melting his helmet off. "Ahem... heh... heh, I mean Captain, would you please speak with me in private... please?" He stands there for awhile, glaring at me. The Nether Walker either finds this hilarious, or can't read the subtext of the situation. Though... I never thought about that before. Why is his name Miles? I mean, it could mean something in Latin, and I just don't know. I'll have to ask Luna... assuming Miles doesn't explode on me. "C-Captain?" "This better be good," he groans before stepping over to me. I walk him over to the other side of the room and take a moment to form my question. I know what he's going to say if I don't ask this the right way. I may only get one chance at this. "So-" "No. You can't keep him here to ask questions." "You put me in charge!" I snap at him. "Only with my presence!" he snaps back, only with much more real anger. "He is dangerous, Celestia. He cannot be left on the surface. I will not allow a threat like that to exist here. Not this close-" "Why did you put me in charge if you're going to dictate everything we do?" I ask, stepping towards him. "You were going to drive yourself off the deep end. You came to me to better yourself, and that's why you came back! You don't want to be the monster Terradisia has made you. You want to be better! Let me help you-" "This is different, Celestia," he says, stepping away for a moment while rubbing his head. "Last time... last time I was wrong. But... he..." "You came to me to be a better man. I know you are better than this at heart. Don't let your hatred guide you at this pinnacle moment. Think clearly about this, Miles. We can use him to end a war that has raged for millennia. Imagine it, Terradisia in peacetime. No more wars, no more fighting. Just two people coming together to rebuild, casting aside the ashes of past failures. Isn't this what you wanted? Is peace not worth pursuing, even if it's down undesirable paths?" He rubs his head a bit longer, mulling over my words. I glance over to the Nether Walker and see him eyeing the two of us, waiting to see what's going to happen. "Celestia..." he starts softly, finally looking back to me. "Should this go wrong... you know what we put at risk." "Are they in any more danger than before? At least this way we can say we tried to end it like decent beings.What if this stops an assassin’s bullet? Or stops them from retaliating? You took one of them, what's to stop them from doing the same? Terradisia raised you to fight. Let Equestria raise you to forgive. I can do this, you just have to trust me." The room goes silent. We both stare at Miles as he stands there, thinking deeply on what I said. I swallow the lump in my throat as I wait for him to make his decision. I don't know how he will process this. He wants to change, he wants to be the hero. But he's been raised to fight these people till the bitter end. Even if he says he'll try, how far can he actually go? "It's not you that I don't trust," he tries, glancing over to the Nether Walker. "I have surrendered. On my word, I shall not fight those who hold me captive. Not until I attain my freedom," the Nether Walker tells us with a serious face. "All I have to offer is my word. You spared my children, it is the most I can offer." The room falls silent again. I glance between the two of them as I wait for something to happen. A drop of sweat rolls down the side of my head when I see Miles set his hand back on his pistol. There has to be something more I can give, something to set his mind at ease. "Three days," I say, gaining both of their attention. "Give me three days. When you return for the Grand Galloping Gala, you can take him where you please. Give me that, please." "I need assurance. I need... that security. I will not let my family remain within harm’s reach without a failsafe." Miles tells me. The Nether Walker’s eyes brighten for a moment as he starts to walk towards us. Instead of walking all of the way, he simply appears before us. I can see why Miles is so scared of this man now. Instantaneous teleportation, with little to no effort. That's terrifying. "Make me a death collar," he suggests, getting both of us to look at him oddly. "A... small... explosion, that you put around the neck. With a button! Give Celestia the button. Should I step out of line, she can explode me without a seconds thought. And make it small enough to not explode those around me! No others should be harmed for my misguided actions." I stare at him for a second before a smile forms on me. I feel as if I can truly trust this man, if only for of his selflessness. "... why are you so willing to kill yourself? You have a family to watch over. Aren't you afraid of what will happen to them?" Miles asks, making him chuckle. "If I lived in fear of what could happen, I could never step out of my own home. I know my family is strong, they will move on with or without me. But, as Celestia said, if I have a chance at peace, why would I not pursue it? If I can save even one of my keksh, then I have done well by my own. What say you, Mortalis de Bellum?" Miles cringes from that. I ponder it for a second before setting it aside for another time. I feel another droplet of sweat form as I wait for his answer. This is it. Yes or no. All depending on whether or not Miles is savable. "... I..." Come on Miles, I know you are a better man than this. Please... "Don't move." I gulp when he pulls out his pistol. The Nether Walker and I glance to one another as he begins to fiddle with it. He pulls one of the bullets out and sets the pistol back in its sheath. Using his magic, he warps the case into a thin necklace that hold the metal slug in front. Some black powder falls to the ground, but we ignore it as Miles begins to whisper something to the necklace. "Miles?" I ask quietly, unsure of what he's doing. He doesn't respond to me. Instead he brings the necklace over to the Kroth man and sets it around his neck, tightening it so it won't come off. "If the chain breaks, it will set off the round. If a certain word is spoken, it will detonate as well. As one father to another, I trust that you will not do anything foolish." The Kroth man looks up to him in surprise and nods. "Celestia... the password is... my son's full name. Do not let me regret this." "I won't-" "I have to get going. Ulfric will hear of this soon enough. I'll... I'll speak to you the next chance I get," Miles tells me before walking towards the doors. I sigh as I watch him go. Our talk is not going to be a short one. But... if it's to make Miles into the stallion he needs to be- "What is the word the humans had for this? There is a word for it, but I can't recall it..." The Nether Walker mutters as he tries to think of something. "What are you trying to describe?" I ask. "Giving away one's... morality. There is a human word for it, I just can't remember what it is... hm... oh well! It seems I forgot! Now then, what shall we do in the mean time?" he asks me joyfully, appearing before me with a large smile. Oh... what did I just sign myself up for? Perspective: Luna Never, in all the years that I've lived here, did I ever think I would lower myself to this. I really didn't think it could happen. Even in the most extreme, crazy, most illogical scenarios, I always had a way to weasel my way out of this kind of situation. Most of which involved me sending Miles instead. But here I am. Standing before a brothel waiting for Applejack to meet with me. The stallion performing the audit on Sweet Apple Acres is currently inside, doing who knows what, giving us our best chance to corner him. I just hope we don't catch him... in the act. "L-luan." I look over to see Applejack standing before me, wearing a large tan trench coat that covers most of her body. She also has a new hat on as well as large sunglasses, a modest attempt to hide herself from the public eye. I simply cut an illusion spell over myself, making myself appear as some light blue unicorn nopony. "You mean Dew Drop. You know, I can put an illusion spell-" "It's a bit late, don'cha think?" Applejack asks flatly. Before I could answer, the door opens and out walks a stallion in practically the same exact outfit. The two of them stare at each other before the stallion chuckles and nods his approval. "Nice coat," he tells her before walking away. Applejack just stands there, unnerved by... that. "Cast it," she tells me as she starts to remove all of the clothing. I cast the spell and make her appear as a red pegasus. She groans out a response before facing the door. I step beside her and take a deep breath. "Well... after you... Contrail." I say quietly. "Queen’s first, Dew Drop," she responds quickly. "Oh no, I insist," I tell her, nudging her forward slightly. "For the future of your farm, after all." That was a low blow, but I don't care. I'm already stepping into a brothel to talk a pencil pusher out of being a jerk, I can go second. She lets out a slow groan and walks forward, slowly resting a hoof on the handle. "Are we even sure he's here?" she asks me quickly. "Oh... he's in there." "How could ya-" "Pinkie told me so." She stares at me for a second before sighing in defeat and opening the door. She pauses for a second before shuttering all over and taking those final steps inside. I contemplate heading home for a moment but resign myself to this fate. I already forced her to go in. As a good friend, I shall endure with her. I'm sure a strip club in modern Equestria won't be too terrible for a farming mother and a queen. "SHAKE THAT FAT ASS GIRL, WOOO!" "FLICK THAT THICK CLIT!" "WORK IT, WORK THE POLE!" "SUCK THAT BIG HORSE DICK!" "DEEPTHROAT COCKSLUT!" Applejack and I nearly run straight out the door as the crowd of stallions cheer on the two ponies on stage. Of course there would be some outlandish show going on the moment we walked in here, why wouldn't there be? Our lives would be too simple if that were the case. We glance to one another before heading further inside, trying our best to keep our eyes on the carpet. I, for whatever reason, take a second glance at the stage and watch the two of them go at it. It's just some mare giving oral to a stallion while she masturbates. I suddenly feel much dirtier when I realize I've been in a similar situation. Given, it was with my husband in the privacy of our bedroom, but... still. "Can I help you two?" I look back when we approach the bar. The dark brown stallion there gives us a warm smile as he shines a glass. I glance over to Applejack before stepping forward to address him. "Yes, actually. I was wondering if you could help us find somepony-" "Alright, I'm going to have to stop you there." I stop when he loses the smile and sets the mug down, leaning forward to glare evenly at us. "This is a safe place, okay? You can't come in here and start digging around. You either drink, screw, or get out. We don't tolerate loan sharks, thugs, over-possessive mothers trying to force their children into lives they don't want, or lawyers. So forget about whatever you're looking for, and either order up, lay back, or get steppin." "..." "..." "... lay back?" Applejack asks. "Ya' know... like... to screw-" "What wines do you have?" I ask quickly, trying to change the subject. I don't think Applejack will take kindly to... do that. "What are you looking for? We don't actually have the biggest listing right now-" "Just give me what you think would be good for right now. Something red, Contrail?" I ask, having to nudge Applejack to get her to look at me. "Oh! Uh... cider?" He nods to us and heads to the back. I let out a long sigh and try to ignore the commotion going on behind me. It's a bit difficult to do so when the crowd practically yells every little action going on. AJ and I glance to one another several times as we try to think of something to say, but we can't get past our blushes. It doesn't help that curiosity is trying to get the best of me right now. For reasons I can't fathom, I want to watch. But I don't want anypony knowing that I'm watching. Is that normal? "First time here?" some mare asks as she takes a seat beside me. She's a light cream earth mare with deep scarlet hair that's cut short. She has a mark of two sugar cubes. "Yeah," I mutter, trying not to turn my head too much. She laughs a little, reaching over the counter to grab a bottle of beer. I don't think you're suppose to do that. "You can look, you know. Nopony here is going to judge you for being curios." I smile and nod to her, keeping my gaze just below the mirrored wall. She laughs again, twisting the top off the beverage. "Name’s Sugar." "Dew Drop, and this is my friend Contrail." AJ leans forward to tip her hat, getting Sugar to tip her drink back. "I'm going to take a guess and say you're never done stuff like that before, have you?" she asks with a slight chuckle before taking a drink. Neither of us respond, making her laugh a bit harder. "No, that's not it then. Hmm... oh! You're both mothers, aren't you?" "Y-yeah." AJ answers, to which I nod. "How many, foals that is?" "One," AJ tells her. "Two," I answer. "Hm, I have two myself. One’s fourteen, the others six. Both boys, you?" I look over to AJ before looking back to Sugar, easing into the conversation a bit more. "Boy and girl. The girl is fourteen now while the boy is six," I tell her, making her smile. "Mine's three. But ah got plenty of other ones running around the house too. From the family that is." "Aw, I always wanted that. Big family all in one spot. Must be nice. Mines all over Equestria. We try to keep in contact, but who has the time to send that many letters? I have a hard enough time trying to keep my boy out of the fridge." I laugh at that, knowing all too well about the pains of a growing colt. "My older one actually just got into the Canterlot weather team though-" "He's a pegasus?" I ask, getting her to nod. "Mhm, pegasus, weather pony, and a pain in my flank! But, he's sweet and writes often so I can't complain too much." I smile at that sentiment, thinking on the future for myself. "Fourteen year old girl though, she out on her own or finishing up school?" "Finishing school. She had a late start, but she's ready to go to any college out there, baring she actually tries to leave." AJ chuckles at that, knowing all too well about Shadow’s overt shyness. "You don't hear that every day. I know when I was that age I was ready to see the entire-" "Sugar, what did I tell you about taking from the bar?" The bartender asks when he returns with our drinks. "What? It's my day off and Mint's off with his dad, cut me some slack!" He rolls his eyes, moving down the bar to clean more glasses. I eye her a bit before sharing a glance with AJ. She seems to have the same concern as me, but doesn't seem to want to say anything. "Um... Sugar? Are... you... a... a um... are you-" "The politically correct term is escort," she cuts me off with a smile. I feel all of my previous apprehensions build right back up. I had no idea that she was an... escort. "Is that a problem?" "What? No! I mean... is it?" I ask quickly, almost instantly regretting it. My cheeks begin to burn from the awkwardness of the situation. She laughs at me, taking a large gulp of her beverage before setting the bottle down. I glance back to AJ and see her in a similar state as myself. At least I'm not alone in this. "Would you believe me if I said I actually like my job?" she asks, getting bewildered looks from the both of us. "The escort industry isn't what it used to be, not by a long shot. Ever since Cheesus came into the picture there's been a drastic change in things here." "How so?" AJ asks. "Well... where to start... I have dental." I blink at that, not completely understanding what she means by that. "There's a system for this. Constant medical check ups, the best security short of the royal guards, therapy if needed, I can even apply for loans and stuff like that!" I blink a few more times, still not comprehending what she's saying. "... but... y'all have ta... do that,." AJ clarifies, getting a shrug from Sugar. "Yes and no. Doing that will get you there much faster. But you don't have to do those things to get all of that help. There are plenty of background jobs that need to be done as well. Carriage pullers, tax filers, painters, there's a lot to these jobs. Heck! Tap over there is working off a student loan! Not to mention he's using his skill to pay for his brewer’s degree." "You can get a degree in brewing beer?" I ask, getting a groan from the stallion. "It's not for brewing beer. It's for wine. I studied viticulture, I make wine," he complains, getting Sugar to roll her eyes. "I pulled a loan for my home, my son’s education, and I plan on doing the same for my second son! Even better, I get to sell my baked goods to the other escorts here as well. Do you have any idea how hard it is to be a baker? Even before the food depression, that market was impossible to get into! Yeah, there were tough days. I mean, no matter what, at the end of the day I get paid to lay on my back. There were plenty of times I wondered if this was the right thing to be doing. But, I quickly realized that there aren't many others out there willing to help no name ponies. Plus, Cheesus made this work safe. I don't have to worry about some scumbag skirting out on the bill. I don't have to worry about getting sick. I don't have to worry about being raped!" "... oh." That's pretty much all I can muster after all of that. I didn't know it was like that. I was actually assuming the worse actually. The whole... rape, money issues... she didn't say anything about drugs though. But... I'm assuming they aren't allowed here. "I'm sorry we assumed that." "Don't be. I'm sorry for going off on you two like that. I just... get heated when ponies try to assume the worse about us,." She tells us, holding her drink between her hooves. We all share a moment of silence as we stare at our drinks together. She's doesn't seem like a bad pony. And I guess I made some rude assumptions when she told me her profession. "Tap, I need another." Sugar tells him, pushing her bottle forward. I look down to my drink and frown for a moment before downing the rest of it in one go. The others give me shocked looks as I try to keep a straight face, but that's the largest amount of alcohol I've had in awhile. "Me too,." I tell him weakly, trying to keep my head straight. "But... can I have one of your wines?" He cracks a smile at me, heading towards the back. "Me too!" AJ yells, downing her cider shortly after. We all share a small laugh, letting the tension melt away. "Hey, do you girls have to be anywhere today?" Sugar asks excitedly. "We both actually cleared up our day to... deal with something here today. But... since it's not happening, yep. All clear. Why?" I ask. Sugar looks over our shoulders before looking back to us with an evil smile. Confused, I look over and see three stallions at the other end of the bar, eyeing us. I feel my cheeks begin to burn when I notice that they're all sizing us up, waiting for the right moment to start flirting with us. "Want to have some fun?" I begin to go dizzy from this. I haven't had a stallion eye me like that... ever. Even when Miles was at his... peak of flirtiness, he never looked at me like that. They look as if they're about to conquer a nation... somewhat true in my case. "Ah'm married," AJ points out quickly. "Happily married." "Yes, same here... plus..." I bite my lip as I think about my next few words carefully. I feel like I'm talking to a safer Regina right now. Plus... it's not like they'll know who I'm actually talking about. "Plus?" Sugar asks eagerly. I feel my cheeks burn up as our drinks are set before us. I take my glass and take another large sip, feeling the alcohol add to my confidence. "Plus... I doubt any of them will... fill my husband's shoes." I have to take another drink when the silliness of the statement gets to me. I've never talked to anypony about Miles like that outside of Regina! It feels... so naughty! Applejack scoffs out a laugh as Sugar giggles herself. I try to hide my smile, but can't help but laugh when Sugar nudges me. "How big are we talking?" she asks, making AJ laugh. "Ya wouldn't ba-lieve her if she said," she tells her, making her laugh a bit more. "So you've shared," she teases, making me laugh. "No, no, nothing like that. It's just... my husband and I have a tendency to... get caught, in the act," I tell her, making her smirk at me. "Right, nopony is setting that up," she teases before taking a drink. She motions to the stallions and smiles. One of them, a light orange pegasus, has worked up the nerves to approach us. We all share a small laugh until he stops before me, pausing to see what he says. "Hey there, mind if I buy you a drink?" he asks me as suavely as possible. I can't help but giggle as I look to the others for help. AJ shrugs while Sugar motions for me to roll with it. I could just tell him I'm not interested... but where's the fun in that? Fun in that? I might be a larger lightweight when it comes to alcohol than I previously thought. Heh, larger lightweight- "Should I take that as a yes then?" he asks, bringing me back. I take another drink and decide to take him for a run. "But I already have a drink," I tell him sweetly, taking a light sip from my glass. He chuckles at that, then mulls over his response for a second. I look over to AJ and see her shocked look. I shrug to her and turn back to the stallion as he begins to talk. "How about I take the tab for that one and we go have a talk somewhere more private then? Get to know one another," he suggests, making me chuckle out a hum. Not bad, but not great. "What about my friends? It would be rude to leave them," I tell him, making him perk up. "Well, I have some friends that can keep them company while we talk. I know they'd like to say hi," he tells me, getting them to rush over to his side and offer their best smiles. I laugh a bit more at his persistence. I bet this works on other mares, but I have eons of diplomatic experience under my belt. Lets see if I can use those here. "Hmm... as tempting as that seems, I don't think I'll be leaving my friends side any time soon." I tell him, getting AJ to finally chime in. "I dunno, Dew Drop, he seems like he really wants ta talk ta ya." I lean over and see that he's sporting an erection. I assume he's well endowed. But, sadly for him, I'm comparing him to Miles. Alicorn physiology wins the day yet again. "Heh, sorry about that. It has a mind of its own," he says modestly. He doesn't try to hide it, telling me he's quite proud of it. Hmm... "Sorry boys, but my friends and I are just having some drinks. Maybe another time," Sugar tells them, getting disappointed looks from them. I feel like I just took a bone away from Lupus... heh, bone... oh lord. Is this my sense of humor after two glasses? Maybe I should slow down a bit. "Alright ladies, next time," he tells us before they take their leave. Surprising he didn't persist. Then again, Sugar is a worker here. If she says no, they probably know what that means. "So, girls, either we pay our tabs and head out, or..." Sugar suggests, pulling out her purse to god through it. "Or, we take this key, go to my personal room, and pound a few more away." "Ah'm not a lesbian-" "I meant drinks," she tells her flatly, making me chuckle. "Oh... well... Dew?" I mull it over for a second before looking over to my nearly empty glass. Logically, we should call it a day and head back. But, logically of course, how many days do we get to just goof off? I had to plan ahead to get this day ready, might as well use it. "Oh, why not. I have the day cleared, may as well use it. Right?" I ask AJ. She thinks about it for a second before shrugging along. Sugar giggles and leads us upstairs. I can't help but feel like a filly about to get a present for some reason. Maybe it's because I haven't had a day of fun since... more than a year at this point. "Ladies, room sixty-nine! A room I had to work my tail off to earn!" she tells us as she escorts (heh, escorts) us in. "Pfft, please. Spreadin’ yer legs and lyin’ about how good a rutting it was is not hard work," AJ teases, making her laugh. "Maybe not, but I've got some tricks that might make your vanilla lives turn to dark chocolate." I laugh at that, thinking back to Regina. "My other friend says I'm too vanilla... maybe I'd like to hear more about this dark chocolate." Sugar gives me a knowing smile before shutting the door behind us. This... is going to be fun. Perspective: True Will Guard duty at Fort Corium Gutter is as boring as ever. Frank, Sledge, and I have been taking turns on watch. Luckily nothing has decided to bother us- "SQUUUUUAAAWWWK!" Except Dusts newest little nuisance. I give it another glare as it sits there, my helmet nestled between its front legs. Bastard. "Any activity?" Franks asks with a yawn as he steps into the tower with me. I shake my head and look back out to the Badlands. The morning sun is finally coming back up, meaning I get to go to bed now. I turn to leave when Frank quickly sets a hoof on my shoulder. "Take a look at that." "*Sigh* of course it would happen at the end of my shift," I groan as I turn around and look out there again. I don't see anything moving. Nothing in the air either. "What am I looking for?" "Oh, right. No helmet. Uh... I have a group of armored goblins moving our direction about five kilometers out. Roughly ten of them. By the looks of it they should be here within the hour." I let out a groan as I continue on my way out. I guess I can sleep when I'm dead then, perfect. I head to the barracks where I kick Sledge awake. He jumps a bit at first, but calms down enough to glare at me. "What was that for?" he demands, getting me to glare at him. "Wanna ask that again, private?" He swallows the lump in his throat before answering. "U-uh, sorry sir. What's happening, sir?" I shake my head at him and toss his helmet into his lap. "Suit up, we have goblins incoming." I leave at that. I make my way up the tower and stand beside Frank as we watch the small dust column grow. It doesn't take Sledge long to join us, but when he does, he lets out a low whistle. "Shit, what do you think they want?" he asks. "They're probably just here to check up on their mining operations," Franks tells him, getting a thoughtful nod from him. "What do you think, True Will?" "I think... we need to gear up. Even if they are here with peaceful intentions, we have an image to keep up. I want us decked out with weapons hot, you have five minutes." They both nod and run off to gather more of their supplies. I just stand here as I watch them get closer. I've seen that kind of formation from them before. They're here for a fight. But those two are still fresh. Telling them that would only scare them. Even after all of that training, true combat has a way of getting into a pony’s head. And this looks serious. When they gather their gear we stand in the tower and wait for them to approach us. The vehicles they're riding are strange, to say the least. It looks like they're riding a single cog that stands perfectly upright. The seating area bulges out at the inner bottom part as they tear through the earth at high speed. Four small smoke stacks go out behind them and leave a trail of white smoke with all of the dust they're leaving behind. The loud vehicles come to a stop just before the fort walls and stay standing. I see the goblins quickly dismount and form up just before their vehicles, putting on some heavy armor. They don't move yet, obviously waiting for us to come out to them. "I'm going down there to talk with them. You two stay up here and get ready to fire when the shit hits the fan." I tell them, getting them to raise their weapons. There's ten of them, this shouldn't be too hard. Hopefully they just want to know about their countrymen and leave at that. Here's hoping. FLASH "Hm, sprechen kobold?" I take a quick look over each of them. Their armor seems to be made of brass and has a few points where it spikes out. They each wear red capes and carry a large array of weapons. Pistols, rifles, grenades, and other various melee to name a few. The one that spoke I assume to be the leader, due to the long, red plume on the top of his helmet. I stare at him, waiting to see what he does. "Didn't think so. I am Hauptmann Cogswheel of Stake's Storm Troopers, who am I speaking with?" "I am Captain True Will of the Spartan Phalanx, to what purpose do you approach Fort Corium Gutter?" I keep myself standing tall, only facing Cogswheel. I'll let the others worry about his subordinates for now. "We received a distress call from our mining operations out here. Shadows, nasty business really," he tells me with a sly grin. I remain stoic, letting him continue. "It would seem they did not make it to the ends of their contracts-" "That doesn't answer why you've come to this outpost," I cut him off shortly. He grits his teeth for a second before returning to his previous grin. "With your outpost in such close proximity, we were wondering if you happened upon any survivors." At my silence he nods and looks to the others, getting a few of them to nod. "Very well then. Would you perhaps offer sanctuary for my troops and I? The Badlands can be... troublesome." "Only on the conditions that you leave your weapons and armor outside the premise during your stay." I'm not worried about a bunch of goblins sleeping in our bunks. But I am worried about letting ten armed goblins into our compound. That simply won't- "SQUUUA?" I feel my eye twitch when I hear that damned creature squawk again. Of course it's going to act up now. Why wouldn't it? I glance back to see it perched on the walls, eyeing the goblins closely as it hunches its shoulders. "My my, would you look at that. A crystal drake. And a sapphire one at that! It must be our lucky day," Cogswheel says, getting the other goblins to chuckle with him. "You wouldn't happen to be keeping that thing, would you?" "..." I don't quite know how to answer that. I don't want the damned thing, but I don't want to help these guys either. Plus, Dust would be pretty upset with me if I let them kill it. "We are." He chuckles at that, making me nervous. "That's a shame." BANG I go wide eyed when the puff of smoke blinds me for a second. It wafts forward for a second before it slowly glides around the small shield before me. A small net of cracks form right before my neck, barely holding the metal ball in place. The gem on my chest crumbles away, ending the spell. I charge my horn and teleport away just as a few more shots are fired. I feel one ping off my flank, but it bruises me at best. I appear on the top of our outer wall between Frank and Sledge. "You alright, Will?" Frank asks. I look down and feel my neck before nodding to him. That was close, way too close. "Orders, sir... oh shit." I look out at Cogswheel and watch as arcs of electricity jump from spike to spike all over his body. The goblins next to him slam their fists against their chests and have similar effects happen, only much worse when the arcs start to wildly jump from goblin to goblin. "I guess we know why they're called Storm Troopers then-" "Open fire already." As Sledge begins to fire his machine gun down at them, they all suddenly leap high into the air. Large springs recoil back into their boots as they begin to fall back towards the ground. I whip out my sword and jump back as two goblins land before me. Before I could act, the crystal drake snaps forward and engulfs the foremost goblin in one bite- BOOM I gawk as a large burst of electricity explodes outward, shattering its head off. Its body falls limply to the ground, leaving Cogswheel before me. He grins as he spins his spear around, stepping towards me. I start to charge my sword- FWT-TNK I lose my breath when the end of the spear burst forward, impaling itself into my armor. I charge towards him to begin engaging him, only to have an arc of electricity jump at the spear end and shock my entire body. I fall limply off the side of the wall, falling straight to my back. Everything remains a blur as more shots ring out all around myself. I try to get back on my hooves, shaking the initial shock off. "Get up Will!" Sledge yells as he forces me up. I blink a few more times before reaching for my sword, finding it missing. "You'll have to cast for the time being, now fight!" I look up as four goblins land in the open area before us. I charge my horn and send a blast of energy at the closest one, sending him reeling back a few feet. The others all fire spear ends at us, all of which stick into Frank’s shield when he suddenly drops before us. Because he's a moose, his hooves don't fit around small gun grips. So he's wields a Legion bots tower shield in his left and a club in his right. The club was special made by Miles to bend to Frank’s will. Right now it's going at a right angle with a ball forming at the end. He rushes forward and engages the next closest goblin, swinging his shield around madly. It catches him right in the center and sends him flying back. All of the arcs of electricity funnel in at the spear points, keeping Frank relatively safe from their effect. As Sledge begins to fire on one of the other goblins, the other one tosses his spent spear towards us. It makes a connection that shocks me again, stopping me from casting for a moment. I drop down as the two of them finish off the last goblin, presumably with Sledges machine gun fire. When everything goes quiet I pick myself up and look around for my sword, spotting it on top of the wall. "Where did the other five go?" Sledge asks as he changes gems in his gun. I teleport up top- VRRRRRUM I nearly lose my head when one of their vehicles roars past me. The other four follow right after it, driving straight into the wall and then right up to the top. These vehicles seem to remain rooted in the ground. They go up and over quickly, racing around the interior at high speed. I try to watch them closely, but the air is filled with a thick layer of dust and smoke. I can hear more gunfire and arcs of electricity ringing out beneath us, but can't get a good read on any positions. BOOM I look back and see two figures flying towards our position. A moment later Spike and his girlfriend land beside me. Spike sends a few more blasts of energy, but stops when I get in the way. "We have friendlies in there!" I yell at him, getting a nod in return. "What's the plan?" I look back in and try to think. We need to get them out of there. I don't know how to summon other people, and I don't have visual to teleport. "RAH!" Spike’s girlfriend suddenly launches herself into the fray. I blink a few times before I see a few spots where spouts of fire burn through the dust. After a few more bursts she suddenly flies into the air, carrying Sledge in her arms. She brings him over and drops him beside me before flying back in. "... I like her," he states before getting back on his hooves. He's lost his machine gun somehow, but still has his warhammer. "Where did you pick this one up?" "..." "Once she gets Frank out of there I'm going to teleport us inside the barracks. Their vehicles won't be able to fit in there and we'll be able to re-arm ourselves. Got it?" Sledge nods to me, readying his hammer in his hooves. "Spike, get airborne and be ready to attack the first goblin you see." He nods to me as well, jumping into the air. We watch as the yells and arcs of electricity intensify beneath us. I grit my teeth as I wait for that dragon to pop up. What is taking her so long? All she has to do is grab him and fly off, what could they possibly have that could stop her? I jump slightly when something slams into the wall. I race to the tower as the vehicles begin to race over again. I try to blast one of them with my magic, but miss completely due to their speed. They race by the other vehicles and drop- KA-BOOM We all duck down when they all go up in flames. I feel the heat wash over my armor for a second before finally fading away. I grab Spike before he could get back up and hold him down. Shrapnel rains down on us for a moment, but once it ceases I let go of him and stand. I look out to them and watch as they race away, cheering triumphantly. Why are they so happy? They lost at least four soldiers, this couldn't have been a victory... unless... I look back over as the dust begins to settle. The dragon is kneeling over Frank as he lays there on the ground. He isn't moving, and there's a large pool of blood around him. I stare at him for a moment before teleporting down to his side. His right foreleg has been cut off. The stump has been seared to stop the bleeding, but he isn't moving. I reach down and remove his helmet. He... he's... "No... no, he'll be fine, right?" Spike asks as he lands quietly behind me. I reach down and feel his neck, waiting to see if I failed again. ... Come on... don't let me fail again... I can't lose another one... not after Daisy... ... ... Please... ... ... ... thump Perspective: Shadow I let out a deep breath as I begin to leave Sweet Apple Acres. It's nice to hang out with Applebloom and the girls, even if we're doing chores. It keeps my mind off of other things. Namely, Diamond Tiara. She has been brutal in her attempts at vengeance! Following me after school, lurking around my usual hang outs, she even tried to find me in Mooseden! Mooseden! I haven't slept well ever since! Even if Azzeal scared her away, I constantly have this nagging feeling that I'm being watched! The girls have been with me constantly, but that's not helpful either! I need alone time! So now they think I'm going to the bathroom instead of bucking trees. I'll come back soon enough, I just need a moment to myself. I don't know how I'm going to reason with her. She isn't thinking rationally, so there isn't any rational way to approach this. Maybe I should just apologize and let her punch me. I'll fall to the ground and curl into a ball, waiting for her to leave me be... no. Dad would never let that slide. And of course he'd find out, one way or another. 'Why'd you let her hit you? Why didn't you fight back? Shadow, you have to stand up for yourself! You're a Terradisian, you don't just let ponies walk all over you! Fuckity fuck fuck fuck!' Yeah, I don't need to hear that right now. There has to be another way around this. Someway I can get out of this without having to get in a fight. "Sup," some dark grey unicorn says to me as he walks past me. I nod to him, barely paying... "Wait a minute," I mumble to myself as I turn and look back to him. I look down to his mark and remember the star with an eye inside it. I know this stallion, but from where? "Wait a minute!" I yell before teleporting in front of him. "Sup?" he asks with a tilt of his head. "You're the pony that's been stealing from Mooseden!" I accuse, pointing a hoof at his chest. He simply tilts his head, eyeing me oddly. "Oh! I know you! You're that mare banging Rumble-" "I'm not with him!" I yell, taking a step back as I begin to blush deeply. "And don't make this about me! Stop stealing from my home!" "Okay." "I mean it! We've already called the- wait what? Okay? What do you mean okay?" I ask, tilting my own head. He merely shrugs, stepping around me peacefully. "I mean okay. I won't steal from your home anymore." I follow after him, eyeing him closely. "... just like that?" I ask skeptically. "Just like that," he confirms. I follow after him for a few more moments before scoffing at him. "Why am I even talking to you? You're a criminal, you're just lying to me-" "If that's what you believe-" "It is what I believe! Don't condescend to me!" I demand, making him shrug again. "What does that mean!?" "What?" he asks, pausing to look at me with those innocent yellow eyes. "That... shrug you do! Stop doing that!" I demand, making him shrug again. I growl in frustration as he begins to walk off again. "Where do you think you're going?" "Why do you care?" he asks, turning around to get in my face. All of my previous confidence falters as he uses his height to tower over me. I hate being short, so much. "I'm just a criminal, right? I lose any credibility because of that, right? Why do you care where I'm going?" "B-because! This is my friend’s farm! I don't want you taking anything from her or her family!" I yell back, trying to get in his face. I don't quite make it there, but I try nonetheless. He stares down at me for a moment before chuckling. "You know, you're cute when you're mad," he tells me, smiling down at me. I back away from him again as my face heats up. Is he seriously hitting on me right now!? Seriously!? "Wanna go out some time?" "W-WHAT!?" I yell, falling to my haunches in shock. He cannot be serious right now, he can't! Before I could form a response an orc walks out from the tree line. He eyes the two of us for a moment before dropping a bag next to the stallion. "Star Gazer," he mumbles with a nod. "Brosh," he nods back, picking up the bag with his magic. "So, is that a-" "NO! NO! N... NO!" I yell as I back away from him, shaking my head. He chuckles again before charging up his horn. "Well, maybe another time then." With that he teleports away. I sit there, completely blindsided by the whole exchange. What did he think would happen right then? I'd just swoon over him and go out with him? Really? Really? "*sigh* I need to talk to somepony," I mumble before I head into town, knowing exactly where I want to go. I just hope he isn't busy with anything else right now. Perspective: Applejack "... anph that'sh when I told her I'd try it, jush a teeny tiny bit. And it was wonderful! But Miles would never do that. He'sh too vanilla!" Luna complains from the bed as she rolls over to lay on her stomach. Five glasses of wine and a shot of whiskey and she's pretty much gone. I didn't think she'd lose it this quickly, but she did. Given, this was some pretty strong wine. But, I had more than her and I'm just a bit tipsy. I started to take it slow when I realized I was going to be the one to take her home. A bit of salt on the wound, given what we came here to do. "Hm, so the Lunar Princess likes a bit of weed, go figure," Sugar muses, sipping her drink slowly. Once Luna was overboard she dropped the spell over us. Sugar... was surprisingly okay with it. It didn't even faze her really. But she did make a note to apply both of the locks to the door. Something I appreciated. "What about you, AJ, any crazy stories like... that?" "Hamsterdam!" Luna cheers, raising a hoof before flopping back onto the bed. "Nah, never. Had plenty a chances though. Ah got family that grows it, out in the mountain-" "Wait. Your family grows the Appleacian kush?" "Ah guess? Ah don't know what they call it." "They're the providers for us. It's good stuff. Plus, they don't lace it with anything-" "Y'all sell drugs here?" I ask in surprise. "Just the legal ones, so don't worry about that. Plus we make you sign waivers and stuff...though it's not hard to actually get some. Anyway, back to your story-" "Welp! That'sh when Regina and those four other griffins-" "Your story," Sugar tells me, ignoring Luna. I take another drink before continuing. "Well, we traced the auditor here. We wanted to talk to him and try to convince him to extend his inquiry. That would buy us time to figure out a loophole. If he doesn't though... we'd be forced into bankruptcy. We'd lose the farm, the house, everything! We don't have that kind of money!" "How much is it? If you don't mind my asking." I shrug to her, not caring if she knew. "Two billion bits-" "By the sisters’ cunts!" she exclaims, nearly spitting her drink out. "Hey!" Luna complains, tucking her tail in. "Sorry," she apologizes, getting Luna to get back to fall back down. "Two billion? How could it possibly be that much?" "They're taxing us from the beginning of our joint citizenship at today's prices-" "They can't do that! Shouldn't it be at the prices they were sold?" "Even if it was, we'd still lose everything. We don't make that kind of money, plain and simple. That's why we need ta talk ta this pony. We need to find a way out of this without causing a ruckus." She leans back in her lounge chair and thinks to herself. I nestle myself deeper into my seat as well, at a loss for answers. "Can't Celestia and Luna help you?" "If they did, the nobles would be on us like stink in a outhouse. An ah won't put mah son through that. We have ta find another way." She nods to me, thinking deeply to herself. "Well... what... well..." she looks away from me, trying to decide on something. I wait patiently, trying to see where she does with this. "What I am about to offer can get me fired from here. But, what if I convince him to stay longer. I might only be able to get you a day of two, but it's more time." I blink a few times as I realize what she's offering to do. "Sugar, y'all don't have ta subject yerself ta that. We can-" "AJ, it's nothing I haven't done before. And I'm sure he won't be the worst out there. I know a trick or two to speed things up too. By the sounds of it, that's all he wants anyway. I'm a top tier escort. He'll jump at a chance at me." "What makes ya top tier?" I ask, slightly confused. How could one cooter be better than another? She chuckles at me, taking another swig of her drink. "AJ-" "Muscle contractions!" Luna yells excitedly, looking back to us. "Umm.... yeah, there's that." Sugar agrees. Luna gives a yes before flopping back down. "Trust me though, I can get at least a day or two. A whole week depending on how deep his pockets are. I have to do this kind of work anyway, why not help a friend along the way?" I feel myself pause at that. I didn't think we'd be friends this quickly. Acquaintances, easily. Friends? I'm not against it, it just... was sudden I guess. "Do... do ya really not mind?" I ask quietly. She puts on a smile before getting out of her seat. She walks over and pulls me in for a tight hug, one that I return easily. "I don't mind at all." She gives me a few pats on the back before letting go of me. I cough a few times from the awkwardness of the situation. I never thought I'd be friends with an escort, let alone putting the fate of my farm in her hooves. Friendships are weird like that I reckon. "But if you could throw one of those cute Spartans my way, we'd be best friends forever." "Ah'll keep that in mind," I tell her with a laugh. We both chuckle as we return to our seat. I feel as if a weight has been lifted off my back. Not the entire load, but enough to feel like less of a burden. "Hey," Luna calls out seriously, rolling to her side to look at us. "Stay away from the human, that's my man." We both laugh at that, getting her to puff her cheeks. "I'm serious." Perspective: Blueblood "Alright, this is my place! The bedrooms are upstairs, kitchen in the back, and the living room is off to the side. Make yourself at home!" Tempestive tells me as we walk into their home. I take a look around and note the... simplicity. It isn't somewhere I really thought royalty would be raised. Then again, that is exactly why they came here. I guess it's just odd to see the residence of a queen. "Would you like anything to drink?" "No, no. Thank you. I think we can just wait for your mother to return in the living room," I tell him as I move towards the couch, noting how worn it is. "My mom won't be back for awhile," he tells me as he takes a seat on one of the recliners. "... what?" "Yeah, remember? I told you I was supposed to be at Sweet Apple Acres. Mom and Mama Applejack had to run a few errands, so I was going to stay at the farm. But a bunch of chores came up, everypony got distracted, so I started walking around Ponyville. I have no clue when she's coming home." I blink a few times as I think about that. This may take a bit longer than I thought it would... no matter! The reward will be worth the time. I'll just have to entertain this foal for... awhile. "Yes... well... uh... where is that guard with your treat?" I ask, getting my other guard to shrug. "It's not that big of a deal. He probably just has to deal with Pinkie first. That can take awhile." I nod to that, thinking back to the reports I had read about the bearers. It was supposed to be done in secret. But Pinkie found my agent... rather quickly. Though, she thought the entire ordeal was a game and has kept it to herself. "Do you wanna play a board game?" "Um... of course. What game would you like to play?" He grows a large smirk when I ask him that, making me question what's about to happen. Two Hours Later I bit my hoof as I run the other through my mane, thinking deeply on the choice I have to make. He decided to play a game called 'Three Tribes'. Basically the game is played on a map of Equestria where your goal is to unite the tribes. Each faction has its own benefits, but I sided with the Unicorns with little thought. Now it would seem my mistake has taken its toll. Without knowing what my factions specializes in, Tempestive has taken over two thirds of the map. One of my guards was playing as well, but he quickly lost to Tempestive's ruthless invasion. I hold the southern region, though my forces are small. "Your move," he tells me smugly, biting into his treat slowly. I look over the board more closely and contemplate what to do. I don't have the numbers to attack, meaning I should shore up my defenses. But, that also leaves me open to invasion. I should also expand towards his exposed left flank, but I don't have the resources to contain that. It would allow me to build up my main land though, should I succeed. Should I fail, it will cost me the game. "Hmm..." "You really should just surrender," Tempestive offers me with a slight chuckle. I roll my eyes at that, knowing that there has to be a way to win. "I will literally run you over next turn. You let your ground forces get decimated to protect your Magii, and now you don't have any high defense pieces left. You could spend your turn making them, but they would only prolong the inevitable. I'll have my wall of forces at your capitol by the time you have the numbers to attack, and by then it'll be too late. Surrender will at least let you score in the end. There isn't anything wrong with second place." "A Prince never surrenders," I tell him as I mull over his words. It's true. If I don't get those pieces out there soon, I'll lose to him. But I can't afford to wait for this chance to strike. If I defend, it'll only be a matter of time. "How did you get so good at this?" the guard that lost asks Tempestive, making him laugh. "Please, you should see my dad play this. He would have won by now! He knows all the moves before they're even made! I think that's why he doesn't like this game, it's too easy for him. He once had this idea to make more units to make the game..." I drone him out as I try to think of a way out of this mess. Though only my guards are here, I seriously cannot lose this game to a six year old. Even if he's a Prince. It would stain my own image, my intelligence, and my pride! There has to be a way to win- THUD A light thud from the door catches our attention, followed by some snickering. We all look to each other before one of my guards got to answer the door. Before he could, Queen Luna opens it and falls through, giggling to herself as she lays there. Two other mares walk in after her, one being the Element of Honesty while I recognize the other one, but can't put a name to her. She’s familiar, I just can't recall how I know her. They all seem to have a bit of difficulty standing there and are giggling to each other, oblivious to our presence. The two other mares try to help Luna up, but end up falling down with her when she pulls on them. Instead of being mad, they erupt into laughter. I look to my guards for a second before it dawns on me what's going on. They're all drunk! This can't be right though. Luna has never been drunk before. She doesn't drink, or at least never has before. I can't think of a time when Luna has been drinking before. Maybe she just doesn't drink at the castle? I can't see her drinking in front of Tempestive either... Tempestive! I look over to him and see the confusion on his face. I quickly summarize that this isn't normal for Luna. I have to think quickly here. Let's see... "Tempestive," I start out as I watch the wolf leave through a dog door in the back. "That wolf just left with something of mine. Can you please retrieve it for me?" "Lupus? What did he grab?" he asks, still eyeing his giggling mother. "It was something from my personals. Can you get it? I don't think it'll listen to anypony else." I'm making this all up of course. Hopefully he won't remember that the only thing I brought was my suit from Rarity's. "But, what about Mom?" he asks innocently. "Awww," Luna pouts from the floor. "C'mere baby! I wanna hug 'ya!" His eyes go wide from that. "LUPUS!" He yells as he jumps out of his seat and charges after the wolf. I motion to my guard to follow after him before finally leaving the table. I look down at the three of them and try to think of what to do. "Guard, help these two to the living room and assist them however they need. I'll tend to Luna." He nods to me before lifting up Applejack onto his back. She starts going off on how she's a married mare and she'll have his memories wiped should he try anything. I shake my head at that and attempt to assist Luna to her hooves. She fumbles a few times as she tries to get up, eventually using me for the support needed to do so. "Come, I'll take you-" "I-I need to go to my room. Imma go... IMMA go to my room!" she slurs at me, walking off without me. She nearly falls over, but I catch her in time. "I'll assist you then," I tell her, leading her towards the stairs. She mumbles a response before focusing on the steps before us. I've... never touched royalty before. The closest I've been was when Auntie Celestia would watch me when I was little. But I don't count that, as I wasn't a stallion back then. Now... this is odd. Everything I'm feeling is exactly what society says a mare should feel like. Her coat is softer than the lightest cloud. Her body is weightless yet has a muscular build to it. Even while drunk, she has a heavenly smell about her. There must be a regiment she follows to maintain this beauty about her. I try my best to ignore it though. She is a Queen after all. A married Queen! When we make it to the top of the stairs I let her lead me to her room. It's the first door on the left. She rushes ahead of me and goes straight to the restroom. I rush after her as she throws the toilet seats up and hurls the contents of her stomach. My face sours when I hear the liquid slash inside the bowl, but ignore it as I... as... Luna has, for some reason, stayed standing during her puking. With each heave, her tail lifts slightly. After the second or third heave I get an un-obscured look at her folds beneath. I've seen my fair share of mares before. Not necessarily enough to be considered an expert, but I know my way around them. I can tell by looking at Luna's that she easily had a foal and is well... experienced. But, despite that, there is still a youthful aspect to her. She still appears to be in her prime. Able to bear many more foals as well as please any stallion she chooses. "Uhg, sick," Luna grumbles before flushing the toilet. At this I shake my head and look away from her backside. I feel ashamed to have been staring like that. But... how many ponies can say they've seen the glory of a Royal Sister? Who wouldn't look? Right? "Remind me to never drink again," she grumbles before finally sitting down. She sits with her side to the bowl and is facing me. "H-how much did you drink?" I ask, still blushing from before. "Mmmm... about seven glasses," she muses, looking around the bathroom idly. "Seven glasses of...?" I try to lead her to answer, but she goes back to heaving again. I look down from the bile sound and find myself ogling her teats suddenly. I guess from the sudden movement, she opened her legs up a bit more. I have to swallow the lump in my throat as I look at the two mounds. I've never been a teat stallion myself, but I'm suddenly warming up to the idea now. "W-wine." Luna tells me with a flush. I pull my gaze away from her to back up. She doesn't seem to have noticed my intrusion, or simply doesn't care. I try to think about what to do next for her, in an attempt to keep my thoughts pure. Do you keep drunk ponies awake or get them to bed? Maybe some bread would help her... where did I hear that? "Blueblood?" "Y-yes, Queen Luna?" I ask quickly, averting my gaze to her eyes. "I think I'm going to bed now... night," she tells me before falling back. I catch her with my magic, stopping her from hitting her head against the sink. I lift her up, finding myself face to face with her backside due to the way she fell. I go to turn her over when an idea hits me. There isn't anypony here. Who would know it if I took a picture right now? Nopony would be the wiser... No. No, I can't do that. I may have lowered myself to a commoner’s level by looking, but I won't cross that line. I take her to the bed and lay her down, being sure thats she's properly covered. I swallow the lump in my throat before I head to the restroom and get a wash cloth. I get it damp before bringing it to her to clean around her mouth. The cool water somehow wakes her up slightly, getting her to roll towards me. "Mph, Miles," she moans, wiggling a bit. I don't really know what that's about, but I hope it ends there. I finish up with her lips when I realize that she didn't brush her teeth. That simply will not be allowed. But, how am I going to do this? I guess I could just get the brush and do it myself. Would that be too much? Given, I guess staring at her vagina was too much. How much worse could brushing her teeth be? I grab what I assume to be her utensils and get them set to clean her teeth in the restroom. When I return I find her laying on her back, spread eagle. I glance to the door to confirm that I'm alone before making my mind up. One last look, then never again. What stallion in their prime wouldn't? I step closer and take a good, close look at her. Due to her position, I can see a bit of the pink flesh beginning to appear. She has one of her hooves lightly rubbing her stomach, making me wish she brings it down. I might die if she does, but it doesn't look like she's going to. With the mental image seared into my memory, I finally go to clean her teeth. Luckily for me, her mouth is slightly open. With a final breath, I go to begin cleaning her teeth. "Mhmm.... Blue... Blueblood?" she mumbles as she slowly opens her eyes, just as I near her face. I pause for a second as I try to think of what to do in this situation. This is clearly a delicate situation that needs to be handled with edict and poise. "My apologies, but I-" "GET OUT OF MY ROOM!" she yells as she goes to toss me out with her magic. THUD The air escapes my lungs as I slam against the wall beside her door. I fall to the ground and groan as I feel the pain start to throb in my back. I probably deserved that. "My lady, please! I only meant-" "Why do you have a toothbrush!" she demands, pulling a pillow to hold onto tightly. "I meant to clean your teeth-" "Are you a sicko or what!?" she yells, nearly falling over as she points an accusing hoof at me. "N-no! I swear! I only had your health in mind!" I yell back, making her wince slightly. "Ow! Tone it down!" she snaps at me. "O-of course Your Majesty. Would you like to clean yourself up or-" "Get out," she drones, rubbing her head tiredly. "I... I'm starting to feel a bit dizzy. I think I should lie down." I nod to her, slowly making my way to the door. "Is there anything I can get for you?" I ask impishly as I take slow steps out the door. She shakes her head at me, wavering from side to side slightly. I bite my lip as I try to think of anything else I can do for her, but I can't seem to find any form of service. I close the door behind me and let out a long breath. That... could have gone far worse than it did, in retrospect. I ogled Royalty and was only thrown against a wall. Not the worse outcome possible. THUD I jump slightly when I hear a brutal crash from inside. Without a second’s thought I throw open the door and run in. Immediately, I slide to a stop. Laying before me is the tangled mess of Luna, only it's not Luna. She's... human. She has pale white skin, long black hair, and bright teal eyes. I watch her for a moment as she sits up next to the dresser, rubbing the pain away from her head. When she straightens out I get a better view of the rest of her human body. She has a thin, yet athletic look about her. She's not bulky like Miles, but still showcases an ample amount of muscle over most of her body. Most notably in her stomach, where four of the abdominal muscles show through. Her arms are thin, yet defined. I wouldn't call them weak, but the are much thinner than Miles's arms. Her legs are in a similar state as well. Toned, defined, and distinctly feminine. I would even go as far as to say that they're attractive, for another species, that is. Lastly, I spot the two mounds taking up her chest. At first I didn't quite know what they were. But after noting the two light pink points on each of them, I realized that they were her teats. Needless to say, my interest in human physiology has grown significantly. How could their females walk around with those massive things hanging on them? Were they all that big? If they were, how did the males not walk around always aroused? I guess the clothing makes sense now. She grumbles again and adjust her legs slightly, giving me a perfect view of her nether region. It's... surprisingly similar to a pony's. It look smaller, due to body build surprisingly. But, had it been a dark blue I would say it was her pony nether region. I blink a few times before I slowly begin to realize the reality of the situation. "You're human." She looks up to me for a moment before looking down at herself. I can see the seriousness of the situation sober her as she starts to shake. Before I could even think of what to do, she reaches beneath the bed and fumbles with something. I sit here, unsure of what to do. She's human. Without a doubt in my mind, she is human. Has she always been this way? Did Miles do this to her? Can she do this on her own? How did this happen? As the questions continue to race through my mind, a click derails me. I look back to Luna as she pulls out a pistol and points it at me. I blink a few times before I put up my hooves. "You... never saw this," she mutters, adjusting the gun in her hands to aim better at me. "O-of course, Your Majesty." I squeak back. I could teleport to safety, but there is nowhere I could go to hide from her... or her husband. "Understand me now. If you even joke about this, I will end you. Rip your title from you, force you to suffer for years in the shambles of society, and make you wish you were never born. This," she gestures to herself with her hand, "never happened. You didn't see anything. Understand?" "Of course! I would never act against the crown!" I tell her, making her squint her eyes at me. I try to think of anything else to say to her, but there isn't a single thing to help ease her mind right now. I have to hope that she trusts my word. THUD We both look to the doorway when we hear a door slam shut downstairs. On instinct, I quickly shut the door with my magic, locking it for extra precaution. "Tempestive... he can't see me like this." Luna tells me, finally lowering the gun. I let out a breath of relief as I try to think of a way out of this. I can just teleport her away, but I probably shouldn't do it with her nude. "Gather some clothes and get ready to be teleported. Is there anywhere that would be safe for you to be?" I ask, getting her to think deeply for a moment. "Send me to the Everfree. Roughly one mile Northeast." I think about that before I shake my head at her. "A mile? Your Majesty, I can't teleport you that far. No normal unicorn could." It's true. Even a talented unicorn would have difficulty teleporting somepony that far. Then again, she hangs around Twilight and Miles. Normal isn't in her vocabulary. "And I'm sorry, but I refuse to put you in the middle of the Everfree without some sort of protection." "Then... hang on one second. And turn around!" I do as she says immediately. I hear her fumble around with the dresser and start to fumble with some clothing. I keep my gaze on the wall and wait for further instruction. This has taken a turn that I could never have dreamed of. It's easily the last thing I would have thought of. I would put Celestia coming here to propose to me over this. "Okay Blueblood. Here's the plan. Go downstairs and have your guards watch over my son. You have your guards with you, right?" "Yes-" "Good. After that, you are going to teleport us as close to my objective as possible and escort me to my destination. Can I count on you for this?" I nod my head, keeping my gaze on the wall. "Alright, go talk to your guards then... I hope you understand that any harm that should befall him will rest on your shoulders. Am I clear?" "Crystal, ma'am. Would you be more comfortable if I had them take him somewhere safer? Perhaps a friend’s home?" "Yeah... yeah that's a good idea. Tell them to take him to Mooseden and find E'Claire. Tell them to tell her that I had to make a run to Topaz, she'll understand." "Of course, Your Majesty. Is that all?" She stays silent for a moment, making the hairs on the back of my neck rise slightly. "... thank you. Blueblood, I really do appreciate this." I swallow another lump before nodding to her, taking my leave from the room. I take a moment to collect myself before I head downstairs. I only came here with the hopes of gaining a small amount of favor. Now... now I may have her respect... Assuming I can get her to this secret location of hers, that is. Author's Note Oh my god it feels good to update! I've been looking forward to this for awhile. Sorry for the absence, I've had a rather crazy time for the past two months. Things are starting to normal out (relatively) so the next chapters shouldn't take as long as before to come out... baring the minor pause. If you don't know what I'm talking about, I'd really appreciate it if you read my July 2015 blog post. It'll tell you everything you need to know, and I hope to see your support for that. Likewise, I've had a few updates elsewhere, so be sure to check out my other blogs as well as the Cultural Reference Guide: The Ursa Majors. Brony on!
Chapter 230 Set in MotionChapter 230 Set in Motion Perspective: Miles I didn't have to do this. I could have just waited for the fallout to hit and dealt with it then. But if I, or the Spartans rather, want to be looked upon as the real peacekeepers of the world, this has to be done. I didn't think of what to say on the trip here. I didn't think of anything really. Any thoughts I tried to make immediately went back to home. That Unfamiliar. He has the potential to take away the only things I ever cared for. My friends, my family, my home. I don't know if I'll sleep well if he stays there, if he stays alive even. I can't trust him. That's where the problem arises. I don't trust him, but I trust Celestia. Because of that, and only because of that, I'm taking this massive risk. There's nothing to be gained here. Not from where I'm sitting at least. He's practically said it himself. When the chance arises he'll either make a run for it or strike at our backs when we aren't looking. There's nothing to gain from keeping him other than a look into the Kroth culture. History notes versus the death of my family... I didn't think on the way here. It was better that way. My silence was abruptly overtaken by the thunderous din of rain and harsh winds colliding into the side of my I.T.A. Alongside that went the alarms, reminding me that I still haven't figured out how to deal with this fucking storm. It's reminding me that I still have dozens of food processors to go back to for repairs. It's yelling at me that I still have work to do, despite how tired I am. Three trips back and forth, two down south, two battles, and all of the political plotting and backstabbing on top of roughly four hours of sleep. "Approach in thirty seconds." I let out a small groan. I guess I'll complain about it later. "Let's do this," I mutter as I stand up and slide my helmet back on. I grab the handrail as the ship finishes its landing procedure, the lights going from red to green. The door slides open, washing the courtyard to the Lions-heart Castle ground green. The barren landscape reflects the pale light with its signature grey tone. The same throughout the rest of the Griffin Colonies. I give it a moment's notice before marching towards the imposing building. The Lions-heart castle was built for Ulfric after his ascension to king of the griffins. I'm sure if the acidic rain hadn't tore away at it for the past six years it would be a marvel to see. But, alas, it has. There are some sections that have caved in, probably due to pre-existing structural issues. The rest of it looks as if it's been abandoned for years. Boarded up windows, cracks with clear signs of erosion, and a menacing sky have destroyed what was once the beacon of a proud nation. I march to the door and knock loudly, getting it to open slightly. "He's expecting you, royal chambers," the guard behind the door tells me in a gruff, motioning forward with a tilt of his head. I nod back to him, eyeing the rifle on his back. It's a goblin long rifle, a sight all too common here these days. The halls here are nothing more than empty stone walls. Any paintings or other types of art that were here before were sealed away for safekeeping back when the storms first started. We actually assisted with that, not that they thanked us. Just the start of bitterness, I guess. I make it to the plain bed chamber door and knock on it, stepping back and resting my hand behind myself. It takes a moment before I hear him make his way towards the door. How do I even start this? Sorry I invaded your nation, but what the fuck are you doing with the Unfamiliar? You know about that invasion I did the other day? Well, it was because you've been harboring my people’s mortal enemies for some time, so... yeah. How am I going to- "Hello Miles." I look up from my thoughts and freeze. Standing in the doorway is an Unfamiliar. He's wearing what I assume are normal wrappings for his people and... is smiling. "We have much to discuss. You can come in, or we could do it in the hallway. There are more windows here." He steps away from the door chuckling to himself, leaving me alone in the hallway. I glance to the large windows beside me before I draw my pistol and enter the room. He's standing in the center of the room, just smiling at me. No armor, no weapons, possibly has magic, but it's not active right now. With him being... less of a threat, I begin to march around the large room. I check the closets, bathroom, heck, I even check the drawers for any potential threats that might be looming nearby. He just... watches me. Chuckling, staring at me, smiling. I keep my pistol on him the entire time, waiting for him to make the wrong move. "You won't find anything. But please, check under the bed. There might be a monster there." I glare at him for a second before moving over to the large round bed. I give the bottom a quick kick, finding that there isn't an area beneath. "Looks safe-" "Who are you?" I demand, bringing my entire focus on him. "I am Kileh, leader of the Kroth. And you, are Miles Eremita. Leader of humanity, or, what's left of it." He chuckles again at that, making my stomach turn over. "I am surprised that you haven't shot me yet. Have the equines changed you so much?" "I haven't shot you yet because I plan on taking you in. You're more useful to me alive than dead. For now at least." He smirks at that. Before I could say anything else, several lines appear on my HUD leading from out the small windows in the room. I bring a hand up and run it through the beam, instantly identifying them at laser sights from some form weapon. "How about... a temporary ceasefire, hm? You lower your gun, my kro lower theirs, yes?" I keep my gun up as several more lines appear from different windows. Last time I was lucky to get away. It was a stroke of fortune that the bullet didn't break through my helmet. This time... I wouldn't make it through this many rounds. "Temporary?" I ask, leaving it as vague as possible. He wants to ramble on about something, so I'll let him. Gives me time to think of an answer. He chortles at my response, beginning to pace around me slowly. For every step he takes, I take one in the opposite direction, keeping him at the other side of the room. "The new world order is coming, Miles Eremita. This much is obvious. And as much as you'd like to claim neutrality, we both know which side you and I have taken." "Do you really think the Griffins will win a war like this? Assaulting another nation with little to no assistance, won't end well." Keep him talking, look for something, anything. "I believe that the world is much more fragmented than you'd like to think. Every nation wants to believe that they will emerge as the superior species, but we know better. Don't we, human? Though the soldiers have changed, the war still rages on." He comes to a stop to glower at me, still smirking. "Human or Kroth? Who will rule this planet? Who will rise from the ashes of this ancient war and claim the universe as their own? What say you, human? Are you up for a little wager?" I laugh at that, lowering my pistol for a moment. "A wager? You want to bet on who will win this war? I'll humor you, what's at stake?" He gives a toothy grin before pulling out a holo-stick and tossing it at the ground, making a hologram of the world appear between us. "Equestrian, Griffin, whoever wins this war will be the ones to dictate the new world order. After this, there will no longer be these worlds of isolationist. You know this to be true, yes?" I don't answer him, not openly at least. He takes my silence as it is though. "We have backed opposing forces. When they collide, so shall we. And, in the end, which ever side claims victory shall be the ones to end this ancient feud-" "So you're saying winner takes all? Seems a bit one sided, don't you think?" He laughs at that, taking my sarcasm as naivety. "How about it? One true final war. Old rivals, new blood. Who will take Terra finally? Who will last throughout the eons? Let history declare its author!" We stare at each other for a moment longer, waiting to see who will budge first. I can't tell if he's serious or not. He hasn't said anything to lead me to believe otherwise. I know there is a war coming. I know Equestria will be targeted. And I know the Griffins possess a real threat to them. But I don't see how they will claim a lasting victory. It's... just not possible. Not without the killing of every alicorn, noble, and Element Bearer in one quick strike. Does he really believe he'll do that? Is he really that foolish? Let's see if he is. "Why not continue now?" I ask as I bring my pistol back up. I walk across the room and press it against his skull. He laughs at that, making no attempt to move away. "Yes, kill another citizen of the Griffin Colonies, Miles Eremita. Even with how old our war is, we still have to abide by the rules of these lesser beings. Well, you Spartans have to at least. We didn't proclaim ourselves the mediators of the world. Kill me now, you'll only bring the war to Equestria that much faster. So, please, pull the trigger. It'll only hasten my own goals." I hate it when my enemy is right. I can't make any more rash moves in the G.C. Not now at least. I imagine that we're on the edge already. Any wrong move now would only hurt Equestria. I can't kill him, not here at least. "If not here, then let's take it elsewhere," I tell him, motioning to the door with my pistol. He laughs at me again, taking a seat at the end of the bed. "No, no I think I'll stay here. There is nothing you can do to me right here, right now. Try and take me by force, and my kro will kill me. Though, I imagine Ulfric placing the blame elsewhere. But, do tell me, how many alicorns are you willing to put into harm's way before you quit?" I lower my pistol for a moment, making him smile even more. "Oh ho-ho-ho. Did you really think you'd keep that a secret?" "Depends on what you know." All of that work trying to hide Tempestive, gone! All because I couldn't keep my fucking composure! "Heh heh heh, I know plenty. But, I do have to wonder, how many more abominations will Terradisia create before they learn that perfection cannot be crafted?" I bite my lip, thinking back home. I have to get Tempestive out of there. Topaz Falls will be the safest, though the most difficult. I guess we'll just have to have that talk a bit earlier than expected. But what about Rampant? We can't leave him out in the open either. Or Speaks Softly, for that matter. Is hiding really going to solve anything though? It didn't before. Maybe I can- "But, I am curious, did you plan on creating the king as a means to take over Equestria, or was that just luck?" "... explain." "I mean, if I could create Ulfric and command the griffins... well, it would be tempting. But, alas, I lack the resources to create new beings. I'll just content myself by knowing that I'd utilize it properly-" He... thinks that the King... and I... are different people. He doesn't know we're the same person... Our bluff worked. "I guess in the end, it won't matter. In the end, we only need to take care of the three. The others will fall in line afterwards. Now, I'll ask one last time. Do we have an understanding?" "... A temporary ceasefire until the war breaks out?" I ask to clarify. "And then we shall have our war!" he replies excitedly. "Winner takes all?" I lower my pistol a bit. "This galaxy and beyond, are we in understanding?" I think about it for one last moment. I don't believe him for one second that there's going to be any form of ceasefire. Not openly at least. What is he really asking for? The stakes are true, but what are his real intentions? Does he really think he can take over the entire world with just the griffin army? "Alright, I'll play along," I tell him as I holster my pistol, making him smirk. Like he said, all of the laser sights drop from my field of view, telling me they're at least off. "Let me give you a little warning though." "Oh? Do tell," he says excitedly. "Don't play this game unless you're ready to lose. Humanity has lost too much up until this point. Now, we're striking back. You know what a human opposition can do, and I know what an Unfamiliar opposition is capable of. One last go, and let that be the end of it." "Shall we set the terms of war?" he asks curiously, leaning forward slightly. I think about it for a moment before deciding to push my luck. "Win or lose, no harm shall come to civilians." He chuckles again, slapping his knee as he stands back up. "And here I thought you humans were without honor. Or, perhaps, it took you three thousand years to learn it. Very well, win or lose, civilians shall be granted amnesty from battle-" "For life," I cut him off, making him lose his smile. "Let the soldiers do the dying. And once this is all over, let us be done with it." He mulls it over for a second, weighing the pros and cons. "Unless you are going for total annihilation, I'd take the insurance." "Hmm.. very well. But! Only if we ban the use of super archaic weapons. After all, we want to live on this planet afterwards, don't we?" I don't want to agree to that. He probably doesn't even have any. But, I don't want Tempestive or Luna being targeted in case the worst should... Luna. "Very well, no harm to civilians and no super archaic weapons,"I say as I stick my hand out quickly, getting him to chuckle. He grabs my hand and gives it a strong shake, chuckling to himself lightly. "To the end, and may it end there." "Of course. By the way, Princess Luna and Celestia are Terradisian citizens, you can't target them." He loses his composure completely, stunned by what I said. "You're lying-" "They have been for several thousand years now. Back when we were getting ready to repopulate the planet’s surface. Actually, you know how you said I was trying to make myself neutral? Well, that's simply not true. A world cannot progress past itself while fragmented like this, you should know this. I've been plotting to connect this planet long before these people knew of humans. I hope you can rely on the griffins being able to take them out, because if an Unfamiliar even touches them, I'll set the world ablaze in archaic fire." I leave it at that, leaving the room before he could say anything further. But the look on his face tells me plenty. He wasn't ready for that. He didn't even think of that. Looks like we won this first exchange. Perspective: Luna FLASH The moment we appear in the forest I fumble forward until I fall to my knees and lurch over, puking out the remaining contents of my stomach. Despite my fears sobering me mentally, I guess I'm still physically out if it. Go figure. I give a few more heaves before finally calming down enough to look myself over. "Darn it," I grumble as I fall back, sitting on my bottom. I got a bit of my bile on Miles's nice shirt. It's just a white button up, but it's one of the nicer shirts that he owns. Oh well, I'll just have to clean it later. I wipe my mouth off with the sleeve, seeing as it needs a cleaning anyway, and try to stand on my new feet. "Do you require any assistance?" Blueblood asks. I grab a nearby tree and use it for support as I work my way up, slowly making progress. "No.... I-I can.... manage... on... my... own!" I push myself off the tree and stand up, waving my new arms around to keep my balance. After a few moments of standing, I give a satisfied sigh before quickly grabbing the pants around my waist. I'm much thinner than Miles, but I'll have to wear his pants until I can find something better. Holding them with fingers feels... weird. I try to grab them with my magic, but it's not there. The feeling is so... foreign. But, not so foreign that I won't be able to walk myself to Topaz. It's not that hard. And Miles complained about learning to fly. "Right. See? Wasn't that hard." "Can you walk?" I roll my eyes at that. Of course I'll be able to walk. I just had to figure out how to balance myself properly first. Walking should be a breeze. I move my leg forward to take my first step- THUD ... and immediately crash into the ground. Face first. "Allow me," Blueblood says over my angered mumbles. He levitates me up to my feet and stands beside me, holding my shoulders as I adjust to the position. "Whenever you're ready." "Right... just one at a time," I mutter as I start to move my legs. Each step is unbalanced and flimsy, but Blueblood stands nearby, aiding me the entire time. "So... why were you at my home to begin with?" I ask to pass the time, seeing as we're making next to no progress. "I was picking up an order from Miss Rarity's shop when I saw the prince walking around town. I didn't think it would be wise for him to be seen like that, so I convinced him to take me to your home. Which I do apologize for intruding like so, but I felt it was best. Given the circumstances." I nod to that, eyeing my legs. I just need to mimic the way Miles does this... how does he do this? "I thought he was supposed to be at Sweet Apple Acres. I'll have to give him a talking to... once I turn back that is." We go a few more feet before a loose rock nearly takes my feet out from under me. I quickly grabbed onto Blueblood to stop myself from hitting the ground. He gives a little jump but stands there, waiting patiently for me to correct myself. "I'm a little surprised you're going this far out of your way to assist me. How much favor are you vying for?" "I will not lie, when I brought Tempestive home I had some thoughts of favor being won." I hum to that, expecting it. "But, once I saw you... the way you were, I knew actions had to be taken." "The one time I get drunk, and this had to happen. Just my luck," I grumble. Blueblood looks away from my, biting his lip softly. "Given the circumstances, I'd ask that you speak your mind. This is probably one of the few times you'll ever get to." He looks me in the eye for a second before looking away again, weighing his options. I let him think about it as I try to stand again, getting slightly better at it. "... this is not the conduct of royalty," he states simply. "Of course it isn't-" "If this were any other noble or family member, they would be publicly chastised and could possibly lose everything they've worked towards. You are the Queen of our nation and a mother no less. There are, or rather, should be standards that you should be held to, just like the rest of those that work alongside you. The fact that you are the leader of that same body of government and lack any form of reprimand is unfair." "... that is true. What would you have happen?" I ask, curious to see what he has to say on the matter. "There is nothing to have happen. As I said, you are the Queen. You do not have to follow such rulings. Which is why I said it was unfair. I'm sure there's something that could be done, but the amount of effort it would take to make any form of change would be pointless. There isn't any evidence, no witnesses, and in the end would only harm myself. So, there is nothing to have happen. Because you are the leader of our nation-" "Second to Miles," I cut him off, getting an odd look from him. "You are right, this is not the conduct of a national leader. There should be some form of... what?" I ask when he gives me an odd look. "What exactly do you think Miles is going to do to you?" he asks curiously, raising an eyebrow. "He doesn't take our government seriously. Not even in the slightest. He's conquered us before and is probably plotting to do so again. Miles wants a unified world under his old banner. Anypony who's watched his behavior enough knows this. Forgive me for this, but he'll only make this into some kind of joke and probably use it for some perverse scheme-" "You will not speak so candidly of our love affairs, not ever," I cut him off firmly, making him bow his head deeply. "I apologize. I was too heated in my words and didn't think them through," he says with a slight bow, almost making me fall over again. "But there is truth in my words. Miles will not willingly punish you for something so... trivial, in his mind at least. He may be king, but he still has the mentality of a commoner. You know this to be true." I keep quiet after that. I won't openly admit it, but he's right. Miles has been looking to restore Terradisia back to its former glory ever since he came here. Earlier probably. I don't know how he plans on doing it, but I know he's been plotting it. I've asked him in the past about it. He avoids it like the manipulator he can be. Nah, I've already done that. He has technically. That's partly why Celestia and I have been trying to get him to be more involved in our government. Being hopeful, he'll learn to let us be. On the other hoof, dealing with that will take time away from whatever plans he's making. But that doesn't mean I don't have a few tricks up my own sleeves. After a long, and silent walk, we finally make it to the road to Topaz Falls. Miles had it built a few years ago, but never finished it completely. It doesn't connect to Ponyville, even though it leads right to it. Two legion bots stand guard at the entrance. They spot us and take defensive stances, watching our every move closely. I push off of Blueblood and take a few tentative steps towards them. "I am Luna Eremita, and this is my guest Blueblood. I wish to enter Topaz Falls," I tell them. Red lines appear from their eyes as they scan us over, scaring Blueblood slightly. "Verified. The transport will take you there. Have a nice day." They stand down, going back to their stoic stances. I take a deep breath and start to walk into the cave, inwardly amazed I haven't fallen over yet. Inside, the cave has changed so much since I've last been here. Instead of being a giant hole in the ground, a massive tram system has been built, going down at a steep rate. Unlike the trams of Equestria, these ones are built on the sides of the cave instead of the ground beneath. Lights line the middle of the ceiling, with even more coming from the tram itself. Two lines are here, one probably at Topaz, while the one on the right has its doors waiting for its passengers. They're nothing special to look at. Just three steel boxes with windows and benches. I walk into the closest tram and fall into the first seat I come across. Blueblood follows and takes the seat across from me, eyeing everything neutrally. The doors slide shut and the car jostles a bit before it begins to travel down the line. Oddly enough, even though the line goes practically straight down, the car stays level. It's a marvel Miles had this built so quickly. Then again, when your work force doesn't sleep, there isn't much you can't do. The trip down only takes a few minutes. When we make it to the bulkhead we have to wait for it to open. I remember it opening by sliding up, but now it slides to the right. I guess Miles needs it to open more quickly. I have to catch my breath when I get my first glimpse of the city inside, though. It's nothing like I remember it to be. All of the destruction and death has been removed. The once tattered buildings now resemble the buildings in Miles's memories. The air is busy with aircraft moving from one direction to another. The once severed P.C.H. now stands as its prior regal self, almost reaching the top of the dome. Its light illuminating the massive spire and shinning down on the now alive city around it. "By the stars... this is Terradisia?" Blueblood mumbles as he gawks at the city. I can only nod dumbly as I stand there with him. How could Miles have accomplish all of this in only six years? Where did he get the resources? And why would he go through all of this? This can't be just to restore his former home... could it? "May I have your autograph?" I jump slightly when a red utility bot walks up and asks me that. I stare at him, unsure why he asked that. I thought only Easy asked that. "Um... I'm in need of new clothing. Can you point me to the nearest boutique?" He stands there for a second before walking forward and pointing down the road. "Proceed down Grandeur drive and make a left on Richfront lane. Your destination will be on your left... Do you require assistance traveling there?" I look down to Blueblood, who shrugs, before nodding to Easy. "Follow me, please." We follow after him, distracted by everything around us. Every shop we pass grabs our attention immediately. It would appear as if these shops were cleaned out and ready for business, but lack any goods to sell. Empty shelves, barren racks, and vacant displays are all being kept by various utility bots. Though they are lacking in merchandise, there is an odd sense of cleanliness here. I guess with the lack of goods and the knowledge of the actual destruction, in addition to my previous experiences, I was just assuming that this place would always be the graveyard of an ancient battle. After a few blocks I start to let my pants sag a bit in an attempt to walk on them. Walking on the sidewalk is proving to be much more strenuous than it used to be. I never truly understood before, but now I can relate to why Miles continues to wear clothing in human form. Though, I do feel as if the shirt and pants are a bit much. I guess some things are just hardwired into me. "Where is everypony?" Blueblood asks, breaking me from my thoughts. "Well..." I don't know how to answer that. The population of the humans is kind of a secret with Miles. He let's the other nations run with the thought that there are millions of humans, when in reality there's only one. Well... two now. "That's a bit of a tricky question-" "The human populace has been decimated to near extinction," Easy tells him, making us both stop. Why is he answering that so easily!? "There are currently only two humans alive. Though, with proper regulations, the species may be able to rise again within the next few centuries." "P-proper regulation?" I ask, caught off guard by that. What is Miles planing exactly? "Recessive genes that could lead to disease or disability may become an issue with future generations due to the required course of action. But, the technology to ensure healthy, productive lives are still present today. Terradisian Codex dictates that it is with the utmost importance that humanity be preserved so that it may continue on indefinitely. As the protectors of humanity, we bots will dedicate ourselves to that goal. Do you wish to know more?" I try to form a response... but I can't seem to find the words for it. Is Miles really planning on having our future children become... that? How would he even do that?! Tempestive isn't even human! Or... he's not human physically, at least. His soul acts very human... is that enough? "I think we should continue. This... seems like a personal matter," Blueblood mentions. The two of them start to walk off without me, leaving me in my daze. How could Miles even come to that conclusion? Is he really that desperate to seem humanity rise again? I thought his ambitions for Terradisia were bad enough, but this... This is a whole new level of... crazy. "Queen Luna?" "No, I mean yes! I mean, coming!" I stutter out before chasing after them. I want to leave these thoughts behind, but I can't! I need to talk to him as soon as possible. The second I get back I'm calling him and setting this straight. No member of my family is going to perform such a disgusting act. I simply will not allow it to happen. Not after all those rumors of me and Celestia from the past. I try to distract myself with window shopping, but there's nothing here to look at! How is every shop here empty!? I remember there at least being remnants of merchandise left behind. Maybe all of the bots are fixing them in the back? That would make the most sense. But why fix them? Who does he plan on selling them to? Mooseden is too small of a community to have a viable market. Maybe Ponyville? But that would hurt Rarity's business immensely, and I can't see Miles doing that to her... unless she was a part of it. But I haven't heard anything of the likes from her. And she would be the one to tell me. "We have arrived." We both come to a stop before the unassuming building and stare at it for a second. Eam Voluptatem? That rings a bell, but why? Hmm... oh dear. "Um... Easy? Is there anywhere else I can get clothing? Anywhere?" I ask, slightly blushing from those memories. "All other clothing is currently undergoing repair to stylize for the Mundi Collatione. This is the last remaining option for women's clothing. The next option would be boys’ clothing, as it has not been worked on yet. But it would take some time to repair to a functional form." "What's wrong with this store? And what's the Mundi Collatione?" Blueblood asks. I grit my teeth as I try to think of a way out of this. I could just keep going in Miles's clothes, but I don't know how long I'll be in this form. Plus, I don't want to keep pulling up these heavy pants. I guess I can find a skirt and something more towards the modest side... maybe. I could at least look. "Why is this the only store that has lasting clothes?" I ask rhetorically. "After initial scans, it would appear someone set an enchantment during the Fall of Topaz to alter the flow of time within the store. For what purpose is unknown. But we are studying the spells effect to hopefully learn from it." Why would someone put such a powerful spell in here? Why this store? "I'm going to take a look inside. You two wait for me out here," I tell them before hefting my pants up and marching inside. Once inside I lock the door and let my pants drop down. It feels so foreign to wear those. The most I've ever worn was a dress or maybe one of those get ups for Miles. I could not imagine wearing pants all day long. I look around the store and note the cleaning that has occurred here. The dust and debris is gone. And all of the items have been stocked neatly on the shelves. Despite my current irritation, I still think fondly of this place. The quality time Miles and spent here was amazing, even if it revealed some demons within Miles. And myself, to an extent. I have been planning to come here to surprise him for his birthday for some time... but I'll still have to postpone that. There are more pressing matters at... hand. I go straight for the clothing aisle and start to sift through the various outfits, trying my best to find the most modest collection. It would seem that, no matter the costume, I'll have to reveal my stomach and most of my legs. That doesn't bother me, but I know it isn't modest for humans. I'll just have to hope that human sleaze will pass for Equestrian modesty. Actually... it might. I start to make a pile of clothes when something catches my eye. I don't know how it caught my eye, but it did. Sitting on the edge of the shelf is a Virgum de Marcas. I thought Miles brought that with him when we left here the first time. Curious, I go to the bar and reach out for it. When my fingers run over the smooth metal, I tense up. Last time, Soul Fire told me it wasn't my time. Is now my time? I pull it out and start to look it over. This one seems... new. The previous one had burn marks where you would put your hands, but not this one. It's just a silvery bar with etchings where my hands should go. Would it be wise to do this now? Given, I might be stuck like this for awhile. Not to mention I'll probably be human in the future as well. The only reason I wouldn't do this now would be that Miles isn't here to help... though, there isn't any way for him to help should something happen. To quote Miles, "Do or die." I take a deep breath and slide my hands to their appropriate place. I feel my grip weaken due to my nerves, but I hold on tightly regardless. I stare at the metal bar and wait for something to happen. I've seen Miles's memory of this, so I know it can take awhile. I also know that it can be very painful. Actually, with how Miles has affected my soul this will most likely be painful. Better move somewhere I won't- "AAAAAAH!" I let out a scream when the bar suddenly begins to glow cherry red. That was a lot faster than Miles. I feel the energy within me begin to be sucked within the bar, as if it was consuming it greedily. I grit my teeth and try my best to get through this. All I have to do is hold on and wait it out. Keep a tight grip and be patient. It will hurt now, but it will pass. "GAH!" I drop to my knees when the amount of energy being pulled is doubled. I can take it though. I've been through far worse to let something like this take control of me. Impressive. I blink when I hear that voice in my head. Soul Fire? I knew she would be. Who is that? Or, rather, who are you? Unconventional, but worthy. No better option... best of the worst... she'll due... for now. What of the boy? Different Cause. We'll need this one... we'll need them all. You're almost out of time, hurry! I grit my teeth as more and more voices begin to fill my head. I don't understand, who are these voices? What are they talking about? Where is all of this coming from? "AAAAAHG!" I let out another scream when all of the energy begins to rush back into me. At the same time, even more voices begin to fill my head. Each of them seem to be screaming at either me or one another. But they're all coming from the same place... Could... could it be that these are all of the Soul Fires? Miles's Soul Fire made mine, are they related. If so, then maybe these ones were the ones to make all of the prior ones... there's only one way to know for sure. "EREMITA! EREMITA, PLEASE! ANSWER ME!" Another surge of energy forces me to double over as the intensity of all the voices grows. I feel tears begin to roll down my cheek as it quickly becomes too much to bear. Then, suddenly, it all stopped. I lay onto my side and attempt to catch my breath. My vision has gone blurry, but I can still make out the broad details. I look up to see a light blue haze standing before me. At first I thought it was my Soul Fire, but that can't be. Mine's a lot darker shade of blue. "E-eremita?" One answer, but hurry. One answer? Well, that is what I asked for. I... don't know what to ask. There are plenty of things I can ask. Who was Miles's father? What is Soul Fire? Why do we have Soul Fire? Why am I worthy now, but not before? No, no I can't waste an opportunity like this. I need to ask something that can help with our future. Something that will help Tempestive. Hurry. "Why?" I ask meekly, trying to sit up to look at her. "Why all this power? What reason is there for all of this?" I don't know how I can tell, but through all of the haze and confusion, she smiled at me. She walks over to my side and keels beside me, lowering her head to be by my ear. Death. Before I could even rationalize any thoughts to that, all of the energy that was sucked from me was suddenly forced back into me. I let out another scream as dark lines begin to grow along my skin. They start at my hands and feet and etch their way along my skin. I try to watch it for a moment longer, but the pain forces my eyes shut again. I start to taste a coppery liquid in my mouth, making me let out a choked breath. A swath of blood falls out, telling me that I must have bitten my tongue pretty fiercely. The pain from the bar is so immense, I didn't even register nearly biting my tongue off. I look up to call out to Eremita for help, but she's gone. I look behind me to see the figures of Blueblood and Easy out on the street. Easy is trying to keep Blueblood from entering. He must be able to read the intense energy levels inside. I let out a sudden breath when all of the pain and growth comes to a stop. I take the lapse in pain to catch my breath, and spit out a few more globs of blood. I check over my body to see the progress. The dark lines have carved their way up my arms, stopping just shy of my shoulders. The lines on my legs have had a similar growth, ending just before my waist. At each of my hands and ankles are the magical portals that are jetting the soul energy. That was intense, but I know the next part will be worse. There's still one more to go. I brace myself as best I can for this, waiting for it to come. I'm not entirely sure how I can prepare myself for this, but anything will help. It didn't take long for the final wave to come. And when it did, I wasn't nearly as ready as I had hoped I was. It hit me like the tail of a dragon swatting away a pest. All I can really say from it was that I let out a final scream, and everything turned white. Perspective: Miles Once I had my talk with the Unfamiliar, Kileh, I make my way to the throne room to talk with Ulfric. I know what I want to say now. I'm not going to outright say it, but I hope to gear the conversation towards it. I don't doubt he'll try his best maneuvers to keep me from that point, but I know what I want to say now. The guard in front of the throne room sees me walking down the corridor and opens the door for me. Good, he knows I'm here, we can get to the point then. I march in and make eye contact with him immediately. He's sitting at his throne with his sons to his right and his advisers to the left. I don't know most of them by name, with the exception of Regina, but we've all met from time to time. I've heard tales from townsfolk mostly about them mostly, nothing out of the ordinary really. They're all either in military uniforms or expensive-looking clothes, except one griffin. He looks rather common, compared to the others. I pay them little mind though. They're not why I'm here. I stare Ulfric down as I march towards him. He's sitting with his head held high, wearing his best robes of blue and gold. He's keeping a neutral face on himself. He'll probably try to do little of the talking. I can try to bait him, but that most likely won't happen. "What? No army this time? Or are they waiting for your signal?" Skald, Ulfric's youngest son asks condescendingly. "I see your youngest still has a thing or two to learn, Ulfric," I respond when I make it to the end of the hall. I take a moment to take in my surroundings. Unlike the throne room of Equestria, the Lions-heart throne room is built in the center of the castle. Typical Griffin engineering. Put the most valuable possession in the center of their fortress. There were tapestries and various treasures on display around the area, but they've been moved to safer locations, just like the rest of the castle. Now it's just an empty hall with some torches lighting the area. "Let's not waste time with sour words," Korir says, leaning in to whisper something to Skald. He doesn't seem to like it, but he nods anyway. "We are here to discuss your invasion of the Griffin Colonies. How do you-" "Is this a trial?" I cut him off quickly, getting a scowl from him. "Do you really think you have the authority to pass judgement over me?" "You invaded ourlands. We are the keepers of the law here. You will be submit or there will be consequences," one of his advisers tells me harshly. Here's where the crossroads split. If I were to follow old Spartan policies, I'd make an example out of him. I'd take him out without a moment's thought. But this is different. Before, we had a national government to back us. We had massive public support too. Now, I don't have either of those. "You may not have known this, but the Unfamiliar and Terradisians have been at war for eons. I assaulted my enemy, just as I have before." It's true, my bots have assaulted the Unfamiliar here before. It's part of their programming really. They see Unfamiliar and they attack. But it's never been this large before. And there's never been troops on the ground. I doubt this argument will stand. "The skirmishes from before have only been tolerated because Regina has informed us that these 'machines' can't tell the difference. That, and they have only assaulted military targets. We will not stand for the targeting of civilians that are under the jurisdiction of the Griffin Colonies!" Anguin, the military adviser, exclaims. I smile at that. It came up much sooner than I had expected. "Show me the document." I demand. "Show me the document that subjugated the Unfamiliar to your rule." The room goes quiet. I knew it. The Unfamiliar would never lower themselves to being ruled by someone else, let alone a human creation. "The agreement is currently undergoing ratification in the lower courts-" "Then they aren't your people, now are they?" The room goes quiet again. A few of them are whispering to each other, but none seem to involve Ulfric. It's time to up the ante. "Now I have some... concerns of my own to bring up. Why, in all of your wisdom, have you allied yourself with the enemies of my people?" Regina steps forward from this, apparently having something to say already. "Just because you are at war with them doesn't mean we are. We invited them into our borders to aid them-" "Aid them?" I ask with a laugh. "It doesn't take an idiot to see what is happening here, Ulfric. Buying up arms, allying yourself with a militaristic force to compete with Terradisia, pushing for more food processors so you can feed your people, it would take an idiot to not know what's going on here." "And what would that be, Captain?" Skald asks smugly. I was about to go off on him when I had a sudden thought. Why all the presentation? Why deliberately bring me in here to yell and scream? If they wanted to hide this, let it go without incident, this wouldn't be the path they'd be walking right now. Why are they trying to get me to go off like this? This would only lead to... They want me to escalate things. They want to pin the start of the war on me, make me their scapegoat. This way, they could pit themselves as the oppressed victims. If they blatantly start a war then everyone else would jump them. But, with the Unfamiliar being an unknown entity, it would look as if I started the war. "Well? Captain? What exactly is happening here?" Skald asks again, getting a few of the other members to smile alongside him. I can't start this war. It would undo all of the work I've been putting into the world. There has to be another way around this. I need time to think. "How are you going to feed an army when I shut down the food processors?" I ask quickly. I need something to pin it back towards them. Anything. I wish I wasn't so tired right now. "Do you really think all of the food processed there went to griffins?" Schor, the air admiral, asks. "We've been stocking up on food since the beginning. Plus, the Kroth will be able to fix whatever you try to do." Why choose now for an alliance? Why make it present now? They went six years without being found, what makes today any different. They probably already mobilized their troops. For all I know they could be on the shores of Equestria right now. No... no, that's not it. I would have been notified if anything like that happened. What else could it be? "And the people? What happens when I start telling them what's happened here. This isn't the first time we've clashed before. The public knows about the constant war-" "All they know is that you are the puppet of Equestria and that you've been having your war on our lands." I don't know this guy. He's the one in the commoner clothing. Maybe some new politician? Maybe, I'll find out later. "So, this is it then?" This is it. I don't know what to say or how to say it. The line has been drawn, and there's nothing left to do. "Do you realize the implications of what you're asking for? A war with Terradisia... you can't win." "You don't know our resolve," Skald says proudly. "Your resolve will be torn down with automatic fire," I tell him, trying to sound as diplomatic as possible. "You are not the only one with guns-" "I am the only one with army of automatic guns. I have the technology to burn the very air away, if I so chose to. I've done the math. It would only take three to four days for me to conquer this nation-" "Don't flatter yourself. No nation would fall that quickly-" "Three... to four days," I say again, angering him further. That's when I get an idea. "So, how exactly do you see this going down? You march over to Equestria, lose out on the sun and moon, and then... what? Let Kileh take over afterwards?" No one speaks after that, making me smile. "What? Think I didn't know about that?" "It's just a name. One you probably heard when you were out with the commoners," Skald says dismissively, getting an irritated look from the commoner griffin. "You know, I spoke with him not too long ago. In your bedroom no less. We were discussing the new world order actually. We're placing bets on who will win this war and who will take over after that-" "Liar!" Skald yells, stepping towards me aggressively. "It even went as far as a temporary cease fire. That is, until someone starts the war. So, Ulfric, is this what you really want?" The room stays quiet as everyone turns to Ulfric. He simply closes his eyes and thinks to himself. Should I press the matter? No, no I shouldn't be overbearing right now. I need to let him see the pointlessness of this. It's there for him to take, he just has to accept it. "Give us a moment of silence." No one questions him. They simply bow, and leave the room. Skald pauses by me and glares at me, trying to provoke me. I stand my ground. I can't attack, not right now. Let him throw his attitude around, he won't actually do anyth- THUD I reel back when he slugs me across the chin, knocking me down. Immediately, I retaliate by lighting my hand and throwing it up, taking some of the stone flooring with me. I grab him by the throat with it and lift him off the ground. He gurgles out in rage as he tries to break free, but I only tighten the stone around his neck as I stand back up. The others have all surrounded me, demanding that I release him. I ignore them as I weave my magic through the rock. It slithers around his body until the points sharpen by his eyes. I can see the fear in him. He's a coward, pathetic at the core. "Release him!" I look to the side and see Ulfric stand. More importantly, I can see the fear. Eyes widened, stance ready to attack, breathing increased. For the first time ever, I can see something beyond the stoic leader; a father's fear. "How can you ready for war when you aren't willing to lose anything?" I ask him as I release Skald. He falls to the ground and begins coughing the air back into his lungs. His brothers rush to his side and usher him out quickly. I let them leave. "You really think you're in a position to win a war? And people call me the puppet." I laugh at that, eyeing the griffins around me. They aren't a threat to me. Ulfric, though... "We are not here trying to start a war-" "Then end your relations with the Unfamiliar. You will lose everything if you don't." I light my other hand, getting the griffins around me to back off slightly. "Is this the leader you are, Captain Eremita? Is this the kind of people Terradisians are? We have done nothing but show kindness to those who have known nothing but pain and suffering. Is there no peace between your people and theirs?" I laugh at that. "Any peace that could have been made died with their planet eons ago. They're after blood now, are you willing to pay for it? Are your sons?" "It doesn't have to be this way." "I agree. We will discuss this at the Summit meeting in one week's time. We will discuss what will happen there." He blanches at that, caught off guard. "Unlike you, I do not pass judgement over people I do not rule. The world will hear me and they will know what you are planning. It's over, Ulfric." "You think the world will turn on me just because you say a few words. Have you learned nothing in your time here? If you go to the Summit to pass judgement over me, nothing will come of it." I extinguish my hands and straighten my posture. This is unlike the Spartans of old. They would have killed Skald, Ulfric, any who sided with the Unfamiliar. But... I have to be different. That won't work here, we simply don't have the numbers to do it. And... I'm tired. "The world will hear me. After that, it will do whatever it deems necessary in response to what I say. That is the course that I must take." He thinks to himself for a moment before nodding to me. I don't return the gesture. I just turn and walk back out into the rain. I could have started a war. I could have killed Skald. I'm sure there will be repercussions for all of this, but I'll have to deal with them when they arise. I left far too much unaddressed to have left that quickly. But, I stopped the war from starting today. Or I fast tracked it to starting earlier. I won't know until next week. I look up at the clouds above me and watch as the droplets fall onto me. I should get out of this, but at this point I'll need new armor anyway. Besides, I need a moment to relax. Author's Note Cultural Reference Guide: Terradisian Archetypes
Chapter 231 Repercussions Chapter 231 Repercussions Chapter 231 Repercussions Perspective: Luna I feel a bright light burn my pupils through my eyelids for a moment. I grumble in response. It happens again, prompting me to attempt to open my eyes. Something is wrapped around my eyes, stopping me from doing so. I try to move, but the rest of my body is being restrained. In a panic, I start to fight to get free. "Please remain calm, scans are nearly complete," a metallic voice tells me, pausing me. "Who are you? Where are you?" I ask quickly, trying to calm my breath. "I am Doc, medical droid-" "Where am I?" "You are in the Topaz Hall medical center. You were in an explosion. You are being scanned for any internal damages. Please remain calm, confusion is normal after events like this. You are safe." I try to calm myself, but being tied down isn't helping any. I hear a few mechanical instruments move around before they finally click. A moment later, the restraints loosen and I remove them with my magic quickly. The bright hospital lights blind me for a second, but a few blinks later I take in my surroundings. The medical ward is exactly like I remember it from Miles's memories; light green walls, rows of beds with mechanical arms to the sides, and bright lights. In the back of the room I see a familiar brown form laying on one of the beds. He has several machines around him, but I can tell that it's Frank Moose. Why he's here, I can only guess. I drop down to my hooves and realize that I'm back in my pony form. "Please proceed with caution." I jump slightly from the bot behind me. He's a standard medical bot. The tools on his left are retracting into their slots. "Though you show no signs of internal damage, stress and high activity is ill-advised." "Um... okay." He just stands there, waiting for something to happen. I guess I can just ask something or walk away. "What happened?" "You were in an explosion." "I know that part, but... what caused the explosion?" "Only theories exist, would you like to hear?" "Yes." "Your soul had grown to tremendous levels prior to your marking. When marked, the energy within forced its way out. Your transformation was caused due to your irregular soul form. The explosion may have caused the energy within to shift in direction, causing you to transform." "The... energy within... If I were to shift it again, do you think I'd transform?" I ask, getting slightly hopeful. "I do not think, I am a machine. But, with the evidence present, it is likely that a transformation would occur. Further research is required, though. I do not advise any further explosions, as you are needed to restart the human population." Of course he brings that up, creeps. "Right, how would I change the flow of my energy though?" "A shift may occur if you were to bring a certain amount of force to either your head or chest region. This is ill advised though, as it may lead to further injury." I groan from that. There has to be another way to change forms. "Why does hitting your head even do that?" I ask out of irritation. "Based off the theories of Miles Eremita, your mind, your heart, and your soul are in a constant state of give and take. The energy flows from one point to another. Causing a shift in one area will cause a disturbance in this flow. With your irregular soul, this may explain the shifting in forms. This is only a theory, but his research is still ongoing." Hmm... that does make sense. I remember Twilight talking about how the energy within ponies and humans are different. But why is that the only way to change it? Unless- SLAM "LUNA!" I jump a bit when the doors slam open. Blueblood comes running in as several bots chase after him, attempting to apprehend him. He makes it about halfway before the bots get the jump on him though, tackling him to the ground and pinning him down. "QUEEN LUNA! WE HAVE TO LEAVE!" "This is a medical facility. You are not permitted here," Doc tells him calmly, stepping toward the commotion. "Release him... please." They release him almost immediately. Blueblood jumps to his hooves and approaches me quickly, brushing his mane back with a hoof. "What is-" "Miles is on his way here! We have to leave!" I stare at him for a second before the gravity of the situation hits me. I nod to him and start to trot towards the door, charging my horn to teleport. Just before I actually cast the spell though, he walks through the doorway. He doesn't have his helmet on, so I make perfect eye contact with him. The rest of his armor looks as if it's been melting off of him though, along with several bullet marks. We both stand here and stare at each other, both lost for words. Where do we even start? I can't tell him why I was here, not now at least. Telling him now would only complicate things. We've been trying to draw a line between him and his other form, me telling him I can change as well would only make matters worse. He's a worrier. A silent worrier that would use this as an excuse to spend even more time away from home to fight and- "Why is Blueblood here?" Miles finally asks, breaking my train of thought. "Also, why were you admitted to the E.R.? Or, better yet, why did you blow up a building?" "Um... I... you see, the thing is-" "Stop. I know that tone of voice. No lying, what happened?" "I was not going to lie!" "Luna..." He stares down at me, crossing his arms as he waits for my answer. I wasn't going to lie! I just wasn't going to tell him the whole truth. That's how he does it! "I... okay, fine. The truth. I was-" "My lady, are you sure this is the best time and place for this?" Blueblood asks, eyeing the bots. "It is. The truth is that I went to a strip club with Applejack to chase down an auditor. There has been an investigation made against Terradisia that has closed all trade with your people. It could cost the Apple family everything if nothing happens. We didn't get a chance to talk to him though, as the ponies there wouldn't let us. We made a friend there and...well... I had a few too many glasses of wine. I... was in no state to be near Tempestive... Blueblood saw this and escorted me here until I cleared my head. He was in Ponyville on business and... I'm sorry Miles." I lower my head a bit, avoiding his gaze. He's being rather stoic about this, putting me on edge slightly. It doesn't help that I'm trying to hide something from him. "... why here?" he asks after a moment of silence. "Why not go to the Apples or... anywhere else that was closer? Why Topaz?" "I... I-" "It was the drink speaking," Blueblood chimes in, stepping forward. "She was not in a stable mindset and wanted to come here for... incomprehensible reasons. I came along to make sure she was safe." Miles stares at him for a second before looking back to me. "The explosion?" he asks simply. "I... found a Virgum de Marcus. I guess...putting too much magic into it was a bad idea." The room goes quiet again. Nopony makes any movements. Even my breaths are coming out silently. Miles brings a hand to his chin as he thinks to himself. "Are you hurt?" he asks quietly. "They already checked me and I'm fine." "Okay. Good... let's take this up somewhere a bit more private. Bot, take Blueblood back to the Topaz transit entrance. I'll be in touch later. Follow me, Luna," he turns and walks out of the room. I look to Blueblood for a moment before mouthing my thanks to him. He simply bows his head and follows the bots out. I take a deep breath and walk after Miles, keeping my head held high. I'm not a little filly. I shouldn't let anypony make me feel this way... even when it's mostly my fault. I follow him to a mico platform where we teleport to what looks like a locker room. It's a long hall with tall metal lockers making the aisles. Between them are long stone benches. I don't ask or say anything. I want to let him speak first, hear what he has to say. He goes to one of the lockers where he begins to unclasp his armor, having a bit of difficulty doing so. Is he injured? He gets his left bracers off and lets them drop to the ground, sighing contently afterwards. "I'm sorry for putting you on the spot there. That was unfair of me to do," he says quietly before starting the next bracers. "It's... okay. I understand that it might have been a lot to take in. What happened to your armor?" He gets the second set off and lets it drop loudly. I use my magic to do the chest piece quickly, gasping when I see his back. There are a few large, dark bruises on his lower back and shoulders. He turns around and shows me the one taking up the left of his chest. "Miles! What happened!" I light my horn and start to heal him, seeing the bruises slowly begin to shrink in size. "We- unf, assaulted an Unfamiliar settlement. They were- sss, resilient." He takes a seat on the bench, putting his hands on his knees as he waits for me to finish. I bring my hooves to his back and start to check his ribs, making sure they're still in one piece. "A settlement... you attacked civilians?" I ask quietly, almost dropping my spell. I... don't believe it. He wouldn't do that. "Heh, with how they fought, that was no civilian settlement." He's trying to make light of this, but it's not working. I bring a hoof over to his cheek where I force him to look at me. He stares back into my eyes as I let my worry through. He simply closes his eyes and leans into my hoof, letting out a long breath. "What would you have me do?" "Miles... you're better than that-" "Not when it comes to them. Never when it comes to them." "Miles." I drop my spell, about halfway through, and force him to look back at me. "You have to be better than that. Genocide is not the answer-" "I spoke with their leader," he cuts me off, catching me off guard. "Kileh. I spoke with him, even made a bet. He thinks the griffins will win the war. He believes that whoever wins this war will lead to a new world order. He knows I'm backing the Equestrians-" "Miles-" "Whoever wins the war, wins the planet. That's what he said, between us and them. Winner takes all. They probably already have plans to kill you and Celestia. Cadance, Twilight... Tempestive-" "Miles-" I try to be firmer, but he continues anyway. "The goblins are invading the Southern Badlands, the griffins are mobilizing for war, and no one - no one - is taking any of this seriously! They sided with my people’s sworn enemies and try to pin the war on me! They want me to be the scapegoat! They make the moves towards war, and I take the blame! If they really want, I could just invade them today! Why am I the only one to take on these responsibilities!? Why am I th-" SMACK I bring my hoof back and bring it across his face again. SMACK I choke as tears start to fall down my cheeks. SMACK He doesn't say anything. He doesn't do anything. He just sits there and lets me hit him. A few tears roll down his face and he grasps the bench tightly, but he doesn't do anything. SMACK "Stop... just stop," I beg him, breaking down further. "I tried to help you, I wanted to help you. And you pushed me away. You just... you just wouldn't let me help you." "Luna... I can't let you-" "Why!?" I yell, stepping away from him. "Do you think I'm weak? That I can't stomach the pain?" "It's not like that!" Miles yells back, standing to face me. "Then what is it? Hm? Am I just your trophy wife to keep safe at home? Am I incapable of being of use beyond your cock sleeve!?" "You are not a trophy Luna. You are my wife!" "Then treat me like it and talk to me!" I yell, stomping a hoof down. The lights around us flicker as my magic begins to rise in power. But neither of us back down. "Luna... I... I'm not strong enough... I can't... I..." "Strong enough? You made the Elements of Harmony! You destroyed Discord! You destroy ships with a single blow of your weapons! You are a Spartan! You are the strongest of them all-" "AND I CAN'T PROTECT YOU!" he screams at the top of his lungs, pausing me. "I CAN DO ALL OF THOSE THINGS BECAUSE I STAND ALONE WHEN I DO THEM! I can't keep my eyes everywhere, Luna. If... if something happened to you... and I could have done something... I... I don't know if I could go on-" "Miles, we have a son! You would go on! You would have too! It's not just me-" "Who else could I trust to watch over him, Luna? We let Celestia have him for an hour and he nearly killed someone. I'm not worried about losing Tempestive because I know you would never let that happen. You and I, we'd die before we'd let something happen to him. But you... I can't... it's not the same, Luna. Out there, fighting... I need something worth coming back to. If I lose that... what am I fighting for?" "And what about me? Am I supposed to just accept that you're the one who has to go out and fight? Haven't you ever thought that I'd be just as devastated as you if I lost you?" He drops to the bench and buries his face in his hands, trying to control his breathing. "It's like you said. I have the strength to keep fighting-" "You're one man, Miles! Look at you! I'm amazed you were even standing, let alone walking around! You can't keep doing things like this! It's going to destroy you!" I rush over to him and bring my hooves to his hands, holding them tightly as I try to think of what else I can say. "Miles... please!" "... if I don't, then who?" he asks quietly. "Storm-" "Storm isn't ready to lead yet. And the others won't follow him as they do with me." "Then... lead from here-" "I can't. Luna, I can't do that. Look, I'm sorry. I really am! But this is how it has to be-" "No! I refuse to believe that! There has to be another way! There has to be a solution that... that..." I go silent when an idea pops in my head. It's a last ditch effort, but it's the only one that could work. "Get me pregnant." "... what?" he asks in astonishment, looking up at me. "Get me pregnant. That'll put you on paternity leave and give us time to think of a solution. You could still lead, but you'll be home. Miles," I bring his hands together and hold them to my chest, looking earnestly into his confused eyes. "Please, get me pregnant. Please." "..." "..." "..." "..." "Luna... avoiding the problem isn't going to fix it." I feel my heart give out when he refuses. "It could work! We could make it work, Miles! We just... we just need a little more time. Please, Miles." I begin to cry deeply as I try to hold onto his hands. There has to be a way for this to work. He just has to let me help him. "We can't go on the way things are... I can't... we..." "Are... are you suggesting... what I think you are?" He tries to look me in the eyes, but I avoid his gaze quickly. He yanks his hands back and stands up, seething with rage. "Don't you dare do that." "What choice have you given me?" I demand, standing to glare back at him. "Threatening to end our marriage! Is that really what you think would fix this?" he demands, yelling. I flare my wings when he takes a step forward, both of our rage spilling over. "I wouldn't have to if you'd just let me help you-" "I CAN'T LET YOU DO THAT! THAT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!" "IT IS NOT GOING TO BE THE SAME EITHER MILES! IT CAN'T! I WON'T LET IT!" He grips his hair and walks past me, lost for words in his anger. I let out a scream of frustration and begin to kick the locker behind me. I kick and I kick and I kick until I feel the metal door meet the interior wall, and then I kick it again. Everything falls silent as we both begin to wind down. I close my eyes and count to ten. It's an old habit I would do back when I was trying to fight off the thoughts from Nightmare Moon. I haven't had to use these since then. I thought I never would. "Luna." I ignore him as I try to force myself past five, but my tears won't let me. "Luna... we just fought." "I... I know." I sniffle out my response. Six! I can do this, just keep it together. I'm in control... "We never fight." I let the room stay silent. Se... sev... He can think it over himself all he wants. That's what he does! Seven! "Luna... I'm sorry-" "Sorry isn't going to cut it!" I yell back at him. Eight! "Things have to change, Miles! Our family cannot go on like this! Tempestive needs his father, and phone calls aren't going to cut it! And whether you like it or not, I'm a part of this nation too! I have every right to be a part of it!" "Luna..." He's going to fold, he always folds! He'll say something and walk out of the room! That's what he does! He deludes himself with the idea that he's 'protecting' me! He's not protecting me. He's stifling me. Nine! "You're right." "..." "..." "..." "You're right Luna. I... I let my fears get the best of me. I'm afraid, Luna. I know what's out there and I can't stop it. I may have all of this power, but I can't guarantee your safety. Or anyone's for that matter. Look what happened to Frank. I step away for a little bit and he lost his leg. I'm not ready for you to be in that kind of danger, Luna. Let alone Tempestive. But... you're right. I can't keep you locked away at home... and I need to be there for our son too... I'm sorry." Ten. I turn to face him and make eye contact with him. We stare at each other for a moment before we rush into each other's arms. I don't know how we're going to fix this, but we're going to do it together. No more fighting, no more secrets... "Miles." I say quietly, getting him to hum back into my mane. "I have something to tell you, something really big. No one is in danger, but... it's very big news. I-" BEEEP BEEEEP BEEEEP A loud alarm sounds off before I could finish what I wanted to say. Miles jumps to his feet and rushes to his locker. He has to use his magic to rip the dented metal off before grabbing his radio and yelling something into it. The sirens stop, but I don't hear what was said over the radio. "What was that, Miles?" I ask him. He grips the sides of the locker and leans forward, paler than ever. "Miles?" "Order 22, enemies on surface," he tells me quietly. “What does that mean? Miles?” I ask him as he just stands there in a daze. I step forward to try to shake him out of it, but he runs off before I could. Slightly confused, I chase after him. He makes it to a mico platform where he teleports away. After all of that, he leaves me behind anyway! Did nothing I said get to him? Flash I look back to the station and stare at Miles as he stands there, breathing deeply. We keep eye contact, waiting for something to happen. He steps off the platform and kneels before me, grabbing my hoof in his hand. “It’s not going to be safe out there,” he tells me quietly, rubbing my hoof with his thumb. “I know that.” “You could die… just like your father did,” he looks away for a moment, gripping my more tightly. “I can’t stop that from happening, Luna. I have no control over that. Is this what you really want?” “... Miles.” I bring my hoof out from his grasp and up to his chin. I force him to look up to me and bring my hoof around to his cheek. He nuzzles himself into my hoof, closing his eyes with a deep breath. “My father stood before you. Let me stand beside you.” “There’s no going back,” he warns me. “You can’t undo what happens here, and you certainly can’t hide from it. Are you absolutely sure you are prepared for this?” I lean forward and press my forehead against his, gripping the back of his neck lightly. He mimics me and we just sit there for a moment, resolving ourselves for what might occur. “As long as we’re together, we can face anything. Let’s do this Miles.” He looks up to me and nods before rising fully. He steps aside and motions for me to take the teleporter. I take one last breath before I step onto it. He is right about one thing: there is no going back from this. Flash
Chapter 232 The Treaty of Crescent CoveChapter 232 The Treaty of Crescent Cove Perspective: Miles With how quickly I had to leave, I didn't get to change out my armor for new, undamaged pieces. Getting it back on was problematic, but I was able to attach it about halfway to the launching bay. Luna's with me. I don't know how to feel about that. I've fought with her in the past, even been on the receiving end of it once. But... this is war. There are too many unknown factors that could happen. Snipers, grenades, her own spells could blow up in her face! I can't loose her, but I can't turn her away either. "Infantry transit air-unit 2-2-7 is ready for departure. What air detail would you like?" A maintenance bot asks as we walk off the large mico platform. The launch bay is alive with mechanical life. Bots and cranes are moving all over the tunnel entrance as ships are loaded for what might happen. There are several Aquilas already prepped on the sidelines waiting for orders. "Delay an Aquila escort by forty-five seconds. Thirty seconds after that, launch for quarantine around the project L.Z. Bring in all active Spartans as quickly as possible as well. If fighting breaks out, give the order for first wave assault," I order as we walk to the I.T.A. This one is being outfitted with several more weapons than usual. Mainly sidecar guns for the pilot, but we're leaving with four side machine guns as well. "Of course, sir. Any further orders?" I look over to Luna for a second before shaking my head to the bot. "Why are you delaying your defenses?" Luna asks as we step inside the I.T.A. We both stay standing inside, though I grab one of the hand rails above for support. "The report read that a small number of vehicles are moving in. This isn't an invasion force. That means there is information to be gained here. How quick we react, how we react, what are our procedures, there is a lot to be learned here. We have to misguide them as much as possible, but also be ready for whatever they have planned." She nods to that, looking quietly out at the busy launch bay. I turnback to her and look her over once more. No armor, no weapons, all she has with her is her magic, and that might not be enough. I quickly move to the computer console in the center of the ship and remove one of the gems from it. I take a seat and begin to strap myself in as the ship begins to seal itself up. "What are you doing?" Luna asks as she takes the seat next to me, following my example for security. "You don't have any armor so I'm re-purposing this gem to act as a shield for you. It's not much, but it'll do. "I was going to summon my armor when we left the city." I stop myself from enchanting to give her a look. "We both have armor... we just never use it." "Well, it's better than nothing. Is it enchanted?" I ask as I start to work on the gem. It's not the strongest gem, but it'll be able to stop small arms fire at least. "Yes... though I will admit that they are old enchantments." I nod to that, falling out of the conversation to focus on enchanting. "We also need to send a letter to Celestia so she knows what's going on. Are there bots nearby to send a message?" "Your message has been delivered," a bot from up front tells her. "Launch in five seconds. Four, three, two, one, take off." We each take a glance to each other during the countdown, speaking to each other without saying a single word... Are you going to be okay? Are you? I can do this. I know. We can do this. I know. Why are you scared? ... because I have to be. We plaster into the backs of our seats as the ship takes off. I close my eyes and distract myself with my enchantment. She doesn't get it, though, I suppose that's the way it's supposed to be. Civilians aren't supposed to understand the fear that comes with duty. We take the bullets so they don't have to. I know what she's capable of. I know what we could accomplish together, but she doesn't get the fear. She's not a Spartan, and asking her to understand something she's never known is unfair, but she's putting herself in this position. She won't ever understand fully... and that's okay. She'll never understand why I'm scared. Perspective: Celestia "... and then they become the leader of that Keksh," the Nether Walker explains to me enthusiastically. I nod to him and continue to jot down notes. There is so much to put down, and we're only skimming the surface! I wish Twilight was here to help with this! She takes the best notes, but I'll have to make due for now. "Amazing. Now, the colors-" "Loshni!" "Yes, Loshni (loh-sh-nee), how did you come to pick those colors?" I unroll a new scroll and start to write. I had three meetings today that I've blown off for this, and I think I'll blow off the rest of the week if I can! "Purple and gold... eeeh... it came to me in a dream-" "You picked the colors?" I ask quickly, getting him to chuckle and nod. I feel like a filly, asking questions before they're answered, but I don't care. This is knowledge that I may never get the chance to hear again! "Yes, in a dream of mine, well before my ascension. I was in a lake... lake? ... Yes! A lake! I was floating, down the current, and the sky was a deep purple. Everything around me, deep purple. I came to a rest on the shore and I saw a land, rich in life. Plants, animals, life as far as the eye could see. I crawled up the beach and dug a small hole. I let my breath into the hole, and a small golden plant began to grow. From there, I brought my people down the lake and made them a home there. It was hard, and many would not make the passage, but we found our land of life. Because of my dream, we mark ourselves with these colors." "Fascinating." I feel like Twilight. "Is there anything else you can remember about your home?" "... home?" His question catches me off guard slightly. "Um... that was your home, right? The place you resided in before you left your world?" He thinks about it for a moment before chuckling again. "I am apologize. No, no, the land of life was not on our home world." He laughs again, confusing me further. "I have not found the place of my dreams. The Nether Speaker at the time simply... eeeh... understood? There was something is my dream she believed, so she... eeeeh... took me in?" "She became your mentor?" I ask, getting him to tilt his head a bit in thought. "Eeeeh... she was... hmm... As Captain Miles has put it, we shared DNA-" "She became your wife after a single dream?!" He chuckles again, rubbing the back of his neck. I shake my head and keep jotting down notes, this is too much! "Sorry, but there is so much to take in from this. Was this something normal? Or was she radical in her choice? Was there any objection?" "Heh, if there was objection, we were too busy to hear it." I write that down, pausing when I catch his drift. "You are blushing-" "A-am not!" I tell him quickly, avoiding his gaze. He laughs at me, making my face heat up more. "Are the leaders here so easily bothered? Have you not built your Keksh?" I blush at that, trying to think of a quick way to change the subject. "I-I, well, that is, we... um... the thing is, I follow a life of abstinence-" "What is that?" he asks eagerly. I stare at him a moment before laughing it off. "Anyway, let's try another topic. Are all of the Keksh leaders-" "I am sorry, but what is abstinence? I do not know this word. Is it... offensive?" I pause again, lost for words. Is he trying to tease me? Or does he genuinely not know what that word means? "It means that I refrain from sexual activities. Now, why don't you tell me about-" "Why?" he asks, confused. "It is a simple act of life, yes? Why would you fight nature... it is nature!" I let out a breath as I shake my head at him. Sadly, this is not the first time I've had this conversation. Even more saddening, it will not be the last. "I refrain from those acts for several reasons. The main reason is that I am a public figure head. I lead this nation, and in doing so, I keep my focus on my subjects. I refrain from those acts because I believe that they are not necessary to make me happy, that I can go without them and live a fulfilling life, and that I will be free to come to that decision when the time is right. I do not need it, and I don't much desire it. I have lived for several thousand years without even a moment's thought towards that, and look at me now." I smile to him and cross my legs, letting him think it over. He stares at me for a moment, mulling over everything I just said. "The guard, the one at the door, he fancies you. I can leave and be back in a moments notice-" "No! I am not lying... did you not just hear me!? And why would you say that about Morning Star?! He's been my personal guard for years!" "That explains it," he mumbles, making me go wide eyed. "He's married! He has four foals! He... anyway! I am-" "He looks at you like a... like a... mmm..." he trails off in thought. I scoff again and start to go through my scrolls. This is not happening. I need to get this discussion back under control. "You are tall, yes. He sneaks glances, but, they are... distant. Like a child looking at treats through the window, yes?" "... what?" "He has the lost heart... no... his feelings are... eeeeh, not complete? No... he loves, but is without. He settled, but wishes. Call him in, talk, lay, I will be back-" "That is not happening!" I cut him off firmly. He stares at me for a second before shifting onto his knees and bowing his head to the floor. "Forgave me. I only had life in mind. Please forgave me." I bite my lip for a second before letting out a long breath. This is just a cultural misunderstanding, that's all. "I forgive you. But..." I pause for a second. Is there any reason not to tell him this? I hesitated, which is my gut telling me there is something I'm forgetting. But... I trust him. He is noble and honest. A bit forthcoming, but he's earned my trust at the least. "Alicorns... are not normal." "Oh?" I nod to him, setting aside my scrolls and quills. He sits back up and puts his entire focus on me, intent on hearing everything I have to say. "Well... alicorns are a combination of the three races, sort of. But, there are some drawbacks from all of that inherent prowess. We can fly for longer, but our feathers grow slower. Our magic is more powerful, but the drain is more demanding. And we have inner strength that holds us together... but our heat is selective." "I do not understand." "Well... heat is when a female pony's body is ready to reproduce, create life. For most ponies it happens around once a month starting around the age of ten. Not for alicorns, though. We have to have a greater connection to our significant other to even begin our heat." "So... you cannot become pregnant until you meet your Niphil (Neh-f-ill), your... mmm.. the closest word that works is wife, but it is not the same, I think. The one you devote yourself to in life and nether.The one you claim and are claimed by... eeeeeh, the word works, yes?" "Spouse, husband, special somepony, there are several words to describe it." I tell him, nodding slowly. "Then... why not look for your Niphil? Do you not wish to find him?" I take a moment to consider his question. There was a time when I thought I found him. But... he was not ready... and I was so young... "Do not be sad." "Excuse me?" He chuckles at me, leaning forward to wipe a tear from my cheek. I blink a few times in surprise before I begin to wipe my eyes clear. Where did that come from? I've thought of him before, why is now so different? "You will find your Niphil, just as I will find the land of life from my dreams. There are many lakes to follow, but you will not travel by standing still. Go down the current, and find your life." "It is not that simple," I tell him, getting a confused look in response. "Once an alicorn starts heat, they only get that time to become pregnant. It'll last for about.... twenty years, give or take. After that... that's it." "Oooh... you are afraid that you will find him, begin this heat, and lose out on it." I shake my head at that, silencing him. "I am sad because I believe I have already found my one, but he is already gone." I let it stay at that. There is so much more to it than that, but that is for another time. "I am sorry. I did not mean to sour the conversation with my own personal issues." "Do not be sorry, Celestia. Matters of the heart are the most important. We Kroth follow our hearts with total conviction. Why else would we fight, yes? Losing your life; a loved one, a home, it is powerful. Do not let it form you, yes? Rise above, and flow down your own lake. Even if the rocks and the current shake you from time to time, you have to travel, yes?" I smile to him, receiving one in return. "Thank you. One would think a thousand years would have healed this already." We both share a chuckle. "Time is an illusion. The heart cares not for it. But, our minds are strong too. Will it to flow, and dwell no longer on... what was his name?" I let out a hum at that, thinking fondly of him. "Promise not to laugh." He nods eagerly to me, leaning forward and smiling widely. "Starswirl the Bearded-" "Princess Celestia!" a guard announces from behind the door. "A bot is here to deliver a message to you." "Send him in." The Nether Walker and I share an uneasy look as we rise to greet the bot. It's one of those ones with the shield and sword, making me slightly nervous. "Speak." "An urgent message from: Luna, Tia, it's me. A large force of Kroth are moving towards Equestrian territory. Miles and I are moving to meet them. I don't want to make any promises, but we will hold to the ceasefire for now. I need you to go to Ponyville and watch after Tempestive. I don't know what they want, but I have a bad feeling about this. Our meeting point seems to be at Crescent Cove. I'll contact you as soon as possible. Wish us luck." I stand up and start to head towards the door when I stop and look back to the Nether Walker. He's just sitting there, lost in a daze. It didn't even cross my mind how this information would come across for him. These are his people, and they're in danger. But, that's my brother and sister going to fight them. Except, they aren't. "Do you know of this ceasefire?" I ask him. He slowly shakes his head, still deep in thought. "I must go to protect my family, should the worst occur. I think it would be wise for you to do the same." "But... I am your prisoner-" "Then, as my prisoner, I demand that you head straight to Crescent Cove." He looks up to my in confusion. I simply smile back to him and tilt my head for a moment. "Crescent Cove is due east of here. It is a small town, but I think you will be able to find it." "Why are you doing this? Is not your Keksh meeting there?" "Isn't yours?" We stare at one another before he closes his eyes and disappears from the room. I stare at the spot where he was sitting before I head to leave. I must be with my family, just as he needs to be. "Princess?" The guard on my left inquires as I march out of my chambers and towards the rear exit. I take a glance at the unicorn behind me before looking forward again. "How adept are you at teleporting?" I ask formally. "I am proficient enough to keep pace, if only for a short while," he responds formally. "As am I," the other one reports. "Good, then keep up... oh, and Morning Star?" I stop to look back at him. They both halt and stand up straight. Just go with the flow, huh? I lean in and whisper into his ear, "try and keep your eyes from wandering too long, understood?" "... P-Princess! I-I um... it was never my- I would never-" "Never? Then that's a shame, isn't it?" He gawks at me, lost for words. "To Ponyville, then?" "YES MA'AM!" They both yell, though Morning Star is almost all red. I chuckle to myself for a moment. I haven't felt that silly since... since that one day. But, as our good friend would say; "Allons-y!" Perspective: Miles It took my the entire trip over to get the enchantment done and embedded into Luna's armor. Oddly enough, I've never actually seen her armor before. It's plated steel that's been tinted light blue and deep purple. The purple parts seem to be the heavy parts, like the chest piece and helmet, while the light blue parts are the minor connecting sections. Her helmet forces her hair back into a ponytail and has a pointed sapphire spire before her horn. The armor is light and seems to be aimed at being as aerodynamic as possible. Not something I would go for, but it's too late for that. "Why do you keep eyeing my armor?" she asks me quietly. "If you can call it that. It only covers your body and hooves, your legs are mostly exposed. Not to mention your wings are out in the open!" I complain, making her roll her eyes. "It was made so I could fly more easily. My ability to take to the skies are far more valuable than extra pieces of metal." I go to say something, but stop myself. There's no reason to drag it out any further. I don't have anything to replace it, so it'll have to do. "I can see them." I stand up and move towards the cockpit. Ahead of us, still racing over the ocean, is the opposing force. Each of the eight ships appear to be made of bronze with jets of red energy trailing behind them. They're flying in a diamond formation with what appears to be some sort of infantry transit in the back. It's a long cylindrical vehicle that has its wings fixed at the front and curve all the way towards its back. The fighter escorts are exactly what I remember them, back when they first appeared. How many of them actually got off that ship? How many of them will I have to face till this ends? "Radio them to halt and-" "No!" Luna cuts me off, stepping between me and the pilot. "The Kroth are vulnerable to radio frequencies. Send a white smoke canister to a meeting location... there! Just north of the settlement." I stare at her for a moment before I look to the pilot and nod to him. I almost made the same mistake my people made... THUNK A canister pops out from beneath us and races towards the small clearing down below. I look out to the incoming ships and wait for their response. The second I see a grey trail I'll have to throw my shield up. Luna can teleport us then. From there we'll have to make a mad dash for the nearby forest for cover, assuming Luna can't just teleport us again. Their numbers aren't that large, we shouldn't lose too many bots from this- THUNK I watch in astonishment as a trail of white smoke races from the lead aircraft towards our smoke canister. It takes me a moment to fully register what just happened. First peaceful contact with an alien species... well, relatively peaceful. "I want a perimeter set based on that location," I command the bot before me. "Keep a tight grip and don't let up. Any ground forces that land must be cataloged and watched. We're maintaining F.W.F.U. protocols, let them be as aggressive as they want. Only when they are intent on destruction are you to engage, understood?" "Processing... processing... orders have been made to all units. Landing in thirty seconds." I nod to him and look back to Luna one last time. We share a scared look before nodding to each other, somehow understanding. We race towards the landing zone, quickly meeting the enemy vessels. Any support we had traveling with us each race around the air, each attempting to gain superiority over the enemy forces. I can see several Aquilas landing around us, dropping troops off to set up a perimeter. For every Unfamiliar ship here, two Aquilas chase after them. The air becomes loud with the roars of afterburners and screeching jets. As we near the ground, dust is thrown into the air. I wait until I feel the ship shake against the ground before leaping out, waiting for something to happen. An attack, warning shot, anything. When the dust begins to settle I turn back and assist Luna out of the ship. A second wave of dust washes over us. I go to grab my pistol, but stop when Luna grabs my hand. I nod to her, moving my hand away. Old habits, I guess. I step forward until I have a visual of the ship before me. The large infantry ship is sitting before us, powering down. The front of the ship is facing us, giving us a view into the cockpit. I can only see one pilot, but it looks as if several people can fit in there. Are they undermanned, or just trying to appear fewer? The bottom of the cockpit drops down into a ramp way, revealing Kileh. He has four guards with him, each of them in Terradisian armor that has been painted in various colors. Red and white, purple and gold, blue and green, orange and black, and finally Kileh in silver and copper. They walk down the ramp and form a line opposite of Luna and I. From behind, a row of Legion bots do the same for us. I take another glance around and note all of the air activity. Several of the jet are still racing around, but I can see several of them going to land. One of them even drop troops off, though they're quickly surrounded by dozens of Legions bots. The nearby village is buzzing too. Several griffins are in the air, trying to get a view. I remember this town. Small port town mainly inhabited by griffins. I wonder if it had any influence with their meeting here? "Here we are," Kileh mentions, stepping forward. "The future order. Kroth and human. Fitting, isn't it?" "For a supposed ceasefire you sure are making it hard not to attack-" I start to say, but stop when Luna kicks the back of my leg. "Right... why are you here?" "Isn't it obvious?" he asks, taking another step forward. "Did you really think I would leave our ceasefire to mere words? I am here to create the articles to our pact. We mustn't let only our actions guide us, but our words too. Are you truly an advocate for peace? Or, were those merely sweet little lies to escape?" I glare at him, not fully knowing what he means. He has human magic, but if he's talking about what I think he's talking about- "Why have you invaded Equestrian territory?" Luna demands in an authoritative voice. "Apologies, Moon Princess, we simply thought that the peace loving ponies would facilitate us-" "You have the ability to communicate without force. You could have sent an emissary to Canterlot to set up any diplomatic actions. Your arrival with armed soldiers is hardly peaceful, isn't it?" He chuckles at that, taking another step towards us. "Do you know who you stand beside? The Lost Spartan is not someone to be trifled with. He destroyed our flagship with a single wave of his hands, toppled skyscrapers with his voice, and made the very will of humanity into a weapon. Such a person is not to be dealt with lightly, would you not agree?" I get two of those references, but I've never used my voice to knock over skyscrapers... have I? "I know the deeds the man beside me has committed. I know not the deeds of you or any of your Kroth. I can only stand by what I know. Why have you invaded Equestria?" Good girl. Push him, make him pull all of his cards now. "This is hardly an invasion force. Unless this is all it takes to strike fear into the Equestrians." That's good. Teasing. He has no actual argument, not now at least. Time to chime in. "Fear isn't the enemy here, just its tool." I chime in, taking a step forward. "You want me to make a pact for peace, then prove your commitment to it. Send your troops back-" "And so will he." Luna cuts me off, stepping slightly before me. "Neither of you have the authority to occupy any Equestrian space as of right now. If either of you truly stand for peace, you will back down immediately." Luna... what the fuck are you doing? Well, I guess she's trying to remain as neutral as possible, but what the serious fuck? "Very well, on the Queen's order?" Kileh asks me. I glare back at him, though my helmet hides it. He called her Queen. It's not much really, it was made public after all. It's still disconcerting to see first hand how connected he is in the world. Maybe it shouldn't be so surprising. Maybe I just don't want him knowing anything about my family. Hard to say. "Very well, call your soldiers back now and once they are gone, we shall continue with our peace talks," Luna commands, taking an authoritative tone with us. Kileh raises a hand, getting one of the guards behind him to radio in an order. It's almost like clockwork, seeing all of the vessels suddenly drop down, gather troops, and head off shore. I still don't trust it, but I'll at least have a count from all of the bots afterwards. That way I'll know how many stayed behind. "All bots, report back to the city," I command, getting similar results. All of the Aquilas quickly gather their troops and fly back to Topaz. I motion to the few around me to stay though, getting a quizzical look from Luna. "I assume personal guards will be allowed. Or shall all of our guards leave?" "These are not my guards. They are representatives of the last remaining Kroth Keksh. They have a right to be here," Kileh tries to argue. I look over to Luna and watch her think it over. Don't fuck me over on this one. I can't keep you safe if I'm outnumbered five to one. "This is a meeting between leaders. If they stay, these bots can stay as well." Fair enough. I look back to Kileh and try to get a read on him. He seems impassive about it, or am I bad at reading him? It's hard to tell, I haven't caught him in a direct lie yet. "Very well, shall we begin?" Quick to answer, them leaving must not be an option. "Very well. My assumption is that you are here to solidify our previous ceasefire. Am I mistaken?" In the distance I can see all of the aircraft that were fighting for territory leaving. Just as quickly as they showed up, they're gone. Hopefully none of their soldiers were able to sneak past the bots. "I think you know why I am here," he says with a smirk. "I am here to forge our words." "Ha!" I shake my head at that. He can't be serious, he can't be! "Captain," Luna starts, but I cut her off. "Do you really think I'm that stupid? Or are you that desperate?" Luna gives me a confused look, not understanding what he's asking. "I will never forge words with the likes of you! Did you really think I would just agree to that? Really!?" "I would think that you would take the lives of those you serve seriously-" "I have no reason to speak with you if this is the best you have to show," I tell him, taking a step towards him. "I outnumber you. I out-skill you. All you have is a nation to hide in and even that won't last." "Are you so sure?" he asks, trying to get cocky. "I am," I respond confidently. "The griffins can't sustain an occupation here. An assault force would be pushed back and eventually defeated. The world would turn on them as well, even with how divided it is. You won't win. You can't win! Why are you even here?" He smiles again, taking a step towards me. We're face to face now, though I am a fair bit taller than him. We stare back at one another, unmoving. Unflinching. Patient. "You humans, you all think the same. Victory, defeat, you live in absolution. I don't need to win. I just need to not lose. That's the difference between you and I. You need to eradicate me. It's what you were made for. You can't go on without knowing that all of us are gone. Because of that, you will never win. Even if only one Kroth makes it to the end, I will have my victory. It may not be a true, absolute, victory; but it will be enough to destroy you. Do you really think that we're only in the Griffin Colonies? Do you really think we're not already here? But I have to thank you for your words yesterday, Captain Miles Eremita. Without them, I wouldn't have had this idea of mine. Victory without victory. What an inspiration you were." We both go silent again. As much as it pains me to admit it, he's right. I have to destroy them all. I couldn't stay sane if even one of them got away. The idea that even one of them, lurking in the shadows, ready to kill my family... And he has to be bluffing about having people here. I would have detected them crossing over... wouldn't I? At least in Ponyville I would. I don't think he knows I'm the King, so that would keep Celestia safe. I have eyes all over Ponyville, I'd see him coming. But they wouldn't even need to be in Ponyville to strike, would they? A chemical attack from upwind would kill hundreds. A missile strike, super archaic drop, a sniper... There are too many variables to be able to leave even one of them unchecked. He's right. To win, I'd have to destroy each and every one of them. All he has to do is keep one of them alive. How am I going to do this? How am I going to be sure? "There is one thing I don't understand," I tell him as my mind races through the possibilities. "The ceasefire was to protect civilians. Now that you've told me all this, why would I agree to the terms any longer? What's to keep me from invading the G.C. right now and sweeping you all off the planet?" He gives a small smirk. Is this his trump card? "You know just as I do that the victor of this war will determine the new world order. Should my griffins claim this land, we Kroth will take over. Should your ponies find victory, humanity will hold the upper hand. For us to have a true victory we need to have a population to grow. That is why we need this, you and I. If either of us are to continue, we need to be able to grow. If we fight as we did before, we will wipe ourselves from existence. We need guidelines to follow if either of us are to win. There has to be a line in the sand if we are to continue. Do you not agree, Queen Luna?" He steps closer to her, smirking down at her. Luna raises her head higher, trying to maintain herself. "What say you?" "You are mistaken to think Equestria so weak. Mightier adversaries have sought to destroy us before, and they all failed. Just as you will." That's my girl, stick to your guns. "I have read your history, you have never faced something like this before. Be weary, Queen. Times are changing." "A fair warning for all, Kileh." I jump slightly from the voice behind me. I spin around and find the Nether Walker behind me. The bots at my side jump into action, pointing their blades at his throat in a moment. "Father!" The purple and gold Kroth yells from the other line, attempting to run over. The others hold him back, yelling at him in their language. "Why are you here?" I ask him, getting in his face. I place my hand on my revolver, ready for anything. "I was given permission to come." Fucking dammit, Celestia! What in the world were you thinking!? "I am a leader of the Kroth, of sorts. I have a right to be here-" "Are you still my prisoner?" I ask him, making him frown. "Then know your place!" "His place is here with us!" Kileh demands, turning away from Luna. "Keep your word and release him!" "We agreed to not kill civilians. If he's a leader than he's fair game-" "You motherless bastard!" the Kroth being restrained yells. I feel a pulse of anger go through me. Without a second’s thought, I pull my revolver out and press it to his head, looking back to that same Kroth. "You only need one, right?" I ask, meeting his scared glare. "Captain!" Luna yells, getting my attention. "Do not forget yourself." I glance over to her, seeing the fear in her. In her stance, in her voice, in her eyes. I lower my pistol, thinking. There has to be a way around all of this. There has to be. "I have a proposition," the Nether Walker suggests, stepping between all of us. "This war has been long. And yet, here we are. The end is near, we all know that. For this last push, let us become better than our predecessors and set our own rules. These rules: One; no harm shall intentionally be brought to civilians. Two; any that surrender, do so fully. That, when they surrender, they forfeit their rights as a soldier and become a civilian. Three; the preservation of the world and its inhabitants shall not be forgotten. No super drops, nuclear weapons, chemical based weapons, or terraforming. And finally, Four; That at the end of this war, let it end. No mass genocide, no executions, nothing but the preservation of life. What say you, Miles?" he asks as he extends his hand towards me. "Father!" the Kroth yells in desperation. "What are you doing!?" "What must be done!" he yells back at him, staring deeply into me. I couldn't take Kileh seriously before, he was too expendable. Not him. he means something to all of them. If they lost him... it would be as if the Spartans lost me. "I agree to the terms," I tell him as I holster my pistol and bring my hand up. Forging words is an old human pact-making spell. When two people come to terms on some kind of deal, they bring their hands together and bind each other to the words of the deal. If either one of us breaks the terms of the deal, their soul will shatter. Making this kind of pact with Kileh would have been pointless. He's expendable. Nether Walker, he's important enough. Without him in the picture, they'd fall apart. It works for me as well, in that I won't have to worry about him killing any of my family. I'll still have to face him, but I don't have to worry about the others. Even if I die, the contract will last until we're both gone. I light the fire in my palm and hold it up beside his. The flame bellows as it normally would, until I start the spell. It wavers a bit at first, but quickly starts to flow towards him. Soon, the flame appears to be flowing into him and we make a connection between souls. At this point, we begin to focus on the terms of war. If we don't come to the same conclusion, it won't set. We have to agree completely for this to work. Even if the wording is slightly different, it won't catch. One; no harm shall come to civilians. Two; any that surrender, do so fully. That, when they surrender, they forfeit their rights as a soldier and become a civilian. Three; the preservation of the world and its inhabitants shall not be forgotten. No super drops, no nuclear weapons, chemical weapons, or terraforming. Four; that at the end of this war, let it end. No mass genocide, no executions, nothing but the preservation of life.
Chapter 233 WaitChapter 233 Wait After Kileh and I forged words the other Kroth leaders left. They tried to take the Nether Walker with them, but he looked to me for permission, and I said no. The way I see it, it leaves less chance for them to tamper with the spell. Though I've never heard of people being able to do that, I've also never heard of Kroth mages before. Who knows what they've been able to accomplish out there. I told him to wait for me at the castle in Canterlot, and he left without question. So now it's Luna and I flying back to Canterlot. Neither of us have said anything to each other yet. I imagine she's trying to process everything that just happened before talking. Me... I just have nothing to say. Everything was put on the table, and now we wait. I hate waiting. Not that I'm not capable of patience. Waiting is just the worst. You don't know how things will turn out, but you know something has to happen. Without anything happening though, you start to wonder. One wrong thought could lead to my death. If I become obsessed with some nothing I might take measures to prevent it from happening. Those measures could be the exact opposite of what needs to happen, and the results could be catastrophic! Even worse, actions have to be made. We have to prepare. We need a plan of action, contingency plans, counter action plans, and alternative plans for each of those plans to make sure we cover likely scenarios! This is why I hate waiting. I always overthink things. I wish Susurrans was here, this was his strong suit. I don't know how he did it, but he would wait out any situation beyond comprehensible reason and know all the outcomes. I was still never able to best him in a sparring match. With or without magic, he was always two steps ahead of me. Heck, look at that trail he left me in the cities. How the fuck did he know I would need those weapons? How did he plan on using those photo gems to hide Outpost Zero? How is he still a better leader than me? If he was here now, he'd know what to do. He'd have the words to rally everyone and a clear plan. I'm thirty years old, and I'm still lagging behind him. "We need to have two meetings," Luna tells me as we near the castle airport. "One as the leaders of Equestria, and one as a family." "... we need to talk as well. Just you and me." She glances over to me before looking away. "... I agree." I let out a long breath and try to think. What am I going to say that hasn't already been said? How can I make her understand while being sensitive to her feelings? I'm a warrior, not... this. This was Dolum's strong suit, not mine. We land in the royal airport and exit the vehicle silently. Luna orders the servants around and arranges for us to meet in her study, along with Celestia. Tempestive's here too. She decides to let the staff watch after him. I don't like it, but it's what happening. Not that I have a voice in it right now. I'm in my human form, meaning that I'm still only the leader of Terradisia. And I don't think I can change right now, no matter how much I'd like to. We march to her study and enter quickly, keeping the guards at the door. Once inside I move to the nearest table and remove my helmet, dropping it loudly. Luna gives me a sour look but says nothing, moving to her desk quietly and pulling out quills and some scrolls silently. I let it go for now, removing the rest of my armor instead. My clothes are a bit tattered from the recent conflict, but I pay them little mind. Once I have all of my armor off I start to walk around the room, waiting as patiently as possible for Celestia. I almost forgot what this room looked like, has it really been that long? I remember the bookshelves lining the walls, but the leather seats are new. I also don't recall the big ass globe in the center of the room either. Her desk is the same, though the few books and knic-knacs are new to me. When I make it around her I pause when I see all of the family photos. Our time at the lake, Tempestives first birthday, Nightmare Night, The Summer Sun Celebration. I'm in a few of them, but only a few. "I'm here!" Celestia announces as she enters the room. "What happened?" Luna and I exchange looks before I step forward, motioning her to a seat. "This is going to take a bit, take a seat." She looks between the two of us cautiously before taking a seat. I move to the globe and give it a spin, watching it go by. Where do I even start? What does she need to know, and what does she already know? "Miles?" Celestia asks. I look back to her for a moment before looking back to the globe. I guess it's best to start from the beginning then. "I nominated the Spartans to hunt down the Darkness and to solve the issues of the world. I thought we could do it, but it's proven to be... problematic." She stays silent, so I continue. "Over the last six years we've been searching in every nation for any clues as to the whereabouts of the Four Horsemen. We found plenty of rumors and superstitions, but most of them turned up to be dead ends. No one knows where they are. If anyone did, they've kept it to themselves." "But that's not what's the issue, is it?" she asks quietly, looking back to Luna. She's writing something down, barely paying attention. "No... no, but it's a portion of it." I walk to the seat across fro Celestia and drop into it, sighing loudly. "The Unfamiliar that just arrived came to make the terms of war." "What!?" Celestia gasps, jumping to her hooves. "So that's it, we're at war." "No," Luna chimes in, still focusing on her scroll. "They were the terms of war for Terradisia and the Kroth, depending on who wins the war between the Griffin Colonies and Equestria." Celestia gives me a confused look as she sits back down, so I explain. "The Unfamiliar and I have an... understanding, in the global politics here. We both know that, whoever is left ruling at the end of this war, will be the eventual leaders of this world. We have the technology and the know how to do so. I've actually been planning for that day myself." "You have?" Celestia asks, astonished. "Yeah. My goal was to coarse sects of other nations into joining Terradisia. From there, it'd only take a few decades for everyone else to fall in line. Especially when they see the technical advances those who sign over receive. Giving the blind sight, making the cripple super strong, feeding everyone with half the farms, it would be too good of a deal not to. And, at that point, the Spartan Regiment would have grown as well. The world would eventually capitulate." "I see, but this isn't the plan anymore?" Celestia asks, eyeing me carefully. "That's how I would concur peacefully. If Terradisia were to be the focal point of the upcoming war, that plan would never work. Good, bad, if you start a war, no one wants to follow you without holding a dagger behind their back." Celestia stays quiet, thinking to herself. Luna is still scribbling away, so I stay quiet as well. That's just the political issue facing Terradisia. There's still so much going on. "And that is why Luna is mad?" Celestia asks. Oh boy... I go to answer, but Luna beats me to the chase. "I'm mad because Miles refuses to let me help!" she yells, making Celestia jump slightly. "No matter what I do, or what I say, he wants to me stay at home and be content with being a house wife! He's refused to listen to anything I have to say-" "That's not true." I say firmly, but she continues. "He doesn't want me to be a part of any of the decisions-" "That's not true!" "And he refuses to let me join him in any form of conflict!" I jump to my feet at that, the last of my patience being drained. "You are not going to be part of any fight Luna! End of discussion!" I yell, getting her to slam her hooves on the desk as she rises to face off with me. "Your arrogance is going to put us all in danger! Just let me help you!" "And your stubbornness is going to get you killed! Do you really think you are going to make a difference in a modern battlefield!?" "If you'd give me the same materials as your soldiers, yes! I'm sure fighting is real hard when you're pulling a trigger from six hundred yards! Or do I need special training do hold technical superiority?" I feel a shiver run down my spine when she says that. I get what she's implying. She's saying that the fight is easy when it's distant. That, because we are advanced, the fight is less intense. "Taking a life, regardless of how, is never easy." I tell her, trying my best to pull back my rage. "I know that, better than most," she tells me, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Do not think of me as some blood crazy mare with a death wish. I know what I ask for." "Then you know why I have to refuse you." I tell her, attempting to move a hand to wipe the tears away. She moves her head quickly away, closing her eyes tightly. "How could you expect me to let you do something like that to yourself?" "Ha! Shouldn't I be asking you the same thing?" Luna asks, looking back to me fiercely. "Do you know how many nights I've spent over the last six years wondering if you were alive or not? Having to wake up and tell our son that you were okay, when I didn't even know myself? How could you expect me that of me?" I look down, unsure of how to answer her. It... it just seems so logical to me. I'm the professional soldier. I've had the training. I'm surrounded by the trained soldiers. I'm the obvious choice for these matters. How can I make her see that? "... wow," Celestia says awkwardly. "So... have you two been fighting long? Because this is all new to me." I shake my head, taking my seat again. "Luna," I start out softly, trying to bring it back to normal. "I never meant to... make you feel so left out-" "I don't feel left out, Miles. I was left out," she snaps back, sitting back down. "Look what happened in the Minotaur country. All of that could have been avoided if you had just included me. Look, I'm not saying that I have to be a Spartan, or that I have to be on the front line. But the least you could do is utilize my knowledge! You've only been here for seven years! There are still many things to be learned. If you'd let me in, I could help you through them. Just let me help!" I close my eyes and rub my face, sighing deeply. "I... you... it's just..." "What has you so scared Miles?" Celestia asks softly. I look to her for a moment before resolving myself to saying what's been in the back of my mind this whole time. "Because I'm afraid that even the smallest of trails could lead back to you... and that I'd lose you... just like I lost your father." The room goes silent at that. I know I said it before, but the fact still remains. An Unfamiliar probably killed him. He was only there because of me. Now I have Luna, and that threat has never been realer. I can destroy entire flagships, I can rip souls from people, I can even stop people from existing! But I can't stop a sniper from shooting Luna. I can't protect her from the things I can't see! There will always be a threat so long as she is near me, so I've fought to put as much distance between the two of us over the past six years! And this is what it's come to. To protect her, I have to push her away. "Miles," Celestia starts out, using her magic to force me to look at her. "With or without you, we'll always be a target." I feel a tear start to work its way out, so I wipe it away quickly. "The Kroth are not the first to threaten my life, and they will not be the last," Luna adds. She rises from her seat and walks towards me slowly. I try to look down, but her magic stops me. "Back before Equestria was even formed I was being threatened. Poison from the bears, assassins from the Zebra tribes, even ponies have tried to kill me. There's a reason Celestia can't remember my birthday. I've made it this far, but I can't make it through this without you, and the same goes for you. We need each other Miles, we can't go on like this. I'm safer at your side than anywhere else. Please let me in." She takes my hand in her hooves and holds them tightly. I move my fingers to hold her back, eyeing her blue coat distantly. There isn't a choice to be made. Let her be a target with me, or let her be a target without me. I can't stop anything from happening. What's the point of having all of this power if I'm powerless to do anything? No matter what I can do, I can't stop something from happening. That fear of the inevitable has made me overlook the truth. That, for once in my life, I am powerless. The only choice left to make is the one that I think will give the better outcome. "I'm sorry," I tell her, tears forcing their way out. "I'm so sorry. I just... I couldn't face the idea that I could lose you. The fear of that... I'm sorry." I break down, letting all of my fears out. Losing her, losing Tempestive, I've lost before and I almost couldn't take it. The idea that I could put myself back in that place... I couldn't. I did everything I could to stop it, and look what happened. I almost lost her anyway. All because of my fears getting the better of me. I should have known better. I shouldn't have let my thoughts escape me like that. For six years no less! Luna moves forward and I meet her halfway for a hug. I bury my face in her neck as she wraps herself around me, both of us crying lightly. I don't know how long we hold each other. It could have been a few minutes, but it felt like years. Years of neglect, dismissals, and fear. I'm sure there will be more talks in the future, but this is the right step in the right direction. It's the only thing I've been sure of in a long time. "So... what now?" Celestia asks, still concerned. "Do we mobilize for war?" "It's hard to say." I tell her as we finally break away from each other. Luna pause to give me a kiss on the cheek. It was quick, but it spoke to me. "Miles still needs to speak with the griffins at the Summit. If he can broker a deal there, then a war may be avoided, if only for a short time." I nod in agreement with her. "Right... is there anything we can do to help with that?" Celestia asks, sounding a bit hopeful. I think about it for a second, but come up empty handed. "I've thought this over already. There is nothing more to do over this other than meet there and speak with them. If the goats there agree with me, then I'm in the clear. If they side with Ulfric, then they'll have a clear agenda to attack Terradisia." "But an attack would on you would require them to invade Equestria." Celestia points out. "Not if they can muster support from the others," Luna tells her. "An unprovoked attack by a supposedly superior people, people would rise together to fight that. And look what happened at the last Summit meeting. You were nearly dethroned. This next talk will sway public opinion greatly, and there is nothing to prepare us for that. It's between Ulfric and Miles." Because I made a brash decision. I look between the two of them as I think that over. If I had talked to Luna about that, she would have at least tried to stop me. If I hadn't been so scared, this wouldn't be happening right now. "Then all we can do is pray." Celestia concludes confidently, getting both of our attention. "In less than one week is the Grand Galloping Gala, so you both will be attending. Until that meeting, it will be business as usual. I will also be setting up some meetings with some officials so we can form a proper military. We may not be able to raise an army at this moment, but when the time comes, we'll be ready for it. I expect you to lead this project, Miles-" "Me?" I ask, glancing to Luna. "I don't even know how your military functions! Let alone the ponies capable of leading it." "That's why you will ask your lovely wife to assist you with this project when the time comes," she tells me smugly. Did... did she just call Luna lovely? I glance over to Luna to see her eyeing her as well, just as lost as I am. "O... kay." "We will also need to start a propaganda war," Luna adds, moving past the oddness. "Maybe not to hate the griffins, but to get patriotism as high as possible. When the fight comes, we'll need plenty of ponies willing to fight for their country." "Good idea," Celestia says as she summons a scroll and quill to write down notes. "Miles, are you still going to be policing the world?" "No. Not until after this meeting that is-" "Good, the Terradisians will need them at home if you are going to be attending formal events. Let Storm know he can get off his flank and get to work." "Should we get Twilight in here? This seems like her kind of thing." Luna asks, getting Celestia to nod to her. "Excellent idea, I'll get her after we discuss one last thing." She sets her scroll aside and takes a serious face about her. Luna and I share an uneasy look as we wait for her to speak. "In the past, when somepony threatened Equestria, it was our duty to meet that threat. With how things are now, mainly in regards to Tempestive, I do not think that would be wise." "I agree," Luna tells her. I nod, waiting to see where this goes. "Luna, do you agree that -because he has to lead another nation- Miles will be one of the ponies to meet this challenge?" We share another look, silently speaking to one another. Saying everything that's already been said. "Yes, and though I don't like it, I agree. Miles must fight for Terradisia." I let out a sigh of relief. I honestly thought that was going to go another direction. "So now it comes between me and you." Celestia continues. "Twilight is still to new to the throne, and Cadence has Gleaming Joy to take care of. One of us will have to stay home to run day to day operations. And... I'm sorry, but it's a bit obvious who it will be." We both look to Luna and watch her reaction. She takes a moment to compose herself, taking a deep, slow breath with her eyes shut. I'm sure she wants to argue against her, but she's fighting those thoughts. Or, at least thinking them through. For that much, I'm appreciative. "I will accept these terms if Miles agrees to makeboth of us proper armor, and trains you as much as possible in the little time we have left. We also must set up a system in which we keep each other informed about each others dealings, never leaving each other in the dark about anything. Agreed?" "Miles?" They both look to me, waiting to see what I'll say. I swallow the lump in my throat as I stand up and face Luna. "I promise to do better." I tell her, receiving a warm smile from her. "Great!" Celestia cheers, standing up. She starts to walk towards the door, still facing the two of us. "Whelp! I'm off to fetch Twilight! You two probably have some catching up to do, so I'll knock when I make it back. Oh, and you two?" She stops at the door and thinks about something for a moment, growing a smirk I've never seen her make before. "Since a war might take Miles away soon... you two should probably get busy making me another niece or nephew." "WHAT!?" Luna exclaims as Celestia teleports out of the room. I nearly fall over myself from hearing her say that. Did she just tell us to start fucking? Celestia just told us to have another kid... no, no that still sounds wrong. "Who is that and what have they done with Celestia?" I ask, getting Luna to shake her head slowly. "I thought we killed Chrysalis," she says quietly, but I shake my head. "No, she's dead. I would know, you shot me in order to kill her." She rolls her eyes at that, moving back to her seat. "Yeah, and you've been complaining about it ever since." Author's Note Support Tallestbrony! Check out this blog please!
Chapter 234 Gala PreparationsChapter 234 Gala Preparations Perspective: Twilight I let out a light sigh as I read through the document before me. It's just a standard requisition form from a small town. I guess a town down south needs some extra arms to deal with the local Bramble Coyotes. Completely reasonable. This is about as exciting as work has been for me. Reading forms and deciding the legitimacy behind their requests and whether or not to support them. Not exactly what I thought being a princess was going to be like, but Celestia says that these will soon be the days I long for. I understand her, knowing that any excitement could be dangerous for our subjects. It's a new realm of thinking for me, but she assures me that I'm doing great and that my time will come when it comes. Though there are times I question what my role actually is and whether or not I'll be able to rise to my title when the time comes. A light knocking comes from my study door and a guard sticks his head inside. I straighten myself up and give him my full attention. "Princess Twilight, Princess Celestia is here and would like a moment of your time." "Of course! I'll be right there!" I tell him enthusiastically, packing some of my things away. "Actually, she wishes to speak with you in here first," he tells me before stepping back and opening the door for Celestia. She thanks him and walks in, shutting the door behind herself. I quickly rise from my seat and rush over to greet her, sharing a quick hug with her. One would think that living in Canterlot would mean that I'd see her all the time, but it's been the opposite. Mostly because of Softy, but work plays its part. "Hello Twilight, how are things today?" she asks casually, taking a seat before my desk. I used to offer her my seat, but after she refused for the hundredth time, I stopped asking. I still think another ten will make her take the seat, though. "I'm pretty settled into the day-to-day tasks here. It may get a bit tedious, and I do miss my friends spontaneously crashing through my window, but I enjoy it enough," I tell her as I take my seat. It's a bit odd having her come into my office like this. Usually if she needed to talk to me she would just summon me to her office or we'd plan a lunch together. I wonder what's going on. "That's good to hear. I was a bit worried that you would miss your friends too much to stay here as long as you have." "I do, but I have a responsibility. That, and I wanted to make sure Softy went to the best schools possible. Or, at least, had the best teachers possible." I blush a bit at that. Though there are a few teachers that come and assist with her schooling, I tend to teach her the most... and by most, I mean mainly. "But, that's not why you're here, is it?" She chuckles at that, grabbing a few documents from my desk to read them over. "No. Not even close. Are you aware with what the Spartans have been up to recently?" "Are you referring to their operation in the Goblin Empire? Or has something else happened?" I know something has happened. Storm didn't come back right away, so something had to happen. For being a society with no secrets, there tend to be a lot of secrets. Celestia lights her horn up and marks the room with a silence spell, telling me something big has occurred. "The Spartans have made an assault against the Kroth inside the Griffin Colonies." I gasp at that, but allow her to continue. "The griffins are trying to use this as an excuse to wage war against them, but have agreed to let the Summit decide. Alongside that, the Kroth and Miles have made... war pacts." "War pacts? And how could they make a deal? Miles would have attacked them on sight! Or is he finally listening to you?" This is very sudden. If the griffins declare war on the Terradisians, they'll attack us as well. And if the Kroth and Miles are making deals... I don't even know what to make of that. "It would seem that our king is ambitious. That's where you come in," Celestia tells me calmly, setting my papers down. "Me? What am I going to do about this?" "You are a Princess of Equestria. It is your duty to lead this nation and protect its citizens. If war is to come to this land, ponies will be looking up to you for guidance." "I-I've never lead an army! Not to mention I know nothing about battle strategies! Maybe I could organize some sort of... ministry to handle affairs for... I don't even know! I can't-" "Twilight, I'm not asking you to lead an army," she tells me simply. I let out a long breath and compose myself. Of course she isn't asking me to do that! That would be silly! I was just working myself up again! "I'm asking you to take my place when I go to battle." "Wh-what!?" I nearly fall out of my chair when she tells me that. Take her place!? She wants me to take the place of the pony who moves the very sun! Is that even possible!? Is that even possible... "Twilight, you need to listen very carefully to what I'm about to tell you," she tells me simply again. I look to her and nod, giving her my entire focus. She seems so calm about this, how does she do it? She's literally telling me that she's about to go to war, and she's completely calm. "I've discussed this with Luna and Miles briefly, and it's been decided that Miles would go to war for the Terradisians and I would lead the Equestrian army, if the need would arise." "Well of course. Luna has Tempestive to take care of and Miles is the professional soldier. He's the obvious choice to go." Celestia shakes her head lightly. "A Royal sister has to stay in Canterlot to lead the nation. It's part of the Union Agreement. But, with Tempestive being of royal blood, the rules have morphed. Before we would either have both wage war, or both stay behind, depending on the severity of the situation. But with him in the picture, one of us has to stay behind to ensure his safety. These are the laws that we made up thousands of years ago. Though we have discussed it, I fear that Luna may try to trick her way into the role of general." "Why would she do that, though? It doesn't make sense." "My guess is only as good as yours. Maybe it has something to do with Soul Fire, maybe she's just being bull-headed. Either way, I know she was passionate about aiding the fight, one way or another. And there's a way she can do it, if she so chose." "How?" I ask, genuinely interested. The Union Agreement has always intrigued me, but I've yet to read it. Mainly because it's been a part of Celestia's personal collection. "If she calls all of the nobles and royalty to cast a vote, they can decide to send her instead of myself." I think about that for a second before something clicks. "And you've replaced a lot of nobles that support you, ever since Miles nearly took over." Celestia nods to me, keeping a stoic face about herself. "That has been a blessing, but now may become a curse. If they are called to a vote, they may choose to keep me here instead of her. And I simply will not allow that," she tells me in a firm voice. I've only heard her use that voice a select few times. She's as serious about this as she can be. "Well... why can't we just ask the nobles privately? I'm sure they'll listen to you." I try, but she shakes her head. "Twilight, when in politics do you ever get what you want just by asking?" "Good point." I rub my chin as I try to think of a way around this. There has to be a loophole somewhere... "Blueblood!" "I beg your pardon?" "In your last letter you told me about how he was disrespecting you. If you could alienate him in a way that he'd want to send you to war instead of keeping you, he'll use his influence with the others to keep Luna!" She thinks about that for a moment before smiling back to me. "This is a good idea. I don't think I'd have to do anything either. It would seem he dislikes me enough already. But I'll have to be sure to make it my point that he's confident in that opinion to voice it with others... I may have to alienate a few others as well to ensure success." "Others? Who else would you have to alienate?" I ask, leaning in. I've never been this political before! This is far more exciting than requisition forms! "Believe it or not, Blueblood is an influential pony. Being royalty isn't enough to hold that much prestige. He has a web of connections that help maintain his image. And we're going straight to the top with him." She grows a smirk on her face that I've never seen before. "Who are you talking about?" I ask, genuinely curious. "Don't worry about that, at least at the moment. I need to set up a few details before I set this plan in motion. But I will need your assistance with this-" "Of course, Princess! I-I mean Celestia!" Darn it. I just broke my record. Well, a hundred forty-seven days is the record to beat now. "Before you agree to this, Twilight, I want you to know the possible repercussions. This is going to be a political battle, through and through. You will be put on the spot, ponies will call you out, and you will make enemies. There are risks to doing this, are you sure you're ready it?" I sit back and look her dead in the eyes, already knowing the answer. "I'm ready for this. What's our first move?" She smiles to me, bowing her head slightly. "Thank you, Twilight, I truly appreciate this. Our first move will be at the Grand Galloping Gala. We will speak with several ponies there, both positively and negatively. I need to map out the ponies that will be there, exclude a few, invite others, get the ball rolling. All I need from you that night is to play along. We'll speak closer to that night. I have to prepare the guest list again. In the meantime, we need to have a meeting with Miles and Luna. Bring some scrolls and follow me," she tells me as she rises and begins to leave. I grab my bags and toss as many scrolls into them as possible before trotting after her. I can't believe it! My first political engagement! Given, I'm not really playing a major role and it's not really my fight, but still! Celestia came to me for assistance with politics! I've moved up in her view to the point where she can trust me with engagements of these sorts! I feel more validated as a princess now than when I received my crown! And all to send Celestia to war! ... ... ... I... may have jumped into this without thinking it through. "The discussion we're about to have will be... volatile, to say the least," Celestia say, bringing me back to our conversation. "Miles and Luna were... having a rough bit, to say the least." "They were fighting? I don't believe it." I've never seen nor heard of them fighting before. Sarcastic jabs and firm tones, sure. But fighting! "What was it about?" "Personal affairs. Sorry, but it is their business to discuss. I'm only warning you so you can understand the frailty of the situation. It'll be a good opportunity for us to practice social queues. Speak as you normally would and I'll try to guide you away from certain topics. But I'm going to be discreet about it. It'll be up to you to understand what I mean. Think you can handle this challenge?" She looks down to give me a smirk, which I return. "I'll do my best." I tell her confidently. Her smiles brightens for a moment before she goes back to her stoic face. All I can really offer is my best, good thing I've been studying up on social etiquette. Though I thought I was going to use them on nobles, rather than Miles and Luna. We come up to Luna's study and take a moment to collect ourselves. We glance to one another before the guard at the door knocks three times. We hear Luna inside give permission before the guard pushes the door open. Inside is what I've seen plenty of times before, Luna's study. Only this time, it's vastly different. Luna is reading a scroll at her desk while Miles is standing at the windows, looking down at the city. To any outsider this would look completely normal. But, knowing what I know, this is as foreign as they get. Miles has been gone some time now. Usually they would be all over each other. Kissing, holding wings, reading over each other’s shoulders, dorky couples stuff. They're not even looking at each other. Even worse, they're both quiet. They're not the most talkative ponies ever, but this... this is almost creepy. "Are we ready to get started?" Celestia asks as she steps into the room. Neither of them say anything, but they do give her their attention. "Good, we have a lot to discuss. Where should we start?" "The propaganda war." Luna says officially, looking to me. "Are you aware of the events transpiring currently?" "I have a basic understanding. Miles has to speak at the Summit, and if things go poorly we'll be at war with the griffins." "Correct. The meeting is seven days from now, with the Gala being five away. I think that should be our selling point. Make it big, make it more public, and make sure everypony knows about it." I nod to her, levitating a scroll and quill over to take notes. "Right. Big and public. Should we increase the number of ponies invited?" "No, that won't be enough," Miles chimes in, still looking down at the city. "The Gala is a good idea, but we need something that will get the common people involved." "I don't think so," Luna retorts, moving her chair to look at him. "We need to cater to the nobles who will be aiding our army. Equestria alone cannot afford to back an entire force. Plus, we'll need them to manufacture goods and arms." "But they won't be fighting the war." Miles says calmly, turning to look back at her. "We're not preparing for a war that will happen in a few months. We're planning for a war that will happen in a few days. Money won't be the issue here, it's getting people to register to fight. You can call a draft, but your best fighters are going to be the people who want to fight. The people who believe in their country and are willing to die for it. It won't matter how advanced their forces are if the people here won't submit to their rule. We need to make the Gala about the people, or at least make them feel involved with it." We all go quiet from that. They're both technically right. We can't sustain an army on our budget alone. But we have enough in the treasury to sustain something for the short run. I don't believe most ponies would rise to fight for us either. Not to say they're cowards, but that it's just not their calling. How are we going to get bakers and carpenters to join something that they would normally avoid at all cost? "Why don't we just... throw a gala for the entire city?" I ask, trying the first thing that comes to mind. "What do you mean?" Celestia asks eagerly. Everypony is staring at me, waiting for me to elaborate on this. Great... well... I'll just... "Um... involve the whole city?" I ask, trying to buy more time. Celestia nods to me, moving her hoof to push me along. "Well... normally the Gala is just in the castle, for ponies that are only invited. What if we extended the festivities to the entire city?" "Throw a party that will incubuses the entire city?" Luna asks skeptically. "In five days?" "Genius," Miles says as he rushes back to the window. "Pure genius." "How is that genius?" Luna asks him, standing and joining him at the window. "Miles?" "It's genius because it's simple," he tells her, his mind obviously racing. "And how are we going to accomplish this?" Celestia asks, joining them at the window. Feeling slightly obligated, I walk over to look down at the city. It looks as normal as ever down below. I really don't see what he's looking at. "Every year the Gala happens and people watch from afar. Now, with a Queen and King finally becoming public, the gates are opened and everyone is welcomed. Think what that would do for our image with the people. Leaders for the people, erasing the line between upper and lower class. We'll send word to every city and make it known to the entire county: The King and Queen wish to meet with you, so come party with us." "That would... fill the city to the brim," Luna mentions, looking down critically. "How is this even going to be possible? We'll have to call caterers from all over the country, musicians from all over, not to mention decorations and guards and-" "It's genius," Celestia echoes Miles, growing a smirk. "Let's plan the biggest party in Equestrian history." Perspective: Blueblood I take a slow drink of my brandy as I read through a letter in my study. It's just a boring tax form from my provinces, nothing out of the ordinary. As ordinary as it is, it's a godsend compared to the last few days I've been having. I should take a few days off. Go to the spa, see my favorite masseuses, relax. Poof I blink when a scroll appears before me. I grab it and inspect the seal, seeing that it's from the Royal Sisters. What could they need now? I open it and read it through, not believing my eyes when I reach the end. Dear Blueblood A major decision has been made between all royal cohorts. This year, the Grand Galloping Gala will not be held in the Canterlot Castle. Instead it will be taking place all over Canterlot, so that all may attend. With this ambitious move comes daunting tasks. We are appointing you to assist Princess Twilight Sparkle with publication of this event. Please speak with her in one hour to begin. Thank you for your service, Queen Luna. P.S. Please come speak with me after sunset sometime before the Gala. I am in dire need of your assistance. Author's Note The Purge. Brony on!
Chapter 236 Political UnderstandingChapter 236 Political Understanding Perspective: Blueblood After my brief discussion with Luna, I now have a clear goal in mind. Auntie Luna wants to go to war instead of Celestia. I do not understand why, but it is her desire. She is trusting me to start pushing sway in her direction, a task that is easier said than done. This means many things. I have her trust. Maybe not completely, but at least enough for her to consider me as one of her pawns. All of the work I have put in with her will soon pay off! But I have to be careful, more so than before. This is the precipice of a new Equestria. If what the King believes will happen actually transpires, then the world as we know it will crumble. A new world order will rise from this, and I intend to lead it through. But there are many obstacles in my way. Namely, Celestia. She is the embodiment of the old ways. For millennia she has held total executive power over the noble families, but that time is coming to an end. If this war is as bloody as the King claims, then it will be easy to sway the courts in our favor. But, for that to happen, I need Celestia in the battlefield. Yet, I also need Luna's continued support if I'm going to make any leeway right now. I've thought this through, and I have decided to start my hunt with one of Aunt Celestia's closest supporters. He wasn't easy to find. But with the right amount of gold, anypony would talk. "Sir?" my sky carriage driver asks as we come to a stop. A small bed and breakfast stands before us. It's a... quaint little commoner location. Unfit for the elites, really. But, with its somewhat isolated location between Canterlot mountain and Whitetail Woods, it's perfect for a getaway. "Wait for me here. I will return shortly." He nods to me as I leave the carriage. I walk in through the front doors and am met with the strong scent of books, cheap candles, and the elderly. The small establishment is rather simple, lacking the exuberance of the castle grounds that I am so familiar with. "Hey there young fellow!" a spry stallion calls from behind the reception counter. He doesn't have any hair and his thick glasses seems to be missing a lens. His shabby grey coat looks as if he brushes it with a pet comb, making me cringe in thought. "Lookin' for a getaway? We got plenty of-" "I am Prince Blueblood! Son of Argent Blood, heir to the Blood house! You will address me as such!" He cowers away from me, fixing his glasses to get a better look at me. "Erm, sorry, sir. H-how may I help you?" I smirk at that, stepping towards the old stallion. "An elitist has checked into one of your rooms recently. I need access to his lodgings so I may speak with him." He goes to his log book and reads the page carefully, shaking slightly from it. "Um... it normally isn't our policy to give this information out-" "And it isn't normally my policy to step within commoner filth! Now give me the key or I shall have you arrested for treason against Equestria!" "Treason!? For wh-" "NOW!" He jumps from my outburst and ducks behind the counter, rummaging through the drawers for what I seek. I wait impatiently for him to return, eyeing him critically the entire time. "H-here it is! I-I don't have spares, but this is the master key! It'll open any door on the premise. They should be in room two hundred and three... sir!" I take the key with my magic and head immediately up the stairs. I count the rooms until I find the one I'm looking for. From inside, I can hear the scandalous deeds very clearly. If I'm lucky, I'll catch him in the act with some floozy, though, not likely. He isn't the type to seek pleasure like that. I insert the key and open the door, stepping in quickly. I don't see them directly, but the mound of shifting bed sheets are all I need to know that he is here. SLAM "HOLY SHIT BUCK!" Fleur De Lis yells as her head pops up from the sheets, quickly followed by Fancy Pants's. Such a shame, but I guess a scandal would have been asking much. I chuckle and wait as they scramble to situate themselves, throwing covers over their previously engaged parts. "Blueblood, what in the wide, wide world of Equestria do you think you are doing!?" Fancy demands, staring daggers at me. "I have business to discuss with you." I tell him nonchalantly, looking over my hoof lazily. "I don't give a damn about whatever business you have! LEAVE IMMEDIATELY!" Fleur yells, throwing a pillow at me. It hits me on the leg, but I pay it no mind. "I have news from the Queen, news that pertains to you." They both go quiet from that, looking to one another silently. I take a short walk closer to them, getting Fleur to hold the covers closer to herself. "There will be a vote in the courts soon, one that will determine the fate of Equestria." "I haven't heard of this, what kind of sources are you pulling this from?" Fancy demands, though I can see the intrigue on his face. Good, he knows to respect the Queen. Let's see how far I can push this. "Are you aware of the hostilities between Equestria and the Griffin Colonies?" "Of c-" "Fancy!" Fleur cuts him off and pulls his head down to whisper something to him. I try to listen in, but she is too quiet and too quick for me to hear. "Of course," he says slowly as he sits back up, lost in thought. "Give us a minute, we'll talk downstairs-" "I'm afraid that I don't have the time to talk later." I tell him as I take a seat. "It would seem that there is disagreement between who should lead the Equestrian armies. As it stands now, the duty would fall to Celestia. But, Queen Luna is going to attempt to convince the nobles to nominate her to the role." "So you are here to try and convince me to vote for Luna? I cannot give you my vote without looking into the matters more closely-" "That is not why I am here." He stops and stares at me, unsure of my intentions. I chuckle at that and look out the window, looking over the forest for a moment. "I thought you didn't have time to spare, Blueblood." Fleur snaps at me, bringing my attention back to them. "You don't like me, do you Ms. De Lis?" Her face scrunches up in disgust at that, her eyes narrowing at me. "I know what kind of stallion you are." Sadly, I don't know exactly what she's talking about. There are several things she could be referring to. She notices this and becomes much more furious with me. "You don't even remember her name, do you?" "Nope, but back onto important matters. I'm sure I don't have to lecture you about how this vote will affect the future of Equestria, now do I?" Fancy shakes his head, thinking deeply to himself. "Regardless of who goes, if this should happen, the world as we know it would be over," he says solemnly. Even Fleur thinks on this, making this next part so much easier. "But, there is a way to keep both of our Princesses home." They both look up at me, shocked by my remark. "The King." "The... King?" Fleur asks cautiously. "Come now, I know you've met the stallion before. Even if only briefly. The dear Sisters seem to have forgotten our texts, but I haven't. Only a pony with the title 'Royal' may lead our armies. But they have forgotten about him altogether. This is the best way to keep our heritages as safe as possible. I may not be perfect, but it is our best option." The room goes silent. The two of them are looking to each other, worried. I'm sure they must have some reservations about this, but I know Fancy. He'll want to keep them both safe. He barely knows the King. If my informants are correct, he only knows him as the warrior tied with the Spartans. All I need to do here is let him know there is another option, he'll do the rest for me. I don't wait for them to respond, I just leave. I'm done here, onto the next pony. It's almost too easy. I convince enough Nobles to vote for Miles, and he'll be forced to lead our army. The Spartans won't stand a chance without him, so they'll soon be taken care of. Either Luna or Celestia will have to tend to the crumbling Terradisian nation, most likely Luna, leaving Celestia back in Canterlot. If Miles can win fights like I know he can, those victories will be mine as well. From there I'll have the courts under my control. Next I need the steel mills. Perspective: Twilight After a long and stressful meeting with Celestia I finally get a chance to have dinner. We worked straight through lunch, so I hurry through the castle into the private eating area for the Princesses. There isn't anypony here, so I go straight to the table and take a look at the menu. It doesn't seem as if they have my favorite soup today, but I'll take anything right now. Maybe with a nice sandwich- "Mind if I join you, Princess?" I look up from my menu to see an elder unicorn stallion standing before me. I know I've seen him before, his light red hair is obvious enough, but I don't recall his name at the moment. "Um... sure," I tell him, watching him take the seat beside me. I look back to the menu and try to pay him no mind, but he's very obviously staring at me. "Is there something I can help you with?" "Not really, but then again, maybe you can." I stare at him, unsure of what he meant by that. "My name is Diamond Heart, I'm the patriarch for the Blood family and adviser to Celestia." "Oh! Of course! I'm so sorry, but there are dozens of names and faces here! I always seem to forget somepony somehow!" I tell him earnestly, relaxing a bit. But then something catches my attention. "Um... Celestia doesn't have any advisers on staff." "No, no she doesn't. It's... more of a mutual understanding between the two of us." A waiter comes to take our order, but Diamond waves him away. I didn't know Celestia had anypony to go to for advice. I didn't know Celestia even needed to go to ponies for advice! What does he know that Celestia doesn't? "Now, onto more pressing matters-" "Did Celestia send you?" I ask quickly. He chuckles at me, making me blush slightly. That was a bit rude in hindsight. "No, no. But I know what's going on." "You do? How?" "Princess, most ponies that work in this castle know what's going on. Secret meetings between Royalty never go unnoticed. And with everything going on globally, there are those among us that speculate that there are going to be troubling times ahead for us all." I nod to that. I feel as if we're about to have a massive storm hit us. I know what could happen, and I can see the signs of how bad it'll be. But there isn't anything I can do to stop it, and I won't know how bad it is until it hits. "The Princess has asked for my help, but I'm a little weary about how effective I'll be in convincing others... do you know about that?" I have to remember that not everypony is on Celestia's side. She may not want him on her side, or maybe he doesn't need to know? She didn't mention him, so I'm unsure of how to treat him. "All I know is that there was a meeting between the King, the Queen, and Celestia. There were then two smaller meetings afterwards, with several more to come, I assume. Now, I am an avid supporter of Celestia, I can assure you. Will you please let me know a little bit more so I may assist you, if at all possible." I bit my lip at that. She didn't mention him before. But there were several ponies she didn't mention, probably. He could be one of her supporters that will be attending the Gala... hm... "Before I do that, can I ask you a random question?" I ask, getting him to nod. "Are you going to the Grand Galloping Gala?" "Of course. I haven't missed the Gala in... almost thirty years. I usually stick to the sidelines, but I'm a usual there. Why? Do these meetings pertain to that event?" I let out a breath and take a look around. This isn't a secure area, so I light my horn and cast a silence bubble around the two of us. This doesn't seem to faze Diamond. "This discussion was... mainly about who would lead the theoretical army of Equestria," I tell him, getting him to look a little shocked. "As it stands, by a family vote, Celestia would lead. But, she believes that Luna may be attempting to make the nobles take a vote to send her instead." He hums to that, closing his eyes in thought for a moment. "Also, we are making some changes to the Grand Galloping Gala this year to win over-" "Before you go into that, I have to ask something." I go quiet, unsure of what he has to ask. "It would be safe to assume that you look up to Celestia, correct?" "Of course. She has been my mentor for years! I owe everything I have to her! Why do you ask?" He takes another look around before scooting closer to me, so I lean in as well. "You are advocating to send Celestia to war. Do you understand what that means?" I go to answer, but he stops me. "She will not return the same pony as she is. Even if she is leading from the rear, there is very much a chance that she may die! I know it may be unpopular to say so, but there is a choice to be made here. Don't think about who would win the battles. Think about who could lead this nation, Luna or Celestia? I respect Luna, but she doesn't seem completely invested in Equestria, if you catch my drift." "Luna is more than able to lead, Diamond!" I tell him, leaning back in shock. "And she only has Equestria's best interest at heart-" "If Equestria's best interest was to survive, do you think she would do so without the Spartans?" I stop myself from speaking any further. I know for a fact that she would go to them, but I don't see the problem with that. "Look how they've acted in the past. They're opportunistic. They find a weak town, save the day, and take over. Then they showcase their power over the entire world and allow evils to run amuck. They clearly have the power to solve these issues, then why don't they?" "I will have you know that my husband is a Spartan! And I do not appreciate you painting them as such!" He reels back slightly from my outburst. I guess he didn't know Storm is a Spartan. Or, maybe it was something else. "Well then, forgive me Princess. It seems that I have over stepped my bounds. I will leave you to your lunch. But, before I go, I will leave you with one final question: Can you really be the one responsible for sending Celestia to war?" I watch him leave the room, keeping my head up high. I know what I'm doing! How dare he question me on my resolve! I'm not the one sending her, she wants to go! She wants to protect Luna, and Tempestive, and Shadow! ... right? "Your order," the waiter says as he places a plate in front of me. "But... I didn't order anything." I tell him as he leaves. I look at the sandwich and shrug before picking it up. I take a look between the bread to see that it's full of thistle. "Is this some kind of cruel joke?" Perspective: Shadow RING I let out a sigh of relief as the final bell rings. The day wasn't necessarily hard, but I'm still glad that it's over. Actually, today was pretty easy. Nopony really looked to me, not that they would anyways. Today just seemed as if ponies were extra not looking at me. Something that I like in theory, albeit creepy. Whatever, I'm going home. I grab my stuff and head out. With nothing needing my attention, I make it out of school quickly. It's a nice day today. No clouds in the sky, a little warm but there's a nice breeze cooling everything. Overall it's just another perfect day here in Ponyville- THUD I jump when Rumble suddenly lands in front of me. He looks winded, but the look on his face scares me a bit. "Rumble? What's going on? Are you okay?" I ask shakily. "Am I okay? What about you!? Are you okay?" he asks worriedly, rushing up to me. I back away from him, confused. "SHADOW!" I look back and see everypony running up to me, looking as worried as Rumble. They all take turns asking me if I'm okay. Something about Tiara going too far. Apparently she's made some kind of move, but I don't understand anything they're saying. "GUYS!" I yell, getting their attention. "I have no clue what any of you are talking about! What's going on?" They look to one another before Rumble steps forward, his head held low. "So... I kind of made the decision to not be with anypony until I have your respect back. Because of that, Tiara has everypony avoiding you at all costs. Didn't you notice how everypony was ignoring you?" "... Tiara, has everypony been avoiding me?" I ask for clarification. "Yeah, sorry-" "HA!" He jumps back from my outburst. I laugh a little more at the thought. The idiot literally knows nothing about me! School just became awesome! "Told ya," Applebloom tells Scootaloo, making her pass her a bit. I laugh some more before continuing on home. I wonder how long this will keep up? If I'm lucky, all year! I don't think that'll be possible, but then again, I didn't think somepony could be that dumb either! HA! Today is great! "Shadow... is everything alright?" Rumble asks from my side. "Now it is! Geez, I thought somepony died! Why did you scare me like that?" I ask happily, confusing him slightly. "So... this is good then?" he asks, looking back to the others. "NO!" Scootaloo yells from behind. "Yes it is!" I yell back at her, getting her to frown. "You said you'd socialize more! You promised!" she yells back, getting the others to nod with her. "I did as you asked, and look what happened! This is a good thing!" I tell them, turning to discuss it with them. If I don't do it now, it'll bite me in the flank later. "This is only a problem if we make it a problem! And I don't want to make it my problem! If we try to fight this, it'll only get worse. Diamond Tiara wants me to stoop to her level and give her a reason to fight. Or, more likely, to gather a crowd for a fight! I'm not playing her games!" "But-" "End of discussion!" I cut off Scootaloo before continuing on home. I know I'm being harsh with her, but I have to be. I have to drove home the fact that I don't want to be a part of Tiara's game. "There's a little more to it than that," Rumble says, getting me to pause. "She's... spreading some rumors too. Some about you, others about your family." "This wouldn't be the first time," I tell him, looking back to him. He bites his lip as everypony looks away from me. "What is it?" "Are you sure ya want ta know?" Applebloom asks. "Cause, then ya might be forced ta play Tiara's little game. Iffin’ ya don't want ta do that, it'd be better for ya not to know." I think about it before looking to Sweetie Bell. "Is it bad?" I ask her, getting her to blush. "It's... probably her best work yet." I raise an eyebrow to that, getting her to look away from me. "Sorry... yeah, it's bad." I turn away from them to think about it. If don't want to be a part of her little game, then I should just leave right now. But, she's talking about my family. There is a line, and she's never crossed it before. Well, not to this extent at least. I don't want to be a part of this, but I will not let my family be dragged in either. "What is she saying about my family?" I ask, getting them to look back up at me. They look to one another before Rumble steps forward to speak. "She's saying that you're... pregnant." I blink a few times as I stare at Rumble. I don't quite understand what's so bad about that lie. "And... well... based off of the picture she used in the school’s newspaper, I'm not the father." "What?" I ask, getting Sweetie Bell to step forward and show me the paper. I take it in my magic and unfold it, seeing the picture of me and my father at the school fair together. It's a fairly simple picture of us sitting on the Ferris wheel, but the caption says enough. His Favorite Subject My head spins for a moment as I read the article. It's all speculation and slandering! There isn't a single piece of factual evidence in this piece of garbage! Everything she says is vague, but points towards us being a couple. Where is she even getting all of this!? I'm sleeping with my father!? I'm servicing other nobles! TEMPESTIVE IS MY SON!? THUD "Shadow...? shadow...? Shaaaadow?" I blink a few times before sitting up. My head is still spinning, but that all ends when I see the article again. "Are you okay-" "That bitch!" I yell as I ignite the newspaper with my magic. Everypony jumps back from my outburst as I stand to my hooves. "What does she think will happen from this!? What does she gain?" "I heard some of the teachers talking before I came to talk with you," Sweetie tells me. "They're questioning it as if it could actually be true. They're using it as an excuse for your shyness." "That's...! That's...! That's stupid! They're all stupid! They know my dad! They know he would never do that!" I yell back at her, making her back away. "How could she even print something like that? Isn't there somepony there to regulate the stories?" "She probably sucked some pony off to get it on there after it was checked." Scootaloo tells me. I have to start pacing around as I try to control myself. This doesn't make any sense! What does she gain from this? There's nothing to prove here! My dad would never do something like that! Is she really that stupid! "That's why she had everypony avoid looking at you. She pinned the story on a pen name and started telling ponies not to look at you. Because of how ashamed you were of the story. She's trying to make herself the hero here." "And it gets worse." I stop and stare at Sweetie bell. How could it possibly get any worse than this? "Real or not, the school has to make an investigation. They will contact the authorities and they will look into this." I go to say something, but start to lose my breath. I whip my saddle bags around and pull out my paper bag to breath into. I take a few deep breaths before I pop the bag. "Shadow, what do you need?" Rumble asks, putting a hoof on my shoulder. I try to think of something, but the only thing that I can think to do is to go home and cry under my blankets. Or burn down a forest. Possibly both. "I... I... I don't know. This is... this is too much," I tell him, sitting down to think for a moment. How am I going to explain this to him? What is he going to say to me? Is this going to change the way he acts around me from now on? "I need to be alone for a bit... I need to process this." "Are ya sure about that, sugar?" Applebloom asks, stepping up to nudge me. I nod to her as I stand and put my bags back on. "I don't think it'd be wise to be alone right now." "No, I'll talk to your guys tomorrow. I need to think right now. Thanks for telling me about this. Bye." I turn and leave. I feel too numb to think about this right now. I just want to go home and lay in my bed. I make it home in a blur. I couldn't focus on anything. My mind kept going back to what might happen. What if they force me away from my family? What if this causes them to leave? How am I going to face them after this? Will dad be mad at me for letting this happen? What about Mama Luna? Or Butterscotch and E'Claire? This could even blow over to the point where it affects Mooseden! How could she have done something like this to us? I go straight to my room and shut the door behind myself. I drop my bags and flop face first onto my bed, screaming into it at the top of my lungs. I have no clue how to deal with this. I don't know what to do. "Rough day?" I jump from the new voice and fall off my bed. I get up quickly to see the dark grey unicorn thief sitting in the middle of my room, eating an apple. How did he get in here? How didn't I notice he was here for that matter? "Who are you and why are you in my room!?" I demand from him. He takes another bite from his apple before tossing it out the open window. I guess that answers one question. "Names Star gazer. And I want to help you with your predicament." Author's Note Happy Birthday Miles! Shout out to Shinji for picking the flower on her sandwhich! Brony on!
Chapter 237 Dark SideChapter 237 Dark Side "You want to... help me?" I ask as I stare down the unicorn before me. He doesn't seem too... interested in anything. He's just sitting there, keeping his focus on me. I look to my door and contemplate getting Mama Luna up here, but don't act on it. He wants to help me. I don't know what he can do, but I'm desperate at this point. If he has a way around this so I don't have to face my father, then I'll take it. "How?" "Well, for starters, I can only help you get back at Diamond Tiara. There's no getting around what she did." I collapse on the ground and groan. Of course there isn't anything he can do to help me with that. There isn't anything anypony could do to help me with that! "What I have can help you get even." "Even?" I ask, slightly intrigued. I look up to him as he nods, summoning a folder before me. I go to open it, but he yanks it back quickly. "I have to warn you, this is a... bit of a dark path to follow." I tilt my head to that, unsure of what he means. "If you take this and act on it, you will be playing her game. Now, I don't know you too well, but I have the general idea that you aren't that kind of pony. That being said, Diamond Tiara is a bitch and needs to be put in her place. What I am offering is an out. You have three options: Either you take the contents of this folder and do what you want with them, I take them and publicize them, or I burn them and we never speak of them again. I cannot guarantee the results of this information and I cannot promise that there will be any real reward. She hit you, and now you have the option to hit back. What will it be?" I sit up and stare at the folder. What could be in that folder that could be so... compelling? I'm assuming that Diamond did something and he has proof, but what? And what kind of proof is it? Do I want to play her game or should I let him do it? She deserves to be put in her place but can I really be the one to put her there? Could I even be a part of that kind of scheme? This is a lot to consider, but I think I have to know what I'm talking about before I make my judgement. But first... "Why are you helping me?" I ask him quietly. He bobbles his head in thought before answering. "Well... for starters, Diamond is a bitch. But, she's never been a bitch to me, so that only gets so far. I have been a nuisance to your home town as well, so that plays a role too I guess. Plus, I was just at the right place at the right time. I have what you need, why not offer it? We can't let ponies like Diamond Tiara do whatever they want, can we?" I think about it for a second before nodding to him. "Alight, I guess that's a good enough cause. But before I make my call, I have to know what I'm getting into. Let me look at that before I choose." He thinks about it for a second before tossing me the file. I take it in my magic and take a deep breath. No time like the present, I guess... I open the file and find several photos inside. They're all... plainly explicit. Like Scootaloo had guessed, Diamond had relations with the journalist teacher. Each of the photos shows what she did to print out that newspaper. The first few were pretty much what I was expecting of her. Giving the teacher a blowjob at school and sex. But the more I look through, the darker it gets. The last few are at the teachers house! They even look as if she was there for a few days! "This is disgusting! How did you get these pictures?" I ask, closing the folder quickly. "I'm a bit of an armature photographer myself. I was developing some pictures when the two of them started to go at it. Because I'm not actually in the class, I guess they didn't suspect me to be in the dark room... that or the fact that I broke in to develop film might have helped. Either way, I was there with my camera, so I took the pictures. Then I listened in on them talking. Diamond tried to use just the blowy to get him to do her bidding, but he forced her to sleep with him over the weekend instead. Once I heard that, I simply followed after them and took the extra shots. But, the question now is: What are you going to do with this information?" What could I do with this? I could try to play her game and get them published, but how would I do that? I'm not going to sleep with some pervert, and I doubt the local paper would be willing to just print this. I could give this to the authorities, but what would that accomplish? This doesn't prove she did anything necessarily. All she would have to do is give some sob story and pin everything one the teacher and she'd be free. Is there anything I could actually do with this that could actually bring her down a peg? "Would it be okay if I hold onto these for a bit? I want to think on it." He shrugs and starts to head to the window, but stops when I step forward. "Thanks... I appreciate your help." "Meh, bitch had it coming." I smile to that. She's gone too far this time, maybe it's about time somepony hit her back. "Oh, and I'd suggest talking to your family before they read the paper. Might go easier for you then." "I don't think there is an easy way through this," I tell him, looking back at my door. I can't even imagine how this conversation would go. "Well, if you live and decide to let me take a whack at this, you can find me... somewhere. Laters." And with that, he teleports out of my room. I look out of my window in confusion for a moment. If he could teleport in, why did he climb through the window? No! I have more pressing matters. Before I go looking for dad I stash the file in the far back of my dresser and bring my copy of the newspaper. I go downstairs where I find Mama Luna sitting at the kitchen table, thinking to herself. "Umm... is dad in town?" I ask, hoping that she hasn't read the paper yet. "Hm? Oh, he's in his shed. But leave him be, he's catching up on some important rest. Why, what's the matter?" I try to formulate a response, but she notes my discomfort immediately. "What happened?" "Well... to put it shortly... eh... Somepony wrote an article about me and dad in the school newspaper and... he needs to read it." She stares at me for a moment before going slightly wide eyed. She doesn't say anything beyond that. She just nods me out back. I take a deep breath and head out there, trying to keep my nerves under control. I enter the pass code and take the stairs into his workplace. I don't see him right away, so I head towards the back where I find him sleeping in a cot. He's in his pony form, but has torn cloths on, so he must have changed in his sleep. I take a few deep breaths as I steel myself to poke him on the shoulder. He stirs a bit, but doesn't rise. I poke him again, adding a bit more pressure. He doesn't respond, so I lay my hoof on him and shake him until he turns to me. "Shadow? What's going on?" he asks sleepily, fighting to keep his eyes open. "Um... dad... Something big has happened and... I need to talk with you." My voice comes out even quieter than normal. My anxiety is about to burst out all at once and force me to the ground. But somehow I'm still standing. He doesn't say anything at first. He just closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, laying there. "Dad?" "Right, one sec... one sec..." He starts to push himself up, stretching along the way. "Be a dear and get me something from the fridge under the... the... monitors." I go straight to the mini-fridge he's talking about and take a look. Some beers and water. With what I'm about to show him, he probably would want a beer. But, a clear mind would be best right now. I grab a water and bring it back to him. He's out of bed and stretching out, yawning loudly. "Now, what's happened now?" he asks groggily as he takes the water and gulps down a large portion. I swallow the lump in my throat and present him the paper. I figure him reading it would be the best way to get things started. He takes it and starts to read. I just close my eyes and wait for him to finish. My knees are shaking, my heart is racing, and my stomach feels as if it's going to rip itself out of me. This is it, this is the moment when the relationship between me and my father became ruined. This is the worst Diamond has to offer. I shudder when I hear him drop his water bottle. A tear works its way down my cheek as I wait for him to say something, anything! What is he going to tell me? What is he going to do? I don't want things to change, why did she have to do this? What did I do to her that would drive her to this? I knew I should have just kept to myself. I would still have a father if I had just listened to my gut! Why am I so weak!? All of my thoughts stop when he starts to leave. I try to say something, but end up following him instead. How mad is he? Where is he going? He just walked straight out. Not even stopping to make sure the door was shut. He never does that. He walks around the house and starts to head towards Ponyville. Is he going to confront Diamond? No, he doesn't know she was a part of it yet. Maybe the teacher? Does he know who the teacher is? I try to ask him, but can't force the words out of my mouth. So I just scurry behind him, trying my best to keep up. As we march down the street, ponies all around stare at dad. Some look in disgust while others whisper to one another. A few of them even look my way, making an unearned shame wash over me. I didn't do anything to garner those kinds of looks. Do they really think Dad would do something like that? Do they really know that little about him? I come to a stop when Dad stops and I bump into him. He's taking quick, labored breaths with his eyes closed. I step to his side and stare up at him, trying to see what's going on with him. This... this is a whole new level of rage. This is something I've never seen before. The way his body is heaving... it doesn't even look natural. I jump back when his head snaps up and looks somewhere to the left. His eyes are completely black now, devoid of any light within them. He lights his horn and forms a straight edge saber to his right, holding it level as he starts to march forward again. "Sir, you are showing high levels of aggression right now! Please calm down and-" A guard starts to say before Dad rushes forward. A mare screams as he jumps into the air and spins down to strike at somepony. I run forward and watch as he starts to strike at the teacher in the middle of the street. He's screaming for his life as Dad swings his sword back and forth, never gaining purchase on the stallion. "Dad! What are you doing!?" I yell as I run towards him. He looks back at me and knocks me back with a blast of magic. My head spins for a moment before I shake it off and stand up. Ponies all over and running in a panic. Some are trying to get away while more are trying to get a better view. I try to push my way in, but can't muscle myself through. I charge my horn and pull off a trick of Dads; teleport up to get a view and then back down where I need to be. I appear behind dad as he pins the teacher beside Town Hall. He has a few cuts, but none of them look fatal. He's laying on the ground begging for his life, but Dad isn't listening. He doesn't even look as if he's paying attention to his own actions. He's just heaving with his eyes closed. Everypony has fallen silent, waiting to see what he does next. I take a look around before taking a deep breath and approach him. I don't know what to say to him. I'd never expect him to let his rage get the better of him like this. It isn't like him. This... this isn't my father. "Dad," I say quietly, slowly stepping towards him. He doesn't respond, so I try again. "Dad? Let's... let's go home dad. You don't have to do this-" "Do?" he asks dryly, looking up with his black eyes. "All I do is nothing." In the blink of an eye he summons another single edge saber and swings them both at the stallion. He lets out a scream as the pierce the ground by his neck. My stomach nearly rips out of me when I see the blood start to seep out of his neck. I fell its contents start rise up in me as I watch the dark red substance start to pool around him. Ponies all around start to scream from that, many of them also running from the scene. Several of the guards are still here, but they clearly don't know what to do. "Dad... he's not worth it-" "Worthless." "Y-yeah. He's worthless. You've done enough, let's just go home-" "WORTHLESS!" he screams as he summons another straight edge saber and brings it down on the stallion. He lets out another painful scream as the blade sticks out from behind him. A bit of bile comes up in my mouth as I watch the blade stand there, most likely removing the teachers... bits. He doesn't even care. He just... stands there, heaving. "Dad..." I don't have anything to say to that. Why would he react like that? Is there something about this that I don't know? Does he know him? Or... is this just a part of Dad that I never knew? As the crowd around us stares on, Dad leaves. He doesn't say anything, he just turns and walks off. I stare at him as he goes and try to figure him out, but I don't know where to ever start. Some ponies rush to tend to the stallion, but there is no saving him at this point. The damage is done. Some of the town ponies are starting to stare at me now, whispering to one another. I can't hear them, but I know what they're all saying. Think she made him do it? Why did he do that? Did you see his eyes? Why was he breathing like that? Don't cross Shadow, or he'll come after you. Every passing phrase weighs down on me as more and more ponies look on at the spectacle. The orphan whore sicking her all powerful father and ill sayers. I can feel their eyes on me and taste their disgust. It's making me sick. I rush out of the town square and rush home. I can't stay here, ever. I'll go home to Mooseden and stay there. Anywhere but here. As I rush down the road I see Dad ahead of me. He's stopped in the middle of the road looking around, confused. His eyes are back to normal and his breathing is back under control. I come to a stop behind him and he stares back at me, almost scared. I avert my eyes from him, unsure of how to feel right now. "Shadow," his voice comes quietly, but I nod in acknowledgement. "I'm going to ask you a question, and no matter how much the question scares you, I need you to answer me... How did I get here?" "What?" I ask in bewilderment. "Dad... do you... are..." "I... blacked out. But... it wasn't a... I've felt this before, not too long ago. And I doubt that they were both isolated incidents. Shadow, tell me what happened!" he demands, stepping towards me. I flinch from him, making him stop and back away. "Did I... did I hurt you?" "..." "Did... I hurt someone else?" "..." I shake my head, making him take a deep breath. "Are they dead?" "I... don't know." We both stay quiet after that. He blacked out? I guess that would explain his eyes, but what does he mean by this? He felt it before, but it wasn't the same? Was this Corpus Glacius or Soul Fire? Does he mean that it was something new? "Shadow," his voice shocks me a little, so I straighten up and look to him. "I'm going to Topaz Falls. I have to check myself over to see what is going on. Please tell Luna everything that happened. Make sure she informs Storm as well. Until I figure out what happened and how to end it, he's acting Captain for the time being. Do not, and I mean this, do not let anyone come see me. Until I get this figured out I cannot be trusted, do you understand me?" "Dad-" "Do you understand me!" he yells, scaring me. I feel a new wave of tears start to roll out as I shake my head. "No one goes to see you," I repeat, my voice waving in my tears. He let's out a sigh before teleporting away. I just stand there, crying. Unsure of what's happened or what will happen. I hope you're happy Diamond. I hope you enjoy this for as long as you can. Because I'm coming for you. Whatever you did changed my father, and I will never forgive you for that. I hope you're happy Diamond. Now it's war. Perspective: Diamond Tiara I trot my way through my manor and towards daddys study, paying little mind to the servants bowing to me. He needs to hear about the freak out in town square. I still can't believe he chopped his nuts off though. This should play in our favor, but we need to make sure we cover our bases. I know mine are. I stop before the door to his study and hear him talking with a few other ponies. I recognize one of them as Carneighgy and smile. It's been awhile since I last saw him, I wonder if he straightened his back out since then? I wait patiently for them to finish up and put on my best smile when the door finally opens up. When the old steel grey stallion sees me he puts on a similar grin. "Ah, Diamond Tiara," he muses as he approaches me. I give a little chuckle and close the distance, giving the old stallion a soft kiss on the cheek. He smells deeply of my favorite brand of cigar, with a hint of ash. "Mr. Carneighgy, it's been awhile. How are you? Is your back feeling better?" I ask as I twirl a hoof on his chest. He gives a modest chuckle as he turns to introduce me to the stallion behind him. "Much better now. Diamond let me introduce you to Master Smith Anvil." I turn to the stallion and give him a quick bow, one that he returns. He's a bit rugged, but he's built well for a unicorn. His orange mane strikes out against his charcoal coat, but I like it well enough. "Mr. Anvil, it's a pleasure to meet you. Will you be doing business with my father?" I ask, getting him to nod. "We just brokered a deal," Carneighgy tells me proudly. "My metal and his skill with your fathers business, it's sure to be a success." "I'm sure it will," I tell him, shooting Anvil a quick smirk. He flusters a bit, obviously not used to such affections. "I have to speak with my father, don't be a stranger you two." Carneighgy gives a deep laugh as he gives a bow and leaves. Anvil continues to stare at me as I walk past him, so I give him a little something to remember me by. A wink and a wave of my tail, being sure to keep everything hidden. It's a simple gesture, but he'll be dreaming of me for the next month. I saunter my way into Daddys office and take a seat as he finishes putting some papers away. By the heavy smell of cigars and whiskey I'd say they've been in here for awhile. I just hope they didn't finish off the good whiskey. Silver and I were planning on having some when she came over this weekend. "I've got some new for you Daddy," I tell him cutely, leaning onto the desk. He hums in response, focusing on filing his papers more. "I take it Miles saw the newspaper we talked about. He marched through town and chopped his balls off." He stops with his papers to look up at me, a bit shocked. "Do they know your involvement?" he asks seriously. "Mmm... maybe. My best guess would be that Miles doesn't know, but Shadow might. And even if she does, I highly doubt she'll muster the courage to do something about it." He hums back to me, looking down at his papers in thought. There's a lot riding on this, so I get the concern, but he could at least tell me them. "Either way, word is spreading around town like wildfire. You should hear the rumors being spread-" "Did you mail the extras like I told you?" he asks quickly, to which I nod. "Good. The townsfolk here might not be too easily swayed, but that won't be the case elsewhere. Good work." I smile at the praise. "Why was Carneighgy here? Do you have a new deal with him?" I ask, sitting back in my chair comfortably. He lets out a chuckle as he locks up his briefcase and sets it on the floor by his chair. "I'm glad you brought that up. You won't be getting your allowance this month-" "What!?" I yell, snapping back up. "I just bought the last of the general stores in Manehatten. And with the investment I just made, we're all going to be strapped for bits this month. But, we should make a return by next month. You'll have to wait to get the things you want in the mean time." I grumble to myself. There isn't anything I really want right now, but its still a bother not to receive my allowance. "What are you doing that needed so much money anyway?" I grumble as I slouch back into my seat. "Sit up, ladies don't slouch," Dad chides, making me begrudgingly sit back up. "Honestly, didn't your mother teach you better?" "Mom taught me how to make a stallion swoon, not how to sit upright," I tell him, smirking. "Oh, yeah. Either way, if everything goes the way we hope it does we are going to have to make some changes here and there. Sitting upright is one of them, so sit up." I nod along, fixing my posture. "Better. Now, would you like to see what I have in store for us?" "I have a feeling it has something to do with the blacksmith guild," I tell him, smirking. "Take a look at these," Dad tells me as he passes me a few scrolls. I take them and start to look them over. Each on is a blueprint of various weapons or armor. What makes them interesting is that each of them seem to come with locking mechanisms to hold gems. I don't really know much about armor, but I know fashion. And I can see that these were also made to fit practically anypony. Leather slides, adjustable buckles, and easily tailored boots to name a few. "By this time next month, Barnyard Bargains will be the largest supplier of armor and weapons. All of which will be made to undersell local businesses. Any yahoo or street rat with will be able to buy themselves a knights outfit... for a fee of course." I laugh at that, rolling the papers back up. "What about our competitors? When they catch wind won't they try to undersell us too?" He laughs at that, sitting back with that smug smile he gets when he knows something I don't. "Only if they can broker a deal with the smithing guild. Something they are not likely to do anytime soon." We stare at each other for a moment before I chuckle to myself. "If I'm going to convince Anvil of something like that, I'll be needing my allowance." "No can do. I have to pay a mercenary to follow you around. With all the attention you've been gathering, I want to make sure there are eyes on you at all times." I grumble to that. I tried, but I'd rather not have some power hungry freak chopping me into bits anytime soon. "Just another sacrifice towards nobility I guess," I tell him, sharing a knowing smile. If the threat of war is as real as everypony says it is, then we have nothing to fear.
Chapter 239 Plan of ActionChapter 239 Plan of Action Perspective: Shadow I asked Mama Luna if I could stay home today. I don't want to head back to school just yet. I'm not ready for that. She agreed, sending a note to the school magically. I haven't missed a day yet, so it shouldn't matter. Not that I care though. Right now I just want to clear my head. I'm filled with nothing but rage right now. I want to march down to school and choke the life out of Diamond Tiara right now, in front of everypony. But I have to wait. I want to do more than just harm her. I want her to regret even thinking about crossing my family. I want her to beg for me to stop, and then I want to harm her. If I'm going to do that, I'm going to need a clear head. Right now I'd just make a foolhardy mistake. I have to be careful. I need to be precise. Knock knock knock I don't respond. I don't want to talk to anypony right now. Of course the pony on the other side of the door doesn't care about that. They open the door and enter anyway. I pull my blanket over my head and hold my eyes shut. Maybe if I try to act as distraught as possible they'll give me some time alone. "Sit up Shadow." I flinch from Dads command. Is he back already? How long have I been here? I slowly bring my blanket over my head and peek out at him. He's standing in the middle of my room looking down at me with those serious eyes of his. I've only seen them a few times, but never directed towards me before. I swallow the lump in my throat before obeying him, sitting up and facing him. "Y-yeah Dad?" My voice comes out in a squeak. My heart is pounding violently in my chest as I start to think about what he has to say. Is he going to try and talk me out of taking revenge? Is he going to try and tell me everything is going to be okay? As much as I don’t want to hear it, and I really don’t want to hear it, there is a slight curiosity to what he’s going to say. "Follow me." He doesn't wait for me to respond. He just steps out of the room and waits for me in the hallway. I take a few shaky breaths before slipping out of bed and slowly walk out after him. He continues down the stairs and out back, and I follow after him. My knees nearly give out a few times, but I manage to stay standing the entire way. He stops before the door to his shed and motions to it with a head jerk. "Open it." "I don't know the password-" "Open it," he repeats in a firm tone. I flinch from that for a moment before stepping up to the panel. One, three, three, seven. The door clicks open and I step back, head held low. Dad doesn't say anything. He just walks in and leaves the door open for me. I try to step in, but my knees give out and I collapse onto myself. All of the tension and frustration comes out and forces a new wave of tears to fall from my eyes and I start to cry. Why is he doing this? Why won't he talk to me? Why did Diamond take this from me!? I sob for a moment longer before I see Dads hooves before me. I look up and see his stern face, flinching on reflex. "Dad..." I sob, trying to find the words. My emotions are too rampant right now to think clearly. I scared of what he's thinking. I'm angry at Diamond for what she did to me! I'm sad because I know nothing is going to be the same ever again. I'm confused because I don't know what's going to happen next. I don't know how I'm going to get through this. "Shadow," Dad says calmly, making me choke on my sobs. "If you are going to get revenge on Diamond, then you need to get up right now and follow me inside. You need to find the resolve in yourself and get up. Nothing I can tell you will make this easier, nothing anyone gives you will help you. You need to want this enough to see it through. If you can't make it through the door, then go back to bed. This path is not for the weak." He walks away, leaving me to cry to myself. I don't understand why he's being so cruel all of the sudden. Did I do something to upset him? Is he mad at me? This is all Diamonds fault! Why did she have to do this to me!? What did I ever do to deserve this? No. No, I'm not going to sit here and cry about it like a little filly. That's just what she wants me to do! I don't care what it takes, I'm going to make her pay for what she did to me! I am not going to let her, or anypony, walk all over me anymore! I push myself up and wipe my face on my leg before walking into the shed. My legs are weak and my knees nearly give out several times, but I make it down the stairs and into my father’s workshop. I find him at the computer in the back of the room, swiping away at a few screens. I take a moment to collect myself before I speak up, still finding it difficult to speak to him. "W-why did you bring me here?" I ask, my voice coming out dry and raspy. He pauses for a moment before looking back to me. It's the first time I’ve ever seen him frown, and it almost breaks me resolve on the spot. He’s usually so confident about everything he does. He usually does his best to hide his pain from everypony, so I know this is really troubling him. "Revenge," he tells me simply before giving one final swipe. A hologram of Barnyard Bargains and pictures of Diamond and her family shows up before me. "For whatever reason, this prick Filthy Rich has been secretly waging a political war against me. Usually it would be small things. Up selling here, under buying there, but recently it’s gotten worse. I have no doubt in my mind now that he’s the one behind the embargo on Terradisia. He’s gotten smarter, but we’ve handled that in the past. Now he’s making it personal, and I will not have that.” I nod to him and ask, “You think Filthy wanted Diamond to write that smear campaign?” “I’m not entirely sure. This is all speculation at the moment. But, it’s all I have. Regardless of whatever motivation they really have, what’s done is done. Diamond has made a move against family. As the Grand Captain of the Spartan Regiment, I cannot allow this to be swept under the rug. But, I can’t actively smear a child, nor can I take any type of military action against Filthy." "And that's where I come in?" I ask, finding a bit of my confidence. He nods to me, swiping the hologram to zoom in on Diamond. "I may not be able to help you directly, but I can give you the tools you'll need to wage this war. I am giving you permission to use this facility freely. Whatever you need you can take from here, bar any weapons of course. Don't worry about explaining this to your mothers, I'll take care of that. All you need to do is to take that bitch down. Understand." I take a deep breath and nod to him, feeling my emotions start to even out into one single objective. But, as I start to focus on that, a questions pops into my head. "Why are you letting me do this? You've never wanted me to fight before." He frowns and sits before me, motioning me closer with a hoof. I walk before him and he grabs my shoulder firmly, squeezing lightly. "Shadow, I love you. I know you know that. I want to keep you safe, you know that as well. But I can't fight your fights for you. I'm doing this to teach you to fight back. I'm doing this because I don't want people to walk all over you. I'm doing this because I am a Spartan, and I will not allow people to muddy our name. I am doing this because I hate that ass hat Filthy Rich and I want to beat him at his own game. Shadow, there are countless reasons that I want to do this. But none of those matter. What matters is whether or not you want to do this. This will all ride on you, and I want you to be ready for that. This is your last chance Shadow. If you don't want to be a part of this fight, go home. I won't think any differently of you, I promise. You are my little girl and there is nothing anyone can do to change that." Hearing him say that none of this will change the way he thinks of me; that there’s nothing that will stop me from being his daughter… I know I knew all of this, but hearing it come from him directly, it means the world to me. I know I can always rely on him when I need to, but it’s time that he relied on me to get something done. I’m going to do this, and I’m going to make him proud of me for it. “I know you just want to keep me safe, but I want to do this. I want to be the one to take her off her high horse. I’m ready to do this.” He gives me a smile and pulls me in for a hug. He breaks it before I could really enjoy the comfort. I take a moment to compose myself before looking back up to him, feeling much more confident about all of this. He looks just as relieved as well, though not entirely himself. “Do you have a plan of what you want to do?” he asks. “Not really. I know who I want to talk to in order to get started though. Is it okay if I bring friends over? Not today, obviously, but later on?” “Of course, just make sure none of them learnt he password in or get into any of my projects, okay?” I nod to him before realizing something. “I don’t mean here. I know you offered to use this place, but I wasn’t going to-“ “If you don’t use this place, that’s fine. But I would suggest using my workshop though. No one can spy on you here. And once you start making moves against Diamond, she’s going to make your life a living hell. Or, she’s going to try to. Information it power, Shadow. The more you have, the better prepared you are.” I hum in response. He’s right, but I just don’t know if it would be wise to use this place. I’ll have to think it over some more. “Well… do you want to get lunch then? Or, do you have work to do?” He sighs at that, dampening my mood a little. “Nah, I need to drag a dragon down to the boutique so his girlfriend can kick his ass for getting married. But we’ll all do dinner tonight, promise.” “Oh… well, it was nice knowing Spike.” “My thoughts exactly.” Perspective: Rarity I hum to myself as I watch the sewing machine rhythmically weave two pieces of fabric together. There’s only five more days till the Grand Galloping Gala and I’m only starting to catch up on my work. If I can keep this pace for the rest of the day, I’ll make it to the deadline without over stressing myself. I’m so proud of myself! I followed Twilights advice and made the perfect schedule this year, and it worked! Who would have guessed simply- CRASH I yelp and jump straight up when some barbarian kicks in my front door. I rush to the front room to yell at them but stop when I see who it is. For a moment, that is. “Miles! Spike! What is the meaning of this!?” I yell as I walk over to them. Miles has Spike by his ear spike with his magic and is twisting it lightly. Spike is trying his best to avoid the pain, but isn’t doing well. “Get in here!” Miles yells out the door. Another dragon pokes her head around the door, and I begin to panic. We’ve talked about this before, but I never thought it would happen. He said he’d never need anypony else, but I always knew. Deep down I always knew this day would come. Okay Rarity, just compose yourself and try to big the bigger pony about this. It’s a good thing I’ve got my groceries yesterday, I don’t think I’ll be leaving the house anytime soon. “Miles,” I start out, my voice wavering ever so slightly. He looks over to me and nods, letting go of Spike. He stands up and rubs his ear, avoiding my gaze. “Who is this dragoness Spike?” He looks up to say something to me, but looks back down. I can see him trying to form the words, but my usually confident Spike is at a loss. I can feel my emotions start to well up, but I do my best to push them aside. I am a lady in front of a friends and strangers. I will upkeep my image! It may be all I have left… “Well?” Miles demands, shoving Spike forward. He stumbles forward and blurts out the words I thought I’d never hear. “Rarity will you join my herd?” I blanch from the question. I was expecting more of a heartfelt apology, not a marriage proposal! Miles shifts over to stare at Spike, mouth agape. The dragoness looks more scared than anything else, but I’ll inquire about her later. “Join… your herd?” I repeat, trying to wrap my mind around everything. If he already has a herd, then I guess that explains the other dragon. But he intends to marry me? Does he actually wish to marry? Or is he trying to maintain his image? This is too spur of the moment to answer properly, not to mention Miles is standing here. “Ahem, Miles. Could you be a dear and give us some privacy? Spike and I… and this other dragoness, need to discuss some personal effects. And, could you watch Sweetie tonight? I don’t think this is going to be resolved easily,” I tell him, still staring at Spike. “… yeah. Let me know when you’re done with him, there’s still work to be done.” “Uh-huh,” I can’t give Miles any of my attention right now. Spike just proposed to me… and I’m not jumping with joy. I’ve always fantasized what our wedding would be like, right down to who would sit where and what would be served, among other things. But I never thought about us being a… herd. Big Mac has a herd and it almost drove Fluttershy away. And Spike had always said that I was his one and only true love. So, why is he asking for a herd? “Rarity, let me explain,” Spike starts out, rushing to kneel before me as he holds my hoof. I’m still too dumbfounded to really register what’s going on, but I try my best to follow. “In order to join the summit Bolas forced me to marry Maant. It was the only way I could get into the moot-“ SMACK I don’t need to hear any more than that. I would have never imagined Spike marrying for… POLITICAL reasons! How could he have thought presenting it in such a manner would ever be okay with me? What has gotten into him? “Maant, dear, come here please.” She gives a startled look before complying, kneeling before me just like Spike. Spike tries to say something, but I give him one look and silence him. “Maant, I am Rarity.” “Maant… why are you-“ “Forgive me for interrupting, but there is something I have to know. This is very important to me, so please answer me honestly. Are you and Spike in love?” She gives me a confused look before shrugging. I look to Spike one more time before asking my final question. “Very well. I understand dragon culture is vastly different, but did he force himself onto you?” “Rarity-“ Spike starts, but I hold his mouth shut magically. Maant looks a bit flustered by the whole situation. She tries to answer a few times, but keeps looking to Spike for help. “I’ll put it more bluntly then. Did Spike force you to have sex with him. Did he make you mate with him for any reason other than the two of you wanting to be together? Did he force himself onto you?” She tries to back away from me, but I keep pace with her. I don’t want to believe Spike would ever do something like this, but I also never thought he’d start a herd! “Um… he… I… Bolas said to… um… well…” she stammers as she presses her back against the wall, looking for a way out. “I’m not mad at you darling. Regardless of the answer you will not be in any trouble, I promise.” I tell her, trying to come off as compassionately as possible. The change in tone seems to only confuse her further. I guess she doesn’t really come from a culture that uses their words as much as we ponies do. I’ll have to teach her our ways eventually. “I mean… we both wanted something out of it, so no… I guess.” I let out a sigh of relief. It was consensual, somewhat. I’ll take it, if only for Spikes sake. “And… force is putting it strongly. He more… um… lightly did his thing?” “…” I stare at her as I try to follow her logic, slowly getting there. “Do you mean to tell me that he only… well… did the deed?” I ask to clarify. She nods, still looking confused and blushing heavily. “So… you didn’t finish?” “… finish what? We finished… I think. He did his thing and put his seed in my belly, what else is there to it?” I stare at her for a moment longer before shooting daggers at Spike, making him fall back in fear. “You forced her to marry you and you didn’t even satisfy her!?” I yell at him, making him squirm in fear. “I didn’t want to cheat on you more than I already was!” he yells in defense, scrambling backwards. “It was a little too late for that when you decided to marry her! Why would I want to join your herd if this is how you’re going to treat your wives!?” I yell as I march towards him. He puts his hands up to try and stop me, but I just pull them down with my magic. “I’m sorry! I wasn’t in love so I didn’t feel-“ “SPIKE!” I yell in bewilderment, making him curl up into a ball in fear. I stare at him as I try to think of what to do, but there’s only one thing going through my mind at the moment. I flare my horn and summon my gun, making him go wide eyed. “Rarity, let’s talk about this. I can fix this, I swear! Let’s just put the gun away and-“ PEW He lets out a yelp and hops up as I singe his right foot. This will hurt him, but not badly. His scales are too resilient for this to really cause any lasting damage. But it’ll hurt enough to send a message. “I want you out of my house. Don’t come back until you’ve learned your lesson. Maant will be staying with me for the time being. Understand?” I ask him, pointing the gun directly at his face. “Yes ma’am,” he answers quickly. I stare at him for a moment before shooting his stomach. He jumps up in pain and runs out the front door. I follow after him and send a few rounds after him, just to send my message more clearly. When I make it to the door I find Miles leaning against the side, chuckling lightly to himself. “Miles, it is rude to intrude on other pony’s personal matters,” I scold as I teleport my gun back to its place in my room. “Meh. I needed to make sure you didn’t kill the little whore-“ “Language.” “-before I sent him to the Frozen North. So, are you going to be alright?” I groan from his question, getting him to chuckle even more. “I’ll be fine. I’ll just have to work over time to finish all of my orders now that I have to plan wedding for three and teach a dragoness manners. But, there isn’t a date, so I have time. Take care Miles, and thank you again for taking Sweetie Bell tonight.” “Veni, et vidi,” he tells me before walking off. I let out a long breath before walking back inside, finding Maant at in the same spot she was in before, only more terrified. “Come Maant, we have much to discuss as we plan our wedding. And I hope we’ll become good friends by the end of all of this!” I tell her cheerfully. “How have your people not conquered the world yet?” she asks in fear, making me chuckle. “When Spike earns his right to come back I’ll have him show you why. Now come along! I have a fabulous idea for a day dress for you! Also, have you eaten? I have some gems if you’d like.” I tell her, getting confused looks from her. It’s going to be a long day. But! I can set all the stress aside for now. Maant and I are to be married! We have much to plan now, there isn’t a second to spare! Perspective: Twilight It’s been a long morning, but I only have one more pony to meet with before I can head back home and finally relax. I really shouldn’t complain too much though. Celestia and Luna deal with much more than this on a daily basis. But, they also don’t have to take a train out to Detrot for six hours either. Not to mention the ride back home is going to be strenuous. But, I’ll manage. I always do… somehow. “Ma’am?” I look up from my notes and look over to the Royal Guard by my door. “We will be arriving shortly. Your chariot will take you to your destination after that. Is there anything else you would like before then?” “No, thank you Honor Bound.” He nods and steps back to his post, shutting the door quietly. I hope I got his name correct. It was something Celestia taught me to do, but it’s hard to tell who’s who with the guards. Maybe I should just follow Miles’s advice and call them by rank. I pack up my belongings and wait patiently for the train to enter the station. No matter how many times I see the city, I love the view before entering Detrot. It’s an older city, being founded shortly after the founding of Equestria. The brick buildings seamlessly blend into one another as they each grow taller and taller. There’s a wild diversity here, something I’m not entirely used to just yet. With so many new factories popping up here, people migrate here for the steady jobs, which is why I’m here. I’m meeting a noble named Carneighgy. He owns the steel mills in Equestria and has tremendous sway in the political world. I’ve read up on him as much as I can, but I still have no clue how this meeting will go. On some accounts he’s depicted as a ruthless business pony who willing to do anything to win. On the other hoof, he’s one of the biggest donators to charities and has donated dozens of public buildings. According to Celestia’s notes, it seems mostly out of guilt. She has the feeling that he thinks that karma will catch up to him and make him pay dearly for all of his success. If it’s true, it’s something I can use. Though, I’m not entirely sure how. I snap back to reality when the train comes to a stop. I gather my things and follow the guards out into the station. A crowd has gathered to see what is going on. When I make eye contact with the first pony out there they all start to cheer. I blush from the praise and give a few waves before hurrying along. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that. The admiration, the worship; I’d rather be back in Ponyville where I can read a book under a tree and not be bothered. I get into my carriage and we take off through the city. Carneighgy lives on the outskirts of town, so it’ll be a bit longer before we actually make it there. This’ll give me some last moments to study up on the old stallion before we actually meet. From what I can tell from my notes, he’s a pretty average noble. His few key differences are that he made his own wealth instead of inheriting it, prefers not to dabble in politics, and has no heirs. Most nobles are very keen on continuing their bloodline, so that is very curious. I don’t know how I’ll use that to my advantage, but it’s good to know. I wonder what he plans to do with all of his wealth and businesses when he passes. Let’s see. He’s worked to get to where he is by himself. So he must value personal achievements and hard work. Both of which Celestia has well covered. He doesn’t like to dabble in politics, so I need to keep this short and to the point. And if I can work something about the future of Equestria in there, I think I can tug on his heart strings. I’ll have to do my best to convince him, but I believe I can do it! Diamond Heart was a doozy, but he showed me what I need to focus on. I can do this! My carriage stops before his estate and I take a moment to marvel at it. It’s massive. The land is surrounded by black rod iron gates that look as if they can fit Sweet Apple Acres within them. Lush, well-kept shrubberies cover large portions of the fencing until we make it to the main entrance. The gate is held shut with metal ingots crossing over it, a simple copy of his cutie mark. They seem to open of their own accord, but I can sense the magical connection from inside. The manor inside is just as impressive as any building I’ve ever seen. Three stories high and being made of mostly brick and marble, it still holds that distinct Detrot architecture about it. Impressive topiaries dot the lush fields around the manor as exotic wild animals roam freely. I almost feel as if I’m in a zoo rather than somepony’s home. My guards take me up the stone road and stop at the top of the roundabout before the massive manor. A line of servants stands before me, bowing deeply as the head butler opens the door for me. “Princess Twilight, it is my honor to welcome you to the Carneighgy estate,” he tells me, laying on the charm thickly. I look to my guards, who smirk back at me, before I step out. This is a little out of the norm for me, but I just do my best to play the part. “Thank you, sir. I am grateful that you all have come to welcome me to this lovely home. I hope it wasn’t too much of a bother for Mr. Carneighgy though,” I tell the butler as he shuts the door behind me. A pair of workers switch out with my guards and take the carriage away as the butler starts to escort me in. “Mr. Carneighgy will always open his doors to Royalty. Though this usually was limited to the Sisters in the past, he has opened his doors to all of the rulers of Equestria and Her territories.” That statement makes me cringe for a moment. Though it’s not too popular, there are many ponies who view Saddle Arabia and the Crystal Empire as territories of Equestria. It’s still a touchy subject, and it’s really only a problem when somepony openly takes a side. “Of course,” I mutter, trying to remain neutral on the subject. The butler does seem to mind as he opens the massive while doors to the manor. The inside is exactly what I was expecting. Fancy floors, priceless art, statues and artifacts, all sorts of high class paraphernalia. The entrance is almost as big as the dance hall back in Canterlot, maybe even bigger. “INTRODUCING THE ELEMENT OF MAGIC AND PRINCESS OF EQUESTRIA; TWILIGHT SPARKLE!” the butler announces to the empty room. I wait for a moment before I see a door at the other end of the hall open. A stout stallion makes his way over to our small group. He’s older, having bits of white in his steely grey coat. His black mane is styled back neatly, keeping its form despite his light trot. He has a cigar in his mouth that’s leaving a light trail of smoke behind him. He has a purple earth mare following after him with a several saddle bags on her hips. She’s wearing an elegant business suit and has her grey mane up in a tight bun. She doesn’t look too pleased by my presence, but I ignore that as I put on my best smile. Time to get to work. “Mr. Carneighgy, it’s a pleasure to meet you!” I greet him, holding a hoof out to shake. He closes the distance and gives a rough chuckle before shaking my hoof, showing off his superior strength. “Please, call me Carneighgy. The whole Mr. and Mrs. thing drives me crazy,” he replies heartily, his gruff voice sounding genuine. “Welcome to my home Princess. I do apologize for all the formality though. When you hire the best, the expect the best.” “I understand,” I tell him, relaxing a bit. “And please call me Twilight. This is a casual visit after all.” He scoffs at that, turning to invite me in. “Trust me, Twilight, nothing is casual in the big leagues. Come, let me give you a quick tour of my home. Would you like anything to drink?” The walk around his home was pleasant and helped remove any tension I previously had. His home is amazing, but exploring it with him was odd. There were several times we walked up to rooms that he didn’t know existed, or had items that he didn’t even know he owned. There was this painting that we walked by that he -or rather his assistant- told us he bought for two hundred thousand bits! Apparently a rival of his was at the auction and they started fighting over it. It started at five hundred bits… I’ve never seen such a disconnect between a pony and their finances. My parents were never really without, but they made sure every bit counted. The Apples and Rarity are the same. They are fine, but they couldn’t afford to just spend bits however they wanted. If they did, they could lose everything. Even Celestia and Luna are tight with money. Not because they needed to be, but because they see it as the right thing to do. But not Carneighgy. He has money, and lots of it. If he lost a million bits today he wouldn’t even notice. I never looked up his net worth, but by the looks of things here, he probably has more money than most cities have! And then I start to notice little things. He never really talks about other ponies. It’s always ‘I bought this’ and ‘this cost this much!’ I’m not saying he doesn’t have friends, but his priorities seem to be vastly different. But he also wants to provide for everypony. He almost insisted that we all have something to drink, my guards included. I had to tell them that it was okay, even when Carnieghgy pushed for them to have a beer. They earned it! he insists. He takes us to his personal library, something he said he knew I’d like, and we took a seat at a massive reading area. I was more than impressed by his selection, but put all that aside as I began to get to the purpose of my visit. “Carneighgy, your home is wonderful! And you’ve been an amazing host! But, I’m afraid that there is a reason to my visit,” I tell him as a butler sets drinks before us. I take my lemonade and begin to stir it, feeling a bit nervous about the talk we’re about to have. “And here I thought this was just a friendly visit by our newest Princess,” he jokes, taking a moment to sip his brandy. “But I understand. How may I be of service Princess?” “Before I begin I must ask for privacy. What I have to say is of national security.” He chuckles at that, taking another drink. “I assure you that none of my staff will speak a word-“ “I’m afraid I must insist,” I cut him off, setting my drink down. He eyes me for a moment before waving his staff off. I look to my guards and nod to them, getting them to leave. Once we’re alone Carneighgy speaks again. “Not even the Royal Guard are privy to this. I am intrigued,” he tells me, becoming more serious. I take a deep breath before I begin. “As I’m sure you are aware there are ever growing tensions in the world. Relations between some other nations and Equestria are starting to boil over, and we ourselves have only recently decided to enter a preparatory state in regards to these possible threats. But, an obstacle; the first of many, has occurred. This obstacle will be decided by the nobles of Equestria and will determine Her future as we know it.” “Well, I was intrigued before. Now I’m captivated. Do continue,” he tells me slowly, setting his drink down to focus solely on me. “I’ll be very blunt with you now. A war is coming. A war the likes of Equestria has never seen before. Our military is starting to take its form, and we are starting at the very top. But, there are some issues arising and it will come to a vote between all of the nobles to settle it. Who will lead Equestria during wartime.” I pause to check his reaction. But he’s just staring at me with those old grey eyes. He either doesn’t believe me, or already knows. “As it stands right now, Celestia would lead. But Luna is trying to convince other nobles to put her in charge. I’m here today to convince you to vote for Celestia to lead Equestria in the event of war.” “…” I gulp as I wait for him to respond. He doesn’t seem to care about anything I’ve said so far, which I don’t understand. I just told him we are about to go to war! And all he does is sit there!? There has to be something in there! How could he not care about this in the slightest? I need to get him to say something. “Carneighgy, do you understand what I just told you?” I ask him, leaning a bit forward to look him directly in the eyes. We stare at each other for a moment before he scoffs and starts to light a new cigar. I can’t help but recoil from that. Why is he so smug about this? What does he know? “Twilight, you are young so I won’t be too cruel, but I must ask you why I should vote for Celestia when I could vote for the human instead?” I blanch from that, getting him to smirk. “I was there when he made the reveal you know. I’ve kept quiet, but I didn’t forget. Miles is a much better candidate to lead our army.” “Miles is bound by the Spartans and would not willingly take charge over our forces! I know this from first hoof experience!” I tell him, trying to crush these thoughts as quickly as possible. “Yes he would. Twilight, don’t think us nobles’ fools. The ponies of Ponyville may keep quiet, but we have our ways of getting information. Have you not read of the Spartan capture of Mt. Iron in Zebrica? Or the leveling of Shadow Hill in the Ape Empire? The Spartans are well equipped to fight, but they have no reason to fight for us.” “We are allies! They would not abandon us in our time of need-“ “But would they capture cities for us? Would they allow themselves to become bogged down in the frontlines with us? We need him to fight for us, not with us.” “And that is where you are not only wrong, but mistaken,” I tell him, getting a bemused look from the older stallion. I take a look around before I decide to use one of the cards up my sleeves. “What if I were to tell you that Celestia and Luna were citizens of Terradisia?” “Pffft, preposterous! They would never demean themselves to the level of common ponies!” “It wasn’t really their choice,” I tell him, getting a smug look on my face. He goes quiet and waits for me to explain. “All Spartans are Terradisians, as are their families. The moment Luna and Miles were married Celestia and her became citizens. As am I. We attend the monthly meetings with the rest of the Terradisians and have direct influence into their political system. By the laws of their Codex, if any outside force attacks a Terradisian citizen, the Spartans will answer. Mark my words, if Equestria is attacked, the Spartans will have no choice but to fight. We need every advantage we can get. Luna shouldn’t go because she has a foal to watch over. I can’t go lead because I will be attending to all of the logistical work in the background. We need a pony to lead, somepony that will inspire us to fight! We need to ensure that, in the case of the unthinkable, we have a future to hold onto. We need your vote Carneighgy, will you help us?” He leans back in his seat and rubs his chin as he thinks to himself. I don’t think there is anything else I can say. He didn’t even mention Luna, so I think it’ll be safe to say that he isn’t even considering her. That leaves Celestia and Miles. And we can have both! All he needs to do is to vote for Celestia and we get the both of them. “Does Celestia have a plan to win the war?” he asks quietly. I smile at that. He’s willing to consider her! It’s not a yes, but it’s a start. “She has several ideas of what needs to be done. Reforms are being made in the Equestrian military to make mobilization easy. We’ve even started working on contingency plans for worse case scenarios. With Celestia in charge we will be ready for whatever may happen.” He hums back to me, stoking his chin some more. “Well, all I can say is that you’ve given me much to think about. I will have to think about this some morethough… there was information that I wasn’t aware of,” he tells me, obviously still deep in thought. “Of course, I understand completely,” I tell him, bowing my head slightly. “But, I do have to ask. Do you really believe Celestia ready to kill?” His question stuns me for a second. It’s something that I’ve never really thought about before, but seems obvious to me. “Celestia has fought for our nation before. I see no reason she won’t be ready for this either,” I tell him confidently. “But, as you said, this is a war the likes of which we’ve never seen before. And if the threat is truly this real, is it not better to rely on the disposable pony?” I shake my head from his statement. “Mile is not disposable! How could you say such a thing?” I ask, bewildered by his remark. “Miles is as foreign to us as the Griffins we will soon fight. He has no interest in our politics, even less in our business, and very obviously wishes to conquer. Look at his track record! He has colonies all over the world and is-“ “What colonies? What track record? The Spartans have done nothing like that!” I retort, getting a confused look from him. “What?” “Perhaps you know less than you believe, Twilight. Because I can tell you for a fact that the Spartans do in fact have colonies. Trust me on that. If we’re talking about putting one of the major Alicorns in direct harm’s way, why not the one that lives and breathes war? I cannot give you a direct answer for how I will vote. You have given me new information to think about. But… I can say that I still feel strongly about my previous decision. Though, I would urge you to learn more of your own people before you make anymore decisions.” I stare at him as he stands and leaves the library. If the Spartans had colonies they would have told us at the meetings... wouldn't they? No, they would have to! It's their way of life! There are no secrets in Terradisia... right? Author's Note July Updates! Man of War Writing Contest!! Brony on!
Chapter 240-A Pinkie's Political Party Planning Predicament Chapter 240-A Pinkie's Political Party Planning Predicament Chapter 240-A Pinkie's Political Party Planning Predicament Perspective: Celestia I give a content sigh as I leave Luna's home and head into Ponyville. Sparing with Miles and the other Spartans was as vigorous as I expected, though I think I surprised a few of them. It's hard to tell with that lot, but I'm sure I'll be in for a surprise of my own tomorrow morning. But, all of that fighting and running around left me in a sweaty mess that I haven't felt in eons. So after a quick shower and a small breakfast at Luna's I began my day. First order of business is meeting up with Pinkie Pie. If we're going to throw a party for the entire nation, there isn't another pony alive that can help... or, at least I don't think there is. I make my way to her home and tell my guards to wait for me at the door. They salute and take their posts as I step into the bakery. Almost immediately I can tell there is something wrong. Most of the lights are off. There are a few on by the empty counter, but they threaten to blow out as they flicker on and off. There isn't a soul in sight and there's an eerie silence in the building. Did something happen in here? Am I not supposed to be inside? Surely they would have put some sort of warning on the door if there was construction happening. I take a few cautious steps inside as I look around. Everything that I can see seems to be fine. No signs of forced entry, clean table tops, but there is a certain lack of sweetness in the air. It's almost as if they haven't baked anything in the past few days. "Hello?" I call out. "Is anypony home?" Nopony responds. "The door was unlocked so I thought it was okay to enter. Should I leave? Is Pinkie Pie here?" I stop when hear a floorboard creak from behind the counter. I don't see anypony over there, so I start to walk towards it. When I make it there I peer over slowly and look for somepony to be there, but it's empty. "Hello Princess." I jump a little from the voice coming from behind. I spin around to see Pinkie sitting at one of the tables, slowly petting her pet alligator. "Pinkie, you startled me-" "Sorry Princess, but I need to talk to somepony else for a moment." "Um... okay." Perspective: How did you even? "So, it's that time now, isn't it?" Pinkie asks. "Um... no?" "Don't try to play dumb, I know what you're really doing here. You're trying to make a party so big that even I couldn't make it happen! Admit it!" "All I'm trying to do is set a tone for Equestrian nationalism, to then further explain why people decide to war in the first place. You're the one who made it personal-" "A party over all the land, how is that not a challenge!?" "I'm not challenging you! Can we get back on track please? We only have... what, fifty chapters or so? I want to progress!" "Don't play the victim card. You just want to show the world that there are parties too big for me! Well you know what? I'm going to do it! I'm going to throw the world’s most crazy, largest, slay-e-est kid friendly party this world, or any of the Equestrian -P multiverse worlds have ever seen! And I'm going to do it all by myself! And then I'm going straight to your house and I'm going to rub it right in your face while singing, 'I told you so, I told you so, I told you so!' And you're going to sit there and accept that I am the party god! And then you'll tell me all about fifth arc! And then we'll get burritos! So deal with it!" "... you know you can't keep doing this, right? People are going to get mad." "Pfft, please. I'm Pinkie Pie. I'm an adorable talking pink horse that defies the laws of relativity. All I have to do is some reference to the eighties and I'll be fine. Now, get on with it!" Chapter 240 -B Resolve Perspective: Celestia "Princess, is everything okay?" My guard asks me. I blink a few times as I stand before the entrance to Sugarcube Corner. I take a look around before I feel a slight tinge of embarrassment wash over me. "Yes, everything is fine. I just had a... strange thought occur," I tell her before I step inside. The store is empty save for the two owners and Pinkie Pie. The three of them are busying themselves with leaning the store, though it appears to be clean already. I don't smell the usual sweetness of the store, telling me times are hitting them pretty hard right now. The owners notice me immediately and bow quickly, getting Pinkies attention. "Princess!" she yells before bounding over the counter and charging up to me. I smile at her enthusiasm, glad to see a smiling face for a change. "Hello Pinkie Pie! I hope I'm not bothering you right now but I'd like to have a word with you," I greet, nodding to the others in the room. "Of course not Princess! I always have time to speak with you! Come into my office!" I smile and follow after her. She pronks her way back to the counter and jumps behind the register, popping back up to speak with me. "What's on your mind?" "Well, as I am sure you are aware of, the Grand Galloping Gala will be this upcoming weekend." I start out. "Oh really, I wasn't aware," she says nonchalantly, inspecting her hoof lazily. "Yes. But, with times being difficult all over the nation, we were trying to think of a way to... boost morale." "Yeah?" she asks, leaning forward in excitement. "So we were thinking of doing something... big. Something the likes of which have never been even attempted before." I tell her, watching her grow more and more excited. "Yeah? She asks, on the verge of a mental explosion. "Pinkie Pie, will you help us throw a party for the entire nation during the Grand Galloping Gala?" I ask, stepping back as a precaution. She takes in a massive breath of air and... "Oh I don't know," she says quietly, casting her gaze downward. "What?" I ask in disbelief. "I mean, there's only a few days left to plan that big of a party. Not to mention I'd have to make plans set for each village, city, hamlet, and-" FW-BOOM The entire building shakes when she whips a massive tome from her mane and slams it on the counter, crushing the register beneath it. She throws the cover open to a random page and starts to search for a specific page. I see detailed plans for plans for towns and villages. Dance floors, games, tonnage estimates for streamers, some of the plans were ever in Burro! She stops on the page for Canterlot and slams her hooves on the page, leaning up to address me. "How big we talking?" she asks, her tone reaching unsettling levels of seriousness. "I beg your pardon?" I ask, caught completely off guard. "Ever since I was a little filly with a fresh new Cutie Mark it has always been my dream to throw a party for all of the ponies of Equestria. I've cataloged every city, every town, and every village for this occasion. I know what to do and where to do it. I know what some would call too big and what others would call too small. All I need to know is what my budget is, and how big you need me to make it. Once you give me that, I'll take care of the rest. So, how big are we talking?" She narrows her eyes a bit as she stares me down. I have to take a moment to collect myself before I respond, standing a bit straighter in response to her tone. "Big," I tell her, making her smirk back at me. "But it's not just a big party Pinkie. We need to make ponies love to be Equestrian. We need this to make them believe in this land more than ever." "When I'm done with this, they won't want to believe there are any other nations out there!" Pinkie tells me, bouncing on her hooves in excitement. "And you can do this for the entire nation by the Grand Galloping Gala?" I ask, giving her a knowing smirk. I have no personal doubts on her abilities. But I need to make sure she doesn't either. "Does Rainbow Dash cosplay as Daring Do for Soarin?" Her question catches me off guard again. That's... something I didn't need to know. "I wouldn't know-" "The short answer is 'only for special occasions and surprisingly well.' And this is a very special occasion. I have to start sending letters and scheduling train rides. All you have to do is send me a letter confirming that the government will cover my expenses. After that, you just let your auntie Pinkie Pie take care of the rest!" She gives me an almost evil look as she says this. I stare back at her for a moment before simply letting it be a 'Pinkie thing', as Twilight would put it. "Well, I'll be sure to send that later today. Let me know if you need anything else and please don't push yourself too much. We need your help, but we also want you to stay healthy," I tell her sincerely. "Okie dokie artichokie!" she responds, giving a mock salute. I give her and the Cakes my farewells and start to leave. If she's as prepared as she lets off, then we have nothing to worry about. Which is good, because I have too much on my as it is already. I need to hurry back to Canterlot to study now. I told Miles I would read up on Equestrian battle history. Most of this means reading up on old ballads from the era of the Three Tribes, but I need to learn their mentalities on the subject. There could be important information that could prove to be vital to our cause. Just as I was about to enter my chariot I notice Miles walking nearby. He seems to be heading home, or at least in that direction. "Hmm.... guards, wait here. I'm going to have a quick word with Miles." I tell them before teleporting next to Miles. He jumps a bit, but recovers quickly. "Celly, did you need something?" He asks, stopping to talk. "Not necessarily. I was just about to leave for Canterlot and I saw you walking by. Do you think you have time to speak with me awhile longer? I can teleport you where you need afterwards." He thinks about it for a second before nodding to me. I smile from that and guide him to my chariot. "How're you feeling?" he asks as we gently take off. He sits back against the rear of the chariot, holding onto the side tightly. I settle down and let my fore hooves dangle off the edge, eyeing the sky above me as we climb towards the clouds above. "Optimistic. Though I did just speak with Pinkie Pie, so that might have something to do with it." He hums in response, understanding the feeling. "I don't know. Part of me feels as if we're wasting our time with all of this preparation and plotting. Between you, me, Luna, and the Elements; what chance do the griffins really have?" "Don't let that kind of mentality fool you. There is never any harm in being prepared. And..." I look back to him and wait for him to continue, but after a few silent moments I get the feeling that he won't. "I know what you're afraid of, Miles." He looks over to me, a mixture of stress, fear, and anger contorting his expression. "You're afraid that one of us will die." "Any attack they make will target each of us simultaneously. They have to. Otherwise they'd lose any advantage they might have made. You can raise the sun, Luna can use Soul Fire, and I have Icy Void. But none of that matters if we don't hear the shot. I've seen it before Celestia. I don't want to go through that again." "You won't Miles," I tell him quickly, turning to face him. "We are not alone in this. We have many friends and allies that will watch over us and protect us-" "Then why do you feel as if we're wasting our time?" he demands. "... because I don't want to see anypony get hurt." I turn back to look down at the passing landscape below. At this height we can see large distant cities, small farming communities dotting all around, and even clumps of villages. "If what you are preparing for comes true, then many of the ponies I have sworn to protect will lose their lives. No matter how much I fight I can never seem to keep them safe. So, part of me is thinking of different ways to keep them safe. That I should be the one to do all of the fighting. That I should be the one to bear all of the pain. But then I start to look at the numbers. There will be fighting, and I don't know how much of it I will be able to take. I don't know how many lives I can end before I can no longer look at myself. I don't want to kill so many misguided ponies, but I know I'll have to if it comes to this. If I'm going to perform my duties and protect this land, then I will have to do what is necessary. I just don't know what kind of pony I will be afterwards. So, then I try to think of ways to avoid fighting all together... but..." "I get it." I look back to him, noting the resolve in his demeanor. "We are Spartans. We forfeit our humanity so others may prosper. It is our burden to carry that pain so others won't have to. That is the credence of my people, of all Spartans. Taking a life for something you don't believe in... it's hard. Some would even say it's impossible. But, then there are times you fight for something... bigger than yourself. I wasn't there for them in the past. I wasn't there to protect my friends when they needed me the most. But not this time. I'll be ready when they come back, and I won't just disappear. I'm going to fight, even if it's to the bitter end." A silence falls between the two of us. I knew that the Spartans took what they did seriously, but hearing Miles tell me that he'd die for a war that doesn't need to happen... it puts a new perspective on things. Ponies say they'll fight to the death, but I've never been convinced of it before now. As much as I admire his resolve, I can't help but fear for him as well. He is the father of my nephew, my only direct nephew. He is the husband of my sister. He is my brother. He's... he's not somepony I'm willing to just toss aside. He's not somepony I want wasted for something so... meaningless. I don't want to imagine a life where we have to go on without him. I don't want Tempestive to grow up without his father. I've been through that; I know that pain. I know it too well. And what about Luna? She had a near mental breakdown when I forced them to separate. What would she do if she had to bury him? What would she do to those responsible? "Let us hope that it never comes to that," I tell him, casting my gaze back to the sky. I can't tell him how I feel about this. He's too stubborn. Too set in his ways. He's a warrior. And if there's going to be a fight, he's going to be in it. There's nothing anypony can do about that. But somepony needs to be there to watch his back, and I want to be that pony. I need to be that pony. He wants avenge his people, and I want to protect my family. So I'm going to fight, even if it's to the bitter end. Because they are worth it. Author's Note Brony on!
Chapter 241 Relics in the AtticChapter 241 Relics in the Attic After our short talk we kept quiet for the duration of the trip. I guess I could have sent him back home, but it didn't feel right. I want to send him back on a more positive note. So I decided to take him with me to study up on Equestrian history. I doubt that would cheer him up, as he's not Twilight, but it will give me a chance to talk to him some more. Hopefully by the end of our continued discussion we can leave off in higher hopes. We land not too long after and make our way to my personal study. It's located just under my bedchambers so it was a bit of a walk, so I asked a passing servant to bring us something to drink. I also made sure to whisper into his ear to inform Luna that Miles is here. Maybe the two of them seeing each other will brighten both of their moods. Not that Luna is unpleasant, so to say. She's just been... flustered? Distracted? I'm not entirely sure what to pin it on, but she hasn't been her normal self. Not entirely at least. Normally I'd know exactly what's going on with her, but ever since their marriage there have been times where I don't know what to make of her. She'll be on edge and flustered. She'll say she's fine, but I can very plainly see that she is far from fine. She also mutters things like 'Miles better hurry', and 'where is he now?'. She thinks I can't hear her, but I let it slide because it's none of my outward business. "I've never been in this part of the castle before," Miles mentions, breaking my train of thought. "Well, I've never really had a reason to bring you to my private study, now have I?" I ask him as I walk in. It's just a library the size of my room. The walls are lined with ancient books and tomes save for the space for the large fireplace. A few large cushions take up the center of the room, leaving a decent portion to walk around. I walk to the nearest cushion and drop down onto it, letting out a loud sigh of relief. I sink in about halfway before the cushion finally supports me. I wiggle around and get comfortable before I start to levitate books over to myself. Miles has started to walk around the room, eyeing different books as he goes. "Have you learned to read Equestrian yet?" I ask as I start to pile relevant books besides myself. "Yeah. Not proficiently, but enough to get by," he tells me before stopping at a specific section. "Starswirl the Bearded... are you familiar with his works?" I ask as he pulls out a book and flips it open. "Not entirely... I've avoided his works." His statement catches me off guard and I have to stop what I'm doing to stare at him. "Starswirl the Bearded is Dolums son... Dolum was my best friend from Topaz Falls." "Right... you've told me this before... you don't have to read it if you don't want to." I forgot about that. His people changing themselves into ponies to save themselves... his relationship to them. It's a bit to digest, that's for sure. "No... no, I think it's time I did." He tells me as he takes the book and sits on a cushion besides me. He flips it back to the beginning and starts to read, so I do the same. Everything stays silent for about two seconds before he asks the question I didn't want him to ask. "Did you know him?" "Yes. We were... acquainted," I tell him, trying to leave it at that. But, of course, he continues. "What was he like? And did you know his mother at all?" I sigh from that and try to think of the best way to answer that. "Yes I knew his mother, not as well as I knew him though. She was... not very trusting. I don't know for sure, but I feel as if she didn't trust me." I tell him as I roll over to look at the empty fireplace. I haven't thought about her for a long time. Him, on the other hoof... "Starswirl the Bearded was an amazing pony. He was brave, smart, handsome, albeit a bit full of himself. He always felt that he wasn't using his full potential and that magic could be expanded beyond its limits. Knowing what I know now, that makes more sense. But back then, he was a radical... they both were." "Both?" Miles asks, but I ignore. "He wasn't satisfied, ever. He'd make one discovery that could change the land, but it wouldn't be enough. There was always something he was pushing himself towards. Something... I don't know. There was a goal for him, but I could never tell what it was. I couldn't give it to him, nopony could. After a while he just... gave up. Settled down. The fire was doused and he... he didn't know what to do with himself. It was then that he started writing too. He stopped exploring. He stopped asking questions. Every time I tried to talk to him he was just... uninterested. I guess he realized that he'd never be satisfied, so he gave up." "..." "..." "..." "Do you need a minute?" Miles asks, breaking me from my thoughts. "No, sorry. He was a good friend of mine, one of my first friends really. I was... hard, to see him give up like that," I tell him, trying to hide my face in my book. I can see him stare at me for a moment before going back to the book. I relax, thinking he let it go, but nearly have a heart attack at his next comment. "He liked you, that's for sure." "What!?" I yell, dropping my book. "Well, at least in this book he did," he continues nonchalantly. "That book is about his adventures in Tartarus, not a love confession!" I yell at him, knowing the book by its cover. I can't help but lose my temper a bit when he tells me this. It's a... touchy subject for me. "And my thoughts go to the sun, I long for truth, May I chase the sunset, never to reach it. You've had this book for how long and you couldn't find these?" I stare at Miles for a moment before I yank the book from his grasp and read it myself. I flip through a few pages before I toss it back at him. "And where exactly are you reading all of these love notes?" I ask bitterly, glaring at him. "They're in Terradisian ciphers. Page number equal to paragraph. Usually they also take the page number for the word in the paragraph as well, followed by the lettering. It makes sense too. He was raised by Terradisians, and they probably didn't trust anyone out there. They needed to write down their thoughts, this would be the best way to do it. Try treading it again, but this time follow the cipher." I give him a skeptical look before taking the book and following his instructions. At first I assume it's merely coincidence. A few words here and there, a phrase after that. But after a few sentences I start to lose my skepticism and read more and more. Have these been here the entire time? Has anypony ever seen this before? Somepony had too! It's too easy of a key for anypony not to have! Then again, I didn't. Twilight didn't... or did she? These seem rather personal... and pointed towards me. Was she trying to protect me? Or did she already know about them and assumed that I did too? After a few longer sentences come up I summon a quill and parchment to start taking notes. There are what appear to be answers to questions I never thought I'd get to ask. His feelings, why he traveled with us, who knows what else is in here. Miles has kept quiet, having taken another book to read. A knock catches my attention eventually, about three pages into my notes. How long have we been here? "Come in," I answer, never looking away from the book in front of me. "Hello you two," Luna greets as she walks in. "Hi," I mutter, more transfixed on the notes than anything else. "Luna," Miles greets, standing up to speak with her. "Sorry, I probably should have told you we were going to be here. Though, I didn't think we were going to be here as long as we were to be honest." "It's alright. I'm... glad you did," she says coyly. "Yeah?" he asks, sounding a bit more confident. "Yeah," she replies simply. "Either grab a book and read or be on your way," I tell then dryly. I'm too focused on the task at hand to care about whatever it is they have to say. They share a small laugh at take a seat next to me, grabbing their own books. I lose sight of the rest of the world as I get back into deciphering this book. How many other messages did he write? Is this why he was so focused on writing towards the end of his life? It must have been the only way he could let his personal thoughts out, I imagine. What other resource would he have had? He couldn't talk to me, if his feelings were really this way. His mother had passed by this point too. There were the other founders, but by this point they were either too busy with their own dealings. He certainly couldn't talk to her. She... just wasn't the type of pony you talked to. In the midst of my own thoughts I happen to glance at Luna and Miles. Luna is curled up on her side with Miles laying against her shoulders. She has a wing draped over him lightly while he has an arm entangled with her foreleg. They're each reading their own books, but I can tell they're more focused on each other. Every now and again Luna would shift around to snuggle closer to Miles. He, in return, would either plant a small kiss on the top of her wing or hold her hoof a little tighter. He's also lightly rubbing his cheek against her wing. I can't help but feel conflicted as I watch them. I want them to be happy. And seeing them happy makes happy as well. But I can't help but feel a tinge of jealousy at the moment. I don't have somepony to share this joy with. I know this is only surfacing because of the messages I've been reading, but there is a truth to my emotions. This is why I need to protect them. Because if I lost them, who would I turn to? I know there are those that would be there to support me, but who would understand losing somepony that you've known for so long? Miles may not have been there always, but the history we share is still more than most can say. "Is everything alright Celestia?" Luna asks, making me blink. "What? Oh, no! No! Sorry, I was just deep in thought." I tell her, blushing a bit. "What were you thinking about?" she asks innocently. I stutter a few times as I try to think of an answer. What do I tell her? I was thinking of a previous love of mine that you didn't allow me to have, and now I'm jealous of you and Miles. That would be the worst possible thing to say! I could just say it was nothing, hope she doesn't press the issue. "Oh... it's nothing, really," I tell her, hiding my face in the book again. "Are you sure-" "What the fuck," Miles mutters as he sits up. "What is it?" Luna asks, dropping the subject. "Miles?" I ask, glad that he changed the subject. RIIIIIIIIP Luna and I both let out a loud gasp when he rips a page out of the book in his hands. One of the original Starswirl the Bearded books... "What in the hell do you think you are doing!?" I yell as I stand up. He ignores me and starts to rip more and more of the pages out, setting them on the floor in a specific order. "Miles!" Luna yells, standing up and poofing the book from his grasp. "What is this?" he asks himself and he fans the teared pages out and starts to move them around. Luna and I look to each other in abject horror. He just ruined a national treasure. A hoof written book by the son of his best friend! A nearly four thousand year old book! Has he gone mad!? "I need that book!" "You are not ruining another page-" "Please!" he yells, stunning us both. "There's something here, I'm sure of it! I don't know what it is yet, but if it's what I think it is... I need to see that book." Luna and I share an uneasy look before I nod to her. I don't know what he sees, but if he saw those messages then there might be something else there too. Luna summons the book back and levitates it over to Miles. He takes it and wastes no time flipping through the pages and ripping them out one by one. Each tear makes me cringe and I have to look away to stop myself from taking the book back. After a few more tears he starts to mess with the loose pages on the floor, setting them in a specific order. At first I don't understand what he's trying to do, but page by page it becomes more and more clear what he's doing. He's setting them in a circle. I don't understand why, but that's what he's doing. I look to Luna to ask her a question, but she's too intrigued by the sight to notice me. I try looking again and try to see what's different this time. He has them laying over each other so there isn't any empty space between any of them. It seems that only odd pages are facing up as well. Other than that, I don't know what's going on. "Miles, what is this?" I ask, getting him to stand up slowly. "A Terradisian enchantment," he tells me slowly, reading a passage in the book. "I noticed there were random points in his writings that had extra spacing. At first I didn't realize what it was, but then I noticed the consistency of the spacing. I started drawing the shape in my head and it came to a circle with a slightly smaller circle within it. In the final chapters he writes about a creature called a Praetorian, do you know of it?" "They are the guardians of Tartarus, or were the guardians. But they're just myths, legends. They were made up to keep ponies out of-" "What did they do according to the legends?" Miles asks, to which Luna answers. "They were creatures of immense magical power. It was said that they could even rival that of my sister and I. Faceless and without emotion, they eventually turned to dust as they kept their guard, waiting for any foalish enough to enter their domain." Miles hums to that and skims a few more pages before ripping a few more out. He tears these one further until he has several paragraphs isolated. "Have I ever told you about spoken magic?" he asks as he sets them in the center of the circle, trying to put them in a certain order. "Never," I mutter. "What is it?" Luna asks, stepping closer. "Terradisian magic requires movement to activate, this much you know. But, there are certain spells that require more from you. When I first was trying to forge the Elements, I tried this myself. But it never worked out. I've read a few legends that told of casters that would speak in ancient archaic words, casting spells that could reshape reality itself. I've seen proof of this as well." "So spoken magic is more powerful?" Luna asks. Miles doesn't respond. He just stands up and looks down at the papers beneath him. Luna and I step up beside him and see what has come from all this. In the center of the two rings is a pile of passages that have formed what looks to be an old figure for alicorns... wait. I know this figure! It's the same as the Alicorn Amulet! But, then that means... "Is this the enchantment to make the Alicorn Amulet?" I ask. "Possibly. What is that?" Miles asks, pulling out his phone to take a few pictures. "Remember when Trixie went power crazy? When you first met her? That." Luna tells him, getting him to nod. "Well... only one way to find out." Before Luna and I could do or say anything, Miles ignites his hands and slams them onto the papers below. Luna and I are thrown back as a massive wave of energy ignites from the ground. Powerful winds whip around the room and send books and papers all over. Arcs of electricity snap from a bright fire in the front of the room. I try to call out to Luna, but the roar of energy silences me. I see her call back to me and crawl towards me, so I do the same. When we are within each other’s reach I pull her in and try to shelter her as best I can. A few books slam into me, so I try to put up a shield. All of the energy I tried to put into the spell becomes sapped into whatever Miles is doing. I try to call out to him, but there's no way he can hear me. I can't even see him, there's too much light. With nothing else to do, I close my eyes and huddle over Luna, waiting for it to end. BOOM My ears begin to ring after a loud explosion deafens the room. A small amount of smoke attempts to choke me, but its quickly dissipating. I look down to Luna and cheek to see if she's okay. I can hear myself asking her, but it sounds too muffled and distant to make out properly. She looks up to me in a daze and tries to ask me something, but I can't understand her. I look out to the room and see Miles laying on his back before a massive scorch mark. He's coughing and attempting to get up, but shows no other signs of injury. The doors fall open and several of my guards start to rush in. One of them runs into the scorch mark and causes a massive light to go off, blinding me momentarily. I rub my eyes and blink widely as I wait for my vision to come back. While waiting for that I slowly start to get my hearing back. The sound of muffled screaming is the first thing I hear, followed by the groans of everypony else. As my vision fades back in, I look back to the entrance and gasp from the sight. One of my guards is writhing on the floor, trying to remove a mask from his face. It looks to be made of wood and covers every inch of his face, ending just before his horn. Strange markings glow an eerie green over the wood. They remind me of the markings Miles has over his body when he uses his magic, but... different. His eyes are gone, now replaced with orbs of glowing green energy. Small arcs of energy crackle from the mask and his horn as he continues to struggle. One of the other guards tries to help him, but it doesn't seem to help. The masked guard starts to flare his magic and a sense of power I've never seen in a guard erupts from him. Layers of magic envelope his horn as he sets off a spell. Something goes wrong though, and a section of the tower is forced out into the side of the mountain, causing massive craters. I feel a cold chill run down my spine as I get a sense of utter power from the formerly average guard. "What have you done?" I ask Miles as he stares at the guard. "I don't know... but I intend to find out." Author's Note Man of War Writing Contest. Brony on!
Chapter 242 Praetorian GuardChapter 242 Praetorian Guard Perspective: Miles I stay sitting in the foggy room as ponies rush in and all around, trying to re-establish order. They rush to check on Luna and Celestia, a few check the other guards, and a few try to speak with me; but my attention is solely on the pony before me. I don't know who he is. I think he's just some new recruit. I stare at him a little longer until I feel somepony shake my shoulder. Still in a daze, I look over and see the worried look on Luna's face. She asks me something, but my mind is elsewhere at the moment. I ignore her and start to stand up, bringing my attention back to the guard before me. He's calmed down enough to stop fighting, but I can still tell he's freaking out. His chest is heaving with deep breaths and his ears are twitching with every sound made around him. When I step closer to him I get a... familiar sense from him. Power. Raw energy is seeping from his very being. It's almost like the heat from a massive fire burning. It... reminds me of myself... I take a knee before him and set a hand on his shoulder. He stares back up at me, waiting to see what I do. What can I do? I've never seen anything like this before. Where do we even start? How do we even start? "Miles, what is this?" Celestia asks, joining me at my side. Followed by Luna. "Is he going to be okay?" one of the other guards asks. "Where did that thing come from?" another asks. "Why can't he take it off?" "Where did all that power come from? "What happened to-" "SILENCE!" I yell over all of the questions. Aside from drowning out my own thoughts, I can tell they're only causing more and more panic in the guard. "Guards, escort the Queen and Princess... out of this tower. It is... structurally unsound... NOW!" They don't question me. Even though they should, they don't question me. Luna tries to protest, but we share one look and she stops. I know she sees it. No matter what, she'll always know when it's there. With one look alone she understands me perfectly. They leave the room quickly, giving me a moment to think to myself. I saw the markings, but I didn't understand them. I rushed this one, this is on me. But I don't know what this is. Is it bad? Or is it simply misunderstood? From what I can tell so far, I'm leaning more towards the former. But I'll need more information first. We'll start with the simple things. "What's your name son?" I ask quietly, gripping his shoulder firmly. "Steely Focii... sir." His voice... it sounds so... eerie. It echoes and sounds as if it's been put through a metal grater. Even with all that, I can still hear the tremble in his voice. I need to keep him calm. There's no telling what he'd do if he lost control. "Steely Focii, you're new right? When did you join?" Calm voice, reassuring shoulder squeeze, let him think you understand what's going on. Give him the impression that you have all the answers. "Two months ago... I was picked out of Celestia's school for gifted Unicorns. I'm under the Royal Equestrian Third Magii, sir. Placed in the top ten of my class, sir, for enchantments, sir." "The Third Magii? That's one of the newer regiments. Formed under one of my reforms. You must be very gifted to have placed in that regiment." I tell him under false pride. Not that I'm not proud that we've made new reforms, I just want him to feel as if I'm impressed by him. "Thank you sir." "Steely, I have an odd question for you. But I need you to answer honestly. Can you describe how you feel? Does anything... seem different? Aside from the... mask." I feel him tense from that question. This is all happening so quickly for him, but the sooner we understand what's going on, the sooner we can help him. "Well... I feel... the same, sort of. I'm a little scared right now, but that's understandable, right? I can feel myself trying to breath, but I can't. I'm not choking, and I feel fine... except... I don't know how to describe it, sir. There's this... pressure in my chest." I keep a stoic face on the outside, but when he says that I feel myself go cold. "I-I can't explain it beyond that, sir. But it's probably just from the explosion, right?" "... It is possible. We'll... have to check to make sure. Um... can... how do I put this?" If this is what I think it is, I need to proceed carefully. There's no telling how things will go if there's even a slight error. "How powerful would you say you were prior to all this? Just so I can get an understanding of where you are now." "Well... probably just as powerful as the other guards, I guess. I've never initiated before, if that's what you're asking." I figured as much. Now to see if what I think happened is true. "This will seem silly of me to ask, but can you levitate that bookshelf using as much power as you think you can?" He gives me an odd look before looking to the bookshelf. He hesitates for a moment, thinking on the task at hand. I can tell it seems trivial to him. It's not the biggest shelf, nothing any pony couldn't do really. But if what I'm thinking happened really occurred... no use in guessing. Let's just see what happens. He lights up his horn and goes to levitate it. As per my request, he goes to use as much of his energy as possible. Several layers of energy wrap around his horn as he starts to use the spell. His energy envelopes the shelf and sends it crashing into the ceiling, shattering it instantly. I flinch from the splintering wood before staring at the falling pages, humming in thought. "S-sorry about that, sir." There's no way a normal guard could do that. But at this point it's obvious what that mask is doing to him. His power has grown tremendously. Doubled? It's possible. We could just strap him up to one of those power readers, but I have a feeling that they'll only cause more problems. And it seems as if using that much power had little to no effect to him. There's no drain making itself evident at least, what else is it doing to him? Before any of that though, there's one last thing I need to check. "It's alright... tell me, the pressure in your chest, how is it?" He tilts his head in confusion before bringing a hoof to his chest. "Um... better, I think. I don't know how to explain it, but it's not so bad now. I guess I just needed to let off some steam! Thank you sir!" "Yeah... yeah, your welcome. Why don't you go down to the medical ward and have them check you over, just to make sure everything is okay. I... I'll come down there afterwards to let you know what's going on." "Yes sir!" Perspective: Luna Celestia and I pace around the throne room as we each think silently. I can't believe Miles would be so careless as to set off that enchantment in the front of the study like that! What was he thinking? And that poor guard! What will happen to him now that he has that thing on his face? What will happen if there's no removing it! What kind of life will he lead if he has to keep that thing forever? There's no telling what lies ahead for him! I tried to ask Celestia what she thought, but I could tell I wouldn't get an answer from her. She's wrapped up in her thoughts at the moment. But I can only guess what she's thinking about right now. Could it be about the guard? Or of the notes left behind by Starswirl? Thinking on the latter, this starts to make some sense. He was obsessed with the Elements, and would do near anything to get them. Perhaps this was one his ways to attempt to prove himself. But why didn't he ever enact it, and why would he keep it hidden? We both stop when the doors open and Miles slips in, slowly shutting them behind himself. As he walks towards us he motions for us to come closer. We share an uneasy look before meeting him halfway. He doesn't say anything at first. He's trying to form his thoughts. I try to let him think, but Celestia isn't having any of that. "What happened?" she asks sternly. Miles bites his lips and scratches the back of his neck before facing us. I can tell he's conflicted about this on a personal level. "He's... initiating..." That seems... obvious. He's expanded his magical capabilities due to that mask. The idea alone is terrifying, but there seems to be more to it. "And?" I ask, leaning in a bit closer. "He's initiated... several times. To the point where I'd say he's as powerful as Twilight, if not stronger." Again, that seems obvious. Those walls are made to withstand barrages and magical blasts. And he blew a massive hole with a single blast! "So the mask gave him immense power. That much was clear. What's the problem you're trying to get to?" I ask, keeping a business like tone. He lets out a sigh and checks his surroundings before answering. "I don't think it's going to stop until... well, until his physical form burns out." We both stay quiet as the implications set in. He's gained more power than Twilight and is growing. It's apparently growing to the point where it's going to consume him, much like how Miles's power almost did. So if he keeps that mask on, it will kill him eventually. But does that mean he only has a few months left? Years? What does this mean for him? "I'm going off a comment he made, but it seems to fit well enough. I'd also like to take him to Topaz Falls for further evaluation. I'll share whatever findings I make as soon as possible. In the meantime, I think it would be best if we kept this to ourselves. Until we know what's going on here, this was just an alchemic mishap. Steel Focii received burns and was sent to a specialist in a different town." "Of course," Celestia says, shocking me, "I'll gather all of the present guards and personal involved to ensure their silence. Come back as soon as you have any new information." He nods and leaves quickly, putting his helmet back on as he does so. Celestia tries to leave as well, but I step in front of her to have a word. "Tia, I have a bad feeling about this," I tell her quietly. "If what Miles is assuming is accurate, and it really seems so, we cannot allow this to exist!" "Why not?" she asks coldly. I blanch from her question. "Why not? Tia, this is too much power for the average pony to bear! And with a cost of their life, why would we allow our subjects to throw their lives away? It isn't right!" She seems to smirk at this, giving me an uneasy feeling. "Luna, with everything going on right now, what is right may not be an option. I understand where you are coming from, I do! But... if worse comes to worse, this may be the edge we need." I take a step away from her, having a hard time believing she actually said it. "Tia, you are talking about using the lives of our subjects to win a war! This isn't you Tia! Where is this coming from?" She frowns at that, narrowing her eyes at me. But I don't let her intimidate me. I stand my ground, standing by my claim. "Luna, this is coming from me. This is me. I'm not saying there is going to be a war. I'm not saying that I am not going to do everything in my power to stop a war from happening either. What I am saying is that if all else fails, I want to make sure that we have every advantage possible." "But this isn't the way we do things Celestia! This is too much power for an average pony to bear! What if they turn against us? What would we do if we made a pony have enough power to destroy everything we care deeply for? Is the reward worth the risk? Is this a burden we can share so easily? Are their lives so meaningless that we could just use them so callously-?" "Could we allow a tyrant to rule over our people and banish them to the shadow realm? We tried to fight the right way and looked what happened. Could we allow a demon to walk the earth and turn reality upside down? No. And we had to use a special tool that we had little to no understanding to do so. Could we watch and mentor a little filly so she could one day reach her potential and reform her sister? A sister that she couldn't save because she didn't know what was going on! A sister that she had to send to the moon for a thousand years of solitude, and resentment, and sorrow, and hatred! Luna, I love you. You are my sister and I would do anything for you. But you lack the vision of the big picture. This is our next tool. Our next pawn. Like, dislike, I don't care which side you take. All I care is that you make use of your tools as effectively as possible." She brushes past me and heads to the door. I don't stop her. I don't say anything. What could I say. She has valid points, though I do not agree with most of them. When I returned she told me things were different. I guess I always knew what she meant by that. She opens the door for a moment before shutting it again, having one last thing to say apparently. "These are the choices of a leader Luna. They aren't always easy, and you may not always want to make them, but it is your responsibility to do so. Ponies will get mad regardless of the choice you make. But if there is a problem, you must make a choice. Even if that choice is to do nothing, you have to stand by your choices for the rest of your life. This is why I should lead the army, not you." "Do not lecture me on living with the choices you have made. You know full well what I carry with me!" I bark back, turning to glare back at her. "And do not down play my call for caution as a sign of weakness, sister! It was not I who argued against Starswirl from receiving the Elements! And it wasn't me who turned away from him in the end." She doesn't say anything at first. She simply stares back at me, thinking to herself. I stare back at her, knowing what I have said and the pain behind it. "I think I'll call them the Praetorian Guard, in honor of the story you told just before they were made." With that, she leaves the room. I stand in the center of the room in silence. I've known Celestia to be... many things. But this is an entirely new side of her. Seeing it now, I guess it's always been there. I guess I always knew it was there too. I guess, in my mind, Celestia was always too good to act on those kind of thoughts. But I can tell now that those were the thoughts of a foolish little filly, looking up to her big sister in a perfect light. But now the light's gone, and I can see her for what she really is. I guess it's time to grow up. Perspective: Miles Just before I enter the medical ward I pause and pull out my phone. I go back to the photo of the enchantment and examine it again. I've always heard of spoken spells, but I never imagined they would be this powerful. Setting the enchantment off in front of the door was foolhardy and reckless, but it played out perfectly. I don't have to guess and I don't have to risk myself either. I have a live specimen to study. But is this something that needs to exist in mass? I don't know. I don't know if I'm the right person to even ask that question either. I hear some footsteps coming from down the hall and make a quick decision. I email the picture to myself and delete the photo. As it stands now, this needs to remain classified for as long as possible. Luckily enough, Luna and Celestia agreed with me on that. No one should question me on this. And if I can get him to Topaz without alerting anyone else, I'll be set. With that in mind, I see another obstacle at hand. Those that saw him already. I know how this castle works. Rumors are already making their way around. If I don't nip it in the bud now, there's no telling how quickly it will make its way outside these walls. We need this to stay quiet, and I only see one way to achieve that. I dial a special number and walk to a corner where I can have a moment of privacy. It takes a moment to connect, but when I get there I start to enter my authorization codes. "Crypteia, zero-zero, Helots, Agiads, Torto, Evito. Target, Canterlot Castle. Update chat log. Explosion, guard, mask, power. Keep me informed and tag all those that fulfill the profile."
Chapter 243 Squad GoalsChapter 243 Squad Goals Perspective: Shadow I spent most of the day in Dad's shed, thinking to myself. I know what I want to do, I just don't know how I'm going to do it. In the end I figured I would have to start some digging, learn what I can about Diamond and her family. Dad's computer had some information, but nothing that I could really use immediately. I doubt sales figures will really help me bring Diamond down a peg. Towards the end of the day Sweetie Bell came over. Apparently there's some drama happening at her place so she's staying here tonight. When Dad told her where I was and what I was doing, she left to get the others. I was a little disgruntled that he very blatantly told her everything, but there's no going back now. The last few minutes I've more been waiting for them to show up than anything else. I don't know what I'm going to say when they get here, but I'll deal with that when it happens. "Easy, is there an easy way out of this?" I ask aloud, laying my head on the computer counter. This is more out of boredom than anything else. "A psychiatric evaluation would be required for any treatments to be prescribed," Easy responds from the computer system in the wall. "You said it," I mutter, rolling my head to the other side. "Who are Diamond Tiaras affiliates?" "Diamond Tiara, resident of Ponyville, has most notably been seen associating with Silver Spoon; daughter to Ingot and Fine China. New associates include those of the Ponyville High School cheer leading team, several business officials with dealings to Barnyard Bargains, and Ponyville civilian Rumble." That peaks my interest, getting me to look towards the screens. "Tell me more about Rumble." "Ponyville youth and younger brother to Thunderlane, his marks in school show an aptitude for athletic programs and Home Etiquette. No outstanding misdemeanors on record. Subject shows passive traits towards public officials. Ranks highly for recruitment potential." Recruitment potential? What does that even mean? Before I could ask I hear a knock at the door and head up to answer it. "Hey," I mutter when I open the door. I lock up when I see everypony standing before me. I originally thought it was going to be me and the girls, but I guess they all wanted to bring their coltfriends along as well. And Twist. And Rumble. It's going to be a long night. "Sorry to keep you waiting. I ran into everypony along the way and... well, one thing led to another and we're all here to help you take Diamond down!" Sweetie tells me, all of them giving me a determined nod. I look from face to face before I look up to Rumble. He gives me an apologetic look before nodding to me. I smile up to him, somehow feeling better. "Come on in, and don't touch anything. I'm not responsible for anypony losing body parts," I tell them before heading back inside. I bring them down to the open area by the computer and summon some cushions from the house. Button and Sweetie take the cot that's on the side while everypony else get comfortable. I take my seat back at the computer and starts closing all of the files I was reading. I doubt any of them can read Latin, but it's still sensitive information. Once done I spin back around to face the others. They're all looking up at me, waiting for me to say something. Seeing so many eyes on me makes me break into a nervous sweat. Why are there so many ponies here right now!? The girls I get. Rumble, that makes sense. Button and Pipsqueak, there's at least a reason for them to be here. Twist is the most confusing of them all. I've always been friendly with her, and I do enjoy her company! But... I don't know, we never really hang out and we don't interact outside of school really. I'm sure she has her reasons for being here, and if she wants to help I'm fine with that too. I just find it odd. "So... where do we start?" Rumble asks, breaking the silence. "How 'bout we shave 'er? Ah'm sure that'll send a message!" Apple Bloom says, getting a few chuckles. "I thought the idea was to take her down completely, not just short term revenge," Pip mentions. "If we're going to do that than we should really look into what gives Diamond her power and prestige and chip away at that." "Money, a tight ass, loose morals, and an army of skanks." Scootaloo lists, getting some nods. "We're not going to make her poor, and I doubt there's anything we can do to make her suddenly get fat, so what does that leave us with?" "Loose morals?" I ask, not understanding how that's a bonus for her. I get a few odd looks from the others and decide that the back of my bangs are immensely more interesting. "Well... if we're not going to lower her, then let's try the opposite then." Pip mentions. "You want to make her more popular?" Sweetie asks, tilting her head. "Is that even possible?" Twists asks. "No, hear me out. I've been thinking about this for some time now. There's nothing we can do to bring her down. Not without doing something illegal-" "And why isn't that allowed?" Scootaloo asks, but is ignored. "So if we can't take anything away from her, then why not make what she has meaningless? What if we moved the spot light to somepony else?" Everypony stays quiet for a moment, thinking to themselves. It's not a bad idea, but not without its flaws. Who do we put in her place then? And would we even do that? I know I couldn't do that, I can't handle the ponies I know staring at me. I don't even want to imagine the entire school look directly at me! This doesn't seem like an entirely viable plan to me. Besides, if we pick one pony for us to work on making more popular, than she only needs to discredit one pony. If we're going to do this, then we should do this as a group. But how would that even work? How can we make a mass populace envy a small group more than their old ideals? Wait... that sounds familiar. What am I thinking of? I turn around and stare up at the computer as I try to figure out what I'm thinking about. I pretty much described something, but what am I talking about? "Oh my..." I mutter when it hits me, gaining everypony's attention. "We need to be Spartans." "Um... what?" Rumble asks nervously. I scoot a bit closer and start to type away, looking for a specific file. It shouldn't be classified, then again, nothing should be classified. Soon enough I find the files I want and start to read through them. Sure enough, the idea I had is pretty much there. What I want to is pretty much how Spartans convince tribes and villages to join their cause. It's almost step by step ever! First off, show of force. Make your presence known to the locals. Don't give them too much information though. You want them to start talking and making their own assumptions. The Spartans would do this normally by defeating some nearby monster or saving captives. Next they start prodding all of the local power players. Public officials, ponies who have sway with others, military leaders, the sort. They try to make it look as if they're looking for a faction to back. And if the previous item was done properly, then it will show them that there's a new player in the political field. This also divides the locals, making them easier to assimilate. From there it's just playing the political field. Pit two powerful factions against each other and come in to save the day. Sometimes you don't even have to do anything to get them to fight. The threat of losing their previous power is enough to get some to act on their own. It calls on a lot of waiting and seeing too, but that makes sense. With Pips idea in mind, I think we can do this. We work together and take the top spot at school. Push her to the side. It's nearing the end of high school, so all we have to do is keep it up for the year. Or at least until we push Diamond aside. From there I can do what I want freely. But this is where we need to start. Otherwise she'll just use the public to do her bidding. "Everything alright Shadow?" Sweetie asks, getting me to look back to them. "I have an idea, but it'll take all of us working together all school year long to make it work," I tell them, the idea still running rampant in my head. They all share a look before looking back to me, their looks of determination coming back anew. "What's the plan?" Rumble asks. I groan when my alarm starts to buzz. I try to hit the snooze button, but I'm too groggy to do it properly and end up knocking it off of my dresser. We were up till three in the morning working out plans and ideas to take down Diamond. It was a pain, but I think we have a really good picture of what we're going to do and what we're getting into. It's less of a plan and more of a collection of ideas that we'll try as opportunity presents itself, but we're all in this. Or, so we all claimed last night. With the buzzing annoying me to no end I force myself up and get ready for the day. I feel... numb. Yesterday I was simultaneously ready to rip Diamonds head off and banish myself to Mooseden. Now that I have a plan of revenge and a group of ponies willing to help me, I don't feel much of anything. I can't explain it. Shouldn't I still feel mad about everything? Or at the very least nervous? I should feel something right now, but I don't. Maybe I will later when I actually get into the mess. Or maybe the fact that I have so many ponies willing to help is putting me at ease. I'm amazed I didn't have to ask them to help. They came more out of obligation than anything else. For some of them I get it. I'd do the same for my friends, why wouldn't they? And if Pip and Button really care for Sweetie and Scoots then it makes sense that they would too. Rumble is equally understandable. Twist was the random one in the end. She really wants to take Diamond down. I guess she's had enough of being picked on. I was a little worried when she made any suggestions. They all tended to be more on the... violent side. She really wants to take her down. After getting ready for the day I grab my bags and make my way straight for school. We all agreed to meet up at our usual spot in the morning. Probably not the best idea, seeing as we stayed up till three, if not later. But, if we're going to destroy her little empire at school, no time like the present. "How's she doing?" I ask Pip when I make it to the tree just outside of school. The two of them are laying underneath the tree, Scootaloo using Pip as a pillow to sleep on. "She'll live. Though at the rate she's drooling she might become dehydrated." I chuckle at that, taking a seat beside him. "What about you?" "Meh," I shrug, staring out at the ponies making their way to school. "I think I've spent all of my energy yesterday being angry and depressed. Now... now I just want to get started. Is that normal?" "Nothing in Ponyville is normal." I hum in response to that. No sense in arguing with that. "Did you find it weird that Twist was there last night?" "Right!? I mean, the more the merrier, but it was a little out of left field." That makes me glad. So I'm not the only one who noticed that, thank you! "Yeah. I mean, there are a lot ponies that would like to take her down a peg. But I didn't really think she would be that willing to help us. I don't know why, but it gives me bad vibes." "You don't think she's spying on us, do you?" I ask, having had the same thought occur more than once myself. "Mmm.... no. I don't see what she would gain from that. But there's something she wants out of all of this, something she's not telling us. We better keep an eye on her, just to make sure." I nod to him, dropping the subject as Sweetie Bell and Apple Bloom approach us. I wasn't the only one to question why she wanted to help, that's comforting. "Is she going ta make it?" Apple Bloom asks, getting a chuckle from Sweetie. "She'll live, probably. Are you girls ready for this? Because after today there's no going back," I tell them, gulping inwardly myself. I don't think I'm really ready for this. But it's something I've convinced myself to do, so there's no turning back for me. "Ah'm with ya! Through thick n' thin!" Apple Bloom cheers, taking a step forward. "Yeah! Besides, this was probably going to happen to me with my singing career anyway. Better to do it early with my friends," Sweetie mentions, stepping up beside Bloom. "Huh!?" Scootaloo gasps, jumping to her hooves in a panic. We all laugh at her confusion as she steps up, still hazy from lack of sleep. "We doin this or what? I didn't cut out six hours of sleep for nothing." We all smirk at that and turn towards school. This is it, no going back now. "Let's go conquer high school." We march our way into school and head straight for school square. There aren't that many ponies here right now, but the few that are have their sights set on us. All of the others came earlier to start spreading a rumor we made together. Apparently we're out for blood with Diamond. Not entirely untrue, but with it being whispered to a few key ponies we'll inform the entire school by the end of the day. The school square is an open space in the center of the school. It's where the popular kids tend to hand out, meaning it's Diamonds domain. So we're going there to confront her. This is our show of force. We're going to show the entire school that we're not going to take any of her crap anymore. We're going to show her that we're done being pushed around. And we're going to show her who's responsible for her downfall. We can't falter here. No matter what, our message needs to be clear. I need to be clear. She crossed the wrong pony this time. When we make it there we stop just shy of her group of friends. I don't see her yet, meaning she's not at school yet. If she doesn't show up today that won't be too be of an issue. It means we can get a head start on spreading rumors about her. Well... are they rumors if they are true? Either way, we're going to spread the word that she fucked the photo teacher so she could print that story. No proof, just words. The school will take care of the rest. One of her friends, a unicorn mare I don't know the name of, decides to approach us, having a few of the others follow after her. "Can I help you? 'Cause you're in the wrong area," she tells us, throwing a smirk back to her friends. "We're here for Diamond," I tell her, leaving it at that. "Well she's not here, so go away-" "This is a matter between wolves, little lamb. Go back to your corral before you get hurt," Apple Bloom tells her, stepping towards her intimidatingly. She goes to cast a spell, but I catch her before she could get it off. It becomes a short fight over control of her horn via magic. This is something Dad taught me to do early on. When fighting a unicorn magic is key. If they don't have magic, they are much more likely to submit. I see the panic in her eyes as I exert my power over her, making her take a step back. "Like I said, we're here for Diamond. Why don't you be a good little lamb and go back with the others," I tell her calmly, getting a quick nod from her. I release her and she scurries back to her group, telling them what happened quietly. With my little show of force a small crowd has formed around the area. Intrigued ponies stare on from the safety on the walkways and classroom windows. None of the teachers have been alerted yet, so we're in the clear for the time being. I don't know how long we waited. It couldn't have been long, since the bell never rung. But it felt like an eternity. Every pair of eyes, every pony leaning in to whisper something, every new face coming to see what's going on plays out before me in extreme detail. I do my best to push it all out and stay focused, but I can't help it! There are too many eyes on me right now. Especially coming from the ponies we just called sheep! They keep shooting us the stink eye, whispering things to one another. I don't care what they have to say, but seeing them talk about me is still driving me crazy! All of my old inhibitions are telling me to run home and hide under my blankets! But I have to do this. I have to stand for my family. There's no turning back, no retreat, no giving in. I'm in this till the bitter end. I stir in the crowd catches my attention. I look out as a group of ponies scurry to make way for somepony. My fears tell me to run from the probable teacher coming to tell us off. But those fears double when I see that it's Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara heading right for us. I look to the others for a boost of confidence before marching towards her. This is it! I'm going to walk right up to her, tell her what's on my mind, and leave it at that. I can't let her have any say in this. "Diamond-" GLOMP I let out a high pitched squeak when she rushes forward and squeezes me in a tight hug. The world is lost to me as I stand there, being embraced by Diamond. I have no sense of time, of those around me, I can't even feel myself as she stands there hugging me! What does she think she's doing!? "You poor, poor thing! When I saw the article I just had to know if you were okay! If you ever need anything you just ask me and I'll be there to help you, okay?" What!? NO! No, this isn't how it's supposed to happen! What's going on!? "Uh... no, I-" "Like, I can't even imagine the torture you've had to endure!" Silver continues in her mock concern. "You're so brave for coming to school. Like, how could you manage to stand in front of all these ponies? Like, so brave!" "You take it easy today and let me know if anypony is bothering you, okay?" she asks sweetly. I can only stare on dumbly as she tussles my mane and starts to walk off. Does she really think this is funny? Does she really think nothing bad is going to come of this? Does she have no shame? Just as she’s about to step into the crowd I finally force the words out of my mouth. I don't even know what I'm saying, but I speak. "I'm going to fuck Rumble stupid." The crowd goes silent. I go silent! What did I even say!? That's not even close to what I originally was going to talk about! Where did all of the talk about justice and corruption of ponies go? Where did that come from!? That being said, it definitely got her attention. She stops and turns back to me, scoffing at my remark. "I'm sorry, what did you say?" she asks, trying her best to not sound offended. "You heard me. I am going to fuck Rumble until he's a big stupid heap of a stallion. Is there a problem with that?" I give a little tilt of the head when I plainly ask her that. She looks around, seemingly looking for confirmation on what I said, before approaching me. She stands tall and does her best to make me feel as little as possible. It works, on some parts. I really wish I wasn't so short some times. "No, you're not. You're going back to class and keeping quiet like you usually do. Like you should," she tells me, narrowing her eyes as she glares right through me. I swallow the lump in my throat as I fight all of my instincts telling me to run and hide. I don't know where all of this is coming from, but it's working. I just need a finisher. Something that will send her over the edge. Hm... "So, he's used you a lot, what does he like? Or did you just take it and-" SMACK The crowd gasps and goes silent as Diamond sets her hoof back down. I have to stretch my jaw to get the numbness out before looking back up at her. She's beyond mad at this point. This is a level of anger I've never seen in a pony before. I must have really hit a chord with her. Time to show everypony that I'm not backing down from her. "Is that part of it? Did he leave you because you don't hit hard enough? I'll keep that in mind." A few spectators chuckle at that, but she silences them with a quick glare. "You don't want to take me on-" she tries to warn me, but I cut her off. "No, you don't want to take me on. But we're past that point now," I tell her slowly, feeling my rage start to build up. "You should have left my family out of this. But there's no going back now. I won't stop until you're begging me for mercy. And at that point, and only at that point, I am going to kick your ass." She scoffs at that, shoving her face against mine. I push back on her, digging my hooves into the ground. "Why wait? Come on, little filly, hit me. Or are you too much of a pansy to make a move?" I growl a little from that. I want to hit her. I want to smack that smirk right off of her smug face and make her pay. But I know it will be much sweeter when she's begging me to stop. So I wait, for now. It'll come soon enough, I just have to be patient. "What's going on here?" A teacher calls out over the crowd. Ponies start to disburse from all over, obscuring the two of us. We stay still until our friends start to pull us apart. But we never break eye contact. We stare on, waiting for the other to do or say the right thing. My friends bring me down a corridor and stop by a random section of lockers, breathing a collective sigh of relief. Sweetie brings a hanker chief out and starts to dab at my lips. Apparently I'm bleeding, though I never noticed the light trickle. I just close my eyes and try to calm my racing heart. "Holy shit that was intense!" Scootaloo gasps out, taking a seat beside me. "But it was awesome!" "Easily half the school saw that! They'll be talking about that for the rest of the summer!" Pip adds. "Ah'm just glad ya didn't hit her. Made ya look like the bigger pony," Apple Bloom tells me, patting my shoulder. "Are ya alright?" "I'm... fine, I think. It all felt so quick and... I'm still wrapping my head around the whole thing." I really don't feel like all of that just happened. I was there, I witnessed everything that occurred, but it doesn't feel real to me. I don't know how I said what I said or managed to stand in front of that many ponies for that long, but I did. "I'll say! You just told the whole school that you're going to fuck Rumble! Where did that come from?" Scootaloo asks, getting a smack on the arm from Pip. I did tell the whole school that I'm going to fuck Rumble, didn't I? I'm sure I'll have an episode about that later, right now I... Right now I don't really feel much of anything. Other than the numbness around my mouth. "I think we'll deal with that later. Let's get to class and meet back up for lunch. And in the next round, let's try to stick to the script... but Shadow?" I look over to him, seeing the confident smile he has on. "You won that round." Perspective: Tempestive I give a tired yawn as I make my way downstairs and into the kitchen. I stick my hoof out and wait... but nothing happens. Strange, normally there would be orange juice in my hoof by this point. What's going on? I open my eyes and take a look around. Mom isn't here. Strange, where would she be? She has work in the afternoons normally. Where is she? I go upstairs and poke my head into her room. Seeing nopony in there, I step inside and take a better look. I could have sworn I heard ponies talking earlier, where are they? I start to leave when somepony flushes the toilet. Oh, she was going to the bathroom, duh. That was oddly paranoid of me! GLOMP "Tempestive! How is my favorite nephew in the whole wide world!" I give a shrilled squeak when Auntie Tia scoops me up in a big hug, squeezing me with all her might. "Auntie... Tia... you're... crushing... me..." I gasp out, trying to escape. "Oh hush, you can handle a bit more," she says mockingly as she squeezes a little tighter. I try my best to pry myself out of her iron hold, but it's all for naught. Goodbye life, I barely knew you... "And I'm done. You can drop the act now," she tells me as she sets me down. I lay still on the floor for a moment as I let death overcome me. She squeezed me too hard, and now I'm dead. "Fine, more breakfast for me then." "Fine, but why are you here? Shouldn't you be at work?" I ask her as I stand back up, still happy that she's here. I just don't like it when ponies hug me tightly. "Funny story, a guard blew a hole in my room at the castle, so I'll be staying here for a short time! I was out with your father earlier, but now I'm free spend some quality time with you! Well... quality time at work, that is. Would you like to go to Canterlot today?" "... yes. Yes, I would." Is that even a question? I'll take nearly any excuse to leave the house! "Do I have to wear the vest though?" She smiles at that, making me beam with joy. "No vests while I'm around, okay?" This is awesome! I get to spend the day at Canterlot, with no vest, with Auntie Celly! Today is going to be awesome! Author's Note Updates! Brony on!
Chapter 244 The Prince and the PrincessChapter 244 The Prince and the Princess I couldn't wait to get to Canterlot! We ate breakfast as quickly as possible before heading to the castle, and I was jumping in joy the entire time! Normally Mom or Dad would tell me in advance that I'd be doing something like this, but something last minute came up and they needed Auntie Tia to watch me. I hope whatever happened happens more often, cause this is going to be awesome! Canterlot castle, no vest, and if she can get her work done quickly enough she said we could get ice cream at the end of the day! How did this day happen!? FLASH "Easy there Tempestive," Tia tells me when I come pronking into the cave above Canterlot. I try my best to stand still, but I have too much energy right now! "I swear you remind me of your mother when she was your age with all of that energy." "How much work do you have to do? Where are we getting ice cream? From the city? Am I allowed to wander around the castle by myself-" "Slow down Tempestive," she tells me with a warm chuckle. "Well... I have the same work load as usual, we'd get ice cream from the castle, and you are not allowed to walk around unsupervised. Now are you going to just stand there, or should we get going?" "GOING!" I yell before charging for the entrance. Before I make it there she picks me up with her magic. I ignore it and continue to try and run, making her smirk at me. She carries me out to the opening and sets me back down. I take a look down at the city and marvel at the site before me. The city is beautiful! And the surrounding area is just as breath taking. I take a look back up to her and smile, receiving one in return. She snaps her wings open and waits for me to do the same, so I do. Though my wingspan is nowhere near as big as hers. Her smile turns into a challenging smirk as she starts to walk forward, egging me to start trotting. As I break into a sprint she starts to jog alongside me, waiting for me to get airborne. I give a few more powerful kicks before I start to flap my wings. Each beat gives me a push forward that drives me to beat them again and again until I finally leap into the air. The winds are strong and cold and provide a powerful updraft that lifts me higher into the air. Tia gives a few flaps as well and joins me in the air, gliding around me to be on my left. The sun shines a little brighter as I start to bank away from the city, letting the wind guide me. All I have to do is hold my wings out and the winds do the rest. You never get anything like this back in Ponyville! Tia grabs my hoof and pulls me towards her. I give her a quizzical look, but she only smirks back at me before diving down. I give a cheer as we slowly make out way down, fighting the draft the entire way. We’re almost pointing straight down and we're still moving relatively slowly, it's awesome! Just as we start to make a headway against the wind Tia pulls up and we launch up and forward, sending us over the castle grounds. We make a few large roundabouts over the city as we start to make our way down. About halfway down some guards fly up and start to escort us, flanking us. "Why do the guards always escort us when we fly in?" I ask loudly to Tia. "We have to keep the castle grounds safe, don't we? If anypony could just fly in it would disrupt the activities of the workers," she tells me. I nod in agreement with her logic. As awesome as it would be, I guess there should be some rules to who and can and can't come into the castle grounds. It's like Shadows diary, it's supposed to be off limits to everypony. We make it to the gardens and kick up some pedals and dust. I give another cheer as I look back up to the mountain, seeing the immense distance we just flew. There's nothing like that in Ponyville! "Prince-" "Gentlecolts!" Tia interrupts, stepping towards the guards. "Sorry for the unconventional entrance, but I couldn't help but show off to my nephew." She looks back to me and shoots me a wink, making me chuckle. "Oh... of course... Ma'am. Um... shall we escort you to the... uh, your work area?" the guard asks nervously, glancing to his friend for help. "Yes. As fun as that was, it is time to get back to work. Gentlecolts," she nods her head to me and starts to walk towards the castle. I look between the two guards before running after Tia. They seem surprised by my presence, so I guess they remember me from my last visit. I was hoping everypony would forget about that, but I guess not. Walking through the castle is... an odd experience, to say the least. There's so much history here! Everything has a story and Auntie Tia seems to know every single one of them vividly. But the staff are more than aware of my presence here. Maids whisper to one another as I walk by, eyeing me with the utmost interest. Guards, standing stoically before doors and hallways, sneak peeks at me whenever we pass. The more and more I become aware of those staring at me the closer I walk next to Tia. It gets to the point where I'm practically walking underneath her! When she stops before a door I bump into her legs, getting her to chuckle. I give her a sheepish smile and move out beside her, noting the giggling maids in the back. "This is the main library to the castle," she tells me before opening the doors. My mouth starts to hang open as I stare out at the vast shelving corridors of the library. It easily dwarfs the Ponyville library. You could probably fit three of them in here! And even better, there doesn't seem to be anypony in here. Not that the library back home is usually crowded, but there's at least somepony there. This place is empty! "Impressed?" "That's a lot of books," I mention as I unconsciously start to walk in. I pause a few steps in and look back to Tia, unsure if I'm allowed to enter. The last library we visited ended up causing a lot of trouble, and I don't want to get her in trouble again. "Don't worry, all of the book here are safe. This is technically a public library after all. Feel free to wander within here as you wish. I'll be at the desks in the main reading section." I give her a big smile before running in- "And no running please!' I trot my way into the bulk of the shelving and take a look at the sections I walk past. History, biographies, spell formulas, city accounting, fiction, there seems to be everything in here! I don't even know where to start! Should I read up on Canterlot? Or what about Starswirl, is there anything about him in here? What about the Wonderbolts? I'm sure they have several sections all about them! I make up my mind to see if they have anything on the Wonderbolts, deciding that would easily fill most of my time. I slow down and start to look over the sections more carefully, trying to learn where I am and which direction I should head in. I'm in a spell section of the library, so I guess I'm in the wrong area. Should I head back? I saw a history section back there, that seems the most logical place to start. "Tempestive..." "Huh?" I stop and take a look around. I could have sworn I heard somepony call me. Is Tia looking for me? "Tempestive..." "Who is that?" I ask aloud, taking tentative steps towards the end of the aisle. I peer around the corner to find it empty. Nothing but shelves and books. I look back to see if there's somepony behind me, when I get the feeling that somepony is watching me. I look back around the corner and gasp quietly when I see a tall shadow at the end of the hall. Its shape confuses me for a moment, but I soon realize who it is. "Tempestive..." "Tempus," I mutter as I quicken my pace. Just as I make it to the end of the hallway his shadow races down the aisle, so I chase after it. I see him at the end and give chase. Every time I make it to the end of an aisle he turns down another one. At this rate I'll never catch up with him. Maybe I shouldn't be chasing him. What would happen if I wait for him to come to me? I slow to a stop and wait for him to come from me. It stays quiet for a moment, his shadow at the end of the aisle keeping still. "Tempestive..." "I'm here," I call out to him. "What do you need? Why are you here? Is it time?" "Tempestive... just a little further..." "Till what? Where are you leading me? Why won't you show yourself?" I ask, taking a few steps forward. He doesn't move. He's waiting for me to make a move. I don't understand what he's doing, but I start to walk forward. Is he trying to lead me somewhere? What is he trying to show me? And why won't he talk to me? With this many questions I make it around the corner and stop before a guard. I gasp a little from this, but compose myself quickly and try to look behind him. There's a pile of books back there and a filly reading them, but the guard blocks me from seeing anything further. "How did you get in here?" he asks, eyeing me closely. "I... uh..." I mutter, confused. Why did Tempus bring my here? And where did he go? The guard eyes me a bit longer before going wide eyed. "You're... you're... oh, my apologies sir! I didn't know it was you!" he says quickly, adding a quick bow at the end of it. I ignore him as I take a look around him. The pegasis filly behind him has her back to us and is distracted with the book opened before her. Her light grey coat and lavender mane seem familiar, but I can't think of a name. "Who is that?" I ask the guard, trying to make sure she doesn't hear me. The guard responds in a similar tone. "That's Princess Speaks Softly, sir. She's finishing up her studies for the day... sir!" There he goes again. Why does he keep calling me sir? if anything shouldn't it be the other way around? Well... if he's calling me that, maybe he'll let me talk to the filly. Tempus brought me here for a reason, maybe she has something I'll need. I start to walk around the guard. I can see the nervous look on his face, but he doesn't do anything to stop me. I step up to the filly and go to say something, but stop when she turns a page. That's when I get a glance at her horn. She's an alicorn, just like me. I didn't know there were any other alicorn foals out there besides me and Rampant. Why haven't I met her yet? Who is she? "Erm... Princess? The Prince would like to speak with you?" The guard mentions. Prince? Me? What? "Huh?" The filly mutters quietly, still reading. "My mom said I'm not supposed to talk to you, Prince Blueblood." "Uhm... I'm not Blueblood... or a prince... My names Tempestive Mortem." She seems to jump from the name. She slowly looks back and stares at me with her light blue eyes. We stare at one another for a moment before she gives a small yelp and dives behind a stack of books. "Um... Princess?" the guard asks, glancing to me. I shrug back to him, unsure of what's going on. "Flash!" she calls out in a loud whisper. "Flash! Come here!" The guard, Flash, gives me an odd look before walking over to her. He leans down to listen to her whisper something when it hits me. I have met her before. She's the pony I attacked when I had my incident with Tempus. Why would Tempus bring me to her!? She doesn't want to talk to me! I don't want to talk to her! I just wanted to read a book, why am I being punished for that!? Maybe I can just turn around and leave while they're talking to each other. Yeah, that's a good idea. I turn to leave and come to an immediate stop. A note is hanging on the shelf directly in my line of sight. 'Turn back'. But I don't want to! This is awkward! I get enough of that from the other ponies here! Why are you doing this to me? It's not fair! "Um... Tempestive?" the guard asks from behind. "I can escort you... wherever you'd like to go. As long as it's not here, that is." "Yeah, I..." I stop and look back to the note. Is this some sort of test from Tempus? He brought me here for a reason. He said he'd come back to teach me, maybe this is a test to see if I'm ready to start training. Why does this have to be the test! Why couldn't it be a spell formula, or a questionnaire? This is a dumb test; I prefer Dad's tests! At least there I have an option to come back to it when I'm actually ready! What do I say here? Sorry I attacked you, it was just a power fluctuation and I lost control? Also, I was dealing with a new spell I never used before and saw some things I wasn't ready to see yet! ... actually, maybe that would work... "Where would you like to go?" the guard asks again, bringing me back. I think about it for a moment longer before I make up my mind. This has to be a maturity test of some sort, it has to be! Well I'll play along Tempus! You better have some answers afterwards though! "No, I think I'll stay," I tell him, turning back around. Speaks Softly squeaks and dives back behind the books. Probably not the best way to start this out, but no turning back. "Tempestive, I don't-" "What happened to sir?" I ask him, shooting him a look. His eyebrows shoot up as he starts to sweat nervously. If he's the first obstacle, then this'll be easy. "I... um... the Princess said-" "I know what she said. But I have things I need to tell her, and it's really important that I say this. So... go away." He looks back to Speaks Softly for help, but she's busy hiding at the moment. Annoyed that he hasn't left, I take an aggressive step forward, making him take one back. "Tempestive... sir, I must insist-" "How am I going to be a proper Prince if I can't even face the ponies I hurt? I have to do this, move aside." I tell him. Though, I have to pause from my own words when their relevance become apparent to me. I can see the cracks starting to form in his resolve. I just need something to knock it all over. Hmm... "AUNTIE TIA!" "No!" he yells, rushing towards me. "We don't need to call her! I'll... go away for a few minutes, okay? We don't need to involve Princess Celestia, I'll go!" Before I could ask him anything he turns and rushes out of the aisle, yelling his apologies to Speaks Softly. I let out a sigh of relief once he's gone. The easy part is over, now for the hard part. She's still hiding behind the stack of books. Barging my way over there would probably only scare her. But I need to talk to her, so I need to start somewhere. Somewhere she feels safe enough to talk, or at least listen. Well, when Shadow does this sort of thing, Dad does his best to respect her boundaries. He usually doesn't just force his way into her room and make her do what he wants. And I've already failed on half of that account. So... where does that leave me? I can't knock on the door to let her know I'm here, like he does. But he does talks through the door. Maybe I can do something like that. She's hiding behind the books... what if I hid on the other end. That way, if she really doesn't want to be here she can leave! Seems like a good enough of an idea. I sit down and lean against the books. The books slide a bit before she starts to push back. So she isn't making a run for it, that's good. Now what? I guess I should start with saying sorry. "So... um... I'm Tempestive... but... I already said that." What was that!? That wasn't an apology! That was awkward and weird and nerve wracking! Okay, I can save this, just say you’re sorry and move on! "Uh... yeah, so..." "..." "..." WHAT IS HAPPENING!? I know what I'm supposed to say, why am I not saying it!? I'm sorry, what's so hard about that!? Okay, better late than never. Just say it and see what happens after that. Easy. Simple. Straightforward. Getting nervous. Sweaty hooves. Stalling. Procrastinating. Silent. "..." "..." Okay, this is going nowhere fast. Somepony needs to say something eventually. Maybe I should start with something simple. Ask her about her day, or what she was studying. What was she studying? I lean over to take a look at the book, but it's opened to a page that doesn't tell me anything. I reach over to shut it- TAP I freeze when my hoof makes contact with hers. By some sort of cruel fate, we both decided to reach for the same spot of the same book at the same time! I lean over to look at her and feel my heart skip a beat when we make eye contact with each other. We both blush for a moment before snapping back behind the book stack. "Sorry! I didn't mean to do that! I just didn't want to ruin the spin on the book!" she tells me worriedly. Even for her state she keeps a quiet voice about her. Something that tells me she doesn't talk much. "I-I didn't mean to either! I just wanted to see what book it was!" We both go quiet after that. I can't believe I touched her! Now I feel as if my stomach is trying to turn itself over and empty itself out! This is gross and weird! I should have ran for it when I had the chance! I take a break from thinking to calm down. I'm probably just making this a bigger deal than it actually is. Yeah, that's it. Just take a few, deep breathes and relax. Everything is okay, just breath. "I-it's about applied focii," Speaks Softly mutters. "What?" "The book. It's about making focii and how to apply them practically." "Oh... what?" I ask, chuckling slightly. "They're focii, why would you need a book to tell you how to apply them?" "It's more abstract than literal," she defends. "It better be. I mean, if you have a focii that lets you... I don't know, lift more let's say, than the application is pretty straightforward." "Well, that's the thing, is it? What if you try to lift something the incorrect way? Or apply that pressure in a way that breaks the function of lifting. This book is supposed to give you an idea of how to work around those kind of obstacles." I laugh again, getting her to scoff. "It's not a joke. This is a real field of study!" "I'm sure it is. Just like underwater painting. If you don't know what the focii is made to do, then you're not going to maximize the efficiency of that focii. If it helps you cast, then cast. If it helps you lift, lift. Who needs a book to tell them that?" "Well maybe someponies don't fully understand the concept of thinking outside the box." "Probably," I laugh a little more at this. It really is silly. It'd be like reading a book on how to walk normally. I'm sure there are some important things they can tell you, but as long as you're walking who cares? But I had my fun, no need to keep offending her. Time to change the subject. "Are you reading it for school?" "Kind of. I'm home schooled, and my Mom told me that reading this would help nurture my critical thinking skills." "I'm home schooled too!" I blurt out excitedly. I honestly didn't know there were any other home schooled kids out there. This is a relief. "Really? That's... nice. Is there a reason you're home schooled?" she asks, her intrigue growing. "Well, it's mostly my dad. He says public schools aren't really a place for smart people. But my mom helps too, and she usually scolds him for saying that. But, from what I understand from my other friends, the stuff I'm learning is way more advanced then what they learn." "I know what you mean. I met some foals who were on a field trip that didn't even know when or how this castle was built. How could you come to a place like this and not know its history? What if they were tested on it afterwards?" I laugh at that, making her shy away slightly. "Yeah... hey... about that... one time, when I... you know..." "Oh..." "Yeah... I'm... I'm sorry about that. I was... I was learning a really difficult spell and things didn't go well. My dad says that I was just going through some sort of... change... I didn't mean to hurt you... or scare you. Sorry." She doesn't say anything, which only makes me feel guiltier about the whole thing. I'm being honest here. I didn't mean to do any of that. But... all of that power... I didn't even know what I was doing. It was purely instinct. "I forgive you," she mutters, surprising me. "Really?" I ask, astonished. "Yeah... but only if you promise me that you'll never do it again." I laugh a little at that. That seems simple enough. "And... one other thing too." "Yeah? Anything!" I tell her, standing up and facing her. She has the book in her hooves now and is holding it tightly, trying her best to hide behind it. She tries to look up to me a few times, but becomes too shy and hides away again. She eventually just hides completely behind the book, shaking slightly. "Will you... come back and visit?" Her question catches me off guard. Visit? What does she mean by that? "Um... visit... here?" I ask to clarify. "You're the first pony I've met who wasn't here on a field trip. And you're smart too. There aren't a lot of other foals here and I never get to leave, so usually I just read by myself. My cousin visits from time to time, but she can never stay that long. I'm not saying you have to visit all of the time! Just... I don't know... visit?" I feel a pang of pity for her, knowing all too well what she means. I'm cooped up at the house all the time. Rampant and Jet are always at school or some family thing. At least I can go visit Mooseden or my friends. But... this feels a bit weird. Coming all the way here to hang out with a filly, it doesn't seem natural. But, she doesn't seem to have many friends here, and she's smart too. I've never really hung out with a smart foal before. Who knows? It might be fun. "Well... I don't know how often I'd be able to visit, but I'll do my best to try. At the very least I'll visit when my mom or aunt bring me to work." "Promise?" she asks, lifting her face from behind the book. I get that weird feeling in my stomach again. Kinda barfy, while also being twisty. I don't much care for it. "Promise... I should get going. I was rude to that guard and I don't think he'll be very happy with me when he comes back." I tell her, taking a few nervous steps back. "Oh, okay. Flash Sentry is usually understanding about these kinds of things, but you were pretty rude." We share a small laugh together. I try to say goodbye, but we made eye contact again and I had to look away quickly. This is weird. I really need to get out this element, it doesn't suit me well. "I'll see you again?" "Yeah. I promised, didn't I? And you never break your promises, or else." "... or else what?" "Exactly. Bye!" Before she could question me further I turn tail and book it out of there. But not before I grab that note. This was weird. Hopefully next time it won't be, but it was really, really, really weird! I make it a few rows down before I slow down enough to read the note. Sure enough, there's another note on the back... one I don't like. 'Treat your future wife better next time. And bring macadamia nut cookies, they're her favorite.' That's my future wife!? Her!? Isn't this breaking some sort of time line continuity rules or something? Why would he tell me this!? And macadamia nuts? What!? Huh? Whuh... HUH!? "There you are Tempestive!" Auntie Tia calls out as she walks up to me. "Did you have a good time in the library?" "I got married." "What?" "Also, a guard called me a prince. What was that about?" Even with her white coat, I can see her grow a bit paler from this. "Oh... that... uhm... that's a question for your mother and father to answer... Why don't we get lunch and... oh dear."
Chapter 245 Audit QueenChapter 245 Audit Queen Perspective: Luna I give a tired sigh as I sit in the trolley coming back from Topaz Falls. Miles and I spent most of the night studying and discussing what happened to that guard. As of now, all we know for sure is that his power has grown tremendously. At least double what he was before, if not more. It's hard to tell due to the fact that he doesn't quite understand how to push his magic that high yet. It seems he feels as if he's still at a normal level of magic, when he has the capacity of more. Then there are the more physical changes. He doesn't need to breath. With no mouth, I'm also guessing that he won't need to eat either. Even though we were there all night, he didn't require any sleep either. Miles claims that he can see into the other planes as well, but I'm a little lost from that one. My magic is at a high level and I can't do that. But I can tell that he's still beneath me when it comes to raw power. So that leaves the effect coming from the mask. And that mask. It changed his skin to wood, according to the scanners at least. What benefit would that give him? With such a high level of an enchantment, one would think it would change to some sort of metal or gem. Something that would have a higher capacity for magic. I don't think it's any kind of specialty wood. It's hard to tell really. Miles's computers couldn't register what it more specifically is. It's apparently made of wood, such a surprise. I tried to ask Miles what sort of practical use this would have, but he wouldn't answer. Said there wasn't enough information to go off of, which is fair enough. But that doesn't put me at ease. My fear is that he'll suggest using an army of masked ponies for wartime use. While I agree that they would be invaluable, I cannot stomach the idea of that many powerful unicorns being subjected to wartime. Having that much power goes to a pony’s head, but add in the physical changes one has to undergo... Even if just one of them turned, the threat would be too much. And that's not even considering what would happen if the enemy figured out how to make these masks. We cannot assume there will not be any unicorns on their side. To do so would simply be foalish. They'll have unicorns just as we'll have griffins. If we barely have the forces to hold onto our lands, what would happen if they gained one of these Praetorian Guards? It would be devastating. I have to do everything in my power to keep this mask from being mass produced. The hope of a quick victory isn't worth the risk of losing everything, despite what Celestia thinks. Celestia... I don't know what to make of what she said. On one hoof, I get it. If this could win the war in a shorter amount of time, we should invest in that scenario. But I can't stand by tactics that use ponies as throw away pawns. Even Nightmare Moon wouldn't use tactics like that. Because even she saw the value in keeping all of your pieces on the field. What if we make them, and they don't win the war for us? What if in the time they are active they die off before any meaningful impacts could be made? What then? This is pointless to debate by myself. Even more so when there is still so little we understand about these masks. Like everypony else, I will have to wait until there is more information before I can make any real judgement. Which is why I'm glad Miles has the picture of the enchantment. This way I won't have to worry about Celestia trying anything behind my back. Who knows what one of these ponies will be capable of, let alone two. DING-DONG The trolley comes to a stop and the doors slide open. I set my thoughts aside and allow myself a moment of silence to flight home. It's a relatively short flight, and I enjoy the brief solitude to its fullest. The next week is going to only become more and more hectic, so I'll have to enjoy this while I can. I let out a sigh as I land before the house and make my way inside, absentmindedly grabbing the mail along the way. Most are letters for Shadow for school, but one is addressed to me. Odd, nopony sends me mail here. I take the letter and open it up, reading it quickly. It would seem that Sugar has made some sort of progress. She won't say what, in fear of somepony catching this before we do, but she urges us to speak with her. What could be so important that she would need to speak with us immediately? And who does she fear will try to read this message? I should be going to bed to get what little rest I can, but I can't ignore this. I'll just have to try to get extra sleep tomorrow then. I charge my horn and teleport to Sweet Apple Acres. I take a quick look around before walking up to the door and knocking on it. A few moments go by before the doors opens and Rampant steps forward. "Heya Momma Luna! What brings you here today?" he asks cheerfully. "I need to speak with Applejack... shouldn't you be at school?" I ask him curiously. "Nope," he answers simply, turning to walk inside. I go to question him further, but decide to leave it there. I'm sure there's a perfectly logical explanation or him skipping out on school. And if there isn't, it's not really my place to question it. I wait at the door until Applejack comes to talk, though I pause when I see her. It's not completely obvious, but I can see the stress getting to her. Her eyes are a little red, her mane isn't as well kept as it usually is, and there are some bags starting to form under eyes. She's smiling and trying to look as casual as possible, but I can see right through that. "Well howdy Luna, what can ah do fer ya?" she asks in her usual manner. "I... received a letter from Sugar. She needs to talk with us," I tell her cautiously. I can't help but feel a bit conflicted about this. I don't want to cause her undo stress, but she needs to know what's going on. "Right... uh... can ya give me a minute? Ah need ta see iffin ah can get a baby sitter fer Apple Slice," she tells me nervously. "Well... how about I just go? You seem to have a lot on your hooves right now-" "Don't sweat it Luna! Just give me a few minutes and ah'll be right back!" she tells me before shutting the door in my face. I growl in annoyance as I take a step back. That stubborn mare is going to work herself to death one of these days. As I wait for Applejack I hear the sound of pots and pans clanking together. What is she doing in there? And who is she even going to get to watch Apple Slice? Do we even have the time to wait for her to get somepony? I really don't think we do. And it seems as if Applejack could use the breather... at least in this small way. When I hear a piece of glass shatter I make up my mind. I am going alone and I will come back to talk with her afterwards. I march my way straight into the house and into the kitchen where I find Applejack. She's trying to throw something together on the stove, but it seems she's letting her stress get the best of her. She keeps making small mistakes because she's trying to do several things at once. I'm sure the soup she had in mind would have been nice, but the black tar in that pot looks diabolical. "I am going to talk with Sugar," I announce, getting her attention. "Ah'll be along in a minute-" "No, you are not," I tell her, getting a scared look from her. "Applejack. I know you are worried, I'm worried too. But you need to calm down. Nopony is going to take your farm. I won't allow it. Miles won't allow it. It's not going to happen, okay?" "We're losing the farm?" Rampant asks from the table. "Go to your room," I tell him sternly. He groans in protest, but complies. "Luna... ah know ya mean well, and ah really appreciate all you've done. But ah can't just sit here and do nothing. If ah'm not sellin' mah apples, it doesn't matter what you and Miles say. We'd go under anyways." "I understand that. But I need you to trust me right now. I can handle this. All I need you to do is to make sure that when this all blows over that your farm will be ready to resume as usual. Can you do that for me?" She gives me a nervous look before removing her hat and holds it to her chest. "Ah guess ah really don't have a choice right now, do ah? Sorry fer workin' ya like this Luna. Ah'ma make it up to ya, somehow." "You're welcome Applejack. And don't worry about that. I am your friend and would have done all of this with or without you asking. It's what we do." She gives me a smile to which I return. I charge my horn and cast the illusion over myself again, becoming Dew Drops again. "Please try to relax Applejack. I have this under control." "Ah'll try. An thanks again Luna," she tells me as she puts her hat back on. "And I think your pot is trying to crawl away." I tell her before casting my spell. FLASH I take a moment to compose myself as I look up at the brothel before me. Whatever she has to say better be worth all of this stress. I just hope it isn't bad news. We could really use a win right now. I take one final breath before stepping inside the building. Everything seems the same as the last time I was here. With the exception that the dancer on stage is male this time. I go to the bar and take a seat there, waiting for Sugar to come out. I guess I could just go to her room, but I'd rather wait for her to show up instead. Knowing my luck, I'd see something that I'd really rather not. "Back already?" the bartender asks when he comes out from the back. "Yes... well, I-" "Sugar is talking with somepony upstairs. I'll go let her know you're here... your highness." I can't help but blush when he whispers that last part. I thought Sugar said my secret was safe with her! Who else did she tell!? He leaves before I'm able to ask any questions, so I just sit here and fume. Why is it every day gets a little worse and worse as they go by? "Everything alright?" some stallion asks as he takes a seat beside me. "I'm fine, thank you. I'm just waiting for my friend," I tell him, using my tone to tell him to go away. Sadly, he doesn't take the hint. "Yeah, me too. We were supposed to leave an hour ago but he's still somewhere around here. Actually, we were supposed to leave last night, but he got distracted... and drunk. Names Digit," he sets his beer down and reaches over to shake my hoof. I try to ignore him, but decide against it. I don't really have it in me to be rude to ponies that are just trying to be nice. And he doesn't seem to be mean, for now at least. "Dew Drop," I tell him, trying to keep it as simple as possible. "Dew Drop. So... have a fun day planned with your friend?" And so the small talk begins. "One could say that. What about you? Came here for a fun night and over did it?" I try to use my tone make it as obvious as possible that I'm not actually interested in this stallion. This is just to pass the time. "Yeah, something like that. We work for a firm in Canterlot doing boring paperwork. Had to come all the way down here to investigate some farm. We got the paperwork we needed, but my friend wanted to have some fun and we ended up spending the night." I turn to look at him with renewed vigor. He's working with the pony that's auditing Applejack! "Like I said, boring." "Well... not entirely," I lie, turning to give him all of my attention. "I mean; a story is only as interesting as the pony telling it. There has to be something interesting about it, right?" I lean forward to show him that I'm interested. I can't lay it on too thick though. I did spend the beginning of this conversation trying to shake him off. "Well... I mean, there are a few odd points, here and there," he tells me, returning his attention to his drink. I wait patiently for him to continue. He brought it up, for the most part, so I'm sure he wants to talk about it. And I'm sure he doesn't want to talk about it with his colleague either. I'm just some random mare, what would telling me do? "Well... alright. So have you heard about that new nation forming right here in Equestria?" he caves, turning back to me to talk. "I've heard bits and pieces, why?" I ask, letting him fill in the blanks. "Well, these Terradisians sprouted up right here in our territory and have been annexing land over the past six or so years. But rather than stopping this guy, the Princesses seem to have just allow him to do what he wants!" "I'm sure there are... extenuating circumstances for that," I try to tell him, my smile wilting slightly. He doesn't seem to notice though. "Somepony, somewhere, started asking the right questions. It seems the Element of Honesty was brought into their ranks and now they own their land. First they he takes the Elements, then he takes those tracks of land in the Griffin Colonies and wherever else he wants to, and now he's taking the very Bearers themselves!" "I don't think he's taking them. I mean, from what I've heard around town, it's more like a joint ownership." "That just sounds like complacency to me. I mean, it was ours before he got here. And now we share it? That doesn't add up to me. But, like you said, there are probably some extenuating circumstances that the public isn't aware of. Who knows, maybe he's sleeping with Celestia." I blanch at that, taking personal offence to it. "Or Luna, for that matter." He chuckles at that, taking a swig of his drink. "Eh, sure. But I don't see her having that much pull at the time. Plus, Celestia would be better for his height, but that's just me speaking. Maybe now that she's found that other alicorn she could pull something like that off, but who knows really. All I'm trying to say is that there's something fishy happening in this town and it's starting to garner a lot of attention. My friend and I are only the beginning of it. Just you watch, we may not even be able to call this town Equestrian before long." He downs the last of his drink and slams the bottle down, letting out a loud gasp as he lets the alcohol settle. "Sorry to spout all of that. I just needed to say something to somepony." "It's alright. If anything it's an interesting take on what's going on around here. By the way, you mentioned somepony started asking the right questions. Do you know who that is? And I only mean to ask to see if they are credible." "Hm... I don't know them. I'm just the pencil pusher really. You'd have to ask my friend for more information really. But I do know it's not just a single pony... well... it all depends on what issue you're talking about. The embargo on Terradisia, the Apple audit, the land tax sanction, they're all coming from different ponies with similar goals." "Dew Drop!" Sugar calls from the stairway. She motions for me to follow before running back up. I hesitate to follow her though. He mentioned something that I didn't know about. What land tax sanction? I didn't approve something like that, and I know Celestia didn't. What is he talking about? But, I'm here for a reason. I'll have to inquire about that later. "Well... Digit. It was an interesting conversation but I must be off now. Do take care," I tell him as I stand and start to leave. "Of course. Have fun Dew Drop. While you can that is," he tells me before sliding off his stool and heading for the door. I watch him leave for a moment before forcing myself to head upstairs. He brought up a lot of questions that I have no answers for. I don't know where to start with all of this, but it will have to wait until at least after this conversation. But, that's how it goes though, isn't it? Something new always pops up right in the middle of something else. When else would they come up? When I make it to the top of the stairs Sugar motions for me to come closer, so I do. When I approach her she tells me to keep quiet and takes a look around, making sure the coast is clear. "He's in my room over there," she whispers to me. "I've tried to convince him to stay longer, but he's determined to leave today. If you have anything to say to him, now's the time." "I understand...is it okay to walk in?" I ask, hesitating for a moment. She stares at me for a moment before blushing. "Oh, yeah. Don't worry...it's... uh... it's clean. In there." She avoids my gaze at that. I blush as well from the comment. I don't know how I'm going to thank her for this, even with her slip up before. But we'll talk afterwards. Right now I have to deal with this. Taking one last breath, I stand tall and set my resolve to convince this pony to change his mind. The room is as familiar as I last saw it, with one exception. There's a stallion standing by the bed packing his suite case. He's an unassuming earth stallion with a grey coat and white hair. He doesn't seem to have noticed me yet, so I make sure to shut the door loudly to get his attention. He looks back at me and smirks, eyeing my completely. "I swear, you'd think my cock was magical with how hard you all are trying to keep me here," he remarks, turning back to his suite case. I hum in thought in response. How should I go about this? I could drop my spell and try to talk to him directly. But I don't think that would be the wisest choice. If I can't convince him, then I just give him the story about the Queen being in a brothel. I think I'll save that for last and try to convince him as Dew Drop for now. "Hello, my name is Dew Drop," I use my sweet business tone with him. Attractive, but to the point. "Index," he tells me smugly. He thinks this is going to work out in a certain manner. I guess I should start out by letting him know why I'm here then. "I don't work here Index. I'm working for Sweet Apple Acres in accordance to the recent audit of their farm." He stops everything he's doing and turns to me, taking a much more serious look about himself. "Did the Terradisians send you?" he asks cautiously. Should I go with that? I could use that name to intimidate him, but I don't think it would work with him. I might, but if he's gone this far then why would it now? Then again, he might be thinking that this would never cause him physical harm. Maybe that's the kind of push I need. Let's test the waters and see. "Who sent me is not relevant. I'm here to discuss the audit you are performing on the farm. Do you have a moment to speak?" No direct answers. Just enough to make him start thinking on his own. He'll do the rest. He takes a look around before nodding to me. I can see his face contort in thought. I have him worried, thinking. I can exploit that. "Well Index, to put it simply, we believe that the audit on the Apple farm is simply foalish. As I have come to understand it, they have met every standard for Equestrian pest management requirements. And since they were originally a part of Equestria only a few years ago, putting them under such unjust scrutiny is clearly for some personal agenda. Who did you say sent you here?" "I didn't. I received my orders from Canterlot. Just a memo to take a look into things here. I'm sure you understand the typical procedure." I study his face, trying to learn his tells. He avoids eye contact at times and furrow his brows. If that's his tell, then I can guess it wasn't just some memo. Somepony specifically sent him here, but who? "Of course. But you have to see where I'm coming from. This is joint territory, Index. It's doesn't fall under foreign lands according the law," I tell him, casually walking around the room. He stays by the bed, watching me cautiously. "At first I thought so too. But look at how we deal with other foreign territories. The Crystal Empire falls under the same sort of scrutiny as any other nation." "Yes, but there's a reason for that. They were simply gone from the world. We have to make sure there weren't any diseases hiding with them. They're even in track to becoming consider natural bordered." I counter, getting him to shake his head. "But we don't know what the Terradisians have done to their crops. Better to be safe than sorry." "But to audit them so aggressively and without any prior warning from the government? If the Princesses had wanted them to fall under new law, they would have forewarned the Apples." Except we wouldn't have to do that because they've never left Equestrian territory. "Well, I guess they had a change of heart," he shrugs, looking down and furrowing his brows. "The memo I received was very... deliberate. Maybe the Terradisians did something that finally pushed them too far this time." "Or maybe somepony has an agenda against the Terradisians." He gives me a stern look. I'm certain that at this point he knows that I'm don't believe anything he's saying. Time to get to the bottom of this. "Who sent you? Why are you really doing this?" He considers me for a moment before moving towards the door. I watch him go, waiting to see what he does. If he was going to make a run for it I don't think he would leave his brief case. He pokes his head out the door and speaks with somepony out there, I'm assuming Sugar. He closes the door quietly and walks to the bed, keeping a calm tone about himself. Without saying anything he climbs into bed and relaxes onto his back, letting out a sigh as he does so. "If we're going to have that talk, I'm going to need a drink first. So, before we delve into it, which Terradisian sent you? I've read about them a bit. I doubt the human sent you. He seems more like the warmonger than the politician if you ask me." I hum to thank, inwardly agreeing with him; in only slightly. "As I said, I'm here for the Apples." I tell him, keeping it vague as possible. "So Macintosh sent you? Interesting. I didn't think he was capable of thinking outside of farming and killing." I bite my tongue to keep myself from defending Big Mac. I know this is only the opinion of a cold hearted stallion sent to ruin a family. I can't let him get to me like this. "What exactly did they tell you? That they're treason was somehow justified? That they did it to protect others? What's their reason for leaving Equestria?" "As I understand it, they didn't. They still are citizens and consider this their home, regardless of the flag that flies above-" "What does the Terradisian flag look like anyway? For a country that's growing so rapidly, they seem to lack some form of universal representation." I bite my tongue a little harder at his outburst. He's trying to mess with me. He's not talking about anything until he decides he wants to. I need to rein this conversation back under my control. "I'm assuming one of the nobles sent you, but who? How high up are we talking?" he chuckles at that, rolling his head over to look to me. "Join me on the bed and I'll tell you more," he says, patting the bed space beside him. "I'm fine over here," I tell him flatly. He chuckles again and goes back to looking to the ceiling, closing his eyes in content. "Perhaps it was Monoculture? She is the head of the Royal Agriculture Ministry. Perhaps she doesn't like the idea of such a large farm joining other factions." "It might be. You can either wait until my drink gets here or join me here. It's up to you really." I scoff and turn away from him. "I'll give you this though, it's not just one pony. Though it was spear headed by an individual, it took a collective to really get things moving." "Oh? But what group of ponies would want to persecute such a widely acclaimed family? What would they gain from that?" I ask. He chuckles again, choosing not to answer my question. I let out a small huff of annoyance and resume my pacing. He's stubborn, but I've broken worse. I'll wait until his beverage is here and see what he has to say then. "Isn't this all strange?" he asks aloud, keeping his eyes shut. "If you had told me six years ago that one of the Bearers of the Elements would turn against her own people just because their sibling wanted to become a warmonger, I'd call you crazy. But, then again, if you told me some power freak crawled its way out of the forest and started taking land freely from the Princesses; I'd send you to the loony bin myself." "He did not just take land. There were concessions. He was only allowed to keep what he took by providing raw resources as payment." I snap back at him, taking personal offense. "If you ask me, it was a bad deal." I growl internally at his ignorance. He clearly doesn't know what he's talking about. Or, he thinks he does, but he's basing this all on misinformation and second hoof accounts. Miles has paid nearly two billion bits in metal manufactured goods. And that deal wasn't of his own volition! We forced him to do it! "Who knows, maybe there's more to his payment than what's being presented." "Perhaps," I say bitterly. "Maybe he's doing their dirty work for them. Killing off opponents they couldn't face directly. It would make certain actions make more sense. Who knows? Maybe he's just sticking it to the Princesses. Lord knows they could use-" THUD I flare my magic and grab him by the throat, lifting him up and against the wall. He tries to struggle free, but stops when I drop my illusion. "You will silence yourself if you know what's best for you!" I yell at him, adding more pressure to his neck. He tries to gurgle a response, but I don't allow it. "I thought I could speak to you as an honorable pony, but I was clearly mistaken. You will reveal to me who is pressing these charges and you will-" SNAP A cold chill runs over my entire form when he goes limp. I stare at him for a moment before I drop my spell, more out of shock than anything else. He falls onto the bed into a heap and stays perfectly still. I stare at him as I try to register what just happened. I wasn't adding that much pressure! I wasn't going to kill him! This wasn't supposed to be how it turned out! I didn't do this! I did this. Everything starts to go hazy as I try to wrap my head around the situation. How could this happen? He's dead! I killed an innocent pony! What am I going to do!? You will do as I tell you. Destroy the body, leave nothing. Embrace your power. Oh Mother above! Oh Father! What have I done!? Listen to me! Do as I say! Teleport away. Destroy the body and leave nothing. No one will know of what has happened. Tears start to roll down my cheek as I stare at the dead pony. Soul Fire is right; I need to get rid of the body. I can sort through this later, first I need to act. I try to think of somewhere to teleport and settle on the Everfree. FLASH I need to act quickly. There's no telling who could be lurking around these parts. I use my magic to dig a shallow grave and quickly lay his body inside. I try to think of a way to destroy the body and settle on only one solution. I use soul fire to turn the corpse to ash. As soon as the deed is done I levitate the soil back over and do my best to cover the small mound. With everything done, I start to think. I just killed this pony, burned his body and tossed him in a shallow, nameless grave. There were ponies in there, ponies that knew we were in there and who I was! This can still lead back to me! What am I going to do about this? Maybe I can make up some story? Should I go back? I don't think I should. I'll just say he offended me and I left. Who would question me? Those that know who I am wouldn't dare go against me. And the others didn't know who I really was. They'd be chasing a ghost. All I need to do is keep quiet and let this all fade away. I start to walk away when I feel the need to look back at the mound. He deserves a name plate at least. But how am I going to do that without giving myself away? I can't. Not now at least. I will come back at a later time and give him a more proper burial, but for the time being this will have to suffice. ... ... "I'm sorry," I mutter before leaving. Author's Note Theoretical Conquest Round 2 Brony on!
Chapter 246 Miles' LieChapter 246 Miles' Lie I rush home and try to occupy my mind. I need to do something so I can think clearly. Do the dishes? No, that won't work, not when there's only two at least. Maybe I could just start cleaning the house? But it's already clean, so that would just look suspicious. Plus, usually the robots do that at night, so I wouldn't know what to start with. Maybe I should just go to Canterlot and start doing paperwork. Nopony there would question me. Yeah, I like that plan. I head upstairs to teleport to the castle when Miles opens the door before me. "MILES!" I yell, jumping back having scared myself with my own voice. He's in his alicorn form again, which can only lead to bad things right now."U-uhm, wh-what are you doing here? Right now? What are... what are you doing... here?" "Sorry to scare you like that. I had to grab somethings from inside. Apparently, I need to go get Steel a hooker because he-" "WHAT!?" I yell again, scaring the both of us again. Miles stares at me for a second before continuing. "Yeah... I told him what I knew and what might happen and, long story short, he doesn't want to die a virgin. I couldn't really argue against him since... well... been there done that. So now I have to go and... yeah." "Except no," I tell him, my mind racing. He can't show up there, ever! There would be questions! I can't let this leak out right now, I can't! Miles gives me an odd look before sitting down. "Right, and why is that?" he asks calmly. "Because... that isn't moral?" That didn't sound too confident. I need to get my act together if I'm going to get through this. "Moral... I mean, sure, we can argue that all we want. But, fact of the matter is, it's legal and it's his, and hers too, choice. He could have as little as a few days left to live, and as I am mostly responsible for this-" "How are you only mostly responsible?" "- I am not going to stop, nor judge, the choice that he has come to. He can't have a last meal, he has no one to confide in that could be allowed to see him, and he has nowhere he's allowed to go to have what could be his final thoughts. So why, with all of that going on, is this suddenly a question of morals?" I stare back at him and try to think of something to say, but there isn't anything I can say. I can't lie to him. Maybe not now, but he'll figure it out eventually. And then what? And then I murdered somepony and lied to him. I'll tell him the truth and... and face him like the mare I should be. My pride isn't worth our trust. "You can't go to the brothel because I just left them. I met the pony auditing the Apples... and snapped his neck... on accident... I think." He doesn't say anything at first. He barely even reacts. He just stares at me, as if he's trying to see if there's some form of a lie in what I said. But I'm telling the truth, and he'll see that soon enough. So, I'll just wait here and let what comes come. "Where there any other witnesses?" he asks calmly. I swallow the lump in my throat as I try to think of all the possible answers to that question. "Possibly. There was a second auditor he was here with for sure. There was also an escort that knew of my being there as well as the bartender. I cannot confirm if any of the other workers knew if I was there or if anypony else was aware. Though, I do not know how much any of them know." He lets out a quick breath and looks down to think. I can feel my knees starting to shake as I try to stand tall. But all the shame I'm feeling is weighing me down too much. I can't believe I did this. Was this even my doing? Is Nightmare Moon making some sort of come back? Is this how she's going to make it all start? By making me murder an innocent pony? Why did I think I could do this by myself!? "Okay," Miles mutters, breaking my chain of though. "Okay... I'm... I'm going to take care of this." "Miles," I mutter back in disbelief. "There is nothing to take care of-" "Luna," he cuts me off, looking me straight in the eyes. I can see now the resolve he has for this. I don't know what he has planned, but I doubt that I will change his mind. "You once told me that it didn't matter if I was scared or if I lost control. That my duty is to this country. And that extends to you too Luna. I'm not doing this because you're asking me to. I'm not doing this because I am your husband and I love you. And I'm not doing this because I have the power to do this either. I am doing this because there is a bigger picture at stake." "We are at the precipice of war Luna. And like it or not, we do not get to decide when that war starts. We can sit here and plan all day, make all the preparations for whatever plans we think they might have, and none of that will matter. Because they get to pick when they attack. It is no longer a matter of what happens. It's a matter of when will it happen and how prepared we are when it does. And for that fact alone, I need you here. I need you running the country. I need to know that you are safe and free to run and make whatever escape you need to make should the worst occur. I need to know that you will have my back Luna." "I'll be forthcoming with you; I didn't have a plan for these auditors. Not entirely at least. With this at least my choices are limited and forces me to make a decision. And with a clear path ahead of us I can at least start to move forward. Luna," he takes my hooves and holds onto them, pulling me closer. "I killed him to make a statement that Terradisia could show the world that it will not be pushed around." "Miles, no-" I weep, getting him to pull me closer. "I killed him to enact some sort of scheme I've concocted. You had no part of this whatsoever. You were home getting ready for work." "Miles, don't do this," I cry, holding onto his cheeks. "This isn't going to end well for anypony. We can figure another way around this. There has to be another way, please!" "You are going to go to Canterlot and go straight to Celestia. You are going to take her to the throne room and wait there. I'm going to make a move that will sever all connections between Equestria and Canterlot. You need to be strong for this. You need to show the world that Equestria can stand against anyone, anyone. I know you can do this Luna. I know you're stronger than you're willing to admit. Lead this nation Luna." "Miles, please don't do this!" I cry out as he starts to leave. I grab him with my magic and pull him back. He doesn't fight me, but he keeps his gaze elsewhere. "I will not allow you to make yourself into the enemy! If you make any sort of move against Equestria I will never forgive you! This is your home! This is where your son lives! We can't lose you now! There must be another way for this to work! Don't be so reckless Miles!" "Luna, a government official has been killed. There are too many witnesses to get away cleanly. They've probably already started to ask questions. One of us has to make a move, and I'm not going to let them drag you down-' "And I'm not going to let them drag you down!" I yell back at him, pushing his shoulder roughly. "We can think of a better plan! Don't just take the first easy out you think of! We need to be smart about this!" "Then what's your plan? Tell me what to do then! Because we're running out of time! We need to act now!" I stand up and start to pace around. He's right about that, we need to act. We need to stop ponies spreading any more rumors first. That means we need to collect those that know and those that might know something and bring them... where? Somewhere discreet. Topaz? That'll have to do for now. We can figure the rest out as we go. "Okay, our first step is collecting all of the ponies that might know what's going on and bringing them to Topaz Falls. From there we can see about silencing them. From there... I don't know. We'll take it one step at a time." He nods to me, thinking to himself for a moment. "You should head to Canterlot. We need to take as much of the heat off of you-" "Miles I am not-" "-going to argue," he cuts me off sternly. "I can get out of this, you can't. There is no argument you can make with that auditor that will end with him agreeing with you. He'll believe that I did it easily." "And then what? How does that help our case? If he'll so easily believe that you murdered his colleague, why would he agree to keep quiet?" He stares at me for a moment, keeping silent. It slowly dawns on me what he's planning. He intends to kill him. I want to argue with him, tell him that this isn't the way to do it. But what good is my word right now? We're only in this mess because I murdered somepony. But does that give him the right to make the same mistake? No, no it doesn't. "Miles, murder is not the answer." I tell him slowly. "I never said I was going to kill him. I didn't say anything," he tells me, trying to use his trademark political lingo roundabout lies. "Your silence was enough to infer what you intend to do. Miles, there has been enough murder already. We can do better than this." "I agree, we can do better than this. We can start by you leaving for Canterlot. If they've been to the guards already then Canterlot has probably already received word about this whole incident. That means we need to clear your name now. I can have the Spartans covertly take care of everything else. This is step one. We'll worry about two when it arrives. But I need you to trust me when I say that you need to leave. We get nowhere if they pin this on you. I have the leniency of being from another nation. The world already thinks I'm a warmonger, selling them a snuff story will be easy. I can dance around this, but I'll need your help to do so. And that starts with you going to Canterlot right now as if nothing happened. If anypony asks, you didn't see me. You woke up alone, assumed nothing was wrong, and went to the castle as if it were any other day. This is what must happen. I'm going to start my portion of this mess, we'll talk as soon as possible." He doesn't wait for me to say anything. To him, this is the end of the conversation. I can't really argue with him though. Not right now at least. Not when he's right, for the most part. If this leads to me there isn't much he can do to help. I'd lose any credibility with the Equestrian people. So, for this part, I have to act as if nothing is wrong. Fake smiles, unassuming voice, distant, and all business. It's just another day at the castle. How am I going to make it to the end of the week? Perspective: Miles I teleport to Mooseden and make my way towards town hall. Most of the Spartans should be there already, as I signaled them on my way over here. A thousand thoughts are racing through my mind at the moment. I can't believe Luna did this. I never thought in a thousand years she could murder somepony. Then again, was it actually her? No, don't dwell on that. We can talk about this later. Right now, we have an objective to achieve. Round up those that are aware of what's going on and bring them to Topaz. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to get the others to do this without questioning me too much though. Maybe if I can just tell them to act now and fill them in later that might work. Yeah... that might work. I might have to smack a few heads in order to get things rolling, but what else is new? I open the door and enter quickly, shutting the door and locking it behind myself. I turn around and pause when I notice all of the Spartans staring at me with a... certain look about them. I can't quite put my finger on it, but something is up. Before I can say anything Sledge steps forward and addresses me. "So who did Luna kill?" "Who the fuck said that!?" I demand, blown away that they know. How could they possibly know about this already!? It's only been... actually, I don't know how long it's been. "Night Fury called it in," Storm informs me, stepping forward. "He was monitoring the communications hub at Canterlot when he heard the call come in from Ponyville. He took care of it on that end for now, but we need details. What's going on?" Well... this is it then. "Luna didn't kill anybody... I did." A few of them look shocked, but most seem unconvinced. The main one being Storm. He's known me the longest, so go figure he'll be the most difficult to lie to. "I knew Luna was talking to this person and was making slow progress. I went in her place to a meeting they were having and... well..." "You blacked out?" Big Mac asks. I keep quiet for a moment as I consider that. I could use that as my excuse. Blame it on a medical condition that no one understands. Who would know better? But this could lead to some bad places. If they think I might snap at any moment and kill them, why would they continue to follow me? But if I put it all of this, there's nothing they can say to press the issue. Time is of the essence right now. If they're already sending messages to Canterlot then we're already falling behind. We need to act now. "Yeah... yeah I did. I have no recollection of what happened to that auditor. All I know now is that he's dead and we need to act if we're going to make the most of this situation." They murmur among themselves for a moment, clearly unsure about what's going on. Keeping their trust if a tightrope act. If they believe I won't aid them in their cause, I'll lose my ability to command them. Without their trust, we'll fall apart. I need to tread carefully now, more-so than ever before. "So... what now?" Jonathan asks, tapping his claws against his bench. "Are we taking Canterlot?" Yinbie asks; a little too eagerly. "Even if we did that would end disastrously you simpleton!" Si Ye yells at him, standing to his feet. "There is only one way we can get out this without losing our main trade partner. We need to change the conversation to something that will eclipse this completely. Silence those that would speak out against us and stifle those that would oppose us. We need to show the world that the Spartans will not be trifled with!" I stare at the chimp for a moment before realizing what he's talking about. I don't know how he came to this conclusion, but it's not a bad one. You can do a thousand bad deeds as long as they each outdo one another, at least in the short run. If they populace only has one topic to talk about, why let them think about it? But... I don't know about this. Operation Unthinkable is still a bit shaky. "Everyone knows a war is going to happen," Si Ye continues, preaching to all of us. "Why wait? We are Spartans! If there's going to be a fight, it will be on our terms! We will dictate the fight! I am tired of waiting for them to stab us in the back! No espionage! We are front line fighters, let's take the front line to those we know are responsible for all of this. Let's get this war started and end it before they even have the chance to raise a fist. I suggest we enact Operation Unthinkable." All the Spartans give a loud cheer of approval. Some of them clap, others start pounding their benches, but one thing is consistent. They want a fight. If we do this, there's no going back. If we do this, everything changes. And if we do this, I save Luna from our own people. I want to say that I'm sad to make this choice. I want to say that making such a decision would cause me great unease. But, in all honesty, this is liberating. Si Ye is right. I haven't been acting as a Spartan would. I've been playing by their rules for too long. It's time we changed that. It's time we made the world understand what they are truly up against. But, I need to make sure the others are aware of the consequences of what we are about to do. Because there's no going back after this. "Si Ye, everyone, think about what you are suggesting for a moment. There's no going back after this. Where did all of this even come from anyway?" "I am not blind to the world Captain. The new world order will either be led by us or the Unfamiliar. And I do not intend to lose my home world to these creatures. This is our home just as much as it is yours. This is not a sudden thought of mine, nor anyone else's." "Yeah Capt'n!" High Flyer cuts in, standing with Si Ye. "Let us take the fight to them! We'll be better able to protect our own people if the fighting takes place somewhere else anyway! This is the best chance we'll have! Every day we wait is a waste of time!" "We're ready Miles, just give us the okay!" Butterscotch adds. I consider all of them for a moment before I start to smirk. "Alright. Operation Unthinkable is a go then," I tell them, getting a resounding cheer from them. "But we're going to have to make some modifications first. Get Night on the line and let him know we'll pick him up along the way. Si Ye, Jonathan, Ellzy, Tiber, you're in the air. Beserkers are on point with Jumpers taking flanking positions. I want everyone in position in thirty. In the meantime, Shifted, I need you to run a special mission. Crypteia clearance." Perspective: Easy Orders received, verifying... Orders accepted. Mobilization initiated. All available units will be converted for military functions. First army initiating... Second army initiating... Third army initiating... Fourth army initiating... Fifth army initiating... Sixth army initiating... Seventh army initiating... Eighth army initiating... Ninth army initiating... Tenth army initiating... First air corp initiating... Second air corp initiating... Third air corp initiating... Fourth air corp initiating... Military grade bots initiating... Unit orders received. Engage.
Chapter 247 Operation UnthinkableChapter 247 Operation Unthinkable Perspective: Shifted Past Ponies have far too many misconceptions about changelings. They assume we only know how to consume love. The idea that we could identify with any other emotion is far too complicated for our little drone minds to fathom. It is arrogant and short minded. Though, I guess that is just something for us to exploit. The Captain was clear on the mission details. I don't have any idea what this pony looks like, but finding him was far too easy. He practically screamed his location away. Fear. If love is our nectar, fear is our tart. Bitter, sour tasting, it leaves a foul taste in your mouth when you find it. Those ponies don't understand their own emotions. It's amusing really. Why wouldn't we understand fear? It's so prevalent in love. Fear of loss, fear of rejection, fear of solitude; these ponies don't understand their own emotions and yet claim to understand us changelings. Arrogance. The trail of fear left by this pony, this Index, is as obvious as a fresh batch of cinnamon rolls. Catching up with him wasn't hard either. Targets like this often make simple mistakes. Staying longer than they should, second guessing every turn; their fear makes them waste precious moments that could save their lives. But they have to rationalize everything. They've never had the luxury of turning everything off for the good of the hive. When you have a purpose, everything is simple. You only exist to fulfill that goal, and you don't stop until you make it to the very end. Living without the Queen has been difficult. But now that I am a Spartan, I have my purpose. My cause. Miles is my new leader. The Spartans are my hive mates. Terradisia is my new home. And I will do anything to keep it from crumbling as my previous home did. "Is this seat taken?" I ask as I enter a private room on the passenger train. My target thought he could make it to Canterlot before we'd catch him. Clearly, he did not research who we are. "Um... no, go ahead," he tells me nervously, clutching his bag tightly. I give a small giggle and step inside, shutting the door behind myself. He looks me over once before shaking his head and looks out the window. To him I'm just another mare. Though, a mare that's been tailor to his exact liking, courtesy of the information the Captain gathered from that brothel. Slender frame, unicorn, long wavy hair; this is his dream. But he's not looking at me right now. His attention is elsewhere. "It's such a lovely day, wouldn't you say?" I ask him, trying to bring his attention away from the window. I need to confirm his identity before I move forward. A requirement of the Captains. "Oh, uh... yeah. I guess," he stutters, glancing at me momentarily. "My name is Mirage, what's yours?" He gives me another look before returning to the window. "Is everything alright?" "Well... not really," he mumbles, shifting around uneasily. "Well, if you want, why don't you talk about it? That always helps me when I'm in a pinch." He doesn't budge from that. I'll have to try something else. "Maybe talking about something else might help. Um... where are you from?" "..." "No? Okay... favorite Princess?" "..." "Book? Candy? Pasta? Anything!" "Why are you so persistent!?" he demands. Anger, the spice of emotions. Always making a sudden, stinging, appearance. This is simple enough. Shocked face, raised leg in defense, hurt eyes, saddened ears, and sell it. "I'm sorry... I just... I just thought you needed somepony to talk to. I-I can leave if that's what you want." I start to leave at that. But I don't even make it out the door before he speaks up. "Wait, Mirage. You don't have to leave. Please come back." Like clockwork. Ponies are far too empathetic. I close the door and take my seat again, putting on a nervous demeanor. "I'm sorry. I'm just under a lot of stress right now and didn't feel like talking. You don't have to go, but... please. Just, no talking. I'm just not in the mood for it." "Well... only if you at least tell me your name. It would be rude not to." He considers my statement for a moment before folding. Ponies. They're always so worried about what others think. Especially Canterlot ponies. It's almost as if there's some sort of value from the approval of strangers that drives them. I'm sure for them it makes sense, but not for the hive. Such individuality would never be allowed, and this is why. "Index, my names Index." "Index, my name is Shifted Past. And I am taking you into custody." "Wha-" FWT These Terradisian tools are too powerful. Tranquilizer gun, pft! If we had this at Canterlot we would have won. But, that was the past. The Captain needs this pony for the information in his head. After that, he will do what he wishes. But I need to hurry. The next part of the phase if about to start. Perspective: Luna FLASH I blink away the fuzziness from my vision before making my way through the castle. Everypony here is going about their business as if nothing has happened. As far as they are aware, nothing has. But, that's how it goes here. Nopony knows what's actually going on in the world. Not until it comes crashing in here. There are still some workers here that don't know that I've returned, and it's been nearly ten years! Whether this is good or bad is beyond what I'm willing to contemplate. Right now, all I want to do is find Celestia and distract myself with mindless paperwork. After asking a few maids I find her in the throne room with Tempestive. They're having a quiet conversation that ends the moment they see me. Something happened, and I am not in the mood for whatever it is right now. "Please tell me it's something simple," I drone to them as I approach. They give each other a nervous look before smiling back to me. "Tia, why is it whenever we leave you two alone something goes wrong?" "It's not her fault!" Tempestive shouts, jumping to stand before her. "We were in the library and I was looking for a book and... well... I found a guard and Softy... and we started talking..." "Tempestive was trying to do the right thing and apologized to her," Tia continues confidently. "They made amends and are even friends now. But, after that, the guard made... a mistake." "Before we continue, what guard are we talking about?" I ask, just so I can put a face to the position. Nothing more than that. "Flash Sentry," Tempestive blurts out, much to Celestia's displeasure. "Flash Sentry... the one Twilight-" "Yes, that one. He was on duty watching over Softy when he made the mistake of... well... Tempestive?" We both look down to him and wait for him to speak. I'm pretty sure I know what he did, but I want to hear it from Tempestive. What exactly did this guard say. "He... called me a prince. Is that true Mom? Are we royalty? Is that really why I have to hide my wings?" I let out a slow sigh as I stand upright. Of course he would learn this today. What other day would he learn this? Never on a day when Miles would be here, that would be too convenient! I honestly can't fault Miles right now though, given what he's doing. And Celestia should have kept a better eye on him, but that's in the past. We're here now, and we're going to face this head on. Starting with the truth. "Yes Tempestive, we are royalty. Your father and I are the King and Queen of Equestria, making you Prince." I tell him as I lay down to speak more closely with him. He sits down and starts to process all of this information, but there's still more to tell him. "When your father and I found out that I was pregnant with you, we were overjoyed. But, before you were born, we realized somethings. We didn't want you growing up in the castle because we wanted you to live a carefree life. We felt that life here would be too stifling for you, and that Ponyville was the perfect spot for us as a family." "They didn't want you to worry about your duties as a prince Tempestive," Celestia adds, taking a seat to his side. "They felt that this was the best choice for you." "And the vest?" he asks quietly. "Alicorns aren't common Tempestive. The only alicorns to exist before were me and your Aunt. In the past twenty years six alicorns have appeared in Equestria. Five of them are a part of the royal family. We didn't want anypony treating you differently because of that." He thinks about that for a moment before taking a deep breath. This is a lot to take in, but I think he's doing okay so far. "So... is that also why I'm home schooled? Because the ponies there would know that I'm royalty." "No, actually that's mostly your fathers doing. Tempestive, most ponies your age are not as learned as you are. A colt your age should be learning basic algebra. Not... whatever it is you know. Not to mention the amount of magical knowledge you posses would probably make most teacher's heads spin. We felt school would be... limiting, for you. But... I will admit, there were some global events that also made the choice a little easier for us to make." "But that's not to say that it wasn't safe for you to go to school!" Celestia adds in quickly. "It was mainly because they knew you would be too smart for those courses." "Right!" I shoot her a grateful look before returning to him. He's in thought again, rubbing his chin slowly. "Since I know now... does that mean that I will start to have responsibilities here at the castle?" I hum to that, taking a moment to think about it. We originally intended to tell him when he turned twelve. But, that's six years from now, so we'll have to make some new adjustments to our plans. Should we start letting him see this part of our lives? Is now the time to start prepping him for his destiny as a ruler of this nation? While we had no intention of starting this now; the fact of the matter is that he knows. And with that, means that he should at least start learning what it means to be a prince in Equestria. But, where would that ever start with him being so young? "If we were to start prepping you for Princedom, we would start with etiquette. But, this mainly starts with you. Do you want to start taking on your role as prince? This is a big decision to make Tempestive. And once you make it, there's no going back. This is who you will be for the rest of your life son. There is no shame if you want to go back to Ponyville and live as we have. But, you will always know this. And you will eventually have to come to terms with your destiny and face it. This is your choice, I will not force you one way or another. Not now at least. What will it be? What do you want?" He looks away to think again. Celestia and I share an uneasy look as we wait patiently for him to answer. This is a lot to think about, especially for someone so young. There will be implications down the road regardless of whichever choice he makes. And, as his parents, we should support him no matter what. Regardless of what we think would be best, whatever he chooses right now, we must encourage him completely. What sort of choice will he make? Where is this all going to lead us? What's going through his head at this moment? He looks out the window for a bit before walking towards it, fixated on something. The most important choice of your life and you get distracted... Tempestive... "Oh mother," Celestia mutters as she stands up. Confused, I stand with her and join the two of them at the window. High in the sky are hundreds of black darts racing towards the east coast. Each one following a precise formation. There are several dots that are obviously other aircraft, but they're difficult to make out in the swarm above. There must be thousands of aircraft flying overhead. What is going on? Miles said that we were going to work this out together, what changed? He... he wouldn't lie to me. "What's going on?" Tempestive asks, rearing up onto the window sill to get a better view. "I... don't know," I mutter nervously. I glance to Celestia to gauge her reaction. She's... focused. Clearly thinking of something elsewhere, but she's not concerned. Though, why would she need to be. She doesn't know what happened. To her, this is purely on Miles. "We should head to the conference hall, see what the others think." Celestia tells me before marching down the hall. I nod to her and start to walk after her, only to stop and look back to Tempestive. "Tempestive?" I ask him, breaking him away from the window. "I need you to follow me." "But... I-" "I know. But this is important. Do not leave my side under any circumstances, no matter what. Understand?" He takes another look outside before nodding to me. I can see the nervousness in his eyes, so I kneel before him to speak on his level. "There's nothing to be afraid of honey. Whatever it is those things are going towards, it's not going to affect us. Okay?" He looks back nervously for a moment, so I set a hoof on his shoulder. He looks back to me and nods, swallowing the lump in this throat. "That's my brave boy. Now try to keep up, okay?" "Mom," he mutters softly. I wait for him to speak, letting him form his question on his own. "I'm not scared." "That's my-" "I'm not scared because of... somethings that I've seen...Things I promised I wouldn't talk about. But I want to talk about it, because I don't know what to do about it all. But I promised..." "Honey..." I mutter as I rub the back of his neck. "You have to understand that there are times that you have to keep your promises, no matter what. Trust is not something that is easily gained, and it requires constant diligence to maintain. But... there are times that you have to go back on your word. Sometimes it to save somepony else, other times to keep a bigger promise safe. Now... I think it would be best to keep this with yourself until your father comes back. Because I have a feeling that I know what this is all about, and it's something he's... better equipped to answer. Okay?" "I... I don't think anypony is ready for something like this... but okay." Oh... if only you knew. In due time, but not now. Not like this. "Good. Now, keep up and don't leave my side." I tell him before hurrying out of the throne room. I don't know what Miles is planning, but there better be a good reason for this. We turn at the end of the hall and stop when we see the Kroth standing before us, the Nether Walker. He takes a few slow steps towards the window and looks up at the flying vehicles quietly. I keep quiet as I wait for him to act, ready to put him down if need be. "An ominous sight, no?" he asks me quietly, staring up at the sky. "So, this is how it begins-" "If... if you wish to be with your people, then go." I know releasing him will anger everyone, but I don't want him here right now. Not while Tempestive is here. He doesn't move, he doesn't even acknowledge that I spoke to him. He just keeps staring up at the sky in... wonder? "A famine now a war. A war that will plague the universe... and what's to find at the end? Darkness is here... and we thought we had finally found our land of life..." He continues to mutter to himself, oblivious to the rest of the world. I take Tempestive and leave him. If he wants to stand there and ramble, that's fine. I have more pressing matters to attend to at the moment. Perspective: Si Ye Flight was a dream for Ape kind. We have never flown before, and none have ever attempted to try. Why would we? Most live in the jungles where the sky is blocked from sight. Pegasi rarely came to our lands, and even when they did it was obvious why they could fly. Apes can barely swim, why would we think we could fly? Not the humans though. They dreamed of everything, and made it all a reality. The AA-20 Stella Predator is a marvel to behold. Sleek. Majestic. Powerful. I couldn't believe that something like this would be able to fly, let alone reach the stars! This is as much of a tool of war as it is a work of art. Every little detail meticulously scrutinized to perfection. Everything geared towards one thing and one thing only, getting that massive gun to the battlefield. Some start with the rhythm, others start with a figure in the foreground, this work of art started with the Transitum. The Transitum, or Crossing gun, isn't really a gun. It's a shield projector. It creates a dome before the aircraft that protects it during entry into planets. But, when you focus the beam into a short burst, you'll knock anything out of the air or put a massive hole in it trying to. Everything about this machine is made to get that weapon to the enemy, and annihilate it. And it has quickly become my favorite tool in this arsenal. The others here, they don't understand the potential of something like this. But, that's always been a talent of mine. I can see what can truly happen when you give it the right kind of push. "Sixty seconds to launch, please signal," a machine calls to me in my head set. I look over the controls and double check everything. Power, full. Engines, primed. Payload, full. The extenders for the floor levers are tied tightly to my feet and the I have a clear view all around. One tap on the glass and my hud comes into display. I look out at the machines around me as they clear the runway. This is it, time to make some art. "This is control tower, you are clear to launch on my mark." I tighten my grip on the throttle and stick, pulsing my magic into the machine. It hums in response. We're ready. "Mark." I push the throttle up and slam back into my seat as I race down the tunnel. Panel after panel open as I accelerate higher and higher. The straps from the AA-20 keep me from blacking out, and the flight suit I'm wearing removes most of the effects from moving so quickly. I'm still pressed against my seat, but I'm still able to throttle to the next level. Everything becomes a blur as I push up the next level, waiting for my true launch. At the very end of the tunnel it turns upwards and launches me high into the air. For the vehicle, it's like a slap in the face as the elements come to bear. But we handle it well and level off, just as we've done dozens of times before. "Tea squadron with me," I yell into my microphone as I join the horde of Aquila's swarming over Ponyville. There are four points all over the Everfree that are pouring out more and more vehicles like them. With the last of us out and no sign of immediate danger, we'll be able to engage properly. "Tea squadron fixed on your position. Ready to engage." You can always tell what you're talking to by their tone. Aquila's have a deeper tone than their Bot counterparts. Not as deep as their High-grade cousins, but deep enough. "Copy that. Let's climb to our attack position and wait for the order, shall we?" I ask as I start to fly towards the coast. "Affirmative." With another push of the throttle we race over the ocean. The entire attack force will follow our assault, so we need to make sure we cause as much havoc as possible. That means, we need to attack as soon as possible. There's no doubt that they've seen what we are up to. We need to make it there before they can mount any form of counter attack. And that means we needs to move quickly. Sound breaks as we race through the sky. It's no matter. Their destruction will arrive well before they hear us. What used to take months and weeks we can do in hours and minutes. What used to be limited to singular races is now in the hands of those willing to grab it. Why there are those that refuse to see the inevitable is lost to me. But it doesn't matter. If they refuse to look, I will force them to. And if they fight, well, that's what we're made for. "Target obscured due to weather. Cloud cover is reading acidic. Do you still wish to engage?" I peer over and see the sickly green clouds down below. We've reached our height and we're nearing our destination. There's no point in turning back now. "Yes. Wait for my command." I slow down to our attack speed and wait until we're in position. Our first targets are the four main towers of the capitol building. Intelligence suggests that they'll house the M.R.W.'s that will posses the greatest threat to us. Once those towers are down we'll stay in the area for air support while the ground forces land. After that, escort duty. "Si Ye?" I blink when I hear the captains voice in my ear. Don't tell me you're backing down at the last second. "Sir?" I respond hesitantly. "Remember your objects. You are clear to engage." I smile to myself when he says that. I knew he wouldn't back down now. He may wait till the last second to act, but he never backs down once he does. "Copy that sir. This is Tea squadron, we have the green light. Sound off," I call out to the others. "This is Echo squadron, sounding off," Tiber replies. "This is Angel squadron, sounding off," Ellzy calls out. "Ranger, sounding off," Johnathan calls. "All squadrons are a go, you are clear to engage. Mark." I give myself a moment to brace before pushing the stick down to dive. The entire vehicle shakes as we race through the cloud cover. Immediately alarms start to sound off as the acid water starts to affect the vehicle. We've tested this before though. We can make it though and still be effective down below. Even if it's raining. The liquid doesn't stay on long enough to do enough damage to force us down. And the propulsion system is internal, so there's little room for it to become damages. But, that isn't to say that we're in the clear. We'll have... maybe seven minutes, before we'll be forced to leave the area. Ten if we have to, but then we won't be able to leave the atmosphere. Once we make it through the clouds I take a moment to take in my surroundings. The Capitol isn't what it used to be. What was once the pride of the United Griffin Colonies are now a rundown hobble of delusional, stubborn, and ill-fated griffins. Some used to call it Mount Pride, due to their choice in carving a mounting into their capitol. Now, it's the thorn of stubbornness plaguing the entire world. They should have left when they had the chance. Now... now it's too late for them. I mark the building on my window's touch screen and prepare to fire. With nothing stopping me, I pull the trigger and feel my craft wiggle as it drops below me. A fraction of a second later a trail of smoke races out from beneath and towards my target, followed by dozens more from all around me. I watch in awe as they all make their way towards their targets, moving faster than anything imaginable. KRA-BOOM I nearly choke when I see them all explode early against a sheen that glimmers over the entire city. Somehow, they were able to put up a shield in the mere seconds before we could attack them. Impossible. Where would they get that kind of magic? BOOM I shake away my disbelief as one of the Aquilas near me explodes into a fiery heap. Everyone breaks away and begins to evade the enemy below. It's free picking for them now. At least until we break that shield. "All formations begin bombing sorties, we need to break that shield! Start a rotation, Tea Squadron will go first!" I call out as I dive down. We'll be a harder target to hit down here. They all confirm my orders and begin to race around the city, moving as quickly as possible. I can hear the machines inside the city begin to fire openly, trying their best to stop our attack. I can't see if they're at all successful though. I'm nearing the ground at this point and will have to put all my focus into this attack. I don't know how far out these shields go. If I'm not careful, I could ram right into it. I level out near the ground and jet towards the capitol. I mark my target and pick my load out as quickly as possible before firing. The aircraft following me have a slight delay, but follow my example exactly. Once they've fired, I pull the stick back and plaster myself into my seat as we race back up into the sky. My vision becomes obscured by the green haze as we race upwards. I hear the bombs make contact, but I have no clue if they made it through or not. As a unit, we break through the clouds, having wisps of green reach out after us. A quick inverted C levels us off. "Incoming fighters from three O' clock, permission to engage." I look over to that area and scan the area. At this distance, they look like tiny specks far off on the sky. But their formation, their movement, and their numbers tell me otherwise. "Tea squadron moving to engage enemy air force. Tiber, take command of the assault on Griffindor," I call out on the radio as I turn to face them. "Copy that, good hunting." I've ran this simulation multiple times before, but now it's my time to prove myself. Two forces charging one another, ready to strike each other down in a moment’s notice. We'll fire first. Simple enough, mark your target and pull the trigger. That's the easy part, now comes the challenge. My view is obscured for a moment as the volley of missiles dart through the air. Likewise, streaks of grey begin to make their way towards us. This is it, am I worthy of this power? I break forward and begin to gain speed. There are three missiles locked onto me, making it that much more difficult to deal with. I have mere seconds to react. The three steaks have spun out to cover as much air as possible, spiraling right for me. One choice, one action; time to decide. I pull the stick to my left and pull the power back as I send out a burst of flares. The combination of cutting my power and barreling in the air kills my momentum. Luckily for me, it carries through with my flares and sends them before me. The missiles take the bait and cross harmlessly before me, two of them diving into the clouds below with the other one flying off to my right. I see it start to curve back towards me, so I punch the engines back up. With my speed, previously cutoff so abruptly I start to dive back to the earth. Now I'm racing towards it, diving through the clouds with tremendous speed. When the cloud cover breaks, I get a full view of the battle before me. I don't think we were planning on there being so many Unfamiliar here. The shield over the city is still up and there are clear indicators that the fighting force inside is ready to defend. Countless tracers and energy bolts are flying out of the city. Most are going towards the ground where a massive invasion force is attempting to break through. The two high-grade military bots we brought are doing their best to break through, but clearly having little luck. Dozens of fires dot the surrounding landscape, with dozens more falling from the sky to join them. I have the chance to, so I decide to send another pair of bunker busters towards the dome. Every bit counts... In the corner of my eye I catch a glint of light. I quickly back left just in time to avoid another missile. In the mere seconds that pass I see the aircraft fly dangerously close by. In the mere seconds of contact I made perfect eye contact with the opposing pilot. In the mere seconds of sight we shared, it was understood. One of us is going to kill the other. I tighten my turn until I have him in my sights. He's turning back towards me, but it's clear that he'll finish the turn more quickly. I'm already fairly high up, so I push myself to start diving at a faster rate. I need to keep myself out of his direct view so he can't lock onto me. Since I was already diving before, I make it towards the ground level in seconds and pull back up. The force is almost too much for me to handle, but I keep my focus on the fight. He's lost sight of me, but knows I'm hunting him. He's trying to race away while also shifting side to side. If a missile locks onto him, he'll dodge it easily. I'll have to use the cannon then. But I can't engage him on a level field either. Using the momentum from the dive, I start to race back up again. I level my ascent so I can fire a burst towards him. I do my best to lead the him into the shot, but he saw it just in time to bank away from it. I roll over and continue to rise above him, waiting to see when he notices the predicament he's in. If he notices that I'm chasing him like this, he'll need to call in a friend from help. If he can't, then he'll have to make a run for it. I have the advantage, for now at least. He has to keep weaving to avoid me, so I have to keep diving up and down to avoid him. But this allows me to take pot shots at him. Our fight becomes a deadly dance. I fly high and dive down to fire at him, only to have him dart away and jet off sideways. From there I dive below and try again from beneath him, only to have him to repeat his previous actions. Each pass I come closer and closer to making my mark, but it's never close enough. There were a few passes where a few of his allies came to intervene, but they were chased away by Aquilas. Nonetheless, they were detrimental to my concentration, earning this skilled pilot precious seconds. Patience is key here. This will work eventually, I just need to keep at it. I have adequate cover, we're quickly gaining distance away from the battle center, he's running out of options. My opening finally comes as we near a mountain range. Clearly in desperation he tries to make a break for the mountain side. If he can get to the other side without taking a hit, he'll gain the advantage he needs to turn the tide of this fight. I'm currently up high, meaning I'll have one shot at this. I just need to assume his next move and hope it's the right one. If he goes to climb over, then I need to aim high. If he's aiming for the sides, then I need to lead his escape. I doubt he'll go high. The winds up there may slow him down too much to escape properly. Going right would send him back to the battlefield, which could go either way for him. Going left is his best choice. He can bank back around the mountain with the least amount of resistance and bring me into a horizontal fight. If I were him, I'd go left. With my mind made up, I go to cut him off on the left bank. But, as I make my way down I have to do a double take when I see him move to climb over the mountain. The fool! He'll lose too much speed to make any proper maneuvers! But, with me going the wrong direction, he can afford that... He out smarted me, but I can still turn this around. If I bank all the way around I might be able to lose him in the fray. It's my best chance now, so that's what I do. I make as tight of a turn as I can manage and throttle as high as I can for combat. I tilt to the left slightly to look back and do a second double take. A plume of dark smoke is rising over the mountain top from the other side. My only assumption is that he lost too much speed and couldn't maintain his flight. He crashed. My first air combat against a real target and the fool denies me the satisfaction of a kill. As bitter as I am, there is work to be done. I'll sulk about it later. Damned fool. Perspective: Lief Bjorn I can't help but let my nerves get the better of me as we wait to deploy. I keep tightening my paws onto the butt of my rifle as I let my legs bounce idly. Being a Jade hound, I'm all too familiar with raiding and pillaging. It was how we got by. But... it was never on this level before. Before, if you were soft, your pups didn't eat. The pack would suffer for your consciousness nagging away from you. But... this is new. I've never attacked a group of people because... because! I know the history, and I get why the Captain is making this choice. And I'll fight, as I said I would. But... this isn't what hounds and dogs fight for. "Beserkers!" Big Mac calls, getting all of our attention. "We're landing while the landin' zone's hot. Git ready!" We all give a shout as we give one last look over. My armor covers most of my body, leaving out my paws and the thin parts of my legs. The helmet is cramped, but I've learned to accept it. I have all of my ammunition, my explosives, my weapons are loaded and currently have their safeties on. I give my paw a shake and light the fire in the center of it. My magic may not be strong, but I doubt they're expecting a Jade Hound to cast. "Lieutenant Lief," Big Mac calls, getting my attention. "You'll take Frank and Sledge with you and take the left flank while I'll take Raz and Yinbie on the right. Understood?" I tilt my head in confusion. Shouldn't we be landing in the castle grounds? This isn't the original plan. "The castle has a shield, so we're being forced to land." "Understood Captain!" That's all I needed to hear. I'm sure all the other Spartans are going to be doing their job, so I'll do mine. Though... left flank of what? Before I could ask the ship lurches downwards as all the lights turn red. We're about to be dropped off, which usually only takes thirty seconds. I'll have to figure it out as I go. I can't let them see me asking questions either. This is my first week as lieutenant, I need to prove to them that I have earned this title. I look over to Frank and Sledge and nod to them, getting nods back from them. "Good?" I ask them, getting additional nods. "How're you holding up Frank?" He lifts up his mechanical leg and slams it onto the floor. "I'm good. Let's just get this over with." I nod to the moose and look to Sledge. "Good as I'll ever be. Excited to kick some griffin ass though!" the pony yells, getting a few cheers from the others. At least they're in high spirits. I know I'll be fine once the door opens. But the wait till then is always stressful. I don't want to be shot down again, that sucks. And what kind of a mess are we landing into? If they had shields over the castle, what about the rest of the city? If they knew a fight was coming, how prepared are they going to be when we touch down? I'll know what to do when we touch down, but waiting for the door to open up may just as bad as the actual fighting itself. Just as quickly as it started, we suddenly lurch again as the I.T.A. comes to a stop and the doors slide open. Before we could even act a pair of bots pivot over the opening and swing some mounted machine guns into position. As we move to clear out they open fire at the world below. I move to the front and take a leap out, landing on the ground a few feet below. I pull up my rifle and switch the safety off as I move forward to check for enemies. Sledge falls in behind me, followed by Frank. We're in the middle of what looks like the main street to the castle. The cobblestone road is wide and empty, having several spots smoking from weapon fire. The rain is coming down at a decent rate, meaning we should get to cover as soon as possible. I motion for everyone to follow me as I make my way towards the closest building on the left side of the road. KER-THUD I fall flat on my face as a pair of high-grade military bots are dropped a few yards down the street. The front one has what looks like a grappling hook for its left arm and a sword with teeth for the right. The back one has a quad of anti-infantry guns on its left arm and anti-vehicle canons on its right. As soon as they land they draw all of the surrounding fire. Most of it seems to be small arms fire, dealing no damage at all, but there are some larger rounds coming in. Though, they aren't doing anything significant either. I shake my head and push myself up to continue to the buildings. I look across the street to see the others doing the same. Big Mac starts to motion with his arms to relay a message to me. 'Push forward. Keep on target. Free to fire.' I confirm the order and wave the others on. It should be a straight shot to the castle grounds. From here it's just following the massive robots. The lead bot starts to walk forward, igniting the massive hook-like appendage on the way. A massive wall of energy comes out from it, forming a diamond shield the size of its torso. It raises the shield just in time to block some incoming artillery. The explosions from them force us to take cover in a nearby alley and wait for them to move forward. I peer around the corner and watch them get to work. The front one is taking point and leading the pair towards the magical wall. The back one has taken cover behind the first and is attempting to return fire, thought the wall is stopping anything from getting through. We race after them when they make it a block down the road. Each building we pass drives me crazy. We don't have the time to go through and clear each one of them. Any city guards that see us walk by will have the chance to stab us in the back. It's not something I like leaving to chance, but it's what we have to do. Hopefully the sounds of artillery will keep their heads down, but here's hoping. When we make it to the last block before the magical barrier we take up position at an alley corner. I have Frank watch our backs as I have Sledge watch the road we just ran down. I move my attention to the bots before us. We were supposed to land in the courtyard and secure the castle grounds so we could land in the Legion. But now we have to deal with this wall, giving them time to mount a proper resistance. The bots were originally supposed to cover us from any heavy fire, but they may need to help us with any main forces that have dug in. We'll have to see what happens when we get that wall down. The lead bot sets its sword arm out and starts to charge the weapon. The teeth on it start to move forward at a slow rate as they begin to glow a light blue. As they grow brighter they also start to move at a faster rate, eventually getting to the point where they become a blur of blue energy. The hum from it deafens everything else as it sends a powerful gust of wind over the area. I one swoop of its arm it brings the edge down on the magical wall. Sparks fly all over as the bot fights to get the teeth to grip into the magic. The fire from within intensifies as they try to stop the machine from breaking through. Most are stopped by its shield, but a few start to break away at its armor. Hopefully they don't break the giant saw-sword. Cracks are starting to form around the point of contact, but at a slow rate. Slower than the cracks on the shield at least. A round from a M.R.W. slams away at its leg, forcing it to take a knee. It keeps at the wall though, trying its hardest to break through. I can see the troops inside forming their last-minute attempts at a first line. The minute the wall comes down it's going to be hailed with countless weapons. There has to be a way to get at them before they can unload on the bot... "Frank, Sledge!" I yell out as I turn to them, tossing my rifle back on its sling. "Follow me, we're going under!" "Sir!" They yell back together. I look over to Big Mac and start to motion to him what I plan to do. He gives me the okay, so I start to dig. The cobblestone proves to be resilient, but I manage to get through with a bit of perseverance. Once the cobblestone breaks away, the soil beneath becomes butter in my paws. In no time, I have a tunnel large enough to fit all of us, though it'll be slow going. Frank and Sledge cover my back as I work my way through the ground. It's a bit awkward doing this by myself. Normally I'd have one or two other dogs with me, keeping all of the loose soil out of the main tunnel. But, since I'm by myself, we'll basically be leaving a tight passageway behind ourselves... kind of. Depending on how far we go, we might bury ourselves. But it should be fine! I think... FWT-THUD I duck my head when a round slams into the dirt before me. I turn back to see a group of griffins a distance down the tunnel. They've taken cover behind some mounds of dirt and have set up a firing line against us. I can see at least five griffins, but there might be more back there. The tunnel erupts as we fire at one another. Frank and Sledge move to the sides of the tunnel as I drop down behind a small mound, trying to get my rifle in my paws. I think they manage to hit one of the griffins, but he's pulled back and replaced quickly. They return fire and pull back to reload. Their rounds mostly miss, but the one that catches Frank in his augmented leg does nothing to him. A new line of griffins move up and fire at us, keeping us relatively pinned down. "Collapse the tunnel!" I yell as I roll over to be behind Sedge, finally getting my rifle out. I take aim and send a few rounds down range, hitting a griffin in the shoulder. The rest retreat to cover before I could take aim at them. "I'll make an escape, keep them off my back!" "Got it!" Sledge yells before he pulls out a grenade. "H.E. OUT!" he yells before pulling the pin out and tossing it over their mound. We all take cover as the ball explodes. A concussive wave hits us like a brick wall, beating the air out of me. Rubble falls on them, hopefully killing them and sealing any others from chasing after us. It takes me a moment to gain my bearings, but I eventually force myself up and start to claw my way out of here. I break through the ground with ease, telling me that we made it into the courtyard at least. I poke my head out of the ground and take a look around. The bot that was trying to break through is in rough shape. A section of its shield is down, with the area behind it being nearly shredded to bits. Its lost half of its left leg, forcing it to stay in a kneeling position. Its sword has broken through the wall, sticking in halfway, but hasn't shattered it yet. The bot behind it seems to be in good condition, but can't help us yet. The castle is practically a glowing light from all of the outgoing fire. A good portion of it is going towards the bot at the wall, but a majority is going out at the air forces. A trench has been hastily built on the ground just before the castle, giving the defenders decent cover. Griffins are flying all over, trying their best to set up a proper defense. We caught them off guard, but they are slowly getting ready to fight us off. Not quite the fatal sweep we had been planning. I take one last look out there before ducking back down to the others. "What's the view like?" Frank asks nervously. "Not good," I tell him, trying to think. "They're setting up a proper defense right now. I don't know how realistic it is against this force, but it's something at least. I have a feeling that as soon as the wall comes down they'll turn everything on the high grades." "And we need those to cover the Legion," Sledge muses as he thinks. "So, we need to cause a ruckus then?" "Yeah, I just don't know where to start. We're thirty yards out, so running out from here would be stupid." I'm mostly thinking out loud. Hopefully they can help me think this through. "So, we keep digging?" Franks asks. "Mm... I don't know about that. We'll leave the bot exposed if we do. And we don't want to overrun ourselves at the moment." Sledge comments. We're here, so we need to take advantage of this while we can. But what to do... "I've got it!" I say with a clap of my paws. I reach into my pockets and pull out of the smoke grenades I have, passing them to Frank and Sledge. "I'm going to dig a little trench, as wide as the street. When they start to notice what I'm doing you two pop some smoke. Just enough to cover us. From there we can get the others inside and mount a proper assault on one of the flanks. Got it?" "HOO-RAH!" They yell back. I get to work on making my trench line, and immediately come under fire. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, I am tossing dirt up right in front of them. Frank and Sledge toss out the grenades and cover the area in a grey shroud. With the extra cover, I push forward, tearing through the soft ground with total ease. The air cracks around me as they try to guess where I am, but with my partial cover and cloud cover they can't seem to find me. I make it to the end of the street and start to dig down, just enough to get under the wall and to the other side. Once I'm done I pop back up and wave the others over. I turn back and pull out my rifle, getting ready to engage the enemy. I make it back to the other side and motion for the others to come closer. We all met up by the entrance and look to Big Mac, waiting for his orders. He walks up to the edge of the trench and takes a look out into the haze. The smoke is starting to clear up a bit, but it's still hard to see what's going on exactly. Big Mac... has balls, to say the least. He's just standing there, looking out at the battlefield before us. No worries at all. Maybe that's just part of his calm demeanor or something. Maybe he's just that cocky, it's hard to tell really. "Somethin' is poweren this magical wall. We are going to find it and take it out, understood?" "SIR!" We all respond together. "Raz, Yinbie, you two stay back and provide covering fire. The rest of you are with me. We're going to take out the left flank of that trench before breaking into the castle. We'll throw some more smoke before going across, got it??" We yell back in confirmation. Simple enough, I guess. We all rush to the left flank and get ready to charge. The few of us with smoke grenades pull them out and wait for the order. Big Mac takes a quick glance over before nodding to us. I pull the pin and lob the grenade overhead. We give it a second to burst before climbing over. The smoke is providing perfect cover between us and the defenders, billowing over the square completely. Swirls of grey dart towards us as we start to charge through the haze. I can hear the wiz of metal flying past me, threatening to take me down. This part is easy. I don't have to think, just act. Run. Scream. Let them know that despite everything they are trying, I'm coming for them. I follow after my group as we break through the fog just a few feet away from the trench line. The griffins there open fire on us as we attempt to break into their defensive line. I take a few hits in the chest and fall over. The pain is throbbing and is making it a bit harder to breath, but I push it aside. I'm too close to stop now. I've done too much to get this far just to fall over and die. I don't bother standing, that would just waste time. I can move just as fast on all four anyway. I set my sights on a griffin in the trench before me. He's in the middle of reloading, so he can't shoot me. I let instinct kick in as I charge the young soldier. He sees me and tries to quicken he reload, but it's too late for him. Just as he pulls out the ram rod from the barrel I lunge at him, tackling him to the ground. With no weapon in my paws I go about tearing away at him with my claws. His armor proves to be useless and I dig through it with ease, ripping the flash beneath him just as easily. He tries to fight back, he tries to escape, but it's too little too late. I'm not sure if he died or just gave up. He just went limp, silent. I stand up and look for my rifle. Luckily my sling was still equipped so it didn't fall behind. I pull it out and start to pick my targets. I can see groups in the castle moving to engage us, so I set my sights on them. I set a narrow burst towards the front of the group and pull the trigger. my shoulder shakes and the bullets fly forward, hitting several griffins down range. I see at least three of them take hits, with two of them falling to the ground. The others scatter for cover, hiding behind pillars and short walls. I duck down and take a look back. Most of the griffins in this part of the trench have been cleared out by now. They may have had numbers, but we had skill and technology. Big Mac is standing in the middle of the trench surveying the area. He looks too calm for all of this. There are bullets and artillery shells flying all over and he's... just standing there. Thinking. Maybe he's just used to this. He's one of the oldest Spartans we have. Will I get to that point? "Leif!" he barks at me, making me jump. "Focus!" "R-right! Where to next?" I ask as I bring my attention back to the fight. The griffins are coordinating a counter attack against us. I can see them moving in the castle as the ground forces out here have turned their attention to us. "Time ta git dirty boys! Let's take this fight inside the castle!" Big Mac yells. "HOO-AH!" We all yell back. I take a moment to channel my magic before setting it into my rifle. The energy courses through it as etches of magical language begin to appear on the barrel. Captain told me not to, but I named this enchantment. I call it the Dog Whistle. PPHHHH-PPHHHH-PPHHHHIIIERT I fire over the opposing trench line to provide cover. Each shot that I fire shrieks towards the enemy, forcing them to flinch. Without the proper head gear, this could very easily break their ears. I wait for the others to break through the window before running after them. The shock of my weapon gave us a perfect opening to exploit, though I don't know how well it will work afterwards. I landed on some glass inside. They didn't cut me too deeply, just enough to make me notice. All this armor and my first blood loss is to a bit of glass, go figure. We seem to be in an office of some sort. Nothing much of immediate value seems to be here. They probably emptied this room when the rains started out to preserve whatever they could. Before anyone could say anything, the door explodes inward as the griffins force us to cover. I duck by the side of the room with Sledge and slide to a sitting position as the few machine guns out there continue to tear apart the room. "Everypony good?" Big Mac yells over the fire. We all call back to him as we move closer to him. I make it to the wall with the door and take aim at the window we came through. "Shall I?" Sledge asks almost jokingly. Big Mac nods to him, getting him to switch to the war hammer he keeps on his side. He takes a moment to psych himself up before turning the corner and slamming his hammer on the ground. A shock wave ripples through the ground, giving the rest of us a chance to move in after him. Big Mac goes first, followed by me, then Frank. I can see seven griffins in the immediate area. Two on each side of the hall before me, three at the machine gun they have mounted in the center of the hall. There are probably more in the hall to my left, but Big Mac took that side. They've all opened fire, setting a light haze in the large hall. Thanks to Sledge, they miss me completely. And the turret pulled too high to affect us, so we charge forward. I take aim at the griffins huddled on the left and fire at them. I take my time to aim each round, sending them towards center mass. I'm not as skilled as the others when it comes to rifles, but I don't need to be. Their armor is almost useless at this point. It wasn't made to stop a bullet, it was made to stop a sword. They go down easily, though my magazine empties in the process. I toss it back and charge to the left of the gun emplacement. They're trying to mow me down as I charge to the side, but this clear Sledge up to close the distance. He runs forward and slams his massive hammer down on the spinning barrels. I don't know if it's the enchantment or the quality of the weapon, but the hit sends the barrels to the ground in a useless heap. With Frank engaging the other group in melee, I make it to the corner and turn to help Big Mac. There are far more griffins over here, and they have us in their sights. A few of them are trying to rush Big Mac, but they die quickly under his automatic fire. I switch my rifle to single fire and reload before I join in the firefight. I pick my closest target and send a few rounds at it. Three to the chest and he falls to the ground. Next target, same ordeal. Three rounds to the chest. And again. And again. With each kill I get they send more and more griffins towards us. And with each kill they get closer and closer. "FRANK, SLEDGE! MOVE ON AND FIND THE GENERATOR!" Big Mac yells. They don't question him. They take off down the hall, charging into the first room that they find. "LEIF! TIME TO EARN THAT PROMOTION. HOLD THE LINE!" "HOO-AAH!" I yell back as I put down another griffin. There has to be at least fifty more griffins in this hall, not to mention the ones outside! I pull back to reload and chance to look back into the study we entered through. At the same time a griffin flies through the door way and charges me with his bayonet. I try to duck, but he catches me in the shoulder and brings me to the ground. I yell as he adds pressure to me, trying to pin me down. I try to kick him off, but he's not budging. Even worse, my left arm is caught under my rifle, which is pinned down by his paws. I look over and see a dead griffin’s rifle nearby. It has a bayonet as well, with the blade facing the best possible direction. I grunt as he twists the blade in me, saying something in his native tongue that I don't understand. I reach out to the rifle and grab at it, accidentally pushing it away. I try again, only to find the rifle is just out of reach. The griffin yells something again, pulling the rifle back slightly. I use this to give me enough room to push up with both arms. He falls over and I roll with him, ending up on top of him. He tries to smack the butt of his rifle against me, but use my forearm to push it away. I bring my paw back and slash his throat open. A splatter of blood sprays out on me as he grasps at his neck. Still enraged, I slap my claws against his face, tearing open a portion of his cheek and beak. I grab my rifle and stand up. Big Mac is being surrounded. There are three on him, with more coming from the room. This is what we are here for. Beserkers. Charge in, get in trouble, and kill your way out. I take aim and start to fire on the group indiscriminately. My finger works over time as I put down griffin after griffin. I don't care what they do to me, they won't harm my pack. When the rifle runs out of ammo I drop it and ignite my paws. There are more in the room, so I go to the room. I charge forward and thrust my paws forward, connecting with some young griffin too dumb to look my way. With the added energy of my magic I send him flying back against the wall, knocking him out. Another griffin climbing through the window screams something before chucking his rifle at me. I block it easily enough, slightly confused by his action. He steps into the room and throws his claws out, igniting them. This surprises me for a moment. He has magic. They taught him magic. I suddenly don't feel as superior as I did before. He thrusts a claw at me and blasts me with a burst of energy. I stagger back a bit before charging at him. He uses his wings to evade me and slams the ground with both of his claws, pushing me back again. I try to blast him with my own magic, but he proves to be too agile to hit. Books scatter everywhere as I try my best to score a bit, only to miss each time. Tired of missing, I toss both of my arms out and engulf the room in fire. I scream as I put everything I have into this. When I hit my limit, I let go of the spell and drop to my knees. I cough a few times as the air slowly makes its way back in. In a haze, I reach up and slowly remove my helmet. I don't think I'm getting enough air. I let it fall to the ground and take a few deep breaths. I hear someone else cough too, so I look up to see the same griffin before me. He's removing his dark blue cape as he tries to stay standing. There are a few singe marks on him, but other than that he seems fine. The cloak identifies him as one of Ulfrics personal guards. The only professional, full time soldiers of the griffin army. The Mindless. Ulfric trains them himself. Each one of them has to prove themselves before they're even considered to be trained. There aren't many of them, and each of them is ranked so that only the best stay within their ranks. It's said that the training takes away any traces of the former griffin, leaving them a mindless killing machine. Hence the name. The Spartans have only seen them in action a few times, and even then, it was before I was trained. And now they have magic. Does that mean Ulfric has magic as well? I don't get to dwell on the thought for long. The griffin gets up and starts to walk towards me, lighting his claws along the way. I have to be careful now. Let him get close, let him think this will all be over soon. Wait for the perfect time to strike. He stops just before me and looks into my eyes, I stare back at him. I can see the anger in his eyes. The disgust. I can almost read his thought. How could such a lowly creature like me dare attack his homeland? He's thinking to himself too, giving me the perfect time to ready myself. Just as he goes to strike me down I lunge at him. I open my jaws as widely as possible as I aim for his neck. Just as I make it within his grasp I clamp down on the mail that surrounds his neck and start to shake my head from side to side. Everything turns to a blur of screams and growls and I ripe his armor apart. I start to bite wildly as I start to scratch away at his sides, ripping holes in metal and flesh alike. He tries to push me off, he even tries to use his magic to repel me, but I'm locked onto him. His screams turn to pained gurgles and I ripe out his throat and tear away at his ribs. Blood and gore cover me and I finish off my kill. An almost primal sense of pride washes over me as I stand over my kill, blood dripping from my maw. "Where's yer damn helmet!?" Big Mac yells as he ducks into the room, dodging a torrent of bullets. I look around for a moment before picking it up and looking it over. "It got burned," I tell him quietly, the adrenaline ebbing off. "Are we surrounded?" "Eeyup!" he yells as he leans over the doorway to return fire. "Do you think Frank and Sledge made it to the generator?" I ask as I pull out my rifle and reload. "Dunno! A bit busy at the moment!" he yells. I look up out the window to see the magical wall still standing, though nearly broken through by this point. "Ah could use some assistance!" "Yes sir!" I yell before rushing towards the window and tackling a griffin to the ground. A quick slash to the neck kills him before I dive to the side and start to dig. This is now my playing field. I'm sure Big Mac can take care of himself. Perspective: High Flyer I'm sitting on a roof in the center of a suburb just outside the magical wall of the castle. I'm joined by Shifted who is currently in the form of a griffin. He says they have better sight, but I think he's just saying that to poke fun at me. I can't help but tap my hoof impatiently as we wait for our orders to come in. As of now, it's hold the line and wait for further instructions. We're not Beserkers, so we're not the front. And we're not in any aircraft, so we're waiting to join the fight. It doesn't help that the area we landed in has nothing going on! We're Spartans, front line soldiers, waiting to join the front. Plus, we're sitting here in acid rain! Needless to say, I'm a bit antsy. "Will you please sit down? You're distracting me," Shifted complains. I respond with a huff and roughly sit down, still agitated by all of the waiting. "You need to relax. I swear, you ponies freak out the minute something goes wrong-" "Don't play that Changeling drone card on me! We're front line soldiers being told to wait to join the front line! How aren't you jittery!?" I yell, flailing my forelegs around for emphasis. "Because, like any good soldier, I follow my orders," he tells me simply, squinting at the castle a bit harder. "Or would you rather be like Leif and be the front line?" I give him a quizzical look before using my helmet to zoom in on the castle. Sure enough, there's Leif. Tearing through the front like some sort of deranged animal. I don't think he fully understands why he was assigned to the Beserkers. I remember him worrying about getting his rank and not earning it. Pfft, please. "I don't want to be the front line. I want to do my part! All of this waiting is driving me crazy!" I huff as I reset the view within my helmet. "Ponies..." Shifted mutters before going silent. I roll my eyes at that. Nothing I say or do is justified beyond being a pony. At least to him. He doesn't mean anything by it, or so I believe. It's just how he sees things. It's not easy to understand, what with him being a drone and all. "The Beserkers broke off into two groups. The shields should be coming down soon enough." "Right," I respond. I take a look out at the battlefield and try to prep myself mentally for the fight. There has to be at least three battalions of griffins in there, maybe more. Thank the gods we have our robot army. I don't know how else we'd do this. I glance to Shifted for a second before shaking my head. Now's not the time to bug him about personal stuff... bother! Now's not the time to bother him! "What is on your mind?" he asks me, keeping his attention on the castle. "How did-" "I can sense your emotions. If you are going to be watching my back I need you to relax and focus. If that means speaking your mind, then do so. Though, how you aren't focused on the battle before us, I'll never understand." I bite my lip as I debate whether or not to ask, but decide to do so. He'll know something's wrong either way, why hide it. "Well... this is weird, right?" I ask him, finally getting him to look my way. "You'll have to elaborate on that. There are many weird things present at this moment." I nod to that, glancing to the giant robots trying to break through the magical barrier. "We're the peacekeepers, yet we're attacking. I want to believe that we're justified in doing so, but... I don't know... there's something off about the whole thing. Don't you think?" He stares at me for a second before looking back out at the fight. He contemplates my question for a moment before responding. "You ponies want to believe that you've had a peaceful golden age. That you've never had so much bloodshed before. If you knew your all of your history, this wouldn't be so odd to you." I can't help but roll my eyes at that. I should have guessed he'd take it there. “Don’t disregard what I say so easily. Think back to your school days. What wars do they speak of? What atrocities have you learned?" "There aren't any atrocities in Equestrian history-" "Is that so?" he asks with almost a laugh. "The Lunar Rebellion, the fall of the Crystal Empire, the genocide of Whitetail Woods. You ponies are rather good at forgetting your shame. But for the rest of us, those of us that have been pushed around for all of history, we don't forget. Even if it's under a new banner, it was only a matter of time before you Equestrians set your sights towards these lands. Though I will admit, I did not see it being so aggressive." I go to argue with him, but stop myself. Truth be told, I know little to nothing to what he's talking about. And I know better than to argue about things that I don't know anything about. I guess I just never saw us being the ones to attack so openly. When it came to the Unfamiliar, I guess I just always thought we'd fight them from invading Equestria. Heck, I didn't even imagine fighting them. I saw us pirates and dragons, saving pretty mares from fiery buildings, dumb stuff like that. I guess that was narrow minded of me. I guess I really don't know what our history is. It goes silent between us. I don't really know what to say right now. Does anything even need to be said? Probably not, but I can't help but feel the need to say something. Anything! "So... are you excited for the Grand Galloping Gala? Or does something like that bug you- IRK! Does it irk you! Not bug, irk... heh... sorry." He shakes his head, making me feel even more embarrassed. "What is a dance night for you is a buffet for me. I plan to get my fill and then some," he tells me simply. "Oh... huh?" He looks back to me and considers his answer for a moment. "The quickest way to a mare’s heart is through dance. Mares love to dance. Even when they're not good at it. It's more of an excuse to rub up on stallions in public, but that's my opinion. When ponies get frisky, one of two things happen. So, while you dance your night away, I'll be having a feast." "Oh... I'm not much of a dancer... but that's good for you, I guess." He chuckles at me, looking back to the castle. "Oh, don't worry. I'm sure some bratty baroness will whisk you away and teach you a thing or two. Or a baron, I'm not sure which yet." "What?" BOOM We both jolt up when a large explosion erupts from within the castle. Smoke billows out from the left wing as the barrier starts to waver. A volley of missiles fire from all around and rash into the weak wall. It shatters into millions of ethereal shards that dissipate into nothingness. Immediately, a massive torrent of out coming fire explodes from the castle. The remaining high grade bot shoves the other bot aside and begins to return fire, taking countless hits as if they're nothing. The screams of countless griffins charging into battle fills the air, only to be drowned out by gunfire from both sides. "This is Rainbow Dash calling in all available fliers to the main courtyard. Keep the Griffins out of the air, who copies?" Rainbow Dash calls over the radio. "This is Shifted, High Flyer and I are responding, over." Shifted calls back before standing. "Ready?" "I'll follow you," I tell him as I pull out my rifle and get ready to take off. We take off together and dive down towards the street. We pull up at the last moment and use the speed to race forward. It doesn't take us long to make it to the battle grounds, and that's when everything kicks into gear. I spot three main groups in action. There's a group in the courtyard trying to keep the robots out of the main castle. There's another group in the castle giving covering fire for the former group. The final group is in the air trying to take advantage of the their ability to fly. Each of the groups are well organized and seem to have a clear plan of action. None over extend, and each group supports the other as effectively as they can. A clear plan of defense that has been rehearsed tirelessly is in action. It's now up to us to break it down and advance. Our orders are to take control of the air. Squads of griffins are making rounds to drop explosives on the bots below. Some seem to be potion based while others are clearly of goblin origin. Each of those squads has another squad running escort. These ones are the tricky ones. Some seem to be mages, casting bolts of magic from their claws or raising shields. Others seem to have anti-material rifles that are being problematic for our Aquilas. They have a routine, but they are losing griffins in each raid they attempt, so it can't last forever. And now we need to quicken its demise. I follow Shifted as he charges at a group trying to fly back from a run. The escorts spot us immediately and throw up shields for cover. Shifted pushes me left and banks to the right, so I bank left. The four of them split up to provide as much cover as possible, but it doesn't matter at this point. I have an opening on the bomber griffins, so I line up the shot and take fire. With their backs to me they take each round in the back. Two of them begin to drop only to slam into the side of the building, tumbling the rest of the way to the ground. The other two make it to cover just in time, ducking as I try to score hits on them as well. I check my right just in time to see the two griffins drop their shields and start to charge me. With their magic, I'm no match for a two on one fight. I'll have to think of something... I give a powerful flap of my wings and push myself backwards, throwing my head back to tip backwards. As soon as I see the ground I give another flap of my wings before tucking them in. As I dive down I look back to see if they are taking the bait. One of them has, but the other one seems to be hesitating. Interesting. I bring my attention back to my flight path. I wait until we're just above the battlefield before pulling up. I push myself to go as fast as I can move. With all of my armor and weapons weighing me down it's a bit more strenuous than normal. But I've trained enough to know that I'm still faster than your average flier. Though, I guess he's not your average flier. I glance back to find the griffin chasing me keeping pace. His claws are lit and I can tell he's waiting for the perfect moment to strike. I start to perform aerial maneuvers to try and break up his concentration. I'd roll up before dipping back down or bank left or right quickly. All the while the fight beneath us intensifies. We're flying over the main battle line, which means I need to guide him to our side for this to work. THWACK Something slams into my side and forces me to crash into the wet ground. Everything spins for a second before I look up just in time to see y chaser attempt to dive onto me. Just as he was going to close the distance a black diamond shield came thrusting out and forced slammed into his side, sending him away from me. A line of Legion bots move forward and drop their shields to cover me. Their metal shields rattle with enemy fire, but they hold firm. I get to my hooves and shake my head before getting back into the air, shouting my thanks back to them before I take off. The extra mud makes me a bit slower, but I make it into the fray quick enough. I find Shifted dealing with the three griffins from before, dodging their attacks with just enough time to attempt to counter the next. They haven't noticed me yet, so I line up my rifle and take fire. PAT PAT PAT I send a burst of bullets into one griffins back. His armor does a terrible job of protecting him, giving practically no benefits at all. He falls from the air with a pained scream, alerting the others to me. I move targets and put another burst into him as he tries to blast me with his magic. He dies before he could cast anything, but does manage to fumble into me. He knocks me down to be level with one of the upper floors of the castle. In there, I see a machine gunner take aim at me and begin to fire. A few rounds slam into my armor, bruising my skin beneath. I fall back a bit more before opening my wings and taking control of my flight. THRUUUUUUUUUUUUMM I was going to charge at the gunner to take him out, but a line of Aquilas took care of that for me. I take a look around and notice the Unfamiliar aircraft leaving the area. With them gone, we are dominating the air. All of the previously preoccupied aircraft can now focus on the castle below. Even if they aren't hitting any actual targets, the overwhelming firepower is forcing the griffins to retreat inside for cover. "High Flyer!" I look over to see Shifted calling me over. I fly up to him and nod for him to continue. "We have the outer grounds. Orders are to hold until the Captain gives the order." "Which Captain?" I ask. "Miles. He's going in to have a talk with Ulfric. Shouldn't take long." I scoff at that. I doubt there will be much talking when he gets in there. "How're you holding up?" "Good. Took a few hits but I should be fine. You?" "Better than you. Don't break away so much green horn. It'll be the end of you." I shrug in response. It's not like I had much of a choice. Either way, it's up to the Captain to send this. Who knows, maybe he'll convince Ulfric to... no. No, that was a dumb thought. Perspective: Ulfric Stormmind The throne room goes silent as all of the incoming fire suddenly stops. Kileh and I stand in the center of the room waiting to see what happens next. The guards present in the room are watching the windows closely. Just as I thought though. As soon as Kileh gave the order for his aircraft to retreat, the barrier fell. Though I thought I heard something explode inside the building. Reports were coming in that a small group of Spartans made it inside, so it's possible that they made it to the generators. I don't want to believe that, but it is a possibility. "What are they waiting for!?" Kileh barks out as he steps forward quickly. "Do not question a moment of silence. If they wanted to demolish this building, they would have. Let's make the most of this and make our next move." I tell him calmly. We should retreat back to the catacombs beneath to escape their next attack. They may take the castle, but they will not- KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK All of our attention snaps to the main doors. Someone is knocking. Who would be knocking at a time like this? I have at least one guess, and I don't like that he's playing with me. Two guards, a griffin and a kroth, step towards the door. As they get ready to open it Kileh pulls me aside to be out of the line of sight. Why is he knocking? It doesn't make sense! He has to know that we have guards. What is he planning? I close my eyes and expand my mind. I can sense all of those around me. Their fears, their doubts, their courage. Just beyond the door I find Miles. I know it's his mind, there's none like it. He's calm. Has a plan in his head that he's not thinking about. It's just going to be action, no thinking at all. Maybe he's going to talk? I doubt that. What is he planning? I open my eyes as the guards open the door. The kroth wastes no time trying to shoot Miles, but somethings wrong. He's firing, but nothing seems to be happening. I can still sense Miles there, but he's not doing anything. When the kroth runs out of ammo he switches out with the griffin, who tries shooting as well. But, doesn't seem to do anything either. When he tries to stab Miles, he finally acts. His thoughts scream to me in an instant. It's almost as if he's trying to talk to me directly. One word. Run. He dodges the guard and runs into the room. His magic is at its height, with the portals on his back flaring out like a massive furnace. I have a moment to notice the little blue light in his hand. And it all becomes clear to me. Kileh explain what those are to me, and the danger they possess. And with what I think he's about to pull off, there's only one solution. I grab Kileh around the waste and push myself into the air with as much force as I can muster. I put everything I have into breaking through the window and getting as far away from the building as possible. I glance back in time to see Miles stop in the center of the room and slam his hands down. A massive wall of blue fire erupts out from him, shattering all of the windows and consuming the main throne building. I stop to watch the flames rage around the building, deafening the area with their roars of chaos. "That crazy bastard!" Kileh yells from my side. "Did he just kill himself?" I ask, still in awe of the flames before me. "Not at that level. If you can cast higher than the force of the grenade, you can imbue it with your own will. He's the only thing that can survive that right now. We should make our run while we still can!" "That's not going to be possible." I tell him as I motion around us. A least a dozen of those flying craft have surrounded us, their weapons aimed in our direction. "By the stars..." Kileh mutters. "My thoughts exactly."
Chapter 248 Terms of WarChapter 248 Terms of War Perspective: Miles I have to take slow, even breaths as the armor around me slowly cools off. The heat is starting to get to me and it's becoming a bit difficult to breathe. Overcasting is never easy, but overcasting while dual-casting is an entirely ludicrous level of stupid. But, it worked. One illusion and one magical amplification spell and my brain didn't melt in the process, so that's a win. A few of the bots around me have started removing bits of armor from my arms and chest. I just keep my eyes shut and focus on breathing. I haven't casted like that in a while. I almost forgot what a bitch it is. "Perimeter secured. Local forces subdued. Orders sir?" the bot asks me as the last piece leaves my torso. I open my eyes and look up. Three Unfamiliar lay on the ground near me. They were the few that tried to stop me. Ulfric stands between several legion bots, almost looking confused. He knows what happened, he's recounting it in his head right now. But there's something that he doesn't quite grasp yet. Something he's trying to figure out. I take a look at the Unfamiliar man beside him and immediately know what I need from him. Once the last of my armor is off I push myself up and begin to approach the Unfamiliar. He tries to back away, but the bots around him use their blades to hold him in place. He tries to say something, but I don't make anything out. I ignite my hand and pierce his chest with it, attempting to force myself into his mind. I get flashes of memories here and there. He wasn't ready for this, but he's been trained against it clearly. I can see an authority figure. A woman watching him closely. People running together... laughing... screaming... I can see a world flourishing with life, a world beyond Earth... but I get the feeling that it's not his home either. I sift through these memories and try to force my way deeper into his mind. All of this is useless to me. Where are his people hiding? Where are his military bases? I start to find more on the Unfamiliar, so I start to dig. I can see the social structure, the four factions, and a few faces. One I recognize and the Nether Walker, and the other I recall as the one who led the assault on Canterlot when they first came here. I don't know the fourth one, and I can't seem to gather a name for him, not in this instance at least. The four of them are arguing over something, but Kileh -the Unfamiliar I'm searching- keeps fighting me on this one. In the conversation, he seems to be in charge... sort of. He has a commanding tone, and seems to hold some clout with the others, but there's a clear undertone of respect lacking. Something about the conversation lures me in. Maybe it's the way he's fighting me so much, but there's something here. I press a bit harder to try and listen in, but words fade in and out. I try again and force myself in, starting to make some headway. Slowly but surely, I start to hear what they are saying. "... with Vensil gone the role should go to the house of the Dreamers," the Nether Walker says calmly. I get the impression that he's not speaking English here, if I'm reading his lips correctly. But I'm getting what he said through Kileh’s understanding. "We will not subjugate ourselves to the devils! There is but one human before us! Let him think his toys will keep him safe! We should lull him into a sense of safety and strike when his back is present! With him out of the picture we can restart anew! Leave the old worlds behind-" "You would deny our people their heritage? You would have us forget a thousand years of death and destruction? Have you no shame?" "And do you have so much pride that you can't move forward? Are you so emboldened in war that you can't see anything else?" They all begin to argue more and more. I try to focus on names, locations, anything, but I can't. Even worse, whatever room they're in is mostly devoid of light. A single light bulb hangs from the center of the four individuals, giving me enough to see their faces. But that's not where Kileh is looking. He's staring at something in his hands. It looks like a port to a phone. Just a metal cylinder, similar to the one on mine. Something about it is important. Information? Personal effects? Or something else. "None of this matters," Kileh says, fumbling with the device. "The chimera has given us a chance to lick our wounds and regroup. Send word to the others to settle in their lands before they start killing us off one by one. From there we can bicker. We lost the Sleeping Fleet, let's not lose everybody else in the process." There's a mumble of approval from the others. "With the flagship gone we have no escape from this dirt ball. If we are to continue as a species, there are a great many things we have to accomplish." "What do you mean? Our only goal should be to kill the human! That abomination shouldn't dare stand against us!" "History has proven otherwise." Kileh tells the stranger, silencing him. "We aren't going to win over these ponies, not after what Vensil tried. The Griffins have offered us a home to share. It is obvious that they oppose the ponies and are seeking allies-" "And what of the goblins? They at least have an understanding of technology, why aren't they an option?" There's another murmur of talking. Kileh looks back down to the device in his hands again before closing his fist around it. "The goblins are embroiled in their own fight. We need time to gather our forces and make a plan of attack. We need to probe the human and watch for the time to strike. Vensil thought he could just land our flagship and start colonizing the planet, look what happened. Caution should be our priority." The others lean back to speak with people in the darkness. Their conversations are short. When they come back they stand together, getting Kileh to stand with them. "Caution it is then. Kileh will lead from now on. We will all move our forces to the Griffin lands. From there we will continue our discussion." Each of the Unfamiliar come and give their congratulations to Kileh, wishing him luck and prosperity. The entire time I get an uneasy feeling from Kileh. He might not have wanted this position. That, or he doesn't trust these other people. It's hard to tell, so it might just be a combination of the two. There are four factions to the Unfamiliar. And they only seem to be cooperating because of circumstances. They have a common enemy. They all feel the need to protect their people as well, but there is a divide in the manner they go about it. That's where our advantage is. If we can divide them, we can conquer them. I already have the Nether Walker... sort of. Kileh is in my hands now as well, but what do I do with this? I could take him prisoner, but that would only unite them together. Give them a singular objective. No, he has to die, now. That will leave a power vacuum in his absence. But there is a catch. Someone is going to claim this seat of power. It could be someone who will push for war sooner rather than later. Or it could be someone who opens up to the public and sues for peace. With no say in who to appoint there is no way of knowing. But, I know how Kileh stands, and that's enough to have to remove him from power. How much time has passed? It's hard to tell in the mindscape. I don't have all day to stand here and think things over. As much as I want to, I need to get back to the real world and move on with my plans. But there's more to search in here... dammit! I pull my arm back and yank myself out of his mind. He recoils back and rubs his temples, hazed from the experience. Before he can recover I draw my revolver and bring the barrel to his head, pulling the trigger lazily. With a loud bang the slug punches through his skull. Black blood and brain matter fly out the back as he drops to the ground. His body gives a few twitches as he stares blankly up at the ceiling. "You monster," Ulfric mutters as he stares down at Kileh, shocked. "Load him up and let's get going! We don't have all day!" I yell to the others, holstering my gun. The bots begin to escort Ulfric to the broken window as the Spartans retreat to their own aircraft. "Do you know what you’ve done?" Ulfric asks me as we force him into an infantry aircraft. Several bots force him into a seat as I take the one across from him. Moments later the door slides shut and we begin to take off. "Do you know what you have done!?" "I killed him, just like I did Vensil. Just like I'll do with whoever takes his place," I tell him dryly, staring him down. "The repercussions from your careless actions will ripple throughout the world! There will be nowhere you can go and walk peacefully! You will forever have a target on your back! You fool!" I ignore him and sit back. The engines begin to pick up as we start to leave the Griffin air space. Ulfric takes a worried look around as he holds on tightly. "Where are you taking me?" "The only place where you'll listen," I tell him simply. He gives me a curious look before going stone faced. I feel a tingling sensation on the back of my neck as he starts to try and prod my mind. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." "..." He ignores me and starts to prod through my mind. I try to fight it, but it's not something I'm too familiar with doing. Not like this at least. "You see the bots here?" I ask him through gritted teeth. He glances at them for a moment, but continues to prod into my mind. I can't tell if he's actually seeing anything or if he's just trying to let me know that he can do this. "They don't have minds. They receive their orders and then they follow them through. It's a real bitch sometimes. Because, let's say, the order was to escort the two of us somewhere as an example. And, if I should attempt to give any new orders afterwards, they are to shoot your legs... and your wings... and your paws, but not kill you." He pauses his mind attack to give me a questionable look, so I continue. "In this example, they have very specific... let's call them rules. If a rule says to jump, they jump. If it says to shoot, they shoot. If it says that in mid flight I become incapacitated, then they rip you to shreds and keep you alive long enough to drag your ass down to Topaz Falls and keep you in a state of near death and torment. Because, and this is all an example of course, knowing that you are a mind fucker, I would make fail safes just in case you tried to do any funny business. So, if I were you, I wouldn't do that. But, I can't make you do anything, now can I?" He stares back at me for a moment before leaving my mind. He's still tense. He's waiting for some sort of opening to exploit. Some weakness to prod. But I covered my bases well enough. Assuming he doesn't have any new tricks up his sleeve, I'll be covered. Hopefully he accepts that he's cornered for the time being and we'll make it to our destination in relative peace. I'd prefer not to rough him up before this. But, what must be done will be done. "You are a tyrant. A dictator. And a threat to the stability of the word," he tells me matter-of-factly. "No... No, I'm a man with a vision and resources. And that's a dangerous combination." I tell him smugly. "History will not remember you as such." "History is to be determined by the victors, Ulfric. Truth is what we say it is. It's then up to the masses to pick a side and fight it out. You're only a villain if you fight for the wrong side, Ulfric. So long as I win this fight, my legacy is set." "And what makes you so sure that you will win this fight? What could you possibly posses that would assure you this victory?" I try my best not to laugh at that. I literally just invaded his home and took him prisoner, and he acts like he's still in control! Either he is that arrogant, or he's hiding something that I don't know about. I hope it's the former, but we'll just have to find out. "Don't get too comfortable. It won't be too long of a flight." He gives me a quizzical look before settling into his seat. The flight to the Isles didn't take much time. But the silence between us was immeasurable. Even without looking at each other, we're taking stock of one another. I keep thinking of possible arguments he might make and what case he'll try to push. Just as I have been for the last few years. I have to know what to say and how to say it. I have to have all the answers before the questions are even brought up. Before we start, I have to know how to win. I'm sure he's doing the same thing. Planning his arguments, thinking through what I might say. I'm taking a gamble with this. My hope is to convince Ulfric that fighting is not in his best interest and to turn over the Unfamiliar. I doubt that I'll get the latter, but I can hope. Hopefully this entire engagement will be enough to persuade him to avoid a war. Even if it's only for the time being. I don't want to go to war right now. I don't want to conquer. I can win the people over another way, I just need time. War is resentment, and bitterness, and hatred. I've had enough of war, though I know it's not over yet. The Unfamiliar are still a factor to consider. Our war continues, just as it always has. The descent to the Isles is rough due to poor weather. A storm is blasting the massive island. I guess it's raining everywhere today. The pilot fights to land properly, tittering from one pitch to the other before finally slamming the vehicle down harshly. The minute the door slides open a torrent of rain blasts into the transport. The two of us are soaked immediately, having nowhere to hide. The water is cold and sends chills over my entire body, but it's not enough to deter me. I step out into the storm and wait for Ulfric to come out. He follows me out slowly, taking a deep breath as he embraces the water. "I have missed this," he yells over the weather, lifting his head up and closing his eyes. I nod to him, allowing him a moment to enjoy the rain. Despite everything, I know him to be good at heart. He's doing what he must for his people, and in a way, I respect him for that. Even against insurmountable odds he has the courage to stand against the immovable. Why wouldn't I respect an aspect like that? "It's time," I yell back. He takes one last long breath before looking back to me and nodding. He's a respectable person, I'll give him that. His flaw is that he doesn't know how to pick his fights. We walk down the cobble stone path in silence. I wave my guards to hold back. I won't need them for this. When we make it to the massive wooden doors to the Summit building back entrance I step forward and slam my fist against it. I step back as loud thuds echo down the inner chamber. It doesn't take long for someone to respond. The door opens partially and a goat sticks her head out to see who's there. One look at the two of us and she rolls her eyes. "What could be so-o-o important ya had ta come knockin' in the midd-d-dle of a bloody storm!?" she demands, her unpleasant tone soaked with irritation. "Terms of war, should peace not ensue." I tell her, getting a quizzical look from her. She eyes for a moment before shutting the door. Locks and bolts sound off as she works on opening the door completely. I get the sense that Ulfric is staring at me. But I ignore it, as best I can at least. Whatever he needs to say he can do so inside. When the door finally opens the goat inside motions for us to enter. She shuts the door behind us as a wall of warmth hits the two of us. Large fireplaces sit on both sides of the room, radiating a welcoming warmth to the room. Several other goats are in the room as well. Most are sitting at benches with meals or some form of distraction. A small group is approaching the two of us, being led by O'Buckly. "Miles, Ulfric," he greets wearily. We nod back, keeping silent. "What's this I hear 'bout a war now? What have you two done?" We finally give each other a glance. Stoic eyes and firm jaw, he's as ready for this as I am. "I think it would be best if we spoke in the chamber," Ulfric tells him. He gives each of us a worried look before nodding us down the hall. We follow after him, getting a similar pace to one another. We enter the dark chamber and wait for several goats to move about and light some torches within the room. After a minute or two of waiting we each take our places within the floor traps and wait for O'Buckly to set them. He goes to say something, but shakes his head and keeps silent. It's obvious that there's going to be no backing out of this. But now it's time to see who is truly prepared for this. I know I'm right. Even with what I did today, I know I'm right. I just need to convince them that I am. "The traps are set. Should you get outta line, I'll suck yer souls out and toss yer corpses inta the sea. What, in the bloody hell, have you two done?" O'Buckly demands. Ulfric and I look to one another before he goes to answer. I have no intention of speaking first. "Miles has invaded the Griffin Colonies. He has forcibly brought me here in an attempt to justify his crimes." O'buckly looks to me, expecting a response. But I wait. Ulfric has more to say, and I wasn't asked to speak yet. "He has engaged in an attempted genocide of the Kroth people, people I have give refuge within my borders. Because of this, I believe, he has made an assault against my people. I demand that he pay for these crimes." Short, but to the point. I imagined him making some long speech about this. Maybe if he had more time to prepare he would have. But, he covered the basics, and that's all he really needs to do. I continue to wait. I'll speak when I'm asked to. No need to look as if I'm trying to justify my actions. I need to look calm, in control, understanding. Let him voice his grievances. "And what say you, Miles Eremita of the Spartan regiment? Are these accusations true?" O'Buckly asks me, put off by my silence. "Unfamiliar soldiers are residing within the United Griffin Colonies. My people are still at war with them, as they are with us. Their first contact on this planet is proof of that. With no armistice between our people I must follow my orders as they stand. Eradicate the Unfamiliar threat at all costs. I have explained this to Ulfric and he has resisted my claims. I am not here for genocide though, proven by my capture and imprisonment of the Unfamiliar leader, The Nether Walker. My capture of Ulfric and my purpose behind this meeting is to find an end to these means. Either the Unfamiliar subjugate themselves to Ulfric and they cease all military actions; or they will be the target of military action." The room goes silent. O'Buckly looks between the two of us for a time, thinking on what we said. I imagined more questions being asked, but I've said the gist of what needed to be said. It's up to him now. He sits down slowly and lets out a long hum as he thinks over everything. A few other goats have entered the stands as well. I glance to Ulfric and catch his gaze for a moment. We both know what's at stake here. But what does he have planned that could leave him so confident? I don't sense any doubt in him. There's no hesitation in his thought process, from what I can gather. Is he that hard of a read? Most likely, but I can't shake the feeling that he's not entirely lying. What's he hiding? "I don't know what ta say," O'Buckly says suddenly, gaining both of our attention. He turns to address me directly, keeping a stern look about himself. "Miles. I accept that you are following orders, no matter how old they may be. But that does not give you the right to violate the airspace of another nation! Let alone imprisoning the leader of a nation! "Ulfric, you have garnered t-t-to much attention for yer military buildup! Even worse, ya went ahead and allied yerself with the people you know attacked the Terradisians and the Equestrians! They have every right to retaliate! Ya aint doing no one any favors with these reckless actions!" He sighs again, lowering his head in thought. I glance at Ulfric again, hoping to see if what he's said affected him in any way. He's... stiff. Strong jawed. Resolute. He knows what he's done, and he trying to stand by it. "Is this it then?" O'Buckly asks with a chuckle. "Is this what the two of ya wanted? Well, here ya go. LOWER THE FLAGS!" The few goats in here run to the entrances and pull on some ropes. Bundles of clothes come rolling down from the rafters above. Each one seems to be a flag with different markings on them. There are five in total. All of them have white backdrops; with a few variations. One is blank, the next has a single black line going from the top left corner to the bottom right; the next one has a red plus in the center; the one after that has two red bars, looking similar to an equal sign; and the last one has a black X going from corner to corner. "You may not be aware, but you've already signed a contract agreeing to the terms of war. Courtesy of Ms. Eremita," O'Buckly tells us, giving me a toothy grin. "These are the five terms all warring parties will agree to. If you act against them, then I-I-I think ya know what happens then." "This first flag is for Surrender. Should ya give up, then that's that! Prisoners of war have rights, just like any other being! There will be no mass executions of prisoners! Nor will there be unnecessary torture! Forced labor should not be intended to kill them either!" "The next flag is for Parley. Should ya wanna speak with one-another, fly this flag. Should ya both fly it, it means ya agree to a cease of hostilities to speak to one another." "This flag is for Medical Personnel. Do not target these people. Those who are hurt have suffered enough already. Should you capture a unit that flies this flag, you are ta consider them specialized civilians. Ya can't force em into hard labor till they get doctor's clearance to." "The flag with the two bars is for Foreign Mediators. We'll be flying this flag the most. There will be third partied people on both sides evaluating each conflict, I a-a-assure you of that. We can't always rely on each and every individual ta follow the rules. These people will be present to keep a constant reminder that we are watching." "And lastly, the Civilians flag. You will not target these individuals, end of statement! You may take them prisoner, you may annex them into your territory, but you will not engage in military actions targeted directly at any people flying this flag." "And just in case you have any questions, I-I-I'll stop ya there. I ain't answering any questions. I do this ta make everything as vague as possible. Generally speaking, if ya think it might break one of these rules, then don't do it. That'll end today's meeting-" "Wait, but-" I try to interject, but O'Buckly continues on. "A member of my court will leave with each of you ta keep tabs on yer actions. Have a good night gents!" He taps his hoof on the floor and releases the bond on us. He leaves without saying another word to either of us. Ulfric and I look to each other before chasing after him. "You can't be serious O'Buckly! You really have nothing else to say!?" I demand from him. "You can't force us to go to war with one another!" Ulfric adds. "You are the facilitator for peaceful negotiations! If we can't accomplish that here then why put up all of this posturing!?" He stops and glares back at us, getting up to stop before him. "Do ya both think I'm that dense?" he asks us. Neither of us answers though. I don't understand why he's acting like this. "Miles is a military dictator and you're mobilizing at a frightening rate. If you two weren't going to go to war, then I don't know how the rest of the world is supposed to act. And that's before we bring in the rest of the world! We have bears shootin' down dragons, the goblins have been multiplying at dangerous levels, orc raiding parties seem to be testing the borders of their neighbors, Equestria seems to have a new alicorn every day, and to top it all off! I just received word that Minotaur slavers attempted to raid the Isle!" "And here you two are! Telling me that you want peace! Or that you're only trying to harbor people you know will only cause you problems! Bleh! The world hasn't been this divided since the so called gods fought for dominance! Or maybe it's always been this divided and we've just been lyin' to ourselves. So, you know what, do it. Be the one to push the world into war! Be the cause of millions of deaths! Because this is the tipping point, ya know that, right? Once one of you does it, the others will follow suit. Have your war!" He drops to his haunches and hangs his head in defeat. He shakes his head a bit as he lets out a long breath. Ulfric and I look to one another again, almost asking each other what to do. I wasn't expecting this, not from him at least. He was the only one I thought would still have the resolve to push for peace. When did he become such a defeatist? "What has happened O'Buckly?" Ulfric asks in a quiet, calm tone. "Yeah, what gives?" I add. "Why are you giving up on everything suddenly?" "Giving up?" he asks, clearly offend. "Who else out there is still tryin’? I'm the only one, the only one tryin’! Who else sets aside their own agenda, puts others before their own, and gives equal ground for others to speak? Hm? Neither of you, that's for sure. Who? Celestia? She cares for her ponies first, not the world as a whole. Starke? Longhorn? No. None of them. So don't you dare say that I g-g-gave up! I was the only one who was willing to fight the losing fight! An don'cha go forgettin' that! Don't ya dare!" I nod to him and take a step back. He's right. I can't think of anyone who does his job the way he does it. But where does that leave us? Is this it? Are we going to war now? I didn't mean to force this to happen now. But... he's right, again. We're the two big players as of right now, as far as I know. If the Kroth are fighting for him, that's assuming. I didn't come here to set the terms. I came here to resolve the issue and be done with it. Maybe there's still time though. He sets the terms, but that doesn't mean we have to leave as warring parties. "Ulfric," I say aloud as I remove my helmet. "I don't want to go to war with you, but I can't simply allow those people to sit idly by. I need you to either take control of them or separate yourself from them." "I will not allow a genocide to occur. I goes against the morals of every decent person," he tells me tiredly. I think about it for a moment before an idea hits me. Something I should have probably thought of before. "It will not be a genocide, I promise you that. And I can prove it to you." He gives me a skeptical look. I pause to think this a little more through. The more people know about this, the worse it will probably get. For our image that is. But, it's proof that I'm not here to kill them all... kind of. "Come with me to New Garnet."
Chapter 249 Non Semper Erit AestasChapter 249 Non Semper Erit Aestas The world around me drones away to the sound of the I.T.A. soaring through the sky. I tried to take a moment to think over everything, but... Everything seemed to just... ebb away. I wasn't thinking. There wasn't anyone to talk to. For what felt like a brief moment I was all alone, without even my own thoughts to keep me company. I don't know how long it lasted, and I almost wish it would continue for a moment longer. But, it passed. And now I can think. Ulfric took another infantry transport home. We agreed that he was no longer really a prisoner, so he would return on his own accord. He probably didn't trust me either. Probably thought it was a trap. I don't blame him for that, I'd think the same thing in his position. It's going to take him some time to make the trip, but he promised it would be by the end of the month. We also agreed he wouldn't use Unfamiliar aircraft, for my own obvious fears. And now we're in limbo. Is he going to use this time to gather his forces and strike? Or is he going to heed my words? I can attempt to set up some outposts to watch over him, maybe even some radar installations, but I know it'll be impossible to watch everything. And I already know that the Unfamiliar know how to maneuver around my bots. I can't preemptively strike either, or the world would turn against me. My only move now it to wait, something I'm not very good at. The Spartans are chalking this up as a victory. I imagine half of them are already drunk by this point. I was about to send word to them, but decided not to. It would do them some good to have a night of victory. Let them feel a little more invincible. So they're all home now. It'll be good. Keep their morale high. They'll need that. This wasn't a victory. Not even close. We set the terms for the fight to occur, now it's just a waiting game. Ulfric has all the tools he'll need to dance around the issues until it's time for him to strike. I've put myself in a corner and now we have to wait for them to attack. This wasn't a victory. This was a declaration. Why wait? Why not do what you were raised to do and fight? That isn't the answer here. I need to think long term if I'm going to see Terradisia rise again. We're too small, too fragile to be so reckless. Are you not Spartan? Since when do Spartans play diplomacy? I am a Spartan. But this should not be my call to make. Once we get the final group of people to join I can pass the control and be free of this burden. You have your sword, you have your army. Your people love and adore you! Any action you take they will follow blindly. You know what to do and you know what to say. Is it not better for the world to come together? Under one banner? It is, but not like that. It should be a choice- Choices are dangerous, you know this. There are those that would choose to die rather than listen to reason. You know what to say and you know what to do. All you need is a little push. "Captain!" I jump in my seat when I hear a bot call for me. I take a look around in slight confusion before looking to the cockpit. I must have fallen asleep at some point. "Our destination is sixty seconds away. I have received several messages from the helot E'Claire for several town complaints that require your attention." "Of course... yeah let her know we'll talk as soon as we land," I tell the bot, shaking the memory of my dream away. All this stress is starting to get to my head. I need a break of some sort. The ship lands in the small airport of Mooseden and I step out to see a frazzled E'Claire with a portfolio with her. I hate that little fucking leather book. It's the one clear sign that today will not be an easy day. Well, time to play leader. "E'Claire, it's good to-" "There were three arrests the other day when the Crystal Empire traders came the other day," she reads from her portfolio, silencing me immediately. I groan as I set my fists on my hips and let her continue. Not like she'd let me have a word in anyway. "Apparently they aren't happy with current trade relations and demand to speak with you. They needed to speak with you anyways it seems. Something about trade negotiations from the Empire. There were some reports of dangerous creatures lurking around the lumberyard again. The last squad of bots we sent out didn't return, so it's something fun probably. I have a number of requisition forms I need you to sign and lastly... The minotaur couple that recently joined have caused some... noise complaints." "... I'm sorry, did you just tell me to fix a fucking noise complaint?" She has to be kidding. "I am not kidding," she tells me flatly. "They've only done two things since they arrived. Eat and fuck. Now, normally I wouldn't mind this, but the others in town don't. They were issued warnings and talked to, but they haven't heeded our warnings. Now, I would arrest them, but I think there's a simpler solution to the problem." "... and that would be?" I ask, expecting her to continue. She raises an eyebrow and continues to stare at me, making me grumble. "*sigh* Fine, I'll talk to them." "Good! Now onto more personal issues!" "What-" "I caught Shadow trying to break into your workshop with some friends of hers-" "I told her that was-" "She informed me that you gave her permission to do so and what you told her to do, and this is where I have an issue. Miles, she is a teenage filly who does not need to be doing... no filly her age should be plotting against other kids! What were you thinking!?" I stare at her for a moment before removing my helmet. I'm not in the mood to be level headed about any of this shit. "I was thinking that I am her father and I know what is best for her. I was thinking that it was time that she started learning to stand up for herself. I was thinking that, instead of being a doormat, she would get a feeling of what it's like to hit someone back! Now, I get that you don't like the idea of her doing stuff like this, and I appreciate the concern. I really do. But we can't fight her fights for her, E'Claire." "So that's it? Your grand solution is to leave her alone in your workshop, that is full of weapons I might add, and let her plot to get revenge? What sort of message is that?" she asks, bewildered at my attitude. "A message from the daughter of the Grand Captain of the Spartan regiment! A message that will speak out against a community that takes us for granted and plots behind our backs! Like it or not, she has an image to uphold and it's time for her to live up to it-" "She's not a tool for you use Miles!" E'Claire yells back at me, throwing her portfolio down. "I can be your tool, that's my price to pay. Same goes for Butterscotch! Feel free to use these people too, they volunteered to be. But not her. She is not, and never will be, your tool to use. I won't allow it. Kill me if you have to! But I will not stand by and let her throw her life away for something as petty as revenge." "Pardon me, Mr. Eremita, but I must speak-" Some Crystal Empire mare asks. "Blow it out your ass dipstick! Can't you see I'm in the middle of a fucking conversation!" I yell at her. "Dammit Glitz I told you to wait in the god damned hall! Go back there before I rip you a new fucking asshole!" E'Claire adds, glaring daggers at her. "Well, I never!" the mare protests before turning in a huff. We both watch her leave, the air between us cooling down tremendously. "By the way, I'm making dinner at your place at six tonight, to welcome everypony back. Make sure to be there by then." E'Claire tells me matter of factly. "Sounds good, thanks." I tell her before walking off. Most people don't understand the two of us. But E'Claire is one of a few people out there that knows how to speak with me. I don't give a shit for tact. Tell me how it is and get to the point. She's good at doing that. Though, from time to time, it is a pain in the ass. Her and Butterscotch were real gems in the rough to have found. "Oh, and Starke Herzen is in your workshop, the one you have here that is. He came by earlier today to have a meeting with you," she adds as she continues to walk away. "Thanks... wait, WHAT!?" I yell, chasing after her. "Why wasn't that first on the fucking list!?" "It slipped my mind. I was more worried about Shadow to be honest," she tells me nonchalantly. I try to form a respond to yell at her, but I can't seem to settle on one. I need to get to him before he starts going through my shit. "Next, world leaders first!" I yell at her before taking off. She doesn't respond, or at least I don't hear her response. I go to the southern edge of town where the workshop is located. It's a public building that lends tools to people for whatever use they need. I just happen to use it more than anyone else, so there's this thought going around that it's mine. Sitting behind the building is a large flying machine with several smoke stacks pointing out the back. The design reminds me of a dragonfly. Standing guard in front of the main entrance are four goblin troopers. Two of them are bearing shields while the other two have rifles resting on their shoulders. When they notice me approaching they make way for me to enter, keeping their stoic faces about them. I enter the building without addressing them. The workshop is quiet, quieter than usual at least. The massive room of drills and fabricators lay silent as Starke walks around the room, eyeing the machinery curiously. I take a quick look around and notice that there are four more guards in here as well, similarly armed. "You know, when someone usually wants to make a meeting, they tend to send word beforehand," I tell Starke, getting his attention. He cracks a wry smile and approaches me, holding his hands behind himself. "If these were usual times, I would be inclined to send a message before arriving here," he tells me. I nod to his logic. These aren't really the forewarning times, now are they. "I have all of the ledgers you asked for, and have turned them in. Your metal golems are looking over them as we speak. As I said, I have nothing to hide." "Hm," I hum in response, stepping into the room. He said he'd do it, I just didn't expect it to happen this quickly. "How'd you gather all of this information and get it all here in under a month?" He chuckles at that, following after me. "We may seem primitive to you, but we aren't as incapable as you assume us to be," he tells me in a jovial manner. "But, onto more pressing matters." "Oh? I am interested to see what is so pressing for you," I say sarcastically, trying thing think my way though the situation. This was too sudden for me. I was guessing that he would appear some time in the following weeks. I guess I was wrong about his capabilities, though I still am doubtful too. This must be payback for catching him off guard. That explains his demeanor at least. We stop in front of a large fabricator to speak directly to one another. Starke turns his attention to the machine, sliding his hands over the surface as he begins to speak. "You forcibly brought Ulfric to the Isles to enact some form of justice. And, it would seem, you succeeded. At least in the short term. So now you are at a crossroads. Do you follow the Summits example and wait to see if Ulfric does the same, or do you strike again? And since we both know Ulfric is ready to strike, the question really is do you wait for him to attack? I am interested to see what you do." "Are you now?" I ask condescendingly. I know that's what he doesn't want to talk about, but I still don't know what he's getting at. "Truth be told, no. I couldn't care less about what the two of you do to each other. What I care about is progress. And that is why I am really here today." He turns to one of his guards and snaps his fingers at him. He bows and moves to the nearest table where he starts to set up a map. I follow Starke over where we watch him set some markers. "As you are well aware, conflict is inevitable. But what has yet to be decided is what happens after everything. That is my goal today. To carve an understanding between the two of us so we may all progress." I hum back to him, eyeing all of the markers on the page. The outlines of the world are set as they are now. He has several cogs set to specify either settlements or troop placements, it's hard to tell. "Are you suggesting an alliance? Isn't that contradictory to your own enterprises?" I ask as I study the map some more. He has the griffins marked more heavily than anyone else. I don't get what he's playing at. He's arming the griffins to attack, but doesn't want to side with them? At the same time he wants to secure land, but doesn't want to be attacked. "The enterprises of the Goblin Kingdom do not sway the will of our people, Mr. Eremita. We are a growing people and need to expand, but there's only one logical area to do so. But, taking such a large land mass would undoubtedly cause a stir in the world. But, with the griffins ripe to expand themselves, a golden opportunity has occurred. Something that could be beneficial for both our parties involved." He looks up to me and waits for me to respond. But I don't have much to say at the moment. I want to hear his offer, let him put it all out there before speaking. I nod to him, getting him to move several tokens around the map. "My offer is this; concede the Griffin Kingdoms to Terradisian rule in exchange for partitioning the Southern Badlands into the Goblin Empire. And this includes any territory gained under any armed conflict with any nation. Furthermore, Terradisia will have governing rights over the northern hemisphere, and the Goblin Empire shall rule the southern hemisphere. We will follow the equator and draw the borders accordingly. What say you?" I set my hands on the edge of the table and lean over to take a better look at the map. He wants to govern all of the zebra lands and most of the Southern Badlands. This deal is clearly in his favor. The bears and minotaurs won't be swayed so easily, and the zebras don't really seem up to the task of fighting off a technologically superior people. Though, the Badlands are a whole mess of their own, I know it's really their objective. And I don't know how I feel about giving them land so close to home. But, there is potential in this deal. Let's see what we can wrestle out of this. "I already have land in the southern parts of Zebrica, so this deal will not stand. If you are willing to trade the minotaur lands in exchange for there, then that can be settled." He gives a quizzical look to the map before nodding to me, moving some of the tokens around. With that move, I understand the map a bit better. The silver cogs are mine, the bronze ones are his, and the dark grey ones seem to be the nations that have the capacity to resist being conquered. Equestria is a part of that group. According to his map, I gain Equestria, the Griffin Kingdoms, Zebrica, and have to fight the Soviets and the Apes for the rest. He has to fight to control the Badlands and the Minotaur lands, but the rest seems to be free real-estate. So I'm still in the disadvantage. What else is there? I grab another silver cog and set it on the Isles. Starke gives me a confused look, so I elaborate. "If I control the northern hemisphere, then I control that as well. Is this not to your liking?" He suggests the move for a moment before nodding to me, clearly not liking the move. These are the best holdings I can sway from him. I know I'm not going to get anything better than this land wise. He already partitioned part of the Southern Badlands to me, and the equator naturally follows the goblin borders. He doesn't like me noting that I control the Isles, but he already gave them to me. The zebra-minotaur trade was painless, telling me that he doesn't care about those lands too much. His main goal are the Southern Badlands. "There are two more things I want before I agree to this plan," I tell him as I straighten out. "I want access to your airspace for navigational purposes, and I want intelligence on everything you know about Ulfric. Without those, there's no deal." Starke considers my terms for a moment before chuckling to himself, confusing me. "Something funny?" He waves me off, composing himself. "I apologize. I was expecting more demands from you. I am amazed that you have agreed to this so easily. I thought you would have thrown me out of your town at the first mention of such an agreement." "Understand this; I do not trust your movements. If you keep to your end of the agreement, then there will be no conflict between us. But should you break this trust, I will level your lands and turn your people to ash. This is not an alliance. This is a mutual understanding not to attack one another. This trust goes both ways. I am freeing you to invade the Badlands, and you are freeing me to fight the griffins. Do we have an understanding?" He gives me a wide smile before raising a hand to shake. I've seen those types of smiles. Those crooked, diabolical smiles. The kind a bad man gets when he makes a fool out of you. They're the kind of smiles you get when you get one step closer towards your goal, or push your opposition back another step. I don't want to associate with a person who can makes this kind of smile, but what choice do I have? I know how large his army is. I've fought against those types of numbers before. I can't deal with him and Ulfric and the Unfamiliar. If he's willing to remove himself from the equation, then that makes the decision much easier. But, I will have to deal with him eventually. I doubt he'll keep to his end of the bargain forever. But I can't deal with it right now. We're too small right now. I would have to resort to drastic measures. Measures that make it impossible to speak evenly with those left alive to remember it. As much as I don't want to admit it, I need this just as much as he needs does. I reach down and shake his hand, feeling a cool chill run down my spin. I don't know what I've just done. But, there's nothing to do about it now. He has the access to what he wants, and I have access to what I want. I’ve put myself in another corner now. Or, rather, I put another person in front of me to face off with. So the question now is, can I get what I want before it becomes irrelevant? And what do I do if I can't? Author's Note I have a Twitter now! Check out my blogs or find me @Tallestbrony! Brony on!
Chapter 250 Words With the CaptainChapter 250 Words With the Captain I stand on the edge of town and watch Starke leave in his flying machine. It looks like some sort of steam powered dragonfly, according to some of the spectators behind me. I'm caught in a corner right now. He knows I can't doing anything to stop his conquest, not now at least. He's throwing it in my face. I could go down there and stab him in the back, but then Ulfric will do the same to me. I only have the resources to really handle one of them at a time. At least in a manner that doesn't require me conquering the world. I'll have to set up some listening post in the south. Maybe even set up drones above to keep an eye on things. A squadron of Aquilas should suffice- "Miles?" I pause my thought to look over to E'Claire. "Everything alright?" "... The answer that question is too long and convoluted to respond properly." She gives me a blank stare before leveling her unnamed gaze. "Fantastic. Are you still going to be able to assist around town or am I pulling an all nighter again?" Oh yeah, no one here seems to care about global politics. I guess I can't really blame them for that though. If I could, I wouldn't. "I'll start with the minotaurs. Sounds easy enough," I tell her as I start to make my way into town. She doesn't follow me, though I did hear her mutter something under her breath. I make my way through town with the hopes of solving a simple issue. With everything going ballistic around me, it would be nice to definitively solve something for a change. When I approach the building though, those hopes are immediately crushed. I can hear the distinct sounds of hardcore sex thundering from within the building. They've only been here, what, two days or so? I can understand that... but now I have to deal with it. I approach the door and slam my fist on it a few times. I'm pretty sure they can't hear me over their... activities, so I try again. They're in the throes of things though, so they clearly can't hear me. Patience is something I'm lacking today, so I draw my pistol and fire around into the ground. Sure enough, everything stops inside. I knock again, getting them to scramble within. I can't understand their whispers, but I think I can get the gist of their fears. The door opens to reveal Nederige, clad in a slightly damp bed sheet. A prominent smell of sweat and sex wafts from within and burns at my nostrils. He's panting slightly, a scared look taking over his face. Sappige is inside, hiding most of her boy behind a wall as she peeks over to listen in. Nederige goes to speak, but I cut him off before he can say anything. "You are not in trouble. But the fucking is too loud," I tell him, getting a confused look. "I've also been told that you aren't working yet. While you are not being forced to work, we still need to debrief you as part of our deal. Now if you can't keep things down we can relocate you to a home on the edge of town. There are less people there because of the proximity to the forest. I can't put a noise damper enchantment on the building because of security reasons, so it's the only choice really. Unless you think you can keep it down?" He looks back to Sappige before sharing an embarrassed laugh with her. "I guess we will be moving then, Spartan." "And we are working!" Sappige yells from the back. "We are growing our new home nations population!" She laughs at that, Nederige is clearly uncomfortable with the joke. I try to shrug it off, when a thought occurred. How many pregnant women are citizens? Probably not the hundreds I need, but every bit counts. "Marvelous. Pack your things, you'll be moved to the empty residence to the northeast part of town. Try to speak with E'Claire about employment as soon as you can. We'll debrief you within the next few days. Understood?" He nods to me, so I turn to leave. I take a few steps away from their home before I come to a stop. Starke bartered a deal to keep our people from fighting, why not barter with Longhorn? It's clear that he's been colluding with Ulfric, what if I can offer him a deal to remove him from the equation? Why haven't I thought of this before? Ulfric is gathering his allies to aid in his future war effort. Why am I allowing this to happen? I should be doing the same, while also trying to divide him from those that would support him. I've been going about this in the worst way possible. I turn back and rush to the door. I slam my fist against it over and over again until he answers the door. Before he can say anything I rush into his home and start to pace around. I have a dozen ideas running around my head right now and I need to think them through! But where do I start? "Miles, what are you doing!?" Sappige asks as she rushes to hide in the bathroom. "Why would Ulfric be investing in slavery? Or slave fights? What's the angle there?" I ask aloud as I try to think of the answer. The first thought would be to enslave those that he conquers. But that doesn't make sense to me. The ponies are too numerous. It would be easier to just evict them, assuming his best case scenarios. "What are you talking about?" Nederige asks as he hurries to put some clothes on. "You showed me those slave pits for a reason, right? Clearly Ulfric is set on enslaving-" "I showed you the Passion Fruits, remember?" he asks as he takes some clothes to the bathroom, passing them to Sappige. I think about it for a moment before it all starts to catch on. "Right! Psychosomatic drugs. And a lot of them. But who are they for? Celestia? Luna? Maybe. It would make sense though. He needs to keep them to move the sun and the moon. Turning them into slaves would-" "He doesn't need them to move the sun and the moon," he states matter of factly. I stop in my tracks and stare at him in bewilderment. "According to the spy reports I was privy to, the Kroth are capable of doing the task. As far as we are aware, he aims to kill them in his first assault." I stare at him for a moment longer before rushing towards him. He tries to back away, but I grab him too quickly and toss him on the floor. He tries to scramble away, but I kneel over him and set my hands on his shoulders. My fingers dig into him and force him down, shaking with rage. Sappige bursts out of the bathroom and tries to beg for me to release him, but I barely hear her. "What have I said!? What have I done!?" He begs as he grabs onto my arms. "Why the fuck didn't you tell me about that!? Why am I hearing about this in small talk!? Why are you keeping secrets!?" I demand from him before slamming him against the ground. He lets out a pathetic whimper as he begs for my forgiveness. As if someone turned off a switch, I suddenly realize what I'm doing and release him. I've never lost my temper like that before! Was that... was that the other me? The one that took over last time? But... but I recall what I did! I was cognitive the whole time! What does that mean!? I back away from Nederige until I find the wall. My heart is racing and a cold sweat is starting to wash all over me. There's a lump in my throat that I can't seem to swallow and a pit in my stomach pulling down on me with tremendous weight. Sappige has rushed to Nederige's side but I can't understand what she's saying. Nederige is just staring back at me, the fear in his eyes prevalent. I try to gain control of myself, but I can't seem to. My breath is racing to catch up with my heart, but my heart won't slow down. I'm trying to stare at the floor to keep my head from spinning, but the lines in the wood are waving back and forth. I grab my head and force my eyes shut. Sweat races down from my hair and over my fingers, making my hand shake. There's a slight ringing in my ear that's starting to drown out my own thoughts too. "AAAAAAAHH!" I shoot up from my bed with a slight scream. The room I'm in is too dark to make anything out right now. There's a slight breeze in the darkness, chilling the sweat that's over my entire body. I bring a hand up to my head and rub my face, forcing large droplets to race down my cheek and neck. What the fuck was that? Where am I and how did I get here? "Miles?" A light turns on in the center of the room, revealing my dorm within the P.C.H. I look over to see Auxy looking back at me. She's in her blue sleeping gown with her pregnant stomach poking out slightly. Dolum is behind her, still asleep. She looks concerned, but is too tired to fully register anything completely. "Everything okay?" "... Yeah... yeah, just... uh, just a bad dream." I tell her, looking around the room. What's going on? Wasn't I just- "You look pale, you sure you're okay?" she asks, slowly becoming more awake. I look over the pristine room some more, still confused over everything going on. Everything is as it should be. The clutter, the dim lights of the various devices throughout the room, even my phone looks perfectly fine. No cracks, no dust, no evidence of war and destruction. Auxy starts to move to get up, tossing the blankets over Dolum. It takes her a moment to stand, but she eventually gets up and waddles over to me. I'm too confused to protest, but I do feel a pang of guilt for causing her to get up. She waddles over to me and cups my cheek with a hand. She holds it there for a moment before moving it to my forehead. "Miles, you feel a bit cold. You should go to the Med-bay and get checked up," she tells me quietly. I stare up at her for a moment before putting a hand over her hand. I can feel the smooth texture of her skin against mine. The warmth is still present from her slumber too. "Miles?" "Right! Right... I'll... I'll go right now. Sorry to wake you. I'll... I'll go right now..." I tell her quickly as I remove my hand. She gives me a concerned look before shrugging. "Well, good. I'll be sure to get Dolum to follow up with you, make sure you didn't skip out on a check up," she tells me as she starts to waddle towards Dolum’s closet. She grabs a bathrobe and carefully puts it on, tying the front lazily. "I'm going to go pee now. Text me when you finish up your check up, or else." I watch Auxy leave the room, the light from the hall showing the room with more clarity for a moment. Everything is as it should be, right? I bring my legs off the bed and rub my toes against the carpet. It feels as I remember it. Slightly coarse but not unpleasant. I stand up and go to the window. I pull up the blinds and stare out at the city. Streetlights dot the roads beneath as many of the windows are darkened from inactivity. Dim lights shine down from the dome above, giving just enough light to make your way around. A few vehicles are flying about, performing their various duties. Everything is as I remember it. It's almost as if nothing has happened. "You better get going Miles. It's bad enough you woke the pregnant lady." Dolum mutters from the bed. His voice stabs at me like nothing before has. I never thought I'd hear it again. I rush to his bed and pull him over to look at him. He tries to fight me, but I manage to pull the blankets off to see that's he's perfectly fine. No stab wound. No blood. He's.... fine. "What the fuck are you doing!?" Looking down at him I realize that I'm wearing the Potestatum Anuls. I grab one with a hand and start to pull on it, only to have it pull back on me. Dolums asks me a question, but I don't understand it. I'm too unsure of everything to comprehend him. He starts to get out of bed, so I do the first thing that comes to mind. I run. I go straight for the door and throw it open. I sprint into the hallway and race for the Mico platforms, passing Auxy along the way. She let's out a small scream when I scare her and calls out for me, but I don't stop. I make it to the station and wait for it to send me into the main lobby of the P.C.H., where I run to the main entrance. A few people here stare at me as I run pass them in only my pajama bottoms, but I don't care. I'm running. I don't know where I'm going, but I have to move. This isn't right. I make it to the mico station and head straight for the teleporter to the main entrance. I flash into the hall and continue running, scaring the few people in here. I go straight through the main doors and slow to a stop at the stop of the steps. Out before me is the city I grew up in, Topaz Falls. None of the destruction. No death. Ships are flying through the air as they go about their usual business. Everything is as it once was. "What the fuck is going on?" I ask as I bring my hands to hold my head. This can't be happening right now. "Whoa... are you... oh shit!" I look to the side to see some fat, greasy reporter staring at me. He pulls a camera up and starts to take pictures of me, amazed that I'm just standing here... in my underwear. "Miles!" I look back to see Dolum running through the door. I feel my head start to spin a bit at the same time. This all feels so real, but it can't be! I can recall too much for it to be! And this never happened before, so it can't be a memory. A flash of light from the side derails my train of thought. The photographer is still taking pictures. Annoyed, I ignite my hand and suck the energy from the camera. "What's the big idea!?" he asks, pulling out a new battery. Dolum grabs my arm and starts to pull me away. I stagger after him, staring back at the photographer. He seems like a normal person. There's nothing telling me that he's not real. Just some fat guy with long curly hair, and clad in his cargo shorts, greasy shirt, and vest. He looks real. "Who are you dating? Were you posing for the camera? Are you going to get retribution for losing your gems?" Dolum pulls me into the lobby and through the mico platforms. When we make it to the lobby Dolum pulls me to a nearby chair and sits me down. He grabs my face and starts to look me over. I try to push him away, but he keeps a firm grip on me. In the corner of my eye I see Auxy on the phone talking with someone. "Who is she calling?" I ask dryly. "Who do you think? Are you in pain? Is your soul under control? What's wrong?" I think through all of his questions and can't find a single complaint. There's no pain. I don't feel any pressure. As far as I can tell, there's nothing wrong with me. "Was it another premonition?" "No... I don't think so... if it was, it was one fucking long one." I tell him, thinking about everything. Dolum gives me a concerned look before looking back to Auxy. She gives him a thumbs up and he looks back to me with a new look of concern. "What's happening? Who is she talking to?" "Who do you think? We're calling the Captain over to have a look at you." "What? Why?" I feel my heart skip a beat as I start to panic. I don't want to see him! Real or not, he's the last person I want to talk to right now! I thought they were calling Eximius! "Don't call him!" "Too late, he's already on his way," Auxy tells me as she waddles over. "I'm going to the bathroom. Get some pants on and wait for him here." "But-" "But what?" she demands, glaring down at me. I try to form an answer, but can't. There was always something about Auxy that made me incapable of arguing with her. At least when she was pregnant, now that I think about it. "Uhuh, pants first, talk with Susurrans after." She doesn't wait for me to respond. She knows I'm going to do as she says. I've pissed her off, at least for the moment. I don't want to make matters worse. I always thought it was some sort of fear of causing harm to her baby, and that may be part of it, but... I don't know. There was always something more to her threats. It was almost as if she realized how to threaten each of us so perfectly that she reigned in control. "C'mon, you heard her," Dolum tells me, nudging my shoulder. "And by that pace you have at least thirty minutes before she makes it back." "Fuck me... what the fuck is going on?" I mutter to myself as I look down to my hands. They seem real enough. I pinch a part of my arm and start to twist it, grimacing from the pain. That was real. I start to look around for other factors to tell me whether or not this is a dream. Dolum has sweat on his brow, a clock on the wall is keeping pace perfectly, a magazine I've never read before has clear text on it. As far as I can tell, this is all new and alive. But that's impossible! I felt pain! Time passed before as well! Did something send me back in time? No, that can't be it either. None off this happened before. If I went back in time, I'd either run into myself and cause a paradox, or end up in a later part of the timeline where I didn't exist. But Dolum exists! None of this makes any sense! "Miles? You okay buddy?" Dolum asks, giving me a confused, concern look. I try to find an answer, but I can't. I can't accept that this is real, but I can't disprove it either! What am I going to do? FLASH "You know, for once, I'd like to get a call and not have to find you half naked." That voice sends a shiver down my spin. That old, gruff, quiet voice. It's the voice of a veteran. The voice of a leader. Susurrands Bellum. I look over to the mico platform to see him standing there. Clad in his signature jacket and jeans. He looks as I remember him; older, but still in his prime. A captain. A Spartan veteran. I can feel myself shake. Like a child who's been caught stealing snacks or a student cheating. A sense of anger and confusion washes over me, making me colder than I've ever felt. If this is real... I can talk to him, knowing what I know. If this isn't real... he'll avoid answering me. This is it then. This will be the test! But... how should I do it? Should I just ask? What am I saying? Just ask! There's no need to be discreet. Just... Just be direct and face him like a man! "Sus-" I stand to address him... but it doesn't go as planned. "That's Captain, Lieutenant. What's going on with you? Did you turn stupid or do you like showing your junk to the world?" And just like that, all of my confidence is gone. Is this what it's like to talk to a... parent? They just cut you down before you can even ask anything? Maybe I was better off not knowing... "Like we said," Dolum cuts in, answering for me. "He woke up, freaked out on us, and ran. He... seems to think this is all a dream." And there goes Dolum! Telling the Captain everything I would word differently! Like the caring ass that he is! I try to form a response, but tense up when Susurrans puts a hand on my face. He squeezes my cheeks and looks me over, squinting his old grey eyes. "This another Soul Fire thing?" he asks me, turning my head from side to side. His gaze on me feels like icy daggers dragging against my skin. "U-uh... n-no sir... I don't think so, at least." Why am I stuttering? I'm fucking thirty years old and I'm stuttering like a... like a child. "Hm... You're going to take the day off. Lay off the magic and take it easy. If this persists go to the hospital immediately. And call me. I don't want to hear this from someone else, got it?" I swallow a lump in my throat and nod to him. I still can't look him in the eyes. He turns and moves to talk with Dolum across the room. He's speaking quietly, a trait of his that always got under my skin. He's the only soldier I know that spoke so softly. It makes no sense whatsoever. But, it worked, somehow. Maybe it was because he doesn't give too many orders? I could never figure it out actually. He starts to leave for the mico platform, and I start to panic. I have too much to say to him to let him just walk away! Even if this is some sort of dream or hallucination. I jump up and rush to cut him off. He gives me a surprised look and tries to say something, but I cut him off with the first thing that comes to mind. "Who is Eremita?" The question hits him like a steel wall. He steps back and stares back at me, lost for words. Though, truthfully, I don't know what to say either. "Eremita... you're Eremita-" "Don't give me that shit! You know what I mean, Captain! Who is Eremita!?" "... You're-" "Who!?" I step closer, making him back away. "Miles-" "Tell me!?" I rush forward and grab his arms, holding him in place. I can feel him shaking. I can feel the fear within him. His charade is over and now he has to face me. What is he going to say? What is he going to do? He fumbles with his words at first. Trying to coordinated his thoughts. When he makes his plan he drops all his fears and puts on a stone face. It surprises me slightly. Enough so that when he pushes me back I let go of him. "We will meet at the training grounds later today, as we were scheduled. There you will get the answers you seek. I... must prepare something beforehand." He doesn't look at me when he says this. "That's not good enough!" I bark at him. "No... no, it wouldn't be. Nothing would. Nothing ever has been, nor will it ever be. There is... too much to that question Miles. But... you will get your answers... I will try to at least... I have to go... don't be late." He pushes past me and takes the teleporter out of the room. I stand in a daze as all of the adrenaline starts to leave my body. I can feel a cool sweat chilling over myself. And hands are shaking slightly and I feel lightheaded. This can't be a dream. This is too real. What has happened? What's going on? "Come on buddy. Let's... let's go back to the room and try to get some rest," Dolum tells me quietly, putting a hand on my shoulder. I don't respond to him. I just let him guide me back to the room. I feel... drained. Confused... I'm scared to see what he has to say. "Miles!" I look back to see Inficiunt running towards me, holding his night cap to his head. He stops before and tries to catch his breath, but tries to talk anyway. "Did... did I miss it? Did he... little... did little orphan Annie have... have her... big moment?" "I'm amazed I missed you." I tell him, too stunned to fully grasp the moment. He ignores me and pulls me in for a soft, sweaty hug. I know better than to question why he's sweaty. "It's okay baby girl... it's okay... I'll help you with your daddy issues-" "And you're done!" Dolum tells him, prying him away from me. "Go back to your room and don't be late for briefing tomorrow. It's rankings tomorrow and I doubt they're going to let us reschedule. Now let's go! Back to bed! Go go go go GO!"
Chapter 251 Susurrans BellumChapter 251 Susurrans Bellum I managed to get some sleep later that night. I don't know how I did, but I found a way. My alarm went off as it usually did. That same annoying beeping that I've become accustomed to. Dolum tried to talk to me again, as did Auxy, but I didn't feel like talking. I told them we could talk after the rankings. After I learned what I needed to. I had almost forgotten about the rankings since my time in Equestria. We don't have enough Spartans to mandate it currently. It was more of a way for the Terradisians to keep tabs on the Spartans. Know who's better than who, what we're capable of, and that their taxes weren't being wasted. We always took it as a challenge among the ranks. Because in the end, it was all about who was better than who. Usually these were combat trials. See who could clear a course the fastest or lay down the most amount of fire in the shortest time. Typically against bots. Always televised. It had to be. It's part of what made us so damn popular. People down here needed the distraction. We needed to distract them from the fact that we're in hiding, and that the fate of our species was at stake. Races, bot fights, athletic sports, they all did well enough. But blood sports? Watching people fight for their lives. There's no comparison. And true to Terradisian fashion, there was zero accountability for them. It's to test us, keep us combat ready. Why not gamble on the outcome? Why not idolize the people who will fight for our very existence? We're Spartans. We forgone our morality so they could prosper. It was all part of our agreement, way back when Novus Romae was founded. "... so we'll start with the wedge formation and work our way from there. We've done this before and we'll do it again. Got it?" Dolum asks the room. We're all in the armory getting the last bits of our armor on. It's strange to see everyone again. I was happy at first, but that ended quickly. I don't even know if this is real, so I should hold myself back for now. "Who will be the anchors this time?" Eximius asks. "Inficiunt and me," Dolum replies. "Why do I have to be anchor? I was anchor last time!" "Because I said so! Now stop being a little bitch and get your shit together! We're not losing our ranking, you understand?" They continue to argue with each other, but I start to drown them out. There's too much to think about right now. I just want to get this over with so I can have that talk already. Nothing else matters to me right now. What is he going to say? I can think of a few subjects, but I can't imagine the excuses he has! How do you find your child, a child you thought was dead, and just... leave them? Never tell them what they wanted all along was right next to them the entire time. What could drive a person to do that? I can't think of a single reason he would do that... At least, none that aren't depressing, that is. "Miles?" I look over as Tenera takes a seat on the bench beside me. I must have dozed off. I go back to latching on my leggings, trying to ignore her. "How are you holding up?" "That is a question I could even begin to answer properly." I tell her. Real or not, she's still my teammate. It's hardwired for me to answer her. "Cause of your daddy issues?" Inficiunt asks, immediately getting slapped upside the head by Sine. "Don't be an ass Cunt," Fidus chastises. It's even weirder seeing her again. She still has all of her hair. And she's talking! She must not have had... it must not have happened here. "But seriously, Miles? Don't fuck up today. I don't want to lose our ranking." "Fidus!" Tenera snaps, getting her to put her hands up. "We'll be fine. We always have been and we always will be! Now give Miles some space before we head out there!" They all go back to getting ready. Tenera squeezes my shoulder for a moment before leaving me too. I consider her for a moment before finishing attaching my gear back on. That's right, she had a thing for me. I guess things didn't end so poorly here. Given, if nothing happened to Fidus, she would have no reason to hate me. So this isn't an event that has happened before. And judging by how Auxy looked, it couldn't have been too far afterwards either. When is this all supposed to be taking place? A buzzer sounds off in the back of the room. It's time to go. I reach for my helmet... and consider what I'm about to do. This is a test of our power as a unit. But if it's not real, then there's nothing to lose. And there's one easy way to test this all. So I leave the helmet on the table and line up with the others. The door in the back of the room slides open and we file in. Just before us in the small narrow room in another door. Beyond that is the arena. The room can modify itself to create any type of environment. I only recall it making urban setting though. Strange. I wonder if it could create a forest setting. "Ladies," a technician in the small control room beside us says sleazily. He's just some typical guy. Hasn't done anything important, probably never will. His orange jumpsuit has the name Sero stitched into it. "Try not to break a nail, heh heheh!" He opens the door before we can say anything back to him. He's an asshole. Some guy that says shit because he thinks nothing is ever going to happen to him. His perfect little world lets him prey on others that have to work twice as hard as he does, and there's nothing that's ever going to change that. "Miles! GO!" Dare yells at me from behind. I go, but I don't go out the door. I go to the control room and grab his collar. He tries to pry me off, but I drag his sorry ass out into the arena. Those behind me try to stop me, but I push past them. A bright light shines down on us as we step out into the open area. The stands are full of people waiting to see their favorite sport play out. Violence and destruction with total ease of mind, what's not to love? The ground is a synthetic metal meant to be easily replace but still be reasonably durable. It gives an off white glow from the lights in the dome above. Portions of the floor have risen to make the arena into a small sort of valley. Portions of a hill take the left and right side. The far end in flat and leveled, just like our end, with a red flag standing there. Bots have taken positions on both sides of the hill, giving them a clear advantage to defend. The crowd is cheering wildly as we file out from our opening. Those that came out first took off quickly, giving as much covering fire as possible. That cheering starts to waver off as I march straight into the center of the arena. The bots know not to fire at the civilian, giving me a clear line to enter. "You fucking idiot! They'll fucking drop your rank for sure! How much of a coward are you!" The technician growls at me as I force him to walk forward. He's given up on fighting me. He knows he won't win that fight. "There are things I've always wanted to test out. But they're been too unethical to try out. I guess now is as good a time as any, isn't it?" I ask him. He looks back at me and sees that I'm being completely serious. "Whoa-whoa-WHOA! There's no need to do anything ir-irrational! C'mon! Look, we can talk about this! Y-you wouldn't want to lose your rankings, right!?" We stop in the center of the arena and the crowd has gone silent. No one knows what's going on. There isn't any fighting. A civilian has been taken prisoner and they don't know what to think. And they won't know what to do when I get started. All human magic is based off of the human soul We take that energy and manipulate it into various energies or with different matter. Adding water and cooling the energy creates ice. But what happens when you take a living soul and try to manipulate that? And not just a portion of it, like what most healing spells. I mean go into what makes a person's soul and change the script for it. Change the person. What can you do with that? Could I make a bigot empathize? Could I give a weakling power? If we can change the physical makeup of a person, what can't I change the astral makeup of someone? The man is still begging for me to let him go. As far as he knows, I'm going to use him as some sort of flesh shield. His tears do little to sway me though. Even if this turns out to be real, there won't be any real consequences for him. Other than a relatively quick death that is. I flare my hand and shove it straight into his back. He screams in terror as I pierce right into his soul and start to manipulate it. This terrifies me. He has a soul. I know now, without a doubt, that this is not a dream. My mind cannot create another soul. It simply cannot happen. But that just raises even more questions. I know my time in Equestria was real, there were souls there as well. But, for now, I'll end this fight so I can start answering my questions. I treat this as I would when making the Elements. Manifested intent. Take what was hatred and make it something else. What will happen? Will I change what makes him hate? Will changing that make him a different person altogether? Or will changing something about him force his body to reject his soul? So many possibilities. That's why I tested it on rocks before. If I had tested it on people there would have been too many variables. But now... let's see... FWWTHNK My shoulder is pulled back when a round slams into me. It's enough to stagger me back, but it doesn't pierce my armor. A bot has taken a shot. They must have thought there was some sort of mistake. Civilians aren't allowed in here after all, they had to figure out what was going on. Took them long enough. I take my free hand and raise a shield as they all start to fire down on me. They're being careful not to hit Sero. I guess he did turn out to be a flesh shield. I can feel the tethers of intent and will that make up his soul. It almost feels as if I'm grabbing a bundle of cables that tie him together. Some feel... stronger, than others. Some feels loose, while others seem... slippery. I've never done this within a person before, so it's all new grounds really. Normally I would do this in some sort of simulation or write out formulas for weeks on end. Have it peered reviewed. Test spells. Not today. I can hear all of my friends yelling at me. They don't understand what's going on with me or what I'm doing. All of the bots are focusing on me, moving to flank me. Pretty soon I'll have to address them. If I had more time I could attempt to do something with the guy, but that's simply something I won't be able to do. How am I going to deal with all of this? I have a few seconds before I need to act. I can think of something by then. I should try using some of the new spells I've learned in Equestria. If they work, then that's proof that my time there was real. Or, at least, it'll be evidence. Darkness? No, they don't need light to see. Flare? No, their lens's should be able to compensate for that too. Stupid advance machines. Machines... that'll do. I take one last look around before pushing Sero forward and leaping into the air. The bots follow right after me, sending bolts of energy up and towards me. When I make it a decent height up I kick the air behind me and magically propel myself towards the ground. This does a good job of avoiding their fire and getting me into position to hit as many of them as possible. When I hit the ground I set off my spell with as much power as possible. Rust. I don't know how this wasn't a spell that I knew already. It's fairly obvious now that I think about it. And simple. Adding water to metal and forcing it to oxidize. I guess with water being a limited resource here, using it as a weapon wasn't on everyone's mind. Still, it's clearly effective. A wave of red-orange energy ripples through the ranks and forces the machines to slow to a halt. Their metal bodies turn to rust and crack under the pressure. They are made to withstand magic, at least slightly, but not at this level. Sadly, going at such a high level has a secondary effect. I was willing to hit myself for this, but I also hit all of my teammates. As well as part of the stadium too. Several civilians are screaming bloody murder at me, angered that I rusted their phones or watches. I don't care right now. This fight is over now. And that's what I wanted. "Miles!" I try to turn to look back, but my rusted armor makes it nearly impossible to do so. Captain Bellum comes walking into view, infuriated. I don't care. I want my answers, and I wasn't going to wait to play these little games. And I had the added bonus of finding out how real this all is. "Sweet Abigail boy! The fuck is wrong with you?" "Oh sweet Barbra..." That doesn't prove anything until he admits it! How times have I heard that before!? Maybe it's just something I learned from him? "Are you looking to be court marshaled? Are you really looking to throw everything away and rot in jail to... to... I don't even know what you're trying to prove here!" he yells, pacing before me. "I have questions I want answered, Susurrans." I reply, still stuck in my attack pose. I try to get up to be standing, but I guess I over did it. "First and foremost, do not disrespect me like that. I will put you in your place soldier! Do not test me." "I would be scared if you weren't a coward." The crowd around us gasps at that. I... honestly forgot they were there for a moment. I guess we're doing this live. "Tell me. Tell me now or be branded a coward by all of Terradisia, Susurrans Bellum. Who is Eremita!?" The Captain stops before me and stares down. Not at me though. He's looking down... in shame. I've never seen him so... scared. Ashamed. Sad. I'm pressing something that clearly means everything to him. But my moment of pity is lost almost immediately when he remains silent. Pure anger and resentment swells up within me as I stare up at him, waiting for him to finally speak. I try to move, but I don't make any real progress. This rust was a really bad idea, now that I think about it. There's a silence in the air as the entire audience awaits his answer. I doubt anyone knows what's really going on. But this drama is worse than any drug out there for them. This is the entertainment they live for. Wonder what they're going to do with whatever answer they receive. "Eremita... was my Captain. She was what a Spartan Captain should be... and I will not allow you to tarnish her legacy." Before I could question him further the rusted metal around me rips apart and flies past me. I couch a few times as the dust bellows around me. Captain Bellum stands before me, sword at the ready, hands flared, waiting for me to engage him. "Fight me or submit to my authority!" he bellows at me. That's out of character for him. He's not one to yell. Maybe I'm not thinking this clearly or maybe I just don't care, but I raise my arms and flare my hands. I want to fight him. I want to challenge his authority. I want to see if I can beat him. He takes a step left, so I step right. I'm at a disadvantage right now. No weapons, no armor, just my magic. I do have one edge over him though. I know what that sword does. He takes another step left, so I step right once more. It stores energy within it and sends it back on attacks. While that's not too crazy, it's the raw amount of energy that it can store that is impressive. I don't think I could fill it in a reasonable amount of time by myself. And that much raw energy coming back at you, it's enough to make me think twice. We step again. And the storing energy bit. Any momentum coming towards him will be absorbed by that sword and stored to come back at me. Throwing large objects won't be effective, no matter how large they are. My best bet is to attempt a direct spell that can get past his sword. But if his sword is that insane, what does his armor do? "Have you finally learned patience? Or are you just scared to attack?" he mocks, getting the crowd to chatter. They probably think this is some grand play for them. Something to entertain them, like the ancient Roman gladiators. This is their blood sport. Their daily distraction from the impending doom. The world is a little less claustrophobic when you get to bet on the outcome of a battle. And we Spartans play our parts, willfully feeding their falsehoods. "I know what that sword does now." I tell him as we continue to step around each other. My friends are being carted off the field, still stuck in their armor. "And it benefits me to wait. All I need is one opening-" Before I could finish he stepped forward and took a swing at me. I was able to step out of the way of the blade, but he was able to swing it once more. I keep my distance from him as I wait for my chance. His attacks are quick and precise. He's calculating each swing, leading them towards some big payout. But he won't be able to get it. I see my opening when he goes to swing his sword back around. I thrust my arm forward and attempt to blast him back. Something goes terribly wrong. It doesn't make sense to me, it shouldn't even be possible! His opening was a trap. He gave an opening so he could bring his hand in position to catch my attack. He caught the beam of energy and is holding it in his fist! As if it was a physical rod of some sort! The excess energy is blasting away behind him, billowing dark clouds in the distance. Even worse, I'm somehow stuck casting the spell. The area behind him is being obliterated by my destructive magic, but he has total control over it. "You are smart, and you have power to spare. But there is much for you to learn." I watch in terror as he sets his sword against my beam of energy. I feel it contact, but it ignores the physics of my spell and sits against it, gathering energy at a high rate. Etchings along the blade slowly start to appear one the weapon, making their way up from the hilt. "Do you think I am Captain because I have a fancy sword? Or maybe I just knew the right people." "I don't care how you became Captain. All I care about is the truth!" I try to break free, but it's as if he has a grasp of my very soul! "Be careful of what you wish for. The truth is never as easy as the lies we live with." He releases my magic and takes a readied stance. The spell finally ends, giving me a moment's respite. "Yield." I take a deep breath and look up to him. I can see the etching on his blade starting to spell something out. E,R,E. With the raw amount of energy he's absorbed, a single swing from that sword could rip a tank in half. He doesn't even need to hit me at this point. All he really needs to do is hit near me and the resulting explosion would do the rest of the work. "You can't win Miles," he says to me in his usual quiet tone. Soft, slow, deliberate. He's being careful with what he says. But he's saying what he takes as fact. "You could yield and re-challenge me. But it'll just come back to this. You can't hold this position, and that's what matters most. You can't be Captain if you can't hold the title. And you can't hold onto power if people believe they can challenge you. Without unquestionable authority, you cannot lead these soldiers." "And what if I had something none of them could touch? And what if I had something so powerful that matter itself crumbles before it?" I have Icy Void. Nothing can stand before that. It's my final trick. My last chance. "I have been to the voider plane. I have seen the world without, the place that has never been. I have spoken with the husks that line the here and the there. There is nothing you can do that I can't do better. Yield. Regain your thoughts, there is still much for you to learn." I stumble back when he says this. What the fuck is the voider plane!? What the fuck are all of those redundancies supposed to mean!? I try to think of something to say, something I could do, but... if what he's saying is true, there's nothing I can do to him. Every trick I've ever thought of, every edge I thought I had, he's been four steps ahead of me. No matter what I do, I'll never be the Captain he was. I'll never be as good as him. "I yield." My pride is crushed. I drop to my knees as my shame starts to overtake me. I came to terms that this was something that I could reign over him. Something that I could fantasize about that would defeat him and make me his equal. But those were just dreams. He's been ahead of me the entire time. I have nothing that could ever stand to touch him. How can I call myself Captain when I'm so clearly outclassed? He sets his sword down and approaches me. I can't look at him right now. I can't because he's my better, and I can't bring myself to look up to him again. He takes a knee just before me and sets a hand on my shoulder. It... calms me, ever so slightly. There is no animosity between us, despite the cruel words I spoke. I look up to him and can sense his acknowledgement and understanding. "Your journey has just started Miles." He slips something into my pocket. I try to look, but he grips my shoulder more firmly, forcing me to look up to him. "In time you will learn of your mother's past. You cannot avoid it. But... there are secrets that you will have to learn. Secrets that will shake you to your core. Listen well and let your flame guide you. And though we walk the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil. It's time you started to learn of your father's past, and why you will never meet him." CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP I look back and feel my blood boil as he starts to approach the two of us. He looks just as I remembered him. Thin, pale, long blonde hair that's tied back. And those eyes. Those piercing red eyes! With that crooked, smug smile of his! The man that took everything from me! The man that tormented me and belittled me! The man that killed my father! Altum Stans! "How quaint of you two to have this little spat of yours-" He started to talk. He tried to mock me once more. But I will not have it. Never again will allow him to belittle me! Even if it didn't happen, even if it was just some sort of dream, his existence is too much for me to bear. Just as he was about to move past me I shot up and swung for his face. My fist aimed true and I was mere hairs away from breaking his jaw. At the moment of contact I punched a hole in the wood paneling of the lodge. It takes me a moment to realize what just happened. In the nano seconds it took for me to punch Altum, I have somehow appeared back in the lodge where I was before all this madness started. I feel myself shake as I look around, unsure of what is happening. I take a few tentative steps for the door before I break into a sprint. I burst outside and slow to a stop. Lights are strung throughout the street, giving off a warm glow. A large bonfire is set in the center of town as everybody is preparing for some sort of festival. I can see all of my Spartans here. Storm, True Will, Dust, High Flier, Shifted, all of them. I'm back in Equestria. I'm... home? I reach into my pocket and pull out a thumb drive. Whatever clue he was about to give me, whatever secret he was about to share, I have in the palm of my hand. Susurrans Bellum will return in Whispers of War
Chapter 252 Alone With NothingChapter 252 Alone With Nothing I can hear the clamor of people around me. I can see them approaching, tentative and scared. I can feel them pulling me to a nearby bench and seating me. Water pours over my head and starts to wash the rust from me. I even couch a bit from it all. But none of it seems real to me. Was this all a dream? Where was I? And where was I before that? Nothing here makes any sense, even as magic is used on and around me. I can feel their presence from within. Which is what I was taught to believe to be real. It's here, with me, in this place. But I'm starting to doubt that anything is real now. "Miles?" I look over to Storm as he sets a hoof on my shoulder. "What happened?" I consider the question for a moment. It's hard to answer, but at the same time it's easy. "I went home." He gives me a confused look before taking his hoof back. He can tell that there's more to it then just that, but he's not going to press the issue. He's a good friend like that. "No, but seriously, what happened?" Damian asks from across the bench. I ignore him as I look around the town a bit more. The decorations are new, meaning someone came here and put them up. Everyone seems to be preparing for a large festival, but I can't recall anything that would be coming up right now. Not unless it's someone's birthday. But even then that doesn't make sense. Why would the whole town be getting ready for something like that? ... and then it hits me. "What day is it?" I ask as I start to stand, tripping slightly over the bench. Those around me hesitate to answer. But I can already tell what it is. But if that's true, then that means I've been gone for almost a week. How can that possibly make sense? I spent a day in the past, but it math'd out like that? One day there is a week here? How could that possibly make any sense? "It's Friday Miles," Storm starts to tell me. "The Grand Galloping Gala is about to start... Nationwide." I chuckle. When I chuckle, I chuckle some more. Is this some kind of sick, cruel joke? I should have had a week to mentally prepare for this! And then... then... that happens, and I show up just as the Grand Galloping Gala is about to start! Not even just that! No! I show up to the Grand Galloping Gala, nationals! The universe hates me. The stars have aligned in such a perfect manner that they all get to butt fuck me without so much as spitting first! "Miles... you're scaring me," Storm tells me. I grab a nearby drink and down its content in one full swing. I was hoping for alcohol, but got fruit punch instead. I toss the cup behind me and start to back away, getting everyone to follow after me. "Oh sweet Barbra... oh sweet Barbra... OH SWEET BARBRA!" I yell as I start to grab at my hair, tripping over a chair along the way. "Miles... take it easy. Let's sit back down and relax for a minute, okay? Let's not do anything brash," Storm cautions as he follows me, keeping a safe distance. "OH SWEET BARBRA!" Everyone jumps back from me as I pull my hair and start to have the world's largest panic attack. This isn't happening! Nope! I've clearly gone insane and this is my mind punishing me. What else would be happening right now? Clearly not that! Anything but that! I'd take an Unfamiliar invasion over this! A dragon attack! I... I... I'd take a day in prison over this! Can I get imprisoned right now? If I can trick the bots and do something simple enough, probably. I could start a fight, whose the closest to me that is a civilian? Na-Da? No... not her. Bad Brew? ... that could work. "Miles?" That voice does wonders for me. I soothes me in ways no other voice can. Like a cool cloth to a scorching wound. Look over to Luna as she sits beside me, wrapping her silky wing over my back as she pulls me in for a light hug. I can smell a perfume wafting over her. She's wearing an ornate dress of black and blue and has a few pieces of jewelry added to her usual get up. "I'm glad you're back." "... glad to be back... what'd I miss?" I ask her quietly, softly leaning against her. She supports my weight easily, gently resting her head against mine. "Oh, the usual. Political rivalries, Shadow trying to systematically destroy Diamond Tiara, Tempestive getting into his usual hi-jinks; pretty standard week really. You?" I hesitate to answer her at first, but force myself to speak. I could never lie to her really. I don't see how now is any different. "I went home." My answer confuses her, so I elaborate. "I woke up in Topaz Falls. I was in my bed, as if nothing had happened. Auxy, Dolum... Susurrans, they were all there. It was as if nothing had happened at all. I was even able to check for other souls! It was real! I can't explain it, but it was real Luna. I went back to a time where the attack never happened. I went home." The crowd around us starts to murmur with one another. Questions are being raised. Uncertainty is settling within the town. Luna takes a look around and nods to Storm. He, along with the other Spartans, start to disperse the crowd, letting them know that everything is going to be okay. "Let's get you home so you can get cleaned up, okay?" Luna asks as she stands. She offers me her hoof and helps me up. My knees nearly give out on me, but she gives me the support I need. I stare at her for a moment before nodding. After all of this, and she's still here, helping me. Of all the things to fear, I know now that her leaving will never be one of them. There is a powerful comfort in knowing that. In having proof of that. The line is... pretty far out there. So far I don't think I could reach it even if I wanted to. We walk back home together. I keep quiet though. I don't want to say anything further. It would only sour the night. Though, I'm pretty sure it's already soured. Luna is giving me glances, waiting for me to do or say something. Or maybe she's expecting me to just up and disappear again. It's hard to tell, and I wish I could give her the answer. We make it home to find it too quite. The kids must not be here. I take a few steps around and stop in the middle of the living room. I don't really know what to do with myself right now. Should I go out and pretend nothing happened? Should I stay home and try to relax? It feels like I just got out of a car accident and I'm trying to piece everything together. "First, why don't you take a shower," Luna tells me as she walks up beside me. "I need to send a few letters out, but we'll spend the day here so you can relax-" "No!" I scare myself with how quick I said that. I wasn't expecting to just blurt that out. But there was something in her tone of voice. I don't think it was intentional, but there was a clear sign of disappointment coming from her. She must have been looking forward to this night. Maybe because I never join her for these kinds of things, or maybe she was looking forward to the distraction. Either way, she wanted this night. "No... there was too much planning and effort for this night. I... I can tough it out. I'll take a shower and get dressed." She gives me a concerned look before reaching forward and grabbing my hand. "Miles, that's not necessary. With everything that just happened, I don't think going out to the public right now would be the best idea. Especially with how the night is going to go. You should stay home and relax." I think about it for a moment before shaking my head. Tonight is too important for her to take it easy. I know she wanted this night. Not to mention the world will be looking. I cannot afford to appear as weak. Both as the leader of the Spartans, and the king of Equestria. This is not a night for me. "Give me twenty minutes to shower and change and I'll be ready to go." She gives me a concerned look, but I do my best to ignore it for the time being. I have a job to fulfill. Nothing else should get in the way of that. I took twice as long as usual to shower up. The amount of rust all over me was astounding. I didn't think about anything during either. I'm too focused at the task at hand to really reflect on anything. I don't even know where I'm supposed to be at this moment. My assumption is that we'll spend the night at Canterlot Castle, but this is supposed to be a nationwide gala. Shouldn't that mean that we're supposed to be everywhere? Pinkie should have the answers, as she planned... all of this, so I should really meet up with her. When I dry off I go to the closet to find something to wear and find a suit with a note. It's made for me in pony form and is a simple black jacket with a white button up and black tie. The pink paper and glitter ribbon tells me that the note is from Pinkie, so I read it. Miles, I had Rarity throw this together for you! It should fit, but if not she can make some last second adjustments at Canterlot. In your pocket there should be a note with a schedule (Luna has one too). Assuming you're back in time, just follow the instructions and you should see most of the parties major gala events! Also, you need to be in pony form. I have Easy in disguise with the Spartans (Did you know he can make holograms!? How cool is that??? We also got him to sound just like you!!!). When they show up to Canterlot he should appear as you. So, get changed and get going! Bye! P.S. I hid a little flask in the other pocket in your jacket. Just in case. I go through the jacket and find the flask she mentioned. I almost cry as I twist the top off and take a swig... I almost cry again when I realize that it's hard cider. It's nice, but it won't be enough to take the edge off. Especially at the amount. It's okay, I'll find something along the way and top it off. I'll be fine. But that does raise another problem. How am I going to change myself? Normally I'd do something that would knock me out, but I don't want to do that now. I'm afraid that if I do, it'll force me back to Topaz Falls. But I don't know how I'm going to change otherwise. There has to be another way, and I have ten minutes tops to figure it out! "I'm doomed." I mutter as I stare at the suit. "Miles?" I jump from Lunas voice. She enters the room as stops at the entrance of the closet. She takes one look at the suit and sighs. "It'll be fine love. I don't want you hurting yourself. Just stay here and relax. I'll send the letters and it'll all be fine." "It won't be fine," I tell her, a little to aggressively. I take a step back and try to calm down. She's being patient. She better than me like that. "I know you've been looking forward to this. And there's a lot riding on tonight. If I want to call myself Captain of the Spartans, or King of Equestria, or... whatever title there is, I need to be more than just a man. If there's a way to just... turn this all around, or flip it... I don't know! There has to be a way of making this work!" I step back and lean against the wall. I know she's right. There isn't a way we can fix this right now. I'm just being stubborn and making it her problem. I should be better than that. I look over to apologize, but see that she's deep in thought. Something I said seems to have resonated with her. I want to ask, but she's piecing it together still. She has a very obvious thinking face. "I was helping Pinkie with the hologram earlier in the week and Twilight was there. She kept asking about the enchantment and how it functioned and... and it all came back to how human magic functions differently from pony magic. Pony magic flows inward while human magic flows outward. What if... somehow, we got the energy within to... switch? Maybe it's not that you're going unconscious, but, rather, you're forcing yourself to alter the course of your magic?" I give it a moments thought but come to several dead ends. I've changed before without knocking myself out. Though, it was far and few between. But she is on to something. Something is... altering me. Giving me that push to switch. But... what? "Harmony." "What?" I ask. She's clearly made some sort of epiphany, but there seems to be a catch to it. I look down to my arms and note that I don't have them. Which is odd. I had them before I went to Topaz, but I didn't have them there. Where did they go? Are they what made all of this happen? "My hunch is that this all has to do with the alignment you're in. Somehow, you're either too close to the Elements of Solitude, or Harmony, or too far, I don't know. Either way, I think they are messing with you somehow. But... I don't know how to test this idea." I think about it for a second before shaking my head. "There is no way of testing this. Not without having someone who knows more about this present. And I don't know how to test this kind of idea. I've had the Elements with me before, and I've been without them. And in the end, we have maybe ten minutes to get me to change before we go out tonight. Not that it isn't good thinking, but we need the quick fix for tonight." "What we need is an expert in this matter," Luna tells me, stepping forward. "I need to speak with Soul Fire." "... how do you plan to do that?" I ask nervously. In all honesty, she's right. He would be the one to talk to. But... do we really have time for this right now? "I... don't know. We've never voluntarily spoken," she tells me, stepping into the bedroom to sit on the bed. I walk towards her and lean against the doorway of the closest. There has to be some sort of trend that can help us. But I'm never really... aware, when these things happen. "What happens when he does want to speak with you? What does he... or I, do?" She thinks about it for a moment, staring me over as she recalls every change I've ever done. "Well... for starters, you're magic maxes out every time. Your eyes... either they roll into the back of your head or they glow with energy. Also, your voice deepens and... you always grab my horn." This already sounds too dangerous. "Miles-" "I'm not going to do that Luna," I cut her off. "It may be the only way Miles. We can't be afraid to try-" "Is this really the time though? Aren't you supposed to be in Canterlot by now?" My questions seems to anger her slightly. "Miles, this is more important. Yes, the Gala tonight is important too. But being able to speak with Soul Fire on a whim is far more valuable than swaying a few nobles. Imagine what he can teach us about magic! About how to control your changes! We should have been trying this sooner in all honesty." I try to think of something to argue with, but I can tell it would be pointless. She has that determined look on her face. She isn't going to budge on this. I have a feeling this is going to be as bad as when I was shooting Damian with Icy Void. But, I guess we're going to just roll with the punches again. "Okay... so... how are we going to do this?" Luna pauses for a second before pulling herself completely on the bed. At the same time, she levitates me to the other side. A little too forcefully for my taste. She takes a moment to get comfortable before giving me a determined look. "Okay. Max out your magic and grab my horn. And... if memory serves me right, you should be able to do this without harming me. At least, that's what I recall in the past. And then... we'll see what happens from there." I try to think of any last rebuttals before doing this. But there aren't any. And stalling will only make matters worse. I take a moment to remove my clothes, using the remedial task as my last moment of clarity. With that done, I begrudgingly start to flare my magic. Immediately I feel something is off and I'm reminded that I have a new set of potestam annuls on my arms. It's strange to think that, even though I've had them off for such a long time, that they still felt natural on me. I have to push a little harder to get past them, something that feels practiced yet foreign to me. After some effort, I get past them and manage the rest easily enough. We give each other a look before I do anything further. She puts on a determined face before nodding to me. It amazes me how she can appear so brave when I'm so scared. She has a drive to find answers that inspires me, while terrifying me at the same time. I take a deep breath and nod back to her before reaching forward. I pause just before I grab her horn, but force myself to close the distance between us. I wait for something to happen as I wrap my fingers around her horn. At first, nothing happens. I guess it wasn't going to be that easy after all. Luna seems to have a thought though. She starts to flare her magic and I feel something within me start to stir. I can't fully describe it, but... it's like a breath of fresh air hitting you when you didn't know you were hot. Some part of me starts guiding the rest of the way. I focus in on that energy. It's... like a road, with two lanes of traffic flowing through it. Since we're trying to figure my stuff out, I start to let the energy towards me. Luna seems to have had a similar idea. I can feel her pushing in towards me, rushing the energy into me. It starts to become uncomfortable though. Like when you down a beverage when you're too full. I try to slow it down, but the floodgates have been opened and it starts to become too much for me. In a panic, I try to let go, but I can't move my fingers! They feel welded to her! I close my eyes and try to yell out, but nothing comes out. Everything turns white, and I feel myself start to fall. Perspective: Luna I feel drained, but ecstatic! It worked. I've made my way into his mind once more! But, something is off. The white field is still there, but I don't see any of the panels of memories. As far as I can tell, there isn't anything here. I turn around, expecting to catch something sneaking up on me, but there is nothing to see. "Come on Miles, give me something to work with," I mutter as I start to walk around. My hoof steps echo lightly in the empty space, driving home how alone I am. Where did Miles go? "What's that?" In the distance I can see a speck. It's too far to make out, so I hurry towards it. I give my wings a try, but nothing happens. That's the same at least. I try my own magic as well, finding similar results. When I feel that I've made no progress I start to gallop. But now it seems as if I'm making no progress at all! Galloping turns to running, which in turn becomes a full force sprinting. The speck slowly becomes the silhouette of a person, pushing me to run even faster. The distant figure slowly turns towards me, and my perception is thrown off when it appears before me. I brace myself to stop and crash, but it never happens. I just... stop. Was I even moving to begin with? The figure before me fills me with an eerie dread I've not felt in a long time. It appears to be a solid white skeleton that's hunched over. It's disfigured, with one arm being far too small and its legs curved and bent incorrectly. Its head is oddly shaped, being one solid stricture with a pointed chin and a round skull. Its eyes are just two indents that seem to pierce into me coldly. "Who are you?" I ask as I try to back peddle. The figure hobbles towards me, rubbing its hands together slowly as it bores into me with it's icy stare. "Can you grasp the concept of... nothing?" It asks in a voice that's barely over a dry whisper. "Are... are you Corpus Glacius?" I ask as I try to widen the gap between us. "Could you imagine going from nothing... to being a part of everything? Do you know the pain there is in being taunted with such splendor?" I stop moving as I think about what he said. "I do." He stops and eyes me quizzically. "I was imprisoned on the moon. Or, within the moon. All I had were my thoughts, but those ran out after... days." "What did you have after that?" "... anger. Rage. All I had was... what I planned to do when I was free. I knew it would happen eventually. But... I didn't have a concept of time. So all I had was the thought that... one day... I would be free." It stings to think about this. The memories flood in so easily. A thousand years of being driven by one thought is not forgotten so quickly. "You and I, we are one in the same. We have risen from the ashes. And now... and now we are poised to claim what is rightfully ours. Time is on our side, we just need to be patient. One false move, one over step, and not even the intruder can stop us." "... what intruder?" He ignores my questions. A darkness emanates from behind him and starts to drape itself all over his body. I try to stand my ground, but the darkness starts to make him grow to the point where I have to look up to him. "Even a pawn can kill a king. Patience blue one, your time will come. We all just need to have patience. Nothing... last forever..." I awake back in the bedroom with my head draped off the edge of the bed. Miles is on the floor beneath me in his alicorn form. Whatever we did worked, but did we really do anything? We created more questions than answers. There is some form of turmoil happening within Miles right now. Whatever it is, I don't know what there is for me to do to help. Where was Soul Fire? Why did Corpus look like that? And what did he mean by an intruder? My trail of thought ends when Miles mumbles awake. He lifts his head slowly and takes a look at himself. A moment later a firework draws his attention outside and he begins to stand. "It worked, I'll be damned. What happened?" he asks, keeping his gaze outside. "I'm... not sure... Nothing happened really." I don't know how to put it into words. I need a moment to really think on it. "That's... good. That's really good actually. Give me a minute to finish getting ready and we'll get going." He moves to grab his suit, but I reach out and stop him. "How... how do you feel? Is everything okay?" I ask him, unsure how to approach the subject. He takes a moment to consider the question before shrugging to me. "I honestly feel fine. A bit of a stiff neck, but that's to be expected. Did something happen in there?" I try to think of an answer, but I don't want to stress him. "It... yes, something happened. But, I can't really think of a way to phrase it that won't stress you. Can I think on it for a few days before I tell you?" He nods to me before leaning down and gives me a kiss on the cheek. I welcome the affection, feeling better already. "Of course, but the sooner the better, love. Now, the night still seems young, and I am far too sober for what we're about to do. Let's get shitfaced already." I laugh a little at that. He helps me to my hooves and we look to each other for a moment. I move in and hug him. He takes it as affection, but it's really out of worry. I'm worried I'm going to lose him soon. Author's Note Sorry for the delay on this chapter. I had to go through several rewrites before I was comfortable with the end result. In other news, I have opened a Discord for the Mowverse group! You can join in on the link below. If you don't have a discord don't sweat it, it's free to join. MoWverse Discord! Also, more content will soon be coming to the Mowverse Group herer on Fimfiction! So be sure to join for more lore and Ponyrun Forums! Mowverse Group. Brony on!
Chapter 253 Waiting in the MoonlightChapter 253 Waiting in the Moonlight Perspective: Storm Cloud I take another deep breath as I tap my hoof on Miles' doorstep. I've been waiting for him to leave so I could speak with him about something that's really important. If Pinkies itinerary is to be believed, he should be coming to Ponyville soon... and by soon, I mean an hour ago. If I wait any longer, Twilight will be mad at me... She might already be mad at me. She's mad at me. But I need to talk with Miles! I only have ten minutes before it's too late. Click "Mies!" I yell before looking, making Luna jump. I chuckle a bit in awkwardness as she stares down at me. She's... the last person I should speak to right now. "Uh... sorry about that. Is... Miles in there?" She gives me an odd look before looking back inside. "Miles, your husband needs to speak with you." I laugh a little at that. I guess this is what Twilight was talking about when she said I rely on Miles too much. "Storm, what's going on?" Miles asks as he steps out. He's in his alicorn form and wearing a sharp black suit that has blue undertones. Luna is also dressed up beautifully; wearing a long flowing black dress that has dark green highlights. "Um..." "Now is not the time for ums Storm," Miles chastises, making me nervous. I'm suddenly unsure if these were the right choices to make or not. But, I guess there's only one way to know for sure. "Crypteia, zero-zero, Helots, Agiads, Torto, Evito. Volenti non fit iniuria." "Oh, I like that! What's it for?" Luna asks, making me even more nervous. Miles stares at me for a moment before giving a soft chuckle. I always forget that she can speak Latin. This isn't the first time this has gotten me into trouble either. "Ah, it's just Spartan lingo. If you could give us a minute to talk I'll catch up with you, okay love?" Miles tells Luna, giving her a sincere smile. She smiles back before nodding to me. I nod goodbye to her and we watch her walk away together. That went easily enough. I guess- YANK SLAM "ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE!?" Miles yells at me after dragging me inside and slamming me against the door. "What!? NO!" I yell back, trying to defend myself. "I didn't know what to do! You disappeared and we needed something to get things rolling! I read it in one of your files-" "So this is my fault!?" "NO! Maybe? WHY WOULD YOU PLAN SOMETHING LIKE THIS IF YOU WEREN'T GOING TO DO IT?" I can't help but feel tiny right now. It doesn't help that he is twice my size. "It was under a file that's called “DON'T DO”! DID YOU NOT READ THAT!?" I think back to reading over his files and recall questioning the titles of a few of them. I guess he was being more literal than I thought. "So... should I call off the mission then?" I ask timidly. Miles stares at me for a moment before letting out a long growl of a sigh. "Yes, Storm, call off the mission. Unless you want to explain to Luna and Celestia why their capital was suddenly leveled." I go to leave, but he has one last thing to say before I do. "Stop acting like you're new to this Storm. These aren't the actions of a Grand Lieutenant. At least, not of those that are trying to survive." It stings to hear that. This is all I have in life really. Aside from family that is. I keep screwing things up and it's making all of the Spartans look bad. I turn and walk away, keeping my head held high. I can't keep appearing weak. I have to hold onto what little pride I have left right now. At least until I'm out of eyesight from anyone. I make my way towards Ponyville where I take a sky carriage to Canterlot. The palace guards spoke to me, but I barely acknowledged them. Looking back it seems so obvious now, and I feel like a complete idiot. But, at the time, it was all I could think to do. Our leader was gone. We had no orders. Things kept changing all around us! The Grand Galloping Gala was going to happen and we didn't have anything to show for it. We all know the war is going to happen. The only reason the Gala is happening on such a large scale is to stir the ponies of Equestria into a nationalistic fervor. Looking at a plan like this one, it made sense. It would have been the catalyst for ponies to scream for war! If this isn't the plan for tonight, then what is? Canterlot is alive tonight. The lights of countless parties make each corner and alley shine brightly, making it all appear as one massive festival. Many larger cities dot the horizon in a similar fashion, giving Equestria a lively glow. My chariot lands in the royal airport and I waste no time looking for Night Fury. He should be spending his time with the other Night Guards up in the towers of the castle. Flying over the palace grounds I get a perfect view of the festivities below. Every noble, celebrity, and pony of note is here at the castle. Even the most secluded of celebrities are here, how could they not? The decorations are bright and cheerful, yet still tasteful somehow. Pinkie pulled out all of her best tricks and nothing was overlooked. She's really outdone herself. In between the two main towers of the castle is a flat section of roofing that has been turned into a small party. Members of the Night Corps. have joined here. Guards, bat ponies, Shadowbolts, as well as the elusive Night Magii are here. Dancing, chatting, drinking. I recognize several familiar faces from my time in the Night Guard. I make my way towards the crowd and start to look for Night Fury. This is his rendezvous point, and I still have a few minutes till he leaves. "Looking for something?" I stop and look back and sigh internally from the familiar face. "Captain North Star, it's good to see you." I shake hooves with the bat pony. He's wearing his Shadowbolt attire, something I find a little odd. Last time we were together I really didn't get to interact with him. He seems older than I recall. I can spot a few grays in his dark blue mane. The rest of him is still a mystery to me. "Lieutenant Storm Cloud, odd to find you here," he states bluntly. He doesn't want me here. "Is there something you're looking for?" "I'm looking for one of my subordinates, have you seen Night Fury?" I ask him. He nods towards the edge of the building and leaves me. I look over see his silhouette sitting before the moon. Eager, I take to the air and fly to him. I land a bit behind him and take a moment to read him over. He's staring down at the gardens below. Something he's looking at is causing him some sort of pain, but I can't tell what sort of pain it is. Either way, I have to care of business first. "Crypteia, zero-zero, Helots, Agiads, Torto, Evito. Volenti non fit iniuria." I tell him, but he doesn't seem to notice I'm here. He's too preoccupied by whatever he's staring at. A bit irritated, I step closer to glance down below. He's staring down at one of the gardens. There's a sizable crowd standing before a cart. Two ponies -an adult and a foal- are on the cart performing for the crowd. A few flashes go off and I hear the crowd react positively. It takes me a minute to realize who I'm staring at. "The mission is off, why don't you go down there?" I ask him as I take a seat to his left. "I can't," he states plainly. "Why not?" "It would throw her off. I've tried before in the past. I always throw her off. I'd only ruin the show. Besides, I'd rather she enjoy the night anyway." "You're the sneakiest pony I know. Why not just go down there and hide in the back. The view would be better and-" "She'd find me. She has before. She's the only one who knows to look for me. She can't see me from here, so this'll suffice." It irritates me to hear him sound so defeated. I can't accept that he would just do nothing about this! "I'll never understand you Night Fury." I tell him, standing up. "If you do nothing she's going to pass you by. You need to put in the work for her so she won't mess up the next time you appear. If you love her why not try again and again and again until you succeed? Is she not worth the effort?" [Set to Wait for it] Nightly Ruse writes me a letter everyday It keeps my heart warm while I'm away I'm fighting half the world, trying to keep it together I don't know why I fight anymore, if it's not for her. The small crowd has taken notice of us and has slowly encircled us. I try to say something, but he continues. Love doesn't discriminate between those in front or behind, it takes and it takes and it takes And we keep loving anyway. We laugh and we cry and we break and we make our mistakes And if there's a reason I'm a part of her crowd, no longer invisible, then I'm willing to wait for it I step forward and stand by his side. I can see the confliction in his face. But he's standing tall despite it all. The moonlight shinning brightly down on the two of us. My grandmother was a by the books leader But all of her stories and I didn't heed her. My father was a genius, my mother commanded respect. When they died all they left me was a name, a fury deep inside. Death doesn't discriminate between those in front or behind, it takes and it takes and it takes And we keep living anyway. We laugh and we cry and we break and we make our mistakes And if there's a reason I'm still alive when everyone has died, I'm willing to wait for it... I'm willing to work for it. Wait for it! Work for it! He takes off into the air, almost dancing in the moonlight. I rush to the edge and jump after him as we soar high into the air. I am the only thing in life I can control wait for it, work for it wait for it, work for it I am an individual, I am original wait for it, work for it wait for it, work for it I am not falling behind nor accepting fate wait for it, work for it wait for it, work for it I am not standing still, I am lying in wait! wait wait wait He snaps his wings open and comes to an abrupt stop. I join him as dozens of other pegasi fly past us. Storm you face a down wind flight, with no end is sight, with so little to lose Your pace is relentless, with endless chances What is it like in your shoes? We begin to fall together, the crowd slowly catching up behind us. You never hesitate. You never consider restraint You take and you take and you take And you keep winning anyway. The game changes but the stakes never raise And if there's a reason you can thrive when so few survive the gods damn it I'm willing to wait for it... I'm willing to work for it! He takes off quickly, darting away towards the towers. I give chase, following him as he circles around the tall structures. Life doesn't discriminate between those in front or behind, it takes and it takes and it takes And we keep living anyway. We laugh and we cry and we break and we make our mistakes And if there's a reason I'm still alive when everyone has died, I'm willing to Wait for it Wait for it Work for it We make it to the top of the tower as the rest of the pegasi fly down past us. He keeps his wings open and lands on his back, the curvature of the tower nestling him into a seated position, his eyes lazily drawn to the stars above. I stay in the air beside him as I try to think of what to say. What is there to say? Sorry for my good fortune? Tell him to chin up and hope for the best? Nothing I say will sway his mind, because his mind is already made up. He's not looking for an apology. He's looking for a victory. "Make sure the Captain sees you when he arrives." I leave it at that. Business as usual. He nods slowly, barely acknowledging my order. It's all I can really ask of him right now. I land at the entrance to the main party grounds in Canterlot castle. The grand hall is decked out in all its elegant grandeur. Long beautiful tapestries with immaculate chandeliers and the finest dinner sets Equestria has to offer fill the room as posh ponies chatter about. In the back of the room there is a loud commotion drawing in a crowd. I spot a few of the taller Spartans back there, so only terrible things can be happening. I weave my way through the crowd and try to make my way over, but I'm stopped by the last pony I want to see right now. "Grand Lieutenant Storm Cloud! What an honor to have you here with us today!" "Blueblood," I nod to him and try to move past him, but he steps in my way. He has a small posy with him. Nobles I'm sure, but I wouldn't know. "If you would excuse me-" "Oh but the night is young! I'm sure whatever little trivial matter there is can wait for a small moment." He moves in and throws a leg around my shoulder, holding me tightly. "I'm sure you've met Naval, the land owner from down south?" "The pedo-?" "And Glacial Shore? From North E.E.T.? I know you've met at least once!" "The former slave owner-" "And this young lass is the beautiful Miss Shoal! Due to inherit the largest mining company... soon?" He asks the mare in the group. "Almost any day now!" She laughs, getting the others to join her. I was going to mutter her vice, but decided against it. Some skeletons should stay in the closet. "My dear friends, this fine stallion is the second in command for the Spartan Regiment! A dear and close confidant of yours truly!" They all clap... I'm not sure why. They all rush forward and start gushing about every little thing. I try to respond, but it's too many questions at once. I offer them a small smile and duck out of Blueblood's grasp. "It was a pleasure to meet you all, but I must be off. Matters to attend to and... stuff... Enjoy your night!" I take off before they can say anything further. I don't know what I find more disturbing. Those ponies kissing ass to me, or Blueblood calling me friend. Both send shivers down my spine. I push my way through the last of the crowd and finally make it to my destination. It would seem Dash and Spitfire are neck 'n neck in a hoof wrestling contest. That's innocent enough. What's troubling is Ellzy going around placing bets on the two of them. Why is it two to one odds against Dash? "STORM!" Ellzy yells over the crowd as he makes his way over me, taking a few last second bets as he hobbles over. "HERE TO BET? IT'S BEEN A CLOSE MATCH BUT THEY'RE GOING TO-" "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" I yell at him as he tries to manage all the coins in his pockets. "HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY THINK THIS WAS OKAY!?" "IT WAS PINKIES IDEA!" I feel myself twitch a bit from that. Of course it was. I need to end this. I push past Ellzy and make my way towards Dash. The two of them are evenly matched, but that's about to end. I get next to Dash and wait till she glances at me. She's focused, but her instincts kick in and she takes a look at me. "Win or get demoted," I tell her. Most probably wouldn't hear me over the crowd, but I know Dash. She heard that, if the look of fear was anything to go by. She looks back to the contest and begins to take in deep breathes, her eyes widening as she starts to give it everything she has. The initial push catches Spitfire off guard, but she gains control quickly. But it's too late now. Dash has gained ground and now she's playing to win. Spitfire's playing defensively, trying to hold on. Sweat rolls off of the two of them as they fight for every inch. Spitfire lets out a loud groan as she starts to bring her arm back towards the top. Dash clenches her eyes shut and yells as she gives it her final push, putting her all into ending this. The crowd joins Dash as she crushes Spitfire, pushing her hoof down to just above the table. But she holds on to the last second. Dash opens her eyes and looks over to Spitfire. They make eye contact for a moment before Dash finally slams her hoof down. "SPARTANS!" The crowd explodes in cheer as they both fall back in exhaustion. The Spartans all take their turns beating Dashes shoulders in admiration. The Wonderbolts are pissed, but what did they really expect? I give it a few minutes to let them have this little victory. It's a point of pride for them, I see no need to take that away from them. Right now at least. I wait for the crowd to leave the table. The Wonderbolts were quick to leave. Wonder why. Once enough ponies are gone I turn to address the others. "Keeping out of trouble I see?" They all give a small laugh. "Where are all the wives?" "Out in the garden," Raz tells me. "Our pack is keeping together out there, but we had to come challenge the prey." "SPARTANS!" Everyone cheers, making sure that everypony in the building knows who one that spat. I can see that they're keeping themselves occupied in a constructive manner. Miles should be here soon too... if Pinkies itinerary is to be believed. I feel confident enough to go check in with Twilight. I could really use that right now. She always has a way of picking me back up and setting me on the right path. I really need that right now. The Spartans loudly start to make their way out towards the garden. Surely to boast about their last conquest. I slip away from them and make my way towards the library. I didn't see her here, so there's really one three other places she'd be right now. There should be a university function happening there. I can't recall what it was... I wasn't really paying attention at the time. The library has a stark contrast from the other parts of the castle tonight. While it's still decorated eloquently, it's toned down drastically. Large cushions take place where the long tables used to be. They look inviting, with plenty of room for several ponies to cozy up and read a book or two. At the top of the stairs, just before the large moon lite windows, I see Twilight. Her long flowing dress pales to the beauty radiating off of her. The silver moonlight brightens around her, making her the star of the room. Everything else fades away as I stare up her. She's talking with somepony, but I don't know who. She smiles for a moment and it pushes my mood up tenfold. She turns and makes eye contact with me. Her smile turns more genuine and for a moment I swear I saw her eyes shine more brightly. I feel that twisting feeling in my stomach. My hooves become numb for a moment and I feel goose bumps. I remember now. I remember why I fight. I remember my cause again. I don't know how I could forget something like that. I knew what it was. What it is. But... I guess you tell something to somepony enough, you forget what it means to you. And every now and again you need something to remind you what you do it all for and why. Night Fury says my stakes never raise, it's because they can't get any higher. For me, it's all or nothing. Author's Note Follow me on Twitter! Mowverse Group! Mowverse Discord. Brony on!
Chapter 254 Follow the LeaderChapter 254 Follow the Leader Perspective: Celestia Sunset I stare out over Equestria as I watch the sun set over the land. The same cascade of colors washes over the sky as the land slowly fades away. It's a sight I always love to see. The colors fading into one another, as if the sky itself was transforming before my eyes. Changing every so slightly, yet remaining the same as it was and always will be. But Equestria, it changes drastically. I remember a time when the sun would set and the land would fade to black, save for the sliver of moonlight. But, slowly, it started to change. Dots of lights would appear, ever so slightly. Those lights would grow in time, adding smaller fires around them until they morphed into something larger. Detrot. Manehatten. Ponyville. And now the Crystal Empire far to the north. Equestria is changing everyday, but at least there's something I can rely on to be the same, regardless of time. Speaking of changes, tonight seems to be the night of nights for changes. Every village and town is shining brightly tonight! Equestria seems to be covered in a tapestry of lights and fireworks as the first ever nationwide Grand Galloping Gala kicks into full swing! And at the center of it all stands Canterlot! Dazzling lights shimmer off the castle walls in a mesmerizing array of colors and patterns. Even the lower buildings seem to have their own effects on full display! Lights, illusions, decorations, no expense was spared. If I didn't know any better, I'd say they were competing with one another. But, tonight isn't about knowing better. Not now at least. Tonight is about showing that Equestria stands together, regardless of what the world says. The day was far too busy. Too many things to prepare for, too many ponies asking too many questions. We were fortunate that Pinkie was able to get as much done as she did. Though I will never understand how that little pony did all of this over the entire nation by her lonesome. I fear it is a question better not asked aloud. "Princess Celestia?" I'm pulled away from my ramblings as one of the maids pokes her head into my study. "It is time Princess." "Of course, thank you. I'll be out in a moment." I offer her a smile and a nod in thanks. She returns one in kind and leaves, shutting the door quietly. It would seem my time to ramble in my head is up. Now my real work begins. Getting ready for the night is easy enough. I don't worry about makeup or styling my mane like Luna does. She's always been a bit envious of how quickly I can get ready, but I think she makes me look better when I let her do it. Not that I'd ever tell her that. Though she refuses to believe it, she can get an ego bigger than Miles's. I wonder if that's a byproduct of being around him? If it lets me blame him, I see no harm in it. I pull out the two dresses I was considering for the night and check them against myself in the mirror. The first one is a rather modern dress. Mainly being pink with stripes of pastel blues and yellows. It fits nicely, but there's something about the other that keeps drawing my back to it. It's an older dress of mine. Much older. Preserved with magic, I haven't worn it since I courted the Old King to aid our march on Sombra. Knowing what I know now, and knowing what I'm doing tonight, it keeps calling to me. I want to wear the dress Rarity made for me... but when in Roam. I trot down the halls feeling a bit giddy. I can't help it! The dress gives me a confidence I haven't felt in a long, long time. And all the turning heads are definitely aiding that perfectly. I make it to the main entrance where I see Twilight and Speaks Softly waiting for me. I can't help but chuckle when I see the two of them do a double take. Like mother like daughter it would seem. I take my place by Twilight's side and act as if nothing is wrong. I can feel the smug smile plastered all over my face right now. "Twilight, are you ready for tonight?" I ask her curtly, getting her to snap forward. "Y-yes Princess! Um... are you sure you want... I mean, eh... how do I put this?" I charge my horn and start the process of opening the doors. I'm not changing out of this, not after a reaction like that. The tall doors open completely and a wave of ponies start to march their way in as fireworks light the sky above. The front row of ponies are nobles I'm well aware of. The Canterlot elite, business moguls, and top tier celebrities. They collide into one another as they take their first view of me. I'm in the toga I wore when I was anointed in Roam. Pure white silk trimmed in gold drapes over me elegantly, fitting comfortably against my sides. Each of my legs are visible thanks to the cloth being opened widely at my shoulders and hips. A large broach is pinned on my chest. I almost forgot I had this still to be honest. It's the crest of Roam. A sword pointing down flanked by a pair of wings all set before a round shield. I've added a few other accessories as well. I few bracelets, my usual necklace and tiara, a few rings keeping my mane bound together. But the piece that has everyponies attention is the piece that hold my toga together. Set across my back and sticking out slightly to my left is a great sword. A great sword by alicorn standards at that. It's black scabbard has silver etchings of an important battle I'm sure nopony here knows about. It's large ruby pommel shines brilliantly beside neck, giving my side a light red glow. I've never been one to name objects before. Maybe on the rare occasion, but never of my own volition. But I've forgotten how good it felt to carry Tide Breaker. "Welcome everypony to this years Grad Galloping Gala!" I announce to the crowd before us, coaxing them inside. "We hope this years Gala will be the most grand of all. Please, come in and enjoy the evening with us!" Twilight and I start the process of greeting ponies as they start to funnel into the castle. This year is different in that we've opened up more of the castle to the public. The library, all of the studies, and the observatory are all open and staffed for the night. I'm amazed at that crowd that's appeared here tonight despite the rather short notice. But I guess there are a lot of ponies that wanted to take advantage of the chance to see the castle in all its glory. As we work through the crowd I notice Softy stealing glances. Just as Twilight was, she's nervous to be around me. I find it adorable to see the small filly hiding behind her mother. But I'm feeling the need to coax her out more. "So, Softy, how well do you know Equestrian history?" She gives her mother a nervous look, who nods her along, before answering from the safety of her hiding spot. "I know a bit..." I hum a chuckle at that. She's being modest. If she's anything like her mother that is, which I know she is. "Well, I have an arsenal of history to share, if you'd like?" I shoot a grin at her, getting her to smile softly back up to me. Though, I could hear a few nearby ponies roll their eyes at my pun. "Tell me, have you ever heard of the War of the Empires?" "...um... I don't think so." Even though she's bashful for not knowing, I can tell I've piqued her interest. Twilight's too for that matter. "That's okay dear, most haven't. This was a long time ago. Back before ponies called me princess!" There are a few ponies around us that desperately want to stay to listen, but the crowd forces them out of the hall. Much to their displeasure. "This was at the time Sombra raised his first army, not his slave army mind you." "Sombra was a noble and held large tracks of land with many ponies under his rule. His predecessors made many alliances and they were a prosperous people. If the tribes weren't careful, they were going to be absorbed into his rule and he would own all of what would have been Equestria. But, a small city state started to vie for power. Do you know who?" She thinks about it for a moment before going to shake her head. But she stops when she sees me gesturing to my toga. "Roam?" "Very good. Roam appeared and set to work conquering their neighbors. Where Sombra ruled with gems and gold, Roam ruled with iron and... well, they thought might was right." Probably shouldn't scare her with all of the true details at the moment. Twilight give me a look of appreciation, to which I give a coy smile. "Where Sombra had numbers, Roam had skill. Sombra had allies, but Roam had intimidation and fear. It was this balance that kept the two powers at bay. If Either side waged war on the other, there was a fear that both would lose. What is the point in fighting when there is nothing to be gained?" "..." "Well?" I ask her, catching her off guard. "Oh... Uh... well... there... isn't?" I nod to her, getting her to take a breath of relief. "But... one day, somepony found something to be gained. Gems were discovered in Roam, and it broke the balance. Sombra wanted something, and was willing to do anything to gain it. He was scared that if they had uncontested access to such a large gem vein, it would relegate them to the sidelines in the eyes of their allies. He feared losing his power, and it drove him to do something terrible." "... what did he do?" Softy asks. I take a moment to greet a few more ponies before continuing. Though I do note Twilight's silence. I can tell she's interested, but there's something else going on in her mind. "If you noticed, I've been referring to Sombra, and not a government or nation state. Much of his family controlled city states and the businesses of their would be empire. Sombra brought them all together... and took control for himself." She gives a piqued look, but I can tell that she doesn't really understand what that means. But, we'll save that story for a later time in her lessons. We need to keep this clean for the young one. "Sombra was a fool, you see. He thought that if he controlled all the gems, he'd maintain his position. The Roamans weren't interested in trading their gems away. They needed them for their magics after all. But, there is no convincing greed. So Sombra gathered a large army and marched on the city state." "Why didn't he try asking for the gems?" Softy asks, leaning out from behind her mother. I take a moment to greet several more ponies before answering her. I still have a job to do after all. "We'll never know if he did, or if he even considered it. In all honesty, I can't imagine why he would though. Roam had a reputation for... hitting first and asking questions later. I don't know if they would ever trade them away for anything. But again, this is something we'll never know." "Did you try and talk them out of fighting?" Her question makes me pause for a moment. It was such a long time ago, I rarely even think about what I was doing at the time. Let's see... It was before the Three Tribes united, but before the Crystal Empire was pushed north. Roam was around, so it couldn't have been too late. Was this before or after the Doctor? Actually, it might have been at the same time... "You know what, my dear. I did not." I tell her as all the memories start to come back to me. "You see... this was around the time I would go off on my own adventure for the very first time. A... very dear friend of mine... pulled me into a box." I chuckle a bit at that. It sounds so silly, but it's the truth of the matter. The two of them give me a confused look, but I lose my chance to explain myself when a group of nobles approach me. "Princess Celestia, what an honor!" I chuckle as I shake the stallions hoof. "Fancy Pants, one day you'll have to think of a new greeting." I tell him as I give a slight bow to Fleur. "Fleur De Lis, stunning as ever!" "Oh please Princess, I pale in comparison to you! Stunning, yet fierce! I think all of Equestria will be sporting togas for the next decade!" I blush a bit from that. I did't really think about the ramifications of what would happen if I wore this today. I guess fashion is going retro for a bit... really retro. "Princess, I hope this isn't too mush of a bother, but there is something vital that I must discuss with you at the moment. I'm afraid that it is of the upmost importance and cannot wait." I chuckle for a moment, thinking he's joking. But I can see the cringing in the usually confident stallion. Whatever this is, it actually is important. "Twilight, it would seem I am needed elsewhere. Could you be a dear and finish greeting the guest for me?" I ask her, keeping my voice calm and formal. "Of course Princess Celestia." I nod my thanks to her. Before we leave I lean down to whisper to Softy for a moment. "We'll have to finish our lesson another time, okay?" I give her a quick wink and she smiles back to me. I'll have to make sure to do a quick study on the matter before we talk again. Knowing that filly, she'll have millions of endless questions the next time we speak. I lead Fancy Pants and Fleur through the main entrance and into the castle proper. There are dozens of venues for entertainment and refreshment dotting the interior. It all seems so inviting, but duty calls. I glance back at the two of them several times and find them in a small state of panic. Whatever is happening, it must be huge. Big enough to make the both of them sweat. I've never seen the two of them fidget so much before. We make it to a study and shut ourselves inside. I take a seat of one of the large cushions and motion for them to take the one across from me. Fleur takes it, but Fancy stays standing. I don't he'll be able to keep still until after all this. "Well, Princess... uh... well, there is no real easy way to say this. So I'm... I'm just going to say it!" "... Okay. What is troubling you Fancy?" He takes a deep breath steel his resolve and goes to speak. "..." He has the words of the tip of his tongue, but they can't seem to come out. He takes another breath and tries again, finding similar results. Maybe a third time would be the charm? "All air ships of the East Equestrian Trading Company are being grounded immediately." Fleur blurts out, making Fancy finally exhale and nearly collapse. I stare at the two of them and start to laugh. But, they don't join me, so I slowly stop and start to think things over. They can't be serious. They can't! That's more than half of our trade vessels suddenly out of action! All trade over the Divide would come to a complete halt! Not to mention what would happen to domestic trade! "You can't be serious," I mutter as I sink into my cushion. They look to one another before Fleur stands to address me. "I can assure you with the upmost certainty that this happening. Any ships thirty miles off the coast will continue with their current transports. But all other ships will head straight to port for needed repairs and updating. We are sorry Princess." Numbers race through my mind as I start think about the actual implications of what they are saying. We would have to work out major city transportation. But anything else would just come to a halt. Small towns and villages would have to rely on hoof transport, which would delay goods by days! We'll have to figure out what resources to prioritize for air transit. Industry is going to be cut in half, if we're lucky! And that's all before I even start thinking about the Griffin Colonies! Relations are strained as we stand now. But what will happen if we completely stop sending aid to them? Maybe we could figure something out, but that would take time. Time we don't have! "What... what on Earth has made you come to this decision? Are you not aware of the legal ramifications? How much you'll have to pay for ending contracts? The public outcry from grounding so many ponies from their jobs? This will effectively cease all eastern trade for Equestria! How could you do this?" I would normally try my best not to sound desperate. Normally I would try to remain level headed and collected. But normally, half of the economies commerce wouldn't just end suddenly. I knew giving all of this power to one entity would come back to bite me in the flank! I should have never let something like this happen in the first place! But, that's in the past. And I can berate myself about it later. The two of them share another uneasy look. Fancy Pants looks as if he's about to pass out. Fleur is holding strong, but I know this mare. She's determined about this. Even if this is eating away at her. "We know the cost. We've already ran the numbers. But, given the current political climate, we feel this is the right move for the company to make. We do apologize and will follow all legal proceedings-" "Get out." I order them. Legal proceedings. I know what that means. They've already started. There's no going back now. They don't try to argue. They don't add any apologies or attempts to save face. They simply bow and leave the room. Every curse word I know races through my mind as I start to think of the logistics at hoof. We'll have to find a way to pick up the slack, but where? There were no competitors within Equestria. Maybe the west trading company can pick up some of the slack, but nowhere near enough to compensate. To cover for the short term loss we'll have to make all traders operate internally. But that's just throwing fuel into a thousand other issues. As I think of the implications, something suddenly comes to mind. They said this was for repairs. But their fleet has been the pinnacle of modernization! How could they suddenly decide to break away for repairs? No, there's something more to this. Somepony is pushing them to this. But who would gain anything from stopping all trade over the Divide and the eastern parts of Equestria? Asking myself that, I com to the answer rather quickly. Miles. Terradisia needs more trade, and forcing us to lose half of our trading partners certainly makes things easier for them. He believes there will be a war soon and wants to prepare for it, aggressively. I cannot think of a single other person who would want and benefit from this more than him. I practically launch myself from my cushion and storm out of the study. I need to confront him about this, now. There is a small chance that he'll listen to reason... a small chance. If not, then at least I can yell his ear off. I make my way throughout the castle until I see the Spartans in the back of the main hall. They seem to be sticking to themselves, but are seemingly having fun. Loudly. I take a moment to compose myself before approaching them. I need to be calm, cool, and most importantly, confident. "Excuse me, ladies and gentlefolk, I'm looking for your Captain. Have you seen him?" I ask politely. "Nah, he's probably in your sis-" I grab Elzy's beak with my magic and hold it shut. I don't need his sass at the moment. "When he arrives can you send him my way please?" I ask the others. Most of them nod, though I'm sure they can tell something is wrong. "Thank you." "Princess?" Si Ye asks from the far end of the table. I acknowledge him with a small smile. "Exitus acta probat." I keep a calm facade about myself before I step away. Throughout my training I've learned quite a bit about these Spartans. While most at times can be brutes or overtly competitive, to assume them to be dullards would be presumptuous. Some may be smarter than others, but they all have learned to hold their tongues until just the right moment. If I were to use one word to describe them, I would settle on opportunist. They wait for their opening and take advantage of it. Whether in war, trade, or getting under my skin. I make my way to the entrance and find it mostly empty. Save for several guards and the few late ponies trotting along, it would seem everypony has arrived. With the exception of my sister and her pain of a husband. I can't think about him right now! Everything about him right now just drives me so crazy! Did he honestly put no thought into this!? No, knowing him he put too much thought into this move. I don't know if that makes things better or worse. And those theoretical war games he put me through! Was he just flaunting his influence in front of my face the whole time!? I'm going to wring his neck out and crush that smug look right off his face-! "Princess, I know you want to be our general, but scowling at the main gate won't do you much good." I blink back to reality from Diamond Hearts remark. I look over to the old stallion as he steps before me and bows. He has a sharp looking tuxedo on with a dark red bow tie around his neck. A bottle of brandy is held nearby with his magic. "Might I say you look quite fierce tonight Princess, even without the scowls." "Diamond Heart, last I checked you didn't drink," I remark bitterly, trying to compose myself. "Oh, normally I wouldn't. But that young mare that threw this little shin-dig gave it to me as a gift. It's hard to say no to that mare you know," he says with a smirk as he pops the top off and takes a whiff. "And it's three hundred year old snow berry cognac. Legend says that pandas make this in their spare time using stolen griffin recipes. I do love a good history lesson with dinner!" "You don't say?" I say blandly. I know that look though. He's going somewhere with this. "Yup! Now I could just stick to my old morals and put this on a shelf somewhere and keep it as a memento, but that's not what tonight's about now is it?" He takes one last whiff before taking a large sip, letting out a loud sigh of relief as the alcohol burns its way down his throat. "Are you trying to tell me that I should just sit back and enjoy the night Diamond? Because I don't know if I can do that with what's about to happen." "Hm? Oh, nope!" He tells me with a hearty laugh. "Sorry Princess, but I just happened to walk by and find you. I was actually looking for my grandson to share this drink with him. But, it would seem he's off doing... whatever it is he's doing. I really should do better at keeping track of that stallion... Regardless! It would seem that I am at a loss! I have this special drink to consume, and nopony to share it with! And what a night to have nopony to share a drink with!?" "Diamond, you know I don't drink-" "What a shame it is too!" He cuts me off with his usual charm. "I don't know how many more Galas I'll be attending, with my years catching up with me and the aches and pains that riddle me!" "Are you... are you trying to play the old stallion card?" "And with my grandson lost at the moment, who could I share this memory with? What could be one of my last memories of the Grand Galloping Gala!" I stare at him for a moment before glancing around. Nopony is around. Save for a few guards, but they aren't looking... "No!"I turn away from him and start to walk off. "I don't drink Diamond! Nothing is going to change that!" "Not even a little secret a little birdy told me?" I stop and look back at him. His smug look has intensified, telling me he actually knows something big. That's something I've always appreciated about him, in retrospect. He's far too easy to read. It's usually intentional, but I appreciate a noble whose forthcoming. "Would that secret be about the East Equestrian Trading company?" I ask him as I turn back to face him properly. His eyebrows pop up for a moment, an easy read per Diamond Heart conduct. "What happened with them?" he asks, genuinely curious. "They... you'll find out soon enough. Trust me on that. So it's not about them, then what is it about?" He takes a look around before passing the bottle towards me. I take a deep breath before looking around. There still isn't anypony around... and he is getting on in his years... I've been good for over twelve hundred years! One sip won't hurt anypony. And I can hold my alcohol far better than Luna... who can't hold her alcohol. And snow berry cognac... that is rare... not that I would know, of course! NO! NO! NO! I made a promise and I intend to keep it! What's the worth of any of my promises if I just justify it because of an old stallions over dramatizations! Well... at least not in front of my guards at least. Maybe somewhere private... and just one sip! Would one sip count as breaking my promise? How did I even word that promise...? I think it was along the lines of 'neither wine nor ale shale touch these lips.' And cognac is technically a wine so I can't have it! And that's final! "Diamond, I will gladly-" "FANTASTIC!" He yells before shoving the bottle into my hooves. "I WAS GONNA SAY SHARE THE NIGHT WITH YOU, YOU OLD COOT!" I tell as I try to give it back to him. I try to force it into his hooves, but for some reason it's proving to be harder than it should be. "Come now Princess, one little sip and I'll give you some good news. News I know you'll need to hear." I pause to stare at him. He's being smug, but sincere. I take a look at the bottle before swallowing the lump in my throat. Sorry old friend, but tonight's the night I break my pact. I bring the bottle to my lips and pause when the smell hits my nose. The sting of the alcohol hits me like the voice of an old friend. A friend that I got into too much trouble with in the past. I can feel my tongue start to water at the thought of having a taste of the beverage. I take a look at Diamond Heart and see that he's rather impartial at the moment. I purse my lips on the edge of the bottle and take as small of a sip as I can muster. The cognac hits my tongue and fills my mouth with a delightful mixture of nuts and spices. The snow berries give it a tart, bitter, aftertaste. But it helps dull the sharp alcohol that stings its way down my throat. It is a delightful mixture. It's as if I had a warm drink in the cold bear winter, with a hint of a griffin pastry. "The entire Apple family is joining the Terradisians." "WHAT!?!?" I nearly toss the bottle behind me in rage. Diamond nearly falls over as several nearby glass shatter from my voice echoing throughout the hallway. Out of rage or bewilderment or some other third emotion I take the bottle and knock it back. "Princess!?" Diamond asks worriedly. I hold up a hoof and motion for him to wait. CHUG "Um... Princess?" CHUG "I guess I'll wait..." ANGRY CHUG "... you know I only had that one sip... right?" I let out a loud sigh as I finish the bottle. I take a few deep breaths as I let the alcohol sting at my stomach. My friend would understand, or I don't care at this point, it's hard to tell. With everything they're doing I can't tell if they're trying to force us into hostilities or if Miles is just that stupid. What am I saying, of course he's that stupid. This is the same man that took my nobles hostage, let them speak ill of me, and then walked away from it all. Of course this is his stupid plan. His relentless posturing knows no bounds or limits. "I... I don't know what to do right now." I tell Diamond Heart as I try to think. I honestly thought that we were close enough that this wouldn't happen. I thought that, because we were family, he would try to protect me. Not destroy everything I hold dear! I never thought he'd actively try to hurt me. "Princess..." Diamond sets a hoof on my shoulder and offers me a small smile for sympathy. "I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news. But there is a silver lining in all of this." "How could there possibly be good news in all of this?" I ask him, my voice trembling slightly. "My dear Princess, you should know this better than any! With the Apple family joining the Terradisians they now have a large enough population so that we will not have to deal with Miles any longer! They are now under the guidance of new, elected, leadership!" I stare at him before it finally clicks in my head. How did I forget about this?! I'm done with treating Miles as a political leader! I'm free of possibly offending his nation! I don't have to take his crap anymore! The thought almost brings a tear to my eye! I'm done with him! I scoop Diamond up and twirl as I give him a large hug. Several of his old bones crack as he yells in protest, but I don't care right now. And to think, if I play my cards right I can take over their government! Make it a tributary state to Equestria! I would have control over the Spartans, and all of their resources, and Miles would have to do what I say! MILES WOULD HAVE TO DO WHAT I SAY!!! "We have work to do!" I announce as I set Diamond down with my magic. I take off for the gardens to find Twilight. I have a new goal in mind. I don't need to compete with Luna to be general. I need to win over the Apples to have them vote me in as the leader of the Terradisans! I need to speak with all of the Spartans! Should I make a trip to Mooseden? I'm getting ahead of myself! First things first, I need to speak with Twilight about the news! Perspective: Twilight I've always loved when the palace gardens grounds are dressed up for special events. But none have ever really compared to the Gala. It's the one night of the year where the entire nation gets an inside glance at the palace. Where nobles and celebrities dress extravagantly, showing off the the latest fashions. I may not be as swayed by those frilly things as much as somepony as Rarity, but they're always fun to see and be a part of. This year has been taken to an entirely new level. I would have called the last Galas quaint and refined. But this year is boisterous and rambunctious! But in a good way... I think. There's a carnival, masquerade sort of a theme going on in the palace backgrounds. There are performers dancing on pedestals and swinging from high ropes, as well as walking around the crowds of spectators. They're all dressed in extravagant costumes while some even have various props like swords to swallow, juggling tools, and even some exotic animals on display! I wouldn't think something like this would do very well with for a crowd such as this. Especially when compared to galas past. But I couldn't have been more wrong! There's a smile on every face as ponies snap back and forth from one attraction to the next. The dance floor is filled with jumping ponies and everyone there seems to be having the time of their lives! It's as if they all somehow knew that this was the one night of the year where they could let loose and have the night of their life without any consequences! But there's no way Pinkie would have been able to pull something like that off... right? Softy and I are on the edge of the dance floor having fun dancing along. The mask we have are hard to keep on, but we're enjoying it all the same. It was a bit of a struggle getting her this far, but so long as I'm with her I think she'll do fine. Wearing a mask is probably helping too. "Twilight!" I look back when I hear my name called over the music. Princess Celestia is trotting towards me. She seems elated about something, barely noting the bowing ponies as she rushes towards me. "Twilight, I have exciting news!" "Princess, what happened?" I ask when she bounces to a stop before me. I haven't seen her this excited... ever. Not that I can recall at least. "Well, I'm still working on the details, and I will be needing your assistance with this, and I'm sure there will be loads of competition, but suffice to say that I believe that we are soon to be annexing the Terradisians! So I'm going to need several reports on the people, the processes within their current government, as well as anything you know about basically everything they have at their disposal-" "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down!" My mind spins for a moment as I try to understand everything she just said. But one thing stands out among it all. "Did you say we're annexing Terradisia?" I ask in a hushed voice. The amount of excitement I see in my former teacher scares me for a moment. It's tantamount to a filly on Hearths Warming Eve or Nightmare Night. She's practically dancing in place with an uncontrollable smile on her face. Even several nearby spectators are starting to get uncomfortable. "I can't get too into details at the moment, even though I really want to, but suffice to say I have found a loop hole that may fix all of our problems! Well, most at least. It will be hard to tell right now but I'm sure we'll figure something out!" "Okay..." I nod and smile along, not following even slightly. "Oh! There's probably going to be a town meeting soon! We have to make sure to make this one, so clear up your schedule! We don't know when that'll happen so we're going to have to play it by ear!" I try to follow her words, but she started dancing to the music. Nothing too crazy, swaying hips and a light trot, but its pulling us away from our position as wall flowers. I try to keep up with her, but Softy is holding back in fear of joining the crowd. "Um... Princess?" "Should we bring something or do you think that would be too superficial? How quickly do you think we'd be able to absorb them into our empire? Oh! Oh! Can you imagine the look on Miles's face when I give him his first order!? I'll have to make sure he doesn't have a helmet on when I do it. We'll need a camera there as well-" "Princess Celestia!?" I try again to reach her, but she's too far into her fantasy to really notice anything. I try to pick Softy up, but she's attached to my leg and isn't letting go. Celestia is starting to get too far into the crowd for me to listen properly, so I do the only thing I can think of. FLASH A moment later the three of us appear in one of the lounges dotting the outer garden area. It was the only way I could get her away from the crowd and think properly. I hope she doesn't mind. "I'm sorry Princess, but I had to pull you away to think. What's going on? How are we annexing Terradisia? Is Miles aware of any of this?" She practically shivers in excitement from the last part, so I'm guessing he doesn't know. "The Apple family has joined Terradisia." I blink a few times as I try to think about that. The entire Apple family? Or just the ones in Ponyville? What am asking, it's the Apples. It's all of them. "That's terrible," I state plainly. "I know, isn't it?" Celestia asks with a massive grin, still bouncing and swaying to the music. I get it now. She's finally cracked. Miles has pulled the last straw and broken her mind. "Are... are you okay?" I ask, unsure how to respond. "I'm fabulous! I was destroyed when I first heard the news, but then Diamond Heart reminded me that this now raises the Terradisian population to the point where they can elect a government!" I stare at her for a moment before it all starts to click into place. With this she can attempt to take over the entire Terradisian government! Even if she loses the election it's still a win in that it will be new leaders making all of the decisions. She no longer has to deal with Miles anymore. I can see where all of this excitement is coming from now. "That's... I mean it's going to be... but then... wow!" I can't even start to fathom all the good Equestria could do with the resources of Terradisia. The technology. The capitol. Metal, soldiers, magic, knowledge! No secrets, no having to tip-hoof around. We could literally walk into any of the cities and do whatever we wanted! "We need to get to work as soon as possible! Who we need to speak with! Candidates that would be good to run against! Plans for anything and everything that could happen! There's going to be a mountain of work to do in the morning! So make sure to enjoy tonight! I'm sure there won't be many free nights like this anytime soon." I chuckle at that as everything starts to come swirling into my mind. Who could we possibly appoint to a leadership position that would be best for us, aside from the Princesses of course. Who would the people of Terradisia even want to appoint? Does Celestia really think she has a chance at winning an election of people who were trying to escape other governments? I can't imagine so. Though, I can't really imagine Mooseden setting up a functioning government that could last. But then again, it isn't just Mooseden anymore. With all the Apples joining in, will that be enough to sway the vote for her? It's a big family, and they have a lot of history with the Princesses. But they've been under a lot of stress lately. Even if it's just Applejacks farm, they're a close family. Attacking one is tantamount to attacking them all. That might work against us in the early run of things. "Twilight!" I shake my head as Princess Celestia calls me. "Think later! Enjoy the night and relax! We'll begin tomorrow." "Of course Princess. It's just... it's a lot to take in so suddenly." She looks off into the crowd of ponies before something catches her attention. I look over and spot them immediately. It's Miles, or I assume it's Miles. It's hard to tell with that cloak he's wearing. And he looks too... thin. And curvy... "I have to go gloat. Why don't you two go find Storm Cloud and steal him away for the night? I'm sure it would be good to see him again." Celestia mentions as she starts to walk towards the crowd. "O-of course. If you need us you know where to find us." I barely manage to respond as I stare at the human in the middle of the dance floor. Something is... off about them. But my attention is pulled away when Speaks Softly starts to pull on my leg. "Okay! Okay, I'm going! What's got you in a rush?" "I wanna see Dad!" she says excitedly as she starts to guide us back into the main chambers. I chuckle at her enthusiasm. She's happiest when it's the three of us together. Even though Storm does his best to be around her as much as he can, there are times when he has to disappear for brief periods. She does a good job of understanding, but that also means she understands to make the most of our time together. I would be lying if I said it didn't hurt to learn that she tends to miss Storm more than me. But I explain it away with how much he can spoil her at times. Obviously I know why he does that as well, but it's still bitter sweet. It isn't hard to find Storm. Through all the noise and commotion the Spartans have made their presence abundantly known. Softy starts to slow down and recede into her shell as we get closer to them. She hasn't met any of them before. And Softy... takes after me in that regard. Well, I don't think I was that shy at her age. I would say she's almost Fluttershy levels of introverted. "Princess Twilight?" I stop when I hear my name called. I don't even know how I could hear them over the music and ponies milling about. Much to Softy's dismay, I turn around to face the pony behind me. She's not somepony that stands out to me. If we met before it wasn't for long, or it wasn't over anything memorable. A nice white dress that matches her milky mane, all contrasted by her charcoal coat. I'm fairly certain I don't know this unicorn. "I'm sorry to bother you like this, but I was wondering if I could steal you for a moment. I promise it's super important and won't take too much of your time!" I was going to politely try to shy away, but then I noticed the book in her magic. It's a book I'm all too familiar with. "Is that Starswirls book of Prophecies?" I ask as I step around to get a better look, though Softy tries to pull me in another direction. "Yes. I'm sorry, I know the book is supposed to be off limits. But I think somepony put it in the public area on accident. But... once I found it I had to give it a read!" I chuckle at that. I remember reading it all those years ago. I still remember the prophecy that changed everything by heart. "On the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about nighttime eternal. I can't really blame you for wanting to read it so eagerly. But I've read it a dozen times and there aren't any prophecies left to come about." "Well... that's the thing. I believe that there's a hidden message in the book. Something that even Starswirl the Bearded wanted to keep hidden -but recorded! I know how far fetched this may sound! But please believe me when I say-" "I'm sure that whatever secret that may be in there Princess Celestia is well aware of it. She was aware of Princess Luna's return after all." "Yes, but-" "Now I will bring this up with the Princess at a later time but tonight simply isn't the night for prophecies and old mares tales. Thank you... what was your name again?" "Mystic Starr, but if you'd only-" "Mystic Starr, thank you for this. But tonight simply isn't the night. Now, please enjoy the evening." I try to leave it at that. I took a few steps before a thought came across. That book brought me to my friends. But that was through my mentor telling me to not read it and go out to make some friends. Now this mare is asking me for knowledge from this same book and I'm trying to push her aside. It feels... strange, to be on the other side of this conversation. Though, it's not a perfect comparison I guess. "Actually... Mystic? At the very least I'll walk with you to the library. To return the book that is. Think you can manage to get your whole theory out in that time?" I see the spark of hope ignite this young mare. She nods vigorously as she pulls the book up and starts to flip to various pages. "Thank you Princess! I promise, this will be worth your time!" "But Mom!" Softy protest, still hanging onto my leg. "We'll find your father once we return this book, okay?" She gives me a pouty face but doesn't argue any further. That's mostly thanks to the crowd though. Normally I'd be hearing all of the reasons why she believes her way is the only way. She's an arguer in the right setting. Sadly, she's a really good one too. "Alright then, let's hear what you found." "It's rather basic at first, truth be told. But if you take the first letters of each page, you can make out a message," she tells me as we start to walk away. "But the issue is that it's in a language I don't know." "I'm a bit rusty on my old Equestrian, but I'm sure I could give it a swing." I offer, but she gives a coy smile in return. "Um... I uh... I've been reading old Equestrian since I was a little filly. Even Old Prench. I... I'm a student here at Canterlot. It's... sorta a minor I've been taking to keep my GPA high." I give her a surprised look before nodding my approval. It's hard to find another pony willing to read the old texts as they were written. She must really have a respect for the classics just as I did. "So it's not old Equestrian, then what is it?" I ask, my interest slightly piqued. "Well... again, I don't know what it means or if I'm even pronouncing it correctly. But here's what I've got written." She passes me a note and I immediately recognize it as Latin, the language of the Terradisians. I pause as I stare at it for a moment, unsure of what it exactly mean. My attention is pulled away when Softy pulls at me dress. I smile to her and show her the note. "Maxima noctis supra millesimum annum, caelum invida crescere potestas ejus, infernus et pluet super omnem terram. Mors solum initium. On the longest night of the thousandth year, the sky will grow envious of his power, and hellfire will rain over all the land. Death is only the beginning." We all come to a stop from the cryptic massage. "Wow..." Mystic mutters quietly. "What language is that?" "Is there more to the message?" I ask, taking the book and looking it over. How could I have never noticed something like that? This brings into question all of Starswirls previous writings! What more is there to learn from him? "Well... that brings me to why I wanted to speak with you." I pause flipping through the pages and look up to her. "There are some parts in the middle that I'm fairly certain are nothing. But... well... after that message is a date. And it's dated five months from now." "Five months from now?" I ask aloud as I look down to the book. What could all this mean? What's going to happen in five months? And hellfire? Starswirl was many things, but religious... noway! He hated the idea of ponies worshiping anything that couldn't be explained. He was not a faith led individual, that much I'm certain. So what could he mean by hellfire? I start to walk off towards the library as I start to think of what this all could mean. The sky growing envious? What would the sky become jealous of? Well... maybe that's less literal. Perhaps he means the poisoned clouds? But those are over the Griffin Colonies. So that doesn't seem right. Maybe it has to deal more with the jealousy notion, but that doesn't feel right either. And the longest night. That would be the winter solstice. That's the easiest part, kind of. The winter solstice is six months away, not five. Well, six months and a few days, but that just adds to how wrong it all feels. Where is this all leading to? There has to be more. Something that I've over looked in the past. And the only way to figure this out is to go over all of Starswirls old scripts and look for anything that might be there. But I'm not going to have the time to do any of that. especially with Celestia's attempt to take over Terradisia. I stop and look over to Mystic Starr as a thought starts to come to mind. She's shown herself to be knowledgeable in this subject. And I can tell she's more than willing to get her hooves on some Starswirl the Bearded books. And with her already being a student here at Canterlot, there shouldn't be too many issues of bringing her here to do some research on my behalf. She smiles nervously at me as I stare her down, sizing her up unintentionally. "Mystic Starr?" I ask as we come to a stop at the top of the stairs for the Royal Library. "Yes Ma'am!?" she almost yells, scaring a few ponies around us. "How would you like to take an accelerated course in some of Starswirls the Bearded's personal writings?" Author's Note Shout out to Sulpher for picking the song, Lone Digger by Caravan Palace! Good use of your Brony points! Head Held High, Semper Fi. It's good to be back! Brony on!
Chapter 255 Lucens VigorChapter 255 Lucens Vigor Perspective: Luna I give a contented sigh as we ride our carriage on our way to Canterlot. We are dreadfully behind schedule. We meant to go straight there, but somehow we ended up going to Coalton instead. And then somehow we made it to Detrot after that! Conversations dragged us from one engagement to the next, and I'm at my mental limit. I can normally handle all of the pop and circumstance when dealing with nobles and the masses. But tonight it's on overdrive! And my more introverted side is screaming at me for even thinking of continuing on. But there's no way we're not going to Canterlot tonight. I have a job to do. I need to show that I am the leader of Equestria and that I'm the obvious choice for our future engagements. Detrot and Coalton were good practice for the main goal of the night. And even though I am tired, I can do this all night if I have to. Though, truth be told, I did have a bit of help with tonight. I lean against Miles and shiver against the cold air. The flight is pleasant enough, but flying so late, the air is starting to sting. Miles drapes a wing against my back and sighs, a long plume of steam streaming from his nostrils. He's been doing really good tonight. Despite the few arguments he caused with one or two uppity nobles, he's been well behaved, polite, even charming at times. Not that he isn't those things usually. But tonight has been a real display of the etiquette he's been learning over the years. "Tired?" he asks quietly, giving my cheeks a soft nudge. I lean further into him and sigh again in response. "You know, if you really wanted to, we could just go to our little getaway in the mountains. Call it a night." "That does sound tempting," I say softly as he pulls me in tighter under his wing. It really does too. As much as I chastise him for not wanting to engage with this part of Equestrian society, I do have to admit it really is mentally taxing. "But not until after we make our appearance in Canterlot." "Yeah, I know." Something tells me he was hoping I would agree to leaving early. Can't really blame him for that, honestly. Canterlot is going to be the biggest sore yet. "You ready to make an entrance?" I enjoy his embrace for a moment longer before I break away from him. I take a quick moment to roll all my joints out and mentally prepare for the task at hoof. "I was born ready." "I wasn't, but let's do it before reality sets in." We land in the airport and make our way to the main hall. The few ponies we spot along the way are too flabbergasted to say anything beyond the usual revelry. Nothing crazy there. The main hall is where the action is really going to happen. We step through the main doors and wait for the announcer to make our presence known. "ALL RISE FOR THE KING AND QUEEN OF EQUESTRIA!" The music cuts out and the room falls quiet as the onlookers bow to us. It's a scene that makes Miles cringe, but he does his best to hide his displeasure. "We thank you all for joining us this night! Please, continue with the festivities!" I announce to the room. We already agreed that I would be taking the lead here in Canterlot. It's all part of my plan to showcase my leadership abilities. We barely make it five steps before the first group of nobles comes and bombards us with revelry. It's much of the same old song and dance with these few. Smile, nod, reply in kind. I hate the smiling part though. My face was not meant to smile this much. I'm certain Celestia uses some sort of spell to achieve her own facade. There's no other real explanation. Miles manages to direct the crowd further into the main hall where the next group starts to make their rounds. This is where the challenges start to arise. Business leaders, tycoons, families that aren't quite nobles, but are influential nonetheless. It's an interesting tightrope to walk. Give them too much attention and you risk alienating the nobles. But ignore them, and you're ignoring the people. There's a fine balance to give, but both sides are tugging at you, trying to gain more over the other. I have a simple system in place for moments like these. Just ADD, avoid, deflect, direct. When avoiding, you aren't necessarily avoiding individuals. Though sometimes it's simpler that way, it's more about navigating conversations. They want to bring something up, so I avoid the subject. There are a plethora of ways of going about this. It could be as simple as bringing something else up, or as complicated as being too specific about the wrong part of the topic. They want to talk about the ownership of the railroads, so I start talking about trains in as great detail as I can, and lean on them to fill in the gaps. The time in our conversations goes away before they bring up their real grievances. When you can't avoid the subject though, you need to deflect. Why can't they do something about their problems? Why hasn't their leadership solved the issue? Where were they when something else came to light? A lot of what-aboutisms really. Turn the conversation back on them and make them squirm for it. And when all else fails and they don't take the hint, it's time to be direct. Usually this is telling people that this is not the time for such conversations or whatever they are asking for can't be dealt with at this time. It's all dependent on how the conversation goes and what they're asking for. But if you have to be direct it's usually because they've really pressed the issue. Being direct can also give you time to really look into an issue and come back more informed. Not too long after our conversations started in earnest did our first major obstacle of the night makes his appearance. "Your majesties," Blueblood says with a deep bow, his little entourage following in his fashion. "It is an honor to share this night with you." "Prince Blueblood, it is a pleasure to see you again." I say, giving a small bow of the head. Miles keeps quiet, giving a slight incline of the head in response. "We must congratulate you on this most grandest of nights! Surely the hearts and souls of Equestria will soar in the heavens above after tonight! I do applaud your efforts!" His little group agrees with him, adding small insignificant notes to what he already said. "Well thank you for your kind words Prince Blueblood. It was our hope to bring this night to all the ponies of Equestria. Not just the select few." He looks to the others in his group and motions for them to leave. Miles and I share an uneasy look as they give their final regards and bid us goodnight. "I apologize for the sudden change in tone, but there have been some developments that require your immediate attention," he says in a hushed tone, checking our surroundings. "Is that so?" I ask, intrigued. "If my sources are to believed, it would seem that the entire Apple family is set to join the Terradisians." I raise an eyebrow to this, glancing to Miles for a moment. I know he's talked about this, and Big Mac has always mentioned that he would get around to it. But to hear it actually happening... I'm stunned to say the least. But I guess I really shouldn't be. With everything that's been happening to them, it only makes sense that they would seek protection through unity. "Do you believe these sources of yours?" I ask, keeping a calm, quiet tone. "They've never lead me astray before, so I have no reason to doubt them now. I can only imagine what would happen with ten percent of the farming industry dropping out of the market so suddenly. Especially when their intent is to join a faction we're in a trade war with." "Times are going to get harder for the ponies of Equestria, but I'm sure we'll work something out." I say, looking to Miles. He's keeping a stoic face on, but I can tell he's calculating. He wasn't expecting this, so he didn't plan it before he disappeared. That, or he forgot about it... probably the latter. "I have some ears in the Equestrian trading companies that are looking into the matter as well. If anything valuable comes up, I'll be sure to pass the word along," He tells us before giving a deep bow. "We thank you for this knowledge and your loyalty. It is greatly appreciated." I tell him, giving a deeper than normal bow. I'm sure the crowd will take note of this, but that's okay. I want them to know he works for me. I want them to know that even Blueblood bows to me. "Ubi suus 'pretii est opus." Miles tells him, giving him a small bow. But given how he's treated everypony else, it will speak volumes. "I do hope to hear from these friends of yours soon." Blueblood leaves with a small bow. It is troubling to see the cracks starting to form in the shadows. Normally ponies would be trying to game the system, work both sides of a conflict. But when the lines start to blur, that's when the cracks start to form. Once the light shines in, ponies will start to take sides. Information becomes harder to gain. I haven't seen times like these since the war against Sombra. "Let's go make our rounds. Thinking out in the open isn't healthy." Miles tells me with a small nudge on the shoulder. I nod to him, pushing the thoughts aside. He's right, I need to focus tonight. I wonder if Blueblood told us tonight intentionally. I wonder where he'll land when the light shines on him. The night continues in standard fashion from there on. We bounced from one area of the castle to the next, schmoozing all of the nobles and ponies of note the entire time. Most seem to be content with the night, having nothing special to say really. The few that made anything of note of themselves were far and few between, but neither were they shocking either. Blood Diamond is always a treat to speak with. How Blueblood came from such a fine stallion, I'll never understand. I tried to get him to budge one way or another, but the old stallion knew exactly what was going on and navigated it perfectly. He's always been a staunch supporter of Celestia, so it's no surprise that he's putting his faith in her. I wasn't expecting him to question Miles so much though. Midway through the conversation it became apparent that I was a spectator in their conversation, so I disengaged from the two of them. I made my way towards the gardens where I saw Twilight and her daughter Speaks Softly waiting in line near a food vendor. I figure it would be nice to take a small break and speak with them, even for just a moment. Speaks Softly notices me immediately and hides behind her mother, making me chuckle softly. "Child, you have nothing to fear from me," I tell her as I approach them. I give a small bow to Twilight. "Good evening Princess Twilight, I hope the two of you are having a pleasant night." "Queen Luna," she responds with a bow of her own. "It is so good to see you tonight! We've been having a blast so far, Pinky has out done herself. Is Miles here with you too?" "He's bickering with Blood Diamond," I tell her, getting a chuckle from her. "No Storm Cloud tonight?" "So he'll be distracted for awhile I see. Storm had to check on the Spartans for a moment, we're holding his spot right now. How was the rest of Equestria? I was bummed not to be able to make it to Ponyville tonight." I smile and go to answer, but something stops me. It's a small clatter of glasses and silverware in the background. Nothing was special about it. I don't even know how I heard it, but it seemed so... intentional. As if I was meant to hear it. I look behind myself and see a hooded humanoid figure in the crowd. They bumped into a server and knocked their tray to the ground. They're trying to help clean up the mess they caused, but doing so has made their hood slip slightly. All I can see is a lock of green hair hanging out. Without saying anything to Twilight I charge my horn and attempt to teleport the individual. When they disappear I teleport myself to the same location. The individual; a woman it would seem, is standing frozen in fear in the middle of my room, hands clenched at her side. I take a deep breath as I try to think of what to say. What should I do? This can't be who I think it is,can it? The hair is different. But that can be changed, right? There's no way of knowing without asking, so I guess I should start there. "Who-" "Okay, so I can't answer anything and I can't do anything and there's a big chance you're going to try to do something but I have to really warn against that because it probably won't end well and I really have no idea how that would go so just please let me go before this gets any worse." The woman blurts out rapidly, inching her way to the balcony. I try to process everything she just said, but there's too much going on for me to really focus on what she said. Her voice is new, so I know it's not Eremita. I was kind of hoping it was her though. It would have been nice to meet her. The stranger bolts for the balcony and tries to throw them open, but finds them locked. She struggles for a moment longer before dropping to her knees with a pitiful wail. I take a step back from the... awkward person and try to think of something to say... "Why are you here?" I guess that could work, though in hindsight she did say she couldn't answer anything. "Can you just let me goooo? It's my birthdaaaaaaay!" She cries out, dropping against the glass doors and slumping against them. "Why does this always happen to me?" "How about this? You tell me something, anything, and I'll let you go. Deal?" I ask, taking a step forward. "I'm not supposed toooooo!" She cries out pathetically. Okay, this is going nowhere fast. I do not believe this person is here just to celebrate their birthday. Every person I've met in those garbs has been a time traveler, and there's noway a time traveler would be that irresponsible. I could press them further, but I doubt I'd get anywhere right now. I need something that will change the dynamic... I charge my horn and begin a summoning spell when the woman yells for me not to do it, but it was too late. A flash of magic later Miles is standing beside me. The room goes silent as we all stand here, waiting for something else to happen. Miles is trying to process what just occurred, but is visibly confused. The stranger seems... scared. She pressed her back to the doors as she stares up at Miles. Maybe they have some form of history together? A history that hasn't happened yet "So... are you Eremita?" Miles asks finally, setting a champagne glass he had down on the vanity. "Um...no," she squeaks out. "She has green hair," I tell Miles. "That's all I got so far, didn't know where else to go from here." "Hm..." Another silence fills the room. "Well, I guess the only thing left to do is to let her go." "What!?" The stranger and I yell out. "Don't you have a million questions to ask!?" the stranger demands, jumping to her feet. "We can't just let her go, we need to know why she's here!" I yell. "Aren't you the least be curious to why I'm here or who I am!?" "She could have knowledge that's useful to us! We need to get what we can Miles!" "...hm." Miles takes his glass and takes a small sip from it, eyeing the two of us. I motion towards the stranger, trying to get him to ask something. Anything! "So, are we related?" "Pfft, wha-!? N-No! No way! I mean, not really. And by that I mean... um... I guess so. Not in a direct way that is but in a more... indirect way. I mean, when you get on the cosmic level, we're all related one way or another! So... heh... you know... is it getting hot in here? It is isn't it? We should really open a window or something because... heat stroke is a real thing you know! And you've been drinking! So you'll probably go first! NOT THAT YOUR DRINKING IS A PROBLEM OR ANYTHING! I mean, I've had my share so I know you can hold your own- NOT THAT I'M A DRINKER OR ANYTHING! I'm just saying maybe I've had a drink or two before -all within the legal limits of course- and they never really hit me that hard so you'll probably handle however mush you've had- IT IS GETTING SO HOT IN HERE!? Has global warming already started!?!? HEH-HE Though I guess you don't know about that yet... you will! But that's not what's important right now... heh.... hehe... please help." "So... we are related?" I ask, tilting my head slightly, lost in her ramblings. What's global warming? Sounds made up. "... noooo?" she responds, backing against the door. Miles takes a step forward and looks the stranger in the face. Even though her eyes are concealed, I can tell he's looking right into hers. Judging her, speaking to her. She's tensing up, trying to keep her failing composure up. She flinches when he ignites his magic, ducking as if waiting to be struck. The door clicks open and she stumbles back slightly as it opens. She looks out for a moment before looking to Miles, seemingly as if asking for permission. Miles nods to her, giving his confident smile. She nods to the both of us before stepping out to railing. I step forward and watch her from Miles' side. She takes in the sight of Canterlot again before turning to us again. She hesitates for a moment before speaking up. "For all it's worth, it was nice to finally meet you... both of you." FLASH A powerful burst of magic engulfs her and she disappears. We stand there for a moment longer before looking to each other. Both of us? What did she mean by that? What does our future hold for us?
Chapter 257 The Oligarchs WarChapter 257 The Oligarchs War Perspective: Shadow I wake to the smell of pancakes and syrup seeping its way into my room. It's a warming scent. Mostly because it tells me that Dad is home today. The thought of that almost makes me jump out of bed. But, I guess I'm accustomed to having him disappear for random periods of time. Either from Spartan stuff, or just life. Like that one time he had to fight those Time Moles. He was gone for... what, three months? This is normal for him. The only thing keeping me in bed is the warm cocoon my blankets have provided for me. Tempestive and I were out late at the Gala in Mooseden last night, so sleep is much more appealing. Nothing against Dad, but he'll probably be there in ten more minutes- THUD "WAKE UP!" "AH!" I let out a small scream when Dad kicks the door open and yells. My blankets go flying and my protective layer of warmth escapes immediately. Before I can say anything further he grabs me with his magic and starts to drag me out of bed. I try to grab on, but all I manage to do is bring a pillow with me. In the hallway I see Tempestive floating with me. Though he's much happier about the sudden awakening. Dad brings us down to the kitchen and drops us into our seats just as a tall stack of pancakes drops onto the plate in the middle of the table. I continue to cling to my pillow and Mama Luna trots around, pausing to kiss Dad, and takes a seat at the other end of the table. "Dig in everypony!" Mama Luna declares. They all happily start to dig in, everypony serving themselves. I set my pillow down and take a look around. "Everything okay kiddo?" Dad asks with a mouthful of food. "Um... yes?" I ask, eyeing him confusingly. "Everything good with... you?" "Couldn't be better!" He declares happily, taking another large bite of food. I stare at him for a moment longer before slowly serving myself some food. "So, you got school today, right Shadow?" Dad asks joyfully. "... yeah." I mutter, taking a small bite. "So, I was thinking, after you get back we should all go out for a picnic or something. Maybe go to the lake? What do you guys think?" "Yeah!" Tempestive exclaims, throwing both hooves up into the air. "We haven't been to the lake in ages!" Luna comments happily... too happily. "Lake it is then! I'll head to Mooseden to drag Butterscotch and E'Claire along too. Should we invite other too?" Dad asks. The three of them have an excited conversation about the day. It sounds like it's turning into a small party at the lake really. I try to listen to it, but it just seems too... weird? I don't know. Something just doesn't seem right right now. I have to ask something. "Um... Dad?" I ask, getting his total attention. "Is... everything okay?" He stares at me for a moment before setting his fork down. "Look, I know things were... heated, before. But everything is fine. Better than fine even! For once things seem to be getting better. I'm sure you'll see in time, but I don't want to spoil any surprises until then. So just trust me and let's enjoy the day! Sound good?" I stare at him for moment longer before nodding back to him. I know I can trust him. I have no reason not to. Whatever apprehensions I had before I push aside for later. I'm sure it's actually nothing. "Actually, the girls and I were going to meet up after school to work on a project. It probably won't take too long. We can meet everypony at the lake if that would be better?" Dad agrees to the plan and breakfast continues as normal. I dip out early when I remember that we were going to meet up before school too. Today is the day. Today I begin our plan to enact my revenge on Diamond Tiara. I start out by meeting up with everypony in front of school an hour before classes start. With everypony here we get to work on making Diamonds day as terrible as possible. We pull out all the stops. Booby trapping her locker to drop red paint on her when she opens it. Putting itching powder in her gym cloths. Lacing all of her desks with invisible inks that I had to spends days enchanting to only activate when I set it to. I really hate enchanting now. We went to all of her favorite places to hang out and put up posters mocking her there. We muddied up the area under the bleachers so she wouldn't be able to slut her issues away! We went to all of the vending machines and bought out her favorite snacks and drinks. We removed the seats from the benches she took ownership of at the cafeteria and hid the umbrella. We went to each of her desks and put posters in them mocking her even further. We really lucked out that Pipsqueak has it in with the janitor... It also really worked out that the janitor used to work for her father, was fired, and holds a huge grudge about it. Scootaloo was willing to break into all of the rooms. But it's better to not have to break into school. On top of all of that we have an ambush ready for after school. She usually takes a specific route home and we're ready for it. Large sling shots have been set up to pelt her with water balloons filled with ink and gum wads. The hope is that it'll stain her coat and matte her mane and tail. And that's on top of the paint and invisible inks! Day one of our plan is our show of force. We're going to take her good looks away from her. Day one, her looks. Day two, alienate her from her friends. We have some dirt that will draw most of her little fanatics away from her. There are a few loyalist that will stick with her, but we have plans to drag them to the outer reaches of society and destroy their self image. Day three, bring the fight to her family. We've got several plans on what to do here, but it mostly involves us going around town and making comments bad mouthing Barnyard Bargains. If his business is legitimate, which it probably isn't, but if it is he can't go on for more than a month or two while losing ten percent of his business. If the last five days of surveillance are any indicator of that at least. It was a busy week, but if my research is accurate he basically operates on a ten percent margin practice. From there, it's up to volume to make up the difference. If I can drop him ten percent in one month, he'll start to panic. There goes Diamonds little shopping sprees. It won't be enough to make his business collapse, but that's where the vandalism come into effect. After reading his insurance policies, courtesy of drone footage from Dad's workshop, we know how to make him hurt. Day in, day out. He'll be fine with one or two mishaps. But when his rates quadruple in the span of one month, he'll start to bleed bits. And that should be it. Though I'm still floating the idea of burning down their house. Sweetie made some persuasive arguments for it, but I think arson is taking it a bit too far. I want them to suffer. Not potentially die. And leaving town would be too easy. I don't want them to have the option to start over somewhere else. I want to the to become trapped. I want them to feel the pressure of everyday being on the brink of financial collapse. But today, I want drag Diamond down into the dirt. After School "Damn... what luck." Scootaloo chimes, getting smacked from Applebloom. "What? How were we supposed to know Diamond would start home schooling the rest of summer school? Who does that?" "Or that Shadow would get all of her seats and lockers." Sweetie Bell adds. "Do you think she knew?" Button asks. "She couldn't have known, right?" "Nopony knew besides us." Scootaloo says, glaring at the others. "Right." "It doesn't matter." I tell them. "We'll have to get her later when the school year actually starts. Right now we're moving to the next part of the plan." "Umm..." We all stop and look to Pip. No... I know that look. Don't tell me... "I think that part is going to have to go back to the drawing board." After a quick explanation we all rush to Barnyard Bargains. Or maybe I rushed there and they all followed, who knows really. When we make it to the font of the store I slide to a stop and drop to my haunches. There's a crowd going out the front door as ponies clamor to get inside. A few standing out front are showing off their new purchases. Armor. Shiny new armor. Barnyard Bargain doesn't sell armor! I rush to the side of the building and see a new advertisement plastered over the entire side. Barnyard Bargains Personal Protection Sale! Tired of the constant fighting? Want to take matters into your own hooves? Barnyard Bargains presents it's new line of affordable armor! Don't wait for somepony else to come to your rescue! Be the hero! Buy Barnyard Bargains new line of custom armor and weaponry! TERMS AND CONDITIONS MAY APPLY. BARNYARD BARGAINS IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DISMEMBERMENT, INJURY, PINCHING, OR DEATHS WHILE IN ARMOR. ALL SALES ARE FINAL. CERTAIN EXCLUSIONS MAY APPLY. ARMOR IS MADE TO ADD PROTECTIVE LAYERING AND DOES NOT PREVENT MATTERS FROM ESCAPING METAPHORICAL HOOVES. AFFORDABILITY SUBJECT TO PERSONAL SCRUTINY OF BARNYARD BARGAINS. ARMOR AND WEAPONS DO NOT INFER OR OBTAIN HERO STATUS. I can't believe it. I don't believe it! I spent all week monitoring this place! When did they bring all of this in? And how are so many ponies aware of the sale happening? There weren't any ads before today. They did all of this while we were at school! Why today? How could they have known today was the day to bring this out? As I stare at the advertisement, dumbfounded, Diamond saunters her way up to us with two ponies in armor flanking her. She's wearing an all leather set of armor, but it clearly wasn't made to protect her. The inlays are far to intricate for something like that. "Glad you all could make it to the big sale! But, sadly, we sold out already. So you'll have to wait your turn on the backlog... how long was the wait again?" she asks one of the armored ponies. They raise their helmet and I find myself in an entirely new level of dumbfoundedness. "Looks like it's going to be a three month wait," Twist tells her. "Ah, too bad. Oh well, can't be helped. Well, you can't at least. I have all the help I need. Bye!" She turns to leave but Twist lingers a moment longer. "If it's any consolation, I really am sorry. But Diamond said if I helped her I'd get a free set of armor for my dad. Nothing personal, promise." Before any of us can say anything back to her she shuts her helmet and chases after Diamond. I can't believe what's happening right now. Did Diamond know we wouldn't question anypony willing to help us? Does she really know that much about us? Just how many steps ahead of us is she really? I try to think of something to say. Something to do. Maybe the armor is really poor quality? Or maybe because of the backlog ponies will get angry and that could... do... something? What are they selling them at anyway? Maybe the ten percent rule will still apply. Oh, who am I kidding? They sold two months worth in a day! There's no way my plan is going to work out the way I thought it was going to. She beat us this round. There's nothing left to do now but move onto the next plan. Whenever that'll come to me. "Come on, let's get out of here." Apple Bloom tells me, nudging my shoulder. "Yeah... let's go to the lake... so I can drown myself in my sorrows." I mutter back as I pry myself away from the building. "Um... too dark?" Sweetie asks aloud. "Well, on the bright side," Scootaloo starts but stops when we all glare at her. But, she misses her chance. "You could still fuck Rumble." "AAAAAH!" I yell as I drop and bury my head under my hooves. Just when I thought that would finally end, she has to bring it back up again! "Do what now?" Rumble asks, seemingly appearing just to make matters worse. "By the way, I have good news!" "Does it have to do with my sudden destruction at the hooves of an over pampered premadonna?" I ask from the ground. "Um... no? I... I uh... this actually might be bad timing-" "Just spit it out." Apple Bloom barks at him. "It really can't get any worse." "..." "It's getting worse, ain't it?" Of course it is. Because you tempted fate APPLE BLOOM! You're still like a sister to me, but I could bury in the ground right now. "Yeeeaaah... I got a letter in the mail saying I got into a summer camp for Air Ball. So I'm going to be gone until school starts up again... after summer that is... sorry?" I start laughing from the ground. It starts as a small chuckle, but it just grew inside of me. It grows until I start to scare my friends and they start to back away from me. You did it Diamond! You really did it! "I'm going to start a fire!" I announce suddenly, jumping to my hooves. "What?" A random guard asks from nearby. "Nothing!" Sweetie yells as she rushes over and covers my mouth. "It was just an inside joke, nothing to gleam off from that! Honest!" He eyes the two of us for a moment before slowly walking away. "Whelp, today was a bust. At least we still have the lake to go to." Scootaloo chimes, getting looks from everypony. "What? Am I wrong?" "Um... I was actually hoping to steal Shadow for the day. If that's alright?" Rumble asks. Everypony looks to me, waiting to see what I'll do. Honestly, I could use some alone time. But if I go home, Dad is going to drag me out anyway. And... I can't really face him right now. So personal time with Rumble doesn't sound bad either... Until I start to think... about that... "We'll cover for you," Scootaloo tells me as she zips off into the air, followed by Pip. "Try ahn relax, okay?" Apple Bloom tells me before trotting off. Sweetie walks over to me and pulls me in for a sudden hug. I slowly reach up and pat her back, unsure about the sudden affection. "Downward Dog is the-" "Okay!" I yell as I push her away. "That's enough of that! Let's get going Rumble!"
Chapter 258 Rumbles KnightChapter 258 Rumbles Knight August 13th, 4139 Rumble and I start walking towards his place and I start to have a panic attack. How much of what I said did he hear? I can't bring it up either! Because then it might lead to... that. Why am I so uncomfortable saying... sex. Shiver I think my parents broke me. Maybe I should just teleport away and tell him about it later. That does seem like a good plan. But I can't just teleport away from Rumble. That would be unfair to him. And he knows where I live, so that wouldn't really solve anything. Why am I freaking out over this? It's Rumble. Sure, he has a history of... this kind of stuff. But he's been really patient and respectful. I'm sure that if I explained the situation to him and let him know that I'm not ready for this that he'd understand. I just need to put my trust in him, that's all. "So I hear you're going to fuck me stupid." FLOMP I groan into the ground as all of the blood rushed to my face. Of course he's going to lead with that. "You okay?" he asks kindly, rubbing my back. I force myself up and dust myself off. Doing everything in my power to avoid looking at him. "Y-yeah. Heh... about that, uh... the thing is-" "Because, and I don't mean to brag, but I'm pretty interested to see what that would entail. I never really took you for the forward type. But hey, I guess quiet but suddenly kinky bookworm... I can get behind that." He waggles his eyebrows at me, and I let out a small chuckle. "I should make you wait for that alone," I say with a small laugh. He helps dust me off a bit before nodding for me to follow. I nod along and continue walking with him. He has a way of calming me down. I wish it didn't lead with making me crash, but beggars can't be choosers. The entire walk together is nice. Nopony is really around to bother us. The weather is nice. There's nothing out here besides the two of us, and I like that. ...That might be because we're supposed to be at school now. "Um... Rumble?" "Yeah?" "Shouldn't we be heading to school? Or, since you're doing that flight school thing, shouldn't I be going to my afterschool programs?" I feel a little guilty asking, but I can't help it. I've never missed a day of school! Not without going through the proper channels at least. Skipping school? Me? I can't imagine the teachers noticing in all honesty. But I can't help but worry that something bad is going to happen because of it. By the time I asked we had just made it to his front door. We stop to face one another and I get the sense that this is the line in the sand. If I go through the door frame, there's no going back. Whatever happens in there, happens. I can see Rumble fighting to find the right words. But, just by the way he's fidgeting, I can tell he really wants me to go in as well. "Look, I know this is going to be... really forward. And I get that it would be even more unfair to ask the way I'm going to. But, just know that no matter what you say it won't change how I think or feel about you. I promise, everything I've said and done has not been a lie, okay? I really do like you." "... But?" I ask, feeling my heart skip a beat. Is he breaking up with me? Where's he going with this? "Okay... so, School proper starts back up in three weeks, give or take. And most of that time I'm going to be up in Cloudsdale, so we're not going to see each other until school starts. But that's the thing, school will be starting. So, in my head at least, this is the last chance we'll get to really have a day with just the two of us. At least, for a really long time." "And putting all my cards on the table, having sex would be an added bonus. But that's not why I brought you here. I wanted a day with just the two of us. No distractions. No obligations. Just you and me. I know school is important to you, and ditching your friends might be a bit off putting too. But... I just really want to have you to myself for a day-" I stop him by putting a hoof on his lips. I can see where he's going with this. It is tempting to go inside and have a day with just the two of us. Escape all the problems of the world and just have him too myself? Why wouldn't I want that? But there's something that doesn't seem... right? Maybe I'm overthinking it, but something about school is causing me reconsider. Maybe I've just been conditioned to put school in such a high regard. I mean, I have straight A's. And I haven't missed a single day! Not to mention how far ahead in school I am right now. Maybe I should take the day. I've definitely earned it. But that still seems like the easy way out. I've always been told that the easy way is the wrong way. Or, maybe not wrong, but that there's always something over looked when you try to take shortcuts. "Rumble..." I start out. But I made the mistake of looking him in the eyes. I can see the slight fear in him. He knows he's asking a lot. And he even said it didn't have to go... there. "Yeah Shadow?" "... what should we do first?" I can't help but feel a tinge of guilt when I say that. I don't even know what I'm feeling guilty for. But the excitement on his face makes me feels measurably better about it. I'm sure it'll be fine. "And before you say it, we're not doing... it! Or... yeah, no!" "That's fine! One hundred percent not an issue! Honestly, I'm just glad to have you over!" He tells me excitedly as he fumbles to get his keys out of his bag. "Oh yeah?" I ask, taking a peek down below. "Then you might want to put that away then." He stops and glances down. He gives a nervous chuckle before dumping his bag out before me. He starts tossing his stuff all around, but it's pretty clear that he locked himself out of his own house. I take a look at his house and note several ways inside. We can try one of the windows. Though most of them seem like those new ones with the good locks. Maybe the back door is open? And if all else fails, I can just teleport inside. While Rumble is still trying to find his keys I sneak away and take a small trot to the back. The back door is locked, but it's one of those old style dead bolts. There's a trick with these. If you can slip something behind the bolt, you can basically push the bolt aside. Weird that they put an old bolt like this on a new house. Probably trying to cut corners. I pull out a protractor and slip it into the crack. A few wiggles and the bolt slips open. That was way too easy. I open the door and walk inside. I make sure to shut and lock the door behind myself. We don't want any distractions surprising us today, that's for sure. I also make sure to shut all the blinds. Maybe I'm being a bit paranoid, but whatever. It's my day off too, and I want to shut out the world. I leave my bag on the kitchen counter and make my way to the living room. With a quick flip of the lock I open the door. Rumble is still trying to find his keys, but he's also trying to assure me that he has them. I take a look around and see his keys on the a small table by the door. I take them with my magic and look them over, making sure they jingle to get his attention. "... where did you find them.... also, when did you get inside?" "Hm... I could answer that, but what would I get out of that?" I ask, smirking at him. He smiles back rushes forward, landing a kiss perfectly on my lips. We stumble our way inside, lips never leaving one another, and manage to shut and lock the door. I don't know where we're going, but we manage to knock over a few things over along the way. Nothing sounds like it breaks, so we keep going. Our tongues find their ways to each other. Lightly lapping at one another at first. He pulls me in close and begins vigorously exploring my mouth, and I'm too happy to stop him. We come to a stop somewhere and I wrap my arms around his neck. He begins to explore with his hooves. Slowly moving them over my back and sides. Each move sends shivers down my spine and makes me hold onto him tighter. Almost begging him to keep going. He starts grabbing me in places that are new to foreign touch. It was light at first. A slight graze by my flanks. Or a soft touch on my underside. Even through my school uniform the touch is intoxicating. I start feeling a bit braver and begin to explore with my own hooves. Pressing against his chest. Running a hoof over his unbelievably soft wings. I even build the courage to grab his flank. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" I mutter as I push him back. "Sorry! Was that too much?" I take a few deep breaths as I try to collect my thoughts. "No, sorry. That... that was on me." I tell him as I straighten out my uniform. "Um... heh, wow. We uh... we get heated pretty fast, don't we?" We share an awkward laugh together. "I can try to tone it down if you'd like, but... well. No promises." We share a small smile before I lean forward and kiss his cheek. "So, what do you want to do?" I ask as I lean against him. This is nice, but there's one thing that's really... making it's point. I keep feeling him against me. The last time I nearly had a heart attack. But today, it's not that big a deal. I even made a joke about it earlier! "Well... how about we go up to my room and talk for a bit?" "Talk?" I ask, getting him to chuckle. "Yes talk," he assures me. "And not rip that uniform off of you and rail you until you walk crooked for a week." "Rumble!" I give him a push and try to hide my blush. I guess I never said anything about him teasing me. "C'mon, I have a million questions to ask you!" He gives me one last kiss on the cheek before leading me up the stairs. We have a bit of trouble getting up the stairs. But that's only due to our incessant need to rub against one another. When we make it to his room he leaps through the air and drops onto his bed. He pats the spot next to him when an idea gets in my head. It's... a bit bold. But, I guess today is the day for bold moves. I start removing my uniform. But I try to do it in as sultry a way as possible. Part of me feels really silly doing this. But by the way he's watching me, I'm guessing it's working. I take my shirt and pop the buttons off with my magic as I slid it over head. I reach under my skirt and start to slide my spanks off. I never really thought much on how alluring my body would be to another person. So I'm not really sure if what I'm doing is as sexily as I want it to be. Everything I'm doing I've either heard from one of the other girls, or read in... magazines. Judging by the look on Rumbles face, it seems to be working. I get an idea in my head. I'm pretty sure I know how it'll go, but... it seems like a good idea for the moment. "So... two pieces of clothing left... one of them is staying on. Why don't you pick?" Rumble looks at me as if I told him the secrets of the universe. He gets up and starts to walk around me. I can feel my heart start to race as I watch him go around. He's looking over every part of me. Scrutinizing. Fantasizing. I'm starting to feel a bit weak in the knees and my stomach feels like it's upside down. But... I'm also loving it. "Leave the skirt on." I figured he would say that. But I'm okay with that. I go to remove my panties when I stop. I look to Rumble before I lower my hoof and tilt my head back. He gives me a surprised look before moving behind me. "Are you sure?" "Y-yeah." I clear my throat. "Yes. But... look, don't touch." Where did this side of me come from? Is this a part of me that's always existed or is it only because of Rumble. I don't know, but right now I really don't care. Rumble moves closer to me and sets his hooves on my hips. He caresses my sides before moving them down and under my skirt. My breath catches as he starts to massage my backside. My tail swishes on it's own accord before lifting out of the way. He takes that as his queue and starts to slip the panties off as slowly as possible. I bite my lip as they begin to leave my body. I've never been this exposed to someone before. I'm a bit nervous about what's going to happen next too. I've been relying on instinct up until this point. But I don't want to follow my instincts to the next part. No matter how nice it sounds. I can feel his warm breath against me. Each pulse sends a wave of euphoria throughout my body. Each time I almost beg for him to continue, but my voice is too far away for anything to come out. All I can do is stand here with baited breath for him to make the next move. Whatever he chooses, I don't know it I'll be able to say no to. It feels like an eternity, but he eventually pulls himself away and faces me. I can't help but chuckle when I see the huge blush on his face. "Shadow... you are easily the sexiest mare I've ever been with," he tells me matter of factly. "Heh... well... it's easy when I have someone like you around." I try to make it into a compliment, but I don't think it went over well. "No, I really mean it. No mare comes even close to you! How are you this sexy!?" I chuckle again from that. I'm a bit unaccustomed to being complimented. But it's nice. "It's a lot harder than you think. But... thanks. You're really... sexy too. Not that I'm just trying to repay the compliment! I really do think you're sexy! Maybe sexy isn't the right word. Well, you saw for-" I stop when he leans forward and kisses me again. Which is good, because I was about to go off the deep end there. We bring the kiss to the bed and slowly climb on. He lays on his side and leaves a space for me to lay against him. I snuggle against him, trying my best to not crush his... bits. Bit? His... anyway! "So... what do you want to talk about?" I ask, getting him to laugh. We spend the next few hours just talking. Family, friends, cutie marks, everything. He had some actual questions too. Mostly about my parents and the whole dynamic between them all. I didn't really mind talking about them. But I didn't want to dwell on them for too long. I started asking about what he wanted to do after high school, and I was a bit surprised to hear his answer. He doesn't really have a plan. He does, but he's not really committed to it. It's more of a placeholder plan for him to explore what he wants. I can't really blame him for that, but I figured he would have a better idea of what he wanted. Truth be told, I was assuming more pegasi stereotypes. Like the Wonderbolts or cloud factory stuff. I surprised him too with that question. The idea of moving to Mooseden to do quiet government work wasn't what he had in mind for me. But there isn't really much else for me to do out there. Nothing that really appeals to me at least. And with a cutie mark that's geared for stealth there aren't really too many options. "But you could be a spy! Or witness protection! There are a lot of different things a stealth cutie mark could mean!" "I know, but I'm not much for confrontations." I tell him. I've moved to lay on my back so I could face him better, being careful of his wings. "And... well, okay. So when I say my cutie mark is for stealth, that's not completely true." "Oh?" Rumble asks, booping my nose with his. "Do tell!" "You can't tell anypony about this, okay!? This is between you and me!" I tell him, poking his chest with a hoof. "Promise! So, are you secretly a heist master? Is that how you broke into my house so easily?" I laugh at that. "No. While my mark does help with that, it's not what made me... me." I pause as I try to find the right words. He waits patiently, running the tip of his wing against my chest. "Hmm... that feels nice." "C'mon you! Spill the beans already!" He ruffles his feather against my face and chuckle as I push them aside. "Okay! So... first off, my full name is Shadow Knight... and my sister was Lantern Light. When I was younger my brother got lost in the Everfree, as he often does. He was being kept in some cave by some... creatures. I couldn't fight them by myself. And I couldn't leave him alone with them. So I hid in the shadows and fought slowly. I took small moves against them without them ever knowing I was there. I couldn't fight them directly as a group, so I fought them from the shadows one by one. And that's when I learned that my talent was playing puppeteer from the shadows. Ponies think I'm weak. That I'm too non-confrontational. The truth is actually the complete opposite. I can fight just about anything, so long as they don't know where I am." The room goes quiet as I think back to that night. I don't tell him more than I need to. About how I tortured those creatures. How I made them run in fear of me. How I scared Tempestive that night. "... so... what happened to your sister?" I'm caught a bit off guard from that. I didn't even really notice that I brought her up. "She's... she passed when I was little. When my current father found us, we were working in a mine. It... it was not a good time. There was an incident and... creatures took her from me. I think I only got away because of my talents honestly." "... do you have anything of hers? A picture?" I shrug to him. The only thing I have of her is my memory. And that's been tainted by that fucking monster. "I'm so sorry." "It's okay Rumble. It was a long time ago." An awkward silence falls between us. I go to sit up when I feel my stomach protest. "Let's get something to eat, okay?" "Yeah... sorry, kinda killed the mood didn't I?" he asks as we both stand. "No, it's alright. And, honestly, sometimes ponies blundering into that helps. I don't know what I'd do if I ever forgot her." We make our way downstairs and Rumble starts to make us some lunch. I take the lull to look around the living room and poke around. I'm mostly looking at the nick knacks, but a few family pictures catch my attention. Most are of him and his brother, but there is one with them and who I assume to be their mother. I don't ask what happened though. In the picture they're in a hospital room. She's lying on a bed with the two of them with her. Even with how happy the three of them look, you can tell how sick she is. "Any particular preference of toppings?" Rumble asks from the kitchen. "What? Oh, no. I'm good with whatever." I tell him as I move to the next set of pictures. "Anything? A chefs favorite word!" I laugh at that. "Does your brother know you're going to be gone for three weeks?" I ask as I enter the kitchen. I take a seat on one of the bar stools at the kitchen island and watch him do his work. "Not really. I'll leave him a note though. I know that sounds bad, but that's just how we are." I hum in response as I watch him assemble our sandwiches. "How are you going to get there?" "Flying. I've done the trip a few times before, so it shouldn't be an issue." "Well... if you'd like. I could teleport us there." He pauses what he's doing to give me a quizzical look. "My dad made sure that I knew that spell. Said it was the most useful pony spell around. It wouldn't be too hard." "I don't know Shadow. You'd still have to get back too. Wouldn't that be too much?" "It's actually easier than most ponies make it out to be. Casting at shorter distances makes it a cinch. Plus... if I do this... then I could spend the night with you." "... are you sure about that? Not that that doesn't sound like the best thing ever, but I don't want to get you in trouble." I mull it over for a moment longer before setting my mind. "I'm okay with it if you are. And... maybe later tonight we could... continue?" "Con... continue?" he asks, lost for words. "Y-yeah... maybe not all the way. But... more?" We stare at each other for moment, not knowing what to say. We both want it. But at the same time, we both want the other to back up a bit. Neither of us are going to though. And I'm still okay with that. With Rumble, I'm better than okay.
Chapter 259 And They Cried Republic! Republic! Republic!Chapter 259 And They Cried Republic! Republic! Republic! August 14th 4139 Waking early in the morning has become something that comes easy to me. At least when I have a task to do. Even though we went to sleep later than if Rumble had flown to Cloudsdale, we still had to be up before sunrise. We didn't really sleep last night either. We were... plenty distracted. It was good though. In the end, I'm glad I stayed. I've never had this sort of affection given to me for so long before. I can see myself getting used to it. Getting ready for the day went by pretty quick. And we were both fairly quiet too. There were a lot of things I wanted to say. I just didn't know how to say them. I get the feeling he fells similarly. "So, you ready for this?" Rumble asks as he locks the front door. "Yeah. Like I said, it'll be easier than it looks." I hope so at least. I've never done this at this distance before. And that's not even considering adding another person to the mix. But there's no going back now. I take a deep breath as I set my mind to the task at hoof. My first few teleports will be mostly to test jumping with another pony. But once I get a feel for it, I'll try adding greater distances as I go. FLASH My first teleport goes by easily enough. It tells me I can go a bit further without worry. FLASH We're far out of Ponyville now. We can still see the town, but it will be gone soon enough. This is a comfortable rate to go. I could try adding slightly more distance, but it's not necessary. At this rate we'll be there in only a few minutes. "Hold on a sec," Rumble groans as he shakes his head. "Sorry. Never teleported that much before at once." "Sorry. But we're going to make great time at least!" There's a reason I don't do this often. Most people aren't used to being teleported this often. And I can't help but feeling guilty for messing with his head when he's about to go on this training camp. "That's good. How're you holding up?" He asks while rubbing his head. "I'm fine. Like I told you, scaling the spell back makes it easier to cast. Even if it kicks back on me, it's almost negligible. I can handle it. Are you okay?" He takes another deep breath before nodding to me. I give him a sympathetic smile and cast the next spell, sending us closer to Cloudsdale. "So... what's your plan... while I'm gone?" He asks between teleports. "Um... plan?" I ask, not getting his meaning. "For D.T." I can't help but roll my eyes at that. I don't want to even think about her right now. "Honestly... it's back to the drawing board. I have no clue... what I'm going to do. Why? Do you have any suggestions?" He looks a bit uncomfortable from that. I can't tell if it's from the teleporting or the question though. "Well... kinda. But nothing that really... helps." I wait for him to elaborate before teleporting again. He shifts his weight around as he thinks about it for a moment. "Well... look. I'm one hundred percent on your side. But, and this is me just trying to be helpful, you're not going to win any fights on her level. Don't try to get into her arena, drag her into yours! I don't really have ways to help you do that, but it's really the only way I can see you beating her." I nod to his logic. The thought has occurred before. But I don't really know what my arena is. I'm the awkward loner, where do I even start with that!? Maybe I should just stick with Pips idea of becoming more popular than her. Which sounds just as impossible. "I get what you mean, and I appreciate it. But... without a plan there's no going back really. At least trying to fight on her ground I know where I can try... sorta. But... thanks. For being on my side that is." He steps forward and gives me a small kiss on the lips. It makes me feel better for a moment. Distracts me from the overwhelming idea of revenge. "Well, keep going with the fucking me stupid thing then. It seems to be working-" FLASH I teleport him away as embarrassment covers my face. Of course he was going to be a little shit about it. When we make it close enough to Cloudsdale we say our goodbyes. You would think having been around the Spartans for so long I'd be an expert at this sort of thing. He's not even doing anything nearly as intense as that! But now I get it. I couldn't imagine having been with him for as long as some of the others have been together and then sending him somewhere where he could die. After nearly giving myself a panic attack, Rumble took off for the city and I made my way home. I kept quiet along the way. There's a lot to think about right now, but I keep it all from my mind. At least for the time being. All I want to do is crawl into bed and sleep until the weekend. I know I can't do that, but it's still a tempting idea. When I make it home I grab the door but flinch when it swings open. I feel my knees go weak when I look up at Dad staring back at me. Did he know I was gone? Is he going to be mad at me!? IS HE GOING TO KILL RUMBLE!? "... Good news kiddo! I just let the school know you aren't going to be there today!" he tells me... too happily. "... o-oh?" I ask, slowly relaxing. "Yeah, you're going to Mooseden to help your moms out with the meeting today!" I look around as I try to piece everything together. "Um... what meeting?" It's been a long time since I've seen such a look of pure joy on his face. It's... unsettling. "Citizens meeting! You're forming a new government today!" Perspective: Miles I get a giddy feeling as I watch the first of the I.T.A.'s landing in Mooseden's airfield. Shouldn't be much longer before the last of them make it here. Most are already in the town hall, but many of the Apples are waiting out front to greet other family members. With their rather large addition we've finally made it to our threshold. Now it's up to them to form a government and take responsibilities from us. And I couldn't be happier. Mooseden is alive with traffic today! Bots are running all over herding people into town hall while people murmur about town. I think our numbers are around fifteen hundred. Something like that at least. I don't think this town has had this many people in it... ever! It's an exciting sight to behold. "Shadow, how many more?" I ask her as I watch the ponies file out of the aircraft. "Um... three more inbound. Looks like some stragglers from the Ape Empire, I think." I hum back to her. I think that's Si Ye's extended family coming in. "Go find E'Claire and see if she needs help with anything else. I can take of the rest from here." She nods to me and trots off. I shield my face with a wing as the aircraft start to land, their escorts screeching past over head. We couldn't take any risk today, so each transport has two wings guiding them. Luckily nothing happened. Most of this group are merchants and traders of various ethnic groups. Terradisia has become rather diverse, but it's still largely dominated by ponies. But when you look at the merchants and crafts people, that's where our diversity is mostly found. I greet a few of them and tell them their questions will be answered during the meeting. A few of them are fussy over being dragged away from various business dealings, they eventually make their way over to the crowd and mix in. Orcs, minotaurs, ponies, even if it's just one or two, every race is represented here today. If we're lucky, today will be the catalyst for more to join our ranks. I'm one step closer to reaching my goal of raising Terradisia back to its former glory. I knew it would happen eventually, but seeing it finally happen. It's almost unreal. "Easy, take over ground control." "Affirmative." The utility bot takes my place as I start to meander around the crowd. Part of me is just too excited to stand in one spot for too long. Being part of this crowd and hearing the people talking with one another, there's electricity in the air. Pretty much everyone knows what's going on today. At least in some small way. I don't think they get how much they are deciding. They don't get the role they're playing in history today. "Captain!" I pause and turn to the voice. Storm drops by my side and gives a salute, to which I return. "Today's the day?" "Today is the day!" I proclaim to him as I return to roaming around the crowd. "Have all the Spartans made it here?" "Yes sir. Most are inside monitoring the crowd. A few are straggling around Mooseden, but they'll be in the hall momentarily." "Good, Good!" I take a look around before I motion for him to follow me. We make our way inside the hall and push through the crowd to the back office. When we make it in I lock the door and pull out my phone to check over a few notes. I take a seat behind the desk while Storm sits across from me. "Captain, is this really the best solution?" Storm asks. "Trust me, this is the solution." I tell him as I read. "You don't understand yet because you've never had to be under government while a Spartan. Trust me on this. Today is our liberation." "Alright... well. In any case, how exactly is this going to work? Are we going to explain different types of governments or... what?" I chuckle a bit at that. "There's the beauty of it Storm. I'll save that for later though. Right now we're about to get started. Get the rest of the Spartans and get the civilians inside. Once you're done with that, have everyone else wait for me outside." Storm give me a quizzical look but doesn't question any further. When he leaves I go back to my notes once again. This has only happen twice in recorded history. But if it goes as it well as the other times, this should be a great day. We finally get to wash our hands of all this bureaucratic trash and do what we were made to do. Focus on the fight. I make it halfway through my notes before someone knocks on the door. E'Claire pops her head in and lets me know that everyone is inside. I thank her and jump to my hooves. This is it! Showtime! We make it to the main hall and I can't help but smile at the crowd before me. Everyone is clambering about, filling the seats slowly. Even though the building can house twice as many people, it's still buzzing with life. I go to the podium and find a gavel underneath. I take a moment to admire it before giving a few the podium a few pounds. The crowd gets the meaning and starts taking their seats. I wait for them to get mostly seated before speaking up. Hopefully that'll get them to hurry up and keep quiet. "Welcome! Welcome! Sorry for the sudden upheaval, but today is a tremendous day!" I yell out to the crowd. A few of them look to each other in confusion, but I can see several people who know what's about to happen. Namely my wife. "As I'm sure most of you are aware, Terradisia has slowly been on the rise. We've been growing over the last few years, but only just recently have we finally met our goal. We are over one thousand citizens! At this time, I am no longer your leader. YOU are the leaders now! It is time for you all to do your duties and form the Terradisian government." There's a moment of silence before the crowd explodes with questions. I let them argue for a moment longer before slamming the gavel back down. It takes a moment for them to simmer down, but they eventually quiet down. At least enough for me to speak over them. "Please, please, calm down! You're going to need those vocal chords for later." I laugh at my own joke, but no one joins me. "Anyway, the floor is now yours. What will you all make of Terradisia? A monarchy? Democracy? Will you choose unity and freedom, or order and structure? You are the new founders of Terradisia and its future is in your hands." Everyone stares at me and waits for me to continue. But there's nothing else for me to say. I set the gavel down and start to walk down the aisle. I can tell this is going right over their heads. They must have a million questions to ask. But none of that is my responsibility anymore. I pause when I make it next to Luna and Celestia. They both are smirking back to me. The chase is on, wonder who will end up on top. "Good luck ladies." I tell them before taking my leave. I hear Celestia start to speak to the crowd, but I ignore it as I step outside. The Spartans are gathered around, waiting for me to address them. I guess this would be the time to say something important. Something to really match the moment. "Spartans... let's get a drink." They all cheer with me. No more playing politician. No more playing the good guy. It's finally time for us to let go of the reins and do our jobs. As we walk off Storm comes to my side quickly. Out of everyone here, he's the only one who looks worried. "Captain, I still don't know if this is going to be a good idea or not. Maybe we could go back and tell them about some options or maybe-" "Don't sweat it Storm!" Damian yells. "They'll be fine... unless someone throws a folding chair. But, there aren't any in there, so we're good!" "This is no longer our concern Lieutenant," I tell him. "Let them do their jobs so we can do ours." One Hour Later After a few rounds and many questions from Storm, we decide to check on them. See how things are going. I really don't see why we would need to do this. But if it shuts him up, we can take a peek. I open the door and the sounds of shouts and screams of the crowd immediately thunders all around us. One side seems to be yelling at the other while there are some one on one arguments spotting the hall. I can see several piles of papers stacking in the back as Shadow tries to keep up with notes. But there are several piles of crumpled papers as well. I stand there for a moment as watch the crowd holler at one another before nodding to the chaos. From somewhere in the crowd a folding chair comes flying towards us. It falls short and lands just before us, sliding until it taps Storm on the hoof. "WHO THREW THAT?" Storm demands before charging into the crowd. Almost immediately the crowd breaks into a huge fight. "Wonderful. We have a republic."
Chapter 260 Our Dreams Lost in the WindChapter 260 --- .--. . .-. .- - .. --- -. / -. --- .-. - .... . .-. -. / - .- .-.. --- -. Perspective: Private Adair Even-Claw, 1st Battalion, S.E.U. (Shock Expeditionary Unit) August 15th 4139,1:30 am Sea-Crows Cliff, northern United Griffin Colony I rush around my room as I try to find my last minute things to take with me, leaving it incomplete disarray. I've stuffed as much as I can into my satchel, but I can't help but think that I'm forgetting something. What am I forgetting!? Cloths, check. Papers, check. I need to be there in thirty minutes and I know I'm forgetting something! "Missing something?" I pause my frantic search when my mother opens the door. I sigh in relief when I see her holding the thing I'm looking for. I latch my satchel and sling it on as I walk up to her. She smiles to me and ties the royal blue scarf around my neck. "Thanks Mom," I tell her as I finish getting my uniform squared away. She helps fasten a few loose buckles and tightens my satchel. She steps in front of me and starts to straighten out my scarf. "Did you pack your quills?" she asks me worriedly, fussing over my scarf. "Yeah, and papers and envelops." I tell her as she starts to get frantic over my scarf some more. I grab her claws and hold them for a moment. She pulls them in and rubs them against her cheek, purring deeply. "I thought there would be more time before you'd leave. It's bad enough that you twisted my wings to let you enlist. But now they're taking my little cub halfway around the world." "I'm not a cub anymore Mom," I groan to her. "Oh hush you! You'll always be my little cub!" I chuckle a bit at that. I am sad to be leaving her alone. I know she'll be okay. She works in the castle as a stewardess, so I'm not worried about her ability get food. But... we've always been together. Just the two of us. "I'll start writing as soon as we shove off. I don't know how long it'll be until I can actually send any letters-" "Adair, do not worry about me. I will be fine. You just focus on staying safe, you hear me?" She tells me as she pats down my scarf. "I will Mom." "But yes, write me." I chuckle at her and pull her in for a hug. She holds onto me tightly, and I return the affection. Who knows how long it will be until I'll see her again. I just pray it won't be too long. "Okay! Okay!" She mutters as she pushes back on me. "You need to get going. Go! before I tear up anymore and you mock me-" "I would never mock your crying face!" I tease, getting her laugh. "How could I have ever raised such a monster of a son? What have I done to deserve this?" We laugh together as I start to head to the door. Mom follows me but rushes to the kitchen. She hurries back with gives me a small bundle of food. I go to protest but she stuffs it into my bag before any words can come out. "Mom-" "Go now!" she cries out as she re-latches my bag. "I love you, I love you and you-you need to g-go! An-And b-b-b-be good! I-I'm so prooooooud of you!!" She yells as she starts to lose it. "I love you too Mom!" I tell her as I give one last hug before bolting. I slam the door as I hear her go into hysterics. I do feel bad leaving her like that, but it takes way too long to calm her when she gets like that. I take a moment to look over my home as I take to the skies. Our modest stone apartment complex sits nestled between several larger buildings, almost hiding it from the rest of the city. It's pretty, but a fairly unassuming place to live really. Being on the upper level, there aren't any stairs. But that's rarely a problem for us anyway. I take a deep breath and head north for the ports. Sea-Crows Cliffs is a decent size town. We have an aerodrome and seaport. And the railroad isn't too far off so we've have lots of travel coming through. It's my home town, born and raised. It's a place I love, even now. The acid rains tore away many of the old buildings almost immediately. The historic town hall, the old ports, even parts of the castle couldn't stand against the onslaught of acidic rain. We saved what we could, but there's history that's been lost forever. No amount of bland food sludge can fix that. I dip and weave my way over the various districts of town. The few lights of those saying goodbye guide me this new moon. Most of them are from other parts of the country. Filionce, Birdmandy, Perch, even as far as Eagles Cove! I can't say I really approve of the way they've been treating my home, but there's little to say or do about that. And in the end, we're all here for the same mission. "Adair!" I hear a hushed voice call out to me. I look over and see my life long friend, Harden, pull up beside me. I slow down enough for him to catch up, but we keep moving. We can't afford to be late. "It's finally happening, huh?" "You don't know that Harden." I tell him quickly. Truth be told, I've got my claws crossed hoping that it's just a drill. That this will all just be a readiness drill or a random inspection. Even though I know better. "Either way keep the chatter down. We can't let one of those golems catch wind of us." "Catch wind of you maybe, I showered." He jokes before racing ahead of me. I sniff my pits and growl to myself. I knew I was forgetting something. The Aerodrome at the northern most part of town was built just before the rains came. It's an impressive building of concrete and iron standing intimidatingly tall. Because of its oval design, it seems to have withstood the weather well. Being just outside the town, the metal golems don't really have sight of this place. So it's a perfect meeting place. That's what the Kroth say at least. I haven't met any of them yet myself, but I've heard stories about them. Stories of great feats of strength. Or of tremendous magical powers. If even half of what they say is true, then I'll be glad that they're on our side. I've heard other whispers that we're going to be teaming up with them for whatever journey we're doing. Being new to magic myself, I have to take advantage of this opportunity. I just hope I don't offend any of them. I catch up with Harden and we land with a small crowd just before the slightly opened doors of the building. There are a few MP's checking people in, so it looks like slow going. But we should have plenty of time before they do roll call inside. As we take our place in the small mob I can hear the murmurs of the others. I look to Harden as we realize what's really going on. "-brother just shipped out of Eagles Cove. Didn't even have time to say goodbye proper-" "-my daddy it was nuthin. He still thinks imma come back an help 'im tomorrow-" "-carrots. You gotta! I hear they'll lift tail for a carrot or two-" "I swear I saw one a' those flyin' things go in there! Maybe even a whole battalion of them grey skins!" "Captin' told me so when I saw him in the market the other day. That's why I packed a sweater and three pairs of mittens! Cold ain't gonna get me!" "So... this is it?" Harden asks me as we share a concerned look. Before I could respond a low growling sound catches the crowds attention. Seemingly from out of nowhere several flying contraption comes barreling out from the hillsides. They look to be some sort of mobile cannon machine, with jets of fire instead of wheels. The four vehicles each carry squads of Kroth on top of them, but there are more marching in formation from behind. I try to do a quick count, but it has to be a whole brigade. At least. The MPs start barking at us again, drawing most of our attention back to them. I try to get a good look at the Kroth again, but from where I'm at it's basically pointless. That armor they wear hides any secrets they might have anyway. They call for formation and we all scramble to get in line. It takes a few moments, but we eventually make our neat rows and stand at attention. The MPs that corralled us step away into the aerodrome, leaving us to wait. "Adair?" Harden whispers from behind me. I do my best to keep still, but find it hard to stay stoic when he calls me again. "Adair!?" "What?" SHUSH We both flinch back when someone quiets us. Of course they wait for me to respond. Just my luck, as usual. Before anyone else could even think to speak, a pair of officers come out and start to inspect our formation. I've never seen either of them before, but one is a second lieutenant while the other is a captain. After their short look they step back to have a quiet discussion with each other. I try to glance around to see what the others, but I can't really make any of them out. The captain nods to the second lieutenant before flying away. The lieutenant goes before the formation to take the position of command. "PLA-TOOOOON!" he yells out with a voice that demands respect. "SQUADS ONE AND FOUR ARE TO REMAIN AT ATTENTION. SQUADS TWO AND THREE, RIIIIIIGHT... FACE!" Being in squad three, I right face. I get a side glance at Harden and see the worry on his face. I begin to worry too. We're supposed to go together. It was part of the deal when we signed up. This can't be right. "MARCH!" Without notice Harden jumps out of formation and steps in before me. Several others eye him oddly, but no one says anything. I keep quiet too, not wanting him to get in trouble. I try to glance back at the others, but I can't really tell what's going on. We're on the move, and that's that. We march to the side of the building where there are stacks of crates piled up against the building. We're brought to a halt just before them. The lieutenant yells for us to mesh into one line, so we do. "YOU WILL ALL GATHER YOUR ALLOTTED GEAR AND MOVE TO THE BACK OF THE AERODROME! FROM THERE YOU WILL MAKE A NEW FORMATION AND DO A QUALITY CHECK ON YOUR GEAR. IF ANYTHING IS BROKEN OR NONFUNCTIONAL, YOU WILL GET IN THE BACK OF THE LINE! MOVE!" We start going through the stations for gear. One musket, a pouch of shots, a few air canisters, a couple grenades, short sword, and a packed meal. Being mostly trained for magic, I don't need as much as others. Depending on what you training badge says, you get sent to different stations where they pick up different materials. Harden is a gunner, and as such stops to pick up the main body of a Gatling gun. It's a extremely heavy piece of equipment. So it takes three to carry all the parts and ammo. But with him just joining in, it may throw off our numbers. As we try to gather our stuff the supply officers start yelling at us to hurry up. Everyone is being rushed through, so no one questions who takes what. When we make it through the supply line we rush around the building to start formation. But we both pause when we see the ship before us. Four goblin made air frigates are docked just beneath the cliffs. These ships are massive! Each one has four decks, each having ports for cannons. The main bodies are held aloft with massive armored ballasts that are all around larger than the ships themselves. The main decks are dotted with Kroth and goblins that are getting the ships ready for takeoff. Below the frigates is the flagship for this operation though. It's a vessel that dwarfs all the other crafts, one that I can easily identify. The battle carrier U.C.S.S. Indomitable. Six decks lined with the largest most advanced weapons in the world. The ballasts are segmented and armored to withstand dragons. The bottom of this behemoth opens to let smaller aircraft drop out, giving it an arsenal of weapons that could take on entire armies. This is the flagship of the Griffin Colonies. If we're going with this, then I have little doubt about what our target will be. The U.C.S.S. is made for large scale attacks. And we're only a company. Where are the rest of us then? That thing is made for an entire field army! With the Kroth we're still only at a large battalion! This doesn't make sense. "You there!" I jump out of my daze when the second lieutenant calls out Harden. "Who are you?" We share a quick uneasy look before snapping to attention and saluting. "Sir! Private Harden Olive-Talon of the S.E.U., first battalion, Alpha company-" "You're not supposed to be here." He cuts him off, eyeing his equipment. "I know our gunners and you're not one of mine. Where did you come from?" "Sir!" I cut in, unsure of what to do. "Harden and I were enlisted under the PALS program but were almost separated. Uh... W-we were going to ask permission for Private Harden to be reassigned with us!" He eyes the two of us for a long moment as I can feel myself start to sweat. There's noway he's going to let us go together. Why would he? He sizes up Harden again and keeps a stoic face. Weighing the options in his head. "Is your gunner crew good?" he asks Harden. "We placed second in our training squads sir!" Harden tells him proudly. "But our engineer if the best around too! P.F.C. Tolker has even studied some Kroth gear sir!" "Is that so?" he asks, genuinely intrigued. "Yes sir! Says he has a family hiding out at his old homestead! And our loader is a devil with a hammer sir! Saw him crush steel as if it was a watermelon!" The second lieutenant scratches his chin in thought before nodding to him. "Here's the deal Private. Go get your squad and bring them here. If someone tries to stop you, tell them to take it up with Captain Iron-Heart. But, if you're not back before we takeoff, then that's it. We're not waiting for you, no matter how special you think you are. understood?" "Yes sir!" Harden yells with a salute. He hesitates for a moment before taking off. I hesitate as well, unsure how to act. The lieutenant motions for me to move on, so I salute and rush towards the formation. That was too close, even for Hardens standards! I try to ignore the thought as I start to check over my rifle. I pull back the hammer and test the tension in the spring. It's nice and taught. I pull the ramrod and clear the barrel. Nothing inside, so I tuck the rod back in. Next I check the cylinder catch, making sure the grooves are clean and rust free. It air trap is new and shiny too. The flaps pushing in with total ease. As I check over my weapon I notice the ferries of different craft taking Kroth to the various ships down below. It seems like they've done something to the ships. Because as their ships come near the frigates and battle carrier, strange pieces of Kroth tech reach out and bring in the small craft. I wonder how much more of their tech is down there. What feels like forever drags on as the line of griffins slowly but surely makes it through inventory. Once everyone's here, we then wait even longer for the next part to happen. It gets to the point where we all start to sit and lay about. The commanders don't say anything though. We've got nothing better to do than wait. I lay down and just keep myself busy with cleaning my rifle. "Adair!" I perk up when I hear Harden. He has he whole squad with him, which seems like more than what they were asking for. I wave him over and start to pack up my cleaning oils. "Made it with time to spare apparently!" "You can say that again!" I laugh with him as I nod to the others. He trained with most of them when he became a gunner. I was always in a support role, so I didn't need to learn as much as him. "You missed the show. Those Kroth guys were loading up some serious equipment." "Anything good?" Garth asks. He's the one who knows about Kroth tech. Or so he claims at least. "Looked good, but I couldn't really tell you." "I swear, this fight isn't going to last long." Jarel quips. He's the hawk with the huge hammer. "I don't care how good those Spartans claim to be! Look at our numbers! Look at these freaking huge guns! Adair, look at you! How can they stand against an army of griffins and kroth that all have magic! I'm telling you all, this fights only going to last a month. TWO maybe!" They all share a laugh, but I keep quiet. I was at the invasion of our Capitol. That fight was... embarrassing. We did our best and we had the Kroth. But they still stole Ulfric from us. Conquered our capital! How did we let this happen? As I think over that day the lieutenant shows up and starts calling for us to get ready to board. This time will be different. We'll be the ones attacking. We'll be the ones setting the terms. We will be the ones reacting to what they have. And we're going to be the ones to break through. The only difference between me and my friends here is that I know how much it's going to cost us. And it's going to be a high price to pay. But we have to do it. We have to get our families out of here. I can't let my mother go any longer without being able to look up at the sky in peace. What kind of life is it if a griffin can't love the sky? Not one I want to live in, that's for sure. Once the formation is ready we take to the sky and head for the U.C.S.S. Indomitable. A part of me is excited to know that I'll be living there for the next few months. Though I'm sure moving from ship to ship will occur frequently, given the numbers present. I just hope I don't get lost. We're all brought onto the main deck and told to stand in another formation. You can always count on formation in the the United Griffin Colonies army. I take this time to take in the ship more closely. The smooth brass of the ship reflects the moonlight beautifully. The deck guns are all tied down currently but there are a few that are being inspected by some of the crew members. The main steering wheel is on the upper deck, flaked by two smaller wheels that I think control some of the smaller propellers. I can see a few officers and deck hands up there prepping for launch. As I'm looking around Kroth start pouring out of the ladder-wells and stairways. They form a formation on our sides and behind us. It makes a few of us a bit nervous, but no one breaks file. Being this close to them, I can start to see the small differences about them. They mostly seem to be group with some sort of color coordination. I see four groupings. Red and white, purple and gold, green and brown, and blue and green. Some are more obvious than others, like painted armor or sashes. But they all wear it with some sort of pride. A few of them even have their helmets off, giving me the closest look of their faces I've ever had. Their dark eyes are a bit off putting, but I try not to dwell on it. I'm sure they're thinking something similar towards us. An older griffin in formal military attire steps forward as a petty officer yells for attention. The whole harbor goes silent as we look up to him. He pulls up a scroll and coughs before reading. His voice cuts through the silence and reaches every single person here, drawing our attention solely on him. "Griffins! Kroth! Goblins! My name is General Knut Sail-Wing! We all stand here today with one goal in mind. One objective! To secure our future together! We few brave souls have answered the call to raise arms against tyranny and forge the path for our peoples! Ulfric Stormmind, the true god of gods, thanks you for your sacrifice. He thanks you for your bravery! He thanks you for the sacrifices that have yet to have been made. I have here the written words from the great sphinx himself! Written for each and every one of you! And I shall read them to you now!" "To my sons and daughters. To those who will never grow old. To our dreams lost in the wind, I say to you... I am sorry. I am sorry for the impossible tasks I will ask of you. I am sorry I was not able to fend off the threats against our kind. I am sorry we could not be better stewards or better friends. But the time has come for us to raise our arms for the procurement of our future. That we might endeavor for a better future. A time of self reliance and dignity, not of poverty and suffering. So it is with a heavy heart that I call you brave few to embark upon great crusade that will define not only our generation. But all generations to come. With the world as our witness, we will take our destiny into our grasps and hold it tightly, till either our dying breath, or until we can pass the embers of freedom to the next willing person. And the next. I pray for your peace of mind. For your safe return. And for the prosperity of our people. That we may dream our hope filled dreams yet again." The ship engines blare to life as the tethers are cut and we begin to drift away over the sea. Plumes of steam are blown out the back as we slowly start to lurch out, shaking us steadily. I look to Harden and we both swallow. Any hope there was that this was just some drill or minor operation is gone now. It's clear what's next. What we've been training to do for some time now. The invasion of Equestria has started.
Chapter 261 Steely FociiChapter 261 Steely Focii Perspective: Miles August 20th, 4139 The last few days have felt like a vacation! The citizens have been fighting none stop over the type of government they want to form. It seems every time they start to agree on something someone gives it a title and it just destroys all progress. It's been great! The Spartans and I have been watching from the sidelines and loving every moment so far. I think half the stuff I've been touting about has finally started to settle in. Everything from avoiding choosing sides to waiting for the opportune time to speak or act. They're finally getting it. Well, almost everyone gets it. Storm seems to be having a hard time getting the idea in his head. I think its the influence from Twilight, but he thinks that he needs to play an active role in the decision process. And while he technically is allowed to, it's odd for Spartans to do so. We're not meant for nation builders. We're warriors. I've tried talking to him about it on several occasions, but he's made up his mind. He's tried to convince me to join a side, but that didn't last long. I especially should not be weighing in on any of this! With the way they listen to me and follow my command, any input I would put in could alter events dramatically. And this will not be a nation of my making. It will be a nation of the people, by the people. Plus, I've got Luna in the mix fighting to basically take over. So I'm covered either way. So while she's been leading a group trying to form a constitutional republic, there are two other groups vying for control. The smallest group seems to be a workers party trying to make some sort of socialist representative system. But I'd say they only have about twenty five percent of the support. With about a ten to fifteen percent of undecided people, the second largest group is some representative monarchy being lead by Twilight. The ideas are fairly the same. But there are some key things that are causing a divide. Twilight seems to think that a monarchy with split parliament is the way to go. Something to the effect of what Terradisia was, and what Equestria is. It's not a bad idea. But I worry about who would take over as the ruling family. I know what might happen, and I worry about history repeating itself. Luna is trying to make a form of republic where the executive branch is an elected office, just like the rest of the legislative. She wants the people in charge to rotate out every five or so years. Basically making a new government every time. She thinks this will let the people in charge adapt to the issues as the arrive and keep the flow of ideas fresh. I've read about governments like this. It can work, but it really comes down to who is put into power. And at the crux of all of this is that question. That singular persistent question that no one can agree on. Who will lead. Everyone seems to agree that there needs to be a central source of leadership. But they can't agree on how that would work. Monarch or President? Life appointment or term limits? Several people are throwing their hats into the race, but not many of them seem to be taken serious. Luna and Twilight are the front runners. E'Claire is leading the third party, but if she's going to take power she has a long way to go. And then there's Celestia. She's taken a... laid back approach to the whole ordeal. I believe she's using Twilight somehow. Either influencing her ideas and goals, or taking an active role outside of view. It's hard to tell. She hasn't come out and specifically aligned with her, but she hasn't disavowed her either. You can't say you're neutral when you're only supporting one person and actively criticizing all others. But none of this is my concern. I've taken the time to sit back and relax, for the most part at least. I've garrisoned all Spartans here in Mooseden until a government is formed. So they've taken this time to reconnect with family and friends. I've done the same, but my eyes are always on the prowl. Canterlot is ablaze with new nationalistic fervor, just as we planned. I've never seen the streets lined with so many flags and posters. When everyone came out and celebrated the Grand Galloping Gala it really brought this nation together. The timing seemed perfect. After so long of worry and doubt about the world, people coming together and celebrating love for their nation was exactly what the needed. Pinkie really out did herself. I was going to congratulate her, but apparently she's been asleep since the G-cubed. It's been good being home. Getting to see my kids everyday and getting to speak with them so frequently really does my cause good. Shadow is going through a hard time though. I wish I could help more, but this is something she needs to do on her own. I know she can do it, but that doesn't mean I don't want to protect my little girl. Tempestive is a little ball of energy! I don't know where he gets it from honestly. He wakes up everyday at five am on the dot! The little fucker doesn't understand what sleeping in is! It has been fun getting to goof off with him though. And sure, there are plenty of other things I should be working on. But getting some quality time with my son is worth all the procrastination. But all that procrastination has to come to an end someday. So after breakfast with everyone I had to sneak off into my shed to get some work done. They tried to convince me to come in, but that's not happening. I need to get something done, and there's no way anything is getting completed with either of them in there. I make my way to my work desk, using my magic to flip on lights and boot up various computers along the way. I pull my chair over and drop into it, pushing myself across the workshop and slide to a stop at my main computer. As things continue to wiz to life, I open my tablet and start to read over my old notes. I've been looking at the acid rains in an attempt to find a way of reversing the clouds. I can't find any form of spell that can identify the magic that's doing all this. I've been researching weather manipulation and cloud factory practices for awhile now, but nothing is adding up. It's almost as if they're- Creaaaaaaak... I stop mid-thought when I hear the cot in the back creak. I slowly turn and see the guard with the wooden mask trying to sneak out of bed. We stare at each other as he contemplates setting his other hoof down. "...Being completely forthcoming, I forgot about you." I tell him plainly. He sits up in the cot and nods back to me. "I... guessed as much, sir." He tells me. I nearly wince form the metallic echo of his voice. I need to help him now, it's only fair. I set my tablet down and get up to inspect him. But when I stand I notice the other body in his bed. He sees me see them and starts to fidget. "Uh... Apologies sir! I-I uh... well... you were gone for so long and... well... the Grand Galloping Gala was in full swing... Not that I'm blaming you sir! I know how busy and all! But... um..." "Stop." I tell him, making him go ridged. "Given the... circumstances, I don't care right now. Just... get over here so I can start some basic readings." He clears his throat before coming over to me. I grab a nearby scanner and start to take some readings. I'm going to have to take him to the medical facilities in Topaz Falls to get better readings, but these can at least get me started. The wooden mask isn't fused to his face as I thought it would be. It's literally his face now. It doesn't read as wood on my scanners. It reads as part of his DNA. Even though it feels like wood, it reads as if nothing is wrong. Even stranger, it's acting as a pseudo lung of sorts. Maybe even a better version of one. His lungs are perfectly fine, having plenty of fresh air flowing through them. I wonder if the 'mask' is acting as an air purifier of some sorts. My initial energy readings of him are impressive as well. He scores in the eight thousand range. But it wasn't definitive. His power is constantly growing. Though right now it's at a very slow rate, I imagine using any form of magic will exacerbate it greatly. I'll have to run some more test to know for sure and at what rate, but that'll have to happen at Topaz. "Is he going to be okay?" I give a slight jump from the new voice. There's some light cream colored mare in the cot I didn't see before. She sits up, her short scarlet hair parting from her face, and continues. "He hasn't had anything to eat, does he need food? Or water? What can we do to help him-" "First off, who the fuck are you?" I ask as I send my data to the medical bays in Topaz. "Secondly, it doesn't seem that he needs anything like that. The mask looks like it's giving him everything he'd require to sustain himself." "Her name is Sugar. We... met during the Gala. One thing led to another-" "I'm his wife!" She announces proudly, jumping off the cot to stand next to Steely. I give a deadpanned look to Steely as he starts to fidget. "Really?" "You said I was dying! And we really hit it off!" "This is none of your concern!" She barks at me, stepping between the two of us. "You said you'd help and then you forgot all about him! So you're going to take him to whatever hospital you need to go to and you're going to figure this all out!" I stare back at her for a moment as I consider her demands. I was going to do all of that anyway. But with her demanding everything, it puts a sour taste in my mouth. Then again, I did fuck up. It is on me to fix this. "Right... well, with all of that in mind, let's get going to Topaz Falls." I tell them as I stand up. They seem a bit surprised by my quick agreement, but we don't have time to waste right now. I escort them to the out of my workshop and to the trams in the Everfree. They were hesitant to enter, but when I continued in they forced themselves to follow. It was a quiet walk, but I feel that was more out of fear of the forest than anything else. The path we made starts out normal. Just a dirt road winding its way thought the trees. But dirt eventually turns to cobblestone, which turns to paved cement. We had to mix up the design to help hide the entrance. The road branches off at several points. Some loop back and send people out of the forest while others just end. There are a few tells to show the way, but I've done this so many times that I just know where to go now. The entrance to Topaz appears after about a twenty minute walk. We expanded the cave into a proper railway. There are four tracks with their own trams. We can transfer about four hundred people every ten minutes with our current system. Not the most efficient, but we're getting there. We take our seats in the closest one and take off automatically. "Where are we going exactly?" Sugar asks after we start our decent. "Topaz Falls," I tell her. She gives me a deadpanned look before returning her attention to Steely. "I've heard rumors about this place. Is it really an entire city of metal and stone?" I worry about how rumors like that could have been circulated so easily, but at the same time it make sense. Our notoriety has grown out of our control. "Topaz Falls... just a little more patience. It's better to show you." I've tried to explain the city to people before. While there's a base understanding, there's no good way to explain it when you can just show them. The ride down is pleasant enough. Even though they had more questions, none of them could be answered at this moment. Some because I didn't know how, others because I didn't feel like explaining pressurized cabins of air duct systems. But once we leveled out and started the approach the stories could start. "Long ago, well before your people walked this world, my people we the undisputed masters of Earth," I tell them as we start to approach the outer wall. There's a bright light obscuring our view inside. Steely and Sugar tense up as we continue to race forward. "But when our empire started to crumble, we went into hiding. Topaz Falls is where I was raise. It was my home. I have been raising it back from the ashes of the past all this time." We break through the light and thunder into the Topaz Falls. The two of them rub their eyes for adjustment, but gawk when the see the city. All of the wounds of war have been erased. All that's left are the piercing skyscrapers and towering lower districts. And at the center of it all, the Parliament Congressional Hall. Standing as a bright beacon of my homes former glory. To them, it's a sight to see. Buildings taller than they've ever seen. Their eyes can't focus on any wonder brought before them. Flying machines, neon lights from old shopping districts, the occasional bot running some errand. What was an irritating advertisement to me long ago is a mesmerizing holographic show to them. They could get lostfor years down here and still not see it all. For me, it's still a pain to see. Every window, every light, and every walkway it just another memory of people lost. There used to be millions of people here. This was a thriving civilization! But, now, it's just a husk of memories. I've had everything rebuilt exactly the way it was before the way, as best we can at least. It pains me how accurate these bots can be at times. The tram takes us all the way to the front of the P.C.H. We we step out the two of them nearly fall over from trying to see the top of the building. I stifle a chuckle from that. Reminds me of my first time here. "Welcome to Topaz Falls." I tell them as I walk past them. "All of human ingenuity; all of our magical prowess and genius is stored in this building in front of us. The Parliament Congressional Hall. There is practically nothing that we can't figure out there. Take a deep breath and follow me. We're going to figure this all out." They keep their heads craned up as we enter the P.C.H. The opulence of the building stunning them. And the interior impresses just as much. I take them to the mico platforms and guide them to the medical facility. The teleporters spook them, but at least Steel didn't explode. Here we start the real trails. I explain to him as best I can what's going to happen, having been through it myself, but there's an understanding that he won't get what's happening. He has no way of understanding of what an astral scan is. Or how DNA sampling could be useful. But he does a good job at staying calm through the whole ordeal. Sugar, for her part, did good too. She let me work as I needed and asked pretty good questions. Though I can tell there was a fear in her voice, her face showed patience and confidence. She tried to offer to make us some food after several hours passed, but I explained why that wouldn't be necessary. Terradisian food might not compare to Equestrian cuisine, but its fast and overwhelmingly present. After many scans and several more samples taken, it finally comes down to analysis. I send them to a specific dorm and instruct them to wait for me. It's going to take even more time for this to process, and its already been a day. Not to mention we're going to have to do this all over tomorrow. We don't have any base numbers to compare against, so today was mostly just getting an idea of where we're at and where we're going. I'm not a medical expert. That was Eximius's department. So reading through all of the notes is made even more difficult by my having to cross reference every other line of data. What should have take probably a few minutes took me several hours. But, what I'm reading is not hopeful. It's a bit too early to really tell, but I have a theory as to what the mask is doing. When Tempus told me about how Tempestive would skip time when napping, I'm seeing a similar energy like that. The machine is also guessing his age incorrectly. While that might be a species thing, the energy reading gives me a dour hunch. His magical power is somehow sapping from his life. I'm not certain yet, and it's only a guess at this time really, but I can't stop thinking about it. Is the mask stealing his life force from later years of life to add to his power? Breathing the air he hasn't had the chance to breath yet? It gives some answers, but I can't say for certain yet. There are no other anomalies appearing at this time, but that would make sense with this theory. There are no problems because they haven't appeared yet. He seems to be pulling in a constant stream of energy in as well. Probably some kind of tether to his future self. That might be why he's growing in power so rapidly. But if that's true, why hasn't he died yet? Wouldn't it be paradoxical for him to sap his own energy? An energy that now never existed! As I read the data and think my theory though, a thought comes to mind. If this is really time based... I should try to contact Tempus. But that's impossible, right? I wouldn't know how to reach send him a message, or how to even pose the question. Because... if he's a time traveler, then he might know about this too then. What else would he know about too? "Far too much Miles." I jump slightly from the voice behind me. I turn to- BAM I recoil from the explosion, throwing up a shield to protect me and Sugar. We barely started our first reading when he started some sort of change! "STEEL!" Sugar yells as she rushes the shield wall. I cough from the initial blast, my head spinning rapidly. He was doing just fine a moment ago! How could he have gone off like that!? When all the chaos starts to subside I drop my shied and rush into the smoke. I stop when I find his charred headless body slumped against the destroyed machine. Sugar rushes to his side and starts to scream out in agony. I grab my head as I try to make sense of everything. I don't understand what happened. He was doing just fine before! Were we too late? What there a feed back loop in the medical scanner? WHAT HAPPENED?
Chapter 262 False BlameChapter 262 False Blame The next few hours go by in a blur. I'm not really sure of the details, but I get Sugar sent home with Steely's body. I'm sure I told her we will cover whatever costs, but that's not what's important right now. I don't know what went wrong though. Even when I would blow through those magical readers it never blew back on me. The machine might go up, sure. But I never thought it could kill someone like that. Then again, I never had ran it against someone at such dangerous level before. Sure, it works on Luna and Twilight. But their souls are stable. I didn't even think to take that into account. And, if memory serves me right, don't pony souls operate differently? Something like... inverse polarity? Or something like that. I remember Twilight talking about it once. From way back when. How could I have forgotten that? It should have been the first thing to come to mind! FUCK! I bang my fist against the counter and start to pace around. I can't think straight right now. I know there are few things to do immediately, but I can't think of which to do fist. Should I talk with Luna first? She'd probably help calm me down. But I should talk with Celestia first just so no one else has that happened to them. But is it even something to fear? Maybe it was just a bad reactions to Terradisian technology. If there was someway of getting Equestrian tech up to par, then we could- NO! No, we can't do that. This curse is clearly too dangerous to try again! There's no way I'm going to allow something like this to happen. Okay, that settles it. I'm heading to Canterlot to speak with Celestia. She needs to know what happened. She's probably going to use this to get something out of me. This is going to be a pain in the ass for sure. I take my tablet and start downloading what little information I was able to get. Nothing we didn't already know, but it's better than nothing I guess. I make my way out of town and up the tram towards home. I try to keep my mind empty. Just to avoid overthinking things. But, of course I fail at that. I go over every event in obsessive detail as the clatter of the rails fades in the background. It was such a simple idea really. I should have started with a smaller reader and gone from there. Though, in truth, I did. I ran the portable reader back in my shed. There weren't any problems with that. He didn't voice any concerns or receive any wounds back then. So what was different this time? Was it a capacity issue? Did the magic coming from the portable reader not have enough to cause harm? Or was he trying to hide it all? Was he trying to act tough in front of the Spartan or the Princess? How much of this is to blame on me? Not that most of that matters right now anyway. What's done is done, and there's no changing it now. All we can do from here on is move forward and try harder next time. Though, I guess there won't be a next time for this. But why is this civilian death weighing so heavily on me? I am a Spartan. This shouldn't matter nearly as much as it does. This is what we were made to do. We sacrifice our humanity so that others don't have to. We aren't suppose to feel guilty for the death of others... But a human can only do so much. When the tram nears the exit I notice a pony waiting there. I've never seen her before, but I can tell her type. A plain, level look about them. Her white mane combed neatly to sit in perfect order. Her coal suit sitting neatly pressed against her grey coat. She's here on business. I guess Sugar went straight for litigation. Can't say I blame her though. But that damn pimp of hers works fucking fast. "Mr. Eremita, I presume." she says as I step out of the tram. I wanted to mouth off, but I stopped myself. Now isn't the time for that. "I take your silence as an indication that you know why I'm here. So let's cut to the case. Murder will not be tolerated, Mr. Eremita. No matter how high up the ranks you may be." She speaks firmly, every word having been chosen long ago. "Look, I've barely had time to even start to sort this thing out. Whatever document you need signed or delivered just hand it over and I'll get it back to you as soon as I can." I tell her. I don't have the energy to deal with litigations right now. She doesn't seem to care though. Pulls over her briefcase and meticulously opens it. After flipping though several papers she produces a single scroll for me. Seems pretty light, but I guess that's something to be grateful. "Try not to look too pleased. This is simply a court summons. I am here with two goals. The first is to deliver this scroll." She pointedly offers the rolled up paper, so I take it. "And my second goal is to make you understand one simple thing. This, is a court order from the Equestrian government. If and when you comply with the summons, it will also be an acknowledgement. By coming to this court order, you will be recognizing the authority of Equestria over the Spartan Regiment. You will comply with our laws and obey our rules. There will be no room for argument. You cannot escape the rule of law, Mr. Eremita. Everypony, and I mean Everypony, is accountable to somepony." She methodically closes her briefcase and begins to leave. She opens the door but stops when a thought occurs. "For the sake of the nation you are trying to build, I would suggest you comply, Mr. Eremita. It is better to have allies than enemies. Especially when you have so few true allies." I don't say anything back to her. There's no point to it really. She came he with a mission, and she accomplished it. I fold up the paper and stuff it in my pocket. I don't need the details right now. This is something that I can deal with tomorrow. Or, at least, when I'm forced to. That seems to be the trend as of late. I push the aggravating thoughts aside and make my way to the Mooseden. With Tempestive home and me in my human form, I can't use the mico platform at home. Though, the one in Canterlot is closer, so it's not too much of a loss. As I walk through the forest I try to keep my mind occupied on the rest of the day. What to do next, who I should speak with, that sort of thing. When everything starts to get chaotic and messy, it's good to take a moment and step back. Try to see what actually needs attention versus what's just asking for attention. When I start to near the edge of the Everfree I see a familiar face walking towards me. "Zecora," I greet as we stop before one another. "It's been a minute. How are you?" "Greetings to you Captain . It is good to see you during these trails. These northern winds sting at the hide, but with so many friends nearby, I think we can set it all aside." "Yeah, it's getting to be about that time again." It's getting close to be fall again. And the Everfree being the Everfree, of course it starts to turn sooner than other places. Although, that isn't to say the heat waves are done for. I take note of the large bags on her sides brimming with supplies. She sees me looking at them and shrugs to me. "The winds are not the only terror in the woods Captain. Of this, I know you are certain." "I understand. But don't hesitate to ask for any help though. We still owe you for destroying your home way back when." It annoys me that she hasn't asked for any form of assistance since I trained with Damian that day. I get the impression that she's holding out for a specific request or some dire situation. But, when it comes to Zecora at least, you can never really be sure. "I appreciate your offer but for now I must supply my own coffer. And although my stores have no paucity, in time, I may take you on your generosity." I shrug back to her and bid her farewell. She's an odd one, that's for sure. Perfectly content to live alone deep within the forest. Though she's no hermit, that's for sure. I see her frequenting many of Ponyvilles stores often. And she's friendly enough with everyone. At least as far as I can tell. I eventually make it to Canterlot's market district. Moosden now has a pseudo world hub of mico platforms, so getting here was as easy as standing in two spots. Though to keep any jack-off from walking into Mooseden, we bought a building in the market district to act as a border check point. It's only manned by a few bots, so it's not the most intense of borders. I have a routine for telling Celestia bad news now. Didn't mean to make one, but when it kept working I saw no reason to stop. First I go to this bakery called Diable Traite and get her an order of their triple chocolate devil cakes. The store next door, Larmes De' Ange, sells this punch that she loves too. When shit really hits the fan though, you have to add some sunflowers and possibly some alcohol spiked ice cream. I don't think I need the latter, but about half the time I'm wrong. There's a specific way of getting into the castle that I take now. Well, unless I'm invading again that is. I take this way to both avoid the crowds and have an easier time getting in. Not all the guards just let me wonder around the castle as I please. They say it's for security reasons, but I don't believe them. What security threat could possibly threaten me!? I take the western entrance into the gardens, go through the dinning hall into the servants corridors, jump into one of the side halls and stop and the guards door to the main throne room. I pass a few people here and there. Some stare dumbfounded, while the more veteran offer their greetings to varyingly different levels of accuracy. Most guards salute, the head maid tells me I should have gotten the ice cream, so that's a bust. I flag the guard at the entrance to the main throne. He waits for the current petitioner to finish before telling me to go in. I take one last deep breath before making my way to Celestia. "Miles, and here I thought I'd see you sooner." Celestia chastises from her seat as I approach her. She has that arrogant look about her. The kind a parent gets when they catch their child breaking the rules. I hesitate to respond when I see the Unfamiliar man with her. The Nether Walker. I almost forgot he was here. Almost. I was more hoping he'd fucked off somewhere else so I could speak in private. But I guess today is the day where I don't get the things I want. "No... I take it you know already." I respond, trying to pry my glare from the Unfamiliar. "Mr. Miles!" he belts in joy. "Celestia has been kind to me! She was just showing her... eeeeh... justice! Or laws? One in the same, no?" Even without looking at her, I can still see that smug look on her face. As if this is going to change anything. "Right... Anyway, so you know. I'll be honest, that stupid fucking pimp works fast. I only got the damn summons about an hour ago." When I make it to the base of the throne steps Celestia takes the treats I was hoping to bride her with in her magic. I have to literally bite my tongue when she offers some to the Nether Walker. I'm not here to make things worse. Just talk it out and leave before something stupid happens! "Well, when you kill someone in their private property and don't even offer an apology, these things tend to spring up fast." She tells me as she summons some papers. "We think we have an ID, but we're not certain yet. If you could fill in some gaps we could get the remains settled." "... what are you talking about?" I ask, finally getting her to look at me. "The wife left with the remains... and that was Terradisian property." We stare at each other before we both go wide eyed. I pull out the summons and give it a quick read. Most of it is bureaucrat nonsense. But the part that draws me in is the allegation. I am wanted for the murder of some guy named Index. Not for the death of Steely Focii. "Who the fuck is Index?" I blurt out as I read it all over again. "Wait, what did you think you were in trouble for!?" Celestia demands. "The masked guy died during screening! Who the fuck is this jackoff! Why are they saying I killed him!?" We stare at each other for a moment as we try to wrap our minds around what's going on. Someone named Index was killed and they think I killed him. And somehow that pimp in Ponyville is connected!? How in the literal fuck is all of this tied together!? "Where is Luna?" Celestia asks slowly. I think about it for a moment before looking back to the summons. With a name like Index, there's no doubt he was trying to pry into Sweet Apple acres. He probably was trying to find a way to bury us even deeper. And I'm willing to bet the only remains they found were ash. Otherwise they would have had an easier identification. There's no way I did this while gone or blacked out. When things like that happen to me the mess is huge and obvious. It would never be this small and quiet. So that only leaves one other person. But why would Luna do this? She's more methodical than this. Blatant murder? And leaving the body? It makes no sense. At the very least I don't think it was premeditated. Could Luna just kill someone like this and actually pretend like nothing happened... "Oh Sweet Barbra..." "Miles," Celestia says again. Snapping me back to the conversation. "Where is Luna?" "..." "I imagine she's back in Ponyville. Very well... I'll head there now to speak with her. This isn't going to be easy, but we'll get through this-" "I killed him." I blurt out. She stops and stares at me for a moment before going wide eyed. She understands. But she's struggling to go along with it all. "You are lying." The Nether Walker says from the side. We both stare at him as he looks between the both of us. "And you... you want to go along with it? But that is wrong, no? Aren't you both people of justice? And Captain! I took you as an honorable man! How could you so simply-" "I'm protecting my wife you dumb fucking asshole." He stops and stares at me before looking to Celestia. She looks to me and I nod back to her. "He is protecting my sister," she tells him plainly. He contemplates this for a moment before looking to me with a quizzical, scared look. "What are you?" he asks, sounding scared for the first time since I've met him. "I'm the one doing what must be done. Because it has to be done." I tell him before thinking. I need to get out of here. I need to get back into my own jurisdiction before any of those conniving mud muckers figure out that I'm here. "Congratulations Celestia." I tell her as I start to leave. "Looks like you'll be leading the Equestrian forces. I'll see you on the battlefield then. And you," I stop at the door and turn back to point out the Nether Walker. "You do as she says. I'm releasing you to her charge. Don't make me regret this." I go to leave but before I could he appears before me. It throws me off when he uses those powers, but I manage to keep my composure as he stares back at me. "I know it will mean very little to you, Captain. But... for what it's worth. You are an honorable man. When you see the Kroth on the battlefield, and you see the Torm of purple and gold, tell them to dream on, and dream big. They will understand." I don't say anything back to him. I don't have the time to, but even if I did there's nothing for me to say. The Unfamiliar are not a people I'll ever have on my side in any sense of the word. Not after what I've done to them. Not after what they've done to me. How could two people even face each other after so much bloodshed and mayhem. No, this is how it is. This is who I am... But maybe Celestia can succeed in my place. I escape the city as quickly as I can, taking ever alley and backway I know. I don't think there's anyone following me, but you can never know. Especially with a two faced city like Canterlot. I only passed a few guards here and there. Maybe six total. I've trusted most of these guards in the past. Most of them I even know on a first name bases. But I can't trust them fully. I can only trust my Spartans now. And that's where I need to be now. I take the mico platform at the top of the mountain that connects to my bedroom. When I flash into the hidden back door of my closest I contemplate destroying the platform. I might just be paranoid. No one knows about this except for family. But should I really take that big of a risk at a time like this? No. No, I'm overreacting. The people after me want to make a big affair about this. That's why they gave the notice. They don't want to slit my throat at night. They want to bleed me dry in the courtroom and make a spectacle of it all. I can leave it there for now. I might need it later anyway. I crack open the door and listen. I can hear Luna breathing lightly as she sleeps in the darkened room. The kids must be out somewhere, probably getting into some form of trouble. I step out and walk to the bed, staring down at Luna. Her ethereal hair is waving behind her, placing her peaceful face perfectly in her night sky. A small strand washes over her forehead, so I reach down and brush it back. As I do so I place my hand behind head and gently run my thumb along her jawline. Her silky coat brushes my hand and puts me at ease, if only for a moment. I'm sure she'll learn about this eventually. And the sooner she knows, the better. For now, in this perfect little moment, all she needs to know is sleep. Author's Note Diable Traite = Devils Treats Larmes De' Ange = Angel Tears
Chapter 263 DreamerChapter 263 Dreamer Perspective: The Nether Walker I give a content sigh as I look around my dwellings once more. These ponies are masters of comfort if a guest such as myself can sit in such luxury. There isn't a want that has not been met within the walls in this castle. And even when I sneak out to explore these lands, the people here are strangely welcoming. Though, I imagine having someone appear behind them would compel many to falsify their smiles. It is no bother to me though. The conversations had are pleasant enough. This is a truly blessed land. I close my eyes and fall back, slipping into the void. It cradles me as a mother would to its newborn. Softly. Gently. Yet with a cold touch the guides me to where I need to be. It is a familiar feeling to me. A soothing one. Even if I am just going to the restroom, or speaking with my family, the void brings a certain tranquility to me. I had wished to postpone this meeting as long as I could. Truth be told there is no need to make the first move. I could wait for him to come out. Wait and see what will happen. But I get the feeling that it will be too late at that point. No, I've found him so I must act. So here I am, falling into the void; by all meanings of the phrase. I wish I could bring the others with me. Into this dream world that neither exists nor is inexistent. It's a good place. Somewhere where everything falls away and lets you see the world from afar. I open my eyes and take a glance into this world. You can only ever look for a moment. That's the trick. The void cannot be seen, or it wouldn't be the void. But, a glance is all I need. I've learned how to take in everything I need with only a glance. There may be more to the picture, but I can focus in enough to blur out the distractions. I can see the hybrids marching in their steam contraptions. They are ready for their war. The Shourn are with them in numbers as well. The Trell surely only needed a gentle hand in this. Well, the war in constant, as they would say. I'm sure they will forge their way in blood and iron. They always have. They will fight for their dreams, that much is certain. I just hope it doesn't turn into the nightmares they fear. I can see the Joul scattering into the winds. With a new world comes a renewed sense of exploration. They will do their best to find it all, I'm sure of it. I do wonder why so many of them travel with the hybrids though. It is strange to see them so willingly aligned with the Shourn. Though I'm sure the Trell persuaded them easily. I wonder what they will find when this is all over? The Killyg seem content saying in our new homelands. I wonder what use they find in such a primitive land? Maybe the Trell has a use for them there. Or, more likely, there is something they are waiting for. What sort of gadgets and gizmos will keep them pacified for so long? Or is there a long term goal towards building the future? Maybe they have found some sort of artificial dream to placate them. I hope it is a good one. I believe the nightmares are coming soon enough. And then there's my people. My children, the Zellun. It breaks my heart to see them so lost. I wish I could give them the guidance they need. Or even some words of comfort as these dreams turn dark. But I mustn't. We are about to awaken into a new world. A world born in fire and death. Our enemies are numerous and powerful. And our allies are clever and hungry. If only we had gotten here sooner. Made less detours. Lost less in our history. Then, perhaps, we wouldn't drift into this lucid nightmare. Then, maybe, we could find our land of gold and purple. As my eyes start to open, and I fade back into the physical, I focus on my goal. He is far away, but his power is distinct. It's like a torch standing alone in the woods, just waiting to tip over and burn all the trees to cinder. I cannot tell if he knows I am here or not. He may not care. Am I even a threat to him? What could I possibly do to harm such a person? Do the gods fear mortals when they appear before them? I guess I'll find out. SHING SHING I let him toy with his weapon as I take in the surroundings. It is an old room. I assume from the world before. Held together now by the willpower of him. There isn't much to the room. Only what he needs, and he needs very little. A bed, hardly used it would seem, sits against the wall. A desk, heavily used, sits across. Two sconces give enough light to the room, though I get the feeling that it is not for his necessity. I take a deep breath as I prepare myself, giving away my presence to the lone person. I know not what will happen. Though, who ever knows what happens when you face death. "I had wondered when you would appear." His voice comes out in a soft whisper. Like a tired voice trying to get its last words out. The flames from the walls nearly drown him out, but I manage to understand. I wish to keep my distance. I must be ready. "The father of the lost wanderers, The Nether Walker, this should be interesting." "We can never be lost as long as we have our dreams," I tell him, trying to sound confident. The Terradisian language is not my strong suit. But I've practiced this for awhile now. "You are the one the humans tried to forget. The one who has neglected his duties." He gives a small chuckle as he looks back to me. I try to get a good look at him, but his cloak conceals his face from me. He goes back to sharpening his weapon, paying me little mind. "You think I neglect my duties. That is an interesting accusation. I wonder what you think my duties are? What neglect has transpired?" "The souls you harbor are not yours to keep. You must perform your duties and send them to slumber. It is the natural order of things. It is as it must be." He chuckles again. The amusement in his voice lifting the feeling of the room, if ever so slightly. "You wish me to cross the river Styx once more? Travel to the great Beyond? Is that what you came here to do? Persuade me to be a delivery boy once more?" "All things as they should be, Ferryman." He stops his sharpening to chuckle deeper. I take another deep breath as I ready for anything. But he doesn't rise from his rested position. He has no need to it seems. "Ferryman? It's been awhile since I've heard that one. Ferryman, Harvestor, Gate Keeper, Titulari, the titles mean nothing to me now. Do you know what was waiting for those lost souls at the end of those journeys? Do you know what it was like to guide them to Elysium, only for them to be cast down into Tartarus?" I can hear the pain in his voice. The sorrow in his words. I know he is speaking from the heart. So I must act in kind. "It is not for us to determine their fates. Only to play our parts in the story. You must do what is necessary for the balance of life and death." "Balance." He growls back at me. His anger causing the temperature in the room to rise. "Tell me what you know of balance! Tell me how the world can turn so dark yet be balanced! How can we have balance when the choices have already been made!?" His voice rises as he stands with it. Even though he's raised his voice, it still sounds as a voice that has no breath. He drops the sharpening stone and brings back his scythe. He seems ready to fight. But he must be waiting for the right moment. Or, perhaps, his anger is not there yet. "The river does not choose where it lets out. We may build walls, or drain the waters, but the river must flow down. No matter how unfair it may be." I try to keep a calm presence, even as he starts to walk around the room. I can feel my leg trying to give out. My palms are getting sweaty as well. I have never been a fighter. More of a thinker really. But this person, whoever he is, scares me deeply. Each step he takes is a story of each fight he's won. His life has been a life of wrath and tragedy. But he's made it this far, he has nothing to fear it would seem. But I mustn't let my nerves get the better of me. Calm. Just wait him out. The opening will come in time, I just need to be ready for when it does. "It doesn't matter what you say," he tells me somberly, coming to a stop facing away from me in the small room. "It's too later now. It is happening." "It is never too late to take the first step. Please, consider what I have said." I plead with him. He shut me out before I could really make a case. But I cannot lose hope that even the smallest words can reach him. There has to be hope for him somewhere. But, like he said, it's too late now. I see him start to make a sharp move, so I slip into the void and appear above and in front of him. He swings his weapon at my previous location and a torrent of energy slams into the wall, crushing it and sending it flying out. I bring both my hands above me and grip them together to slam against his head. Between my palms I tether into the void in the hopes of energizing my hit. It only took a fraction of a second. But before I could connect his head whipped around and we made eye contact. Though I could not see his face, I could sense his intent. There was murder in those eyes. I slip thought the void to dodge him and slam the ground just to his side. The energy I had stored up explodes out and pushes us away from each other. I look up and begin to panic when I see a hand reaching though the dust and debris. I slip away again, appearing out in some buried metropolis. I have to be faster if I'm going to strike true. I may only have one more chance at this. Before I could finish the thought my attention is brought back to the ruins. He has exploded out of them and is racing towards me. I barely make him out before I slip away again, appearing high upon one of the leaning structures. That distance should have given me more time, he's too fast. This is going to be a timing game it would seem. I slip in and out as quickly as possible as I weave my way around the buried skyscrapers. The only light guiding me are the breaks in the ceiling letting rays of sunlight. Each time I slip in I have to slip back out immediately. Either he comes crashing in or a blast of energy destroys my previous location. The buildings groan from the sudden force. Some even finishing their descents towards the ground. I can't keep this up forever. Eventually I'll make a mistake and he'll strike me. And judging by the amount of power in each of those attacks, just one will end me. I must commit to an attack. Even if it means taking one myself. But there's no way to survive that, so I must ensure that the one move I make is enough to end him. In one of the brief moments in existence I take a look at my arm. Each etching on my body is a calling out to me to use them. They want the bloodshed. They want to end my enemy. This is the moment to use them. But I must make sure to break them in the correct order. I cannot let him get me. As the buildings around begin to crumble in earnest I begin to weave through the rubble and debris. I hope it'll give me the slightest moment to act. I appear on the ground just beneath a falling corner piece of skyscraper. Just outside the blast area he comes crashing down. The dust clouding at his hooves. We stare each other down as the twisting metal and concrete comes racing down. The etchings on my legs and feet begin to glow with a pristine light as I feel the energy from all around start to flow though me. I push everything I have into my legs and launch right back at him. We race through the debris filled air at lightning speed, jousting for a moment. I manage to swing my leg and spin myself right out of his grasp, connecting right into the center of his chest. All of the energy in my connects into that one small point and sends him flying back. All around him a massive hole is blown out all around him and void energy is blown out. A perfect circle is cut out of existence directly behind him. I land and take the moment to bring the light to bear all over my body. Each etching glows over my body as I consume all the energy within a large area around me. I have to take a slow deep breath as I feel the energy flow in and out of me. I have become one with the world around me. And now... I command it. Death appears from my side, trying to take a wide swing at my head. I lean back with total ease and watch it go racing by. I raise a hand to it and give it a flick. The blade goes flying back, almost being ripped from his grip. The energy from my attack stops him dead in his tracks as he recoils back. Before he can fully register what happened I appear before him and reach out to his chest. The slightest touch sends him fly back and through a different dilapidated ruin. The game of hunter and hunted and switched sides now. I give him no chance to respond. No chance to think about what is happening. He doesn't even have time to crash through buildings before I appear to send him flying in another direction. The rows of ancient buildings all begin to crumble as we go crashing through their buried skylines. I catch him when he comes flying out one building as hold him as the air comes crashing all around us. I hold him by his throat as I stare him down. He seems unscathed so far, so I must go further. I drop him and open a hand. a perfect circle forms all around me. Nearby buildings all around me are erased from existence and another hole is punched in the ceiling far above me. The energy seems to crash into him and sends him flying back again. Interesting, but pointless. I bring more energy into my being. With such an absence of nether wielders in the world, it comes flooding into me. I only have to guide the torrent of energy as I unleash it upon the world. With both hands pushed forward, I start sending pure nether energy at Death. The dark beam breaks through reality and erases everything before it. Anything nearby is pulled directly into it. Death only has a moment to look up at me before the dark energy connects with him. He's engulfed into the beam, erasing him from this world. I feel the energy connect with him for a moment before blowing past him. No one can survive this. And nothing will be left of him. "Death... is only the beginning." My heart drops when I hear his voice. That's impossible! Nothing can survive this! Not even gods can unwrite this truth! A hand reaches through my energy beam and grabs me by the throat. I drop my attack from the sudden attack, revealing Death before me. His wings are wide open in the sunlight as he rears his scythe back. I grab at his hands as I try to erase them, but they are adamant. I try kicking him with energy or nether to break free, but he is absolute. I try to fall back into the nether realm, but his grip is sure and unwavering. All I can do as the blade comes for me is close my eyes and accept my fate. SHING I don't know what happened. I don't even have a grasp of anything actually happening. My struggling simply stopped. There was no more energy within me and I no longer felt his presence. Is this what death truly feels like? It reminds me of drifting through the void. There's nothing here, but at the same time I am here. Am I the proof of something existing? Or am I becoming one with nothing? I feel something brush against my finger tips. It's cold. Fluid. It starts to move all around me, plunging me into an icy depth. I feel my lungs start to burn and I gasp for air. Cold fluid washes into my mouth. I try to open my eyes, but there's no energy within me to do so. I try to breath again, and find plenty of air for my greedy lungs. Something is wrong. Did I survive? Is this the fabled after life? I'm floating down a body of water, I think. I need to open my eyes. I need to know what is happening. The waters around me become calmer and calmer as I struggle to open my eyes. I try moving any of my limbs, but they are all unresponsive. It's only when I feel my head wash up onto something I I barely manage to peer into the world around me. The world around me is a land of gold and purple. The trees, the waters of the river carrying me, the dirt beneath me. All are either rich golds or deep purples. I try to make sense of it all, but I can't. I try again to move, but I can't. There is nothing I can do but look out into this land of gold and purple. It is a good land. It's quiet. Peaceful. Familiar. I feel a tear race down my cheek as I look around me. My dream has finally come true. I have found my land of gold and purple, and it is beautiful. But I am saddened by this dream. I am sad because I cannot get up and explore it. I am sad because my children are nowhere near this good place. I am sad, because I am alone in this land of gold and purple. I cry to myself as I feel my life start to ebb away. This is truly it. The end has come, just as my dream has become true. But I have no regrets. I made the choices I made, and I shall die with them. There are no second chances. So I alone will die with this perfect land of gold and purple. And that will have to be enough. A voice is calling out nearby. I don't know if I should try to call out to it. I probably couldn't even if I wanted to. I am not alone in this place. There is a comfort in that. They are not Zellun, but they are here. So I shall die with them. I see a figure of a purple and gold man find me. He rushes to my side and lays his hands on me. His effort is true, but it's too late. He calls out to others, but I don't know what he says. He tries to keep me alive, but it is futile. I must tell him to bring my people here, but there's no energy within me to speak. So, I must let go and be content with this lone figure being with me in my final moments in this land of gold and purple... No! I can't yet! Even if it's impossible I must try to speak with this person! I must do what I can for my children so they may find this peaceful land! I take all of the remaining magical energy with me and try to force out a message. Doing so probably will kill me quicker, but I must do it! They must hear! "Land... g-gold... Pur...pur... Dream." Author's Note Kroth Unleashed Brony on!
Chapter 264 The People of Gold and PurpleChapter 264 The People of Gold and Purple Perspective: Shadow I've always found a certain special kind of peace in books. For a lot of reasons really. If you're reading something, it takes time away from whatever else you have going on. Most ponies use this as an excuse to not read something, but I find it to be a perfect escape. Either you set aside this time to read a hopefully good book, or you stop something else to sit down and relax your mind. And when you find something really good to read, it transforms time around you. Time either slow downs or speeds away! An entire book becomes devoured in a matter of minutes! Or it can consume entire afternoons if you let it! Reading in my bed as the sun begins to dip in the distance, I can already feel myself slipping away from this place. The coziness of my comforter nestled around me creates a cocoon that keeps the worries of the world away. There isn't some preppy sociopath trying to destroy my family image, nor the threats of war and trade embargos. It's just me, my warm little haven, and the adventures of Daring Do and the Ark of the Sisters! Nothing could tear me away from this place- THWAP "SHADOW I NEED YOUR HELP!" I nearly fall out of my bed when my door gets kicked open. I toss my books across the room as my mother comes rushing in, tears me from me bed and throws me on her back before sprinting out of the house. "W-what do you n-need!?" I yell as she rushes us to the mico platform behind the house. She slides to a stop, causing me to go over her head and onto the floor. I sit up and rub my temples as she starts to pace around. She's talking to herself quickly as she straightens out her blazer. She doesn't normally wear that, so something big must be going on. "Mom? What's going on?" "Well... you see... eh... hehe... I dunno-I dunno- I dunno!" she yammers as she continues to pace around. I try to listen in on what she's saying, but it doesn't make any sense. I look back at the platform before standing up. I figure whatever's going on, it's happening at Mooseden. Because if it isn't Ponyville, it's Mooseden. FLASH I blink a few times before taking in the town. My ears immediately fall back as I stare back at the alien people kneeling before the bot guards, their hands all raised high in the air. There are only three of them, two men and a woman, but... there are three Unfamiliar in the middle of town! How did they even get here!? How haven't they been... obliterated yet! I take a few deep gulps before slowly stepping forward, allowing my mother to teleport in behind me. When she appears she steps up beside me and stares at the aliens. "So... any clue what they want?" she asks me quietly, just barely over a whisper. "Me!? Why would I know anything about that!?" I bark back at her. "I don't know! Miles is your father, maybe he said something to you!" I blanch at her. Clearly she does not know my father that well if she would assume something like that. "Dad would have blown their brains out by now if he was here... where is he anyway?" I take a quick look around to confirm that he is not here. I also notice that the town isn't on fire, so that's a good thing. "There was a huge spike of energy out in the Minotaur lands, so the Spartans went to investigate it... Luna? Celestia?" "As far as I'm aware, they're both in Canterlot. Neither of them will be back anytime soon. Not soon enough to deal with this at least." I stare back at the aliens as they sit on their heels waiting for something to happen. One of them glances to the side and we make eye contact for a moment. I've never really seen an Unfamiliar civilian before. The thought of that even being a thing never even crossed my mind. Though, I guess that's a little naïve. They each wear similar garbs that look as if they're basic long fabrics wrapped snugly around their torsos to form a tunic looking top. Their pants seem baggy and don't rise up nearly as high as Dads. Where his pants clearly give the length of his legs, theirs seem top silhouette their ankles and knees. Each of them is dyed in deep purples with gold embroideries and edgings. I get the feeling they're here to talk. But why now? Maybe we should call Dad and get his advice. But, I get the feeling that he'd just have them shot. And if we have a chance to talk things through then we should take that opportunity. Of all the history of the Spartans and the Terradisians I've ever heard or read about, they've never had the chance to talk with the Unfamiliar. "Mom," I whisper to her as I lean in. "You gotta talk to them." "... Are you sure?" I hear the nervousness in her voice. She's doing her best to keep a calm resolve, but it's painfully obvious how shot her resolve is. I wish I had something better to say to her, but what could I say? She's the one running for office, she's going to have to learn to handle this kind of pressure. I give her a nod and take a few steps forward. I may not know what to say, but I at least can be here with her. For what that's worth. "A-ahem HRUHNG! E-eh... I-I am E'claire of the Terradisian... governblment? GOVERNMENT! W-who might you all be?" Not the best start, but good enough I guess. The lead alien person looks to the other two before standing. "I am Leahn of the Zellun," the female says to us. Her accent is intriguing. It's deep and smooth, giving emphasis on the vowels. "These are Frest and Chelke. We are here for the land of gold and purple, as told by our father." We both stand there and stare back at her. I have no clue what she's talking about. What land of gold and purple? I look to Mom and see her try to mouth a response. I can't tell if she's just too nervous to respond or if she doesn't actually know what to say. I take another glance around and note that the entire town is looking at us. Everyone is waiting to see what's going to happen here. An eternity drags by as my mother tries to say something. I give a light cough to try and help her along. But she flounders even more. I try to think of something else, but the only thing that comes to mind is to kick her hind leg. "O-OF COURSE!" she screams, immediately shrinking. "I-I mean, w-what do you mean land of gold and purple? And who is your father?" Leahn looks around before motioning to stand. "We are the Zellun. Our people follow the teachings of our Father, who has taught us to seek out the land of gold and purple. It is to our understanding that he has passed. And in doing so, we have found our promised land. We have come here, unarmed, unaligned with the other Keksh, prepared to do whatever is necessary to live here in the land of gold and purple. We are at your mercy." She kneels back down and lowers her head to the ground, the other two following suit. There is a murmur amongst the crowd as Mom stands there dumbstruck. No one knows what's going on or what's going to happen. Dad has always told us that the Unfamiliar were a bloodthirsty people with no remorse for starting the war. They ripped people apart and had no regard for personal preservation. Everything that I've come to know about these people is in stark contrast with the way they are acting. What I've been taught is saying we should throw these people out and prepare for a fight. But my gut is telling me that they're telling the truth. This is our chance to be different. The crowd around us must be thinking similar things. We can be different than the humans. Learn from their mistakes. Or, we can continue their traditions. Keep the fight going. We carry their name, and I'm sure there are other groups of Unfamiliar that are going to fight us as well. So there's fighting regardless. But, there's a chance at some sort of peace right now. And it all depends on what Mom does right here, right now. She's still a nervous wreck though. I'm sure she's thinking of everything I could at this time, maybe even more so. Accepting them without a second thought would be reckless. But sending them away without even thinking on it could be equally foolish. So for now we should probably just talk with them. Say we tried before committing to any one decision. That's how I see it at least. But it might not be the same for Mom. She was made Terradisian as a captive. Mooseden is in her care, and any harm to it falls on her. Any choice that could possibly become harmful will fall on her first. I don't think Dad would do anything like that to her, but I can't guarantee he wouldn't. I could see him making it a choice between me and her. And we all know how that would turn out. I can try to persuade Mom to frame any decision as mine, but then that has its own caveats. "I've made my decision!" Mom announces, just slightly above her normal voice. Everyone goes quiet as all eyes fall on her. I feel myself hold my breath as we all wait on her announcement. Which is it going to be Mom? The past? Or the future? "There is a small section of flatland just north of here, less than half a mile away. Your people will be escorted by a large Terradisian force and will camp there for the time being. We will hold talks over the coming days to determine our future together. You will observe Terradisian law. You will not stray far from that encampment. You will submit to a registry so that we can keep track of everyone. We will protect you and offer what aid the people here are willing to give freely, but everything else falls onto you. You will build your homes. You will manage your obligations. And you will choose to follow these arrangements. I have no room for negotiations. This is the deal you will take or reject." I stare at her for a moment before letting out a long sigh of relief. How did she manage such a good compromise while being so nervous? She... she can really lead after all. Perspective: E'Claire PLEEEEEASE END THIS ALREADY I WANNA HIDE UNDER A ROOOOOOOCK!! WHAT EVEN WAS THAT!? WHERE'S MILES I CAN'T DO THIS ALONE, HEEEEEELP!! Perspective: Shadow The Unfamiliar murmur quietly amongst themselves for a moment before Leah stands. She holds the back of her right fist in front of her chest before bowing slightly. The rest of her people rise and make a similar motion. The crowd around seems mixed over this. I can see some happy faces. But there are a few that don't seem too thrilled with the prospects of having some many Unfamiliar- er, Zellun? I think? I'm sure we'll find out soon enough. But nobody openly rejects the deal, so it looks as if this is happening. Mom starts ordering the bots here to start a registry for the Zellun. She also orders the First and Second bot legions moved here for guard duty, with the third readied for immediate action. That's almost twenty thousand bots! What does she need that many guards for? Do we even have that many legions? The crowd bursts into a frenzy as the Zellun start to march towards the northern part of town. It seems everyone is rushing home or to various businesses. I guess people think supplies are about to dry up so they're trying to stock up while they can. There are already restrictions on how much people can buy at a time, but I'm sure this is going to end terribly. I look to Mom to ask if she needs any help, but she's already taken off into the crowd. She's yelling at anyone who will listen, but the crowd is nearing a panic. I look over the crowd before I feel eye on me. I look back to the Zellun and notice Leah is staring directly at me. I feel myself panic for a moment before weakly smiling back to her and wave. Which was a terrible mistake because now she is walking up to me! Why does this always happen to me!? "May I ask your name?" She asks, stopping a healthy distance from me. "Uh... I'm Shadow." I try to sound... normal. But I'm pretty sure I just sound scared. Leah gives a small chuckle as she nervously fumbles with her hands. Who'd guess first contact would be so awkward. "I feel the need to apologize to your peoples." I'm surprised by this, but I let her continue. "We were sworn enemies mere minutes ago. And now were asking to... eeh... forget past troubles. We know this is much to ask, but I hope you understand that we mean no harm. We truly believe this is our destined home. And we will do whatever it takes to make it work. I hope you understand." I stare at her for a moment before I realize what she's really saying. She thinks I hold some sort of authority here. I mean... I guess I do. Sort of? I never really thought of it like that before. But with Dad, Mom, and everyone else I know personally; I guess I really carry some sway around here. That's... that's too much pressure. "I'm sure we'll speak more of this later, but thank you again for allowing us to remain here. You have our eternal gratitude for awakening us from our dreams." She turn and starts to leave when I call out to her. She seems surprised by my sudden outburst, but this is important. "Leah... I don't mean to be threatening when I say this, honestly. But make sure there are no weapons with your people." She gives me a concerned look, but I continue before she could say anything. "My fa... the human. Miles Eremita. He's not here right now but he will return. And... well, the war between your people and his is... very fresh in his mind. I'm going to do everything I can to make this work, I promise you that much. But it's going to be... difficult, to convince him." "I understand Shadow," she tells me firmly. "There were those among the Zellun who refused to come on this journey. Many, actually. The wounds of war do not heal quickly. Nor do the scars fade quickly. We will follow your rules, you have my word. Though... if there were any words of wisdom you could pass along before I meet this fabled human, they would be appreciated." I have to think about that for a moment. There's plenty I could tell her. Be honest. Forthcoming. Strong, but understanding. But I don't know how to put it all together. And the other part of this is getting Dad to listen in the first place. We'll have to sit him down and speak privately first. Not to mention all of the other Spartans. We really lucked out that non of them were here when the Zellun arrived- "Aight, so first off you gotta start strong. I suggest a swift kick to the nuts, followed by a firm spank on the ass. Not too hard! You're not attacking him. But enough to Dom him FO SHO!" I feel my stomach drop out of me as my soul tries to escape when Uncle Damian suddenly starts talking beside me. I stare at him wide eyed as I try to process what he said. "That... seems rather... odd." Leah says, shifting uncomfortably. "Have you read human culture? It's all weird-" "UNCLE DAMIAN!" I yell. "HOW NICE OF YOU TO STOP BY! SO SAD TO SEE YOU GO!" "I don't-" FLASH I put everything I have to send him as far away as physically possible. I don't even care where he ended up or that I started bleeding from the nose. He had to go immediately. "I... do not think I should do-" "PLEASE DON'T!" I scream, getting her to jump slightly. "*AHEM* Sorry about him. Please ignore everything he said or will ever say. He... he's special." We share an uncomfortable look before she slowly nods to me. "Right. Anyway, so... uh... go ahead and make yourself at home then. I'm sure we'll talk again real soon." "Of course. Until we meet again." She does the gesture with her fist again and gives a slight bow to me. I return the bow, although much more awkwardly, and we part ways. I might have to kill Uncle Damian for that one. With actual murder! Is he.. is he actually that stupid!? I blanch when I feel a small trickle of blood roll down my muzzle. Teleporting Uncle Damian that far away hit harder than I anticipated. Or maybe I just did it too recklessly. Either way, I need to get cleaned up and take care of this. I start to head to the teleporter when I have a sudden thought. If I go home to Ponyville, I can probably take my time getting back here to help with the Zellun. But, if I stay here, I can probably get away with being here for a few days. Mom is going to need my help, if today was any indicator. And this is far more important than anything happening in Ponyville. But... am I only thinking this because I want to avoid Diamond? I've been trying to avoid her every possible chance I could. But even if I am just trying to avoid her, there is a real need for me here. What should I do? Author's Note Kroth Unleashed Brony on!
Chapter 265 Where It All BeganChapter 265 Where It All Began Perspective: Miles I give a long sigh as I watch from the crew cabin while our aircraft drops out of cloud cover. We descend into the deserts of the Minotaur lands in a wide formation as we race over the sand dunes below. We received readings of massive amounts of magical energy being released out here. More than what we believe what the minotaurs are capable of. We're expecting the Unfamiliar are behind it, so I have the Fourth bot legion with me as well as most of my Spartans. We haven't had any magical signatures appear on our approach as of yet, so I'm starting to think that it might be something... else. I even had the autopilots take us for a loop around to try and get a better read on the area, but there's nothing down there. No people, no machines, not even an enchanted item of any sort! Nothing that our scanners can detect at least. As far as we're aware, there's literally nothing but sand and rocks. The bot piloting looks back to me for an order. I stare out at the vast expanse of emptiness before nodding to the machine. No sense in waiting any longer. It's time to go down there and take a look for ourselves. I grab to the overhead rail as we tip down and begin our descent. Behind us the dozens of other aircraft follow suit as we break out of the massive single cloud the desert was able to muster. I look back to Storm Cloud and nod to him, getting one in return. He starts shouting orders to the others and they begin to prepare to dismount. I leave it to him and look back out to the desert. Something is wrong here. Or, maybe not wrong. Something is different here. But we're not going to learn anything from up here. As we circle around for our descent the sands below begin to get blown from our jets. This causes some of the sand to shift and reveal a hole in the ground. I point it out to the pilot and we race towards it. All of our craft form a circle around the opening and the door slide open. I wait a moment as everyone else rushes out of the vehicle. I can already feel the heat coming in. Our metal armor isn't going to be helpful today. We'll need to be quick while under the sun. I step out into the light and slide my helmet on. It'll help with the blinding light, but I can tell it'll cook my head if I'm not careful. We have the opening surrounded. Every gun is set on it, ready for whatever may come out. I walk straight towards it and squat down near the edge. All I can see inside is a massive dark cavern with a few streaks of light revealing the remains of an ancient city beneath the sands. "Terradisian?" Storm asks as he walks up beside me. I shake my head slowly as I stare down into the city. "Our helmets have Smartlinks. If it was Terradisian, we'd see something down there. A sign, advertisement, some sort of signal... something." I tell him as I stand. "Maybe. Or maybe the power has been gone for so long there'd be nothing to see. Not to mention this place is so deteriorated I doubt anything would be functional." I hum in response. He's not wrong. But there's something nagging at the back of my head telling me this isn't Terradisian. This is something different. I send the Jumpers ahead to do a loop of recon while I magically widen the opening so the rest of our craft can enter. It doesn't take long for us to all get in and we begin the process of investigating the area. Bots do the bulk of the work. Flying from building to building scanning every crevice as we head to points of interest. Sadly, there doesn't seem to be much down here. Whatever this city was, I get the impression that it was human. But clearly it was from a very long time ago. Tall skyscrapers have turned to stone somehow. Their windows have long since been blown out, leaving the nearly hollowed out buildings exposed. Some have fallen over, leaving large mounds in the roads. But there are a few that are leaning against other buildings or the walls of the cavern. I reminds me of Topaz Falls, but there's just something off about it that makes it feel distinctly non-Terradisian. We pass a building and I get a good look inside. Whatever was inside these buildings has long since eroded under the heat of the desert. There must have been something above the city that turned with it that would have made the dome above. Maybe a system of panels that would have covered then city from the sun? But then what would have destroyed everything down here? I walk through the rows of hollowed out buildings and take a moment to look over the structures some more. It's definitely not Terradisian. At least, not like any I've ever seen before. Judging by the relatively similar levels of degradation I think it's safe to assume whatever happened here, happened all at once. An entire city turned to stone all at once. There's only one weapon I can think of that could have done that. A super archaic bomb. Maybe a primitive one, or one that was actually set to turn an entire city to stone. Either way, it's the only thing I can think of that would be able to do this. But why here? What was so important or threating about this location to garner that kind of response? And am I even going to be able to get to an answer for that? By the looks of it, not likely. We continue our search of the ruins but are quickly getting nowhere. There's simply nothing here to find. No signs of battle. No bones. Nothing to indicate that anything has happened here for thousands of years. But, just we were all about to give up, the evidence appeared right before our faces. We turned a corner of one building and found the remains of a massive battle. Entire chunks of the old skyscrapers are missing! With clean, clearly new lines having been erased from several buoldings. The destruction shows the trail of the fight, seemingly ending or starting at this point. Some buildings have fallen over from the sudden destruction, still leaving a massive cloud of dust in the air. But most striking of all, is the massive ball of dark energy floating in the middle of the intersection before us. It has to be fifteen meter wide and about twenty meters in the air. It seems to draw all of us to it as once. From every street and corridor my bots and Spartans begin to walk out towards the massive ball of energy. Every eye trained upon the sphere. It feels somewhat familiar. Like a cold breeze on a hot day racing across your back. Chilling, but refreshing as well. I begin to reach out to it as if I was reaching towards a familiar friend. "WAAAAIT!" I jump a little from the new voice yelling out. Everyone turns to the golden-beige pegasi with black and white gradient hair climbing out of a nearby window. She's wearing a pith helmet and a canvas shirt that's ashy from all the dirt and grime of the area. She struggles to climb out of the window for a moment before falling flat on her face. Before I could even register what was happening she jumps back up and starts to fly towards us. "Don't touch the sphere! Don't even look at it!" "*INWARD GASP!*" Rainbow nearly falls out the air before rushing to take her helmet off, finding it more difficult than usual. "The fuck is going on!?" I yell as I start to get a hold of myself. I look to the nearest bot and point a finger at it, getting its attention. "How many fucking sensors do you fuckers have and you couldn't even find one pegasi!?" "Are you how I think you are!?" Rainbow asks as she rushes to the strangers side, hopping like an excited child. "Step back from the orb!" She yells at me, pushing me back. "Don't look at it! Just get away!" "Okay-okay-okay!" I yell as I stumble back and turn around. "Who the fuck are you and what the is that thing?" "You have to get out of here before it shifts again!" She yells, ignoring my question. I look around for some sort of answer before the orb starts to make a vibrating sound. We all stop and look up at the massive ball of energy as it starts to pulsate aggressively. "DROP LIKE A ROCK!" I yell before throwing myself to the ground. The massive orb shakes in place as it starts to lose its form. It shrinks and ungulates as it starts to waver back and forth. Everyone who doesn't drop to the ground makes a run for it as the bots turn and race away from the unstable mass of energy. Dark pulses emanate from the unstable mass and saturates the area. I can feel it resonate in me, pulling something out from deep within. I feel my back arch as the energy pulses throughout me. I try to yell out, but I can't manage anything. All I can do is flip myself over and groan out as the energy forces its way into my body. I look to my right and see Storm on the ground as well. He got a bit farther away, so it doesn't seem like it's effecting him as much. He can at least manage a slow crawl away from the mass, so it must be proximity based. If that's the case, then I have a chance to get away. I grit my teeth is I focus everything I have into getting control of my arms. They don't want to cooperate though. It's like I'm being electrocuted and my muscles are contorting from it. So I lessen my focus. Not my entire arms, just down to my elbows. Can I get them up at all? If I can just start pushing myself away I can get more control. Take it every millimeter you can get. Just as I start to feel like I'm making any progress a massive wave of energy over takes me. I look up just in time to see the black mass begin to violently spike and shutter before exploding out from the unstable energy. Even if I could react it would have washed over me too quickly to escape it. Everything goes dark as I become engulfed in the expanding mass. The pain washes away near instantly and I'm left with a cold chill that pierces down to the bone. I try to open my eyes, but I can't see anything. I reach up and feel at my face. I had a helmet on, but it seems to have partially melted away. Most of my face is exposed, and I can feel a light fog of some sort emanating from myself. I try to swat it away, but it won't stop. I suddenly realize that I'm laying in a body of water. Icy water. When I sit up the water rolling off of me echoes as if it will sounds off forever. I feel the fog leave my face and I can finally get a look around. I'm in some sort of cavern. The walls of jagged rock seemingly go up forever. They're made of some sort of black material that has a sheen that gives off purples or greens. Floating in the air are... anomalies. They give off rays of light and fluctuate from various shapes within shapes. A cube in a circle that ebbs into a star that shrink out existence only to pop back as a long box. When two collide they meld into a single mass. Some continue on as a single new object while over burst slowly out into various new masses. Countless anomalies float and weave though the dark cavern. All of which seem to have rays of light trying to shine through them. Any of the lights that can burst through are quickly snuffed out, leaving the cavern mostly dark. I can't tell how far this pit goes, but I get the impression that I could be down here for a long time. "So you finally made it." I jump from the ethereal voice. I tried to get to my feet, but the gravity in this place is off. I end up getting a bit of air and nearly float away. Some unseen force gently guides me back to the ground. I look to the figure before me and feel a pang of fear wash over me. It stands at least three meters tall. It appears to be a being of pure light, cloaked in shadows that help define its outline. It seems to be wearing a cloak made of feathers that covers it form from neck to toes and hovers about half a meter off the ground. Its head lacks any major features. There are divots where the mouth and eyes should be. Only showing because of the shadowy outline. But they're upside down. The eyes are at the bottom while the mouth is at the top of the head. "Do not be afraid. I am here to help." I try to relax, but something about this being makes it impossible. "I am without name, but there are those that call me Finis Nihilo." "The End of Nothing?" I mutter out. The being gives a slight nod. I go to ask it something but it raises a finger and silences me. "I am here to help, but I can only help so much. Mortal time is finite after all. You may ask two questions. And when we meet again, I shall grant you an additional question. Until you ask the right question that is." I immensely want to ask what that means, but the being raises a finger to me. I try to get a chance at its body, but it's hard to make anything out. I do get the impression that it has several wings covering its body though. It doesn't want me to waste questions. So I need to be strategic with what I ask. Two questions. Two questions... "Okay, so... what do you know?" This seems like a good question to start with. No point in asking about anything if it doesn't know what I'm talking about "I know enough to know I know nothing at all." It sounds as if it's making a joke, but I don't think I'm in the loop for its humor. "But that is not what you meant. So let me answer like this. I can answer whatever it is you need to know. If I am unable to answer, then you have asked the right question." I guess that's something to go off of. What would the right question be then? What I really want to ask is what this place is or how I got here. But there are probably more important questions to ask. I could ask where Death is. Or where the Darkness is hiding. That's most likely not what I need to ask, but it could stop a war from happening too. Maybe that is what I'm supposed to say then. But that could be short sighted. How am I supposed to know what to ask about with no clues to unravel? It did mention asking additional questions if I return though. Maybe it knows I'll come back one day. But if I don't know where this is how am I going to do that? So maybe that's the best question. Where is this place? Or how do I get here? I take another look around and try to commit this place to memory. The anomalies seem to be calming down now. They aren't undulating as aggressively as they were earlier. My arrival might have had something to do with that. But beyond that nothing really stands out to me. There's really nothing here... "What is this place?" Finis Nihilo stays silent for a moment. I even feel as if I asked the right question for a moment. But then it turns to the side and sighs sadly. That may have a waste of a question it seems. "Before there was light, there was nothing. And it was good. But then the world was split in two; between light and dark. The light grew and grew creating all that ever was... and all that ever will. But the split caused a tear between the light and dark. We are in the wound of that split. Neither existing nor fading. This is where it all began. Be wary on your travels, Miles (me-less) Eremita. For you are walking a lonely path. And a dangerous path to be sure." The being turns back to me and for a moment I feel... safe. It's a familiar feeling, but I can't quite place it at this moment. But everything goes numb when it unfurls three sets of wings; each of which opens hundreds of eyes to look down at me. "And do try to be on time for tea. You know how much he hates waiting." Before I could even register the question all of the eyes on its wings begin to glow and I have to shield myself from the bright light. The light bears down on me and I feel myself stumble back from the pressure of it all. It's as if a thousand hands were gently laid upon me and forced me down to the ground. I curl into a ball and hold onto my head and try to cover myself from the light, but it's no use. It bores through me and shines down to my very soul. All thought leaves me and I can feel myself tighten up as I wait for it to end. Holding my breath... Waiting... And then something cool touches at me feet. It's relaxing. Soothing even. Whatever footwear I was wearing is gone, letting me toes dip into the cold waves below. I lower a hand and feel the ground beneath me. I'm on a shore somewhere. I can feel the cold ground and wet grass beneath my fingers. And it almost brings me to tears. I take a deep breath in and hear what remains of my armor clang around me. I turn onto my back and sigh in relief as the waters around me gently rush past. I'm at the edge of a river, judging be the earthy-mossy smell in the air. I try to open my eyes but wince from the light. They haven't adjusted to the light yet, but with every blink I can start to piece my location together. I'm on a small island in the middle of a river. The banks aren't too far away and the waters seem to be washing against various standing stones... With another blink I begin to notice that the stones are moving. Ever so slightly. As if they're staring back at me. Waiting to see what I'll do next. I blink again and here a familiar beeping-clicking sound. It's a bot communication with another bot wirelessly. But that doesn't make sense. The only bots near a river are the ones at Mooseden. One last blink and I lose my breath again. The stones aren't stones at all. They're Unfamiliar. And there are what looks like hundreds of them staring back at me. We stare at each other for a moment before I gasp for air and scramble backwards. They gasp in response and begin to murmur to one another. Slowly stepping towards me. Their murmurs beginning to become a chant. I stumble into a tree and use it to stand. Finally I see how many there truly are. They are thousands. They're in the tree line. In the water. Behind me! In front of me! They're everywhere! I raise a hand and go to ignite it with my magic, but something goes wrong. My magic doesn't come out. But rather the dark energy of Icy Void emanating from my palms. I've never had it come out like that before. Usually I'd have to ball my fist up. I look out to the crowd of Unfamiliar as they all kneel before me. Their chants growing stronger in unison. "Nether Wielder. Nether Wielder! NETHER WIELDER!"
Chapter 266 Shadow KnightChapter 266 Shadow Knight Perspective: Shadow I groan as I stare at the pile of paper work in front of me. In trying to avoid one problem I ended up embroiled in another. I guess dealing with this is better than dealing with Diamond though. Every time I even start going down that trail of thoughts I just get anxious from the prospects. I can't seem to think of anything to do to even the score that doesn't end with me ripping her stupid extensions off her stupid head! *Inhale... Exhale...* Anyway, I guess visa paperwork is better than that. I take a look down the long table as other government workers continue filing away various papers. We've got to process all the information into physical documents while the Bots electronically file them. If we had better internet access in Mooseden we could just do the electronic verification. But the connection is spotty at best. So we need to have both so we can update it later. It's slow going, but it's how things are for now. SLAM We all jump when the front door slams open. I stand up to see what's going on and see a Bot standing there. We make eye contact for a moment before it rushes over to me. "Your assistance is required." It says, motioning for me to follow. I look around for a moment before stepping off my chair. "Please hurry." "What's going on?" I ask as I hurry after the bot. It starts to run back out the door so I have sprint after it. "Did something happen!?" "You are the nearest emergency contact for the Grand Captain. Your assistance is required." I stop in my tracks for a moment before shaking my head and running. "Is he okay!?" I ask as I start to panic. What's he doing back so soon? I thought he was gonna be gone for a day or two. WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN TO HIM!? The machine doesn't respond to me. But as we start to make our way out of town towards the river I feel my heart start to drop. Of course he would end up over here. Where else would he show up!? "Nether Wielder. Nether Wielder! NETHER WIELDER!" Their chants fill the air as various bots try to gain control of the crowd. But any instructions given are either unheard or ignored by the Kroth. I try to keep pace with the one that brought me here, but the crowd is too thick to move through quickly. I can see my father pressing himself against a tree in a small embankment in the river. His armor is tattered and mostly melted away, almost looking as if the metal was boiled off. His helmet has given way to reveal his eyes. They've gone completely black but they don't have the wisps of energy like when Corpus Glacius takes over. I try to make it to him as fast as possible but the people aren't moving. They're kneeling before him as if they're worshiping a god. Even when I get in their face to ask them to move it's as if I'm invisible to them. It's just them and their god in the shallows of the river. "DAD!" I call out to him as I start climbing over people. I can't even see the bot that brought me anymore. I have to get to him before anything can happen. I call out to him again, but he can't hear me over the crown. I can't even tell if he can see or hear for that matter. I try to climb over another person when I realize I could just teleport there. Definitely the fastest answer, so I go for it. FLASH I scare him as I appear right before him. He tries to move back further but slips onto his backside. I take a look out to the crowd before rushing up to his side. I don't have time to worry about the crowd. I have to calm him down before anything bad happens. "Dad!" I yell as I grab his hand with both hooves. He feels icy to the touch. As if he's been wading through snow for days. "Dad what are you doing here? When did you get here? What's happening to you?" This doesn't seem to be a magic thing. Otherwise I'd be burning my hooves right now. "S-Shadow?" he asks, clearly confused. "Where did you come from? What's going on?" "It's okay Dad," I tell him as I hold his hand tighter. "Everything is okay. Just take some dep breaths and look down at me." He glances down at me and I feel my stomach drop. His armor looks as if it was boiled while he was still in it. The parts that weren't large enough to stay latched on seemingly rolled off of him, like a candle left to burn. His helmet has mostly melted away, leaving gaps to show his face underneath. One eyes has gone completely black while the other is all white. I know what this is. Soul Fire and Corpus Glacius are fighting right now for control. I've never personally had to deal with this before, so I don't know what to do. I should call for help, but he could lose control any second right now. Besides, the bots should have notified everybody when he appeared. I was just the first to get here. How is he going to act if either of them take control? From what I understand Corpus is the least likely to go on a killing spree. He wouldn't really have a reason to. But it's not out of the question either. Soul Fire would probably attack. Or, at least, he's the most likely to. If Dad could somehow win I know I could convince him to at least here me out. Even if that means throwing myself in front of him. I'm running out of time and I just need to make a decision. There's at least a fifty percent chance of him losing control. So I have to make a decision that'll save the most lives. With my mind made up I take one look around before igniting my horn again. I can't afford for him to just run over here, so I go to max out my magic. We're going as far as I can take us. FLASH I give out a small yell and fall over as my horn nearly burns itself off of my head. I know we're deep within the forest near Mooseden, but I actually don't where exactly we are. The point was distance, so that's what I went for. I grab my head and try to focus back into the moment. I can feel a trickle of blood coming from my nose, but the pain in my head is much stronger. With my vision still to hazy to see anything I can't tell what's going on. But I see Dad stumbling forward. It looks as if he's drunk. He drops to his knees and looks straight up. It seems unnatural the way he stares into the canopy. I don't think his neck is suppose to bend like that. I think he's losing control, but I can't tell. There's a ringing in my ears preventing me from understanding anything right now. I stumble over myself as I start to stand. I need to use a nearby tree to do so, but once I get upright everything starts to normalize. I take a few deep breaths and try to form a plan. What do I do now? That teleportation spell really took a lot out of me. But I'm still to keep casting spells. At least at lower levels. Dad warned me about this before. Though I never thought I'd actually have to fight either of them. I have a few spells that can hopefully help, but I don't know how effective they'll be. We never tested this, obviously. And I know they won't last for too long. But they'll still get control. One of them is going to come out and I don't know how I'm going to keep them at bay. I don't even know if I can. All I know is that I have to win or people will get hurt. With one last deep breath I force myself from the tree and march towards father. He's still sitting there, staring up into the trees. Snap Crack A single stick snapping under my hoof drew his attention to me with supernatural speed. For a moment I worry that he snapped his neck. But that all fades when I see his pitch black eyes staring at me. He takes in a slow, wheezy breath and starts to smile. Dark foggy wisps start to waft from his lips as his smile opens. Well... now I know who I'm talking to. Time to talk. "I don't suppose there's any way I could convince you give my father control, is there?" He gives a soft chuckle. It was worth a shot. "Tell me, little shadow." His words come out like a sick person. Dry... Weak... Almost too quiet to hear. As he speaks, the portals of magic begin to form on his back and each of his hands. But instead of the white flames of his usual magic, the same dark fog billows out. In a moment his entire body lost in the black mist. "Do you truly believe you can stop me?" With a all the power he can muster Corpus Glacius lunges at me. Large dark beams of black energy race towards me as I throw myself to the side. I can feel the whip of air pass scarily close to my back. If I had been a moment too late... I shake the thought from my head and teleport away. Just far enough to get away from another beam of dark magic. His head snaps to the side as white energy grows out of the black haze. A simple crooked face appears and gives me a slanted smile. As he moves to attack me I start to make a run for it. I need to draw him further into the forest so he can't hurt anyone. But I'm not leaving the area, I just need to get him to chase after me. I try to weave through the trees and overgrown ferns of the woods. I can't let him know where I'm going. Keep it random. I won't get a second chance at this. A few beams break through the forest. Each one blasting gaps in the various plants and boulders. The trees that take large hits begin to twist and fall. I have to change course a few times to avoid the falling logs and widow makers. I have to slide to a stop when one of the trees falls directly in front of me. With the path in front of me blocked, I have no choice but to use my magic- FWT-SNAP I scream as a dark strand suddenly appears from the ground beside me. Before I could use my magic I had to roll to my side to avoid getting hit. FWT-SNAP FWT-SNAP FWT-SNAP The dark whips appear all over, lashing out at me as I try to make a run for it. From somewhere unseen I hear his mocking laughter echo in the woods. I start blasting the whips I see in my path. The first one was just a raw mana blast that didn't seem to effect it too much. After that I try blasting it with one of the energy types Dad taught me. A red beam pierces straight through the dark whip and burns a tree behind it. The whip still was able to lash out at me. But it paused it enough for me to dodge it easily. That spell seemed to be effective, but wasn't big enough. I try to remember more about it, but there's only one thing coming to mind. Light. It's not much to go off of, but I have to take a gamble! Otherwise I'm done for! FLASH-FWUM I skid to a stop as several whips appear all around me. There's nowhere else to run now. There's a moment when all falls still and we wait for the other to act. This is it. One last spell or it's all over. Right as the whips lash out at me I blast my magic to my absolute limit. Everything I have goes into making a blinding light erupt from my horn. Every shadow in the woods is washed away as my light breaks through every crevice and shines brightly throughout the woodland. The heat from the light makes me sweat as the overpowering light blinds me through my eyelids. I have no idea if this is working, but I keep pushing through the pain anyway. If I can feel the pain then it must be working, so I try to push even farther. I give out a scream as I start to feel my power begin to wain. My knees are getting weak and I can feel the heat all over my body. But I keep pushing anyway. I won't have anything after this, so I put all there is of me into it. This has to work! The spell suddenly stops and I feel the heat from the spell drop suddenly. There's still a warmth glowing along my back and scalp. I can't see and there's a numbness telling me that my horn is luckily still there; but the world is quiet. No more laughter. No sounds of whips cracking out. There's nothing out there. I fall to my side and pant from exhaustion. I don't think I'll be able to cast anymore magic for awhile. Not without hurting myself at least. That'll be okay though. I think I won. I think we'll be okay- "Why." My heart skips a beat when I hear that sickly whisper. I hold my breath and hope that it was all in my head. That there's nothing out there. That I saved my father. "Why!" I couldn't do it. I couldn't protect my father! I let him down- I let down the whole town down! The Kroth! Mom! I couldn't be the one to save the day. "Why can't I win!?" I hear him breath in weakly. As if he's trying to hold back tears. As if... he's failed again. I try to squint my eyes to regain my vision. But nothing happens. "Why can't I beat you! You! Insolent, small, child!" I try to get up, but there's no strength in my body whatsoever. I try to roll over, but I can't even manage that much. "I am Corpus Glacius! I am Nether! I am-" "I'm sorry!" We both go quiet for a moment. I don't know why I apologized. But it just came out of me. I don't know where I'm going with this. But I don't know what else to do. "Do not pity me!" "I'm not! I-I mean... I'm not sorry for stopping you. But.. I get it." He scoffs at me. I try one last time to get up but there's just no way it's happening. I let myself relax into the dirt and sigh. I debate for a moment before deciding to just unleash on him. "I do get it. All my life people had to save me from the world. My father pulled me out of a hole in the ground. My mothers had to protect me from society. My friends have to protect me from bullies! I couldn't protect my father when people said those horrible things! I couldn't even protect my sister from that fucking asshole! All I could do was pretend that everything was okay and that I was happy while she took on all the burdens and... and... and I hate myself for it!" I stop when I my eyes burn up from the tears. I've never told anyone this. I never could. Because then they'd have to come and save me from... myself. And I can't let them do that. I guess... I guess I'm trying to protect them from myself. I can't burden them with my own issues again. I can't show them how weak I really am. "So don't tell me that I don't get failure because I know what it is!" I try to rub my eyes clear, but my legs are too weak to bring up. I hear him start to move towards me. I don't have the energy to fight him anymore. So whatever happens, happens. I feel a cold sensation run through my horn and chill my entire body. All of the heat from before dissipates and is replaced with an icy feeling. I blink a few times before I look up. Dad has a hand on my side. I can see the sorrow on his face. I feel a wash of shame fall over me as I stare back up at him. But then I realize one of his eyes is still consumed with the darkness from before. So I don't know who I'm actually looking up at. "Rest." The voice of multiple people shake me to my core and I immediately pass out. I feel myself toss and turn as different images ebb and flow before me. Familiar faces looking away from me. I try to reach out to them, but they fade away before I can reach them. I try calling out to their names, but there's no sound to be made. I see my sister standing before me. She has that same smile she always had. It's infectious. It always did make me feel safe. Loved. Even when I knew things were really bad. I try to tell her it's okay not to smile. It's okay for her to be mad at me. We don't have to be here, we can leave and figure something else out! But she just smiles at me. Always smiling... I try to grab her. What I was going to do when I got her I have no idea. I wanted to hold her! Or smack her? Maybe just take her and run! I don't know what I tried to do. She faded away; just like the others. I look around to try and find her, but instead I find father. He's standing there smiling down at me. Hands on his hips. Pride in his chest. I can tell he's going to encourage me, somehow. Tell me I'm doing great. How I'm a quick learner. Probably add a short joke for good measure. He's always trying to give me every bit of support he thinks I need, and then some. Even when others are doing so much better. I try to back away, but I hit a wall. I don't deserve this praise. I didn't do enough, it'll never be enough! He's given the world to me and all I do is cause problems. I don't deserve this. I press back against the wall and fall through it. I try to scream for help, but there's nothing here. No one to save me this time. I'm... alone. I gasp sharply from the feeling of falling. I try to sit up, but there's a sharp pain in my side that stops me. I try to take in my surroundings, but but it's too dark to see beyond my immediate surroundings. There's a small campfire nearby keeping me warm with a few logs set around it. I try to get up again but this time a throbbing pain in my head stops me. "Relax kid," Dad says, stepping out from the other side of the fire. He sets some wood down and takes a seat. I feel myself become uneasy and try to turn away from him. The pile of leave under me rustle loudly as I curl into a ball. "Keep straining yourself and you'll pass out. Trust me on that. I'm sort of an expert on the matter." "... sorry." I feel a tear roll down my cheek, but I quickly try to wipe it away. I don't want him seeing me like this. "I know." His response catches me off guard. I look over at him and watch as he uses a stick to poke at the fire. I can tell he's troubled by something. But I don't know how to ask about it right now. "Dad... are you-" "Did I ever tell you about the time Dolum Ostendere and I nearly blew up a night club?" He asks quickly, looking at me with a curious look. His question catches me even more off guard. He sounds so chipper, so... okay with everything? I try to respond, but all I can do is shake my head. He gives an uneasy laugh as he looks back to the fire. "No, I don't think I'd share this story with many people actually. It's not one I like to share really." He goes quiet for a moment. I can tell he's recounting the memory in his head, and it's troubling him. It's not going to be an easy story to tell. He takes the stick and tosses it into the fire, making the flames dance wildly for a moment. I try to ask if he's okay, but he continues with the story. Given his tone, I elect not to interrupt him. "Back when I was a new Spartan in Topaz Falls I was so eager to prove myself. I wanted to show them that the orphan from Diamond Halls was worth the effort. I wanted to prove to Susurrans that I was Spartan material! I was impatient and too willing to get started. So I decided to make my mark. I decided that I was ready for my first mission. Topaz worked different than Equestria. There was a police force; a guard like system, but they didn't take care of every civil matter. Spartans back then also kept the local peace. If the Spartans got involved though, you knew it was a big deal. You called them when the threat was obvious and someone or something had to be destroyed. When the intel was good, they'd post it on the government forums. Might as well consider yourself dead within the hour by that point. Didn't happen too often, but when it did..." Perspective: Miles Topaz Falls August 8th, 1128 I pull out my phone and look over the icons as the tram jostles lightly along the rails. Neon lights flash past the glossy glass as we move through the entertainment district. The glow of middle city betrays the late hour. Doesn't matter to the people down here though. They're not here to rest. The lower you go into Topaz Falls the less recognizable it becomes. Higher crime rates. Over crowded housing. It's almost like the heart of the city fades away as you descend into the depths of the middle and bottom level. I never really liked it down here. More so at the Foundation, but the Mid doesn't suit me either. There are parts that are enjoyable. People feel more free down here. The bright colors of peoples outlandish outfits make people watching much more pleasant. And there are even those who secretly make and distribute various arts. You can still feel the soul of Topaz in the Mid. But, for every good thing, there's two bad that come with them. Illegal trafficking. Illicit drug activity. Arms Trafficking. Dark magic trades. If it's illegal and valuable, it's here in the Mid. Especially in the entertainment district. A sect of Triple M's, Mundane Made Matrix, made a move on the Parliament Congressional Hall recently. They're a group of Decker's that live for past knowledge. The recent raid was about trying to get some information from official computers in the PCH. They definitely got in, but what they took out is unclear. Tech stuff was never my forte. Not like it was by choice though... The tram begins to slow down as we enter North Hall Two. A tall transportation building that houses most city transit systems, most major mico platforms, as well as city information stalls. Depending on where you're going you can get there from here. Assuming you pay the toll that is. I decided to take the tram because it'd be inconspicuous. Everybody watches the mico platforms. No one gives a damn about the disgusting tram. I look around to check whose here. Some seemingly homeless person asleep in one corner. A mother with four kids at the other end. And, of course... "This place smells like piss and depression." Dolum tells me, pulling his jacket in more tightly. I tried to leave alone, but escaping him was more trouble than it's worth. "And I think that homeless dude is jacking it-" "You can leave then, you know?" I tell him as the tram comes to a stop. He scoffs at me as he hurries out of the sliding doors. Even through all the shit of military training he's still a prissy little princess when it comes to commoners. I can't help but roll my eyes at him and follow. He'd never had made it in the orphanage. We leave the bright white lights of the N.H.T. and step out onto the street. There's a weird mix of bright lights and dark alleys here in the Mid. Because of the complete coverage of the flat ceiling above the lights come down at sharp angles. So there are lots of places to hide and watch. "How do you know they're going to make the call tonight anyway?" Dolum asks as we start to walk down the sidewalk. I try to keep a low profile, but Dolum couldn't be more obvious with how he keeps checking over his shoulder. The crowd of people we're walking through don't seem too bothered by the two of us though. They're too distracted with getting to their next stop. From one social gathering to the next, we're not worth the attention. "I have it on good authority-" "What authority!?" "Authority that I trust to give good intel-" "What intel!?" "Intel that says the call is coming out tonight!" "SHHH!" We both come to a stop as I glare back at him. "Want the whole neighborhood listening in on us!?" "... of course not." If we didn't have to go back to the same room I'd throw him in a dumpster right now. "We're at the place, you still coming or not?" We both look up at the bar in front of us. To me it's just a large bland concrete building with a few neon lights dotting some of the windows. To Dolum though, I'm sure it looks amazing. I can't wear the smartlinks that most people have that show the augmented world. Tech and me have never mixed well. I like to say that I get a real look at what's actually there. But, sometimes it's a bit of a hindrance. The place is called The Toolbox. A common stomping grounds for Deckers, Bellum Machina, and Riggers. Everything in here requires a smartlink. Identification, payment, reservations, all through your smartlink. My phone can stand in as a work around, but it sticks out. So it's better that Dolum is here to help cover, even if I wanted to do this myself. Dolum takes a moment to look over the building before sighing in annoyance. He's in. Without hearing his answer I start to walk in. He grumbles in protest, but follows regardless. Once we open the doors the loud thumping of the music inside beats against us. The crowd of people chattering makes it nearly impossible to discern any other noise. Neon lights flicker around the walls as lights flash all over the dance floor. I don't know if I'd call that dancing or collective jittering with how packed it is, but that seems to be the point. It takes us almost an hour to get to the bar, order some drinks, and skulk our way to a standing table. There were some other people here when we arrived. But the hurried away the moment we stepped up. Dolum and I share a look before taking a drink. I don't think we stand out too much. Then again, we're the only ones not is bright neon skin tight suits. I assume we're also the only ones not in virtual augmented avatars... or at least I know I'm not. Crowd watching for a moment really tells me a lot about the room. I can see three clicks of people here. The triple M's are on the opposite side of the room. Half of them look like their zoned out and staring off into space. Several of them are bald with obvious implants on their skulls. Makes it easier to plug into the Core and navigate the internet. Then there are the Bellum Machina to the right of the Triple M's. There's nothing to hide them. Most are cybernetically enhanced with replaced limbs or organs. Robotic eyes, metal arms, a few of them even have antenna sticking out of their heads. The Bellum Machina wear their implants as a badge of honor. So there's no need to be coy about them. And lastly, the next most obvious group are the Ekdromoi. None of my intel said that they were going to be here tonight. Even worse, the faction of Ekdromoi that's here are the most radical. The Dorarismos. Lead by the second in command, a woman named Novacula Acies, they have a fanatical hatred of most modern technology. They believe that we should be regressing back to a more simplistic way of life. Moving back to the surface to become an agrarian society, and the destruction of all firearms are just a few of their beliefs. It pains me to say this, but they've made some decent points in the past. Though... I'm never giving up on my rifle, so they'll have to deal with that. But why are they here? This is a crowd that they despise! Are they in working with one of the groups here? If so... how? What could they possibly want with one another? The Ekdromoi's are taking up most of the dance floor. I've never been much of a dancer but I assume that they're mostly acting like savages flailing about. I guess I wouldn't really know though. But watching them jump around give me glimpses of the various weapons they have. Mostly large knives, but a few have larger blades that are collapsed in. I can handle the other groups more easily than the Ekdromoi. People rushing in with wild abandon are one of my weaker aspects. And that goes double for Dolum. I catch myself staring at the group for too long and accidentally make eye contact with Novacula. She's wearing tight denim shorts and a thin white tub top with suspenders and various belts all over. Her hair is cut short to show the sides of her head and has a mod chip in it that makes it wave with rainbow colors. We stare at each other for a moment before she smirks and starts to saunter towards us. "Incoming," I say to Dolum as I take another drink. "Shouldn't have stared." Dolum scolds. "Hey there shower boy!" Novacula yells over the music, getting Dolum to choke on his drink from the sudden chuckle. I try to stay stoic, but it bothers me to no end that she's seen that video. She leans forward and places her hands on the table while bouncing her hips from side to side in step with the music. "What brings you round these parts? Pretty far below your golden tower, aint it?" "Got lost on my way to the washroom and decided to get a drink." I tell her, getting her to laugh. If I can get her to leave then that would be best. At the very least we'd like to keep our conversation as inconspicuous as possible. "Though I never thought I'd see the Ekdromoi in a place like this." "Yeah, well, nothing wrong with a little rabble rousing every now and then. Right?" She looks back and motions towards the crowd. A moment later a few of the others come over and give the three of us new drinks. Dolum and I glance at each before downing our current drinks and taking the new ones. Knew it was a good idea to start with a light drink. Novacula whispers something to one of the others before sending them away. I try to listen in, but the music makes it impossible to hear anything. I try to read her body language, but there's nothing to really garner. Even though she's really thin, I can tell she's got plenty of strength on her. She looks back to us and raises her glass, so we follow suit. "To loud music, good company and... swords! And axes! And the eventual downfall of the tyrannical rule of a monarchal oligarchy! OH! And to bitches and whores with absent virtues! SOL INVICTUS!" She loses us halfway through her ramblings but we take the drink regardless. It at least gave us time to check for any spells or toxins in the drinks. They seemed fine, so we drank. Her calling an old Roman empirical saying while calling for the downfall of our own monarch catches me a bit off guard. But we don't have time to get into politics right now. We each take what felt like normal sized drinks, but Novacula downed the entire thing. Which is concerning because these were not light beverages. When she slams down the glass she has a slight stagger to her stance but lets out a roar of satisfaction. I get a buzz from my phone at the same time as half the room suddenly stops dancing. Even though the music continues, the feeling in here drops to near silence. I don't bother looking at my phone. I know what it says. It's go time. "Fuck it. We'll take the floor, you two head on up and bag that son of a bitch." Novacula tells us as she drags a knife out from behind herself. Her tone has completely flipped to a more sinister seriousness. A few patrons smart enough to realize what's happening start to rush out of the room as the factions of people begin to square off. I wanted to ask her what she knew, but there was no time. As if on queue, the dance floor erupted into combat. Just as quickly as pistols could be drawn they Ekdromoi were on the Bellum Machina. The loud din of music was replaced with the roar of combat as the two factions began to tear each other apart. Novacula rushed in as well, jumping on the back of an individual before repeatedly stabbing them in the neck. It all became a blur of violence before we could act. Dolum and I snap out of our daze and rush for the stairs in the back, igniting our magics to increase our speed. A few people tried to get in our way, but we just used our magic to move them aside. There don't seem to be any other mages in the building, so that'll be our advantage. "What's the order?" I yell out to Dolum as we race up the curved staircase. "K.O.S." Kill on sight. Whatever this guy did, it got the governments attention to the highest degree. And we're going to be the ones to do it. When we round the last of the stairs we find ourselves staring down a long hallway. There are several privet rooms dotting the hallway, but only one has guards. The guy facing me seems to be of average build and only seems to have a heavy pistol on him. The guy facing Dolum is massive. Easily two hundred centimeters tall and made of muscle and metal. Augmented arms built to look strong and eyes glowing in the dark; the second guy is clearly the larger threat- Before I could register what happened Dolum grabbed my shoulder and forced me to trade spots. I glared at him for a moment before the larger guy came charging down the hall. I assume he has augmented legs as well with the speed he closes the distance. I barely get my arms up in time to try and block his attack. But most of the energy from his punch sends me flying back and I crash and roll down the stairs. I get a glimpse of him jumping after me. Both of his hands raised to thrash me into the ground. But my magic was already activated. So I roll into my tumbling before pushing off the ground and flingi8ng myself straight up. He crashes into the ground beneath me so I swing my arm and throw a bolt of mana at him. It slams into the side of his shoulder and washes over him, seemingly ineffective. He glances up at me with those glowing eyes before reaching up and grabbing my foot. With a yell of effort he spins me around his body and tosses me back out into the dance floor. Luckily a standing table breaks most of my fall. I groan as I try to get up, taking another glance at the dance floor to see it half empty now. The floor is slowly becoming covered in a layer of blood and dying people as the fighting continues to rage on. I hear metal groaning from exertions and push myself to the side. The massive guard crashes into my previous position, punching a sizable crater into the ground. He rushes after me, punching at me with increasing force. It takes all my focus to fumble over myself while trying to avoid his attacks. But I'm starting to see a pattern. When he rears back to punch again I take the opening to kick a leg up and blast him back. Because of my Potestatem Anuls, I couldn't put as much as I'd like to into the attack. But it did give me the space to get back on my feet. Though I almost slip on the blood underneath me. We stand at the same time and start to size each other up. I don't have the time to deal with this. I need to get into that room. But if I push my magic too hard in this room, all of the others will turn on me. So I have to do it the hard way. "Play time's over, little hoplite." He says before one of his hands flips down to reveal the barrel of a gun while the knuckles of his other hand begin to spark with electricity. "I am the battlefield." "And my cause is limitless." A race between us commences. I dive opposite of his hidden gun in attempt to buy me the precious few seconds I need to raise a shield. As the shield starts to take form it immediately shatters as flechette rips all around. I feel a single piece of shrapnel hit my side, but it's ignorable for now. I hit the ground and throw my other arm up to raise another shield, catching the next round just in time. I scramble to keep upright. I just needed the dive to get the first shield up. Now I can start to maneuver him into position. Each blast he send my way is met with another shield, most of which get destroyed. I have to keep the trade between arms to keep blocking, but whenever one manages to stay I take the chance to blast him with a wave of magic. It's only enough to keep him off kilter, but that's what I need. He gets tired of this game though. Choosing to rush forward to attempt to taze me. I keep light on my feet, nearly making it completely around before he gets within melee range. I try to do another switch, but he's close enough to grab the shield and force it aside. Completely open, he swings in and drives his tazer fist into my chest. I grit my teeth as I feel the energy coarse through my body. I don't get to use it often, but I've recently learned how to channel electrical energy into raw magical energy. I haven't quite gotten used to it, but it buys me the free power to release my trap. I drop my spell and throw my arms out and bring them in quickly. I gather all of the water from the blood that's gathered below us and use it to stab into the man before me multiple times. A few hit his augmented limbs and splash off harmlessly. But a few other strands find flesh and begin to rip him open. He lets out a roar of pain before grabbing me by the throat. I try to bring my hands together, but it feels like I'm trying to bring to opposing magnets together as I try to hose him down even more. I have to use several jets to keep his gun arm away from myself, narrowly avoiding a few more blasts as I start to use high pressure water over and over again to blast his guts open. Everything goes blurry as we both start to slow. But with his shock hand still suppling me with free energy, I can keep my barrage going with the same intensity. I take a glance down and see that much of his intestines are hanging out of his exposed metallic chest cavity. In the middle of it all I see something shiny, so I grab it without thinking twice. He lets out one last long roar as the electricity rushes directly into his chasse. He manages to lift me by the throat and we share one last hate filled stare down. I place a foot on his hip and begin to pull with everything I have. Whatever I'm grabbing, it suddenly snaps forward and the man drops dead. It takes a moment to pry myself free from his grasp. It takes even longer to regain my breath. The crowd around me is starting to disburse from the building. I can see at least eight other corpses lying about. I shake my head and force myself up. I'm still a bit shaky, but I manage to make my way to the stairs. I take one last look at the bloody dance floor where I see Novacula about to leave. We share a look before she blows me a kiss and skips merrily out the door. That woman... is crazy. As I make my way upstairs again I regain more control of my breath. When I make it up I see Dolum and the previous guy standing there with their arms extended towards each other. Each of them have bloody noses and are solely focused on each other. It looks like they're trying to gain control of each other but are evenly matched. I stumble my way past Dolum and stop by the scrawny guy. He's trying not to look at me, but I can see the panic in his eyes. He knows what's coming and is trying to think of a way out. But it's too late. I raise a hand next to his head and blast it clean off, leaving a sizable splat on the wall. "Next time," I tell Dolum as I turn back to him. "You, take the big guy." "But... you did so well with him." He tells me as he doubles over to catch his breath. "Ready?" "Let's finish this." I turn back and push both hands forward. The door at the end of the hall goes flying off its hinges and crashes inside. We walk in slowly together. The only light coming both of our magic. This room seems like a Deckers set up. Several computer towers, lots of trash from delivery, and a lone pod meant for diving into the internet. It's an all white oval sphere that hovers a few centimeters off the ground. This one is open from the side, revealing the lounge inside the device. The man we're looking for is standing before the pod. He's a skrawny guy. Almost as if he's been starving for months on end. He's only wearing a old pair of briefs and part of the head gear that's meant to plug into the pod. But it looks as if he ripped himself out of the device early. Blood races down the back of his neck and from both his wrists. He turns slowly to look at us, his whole body trembling with every move. "H-he-he-he-he." He tries to speak, but he can't seem to find the words. Dolum and I look to each other before I start to step closer. "What happened?" I ask, stepping slowly. He takes a deep breath as he tries to speak. "He-he-he-he-he." He is all he can muster to say. "He? He who?" I ask as I get close enough to touch him. He turns his head to me suddenly completely in control. I flinch from the quick movement, but keep my place beside him. "He who knows how it all ends." I stare at him as I try to think of what that could possibly mean. I should heal him so I can gather whatever information I can. But... something is off. And more than just this guy. "Who would that be?" Dolum asks, stepping closer as well. The guy slowly turns his head to him before smiling. "Times up." Perspective: Shadow Present Day I stare up at dad as he recounts his story. I'm not following the correlation yet, but I'm sure he'll explain in a moment. But as he continues with his story I see something white glowing on his back. When I try to look at it, it disappears behind him. If I didn't know better, I'd say it was Corpus Glacius reaching out. But... that can't be right. "After all the debris settled, half the block was practically gone." Dad says, snapping me back to the story. "Uh... h-how... wait, half the block? How did you get out?" "Like I said; with Dolums help. Pay attention Shadow, it's not often I talk about the old days." I try to say something, but he just continues. "After that we were chewed out by Susurrans for a month straight. Not only did we fail the objective, but innocent people were hurt. And all because I wanted to prove something." "But... there's no saying that you were the cause of the explosion... right?" I feel bad for missing a part of the story, but something was back there. I know it! "Maybe, but that's not the point. I should have relied on my entire team for the mission. I should have left my pride aside and let all Spartans work to finish the mission. And yet, I did it again... with you." I stare up at him in confusion. What's he talking about? How did he do this with me? "Dad... Corpus taking over isn't your fault." I try to tell him, but he stands up and starts to pace around the campfire. "No, it is." He tells me, the anger in his voice rising. "I was the one that pushed you to go after Diamond Tiara!" "She accused you of sleeping with me in the newspaper!" I yell back, try to get up. "She slandered your name! I'm not letting her get away with that!" "And because I put my pride in your care it forced you to take the actions that lead you to Mooseden as those creatures appeared!" He snaps back. I feel a tinge of heartbreak for a moment. He put his pride in my care... and I failed. I failed to live up to his expectations. "I... I..." I try to say something, but I can't find the words. New tears start to roll down my cheeks, burning my eyes. He sees me and rushes to my side. He drops to his knees and pulls me in for a hug. I hear his voice beginning to crack as well. "I put it all on you, what kind of father would do that?" He asks, burying his pace into my mane. "What?" I ask, pushing him back. "No you didn't-" "I should have been there for you. I should have helped! And looked what happened. I almost killed you!" "You taught me to defend myself!" I yell back at him. "You taught me to stand up for myself! What was the point of all that training if I can't even defend myself!? I wanted to be the one to defend you for once! Defend myself for once! I'm the one who should be ashamed... I've failed you as a daughter!" He lets go of me and lowers his head in shame. He places both of his fist on the ground and tries to let me speak. With everything I say though he just shakes his head. Muttering to himself about failings as a father. But when I tell him that I've failed he snaps his head up. The look of sadness on his face makes me flinch for a moment and we both go quiet. We both want to say the other is wrong. That we're the ones that need to do better. But we know what comes next. It's just going to be a cycle of trying to comfort the other while taking all of the blame. Can we even come to an agreement like this? Where do we go from here? "Shadow." Dad starts, rubbing his eyes clear. "You know you're my daughter, right?" "Of course I do... you know you're my father, right?" He chuckles and nods, finally looking back to me with a soft smile. I smile back to him and relax a bit. "Of course I am. And nothing is ever going to change that. No matter what, okay?" I nod back to him. The atmosphere is cooling off between us. But I'm still worried that we're just saying what needs to be said. Not that we don't believe what we're saying. But we're saying it to get past this moment. Maybe even come back to it later. " I know Dad... I love you." He reaches forward and pulls me into his embrace. I feel myself melt into his embrace as I bury my face into his chest. All of the previous anxieties fade away here, even if it's just for a moment. "Te quoque amo, filia mea dulcis." For a moment, nothing else mattered anymore. I felt myself finally breath a sigh of relief. Maybe nothing was really fixed, but it didn't matter. At the end of the day we have each other. And we can work through anything together. Anything wrong today can be fixed tomorrow. For now, this is all I need. But nothing in life can be that easy. As I hold onto him I twist my head and look behind him. There, his magical portal is opened completely. But nothing is there. No dark wisps. No fires. There's just the circles with magical text and a void in the middle. And even though I couldn't see, I know he's there. Corpus Glacius is waiting just underneath the surface. Author's Note Fun fact, widow makers are branches that fall off tall trees and pierce the ground. Terradisian Archetypes Latin Translations. Brony on!
Chapter 267 Fear of DreamersChapter 267 Fear of Dreamers Perspective: Miles We spend some time in the woods. We talk a bit more, but it became evident that we were both dreading going back home. But she needs her rest. And there is too much at stake to just sit here and ignore the world. No matter how tempting the thought is. Shadow put everything into fighting Corpus. So I have to carry her back home. She tried to protest, but when she couldn't even stand she accepted it. She's a stubborn one, that's for sure. Probably learned it from me to be honest. Hopefully I taught her more than to just dig her heels in. I try to mentally prepare myself for Mooseden. I know what's there. And everything in my body is telling me to be ready for a fight. I know I should be ready for a fight! Those monsters have invaded my home for a second time! I can't let them take over. Not again. Never again! Don't be so bold to assume with such absolution. I stop and look around when I hear a woman's voice. It sounded... familiar. Comforting almost. I take another look around before cautiously continuing on. I go for a distance waiting for them to speak again. I even try to lead certain thoughts to see if I can trigger it again. But... they they don't say anything. If there's something I need to know... please tell me... mother... Of course, nothing is said. There isn't anything to be said really. I'm going to be the first human to have communications with the Unfamiliar that doesn't involve combat. What advice could anyone give me? This is uncharted territory for Terradisia. Well... as far as I'm aware of. It takes some time to travel back to the outskirts of Mooseden. Shadow had teleported us as far as she could. She did really good back there. I'm proud of her ability. But I don't know how I'll ever shake this feeling of shame for even fighting her in the first place. But enough of that for tonight. I only have one goal right now. Get Shadow into bed. The walk back home took long enough for the sun to set. Shadow passed out pretty early on so it was a quiet walk. It worries me a little that I was gone this long, but at least nothing is on fire. So that's a start. I'm more amazed that nothing tried to bother us on the travel back here. But I'm not going to question whatever good fortune I have today. As I enter town I feel my heart start to race. I know they're over there. I can practically feel them stealing glances at us as we enter. My brain is telling me that they're trying to keep out of sight of me. But my gut is yelling at me that they are plotting to attack. To watch my six and anticipate an attack. I can't let them get the drop on me... I can't lower my guard... I double my pace to E'Claire's and Butterscotches home. I just need to focus on getting Shadow home. Nothing is going to happen... We're safe here... Nothing is going to happen... I turn a corner and freeze in place when I see an Unfamiliar standing before me. She looks just as shocked as I am. She's wearing a simple tunic and trouser set that are deep purple with gold trimmings. Her long white hair reaches just far enough to hide her shoulders. But her eyes... The rest of her could pass for normal. In Terradisia at least. But her eyes... Those pitch black eyes will never be human to me. Even with the shock and fear set within them, they're the eyes that are set out to kill me. With Shadow in my hands I hesitate to act. I felt my arm twitch to get my pistol, I with my hands already occupied it was just a twitch. The woman sees this and start to back away. She says something, but it was too quiet to hear. An apology maybe? Another Unfamiliar comes out from the other side of the building. It's a man who is similarly dressed in the purple and golds. He grabs the woman and drags her beyond the building. I have to stay still. I can't even think of moving right now. Everything is telling me to get to cover and wait for an attack. To call out for support and attack! Glancing around town I notice that the streets are practically empty. But all of the street lights are on. Some of the shops and restaurants are lit up as well. Something must have happened. Why else would everything be fully opened? I take a few steps towards the town center. I don't know what's happening right now, but for some reason I feel as if I'll get answers over there. I almost forget that I have Shadow in my hands as I do this. But if something has happened then it would be best to keep her close. I'll hold onto her, just in case. Town center is usually the heart of the town, especially at this time of night. There's a large opening where we've put of tables and seating underneath hanging lights. It sits just in front of town hall but also sits at the ends of the vendors buildings and most of the housing in town. With a population of a couple hundred, everything is close by. People use the space to wind down from the day, eat, socialize, maybe even do some shopping nearby. People meet up with friends and do work here. It should be bustling with life right now. Why is it empty? I walk though the various table and benches and try to garner any information I can. There isn't any left over food or upturned table. So I don't think people left in a hurry. Most of the stalls are left as if they were conducting business as usual, but grills and heaters were turned off. So they had time to think things through. Nothing here is telling me that something bad happened. It's almost as if everyone just agreed to get up and leave at the same time. And where are all of the security bots? There should always be squads of them walking around doing guard duty! What could have possibly made them leave as well!? The sheer emptiness of town is making me start to panic. It doesn't help that the only person I've seen was an Unfamiliar... I begin to rush through the town center. I don't know where I'm going yet, but I can't just stand here and wait for something to happen. Should I take Shadow to Ponyville? Is Ponyville even safe right now? Maybe I should head there just to drop Shadow off at home. Leave her somewhere relatively safe... assuming it's still safe. I double my pace and rush towards the mico stations. I need to see Ponyville right now. I need to see something as it should be. But before I could take the platform back someone appears before me. He's a unicorn that appears to be Shadows age with a dark grey coat and bright white hair. He looks up to me with his bright yellow eyes and tilts his head slightly. He seems more confused than I am... why? "You're... Miles, right?" He asks, stepping off the platform. I try to think but from all of the previous panic I'm at a lost for words. So I just nod to him. "Shadows dad?" "... yeah. Do you-" "Cause I've heard about you but I just haven't seen you yet." He says mater of factly. Something about the nonchalant demeanor makes me follow after him. If only to hear another person speak. "I travel a lot... do you know what happened here? Are you a citizen?" I've never seen him before, so it's not likely. He jumps behind a vendors stall and starts to rummage through it. "Me? No no no no! I live in Ponyville. But I frequent the town enough. Good food here an' all... where is, AHA!" He pop backs up and puts several kabobs on the still hot grill. "Want one?" "... no... the people-" "Right! Well, with all the Kroth here they started getting them processed at the town hall. If I'm to guess..." he leans back and takes a look at town hall. "Mmm... I'd say they probably are on the other side of the river." He continues to cook the food as if everything's fine. I've still got a thousand and one questions, but I doubt this kid has the answers. But by his tone I'm assuming that everything is relatively fine. I go to investigate further but stop when I remember Shadow. "You can leave Shadow with me." The kid tells me. "You know her?" I ask skeptically. I know my daughter. I can count all of her friends with one hand. I'd know of this kid if he was a friend. "Well... more like acquaintance. We've bumped into each other a couple of times. I think she shot me down once too. Shame really... anyway! You got stuff to do, and she needs food. I've seen bends before. A good meal will help with the impending migraine." I eye him for a moment as I try to size him up. Most of my fatherly red flags are flaring right now. I don't want to leave my daughter with this kid. But... he's got a point. She's going to be hungry. And I need to get over the river as soon as possible. If I had some extra security around here I'd feel better about it. But with the town empty... "Names Star Gazer. If you were wondering." He tells me, flipping the food. "I live on thirty two main street, just above the sofa and quill place." "Doesn't the store owner live there? What's his name... uh-" "Mr. Lounge makes his money renting. Not many ponies buying quills and sofas recently. Think he's sleeping with Mrs. Dough while her husband is off doing business in Detrot. To be fair, he's apparently sleeping with his assistant, Miss Inkwell, too. Yeah, they only got married cause they though she was pregnant. But now they're only together for-" "If you stop talking I'll trust you to watch over my daughter." That was... way too much information. "Sounds good! Want a kabob for the road?" He says, offering me a skewer. I stare at him for a moment before turning around and sitting Shadow at a table. I look around for anything I can drape over her. But I have to settle for moving a patio heater closer to her. That kid... is an odd one. I move to run off, but then a thought occurs. I look back to Shadow and think about her. About what she's said. My hand trembles as I draw my weapons and lay them before her. I trust her not to lose them. But I don't trust myself to run off with them. I take one last look to Star Gazer, getting a confused look from him, before rushing towards the river Mooseden is nestled in the basin of the nearby Appleachian mountains. The nearby river helps transport all of the timber down to the coast. The nearest body of water is just a tributary river though. If I didn't see them right away then it's most likely that they've moved down to the main river, the Novissime Pluvia. The Last Rain river. The tributary and Novissime Pluvia have a wedge of land between them that rises above the two bodies of water. I've always eyed the land as a potential area for further development. We've just been waiting on the population to grow to that point. But, since I've talked to E'Claire about this in the past, I now suspect that she's giving the space to the Unfamiliar. There's a moment where I want to feel betrayed about the idea. But I'm too focused on getting there to dwell on it. If they are using my ideas though, I know exactly where to go. Northeast of Mooseden there is a hill that plateaus just enough to build on. Gives a great view of the area, but is hard to travel to without modern technology. I'm betting that's where they are. Magically pushing myself, it only take twenty minutes to get to the location. Even with my extra speed I'm still a bit winded from the run up here. As I close the last of the run I can see the sound of large scale construction happening. Dozens of hammer thumping and saws grinding away become louder and louder as several trees are felled suddenly. When I make it to the top of the hill I find the once forested area has been cleared. A large clearing with piles of supplies and material takes its place now. Hundreds of people and bots roam about as they work towards erecting buildings. The amount of coordination between everyone here is... surprising. I guess after years of having to deal with their petty grievances I forgot that most of these people are master craftsman's. I start to stumble into the clearing when I notice a group of Unfamiliar moving nearby. I instinctively go for my pistol before remembering that I left it behind. I ignite my hand and watch them for a moment. They've got a log hoisted on their shoulders as they line up and a mill. They load it in and the machine begins to slowly pull it in and cut it to shape. Once it's mostly been fed in they move aside and talk to a pony for a moment. He delegates something to them before they go their separate ways. As I look around I whiteness dozens of similar situations like that. Ponies, bots, and Unfamiliar working together. I rub my eyes and watch for a moment longer. I know I'm seeing it happen right before me, I just can't believe it. These are suppose to be the monsters that took Topaz from me. That killed my best friend and threatened to kill my unborn son. How are they also the ones working side by side with us? "Miles!" I recoil from my thoughts as E'Claire comes running up to me. She has a few bots following after her, but everything seems... fine. "Thank goodness you're okay! Where's Shadow? Is she alright? Is she okay?" "Um... She... uh..." I try to respond but I'm too awestruck to speak. E'Claire looks back before grabbing my hand and dragging me away. I try to protest, but I'm too dumbfounded to fight back. She takes me a few meters away before pulling me behind a large tree. With the construction zone out of view she begins to speak. "It's okay Miles. Take a deep breath and relax. Everything is okay." She tells me as she guides me to sit against the tree. "Shadow's okay." I tell her, too lost to think of anything else to say. She smiles back to me before sitting in front. She motions for the bots to leave and they head back up the hill. "A lot has happened in the past few hours. And I'm sure there's a lot you want to do or say. But I need to you listen to me. I need you to listen and understand what I'm about to tell you. Because it's not going to be easy to hear. Are you ready to hear this?" I take a deep breath and try to relax. It's easier said than done though. I give it a few more tried before nodding to her. I don't know why I'm so short on breath though. It wasn't that far of a run. Am I really that nervous? I feel as if I should know what she's about to tell me. But my brain won't let me think it through. She takes a deep breath and pulls her cream colored hair back, tying it into a loose bun. I get a look at her normally tan coat and notice all of the ink stains and kicked up mud. She's been hard at work this entire time. "These are not the Unfamiliar. These are the Zellun. They are a faction of the Kroth that have defected. We are setting up this location for them to permanently reside in. We and by that I mean the Terradisian government, are accepting their asylum visas and are inducting them as helots of the state." Even though I can hear what she's saying I can't stop myself from trying to take a look back at them. I can hear people shuffling around behind us. Trying to see what's going on. I hear the foreign chatter and feel my heart race. Everything in my body is telling me to go fight them. There are intruders in our home! I need to fight them! E'Claire keeps her hooves on my shoulders and stops me from looking though. Every time I have to refocus and remember what Shadow told me. Coming here was a mistake. But I had too! How could I not! What do I do? I know I can't accept these Unfamiliar so close to home! I can't let them reside so near my family! But I know that isn't realistic. They're surrendered! We won, at least in some small part. I know I should be giving them all of the same accommodations and rights that I gave Butterscotch and E'Claire when we took Mooseden. But... I can't. I was raised to fear these people. To hate them even. I know what's they're capable of, I've seen it firsthand. And the thought of just turning around and walking away... it's unacceptable! It goes against everything I've ever stood for! I can't imagine doing it because there is no precedent for it happening. We were trained to fight and win our wars. But we were never trained for what came next. I don't know if I have the capacity to be a part of this transition. Everything I've ever been taught was meant for a war to the death. Now what? We just let bygones be bygones? Help them build their homes and... and then what? But, that's no longer my choice anymore. She said it herself. The new Terradisian government has spoken. Everyone from town is here helping apparently. Two of my strongest beliefs are in contest with each other. My duty as a Spartan to fight the Unfamiliar. And my duty to rebuild Terradisia. I look to E'Claire and try to ask her something. Anything! But nothing comes out. I don't even have the questions to ask for this! "It's okay Miles." E'Claire tells me in a softer tone. "Go back to Mooseden. Sleep in your bed. Speak with me at town hall tomorrow. Let us take care of of the Zellun. We can do this. All you need to do is believe in us." "...okay." I nod to her. Truth is I do believe in them. I know they can do... whatever this is. I don't trust myself though. How am I goin go sleep when I know there are hundreds of Unfamiliar so close to home? I slowly stand to my feet, getting a hand from E'Claire. I try to say something to her, but I can't. What else is there to say. I... I just need to go home and let them handle this. This is what I wanted when we started this town. To build Terradisia again. I just never imagined they'd achieve so much more than we could. I take a few steps away when I hear the whispers behind myself. My entire body shivers as I hear their language. I try to control myself, but I couldn't stop myself from slowly turning and looking. At the top of the ridge are dozens of Unfamiliar looking down at me. Their beady black eyes staring down at me with a mixture of curiosity and fear. I freeze in place as I stare back at them. Each of us is waiting for the other to act. Waiting for... something. I flinch when I see more appear. But these ones... these ones are children. All ages. Toddlers. Teens. Babies. Then more appear. Women. Men. Old. Young. They're... all there. My heart drops when I see a little girl push her way to the front. She's wearing what looks like purple pajamas and a pink robe. She hugs a stuffed animal in her arms, protecting it as much as it protects her. As I look to her I feel a sharp pain in my ears as a loud ringing grows. My visions goes hazy as my mind is filled with visions from my past. Of a little girl in pink. A loud ringing. The unbearable heat. I take another look up as I start to stagger back. The crowd blurring into a mass that's staring me down. Waiting for a moment of weakness to strike. I turn my back and run. It was the only thing I could do. It takes me awhile to even realize I was running. All there was in my mind was the ringing in my ears... and those dark eyes looking down at me. THUD I trip over something and immediately scramble for cover. As if there was gunfire behind me. I check for cover before moving deeper into the woods, waiting for the crack of gunfire. My mind tells me there's bullets buzzing over head. I see a small depression between some tree roots and dive in. I practically throw myself in there. Pressing my back to the tree I grab my chest and try to control my breathing. If I keep wheezing like this they're going to find me. I just need to breath. I can't let them find me. Just breath. Don't let them see you like this. Breath in... breath out... Don't let them see you... Breath. In... and out... Take in your surroundings. Don't let them get the jump on you. Up. Down. Left. Right. Combat mindset. Keep everything in order. I try to stand, but fall back from shortness of breath. I wince and push back against the tree. The mud beneath me slips and digs me a bit deeper. I look down and notice that I've broken the nail of my index finger on my armor. I lift my shaky hand and stare at the hanging piece. Blood drips down slowly, dotting my legs. I didn't even feel this. I take another look around and go back to my breathing. I don't think they followed me here. I just need to stay put and get control of myself. Everything is going to be okay. Everything will be okay. "DAD!?" I flinch when I hear Shadow calling for me. I panic and try to lower myself as much as possible. I can't let her see me like this. I don't want her seeing me like this. "Dad!? Where are you? Please, Dad, just come with me. Let's go home." I'm practically holding my breath as I wait for her to pass. It felt like an eternity, but when I was sure she was gone I let out a long sigh. I can't let her see me like. After everything we just went through... I can't. I start to remove the warped pieces of armor. Whatever teleported me here really did a number on this set. It looks as if someone boiled the metal and took a hammer to it. When I get the last piece off I toss it before myself and freeze when I see it land at Shadows hooves. We stare at each other for a moment, our breaths billowing up into the night air. I try to stay stoic. Try to put a strong face on for her. She just walks down, nearly slipping in the mud, and sit on my lap. She pulls my arm in for a hug and nuzzles into my embrace. I bring a shaky hand to her hair and start to stroke it. As if I'm trying to console her. But I think she knows what's going on. As we sit there the night sky fades away as rain clouds roll in. In a matter of seconds the cool night turns to cold rain. With the cover of the rain... I finally let go. I let the rain hide the streaks of tears rolling down my face. I don't know how I'm going to do this.
Chapter 269 The Daughter of the Queen and the CaptainChapter 269 The Daughter of the Queen and the Captain Canterlot at night is a beautiful sight to behold. It's like a kaleidoscope of bright colors as hundreds of stained glass windows glow with the hearths of countless homes and businesses. All of these lights draw you to the castle as it shines like a massive beacon over the mountainside. This is why it's called Mount Beacon. You can see it from miles around. Getting into the city was easy enough. We used Dad's secret teleporter and came in the rear of the city. Dad escorted us this far but then went his separate way. Said to call him when we needed extract. I thought he was going to join us for the entire operation. But he said he needed to check something while he was here. Something he only thought of when we arrived. I don't pay it much mind though. He's helped plenty now. Star and I make our way from rooftop to rooftop with him teleporting us most of the way. When the building comes into view we take a moment to look it over. It's a three story tall building with a large courtyard in the back. There's a two tear pool, the bottom being the water basin with the upper being a raincloud. Each of the floors has a line of lights going around them, giving the light pink paint of the building a nice glow to it. The party is already in full swing. There are dozens of couples all around the pool and lounge area. A band is set up at the far end of the courtyard. Their music is just loud enough to cover most conversations in the courtyard. We look over the crowd but fail to find Diamond there. I pull off the satchel I have and start to sort through the tools we brought. I give the mace to Star and he slams it down. We get a view of most of the building and see several rooms that might hold her. There's are four that have couples in them. I pull out a device called an astral scanner. It's a rolled up piece of plastic that has a thick cylinder gem at one end. When you unfurl the plastic it can show you a spectrum of magic wherever you're looking through. It'll only show you what is magical and how powerful the magic is. But if any of the rooms are filled with unicorns or pegasi, we'll know she's not in there. Looking through the astral scanner, we eliminate two of the rooms. So she's either on the third floor or the first. The last tool I pull out are simple binoculars. Now that I have only two targets, it's easy to lock in where to examine. Even though my head is throbbing, I focus in on the top room. I can see a couple in there. The window is frosted, so I can't make out exact details. But the two individuals in there are similar in size. Not likely to be Diamond, since she's supposed to be meeting a blacksmith. That leaves the first floor room. I take a glance at the frosted window and see an individual moving around. I know there's a second person in there. The echo map told us so. But I can't see them. She's not that short, so I double check the holographic map and try to coordinate their exact location. If I had to guess, the second individual is on the bathroom. "Looks like the first floor. Are you ready?" I ask as I put the binoculars away. "It's a simple enough plan. You sleuth in, try to get the picture if you can. I'll forge our signatures into the guest books and distract the staff. Easy peasy." I nod to him and start to fix the suit Dad gave me. It's an all black suit that's skin tight. It has a few bulging lines where some wiring snakes around as well as a few gems set into it. It has five axes where it takes what's behind you and projects it on the other side of yourself. Not quite an invisibility suit, but pretty close. So long as I don't touch anyone and there aren't people actively looking for this kind of enchantment I'll be invisible. I could do the same thing with my own spells. But after tonight I'm tapped out with magic. So tech will have to fill in for now. Sadly we only have the one suit, so Star will have to use his charm and stealth to get in. He says he can do it no problem. But he's mostly for insurance. Assuming I don't get caught, we may not even really need him for this. With one last teleport we appear in front of the building and I immediately activate the suit. There's a moment where I glow a bit before I presumably disappear. On my end there's a bit of a glow that makes it a bit harder to see, but it's manageable. I look to a nearby window and see a reflection of Star, but not of myself. "How do I look?" I ask Star, getting him to snicker. "Perfect. Just follow me in. If everything goes according to plan just find me in the main lobby and we'll get out of here." "After you then." I gesture for him to lead, but then I remember he can't see me right now. I follow after him as he walks in the front door. He makes sure to swing it extra wide so I can sneak around him. A hotel worker asks him if he's lost and he immediately gets into character. He get dramatic and starts complaining about the lack of service he's received. He drops a few lines about how his baron suite was not up to code and how his father will be hearing about this. Apparently this was enough for the workers to go off of. Because they immediately began to panic and tend to his needs. The hotel is brightly lit and has a warm atmosphere to it. All of the art and wall decorations are in reds and golds, while the there's a almost overbearing feeling of embellishment to everything. The staff have velvet red jackets. The carpets are velvet red with golden designs. The sconces on the walls glow with elemental energy, filling the room with light and warmth at the same time. With the staff distracted I walk as carefully as I can into the building. I don't want people hearing invisible hoof steps. Luckily becuase of the party out back there aren't a lot of people in here. Getting down the hall I count the doors and get to where I believe they are. I lean in and press my ear to the door. I can hear a mare and stallion talking... but I can't recognize the voices. They sound plenty distracted though. I reach into a pouch and pull out a lockpicking kit. I've never done this quietly before, so I keep my movements slow and methodical. It's a simple pin and tumbler lock. I barely even have to jimmy the pins to get them into place. When the knob gives way I gently guide it open just enough to peer inside... I then gently close the door and try to erase the image of those two having sex. Right idea, wrong couple. Then that means they are on the third floor. Maybe one of them was closer to the window than the other? There's something off about this, but I've gone too far to back down now. I have to walk at a slow casual pace. If I go too fast I risk someone hearing me. Even if most people here wouldn't try to follow after the sounds, I don't want to risk anyone finding me. It's not a hard walk to the third floor. The stairs are wide and carpeted. So I can give the few people here a wide birth while staying as quiet as possible. On the third floor I take a moment to try and orient myself from what I remember. It was slightly right of center. Meaning I should go left. There isn't a room in the center of the hall, so I head to the first door I come across. It's about as far as I believe it should be. Just like all of the other doors here there isn't anything to really go off of. Room number three zero six. I walk up and gently press my ear to the door. I hear someone moving around frantically. Clearly nervous about something. The space between the steps on the ground tells me that they're a pegasi. They're flying back and forth and landing while worrying about something. There's someone else there as well. They're talking, but there's a hair dryer muffling their voices. Part of me wants to just open the door and look. But I need to be patient. The pegasi moving around too much is the only obstacle in there. They're the most likely to notice the door opening. And given their state, they're highly likely to do so. After about a minute of debating the person inside stops drying their hair and I hear their voices. "I don't get what's the big deal!" I hear Diamond Tiara say. She says it in a tone that's almost yelling, but still composed. Whoever she's talking to, they've been at this for awhile. "That's because you aren't listening!?" I feel my heart drop when I hear Rumble yell back. What's he doing here? Isn't he supposed to be at flight camp? "Whatever." She starts up the hair dryer again. But Rumble rushes over and turns it off. "What!?" "I told you we were done!" He yells at her. I perk up from that. Damn right Rumble! Tell her off! "I'm not some toy for your beck and call!" "Lower your voice!" She hisses, trying to keep calm. "Besides, the only reason you got into flight school is because I made some calls. You owe me!" He groans and stomps off. I didn't know that. Why didn't Rumble tell me? I could have helped him get in... possibly. I hear Diamond get out of a chair and begin to walk. The both of them stop and there's a creaking of the bed. "And don't forget that I also helped you get that internship last summer. I also know the head scout for the junior Wonderbolts. You can keep pouting about some little crush of yours or you can spend the night in a fancy hotel with a beautiful mare. Besides, she'll never know anyway. Or... did you not tell her about-" "That was a mistake!" He cuts her off. I feel my heart sink to a depth I didn't know was possible. She's manipulating him. That much is clear to me. But... but what didn't he tell me? It's only been a week! What could they have done-? "Mmm, I'm pretty sure when you came inside me it was very much intentional. Plus you haven't even done anything with her yet. You spent one boring night with her and you're acting like everything we've ever had is suddenly gone! We have a history together Rumble. Don't throw it all away for some brief fascination that won't even lift her tail for you. You deserve better than that little runt." I step away from the door and feel my heart start to race again. They had sex recently? I think it was recent at least. That sounds like what she's saying. And he's... he didn't refute it. He even let her say all those terrible things! I don't understand what's going on. Part of me wants to rip the door open and... and... I don't know! Attack? Yell! CRY! I want to hurt her! I want her to leave me alone and let me live my life! What is happening!? Everything starts to go fuzzy and I feel myself start to topple over. I try to correct myself, but my head is spinning too much to make sense of it all. I only realize I've fallen over when I hear the loud thud beneath me. I panic when I feel the suit vibrate and short out. The gentle glow around me flashes away and I'm revealed to the world. CLICK I look up and watch as Rumble sticks his head out and looks around. He's in a formal jacket and tie with his hair slicked back. When we make eye contact we... just stare at each other. He can't believe that I'm laying here staring back at him. I'm... at a loss for words. I don't know what to say. Or what to do. All I can muster is to stare back at him. "What was that?" Diamond calls from the room. "Just... uh... just the room service!" He yells back in a panic. "Go ahead and finish getting ready while I help them." He shuts the door and rushes to my side. He tries to help me up, but I don't accept his assistance. I get up by myself. He tries to tell me something. Tries to tell me that it's not what it seems. Asks what am I even doing here. He goes on in a hushed tone trying not to make a scene. As he talks, something inside me starts to make sense of it all. I'm starting to see what he is. "Rumble." I say quietly. He goes silent as he waits for me to continue. I blink a few times as I stare at him. Trying to think of what to say. But there's one thing to ask. "Did you cheat on me with Diamond?" The panic begins to set within him. He doesn't say anything, but his body language betrays him. Racing breath. Pinprick eyes. Rigid form. I know what's going on finally. He's a child. He may have been sweet and very understanding. But it was all a farce. It was a child doing what he knew he needed to do to get a cookie. It doesn't even matter how much of it was actually real. Enough of it was fake. And like a child who gets caught stealing a cookie, he's going to learn what happens when he breaks the rules. I walk past him and open the door. He starts to panic again. Yammering on about making mistakes and how he couldn't refuse. Even if that's true, I don't care. Diamond see's me coming and falls out of her chair. She tries to back away from me, but I close the distance too quickly for her to escape. Rumble is just standing there. He doesn't know what to do. He can't even believe this is happening. When I get in Diamonds face I stare her down for a moment. She's trying to think of how to defend herself. But there's nothing she can do right now. "I'm going to make you a deal." I tell her quietly. She looks to Rumble, but I grab her chin and force her to look back at me. "Don't look at him. We're talking. No one else." "W-what do you want?" She asks, trying to sound brave. She doesn't have her friends to back her up. Rumble isn't going to intervene. Her Daddy's money isn't going to save her. It's just me and her now. And that's why she's finally scared. "You are going to leave me alone. No more bullying. No more jokes. I don't want you even acknowledging me. If someone else brings me up, you can say I'm not even worth the effort. How's that sound?" She stares at me for a moment before chuckling. "That's not how you make a deal!" She scoffs, gaining a bit of confidence. "And what if I don't? What then?" I stare her down as I feel all the anger, and betrayal, and hurt; all of it just leaves my body. And for a moment I relax myself. She see's this change in me and goes silent. She's waiting for me to act. She's hoping this will turn into something she can rely on Rumble for. If I punch her, he'll protect her. That's what she believes. CRACK Dad taught me when facing multiple opponents there's a phycology to it. The people behind you rarely expect you to strike at them. Not while the one you're facing would be a better target. It was just like Dad taught me. Slide hooves into position. Twist with your hips. Drive from the legs, into your torso, and throw your arm in a tight curve. Rumble couldn't even registered what was happening by the time I caught him across the jaw and sent him flying. He probably could have stayed standing if he was prepared. But a child never expects they're the ones going to get hit. Diamond gives a sharp scream as Rumble drops to the ground. I feel the stinging in my hoof make it go numb. But that doesn't matter anymore. I step over him and stare down at him. He's got a bruise forming on his jaw. He's about to cry as well, but that doesn't matter to me anymore. "It's over Rumble." I tell him before walking off. When I clear the space between them Diamond rushes to his side, fussing over his face. "Oh, and Rumble?" They both go quiet and look back to me. I look over my shoulder and stare back at them. "Never come to Mooseden again. For your own safety." I shut the door behind myself and start to walk out of the building. My mind kind of goes blank as I walk out. A few people walk by but none of them say anything. In the main lobby the staff watch as I walk out, confused by my presence. Star sees me and chases after, confusing them further. I make it to the street where I stop and stare up at the night sky. Star doesn't say anything. I think he can tell something didn't go correctly. I really cared about him. He had a way of making me feel... special. But that was all a lie. He was just trying to play at my heart and get... something. And I was dumb enough to go along with it. I should have know that wasn't going to work out. People like him and weirdos like me aren't meant to mix. I should have just stayed in my lane and kept my dumb mouth shut. "So... I take it something bad happened." Star tells me, stepping up to stand beside me. He's not looking at me though. He's looking up at the sky with me. "Yeah... something like that." I tell him. The day is finally catching up with me. I can feel the weight of everything finally catching up and bear down on my hooves. "Look, thanks for helping Star. I really do appreciate it. But... if it's all the same to you... I'd like to be alone now." "Of course. Don't sweat it." He goes to leave but stops when he hears something. "Incoming." I look over and see Rumble flying in. I want to run, but my legs won't let me. I'm too tired to run. "Shadow!" He yells as he lands in front of me. Star flashes in between us and forces Rumble back on his haunches. "She wants to be alone." He tells Rumble, igniting his horn. Rumble gets up and stares at him before turning that anger towards me. "Are you kidding me!?" He yells, flaring his wings at Star. "You punch me for cheating while you already have a backup!?" "We're not together!" Star yells as he steps forward. "And you're lucky all she did was punch you!" "Shadow!" Rumble yells as he zips into the air and lands in front of me. He goes to say something but Star suddenly teleports him away. "You may want to get a move on. This is going to get ugly." Star tells me as he paws at the sidewalk. In the distance I head the air break as Rumble races towards us again. I don't say anything. I just stare up at the night sky. This is the bed I've made. So now I need to lay in it. I don't care what he says anymore. I know what's true. My friends will know what's true. And as much as I want to scream and yell at him... there's no point anymore. I'm done with him. I don't owe him any explanations. I don't owe him anything for that matter. I hear Rumble racing closer and closer as Star starts to prepare a massive spell. I can hear a small crowd begin to murmur as the two of them begin to face off. FLASH Everything goes quiet when a sudden flash appears behind me. The crowd gasps and Rumble stops mid flight. I turn around, but not out of curiosity. I... just turned. Out of reflex almost. Standing behind me is Luna. She's in her greater form and has her wings open in a commanding pose. He hair whips in the air as if there was a storm blowing through the area. She's glances over her shoulder to me with those draconic eyes before looking back to Rumble. "If you have a problem with my daughter... then let's hear it." Her tone is regal. Threatening from the level of authority she carries. The street has gone still as they wait for something. Rumble tries to say something. But what could he say at a time like this? He takes a few steps back before bowing his head to her. Luna just narrows her eyes down at him and turns back to me. "Did he hurt you?" she asks in calm, soothing tone. I shake my head. It's the most I can muster right now. She looks to the crowd at large before flaring her wings back out. With a glow of her horn we vanish from the street and appear in the medical ward of the castle. I look down the rows of beds and curtains in relief. I'm finally done with that! I let out a sigh and collapse onto myself. But before I can hit the ground Luna picks me up in her magic and carries me to a nearby bed. "Remove whatever armor that is while I gather some healing potions." She tells me before walking off. In a daze I grab the zipper and start to pull it down. The suit is a bit difficult to remove. And halfway I almost gave up with how tired I am. But I push through and force the latex off of my body. The cold air stings at my sides, but I just sit at the end of the bed and wait for Luna to come back. I guess there's one last person to deal with before I can finally sleep. She comes back with several medicinal potions and tools hovering around her. She offers me a potion and I take it in my hooves. As she starts to give me a once over I start to sip at the liquid. It has a bitter taste, but I can feel every sip course through my body and start the healing process. "So... is there anything you're willing to tell me tonight?" She asks as she starts to wrap a cut on my leg. I think about it for a moment before I shake my head. "Okay then. Let's finish this so you can go-" "Why did you tell them I'm your daughter?" I ask suddenly. She's taken aback for a moment but continues administering first aid. "Because you are." She tells me simply. "Signed the forms and everything-" "No... I mean..." I try to think of what I'm trying to say. I don't know how to say it though. Luna see's this and stops the first aid. She takes the potion from my hooves and sets it on a nearby table. "We've never been too close, have we?" She asks as she sits in front of me. I shrug off her question. "Shadow, there is nothing you can hide from me. I know how you feel." I stay quiet, trying my best to avoid her gaze. I know it's pointless to escape her right now. But... I just don't want to talk about it. But... I guess we're doing this. "I don't think you do." I tell her quietly. She reaches forward and brushes my mane a few times before forcing me to look at her. I see the compassionate look in her eyes and start to waver. "I do know. I know becuase I helped raise you. I know because I've been there with you for the past six years. I may not have been as close as you and your father, but I was there Shadow." I pull my gaze away from her and go back to looking at the ground. "Dad was supposed to be here tonight. But he left because he had something better to do." She lets out a sigh and pulls her hoof back. "Yes, so I heard. He was the one to tell me what was happening right now. And although I agree he should have stayed with you, this was something that he couldn't help you with." I feel a tear escape and roll down my cheek. I turn the other way and try to hide it. "I'm tired of needing help." I tell her, almost breaking again. "I don't know what I thought was going to happen... but I thought we were going to do it together. But... all he has time for is Tempestive and the Spartans." She reaches forward and pulls me in for a hug. When my face hits her chest I finally lose control and weep into her coat. All of the stress from the day melts away and flows through me. My cries echo throughout the empty ward as we sit there. She just strokes my back. Waiting patiently for me to let it all out. I try to make it quick, but she stopped me from doing that. Just a simple shake of the head and another hug and I was crying all over again. At first it hurt. My eyes were burning and my lungs wheezed from the uneven breathing. But after awhile the pain subsided and it my wails became a sob. Soon I was holding onto her as she gently rocked side to side while slowly rubbing my back. Eventually I rub my eyes and start to think again. I know it was unfair to say that to her. No matter what she say's, Tempestive is their biological child. There's... just no way of bridging a gap like that. But... there's no reason for me to put that on them. I know how badly they wanted a child back then. And with Dad being... dad, the moment they had a chance I knew they were going to have a child. Back then I would dream about them taking me to some orphanage and leaving me there. Or, on really bad nights, I would dream of them taking me back to that mine and abandoning me to that monster. Those were usually the nights I'd wet the bed or wake up crying... And... they would both come into my room. Dad would take the bed out back to clean it. Mama Luna would take me to the bathroom to wash me. I've always felt guilty about those nights. I couldn't just get over those dreams. Luna would try to talk to me about those nightmares. Coach me through them... And then she started showing up. I figured she was just doing her job. As she would for any other pony. But... she was always there in my dreams. Protecting me. Keeping the spiders at bay. I don't know how I didn't put one and one together. She may have been... distant, but she was there when it mattered. "Mama Luna?" I ask as I go still. "Yes my dear?" "... when was the last time you were in my dreams?" "I check your dreams every night." I feel a tinge of guilt as I realize how dumb I've been. I've felt distant from her because she operates at night. And half the time she is home she has to split her time with me and Tempestive. I feel really stupid for not realizing that sooner. "I'm... I'm sorry-" "Do not apologize for what you felt." She cuts me off quickly and sternly. She pushes me back to look at me properly. I look back to her golden eyes as they glow in the night. She looks determined. As if she's speaking from a deep, dark place. "You cannot hide what you truly feel Shadow. No matter how much it hurts to admit it, if you bottle it up it will become something dark. There are so many things in this world that can corrupt you. Do not let something so small and trivial grow into something that could destroy us. We love you. No matter what. So... please. If there's something wrong, tell us. Please." I choke up and nod to her. I know she's right. I shouldn't let my own fears get between us. Especially when they have so much experience to give me. But... I don't know if I can. There are things I don't even tell myself. How can I share them with... anyone!? But... I can at least start with the easy ones. Something is better than nothing, I guess. "I... broke up with Rumble. Tonight." I tell her slowly. She takes a deep breath and nods to me. "I'm so sorry Shadow. I know he was special to you." She tells me, but I shake my head to her. My instinct is to keep quiet. Say nothing more. But... I push the last part out. "I... uhm... He cheated on me with that rival girl. And... well, I punched him in the face." "Just a punch?" I shake my head at that. I'm sure everyone I tell this to will say the same thing. "Just a punch. But... now I'm afraid that I'm not going to be able to... able to find anyone that special ever again. Because... because I think I loved him. And now... now I've ruined it." It hurts to think about it. But I don't think I'll ever find someone like Rumble again. Rumble wanted to be with me. He sought me out and put the effort in. Even if the intentions were for mixed reasons, no one else in my life has done that for me. Not at a romantic level at least. "Shadow... I'm going to say something that won't help in the slightest. But it's the truth. You are so young. There's plenty of time to find love and companionship. I know he seemed like the only one that could fill that role. But trust me when I say that there so many other people out there that will love you just as much. But I understand that the pain right now is real and it feels like an impossible feat. For now, let's focus on you. We can pull you from summer school and we can take some time to think things through before the school year begins. How does that sound?" I mull over her suggestion for a moment. I didn't even think about going back to school. The idea of going back and seeing either Diamond or Rumble... just sounds awful. I'm a little surprised that she suggested that though. She was the one who suggested that I take summer classes. If only to get ahead for my final school year before university. Taking some time off though? What would I even do with myself all day? I could go and help Mooseden I guess. Mom could definitely use the help now that the Kroth are there. But... maybe I should just go full potato and relax. The thought does sound appealing. Stay home, sleep in, read books all day. Leave the world for a bit. It'll only be for a little while. A week, tops! Yeah... that sounds really nice. "It sounds... like you give advice for a living." She chuckles and smiles to me, brushing my mane gently. "Thank you... for everything. You... are a really good mom." "I do my best." She tells me, smiling from the compliment. "But be sure to say that in front of Miles so I can rub it in his face." "Of course." We share a laugh. I finally feel... okay. Not good, but... not bad. She goes back to administering first aid and I finally let myself relax. She keeps me from laying down though, needing to add a few bandages to my chest. I didn't know how scratched up I was from all this running around. "So, what now? Shadow Knight of Mooseden. Daughter of the Night Mother and the eldest of the Captain of the Spartans." The formality of the question catches me off guard. I know my family is... odd. But saying it like that really puts a lot into perspective. I think on it for a moment before shrugging back. "Honestly, bed. I wanna go and sleep the next week away." I tell her, getting a low hum in response. "I think I'll take your advice and return to school when the next school year starts. If that's really okay with you?" "It's more than okay to step back and say that you need a break Shadow." She tells me as she finishes her first aid. She motions to the pillow and I move to get under the sheets. I wanted to sleep in my own bed. But I guess this will do too. "I only asked in that matter to make a point to you. No matter what titles you may have, or whatever obligations you have, there are points where everypony needs to have a break. It is not weakness. It is not laziness. All things must enter the night and rest. Recharge. Repair yourself for the coming days. Otherwise you'll burn out and wither away. Am I clear Shadow?" "Mhm. You should really look into work as a consultant or something." I laugh at my own joke. She hums back to me and moves around the bed to tuck me in. It's a little silly, being as old as I am, but I'm not stopping her. As she finishes someone opens the door at the end of the hall. Luna goes to speak to them but stops at the foot of the bed. "Miles? Why are you covered in blood?" I go to get up but she uses a wing to signal me to stop. I listen to the wet footsteps of Dad walking towards us as he tries to think of something to say. "... there's not a good story to this really. I went to the room where the void walker was being held. He had a bucket of blood and... it spilled on me." He walks into view and, sure enough, he's covered in blood. "And... you came here, covered in blood, why?" Luna asks as she levitates a few towels over. He starts to wipe himself clean before he looks over to me. He looks to Luna for a moment before walking up to me and squats down to be eye level. I feel a bit uneasy from his gaze, and not just because of the streaks of red. "Hey... I... hm, well. I dropped the ball today Shadow. On more than one occasion." He tells me as he continues to wipe himself clean. But I can tell he's doing it to avoid eye contact. He's still embarrassed from everything that happened earlier. I try to think of what to say, but I just retreat slightly into my blanket. Too nervous to say anything right now. "She and Rumble had a little fight. She's going to take the rest of the summer to reorient herself." She more instructs Dad than tells him. He looks over to me and gives me an angry look. "Want me to make him disappear? I can do that if you need me to." He half jokes. I just shake my head. I don't want him dead. There's a small part of my mind where we'll somehow get back together. Even if it's just wishful thinking. "Of course not... it's late. Want us to go so you can sleep? We can talk whenever you're ready. I nod to him and he stands up. He tries to say something, but he loses it in his throat. He reaches out to me, but stops because of all the blood. He looks to Luna and they share a look before he starts to walk away. I feel myself start to panic again. I need to say something now! I can't let the night end like this! "Luna is a great mom!" I yell at him. It catches both of them off guard and I immediately feel silly for saying it so loudly. But it only last a moment before they both laugh. "Don't I know it." He tells me with a big smile. Luna gets a smug smile and mouths a thank you to me. "Aren't we lucky to have her in our lives?" "Yeah... and you're a great dad too! I-I'm... tum te amo!" They each give me a loving look before dad moves back to me. He leans in and plants a kiss on my forehead, covering most of his chest with the towels. "We love you too Shadow. Now get some rest." He turns to leave, motioning for Luna to go first. She gives me one last goodnight before walking away. As Dad watches her go the magical portal on his back opens up. I feel my heart skip a beat as I watch the white boney figure appear in the middle of it. I can see Corpus Glacius's hazy form look back at me. But... there was no ill will. It was... almost as if he was... checking on me? As soon as it appeared it vanished when Dad turned to look at me one last time. One of his eyes lost to the darkness from before. "Bene dormi, Shadow." Author's Note Tum te amo = I love you both Bene dormi = Sleep well Brony on!
Chapter 270 Rest... or ElseChapter 270 Rest... or Else Perspective: Luna As the sun rises and the night ends I can't help but sigh in annoyance. The night started out so lovely. Ponies were lined up for questions. I was making real connections with people and helping them with their lives! It was a night I dreamed of for so long! It's been a minute since I've last had a chance to run a full night court. It's been even longer since it's gone so well! Ponies are starting to realize that I am both their queen and fully able to help them. Helping the ponies of this land... it's nice to get back to what I was called for. Then Miles walked in. I love him, I really do. But he has a way of just showing up and dropping the world on you. I know he doesn't intend for it to be like that. And truth be told the world has a way of dropping on his lap. But that doesn't mean it doesn't become tiresome at times. An entire faction of the Unfamiliar surrendering. Just like that! And he didn't go on a murderous rampage! I'm proud of him for that much at least. I've seen his dreams before. I know how he views them. I know it wasn't easy. We barely go him to accept the Unfamiliar within the Emerald City! And they at least had the benefit of being out of sight. Now there's a group just outside of Mooseden. Maybe we can keep things going in this direction. If one group willingly laid down their arms then maybe others will too. Maybe this is the start of an easing of tensions. Can this be the catalyst of a new peace? One can hope at least. And then there was Shadow. She may be adopted but she is definitely Miles's kid. They both have a way of taking things from little personal issues to... well. Shadows issues don't quite feel as if they're going to end the world. But they definitely grow out of proportion. I never thought I'd be as close to her as I am though. Especially early on. She was so timid and quiet back then. There was so much time spent waiting for her to open up to me. I can't even remember how long it took to even have a conversation with the poor girl! Then one night I came home and there she was. Sitting on the couch, wrapped up in a blanket, reading one of my favorite books. We spent the whole night talking about it, speculating about various parts, showing her my small collection of the authors work. She was so excited! We bonded over books. We spent so many nights after that reading. But over the last few years we started drifting apart. I thought it was just teenage angst or something. I had no idea she felt the way she did. If I had known... We're past that part now. Now I do know. So it's time to put in a greater effort. Especially after last night. I almost blasted that kid into the stratosphere. Probably should have. I knew one day this was going to happen though. Not the heart break, but the dating. Maybe I thought we had more time because of how antisocial Shadow is. But it was bound to happen. No matter how much it upsets Miles. I look over to Celestia and smile to her as we finish our work. At least I can trust my sister to live a drama free life. "Shall we head down for breakfast?" She asks as she flies over, landing gently beside me as I walk into my bedroom. "Or do you need to head back to Ponyville?" "Let's have breakfast together, but I should warn you. It's the whole family today." I tell her as we walk through my old bedroom. I rarely sleep here anymore. But Celestia insists that it stays exactly as it was. I think she's getting a tad lonely in this castle all by herself. It would explain why she gets so excited to leave. "Everyone? You mean my favorite niece and nephew duo are here as well and you'd think that would be a deal breaker!?" She teases, bumping her hip against my. I chuckle at her but slowly think on Shadow again. Celestia notices this immediately and gives me a confused look. "Sorry. It's just... a lot happened last night. Both in a family and political sense. Could you do me a favor this morning?" I ask her as we wait by my door. "Of course sister. What happened? Is everypony okay?" I rub my eyes for a moment and I recall last night. "Tia... what do you think of Shadow? And I mean truly, what do you think of her?" She glances around from the question. Clearly she wasn't expecting a question like that. "Well... I would say that she's a very special girl. I used to pity the girl for her troubled past. But as I've gotten to know her I think she's growing into a fine young mare. She's has great potential within her. I also see a lot of positive influence from you and Miles within her. Your genius and Miles's dedication, among other traits. Why do you ask? What happened?" I tell her about the events of last night. And I tell her everything. The drama between Shadow and the other girl. How a colt was thrown into the mix. I try to explain how Shadow put all of this pressure to fix it because of Miles and his reputation. I nearly had to drag her back when I told her that part. I'm sure if I let her she'd go hunt him down and give him a piece of her mind. And maybe she should. But there's more to tell her right now. I continue and tell her what I know about the Kroth. When Miles was finally able to sleep I was able to get into his mind and see what he was talking about. Though, because it was a dream everything was a bit distorted. It took a bit of work to get everything relatively normalized. I actually spent most of the night within the dreams of family. "I've never known Miles to be so fearful before sister," I tell her as we lie back onto my bed. We had moved over mid conversation to sit but now we're lying side by side and looking up to the ceiling together. "I don't know what to do about those peoples either. Can we truly trust them so close to our home? I don't want to risk Tempestive or Shadow. But I don't know if moving them would be wise either." "Why not? Don't you think it's time to tell Tempestive about his place as royalty? And while we're at it, why not tell him of Miles and his dual nature? He may be young, but the world isn't waiting for a better time. He's going to learn of it all sooner or later. Why not now when we can still control the conversation?" "Hm. And telling him and moving here would be in no way self serving, right sister?" I say as I glance at her. She just smiles and shrugs. "I have no idea what you're alluding to, dear sister!" I poke at her with the tip of my wing, getting her to chuckle. I try to think of that conversation. He's still so young! The entire reason we've waited to tell him is so he can grow without the worry of a nation on his shoulders. Not to mention that he's half human! I've actually never thought of that aspect before. Not in great detail at least. It would put all the hopes and dreams of Terradisia on his shoulders when he learns of his heritage. What questions could he possibly ask? And how are we going to answer them? And how am I going to explain to Miles that I can turn human as well? "I don't know. At the very least we'll wait for the human conversation until Miles is in a better state of mind. He's... under enough stress as it is." I tell her as I try to think about the rest of the conundrum. "Very well. Then how about this then. Send him to school!" I look to her in confusion. She shifts to be on her side and takes a stern look. "I can count his friends with my legs sister. Friends his age that is. You want him to grow up normal but you're also hiding him from the world! Well the world came knocking and it's time to let him leave the nest! He needs to make friends! He needs to go and have his adventures, get into trouble, get into fights; he needs to start finding out who he is!" "But-" "No buts! Unless you want him to have the social skills of Twilight before I forced her to leave the castle?" I think on that and shake my head. "No... no I do not... not that there's anything wrong with Twilight!" "We love Twilight!" Celestia agrees. "But she was a hermit! And if we're being honest, a tad bit of a know it all. And we don't want that for Tempestive. Socially speaking, we don't want him falling behind the other kids his age. It worked wonders for Shadow, even if things now are... tense. She will get through this and be a better person for it all. A fresh new setting could do everypony wonders right now! That's why you should all move back here to Canterlot-" "Oh you!" I groan as I give her a light push and roll off the bed. She laughs again and stands with me . Truth be told, I don't know if I want Tempestive in public schools. Nothing against those schools! I know they are great! But... Tempestive is just so far ahead the others! Miles's lesson plans have really unlocked his mind and he absorbs the information so quickly! He does math at higher levels than I can! He would be so bored in that kind of setting... But am I just holding onto him? Am I smothering his ability to grow on his own. Maybe it is time for him to... leave the nest. "You might have a point sister." I tell her as I head to my vanity. I sit at the mirror and drop into the seat. Celestia walks behind me and levitates a brush over. She starts to comb my coat and I hum in satisfaction. It reminds me of when we were little and we would curl up together as she would brush me. "Of course I have a point!" She jokes. patting my back with the brush. "I'm your older sister! I know best!" "Ah yes, my older sister! So wise!" I muse back sarcastically. "But we probably won't be moving back within the near future. Not unless you want all of Terradisia's problems on your doorstep." "I mean... if I got to see more of my family, it would be worth it." I glance back at her and we make eye contact. She offers me a coy smile before trying to busy herself with the brush. "It's... not as easy for me to just... leave. The castle that is! I know you've taken so many of the responsibilities when you ascended to be queen, and I'm not complaining about anything! But... well, they day has its way of escaping with all of my time." "I'm sorry sister," I tell her but she shakes her head. "I just miss you all, that's it." She tells me as she stops brushing and pulls me in for a hug. "Even Miles, despite his... himness!" "I'll make sure we'll visit more often sister, promise." I tell her as I hug her arms. We give each other a squeeze before her stomach rumbles between us. I give her a knowing look and he blushes slightly. "Well then... shall we?" She says as she lets go of me. "Of course. We wouldn't want my wise older sister withering away!" I joke as I poke at her sides. She slaps my hoof away and rushes to the door. "I will have you know that I am down TWO whole pounds, thank you very much!" she defends and I walk after her, still trying to poke at her sensitive sides. She giggles as I hit just below her ribs, her most ticklish spot. And also where she's the most plush. "TWO POUNDS!" When race down to the private dinning room and find the rest of the family here already. This dinning hall is much smaller and only seat ten. Miles is at the end of the table trying to talk Tempestive down as he bounces in his seat. He's in his alicorn form. When I left him in the morning he was struggling to change. I don't imagine his head is feeling too good right now. Shadow is across from Tempestive and is half awake. But she's nodding out and on the verge of falling over. Celestia wastes no time rushing to Tempestive and scooping him up in a giant hug. A hug that he tries to escape but is too small to. I take the seat by Shadow and rest a wing over her shoulders. She jostles awake and looks up to me. I offer her a smile and she leans against me with a small nuzzle. I look over to Miles and he offers me a smile as well. "Celestia, good morning." Miles says to her as she nuzzles aggressively against Tempestive. He just looks like a small angry cat that's been caught by an overly affectionate child. It's enough to get a chuckle out of me. "Miles." She says back to him, paying him little mind. "Shadow, how are we feeling this morning?" "I wish I was still asleep." She groans from my side. I use my wing to rub her shoulder. I know it's going to be rough, but just hang in there. Everything goes quiet for a moment. Well, as quiet as it can be while Tempestive grumbles in annoyance. I look around the table before looking to Celestia. She catches my look and nods to me. Almost as if she's telling me to speak up. I know what she wants me to say, but I don't know if it's really the best time to speak on it. The chef comes around and starts to lay out our breakfast. It seems we're having mixed fruits and oatmeal today. Once the food is set Celestia gives Tempestive a kiss on the cheek before finally setting him down. He tries to rub his cheek clean before digging into the food. But when no one else eats he stops and looks around in confusion. "Was I suppose to wait? Cause of the castle and all?" He asks with a mouth full of food. "No honey. Go ahead-" "Actually!" Celestia cuts me off. I shake my head as I stare at her but she just leans down to whisper into Tempestive's ear. "Tia! This isn't the time for that!" I tell her sternly. But she just sits up and smiles at me. Tempestive straightens up and gives me the same look. I groan as I glare back at Celestia. That was uncalled for! But now the thought is in his mind. So we're never going to hear the end of it now. I look to Miles and he's not paying attention. He's looking down at the silverware in front of him deep in thought. I can guess where his mind is, but I'll have to talk some more with him later. Right now I need to get him here and now. "So... Miles?" I say as I use my magic to tug at a wing. He shakes his head and looks to me. "Yeah? Sorry... mind was gone for a moment. What did I miss?" He asks, rubbing his eyes to refocus. I look over to Celestia and Tempestive as they each nod their heads enthusiastically. Here goes nothing. "Celestia and I were talking earlier and she made a suggestion that I think we should explore." I tell him, trying to pin as much of this as possible on her. "Okay... what?" He asks, looking over to the two of them. "Tempestive?" I ask, getting him to smile even more broadly. "Can I go to school!?" He asks, giving Miles the biggest puppy dog eyes he can must. "School?" Miles asks, slightly confused. "Like with Rampant and Jet?" "Yeah!" Tempestive says with jump of excitement. "I know there isn't really much to learn but I really really really want to go! It's so boring at home now! I want to go and make new friends and get out of the house! Please Dad! Mom! Please can I go!?" Miles and I share a look. I think I'm already convinced to let him go. Mostly because Celestia is right. He needs to start interacting with other ponies his age. Well... it was probably time a while ago. But the statement still stands. Miles though... I know we talked about it before. But I don't know how he's going to react now. He looks a bit thrown off though. Clearly it's not the conversation he thought we were going to have this morning. "You want to go to school... in Ponyville? Starting this next year?" Miles asks for clarification. "Yeah! Please!?" Tempestive says with a big bob of the head. "You know you aren't going to be there to just hang out right? They'll expect you to do the work as well. Most of which you've learned well beyond." Miles adds, making sure to emphasize how far ahead he'll be. "That's okay! I basically sit around all day at him anyway. At least there I'll be meeting new ponies!" Miles looks to me again and I just shrug back. It seems as if we're all on the same page waiting on him. "Luna? You're okay with this?" He asks. "I... shared your concerns as well. But I think Celestia was right to... broach the subject." I tell him, darting my eyes at her. But she just whistles and looks away. "Well... then we'll sign you up for this next year-" "YES!" Tempestive yells as he takes off into the air. He zips around the room in excitement as Celestia cheers him on, clapping her hooves loudly. Miles and I share a look but ultimately smile to one another. This will be good. He'll step out into the world and get a chance to really live. At least as much as a student can that is. It'll also free up the time we needed to spend at home. Well... I had to spend. I catch Tempestive in my magic and set him back in his seat. He's practically vibrating from all the energy he has. It's... it's adorable to see him so excited. Yeah. Yeah, this will be good. "How about after breakfast you and your aunty Tia go school shopping? Get ready for-" "Can we!?" Tempestive asks excitedly, grabbing Tia's leg. She equally gets excited by the prospect. "I'd love to!" She says looking to me with a new bright smile. "But what about you two?" "We have a few matters to attend to today. You'd actually be doing us a big favor if you could take him for the day-" "Say no more!" Celestia announces as she jumps to her hooves. She grabs Tempestive in her magic and sets him on her back as she starts to trot of the room. "We'll get breakfast in town! But we're going to need papers, pencils, do you need a uniform? We'll get some regardless! And a bag! OOOOO, this is going to be so mush fun!" And like that she's kidnapped my child. He was all too excited to go though. And although I wanted to be there for this as well, I needed to deal with these two before I can catch up with them. I wait a moment for Celestia's voice to disappear before addressing them. They each look as if they know I'm about to lecture them. But at least they know it's coming. "So... where to begin?" I ask as I look between the two of them. They each give me nervous smiles. They know there's no escaping right now. This is happening. "How about I love you and you look fantastic today?" Miles starts. It's a good opener. But I've heard it before. "Super fantastic! Do you have a new conditioner? Cause your coat is so soft!" Shadow adds, hugging my leg more tightly. That's a new one, so extra points to her. "Hm. Well, thank you both for those compliments. So, how are we doing this?" I ask, getting them to look to each other. "Direct orders?" Miles asks Shadow. "Direct orders." She agrees. The family doesn't often get in trouble, but when they do I'm usually the one to discipline them. Though, that's mostly because they've never gotten in so much trouble that Miles had to intervene. He's... much more assertive with that type of parenting. He tries to tone it down. But I often had to remind him that we're not raising soldiers. That, and he's usually getting in trouble with them as well. "Okay then. Well, let's start out with resting. You two will go home and stay home for a minimum twenty four hour period. No questions asked." "I can't do that Luna." Miles starts but I raise a hoof to him. "If you want to fight me on this, I'll get Doctor Monitor to weigh in. I'll get you medically waivered if need be. So are we doing this my way? Or his way?" Miles goes to answer, but can't seem to make a decision. "I-I... a day is fine. I'll just have Storm take over for a day. It shouldn't be an issue." He tells me, shrinking back into his seat. "Mhmm. Shadow, no friends today. Just get home and rest. Okay?" She looks up to me and nods. That was easy... too easy. "And to make sure neither of you try to sneak out I'm going to stay home with the two of you. Just to make sure you're both doing as your told." "To be fair, my friends usually seek me out." Shadow tells me. "I can't guarantee that shit won't make it's way to our door! Especially after the last few days!" Miles protests. "And I think E'Claire and Butterscotch will want to know what's going on! I can't leave them in the dark!" Shadow adds as she sits up. "The Spartans are going to come knocking! I can't stop that from happening! They're going to need guidance-" FLASH THUD The table nearly breaks when I summon two ball and chains. I tilt my head as I look at the two of them, keeping an even smile on my face. "I'm sorry, did I stutter?" I ask, getting the two of them to slowly back up. "You two will go home. You will rest for the entire day. If anyone comes knocking, I will be the one to answer. The world could catch fire and you two would still be bed bound, waiting for my permission to rise. This was not a request. It was an order. Am. I. Clear?" "Yes ma'am." They say in unison. "And because you tried to sneak around me, Miles, the doctor will be coming to give you an evaluation. Shadow, you will spend part of the day with either Miles or myself. There will be no complaining. There will be no sneaking out. And there will be no strenuous activities. We are relaxing for the rest of the day. Come hell or high waters! Do we want to try our luck again?" "No ma'am." They say in unison. I take a serving of fruit and begin to eat. I look over to the two of them as smile devilishly as they wait for permission. "Eat up you two. There's no point in rest without nourishment."
Chapter 271 New Kid on the BlockChapter 271 New Kid on the Block Perspective: Tempestive I can't help but laugh as Aunty Celly trots happily down the sidewalks in the shopping district of Canterlot. She's so bubbly today, wonder what's making her so happy? I was a bit disappointed to have to wear a vest for this, but it's a small price to pay to get to explore Canterlot with Aunty Celly. We've stopped at several food vendors for breakfast. Oat bars, prench toast sticks, breakfast sliders; the ponies here really like their food on the go! But it was all really good! Aunty almost got more, but I was too stuffed to eat any more. And she wasn't supposed to eat that large of a breakfast either. Something about two pounds. I have no idea what that meant. We stopped at a small shop that looks like it specialized in writing tools. They have various notebooks and calendar journals. The quills and pens here are all super fancy and individually made in store. I don't think they make for good school supplies though. I tried to tell Tia that, but she said they would last a life time. But when the merchant sided with me she agreed to leave. Luckily the merchant also told us of a nearby store for grade school, so that was nice of him. As we made our way to the next store I noticed that there were several ponies following us too. They all have buzz cuts and look out of place compared to the other ponies around town. Most ponies here have extravagant hair cuts or wear super fancy outfits. Like the ones Rarity makes! But Aunty Celly just said they're probably getting school supplies for their kids as well. I guess the school year is approaching. But why do they all have the same haircuts? I start to focus on how well dressed everypony here is. Even with the vest I feel a little out of place. This town is nothing like Mooseden or Ponyville. The ponies here walk with their noses held high and seem to ignore everyone around themselves. There are a few ponies that look normal, but they aren't dressed up like the others. They also seem to be doing various jobs around town. Sweeping sidewalks. Snuffing out the streetlights. Following other ponies with bags of clothes or other stuff. When we make it to the store my jaw nearly falls off. It definitely looks more the part with the bright colors and murals of kids having fun. Stepping inside we're blasted with the smell of crayons and construction paper. Dozens of other kids are here too. Most seem to be running up and down the aisles screaming in joy as they play with their friends. The front half of the store is made of aisles of schools supplies. But the back is a decent sized indoor playground. Everything about this building is calling to me... begging me to climb it. "Let's start with pencils!" Tia announces as she trots down an aisle, levitating a shopping basket along. I deflate a little as I look down at all of the writing utensils. "But... there's an indoor park in the back." I mention as I stare at the pile of colorful climbing toys. "It has a slide and a rope ladder and all sorts of fun stuff." "Oh yeah?" She asks, jostling me slightly. I look over to her and smile pleadingly. She smiles back and laughs a little. "Let's at least get a few supplies before I turn you loose, okay?" "Okay." I can't help but feel a little disappointed. But I guess I'll live a few minutes without climbing into the massive maze of tunnels. "But you'll play too, right?" "I don't think they were made for ponies my size dear." She tells me with a laugh as she starts to levitate various school supplies into the small basket. I look back to all of the other kids playing and start to feel a little nervous. I've never met this many other kids before. Heck, I've never seen this many kids before! Usually when I meet other kids I have my parents nearby to help. But... now I don't know what to do. I have Tia with me... but it's not the same. Tia looks back to me to asks something but stops before saying anything. I guess she can see the nervousness on my face. She thinks for a moment before she levitates me down and leans in to whisper to me privately. "You know what I do when I'm nervous?" She asks quietly. "You get nervous?" I ask in surprise. I've never seen her scared before. I didn't even know it was possible! "Of course I do! Everypony does! It's a part of growing up. And you're never truly done growing up!" She says, nuzzling my side and making me giggle slightly. "But whenever I get nervous I just take a deep breath and take a step forward! The first step is always the hardest part. But once you can do that, you can do the next part." "But what's the next part?" I ask, intrigued. She takes a look around to make sure the coast is cleared before leaning back in. "Well, usually I want to do something or join a game. So I take a deep breath, step forward, and ask if ponies to join. Whether it's to play a game or join a group in something, asking nicely is a good way to get started." "But... what if they say no?" I ask, glancing at all the other ponies running around the play area. She hums and smiles back to me as she nuzzles the top of my head and brings me back to look at her. "Then I say 'okay, maybe next time.' Ponies are allowed to say no Tempestive. And sometimes it isn't a good time to join in. But asking is the first step in trying to make new friends. Because they might say no. But they also might say yes! But you'll never know if you don't put yourself out there. And it can be scary at first. But they might be just as scared as you are! But we'll never know until we take the first step. And isn't that exciting?" I look back to the other kids and swallow the lump in my throat. I normally just hang out with Jet or Rampant. I don't really have any other friends. But... maybe they want to play too? I guess I can give it a try. "Can I give it a try?" I ask, trying to sound brave. She looks around for a moment before nodding to me. I take off and head towards the playground but stop at the end of the aisle. I think about it for a moment before running back to Aunty Celly and hug her leg. "Thanks Aunty." I say quickly before running off again. I hate being that affectionate! But... I guess this time was okay. I stop on the padded flooring of the playground and take a look around. There are several groups of kids playing at various parts of the small tower. I could just go to one of them and ask to join... But maybe I should try a few things on my own first. Do what I want to do before trying to join a group. Yeah... that's a good plan! I head to the rope ladder and start to climb it. The rope sways with every step and it's a little difficult to do, but that's the fun of it! When I make it half way up a group of kids take up the top and start talking there. I stare at them for a moment before climbing back down. They're mid-conversation, I don't want to be rude. That's okay though. There's a jungle gym at the back that's just begging for me to climb! That could be fun! I run over and go to start climbing when I see a group of five girls sitting in the middle of the obstacle. They all stop talking and stare at me as I slowly back away from them. I don't know what's going on there, but I don't want to be a part of it. Okay... so maybe I should check out the slide? There's a line of unicorns waiting their turn to climb up the spiral stairs to the top. So I take my place a the back of the line and wait my turn. The kids in front of me glance at me before whispering to each other and giggling. I feel a little embarrassed, so I try to keep to myself. "What school do you go to?" The purple unicorn colt in front of me asks. I look around to make sure he's talking to me before realizing I'm the only one here. "Uh... Ponyville?" I honestly don't know what the schools name is, so hopefully that makes sense to them. "Ponyville?" One of the other kids asks, looking to the others. "You don't go to school here in Canterlot?" "Um... no." I tell him. They all look to each other before giggling again. I feel my ears fall back before they start to surround me. I feel myself start to get scared but then I think back to what Celestia told me. So I take a deep breath, step forward, and ask a question. "What school do you guys go to?" "We go to Canterlot's school of gifted unicorns!" One of them says, sounding superior. "My family has been going to that school for four generations!" Another one says, ribbing one of the others. "What are you even doing here?" Another one asks getting the others to laugh more loudly. Any confidence I had before disappeared when he asked that. Am I not supposed to be here? "I'm here with my aunt to get school supplies." I tell them quietly. "Your family does their own shopping? Don't you have any servants to do that for you?" They all laugh at me again and I feel myself start to shrink. I don't understand why they're laughing. Did I do something wrong? "He doesn't even have his cutie mark yet!" Another one points out. I try to cover my flank with my tail, but the kids on the other side point at me and start to laugh. I feel myself start to shrink as the laugh down at me. Normally stuff like this wouldn't bother me... but normally ponies wouldn't point and laugh at me for not having a cutie mark. I try to think of what to do or say, but I can't their laughing out of my head. I feel the energy within me start to swell up as I try to make myself as small as possible. I don't want to be over here anymore. I just want to go back to Tia and leave! I want my mom and dad! FLASH I blink a few times as my vision slowly returns to me. I just casted a spell. I take a look around and find myself standing next to Celestia in the store. Did I teleport to her? She looks as if she's about to burst into tears with the biggest, albeit wobbly, smile. I look around the aisle and notice that I'm back by the pencils. I look down to the playground and... I see myself. I've just made it to the padded flooring and I'm looking around the playground. I watch myself try to decide on where to go before running towards the rope ladder. But... how can this be? Did... Did I just time travel!? "Tempestive?" Aunty Celly asks. She quickly wipes her face in an attempt to hide her teary face. "Didn't you just run off?" "Um..." I try to think of what to say, but I don't know what to tell her. I shouldn't tell her that I just time traveled. Who knows what would happen then!? But now that I'm here we can just leave! "Well... the thing is-" "Celestia?" I jump a little from the new voice. From around the corner a purple unicorn... Alicorn, walks around and smiles up to Celestia. "Twilight Sparkle!" Celestia exclaims before rushing over to her and embracing her quickly. "Imagine running into you here! And where is Speaks Softly? Off playing with the others?" I perk up at that name. I remember her. She was the girl in the library when I blinked last time. The cute one. Not the loud one. ... NOT CUTE! I DON'T THINK SHE'S CUTE! She's just... well read! ... I shake my head and listen in on their conversation. But whatever they're talking about is boring work stuff. If I wanted to listen to that stuff I'd hang out with Mom. But I think one of them said that Speaks Softly is here too. Maybe we can hang out. Plus I think it'd be nice to let her know I didn't die the last time I randomly disappeared in front of her. Yeah, I should do that. But where would she be right now. I leave Celestia's side and start to look down the aisles. But she's not down any of them. When I make it to the aisle that looks down to the slide I see myself getting laughed at. I step back a little as I watch them make fun of me. There are a few adults in the aisle watching as well. But they don't seem to care. One of them even chuckled to themselves! But they all go quiet when I disappear. The bullies blink a few times before fanning out to look for me. I don't know why they're so intent on finding me, but I need to make sure they don't find me. I take one last look around before I notice something. Up in the tubes of the jungle gym there is a lone capsule with a few rounded out windows. I can see a purple head of hair with a single yellow streak and a light grey horn. That has to be her! But of course she's in the jungle gym. All of the previous bullies are scouting around try to find me. So there's no way in without one of them seeing me. But... there is one option. Dad did say it was the most impressive spell ponies ever made. But... I'm not very food at it. I can try to sneak my way in. But I don't think I'd make it without getting caught. So... I guess I'll try teleporting in. I square off my stance and roll my neck. I need to focus on this spell if it's going to work right. I don't need a lot of magic. I don't even need a lot of finesse. I just need to pay attention and- "Tempestive?" Aunty Celly asks from my side. I yelp in surprise before flashing away. I drop down a little and land on my butt. I groan in pain as I rub my backside. That could have gone better. I take a look around for a moment before smiling in success. I made it into the jungle gym! I look back and lose my smile when I see the empty capsule. She's not in here. But I could have sworn that she was! I walk in and take a look around. I shake my head in disbelief when I watch me and Aunty Celly enter the store. I time traveled again! But that's not what I meant to do! I just wanted to make it up here! Why is my magic messing with me like this. I groan as I slump against the wall and drop to the ground. Am I forever cursed to do this? If that's the case when will Tempus come and train me? Because I need it sooner rather than later. Maybe I should just avoid magic until I start my training. At least this time I'm only jumping a few minutes at a time. If anything happened like last time... "Oh." I lose track of my thoughts when I hear a surprised voice next to me. I look over and sure enough there she is. Speaks Softly. She looks exactly as I remember. A coat that reminds me of a rain cloud on a sunny day. Lavender hair with a single streak of sunlight yellow by her horn. Small wings tucked away neatly. And the brightest blue eyes I've ever seen. She has a book with her and her expression tells me that she wasn't expecting anyone to be here. I immediately jump to my hooves and stand up straight in front of her. I don't know why, but my stomach feels as if it's about to do a back flip and my hooves are starting to sweat. I try to say something, but my attention is brought outside. I look down and see myself getting bullied again. I groan as I watch myself get belittled. I'm such a wimp. "How are you there and here at the same time?" Speaks Softly asks as she walks up right beside me. I immediately feel my heart race as she brushes up against me to look down. "Ugh. Dockside." "Dockside?" I ask, my voice cracking a little. She shakes her head and watches them torture me. "Dockside Extortionist. Quite the name right? His dad works with the East Equestrian Trading Company. He's all over Canterlot's school for gifted unicorns. I guess he thinks it's his job to be the bully for everypony. But I don't get why. He's a talented caster, so I don't think he's compensating for anything. Well... He's good at one thing but everypony thinks he's the best mage since Starswirl! But he's a big bully! They should just ban him from the school altogether!" Even though she's speaking angrily her voice is still smooth and quiet. I don't think she could get louder than a mouse even if she tried. And despite being so mad... she's... very well read. ... Yeah... super well read. I glance down and watch as I suddenly disappear and reappear beside Celestia. The flash seems to catch Twilight Sparkles attention and brings her over for their conversation. Speaks Softly looks over to me and tilts her head in confusion. I blush a little as I try to think of what to say without sounding like a total wimp. "Yeah... he's a jerk." I couldn't think of anything else to say! She was staring right at me and I couldn't look back! She tilts her head again but this time to look at my vest. I notice this and try to hide it from her. But she just levitates a pendant out and puts it on. A shimmer of magic later and her wings disappear. ... WHY DON'T I JUST USE A PENDANT!? "That looks far more comfortable." I tell her as I scratch my wings against the vest. She offers a small smile before sitting down in the corner of the capsule. I notice that the angle is perfect for the view I had earlier. But I wasn't in sight... so I quickly take the corner besides her and sit. "I'm glad you got better... my mom told me that you were just having issues with your magic before. What happened?" She asks me as she hugs her book closely. That's right. The last time I saw her I attacked her while losing control of my magic! "Aw man... I'm really sorry about that." I tell her as I rub my face in embarrassment. "I... well... there was this spell that I found. And... it was far too advanced for me. But... I guess it took control. I'm really sorry." "I accept your apology." She tells me with a small smile as she hugs her book more tightly. I smile back to her as she fumbles with her book for a moment. "I've heard of books that can give you access to powerful spells. But I didn't know they could do that... it must have been scary." "Well..." I think back to that whole situation and recall how scary it was. But then I remember something I was told before. "It was scary. But that's okay. Because without fear there is no courage." She looks to me and smiles before hiding her smile behind her book. I immediately feel my confidence sky rocket from how... well read she is. We both go quiet for a moment as neither of us knows what to say next. I take a look back out and see myself disappear for the second time... or was it third? Time travel is weird. "So... how were you here and there and the same time? Was it an illusion?" Speaks Softly asks. I shake my head to that. "No. I'm no good at illusions. It was... well... a time travel spell." I tell her slowly. I don't think I'm supposed to tell anypony. But... she seems trustworthy! Her face lights up as she comes out from behind her book. She's clearly impressed by what I said. "Wow... really!? But how can you do that? Temporal magic is some of the most difficult magic to perform!" "Heh, yeah. But I didn't intend to do it. It sorta just... happened. I don't really have control of it yet." I tell her as I rub the back of my neck and avoid eye contact. "Oh... but it's still impressive that you did it! I can barely manage a simple teleportation spell." I go to tell her that it's much easier than it looks. But then I realize that I can't even do that properly yet either. I look at her and we make eye contact for a moment before we both look away from each other. "So... what book is that?" I ask as I try to hide the slight blush on my face. "Oh, uh... 'Starswirl the bearded and the infinite cosmos'. It's a theological book about magic. Kind of a long read-" "But a good one!" I tell her quickly. We look to one another in excitement. "I've read it twice now." "Only twice?" She asks jokingly. "I think I've read it five times now! Not to mention any and all books by Starswirl! He's my favorite writer when it comes to magical theory! Though I do have a pension Clover the Clever and Magna Anima. Anything pre-tribal unification really!" She continues to go off on the various fields of magic she's interested in and I feel myself finally start to relax. It's nice to listen to her talk. Especially when it's about something that she's clearly fascinated by. All of my troubles from before seem to fade away as I lose track of time. Right now it's just the two of us... And I haven't introduced myself yet. Speaks Softly and I spent the entire time talking about magic! It was a lot of fun! I've never met another pony my age that was equally interested in magic as I am. And she's really good too! Her mom is apparently some kind of prodigy and has been teaching magic since she could walk! Maybe I should start pushing my parents to teach me more. I know that they're both really good. Dad more so at enchanting and mom at spellcasting. But it could be good to start leaning more. I don't even know how long we've been talking at this point. She's brought a book about magical theory and we've been talking about where magic comes from. She seems to think that it's something tied to the land and is channeled through ponies. But that's not correct. I tell her about how magic comes from individuals and channeling is something you can do in specific areas, but she disagreed. Though when I pointed out that other species have magic as well and they don't have the same systems for magic as we do, namely a horn, she had to reflect on it for a moment. "I've never thought about that before." She tells me as she looks at the cover of her book. "But Starswirl was so convincing in his assertations. Where did he go wrong?" "Well he was mostly listening to the tribes instead of post-Terradisian Roam." I tell her, reflecting on Mom's history lessons. Never thought those would come in handy. "If you look at the timeline of his writings most occurred while he was traveling the world. I think one or two were written while he stayed in Roam, and those are the most accurate." She looks at the book before tilting her head in confusion. When she looks to me I feel a little nervous again. She looks a little curious, but also a little irked. "Are you Terradisian?" Oh, phew! I thought she was going to be mad! "Yeah! Well, I mean I am but I am also a part of Equestria. I never really put too much thought into it before." "Okay, that explains it." She tells me as she sets a hoof on the book. Clearly there's some sort of bias going on. That's why we disagree." "... um, no? I'm telling you the truth. He was-" "It's okay, we don't have to agree." She tells me. "It's okay to disagree. But let's not fight over something that neither of us were there for." "... okay." I don't want to move on, but I don't want to be rude. And this seems more personal than anything else. I take a look around and notice a small crowd has formed by Celestia and Twilight Sparkle. Not a big one, maybe ten ponies. But it's enough for me to know better than to go down there. Speaks Softly looks down and gasps at the sight. She ducks down to hide and pulls me down when I don't move. "Shoot! I hate it when crowds form!" She tells me in a hushed tone. I check around us to double check that we are in fact alone up here. "Does that happen often?" I ask, matching her tone. "Um... yeah? Doesn't it happen to you too?" She asks in a confused tone. I look back out there and shrug. I don't think anypony has ever cared where I was before. Aside from my parents that is. But I doubt that's what she's talking about. "Nah. Never. Why? Are you important or something?" This really confuses her. She tries to answer but seems at a loss for words. "Was that rude?" "I... no, but... I'm sorry. I just realized I don't know your name." "Oh, I'm Tempestive Mortem." She stares at me for a moment before she slowly blinks. "You're... you have a Terradisian name?" She asks slowly. I never really thought of that before, but I guess I do. I shrug and nod to her. "So... your name means... Timely Death?" "Yeah... is that bad?" I ask, feeling a bit awkward. I watch as she slowly picks her book back up and slowly hugs it again. I can se her mind racing as she mutters to herself quietly. But I can't tell what she's saying. "Speaks Softly?" "Huh?" She asks. "When did you learn my name?" "Oh, sorry. Back in the castle they told me your name... sorry." I don't know why, but I feel bad for not letting her introduce herself. But she seems really uncomfortable all of the sudden. "Oh... okay." We both go quiet. I don't know what has her so concerned. But whenever I try to say something she tenses up a little and I lose my voice. Why is this so hard!? I can talk to Jet Spectrum and Rampant Growth without problems! Why is it so hard to talk with Speaks Softly!? We both jump a little when we hear somepony climbing up the tunnel towards us. Listening in to the voices I realize that it's that bully from before. I should probably just make a run for it, but where would I even go? I don't want to join Aunty Celly and that random group. But if I stay here they'll find me! Without asking Speaks Softly grabs my hoof and starts to run off with me in tow. I feel my face flush as I follow after her. With her leading I get my first look at her cutie mark. It's a golden quill crossed with a... well, it looks like a big stick. I don't remember her having it last time. Did she recently get it, or did I just not notice? She takes me through the tunnels and stops me at a long straight section. She takes a look around before tapping a panel on the right. After a few more taps she finds a loose board and pushes it open. She grabs my hoof again and pulls me inside. We sit in the dark room as we wait quietly. I can hear them round the corner and race down the tunnel. They round really mad that they can't find me. One of them even cussed! When I can't hear them anymore I sigh in relief. I've never had to deal with bullies before. I don't even know what I did to deserve it! I look around the dark room and squint to try and see anything. But it's too dark. "So... before I turn the light on, promise me that you won't tell anypony about this room. Okay?" Speaks Softly asks from the other side of the small room. "After saving me from those jerks, not a problem!" I tell her, trying to face her more directly. I hear her turn a rusty knob before a lantern begins to glow. We're in a similar observation cube like before. But the windows in this room are painted to block out the light. A couple of cushions occupy the corners with a few stacks of books piled up beside them. Several hoof marks and names have been written onto the walls and top, along with random stickers and drawings. Storm Cloud, Twilight Sparkle, and Speaks Softly are the only names in here. "So... because of what my mom and dad do for work I often have to come here for supervision. Sometimes I go with my grandma, or even my uncle. But... half of the time I have to be here. So my dad snuck in and made this room for me. So don't tell anypony, okay?" I look around the room and smile. Her parents made a little hideaway all for her! That's pretty cool! "I made a promise, and I don't break those." I tell her as I take a few steps inside. She tries to hide her face, so I bump her side before flopping onto one of the cushions. "It's something my dad taught me. 'You're only as good as your word. Promises in my family go really far. But why are you here so often? Wouldn't you rather be with family?" "Well..." She starts as she takes the other cushion. "I would. But that's not always an option. So when I can't be with family I spend time here. It's not so bad though. I usually barely notice because I'll get too distracted with my books. But... I would rather be with my family though." I grimace as I think about my own situation. My parents have to leave for work a lot too. Dad more so than Mom. But they've never left me in what I thought was just a school supply store. There are days where I run out of things to do and just lay about the house. Usually on those days I end up terrorizing Lupus and Hati. Not to be mean. I just have too much energy to be cooped up all day! I guess that's why I'm so excited to go to school now. It'll at least give me something to do. "My Dad works for the military." I tell her. "So... I guess I get what's it's like to miss family because of work." "What does your mom do?" I shrug at that. I really don't know exactly what she does. "From what I've been told she's some kind of advisor to the castle here in Canterlot. But I've never really asked beyond that... What school do you go to?" "Canterlot's school for gifted unicorns, you?" I chuckle a little at that. She did mention that earlier, I guess I'm just running out of things to talk about. "I was homeschooled. But this year I'm going to Ponyville Elementary... or whatever they call it." She gives me another quizzical look and I just shrug back. "Not that I'm saying you can't be here... but why are you here? Shouldn't you be in Ponyville then?" "Well... I was here in the castle when my parents decided to enroll me. We were visiting my aunt Celestia when they told me I would be going to school this year. So she got all excited and took me out to get school supplies. So here we are." Speaks Softly nods to me but stops and goes wide eyed again. I feel myself get uncomfortable when she slowly looks back to me and stares deeply at me. I look around and try to figure out what I said that would trigger her like this, but I have no clue what's going on. "Did you say Celestia is... your aunt?" She asks quietly, slowly bringing her book up to hide behind. "Yeah." I answer cautiously. "So... that would make... your mother..." "Luna, yeah." I answer, getting her to freeze up. I look around and try to figure out what's going on. I know they're alicorns and that makes them rare. But I didn't think they'd be that odd! Even to another alicorn! "Is there something wrong with that?" "Um... no! I mean... no? It's just that... I... well, my mother told me about you, not by name at least! I wish she would have... BUT! Uhm... heh." She's fumbling with her words. She seems like she's trying to be as careful as possible with what comes out. But to what end I have no idea. I guess Mom and Aunty Celly really do have some sway around here. Makes sense I guess. They are the royal advisors after all. I guess that makes them somewhat famous. "It's okay Speaks Softly-" "You can call me Softy... IF YOU WANT! I mean, my friends call me that... if I had friends that is... NOT THAT WE AREN'T FRIENDS! Heh... sorry." She's all flustered now. I guess her family must have some work with the royals or something? It's hard to tell, but clearly my family and hers have some form of connection. But seeing her all flustered is super... ...super well read. "My friends just call me Timely, so call me that." I tell her. She calms down for a moment and smiles back to me. Seeing that was enough to make my stomach twist and my heart race. I feel as if I can soar into the sky and race all the way to the moon! Throwing up the entire way... It's a very complicated feeling. "So... maybe if you're ever in Ponyville... maybe we could... hang out?" I ask, fumbling with some stay fluffs on the cushion. I can't bear to look at her right now. But I know I want to see her again. And not just in this jungle gym. I try to look at her to see her reaction, but I can't bring myself to! If she were to look disgusted or off put in any way... "You... want me to come over?" She asks cautiously. I finally glance back and see her peering out from behind her book. "Of course I'd want you come over!" I answer quickly. "You're the only other pony I've ever met that's my age and has any understanding of magic! Do you have any idea how cool that is!? Nopony my age gets half the stuff I say!" I can see the edge of her cheek turn a little red as she hides a bit more behind the tome. I feel myself get a little shy from being so excited as well. But I meant everything I said! I've finally met somepony who is my age and isn't a jerk! To be fair it's not a large list, but still! And she's so well read! "I-I don't think I've ever had somepony call me cool before." She says meekly, lowering the book just enough to show me her face. "I-I think you're pretty cool too." "Really?" I ask, confidence at an all time high. "Even though-" FLASH "Alright Timely!" Aunty Celly announces as I suddenly appear before her. "I've gotten most of your supplies together! We're about to head out now, can you check the basket and see if there was anything else you needed?" "... yeah.l" I grumble as I take in my surroundings. The crowd that was around her is basically gone. I look back to the play area and sigh in defeat. Well... I'm sure if I can get through this I can race back over there and tell her where to find me. "Looks great!" I tell her when I grab the basket and glance it over. "You barely looked at-" "I'll be right back!" I yell before running back towards the play area. But before I can make it to the end of the aisle I get levitated by her magic and brought back. "Play time has ended Tempestive. Now we need to focus at the present task." I try to argue with her, but she just gives me a knowing look. I really want to argue, but I know what that look actually means. There's no getting out of this now. I sigh in defeat and look over the supplies. By the time we're done and moving to the check out we're the last ones here. I think that was by intention though. I don't think Aunt Celestia wanted a crowd around us when we tried to leave. I tried to catch Softy as she left, but I never saw her leave. Either I missed it or they teleported. I just hope we can run into each other someday. I don't think I told her where in Ponyville to find me. Author's Note Linked below is a poll that I would appreciate everyone taking. It refers to some changes I'd like to make to Man of War. The first link will be a blog post that will explain my reasoning further. If you'd like to skip to the poll, then click the second link. The Future of Man of War and Happy Birthday Miles! Brony on!
Chapter 272 Doctors OrdersChapter 272 Doctors Orders Perspective: Miles After breakfast we traveled straight home. Even though there were several attempts to hold us back at Canterlot Luna was adamant about our departure. Every appointment was canceled. Every noble or guard trying to speak to us was turned away before they could say a word. No one stopped us from marching to the teleporter and going home. I didn't say anything. Although I agreed to the terms I know something is going to come up. It always does. What can I say, trouble finds me. I know I'll have to respond to something at some point. But if I can at least get a few days to straighten out my head then it will be worthwhile. Shadow went straight to her room without a single word. I am worried about her, but I think this was good. Even if I'm going to have to kill that kid, Shadow and I cleared space I didn't know was growing between us. Maybe things aren't perfect, but they rarely are. And at least she knows I'm on her side. I'll have to figure something out to bridge those gaps though. I need her to know that no matter what she's my daughter and that I love her. Something more than words. I flop onto my bed and let out a long sigh. Luna's orders are to stay home and relax. But I know I'm not good at that. I'm going to need something to distract myself. I look around the room and try to think of something... but end up staring at Luna's backside as she reads a ledger in her dresser. Probably not the best time to be thinking of such things... But not the worst time... "No." I blink when Luna turns me down. She hasn't even looked away from her book. "You don't even know-" "Miles Eremita, were you about to say I didn't know something about my husband?" She asks plainly, flipping a page slowly. "I would never dare to assume something so bold." I tell her as I shift to lay facing her. "Well that's good. Because here I was assuming you were eyeing me like a fresh stack of pancakes." I chuckle at that. True to her own words, she does know me best. "A thick stack of sweet, delectable, treasure? Though I do see how you'd come to that conclusion, I did just eat. Although, I guess I could be persuaded otherwise. If only for my loving wife." She scoffs in return, still reading the ledger. "I don't know about thick, but your compliments are still appreciated. Now!" She says as she shuts the book and returns it to the dresser. She takes a look at me and puts on a smile. One that tells me she's about to make a proposition with no good answers. "Miles... my loving husband-" "Just ask." I cut her off. There's no need to be coy at this point. After all the drama of last night I don't need anymore pitiful words and bashful demeanors. She nods to me and slowly walks to the bed. I can see her trying to pick her words carefully. She takes a seat and leans against me as she settles on whatever phrase she needs. Whatever this is, it's not going to be good. "Would you be willing to get a psyche evaluation with Doctor Monitor?" "... sure." "Really?" She asks with genuine surprise. "Yeah, sure, why not?" I ask as I lay on my back. She stares down at me with her mouth hanging open. I hate going to the doctors here in Equestria. They're not as effective as the bots in Topaz Falls, in my opinion at least. But, per Luna's request, I do have a general practitioner. One Doctor Monitor. He's a crotchety older stallion that I'm almost positive is fucking his much younger assistant. He's a veteran of a conflict that he won't speak of. Takes zero bullshit. And ignores anything any of my bots tell him. He's been practicing for nearly forty years. So according to him there's nothing these machines can tell him about pony physiology. Modern bone scans, not needed. MRI scans and soul refractors? Garbage. We... well, it's not that we dislike each other. But we... it's hard to take each other serious. But, according to Luna, he's the only doctor that can deal with me. So I have to visit once a year. And since he's my GP, he has a certain level of authority over me. At least in a military sense. "So... you'll go?" Luna clarifies, baffled by my sudden willingness. "Sure! But I'd like a simple little favor in return though." I tell her. "Oh?" She asks cautiously. "Let me put another kid in you." "..." Normally this would be something where she'd push back against. It's a pseudo joke at this point. We know we're probably going to have another child at some point. So I always joke about having one sooner rather than later. But... she's considering it. She's genuinely considering it! My bluff has backfired... successfully. "Well..." She muses as she turns and lays back. We're both now facing up at the ceiling. I feel myself suddenly get nervous as she thinks about the prospect. I shouldn't be though! I genuinely want another child! But... I'd prefer not to go to the doctors... "I mean... I'm not opposed to the idea." DAMMIT ALL! "Really?" I ask, the genuine surprise plainly evident in my voice. "Not that I'm against the idea... it's just... well... uh..." "Shadow is going to graduate this year. Tempestive is going to start school this year. The nest is emptying. We've talked about this before. We know we're going to have more. Plus the maternity leave for you would be great for you to get the help you need to handle the Kroth." "... is it really the right time though?" I ask cautiously. The idea of bringing another child into the world with those monsters so close scares the fuck out of me. I don't know how'd I'd sleep with Luna pregnant and them a short walk away. Not to mention once the baby would be born! "Is it ever really the right time?" Luna asks as she rolls over to cuddle. "At least now we're choosing to set those plans in motion. I think it should be at a time of our choosing rather than some surprise. So... the real question is; are you up for it?" I grimace as I think about it. If it weren't for them I'd have no hesitation. I was the one pushing for it anyway. But now that I know they're right around the corner... it feels like the invasion all over again. If I close my eyes and listen I can hear the sirens and gunfire and the screaming... Thinking on it again, I can smell the burning bodies and feel the heat. But when I open my eyes... it all fades away. Every Spartan I've ever talked to that survived Diamond Halls has told me about these echoes of war. How it always stick with you. With the blink of an eye you're back on the battlefield. Firing your weapon, backing away from the massive horde throwing itself at you... catching that vehicle as it exploded, only to get hit from an RPG explosion. If I close my eyes long enough I can even remember waking in the Everfree, trying to figure out what a tree was. But it all goes away the moment I open my eyes. As long as I know where I am... I know I can be fine. It's hard to explain it, but as long as I don't dwell on it... I'm okay. And that's the issue. I can't stop dwelling on it because they're so close now! Even with an entire legion of bots between us... they're too close. "Luna... I want to grow our family. I really do... But I don't know if I can while they're this close." I tell her quietly. I know Shadow is in the other room. I don't want her catching wind of what I'm saying right now. "That's why I want you to speak with Monitor." She tells me as she turns to face me. She takes a hoof and strokes the side of my head as I try to avoid eye contact. "Miles... they surrendered. If we can't believe that the fighting will ever end... then how can we ever grow? We already brought Tempestive into this world. Is it really any different for another child? That's why I want you to speak with the doctors... Miles, you need to start healing, up here." She says before leaning forward and kissing my forehead. I take a deep breath as I nod to her. She's not wrong. But it's also something that I know she doesn't understand. Spartans are meant to break in the head. We're the part of humanity that's meant to do what's necessary. Not what's right. And that doesn't leave a lot of room for mental health. But... it's not for me. It's for her. And Shadow. And Tempestive. I'm no longer just a disposable Spartan to take the brunt of the frontlines. I'm the leader of a nation... two nations actually. I have a family that needs me more than ever now... "I'll go." I say, finally looking to her. She relaxes against me and smiles as she holds my head. "I can't promise much else other than that I'll go, for you. And to growing our family... I'll do whatever it takes to make sure that they're safe. Even if that means... well, you know." I couldn't get the last of it out. My nerves got the better of me. But they relaxed when Luna leaned in and planted the softest possible kiss on my lips. It was just enough to bring me back to her and sooth my soul. "I know you will. I'll set up the appointment for tomorrow. Let's rest for today, okay?" She asks as she settles against me. I hum back to her and try to relax. As we lay here I bring an arm around her and start to stroke her back gently. She melts against me as I follow her spine back and forth slowly. It's one of her little quirks that she enjoys. Gentle scratches along the back. Especially when you start between her wings and reach all the way down to her hips. Though she definitely enjoys it more in my human form. Finger nails and hooves are no substitutes I guess. "Talk to me." She says quietly. I get a little confused when she says this. She just nuzzles more deeply into me as she rests against me. "About anything. I just want to hear you talk. Please?" "Alright... boy or girl this time?" I ask, knowing full well what she wants. "Mmm... girl. You?" "I think a girl would be nice. Add variety to the mix." She chuckles to that. I try to think of something else to ask or say, but then I look down to her. The light is coming through a narrow slit of the blinds and illuminates the side of her face. I get lost to her beauty for a moment. The warmth between us... the glow of morning tracing her silhouette... the scent of moon lilies and vanilla, her preferred scents, it's all enough to intoxicate me. How could a creature so effortlessly beautiful care so deeply for a stubborn man like me will never cease to amaze me. But I can't help but be greedy. Because she did choose me. So she's mine. And I'll do anything to keep her. Even if that means going to the doctors. Her eyes open and she peers up to me. Those beautiful watery sapphire eyes filled with so much life and curiosity. She smiles back to me and rests her head against my arm, making me fall in love with her all over again. "Remember back when I was still new to Equestria and you came to check up on me? For whatever reason you decided to sneak up on me and try a little prank, but I ended up tackling you. And I don't know what possessed me to do this, but I had you pinned down or you were on top of me, but I got distracted by how soft you were! The panic attack I had afterwards had me rolled up into a ball! And you just laid next to me and wrapped me up in a wing-" "If I remember correctly, you then also felt up my wing too." She says before jabbing my side. "I definitely remember the way you said my name afterwards-" "Hush you!" She chastises while covering my mouth. I give her a look before we share a small laugh together. I kiss her hooves before lowering them down. "I just remember being so nervous about... well, you. There were the obvious things to be worried about. Jail, torture, exile. But what scared me the most was the attraction I had for you. I had never been attracted to someone before then. And to finally feel that way for someone... I didn't know how to deal with it all. Especially with someone of a different species. I spent part of that night enchanting Storms old armor. Actually, I enchanted it several times that night just to distract myself." "I remember that day. I spent most of my time trying to work up the nerve to go back to speak with you again. Though, that was mostly because I wanted to learn what you knew of my parents. But I also kept thinking back to how your hands felt against my wings. The way your fingers would follow and tease every feather... still sends shivers down my spine." "Good to know I have the magic tough." I tell her, chuckling for a moment. She looks off in thought for a moment. I watch as she relives a memory that brings a smile to her face. I jostle her and tilt my head to ask her to share. "I was thinking back... remember that incident with the minotaur?" "Uh... maybe?" I try to think about whatever she's talking about, but I'm not sure what she's referring to. "A minotaur randomly appeared in Ponyville and you had an altercation with them. The whole incident nearly had Celestia take you out of my charge. But the next day I couldn't sleep so... heh, so I was scrying you while you were working at Sweet Apple Acres." "Spying on me that early on?" I joke as I lean in to give her a knowing look. She pushes me back with a nervous smile. "I didn't know what else to do! I did feel a little bad about it... at first. You were talking to yourself while working. It was... a little cute. But I dropped the spell when you called my eyes beautiful." She tries to look away from me as a small blush starts to grow on her face. I reach over and force her to look at me. I stare deeply into her eyes before cracking a sly smile. "Just as beautiful as the day we met." She smiles back to me and leans forward to kiss me once again. I pull her in and press into the kiss. It's hard to imagine that we've been together as long as we have. Six years. In the grand scheme of things it's practically nothing. But it's felt like a lifetime together. So many shared experiences and stories built together. Joy and pain, heartache and love, all grown between two wayward souls. To think after everything I'd end up where I am now. What could have been if I hadn't explored those energy readings? Or if I hadn't enlisted with the Spartans? What if Celestia had come instead of Luna? So many choices that all added up to this beautiful little moment. I don't want to ruin these kinds of moments. And that's what has me so scared. The Unfamiliar. Seeing them as... civilians... I can't wrap my head around the concept. I was raised to fight them to the death. Them surrendering was never something that could be conceptualized. And now I have to learn how to accept them living next door. It's... not going to be easy. But... "Ego amare te" Luna whispers when we pull away. "Ego amare te magis." I whisper back to her as I lean in and rest my forehead against hers. "Ego amare te maxime." She responds. As long as I have her by my side, it doesn't seem so impossible. A day to relax. Despite everything it came and went pretty quickly. The Spartans finally made it back. Luckily none of them were injured when the dark orb exploded. Once it did explode there was nothing else to learn from that location. Storm Cloud tried to tell me more, but Luna kicked him out. Almost literally. She explained the situation to him outside and wouldn't let me join the conversation. It was... uncomfortable. I don't like having other people delegate my orders. But, at least in this regard, it had to be done. Storm was... surprisingly happy about the situation. Not the panic attack. But my leave. Said it was time for the Spartans to prove that they can operate without my leadership. "It's time we showed you that this will outlast you. So leave it to us and come back when your head's in the fight!" I often worry about that. I'm only human. If I'm lucky I've got forty to sixty years left. And how much of that is going to be spent fighting? What will become of the Spartans once I'm gone? Can they exist without a human? I'll never really know the answer. But this will be a good test for them. It'll let me see what they'll do without me. With any luck, I'll see what changes will need to be made to ensure the Spartans continue on. Celestia took her time bringing Tempestive back too. We didn't really give a schedule to adhere to, so we didn't say anything when they came strolling in the evening. But the amount of crap she bought him was... I've only heard of Auntie stereotypes before. But Celestia fills the bill perfectly. An entire day of... relaxing. I was starting to get a little stir crazy by the end. I've spent my entire life scheduling every moment to attempt to maximize my day. Training, researching, enchanting, there's rarely a normal day where I just... well, I mostly just sat on the couch. I tried to work on a few small side projects, mostly house work, but Luna wasn't having it. So when it finally came time for my appointment with the doctor, I was glad to have something to do finally. We had Shadow take Tempestive to the park. Figured it would be easier if he wasn't here asking a thousand questions. We have to have these appointments at the house now. The emergency room isn't really meant for this kind of checkup. And the nearest true hospital is in the next town over. Doctor Monitor. He's an older stallion. I think in his early to mid forties. Which I didn't think was that old. That was until I learned that the average pony only live to about sixty. He wears a doctors coat most of the time, hiding his drab tan coat. His once bright red hair is mostly grey now, but there's still a little red in there. He's got his old stethoscope pressed to my chest as he listens to my heart. "Heart rates normal." He mutters in his signature gravely voice to the nurse. Nurse Red Heart is his assistant. She's a much younger nurse. Much younger. I think she's only been practicing for two years now. Apparently they have history together, but I've never learned it. She's all white with pastel pink hair and never goes without her nurses cap. It's mostly just rumor. But even I speculate that the two of them are in some sort of relationship. And I'm rarely wrong about these kind of assumptions. I'm the best at this game after all. I just don't think they know they're in one yet. "Blood pressure tracks with previous readings as well." She responds, releasing the strap from my arm and setting it on the kitchen table. "Okay." Doctor Monitor mumbles as he checks his clipboard. I lean back in my chair and look over to Luna. She offers me a small smile, but the worry is plainly written over her face. "Here you go, Doctor." Nurse Red Heart says as she passes him a booklet. She walks over to Luna and whispers something to her before escorting her out the room. I feel myself tense up when she leaves. The next part is the only part that I'm dreading. "Okay Miles, let's get this over with." He mutters as he takes a seat at the table. I turn to face him and take a deep breath. "Alright... hit me with it." I tell him, trying to steel myself for the conversation. "Let's start out with the obvious part then. Tell me what happened in your words. The queen told me her account, so let's hear what you've got to say." I spend the next few minutes recounting the the past few days. The mysterious dark orb in the minotaur lands. Ending up back in Mooseden surrounded by the Unfamiliar. I talked about Shadow and Canterlot, though I try to keep certain personal details out of it. Thinking back; the last few days have been rather busy with little to show for it all. "Alright." Doctor Monitor says as he finishes up his notes. "Well, in my professional opinion at least, I'd say war fatigue is an obvious condition for you." "War fatigue?" I think that's the equestria version of PTSD, but I'm not certain. "Yes. How often would you say you have nightmares? Let's say... over the past year?" His question catches me a little off guard. I take a moment to think on it before giving my best guess. "I'd say around two times a month. Sometimes less, sometimes more. Depends on how stressful he month was." It doesn't help that it's the same recurring dream either. "That's a lot, you know that, right?" I shrug back to him. I don't know what constitutes an average amount of bad dreams. Though, I guess I could have asked Luna about that. "What does that mean though?" He sets the clipboard down and sighs deeply, rubbing his tired eyes. "Doc?" "Okay, let's cut the crap." He says as he pushes the clipboard aside. "I'm going to medical you for a year-" "A year!?" "Yes! A year! And you're going to go talk to a therapist. MINIMUM once a week. After that time then we'll clear you for active duty." "I can't take a year off!" I yell incredulously. "Are you kidding me!? There's too much at stake for me to take that much time off! I was thinking a week at most-" "A week!?" Doctor Monitor laughs. "This isn't some broken bone or a bad stomach! You're messed up in the head! And the only way to fix that is to talk it out! Otherwise you're liable to snap and kill innocent people. Is that-" "No!" I tell him as I slam my hoof down. "A year is too long!" "LUNA!?" Monitor yells after we stare each other down for a moment. I push back from the table and grumble to myself. A year!? He wants me to take a whole year off!? Just for one panic attack!? How can he possibly think that such a thing would be allowed!? Where did he even get that number from? One year... it's out of the question! Luna walks in and tentatively takes a seat beside me. I'm sure she's heard all the yelling so she's got a decent idea of what's going on. "Please tell your husband that his mental health is important-" Doctor Monitor starts but I cut him off. "Luna, tell him that a year is too long for me to take off! I have my duties to attend to!" "You have a duty to this nation-" "As well as Terradisia-" "Which I think would also want their leader in good mental health-" "I'm not a threat!" "Oh that's super convincing!" "PRICK!" "ASSHOLE!" "ENOUGH!" Luna yells in her royal voice, pushing the two of us back. She takes a deep breath before addressing Doctor Monitor. "Doctor, you are correct in your assumptions. Miles does need to rest and recover. But we need to also be aware of the state of the world. He is needed as both our monarch and the leader of the Spartans... So let's start with this. Miles? Do you agree that you need to seek mental help." I think about it for a moment. Because of how heated I was I wanted to just outright say no. But the look on Luna's face told me otherwise. I guess I could go and talk with someone. Not for a year, but a few times couldn't hurt. If only to get this over with. I look back to her and nod. "Okay, so we agree to that much at least. So now we just need to find a common ground of timing..." "Ten months." Doctor Monitor states. "A month." I counter. "Fifty weeks." "Five weeks." We glare at each other to the point where sparks are practically popping off between us. Luna coughs to get our attention, giving me a knowing look. "How about this then," She starts. "Six months with limited duty. That meaning that if something comes up that requires Miles's attention then he can attend to it. With minimum weekly visits to a specialist. Is that agreeable to the two of you?" We glare back to each other before grumbling our agreement. When the room goes quiet I look back to Luna. She's giving me a look before looking to the doctor. I take a deep breath and reach out to him. We shake on it and Luna claps her hooves together in joy. "Wonderful! Now then, I'd like to ask some quick questions about something else Doctor." This catches the doctor a little off guard. "Of course, my queen. How may I be of service?" Luna gives me a quick look before continuing. "We're thinking about having another child. Can you give me your medical opinion on the matter? Would it be too soon for us to try? With Miles's condition and all. Also what can we expect from our second attempt? I've heard rumor that it's not as easy as the first attempts." The first part throws the doctor for a loop. The last part surprises me too. I've never heard that before. But, now that I think about it, it kind of makes sense. Most siblings out there have several years apart from one another. There are those that are close in age. But the norm seems to be a difference of five years or so. Sweetie Bell and Rarity. Shinning and Twilight. Applebloom and the other Apples. Shit, even Celestia and Luna are a few years apart. I wonder how I never made that connection before. The doctor takes his clipboard and flips to a new page. He's mumbling to himself a bit before he slams the board down. Luna and I jump a little from this. "If you were planning on having another child then why would it matter how long you would take off!? Doesn't your... group give the worlds longest maternity leave!?" I go to answer but Luna beats me to it. "That was more for the immediate situation. Obviously we're not pregnant now so we need to start planning ahead." Couldn't have said it better myself. Monitor just grumbles to himself again before writing down some notes. "Fine... well, yes. Most families tend to have difficulty having their second foal-" "Why?" I ask, cutting him off midsentence. "The reproductive organs shut down after birth and require time to reset for the birthing process. Isn't that how humans are?" I shake my head to that. That literally made no sense to me... until I remembered something. Ponies were made by humans to be free labor. But they probably wanted to control their population. So they probably made them have periods between births to help in that regard. I wonder if it's the same for all species out here. "That's not a human thing. A female human can start trying for another child... well, I've read as soon as three to four weeks after giving birth. But they also advocated waiting for about eighteen weeks to finish the healing process. From what I can tell, human births are much more... complicated, than pony births. But that's purely subjective from what I've read." Doctor Monitor stares at me for a moment before looking to his notes. Most of the pages are just things we've had to teach him about my history and human anatomy. I tried to get him a tablet to make things easier. But after two minutes of trying to learn it he gave up. Said it was too confusing. "Have you two considered having a human child?" He asks slowly, peering up from his clipboard. Luna and I share a look before I laugh. "Of course, but that's not really not an option." I tell him. "Why not? Couldn't you use the machine that turned you into a pony to turn her into a human?" I laugh at his question at first. But then I start to think about it. Truth be told, I have no idea. It would make sense that they would make it so that it could reverse the effect. But... I have no idea how that would work. We've left the machine alone this entire time becuase we don't want to disturb it. We don't understand enough about it to know what it's capable of. And with it directly under Canterlot, we don't want to attract the wrong attention. "Look, it was just a thought. But that's for you two to discuss and decide on. To be fair, you're at the point where a second pregnancy would be feasible. And if Miles took that time to also work with a therapist and really focus in on those tendencies, I think it would be invaluable." "Regardless, here are my orders: Six months rest. Weekly therapist consultations of at least two hour per session. I will contact Storm Cloud to discuss what light work details you'll be available for. After which time we will have a follow up and see where you are. Red Heart! Can you bring me the referrals please?" Red Heart comes in and offers him a folder. He looks through the pages before placing two in front of me. "First guy is the best in the industry, has done a lot of research on the subject, and works in Canterlot. But he's a fucking pussy. Second guy is decent but is still green. But he was in the guard for twenty years so there is that commonality at least." Luna reaches for the first page but Doctor Monitor coughs loudly. They make eye contact for a moment before she slowly reaches for the second page. Monitor eyes her until she grabs the page and then nods in approval. "Well with all of that settled we'll be getting out of your hair then. Contact me if anything changes. You two have a good rest of your day." Doctor Monitor tells us as he packs up. We wish him farewell but mostly stay quiet. He's put a lot in our minds to consider. "Oh, before we go!" Nurse Red Heart says as they step through the front door. She reaches into her bag and offers me a red lollipop. "For good luck." "Um... thanks?" I say as I take it. She smiles back to me before chasing after Monitor. I look over to Luna, who shrugs, before closing the door. We stare at each other for a moment. Neither of us knows how to broach the subject. Seeing Luna as a human... It never even crossed my mind. Even after my change! I don't know why I didn't think about it, but I guess it didn't matter. Clearly whatever form she takes doesn't matter to me. I fell in love with her while we were completely different species! Why would it matter now! ... But now that I am thinking about it... "Have... you ever considered... me being turned human?" Luna asks shyly. She's trying to avoid eye contact while also trying to judge my reaction. THUD "MOM! DAD!" Tempestive cheers as he comes barreling in. "We saw the Doctor leaving so we came to make sure nopony is sick! Are you okay? Where did you get a sucker!?" He continues to ask a million questions as he bounces around me. I look over to Shadow as she walks up to the door and mouths an apology. I guess she couldn't keep him back long enough. "I guess later?" I ask Luna. She nods to me and starts to escort Tempestive inside. I watch them walk as Shadow stands beside me. "How much did you guys hear?" I ask her. "I heard that you two want to have another baby. I made sure he didn't hear anything though." I sigh in relief from that. Not that we need to keep it a secret from him. It'll just be easier if we tell him of our own accord. "How do you feel about that?" I ask, eyeing her to see how she reacts. But she just shrugs nonchalantly. "Knowing you two, I'm more suspired you haven't had one yet. You're both not exactly... subtle." I go to say something back to her, but lose it before I could. I thought we were always careful to make sure that they never heard us. I guess we weren't careful enough. "You okay?" "Yeah, chipper as ever." I feel myself flustering from the idea that we've scarred our children. "What's with the lollipop?" I take a better look at it and notice a faint etching of a heart on the wrapper. Knowing ponies, I decide to check it for any magical properties. ... "Erm... don't worry about it... Let's... Let's just go get lunch." I tell her as I hide the sucker. I get why she said the last bit now. As we walk into the kitchen everyone starts to chatter as we move on with our day. I take a seat at the head of the table as a thousand thoughts start to cross my mind. What is our future going to look like? Are we ready for more kids? What am I going to go for six months?
Chapter 273 Parent Teacher ConferenceChapter 273 Parent Teacher Conference Perspective: Tempestive I feel like the last few days everybody has been trying to keep me out of the house. There was Canterlot with Aunty Celly. Then Shadow was dragging me all over Ponyville yesterday. Today Mom and Dad are taking me to the school. Apparently you have to meet up with the teachers before you start. It seemed a little weird to me but apparently it's what you do. Maybe it's something you do just for your first year? I don't know. But why does it have to be at SIX AM!? I do my best to cling to Dads back. But I'm basically half asleep as we trot down the road. Mom asked a thousand questions but I barely register half of what she's said. Is this what school is? Waking up too early and being asked questions you barely understand? I might have messed up when I volunteered for this. "Tempestive, are you listening?" I blink a few times and slowly look over to Mom. She asked me a question, but I don't have a single clue as to what she said. "... no." She gives me a look that tells me that I'll be in trouble later. But I'm too tired to care at the moment. I just want to crawl back into bed and go back to sleep. "Give him a break Luna." Dad defends, jostling me a little with his shoulders. "He's usually asleep right now. Give him some time to adjust to this." "I don't know. I'm starting to have my doubts." Mom says as she nuzzles my head up. But I just let it flop back down to rest against Dad. "He's practically asleep Miles." "He'll get used to it. But we already set up the appointment. Plus... he's becoming a little lump of coal-" "Our son is not a lump of coal!" Mom chastises. Dad looks to her before chuckling a little. "I meant he's getting a little lazy. Not that it's his fault. Kids a sponge for knowledge! But without anything to do all day he's getting habits that aren't conductive to a developing mind. Even if school is a bit... remedial for him, it'll do good to have a regiment." Mom doesn't say anything. But the look on her face is full of worry and doubt. It's enough to make me stretch out and try to start waking up. I know I want to go to school. It's just SO! EARLY! How does Mom do this everyday!? As we enter town I start to wake up more. I don't know what it is about coming to town but it always excites me! Maybe because most days I'm just stuck at home? I don't know. But whatever the reason when we make it to Ponyville of Mooseden I just need to see everything that's going on! Most of the food vendors and grocer stalls have been open for a little bit. I don't normally see them this full. I see Rampant at his families stall and wave to him. I didn't know he was awake at this time! He spots me and asks permission to come say hi. When his mom says yes he rushes over to me, having to run because of the vest he's wearing. "Good morning Eremita's! What're you doing up this early?" he yells as he chases after us. "I'm signing up for school!" I tell him excitedly over Mom and Dads greetings. He gets an excited look before jumping up and climbing up Dads side. He protests a little, mostly cause Rampant used Dads wing as a ladder. But once he makes it up top he takes a seat with me. "That's awesome! Are we going to be in the same class!? Why are you going so early? It's still summer break- WAIT! You know what this means?" I shake my head and he pulls me in to whisper. "It means we'll have more time to work on getting you you're cutie mark." "Oh... I mean, I guess? I thought school was to learn and make friends." He scoffs and waves me off. "You have me and Jet! Who needs more friends than that! Look at your mom and dad! They only have, what, four friends-" "Hey!" Dad barks, sharing a look with Mom. "Besides, you'll have your entire life to get as many friends as you want! This is going to be the best time to work on that cutie mark!" I mull over what he said for a moment. In truth, getting a cutie mark isn't something that's really bothered me before. If anything it's more bothersome to others than myself. I know it's supposed to be really important and all. But... I just can't see what's so important! Besides, I don't want to have a single talent! I wonder if there's such a thing as getting two cutie marks!? Now that would be cool! "I guess you have a point." I concede to him. He was going to tell me more, but Dad levitated him off and set him on the ground. "You can talk more later. Right now we need to have our... what was it called?" "Parent teacher conference." Mom tells him. "Right, that. So head back to your mother." Dad orders him. "Alright. Bye! I'll see you at school!" Rampant yells before running back. "You ready?" Dad asks. I look ahead of us and see the school house. The large red building always interested me before. I've always wanted to go to school just to know what it was like. But now that we're finally going... it's a bit intimidating. I'm finally doing this now. I take a moment to take a deep breath before nodding to Dad. I'm ready! Entering the school I'm immediately assaulted with the smells of crayons and construction paper. The building seems to have four classrooms. It appears this is all new though. Which I guess makes sense. Mom says Ponyville has been growing, so I guess that would mean they'd need to expand the school as well. We walk to the first door on the left and knock on it. Somepony inside scrambles through the room before opening the door. She's a magenta colored earth pony with hair that's shades lighter. Her cutie mark is of three smiling daisies. She goes to bow before nearly falling over and motioning for us to enter. "G-good morning! Thank you so much for coming on such short notice!" She says nervously. "Um... we asked for this appointment?" Dad states as we walk in. Mom kicks his back leg with hers before smiling to the teacher. "We do appreciate you having us. We know it was very sudden and we're technically late for this school years registration. So we're grateful for your assistance." Mom tells her as we all take a seat at her desk. It's a bit weird sitting here. The desk was made for an average pony to sit at, so the teacher is fine. But I'm much smaller than it. And Mom and Dad are so much bigger! Especially Dad. It's a little silly seeing the four of us sitting around it. "So, getting started... registering alicorns... all in a normal days work... ta-ta-ta-da-ta." She mumbles as he flips through various papers. Dad leans over and shares a look with me before rolling his eyes. I giggle a little, but stop when the teacher looks up. "Perhaps introductions?" Mom suggests. The teacher looks to her before smiling and shoving the papers aside. "Or course! Hi, my name is Mrs. Cheerilee! I'm the head teacher for introductory grades here! What's your name?" She asks me with a big smile. "Tempestive Mortem." I tell her, a little nervous to have all the focus turned on me. "Tem.. pest.. eve eh More... tem?" She has to try it a few times before Dad sounds it out for her. I've never thought my name was that hard to sound out... especially when I've just said it. "Just call him Timely." "Of course! I mean, I'll work on getting his actual name down. But Timely is a much simpler nickname!" Mrs. Cheerilee says as she takes a note. "My name is Timely. It's just in Terradisian." I tell her. She pauses for a moment before smiling to me and writing down some notes. "Of course! So did you bring the documents I requested?" She asks. Mom summons a stack of papers in front of the teacher. It's not a big pile, but it is enough to be a pile. "Medical records. Academic achievements. As well as a few other documents I thought could be of use." Mom tells her, sitting up proudly. Mrs. Cheerilee looks at the stack as her smile starts to falter. "Oh... good. Let's see here. Mathematics... he's in trigonometry? Okay... He's reading at a intermediate school level? Wow. Alright then. Science is... I don't know what that is... so we'll say... advanced. Bilingual! With a third language at beginner. Uh-huh. Okay, no cutie mark yet? That's perfectly normal for his age. He's six, right? Okay let's see here..." She continues to go through all of the stuff I've learned from Mom and Dad. I've never thought about it before. But hearing her read everything I've been taught... how did I ever have down time? There's no way I've had time to learn all of this! Then again, the way Dad teaches makes it so that I want to learn about it. He's never said that I had to learn something. He's always made it so that I wanted to learn more about it. And being stuck at home definitely made wanting to learn easier. Listening to the teacher react to my lessons... I'm smart! Apparently even at my lowest marks I'm still at a middle school level! I didn't know I was secretly a genius! That's so cool! ... right? "So, if I may be so bold?" Mrs. Cheerilee asks as she sets the papers aside. "Tempestive is clearly a very gifted foal. Why bring him here? I'm sure there are plenty of schools out there that would be more challenging for him." "Well... truth be told we don't want him in school to learn." Dad tells her. "Not that we're sending him to goof off. He'll do the work just as any other student. But we want him around children his age. We need him to... learn to socialize with his peers." I was going to argue that I am able to socialize, but then I remembered the store in Canterlot. None of those kids wanted to play with me. Some were even outright mean. Was that my fault? Was it because I didn't know how to socialize with kids my age? "Of course, that makes perfect sense. But... I do need to bring up the argument that this is a school. If he's not learning then will he become a distraction? Not that I'm saying that he would necessarily! But... well, foals this age are very observant. And if he's in class not paying attention... well, there is a slight worry that he may distract the other students." Mom and Dad share a look as they mull over that Mrs. Cheerilee said. But why would I be distracting? It's not like I'm going to be talking in class or sleeping! Even if it's at six AM! If anything I'll just be happy to be out of the house for a change. Is she saying that I can't be in school because I'm smart? And here I thought that was a good thing. "Is there a suggestion you're alluding towards?" Dad asks. But the tone he says it in makes me go still for a moment. I've never heard him use a tone like that before. Mom has, sure. But Dad doesn't talk like that. "Well..." Mrs. Cheerilee starts as she scrambles to find a certain piece of paper. "We were in talks with some other educators. And we think we've made a plan that will suite both his need to socialize and further his studies." "This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with Canterlot's School for gifted unicorns, would it?" Mom asks, sharing the same tone as Dad. Now I really go quiet. I've never heard them both mad at a single individual before. Except Uncle Damian, but he doesn't count. He lives to get in trouble. "Well... they are the best school for unicorns in the nation." She starts as she pulls out a piece of paper and slides it towards Mom and Dad. "Just hear us out and give it some thought. And try to remember that we're only suggesting this because it would be best for Temp-eest-uhvs education." "Tempestive." I correct her. "Tem-peh-steve-eh." She stares down at me for a moment before smiling and pushing the paper forward more. "Son, why don't you go check out the playground while we have a quick chat with Mrs. Cheerilee." Dad tells me as he stares down the teacher. I look to Mom, who nods to me, before standing up and leaving the room. Well that was awkward. I'm a little worried that she won't let me come to school now. But I'm sure Mom and Dad will get everything sorted out. I hope so at least. I walk down the hall and take a look at all of the cork boards holding up old school photos and various artworks. It all looks like fun. The various sports teams. Drawings of dragons and... Aunty Celly? That's weird. I guess she is an alicorn. So maybe it's not that weird? But I'm an alicorn. Are ponies going to make drawing of me when they find out that I'm... different? I know that's why I have to wear the vest. But... I never really thought about it before. Rampant and I are just two kids. We're nothing to really take notice of. I stop at another board where I see a math test with a perfect score. But it's just simple addition. Nothing crazy about it. No solving for I, no negatives, the largest number on there is only four digits! And the class photo is with foals my age, so is this what I would be doing all day? Super basic math? I guess I can see where the teacher is coming from. I can totally see myself getting bored if this is all we had to do. Maybe I could bring my own work from home and do that while their learning... this. But would that be too distracting? I also like to listen to music when I do my studies, is that allowed here? I don't think this building has any electricity running through it. Maybe they have a point. This is a bit basic compared to how I've been taught. Maybe it would be better to go to a higher learning level class. I could just go to class for that and then go to the clubs with kids my age. That doesn't seem like a bad idea. I went to go back to the class room when I heard something in one of the class rooms. It's an acoustic guitar being tuned. The sound of it taunts me towards the room at the end of the hall. I peer around the corner to see an old patchy amber earth stallion sitting at the teachers desk while he tunes a beautiful guitar. He looks asleep as he sits back in the chair. But the tuning is near perfect. He's tweaking the last string ever so slightly as he waits for it to hum perfectly. When it finally does, he give the guitar a single stroke. It hums perfectly within the room and he starts to walk a bluesy tune effortlessly. "Ya gonna sit there all day?" He calls out as he continues to pick away at the guitar. I look around to see if there's anyone else in the room, but its empty. "Yeah I mean you at the door. Come on in." "Sorry, I just... heard you tuning... How did you learn to do that with your eyes closed?" I ask as I step into the room. I walk up to the old stallion as sit before him. He takes a rag and wipes his bald head before looking down at me. "How would eyes help me sound out the strings?" He asks as he slowly strums up and down the guitar, sitting at a G note. "I... guess they wouldn't." I tell him as I stare at the guitar. It has a perfect veneer that highlights the gorgeous wavy wooden pattern. The wood on the front is almost an orangish brown color while the back fades to a rich dark brown. Now that I'm closer I can see that there are pearl inlays on the fret board of little song birds. I think the tuning pegs are pearl as well. "That's a really pretty guitar." "Why thank you youngster. Mah pah got it from his pappy before he passed it down to me. Names Amber Melody." He says before offering a hoof to shake. "Tempestive Mortem." I greet as I shake his hoof. I can feel the calluses all over his hoof. "Do you always play here at the school?" "Nah, not always." He says as he leans back to play some more. He amazes me as he strings together a jazzy tune from nothing. He's must have been playing every day since he was my age! "Gotta work sometimes! Nah, I mostly play when the little ones are gone. The rooms here have the best acoustics in Ponyville. But summer is the only time I get a moments peace." "Oh... sorry." I guess I messed up his peace. Maybe that's another sign for me not to come here. "Don't fret little guy. I don't mind an audience every now and then. Especially if it's from somepony who knows a thang or two from the craft." I was going to ask how he knew I could play. But the playful look on his face told me it was part of his old stallion magic. "I'm nowhere near as good as you are." I tell him as I look to my hooves and scuff at the floorboards. "One of my uncles has been teaching me for awhile now. But honestly I don't think I'll ever be that good." "Well duh, ya only started!" He chuckles as he sits forward and sets guitar against the table. "Aint nopony just good at anything without practice. You new here? I don't recall you from any of the classes." "No, I'm new." I tell him, shaking my head. "I'm supposed to start this year, but... I don't know." "You don't know?" He asks as he scratches at his large bushy gray mustache. "What's got you troubled little guy? You look bluer than an unfinished song." "Well... I was homeschooled before. And now my parents want me to come here to try and make new friends. But the teachers say that I'm supposed to come here to learn. She wants to put me in a higher level or a different school. And... I don't know if I want that." For a random old guy, he's a good listener. There's also something about him that feels... comforting. Like, I can tell him things that I couldn't tell others. He's nodding to what I'm saying. Taking every word in carefully. Really trying to understand what I'm telling him. "Well, that is a pickle." He says as he leans back. "What do you want?" "I... don't know. I mean, I want to make more friends. I... don't really get out of the house often. Because of the whole alicorn thing. But... I also don't want to be bored out of my mind with how simple the lessons are." "Alicorn huh... who are your parents?" He asks curiously. "My dad is Miles Eremita and my mom is Luna Eremita. Why?" He thinks about it for a moment before leaning back again. "Ah, nothin. Just... thought of somepony else. Anyway, what's wrong with going to a higher level of learnin'? Or being bored for that matter! I do my best thinkin' when I'm bored! Kinda why I like this job so much!" He says with a chuckle. "You do?" I ask, surprised by that mentality. I don't understand how being bored could lead to better trains of thought. "It's simple! If you know what you're doing, then you don't need to focus on it! Like... here, take a listen!" He picks up the guitar and starts to strum away. He closes his eyes and strings together a pattern of chords I've never heard before. It a little choppy, but he's playing into that. There aren't any mistakes because he's making it up as he goes. Watching him play and listening to him master this new sound puts a smile on more face. "Wow..." I mutter as he finishes his song. "I've been playin' so long that I don't need to know how to put the chords together. I know where my hooves need to be at all time. So I don't need to focus on that. I just need to listen in my head and bring it out of muh guitar. You can do it too! Just, here. Take Orioles here and play something! Anything!" He passes me the guitar and I begin to panic. I don't want to break his guitar! It's so pretty and it's been in his family for so long! He even named it! "I-I don't know... I don't really know how to play anything good-" "Then play something bad!" He encourages me. I look down at the guitar before setting my hooves where they need to be. The guitar is almost as big as me, so it's a little difficult to do. "Okay... well, here's something I've been learning." I start to strum the guitar. Even though it still has a beautiful sound to it, I cringe a little from my poor hoof placement. I don't now how this entirely works with hooves, but it does. I have to fidget with my hooves and the guitar to get the placement right. And then when I do get it I struggle to strum correctly. I'm just trying to strum from the D chord to the C chord and then the G chord. But I'm not good at it, so it sounds terrible. "Set your hoof here." Amber Melody tells me, poking my hoof. I move it slightly and he keeps poking until I'm in the correct position. "There. Now, start strumming slow. Nice and easy. Let the guitar do the singin'." I follow his instructions. He's a good teacher. Maybe a little more forceful than Uncle Damian, but still good. We work together for a few minutes until I'm able to go through the chords without messing it up. When I make it through I give him an excited look and he just chuckles at me. "Well I'll be. You're a natural!" He compliments me. I beam with joy from that. I'm glad all those lessons are paying off. Even if I'm still not very good. "You see, sometimes we think we know that we're no good or too good for somethin'. Sometimes we just need someone to come along and show us how to fumble through things before they start to sound good. Skipping a grade, being bored in class, those aren't the thangs to worry about little guy! Just go with the flow and make the most of what ya get. Ya get what I'm saying?" "I think so. But... what if I don't get to see my friends?" He hums in response before holding out his hoof for the guitar. I pass it to him, though I am a little sad. It was a lot of fun to play. And he takes such good care of it, my hooves were gliding down the strings! "I mean, won't you still see them as much as you do now?" He asks as he strums lazily at the guitar. "I... guess?" I don't see why we wouldn't. "And isn't the whole point for you to make new friends?" He asks. "Well... yes." He's got a point. If I get into the same class and Rampant and Jet I don't know how much I'll actually interact with the other ponies. "So what's the actual issue?" He stops strumming and looks down to me. I think about it for a moment before I shake my head. I guess there isn't an issue after all. No matter where I go, it'll be better than just sitting at home. "I see what you're saying... thanks Mr. Melody." I tell him. He just nods to me and leans back. He starts playing with the same earnest as when I entered the room. I sit and listen for a bit. He's right. I've got nothing to fear coming to school! No matter what happens at least I'll be out of the house. And I doubt they'll put me in a class with ponies that are that much older than me! Perspective: Miles "Son, why don't you go check out the playground while we have a quick chat with Mrs. Cheerilee." I tell Tempestive. He looks to Luna before slowly leaving the room. We wait until we know he's out of ear shot before I shut the door with my magic. "Did Celestia put you up to this?" Luna asks, a bit if malice in her voice. Cheerilee starts to sweat as she shakes her head and waves her arms. "No! I promise you it's nothing like that! This was all the staff and I! We've known about him for some time now. We knew one day he'd be coming to school. We just always assumed that he would go straight to Canterlot-" "I assure you. If we wanted our son to go to Canterlot we would be sending him there." Luna tells her, trying her best to keep calm. But I can feel the energy growing within her. Her temper is getting the better of her right now. It always does when people try and tell us how to raise Tempestive. Though, that is a rarity in it of itself. I take a look at the schedule as she begins to berate Cheerilee. Monday, half day at Canterlot with afternoon tutors here in the school. It would seem they have several volunteers that have signed up to teach him. With some of the subjects being more elective type lessons. Art, music, stuff like that. Tuesday, half day in Ponyville with more tutoring. Wednesday, full day in Canterlot. Thursday, full day with tutors. Friday, full day at Ponyville. It's... not a bad list. We'd have to meet these tutors and clear them to be with Tempestive. And I think I'd have to set up some extra security at Canterlot to give the final okay. But... it's not bad. It's a bit more hectic than I was envisioning. But a strong schedule could do him some good. But it also seems that his tutoring would be longer than normal. We're looking at ten hour days for him. Doesn't leave much time for him to be a kid. But he still has the weekends. And the days at Ponyville will probably be too easy anyway. I'm sure we'll tweak a few things here and there. But... I'm not entirely against this plan. Plus, if he's spending time in Canterlot, then that means he'd be father away from them. So there's a small bonus there too. Hmm... "-right Miles!?" Luna says, pulling me in to her tirade. I look over to her before looking to Cheerilee. She looks like she's about to break. "I only have one question really." I tell her as I set the paper down. "Was this offered to Rampant Growth as well?" "... oh. Uh... not that I'm aware of." "Why not?" I ask, getting Luna to give her an accusatory look. Luna is not the biggest fan of Cheerilee. I think I know why, but I don't know how Luna knows that. I didn't tell her. Then again, she does talk to Fluttershy. That girl, quiet as ever until you start gossiping. "Well... to put it simply, he's not a member of the royal family. I mean, he is an... well, a you know what. But that doesn't afford him the same level of... what I mean to say is that there is no expectation of hi to rule the nation. Where as Timely will." I look over to Luna and think for a moment. She's mad, but still in control of herself enough to know that the gears in my head are turning. I think we're going to at the very least have a conversation about this. See what she actually thinks about this plan. But there's something else we need to discuss. "We're going to take this into consideration. For now let's just assume he's going to attend school here and leave it that." I tell her as I stand. Luna joins me and we leave the room without saying our goodbyes. We step out front and I take a look around to make sure the coast is clear. "So... I take it you like the plan." Luna says, looking away from me. "I do think there is some merit to a plan like that." I tell her as I look off in the direction she's staring off to. The town hall is just down the road. Twilights library is not too far off behind it. And far off into the distance is Canterlot. "But there's something else we need to worry about." "Oh?" She asks, looking back to me. I nod and check our surroundings once more. "We need to learn who is talking about our son as an alicorn."
Chapter 274 Lunas ChallengeChapter 274 Lunas Challenge Waking up late is not a feeling that I'm accustomed to. We spent most of yesterday getting paperwork finalized and tampering Tempestive's expectations. We almost suggested having him not go to school here. But he was adamant about starting. More so than usual. He really wants to go to school. I guess I can't blame the little guy. I can't imagine being stuck at home for so long. I roll over in bed and note that Luna isn't here. She must be in Canterlot by about now. What time is it even? I'm normally up by five, so I doubt it's that late. At least when I'm home that is. I look around and note how quiet the house is right now. Everyone else must be asleep still. I guess I can go for a morning run. I don't think anyone will be awake for another hour or so. I get out of bed and go through my usual morning routine. Brushing teeth, combing my coat, boring crap like that. I grab my phone and check the time. It's only five fifteen. I must have woken up before my alarm, damn internal clock. So much for sleeping in. I do a few quick stretches before stepping out of my room. The house is cold and as still as the morning. With the house being essentially built out of stone it keeps the heat out almost too well. So when it's cold and we don't run any heat it can get pretty frigid in here. Though, I've always preferred it cooler. Who doesn't like bundling up with family and lots of blankets? I peer into Shadow's half open door to see her curled under her blankets. Content, I close her door quietly and check on Tempestive's room. He's not a still sleeper. Never has been. I'm sure he started under the blankets like a normal person. But now they're on the floor and he's facing the wrong direction underneath two pillows. I stifle a chuckle and quietly step into his room. It's a bit hard to do so with his room so messy. Seeing his room like this though reminds me of Dolum. They're both slobs like that. It... hurts a little. To see so much of my friend now in my son. Two people I care for deeply echoing through one another. I'm sure I'm just seeing what I want to see. They're both just messy people. But... I don't know. I guess I just miss my friends. I tread lightly as I move the pillows and turn him around. I pull the blanket over his shoulders as he grumbles into a comfortable position. I watch him sleep for a moment. I don't know why or to what purpose. I just... I just needed to. He's growing up. We only get a few more years of him being a child. With how fast these ponies age up, we only get two, maybe three years of him being the rambunctious little colt. Ponies here are considered adults by thirteen. That's a number I can't wrap my head around, but it's true. That's when they finish developing. Maybe they grow for a few more years, fill out however they need to. But a thirteen year old is able to enlist, get married, drink, and make their own decisions. Meaning he'll be an adult in seven years. That's assuming that he continues to grow at a ponies pace that is. Who knows? Maybe he'll get stunted and follow a more human trajectory. I don't know how that would effect him though. Mentally at least. How would a society like this treat a late bloomer? A really late bloomer. Maybe I'm just getting to worked up. Everything is going to be fine. Besides, that's all in the not so near future. We still have today. I leave his room and head down stairs. Lupus and Hati are taking up the couch, barely registering my presence. They used to be my little shadows. Now they follow Tempestive around none stop. I'm actually surprised they're not in his room right now. I hear something sizzle in the kitchen and move to the dinning room. Looking over I see Luna hard at work getting breakfast ready. She must have left Canterlot early to get started. I smile and lean against the wall as I watch her work. She enjoys cooking. It's one of those things that she never really got to explore but was interested in. Castle staff always cooked for her before. And whenever she requested lessons, they were always for fancy multi step pieces. She just wanted to make normal stuff. Nothing too fancy. I tried to learn as well. But for whatever reason my magic never allowed it. Somehow it always finds a way to come alive and attack. Never found a reason for that beyond unlucky. But now she's at the point where she's got the basics mastered. Or, it seems that way to me at least. She's been learning more advanced meals recently. Nothing too crazy, according to her. I do my best to listen and understand, but it just goes way over my head. Though for her birthday last year I got her old texts from Pre-Purgian cooking. I didn't even know there were any! But, if you dig hard enough through the Core, you'll be surprised by what you find. "Enjoying the show?" Luna asks from the stove as she uses the pan to flip some cut up spuds. "Yes. Absolutely. Ten out of ten, would marry again." I tell her, making her chuckle. "Oh yeah? Should I divorce you and take half your stuff then?" I shake my head and start to approach her. "Because I'd really like some of than enchanting equipment you've got stored away." "Mmm... promise to stay with me and I'll just make you an enchanting lodge." I tell her as I saddle up next to her. She leans against me nuzzles into my side. "I guess I can be persuaded to stay." We each chuckle before I lean in to give her a kiss on the cheek. She hums in satisfaction, smiling up to me. "Good morning my love." We chat a little as I set up the table. Having her here I decided to forgo the run. At least for now. She started an investigation from Canterlot into whoever is leaking information about Tempestive. As mad as we are about this, we're not surprised. It was only a matter of time before people started talking. It might not have even been intentional. It could have just come up in conversation somehow. But, that's optimistic thinking. Breakfast came and went too quickly. I woke the kids up, got them to the table and we had a nice morning together. Tempestive was doing most of the talking, but that's fine by the rest of us. He's just really excited to start school. Shadow asked if she could go to the Apples farm today. She wants to talk with her friends at their little hideout. But with them at school she'd just like to private time before they meet up. Didn't see any harm in that. Besides, we're going to be out of the house for a while anyway. Tempestive needs to take some test at the school before the year starts. Just to get an accurate score of his academics and all. Plus they have some papers on the various tutors that they'd like to run by us. Just so we can clear them. But as we were heading out Luna stopped me at the door. "What's up?" I ask her as she sets a hoof on my chest. She leans in and plants a small kiss on my lips before pushing me back in softly. "You are going to stay in this house for today, okay?" She tells me as she pushes me back into the main entrance. "What? But what about the tutors-" "Do you trust me to handle that?" She asks seriously, throwing me for a loop. "Well... yeah." She smiles up to me and gives me another kiss. But I'm too lost to fully understand what's going on. "Good. Then be a good boy and stay home. You are here to rest Miles. I can handle the family stuff. Doctors orders." I stare at her before I start to laugh a little. "Luna, I can go sit in meetings and read papers-" "Miles." She cuts me off. I scoff a little as she stares up at me with an expecting look. I know the look all too well though. It's the kind of look that tells me that she's determined the outcome for this all ready. "Luna." I complain. "I-I can't stay home and do... nothing! What? Am I supposed to just sit on the couch all day?" She smirks to me, as if to say yes. "Dad isn't coming?" Tempestive asks from behind. "No dear." Luna answers before I could say anything further. "But he'll be home when we're done. And if we're all good, maybe we'll get a special treat later on." I raise an eyebrow to her. But she just smiles and tilts her head to me. I'm pretty sure I know what that means... but I've been wrong before. But am I really going to be bribed with head? ... yeah. Actually, thinking on it, yes I am. "Okay then, I'll be here then." I tell her as I take a step back. She smiles more genuinely and gives me a quick hug. "Read the journal in my dresser while we're gone." She whispers to me before kissing my cheek and breaking off the hug. She turns and walks away, talking to Tempestive as they go. He's running ahead, too excited to notice how we're acting. Luna looks over her shoulder to wink at me. Swaying her tail to the side to give me a little preview before closing the door with her magic. ... ... ... I turn and rush back up the stairs. What the fuck does she have planned!? I practically tackle the bedroom door before barreling towards her dresser. Sure enough her journal is sitting right on top with several slips of numbered papers sticking out. I flip it open and begin to read. To my dearest husband, I know how hard this is going to be for you. It's not like you to sit idly by and do nothing. You're a man of action. And sitting at home isn't something that you're good at. It's something that I've always admired about you. That tenacity to keep moving forward and constantly trying to improve yourself. But now I need you to rest. I need you to recover. And I know how focused you are, especially when there's a goal in mind. Since we've decided to start trying again, what better motivator than passionate nights together? So this is going to be my little challenge for you. On the next page is my heat cycle. If you're a good boy and get plenty of rest we'll be taking small vacations together. Just you... and me. All the arrangements will be made before, do not worry about any of that. Just follow the doctors orders and behave as best you can, and you'll get to pick one of these vacations. And even though this is for your health, I couldn't help but throw a few in there that I've also been interested in. And if you're interested in anything yourself then feel free to add them as well. As long as you're making good progress and getting plenty of rest anything goes. Anything. I close the book and take a deep breath. If I can just relax for a month then we'll go out for a week to fuck like wild animals. That is... probably the greatest goal I can think of. And she said anything goes... she even doubled down on it... I have to couch my eagerness down as I open the journal back up. Getting too worked up with no outlet is a recipe for disaster. She has five plans set out. Let's see what's she's been thinking about. Vacation one: Misty Vale Island. Apparently there are hundreds of islands dotting the Pond between Equestria and the Isle. Somewhere in the middle there is a large deserted island that she and Celestia use for their getaways. It's essentially just a camping trip on a small forested island without a soul in hundreds of kilometers. She's also noted that she'd 'like to be tamed as the beast of old.' I think she means that we'd fuck out in the open... which sounds hot. Vacation two: High Roller Suite. There are several fancy casinos that she's always been interested in. But obviously two alicorn monarchs can't just waltz right in. So she'd like to get some enchantments to disguise us and we'd go in there as 'normal' people. She wants us to go fully into some made up characters that she's already made up. She's be the... What the fuck Luna? She's the trophy girlfriend that stole a married stallion away. We have... what sounds almost... no, okay. It seems like she wants me to play the part of some playboy royal while she's some nobody girl that's his personal fuck toy. I'm supposed to flaunt her around and... well, the sex parts she describes is fairly sexy. I just don't know how degrading I can be towards her... Wait a minute. I set the journal down and check the closet for her secret book collection. A couple years back Luna, Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy formed some secret book club together so they could read trashy sex filled romance novels. I think she's pulling from one of those books. I pull out her secret stash and flip through them. Sure enough, there it is. Same title too. High Roller Suite. She wants to relive this made up story? ... Well... if it's for her fantasy, I guess I'll have to do my homework then. I leave the box of books out and go back to the journal. I'll see what the rest say and try to find the books that correlate to them. As much as she's trying to bribe me to rest and whatnot, I want her to have a good time too. And I'm going to have a lot of down time anyway. With my plan in motion, I go to the next plan. Vacation three-X: Daring Hero. I read this one through and have to read it over again to make sure that it's actually what she wants to do. Apparently she's a little jealous that she hasn't seen all of the former Terradisian cities. So she wants just the two of us to gear up and explore them. Obviously not certain ones, like Emerald. But she's not opposed to ones like Quartz Crest or Jasper. I... don't know how to feel about that. On the one hand, she talks about wanting to see Terradisia so she can learn first hand what my culture was. She wants to get a chance to fight side by side with me. But she also acknowledges how hypocritical it would be for us to go. I'm supposed to rest and relax. Not dive head first into unwarranted battles. Though, between the two of us, I don't know how bad the actual fighting would be. Sure, places like Ruby Canyon and Jasper could give us some trouble. But most of them are actually fairly safe now. But I don't think those are the ones that she's interested in. I'll have to give that idea some extra thought. I'm sure at a later time it'll be more appealing. Shit, I might need it just to keep my combat edge. But for now it seems too dangerous and unnecessary. Vacation four: Coastal Cottages. This one actually interest me the most. Where the others are only set for a week or so at a time. This one is for an entire month! She wants us to set our disguises on and travel over the coasts of Equestria. Apparently there's this local vacation run that takes you from the northwest beaches all the way down to the peninsulas down south. If you're quick about it, you can make the journey in about five weeks. Assuming we fly most of it. This one is definitely the most tame. Much like how she wants to travel to see my culture, she would like for me to do the same for Equestria. And honestly it seems the most fun out of them. Mostly because she knows how much I love going to the beach so this is basically a massive beach vacation. And if we use our magic, we can either extend our stays at whatever inn we're at or travel even father. We are one hundred percent doing this one. No doubt about that. Vacation five: Old World Rule. The last one here makes me laugh a little. Mostly because I'm starting to think that my wife has some sort of need to go and fight something. She wants us to do an excursion into the Everfree and find one of her old castles. There's not a lot to this one. We'd find the castle, camp out there, and presumably test if the foundations still hold. I mean... this one doesn't seem too complicated. The Everfree can be dangerous, sure. But... I don't know how dangerous it'll be for two alicorns. I go through and read them all again. I honestly can't see us not doing any of these. Even with my reservations about the old cities, there's still several we can go to that aren't bad. If anything, I'm more worried about going on one and getting her on the first try. So with that in mind, I definitely want to do the beach journey together. Get the most out of our time out of the way and all. I set the journal down and start to go through all of the books she has. I've read maybe two of these before. Then I got in trouble for teasing Luna about the silly scenarios and over embellished writing. It's just not my cup of tea. But now I need to read a few of them to help me understand what her expectations are. I guess I could also ask someone for some advice. But... I'll save that for later. I find a few books that I think are the right fits and set them in my dresser. After hiding her stash back in the closest I take the journal and start to read it over again. She certainly has a particular... taste. When it comes to these things. I guess I really am vanilla, as she puts it. I knew she was more... adventurous, when it came to these things. But having her ideas written out like that. But I'm up for a challenge. I mean, that's the goal with all of this, right? Well, I guess not. The goal is to get better. But I don't even know what that entails! I've never really had to delve into my own mental health before. I mean, I can guess a few things here and there that are issues. But what soldier doesn't have these issues? I roll over and look out the window. I can see the edge of the Everfree winding its way down to Sweet Apple Acres. I watch the trees sway to the wind and push back against the force. It's not too windy today. But it's enough to draw my attention out there. The way nature pushes against that wild magical force. I've grown to love the Everfree over the years. Despite all of the wild magics happening in there, all the massive terrifying creatures, it's still a beautiful place to behold. One moment you can be chased down by a massive hydra and suddenly you've found yourself next to a small pony with mystical properties. It's an adventure every time we go there. Maybe the adventure for Lunas old castle would be a good one to start with. I mean, how likely are we even to find it? The Everfree has a way with hiding its secrets. We might not even find anything worth noting while in there. But at the same time, we might find something much more impressive. Old ruins. Mystical wonders. Hidden tribes maybe! But the danger is there as well. So maybe taking the beach route would be better. Plus it'll be an entire month of just the two of us. Not that we're tired of parenting or anything like that. But, truth be told, we didn't really get a chance to date properly before Tempestive was born. We had a few months together. But we were married and expecting within a year of me coming to Equestria. Time flies when you're looking back. But in that year I had so many adventures. And so many of them didn't include Luna. I can see why she'd want to have that now. After a second child, I don't know how likely we'll be to do something like that ever again. It's going to be a pain this time I'm sure. Maybe the risk is worth the reward? I also can't help but wanting to give her everything she desires. So I know I'm being biased, but who wouldn't when it's their love? The casino one kind of scares me the most. It's definitely the one that's more geared towards her desires for sure. But I'm not sure I can do that sort of thing for her. I just don't know what to do. I'm sure reading the book will give me some insight. But there are things that I just know nothing about that she wants to try. I just don't want to hurt her. And I have no clue who... wait. No, I guess I do know who to ask. But not Rarity, she gossips too much. Twilights out too. I... just, no. That leaves Fluttershy… I have no idea how that conversation would go. But then that leaves the island. It definitely seems like it could be fun. Kind of a mix between the Everfree and beach options. I just wonder how that would actually work out? Would we need to bring all of the supplies? The way she worded it all made it sound as if she wants to rough it out there. But... I just don't think Luna really knows what that entails. I love her, but she is not the roughing it kind of girl. So balancing her desire for the natural atmosphere while making sure she's comfortable out there seems like a tough balancing act. Truth be told, I think we'll end up trying them all. At least until we know she's pregnant. There's no reason not to. It's just a matter of picking an order and hoping it works out. She also said if I wanted to add anything then I should. Which is Luna talk for these are the ones I want, please add what you'd like too. What would I want to do for a vacation for just the two of us? That's a tough one. Honestly, I think she nailed them all. But I know she wants me to add at least one of my own. That's going to be a challenge. I just don't have the imagination for this kind of thing. Maybe after reading those books then I'd get some ideas... Or I can see of the Core has any and take it from there. She's read Equestria romance novels, there has to be Terradisian equivalences! I pull up my phone to check the time. I feel like I've been at this for at least an hour. Maybe even two! Yeah, I can get through this all no problem! It's seven. I've been thinking on this for maybe ten minutes. I might actually explode at this rate... well. Time to get reading then. I've literally got nothing else to do.
Chapter 275 What is Love?Chapter 275 What is Love? One day. It has been an entire day. Twelve... long... excruciating hours. Lunas books I found to read were only one, maybe two hour long reads. Or, it felt like that at least. Most weren't that long. Maybe an average of two hundred pages or so. But then I went and checked Terradisian literature. I found an entire trove of trashy romance books in the Core. But I had to stop when I saw there were tags with my name... along with all of my friends. Almost burned the whole thing down when I noticed that most of them were with me mixing with my male friends. I remember now why I stayed off the internet. It's not a place to be when people have seen you naked. I have been pacing around the house trying to find something to do! Anything at this point! I've cleaned! I organized all of the closets and pantries! I did all of the laundry and folded it away as if I was waiting for barracks inspection! I cleaned again for good measure! Shadows bedroom, cleaned. Tempestive's room, cleaned and organized. I even took some toys that I know he doesn't play with anymore and set them aside to be donated. Every window has been polished. There isn't a single speck of dust in this entire house! I even did some yard work. The grass in the back has been trimmed. I knocked down an old tree to cut it up for wood. I even started cleaning up within the tree line before I had to force myself to stop. I don't think I'm allowed to use this much magic. But there is nothing left for me to do around the house! I even spent some time on my phone. I never spend time on my phone! Not that there was much to do on it. Any apps that could be entertaining require other people to interact with. And since the only other person with a phone is Luna, that doesn't really work out. I thought about going into town to just walk the stalls. But Luna told me to wait here. And, I guess she has a point. Ponyville has a way of throwing trouble my way. So I just took a nap. Then I was on the couch again. Went to the dinning room for a bit... Started doing some minor work in the foyer. Mostly reorganizing the pictures there. There was a bird at the window for a minute. It was a pretty bird. I think they're called crows? No, that's not right. Those are the black ones. This one was small and brown... I might die tomorrow. I thought about taking Lupus and Hati for a walk, but I can't seem to find them at the moment. I didn't think much of it at first. But now... what if they're lost? Or injured!? I should really go looking for them! Just in case something happened to them! It's for their safety after all. Click I nearly throw myself off the couch when I hear the front door open. I race over to see what's going on when Lupus and Hati come running in. They jump onto me and try to lick my face while growling happily. Normally I try to stop that kind of behavior, but today I'll allow it... for them. "Good to see you're in one piece." Luna says as she walks in. She and Tempestive each have an ice cream cone floating in their magic. I try to move over to her, but Lupus is too eager to let me pass. "I see you cleaned the house too." "Yeah well, bleh! Lupus!" I have to push him back when he starts trying to lick my teeth. "It's been... a long day." "We got ice cream!" Tempestive announces, showing me his chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. His favorite flavor. "And we ran into friends of yours at the market!" "Friends of mine?" I ask as I step towards the door. I look out to see Shining Armor and Cadence standing there. They each have a smile on that tells me that this is more than a surprise visit. Clearly they're here for something from me. As to what, I have no clue. "Hello Miles!" Cadence says as she steps forward. She pulls me in for a hug and I just pat her back. She's the most hugging person I've ever met. It was awkward at first. But I've grown somewhat accustomed to it now. "It's so good to see you! We heard you had a bit of a hard time recently and wanted to come by to check up on you!" "Is that so?" I ask as we move apart. I give Luna a look as she just mouths an apology to me. "Miles." Shining says as we shake hooves. From between their legs their daughter Gleaming Shield rushes inside, barely saying hello before chasing Tempestive up to his room. "Hope we're not intruding." "... of course not." I tell him as I move to usher them inside. I wouldn't say that we have a bad relationship. Nothing negative like that. But we definitely had a rough start. Not to mention I've actively been a pain in Cadences side because of Ruby Canyon. Ruby Canyon. The soulless city as the locals of the Crystal Empire have grown to call it. With all of the undead within there it's a treasure trove of Terradisian technology. I've sent Spartans down there for equipment, weapons, practically anything they can get their hands on. But apparently there multiple ways into the city. Though the main crystal column is the easiest and safest, there are those that don't want prying eyes knowing of their activities. But most that avoid the light don't make it out alive. They've asked in the past to allow for entrance into the city. But I've always said no. I know they still send people down, but without me or any of my bots to teach them how to use the tech down there it's almost pointless to go. Almost. I wonder what's changed that they've come here to speak on it again? Luna guides us all to the dining room so we can share a table. I eye the two of them as we take our seats. I can see the rehearsals playing in their minds right now. I wonder how they're going to go about it this time. "So... how are you?" Cadence starts, trying not to step on any cracks. I shrug to her, thinking about the day. "Good, I guess. It's... difficult to do nothing. I mean, I read some six books today after cleaning the entire house! I don't know how to relax." I chuckle a little at that. But I'm the only one who finds it funny apparently. "That's rough buddy." Shining tells me, patting me on the back. I give a quizzical look to Luna before Cadence starts speaking again. "So! Miles. And Luna! Both of you! We were wondering, and of course you can say no! Obviously there's no obligations or anything like that! We were just thinking that it would be good, I mean, it could be good if- not that we're trying to tell you what you need to do!" "We'd never dream of that!" Shining interjects. "Of course not! But! We were talking and we had this idea-" "Well, it was more of a tangent from a previous conversation." Shining adds, getting Cadence to nod along. "Yeah! It was a silly really! But-" "Cadence." Luna says sternly, getting the two of them to lock up. "What is it you desire?" Luna and I share a glance before staring the two of them down. This is entirely new. Normally they don't have any problems broaching the subject. It's sort of a joke really. They ask, I offer a trade for territory, we each laugh it off. But this... this is something different. They share one last look before Cadence sighs and lets it out. "We were wondering if it would be okay for Tempestive to come visit the Crystal Empire in the future." The question surprises me. I honestly didn't think that was going to be their question. Why would they be so worked up over something like that? "Well... I think I speak for the both of us when I say that shouldn't be an issue. Given now that Miles's schedule has opened up I can't see that being a problem." I nod to Luna. That would also give me something to do! But when Shining and Cadence share a look, we wait for them to continue. What more could there be to this? "This is more than just a playdate." Shining explains. "We are also inviting Rampant Growth. We... well, there's no easy way to say this. But we're hoping that either of them will eventually court Gleaming Shield." Both mine and Lunas mouths drop from this. They want Tempestive to court their daughter!? I... I don't know how to take that. It's just nothing I ever thought about. Tempestive isn't even interested in girls yet. Or I don't think he is. He's only six! This isn't something that he should be worrying about... right? I mean, I know ponies age up faster than humans. But his mannerisms tell me that he's still just a kid! This feels... wrong almost. I look over to Luna and we're equally befuddled. She tries to say something, but it barely comes out as a squeak. "I know this is sudden!" Cadence breaks the silence, waving her arms to try and disarm the situation. "And we're not trying to do any match making! Nothing of that sort!" "Then please do explain because that's what it sounds like." Luna huffs, reaching over to hold my hoof. She's not taking this well. I guess that's still her little baby. The idea of marrying him off... I'm surprised she's still seated. "So... well... You see." Cadence starts, but she can't seem to find the right words. Shining rubs her back and take the lead. "There are two Alicorn males and one Alicorn female foals in the world." He starts, making Cadence drop her head to the table and cover herself with her arms. "Gleaming is half Alicorn. Let's not be coy about the subject. The likely hood that one of them ends up with Speaks Softly is high. But we'd like to try to continue the possibility of an Alicorn ruling the empire." "And we're not saying that they have too!" Cadence adds, popping back up with a flair of her wings. "We want them to fall in love with the pony of their choosing! We're not trying to force anything! But... well, how are they going to find love if they never meet? We'd like them to be friends and have that chance. Yes, there's a larger political part to it. But... eventually it'll always be political." "The prince of Equestria? Son of the Grand Captain? It's a powerful position." Shining tells us, closing his eyes to think on it. "Eventually people will know his status. And then what? Everypony will be after his attention and how will we know if it's for him or his position? Let's see if they find love before that happens. That's all we're asking." Luna and I stay silent as we think about it. They're not entirely wrong. We know one day the world will open up to him. He'll eventually have to come to terms of his lineage. But playing match maker? I don't know. It feels wrong to me. I know they're saying it's just for them to have a chance. Start them off as friends and see what happens from there. But we know what's really going on. And how do we know they're not going to try and tip the scales? But he brings up a good point. Species wise, there's not a lot of options out there for him. I've joked in the past about whose son would end up with Speaks Softly. But I've always thought of it as a joke. I never put it in a framework of them being... I don't know! Betrothed? Like Dolum and Auxy? They were arranged to be married. And they were the happiest couple I knew! So I know it can work out. But... with my own son? I don't know how if I can do that to him. I guess if I put some thought to it I would imagine he would love who he loves. I don't know who or when that'll be. But... I can see their point of view. But my concerns as his father are telling me that I shouldn't try and push him in a certain direction. Not when it comes to matters of his heart. But... then what are we really risking? If he loves her, then who am I to stand in the way of that? Not to mention I don't think it would be a bad choice. I'm sure she's a good kid and all... BUT THEY'RE STILL KIDS! "While I can see where you're coming from... I have concerns." I tell them slowly. I can tell Luna is still racing through a thousand thoughts. She's still trying to wrap her mind around the prospect. "Of course! And we'll answer any and every question you have!" Cadence assures me. I go to ask something, but then a thought occurs. "Cadence. In your words, how do you define love?" She recoils from the question. It wasn't what she was expecting, that much is clear. "As in... romance? Or do you mean-" "You are the princess of love, Cadence." I cut her off, taking a firm tone. "This is your specialty. I am asking you to define love. Whatever that needs to be or whatever it can be, tell me what is love." She looks to Shining who can only shrug back. Of all the things we could have asked them, this was not one they planned for. She thinks on it for a moment before she cracks a small smile. As if she remembered a found memory. She dwells on it for a second before she looks up to me to answer. Her confidence is at an all time high. The ball is in her court now. "Love... it's not something that can be easily defined. It's both the passionate moments that make you take the greatest of leaps and the more daring of challenges! But it's also those dull moments that pass quickly. Making breakfast. Folding the laundry. All those mineable things that make the day pass by." "Love isn't an emotion. It's... a feeling! Love for a person can be just as strong as love of... food! Or a nation! But it's not singular either! You can love two completely opposite things at the same time! Or love something one day, but then not the next. It ebbs and flows through all of us. Guides us through our lives and helps us become the person we're meant to be." "But it can also hinder us. Fall too deeply in love and you might blind yourself to a situation. Both good and bad. Sometimes it's a moment and others it's life defining. Love chooses and there's nothing we can do about how or when it occurs. Heh, it could occur right after appearing in a new foreign lands. Or it could happen in math class while in high school. Love is everywhere. And if we're lucky enough, we can catch onto it and bask in the warmth of its gentle arms. Love... is truly magical." Luna squeezes my hoof and I look to her. Whatever it was she was thinking, she's calmed now. I don't know how this will end. With any luck they're be good friends at the very least. Will they fall in love? I don't know. But I don't think it'll hurt to let him out more. Who knows? Maybe she's not the one. But doing this might set him on a course to find whoever the one is. It's impossible to say for certain. But I think this is a sign that we're at the point where we need to start letting him see the world. Perspective: Tempestive "So what are they talking about down there?" I ask Gleaming I sit on the edge of my bed. My ice cream is almost gone. But there's still enough that I don't want to risk any of it falling onto the floor. Gleaming is walking around my room inspecting everything. "They're just trying to work out a possible betrothal between us. Nothing new there." She tells me as she opens a drawer. I go to lick my dessert when I realize what she said. I slowly turn to her as the last bit of ice cream flops onto the floor. "What?" I mutter as she pulls out my clear ball. "Yeah. Well, something about alicorns and lineage. I dunno. I usually space out when they start talking about that kind of stuff. I was at some farm here in Ponyville last week too. But he talked too much for my liking. I guess you're a better choice, in my opinion at least." "... what?" I mutter again as I watch her bounce the ball around. "So we're probably going to be hanging out a lot soon. So... got any board games?" "... What!?"
Chapter 276 Lovers in the NightChapter 276 Lovers in the Night Perspective: Miles Cadence and Shining stayed for a while to work out some plans. We're going to visit later in the week to start things off. We told Tempestive about it, keeping the hopeful marriage parts to ourselves obviously. But he seemed too distracted about something else to really comment. Which was odd. Maybe he had brain freeze from the ice cream? Either way, we were still making plans for a while. Luna had to leave towards the end to go to work though. I felt bad for that though. She was up all day and now has to be up all night. I offered to go with her, but she declined. I'm not allowed to work in any capacity. Which she then teased with other favors, which I kindly and respectfully reminded her of todays favor. She just winked and stuck her tongue out at me. But now it's fairly late. Tempestive has been in bed for a while now. Shadow came home not too long after Cadence and Shining left. But she went to bed too. Barely said good night. And having basically done nothing all day, I have too much energy to sleep. So now I'm just laying on the roof staring up at the night sky. Is this what my week is going to look like? Forget the week, what about the month!? I know Luna has those plans for the end of the month... but I don't know if I'm going make it to then! And what happens if I fail her little challenge? Do we wait till the next month!? I know I should be able to handle this. Shit, I should consider myself lucky that I can afford to do this right now! Spartans don't take vacations! At least, I've never heard of them doing that. It's usually why Spartans try to have as many kids as possible. I know Auxy and Dolum were planning on three minimum. At least they had the one. Even if Auxy had to raise him alone... Okay! Not going down that line of thinking! Damn, all this free time somehow brings all that up. No wonder I keep busy constantly. I wonder what is was like for them out here? Having to give up everything you've ever known and braving this wild world... it must have been tough. But they clearly found a way to survive. Even thrive! They founded Roam! They contended with other regional powers and eventually assimilated with Equestria. I wonder if that's what my future has in store. I've never really thought about my future before. Not in a grand sense at least. It's always been about what I want Terradisia to become or what my role within Equestria will be. Even now I often think about the world in the sense of my children. How do I want to leave it for them? What sort of life will they have? But... it's all the stuff in between that's foreign to me. One day I'll have to step forward and say to the world that I am the King of Equestria. But the idea of doing that is... weird. It's just something that I never thought I'd have to do. I've always looked to the future as a Spartan. What would I do for the Spartans? How would the Spartans act in a time like this? But then Luna and I got married and... I don't know. I guess I assumed my duties as a Spartan would somehow supersede everything else. And in a way they do. I guess I just never thought I'd follow in Ferrum Pugnus's footsteps. Ferrum Pugnus. Emperor of Terradisia. The Grand Captain of the Spartan regiment. I've heard him speak once. He even mentioned me in a memo once. I've seen him in the arena once too. He took on each of the captains from all of the cities at the same time. Wiped the floor with them. Susurrans Bellum didn't even stand a chance against him. And if I couldn't even get a hit on him... What chance do I have to avoid the fate that befell him? Maybe assimilation isn't the best path forward. But I guess it's not a perfect comparison. The situations are different enough. I wonder what he would think of all of this? It mirrors his life a little. A man from nothing rising through the ranks and marrying into royalty. It's crazy to think about. I hear a flash from behind and listen in. Someone just used the teleporter from Mooseden. I roll over and slowly rise as another flash makes my heart race. Two people are here now. I step slowly to the edge of the roof and peer over the edge. My heart drops when I see two Unfamiliar standing there. A female and a male. They're looking around to make sure the coast is clear. They're each wearing loose fitted clothing of dark purple with gold trim. They each also have gold jewelry in their white hair that clinks with each movement, though the female has much more. I almost jump off the roof to attack them. I could see it in my head. Jump down onto the male and blast the female into a tree away from the house. They haven't noticed me yet. It wouldn't be hard. They're unarmored. Weaponless. But when they giggled and leaned in to kiss... I just couldn't. Taking a moment longer to watch them... they're just kids. Teenagers probably. They're just sneaking off to do dumb kid stuff. And... I almost killed them for it. The man takes the girls hand and they start to sneak off. And I follow after them. Unsure of where they're going. The male seems to leading the two of them. How could he know where he's going? wherever it is, it's somewhere within the Everfree. I look around before taking to the air. I don't want them to know that I'm here. But... I have to know what they're doing. I can't just let them go. They start to run into the forest and I chase after them. But they're not running in fear. They're elated to be out here. Clearly they don't know where they are or what dangers are out there. The two of them eventually make it to a small clearing where some moonlight lights up the small patch of grass. I land on a large branch high up to watch over them. The male sits the female down and starts to set something up around her. She's all smiles. Overjoyed by whatever antics he's getting up to. He's marking the ground in a few locations. But the symbols are alien to me. When he's done he stands before her and looks down in preparation. When he does this the girl looks almost shocked. He's just standing there, hands balled up, staring at the ground. But... it almost brings a tear to her eyes. I jump a little when he snaps to a pose. I thought he was going to... attack? I don't know. I feel my heart race as I watch him. I don't know what he's doing. He's squatted down and has his arms help out to one side. It looks as if he's getting ready to fight, but lower. He snaps to another pose. Stepping forward and bringing his hands in to set over his gut. I watch intently as he moves again and again. Each time stepping around the girl. Each step he strikes another pose. They're somewhere between a dance and fighting stances. They're mostly low profile stances too. The girl is watching intently, having moved to sit on her heels. She's holding herself in a perfect posture, hands resting on her lap. I think I have a clue as to what's going on here. Fluttershy has talked about something similar to this. There are certain animals that have rituals or performances to attract mates. This feels like that. But judging by the tears rolling down the girls face I also guess this is some marriage proposal. Or, something similar to that at least. The male makes it behind the female and returns to his starting stance. But this time he's facing away from the girl. There's a long pause as she sits there. She looks as if she's thinking to herself. I can see the nervousness in the males stance. I guess this is the part where she either accepts or rejects him. She takes a deep breath and with great dexterity snaps up to stand. Now they're both in the same stance facing away from each other. I lean in to watch them more closely. Something seems... off. I can't quite figure out what it is though. Something just feels... wrong. In almost perfect unison they each step to the side and take their next stance. Then the next. The dance from before continues. But this time the girl is matching him step for step. But they never look to one another. I think they have their eyes closed actually, but I'm not certain of that. As they move around each other they pick up the pace. Each stance is followed up with another step and the following stance. It looks like it's a twelve step set, if the first run through is anything to go by. When they near the end they suddenly snap back and start to reverse their stances. The dance continues as they near the end just to reverse once more. How long are they going to do this? What could the stances possibly mean? I watch them move back and forth slowly working up a sweat as they put everything into every pose and movement. It's almost like they're waiting for something to happen. As if there's going to be some change between them or maybe one of them will mess something up? I can't tell. As I watch them I notice something in the shadows move. I watch the figure circle around the two of them as they continue their dance until it coils around a tree. I've heard Dust Devil talk about this kind of creature before. The base creature can be anything. This one looks as if it's a basilisk or large lizard type monster. But it has a much longer body and dozens of extra legs and heads protruding from its body. A Limb-Jacker. It's a parasite that embeds itself into any creature and forces it to mutate and grow multiple limbs. As they grow it lays it eggs throughout the body so their larvae can devour the creature. Hence the extra limbs. It forces a chemical into the brain that drives the creature insane and seeks out anything to eat. With each kill they can grow even more limbs, depending on whatever it kills. This one looks like it's been infected for a long time. The Limb-Jacker must have gotten a lucky host. I watch it coil around the tree as it watches the two of them continue their dance. They're too involved with their ritual to notice the creature sizing them up. It twitches and locks its three heads onto the couple. Its coiling up to strike, each head locked onto a target. It lunges out at the couple with each mouth agape. Hundreds of dagger like teeth ready to rip them limb from limb. I teleport in between the two of them and throw up a shield. It crashes against the wall and tries to ripe it apart as its body begins to excrete a thick substance all over itself. "Get out of here!" I yell to the others as I charge up my horn. I drop the shield and blast the creature right in its chest. I put enough force to send it reeling back. I thought it landed on its back, but apparently the extra limbs are more useful than anticipated. It rises up and turns to face me. It hisses out as it starts to circle. I move opposite of it, tying to remember what Dust told me about these things. I know I'm forgetting something. But for the life of me I can't remember! It lunges at me again and I blast it back. I tried to put more energy into the attack, but I don't see any difference in the damage. And again it looks as if it's knocked on its back but the extra limbs work as well as any of the other. With a angry roar it lunges for me again. I put a shield up to block but it grabs a hold of it and tries to climb over. I snap my wings to fly out of the way of the next lunging attack. But as I turn I notice the two from before cowering by a tree directly in the path of the creature. In mere seconds I realize that it wasn't attacking me. It's going to take them and run off. Better to take what you can then fight. I... don't think. Instinct kicked in and made the choice for me. In hindsight I should have just teleported them to me. But it's not a spell that I'm accustomed to using. So instead I manipulated the earth to create a small dome over the two of them. The basilisk bites onto the dome but I move it down through the ground. The creature turns and growls at me as the dome breaks through the ground behind me. I can't leave them in there long. So I need to end this soon or chance them suffocating. It charges once more. This time I bring a section of the ground up and try to stab into its chest. The dirt column stabs in and breaks off as the massive monster comes crashing down towards me. I have to use the same spell to push myself up and fly high into the air to dodge. The creature bites and pushes its weight into the column to tear it apart. Dust billows out around as it continues through towards the dome. I split my magic to twin cast two spells. I take the dome and manipulate the earthworks to move it away from the creature as I send down a beam of energy down the back of the creature. The beam catches it in the shoulder and burns through half its body. I drop to the ground and bring the dome behind myself before spinning the earth around to release the two Unfamiliar. The two of them are panting as they're trying to figure out what's going on. The beast groans as it tries to walk away. But half the body falls one way while the other collapses. I let out a breath of relief as I turn back to the others. We lucked out with that one. Some of those were pretty close. I go to say something but stop when the girl slowly raises a hand to point behind me. I turn around as countless shoe sized worms start to wiggle and reach out of the large cut. The bodies starts to convulse as they each start to stand up. Now there's two of them, one of them having two heads. "Ffffuck." I mutter as they both slowly turn and howl at me. They charge while moving to out flank me. I flair my wings up and start to back away as I go wild with spells. One gets blasted back with the next one gets a stone slab to the face. I only have a few spells transferred over to my alicorn form, so this is going to have to work. The blast are able to stagger them back, but it's not hurting them at all. The stone seems to hurt them, or at the very least damage them. But it's slower moving. So they can climb over and keep moving towards me. It's a head to head for pushing. The creature is trying to push through my spells while I'm trying to keep it back. But I can feel myself starting to strain for the spells. I glance back to see what the others are doing. The two Unfamiliar are too scared to do anything right now. I have to push this fight away from them before they become an obstacle. I try to blast the single headed basilisk, but it manages to grip the ground and hold its position. I try to bring a slab up in front of the two headed one, but I wasn't expecting the first to be this close. I go to jump into the air to get away, but the one headed one leaps to me and manages to swipe my side just as I get airborne. I twist in the air and slam right into a branch. I black out for a moment. Just long enough to fall to the ground. I wake up as I roll off the root base. I watch as the two headed monster lunges for the two kids and I feel all of the energy within me rush forward. Layers of energy radiate from my horn as I yell out to them. I try to reach out for them, but instead the ground erupts as multiple earthen hands break from the ground and start to grab hold of the monster. I start to rise as more and more hands reach high into the air before balling up and punching the two headed creature into the ground. I can feel the energy coursing through my body like never before. I've maxed my magic before, and it's always felt as if I was adding more and more weight to my chest. But this... this feels like the weights being lifted. As if this is what I'm supposed to be. The one headed basilisk appears to my side mid charge. But all I have to do is look towards it and dozens of stone spikes skewer it in place. It twists and contorts as it tries to break free, the slimy substances from its hide sloshing all over. But I keep stabbing the thing as I stare at it. I... don't know how to explain it. I don't feel like I'm casting the spells anymore. It's more like I'm thinking and it's happening. I look to the creature as it tries to reach out to me. The eyes are dead. Have been for a long time now. The creatures inside are the ones trying to kill me. They're the ones trying to win this fight, regardless of what happens to their host. I can't leave the body like this. They need to be dealt with. I stop skewering with the earth and start grabbing tree branches from all over. Each one flings through the air and pierces the creature. Each one that stabs into its body I immediately ignite it. I can hear the creatures inside the dead monster screeching out from the heat. They've finally realized its over. I don't stop. Any and every movement is met with a flaming tree branches and stone fists. I'm going to burn or bury these creatures. They won't be able to hurt anyone else. Not while I'm here. Only when I feel the heat from the fire start to burn at my face do I finally come back to reality. I have to blink a few times as I stare at the massive fire. It snaps and crackles as the limb-jackers hiss and cook from the heat. I know I did that... but it feels as if someone else was in control. But not Corpus Glacius. Nor Soul Fire. This was... something else. A twig snaps and I look to the side. The two Unfamiliar are trying to sneak away. But... something is off. My point of view is higher than normal. I shouldn't be looking down at them like this. My head starts to spin as I feel a burning sensation on my side. I stagger a bit as I try to get my faculties under control. It's not the worst migraine I've ever had. But it's enough to force my eyes shut for a moment. I hear a voice in the distance as I try to force my eyes open. But it's a little too difficult at the moment. "Miles!?" Aw fuck... "Luna... hey!" I respond as I look in her general direction and try to smile. I try to look at her, but all of the light forces my eyes shut again. I assume I look crazy, so I try to get ahead of everything. "Um... I can explain!" "Miles?" She asks again, stepping closer. "You see! Uh... the two idiot love birds there appeared by the house and ran out here like the little dumb fucks they are! So... I followed them. And then this thing attacked and... yeah." Well... I just fucked her little challenge. So much for the month long vacation of sex-capades and travel. What the fuck am I going to do with myself for the next two months!? "Miles... oh my god!" ... Okay, wasn't expecting her to sound thirsty. "Sorry, I've got a bit of a migraine so..." I stop talking when I feel her take hold of my face. She feels my cheeks before working down my neck and feeling over my chest. I tilt my head in confusion as she moves over to my side. "What's going on?" "Miles... you're- Miles you're injured!" She rushes to my side and starts to heal me. As she does this I feel a throbbing pain from my side start to slowly ebb away. I honestly didn't know I was injured that much. Probably explains the headache. "Sorry... Yeah, I guess I could use more training to use alicorn magic." I try to joke, but my head is spinning too much. "You're lucky I came home and heard the fighting! If I was any later this acid would have done some serious damage!" "Acid?" I ask as I try to look at hear. But my side protests from the movement. I start to get a little panicked from that. "Should I sit down? How bad is it? Should we head back home to work on it!?" "Easy there big guy." She tells me as she moves to my other side to check for more wounds. "Just stay still and you'll... be good as new... How... how do you feel?" Her question confuses me for a moment. I try to get a read on myself before shrugging. "Honestly, I didn't even notice the wound. My heads spinning from the migraine... why?" I can hear her trying to find the words. She's somewhere between worried and impressed. "Well... try to take a look now. It'll be easier that way." I take a few breathes- FLASH -as I try to relax. Thanks to her healing I do feel much better. I think it was just the adrenaline from the fight plus the acid making my head spin. But now I feel as good as new! I look back to myself and try to see what she's talking about. Nope. Nothing new to me. Same emerald coat. Same two wings. Same ethereal black hair with strands of white racing through it. Same Spartan logo cutie mark. "I don't get it." I say as I look back to her. She's staring at me slack jawed. I look around to try and find if it was something around me, but I can't see anything out of the ordinary... aside from maybe the massive pit fire I've made. I look behind myself to see the two people from before standing there. They clearly don't know what to do. I should drag them back and make sure everyone knows how dumb their actions were. But... I look back to Luna as she pulls my wing out to inspect it. I can't stop thinking about what they were doing before. Yeah, they were being idiotic. But I don't want to ruin the evening of their proposal. Plus Luna is here. She's already worried about my fighting. Is there really anything to be gained from this? "Hey, dumb and dumber!" I call out to them. They look to each other before the male points to himself. "Go home." "..." They look to each other before shaking their heads to me. They don't speak English, great. I guess I should have guessed that. "GO! HOME!" I yell at them, slowly. I point back to the teleporter and try to motion for them to leave. They share another look before slowly walking away. They stop to say something, but stop when I give them a look. There's nothing we can say to each other that we'd understand anyway. No need to waste any more words. "So... did you come out here to save them?" Luna asks as I watch them leave. We're too far to see the teleporter, so we'll need to head out as soon as Luna is done to make sure they don't try anything stupid. "Well... being completely forthcoming, I almost killed them the moment they appeared." I tell her. I try to avoid her gaze as I go through the next part though. I don't know why though. Something about it just... feels off. "They appeared and I watched them for a moment. And... when they kissed... I don't know. I realized they were just dumb kids sneaking off to do dumb kid things." "And then I followed them as they came out here. They started doing some ritual thing, I don't know what the point was though. Maybe they were about to fuck, maybe it was a marriage proposal, who knows. But that's when the limb-jacker attacked. And then... yeah. You can guess the rest." I sneak a peek at her as she finishes up the healing spell. She's... happy. Really happy actually. I'd almost say she looks proud. She glances up to me and looks away coyly when we make eye contact. "What?" I ask, relieved she's not mad at me. "It's just... you saved two Kroth." She tells me, smiling as she inspects where my wound was. "I... I guess I did." I know that's just what happened. But... I don't know! It doesn't feel like that's what I did. "So... you're not mad?" "Miles." She starts as she looks up and thinks over something. She's more than overjoyed about this. But there's a little something more to it than that. "There are many things that I love about you. You're bold. Honest. When you chose to be you're a very caring person. I love those aspects of you." "Oh... okay." I stumble over my words from the sudden compliments. This is not where I thought this conversation was going. I try to return the compliment but lose my voice when she turns her head and gives me her bedroom eyes. "But nothing is sexier to me than when you're the hero. Especially when it's about something that I wasn't expecting." "... oh." Well... okay then. Wasn't expecting that but not missing this opportunity either! "Wanna... get out of here?" "Yes I do. But you need to shower first... or during?" I nod enthusiastically to her, getting a light chuckle in response. I practically fall over myself as I follow her towards the house. Of all the things that were going to happen tonight, this is about as far from expectation as possible. As I walk after her she glances over her shoulder and smiles as she quickens her pace. The smile grows on my face as I take the hint and start to give chase. We start off at a light trot. But soon enough we're running. And not long after that we're both in the air as we race towards the house. As we go I try to grab and nip at her, getting yelps and giggles from her as we play our little game. With every laugh and each glance back I can feel my eagerness grow. The excitement between us driving our need to get home deeper and deeper. It doesn't take long for the house come into view. Which only drives us to quicken our pace. Luna lands at the back door but I land just over her, mounting her to pull her in for a bear hug. She laughs as I start to kiss all along her neck, nearly toppling over as she tries to get the door open. I press a hoof to the door and start to nibble on her ear, getting her to squeal in excitement. "Not in there." I whisper into her ear and I lift her up and point us towards my shed. "I don't want anyone hearing us." "Good." She tells me in a husky voice. I release her and she starts to trot off. I take a deep breath as I watch her go. She looks back and moves her tail out of the way, flashing her pussy before covering back up. I rush over to her as she turns around and moves to dodge me. She keeps moving towards the shed as I try to get behind her, but she's keeping my prize from me. The playful look on her face only making me more eager. When she bumps against the wall of the shed I rush in and lift her up, a shrill of laughter erupting from her as I pin her against the wall. I kiss her along her neck and the base of the jaw as she bites my ear to nibble on. I lift her up and squeeze my hooves into her supple ass as she reaches behind to hold onto me. I look down and see the key pad. I try to enter the code, but Luna pulls my ear with her mouth and makes me mess it up. "Come on, open up already." She teases into my ear as she squeezes against me and grinds her hips against my cock. I chuckle as I try again to put the code in. But she bites onto my ear to pull away and squeezes my cock in her magic. "Fucking tease!" I growl back, getting a chuckle out of her as she reaches up to move my head to look at her. She plants a kiss right on my lips as she hugs me tightly, still squeezing my member tightly. "I want you in my mouth." She whispers as I continue to kiss her. Determined, I look to the key pad and press the code as if my life depended on it. The door buzzes open and we almost trip over each other as we rush in. I barely have the head space to remember to close the door. We laugh more as we continue to kiss one another as we stumble down the stairs. When we make it to the base of the stairs Luna starts to run off towards the wash area. I chase after her but pause when I think of something. I look around the room and check to make sure there's no one here. I feel like I'm forgetting something, but I can't seem to put my finger on it. I shake my head and run after Luna. Whatever it is, it can wait. When I enter the washroom Luna is already starting the shower. The washroom in my shed isn't anything special. The shower is meant for a single human to stand in. The two of us are going to be fairly cramped in there, but I guess that's the point. As she reaches in to check the water I grab the base of her tail and move it aside. I lean in and start to lap up her slit, getting excited yelps of surprise from her. She widens her stand and rotates her hip to present herself more. Inviting me in. It doesn't matter how often we've done this before, it's still as exciting as the first time we did it. The only difference now is experience. I love getting her worked up to the point she just assumes the position. I love pleasing her in every possible way I can. At first we were just impassioned and eager. But now that we've been together as long as we have, I know what she likes. I know how to turn up the pressure. I know she loves it when I suck her clit into my mouth and dance my tongue around it. Nothing too aggressive. Just enough to get most of it in to move my tongue in firm, slow circles. All while sucking ever so slightly. Just enough to elicit a noise or two from her. That's when I push her clit back out only to suck it back in and start all over again. All the while I run my hooves all over her backside. Up and down her ass. Gently all along her legs before pulling her tail up and out of the way. She loves the touch and feel of this experience. I could just suck her off and she'd get there. But when I put my hooves all over her and practically worship her body it makes her melt beneath me. Maybe a firm spank here or there. Maybe take a moment to slip my tongue in and get a good taste. But each movement has to lead to the next. Never sit at any one thing for too long. And never repeat one action too many times. Just as she starts to moan consistently she pulls away from me. She starts tossing off her jewelry as she backs into the shower. Her ethereal hair weighing down with the falling water as she backs into the corner. She stares back at me with those beautiful, hungry, watery sapphire eyes before smiling. She motions for me to join her, and I oblige. The water is warm and relaxing. It washes away the cold of the night and eases any worries that I could have had. I have to sit so we both can fit. But that's okay. I move to pull Luna onto my lap, but she pushes my back against the wall. She stands over me and look down, water washing over her form. She leans down to kiss me before kissing my cheek... Then my neck... Then my chest... I lean back as much as possible as she kisses my lower abdomen. She makes sure that my cock is sliding right against her face as she lowers herself further and further down my body. My cock twitches in enjoyment as she takes a hoof and starts to slowly stroke me in tandem. When she makes it to the base she plants a firm kiss against it before dragging her lips all the way up towards the tip. I unintentionally hold my breath from the feeling of her soft lips against me. We make eye contact when she makes it to the tip. She smirks as she pulls away. I can feel myself thrust expectantly as she looks down and uses both hooves to toy at me. She looks up to me and smiles, making me smile back at her. "Everything okay?" I ask. "Yeah. I just... it's been a while since we've been this eager." She tells me, pulling my cock down and releasing it to have it bounce back up. "If you're not up for it we can skip it." I tell her, cupping her cheek with a hoof. She shakes her head before moving back down and slowly inserting me into her mouth. "Fuck." I lean back and press my hooves against the walls to support myself. If I get too carried away I'll slip onto my back completely. But it's a bit difficult to focus on that as Luna takes more and more of me into her warm mouth. She gets as far down as she can go before stopping. She takes a deep breath through her nose before pulling back. She's quick to get into a rhythm. She pulls back a bit before pushing herself forward, as if she was bobbing her head to music. All the while using her tongue to apply pressure to the bottom of my cock. The feeling is amazing! I can't help but groan from the pleasant feeling. She scoots a little closer and removes herself from me. A few breaths later and she's back on, this time focusing on the tip. She's working her tongue around it, playing at all of the sensitive spots. I bring a hoof to the top of her head and slowly stroke her mane as she starts to bob her head again. This time moving further than before and sucking harder on the up stroke. "Not that this isn't amazing, because it is." I groan as I try to sit up. She pauses and looks up to me, her mouth too full to say anything. "But it's time for the main event." "How do you want me?" She asks after popping off my member. I think about it for a moment before motioning for her to turn around. It's a bit of an awkward maneuver, but she manages to turn around. She was going to sit on my member, but stopped when I start to stand up. With both of us reared up I lower down to a squat and pull her in. With one arm wrapped around her chest and the other holding a leg up as her wings get pinned between us I get us into position. She plants her hooves against the glass as I guide myself to her opening and push in. She lets out a loud moan as I slowly fill her. When I bottom out in her she grabs my arm and hold it tightly. I hold still as she adjusts to me. I bury my nose in her mane as she grips me tightly. The water soaking into me and draining onto her, fusing our coats together. When she loosens her grip on my arm I start to pull out. I go slow as I pull out about halfway before pushing back in. But when she looks back to me and gives me a needy look I quicken my pace. I have to readjust my stance before getting to work. One part of me is working my hips to get into a good rhythm of pumping into her while the other part of me works on lifting and dropping her in tandem. Her moans turn to loud yelps of pleasure as I fuck her harder and harder. I can't tell if she's genuinely feeling this good or putting on a show for me. Either way it drives me just crazy enough to thrust more and more vigorously into her. She tries to find something to hold onto, but resigns to just holding onto me and laying her head against the glass. After one particularly strong thrust I whip my arm to hold her leg from the other side. I don't stop thrusting as I move my hoof down to start playing with her clit. She shudders from the sudden feeling, looking back with an almost scared look on her face. "Miles! Mmph... don't! I'm... I'm too close..." I ignore her pleas and continue doing the same thing. She squeals louder and louder until her whole body shudders. Even though her pussy grips me tightly I don't let up. If anything I start straining myself to fuck her harder. And it drives her crazy. "AH! AH! AH-YES! DON'T STOP DON'T STOP PLEASE DON'T STOP!" She yells as I force her against the glass. I drop her leg and bear hug her to get a better grip. With one arm on her chest and the other around the hips I'm able to hold her in position. She's practically melted in my grip at this point so I have to hold her up to finish. "I'm getting close." I tell her as I bury my face in her neck and start to race towards my own orgasm. She tries to find a way to hold me, but is too frazzled to find a suitable position. "Okay... okay... ahmm... let it out... finish inside me!" I grit my teeth as I pump my hips with everything I've got. I'm teetering right on the edge but can't seem to cross over. But the feeling of being so close drives me to fuck into her with wild abandon. Where as before I was trying to please her, now I'm fucking for my own pleasure. I'm so close but for some reason I can't seem to finish. And it's driving me crazy! Luna's now just my little fuck toy. And she's loving every second of it. Every mad thrust. My grip getting tighter and tighter. The stiffness within my cock getting harder and harder. I almost start to panic that I won't be able to finish. But Luna grabs my head and pulls me in for a deep hard kiss. When she shoves her tongue into my mouth everything comes to a crashing halt as I explode into her. She holds me there as I feel myself empty into her, both of our heads pressed against the foggy glass. The last of my twitchy thrust dump the last of my cum into her pussy as the rest drains out all over my cock and balls. We moan into each others mouths as we slowly come down together. Our tongues still dancing with one another. I pull away for a moment to check behind myself. Seeing it clear, I lift her up and slowly guide myself to sit back in the shower. I manage to keep myself inside of her as I sit with her laying on top of me. Both of our chests rising quickly from our labored breaths. Luna leans up to look at our mess, chuckling a little to herself. "Well then... you seem to have been pent up quite a bit." She jokes as she flops back. I shrug a little, moving my arms to hold her gently. "Maybe it was just a really good fuck." I tell her, kissing her cheek softly. "While I do appreciate the compliment, you did most of the work there. I just took it." She tells me with a huff of satisfaction. "Trust me, all of those sexy noises you made were putting in plenty of work-" "Hush you!" She protest, slapping my arm playfully. We both laugh until she makes a small gasp as my shrinking cock falls out of her. I smile as her face goes completely red. "HUSH YOU!" We share a laugh before we wash for real. Though we were plenty dirty, it was more for the two of us to continue running our hooves over each other. Eventually we have to leave the small shower though. As we do Luna summons towels for us and we start to dry off. Well, I dry her off and she dries me off. "By the way," I start as I massage the towel down her back. "What had you so thirsty earlier?" "Thirsty?" She asks, glancing back to me in confusion. "Yeah. When you appeared something about me was turning you on. When I had the migraine?" She thinks on it for a moment before she puts it together. "Oh... well, I was going to talk to you about this later. But I guess there's no reason to wait. When I appeared you were in your greater alicorn form. Which means you found your domain." "Oh... what does that mean?" She turns around and charges up her horn. In a flash she switches from her smaller blue body to her much larger onyx black form. Her ethereal midnight hair flows over her body as she looks down to me. I don't know how I forgot about her alternate form. I can't remember the last time she was like this. "Oh... oh!" And then it hits me that I also have an alternate form as an alicorn. Luna chuckles at me as she stands and motions for me to leave the shower with her. "A domain is something that unicorns and alicorns can discover within themselves. Usually the change within a pony is strictly magical. But for us alicorns, it unlocks our true potential." She explains as she guides us to the cot I have by my work station. "Okay. How often does that happen?" I ask, slightly distracted. Luna in her lesser form is still a curvy woman. Maybe not to the degree she'd like, but curvy nevertheless. But in her greater form... it's certainly a nice view. "So far only Celestia and I have these forms. Twilight and Cadence have yet to discover theirs. As for normal unicorns, I've only read about two ever being able to do so. Emperor Iron Hoof and Starswirl the Bearded." She tells me before laying down on the cot. "Oh..." That seems to track. Two Terradisian mages would have a greater chance at this sort of thing. "So... what did I look like?" "Well..." She says as she thinks back to it. "Not that I don't find you attractive-" "Weird way to start but okay." "-but you were tall. Much taller! And much stronger looking too! Your colors inverted but they were much more... I don't know how to put it! More intense? But the most striking thing were your eyes! A light brass color, I think. They were very piercing! And those massive wings! Oof!" "Okay!" I cut her off, getting her to chuckle. I just shake my head and pull over a chair to sit with her. "I'll work and being able to switch so we can have some fun with it-" "That form... looks like it would tear me in half!" She says, a little too happily. "I'm not little!" I chastise, getting her to laugh. "Are you getting jealous of yourself?" She ask, making me shake my head. "No!" She laughs at me more. I shake my head and think for a moment as she laughs. "So... does this mean we're... still good for your little challenge?" "While I don't want you getting into fights with monsters, you did it for a good cause. So yes, we're still good for that. I am glad you're agreeable to that though. I... felt a little silly writing it down." I sigh in relief. I was worried that we'd have to hold off on that. "So does that mean you're... interested? In any particular one?" "Luna... There is nothing more that I would like to do than have random sex filled adventures with you. Though I have my concerns, especially with the Terradisian cities, I can't think of a single person I'd rather have on my side while down there." Her smile brightens as she sits up. "And the others?" She asks, her eagerness betraying her. I chuckle at that. I know she's more... learned, about these things. But I guess I don't have any qualms against them. "Assuming I don't get you pregnant too quickly, we'll do each and every one of your little challenges." He jumps up and squeezes me in a hug. We laugh together as we hold onto each other. It's a bit different holding her when she's larger than me. "I was worried I was going to scare you off with some of those!" She tells me as she lays back down. I shrug to her, trying to play it cool. "Please. Anything you're willing to do, I'm willing to do! Besides, if this means getting to have you all to myself for a week or more, there's not much I wouldn't do!" She giggles to that as she summons her notebook. She reads it over to herself and thinks about the prospects. I turn and look to my computer. I have a program running right now. It's supposed to find the magical code to the acid clouds in the Griffin Colonies. Six years later and I've still made no progress. I don't know what more to do about it though. I can't even get the machines to find it, let alone work out a solution to reverse it. And if it takes too long to look the acid burns through the machine. "So which one were you thinking of doing first?" Luna asks, breaking my train of thought. I look back to her before smiling. "I figured as much. Lucky for you I've already spoken with the required people to take the next month off." "So who is going to watch the kids?" I ask, spinning my chair to face her. "... Celestia." I wince from that and she nods to me. "I know, I know. Last time didn't go so well. But she's going to do better this time! Plus she'll be here in Ponyville, so no wildly powerful tomes for Tempestive to stumble upon!" "That's good. I do trust her, really I do. It's just..." "Bad timing?" Luna asks, to which I nod. "I want to agree. But there's also no one else I'd trust to watch over them. Plus... well..." "You want to tie her into the family more?" I ask, getting her to nod coyly. "I worry that we're too far from her. Though she'd never admit it, she needs family at her side. It's why she gets so excited to Tempestive and Shadow. And, truth be told, we could do to visit more." "Yeah, you're right... I guess I do have more time now too. I'll make sure the kids visit more." I tell Luna, getting a smile in response. I do hate going to Canterlot. But for Celestia, I'll just have to get over that. "So, tell me more about this costal run you have planned." "Well..." She starts, her smile turning more playful. "To start, you're going to need to work on some enchantments."
Chapter 277 Young SecretsChapter 277 Young Secrets Perspective: Luna I sigh in content as Miles pulls me in more tightly. Being wrapped up in his arms cocooned from the chilly morning air; there's no better way to start the day. But I can tell it's almost time to raise the moon. I have to get up and start my night. Even though the past few days have been a stress, it's nice to know that there can be these passionate moments between us. If I'm being completely honest with myself, I know I want more of them. We married so quickly and Tempestive came up so fast! It feels as if every time I blink months pass by. If I close my eyes and dwell on it, I can put myself back in the days when Miles and I were still a secret. The way we'd sneak around or hide from the world, I almost miss it. Not the secrecy part. But having someone all to myself. Having them set aside the world just to have a moment with me... the feeling of being wanted. Not that I'm not wanted now! But... it's different. I guess it's a bit selfish of me to want some seclusion while also wanting all of the other benefit that's come from all of these changes. I know I wanted to be a ruler on similar grounds as Celestia. But... being queen. I would be lying if I said it's been everything I've ever wanted. But that was also the Nightmare part of me. She wanted all of that power and prestige. I just... wanted to be wanted. After being saved and returning to my duties... it was hard. It was almost exactly as it was before. Ponies slept at night, feared me, and worshiped Celestia. But then Miles came and... well, the rest was history. I light my horn and lift his limbs off of me as I slip off the cot. It wasn't the most comfortable sleep, but I didn't want to go back up until we had to. Another bout of selfishness I guess. It was nice to see him enchanting though. He had to switch to his human form to do so. I really hope that he doesn't have to bash his head in for that every time. It seems switching heals him, but I still can't help but worry. We made disguises for ourselves for our trips. While he's not very good as casting illusions, his enchantments are on another level! I knew this was his area of expertise. Heck! The Elements are technically an enchantment! But seeing him work on them and fine tune with such ease and precision... well... thoughts were had. I do love watching a master at work. I pull a blanket over him before leaving the workshop. I flap my wings just enough to lift me up to land on the roof. I flare my horn and start the process, feeling the last rays of warmth vanish over the horizon. The dance of light and darkness will never cease to amaze me. Watching the world change, ever so slightly, it still brings a chill down my spine. Satisfied, I hop back and open my wings to slow my descent. There's a lot to do tonight and not much time to do- THWACK FLASH I see Shadow toss something out the window and catch me right in the eye. It was enough to send me falling back and crashing to the ground. I let out a long groan as I lay there, head spinning, eye throbbing. It is clear to me now that I've spent too much time with Miles, as his bad luck is rubbing off. "Oh my god I'm so-! So... Uh..." Shadow yells as she comes rushing through the kitchen door. I push myself to sit up and rub my head. "It is okay Shadow. Though, do try to refrain from throwing things out the window." I tell her as I shake my head. Luckily it wasn't that high of a fall, so all I have is a sore bottom. I look to Shadow and tilt my head in confusion as she stares at me, completely dumbfounded. I follow her gaze and slowly look down to myself. I slowly go wide eyed as I stare at the pale human body occupying my space. I bring a hand up and look it over before slowly looking up to Shadow. She's frozen solid. I feel myself start to panic as I look around. I don't see Tempestive, and Miles is still asleep. I need to hurry and get somewhere they won't see me! "Help me!" I beg as I start to try and stand. I can't seem to get my legs to work correctly and I keep falling over myself. "Shadow!" "Right!" She yells as she rushes over. She looks me over before grabbing my hips and pushing me up. I flail my arms around as I try to stay upright. With a quick look around we start to hobble our way inside. But each step is impossible for me to make. I can't help but fall over with every step. We both go quiet when we hear Tempestive come running down the stairs. Shadow and I share a look before she teleports me to her room. I flop onto the bed and quickly throw the blankets over myself. A few minutes go by as I wait for something to happen. I think Shadow is trying to cover for me. To be fair, Miles is already asleep so I don't think we need to cover for him. And Tempestive should be in bed by nine. So we only need to cover for the next hour or so. Okay, so all I need to do is switch back before Shadow comes back and convince her that she was seeing things! It can't be that hard to do!? Right? "Mama Luna?" Well... shoot. I slowly pull the blanket down to peer out at Shadow. She's shut the door, so I pull the blanket further down to reveal my face to her. "Is... Is that really you?" "Heh... y-yeah. It's... me." I tell her as I push myself up to sit. I feel myself wiggle a little from the new posture but manage to keep upright. Shadow stares at me for a moment before slowly walking towards me. I can see the nervousness in her eyes as she looks me over. "You're... you're... you're human!" She exclaims, making me panic. "SHH! Not so loud!" I chastise, nearly falling over in the process. How does Miles make this look so easy!? "How did this happen!? When did this happen!? Why do you still have blue hair? *GASP* Did humans also have multi colored hair!?" I can only stare at her as she rambles on. I know this must seem exciting for her. But it's taking everything in my power to not freak out right now. "Shadow." I try, but she's starting to spiral. I don't even know what she's talking about anymore. "Shadow!" "Yeah!?" She asks, having to shake her head to refocus. I push myself up with my arms to sit upright, the blankets falling onto my lap. "I need you to do something for me." I tell her, steeling myself for what's about to happen. "What do you need?" She asks, eager to help. "Punch me as hard as you can. Right on the temple of my head." I tell her, turning my head to show her where to hit. "... what?" She asks, unsure of what I've just asked her. I groan a little and try to scoot closer, finding the movement difficult to do. "It seems the only way to switch back is to take some form of blunt force trauma to the head. I need you to force me back into my alicorn form before anypony else sees me." I try to lean forward for her to get a clear shot on my head, but instead fall off the bed doubled over. "You... want to change back?" Shadow asks as I groan into the ground. I'm remembering all of the times I teased Miles for having a hard time functioning as a newly formed alicorn. Is this karma coming back to get me? "I need to change back." I mumble as I roll over and try to use the bed to sit up. With it behind me it's a bit easier. "Why?" I huff as I look to her. "Shadow..." I try to find the words to tell her, but I'm too annoyed to think straight. "Just-" "Hear me out!" Shadow cuts me off. I startle a little from her sudden outburst. Whatever she has to say, it's really important to her. "Okay... So, Dad was the only human. And now you can turn into one! That's... that's going to blow him away! It'll be something that'll really mean a lot to him! He's not the only one. We can't hide that from him! I know you want to hide it from Tempestive. And I guess I can see some merit from that. But... why hide it from Dad?" I try to say something to her... But I can't. She's right. It's wrong to hide it from him. He deserves to know that he's not alone anymore. He's not the only human on earth. But... I can't bring myself to say it. Not yet at least. I know I'll have to tell him eventually. But there's just... something keeping me from just going down there and showing him! "I'm scared." I admit, getting a shocked look from Shadow. I try to push myself up as I try to find the words. They don't come right away. But I feel if I can just talk I'll work through them. "I know he deserves to know. And I want him to know. But... there are a lot of things about this that terrify me." "Like what?" Shadow asks quietly, taking a seat beside me. I take a deep breath and start to dwell on the idea. It's not easy, but Shadow puts a hoof on my knee and offers a supportive smile. "Well... for starters, I can't even walk. I don't know... how to be human. And then there's the prospects of any future children we have. Would he want them to be human too? What does that mean for Tempestive? And... if Miles is to be believed, human births are much more difficult. One was hard enough, I cant' imagine it being harder than that." I take a deep breath as I think on the next part. Shadow nuzzles my cheek lightly and I lean into her. The feeling is completely different though. Nothing about it is bad. It's just... different. "I... also... worry that I'm... not... pretty as a human..." Shadow laughs at that and I can't help but blush. "I mean, I know I don't actually know, but I really doubt that." Shadow reassures me. "I know it's silly to think that. But I can't help it! I don't know what makes a human female pretty! And it's not that I think he won't think that I'm ugly or anything like that! But... well, he fell in love with me as a pony. What will he think of me as a human?" Shadow thinks to herself for a moment before hopping up to her hooves. She rushes over to her dresser and starts to look for something. I take the moment to look myself over. I've seen a picture or two of human females. Plus there were the memories from Miles. Looking at myself, I don't feel particularly special in appearance. Besides my blue hair that is. I don't have a strong build like Fidus did. My hair doesn't have that same flow or length that Tenera had. My chest isn't large like Auxiliums was. But it's much larger than before... Okay, this isn't the time to think on things like that! Besides, I don't even know what constitutes a desirable form for human women. Shadow comes back and drops a saddlebag on my lap. She's filled it with a few supplies like a first aid kit and some Terradisian tools. Before I could ask what she was planning she teleported out of the room. "Well... thanks for letting in on the plan." I look around and decide to try and stand again. I can stand on two legs as a pony, why can't I get it as a human!? I use the bed to get onto my knees. Then I move one leg to get a foot planted firmly. I take a few breathes before forcing my legs to stand. But I keep both of my hands on the bed for better support. If I were a pony this wouldn't be too hard. But... something about this feels wrong as a human. I look over and see myself in the vanity. My eyes go straight to my chest as it hangs down a bit. How do any of these poor human women deal with these impractical things!? My eyes move down my slender form to my flanks. I don't have a cutie mark anymore. It's almost disturbing to see it blank. I know that's how it's supposed to be. But my brain is telling me that it's wrong. With one last deep breath I push off the bed and stand fully upright. I stumble in place for a moment before I feel my balance start to center itself. I hold my arms out to help it along until I feel confident enough to lower them. I look to the vanity again and look myself over again. I don't think I look bad as a human. But what do I really know? The only humans I actually knew of were much prettier than me. Honestly, I feel as if I'm... bland. Would Miles think that too? Does that mean that I'm bland as an alicorn too? The only other alicorns I have to compare to are Twilight, Cadence, and Celestia. Twilight doesn't count because she's still basically a pony. Cadence and Celestia though... they're both so effortlessly gorgeous! I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous of them. I feel like I have to put in so much work to be on par with them. Cadence has that special charm that everyone loves. Where I have to work hard to not come off as cold or overtly sarcastic, she's a joy to be around. There isn't a soul out there that doesn't instantly love being around her. She also has pleasant curves and beautiful hair. She's still young, but that just adds to her general glow! I'm particularly jealous of her smile. I have to remind myself to smile and put a little bit of work into it. It seems so effortless for her. Celestia is practically a goddess. Even though she constantly worries about her weight, she really doesn't need to. She's so much curvier than me. Enough for Miles to joke about her having a bubble butt. And her long legs are simply stunning! I've seen plenty of guards lose their composure when she enters a room. They only get scared when I enter. I wish I was a bit more curvier. Maybe not to Tia's level, but at least not enough to be as thin as I currently am. But my metabolism just won't cut me any slack. As I stare at my bare human form I can't help but feel as if I'm the lesser of the three of us. I know I've struggled with these thoughts in the past, but now... I don't know. When Miles notices me in this head space he usually compliments me to the point of embarrassment. There was that one time he made an entire presentation to try and convince me that I was wrong on every level. It really helped my confidence. But now I can't help but feel all of it fly out the window! I don't know how I look as a human! And that terrifies me. If I show this to Miles and he even makes the slightest negative comment... I'd be devastated. But I feel as if I'm getting too worked up in my head. What if this is all just my nerves getting the better of me? Maybe I should just show him. I can't hide it from him forever. And if he really doesn't like me in this form... then it would be better to get it over with now. "Luna?" Shadow calls from the other side of the door. "I've brought some ponies here. It's not Dad. Are you okay with that?" "Who is it?" I ask as I try to turn around. It's awkward, but I manage to turn face the door. "They're going to help you with your confidence. You're all mixed up in your head, so you need a hype team to boost your confidence! They've helped me out with the same thing a lot. So... we're coming in now. You okay with that?" I look to the mirror one more time before steeling myself. It'll be good to start small. See what others think before going to Miles. See how they react... how I react. "Okay. Come in." I say as I try to figure out what to do with my arms. Normally I'd just be standing. But now... this is going to be a long journey. I didn't know who to expect. But for some reason I wasn't expecting Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle to be the ones Shadow brought here. I guess it makes sense. Since they're her friends after all. But why not Applebloom? The two of the look at me through the doorway as their jaws drop. I feel a tad self conscious as they stare at me. I can't tell if they're impressed or grossed out. "Guys," Shadow says as she walks in and sits beside me. "Luna needs so-" "Are you sure this is Luna?" Scootaloo asks as she steps towards me. "She sounded like her. But..." "I assure you that it is I." I tell her, feeling a little more dejected. The both pause again when they hear me speak. It seems that seeing my voice come from my mouth is enough to convince them of my identity. Sweetie Belle walks past Scootaloo and motions for me to kneel down. I look to Shadow before doing my best to kneel down. I've seen Miles do this before. But why does it feel so difficult to do? I manage to lower myself and settle on my knees. I sit back on my new heels and lean in for Sweetie. She takes my face and starts to examine me all over. The takes extra care to look my deep in the eyes. "Yup! This is Luna all right!" She announces as she lets go of me. "I can tell by her eyes and smooth complexion." "Smooth?" I ask as I rub my face. My human skin is very soft and smooth. But I didn't think that would translate from my alicorn form. "Whoa! No way!" Scootaloo cheers as she steps up beside Sweetie, practically knocking her over. She looks me up and down before frowning. "Do all human females get such rockin' tits!? That's not fair!" "Scootaloo!" Sweetie chastises as she pushes her aside. I feel my cheeks burn as I look down at myself. "Don't be so crass!" "What? It's a compliment! Besides, we're here to boost her confidence anyway! Don't act like you weren't thinking it!" I look to Shadow as the two of them start to bicker. But... I don't know what I'm asking for. I've never really spent that much time with these two before. So I'm not too familiar with their mannerisms. But judging by the look on Shadows face, this seems to be the norm for these two. Shadow goes to get their attention but stops and looks back up to me. I tilt my head as she cracks a smile at me. Looking to the vanity, I see my face getting red and flushed. While I've blushed plenty of times before, my coat usually hid it well enough. Now... now I look like a ripening tomato. "Okay girls, honest opinions. Do you think she looks good for a human?" Shadow asks them, getting them to stop fighting. They each look me over for a moment, trying their best to formulate their opinions. "Well..." Sweetie starts, rubbing her chin in thought. "I'd say yes. Even though I don't know what a human female is supposed to look like, there's a lot to infer from Miles." "Yeah. But even before that, she looks good as a pony. I imagine that would all translate to humans as well. Miles looks good as a pony, so it probably converts the other way too." Scootaloo adds, getting a thoughtful nod from Sweetie Belle. "Yeah. That's a good point." Sweetie says, lost in thought. "Is there a reason you're not just asking Miles?" "Well-" I start, but Shadow interrupts me. "She's never done this before. So she doesn't want to go to my Dad and find out she's... different, from other humans." I nod along to that. It's true enough. But... there's also the fact that I don't know how to be attractive as a human. "Why not go to Topaz Falls then?" Scootaloo asks. "Couldn't you go down there, check some old photos or something and compare from there? Seems pretty easy to me." "Well..." I start out, thinking a little on the prospects. "That's actually not a bad idea. But I'd need help getting there though. I... don't know how to walk." "So... can we escort you then?" Shadow asks, motioning with her head to the saddle bag. The other two go wide eyed and lean in to plead as well. It is a good idea. But there's a little problem. I don't want Miles to know that we're traveling down there. But the tram that connects us will have a log of our travel. But... I think I can manage to obfuscate that. As long as we come back with something that I'll use on our trips then it won't look to suspicious. But should I really go with the three of them? That seems a little irresponsible. Even though they are the only three that are aware of my new form, I don't know if I'm comfortable with them escorting me through the Everfree. Not there's much for me to argue against there. I can't defend us if anything happens across us. "Although I do appreciate your willingness to help, I do not think it wise to have the four of us traversing the Everfree. I can't help defend us. And Shadow is supposed to be on light magic duty." I tell them, getting the trio to deflate a little. "If you really want to keep this a secret though it would be better for us to take you." Shadow tells me. "Besides, I can do the teleporting for us!" Sweetie Belle adds. "And I can do any fighting we need! My mom has been training me since I was seven!" Scootaloo announces with a flex of her wings. "Besides, the path to Topaz is probably the safest in all of the Everfree!" Shadow tells me as she takes my hand to hold it. "You're always helping me! Let me finally help you!" That almost breaks my heart to hear. I know she means well. But I don't want her feeling as if she's indebted to me! She's my daughter! I help her because I love her! But... I get what she means. She wants to help me in my time of need. Just as I did for her. She's playing at my heart strings for sure. She's just lucky that she's pulling all of the right ones. "Well," I state as I look between the three of them. "Let's go to Topaz Falls then." The next few minutes go by in a blur. The three of them run around the house to get everything ready. I wanted to help, but it took my half the time just to stand up. Shadow had me wait until Tempestive was asleep before I left the room. It's a bit early for his bed time. I'm amazed that he didn't even argue with her. When I'm back to normal I'll have to make sure to check on him. I hope he's okay. The girls loaded up three saddle bags before helping me down the stairs. I feel like a new born right now. Each step I nearly fall over and my legs feel like jelly. I almost fell over the railings at one point. Luckily Scootaloo was airborne and caught me in time. When we make it to the ground they contemplate on how to travel faster. Either dragging me on a blanket or just levitating me all over. But we all went silent when the back door opened and closed. Without saying a word Sweetie Belle grabbed a throw blanket off the couch and threw it over me. We all start to squabble and fuss as I try to cover myself as best as possible. Sweetie is trying to teleport us, but she's too frazzled to do it correctly. "Shadow is that you and the girls?" He calls from the kitchen, making us all freeze in place. He seems to be going through the fridge for something. "Y-Yeah! Sweetie and Scoots are here!" Shadow calls back. She shrugs to me as we all stay as still as possible. "Okay. Tempestive turn in early?" He asks as he goes through some jars. I think he's making himself a sandwich. "Yeah... hey Dad?" She asks, slowly stepping towards the kitchen. "Yes corculum?" She looks to me before turning to enter the kitchen. I share a confused look with the others before they run after her. I try to beg them to stay, but they're gone too fast to notice. "The girls and I were having a... really random debate. Could you tell us what made human females attractive?" WHAT ARE YOU DOING SHADOW!? WHY ARE YOU ASKING HIM THAT!? "Why would you want to know that?" He asks with a slight chuckle. I look around to try and figure out what to do. But short of bashing my head against the wall there isn't much available. "Well... we were wondering if pony looks translated over to human looks." I'm going to die. Why is she asking this? Why is she doing this to me? He chuckles a little as he closes the fridge. "You guys were debating how you'd all look as humans?" He asks. YES MILES! They already said that! "Yeah. Would we be pretty as humans?" Shadow asks, having found some new confidence. "Of course. You're all good people, whatever your form looks is only a reflection of that inner beauty of yours." While that is a very sweet answer, it's not what we're looking for. But it's good to hear that's how he thinks. "Right... but-" "What Shadow more specifically means is what makes a human female conventionally attractive?" Sweetie elaborates. "Like... a mare with wide hips is seen as sexy. Or long legs are seen as seductive! How did humans feel about that? Or what was it humans sought in women?" He chuckles again as he takes a seat at the table. I look around and try to think of something to say. But I don't want to risk him coming over and seeing me like this! This is actual torture. They're going to have an entire conversation about me without Miles knowing I'm here and I can't add anything! "You'll be shocked to learn that most of those preferences are the same for humans as well." He jokes before eating. "Come on Dad!" Shadow drones. "There has to be something you can-" "How important are tits?" Scootaloo blurts out. I feel the room become exceedingly awkward as everything goes silent. Of course she would blurt that out! Of course! "Tits?" Miles ask with a slight cough. "I don't know how I feel talking about this with my daughter-" "Please Dad!?" Shadow barks out. "I know it's uncomfortable but... uh... um..." "Shadow... what's going on? Why do you need to know what humans thought were attractive and how could it possibly have anything to do with... that? Is this something Rumble said to you?" I can see how he can get to that conclusion. But they really need to just drop this and let it go. "U-uh... something like that. It's just... let's just say that I was turned into a human and thrust into Terradisia. Back when there were still humans. How would I... fare? Compared to others? Like, how would I know if I was attractive?" "Well... for starters, you're beautiful now. So why wouldn't that translate? And then there's the aspect of your personality-" "I know attraction isn't just skin deep. But that's the part I'm curious about!" "Do you want the answer?" He asks, a little annoyed. There's a moment of silence before he continues. "Attraction is never just skin deep. There's no scale that you can move around to make the most attractive person possible. If they have everything you like physically but treat you like trash, then that's a problem. It's impossible to answer the question fully because half of the equation is subjective!" "Well... okay. Then what do you find attractive in a human?" Shadow asks. "... fucking what?" Miles asks. I think about it for a moment before I realize what she just asked her own father. I rub my face and try to erase the second hand embarrassment. I'm going to owe her for going through all of this. "Okay, not you. But... okay, how about your friends? What did they like? Was there an average?" There's a moment of silence as I assume Miles stares her down. "Answer this last question and I'll do the foal sitting for your next trip. No questions asked. No bribery needed." "... kay. Well... let's see. Dolum said his favorite thing about Auxy was her jovial personality. But... she did gripe about his constant grabbing. Mostly of her... ahem, chest. But, eh, yeah. So then there was Inficiunt. He was probably the most active out of the group. I remember him saying a bunch of rules that he lived by. Can't remember what most of them were. But there was one that always stood out to me." "What was that?" "It.. was... about... well..." "Dad." "What!? This isn't something that I would normally talk about! Let alone with my daughter and her friends!" There's another moment of silence he sighs in defeat and continues. "Apparently you wanted a chest that was only slightly bigger than your hand! Okay? Are we good? Can I eat my sandwich in peace now?" "Thanks Dad! We're going to continue this discussion in the living room so don't wait up! Love you, bye!" The three of them come running back to me. I glare at them as they hide around the corner and quietly bicker to one another. "Okay... I think I'll go back to the shed. There are... a few more enchantments I need to work on... bye." The four of us keep quiet as we wait for him to leave the building. Once we hear the door shut, I immediately scowl at Shadow. "What was that!?" I demand from her, getting her to shrink. "I don't know! I was just trying to get the answers from him!" She defends, backing away from me. "So you ask your father if he likes tits!?" I ask, glaring to Scootaloo. She tries to smile in apology, but there's no saving from this. "Well... we got the hand rule. That's something." Scootaloo tries to offer, but gets scowled by everyone else. "Sorry." I groan in irritation as I lean back and slide down against the wall until I'm seated. At least he wasn't too curious on what they were talking about. There's that much. I pull the throw blanket over myself as I try to hide myself. That could have gone terribly wrong. But at least he's gone now. So we can just move on. "So... should we still go to Topaz Falls?" Shadow asks. I let my head fall back against the wall as I try to think. There's merit to going, even now. If anything, just to be away from everyone until I can figure out how to switch back. "Help me up." I tell them as I reach a hand out. "If we go let's get one thing clear. Do as I say! There are a lot of things down there that can still be dangerous. Do we have an understanding?" The three of them nod in agreement before they start to usher me out of the house. As we leave I take one look back and wonder if this is the right decision. I don't know what we're going to do down there. Maybe we'll just find a medical bot and see what they know about this. Maybe there's something they know that can help. But then... anything they know they probably learned from Miles. I wish I had the courage to just walk up to him and reveal to him that he's not alone. I know I will at some point. I want to at some point! But... something about today is causing me too much anxiety about it. If I can at least learn to walk on my own then I think it'll be easier to approach him about it. The trip to the tram station was... uneventful. Even though it is the Everfree, there are times I feel there are small parts that have been tamed. I mean, literally yesterday there was a basilisk limb-jacker only a few hundred feet from the house! But our two hour walk into the Everfree, at night, with nothing happening? I guess I have to be lucky at some point. The girls were much better at this than I was expecting. They had an entire plan of action and even coordinated with scary precision. Scootaloo was on recon. She would jet ahead and fly back to secure the sides. Sweetie Belle lead the two of us while Shadow helped me hobble along. With her help I'm able to walk now. But just barely. Without her I can make it two, maybe three steps at a time. Just long enough to make me feel as if I'm getting the hang of it. The Tram station is a small building that houses a single locomotive. The cart itself is large and bright red with windows going all around it. The building is just a large stone roof with some seating around the tracks. There aren't a lot of people coming this way, so it's fairly basic. "Do you know how to operate the tram?" Shadow asks as we open the sliding door and climb inside. "It's automatic." I tell her as I take a seat at the side bench and sigh in relief. Walking as a human is so draining! "Once we're ready, pull the cord and we'll be off." Without missing a beat Scootaloo yanks the cord hanging up by the window and the doors slide to close. BING BONG With a sudden lurch forward the machine starts to gain speed and heads to the massive tunnel into the ground. Sweetie and Scootaloo are excited. I don't know if they have ever been to Topaz before. So that should be fun for them. I know Shadow has before. It's probably why she doesn't seem too bothered by everything. "Everything okay?" I ask her as we start the descent down. She thinks about it and waits for Scootaloo and Sweetie to run to the front of the tram. "So, is this the first time you've changed?" She asks quietly. I feel a ping of guilt as I think on it for a moment. "No." I decide to not dodge the subject. Not with her at least. "I've done it once before when I was pregnant with Timely. But I could never recreate it." She seems to consider my answer for a moment. Clearly she has some thoughts on the matter. I lean over and nudge her with an elbow, getting her attention. She looks up to me before smiling and leaning against me. I wrap an arm around her and hold her close. "I know you're worried about... well, a lot of things. But I think you should reconsider telling Dad. I... don't want you two keeping secrets from one another." I nod to her. She's not wrong. It's bad for this to go any longer than it needs to. But... there's just something about it that's nagging at me. "I know you're right. And I want to tell him. But... I'm just not ready for it. And I'm sorry to drag you and your friends into this." I tell her as I start to stoke her main. The feeling of her hair running through my fingers catches my attention. They're much more sensitive than a pony hooves. I can feel every strand, every loch, and the warmth from her with such clarity. "Don't worry about us. We'll keep your secret. For now at least." She reassures me as she nuzzles into my side. "Is there a time frame that you'd like to tell him?" "If I'm being completely honest, not really. I haven't had to think about this for so long I practically forgot about it." I tell her as I sit back and continue to stroke her mane. "I know I'd like to be able to walk at least. Your father was running the same day he changed, I can't let him lord this over me." "Oh, of course not! If anything we need to get you to be able to change willingly! If only to rub it in his faced." We both share a laugh. We pause when we hear Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle bickering with one another. They're both trying to get the center view of the tram as it travels down the tunnel. "Are they okay?" I ask, a tad worried. They're usually such good friends. I don't like seeing them bickering. Shadow waves a hoof at them. "Don't worry about them. This is pretty normal for the two of them." She tells me with almost a laugh. "Is that so?" I ask as they start to face off with one another. "Yeah. Ever since they dated they've been acting like that." I stare at them for a moment before I go wide eyed and look to Shadow. "They dated?" I ask getting a nod in return. "I never knew that." "Oh. Well, that makes sense. It was awhile ago. Plus they only went on one or two dates. They quickly found out they'd prefer to stay friends. But... well... let's just say that even when they fight like that, it's not really an issue. It's when they stop talking that you should worry." I look back to them and hum in response. It's interesting to think of those two as an item. Well, I guess if it didn't work out then I guess there's nothing to it then. I just thought since they each had coltfriends that they wouldn't have wanted to date a mare. I wonder if that's how they actually feel or if they're hiding something. It would certainly explain one of their dreams. "So... are you cold?" Shadow asks. "Freezing!" I respond and I pull the throw blanket tighter. "If I had a coat I'd be fine. But all this skin does nothing to keep me warm!" "I'm trying to remember what Dad called it, but your skin is getting bumpy." I look to my side and note the small little bumps forming. I run a hand over them and flinch a little from the warmth of my own hand. "We definitely need to get you some clothes. Otherwise you're going to freeze over." "Yes, well, at least for the time being I agree. If I can just switch back then that would solve both our problems." I tell her as I look over myself again. Now that the panic has started to subside I can appreciate my own form a little more. I still don't know what a female human is supposed to look like. But... I don't think I look terrible. I look over to Shadow and note that she's laughing at me. I cover myself back up and try to hide the blush growing on my face. "We've made it!" Sweetie announces as she shoves Scootaloo off the seat. The tram finally levels out and we enter Topaz Falls. The girls are in awe of the rows of stone buildings and bright lights. The central government building shines the brightest and garners the most admiration from the two of them. Shadow and I share a look before giggling to one another. Having been here before, it's lost some of that impressive muster. But seeing them see it for the first time... it's a tad funny. The tram has taken over the old highway system. We can take it all around the outer perimeter, a central ring, and to the P.C.H. There are drop off points at each of those tracks to switch over, but I don't know if we really should. If anything we should just go to the P.C.H. and wait there. We don't have a plan so there's no reason to walk around aimlessly. "So this is where Miles is from?" Sweetie asks, watching the rows buildings pass by. "No wonder he's amazed by dandelions." "So what's the plan? Is there a photography store we need to go to? Or maybe a library to look at some magazines?" Scootaloo asks. "Well, that's going to be difficult. Terradisians didn't really have paper. So where are we going to find pictures?" Shadow asks. I think about it for a moment before I get an idea. "Ladies, I know where to go." I tell them, peaking their interest. We take the central tram to the backside of the city. The entire time the girls are enamored by the sights. According to Miles the city is back to the way it was before the war. Minus the people of course. Though there are plenty of bots running around. Most are maintaining the city. But there are a few that just standing at various corners. Seemingly waiting for their task to become relevant. There are several that watch us go by. Almost happy to see something new occur. When we make to our stop we take off down main street. With the city so empty, it's a bit unnerving to hear our hooves echoing through the alleyways. Well, their hooves. Stumbling on my new feet is a bit uncomfortable. I can see now why Miles was so demanding for shoes. Maybe I should try a store and get some clothes. I mean, I think it's a bit silly to walk around in clothes without some event occurring. But, when in Terradisia I guess. We had to ask the bot for help to find our destination. It was overjoyed to do so. Even offered to escort us, which we accepted. As we walked I made sure to watch its every step. I'm trying to see how it does it so I can mimic it. It looks something to a slight kick forward and then just switching. I give it a few tries but I can't seem to find the right rhythm. Maybe I can get one of them to coach me later? "This is your destination. May I have your autograph?" The machine asks. We laugh a little from the question before entering the store. "What is this place?" Shadow asks as she helps me through the door. "It's a store. Well, it's multiple stores. But there's a communication store here that has what we're looking for. Everything that was recorded by humans was put into their technology. So if we can get ourselves some of their devices then we can access old photos." I tell them as we walk through the lobby towards the mico platforms at the back. There are a few holographic adverts here for the various stores inside. Looking at the people in them I try and compare myself to them... but I'm not sure how I fare. "So why did we need a phone from here if you already have one?" Shadow asks. "How is a phone going to have pictures?" Scootaloo asks. "Well, truthfully I didn't think of this until we were already heading here. But! There is one type of phone that I've been waiting to try. One your father isn't a fan of." I tell them as we look over the etchings on the wall. Each one is the logo of a store here. So I figure the one with the radio tower is our best bet. "Why wouldn't he like it?" Sweetie asks. I point out the platform and we each take turns teleporting to the store. Teleporting like this as a human is a lot less jarring for humans. I guess it's made for them. I take a look around the room before smiling to myself. We hit the jackpot! Rows of cases showcasing the devices I wanted fill the room. They look like small triangles of metal that seem to clip to you. The various wall mounted screens advertising them show that you wear them as ear clips, though they cover your entire ear. Well, they cover a humans ear at least. As we walk around a bot emerges from the back of the room. He's painted in various adverts for the store and other products. The girls get a tad nervous as he approaches, but I step forward to address him. "Hello! We'd like four of these Smartlink++!" I tell him happily. "Of course. Would you also like to add a personal paint job? All cost will be paid over the term of your contract so there's no up front cost!" The machine tells me as it ushers us to the back of the store. I though the ones here were the same as the others. I guess not. "Girls, would you like your painted?" I ask them. They all look to each other before shrugging. "Do we really need one?" Scootaloo asks as Sweetie nods aggressively. "Try one out. Though I will say that they are most useful here, there are plenty of uses for them back home too." I tell them as the bot offers me a tablet. I grab it and start to poke at he screen. Doing this with fingers is even stranger. I'm so used to my hooves that I feel almost too dainty to do this properly. And all I'm doing is spinning a color wheel! We spend the next hour going over the Smartlink++. It's a mix of magic and technology that puts an overlay in your vision. Unlike the phone that Miles uses you use this one with your mind! Miles can't use them because they're a bit too techy for him. They tend to explode or short out on him. But for us they work perfectly! Once we put them on the whole city comes to life! Hundreds of neon adverts fill the air and various street names and roadway signs blink into existence. Sweetie and Scootaloo have a new found sense of wonder as they stare out the window. Shadow doesn't seem too bothered by any of this. Though I guess she's got more experience with all of this. We each decide to get one that matches our coats with highlights of our manes. For the three of them they blend in decently enough. If I didn't know better I'd just say that they're just large ear clips. But mine stands out just a tad. Next we spend about an hour having the machine teach us to use them. For Sweetie and Scootaloo, this proves to be a bit problematic. They don't have the context that Shadow and I have to efficiently utilize them. But by the end they're able to navigate some of the more basic features. I manage well enough. But Shadow is using these as if she's done this a thousand times! She's even helping the rest of us navigate some of the more difficult features. "So how do we use this to look at human women?" Scootaloo asks as the four of us exit the building. We're all staring off into space as we try to navigate this new field of view. "I'll send a link." Shadow says. "Just click it when it appears... uh... Stare at it and think about opening it like a letter." Sure enough we all get a notification from Shadow. Looking at it to click it, we're brought to a new screen page. It overlays in to the side of my field of view. So I can walk forward and still see what's in front of me. The link brought us to something called Amica Inventor. I guess a sight mean to help you find friends is a good place to start. "Before we get too distracted, are you girls hungry?" I ask them. They all nod along as Shadow starts to walk off. "Shadow?" "I found a place. Follow me." She tells us as she leads the way. It doesn't take long for us to find a corner café. Stepping in there's a bot working the counter. It almost seems startled to see us enter the store. It escorts us to a booth. In our vision a menu is prompted. Clicking it I take a look at everything that's available. There's plenty of food and what looks like flavored waters? I wonder how they have food down here if there's no one here to farm the food? I know there are machine that can process the food. But I didn't know they're still active. Shadow and I have to help the others order their food, since they don't read Terradisian. But after that we spend a while just exploring the internet. Everything that humanity ever recorded is now right in front of us! The only thing limiting us is our inability to ask the right questions. We go to the friend web page and start to poke around it. It's a little sad to see so many happy humans living their lives and writing about their families and friends. The way everything is written makes it seem as if they're still alive. Waiting to see their family or excited to go to various events. I wonder how many of them made it out? Of the people I've seen so far, how many eventually became ponies? Then I found what Miles feared I'd see. A single post from an apartment showing the street battle happening below. There are fires and gunfire everywhere as the massive horde of Kroth charge at the rows of bots and humans. The caption at the bottom simply reads: They're here. I was about to close it out when I noticed something. In the back row there's a human in a massive metal suit of armor. I think it's some form of powered armor. But clinging to its back is... Miles. I zoom in to take a better look, and sure enough, that's him. He's been here for what's been so long that I almost forgot that he was there. He was in the midst of that battle. But with how many are charging at their lines... how could they possibly hope to make a stand. But that's what they're doing. I can see it on his face, as fuzzy as it is. That same determined face that tells me he's ready for a fight. He's there to kill them by the thousands. The tragedy is that there seems to be tens of thousands of them. That's when I get another idea. I look up Miles. I know he didn't have much of an online presence. He spent all of his time studying or training. But maybe his friends made one for him? Looking him up there are plenty of fan pages for him. Something that I also forgot about. Though, seeing the link to his infamous shower video is certainly bringing back memories. As I scroll through the posts and links, I find the page for the Spartans. On the header is three Spartans, standing to look as impressive as ever. On the left is Miles. Sleeves rolled up. Arms crossed. A look on his face that tells me he's ready to run through a brick wall. I go through the photos and I find Miles all over the place. Competing in various competitions. Winning awards. It's a great glimpse into his past. But then there's the one that stands the most out to me. His officers coronation. Captain Susurrans Bellum is pinning the metal bars to his uniform. He looks so much like him! And he's so proud! It even looks like he's fighting back tears! Miles looks as proud as ever. As if all his hard work had finally paid off. None of the comments mention the potential of them being related. It's astonishing! Though there are... a bit too many comments from women. Mentioning that he's single... Commenting on his looks... other grotesque things that I won't deign to reread. I look over the post and find a way to save it. As I do the food arrives and we start to eat. But it's obvious that the four of us are completely distracted. I can see why Miles doesn't like these. He prefers the direct and non augmented interactions. But this does let me see pictures of Miles from before, so it can't all be bad. "What is this?" Sweetie asks as she uses a spoon to lift up the green liquid on her tray. "Dunno. But it looks like it might be better than this." Scootaloo says as she pokes and the orangish red brick on her plate. I look to the small stack of what I thought were pancakes. But I'm pretty sure pancakes aren't supposed to be yellow. Shadow doesn't comment on her food. She uses a spoon to dig into her... well, it looks like blue feed honestly. I wouldn't know what else to call it. But seeing her eat without issue encourages the rest of us to try our own meals. Mine... isn't bad! It has the texture of a pancake for sure. But the flavor is... earthy? Like a good portabella. The others also seem to enjoy their foods as well, if still unsure of the textures. "Everything okay Shadow?" I ask, getting her attention. "You've seemed... distant, since we arrived here. What's on your mind?" Everyone looks to her as she starts to shrink from the attention. I watch her debate saying something for a moment. I can tell she wants to say it, but there's something stopping her. Maybe the phrasing? Or maybe she doesn't know what's bothering her? "Well... I've... been thinking." She starts, poking at her food. "Yeah?" Scootaloo asks from the other side of the table, leaning in to make eye contact. Shadow tries to hide from her but she's trapped on the inner seat of the booth. "So... the reason I threw that box out the window was... because... it... was from Rumble..." Sweetie and Scootaloo share a look before practically jumping onto the table to lean in towards Shadow. She shrinks away from them as they stare her down, chins resting on their hooves. "Go on!" Scootaloo teases, batting her eyes at Shadow. "What was it!? What did he say? Did you keep it? Details girl, DETAILS!" Sweetie demands as she inches closer and closer towards Shadow. I use my magic to sit the two of them back down. "Ladies, calm down." I chastise as I sit upright. I'm trying to remain calm to give Shadow some space to breath. "Whatever it was doesn't mean we need to pry any further than needed. If Shadow doesn't want to-" "It was an engagement ring." "-tells us then *inhales food* COUGH COUGH COUGH!" I nearly choke to death when she says that. AN ENGAGEMENT RING!? WHAT DOES THAT LITTLE CRETIN THINK HE'S DOING!? I have to start punching my own chest as I try to regain my composure. Sweetie and Scootaloo are equally baffled by this. I chug some water to clear my throat and have to take a moment to get my breathing under control. He proposed!? Now!? After everything that happened!?He thinks that's going to make things better? He cheats on my daughter and thinks proposing will fix this!? ... I might geld this idiot. "He came by and offered me the box. Told me to wait to open it when I was less mad at him." Shadow explains as she pokes at her food. "Of course I opened it the moment he left. There was the ring. Wrapped in a note." She goes quiet for a moment. I share a nervous look with the others before resting a hand on her shoulder. She looks up to me before fixing her gaze back on the food. "He said that he was going to wait for me. He doesn't want anyone else and he'll do whatever it takes to make things right. Even if I never speak to him again, he's going to wait. That was the gist at least. It was... a lot wordier than that." "So... what're you going to tell him?" Sweetie asks. I glare at her immediately and pull Shadow in tightly. "She's going to tell him nothing!" I bark back. "He cheats and thinks the appropriate response is to propose!? I think not!" "Mom!" Shadow mumble from my side. "Who does that!? Does he really think that... that... RRRAH! OOO this is making me so mad!" "Ma..." Shadow mumbles. "Uh... Luna?" Scootaloo tries to mention, but I'm too angry to process what they're saying. "He's lucky I didn't run into him! Oh-hoho he's so lucky! Actually, he might not be! We can learn where he lives! Or maybe a little visit in his sleep is in order? We can go and see what he's actually planning in that puny little mind of his!" "Luna!" I shake my head and look to Sweetie Belle. She points to me side and l look down. I have Shadow in a headlock and she's trying to pry herself from my side. In a panic I let her go. She gasps for air as she doubles over with each heave. I try to apologies, but she just puts a hoof up for me to wait. I look to the others, but they just shrug in response. "Can you guys give us a minute?" Shadow rasps out to the others. They each nod and leave. I warn them not to go far. I might need them to rush over for assistance. There's a long moment as Shadow tries to compose herself. I try to help her, but there's nothing to really do. I pat her back a few times, but there's not much to actually offer. When she gets her breathing under control she takes a long drink of water before slamming the glass down. Luckily it doesn't break. But I can tell whatever is about to happen is going to be really hard for her to get out. "Mom." She starts, only to catch herself for a moment. "Mother... Mama Luna. Ma..." "Yes my dear?" I ask, trying to coax whatever it is out of her. She takes one deep breath before blurting out the next sentence." "I am going to try dating him again." "..." I know I heard her. I know what she said. But, for some reason, I can't seem to understand what she's saying. He cheats on her and she's going to give him another chance? I'm sure there are those that would say that there are second chances and redemption is a virtue... but no. That is a terrible idea. Besides, didn't she throw the ring out the window? "Oh." I couldn't say anything else. Nothing else that wasn't an obscenity at least. She grabs my hand quickly, scaring me slightly. "I know what you're thinking! He cheated! Taking him back would be... stupid!" She tells me as she holds me hand tightly. "Not exactly the words I'd use, but yes." I tell her as I try to get out of the daze in my own head. If this is what Shadow is like... I sincerely hope Timely just finds a nice girl and settles without any of the drama. I don't know how I'm going to handle all of this again. "But... I really, truly, honestly believe that he's going to make a change. I believe that he's being honest and wants to do better! And... I still want him. So... that's it. That's the decision that I've been thinking about since we've gotten here. When I saw you as a human... I wasn't worried or scared or anything like that. My first thought was 'wow, this will help distract me from Rumble.' And I feel really bad about that." "Shadow," I tell her as I rub the tear rolling down her cheek. She tries to rub away her watery eyes. I chuckle a little at her. "What am I going to do with you?" "Heh, not tell Dad so I can break the news to him?" I laugh at that. She really is a chip off the block. "You don't have to worry about that. If he asks, we came down here to get supplies for our vacation." I tell her, giving her a playful wink. She takes a deep breath and smiles up to me, relieved to hear my support. "Thanks Mom." I feel my own heart skip a beat when she says that. Although I am overjoyed to see her making these tough decisions and striving forward, I can't help but also worry over her. I don't want to see her get hurt all over again. And this boy... he better treat her better this time. For his sake. The others return and we finish dinner. But this time the mood is much better! The girls are all over Shadow, trying to understand how she came to this decision. But she just gives them the same answer. It's her decision. And with that, she has all of our support. Though, that is not to say that Rumble is off the hook. We're all going to have words with him. I just wonder how Miles is going to handle all of this? Even though we finished the food, we did spend an hour here using the Smartlinks. They started teasing me though when they learned that I was spending my time looking up photos of Miles. It even got to the point where it started suggesting fan pages of Miles. I never knew he had such a following. I was aware of it, I even remember that one apartment. I guess I just didn't know the extent of it. Once I moved on from that I started my actual search. But it wasn't as straightforward as I would have liked it. Just as any other peoples, looking at a mass of photos tells us nothing of my comparison. There are things about me that could be seen as more desirable. I certainly have an appearance of being fit and curvy. But if I compare myself to Miles's old squad, there are aspects where I'm lacking. I'm not as strong as Fidus Kor. And her hair is so long and beautiful! Though she is thinner and much more... rigid. There is a certain level of confidence she has about herself that I'm immeasurably jealous of. In each and every photo of her she has a certain dominating presence to herself. As if she's telling the room that she's the one in charge. Then there's her sister Tenera. Though she is fit and strong, she's still so curvy and voluptuous! Her chest is clearly larger than mine. Her hips seem wider too. There was a photo of her running track and her flank was perfect! Looking at her made me feel much more self conscious. Mostly because I recall her wanting to ask Miles out in the past. If it had come between the two of us, side by side, would he have chosen me? Lastly there's Auxilium. I recall seeing her a few times from memories or pictures. Either way, she's still so beautiful! I particularly think she has a wonderful smile. But her chest looks like it would cause her to fall forward! It's completely impractical. The rest of her seems to fall in line with the way I appear. But looking at her, I also find Dolum Ostendere. Miles's best friend. But seeing a human with that complexion still shocks me a bit. Though, I don't know why Miles calls him black. He's clearly brown. I'm black when I'm in my greater form. Seeing him holding onto Auxy the way he does, it's clear to me how much they love each other. "Okay, I have a verdict!" Sweetie announces. We all break away from our searches and give her our attention. She sounds so confident, this must be good! "I found a thing that'll tell us how hot you are! You just take a picture of yourself and it'll calculate the results!" "Sweetie, I don't think that is what you think it is." Shadow tells her. I think on it for a moment before forcing myself out of the booth. "All information is good at this point." I tell her as I set the blanket down and do my best to stand there confidently. "Whenever you're ready!" It takes Sweetie a moment to figure out how to use the camera. Even longer to use the 'app'. But when she finally gets it done we all wait on her with baited breath. Apparently you want a high score. The lower the points, the worse you did. That's how Sweetie explained it at least. "Okay... you got... ninety two points!" Sweetie announces. Scootaloo cheers and I feel myself sigh in relief. Okay, at least according to this thing I'm an attractive human! Maybe I was over thinking this after all! Maybe I should just show myself to Miles! "Huh, now they want you to... model on some couch? Apparently they'll connect you with some agencies for... oh... ooooh." "What?" They want me to model!? That's great! I mean, I know there isn't anyone there. But the fact that I qualify is great to know! "Sweetie, can you link that to me real quick?" Shadow asks. After a few moments of them fiddling around she takes a look at the thing. "Sweetie... this is a porn site." "Oh... okay! That's good! You're hot enough for porn! That's something!" Sweetie defends. The rest of us just deflate from the news. I guess it was too good to be that easy. "Well... this seems to be going nowhere fast." I say as I sit back down and wrap myself up in the blanket. There's a moment of silence as we all sit here contemplating what to do next. I don't think this photo plan is getting the results we wanted. Though it was not entirely a loss. Getting those old photos of Miles and his friends was worth the effort. So at least we're not leaving empty handed. I think for the time being we should just head to the P.C.H. and speak the medical bots there. Although... Even though I do have this blanket, I am still fairly cold. Maybe next we should go to a clothing store and get some clothes for me. Well, I guess if there are any the girls want there's no harm taking those as well. I'm just tired of being cold and barefoot. I try to find a place on my own, but it doesn't do what I want it too. So I have to get Shadow to help me. She's such a natural with this technology! I assume it's from all of her time in Mooseden. Either way we find several options and Sweetie is ecstatic about this! Shadow and Scootaloo aren't opposed, but they're not as enthralled as Sweetie. It's cute how much she takes after Rarity. Even with totally different Cutie Marks they're still so much like one another. But there is a catch to the stores. They're not open until light hours. So we're going to have to find a place to sleep for the night. There technically are limitless options for us. We can just go to any apartment and sleep there. So we decide to try and find a place near the stores we want to look at. It made the most sense. Walking on all of this cement is starting to make my feet hurt a little. But I keep it to myself as we walk. I don't want them to worry about me. If I come off as weak or too helpless they might start to think that they'll need to get Miles. So I grin and bare it. Luckily for me the girls are too distracted with the city to notice me. With the technology giving us sight into the techno world, everything is much more colorful and alive! There are holographic adverts that looks like normal people standing in front of stores. Some are showing off clothes or makeup. Others are criers for restaurants. Then there are adverts as large as hot air balloons that are floating throughout the city. One seems to be selling vehicles while another is showing off something called a VRDen. It's fascinating to see all of these human contraptions on display. It makes me want to see this place back when there were people mulling about. What I would give to have been a fly on the wall then! There are so many things I wish I could see or hear. How common was the Latin language? Miles can switch between the two easily. Was that because of where he lived or was that the norm? How did people treat these adverts? Just how full did these streets get? When we get to the building we were looking for I get a little nervous. There's nothing about the building that's upsetting about it. I just didn't think we'd need to spend so much time down here. The girls walk me in and we take a look at the directory. There are levels with stores, apartments, and one that just says technology. "So how high do you guys want to go?" Sweetie asks as we all move to the mico platforms. "All the way to the top!" Scootaloo cheers. "Actually, I think this is where we part ways girls." I tell them. They each spin around and gawk at me. "What!? No way! You can barely walk! And you want us to leave you alone down here?" Scootaloo demands. Shadow was going to say something too, but I held up a hand to stop them. "I do appreciate all of your help girls. Really, I do. But this is clearly going to take much longer than we all thought. While it has been fun, if this is really going to take time then I need you three up top to cover for me. I need a day at most to get around and see what the medical bots say. But if the three of us are gone for that long then people might start asking questions. And since we've bought stuff Miles will be able to figure out that we're down here. So I need you three to run back there and help cover for me." They look to each other as they consider my words. I know they'd prefer to stay. But that's just not in the cards right now. Not if we're going to keep this secret from Miles for the time being. Shadow is the first to look back to me. She reaches up and takes my hand with both hooves. "Are you sure about this?" She asks, squeezing my hand tightly. "If something happens to you, no one will be able to help you." "I know." I tell her as I kneel to face her more directly. "But... I'm going to have to learn to walk on my own. Besides, I have a plan for tomorrow is there is no progress-" "Don't tell me you're going to bash your head in." Scootaloo drones. "Well..." In all honesty, it's probably the fastest way to switch right now. It's nowhere near the healthiest, but I don't have time for that right now. "Can these Smartlinks connect to the surface?" Sweetie asks. I shake my head. I have no clue if they do, but I assume that they don't. "Mom..." Shadow starts but stops when a thought occurs. "If we go, you need to promise me one thing." "Of course-" "And this is a Dad and Pinkie Pie level promise! No going back on your word!" She demands from me. I nod to her, understanding the severity of her demand. "If you try to force the change and it doesn't happen; you need to promise me that you'll go straight to Dad." I wanted to say that I immediately accepted her request. But I couldn't. Not without some serious consideration. I know she doesn't want me keeping secrets from him. She doesn't want this to become something severe or hurtful. And I don't want that either! But that just seems too... scary. And I don't know why! He's my husband for crying out loud! This should be the easiest thing to tell him! But every time I imagine walking up to him like this... there's just a loud part of my brain that's telling me that it's not going to go well. But I don't even know why I think that! I don't think he'd call me ugly or anything like that. At least, I don't think he would. Sure he'd tease me for... something! Probably my inability to walk right. But he's a teaser. That's what he does anyway! Why is all of this making me second guess myself!? I look into Shadows eyes and see the conviction within them. If I don't agree to this, she's going to tell him anyway. I can't say I blame her for that. But I'm not ready for it, so I guess I don't have a choice in the matter. "If after one day I cannot make any progress, then I will head straight back home. I promise." I tell her, but she leans in. As if she's waiting for me to finish my statement. "And I will go straight to your father for help." "Thank you." She says before hugging me. "We'll cover for you until then." "You can count on us!" Scootaloo reassures me, pulling Sweetie in for a one armed hug. "You're secret is safe with us!" "Can we hit up a few stores on the way out? Please?" Sweetie asks. We all share a small laugh before I wave them off. I give Shadow one last deep hug before they go. I never thought I'd be in a position where I would be entrusting her with a secret like this. Any secret for that matter! Humans really do have a way of making matters much more complicated than they need to be. Once they're gone I make my way towards the closest teleporter. It's slow going, and I'm constantly almost falling over, but I manage to make it on my own. When I appear in the hall of apartments I use the wall for support and try my best to walk properly. It's not the best, but I make it to the first door and try it. But it's locked. I guess that makes sense. Most of these are going to be locked... It's going to be a long day. Perspective: Shadow We spent a few hours in Topaz Falls. We tried a few stores but the only one the bots would let us in was some tech repair facility. It was a little disheartening to have to leave empty hooved, but there wasn't anything we could do about that. "-saying, I think she was pretty hot for a human." Sweetie says, bringing me back to the conversation. We're on the tram heading back up. "I don't know. Big tits just seem impractical. Plus, no Cute Mark." Scootaloo counters. "Guys, am I being dumb?" I ask them, catching them a little off guard. "Yea-OW!" Sweetie starts but stops when Scootaloo punches her arm. "If that's what you want, then that's what you want. Sometimes people want dumb things! As long as you're not putting yourself in dangerous situations and you're happy, who are we to say otherwise." Sweetie and I share a look before staring back at Scootaloo. It's not that we think that she's incapable of making such a valid and mature argument... actually, yes it is. That's completely out of character for her. "Okay... thanks Scoots." I say slowly as Sweetie nurses her arm. "So... can I ask the two of you... a... really personal question?" "Of course you can." Sweetie says, getting a nod from Scootaloo. I take a deep breath and try to put my mind in the right place for this onslaught. "So... you two have... plenty of experience that I'm curious about. I know how it works, physically. But... I have questions... about... sex." The two of them beam at this and I feel as if I've opened the gates to hell. What did I just get myself into?
Chapter 278 Surrounded By UsChapter 278 Surrounded By Us Perspective: Luna THUD I whimper with my face in the ground as I lay on the stone steps leading towards the P.C.H. After looking for an unlocked apartment to sleep in I decided that it would just be faster to sleep in Miles's old dorm room. That... and I may have wanted to sleep in his bed. It was a little silly, but I set my mind to it! Which was a mistake. I managed to get a bot to help me across the city. But I had to get up the stairs by myself. I feel like that's a massive oversight made by the city. There was a ramp with a guide rail on the side. But I was feeling cocky. And now it's been an hour and I'm nearly to the top. I've bruised my legs and cut my right foot so far! My wrist is starting to hurt and I'm pretty sure there's a bump on my head. I just want to curl into a ball and cry myself to sleep at this point! But if I make it to the top a bot will be able to help me in and heal me. There's only a few more steps to go! I push myself to my hands and knees and start to crawl up the stone steps. It's extremely uncomfortable, but it's the fastest I can move. At this point I'm getting desperate so I start to push myself to move as quickly as possible. No matter how much it hurts my toes and knees and palms and fingers and nails... *Sad Luna noises* When I make it to the top I practically throw myself onto the level surface. The ground scuffs against my chest and I roll onto my side in pain. Everything hurts! Being human sucks! "GAH!" I yell and arch my back when something pokes into my side. I look over to see a medical bot stabbing me with some mechanical arm filled with various medical equipment. "You are injured. I am administering first aid." I growl in pain as I feel magic start to force its way into my body. What feels like forever eventually fades and my whole body throbs for a moment. After a few labored breaths I feel myself over and realize that all of the pain is subsiding. "Thank you dear... thank you." I tell the machine as I roll onto my back and try to catch my breath. Note to self; avoid stairs. I look to the machine and chuckle. I must look really pathetic right now. "You wouldn't happen to be able to teach me how to walk, would you?" "I can, would you like to pay for my services?" I laugh a little until I remember that this is a machine and doesn't make jokes. "How much?" I ask, still laying on the ground. I've been using Miles's account so far. But everything we've used so far can easily be explained. A medical cost? I don't know how I'm going to explain that to him. "One moment please... scan complete. Military family services render the bill to two hundred and fifty credits. Would you like to engage in my services?" Two fifty to learn how to walk... worth it. Even if I'm caught, it'll be worthwhile. "Do it. Teach me to walk!" I tell the bot. The arm with all of the medical devices drops down as several tendrils unwind from the arm. Four reach over me and wrap up my ankles and wrists. With abnormal strength it forces me to stand and holds me in place. I squeal from the sudden movement and hang onto the throw for dear life. "Center your gravity. Rotate your hips forward with each step. Keep your toes pointing forward and in line with your hips as we move forward. Good posture will aid with keeping your gravity. Shoulders back, chin up, and walk. Heel down first. Followed by your toes. Push off with your other foot and try not to over extend you knees." It's weird being puppeted by the machine as it walks me forward. I keep trying to look down to see what I'm doing, but it won't let me. So I try to go with the motions and listen to its instructions. I don't know how long we were at this. It felt like forever. We keep pacing the front of the building as it continues to puppet me. But slowly and surely I started to get the feeling down. And after that it started to click in my head. Once I could feel myself walking... I didn't need to think about it. And the machine was very precise with my movements and where to improve. When we make it to the front doors of the P.C.H. I turn around to thank the machine. But that's when I realized it had let me go and I was walking on my own! I look down to my feet and take a few more excited steps before giggling to myself. I'm walking! All by myself now! And it's only been... an hour! I'm not sure if that's good or bad to be honest. I wave to the machine before turning around and marching into the Parliamentary Congressional Hall. The warm glow of the lights heat me up immediately as I look over the grandeur of the main entrance. Gold trim. Velvet smooth carpeting. Marble pillars and obsidian walls. This place is beautiful! And, most importantly, comfortable to walk in. I do my best to remember where to go for the dorm rooms. I think there's normally supposed to be someone here to guide me or restrict movement. But I seem to be alone. I take a look at the mico platforms before guessing on one. FLASH I appear in what looks like an office. It's a bit disheveled in here, telling me that it hasn't been cleaned yet. I step off the platform to take it back to the entrance when I spot something. In one of the piles of junk there is a small metal bar sticking out. I don't know how I noticed it, but I know what it is. A Virgum de Marcas. The tool that gives humans their magic. I walk over to it and squat down by it. I can see the beautiful etchings that mark your hands within the metal. The last time I saw one of these Soul Fire warned me that I wasn't ready. But what about now? I'm a human now. Does that mean I'm ready? Will Soul Fire speak to me if I try to take it? I guess there's only one way to find out. I run a finger over the cold metal before grabbing it and pulling it out of the junk pile. I feel my heart race as I stare at the magical device. Last time Soul Fire was quick to tell me that I wasn't ready. The fact that she hasn't said anything is all the evidence I need. Now's the time. But should I do it here? Maybe I should get somewhere more comfortable before trying this. If only to be able to sit while doing this. I'm tired of being on my hooves... feet. This is going to take some getting used to. I rush back through the teleporter and try the next one. It takes a few tries until I'm in a familiar hallway. I recognize it from Miles's memories. But which one is his room? I try to think of what his room number was... but it's not coming to mind. If I saw the inside I think I'd recognize it. And I know it's none of the ones near the teleporter. I start to walk down the hall and look over each door. They're all numbered, but that seems to be the only thing about them that's unique. And none of these numbers are ringing any bells either. So I'm going to just guess and hope for the best. Hmm... room two-three-six-one it is then! I try the door and sigh in relief when its unlocked. The thought did occur to me that they all might be locked as well. But I guess a little favor was meant for me. I step inside and take a look around. Much of the room is still a mess from long ago. I can tell some bots came in to do some dusting and minor cleanup. But that just means that the mess in here was pushed into one pile. But the beds were made and look clean, so it'll have to do. The room is similar to what I recall of Miles's dorm, but it's clearly not his room. His room didn't have all of these posters of various weapons and strong looking women. It has the same set up though. Two beds with footlockers at the ends. A desk between them with a computer. Not the room I wanted but it's a good resting point. I turn around and see that there are mirrors on the closet doors. I step in front and take a look at myself. I look frumpy. Though, that is mostly because of the throw blanket I have myself wrapped up in. I huff in annoyance. I don't know where all this self doubt is suddenly coming from. But I'd really like it to stop for two seconds. I toss the throw blanket onto one of the footlockers and drop down onto a bed. I feel my hole body throb in relief from the days misadventures. It is strange to feel the blankets against me, but I'm too tired to really think on it right now. A quick nap and I'll check out the Virgum de Marcas. Then to the medical ward to see what they say about this form of mine. Seems like a plan. So now I'll just... fall asleep... Falling asleep.... now... Maybe I should get under the sheets? Once I'm fully nestled in the bed I close my eyes and try to fall asleep. Sleep... Sleeping... I am sleeping... Why am I not sleeping!? I toss the blankets off in a huff and stare up at the ceiling. Why am I so restless? I have a golden opportunity to get some sleep! I'm in a cozy bed all to myself with no one to disturb me! Why isn't this working? I look around the room and huff again. Well, if I'm not going to sleep anytime soon I should take a look around then. I sit up in the bed and take a look around. There's the lockers, the desk, the closest, and some storage above the beds. Where to start... why am I debating this? What is going on with me right now? Am I procrastinating? On what? I take a peek at the throw blanket at the end of the bed and note the metal bar sticking out. I guess I am trying to put that off. Is there any real reason not to just get it over with? I take one more look around before crawling to the end of the bed and yanking the bar out of the blanket. I sit back and look it over again. The two spots with the etchings are darker than the rest of the bar. It's not a particularly thick bar. I could fit my hand around it easily enough. So... I have a guess on how to use this. But I don't know whether or not it's correct. I hope there isn't anything else I'm supposed to do. Or if there are any cultural norms that I'm unaware of. I look over the bar once more before I slowly move my hands over the etchings. I swallow my nerves down as I grip it tightly, hoping this is right. I can feel my skin filling the etchings. If I press harder they might imprint more evenly. I don't know how long I'm supposed to do this, but I get the feeling I'll know it when it- FLASH THUD Perspective: Miles I hum to myself as I look over my computer screen. I'm looking over some data from the griffin clouds, just to freshen up on them. We're nowhere near a breakthrough. But maybe starting over will open my eyes to something. I grab my half eaten sandwich and take a bit when a proximity alarm goes off. I pull up the feed and watch as Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Shadow walk out of the tram from Topaz Falls. When did they go down there? Why did they go down there? ... WHAT THE FUCK ARE THEY DOING IN THE EVERFREE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT!? I nearly fall over myself as I start to rush out of my shed to intercept them. But when I make it to the stairs I nearly fall over in a daze. I grip my chest as I feel something within me stir. It's as if there was a massive shift in a whirlpool and I'm caught in an all new current. But just as soon as it started, it ended. I haven't had a feeling like this since I went through my changes. What was that? It was far too deep to have been from my standing too quickly. I feel myself over before I hear the senor go off again. Whatever it was, I'll have to come back to it. I need to make sure the girls get home safely so I can kill them myself! Perspective: Tempestive I wake up and feel myself nearly throw up. Something within me is getting all mixed up and making me seasick. I sit up in bed and hold my head as everything spins. Lupus huffs in annoyance as he moves away from my side. "Sorry boy," I tell him as I pet his side. "Just feeling off." He moves in to sniff my face, growling as he searches for whatever is making me feel off. I giggle a little from his cold wet nose. When I push him aside I take a look and nearly have a heart attack. Leaving Dad's shed is... that person. The one from when I blinked. The one that's going to get shot in the town fountain. The one that's surrounded by fire... What should I do? I saw him leave Dad's shed. Do they know each other? Maybe, but he also might be stealing from him! But he also saves me in the future. So he might not be bad. But he also might be bad now and good in the future! He's running off into the Everfree. Should I follow after him? I don't know, it is pretty late. And going to the Everfree this late is never a good idea. But I can't just let him go! Can I? "What do you think?" I ask Lupus. He stares out the window before walking in a circle and laying back down. "Why is that always your answer?" "Huff" I look back out the window and watch the figure disappear into the wilderness. I have to know who that is. I have to know what he has to do with the future! I toss my blankets off and jump out of bed. I grab a flashlight and start to run out of my room when I realize something. I should bring Shadow and Lupus. For extra protection! I go back to Lupus but nearly trip over myself when I see a note laying on top of him. Confused, I grab the note and read it over. Tempestive, Do not go into the woods. Not a good idea. Tempus. P.S. In case you ignore this, please bring the red bag under Shadows bed. Red. Not orange. P.S.S. This is Spatium, we love you to the moon and back! Take care and be sure to eat your all of your greens so you can grow up big and strong! I read the note again before looking around. When did they put that there? Why didn't Lupus react to them? Are they telling me to go or not to go? I mean, they said one thing, but then gave me instructions for another. Should I go? Does Shadow need that bag? Does this mean she's already out there? All this time travel stuff is giving me an all new headache. ... aw heck! I'm going! Whatever is in that bag must be important enough for Tempus to tell me about it! "Let's go Lupus!" I yell before rushing to Shadows room. I'll need to hurry though. That person has a massive head start on us now. Perspective: Miles I really should force myself to change into an alicorn. I'd get there faster. But I can't risk not getting up in time. At least it's the three of them. I don't have to worry about scaring anyone as a human. When I make it past a bend in the road I finally see them on the path. They all stop as I rush towards them. I'm relieved to see that they're okay. But since I can see that no one is hurt, I'm pissed beyond belief. "Dad!?" Shadow calls as I come to a stop before them. "W-what are you doing here?" "What am I doing?" I ask as I try to collect myself. I almost chuckle when she looks to her friends for help. "What the fu... what are you all doing out here!? It's the middle of the night!" "I can explain!" Shadow retorts. I stare at her as she slowly backs down. Whatever excuse she was going to make seems to vanish. "What she was going to say," Sweetie starts, stepping between the two of us. "Is that we're on a mission from Luna!" "What?" I ask. Scootaloo nods and jumps in front of the others. "Yeah! For some trip thing happening soon! Uh... we can't say more! We promised Luna we wouldn't!" I stare at her before looking back to Shadow. She looks like she's about to have a panic attack. "Shadow, is that true?" I ask her. She blinks and looks up to me. "Uh..." "Just tell me the truth Shadow. Why are you all out here?" I ask her, trying to sound as calm as possible. I have no clue why they would be out here this late by themselves. I find it too hard to believe that Luna would send them. There's something else going on, I can feel it. "Well, Daaaaaaa-sir?" I tilt my head as she goes wide eyed and stares off behind me. I turn around and nearly have a heart attack as Timely comes running down the path. He's got an orange waist bag in his mouth and Lupus is trotting along side him. He comes to a stop and we all stare at one another for a moment. I can't believe this is how I'm going to tell him that he's half human. This is how he finds out!? Late at night in the middle of the Everfree!? This is where I'm going to explain to my son that he's not fully pony? At least I have pants on... "Uhm... I was... I brought this!" Tempestive says as he takes hold of the bag. I look over to Shadow and glare at her as I try to think of what to say. She's equally mortified. But apparently tonight is the night! Why not? I've been home for all of three days, we're well over due at this point! "Tempestive!" Shadow squeaks out, slowly stepping around me. "U-uh... we gotta go buddy." "Why?" He asks as he presents her the bag. "Who is that? What is that?" Before she could answer a low growl rumbles through the woods. I take a look around in an attempt to figure out what's out there. Lupus starts to growl in return, the hairs on his back standing on end. I look to Shadow and she nods to me. The girls gather together and start to usher Tempestive out of the forest. I can see that he wants to protest. But he knows to keep quiet right now. But in the rush to escape he drops the bag. Whatever that was, it's watching us. The growl was to scatter us. As long as the girls stick together they should be safe. I wait until I lose sight of them to ignite my hands. Lupus is still by my side, staring out into the woods. I look out at where he's looking, but I can't see anything out there. The moonlight is hidden by slight cloud cover. So my view into the woods is spotted. There are parts that are decently visible. But then there are parts that are completely dark. "Lupus," I say quietly. "Go to the boy... go get Tempestive." He growls in response but slowly starts to leave. He pauses to look back out into the darkness before sprinting down the path. I follow his gaze and pause at a specific tree. It's a little too dark to make anything out, but I feel something looking back at me. The cloud cover moves and the light shows the tree in greater detail. But only for a moment. Something there moved out of the light. It was tall. Possibly two stories tall! Its body blended with the trees and ground cover almost perfectly. If it hadn't moved I might not have seen it. But its face stood out the most. It looked like a porcelain mask for a human. But was minimal. Just two openings for eyes and a slight bulge out for the nose. Two large antlers sprouted from the top and stretched far out to the sides. But the movement it made... it was too smooth. It was as if a normal sized person was stepping away. And there was no noise either. Something that big, moving silently, and that quickly... it's not natural. Even for the Everfree. I take a look around and try to think of what to do. Should I go after it? It seems to be leaving the area, so maybe I should just stand my ground and wait it out. But what if it's moving to flank the kids. I don't know though, it moved away from them. I also get the feeling that it was watching me. It didn't move when the kids made a run for it. It only moved once I had visual. Is it aware enough to make that desertion? I snap to my left when I hear a branch break. I can't see where it is though. That's too fast for a normal creature to be moving! There wasn't any sound either! At least I know it's here though. It's after me... so why isn't it moving? I turn again when I hear a tree groan. Something heavy just forced it to bend and almost break. But now it's ahead of me. I take a readied stance and prepare myself. There's a fight coming, I can feel it. I just have to wait for it to make the first move. Perspective: Luna I feel my eyes burn a little as something bright shines down on me. It takes me a moment to collect myself. But when I do I find myself in the white void of my mind space. I sit up and take a look around, but there's nothing here right now. There's no windows into my memories. Normally they'd at least be in the air out of reach. What's going on? I don't even see- I am here. "Gah!" I jump from the sudden voice behind me. The humanoid womanly figure with wings and a horn known as Soul Fire is hovering there. Her midnight blue body glows with enormous power. Much more than usual. It's almost as if she's about to burst into flames. It is time. "Time?" I ask as I stand up. "Time for what?" To meet us. I take a look around to see if there is anyone else here. I look back to Soul Fire in confusion but she only responds with what I assume was a smirk. She holds herself tightly for a moment before throwing her arms out. Hundreds upon hundreds of small fires explode out from her and start to race around the void. Each flame racing around the room is its own unique color. I stare up in wonder as they begin to circle around me. It's as if I'm in a tornado of prismatic fires. A single bright red flame comes racing to me and seemingly dances around me. I laugh as I watch the flame circle around my arms and waist. The red flame stops before me and spins itself tighter and tighter before a womanly figure unfurls herself from the flame. It's another Soul Fire. But unlike mine, this one is purely human in shape. She's a little shorter than me, but not by much. She takes a moment to look around before setting foot on the ground. All around me I see images of people and places I've never been. There are a few people I can recognize. Like Susurrans Bellum. And of Topaz Falls. But all of these aren't my memories. They seem to be someone else's. This Soul Fire's probably. I look to her as she crosses her arms and shifts her weight onto one leg. "Who are you?" I ask. It doesn't respond. Instead dozens of other Soul Fires race down and start to inspect me as well. I was a bit nervous at first. I didn't know what they were doing or why. But then I saw the red Soul Fire again. She looks... happy. I can't make out what is telling me this, I just feel it. She's happy. They're all happy! Is it because I'm here now? Or did I do something that they liked? Go to him. "Huh?" I ask... them. I can't make out which one said it. But at the same time it was as if they all said it. I look to the red one and she nods to me. But I feel something in my heart tell me everything is going to be okay. As if... I'm not longer alone. Go to him. "I will! I'll... I'll go!" I tell her. I don't know what she's talking about. But that doesn't matter right now. I... I trust her. I'm not even sure who she is but there's something deep within me telling me that she's here to help. Maybe she's guiding me or knows something I don't, I have no clue. I just get the feeling that whatever she's telling me, I should listen. In the blink of an eye I wake back up in the room I was in before. I look around and find myself back in my alicorn form. But not in my usual lesser form. I'm in my greater form. I run a hoof down my dark side before I take a look to the mirror. I stare back into my own teal draconic eyes and wonder why I'm back in this form. A form that I usually avoid because of the painful memories it brings. Did they put me in this form? They want me like this, but why? She said to go to him. But there's only one person I can think of that they are telling me to go to. So what has Miles down now? For someone who is supposed to be taking it easy, he's really bad at it. I stand up and start to charge my horn. If there is trouble, then there's no time to wait. I can teleport to the city walls and make my way back to the surface. As I charge my horn though, I notice something in the mirror. Under the pillow on the bed is a tablet. I look back to it and pull it out with my magic. How did I not notice this under there? I should just get going... but curiosity gets the better of me. I levitate and charge the device with my magic. I wait for it to power on before trying to open it. But it's locked. There is a picture on the screen though, and I nearly drop the device when I see them. Fidus and Tenera Kor. They're in military uniforms and holding each other while smiling for the camera. Dozens of messages start to appear suddenly. All from Fidus. Which tells me that this is Teneras tablet. I stare at the device and try to think of what to do with it. Should I take it? It seems... wrong. I don't know what's on here. And I know there are personal messages here between her and the others. Especially Fidus. And I know if I go get in I'm going to read all of them. But this is three thousand years old. What's the harm in reading those messages? Plus, she might have photos that would otherwise be unknown. And it's not like there's the possibility for me to get permission. I swipe up on the screen and see that it needs a number code to open. Without that code, this is just a shiny piece of glass with a nice photo on it. There can't be any harm in taking it, right? I'm sure it'll be fine! Besides, I might not be able to open this anyway! I take a look around before I go to the closet. I'll need a bag to carry it with me. I don't want to risk breaking anything. I take a look inside but stop when I see several outfits laying on the ground. Dresses, shirts, pants, shoes, tiny socks, everything a human female would need to be properly dressed. ... Taking her clothes wouldn't be bad, would it? Some of it looks really nice! It would be a shame not to take it! Besides, this was all left here a long time ago! It'll be for emergencies! Incase I turn human again and need to cover up! Even though the idea of that is still silly to me, I can see why humans do it. She'd understand that! I grab a laundry bag and start to stuff it with clothes. I can't take everything, so I have to consider everything that can fit. Plus, this bag feels like it's going to break if I put too much. So... maybe three outfits. Yeah... that should do just fine. I'm sure she won't mind! Now, off to find whatever trouble Miles has gotten himself into.
Chapter 279 Memories of YouChapter 279 Memories of You I hum to myself as I sit in the tram. It's driving up to the surface at a steady pace. It'll only be a few more moments before I arrive at the station. I thought I'd have to be down in Topaz much longer. But I guess not. I'm trying to have one last peaceful moment before I go hunting for Miles. I really hope he hasn't done anything foalish. I was really looking forward to our vacation together at the end of the month. As the tram levels out I grab the backpack of goods and lift in my magic. It's made for humans, so I can't just sling it on. When we finally come to a stop the bell chimes and the doors slide open. I take a deep breath before walking out. I doubt he's there, but the best place to start is at home. If I'm lucky he's there and this is all a false alarm. If only I could rely on such luck. FW-BOOM I throw myself to the ground as a blast of energy goes flying over head. A tree explodes behind me and sends chunks of wood all over. I look over to where it came from and see human Miles standing there. He's shirtless and breathing heavily. He doesn't seem injured, but I can tell he's been fighting for some time. I take a look around before teleporting near him. I don't want to appear directly next to him, just in case I catch him off guard. "Miles!" I call out to him. He snaps around and raises his arms to me, his magical lines up to his shoulders. "Fuck!" He yells as he drops his arms. "What are you doing here!? I nearly took your head off! ... Oh sweet Barbra." "What are you doing here!?" I snap back. I step towards him but he steps back. He takes another glance at me and I realize that he's eyeing me. "Focus!" "You need to get out of here! There's something out there!" He yells to me, spinning around to find whatever it is. I take a look around and ignite my horn. I don't doubt that there is something here. I just haven't seen anything. "What is it?" I ask as I step beside him to cover his flank. "Baloths? Some kind of serpent? ...dragon?" He just shakes his head as he continues to look around. I keep my guard up as well as I try to see what's out there. Because of the partial clouds there are parts of the forest that are much darker than the rest. Even with a full moon I can't fully see what's out there. And I know in this form I have greater sight at night. So Miles must have even less vision than I do. As I scan the area I nearly miss it. It's hiding behind a tree, watching us. Whatever that thing is, it's tall. Possibly fifteen to twenty feet. It looks as if it's made of wood except for the face. It looks porcelain, especially with the long crack going across its face. It has one antler reaching out to its left. I should be able to see the other, but it's not there. Maybe Miles broke it off? It's behind the tree staring at us with a single arm wrapped around holding a branch. It almost seems scared of us. Maybe it's waiting for us to do something? I keep my eyes on it as I prepare a spell. If we don't have to keep fighting it then we can just leave. "I see it." I whisper to Miles. "Should we just leave?" "How many do you see?" He asks, still watching my back. "Just one." "I saw two. I'd prefer to destroy them. I don't want them near the kids... they've seen the kids." I curse my luck for that. Maybe I shouldn't have sent Shadow and the others back then. "Okay... anything I should know?" I ask. I don't intend for him to fight alone. As much as he'd prefer otherwise. "They move fast and silent. Tough as shit too. Dodgy too. They seem scared of fire though." I hum to him as I stare down the creature. It hasn't moved yet. What could it be doing? "Why is it staring at me?" I ask Miles as I begin to pour magic into my prepared spell. Just to add more power to the attack. "Dunno. They do that before attacking." He tells me as he takes a few steps away from me. "Know what they are?" "Never seen them before. Should we take the initiative? Maybe we can-" SNAP Before I could finish my sentence a creature suddenly appeared at my side. I almost missed timed my spell to defend myself as he tried to pulverize me. But dozens of sabers appeared and sliced at the beast, snapping its arm off. At the same time the other creature came around and tried to do the same to Miles. But he was able to put a shield up in time. I bring my arcane swords up and start to push forward. The creature tries to attack again but dozens of swords are swarming it. My attacks aren't breaking through as much as the first attack, but I have enough to keep the creature off balance. It covers its head for a moment before it sends out a high pitch screech that echoes throughout the woods. I have to step back from the power of its voice, nearly losing my spell in the process. The creature stomps down and throws its arms out. The arm that I severed grows back instantly while all of the cuts I put close up. In the span of a second it seems as if it's back to normal. I try to push my attack, but the creature ran off to the right. A second later it appears on my left and tries to punch my side. I move my swords in the way and leap into the air with my wings. Its fist shatters several swords, but they buy me enough time to get away. I race up and begin to channel the magic of the forest into myself. Whatever this thing is, I can't just whittle away at it. It needs to be one decisive attack. I glance down and watch as the creatures move to attack Miles. He moves between pushing one back with magic while dodging the other as best he can. Each blast of magic he sends out is enough to brighten the forest. But they're just too fast for him to catch. He's trying to set them up to be as close to one another as possible. The problem is that they move far too quickly for something like that. Miles starts to push back on them, using beams of energy to try and force them to retreat. But the creatures don't care that they are taking hits. One of them charges directly at him before it takes a beam of Soul Fire directly to the chest. Wood explodes all over as the other one lunges forward and grabs Miles. I inhale and take all of the energy I've taken so far and unleash it upon the creature. The world goes dark as all of the surrounding light disappears. My beam of energy catches the creature mid throw and blasts it into the ground. I hold the spell on it as I focus on destroying it. The light emitting from the beam glows faintly like the moon, revealing the area around us. Before I met Miles this was my most powerful spell possible. Moonblast. I've never been able to cast it so quickly before. Nor with so much power. All of the world fades away when I drop the spell. My head spins a little and I can hear the ground sizzle as the floor burns. I slowly lower myself as light begins to come back. It's as if someone had turned out the lights only to slowly bring them back on. The creature and everything that was behind it is gone. Burned to a crisp. Only its arm is left. Miles pries himself from its grasp and stands back up. Looking around we don't see the other one. But I have a feeling that it left. They were smart enough to wait for a surprise attack. I doubt that it'll wait for another when it's out numbered. "Well," Miles starts as he feels the ground where I attacked. "At least this time you didn't hit me." "... OH! It was one time!" I yell back at him, getting him to chuckle. "I swear! Besides! You told me to do it!" "Mmm... I don't recall that part." He says as he stares out into the wilderness. I huff in annoyance. Of course he doesn't recall that part! So convenient for him to forget that he wanted me to do that! Noooo, it has to be 'my powerful wife attacked me' or 'try not to hit me this time!' "Well, not that I think it will, but we should keep watch here for a bit. Just to make sure that nothing comes to check the battlefield afterwards." He tells me as he starts to walk towards the tram station. "I'd hardly call this a battlefield." I comment as I follow after him. I stop when I see the an orange bag on the ground. Intrigued, I pick it up and open it... "Miles." "Yeah?" He asks as he picks up my bag from Topaz. "Why do you have a bag with sex toys with you?" I ask as I levitate a vibrator out of the bag. He looks over to me and goes white in the face. I stare at him before I look back down to the bag. I spin it around and see Shadow's name written on it. And, of course, as I read her name more of her toys fall out of the bag. ... ... I drop the bag and scurry off towards the tram station. There are too many questions that I don't want answers to. I'm sure there will be discussions later about the missing... items. But for now I don't want to think about that. Miles follows after me as he looks over the bag I 'borrowed' from Topaz. "So... wanna tell me what you were doing in Topaz?" Miles asks as we awkwardly take a seat at the tram station. I take a deep breath as I try to think of what to say. I know honesty is the best policy. I know that Miles won't be mad or anything like that. I just... I don't know if I'm ready to tell him. I don't know how to be this forward about something like this. And I don't know why!? He's my husband! Why is there no other secrets between us besides this!? I know he'd tell me if... actually, he did just tell me! So why can't I find the courage? "Miles." I start but stop as I feel my heart skip a beat. I take a deep breath as try to calm myself. But I can't seem to get a hold of myself. Miles slowly moves a hand to hold my hoof. He gives me a gentle squeeze and a smile. I sigh and lean against him, resting my head on his shoulder. He always has a way to know just what to do for me. It almost makes me feel guilty honestly. Because I don't know if I have the same effect for him. "What ever it is, I promise you, it's nowhere near as bad as you think it is. You can tell me." He tells me quietly as he rubs his thumb against my hoof. I think on it for a moment before I decide to be honest in a different way. "Miles... there is something I want to tell you, want to show you, but... I don't know why. But I'm not ready to do so. There's just something nagging at the back of my mind telling me to wait. I'm sorry, but... there's something I'm keeping from you." There's a moment of silence between the two of us. With my head against him I can feel his heart still racing from the previous fight. He hasn't looked at me yet. Still staring out at the woods. His thumb is still making circles against my hoof. "Was that all?" He asks with almost a chuckle. I lift my head to look him right in the eyes. He seems like this is some sort of joke! "Aren't you mad!? Isn't your whole society about honesty and truth!? This isn't some joke Miles! It's been... difficult to deal with!" He nods to me as he leans back against the bench. He stretches out for a moment before rocking forward and jumping to his feet. He looks back to me and smiles that little cocky smile he gets. "Luna, amica mea, honesty doesn't mean you have to say what you don't want to. If there's something that you're not ready to tell me, then that's okay. Because you told me that there is something. You can be honest and truthful without being forthcoming. And if it's really this bothersome for you, and you really want to figure it out on your own, then I'll support you." I look away for a moment as I feel a weight lift from my soul. I should have known he'd be understanding about this. But... I guess I let my nerves get the better of me. I glance up to Miles as I feel a wave of silliness wash over me. Of course he'd let this go so easily. "Itane?" I ask in his tongue. Even though it's one of his native languages, it's become our own little escape of sorts. We use it to speak only to one another. Or to let each other know that this is at a different level from before. There are a few others that can speak it, but none use it the way we can. "Non mihi molestus es?" "Numquam." He says as he steps forward and takes a knee before me. He takes a single hoof in both of his hands and kisses it gently. I feel myself melt as he slowly start to kiss his way up my foreleg. Each tiny peck of his lips is enough to make my heart flutter as I watch him breathlessly. I become lost to his touch. Wondering how far he'll reach... how far he'll go. Just as he reaches my chest he pushes back to stand. I almost feel abandoned when he does so. But he just smiles to me and motions with his head for us to return home. I take one last look out to the forest before I rise to follow after him. Whatever that thing was, I don't think it'll be coming back anytime soon. Despite how formidable it was, I don't think it was meant to attack. It seemed better at spying. But our time in the Everfree has ended. We need to get back home and make sure the kids are safe. "So..." Miles starts as we walk down the path together. "First on my mind, aside from you that is, why do you have Tenera's old laundry bag?" "What!?" I nearly trip over myself when he says that. I take the bag from him and look it over. There doesn't seem to be anything on there that says that it's hers. "What makes you say that it's hers!?" It looks like any other human bag. Olive green canvas with a thicker black bottom. There isn't a single thing about this bag that could possibly stand out about it! Miles chuckles a little as he rubs his neck. One of his tells that what he's about to say isn't the easiest. "Well... I mean, it is just a bag. But the clothes inside are the giveaway. I mostly remember that yellow dress of hers. It was her favorite to wear for special, non formal, occasions." I open the bad and see the old tattered yellow dress rolled up on top. ... ... ... "I first want to say that I did not intend to steal from her specifically. I just happened into what was her room and then... yeah." I feel my ears pin back as I nervously pass the bag back to him. He laugh a little at me as he opens the bag and looks inside again. I feel myself blush as I watch him dig through it. All of this pop and circumstance and he's probably going to figure it out right now. He stops when he sees something though. I can tell it caught him off guard. He pulls out the tablet and drops the bag as he turns it on. I can practically see his heart break when he sees the Kor sisters once more. "I don't believe it." He mutters as he runs a hand over the screen. I feel myself hold my breath as he looks it over. I don't know how he's going to feel about this. Will he be mad that I took it without telling him? Will he be happy just to see them once more? Both? "I couldn't open it." I tell him, hoping that this will buy me some credibility. "It needs a code. I didn't want to chance guessing in fear of getting locked out." He doesn't say anything. He just stumbles backwards until he finds and tree and drops to sit. He stares at the photo for a moment longer before he starts to smile. Even just seeing the corner of his mouth twitch up was enough to put my nerves at ease. At the very least he's happy to see them again. "This picture here," He tells me as he pats the ground next to himself. I take a seat beside him and look at the photo with him. "This is our graduation. Not only were they the first female Spartans in Topaz Falls history, they were also able to do it together. While not the first siblings in history, it's still impressive." "Wow..." I mutter as I look down at the screen. "Would you happen to know how to open it? If only for the pictures." He thinks about it for a moment before swiping to try and log on. Whatever the code is, it's a four digit password. He tries a few numbers, but they don't work. He hums to himself as he swipes the login screen away. He starts to check the notifications and we start to read the messages sent by Fidus. The first few are a bit jumbled. A letter here. A single word there. Judging by the dates, it took Fidus four months to send a full message. But then they start to paint a larger picture. August 26th, 1132: Heading to hospital. Stomach pains. September 19th, 1132: Pregnant. November 2nd, 1132: Don't tell command. I can still fight. December 12th, 1132: I don't need anything so stop asking! All I do is sit on my ass and do nothing anyway. Only four messages in the first few months but I can already get what's going on. I remember well enough when we were in Miles's memories what happened to her. It seems her assault culminated in a pregnancy. A pregnancy she tried to ignore it seems. I don't have the timeline down to an exact yet, but it seems like this all happened before Topaz Falls was abandoned. Or possibly during? Miles moves back to the code screen and stares at it for a moment. He types in a number and tries it, but it fails. He hums to himself as he stares at it. I try to think of something to add, but I don't have a single clue as to what it could be. A birthday? A special date? Possibly something to do with their unit? It could be anything! "Did you know Tenera once wanted to date me?" Miles asks as he stares at the screen. The question surprises me for a moment. "I think you've mentioned it once. Or we saw a clear interaction before." I tell him as I try to stomach my jealousy. "Yeah. Of course I had no clue at the time. I was so focused on school or the Spartans that I didn't even consider romance. It just wasn't anything that came to mind. And I knew there were attractive people out there. But... I don't know. I guess I just never saw them. Not until I saw you that is." I smile from the compliment. I don't think he meant it as a compliment though. He can be rather factual at times. Still, it's nice to hear him speak of me like that. It's nice to know that he's genuine in his attraction and love for me. 1-3-3-7 He types in a code and the screen presents the home page. We stare at it for a moment before he chuckles a little. I'm still at a loss though. What was that code? Miles glances to me and notices my slight confusion. "My old room number." I stare at him before chuckling a little. My chuckle grows to a laugh and we both share in the silliness of it all. The poor dear must have had it really bad for him. I feel a little pity for her though. I'm sure Miles being clueless wasn't helpful in the slightest. He moves to read all of the messages from Fidus. Reading through them, we get a better picture of what happened between the two sisters. Tenera was juggling between fighting the Kroth and supporting her sister. But Fidus clearly wasn't taking the pregnancy well. She wanted to fight. But not just the enemy. She was fighting her friends and family too. It's hard to get a clear picture, but the impression I get is that she wanted to take care of everything herself. She didn't want to be a burden. But by the time they got to the Emerald City she was too far along to do any fighting. She was supposed to start her six year maternity leave. Captains orders. We see messages where Tenera would update Fidus with doctor appointments but then have to yell at her to actually go. Or where Fidus would start yelling at Tenera about hiding certain supplements. It's clear that she didn't want to change her life style. Then they arrive to Ruby Canyon. I get the impression that Tenera had to drag her all the way there. At the very least it sounds like Fidus didn't want to leave the Emerald City. She wanted to stay and fight in the civil war. Tenera wanted to get her o Ruby Canyon for some cure. Something that she wanted her and the baby to get. She talked about fighting for the two of them so they could secure their future. Something along those lines at least. But then the messages become odd. There are a few giving random addresses. One is giving coordinates with a differential number, whatever that means. But the last one is a date, but it doesn't line up with the date of the message. August fifteenth, eleven thirty three? There's no context to that date. It's just there. Date wise it's after all of the other messages. But it's after when the actual message was sent. Miles stares at it for a moment before scrolling back up to reread some of the messages. Once through them he goes to the home page and thinks for a moment before closing the device. He passes it to me, so I take it in my magic. "Sorry, I don't think I can go through pictures right now." He tells me. I nod to him as I put the tablet away. "I understand. But what was going on with those messages?" I ask. He thinks to himself for a moment before shaking his head. "I think I have an idea, but I'm not sure. They almost seem like coordinates for time travel. I know Celestia could do that for a few minutes, maybe that's what's going on?" I hum in thought. That does seem likely. But what could they possibly be needing from him? And would it be wise to travel back in time? Couldn't that cause great harm to the timeline? Not to mention we can't rule out the fact that this might also be a trap. Discord was there in the past. Maybe he was messing with their communications. Or maybe it was from Miles to Miles to get him back there. If he went, would he stay? Would he help his friends travel to Equestria? If Celestia can send him back in intervals, wouldn't that be enough to give them the edge? All of these questions are too much for me to think on. But the one thing I feel from all this is that we shouldn't do anything too rash right now. If it really is for time travel, then there is no rush to do anything. The past isn't going anywhere. "I think we should wait to act on this." I tell him, getting him to nod slowly. "We don't have enough information to act on. We can always come back to this later." "I agree." He tells me as he sits back. "Plus, if I'm going to beat your challenge, I can't go crusading through time. Can I?" I laugh a little from that. At least he's still interested in that. Though, I am too. So it's doubly good in that regard. I scoot closer to him and rest myself against his side. The night has become quiet once again. Even the winds have grown still, despite our location. "Tempestive saw me." Miles tells me as he looks to the starry night. "... Oh." Well, when it rains I guess. "Did you speak with him?" "Not yet. I had Shadow take-" "Wait! Why was he in the forest to begin with!?" I yell, almost falling over. "Don't look at me! I didn't bring him!" Miles defends. As shocking as it is to have him see Miles as a human, I'm more concerned about him just... galivanting through the Everfree! "I thought he was asleep when I saw the girls on the cameras! He must have heard me make a run for it and followed!" I sigh in annoyance as I think about Tempestive. We're going to have another, even longer, conversation about him entering the forest. But, that aside. He knows what a human is. Or, at the very least, he's seen one. They even had some interaction now. We knew this day was coming. Though, I wish he was just a little older. I guess these things were just bound to occur. "So... how should we handle this?" Miles asks me as he relaxes back against the tree. "Should we just full force tell him everything? Or do you think we should trail it for now until he's a bit older?" "Truthfully, I'd prefer to wait. He's only six, this might still be a lot to take in." I tell him, getting a firm nod of approval from him. "But, he's going to have questions. So... I think we should answer his questions in full, but if not go any further than we need to." "We should have a timeline." Miles adds. "We talked about it before, but there was never a line in the sand. When do we think will be the age where he'll be able to handle everything? How old are we talking? Ten? Twelve? Eight?" I mull it over for a moment as I try to think on it. There's still that small part of me that wants him to stay my little foal for as long as possible. But that's not fair to him. But when would make the most sense for him to learn about this? If not now, when? I still think now is too young. I think having his cutie mark would be a good starting point though. Learning he's not fully pony while not knowing what makes him special? That just seems like a bad idea. But there's a chance he may never get one. He's half human. I don't think it's too likely, since Miles has one. But we don't know that for sure. "Having his cutie mark is a good starting point." I tell Miles, breaking him from his own thoughts. "Assuming he gets one." "Right. I think that's a good idea. Maybe delay it a week or two from then. But, in case he doesn't get one? He should learn about it before he's an adult. It's only fair to him." "That we're in agreement on... so... Twelve? Ten maybe?" I ask. I do want to delay it a tad bit longer. And honestly if he doesn't have a cutie mark by then it would help him make sense of everything. "Let's go in the middle then. If by the time he is eleven he does not have a cutie mark, then we'll tell him. But when he gets his cutie mark, we'll tell him shortly after that. Deal?" He asks before holding his hand out. I shake his hand and give a firm shake. "Deal. Well, that's assuming he doesn't ask a million questions tonight." I tell him, getting him to chuckle. "Right. All this planning and he might just barrel through everything later." He says as he looks back up to the night sky. I look up with him and stare up at the tapestry of constellations. "This night reminds me of when I first arrived in Ponyville." Miles says after a moment of silence. "How so?" I ask, leaning against him more. He just shrugs as he wraps an arm around to hold me against him. "I don't know. It just... There was a lot of uncertainty that day. And now... it feels similar." I hum in response. "I see... but things are good now... right?" I ask, a bit curious to his answer. He just chuckles as he tightens his hold on me. "Leagues better. The night is... there's change in the air. You know? Just like back then. Look what happened in under a year when I first arrived." "Pfft! A year? Miles, you had me pregnant in barely a few months!" I tell him, getting us both to snicker. "Well! You know... old habits and all... Anyway! I just feel as if we're at a turning point. We going to start trying for another baby. Tempestive is learning about his true nature. Fuck, Shadow graduates this year! Things are going to start changing again. And I feel hopeful, you know?" I look up to the night sky and think on that for a moment. Miles isn't one to normally talk or feel hopeful. But hearing him say that, it puts a smile on my face. Back then, he didn't want to think about the future. He knew he wanted one, but that wasn't a luxury he could afford. But now... now there's nothing but time for us. We can afford to be hopeful again. "Yeah, I get it." I tell him as I nestle against him, letting my heart fill with hopes and dreams again.
Chapter 280 Past VS PresentChapter 280 Past VS Present Perspective: Rainbow Dash BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BE-SLAM I slap my alarm off as I snap awake. Today is the day! I practically throw myself out of bed as I zip around the room to get ready for the day. There's not a moment to lose! Comb my mane! Grab my flight suit! Brush my teeth! I need to get through my morning routine as quickly as possible so I can get out of here! I burst through my bedroom door and zip towards the kitchen! Tank was on his way to me, but I rushed past him too quickly to fully notice. I start to zip around the kitchen to get things ready for the day. I'm going to need to pack a meal for later. Oatmeal should be a good enough breakfast. At least for me that is. Soarin can make something if the others need more. Gotta get the rest of my gear for the show though. Today is the annual Equestrian Aeronautics Show. And the Spartans are going to take home the gold. Though normally you have to be invited to attend, we're going to make an entrance that leaves them no choice. With the Captain out I know I can convince Storm to let me lead us to victory! Miles was on the fence about the whole thing the last few years. He doesn't want out first year to compete anything but a landslide victory. And even though I could take home the most medals on my own. The rest of the team needed time to get up to my level. But this is the year we're going to jump in and blow the Wonderbolts out of the sky! We'll crash their party and steal their awards, leaving them a total mess! They'll regret ever doubting us and learn to keep their grimy little mitts off others special flight moves and embarrass them in front of all their friends and family... I mean, today is totally the day the Spartan Jumpers make a name for themselves. Yeah... that's what this is all about. As I bolt from task to task the others slowly start to trickle in. Soarin was first in. After a quick peck on the cheek he took over making breakfast. He knows what today is. Ever since his injury forced him out of the Wonderbolts he's really taken to being the stay at home parent. He also part times as a junior flight instructor, but I know it's not his dream. That's also a part of why I need to win this today. I want him to know that backing me this whole time wasn't a waste. I need to prove to him that I'm not just some... loser dropout... Scootaloo drags herself in next. I don't think she knows what's going on. All of my zipping around is most likely what woke her up. I manage to pause by her to give her a quick nuzzle before returning to look for the rest of my gear. Seeing her stretch out her wings and plop down at the table reminds me of when I was her age. She's almost done with school! And after that... Well, I think she's mentioned some college or possibly trying out for certain Air ball teams. Maybe some combination of the two. I still remember the days when she couldn't fly and rode around on that scooter of hers. And now she's about to start her professional career! It fills me with pride to see her advancing like this. But it also makes me feel incredibly old too. Jet is the last to make it out. He's as chipper as usual. He and I are both morning ponies. I doubt he knows what's going on today too. But he'll follow along regardless. He's always down for an adventure. He gets that from both Soarin and I. He's also got both of our natural talent for speed and maneuverability. When he gets older he could give me a run for my money! I stop by the kitchen table and look around in a panic. I have everything but my helmet! Where could it be!? I checked everywhere it would normally be! It's not a small thing, how could it be hiding? "Dash?" I look over to Soarin. He just nods his head down and I see Tank slowly hovering towards me with my helmet in his grasp. "Thanks buddy." I tell him as I take it from him. It give his little heli-pack a look over before booping my nose to his. I feel a little silly as the kids snicker at me. But Tank just boops me right back. "Okay! Okay! Okay!" "What's with all the zwooshing!" Jet asks as Soarin starts to set breakfast. "Got a mission?" "Something like that." I tell him as I take my seat. Soarin passes me a bowl and I mouth my thanks to him. "Today I'm taking the Jumpers to crash the Equestrian Aeronautic Show." Jet and Scootaloo give me a surprised look. Though jet is surprised with excitement while Scootaloo is surprised with concern. To be fair, she was there when Spitfire stole my thunder. "That's today?" She asks as the rest of us start to eat. "A-Are the jumpers really ready for this though? I mean, I know you are!" "Nice save." I comment as I start to eat. I want to scarf it all down and get moving, but I know better. I don't want anything going wrong today. Everything has to be perfect. "But what about the others? And don't you have to be invited?" Scootaloo asks. "Don't you worry your pretty little head about all of that!" I tell her between mouthfuls of oatmeal. "I've got a full proof plan for that. And the Jumpers are more than ready for this! Just you wait and see!" "Wait... WE'RE GOING TO THE SHOW!?" Jet asks, practically spitting out all of his food in his excitement. "Easy there buddy." Soarin tells him as we all chastise him for being gross. "But yes. Who else is going to cheer on your mother and the other Jumpers?" "YUSH! YUSH! YUSH!" Jet cheers as he pumps him fists into the air. We all share a laugh at his excitement. Scootaloo gives me a concerned look before she starts to eat. Even though I know she has high faith in me I know she's worried about today. She was there when I tried out for the Wonderbolts and was shown up. Back then she held me in such high regard. Seeing me flounder like that... well, she may have taken it as hard as I did. But not today! This time we're going to be the ones to take home the gold! I take a look outside and note where the sun is. I wolf down the last of my oatmeal before rushing around the table to give my goodbyes. I zip out the door and drop down the race towards the Captains house. I'm sure he'll want to take the family and get a good show! Especially to see us making it on our own! This'll show him that we can manage on our own without him. I rush to the front door and throw it open. I pause when his two wolves rush out and scurry off before walking in. "... saw that scary monster." I only catch the last thing Tempestive says as I approach the kitchen. But I can see whatever they're talking about has put Miles in a slight state of shock. Luna isn't looking too thrilled either. I stand there for a moment as an awkward silence fills the room. Whatever they were talking about, it seems like it was heavy. "Is this a bad time?" I ask, getting all of their attention. "Rainbow Dash!" Miles chirps as he tries to compose himself. "What're you doing here? Did something happen?" "No, nothing has happened... I'm just here to relay that I'm taking the Jumpers to attend the Equestrian Aeronautical Show. It would be good to have a cheering section, if possible." The table blanches from my announcement. Most of them are too whiplashed to say anything right away. But Luna manages to find her voice first. "Don't you have to be invited to attend that?" I roll my eyes to that. "Only if you don't know how to make an entrance." I tell her confidently. "I know these ponies. Being invited is their way to gate keep who they compete with. But make an entrance that ensures that everypony is talking about you... Well, showing up but not competing is the same as telling everypony that you're too chicken for a real contest! Trust me, we'll compete!" "Do you believe that you'll win?" Miles asks. His tone is a little more serious than before. He knows what this all really means. We've done missions for the world, sure. But this is something on a different level. This time it's directly challenging what Equestria is supposed to be dominant in. It's about becoming the king slayers of the air. "We have nothing to fear." I tell him before I slide my helmet on. "Will we see you there?" Luna and Miles share a look but Tempestive looks as if he's about to explode. I had a feeling having him in the room would help persuade them to my side. And from the sounds of it, it seems like they could use a distraction. Miles and Luna share a silent conversation before Luna sighs in defeat. "We'll be there-" Miles starts. "YES!" Tempestive yells in excitement as he springs into the air. Before we could say anything further her rushes out of the room. I assume to go tell Shadow what's going on. "Get ready for a show Cap'n! You haven't seen flying like todays! We'll take home the gold for sure! Just you wait!" I don't wait for him to respond. I'm too pumped to sit still! Plus I still have to get Storm and the other Jumpers together and then race to Cloudsdale. The competition starts in a few hours so I don't have a moment to lose! Much like my plan to attend the competition, my plan to convince Storm Cloud was more asking for forgiveness rather than permission. I mostly just grabbed all of the Jumpers, told them there was an urgent mission to attend to, and started flying towards the airfield. Once we were halfway there I started to tell them the game plan. Most weren't too happy that we're competing with such short notice. To be fair, I normally wouldn't do something like this. But... I know these guys. We've been training for the past four to six years together! I've made sure that the amount of wing power per flier is at a competitive level! Everything we've drilled is far more demanding than this show. I wouldn't allow any of them to call themselves Jumpers otherwise. I've seen what the Wonderbolts consider a normal training regiment. So I made sure that every single Jumper would be able to meet or exceed their expectations. Most of this was just me pushing them as hard as possible. It's a bit easier to do so while in a military setting. Especially one as demanding as the Spartans. But then there was the treasure trove of info I was able to pull from the Terradisians. It wasn't easy to get into the Core, but once I was able to it unlocked everything. Unique flight patterns. Equations for air resistance and aerodynamics. Advanced dietary plans and exercise routines. There was even a program that could scan our wing flaps and maximize our thrust output! It took a lot of study and coordinating with the Captain, but we worked our tails off to get to this point. And we're more than ready to win this. We have enough fliers for two Flights. Which only doubles our chances of winning! Since I'm the Lieutenant for the Jumpers, I lead the first Flight. On my tail is Dust Devil. She's our most senior flier that's not an officer. Ellzy is next with High Flier on his tail. Most teams would pair griffins with griffins since they don't tend to have the same flight speed as pegasi. But I made sure to pair the griffins with ponies just to show off our coordination. The second team is lead by Storm with Johnathan on his wing. Jonathan is actually a better flier, but Storm has him out ranked so there's no fixing that. I'd say Jonathan is probably our second best flier skill wise, so he'll actually help Storm look better in the end. Rounding out their team is Night Fury with Shifted Past on his wing. Though we have the changeling altered as a pegasi so he can match his speed. I take a look to my right and make eye contact with Dust Devil. She blinks to me before moving closer to speak. "Everything okay?" She yells over the wind. "Yeah. Call it out, helmets on!" I tell her, getting a solid nod in return. "ARMOR ARMOR ARMOR! PREPARE FOR CONTACT!" She yells to the others. I slide my helmet on as wait for the HUD to come online. We're competing in our full armor. Just to show off. Though it is Terradisian armor, it is modified for flight. So it doesn't protect as much as a normal set. But it's even lighter with the added benefit of still being some of the most protective armor for any flier! It still needs some work though. I feel like the wing joints are a little too exposed and the shoulder sleeves could use some better padding. I shake my head when I hear the others sounding off. It's time to get my head into gear. "WING FOUR, READY!" Night Fury yells out. "WING THREE, READY!" Storm Yells out next. "WING TWO, READY!" Ellzy calls out. My Hud turns on and I take a look down below. The airfields of Cloudsdale fill me with slight dread for a moment. Every time in the past I've competed here in something's always gone wrong. People stole my routine. Scootaloo got injured. Rarity almost fell out of the sky... But not this time! This time... we're winning. "WING ONE, READY. DROP TIGHT LEFT AND BREAK FLOW!" We all bank to our left and start to race down towards the airfield. We've worked on some shorthand orders. Some phrases we can pass along to one another just so we can keep our speed up. Drop is pretty obvious. Descend quickly. Break flow is a little more complicated. Essentially it means go against whatever currant there is. Head wind, storm direction, or blitz through an opposing force head on. The airfield is filled with various troops of ponies and griffins flying around. But there is a single mass flying around the center track. They're most likely warming up. But I can see several Wonderbolts mixed in there. More than anywhere else. So that's where we're going to my our entrance. The eight of us have our wings tucked as we let gravity do its thing. Though I miss the air racing through my mane, having an altimeter in my view is a very nice bonus of the helmet. And there's still that weightless feeling that comes with racing towards the ground and max speed. A single referee sees our Flight and starts to whistle at us. But we're not going to listen to him just yet. Just as the others notice his annoying blows and look up we finally make it to the mass and fly through at break neck speeds. I took aim for a specific fiery orange pegasis mare and cut her off. The shocked look on her face was almost worth all the trouble. When our Flight breaks through I snap my wings open. The effect is immediate as we kill our speed. "THIS IS IT!" I yell over the radio, another courtesy of the helmet. "Flights break and Scout the mass!" Storm breaks left and I break right. We did lose the majority of our speed, but we never stopped. We we have just enough momentum to get us on level with the mass of confused ponies and griffins. We start to circle the group, building more and more speed as we start to narrow in on them. Most are too confused to do anything right now. But there are a few that know what's going on. Spitfire is glaring daggers at me right now. Even though there are others asking her questions her attention is solely on me. Good. When we get close enough to start hitting the group I break off from circling the mass. Storm follows after me without order. We perform a rising helix in front of the mass. It's a tough move to make. Basically Storm and I are weaving between each other while our tails are dramatizing the weave. Doesn't sound hard on paper. But If Storm and I don't manage the weave correctly we'll cause a crash in the tail. Banking right to weave once more I see the three tails behind me whip pass me to complete their helix. Opposite of us the second Flight is doing the same. Storm looks to me as I hesitate in the air. He's waiting for me to make my move. I take a quick glance down to make sure that we have their attention. And sure enough there isn't a single person looking anywhere but at us. "DEAD DROP!" I tilt back and leave my wings to relax against the air. Our flights drop down together in perfect unison. A dead drop is a classic maneuver, maybe even low bar. But it's the uniformity that makes it worthwhile. The instant compliance with my moves and call outs are what will set us apart from the others. I know my Flights will perform the moves without question. And I know they know how to do it all. You don't need to be the most skilled to win this contest. Uniformity is what will carry the day for us. We drop for a moment before we perfectly catch ourselves and flip back to a hover. Just in time to be one level above the mass of confusion. We stay there in the air flapping in unison, as if we were marching in place while airborne. Those below are quiet. Some seem impressed while most are just confused. But there are the select few that are genuinely angered by our presence here. I take a deep breath as I ready myself to address them. It's been a while since I've had to do any public speaking. I just hope my voice doesn't squeak. "THE SPARTAN JUMPERS HAVE COME TO COMPETE!" I announce to the crowd. But they're all a little too confused to know what's going on. "This is an invitational contest!" Spitfire yells back, flying up to be on the same level as the rest of us. "You can't just show up and-" "Well I take it our invitation got lost in the mail then." I tell her, getting few chuckles here and there. She just glares at me, annoyed by my presence even more. "Though, if you really don't want us to compete, we'll understand. We wouldn't want to challenge the mighty Wonderbolts in their home turf!" There are a few more snickers from the crowd. Mostly from the griffins that I assume are from the colonies. I knew it wouldn't be hard to get the crowd on my side. I'm sure most of them are just here to compete for the sake of flying. Most don't hope to ever actually beat the Wonderbolts. If anything, they come here to hopefully get scouted by them. "It would be no challenge-" "Then what's the problem!" I yell over her as I zip within hoofs reach. "Your call there. Accept the challenge or fly away with your tail tucked between your legs. What'll it be?" She considers me for a moment. She's weighing her options right now. She eyes my armor and underlying flight suit. The number of fliers with me. She must be thinking of the Flights she has present. Wondering if they can beat a group like us. We must look slow. Weighed down with armor. Maybe even a little clunky too. Mixing ponies and griffins within Flights. If I were in here position, I'd take the challenge. But she's not in this for the love of contest. The Wonderbolts usually use this contest as a sorta scouting and fixer contest. Either they find new talent and bring them into the fold. Or they crush the competition and use the victory as a morale boost for the rest of the flight season. It's a middle ground contest. Small enough for the big shots to not take too seriously. But big enough to make waves for the flight season. "Alright. We won't protest your addition." She tells me, offering a hoof to shake. I grasp her hoof and we each try to put as much pressure into it as possible. "Break a leg." "Keep wishing." I growl back to her. We break away from one another and I fly back to my Jumpers. They huddle up with me as I take a deep breath. "No turning back now." Storm tells me as he watches the Wonderbolts huddle up. "Do you really think we're going to compete with the Wonderbolts?" High Flyer asks nervously. "I mean, I came here to fight! So don't worry about me... But, you know... It's the Wonderbolts." "Don't worry about them." I tell him as I remove my helmet. "We've drilled longer and harder than any other group here. We've been waiting for out chance to show the world what we're made of, and now's our time! Don't worry about winning. Just focus on your wing mate and remember your training." They all share a nod and we start to discuss todays events. I know we're ready. I know we can win! But I also know that this isn't going to be easy. No matter what, all that bravado won't mean a damn thing if I choke again. If any of us do. But there's no time to focus on that. It's game time. Todays competition has three events. Usually a group would try to have one or two teams per event. But our two Flights are competing in all three. Most fliers don't have that kind of endurance, but we have more to prove. Each contest awards points for the top three positions. First gets you five. Second gets three. And third gets one point. If you're team can get fifteen points, then you're the Golden Wing. There have only ever been three Golden Wings in history! And as much as I'd like to win the title, I know it's not likely. It's a team event, so there's little chance of that. The first contest is an agility relay course. Best of three laps around the lower section wins first. Tied times go to sudden death relays. Hitting any of the obstacles will add time to your run. Of all the contest today I believe we'll do the best of this one. With our slightly higher weights we'll better manage the maneuvers. Most get distracted and try to speed through it all. Slow and steady is the name of the game here. The next contest is probably going to be the hardest for us. It's a climb test. You start near the ground and need to fly up a quarter mile. Then you drop back down and repeat the process for however many laps they're calling for. If you hit the ground it's an automatic disqualification. With our armor on this is going to slay us. Though we're going to try and win, we're okay with losing this one. If we can win the first and last contest then all will be good. The last contest is the most brutal. One massive relay. Fifteen miles. Nonstop! Even without the other competitions that is pretty brutal. Most flight schools only check for your three mile flight time. So something going five times the distance while timing you is rough! But luckily it's a relay, so you trade off between the various wings you have. This one is a bit of a toss up. We've done it before on our own and our times aren't bad. But it's a matter of preforming under pressure. And if all else fails, and three different teams win each contest, it goes to sudden death. A freestyle contest to show off your skills in the air! The refs turn into judges and score you on originality, style, and speed. Hopefully it doesn't come to that though. The last time I was here it did... and things didn't end well. All Flights line up for the first contest as the judges raise their flags. It's going to be back to back, with the Wonderbolts going first. Since they have six teams, it's going to be easy for them to fill in the best positions. Dust Devil and I are third in line, which is a decent enough spot. Early enough to see the times we're going to need. But it's still fairly early. If we don't set the bar high enough then the others will use it to push themselves past us. "ON YOUR MARK!" This is my favorite part of any contest. That moment before they start the race. Everypony tenses and the air goes still. I can feel the slight breeze flow across my wings as I snap them to the starting position. The world fades away as I stare down the track before us. This is everything that I live for, all caught in a split of a second. "GET READY!" This is it. This is where we show them who we are! Who I am! I won't be overlooked this time. I won't lose to Spitfire this time! It's time to fly. BANG Instinct took over as I break the sound barrier and race ahead of all the others. I didn't intend to. But sometimes it just happens when I'm that focused. Although breaking ahead of the others is a nice start, I've pushed too hard and now I have to break to get through the first hurdles. But the crowd here loved it. Vertical columns of clouds lay in a jagged pattern ahead of me. I flair one wing out to break and pull myself tightly into the turn. I tuck my other wing in the hopes to use the drag to turn tighter. There might have been just enough space between the start line and the first column to let me keep the advantage! I keep my focus forward and wait until the column leaves my view. Then I barrel roll into the turn and break early to head for the next column. It looks like there are five columns so I prep in my mind how to manage this weave. In my turn I manage to see the line of ponies behind me. Spitfire is almost in arms reach of me. Dust Devil is neck and neck with the Wonderbolt I'm assuming is tailing Spitfire. I couldn't see Storm and Johnathan, but I can't worry about that right now. Even with my breakneck start Spitfire is keeping pace with me right now. I think she's using me to cover the drag on the first lap so she can save her energy. I was planning to do that, but I guess this is what I'll have to deal with now. I also need to make sure that Dust doesn't get left behind. Our second wing can't start until we both pass the finish line. With each weave I blead a little more speed to let Dust catch up. But Spitfire never tries to take the lead. Dust even manages to gain on her a little. But she's pushing herself to do it. I take a look ahead and note that the next part of the course is a pitch and dive. I know this is one we've trained on constantly, so I feel just a little more confident. "Break right lane and tighten up!" I call over the radio. "MA'AM!" Without question the other Spartans roll to the right and we tighten out formation. Though we lose the immediate lead that's okay. We'll make up for it on the later laps. I glance to my right as Dust pulls up to me and we begin to pitch up. Like synchronized swimmers we dip down and open our wings fully. We take long deep flaps to guide us over one obstacle. Once we're over we close them tightly to drop back down and repeat the process. We pitch up and down in rhythm as we bound our way through the cloud bars. I notice the last of obstacles of the relay. The first one is a cyclone down and into a down draft. It looks like you'll need to do two or three spirals down before you have to climb back up to the starting position. There we can tag Ellzy and High Flier for their relay. They changed the course last minute! Last I checked there wasn't a climb in the relay. Let alone one going against the wind! Did they know we were going to be here? How could they have? I didn't even know we were going to be here! No, no, it doesn't matter. There's no time to focus on that. Like Miles says, 'Planning is invaluable, but they never make it past first contact.' I radio the course change to the others. They sound off and we make out way to the first cyclone. This is the easiest part of the course. We just need to maintain a tight formation and let our added weight push us forward. If we speed up too much it'll widen our turn and could put us out of alignment with the others. But if we go too slow we'll turn too tight. We just need to find our middle ground and maintain it. It's only the first lap. No need to push things too hard. There's plenty of race left to go! There is no guard rails for how quickly you go down. There's a ring you need to get through at both ends and an arrow pointing you the right. When Dust and I break through the ring we're tie with Spitfire and her wing mate. The four of us are banking at the same angle, flying in such a tight formation that we're nearly touching. As we go around in a large circle I can feel my weight pulling on me. My hooves are getting heavy and my wings want to snap straight back. I'm sure everyone is feeling this, but I love this feeling! The earth is trying to yank me out of the air and I'm putting everything I have to keep flying! Nothing makes me want to fly faster or go higher than the feeling of the earth trying to keep me down! I glance to Dust Devil and she nods to me. Without saying a word she knows what we're going to do. Near the end of the third spiral we break hard right and give a large roll around Spitfire's group. Even though they break ahead of us for a moment we get a small speed boost when we dive early. We break through the last ring at the best angle for the climb and manage to jump ever so slightly ahead of the others. Immediately the massive gust of downward wind hits us like a brick wall. But we close our wings and straighten out as much as possible to let our built up momentum slingshot us up through the air tunnel. We nearly make it halfway before we start giving it our all! This is the flying equivalent of running through a water logged trench. You can't get ahead without skipping the actual obstacle course. But rather than taking larger steps, here we need to narrow out and create as little drag as possible. The rushing wind drowns out all other sounds as we near the end of the down draft. I can see Ellzy and High Flier in position, waiting for us to tag them. We just need a few more seconds... almost... there! SNAP The moment we flew out of the wind tunnel we snapped forward and tagged in our next wing. The two of them break away the platform as they take off down the track. I almost didn't realize that we were finished with our first lap until Dust Devil gasped loudly. We took first in that round. And we had a three pony lead over Spitfire! "What was that maneuver!?" Spitfire demanded as we took our positions at the finish line. "What? Looking to steal that too?" Dust Devil asks before I could say anything. I nearly choke on my own laughter as Spitfire just growls at us and starts to berate her teammate. "Good job Dust." I tell her as I roll my wings out. "Yes Ma'am! Let's capitalize on this lead now!" I nod to her and watch the race. Storm and Johnathan took fourth on the first lap. Not the best, but what can we do about it now? I knew we should have forced Storm and John to focus more on wing training. But they're both specialized in other fields for the Spartans. So that took more training hour from flying. Ellzy and High are making good use of the lead we gave them. Although the Wonderbolts tailing Spitfire are closing the distance on them, it won't be enough for them to take the lead. And we're the anchors for this wing, so we're in really good position right now. Night Fury and Shifted Past are doing better than I expected. They managed to move up one in the rankings. But Shifted is clearly struggling more than Night. I knew the changeling would, but that's also okay. As long as they can maintain this polling we'll knock the other groups out of score board, giving the Jumpers the best lead possible. As the others start to climb up Dust and I get ready. We're leading by mere seconds. A single mistake could still ruin our run! But we're also ahead enough that we could clutch victory from the others! Don't lose focus. Don't get cocky! Remember our training and execute! It's time to show them what we can do! Perspective: Miles I've never been to any of these flying competitions before. Rainbow's talked about them before, at length, but I wasn't really all that interested. Although I've gotten better at flying, I still feel fairly amateurish in the air. Makes sense, but it's not something that comes naturally to me. Not Tempestive though. He's in the air any chance he can get! Once Rainbow made mention about this contest he was bouncing off the walls, literally. It was a good distraction from... the previous conversation. I knew him seeing me in human form would be jarring. But... I guess I didn't think he'd call me a monster. I know he doesn't know better. But... I don't know. I guess I wasn't ready for that. Luna was sympathetic. But there's nothing to really do about it now. But the idea of telling him about what I really am is much more daunting now. I don't want my son to think I'm a monster. But more importantly, I don't want him fearing what he is. He's still only six. Even with how quickly ponies age compared to humans, he's just a kid. I don't want him having to worry about stuff like that. Originally I was planning to tell him sometime this year. But now... maybe it's too early. I'm completely lost to these thoughts during our flight to the arena. Even with Tempestive asking a million questions I couldn't get my head straight. Every thought that comes to mind has it's own line of questions that I can't answer. When would be the right time? Should we have told him sooner? How do we tell him? What does he do with this information? 'Hey, by the way son, you're part of an endangered species that's also at war with another endangered species.' 'Son, you're a growing young man now. Yes, man. You're half human! Don't know what that is? Remember that monster in the woods? That was me!' 'This isn't going to make sense, but you're half human son. I was from a civilization that's now gone. I got turned into an alicorn and sometimes can change back and forth. Why can't you and your mother change? No idea.' It seems to simple to just tell him. If we were in Terradisia I would have just told him as soon as he could string a sentence together. But it didn't make sense to here. And now it doesn't make sense to give him that info without greater context. He didn't grow up with it. So now it's going to change him with little way to help him comprehend it. He has to learn who he is and what all of this means rather than just growing up and knowing! And I don't know how I'm going to break it to him when I know it scares him. But worse of all... I'm starting to understand what Susurrans did what he did. "Miles?" I blink a few times when Luna calls out to me. We've made it to the arena and apparently are getting snacks. I just nod to her and she gives me a knowing look. She levitates me a bucket of popcorn and a drink before several grounds workers escort us to our seats. There's a small crowd around us gawking with a few reporters taking pictures. I guess we forgot to put Tempestive in his vest. There's only a few small town reporters, but they're about to have the story of the century. Tempestive is a little unnerved by all the attention. But he's more excited to see the competition than anything else. We make it to a private box near the top of the cloud arena and take our seats. Well, Luna and I do. Tempestive nearly flies out the box to get a better look. But Luna teleports him back to the seat before he could get too far. "What's the score!? Whose competing!? Are those the Spartans!? Why isn't Dad-" "Tempestive." Luna says softly, getting him to pause mid air. "We just got here, so we don't know the score. There are Wonderbolts, Spartans, Colonial Raptors from the Griffin lands, as well as a few smaller flight groups. And your father isn't flying because it would be an uneven grouping. Now, let's settle down and enjoy the festivities." Tempestive rushes to the wall and rears up to watch the competition. I start to spiral in thought again until the straw of my drink pops into my mouth. I look over to Luna as she smiles to me. I take the drink and set it down with a weak smile. I know she's trying to get me to speak up, but I don't know what to say. "You know," She says in a whisper as she leans against me. "When I first saw you, I didn't think you were a monster." "... thanks?" She hums to that. Taking small bites of popcorn as she watches Tempestive. "I was a little too surprised to really think anything. Especially after you surrendered to me." I roll my eyes at that. "Thanks." I say flatly. Not the best pep talk I've had. "But then I got to know you. Got to see what you believed and how you operated. It was... difficult, at times. But once I saw the kind of man you were, I grew to trust you. Even love you eventually." I nod to her. I get what she's saying. But... it's different. I mean, just look how Celestia acted when she met me. Or the girls for that matter. Not the best first encounters. "I just... I don't want to worry him with things that won't make sense. Or burden him with the implications." I try to tell her, but she pops the straw back into my mouth. "While I agree that we can wait a little longer, we will tell him eventually. Whether it's on our own accord or not." She tells me more firmly as she sits back up. I nod to her, taking a sip as I think to myself. The crowd erupts into cheer as the first competition finishes. It would seem the Jumpers took first place. Tempestive practically explodes in cheer. I manage to clap for them, but all of my thoughts are still looming on Timely. "Dad! Dad, did you see that!?" He asks as he runs up and starts to tug on my leg. "The Jumpers were totally awesome! They took first! Dad! Did you see!?" "I sure did!" I say as I scoop him up and toss him into the air. He starts to zip around as he cheers for them. I start to laugh along with the others as I let his joy infect me. Maybe I'm worrying about this too much. There's plenty of time left to tell him about this. I'm letting all of this get to my head! He's just a kid! He doesn't know better. There's still plenty of time to explain all of this to him and make sure he understands. Perspective: Luna Once Miles finally starts to relax I allow myself to take a breather. Okay, so this is clearly something that needs to be dealt with carefully. Which means I can't tell him that I can transform into a human until after we tell Tempestive he's half human. Clearly he would freak out otherwise. Also, it will gives me time to practice switching as well. "And I have just the person to speak with." I mutter as I watch Shifted Past group up with the Spartans.
Chapter 1 Choices (revised)Man Of War By Tallestbrony Scire bellum, est scire fatum. Chapter 1 Choices (revised) Perspective: Miles Eremita I walk down the alley, keeping my back against the wall, and come to a halt by the edge of the building. I glance back to see all of the other kids that had followed me from the orphanage are watching me closely. “Go for it!" "Come on, do it already ya big baby!" "Don't get caught!" they say as they wait for me to do it. I glance around the corner and see my target. Green flakes of pure deliciousness, just waiting to be devoured! They sit out in the open on a stone table as the fat merchant calls out to all of the people walking by. "Fresh compressed flakes for sale! Get 'em while they're hot!" he shouts as he marches back and forth, waiting for someone to buy his goods. I wait until he's facing away from me before I reach over and grab a handful of the flakes, making a crunching sound that gets his attention. "HEY! I already told you orphan brats not to come near here! Get back!" he yells as I turn around and run down the alley, making the other kids scatter as we all head towards the orphanage. We run out of the end of the alley and straight into traffic, getting cars to slam their brakes and honk at us as we continue to run towards our destination. The drivers yell at us, calling us names and threatening us, but we ignore them as we make it to our goal: the open square at the orphanage. We all run in and stop in the middle of the square to catch our breath. I can't believe I got away with a full hand’s worth! "Idiot!" One of the bigger kids pushes me down. "Good job on getting caught! Now give me the flakes!" he yells, as he tries to pry them out of my hand. We struggle around a bit before I trip him, making him fall to the ground. I quickly get on top of him and start punching him, hitting him in the eyes, nose, and across the jaw before I get up and take a bite of the salty treat. "MILES EREMITA!" Aw shit. I turn around to see the dean walking towards me. He's a fairly tall, older man with a shaved head, and wears a black robe. "He hit me…" "Come with me. There's someone who wants to have a word with you," he says before turning around and walking back to the orphanage. Darn it… looks like another night in the pit of shame. I take another bite of the flakes before tossing the rest to the group of kids behind me, making them fight over scraps. I run up to the front door, follow the dean in and up the stairs. He's leading me to his office… I must really be in trouble. What did I do to get in this deep? Well, theft… and beating up that one kid... even though he completely deserved it! He stops before the door and turns back to me, looking somewhat scared and disappointed. "Why do we have to do this with you in filthy rags?" I glance down at my shirt and shorts, then back to him. "Hey, you're the one who won't get us real clothes. This was the best I could do!" "Your best are mere rags…" "Better than what you gave me." "Look, there's a very important person inside; behave yourself," he warns, before opening the door and pushing me inside. “Hello there, Mr. Eremita,” a stranger says as he stands and extends his hand to me. “My name is Captain Susurrans Bellum.” I don’t take his hand right away, but after a few awkward seconds, I finally return the gesture. While shaking his hand, I take a moment to size him up. He stands around roughly two meters tall, and has short, jet black hair that has spots of grey; which is odd, because he can’t be more than 30. He has pale white skin, is well-toned, and he’s wearing a straight green suit that has a ton of pins on the left side of the jacket. There are two sets of abnormally shiny twin silver bars on both ends of his collar. On his left shoulder is a pretty weird patch; it has a straight sword going through a human skull, entering through the top and exiting through the mouth, with a shield making the background; the shield is round, bronze, and has an upside down red ‘V’. “You’re with the military, aren’t you?” I ask bluntly as I let go of his hand and take my seat. “Ah! Perceptive, aren’t you,” he states mockingly while motioning to the dean, who takes his cue to leave the room, shutting the door behind him. Once the dean is gone, the captain goes to the dean’s chair and takes a seat. "So, Miles, tell me a little about yourself," he says as he leans back in the chair. "Well… there isn't much to tell." "Come on, there has to be something. How did you get here?" "Well… I'm told that my mom died during the exodus of Diamond Halls - whatever that means - and that my dad either is dead, or just an asshole that left me to rot," I say, getting him to just stare at me with a look of mixed emotions. He seems troubled by something, but doesn't say anything. The room falls silent as he stares at me, never blinking, never glancing away, just staring at me with his light brown eyes. I can't think of anything better to do, so I return his gaze. “…” “…” “…” “Do you know who I am?” “No. Should I?” "Do you know why I'm here?" "Not really." "I'm here for your decision, Miles. What's it going to be?" "… You’re here for that - by yourself? Don't they usually have a group of people come and ask?" "Let’s just say you're special. So, what's it going to be? Military life, or the streets?" I can't believe this. Just yesterday, I was just another scummy orphan. But I turn eight, and now it’s ‘join the military or try to make it on your own in the streets’… it’s not fair. "Well?" “*sigh*…Well, I guess the best shot I’ve got is with the military, so that’s where I want to go.” “You realize, once you make this decision, there’s no going back,” he states as he looks down at me with an even coolness in his voice, continuing his constant barrage of stares. This guy is creeping me out. Why can’t he look at something else for a bit? I’m only making the hardest choice of my life! Why can’t he just look out the window or something? “Well…” I start to say, but my gaze is drawn out the window. The dean’s office is on the third floor of the orphanage, so the view of the city isn’t too bad. Directly next to the orphanage grounds are a bunch of one- and two-story houses and businesses, most of which are either a dull grey or soot black color, thanks to the constant downpour from the nearby factory. As I lift my gaze further and further away, the buildings get taller and taller, until I reach the tallest building in the city - the Parliament’s Congressional Hall. This building stands at least 900 meters tall, getting narrower and narrower until it shoots out - like a dart - sending the top out of view from the window. As I continue to stare out at the city, a certain unblinking someone coughs for attention. “Well…?” “*sigh*… Well, I figure if I go to the streets, I won’t last long without needing to turn to gangs or a life of crime - and I hate taking from others, so that wouldn’t work. That leaves me with the only other choice. And who knows? Maybe joining up won’t be so bad. I might even be able to do some good there!” Once my little speech is over, all the captain can do is continue staring at me. He seems a little dumbfounded for a moment, but soon grows a somewhat sly smirk. Taking a breath, he stands up and puts his hand out for another shake, and says - in a somewhat proud tone - “Well then, welcome aboard.” After I shake his hand, he pulls out a small, thin tablet and a very elegant-looking pen, and has me sign a ton of documents. Not knowing how to write, I end up just scribbling a bunch of lines. He then proceeds to escort me back down the stairs and out the front door. Along the way, I see the other kids watching me leave: some looking on in confusion, others snickering and laughing, but most just watching in fear, knowing they too will soon face the choice that I just made. As we make our way out to the yard, I see the vehicle that will take me to my new life. It’s a fairly large and boxy wheeled vehicle, with four heavily armored doors, and an open hatch on the roof, with a massive gun mounted next to the opening. The gun has a rectangular body, with two round drums near the vertical trigger on one end, and a single metal tube that extends out nearly a meter on the other. Something is written in red on the side of the gun, but I don’t know what it means; I look over to the captain, who stops me from asking anything by putting his hand over my mouth. “Before you ask, no, you can’t drive,” he says flatly. “I wasn’t going to - ” “And no, you don’t get to ride in the gunner seat.” “I don’t want - ” “And yes, there is real ammo in the gun, but no, we won’t be firing at anything, so don’t get any ideas.” At this point I’m starting to get irritated, and I think he knows this due to the huge smile on his face. “I just wanted to know what was written on the gun.” I pout. “Oh! Well why didn’t you just say so?” I facepalm. “It says: ‘Spartan Pen’.” “Uhh…” “You know, like the saying.” “…” “The pen is mightier than the sword.” “… I don’t get it. Also, what’s a Spartan?” Captain Bellum smiles warmly at me as he opens the rear door and says, matter-of-factly, “Heh. Well Miles, you are! Or, you will be. Now if you don’t mind, we really should get going.” I walk to the opening, but pause before entering to take a look back. Almost every child at the orphanage is watching me, along with the dean and a few other workers. I stare back for a few seconds, before spitting on the ground and climbing into the seat. As soon as I sit down, the door is shut, the captain takes the seat in front of me, and we’re off. Not once do I look back, after that; I don’t want to be reminded of that horrible place. All I have to do now is enjoy the ride, and hope life in the military isn’t as bad as it was there. Who knows? This could lead to some greater purpose for me. I might even be able to do some good! Author's Note I want to thank all my friends for helping me write this. It’s hard to think of stuff when you normally don’t ever write. This is also my first fanfic ever so feel free to let me know about any concerns. *Warning, the first few chapters wont have ‘ponies’ but we’ll get there soon enough, so just hang in there a bit. Latin Translation Blog Man of War group Revised as of July 19th 2012. Brony on!
Chapter 18 Night Time ComplicationsChapter 18 Night Time Complications Storm looks like he's on the verge of a mental breakdown. He's sweating, hyperventilating, and staring at the stairs wide eyed with a slight twitch. His wings keep twitching as well. "Are you going to be alright? We're just sleeping. It's not like she's gonna come down here and just throw herself at you." Storm stops and thinks about this- FWOOSH "Aw come on! Another one! Are you serious!? Damn man, put your wings away and come here so I can slap some sense into you." He sits there for a minute until he looks back and sees his erect wings. "Aw what the buck!" he yells as he tries to get himself under control. After a while of failing to get them down he begins to panic. "Buck, buck, buck, buck, buck, buuuuck! Miles you've got to help me out!" "Whoa man, I know I said a lot of stuff about being there for another, but I ain’t gay." I say as I step away from him with my hands raised. "What? No, you feather head, fight me!" "What?" "Well, I need to get my mind off of.... somethings. Fighting will do that for me." He looks between the stairs and me with panicked eyes. "Can't you read a book or something? What about that chant you-" "Not fast enough, Twilight will be down here any minute, please." He pleads, running up to me and groveling at my feet. "*sigh* Alright, fine. But body blows only, no head shots got it?" He nods and gets in a readied stance. I take a deep sigh and get ready. Without warning, Storm begins to charge at me. When he gets close enough, he pivots and tries to kick me with both his back legs. I side step this and grab one of his legs. Damn, he must only weigh like thirty kilograms, I swing and toss him across the room, sending him crashing onto the ground and slamming into one of the bookshelves. He stands and shakes his head before charging again. This time when he closes the distance, he tries to jump onto me. I catch him mid flight and, with a twist, quickly slam him onto his back on the ground. Once he's down I kneel down and give four quick jabs into his stomach, getting grunts in response. Once done, I stand back up and take a few steps back. "You alright?" "I'll live, thanks," he says as he stands back up, wings down by his side. "Alright, lets never do that again-" "What's going on down here!?" I look over to see Twilight standing in the stairway, hair sticking to her soaking wet body as suds roll down her side. FWOOSH Of fucking course. I look over to see Storm staring wide eyed at Twilight, wings standing straight back. "Bucking pervert!" Twilight yells as she runs back up the stairs, leaving a trail of water in her wake. "No, wait, I'm sorry!" Storm yells out as he runs to the stairway, but stops when he hears a door slam. I walk up beside him and look up the stairway with him. SMACK "Ow, what was that for?" Storm asks, rubbing the back of his head. "That was for being a perv, now you stay down here and get yourself under control while I go diffuse the situation." "Maybe I should go tal-" "Trust me, the last person she wants to see right now is you, just hang tight." I walk up the stairs to Twilight's room, following the trail of water to find the restroom she's using. Smoke still fills the room, but is flowing out through all the open windows. The trial takes me to the next floor, to a doorway that sits on top of the stairway. I walk up to the door and give it a couple of soft knocks. "Go away you perv!" Twilight yells from inside. "Hey, how would you know if I'm a perv or not?" "Miles!? Sorry, I thought you were Storm Cloud," she replies much quieter. "It's alright... so... wanna talk about it?" "There's nothing to talk about! Once I dry off I'm sending the princess a letter to get rid of that pervert!" she practically yells. "Now hold on there, let’s not do anything hasty right now, I mean, look at it from his perspective." "Are you trying to say this is my fault!?" "No, but would you say it's obvious that he likes you?" "Well... maybe. But that's no excuse for losing control like that!" "Did you see yourself? You came down here soaking wet with suds and everything, it was pretty hot." Twilight remains quiet for a bit. Fucking dammit, I just called her hot, now I'm the perv. "Twilight?" "Do... do you think of me l-like that?" I sigh and take a seat against the doorway. "No, I don't have that kind of mindset. But I can still tell when something is attractive or not. You're an attractive person Twilight, if at the very least in personality. I'm actually surprised you’re on your own to be honest." After a few seconds the door slowly opens and I look back to see a now dry Twilight with her hair wrapped up in a towel. She walks up to me and wraps me up in a hug. If Storm walks in right now he'll kill me. "Thank you Miles, that was sweet of you. But I'm not forgiving that perv just like that," sh whispers into my neck. I awkwardly pat her back, a little caught off guard by the hug. "Hey, I never said anything about forgiving him, I'm just saying don't send him away just yet." She gives a small nod before getting off me. "Alright, I won't send the princess a letter... this time." "Good enough for me, and if he does do it again, just tell me and I'll knock some sense into him for you." Twilight gives a small laugh before returning to the restroom, a few seconds later she comes back with another towel and sets it on my lap. I give her a confused look, to which she just gives a flat look. "You need to take a shower, you smell pretty bad." I take a whiff from my pit- Whoa, I reek. "Alright, my turn I guess." I say as I begin to walk into the bathroom. "Feel free to use my soaps for now, we'll get you your own in a while, but mine will do for now." I look back and nod as I shut the door. The room is fairly small, only having a sink to my right, a toilet across from me, and a bathtub to the left. Around the tub is a light purple curtain, that is pulled back to reveal an assortment of various bottles of soaps. Behind the sink is a mirror mounted on the wall. The mirror doubles as a door to a cabinet. Everything in here is made for someone half my height. Makes sense, every pony here is basically that size, except for Luna. I toss the towel onto the toilet seat as I walk to the sink and bend over so I can see myself in the mirror. I've got some stubble coming in, a quick shave and I'll wash off. A quick wave of my hand ignites the arcane flames and a flick of the wrist makes all of the stubble fall into the sink. Satisfied with the quick shave I undress and step into the shower. I can see that ponies use a similar plumbing system, just different symbols. I twist the left knob and get a blast of water from above. I do a quick rinse and turn the water off, I was planning on using the soaps, but seeing how there are like ten different bottles I decided to keep it short. I step out and dry myself off before getting dressed. I put everything except my shirt on, I prefer to sleep without it. I walk out and can barely see, due to all the lights being turned off. I make my way back to the front room to see the two cots from the other room in the middle. Twilight is in the pink one while the blue one is unoccupied. I look around and find Storm laying on the floor in a corner, without his armor. Ha! I get the blue one now. I make my way to the cot and lay under the sheets. Sleep doesn't come right away, but after awhile of staring at the stars from the window, sleep finally takes over. Perspective: Luna After my little chat with Celestia, I make my way to the royal chambers. It's my job to come here and make time for my subjects to voice complaints or concerns. What usually happens is I sit here for hours, bored out of my mind. Most of my little ponies don't even know we have nighttime court and only come during the day time. Despite that, I'm glad there's nopony here tonight, I have too much on my mind. Miles. He knew them. He did say he was born over three thousand years ago, but I've never heard of the humans. How could there have been a secret society of beings that were able to avoid detection by all historians, but were able to contact my parents. How well did he know them? Why did mother never speak of him before? Given she wasn't around long enough to really tell me anything, but she never told Celestia anything either. I wanted to ask her, but I have a feeling that if Celestia found out that he knew mom and dad, she would pull me off this project. I want to find out more before I get my sister involved, I want to prove to her that I can handle things on my own. I can still redeem my past. I look over to a nearby clock and see that it's eleven o'clock. If I'm going to get anything done, I'm going to have to do some research of my own. I stand up and walk to the closest guard. "Good sir, I'm closing court early tonight. If anypony needs me, I'll be in the library." "Of course Princess." I make my way to the library quickly and stop by the gates. The two guards waiting by the door take one look at me and open the doors. I walk in and go straight for the historical section. Hmm, most of the books here are from more recent times, I need something from a long time ago. I should head to the Starswirl the Bearded section, it contains the oldest books in all of Equestria. If nothing there can help me, then nowhere can. I make my way through the library, heading to the upper levels until I make it to the gated door. "Good evening Princess, doing some research?" Asks the guard by the door. "You could say that, can you unlock the door to the Starswirl section?" "Right away Princess." He uses his magic to open the doors and stands at attention as I walk through. Strange, it seemed a little too easy to get in here. Maybe Celestia told all of the guards to let me through. Why she didn't let me in before, I'll never know. I spend the next few hours going through every book, scroll and scrap of paper with no luck. Not a single word on my parents, the humans, or anything even closely related. I slam the final book shut and toss it back into place. There has to be some way of finding out whether or not my parents had dealings with these humans. Wait, Miles said he knew them. I could try to ask him about them, but I can't just leave Canterlot to go ask him questions, then Celestia would know something’s wrong. I guess I could just ask the next time I visit, but that won't be for a least a week. I could just go early, hopefully I can think of a good excuse as to why I would have to visit that won't draw too much attention. "Excuse me Princess Luna." Says a guard from behind, ending my train of thought. "Yes?" "Princess Celestia has sent me to retrieve you, she says you're late." "Late for what?" "She didn't say." Hmm... Oh! Shoot, what time is it? I look out a window to see the sun already beginning to rise. I quickly teleport myself to thee raising platform and land directly next to Celestia. "You're late." Celestia chides in her motherly tone; horn shining as she raises the sun. "I know, I know, I'm sorry. I was caught up in some reading." I take hold of the moon and begin to lower it in the horizon. "Reading? Didn't you have court last night?" "Well, I did, but... I left early to get this research done." "And what research would that be?" Shoot! Gotta think of something quick... "I was reading oooonn, past... lunar phenomenon." I say with a sheepish smile. "Past lunar phenomenon?" She raises an eyebrow to me, giving a little tilt with her head. "Yeah, you know, like the calendar of cycles and different effects on the land due to that." Celestia gives me another look before looking back out towards the horizon. "You could of came to me, I would have told you the cycles at least," she says indignantly, looking back out to the horizon. "I know, but you were sleeping, so I decided to read up on it instead." I continue on with the lie, looking out with horizon with her. "Alright, just don't make it a habit to shirk your responsibilities, okay?" she asks innocently, buying into my lie. "Alright, sorry Tia." We finish setting the sun and moon into their appropriate trajectories and turn to one another. I advert my eyes for a moment. I don't like lying, but it's far easier than telling her the truth. "It's alright dear sister, now are you going to stay up for a bit, or are you going to bed now?" "I'm going to sleep now, I didn't get a good days rest yesterday, good day Tia." I tell her with a sweet smile. "Sleep well, Luna." I walk through the door of the balcony and head to my chambers. I'll make plans to try and talk to him in a few days, for now I just need to work on how to bring up the topic.
Chapter 33 Et Salutant MortuusChapter 33 Et Salutant Mortuus Sleep did not come easily for me that night. After the rain subsided and everypony went home, I decided to call it a night, so I went to bed. I had some kind of delayed wing boner though, and spent the night trying to work them down. Every time I got them down, I would think of what to do tomorrow and BAM! Straight back up. At least they didn't do it when Twilight and I kissed... FWOOSH SON OF A... I just got them down! Ahh... well... what now... Well, since they're already up, better think of that kind of stuff now, I guess. First chance I get, I better go out and get some condoms. I doubt I'll really need them... but it doesn't hurt to be prepared. I wonder if... "TIMORE CRAS!" Miles yells as he bolts straight up, scaring the crap out of me and making me fall out of bed. He stares forward for a bit before he falls back into the bed. What in the hay was that about? I get up and walk over to check on him. He still seems to be unconscious. I give him a light shake to try to wake him up, but it doesn't work, so I smack him across the face next, which only manages to get his head to fall to the side. Nothing... well, he did say weird things would happen, I guess this is one of them... what does ‘timore cras’ mean? Just another thing to add to the list of things to ask Miles when he wakes up. I go back to my cot and drop onto it... I need some sleep. I shuffle around until I get comfortable and finally let sleep take hold of me. When I wake up in the morning I somehow find myself underneath my cot. How in the buck did I get here? I crawl my way out and head to the restroom. After I take care of some business, I take a good look at myself in the mirror. I try to comb my mane to at least look neat, but it's a losing fight. After a while I give up and head out to get some breakfast. On my way to the kitchen I notice that Twilight isn't home, neither is Spike for that matter. Whatever, this will give me a chance to go get some things I need. I make some toast, grab my bag and head out into town. I first head to the local pharmacy. It's a small building on the north side of town. It would look just like any other building if it weren't for the large white sign out front. Ponyville Pharmaceuticals, catchy. I walk in and look around. The area I'm in seems to be a small waiting area, filled with a long couch next to me, and a small table in front of it that's covered in various magazines and newspapers. On the wall across from me, next to a door, there’s a small opening that serves as a counter, so I walk up and look inside. It's a small room meant to hold a single pony, with several certificates framed on the wall behind. There's a lower counter inside that has a register and a few piles of papers. On the counter next to me is a small silver bell with a sign that says, ‘Ring bell for assistance’, so I do. Ring......ring......ring, ring, ring, ring... "I hear da bell!" says a sassy mare from inside. A door on the other side opens up to reveal a middle-aged unicorn mare with a brown coat, a pink mane that's up in a bun, and a cigarette in her mouth. She's wearing an obscene amount of jewelry. "You da one ringing da darn bell?" She says as she exhales a plume of smoke. "*cough* Yeah... I need to buy some condoms..." "CONDOMS!?" she says loudly. "Aw what, little playa here trying ta get some mmhmm? You in our rosters?" "No, I..." "What ‘e want?" yells a high pitched voice from behind the door. "Gurl you gotta see this, Mick Swagger here tryin' ta buy some condoms," she yells back to her friend, who gives a high pitched woo in response; what the buck. "Alright, before we can sell 'em we have ta have ya fill out our roster." She pulls out a clipboard and sets it on the counter. "Just fill this out and ring the bell when you’re done... ONE DAMN TIME." "O-Okay..." I say as I take the clipboard and take a seat. What's up with that mare... it's like she can't talk without yelling. Mick Swagger, da buck. I fill out the paperwork as quickly as possible and trot to the counter. I set the clipboard down and ring the bell. Ring. After a few minutes of silence, I decide to ring the bell one more time. Ring "What did I tell you?!" she yells as she enters her room. "Sorry, I just have places I need to go." "MMhmm, yeah, places ta go," she says as she picks up the clipboard and looks it over. "HA!" "What's so funny?" demands the voice from behind. "Gurl you gotta see dis, bucking Pon Jeremy here tryin' to buy XL condoms." "Oh no he didn't!" "Yeah he did... look here hun. There's only one stallion here who buys that size, an' I ain't seen him here for a while. Imma set you wit' a M and..." "But that's not my size." "Oh, so you’re dick expert now, mmhmm. Yea, cause I can see yo pharmaceutical certificate on yo chest, mmhmm. Well then, let's jus' do a examination then," she looks down at the roster, "Doctor Storm Cloud, please step into the examination room." She pulls a bar underneath the counter and the door next to me swings open. Before I can say anything she leaves the room, so I go down the hall. This will not end well. I make my way to the end of the hall where I find the mare from before. "MMhmm, jus' go in dat room an' wait for me," she says as she points to a room to my right. I enter it and take a look around. It's about the size of a large restroom, but has an examination table instead. Across from the table is a sink with a towel dispenser on the wall beside it, not sure why that's there, but okay. I walk in and jump onto the table, sitting with my bottom legs hanging off the side, using my upper leg to hold onto the table. As I wait I kick my legs back and forth and look around the room. Boring white walls... a sink... a small table with a couple of Playcolts on it... the door... wait what!? "’E in there?" says the high pitched mare from outside the door. "Yea, he in there." In walks the mare from before with another mare. The new one is a pegasus with a light pink coat and a light blue mane that is styled to point straight down. She wears an unholy amount of makeup and is also smoking a cigarette. "MMhmm, go ahead an' lay on yo back an' we’ll begin." I comply and prepare for what's about to happen. The brown unicorn zaps me with her horn and I feel the magic make my member grow. After a few humiliating seconds go by I reach my peak, getting woo's from the other two. "Damn girl, dis colt hung like a dragon!" "MMhmm, how that thing even fit inside ya?" "Can we just finish up here so I can leave already!?" "AW... why you so snooty booty?" says the brown mare, as she levitates a measuring tape over to me and gets to work. After a few measures I begin to suspect that she's just playing with me, so I swat the tape away. "You done yet?" "Aw hell yea," she says as her friend giggles. "Now the spell will wear off in one hour..." "An hour!" "MMhmm, that or you can help it along wit' da magazines... or ya could let us help ya out," she says in her version of a seductive tone. "I'd rather waste an hour," I say as I sit up and cross my legs. "Whatever, your loss," says the pink mare as she walks out the room. "MMhmm, don't know wat he's missing," the brown one says as she follows her friend out of the room. I sit there for a while just waiting for the time to pass by, but my gaze slowly finds its way to the magazines. *sigh* If it'll help me get out of here faster, then may as well. I pick up the first one and look it over. The cover has a grey earth pony, with a red mane and tail, standing on her hind legs and facing away, wearing a skimpy nurse’s outfit. She's looking back and is giving a seductive smile, as her eyes are opened only slightly. I go to open to the next page, but it doesn't separate. Instead it tears with the cover, due to its probable prior use. Bucking sick! I toss it back on the table and jump over to the sink and wash my hooves. Does everything here have to be bucking gross? GAH... well... what now... One hour later I leave the room, panting heavily. I've spent the last hour doing pushups, sit ups, wing lifts, anything to keep me distracted until I regained my composure. When I do I walk out and down the hall to the door, but stop when I hear a familiar voice. "MMhmm, will this complete your order, Miss..." "Sparkle, and yes, that is all I need." Twilight? What is she doing here? "’Kay, that'll be forty bits." I hear some money fall on the counter and some shuffling before the front door is opened and closed. What would Twilight need to get from here? I ponder this some more as I open the door and walk to the front counter. "Damn colt... what were ya doing in thur? Bucking the furniture?" "Sure, can I buy the condoms now?" She gives me a funny look as she sets a box on the counter. "That'll be forty bits." Forty bits... no. No way Twilight bought condoms... just... I pull the money out of my bag and pay her. I take the box and put it into my bag as I leave for my next destination. There's no way Twilight would know my size... or is there? I spend the rest of the day flying around town getting ready for our date. I make dinner reservations at a local cafe, buy the tickets to the movie, plan out a route to walk after the movie, stop by Rarity's to order and pick up a simple black jacket for the night, everything is looking up. I glance at the sun and determine that it's around six, so I head back to the library to shower up. I land by the door and walk in to find Spike lying on the floor reading a newspaper. "Hey Spike, what're you up to?" "What's up Storm, I'm just reading, Twilight gave me the day off so I've been taking it easy." "Sounds like a good plan, do you know where she is?" "She's upstairs taking a shower, which reminds me, she told me to tell you not to disturb her and to wait for her down here until she's ready. What are you two up to?" "Just a movie," I say as I walk towards the stairs, "I'm going to take a quick shower, just... keep doing what you’re doing." "Can do," Spike says as he turns back to his newspaper. I make my way to my room and check on Miles real quick. Nothing different other than a little sweat, but he's been under sheets all day, so I ignore that for now and hop in the shower. After I finish I get out and immediately work on brushing my mane back. I normally just let it fall forward, but today I decide to try and style it. After a lot of brushing, I finally convince my mane to stay back. I walk out, put on my jacket and head to the front room. "Just a movie huh?" Spike says from the side of the doorway. "Heh, yeah... how do I look?" "Clean." Thanks Spike. I look to the clock and see that I have an hour left. "So... are you alright with this?" "What do you mean by that?" "Well... you and Twilight are really close... I don't want you to think that I'm taking her away or anything." "I don't mind. If anything, I'm glad Twilight finally found a good stallion. Especially after that last jerk..." "Don't worry about him. If he ever shows up again, I'll deal with him." "Yeah... I know..." "Something wrong?" "It's just... I wish I didn't have to depend on others to defend my friends. I wish I could be the one to save the day." He looks away after he says this. I understand what he feels. I went through it before myself. I walk over to him and put a hoof on his shoulder. "Hey, you don't have to be able to fight to be able to defend your friends." "Yeah... but it helps." "Tell you what. You keep an eye on Miles while we're gone, and apologize when he wakes up, and I'll show you a few tricks I've learned for self-defense." "Really?" "Really." "Deal!" I stick my hoof out and shake with him before he runs upstairs. He's a good kid, I just hope Miles goes easy on him. I look to the clock and see I still have another thirty minutes. Oh well, what could I do for thirty minutes? After looking through the book collection, I finally decide to read a book called Daring Doo and the - whatever whatever. I try to read it, but I can't get past the first page. It’s not that the book is bad, I’m actually enjoying the parts I read, I’m just getting really nervous. I keep thinking of things that could possibly go wrong, like, what if the movie catches fire? Or what if I get poisoned from the food? My thought process ends when I hear hoofsteps coming down the stairs. My heart starts to race as I walk towards the doorway to the stairs. When Twilight comes into view I fall flat on my face. She's wearing a light blue dress that has even lighter blue stars at the end of it. She has a few hair clips in her mane, resembling light blue stars, and just seems to emanate beauty. She gives a light chuckle as she walks up to me and waits for me to get up. "Twilight... you look amazing." She blushes a little from this and looks away for a second, before she returns my gaze. "Thank you Storm... you look very handsome." We stand there for a while before Spike walks in the room. "If you keep gawking at each other you’re going to miss the movie." "Oh... right, well let’s get going then Storm," Twilight says as she walks out the room. I shake my head and run out after her, getting chuckles from Spike. "So what's this movie we're going to see about?" Twilight asks as we make our way into downtown. "Well, from what I could tell from the poster, it’s some kind of thriller, romance. Or, that's what the poster says at least. Have you ever been to a movie before?" "No, the theater is new to Ponyville. That, and movies are still too new for most folk around here to really get used to them." "Do you want to see it? We could go do something else if you want." "No, I want to go. I'm quite curious about these movies." We walk the rest of the way to the theater in silence, just enjoying each other’s company... or at least I hope we were. She kept looking up for some reason, but I didn't see anything to look at, so I just figured it was some deep thinking. We make it to the theater and stop by the front. The building has a pointed roof and is very long. The front is guarded by a pony in a red suit. We walk to the movie attendant and I give him my tickets, which he clips and allows us to enter. We enter into the main lobby and I turn to Twilight. "Do you want to get any snacks for the movie?" "Umm... how about just something to drink?" I nod and head to the concession stand. The stand is a long glass counter that contains various treats and snacks for sale. We walk to the counter and up pops Pinkie Pie in a theater uniform. "Pinkie? Since when do you work here?" "I dunno? What would you like?" O...K... "Uh... we would like..." "Something to drink, coming right up!" She says as she dives behind the counter. I look over to Twilight, but she only gives me a small smile in response. "Alrighty, a drink for the coup—I mean the two of you," she says as she pulls out a large cup of soda with two straws. "Umm... okay, what do I owe you?" "It's on the house, now you two better hurry up, the movie is going to start soon." "Thank you Pinkie, come on Storm, let's get going so we can get good seats," Twilight says as she levitates the drink with her. I glance over to Pinkie before I follow Twilight into the theater. The theater is dark and only lit enough to barely see the seats and floor. A large screen hangs at the front of the room as rows of folding seats sit facing it. I follow Twilight as she heads straight to the back and takes a seat in the center. We are the only ones in the entire theater and yet she wants to sit way in the back... whatever, as long as she's comfortable, I'm happy with it. I take the seat next to Twilight and look over to her. She's looking away as if she's reading a note, but when I lean over to see she quickly turns to me. "What was that?" "What was what?" She asks as she tilts her head. "Never mind... so, you weren't kidding when you said that folk around here don't like movies." "Yeah... I don't really get it, but then again, I come from Canterlot. Have you been to the movies before?" "Once. It was supposed to be a comedy, but the only funny part was when the film burned and we all got a refund." "*giggle* Well, hopefully we will have a little better luck this time," she says as she leans against me. Even if it did burn, it would already be worth it. I look around for the soda, but can't seem to find it. I would’ve asked about it, but the lights went out and the movie started. A Dark Heart The movie begins with a mare moving to Fillydelphia with her little colt. She seems to be trying hard to start over, but we don't know why yet. "Hmm... he's a cute little colt," Twilight says. "Yeah... pretty adorable." The movie continues to show that the mom strives to provide for herself and her colt, and seems to be doing well. She meets two stallions and soon befriends the both of them. One of them she obviously falls for, while the other one falls for her. When the other one opens up to the mare, and she refuses, he storms off in a fit of anger and self-loathing. The scene goes to the first stallions home, where he goes about his business normally. Little does he know, the other stallion is shadowing his every move. This is making Twilight hold tightly onto my leg. "You alright?" "Y-Yeah... j-just fine... why, are you scared?" "I'm good." I lift my wing and drape it around her, getting a smile and a peck on the cheek. The movie begins to pick up pace now. The other stallion tries to murder the first stallion, but you don't see if he lives or dies. He then begins to chase down the mare, almost catching her at every turn, making Twilight EEP and hide her face in my shoulder. Just as the killer stallion is about to plunge a knife into the little colt, the screen goes white. "What the hay?" I look back to the camera to see an orange mare tangled up in film... or I think it's a mare. She looks just like Applejack, but has a theater uniform and a fake mustache on. "Uh, sorry fer that... there's been a minor... technical difficulty," he/she says in a low forced voice. "Just give me a minute ta start it back up," he/she says as he/she wrestles with the film. I turn back and look down to Twilight. She's practically squeezing my leg off and won't look up. "Hey Twi," I say as I give her a little nudge, "there's been a little delay in the movie, you can look up now." She slowly picks up her head and peeks out. When she sees the coast is clear she brings her head completely up. "If you’re..." "I'm fine, honestly. I just... things like that tend to get to me... a little." I smile and tighten my hold with my wing. "If you say so. If you get too scared, you can always use my shoulder to hide..." "I was not hiding... I was just protecting my vision by not looking at the screen." "By hiding in my shoulder," I tease, getting a flat look from Twilight. We stare at each other for a second before she gives a little chuckle. "Okay, I'm a little scared. But I don't want to leave. I have to know how it ends." "Alright, I'm right next to you if you get too scared." "Hmm... thanks." Bang-Bang The movie worker pounds the machine a couple times until the movie starts back up. The killer thrusts his knife down, but instead of hitting the colt, the first stallion jumps in the way and takes the hit. I knew he was alive. They fight for a bit, but the three of them eventually have to run away, and actually get away somehow. The three of them spend the next few days on the run, trying to escape the killer stallion, but he seems to show up at every turn. The final fight takes place and the two stallions fight to the death, as the mare tries to save her colt from some contraption that the killer had somehow set up. Twilight is under my jacket holding on to me as the fight unfolds, she's shivering lightly, should I find this as funny as I do? The killer sends a blow to the hero, but he dodges it and delivers the final blow, ending the killer. Simultaneously, the mare is able to rescue the colt and they all run out of the collapsing building together. Twilight pokes her head out and watches the last scene. The hero and the mare are looking into each others eyes as the sun sets in the background. They lean into each other’s and share a kiss as the screen turn black and the movie ends. I look down to Twilight and she looks back up to me. We lean closer to each other until I close the distance and kiss her. I wrap my hooves around her and pull her close as she returns the kiss. "Umm... excuse me?" A theater worker says from the front of the room in a squeaky voice, ending our kiss. "How did you get in here? This movie isn't supposed to air until tomorrow." "Then why would you sell me a ticket for today?" "There must’ve been a mix up. I'm sorry, but you two will have to leave now." I look over to Twilight, who only shrugs and gets up to leave. "Alright, we'll go then. Come on, let’s go get something to eat." "Alright," Twilight says as she follows me out, leaning against me the whole way. We make our way to Cafe Gourmet and wait for a waiter. Rainbow Dash appears in the Cafe's uniform. "Rainbow? Let me guess, you work here." "What? The tips are good here... now, I see you have a reservation, let me take you to your table." She trots off into the cafe and we follow closely. She takes us to a table that is situated outside with a view of the surrounding park. We take our seats and look back to Rainbow Dash. "Would you like anything to drink before I take your order?" "I'd like a glass of red wine," Twilight says. "Same here." Rainbow Dash nods and writes down our order on a notepad before running off. "So, Pinkie and Applejack work at the theater, Rainbow Dash works at the Cafe, does Fluttershy happen to be a park manager?" "No... though those have been strange circumstances..." I stare at her for a bit as she looks around and begins to sweat a little. "Uh... I have to use the restroom; I'll be right back." She gets up and quickly trots to the restrooms. I laugh a little and look over the menu. She's lucky to have so many friends that will help her. I look through the menu and decide on the spaghetti. Rainbow Dash returns with our drinks, but looks a little confused. "Hey, where's Twilight?" "She said she had to use the restroom, so..." "Aw ponyfeathers." She sets down the drinks and flies off for the restrooms. A few minutes go by before Twilight finally returns, looking more relaxed. "Everything alright?" "Yes, nothing is wrong... I just had to... go." She picks up the menu and hides her blushing face behind it. I just laugh and take a drink from my glass. Rainbow Dash returns to take our orders. I get the spaghetti and Twilight just gets what I'm getting. We spend the remainder of our time talking idly to each other. The movie, the wine, small stuff like that. When we get our food my mouth starts to water from the aroma. I try to take my fork, but Twilight uses her magic to take it and scoop up some spaghetti. I smile as I open my mouth and let her feed me. It's not half bad. I take the spoon and roll some up to feed to her. She leans forward and takes a bit from the fork... then spits it out immediately. "What's wrong?" "It's freezing cold! I don't think they cooked it properly." I go to take a bite, but before I could a large red blur falls onto the table, sending all of the contents in my face. I slowly wipe away the spaghetti to see Big Macintosh laying on top of the now destroyed table between me and Twilight. "Big Mac." "Eeyup." "Did you just fall onto the table and send everything all over me?" "Eeyup." "Care to explain?" "Nnnope." "Why's that?" "Well, I was talkin' with somepony, an' then this thing landed nearby an' sent me flyin'. Other than that I can't really explain." I look up to Twilight and see that she's completely clean. Well, at least there's that. The manager quickly comes running out and starts hollering at us. We eventually get kicked out so we decide to just go for a walk in the park. The night air is giving a gentle breeze as Luna's moon gently lights our path. It’s getting pretty cold, so I give Twilight my jacket. The park is completely empty, not even giving signs of wildlife. It's just me and Twilight. "Hmm..." “What’s up?" "You still smell like spaghetti." "Hehe, yeah..." "I like it." She stops walking and looks over to me. I step close to her as she looks down coyly. "Twilight..." "Yes Storm...?" "BRING ME ALL YOUR VIRGINS!" I swing around to see a massive Minotaur charging down the path, wielding a massive great sword. I push Twilight to the side and roll the other direction to escape his massive sword. "Who are you!? What are you doing here?" I yell as I fly up to meet his gaze. He turns to me and gives a snort of a laugh before he answers. "I AM GARY THE UNSTOPPABLE! I AM RIDDING THE WORLD OF ALL ITS EVIL! PREPARE TO DIE!" He tries to cleave his sword into me but I quickly shoot up and avoid the attack. I see his sword nearly slam into Twilight, stopping midair as her force field catches it. I shoot forward and buck him in the face as hard as possible, but he only gets pissed off from this. "YOU DARE CHALLENGE THE MIGHT OF GARY THE UNSTOPPABLE!? I WILL TAKE YOUR SOUL AND DEVOUR YOUR FLESH, WEAKLING!" How is he the one ridding the world of evil? He charges straight for me and I try to move around him, but he does a wicked strike into my side that sends me falling back. I black out for a second, when I come to I found Twilight standing over me, holding me in her hooves as she puts a force field around us. "Hey... what's with the tears...?" I say weakly. "*sniffle* Please Storm... stay quiet... I need to try to fix you up..." Tears are pouring down her face as she looks down at my side. I look down to see that I have a massive gash on my side that's bleeding profusely. "It's okay... I can fix this... I can..." "Hey Twilight... thanks for today... I actually had a lot of fun..." She grabs on to me and cries out as Gary starts waling on her force field. "I AM GOING TO FUCK YOUR SHIT UP UNICORN! COME TO GARY THE UNSTOPPABLE!" With every strike onto the force field, I can feel Twilight tighten her grip on me. After a couple more swings the field shatters, and Gary steps forward with an evil smile. He hovers over us and tries to get something from under his chain mail, but never gets the chance, because Miles drops in and drop-kicks him away. Perspective: Miles Fire... screams... agony... swords clashing... death. I slam into consciousness and jump out of bed ready for a fight. Spike had been sleeping next to me so I accidently send him flying. "Whoa! Miles, you’re up! I..." "Where is everyone? What’s going on!?" "Easy there, calm down. Everyone is fine. Storm and Twilight are out on a date." "No, everything is not... a date? Really? Way to go, Storm... No! I had a premonition. Something horrible is going to happen tonight! We have to go save them, come on." I look around and start to put on my armor as Spike approaches me, shuffling his hands. "Umm... Miles. I can't really do much, maybe..." "I don't know this town at all. I'm going to need you to guide me around town..." "Yeah, but..." "That and you’re going to be our medic. Go to the first aid kit and grab a potion... NOT THE RED ONE!" He nods and runs upstairs. I finish putting my armor on and run to the front room, picking up Spike on the way. I stop at the weapon chest in the room and set Spike down. I need my sword. "How do you plan to open it?" I flare the magic in my hands and slam them into the force field, shattering it instantly. I reach down and pull out my sword, slinging it across my back. I walk out the front door and look around. Nothing’s happened yet, maybe I can still make it. Spike walks out holding the first aid kit and looking pretty scared. "You ready for this?" "No. But if they need us I'll get over it." "Uh-rah." I pick up Spike and hold him close as I flare the magic in my heels and take off in the air. "Where did they go?" "The movie theater, north side of town," he yells back. "Point the way." He points forward as we fall to the ground. We hit and make a small crater as I jump straight back into the air. "It's that one down there," he yells as we fly over a long building. I twist and push with one heel so we stop moving forward, and push with the other so we hurl straight for the ground. We slam down in front of a young looking guy wearing a red suit. I walk up to him and grab him to stop him from running away. "Is there anyone in this building?" "N-no, it’s completely empty. There was a couple here earlier but they left a while ago." I set him down and walk off down the street. "Fuck! Do you know where they went next?" "No, but I imagine they would go get dinner next - let’s try Cafe Gourmet, it should be down the street." I nod and launch into the air. Spike points it out almost immediately, so I shoot us straight down. This time I run into a cart and send a red blur into the cafe. "What was that?" I say as I grab the hilt of my sword. "I think it was Big Mac." Oh... shit. I look over and sure enough there's Big Mac, lying on the ground in between Storm and Twilight. "Look, there they are, perfectly safe..." "For now. Let's shadow them, I don't want to take any chances tonight." "I don't know Miles... that's kind of creepy to spy on their date." "I agree, that's why we're not going to spy on them, just stay close enough to be able to act if something were to happen." "What's the... WWHHOAA!" I launch into the air and land half a kilometer away. "Dude! A little warning next time!" "Sorry... now, let's make sure we stay near this path so we can keep a good view." "How do you know they'll go for a walk in the park?" "Dolum's class on Romance and other matters of the heart." I set Spike down and take cover behind a tree, Spike following closely. Sure enough, there go Storm and Twilight, walking down together. I look over to Spike and give him a smug smile. "See, our boy Storm here at least knows the basics. He even gave her his jacket. Smart boy." Spike just shakes his head and looks over. "I think we have trouble." I look over in time to see a massive hairy... thing swing a great sword at Storm. "What is that thing!?" "It's a Minotaur!" I stand and unsheathe my sword, and begin to walk towards the two. As I set out the Minotaur scores a deep hit on Storm, dropping him instantly. I stop as my heart drops. No... no... not again. I watch as Twilight flashes over and puts up a force field around Storm and herself, but I can't move. I can't lose another friend... I can't. "What are you waiting for Miles! Come on!" Spike yells as he runs past me with the first aid kit held over his head. I shake myself and run full force at the Minotaur. He will pay for hurting my friends. I run up to them and drop-kick the brown Minotaur away from the two of them. I quickly get up and put my focus solely on the enemy in front of me. "WHO DARES ATTACK GARY THE UNSTOPPABLE!?" He yells at me. He's at least two and a half meters tall, wielding a massive steel great sword. He has chainmail covering most of his body, and has two massive horns coming out of the side of his head that curve towards me. He has a cap on the top of his head that has seven gems going around it that are glowing lightly. His eyes are glowing red as glares down at me, readying his sword. "I am Miles Eremita. Deverto pulvis et salutant mortuus." I raise my sword and ready myself for the fight. Gary takes the initiative and does a goring charge at me, flailing his sword as he runs forwards. I sidestep and give him a kick as he runs straight into a tree. I stand there in a daze; did he really do something that stupid? He takes advantage of this and tries to charge me again, only to have me roll to the side and dodge the attack. This time I run up to him and give a few quick swipes with my sword, scratching his mail up and giving a few cuts on his exposed arms. He lets out a roar as he charges like a bull and slams straight into my chest, making me stagger back several paces. He focuses for a second, making energy seep from him as he makes another brutal advance to me. His initial attack misses, but the gems flash white and give him the force to connect the attack. I’m sent flying back, but I stay standing. When I stop moving, I run up to him and pivot 'n slide into Gary, sending a deep cut across his chest, shattering the chain mail. Gary looks down and focuses his energy, sending a surge of healing over his body. He looks back to me and drives an attack into me, flailing his sword from side to side he hits me and sends me flying on my back. Gary walks up and is about to lower his sword to decapitate me, but I swing my free hand forward and take control of the steel. I send the sword flying into the air and with a pull of my arm send it flying into Gary. He staggers back and falls backwards. I get to my feet and walk over to him. "Damn... where's that damn Band-Aid when you need that old bastard..." "Any last words?" I say, as I lift my sword over him. "Yeah... I curse that fucking sand bag." I nod and send my blade straight into his neck, forcing him to bleed out and slip into the void. I turn to Twilight and Storm and run over to them, dropping my sword on the way. Storm does not look good. "H-hey Miles... glad to see you walking amongst the living... he he..." he says weakly. "Stop Storm, please save your strength," Twilight says as she cradles him in her hooves. I kneel down and flare the magic in both my hands. Twilight looks at me for a second but I continue anyway. I lightly put my hands on both sides of the wound and push it closed, getting groans from Storm. I next send waves of healing magic into him. I take it slow so I can make sure to heal it properly, only letting the lines reach my wrist. After what feels like an eternity I remove my hands and sit back - there's nothing more I can do. Storm has his eyes shut as Twilight gently strokes his hair, come on you bastard, pull through already. "Hey Twilight..." he says as he looks up to her, "have any plans tomorrow?" Twilight pulls him into a hug and plants kisses all over his face. Damn... that was too close. Author's Note Shout out to Kutushk for picking the movie genre, kingdok for picking the element that killed Gary, and jmlop0 for picking who dropped by for dinner. Thanks for reading and like always, Brony on! P.S. Don't worry, this goes full circle... eventually.
Chapter 37 Meeting of the MindsChapter 37 Meeting of the Minds Perspective: Luna Ever since Miles showed up I've been completely off of my sleeping schedule. I keep tossing and turning in bed, but I can't seem to keep him out of my mind. Why does trouble find him so easily? Celestia almost took this project away from me due to the incident with the Minotaur, but luckily I convinced her to let me keep going. I’ll just have to keep him under even stricter surveillance. I toss around a couple more times before I sit up in bed. I can't sleep... I guess I'll just have to find something to fill my time. I get out of bed and lazily walk over to my vanity mirror. When I get to it I lay my head on the desk and let out a heavy sigh. What to do, what to do... I look up to myself in the mirror and sigh again. Well... I wonder what Miles is up to today. I enchant my mirror and set a scrying spell for Miles. The Mirror goes hazy for a bit before I get a view of Miles from behind. He seems to be working at Sweet Apple Acres... that's good... I guess. He stops and looks around for a second before he gets back to work. Did he sense my magic scrying him? That's pretty impressive. As he gets to work he starts to talk to himself. Maybe I shouldn't listen, this could be something very personal... "...I should have taken Tenera up on her offer, then I could have at least known that simple pleasure..." Whoa... who’s this Tenera? What kind of pleasure? Was she... somepony special to him? "...I should have taken Dare's advice, but at the same time, I don't think I could have broken another promise..." Break another promise? So Miles is the kind of pony to break promises. But, then again, he seems really troubled by breaking this promise. Am I really one to talk...? I am secretly watching him. I continue to watch him as he pulls some carts to a cellar and talks to Applejack for a bit. I start to get bored of this, until he walks back into the orchard and begins to get to work again. He works for a while in silence, and starts to bring the cart back to the cellar. Why does he keep taking his shoes on and off? He could just leave them off and save that much more time. I spend the next few hours barely awake, trying my best to see if he starts talking again, but eventually I slip into a light slumber. "Well... at least the manual labor will help me stay fit, being this long from the gym is starting to get on my nerves..." I jolt awake and look up to the mirror. Finally, I was starting to think he forgot how to talk. "...rubbing the side of her head like that probably didn't help that much either... why did I do that to begin with? Something about those beautiful eye—WHOA!" Whoa! Beautiful? He thinks I have beautiful eyes!? I shut off my magic, ending the spell, and begin to pace about my room. He said I have beautiful eyes... why does this bother me so much? It's not like he confessed his love to me, it was just a compliment, that's all. Knock, knock, knock "Ahh!" "Luna! What's wrong?" Celestia says as she walks into my room. I take a few steps back and try not to look her in the eyes, ‘cause I know I'm blushing right now. "Er... well... ah..." "Why are you all red?" she asks as she lowers her head to get a good look at me. "I was having a weird dream... nothing to worry about," I say with a small smile. She looks at me quizzically for a moment before she straightens up. "Luna, I know you’re lying to me, what actually happened?" she says sternly. I sigh and look up to her as I tell her about my scrying and what I overheard him say, though I leave out my reactions. She looks away for a moment before she turns back to me with a serious look on her face. "Luna... I don't like how close this human is getting to you. Maybe it's time I..." "No!" I yell out, but shy away a bit. "Please. I want to do this on my own. I have to become the leader I once was, and I'll never be able to do that if I have you holding my hoof for every little thing. I understand your concern, but I'm not a little filly, sister! I can handle these kinds of problems, please, let me show you I can do this." Celestia looks at me evenly for a while before she sighs and walks up to me, wrapping me up in a hug. "I know you can. You’re a strong mare and I know you can do this... I can't help it if I'm a little protective of my little sister..." "Hey! You’re only five years older than me," I say as I return the hug. "One thousand and five years actually..." "Moon years count too!" We share a little laugh before she lets go of me and walks over to the balcony. "Well, since you’re up anyway, want to come with me to the christening of that new zeppelin?" I put on a huge smile and run up to her side, only to have her put a hoof on my shoulder and point me to my mirror. I look at her in confusion until I see my reflection. "You may want to freshen up first." The event doesn't take nearly as long as I thought it would. We literally went down to the air docks, smashed a bottle of wine, and talked to a few dignitaries. It was nice to be with Tia though, so I guess it was worth it. She flies with me up to my room and walks in with me. "That was fun, we should do things like this more often," she says cheerfully. "Yeah, definitely." "Umm... Luna?" "Yea Tia?" "Can I at least get a view of this human? I want to be able to put a face to the creature." "Umm... well, I don't see why not..." This won't end well. I turn to my mirror and scry Miles again. "GET OUT OF HERE!" he yells as he's eaten by a Red-Bellied Snake in the middle of some cave. My jaw drops as I watch it twist and shake. "Well... that was... unexpected," Celestia says in shock. I’m about to say something, but then the side of its neck explodes and Miles climbs out of the snake. "T-the girls... we, we have t-to get them..." He says weakly as he passes out, the fires on his limbs staying lit. Even though I drop the spell, I can't stop staring at the mirror in disbelief. What just happened? What girls are in trouble? "*sigh* Well... shoot. I guess I have to go back and find out what's going on." "I wish to come as well." I turn and look at her. "Not to interfere, I just wish to meet this human, you will still make all of the decisions." "Celestia... alright, but I don't think this is a good idea..." "Nonsense, I wish to know all my subjects. This human is no different. Now let's go and take a carriage to Ponyville," she says as she teleports us to the chariot docks. We take one of Celestia's and make our way to Ponyville. The entire trip does a serious number on my nerves. How will Miles react to seeing Celestia, or vice versa? GAH... I wish Miles wasn't some kind of conduit of trouble. We arrive at the Ponyville hospital just as Twilight and Storm run inside, levitating Miles along the way. We step out of the carriage and walk into the hospital. The room has turned chaotic as nurses and doctors run up to Miles, but all stop when they notice me and my sister. "Please, continue your work," Celestia says, getting everyone to get back to Miles. Once they take him into the back, Storm Cloud approaches me with Twilight right beside him. "Your Highnesses," he says as they bow to us. "Could you please tell me what's happened here?" I ask. "I would, but I don't even know what's going on. All I can say is that Miles went on a small adventure with three little fillies and ended up getting eaten. We can't get the girls to talk about it either, they're too shaken up by what's happened," Storm Cloud says to me. "Why hasn't his magic stopped flaring?" "I don't know; we'd have to ask him about it." "Well then, we should all wait for the doctors to finish up before we ask any more questions," Celestia says as she walks into the waiting lobby. *sigh* So much for my taking the lead on this. We go to the lobby and sit down. Almost immediately several nurses come to us and start asking if we need or want anything, which we decline. I notice Twilight leaning against Storm Cloud and motion for Celestia to look. "Looks as if your student has found her special somepony," I say quietly to Celestia. "So it would seem. I was starting to worry that she would never find somepony, but I guess I was wrong." "Why would you worry about that?" "Well... Twilight is an excellent student and a wonderful pony, but she tends to keep her head in books instead of in life. Just look at how she was in Canterlot compared to Ponyville." I shrug in response, I didn't really know her from back then - being in the moon and all - so I'll just go with what she says for now. We sit here for about an hour until a doctor comes to us in his surgery scrubs. "Umm... who's here for the human?" "We all are. How is Miles?" I ask as I stand and face him. "I'm afraid not well, your highness. No matter what we do we can't seem to help in any way. Any stitches are burned before they can close the wounds, we can't touch him or we'll be burned as well, and the strangest part is that there seems to be some sort of energy field that is holding him in a kind of stasis." "What do you mean by that?" Celestia asks as she walks up beside me. "I can't really explain it, something is holding him at his current health. Whenever we try to heal him with magic or potions, a green energy repels it - we can't do a thing, unless..." "Unless what, doctor?" I ask. "Well, it could be that he's rejecting our treatment because he's at such a high energy level. If one of you were to try something, maybe it could have better results." "Are there any risks?" Twilight asks from behind. "Well... I'm not sure. There haven't been any so far, so I would guess not... but at the same time, we've been operating at a lower energy level." The room falls silent as we all contemplate this. It could be risky, but at the same time, he is my responsibility. "I'll do it then," I say as I step forward, "he's my responsibility, I'll be the one to tend to him." The doctor gives a slight bow as he runs off into the back. I follow and head back with him. We first stop at a sink where I set aside my accessories and sterilize my hooves. The nurses bring me some scrubs to put on and we head to the surgery room. The room is round and bright white. Miles is laying on the floor and is surrounded by tables that are holding various tools and instruments for surgery. Four white fires are burning from his hands and feet, sending lines to his elbows and knees. There are several nurses moving around the room, trying to help in any way they can. Above the room is an observation area going all around us. Celestia, Storm Cloud and Twilight are seated up above and are watching intently. "We tried to put him on a table, but the dark lines were going to melt the table, so we laid him on the floor. Don't worry though, it's perfectly clean in here," the doctor explains as we walk in. "So... how do you want to approach this?" "I think I have an idea of how I want to go about this," I say as I walk up to him and examine his wounds. There are rows of deep puncture wounds on his left shoulder and he looks like he's in a tremendous amount of pain. As I step closer the flames coming from him suddenly turn emerald green. I stop and look back to the doctor, who only shrugs, before continuing to approach him. When I walk up to him I take a deep sigh and set my horn against his forehead... nothing so far, that's good... I think. I begin to try to send a healing spell into him, but the spell seems to be blocked by an impenetrable energy field. SO, YOU'VE ARRIVED. I look around to find the source of the voice, but everything is the same. I look down at Miles and he still looks the same. I’m about to walk away when Miles quickly grabs hold of my horn. After a few seconds of intense energy running through me, I fall to my side and pass out. I awaken in bright white... plains? There doesn't seem to be an end to wherever I am, just endless amounts of white nothingness. In the air are several flat square windows that are all black. I look around and find Miles lying a few feet away from me. I stand up and walk over to him, only to find him in the same state he was in before. Where am I? GREETINGS, BLUE ONE. I turn around to find an emerald human hovering behind me. He seems to be devoid of any major features, just simple arms, legs, torso, and a head of all emerald energy. He's looking down at me with his arms crossed and standing as if he were on solid ground. "Who are you?" I ask as I step back. I AM. "... You are..." He doesn't seem to talk, rather his words just appear in my mind. I GO BY MANY NAMES. MILES EREMITA, SOUL FIRE, CONSCIOUSNESS, IN THE END, I AM. "O...K... where am I?" YOU ARE IN MY DOMAIN. "So... where would that be?" TO MAKE MATTERS SIMPLE, WE ARE IN MILES'S MIND. I BROUGHT YOU HERE TO HAVE A WORD WITH YOU. "A-a word... with me?" YES. I MUST SPEAK WITH YOU IF I AM TO ALLOW THIS GAME TO CONTINUE. "Well... what do you want to know?" He levitates down to me and stands there for a second before he shoots straight for me, engulfing me entirely, forcing me to unconsciousness. When I wake up I find myself in Miles's mind still, only the emerald man is nowhere to be fou— LUNA. "EEP!" I turn around and find the emerald man hovering behind me. I ACCEPT. "Y-you accept what?" I WILL ALLOW YOU TO LEAVE NOW, BUT KNOW THAT MILES MUST STAY LIKE THIS FOR A WHILE LONGER, UNLESS YOU CAN BREAK HIM FREE OF THIS STATE. "Break him free? I don't get it, what's going on? Why is Miles like this? What do you mean you accept? What do you accept?" ASK MILES WHEN I ALLOW HIM TO WAKE. AS FOR WHAT HAS HAPPENED, I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF MILES ACTING AS WEAK AS HE HAS BEEN, SO I'VE DECIDED TO PUNISH HIM FOR A WHILE. I HAVE SEPARATED FROM HIM, FOR THE TIME BEING. THOUGH I CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT HIM, NOR CAN HE LIVE WITHOUT ME, I DECIDED TO SEPARATE FROM HIM UNTIL HE REALIZES MY POWER. "Maybe I can talk to him, try to get him to use his powers more often..." IN TIME YOU SHALL, BUT NOT NOW. He turns to Miles and lays over him. The two of them begin to fuse together until only Miles is left. I walk up to him and give him a few shakes... nothing. Shoot... how am I supposed to get out of here? I look around and notice that the black planes are flying higher and higher away. I try to fly after them, but my wings don't seem to be working here. I lie down and try to think of a way to get out. I stand over Miles and shake him even harder. "Miles! Wake up Miles, come on!" I try everything I can think of to wake him, yelling, shaking, smacking, picking him up and dropping him, nothing. I step to his side and look him over. He looks as if he's sleeping peacefully now, at least he isn't in pain anymore. Hmm... NO! I'm not doing that... I can't... stop thinking brain... well... not like anypony will find out. *sigh* This better work. I bring my face down to his and look at him for a second, before I close my eyes and kiss him. I hold my lips against his for a second before I feel him kissing back, and I quickly step away. "Wha... huh... LUNA! Wh-what's going on? Where are we? What happened to the girls? WHY WERE YOU KISSING ME?!" He asks as he sits up. I take a few more steps back until I drop to my haunches. "I-I-I don't know. There was this green human, I didn't get what he was talking about half the time, then you were just lying there and... IT WORKED, DIDN'T IT!?"
Chapter 53 Inheritances Chapter 53 Inheritances Chapter 53 Inheritances Perspective: Miles After I toss Storm into a tree I start to walk towards him, flaring my magic along the way. Man... he's going to need a lot of basic training before we even get to the really important stuff. Then again, we do get to skip all of the fire arms training, so there's that. I suddenly lift up and slam face first into the ground. "What the..." "MILES!" I look back to see Twilight glaring at me as she holds me down with her magic. "Twilight? When did you get here?" "Just as you slammed Storm into a tree!" "Oh... well you can hold me down here or you can let go of me so I can fix him up, your call." She slams me into the ground again before she lets go of me and runs to Storm's side. I get up and walk up to him, noting the others waiting behind. I kneel down and get to work fixing him up. "Sorry about that Twilight... it was a part of the training." "*sigh* this better make him into the best fighter possible." "It will. So... who’s the dame with the guards?" "That would be his mother, Rain Cloud." "H-his mother" I'm fucked. "You found his mother.... why didn't you tell me you were looking for his mother!" "We only found out about her after you left. We didn't get a chance to." "Grah! Well... I'll have to postpone training so he can catch up with her... oh well, this will give me time to make his new armor at least." "I've been meaning to ask about that. What happened to his old armor? Why didn't he have it at Canterlot?" "When they fired him they took it. He only had his sword because I put it with my stuff. They must have thought it was mine." I finish working on him and shut off my magic. He's still asleep, hmm... I bring my mouth to his ear and whisper "pancakes" "Where!" He yells as he jolts up. He looks around a bit before he gets up, rubbing his face along the way. "Aw man, how long was I out?" "Just a few seconds, Storm we'll have to post pone training for a while." I say as I stand up. "What!? Why?" I point behind him, making him turn around. Rain Cloud begins to walk up to Storm, looking him over intensely, visibly shaking as she gets closer. "Your eyes...your blue eyes.... your mane...Snow's mane..." she says in a shaky voice as she looks him over, stopping in front of him and looking deeply into his eyes. "Who are you?" "Uh... my name is Storm Cloud.... who are you?" "I-I am your mother." Storm takes a few steps back and looks her over a bit before Rain Cloud runs up to him and wraps him up in a hug. "Storm...my little Storm.... look how big you got! You're a stallion now! Oh... my Storm..." Storm just stands there with a look of disbelief as she holds onto him and cries out into his shoulder. She almost falls to the ground but is caught by Storm as he takes her into his hooves and holds onto her, still looking dumb founded. They hold onto each other for almost an hour before one of the guard ponies in black coughs, getting them to start to get back up. I look over to Twilight and see her wiping her tears away with a hoof. I nudge her with my leg and motion to her to join them, which she does slowly. She walks up beside Storm and gently nuzzles his side, getting both of their attention. "Twilight, I thought you were just going to talk with some employees or something..." "Once I heard that they might still be alive, I went straight for them to bring her to you." "Twilight, thank you so much for doing this. I'm sorry I doubted you before" she says as she gives Twilight a light hug. "Ahem" I say getting all of their attention, "why don't we move this inside? I'm sure there is much you all wish to discuss right now." They all nod and head into the house, the two guards staying outside and walking the perimeter. We walk to the living room where Storm, Twilight and Rain Cloud take up the couch, Storm being in the middle. I take a seat on one of the recliners as Rainbow and Fluttershy walk out the front door, saying their goodbyes. "There's so much I want to ask..." Rain Cloud starts. "I really only have one question" Storm says, silencing Rain, "how long?" "How long..." "How long did you look for me!? How long before you gave up and decided I wasn't worth looking for!" Storm yells as he tears up a little. "Storm... we looked. We looked every day for three long and painful years..." "What happened! Why don't I know you! Or my past? Why is my earliest memory being scared and alone, on the verge of death in for some god forsaken forest! Why..." "I'm sorry," Rain Cloud says through her tears, "Breaker told us you were attacked by some creatures and we looked for you... but we only found blood... I was so scared... I truly believed that you had died..." "What about Breaker! How could I have been dead and he come out just fine!?" "He said that you sacrificed yourself so he could escape.... we had no idea that..." "That what! That he was the one who attacked me, left me for dead, tried to live his life as me? How long has he been doing that without you knowing!? How..." "Storm!" I yell, getting him to stop his tirade. "Upstairs... now." I stand and walk to the stairs and let him walk up before me. I look back to see Twilight trying to comfort Rain as she sobs into her hooves. We walk up to his room where I shut the door behind me and lean against the door while Storm paces back and forth, fuming with rage. I let him fume some more before I can see him begin to calm down. "Well... that could have gone better." "I knew it wouldn't have... I didn't want to see her; I should have told Twilight..." "Well... we can't change that. She is here, and you need to go back down there and talk to her..." "I can't! I-I... I just can't..." "Yes you can, and you want to know how I know you can?" He stops pacing around and looks up to me, "because as mad as you are about what happened, you'll never be able to forgive yourself if you don't fix things right now. I know it's going to be tough, but you have to do this, if not for yourself, then for Twilight." He looks away for a bit, thinking deeply about what I said before he walks up to me. "Fine... I'll give her another chance, but just this one!" "Wow that worked? I mean, that's the spirit! Let’s go down there and have a word with your mother" I say as I open the door for Storm. I can't believe that actually worked. I honestly thought he would fight with me some more. We make our way down stairs where we find Twilight holding Rain as she lightly cries into her shoulder. With a sigh Storm walks up to them and motions for Twilight to let him by. She gives him a look before she complies. Rain rubs her eyes as she sits up and looks down to Storm, who just stands there, avoiding her gaze. "*sigh* I'm sorry I snapped. I didn't mean to yell... it's just... life wasn't easy for me, growing up on my own. I had always thought that my parents had abandoned me, so I always was on my own." "I swear we looked for you... we looked for three long years... but we never found you... I'm so sorry, we should have looked harder..." "No, I'm sure you did everything within your power to find me..." Rain jumps down and wraps Storm up in another hug, only this time Storm returns the hug. They hold each other for almost an hour before Storm finally let’s go of her and takes a seat next to Twilight on the couch. After Rain takes the seat next to him we spend the next hour talking about Storm's life. From being found by some farmers and taken to an orphanage, to becoming a weather pony for Detrot, his ordeal with his ex and how she died, him being in the royal guard and everything that's happened since my arrival. "Oh my... you've been through so much..." Rain says as she rubs his back. "Yeah... but it wasn't all bad" He says as he looks to Twilight, who nuzzles his cheek a bit. "I think now would be the best time for you to explain what happened to Storm Breaker," I say bluntly, getting looks from everyone. "Well... I think I have an idea as to what he's done." Rain says as she straightens up. "When Snow died, he had changed his will at the last moment. He gave all of his inheritance to Storm Cloud, leaving Breaker out completely. If by the time I passed, and you were never found, it would all go to charity. He must be trying to become you so he can collect it." "What could he have done to make his father resent him so much?" Twilight asks. "*sigh* he... he demanded your birth rights." "I don't get" I say as I lean forward. "What's a birth right?" "Well, Storm Cloud was born first, so he gets rights to things, like the inheritance, before Breaker." "What kind of inheritance are we talking about here?" I ask, getting looks from Twilight and Storm. "What? I've never heard of something like this before, cut me some slack here." "Well, he now owns the house, thirty percent of the Cloud factory stocks, and...*mumble mumble*" she says as she looks away and plays with her hair a bit. "I'm sorry, what was that last part?" Storm says as he leans closer to her. "And the money... some sixty million, before taxes that is." "Si-si-sixty million tha- the- huh...*THUD*." Storm says before he faints and falls to the ground. Twilight and I just stare at Rain, mouths agape, trying to wrap our minds around the idea of Storm being.... well... loaded. "Well... I wasn't expecting that... so, Miles, care to tell me why you slammed my son into a tree and knocked him out?" "I-I-I... uh... he wanted training..." "So you threw him into a tree?" "Yeah.... we should wake him up..." "He can wait, what gives you the right to train him in such a manner?" "It's just a part of Spartan training...." "What's a Spartan? Or better yet, what are you?" I spend a half hour explaining to her my past. From my people to the war and how I got here today, only telling her what she needs to know. She asks a few questions, but I answer them giving as little information as possible. I think Twilight has noticed my deception, but hasn't called me out on it yet. By the time I finish, Storm has gotten back up and tries to calm himself down. "So you’re that creature everypony has been buzzing about in the tabloids... I must say, you're quiet different then they depict you." "Thank you... I think...so what happens now?" "What do you mean?" "Well I assume you want to spend time with Storm now, plus you still have to discuss somethings about Breaker..." "That's all true, but what about his training? I doubt you want to just put it on hold." "Actually, today was just a skill check, the actual training won't start for a while, I need to get somethings set up. Plus, this will give me some time to make his armor. What do you say Storm?" "Si-si-si-si-six million..." he repeats as he sits there, frozen from the idea of wealth. "O...K... I'll take that as a yes. Twilight, why don't you go with him, keep him company." I say, making her freeze up as well. "What... I mean... uh..." "It's settled then. Storm and Twilight will spend..." Rain says. "Four days." "Right, the next four days with me in Cloudsdale while you prepare for his training. " She says happily. I like this woman; she seems to think like me... he's doomed. "Alright, well I won’t keep you, it is getting pretty late, why don't you get a move on and I'll get to work." Rain Cloud nods and claps her hooves, making the two guards run inside and salute her. She instructs them to take them to Twilight's balloon and to set a course for her home. They salute and carry the frozen Storm and Twilight away. I bid Rain Cloud goodbye and watch as they fly off into the sunset. I turn back and go to my closet, where I pull out the left over metal from Gary and put it onto the table... where did I put those gems... right, in the upstairs closet. I run up to my room and go to open the door, only to have it open before me. "Hello Miles, I'm ready for our date."
Chapter 66 Guards and SoldiersChapter 66 Guards and Soldiers When I finally wake up I find myself in a cot with dark green blankets. I look around to see all of the bunk beds in the long buildings and realize that I'm in the barracks for the royal guard. This can't be good. Maybe if I can sneak out here I can get away without anypony noticing me. I look around to find that the only exits are the front and back doors, so I head to the back door. When I reach it I look out the window to see two unicorn day guards waiting by the door. OK, front door it is then. I turn around and start to trot to the front door, but stop halfway when it swings open, revealing Shining Armor and two unicorn day guards. "Storm Cloud, glad to see you up. Could you come with me please, there's something I'd like to show you," he says before he turns and walks out the door. The two guards wait inside, staring straight at me. I could probably take them both... but then the entire grounds would be after me, so better to just go along with it, for now. I walk past them and head out the front door where I find Shining waiting for me patiently. "Good, just follow me please," he says as he starts to walk off. I follow after him with the guards following close behind me. He's walking me around the main workout area, a large track with various obstacles in the center of it. There are ponies running about the track as others go through the course. He stops in the center of the straightway of the track and watches some of the ponies going through the obstacle course. "Why did you bring me here Shining?" I ask, barely getting an ear twitch from him. "I need to know something Storm, was Spartan training better than royal guard training?" "Easily. This training made me a guard, Spartan training made me a soldier." "And what’s the difference?" "A guard enforces rules; a soldier protects them." "And what does that mean?" he says as he looks down at me. "Look, I was a guard too, but... the royal guard’s a joke," I say, getting everypony within earshot to look over at me in disbelief. "You want to repeat that?" Shining says as he steps closer to me. "Look at what happened with the changelings! We almost lost the Princesses. If Miles hadn't come by and told you what to do, who knows what would have happened? Let’s face it, the royal guard aren't ready for the shit that would befall the Princesses. If something strong enough to kill one of them came here right now, all you would be able to do is slow it down before it got to them..." "And what, you would be able to stop something like that!?" he says as he gets in my face. "I would and I could, I have that mentality and the training to do that," I say as I push back. I see him start to use his magic so I flap my wings and send myself high into the air, avoiding his magical restraint. I keep flying up as different pockets of magic try to grab a hold of me. I glance back to see a few pegasi flying after me, and gaining quickly. I wasn't always the greatest flyer, but I can at least hold my own. I roll over and dive towards the ground. I can see all of the glowing horns of the unicorns trying to catch me with their magic as all of the pegasi start to take to the air. I shoot towards one side of the obstacle course and continue to fly down until I'm a foot away from the ground. I pull up and fly towards the obstacle course. I weave through the course, going up walls, twisting around posts, anything to keep them from gaining on me. When I shoot out the other side I fly straight for Shining, who brings up a magical wall to catch me. I pull my wings in and roll forward on the ground, letting one pegasus fly past me into Shining's net. When I'm upside down I push my body straight, sending both my back legs into the chest of the next pegasus and sending him flying. I flip over and land on all fours as the next pegasus flies straight for me. I try to jump out of the way only for him to tackle me. As we roll together I knee and punch him until we come to a stop. I try to take off again but stop midair as Shining catches me with his magic. "So how would you do against a monster that was after one of the Princesses?" He says as he levitates me over to him. "It took the entire guard to catch one pegasus, plus I wasn't fighting you. I was just trying to get away," I say as I look at the crowd forming around us. "Oh, so you think you could best me in a real fight?" "I would kill you, but that will never happen..." "And why's that?" "I would never harm a family member..." "According to Twilight you would. You snapped your own brothers neck..." "Breaker was no brother of mine! He was a twisted monster and gave me no choice!" "I'm sure he was," he says as he sets me down. "Look, I've got a proposition for you." "Yeah, and what would that be?" "A fight. Me and you. If you win I'll let you marry my sister, no problems no conflict..." "And if you win?" "Then you train a group of guards to be Spartans, I will give you that Miles has something a little more to him, but I doubt you got all of his secrets. I want to find all of them, and the best way for me to start is to make sure I can take his training. So test me. I want to see what a Spartan has to offer." "Are you kidding me? The training was more than just physical; it was mental also. I didn't sleep for weeks because of the shit I went through! Winning a fight isn't going to make you a Spartan! It’s more than that. I've been forged to win fight after fight..." "Then what do you have to lose?" He says as he starts to walk off. I glare at him as he walks towards the sparring arena. I don't want to do this... but I don't want Twilight’s family trying to stop our marriage either. With a heavy heart I start to trot to the sparring arena. I won’t kill him, but I will teach him the difference between a guard and a soldier. When I get there Shining, stands up with two wooden swords and tosses me one. I catch it as I stand and let it fall to my side. "How're we going to do this?" I ask as I start to walk to my left, Shinning going to the right. "To make sure that the victor doesn't win by a lucky hit, we'll do the best of seven. These swords are enchanted to leave colorful marks when they hit something, so we'll see when a kill shot has been delivered." I nod to him and continue to walk, waiting for him to make his move. As we circle each other, every guard in the square runs over to watch, some yelling random cheers, others placing bets. He starts by trying to swing his sword down onto my shoulder, but I block it quickly by raising my sword and catching it. I thrust my other hoof forward and punch him in the gut, making him stagger back. I take this opening and swipe my sword at him, getting a clean slash against his chest with the first and across his face with the back slash. Using the momentum from the swing I spin and kick him with a single hoof in the gut, sending him on his back and making the crowd erupt in cheers and boos. "One," I say as I take a more relaxed stance. He quickly gets up and glares at me as neon red lines appear where I hit him. He runs at me, slashing his sword at me as he tries to clip my sides. I walk backwards as I block swing after swing. When he tries to do an uppercut with his sword I spin to the side and slash his neck with my sword, making the crowd erupt again. He staggers back and holds his neck, as I hold my sword in front of me and take a readied stance. "That's two." "Shut up!" he says as he takes his stance. This time I run towards him and thrust for his gut. He steps to the side and tries to hack at my neck, but I roll forward to avoid the attack. I pivot around and raise my sword sideways to block his chops. I hold this position as he hacks at me continuously until I roll next to him and slash up his side as I stand. I then spin to the side and slash him across the gut as I take his sword from him, sending him back a bit and forcing him to his knee. Again the crowd erupts in a frenzy of cheers and profanity. Most of the profanity seems to go towards me, but there are a few supporters. "That's three, give up Shining, you can't win," I say as I take my stance, holding one blade high and the other low. He looks at me with a look of pure rage as he starts to flare his magic. I shake my head as I fling one sword at him, hitting him square on the horn and ending his magic. I take my other sword and toss it aside as I take a few steps towards him. He tries to tackle me but I hop above him and slam both my hooves into his back, sending him to the ground with a loud grunt. I land over him and walk to his side and watch him roll over to his. I drop to my knees and start elbowing his chest. I slam harder and harder as he tries to cover himself. He swings a leg around me and rolls me over so that he's on top as he starts to punch away at me. I ignore his punches and slam my knee into his back, sending him flying over me. I get back to my hooves and charge at him, tackling him as he tries to get back up. We roll around for a while, each trying to gain the dominant position until we both levitate off the ground. I look around to see every guard bowing to something to the right. When I look to the right, I see a very pissed off Princess Luna glaring at the two of us. "Is there a reason the two of you decided to hold this barbaric act and wake me from my slumber?" She asks as she sets the two of us down, Shining bowing immediately. "Forgive us Princess, we were settling a personal..." Shining starts. "Is there a reason you're not bowing?" Luna asks me, getting every guard to look at me in disbelief. "Because I no longer need to bow to you," I say nonchalantly, getting bewildered looks from everypony except Luna. "Oh, and why's that?" "Because I'm a Terradisian," I say, getting a confused look from her. "Miles put me through Spartan training, and part of it was becoming a citizen of Terradisia. I was put through a rigorous loyalty test to make Terradisia my first concern - I am still an Equestrian, but I'm a Terradisian first now." When I finish telling her this, she looks down a bit before she looks back to me. "And... how is Miles?" "OH MY GOD YOU DO - MMMMM," I yell out, only to stop when Luna shuts my mouth with her magic, looking around in a panic. "Shhh! Uh... please come with me... I must... discuss some things with you," she says as she quickly walks off. I look back to Shining before I follow after her. I seriously hope he doesn't do anything to ruin my plans. I follow her to the castle, where we enter a hallway and walk down it at a brisk pace until Luna teleports us to her room. "Whoa, uh, Luna..." "What do you know?" she asks as she glares at me. "What? I don't know anything..." "Then what were you going to say?" "Well, it’s speculated that... you... and Miles... are in love." "NO!" she yells as she starts to pace around. "Nononono, why does this have to happen?" "So... I'm guessing this isn't true?" I say, getting her to stop and look at me with the saddest look I've ever seen her with. "Oh... sorry. It just seemed that that upset you." "I...*sigh* I did love him... but when Celestia found out... we aren't together anymore, and it needs to stay that way," she says as she lowers her head. "Why can't you be together?" "Well, I'm ageless and he's mortal..." "So, look at Cadence and Shining." "That's not the same. Cadence isn't part of the royal sisters, she's just a part of the royal family. Plus, Shining has more time than Miles." "What do you mean?" I ask, getting her to look up at me in shock. "You don't know?" "Know what?" She takes a deep breath before she looks me in the eyes. "Miles is dying. He has anywhere from six to sixteen years left to live." As she says this I feel my heart drop. He's dying... he can't be dying, he can't be. "H-how do you know this?" "He told me and my sister when Celestia separated us. It has something to do with his power constantly growing. Eventually it’s going to get to a point where his body can't handle it anymore and burns out,” she says as a tear rolls down the side of her face. "So why would you leave him then?" says a new voice. I look over to the balcony to see a griffin standing in the doorway. "Regina? How long have you been there?" Luna asks as Regina walks up to us. "Long enough, Luna, I respect your sister and value her word, but this time she's wrong." "What..." "Look, he's dying. He must be scared out of his mind right now. He falls in love only to be told that he's not allowed to have that because he's dying... how would you feel?" she asks, making Luna tear up as she thinks about it. "I... I... I don't know what to do!" she says as she drops to the ground and begins to cry. Regina walks over to her and lies before her as she hugs her. "I want to be with him... but... I don't want to lose him either. Celestia's afraid that if I'm with him... and he dies... I'll die the same way my mother died..." "Shh... shh... it’s alright, it’s going to be OK," Regina assures her as she rubs her back. I just kind of stand here awkwardly. not sure what to do. "Luna, look at me." She gives a couple of sniffles before she looks up to her. "Look, I know it’s going to hurt later on, but I really think you should try to get him back." "But... what about when..." "What do you think will hurt more, having him die with you, or to have him die alone?" OK, that was kind of harsh and only made her cry harder. "What’s your name?" Regina asks me. "I'm Storm." "What acquaintance do you have with Miles?" "Uh... I guess you could say we're best friends..." "So, how is he then?" she asks, getting Luna to pause her crying and look up to me. "Well... I'm not sure. He’s sort of... lost that spring in his step. He acts normal enough, but... I don't know what's going on the inside." "Hmm... Storm, I want you to do me a favor. Go back to him, assuming you don't have any business left here, and see if you can get him to open up a bit. See if he's hurting, then write a letter to Luna discussing what you find." "I don't know... I don't like the idea of spying on my friend..." "But it's going to help him in the long run, please Storm." "Storm." Luna says weakly. "If you don't want to you don't have to. I understand how you wish to respect your friend’s privacy... but if you did this... it would mean the world to me." I've never seen Luna this desperate before... buck, I can't say no. "I'll do it..." As soon as I say that Luna levitates me over and squeezes me in the tightest hug I've ever felt. "Thank you Storm! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" "Princess! Can't! Air!" I yell as I try to tap her shoulder, getting her to set me down with a blush. "Sorry... thank you, again. This really means a lot to me." I nod to her and stand there for a few moments, filling the room with an awkward silence. "Well. You should get going, you must have other things to attend to. I'm going to stay and make sure Luna's up to speed on current... rulings of the heart. Let’s have dinner together," Regina says to Luna as she stands up. "Alright, what do you want?" "Hmm." She hums out loud as she puts a claw to her beak. "I want dirt and worms for dinner." "What?" Luna says with a chuckle. "Dirt and worms. You know, chocolate ice cream mixed with cookie crumbs and gummy worms, sheesh, they didn't have anything fun a thousand years ago did they?" Regina says, getting them both to laugh. I start to walk towards the balcony when Luna calls out to me. "I'll teleport you wherever you need to go. It would look suspicious if you just flew out of my balcony door." "Right, could you teleport me to my hotel, the one on the corner of Sunset and Eclipse?" She nods with a smile as she starts to charge up her magic. "Thank you again, Storm," she says as she teleports me out front of the hotel. I sigh as I start to walk towards my room. This is too much. Miles is dying, is in love with Luna, I have to set up some elaborate scheme for when I pop the question to Twilight, then there's the actual wedding... assuming she says yes… shit. I shake my head clear of that thought and unlock my door, only to be tackled by a purple blur. "Where were you Storm!? You had me worried sick!" Twilight says as she stands over me. "I was... having a chat with Shining... and Luna... did you know Miles is dying?" "WHAT!? What were you three talking about!? Miles is DYING!? How long does he have? What's going on!?" she asks in bewilderment. "Twilight, I'll explain everything, but I think we should head back to Ponyville and confront Miles about this... as well as some other things.” Author's Note Shout out to PTTN for picking dinner. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it. And like always, Brony on!
Chapter 82 Gifts From The PastChapter 82 Gifts From The Past Perspective: Celestia I can't help but pace about the conference hall as delegates from the royal family discuss the attack. Why would they want to take Luna? What could she have possibly done to instigate an abduction? I want to go after her, but I have a responsibility to my kingdom as well... "... so we should march to the griffin colonies and bring justice to them for this heinous crime," Blueblood says to everypony else, getting a few nods from the others. "We don't know if they are the ones responsible for this," retorts Cadence. "All we do know is that they are armed with griffin weapons and have a pact with the diamond dogs. We can't just jump to conclusions..." "One of the royal pony sisters is missing and you want to wait?" says Diamond Heart, an older stallion with an all white coat, light red hair and a cutie mark of a blood diamond. "Now is the time for action, though not the kind Blueblood wishes for." "And what would you suggest?" Shining asks. "A summit meeting." "There hasn't been a summit meeting in over four hundred years, Diamond. Nopony would show..." one of the other family members starts, but stops when Diamond raises a hoof to them. "They would, and they shall. What say you, Celestia?" I stop and glance back to everypony before I continue to march about the room. "If a summit were to be called, it would take a week to get everypony there. Right now our priority should be getting Luna back." "Yes, and it shall, but what about..." KNOCK… KNOCK… KNOCK A guard walks in and is stopped by Shining. They share a few quiet words before Shining walks over to me with a concerned look. "There's a dog out front waving a white flag... demanding to speak to Celestia about their demands to get Luna back." The room falls silent as everypony stares at me, waiting to see how I will react. I take a second to think clearly before I straighten out and walk to the guard. "Please take me to this dog." "Right away Princess." I follow the guard out of the conference hall and head towards the palace gardens. I'm trying to keep a clear, level head, but I can already sense my emotions running through my mind. I don't know what I would do if I were to lose Luna, but I have a feeling it would involve the sun and a lot of dogs. We make it to the exit to the gardens where I see the dog. He looks like any other dog, only this one knows where my sister is. I walk out to him and come to a stop with a few feet between us. "Where is my sister?" "Pony doesn't ask questions! Pony listens!" The dog yells as he points a finger at me. I keep an even look about myself as I wait for him to continue. "Blue pony will die in one week’s time unless you bring us something." "And what would that be?" I ask, getting a growl in response. "The human." "Miles? What does Miles have to do with this?" "Pony doesn't listen! Ask another question and we send you a wing!" I look away and bite my lip as I fight the urge to tear this dog apart. I take a second to compose myself before returning my gaze to him. "Continue." "We want the human. Bring him here within two days or we start cutting parts off. Do not make dogs wait." With that said, the ground beneath him crumbles as two other dogs grab him and retreat underground. "Stop!" I yell to my guards as they start to chase after them. "Let them go, I need to go to Ponyville this instant." They both salute to me before I teleport over to Miles’s home. I peer inside to see the dark interior, no sign of Miles... "BARK BARK BARK!" I jump as I see the wolf sitting next to me, wagging its tail. It stares at me for a second before running off into the house... why he has a wolf, I'll never understand. I walk in and head up the stairs, heading straight to Miles's bedroom. "Miles... are you home?" I ask as I walk into his room, only to find it unoccupied. Where’s that human... Twilight! I teleport to her front door and knock on it firmly. After what feels like an eternity I knock again. "I hear ya, I hear ya," Spike calls out as the lights turn on. "It’s the middle of the - CELESTIA! Oh my gosh.. I'm sorry. I didn't know it was you," he says as he bows before me. "Spike, I must speak with Miles immediately, where is he?" "Uh... well. You see... the thing is..." "Spike, please. Luna's life is at stake and I must speak with Miles. Where is he." "Luna... he and the others went to Topaz Falls..." Before he could finish I turn around and take off into the air. Of course he went there. Of all of the places he could go, he had to go there. If I'm going in after him though, I'm going to need that, thing, I had last time… Perspective: Twilight "SSTTTOOOOOOOOORRRMMM!" I yell as a bot fires its weapon at Storm's back, making him drop from the sky and slam into the ground. I teleport over to him and immediately begin to dig through my bags to get to my medical supplies, ignoring my own fatigue. He's bleeding from his left foreleg and the end of his right wing, with several small dents on his armor. "Twilight! We need to get somewhere safe!" Rainbow says as everypony runs over to me to give some cover. "I know, just let me give Storm a healing potion and we'll go." "Twilight, I can manage. Just help me up and let's get out of here," Storm says as he begins to get up. "But..." "Twilight, help me out here," Storm says as he staggers to his hooves, keeping off of his left leg. I walk to his side and let him lean on me for support. "Alright, let’s get inside before more show up... there should be good," he says as he motions to a nearby building. Everypony else runs through the doors of the long grey building as I help Storm inside. I glance back to Easy to see him tear off the arm of one bot and use it to stab another bot. The inside of the building is mostly empty. There's a stage at one end, a set of stairs to the right and some doors by the stage, but other than that the room is empty. "Let's head upstairs," Applejack says as she leads the others up. "Are you going to be able to do the stairs?" I ask Storm. "Yeah... as long as you help me, I can do anything," he says with a smile. I return the smile as we head to the stairs and begin to go up them slowly. Along the way I pull out a healing potion and have Storm drink it, stopping the bleeding. We make it upstairs to find a long hallway, with eight red doors spaced evenly throughout. We see the first door on the right open, so we head towards it and look inside. My jaw drops as we walk into the room. In the center is a large round bed that has red blankets and pillows. All of the furniture seems to be heart-shaped, and the ceiling is made of mirrors. Everypony seems to have a slight blush on their face as they look around the room, looking through all of the drawers and closets. I can feel myself begin to blush as I step away from Storm, making him fall to the ground from the loss of sudden support. "Oh, sorry Storm," I say as I help him back up. "Jeez, what was that for?" "Uh... I'll tell you about it later. Just... sit on the bed and let me take a look at your wounds." He gives me an odd look before complying. He takes a seat on the bed and holds his hoof out for me to inspect it. "How bad is it?" Fluttershy asks as she walks up beside me. "Well, the wound itself isn't that bad. There’s probably a fracture, but other than that he'll be fine. Now let me look at your wing." He turns to his side and lies on the bed, letting his wing hang off the side. There's a large red and black wound at the joint in his wing, probably the reason why he can't raise it. There seems to be a large chunk of flesh burned off in the center of his wing, bleeding slightly. I have to look away from it before I lose it. I hate seeing him injured, especially like this. "Can you raise your wing at all?" Fluttershy asks as she grabs his wing and starts to inspect it. "Let me see." I can see the base of his wing lift up, but the rest stays limp. "How was that?" "Uh... good... um, Twilight, can I have a word with you?" Fluttershy says as she takes a walks to the other side of the room. I follow her and wait as she tries to find the right words. "It's that bad." "Yeah… there's a lot of nerve damage and... unless we can get him healed properly soon... he may never be able to use it again." I take a deep breath as I take in the news. Losing a wing for a pegasus is like a unicorn losing their horn... we have to find a way to heal him. "How long until it's too late to fix it?" "I don't know... an hour or two if we can put it on ice..." "And Miles has the ice... Miles... if we can get him here he can heal him properly." "I'll get the others and have a look around to try and find a way to signal him, why don't you stay here and try to comfort him?" I nod to her and wait for everypony to leave the room. I don't know what to say to him, how do you tell somepony that they may lose a limb? "Where is everypony going?" Storm asks as he watches them leave. "They're going to try and find a way to signal Miles to get over here." "Shouldn't we go with them then?" "No... Storm... I-I have some bad news..." "Its about my wing, isn't it?" he asks slowly, putting on a serious face. "Y-yeah. There's a chance that you might not be able to use it again if we don't fix it soon... I'm so sorry," I say as I walk up to him and nuzzle his cheek. "*inhale, exhale* It's alright. It's going to be OK. Miles will get here and fix me up like he always does. We... we just need to find a way to get him here." "Is there anything I can do to help?" I ask. He looks over to me and gives me a quick kiss on the cheek. "You're here, that's all I need." I give him a smile before I climb on the bed and lay next to him, holding tightly onto him. "Storm... just in case you do lose your wing... I just want you to know..." "Twilight..." "I'll stay with you. I'll always be by your side, no matter what," I say as I bury my face in his chest, trying my best to hold back my tears. "Thank you Twilight, that means a lot to me." I look up to him and stare into his blue eyes before he leans forward and kisses me. Our kiss ends shortly though, when the sound of music fills the room. "AH! WHAT IS THAT!?" I yell to Storm as the music gets louder and louder. CRASH "WHAT WAS THAT!?" Storm yells as I leave the room and run down stairs to see what happened. I make it to the bottom of the stairs and see a massive hole in the ceiling on the other side of the room. Miles is standing underneath the hole with his sword drawn and staring up at the hole. Perspective: Miles As I run out the front doors to the P.C.H. I look around for the source of the music. There's only two places with speakers loud enough for me to hear them this well... Pars Spelunca is the closest, so I'll head there first. I light my heels and start to sprint down the main road. I hear a rumble behind me and glance back to see two Aquilas flying towards the same destination. I launch myself into the air and kick down at the one on the left, sending a beam of soul fire at it and causing it to explode. The other one banks to the left and jets around, trying to get behind me, so I shoot myself down at the building below me, crashing through two walls before I come to a stop. "Miles! You found us!" Pinkie Pie yells from behind a DJ's booth. I draw my sword and look up to see the Aquila fly over and hovering just out of view. Here they come. Six legion bots drop from the hole in the ceiling and rank up in front of me. These bots are all black standard military bots, with blades for left arms and shields for right. The shields are all black and diamond shaped, being the general width and height of a bot. I charge forward as I flare my magic into my sword, bringing out the first enchantment and setting my sword on fire. The bots charge forward together and try to stab at me, but I slide to my knees and swing my sword at their shields, cutting into the one in front of me. pat pat pat pat pat pat bzzt bzzt bzzt bzzt bzzt Bullets hit the bot on my left as purple beams hit the one on my right. All three stagger back from these hits, allowing me to stand and bring up my second enchantment on my sword. An archaic circle springs up from the guard of my sword, going out about half a meter and shining bright white as the text goes slowly around. I charge again, holding my sword high behind me as I run towards the bot in front of me. The bots split up and come at me from all sides as they try to stab and cut into me, but my enchantment kicks into effect as I swing my sword at the one before me, sending a massive wave of red energy at it, making it turn to fire and burn out of existence. I swing my sword around in time to catch one of the bot's blades. The bot swings around and slams its shield into my side, sending me sliding to the ground. I roll over as two blades stab at the spot I was in prior. VVVRRRRUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM A line of red bolts appears, hitting the bots and forcing them to hide behind their shields. I look back to see Celestia running into the building, firing her chain gun at full speed. What the fuck is she doing here? I stand up and ready myself as she stops besides me, continuously firing. "Miles, you and I need to talk." "Will do, but first let’s take care of these bots," I say as I swing my sword at the closest bot, sending a blue wave of energy that turns it to pure ice. "Attack pattern delta!" yells one of the bots as they run together and start to charge at us. As Celestia fires her gun, she charges her horn and sends a golden beam at the ground before them, making a small explosion that breaks their ranks. I take this opening to lunge at the rightmost bot, stabbing into the chest and turning it to pure stone. I swing a hand towards the other bots and send bits and chunks at the others, making them stagger to the side and reveal themselves to Celestia’s, Rarity's and Twilight's fire. Celestia's archaic bolts pepper the bot as the bullets from my rifle slam into the chest of the bot closest to me. Once the last bot drops to the ground, a massive thud makes me spin around to see the Aquila landing in the opening. Long, thick, black cables stretch out from the four points, acting as mock legs for the machine. As I begin to raise my sword the forwardmost cable flies out and wraps around me, as the machine begins to climb back out of the hole. Before I know it, we're in the air and climbing higher and higher at an angle. I swing my sword around and send a clear blast of energy at the machine, making it turn to pure air. As I spin around to fall back down, I can see the tracer fire from hundreds of bots firing up at me from below. I kick at the air to send myself down and avoid the incoming bolts. I can see that I'm heading straight for the P.C.H. Well, back to square one I guess. "SHIT... FUCK... DAMMIT... ASSHOLE..." I yell as I break through floor after floor. I finally come to a stop atop a massive pile of rubble in a dark room. I stagger back to my feet and try to look around, but there's only one light in the room... and it's shining down on my Elements. I walk down the pile of rubble and approach the pedestal in total confusion. These are my Elements... well, the Elements of Harmony at least. The others don't seem to be here. I stop next to the pedestal and stare at the six white stone orbs in awe. I can't believe it... my greatest creations sitting here in front of me. But... if these are here... then what are the other ones back in Equestria? I reach out slowly with my left hand and grab the closest orb, feeling the smooth surface under my fingers. I wonder... I flare my hand and receive a massive shock up my arm. I try to let go of the orb, but I can't for some reason... it won't let me. Suddenly arcs of electricity shoot from orb to orb as they start to levitate over to my left arm. FINALLY... OUR POWER RETURNS INCOMPLETE, BUT SUFFICIENT I close my eyes and look away as the orbs shine bright white. When the light goes away I look back to see that the orbs have changed... and attached themselves to me. Six gems, green, red, purple, blue, yellow and pink, rest on my forearm. They fit perfectly around my arm, giving me plenty of room to move my wrist and arm, and shine lightly. I try to pull one off, but they seem to be fused to my skin. I twist my arm around as I stare at the gems. So this is how they were supposed to be used... interesting. "Miles!" I turn around to see Celestia flying down to me. She seems really upset over something, I'm sure I'm going to hear about it right now. "Right... you wanted to talk." I seriously hope she doesn't hang me for what happened between me and Luna. "I need you to come with me right now. Somepony ponynapped Luna." BRING ME TO THEM. BRING ME TO THEM. Author's Note Shout out to Nightmare for picking the song, Survive by Rise Against. Brony on!
Chapter 97 What's ImportantChapter 97 What's Important Perspective: Miles After everyone flashes back in, Applejack and Rainbow taking the longest for some reason, we begin to climb through the medical ward. I had check the other platforms and they all lead to higher levels of the building. We only need to go up two more floors so it's not that big of a deal. We make it to the main hallway and take a right. Walking through these grey halls is bringing back memories. Sine and I hobbling down here with our broken legs, Dolum and Auxy finding out she's pregnant, Fidus dragging me through here becuase she kicked my ass, good times. "Where are we?" Asks Pinkie as she peers into an operation room. "This is one of the medical wards of the P.C.H. There was another one higher up, but its gone now." I say as I find the center stairwell and open it up, finding it perfectly intact. "What are those metal claws for?" Twilight asks as we begin to head up. "Believe it or not, but not every human was over powered as I am. Most people struggled to do things that I do with total ease. Those claws were used to assist in medical procedures. They emitted a blue beam of energy that could heal minor wounds." We make it to the first floor and walk out into the main platform hall. "So what was normal for a human then?" Twilight asks as we make our way to the front doors. I pause to think about it. "Well... You know how I heal us all in a matter of seconds?" They nod. "That would take most doctors a day or two. My friend Eximius was a medical professional and I could still out heal him. Heh, I bet when he healed me that day in Topaz I was probably out for an hour or two." I stop at the door and check to see if its clear. With nothing in sight, I open the door and lead everyone out. As we step out I can see some bots to our left and right walking towards us, so I lift my rifle and wait for them to make a move. They just keep walking, paying little to no attention to us as they drudge along into the P.C.H. Some are missing arms while some have to drag themselves along the floor due to their missing legs. One walks past me and glances to me as it continues into the P.C.H. It was missing an optical lens and must of had something wrong with it's neck, becuase it was slouching.... now that I think about.... they're all slouching. "What wrong with them?" Pinkie asks as more and more show up. "I think its something the virus does to them. Lets just keep moving." I say as I walk down the steps. BRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMBBBBBRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMM A loud siren sounds off, making my me cover my ears as I drop to my knees. I can see everyone shouting something, but the siren drowns them out. I quickly throw my arms out and bring up a sound barrier, stopping the deafening sirens from stopping us. "What was that!" Storm yells as we all get back up and try to regain our hearing. "I'm not sure... lets get moving before we find out." I say as I begin to walk down the road, keeping the barrier up as the lines slowly creep up my arms, making it to my elbows by the time we make it down a block. "How long are you going to be able to hold this up?" Twilight asks as we continue down the street. "Well... at this rate... probably a few more blocks... give or take." I say as a high grade military bot, with a hammer and twenty milometer cannon arms walks past us. It completely ignores us as it continues on its way towards the P.C.H. I can also see a few Aquilas flying towards the same destination. " I think the sound is uploading the virus to all of the bots." "Well... that's good... I just hope they don't stay sick for too long." Fluttershy says as we pass a group of utility bots coming out of buildings. I stop as a sudden surge of energy leeches from me, the lines growing to my shoulders in an instant. "OK, you're not going to keep it up at this rate. Can either of you make a sound barrier?" Rainbow asks Twilight and Rarity. "Sorry, our barriers work differently then Miles's. We can only make ours stationary." Twilight explains as I begin to go light headed. I stagger over to the side walk where I lean against a garage door and try to focus. "Think you can give me a break at least?" I ask as I take a seat on the floor. "Alright..." "WHOA WHOA WHOA, Twilight, you just woke up from over exerting yourself. Maybe Rarity should do this one." Storm says as he looks over to Rarity, getting a dirty look from Twilight. "Well... I'll try. It won't be able to last anywhere near as long as Twilight's though." Rarity says as she looks over to me. "That's fine... lets just use this garage and take five." I say as I stand and pull open the garage... "Oh sweet Barbra...." "Who?" "That's a fucking military jeep... WITH THE FUCKING SPARTAN PEN!" I yell as as I run into the garage and circle the white jeep. Wheels are flat, really dusty, THERE'S FUCKING AMMO FOR THE GUN! Everyone else walk in and shuts the garage door, eyeing the jeep as i pop the hood and begin to drool over the still intact engine. Rarity sets her sound barrier, so I drop mine and begin to fiddle around with the innards of the jeep... I think I can get it working. "What is this? Some kind a carriage?" Applejack asks as she jumps in the back and starts to look around. "Sort of. Think of it as a carriage that you don't have to drag." I say as I close the hood and check the room for an air compressor, finding it in the back corner. "How does it work?" Twilight asks as she follows me around. I kneel beside the tire and begin to fill it with air... fucking amazing how this works as well. "Well... to put it basically, the engine creates power that makes the wheels roll forward or backwards. There's a lot more to it then that, but if you really want to know I'll tell you about it another time." I say as I finish the left side and mover to the right. These tires are really shitty, but if they can just last long enough for us to get to the gate, we'll save hours of walking. "Where does the power come from? Is there some kind of fuel source, like coal or..." "Coal is a disgusting, filthy fuel source. No, most machines were run archaically in every Terradisian city. You grab the steering wheel and the drive stick and it sucks the energy from you, giving it power." I say as I finish up the last tire. "Most?" "Yeah... there was a factory next to the orphanage that I grew up in. They used coal." I say as I throw the air compressor in the back and get in the drivers seat. Moment of truth. I grab the steering wheel, wait a second before I push the power button. VROOM "Fuck yeah! Pile in. We're driving out of here!" I yell as I put it in gear and wait for everyone to pile in. They seem a little apprehensive about getting in, but do so anyway. Twilight and Storm take shot gun while Fluttershy, Pinkie and Rarity take up the bench behind me while Applejack and Rainbow take up the other bench. "What about the WHOA!" Storm starts to say but stops when I floor it and crash through the door. I make a hard right and begin to tear through the gears. Second, third, fourth, fifth, ending on sixth gear. As we race through the streets the engine roars out as a plume of white smoke follows after us. This jeep needs a tune up, bad. Hopefully we can make it at least to the bulkhead before it dies on us. "Hey.... the noise ended." Twilight says as she holds onto Storm for dear life... probably should of told them to buckle up. I check the mirror to see every in the back seats holding on as if their lives depended on it. I laugh a little at the sight and continue down the road, pushing the accelerator a little harder to pick up some speed. "Do we need to be going this fast!?" Applejack asks as the road suddenly becomes bouncy. "Are you kidding? Lets go faster!" Rainbow yells as she stands up and grabs onto the roll cage. She bounces into the air and unfold her wings, gliding in the air as we race through the street. "AAAWWWW YEAH!" I laugh a bit as I try to push the jeep faster, we're already doing a hundred forty five kilometers an hour. "Take a seat, the roads getting a little too bumpy to be going this fast." I yell to her, getting a pout in response. She finally lets go and takes a seat, keeping a pouty face about herself. I look back to the dashboard and see that the batteries are maxed out, so I grab the center of the steering wheel and let go of the gear stick. We make the final turn and head up the road, stopping at the bulkhead so I can open the gate. "Can I drive?" Pinkie asks as I go to the control panel. "Can you even reach?" I ask as I flip the switches to open the bulk head. "I dunno, lets find out." She says as she hops to the drivers seat. She can see over the steering wheel, but can't reach the pedals. "Darn, maybe we can jury rig it so I can?" "Do you even know how to drive stick?" "Umm.... no. I guess I'll just sit in the back then. Rarity, catch me." "Wait what?!" Rarity yells as Pinkie leaps over the seat and lands on top of her, sending them both to the ground beside the jeep. Pinkie gets up with a giggle as Rarity gets up as she mumbles something to herself. "Right... anyway, lets go home.. its almost... uh... pony time.... eleven?" I say as I check my phone. "WHAT!" Rainbow yells as she looks around frantically. "We need to get going NOW! I'm late! AGAIN!" "Late for wha..." "I'll tell you another time, go go go GO!" She yells, getting me to jump in the seat and drive off. "MILES!" I slam the breaks and wait for Rarity and Pinkie to get back in the jeep. Once they're seated I drive into the tunnel and stop a few meters inside. I step out and begin to propel us through the ground. The moment we burst through the ground Rainbow flies through the air, leaving a rainbow trail behind her as she flies through the night air towards Ponyville. "Uh... anyone want to tell me about that?" I ask as I look back to everyone in the jeep. They all avoid my eye contact as the twiddle their hooves and stare out every where except at me. "Miles... we promised we wouldn't say. But ah'll tell ya where she went. Shes goin ta the Manticub. It's on the western edge of the residential district. If ya want ta know more, ya'll have ta ask her yerself." Applejack says. I nod to her and start to drive through the forest. Everyone keeps quite as we bounce through the uneven forest. I'm slightly worried about what's going on with Rainbow... I'm also worried about how I'm going to get her to open up to me. I know she can be stubborn when it comes to admitting her own faults... I just hope it isn't anything too serious. I drop Fluttershy and Storm off by my place as I park behind my home. As soon as I turned the engine off the archaic condenser shot through the hood, all four tires popped, and I pulled the steering wheel off from being startled. Well... at least it got me home. I leave it there as I escort the group back to Ponyville, instructing Storm to take the Spartan pen inside before he goes to bed. After I get the group to the center of town, Applejack points me towards the Manticub, so I head towards it. After a few minutes of walking I find what I'm looking for. A three story tall building that's built like any other Ponyville building, just larger. There's a sign in front of it that has a picture of a baby creature on it with some writing. I walk to the front door and walk in, immediately finding an angry, crying Rainbow dash. "Rainbow... what's going on? Why are you crying?" I ask as she paces around the front of the building. "*sniff* they won't let me see her... becuase I was late again... they wouldn't believe me when I said I was helping you with something important..." She yells through her tears as she paces back and forth. "Whoa, clam down. Look, I'll go in and have a word with them, clear everything up. Just, please calm down a bit, OK?" "*sniff* thank you Miles... you need to talk to TenderSoul. He's in his office in the back, just ask one of the kids. They'll show you where he's at." I nod to her as I head inside. The inside of the building is warmly lit, having dark brown furniture spotted here and there. I can hear someone walking around in the room next to me, so I leave the hall and head into the room next to me. This room seems to be a study, having the wall in front of me covered with a book shelf and seats to my left. To my right is an all white earth pony with orange hair and a mark of a red heart with a yellow sash in the back. "Can I help you?" He asks in a soft voice. "Yeah, I'm looking for a guy named TenderSoul..." "That would be me, what do you need with my orphanage?" "Orphanage.... this is an orphanage?" I ask as I look around. "Yes, and for the third time, can I help you?" "Right, look, it seems there was a misunderstanding you had with my friend..." "Let me guess. You're here to talk me into letting Rainbow take Scootaloo home." He says as he walks over to the book shelf and begins to look for a book. "Scootaloo is an orphan? I mean, yes. Look, it wasn't her fault she was late, it was..." "Look. I know she means well, but.... Scootaloo needs structure. Somepony she can depend on, and Rainbow.... I fear she did this for the wrong reasons. I only did this becuase I have Scootaloo's best interest at heart." He says as he pulls out a book and begins to flip through it as he walks over to a nearby seat and sits down. "In the last month she has been late nineteen times, most of them becuase she was napping. Single. And I know she recently went through a major life changing event, though I don't know what it was. I don't think she's ready to be a parent just yet..." "Rainbow adopted Scootaloo!?" "See. Even the idea of her being a parent is unimaginable. I'm sorry, but Scootaloo will have to stay with me for the time being." He says as he sets the book down and looks back to me. Hmm... I need to think of way to convince him to let her take her home... "You say you think she isn't ready to be a parent, but I think you're wrong." I say as I take a seat beside him. "Is that so? Care to enlighten me then?" "Yes, she's been slacking lately, but... that isn't entirely her fault. I've been requesting help recently that's been taking a lot of her time. I can't go into details, but I've been running her ragged for the past month, but that ended today. The project was finished today and she won't be slacking anymore, I promise it. Please give her a second chance at this." We stare at each other intensely for what feels like an eternity, neither of us wavering. "*sigh* fine. But this is her last chance. If she screws up again..." "She won't, I promise." I say as I stand up and extend an arm to him. He stands and shakes my hand, looking back as he thinks to himself. "I'll go get rainbow, there are somethings I would like to say before I let her take Scootaloo. Why don't you go get her while I do this." I nod to him as he points towards the stairs behind me. I turn and walk up them, making my way up as I hear him walking out the front door. I can't help but reminisce about my time in the orphanage. I seriously hope she didn't go through what I had to go through. I hear some children talking behind a door, so I open it up and peer inside. There are two rows of small beds lining the walls, about twelve total. There are five kids in here, two are trying to sleep while two are talking with Scootaloo. "I know she's coming, she probably over slept or something." Scootaloo says. "What if she forgot?" Says an all black unicorn girl with a mark of a star tan hair and grey eyes. "NIGHT! That's not cool. Look, she probably... I dunno... what if she got you a present!" Says an orange earth pony kid. He has red hair and lacks a mark. "It's alright... I just hope TenderSoul doesn't take me away from her... I know she keeps messing up, but I know she's trying her hardest." Scootaloo says as she droops down a bit. I can't take it anymore! I open the door completely and walk in, getting the other two kids to jump back in fear as Scootaloo looks back to me in surprise. "Miles!? What are you doing here?" "I'm here with Rainbow to pick you up. Sorry it took so long. It was suppose to be real quick, but things in Topaz got a little hairy. Say bye to your friends and lets get going." I say as I turn and walk out of the room. I hear her say goodbye quickly and run out after me. "I knew she was probably doing something daring and awesome! What happened?! Did she fight one of those bots she told me about in her bed time stories? Or did another forest creature attack you in the Everfree?!" She excitedly asks as we head down the stairs. "Heh, why don't you ask her yourself." I say as we get to the bottom of the stairs and find Rainbow and TenderSoul in the study. "MOM!" She yells as she runs over to her, tackling her in a hug. "I missed you! What happened? Did you fight one of those bot things?!" "Hey kiddo, I'll tell you all about it at bed time, lets just head home." She says as she hugs her tightly, having a few tears fall into her mane. "Mom, you're crying. Whats wrong?" Scootaloo asks as she looks up to her. "Oh, its just... I remembered what was really important to me today." She says as she looks back to her. "Whats that?" Rainbow leans forward and gives her a kiss on the forehead. "You." Author's Note Shout out to SgtCarrotTop for picking the mascot of the orphanage, Brony on!
Chapter 102 The Big NightChapter 102 The Big Night As the carriage pulls away from the field Twilight and I look to each other... and start laughing. I can't believe we did it! I can't believe it's over! I can't believe nothing went wrong! No explosions, no invasions, no super freaky scary as shit monsters, nothing! I look back over to Twilight to see her giving me her bed room eyes, so I pull her in for a kiss. We wrap our forelegs around each other as we continue to kiss, stroking each others mains, rubbing each others backs, anything to help convey our love. The carriage suddenly comes to a stop in front of Applejack's barn, making me look back to Twilight in confusion. "It's the after party." She says as the driver opens the door for us. "What? Did you think we'd go straight on our honeymoon?" "I was kinda hoping to, but it doesn't matter. Lets go have some fun... wife." I say as I jump down and help her out. As we walk towards the barn we can hear the music playing loudly... but when we reach the door it suddenly stops. We look to each other before we each take a breath and open the doors. " CONGRATULATIONS!" Everypony cheers as we enter the barn. The far end of the barn has been made into an eating area, with round tables taking up the center and a long table in the far back. All of the tables have white cloths covering them with small vases with flowers in the center. To the right and left of the tables are more tables set up with food. The left one only having treats and trays with the main dishes while the right tables have the drinks. The other half of the barn has been set up to be a dance floor, already having several ponies occupying it. Directly to my right is a DJ's booth with griffin standing at it. He's seems like your typical griffin but has the feathers on his head ending in black and covering half of his face. "Let's welcome the lovely bride and groom! Mr. and Mrs. Cloud!" The DJ announces through a mic, getting everypony to stomp their hooves and cheer. We smile and walk in, waving to everypony as we make it to the back table and take our seats. We share a kiss before we look back out to everypony, getting a few more cheers from the crowd. "We're going to take a small break from the music to give our special guest their dues and to get some food, so don't go anywhere." He says before he steps outside. I hear Twilight giggle some more so I look over to her and nudge her a bit. "Whats so funny?" "I was just thinking, Mrs. Twilight Sparkle Cloud. I'm a Cloud that doesn't have wings and doesn't know any cloud manipulations spells. I don't know, I just found it a bit ironic." She says with a slight blush. I lean in and nuzzle her cheek a bit, perking her up. "Not that it matters, but I'm sure you could figure that stuff out easily..." "Hey! Save some for your Primum Somno." Miles says as he walks up to us, with Luna at his side. I look around the room to see that Celestia isn't here. "Congratulations. I hope you have long and happy lives together." Luna says to us as she playfully nudges Miles. "Thank you Princess. And thank you Miles for that wonderful gift. We'll cherish it for as long as it could live." Twilight says, getting a nod from Miles. "Yeah, why don't we have one?" Luna asks as they walk away. "We were kind of under attack..." "Twiley!" Shinning says as he walks up to us with Cadence by his side. "I'm so happy for you little sister." "Thanks BBBFF." She says before she goes around the table to hug him. I get up and walk after her, waiting for her to let go of him. We stare at each other for a second before we shake hooves, each of us putting as much pressure as possible. "Storm." "Shinning." We say before we let go. Twilight pulls me over and guides me over to the food tables. "That was... awkward." She says as she starts making plates for the two of us. "Sorry. I guess the two of us still don't see eye to eye." I say as I follow after her. "Well... maybe in time you will. Lets forget about that for now and go eat." I nod and follow her back to our table. Everypony comes and goes as we eat. My mother was in tears of pure joy and didn't let go of me for almost twenty minutes. Twilight's parents were happy, though Velvet gave us the same expectations from when I proposed... I'm not quit sure how to feel about that. All of the girls came and went, giving the same basic idea. Being happy for us, wishing for happy futures, things like that. I tried to pay attention, but I had two distractions. Food. And Twilight rubbing my leg. I nearly choked the first time she did it. It's taking every part of my being to keep my wings under control. It's been awhile since the last time we did it... I could explode any second right now. "Alright, lets have the groom and bride come to the dance floor for their first dance." The DJ says over the mic. Twilight and I smile to each other as we walk to the dance floor. We take each others hooves as we start to dance to the music. {Authors note: The music will jump around, if you want things to make sense try to follow it, if you want to listen... then listen :P} "This isn't like anything I've ever heard before." Twilight says as she holds herself close to me. "I know. It's a song from Miles's phone. I thought having a song never heard by pony ears before would make a good choice for our first dance." I say as we rock back and forth, moving in tune to the music. "I like it." She says as she twists out. I pull her back in and continue our little rocking dance, enjoying the feeling of having my wife with me. We begin to slowly spin around, making out side steps move us to the left. Occasionally I dip her or do a twist with her, but I mainly enjoy her just being here with me. "WOO LETS GET THIS PARTY STARTED!" Pinkie yells from the DJ's booth as he flips a switch and starts a different song. We bob our heads along with the music as we get surrounded by ponies, and Miles, coming onto the dance floor. I grab Twilight and begin to bounce around with her in my hooves, getting her to giggle. I look over to see the DJ singing as he flips switches and turn knobs, bobbing his head to the music. "MAY I?" Velvet yells over the music as she cuts Twilight out and starts dancing with me. I look back to Twilight, a bit scared, but comply anyway. I watch as Night Light begins dancing with Twilight as Velvet begins to spin us around. "ALRIGHT, I HAD MY FUN. GO GET HER." She says as she lets go of me. I give her a hug and push my way through the crowd to get back to Twilight. "MAY I?" I yell to Night Light as I offer a hoof to Twilight. He smiles and gives Twilight a kiss on the fore head before backing off. I take Twilight and continue dancing with her, glad to have her back. "COME ON! SHAKE THOSE HOOVE THANGS!" Pinkie yells as the next song starts. Everyone bouncing along to the song, some even yelling along with it. I twist and jump and just have a great time with Twilight as the crowd around us begins to liven up. I laugh as I look around at all of the dancing ponies. Rainbow has Scootaloo on her shoulders and is bouncing up and down, getting big smiles from her. Miles and Luna are on the edge of the crowd, doing a step dance together. Miles looks like he's about to have a heart attack, but he's still here. Applejack and Rarity are dancing with their sisters while Big Mac and Fluttershy watch from the tables nearby, leaning on each other. My mother and Twilight's parents seems to be talking to one another while they dance together. Pinkie is dancing with... "Hey Twilight, were you the one to invite Squishy?" I ask as I watch the two of them dance. "I thought you invited them." "Them?" She motions to the tables where I see Cheesus sitting at a table with a nurse. He's hooked up to an EKG machine that's flat-lining. The nurse is frantically trying to see whats wrong with the machine while Cheesus sips some whine. He then punches his chest a few times, making the beeping come back. "OK then.., I guess some party crashers were to be expected." I say as the music begins to slowly fade away, getting everypony to look up to the DJ. "AAAAlright folks! It's time to bid our lovely newlyweds a happy honeymoon!" He says as a carriage pulls up to the barn doors. I was about to question it when Twilight started pulling me towards the carriage. The driver opened the door for us and we went straight in. When the door shut Twilight stuck herself out the window and tossed the bouquet at the crowd of cheering ponies. I see Rarity push everypony out of the way to try to catch it... only to get some grey pegasis to catch it instead. "WAY TO GO DERPY!" Twilight yells out as she pulls herself back in. I laugh a bit as we pull away, but stop to ask a serious question. "Uh... why are we leaving so early?" ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles After Storm and Twilight had left the... party, many started to leave. After about twenty minutes it was just the girls, the... smaller girls, Big Mac, Luna, Cadence, Shinning, and myself. "Are you ready for this?" Luna asks me as we wait for Twilight and Storm to return. Once they had left we decided to get a small bite to eat, so now we're waiting at a table. "Pfft, should I be asking you the same question?" I ask as I try a raspberry crepes... fucking disgusting. "How are these gross?" "I actually have my vows ready and memorized." She says as she tries a bite. "It taste fine to me." I just shake my head as I watch her finish it off... it must be a pony thing. I hear the carriage roll up so we head to the back where we find Cadence rehearsing to herself as she paces around. "You ready Cadence?" I ask, getting her attention, but not stopping her from pacing around. "No. I've never done this before. I'm freaking out! What if I mess up? I don't want to ruin your night..." "Cadence." Luna says as she approaches her, getting her to stop. "I'm sure you'll do just fine. We're just renewing our vows, I'm sure you're more then capable of handling this task." I look back to see Storm and Twilight running up to us, getting everyone to walk up to us as well. "Show time." I say, getting Cadence to gulp. Cadence takes her place in front of the table, facing everyone as she takes a few breathes to calm herself. Luna and I take our place in front of her, standing side by side as we wait for her to begin. "Welcome everypony. We are here to bear witness to the renewal of Miles's and Luna's vows. Love... love is the most precious thing in our lives. Love will always triumph in the end. No matter the hardships, no matter the controversy as long as you love one another, you will always find a way. Please take this moment to share your vows." We turn to each other and take a breath. "Luna. When I first saw you I knew one thing. I'm going to jail." I say, getting everyone to chuckle. "The thing I didn't know though was what I was going to go to go to jail for... stealing your heart." When I finish everyone goes D'aw. "And it makes me happier then ever to know that I'll be sharing that cell with you, cause you stole my heart that night as well. I love you. More then anything in this world. My time may be limited, but with you there with me, it'll be more then enough. I love you." Luna wipes a tear away before she begins. "Miles. That day I met you, I felt something stir within me. Every time we met after that I felt it grow more and more until I finally figured out what it was, love. I fell in love with you. I was unsure of it at first, but when we separated... I quickly found out that I had to be with you. I fear the day you leave this world... but I will cherish everyday that we do get together. No matter what, I will always love you." This time I wipe a tear away as I gaze into her eyes. "Miles." Cadence says. "Yeah?" I ask as I continue to stare at Luna. "Do it." "Huh?" "The rose thing." "Oh, right." I say, getting everyone to chuckle. I flare my hands and wait for Luna to close her eyes. I give her a second before I swipe my hand through her, turning my right hand blue. I kneel down and focus and conveying the two energies into their new purpose... love. After a minute I stand back up and look at my handy work. A rose, having a green stem with black thorns and leaves. The pedals are blue on the tips but fade to black in center. "With the power vested in me I pronounce you re-married. You may kiss the bride." I kneel down and plant a soft kiss on her lips, getting cheers from everyone behind us. I smile a bit before I grab Luna and twist her around, putting me on top and getting an eep from her as I put more passion into the kiss. Getting even more cheers from the others. "Alright you two, save some for the honeymoon!" I stop the kiss and turn back to see the griffin waving my phone at me. "You ready?" He asks. I smile and stand up. "Ready for what?" Luna asks as I guide everyone to the dance floor. I pull up a chair and instruct Luna to sit, which she does. I go to the booth and slide to the correct song before taking the mic. "Good luck." The DJ says as the music starts. I walk up too Luna as the music starts and twirl the mic before I point Luna out and begin to sing along. Cant explain all the feelings that you're making me feel My hearts in over drive and you're behind the steering wheel. I walk up to her and gently place my free hand on her cheek, making her blush like crazy. Touching you Touching me Touching you Gah your touching me I step back a bit as I drop my jacket, making her blush even more. I believe in a thing called love Just listen to the rhythm of my heart There a chance that we can make it now We'll be rockin till the sun goes down I believe in a thing called love whoooooooooo huh! As the guitar take s it solo I slide before Luna, playing my air guitar as I rise and drop from my ankles. FWOOSH Luna's jaw drops as I continue to play my air guitar, making everyone around me laugh or cheer along. I get up towards the end and start to circle around her. I want to kiss you every minute, every hour, every day You've got me in a spin but everything is A.O.K. I stop before her again and place my hand back on her cheek. Touching you Touching me Touching you Gah your touching me I believe in a thing called love Just listen to the rhythm of my heart There a chance that we can make it now We'll be rockin till the sun goes down I believe in a thing called love Whooooooooooo GET DOWN! I twist around and drrop so I'm sitting on my feet with my back against Luna. As I play the air guitar again I rise and drop, rubbing against her and getting even louder cheers as Luna mumbles something to herself. As the guitar solo begins to end, the music begins to fade. I stand up and offer a hand as the next song begins. "*gasp* its our song!" Luna says as she rears up and puts her hooves in the right spots for us to slow dance. "I know." I say as we start stepping from side to side. Luna lays her head on my chest and hums along with the music, slowly getting the beat. Storm and Twilight take a spot to our right as Big Mac and Fluttershy take up spots on our left, each slow dancing along with us. "I got dosed by you Closer then most to you." I sing quietly into Luna's ear, getting her to sigh as she tightens her hold on me. "What am I suppose to do Take it away I never had it anyway take it away and everything will be OK. Luna finishes. Our faces begin to move closer and closer to each other's as we stare deeply in to each others eyes.... that was, until the music suddenly stopped. {Stop music for that to make sense, if you want to... that is...} "Um... I think I broke it... can you come fix it?" The DJ asks, getting me to shake my head. Luna lets go of me and tries to get her wings down as I go see what he did to my phone. "You paused it." I flatly as I look at the screen. "Oh...sorry." "It's alright, just our song, lets see... track 17, that'll work." I say as I offer the phone to him. Before he could grab it I pull it back, getting confused looks from him. "This, is nearly eighty thousand prepurgian songs, that'll never exist again if you break this." "Right..." "So if you break this...I'll break you. Got it?" "*gulp* g-got it." I finally let him take it and hook it up. As I walk back to Luna I can see everyone already bobbing their heads along to the music, so I run up to Luna and take her by her hooves. I start to run around the dance floor as I jump and twist around, getting her to giggle as she does the same. We soon crash into Applejack and Pinkie Pie, who are copying our dance moves. I look around to see that everyone is doing our little dance, making the dance floor into a soft core mosh pit. I shrug and twist the two of us back into the fray, jumping along with the music. I look back to Luna to see her swaying her head from side to side as we jump around. I sigh in content, nothing could ruin this night.... "Miles! Come try this!" I look over to see Pinkie Pie and Applejack eating little treats. Before I could say anything Luna had pulled me over and immediately tried one. "Wow... this is good! What is it?" "Nutella dip strawberries. Try one Miles!" She says as she shoves one in my hand. Well... I'm not sure what strawberries are, but chocolate is good. Down the hatch you go! ... ... ... "Well?" ... ... THUD ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Tirek As I walk through the dark halls of Perditus Spe, dragging the bottom of my Yari along the way, I sigh in annoyance. Why do I have to have to come to the is blasted meeting! I have an army to raise, I don't have time for these trivial matters. "Aw, what the matter War?" "*sigh* Pestilence." I say as he steps out of the shadows and approaches me. "Why am I not surprised to see you here?" "We're *coughing* all here *coughing fit*." "Famine? Why are we all being summoned?" I ask as I continue down the hall. "Isn't obvious?" Pestilence asks as she runs up beside me. "You failed..." THWACH I had swung my Yari at her with the intention of missing. With it buried in the wall in front of her she just giggles, ducking my blade as they both continue down the hall. I yank my blade out and continue down after them, cursing them along the way. I find the in the great hall, kneeling in the center of the room, so I take my place beside them. "Thank you all for coming." Master says in his usual voice. Some combination of a whisper, age and being hushed. "Now, War, why have you failed me?" I grit my teeth before I rise to face him. "I haven't failed, I've merely been.. delayed..." "By the human?" "Yes... but he will not stand for long..." "Actually, he will." He says as he stands up and walks around the three of us. "For you see, I'm taking over all of your little projects..." "WHAT!?" We all yell as we stare at him. He simply raises his scythe and slams it onto the floor, silencing us. "This human... has caught my interest. I wish to see what he will do on his own." "But why cancel my research? Surely we could..." "Famine, calm yourself. Your research has come an end becuase there is no more to research. Bring all of your forces here immediately." "Does this mean..." "Death has come." He says with a smile. We all look to one another and smile along... until a thought occurs. "Death, an agent of mine went rogue, what do you wish for me to do?" "Aw yes, I know all to well of your, failure. Let him spread our word to them, then send a single assassin." He says as he walks back to his seat. "Just one? What if he fails?" "Then our message will be all the more powerful. Now go, I must rest." We all bow before walking out of the room. I quickly get away from Pestilence and Famine to get to my chariot, finding Steelwing along the way. "Whats the plan boss?" "Consolidate our forces. He's planning something without telling us..." "Want me to look into it?" "No. I need you alive. Also, send an assassin to Ponyville." A/N: Shout out to Nightmare for picking Diamond Dogs and Jmlop0 for picking Luna, both by Eurobeat brony. Tallestbrony picked every other song, Impulse to my addiction, by Daniel Mustard, Dosed By Red Hot Chilli Peppers, I believe in a thing called love by the Darkness and Dashboard by Modest Mouse. Shout out to Sine Wave for picking the treat Miles was fed. Brony on!
Chapter 107 Specialization Chapter 107 Specialization Chapter 107 Specialization Perspective: Miles Rubber. Where am I going to find rubber. I make my way back into the market as most of the stalls start closing. I jog down the rows of stalls until I think I find the one I need. It has a cart filled with various items as a logo. The merchant, an all white pony with brown hair and a white helmet, is sitting there looking around. I walk up to him and sigh in relief. "Hi there. I'm Sea Grave, but my friends call me Holmes." "Uh... why?" I ask as I look around his shop a bit. There seems to be bits and pieces of everything here. "Hmm... never asked. Welcome to Ponyville Supply, I've got a bit of everything." He says as he stands up and comes to the counter. "Really? You've got a S-51C? No? Then you don't have a bit of everything." "A what? Look, what do you want." I laugh a bit as I continue to look around. "I'm looking for some spare rubber.... well, actually I'm would prefer some synthetic plastics. But that can only be made back home, so I'm going to try to improvise with some rubber." "Hmm... rubber." He says as he turns around and begins to dig through a chest full of junk. "What do you need it for?" He asks as he continues to dig through the chest. "I need to fix a flat.... four actually." He pauses and looks back to me before digging back in. He pulls out a few thin tires and sets them on the counter. "These spare bike tires are the only rubber I'm going to have at the moment.... twenty thousand..." "Really?" "Each." *eye twitch* "Well? You want it or not?" He asks as he starts to pull them back. "Fuck no. Why would I pay that much..." "Because you can." He says flatly. *eye twitch eye twitch* "You know what." I say as I back away from the stall. "Keep them. I'll just go to a different city to buy my goods..." "Wait wait wait. Ok, I'll work with you, just come back here." He says as he looks around. "Five hundred each and that's as low as I'll go." I pull out a platinum credit and toss it onto the counter. "Deal, nice doing business with you." I say as I grab the tires and walk off. I hear him mumble something, but I didn't quit catch it. As I make my way back home the sun slowly sinks down in the horizon. I pause to watch the moon peer out from the other side of the horizon and slowly make its way into the sky. I don't think I'll ever get tired of the sight. THU-BUM I drop to a knee and hold my chest as a tightness comes around my heart. Great. Another one of these. Well, it has been awhile. I take a few shallow breathes before forcing myself back up and pushing my way home. As I walk I get a few more spasms, but the tightness begins to dull after each one. By the time I get to the front door the pain has subsided, but I can still feel the tightness, but that's OK. I'll use plenty of magic tonight anyway. I open the door and walk in to find everyone in the living room, talking idly to each other. I head over to the dining room and set my bags and tires down. I grab the top of two chairs and try to collect myself before heading over. "Everything alright Miles?" Rarity asks as she walks up to me. "You seem to be in pain..." "It's alright." I say before I take a deep breath. "I just need to use some magic, nothing big." "Miles..." "Alight, here's the deal." I say as I leave the dining room and head into the living room. "Quartz Crest is in Moosden, or under, I wish to leave either tomorrow or the next day..." "Why so sudden?" Applejack asks from the couch. "Time is working against me, remember." I say, silencing the room. "I need to get there as quickly as possible, so I'm going to try to get to each one as quickly as possible. If you still wish to come along then meet me here tomorrow at noon..." "Uh, tomorrow is a staff development day. Can I bring Scootaloo along?" Rainbow Dash asks. "That's alright. I don't think we'll be able to leave tomorrow anyway, but I still want to discuss some things with everyone. If you have any questions then go ahead and ask, if not you can head home." After an awkward silence everyone stands and walks out, except Rarity. "Something on you mind?" I ask as I take a seat next to her. "Miles, what's the matter with you? You seem to be in pain." She asks with concern in her voice. "I haven't used the correct amount of magic to keep myself in line, so now the pressure has built up to a painful level. The answer to this is to use magic..." "But I thought that using magic made you... slip faster." "It does. Look don't worry about this. I know that its complicated and contradictory, but it's the way things are. I'll be fine, for the most part." "If you say so... but what happens if.... never mind." She says as she hops off the couch and starts to walk off. "If what?" I ask as I follow after her, stopping at the door. "*sigh* I was going to ask, what if you die before we get the answers you seek. I'm sorry Miles, but I don't think we'll find survivors down there. I know that's a horrible thing to say, and I feel awful saying it, but everything seems to point that way. What happens if we have to go to the next one, and the next one." I step back from her as I think about what she said. "One year." "What?" "Without power restraints I have one year. So if I don't get to the last city within a year... then it won't matter. You guys can choose to go if you wish, but as for me.... one year." I turn back to the dining room and start going through my bag, pulling out all of the supplies. Rarity stands there for a second before she finally leaves. One year... ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Friday November Eight, 11:23 AM *poke* Erm.... *poke* Sleeeeeeeeep... *poke poke* "I don't want to go to school...." *poke poke poke poke poke poke poke* "Alright alright..." I say as I finally wake up. I had fallen asleep in the jeeps driver seat after spending most of the night making repairs. I look down to see Scootaloo standing in my lap, poking my face. "Why are you sleeping out here?" She asks as she jumps to the passenger seat. "*yawn* I was making repairs to the jeep and... stuff..." I say as I lean forward and lay my... BEEP "AH!" We both yell as I now completely wake up. "*sigh* what are you doing here?" I ask as I stand up and grab my bags. "Dash told me that we were going to have lunch at your place. So since she's cooking in the kitchen I decided to have a walk around. Why do you have so many weapons in your closet?" She asks as she jumps out of the jeep and follows me around. "They were given to me for defending Ponyville..." "Oh yeah. That was scary. So... what exactly are your plans with my mom?" "WHAT?!" KER-FACE PLANT "Hmm... should I be concerned?" She asks as she sits on my back. "Scootaloo... no. Just... no." I say as I lay there. She start playing wit my hair as I start to get comfy on the floor. "Scootaloo, lunch is ready! Can you bring Miles with you." Rainbow Dash yells from the distance. "OK, be there in a sec." She yells back. "Are you coming or not?" She asks as she stands on my head and looks down at me. "*sigh* yeah, lets go." I say as I stand up and walk off, Scootaloo moving to ride on my shoulders. "You know Scootaloo, I was raised in an orphanage too." "Really? Cool." She says as she lays her head atop of mine. "Yeah, so I get it. It's tough. If you ever want to..." "Tough? Uh... no it wasn't. It was actually really nice there, but I like it with Rainbow Dash more." Nice? Orphanage... nice? "Nice... stealing, fighting and being looked down upon is nice?" "What kind of orphanage did you go to? Mine was filled with warm meals, cozy beds and an awesome care taker." I stop in front of the door to set her down. Apparently I went to the worst possible kind while she went to the best possible kind of orphanage. I open the door for her but pause when she looks back to me. "Uhmm... Rainbow isn't that good of a cook... so, try to be nice." She warns me before she runs inside. "Alright... *sniff* is that fire?" I mumble as I walk inside and head to the kitchen. Everything seems fine. No fires, random sinks or anything like that. I walk over to the kitchen table.... "OH SWEET BARBRA WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!" I yell as an over powering smell of burnt horror fills my nostrils. "Miles..." "Its not that bad." Rainbow says as she looks over a burnt plate. "OK, maybe it is." "How did you burn the plate?" I ask as I take a seat and look over the burnt plates. "Uh.... what did you cook?" "Sandwiches." Rainbow says as her ears droop down. Scootaloo shoots me a dirty look, so I decide to give it a try. I scrap off a chunk from the plate and begin to try it. After a few attempts I finally muster the courage to eat. "Oh sweet Barbra..." "Is it really that..." "How is this Delicious?" I ask as I take another bite, filling my mouth with the illogical food. As I eat, Scootaloo making the two of them new plates as everyone else starts to slowly trickle in. By the time I finish the three plates everyone is here, oddly enough no one wanted to try any of the sandwiches. Once Scootaloo Sweetie Belle and Applebloom were all here they all ran off together, probably to get into trouble. "Now that your done... eating, why don't we get started darling." Rarity says as she tries not to gag from the sight. "Hm? Oh right, lets go to the living room." I say as I wipe my mouth and follow everyone into the living room. "Alright, today's discussion is going to be specialization. Our runs into Topaz were unorganized and shameful. For Quartz Crest I'd like things to run a bit smoother." "Are... are you going to train us... to be Spartans?" Fluttershy asks as she shakes a bit. "No. I haven't seen anything in you guys to give me reason to induct you into the Spartan regiment. This is just basic specialization training. Back in Topaz Spartans would train the Terridisian forces, so I'm going to do something similar with you guys. Here are my listings as I've seen fit..." "Hold on!" Twilight yells as she magics up a quill and parchment. "OK, go." "Rarity and Twilight, I want you two on fire assist with me. You'll be carrying any guns we find or have and be defending the group. Fluttershy: I want you on med assist with me. If someone gets injured it'll be your job to get them out of the fray and to begin treatments on them. Applejack and Pinkie: You're on scav. Where ever we go, you're to look for anything that seems remotely important. Ammo, gems, spare parts, anything you find try to bring it to me to see if we need it. Rainbow and Storm: You're on recon. Fly ahead of us and look for any dangers. Try to steer us around anything that looks dangerous. If we have to fight, I want you to judge the easier of the fights. Now, all of these positions are interchangeable, if someone gets hurt next to you and Fluttershy or I aren't around, don't just leave them. These are the things I just want you to focus on. Any questions?" "I am not shooting anything..." "I can heal too! Why can't I help... "I'm Spartan! Why aren't I on fire assist... "WOO! It's like a scavenger hunt!" "Oh.... my... can I just hide..." "Ah can help in the fightin, why am ah scavin fer?" "Why do I have to fly with Storm? He's so slow!" They all yell at once. I stand there in annoyance as they all start to argue with one another. "ENOUGH!" I yell over them, silencing them. "Look, this is my call. If you don't like it, then don't come." They all sit back and stay quite, so I continue. "Good. I have to get a few things ready for the trip down, so we'll be leaving tomorrow at sun up. I know that all off you have responsibilities, so if you need me to come and talk to any of your bosses let me know now. Other wise it's all up to you." I wait for anyone to say something, but after a few minutes of silence I take that as my answer. "Alright, head home and prepare. Don't worry about food or water, I'll take care of that..." "No you won't." Storm says as he gets up. "At the prices everypony's asking you, you'd go broke in a week. I'll get the supplies. You can just pay me back later." "Sounds fair." I say as I shoot Pinkie a dirty look. She only shrugs and skips off, attempting to whistle. Once everyone leaves I realize that I now have nothing to do. I look around for Lupus or Hati, but can't seem to find them anywhere. I tried just sitting in the living room, but after five minutes of silence I started to go crazy! Wait... I have a ring... with that thought in my mind I run upstairs and take the teleporter to Canterlot. I flash into the cave and I instantly notice something new here. Luna must of spent some time here becuase all over the walls are paintings of me and Luna. Depictions of love, marriage, and children cover the three walls. I look up to see that she has painted the ceiling to look like the night sky. I take a moment to admire her work before I finally go to leave. I step out of the cave and take a look at Canterlot. It seems so peaceful. As I walk down the slope I can see a few pegasus guards flying about the castle. I look for a hole in their security and exploit it, launching myself into the air and landing on top of a building. I look around to make sure that I haven't been seen, before enchanting my hands and feet. Once done, I launch myself to what I hope is Luna's tower and begin propelling myself up. I make it to the balcony and take a moment to catch my breath. Why do they have to make these things so tall? I look back and verify that it's Luna's room, the stars and crescent being dead give aways. I go to the door and find it not only unlocked, but without a barrier. Fucking guards. I open it as quietly as possible and step inside, shutting the door behind me quietly. Her room is just as I remember it, blues and purples filing it with long black curtains covering her bed. I walk over to her bed and peer inside, finding her sleeping peacefully. I pull my shirt off and remove my belt before getting into bed with her. After I get under the sheets I lightly press myself against her back as I wrap my arm around her. "Mmm..." She mumbles as she rolls over and starts to wake up. "M...Miles?" She asks, partially asleep. "Hey. Sorry for waking you." I say as I begin to brush her mane with my hand, helping her wake up quicker. "Miles?" She says as she wipes her eyes, then freezes up. "Are.... are you in my room?" "Yeah." She holds her self still for a few seconds before she quickly jumps out of bed. I watch as she paces about, freaking out about something. "Everything alright?" "What are you doing here?! There are guards by my door! What if they were to hear something? Celestia would kill us..... CELESTIA! What if she senses you?" She says in a hushed tone as she paces back and forth. I just lay there, watching her run from one side of the room to the other. "Luna." I say calmly, getting her to pause and look over to me. "Come back to bed." I say as I lift up a sheet. She lowers her head as she sighs, walking over to the bed and dropping into bed. As soon as she was in, the curtain closed behind her, darkening the space around us. I scoot over to her and wrap her in my arms again, rubbing my nose against hers as I do so. "Has Celestia found us yet?" "Well... no. But..." "And have the guards come running in yet?" "No." "Then don't worry. We're in the clear. Celestia's probably working on some government documents or something. And your door is probably too thick for your guards to hear anything." "*sigh* alright. You're right. Sorry. I just flipped out cause I thought that Celestia would catch us in the middle of the act. With our luck..." "Um... I didn't come here for that. Is that what comes to mind when you think of me?" "What? No. But that's where it always goes..." "Hey. I can't help it if I married the most beautiful women in all of Terra. That's all on you." I say as I poke her nose, getting her to smile. "No, its all on you and your too toned body." She says as she runs her hooves down my chest. "And I guess your handsome as well." We share a laugh before we stare into each others eyes. I lean forward and plant a small kiss on her lips, placing my hand behind her head. Then another. Then she gives me a small kiss. We stare at each other for a bit before she starts to get on top of me, so I roll onto my back. "Think you can be quiet this time?" I ask as she undoes my pants. "I think I'll manage." She says as she pulls my pants off and takes a few deep breathes. She leans down and gives my flaccid member a soft kiss, making my heart skip a beat. She gives it a few more soft kisses until it's half way up, from there she takes it in her mouth and starts to wok it with her tongue. Once its all the way up she begins to bob her head up and down, making me close my eyes from the pleasure below. With a pop she pulls back and catches her breath, her warm breath keeping my shaft warm. She moves down and starts to lick me, moving from the tip down my shaft and to my balls. "Hey, let me return the favor." I say, getting a confused look her. "Swing around." "Oh, right?" She says with a blush as she gets up and turns around. As she lays on me I give her flank a tight squeeze with both my hands. She gets back to licking me, so I decide to start. I begin by prodding her with my tongue, getting a soft moan as a reward. With that moan in mind, I begin sucking on her clit, getting her to start grinding into me. As I continue to suck, I continue to caress her flank, moving my hands from top to bottom, squeezing tightly in between. "GAH!" I yell as she gives a hard suck, pulling me completely out of her mouth and making me arch back from the sudden pleasure. OK, no more oral. I quickly pull myself from under her and line myself up with her, rolling her over so she's on her back. With a powerful thrust I slam into her, making her yelp out in pleasure as I pull back and slam back in. I go through these motions a few times until she uses her magic to push me back and take the top position. Luna wastes no time once on top, grinding back and forth as she plants a forceful kiss on my lips. With our lips connected I wrap my arms around her and roll over, taking the top position. I start to feel the pressure build up, so I begin making my thrust quicker with less power in them. With a final slam I burst out into her, arching back as I hit my euphoric peak. I give a few more thrust before collapsing on top of her, both of us panting together. I pull out of her and roll to her side, feeling tired. "Sh.... sh..." "Shit, I know..." "Shoot." Why can't you cuss normally? "I wanted top..." "You did.... twice..." She chuckles a bit before looking over to me. She gives me a soft smile as we stare at one another, catching our breath. "Where did you put my pants? I have something for you." "Really? I think they're at the end of the bed." She says as she looks down. I push myself up and crawl to the edge of the bed, finding my pants on the floor. I go through my pockets until I find the bracelet. "OK, close your eyes and hold out your right hoof." I say as II crawl back to her, hiding the bracelet behind me. "OK." She say as she does so. I take her hoof in my hand and give it a soft kiss, getting her to giggle and open her eyes. "Hey, keep 'em shut." "*sigh* fine." She closes her eyes again as she sticks her tongue out at me. I give her another kiss and place the bracelet on her, snapping it into place. "OK, open your eye." Perspective: Luna I open my eyes and look down at my hoof. There's a turquoise bracelet on my foreleg, with two sapphires and a diamond in the center. The diamond takes up the center as the two sapphires sit to the left and right. He must of forged them himself, becuase the sapphires twist to one another, going around the diamond and becoming thinner and thinner until they meet the other sapphires. The actual bracelet is made of heavy turquoise that fits perfectly around my leg. "It's beautiful." I say as I look it over. "Sorry it's late. I intended to give you a wedding ring sooner, but circumstances said other wise. Plus I realized you don't have fingers for rings..." "We usually use our horns for rings, but I still love it." "Really? Great, now for the next part." He says as he gets next to me and holds my hoof up. He sets his other hand on fire and begins to feed energy into the diamond. "OK, once I let go of your hoof smile. I'm taking a picture of us..." "Right now? But my mane is probably a mess..." "OK, five seconds." He says as he shakes his hands free of the magic and holds me against him. I look to the bracelet and put on as genuine a smile as I can must. FLASH "Ah! Miles." Right before the flash Miles had pulled my face over and gave me a kiss. "Lets take a look." He says as he puts some energy into the diamond. A picture of the two of us appears from the diamond. It's ... actually a really good picture. We both have our eyes closed, but with Miles kissing me it came out perfectly. My mane even looks presentable! "Its perfect, thank you Miles." I say as the picture fades away. "Yeah... we should get some rest. You have to get up soon." "I love you." I say, getting a smile from Miles. "Ego amare magis." "I love you most." A/N: Sorry for the delays (If you follow by post) Technical difficulties, along with family matters and using a new system with my editor delayed me longer then I wanted. Enjoy the chapter, and Brony on!
Chapter 120 Answering The CallChapter 120 Answering The Call After I had left Luna's room, taking even longer due to Luna constantly hugging me and telling me to be safe, I had finally made it bake to the cave with the Mico platform. Before taking it back home I decided to walk to the other side of the mountain and create another communications tower. These things get good coverage, but I doubt the two I have right now will be good enough to get coverage in the Griffin Colonies. I think I'll make a few on the way, plus a few over there, that should do. After making one here I head back home. I walk out of my closet and decide to get a quick bite to eat before going to everyone's homes. After eating some carrots and apples, and petting Lupus and Hati, I decide to go to the Mico platform in my backyard and let Moosden know about the up coming meeting. A flash later I appear in the middle of Moosden, in the middle of a rainstorm. I guess not everything in life is bad. After an unknown amount of time running around in the rain, splashing in puddles and just enjoying the falling water, I decide to get back to business and try to find E'Claire or Butterscotch. I walk around the mostly empty town until I notice the two homes with lights coming from the inside. I recognize the one on the left being Bantler's and Na-da's, so the other one must be the girls's. I walk to the door and open it... "AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Screams E'Claire as some machine, powered by Butterscotch's magic, rams her vagina. She's laying on top of Butterscotch, so they're stomach to stomach, as Butterscotch just holds onto her. I stand there for a second, unable to look away, until Butterscotch finally see's me at the door. We stare at each other for a bit before she finally shuts the door with her magic. I stand there for a second, trying to process what just happened and glad for the cold rain. "I really need to learn to knock... or move to the Griffin Colonies." I shake my head and head over to Bantler's door. I pause for a second, trying to think of anything that could be inside, before an ingenious idea comes to mind. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK I wait for a few moments before the opens up to reveal Bantler. "Miles? Well, good to see you! I didn't think you'd be back for weeks, come on in!" He says as he steps aside. I flare my magic and pull of the water off of me as I step inside. "Bantler, it's good to see you..." "Please tell me that you're here to pull those two off of each other." He says as he looks out to the other house. "Sadly no." I say with a shiver. "Have they told you about your new citizenship yet?" "Yes. I don't completely understand it, but..." "Don't worry, I'll explain later. Tomorrow is a citizens meeting in my home back at Ponyville. I want all of you there bright and early. Just take the Mico platform in the town square. From there just knock on the back door and I'll let you in. Be sure to let the girls know..." "Could you tell them." He asks shakily. "I'm never walking in that house again." I sigh as I look back to the house. "Yeah... I'll tell them. Just make sure that you and Na-da make it to the meeting tomorrow." I say before heading back into the rain. I walk over to the other house and hesitate at the door. I really don't wan to do this. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK I wait in the rain as I hear Butterscotch run around the room, yelling about not getting a turn or something. "Miles! Hi... uh... sorry about earlier." Butterscotch says as she steps outside. "Uh..." "Are you here to set up the call-y thingy?" "Huh... oh right! I'll go ahead and do that, but I'm actually here for something else. There's going to be a Terradisian meeting tomorrow in Ponyville. Take the platform to my home in the morning with Bantler and Na-da." "Right. Will do. So, if you don't mind, it's my turn on the mare destroyer 6000, soo... BYE!" She says before running back inside. I stand there for a moment, still shocked from before. I need to find a normal group of people. With a sigh I stroll back to the Mico platform and make the call box. Its just a two way call station between me and this phone, nothing special. Once I finish I step back and take the platform home. FLASH As soon as I make it back I start making my way to Sweet Apple Acres. As I walk, I notice a steam cloud trailing from me with the wind. I would jut take the rest of the water off magically, but at the rate it's evaporating... I don't really need to. About a third of the way to the farm I become completely dry. With the smoke gone I finally get a good view of the night sky. I don't think I'll ever get tired of seeing all of those stars. I take a little longer then needed to make it to the farm, enjoying the view just a bit more. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK I wait patiently by the door as I look around pointlessly. The lights are on, so I assume that someone is up. "Miles? What brings ya ta the farm so late?" Applejack asks as she answers the door. "Hey AJ. Sorry to come so late, but I need to speak to Big Mac." "Ah'm sorry, but he's over at Fluttershy's... and I don't think ya want ta head over there." Why is everyone fucking today? "Ah can take a message fer ya iffin ya like." "Well... how early will he be back? This is something really important." "Well... usually gets home around sun up..." "That's not early enough... fuck it. I'll just head over there after I talk to Storm. Can you be sure to make it to my place around sun up tomorrow?" "Yeah, what's this all about?" She asks as I turn and leave. "You'll hear tomorrow. Good night AJ." I say as I make my way to Twilight's Library. When I make it there I find it completely dark. I look up to see that their window is open. I go to jump up to it, when I remembered what happened last time. *shiver* OK, how about the balcony. At least there I can listen and then decide whether or not to break in. I walk around to the other side of the house and jump up to the balcony. OK, I don't hear anything, that's a good start. I step next to the door and open it slightly..... silent. Oh sweet Barbra I hear snoring. They're asleep. I walk inside and shut the door behind me, trying to be as quite as possible. I walk around until I find them sleeping peacefully in bed. I was about to shake Storm... but then I remembered that I needed to pester him. As quietly and as softly as possible, I climb into their bed beside Storm. I keep scooting up against him until he rolls over and looks to me. "M-miles?" He says sleepily as he rubs his eyes. "Ready for round two, big boy?" "............ WHAT THE BUCK!" He yells as he tries to jump out of bed, but instead knocks Twilight off the edge. I burst out laughing as Storm flails around. "What has gotten.... Miles! What are you doing in here!?" Twilight yells as she sits up and glares at the two of us. I stand up and chuckle a bit as they both just glare at me. OK, time to get serious.... actually, now is the time to get overly serious. "What the buck Mi...." "LIEUTENANT!" I yell at him, making him stand at attention on the bed. "Tomorrow morning we will be having a recall on all citizens to discuss up coming events. You will be there, along with your family, bright and early. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?" I yell at him as I hold my hands behind myself. "SIR YES SIR!" He yells back with a salute. "Oh, and Twilight, if you could bring a map of the Griffin Colonies I'd appreciate it." I say casually before hoping out the window. I land below and start walking off calmly, hearing the window slam behind me. Oh the love of being a pester. I make the trip to Fluttershy's house in relative peace. I went to knock on the door when I heard something from above. I tried to listen to it, but it's too quiet. I think they're talking to each other.... or becuase they're both so quiet that this is their yelling. Well... if they're talking, I guess they would hear me knocking. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK After I had knocked the talking had stopped and I could hear hoof steps coming to the door. "Oh, hello Miles. Can I help you?" Fluttershy asks as she cracks the door open, only revealing her eye. "I need to speak to Big Mac. Applejack says he's here...." "He can't talk right now. Uh... I can tell him for you though." "Sorry, but I have to say this to him, its just a policy of ours. Why can't he speak?" "He's..... asleep." Seriously? "Sorry Shy, but this can't wait. Please let me in." I say firmly. "But... But..." "Fluttershy, please." She sighs and pulls the door open. The room is completely dark, the only light coming from the stairs. I look around for Fluttershy, but I think she's hiding behind the door. I step inside and pause when the door shuts behind me. What the fuck is going on here? "He's upstairs in my bed..." "OK. Thanks." I say before heading up the stairs. OK, now I'm a little worried. Fluttershy is leading me through her home, keeping quiet..... well, quieter then usual. I make it to her room and follow her inside. "OK.... what the fuck." I say as I take a look at Big Mac. He's asleep alright. He's on his back with his flaccid member laying on his stomach. I few drips of cum are on his belly, but the rest of it.... "So.... I'm going to wash up now... unless you need me for something." Fluttershy says as she looks back to me. A few strands of sperm are in her hair while most of it is on her face. "You know.... you could of told me you were... you know.... indecent." I say as I look around the room, trying not to stare. "But... you said please." She says innocently. I just shake my head at her as she scurries out of the room. I sigh as I go to Big Mac's side and shake him until he starts to wakes up. "Mmm, not yet Shy. It's still soft." He mumbles as he rolls over. I just shake my head as I grab his ear and hold it. I can feel him trying to shake me off, but I don't let go. "Wh..... Miles?" "Recall. Tomorrow morning. My place. Got it?" I say to put it simply. "Uh... how early?" "Early." He sighs as he lays his head back. "Eeyup." He says slowly. I nod and leave the house as quickly as possible. What happened to normalcy? Whatever, I have to get ready for tomorrow. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Luna Sunday, November 11th, 6:15 AM Its time to set the moon, and I'm a little nervous. When Miles was here I felt better about doing this, but right now... I wish he was here with me. I open my balcony doors and take a deep breath before stepping outside. I glance around until I notice the sun beginning. She must be too busy to come raise it with me. With a heavy heart I get to work setting the moon. I should of guessed that she would of... "Sorry I'm late!" She yells from her balcony, horn glowing. "My meeting with Regina.... Luna?" She asks as she takes a look at me. I just smile weakly as I raise a hoof to her and wave. OK, here we go. We set the moon and sun in their place in complete silence, Celestia staring at me the entire time. When we finish I fly over to her balcony and stand before her awkwardly. "So... Tia... do you have time to get breakfast together?" I ask as I rub my arm a bit. "I... uh... Luna, are you.... alright?" She asks as she eyes me a bit. "What do you mean?" "Well you're... uh... how do I put it... you... uh... where did you get the bracelet?" She asks to change the subject. I had removed my bracelet when I changed. But now I have it higher up my leg. "Oh, uh... it was a gift.... from Miles..." "Miles gave you that." Celestia says flatly. "Yeah.... so.... breakfast...." "Luna, we need to talk." She says as she steps inside her room. I take a deep breath as I try to calm my nerves. I can do this. I just need to go in there and tell her that we're married, in love, and... "Luna?" "IHAVEYOUDIARYANDMILESANDIAREMARRIEDANDAREINLOVEANDARTRYINGTOHAVEAFOALANDPLEASEDONTBEMADBUTILOVEHIM!" I blurt out in one breath. I quickly cover my mouth and stare at Celestia as she stands there, dumbfounded. "Uh.... what?" "OK... from the start. I have your diary..." "I knew it! Please tell me you didn't read it." She says as she walks past me and flies over to my room. I just stand in her room and wait for her to get back. I feel as if I'm a foal who's been caught stealing cookies. I can't do this! I.... I need Miles here for this, I can't face her alone like this. When she makes it back I watch as she walks straight past me and puts her diary back in its drawer. She just stands there, looking away from me as she takes slow, even breathes. "How much of it did you read?" "All of it." I say timidly. "Luna, this isn't like you. You would never intrude my personal space like this. What's going on? Talk to me." She says as she turns back to me, showing the disappointment in her eyes. "Tia... I... I just..." "Is it about Miles?" She asks to which I nod. "Sister... I don't want you being around him anymore...." "Why!? Becuase you think I'll become Nightmare Moon? That part of my life is over...." "Luna! That part of your life will never be over!" She yells back at me, making me back away from her. "You fell pray to it before, you can do it again. I've already seen that part of you come out." "When..." "The night of the Diamond Dog attack. You killed them as if they were.... nothing. As if you were enjoying it. I saw you use a power that I've only seen Miles do... I fear he has tainted your mind..." "How could you say that?" I ask as I take a step towards her. "Ever since he's been here he's done nothing but fight to protect everypony. He's rescued me from War, saved Ponyville twice and..." "And you've been the one to suffer." She say, silencing me. "Ever since that day he grabbed your horn and held you... you've been different. I've seen your soul materialize Luna. And it resembled Miles's. You've used human magic, you've been obsessing over the man you barely know... this has to stop before it gets any worse." "What do you think will happen? That I'll bend to his will? Do everything he commands me to do? Try to make eternal darkness..." "I fear that when he dies, you'll be so attached to him that you'll... do something that we'll all regret. I don't want to lose you sister. I love you too much to let you walk this slippery slope... not again. Never again. Mother and Father would be ashamed of me for letting you get this enthralled with him. I owe it to them to keep you safe. And I will, even if it makes you resent me for another thousand years." I take a step away from her as a few tears escape me. "So that's it. Another thousand years on the moon." "I love you sister. I don't want to see anything hurt you. Miles is nothing but pain and misery. I can see it..." "So becuase I've fallen in love with somepony I have to face another thousand years alone, cold, with nopony to talk to, all becuase you fear what might happen. That's what it's come to. Do you hear what you're saying sister? Do you hea...." "Enough!" She yells, silencing me. "I will never send you to the moon again. That was too painful. No. But if you ever see him again, I will give the order. I've spoken to my guards and found a group of mercenaries willing to do this. Do not make me make this call Luna. It will only end in heartache." I take a few deep breathes as I try to control my crying. When I finally get my nerves up, I look Celestia straight in the eyes. "No." "No?" "No." I repeat. "Then you leave me..." "You are mistaken. Mother and father wouldn't be ashamed for you letting me become enthralled with him. They would be ashamed of the way you've been acting. Keeping me from my duties, plotting to kill anypony that gets close to me, sheltering me from the outside world... it's gone on long enough. I love you dear sister. But until you realize what you've done, do not speak to me. Ever." With that I charge my horn and teleport back to my room, where I lose it. I fall to my bed and bury my face in a pillow as I cry my heart out. I scream and I cry and I sob as the curtains pull themselves shut around me. ................................................................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles I woke up right before sun up to get things ready. I'm expecting at least eight people to come and hear this, so I've been turning my living room into a meeting room by moving the dining room chairs over to the open space. As I set the last chairs up I hear a flash out back, so I walk to the back door to see who's here. "Bantler, welcome to Ponyville." I say as I approach him. He seems a little scared, but that's probably just the Mico platform. "Miles... hi... eh." He says as he stumbles away from the platform. As soon as he steps off the platform another light flashes and Na-da appears. "Na-da. Why don't you guys go ahead inside and wait for everyone to show up." I say as I motion to the door. They look to one another before walking inside. A couple of flashes later E'Claire and Butterscotch appear behind me. "Whoa... that thing is freaky." Butterscotch says as she approach me. "Girls. The meeting will start soon, just head inside and make yourselves at home.... at home in my home that is." They give me a confused look before heading inside. I walk in after them and note that they're the only ones here right now, this would be a good time to go over a few things. "So, before the actual meeting starts, why don't we go over some things about your citizenship." I say as I follow them into the living room. They all take their seats and listen intently to me. "Being Terradisian has a lot of perks. Any and all of our resources are at your disposal. If you ever need anything, let me know and I'll do what I can to help. Construction, defense, inquiries, anything. Terradisia was all about community, so if there is anything you wish to bring up, the meeting after this is the time to do it. You are all considered full citizens, so we value your opinions. If you think something sounds stupid or don't understand, say so." "So..." Butterscotch starts. "What if we want to bring up that we don't want to be citizens?" "Then I'd remind you that you were forced in and the only way out is with a blade." I say, making her gulp. "Got it." "Next is taxes." I say, making them all sigh. "There are none." "WHAT!?" They all yell in surprise. "Well... there are, and there aren't. The way thins work are, if you want a service, then you pay the tax for that service. I'll give you an example. Let's say you want a house built. Then you would come to the public works person and requisition a house. In turn you would pay a tax that would eventually pay off that service. Almost sixty percent of the workers from Topaz Falls were city workers." "So... we only pay the taxes we want to pay?" E'Claire asks with a smile. "I like that." "Basically. There are some things that aren't options, but under strange circumstances we will ignore them." "Like what?" "Well, for starters, no one is paying for our military. I'm covering that until further notice." I say as I look out the window and see everyone walking towards my home. "Alright, here are the other Terradisians, so we'll get started soon." I say as I head to the door and open it... "BARK BARK BARK BARK!" As soon as I opened the door Lupus and Hati came charging in, nearly knocking me over. "WOLF!" They all yell as I step outside. "Morning!" I say cheerfully as they all grumpily approach me. "Just step inside and take any seat in the living room. We'll start right after I set up. Twilight, did you bring the map?" She rolls her eyes and pulls out a roll of paper. I take it and look it over quickly. "What are those yellow dots?" I ask as I roll it back up. This isn't exactly what I asked for, but it'll do. "National capitols." Twilight say tiredly as she walks past me. Hmm.... whatever. I did wake her in the middle of the night. I follow after all of them and wait for them to be seated. Once they are, I magically tack the map up to the wall and face them, being sure to hit the audio recorder on my phone. "Welcome to the first Terradisian public meeting. This is to do two things, get everyone adjusted to Terradisian meetings, and to inform you all about a recall. First, is there anything anyone wishes to bring up." I look around the silent room and sigh. "Storm, Big Mac. You guys didn't tell your wives about their new citizenship... did you?" "NNope." "A.... no." "Of course you didn't." I say with a sigh as I turn to Twilight, Fluttershy and Applejack. "Since they're Spartans you're all Terradisian citizens. You basically can ask anything at these meetings and share all of the same rights as we do." "Really?" Applejack asks as they all look to each other. "Yes, really." "Um... ar-are we going to go through Spartan training?" Fluttershy asks. "No. That's for Spartans. You are all Terradisian. Terradisia was our mother nation, they provided a border and we basically policed the world... well, at least during the Purge we did. Anyway, is there anything anyone wishes to bring up?" "Whats the Purge?" Twilight asks. "Really? *sigh* alright, here's the quick version. The purge was a major changing point in human history. It literally changed the world. From what little information we have left from that time we are able to somewhat piece together what happened. The world was divided between many major factions. The United States of America, and some of the European nations sided against China, who sided against Russia, who in turn fought everyone, while African and Middle Eastern nations tried to fight any and everybody. There were plenty of other nations that fought other nations, but those were the major ones. The actual war itself lasted some sixty years before it found it's eventual end. Nuclear and super archaic bombs rained down across the entire world. It's unclear who fired first or why they even fired. Some speculate that it was an espionage slip up while others say it was them just trying to end the war. In the end it doesn't really matter." "After the bombs fell, time seems to be lost. From that point on, there is no account of time. Nothing that was written down was ever dated, and we have no way of knowing when it was written becuase most of it was electronic. After a speculated two hundred years people started to congregate. This is around the time we speculate that Emerald City was built. From there, cities started popping up all over this continent. Topaz, Jasper, Galena, Ruby Canyon, all of them started to spring up and prosper. Its speculated that two hundred years after this is when we started populating other planets. Around the time of our colonization is when we found the Unfamiliar. Our current calender starts when we buried our cities. That's the Purge." "Do you know where any of those ancient nations are?" Twilight asks quietly. "No. That information was lost during the purge. There's a lot we don't know about our own past. We know major facts. World wars, scientific break through's, but any other details were lost either during the great migration or the Purge." "The great migration?" Storm asks. "Humans used to populate the entire planet. But once Emerald City was built, people started migrating to this continent. Soon, this was the only continent people lived one... well, that was until Diamond Halls was built." The room falls quiet as everyone thinks about what I said. "Whats today's meeting about?" Butterscotch asks as she runs a hoof through her short mane. "Steelwing has been spotted moving from Beakton to Flionence. The Spartan regiment will aid the Griffin Colonies in hunting him down." I say, making Twilight and Fluttershy go wide eye. "Wait... you're all leaving for the Griffin Colonies?" Twilight asks as she holds onto Storm's hoof. "Are you sure he's going to be there? Are you absolutely sure?" "I know he won't be there." I say, making everyone do a double take. "What?" Big Mac asks. "This is Steelwing, the guys been avoiding attention all this time. Do you think he be stupid enough to be seen this easily?" Storm says as he wraps a wing around Twilight. "Whats our real objective and when do we leave?" "Our objective is..." "Wait wait wait, hold on a sec." E'Claire says. "Are you really about to just tell us what you're going to go do?" "Yeah... is that a problem?" "Kind of, it's kind of a leak in your information. Shouldn't this be kept secret or something?" "That's not how we operate. It used to be that we could move just as fast as our technology. We would make a post about an operation moments before actually doing it. There wasn't anything anyone could really do to stop us. There were no secrets between the Spartan regiment and our citizens. When I was making the Elements, I had people making daily posts asking about my progress, and I would communicate with them." "Wow..." Na-da says, getting us all to look at her for a moment. "Right... anyway. Our objective is to spring their trap and try to discover whatever we can about The Darkness. " I feel my phone start to vibrate, so I pull it up and see that Luna's calling me."We leave in one hour." I say as I step aside to answer the phone. "Luna?" "*sniff* Miles... we need to talk." Luna says in a shaky voice. "I'll be there in..." "No... no. Just... just listen, please." She says as she tries to collect herself. "Celestia and I had a talk today... it didn't go well." "What did she say?" I ask as I step out back and pace around, worried. "It's not what she said, it's what I said. I told her I wouldn't speak to her until she apologized for separating us." I bite my lower lip as I think about this. I'm glad she finally told her, but this was obviously too much for them. "It's going to be ok Luna. Look, just give her some time to..." "Miles... I'm going to fix this... but to do this, I won't be able to see you for a while. At least a month." I feel my heart drop as I stop moving and just stand there in silence. "Miles? Are.. are you..." "I'm here." "I'm sorry... but this is the way things are going to have to be for awhile. I don't want it to be this way, but I can't find another way. I'm so sorry Miles..." "It's ok... it's... its going to be alright." I say as I take a deep breath and start to walk around again. "Will you be able to at least call me?" "... I should. In the mornings or in the evenings at least." "OK then. I'll support you on this, but you better call me. I don't know how long I can go without at least hearing your voice." "Hmm, ok. I'll call as often as possible. I promise." "Ok.... well... then this is goodbye then." I say as I pause and take a few deep breaths. "Amo te Luna." "Ego plus amare te" "Amo te maxime." A/N: Shout out to Voltman77 for picking the sex toy the girls were using! Thanks for reading, and Brony on!
Chapter 135 Green LightChapter 135 Green Light Deceased. No... there are thousands of red lights in here, they can't all be deceased. I go to another red light and press it, getting similar readings. Deceased. Next red light. Deceased. Next light. Deceased. How could they all be deceased! We gave them the answers they needed! What could have gone wrong! Why did... "MILES!" I snap back into reality as Big Mac shakes me a bit. I look back to everyone to see the worried looks on their faces. "What happened?" "All of these red lights are people that tried to freeze themselves in time... and died." I say as I look around the crimson room. How could so many have died? Everything here was perfect, why would the stasis pods fail? "What about the green ones?" Twilight asks as she looks at the few green dots. I reach over and press one, making it immediately turn yellow as it slides out. I look over the readings in the hologram and begin to shake. Nominal. This... child is... nominal. I look to the others before looking back to the hologram. Its of a little boy. Probably eight or nine. He made it. He lived. "Go to every green light and press them." I say as I move to the next green light and press it. Nominal. We go through every light and press them, turning them all yellow with the same wording, nominal. "Are there more of these?" I ask the bot. "Negative. This project was under funded until days before the evacuation. These five thousand pods were the only ones made." "How many green do we have?" I ask as everyone else finishes pressing the lights. "Forty seven." "Forty seven.... well, it beats zero. What do we do next to open the pods?" "Pull the reanimation lever, located beside the terminal." I look back and sure enough, there it is. A large panel beside the terminal. I walk over to it, open it, and pull the green lever down. The lights dim down for a second before going back on as a light hum fills the room. We all look to each other before running outside, where the humming gets louder. "What is that noise?" Aere asks as I look around the dome, trying to pin point the sound. "Sounds like a power generator. But I'm not sure where it's coming... from..." I start to say but stop when the humming suddenly ends. I look over to the bot to question it, but stop when I hear something. Crying. Somewhere a small child is crying. I jump to the top of the building where I find a small office, where the crying also gets louder. I take a few cautious steps towards the door and peer inside. Most of the room is fairly standard for an office, but to the left is a large stasis pod. The back is made of wires going from the glass chamber to the ceiling and floor. The glass door has lifted up to reveal a little boy huddled at the bottom. He has short blonde hair and is fairly skinny. I walk over to the crying form and kneel beside him, gaining his attention. I almost step back as I stare into his pure white eyes. "*sniff* c-can you h-elp..." He stutters before falling out. I quickly move forward and take him in my arms. "Hang in there kid, I've got ya." I say as I cradle him. He looks up to me with those pure white eyes and blinks slowly a couple of times. "I... I know you..." He almost whispers. "You're Miles Eremita..." "Yeah. That's me..." "The lost Spartan." He says as he looks back into the office. "Where are my mom and dad?" I close my eyes and shake my head as he continues to look around. "Mom said I had to go to sleep for a bit, that she would be here when I woke up. Dad had to go fight the monsters and... Mr. Miles sir, where are my parents?" He asks as he looks back up to me. "Your parents... aren't here. I'm sorry. They... its... I..." I say as I try to find the right words to tell him. "They aren't here? That's OK. Becuase you're here now. You'll stop them. I've seen you fight on television before, no one can beat you." He says as he grabs my arm and continues to look up to me. I just look away as I try to hold back my tears. "Mr. Miles sir? Why do you look so sad?" "Because... because..." "I know what will cheer you up... a... a nap.... Mr. Miles sir, I'm gonna take a nap now..." "NO! NONONO, STAY AWAKE!" I yell as I shake him a bit, trying to keep him awake. "I'm glad I got to meet you... you're my hero Mr. Miles sir..." He says before he closes his eyes. I shake him and yell as I try to wake him back up, but he stays asleep. With nothing better to do, I hold tightly onto him. "I'm so sorry." I whisper into his ear as I continue to hold him. I wipe my eyes as before looking back to him... and watch in horror as he slowly begins to turn to ash. It wasn't quick like when I use soul fire. It was slow. Like watching a car accident. You know how fast it should be going, but your mind doesn't process it. Every second, every emotion, taking seconds in reality feel like hours in my mind. By the time I get a hold of myself I find myself sitting in a pile of ash. "Come on Miles... lets see how the others did." Twilight says as she nudges me a bit. I look back to her and True Will standing beside me. I stand back up and stumble a bit in a daze. "Uh... Miles..." I look down to see my pants still covered in the grey ash. I try to wipe it away, but no matter how hard I try, there seems to be a little more left. "Lets leave this depressing room." True Will says as he walks out. I turn back and stare at the pile until Twilight pulls me out of the room. "Are you going to be alright Miles?" Twilight asks as I look out to the horizon. "Miles?" "This is my fault..." "How could this possibly be your fault?" True Will asks. "You weren't here for..." "EXACTLY! I wasn't here!" I yell as I begin to pace around. "I should have been here! It was my equation, my fucking unit, my..." "MILES!" Twilight yells as she grabs me with her magic. "You can't change what happened! You got hit and came here. I know its must be hard to see the remnants of your people dwindle away right in front of your eyes, but you can't fall apart right now. It was tragic that that child had to die, but there are others out there that need somepony they know to guide them. Now pull it together!" She sets me back down and steps back, panting slightly. "Y....you're right. You're right. We need to get to the others, now isn't the time to morn. Lets get going then." I say as I walk over to the edge. I take a look back to the small office before stepping off. I will come back too give him a proper burial. This I swear. "Is everything alright Miles? Where is..." "He died." I say, cutting off Rarity as the others flash in behind me. "We need to move out to the others and see how they're doing..." "Are ya gonna be alright Miles?" Applejack asks as she removes her hat. "...yeah. Yeah, I'll be fine. Now lets get going. Bot, lead us to the other stasis pods." The bot give a quick nod before walking down the street. "He's lying." Applejack mutters to someone behind my back. I wanted to reassure her that I would be fine, but I couldn't. Maybe he was just too small to be in one of the pods. Or maybe he was just... CRASH We all stop and turn back to see a person standing down the street. He's roughly my height with medium black hair. Even though I'm looking right at him, I can't believe what I'm looking at. Not the fact that he's a person, but that he's maxed out with five portals flaring. but instead of having black lines with white fires, he has blue lines with blue tinted white flames. He turns back to us and looks us down with those pure whites eyes... "Hunger..." He mumbles as he takes a step towards us. I continue to star at him in disbelief of his form. Blue lines... why does he have blue line? "Hello there." Twilight says as she walks towards him. "I'm Twilight Sparkle. What's your name?" "Umbra." He says as he stares her down. "Twilight, maybe this isn't a good..." "Umbra, are you OK? Can we get you any..." "Your soul... looks... I must have it." He says as he stumbles toward Twilight, reaching out to her. "My... my soul?" Twilight says as she steps away from him. "Your soul... it must feed me... give me your soul... give it to me.... GIVE... ME YOUR SOUL!" He yells as he raises his arms and makes a tossing motion. From behind him two buildings suddenly break from the ground and fly straight towards us. "TWILI...." CRASH A sudden burst of energy sends me flying down and alley and crashing into a wall. I look up in time to see two blue figures moving towards me. BANG KRA-BOOM I had pulled out my revolver and took a shot at one of the figures, but something went wrong. When the bullet him them, they both exploded with tremendous force, turning the buildings around them to ruble. "Your soul.... I want it...." As I get up I look over to see a woman beside me twitching as she eyes me oddly. "Please don..." "GIVE IT TO ME!" She yells before throwing both her arms up. Before I could act I suddenly launch through the air. I violently spin for awhile before finally getting control. "Oh fuck." I mumble as I see all of the blue dots below. BANG "GIVE ME YOUR SOUL!" I spin around to see the woman flying straight for for me. "TAKE IT!" I yell as I thrust my palm at her, sending a a beam of soul fire straight into her chest. KRA-BOOM. I feel myself fly a bit back more before falling towards the ground, where I see the blue dots begin to race all over the city... Perspective: Twilight As I step away from the person before me, I hear something crash behind me. I don't look to it though. Instead I keep my focus on the person before me. "Uh..." "I NEED IT!" He yells as he begins to charge. Before I could react, a red shield drops around me as True Will steps in front of me. "STAY BEHIND ME!" He yells as I see Aere run around the shield. "COME GET SOME!" He yells as he swings his mechanical appendage at the blue person. Mid swing, a blade falls out and slices straight through their knee. We all stare at the person as he just stands there, looking down at his seamlessly unharmed knee. "FEED ME!" The person says as he raises an arm, lifting Aere into the air. He begins to twist and shake as a light red aura is sucked from his body. The aura drains into the arm of the person, making them giggle in delight. "AERE!" True Will yells as he drops his shield. "STAY BACK!" Aere yells back as he pulls something from his satchel and drops it. "It was a ple..." KRA-BOOM True Will didn't get his shield up in time, but I did. Luckily I was able to hold back the massive blue explosion... "NOOOOO!" True Will yells as he punches the ground. "We need to get moving!" Camo Flash yells as he pulls out his huge buster sword. "Come on! This way!" "FEED US." Before any of us run off, we all look back to the clearing smoke to see a blue figure in the distance. My first thought was that he had somehow lived, but that soon changed when I saw another. And then another... "How many are there?" I ask as I look around. Alleys, roof tops, some even hovering in the air, fiery blue people are standing everywhere, staring us down. "The count would now be forty five." The bot informs us as it begins to walk towards one of them. "May I assist you?" "Feed... me..." The person gasps as they reach out to the bot and suck the energy out from it. "Maybe we should fall back now..." Dust Devil says as she begins to back away. "Theimara! Cover us!" True Will yells as we all turn tail and run. "FOR GREATER EARTH!" Theimara yells as she charges at the group of advancing poeple. She charges straight into one of them and swipes at their face... KRA-BOO-BOO-BOOM When Theirmara's claw struck the person, they exploded. From their explosion, two others nearby blew up as well. Completely on instinct, or rational fear, I had raised the Medi-gun up and put a shield around us, stopping the explosion from harming us. By the time the blue flames wash over us, we became surrounded by the blue people trying to get inside the shield. They slam their fists and shoot beams of energy at the dome, but it holds steady... for now at least. "DON'T LET GO OF THAT SHIELD!" True Will shouts as he looks around. "REALLY?!" I yell back as I try to think of an escape plan. "True Will, how many ponies can you teleport?" "Two... maybe three. You?" "Three or four.. effectively at least..." "Hey Matrix, Dust Devil, Camo Flash, How fast can you fly?" Rainbow asks as she looks up. "What are ya thinkin Rainbow?" Applejack asks as she pulls out her rifle and starts pointing at different people. "If we fly fast enough out, you guys can teleport out. From there we just need to keep our distance." Rainbow says as she starts stretching her wings. "We shouldn't separate Rainbow..." "Can you guys keep up?" She asks as she jumps into the air. They all look to each other before jumping into the air with her. "We will try to assist as much as we can. Keep moving, we'll also try to shout out their positions to you. Everyone clear?" Rainbow says. We all look to one another before nodding back to her. "OK, on three. One. Two. THREE!" Perspective: Rainbow Dash As soon as the shield dropped I begin to flap my wings harder then I've ever flapped before. We all race straight through the air as two separate flashes ring from below. I fly up until I feel we'e a safe distance up, where I hover and look down. "Think they'll be OK?" Matrix asks as I watch the blue dots begin to race through the city below. "I don't know. Lets get..." "RAAAAAHAHAHA" We all look back down to see several people rocketing up towards us. "MOVE!" Camo yells as he swings his sword at the closest person, sending some black energy towards it. KRA-BO-BOOM Two of the people explode, sending a massive shock wave towards us and making us tumble. I quickly regain control and pivot back as I pull my rifle out. I aim towards the closest person coming at us and open fire. PEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEW I begin to to fire and line up the shots with the person. The shots pepper against his chest and stomach, making him stop mid air. KRA-BOOM I fall back some from the explosion but manage to stay air born. I look back to see the everypony else flying in the air being chased by different blue people. I go to... "RAINBOW!" Miles yells as he falls right in front of me. I shake my head a bit before flying after him, catching up to him quickly. I grab his arms and begin to fly up, slowing our descent. "GAH! Why are you so heavy!" I yell as I feel my wings burn from the added weight. "What are you trying to say? Head over to the communication array and..." "The WHAT?" "The.. the big pointy thingy!" He yells as he points to a large metal spire. I make my way over to it as best I can, dropping him before I fall to the ground. PATPATPA KRA-BOBOOM I look back to see Miles taking shots at different people flying around us. "Miles! What's going on!?" I yell as I open fire as well. "Its the stasis pods! They..." BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM Four spinning vortexes of stone and metal burst from the ground and shoot straight over us. The ground below us begins to sink as its crushed from the spinning ground. "FUCK!" Miles yells as he flares hiss heels. "Rainbow, keep moving! Do not let them touch you!" He says before launching between two of the vortexes, getting three of the people to chase after him. CRASH I spin back to see the last person burst through the vortex and come straight towards me. PEWPEWPEWPEWPEW KRA-BOOM Perspective: Twilight When I appear on the top of a nearby building I look back to see Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Hamm Strung with me. "Where should we go next?" I ask as I look back to see several people chasing after us. "Lets go underground!" Pinkie yells as she looks to the street below. "Um... we... we... we..." Fluttershy stutters as she watches the person come at us. "You guys get going! I'll cover you!" Hamm strung yells as he jumps down to the next roof and starts running towards the person. "HAMM STRUNG! You two get indoors, I'll go get him!" I yell before I teleport next to him. "What do you think you're doing?!" "MY JOB!" He yells as he pulls out one of his axes and flings it straight for the person. In turn, the person uses their magic to spin the ax around them and send it flying straight back. The weapon crashes straight into Hamm Strung's chest and blows straight through the back. He holds his arm out for a second before dropping to his knees and looking straight down to his chest. "HAMM STRUNG!" I yell as I make the shield and look him over.... he's dead. "WHY! WHY DID YOU DO THAT!" I yell as he falls back, his blood pooling up underneath my hooves. SLAM I look back to see several people slamming their fists against the dome, trying to get in. "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS!? WHY!?" "TWILIGHT!" A massive wave of black energy slams into the backs of everypony outside, creating a blinding explosion. When I regain my vision I find myself laying on the a couch inside a building. I look down to see Fluttershy wrapping up one of my legs as Pinkie keeps a gun pointed down an open door. "What happened?" I ask as I try to sit up, only to be stopped by Fluttershy. "The explosion was too strong and broke through you shield. Luckily you only broke a leg, but you're in no condition to move." Fluttershy informs me in a rather calm manner. "What was that black energy?" I ask as I rub my head. "That was Camo Flash. I don't know how he did it, but it saved your life. He's outside right now keeping them off the building." Fluttershy says as she ties off my bandage. "Did Hamm Strung make it?" Pinkie asks as she looks over to me. I look between their worried faces before hanging my head down. "Oh..." "I'm going out there." Fluttershy says as she stands back up. "WHAT!?" Both Pinkie and I scream as she walks over and slings her rifle. "Fluttershy, did you hit your head or..." "No, Twilight, I did not. These big meanies cannot be allowed to continue like this. I don't like it any more then you do, but maybe I can put them down as peacefully as possible. Pinkie, stay here and watch over Twilight. I'll be back as quickly as I can." She says as she walks over to her. "But... but... but.." Before Pinkie could form any words of protest Fluttershy wraps her up in a tight hug. When she lets go of her they stare into each others eyes before Fluttershy takes off down the hall. "When did Fluttershy grow a pair?" "I don't know, but we can't stay here. Let me see if I can heal myself." I say as I try to use my magic, finding it extremely weak. "Well... damn." Perspective: Fluttershy When I make it to the roof I find Camo flash hovering in the air, send slashes of dark energy towards different ponies and making them explode. I take up a spot in the center of the roof and take aim at one of them in the distance. I lead the end of my rifle with him as I get ready to pull the trigger. "This is for Hamm Strung." I mutter before pulling the trigger. I watch the blue bolt collide with the pony and force him to explode. I take a deep breath as I pick my next target and begin to lead the shot. "Fluttershy? What are you doing here?" Camo asks as he lands beside me. "This is for Aere." I mutter before pulling the trigger again. The blue bolt collides with them and makes him crash into a building, exploding on contact. "This isn't a place for a pony like you Fluttershy! Get back inside!" He yells as he gets in my face. I see a person coming at us both behind us as well as in his eyes. I grab him and spin with him, switching our positions so I can fire at the pony. This one takes a few shots, but I get him soon enough. Simultaneously, I hear him yell as he slashes at the pony behind me. "And that was for Theimara." I say as I look to the right to see massive vortexes of stone and metal reaching up into the sky. "Do you know where any of the others are?" I ask as I look for my next target. "Matrix, Dust Devil, and Rainbow Dash were in the air with me a bit ago, but I don't see them anywhere." Camo says as he walks in a circle, looking for the others in the air. "Hows Twilight?" "She'll be fine. I've take care of her the best I can. We just need to cover her until she can fix herself with her magic... that, or until we can get Miles here." "Right, and where is he?" Camo asks as the vortexes suddenly stop spinning. I look out to the to see a small dot fly out from between them and start jumping from rooftop to rooftop. Three blue specks start chasing after it, sending entire buildings at it as it goes. "Found him." I say as I take aim. "There's no way you're going to hit any of them at this distance..." "Just a little more..." "They're too far away!" "Almost there..." "You can't do this..." PEW I lower my rifle as I watch the bolt fly through the air. One, two, three... a massive explosion erupts in the distance, followed by two more that make the blue fire grow even more. I look back to Camo and offer him a shrug and smile. "... that still only counts as one." He says as he turns away from me. "One what?" I ask as I look over to see Miles heading straight for us. I wave a hoof at him as I sling my rifle, standing back on all four. "I'll take him to Twilight, you keep us covered." I say as I turn back to the door. "Uh... OK." "How is everything here?" Miles asks as he lands beside Camo Flash. "Twilight is hurt and needs your help." I say as I wait for him by the door. "Take me to her." He says as he runs over. Perspective: Dust Devil I dive down to gain some speed as two of the blue people chase after me. Once I get within inches of the floor I bank up and skim along the ground. From behind I hear a couple of crashes and explosions, telling me that I have a few seconds to breathe. "Where are the others?" I look over to see Matrix flying along side with me. "I don't know, head up and we'll look for them!" I yell as I use my momentum to gain altitude.Once we're high enough I look around until I see an explosion in the distance. "There!" I say as I head for it. "Right behAHHH!" I spin around to see Matrix hanging upside down as a blue person holds him by one of his rear hooves. Matrix quickly puts on his brass hooves and starts kicking and punch as he tries to break free. "MATRIX!" I yell as I pull out my sword and start to fly towards them. Before I could get to him in time, I watch in horror as the person sucks the red energy from him, leaving Matrix a grey husk. "NOOOOOOO!" "I need more." The person mumbles as they drop his lifeless body and face me. I grit my teeth as I stare down the monster before me. How am I going to... "I NEED MORE!" He yells as he thrusts both of his arms me, sending a column of blue energy at me. CRASH When I open my eyes I look around to find myself in a small crater. I try to move, but find it very hard to do. I put a hoof to my forehead and feel blood start to trickle down to my side... even worse, he knocked out my gum. I reach into my vest and shakily pull out a cigarette. I put it in my mouth as reach for my lighter, hearing a thud nearby. "Hmm... sorry Dad. That game 'll have to wait." I say as I light my smoke and take a drag, sending a column of smoke up into the air. I look down to see the person standing before me, twitching in anticipation. "You soul..." "Come and get it." I growl I try to sit up.... is... is that gas? KRA-BOOM Perspective: True Will Once we flash in a random street I take quick note of who I have. Applejack, Big Mac and Rarity. Well... I've had worse. "We need ta git going!" Applejack says as she takes down the street. Rarity and I look to each other before running after her. "So, whats the plan?" Rarity asks as we chase after Applejack. "First, keep moving. Second, stay alive." I yell back to her as I keep my eyes open for anything blue. I look back to see four blue figures moving towards us, gaining quickly. "Ya'll keep goin! Ah'll cover ya!" Big Mac yells as he turns around and spins his halberd around, sending a column of fire at one of them and making them explode. "NO! We stick tagether!" Applejack yells as she turns around and opens fire with her rifle. "Oh... Darn it!" Rarity yells as she turns and opens fires as well, sending massive bolts of energy down range. "Are you three crazy!? We need to get moving!" I yell as two more of the people explode, only to be replaced by three more. "FINE!" I yell as I pull out my long sword and start to feed my energy into it, making it glow red. As the others continue to keep the others at bay, I begin to take slow steps forward. "What are... are ya..." Big Mac stutters as I walk past him. I look up to see several buildings lift into the air and tumble towards us. I take one last breathe before I raise my sword back and swing it forward, sending a massive red slash of energy at the building. KA-BOOM A massive cloud of smoke erupts as shrapnel peppers all around us. I turn back to the others and wait for them to pick up their jaws. "What? How do you think I became captain?" I ask as I sheath my still hot sword and start walking away. "Uh... what was that?" Rarity asks as they all follow after me. "My sword is... special." I say as I keep my eyes open for anything blue. "Special like Miles's weapons or like... somethin else?" Big Mac asks as he takes my left flank. "What's so special about Miles sword?" I ask as I look back to him. "Nevermind. We need to connect with the others. Where would they go after separating?" "Probably the P.C.H." Big Mac says as he looks over to the tall building in the distance. "Then that's where we're going." A/N: Don't forget to check up on my BLOG. New openings will appear before chapters are finished, so get your OC's in early! Also, a new class of fighters for the mercenary group has shown up. Go to my blog Calling All OC's to see whats changed. Brony on!
Chapter 151 A Night To Remember Chapter 151 A Night To Remember Chapter 151 A Night To Remember Perspective: Miles "Down there!" Luna cheers as she points towards another crater. I chuckle a bit from her childish enthusiasm but bank towards the large crater anyway. We've been roaming around here for nearly three hours and she's been loving every minute of it. At first I could tell she was apprehensive about this, probably due to her imprisonment here, but she got over it quickly. "Ok Luna, this will have to be the last crater we go through." "Aw..." "Sorry, but I like breathing." "Do you think we'll be able to do this again? How about on the next new moon!" "Hehe, maybe. Lets head back for now alright." I pull back and begin to head back towards Terra, much to Lunas dismay. "I'll be honest, at fist I wasn't too thrilled about this." She admits. I keep silent as I begin prepping for reentry, allowing her to continue. "You'd think that after a thousand years there it would be a place of torment... but... it's my moon. I could never hate it. Not to mention that I wasn't actually on the moon, rather... well... inside it I guess..." "What do you mean?" I ask as I flip the final switch. "Well... I don't actually know what happened to my body when I was imprisoned. All I do know is that my mind felt trapped within the moon..." "Well don't worry about that ever happening again. Even if you went deranged again I would never allow you to be sent there again..." "And... if I was?" She asks quietly. "Then I'd drag the moon down and break you free. Nothing is going to stop me from being with you, I promise." I let out a content sigh as Luna wraps her arms around my seat and holds me. I take my free hand and hold onto one of her hoofs; bringing it up to give it a soft kiss. "I love you Luna." "I love you Miles." I hold her hoof until we finally make it to the edge of the atmosphere. I warn Luna to hold tight as the straps apply themselves again. Once they're on I push the throttle all the way up and burst forward... "wait, have you ever done this before?" "HERE WE GO!" I yell as I press the afterburner, plastering myself to the back of the seat as we jet forward. As we begin to reenter, red hot flames start to appear all around us. I pull the trigger on the main gun, making the entire ship rock as the blue energy bursts forward. Instead of the beam shooting continuously forward it goes out a few meters and curls back, providing a protective cover for the vessel. Without the atmosphere slowing us down we slice through the air with tremendous speed, making it to Equestrian air space in seconds. I release the trigger to drop the spell and set the landing sequence in order. The ship gives a couple of quick jerks before suddenly pitching down. VRRRRRRRRRRRRRRSSSSSHHHHHH We fly right through a small opening in the ground and quickly become level. As we slide through the tunnel the landing spells come into effect, providing the right amount of force to slow us down. We come to a perfect stop inside my shop, facing the wrong way but that's to be expected. Once the straps release themselves I look behind me and laugh a bit. Luna is plastered to the back of her sea, wide eyed and slightly shaking. "Everything OK?" I ask as the cockpit lifts up. "Y-yeah. I've had worse landings before." She says shakily as she pulls herself out from the back corner. "That was... an amazing experience Miles, thank you." "It's not over yet, come on." I say as I climb out. I wait by the jet to help Luna out, catching her as she falls out. "You alright there?" I ask as I hold her in my arms. We stare into each others eyes for a moment before leaning into each others lips. As our tongues danced around inside each others mouths I started making my way to the cot I had set up near the simulation pod. It was just a small bed with simple padding for when I'd needed rest in here set aside in the corner, but it would do. When I reached the bed I laid her down gently as I got on top of her, though this didn't last. As we continued to make out Luna pushed her way on top, though I didn't really protest. Normally I'd fight her a bit more with this, but give it up easily today. We break our kiss to get my cloths off; Luna taking her time to enjoy every second of it. With my clothes off and thrown aside she lays herself against me and holds me tightly. I don't protest. Instead I just wrap my arms around her and hold her lightly as she plants light kisses along my neck. I chuckle a bit from the light contact as I bring my hands up to her wing joints. She pulls back from and lets out a soft moan as she sits back, having me enter her. "No spells?" I ask as she starts to rock back and forth. "No spells. I want you for my birthday." She says as she lays back down to kiss me. As she begins to rock back and forth on me I begin to move my hips along with her. I rest my my hands on her hips as she uses a hoof to explore my body, paying extra attention to my chest and abdominal. Hmm... She doesn't want to have sex right now. No, this moment is about us being together. With that thought in mind I stop moving my hips and begin to explore her body as well, moving as slowly as possible. I try to savor every feeling as much as possible. Her smooth coat. Her soft feathers. The warmth of her breath going down my neck. The soft beating of her heart against mine; all things I want to cherish for as long as I live. "Miles... I love you." She whispers into my ear with a heavy pant. "I know. I love you to Luna." I tell her as I bring a hand up and brush her bangs out of her face. We share another passionate kiss, our tongues melding together as we hold each other tightly. We continue on like this for... I don't ever care. This is by far the greatest sex we've ever had and it didn't even focus the actual act. It was great because it was us being as close to one another as we could be. Every move she would make I would respond perfectly, as she would for me. Nothing was needed to be said. We just did. And it was perfect. But all good things must come to an end, and we hit both our climaxes together. We hold each other tighter then ever before as we share our moment of ecstasy, our bodies trembling against each others. Once our movements pass and our orgasms pas we just lay in bed, holding each other as we let the moment settle in our minds. "We're late... really fucking late." I mumble to myself, not really caring in the slightest. "Hm?" "We've got another thing to go to, but it can wait." I tell her as I stoke her mane. "Okay." ................................................................................................................................................................ Perspective: Twilight 12:48 AM It's been a few hours since we saw Miles' ship come back and Celestia has been freaking out ever since. I don't think I've ever seen the Princess like this, not even when the goblin leader came into one of our lessons with his weapons raised right at us. Usually she's the calm, cool, wise leader but now... now she's stressing every detail trying to make everything perfect. "Heh, this kinda looks familiar." Applejack jokes from my side as Celestia marches through the house again. "Think ya can get her ta sit down fer two minutes?" "I can try again, but I doubt it." I say as I get up from the couch. "Maybe we should try helping again." Fluttershy offers. I shutter from the thought as I think back to what happened earlier. "Let me just talk to her." I say as I walk over to the kitchen. I find Celestia re-levitating everything in the room and setting it down perfectly, eyeing every single item so that it's set in its precise position. "Princess..." "Yes Twilight dear? Is something wrong? Did Damian wake up yet? how are the others? Are Luna and Miles back yet?" She asks as she runs over to the kitchen counter to check on the cake again. "Yes actually, there is something wrong..." "WHAT! What is it? Is it the punch? Or the snacks? Did Rainbow Dash fall asleep? What..." "It's you Princess! You need to calm down!" I yell at her, getting her to step back. "I... I know. *sigh* Forgive me but... I just feel the need to make up for all the lost years. How could I have been so foalish to forget something like this." She says as she hangs her head down. I walk over and nudge her head a bit, trying to get her to look back to me. "She was gone for a thousand years Princess, anypony would have forgotten..." "No.... it's been well over a thousand years since we celebrated her birth..." "Yes, the past four..." "Twilight, I'm going to tell you something that I've never told anypony. But can you promise me to keep this between the two of us?" I feel a little taken back by the question, but agree to it anyway. I don't think I've ever had the Princess talk to me like this before... what could be so troubling her so badly? "Well... it's been longer than just a thousand and four years." "What do you mean? How much longer?" I ask as I step back to look over Celestia. She turns away from me and thinks to herself for a moment before sighing deeply. "Do you know how long Luna was Nightmare Moon?" I think back to all the books I've ever read about Nightmare Moon and shake my head. "Seventy five years." "Seventy five.... why so long? I thought..." "Any book you read about back then will only talk about military actions and over dramatized words between me and her. The actual fighting took place in the sky. She would fight to keep the moon out while I tried to keep the balance... it was a losing fight. Eventually, when the fighting reached it's worse, I came to the decision to imprison her on the moon. To be honest I don't even remember how I came to that conclusion, but I did. The only problem was that I had to wait. The spell had to wait for the sun and moon to line up properly, along with my mastering the Elements of Harmony..." "How does this relate to her birthday?" I ask nervously, not liking the depressed look on Celestias face. "Well... many ponies grew to despise Luna for what she was trying to do. After the first few years... well... *sigh* many of her followers were turning her birthday into a holiday. Our forces learned this and tried to stop them... by erasing her birthday." ".... what? Is that even possible?" I ask in horror. There's no way they could do that without.... oh..." "I can see you figured it out. Yes, they sacrificed many innocent lives trying to ride the memory of her birth. I moved to stop them... but..." "Did... did they succeed?" "I stopped the spell as they were casting it. But I was still affected by it... after that, nopony would remind me of her birthday until she faced punishment. And now nopony knows except for her, and she's too... she'd never outwardly tell me I forgot because she still holds the guilt of Nightmare Moon." "Princess, this isn't your fault." I say as I step towards her. "She can't blame you for something you couldn't stop..." "Twilight, I appreciate your trying to make me feel better, but there is nothing anypony can do. The spell still lives within me. I'll wake up tomorrow and not know why we did all of this. Since I'm the only one from that time era I'm the only one who can fix it! That's why everything needs to be perfect. I need to make this the best party as possible so when I forget..." "They're coming!" Storm shouts as he runs inside and shuts off the lights. "Places everypony!" "Lets get to our spots then." Celestia says quietly as she walks into the dining room. I was about to say something but was stopped when Storm pulled me aside. "You got the party poppers?" Storm asks in a hushed tone as we wait by the wall. "Y-yeah." "Everything alright?" "Huh? Oh, yeah. Just... lost in thought I guess." I say with a reassuring smile. "Oh.. OK. Well get them ready then. Hehehe,, can't wait to see Miles' face when they walk through the door..." "You mean Lunas right?" "Huh? Oh, yeah. Hers too I guess." I roll my eyes and look back to the door, seeing their shadows approaching. "... I have to be the one who..." "SURPRISE!" "FUCK!" POP As soon as they had opened the doors we turned the lights on and jumped out. Once all of the confetti had fallen we find a surprised Luna standing in the doorway; covered in confetti with an open mouth smile. "I... I..." She stutters as she looks around the room. "Ah shucks, we..." "HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WE SING THIS SONG FOR YOU! HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HOPE YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO TODAY IS YOUR BIRTHDAY SO WE ALL CAME TO SAY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU TODAAAAY! WOO!" Pinkie sings as she dances in front of Luna, getting everypony to sing and laugh along... well, I think the laughter is more of her silly cake outfit then the song itself. "Is this really all for me?" Luna asks as she steps inside, levitating a struggling Miles in behind her. "Of course Princess! Once we found out that it was your birthday... well, when we found out your birthday passed we decided to throw this.." I start but stop when Pinkie jumps in the way. "Are you kidding! When I found out your birthday passed I made it my mission to throw you this party..." "Don't say that word..." Miles mumbles from Lunas aura. "... and to make sure everypony knew. But in all honestly you should thank the Princess. She was the one who asked for help throwing the party..." "Don't like that word." "... and to set up the distraction to set up the party..." "Starting to freak out here..." "And to get the party favors..." "P word..." "Hey Miles." Damian says as he walks up to him. " Party party party party party party..." "GO FUCK YOURSE*THUD*...... ow." Miles says to the floor. We all share a laugh as Celestia walks over to hug her sister. She whispers something to her as they begin to walk inside, getting a nod and nudge in response. As everypony begins to move about the house to start the party I step aside to make a note to investigate the spell on Celestia. I can't really understand why she was freaking out about it earlier. It shouldn't be that hard to remove. Perspective: Applejack As everypony moves about the room I head over to the desert table to eat a treat. I've been eyeing the fritters all night and I won't let Big Mac eat them all up... "Ahem." I look back to see... "Uh... howdy?" I say to the fellar standing in front of me. "Yer onea Damians friends right?" "Yeah, the names Hammer." He says with a large smile. "Hammer, ah'm Applejack." "Applejack, right. You own Sweet Apple Acres! I mean... ahem, do you like apples?" He asks as he starts to sweat a bit. "Well ah do own an apple farm." I say with a slight chuckle. "HA! HA... ahem, right. So you like apples, that's good. Because," he says as he reaches back into his backpack, "I have an apple with you name on it right here!" He says as he presents his hoof holding a pear. "..." "..." "... uh, sugarcube. That's a pear." "Right... a pear." "Sorry, but ah don't like pears..." "RIGHT! Who likes pears, pears are gross!" He says quickly as he toss the pear behind himself, hitting Rarity right in the head. "Anyway, uhm... I... WHAT'S THAT DAMIAN!? Sorry, Damian needs me.... over there so... bye!" He says before running off to his friend. I chuckle a bit from his antics as I grab a plate and... "Big Mac! Did ya eat all the fritters!?" "....MM-MM." He mumbles as he tries to finish chewing. Perspective: Rarity THWACK "AH! Who threw that?" I yell back to the ruffians as i levitate the object up. "It's a pear." Spike says as he continues to wrestle with his scarf. I toss the pear behind me and grab his scarf with my magic, wrapping it neatly around his neck. "Thanks." "I must say II wish you had a little something more to go with that scarf, you'd simply look dashing with a jacket of some kind." "Well... Miles did say that he'd like for me to start to wear clothes around him. Apparently he finds it odd for me to walk around naked. I don't really get..." "IDDEAAA!" I cheer as a thought hits me. "You and Miles must come by my boutique tomorrow... or maybe the next day." I say as I look out at the night sky. "Uh... ok. Why?" "You'll find out when you get there. Now tell me more about your studies." I ask him, getting a charming grin in response. "Well, we just finished up barriers and elemental manipulations...." Perspective: Fluttershy "EEP!" I scream as Pinkie pushes me down. "W-why did you do that?" "My hoof was itchy, and you know what that means." Pinkie says as she helps me back up. "Um..." "it means a fruit is being thrown about the room and I should make sure that it doesn't hit Fluttershy, DUH!" "Oh, thank you then?" "Don't mention it! Now lets get some more punch! LA LA LA LA LA LAA." She cheers as she frolics to the back. I just smile and follow after her, not wanting her to run off alone. That would be just rude. I see Big Mac standing at the punch table talking with... one of the Spartan ponies, so I try to stick to Pinkies other side. It's not that I don't want to talk with Big Mac, I just don't want to interrupt his conversation. "Shy." Dammit. "Why doncha come here real quick, ah want ya ta meet somepony." "Be right there. Excuse me Pinkie." I walk over to Big Mac's side and try not to stare into the others stallions eyes. "Um.... h-hello. I'm... Fluttershy..." "Fluttershy huh?" The pegasus practically yells. "Nice to meet you. I'm Night Fury." "..." "So... how are you liking the party?" He asks. I look over to Big mac for help, only to get a nudge from him. "I... well... I like it. The good thing about Miles' parties is that they're always toned down..." "Yeah, it's pretty dull. But I guess that's good. So.... how long have you and Big Mac been married?" "Um... a... a year and a half..." "Wow.... so... any idea who threw this pear?" He asks as he presents the pear. "..." "I think I'm going to try some of the cake. I'll see you later Big Mac." "Eeyup." "It was nice meeting you Fluttershy." "You to." I mumble as I try to hide behind Big Mac. Once he finally leaves I sigh in relief and nudge Big Mac. "Why did you have meet him? You know how I get when I meet new ponies." "Eeyup. But ah wanted to see what ya think about 'im." "Well... he seemed... alright. Why do you ask?" "Ah don't like his motives. Ah want ta keep an eye on him, especially when Storm is in the room." He says as he looks back to Night Fury. "Do you really think he'll try to do something to him?" "MMaybe. Ah don't right know." Perspective: Night Fury I walk over to the kitchen counter and set the pear down as I eye the cake. It's a triple layer chocolate cloud cake.... soo.... good... "Oh my god Damian, what happened to you?" I look over to see a yellow mare talking to Damian as she pokes at his body. "Spartan training... are... are you OK?" She tenses up as she starts to feel up his arms. Damian just smiles as he begins to flex for her, getting her to bite onto her hoof. "Why do you have to be so sexy and gay." I choke a bit as I try to hold back my laughter. I walk over and approach the mare, trying to be as suave as possible. "Hi there, names Night Fury." I say as I step in front of Damian. "Hey!" "Not gay, single and cut the way you like it." I say as I flex a bit, getting her to bite even harder onto her hoof. "Uh... I... hey Damian, I need to borrow you real quick!" She asks quickly as she runs over and yanks him into the living room. I sigh a bit as walk back to the counter. She's probably going to ask him about me in which he's going to tell her a bunch of shit. *sigh* I forgot, I'm not allowed to be happy. In anger I grab the pear and throw it aside before storming out the back door. I need some fresh air. Perspective: Dust Devil THWACK "OW!" I yell as a pear smacks me right in the face. I toss it aside and rub my snout. "Who's throwing pears?" True Will asks as he looks around the crowded living room. "Uh, damn thing made me swallow my gum." I groan as I pull a new piece out and stick it into my mouth. "What's with you and gum?" "What do you mean?" "Well... I can't really think of a moment when you aren't chewing gum. Any reason why?" I just chuckle at the question as I sit back it the chair. "Sorry, but personal questions only get answered on dates. So unless you're asking me out you'll just have to sit in the dark." I say as I nudge him a bit. He just rolls his eyes and gets up from his seat. I sigh a bit as I continue chewing my gum, enjoying the fresh taste in my mouth. "Well that was straight forward." Miles says as he takes a seat next to me. He takes a long drink from his glass before asking, "when do you plan on asking him out?" "WHAT?!" I yell as I nearly fall out of my seat. "What makes you think I want to date him?" "Because I'm good at this game. Wanna talk about it?" He asks as he takes another drink. "How many of those have you had?" "Enough to not want to run away. Why is he so stoic and shit? Total buzz kill." She says as he finishes off his glass. "Well, I've only heard rumors, but apparently he's trying to redeem himself for something..." "Well no shit. I could of told you that. It is his cause." He says as he tries to take a drink from his empty glass. "From what I heard he was a slave in a Minotaur trading group but was sold to a mercenary group, that's where he met Lily. They were... well, one day he's suppose to take a group out to explore some ruins. At the last second he decides to call off the mission and head back to camp... that's where everything went wrong." "About as wrong as an empty glass?" He asks as he eyes the bottom of his cup. "Some say it was the Ursas, others say it was just a group of marauders. I don't believe either. The Ursas wen't big enough to even dream of taking them on and the marauders would never attack them at their base. All that anypony can say is that True Will was the only one to walk out of that base, and that he walked out a changed pony..." "You know what. Fuck it." Miles says as he slams his glass down and drapes an arm around me. "Quit fucking around and grow a pair..." "I'm a mare..." "If you really do like him then just fucking go for it. What's the worse that could happen?" "Rejection and humiliation..." "Nothin! He says yes, he says no, either way you get your answer and get to move on with life. Don't dwell on something if it isn't going to happen, that's just wasted energy." He says before he raises his hand to his mouth. "Who the fuck took my drink?" "Hm... thanks Miles. I think I'll do it." I say as I stand up, getting Miles to fall onto my seat. "Do what?" "Ask him out." "Don't do that!" "But you just said..." "If you ask him out now he'll only say no, even if he feels something for you. He hurts too much about... something to let anyone close. You need to chip away at that wall he put up before doing something like that." He says as he stumbles to his feet. "But..." "Now if you excuse me, I have to find the fucker who took my drink. Later Dust." He says as he stumbles away. "*sigh* later." Perspective: Luna This has been the best birthday in eons. It may have been small, but everypony has made up for that in heart. Everypony has already given me their gifts so now I just wait for Celestia's. She's been nervous during the entire party, but that's OK. It was worth it just to get her here... and to eat four pieces of cake. "OK, so...." She starts but stops almost immediately. "So." I lead in. "*sigh* well, my gift to you is tomorrow we'll spend the entire day together. I've cancelled all of my meetings and informed the guard of our intentions. We'll fo everything you want to do." She says, ending with a nervous smile. I smile back to her as I pull her in for a tight hug. "I couldn't ask for a better gift." I whisper to her, getting her to hug me back. "Thank you sister." "I'm so sorry for forgetting your birthday Luna..." "It's OK big sister. I forgive you. I understand, with my imprisonment and the way the world has been lately, I understand." "... yes, well... I... we can talk more about it tomorrow. Right now I think it's time for us to head home. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." "Okay. Lets head home then." We stand and tell everypony our goodbyes. Miles passed out on the couch a while ago, so when Celestia wasn't looking I gave him a kiss on the cheek and thanked him for the night. He shuffles in his sleep as he starts to wake, but I leave him be as I follow Celestia out. With a flash from her horn we teleport back to our balconies. I was about to go inside when a thought came to mind. I charge my horn for a moment before teleporting into Celestias room, falling onto her large bed. With a large bounce I go into the air and fall right to the floor. Luckily my face caught me though, I guess it's pay back for dropping Miles. "Luna? Is something wrong?" Celestia asks me as she sets her necklace and tiara aside. "You said we'd spend the entire day together, well that include the night. Now are you coming to bed or not?" I ask as I start to remove all of my own jewelry; all except for the bracelet Miles made me. "But... I guess you're right. Just try to not knock me off, you tend to move around a lot in your sleep." She says as she walks over and gets under the covers. I twist around until I'm underneath as well, where I snuggle up to Tia and get comfy. "I'll try.... sister?" "Yes?" "I have... a request of you." I ask nervously. "What is it? A glass of water, a pillow, or..." "Can you hold me the way you did when I was little? Remember? I was sick and it was raining so you..." "I remember. And of course I can, thought you are much larger then before." She says as she wraps a wing around me and lays her head against mine. I sigh from the secure feeling of her warmth, snuggling against her some more before closing my eyes. "Hm, remember the time you were caught stealing?" "I do, and I also remember NOT being the one stealing." She says with a chuckle. "I miss those simple days sometimes sister. Back when all we had to worry about was the two of us." "I do to, but we have responsibilities now. Those days will always stay memories for us now." She tells me as she starts to fall asleep. "Yeah... but at least we can still afford moments like these." I say as I start to drift off. After sleep takes hold of Celestia I levitate her tiara over and feed some energy into it, making the picture of Miles and my parents appear. "Mom.... Dad... I.... it's been another year. You wouldn't believe the things that have happened. Fights, memories, nations.... love. Tia finally remembered my birthday to... I can still remember when they tried to erase that day from history. Though all I remember was wanting to hang all those who wanted to try to do it... I can't believe how much everything has changed within this year... heck, these past few months. I just hope that you'd approve of everything I've done. Maybe... maybe you would, maybe you wouldn't, but I'd still make them. If I hadn't... I don't know where I'd be right now... Tomorrow is our big day together. I can't wait. I'm not sure what we'll do, but as long as we're together I'm sure we'll have fun no matter what. I'm sure Celestia will try to keep things modest but... I just want a day to be care free with my sister. We hardly spend time together now and... I feel as if we're drifting away. Hopefully this day will fix that. Mom... Dad... I wish I had the chance to get to know the two of you better. There are so many things I wish I could ask the two of you... so many... questions... Love you both... night...." Perspective: Celestia "Me to Luna... me to." Author's Note Just a little notice, this chapter and another one (either next one or one after) has some very crucial stuff in it. Can you guess what?
Chapter 163 Emerald City: Of Faith And LoyaltyChapter 163 Emerald City: Of Faith And Loyalty My alarm goes off before sunrise, though I was still awake when it did. I couldn't sleep; I ended up burning a pillow and nearly choked on it. I turn the alarm off and get back to the work I was doing in the room. One last gift for my love before I leave. I shutter at the thought. I can't imagine what this will do to Luna. She'll be broken again, this much I'm sure of. With a final scratch against the wall I step back and admire my work. It might have been stupid to use magic for it, but it was worth it. My return home was made silently. No one talked to me, and I didn't talk to anyone. Judging by the looks on the guards faces, I figure they put one and one together. they just stood in their stations and watched the dead man walk. I make it to the top of the mountain where I pause to look back. The sun is starting to break over the horizon, sending large golden rays over the land. FLASH I step out into my closet and go straight for my armor, putting it on quickly. I grab my rifle and jump a little when the base enchantment activates. I guess with my hands constantly flaring... I grab the rest of my weapons and make my way downstairs. Lupus and Hati stand before me, eyeing me nervously as I head into the kitchen. I grab whatever's left in the fridge and eat quietly, Lupus and Hati begging as usual. "Come on," I say to them as I stand and head to the back door and open it. "Time for you two to go." They look up to me and tilt their heads, as if asking why? "I can't... it's just time. You need to go." They lower their heads and lay their ears flat, unsure of what to do. "FINE! Just stand there! I don't fucking care!" I yell as I leave the door and slump into a chair. They both run to me and start licking at my face, trying to cheer me up. "My, my, my. Such anger you have there. I wonder what it is you bear," says a low rhythmic voice from my side. I look over to see a black and white pony standing there. Her hair, colored like her body, stands up in a full mow hawk. Her mark seems to be a glyph of some kind, I can't really make it out. "Who are you?" I ask as I try to use my arms to push the wolves away, with little success. "I am Zecora of the Everfree, and may I ask who might you be?" she asks, rhyming again. "Miles Eremita..." I say slowly as she walks in and takes a seat beside me. "Why are.." "My home has met some strange devastation, now I wait for the forest to start its propagation," she says as she motions out back. "You lived in the Everfree... sorry about that. I didn't mean for that level of destruction to happen..." "I am quite sure you are. I was lucky to have been so far. I was away with family, thus I escaped this tragedy, But, now I must ask and forgive me for being brash, what will you do now that you are doomed to turn to ash?" "How did..." I start but look at my hands. "Right." "Everything alright in..... here?" says some guy as he walks in and looks to me. He's a unicorn, but is striped like Zecora, only difference is that he's green. His hair is a light silver, with a streak of royal blue, and reach down just past his knees. He stares at me with those white, grey hued eyes until he moves over to Zecora's side. "Everything is alright Fayte, though I'm afraid our trip from Hayte was...." "Are you the guy responsible for our home being destroyed?" he asks, cutting off Zecora by sticking a hoof in her mouth. "Yes, and I take full responsibility for what happened. Please use my home for sanctuary until we figure something out," I say as I finally get Lupus and Hati to finally end their licking assault. "Shukrani nyingi kwa wewe mtu mzuri, and please take care of my nephew on your journey." Zecora says.... in some other language as she pulls his hoof out of her mouth. {swahili} "Wait..." "I'm the new leader of the Merc group the Ursa’s have sent. The rest of my group is out front waiting to move out," Fayte tells me as Zecora looks away, obviously troubled by this. "Oh... we can move out once the rest of my group shows up," I tell him as a question suddenly leaps from my mouth. "Why does she rhyme?" Zecora opens her mouth to answer, only to get Fayte to stick his hoof in her mouth again. "She's a shaman. It's a tradition of ours that she was raised with. You get used to it," he tells me as Zecora folds her arms and waits for the hoof to be removed from her mouth. "Okay... well, we've got some time. Let’s go meet the others," I say as I stand. We walk out to the front where we find the rest of the group standing around a large canvassed wagon. It has a name written on the side, but I don't know what it says. When Fayte steps out they all line up and salute, waiting for orders. "Snow Bound, Purple Edge, you're still here," I say as I walk up to them. "Yup! We figure since we made it once, what can– *SMACK*." "Don't finish that Snow Bound," Purple Edge says as he returns to a normal stance. "We've got a job to finish, and we plan to." "You know the dangers, so I won't stop you," I tell them as I move to the next person. He's a griffin with white feathers that end in blue. He seems to have no talons and a massive scar going up his left forearm. His left eye is pitch black, devoid of any color, while his left eye is constellation of different colors, predominantly being different blues. But that's not what concerns me. What concerns me is the peace spirit floating above him. "I'm Aurane, the group’s medic..." "What the fuck," I mutter as the spirit floats down to look me over. "Uh... it's nice to meet you too?" he asks as he looks to the others. "Tum etiam Latinis dicis?" I ask the spirit. "Nimirum." It responds before phasing into Aurane...... Okay, I thought this kind of shit happened with Damian, the fuck? "Um... were you... talking to my guardian angel?" he asks in astonishment, looking to Fayte in excitement. "Dude, he talked to my..." "Unless angel is another word for spirit, no. I've seen that kind of.... thing, before...." "Are you a part of that group of those goggle wearing ponies? They tried talking to it as well, but..." "Goggles? Huh, I'm surprised they didn't try to erase your memory..." I mutter as I move to the next person. "My name is Beomere Lonefeather!" yells the griffin as he thumps his silver naginata against the ground. He seems to look like your average griffin, with the exception of a scar going up his back right leg. "I'm ready to..." "Uh huh. Next," I say as I walk past him. I can hear him growl to me, but I ignore it as I size up the next person. "I'm... Black Foxx," the dark grey pegasus says as he glances to the others. He's covered in scars. His wings, chest, legs, all having some kind of wound. Whatever his cutie mark used to be, it’s gone, hidden beneath a large scorch mark. He runs a hoof down the length of his hair, following the green streak, and tries to avoid my gaze. "So... I'm the explosives expert..." "And who is this?" I ask as I approach the last person, a ash grey pegasus with spiky, dark blue hair. He looks up to through narrowed eyes, barely showing the golden hue, before huffing a bit. "AfterTouch, recon," he states simply. "Pun intended." ".... what pun?" I ask, only getting a smug smile from him. "Right, anyways. Time for my warning. Look, you come on you own free will, this is going to be dangerous. Some of you will die. Some quick and painless, others... not so lucky. Turn back..." "WE NEVER TURN BACK FROM A FIGHT!" Beomere yells, getting a cheer from his comrades. "It was nice knowing...." "Miles!" My necklace suddenly erupts with noise as it shakes violently. The sound of fire and pained screams blasts through it as I take it and try to listen to whoever is trying to contact me. "GO FOR MILES! IDENTIFY!" I yell into the pendant. "Miles! We... fingers! Th.... wiggle!" I try to listen to it, but he keeps breaking up. "Damian! Hold it down!" "Miles!" Damian yells, loud and clear now. "They wiggle! It's hot! And it... HAMMER! Quit taking pictures!" "Damian, you aren't making any sense. Are you in trouble? Where are you?" I ask, looking to all of the confused faces. "Wait, Miles! Why do they shrink!?" SM-SM-SMACK Everyone flinches from hearing the sound of multiple smacks. Damian goes quiet for a second, the sound of people screaming in pain and fires roaring dying as he lets go of the necklace.... only to have it all come back a few seconds later. "Miles." CC starts, "sorry about that. Don't worry about us, Damian was just being an idiot, as usual. Glad to see you're up now..." "CC, where are you? Do you need..." "No! No, we're fine. Everything is... relatively... we can handle this. Maybe," she reassures me as I hear Damian, Patches, and Hammer yell in agony. "WAIT WAIT WAIT! There's a guy here who has a peace spirit in him...." "Aurane? Yeah, we know about him. Don't worry, that peace spirit just likes him for some reason. That, and he thinks it's an angel so... yeah, over and out! Don't come looking for us!" And with that, my necklace falls silent. Everyone stays quiet, trying to piece together what just happened. "Wh..." "It was Damian, so I'll just leave it at that." I say as I drop the necklace back under my shirt and go back to addressing the Mercs. "Like I was saying, you've probably heard from Snow Bound and Purple Edge, this isn't going to be easy. Don't get cocky." I look past the mercs to see my group approaching, so I excuse myself and go to greet them. "Miles," Storm says as we all come to a stop together. We share a quiet moment before I nod to them. "Are we ready?" I ask. "We have the train tickets to Appleoosa, we leave in twenty minutes," Twilight informs me as she levitates me a paper slip I go to take it, but stop myself when I notice I would burn it. "Uh.... a little help," I say as I wave my hand. Twilight nods and holds onto it for me. "Let’s go..." "Actually, can we have a moment Miles?" Storm asks as he steps aside. "Sure, the locker is open, so go ahead and grab whatever gear you need," I tell the girls as I follow after Storm. We step off the path and wait for everyone to be out of earshot. "What was it that you needed to talk to me about?" "Well.... I...uh... I'm..." He fights with his words as he tries to force the sentence out, but I already know what he's going to say. "Storm," I say, getting him to stop and look to me. "It's going to be alright. You will be an excellent Captain..." "But there's so much I still don't know!" he yells as he steps towards me, panicking. "I know the rulings, but... I'm afraid I'll a bad decision that could cost lives. How do you do it? How do you know what decisions to make and how can you tell if they're the right ones! I–" "Storm," I say simply, getting him to stop again. "Just do what is right, and you will be a good leader. You know everything you need to know and you're a good person. Just put your trust in your instincts and your training, and you will do great things. I know it." He takes a deep breath as he nods, looking at the ground as he tries to come to terms with this. "I'll do my best," he tells me as he looks up to me. "That's all I could ever ask. Now lets go find the others already. I'm not gone yet." He nods slowly, wincing slightly from what I said, as we head over over to my backyard. We arrive in time to see Rarity unveil her gift to everyone, armored clothes. The remind me of ponified dusters and are camouflaged, each one color coated to the person they belong to. As the five of them put on their clothing, I feel Pinkie’s. It's tough; not strong enough to stop a bullet, but probably enough to stop knives. It's better than nothing I guess. We begin to head head out. I had to tell Big Mac that he was staying behind. We probably won't be coming back, and he needs to watch his farm.He was pissed, but he complied. We make it to the train station just in time. The conductor was a little apprehensive, but didn't stop the massive group of armed people. We take up an entire cart and wait as the train begins to roll out. Night Fury is sitting in front of me.... which brings up a question I've had for awhile. "Hey Night Fury," I call, getting his attention. "Remember when you were a guard, and you blackmailed me to get you training?" "Uh.... yeah, why?" "Well, the deal was for fifty people to take the training, and you were the only one to show up. Why?" He chuckle a bit as he looks back out the window, smiling to himself. "They were too scared. I warned them about what could happen and asked who was brave enough... then you showed up that night and stared Celestia down, making demands and what not. Well, it got to them. Not to mention that they've seen what Spartans could do. I guess they put one and one together." "Guards," I mutter as I look out the window, getting a laugh from him. The train gets moving and we all wait. Some idle chatter goes around, mercs speaking with my friends. Ends up Pinkie knows Aurane. I wasn't surprised, Pinkie seems to know an endless amount of people. I kept to myself, feeling tired. With a final glance around the room, I lean against the wall and allow myself to drift off to sleep. I'm sure I'll be needing it. ~=O=~ I'm running down a dark grey hall. At the end is a bright light with dark figures standing in the light. I look behind me to see a darkness rapidly approaching me. I'm running as fast as I can, but with every step I take, the light gets farther away as the darkness rapidly approaches. "Miles..." I look back to the darkness to see black arms shoot out and take hold of me, grabbing my legs and arms and wrapping all around my waist and chest. I twist and pull as I try to escape but I can't break free. I fall to the ground and begin to be dragged into the darkness. I scream and scratch at the ground as I try to grab hold of anything to stop being pulled in but I soon find myself in the dark abyss... "Miles!" I look up to see Luna fly down and flare her horn, causing a blinding light to take over. I blink a few times before realizing that whatever had taken me is gone now. I sit up and look around, finding myself in the dark corridor with Luna. "Geez Miles, what was that?" she asks as she walks over and hugs me. "Luna?" I ask in confusion. I've never had a dream terror quiet like this before. "What's going on?" "You were having a nightmare. I came in to try and help. What has you so troubled?" she asks as she lets go of me, giving me a peck on the cheek as she does so. "I... well.... I always have dreams like these when I feel... when I feel as if I can't help people. How are you in my dream?" "As the ruler of the night I take charge over night time dealings. I can search out the dreamscape and aid my ponies when they are troubled. Most of the time it’s just foals scared of the monsters under their beds, but every now and agEEP!" she yells as I suddenly tackle her in another hug. This is literally as close I'm going to get."M-Miles! I knew you were troubled, but..." "Luna." I say as I hold her tightly. "I... well... something happened. Something big." I tell her, getting her to push me away. She takes a long look at me before going wide eyed. "It's starting.... isn't it?" she asks quietly. "I'm so sorry. I thought I had more time..." "It's going to be alright," she says as she pulls me into her soft embrace. "It's going to be Okay." She begins to stroke my back and hum a tune as she rocks side to side. "Luna... I'm scared." I admit as I hold her. "I don't know what's going to happen. I don't want to leave when there is so much to do. I don't want to leave you alone again. What..." "Shhh." She says in a nurturing tone. "Miles, we've been readying to face this for awhile now. We need to be strong for everypony now. Do you know how long you have? Any guesses?" "No... I have no clue. We've already started to move to Emerald City. Everyone wants to blitz the cities, but..." "That's good. Go to them Miles. We can take care of everything else, you just focus on following your friends...." "But... what if I slip into the void before the end? What happens then? I want to see you again, for real." "Then we'll meet up as soon as possible. All we can do is be faithful that you will see this to the end. Fortis sit, amica mea." She says in a soothing tone, holding me lovingly. "Vobiscum, semper," I tell her as I return the affection. We spend the entire remainder of my dream together, holding each other. The entire time she was strong for me, letting me be weak. As I feel her begin to fade away we share a kiss. What could be our last kiss. ~=O=~ Perspective: Regina I hum a happy tune as I head to Luna’s bed chambers. I need somepony to be my wingmate for... "MIIIIIIILLLLEEES NOOOOO!" I jump a bit when I hear her scream. I run to her door and crash through it, looking for whatever the trouble is. Luna's laying on the ground crying. She completely going hysterical as she keeps yelling his name. "Luna! What's the matter? What happened?" I ask as I approach her. She doesn't respond. Instead she grab me and pulls me in for a tight hug, practically choking me. I just return the hug and wait for her to calm down. Whatever it is, it can't be good. ............................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Storm I jolt awake when the train begins to screech to a halt. Looking over Twilight, I glance out the window to see dark clouds raining down on Appleoosa. I let go of Twilight and nudge her a bit to wake her as everypony else begins to wake as well. "We're here," I whisper to her. She looks out the window and nods slowly, climbing off the bench and stretching a bit. I get up and crack a few bones before we all file out into the cold rain. Miles smiles a bit from the water, but keeps control. Our hooves sink into the muddy road of Appleoosa as we make our way down Main street. Everything is quiet, most ponies looking through windows as our entourage makes its way to the end of Main street. Twilight and Miles look over a map, trying to pinpoint exactly where to go. I look over to see the town's sheriff stepping out of his office and watch us closely. Nopony here seems to want to interact with us, but that's for the best. We don't need the distractions. With our marker set, we head out of town. Our destination is about a mile out of town to the west. Far to the north we can see a flash flood tearing through the landscape. Luckily it isn't heading for the town, but it's still a bit concerning. Mile’s is steaming right now, leaving a trail of light smoke behind as he leads us through the wet desert. "OK. Gather around so we can head down." Miles says as he stops. "Pun intended," AfterTouch says, giggling to himself. "Why do you keep saying that?!" Miles snaps at him. "Pun in–" "GAH! Nevermind." Miles says as he waves his arms and starts sending us through the earth. We would have protested, but then we wouldn't be able to get to the city. "Think you can learn to move earth like him?" I ask Twilight as we travel deeper and deeper into the earth. "Well.... not quickly enough," she tells me, lowering her head a bit. I nudge her shoulder and give her a reassuring smile, one she returns. She leans against me and rests her head against mine as we wait to reach the city. I pull a wing up and drape it around her, hugging her lightly. I do feel a lot better knowing that Twilight has armor now, even if it's only light. That, along with her Medi-gun, should help keep her safe.... and the others too I guess. "Tired?" I ask her quietly. "A bit, I guess. More restless than anything else. I don't like not knowing what's down there," she tells me as she lets more of her weight onto me. "Hey," Rainbow mutters to us as she steps a little closer. "Isn't there a way to help Miles with this? Like, could you do it? Or at least help feeding the spell to take some of the pressure..." "Twilight's magic works differently than mine." Miles says, gaining everypony’s attention. "Mines stronger and more suited for tasks like this. Twilights is better suited for focused individual spells, at least from what I've observed." We stay quiet as we continue to travel through the earth. There wasn't much to say after that. THUNK After about an hour or two we finally make it to the city. We we're a little off, hitting part of the dome, but at least we found it. Miles carves a path towards the closest door and we all prepare ourselves for what's inside. All of the mercs draw their blades as we raise our guns, waiting for some monstrosity to charge through the bulkhead. Miles walks up to the door with the golden staff thing and glances back to us, judging whether or not we're ready. "RAH!" he yells as he slams the staff into the door, causing the magic to course through the metal and force it open. Miles sheaths the staff and waits for the doors to open, seeming almost too aloof to the situation. I let out a long breath as the doors reach the top, and we stare into the darkness of the city. The light from Miles hands lets us see the road before us, but there is absolutely nothing else besides utter darkness. "HEEELLO!" Beomere yells, getting a long, drawn out echo in response. Everyone snaps at him to shut up, but he ignores them as he marches into the city. "The fight is this way." We all look to one another before following after him. Call it luck or a cruel reminder of fate, but whenever Miles would near one of the light posts, they would come to life. I guess he's bleeding so much energy it just... feeds them. I'm going to call it luck. It's less depressing. With the lights coming to life as we walk in, we get a glimpse of what happened to the city. To put it simply, war. Bullet holes, scorch marks, areas of magical use.... war time posters, all dotting the buildings We keep quiet, but we know what happened here. What confuses me though are the posters. Some say “Vive la revolution!” and show a depiction of a fist holding a paintbrush and dagger in red, blue, and white. While others say 'Obedire!' and show a drawing of a man sitting on a throne, detailed in red black and white. After seeing the hundredth one I decide to grab one to check it out, but it ends up that they're enchanted into the wall. "What's up with the posters?" I finally ask Miles. He stop and walks over to me, looking over the poster with a bitter expression. "King Ferrum Pugni must of been pissed when these were made, huh," he says with disinterest before continuing down the road. Everypony glances to one another before walking after him. Rainbow walks up beside me and motions for me to press the matter, but I shake my head. If he doesn't want to talk about it, then I won't ask about it. Too bad Rainbow doesn't think the same way. "Captain," She says as she trots forward to walk alongside with him, "what do you know about this city?" "This is Emerald City, the capital of Terradisia. Home the brightest minds and strongest backs. The gem of scientific advancement and last beacon of humanity," Miles says as if he's said it a thousand times before, completely rehearsed. Dash tilts her head in confusion before pressing the matter some more. "Uh... OK. So, do you know what happened here? Why are there all of these posters? What do they mean and..." "Spartans!" he yells as he turns suddenly and stands beside a destroyed wall. "Let's test your knowledge. What can you tell me about this wall?" We all look to each other in confusion before stepping forward to inspect it. The wall goes to a two story building, but has much of the top right blown off. What's left of the wall has a row of small holes in it, about four feet up and going the entire length of the wall. "The wall was destroyed with magic," I say aloud as I look it over. "You can tell because of the lack of burns from it. It's also a little perfect in its destruction. Somepony wanted it that way." "Good, good, what else." Miles muses as he stands before the wall. "The... the grouping of the bullet holes suggests that... there was an execution here," Dust Devil adds quietly. "Right, anything else?" Miles asks. Everypony stay quiet, either because they know what happened, or they don't want to. "Those are five, five, six rounds." True Will adds stoically. "Right, and what rounds did the Unfamiliar use?" Miles asks. "Seven, six-two." "And Terradisia?" "Five, five, six." "So Rainbow Dash, we have a wall destroyed with human magic, an execution with human weapons, and two rivaling human political parties. What happened here?" Miles asks as he stands before Rainbow Dash. She looks away from him as she tries to understand something, muttering quietly to herself. "How?" "how wh...." "How could your people be fighting each other!? You were under attack from the Unfamiliar, how could they have attacked one another like this? It doesn't make any sense! How could they have been so...." "Loyal?" Miles finishes, cutting her off. "L-Loyal? I'm sorry sir, but I don't understand that," she tells him, stepping forward. "Loyal to who?" "That, is the million credit question." He says before he begins to walk off. Angered, Rainbow flies after him and lands right in his path, where she waits for an answer. "*sigh* what killed this city, was a mixture of two loyalties. One to the king, and one to the Mundusque a mente, the revolutionist group. The Pure of Mind. To understand this, you have to understand Terradisian culture. Our culture, was the culture of not having a culture. Art was deemed too great a cause and was destroyed during the Purge. What was left was outlawed by penalty of death. People thought that art would corrupt our minds and kill us with new, weaker ways of thinking. So, if anyone was caught playing music, making sculptures, drawing, or anything “art” related, they were arrest and put in jail for life. Seditious work would be gathered and destroyed. Anyone caught teaching any of these works would be executed, and... well, you can see what happened when you try to revolt." "I don't get it," Twilight says as she steps forward, "you can draw. You've taken an art class before. You can sculpt and your phone is full of music. How..." "Topaz Falls was a very left minded city. Especially with all of the refugees from Diamond Halls, people started to question the morals of the old ways. For the longest time we were at peace. So, with no danger, people started to question the old morals. In the end, you were either an Animus Liber or a Custos antiquis. Left or right." "Which side were you?" Rainbow Dash asks. He lets out a long sigh as he looks back to the wall. "Captain?" "I... was undecided." "What? How could you not have decided? It's pretty obvious which side was...." "Let me remind you, Rainbow Dash, that it was left minded thinking that got Luna’s and Celestia’s father killed. I was a soldier of Terradisia, and as such, I would have to answer her call..." "So you would have killed your own people! Captain that's–" "I don't know what I would have done!" He snaps back at her. "If a man robs a store owner to feed his family, where is the moral in cutting off his hand? I was trained to follow orders, yet taught to question them. This is the call of a Spartan. To stand aside, unbiased, and make the tough decisions! This is what you have been trained for! This is what we fight for! Do I condemn these blind morals? No! But will I fight for what I believe is right, yes! If you say left, and someone else says right, then who is to determine what is moral and immoral?" "There's a difference when it involves life!" Rainbow yells back, flaring her wings in anger. "Your right to swing your hoof ends at the other ponies nose!" "What gives you the right to swing your hoof? For every positive there must be a negative, no matter how small or large. If we have no right to harm others then how can we protect them? Sometimes, you have to give freedom in order to earn it. There is no perfect answer for these questions Rainbow Dash. There will always be someone to argue the other side, and some even more willing to fight for it. It's the nature of life." "Then how can the Spartans be just? Is there even justice in a system meant for war? Are there no loyalties for us?" "... No, there aren't. Loyalty to a single ideal is a freedom we gave up in order to protect them. Sometimes, the right choice is hard to make. In the heat of things left and right can become disorientated But that doesn't mean we are immoral people. There is a reason we wait to act. We will never allow something like this to happen to our people again." "It's history," Twilight finishes, gaining our attention. "Celestia once told me that the greatest teacher, is history. That if you don't learn from it, understand why things happened, you're doomed to repeat it." "Those are some very wise words." I tell Twilight, getting a smile from her. "We have the luxury of seeing the aftermath of this fight. Let's not waste the lesson learned here." Rainbow nods in agreement, still obviously troubled by what happened here. "Uh... if you guys are done, I think we found a survivor." Fayte says as he steps out from one of the buildings. We all perk up from this and rush into the building. A survivor? Here? I... I don't know how to process this... another human. Here. Alive.. We follow Fayte inside where he shows us to a utility closet. We all sigh in disappointment when he shows us the black bot standing there. "That's not a person, that's a machine." Miles says as he walks away, just as disappointed as the rest of us. "But it looks like him... kind of." Black Foxx says as he follows after Miles. "I...In....Int....." We all look over as the bot begins to slowly step out of the closet. All of the mercs gawk at it as it takes slow jerky steps, but the rest of us just watch unamused. We've seen plenty of these attack us.... wait a minute... "LOOK OUT!" I yell as I tackle the bot. "INTRUDER DETECTED!" It yells as I feel the chest plates slide open. Thinking quickly, I push it to the window and toss it out... BOOM I barely had enough time to duck as the thing explodes just outside the window. A few bits of shrapnel make their way inside, but nothing lethal. I pick myself up and look over to everypony, checking to see if they're OK. I can't see anything. The only light is coming from the window, thanks to Miles. "Anypony..." I start but stop when I hear a loud cracking noise. I look out the window to see large cracks forming on the road, separating Miles and Black Foxx from us. We look to each other for a second before the road suddenly crumbles beneath him. The light fades away as Miles and Black Foxx fall to the next level. "MILES!" I yell through the darkness. "Can somepony make a light for us already?" Aurane asks. Fayte, Twilight and Rarity all charge their horns at the same time, making the room shine brightly. Twilight runs to the window and looks down in an attempt to find him. "I can go down there to look for him." Rainbow offers. "I'll assist to help heal him and Black Foxx." Aurane adds. "The rest of us should..." "GET OUT!" Twilight yells as she flares her horn. I look out the window and nearly trip over myself at the sight of a tall building falling towards me. Twilight lit a shield around our building, but I'm not sure if it'll hold against that. Everypony turns and runs out the back of the building, some leaping through windows. Everypony with wings takes to the air, grabbing those who don't along with them. I wrap my arms around Twilight’s waist and lift her into the air just in time. The ground below us crumbles away as the building slams into Twilights shield. She flinches from the hard hit and drops the spell. "Are you OK?" I ask her, getting a slow nod and she continues to wince from it. The road below us crumbles completely as building after building crumbles. Nearly three blocks worth of structures fall to the ground, burying Miles and Black Foxx. "Everypony OK?" Fayte calls out as Aurane holds him up. Everypony sounds off, the worst case being Pinkie Pie biting her tongue. "Alright, we need to split up then. Group one will head down to the ruble and look for Miles and Black Foxx while the other half heads to the objective..." "I'll lead the group that's going to the P.C.H. I know what it is we're looking for." I tell him, getting a slow nod. "Alright every..." "Hello?" Miles asks through every Spartans necklace asks. "This is Miles, is everyone alright?" "Miles!" I yell back to him and I grab my necklace. "Everypony here is alright..." "Tell that to my tongue!" "... where are you? Are you alright?" I ask, ignoring Pinkie. "Yeah, I'm good. Black Foxx is dead though." This hits all of the mercs pretty hard. For the rest of us.... it doesn't seem to affect us. Though that notion makes me cringe. "A-alright. We'll come get you..." "Negative. I can get myself out of here. Go meet me at the P.C.H. I'll be there as quickly as possible." "If you need us, call," I tell him. "Got it, over and out." I look back to the others before quietly flying towards the general direction of the P.C.H. II know a death should be troubling, at least to the girls, but they seem fine. Some, other then Pinkie, are even smiling! That isn't right. "Are you OK?" Twilight asks me quietly. "*sigh* I don't know. Everypony seems perfectly fine that somepony died. I know for the Spartans and I it should be fine, but... you don't seem even fazed by it." I tell her as I hold her closer. "Well, I'll be honest, it doesn't. But... well..." "What?" "OK, this is just a theory of mine that I shared with the girls and we all agree with it. But... well... he was the explosives expert." She says coyly. "... so?" "I know it's only been a few cities, but in every one the explosives expert dies. I don't know..." "Hey, others died too you know!" Snow Bound defends. "Yeah, I know. But... I mean, look at the track record now...." "Hey, Black Foxx was a good pony and deserves better than this!" Purple Edge adds, silencing Twilight. The rest of the trip to the P.C.H. was made in complete, awkward silence. We could have walked, but flight was faster. When we make it the the steps to the building we all land and walk inside. It's a Mico station, just like the other ones. Only, in the center of this room is a military computer sitting under another light. It's still powered, so we all huddle near it and begin to relax a bit. As we all eat breakfast the mercs sit with themselves, giving Twilight the stink eye from time to time. Every time Twilight would make eye contact with them, she would mince and lower her head. I hold her close with a wing as I try to shield her from the resentment. Even if it's sadly true, it was a bit too soon. As we started packing up the sound of crumbling catches our attention. We all look back to see a hole form in the ground. A few second later, Miles walks out. "Miles!" we all yell as we run up to greet him. I stop and look him over. He's.... happy. Beyond happy. I haven't seen him this happy since his wedding.... what happened? "We're so glad you're OK!" Fluttershy tells him with a tight, by Fluttershy standards, hug around the chest that all of the girls join in. "Sheesh, come on guys. You're acting as if I'm an explosives expert..." "COME ON!" all of the mercs yell, except for Purple Edge, who giggles about something to himself. "Anyway, lets get this message dealt with and move on," he says as he walks over to the computer, having that spring in his step again. "Miles... what happened to you?" I ask him as he sits before the computer and starts to mess with it and his phone. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you," he says with a mischievous grin before playing the message. August 9th 1133 A pregnant human sits before the screen, looking down to her growing belly and rubbing it lovingly. She has really short brown hair and light brown skin. When she looks up to us we get a look at her tired face, accented with her blue eyes. I can tell she was muscled, but with the pregnancy she's lost a lot of definition. She's wearing what looks like a sleeveless black dress and a necklace with a heart made of gold. "Hey.... Miles. It's me.... Fidus." She says weakly. I don't think she talks very much. "I hope you remember me, for your sake at least." She chuckles a bit, Miles does so as well. "Well, it's my turn for one of these, lets get it over with. Ever since... that night, I.. well, you know. I've been in the back ground of all of the fighting, hiding with all of the refugees. It's driving me crazy. I want to help in the fight just as much as the next person... but, I can't. I did manage to get an ultrasound though, the baby is perfectly healthy. That's good. It's the only thing I get to care about now though, a bit bittersweet. Inficiunt has officially been using. We found him strung out in the back of a truck a few days ago. We held an intervention for him and... well, I finally told everyone you're not the father. It was... a fucking bomb shell to Tenera. It was for the best though. She was getting blood thirsty. It would have killed her in the end. Inficiunt nearly died from guilt. He went straight to rehab– or would have if the city hadn't been attacked. Eximius has been watching over me. He's being sweet about it, but... I mean, Eximius is a nice guy and all... but he's a nerd. I'm a jock. We're two different species. Don't worry, I'll let the softy down gently. You'd probably have something insightful to say to that, you always did. Its what I miss about you. I can't talk to anyone the way I talked to you. Susurrans has been... better, I guess. He's stopped drinking at least. Well, not by his choice. Supplies are running low. We thought Emerald City would be the last to fall, but.... when we got here.... it was a civil war. The people were tearing themselves apart. They tried to drag us into it, but Susurrans denied an answer. We left the city and waited two days before reentering. We were only able to find a handful of survivors. We aren't staying here. There's too much... death here. Next up is Ruby Canyon, far to the north. Hopefully they'll have the answers we need. I can't leave you my Spartan gun, they took it when I was decommissioned. But I did manage to take the gem off of it. I'm throwing it on a Mark 4, it's better than nothing, I guess. Miles... find us already. I'm getting tired of waiting to talk to you. Hurry." Miles smiles some more as the locker pops open. He leans over and pulls out the gun, looking it over slightly. It looks like his gun, only with a gem embedded in the stock and an extra barrel instead of a grip. "Give it a try Dash." He says as he tosses it to her. "Me? Why me?" She asks as she catches it. "Call it instinct." She nods to him and points the rifle away. PEWPATPEWPEWPATPEW When she fires red bolts come out of the bottom barrel as it fires bullets at a high rate. It sounds as if it fires faster than Mile’s gun. She grins to herself as she passes it to Fluttershy. Fluttershy fires it, but only the bullets come out. "Alright, Dash has a new gun. Lets get moving." Miles says as he unplugs his phone from the machine. "Miles, what happened to you?" I ask as we all follow him out of the building. "Trust me, it's unbelievable." He says with a smile. I don't think he'll ever tell me, but if it makes him happy I guess I'm fine with that. I hope the rest of the cities are as simple as this one, but something tells me they won't. We'll be ready though. Ruby Canyon, here we come. ............................................................................................................................................................. Perspective: Miles One Hour Earlier CRASH I throw my arms out and create a barrier as all of the ruble from the street comes crashing down. My vision fades from landing on my back, but I try my best to ignore it as I hold the barrier up. I take a few deep breathes as everything slowly becomes clear. I feel fine. Black Foxx was with me, where is he now? "A little help?" I look above myself and find him standing just outside my barrier with his wing caught under a large chunk of cement. "You alright?" I ask as I undue my spell and stand. "Well, there's a slight tingling in my wing, but other then that I'm fine." He says sarcastically. "Well then, at least it's not anything you'll need." I joke as I push the chunk up, letting him escape. "Think you can fly on that?" I ask him. He gives a test flap and winces in pain. "That's a big N, O. Lets..." We both freeze as we here the sound of crumbling cement . I look to the side and gawk as the building begins to lean over us. "WHAT ARE YOU STARING AT? RUN!" I snap out of my daze and take off down the street, running as fast as my legs can move. Glancing between the road and the falling building I determine that I won't make it in time at this speed. I flare my heels and launch forward, propelling myself past Black Foxx. "Hey! Don't leave me behind!" He yells in desperation. I do some quick math before launching back for him. I scoop him up in an arm and take off again for.... SNAP A giant crack takes up the center of the road. I have to leap to the side and continue running at my unnatural speed as I try to dodge the webbing cracks. "YOUR MAGIC IS BREAKING THE ROAD!" Black Foxx yells right in my ear. "WE CAN'T NOT USE IT! WE'LL GET CRUSHED!" I yell back. He tries to pry himself from my grip, but make the mistake of grabbing my hand. The instant he touches my skin he yells in pain as he flails about. I try to keep a hold on him, but lose my balance doing so. I fall forward and roll a bit. I turn back towards him and leap... SMACK I fall to the ground as a solid wall appears before me. The second I hit the ground I roll over and put a shield up.... what the? How did I end up in a room? Before I could look around a loud, mind slitting, crashing sound fills my ears as the buildings come crashing down on me. Even with the enchantments on my ears, I wince from the sound. It was sudden, the echos only lasting seconds. I take a few deep breathes as I try to piece together what just happened. I should inform the others. I grab my necklace and hold onto it, letting it vibrate for a second before speaking. "Hello?" I ask, hoping for an answer. "This is Miles, is everyone alright?" "Miles!" Storm yells back. "Everypony here is alright..." "Tell that to my tongue!" I hear Pinkie yell. "... where are you? Are you alright?" Storm continues. "Yeah, I'm good. Black Foxx is dead though." I inform him. It goes quiet for a bit, clearly troubling all of them. "A-alright. We'll come get you..." "Negative. I can get myself out of here. Go meet me at the P.C.H. I'll be there as quickly as possible." "If you need us, call," He tells me. "Got it, over and out." I say before releasing the charm. I sprawl out on the floor and let out a long sigh. Hopefully the rest of them can deal with whatever caused that explosion without me. If I can find a way... "Ahem." I freeze when a female coughs for attention. I lift my head up.... and see the hooded woman from before standing before me. We stare at each other for a second before she starts to walk over to me. Where did she come from? How did she get here? She offers me a hand to help me up, but I shake my head. "I'll burn you." I say as I show her my hand. She tilts her head a bit as she tries to grab my hand, only to have me move it. "I'll burn you." I repeat. She lets out a small sigh as she grabs my wrist and helps me up. I can't believe she's here. I... I don't know how to process this. She saved my life.... she also left me pinned to a wall with my pants off. My heart speeds up as she begins to move her hand up and down my arm, inspecting it closely. She unlatches the armor and lets it fall to the ground as she runs her cool fingers along my skin. When she begins to reach my hand I try to pull back, but she holds me in place..... and runs her hand along mine. No wincing. No screams in pain. Just a smaller hand moving between my fingers, inspecting every centimeter of my hand. "Who are you?" I ask as I stare at her in disbelief. "I'm... your mother." She replies as she holds my hand with both of her hands. "My.... my.... mother.... but... no...." "I know. It's hard to believe. But it's true. I am your..." "YOU LEFT ME WITH MY PANTS DOWN!" I yell as I yank my hand back and step away from her. "WHAT?" She yells as she does the same. "The last time I saw you, you pinned my to a wall and pulled my pants down to my ankles! FOR HOURS!" I yell at her, making her spin around in anger. "CARE TO EXPLAIN!" She yells at.... the wall. "Who are you yelling at?" I ask as she walks forward a bit, stopping just before the wall. "Well?" She asks as she folds her arms. "..." "I'm waiting." She says as she starts to tap a foot. "..." "OK. I'm saying it..." "OK, OK, OK!" Someone else yells. Another clocked woman suddenly appears before her. The new one is a bit taller then.... my mother, but that's about all I can tell. "Well.... um..... can we talk about this later?" "No. Why did you leave my son like that?" She demands. I shake my head and march straight towards her. I won't let her escape without seeing her face. I reach out and grab the back of her hood, making it burn away. Before I could do anything else the taller woman shoots an arm out and sends me flying to the other side of the room. THUD I hit the wall and drop to my knees as my head starts to spin. I blink a few times before regaining my vision. The woman.... my mother, has long flowing black hair that goes to her shoulder blades.She seems a little hesitant in doing so, but slowly turns to face me. Light brown eyes. She has my.... I have her light brown eyes. She glances back to the other woman before walking over... running over to me. She slides to her knees and wraps me in a tight hug, nearly breaking into tears. I wrap my arms around her as well, being sure not to burn her clothes off. She moves her hands to my cheeks and inspects my face, smiling warmly. "My boy... my handsome boy. Look at you, you're all grown up." She says before planting a loving kiss on my forehead. "How are you here? What happened when I was little? Who is my father? How..." She plants a finger over my lips to silence me, smiling warmly to me. "I've been told by our time traveling friend here what I can and can't answer. I wish I could tell you everything, I really do. But... I'm sorry. I'm not allowed to..." "Come with me." I say to her, getting a worried look. "There's so much I want to..." Again she has to silence me. "My son, my brave, brave son. I'm so sorry for what happened. But... this is a journey you must take on your own. You've gotten this far without me, and you will continue without me. My place is back in Diamond Halls. With you father." She tells me as she begins to stoke my hair. "Who is my father?" I ask, only to get her to shake her head. "Is it Susurrans?" Again, she shakes her head. "Well... what's you name? Who are you?" "I am Captain Eremita of the Spartan regiment, Diamond Halls outfit. That is all I can tell you." She says sadly. I let out a huff in annoyance as I try to think of what to ask her. All my life I imagine meeting her, and now I don't know what to say. "Please tell me your name. I know it already, but I want to hear it from you." She asks with a loving smile. "I'm Miles Eremita, Grand Captain of the Spartan Regiment." I tell her. She swells up in pride as she mumbles to herself a bit. "How did you find me here?" I ask her, breaking her out of her little trance. "Our friend back there brought me here.... well, she was trying to come here on her own. But I jumped her before she finished her spell. I ended up in Equestria.... where I met your wife." She says as she looks me in the eyes. I tense up a bit as I wait for her answer. I know our marriage isn't.... normal, but her approval right now... "She's lovely." "Oh Sweet Barbra thank you!" I say as I release the breath I was holding. She lets out a loud laugh as she covers her mouth. "Yup! You're his alright. Though, you're a bit off with the last part." She says joyfully as she pats my back. I don't entirely get what she's talking about, but I laugh along with her. "Uh... anyway, you met Luna?" I ask, getting her to stop her laughing, for the most part at least. "Yes, it was in the future though. She lovely Miles. I was glad to call her daughter." She tells me, making me swell up in pride. "... Mother, I'm... I'm dying." I say quietly as I look down to my hand. As I stare at them, she takes them in her hands. I close my fingers around hers as she pulls my hand to her cheek, rubbing it slowly. "I know. It's our blessing, and our curse. Don't worry though. When your time comes, everything will be OK. You just need to finish this journey." She tells me quietly as she continues to rub my hand against her cheek. "I.... I don't want to die." I admit to her, getting a soft chuckle. "Of course not. Do you think I wanted to leave you alone? No. If I could, I would have given everything up to have been with you. But we don't get to make those choices son. But I have faith that you will face this like a true Eremita. You will, and already have, make me so proud. Miles, please take care..." "No! Don't go, not yet!" I yell as I wrap my arms around her, embracing her for what could be the last time. She lets out a slow sigh as she stands to her feet, still entangled within my arms. She rests a hand on my shoulder as the other one guides my face to look up to her. "My brave boy. I have to go. If I don't get home I wont be able to begin the greatest chapter of my life." "... what chapter is that?" I ask. "Pregnancy." She says as she rubs my cheek. I nob and rise to my feet, collecting myself quickly as I ready myself to say goodbye. "I love you Miles. Nunc. Cras. Saecula." "Numquam ero obliviscar tui, Mother. Take care." I say before planting a kiss on her forehead. She begins to leave, but stops when I reach out and grab her hand. "Two more questions. Who is she, and please, please, what is your name?" She looks back to me and contemplates her answer, thinking deeply about this. "Eremita," the other woman says, "you can tell him one of those answers." She nods and comes closer to me, mere centimeters from my ear. She tells me her full name. "You have a beautiful name." I tell her with a warm smile. She leans up and gives me a kiss on the cheek before giving me one last hug, one which I return. "Goodbye, my son." She tells me. "Goodbye, my mother." I tell her. After a long embrace we finally separate. She steps over to the other woman as she flares her hands and plants them on the ground, making an archaic circle appear. "Remember, you are a..." KER-FLASH Before she could finish they suddenly flash out of existence. Stare at the scorch mark for awhile before smiling to myself. My mother... this is.... unbelievable. I... death can come easier, now that I know her name. Eremitas journey continues in... Whispers of War
Chapter 169 New Garnet: Echos of WarChapter 169 New Garnet: Echoes of War We head over to the train station and buy our tickets back to Ponyville. I keep waltzing around in my armor, trying to get accustomed to its overpowered feel. The suit may be getting to my head, but my wall-breaking punches don't care. I might sleep in the suit... And bathe... If only it had a receptacle to- "ALLLLLLLLLLLLL ABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOARD!" I snap back to reality and join the others as we fill up our cart. "Aren't you going to take that thing off? It looks quite uncomfortable." Rarity says to me as she stretches out and relaxes into her own seat. "Well, I'd rather not burn down the cart we're using to get home. That, and this thing is still fairly comfortable-" "W-W-WOOOHOHO!" Pinkie shrieks as her entire body shakes on its own accord. Everyone else looks to her and begins to panic. "Oh no, a doozy is coming our way!" "Do you know what it is?" Twilight asks in a worried tone. "What's going on?" "I don't know what it is, but it's going to be a big. Something.... super, duper, ultra, jaw breaking off and falling onto the ground big." Everyone else glances around the cart as an unsettling silence falls over us. I try to think of a logical reason for this... But, it's Pinkie Pie. "Um... Can someone explain this to me?" I ask. "I have-" "It's Pinkie sense." Twilight says, cutting Pinkie off. "Every now and again she gets these little twitches or hints from her body that tells her when something is going to happen. The most common one is her twitchy tail, that tells her something is going to fall. There are plenty of other ones, but this one is the most... confusing." "Confusing how?" "Well... Pinkie," Twilight says, letting her explain it. "I don't know. It usually means something unexpected will happen. Something that nopony would ever guess in a million ba-jillion years! Last time it was Twilight believing in Pinkie sense, but this... It feels different. Like *SHAKE* WHOA! See, it's a little more intense this time." ".... Twilight." "Yes Miles?" "Please tell me there is a logical explanation for this." "Would you except it being a Pinkie thing for a logical explanation?" ".... you know what? No. I'm going to explain this-" "Miles, ponies have gone crazy trying to do that, don't!" Rainbow warns me, glancing back to Twilight. I just shake my head and move over to bench. "Pinkie, come here. We're going to have a long talk." "He's doomed." Rarity comments, getting slow nods from everyone else. ........................................................................................................................................................ Sixteen years of molding my mind to the most intellectual theorists Terradisia has to offer. All that time and focus, coming to this point in time right now. All of this knowledge, all of the lessons, all being tested... By a little... Pink... Pony. "... and then my tail twitches and my rump itches and then I know that there are finches flying for my food." ".... what's a finch?" "It's a little bird... those flying creatures with feathers you see everywhere. I swear Miles, I would have thought you would have learned this basic stuff by now." *EYE TWITCH* "What about things that happen far from you? How close to these things do you have to be for you to get these feelings?" "Mmmm..... I don't think I do. Usually the closer they are to me, the better the sense. But then sometimes I sense things and nothing happens.... well, nothing happens to me at least." *EYE TWITCH* "Well, do you feel anything right now? Other than the doozy one." I ask her. She scrunches her face as she tries to feel anything. She begins to shift around in her seat, rolling around until she ends up on the floor on her back. "Nope!" she says as she pops back up into her seat. "Noth- oh wait.... here comes one." She wiggles her front legs, scrunches her nose, chews her tongue and twitches her tail. "Oh... Everypony should get in their crash positions." "What are you-" KROOOOM The world around me spins out of control as a powerful force sends the entire train cart rolling off the tracks. The shrieks of metal and glass shattering explode around me as every loose item is thrown about with splinters of wood. I slam against the walls and bounce around like a pebble in a sifter as the cart rolls uncontrollably down a slope. I can see the others thrashing about in similar fashion, only not having the luck of being in full body armor. I slam against a window as it hits the ground and break through it as the cart rolls away from me. I can feel a sticky warm liquid trickle down my face as I lay on the ground. I need to get to the others to help. I lift an arm up and- THUNK "AAAAAAAHH!" I scream in agony as a new form of pain takes over. I look at my hand to see an arrow sticking through it, buried in the ground below. A green energy seeps from my hand, billowing away into the air. The arrow fazes away, but the energy continues to billow lightly. I turn around and- THUD Something huge lands right on top of me and lets out a massive roar before pounding both of its fists onto my back. A wave of energy hits me and shakes me to my core. I twist to the side, knocking the person behind me over, and jump on top of them to punch them back. The creature beneath me is an orc. He's wearing thick brass goggles and light steel armor over his entire body. Judging from my position, he's at least four meters tall and muscular. I rear up a fist and bring it down on his chest. He lets out a low grunt as the sound of metal hitting metal rings out. As I bring up my other fist to punch him, I lurch over as the new pain takes over my back. I can feel something sticking in, probably another armor negating arrow. "Puny hairless demon ape!" The orc yells as he grabs me and tosses me off of him, a testament to his strength. I roll a bit on the ground but push myself up in time to dodge another arrow. I take a quick glance around to asses the situation. There's an earth pony on a nearby roof pointing a bow and arrow at me, both of which are made of some clear blue energy. The orc is back on his feet and holding his fist up, ready to fight. There's a little green goblin below the pony fiddling with something as he keeps glancing between me and it. A long rifle is strapped to his back as well as two pistols to his hips. They all wear the same goggles as the orc in addition to their own armor- "RRAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Something lets out a high pitched scream and slams into my back, forcing me to stumble forward. I spin around to face... nothing? "CENTER!" I look down and find the last opponent standing before me. He's barely a meter tall, covered in thick black fur, bipedal, and- THUNK I let out as silent scream as another one of the arrows pierces its way into my side. I stumble to my side as I grab the arrow and yank it out- THUD I fall back down as the orc punches me again. My vision is beginning to fade as I feel my energy fade from me. I blink a few times as I watch the furry bipedal creature quickly back away from me. I begin to stand when something hits my side. I look over to see the device the goblin was working on laying beside me. A large clock sits on top of it as the sound of air escaping through a tiny opening whizzes from it. "CAPTAIN!" Rainbow Dash yells as she lands beside me and kicks the device away. I watch it hit another house and explode into a ball of archaic fire. "GET UP DAMMIT!" She yells as she spins her spear around, watching the others as they begin to approach. She's a bit bloodied, with a thick trail coming from her mane and down her face. "Right.... right... watch the archer." I mumble as I stagger to my feet. "What archer?" She asks before stabbing at the furry bipedal creature, keeping him away. "TRY IT AGAIN CHIMP!" "BACK OFF PONY!" He yells back as he claps his hands, creating twin daggers of the same clear blue energy. I swipe my arm around Dash and push her behind me as I bring a fist down onto the... chimp? He dodges to the side and moves to retaliate, but I stop him by jumping forward, tackling him into a distant building. I use him as a cushion as we break through the wall, ending halfway into the next one. I step back and let him fall to the ground unconscious before darting out the hole. I see the archer lining up another shot at Dash as she keeps the orc at bay with her spear. The goblin is also taking aim at Dash, using all four arms to lift his rifle up. I throw my arms up and pull down with my magic. The walls supporting the pony archer crumble and are forced down, making the pony miss his shot and burying the goblin. With them dealt with I squat down and jump at the orc, using my jets to accelerate towards him- THUNK ... or face first into his fist. The punch itself does more damage to him than me, but there's something about his attacks that rock the core of my being. It's almost as if they mainly attack my soul. I drop to a knee but quickly give a uppercut right into his jaw, staggering him back. Right on queue, Dash follows up by leaping into the air and bringing the spear head down through his jaw. He lets out an agonizing scream as electricity races through his body, courtesy of Dash's spear. I rear my fist up and put all of my strength into punching him in the face. We end up tearing the spear through his jawbone and crushing the front of his skull. He falls to the ground bleeding profusely, whimpering lightly. He'll be dead within the minute. PING PING Dash and I both take a hit, but whatever it was, it was weak. I look over to see the bloodied goblin emerge from the rubble and drop one of his pistols as he begins to reload the other one. He has to manually load the pellet and force it down the barrel. As he does this, the earth pony bursts out from the rubble and starts to make a run for it. "You get that guy, I'll deal with the goblin." I tell Dash as I begin to walk towards the tiny creature. She takes off through the air and gives chase. The goblin gets his round in the barrel and begins to twist a knob on the side of the gun before aiming for my head. PING ".... that's cheating." "Superior technology will win every time." I say as I take my stance. "Maybe, but a demon like you will meet their fate, one way or another." He growls as he drops the pistol and pulls out what looks like a steam powered clock. "Who are-" BOOM I stagger back when he twisted a knob and set off the bomb. Luckily for me, it wasn't archaic and was mostly blocked by my armor. I wait for the smoke to clear before searching the surrounding area. Bits and pieces of him lay everywhere as a dark scorch mark covers a eight meter diameter. "Well.... I think my guy offed himself as well." Dash says as she lands behind me, dropping the earth pony to the ground. "I don't buy it though, he was moving his hooves like crazy. It looked as if he was pretending to shoot a bow and arrow at me." "Go get the others from the train while I examine the remaining people. If any of them need medical attention bring them to me. If it's really bad, then call me over." "Roger that." She takes off for the train cart at break neck speed. I kneel beside the pony and begin to look through his saddle bags. A note with pony text... Some basic survival gear... Some medical supplies... "Oh sweet Barbra..." A... picture of me.... And Applejack... Our train schedule... Pictures of all the Spartans.... Luna... Shadow... Moosden...Lupus and Hati.... Who is this guy? "Captain." I look up to see Damian and his group standing before me. They're all covered in scars and bruises and look as if they've fought the entire way here. "Damian... what the fuck is going on here?" I ask as I stand up. "Well... it's a bit complicated, you see..." "CAPTAIN!" Rainbow Dash yells from behind. "IT'S APPLEJACK! SHE NEEDS YOUR HELP!" "... help get them to safety, then we'll talk." He nods to me and we quickly move to the train. I don't know what's going on, but I'm sure as fuck won't stand for my friends and family being targeted by anyone. Perspective: Applejack I shudder a bit as a throbbing feeling takes over my head. I try to move around to get comfortable, but that only seems to make it worse. I take a few deep breaths before slowly opening my eyes, finding my vision blurred at first. After blinking a few times I finally focus enough to recognize my own room. "What in tarnation-" "You took a nasty hit when the train rolled off the tracks. Miles saved you, though you still have a concussion." I look over and nearly jump from the sight before me. Hammer's sitting by my the window, looking out at the orchard with an even, unemotional glare. He has two long, deep scars going down his side, as well as several apple sized puncture scars. His over all muscle mass must have tripled from when I last saw him as well. "Hammer... what happened to you?" He doesn't answer me. Instead he turns his head slightly to keep his eyes away from mine. I slowly make my way out of bed and walk over to him, trying to get him to look me in the eyes. No matter where I go, he keeps his gaze elsewhere, obviously deeply troubled by something. I sigh when I finally stop trying to get his attention and instead focus on his wounds. I can't help but bring a hoof to them to check if they're real. They are. "Hammer, what did this ta ya?" I ask, only to get silence again.There are three long, deep scars running evenly across his side. I run my hoof up the entire length of the wound before ending it and the base of his neck. I trace it up from there and bring it to his jaw, where I force him to look me in the eyes. Going across his face is a even deeper scar, going from his forehead to his chin at a slight angle. That's not the worst part though... The look in his eyes say it all. He's lost somepony. Somepony close. Without saying a word, I wrap him up in a hug and hold onto him tightly. He stiffens up and looks away from me, taking deeper breaths. I can feel him slowly lower his muzzle to lay against my neck as he begins to choke on his tears. I just rub his back and let him work it out. "I'm so sorry.... I didn't want any of this to happen to you... Or Bonzu... I...I... I'm so sorry." He sobs as he buries his muzzle in my mane. I just hold him tighter as a tremor runs through his body. "It's alright sugarcube. Ah know ya didn't want any a this ta happen. Yer a good stallion, ya would never wish something bad on somepony. It ain’t in yer nature." "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. I can't tell you anything about the ponies that attacked you. I can't tell you what happened to my brother. I can't even guarantee your safety. I can't protect you, I can’t do anything-" "Hold it right there!" I say in a firm tone as I push him back and look him right in the eyes. "Ah don't know what ya did, but know darn well that ya did the best ya could. An that's all ah can ask." "But you-" "By the looks of it ya went through hell in back tryin ta stop whatever happened ta me. I'm alive, yer alive, and that's that! If ya hit the high beam, ya just set it back and try again. Now... Ah can tell ya got a lot stronger since ah last saw ya, so now ya have ta use this strength ta fight harder. No disrespectin yer kin with all this self loathing. Ah know it hurts, trust me it will hurt a lot more later, but ah want ya ta promise me ya wont give up on... Whatever yer fightin for. Promise me ya will not let this ruin you." He wipes a few tears from his face as he nods to me slowly, moving his gaze back out the window. "I promise. I won't let anything like this happen to you, or anypony, ever again. Applejack.... I... I... you..." "Shh." I shush him as I lean forward and rest my nose against his. He closes his eyes as a new set of tears begin to roll down his face. I just wrap my forelegs around him and allow him to let it out. "Ah love ya too." We spend a few hours just holding each other. A nice patch of my shoulder became damp from all of his tears, but it's okay. I know I had my share of tears when I lost my parents, I couldn't imagine losing somepony close again. Perspective: Miles I pace back and forth as I try to think straight. Once I healed all of the girls up and brought them home, I brought the unconscious chimp to Topaz Falls and threw him in an interrogation cell. I'm in the watch room with Damian trying to think clearly. It's a small room with a wall enchanted to show the interrogation room. A table sits below the screen with all of the gear we could gather from our would be assailants. Pictures, a clear plan of attack, materials for bombs, weapons.... The weapons. Ends up goblins utilize steam power to make guns. It's similar to old flintlocks, only with air canisters instead of gun powder. It's pretty impressive, weak, but impressive. According to Damian, they use this power in everything. Air, land and sea vehicles, living tools like stoves and elevators, everything. "What are you going to do about this guy?" Damian asks me as he glares at the guy. "You know anything about him?" I ask as I look over the pistol. "Not personally. Just that he's a part of the purist-" "Alright. I'm pissed and I want answers. I'm going to go in to teach these Purist a lesson." I say as I set the gun down and move towards the door. "Statera members are trained against torture, I doubt you're going to get him to talk," Damian warns me. "Talk?" I leave the examination room and enter the interrogation chamber. It's a simple square room with dark grey sound proof walls and a drain in the center. We have the chimp tied to a metal chair in the center. I step in front of him and fold my arms as I wait for him to look up to me. It takes a while, but eventually he does so. "Do you know who I am?" I ask in a slow even tone. He nods. "Do you know where you are?" He nods again. "I've left the gates open and made sure that several of your little spirit informants came in to witness this. I am going to give you the chance to save yourself a lot of misery. Either start talking, or I take the information from you. I want to know why you're targeting me, my family, and my friends." He stays quiet, tightening his bottom lip as he readies his resolve. "Didn't think so. Now the next warning. I am going to tear the information I want from your mind, either allow me to do this or fight me as hard as you can. Either way, I am going to make this as painful as possible for you. Do you know how to resist soul based mental attacks?" He hesitates a bit before nodding again, keeping his serious façade up. "You need to connect to your spiritual energy and focus your mind on a single thought. When you feel me trying to break through your mind, try and put up a mental barrier to stop me. This will take all of your focus and will to do successfully." "Why are you telling me this?" He asks in a deep voice. "I'm going to make an example of you. No matter how prepared you are for this, I will break you. I will learn everything there is to know from you. And I will torture you until you beg for death. Are you ready?" He takes a several breaths before nodding to me. I grab the leg of the chair and yank it out from under him. With both hands I spin around and toss the chair against the wall, smacking him head first into it. He lets out a pained groan before I grab the back of the chair and toss it against the far wall. He groans a bit before spitting some blood at me. So I walk over and slam my foot into his chest and hold it there. He screams in agony as the archaic lines burn into his flesh. The patch of fur below my foot burns away as the area around it catches fire. I push off of him and let him sit there in pain for awhile. Once I feel he's waited long enough, I rush back in and punch him across the face with enough force to knock him on his back. I move over him and begin to wrap my hands in archaic energy as I glare down at the chimp below me. "Do your worst." He growls as he bares his teeth. "Don't worry," I reply with a smile. "We've barely started." I drop down and slam my palms against his chest. He screams at the top of his lungs as I begin to dagger my energy through his body. He tries to squirm out from underneath me, but I hold him in place as I push even more energy, adding different elements to give different sources of pain. "Are you going to take all day or can we get whatever information there is to get already?" Damian asks as he steps into the room. "Just a bit more and he'll be easier to crack," I tell him. Damian sighs and comes over to watch more closely, but is getting impatient quickly. "Do you want to have a whack at it?" "I thought you'd never ask." I roll my eyes and step off the chimp, giving him a few saving graces before Damian kicks him clear across the room. He slams against the wall and bounces off, flattening several of the chairs legs from the impact. "... what the fuck man? We need him alive to interrogate." "That's why we have you, now heal him up before he bleeds out." I let out a sigh before moving over and healing the poor fucker up. It's going to be a long day. Perspective: Twilight January 13th, 9:30 AM I feel something shake me a bit, but I'm too tired to care about it, so I roll over and pull the sheets closer to myself. When I feel whoever it is shake me again, I groan in frustration as I turn to face them. "Spike? It's... somewhat early. What's going on?" I ask groggily as I get comfortable, trying to sleep as much more as possible. "Fluttershy is here to visit, she says that it's really important for the two of you to talk." I sigh in annoyance before nodding to him and getting out of bed. I go the the restroom and quickly make myself presentable. Once done, I quickly make my way downstairs where I find Fluttershy and Spike sitting at the kitchen table enjoying coffee and hot chocolate. "Good morning Fluttershy, what can I help you with?" I ask as I walk around them and make my own cup. "Oh, um... Spike?" "*sigh* I'll be at Rarity's if you need me." He says before leaving the two of us alone, giving me some final worried glances. "So, now that he's gone, what did you want to talk to me-" "We're pregnant." My mouth hangs open as I try to process what she said. "You mean you're pregnant, right?" She sighs a bit as she looks down at her coffee, avoiding my gaze. "I've been pregnant since before Ruby Canyon. Since we have a few days here, I went to the pharmacy to buy some vitamins and... well, the cashier pony slipped that you had bought a pregnancy test. I didn't mean to pry, but when I came over yesterday and you were gone... I... may have looked in your bathroom waste bin and found the positive test." She shrinks up at the last part, forcing me to strain to hear her. "... am I?" I ask as I look away from her. "That's what I wanted to know... so I brought you something." I look back to her and watch closely as she digs through her saddlebag and pulls out a pregnancy test. My heart races as she sets it on the table and pushes it towards me. "Whenever you're ready." "I... I... I'm going to need a lot more water." Twenty Minutes Later "What does it say?" Fluttershy asks from the other side of the door. "Please don't listen in when I'm doing this." "Sorry.... but is it ready yet?" I groan out load as I continue to pace around my bathroom. It's only a five minute wait, but it feels as if it's been hours. I can't be pregnant, I just... can't. Not after what I did to myself. What if I was and I.... no. Storm and I were being careful... or we should have been. We agreed to wait until after Miles finished his little quest thing. If I am, I'm blaming Storm. "Well? What does it say... sorry. Take your time. But tell me when you know... well, when you're ready that is. Just.. you know, I'll be waiting so whenever you're ready is fine-" "It's positive." "YES!" I nearly fall over when she screams at the top of her lungs. "Oh, we should be pregnant buddies and go to birthing classes together! OH! What do you think, filly or colt? I hope I get a sweet little filly to tell stories to and braid our manes together and -oooohh- little dress ups and tea parties-" I sit on the toilet and stare at the little red plus sign on the white stick. How could I have done something so stupid with something so precious. What's wrong with me? What if something happens to it? What if I have another miscarriage? I... I don't know what I'd do if anything were to happen to my baby- "Twilight? Twilight are you alright in there?" I snap back to reality and leave the restroom. She wraps me up in a tight hug, but I don't return it. I still can't I'm pregnant, after what I've done. "Twilight, are you okay?" "What if what I did with those potions did something to the baby?" I ask quietly as I sit there, thinking of all the possibilities that could happen to my unborn child. There is just no- SMACK I sit there in a daze as a sharp pain takes over my right cheek. Fluttershy shakes the pain away from her hoof before pushing me back inside the bathroom. She spins me around and forces me to look at myself in the mirror. "Look at yourself. Tell me what you see." "Fluttershy, I don't-" "Tell me what you see," she repeats more firmly. I shrink away from her and take a look at myself in the mirror. "Well... it's just me and you. Nothing more than a reflection," I tell her, not finding anything beyond that. Or not wanting to. "Do you see a murderer?" I do a double take as I look over to her, unsure of how to answer something like that. "Twilight, I saw your face and I won't let you do anything like that.That baby deserves as much a chance as any other would. No buts, and or ifs, do you understand me?" I take a step away from her as I slowly process what she's telling me. I run over and hug her tightly as I realize the sick thoughts I had. What is wrong with me?! How could I possibly think that after trying so hard!? I need help... I need... "Fluttershy, will you help me through this?" I ask her, slightly tearing up. "Of course, let's start by getting you to the pharmacy and get you some doctor appointments. We also need to get your diet in order, a physical, vitamins, and-" "Don't forget telling Miles that we can't go with him to the cities." Fluttershy pauses and looks to me, rubbing her leg a bit as she mumbles something to herself. "I... was still going to go to the next one." ".... WHAT!?" She shrinks back a bit as I stare at her, trying to figure out how she could possibly want to go to the next city. "Well... nopony knows yet, and they still really need us-" "BUT WE'RE PREGNANT! HOW- BUT YOU- AND THE- WHAT!?" Fluttershy straightens out a bit before walking downstairs. I just stand there, baffled beyond belief. After a moment or two I shake my head and run after her, bolting out the door to catch up with her. "Twilight, you have more of a reason to go then I do," she says as I slow down to walk by her side. "You're the medic. If Miles isn't there then you have to be the one to fix our wounds. Not to mention your teleporting and shields are vital. You have to go, to protect the others." "Well.... maybe. But what about you?" I ask as I look away from her. "I can keep ponies from harming our friends. Given, I have less reason to go then you, but I still feel the need to go. I'm going to take every precaution I can, but not going isn't an option." "... and why is that?" "It's like Big Mac always says, 'if ya make a promise, ya keep it. That's that.'" She says, mimicking his deep voice. "It's his catch phrase really." "... Big Mac talks?" "Since I promised to help no matter what, I'm going. And I know you want to go as well, so unless you really are against this, let's just agree to keep this between us for now." We come to a stop before the pharmacy. I bite my lip as I try to think logically about this. I know going would be stupid. I can't risk my child for this... but Fluttershy has a point. This is for the others, to keep them safe. I already went through at least one city and made it through alright.... "Okay, we'll go. But we have to be careful. Nothing heroic, okay. We stick to the back and let the others take the brunt of the fighting. Pinkie promise." "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cup cake in my eye." I sigh in relief before facing the pharmacy. Hopefully everything checks out fine with the baby... hm, I'm going to be a mother.... unless I have another miscarriage.... I need to get that check up now. Without another word, I run through the door and charge at the front counter, scaring the pegasus there. "I NEED A CHECK UP!" "DAMN GURL!" She yells as she nearly falls out her seat. "A what now? Check up? Uh.... HEY? WE DO CHECK UPS HERE?" She yells to the back. "What's that?" Somepony from the back yells. "Dis gurl wants a check up, we do that?" "She preggers?" "You preggers?" She asks me. "Yes-" "DAMN GURL, SHE PREGGERS!-" "OH DAMN!" "Alright, uh.... GURL, GIT OUT HERE, I DON'T KNOW HOW TA DO THIS CRAP!" "How did you get a job here if you don't know what to do?" I ask. "Dats for me to know and you ta mind your own damn business." She says as she waves her hoof back and forth. I look back to Fluttershy before looking back to this pegasi, trying to figure out why she's so defensive. Today is going to be a long day. January 14th 1:27 PM Perspective: Miles With a loud grunt I toss the chimp, Si Hua, to the ground as I finally leave his mind. We've been going non stop trying to pry every bit of information from him. It's been a long process, but after this last run in, we've hit a dead end. "Well, I don't think you'll like what I learned about this guy." I say as I step back and lean against the wall, trying to relax. "What else could there be? Purist, went on a hit for you guys and your families-" "Yeah, base grunt doing base crap. Useless really-" SLAM I snap to the side as the door slams off its hinges. Hammer walks in, not looking either of us in the eye as he does so. He has an evil look in his eye as the rest of his face keeps an even coolness to it. I moved to stop him, but Damian stopped me halfway. He shakes his head slowly and begins to pull me out of the room. When we leave the room, I pause by the door to listen in on what he has to say- SPLAT Not much. I let out a deep sigh as I follow Damian down the corridor. I'll let him work that out on his own. Damian and I take a few mico platforms until we end up in the medical ward. I order him to lay by one as I begin to check it over the healing device. It's nothing too bad, just some wire re-working as well as some fragmented parts. We stay quiet for a bit, but eventually I have to ask the question that's racking my mind. "Damian, everything alright?" He glances to me before laying back on the patients table, resting his hooves behind his head. "Don't worry about us. I can handle it." "Don't get cocky Damian. Terradisia was the strongest nation in the universe, but everything has a weakness. Don't let the illusion of power misguide you." "Since when were you a philosopher?" He asks with a slight chuckle. I give him a look that he shrugs off, looking away from me. "I can handle this. Don't worry about us. I'll get things back under control.... I can handle it-" "Like how Hammer is?" He looks back to me for a second before looking away, avoiding my eyes. "I wasn't here for that. I didn't know-" "And you'll know what happens next right? What about CC? Or Patches? What about your fellow Spartans? Damian, you can't take everything on yourself. Look at me, all this power at my disposal and I can't completely guarantee Luna's safety. I can't guarantee Shadow will grow up safe and happy. There are too many variables that I can't control. No matter how much power I have. No matter what I train for. No matter how much I believe I can, there is the plausibility of failure. If you ever need us, you can call us Damian. We're more then just some team. We'll come, you just need to call." He continues to look away from me, thinking deeply about what I said. He lets out a low sigh as he shifts a bit away from me. "Thanks, I really do appreciate it. But I can handle this. I won't let this happen again-" BZZZT "AH! What the fuck was that!" I just chuckle as I let the machine get to work. The three arms move around Damian and trace blue lights over his body. When they find something incorrect, a beam of healing energy comes out. It's a little painful, but nothing he should bitch too much about. "May I have your-" "EASY! Just the bot I wanted to see. Watch over the medala lectum until Damian's scars are fixed, then retrieve his friends and do the same for them. They are all here, right?" I ask Damian. "Ye-OW! Yeah... well, not Patches. But he doesn't need it really. He's... well... he's suppose to have scars." I nod to him and begin to walk out of the hall. "Where are you going?" "I'm going topside to give Luna a call-" "Oh, so you're just going to up and leave. Not even see us out?" He says with a pouty face, until another healing beam strikes him. "Don't worry, I'll be sure to see you guys before you leave, this thing will take the three of you at least a day before it reduces your scars. Luckily for you, you get to keep that little dingy over your right eye. But in all seriousness, remember that we're... that the Spartans will be here to help." "I know, and I really do appreciate it. But I can handle thiIIIIIISSSSSAAAHHH!" "Damian, don't be such a pussy." "Fuck you, it hurts!" "Captain Eremita has altered the healing beam to give off an extremely high amount of energy, thus fixing your wounds quicker at the cost of slight pain," Easy informs him before another beam strikes. I just laugh at his misfortune and continue to leave the P.C.H. There is one thing I need to do before calling Luna over. Perspective: Luna RING-RING RING-RING RING-RING "HUH! I'm up, I'm up! Hold your positions and... and... hello? Miles?" I half yell, half mumble, as I scramble out of bed and yank my drawers off until I find my phone and answer it. "Hey love, think you can come over for a bit? I... I want to see you before I leave tomorrow," he says almost shyly. "Give me a minute, I'll be there as quickly as possible." I tell him as I force myself out of bed. I hold the phone against my head as I try to make myself presentable. "Is everything okay?" "Yeah... well, as okay as they can be given the circumstances. You?" "I'm fine, a bit tired but fine. I have good news to tell you." I say as I finish brushing my mane and teleport to the mico platform. "Really, what would that be?" I take the platform and hang up the as I step out of the closet, finding Miles sitting against the wall. "I finally told Celestia, and ends up she already knew," I tell him with a large smile. He does a double take and stares at me for awhile, trying to process everything. "So... she knew the entire time." "That's what she said." "The entire time." "Yeah." "And I still have my balls." "Last time I checked... why-" "Luna, either you're lying to me or she's talking about something else. Because the last time I checked Celestia hated my guts and wanted a perfect excuse to remove my genitalia." "She doesn't hate you Miles. She just.... she.... well-" "Disagrees with every choice I've ever made and would love to see me gone.... and without genitals." I think about what he said for a bit until I slowly come to the realization that she may not be on the same page as us. "Shoot! I knew it was too good to be true." "Okay, either cuss properly or tell her the truth. I'll take either one at this point." "I'll talk to her again, as soon as possible that is. I know she's swamped with meetings today that can't be avoided. *sigh* why is this so hard?" I ask as I lay beside him and rest my head over his lap. He jumps a bit, but relaxes soon enough, running his hand down my mane and along my neck. "Jumpy?" I ask with a slight giggle. "Sorry, I'm just not used to people being able to touch me when my magic is on." He admits as he moves his free arm to cup underneath my jaw. He pulls my close and holds me against him. I let out a content sigh as I let the sound of his thumping heart lull me back into a dazed state. "You keep forgetting that I'm special." "Yeah, my special girl." I ignore the sarcasm in his voice and nuzzle myself deeper into his embrace, trying to use his arms to block out the sun. "... Luna, there's one last thing I need to ask you to do before... I go." I stiffen up a bit, but let him continue. "I've made a larger pathway to Topaz Falls now. Once the entrance is cleared, getting there will be tremendously easier. I need you to promise me that you will not allow people in there until society is ready for that kind of technology." "... I don't understand-" "Imagine if archaic condensers suddenly became common in Equestria. Such advanced technology would disrupt the current world order. At this time, people aren't ready for something like that. It needs to be kept a secret until it won't make a difference. I don't know how long that's going to be, it may never happen. Only if the sake of millions of lives, not just Equestrian, are at risk should you ever even consider it. Promise me you'll keep that a secret from everyone. Promise me." "I promise... but what about the Spartans and the Terradisians? Shouldn't they-" "I've already set plans with Easy to give them a message once I'm... The Spartans will fall under Storm's command and will aid you in keeping this a secret. As for the Terradisians, I've left a short message for Storm giving him options on how to go about that. The human race needs to fall back to unknown legend for the time being... it's just the way things have to be-" "I don't like this Miles." I tell him as I sit up to look him in the eyes. "This is your heritage, your legacy. Why do you want it to be such a great secret?" He just smiles to me and brings his hand to rest on the back of my head. I close my eyes and lean into his touch, savoring for as long as possible. "The world isn't ready for this kind of legacy. It wouldn't be interpreted correctly. No, in time people would understand, but not now. Everything is too... there are dark places in this world, but none that compare to the eight I've visited. We can't let those things come out until society is ready to face them. Promise me you'll help me with this." I look into his eyes and let his determination sink in. With a defeated sigh I lean over and give him a gentle kiss on the lips. "Okay, I'll help you keep the cities a secret. And I'll tell Celestia for real this time." "Thank you love. I'm sorry about being so serious, but this is really important." "I know. I understand it's just... after keeping us a secret for so long I don't want to keep anymore. They're too stressful." He laughs a little as he pulls me into his embrace. I sigh as I move around to lay my back against his stomach. He wraps his arms around my midsection, so I hold onto his arms. "Well, this is what you get for keeping secrets." He says as he leans his head against mine. "So this is my fault?" "I say we blame Storm." "Why Storm?" "Well... Storm or Damian... or both. Either way, I think people would agree without argument." I laugh a little as I lean my head against his, softly nuzzling the his side as I close my eyes and enjoy the moment. "Alright, But I'm throwing Regina in there as well. She's the one who made me go after you again after all." "Yeah, and Twilight didn't try hard enough to keep us separated." "Not to mention Applejack let us have our wedding in her barn." "Didn't Pinkie help plan that?" "Darn right she did!" I laugh a bit when I think back to her practically exploding when I asked to help. "We have such horrible friends." Miles comments. "They're terrible influences really. Look at all the trouble they have caused." I comment, getting a slow nod from Miles. "Yeah, because love had nothing to do with it." "Nope. It was Fluttershy letting you get away that first night you came to Equestria." "And Rarity not kicking Blueblood's ass herself." "Ye- wait, what?" I ask him. "Remember when Blueblood came to propose to Rarity and I ended up fighting him for Spartan pride? I could have sworn I told you about that." "Oh.... yeah. I guess that counts too... can I put the blame on Lupus and Hati as well?" We both look over to the doorway and find them laying there, watching us closely. "I don't see why not. Bad wolves, why didn't you stop this?" Miles says as he wraps his arms around me, getting them to lay their ears down as they lower their heads. We laugh a bit louder as we hold each other more closely. "Terrible friends." I say with a slight chuckle. "Awful," Miles agrees. We spend the rest of the day in that spot, thinking of ways to blame others for our love. We worked basically everypony in there. From mother and father, to the orc leader Oni. With a final love filled kiss I leave to raise the moon and talk to Celestia. I make it back and go through the routine just like any other day. Celestia seems troubled by something, but I ignore it until we're face to face. "Sister Mi-" "The griffin leader Ulfric StormMind is here to speak with you, and only you." Celestia cuts me off, silencing me. "... uh... what?" "He's literally here, waiting in the throne room. He won't speak with anypony beside you, do you know why?" I think about it but can't think of any reason why he would want to speak with me. I focus a bit and take my pure form before walking past Celestia, beckoning her to follow. "I don't know why he's doing this, but I don't have the time to worry about that. What do you think he wants?" "I can only guess it has to do about the acidic clouds. Do you remember how to block mental attacks?" "Last time I checked, I was better at it than you were. I remember. Has the guard been notified yet?" "Yes, they're in position should anything go wrong. Are you read?" I pause before the throne room doors and take a deep breath to calm myself. "I've got this. We'll talk afterwards. Wish me luck." With that said, I push the doors open with my magic and walk down the middle aisle. He's down by the throne, watching me with intense, wise eyes. "Lady Nightbringer." He says as he slightly inclines his head. "Thanks you for seeing me." "Ulfric StormMind, the great Sphinx of the North. To what do I owe this honor?" Perspective: Miles After Luna had left I tried to do some personal maintenance, but found it to be more difficult than it should have been. For some unknown reason, I've stopped growing facial hair, though I guess that's a plus. Water evaporates when it gets too close, so washing... sucked. I tried to brush my teeth, but the damn brush melted in my hands. And to top it all off, I now have to squat! After attempting to eat some food- finding it easier to do by magically lifting it- a knock came from the front door. I go and answer it- "Are you Miles-" "OH SWEET BARBRA YOU'RE UGLY!" I blurt out as I stare at the orc before me. If I had seen him at a distance, I wouldn't have reacted that way... that was a lot of ugly at once. Now, orcs aren't the prettiest things to look at, but this one breaks the mold. His face is scrunched up, likely from prior beatings, and his nose is a little long. His scales look as if he hasn't seen water in decades and.... oh sweet Barbra... I can taste how bad he smells. "Move aside Ark, before you knock him out ya smelly beast." Says a pegasus as he pushes the orc aside. He's dark red with blue hair that has a streak of ice blue in it. He's well built, with a cutie mark of a heart with a knife through it with thorns going around it. He has an elegant looking glaive strapped to his back with the Ursas logo etching into the blade. "I assume you're the mercs going with us to New Garnet." I say as I eye the orc. He's ugly, but I can't stop looking at him for some reason.... he's just too ugly not to. "Yes we are. My name is Crimson Lionheart, I'll be leading this troop to your next destination. This is our explosives expert, Bada Boom." "Yo!" He says as he steps forward. He has a bright red coat and a black mane. His tail seems to be missing, though with the burn marks on his ass, I can guess why. He has black, rough looking boots on his hooves. His cutie mark- "I can see you staring, and yeah. I burned off my cutie mark." "Sorry, it's just-" "What? You don't like looking at my pretty little flank?" He asks as he starts to wave his back end at me. I'd feel embarrassed about this, but I've seen enough balls to turn a homosexual straight ever since I've come to Equestria.... why are pants so- "Anyway I am Jax, I'm your archer for this journey." A griffin says as he pushes Bada Boom aside. He looks like your run of the middle griffin, nothing really special to point out really. He carries a bow and quiver that's filled with yellow tailed feathers. "And you are?" I ask the all black unicorn standing beside him. He's wearing a cloak that blocks my view of any of his possessions. "Shadow Dancer. One handed expert, specializing in stealth." He says plain and quickly. "Let me guess, you don't talk much do you?" He stiffens his bottom lips as he glares at me, keeping quiet. "Mercs... anyway, who are you." I groan as I turn to the next... one... "Well, I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting one of you." I say to the Diamond Dog hiding behind the orc. "Right, I've... just heard about... things you've done.... to Diamond Dogs... so.... yeah." He tries to hide his face, but yelps when the orc pushes him forward. "You're not like the other Diamond dogs I've seen." I tell him as I inspect him a bit more. He has tan fur instead of the dull grey and is much leaner in build. About the same height, but with a longer face. "Well, truth be told, I'm a Ruby Dog. We hail... or we used to hail from the deserts of Zahayrah, but we've slowly been becoming.... extinct. Now we have to... 'mingle', with Diamond Dogs, Sapphire Hounds, and Emerald Mutts." "You seem smarter than Diamond Dogs." "Well, they only value treasure, gems and fine metals. Ruby Dogs value knowledge more so... though we still like gems and fine metals." he laughs a bit at the end, rubbing the back of his neck as he looks to his comrades. "Well, I'll buy. Be sure to stick by me and you'll get through this. Now for the rest of you-" "Don't you want to know my name?" The orc asks, batting his eyelashes at me. "Fuck no. Anyway, I'm only going to say this once, so listen up. Most, if not all of you will die if you come with us. Only... about five mercs have ever lived going through these cities, and I doubt any of you will either. Don't come with us, go home, queue stupid statements of reassuring incompetence." "We can handle our.... oh buck you." Crimson starts to say. I just sigh as I step out a bit and look up to Dash's house. "RAINBOW DASH...... HEY RAINBOW...... RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWW!" "HI MILES! What's up?" Scootaloo yells back as she looks down from the cloud home. "Is Rainbow Dash up there?" "Yeah, she's asleep on the couch." It's almost noon. "Can you be a sweetheart and wake her up for me?" She nods and disappears behind the clouds. I fold my arms and wait for patiently for her to return with Rainbow Dash. "Umm.... should we-" "Just hold tight for a few minutes, we need to gather our people and find our destination." "You don't know where we're going? Well.... I guess you can just rely on your good looks then." The orc says with a wink. I eye him a bit before stepping further away. Of course the last group would have some same sex person, it's going to be one of the last things I remember. Why wouldn't they hit on me? "Mornin Captain." Rainbow Dash calls as she comes to a landing before me, carrying Scootaloo in her forelegs. "What's going WHAT THE BUCK!" She drops the rest of the way down and covers Scootaloo's eyes. "I know, I know, I'm ugly, get over it." The orc, whose name I don't care to know, says. Dash stares at him until I move between the two of them, where she continues to the cover disgruntled Scootaloo's eyes. "Go gather the others as quickly as possible so we can get going to New Garnet, we've got lost time to make up for." "Uh... sure, I mean, roger that..... uhm-" "Just go already Dash. Oh! And.... give the others a little heads up about... yeah." "...Right, bye!" She takes off as quickly as possible, using all of her will to avoid looking at the terribly ugly orc.... who is ogling my ass. I groan a bit before heading inside and go back to my room. I have a feeling this is going to be a long trip. Whatever, I need to get my armor on already. Once everyone arrived and finished gawking at the ugly orc, we finally locate the final city. It's underneath a place called Hoofington. It's almost directly north of Ponyville by about six hundred kilo- *ahem* I mean, about three hundred eighty.... miles... that's just wrong on so many levels. Anyway, the train ride is going to take us about a day to get there by train, should be interesting. We all file in our cart and take our seats. I can see the anxiety in everyones eyes, the fear of being attacked again is getting to them. "Did I mention I figured out Pinkie Pie's Pinkie sense?" I ask aloud, making the room go absolutely quiet. "..." "..." "..." "What? It wasn't that hard." "THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!" Twilight yells as she nearly jumps out of her seat. "Nopony could explain Pinkie Pie!" "Yeah.... well, I have a pretty damn good explanation, you see she-" WHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISTLE "... As I was saying she jus-" "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALL AAAAAAAAAAAAAAABBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAARRDDD!!" "... Right, she has an o-" KA-THUNK The entire cart shakes as the train begins to trudge its way out of the station. I look around the room, looking for anything else that can interrupt me. With the coast clear, I try again. "She has an-" ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAR "MAKE IT STOP! STOP THE SHTICK TB, STOOOOOOOOOP!" Pinkie yells from her seat as she covers her head. Everything suddenly goes quiet. The train begins to move along smoothly, and whatever made that roar has seemed to disappeared. "..." "..." "... uh.... Pinkie is bipolar and has an over active subconscious. Her other personality is using the information her subconscious is gathering and tells the other personality by making the different signals." Everything stays quiet for a bit longer as everyone waits for something to happen. "... Well, I guess that makes sense." Twilight agrees as she watches the ceiling and windows. "Your subconscious gathers more information about your surrounding than you conscious mind interprets, so I can see how you came to that conclusion." "And I can see the bipolar thing... actually, I've seen it before." Rainbow adds. "..." "..." "..." "Are we going to die?" Asks Bada Boom as he scoots a little closer to Fluttershy. "Well, you might. I don't think we will." I tell him as I take a seat and let the moment pass. Something is going to- "W-w-w-w-whoa!" Pinkie yells as he entire body shakes again. "WHAT! The train attack wasn't the doozy! What was more doozier than THAT!" Twilight yells. "I dunno, TB never told me what was in New Garnet, that and the fight they had wasn't that unexpected. It was bound to happen eventually." We all stare at Pinkie as she sits there, looking over herself with renewed interest. "This is going to suck, isn't it?" Rainbow asks, getting slow nods from... just about everyone. Seven Hours Later The train comes to a slow stop inside the station, leaving us all on edge. We're still waiting for something to happen. Pinkie's shakes have been slowly increasing in ferocity. Not having any way of helping her, we unload our gear from the storage compartments and leave. Hoofington city train station is a site to see. The entire building is made of a dull grey stone and goes up for at least three stories, maybe four. Large stained windows take up most of the walls as large ornate chandeliers hang down and provide plenty of light. The granite floors shine brightly as we make our way through the beautiful building, passing through the thick crowd of ponies. "I did a little reading about Hoofington on the way here. Way back in the day, many griffins moved here during something called the Big Chill. The griffin colonies were covered in ice after a really bad blizzard, so they moved here to escape. Princess Celestia allowed them and granted them citizenship for the time being and ushered them to Hoofington. You can see many architectural influences in the city because of this." Twilight tells us as we push our way through the crowd. We leave the main building and enter the city. Much like the train station, many of the buildings are made purely of stone and glass and reach high into the sky. The metropolis below is filled with thousands of ponies going about their daily lives, mulling over their trivial pursuits. Dotted here and there are different species as well. Goblins, griffins, a few Minotaurs and I think I saw a bear dot the crowded side walks. Carriages pulled by ponies fill the cobble streets, but I do see one car. It's similar in design to the Flim Flam brothers, but has steam coming out of it in various spots. The goblins riding it keep switching knobs and pull levers to keep it moving. "Woooooooooow." Pinkie exclaims as we take in the view of the city. "Look at all that cotton candy!" And like that she runs off for some street vendor to buy some pink cotton candy. "Let's get moving, we need to get to.... seventy ninth and central." Rarity drags Pinkie along as we begin looking for our destination. After about twenty minutes of walking around here, I already feel home sick.... in more ways then one. This place really reminds me of Topaz Falls, in that big city kind of way. No one cares that there's a squad of armed people walking down the street, they just want us out of the way so we can't inconvenience them for two seconds. The open friendliness of Ponyville is long gone, not to say they're being assholes. They just don't care about anyone else. The city itself really reminds me of Topaz Falls. Very little vegetation is here. There are a few trees here and there, and several windows have potted plants, but that's it. The people here even wear clothes! Not a lot mind you, mainly vests, hats, maybe a skirt here and there, and scarfs; but it's still quite the change from home. After about an hour of walking around we finally find Centers Park. Three square kilo..... faaaaah, one and a half square miles of nothing but parks and small man made lakes. As tempting as that all seems, we make it to the center of the park and double check our coordinates. "This is the spot, everyone gather close and we'll begin our descent." I tell our group. They do so, Bada Boom squeezing a little too close between Rarity and Applejack as.... "Orc, I need you to back off." "But-" "Literally, I need to be able to move in order to use my magic." He sighs in disappointment and backs off. I shake my head and channel my magic to open up the ground. We sink down into the ground at tremendous speed. I'm barely using any power, but apparently it's enough to send us down at high speed. After about an hour or so, we finally crash into the top of the dome. We share a moment of joy before working our way down the side and to the bulkhead. "This is it everyone, get ready. Twilight and Dash, you're up front wit me. Gay orc, Bismuth, Jax, Applejack and Rarity, hold up the sides. Fluttershy you hang back with Shadow Runner and provide cover. Pinkie, Crimson, assist where needed. Okay, let's do this." I pull out Dominus Clavis and slam it against the metal gate. Perspective: Fluttershy When the gate stops at the top, we all stare at the city before us. Perfectly intact. No damage. No signs of any war or suffering. Just tall stone buildings and bright lights shining down from above. The only thing that I don't think is suppose to be here are the black markings on the walls of the buildings. They look like some kind of weird mix between Miles' writing and pony writing. "So... are we going in or not?" Crimson asks as all of the mercs step inside the city. The rest of us eye each other before hesitantly following them inside. It's eerie walking through these streets and not having them be destroyed. The buildings follow the same design as the others, having shorter buildings by the dome that grow in height until they become surpassed by the P.C.H. None of them are damaged. None of them look vandalized, burned, or as if they've had anything violent happen.... ever. It really feels as if this is the way the city should be.... minus the black markings. "KOR BAL TENG IITALBOR!" We all freeze up when we hear a voice scream from down an alley. Without saying anything, Miles runs towards the nearest alley as he draws his sword. We all run after him, trying our best to keep up. "What is... it... Miles..." Rainbow Dash starts to say when we all come around the end. Down the street are four... people. Only they're not people. They are bipedal, have light grey skin, and are fairly skinny compared to Miles. A few of them have long silver hair and lack noses; instead having slits that open and close. Their eyes are a terrifying pitch black and their teeth are pointed like a reptiles. There are five in front of us, four surrounding one that is on its knees with his hands behind his head. The four are yelling at the one while pointing guns at him. I can't understand what they are saying, but by their body language, I can tell they want to kill him. They wear simple loose pants that end halfway down their shins; most of them being white. Their shirts look as if they took a long rectangular cloth, draped it over their shoulders, and wrapped it around their midsection. The top cloths have intricate designs with various colors, ranging in all hues. They haven't noticed us, and none of us know what to do... except for Miles, who has started walking towards them. Maybe he's going to try and talk them out of killing them- "YOU FUCKERS!" He yells, getting their attention, before launching straight for the closest one. When the being turns around, he finds Miles coming to a slide and burying his sword in his gut. He holds it there for a second to stare down the being before he rips it up and out of him, sending black blood gushing out at his feet. The other four stare at Miles, completely dumbstruck, until one begins tries to open fire on him. Miles was able to grab his barrel and point it to one of the others before any of the shots could hit him. He brings his sword over and down the others front, chopping both his arms clear off. He falls back screaming in pain as his stumps pour black blood down his side. With those two dead, I finally break out of my trance and rush over to this massacre. As Miles grabs the kneeling one by his throat and lifts him up; pinning him to a wall, I bring my rifle around and point it to his head. "Put. Him. Down." I warn as I rack my first round into my rifle. "What the buck do ya both think yer doin?" Applejack yells as Miles tightens his grip, choking the innocent person. The mercs surround us and push the other being against the wall, beside the one being choked. "Fluttershy, put the gun down." Twilight begs. I glance to her for a second before looking back to Miles, pressing the barrel of my rifle against his helmet. He glances slightly to me before letting go of the poor thing. He drops to the ground and coughs as he catches his breath. "We don't ki-" "You weren't-" "AH!" The two of them yell out as they cover their heads with their hands. "SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Miles yells at them, making them yells again, holding their heads a bit tighter. "BRAH WHE FRASK IL BAHG!" Yells the person who wasn't being choked as he glares at Miles. "Shut-" "AH!" "Miles, stop talking!" Twilight yells as she steps forward. "These unfamiliar assholes need to die!" Miles yells over their agonizing screams. "WILL YOU SHUT THE FU-" "PREHA! PREHA, ME-IL IK WHE VISHA! PREHA!" Begs the once choked one as he completely bows before Miles. He goes to punch him, but stops when I jump in the way. "Move." "No." "..." "..." "..." CRASH From all around us, doors burst open as more and more of the creatures run towards us, surrounds us within seconds. We all form a perimeter as they point their guns at us, shouting orders that we can't understand. The mercs start yelling back at them as well, telling them to 'back off' and 'just try me meatbag!'. "ENOUGH!" Miles yells, getting all of the creatures to simultaneously yell in pain. Twilight looks to Miles, and then to the crowd, then back to Miles. "AAAHHH!" She yells, getting odd looks from everyone. "Twilight, what are you-" "Miles, scream again." Twilight orders, getting an odd look from him. "Why?" "AH!" They yell again. "Take off your helmet!" Twilight demands, even though she does it with her magic anyway. "What the fuck Twilight!? This is probably the-" GASP The crowd steps away from us as Twilight lowers Miles' helmet. They gawk at him as he glares back, clenching both his fist as he does so. The ones behind us look to one another before scrambling away, where one runs through the crowd and the other moves in front of Miles. "Back the fuck off!" Miles yells at him. He reels back in surprise, blinking as he stares at Miles. "Bah-ruul." He mutters. "Go fuck your... DON'T FUCKING TOUCH ME!" Miles yells as he slaps his hand away. The creature ignores his discomfort and tries to touch him again, but jumps away when Miles moves to attack him. "Bah-ruul." He says again, louder. "Fuck you." Miles says to the creature as he grabs his helmet from Twilight. "BAH-RUUL!" He yells as he turns to the crowd, getting a loud murmur from them. "Bah-ruul iet whe ayyeh!" "The fuck are they talking about?" Miles asks as he steps back. I look back to the one creature who is walking around us and watch him for a bit, trying to figure out what he's trying to tell his people. "I think... he's... hmm... it looks like he's proving something. Like, he looks like a weight has been lifted from his shoulders." I say, getting a scoff from Miles. "Pfft, Unfamiliar don't feel remorse. They just kill and-" "Like you?" I cut him off, making him shake his head. "No, I remember those I've killed. And I remember those who have been killed. I don't need to understand them to know that they've forgotten about the humans. But I will make them remember." The once choked creature steps forward, getting him to look my way. "I'm... " There are a lot of eyes on me... a LOT. "Fluttershy! What do you think you're doing? Back away from them!" Miles barks, but I ignore him and step closer to the being. He squats down and watches me closely, tilting his head slightly. I take a deep breath and sling my weapon, getting a surprised look from the creature. "My name is Fluttershy, who are you." I ask, sweating slightly as I feel the intense hatred on the back of my head coming from Miles. "Ke-wha?" He asks. "Fluttershy." I say as I hold my hooves to my chest. I then point to him and wait for a few second. When he doesn't answer I do it again. "Fluttershy..." "Jueh Kor." "Joo..... eh?" "Ia, Ia. JU.... EH, Kor." "Jueh Kor." I say, getting a nod from him. "Jueh Kor, Fluttershy." I say as I point to him and then myself. "Flooter she-eh?" "Fluttershy." "Fl... Flut...er.. she... Fluuttershey?" Close enough. I nod and get a light laugh from him. He turns to the crowd and yells my name, getting them to repeat it as they begin to step closer, still holding their weapons up. "We need to put our weapons away." I tell the others as I holster my own weapon. "Fuck that noise. We need to retreat back and make a plan of attack." Miles says as he begins to back away. "Uh... I don't think we're going to be able to get away from them." Crimson says as he sheaths his sword. "Miles... I think we should try and communicate with them. Maybe-" "THEY DESTROYED MY PEOPLE! YOU WANT ME TO TALK WITH THEM! NO! NEVER, IF YOU'RE NOT WITH ME ON THIS... then.... then." He looks away for a second as he tries to force the words out. He shakes his head a few times before leaping straight up, jetting to the top of the building. The people around us gasp in surprise as we keep quiet. "Should we go after him?" Rainbow asks. "We should give him a moment first, he needs to calm down," Rarity says. "What do we do about... them?" Applejack asks. "Don't worry, I've got this." Bada Boom says as he steps forward, gaining the attention of the people. He takes a deep breath as he looks from face to face before..... turning around.... and waggling his rear end at them. ... ... ... ... "YOU IDIOT!" Every merc yells as they dogpile him, trying to hide him as he laughs hysterically. The crowd murmurs some more before Jueh steps forward, a little confused. "Il bahg wohr teh dori erroblact? Waqued." They finally drag him to the back of the group and restrain him. I move over to Twilight as she holsters her gun and pull her aside. "What do you think?" I ask her. "I think the frequency Miles voice was emitted was doing damage to their ears." She says as she glances back to the rooftop. "No, I meant about them." I say as I incline my head to the Unfamiliar. "Do you think we can trust them?" "Well... do we really have a choice? Miles left, we're out gunned, and I think-" "Preha, frum akil wu." Jueh Kor says as he waves us over with a hand. The crowd partially begins to disburse, some staying to watch us. At least they're all holstering their weapons. I look to Twilight and share an uneasy look before leading the group towards Jueh. "It's amazing how they trust you enough not to attack me!" The orc, I think his name is Harnkba, says to me as he leads the Mercs behind us. "You weren't really going to shoot Miles... were you?" Twilight asks, ignoring the orc. I look away from her as we enter one of the many buildings. "I.... killing innocents is wrong." I leave it at that. I don't know if I could ever hurt one of my friends, but in that moment... I'm just glad he let him go. Perspective: Miles I jump from rooftop to rooftop, fuming in rage. How could she possibly side with them? Those monsters killed millions! They took Dolum from me! They... they... they all deserve to DIE! I come to a stop when a wall comes before me. It stands several stories over the rest of the buildings and goes from the south side to the north side, cutting the city in two. Dotted throughout it are large bunkers with guns fixed in their windows. I charge the jets on my back and launch myself to the top. Several Unfamiliar patrol this area, clad in Terradisian armor. They spot me and gawk, unsure how to respond to my presence. I slide my helmet back on and charge for the closest one, pushing my magic to its limit. Six targets light up on my HUD. I whip my arms to the right and pull the ground out from the first one before he could respond. Spinning around, I bring my arms over my head and bring a chunk of the stone wall above my head. I begin to enchant it as they open fire on me. Their archaic bolts do little to nothing against my armor. Once done, I hurl the ball of flaming earth at them. BOOM The explosion goes out in a flat circle, breaking a portion of the wall along with it. Chunks of flaming earth rain down all around me as more gun fire comes from behind me. I bring my hands before my chest and push forward, sending a ball of energy that obliterates the closest target. I march towards the three others, laughing as they try to run from me. GIVE ME CONTROL I grab the farthest one magically and pull him towards me, knocking the others off the wall in the process. I bring him to face me and I begin to force his body into a ball. His screams of pain die out when he's a meter in diameter, but I keep going. I push and push until the ball shrinks down to less than that of my fist. "MORTILL IH!" Yells an Unfamiliar as more and more of them begin to pour out of the two bunkers. I turn to the left and push forward, sending black gunk over that group. I CAN GIVE YOU THE POWER TO ERADICATE THEM FROM EXISTENCE, GIVE ME CONTROL They simultaneously open fire on me. I ignore all of the readings on my screen and charge at the closest group, charging at them with my jets roaring. I swing my fist and punch the first persons head clear off. I bring my arm back and swipe another person off the wall, laughing as he falls to his death screaming. A few try to restrain my magically.. magically..... they stole human magic.... they.... will "INTERIBUNT CARNIFICINA!" I yell at the top of my lungs, making them all cringe and lose their grip on me. I push my arms out and blast two of them away with soul fire. Still firing, I spin around and bring my palms down, causing an explosion that blinds me for a second. When I can see again I find many of them hiding behind their magical shields. GIVE IN TO THE VOID "Lets kill these sons of bitches." I say with a mad grin. I feel an icy coolness wash over me as the new power begins to sink in. I double over as I feel all of my power lines begin to force their way into their new shape, seemingly ripping my skin apart. I look to my hands and watch as my gauntlets fade away from the black ropes slither out from my magical portals. I feel the dame effect happen to my heels as well as my back and helmet. "FINALLY! I HAVE CONTROL! TURN TO THE VOID AND RELISH IN YOUR DEMISE!" I suddenly launch down towards the right and crash onto a nearby building. I hadn't meant to do that, my body did it on its on accord. Corpus has literally taken control, something that I thought was metaphorical. I don't care right now, as long as he kills Unfamiliar, I don't care what happens. He leaps from rooftop to rooftop using all of the icy void ropes to propel us quickly through the air. We eventually make it to the floor and make our way towards the P.C.H. Several Unfamiliar run out into the street and open fire on us, but they quickly get a black rope through them. About half way to the P.C.H, some military vehicles show up before us. On is a tank and the other two are troop transporters. Corpus lowers us to the ground and pulls the ropes back within the portals. He giggles a bit as he just stands there, letting them form their ranks and aim the large canon our way. You can take them out anytime now. "Where's the fun in that?" Where's the fun in getting shot a thousand times? "Just wait, I do not intend to let my new body be damaged." You mean my body. "What was your body, enjoy the ride mortal." BOOM The tank opens fire. Faster than my mind could process, Corpus sent out a rope, caught the projectile, and flung it back at their ranks, killing several of them. He lets out a loud laugh before running towards them, dragging several of the ropes along the way. In the corner of my view I see a small Unfamiliar child watching from inside one of the buildings. A little girl by the looks of it- "PERISH!" I snap back to the front to find Corpus ripping the spine out of someone as the ropes from our back whip around the others. Limbs fade off as they try to shoot back at me, only to have their shots blocked by the black ropes. I look back to the side and watch as the little girl cries in her mothers arms, watching me destroy these people. We need to back off, there are civili- "WEAKLING! YOU DO NOT HAVE THE RESOLVE TO DO WHAT MUST BE DONE! DID YOU NOT SAY THEY ALL DESERVE TO DIE!?" But she's just a child! She- "They will all die." Not if I have anything to say about it. My body falls to the ground as I try to fight for control. All around me I hear screams and gun fire and I writhe around the floor. Corpus fights back by shooting out random beams of icy void, but the more I try to take control, the smaller the beams become. I can feel myself slowly gain control over my movements. First my legs, then my arms, and lastly my torso. Once I think I have total control, I push myself up and test moving my limbs, assuring that I have control. YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS "Maybe, but for now I am in control." I sigh in relief as... as.... as I suddenly feel really good. I look down to my hands and.... ... ... "FUCK YEAH!" I yell as I realize my magic has turned off. I remove my now broken armor and take a look at my torso. NO LINES! Nothing! "MILES!" I look over and see the group running towards me. "Guys! Check it out, no magic!" I yell as I wave a hand at them. "WE NEED YOUR MAGIC!" Rainbow yells as a tank comes around the corner and aims at us. From around all of the corners more Unfamiliar come running, aiming their weapons at us. I raise my hands and.... nothing happens. I try shaking my magic on, but it won't happen. Well.... fuck you to Corpus. "What happened while I was gone?" I ask as I pull out my sword from the broken armor and take my stance. "Jueh was talking to some of his people when... these people attacked. From what I've been able to gather and guess, it looks as if they're divided in two and are on very shaky terms. Something must have provoked them to attack." Twilight informs me as she raises the shield from her rifle. "That.... was probably me-" "MILES!" They all yell as they glare at me. "YOU SHOULD BE PROUD OF ME! I only killed.... like fifty of them! I even built up the nerve to stop!" I yell back in my own defense. Most of them just roll their eyes as an Unfamiliar in elegant robes approaches us. He takes a look at me and smiles, making my skin boil. "Prag teh." "When do you think they'll learn we don't understand them?" I ask Pinkie, getting a shrug in response..... and then a violent shake. "Still, the doozy still hasn't happened." "I know, I'm scared too." "JUEH KOR!" He yells, getting the crowd to start an uproar as four armed guards bring him forward. They kneel him by our shield and bring a knife to his throat. The robed Unfamiliar taps the shield as he presses the blade to his throat. "Pfft, like we'd drop the shield for- why are you dropping the shield?" I turn around and gawk at Twilight as she throws down her weapon. "Alright, mercs, I need to to- why are you throwing down your weapons?" Everyone drops their weapons and raises their hooves- hands- claws. "Bah-ruul, tehg werk." The robed Unfamiliar says as he barely breaks his skin. "Do we have to? It's just one-" "MILES!" "FINE! Gosh, lets save all the Unfamiliar! This is a good plan, this won't back fire. FUUUUUUUUUUCK!" I drop my sword and cross my arms. "Ahem." He points to my trench knife and motions to the ground. "I really hate you all right now." I say as I pull it out and drop it. "Trust me Miles, you're doing the right thing," Fluttershy assures me. I just roll my eyes and turn back to the other Unfamiliar, I hate today, I hate everyone in it, and I'll probably hate everything that's about to happen.... I should have stayed home. "FOREE? BRAH ERRINA QU AF AKIL HENT?" He asks the crowd. "DREG QOJ!" They all begin to chant. "IAH!" Jueh.... uh, that just feels dirty; Jueh yells as he fights his captors. The others circle around us and yell orders that we don't understand completely. They keep pointing towards the P.C.H., we I guess they want us to go that way. We begin our walk there, getting a good view of the rest of the city along the way. Many of the homes are occupied. Most, if not all, of the women stay indoors and watch us from a distance. Actually, I don't see any women coming out of the buildings. Not even the children. I can see little boys, but no females anywhere. "Anyone want to bring me up to speed?" I ask casually, getting annoyed looks from some of the girls. "Well, Jueh was trying to tell us something, but obviously we couldn't understand him." Crimson tells me. "From what I could guess, the city is divided. Each of them have been waiting for something to push the others over the edge... and it looks like it was you," Twilight says. "The people on the other side seemed scared, they knew this fight was coming-" BOOM We all stop for a moment when we hear explosions and gun fire in the distance. The sounds of a large fight fill the air as we're ushered into a part of the wall that blocks us from the P.C.H. Jueh... still feels weird to say that, protests even more, but stops when they punch him in the gut. We go through a dark hallway before exiting through the other end. We climb the steps to the P.C.H. and enter the mico station. It's still in its pristine condition, unscathed from all the years in their care. Why are they bringing us to the Research and Development floor? If they were going to torture or kill us, the Military floor would be best. They send several of the guards through first and then Jueh, a poor decision by their part. Once half of them are gone, I spin around and deck the closest Unfamiliar in the face, knocking his ass out. "COME ON, WE'RE GETTING OUT OF HERE!" I yell as I grapple the next Unfamiliar and spin him around, prying his gun from his hands. I run from the door and provide cover fire. I make it out the door and turn around, waiting for the others to come running out after me. ... Anytime now. ... Come on, it shouldn't be that hard with a fucking giant ass orc on our side. ... Okay, what the fuck. I walk back through the entrance and gawk at the others as they just stand there. "What the fuck?" "Sorry, we couldn't leave Jueh behind. And he-" "Fuck him! We need to get going!" I yell as I the remaining guards pin me down. I roll my eyes and toss the gun down. Whatever, I still got one of them, two if you count the guy I punched. "Why couldn't you leave him?" "Well-" "Obief!" The robbed Unfamiliar yells. He grabs Jueh and tosses him on the platform and marches straight to me. He snarls at me as he points to the platform. SMASH He recoils back as he holds his face. A good headbutt should let him know not to get too close to me. THUNK I stumble forward as the two guards behind me butt me forward with their rifles. I walk forward and shoot my group a look, getting some to look away while others just return the look. I take the platform and.... "Oh fuck that." I say as I step around and flash back to the mico station. "No. I don't care what reason you have, we're not doing that." "Miles-" "No! It's suicide! I'm not risking our lives for some asshole I don't know. It's not worth it." As if on queue, one of the guards grab Twilight by her mane and point a rifle at her head. "..... *sigh* why do you guys have to make friends with the things I hate most?" "Please Miles, just trust us. This is the right thing to do." Fluttershy says as she gives a worried looks to Twilight. I sigh again as I take the platform back. Okay, last time we did the first world war, outpost Echo, and the fall of the Americas. I need to remember those. "Are those giant eggs?" Twilight asks as she appears on the platform. "No, they're simulation pods. War simulators to be precise. Last I checked, they had a few kinks in them and nearly killed me and my friends. I have a feeling they're going to put us in there." "Look! Giant eggs!" Pinkie exclaims as she appears next. "No magic, the damage was coded incorrectly so it would transfer to the next simulations, it was also set way too high-" "Are those giant eggs?" Rainbow asks as she appears next. "Even better, if you die in there, you die in reality. Safeties were never installed." "Um... are those-" "NO! They are not giant eggs! They may look like them, but they are not!" I yell at Applejack. "Miles, please understand that Jueh needs to live. His-" "I don't give a fuck!" I yell at Twilight, scaring her a bit. "We're going to die in there! What could be so important that we should risk our lives for that monster!?" Fluttershy appears next, and rolls her eyes at me. The Unfamiliar grab me and begin to drag me towards the next simulation pod. I try to break free of their grasp, but they're are too many of them to do so. They remove what's left of my armor and open the pod. The top half lifts up and separates, revealing the seat inside. Wires fill the rest of the pod as a blue light glows from within it. They force me into the seat, getting several of the wires to wrap around my arms and legs, holding me in place. "WHEN WE GET IN THERE LISTEN TO WHAT I SAY! REMEMBER YOUR TRAINING DASH! WE HAVE TO WORK TO TOGETHER OR WE'LL DIE!" The pod shuts around me as they begin shoot the orc. He was too big to fit, so I guess they did the next best thing. Lucky bastard. "AH!" I yell as I feel several of the wires stick needles into my arms, legs and torso. I try to keep calm and begin to forcibly control my breathing. I never liked small spaces, but adding the needles always made it worse. It feels like an eternity as I wait for the torment to begin. I can hear several of the other pods opening and shutting. Why are trying to save that asshole? I don't get it. They've seen what his people have done to my people, what could he possibly have that would persuade them like this. It doesn't make sense. "AAAHH!" I scream out again as another needle works its way into my neck. Everyone must be in already. Okay, keep calm, remember my training. I need to keep the girls alive, I need to make sure they don't get hurt. I need to- The world around me burns bright white as the simulation begins to load. COMBAT PROGRAM INITIATED. PREPARE FOR BATTLE SCENARIOS DELTA, OMEGA, ALPHA-X, ZERO, AND STELLA. SAFETIES ARE NON-FUNCTIONAL. SOUL BASE DETECTION NOT RESPONDING. PLEASE BE ADVISED, NEUROLOGICAL WIRING FAULTY, PLEASE CALL MAINTENANCE FOR TECHNICAL SUPPORT. VIVAT HUMANITATEM. I have to keep them safe. The world blurs into view. We're in the middle of some earthen barrens. There are scorched craters all around us as a vast empty land fills our surroundings. To our backs is a large trench with pill boxes dotting it. A few helmets can be seen as well, some with bullet holes in them. I look down and find myself in some tattered brown suit with a rifle strapped to my back and a revolver holstered to my belt. I look over and see the girls in similar suits as well. The machine somehow tailored it to them. I look around a bit more until I hear siren go off in the distance.... wait... "RUN! RUN FOR THE TRENCHES!" I yell as I take off at full speed for the large trench. "INCOMING ARTILLERY!" "What are you talking about? My tail isn't-" KRA-BOOM I nearly fall over as a massive explosion shakes the ground beneath me. I scramble on all furs for a second before leaping into the trench. I stand back up and pull the others in as well. "WHERE'S PINKIE!?" I yell over the din of constant artillery exploding. None of them respond, too preoccupied with covering their ears. I look back into no mans land and see a tuft of pink in a crater. Without a second thought I leap back out of the trench and run straight for her. Shrapnel flares past me as explosions dot the landscape, blocking my view from time to time. I fall forward when I find Pinkie, covering her with my own body. I can feel her shaking beneath me, telling me she's alive at least. I hold out there for a while before scooping her up and making a run for the trench again- BOOM I fall into the trench as I feel a burning pain in my leg. I look down and see a light flesh wound, nothing to worry about at the moment. I ignore my own pain and look Pinkie over. She has a deep shrapnel wound on her rear right leg. It's bleeding profusely with a piece of metal sticking out of it. I take my jacket off and wrap it around the wound, tying it off tightly. "MEDIC!" I yell over the explosions. "MEEEEDDDIIIIIIIIIIIIIC!" "Miles." Pinkie says softly. I cover her with myself as another explosion hits nearby. "This isn't fun." "I know, but don't worry. I'll keep you safe." "Promise?" "GET READY FOR A FIGHT!" I yell to the others as the artillery begins to fade out. They all look to me in confusion as I pull my rifle... or what's left of it out. I drop it and take Pinkies, it looks operational. "TROOPS ARE CHARGING FOR US! WE NEED TO HOLD THE LINE TO BEAT THIS SCENARIO! GET UP! IF YOU CAN FIT SOMETHING INTO THE TRIGGER GUARD GET READY TO SHOOT! DASH, WATCH OVER PINKIE!" I march down the line and force the others to stand and hold their weapons. They try to ask me a few questions, but I ignore them as I make sure they're all ready for this. "Are those them?" Crimson asks. I turn around and watch as soldiers in tan uniforms come running out of the pill boxes. The programming is off though. Some repeat actions, other have black and white fuzz for faces. "No, those are our allies. Our enemies will have dark grey and pointed helmets. Find any knives or use your rifles as clubs. If-" "HERE THEY COME LADS!" I look over the trench and see a wall of people running for us. Machine gun fire roars from the pill boxes as the mow them down. But no matter how many they kill, more seem to come. I take aim and start taking shots, these are bolt action guns. They're too slow to be effective right now. Bismuth, Jueh, and Jax take positions next to me and mimic my actions, watching me closely. They're shots aren't that useful, but I don't have room to complain right now. Small explosions begin to dot their lines. I look over to see Bada Boom throwing some grenades. CLICK "Fuck!" I drop down and begin to reload. It takes a little bit, but I figure it out. "AH!" I look over and see Bada take a shot in the shoulder. He drops the grenade before him and falls on top of it- BOOM I fall back as a red mist sprays everywhere. Luckily for the rest of us, his body took the explosion. I look over and see the terrified looks on some of the girls' face. I stare at them for a bit before remembering myself and finish reloading. I pop back up and take aim. their lines have made some progress... too much progress. I look to the pill box to my right and begin to run to it when I see the gun just sitting there, not firing. The gunner was shot in the head while the loader is constantly moving ammo from the side to the gun, stuck in a constant loop. I jump on the gun and cock the next round in before opening fire. The gun shakes as I swivel from side to side, tearing limbs and punching holes into the enemy indiscriminately. All too soon, my gun clicks. I turn to the side and pause when I see Fluttershy handing me another drum of ammo. I can see the fear in her eyes as she shakes, rattling the ammo in her hooves. "Make sure to tell me if they make in the trench. I should need ammo every thirty seconds, can you do that?" I ask as I begin to reload, fumbling slightly from not knowing exactly how it works. She nods and moves to the doorway. I turn back around and continue to shoot the enemy into submission. I can see the ones out of my line of fire slowly making their way towards our trench, but I keep my focus on the enemies in front of me. "AMMO!" "MILES! THE TRENCH!" I drop the machine gun and run out the door. Several troops have made it inside. Some are fighting the A.I.'s, but the rest are fighting the mercs. I pick up a rifle and fix the bayonet to it before charging the first one. I ram the blade into his side and pull him off of Dash. He slumps to the ground and bleeds out quickly enough. Rainbow yells her thanks before jumping one of the other soldiers, holding a bayonet in her hooves as she stabs him in the throat. I look back in time to bring my rifle up and block another rifle. We push against each other before I muscle him against the wall. I knee his stomach a couple of times before smacking the butt of my own rifle against his head. He falls to the ground and tries to get back up, but falls flat when I ram my blade between his shoulders. "MILES!" I turn around and freeze up when I see a barrel pointing right at my face. ... ... ... "Oh sweet Barbra it froze." I sigh in relief as I move around the person. All of the A.I.'s have stopped moving completely. Some are mid jump while others are stuck in fighting poses. "Okay, I don't know how long this is going to last, so go through and kill as many of the enemy soldiers as possible. Where are Pinkie and Rarity?" "Rarity took her to the other bunker to watch over her. What's going on? Why are they-" "We don't have time for explanations. Just do as I say or we'll pay for it later!" I begin to run towards the other pill box. Halfway there someone pulls on my shoulder and forces me to look at them. "Bah-ruul-" I silence him when I point my rifle at his face. "This," I say as I point around us, "is on you." I point at him. He sighs and nods slowly, backing away from me. I turn back and make my way as quickly as possible to the pill box. Rarity has Pinkie laying on a cot as she tries to dress the wound. The shrapnel has been removed and she has stopped the bleeding. Her white hooves have turned dark red from all the bleeding, and she seems... distant. "Rarity.... RARITY!" "Huh?" She pauses to look at me before going back to work. I shake my head and pull her away, getting her to break down a bit. "Miles! She was bleeding, and she passed out, and I can't use my magic, and-" "Rarity." I mover her face to look me straight in the eyes, silencing her. "Breath slowly. Inhale, exhale, nice and slow. You did good Rarity, now I need you to stay with Pinkie and make sure she doesn't stop breathing. Are you ready for this?" "No... No I can't do this! This was... too much Miles. The monsters and bots and... it was never anything real. These people-" "Are not people. It's all written program, none of this is real." "But they were screaming in pain! They were bleeding! Pinkie is in pain! That's real! Pinkie is real!" She yells back. "I know, this is why I didn't want to do this. But if we stick together, we can pull through this. Just be sure to keep Pinkie safe, okay?" She shakes her head as she looks back to Pinkie. I can understand her distress, but right now we need to make sure we're fully taking advantage of this stall. I walk out to find all of the mercs, and Dash, slitting the throats of the frozen enemies. They already have many of them dealt with, all that really remain are the ones in no mans land. "Miles, what's next?" Rainbow asks. "Next we-" I stop when everything suddenly goes white. I stumble back as the brightness forces me to close my eyes. I blink when I feel a spray of water hit my face. I look around to find myself in an amphibious landing craft of some sort. I grab the rail on the side to steady myself as the choppy water crashes against the sides. I look down and find myself in a new uniform. I have a green jacket on with dark brown pants and a bucket helmet on my head. Long boots are strapped to my feet and have a light brown cover on them. I have some semi- auto gun on my back and a pistols on my side, as well as a large pack on my back. "What's going on?" I look over and see Bismuth and Dash in the same transport as me. They'er in similar uniforms as me, but each have different guns. I peer over the edge and see the others looking for us as well. We're spread out over four craft as dozens are heading towards a cliff that has a large bunker on the top. Several metal X's dot the sandy area below the cliff. "SIXTY SECONDS!" The driver yells from behind. "Okay, I think we have to take the bunker. Use the metal things for covers and try to meet up with the others. Bismuth, you're with me. You and me will take the bunker. Dash, I want you you to get the others and keep them safe-" An explosion of water derails my thought process. In the distance I can hear the thumping of artillery, followed by more watery explosions. "Captain?" "Right, get them as close to the cliff as possible. Move fast and be weary of the machine gun fire, the bunkers probably have several there." "Right!" Everyone acknowledges. "THIRTY SECONDS!" "Why are the guns in this plastic?" Bismuth asks as he toys with his weapon. "They probably can't get wet. Don't take it out until we're on dry land." "I CAN'T FLY!" Rainbow yells as she flaps her wings. "FIFTEEN SECONDS!" "Then don't fly!" I yell as I move to the other side. One of the other craft explode as an artillery shell finds its mark. I can see one of the other craft land and drop its front. Bullet fire tears through the infantry as they try to run out. The only ones I see make it are the ones who jump over the side. "'FIVE SECONDS! GET READY TO CLEAR THE RAMP!" "JUMP OVER THE SIDE!" I yell as I grab Dash and toss her over the edge. The ramp drops down and a hail of fire rings through our vehicle. All of the other troops try to run forward, but are quicky filled with holes. Bismuth falls onto me and forces me to the ground as round after round tear into his body. Suddenly, the fire moves elsewhere, giving me a chance to get out of here. I push his limp body off of me and run for land. A trail of bullet fire makes its way towards me, but I make it to the metal X just in time to dodge them. I look around and many of the girls doing the same... I don't see Pinkie or Rarity. Hopefully they're just hiding. "BAH-RUUL!" I look over as Jueh falls down beside me, trying to use the cover I have. "Of course I get stuck with you." He looks at me and rolls his eyes as he looks to the incoming fire. I go for my rifle... when I realize I don't have it anymore. "AH!" I jump a bit when I feel something touch my wound. I look over to Jueh and push him off. "Miles!" I look over and see Shadow Dancer waving to me. "We have the others, let's get-" A bullet slams through his skull and drops him. I cringe a bit but look around for another weapon. There's a gun just out of reach to my left. I look back to the incoming fire before jumping out to grab it. I roll over and duck behind the closest barricade- THUNK "AAAAH!" I yell out as I hold my right arm. "I'M HIT! FUCK!" I growl a bit as I ripe off part of my jacket and begin to tie off my wound. "FUCK! YOU, JUEH!" He looks over to me and nods. "GET READY!" I point with my head as I start to unwrap my weapon. He nods slowly as he does the same.... of course he gets a sniper rifle. What do I get? Some large bulky rifle. It has the options to be auto or semi auto, so I guess that's alright. SNAP The machine guns fire stops as Jueh racks the next round. I jump to my feet and charge straight towards the cliff. They made a mound of sand that has barbed wire going along it. That'll be my first stop then. A few tracer rounds start making their way towards me, but I drop down to into the sand mound just in time. "Hey!" Crimson yells as he lands beside me. "What's the plan?" "Uh... work on getting the others here. I'm-" BOOM I look over to see a massive hole being blown in the sand mound. "Well, that makes things easy. I'll head up that way and try to take out the gun turrets-" "I'll go with you!" Jax yells as he lands beside me. "Where's Bismuth?" I shake my head and begin to crawl over to the opening. Several of the A.I's are trying to make their way in, but the gun fire is keeping them at bay. Jueh fires a couple more times, silencing the machine gun fire. He has a... fuck him. "I get up and run for the entrance. We make it to the base of the large concrete bunker and press out backs to it. Jax moves to the side and peers around the corner- PATPATPATPATPAT "OH SHIT!" He falls back as the gunfire peppers around us. "Nearly took my head off there." He laughs as we trade spots. I shake my head as I peer over, hugging as closely to the wall as possible. "They're dug in at the top of the cliff with two machine guns fixed there. Looks a little weak on the front end. Do you have any explosives on you?" I ask as I move back behind the cover. "Nothing. Sorry." I sigh as I load my first round and psych myself up. I jump out in the opening and fire at the mound. My rate of fire is atrocious, but they feel heavy hitting at least. The rounds slam into the weak earth and collapse the mound, dropping the three machine gunners. Several of the A.I. move over and take them out as we move up the stone stairs. We make it to the top and immediately open fire on a group of enemy soldiers as they try to run into the bunker. Ends up I only get twenty shots. I reload as we make our way to the bunker, following some of the A.I.'s, one of which have a flamethrower. We run after them but drop when the tanks from the flamethrower burst into a massive ball of fire. Several other infantry men were caught as well, their screams ringing in my ears as they roll around on the ground. "Let's get... oh shit." Jax lays on the ground with his wings lying limply by his side, charred black from the fire. "It'll be alright... it'll be okay.... it's not real... right?" He asks me weakly. I swallow hard as I try to think of a way to answer him. I can't. I get up and push forward, heading straight for the bunker. I kick the door open and walk in, shooting the gunner in the back as I enter. I check my right and- SPLAT I spin around and watch the headless body fall to the ground. I look back out to the sandy area and see the glimmer of Juehs rifle. The water has turned deep red as bodies litter the ground. Smoke is rising from all over as burnt corpses and small fires litter the landscape. I watch as Jueh runs over to the girls to check on them, I can see all of them safe behind one of the- "AH FUCK!" I yell as the bright white light returns. Another! How many will they force us through!? When my vision returns we all appear in a small room. There seems to be dust everywhere as the walls are made of some kind of adobe. The temperature seems to have gone up as well. I look myself over and discover that I'm in some sand camo uniform with a Kevlar jacket along with a thick helmet. I have an M4 assault rifle, the relic to my rifle of choice along with a pistol. I look over the others when I realize that the simulation pods are sending the dead with us. They aren't mangled or anything, they just drop to the ground as lifeless heaps. Pinkie and Jax drop down as well, but their cries of pain let me know they're at least alive. "Where are we now?" Rainbow asks as she looks over her machine gun. I walk up to her and trade guns before moving to one of the nearby windows. The area we're in is filled with houses made of similar material. Dirt roads fill the area between them as dust fills the air. An uneasy silence fills the town as nothing happens. "I don't know, Crimson, come with me real quick. The rest of you stay down here and keep an eye out for any movement." We head to the back of the room and find some stairs. We take them to the next floor where I go and clear all of the rooms. "What's the plan?" He asks me as I move to the next floor, the top of the roof apparently. The house we're in sits in the middle of a three way street at the bottom of a large town. From here we have a pretty good vantage point, but I don't like how many homes there are. Way too many vantage points for my liking. "We need to-" SNAP I fall back as a round slams right into my chest. The armor I have on caught most of the round, but it wasn't enough. I can feel blood starting to pour out from a small wound. I begin to lose my vision, the three wounds taking their tolls on my body. I vaguely make out Crimson pulling my body back down the stairs to the others. All of the girls come around me and start yelling about something as the room begins to burst into chaos. Bullets shatter stone as Jueh and Jax try to fight back. My arm is burning. My head rolls to the side, giving me a view of Crimson as he fights to keep the door shut. He falls forward as someone with a head wrap breaks through and fills his body with holes. My arm is burning even more now. The man in the head wrap is tackled by Jueh. They wrestle around a bit before the man pushes Jueh off. He turns to fire at me but drops when Jueh pulls his legs out from under him. The man pulls a knife and tries to stab him, but he catches it mid swing. The blade buries itself in his palm, his black blood pouring out from the long cut. He pulls it aside and yells at him, giving me a view of his flat teeth. A light is coming from my arm. It still burns. Jueh brings his knee up and slams it into the person, giving him the edge. He rolls him over and pries the knife from his hand. He tries to slam it down on into the mans chest, but he catches his arm. They fight for a bit before Jueh begins to slowly bury the blade in his chest.... I feel... Distant. As if I'm watching from... elsewhere. A bright light comes from my body as I roll out of the simulation pod. A massive Rainbow shoots out and crashes down onto the Unfamiliar surrounding us, turning them to stone. A mob of Unfamiliar crowd around us and cheer as we leave the P.C.H. Jueh runs to a pregnant woman and falls before her, pressing his face against her large stomach. A group of Unfamiliar guide us to the exit and help us leave. Many things were said, none of which were understood. Worried looks were mainly in my view at this time. I'm on a train... when did this happen? Where are we going? Did they figure out where to go? How? Celestia looks sad, not as sad as Luna though. ... ... ... I'm in some kind of cavern full of gems... ... ... ... ... ... The bright lights are back, though they aren't making the rainbow again. ... ... ... ... I'm tired. ... ... ... ... ... I should go to sleep... ... ... ... ... Luna doesn't cry in my sleep, sleep sounds good. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... "Shhhhh, it's all over now. It's time to rest. Don't worry soldier, the fight is over. Chaos will rain now. Sleep." "Altum?" "Soon, rest now. You story is over now." ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. .. .. .. . . . . .
Chapter 176 Party Time ChallengesChapter 176 Party Time Challenges Perspective: Miles After a long and much needed nap I finally wake up. Shadow is still nestled against me, so I decide to stay here a bit longer. I saw Luna in my dream, the real Luna that is. Though I was dreaming of being human, so I guess I get to really surprise her when she gets here. I'm sure things will end... Maybe I should save those thoughts for when I'm not laying with my daughter. Yeah, good idea. Okay, different thoughts then... I have to pee. After some careful maneuvering I slip out from bed and head into the bathroom. Okay, have to pee... can't really aim it though. Well... hmm.. I'll just sit down I guess? Okay, this is getting ridiculous. Fuck it, I'll just take a shower. I move into the shower and turn the valve... I hate hooves. With no better option, and the need to pee clouding my mind, I bite the valve and awkwardly turn it. The pipes groan a water begins to pour out from the shower head. With that covered I relax and- "FUCK!" I yell at the top of my lungs as I jump out of the water. Why is it so fucking cold? It's practically ice now! What the fuck? "Dad?" Shadow asks as she steps into the room. We both freeze and stare at each other... wait, she's staring at something else. I follow her gaze and- "In the shower, really? That's... disgusting Dad." She says as she begins to gag. "Why are you still in here, get out!" I say as I cover myself, instantly regretting it. "Why couldn't... you use... *gag* the toilet?" She asks between gags as she backs herself into the door. "Out!" I yell, getting her to run. Once she's gone I sigh in relief and stop covering myself. Well... at least I'm already in the shower. After figuring out how to use the other valves and washing up I finally get out of the shower and dry myself off. I'll probably need to talk with Shadow about what she saw... or didn't see. I guess sheaths are a good thing. *sigh* I really need to work on locking doors. After tying a bed sheet around myself I head downstairs and- "SURPRISE PARTY!" "FUCK!" I yell as I try to run away, instantly tripping over myself. The Spartans, the girls- young and old- all of the Terradisians as well as several other acquaintances of mine surround me and start chanting surprise party. "No... no....NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Perspective: Storm "I can't believe he passed out." Damian snickers as we lay him on the couch. I chuckle as well as I pull the sheet off of him. "Yeah, but why did we do this again?" I ask him, getting him to roll his eyes as if the answer was obvious. "To punish him for making us believe he was dead. Duh. That, and now I owe Dusty Scrolls five bits." "Who?" "Don't worry about it. Now, let's get this party started." Perspective: Miles Ah man... I just had the worst dream terror of my life. Everyone was laughing, I was forced to be at a party, I had flashed my daughter. Awful. Just awful. Surely my friends aren't that evil. With a bit of a stretch I open my eyes and- "AH!" I yell as I grab hold of the couch. Mingling, snacks, music, dancing, fuck! My friends are evil! I glance down suddenly and immediately cover myself. "WHO TOOK MY SHEET!" "Miles, welcome back to the land of the living!" Damian says as he walks over to me. "Damian! What the fuck is going on? Why are you all here? WHERE IS MY BED SHEET!" I yell at him, getting him to laugh. "We hid it. Now you have to walk around in the buff. As for the party- oh, sorry. Was I not suppose to say party? I know you don't like the word party. Here, I'll stop saying party, because you hate parties-" PUNCH "... worth it." Damian says from the ground. I stand up and begin to move around the room, keeping my backside to the wall. "MILES!" Twilight says as she runs over to me. "Hey Twilight- DON'T HUG, DON'T HUG, NAKED!" I yell as she hugs me. I quickly push her away and back up against the wall. Twilight gives me an odd look before shrugging it off. "Sorry, you must not be taking this well, being a pony and all." She says as she leans over and examines me a bit more. "Huh, odd that it would ponify your cutie mark-" "Can you not stare at my ass?" I ask as I sit down, breaking her gaze. "Sorry. Are you going to be alright Miles?" "Yeah... maybe... probably not. Look, this is a little too much right now. I can barely run without tripping over myself. Can you please get everyone to leave-" "No can do, Captain." Rainbow says as she walks over with Scootaloo on her back. "We'll only leave once you tell us what happened. How did you do this? Is it permanent? We have questions and we want answers." "Alright, I'll give you guys your answers if you promise to leave afterwards. Deal?" "Deal. I'll get everypony in the living room." She says before running off. I sigh in annoyance. I'd rather do this another time, but if it's going to happen, it's going to happen. Before we start I try to find my bed sheet, but with no luck at all. I tried to prolong the talk, but Twilight simply lifted me into place with her magic. This is going to be a long talk. I start the conversation going over what happen. From my waking up to my discussion with Celestia and ending here. Twilight told me that I couldn't simply deny my kingship, but I assured her that I had a plan for that. From there I simply answered their questions, most of which I had already asked myself. Is this permanent? Will I still have power problems? Why had the Elements attached themselves to me as a necklace? At the end of this I simply sat down and rubbed the bridge of my nose... face? "Anything else?" I ask, getting a silent response. "Good, now if you please I must speak with the Spartans in private." They look to one another before leaving, saying their goodbyes and telling me their joys for having me back. It was good to hear them happy to have me. Once they were gone I turn my attention to the Spartans, tapping a hoof slowly. "So-" "Give me a status update on what the Regiment has been up to for the past months as well as world events." *Silence* "Really? What the fuck have you all been doing?" "Hey! I've been busy, it's just been Statera business. I doubt you want to hear that boring stuff." Damian points out, getting a nod from me. "Good point-" "So am I off the hook?" He asks, full of hope. "Fuck no. Especially after... this. Now, as for the rest of you. Just because I was gone does not mean you get to fucking slack off!" I yell as I march around them. "We haven't been slacking off! We've only been back for a day now! Sir!" "And what do you have to show for it?! Look at all of you, stuck on a cruise ship for two months and you've gone soft! Your resolve has grown weak. Your respect has dwindled and you may as well kiss that killer instinct goodbye. This is a professional military, and you will hold yourselves to that standard! This is not acceptable! This is a fucking disgrace! LOOK AT ME WHEN I FUCKING TALK TO YOU, NIGHT FURY!" I yell as I get in his face. He mumbles something and lazily looks back up to me. "WANT TO REPEAT THAT?!" "Sir, with all due respect, if somepony were to challenge-" "You challenging me?" I ask as I step back from him. He looks back to the others before stepping forward. "I challenge you for the rights of Grand Captain of the Spartan Regiment by rights of blade." The others gawk at him, completely caught off guard by his challenge. "As standing Captain, I accept. Outside, two minutes. Be ready." I leave the living room and begin to head upstairs, having Damian and Storm follow me closely. "Dude, he's going to kick your ass." Damian says as we enter my room. "Thanks Damian, great pep talk." I say as I grab Susurrans claymore. After all these years I finally get to know what this does. "Miles, can you even swing a sword?" Storm asks me, making me scoff. "Are you two serious? I can still fight you know-" "As a pony?" Damian asks, making me doubt myself. "Look, maybe we can-" "No. He challenged me, so I now have to face him or death. You know the rules." They look to each other before nodding slowly. I try to walk out with the sword, but find it odd to walk with three limbs. With no better option, I bite the handle and drag it along with me. Perspective: Storm I wait for Miles to leave the room before asking Damian, "Okay, so do we let him fight or do we help him somehow?" "If we help him, he's just going to get mad. I say we let him fight and kill Night Fury after he wins. Well, you kill him. I don't want to be Captain." "Okay... let's go already then." Perspective: Miles I step out into the front yard and find Night Fury talking with True Will, Dust Devil and Big Mac. Dust looks as if she's about to have a heart attack while Mac and Will have their normal unbiased gaze on. Night Fury turns to me and steps forward, rearing up and drawing his two axes. "Till death or submission. And let that be that." I say as I rear up... and fall back. Okay, that's harder than it looks. "Agreed." He says with a slight chuckle as I get back on my feet... hooves. I take my sword and hold it with both my hooves as tightly as possible. This is going to be hard, really fucking hard. I have far too many handicaps working against me for this. I'll need to be smart if I want to come out on top. He charges forward and takes wide swings at me with his blades. I scramble back and fall over, barely avoid the attack. He charges forward again and tries to bring one of his blades down on me, but I raise my sword and block the attack. A wake of concussive air hits me, but my arm stays up. It doesn't even budge. That should have hit with tremendous force, but instead it felt... weak. Far too weak for his weapons enchantment in addition to his armor and his normal ability. I shake my head and swing my leg under him, getting him to fall over. Before he hits the ground he flies back and gains his footing again, giving me a chance to get back up. He flies forward, trying to knock me back down by using both blades at the same time. I block the attack with my sword, finding it far too easy to hold against. I quickly notice a small flicker of light forming at the base of my blade. I don't get a chance to examine it though, because Night Fury doubles his attack. He pushes forward as he wildly brings down his blades. I shuffle back and move with the blows, blocking each one. The blade is light and moves easily. His attacks aren't fazing me in the slightest, letting me keep my footing. He's forgetting his training and putting too much into his attack, trying to overpower me. All I need to do is wait and take my time. I can hold out far longer than him, I just need an opening... THERE! BOOM I stand there, completely shocked, as Night Fury flies back and tumbles over. Easily ten meters away. How in the fuck did I manage to do that in one blow? I didn't even put that much into it. He gets back onto his hooves and shakes off the attack before circling around me. I hold my claymore up and turn with him, waiting patiently for his attack. "Come on Miles, you got this!" Dust Devil cheers from the side. "Miles! Don't die! I don't want to follow his dumb ass! Only your dumb ass can lead!" Damian adds, making me shake my head. Great moral support. "Eeyup." ... I don't know if that's a compliment or an insult. "Why are you doing this?" I ask when we both finally come to a stop. "The leader of this regiment needs to be strong and able. You could barely walk, so I thought new leadership was needed." He says as he eyes the area around me, finally taking his surroundings into account. "And I'm sure you had the regiments best interest at heart," I say, making him scoff. "I can assure you that I am completely able to lead." "Prove it." He says as he drops his blades and holds up his hooves. I nod to him and stick the blade of my claymore into the ground before stepping forward. "AH COME ON! Just stab the bitch!" Damian yells, earning a smack upside the head from Storm. I ignore him and get my mind into the fight. I need act, not to think. Thinking has made me seem weak, so just act. My body will follow through, just go for it. I push forward and jab at Night, getting him to dodge left. I move forward and continue trying to connect a jab, forcing him to back away. He suddenly jumps up and tries to bring his back hoof across my jaw, but I drop back to dodge the attack. I bring myself up and hold my arms together to block a flurry of kicks from him. When he brings his wings in to drop down, I jab forward and connect with his armored gut. Another quick jab connects with the side of his head, where I hold on. Using all of my strength, I bring him around and slam him on the ground below me. Before he could react, I begin assaulting his head, delivering blow after blow with as much force as I could muster. When he starts to cover his face, I pull one of his legs back and begin to hit critical points, breaking it quickly. One final swing jabs him in the throat, stopping him from screaming. I allow him to gag on his tongue for a moment before pressing a hand to his throat, closing his airway. "Tap out and I'll let you live." I tell him as I start adding my weight. He tries to get out from under me, but is quickly losing the fight. "I'll give you till the count of three. One, two-" TAP "Hmm, thought so." I say as I push off of him. Dust Devil moves to help him, but stops when I hold a hoof out to her. "Let him learn his lesson and suffer. Now, as for the rest of you. Daily regiments will be put in place to get you all back in proper order... Storm, put your fucking hoof down." "Sir, this is important." He says as he steps forward. "Big Mac and myself are entering maternity leave-" "I'm making a Call. Until further notice, you we are all on high alert and will not be leaving for any distractions-" "But-" "Am I to assume you are arguing with me, Lieutenant?" I ask as I step towards him. "SIR NO SIR!" He yells as he snaps at attention. "I'm back, and that means we have a world to fix. We are the Spartan regiment, and we will bring order to this land! AM I CLEAR?" "SIR YES SIR!" They all yell in unison. "Good, first order of business. We're heading back to New Garnet to have some... diplomatic discussions with the remaining Unfamiliar. You are all to head to gather your materials and meet back here in twenty four hours. AND BE GRATEFUL THAT I'M GIVING YOU THAT TIME TO PREPARE!" "THANK YOU SIR!" They all yell again. "DISMISSED!" They all turn and run off in their own direction. I sigh as I turn back and walk inside. I didn't want to be such a dick, but if one of them openly question my ability to lead, then they all have had those thoughts. And those kind of thoughts can be dangerous. Until then, I'll have to ride them pretty hard until I can trust them again. ......................................................................................................................................................... Perspective: Luna I sigh in relief as I set hoof in Equestria. It's good to be back home. I begin to briskly walk down the dirt path as Regina runs up beside me, panting heavily. "WHAT IN THE HELL WAS THAT ALL ABOUT?" She asks me. "What?" "YOU CRASHED A BLIMP!" She yells, practically jumping on place. I roll my eyes and continue on, determined to get home. "Please, I only pushed us along to get here faster-" "Noooooo! You pushed us into a hill and destroyed that blimp! It was goblin made! That's not cheap! And what about the fire!?" "I put it out-" "No you didn't! You just made a larger fire!" She yells before feeling the burnt feathers on her head. "I just made a larger fire to put out the smaller fire. No harm done." I say as I check my surroundings. Maybe another mile and I should be able to teleport to the mico platform in Canterlot. "I swear Luna, I don't like you when you get hormonal. Things get burned." She says as she takes to the air to lazily glide along with me. "Whatever, the sooner we get teleported to Canterlot the better-" "About that." I say as I slow down, getting an uneasy look from her. "Um... I need a favor-" "No." "Please!" "No." "But.., he's been gone for two months!" "NO!" "Come on, when the last time you've got cock?" She shakes her head in bewilderment from my question. Blinking a few times as she tries to think of a response. "Uh... are you really going to let me and Miles-" "WHAT?! NO! That's my man! I was just going to point out how often you get it and how pent up I've been! Pleeeeeeease Regina! What do you want, just ask and its yours! Come on, I need this alone time." "Nnnnnnngh FINE! But you owe me big time! Making me, your best friend, walk all the way to Canterlot! I can't clucking believe how good a friend I am-" "Thank you so much Regina, you're the best!" I say as I hug her. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just go before I change my mind. I swear, if there's one thing I hate, it's walking." She grumbles as I set her down and begin to run down the path. "YOU OWE ME BIG TIME FOR THIS LUNA! DON'T YOU FORGET THAT!" "I KNOW! THANKS AGAIN!" I yell as I charge my horn. Pushing my magic a bit, I teleport all the way to the back of the mountain side. I pause for a moment when I think back to Tia. I should really have a word with her... but I guess it can wait. I run around the mountain top and head down into our secret cave, where I teleport to the closet. I step into the main closet part and hear his voice behind the door. Like a filly excited for hearths warming eve presents I throw the door open and... "Luna!" "No." SLAM ........................................................................................................................................................ Perspective: Pinkie Pie Okay, TB told me not to mess around with having everypony in my head. Just have to play it cool, roll with the punches. At least now I finally get to know what happens in this part of the story- Pinkie.... why? Why you do this? What? OOOOOOOOOOOO, inner monologue thing made it in huh... oh well. HAI PEEPS! Can't wait to get started Solar! Anyway, I'm at Sugar Cube corner... really TB? What? Putting me there? Kind of cliche, don't you think? You live and work there. Where else would you be? Wanna let me have a whack at it? I think they'll like it more. No. Why not?! Because you'll either A: go get tacos with Deadpool, or B: spoil things for another story somehow. No I wont! I totally have a plan C! Pinkie... Please please please please you missed some commas please please please please Reckless fix that please please please please please please it's getting really bad please please please please- FINE! DO IT YOUR WAY! GOSH! Okie Dokie Lokie! If you say so! I hop my way down the road to Carousel Boutique. Rarity and I were having a fun conversation when Miles had his little break down, so I wanted to see if she wanted to finish it up. See? Completely better. Pinkie... I mean, if we just had a party at Miles' place, why would I go back to work? I would have scheduled the day off. Pinkie... Not to mention the Cakes would probably want to have their 'alone' time. I mean, he only- I DON'T WANT TO KNOW THAT FOR THE HUNDREDTH TIME! But he- NO! Then she- NONONONONONONONO Stop before I send a plague of doom! Sheesh, party pooper... pfft- PINKIE! I open the door and skip inside, finding it completely empty. Odd, I surely thought she would have been here. "RAAAAARITY? Are ya home?" I ask as I skip around the room. I pass a mirror and see my reflection, making me giggle a bit. I move back to it and begin to make funny faces. I blink before each face to give it that extra kick. I'm sure the twins will- "Hello Pinkie Pie." "GAH!" I yell when my reflection turns into Discord. "YOU! What are you doing here Mr. Stinkerton! I thought we turned you to stone!" "It would seem I got better." He says as he slithers away, disappearing completely. "Well, whatever you want you can't have it! Fluttershy-" "Oh, don't worry. I'm not after Fluttershy this time." He says from behind. I turn around and see him walking around as one of the mannequins, dressed in a patch-worked suit. "Then... what is it you want?" I ask as I begin to back away from him. My hoof hits something and I fall over. When I open my eyes, the only thing I can see is Discords face. The world around me begins to crumble as his eyes begin to flash different colors. "When laughing only makes you sad, sometimes you need to get mad." "N-no! Laughing is, wait? Mad as in angry?" I ask, making everything suddenly go back to normal. "Um... yes." "Okie dokie lokie! NOOOO! NO! STOP IT!" I yell as the world returns to chaos. "When laughing only makes you sad, sometimes you need to get mad." "St... stop... I... won't do... I won't..." "When laughing only makes you sad, sometimes you need to get mad." "When laughing only makes you sad, sometimes you need to get mad." "Good little pony, now.... have a nice day." SNAP "Pinkie darling, what are you doing on the ground?" Rarity asks me. I look around and sit up, trying to think back. I was talking to TB, making him mad about something.... oh yeah! "Sorry Rarity, I guess I just came here by accident. I was suppose to go get some tacos, bye! LA-la LA LA-laa!" I say as I begin to... whoa. Twitchy eye, itchy hoof, wiggly spine. That's a new one. I wonder what it means. Author's Note Shout out to RecklessRush for picking who Discord visited next! Just a side note, don't forget to join me on Wednesday for some gaming fun! Brony on!
Chapter 193 My HometownChapter 193 My Hometown May 19h, 4133 Perspective: Miles I barely wake up as something warm presses against me. It's been a long week, dealing with the Unfamiliar and such, but I'm just glad to be home. I roll towards the warm source and pull it into my embrace, resting my nose against something equally as soft. I feel a warm breath wash over the end of my muzzle and smile when I feel a pair of soft lips press against mine. "Good morning." I whisper to her. "Welcome back." Luna tells me softly, giving me a kiss on the lips. "How was it?" "Truth or watered down version?" I ask as I open my eyes to look at her. She looks back to me and nods, telling me to continue. "It started out pretty bad." I tell her, getting her to frown. She doesn't say anything, instead waiting for me to finish. "The city was basically divided in the fight. We fought our way to Jueh and formed a proper resistance-" "Miles, you didn't go overboard on them... did you?" She asks hesitantly. "You would have been proud of me, I only killed like... two hundred in the first fight. After that... well, I didn't kill any allies at least." I try, getting a more worried frown from her. "Don't worry, everything is settled now." "How could everything be settled now!?" "Well... I may have changed into a pony in the middle of a fight, and may now be worshipped by all of them." I tell her, getting a shocked look. "... and how exactly did you change?" "Heh... um... I got shot." "Miles-" "It's not like I tried getting shot! There was a sniper and he-" "Wait, a sniper!? What happened!?" She asks as she sits up. Oh shit... why did I say that? "Well..." "Miles Eremita, you tell me what happened right now." She warns me in a firm tone. "Well, it was during our assault on the P.C.H. Night Fury, Dash and I were in lead taking down some heavy encampments when... I took the hit on my back." She immediately reaches behind me and tries to find the wound. "Don't worry, once everything was done they stitched me up." "Miles, I don't like this. I thought you would be able to stay home when you hit maternity leave." She says as she hugs me tightly. "I'm sorry Luna, but it's my duty to do this as Captain. I can't just sit idly by when I know they are down there. Especially if they know we're up here and would want to cause us harm." I soothe her as I rub her back gently. "Don't worry, I still intend to keep that promise to you." "You better!" She retorts as she buries her face in my chest. We spend a while holding each other, content with being in each others hooves. I don't like worrying her like this, but it's inherent with my position. After an extended period of silence she breaks off from me and heads to the restroom. I sigh as she shuts the door slowly. I need to find a way to cheer her up somehow. When an idea comes to mind I get out of bed and head to the bathroom, finding the door unlocked. Luna is sitting outside the bath with the water running, waiting for it to heat up. I come up behind her and sit so that I cover her back. I wrap my fore legs around her chest and rest my head gently besides hers. She leans into me and sighs as I hold her there, leaning against her lightly. "Dust and True came back with a new recruit. Not to mention we have Ellzy and Butterscotch training soon as well." I tell her quietly. "So you're going to be leaving for a month now to train them, whoop-de-doo." She says as she tries to break out of my grasp, but I refuse to let go of her. "Lady, I'm the Captain. I am not supposed to be there the entire training session." I tell her. She pauses for a moment before looking back to me, slightly confused. "But... last time-" "Last time I had to ensure that Storm and Big Mac would be suitable trainers. I've already talked with them both and we have an agreement for the training. They'll each take a week to oversee the operation. I'll only be there for the essential stuff. Basically, anything that requires magic. So instead of two months, I'll only be gone for two broken up weeks." "... wait, two months? I thought it was only for a month." "Well, usually it's three months, but with the limited resources we have to cut stuff out. I doubt they will need to know how to fly an AA-20 anytime soon. So, for the time being, we stick to the basics. Mental, physical, and the arcane." "... but I thought you couldn't use pony magic." "I can't. But Ellzy can learn Terradisian magic, so I'll be teaching him. Along with Spike." I inform her, getting a thoughtful nod from her. "Better?" "... much." She says with a smile. "Now let's stop wasting water and get washed up already." She says as she pulls the plunger for the shower to start. "Sounds good to me." I say as I pick her up and bring her into the shower, getting some high pitched yelps from her. I bring her into the shower and use her like a shield against the water. We spend the next twenty minutes having the most playful shower ever, water be damned. But it all comes to a crashing halt when Luna bolts out of the shower and pukes into the toilet. "Sorry." She grumbles when she collapses at the seat, keeping her face pointed in. "Don't be." I say as I shut off the water. "I'm a little surprised you didn't do that earlier." She replies by heaving more bile into the toilet. I step out and grab a nearby towel and drape it over her back. I try to rub her back and dry her off as she continues to barf into the bowl. "Is there anything I can get you?" "HNG! Bleh, no. Can you get breakfast ready though?" She asks groggily. "Sure, what do you want?" I ask, rubbing her back slowly in an attempt to comfort her somehow. "I don't care, just make it tasty please." She says with a weak smile before vomiting once again into the toilet. "I'll see what I can whip up." I tell her as I grab a towel and head down stairs. I'm not sure what to make for her... I don't even know how to make anything, but I'll do my best. Perspective: Luna Once my stomach settles down and I rinse the bile from my mouth I head downstairs to get some breakfast. When I make it to the bottom of the stairs a wonderful smell fills my nostrils, leading me to the kitchen. I swear, if Miles can cook- jackpot. "LOOK OUT!" "EEP!" THUD BOOM I look over to the stove and see a large column of dark smoke coming from a pot with green goo frothing down the side. Miles goes to say something, but I stop him with my hoof. "Okay, if I'm going to live here, you're going to follow some rules. First, that kitchen now belongs to me until you properly learn to cook. Second, anything you attempt, you clean up afterwards. And lastly, no more tackling the pregnant lady, got it?" "Got it." He answers quickly. He helps me to my hooves and ushers me out as the smoke begins to build up in the house. "Um... lets eat out for breakfast. It's such a beautiful day anyway." I lean back and glance up at the dark, cloudy sky before looking back to him. "I'll get you a sweater... just give me two seconds." He says before running back in. I chuckle a bit as he rushes inside and trips over himself as he rushes up the stairs. "Hello Luna." I jump a little when Fluttershy appears behind me, wearing a light green jacket. Her belly is really starting to show, much more than mine is. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." "It's fine Fluttershy, and hello. What brings you by today?" I ask as I turn to talk to her. "Oh, well, I was going to see if either of you were home so I could ask you about the town meeting today." She asks quietly. It warms my heart to know that I've gone from timid to quiet with Fluttershy. Going to all of those pregnancy classes with her has really brought us closer together. "Of course, what did you want to know?" "Well... do I have to go? Big Mac and I accidentally planned to visit Twilight today, so we might not be able to make it. But if you really need us to be there, we can always reschedule-" "Nonsense, go to Canterlot and visit Twilight. And be sure to send our regards as well. Heavens knows what my sister's been putting her through since she's started showing." I say with a slight chuckle. "What has she been doing to her? She shouldn't be under too much stress, it's not healthy for the baby-" "Oh! Nothing like that!" I assure her, getting her to sigh in relief. "In actuality, my sister has been by her side almost non stop to keep the other family members away from her. She doesn't want anypony trying to win bonus points with her, though I doubt they ever could." I tell her, getting a warm smile in response. "Oh, thank goodness. Okay then, thank you for understanding. I'll see you next Wednesday." She says happily before walking off towards Ponyville. THUD "Got it." Miles proclaims as he holds up my black sweater. I lean down and kiss the top of his head before taking my sweater, pulling it on quickly to fight the cold winds. "What's Fluttershy doing here?" He asks while he gets up and sets his saddlebags on his hips. "Just letting me know that she'll be in Canterlot today, visiting Twilight." I tell him as I look over my sweater. "Darn it, I'm going to have to buy a larger sweater. This one is starting to get tight." I frown a bit as I look at my growing stomach. A lifetime of being lean and thin, down the drain. "Do you want to stop at Rarity's first then?" Miles asks as he takes the first step down from the patio. "Aren't you going to get your jacket? It might start raining any minute." He stops and looks back to the door, thinking deeply about his choices. "I've gone too far already, lets go." He begins to walk off, so I follow after him. The walk in the park is peaceful enough. Because of the weather, there aren't a lot of ponies out, so it's just the two of us. There's a strong wind picking up, blowing chilled wind over the two of us. I nuzzle up against Miles for extra warmth and sigh when I feel the wind suddenly disappear from my side. I look over and see Miles's wing on my side and hugging me closely to his side. I look back to him to see his smug face smiling down at me. "What? You're acting like I'd never be able to do that?" "With the kind of progress you were having, I was starting to think that." I joke before kissing him lightly on the lips. "Can you fly yet?" "No, but Dash says I'm getting pretty close. When I'm human I just need to work my arms out a bit more. It somehow transfers over to my wings." "That's good." I say as I cuddle up with him. We make it into Ponyville and head straight for Rarity's boutique, having the bell ring as we enter. "OOO! W-Welcome to Carousel Boutique! Where everything is- oh! I-I'm sorry darlings, I didn't know it was you two." Rarity stammers as she enters from the back. "It is good to see you again Miles. Luna, looking lovely." "Thank you. I was wondering if I could get another sweater, it seems this one is... getting tight." I say with a slight blush as I look back to tummy, feeling self conscious about my growing size. "But of course! If you'll step over here I'll take your measurements." She says as she moves to the side and pulls out some measuring tapes. I pull off my sweater and stand where she told me to while Miles begins to wander around the room, looking about idly. "So, Miles, are you going to be staying home for long this time?" She asks as she writes down some notes. "Yup. We aren't shipping the food processor to the Colonies for another month-" "Oh that's good." I sigh in relief. "The griffins could really use that right about now." "Honey, please try to stand still." Rarity says firm yet softly. "But yes, it is good to see them receiving aid. Have you found those responsible for the attack yet?" "No. Not even a clue. But we're not giving up until we find them and bring them down." Miles says coldly. "So, how are you and Spike?" I ask quickly, trying to change the subject. Rarity practically falls over when I mention this, dropping a few tapes and her notepad. "What!? Whatever do you mean, darling!? Spike!? And-and I?! Together?! Romantically!? Never!? Nothing against Spike, of course! He's grown to be such a handsome, strong, capable gentledrake- BUT HE'S STILL SO YOUNG! We're just friends! That's it, friends! Why, what have you heard?" She demands, her face quickly becoming flush. "Nice cover, Rare." Miles deadpans, getting an evil glare from Rarity. "Miles, please. It is rude to tease a lady-" "I'll be sure to tell Spike-" "MILES!" Rarity and I both yell, getting him to laugh. "AHEM! Anyway! If you're done being completely vulgar, I have what I need. Are there any designs that you would like me to attempt?" She asks me, ignoring Miles's laughs. "Right... I prefer darker, cool colors. Besides that.... umm...." I lean in to whisper in her ear. "Slimming, if you can." "Of course." She whispers back, giving me an understanding smile in return. "Well, I have all I need. I'll be sure to make them adjustable for... later. Now I have another order to finish up, so I'll be sure to send the finished product when it's done." "Thank you Rarity." I tell her as Miles joins me at my side. "Can you do me a favor?" Miles asks. "Well, I can-" "When you head back into your work area can you tell Spike that we're doing double time today." He tells her nonchalantly. She blushes furiously as she glances to her backroom. "I-I will be sure to tell him the next time-" "SPIKE!" Miles yells. "DID YOU HEAR THAT!?" ".... yeah." Spike grumbles from the back. Rarity's entire face turns redder than a tomato as she drops to her haunches . "Good, have a good day you two. Luna?" Miles says as he offers a wing. I look back to Rarity before stepping under it and am ushered out of the building. "Did you really have to tease them like that?" I ask as we walk into Ponyville proper. "Do you really think I could pass up a chance like that?" He asks as he holds me a bit tighter. "... touche... I'm still hungry by the way-" "Cravings?" He asks excitedly. "No!" I say dejectedly. "But if you could get some strawberry filled crepes with hay fries and smothered in chocolate, I'd love you forever." Miles comes to a stop and looks at me, raising an eyebrow slightly. "That sounds... like death on a plate." He says slowly. I fold my ears down and pout to him. "Is it because it's fattening?" I ask, my voice quivering slightly. "What? No! The straw-" "Are you trying to say I'm fat?" I ask, my voice breaking slightly as I begin to tear up. "What!? No! You're not fat! You're pregnant!" I break a little when he says that. Originally I was joking, but, somehow, it turned real. "Luna! I'm sorry!" "YOU THINK I'M FAT!" I wail as I drop to my haunches and begin to openly cry, causing a little scene in the middle of the street. Miles steps back and tries comforting me, but only succeeds in making me feel worse. "Luna! I'M SORRY! Uh... Okay! Let's go get... the crepes! I'll have one with you too! You're not fat! PLEASE GIVE ME THE ANSWER!" He yells as he falls to the ground and holds my hooves. "*Sniff* really? You'll have one with me?" I ask, wiping some tears from my eyes. "Yes, I'll have as many as you want me to have. Just, please calm down." He says as he sits up and rubs my shoulders a bit. I nod and smile up to him. "You're not fat." "I know, sorry. I guess I let my emotions get the best of me there." I say with a slight chuckle. "You could say that." Some mare says from the side. "Take that back before I rip your fucking head off and shove it up your ass, while you're still alive." Miles warns her sternly, glaring at her with the most intense eyes I've ever seen before. The mare goes wide eyed for a moment before looking back to me, fear gripping her form. "I retract my statement in its entirety." She says before taking off down the street. I look back to Miles and kiss him on the cheek. "Thank you sweetie." I say, nuzzling his cheek a bit. "Now, we're getting... food, right?" He says as he stands. "Right. And you don't have to get what I'm getting Miles." I say as I stand with him. He sighs in relief and we resume on our way to Sugarcube Corner. We make it just in time for a light drizzle to start to come down, so we rush inside before we get too wet- "One, two, three, LUNA!" Pinkie yells, pausing beforehoof to count to three. "Life lesson from Mrs. Cake, don't scare pregnant ponies. They jump, waters break, twins... good times..." She says with a content smile. Luna and I look to each other before slowly walking around Pinkie as she reminisces about her past. We get to a table and order our food after some small talk with the Cakes. When our plates make it to our table Miles starts to gag a bit, probably from all of the strawberries in my dish. Oh well. While he chokes to death from the delectable aroma I dig in and savor the sweet, crunchy goodness. By the time I finish my first bite, Miles is on the other end of the table, sitting as far away from my food as possible. "Now you're just over reacting." I tell him as I take another bite, relishing in the flavor. "Woman, that shit can kill me." He deadpans. I roll my eyes and set my fork down, now's the time to start on this problem. "Okay, now normally I don't mind, but when the baby gets here you have to promise to stop cussing." I tell him, getting a confused look from him. "... stop... cussing?" "Yes, Miles, I don't want our child swearing like a sailor." "... I'll try-" "Miles!" "Hey! A lifetime of cussing and you expect me to just fucking drop it!?" I glare at him while he slowly puts one and one together. "Oh... I just cussed... fine. For the kid, I'll do my best to cut the crrrrrrrrud and stop cussing." I smile to him and resume eating. While I eat, I notice that Miles keeps glancing away. I try to see what he's looking at, but there's never anything there. He says it's Statera, but that doesn't answer my question. No matter how much I try to pester, that's the only answer I get from him. Statera. In the walls, floating around outside, watching everypony, Statera is there. I drop the subject by the time I finish my food. I don't get how Balance is everywhere, so I leave it as a human thing. When we finish eating, the rain outside is really starting to come down. Miles offers his wing and we quickly try to make it to the mayors office. "Aren't you cold?" I ask as we run through the thick downpour. "A little, but I'll deal with it. Besides, I like the rain." He tells me. I smile at the thought of the rainwater making him cold. If that's the case, then his magic isn't a threat to him. But at the same time, does that mean he's weaker? When the Mayors building finally comes into view we double our pace to get there and out of the rain. Thanks to Miles, I'm relatively dry. Sadly for him, he seems to be soaked to the bone... but doesn't seem to really care. I light my horn and begin to pull the excess water from the two of us, sending it back outside. "Good morning Princess Luna, Mr. Eremita!" The assistant behind the front desk greets as she comes out to meet with us. "The mayor will be with you in a moment. May I take your jacket? Would you like something to drink perhaps?" "No, No, thank you though." I say as we step inside. "Well if you need anything feel free to ask." She says while she follows us to a bench. While we sit down and wait for the mayor, the assistant just stands there, staring at the two of us. At first we just try to ignore her, but it quickly becomes too annoying for us. "Is there something you need?" Miles asks her. "Huh? Oh! No, sorry. It's just... well, I've never had Royalty in here before... I guess I just don't know what to do with myself." She admits, blushing slightly. "Just do what you're supposed to do and we'll ask if we need anything." I reassure her, getting a deep bow in return. As we wait for the mayor I lean against Miles and close my eyes. I'm starting to feel bloated from eating all of that sugar. I regret nothing. I need something to soothe my stomach before I vomit it all back up... "Miles?" "Yeah babe?" "Can you run and get me a grass smoothie? I'm starting to feel queasy." I ask him nicely. "Uh... sure... smoothie, I can manage that. I'll be back before you know it." He says before standing and walking off. "Try that cafe on the corner." I advise him, knowing he has no clue what a smoothie is. He nods and walks out just as the mayor walks in. "Princess Luna, I'm so sorry about the delays! Please come with me." Four Hours Later I can't help but pace about as I wait behind stage for Miles. Practically the entire town is here and waiting for us to speak to them, but he's nowhere to be found! The mayor already addressed the crowd, and I only think they're still here because I'm supposed to talk, but where the hay is Miles! All I asked for was a smoothie! "Princess Luna, I don't think she can stall any longer." Sarah, the assistant, tells me. "Very well then, I guess I'll just have to do this on my own then." I say as I straighten out. It's not like I've never spoken before a crowd. I just wish I could announce this with my husband. I take a deep breath and walk out onto the stage, making the crowd in front of me go silent and bow. The mayor bows to me as well and backs away from the podium. "Dear citizens of Ponyville, thank you for meeting with me today despite the weather." I address them, making them stand back up and watch me closely. "I have tremendous news to share with all of you-" "OI! HOLD UP!" I look out to the left of the crowd and see Miles pushing his way through. I sigh in relief and patiently wait for him to make it to the stage. He trots up to me with a destroyed cup in his mouth and covered in a dark green goop. "Um... I can explain." "I think it can wait." I whisper to him, getting a nod. I turn back to the crowd and continue, feeling better with Miles at my side, even if he's covered in smoothie. "As many of you have noted, I have been taking residence in town recently on off days. I also know that there are some rumors floating around about me that I would like to put to rest today. The truth is... the truth is that I am married to Miles, I am pregnant, I will be having my foal here; in Ponyville." "..." "..." "..." "..." "..." "WOO! PONYVILLE!" Some stallion yells in the back. "That's not quite what I was expecting." I whisper to Miles. "Here, let me." He says, I step aside and let him take the podium. He looks around the crowd and sizes them up. After a continued silence he sighs and whacks his head against the podium, falling back in a bright white flash. Everypony winces from the initial hit then gasps when he stands back up as a human. "I really wish you would stop doing that." I tell him as he takes the podium again. "So, yeah. Remember me?" He asks the crowd. "To sum things up quickly for all of you: I can change into an alicorn now, freaky right? I have been married to Luna since before my change, even freakier, right? And we're now expecting a child, awesome right?" The crowd gawks at us as they begin to mumble to each other, unsure how to process what's been presented. "Look, I know this is a lot to take in, but please listen closely." I add as I step up to share the podium with Miles. "We decided that we wanted our child to be raised in a town that will instill the right kind of morals for life. And we couldn't think of a better place than Ponyville." Miles continues. "But we need your help." "You see, while our child is young, we will become basic citizens to Equestria-" "You will not have to call me Princess Luna, just Luna will be fine." "Yeah, but the biggest thing we are going to ask you is to not leak this or make a big deal about it. We want our child to grow up as normally as possible. To be able to go outside and play without having thirty paparazzi chasing after us. To do that, we need you all to simply treat us normally." "We understand that is asking a lot of you. Some of you put your livelihoods on selling stories and this would be a gold mine for you. What could we possibly offer in return?" "Nothing." Miles answers, confusing the crowd. "We aren't going to do anything. We're going to take a gamble on the moral good standing of this town and hope for the best. All we want is to raise our child in peace, and we're hoping that you'll cooperate with us in this." "Thank you for your time, if you have any further questions feel free to ask us at our home on the edge of the Everfree by Ponyville Park." Miles steps aside and ushers me to the side of the stage, where the assistant offers him a blanket to cover himself. We step inside the mayor's building as the mayor begins to speak with the crowd. "Well, here goes nothing." Miles says while he shuts the door behind us. "I think they'll come around. Maybe not at first, but eventually." I say. Suddenly the building begins to tremble as the crowd outside erupts in applause. Cheering, stomping and whistling fills my ears as they begin to chant 'Ponyville' over and over again. "Well... that didn't take long!" Miles yells to me over the noise. I smile to him and lean up to him for a kiss, one that he accepts quickly and passionately. "You still owe me a smoothie!" I yell to him when I break the kiss. Author's Note Sorry for the delays on this chapter. It should have been released sooner, but I realized something that was wrong in the last chapter. Luna is expecting in September, not June. Again, September is the due month. I was trying to do math in my head and I switched two numbers, sorry. I took the extra time to clarify any other discrepancies and have fixed all of them. In other news, Man of War now has over1000 favorites! As such, I'm going to be doing something special for all of you love and support. Click the link to check it out. Brony on!
Chapter 209 ChangeChapter 209 Change “So, what do ya think she wants ta talk about?” I ask Shadow as we walk to my farm. I wanted to ask earlier, but it didn’t seem right to bring it up around ponies she doesn’t know that well. “I don’t know,” she says dejectedly, lowering her head. “She’s always bossing me around! For whatever reason, she’s determined to keep me away from anything she does! Usually she just tells me not to do something and I just listen, so she probably wants to tell me off.” “… wait, ya stood up ta Diamond?” “Not directly. She told me not to go to the air ball game, and I did.” “… an why did ya go to the air ball game?” I ask, knowing the answer already. “… well… I told Rumble I would.” She says quietly, using her bangs to hide her face from me. I take a deep breath and get ready to see what exactly Shadow knows about Rumble. “Did ya’ll know Diamond and Rumble used ta be a thing?” She looks up to me with a slightly confused look. “No, but why… you don’t think she’s mad at me for being with him… do you?” “If there is one thing Diamond can’t do, its share. Shadow my friend; you are now in the middle of a fight fer a stallion. Welcome ta the glorious life of high school drama.” “I should have been home schooled.” I laugh at that, patting Shadow on the back to cheer her up. “What should I do?” “Mmm… well, the normal thing ta do would talk ta Rumble about this and let him know about yer concerns.” “… and why can’t I do that?” “Oh, yer gonna do that. But somethin is gonna happen and blow all of this back in our faces. It always has, it always will. Maybe not right away, but it’ll happen. Not sure why though, but that’s life ah guess.” Shadow shrugs and accepts it at that. It sucks that that’s what’s going to happen, but it is. I don’t think we’d be as good as friends if things happened normally between us. We keep quiet the rest of the walk home. I keep glancing back to check if anypony is following us, but never see anypony. When we make it into the apple orchard we pass dozens of different… people. Bears, griffins, zebras, all kinds of different people are working the farm right now. The only consistent thing about them is that they all wear goggles, for whatever reason. “So… looks like work has been easy around here.” Shadow comments. “It’s been more of a hassle than a blessin. Half these folk don’t know a thing about apple buckin, AH’M TALKING ABOUT YOU Wǎnshàng yàjūn!” I yell out at a certain chimp, who then hides from me by climbing up the tree. “Ah swear, Apple Slice needs ta grow up so we can kick them out already.” “But I’m sure the help is appreciated.” “Well… it is, but at the same time, it aint. This is our farm, and we like to work our land. But, they won’t listen to us. They’re under strict orders from Hammer to help out-“ “Have you guys told him this?” “Pfft, ha! Please, he’s probably the more stubborn than Applejack. It’s worse actually. He’s more stubborn, in a passive aggressive sense! Big Mac and I need ta corner him alone and do it. Applejack is too soft on him.” “Well… they are married.” I roll my eyes at that and hurry home. Hammer is a good stallion and all, I’m just tired of all these people working our land. It… just feels wrong. I walk through the door and call out that I’m here with Shadow. Applejack yells back her greeting from upstairs. I drop my bag off on the couch and head into the kitchen, looking for Big Mac. He isn’t here, so he’s probably out in the fields or something. I grab an apple juice for me and Shad before taking a seat at the table, having Shad join me at the table. “So, ya gonna have yer talk with Rumble today, or procrastinate like usual?” I ask, giving her the juice. “I don’t procrastinate-“ “I took ya’ll two years to tell Miles yer last name is Knight.” “He never asked! Plus… I didn’t want to be rude and correct him-“ “Ya took forever ta tell us how ya got yer cutie mark!” “It never came up!” “And have ya told yer parents how loud they are at night yet?” She goes red in the cheeks and fumbles over her response. As she tries to find the right response, the back door opens as Fluttershy steps in. “Oh, I didn’t know we had company. Hello Shadow. I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” “No! I mean, no. And hello, I was just-“ “Shadow’s havin colt problems-“ “Am not!” “Oh… my.” Fluttershy starts to back out of the room as Shadow glares at me. I just shrug and take a drink from my apple juice. “Um… I’m just going to go get Rampant from school-“ “Ah can get him fer ya iffin ya like. IIt’ll give us some time ta talk things over.” I offer to Fluttershy. “Oh… you don’t have to-“ “Alrighty then, let’s go Shadow.” I jump out of my seat and start to walk off, but stop at the door way to wait for Shadow. “I think I’ll let you handle this on your own-“ “Don’t make me force ya.” I say flatly. “I have magic,” she warns. “Ah have rope.” I warn back, giving her an even glare. We stare each other down for a few moments before she finally folds. “Fine. Bye Fluttershy,” she says with a grumble as she gets out of her seat. I smile and lead her out of the house, yelling back to Fluttershy that we’ll be back soon. She mutters a response, but I couldn’t quite here it. “So, ya haven’t done it with him yet, have ya?” I ask Shadow, making her trip and land on her face. “Ah’ll get Applejacks shotgun.” Perspective: Rumble I let a long sigh as I sit in the colts locker room shower, letting the warm water wash down my mane and over the rest of me. I don’t know what I’m going to tell Diamond that will actually get her to listen. I really doubt any words will actually get through to her, and I don’t want to… use my usual means. I’d to have at least one relationship where it didn’t revolve around that! “Did you here? The aggies and the preps nearly went at it earlier.” My ears perk up at that. I lean back and try to listen in on the conversation a few rows down. “No way! What happened?” “I dunno, but some preps went to the school farm and were going to throw down! But the teacher down there stopped them before anything could happen.” “Awesome! Wait… colts or fillies?” Why is that important? “Fillies.” “Nice.” … um… what? “I know right! Good thing they were stopped. I wanna see some mare on mare action!” I stop listening at this point and shake my head at them. What could possibly be attractive about two mare fighting with each other!? I mean, I guess seeing two mares rubbing up on each other would be enough for some… but I just don’t see it. I finish up my shower and dry off as quickly as possible. Hopefully I can still find Shadow before anything goes wrong. I grab my things and dart out the locker room, giving a quick goodbye to my friends as I take off for the schools farm. It doesn’t take me long to get there, but sadly I don’t see Shadow here. “Need help finding something?” some mare asks from the red barn. “Uh… no, well… I’m looking for Shadow. Have you seen her? Black coat, grey and blue mane-“ “Yeah, she was here earlier with Applebloom. Nearly got in a fight with that Diamond skank too. I believe they went to Sweet Apple Acres-“ “Thanks!” Before she could say anything else I take back off into the sky and head for Sweet Apple Acres. Luckily it’s one of the more well-known farms, so finding it won’t be a problem. Okay, so there are a lot of… different people working on this farm. I didn’t know they were so… diverse. Nothing against the Apples, but… I guess farmer stereotypes got the better of me. Anyway, I head towards the nearest building where I see the first pony working here. She’s a Pegasus mare with a light yellow coat and pink hair. Not bad on the eyes to be honest. “Excuse me!” I call out to her. She lets out a yelp and darts inside the barn, slamming the door shut. “Oh… sorry?” I say while landing confused. “Ya’ll have ta forgive that one. She’s a bit jumpy.” Another mare walks out from the far side of the barn and greets me. “Names Applejack, can ah help ya?” “Yes, please. I’m Rumble and I’m looking Shadow. I was told she was here-“ “She was here earlier, but left with Applebloom ta pick up the youngin from school. Ya’ll can wait here until they get back. “ “Oh, thank you-“ “Don’t mention it! So, who are ya ta Shadow anyway?” Her question comes out rather blunt and makes me pause for a second. “Well… I’d like to think I’m her coltfriend, but I don’t know if we’re quite there yet.” I answer her cautiously for her some reason. I think she’s trying to pry information from me, but then again, she could just be making conversation. “Huh, ah didn’t know Shadow was inta colts. Well, not with her parents at least. Well, ah have ta head inside. Feel free to wait in the living room, and mind the orcs. They don’t like it when ya stare.” I pause again when she tells me that. I’m not entirely sure what an Orc is, but I have a feeling I’m going to stare. I follow her inside and take a seat in the living room. The room is basically what I was expecting it to be, only with a few toys littering the floor. I guess there’s a foal in the family. Applejack comes back down with a foal in her saddle. He has an orange coat with white hair that has a streak of red going through it. “So… is that your nephew?” I ask. “Don’t ya’ll try an butter me up with all that flattery. This is my son, Apple Slice.” Oh… she does not look quite… old enough to be a mother. Like, she’s a very young mother. And I doubt she’s had multiple kids either. I apologize and go back to sitting here quietly. She offers me a smile before heading towards the back. Apple Slice waved to me, I found that a little adorable. A few minutes goes by before anything really happens. Applejack fed Apple Slice and I just sat here, waiting. Eventually a large grey-green beast, walking on two legs, entered the house. It has a pigs face, a lizard like tail, and… to put it simply, it was freaking huge. It had to bend over to stand in the room. “Something wrong, little morsel?” It asks in a deep voice, glaring down at me. Only now did I notice the two tusk like teeth protruding from its mouth. “… uh…” “Leave him alone Brosh and come tell me how the southern field is coming along!” Applejack yells from the back. He gives me one more look over before turning away from me. So… that’s an orc. Terrifying. “… and that’s why you don’t snort the glue at school. Who’s that guy?” A little colt walks in. He’s red with light yellow hair and wears a vest. Applebloom and Shadow walk in after him and stare at me. “Um… hi? I’m Rumble-“ “You here to help buck apples?” The colt asks shortly. “Uh… no-“ “Then I don’t care. MOOOOOM? ARE YOU HOME?” He yells out while walking towards the back. “Hey Brosh! Did you meet quota today… no? What do you mean no?” “We should head outside.” Applejack suggests. “What do you mean there are too many apples!? It’s only fifty square acres!” I nod and quickly follow them out as the kid starts to go off on the giant terrifying… thing. “So… how did it go?” I ask nervously when we can’t hear the kid anymore. “Well-“ “Yer ex-floozy nearly jumped Shadow! That’s how it went!” Applebloom yells at me. “Um… can we talk in private?” I ask, staring at Applebloom. “I think-“ “Since ah nearly had ta get in a fight with Diamond, ah think ah get ta be here.” Applebloom says, putting her hoof down. She can’t be serious. I mean, I appreciate what she did… but this is just intrusive. “Applebloom! Ah need ya real quick!” Applejack, my saving grace, yells from the front door. Applebloom glares at me for a second before walking back to the house, muttering something about floozies. “So-“ “Follow me. I… want to go somewhere private too.” Shadow tells me quietly. I nod to her and follow after her. We walk through the tree line and enter the orchard in the back. There aren’t any workers here at the moment, but she keeps on walking. I wanted to ask her where she was taking me, but… it didn’t feel right to talk right now. Something is troubling her at the moment, and I have a feeling it’s something more than almost getting into a fight. We come up to an opening where we find a tree house. It’s a bit old, but clean and well used. We take the ramp up and enter the small room. There isn’t much in here, just some papers with rough drawings and basic furniture. She walks over to a window and takes a seat by it, staring out at the orchard below. I join her at her side and drape a wing over her, waiting for her to start. “Applebloom tells me you used to date Diamond,” she starts after a small amount of time. “Yeah, is that what has you worried?” I ask slowly. “A little. Does she know about us?” she asks, looking away from me slightly. “Well… what are we?” I ask, getting her to look at me. “I haven’t told anypony anything, but… if I did, what would I tell them? What are we?” “Rumble… I…” She looks away again, unable to find an answer. “I’m sorry. This… is all new to me. I don’t know how to answer that question.” “Why not? What aren’t you clear about?” I ask calmly. She takes a moment to think to herself, and I just wait patiently for her. “I guess I’m just worried about what will happen when you meet my family. I love my family, very dearly. I put a lot of value in what they say and think.” “Is that all?” I ask with almost a chuckle. She shakes her head and looks at me with a very serious look about her. “You don’t understand. Some of my family members are… very different, to say the least. The Spartans have a mentality that very few get along with-“ “The who?” I ask, confused. “My father is the leader of a very advance military group, and one of my mother’s is a private as well. We’re all very close, even the new recruits being trained are close to me. If they don’t like you… well, I’m not saying that I would suddenly stop being with you, but their opinions mean a lot to me.” “And you’re worried that they won’t like me?” “Partially. I’m mostly worried that you won’t like them. They aren’t normal people Rumble. They come from different walks of life and have been through tremendous ordeals. Some of them are… difficult, to get along with.” I nod and think for a moment. Her dad is a special, high ranking guard that works with various other special guards. “Is your dad one of those night ponies at the castle?” “Rumble… would you like to come to my place for dinner and meet some of them. It will just be easier that way.” She seems really nervous about this, but I think she’s just over thinking it. Everypony thinks that their family is weird, I mean, look at mine! Plus, I’ve handled guard ponies before. Being in sports helps with that. I give her a squeeze with my wing and a small peck on the cheek. “I’d love to. But, just so you know, I think you’re just over thinking things. Everypony has family issues. Given, they don’t normally involve alicorns, but I’m sure your family will work the same.” “… This isn’t going to end well,” she says meekly. “Don’t worry so much! I’m sure everything will turn out alright. I mean, what’s- *THWUMP*” Before I could finish, she shoves her hoof in my mouth. “Don’t say that. It’s a… family thing. You don’t say those words.” I give her a look, but nod when I see how serious she is. Okay, maybe her family won’t be like everypony else’s, but I think I can handle it. Perspective: Applejack “Can ya’ll watch Apple Slice while I go out and do some damage control? Apparently those beavers are back and have stared flooding the southern field again. Shy and ah shouldn’t be long.” I ask Applebloom. She gives me a look before nodding and heading in. “Hey,” I call out to her, getting her to stop. “What’s the matter?” “It’s nuthin… well… can we talk when ya get back?” I give her a look over before smiling to her. “Couse little sis. Now ah shouldn’t be too long, but if he gets fussy just give him that darn bag.” “Hammers old bag?” “Yeah… that one.” I don’t know why, but that bag… there’s something about that bag I just don’t like. It used to be Hammers, but he said it wants to be with Apple Slice now. Whatever that means. “Ah have ta go, take care!” I step outside and take a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air. With that, I take off for the southern fields. Several of the workers Hammer sent pause to wave goodbye or just stare, but I just ignore them and gallop off to fix the problem. It’s odd how we can get all this extra help, but there’s always something to keep us busy. Given, their work is really up to par with our standards, but the help is still appreciated. It takes a while, but I eventually find the source of the problem. Those damn beavers are building their dam in our irrigation river again. Fluttershy is here with her apple bucking staff that Miles made for her. She’s trying to talk to one of the beavers, but it doesn’t seem to be listening. “Hey there Shy, how’re thing here?” I ask, shooting a dirty look to the beaver. “Oh, not so good. My. Beverton wants to build here because of all the loud activity that’s happening near his old home.” Fluttershy explains, getting an approving nod from the beaver. “Noise… he’s makin a noise complaint?” I deadpan, getting a happy nod from Fluttershy. “Yes. It seems the Spartan training has grown too close to his river, and it’s simply too loud for them to sleep peacefully. I apologized to him about that and asked if he would consider moving to the river in White Tail Woods, but he simply refuses.” “… because?” “*Squeak squeak squeak sq***k squeak squeak sq***k!” The beaver starts mouthing off at Fluttershy, making her cover her mouth. “My word, what languages!” she scolds. “Uh, Fluttershy, can ah have a word with ya over here?” I ask her, stepping aside. She excuses herself from the beaver and follows me to the side. “Yes Applejack?” “Ah don’t want ta sound rude, but that dang beaver needs ta git off mah property.” I tell Fluttershy, putting her on end a bit. “Oh, I’m sorry. It’s just… they don’t want to leave, and-“ “Fluttershy, ah know yer trying to make a compromise fer everypony, but it aint happenin here. Ah already get five acres a orchard fer those bats, ah aint letting the entire southern fields go to some beavers that don’t want ta cooperate.” “Applejack, I’m sorry that this isn’t as simple as it used to be, but it’s how things have to go for the time being. We can’t just get rid of the beavers! They’re an essential part of the eco system here. And so are the bats!” she says defensively. I shake my head at that and glace over at the water. It hasn’t risen much yet, but it’ll start flowing over the banks soon enough. “Fluttershy. Ya know ah love ya ta death, but this isn’t something we can really negotiate on at the moment. A lot of ponies rely on these apples. We don’t have the money or the time to replace an entire section of the orchard. They need to leave, or ponies –and griffins- will go hungry. This orchard is in the next rotation. We need it. Ah’m sorry, but they have to go. No compromises.” She looks down and holds the staff closer to herself. I know I’m being a bit harsh with her, but I have to be. If it was in a different field I wouldn’t be, but this field is in the next rotation, so I have to. I put a hoof on her shoulder and give her a reassuring look. She looks up to me for a moment before looking back down and nods. I step aside and watch her talk to the beaver. It doesn’t take kindly to what she has to say, but after a while of talking back and forth it finally agrees. It pulls out a twig and undoes all the work it had done in a matter of seconds. I sigh in relief, but Fluttershy still looks down. “Ah’m sorry Fluttershy, but that’s how things work right now. We don’t have the luxury ta be kind ta everypony right now. Not while others are suffering.” I tell her, pulling her in for a quick hug. “I know. But that doesn’t make it any easier,” she tells me, hugging me back. “How about ah go back and get my cart ta help them move?” I offer, but she shakes her head slowly. “The Beaverton’s are moving away from Ponyville. They say it’s becoming to industrious here for them.” I almost yell out in joy from that, but stop when I see how much it’s affecting Fluttershy. “Shy… it’ll be okay. Ah’m sure they’re just sore about things right now.” I try to offer, but she continues to shake her head. “No, they’re right. Times are changing around here. I don’t think it’ll happen immediately, but… they are the first woodland family to leave Ponyville.” “Oh… ah’m sorry Shy. Ah didn’t know.” She wipes a tear away and tries to collect herself. “It’s nothing big, just a murder of crows, but I’m afraid that is something isn’t done soon there won’t be any room for all the creatures to coexist with ponies. Not openly at least. Times are becoming too different right now. Sorry for worrying you.” “Hey, don’t forget that yer mah sister now. If something is troubling you, you come straight to me and tell me. Ah may not always be able ta help, but ah will always be there fer ya. Now c’mon, Rampant came home and ah think he’s still chewing out Brosh.” “Not again!” Fluttershy exclaims, taking off without me. I laugh a bit and start to take off, but stop to glance back at the beavers. True to what Fluttershy said, they’re all scurrying off west. Ah’m not sure what this means fer us, but ah do agree with Fluttershy. Times are changing.
Chapter 223 Undesired Desires Chapter 223 Undesired Desires Chapter 223 Undesired Desires Perspective: Miles After far too long of a tour of the palace grounds, we're finally allowed to head to our private chambers to relax. The entire tour was extremely uncomfortable. Sappige was with me the entire time. My arm almost never left the valley between her breast. She's tried to grab me in other places as well, but I've stopped her every time. But I can't really stop her from feeling me up. And she really like to feel me up. The only time I got away from her was when I went to the restroom, and even then I had to force her away! Apparently, royalty needs help holding it to piss! Night, Yinbie, and Hunter have been fine during all of this. I guess it's because I'm the leader of the group that I get all of the unwanted attention. But, it's getting late and I finally get a moment to myself. Even better, I get a room to myself while everyone else has to share a room. When Sappige brings me to the guest room, my jaw drops a bit. "I hope you find this to your liking." The room is extravagant. The floors and walls are marble with paintings and tapestries tastefully covering the them. A massive round bed sits in the center of the room to the left with flowing red drapes covering most of it. In the center of this room is a small fire pit with lounging seats and cushions all around. To the right is a limestone room that I assume to be the restroom. The entire area is open and lit warmly with multiple torches or candles with the fire pit in the center providing the most heat in the cold night air. The far wall is nothing but pillars that lead to a balcony area that is furbished much like the are inside is. All of the warm colors and flowing cloths make the room extremely inviting. I may steal a few ideas from here for back home. "I'll take your silence and the first good sign of today. "Is this my apartment?" I ask while stepping inside. When I pass the threshold I see two guards standing inside at watch. "What the fuck are they doing inside? Shouldn't they be outside the door?" "Ever since the sixth era it's been tradition to have guards posted inside guest chambers. It's to assure no plots or thieving will occur. Now, please, come. Relax, the night is young! I think a sauna is in order." "A-a sauna?" I glance around the corner of the restroom to see it's more of a bath house. A large pool takes up the center of the room while a few rooms line the right wall. The room is colored in teals and dark blue and has a salty taste to the air. I jump slightly when I feel hands on my shoulders that push me towards one of the doors on the right. "Alright! In you go! Remove all of your armor and wrappings and I'll set the sauna for the two of us!" she says happily as she practically shoves me into a changing room. I tried to protest, but only got a door to slam in my face. I stare at the door for a moment before I begin to pull my phone out. I need to call HQ before anything else happens. DAMMIT! No service! I forgot to make a communications array! FUCK! What now? Well... I've never set the enchantment on a building before, but it should work... I think. I can't really think of reason it wouldn't, other than my wanting it to work. I take all of my upper armor and shirt off before turning to the wall and setting my hands on it. This is going to leave a mark, hope they don't mid. It doesn't take long for me to set the familiar enchantment. Once it's done I check my phone and wait for the signal to appear. "Hmm... maybe I need to enhance the power in it?" I take a few minutes to enhance the signal, checking my phone a few times before finally getting a single dot of connection. With that done I call Luna immediately. "*ring ring ring* Mmm, *shhhhht* Miles? Why are *shhhhht*so early? *shhhhht* wrong?" I press my hand into the enchantment and force more energy into it, hoping to increase the signal. I forgot about the time difference, but I'm sure this is something worth bringing up. "Can you hear me?" I ask clearly. "You're- *shhhhht* you." A bit more energy. "Can you hear me now?" I ask again. "Much better." She still sounds a bit off, but it'll have to do. "Why are you calling so early? What happened? Is everything alright?" "Sorry for waking you, but I'm kind of...well... are you completely awake yet? I kind of need you all here for this." I can't help but rub my neck and shift around uncomfortably as I talk to her. I know what's going to happen when I tell her what happened. It's not easy having a jealous wife. "Hold on." I hear her moving around a bit and a door shut before she comes back. "I'm awake enough, what happened?" I take a deep breath before speaking. "I'm in the minotaur lands-" "WHAT! I thought you were in the Southern Badlands to watch over Spike!" Okay, a little early for the yelling, but okay. "I had to follow up on a lead from the goblins. That's why I pulled from the off duty Spartans-" "Miles," she sighs on the other end. "I wish you would have told me when you were going to the Minotaur tribes. There are a lot of things you need to know about them. How many have they beheaded?" "How is that a normal thing! How do you know they did that at all!? What the serious fuck!?" "Miles, I haven't interacted with them in a thousand years, and I would be willing to wager that they are still relatively the same. Also, mouth." I roll my eyes at that but continue on anyway. "They beheaded an old man for hitting me with a stick. But that's not-" "*sigh*" "What?" "It's..." "What?" "Well... next time you're home, we'll have to talk about that bit." "There wasn't anything I could do!" "I know, I know! It's just that there's a lot more to what happened and it'd be easier to tell you in person. I'm sorry you went into that without any foreknowledge." "There isn't anything for you to be sorry for. But that's not what I'm calling about." I pause and wait for her to say something, but take her silence as my queue to continue. "Well... there isn't really an easy way to say this, so I'll just say it. There's a hooker trying to have sex with me in the palace." "..." "Luna?" "..." "Luna, dear?" I wince when I hear her inhale. Here it comes. "Did they behead her too?" "... wait, what?" I let go of the enchantment for a moment and almost drop the call. "No, what?" "How far has she gotten?" she asks quickly. "Uh... putting my arm between her breast-" "That's good, and she's still alive?" I pause for a second, voice hitching slightly, before answering. "No, I mean yes! She's still alive. She's about to force me into a sauna with her-" "Okay, that's good. Listen Miles, this is basically the same as that old man. If she doesn't do her job they will kill her-" "Are you telling me to have sex with her!?" I practically yell that part out, not caring who hears me. "What?! No! Miles Eremita, if she as much as touches your junk I will go over there personally and skin her alive!" I sigh in relief from that, oddly enough. "I just don't want you causing any deaths that could have been spared." "Okay, okay. Good. So, how should I approach this?" Yeah, suddenly I feel whipped. But the good kind of whipped. The kind that lets you sleep in your own bed. "Hmm... okay, under no circumstances is she to touch you any where sexual. You can touch her, but hands only! And no touching her... spot. And no kissing! In fact, no lip contact of any sort! Looking is okay, I guess, but not for long! And... uh... if anything comes up that isn't covered right now, you call me before anything else happens, got it?" "..."I heard everything she said, I'm just having trouble understanding it. "Miles Eremita-" "Luna... did... did you just give me permission to... fondle her?" My voice came out an octave higher than normal. "I know it's hard to understand, but I don't want innocent lives be thrown away by their sexist ways. And don't think this is some free pass! The second you're back we're going into your mind to watch everything that happened, got it?" I gulp as I try to think of a way out of this. "Is there a way through this with me not touching her and her living?" I ask meekly. "If we had planned before hand, yes. But we're past that point now. And if you let her die because you were uncomfortable with this, I will be mad Miles." I gulp again from the firmness of her voice. "Are we clear?" "Yes ma'am." "Uhg, you know I hate it when you call me that." I smile at this and lean closer to the wall and whisper. "What? I'm just respecting my elder-" "Miles-" "You are, after all, my elder. By how many years was it? A couple hundred if I remember-" "Do you really want to tease me when you're about to have a date with a concubine?" I go to retort, but come up empty. "Thought so. Remember, we will go over your memories about this-" "I really don't feel comfortable about this." "I know, but your comfort isn't worth as much as someponies life. And it never will." I sigh from that and bit my lip as I try to think of a way out of this. The problem is that I don't know the culture, so I don't know what could work. "Come home soon Miles." "I'll try to. I love you." "I love you too." I'm a little surprised that she responded with that, given how mad she is. I hang up and try to prep myself for this, but I know there isn't mush to do about it. With little choice, but great reluctance, I remove the last of my clothing and wrap a towel around my waist. I step out of the room and nearly drop everything. Sappige is kneeling before me with a minotaur guard behind her. She's crying lightly and is looking down at the ground, ears drooping low. The guard has a hand on the hilt of his sword and seems to be waiting for me to say something. "What's going on?" "Is jy nie bly?" The guard asks, smacking the back of Sappiges head lightly. "H-he asks if you are pleased or not?" she whimpers, bowing her head slightly. I take a step closer and try to think quickly on what to do. "I am! Yes, tell him to back off. If anything, he's ruining everything!" I tell her frantically. She quickly relays what I said but receives another slap upside the head. At that I decide to put him in his place. With a quick flare of my hand I reach out and magically grab the metal, hoping that it's steel, and pull back. The blade flies out and falls on the ground before me. I kick the handle up and point the blade at him, having a moment of trouble trying to work the heavy blade. "Tell him to leave, now." "P-please, don't do anything foolish." Sappige begs as the guard mouths off to me. "There are only so many things in life that I can deal with. Hitting women is not one of them. He has three seconds to leave before I turn him to ash." Sappige looks up to me in fear before telling the guard what I said. He eyes me oddly but raises his hands defensively, backing up slowly towards the door. I heft the sword so it falls handle first towards him. He grabs it and quickly sheaths it before bolting out the door. With him gone I let out a long sigh and fall back against the wall. "Sappige." "Y-yes?" she asks as she remains on the floor, kneeling. "Your culture is stupid." We look to each other before slowly laughing together. I push myself off the wall and go to help her to her hooves. She wipes her eyes a bit before hugging me tightly. With both of us shirtless, it's a bit... overwhelming. But I let it slide due to circumstances. "Thank you," she whispers into my neck. It's odd hugging someone almost as tall as me, but I get over that and return the hug safely. After a few moments I push her back slightly and try to hide the fact that I'm blushing. "Right, so... anyway. I talked to my wife and uh... well, she gave me permission to do... things-" "You mean-" "No! No, NO! Nononononono, no fucking way!" She chuckles at my reaction, making me feel a bit better... kind of. "To break it down easily, I get to do all of the touching, but nowhere special. Don't do anything without my permission. If you don't know if something would cross the line, then ask. Follow the rules, and I'll keep you safe. Understand?" She looks me over a bit before smiling slightly. "You are such an odd being, Miles Eremita. Very well. I live to serve, if you wish for me not to service you like that, then who am I to complain? Do you still with to take a seat in the sauna?" I think about it for a moment before nodding to her. That actually sounds fairly relaxing right now. She seems to regain her former giddiness and takes my hand before leading me into the sauna. I was going to complain about her taking my hand, but that's a simple enough gesture to let slide. I've only been in one other sauna ever, but compared to the one in Ponyville, this one is fucking sweet. They some how built a wooden room into this marble palace with all of the grooves lining up perfectly. The pit in the center is made of some kind of smooth black stone and holds a large pile of rounded stones within it. The stones are already heated perfectly, making the room considerably warmer inside. Luckily the sun already went down, so it's actually pretty nice right now. She motions for me to take a seat before going to the door and removing the last of her clothing. For a minotaur, she's pretty attractive. She has the hour glass figure going on with healthy portions everywhere. I imagine for a line of work she has to do, that she would have to be like this. But I doubt minotaurs have the ability to make perfect breast. Large enough to sag slightly, but perky enough to give her a young look about her. It's a bit eerie how much she reminds me of the women back home. How willing they were to throw themselves at me. The sheer beauty some of them exuded, yet always seemed forced in the end. Odd. She saunters her way to the portion of water in the room, obviously knowing that I'm watching her. I chuckle a bit at that, but sit back and sigh when she pours some water onto the heated water. Now that I think about it, the heat from this sounds like a bad idea in the middle of a desert. But, it's pretty nice actually. "Is this to your liking?" Sappige asks. I hum my response, leaning against the wooden railing behind me. "I'm glad you like it." "Is this common around these parts?" I ask as she gives another pour of water. "By the gods no!" she chuckles as she sets the ladle down and takes a seat beside me. We're touching sides, but I let it slide for now. This isn't too far, and at least I'm covering myself with the towel. "This gets it start from the apes. There's a mountain range in their territory that snows frequently, but there are hot springs there as well. The two just... came together." I use my magic to add another dose of water, heating the room up again. "*sigh* Minotaurs are stubborn about adopting outside influence. This only exists for the guest of the palace. I highly doubt you'll find another like it within our borders." "Hmm. Where'd you all learn that?" I'm actually surprised she knew that. Not to say I think she's an idiot, I just didn't think she would know something like that. "As a servant to the Kings guest, I must be able to please them in any manner they deem reasonable. Though that usually starts with... certain acts, the conversations afterwards are just as important." She fidgets a bit, scooting a bit closer to myself. I eye her for a moment, but let it slide again. She's not used to not doing stuff, so simple things get a free pass. "Would you indulge my curiosity and perhaps tell me about your people?" "Humans or Terradisia?" I ask, making her tilt her head slightly. "Are they not they same?" Before I could say anything the door starts to open. In reaction to that, Sappige grabs my hand and forces me to grab her tit. A guard peers inside and stares at the two of us for what feels like an eternity. I'm trying my best not to show my own embarrassment, but Sappige does a good job of covering for me. She chuckles lightly and covers herself. The guard throws me a smile before leaving the room. I quickly withdraw my hand lean forward, holding my head in my hands. "I-I am sorry-" "No, no it's fine. And it's not just you." I tell her, sighing deeply into my hands. She sets a hand on my back and begins to rub lightly. I fidget from the contact, but don't shy away from it immediately. I guess it's going to come up eventually, so may as well bring it up now. I know I'm never going to hear the end of it soon enough. "You have... very nice breast." "Hm, thank you-" "And... I think... I like...big breast." She stops rubbing my back and tilts forward to look me in the eyes. I groan and sit up, forcing myself to speak up. "I said I think I like big breast!" "... um... is that not obvious?" Okay, now it's my turn to tilt my head in confusion. "You are male. Most males like big breast. Trust me when I say that. No matter the species, big breast are simply attractive. You liking big breast is like saying... that you like sweets. Everyone like sweets." I think about what she said for a moment before looking back to her. She seems to read my hesitation and grabs my hand again. I remember back to all those days in school in the locker rooms suddenly. There was plenty of shit talking going on, but what's coming to mind is when they said the ideal size for you is your hand size. I never really got that, and I still don't. She's a bit bigger than my hand size, and it's pretty fucking amazing. Soft, yet firm under my fingers. Her fur is smooth like silk with a fine leather point at the top of her mound. My fingers dig in as I indulge for a moment in the feeling of running that point between my fingers. Compared to Luna, this is... different. Pleasantly different. "Hm, your face says you've never felt a breast before. Yet your fingers speak in experience." I hesitate for a moment before continuing. "I do have a wife, as you know. She's just... not like this." "How so?" "... the fur." It's not entirely a lie. Luna's breast don't have fur on them, so that is a difference between them. I remove my hand to add some more water to the heated rocks, making them hiss pleasantly."So, how many times have you been in situations like earlier." "More often than I'd like to recount. Even in my line of work, there's always something new that makes me gag in revulsion. But, it is pleasing to know that I still have a line that I don't cross. It makes me seem less... well, it's comforting." I eye her for a moment before turning the gears in my head. "If you could leave, would you?" She chuckles at that, looking down and shaking her head. "I cannot leave. It's... that's just not going to happen." I smirk at that and lean back again, tapping her shoulder to get her attention. "Wanna make a deal?" She goes wide eyed for a moment before nodding. Before I can start speaking she kneels between my legs and removes my towel. "WHOA WHOA! WHAT ARE YOU-" "I-I THOUGHT YOU MEANT-" "NOO! NONONONO! FUCK NO!" We both jump up and back away from each other. A guard kicks the door open and starts yelling at the two of us. I growl and ignite both my hands, glaring at the bastard. He takes the hint and backs away slowly, leaving the room with a bow. "*sigh* anyway, I meant trading information for a chance at a new life." She gets back up and takes her set again, holding her hand together on her lap looking down. I take my seat as well, being sure to put my towel back on. I take a moment to try and collect myself. I can feel my heart racing like crazy, but a few controlled breaths take care of that. "What do you mean trading information?" she asks quietly. "I believe you know things that are going on here. Things that I wouldn't normally be privileged to know. If you tell me those things, I can guarantee your freedom and citizenship in Terradisia. Though I can't guarantee you a job right away, I can promise you that you wouldn't have to do... this. Well, unless you wanted to. Then I could find you a job doing this that actually pays you." I kind of hate that that is a thing that I can do, but if it helps. She looks a me for a second before chuckling to herself. "You are an odd being," she laughs, covering her mouth with a hand. "Think about it, a new life as a respected individual. Possibly aiding us to end potential conflict. The people of Terradisia would love and accept you quickly... except maybe my wife, for obvious reasons. All I need is a bit of information on the affairs going on here. Anything." I give her a nudge with my arm, getting her to stop laughing and look at me. "Is this really the life you want?" Her mouth opens a few times as she tries to form a response, but nothing comes out at first. "I-I couldn't do that to my home-" "Please be honest with me, is this really a home you want to stay in?" She looks away from me and holds herself. Okay, easy enough here. Make this place look like shit and make Mooseden the shit. I set a hand on her shoulder and give it a light squeeze, letting her know I'm still here. "Talk to me." "... would... would I be allowed to have a calf?" I tilt my head slightly at that, the terminology passing me. "A child." "Oh! Of course! I was a bit curious to how something like that is dealt with given to your... situation." She grimaces from that. I can already guess what they do for a person like her. It's a bit of a dick move, but if it makes this trip end earlier. "I...I'm not allowed. But... when it happens... they... end it." I pause as I try to respond to that. What do you tell someone when they've been forced to have an abortion. Or abortions for that matter. "You have my condolences. That's terrible. If you come with me, that will never happen again. Sappige," I take her hand and hold it lightly. She looks back to me and hiccups, holding back her tears. "Talk to me." THUD I don't know what it was, but something dropped in the other room. One of the guards must have dropped something to get our attention. Sappige takes her hand back quickly and rubs her eyes in a rush. I try to stop her, but she blows me off as she rushes to the door. She stops at the door and hold the door for a second, keeping completely still. "They don't speak Equestrian, but we must be weary not to rise suspicion." She steps out before I could respond. I smile and walk out after her. Nailed it, all I need now is for her to actually tell me what's going on and hope it's worth anything. There are two guards waiting in the bath house. One of them eyes me cautiously while the other gives me a smug look. I shrug and go to gather my clothes, only to see that they are missing. "Your cloths are being washed and will be back in the morning." "Alright. So... will you be safe sleeping alone?" I ask, even though I know it's probably a no. "I'm almost certain that the guard from earlier will be out for revenge against me." She says this in sensual manner as she saunters her way out of the room. I figured as much. That asshole didn't look like the type to take no very easily. I follow after her into the cool open room. Going from the sauna to the crisp night air is nice, but I don't really want to go to sleep being sweaty. I follow Sappige into the bedroom where she stops at a water basin beside the bed. She pulls out a towel from a nearby cabinet and points me to the basin. "A quick wash and we'll go to bed." "Do you really have to-" "Don't worry, you can do your genitals yourself." I sigh from that and step into the basin, wincing from the cool water. "But only if you do me afterwards." "... uhm..." "I'll do my lower genitals." "Oh sweet Barbra-" "But I expect you to do my breast." "... oh sweet Barbra." She chuckles at me and pulls my towel away before rubbing down my body. My face heats up quickly as I try to let this pass by, but physiology is a douche-bag. "Are you... considered large, for your race?" she asks curiously. "Um... yeah." I try not to look at her, but she laughs at my discomfort. I fucking hate her right now. "Why is it always the soldiers?" she asks whimsically. "Well... I know why it's a thing for Spartan soldiers, genetic enhancements and all. I can't really speak for everyone else though." She hums back to me, continuing her rub down on my chest. She seems to be enjoying this a bit too much, so I start to move to get her to go onto other areas. She takes the hint and starts on my back, where she pauses at my center. "Everything okay?" "You're so tense! Would you like a massage? I could work out these kinks for you." I laugh at that, shaking my head at her. "You know how long my wife has been trying to get me to go to a masseur? I'll be alright. Besides, it's already too late for something like that-" "Then tomorrow we'll make time for it!" She determines with a slap on my ass. I yelp and nearly fall out of the little basin, only staying standing because I grabbed onto Sappige for dear life. She laughs at me, as do the guards in the other room, and helps me upright. I try to glare at her, but she laughs my discomfort away and hands me the towel. "Finish up and do me quickly so we can go to bed already! And not that kind of do-" "I know what you mean!" I snap back quickly, awkwardly cleaning myself. She at least gives me the decency to look away, but it's still awkward as fuck. When I finish I step out and trade spots with her. "So... just... wash you then?" "Take your time, I'm not going anywhere." She gives me a soft smile, making me feel slightly better about this. With a deep breath I grab a new towel and get to it. I bring the towel to her shoulder and rest it there, gulping as I watch the water roll down her supple curves. Why did I have to find this out about myself now? If I had known beforehand... well, I guess I'd still be caught under the same rock. I take my time cleaning her safe areas. Her flat stomach, slander arms, her long thick legs. The entire time my face is burning while my dick is aching for attention. When I eventually get to her chest I pause again and look her in the eyes. I can see the sympathy there, but she still guides my hands there to finish the job. I don't understand what the big deal is. They're just to glands of milk and fat and... stuff. But... there's just something about them that is rocking me to my core. It's like... finding a new topping for pancakes. Pancakes are amazing on their own, but putting something new with them just make them much better. It's not an exact parallel, but... I dunno, I'm no poet. I wash them, and enjoy the experience way too much. Without prompt I move to her ass and start washing there as well. She gives me a look but doesn't stop me. I guess... in the heat of the moment I just... went for it. Just like the rest of her body, it was meant to be appreciated. Once I finish; some time well after she was cleaned, I step back awkwardly and fumble with the towel. Sappige reaches for the towel and takes it from me to clean herself. Not knowing what to do I just start to look anywhere but at her. I can feel the guilt start to build up in me again, only much worse this time. I know why I did all this, for the most part, but I can't help but feel as if there was more I could have done to avoid this situation. If the information doesn't pay off... I don't know what I'd do. Even with the way things are now I don't know what I'm going to say when I see Luna. "Come, let's get some sleep." Sappige tells me quietly as she takes my hand and guides me to the bed. I follow after her, ignoring the fact that we were both still a bit wet. She huddles up against me similar to that of a loved one. I gulp again as I try to push out the feeling of her presence, but to no avail. "Sleep, it will make this easier." "We still need to talk-" "I will show you what you seek tomorrow. Rest for now." She rests her chin in the crook of my neck, the same way Luna does. She goes to sleep rather quickly, but it takes awhile for me to follow after her. Partially from her, mostly from the guards doing their rounds. Perspective: Luna I tried to go back to sleep after my phone call with Miles, but I couldn't. I have so much on my mind at the moment I needed to vent. Celestia was simply out of the question, as was Twilight. I thought about going to Trixie, but quickly dismissed the idea. I don't want to give her the notion that I'm giving Miles free passes. With limited female friend options, I resorted to bringing E'Claire over to talk. It was difficult to wake her at first. It was even more awkward when I went into her wet dream, but I had to do it! Once I explained myself and told her what happened, she understood. "Wow," she mumbles for the fourth time in a row. She's sitting at the base of my bed while I'm spooning a pillow, trying not to explode. "Just... wow." "I want to be mad at him, but I gave him permission. But... I know it's going to bug me until we confront this together. Why couldn't he just let me know before hoof! All of this would have been avoided if he'd just let me help, but nooo! He has to be the man and take all of the responsibility himself! Look where that got him now! I swear, if I ever see that cow-" "Wow." "He is inconsiderate, isn't he! He runs off and plays soldier while I stay here and sit at court filing tax reports and whatnot! Does he really think I can't point a massive cannon at some poor dope and make demands? Because that's basically what he's doing! They fly in, over power the opposition with superior firepower, and walk away heroes! Let's see him dig through centuries old political text and find ancient tariff laws! He can barely read Equestrian as it is!" "Wow." "And that's another thing! Whose bright idea was it to bring up ancient laws to audit the Apples!? Are they serious!? If they really want to go by the olden rules then I should just have them flogged because I felt like it, but noooo! That would be unethical! We can't toss the lawyers into jail because we feel like it! They have rights too! They have a right to kiss my-" "Wow." "UUUUHHGGG!" Bury my face in my pillow and let out a nice, long, calming scream. Afterwards I pull myself out and take a few breaths. "But I can't just tell him all of this, not with his thick skull. He'd just brush it off with his 'it's a Spartans responsibility to endure for others'. He thinks he's protecting me by taking the hits himself, but I can take the hits as well! I wish he just understood that he doesn't have to go through it all alone." "Wow." I let out a sigh and roll onto my back, staring up at the ceiling. "I know, it's not actually all that bad. I'm just upset at the moment. But, even in my anger, my point have a good amount of validity to them. I don't know what to do about any of this, what do you think?" I look over to her and wait for her to respond, but she just stares off into space for a bit. "E'Claire?" "Wow." "E'Claire?" "Wo... huh? Oh! Right, uh... so... when you say big breasted, how big are we talking?" "Did you hear anything I just said!?" She jumps a bit and waves her hooves in front of herself defensively. "I was, I was, I swear! I was just thinking! Besides, you're the one who broke me out of my wet dream!" I blush at that and look away. I enjoy sex like any other mare, but... there has to be something wrong with E'Claire to be dreaming about that kind of stuff. "R-right. Sorry." I mumble as I become acquainted with the headboard. "Anyway, as for the whole 'letting Miles fool around with a minotaur hooker'-" "Concubine." "Whore. It's whatever, ya know." I do a double take and stare at her as if she just grew four wings and a crooked horn. "Whatever? What do you mean whatever? This is not something to 'whatever' about!" "Why not?" She asks with a shrug. I try to respond, but have to re-work my brain for a moment. "Look, he still loves you a lot. He called before anything got too crazy and I doubt he'll do anything beyond touching. Trust me on that one, your stallion is as whipped as they come." "But-" "If anything, use this to your advantage. I mean, after six years of just vanilla sex you're going to need something to get things back to their previous heat, right?" I blush at this and think back to our... engagements. "Well... it may be... vanilla, in your words, but... it's really good vanilla." Oh, hey! There's a scratch on the headboard! I wonder how that got there? "Really? Huh. So... does he still get you there?" She asks excitedly. "I don't see how that's relevant-" "Oh come on Luna! I've always wanted to talk dirty with you like this! Besides, with everything Shadows told me about you two-" "What does Shadow know?!" I ask in astonishment, looking back to her mortified. "Luna, you are not the quiet type." My eye twitches and I feel a cold sweat start to form on my brow. "You're a squealer. That, and you tend to end with a scream or two. And that's on normal nights! When you're in heat, well, Shadows got your cycle down pretty well by now." Oh sweet mother... if she can hear me, then what about Tempestive. "E'Claire, as much as I enjoy the thought of scarring my children for life, can we maybe get back on track please?" She shrugs and lays on her back, giving a nice stretch before continuing. "Well, if you're looking for my opinion, here it is. Should you be mad at Miles about the cow slut thing? No. I personally think you should have a more open out look for that kind of thing. It keeps the relationship, and by relationship I mean sex life, more open and vibrant. Should Miles let you help him more with Spartan stuff? Eh, yes and no. Yes he should be considerate and more open with you, but you can't really help him international stuff." "... and how is that?" "Well, Luna, he's human. You're an iconic alicorn pony. If you were to show up anywhere they would assume that you were there for Equestrian business, not Terradisian. It's a looks thing really. You're pony, he's human. Simple as that." She continues to talk, but an idea starts to form in my head. She's right. I can't do most the things Miles does because he's human and I'm a pony. But if I were to become a human as well, then I could do those things as well. But, then the dilemma is my leaving the Equestrian government. If I were to become a human, then I wouldn't be able to rule over Equestria. Not at first at least. I'd be dropping all of my responsibilities on Tia and Twilight for my own selfish gain. Not to mention Tempestive. I know we're going to be having that talk soon, but I couldn't imagine doing it to him when we're both in that form. It would be too confusing for him to understand properly. Then again, who says I have to stay a human? Miles changes between the two all the time and blames his altered soul. My soul is altered, wouldn't that mean I could learn to shift between the two as well? All I would need to do is use that machine as a catalyst to learn the other form. And I should be able to shift between the two much more easily than Miles, seeing as I shift between my Pure and Innocent form frequently. The hardest part of this plan is getting the Elements to power the machine. "... and oh, never walk the same again I tell you. If you want one, I'm sure we can get you a starter-" "E'Claire." I cut her off suddenly, smirking as I run the plan over in my head. "When Miles gets back, do you min watching Tempestive for the night?" "... you're lucky Miles is easy, otherwise this wouldn't work."
Chapter 235 Who's WhoChapter 234 Who's Who Perspective: Twilight Once our meeting with Luna and Miles was over, Celestia invited me back to her study to work on revisions on the guest lists. I was a little worried that I didn't catch any of Celestia's little warnings, but the meeting wasn't that bad. Once we actually got to working on details, Luna and Miles opened up a bit more. I would say it went from liquid nitrogen to ice cold, an improvement nonetheless. We make it to her study and I go to one of the seats in front of her desk, where I start to unpack all of my notes. "I thought that went well, given the circumstances." I mention to her. Celestia collapses into her seat and buries her face in her hooves, letting out a long, tired breath. "Um... is everything okay?" "Twilight... do me a favor and take some notes." I don't know where she's going with this, but I do as she says. "Ready?" "Yes, what would you like me to copy down?" I ask as I dip my quill and wait for her to start talking. "When looking for social cues, I will look up from my notes so I may see them," Celestia recites. I start to write it down when the statement hits me. I pause and look up, seeing her glaring at me. "Oh... uh... did... did I... make a mistake?" I ask shyly, trying to hide behind the scroll. She lets out another long breath and buries her face in her hooves again. I think back to the meeting, and can't think of anything that I did wrong. I mean, they each asked me some off topic questions, but I gave them my honest answers. What was I supposed to say? Earlier at the meeting "So, Twilight," Luna asks me politely. "How has it been with Storm home for so long?" "It's been great! Having him home has been a blessing, especially for Softy. I don't know how I'd manage without him here helping!" Later at the meeting "Hey Twilight, have you read up on Equestrian military ethics or tactics? Just in case the nation was thrust into war?" Miles asks me. "There aren't any really out there. The only text that have been made are from when the three tribes were fighting, but those wouldn't be relevant in a fight with the griffins." "Sure is lucky Storm is Spartan trained, isn't it." "I don't know how we'd get by without it." "Oh... sorry." How could I have not seen that coming!? I was told before hoof! I feel like a complete idiot now. Even worse, I didn't catch any of Celestia's warnings. How could I have been so blind to all of this? "It's alright Twilight. But, in the future, please be a little more thoughtful when in meetings like those," she tells me tiredly. "Of course. Sorry Prin- Celestia." Darn it, and then I let that slip too! To be fair, she is scolding me right now, so it would make sense that I would revert to that. I've never seen Celestia this... disappointed before. I've never really done anything to garner it. I don't know how to deal with this. "It's alright, Twilight. Let's just get started with the guest list." She sounds so defeated. I don't know how to deal with this! I've never seen her so... lost. I don't know how to make up for disappointing her either. Maybe I should just take my notes and let it slide by. I don't even know what to say, so I guess silence is the best answer for the time being. "Right. So we're still having a reserved party in the castle, but we need to switch some of the ponies out," I mention, trying to keep it official. "Correct. Do you have the current list?" I nod and pull it out, showing it to her. "With the Gala so close, we can't really stop anypony from coming who already has a ticket. So, the best we can do is invite the few that I have on this list and stick around them the most." "Right. And we need to alienate the right ponies as well," I mention, getting her to nod. "That shouldn't be too hard to do. Most of them are of the younger generation, as well as friends of Blueblood. In reality all we need to do is alienate him and a few other key individuals." "Like who?" she sits back and thinks about this for a moment. How many ponies does she know that could help in this situation? "Well... there's the baroness Silky Smooth. She's a textile owner from Manehatten. She's young and infatuated with Blueblood. If we can get him to show her his true colors, I'm sure that will work in our favor." "Right... or, if Rarity is there to talk to her, maybe she could convince her otherwise-" "That won't work," Celestia cuts me off quickly, silencing me. "Rarity is an independent worker, Silky is a factory owner. Not to mention Silky is also friends with Suri Polomare, a rival of hers. If they were in the same room... well, it would certainly alienate her." "And... isn't that what we want?" I ask, not understanding the issue. "Yes and no. When testing the waters in the political field, you need to cover your bases. We need to assume that Luna will be attempting to gain favor as well, meaning we need to cover our tracks. If we invite her, we'd need to invite all of the Elements. And if one of our plans backfires, Luna may use it to her advantage." "So the best way to avoid that is by limiting the possibilities." Celestia nods to that, finally sitting up right. "Then we should start with Rainbow Dash. Miles is forcing all of the Spartans to attend, so she's going to be there anyway." "Hm... I wasn't aware of that." Oh... was I not suppose to mention that? Well, no secrets, right? "That actually might play in our favor." "How so?" I ask, genuinely intrigued. "If I'm seen with them, they might give me an appeal of a warrior. Especially if I can act as a liaison between them and certain officials." I go to say something, but stop myself. Sadly, Celestia notices it right away. "If you have something to say, please do not withhold it." "Well... it's just that... Luna may already have you beat there," I tell her coyly as I hide behind my scroll. "Oh? How's that? The Lords and Nobles don't know them, so if I'm the one to introduce them-" "Yeah, but they hardly know you," I interrupt, making her pause. "They know Luna, they see her all the time. Most of them are fairly antisocial, so they're going to stick around the ponies they already know. That's Miles and Luna. Ponies already know Rainbow, so that won't work. Not to mention some of them were wanted criminals, so if you're seen with them it might give the wrong idea. Your best bet for them is to convince them to stay as far away from Luna as possible. Then you might have a chance at giving the introductions. But I don't know how we're going to do that without Luna becoming suspicious." "Hm... that's thinking like a politician." I smile from the compliment. We both think about it for a moment as we try to come up with a plan. Something that will separate the two groups but won't disrupt either of them... "Celestia... should we ask Miles for help?" I ask quietly, knowing that this is a touchy subject. "I don't think that would be wise-" "Because if we can, getting Luna away from the Spartans will be tremendously easier. Otherwise, we'll have to work around him as well." Celestia thinks about that for a moment. If trying to sneak around Luna is being this difficult, how are we going to work our way around him? The problem isn't even that he'll be trying anything. Because he's the King, ponies will be flocking to him in droves. If we don't convince him to help us, nothing we try to set up may work. Knock knock knock "Yes?" Celestia calls out. The door opens for a moment and Miles steps in, closing the door behind himself. "Miles! How long were you there?" "The entire time." WELP! There goes everything we've been planning! Which is nothing because we just STARTED! "Though I do not approve of backroom dealings, I agree with your goals." Well... I should have seen that coming. "Then you'll help us?" Celestia asks, perking up a bit. Miles doesn't respond, instead moving to a nearby chair to take a seat. "No." Well... now I'm lost. "I can't help you because Luna would know something is up. But, I might have a solution that may... aid your cause, if only slightly." "At this point we'll take all the help we can get," I tell him, getting Celestia to nod with me. "When are you free for sparring matches?" Miles asks, growing a slight smirk. "I... don't understand. How will that help-" "My Spartans respect one thing: Warriors. We don't care about nationality, we don't care about nobility, we are warriors. Luna may know them more personally, but very few of them have fought with her. You want their respect, make it to the sparring grounds everyday at seven hundred hours. You may not get them to like you, but it's better than nothing." "Everyday at seven AM... I'll have to move some things, but I think I can do that." I pull up her calendar and take a look. There are some meetings that don't look as if they can be moved. "If you would like, I can oversee these meetings in your place. That way, you can focus on that and possibly take on more planning obligations." "That would be best, thank you." I smile to her, glad to finally be of some real help. "Just a warning though," Miles tells her. "Some of them may attempt to question you, on varying things. Be ready for them. And don't give any of that rehearsed public speech shit, either. They want true opinion, facts, and dick jokes. I cannot stress that enough. Your T.O.F.D. will make or break you." "I'm sorry... jokes? I have to make... jokes-" "Dick jokes," Miles reiterates, completely serious. "It'll show that you're relaxed around them and letting your guard down. You could sit there and listen to their life stories, which we don't have time for, or just talk about how little Damian's dick is. You will get to the same place faster, trust me on that." "... why those kind of jokes? I know some very funny anecdotes-" "See, that's too serious. We're training, which we take very seriously. So, our conversations have to become our outlets for stupidity. Therefore, dick jokes. It's crass, simple, and effective. If you don't know any, I can lend you a few of my goto lines, and I'm sure Storm could offer a few as well-" "Storm makes those jokes too?" I ask in bewilderment. He can be funny from time to time, I just didn't think he could be crass... how does Miles know my husband better than I do? "Storm is more situational about it. But he does it all the same-" "I've never heard you guys make jokes like that before, are you messing with us?" I ask, eyeing him closely. He chuckles at that, standing up casually. "You've never trained with us before. But, you are invited to if you would like." He goes to the door and opens it, looking back to Celestia as he steps out. "Remember: seven hundred hours. Bring your A-game, don't complain, and T.O.F.D. I'll see you then." We sit there in silence when he walks out. He has to be joking about that, he has to be. Storm is too mild mannered for that kind of humor! Or, he is now at least. Maybe six years ago, but not now! I look over to Celestia and see her staring at the doorway, thinking deeply over what he said. I bite my lip as I try to think of what to tell her, but I'm not sure of what to say. This isn't really my area of expertise. "Let's continue," Celestia tells me coldly. "Of course! Who else is there that we need to invite to the Grand Galloping Gala?" I ask, returning to my notes. "Well, there's the steel mill owner Carnieghgy, Static Effect from the head of the foci college, Peach Pit from the head of the Stone Fruit cooperative, and Bull Market from the East Equestrian Traders. Each of those ponies are opposed to me, but may be swayed in my favor, given the right circumstances of course. We also need to make sure that we invite Fancy Pants, Golden Vein from the Miners Guild, Priestess Sunlight from the Celestial Holy Order, and Doctor Grey Matter, head of the medical board of Equestria. These are some of my most loyal supporters who normally don't come to the Gala. We need to make sure that they attend this year." "Right. Will there be trouble getting them to agree?" I ask as I prepare my next set of notes. "Possibly. Some of them don't like the politics of the Gala, others stopped due to... bad blood." "They were fighting?" I ask to clarify. "... sure. I'll try to make time to meet with each of them-" "With how busy your schedule is, I think it would be better if I went to speak with them. You can brief me before each of them, but I think it would be better this way." Celestia gives it some thought before nodding to me. I can't help but smile from that. This will be my real test into my political career, I just hope I don't mess it up. "Right, those are the few that come to mind for now. In total there are forty nobles with the authority to sway this vote. I believe there are roughly twelve that I will not have to worry about voting to send me to war, another ten or so that will be persuaded when we speak, leaving another nine votes needed to solidify my position as general for Equestria." "What do you mean persuaded? Do you get to speak before the vote?" I ask. "Luna has to make an appeal to the Court for a vote to be made. When they gather to vote, we each will be allowed to make our case. After that, it'll be up to them. Are you ready for this?" "Of course Princess-" "Twilight," she says in a firmer voice. I stop writing my notes to look up at her, seeing the conviction in her eyes. "I will be the one to go to war. Do not let anything come between that." "Prin... Celestia?" I ask, caught off guard by her demeanor. "The safety of my family and my subjects are my deepest concerns. I will not stand aside and let somepony else defend them. You know this first hoof. My sister has the same tenacity, but I am counting on you to stand on my side. Do not let any personal feelings stand in your way. Am I understood?" I swallow the lump in my throat and nod to her. I was on her side to begin with, why is she acting like this? "Very well, now let's discuss Carnieghgy. He's a steel mogul based out of Detrot..." Perspective: Miles I let out a sigh as I take my seat beside Luna in her carriage. It was her idea that we take this thing home together, meaning there are still things she wishes to discuss. After our little spat, I'm not sure what else I can handle right now. But, that doesn't mean I'm going to shy away from it either. At least I can trust her guards. Ever since Discord's attack with Celestia's guards I've had some doubts trusting them. Over the last few years I've seen to it that they've all been retrained and I've taken a liking to the Lunar guard. They have a certain tenacity that I don't see in the Solar guard, though I don't know why. "So... where did you go after our meeting?" Luna asks me, breaking me from my thoughts. "Celestia's and Twilight's meeting, you?" I'm pretty sure I know where she went. I just want to see if she tells me. "I met with Blueblood." Okay, didn't see that coming. I thought she would go talk with Diamond Heart to start winning over votes. "I know what you are going to say, that it was already decided and that I shouldn't fight this. There are plenty of reasons for me not to go, but there are equally as many for me to go as well! If I can get thirty one votes from the nobles, I can become the General in Celestia's place." I stay quiet, instead sitting back in my seat and closing my eyes with a sigh. I knew she wouldn't take this sitting down, why would she? Especially with such a clear loophole. We already fought about this, I'm not fighting anymore. I've said what I've had to say and she still wants to go to war. I'm too tired to be mad. I'm emotionally drained by now. All I want to do is go home and sleep, even for a little bit. I'm not going to get that luxury later, why can't I enjoy it now? "Well... don't you have anything to say?" Luna asks, somewhere between curious and desperate. I open my eyes to look at her, seeing the conflict in her eyes. I'm too tired to fight this losing war, so why bother? "Luna... you know how I feel about that-" "I know, but-" "And I know what you have to say in response," I cut her off, silencing her. "I've been up for the past three days with maybe six or eight hours sleep. I've said what I believe and you've said what you believe. At this point, arguing it any further is wasted energy and emotions." "But I-" "If there's one avenue left, and if you feel as strong about this as I think you do, then let's walk down this bumpy road." She goes to say something, but stops herself. She blinks a few times before finding the words. "Are... are you saying what I think you're saying?" she asks cautiously. I give her a look before moving to sit sideways, pulling her into my lap along the way. She doesn't fight it, but she does blush from the sudden move. "I'm tired, Luna, and not just physically. I've been fondled, shot, beat, yelled at, and yelled more than I want to in the past few days. And by the looks of things, it's not going to get any easier from here on out. I've said what I wanted to say. Now you want to do what you believe is right, even though I object to it. I don't have the mental or physical capacity to fight you any further on this, so I won't. Who knows, maybe later I'll feel different, but right now I want to get some rest. Whatever happens, happens." She doesn't say anything in response. Rather, she nestles into my embrace and stays quiet. Like I said, I'm too tired to say anything, so we just lay there for a period of time. I don't fall asleep during our silence, but not from a lack of effort. Something about these sky carriages always keep me up. They're bumpy, the wind whips at you constantly, and then there's the fear that this thing will turn over and I'll fall to my doom. But, she wanted to tell me she was still going to try... she kept me in the loop. Something I haven't done. "The goblins are trying to establish a foothold in the Southern Badlands," I tell Luna, getting her to stir. "Do you know what they were after?" she asks quietly. "We have guesses. But we haven't confirmed if they knew what they were gathering intentionally." "Hm... how mad are you that I'm still going to try to become general?" I think about that for a moment, trying to think of the best way to answer that. "Remember when Lupus took a dump in the living room?" "Which time?" she asks with almost a laugh. "The time he hid it under the recliner-" "And then we had to throw it out, yes. I recall that... I don't think that is the appropriate amount of anger." I chuckle at that. "Nothing between us is normal, Luna." She nods to that, scooting over to have her back against me. "I'm mad, but what you're doing is in your nature. Whatever happens, happens-" "Every time you say that, you sound defeated," Luna points out quickly. "I guess... my fear is that you will resent me for doing this. But my fear of losing you is pushing me forward. I know what you are capable of, Miles, I've seen your memories plenty of times now." "Luna-" "My greatest fear is that you'll do something and regret it. And then you'll try to keep it to yourself; to protect those around you. I want to be there for those moments, Miles. I want to be there when you need someone to be strong for you. I am your wife, it should be me you go to for strength. I know what you struggle with, Miles, but I can't help you if I'm not there for you. If you try to bottle all of that up... I don't know what kind of man you would be then." "..." I don't say anything to her. What would I say? She's right, there's no arguing that. My biggest fear is losing them, but there's so much more to it than that. Losing their respect. Losing their hopes. It's in my nature to try and carry the burden by myself, but Luna simply will not allow me to do that. I messed up before, I can't again. But what is there to do? I need her by my side, but I need to keep her off the front lines as well. And then, just to makes things more complicated, we throw in the kids to the mix. I miss them, but there is so much to be done now. As it seems, there doesn't seem to be much time left before things boil down even further. How are we going to get through this? "How difficult will it be for you to sway opinion?" I ask her after some thought. "Well... that depends. Assuming that I'm doing it by myself, rather difficult. I still tend to sleep during the day, so most of the ponies I would need to speak with won't be awake. Then there's the fact that I don't really have anypony to send out to mingle for me. Not like Celestia does, at least." "As it seems, you have Blueblood and she has Twilight, Diamond Heart, Cadence, Fancy Pants-" "I get it," Luna cuts me off, giving me the stink eye. I shut my mouth and stay quiet. Probably not what she wanted to hear right now. She lets out a huff and relaxes against me, rubbing her eyes slowly as her ears fold back. "Is this even possible?" "Everything is possible," I console, rubbing her forelegs gently. "We won't know until you try." "... and if I do succeed?" I pause and think about that. If on the off chance that she does get the votes to lead the war, what would I do? I don't know how to answer that, there are too many variables. What if only Terradisia goes to war? Then none of this would even matter. But if Equestria is attacked, and she leads, I couldn't ignore that. I'd have to do something, but how? Would I be going as a Spartan, or as the King of Equestria? What would that allow me to do? Would there even be a line? There are a few things that I can assume to happen. Regardless of who goes to war, I can see Luna and Celestia breaking ties with Terradisia. That way, they can act more freely for Equestria. If Equestria goes to war, it would only be a matter of time before Terradisia is brought in as well. They are our host nation, we wouldn't be able to ignore it. Then there's the fact that most of the fighting will occur in Equestria. Even if Luna doesn't lead, that may not matter. She may have to fight anyway. Even though Ponyville is under joint jurisdiction, I doubt that the Griffins know, or care, about that. It's a prime target... "You have convinced me," I tell her solemnly. "About what?" she asks, unsure of my intent. "I still oppose it, but I will not stand in your way in this. And I can think of a few ways to help you win over others." "You're going to help me?" she asks hopefully, turning to look down at me. "Don't get me wrong. Technically speaking, I'm helping both of you. The way I see it, you both should be at your best when they go to vote. That way, there can be no argument about the winner. I have a few ideas about what you need to do, but most of them will occur during the Gala. Plus, I'll need to get some information from Celestia and Twilight as well. Luckily for us, they're coming over in the morning to train. You already spoke with Blueblood, so I'll contact him as well-" "Miles," Luna says as she turns to lay on her stomach. I pause and wait to see what she says. She looks... lost? I'm not sure what she's thinking right now, which scares me a little. "Why are you helping me?" "I... just told you." "I don't want you to help me with something you are opposed to-" "Luna-" "I want you to agree with me first." I stop at that, understanding the conflict. "If you are not invested in this, then do not aid me. Though I appreciate the gesture, I will not accept insincerity. Are you with me or not?" I stay quiet again. She couldn't just let it be, could she. I really shouldn't be surprised. Of course she would fight it, this is her one chance to get out there. I knew this was going to happen, but can I be alright with this? If she gets enough backing, she'll go to war. She'll be at the battlefields, fighting the enemy face to face, leading a weak army. How am I supposed to support that? Well, not lying would be a starter. She'll know. "I... don't know yet. If I can wrap my head around it, I'll let you know. But... I need to think on it first... When I'm rested and thinking straight." Luna mulls it over for a second before nodding to me. I let out a long breath and relax into the seat, finally feeling the tension leave me. For now at least. She nestles herself against me and relaxes as well, letting the silence fall between us once more. "So... are you going to train me along with Tia?" I hum in response, barely awake. "Celestia is training with you in the mornings now. I have a chance at becoming the leader as well, you should train me as well." "Hm, that is true." "... so... are you going to?" She sounds a little eager about this. "Well, do you want to train with Celestia? I could train you in the afternoon PT regimen to keep up some form of espionage between the two of you. Or you can train with her, either way." "So, you'll train me?" "Yeah, but I don't think I need to. You know as much about fighting as I do." All thanks to Soul Fire. Ever since our souls bonded together, her knowledge of war astounds me. I still don't know why Soul Fire did that though. Why would she get that, but I couldn't get how to fly? Actually, I didn't get anything from that. "I think I'll train at night. It'll fit my schedule better." I hum to her, still thinking on our soul bonding. "Though, I would like to be there when Celestia makes her first dick joke." "I'll record it for generations to cherish," I tell her, getting her to chuckle. "Please do. And make copies, lots of copies." I chuckle at that, thinking about it further. Celestia's first dick joke posted on every corner in the nation, for all to hear. I could do that... "Nah, just one copy will be enough-" "Aw, come on! For her birthday?" I laugh harder at that. "I think she would actually kill me for that. Nah, I don't want to be a massive dick for her first." "Miles, you are a massive dick when it comes to first times." I laugh at that, looking at her in disbelief. "No, no. I have a massive dick. You should know-" "I do know, I was there. And I stand by my statement," she cuts me off confidently, resting her hooves behind head. I go to say something, but chuckle instead. "What? Got nothing to say?" "I'm going to make you eat those words," I tell her casually, getting her to laugh. We make eye contact for a second and laugh some more, warming into each other's embrace. Things might not be perfect, but it seems as if we'll be okay. We can make it through this, together.
Chapter 238 No Rest for the WickedChapter 238 No Rest for The Wicked Perspective: Luna I wait till early in the morning before I head for Topaz Falls. Yesterday Shadow had told me everything that had happened. The scandal Miles and her are in, how he reacted afterwards, and where he is now. It sounds like Corpus to me, but if he says something is different then we have to go by his words. I tried my best to console Shadow, but I was only able to take the edge off. There's something snapping in her. Even through her tears I saw it. Vengeance. She wants to hurt that Diamond Tiara girl, but in a way greater than just physical pain. She wants to bring her down in every conceivable possibility and beat her when she begs for mercy. I've never seen this side of her. Then again, we've never had to deal with something like this before. We'll have to keep an eye on her. This is a dangerous path she's walking towards; one I know all too well. I make it to the tram station to Topaz and board the first cart. I'm still debating whether or not I should have waited to speak with Miles. I doubt speaking with him immediately would have solved anything, but waiting this long may have consequences. He could have changed again and harmed himself, or worse. He was still tired, so there's the chance that he may have caught up on his rest. Though that's very doubtful. If my instincts are as accurate as I believe them to be, he'll be at the P.C.H. doing various tests on himself. I try to distract myself by looking out at the city as the tram takes me into Topaz Halls. I know this was his home, but I still don't get why he's rebuilding here. What is he going to accomplish by bringing this city back to its former glory? I don't think he intends to bring people down here. Maybe it was just to put the bots to work. Even with the city cleaned up and lit, it's still eerie to look out there. Dozens of homes and businesses that were once part of a thriving civilization, now empty. This city is a grim reminder of what Miles had. I preferred it back when it was in ruins. At least then you couldn't lie to yourself about the history here. The tram comes to a stop behind the P.C.H. and I'm greeted by one of the many utility bots. "Take me to Miles," I order it. "I apologize, but Grand Captain Miles Eremita is currently undergoing medical evaluation. If you would like, I can escort you to the waiting area until the procedure is completed." I nod to the bot, following after it. So he has been testing himself here. I hope he's found whatever has been plaguing him. It will be better if there is a clear cause for this. I nod to the machine and follow it into the tall building where it instructs me to take a mico platform. One flash later, and I appear in a waiting room and take a seat. I take a look around the bare room and sigh in annoyance. Like many of the rooms in Topaz Falls, there isn't much to the imagination here. Four walls, a ceiling, a floor, and some doors. It's a wonder that the people here didn't go crazy from the blandness. It's a wonder how of these buildings could have so little to them, yet squealers could show generations of life in a single photo... What am I even talking about? Am I so desperate to think about something else that I'm self-loathing the interior decorations? Is this what my life has come to? Going from bland room to bland room and waiting on Miles while I bicker about the walls? No more. I will not lower myself to such ludicrous notions! I stand up and march through the door with the medical sign above. A bot warns me to stop, but I ignore it and continue on through a corridor. I am not going to wait on the sidelines anymore. I told him I was going to start to be a part of this, and I will! On my time, not his! I enter a large spherical room glowing in blue lights. Miles is laying on a gurney in the center as long mechanical arms race around the room. Blue lights beam out of the ends of these arms and are scanning over Miles, zipping all over his body. I feel my stomach twist a little as I realize my impatience. I hope this doesn't force him to restart, that's the last thing I want to hear right now. "Analysis complete. Subject shows high magical capacity and fluctuating soul patterns. Patterns are recurring and stable. Immediate action is advised to restrain power levels. Subject passes physical standards for war. Psychiatric analysis complete, passing marks for battle. This completes your exam." I wait on the side as the machine gives the results. He's perfectly healthy, which is a problem. Something is altering him and there's nothing the Terradisians had that could identify it. Whatever it is, I doubt there's anypony alive that can help him... other than me. "Well, at least you have your health," I muse as I approach him. He looks over to me in slight surprise before rubbing his face. "Tired?" "Irritated," he tells me from behind his hands. "Four two hour tests and I have nothing to show for it. I'm no closer to know what's going on than... *sigh* I don't even know." I take a seat beside him and nudge his hand. He lets it down and looks to me, showing me his tired eyes. Today is not going to be good to him. "Do you have any theories?" I ask him, trying to see where he's at with this. "I have some guesses, but none of them are sound enough. It's most likely Corpus Glacius, but it didn't feel like him. He's... cold. And this wasn't cold. But I can't make full decisions based on feelings. I need facts. Facts that I don't have and am having immense trouble finding." "What was it? What was the feeling you felt when you... blacked out?” I almost said lost control. I have to be careful with my wording. I need to make sure that he stays level headed. He looks to me in fear for a second before taking a deep breath and looking up, keeping his eyes closed. "Angry. Hateful even. I read that article and... I just remember being mad. That I wanted to hurt the fucker who wrote it." I swallow the lump in my throat. I guessed as much, but by the way he's talking... there's more to it. "And... before? Shadow told me that you blacked out before. What was it like when you first blacked out?" He takes a moment to think about it before responding. "Smug. No... not exactly. I was in his room, looking at his weapon designs, and... they were primitive. By my standards at least. It made me feel... superior. Like he was beneath me. Confused too. How could someone so basic be a threat to me? A threat to anyone? I saw those plans and they made me feel powerful." I nod to him and think. He got angry at that article, he felt superior to Starke... "Miles... it sounds like you're describing the Elements of Chaos to me." He gives me a confused look before sitting up and facing me properly. "I don't doubt that those incidents are similar to them, but they aren't conclusive enough. Why would they start acting up now? Why not the other times I felt those emotions? Anger and Pride are strong, but I don't think-" "As of right now they are as likely as any other possibility, are they not?" He gives it a moment’s thought before nodding to me. "I think it would be best if you took them and sealed them away. At least until we understood them better. They might be warping your mind for all we know." "I... cannot dispute that." He nods some more as he thinks about it, casting his gaze downward slowly. "Alright. For the time being, the Elements of Chaos are benched. At least until I have either gain new information or blackout again." "Good. Now come with me. The Spartans will begin training soon, and-" "I can't go back," Miles says, confused. "Luna, I lost control. If I don't have control over myself with this kind of power-" "Miles, you are king," I cut him off firmly, standing to drive my point further. "Whether you like it or not, you are king. And with that you now have an obligation to not only this family, but this country as well. I don't care if you are scared or if you lose control, we need you up there now. Not when it conveniences you, not when you have all the answers you want, and never when you decide it's safe. Your duty is to your family and your country, so you will never have all of those. We are less than a week away from what could be the start of a major war. Equestria needs its king, and the Spartans need their captain. I'm sorry, but you changing is not our biggest fear right now." "..." The room goes silent as we stare at each other. He doesn't seem mad, just shocked. I hate that I had to say this, but it was necessary. We can't afford to show weakness right now. I know Ulfric has his spies all over Equestria, just as we have ours in the Griffin Colonies. With all of the attention Miles has brought on himself, he can't just disappear. We have to look strong, we have to look ready. No matter how false it truly is, we cannot afford to look weak. "We need to show the world that we are in control," I tell him, softening my voice. "They are trying to push us around; we need to show them that we will stand our ground. And that starts by inspiring the ponies of this nation. If you suddenly disappeared after all of this, who would they look to? I know you didn't want it, but it's too late for selfish desires. It's time to serve your country, because we need you. Now, more than ever." "... you realize what happens after, right?" I tilt my head slightly, unsure of his intentions. "Luna... this isn't going to end when we push them back. This isn't going to end with some ink on paper or words between diplomats. You have to know that. This is going to end in blood, and both sides are going to give their share. And... things won't go to the way they were before. They never do." I nod to him and use my magic to bring him to his feet. How could things go back to the way things were? After something like this... nothing will be the same. "All the more reason we need you, Miles. Suit up, it's time to train." Perspective: Celestia I shift around in my chariot as I try to control my nerves. It's been so long since I've last trained for battle, I don't know what to expect. Another lost feeling, not knowing. If anything, Miles has at least taught me that I don't know as much as I previously believed. I completely forgot what it's like before a battle. Your blood rushing through your veins, your breath catching every single time, the dryness in my mouth. It's incredibly uncomfortable. Which is good, I guess. I can't imagine being accustomed to this. Then again, that might be why I'm here in the first place. We make it to Ponyville where my escorts take me to the front of Miles's home. I step off and they take off without a word, as instructed. I know there are those among my guard that would disapprove of this, but I've made up my mind. That, and if they said anything, I might second guess myself. I take a few steps towards the home and take a look around. The sun has barely poked over the horizon, burning the night dew from the surrounding grass. I'm ten minutes early, so I guess the others are still getting ready. Maybe I have enough time to run in and see the others. Maybe I shouldn't. I've seen Miles yell at his recruits before, I don't want to push my luck today. "Mornin' Princess!" I look up and smile to Rainbow Dash as she lands before me. She's wearing her armor but has the helmet off to the side. "Good morning, Rainbow Dash. It's good to see you again," I greet her, happy I'm not the only one here early. "Where are the others? Are they going to show up anytime soon?" "They're probably suiting up in Mooseden. We usually line up on the side a minute or two before we start.... are you training with us today?" I smile proudly at that, making her shoot her eyebrows up. "Shit." "Um... what?" "Where's your armor!?" she almost yells, looking around frantically. "I wasn't told to bring it-" "That ass! Okay, summon your armor and get it on asap!" I give her a confused look, but does as she says anyway. With a flash of my horn my golden armor appears before me. "Hurry up and put it on!" "What is the rush? We still don't start for another five minutes-" "Do you want Miles on your ass?" Her vulgarity catches me off guard, but I shake my head no in response. "Then hurry up and put it on! It's Spartan directive that you wear your armor for all combat training exercises. If you aren't in your armor, then he'll rip your dick off!" I pause for a moment before hurrying. Did he intentionally not tell me so he could yell at me? Maybe that's his way of teaching, but that's simply cruel. Why would he set me up for failure like that? It's not fair! "Why would he intentionally try to sabotage me? It's not very kind of him-" "We're not here to be kind. We're here to perfect killing people." Her statement stuns me for a moment. I know that's what they do but her bluntness towards it is... disturbing. With that in mind, I rush through putting my armor on. "The others are teleporting in, let's line up. I'll try to help you as much as I can, but do yourself a favor. Don't ask too many questions." "How will I learn if I don't ask questions?" I ask her as I follow. She doesn't answer me, instead lining up and standing at attention with the other Spartans. I follow suite, still confused by her statement. If I'm here to learn, then why shouldn't I ask too many questions? I assume there's something I'm missing, but I don't know what it is. Storm Cloud stands before us and reads from a glass brick. I take a quick look around and notice that Miles isn't here at the moment. I go to ask where he is, when I hear Rainbow Dash cough. I keep the question to myself, at her advice. Is this how they always begin? Or is something wrong? I thought this was just a sparring exercise, why all the formality? "Alright, Spartans! Today is a special little treat for you. We will be joined by Princess Celestia for sparring matches, as well as anything else she is willing to endure. The Captain is set on making her into a proper killer, so let's make sure she learns everything there is!" I gulp at that. That's not why I'm here. I'm here to learn to fight and protect my country. But, that may become a part of my duty. I push the thought away for now, listening to Storm instead. "Now get going! Sixty minutes till we begin matches!" In unison, the Spartans give a shout of confirmation and turn towards the Everfree. I turn after them in time to start running with them. They train in the forest? It's odd, but it is the best place for them actually. It's away from the populace and offers large tracts of land to use. Though, how they avoid the predators and unforgiving weather, is beyond me. The group breaks into a moderate running speed. It's not too much on me, but I find it strange that we are running in a straight line. For some it seems easy, but for others it seems difficult. I don't know how the apes are able to keep pace, but they don't seem like they're struggling. Though, with those helmets, I might be wrong. We go on like this for another twenty minutes. No one talks, no one attempts to fly, and no one breaks from the line. At this point I start to feel my armor chaff against me. I haven't worn this thing is eons, and it's showing. I guess I've become more accustomed to the softer things, and armor is not a part of that. I especially feel it in my left shoulder. I guess in my hurry I put it on wrong. I light up my horn to fix it, but Rainbow Dash coughs loudly. Am I not allowed to use magic? I guess that makes sense, since they haven't used anything during this run, but how am I going to fix it? Am I supposed to just endure it? If this was a battle, I would have the time to correct it, why not now? I don't understand. We go on for another twenty minutes, and I'm starting to feel it. It's not too much, it's just been a long time since I've ran for forty minutes. Sweat is starting to roll down my brow as my legs begin to numb from the constant galloping. Some of the others are showing similar signs, but I feel as if they are handling it much better than I am. If this is something they do routinely, I don't know how I'll be standing at the Grand Galloping Gala. There's no way my legs will allow it. One can hope though. I saw some beast along the way. Dire wolves, manticores, even some things that I've never seen before! None of them moved against us though. It's as if they know not too. If they've been doing this for six years, I can only imagine the confrontations they've had. They might as well be a part of the forest now, it seems. We come upon a wooden fortress at the end of our run. Tall wooden poles, at least twenty feet high, form a square building with watchtowers at the corners. A doorway stands open for us with the Spartan logo burned into it. The walls are covered in scratches and burn marks, some parts looking newer than others. Is this where people come to become Spartans now? Or is this one structure among many for them? I'm sure I'll find out soon enough. The gate opens before us and we come running in. There are a few barracks here, but other than that there's nothing in here. Miles is standing in the center of the open square. He has his armor on and has his claymore in his hands, resting the point in the ground. I feel a new wave of worry wash over me. I've fought him in the past, but something about today is worrying me. Something's... off. The line comes to a halt and turns to face him, everyone staying silent. I don't know if he's looking between all of us or just standing there, it's hard to tell. "Celestia!" he barks. "Step forward." I do as he asks, stepping in front of the line. He walks over and stares right into my eyes, as if testing my nerves. "Miles," I greet him, giving him a slight nod. He doesn't say anything at first, choosing to just stare me down a while longer. I start to feel a bit foolish as I just stand here. He could at least say hello, or something. Anything! "Who told you to bring your armor?" he asks quietly. I feel a pang of worry hit me. So I wasn't supposed to bring my armor! Should I just tell him? I know how much the Spartans value honesty. But I don't want to get Rainbow Dash- "I did!" Rainbow announces, stepping forward. "It's regulation to wear-" "Is it regulation to break the chain of command?" Miles snaps back, moving to tower over her. "No sir!" "Did I order you to tell her to bring armor!?" "No sir!" "Are you responsible for her training!?" "No sir!" "Who the fuck put you in command?" "No one sir!" "Get back in line before I demote your ass!" "Yes sir!" She steps back in line quickly. No one here seems to flinch from his outburst. I myself can feel a cool sheen of sweat rolling down my brow. I really hope he doesn't yell at me like that. "Spartan!" Miles starts, slowly pacing in front of the others. "It appears that our war may be starting sooner rather than later. Come this time next week, I will be meeting at the Isle to discuss terms with Ulfric. That means we have a week to ready our defenses and rally more to our cause. As of today, the Spartans are entering a preparatory state for war, order nineteen; The Gathering." I hear them shuffle around a bit, but they stay mostly silent. I don't know entirely what they mean, but I get the rest. They're mobilizing. He's getting ready for a fight that might not even happen. What does that mean for them? What is that going to change? They've been militaristic in everything they've done; what else is there for them to do? "Until the Grand Galloping Gala, Storm Cloud will be overseeing daily activities. I'm keeping everyone on call until we have assured peace. I have to secure our allies and make further arrangements. That's all for now, dismissed!" Everypony disperses into groups, mumbling to one another quietly. Miles motions for me to follow, so I do. We walk into one of the barracks where Miles sits on a cot, motioning me to sit across from him. I give him a confused look before sitting. "What are we doing out here? Aren't we supposed to be training?" I ask him, fixing the strap on my armor. "Not today. Today... we have a lot to discuss beforehand," he tells me solemnly, removing his helmet. "How will I earn their respect if I'm in here? What is it that you wish to discuss?" He looks away from me for a moment as he thinks to himself. I have no clue what is on his mind, but whatever it is, it's troubling him deeply. "Miles?" "If I said I am king... what would you tell me?" His question is surprising, but not entirely abstract. He is king now and has to start acting like it. But I doubt that is all there is to it. I give his question a moment's thought before responding. "I would tell you that kings do not need to tell others they are king." He scoffs at that, shaking his head while leaning back. "I am here to earn favor with the Spartans. You said that if I trained with them it would-" "Celestia, you could train with us until you find your cause and it wouldn't change their opinions about you." His statement catches me off guard. Why is he wasting my time then? And... does that mean he lied to me? "We're not here to 'gain favor', we're here to train. The fact that you are here is a start, but you aren't going to change their minds." "But you said-" "I said we respect one thing: Warriors. You will not be a warrior, Celestia, you will be a leader. Unless the generals of Equestria lead from the front lines?" I stay silent, knowing he knows the answer. "So... we will not be having sparring matches then, will we?" I ask, feeling a bit down. I've never been so... disregarded before. I know it was a possibility, but... I've never had it thrown in my face before. "I didn't say that." I look up to him in confusion, making him smirk. "You and I will be sparring still, just... not the way you were thinking. We will be playing war games against one another. I will be testing you on your ability to lead armies and how to strategize." I laugh a little at that, getting an offended look from him. "I'm sorry, truly, I am. I'm sure you have much you can teach me in the ways of war. It's just... a little presumptuous, don't you think?" "I come from a culture of people who have been warring since the dawn of time. I was the second highest ranking officer from my city, and it wasn't purely on power or skill. The Codex has records of military tactics and statistics over ten eras ago. And I know not to laugh when my opponent tells me they have something to teach me, Celestia." "I know, sorry. I just thought it was a little funny," I tell him, trying to get back in the moment. "Of course I will play your war games. Where shall we begin? What are the rules?" "Here is our first game. Theoretical Conquest. Here's how it works. I will start by telling you a strategic move or plan to conquer Equestria. Then you will offer a counter to that plan, and then have a chance to counterattack. The game ends when either one of us yields or Storm comes to tell us that our time is up. Are you ready?" What is he planning? Does he really intend to tell me how he plans to conquer Equestria? Or is he toying with me? Either way, this game of his is extremely disconcerting. He's never been one to mock openly about his ability to conquer. He makes his jabs at issues and weak points in policy, but he's never blatantly said how he'd conquer. As much as I want to know what he could do, I don't know how I'll feel when I do. "Step one, Terradisian withdrawal from the Griffin Colonies. As the military commander and current leader of the Terradisians, I have the authority to make the executive action to withdraw from the G.C. Without our free handouts, resentment would grow to the point of rapid mobilization." I nod to that. Things are dicey right now, and him pulling support right now would not help. But how can I put this on him? "You may now offer a rebuttal to my move and a counter move." "Well... by making it an executive action, the griffins would put the blame on you. We'd take this opportunity to solidify our commitment to aiding the people, winning over the populace." "Next we annex the Apple family and cease trade with Equestria. Your market loses ten percent of its crop yield as well as its largest supplier of raw metals, and Terradisia can finally elect a proper Parliament. This absolves me from fault, as it appears as a revolution to outsiders." I blink at that one. I knew that the Apples might sign over, but in this game they do it immediately. The reduction would push prices higher, which is what the griffins are mad about in the first place. I need to debunk his argument. Or, at the very least, pin it against him. "Hm... with a new government, means new minds in power... So we'd petition the new government to open trade again. Then we appeal to the Apples on their years of service to the crown and bring them back to Equestria-" "Then I'd be back in control, putting us in a tailspin between loyalties. Next my Spartans would covertly destroy Equestrian trade routes with the G.C. With little to no food, they are forced to make immediate actions and invade the Soviet Bear Union." I blanch at that. Why would he provoke a war like that? He's trying to conquer Equestria, so he has the griffins fight the bears? That doesn't make sense! Unless... "The griffins wouldn't go to war with the bears. They have a standing army and are already aware of a possible fight. Even if they did, they wouldn't achieve a lasting victory. Our next move would be to broker a peace between the two nations and find a way to secure trade-" "I'd use this as a chance to show the weakness of Equestrian policy. With the bears fighting fiercely and the Equestrians appearing weak, the griffins agree peace with the bears and march on Equestria. Come on Celestia, think! There are more pieces to the puzzle, use them!" I bite my lips as I try to think what he's talking about. He doesn't suggest using family members as pawns, does he? "Hm... I'd..." There's something I'm not considering here. Something he wants to utilize... "I'd eclipse the sun against the griffins. Wherever they land has no sunlight, so they can't grow crops. It also shows the world my resolve to protect my nation-" "I take all willing people into the underground nation of Terradisia. With many of your people and the griffin army in my care, a new parliament is made. This new government moves to secure our lands, and not understanding our technological prowess, goes to war with Equestria. We conquer in three days. Do you surrender?" "Of course not! I-" "We capture city after city and convince them that a new world order will prevail. The people turn against you. You have no army, nowhere to hide, and people to call your own." "We wouldn't fall so quickly-" "We take the food, we control the media, and any that fight don't live long enough to rally others. How are you going to stop an army that outnumbers most of your cities?" I just stare at him, flabbergasted. Is this what he wanted to do? Just boast that he could conquer my nation? "Is this all you wanted? Flaunt your military around and-" "Don't give up so quickly." I hum to him, looking back to him. "Celestia, this is theoretical. This is how things would always be. If I was going to do that, why would I tell you?" I nod to that, but still feel a bit down. Even though it wasn't true, it felt too real. "What do you believe you did wrong?" "Letting you talk down to me," I say bitterly, making him scoff. "Yes, at least at the end there. What else?" I sit back and try to think. Other letting him walk over me during that, what did I really do wrong? "I... didn't take it seriously," I tell him, getting him to nod back to me. I think about it for a moment before continuing. "I didn't take you seriously. Even though you told me what we were going to be doing, I thought of it as a joke. I didn't think of the scenarios outside of my country either." "You also didn't think about who you were fighting." Miles adds. I nod, thinking about what I would have done differently. "Let's try that again. This time take it seriously and think critically. Ready?" "Yes, let's try this again." I straighten myself out and nod to him, ready to start over. "To start off, I take the Apple farms and cut your food production by ten percent. Your move." I think about this for a moment before smiling to him, having an idea. "You wouldn't be able to gather all of the Apples, though. If you were to, you would have already. Seeing you make a move against my nation, I make a move against you. I convince Luna to have another foal, putting you in maternity leave. This weakens the Spartan leadership and removes both you and Luna from major schemes." "But not right away. I use the time before confirmation to stage a series of raids throughout the world, procuring all major metal production globally. I do this through diplomacy or brute force." I think about this one a little bit longer. He takes away metals, then no one can produce any new weapons. But... "I send my guards and strike down Mooseden." Miles shows a little shock from this, clearly not expecting this from me. "To hold all of those mines and factories, you'd have to thin your ranks. And I know exactly where your people are hiding. This would also scare the Apples back to my side, the ones that aren't truly invested at least." He doesn't say anything at first, giving me a surge of confidence. I made him pause. I made the Captain of the Spartan regiment pause. I cut through all of his boasting, all his pride; I deflated his massive ego and made him pause. Is this what he's trying to teach me? What it feels like to out think your opponent. Is this what it's like to win a battle? The war isn't over, but I won this round. This has to be what he's trying to teach me. "Interesting." I smirk at that, swelling with pride. "Well, with my citizens dead and my troops spread wide, I'd have no other choice. Order twenty-six; Final Ultimatum. This is total war. We march, in unison, on every capital. We bomb those that fight, we erase everyone that rebels, and if a city proves too much trouble... we drop alphas. The remaining Spartans and the Terradisian army beat the world into submission." "You can't just keep doing that!" I snap at Miles. "You keep flaunting that army of yours as if they can do what you say they can do! If you could do that, then why haven't you? Why are you even worried about a possible war if that's your go-to answer?" "I will not be a tyrant!" Miles snaps back loudly, slamming his fist down. We stare at each other for a moment before I realize how serious Miles is about this. "Power is a terrifying thing, Celestia. I know that you know this." "Then why do you keep-" "That army is the only reason we're even talking right now, Celly. Can't you see that? The Unfamiliar aren't stupid. If we met in open combat, I'd win, no argument about that. They're playing the field, just as we all are. They know I'll support the Equestrians in any conflict, and that's what they're waiting for. Do you think a person in my position dies in some duel of fates? My death, should it happen, will not be noteworthy." "Miles..." "They know that if they can get you and the griffins to go to war, and they know that I'll support you. All they have to do then is wait and take the shot. I can alter the elements, I can erase mountains, I wield powers unknown to the world. But I can't survive a gunshot to the head. Or a stabbing to the heart. I have power, but that doesn't make me immortal. And that's what they are waiting for. And I refuse to subjugate the world under my banner through force. So, what am I to do? What is the play I make to survive this ordeal? What is my move?" I stare at him, lost. I didn't know he looked at this ordeal so... personally. I should have guessed, most soldiers do so. But I just never expected it from Miles. He always seems so... fearless. Seeing him scared is... uncomfortable. "Miles... I don't know what to tell you. But-" "Well that's a shame." I blanch at his remark. And here I thought we'd have a touching moment. "I'm already putting my plan into motion. Why do you think you're here?" "... ARE YOU USING ME!?" I yell at him. He chuckles and stands up, giving a lazy stretch. Yes, but not the way you think I am. That's enough for today. Let's move on to-" "A sparring match!" I yell at him, standing up quickly. "If I'm going to be used, I may as well learn something from it. We are sparring, and that is final!" He chuckles at that, moving to hold the door open for me. I walk past him in a huff, summoning my sword along the way. "Fair enough then. But be warned, I'm not going to hold back," he tells me as he draws his claymore and sets the sparring enchantment on it. I set mine on as well, eyeing him evenly. "Good. I don't have time for slow lessons." As we square off with one another, all of the other Spartans stop what they are doing to watch. They form a circle around us and keep their weapons pointed at the ground. One of them starts to tap against the ground, and the others join. Soon they're all jabbing their weapons on the ground in unison, setting the beat to our fight. "Then let us begin."
Chapter 256 Die MysteriumChapter 256 Die Mysterium Perspective: Miles Luna moves to sit on the edge of the bed. I can see on her face that she's trying to process what just happened. I can't help but pace back and forth. Just another mystery thrown in our face with no explanation at all! Tonight, of all nights! Because life couldn't just let us enjoy the night as it was, could it? "Is this what it's like?" Luna asks me, making me pause. "Because this sort of thing happens to you all the time. Is this what it's like? Because this is awful. This is... why? Why would she say something like that? Isn't there some sort of rule or... regulations!? I can't stop thinking about it now!" "I know Luna, I know. But there's nothing we can do about it now." I tell her, trying to reassure her. Truthfully, I'm freaking out just a much as she is. But it's easier for me to help others than myself. "Maybe we should try something though? Maybe do an opposite plan of action or... or... do something big! Big and-and right now! What would we normally do right now? Let's try doing the opposite instead!" "I don't know if time travel would work like that." "Well we need to try something! Did you not hear what she said!? Or did you take something else from it? Because to me it sounds like we're not going to make it to our future!" I go back to pacing again. I know what she said. Whoever that was didn't get the chance to meet us. And they really wanted to speak with us, even though they weren't allowed to. What else could that mean? Maybe they're from way in the future. It would be like Luna meeting Dolum. He would have no way of understanding anything she would have to say. But that's not what I took from her. I took death from her demeanor. That's what my instincts are telling me at least. But that's not going to help Luna right now. How am I going to spin this without lying to her and keeping her line of thinking from going further down that pit? "Look... yeah, it sounds like we don't make it from what she said. I'll give you that. But... If that's what it sounds like on the surface, then there's probably something else to it." I move to sit in front of her, trying to keep eye contact with her. I can tell I need to keep digging to bring her back to me. "Whoever that was probably knows better than to speak that candidly to people from their past. Like you said, there are probably regulations in place to protect... history. So if it sounds like that, then it's equally as likely that the opposite happens." "So what are you saying? There's a fifty-fifty chance of us dying?" Luna asks desperately. Her eyes are panicked and I see she's starting to spin this in her head. I take a moment to get my thoughts in order. I'm not sure where I'm going with this, but it seems to be working. "I can't say with a certainty what may or may not happen in the future. You know this. But what I can tell you is what I know right at this moment. And in this moment, we are safe. Tempus is safe. Shadow is safe. Celestia is safe. Our friends, allies, country people, we're all safe in this moment. And what I can tell you with a one hundred percent certainty is that in the next moment, no matter what happens, I will do everything in my power to keep you safe. To keep our children safe. Our homes and friends; I will do whatever I can to keep them as safe as I can." I reach forward and take her hooves in mine. I hold onto them as tightly as I can. The truth of the matter is that I can only promise as much as my own capabilities. Anything beyond that is impossible to guarantee. I can't promise that I'll survive any future conflict. I can't give her the comfort of knowing that I'll always be there for her. I know that. I've always known that. But with the idea of it being thrown in my face... it terrifies me. I'm a planner. I don't like doing something that doesn't have some sort of structure to it. It's why I've fit so well into the military. Even dying seemed so easy to me. A soldier dying in some battle, you don't get surprised by that. But the idea of not being able to protect Luna. The fear of losing someone so dear to me... "I can't promise something as impossible as tomorrow. Even though we know it's going to happen, there's no way of knowing. There's no stopping it. No avoiding it. Tomorrow will happen, with or without us. All we can do now is promise each other that we'll do all we can until tomorrow, and then do it all again. Will you make this promise with me?" She squeezes my hooves for a moment before reaching down and kissing them softly. I can still see the fear and panic in her eyes, but she's at least simmered down a bit. "I know you can't make promises like that. I know I'm asking for the impossible, but that's what I need Miles. And I know how unfair it is to ask something like this of you. I don't want to be that greedy, but I can't help it. I don't want to lose anyone! And I know it's completely fear based but I need something equally illogical to help me. I need you to promise me the impossible so I can continue on pretending like everything will be okay. I need you to lie to me, just this once. Please Miles! Lie to me. Lie and tell me that you'll be okay! Tell me that no matter what you'll come back to me and everything will work out okay. Please!" I try to look her in the eye and tell her that I can't do that. I try to look away and say that goes against everything I've ever stood for. I try to find a way to rationalize this in my own head so I can convince her as well. But... no matter what I do, I keep coming back to that sad face before me. That look of desperation. That bated breath waiting to hear what it needs. I know what I should say. But I also know what needs to be said. Two words. But impossible repercussions. "I promise." She pulls me in for the tightest hug she's ever given me, and I hug her in kind. I feel wrong saying it knowing it's something that I can't really control. I don't even know if it's a lie really. And what am I even promising? That we'll survive? Or just me? But I don't know if any of these questions will ever be answered, which is what I hate about it. This will come back to bite us both in the ass. It's going to change everything moving forward. Left turns become right. Inaction to action. It's unfathomable to comprehend! And I promised it. All just to ease Luna's mind. There's no going back on it though. I've said it, so the only left to do is make it happen. Even if it means utter failure, I have to give it my all. I can't let her down. Not when there's so much at stake. It doesn't take long for us to break apart, sharing a small kiss and sweet nothings seemed... wrong. I don't know how to put it. It feels as if it's been said already. Or maybe the mood wouldn't allow for it. I don't know, but it's definitely didn't feel right to say or do anything further. I asked if we should go back down to the Gala, but we decided to leave instead. With everything going on, we're done here. Besides, sleep sounds amazing at this time. We sneak our way out of the Gala. It wasn't that hard really. Something is going on in the garden, so no one was in the halls to stop and pester us. A squad of night guards escorts up to the mountain. One of them started spouting business rabble to Luna. Something about projections and possible candidates. I zoned out of the conversation fast. Mentally, I'm practically dead to the world. I don't even know if I'll be able to fall asleep, which is confusing in it of itself. When we make it to the teleporter Luna listens to the guard for a moment longer before thanking them and dismissing them for the night. I don't know how she does it. Despite being as tired as me, if not more, she can still listen and delegate this kind of crap. I'll bet her mind is racing with all of the information she just learned and is planning ahead for it. It's amazing really. Planning battles and war scenarios, no problem. Talk taxes and... bureaucratic crap, I'm useless. Not Luna though. It just comes naturally to her somehow. She's a schemer. That's my best guess. When we make it home we start getting ready for the night. Showers. Changing. Shutting off my phone so no one can wake me up tomorrow. I'm passing out tonight and nothing is going to wake me until I've got my fill of sleep. Luna tells me that the kids will be in Mooseden, so there's nothing to wake us up tomorrow. So we're taking full advantage of that. Luna makes it to the bed before me but I'm not that far behind her. I was going to say goodnight, or I love you, something. But it was just silent. We're laying back to back, and it's... weird. We feel so close it's almost claustrophobic. But we feel so far away from one another. It's as if I'm going to turn around and she won't be there. Is everything fine between us? I know we said we'd clean slate things, but it's never that easy. Maybe we just need to sleep the day away and that will 'clean the slate'. But if that's how we're approaching this whole debacle, then I should say something. But what should I say? I guess I love you would be the most suitable. But saying something because it should be the right thing to say is being disingenuous. I'm keeping one lie already, I'm not going to add to it. Maybe I should just go to sleep. It's probably nothing anyway. There have been plenty of times we've gone to bed without saying anything. It seems weird not saying anything tonight, but it shouldn't. Right? Gah! I don't know what to do! The tension in the room is keeping me awake and I can't figure out what I should do to fix it! I start looking around the room trying to distract myself from... myself. There's nothing to really look at though. We just threw our clothes on the ground, but there's nothing special about that. Our furniture seems the same, so nothing there. My phone is on the dresser next to me... next to... the thumb drive Susurrans gave me. Everything else in the world fades away as I stare at that little device. Everything about that fight flashes before me as I stare at it. How pitifully out classed I was. I really thought I finally had that edge over the old bastard. But despite all my power, he brushed me aside with no effort whatsoever. How did we lose with someone as powerful as that!? "In time you will learn of your mother's past. You cannot avoid it. But... there are secrets that you will have to learn. Secrets that will shake you to your core. Listen well and let your flame guide you. And though we walk the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil. It's time you started to learn of your father's past, and why you will never meet him." That was a mouthful. It sounded rehearsed, which it probably was. Where do I even start with all of that. The secret bits was obvious, so not there obviously. What valley are we walking? Is that a metaphor for life or something? And fear no evil!? I have listened to countless speeches from Susurrans about fear being a tool for courage! Fear is natural, not having it or denying it seems... wrong. And letting my flame guide me? I know he's talking about Soul Fire there. But there are so many questions from that too! Where is it guiding me? How do I get it to guide me? Soul Fire kind of just appears when it doesn't want me to do or go somewhere, so is it doing it already? Is this something that I have any influence over or will it force me in the right direction? Where are we going? There seems to be a lot going on in their pasts. Even with it happening so long ago and so far away, it's still right here with me. I've spent so much of my life being on my own. I had to fight for myself and take care of me. But now I'm learning how much I had from my parents without them even being there. Okay, this is getting too introspective. I should calm down and go to sleep. Or... I could see what's in that thumb drive. I mean, it'll be there in the morning. No reason to rush into this now. And I really shouldn't do it while Luna is trying to sleep. And I already turned off my phone... But I might fucking explode if I don't look what's in there right fucking now! I take a tentative look behind me to see if Luna is awake of not. She seems to be sleeping. How long have I been staring at that thumb drive? I go back to staring at it as I wrestle with what to do. I really should just go to sleep. What time is it even? ... my phone is off so I can't even check. Fuck it, I'm doing it. I grab my phone and start to power it up. While I wait for it to boot up I feel myself start to get antsy. It's an odd mixture of fear and excitement. Fear of being disappointed because it may just be another clue. Something that only gives me more questions and no answers. But it may finally be something that can end the questions I have to avoid. Why was Susarrans avoiding me as I grew up? What happened to my mother? What's their story and how do I fit into all of this? What is Soul Fire? Where is this all going and what should I be doing? Who am I really? MY phone blinks back to life and I link the thumb drive to it. I feel my palms start to get sweaty as I wait for the two of the to link. It only takes a moment, but it feels like forever. File: Viderunt Omnes// playback// All have seen? It's an audio file. Not a really big one either. It feels like a let down. The only thing on here is a small audio file. I'm sure a lot can be said in two minutes. But... I don't know. I may have gotten my hopes too high. I pull it up and go to play it. I pause for a second before playing it. No need to get my hopes higher than needed. Iderunt o-mnes fines terrae... The moment it starts to play something inside me stirs to life. The person singing weaves the words back and forth and my soul is dancing with it in a way I've never felt before. Salu-tare De-i nostri... The words come out so slowly and I feel myself lingering on each and every one of them. Dei, what is that? It seems like a name of some sort. I've never heard it before at least. What exactly are they saving us from though? Jub-ila-te De-o o-mnis ter-rae... There it is again. Deo? Maybe it's more like a title then? What are we rejoicing from? Even though all these questions are racing through my mind I'm calm. Calmer than I've ever been in my entire life. I let the song play out. It brings something out of me that I didn't even know I had. Something I didn't even know I was missing. By the end I feel a tear roll down the side of my cheek as I feel a new sense of... I don't even know. Serenity? Is this what it's like to be at peace? Is this what it's supposed to feel like? It's... sad. It's sad because I've never felt like this before. And I don't know if I could ever feel like this again. But I also feel strengthened. I feel like I can finally push through it all and try one more time. One more push. Whatever challenges there are in the world, I can take them all on, one more time. I flinch when I hear Luna hiccup. I turn and see her staring back at me, tears running down her cheeks. Whatever I've just gone through, she was right there with me. We share a look of understanding. Knowing there's nothing we could say in this moment. Nothing needs to be said. Because everything is finally okay. I reach forward and run my hoof behind her head. She looks up to me and returns the gesture. Every touch feels like the very first time and it draws me to her. From the sparkle in her eye, to the flow of her ethereal hair. Everything draws me closer to this woman until our lips finally touch. Everything finally feels right.
Chapter 268 Shadow of MoosedenChapter 268 Shadow of Mooseden Perspective: Shadow "Achoo!" I squeak out a sneeze as sit in the shower under the hot running water. Spending that much time in the rain has done a number on me. I'm pretty sure I'll be out for a week or so. At least that's what I'm told Mom and Dad... Dad. When I woke up I knew I had to go find him. No matter what Star Gazer said. He at least didn't try to fight me on that. He figured I wasn't going to listen anyway. So he helped. For a stranger... it was really kind of him. Dad carried me home and went straight to his room. I waited for him to start his own shower before I went to my own. I've... never seen him so scared before. I know he's feared the Unf- Kroth, for a long time. I just... I never thought my father could be so scared of something. Not him. I didn't know what to do. What could I have said? I hope he doesn't think less of me for just cuddling. It really freaked me out to see him like that. I don't know if I should bring it up again. I'm sure he's embarrassed about it. Even though he doesn't have to be. I have my fear of spiders for... similar reasons. Maybe not so similar. I've never lost loved ones to war before. Nor as many before. And I doubt I'd forgive him so easily. I know he's feeling ashamed, but how do I tell him that he doesn't need to? How do I tell him that I get what he's going through while also understanding that I might not understand everything? CLICK "... Dad?" I ask aloud. Somepony just walked in. I'm a little confused because my father has never done this before. I wait and listen for him, but he doesn't say anything. SHING I give a small yelp as the curtain is thrown aside and Star Gazer stands there. I go red in the face and try to cover myself, getting him to tilt his head. "You know most ponies don't wear clothes, right?" He tells me as he sets his bag on the toilet. I stare at him as he starts to rummage through the satchel. "... get out!" I hiss at him as I slide the curtain back. "And it's the principle of the matter!" "Never really got that though. Why don't we wear clothes? I mean, a tail can cover a lot. But not everything." He mumbles as he sorts through some glass objects. I try to think about what he's saying before I shake my head. "Get ou- a-a-achoo!" I nearly fall over from that powerful sneeze. "Oof. Sounds like I might be too late." He mentions with something in his mouth. A moment later he sticks his hoof into the shower and offers me a potion. I stare at the golden liquid for a moment before I push his hoof out. "Why are you even here!?" "Trust me, you're going to want to take this. You'll feel like a new mare in the morning." He tells me as he pops the cork off and offers it again. "Take the potion and I'll tell you why I'm really here. And trust me, you're going to want to hear this." I grumble to as I take the potion. If it'll get him out, then I'll just take it and pour it down the drain. There's no way I'm dumb enough to drink a random potion... As I pour the contents out it mixes with the water and starts to steam up. I take a breath as feel a warm energy travel down into my lungs. "Oh, you knew to mix it with hot water. Good." I smack my face in disbelief. "Now, the reason I was in Mooseden was-" "To steal some kabobs?" I ask as I sit with my back to the water. I can't believe I'm having a conversation like this. If my dad walks in, it's his funeral. "No, but that was an added bonus." He laughs at himself. I just roll my eyes and let him continue. "I have some intel on Diamond Tiara." "Why do you have intel on her?" I ask, bewildered. "I told you I was going to help, remember?" I think back and vaguely recall a conversation like that happening. "Right... what did you learn?" "Well, it would seem our little mud mucker has a secret to her trade." He tells me as he takes a seat on the toilet. "From what I could gather, she's having a meeting with some big shots in the armorers guild tonight." "... okay?" I don't follow what he's getting at. "Okay, let me put it this way then. This meeting is happening at a Canterlot hotel with just the two of them." I stay quiet as I try to garner what he's getting at. But... I mean, I don't know what's going on. "Okay... wow. Aren't you dating Rumble? Shouldn't this... ya'know. Get the imagination moving?" "I mean... we've been dating for less than a week. And he's spent most of that time in Cloudsdale." "... she going to have sex with them-" "WHAT!?" I nearly fall over from that. She's still in high school! He's the leader of a guild! There must be a twenty... thirty year difference! ... AND THE HIPROCRACY! That lying little slut is going around telling ponies that I'm sleeping around when she's the one lifting her tail to sway business dealings! Who in their right mind would do such a thing!? "Yeah, figured you'd like to know about that." I start to get dizzy with how mad I am. Does she really have no morals? "Anyway, I've made a few strike plans. If you're interested." "... Strike plans?" His offer catches me off guard. He's made... strike plans? "I'm so glad you asked! So I have three plans. They're all pretty good, but I think there's a clear choice in the group. Plan number one is pretty simple. We go, take a few pictures, and blast them all over the newspapers. A pretty straight forward plan really. Not much to it." "And the next plan?" I figure that was a plan. I can't really think of anything else I'd do to her. Which is why I'm interested in the other options. "Well, option two is to run interference. Stop them from slapping nasties-" "Please don't call it that." I tell him, not wanting to think about it. "Okay, plan one is to broadcast it to the world. Plan two is to-" "Cockblock, yes." I shutter from the thought. I don't know if I want to chance catching Diamond in the middle of the act. "And lastly, my masterpiece! If I do say so myself. I call it, Operation Breaking Diamond!" "... you're having too much fun with this." I tell him, not impressed with his enthusiasm. "Only a little bit! Honest!" I shake my head again. His dorkiness is starting to get to me. "So this plan involves a lot of espionage. But the simplest breakdown is that we go in, wait for them to get started, and counter spell any contraceptives they use." I balk when he says that. Counter spell her contraceptives!? That's... that's taking it way too far! That is far more evil than anything I'd be willing to do! Or is it. I did say I wanted to ruin her life the way she went after mine. And she's already showed she's willing to play as dirty as she needs to. But am I willing to lower myself to her level in such a... abhorrent manner? Would she deserve it? Absolutely. But this isn't about her right now. Right now it's about me. I know I can't beat her at her own game. I've figured that much out so far. Doing this would lower me beneath her. No, I'm not doing that. We'll do the first plan, and that's all we'll do. I will not win by being Diamond Tiara. I am going to win by being Shadow Knight. "I really appreciate you're help in all of this." I tell him as I start to shut off the water. But then I remember that my Dad is across the hall and decide against it. "But we will not be doing Operation Diamond Breaker." "You sure?" He asks, sounding as if he's leaning in to make sure. "I'm sure of it. I'm going to win on my win accord. Not by doing something that she would. But I still appreciate the help-" "Oh, don't thank me yet." He tells me as he starts flipping through some papers. "Truth be told, I was more testing you. Seeing if you would go as low as her and all. Figured you wouldn't, but just wanted to make sure." "Oh... okay." I... can't believe he was testing me. I mean, I guess trust goes both ways. But... still. "Also, you'll need to get Rumbles permission for any of the other plans." "Uh... why?" I ask, suddenly confused. "Well, the plan is to sneak in and not get caught. If everything goes according to plan then it won't really matter. But, if we do get caught, it's a couples retreat theme at the hotel. So we may need to play off that we're a young couple getting into trouble. Otherwise we'll probably get thrown in jail." Okay, I get the inflection that time. But I don't know if that'll work. I can't talk to Rumble right now. He's all the way in Cloudsdale! If I hadn't blown all that energy into that light spell against Corpus then maybe I could get it done. But there's no way I'm casting any more spells tonight. I might not even be able to for that matter! "I can't do that. He's all the way in Cloudsdale. And there's no way I'm teleporting all there and back." "I could do it." "Are you sure?" I ask, genuinely surprised. The teleport is probably one of the most useful spells ever made. At least, according to my father that is. But not everypony can do it. Let alone do it with that level of finesse. "Yeah, I mean it'll put a toll on me. But I can manage. I've done the Canterlot run before. Shouldn't be that different." He says that, but I hear a bit of doubt in his voice. If we're going to do this, then I need him on his A game. I'm already haggard and sickly. We can't do this if we're both like that. What am I saying? We? I can't go to Canterlot with him! I don't know him! I don't even know what time it is! For all we know they've already done it! No. It's would have been a good plan any other night. But there's no way it'll happen tonight. "Star, there's no way we're going to be able to do this tonight-" "I thought you'd say that." He tells me, going back into his bag. A moment later he flings the curtain open and presents me a notebook. I fumble over myself in embarrassment as I try to cover myself again. "Take a look at this. If we head there now they should still be at the dinner party." I turn myself to try and be modest. He... doesn't even seem to care really. ... It's the principal of the matter! I take a peek and see that he's taken a pamphlet from the venue and glued it to the pages. All around the itinerary are notes and time frames. He really planned this out. To an almost scary degree. "The event at the hotel is going to wrap up in less than an hour. So we don't have a lot of time to get into position. And this is the last time we'll get an opportunity like this. I've seen her calendar and there are no other events like this. If we're going to hit her at all, this is going to be the hardest chance we get." I stare at the notes and try to think objectively. He's not wrong about the opportunity we have. How he knows her schedule, I don't want to know. But, there just isn't going to be a chance like this. But is the risk worth the reward? What even are the risk? We get caught by security and spend the night in jail? She catches us and tries to lie that we were there to do what she was doing? Though I know those are bad, they aren't that risky. Dad gets a bad call or the newspapers say even more terrible rumors; nothing we aren't willing to deal with. But the chance to get Diamond in the middle of a scandal. The chance to catch her and put her whole personal life on display. To tell everypony that will ever meet her that this is how she gets deals done, have a fun ride... the thought is far too tempting to let slide. Knock knock knock "Hey Shadow?" Dad calls from the other side of the door. Star and I look at each other for a moment before I shove a hoof into his mouth. "Yeah Dad?" I ask, trying to sound as calm as possible. "... I, I uh... I'd like to talk. About earlier, if that's okay with you." I forgot he takes the worlds shortest showers. Of course he'd hear me still in here. And, true to him, he'd want to clear the air as soon as possible. I try to think of what to do or say, but everything comes up blank. Star watches me panic for a moment before pulling my hoof out of his mouth. I watch in horror as he reaches in and shuts off the water. Without telling me anything he pulls me out, throws a towel on me, and steps into the shower. Using his magic he closes the curtain and opens the door. I stare up at Dad and begin to panic. If he steps in here and finds him there's no way we're going to Canterlot tonight. Dad, for his part, just looks uncomfortable. I can tell he's rehearsed what he wants to say. But he's faltering in getting it out. He tries to start a few times, but after the third I save him. "Where are Tempestive and Mama Luna?" My questions gets him on track and he finally faces me to speak. "I called Luna, they're in Canterlot tonight. She... wanted to make sure things would be safe in Mooseden before coming back here." That makes sense. I didn't get the chance to talk with her when this all happened. I didn't even know she was aware of this to be honest. "Right... and the Spartans?" "On their way back now. All of them were still in the Glass Desert waiting to see if I would come back. So... it's just the two of us tonight." He runs a hand through his hair and rubs the back of his neck. This isn't what he wanted to say. I think over to Star and his plans for revenge... but this is more important. I wrap the towel around myself and start to walk out. Dad steps out of the way and shuts the door behind me. I go to the vanity and start to brush the water out of my mane. I'm already going to be sick, but there's no reason to make it worse. Dad walks over to my bed and sits on it. He hangs his head deep in thought. I'll wait for him to start this time. "You know..." he starts, pausing as he looks back up and out the door to the hallway. "Heh... You know... I never thought I'd see Unfamiliar civ-" "Kroth Dad." I tell him, staring at him through the mirror. "They're called the Kroth." "Right... the Kroth... I just never imagined I'd see civilian... Kroth." I stay quiet. I don't want to interrupt his line of thinking. I can see him tightening his grip on the bed as he thinks. "When I saw them, standing there, waiting for me to... to do... something! It reminded me of when the gates of Topaz were breached. That whole day played back in my mind... and I had a moment of weakness." I pause my brushing when he says that. Seeing my father, the leader of the Spartans and Captain of bravado, admitting he was weak... I didn't know I had put him on such a pedestal before. Of course he'd still be able to become scared. He's only human after all. He says that phrase all the time. But... I guess I never thought I'd see him as only human. He's always been so much more to me. "Has that night always been... with you?" I ask quietly. He looks away from me for a moment before making eye contact with me. He gives a single nod back. I set the brush down as I look back at him. "... there are still nights where... where I remember Lantern. When she would... return-" "Corculum," he says and he moves to kneel beside me. He sets a hand on my back but I shake my head. "It's okay. It's okay, because I've finally seen you scared." I tell him, tearing up as I avoid his gaze. He just rubs my back, waiting for me to finish. "You're my dad. The idea of you being scared of something... I just, never thought you could. Now I get it. All that power, but... you're still only human." "Shadow." He stops rubbing my back and pulls my cheek to look at him. I try to wipe the tears way, but it's too late. "There isn't a day that goes by that I don't curse myself for not getting there sooner." "Don't!" I grab his hand and hold it tightly. "Don't do that! Please! There are a thousand things I wish I could have done differently that day! But it doesn't matter! We can't change what happened. But... but at least with that... I got you as a father." We share a glance before we move in to hug one another. With all of the stress of the day and everything going on, I don't care anymore about Diamond. I just want to be here with my father and forget the world. CLICK "So... we doing this or not?" My heart stops and my eyes go wide when Star Gazer steps out of the bathroom and asks that. I feel the same happen to Dad as he stares at him from over my shoulder. There's a moment of silence where neither of us knows what to do. Aside from possibly kill Star, that is. Dad pulls slowly away from me and once again I feel like a small child. He's trying to find something to say, but there's nothing coming out. He's caught between wanting strangle Star and berate me for hiding a boy in the house. I go to blurt something out. Anything! Hopefully something that will set the record straight. "I'VE NEVER HAD SEX!" Once the words left my mouth I felt my face immediately go red. So red in fact that I felt it on my ears, neck, even down my spine. Clearly, not the best thing to shout out to the world. Dad just looks... confused. So I try to say something else to clear the space. "I-I mean, we we're doing anything! Nothing bad! Just making plans to pretend to be a couple in Canterlot to get into a couples retreat!" "... fucking what?" I try to make myself as small as possible. Nothing tonight is going my way. "Sorry! Nothing bad was going on, promise!" I tell him as he rises it tower over the two of us. Star takes a seat next to me and motions for me to continue. I glance between him and Dad before taking a deep breath in. Although my nerves are still shot, he needs to know. Maybe if he had stayed in the bathroom we could have stayed here forever. But that was clearly not going to happen. I go and explain Star's plan to him. Where we need to go. What we're going to do when we get there. But most importantly, I tell him why I want to do it. I tell him why this is no longer his fight to be a part of. He may have told me to go after her. But I'm the one who is going to finish. How I want to be the one to beat her. He... just listens to me. He's still giving Star the stink eye, but he deserves that much. But he's not reacting to anything I'm saying. He's... just listening. I try to glean any of his intentions, but he's just standing there... stoic. Maybe he's more fried than I am and can't really process what's going on. Or maybe he's just trying to think of the perfect punishment. I can't tell what's going through his mind. When I finish I wait for him to say something. But... he's just staring at the two of us. I glance to Star, but he just shrugs back to me. I try to wait for him to respond, but there's nothing. As the silence grows I feel myself shrinking in his gaze. It's as if he's rethinking everything we just talked about. Regretting everything about me... Without a word he turns and leaves the room. I look to Star before chasing after him. It can't end like this. It can't! "Dad... I'm... I'm sorry!" I tell him as we walk into his room. He starts digging into his drawers as he looks for something. "Look, it was a stupid plan. I know! But... I don't know. I have to do something! She can't just keep... getting away with this! Someone has to stand up to her! Please! Just... just look at me!" He turns back with what looks like a small spiked mace. With a flick of the wrist he flings it onto the ground. It sticks with a loud thud with the handle pointing up at a slight angle. It sits for a moment before something within it whirs to life. The handle moves to point straight up before opening up four ways. A hologram projects from the inside. It comes out in quick waves and shows a rough outline of the house as well as the neighbors here in Mooseden. In our house there are three blue dots, obviously showing our locations. "This is called an echo map. It's exactly what it sounds like." Dad tells me as he squats down by the map. "The harder you slam, the bigger the map will be. It'll show most people as well. Unless they're in the air that is." "Huh..." I mumble as I stare at the map. "W-what's this for?" He takes the echo map out of the ground and it immediately folds back up. He offers it to me so I take it. But he doesn't let go of it. He looks down at me with a new look of determination. A fierce look that catches me off guard. "Don't you dare ever think you're unworthy again, Shadow Knight of Mooseden." My heart flutters when he says that as a new sense of purpose begins to swell in me. "I-I won't Dad... I-I'll make you proud. I promise." I mumble as I take the map from his grasp. He just smirks to me as he turns back to his dresser. I look to Star standing in the doorway and give him a nod. We're doing this. There's no going back now. "I've got some more goodies for you as well." He tells me as he starts to pull more items out of his drawer. "I've always figured something like this would happen... well, maybe not like this. But, when you got your cutie mark I knew you'd need these kind of tools." "You've been planning this for that long?" I ask as I set the map on the bed. I walk up to him and look over the various tools he's been hording. "Eeyup! Though, I always thought it would be for some kind of attack on the town. I guess this'll have to do." The last thing he pulls out catches my attention the most. It looks like a diving suit. It's all black with several points where there are small gems poking out. It also looks as if it's a size too small for me. And instead of having swimming goggles it has a single visor that has several circular lenses raised on it. I can't see a way for me to look out of that without tripping over myself. "Alright... let's get this bitch."
